The vampires retribution, p.31
The Vampire's Retribution, page 31
Lukas pulled himself off the couch. His feelings were all over the place. But he wanted to trust her. He really did.
****
An hour before dawn, Miles parked in the underground garage beneath his building. Four vastly different individuals took the elevator to the penthouse. He turned on the lights and went into the kitchen to make a pot of coffee. Alana followed. “Where’s Mamma B?”
“I sent her to the Georgian Estate in Hampton Hill. Deepa Chandra, my counterpart in Europe and she go way back. In the event our rescue backfires, I want her as far away as possible.”
“We can do this; you know we can, Dad. The Georgians are backing us. Michael’s done them a major favor. The Sovereign Council has agreed to heal him, whatever that means.”
“Alana, nothing’s changed. He still is what he is.”
“He’s a mystically enhanced vampire. He has a soul and a conscience.”
“He is still a vampire.”
“There’s no such thing as a dumb Italian brunette, Daddy B.” She gave a thin smile. “And what he is and what he’s done won’t change my mind or my heart.” Her bright hazel eyes flared. “I’ll get him out. Cesar has a private plane waiting at Teterboro. We’ll all be in Italy this time tomorrow.” He nodded a few times. “Look. I didn’t fully understand this healing ritual Zia talked about. Which reminds me. She sent something. Doc Chamberlain has to use it on him as soon as we’re over the Atlantic Ocean. This is all going to work out. I feel it in my bones.”
“That’s good enough for me, honey.” He hugged her tight. “I’ve missed you, Alana. Celia begged us to join the two of you for Easter, but neither Laura nor I could get away, and you know how I hate to fly. How’s Rosa doing? Still cooking up a storm?”
“Ugh… I think I’ve gained five pounds since September,” she said as he poured her a cup of coffee. He hoped to God she was right about this plan working. Because Michael’s son looked beyond terrified.
****
Celia beamed when they entered the living room. “I’m so relieved that Dad got him to eat, I mean, he practically inhaled that turkey sandwich. Oooh.. and he even took a shower. Thank God my visions are accurate. He said the jeans and the T-shirt fit perfectly!”
“So, where’s the dream journal?” her sister quickly inquired.
“I-I don’t have it all sequential yet. There’s nothing in it that’ll help get him out. Michael knows he’s been poisoned.” She had to stop the twenty questions Ally was known for because they would lead to the content of Michael’s dreams, which couldn’t happen. “Philip’s shift is almost over. We created a great persona that he balked about, but I’m sure it worked.”
“You’re holding out on me, Celia B, I know you are. But you’re going to hand it over, sooner instead of later.”
“As sure as the sun sets while we’re sipping some sweet red wine in Portofino!”
Lukas walked into the living room. His blond curls dripping wet, and just as she planted the thought, he flopped down right next to her on the sofa. “You’ve got to feel a teeny bit better now, right?”
The pout turned into an angelic smile complete with the deepest dimples Celia had ever seen. “Yeah. Neat T-shirt.”
Her sister took a sip of coffee and placed it down on the glass table next to the recliner. “Okay—tell me everything.”
With a little psychic assistance from her, he started to talk. Seated at the dining table her father, the consummate researcher, began to take notes. Incredible, Celia thought as he spoke.
His explanation is almost word for word in Michael’s fantasy about what happened to the Hell-beasts in the passageway. Chills danced down her spine. She couldn’t wait to tell Thorn how accurate this part of his dream had been. As for her sister? Sitting in a living room chair across the coffee table—she picked up strong vibes of terror and fascination at the same time as Lukas told his story. And when Lukas reached the end, Ally looked speechless.
He gave a slight shrug and kept his arms hugging his knees. “When do I get to, like, talk to him?”
She nudged his shoulder with hers, saying, “Soon, sweetie. Very soon.” But his edginess came at her like a monster wave. He was fully uncomfortable talking about what happened nine nights ago. He didn’t use “father” or “dad” …just Michael. Ally had to have noticed. Maybe he’d be more comfortable talking alone with her father.
