Ghosts of the Past XXXV
Disclaimer: I do not own Moonlight. Ownership may not be mine but I write out of love, not for profit.
Thank you all for sticking with me through these long gaps between postings. For some reason the finish of this story has been difficult and I don't want to just put anything on a page just to get a chapter out on a schedule. I hope this is worth the wait.
Chapter 35
James and Douglas Carrington had gone out to eat at a restaurant a good distance from Lake Arrowhead to establish an alibi if one would be needed. Later they had returned to the marina, avoiding the party James had set up and loaded their shotguns and other equipment into a small motorboat that had been rented under a fake name. They headed up the shoreline, cutting the motor as they neared Reflections Resort's beach.
Once they reached the beach area, James secured the rope from the front of the boat to a tree and motioned for Douglas to put on the night vision goggles. Silently they carried their guns and a bag filled with shotgun shells loaded with silver shot into the woods. James led the way towards the far cabin that they knew was Josef Kostan's favorite. There was a clump of dense shrubbery only a few yards in front of the structure their quarry occupied. Settling down into a crouch, the father and son waited for the distraction they knew would begin soon.
Right on time the first burst of light lit up the sky with a boom. When the second one followed shortly, Douglas had looked up and noticed a figure moving on the roof.
"Dad…..the roof," he whispered, pointing to the chimney area. "That's St. John."
James raised his weapon and fired just as Mick began to move away from the stone chimney. Both men saw the vampire jerk and then head for the back of the cabin. Both James and Douglas continued to fire but missed as Mick moved too quickly for them to hit.
"They brought help. Did they know we would be here?" Douglas asked in a panic.
"They're deceptive devils," James admitted. "St. John is practically joined at the hip with Kostan, of course he came along." He doubled checked their supply of shells in the bag between them as they reloaded. "Make your shots count; they're fast, so remember to anticipate their moves. I figure they will come at us from that corner, it has more brush for cover," he said, indicating the side of the cabin farthest from them. "I am sure they went out of the back bedroom window."
"Got it Dad," Douglas said holding his shotgun ready. Both he and his father had won numerous skeet shooting competitions and were excellent shots but Douglas had never hunted to kill. He did question for a moment if he could shoot to kill something that appeared human.
"Douglas," his father's voice cut into his thoughts. "Get your head in the game, here they come." Douglas looked where his father was aiming his weapon and saw Josef Kostan charge out into the open, heading right for them.
The speed at which Kostan moved towards them was amazing and made Douglas adjust his aim several times before he fired. Josef was moving in a zig zag pattern that would have made an NFL running back proud, presenting a difficult target. Both men missed on their shots as they couldn't properly anticipate where Josef would move next. Just behind Josef came Kira but she was a bit more hesitant than her sire and Douglas was able to predict her move to the right and fired, striking her in the upper arm. Crying out in surprise, Kira clutched her left arm and vamped out fully.
The entire scene in the woods took on a surreal atmosphere with the fireworks lighting the sky and shotgun blasts mingled with vampire roars to blend with the explosions in the air. James figured he had guessed Josef's next move but before he could pull the trigger, he was grabbed from behind, his gun knocked from his grasp.
While the shot to the arm slowed Kira slightly it did not incapacitate her. With an angry growl she abandoned the direction changes and charged straight towards Douglas, daring him to shoot again. The sight of the beautiful but deadly woman delayed Douglas' response for just a moment. Kira let the pain in her arm drive her forward, focused only on reaching the human. Panicked, Douglas tried to shove two more shells into his gun and then fired without really taking aim. The spray was wild but some of the pellets did catch Kira in the side, spinning her around. Before Douglas could empty the second shell into her body, Mick tackled him, driving him down into the dirt.
Josef immediately went to Kira, wrapping his arms around her to hold her on her feet. As he helped her walk over to where the Carringtons were being restrained, they both looked at Mick whose fangs were inches from Douglas' throat, ready to bite.
"Mick….wait," Kira cautioned, as they stopped beside the pair on the ground. "Dougie boy needs to know exactly why he is going to die."
"I knew you were soulless creatures," James spat out from where he was held in Travis' grip. "You don't respect human life. You have stopped us, you don't need to kill."
"That's rich Carrington," Josef snarled. "Who showed up here with silver shot and with every intention of killing us? What does that say about the state of your soul?"
"We protect humanity," Douglas stated painfully. He desperately shoved against Mick's chest, unable to move the vampire off of him.
