Melabeth the Vampire (14 page)

Well, so much for a place to stay. Plus I can’t really do this to David; he has enough on his plate without worrying about taking care of me. I still need to figure out where I could stay so I could hunt down the bikers.

I looked over at Carrie; I was glad she was with me, “Thank you Carrie, for watching out for me.”

“What are girlfriends for sweetie?” Carrie said with a big grin.

That reminds me, “I read David’s journal. I can’t believe you went behind my back and warned David about me.”

“That’s low, reading a boy’s journal.” Carrie said with fear in her eyes, “you mad?”

I wasn’t mad anymore. “No, I understand why you did it. You were trying to be a good friend to David. Just don’t forget what side you’re on.”

“The
n you don’t know why I did it,” Carrie said defensively.

“Why did you do it?” I replied with wonder.

Carrie looked at me with the most serious face I have ever seen on her, “because silly, I saw how you looked at him, and I was a little afraid you were going to screw up and accidently hurt him. Then you would have had a hard time living with that. You need your revenge, not drama.”

I was taken aback with what Carrie had said. “
Thank you Carrie; I misjudged you.”

“It’s ok.” Carrie smiled, and then she hugged me.

Me and Carrie talked a little bit longer, mostly about how I felt about David. Carrie was sure I was in love. I was sure I would like to wring her neck if she didn’t leave me alone about how I felt.

I decided that I needed to eat. First things first, I would go out and meet David’s family. I know this could go bad, but I have two reasons for doing it. First, I had to say goodbye to David; second maybe these witches would know something about vampires, or, better yet, maybe they would know where I could find some other vampires.

The Report

A
t this rate, I will be here all night typing these reports
.

And now the phone is ringing; will it ever end? “Hello, this is detective Alex McDonald speaking. How can I help you?”

“Alex, you have a minute?”

A very familiar voice, my old friend Tony Abbott, he was the leader of a local witch coven.  “I can make a minute for you Tony. What’s going on?”

Tony said, “Well you probably have heard of the three murders near the Inland Mall by now.”

“Yep” all afternoon the guys in the department have been going on about them. “Not my case.”

“Is now.” Tony responded.

“Damn, are you telling me this was supernatural?” As if I weren’t buried alive with enough cases caused by humans.

“That’s what I am saying; I am guessing you haven’t heard the details in this case. If you had, you would have been expecting this phone call.”

“All I heard was the official version. Three men killed in an alley, most likely a gang fight.” I worked in a
local police station, and the local police were never told the truth about these cases, not that they would believe them anyhow.

Tony said with a small laugh,
“They are not even original anymore with the cover stories. This gang fight went down like this. Three men went into the alley. One got his heart torn out of his rib cage. The other man looked like he took a beating, and then had his head ripped off. And the third man died from blood loss.”

I let out a deep sigh. “Damn, the gang problems are out of control.” Tony laughed on the other end of the phone. “Give me the whole story.”

Tony said, with a note of apology in his voice. “Sorry to do this to you, but you know you’re the best there is on these kinds of cases. The Order needs to get more detectives out there.”

I couldn’t stand The Order for the most part. “I will solve the case; The Order will hand out justice. I just hope that I don’t make a mistake when it comes to these special cases.”

Tony responded. “That’s why I call on you so much. We both know how The Order deals out their justice with the supernatural community. You are one of the few detectives that I know that makes sure you aren’t just handing them a name, but the right name.”

Tony meant well; he really did care about people. “Not to bring up old rants or anything, I just think that The Order needs a little bit more oversight, that’s all. I give a name, and they are judge and jury. You know all this, and I have a lot of work to do. So I don’t mean to rush you, but what’s the story?”

Tony said, “No problem; you can rant at me anytime. And, for what it’s worth, I agree with you. So, back to the matter at hand; there is only one witness that saw the suspects, but didn’t give a good description.”

Tony had a problem with getting off track, so I said, “Just start from the beginning. I w
ill make my own judgments, okay?”

Tony responded,
“Ok, Alex.”

I got my pencil and paper ready while Tony started telling me the story. “Ready when you are.”

Tony started, “The three men who were killed were agents for The Order.”

“Maybe a hit on The Order?” I thought out loud.

