Sunset Strip: A Tale From The Tome Of Bill (20 page)

“What the hell was that?” I asked, splashing some slime her way.

“Sorry,” she gasped. “Didn’t want to hit you by accident.”

Oh yeah. I stood up and saw the water around us turn brownish from all the blood that had washed off me. It wasn’t really an improvement. I’d take sticky over slimy any day of the week.

The creature lay face down, smoking. Its body was mostly intact, and it shuddered once. I backed up a step, but that was all the movement it made. It appeared the heat had fused it together.

“Didn’t want to waste time trying to find a soft spot,” Christy said from behind me.

I turned and offered her a helping hand. “Good call.”

“Thanks. Let’s hope we don’t meet any more. I don’t think I have another shot like that in me.”

“I didn’t think you had that one.”

“Almost didn’t.”

“Horseshoes and hand grenades.” I was glad that we didn’t have to find out what would have happened had she not.

* * *

The water was now up to our waists and a current had begun to push at us. The storm must have been dumping a lot of rain above. It wouldn't be long before a raging torrent of fast-moving water would flood the tunnels. If we didn’t find Kara and get out before then, she was done for. Back during my days here, there were stories every year of bodies found in the drainage tunnels after the rains came.

Thankfully, we hadn’t yet run into any more of those things, but I had a feeling that, much like the water, their presence in these tunnels would soon be impossible to avoid. Though most of the smell around us was the flood plucking shit off the walls and floor, their scent was still heavy in the air.

“Are you sure she came this way?”

“I’m not sure of anything other than the flight out of here had better have a fucking shower.”

“What about the...”

A scream echoed in the tunnels ahead. It was definitely Kara’s.

“Hold on to me,” I ordered and began pushing my way ahead. Every step brought us a little deeper. By the time we reached a curve in the tunnel, even I could barely keep my pace. Soon we’d have to swim, and that would be about as effective as waiting for shit to slide uphill. Fortunately, though, we vampires have a few tricks up our sleeves for just such an emergency.

Sidling close to the wall, I extended my claws and dug them into the concrete for purchase. “Ouch! Watch the hair.”

Christy held on for dear life as I slowly made my way forward, my feet at last losing contact with the ground. Drowning isn’t too much of a problem for those of us who are already dead, but the witch piggybacking on me might’ve taken issue with it. There was also the fact that I really didn’t want to be submerged under Las Vegas’s collective shit water.

“When we find her,” I called back, “I hope you don’t mind if I kick her ass for running.”

“Be my guest. I can always wipe her mind later.”

I smiled despite the unpleasantness of the situation. When this was all over, I might even consider hanging out with Christy more often...sans her boyfriend and his family, of course.

I continued to crawl forward, each handhold bringing me closer to the limits of my strength. I had nearly reached it when the tide finally began to slacken. I craned my neck. Maybe we were heading up an incline, but it was hard to see with my head just barely above water.

Kara’s cry for help came again, seemingly just up ahead...although it was difficult to tell. Christy and I kept quiet. There was no telling if she’d do something stupid if she found out we were the ones coming to her rescue.

I continued to claw my way ahead, easier now, when I realized too late why that was.

A cross current slammed into us from the T-intersection we reached and ripped my grip from the wall, catapulting us through the water at a ninety degree angle. Christy’s hold on me slipped, and she let out a cry as she was swept away down the new tunnel.

I reached to try and grab her but was slammed head-first into the opposite wall before being dragged under.

Chapter 32

I saw stars, or at least would have had a glop of something unpleasant not been washed into my face. Oh yeah, I was definitely going to kick Kara’s ass when this was over and done with. Victim or not, the girl had earned it.

I dug my claws into the wall and began to climb, heading up on a diagonal so as to not get immediately swept away. Even so, it was a struggle against the current. I hoped Christy was okay, but pushed my worry for her to the side. She was a smart girl. No doubt she’d kept a little magic in reserve for a life or death emergency such as...oh, I don't know, being caught up in a biblical deluge of storm runoff and sewer sludge. If not, there wasn’t much I could do about it.

