Dominant Species (20 page)

‘
Let’s go. This way, quickly,’ shouted Father Matthew and Jake and Megan followed the Priest at a run. They ran up a side street and across another road. As they turned a corner Father Matthew slowed.

‘We’re here.’

He beckoned them inside the apartment block.

‘
Wait Father, this is too easy. Where are all the vampires, the people?’

‘
God is with us, my son, come on.’

Inside the warehouse th
e stench caught in Lano’s throat as he and his men charged into the building. But instead of the melee of people and scattering of guards they expected, it was totally empty. The paraphernalia used by the vampires to cultivate their food, lay discarded on the floor and benches. The chicken wire built pens, usually bursting with humans, lay empty, with their doors wide open. Lano stopped, his men stopping behind. He frowned.

             
‘It’s a trap! Get out! Move,’ shouted Trent.

Before he
could move he heard another loud explosion, spinning he saw Trent standing in the centre of the warehouse firing his shotgun up towards the ceiling. Lano’s gaze followed the direction of Trent’s aim and his confusion changed to horror as all around dark figures cascaded from above.

Jake
held his breath as Father Matthew knocked once on the apartment door. A million thoughts flashed through his mind, clouding his thinking. But the single thought that stood head and shoulders above the others was whether the Vampire Father Matthew had mentioned would have been able to track down his sister. Was she even still alive, was he actually going to see her, after all this time? Suddenly a new fear grabbed at his chest as he wondered what he would to say to her. He had no answer as Father Matthew turned the handle. The door opened inwards and the Priest ushered Jake and Megan forward into the dark embrace of the room.

Father Matthew slip
ped in behind Jake and Megan and closed the door. There was a muffled murmur from deep within the shadows and something moved in the darkness.

Jake
froze as his eyes became accustomed to the low light and then his heart sank as the scene in front of him slowly materialised from the darkness and with it realisation. The room was dark on purpose, of course it was and he kicked himself for not reading the warning signals, blinded by wanting to believe.

In the middle of the room was
Kathryn. She stood held between two vampires, a hand clamped over her mouth as she struggled to warn him.

But
Jake reacted quickly, raising his shotgun in one fluid motion he aimed it at the vampire to Kathryn’s left, pulling the trigger without hesitation. But instead of the expected explosion there was no more than a dull click.

‘Sorry
, but I unloaded your weapon earlier,’ said Father Matthew from behind Jake.

Megan
’s, eyes narrowed, then she span round and punched Father Matthew in the face. He stumbled back. A second passed before he registered what had happened and then, as he wiped at his blood soaked chin, he pushed Megan hard, she hit the ground with a thud. Two more vampires appeared from either side of them, one grabbing Jake in an iron like grip before he could react, the other hoisting Megan off the floor. Both were distracted by the smell of blood that stained the handkerchief that Father Matthew now held tightly to his nose.

Jake’s eyes
glared at the Priest’s. Father Matthew, unable to hold the stare, hung his head in shame.

‘Why
,’ the only word Jake could manage.

‘
I’m so sorry Jake,’ said Father Matthew, his broken nose thickening his sound of his voice, ‘but I had no choice.’

‘There is always a choice.’

Jake looked at Megan, then across to the haunted face of the woman standing in the dark between the two other vampires. It was the first time Jake had seen his sister in nearly twenty years, but her eyes gave her away. Jake smiled. Kathryn’s knees weakened as she recalled the same look from her childhood, it was the one that said ‘don’t worry, everything will be alright, I promise.’ Then Jake turned back to the Priest, his words soft and cold.

‘
As God is my witness, if you hurt either of them in any way whatsoever, I will find a way to kill you.’ He struggled against the superior strength of his captor.

‘
You don’t understand,’ pleaded Father Matthew, ‘I had no choice...’ he moaned as he turned away.

On the other side of New York City,
Trent, Lano and the team stood surrounded by vampires. Trent looked up and spat in the face of his captor. The subsequent blow, almost too fast to see, knocked him to the ground.

In Brooklyn the attack by the Queen’s own Guard happened like a silent wave
of darkness sweeping down on the unsuspecting humans. By the time the first human realized what was happening it was already too late.

