Into the Vortex
Chapter 21
Vampires, Mohawks, and a Holey Coat
A/N (8/11/06): Just so you don't think I've forgotten about Herald Lyndsay and her vampire-hunting boyfriend.
A/N (8/13/06): I don't know why I bother continuing this story. No one's reading it anyways. And even fewer people are reviewing it. Not even Joe, whom I really need to kill. I know where he lives, too…
Rachel: About the Clydesdale. You got it. Now to figure out which chapter…I wonder, can a Clydesdale fit in a Cessna? 'Cause then they could fly him up to Virginia…that's where you live, right?
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"No. I absolutely forbid it."
"But Evan, I've got just as much experience fighting crazy psycho bad-guys as you."
"No! Lyndsay, you're carrying my child."
Well, she couldn't refute that. Her guess was that it had occurred due to a little celebration of their own after Lyn and Katie's 18th birthday party. But just because she was pregnant didn't mean she was weak.
"If you won't marry me, the least you can do is make sure the baby is safe."
Herald Lyndsay rolled her eyes. "We've been over this before. I'm not going to marry you out of some misguided sense of duty. That's no reason to marry. And I'm going with you."
Evan Faber gave her his most pleading expression. "Please. Stay here. I've got a bad feeling about tonight."
It was the pleading that convinced her. He really did care for her. He just didn't love her. And she refused to marry without love. "Alright. I'll stay. But be careful. If you get yourself killed, I'll have your guts for garters."
It struck Evan that she could actually carry out that threat. It wasn't a normal hysterical "If you die, I'll kill you." Assuming that he died from a gunshot wound or vampire bite, his guts would still be in good enough condition for her to use as garters. Rather gruesome practice, though. Someday he'd have to ask her if pirates actually did that, or if they just threatened. "Hold down the fort." He kissed her and left.
This night, the streets were oddly quiet. None of the usual night-crawlers were about. Had someone chased them away? Or, perhaps, it was a something.
Gunshots exploded in the still night air. Evan hurried toward their source. He had never been one to shrink from danger. Thus the night job as a vampire slayer.
He slipped into the alley where the shots had been fired, clutching his gun. It was loaded with iron bullets—bloodsuckers were allergic to the stuff—but would have to do against whatever foe he now faced. Six men surrounded another man. Another shot was fired, striking the victim in the chest. He fell backwards. Evan noted absently that he was some sort of punk. He had a mohawk and a trench coat.
What had happened here? A drug deal gone wrong? Whatever it was, the guy was probably dead already. Evan could, perhaps, neutralize his assailants and call an ambulance.
The figure in the trench coat stood back up. "Ye fecking idiots, ye've gone and ruined me coat!" he accused in a lilting Irish accent. "Die, bastards!" He fired six shots. All six of his attackers dropped to the ground, dead. He limped toward the nearest one—to check ID? No; he was holding the body at the wrong angle. In fact, he was drinking the dead man's blood!
Evan leveled his gun at the vampire. "Don't move, bloodsucker."
The vampire froze, muttering something that sounded like a curse.
"Drop the gun."
The vampire complied.
"Now turn around, slowly. Keep your hands where I can see them."
Light shone through the holes that now riddled his black trench coat. He kept his arms spread as he turned. From the way he acted, he was familiar with this procedure. More familiar than Evan himself. "Hello, Faber." His accent now was definitely American. No hint of Irish. It made Evan wonder if perhaps he'd been hearing things. "I'm on government business. Why don't you put the gun down and we'll talk this over like reasonable sentient beings?"
Evan noted that he didn't try to claim to be human. Too many vampires did. It was rather irksome. "What government business?" Evan asked, not believing him for a minute.
"That would be classified."
Yeah, right. "And I'm just supposed to take your word for that?"
The vampire shrugged. "Well, if you like, you could shoot me. I'd really rather you didn't—no doubt your bullets are made of Cold Iron—but the option is there. Just to warn you, though, you might not like the results."
Typical vampire bravado. As if anything the bloodsucker said could intimidate him. "And why not? Oh, let me guess. That's also classified."
"Actually, no. Just private. There are some things the government does not need to know."
"Like the fact that you're a vampire?" Evan guessed.
"I'm only one-eighth vampire, actually. And no, the government doesn't need to know about vampires. Or any other magical beings."
"So how does it know about vampire slayers?" If the vampire really did have government connections, that might explain how he'd recognized Evan. Evan certainly hadn't seen this particular vampire before. He'd have remembered a vampire with a mohawk.
"It doesn't," the vampire replied. He failed to go into further detail.
