Corin & Angelique (After the Fall of Night) (36 page)

“Drop the negativity right now. She’s not going to die.” Corin tore through the
gate, unable to stand the thought. “We know what he wants. We just have to figure out how to use that knowledge to our advantage.”

“When he had me cornered in the room, I got a good look at the buttons on
his coat. They’re stones with insects and spiders trapped inside. When he touched one, it moved, like it was alive.”

“There could be something distinctive about the source of the stones.”

“A gift from the devil?” Tomes figured the probability likely.

“I’d imagine something
along those lines. Maybe a spell. Just reaffirming it’s a demon we’re dealing with.”

Corin drove to one of his feeding spots and pulled the ‘Vette off the road,
parking out of view of passing traffic.

“I won’t be long.” He got out and slipped into the pasture to feed
. Now twilight, the sun had dropped below the horizon, waiting for the veil of darkness to fall.

With the setting of the sun came the eerie fog,
moving in again as it had the two previous nights. Corin, experiencing déjà vu, stopped feeding and gazed on the ominous wall of mist rolling toward him from a distance across the pasture. He quickly resumed feeding, wanting to finish before the fog reached him, not comfortable with the trepidation it brought, seeming to be an augury of misfortune. Then, sensing they weren’t alone, he closed the wound and hurried back to the car.

“I think someone else is out here.”

“It could just be a hunter.”

Corin nodded. “Maybe. But we can’t be too careful.”

* * * *

Unbeknownst to Corin and Tomes, Sheriff Pierson was following, staying far
enough behind to prevent detection. With no traffic on the desolate road and his familiarity with the area, he drove without headlights, an expert in the art of tailing a suspect.

Leaning forward in the driver’s seat of his SUV, he clicked his tongue against
the back of his front teeth, wondering why they’d pulled off the road into a secluded, wooded area. Figuring they were less than a quarter mile ahead of him, he eased closer and pulled into the edge of the woods. He grabbed his night vision goggles from the back seat in case he needed them in the dense territory, and moved in on foot, keeping to the shadows at the tree line. Reaching the area he was sure they’d turned into, he pinpointed the opening—a path cleverly cloaked by overlapping lines of woods—running several feet at a left angle then making a sharp turn back to the right, just wide enough to accommodate a vehicle. Starting up the avenue, he spotted the Corvette in the path ahead of him and quickly took cover in the woods. Making as little noise as possible, he detoured around the car, observing Tomes sitting in the passenger’s seat with the window lowered.

“Where are you, von Vadim?” He was careful with his footing,
creeping deeper into the woods in search of his suspect.

Pierson kept his eyes wide open
as he moved beyond the ended path to the backside of the woods, where he came upon a pasture. His gaze traveled into the field, catching sight of von Vadim’s silhouette latched onto a cow.

“What the devil?”

Caught off guard, he took in a sharp breath, disgusted by the thought of drinking fresh blood from a living animal.

It’s time to go.

Not wanting to chance being detected, he doubled back, slipping past the car, and returned to his vehicle.

“Vampires,” Pierson muttered, climbing into the driver’s seat. “Either Corin
von Vadim really is one of the undead, or I’m going crazy.”

Needing reassurance that his sanity was intact, he pulled his phone out and
called Patricia who was still in the hospital, but well on the mend. He knew he shouldn’t involve her in this madness, but he couldn’t think of anyone else open-minded enough to call.

“You’re saying you saw the marshal shape-shift into a wolf?” she repeated
what he’d told her.

“You wouldn’t believe the strange things going on around here, Patricia.
Things I never imagined possible. I think they’re vampires. As we speak, von Vadim is feeding from a cow. I’m afraid the whole county might be swarming with the leeches,” he rambled in agitation.

“Allen, listen to me. The first thing you have to do is calm down. This doesn’t
sound like you. You’ve been working continuously since the murders started. Sleep deprivation can be detrimental to your health. Why don’t you call it quits for the night and head home.”

“This isn’t sleep deprivation, Patricia. Of all people, I thought for sure you’d
believe me. You know how skeptical I am, but I can’t deny what I’ve seen tonight.” A single profanity escaped under his breath. “It was real!”

“It’s not that I don’t believe you, Allen. I’m just worried. If what you’re saying
is true, and you really have encountered vampires, you shouldn’t be out there alone. Can’t you at least call for some back up?”

“They’d think I’m nuts. Besides, I don’t want to get any of my deputies
involved in this mess. It would be equivalent to leading unsuspecting sheep into a den of lions.” He spotted the lights from Corin’s ‘Vette. “I have to go. They’re on the move again.”

“Be careful, Allen,” Patricia implored.

“I will, don’t worry.” He ended the call.

Allowing them
a good head start before pulling back on the road, he followed at a distance, having little fear of losing them on the deserted route. Nearing Cemetery Road, where they eventually turned off, he rolled to a stop, unable to follow them down the dead-end avenue without risk of being seen.

Why are you heading
to the cemetery?

He watched the headlights of their car bounce between the scattered trees as
it moved along the single-lane road that ran about two miles amid aged, mossy oaks until meeting up with a cemetery. Pierson had been there on several occasions. It was a secluded area, the graveyard nestled amongst a fortress of thick, entangled woods.

“I’ll have to wait you out.” He backed up
and pulled off the road. Until he figured a few things out, he wasn’t going anywhere.

* * * *

It was a fitting night for a standoff with the cemetery lying half-hidden by the mysterious, creeping fog. But the obscured view was no obstacle for Corin, he knew the grounds well, having visited the deceased there often.