"Douglas, say no more," James warned, knowing they shouldn't reveal anything about the Sentinels, even under these circumstances.
"Vampires are no threat to humanity," Kira said angrily. "If we were, the human race would be greatly diminished. Be honest Dougie, your hatred is purely personal. You can't stand the fact that Josef and I destroyed your family fortune all those years ago. And from what I can see…the Carrington fortune rebounded nicely." She reached out to touch Mick on the shoulder. "Let him up Mick; let's see how brave he is without his shotgun."
With a broad smile, Mick obeyed, squatting back on his heels for a moment as Douglas crawled backward, trying to get further away from St. John. He eyed his shotgun a few feet away, trying to figure if he could reach it before the vamps were on top of him. Knowing it was unlikely, he got up into a crouch, preparing to get to his feet in a hurry. Mick rose to his feet.
"So you are admitting you are Kirsten," Douglas said hoping to distract her.
"Oh Douglas, you are such a fool. Of course I am, we aren't in public here, I have nothing to hide when I know that you will not be telling this tale to anyone," she said with a laugh, her eyes glittering.
"You can't kill us in cold blood," James stammered, the words out before he even realized how foolish he sounded.
Josef smirked at the two humans, his head tilted to one side.
"Your blood isn't cold…" he said inhaling deeply. "And A negative is delicious." It gave the old vampire great delight to watch James go pale.
"Give us a reason to keep you alive," Mick offered. The sky had gone dark, the fireworks display over. "But how could we ever be sure you would keep your word? Everything we have seen doesn't tell us you are very trustworthy." He motioned for Travis to release James which the Cleaner did and then the young man collected both shotguns and moved to stand behind the humans.
James looked at his son, hoping that Douglas was ready to follow his lead. He doubted that St. John was sincere in his offer to spare their lives but he was willing to do anything to try and change their fate. If nothing else he needed to buy time and lull the vampires into being overconfident. They needed a break in concentration to be able to escape this mess.
"Give us the earrings that belong to our family and we'll never bother you again. Consider it payment for past deeds and we will go away forever," James said licking his lips nervously.
A laugh exploded from Josef and he carefully hugged Kira and shot an amused look at Mick.
"Do either of you believe a word that comes out of his mouth?"
"Nope," Kira and Mick said in unison.
"Wrong answer James," Josef said mildly. He grinned, displaying his fangs to both men. "We have no faith in your word. And those earrings are Kira's. Tyler gave them to her and that means they were no longer your family's property."
"St. John….you care about humans. What would your Beth say if you kill us?" Douglas declared, hoping that mention of Mick's human lover would influence him.
"Do you think that Beth is not aware of what we are doing here?" Mick asked in amusement. "Who do you think made sure that where Josef and Kira were made it into the media? She knows what a threat you are to the tribe and agrees that you need to be eliminated." He pulled back his coat to reveal the blood stains on his shirt. "And I happen to take being shot very personally."
James reached out to touch his son, trying to move him behind him. They had a contingency plan but Douglas needed to follow his lead. He reached inside his coat and in a smooth motion he pulled out a handgun from its holster.
"I have silver ammunition," he announced as he aimed at Josef. "Douglas and I are leaving. No one will touch us."
Both Josef and Kira laughed at his announcement while Mick remained stoic.
"You are going nowhere," Josef informed him.
In a swift motion, Josef sprang forward and grabbed the man's arm, forcing it upward. With his free hand he ripped the gun free of James' grasp and threw it into the woods.
Douglas drew his own weapon and aimed at Kira. Travis was on him before he could complete pulling the trigger. With a sickening snap, Douglas' wrist broke and he cried out in pain. Kira leapt forward and grabbed the wounded man by the throat.
"How dare you dishonor your great uncle with your hate? You wear my Tyler's face but you are not even half the man he was," she snarled and enjoyed the smell of fear coming from the man. The smell of his blood combined with the pain from her two wounds took control of her and she sank her fangs into his neck and drank as he howled.
"Kira," Mick said quietly, knowing that they had to be careful of how these humans died. Kira quickly released Douglas, the man sinking down to the ground. He pressed his good hand to his throat and looked up at her in terror.
"Don't worry Mick; I wasn't planning on draining him." She stared down at the whimpering man on the ground. "So Douglas, I guess we can be monsters when given good cause." She looked at her sire and her friend and smiled. "So how do we dispose of this garbage?" she asked.
End chapter.
Thank you for reading. This is almost over; there is just the clean up and whatever else the muse decides to throw in. I appreciate the support.