I finally surfaced, grasping a hold of the corner opposite of the one I’d been dragged from. Hopefully, like the previous tunnel, the current in this one would be less powerful. Dragging myself around the corner, I saw the tunnel rise ahead of me. There was perhaps a foot, no more than two, of space between the rushing water and the ceiling here, but up ahead, things were different.

The tunnel opened up further on, the top rising high above. Machinery hummed in the distance, but I couldn’t see its source. I must’ve been in a pumping station or something. A metal catwalk suspended from the ceiling ran into the distance, hanging just above the surface of the water.

Oh, and look at what the catwalk dragged in. Hanging by her fingers, the majority of her body in the water, was Kara. She held tight, but lacked the strength to pull herself up...wuss.

I ducked below the surface and began to claw my way to her...making headway now that the tide of the cross tunnel was behind me. It was a good thing, too. I had a feeling things were only going to get worse. The water level still seemed to be rising. It was only a matter of time before a tsunami of storm runoff came rushing through here. When that happened, it wouldn’t matter which tunnel we were in.

Sadly, the sediment - or at least I tried to convince myself it was sediment - made it impossible for even my enhanced vision to cut through the murky water. I had to rely on my best guestimate. Finally reaching what I thought to be a spot right behind her, I surfaced and, of course, found nothing. Goddamnit!

* * *

Not one to look a gift catwalk in the mouth, I grabbed hold of the railing and hoisted myself out of the filthy water. God, what I wouldn’t have given for a bar of soap.

I coughed and took my first dry breath in what felt like hours. The scents it brought told me too late that I was not alone.

*BLAM*

The bullet slammed home into my shoulder and nearly sent me tumbling back into the flood. I should have let it - a second ball of hot lead caught me in the gut and drove me to my knees.

I looked up to see Barlow step out from a side tunnel I’d missed from my vantage point down below. He grinned like the shaved ape he was and held a smoking weapon.

Mark walked past him, one arm draped protectively around Kara. I had little doubt he’d planned it that way. It wasn’t hard to imagine him using her like bait until such time as he saw me coming, then swooping in to save the day. It’s exactly what I would have done.

“Hi, lover,” I gasped, spitting up blood.

“I won’t lie, Lucinda,” he replied, “you’ve looked better.” He took a sniff and wrinkled his brow. “Smelled better, too. I hate to say it, but I think I’m going to pass on our date.”

“At least you didn’t waste any money buying flowers.”

“Kill her, Mark!” Kara whined, burying her head in his shoulder. “She’s a monster.”

She was right about that, but too stupid to realize I wasn’t the only one.

“Tsk tsk.” He stroked her hair with one hand. “Let’s not be hasty.”

“You should cap her, boss,” Barlow suggested, “so we can get the fuck out of here. Marlene wouldn’t want us to stay down...”

Mark turned and grinned savagely. “Who gives a shit? Marlene’s dead. That means I’m in charge now. So I would kindly ask you to shut the fuck up while I’m speaking.”

“Not much of a coven left to rule.” I was trying to buy time for my body to heal up enough to do something, albeit I wasn’t sure what. Barlow still had his weapon trained on me and, no doubt, had plenty of ammunition left. My reflexes were superior, but the distance between us meant he could pepper me with lead before I closed in on him.

“The others are around somewhere,” Mark mused.

“You split up?”

“I needed someone to be a distraction for those things. Don’t worry. They’re all big boys. I’m sure they’re fine...and if not, I’ll just make more.”

“What do you mean, Mark?” Kara asked, lifting her head.

“You just don’t get it, you stupid little cooze, do you?”

She recoiled as if he’d slapped her in the face. I had to admit it was strange for me, too. It was hard to reconcile the man who stood before me with the one I had known all those years ago. He’d been kind, never one to let the seedy underbelly of the Strip get him down. Many a night we’d spent together doing little more than confiding our dreams and enjoying each other’s company.

The creature before me wore his face, but that was all. Even that illusion didn’t last. Mark pulled out a lighter and flicked it on, illuminating the dark space - no doubt for Kara’s benefit. His eyes darkened and his fangs extended. “Lucinda’s not the only monster down here, girl. She’s not even the worst.”