Tony quickly said, “Don’t think so. And this is why; the three men were volunteers. It’s kind of a new program started by The Order. They’re trying to build cooperation between some of the supers. The leader of the group was a sorcerer who went by the name Mr. Big. He was an earth specialist. He was a large man and was known for hand to hand. The second was some werewolf. I can’t even remember the name of his pack, but, from what I understand, he was relatively unknown. Then there was a warlock in the group.”

Now that surprises
me: a werewolf, sorcerer and a warlock. This sounds like there should be bodies everywhere. “Did they kill any of the assailants?”

“No,” Tony went on “it appears to be one sided. See, this group was formed to be called in only when there was a disturbance. My only witness is the one who called in the disturbance. She works at a clothing store in the mall. She saw one of the two suspects using magic in her store. She
said that, when the young girl was trying on some dresses, she started to sing and dance.”

“Sounds like a crime to me,” I said sarcastically.

Tony laughed, “I don’t think it was the singing and dancing, all by itself. The witness said that she was moving in an inhuman way, and it was bringing attention to her. The boy who was with her, stopped her, and then they both took off.”

Ok, sounds like a young super who let her power get away from her. “I am still having trouble trying to figure out why the volunteers were called in.”

Tony went on, “well, they are there to deal with disturbances. Now all they would normally do in a situation like that was talk to the young magic user that was involved. You know, give a warning, write their names down and make sure they are not repeat offenders.”

“So what do you think went wrong? If all they wanted was to give them a friendly little warning, how did that turn into the OK Corral?”

Tony was ahead of me on this question. “This was my first question too. I called in a witch friend of mine, Susan. She specializes in object memory.”

“I am human, remember… so what's object memory?” Tony always acted like I knew all the secrets of the magic world. I was sucked in a few years back because I was always figuring out cases that involved the supernatural. The Order figured I was better working for them, than against them. Ever since, I have been working as a detective for two groups, the state, and the shady group that calls themselves, The Order. At least The Order pays better than the state.

Tony answered my question with passion. “She can touch objects; even by touching the ground, she can tell you what happened to that object. See, objects all around us collect energy and store it. If you know how to read it, you can see the history of the object depending on what the object is made of and how much direct energy it was exposed to is how much history you can get back out of it. Simply said, I only had a short time before the energy in the alley displaced, and there was nothing left.”

Wow, I should stop asking these questions. “So what you’re saying if I understand you? This witch, Susan, saw the history of what happened in that alley, and you or she can give me a report on it?”

“Yes, you got it,” Tony said as if he taught a child a new word. “And now I can tell you what she found out. It’s not a complete story, but it will give you an idea what happened.”

“I am all ears.” I’m not sure how much of this story is going to be useful or accurate; in an investigation of a crime you need hard facts.

Tony said, “Well this story is one for the books. According to Susan, the volunteers were waiting in the alley. She said that they had no ill intent toward the two suspects. When the suspects arrived, something set off the volunteers into action. At the same time, one of the suspects attacked the volunteers. Here’s the crazy part; the suspect who attacked was a vampire.”

“This was at night? I thought this happened during the day.”

Tony said, “Nope, middle of the day and it gets better. The other suspect was a Necromancer.”

“The way you guys feel about them is most likely the reason the volunteers attacked first. Do you think this Necromancer was controlling the vampire? Of course, that would be crazy. I didn’t know a lot about Necromancers except that none of the magic community liked them. Their death magic scares the hell out of them. Hell, it scares the hell out of me. Still, I heard that Necromancers could control some vampires but never did.”

Tony added. “If you controlled a monster of such power, you could not afford to lose control for one second, and that’s why Necromancers didn’t practice that, because it was a sure way to get killed. And vampires don’t like Necromancers, because they do have the power to sway their thinking, but why else would a vampire fight in daylight? You know their blood is like kerosene; once it starts burning, they go up pretty fast.”

I said. “Sunlight and fire will light them up; all it would have taken is one little cut. Hard to believe the vampire was willing to risk that.”

Tony went on. “One more thing, the witch said that she believes that the vampire jumped through a ring of fire to kill the warlock. They don’t heal as fast during the day. If that fire would have burned through her skin, poof, no more vampire. So it seems to me, unless this vampire is crazy, this Necromancer is controlling her.”

