Tomorrow's Dead: The Julia Poe Vampire Chronicles (28 page)

Poe had no choice.  “Listen.  My ride isn’t going to be here until dawn tomorrow.” 
She gave the location where she would be meeting Rufus.  “If you guys can make it
there, then I’ll take you both.  You’re gonna have to find your own transportation. 
And please don’t invite anyone else.  My friend has a very small plane.”

“Skinheads live there,” said Jimena nervously.  “And they don’t answer to anyone.”

Poe waved at the air.  “Oh, don’t worry about them.  They’re all dead.  I killed them
my first day here.”

***

The weather was chilly, too cold for her tacky brown leather jacket to handle.  The
sun shone elegantly in Poe’s mind as she inhaled fresh air to purge her lungs of the
smell of blood and killing.  The thickening fog upset her stomach.  As surely as she
breathed there were rows of Victorians that housed leeches who abused their own kind
without sanctions from the vampire order
.  I can’t possibly go through each house
, she said despondently.  “Who’ll take care of the people until the full-blown revolution?”

Sainvire had left her.  She was surrounded by suffering humans she couldn’t even hope
to save.  Her damn outfit was embarrassing and reminded her of her crassness and ignorance. 
She missed Maclemar.  He always had the knack for making her see the shiny side of
things.  “At least there’s Christmas,” she muttered.  She still needed to track down
Percy’s presents and give Penny the attention she deserved.  Poe had been too busy
killing to pay attention to her loyal companion.

Poe’s self-pity ended when a battered pickup truck nearly careened as it made a sharp
turn from Castro Street onto States Street.  Poe quickly moved from the street to
the sidewalk.  She walked as if she belonged. 
Perhaps a custodian on an errand
, she told herself. 

The truck slowed when the driver spotted Poe and followed her pace.  From the corner
of her eye, she could see a goateed driver waving at her.  She was about to hide out
in one of the houses when the man said, “Psst!  Hey!”

Poe had no choice but to turn around and face the driver who was transporting in the
flatbed five passengers wearing fatigues.  The back of her neck prickled.  Something
wasn’t right.  The men in the back from what she could see carried no guns or weapons
of any kind.  The driver had a look of ex-cattle or drug-addicted leech. 
Take your pick
, thought Poe.

“Sí,” she said, sounding racially bugged up as she conjured her quarter blood line.

“You’re Julia Poe, ain’t ya?” said the driver. 
He’s definitely a leech.

“No entiendo, señor.  I am custodian, okay?”

Three of the soldier wannabes jumped out of the truck.  The two remaining would’ve
made Poe’s mouth water for they looked too handsome to be believed.  One in particular
sat on the roof of the trunk with his hands crossed across his chest.  The blue-eyed
looker with light brown hair winked at Poe.  His California blond friend, second place
in the beauty contest, would’ve kicked any past blond actors in the ass.

The three shorter and burlier men bent on approaching Poe didn’t worry her so much. 
“Your Spanish is as awful as your fake tan, Julia Poe,” said a smallish man not much
taller than Poe herself.

The girl was tired of pretending to speak a language she obviously didn’t know so
she shrugged her shoulders and began throwing darts from her eyes at the three men. 
“Okay.  So you got me,” she said.  That was when her hands dug for her guns in her
holsters and shot the three weaponless walking dead in the head before they could
even blink.  When she pointed her guns at the handsome devils in the back of the truck,
she found that they’d disappeared.

The leech driver flattened himself on the seat but Poe, without looking, stuck her
hand through the window and fired two shots.  Her worried eyes roamed the street. 
The two day vamps had disappeared. 
The runaways must have more power than the three I killed.

Heads from windows along the street watched her as she tried to figure out what to
do next.  Some custodians waved at her.  Leeches flipped her the bird and yelled profanities,
disturbing her concentration.

“Shut the hell up!” shouted Poe.  “Or I swear I’m going to bust into your houses and
shoot your balls off!”

She felt wind on the back of her head, and she turned around to find a smiling cutie
waving at her.  “My name’s Earl,” said the handsomest tan halfdead she’d ever met. 
Surrender your guns, and no one else needs to get hurt.”

The hell?
She pointed the gun at the vamp and pulled the trigger.  Without even moving, Earl
caught the whizzing bullet in his hand like snagging a ping pong ball.  “Oh, shit,”
said Poe out loud.  Sure that he would miss at least one bullet, she emptied a full
clip on the man, but she was wrong.  He caught all of them with a wicked smile on
his face. 

