Blood of the Gods (The Vampire from Hell Part 5) (3 page)

“Rub the blood into her wounds,” I said to Death.

For a moment we watched in amazement as the blood cauterized the wounds.

Then I motioned for Grace to lift her chin.  “Are you ready?”

“Yes,” she whispered.

When I raked the knife across my left wrist, cutting it as well, Grace wrinkled her face at me and shut her eyes.  “No, I won’t.”

“You must,” Death said to her.  “You must.  You’ll die otherwise.”

“I want to die,” she retaliated.

Gently cupping Grace’s face in his right hand and pushing strands of her long red hair over her left shoulder, he stared into her eyes.

My heart sank.  The memory of Ra and my mother showing compassion for one another in my dream surfaced.  Two people in love.

“Grace, sweetheart, you have to do this.  I already know I want to spend my life with you.  Please, do this for us.”  Despite the blood splattered on Grace’s face, Death kissed her and she returned his kiss.

I smiled at Death slightly when we briefly made eye contact again.

He nodded, and, patting me on the shoulder, stepped away for a moment.

“Grace, I won’t make you do anything you don’t want to do.  But Demetri is right.  You will die if we don’t do this.  Trust me.  Please.  You won’t be like Nathan and his friends.  You won’t be evil.  There’s an alternative to those evil snake vampires.  And we’re it.  Do you understand?”

Grace slammed her eyes shut and fiercely nodded again.  “Okay!  I’m ready!”  Opening her mouth widely, she tilted her head back against the wall.

The blood from my wrist fell into her mouth and down her cheek.  I prayed it would be enough.  I prayed it would work because ultimately I had no idea what I was doing.

“Where did you learn how to do this?” Death asked as he hovered in the doorway.

“Would you get over here and hold her hand please?”

“How much of this do I have to drink?  This stuff is really warm!” Grace yelled as she spit some blood on Death’s face.  “Sorry,” she giggled.

Death glanced over at me speechless.

I laughed at his expression.  “I learned it watching Blood Realm,” I replied.  Realizing he had failed to understand my response, I rephrased my answer.  “Ashton’s TV show.”

“Oh, that’s just great.  We’re in trouble now for sure.”

I nodded to Grace again and placed my other slashed wrist over her head.  “Let’s drink a little bit more, okay?”

While Death sat with Grace, who had finally drifted off to sleep and was resting comfortably in the guest room, I bandaged my wrists, changed into a sleeveless blue t-shirt, faded jeans, and a black leather jacket, and decided to get some fresh air.  My day had gone to Hell in a hand basket, and that was putting it mildly.  “Check her pulse often and call me immediately if anything happens,” I had told Death.

“Rayea, we have to do that meeting thing at some point.”

“You wanna do it now?  Or wait and see if she wakes up?” I had asked him.

“I’ll make some calls and see if I can put them off a little bit longer.  J said I could use the ‘doing inventory/too busy’ excuse if necessary.”

So, I had a stay of execution for a few more hours and I wanted to put it to good use. I needed some downtime, if that was possible.  Bouncing out the door like a free man, I decided to make a couple of calls while I wandered around the streets of the Haight-Ashbury district and see the nightlife.  Surely I can get some privacy in a sea of tourists, I thought.

I texted Blick and few times and got no response.  Lynn, as well, did not reply to my text messages.  She was probably busy with work.  Finally, while I waited at the light next to the Golden Skull bar, I texted
Ashton
.  Was the world mad at me?  A few moments later, he sent me a reply picture.  He was in makeup and had his set of vampire fangs in.  His text said, “Sexier than a gnome, right?  xoxo.”  I laughed out loud at the picture and text message.  Ashton was the only guy I knew who sent xoxo’s as hugs and kisses in text.  When I got one of his first text messages, I had to ask Lynn what it meant.  Okay so maybe the entire world wasn’t mad at me.  I realized I shouldn’t be worried about just my circle of friends, but after the day’s events, I was dreading having to start my new job at some point, or dying, if that was the case instead.

While I sent a reply text to Ashton asking him if I could have a rain check tonight, he replied that he had to work late anyways.  I saved the image of him in his makeup and stuffed my phone in my jacket pocket.  Once I realized I had wandered past the bar and ended up near the alley on Clayton Street, I looked for a parallel street sign to see how far away I was.  It was a bright night in San Francisco and the moon hung low.  I enjoyed being able to see in the dark so well which really didn’t matter when a light was on every street corner anyways.  At night, many of the neighborhoods were lighted well.  I stopped near a café.  Leaning against a brick wall, I reached for my phone.  Time to call Blick, I thought to myself.