Jake
was led from the room with Kathryn, his younger sister. He looked at the Priest, who nervously fiddled with his rosary.

‘
That won’t help.’ Jake hissed and with impressive speed he pulled a hand free from the vampire’s grip and ripped the rosary from the Priest’s neck. The nearest Vampire casually clubbed Jake with the back of his hand sending him crashing to the floor, the beads scattering and dancing away all around.

‘You Bastard!’ Screamed Kathryn
‘wait until Drameer finds out.’

The vampire’s laughed.

From the ground, his head thumping, Jake looked up at the Priest, ‘How can you turn your back on us and on God,’ he asked.

Father Matthew
knelt down in front of a dazed Jake.

‘Jake, w
hen I helped you escape all those years ago, I believed that God would protect me. I felt so strong. I believed that I could endure any punishment they decided to meter out; because of my faith.’

The vampire guard haul
ed Jake to his feet. Father Matthew stood too so he could face him. He slowly pulled up his shirt. His torso was covered in the most horrific scars.

‘
I was wrong. I wasn’t as strong as I thought, and on that day, I lost my faith.’

‘
There’s still hope.’

‘
My hope rests with the vampires now,’ murmured Father Matthew with total resignation. ‘They are the future, the truth. The Queen has promised me eternal life on earth. Not even God promises that.’ He reached out and tentatively touched Jake’s cross as if it might blister his fingers.

‘
You still wear this. Even after all that has happened, can you still truly believe?’

Jake look
ed deep into the Priest’s eyes and uttered just one word that cut through the silence with the force of a sledgehammer.

‘
Yes.’

The vampire guard grunt
ed, bored with events he and the others dragged Jake from the room with Megan and his sister struggling behind. From down the hallway in a dark corner an unseen figure watched from the darkness of the shadows. It was Drameer.

In the United Nation’s main auditorium t
he Council had been called into session. The Queen was standing before them. On his knees, beside her, in heavy chains was Karick. Around the walls The Queen’s own Guard had taken up position.

A few blocks to the West, t
he last of the resistance were pushed into the holding cells of the old Seventeenth precinct police station, on the corner of One Hundred and Sixty Seventh East and Fifty First Street. After they had been captured they had been marched between ten vampires, across New York to the old police headquarters of the Seventeenth precinct, the nearest station and therefore the nearest cells to the United Nations building.

The ratio of almost one vampire to two men had made Trent smiled – to him it meant that they had a new and earned respect for mankind,
maybe even that they were just a little bit scared. The vampire guard snorted as he closed the heavy cell door. The thick key turned in the lock leaving Trent, his face still covered in dried blood from his earlier altercation, and the others trapped. Trent watched the guard leave and then immediately began to try and find a way out. But after twenty minutes he finally accepted that they had lost.

An
hour later, in the United Nation’s building, the Queen held up her hand and silence fell.

‘
Hear me, all. Today is a new beginning. Long have I had to watch, as the Council bickered and argued like children; the prospect of a vampire War growing closer by the day.’ She looked around the hall.

Nervous eyes dart
ed between her and the broken figure of Karick, kneeling beside her. Whether they agreed with Karick or not, they had believed in his power. Now he knelt defeated in front of the Queen, two of her guards standing each side.

‘
Tomorrow’ she continued, ‘we will have a new Overlord. Tomorrow will also see Lord Karick executed for treason.’

A murmur rustle
d around the great hall.

‘
Silence!’ she almost screamed, madness in her eyes. She scanned the faces of the Council, her gaze coming to rest on Rodan. ‘As I say, tomorrow we will have a new Overlord, delivered into official office. The new Overlord is...’ Rodan smiled, went to stand when the Queen’s next words riveted him to his seat, ‘…Overlord Keermit. All praise Overlord Keermit.’

Rodan’s jaw drop
ped. ‘But your highness.’ he called out, ‘you can’t be serious, not Keermit she’s just...’

T
he Queen’s look silenced him. A quizzical frown fluttered on her face.