Blondie landed in her blind spot. 
Kill one of them at least,
she thought.  Poe was chagrined that she didn’t see the flying day vamp’s look of
surprise as her bullets hit him in the nose and heart for she had locked her gaze
on Earl.  He fell dead by her feet. 

“I never liked him anyway,” said her blue-eyed foe.  “Too vain.  Anyway, are you ready
to give up?”

“Hell no,” said Poe, pointing a gun that contained at least eight more bullets.  “Just
get away from me, you ugly son of a bitch.”

His eyebrows rose.  The vampire with neck-length hair obviously had never been called
ugly before.  “Wow.  I like you, Julia Poe.  You’re spunky, pretty, and you killed
every single bastard I work with.  Thanks!  No need to waste bullets on me.  I’m on
your side.”

Poe shook her head disbelievingly.  “Say again?  I thought I heard a big fucking lie.”

“I’m Earl.  I work with the underground.  We’re supposed to take you to the Council
chambers, but it seems you killed almost all of us.”  She looked him up and down,
studying his uniform and blue beret, and scoffed.

“Do you think I was born 20 seconds ago?  You’re the enemy if I ever saw one.”

He tucked his brown hair behind his ear.  “You’re prejudiced because I’m ugly.  Well
I’ll tell you something.  My sisters work for the Council, and they’re in trouble. 
If I don’t turn you in, it will confirm Nesbitt’s suspicion that they’re working with
the underground because Sainvire forgot to decapitate them along with the other four
Council members.  I have no choice in this matter, cupcake.  I’m sure Sainvire will
turn up to get you.  He’s good like that.”

“You want me as bait?”

“Not me, Julia.  Nesbitt.  He wants Sainvire, and he wants you.  I’m hoping your boyfriend
would get you and we can finally wrestle Nesbitt out of his damn golden throne.  In
the meantime he has lots of soldiers on his side, and we don’t want humans or good
vampires to get hurt.  Bradley and Jane know of this plan because I spoke to them
this morning.  They’re ready to take over tonight if, and only if Nesbitt thinks he’s
getting the two of you.”

“That is the biggest bunk I’ve ever heard of!  Sainvire’s probably gone now.  I don’t
know where the hell he is.”

“Having a spat, eh?” he said, grinning.  “Maybe you can consider going to the prom
with me after this whole mess is over.”

She was nearly hyperventilating.  To believe Earl was to be utterly and irrevocably
stupid.  “I don’t date canines, so forget about it.”  Her gut told her he was telling
the truth.  “Who are your sisters?”

“Sara and Mina.  They’re twins, and they’re both part of the Council or what’s left
of it.  They’re powerful vampires where I’m only a halfdead.  Sainvire didn’t touch
them when he went after the other three Council members because he knew they’re with
the underground.  But like I said, Nesbitt is on to them, and I need to bring you
in to show my sisters are nothing to be fussed over.”

Poe handed her guns to Earl.  Her face was stoic.  If she was making a mistake, she
could have Sainvire and herself killed.  She pointed at the gun in his right palm. 
“If I come out without any of my limbs, I want you to shoot me in the head, alright?”

He nodded.  “I promise.”

“Pull the body out of the seat, will ya?  I’m allergic to leech blood.”

Earl tucked the guns in his military jacket and pulled the leech from the car.  He
found a spool of bubble wrap in the back of the truck and covered the front seat with
it. 

Poe went around the car to the passenger side and let herself inside
.  Let me do the right thing, Sister Ann.  If this vampire is lying, I’m gonna end
up getting Kaleb and the underground killed.

T
HE
HALFDEAD
E
ARL
DROVE
through milky fog without hesitation.  His half-vampire sight penetrated the thick
fog San Francisco was known for.  A smile lingered on his lips, and Poe had the urge
to slap it off his face.  Already she regretted agreeing to the word of a halfdead
whose sisters were Nesbitt’s Council members.  When Kaleb had slaughtered four Council
members, he didn’t mention Sara and Mina.  Perhaps the sisters hadn’t been around
when Sainvire went on a rampage.  For all she knew, Earl’s family was waiting for
her arrival at City Hall.  She glanced out the window and narrowed her eyes.  Even
in fog the city had class. 

Like falling off a cliff, the truck lurched and flew, hitting the ground seconds later. 
While the chassis bounced Poe reached for her weapon but the gun wasn’t there.  Poe
couldn’t help it.  She eked out a girly scream, and Earl whooped as he rammed his
foot on the gas.  “Fuck a duck!” cried Poe.