No one spoke for a full minute. And then Lukas said, “I did what you told me to do. I didn’t leave the place.” She gently bumped his shoulder again giving two thumbs up and a proud smile. But his attention slid back to her sister. “Miles says you were, like, Michael’s special Guardian or something.”
Ally opened her mouth to speak just as she blurted out, “Philip’s out and on his way, Dad.”
Her father put down his pen. “Perhaps we can give my daughters some time alone to talk. Come help me prepare breakfast and I’ll explain who Philip is and how he’ll help us.”
With a slow, “Yeah…sure,” he followed her father out and the kitchen door swung closed.
The smile faded from her face. Ally’s as well. Her sister was suddenly sitting next to her on the couch whispering, “Want to hear the plan—or have you already plucked it out of my mind?”
Her reply was an open look of admiration. “I think it’s so simple, Ally, that it’s ingenious!”
Chapter 44
Rescue
“You did good, Phil, and half the night’s over.” Denny Kim laughed, “Jeez, for all that fluff in your head, you really got this down faster than even Big J did—and he’s one hell of a smart guy!”
“Thanks a whole bunch, Mister Kim.” He gave a huge grin. “I went home, and my friend helped me study. We just moved to this fab condo in Fort Lee. Oh, I almost forgot, I brought you a slice of cherry cheesecake.” He pointed to the plastic container on Denny’s desk.
Denny scratched his head. “It’s my favorite. Isn’t that something?”
Denny ate it at 3 AM, got up from his desk, and Philip caught him before he hit the floor, down for the count. At the same time, the “temporary” security supervisor checked his watch. At 3:15 there’d be a pre-recorded CD confirming how everything had been routine during the dead man’s shift. Philip would have three minutes before the back-up alarm showed an elevator door open.
He scanned down the clipboard charting statuses and times until he got to Number 5027. Next to “Second Rotation” he noted: Rapid Deterioration. He replaced the clipboard on the desk and got the metal gurney. After unsealing 5027, the ex-Guardian lifted Michael onto it and wheeled it down the hall. He didn’t think he’d ever get what the mystically enhanced vampire looked like out of his mind.
As the elevator reached the loading dock, he placed a piece of duct tape over the motion sensor. When the doors opened, Philip started the countdown.
A delivery truck had come from the food service company to refill the vending machines. Of course, they were an NWT subsidiary. Not so tonight.
Miles waved to the guard after he backed the truck to the dock’s freight elevator, conveniently blocking the man’s view from his station. He climbed down from the cab and slid up the back door of the truck. As the elevator doors opened, the researcher stood to the side looking at a clip board and scratching his head.
Lukas had to wait patiently until he heard the elevator motor. It was his job to jump onto the back platform and take the gurney from the ex-Guardian and get it to the truck where Alana waited. As she lifted Michael into the open back, Lukas pulled a body bag containing a sedated vampire and placed it on the gurney, then ran it back to Philip. As the elevators closed, he sprinted into the back of the truck. Pulled the heavy backdoor down.
No one said a word. No one deviated from the plan.
Miles made a show of going to the back of the truck and securing the back, even though it was already down. He scratched his head again, climbed into the cab and started the engine. Slow to pull away, he reached the guard station some fifty feet away.
He threw the truck into park, saying to the guard in a perfect Staten Island drawl, “Wouldn’t ya know it? Just my rotten luck tonight. They loaded the wrong order. But I called and Dispatch has another truck on its way, okay? Hey, sorry, my man. Listen don’t let them know about this screw up, okay? I’ve got a sick wife at home and a bitchin’ pile of bills, ya know?”
A look of disgust swept across the guard’s face. “Things are fuckin’ nuts here. A friggin’ mix up like this might get me fired, too. You sure? Cause I got two kids in college.”
“Nah…we just keep this between you and me. I swear on my dead mother’s grave, man, may she rest in peace. Another truck’s on the way. He put the truck in gear and drove out the gates. As he signaled a right turn by the light, another company truck had its left turn signal on. The two drivers waved to each other.