“If that’s the case this might be a very short investigation. The Necromancer will one day lose control, and the vampire will eat him. Case closed.” I said.

Tony laughed. “We could always hope. Look, I will fax you a full report tomorrow. I just thought you should know about this before it landed in your lap. I need to get home to the wife; her son is coming in from New York tonight.”

I remember him talking about his stepchildren. The oldest daughter lives with him, along with the little girl he and his wife had together. His wife had two previous children, from two different fathers. Her second child lived in New York with his human father, and didn’t even know that he was a warlock. “Well, say hi to Mab and your girls for me. And tell your stepson hi too, I can’t wait to meet him. What’s his name again?”

“David, he should already be at the house. This is going to be so much fun having a third young magic user in the house to deal with. They are a lot more work than human children.” Tony said with dread in his voice.

I laughed at him “I believe you, my friend, but I don’t have either right now, just a dog; and I have a hard enough time keeping up with him. I will be looking for that report tomorrow.”

Tony answered, “yeah, later in the afternoon. You take it easy, Alex.”

“You too, later Tony,” and I hung up the phone.

Great, now I have more work to do. I better study up on vampires and Necromancers. I can’t stand dealing with vampires; they scare the hell out of me. It always sounds so easy to kill one; all you have to do is light his or her blood on fire, and they will burn into a pile of ash in less than ten minutes, except if you meet one and realize that they are so strong that they can rip your arms off. They move faster than I can see; you can’t sneak up on one. So, basically, if you don’t catch one sleeping, you’re dead; yeah, I really hate these kinds of cases.

I better stock up on some garlic spray; I don’t want this vampire to get my scent.

Mile High Rd

I
was just working up my nerve to go out and meet David’s mom and sisters when I heard the front door open. And then a man said, "I ‘m home."

Then the girls said in stereo, "hi Daddy."

A woman said, "We have been waiting for you Tony." She must have been David's mother. "Come into the living room, and talk with me and David."

She sounded worried,
and then Tony echoed her tone by saying, "What's wrong?"

David’s mom said, "come and sit down and I will bring you dinner. We have a little problem, but I am sure you will be able to figure it out."

David had told me about his family on the bus before we arrived at the Mall. He told me he had a mother named Mab Abbott. Before his Dad hooked up with her, she had a daughter from a previous boyfriend. His older sister’s name was Kelly Doyle, and she is four years older. That would make her twenty now; Kelly is working and going to a community college.

A few years after David was born, Mab left David’s father, Peter,
and then married a man named Tony Abbott, and she had another little girl with Tony. They named her Tabatha Abbott, but everyone calls her Lizzie. She is two years younger than David and just turned fourteen.

It’s all kind of hard to follow; David’s father is Peter Drye. David was named after his unwed mother, so his name is Doyle. Wow, I will be amazed if I can keep all of this straight.

I was about to go out and introduce myself, but I chickened out. Instead I told Carrie to be quiet so I could hear what they were talking about. At first it was just normal conversation like, good to see you, and I missed you. Then it was kind of quiet as Tony was eating; they let the man enjoy his meal, before they dropped the news that David was a Necromancer.

I was getting the feeling that being a Necromancer wasn’t much more popular than being a vampire. Finally Tony finished, and Mab said. “Well, sweetheart, here is the problem. We think that David’s a Necromancer.”

There was a moment of silence when finally Tony said, “And why do you think this?”

“Well this is what we know…” Mab said. Then she went into the whole song and dance about everything David had told her about him seeing a ghost, using fear magic and even the fact he could see protection from spirits.

I think she was talking about that wall around her house; if so, that means David was right, and the walls were some kind of spell.

During the time Mab was telling the story, David and Tony said very little, every once in awhile asking David small questions. Then he said, “It sounds like you’re right. David being a Necromancer is not going to be easy,
but I promise you I will help you out. I know everything must be very confusing to you; hell you just found out that we were witches. And I am sure you have a million questions, but we will have to start small. If you are patient, you will learn everything you need in time.”

David said with a lot of emotion in his voice, “I have two questions. First, everyone is freaking out over me being a Necromancer. Is it a bad thing? Can I stop being one? And why haven’t you told me about what we are?”

