Hallowed
Crossing
Disclaimers: see
Chapter 1
Annie raised her head from its position of leaning on
Cerys’ either sleeping or dead body.
<God,> she mentally cursed. She did feel weak from the blood loss and the excitement from the
night before.
As she sat on the area rug on the hardwood floor of the
cabin, she took the opportunity to study the female vampire in front of
her. It seemed easier now that she
didn't have those intense blue eyes probing back as well as Cerys’ intensity
distracting her.
<The night before had been one hell of a ride,>
she thought, making mental notes to write down later. A strange woman showing
up at her rented cabin with a strange name and an even stranger story to tell
the writer. A story of vampires,
portals between realms, evil Master vampires wanting victims, heroic female
vampires determined to stop the Masters, and some new insight into the vampire
legends.
The most intense part was the revelation that Cerys, the
woman sleeping or dead on her sofa, was one of those female vampires, a
Warder. That was why Annie couldn't
tell if Cerys was "alive" or not.
Not having a pulse, respiration or warm skin made determining life signs
difficult, the writer realized. Her
writer’s mind quickly organizing her thoughts and feelings about what had
happened last night. It had all
happened so damned fast, she thought.
<What was it about Cerys?>
Annie had totally accepted the woman without a question. <Where the hell were her questions and
logical mind?> <Where were
her doubts?>
Then the night had gotten even more intense when evil vampires showed up, wanting to kill Warder Cerys and her new human friend. The battle had been swift but deadly when one of them had wounded Cerys and another grabbed Annie's son and proceeded to threaten the boy’s life with his fangs.
Annie shuddered with the memory of seeing the only thing
that mattered in her life hanging on the edge of destruction like that. Her son, Travis, who was only seven years
old, had been screaming for his mom and Annie hadn't been able to fight the
vampire off her son.
Only Cerys surrendering to the vampire had saved her
son's life. The vampire had accepted
the richer prize of a Warder vampire to a small human and had dropped the
boy. Annie dragged Travis further into
the cabin where they would both be safe while the vampire turned his fangs and
claws to Cerys.
Annie brushed some of her blonde hair out of her eyes and
her hand went to the wounds at her throat.
They were tender and the entire side of her neck felt bruised. The wounds themselves didn't feel large or
vicious, just... there. She was also
tired and felt a little groggy, <probably the blood loss,> she thought to
herself.
Annie had given her blood to save Cerys' life. At least, she hoped it had saved the vampire,
she thought as she glanced at the tall dark woman.
It was two days to Halloween night and, if what Cerys had
told her was true, they had very little time to prepare to fight several evil
vampires and stop the Master of all Vampires from crossing over into the mortal
realm.
"Mom?" Annie looked up and smiled at the sight
of her son in his ‘Star Wars Darth Mahl’ pajamas and bunny slippers. His hair was mussed up and sticking out
everywhere on his head. This plus his groggy
eyes were a common sight in the early morning hours.
'Not a morning person' didn't begin to describe her son;
Annie smiled and got to her feet to approach him. She wanted a moment away from the sofa before trying to explain
to him what had happened the night before and who was sleeping on their
sofa. <Not that she had the
answers,> she thought ruefully.
She knelt and pulled her son up into her arms for a rare full hug and he grinned. He was beginning to hit the age where he wasn't sure if he wanted kisses and hugs from his mom anymore. That might be little kids stuff, he explained once. This apparently was one of those times when it was okay.
"Morning!" she said cheerfully and he
giggled. They both knew each other
pretty well and he laughed at her over-enthusiastic tone. He had inherited her lack of morning
personality and they both knew it.
Travis needed breakfast and a glass of orange juice before he was semi-coherent
and she needed either a Coke Classic or a strong cup of tea to get her engine
turned over and running. He looked over
her shoulder with raised eyebrows and Annie turned where they could both look
at the sleeping or ‘dead’ Cerys.
"Last night was weird, kinda like a movie,
huh?" she asked her young son with a reassuring smile.
"Yeah!" he agreed enthusiastically. "That guy with fangs, like a movie
vampire. It's still a couple of days
before Halloween and we get to dress up and go into town and trick or treat
and..."
Annie laughed and continued to smile as she carried him
to the kitchen and sat him down at the table.
"I thought he was gonna hurt me though,"
Travis' face became very serious and his eyes quickly filled with tears. "He hit you and you went flying like in
a movie or on TV. I thought you were
scared."
"I was," Annie admitted, sitting in a chair
across the table from him. "That
man was a bad guy and he was playing dress up so he could scare people."
"Like bank robbers who wear masks?"
"Yes, exactly," Annie agreed. "He wanted to hurt us."
"Why?" Travis asked with a puzzled frown,
unable to comprehend why someone would want to hurt his mom. His friends often told him that she was
pretty for a mom and the friendliest mom they knew of.
"I don't know, Trav," she said softly. "Sometimes bad people want to hurt
other people just because they're so angry or hurting. It doesn't make sense and sometimes they
don't know why they do it."
"Is that like Tommy Callahan at school?"
"Who is that?" Annie asked, cursing whatever god
or fate had led her to a table in an isolated cabin in a weird little mountain
town trying to explain why a vampire almost killed her young son the night
before.
"A kid in my class, sometimes he kicks his dog Tiny
after his mother hits him," Travis explained and Annie felt her heart give
a jump.
"Sometimes it’s like that," she agreed. "Other times there doesn't seem to be a
reason, sometimes people are just mean and hurtful. My friend out there helped run the bad man off last night but she
was hurt and is sleeping now."
