Bill The Vampire - 01 (18 page)

“Indeed. We, as a people, have not always lived in the shadows. In the past, several times, as a matter of fact, there has been both open relations and outright warfare between vampires and humans. Some of history's legendary heroes were actually those of great faith who waged war against us. They were known as
Icons
, short for Icons of Faith, obviously.”

“Icons? Okay, so like...” I egged him on. No way was he telling me a story like this and weaseling out of the details.

“Achilles would be a good example,” he said after a moment's thought.

“Achilles? Didn't he fight at...”

“Troy,” finished Ozymandias. “Yes, this much just about everyone knows. What people don't know is that Troy was a vampire city.”

“No way! Really?”

“Oh, yes,” he went on, “Some of our kind had to go to great pains to
convince
Homer to leave out certain details from his story. Anyway, as the story goes, this was a bit before my time, mind you, there actually was a Helen of Troy who sparked things off. However, she was just a lesser mistress to the head of one of the Greek city states. The Greeks had apparently been looking for an excuse to wage war on us. Nothing silly like 'kill the demons', of course. Troy was a major trade rival to Athens and Corinth. When an ambassador of Troy made the mistake of turning Helen, the Greeks just used it as an excuse. Forget any claptrap you learned in school. Nobody sieges a city for a decade over just one woman. This was all about gold and silver.”

“And Achilles?”

“A raging egomaniac, but also one of their best warriors. However, since his belief in himself was genuine, he was all but untouchable to our kind... an Icon. Over the years, his lethality to our kind has been twisted into a legend of semi-divinity.”

“That's... pretty badass,” I had to admit.

“Badass, unless it was your ass he was frying,” said Sally.

“Exactly,” Ozymandias agreed. “Fortunately for us, persons like him are every bit as rare as you,
Dr
.
Death
, which brings us back to what I was trying to tell you earlier. If you want to have a chance in hell of surviving, you need to play that up. There isn't a vampire within five-hundred miles who is old enough to have met another freewill. There’s no reference point, thus you're an unknown. Amongst an ageless people who are used to seeing and knowing all, that's a scary thing. It is in your best interest to become the thing that’s hiding under the monsters' beds.”

“So, how do I do that? The entire coven practically saw me piss myself with fear last week.”

“Practically?” quipped Sally. Bitch! “Don't sweat it. Everyone freaks out when they're first turned... especially those who immediately have a stake shoved in their face. The fact that you had enough sense to fight back actually impressed the hell out of a lot of the coven, not that they'd admit it to Night Razor. They're also aware that you got away, as opposed to being kept under lock and key. That stirred the gossip pot even more.”

“About that 'got away' part...” I started.

“I may have exaggerated a few of the details to the rest of them,” she said with a sly grin. “Night Razor had me
tracking
you down all week.”

“You have my driver's license! What did you need to track?” I asked, amazed at how differently my return to the vampire fold was playing out than I had expected.

“As I just said, I exaggerated a few things. You're still my problem, as far as Jeff's been concerned, so I've been tasked with the job. Thus, who's to say you haven't disappeared into the bowels of the city for the last several days?” she replied.

Ozymandias stepped in. “And now you've had a whole week to adjust and get used to your powers. The vampire who returns to them tonight will certainly not be the same vampire who escaped them out of desperation last week,” he said with a wink.

“I think I get it,” I said, not getting it in the slightest.

“Good. After this weekend, your reputation will only spread,” he said.

“How?”

“You'll see. For starters, though, you're going to have an eventful night tomorrow.”

“I am?”

“Yes,” he confirmed. “I have arranged for a little hunting expedition for you. I have reminded Night Razor that, as your master, it's his job to make sure you're able to survive... and now that you've been
found
again, he can do just that.”

“He's done a pretty shitty job so far.”

“Yes, of which I have also mentioned. Thus, you and he will be going hunting together tomorrow night.”

Uh oh. Jeff kicked my ass fairly easily last time. I wasn't really enjoying the idea of a little alone time for a repeat performance.

“Just the two of us?” I asked.

“Building castles in the sky...” Sally sang.

“Yes,” said Ozymandias, ignoring Sally's asshole remark. “You've been rogue all week. That’s problematic for him. Any carnage you cause could come back to haunt him. At the very least, you need to learn to find and hunt prey in a way that's subtle... or as subtle as we get. As your sire, he needs to show you this. If you're alone together, then anything that happens will be open to speculation amongst the rest of the coven.”