"Then how, exactly, do you know who I am?"
"Well, Faber, although for the most part you've made a good showing of yourself, you have made a few mistakes. A human friend of mine tipped me off."
"Friend or thrall?" He really should just shoot the man and get it over with; but this was the first bit of real information the vampire had let slip. Well, other than the fact that he wasn't a full vampire, but that could be a lie. Now the bloodsucker was claiming to have a human friend. That could, possibly, mean that he was a good vampire. But the human could just as well be his thrall, forced to do his bidding. Vampire mind-control was a powerful thing. Or the vampire could be making it up.
"Friend. Nobody holds Kerry in thrall. If you so much as suggest otherwise, she'll rip off your balls and make you eat them."
"And she knows what you are?" It wasn't unheard of for humans to befriend vampires—take Lyndsay's friend Bard Woggle and the vampire Corwin Vespers—but it was unusual. Although if the human was as violent as the vampire had implied, perhaps it wasn't so surprising that she would go around befriending bloodsuckers.
"Ah, no. Kerry doesn't believe in magic." He frowned. "At least, she didn't. But no, she doesn't know that I'm part vampire." Something about the way he said it made Evan curious. What did this Kerry know about the vampire? "Truth is, she was complaining about you. Seems you mistook her for a vampire and tried to hunt her down. Not that I blame you. If she has a soul, it has yet to make an appearance."
Oh. That Kerry. She'd had fangs, for crying out loud! What was he supposed to think? "She hissed at me. She may not be a vampire, but she's still a menace to society."
"She is also my friend," the vampire said. Was that a growl coming from deep in his throat?
"She almost killed me."
"Kerry doesn't almost kill anyone. She's too good for that. If she wants you dead, you'll die."
"Still, I'm not too keen on your choice of friends."
"Oh yeah? What about your own friends? Your girlfriend was arrested and almost shot for terrorism. She only survived because her pirate friends mounted a rescue. Or didn't you know about that?"
Evan could take insults against his own honor, but insults against Lyndsay's he wouldn't stand. He pulled the trigger.
The bullet struck home. It tore through the trench coat and hit the vampire in the chest. The vampire stumbled back a pace…and the bullet dropped harmlessly to the ground. The vampire cursed in what seemed to be Gaelic. He stalked toward Evan. Evan was too shocked to react until the vampire tore the gun out of his hands. "You put another hole in my coat, you bloody bastard. I should shoot you for that."
Well, that explains the bad feeling I had. Evan grabbed a handful of aconite from his pocket and threw it in the vampire's face. Like all vampire hunters, he kept a good supply of the stuff. Unlike garlic, it actually worked to repel vampires.
Coughing, the vampire stumbled back, still clutching Evan's gun. In a heartbeat, he was engulfed in flame. The aconite burned along with him.
What is this, a B movie? Vampires aren't supposed to go up in flames!
As suddenly as it had appeared, the fire vanished. The vampire stood there, untouched.
"What are you?" Evan demanded. This was no ordinary vampire, that was for sure. Maybe these strange abilities had something to do with the other seven-eighths of his make-up.
"I'm a daywalker."
"That's not what I meant." Daywalker was just a kind of vampire. Evan had encountered them before. Mostly he left them alone. Daywalkers were vampires with souls. Apollo had no grudge against them—he just didn't like soulless beings—so they were able to bear sunlight. However, most daywalkers couldn't walk through fire unscathed.
"I know, but it's all the answer you're going to get."
Well. The vampire was no more forthcoming now that he had the upper hand. "I suppose now you're going to gloat for a while because you've caught me." Just come a little closer, bloodsucker. Just a little closer and you'll never again see the light of day.
"No, not really." Much to Evan's surprise, the vampire handed him his pistol. "I've never really been one to gloat. One thing, though—leave Jacques Dumond and his crew alone. Kerry won't take it too kindly if you kill her boyfriend. And you won't change her mind by telling her what he is. She already knows." He muttered something that sounded suspiciously like, "And I'm surprised she hasn't killed him herself."
"The Menace to Society hooked up with the Slayer?"
"Someday, someone is going to have to explain that Slayer thing to me. I just don't get it. Bye!" The vampire ran off, leaving Evan even more worried than before.
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:He's taken her.:
"What?" Evan looked around wildly, trying to see who had spoken. Slowly it penetrated that the words had been in his head. He turned to find himself looking into the bluest eyes he'd ever seen. "Lyrna?"
:Yes, it's me: Lyrna replied impatiently. :How many other Companions do you know:
"You've never spoken to me before."
