The second dark ages box.., p.22
The Second Dark Ages Boxed Set, page 22
part #1 of The Second Dark Ages Series
Michael shrugged and tossed the vampire over the side of the ship. His screams lasted all the way to the ground.
The female vampire asked, “May we begin?” her voice cracking only slightly. She turned her sword over and struck it into the wooden deck.
Good, he didn’t have to tell her the same thing. He liked this one more and more.
Michael lifted one hand in the air, gave them each a look, and brought it down. “Begin!”
The brother and sister charged each other. The other vampires had pushed themselves to the sides to get out of the way of the fight. While they watched the fight, they would sneak glances at Michael. Apparently, they didn’t trust that he wouldn’t snatch another to toss over the side of the ship.
Donovan had them scared, the Duke had them in awe.
Michael had them feeling abject terror and bone-deep panic.
The brother and sister traded punches, kicks, holds and broken holds. Ribs were fractured, and heads were smashed with vicious elbow jabs.
The rain would ease up, then pour for a minute as they went at it. Michael was impressed. Both fought well, both struggled, knowing life and death were on the line. However, Donovan was fighting for his life, Valerie was fighting for others’ lives.
That, he considered, would be the difference. While she was smaller in stature, the woman was insanely strong for her size. Most women didn’t survive the change. When they did, they were often stronger than males changed by the same parent.
In the end, Donovan got behind her, squeezing her throat, half his own throat ripped out by her claws. Valerie was close to suffocating before she was able to reach over her shoulders and dig her thumbs into his eyes, destroying them.
She was still being choked, even with half his throat gone and eyes gouged out. She looked at Michael, and he returned the stare, giving no indication of his thoughts.
Valerie was losing. But he was listening to her internal argument and to Donovan’s as well. He noted when she decided it was all for her friends, for the people below, for the city.
For Justice.
She gave up trying to protect her throat and made a move, grabbing her brother and using the last of her strength to fling them both off their feet, but doing it where she could spin in the air to get his head and twist.
CRACK!
Donovan landed on the deck, his head bent at a wrong angle, unable to move.
Michael nodded to Valerie. “Justice has spoken.” She stumbled toward her sword, and he nodded. “For this, the use of your sword is permitted.” She moved forward and lifted the sword high in the air, pausing at the apogee before slashing it down, ending Donovan’s evil desires.
She dropped to her knees, weak.
The total deaths among the New York City Police would be staggering. They had lost a minimum of ten of his fellow policeman that Ted had witnessed himself this night. Dragged in among the zombies and eaten alive.
“What the hell is happening?” Ted asked, as the few zombies still fighting seemed to suddenly lose their ability to think. Like their brains had been reset. The cops didn’t wait but took the opportunity to blow as many away as they could. Soon enough, the zombies started moving again, but it was like they went after whoever was closest, instead of the coordinated attack that they had been using before.
“Fuck me!” Ethan roared, exasperated when the zombies started coming at them again.
“After a shower,” Janine retorted, arc rod ready. “’Cause zombie guts? Gross!”
Michael waited patiently for Valerie to recover, to understand she delivered Justice’s punishment, without help.
Without him.
“What… now?” she asked, as the water dripped off of her head.
“You fought bravely, and acted with courage and Honor,” he replied. Michael walked over to her, his hand glowed, he touched her, pushing Etheric energy into her body, allowing the nanocytes to regain their power to help her. It affected her almost immediately, her exhaustion lessened. Michael wanted to sigh.
Another who knew the myths of him, and thought he was a walking demigod. This needed to stop.
Michael took from her mind the presence of her father, the Duke in Europe and his plans. His lips pressed together.
So many fires, and so few firefighters.
He considered his next actions carefully. He couldn’t leave America without support. He was needed in Europe to stop the carnage, and prevent the destruction that the Duke planned to perpetrate.
He would have Valerie drink from him. His blood had been corrected from the faulty programming it carried, repaired on the same alien spaceship where he had originally been injected with the nanocytes. His blood was pure. Now, if he wished, he could share those nanocytes with whomever he desired. With his Etheric connection providing enough energy to the nanocytes, the person he helped didn’t require time in the Pod-doc like so many others.
Which was a good thing since he didn’t have a medical pod handy.
Valerie caught on that he was reading her mind.
Michael smiled. “You have a quick mind, you may learn to do this,” he touched the side of his head, “in time. Though the power I am about to give you manifests in many different ways. One thing it will change. It will allow you to walk in the light, and that is necessary for you to continue your battle here in America.”
“Against the hunters?” she asked, still trying to catch up to what was going on.
Michael considered her question, and the ramifications of the fight this night. “Those, yes. And now there are other vampires, Donovan’s followers, who you will hunt down.”
“But you?” She shook her head, not understanding. “You’re here, or returned, now. Certainly, you can do it?”
Michael shook his head. “I’ve been doing my part because I didn’t know I’d have a worthy champion here to do it for me,” he said. “But I’m needed in Europe. This Duke you speak of, or rather, think of, you can rest assured he’ll be getting a visit from me shortly. Then it’s time I cleaned up the rest of Europe.” Michael considered what he had pulled out of Donovan’s thoughts, and those of the vampires on the ground.
