Shining in Crimson: Empire of Blood Book One (A Dystopian Vampire Novel) (12 page)

Diana was every bit as perfect for Hank as he always thought she would be. Toby already started calling her Mom before they even married. By the time they found the cancer, Toby was thirteen and already rebuilding his first car. He probably barely remembered that she was not his biological mother. The three of them were as close as any family could be, closer than most. Hank and Toby watched that day as her breath quickened faster and faster until she gripped hard on Hank's hand and then went limp. When the nurse took Diana's pulse and declared the time of death, Hank and Toby held each other and grieved over her empty body.

Hank watched this scene as though it were a movie. Only this was his life and his pain. It seemed so real, like he relived it. He wanted to die. He looked at Diana's face and the grief overcame him. She's dead, he thought, feeling the neverending shock of truth. Three years now and still it never failed to overcome him. He knew it would continue for as long as he dared to keep breathing.
So, why not just give up
, he thought. Maybe, just maybe, he could be with her again. Maybe he didn't have to fight so hard to stay alive. Maybe he didn't have to go through the pain day in and day out just to be there for Toby. Then, he felt a wave of deeper grief followed by intense guilt.
Toby.
How could he be so weak when Toby needed him so much?

He made himself detach from his feelings, reminding himself it was the past. He watched as a slightly younger version of himself and Toby hugged each other desperately. These last few years had all been for Toby. Hank made himself remember what was here and now and what was important. He was shocked to feel tears stream down his face as he made this decision. With the present filling Hank's mind,
a desperation
flashed over him. He knew he had to get up.
For Toby.
He had to get out of this place and find his son. He put all of his will into waking up. He thought of Toby growing up over the years. He pictured all the dangerous possibilities that could happen to the boy if Hank didn't make it. He told himself what he knew to be true within his heart.

Diana would want him to be there for Toby. Diana would want him to be strong. With that last thought, his will grew and he felt the darkness slip away. His eyes fluttered as he saw a different kind of darkness. After a moment, he realized he could see the ground really close to his face. Strange hands had wrapped around his head and pain seared in his neck. He experimentally tried to blink. It was pretty weak at first, but after a few tries he found he could do it. He could see the arms of the creatures as they held tightly to his head. His vision went in and out of focus as he felt the life continuing to drain out of him. Then, he opened his mouth wide. He took a deep breath and
lunged
his teeth into one of the vampire's arms. He heard a hiss come from directly above his ears and then it turned into a whole spectrum of sound after the creature's blood trickled into his mouth.

* * *

At first, Ishan thought the recovery of the convict's heartbeat was a figment of his imagination. But when the man bit hard into the ancestor's arm and began lifting himself up with three ancestors still attached to him, Ishan felt the greatest mix of surprise and excitement he had in years. He called to the ancestors in their tongue to let the man go. They obeyed with some resistance and floated up beyond his reach. The man looked up at them as if they should feel lucky to be flying at all. He didn't seem to notice Ishan. Ishan knew he could do this the easy way and take the man prisoner. But he also knew he would need the man to trust him to be of any value. So, he looked at the man, wet his lips, and spoke.

* * *

"Well done," a voice said from behind Hank.

Hank flipped himself around as quickly as he could, poising into a battle stance, vampire blood dripping down his chin. Before him stood a slightly short, light-complected man with long, black hair, black eyes wearing a nice black suit. The man smiled at him like you would smile at an animal you wanted to come to you. Hank stood still, waiting for the right moment to attack. A great urge came over him to drink more of the blood. It was so strong he almost started to look around for the backpack that came loose from him at some point.

"
It's
okay, Mr. Evans. I'm not here to harm you," the man said calmly, his smile becoming more genuine. Hank smiled back with mocking disgust.

"Just like your buddy wasn't trying to harm me either, huh? Or these filthy, flying fuckers here?" he shouted, pointing up at the four floating creatures who hissed in return. The man in black laughed with great amusement. Hank had to fight to keep from also laughing at his own tongue twister. He pulled his mouth out of the smile it was trying to make into the best look of distrust he could muster.

"I assume you are speaking of Peter. Peter is hardly my...
buddy
," he said, emphasizing the word with contempt.

Hank could see the sheer honesty in this statement and started to slightly relax. Had this man called off the vampires hovering above him?

"Henry, do you mind if I call you ‘Henry’?" the black-haired vampire asked.

Hank sighed. He hoped his gut was telling him the right thing.

"Call me Hank," he said, loosening his stance.

"Very well.
Hank.
My name is Ishan," he said and then paused a moment. "Ishan Achari," Ishan added with obvious reluctance.

The vampire was going beyond his own comfort level to extend a sincere greeting to him. Hank saw this as a sign he had some sort of advantage, but what that could be, he couldn't begin to imagine. He nodded to Ishan as politely as he could manage.

"What do you want, Mr...." Hank closed his eyes for a second to think "Achari?" he asked.

"First of all, I would prefer you refrain from calling me by my father's name. Second, I need the opportunity to study you," Ishan said dryly.

"You need to what?" Hank asked.

"I need to study you. You have stumbled upon something rather remarkable. Something we never found in all our centuries of research. You see, no human has ever
drank
the blood before," Ishan said.

"And what if I don't want to let you study me?" Hank asked. He was going to find out just how bad this vampire really did
need
him.