One of his sisters said, “That’s three questions.”

David snapped back, “Shut up Lizzie, and mind your own business.”

Mab raised her mom voice, “stop both of you. This is serious, Lizzie. And, David, don’t tell your sister to shut up; everyone needs to stay calm.”

Of course, she sounded as if any second, she was going to lose it.

Tony said calmly, “to answer your questions, first it is not a bad thing to be a Necromancer. It is just that it scares other magic users. Using spirits and death magic is powerful stuff, and when people fear something, sometimes they act out badly, and I am sorry, but to answer your second question; can you stop being a Necromancer, the answer is no. You will need to learn how to use your power, even if you do not want to. Knowing how to use your power will help you control it. And I think your mom should answer the last question.”

“You know it is getting late and I am sure you are tired.” David’s mom said.

“Just tell me mom.” David whined.

Mab let out a breath, and said. “I am tired. Let me explain later; it is a long story. You haven’t known for sixteen years; what’s one more night.”

David must have been tired because he gave up and said, “Ok mom, but tomorrow you will tell me, right?”

“Yes, sweetie” his mother said reassuringly.

“Yep it’s late.” Tony announced. “Everyone to bed, and that’s an order.”

The girls moaned, and I could hear the legs of the chairs being scooted out as everyone got up, and then everyone headed toward their rooms. Just in case one of the sisters came in, I hid under the bed.

David came into the room, and then shut the door behind him. He let out a breath and then said to Carrie, “is she awake yet?”

Before Carrie could answer, I slid out from under the bed. I grabbed his ankles and said, “Rrrrr.”

David jumped into the air letting out a little yelp. I started to laugh. David looked down at me, and started to curse under his breath. “Scared you.” I teased.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” David growled.

“Oh where do we start.” Carried chimed in, “Need to start a list.”

“I didn’t realize you knew how to write, hick.” I shot back.

“I wouldn’t talk, sugar; I was close to graduation. Hell, you never even stepped in a classroom.” Carrie said sticking out her tongue at me.

David was tired and upset. He put his head between his hands,
and then he fell into his bed saying. “Can you both please shut up? I have had all I can take for one night.”

“Sorry” Carrie and I said in stereo.

David didn’t reply; he just laid there looking up. I sat down next to him and gazed down at his face. I put one hand on his chest and gently rubbed; he dropped his arms down to his side, and visibly relaxed. “Sorry about the scare. You would think I would be more sensitive to what you were going through right now.”

David chuckled darkly then said, “I know this is not half of what you have endured, but you know what they say. You need to walk in someone else’s shoes or some shit like that.”

I looked at my sad David, and then said. “It’s not a contest if it’s where I would win no matter what.” David smiled at that remark. “We don’t feel other people’s pain; we only know our own. And all I can do for you is nothing.”

“Nothing.” David smiled.

I smiled back; looking in his eyes I said. “Yep, nothing; well I guess I could be here for you, if you want me to be.”

“Wow, that’s special.” Carrie said from behind me. Damn, I forgot she was still here. She went on by saying, “should I haunt somewhere else while you two have a moment.”

“That would be real nice.” I said with a smile. Then added, “It must be hard being a third wheel on a bicycle.”

“It’s more like training wheels, because you have no idea what you’re doing.” Carrie smarted back. Then she quickly added to David before I could reply, “honey you’re not alone.”

“If you two don’t stop your fighting, I'll wish I were alone.” David said.

I could already see David calming down. I guess if you are broken, being around other broken people helps. I was about to say something to David when there was a knock at the door. I dropped to the ground and slid under the bed.

"David, may I come in." David’s stepdad said from the other side of the door.

David setup in the bed and replied, "Come on in." Tony came through the door and shut it behind him. David asked, "What's up?"

Tony said with a quiet voice. "We need to talk."

"Tonight?"

"Yes, it's important you and I have a heart to heart." Tony went on by saying. "Do you know anything about The Order?"

David looked puzzled for a second,
and then said. "The Order? I have never heard of that before. What is it?"

