The Dead Game (16 page)

Shana answered sharply, “This room can’t actually be here. Once again someone is toying with reality—just to frighten us off from our search. This illusion is even better than the one at Wolf’s house.”

“This time I won’t be frightened off; we’re going to get to the bottom of this once and for all. No one is going to control our minds again!” announced Mike.

David looking impressed, whispered to Mike, “I like this new you.”

Before turning to open the next door, Mike smiled indulgently back at David.

They stood in the doorway facing a very dark room. Its only source of light came from mounted wall sconces holding lit candles. It was too dark for them to make out the faces of the people, who were patiently sitting around a long table at the center of the room. The flickering candlelight threw shadows across their still profiles. The only sound that could be heard was the wind whistling through the trees outside.

Oh no
, thought Linda. This was the room that Father John had described to them when he had peeked through the window a few years back. This meant that they were finally going to find out who was in charge and who the other players were in this demented game.

There was a sudden, sharp knock at the door at the opposite end of the room, causing the occupants seated around the table to abruptly stand up. Their faces were suddenly reflected in the candlelight and were recognizable as the stern faces of Leanne, Diane, Reece, Hayden, and Todd.

Linda’s felt her mouth go dry and her heart quicken its already erratic beat. She couldn’t believe that Todd was involved in this whole fiasco. She had almost given her heart to him, but now she knew better: he was no more innocent than Wolf. Nothing that they’d assumed earlier was correct: they had been wrong about everything. If Todd was bad, then who was good?

The door swung open and in stepped Charles Wolf, stiff and ramrod-straight. He sat down in the large chair at the head of the table, acting like lord of the manor. He motioned for the others to be seated after him. The other five people promptly sat down. Wolf smiled evilly, reveling in the control he held over everyone.

Chapter 23

T
odd stood up to confront Wolf. “Were you the one responsible for all the deaths and disappearances at End House?” His deep voice resonated loudly in the huge room. “We were chosen to protect the town and its innocents—not to destroy them!”

With his black eyes gleaming, Wolf moved forward to meet Todd’s gaze head-on. Hayden stood up to stand by Wolf’s side.

With a sneer in his voice, Wolf haughtily announced, “I’m stronger than all of you combined. Don’t ever threaten me, or you’ll be sorry. I know that you enjoy your innocents,” said Wolf with a cruel laugh—the same laugh that Todd had heard when he’d fled his house with Linda and Shana.

Todd unhappily thought of Linda, fearing that he wasn’t strong enough to protect her and her friends from such pure evil. Comprehending the importance of keeping his mind clear for the upcoming battle, he shifted his focus back to Wolf.

He hissed at Wolf, “The townspeople know of The Dead. It’s not a well-kept secret any longer. It won’t be long before everyone knows about your evil group and your sick plans to destroy mankind. Are you their great leader? You were supposed to save us from them, and not join them.”

“I am the true leader of The Dead, since I am the strongest vampire in the world. Your vampires are weak, since you refuse to drink human blood. Animal blood has made your leaders timid like women. All of you will soon be extinct. The Dead will rise up proud and strong! We’ll finally take our rightful place and control the world!” proclaimed Wolf.

Todd loudly refuted his claims. “We have many more followers than you do around the world. We are growing in number with no sign of ever dying out.”

“Most of those so-called followers of yours are now following me. Soon it will be all over for you!” Wolf shouted before swiftly disappearing.

Todd turned to Hayden. “Are you with him or with us?” Hayden turned his back on him to march out of the room, giving Todd the answer that he’d suspected all along.

The others around the table began a heated argument over their future course of action. Linda couldn’t figure out who was in control: Diane and Reece both appeared to be equally vocal and opinionated.

Todd impatiently interrupted, “We don’t know who has already joined with Wolf and his evil counterparts. We only know that the few of us sitting at this table are true to the cause. It’s time for us to devise a plan that is proactive instead of being merely reactive. We have waited around far too long without stepping in to destroy Wolf and his followers. It is now time to act!”

This was the perfect time for Linda and her friends to make their presence known to those seated around the table. They’d been standing right outside the door, quietly eavesdropping on the conversation taking place inside. Todd and the others at the table appeared to be good, but Linda still didn’t know if they were vampires or not. With her friends close behind, Linda walked into the room. “We must first kill Wolf.”

Todd turned around to face her. “What have you heard?”

“We’ve heard everything. We’ll join you in avenging the deaths and disappearances in town!”

“No! I won’t put you in danger!”

“Too late, we’re already in danger. If you can’t stop him, then he’ll go after the townspeople and the tourists,” calmly replied Linda.

The sheriff barged into the room, frantically shouting, “Where are Shana and Linda? I‘ve searched everywhere for them.”

