The vampire had no reason to help him. Not after Mike betrayed him to a demented and crazed vampire assassin. Vicki had been ready to bite him herself when it all went down. He'd endured a solid hour of Vicki railing on him about everything from treating her like a stupid child to acting like a jealous ass and most of all to not bothering to remember that Henry was still a man.
"He feels, Mike." She'd yelled at him. "He feels love and pain. Just like us. He chose to become what he is because he loved a woman. It was a crazy and stupid thing to do but even Henry can be crazy and stupid. Hell he was only 17. That's prime crazy and stupid time. He has to drink blood because it's what keeps him alive. And he wants to live. And you took that away from him like he's some unfeeling dog. Henry's not the monster, Mendoza is. And if he kills Henry . . ."
Mike watched helpless as Fitzroy was slammed against a wall. The creature turned back towards Mike. Fitzroy leaped onto the monster's back, the force knocking it down.
"Run you idiot" Fitzroy yelled at him just before he was knocked into the air.
Mike was only a few feet away when he heard the scream. It was Henry's throaty baritone. And it was in anguish. He looked back. The creature had gained the advantage and although Fitzroy was holding his own, he was clearly going to lose. In the moonlight, Mike could see streams of blood pouring from Henry's face, arms, chest. His shirt was ripped to pieces.
There had to be something he could do. He couldn't just stand there and watch Fitzroy die. The vampire jumped into the fight to save him. He couldn't just run. He might not particularly like the guy and yeah he would confess that he still had a torch for Vicki. But more than anything they were partners and friends. And even if he hated to admit it, he knew that Vicki was falling for the vampire. And it wasn't some game. Coreen had told him once that Fitzroy couldn't glam Vicki. He'd tried during the whole Norman Bridewell thing. Tried to make Vicki forget everything she'd seen. But she was somehow immune, a detail Coreen thought very romantic.
"Holy Shit." Mike gasped as a memory hit him.
