CHAPTER 7

It had been a long night. Danny didn't think that either one of them slept much, if at all. Every little sound that they had heard during the night put them on high alert.

At one point, around 3 in the morning, Danny was startled awake by a noise; a faint, scratching sound at the front window. He looked wide-eyed at the manager.

Reuben nodded grimly. "It's been going on for about 15 minutes or so. I...I think it's Keith. I haven't been able to make myself look."

Danny's heart was pounding fast and hard as he got up from the floor where he had been sleeping...if you wanted to call it sleep. "What makes you think that it's Keith? It could be Adrian..." his voice trailed off as he stood there, feeling helpless.

"I...I heard his voice. He wants to come in; he's been calling to you."

Danny's heart went from pounding in his chest, to almost stopping all together.

"What are we gonna do?"

The manager's eyes were locked on the curtained front window. "Nothing. He can't come in unless he's invited, remember?"

"Oh...yeah." Danny swallowed hard. "How long do you think he'll stay out there? He could wake up Mom or any of the other kids."

Reuben sighed. "I was afraid of this." He reached for his briefcase on the floor next to the sofa. Setting it on the coffee table he snapped the latches open and lifted the lid. He reached into one of the larger pockets and brought out a rather sizable crucifix. It shone in the relative darkness of the room .

"I guess we'll have to scare him off." He began to rise from the sofa, but Danny motioned for him to sit back down.

He held out his hand. "Let me do it. He's my brother..."

Reuben shook his head, but reluctantly held the cross out to Danny. "Listen, Danny. You have to remember one thing. Whatever is out there...that's not Keith. It may look like him, but it's not him...not really."

Danny's heart ached at the manager's words as they hit home. He was right. That wasn't his beloved big brother out there. Keith was dead. It was their job to make sure that his body and soul was freed from an unspeakable fate.

He took the crucifix in hand and slowly made his way toward the window.

"Danny. Don't look into his eyes..."

Nodding in understanding, he sucked in a breath as he reached out to the curtains. With a sudden burst of movement he ripped the heavy fabric way from the window. If he lived to be a hundred, he'd never forget the sight that assaulted his eyes and his heart.

Keith stood close to the window, tapping quietly on the glass. Any normal person would have jumped at the sudden movement from inside the house, but Keith stood there unflinchingly and flashed one of his famous smiles at him. The sharp, elongated incisors punched a hole right through his very soul.

"Danny...let me in. It's cold out here."

"Go away." Danny said firmly, trying very hard to not look into the creature's eyes. He clutched the cross tightly in his hand and felt hot tears forming in his eyes.

"C'mon, Dan. I forgot my key. Let me in and I'll make sure you're rewarded."

Oh God...this was so hard! Danny glanced up intending to just sweep his gaze over the monster that was standing in the front yard. Big mistake.

A fine mist was swirling around Keith mysteriously. His eyes were blood-red and filled with unspeakable hunger. His smile grew wider as the monster licked it's lips. As pale as he had been at the time of his death, Keith's complexion was now a very healthy tan.. And if he had been handsome in life, he was downright beautiful in death. Any flaws that he had had, were gone. Perfection to the nth degree.

Slowly, Danny began to reach for the latch on the window and the Keith-thing smiled even wider. "Yeah, that's it. Say the words, Danny...invite me in. Hurry, it's freezing out here."

All of a sudden, Danny felt himself being shoved to the floor. As soon as his eyes left Keith's evil gaze, he came back to himself and realized what had almost happened. The crucifix was torn from his grasp, then he heard Reuben's stern voice.

"GET...OUT OF HERE! IN THE NAME OF GOD...BE GONE!"

Danny looked up in time to see that the older man was holding the cross out in front of him as he spoke the words. He heard the Keith-thing hiss in fright and anger, as it began to back away from the window.

"You'll pay for this! I'll get both of you...one way or another!"

Then he was gone.

The next thing he knew, gentle hands were helping him from the floor. When he was finally standing, he looked at the man standing beside him.

"Oh...Mr. Kincaid..."

The words died as he felt his throat catch and his eyes begin to burn with hot tears. He felt the older man's comforting embrace, but a strange sound came to him. Slowly, he realized that it was the sound of his own grief, as he sobbed into the manager's jacket.

They spent the rest of the night sitting on the sofa, waiting for the break of day.

