Fallen Blood (20 page)

"It means you are in serious trouble, and I cannot protect you any longer." She pulled out a cell phone and hit an auto dial number.

"Whoa, whoa whoa," He said as he stood up reaching for her, "What do you think..." He didn't finish his question before a small black canister appeared in her one free hand and sprayed him in the face. Brian's eyes burst into fire. Literally, he could see the flames flickering in his vision just before the room went black. His throat burned as well and he found the pain from both his eyes and throat almost unbearable. An inhuman growl, or shriek, he wasn't sure which, erupted from him. He could feel the cold cement against his skin, he could even hear his aunt talking on the phone still, but all of that had no meaning as long as this fire continued to burn.

"Oh, quit it, you big baby. It will pass quickly. It's just Vampire mace."

Vampire mace? Who the hell made vampire mace, and why the hell was she carrying it, or better question, why did she mace him?

"Come on, quit it. It should be wearing off any minute." She was right, the pain was already quickly disappearing, and his vision was clearing as well.

"Hurry up, we need to discuss some things." The only thing he wanted to discuss with her was how he was going to break her neck after that stunt of hers. He sat up onto his knees, and rubbed his eyes, glad they appeared to still be there. After seeing fire erupt from them, he wasn't entirely certain they would be.

"You'd better explain yourself before my eyes clear, or..."

"Or what? You want me to mace you again, perhaps with a larger dose? Brian, this is serious, you broke laws that have been set in place for generations. There are consequences for that."

"Yeah?" He said, as he got his bearings. He could see she was still sitting in the same place, and the mace was in her lap. If he were quick, he could take that damn spray and give her some of her own medicine. "I'm listening."

"You stopped a hunt."

"And that means?"

"Your little girlfriend is supposed to be dead, Brian. Now 'Edward' is on that hunting list, too."

"Well, I guess Edward better watch his back, then." Brian made a quick dash to his aunt, simultaneously grabbing her can of mace from her lap and emptying it into her face. He watched as she choked and sputtered from the stream of liquid that poured into her face and ran down her blouse. She stood up furiously, screaming at him

"
Are you an idiot
? Are you trying to
drown
me?"

"I'm just paying you back in kind." Brian said, as he dropped the hand that had been spraying her.

"Do I
look
like a vampire?" She shook her head.

Brian stepped back, looking at her as she started wiping her face and her shirt, rambling about how much it cost and how she would never get the smell out.

"You better sit right down now, boy." She looked up at him and started pointing her finger at him. "Just one more idiotic move out of you, and I'm outta here. You can find your
own
damn answers."

Fine
he thought, he had her can of mace, and he didn't seem to be injured, not to mention the pain he had felt was quickly fading from his memory. Another gift thanks to his heritage. Before long, he wouldn't even remember what the pain felt like. Still, it was the principle of the thing.

"You maced me first." He said, as he sat back down.

"You're damn lucky that's
all
I did to you.. Now, do you want some answers, or are we going to keep on playing?”

He had to admit, he needed answers, and he needed them yesterday. She knew about the werewolf and she claimed to know what was going on. So, maybe he should listen to her, but a part of him really wanted to see what it would be like to try his first bite ever on a human being, and she seemed like a good candidate at the moment.

"You're not really my aunt, are you?" Brian asked her. There were a lot of questions he wanted to ask her, but that was the burning one that really seemed to matter at the moment. If he didn't get that out of the way now, then he wasn't sure he could concentrate on the rest.

She shook her head in response to his question. "Brian, isn't there more important things we should be talking about right now?"

"Maybe, but I need to know. This is just excess baggage that needs clearing so I can concentrate on what's important."

She looked at her watch, and sighed as she looked at him again. "Alright. But let’s skip the questions. I'll just tell you who I am, and then I need to tell you more important matters."

Brian nodded.

"No, I'm not your aunt. I was assigned to provide for your mother and you."

"By who?"

"This isn't going to work if you keep interrupting me. Brian, in a short time, agents will be coming here, and it would be best if you are no longer here." She paused to let that sink in. "Now, let me finish."

Agents, huh?
He thought.
So she must have called them, how else would she know?

"I work for the government, Brian." She held up her hand to stop Brian as he opened his mouth. He almost continued with his question anyway, except for the looming threat of the agents.

She looked at her watch again and mumbled to herself again. "The government wanted you hidden until they could use you, or that's what I have always thought. I provided the food for you and the money for your expenses. By the way, those have just come to an end."

"Why?"

"Because of your involvement with Ms. Thompson, primarily. We can't hide you if you're going to help her. It wasn't our choice."

"Why were you hiding me?"

"Secrecy. You were to be hidden until you were needed."

"Needed? For what?” Brian asked.

"Aren't there more pressing questions?" She asked him while looking at her watch again.

