Vampire Games (14 page)

Forever.

Chapter Thirty-three

Fang settled back down onto the couch. The shaking, I noted, had stopped. His panting, too, stopped.

I suspected, on some level, that his body had expired...that it was now being fueled supernaturally by the dark entity that had entered him. I also suspected his soul was now trapped in this supernaturally vivified body. Forever.

“
His mortality ends,” said Hanner next to me. “And his immortality begins. Everyone should be so lucky.”

Fang was closed off to me. Our connection was forever severed. I had mixed feelings about that. My connection to Fang had been turbulent, at best. At times, it had been comforting. To know that I had instant access to someone who seemed to legitimately care for me—and perhaps even love me in his own way—was a rock I had relied on for many months now.

Except that Fang always had an ulterior motive. Considering how the man had grown up and issues he’d dealt with, his ulterior motive would surprise no one. That he stalked and befriended and ultimately loved a real vampire should be of no surprise either.

I had seen more than enough of Fang’s mind to know the man was single-mindedly obsessed. His desire to be a real vampire trumped anything, perhaps even his love for me.

As I looked at him now, lying there quietly, I noted that the wound in his neck—the wound I, myself, had felt just the night before—had already healed.

Yes, his desire to be a vampire had trumped even his love for me.

“
Why did you do it?” I said to Hanner, without looking at her.

“
I saw his potential, Samantha.”

“
He’s not stable,” I said.

“
I’m not looking for stability. I’m looking for potential.”

I nodded, understanding. “His potential to kill.”

“
So much potential.”

“
That’s why you turned him,” I said, looking at her. “To kill for you.”

She calmly looked up from Fang and at me. She held my gaze. The fire just behind her pupil flared brightly. “He is his own free man, Samantha. But I am sure he will show his appreciation when I am done revealing to him all that I know.”

“
You’re doing this because I shut down your operation,” I said. “You’re punishing me. You’re stealing my friend—”

“
I’m giving him everything you wouldn’t, Samantha.”

“
You’ll create a killer.”

“
He will be tamed, Sam. Even the worst of our kind can be tamed.”

“
Or what?”

“
Or they are removed.”

“
You mean killed.”

“
You cannot kill what’s already dead, Sam. The entity within will simply withdraw, sacrificing its existence for the betterment of our kind.”

“
And when the entity withdraws?”

“
The body will perish. Instantly.”

“
Jesus.”

Hanner winced slightly at my involuntary utterance, which I noted. The name “Jesus” had no effect on me, but it appeared to on Hanner.

Interesting,
I thought.

“
And what happens to his soul?” I asked.

“
His soul?” asked Hanner, looking at me and making an almost comical effort to blink. “But whatever do you mean?”

“
His soul,” I said, my voice rising. “Where is it?”

Hanner smiled and it was, perhaps, the most unpleasant smile I had ever seen on anyone.
Ever.
“Why, Samantha. His soul is long gone.”

A wave of panic swept over me. I wrapped an arm around myself. Hanner’s unpleasant smile remained frozen on her face. The smile was not human. She did not look human. She looked slightly misshapen, hunched. She looked like pure evil.

“
You’re not Hanner,” I said. “You’re the thing that lives in her.”

“
Very good, Samantha Moon,” she said. Or
it
said.

“
And you’re trying to freak me out.”

Hanner continued smiling that wicked smile. Or the thing within her did. “Is it working, child?”

“
Go to hell,” I said.

“
Been there, done that,” it said in a monotone, tilting its head slightly.

“
Where’s Hanner?”

“
She’s here. Next to me. Waiting. I’ve come for the big show.”

“
Big show?”

Hanner nodded toward Fang, who lay motionless on the couch. “I wouldn’t miss his transformation for the world.”

“
Who’s in me?” I asked.

Hanner grinned, except I knew it was not Hanner grinning. “One of us, child.”

“
Who?”

But Hanner shook her head. “Not now. Not now.” And Hanner kept on shaking her head...and finally blinked. Hard.

She was back, looking slightly confused, and the thing within her—the thing that galvanized her dead body—had retreated, and was gone.

That such an entity was in me, watching over me, living through me, was almost enough to drive me insane.

Almost.

There had to be a way to fight back. To remove it.

And with that thought, I remembered the angel, Ishmael. He had told me he knew of a way for me to be free, to forever remove the thing within me. I thought about that, even while Fang continued to lay motionless, his chest unmoving. But alive. Supernaturally alive.

Fang had gotten his wish.

He was one of us now.

Chapter Thirty-four

I was flying.

It’s what I did these days when I want to think—and apparently, I was one of the few who could.

Lucky me.

I was moving along the beaches, idly following the curving shore. It was hours before morning, hours before I would be exhausted enough to sleep...but not so exhausted that I had to sleep. The medallion had removed the effects of sunlight, but not my natural—or
un
natural—sleep patterns. My body still craved sleep during the day, happily doing so until sunrise if I would let it. Two kids and a full-time job, unfortunately, wouldn’t.

I flew five hundred feet above the crashing surf. The beaches were empty. Correction...mostly empty. There was a lone man jogging with a little squirt of a dog. A little red dog. Yes, my eyes are that good at night and in this form. The man looked vaguely familiar. Tall and muscular. As I flew overhead, the little dog stopped and barked. At me. The little shit. The man, stopped, too, and looked up, but I was already gone. I smiled to myself, now recognizing the cocky son-of-a-bitch.

