Immortal Revenge (47 page)

“You say that, but…” Shaking his head, he stared into her eyes. “What the hell happened? I keep replaying everything and returning to the point where you held a dead man’s head in your hand and a sharp bloody knife in the other. That wasn’t the Katie I knew from college.”

In a sense, he was right. She’d always been strong and independent, a woman in search of knowledge. She was still that person, but to a greater extent. She was a skilled fighter with a connection to the vampire world and now, a prophecy. The knowledge she’d gained from Kyle she could share with others. She could teach, just as Kyle had trained her. Lives were in danger. She couldn’t sit around and do nothing about it. Whether or not she was the one Hector prophesized about, she understood she had a valuable role in the future of human lives.

Katie leaned her elbows on his desk and clasped her hands together. “Kyle was a good man. We loved each other dearly for nine wonderful years.”

“I wish I remembered him more. I try, but I keep hitting this black wall.”

“Because Brandon and his partner took the memory of Kyle away from you.”

He leaned over his desk, moving closer to her. “How is that even possible?”

“When you stare into their eyes and they glow, they slip into your mind. It’s like a soft whisper, or the hint of a presence that’s not familiar to you. I can teach you how to shield yourself, but it takes time and Riker would have to participate.”

“The man with blondish hair who showed up with Andy?”

“Yes.”

“And you trust him?”

Katie took in a deep breath. “Yes.”

“You hesitated.”

“He’s…not like Kyle, but I believe he has morals and wants peace with us.”

“Us? Humans?”

She lowered her arms on the desk. “Kyle told me there are four types of vampires. There are ones who want to dominate all other lower species, ones who believe we are their source of food and that is our purpose, ones who are simply too new to understand their world and how to survive and ones who want to coexist with us in a more civilized manner.”

“Kyle and Riker are part of the last group?”

“Yes. They served this organization known as the Order of the Legacy. The goal was to educate and teach vampires to act civil instead of killing us off for food. But members of the Order changed during the centuries.”

“And their goals changed too.”

Katie nodded. “Basically. The good guys argued and ended up on a termination list. Kyle was one of them.”

“That’s why the two vampires came here, to destroy him?”

“There were three that came here.”

He gave her a quizzical look with his brows scrunched. “Three?”

“An Asian female was here. I took care of her a couple nights ago.”

“My God, Katie.”

“Somehow, they found Kyle. They destroyed him and tried to erase his existence. In doing so, they learned about me.”

“How do you know others won’t come here?”

The question had plagued her mind. For starters, she didn’t know how exactly they found Kyle. Secondly, she had no clue if they contacted other vampires or anyone from the Order to update them on Kyle’s status. She hated to consider the possibility that others might come, but they could. The grim thought motivated her to prepare for their arrival.

“I don’t know. It is possible. I plan to do something about it just in case.”

“Like what? Start a school to teach about vampires? I think we might get complaints if you do that.”

She smiled at his attempt to humor her. “I know how to fight them. I can teach people like you and Jules how to use weapons to battle against them.”

“Those acid bullets came in handy.”

“Kyle invented them. And tested them.”

“What?”

“We had to see if they worked. So, I shot him.”

Ben dropped his jaw. “There really is so much more to you. I get the feeling I’m scratching the surface.”

She gave him a smile. “What can I say? I’m a unique person.”

He chuckled and with a lighthearted grin, he placed his hand on top of hers. “That you are. You always have been in my eyes.”

The kindness in his touch, his voice and reflecting in his eyes reminded her of the times they’d dated in college. He was such a gentlemen, always concerned about her well-being. He even had decent taste in music. Had she not met Kyle, maybe things would’ve worked out between them.

Content with the progress they were making, Katie leaned back in her seat. “I’m sure you must have plenty of questions to ask me. Fire away.”

He straightened in his chair. “So we have vampires that could visit Mishawaka. What do we do?”

“Prepare.”

“And you can help with that?”

“Yes.”

He pressed his lips together and turned his chair from left to right. The thinking while fidgeting move she knew all too well.

“What?” she asked.

“This is a delicate matter.”

“I’m well aware of that. Why do you think it took me so long to tell you? But times are changing. We can’t sit back and pretend vampires don’t exist.”

“But you can’t announce it on the news either.”

“No, I don’t plan to do that.”

