In Darkness We Must Abide: The Complete First Season: Episodes 1-5 (36 page)

“
The photos,” Angel said, pointing.

“
You can’t prove those are mine!”

“
Fingerprints, that sort of thing,” a vampire said, sneering. “Sure we can.”

“
You can’t let him go!” Sheila protested. “Roman, he’s not human. He’s vermin.”

There were murmurs of agreement from many of the vampires.

Struggling to contain his own emotions, Roman vehemently shook his head. “We can’t take justice into our own hands.”

“
Roman,” Alisha said in a stricken voice. “He’s seen you.”

Lifting his hand to his face, Roman realized he had removed his mask and hat while speaking to Carlotta.

“Yeah, I saw all your faces!” the clown grinned with triumph. “I’ll tell the cops you kidnapped me.”

Roman shoved his hands through his dark hair, uncertainty clawing at him. Could they risk bringing the authorities into the mansion? Wouldn’t it put them all at risk?

“Got him! We got him!”  Zachary bust into the room, dragging yet another man dressed as a clown. The redhead from East Texas was dressed like Woody from
Toy Story
, but the savageness in his eyes wasn't innocent.

The fragrance of human blood filled Roman’s nostrils, making his head swim with the hunger.  Blood dotted the second prisoner’s outfit. His cheek was badly scraped and bruised, leaking fresh blood.

“Larry,” the new captive moaned, obviously far more frightened than the first man.

Roman had a feeling Zachary had let his prey know that he was a true vampire while subduing him.

“Shut up,” the first clown hissed. “Just shut up.”

“
They ain’t human, Larry. They ain’t human.”

The scent of the blood was so overwhelming Roman could actually taste it on his tongue. He wasn’t the only one. The other vampires had gone eerily still, their gaze fastened to the two men.

“Just what the hell is going on here? I know my rights! I want the hell out of here!” Larry tried to break free of Tracy, violently twisting about.

With a smirk, she deliberately released his arm. “Try to leave.”

Zachery let go of the second prisoner as well. “Try to go.”

Falling to his knees, the man began to weep while Larry rushed to his side. “Get up, Will.”

“They’re not going to let us go,” Will said in a hoarse voice. Yanking off his red fuzzy wig, he revealed dirty blond hair. “We’re going to die.”

“
They can’t hurt us!” Larry shouted angrily. “You can’t hurt us! We’re American citizens.”

“
They’re not human,” Will sobbed. “They’re not human.”

Beads of sweat slipping down over his brow, the man in the decrepit clown suit slowly backed toward the hallway, abandoning his partner. A vampire dressed as Cleopatra darted with vampire swiftness to block his path. She shoved him to the center of the ballroom as the vampires drifted forward to encircle him.

Wincing with pain, Larry climbed to his feet. Nearby, Will continued to sob.

“
I want to go right now! You don’t have a right to keep me here! You aren’t the cops! And I know my rights!”

The molester rushed several vampires and tried to thrust them aside, but they tossed him back into the center of the circle.

Rocking back and forth, his eyes darting all around, Will wailed while Larry paced around the interior of the perimeter the vampires had formed.

“
You ain’t got the right to keep me here!”

Roman stood at the edge of the gathered vampires, trying to look away. The blood fever was pulsating all around him. The disgusting perverts’ hearts were thundering with fear, further fueling the bloodlust. The clown’s quick, darting movements mesmerized Roman. He had to fight the urge to pounce on him and rip his throat out.

Again the molester made an attempt to break through the vampires. This time he tried to shove Alisha out of the way, but with an angry hiss, she sent him sprawling across the floor with a vicious blow.

Seeing the monster in his sister’s face, Roman discovered his waning humanity. “Wait! Wait! We can’t do this! I’ll call the police! We’ll show them what we have in way of evidence!” Roman pushed his way through the crowd. His face was strained, his eyes burning. The hunger roared inside, begging to be sated.

Alexander gazed at the photos Ben had tossed on the floor and a single, diamond tear tinted with a sheen of red fell from his eyes. Deliberately he raised his head, his eyes glowing. A low growl erupting from his throat, he reached out to Sheila, who took his hand.

“
I agree,” she said boldly. “There is no justice, Roman, when it comes to these sort of men. No one will miss them, only other slimy bastards like them.”

“
We must be reasonable!” Roman interjected. He was trembling as he fought against the need to feed. Looking at his sister, he saw that her eyes were dilated and her teeth elongated.  The pounding heartbeat of the cowering mortals was clearly affecting her as well as the other vampires. “We don’t have the right to judge these men and kill them!”

“
Kill me?” Larry shrieked in disbelief.

“
They’re not human!” Will screamed. “They’re going to kill us.”

Alisha stepped toward her brother, her beauty intensified by the deadly fire in her eyes. “What if these bastards had touched Snow Pea? What if those photos were of her when she was a little girl! Look at them and tell me they don’t deserve to die! You know they do!”

The bald man attempted to break through the gathered vampires once more. This time Angel caught his arm.

“
You’re not going anywhere!” Angel said in a low voice, his eyes flashing red.

“
Oh, shit!” the man gasped in horror, staggering away from him.

***

Armando felt the black energy in the room enveloping him the moment he stepped through the open doors. It took only a few seconds for him to ascertain what was going on. The humans dressed as clowns were stirring the vampire hunger with their wails, sharp movements, and terror. The smell of blood and fear was intoxicating. Armando felt his fangs descend as the hunger howled within him. He took several sharp steps back, trying to regain his control.

“
If we kill them, then we have lost ourselves!” Roman argued.

“
If we
don’t
kill them, we’ve lost ourselves!” Alisha snapped. “We can’t let them go, Roman! They’ll go to the police! We can’t have the police investigating us!”

