Legacy of Darkness (10 page)

As she strode home Summer forgot about the unforgiving chill of the cold winters night as her frustrations boiled over. She was angry with her self that she hadn’t realised that Steve was a Vampire sooner, instead of letting him dupe her. She was also annoyed with herself that she had let him get away. Getting caught up in the fight she totally forgot she was supposed to be looking for Vampires whom she could question, instead she had veered from her mission statement and tried to slay Steve. Only to find that she couldn’t bring herself to do it and now he could be anywhere. All in all she had made a complete balls of the situation.

“Price will never let me hear the end of this” she thought to herself cynically as she made her way down the street towards her mothers house.

As Summer approached the front door she began frisking herself for her keys, but she couldn’t find them. She sighed in disbelief as she checked her pockets one more time. She was certain that she had taken them out with her, maybe she had dropped them during her fight with Steve. “Brilliant” she bemoaned sarcastically. She wasn’t sure what to do her Mother would be in bed at this time and she wasn’t about to go all the way back the cemetery at this time of night to search for her lost eyes.

She had no choice she would have to ring her ’s phone and wake her up so she could let her in, something else she would never hear the end of. Could tonight get any worse? Fishing her mobile from her coat pocket Summer pressed one on her speed dial and attempted to ring her Mum. But Linda didn’t answer instead the phone just rang until it went through to her voice mail. Summer tried again it wasn’t like Linda not to answer her phone even if she had fallen asleep, as normally the sound of the ringing woke her up. But not this time as still Linda failed to answer and Summer was staring to get worried as the phone went to Linda’s voice mail for a second time. Summer was struck by a terrible sense of fear, something was very wrong and she could feel it in her bones.

Taking a step back Summer launched a hard kick at the door, braking the lock and forcing the door open. Summer used her hand to shield her eyes as fragments of wood splintered in every direction. Obviously a solid wooden door and its locking mechanism were no match for Demon Hunter strength. But as Summer ran into the house she saw a horrific sight that nothing could of prepared her for.

Her Mother Linda was lying dead on the living room floor her guts pulled out and strewn across the room that was now painted a certain shade of red. Summer fell to her knees in shock throwing up on the blood soaked carpet as she did so. The stunned Demon hunter sat on the carpet staring at her Mother’s mutilated corpse for what seemed like hours but was in reality only seconds. Finally she pulled herself to her feet and walked into the kitchen. In an attempt to find some level of composer Summer went over to the sink and repeatedly splashed cold water on her face before pouring herself a glass. She gulped down the drink before taking several deep breaths and phoning Giles Price. At first she couldn’t get the words out and when she finally did she broke down in floods of tears. It was almost as if saying it out loud made it even more real. Summer Richards hung up the phone and curled up on the kitchen floor.

Price was under no illusion, from the call he had just received and knew something horrendous had happened. So he had jumped into his BMW and had sped over to Linda Richards house as fast as he dared. As he pulled up alongside the pavement he could immediately see something was very wrong as Linda’s front door had been smashed wide open. Climbing out of the car and racing towards the house Price’s keen eyes saw the lock had been completely shattered and the door had almost been knocked off its hinges. Walking inside Price saw the devastation for himself and it was truly sickening. Over the years he had seen some pretty disturbing sites but nothing quite like this. “Dear God” he said out loud as he pulled his eyes away from Linda’s eviscerated body. As he looked away he noticed something written in blood on a mirror above the mantelpiece.

“Missing you xx”

What on earth could that mean Price mused as he left the living room in search of Summer. He didn’t have to look far as he found her curled up in the foetal position on the kitchen floor.

“Summer” Price spoke softly as he knelt down beside her “I’m here Summer”

Summer looked up her face raw from crying, she opened her mouth as if she wanted to speak but she was unable to form words. Price helped the grief stricken Demon Hunter to her feet and she embraced him tightly. It was if she was clinging onto him so she wouldn’t collapse back onto the floor. Although it was hardly unexpected Price was more than concerned with the mental state of the Demon Hunter. She would be a sitting duck if the Vampire’s came looking for her now.