“Then how do you get the word out? How do you recruit people to train?”

Katie leaned over the desk again. “Between you, Andy and Jules, I’m sure we can find people who believe in aliens.”

He burst into laughter. “That’s it? Go around asking if people believe in little green men?”

“No silly.” Katie paused. The belief in extra terrestrials did seem to indicate one would also believe in supernatural creatures. Maybe it was a good starting question to ask. “Not exactly. I think we have good judgment and can work on a way to recruit people.”

“What does your vampire friend think of all of this?”

She lifted a shoulder. “He doesn’t really know my plans yet, but I’m sure he’ll support me.” And if he didn’t, he could take a hike. Given his attitude and the way he gravitated around her, she suspected he would argue with her about her plans, but eventually cave to her will.

Ben crossed his arms. “I’m curious, what did he do with the heads and the bodies?”

“We loaded them into Andy’s truck and took them to Kyle’s property. Andy had brought gasoline with him. We waited for the rain to slow, then set them on fire.”

The image of the bright orange flames popped into her mind. She’d watched the vampires burn and smiled the entire time. It seemed fitting to destroy them on Kyle’s property since they had done the same to him.

“What other questions do you have?”

“Will stakes to the heart destroy them?”

“No, only decapitation or burning will. Garlic and holy water doesn’t work. They’re immortal creatures that need blood to survive, not some evil monster. Maybe some are evil. Just think of them as a different species that exists in this giant universe.”

“Like aliens.”

She couldn’t stop the grin from forming on her face. “Remember this, we are not the only ones who have a need to survive. Humans, vampires, aliens, whatever. The question is, can we live together?”

Staring deep into her eyes, he gave a slight nod. “Okay. I’ll help any way I can. I have a community to protect and I know people who absolutely will not believe vampires exist even if they met one. If you can teach me how to destroy one, I’d very much like to learn. If you can show others, I will find them and bring them to you. I don’t think we’ve seen the last of this
species
.”

Katie rose and held her hand toward him. “Thank you, Ben.”

He stood and gripped her hand.

“I regret I didn’t tell you sooner. Thank you for trusting me.”

“Katie, I want you to trust me too. I will always be here for you. We have a history, though brief, and I’ll never forget the time we shared together. Maybe later, after everything settles down, we can go out sometime. When you're ready, of course.”

Her cheeks warmed. Yes, they’d had good times together. Could they again? “Thank you. I’ll be at the bar next Friday if you want to come by and chat.”

He smiled tenderly. “Plan on it.”

Ben escorted Katie out of the office. Although she’d left out some details, such as the one about the prophecy, Ben seemed to understand the possible threat they could have to face again one day. Moreover, she had his trust. Now, if she could find others like him, she could teach them how to defeat vampires and save the human race.

After saying her last farewell, she pushed the glass door open and stepped onto the sidewalk. The evening sun peeked from behind a cloud and shined a ray of light upon her. Happiness touched her soul for the first time in days. While the love of her life no longer existed, she had caring friends to help her on her journey. She even had a cocky vampire for back up. Maybe the ancient, Hector, was right and she would lead a war. Or, maybe not. Either way, she had work to do in preparation for more bloodthirsty visitors. Gut instinct warned her more would come.

Mary Abshire

Mary is a lifetime lover of paranormal, fantasy, and science fiction with a touch of mystery, action, and suspense. A dash of humor is always good too. While she was going through a divorce a few years ago, she came up with the idea for The Legacy series. She pictured a strong woman who was distraught after loosing her long-time lover and she wanted to release her anger. She wanted revenge against those who had destroyed her happy world. Of course, her protagonist's good friends were there to support her during this difficult time (much like in real life). As the protagonist sought revenge, she learned about an old prophecy. This normal mid-west woman came to realize her purpose in life. She was destined for greater things.
 

And so The Legacy begins…

The Awakening

Project Eve, #1

She’s the only one of her kind. And she doesn’t even know her name.

Two investigators–one human, one vampire–find a young woman among a mass of dead bodies. She has no memories, and nothing but her clothes, two receipts, and a mysterious dagger carved with the initials ‘SB’.

As she seeks her identity, SB realizes she’s unlike any other creature in the world, making her the most valuable person on the planet. And the most wanted.

WARNING: Language, violence, and graphic sex.