Shining in Crimson: Empire of Blood Book One (A Dystopian Vampire Novel) (17 page)

"I know you are no longer willing to stay here. I understand. But you are in danger if you leave, and not just from the Empire. If Peter really was behind this attack then he will most certainly be on the lookout for you. Right now, you are a symbol of my choice to form an alliance with those humans who would oppose the Empire. Peter and his followers do not want to include your kind. They want to take on the human race as though it were the Empire itself. And I know I made a promise to escort you from the city myself. But in my present circumstances and health I am unable to do this."

Hank looked at him and knew that his own face had turned at least three shades redder when Ishan said this.

"Before you become angry, I think you will find my alternative solution most accommodating."

Hank exhaled, letting a little of the steam from his body.

"What do you have in mind?"

"Five of my strongest and smartest to lead you from the city."

Hank relaxed a little.

"That seems more than fair," Hank said.

"I also have something for you," Ishan said and got up from his chair. He turned away and walked to the opposite wall where he opened a small hidden cubby. He pulled out several long glass vials. Then, he put all but one away. The remaining vial was filled with scarlet liquid. Ishan closed the cubby and turned around to face Hank. Holding up the vial, he spoke as he looked through it, seeming to examine it.

"This vial is filled with the blood of an ancestor. It is the last of my backup stores for testing. It came from willing subjects. It should give you an advantage if you should need it. Also, I had a curious idea I wanted to try before you go which might benefit you," he said, smiling for the first time since before Hank had slept in this very room.

"I'm listening," Hank said, intrigued.

"Well, when one becomes like us, their heart eventually stops beating. Some take longer than others. It has long been a theory of mine that this could be a matter of self control. If one were to try purposely, he could make it stop or start at his command."

Hank was becoming nervous as he realized where Ishan was going with this line of thought.

"I just want you to try something. If it doesn't work, forget about it. But if it does, it could help you to hide in perfect stealth from even one of my kind."

This got Hank's attention and overpowered his hesitation.

"Okay, then, what do I do?"

"Well, first you drink, of course.
Just a small drop for now.
You will want to save as much as you can," Ishan said, handing the vial to Hank.

Hank took it nervously, but eagerly. The power he felt under the influence of the blood could easily be addictive and he longed to taste its metal acidity again. He tipped his head back, held the vial up over his open mouth, and with great effort, only let a small drop fall down onto his tongue. A shudder of pleasure went through his body as his senses heightened immediately.

"Now.
You will want to concentrate on the sound of your heart beating."

Hank looked down as if with all these powerful senses he would be able to x-ray his own chest and see his heart. But he found it helped him focus on the steady beating within.

"Now, I want you to imagine it slowing down."

Hank obediently imagined his heart slowing. At first, nothing happened.
But after a long time it began to slow and a thrill ran through his body causing his heart to pick up its pace again.

"Shit."

"Did it work?"

"Yes, but then I got excited and it sped back up."

"But that's great. Try again," he said.

Hank nodded and took a moment to attempt focusing on the beating of his heart again.

"This time, I want you to keep slowing it down until it is barely beating at all. But remember, do not get ahead of yourself and become excited again. Otherwise, you will ruin any progress you could make."

Hank tried again and it worked, at first. But once again, his pulse increased from the excitement.

"I can't do it."

"No, I think you can. But it will have to be some other time. Unless you want to wait until tomorrow evening, I had better send you and your convoy off before the coming dawn."

"Wouldn’t it be safer for me to go during the daylight hours?"

"Between the Empire and Peter’s connections outside the city, probably not. If I had to guess, I would think you would be safer getting out of the city as fast as possible. Once daylight comes and you’re as far from here as you can get, you should be able to blend in or hide easily. And I would suggest you try not to drink the blood during the daylight hours. I'm not sure but I think it could very well cause you some damage."

Hank thought hard about this. He wondered just how safe he would be from anyone once he crossed outside the city. But he knew he had to find a way to get back to Toby even if it meant leaving the only ally he’d ever met. Maybe, once he found Toby, the two of them could manage to get passage out of the country and find asylum in another land. He daydreamt about that for a moment, wishing with every fiber of his being that it could happen, but knowing it just wasn’t that type of world.

"Okay. I guess let’s get to it then," he said, trying to convey his gratitude for all of Ishan's help.

Ishan nodded in understanding. As the two re-entered the main lab, Hank was surprised to find the room empty of bodies and debris. He looked at his reflection in what was left of one of the windows across the room. Ishan leaned against the wall behind him and began pushing buttons on an electronic panel built into the wall. Within seconds a voice came from the panel. Hank recognized it as Kato's.

"Yes, master?"

"Kato, I will be sending Mr. Evans out of the city and he will need a worthy escort. I'll need Boris, Rodney, Carlos, Yavo, and..." he paused for a moment and then an unexpected voice interrupted his silent thought.

"I would be honored, sir," Rachel said, her voice coming over the same intercom.

Ishan let go of the button on the panel for a moment. He looked torn in a way Hank hadn’t yet seen. Then he sighed and pushed the button again.

"Yes, Rachel. Would you be so honored as to lead the group?"

"Yes, sir.
I would," she said.

"Good. I will need you all ready within the next fifteen minutes or so. I would prefer to see our guest safely out of the city before dawn, as I'm sure none of you would like to feel the effects of U.V. rays on your sensitive flesh?" he said with a morbid humor in his voice.

