Six Guns Straight From Hell - Tales Of Horror And Dark Fantasy From The Weird Weird West (10 page)

They nodded and dragged the prone form of their brother out of Daniel's domain. He licked his lips. He looked forward to finishing his meal when the boys returned. He couldn't leave anyone alive who knew what and where he was.

The dark lord sent a familiar to Drowned Horse to check on the boy's progress the night after they left. The report had not been good. Paul had woken hungry and they fed him pig's blood. He threw up most of it, but managed to keep his head about him long enough to slip past his kin. The new vampire's first stop was his intended, Deborah Sue, where he effortlessly entered her room and seduced away her chaste. Vampires were very convincing, if anything. They were interrupted before Paul could feast on more than just her virtues and he fled into the night.

It took Daniel's familiar awhile to track the undead boy, but finally reasoned that he must be at the town's only bar when a patron passed through the front wall and landed in the street. Familiars weren't all that smart. By then, Matthew and Luke had caught up with him. They got him out the back door and gave Paul some blood from the bottle. It immediately calmed him down and he left with them.

Paul might take to being a vampire too well. Daniel considered ending the charade and slaughtering the lot. Maybe even the whole town, if anyone got wind of Paul's new look and abilities. The recently sullied Miss Zemanski was definitely on the list, as who knew what he told her or she reasoned during their intercourse. But the aged vampire held himself back. He wanted, no, he needed to see this play out. Daniel had been too long without a challenge, something to tax his mastery over men and beast. Paul was certainly a beast and would be slain like one.

The remainder of the time passed uneventfully. Daniel only feasted once, a native that was out on a spirit quest; a journey that would now take the Indian brave to the next realm. The vampire thought about his trio of would-be thieves. He wondered how the plan had gone. When they returned, Daniel would kill Paul immediately, so that the new vampire couldn't protect his siblings. He expected a double-cross and would be disappointed if they didn't. When he was done with his family feast, Daniel knew of a bear cave nearby. He'd drop their bodies there and send a familiar to alert authorities of the tragedy. He'd used variations on this plan for centuries,

The sun was just setting and the Dark Lord sensed the approach of one man. By the scent, it was surely Luke. He entered the cave, not timidly as he had the first time, but in a panic.

“
Lord Daniel, sir! We have a problem!”

They rode at a break neck pace through the night. They'd never make Drowned Horse, which was in the Arizona Territory, by morning. During their day ride, Daniel draped himself in a blanket, careful to make sure no light would touch his extremities. There were fewer places to stop to change horses in Arizona, but the benefit was there were less people to see them. The vampire was taking a severe chance, but from what Luke had described, he had no choice. It was midnight before they reached the edge of town where Matthew joined them.
“Thanks for coming, sir.”

Daniel dismissed the gratitude. “How did he get himself stuck?”

Luke started, “When Paul didn't come out on the night he was supposed to, the next day we managed to get into the vault saying we was putting some of mom's heirlooms in a safe place.”

Matthew broke in, “While Luke kept the bank manager busy, I paced off the steps to where Pauly was buried and found a huge stack of gold piled right on top. I made like I tripped and could see his fingers wiggling in between some gold bars.”

“
Okay, so why doesn't he dig himself a bit farther and come up in a different place?”

“
He used up his energy busting through the concrete, we think. We watched them pour it and it was very thick.”

Daniel had been afraid of this. “Well, I still don't see why I have to rescue him.”

Luke was stern, “Cause if they find him there and figure out what he is, they're going to wonder how he got that way. They'll trace him back to us, and maybe back to you. Ain't it better they don't find him down there?”

The man had a point.

The trio moved quietly into town. The place had grown over the last ten years. Even when the gambling dens closed down, Drowned Horse had managed to survive as a rest stop between Flagstaff and Phoenix.

The two-story building faced the sheriff's office, so they approached the bank from the back. Daniel could see a window on the second story. He jumped up and grabbed the window sill, forced the pane up and dropped back to the ground. He carried the other two, one at a time, up and through the window. It was only when he reached the vault door that he had to pause.

It was big. A vampire could never tear this thing off its hinges; so instead, Daniel examined the dial and the huge wheel that would be turned when the combination was entered. While Daniel didn't know anything about modern locks, he knew a few things about older ones.

He pulled off the dial and exposed the workings beneath. He ripped out parts until he could fit his hand in. He felt around until he grasped something he guessed was the fulcrum and yanked on it. A loud clank reverberated in the alcove. He drew out his hand and turned the wheel. It spun effortlessly and the brothers pulled open the door. The room was dark, which was no problem for Daniel, but Matthew had to grab a lamp from one of the desks and light it.
The Dark Lord was impressed. He'd not seen so much gold since his time in Persia. There was currency here, too. Bundles of bills and rolls of coins lined the walls. Yes, he could have a good time in Louisiana with this.

Luke and Matthew uncovered the spot where their brother lay. Daniel stepped over to where Paul's hand was sticking out and freed his ward. Pushing aside the gold with some effort, he yanked the still new vampire through the stone floor. Concrete and dust swirled around and the boys coughed as they gathered around Paul. He looked remarkably well despite his weeks in captivity. The brothers patted him on the back.