Tony let out a breath, and then said. "I don’t have time for all the details right this second. So the easiest way I can explain it, is that The Order are police for the supernatural community. They help keep law and order, and protect all of us from humans or humans from us. If the humans started to believe in us again, they would go back to hunting us all down, so, to make it safer for the supernatural community, we formed The Order. They
make laws and carry out justice. My coven works for The Order, and helps them with individuals that step out of line. To make a long story longer, three of The Order’s agents were killed today. They were killed in an alley near the Inland Mall."

"Really."  David said with a voice full of panic and fear.

Tony let out another breath, and then paced around the room a few times. Then he said real quiet, "was it you? We had a report it was a Necromancer and a vampire. Soon as your mother told me you were a Necromancer, I put it together. The bus station is only a few blocks from Inland Center Mall. Your mom called me early today saying you missed your bus in San Bernardino, and you wouldn’t be in until this evening. So what did you do all day?"

David said really fast and loudly, "They attacked us without warning. They didn’t say they were with anyone, or who they were."

"Shhh… I don’t want your mother to hear about this. She would freak out; don’t worry, I will help you out." Tony said with a calming voice. "Look, it's getting late; you and I need to go for a car ride tomorrow. I need the whole story. Then I am sure we can figure something out. Try to get some sleep."

David said on the edge of tears. "Ok… thank you."

Tony was quiet for a second then said. "Did you really control a vampire?"

"No, I didn’t control her. She did it on her own." David said defensively.

"Oh, so she let you go without a problem?" Tony asked.

"Yep… she let me go." David answered. Thank goodness he didn’t tell him I was hiding under the bed. "Are there vampires in Beaumont?"

Tony opened the door and started to leave, and then he said. "There is a family of them that live off Mile High Rd. Don’t worry, they're not going to find out you live here. Get some sleep; it will all work out; you'll see."

"I will try; night Tony." David said as Tony left, shutting the door behind him.

Carrie started in at a million miles per hour. “What we do now? Do you think they will be after us for some kind of crime? Or do you think that we will have to go to a trial? Do you think that they punish ghosts? Even though this ghost had no choice in the matter; and, if so, how do you know how they might punish me? Do you reckon that your stepdad will help you escape justice?”

David said with a chuckle. “Is there an off switch?”

I crawled out from under the bed and sat next to David on the bed. Then I said, “Let me help. To answer all of Carrie’s questions, yes, maybe and no.” then looking over at David. “Sorry David, I think I might have got you into some trouble."

David looked at me and said. "No, no you didn’t. You saved my life; those men were not going to arrest me. They were going to kick my ass, or worse. You see how my whole family acted when they found out I was a Necromancer. I think somehow the guys in the alley knew what I was. Didn’t the big man say something along the lines of, what makes you think you can come into our territory?"

I thought about what David was saying. He was right; there was more to this. And somehow they did know what he was; how they knew is another question. I looked at David and said serenely. “Careful who you trust David. Our biggest problem is that we don’t know enough information about this magic world. We don’t know the rules or the players. I don’t think they knew what I was until it was too late.”

Carrie spoke up. “David’s dad said there were vampires off of Mile High Road.”

David gave her, are you dumb look. “So?”

I jumped to Carrie’s defense. “No, wait; she is right.”

David looked at me dumbfounded. “Right about what?”

“Well,” I explained. “At the risk of sounding like Carrie, we need info, about a lot of stuff, like what vampires can and cannot do?  Who The Order is? What kind of trouble are we in, and so on and so on. I doubt these vampires are looking for us, so I could go to them for answers.”

Carrie giggled a little bit then said. “All I was saying is that there are vampires on Mile High Rd. I didn’t know I was sayin’ all that, but that sounds like fun to me; I’m in.”

David shook his head back and forth. “I don’t like it.”

“Well what am I supposed to do?” I said with a little anger in my voice. “Should I hang out under your bed? Or should we put all our trust in your stepdad?”

“And what’s wrong with trusting Tony?” David snapped back.

I needed to get out of this house; I really didn’t believe I would have to explain this to David. “I don’t think your stepdad had me in mind when he offered to help. I also think it would be a good idea if we split up for a little bit. This Order is looking for a vampire and a Necromancer. Your family will know how to hide you, but I doubt that they will hide me. If I go somewhere other vampires are, and I am not hanging out with a Necromancer, I am sure it will make it harder for The Order to find us. More time is what we need.”