Immortal Revenge (12 page)

They stopped upon reaching the entrance to the barn. “Roller skating disco lover turns FBI crime scene investigator. I think there’s a book waiting to be written for you.”

Jules chuckled. “Maybe I should write it. The first crime to solve is the death of her best friend’s lover.”

Katie’s grin slowly flipped upside down.

“Or not.” Jules rubbed her hand along Katie’s arm. “I’m sorry. I really wish this didn’t happen.”

Katie took in a long breath. “I know.” She turned and ran her ring knife across the police tape. Once again, it sliced through the plastic with ease.

She twisted to face Jules and handed her the bags back. “Hold these a second. I know where the key is.”

Jules took the bags, then Katie darted around the barn. Thirty feet away, she searched for a heart etched in the siding. The burnt wood along with the shadow hitting the side of the barn hindered her ability to see anything on the structure. As she removed her sunglasses and hooked them on the front of her shirt, she peered closely at the ground. Kyle had placed rocks in different sizes along the side. She walked slowly and scanned the rocks for two softball-sized rocks with four golf-ball sized ones in the middle. When she spotted the pattern, she stopped and lifted her gaze to the siding. Carved in the black wood, she spotted the heart.

She squatted and turned over one of the softball sized rocks.

“Find it?” Jules yelled.

A black pouch lay in a sunken part of the earth. She picked up the pouch and immediately noticed it was soggy. She squeezed her hand around the wet cloth. Hard keys pressed into her palm.

“Found them.” She jogged toward Jules.

Back in front of the barn doors, she tugged the keys from the wet pouch. They jingled slightly as she unlocked the padlock holding the chains. The lock clicked.

“I don’t think it’s possible for us to get everything. We don’t have the room in our vehicles.” She left the padlock and chains dangling from one of the handles.

“You have
that
many weapons?”

Katie slid the door to the side. “The cellar is bigger than your house. What do you think?”

Before they stepped inside the barn, a foul odor rushed at them.

“Oh my fucking God. What is that stench?” Jules covered her nose and mouth too.

Katie held her breath from the smell of burnt wood soaked in water.

“Please tell me something didn’t die in here.” Jules’s words came out mumbled.

“I think it’s from the fire.”

Katie headed for the back of the barn with Jules a few steps behind. Light trickled in from between the tiny crevices. She’d forgotten to bring a flashlight, but with her enhanced eyesight and memory, she knew where to go and what to look for. When she reached the back corner, Katie peered closely at the ground for a small rusted ring.

“Stay here,” Katie said.

“How can you even see in here?” Jules asked as she came to a halt. “I think I’m going to gag.”

“I’m used to it. And if you need to puke, warn me first so I can move out of the way.”

Katie baby stepped around the back corner until she spotted a circular figure on the ground. She dropped to one knee and touched the object.

“Got it.” She slid her finger through the loop and lifted the hatch. “Don’t move. I’d hate for you to fall in.”

“Maybe you should fill the bags and bring them to me. I can run them to the cars.”

“That’s a good idea.” Katie set the wood board off to the side, then lifted the bags from Jules’s hands. “Just don’t come any closer.”

Having to take her friend to emergency for falling down a flight of stairs would cut into her plans severely. Not to mention it would put Jules’s life in greater danger if her injuries confined her to a hospital bed.

“I think my eyes are adjusting. I see a darker part of the floor.”

“I’ll hurry.”

Katie descended the steps slowly. Five feet from the door, she stopped at a desk near the wall. A battery-operated lantern similar to the ones used for camping waited for her. She pressed the center of the lid and the florescent lights illuminated. Although she had better eyesight than a regular human did, the cellar was ten times darker than the barn. She needed a little light to avoid running into anything.

Keys, lantern and bags in hand, she headed for the first storage shelf. She stopped at the one containing a variety of daggers and knives. After unlocking the unit, she stuffed as much as she could into two bags. As she placed several sheaths in a bag, she realized she needed a nice jacket to help her hide them once she strapped them to her body. Another task she’d have to finish before sundown.

She delivered the two bags to Jules and set back to work filling more. This time she gathered hand-held guns and ammunition, especially all the white tipped bullets. They contained a powdery acid in the head, not lethal to a vamp, but certainly a major pain.

On one of the many nights they’d spent discussing how to beat a vampire, she’d asked Kyle if acid would stop one from attacking. He’d told her it would anger the vampire and burn their flesh, but it wouldn’t detour the vamp for more than a few seconds. Always the thinker, he pondered if the same effect would happen internally. He came with the idea to make a bullet that contained powdery acid in the head. Upon impact with a body, the tip would dislodge and release the acid as the bullet passed through. Then the powder would liquefy as it mixed with blood, spread and cause internal burning. His idea was a good one, but testing it became an issue. Katie didn’t want to shoot acid into Kyle. He finally convinced her, after she gathered and stored enough bagged blood to last for two weeks. She shot one of the homemade slugs into Kyle and the result terrified her, but encouraged him to produce more. He’d told her the acid had spread quickly; burning his insides to the point he’d thought he would spontaneously combust. It also roused his wild side and made him ravenous, but he controlled himself thanks to the extra blood. Would it slow down a vampire from attacking? Kyle seemed to think a couple would lend plenty of time to make a good getaway.