The ocean rippled and sparkled, reflecting whatever ambient light was around. Fang would never be the same. Our relationship would never be the same. Hanner had plans for him, I was sure. But she could shove her plans up her pale ass.

We’d see about her plans.

Was Fang’s and mine a true friendship? Perhaps, perhaps not. I liked to believe it was. I liked to believe he cared for me beyond what I was.

I had not yet made a decision about what to do about Fang’s request. Truth be known, I was afraid of what would happen once I did. I was afraid for our relationship, for him, for the world. Of course, Detective Hanner had made the decision for me, thus forcing mine and Fang’s relationship to make that leap.

Fang was no puppet. Hanner was in for a surprise. Unless, somehow, the two of them had made a pact. Perhaps he had sold his soul, so to speak, to become that which he most wanted. Perhaps I had doomed him by delaying my own decision. Perhaps had I honored his request, he would not be bound to Hanner.

Was Hanner so bad? I didn’t know. Not yet.

But one thing was sure: I would be there for Fang, for whatever reason, at any time. He had been there for me...and I suspected he was going to need my help.

Or perhaps not.

After all, he had Hanner now.

With a heavy heart, I turned to starboard, dipping one wing and raising the other, and headed over the million-dollar homes and back toward Fullerton.

Chapter Thirty-five

I was familiar with boxing gyms; not so much with dojos.

Andre Fine’s Kenpo Karate Studio in Long Beach was about what I expected to see: lots of floor mats, lots of mirrors, two punching bags, a trophy case and tons of newspaper and magazine clippings adorning the entrance/lobby room. A schedule next to the door indicated the next class would start in two hours.

Presently, there wasn’t a soul around. I heard someone talking in a back office. On the phone, if I had to guess. Single voice speaking, pausing, then speaking, then yelling. More yelling. Then a slam.

Oh, goodie,
I thought.
At least they’ll be in a good mood.

A man appeared a moment later, dressed in jeans and a t-shirt. He had a small beer gut and thick arms and a lot of muscle around his shoulders and neck. Probably, when he was in uniform and wore a karate robe, it bulged and opened around his mid-section. He probably
hee-yahed!
with the best of them. And I had no doubt that he had punched his way through many a wooden board in his time.

The man, who might have been talking to himself—and not very kindly—looked startled when he saw me. “Can I help you?”

“
I’m here to see Andre Fine,” I said, reaching in my purse and extracting a business card. I held it out to him. “I’d like to ask him a few questions regarding a case I’m working on.”

He took the card, read it, and then handed it back. Most people don’t hand my cards back. Most people hold them politely and talk to me civilly—then throw them away as soon as I leave. Handing my card back irritated me. Handing my card back made me hate his face. Handing my card back stirred a surprising amount of anger in me.

Down girl,
I thought.

The anger subsided enough for me to reach out and take the card back and not break his fingers in the process. And as I took the card and slipped it back in my purse from whence it came, I had an image of me slamming this stranger up against the trophy case and...

Drinking from his neck.

Jesus.

This wasn’t a normal reaction from me. This wasn’t how I handled animosity. Not with anger. Not with violence. Maybe with a cute quip. Or to just brush it off. Not with images of violence.

It’s him,
I thought suddenly.
It’s his thoughts. His anger. His violence. The thing inside me.

“
Hey, you okay?” asked the guy. To his credit, he looked a little nervous.

He should be nervous.

Again, that wasn’t my thought. I wiped the sweat from my brow and nodded. “Yeah, I’m fine. Is Andre around?”

The guy looked at me some more, then got around to my question. “Sorry, but Andre doesn’t actually work here. Sure, his name is on the sign outside and all the letterheads, but the truth is, he rarely shows up anymore. I thought you might want your card back because I would hate for you to waste it on me when he’s never around.”

I paused and collected my thoughts. “Thank you. Where...where can I find him?”

“
These days? Pick any one of his many girlfriends. Sorry, I shouldn’t say that about my boss, but he’s a hard one to pin down lately.”

“
Why’s that?”

“
Hard to say. Too many distractions maybe. Too much success. Too many endorsements. Too many women.”

“
What would he say if he heard you say that?”

“
I don’t know. And I don’t really care. This place is going to hell in a hand basket and he doesn’t care. I just got off the phone with another parent who’s pulling her kid. I don’t blame her. It’s hard to pitch a world-class studio when the head guy rarely, if ever, makes an appearance.”

“
Is it common for karate champions to own a studio?”

“
Common and expected. And the ones who do at least make a courtesy appearance every now and then to keep everyone happy, maybe a demonstration here and there, something to keep the customers coming back.”

“
I’ve heard rumors that Andre Fine has been trained in,” I paused, picking my words carefully, “other areas of martial arts.”

The big guy crossed his hairy arms. “Oh? In what other areas of martial arts?”

I sensed that he knew immediately where I was going with this. I sensed that I wasn’t the only one who had asked him this question. I also sensed that such accusations had been whispered about Andre Fine for many years now. But these were much more than just feelings. I had slipped briefly into the big guy’s thoughts. I had done so effortlessly. All I had needed were a few moments with him. Now we were connected mentally. Only, he didn’t know it.