****
Hours later, Philip roused Denny from his sleep. He had the chubby man sitting at his desk. The drug had allowed him to plant vivid images in Denny’s head. Taking Number 5027 to the incineration room, doing what Denny liked best, feeding him to the fire…and of course, cleaning out worms from the cell. All Clayton would find was a pile of fine dust which would be unidentifiable.
“Shit, Mister Kim, that was some kind of high!” He held a look of admiration. “The way you just stuck your fingers in his eye sockets to gouge them out! You are just so strong. And the way you used the pliers to yank out that fang you got in your pocket. Wow. Just wicked.” Denny’s eyes latched onto the empty gurney behind him in the hall. “Oops. I’ll get that back in a few. Boy, this shift really flew!”
Denny shook his head, checked the fang in his breast pocket, and then smiled proudly. “What’d I tell you, Phil? I bet you don’t get to have fun like that in those Village bars, right?”
“No sir, I sure as hell don’t. And the way you cleaned out that cell. I hope I was enough of a help,” he added with a good stroke to Denny’s ego.
Scratching his head, Denny replied, “Oh yeah, sure-sure, you caught the worms. The lazy bastards on dayshift, they don’t like to clean up so fast. I see it differently. Wash the worms, then see them burn!” Denny gave a snort. “You know, Big J says I could be a star with my rhyming. Maybe there’s a market for a half-Asian rapper who sees this kind of shit, ya know?”
Philip Segallo had played his part like a pro. When he finished his shift the morning sun streaked the spring sky. Alana’s strategy was flawless. The Champion was safe.
Chapter 45
Salvation
The luxurious jet, owned by Medico Research Labs, was over the Atlantic Ocean. It had two bedrooms, each with their own bathroom, and a gorgeous sitting area with plush couches and chairs that reclined. Thorn sat with Celia, engaged in quiet conversation, the majority of it non-verbal. His smile lit her heart. “I like your idea better. Leave it all in but slide over the sex in a clean way. The Council doesn’t need to know that part. Give it the “I need you; I want you” old-fashioned voice of his, even though it has drama queen written all over it. Besides, if we share those sex scenes, he’ll come after both of us.”
“All right, I’ll help you do this, but it’ll cost you,” she replied to his thoughts with a devoted grin. She rested her head on his beefy shoulder. True, he had dropped more than a few pounds, but the auburn curls she loved to run her fingers through were still there. She asked another question.
“No, he won’t walk away from her again. Her mission’s over. Alana’s free to live her life. I’d also say he’s scored big with the Sovereign Council because of what he did. That slip-up with her almost seven years ago shouldn’t figure into their decision to protect him and the kid. I don’t see any problems. Adding to it… Closed portals on an entire continent? Ruining NWT? Clayton is crab meat for the other continents’ sorcerers, once they think he had this bad boy vampire barbequed. That’s another plus.”
“What if they won’t let Alana be with him? What if they just see the vampire part…without consideration for the mystically enhanced—” Celia whispered.
“Sovereign Council members are the purest souls that still walk this good earth. They’ll be fairer than fair. He could have avoided all this by just humbling himself in front of the Council. Instead, the arrogant thick-head took a wrong turn. I swear I can’t wait to get my hands on him.”
Her stomach flipped seeing such uncharacteristic irritation in the man she loved. “And poor Lukas… So much pain and confusion in him. He just needs time to heal.”
“I’m glad someone can read that kid, because I can’t get a glimmer.” Their conversation wasn’t meant for Lukas’s ears. “You think it’s going to end for the kid like it did in his father’s dream?” He shook his head. “No, dearest, but Michael’s going to have to do some serious soul searching. He’ll be good with the kid.”
“I’m totally curious. What parts of Michael’s dream of survival were truths?”