“If we're alone, he can also drag me into an alley for an all night ass kicking,” I protested.

“Doubtful, since he knows I'm in town. However, it’s possibly a necessary evil that you'll have to endure.”

“At least he can't compel you to just stand there and take it,” Sally added.

Good point. Now all I had to do was somehow spin my probable running away from him like a pussy into a positive for the rest of the coven, and I'd be all set. Goddamn, this was going to be a long weekend.

Sally and I left James, still sitting there, drinking espresso... damn that was going to be one wired vamp... and walked back to the village. As we got to within a few blocks of the loft where I was turned, Sally informed me that we were about to enter their (
our
) territory, and that there would, no doubt, be eyeballs watching us.

“Stop slouching. Walk straight with your head up and facing ahead. You need to look like you own the place,” she said

“I don't slouch.”

“You look like you're studying the sidewalk. You might as well have a sign that reads ‘
Professional Victim’
hanging around your neck. Walk like I do.”

“Like my ass is available to the lowest bidder?”

“I'm surprised you haven't made me an offer yet. You look like somebody who needs to pay for it.”

“Thanks. Maybe I should just pledge my undying loyalty to Jeff.” I suddenly adopted a sniveling tone, “Oh, and,
by the way, master, Sally's trying to fuck you over behind your back.
”

“Touché. But it still doesn't change the fact that you need to exude a little bit of this thing we call confidence when you walk.”

She was a bitch, but she was a bitch with a good point. I stood straighter and tried to put a bit of a swagger in my step.

“Tone it down a little, Superfly,” she said out of the corner of her mouth.

“What? You said to walk with confidence.”

“Yeah, but that doesn't mean you have to shuffle like some seventies pimp.”

I tried what she suggested and she finally agreed that it was acceptable.

“Oh, there's one other little detail,” she said. “Just to give things an air of authenticity.”

I was about to ask her what, when she suddenly flung herself into a pile of trash on the sidewalk. Before I could even make a move, she was back on her feet and launching herself face-first into the side of the nearest building.

“What the fuck?” I practically screamed. When she was finished, she turned back to me. She was covered in grime, small cuts, and had several bruises appearing on her face.

“Ta da!” she said with a smile. “Now it looks like I successfully tracked down the ferocious Freewill.”

Holy shit, this chick was psycho. What the hell had she and Ozymandias dragged me into?

* * *

We went straight to the loft, and Sally let us in. I was trying my best to look stone cold pissed off, but I felt it was only a matter of time before I shit my pants. If I was going to do this, I'd have to dive in feet first. Otherwise, I might find myself remembering that this was a nest of hardcore killers and start looking for another window to throw myself out of.

There were about a dozen vampires scattered around the room, far less than the week before. No party tonight, I guess. There were three vampires, a male and two females, seated on the couch. I recognized the male as one of the goons who had dragged me back up to the loft last week, following my impromptu skydiving lesson. On the floor in front of them was a dead, presumably exsanguinated, body. The vamps on the couch were all bloody, so I assumed we had entered just as they were finishing up a meal. This was the perfect opportunity... the best way to show dominance to a predator was over a fresh kill. I just hoped it wasn't the perfect opportunity for me to blow it and get my ass put through a wall.

I shoved past Sally (
who fell back with much more of a grunt than the push had warranted
) and approached the couch. All three vamps glanced toward me and I couldn't help but notice a little air of uncertainty about them. However, when the male spoke up, his voice had nothing but douchebag bravado behind it.

“What the hell are you staring at, cockface?” he snarled.

Okay, it was now or never. Guess it was time to see if that semester I put in with NJIT's drama society paid off. “My name is Dr. Death,” I said calmly.

“My apologies,
Dr. Death
!” he spat, eliciting a few giggles from the lady vamps.

“I don't believe we've been introduced,” I continued with an even, almost friendly tone.

“Name's Dusk Reaper,” he replied. Jeez, every name here was stupider sounding than the last.

“Nice to meet you. Now listen up,
Dick
Reaper. You're sitting in my fucking seat,” I said, willing my voice to be calm and making sure to not break eye contact... hey, it works for dogs, might as well try it here.

“What the fuck did you call me, asshole!?” he said, his voice rising and drawing attention from the other vampires in the room.

In my mind, I envisioned my Elven battlemage. He wouldn't take shit from anyone. He once stared down an entire tavern full of angry bugbears. No way would he back down from this asshole. I let years of role playing experience take over and envisioned that this was just another random encounter. Time to throw down my twenty-sider.