I would have said something pithy at that, but Kara’s screams drowned out whatever comment I could make. The poor, dumb girl. It sucked to be the last one to get the memo.

He grabbed her by the hair before she could back away. It wasn’t much, but it was possibly my only chance. I sprang at both of them. The impact would probably shatter a few of her bones, but it was better than what he had planned for her.

Sadly, I’d momentarily forgotten about Barlow. Another shot rang out, echoing even above the roar of rushing water. I might have noticed it had grown noticeably louder had it not been for the sensation of my left kneecap being blown apart.

* * *

Fuck me! As an experienced vamp, my pain threshold was pretty damn high, but that didn’t mean I didn’t feel it. First gut shot, and now crippled. These assholes were going for maximum hurt.

That was bad for me, but maybe it wasn’t the smartest course of action for them. The fuckwits were making the same mistake Marlene had. If you have the chance, kill your enemy. Otherwise, your enemy is going to fucking shiv you the first chance she gets.

Assuming she gets a chance, that is.

For now, I settled for crashing down onto the metal grate that held us. I don’t weigh much - not bragging or anything, although I do work to keep my figure - but the catwalk noticeably shuddered as I landed with a splash, the water level seeping up over the bottom.

Mark smiled down at me as he pulled the still screaming Kara in. He pushed her head to the side and flashed his fangs at me. At the last second, though, he shifted and bit down onto her shoulder instead. The bone made an audible crunch.

The pitch of her cries increased to the point where wine glasses somewhere above us were surely shattering. It’s times like this that I rued the fact that earplugs weren’t part of my normal ensemble.

Mark pulled back and licked his lips. The wound on her shoulder was ugly, but not fatal. “Sorry, baby, but you’re just not worth turning. Sluts like you are a dime a dozen. Wouldn’t you agree, Lucinda?”

I glared up at him, mindful of Barlow's gun still trained upon me. Part of me was waiting for the perfect moment. The rest was in shock at how far Mark had fallen, how much he’d let the predator inside take over.

Had I ever been that bad? It was a stupid question. I knew the answer.

“I’m still gonna have some fun with you, though...” Before he could finish, the sound of rushing water became louder until it all but drowned him out.

A wave struck us. The surge was at least four feet higher than the top of the water had previously been. It hit Barlow and Mark from behind, dousing the lighter and staggering them, before completely covering me.

I tensed my good leg. There wasn’t going to be a better time.

The moment the surge passed, I launched myself. Barlow fired another shot, but this one went wide thanks to the small tidal wave of filth. I slammed into Mark and drove him backward into his pet goon, ruining any shot he had unless he planned to shoot me through Mark - a dubious premise. It would have been a smart maneuver, one I’d have done in a second, but I doubted he had either the brains or the balls to empty a clip into his new master.

Mark lost his grip on Kara, who fell to her knees whimpering in the renewed darkness. Jeez, she just had a little nip taken out of her.
I
was the one missing a fucking kneecap.

Unfortunately for me, this served to free up both of Mark’s hands.

I managed to reach past him with my left, knocking the gun out of Barlow’s grasp and into the raging water below. I raked the nails of my right hand across Mark’s chest, drawing a furrow of blood. Unfortunately, he extended his own claws and brought them up into my abdomen, right into the spot where I’d been shot. Fuck! It had just started to close up, too. In a split second he undid what little healing my body had managed and then dug even farther in.

The pain was incredible, and I screamed despite myself. Mark wrapped his free arm around me, drawing me in closer as if in an embrace. Barlow, showing he had a few working brain cells, grabbed the hand I’d used to disarm him and did the same, preventing my escape.

As I opened my mouth to cry out again, Mark pressed his lips into mine.

He then pulled back and flexed the fingers of the hand still inside of me. “I always wanted to make you scream, Lucinda. This is not quite how I imagined it happening, but I’ll take it. I hope it’s good for you, too.”

I felt woozy. Mark’s hand continued to tear at my innards. A few more inches and he’d be in prime condition to rip the very heart from my body.

A voice inside my head reminded me that I’d broken his heart once upon a time. Perhaps this was a fitting comeuppance.