This is Blick at Cloud.com.  Leave a message after the beep.

Dang it!  No answer.  Why doesn’t he answer?

As I contemplated my next call, that being to Lynn in which I would beg her forgiveness for standing her up for lunch, I heard a few guys yelling in the alley next to the cafe.  Their cheers were mixed with a dog barking and what seemed to be another animal screaming.  Against my better judgment, I decided to investigate.

“There ya go, Zeus.  You want that cat, don’t ya?  Let ’em go at it again,
T
.  I want this cat good and freaked out when we release him,” I heard one guy say.

Several of the others were too distracted with the scene in front of them to see or hear me as I silently watched from atop a dumpster behind them.  I had used my vampire speed and agility to land just where I wanted to so I could survey everything.  Sneaking around the city at night like a ninja was a vampire pastime I secretively enjoyed, but I’ll deny that if anyone tells the guys.  Just saying.

The group of guys, all dressed in black sleeveless T-shirts, green camouflage pants, and black army boots, centered around two other guys in the middle of the circle.  One held a brown stripped dog by a red leash and silver choker collar.  When the other guy instructed him, he would let go of the leash so the dog could terrorize a medium size, fluffy orange cat they had obviously put in a wire cage.  It made me sick to my stomach.

Finally, when I hit my boot against the metal of the container, I had everyone’s attention.

“What do we have going on here, guys?” I asked the group politely.

The leader, who seemed to be the thinnest one in the lot of them, whirled around at me.  He was certainly displeased with the interruption.

“Who the hell are you?”

I arched an eyebrow at him.  “Wow,” I replied, crossing my legs.  “You’re one sassy punk, aren’t you?”

Several of the other guys laughed.  The one called T reined the dog in and bent down to check his wounds.  “That cat tore a chunk out of Zeus’s cheek, Nathan.  Let’s call this off, man.  I need him tomorrow in the fights.”

The voice inside my head rallied.  “Nathan?  As in Grace’s Nathan, Rayea?”

I faltered for a second when I heard the voice call my name.  “You just said my name?”

“I did,” the voice replied.

“What’s wrong with ya, you dumb ass?  Cat got your tongue?”

The guys laughed at their leader’s words.  Nathan, alive and in person.  And within my grasp.  I could take care of him for Grace, if I wanted to.  Instead, I went for the Jeremy plan of action.

I leapt off the dumpster, landing just outside their circle, inches from Nathan.  “You don’t wanna mess with me, friend,” I said.  Baring my fangs, I hissed at him.

His cloudy blood-shot eyes almost popped out of his skull, and the color drained from his gaunt face.

Nathan and everyone else fled, running for the exit to the street and leaving the dog and cat abandoned.  Taking a second look at me, the dog nodded.

“Well played, vampire.”

Telepathically, I heard the dog speak to me and then watched as he too ran down the alley.

“Zeus, the dog,” the voice inside my head commented.  “Fancy that.”

As I retracted my fangs, I knelt down near the cat.  Every stitch of his fur was puffed up.  He was trying to make himself look like a huge threat, hissing and growling at me.

“You want me to call the dog back, little one?” I asked him.

He bared his fangs at me as a response and crouched down in the middle of the cage.  A row of his fur stuck up high along the ridge of his backbone.

“Come on, you can go home with me.  I’ll stop at the Lucky Mart at the end of my street and get you some tuna.  What do you say?”

Signed,

Rayea

Grace’s Diary

***

“
I should tell you that I'm a daughter of Satan, and I’m a vampire.  But I’m not your average, run-of-the-mill vampire.  It’s kind of complicated.  Please don’t let any of that alarm you.  I’m on your side.
” ~ Rayea, the Vampire from Hell

***

September 2.  Midmorning.

Blick’s deep voice interrupted my train of thought as he returned to the front room and I hid the book I had been reading under my backpack.  It was time I got my day started.  “There’s been no word.  Just checked the networks.  Nothing.  No word from her at all.  If she was alive, no one could keep her from a computer.  Don’t you think, Grace?  She would share her thoughts.  She would find a way.  She
would
…if she were alive.  How long do we keep believing she is a…”

“Until Hell freezes over,” I spat out.  I tossed my coffee cup in the sink, ignoring the sound of breaking ceramic.  I gathered up my computer and notes and shoved them violently into my backpack.

I felt Blick’s presence behind me.  He wrapped his arms around me and hugged me.  “I’m sorry,” he whispered.  Blick was several inches taller than me so really his muscular chest hit me right along my shoulders.  I patted him on the hand.  “We’re not giving up.  Okay?”  I knew he was a sensitive soul despite his gruff exterior.  He was a wolf god, a werewolf, a hellhound.  And to his enemies, he was a fearsome sight.  To his friends?  He was big old teddy bear, and I loved him like an older brother or father.