:Trust me, I wouldn't now, either, but this is an emergency. One of your vampires took Lyndsay.:
Evan let loose a string of curses that peeled the paint on the nearest wall. Or maybe the paint was just old. "Can you take me to her?"
:Can you ride:
Evan leapt onto Lyrna's back, and they were off.
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"What are you going to do to me?" Lyndsay asked, trying to keep the vampire distracted while she checked for weaknesses in her bindings.
"Well, after your lover nobly sacrifices himself for your freedom, I'll drink you dry." A short pause. "You do know what I am, don't you?"
Okay, like that was supposed to frighten her. "You're a vampire."
"Very good."
"You're not going to get Evan. He knows your kind too well." While she spoke, Lyndsay once again tried to use her Fetching gift to knock something against the vampire's head.
"You may as well stop trying to use your psychic gifts. I'm much more powerful than you."
"Yeah, I was just noticing that." Not for the first time, Lyndsay wished she had even a smidgeon of Mage-Gift. As far as she could tell, the vampire could only block psychic channels; true magic would still work. "I wonder, do you vampires all know each other? For instance, have you ever met a vampire named Corwin Vespers? Used to be part of the crew of the Morning Star, under a Captain Jacques Dumond?" Now she was just babbling.
The vampire hissed. "You know the Slayer?"
"Who? Vespers?"
In a voice full of hatred, the vampire said, "No. Dumond."
"Nope," Lyndsay said cheerfully, still searching for a weakness in the bindings. "Never met him. My friend has, though. Hey, I've got an idea. Why don't you go after him and leave Evan alone? In fact, rumor has it Dumond has found his Redeemer. You could get double the revenge by killing her first." From the fourth-hand information that came to her (through Captain Dumond, Corwin, and Bard Woggle), the new girlfriend who might or might not be Dumond's Redeemer was more than capable of taking care of herself, as well as anyone she decided to place under her protection.
"What would Faber's girlfriend know about revenge?"
"I used to be a pirate. I know a lot about revenge." As if those two statements were really connected. Pirates were out for profit. Revenge tended to be too costly for them to undertake it seriously. Sure, they'd beat/whip/starve their prisoners in retaliation, but they didn't usually search people out in order to get back at them.
"Good. Then you should understand why I can't let you go."
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"You sure she's in there?" Evan whispered in Lyrna's ear, peering at the one-storey modern-style house. Most vampires went for the old-fashioned Gothic-type structures—added to the image.
:Of course I'm sure: Lyrna replied.
"Can you contact her?"
:No, the vampire has her blocked.:
"But you can still sense her?"
:If you must know, I can sense him. Now quit stalling, boy. Get your butt in there and rescue my girl:
Evan slid to the ground. The lights were on. He checked out a couple of the windows. Nah, too difficult. Probably squeaked, too. He opened the front door and walked inside. Right into the vampire.
"Faber," the vampire said, startled. He backed away a couple steps. "You're early. I wasn't expecting you until dusk."
Okay, might as well try to bluff his way through this one. "Let Lyndsay go." Come closer, you bloodsucking bastard.
"Of course, of course. Just as soon as I'm sure you cannot escape." The vampire took a step toward Evan. He took out a gun and pointed it at Evan's heart. "Now hand over your weapon."
Evan carefully took out his own gun and dropped it on the floor. But when the vampire told him to hand over his aconite, he flung the stuff in the bloodsucker's face. While the vampire went into a sneezing fit, Evan stabbed him through the heart with a quick-release blade he kept hidden in his sleeve. "Lyndsay?" he called, praying he would get an answer. Please, God, don't let me be too late.
"Evan?" Lyndsay called back. Evan followed the sound of her voice. He found her bound, although the bonds looked rather loose and frayed. "Oh, hi. Thanks for the rescue. Mind giving me a hand?"
Evan cut loose the bonds and kissed her, hard. "Thank God you're safe. Don't you ever scare me like that again."
"Hey, don't worry. The baby's fine."
"I wasn't worried about the baby. I was worried about you. I love you, Lyndsay."
"Yeah, you say that now."
"I mean it."
"What if there was no baby? Would you still want to marry me then?"
"Of course I would."
"Alright, I'll marry you. On one condition. We're partners. Equals. No Lyndsay stays at home while Evan goes to face the bad guys."
"Sure," Evan agreed quickly. Too quickly. "In fact, I think we should both stay home, at least until the baby is born."
"You think that?"
"Yeah." He had a bit of research to do, on vampires who could burst into flame.
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Three guesses as to who the first vampire was.