In less than five minutes by Hank's best estimate, all five of his guardian vampires were reporting for duty. He did his best not to finger the vial now hidden in his clothes. Ishan assured him, when
closed,
the seal could block the smell from either kind of vampire. He also made it very clear he was not to use it unless it became a matter of life or death and under no circumstances was he to let the others know he had it. It worried him at first, but he also thought Peter's rebellion was creating
a paranoia
within Ishan.

"Thank you," Hank said to Ishan as the group was about to begin they're journey back through the tunnels. It had been decided Boris would carry Hank and the rest of them would flank him so they could get him to the city limits as fast as possible. Ishan nodded and smiled. Then, he turned to discuss other matters with Kato and another vampire Hank didn’t know. Boris knelt down and Hank climbed onto his back, piggyback style. Then in a burst of speed unforgiving of Hank's stomach, they sped off through the tunnels like a cyclone of bodies.

Chapter 14

Withdrawals

H
ank's arms slipped again as he put more strength into regaining his position on Boris's back. His legs had long ago turned to jelly from the effort of keeping them wrapped around his escort's waist. He longed for a seatbelt on this crazy roller coaster of a vampire. He didn't know which was more dizzying: the incredible speed they were moving at or the blurring sight of motion all around him. The street lights stretched into streams of different colors. He closed his eyes, trying to steady his stomach. He tried to picture Toby's face but found he couldn't bring it clearly into focus. He was angry with himself for that.

But the more he tried, the more a different face came into focus. Peter's face filled his mental screen with a dark expression. It was so vivid Hank had to open his eyes again to make it go away. His head was cocked to the right leaning against the back of Boris's thick neck. He opened his eyes just in time to see something strange. A flash of movement didn't fit the pattern he’d watched repeat itself with each revolution of vampires. It was too fast for Hank to understand, but the result was not surprising. Something seemed to block the spinning circle of vampires like a stick in the spokes of a bike wheel. In an instant, Hank found himself and his vampire steed blasted off course and headed for a large tan, brick building covered in epic graffiti. He looked around to see the other vampires flying away in random directions like bowling pins in the midst of a strike.

Just six feet from the building, Hank's stomach dropped as everything went into a streaming blur and then Boris came to a graceful yet devastating landing on his feet. Hank could feel the bricks barely graze against the bottoms of his shoes. Then Boris threw Hank's arms and legs off of him, turned, and picked him up, holding him like a baby. He ran, carrying his little bundle of joy with him to the other side of the building. Then he put Hank down on his feet, motioned for him to keep his mouth shut, and get down low. Hank did so without argument. Facing away from him, Boris crouched down into a strange position that seemed more cat-like than anything else. This was made all the more strange by Boris's bulk. He was far too huge to look so feline.

An explosion erupted somewhere on the other side of the building bringing Hank back to the reality of his situation. At the sound, Boris ran to the far side of the building to look around the corner. Hank couldn't help feeling completely vulnerable. A moment later, he heard another explosion. This one sounded much closer. In between the reverberations of the blast and realizing what it was, Boris was back in position in front of Hank, waiting for anyone to come along and dare to confront
him.
He heard movement to his right and saw Rachel coming swiftly around the corner, a large slash across her cheek and several other battle scars on her skin and clothes. She looked at Boris with indecision.

"It's Luciano. I think he's alone, but there is no way to be sure yet. I barely got away from him. Where are the others?" she asked, desperately circling and looking around.

"Don't know," Boris said in his thick Russian accent. She glanced at him with that same unsure expression. But before she seemed to come to a conclusion, Rodney and Yavo came running from the other side of the building. Neither of them appeared to even have a scratch on them.

"Carlos is dead," Rodney shouted. Hank recognized a deep mourning in Rodney's voice as he gave them the news. "He was drained completely."

"It was Luciano. He almost got me, too," Rachel said. "But I turned the tables on him and then he got away from me," she added. Then her expression became one of worry. "I don't think we can risk any more high-speed flanks. We had better walk mortal the rest of the way," she said. It took Hank a moment to understand this statement. "Boris, you continue to stay with Mr. Evans. Yavo, Rodney, you two and I will flank still but over a much larger radius at a mortal pace. That way, we can keep on the lookout for more distant intruders and have the advantage when they arrive," she said.

Each of the other vampires nodded when given their instructions.

Before long, Hank and Boris seemed to be alone, the others flanking so far off they couldn't be seen. The tan building seemed to be one of the last remaining buildings to mark an immediate transition into open desert and remote roadways. They walked along one of those desolate roads as Hank looked up at the stars. He was tired of looking around to see only desert, the remains of abandoned construction projects, and long weathered billboards with ancient advertisements of products, services, and places long gone.

Hank watched as shooting stars faded out over a dark horizon. Boris moved every so often, solitarily flanking Hank in shifts. At one point, Hank heard a swift movement and was surprised to find Boris behind him jumping up in the air and grabbing hold of a bat. The bat might have been minding its own business if it weren't for the paranoid air to Hank's situation. In a single motion, Boris flung the flying critter to the ground and it landed with a loud slap and moved no more. Hank stood watching it for several minutes before Boris gestured for him to move along and then punctuated the unspoken statement with a deep grunt and a sigh.