‘Are you
questioning my reasoning?’

‘No, but…’
Despite his better judgement Rodan couldn’t stop himself. ‘It’s madness. She’s just a, a…’

‘Yes Lord Rodan? Just a...?’

Rodan hadn’t realized that two of the Queen’s guard had already strategically moved closer to him and were now standing slightly behind and to his left. ‘She’s just a child, you must be mad if you...’He stopped, wishing he hadn’t taken the bait.

‘
I must be mad…’ repeated the Queen slowly, ‘I see you are not happy, Rodan. Perhaps you need some time to consider your position?’

By the time Rodan
saw her nod his arm was already held in a vice like grip. He looked into the eyes of the Queen’s own Guard, knowing that he too had been out manoeuvred.’

‘
Now, shall we continue? Good. Could the remaining Council members stand please?’

To the right of the front row the remaining seven members of the Vampire Council
stood. The Queen smiled.

‘As you know you were given a simple task, stop the resistance. It was a task that you all failed
to deliver.’

‘It was not
that easy,’ blustered Dresden, ‘the resistance were…’ he stopped speaking as the Queen’s eyes locked on to his.

‘I
don’t remember asking you to speak...did I?’ Dresden shook his head, ‘No, I didn’t think so.’ She looked across to the main doorway, ‘bring in the resistance leaders, please?’

The doors open
ed and five more of the Queen’s Guard dragged in Jake, Megan, Kathryn, Trent and Lano. The Queen settled herself on Karick’s throne, flanked by her personal bodyguards. The Priest entered the auditorium behind the vampire guards. The Queen smiled coldly.

‘Good. Now kneel.’

The resistance were pushed to the ground before they could even process the command. To the right of the resistance, facing the Queen, the remaining seven members of the Vampire Council froze, their mouths open. Behind them the Queen’s remaining Guard, all in armour and all carrying their ceremonial long sword, called the Kervet, silently slipped a step closer.

‘
Today a new hierarchy is born, one led by Overlord Keermit who has proved herself both resourceful and able to act in the best interests of the vampire nation as a whole. She paused. The reaction of the remaining Council had caught her eye. She focused her attention on the squat frame of Councillor Dresden.

‘
Dresden, I notice you are not kneeling, do you have something else to say?’

‘
My Lady, the vampire constitution is clear. It requires that power is shared between the Royal House and the Council. The decision as to who should be the next Overlord is one for the Council. I believe that the position of Overlord should be taken by someone with the necessary experience. It is after all a significant responsibility and…’

‘A
nd..?’

‘
Well... It’s just that we all expected Lord Rodan would take the position of Overlord. Someone whom we could support, stand behind and work together to bring back the true way of the vampire.’

‘
I see. Well it is paramount that the vampire council is able to follow the new Overlord with total confidence and unbending loyalty. If I understand you correctly I believe you are saying that you cannot offer the same support to Keermit?’

‘That is what we are saying, your Majesty.’

She paused, a thoughtful look on her face, ‘Lord Dresden. We both agree that vampire stability must be our first concern? Therefore, I cannot have an Overlord that the council does not trust implicitly, can I?’

Dresden look
ed to his peers. His eyes flicked to their faces hoping for some support. There was some nervous agreement.

‘No....
no, my Lady.’

The Queen
glided down the steps toward him, seemingly without actually moving. She smiled, nodded and then moved behind him.

‘Well, m
aybe Councillor Dresden has a point. I mean if we can’t trust one another, where will it end? It seems therefore that I will need to appoint a new Overlord… ‘

Dresden, smiled with relief, ‘thank you my Lady.’

‘…Alternatively we could always appoint...’

Keermit, facing Dresden and the Queen, smile
d as the Queen’s arm appeared through Dresden’s chest, his still beating heart in her hand. ‘...a new Council, I suppose. Your sacrifice for the greater good does not go unnoticed. She glided forward, back to the stage, as behind her Dresden lifeless body slumped to the floor. The rest of the Council looked on stunned. With her back to them she raised her blood stained hand. There was a faint swish of blades. The Council realized suddenly, and too late, that they are surrounded.