The Blood Order (Fanghunters Book Two) (41 page)

And the tingling in her spine told her it was vamps. Not Blacklake, but vamps hiding and skulking in the shadows. She pulled out her holy water dart gun and watched the shadows. Something moved out of the corner of her eye and she whirled that way, her dart gun aimed. The scant light thrown off the big screen offered little in terms of revelation.

"Come on," she whispered to herself.

There was a knock against a table and a chair fell over. She turned to meet it to the sound of feet shuffling across carpet. Her spine tingled with more ferocity. They were closing in. Inch-by-inch. Her heart began beating harder; she could hear it in her ears. Shivers crawled all over her like ants. "Get ready, Trixie."

More shuffling behind her. She turned, then a knock against a table; she turned back three-sixty. Harsh whispers in the darkness. She was surrounded.

The projector screen turned white, bleaching the auditorium a harsh lunar-like hue. The shadows were diminished, revealing anything that had been hidden before. A savagely wrinkled face was poking out the side of a nearby chair; it hissed. Trixie recoiled in horror. The face then vanished behind an overturned table, before another body bundled past a chair to her right. She turned, catching a glimpse of a scared old man scampering away like a frightened cat. She trained her dart gun at its back as it hid behind a table. It peeked over the top at her with wide, concerned eyes like an animal in the throes of survival. Trixie squinted.
What in the--

More movement behind her; she spun. Two more were eyeing her from beneath a table like hiding children. One of them had parted lips, showing her fangs. She swallowed and turned, her gun aimed at the tables and chairs surrounding her. She spotted more of them scurrying here and there like imps. Little old men in suits cowering in the darkness.

What in the hell are these?
Trixie thought to herself.
These aren't a threat.
One of them hissed in her direction. Trixie pointed her dart gun in its direction and it backed down, vanishing behind a chair. There was more shuffling behind her and then it was going on all around her. They were moving fast here and there like a cartload of chimpanzees. Trixie's eyes widened; she knew what they were up to. They were encircling her. They were keeping their distance, moving around the perimeter of the auditorium, but blocking off both exits. With cautious steps, she began to head toward the exit where the stairs were located, her eyes fixed on all of them at once. She stared at them, baffled by them.
These are the Blood Order vamps? The inner nest of Leviah? A bunch of frail old men? This is his brood?
These are the creatures running the US? The world? Surely not.
Her face pinched in disbelief.

One of them managed a snarl at her; a nasty scowl. She shoved her dart gun in its direction and it backed down. She kept turning in eccentric circles as she moved through the auditorium, her gun trained on all of them at once. These ancient things, no doubt the CEOs of ISIS, Kronos, and ugh Meatpack Food Solutions.

All of a sudden, she was reminded of that boring story Dad always liked to drone on about, the one where he was trapped in a nest with five vamps and blah blah blah.
Well, eat yer heart out, Dad, I'm surrounded by about fifteen of the suckers!

They all danced and hopped amongst the tables and chairs, taking it in turns to try and ice her, hoping to lock her in place so they could get in a bite and pacify her with venom. She thanked her lucky stars for the lenses protecting her mind from their hypnotic tricks. She could see the frustration crawling all over their dry, crinkled faces once they realized their mind control was having no effect.

"Nice try," she said, addressing them all at once. "Your tricks don't work on me."

"Hey, boys, looks like we got us a holy moly here!" one of them rasped
.

"She ain't holy," another one countered. "I can smell the filth on her from here!"

She spun to face him. He was a shriveled creature in a shirt and tie with skin like parchment. "Holier than thou, Jack," she retorted.

Hoarse cackles erupted all around her like demented crows.

"I like her," one declared. "I want first dibs on her blood."

"No, it's mine! You got the last one!"

"That's a lie!"