Todd sighed. “They’re here; they’ve overheard our meeting and now know about The Dead.”

Sam ran over to Shana, gently drawing her into his arms. Gazing into her eyes, he contritely begged her forgiveness. “Shana! I’m so sorry! I’ve never intended for you to get involved in all this.”

Shana responded, “It is okay. We’re all involved in this now; no one in town is safe until we annihilate Wolf and his followers.”

“Should I inform the others?” questioned Sam of Todd.

“No! We don’t know who to trust anymore. We must be careful from now on and proceed very cautiously.”

“Are you a human or a vampire?” interrupted Linda. She was closely watching Todd’s stern face. Again he didn’t appear human: his thoughts and feelings were completely hidden behind his shuttered expression.

“Sam and I are human. We are human vampires—just like Gregg, Judy, Ryan, Hank, Shirley, Minnie, and Frank. We are the only human vampires in the world.

“The elders—Leanne, Diane, and Reece—lead the good vampires of the world. The vampires at this party are good…or are supposedly good. We had assumed that Wolf and Hayden were good vampires, but now we know that they are the ones who created the splinter group, The Dead. Wolf had been one of our elders, but now he’s just admitted that he was the one who originally organized the evil group of vampires and was its bloodthirsty leader.”

He continued, “The Dead are an aberrant form of vampire. They are pure evil. They feed on human blood in order to gain more strength for their devious games and their master plot to overthrow the other vampires in the world. We don’t know which of our followers have betrayed us. We’ll have to seek out and punish the deserters.”

Looking into Linda’s eyes, he explained, “Vampires aren’t murderers: vampires do not kill humans. Don’t worry, when we have more time I’ll explain everything to you; but for now, just know that we’re here to protect you and your friends.”

“What about your friends that I met this evening? Are they trustworthy?” she fearfully asked; she didn’t want Todd to be angry with her because she’d questioned the loyalty of his close friends.

“I can guarantee the friendship of Alan and Amy; however, the loyalty of the other two couples still remains to be seen,” admitted Todd.

She had really liked the duke and the duchess, but the count and countess had left her feeling cold inside.

“Are they vampires?” She cautiously asked Todd.

“Yes. Everyone at Diane’s party is a vampire, besides the few human vampires. And except, of course, for you and your human friends.”

Glancing around the room, she couldn’t find the elders anywhere. They’d disappeared without her even noticing. They seemed too eager to leave the tense scene being played out between vampire and human, preferring to remain in the background. She couldn’t understand how the elders had been fooled by two of their own; they must have remained hidden too long on their mountain—missing all the important signs of trouble happening all around them.

Todd led Linda over to a quiet corner. “Please return to the dance floor with me.” He calmly explained his reasoning. “We don’t want anyone to suspect that anything might be wrong.”

The humans and human vampires returned downstairs to join the remaining dancers. This time as Mike and David approached women to dance; they seemed more hesitant and wary over their choices. They were treating their dance partners as lab specimens, realized Linda, eyeing them as they held them away from their bodies. Linda chuckled to herself; they most probably were afraid of being bitten by these beautiful creatures.

As she spun around the room with Todd, Linda searched for the other human vampires from town. If they were really on Todd’s side, then where were they? She wasn’t going to say anything to him about them; he had enough to worry about without her raising additional concerns. And what was a human vampire, anyway? Were they any better than regular vampires? According to Todd, human vampires were actually still human.

She was tired of worrying about the town and its strange inhabitants. She murmured softly to Todd, “For just a moment I’d like to believe that this evening is magical and beautiful—all that I’d imagined for tonight.” She leaned her head against his shoulder and softly sighed.

A little while later, she whispered to Todd, “Can I slip away to the powder room for a few moments? I’ll be right back.”

“Be careful to return quickly without any unnecessary stops to chat with anyone. We must leave undetected, and very soon.”

Linda walked quickly down a side hall to the women’s powder room. The dark corridor was deserted and quiet: the only sound was the click-clack of her high heels on the marble floors. She reached the empty powder room, where she washed her face. The walls were done in white frosted glass, providing the bathroom’s occupants with privacy, and decorated with ornately carved gold-framed mirrors. In the mirror over the burnished gold sink, she unhappily noticed that her face appeared white and ashen, her eyes deeply troubled.

She doubted whether she could successfully pull off the charade much longer of appearing calm and happy. The terror she felt inside was now being reflected in her face and even in the way she moved. Her voice had taken on a new quiver that she’d never noticed before. Composing herself as much as possible, she returned to the party.