Europe was a damned mess. He wasn’t sure which of David’s children this would be, but he was almost sure it had to have been David’s. He knew of no one named the Duke, but the description sounded like David’s son Charles. He had gone missing and presumed dead hundreds of years ago. David would have killed any vampire in Europe for taking a title like the Duke.
David hadn’t liked anyone having higher aspirations than himself.
“And what? I’ll be like... your enforcer, an enforcer for justice?” Valeria asked, pulling Michael out of his thoughts.
This time, his smile reached his eyes. “Yes, I like the sound of that. Get your friends and put this city back in order. Remove the Peace Enforcers and take on the title for yourself, so it means something true and honorable. You will be the first of my Justice Enforcers.” Michael looked down over the side of the ship. “Though you won’t be the last.” He turned back to her. “Do you accept my charge, young Valerie?”
She nodded, and so he moved to stand in front of her and held up his wrist. “Then by my blood, on your oath, you are the first of my Justice Enforcers, Valerie.” He nodded to his wrist. “Drink.”
It seemed almost sacrilegious, wrong on so many levels, but he said it was right, so she trusted him.
On faith.
She leaned in and pressed her lips to his skin, then ecstasy filled her mind as her fangs pierced his skin.
And oh God, the way his blood felt as it filled her mouth. Her eyes rolled back as her limbs filled with warmth and her injuries healed. A moan escaped her lips, and she gently pulled his arm to her mouth so she wouldn’t miss a drop.
Then he was pulling away, and as she watched his wrist leave with longing, his skin healed.
“Come,” he said, taking her by the hand and leading her back to the edge of the ship and pointing down. “The rebuilding must start immediately.”
They looked out over the lights of the city, fires scattered about where the fighting had been. There were no signs of Donovan’s people, but her fighters, Weres, vampires, and a couple policemen were gathering below the ship, looking up at her with curiosity.
She turned to him, his bald head reflecting the flames in the night. “Will I really be able to walk in the sunlight? Lay under its warm touch?”
“When the sun rises today, have faith.” He sighed and looked at her. “There’s a lot for you to learn about our kind, some now, some in days and years to come.”
“I’m ready,” Valerie whispered into the night.
Michael nodded slowly. “I know you think you are. And as the world rebuilds, you will help it along the way, and when the time is right, I’ll tell you all I know. But for now, just realize that we are so much more than the stories would have you and most normals believe. There’s a whole other side to this Vamp and Were existence.”
He looked around the city. “We are no more evil than our decisions. Is there a Satan? I do not know, but our condition doesn’t affect our morality any more than it would a normal man or woman walking the streets down below.”
She stared at him, then slowly let her eyes drift up to the heavens.
After a moment of silence, he asked, “Is there anything you want me to tell your father?”
She jerked her head back down. “You’re going to him now? Leaving now?”
He nodded. “America has you.” He shrugged his shoulders. “Europe needs me.”
She thought about his question, then shook her head. “Tell him to change, to join us. And if he doesn’t… or let’s be honest, when he doesn’t, I’ll not shed a tear when Justice comes calling for him.”
Michael nodded once, slowly. “You have my word.” He indicated the dead body of her brother. “I could sense the strength in each of you. There was never a possibility Donovan could have won.” He pursed his lips, as if a question was inside his mind and then answered it aloud, “Bethany Anne would approve of you.”
With that, Michael was gone.
Michael Mysted up to the tallest building in the city and solidified, scaring a couple that had been getting ready to join a special club in the sky.
“Dude!” the man called out when his girlfriend shrieked and pointed behind him, “I’m getting some here!”
Michael turned around and eyed them both. “If you don’t want me to explain to Ada you were up here just last Tuesday with Marian, and the Friday before that with Juliana, I’d leave. Or, I can explain that to her, and then help her toss your useless ass over the side.”
Michael turned back around to view the city, the loud “CRACK” of Ada’s hand across the guy’s face confirmed he would be alone soon enough.
It took her less than a minute to leave, as the man stumbled through excuses right behind her. Sometimes, Michael thought, spreading truth and light helped keep things peaceful around him.
Other times? Not so much.
Michael viewed the City-State of New York and considered his next actions. He would need to take the fight to Europe. He sighed, thinking that Bethany Anne had been created to take some burden off of his shoulders, and now, he was back cleaning up another mess.
If he had a chance, he would find the original Kurtherians that had decided that modifying races across the Universe was such a good idea and slap the ever-loving shit out of them.
He needed, he decided, a way to blow off steam.
Maybe he would take up cursing more often, it helped Bethany Anne with her stress. Now that he wasn’t just killing those who annoyed him, he had to learn new skills.
The door opened slowly behind him, and he turned around to see Ada peek her head out. “I uh, I just wanted to say thank you,” she said.
“You’re welcome,” Michael answered.
“Uh, you don’t want to join the sex in the sky club, do you?” she asked. “I’m kinda hot for guys who are bald.”
Michael just stared at her for a moment, confused as hell. “You like bald men?”
She stuck her head out a little further, showing a bare shoulder. “Yeah, is that so weird? Some women like hairy chests or tall guys. I like chrome domes.”