"I'm none of yours," Trixie told them. She sucked in a lungful of musky office air, her arm outstretched as she continued to pirouette. She could see they were closing in, encroaching her space every time she turned her back on them. Like hyenas, they were entrapping the lion, bit-by-bit. Closing off the space, giving her no room to maneuver. A little more and then they could--

A grotesque grin came up close in her face; she recoiled in horror. By the time she recovered, aimed her dart gun, and fired, the vamp was hopping away, rubbing his hands in glee. The dart flew off and hit the carpet.

She didn't want to waste any more ammo. She needed to make sure she had a clean shot, but they were moving and hiding too fast. She glared around them all as they continued scuttling around her like dark elves, evil leprechauns taunting their prey.

"Oh boy, I haven't had this much fun since 1863," one of them declared.

"Yeah, I can't wait to get my teeth into this fine piece of ass," another chirped.

"You stay away from her, pruneface! She's mine!"

"You all make me sick," Trixie stated through clenched teeth. "You don't belong in this world."

They cackled. Her skin crawled.

"We
rule
this world, child," one of them said in a baritone voice, sending a shiver coursing up her spine. "We got the markets rigged, the politicians in our pockets, and the clergy in our pants!"

"And more guns than
The Wild Bunch
," another jabbered.

"That's right, lady. We control every piece of the board; from the ice to the sand, we own it all."

"And we did it our waaaaaay!"
another wailed like a rabid alley-cat
.

They all cheered and laughed like gibbering monkeys. Trixie's chest began to heave; their stink of musk and decay was getting closer. She was now having to turn faster and faster to keep her dart gun trained on any one of them. They were hunched over goblins, all skipping in excitement to their right in a unified circle, her presence causing dribble to spill down their sagging chins.

She edged further toward the end of the auditorium regardless. Her eyes fell on the stairwell door outside the auditorium. They were blocking off the glass door leading out to it, dancing and skipping from side-to-side ahead of her. She just wanted to get out of there, leave these disgusting creatures behind.

She got to within a few feet of the door, and she stopped. Standing between it and her were two wrinkled bags in expensive suits. They were leering at her like perverted priests.

"Out of my way!" she ordered.

"You can't leave," one of them said in a coarse voice as if his throat had been packed with gravel.

"Just watch me, Jack."

A round of gargled laughter rang out, causing her skin to crawl.

As the seconds ticked by, she could feel them closing in, the circle they were creating getting tighter. Tighter. She poked her gun in the face of one that got too close. He backed down before she could shoot, but the others behind took the opportunity to close in. She forced another back, but the others still got tighter. Her heart began to pick up pace. She spun in a circle, aiming at them all. With each rotation she made, their faces were getting larger, their fangs growing more prominent. They were getting closer. Closer. It was only a matter of time.

Keep them in sight, Trixie,
she told herself.
Keep them in sight.

Panic began to set in; her heart now hammered against her ribs. She was surrounded, trapped in a small circle. They skipped and danced merrily, poking out their rotten, chewed tongues, making scary faces at her. They knew they'd managed to snare their prey. Now all they had to do was finish her off.

One hopped toward her. Trixie shoved her gun forward; the vamp heading her way yelped and hopped back, but another took the opportunity to draw nearer to her. There was a tap on her shoulder; she whirled to see the back of one as it ran away, giggling like a child. Her skin crawled. Laughter filled her ears; it was a disgusting sound like being trapped in an aviary at feeding time.

She took a steadying breath, her legs trembling in fear. There were too many of them; it was impossible to get an aim on all of them. They were too small, too nimble.

Without warning, they stopped. Everything became eerily still. Her heart stopped beating. She watched them with narrowed eyes.

And then it all kicked off.

She was shoved from behind. She staggered across the floor, the blow catching her by surprise. A vamp seized the opportunity; it hopped up to her and grabbed her arm. Trixie screamed. She looked down to see it hanging off her arm like a leech, desperately trying to get fangs into her.