“Summer I know its tough but you need to try and pull yourself together” Price said as sympathetically as he could “if the Vampire that did this decides to come back he will…” Price stopped mid sentence unable to finish what he was about say

“Let them come” Summer said coldly “because I can’t do this any more, I’m through with this Demon Hunter crap”

“You can’t just give up” said a stunned Price

“Can’t I!” she responded loudly as she pushed Price away her voice hoarse from the constant crying “You and these Vampires have taken everything away from me, my life, my boyfriend and now my Mother! I‘ve got nothing left”

“It’s not my fault” Price protested calmly “This power was always in you, its your destiny”

“I don’t give a crap about destiny!” Summer continued to shout

“Well maybe you should” Price said sternly “Because its all on you, no one else can fight the Vampires only you have the ability and strength in body and mind to defeat the Vampire’s. If you can‘t or won‘t fight them then you will have doomed us all”

“Don’t” Summer warned “Just don’t. Don’t put this all on me. I can’t be some bloody superhero”

“But that’s precisely what you are” Price said softly “Look I know what has happened is horrible and I’m not expecting you to be ok with it, far from it. But you can’t just give in not now, do you think your mother and Steve would want you to give up?”

“No” Summer said shaking her head as she calmed down “They would tell me to rise above this and to carry on”

“Then that’s what you must do carry on, defeat the monster who did this. As I cam in I saw a message on the mirror”

“What did it say?” Summer

“It said Missing you and it was followed by two kisses” any ideas what that means

“It’s from Steve he’s trying to mess with me”

“Steve?” Price repeated “You mean he’s…”

“A vampire” Summer interrupted

“That certainly explains a few things” Price mused aloud “Why they never recovered a body and why you kept seeing him.”

“But I had a chance to kill him” Summer stuttered “but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. Its my fault she‘s dead”

“No you mustn’t blame yourself. This is classic Vampire battle strategy I’m afraid and I should have seen this coming” Price said as he buried his face in his hands. “If they can’t beat an opponent physically they attack the heart and mind. Probably why in your dream Lucius killed the Hunters family, he wanted to break her.”

“Well it won’t work on me” Summer said defiantly her grief turning into anger. “I am going to find Steve make him tell me where Lucius is and then kill him. Then I will kill Lucius.”

“You will need to prepare yourself” Price advised “you’re in no state to fight any Vampire let alone their leader, you will also need your weapons”

“Then we need to go back to yours” Summer said “besides I can’t stay here any longer”

“Agreed” Price said as he followed Summer out of the house and onto the street. It had been a close call but thankfully he had gotten through to Summer and convinced her to fight on pulling her back from the brink. If he had lost her then the consequences didn’t bare thinking about.

Summer woke up on a strange couch in an unfamiliar room and for several seconds couldn’t recall where she was. Then she remembered she was at Price’s house, it was light out side and Summer figured she must have slept right through the night. Climbing off the couch she stumbled towards his huge kitchen, she was parched and needed a drink. Walking into the kitchen she found Price sitting at his large dining table surrounded by what looked like a pile of antique books.

“What you doing?” Summer asked as she opened a cupboard door looking for a glass.

“Research” Price informed her “Glasses are in the second cupboard on the right by the way”

“Thanks” Summer smiled gratefully “About last night” Price said sheepishly “I’ve had time to think and I’m sorry if I sounded callous and cold hearted that wasn’t my intention. I just don’t want to see the Vampires brake you and I don’t want to see you get killed.”

“I know” Summer said “You said what needed to be said and you were right. My Mum wouldn’t want me giving up. I think I needed to hear those words last night or I’d still be curled up on that kitchen floor right now.”

“So we’re ok?” Price enquired

“Yeah, we’re cool” Summer smiled “Anyway what are you researching?”