"You mean the werewolf?"

"Yes. The werewolf is a good start."

"What is he? And why is he after us?"

"Correction: he was after only Ms. Thompson. At least until you broke protocol."

Brian nodded, already guessing that much.

"Werewolves are assassins for the Annunaki. They are sent to eliminate those that need removing and then usually they make it look like an animal attack."

Brian understood the thing was hunting and that it was looking for Heather most likely at the time, but he was surprised that a werewolf could be an assassin. Why not just send out a normal hit man, or just have some agents take care of the job? Wondering this, he decided to ask her.

"We don't use werewolves for assassin's Brian. The Annunaki do."

"The Annunaki?"

She sighed and leaned forward in her seat mumbling to herself about talking to children. "Yes, Annunaki. The immortal ones."

Brian stood up, and headed for the fridge but he asked a question as he went. "So there are vampires?"

"Yes and no."

He paused, turned, and looked at her. "What are they, then?"

"No one really knows, Brian. They just are. Some call them the elder gods. Others the Titans. They have been many things to many people throughout history."

"Vampires?"

"Maybe, and I wouldn't put it past them." She nodded.

Opening the fridge Brian pulled out another box with an IV full of blood.

"Aren't you overdoing it tonight?" she asked him.

"No, So am I one of these...Annunaki?"

"Do you think you are?" She smiled as she answered him.

"I'll take that as a no. Why are you telling me this now? Especially if you're not going to be helping me any longer."

She stood up and looked a little uncomfortable. "My bosses like to play it on the edge."

"And that means?"

"We're hedging our bets that you will eventually kill this Annunaki."

Brian's eyebrows went up at that last statement. He really didn't know what one of these elder gods were or how to kill it. He had a feeling that they didn't die easily or that it would just allow him to kill it. Assuming one could kill an immortal.

"How exactly am I to do this, and why?"

"Because, Brian. Either you do this to save your girlfriend, or she will die, and most likely you will, too."

So he could die, or at least she seemed to think so. If he was immortal, then, like this Annunaki, everything could be killed. To be fair, vampires could always be killed in the movies and books. They always thought of themselves as immortals, but long life did not ever equate to being immortal to him. If you could die, then you weren't immortal, no matter how you looked at it.

"To the chase then, how do I kill it?"

"First you will need to kill its dog."

Brian never really liked his aunt, but he had to smile at her comment. The werewolf hated it when he had made reference to it being a dog.

She continued. "Silver, when he is in his wolf form. When he is human, anything will kill him."

"So all I need is some silver and he's done for?"

She nodded. That sounded too easy, but then again, the thing was huge. Strong, too, by the way he destroyed the pavement back at that hotel. No, it wouldn't be easy trying to kill it, but for Heather's sake, he was going to have to try.

"And the Annunaki?"

She shook her head and shrugged. "We don't know."

"Great. You say I have to kill him, and yet you have no idea how I can accomplish that?"

She sat back down in her chair and looked at her watch. "Brian, you need to dream walk now."

"What the hell is that?" He was sure she meant his traveling, but he wanted to make sure for himself.

"The agents are only a few blocks away, and unless you're going to fight your way out, you need to go now."

He licked out the rest of the IV as he thought about what she said. He could kill all of them, depending on how many there were, but why risk it? If he really could actually die, then maybe he should just get back to Heather. He had a feeling he was going to get the chance to kill quite a few agents soon enough.

"Fine. I'll kill this thing if I can, but not for you or your bosses." He said as he sat back in his chair and began to relax and concentrate on Heather.

"Fair enough." She said, "we expected no less from you."

Yeah, whatever,
he thought.
Stupid government messing with my life.
He really couldn't believe it. It was like right out of some old stupid B movie. Scratch that, some C movie. Send the boy to kill the werewolf and the elder god. Except in his case, he was not just a boy, he was a vampire. That had to count for something. In fact, he realized he should have asked about others like him, but there just was so much he needed to ask, and could he even trust her? His supposed aunt? He had to calm himself. He wasn't ever going anywhere if he didn't relax and concentrate on Heather.

Her golden hair, and her shiny blue eyes. He could see her now in his mind. The curve of her rear as the towel fell away. Her soft giggle as it happened. A pop sounded in his head then there was a blurring of everything around him. All motion stopped a moment later and he opened his eyes. He was in the cab next to Heather and yet not really there. He could see that she was biting her lip and looking extremely worried. Bobby was there as well, but instead of looking worried, he looked determined. A hardness seemed to cross his face.

He needed to relax again, right here and try to travel, but this time bringing his body. He closed his eyes and cleared his mind of everything and willed himself to fall asleep. Not an easy task in his traveling form, and worse still as a vampire. But he knew he could do it, if he could just close his mind to all thought.