I did not react to his outbursts.  I let him do as he pleased.  I had learned from my time as a vampire that one knows when to pick one’s battles.  Fighting Blick wasn’t an idea I would ever execute.  He was now my friend too.  He needed us like we needed him.  And after reading Rayea’s journals, I knew how they both cared for each other.  Had I not read it, I still would have known.  I saw it every time I looked up into Blick’s face, his chiseled features, his handsome dark looks.  Of course, his violent outbursts of anger meant one thing; he would move heaven and earth to find Rayea.  Blick had been worried about my maker ever since she had walked into Max’s bar, the Golden Skull that night trying to save
J
, Blick’s boss, good friend, and son of
G
.

Blick knew something wasn’t right.  He saw the destruction.  He saw the burned ashes, the blood, the clumps of Rayea’s black hair, but no body, no presence of her at all.

When she had not returned, he was beside himself.  However, he knew she was in trouble.  Demetri had demanded he stay with us.  Had he not, I would have.  I tried to hide my emotions into a stoic demeanor of a proper vampire.  I tried to feel nothing about the fact that she was gone and that we were still all grieving for her.  I tried to act like I did not care, but I could not do it.  I thought about Rayea constantly.  I comforted Blick when I could and I ignored his fits of anger.  It was pointless to react to them.  When he broke something in our two-story apartment, I simply went out and got a new item.  Had he agreed to get his own laptop, he would not keep smashing the extra ones I had bought.  That did not happen, so I went out to replace it.  To date, I was on my 15
th
laptop and I suspected until we found Rayea, the number would continue to grow.

“I’ll see ya tonight, Blick.  I’m going to take Demetri’s bike, okay?”  I pulled the book I had been reading from under my backpack, pushed it into his hands, snagged my motorcycle helmet, and raced to the door.

“What is this?”

“She would want the world to know.  And mark my words, we will find her!”

As I closed the door, I saw the stunned expression on his face.  I had given him a copy of Rayea’s online journals.  The Vampire from Hell was alive and well, at least in print.

Phone Conversation (Grace and Demetri)

***

“
Your words are my food, your breath my wine. You are everything to me.
” ~ Sarah Bernhardt

***

When I saw the call coming in on the bike’s dashboard, I knew whom the call was from.  I clicked my Bluetooth device wired in my helmet.

“How is he?”

“Don’t you mean how am I?” I asked, teasing Demetri a little bit.  I knew he meant Blick.

“How much has he destroyed this morning and yes, how are you, sweetheart?”

Demetri rarely called me by my name anymore, but I loved his nicknames for me.  Often I called him by his formal name, instead of Death, the nickname he had earned as the Angel of Death, a position he had left once the Council had told him they would be processing Rayea’s journey over to the other side and that his services were no longer needed.

“He’s hanging in there.  But we need a new calendar and some other piece of furniture I think.”

“That’s all?”

I laughed into the speaker.  Silence surfaced on the line.

“You okay?”

“I didn’t mean to do it, on this day of all days, but I gave him a book today.”

“Okay, what’s wrong with that?  I don’t see Blick as a reader.  Is he?”

“I don’t know,” I answered feeling the emotion I was attempting to hold back crack into my voice.

“Sweetheart, what’s wrong?  What book?”

“Lynn and I put Rayea’s journal entries together and released it as a book.”

I heard Demetri gasp.  “An online book?”

“No, well yes, but also a book book.  A paperback.  We released it several months ago actually when I was extremely volatile.  I should have told you.”

The silence grew.  I glanced at the speedometer.  102.  I had sped up the motorcycle, flying at breakneck speed into the overcast morning.  Finally, I could not stand it.  “Demetri?”

“Slow the bike down.  You’re probably already out of the city now.”

I looked along the highway, seeing open meadows and a few vineyards. 
Napa Valley
, I thought.  “I’m in Napa Valley.”

“I’m not mad at you.  Why would I be?  I think the world needs to know Rayea’s story and I know she’d want you to share it if she could not.  Telling Blick that is another story completely.”

“Okay, that makes sense.  I just stepped into a hornet’s nest, didn’t I?”  I pulled the bike over to the side of the road and slowly turned it around, headed back towards San Francisco.

“Maybe. But as far as I’m concerned everything is fine.  I will talk to Blick.  Looks like the fog is really bad today so take it slow driving back.  I love you.  I’ll talk to you later.”

The line went dead.