With two more bags filled, Katie left them at the top of the stairs for Jules, then returned to the cellar. She stopped at one of the trunks and unlocked it. Within the wooden chest, empty duffle bags and scabbards lay in wait. She snatched them and headed for the glass case with the swords.

Staring at the deadly swords, she released a heavy sigh. She couldn’t take all the heavy weaponry. Besides, what would she do with them? For the time being, she selected two from the case. She slid the swords into the scabbards, added a few daggers, then placed them in the duffle bag. The remaining would have stay behind with the rest of the weapons. At least she could keep the cellar locked. If the vamp who destroyed Kyle did his job of cleaning minds properly, then no one should come looking on the property.

Rifles were next on her retrieval list. Katie selected two from within the case, grabbed the shells and placed them in a separate bag. When Jules announced her return, Katie took the duffle bag with the swords upstairs.

“It’s heavy,” she said as she handed the bag to Jules.

Jules used both hands to keep it from landing on her feet. “Heavy? Have you got a dead body in here?”

“Do you smell any extra rot?”

“Ha, ha. Very funny.”

Katie returned to the cellar. She placed a few more knives in the last of the tote bags, then grabbed the one with the rifles and did a quick scan. A wave of sadness passed through her. She didn’t know if she’d ever see such a collection of weaponry or ever be back. She and Kyle had touched every weapon in the room. He’d taught her how to use everything, as if he knew the day might come when she would need to fight a killing machine that fed off humans. Maybe he knew more than he shared with her.

Ready to leave, she set the lantern back on the desk and turned out the light. With a heavy heart, she ascended the stairs. Jules hadn’t returned yet, so she set her bags aside and then closed the hatch. Mission completed, she picked up her weapons and headed for the bright exit.

She dropped her bags outside and quickly slid her sunglasses back on her face. Having spent so much time in the cellar, her eyes were accustomed to the darkness. While she shut the barn door and slid the chain through the handles, her vision returned to normal.

“Is that it?” Jules asked as she jogged toward her.

Katie heard the padlock click and then gave one final tug on it. Declaring it secured, she grabbed the bags and headed toward Jules. “I have to put the keys back.”

Jules came to a stop in front of her. She took the smaller of the bags from Katie’s hand. “What’s in the duffle bag?”

“Rifles.”

Katie set her duffle bag on the ground. “Wait here. I’ll be back in a second.”

She dashed to the hiding place for the keys and returned them the way she’d found them, in the damp pouch and under the rock. From a distance and up close, no one would have a clue that access to thousands of dollars worth of weapons lay hidden under the rock. It had been that way for eight years and she hoped it would continue for more.

“Do you know how to shoot a rifle?” Jules asked as Katie came to a halt.

“I learned from the best, at night no less.” Katie grabbed the duffle bag and together they headed for the cars.

“That’s a bit scary. On second thought, I like it. I can use it.
Don’t fuck with me or I’ll have my best friend shoot your ass
.” She deepened her voice so she sounded influential.

Katie chuckled and then stopped. Jules took additional steps until she noticed Katie missing from her side.

“Do we have a couple hours of daylight left?” Katie asked.

“Yeah, quite a bit.” She shifted the tote bag to her other hand. “Why?”

An opportunity presented itself. Katie had time to kill before returning to the hotel. Visiting Ben and shopping for a jacket were on her agenda, but she didn’t believe those tasks would take long.

“Want to learn how to shoot one? I’m sure it will look good on that FBI application.”

“Seriously?” Her elevated tone revealed her excitement.

“Why don’t you put that in my trunk, then come meet me behind the barn. There’s a place Kyle and I used to go in the woods, not far from here. We can shoot a couple of rounds and chat. I know it’s not shopping or roller skating–”

“I’m in. I’m in. Just give me two minutes.” Jules said, jumping and smiling.

Laughter and joy filled Katie as Jules rushed to the cars. Her friend was an amazing person and Katie always enjoyed Jules’s company. What better time was there than the present to fill up on togetherness since Jules would be gone for a week? Not only that, maybe the time had come for Katie to share some of her combat skills with others. Based on Jules’s reaction to her offer, if Katie decided to advertise her services as a trainer, Jules would probably stand first in line to learn. Maybe something good could come from Kyle’s demise.

Then again, maybe Katie was making a big mistake in thinking Jules could handle a gun. Her best friend was a roller skating disco babe and proud of it.

“Only one way to find out if I’m wrong,” Katie mused as she turned and headed for the back of the barn.

8

“That was so much fun,” Jules said as she lifted the lid to the trunk. “But my arms and shoulder are sore.”

Katie placed the duffle bag in Jules’s car. “I’m proud of you. You hit several cans.”

“And I probably killed a couple of trees too.”

Katie shut the back of the trunk and created a low thump. “I killed plenty myself when I first learned how to shoot.”

“Can we come back some time?” Jules asked while they walked along the side of her car.

“Yeah, we should. Once things settle down, we’ll make it a point.”

Jules stopped and opened her door.

“I’ll train you how to use regular guns too.”

“Cool.” Jules slid into her driver’s seat. “Hey, are all these guns registered to Kyle?”

Katie shot her gaze to the barn. She’d completely forgotten Kyle had listed everything in her name in case law enforcement ever got hold of one of the weapons. She’d always considered them his. Everything belonged to him, except her car. In reality, she had a wealth of weapons valued at hundreds of thousands of dollars in her name.