The manager was true to his word and began to make preparations at the first hint of light. By the time the sun was shining brightly into the kitchen, the duo were well on their way to the vampire's lair. Danny's heart was heavy with grief.

As Reuben pointed the car towards the far end of town, he gave Danny his instructions.

"I've got everything we need in the trunk. Stakes, a mallet, Holy Water, and these."

With one hand on the steering wheel, he reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out not one, but two crucifixes; both on pure silver chains.

Wordlessly, Danny took the religious adornment and slipped it over his head. He watched as the manager did the same.

He looked down at the cross that lay against his t-shirt. Somehow, it looked out of place, but he was glad to have it. It brought a sense of security and comfort to him. He knew that he was going to have to be strong for whatever lay ahead of them.

The manager continued, "We've got plenty of time, but I don't want to get too relaxed. Time has a way of sneaking up on a person, so the quicker we get this done, the better. Agreed?" Reuben threw a quick glance at his young charge.

Danny nodded wordlessly.

"Okay. Let's map this out then. I'll...uh...stake the other three first and then...uh...set Keith free. You just hand me the stakes as needed. You won't have to do the dirty work." He assured the adolescent boy.

Danny finally found his tongue. "No." He was adamant. "I've got to be the one to stake Keith. He's my brother, I have to be the one to free his soul." His voice was hard and even, steeling himself for an argument. He knew that Reuben was only trying to protect him, but he wasn't going to back down on this. There was no question about it in his mind; this was something that he just had to do. He gripped the car's armrest as he met the older man's astonished gaze with defiance, practically daring him to deny him of his duty.

To Danny's utter amazement, Reuben didn't say a word as he carefully scrutinized Danny's face. He returned his gaze to the road in front of him.

The sun was shining brightly as they arrived at the coven's hideout. Reuben and Danny silently got out of the car and both headed to the back of the vehicle. Danny waited patiently as the older man fumbled nervously with the keys, trying to find the one to open the trunk. Finally Danny laid his hand over the manager's shaking hands and quietly took the keyring out of his hands. A strange calm came over him as he found the correct key and opened the trunk. The contents glared back at him menacingly; four of the sharpest looking wooden stakes that he had ever seen. They gathered up their supplies and Reuben slammed the trunk lid shut. The two of them then proceeded up to the large, forbidding structure.

Once inside, they wasted no time in continuing down to the basement. Reuben went down the stairs first and went right to the covered basement windows. There he ripped the heavy coverings away from them, allowing the bright sunlight to stream into the dark,cave-like room.

"Just a little insurance." He stated, choking a little on the last word. He met Danny's gaze momentarily and quickly looked away.

They proceeded to the ornate, yet sinister looking boxes and hesitated at the first one before opening it up.

Inside lay the male vampire that they had seen in the surveillance of the house prior to the recent devastating events. They made quick work of him, his mate, who lay in the coffin next to his, and finally Adrian. Reuben never hesitated in his gruesome work, stoically and methodically placing the wooden stake over the left side of the vampires chest and pounding it home. There was a great deal of blood, which splattered across the managers dark suit and tie as the monster within the coffin opened it's eyes wide with sudden pain and anger. They all clutched at the offending weapon, but succumbed quickly to the stake. Danny helped Reuben lift the bloodied bodies to the patch of sunlight that was streaming through the basement window. They sprinkled the Holy Water over the bodies then watched, fascinated, as the bodies began to smoke and disintegrate right before their very eyes, leaving only a pile of gray ash behind. Danny angrily scattered the remains with his foot.

Reuben moved on to the forth and final coffin. Danny put his hand on the managers blood-spotted arm. Reuben wordlessly handed the stake and mallet over to the young boy and stepped to the head of the coffin to open the lid.

With a little effort, the lid came up and revealed Keith lying in slumber. He looked at peace, but Danny knew better. He silently positioned the stake over his brother's heart and paused. Then he began to recite "The Lord's Prayer." Reuben's voice joined his as they spoke the words that brought them a bit of comfort. In a few short seconds, all that was left to do was the inevitable.

Danny steadied the stake with his left and gripped the mallet tightly with his right.

"Forgive me, Keith." Danny said softly. "I love you..."

Then he took a deep breath and swung the mallet up and over his head with all his might as he cried out in horror, agony and grief.

Strangely, he never heard the sound of the mallet as it met the wooden stake.