Passing the empty tables by the tall windows, she felt her arm being tugged—very hard. Before she could react, she found herself being forcibly dragged through the open patio doors and onto the isolated garden path. She came face to face with the mighty Wolf and his trusted companion, Hayden. The grounds appeared to be deserted: the partygoers had already retreated from the gardens, leaving her all alone with the two wicked vampires.

Wolf glared at Hayden. “Please let go of her arm; we are not animals. We never force ourselves on women.”

“Chivalry among demons—I’m very impressed. Too bad your table manners and choice of dishes leave a lot to be desired,” sarcastically responded Linda. Her hatred of Wolf had just caused her to forget her low position in the food chain; she closed her mouth to stop herself from talking. In the future, she must remember that he was a vampire—the strongest one in the world—and that he could easily destroy her at any time.

Wolf didn’t seem the least bit focused on her. “I didn’t come here to play parlor games with you. I need you to convince Todd to join with us. He can never be human or fully accepted by them. He belongs with us! It makes more sense for him to stick with his own kind.”

“He’s not like you in any way at all: he cares too deeply for people and is loyal to his friends. On the other hand, you and your kind enjoy killing too much and have no feelings whatsoever.”

“Todd will never be accepted by humans or by his own kind! He will be an outcast with nowhere to go!” screamed an agitated Wolf.

“Todd is human and will always be accepted by humans.”

“Let’s kill her now, boss. She’s going to be trouble; I could take her away and no one will ever see her again,” urged Hayden.

Oops, she did it again: her big mouth had now sealed her fate.

Wolf strolled over to her with a wicked gleam surfacing in his eyes.

“I have a much better use for her in the future. When she finally comes to her senses, she’ll realize that she will be better off with a real vampire with limitless powers than with a pathetic human. She’ll learn about intoxicating love and passion—not the games that humans play that pale in comparison. Here comes the human. Let her go for now.”

Linda was horrified to find herself wrapped in Wolf’s strong, muscular arms. She became hypnotized by his black eyes and tempted by his deep voice. He seemed perfect in every way. Suddenly, she only wanted to be with him.

“I’ll be back for you,” promised Wolf as he held her tight against him, whispering dangerously in her ear. ”I love the way you stand up to me with your flashing blue eyes. Soon you’ll be mine, my beautiful ice queen.”

Linda couldn’t move; she was stuck in some kind of trance…she couldn’t leave or even want to leave if given the choice. His voice soothed her and made her think of love, passion, and great need: a need that could be assuaged only by Wolf with his expert hands and mouth. She knew that one day she was going to be with him, to be joined with him.

Slowly his mouth lowered onto hers, drawing her into a swirling miasma of unexpected feelings and desires. His mouth fully covering hers introduced her to a new realm of pure pleasure. His powerful form enveloped her, making her feel feelings that were foreign and untried for her. She couldn’t get enough of him. She tentatively began touching his face and then his body with an eager and unrelenting hunger. She didn’t know exactly what she needed, but she knew that she wanted and desired this beautiful man standing right before her. Her past life was washed completely out of her mind, never to be considered again. She begged him to take her with him tonight. In response, Wolf lifted her in his arms—as if she weighed nothing—and turned to leave the party. His beautiful face looked victorious and happy. His black eyes filled with passion. She hoped that it was because of her. Then he looked down into her small face and gave a hearty roar.

While Wolf carried her in his powerful arms, a dark shadow swooped out of the house and flew directly at them. Linda was knocked out of his strong grasp, while Wolf was thrown across the patio.

She looked up to see who had attacked them. It was Todd, his eyes a deadly shade of green, standing there panting.

Linda backed away in horror. His eyes clearing, Todd looked beseechingly at her. “Don’t ever be afraid of me! I’m here to protect you!”

Then he was struck down by Wolf.

They began circling each other like two wild animals. Todd thrust his whole body at Wolf, causing Wolf to lose his balance as they crashed together to the ground. Wolf violently pushed Todd aside and swiftly stood back up. He lunged at Todd, who neatly sidestepped his maneuver. Todd retaliated by lifting him high up in the air and flinging him through one of the glass doors to the house. Wolf rose up and dusted glass off his clothing.

He fiercely warned Todd, who stood proudly before him, “We are not anywhere near finished, my dear friend. The next battle between us will be more private—without so many witnesses. If I were you, I would watch your back…and your pretty little girlfriend,” said Wolf as he stalked away with Hayden following close behind. Todd quickly followed.

Linda was left standing alone outside. She felt bereft without the touch of Wolf’s lips on hers and the solid strength of his arms holding her. She had felt the unmistakable pull by him on all her senses. In his arms, she’d felt weak and needy—as if she needed him to live. Todd and Wolf were extremely powerful and both had taken hold of her senses.