"Then, I will need to find a way to persuade you," Ishan said and then added, "peacefully... beneficially."

Hank looked at him sternly, thinking about what this meant. Could it be this easy? Could he simply let this man study him and find a way to find Toby? How? How could this vampire do anything to protect Toby? He was sure that he couldn’t be studied if he was allowed to leave the city. He let his expression falter.

"I don't think you can do that," he said regretfully.

"Surely, Mr. Evans, there must be something that you want," Ishan said.

"There is. But it's not going to be possible. I want my son. I want him to be safe and the only way I know that can happen for sure is for me to take care of him myself," he explained. Ishan was about to speak, but Hank continued. "Now, I'm certainly not stupid enough to have him brought here. And I'm also not too dim to believe that you will be able to
study
me if I leave the city. Besides, how would you pull it off? I'm sure the Empire won't allow it."

"Hank, the Empire
need
not be involved. I'm not sure that I have a solution to your problem, but I can assure you it would be best if you let me seek one out."

"What happens if you can't and I decide to walk away?" Hank asked, though he was sure he knew the answer.

"Then I will escort you safely from this city myself," Ishan said with a strange look of pride in his expression. Hank had an impression that there was something more to this vampire than all the
others,
especially the one Ishan had called "Peter". An aura of power emanated from Ishan. From his gestures, his cordiality, his manner of speaking, right down to the look in his eyes. If he was lying, he could have fooled even the most crooked politician.

Chapter 10

The Implant

S
imon stood facing the back of the demolished house Peter's scent had led him to. He could now smell several other strange odors mixing in with Peter's. He jumped up into the large damaged opening and started looking around inside. He saw plenty of scattered debris of drywall, wood, and tile covering most of the kitchen floor. As he continued on into the dining room, he couldn't help but notice the large, pulverized table on the floor. It was obvious not all of the damage was due to an impact. What he saw in the dining room were signs of a struggle. Simon couldn't help but wonder who Peter would be struggling with, though.

After a few minutes of investigating the place, Simon decided to try and single out Peter's scent and follow it farther. He climbed back out and went around to the side of the house. There he noticed one of the other smells again, only much stronger. A deep, longing feeling in his gut told him it belonged to a human. He mentally followed the scent in the direction it led. A radical change came over him. It came at the moment he realized he could now also smell the blood of that same human. He no longer cared about finding Peter. A desire beyond any human emotion to follow the human trail overtook him.

As he took long, staggering steps, following the intoxicating fragrance of that blood, he became dizzy with the intensity of his yearning. It took a concentrated effort, but he was able to coordinate himself enough so that he could run. The wind began to pick up, filling his nose with the heavenly odor, as he soared forward. He closed his eyes with anticipation of the taste he now knew to be the core of his new existence. It was as if all his mental, physical, and emotional desires could be quenched with the mere taste of that blood.

He noticed the smell becoming tainted with another as he got closer. It was a strong dust smell mixed with new pavement. He couldn't recall ever really recognizing it before; yet, it was as though he had known its identity all along. His new body made no sign of being affected by the black, dusty smoke clouding around him. He could see through it enough to take careful note of the large hole in the road. When he came to it, timing it just right, he leapt over it, and landed on the other side. He felt a twinge of himself come back as an old anger reminded him why he shouldn't be enjoying himself.

But before he could feel guilty, the scent of blood overwhelmed him as he realized he was close to its source. A moment later, he blazed through the other side of the dark, dusty cloud, the air clearing instantly in front of him. About a hundred meters before him, he saw the man and someone he hadn't expected. It was Ishan. Only now as he looked at him through this new, strange vision, he saw a sort of energy pulsating and flowing outwardly from the vampire. It surprised him enough to make him flinch but the desire was too strong to be held back. He lunged toward the man in a burst of speed. He saw a flash of blurry movement just before his teeth sank in. Immediately, he knew something was wrong. This was not the taste he had been longing for. There
was
no real taste.
But plenty of pain.
Something akin to electricity jolted throughout his body. It felt like he’d bitten into a power line. The temperature of his blood rose. The jolting intensified and his veins were on fire. All the fluids in his body began to evaporate. Images were swirling around in his mind. They made no sense. He saw a large ancient structure. He thought he recognized it, but he didn't know precisely what it was.
Something from Greek or Roman history.
He couldn't be sure. He saw a dark cave. Within the cave glowed two yellow, cat-like
eyes.
The image became clearer as if he were moving closer. The shadow decreased, revealing the creature's face. It reminded Simon of the natural vampires he saw in Mediator training videos but only vaguely. The face was longer, more oval.
The features softer, more delicate than what he witnessed in his training.
Before the darkness overtook him, Simon realized he must be dreaming. One of the few things known about them, natural vampires were asexual. There were no females.

* * *

Hank took a deep breath realizing he was still alive. Ishan stood facing away from him. The blonde, desperate-looking creature that caught Hank off guard and dived right for his throat was slumped over Ishan's shoulder, his teeth buried into Ishan's neck. He looked as though he were in agony the whole time. Now, he hung from Ishan's shoulder completely limp. Ishan leaned forward, turning to face Hank at the same time, and gently pulled the vampire from his neck. He laid the body carefully on the ground, then knelt down to study the creature and sighed.