Michael answered, “Noooo, although I’m flattered.” He smiled. “That might have been the nicest gift you could offer me. Go and enjoy your life, Ada.” His voice changed, to a silky smooth over steel tenor. “And forget you ever saw me.”
Ada closed the door, and Michael turned back around to look back over the expanse beneath him. The lights rolling out to the darkness. His own house to the north.
If anyone had a telescope and had been watching the top of the building, they would have seen a man diving off. He disappeared two-thirds of the way to the street below.
“No! That’s not the right way,” Jacqueline sighed. “I’m sorry Mark, I’m working on my patience.” The two of them were on the practice mat, Jacqueline trying to explain the first kata to Mark.
Mark shrugged. “I think you’re more patient than my parents were with me. I’m not very coordinated.”
She stood up from the kata position. “I thought all vampires were coordinated?” she asked.
He stood with her. “I was changed by a girl. I thought she liked me and the hickey she was giving was fantastic.”
Jacqueline put her hand to her mouth, but she couldn’t stop her giggle, then a snort, her eyes alight with amusement. “You’re telling me,” she finally said, “that you got changed because of a hickey?”
“Well,” Mark flushed red. “It wasn’t only one hickey. And hell, I thought this was it. I was going to stop being the big V!”
“Vampire?” Jacqueline’s face scrunched up. “That doesn’t make any sense at all. How was her nibbling on your neck going to help you stop being a vampire? Didn’t you just say you were changed because of a hickey?”
Mark’s head dropped, and he put both hands over his face. “Not V for vampire, V for virgin!”
Jacqueline’s eyes opened wide, and she looked at the ceiling. I am such a dumbass! she mouthed silently. She looked back at Mark, his face still in his hands. “How many times did she make out with you?”
“Over a four-day weekend, then she left, and I had the worst sickness ever. It lasted over a week, and it was after that I noticed the changes. I’m something of a history geek, and I searched the New York Public Library and there were some books on the paranormal.” He shrugged. “It’s been hard.”
Jacqueline bit back the retort on the tip of her tongue. She doubted he would appreciate a double-entendre right now. She was so damned used to Weres and their lack of body modesty that Mark’s troubles were completely outside of her experience.
He was nice enough looking, but she didn’t think he would want a pity fuck.
Oh, Michael spoke in her mind, He certainly would accept one, but that wouldn’t make it right or the best thing for him.
Jacqueline jerked around to look for him, which got Mark’s attention. “What is it?”
“Michael is here, somewhere.” Her eyes narrowed as she looked around the large room. “Now, how do we find him?”
Mark shrugged. “I imagine by asking him where he is?”
“Good choice,” Michael replied from behind them. They swung around to find him standing there. They both leaned forward slowly and sniffed.
“Where have you been?” she asked, her nose wrinkling in distaste.
“Dude, were you fighting?” Mark questioned, noticing the splatters of blood on his clothes.
“Down at the airship port and yes, I’ve been fighting,” he answered and walked around them. “Meeting in the kitchen in ten minutes, I’m going to shower.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
The two young people were sitting on kitchen barstools, talking to each other.
When Michael arrived in the kitchen, clean and feeling considerably better, he opened the fridge and found enough food to make himself a lamb and cheese sandwich. He closed the door, put the food on the counter and grabbed a plate.
“You DO eat!” Jacqueline called out from behind him.
Michael turned around, eyebrow raised to see the young woman was pointing at him, eyes afire, like she had just proven where Jimmy Hoffa was buried.
Michael smiled. Not that she would know who Jimmy Hoffa was, he thought.
Mark looked at her, confused. “Yeah, he eats. He ate with me.”
Jacqueline turned her finger on him. “When!”
Mark’s eyes crossed, looking at her finger so close to his face. “When I got here, right after he did the little hand warmy thing and my desire for blood went away.” He backed his head up a bit to give himself space. “Why so tense?”
Jacqueline looked at her hand and pulled it back. “Sorry, but I’ve never seen him eat. I was thinking maybe he was always feeding the fat and happy werewolf and not taking what he needed to eat.”
Michael was watching the two of them chat back and forth while he chewed on his sandwich.
Mark, oblivious to how it looked, leaned to the side on his chair to check out Jacqueline’s body. “Fat?”
Michael snorted, Jacqueline’s eyes darted to him, then back to Mark.
“Yes, fat!” she stated.
“Where?” Mark asked,
Jacqueline’s voice went up an octave. “Where?”
Mark looked up at her. “Yes, where. It is a common word to mean ‘show me,’ ‘tell me,’ or in some way explain.”
Jacqueline rolled her eyes. “I know what ‘where’ means!” Then her eyes altered and her voice changed, going from annoyed to sounding like how a cat’s might alter when it was about to play with a mouse.
“Uh oh!” Michael took another bite of his sandwich. This drama was unfolding in real time. Would Mark realize what was about to happen, or was he too hopelessly naive about werewolves?
“So, you need me to show you the fat, am I getting this right?” Her voice moved just this side of seductive.
“Yeah,” Mark agreed. “That was my original question. Where?”