"Get off me!" Trixie shrieked. She yanked her arm away; a loud tear of fabric split the disgusting feeding noises the vamp was making. The remainder of her shirtsleeve came away, taking the vamp along with it. On the way, it dug its claws into her exposed arm, dragging them down her skin, drawing blood. Trixie howled in agony. She threw out a reactive palm. She connected with the side of the vamp's head. The vamp was swiped to the side; it hit the carpet with a grunt, Trixie's torn shirtsleeve still clutched in its grubby claws.

Trixie grabbed her hurt arm. Blood oozed out between her fingers. The sight and scent of blood on the air sent the others into a frenzy. They jumped in.

Trixie reacted. She caught a glimpse of a shriveled hobgoblin storming her way, his fangs bared. She whipped a reactionary boot around and caught it in the face. His nose crunched; he grunted as he smashed back on his ass. She fired off a quick dart, catching him in the leg before whirling back the way she came, leaving him to enter death convulsions. She brought her still outstretched hand around. The muzzle of her dart gun stopped an inch from the vamp that was rushing in, his claws at the ready, his mouth cavernous.

He froze, staring at the barrel cross-eyed.

"Bang!" Trixie said before she pulled the trigger. The dart hit him in the chest, staggering him back into instant spasms. She whirled left and right, shooting at whatever moved her way, her dart gun working overtime. In seconds, bodies sprawled all over the carpet, either dead, floored, or dying, their ancient bodies juddering under the effects of holy water.

Trixie bounced on her heels, her eyes hot and alert, taking in everything. A shrunken gremlin hopped up toward her. Trixie threw a leg back and thrust it forward, kicking him like he was a football. He flew back the way he came, smashing into the glass wall, making it reverberate.

She went to shoot him up with holy water, when something leaped up on her back, throwing her aim off. She yelped and began whirling like a ballerina, hoping to shake off the vamp clamped to her back. He refused to give in, holding firm despite her rapid movements. He slammed a claw on her forehead, wrapping the other around her neck. The stench of decay and death emanating from him like rotten eggs filled her nostrils. He was panting like a rabid dog, ice cold spittle hitting the back of her neck. Disgusting guttural noises escaped him that sounded like an imp in the throes of pleasure; the old bastard was enjoying the exercise he was getting. She tried to peel him off, but he was glued to her.

"Get off me!" she growled. She whipped herself around, hoping to finally throw him off. But as she did, small, wiry arms wrapped around both her legs, trapping her in place. Panic split her in two. She tried to turn
,
but it was as if she were wearing lead boots. Before she knew it, she was encumbered by more as they grabbed hold of what they could, wanting to halt the wild bull.

She groaned under the strain. She wanted to kick out, but they had her rooted.

"We got you now, holy one!" the vamp glued to her back sniggered. "She's ours, boys!"

The others cackled in response, one of them gnawing at her boot.

Trixie closed her eyes. She reached into herself, summoning up every ounce of strength she had. She sucked in a deep breath. "Go to Hell!" she shouted, before releasing a banshee-like scream. She threw her leg out as hard as she could. The vamp pinning it down was sent rolling across the carpet. In the next instant, she brought the same leg up and stamped down on the vamp gripping her other leg. He took the blow full on but remained stuck to her. Trixie raised her boot once more and brought it down again with a screaming grunt. Her heel smashed into the side of his head. His skull literally cracked under the pressure. The blow forced him to reel away, freeing her of his burden.

And then she could move again.

She rolled her eyes to the side. "Now for you!" she sneered to the one on her back. She whirled away, the vamp still piggy-backing her like they were playing in the schoolyard. She straightened her back and then raced backward as fast as she could, catching the vamp by surprise. He let out a panicked shriek.

Trixie didn't let up. She threw herself back, screaming at the top of her voice, till she smashed into the auditorium wall. The vamp crushed into it with a satisfying snap of bones, the glass reverberating under the pressure. He still managed to hold on regardless.