“Our friend Lucius” Price said “In fact I’ve been looking at information about him for a couple of days now and none of it makes pleasant reading.”

“That bad eh”?

“Worse” Price said gravely “I didn’t want to say last night but I’m not sure you are ready to do battle with a Vampire the calibre of Lucius. He is the current Vampire King and is extremely old and powerful he also has a knack for getting out of scrapes. One of his nick names back in the day was Lucius the Survivor.”

“So your saying if I try and fight him it’s likely I will end up dead” Summer stated disappointment laced in her voice

“It’s highly likely” Price admitted “don’t get me wrong with time and proper training you can become a match for any Vampire including Lucius, but your powers are just too raw right now.”

“But if I don’t fight him now it could be too late and Lucius could lead the Vampires to their victory, killing everyone in the process” Summer said solemnly

“We can slow him down by taking out his lieutenants” Price offered “We both know there’s a bigger plan in progress and I don’t believe Lucius can implement it on his own.”

“Look” Price tried to explain as he saw the annoyed expression on Summer’s fate “I want to see Lucius dead too, maybe not as much as you right now but trust me I do. If you go into battle against him unprepared and half cocked he will kill you maybe even turn you into a Vampire and then he will have no one to stop him and his plans”

“I understand” Summer agreed begrudgingly

“I really hope you do” Price warned Sternly “Because without you even if properly briefed the Police and the Armed forces are ill equipped to defeat a Vampire army. They are just too quick and too strong”

Summer nodded her head silently and wondered that if the Police and Army were unable to stop the Vampire’s then how is one girl supposed to, super powers or not? Though she had a feeling all her questions would be answered sooner rather than later.

Still in his leather jacket and now wearing a baseball cap and a pair of mirrored sunglasses to conceal his face. Steve strode towards the Police station in which Summer worked. It was time for some more fun and games at the Demon Hunters expense. If killing everyone that had ever touched her life didn’t brake her then nothing would. Steve pushed open the doors to the Police station and strode confidently up to the front desk.

“Hello” he said casually as he spoke to the Sergeant at the desk.

“Can I help you” the middle aged Sergeant asked as he looked displeasingly at the brazen young man who stood before him.

“Yes, I believe you can. I’ve come to make a confession”

“What is it you would like to confess” the unconvinced Sergeant asked in the most professional manner her could muster.

“A murder”

“And who’s murder are you confessing to” the Sergeant sighed, he was now almost certain the man was just wasting his time. He would wait for his answer and if he didn’t like it he would have the man removed from the premises.

“Everyone’s” Steve replied with a sinister grin, he then punched the safety glass that the Sergeant sat behind at his desk. Thanks to his superior Vampire strength Steve was able to brake through the glass. The poor Sergeant was showered by deadly shards of the glass, which cut the powerless Police officer to ribbons. It didn’t take long for other Officers to be alerted to the commotion but by the time they had arrived Steve had already fought his way through the Flexi-Glass. He too was now covered in cuts and had tiny fragments of glass lodged in his skin. But to a Vampire those wounds were just superficial and would soon heal. Armed Police Officers in full combat gear burst through the doors that led into the main station, pointed their gun’s directly at Steve.

“Stop right there!” The commanding Officer shouted.

The Vampire didn’t flinch he just slowly raised his arms into the air in surrender. But it was just a ruse to mislead the Police. Steve flashed them a wicked smile before changing his face, letting the gob smacked Police see his true nature. Stunned by the sickening transformation of the man that stood before them, the armed Officers momentarily dropped their guard. But a moment was all Steve needed. Taking advantage of the distraction he had created he cut a bloody swath amongst the armed Police before any of them had time to blink. Their necks broken and throats slashed the massacred Police lay motionless on the floor in pools of their own blood. Steve stooped down and relieved an Officer of his weapon before carrying on through the door and into the main part of the station.