One of the clowns made an attempt to barrel through the crowd. A vampire backhanded him, the spray from the man’s broken nose splattering the faces of the vampires closest to him. The crowd surged forward.

“Stop!” Armando shouted.

Sheila’s gaze snapped in his direction. “This is justice!”

“It’s an excuse to kill!” Armando retorted.

The fear in the men was leaking into the psychic energy in the room. The necessity to feed was close to boiling over.

Alisha let out a shriek unlike any Armando had ever heard before.  Surging forward, she dug her fingers into the man’s face. “You’ve taken children’s lives! It’s in your mind! I can see it! A small twisted body lying under a house covered by heavy, splintered boards!”

Screaming, the man thrashed beneath her, forcing her fingernails deeper into his flesh. Blood spilled down his face.

“Murderer!” Alisha’s cry was a banshee wail.

Rage swelled within Armando as did the desire to rip the man to shreds. The hunger of the other vampires assailed him, and he clutched his head. “Stop this!”

“He is condemned by his own thoughts!” Angel declared.

“
We can’t!” Roman protested. “This isn’t right!”

The dark hunger ripping through his mind, Armando crumpled against the doorway. The vampires had fallen completely silent. There were no more protests. The decision had been made. Purposefully, they advanced on the terrified men. The one on the floor was shaking so hard his teeth chattered. The clown still standing, surged forward, striking out at the vampires with his fists.

“I have rights! I know my rights!”

Several vampires growled low in their throats, baring their lengthening fangs. It finally sank into the man’s mind that he was truly in the presence of vampires. He screamed in horror.

“They’re not human! They’re going to kill us,” the other man keened.

Raising his hands to his face, Armando fought the desire to tear into the flesh of the men and feed. The sweet scent of Vanora’s hair and skin still lingered on his fingers and palms, and the thought of her grounded Armando. He had to protect her.

“Roman, stop them!” Armando shouted.

It was too late.

Alisha wrapped an arm around the neck of the man standing and jerked his head to the side. Opening her mouth wide, she bit savagely, blood spurting onto those vampires closest to her. Then Angel was on the man, ripping open one of his wrists and feeding off the hot blood. The bloodlust ran wild in the room. The vampires lifted the screaming man into their midst, ripping at him with razor-sharp teeth and nails.

Armando recoiled, struggling against the bloodlust with all his might. He tried not to look at the feeding orgy before him, but his eyes strayed inexorably toward the pandemonium. These vampires who had sworn to not feed off of mortals and only feed from animal blood were gleefully ripping at the flesh of the dying man.

The second man shrieked in pain as the vampires descended on him. The sounds of rending flesh, breaking bones, and the squelch of flesh giving way beneath teeth and claws filled the room.

“
Stop!” Armando shouted. “Stop!”

Plunging into the frenzy, Armando attempted to wrench the vampires from their victims, but they turned on him, slashing with sharp nails, hissing with bloodstained mouths. Zachary shoved Armando violently away from their prey.

“Roman!” Armando shouted, seeking him out among the wild fray. Blood sprayed into the air as one of the men’s arms was ripped from his body. “Roman!

Then Armando saw Roman struggling to drag one of the men out of the bloodbath. The man was barely alive, covered in blood, and whimpering in agony.

Standing apart from the fray was Carlotta, a smirk upon her lips. “Take him, Roman!”

Roman managed to tug the man from the other vampires, and attempted to hoist him away of their reaching hands. Armando saw the moment Roman lost his struggle against the hunger. His beloved friend’s eyes flamed to red, then he tore into the already ruined throat of the mortal.

As long as Roman’s vampires had been dedicated to a lifestyle free of violence and death, it had given Armando some measure of satisfaction that his Master did not control all. Tonight, they had been just as savage as his Master and his vampires. Even Roman had given in to the hunger.

Armando knew he had to get away. He had to return to Vanora and take her from this place. The doors to the hallway were open and he focused on the light pouring in from the hall. Stumbling forward, he found himself trembling as he fought the craving to turn back and drink.  The passion of the hunger vibrated through the ballroom. The barbaric feast taking place behind him was far from over. It would only end when the last drop of blood was consumed.

With a shout of rage, he surged through the doorway and banged the ballroom doors shut behind him.  Shaking, he struggled against the powerful desire for blood. Weeping, he collapsed against the door.  He had to regain his composure. Vanora was alone and afraid. He had to get her out of the mansion and the city. Somewhere in the world, he would find them a safe haven away from all the madness.

Yet, his body yearned to return to the ballroom and feast.

Gradually he became aware of another presence. Raising his gaze, his attention settled on the forlorn figure cowering against the wall. It was Vanora in her beautiful dress, her long white-blond hair falling over her quivering shoulders to her waist.

“
Vanora-” He hoped she was still blind, that she hadn’t witnessed the bloodbath.

“
I saw,” she responded, so faintly only a vampire would have heard her.

Armando felt sickened at the thought of what she had seen and struggled for words. Finally, he said, “I’m sorry.”

Tears filled her eyes, obscuring their striking lavender color.

“
Vanora,” he said in a hoarse, frantic voice.

“
There’s blood on you,” she wailed.

“
I tried to stop them!”

“
It’s all been lies!” Vanora declared, her voice growing shrill. “All of it! You’re still killers! All of you!”

“
Vanora, we’re not perfect. We make mistakes!” He surged toward her, wanting to take her in his arms and soothe her.

Vanora stumbled backward. “Stop right there! Stop!”

Armando obeyed and lifted his hands toward her pleadingly. “Vanora, I would never hurt you!”