Moving at a slow pace, he and Tomes
maneuvered through the multitude of graves, to the center of the cemetery where Boldor had instructed him to go. He thought it strange how the fog moved and shifted around them in a haunting, unnatural manner. He could see Tomes’s anxiety, the man sticking close by his side with the staker gripped tight, prepared for an attack. He’d become inseparable from the weapon, keeping it with him at all times, the staker proving to be an invaluable commodity, having saved his life once already.

“This seems vaguely familiar. Me leading the way while you follow with that
thing aimed right at my back,” Corin whispered. “Just watch your trigger finger.”

“I’m not going to shoot you
. I know how to handle the staker.”

“That’s a load off my mind
.” Corin tossed the words at him with a hint of sarcasm.

After taking several more steps, Corin reached back and halted Tomes. A
short distance in front of them, in the misty fog, a form was taking shape. It was Boldor.

“Where is she?” Corin demanded to know the moment he’d completely
solidified.

“She’s here.” Boldor offered no details.

“Show me she’s safe, or no deal.”

The area between them was clear, giving Corin a complete view of his
opponent who retreated to a large oak tree, disappeared beyond it, and reappeared a moment later with Angelique. Bound and gagged, she was dragged like a rag-doll.

“Fulner,” Corin snarled. The louse traipsed behind
Boldor, carrying what appeared to be a large sword and a length of rope.

“Angel!” Tomes called out and started to
ward her, but Corin placed a firm hand against his chest, holding him back.

He understood how Tomes felt, because he wanted nothing more than to tear
Boldor apart, but for now, they had to play by the devil’s rules.

“Just tell me what you want,” Corin called out to Boldor.

“What I want is your head on this gravestone.” He pointed it out. “You do that, and I’ll send this little angel over to her brother.”

Boldor glared at Tomes who stood with the staker aimed at him
, uttering a deep, rolling growl.

“How do I know I can trust you?”

“You don’t. But it’s all you have, isn’t it?” Boldor sneered. “I should have taken her life for what you did to my little firecat, but after getting a closer look, I decided it would be a waste. She’s willful, but beautiful.”

Corin struggled to control the monster rising within him.

“Enough talk! Sacrifice yourself and the girl goes free. Try anything, anything at all, and she’s mine.”

Boldor grazed his fangs along the side of her face
and Angelique tried to pull back, but he yanked her to him, causing her to cry out.

“Okay, I’ll do it.” Corin moved toward the gravestone.

Boldor snarled. “I thought you’d see things my way.”

“No, Corin! Don’t!” Angelique yelled, but Boldor
quickly silenced her with a slap across her face.

Corin started for him, but Boldor’s words quickly
halted his charge.

“I’d kill her before you ever reach me.” Boldor snatched her close.

Corin backed off and continued to the headstone, watching as Boldor passed Angelique to Fulner in exchange for the sword and rope. The fiend then snaked his way with the weapon gripped tightly, so eager to have his head he was salivating.

“I can’t believe you’re giving up your life for this one insignificant mortal. No
woman is worth that high a sacrifice, mortal or otherwise.”

“She’s worth a hundred of me, and more,” Corin declared. “Now, I’ve done
what you asked. Give her to her brother.”

“First, I want you on all fours.”

“Corin, please!” Angelique cried out again, but Fulner muffled her, placing his hand over her mouth.

“The director knows what to do should you refuse to cooperate,” Boldor
warned him.

Corin dropped to his knees, but stopped there. “You’ll have me on all fours
when you let her go. Give her to her brother, or I’ll end this now.”

A smug grin plastered Boldor’s face. Corin could see his hunger for the kill
. The devil was sure he’d already won the game.

“On your knees and still spouting orders. I do admire the fight in you.” Boldor
made his move. Grabbing a fistful of Corin’s hair, he snatched his head back. “But I’m in charge here. When you’re bound, then I’ll send her, not before.” He tied Corin’s hands behind him, pulling the ropes so tight they sliced into his flesh. “I need some insurance. You understand.” He shoved Corin down, forcing his head against the upper edge of the stone. With him bound, he pressed his knee into his mid-back to hold him in place.

“Corin,” Tomes called to him.

“Just get Angelique,” Corin responded through gnashed teeth.

“Take her to her brother
,” Boldor instructed Fulner. “But don’t release her until I give the word. This one might try something if we give her up too soon.”

C
orin choked, the stone cutting into his throat. This was to be his guillotine. An ironically fitting ending for one of the walking dead.

He managed to turn his head
just enough to see Fulner dragging Angelique toward Tomes for the handoff. But just as they’d reached half the distance, a vapory fog unexpectedly appeared between them. A phantom in the night, the entity took the form of a woman.

“It looks like I’m just in time.” The female immortal slashed Fulner across the
left side of his face with one quick motion and seized Angelique.

Fulner cried out and ran, disappearing into the darkness.

“Let her go!” Tomes yelled, but kept his distance when she tossed him a warning hiss, revealing her long fangs.

Angelique struggled against her, but the immortal was strong, keeping her in
place with little effort.

“So much commotion over this mortal?” she remarked,
scanning everyone around her.

“Lehndra,” Boldor acknowledged.

“It seems the blow of my arrival has sunk in.” She cut her piercing eyes his way. “I bet you never expected to see me tonight, or any other.”

“It
is a shock, yes. You look ravishing as always,” he wheedled.

“You can save the flattery, Karlot,” she gnarled. “You forget, I know you. There
is no chance of your charm having any affect on me. Those times are long past. I’m here for one reason only. You have something that belongs to me, and I’m here to reclaim it.”