“This is Filbert Street, Julia Poe.  The steepest street in San Francisco.  Some say
it’s 22
nd
Street, but don’t believe it.  I thought we’d take the scenic route before going
to the Civic Center.”

Poe ought to have been annoyed, but the feeling of plummeting to her death invigorated
her.  Strangely enough, all fear and worry left her mind.  “Let’s try 22
nd
Street, why don’t we?” she said, inhaling deeply and exhaling her chicken ways.

“Sure.  Hopefully everything’s coordinated.  Bradley and Jane must’ve rallied their
supporters and rehashed their plans with my sisters.”

“Why is your entire family helping the underground oust Nesbit?” asked Poe.

“It’s in our blood I suppose.  Pardon the pun.  Our parents were Bohemians from the
1920s who dabbled in vampirism when they learned about a cult called the Spring of
Life.  Mother turned all three of us and regretted it right away.  We were just blooming
into our adult lives, enjoying the perks of life, and were literally forced into the
vampire club.  Maybe I only half-turned because I was a kid.  We’ve never forgiven
her for cutting holes in our heads and spitting blood in our brains.”

“What happened to your mother?”

“She’s dead.  Flung herself into the sun.”

“Oh,” said Poe awkwardly.  She had nothing more to say about that topic.  “Your sisters. 
Why the heck did they ever join the Council?”

“Mina and Sara are strong.  They can fly and have the strength of a rhino.  I’m the
runt of the family.  Because of the way we were raised, we tend to ask a lot of questions. 
My sisters hate being on the Council, but that’s the only place they could make much
of a difference.”  He turned toward Poe and smiled.  “They’ve been working with the
underground for 10 years now, and the time is right to destroy the old ways and begin
again.  Sainvire knows them very well.”

Poe refrained from screaming again when Earl floored the gas, flew into the air on
22
nd
Street, and hit the ground with the shocks violently taking a beating.  “How was
that, Julia Poe?”

“Fucking great, Earl!” said Poe with a grin on her face.  “And call me Poe.  Let’s
go again.”  Questions left her.  She wanted the thrill of dying because she knew death
was a distinct possibility that night.

“No problema,” he said.  He made a u-turn and lugged the truck up the hill.

After four soaring adventures on 22
nd
Street, Earl parked on the sidewalk.  “Time for you to show me the roadmap, Earl. 
My head isn’t ready for the spike, so I won’t go unless I hear a coherent plan.”

“Fair enough,” he said as he faced Poe’s weary look.  “Jane’s people will replace
the custodians on the building, and they’ll be armed.  There’s about 20 guards around
Nesbitt at all times, but they’ll be called in for a meeting.  Goodbye to them.  Again
they’ll be replaced by our vamps.”

“What about the vamps in the basement?  Walking upstairs at sunset?”

“Our vamps will behead them until there are no more hindrances to the overthrow. 
You see, ex-cattle, reformed leeches, halfdead, and vamps for the cause have infiltrated
the Council.  My sisters will take care of Nesbitt if Sainvire doesn’t get to him
first since you’re the bait.”

“Where is he anyway?” asked Poe nonchalantly as she studied a bay house like a real
estate agent.

“He’s blowing up the last of Nesbitt’s toys.  Don’t worry, he hasn’t deserted you,”
said Earl, his ocean eyes twinkling.

“Of course he hasn’t deserted me!” she cried.  “He can’t live without me.”

Earl nodded seriously.  “I can see that.  You and Sainvire make quite a pair.”

“Can’t I have my guns with me for protection?” asked Poe to change the subject.

“Afraid not.  We have to make your captivity authentic.  We haven’t seen Nesbitt use
his powers because all he has to do is work his brain into a fever and order someone
to carry out his plotting, but rumor is he’s something to behold.  We don’t want to
take the chance.  But you’re certainly welcome to your wrist knives.  I don’t want
to leave you completely powerless.”

“That’ll do.  Thanks,” said Poe.  She was silent the rest of the drive to the government
campus.  She thought of Sainvire and their conversation the night before.  She had
accused him of leaving her behind to be tortured by Quillon Trench.  Her words hurt
Kaleb, and worse, her blame was truly unfounded.  Trench was the bad guy.  He was
the one who had tortured her and not Kaleb Sainvire who have sacrificed his life for
her.  Suddenly she wanted to weep, but it wasn’t the proper place or time.