Daniel, concerned about more monetary matters, picked up a bar of gold and immediately noticed something odd. It weighed less than any gold he'd hefted previously. Daniel ran a nail over the metal only to flake off gold paint. It was a painted lead bar.
Without warning, the vampire lord was slammed into from behind. He hit the wall, spilling trays of money to the floor. As he scrambled to right himself, he saw that only the top bill of each stack was real.

He rolled to find his assailant lunging for him again. It was Paul, who was a lot stronger than he should be, considering. Daniel heard the brothers urge him on.

“
Hold him fast, Paul. We'll trigger the door.”

The Dark Lord was nothing if not older and smarter in a fight. He broke free of the young vampire. He lunged for the opening just as the two humans passed through, but before he could follow, an imbedded metal door dropped, sealing him in.

The trap sent an uncomfortable surge of energy through Daniel. He spun around, taking in his situation. Paul was still picking himself up from the floor, fake currency everywhere. The vault was much as they had described otherwise, save for the ceiling; tightly crisscrossed bars lined it, giving off the appearance of a cage.

A cracking like bones breaking sounded as floorboards were pried back, allowing whoever was above to gaze into the cell. Lamps were lit and light streamed into the dim room.

A mismatched crowd stared down at the once lord of the four corners area. One man, in his mid-fifties, leaned over the edge. One arm rested on his knee, the other was curiously missing. The man's gold star glimmered in the gaslight.

“
I thought he'd be uglier,” said Sheriff Theodore Patrick.

Daniel called up, “This was all a trap for me?”

“
Yup. The Yavapai came to me complaining of an evil preying on their people. Since it wasn't the first time we'd heard tale of people disappearing near the caves, we held a town meeting. It was young Matty here that came up with the idea you might be a vampire. So, we contacted some people in England and they gave us the rundown on your type.”

“
Oh, and what was that?”

The sheriff spit tobacco through the grate that landed on a wad of fake money. “The guy said you'd be hungry, untrustworthy and always believing you was smarter than humans. Looks as if he was right.”

“
He was and I am.”

Daniel leapt up with all intention of breaking through the metal bars. He gauged them as just small enough for him to pull apart with his bare hands. His speed was nearly blinding and the bars bent in his grip, but a surge of electricity coursed through his body and he shot back to the floor like a comet. Daniel rolled over to his hands and knees. His undead hands where charred. His nostrils flared and eyes watered. It was the closest thing to pain he'd felt since his death.

The sheriff nodded appreciatively. “I added the generator idea as a backup. We weren't sure if you could break through the bars, so I thought some insurance might come in handy.”

Paul hooted and slapped his hands on his legs. Yet all the sighs of relief hushed as the vampire rose to his feet and shook some of the burnt flesh loose. His body was already healing. Daniel pointed at the now quieter Paul.

“
And my turning of
him
was all part of the plan?”

Luke called down, “He was our other back-up. Figured we might need a vamp to trap us a vamp.”

Matthew, now no longer cherubic, said, “You're the demon that killed our father on his way home from Santa Fe! We didn't believe it was Indians for a moment. We just couldn't prove anything until they came forward.”

Daniel occasionally scalped his victims and left them in the desert with native's stuff lying around. The vampire was beginning to realize how sloppy he'd become in his old age.

“
And will you slaughter your brother the way you intend to me?”

Luke opened his mouth to speak, but it was Sheriff Patrick who answered, “Nope, the Brit told us he should turn back to normal after we take care of you.”

“
He did, did he?”

Several armed Yavapai warriors joined the good men and women of Drowned Horse. They drew their bows and Daniel wondered if he finally understood the men at the Alamo. All this time, he thought
he
was the hero. He laughed. The laugh grew into a howl and continued to echo as the arrows pierced his body and it exploded into a shower of red.

Paul dodged the debris as best he could, but still found himself wiping ichors off his jeans. He felt his chest, ran a finger over his teeth and even jumped up and down a bit. He seemed happy with the results. “Looks like I'm fine. Let me out.”

Everyone stared.

“
What?” asked Paul.

“
We need to make sure. Men?”

A small door opened in the front wall and a piglet was pushed through. It squealed and ran around, jumping over the fake gold and money.

“
What's this?”

Luke replied, “A test. We've been watering down Matty's blood with the pig's. Last night, it was mostly that.”

Paul understood the nausea and weakness now. He should have been able to hold that bloodsucker fast, instead, he had been tossed like a rag doll.

“
Paul, we've got to be sure. You're dangerous enough as a person. If you're still a vampire, then there's no going back, hear?”

“
Knock it off, Luke. Get me out of here. I'm telling you I'm back to normal.”

“
It's not his call,” said Sheriff Patrick, “It's mine.”

The young man pleaded. “Sheriff? After everything I done to help kill that bastard? This is how you'd treat me?”

The Sheriff took off his hat and returned to his crouched position. “Sorry, son. I've watched you most your life. You were going to do something that would see you hanging on the end of a rope. This way, you go out a hero. Ain't it better this way?”

Paul's eyes implored to his younger brother, but all he saw in return was the same disgust Matthew had shown towards Daniel when the vampire wasn't around. Their father's death had hit him the hardest and Paul realized there was something just as dead inside Matthew as inside himself. When he saw he wasn't even getting a little sympathy from his brothers, the still-vampire Paul went berserk.