“I honestly don’t know.” He gave a long moan. “Let’s try to separate his sensual fiction from what we know is reality. Helena let Michael see many things, and I doubt an angel tells lies. But this dream wasn’t your every-night variety. It was one incredible, mystical mind-trip. The poison jacked it up a bit—like his punishing mini-scenes. That was guilt talking. They creeped me out, especially the rats.” They both shivered. “But is everything going to unfold the way he dreamt it? Can’t happen… The inconsistencies are obvious. Lukas didn’t get to him in the alleyway, and I’d never cut my hair short and lose the curls because you love them.” She positively loved his shy smile. “Plus, as we both know, I’m not a demon.” But his expression turned grim. “All right, let’s say there are grains of real-world thrown in. Helena chose him for this “I’ll let you see your soul” experiment because there’s an ancestral connection, a bloodline to regenerate. A lineage link exists. But as for healers making him human again? I do not think so… Only God alone could pull that one off. The fact that I was able to see every thought is definitely a Heaven-sent intervention. I usually grab one and then I’m out…but so many days of melodrama? I guess my mission includes going wherever he goes.”
“You picked up some pretty out of the ordinary stuff, by the way.”
Thorn shrugged. “Helena helped him keep his mind intact as long as possible. Even going back to the battle… It’s a miracle one of those Hell-beasts didn’t go for his heart.” He kissed the top of her head.
“His fantasy was picture-perfect, but it did have many flaws.”
“Your entire family has known for a long time how much we love each other. Michael never saw my feelings for you.”
“So what he didn’t know about Lukas, Alana, or any of us, his imagination filled in the blanks.”
“There you go,” he whispered switching to non-verbal. “I still can’t get over the fact that he actually believes I am a demon. It just hurts! Definitely a drama queen…and a bad one. He may look young, but he thinks with a centuries-old mind like he’s stuck in the Romantic Era—Chopin, Liszt, Browning, Dickinson. Long live that kind of passion.”
Thorn shook his head, addressing her silent question. “I don’t see any heart-gouging showdown coming. Clayton will be dead in days. Michael made it out, well, I won’t say alive, but very undead and still sort of kicking.” He paused. “I know you’re feeling just how really annoyed with him I am. I’m sorry… It’s too strong to shield. He’s got a lot to answer for with me. Just to put the fear of God in him, I should sling him over my shoulder and smack his ass good and hard. That arrogant son of a bitch pulled the wool over my eyes and drugged me! I never saw it coming.”
“You wouldn’t have been able to help him in the battle. It’s not your mission.”
“Yeah, but believe me, I’d have stopped him from doing something so unbelievably stupid. I’d have pulled the plug on his plan before anyone got hurt. Michael’s in trouble—and I don’t mean the physical kind.” He wasn’t playful anymore, pulling her close, both of them thinking about two friends who were gone. “Clayton could have let them go. He killed Rob and Dan, you know… after they took out the Summoned Six. At least the Guardians got their bodies back for a proper burial.”
Tears began to well in her eyes. “Please stop. I can’t talk about them yet.” She swiped at the corners of her eyes. “But Michael does respect you, Thorn.”
“I know. The good sisters will heal him, I’m sure. Michael will help the kid put his life together the right way, without magic tricks. That was his biggest mistake.” Then his eyes drifted down.
“What about Ally?”
“Alana, ah…dearest Alana… She has a lot of soul searching to do.” That was all he said but she sensed some kind of internal conflict as well. What amazed her was the amount Michael had figured out. Many details were twisted, but solid facts were there. This would be a challenge and it’d be interesting to see which parts were fantasies, which parts premonitions.
****
Miles sat across from Lukas Malone, who was sprawled across the leather sofa, watching him click away on a laptop. He looked innocent enough, but anything could set him off. With such unnatural strength, talking him out of doing something rash was always his first thought.
“What are you writing about me? That can’t all be about my…about Michael.”
He let it slide that the word ‘father’ hadn’t come out of the boy’s mouth yet. “Why don’t you have a look?” Lukas moved next to him and started to read.
“That’s what happened at the brownstone.”
“Yes. Did I get it all down correctly?” he asked hoping to engage.
“Looks good to me. Creative Writing is my favorite class in high school.” Then Lukas paused, turned away, and mumbled, “I’m not going back to my school. I’m not going back to my happy life.”