"Is she going to be okay?" the small boy asked
in a very serious voice.
"I think so, but she might sleep all day,"
Annie said with a smile. "I think
we should leave her sleeping while we go to town, what do you say? Could you use some more cookies?"
"Oh yeah!" he agreed, his large and charming
smile returning. "Maybe some new
crayons too?"
"I think we can manage that at the drugstore,"
she grinned. "Go get dressed and
try and comb that hair of yours."
"Okay."
************************
Annie
moved Cerys’ jacket back over the vampire and tried to remember if any direct
rays of sun ever hit the sofa. She
carefully pulled the drapes shut and leaned a chair against them to hold them
in place.
The
writer looked at her watch and nodded, realizing it was just after 9 a.m. and
Jeannie, her editor, would be in her office.
She could confirm that she knew Cerys and that both of them set her up
in this cabin to find out about the vampires.
She intended to have a few words with her about that little stunt. <Jeannie knew she had a small son,
damnit!>
Annie
went to the kitchen and picked up the telephone receiver and began dialing from
memory but then frowned at the device.
She hung up the receiver and then lifted it again. Clicking the buttons didn’t help
either. There was no dial tone at
all.
Annie
went to the hallway and stuck her head in her son’s doorway and grinned at the
sight of him having a miniature war on his bedspread between cowboys and
Indians. The cowboys were blue and the
Indians were red. He had built hills
and valleys with the folds of the cloth and his pillows and was engrossed;
Annie noted with a grin that the Indians were winning.
The
writer went outside the back door and began tracing the telephone line. It didn’t take long to find the cut, it was
right in front against the cabin before the line ran to the roof and then to a
pole in the driveway. Presumably, the
line then went wherever telephone lines ran in this part of the country to
connect people to civilization.
Not
only had the line been cut but also a portion of it was missing. Without some similar wire, Annie couldn’t
even splice the wiring together with the large gap which was missing. Her frown deepened and she trotted over to
their car, her dependable Saturn.
The
car was probably still dependable, if all four wheels had been inflated. As it was, the car sat on its rims and each
tire was shredded. The driver's side
window was also broken in and her cell phone was missing. Someone didn’t want Annie contacting the
outside world for help and she had the sudden dread that they would be back
that night.
Annie,
still feeling a little weak and groggy, mentally kicked herself. There were things to do if she was going to
protect herself and Travis, not to mention Cerys if the vampire didn’t wake up
in time.
The
first thing the mother did was fix a large breakfast for her and Travis. The boy was delighted to have pancakes,
scrambled eggs and bacon. Annie had
promised him breakfast at the little coffee shop in the nearby town but he
always told her he liked her pancakes best of all in the world. Then he clarified, <except maybe the
special ones at IHOP>.
Annie, even though she didn’t have much of an appetite, made herself eat enough to give her the energy she was going to need for the day. She almost finished off a quart of orange juice by herself.
Then
she broke the news that they weren’t going to town right away and Travis was of
course disappointed. Annie distracted
him by saying he could watch her work the chainsaw from the porch if he
wanted.
Annie
figured it was a male thing or something but Travis seemed fascinated by the
tools around the cabin, especially the chainsaw. She knew it wasn’t from watching horror movies either, she didn’t
allow that. The closest she thought he
got was the kid movie “The Littlest Vampire”, but apparently he received his
knowledge of bad guys with fangs from his babysitter, who wasn’t as careful about
what he was allowed to watch. Annie
made a mental note to talk to the girl’s mother about that.
Annie
figured that while she might write horror fiction, that didn’t mean her son was
old enough to read or see it yet.
Even
though he was fascinated, Annie kept him at a respectful distance from the
chainsaw and splitter, as well as the shotgun she kept in the house. Whenever she was chopping wood, he would
watch from the porch while she worked away with gloves and safety goggles on.
Annie
knew they had enough firewood for the stove to get through until the fall when
they would return to the city, Travis would return to school and Annie,
hopefully, would turn over a novel for editing. What Annie was wanting now was small, long blocks of wood; long
enough to make stakes out of.
Cerys
hadn’t mentioned stakes as a means of killing vampires but a wall of them might
slow them down, she figured.
Annie
had Travis return to his battleground while she prepared for a real-life one
inside and outside the cabin. The fight
the night before gave her some ideas for surviving the next night, hopefully.
The
writer placed shotgun shells in various areas around the cabin and then in a
couple of places outside as well: by the back door and on the porch - out of
sight. She also placed the wood
chopping axe just inside the back door and went to work on the stakes.
Travis
moved his cowboys and Indians out onto the porch and watched her work. After an hour Annie was hot and tired and
amazed at how good he was being; he was still on the porch and hadn’t bugged
her to let him see the chainsaw again.
As a
reward, she let him have a Popsicle from the freezer while she sipped at a
Coke, taking a momentary break.
A
few more preparations and Annie was only beginning to be satisfied. <One advantage of having a military
father>, she thought, <she knew how to camp and she knew how to
use whatever was close at hand.> Even though she hadn’t been born a
male, her father had ignored the traditions of only teaching sons certain
things like: camping, fishing, hiking, how to use a compass, how to use an axe
and other useful things for living in the woods. If she had been a boy, Annie figured, she could have excelled in
Merit badges in the Boy Scouts after her father was through with her. On the other side of the coin, her mother
had insisted she learn some “feminine” things as well, like cooking and sewing.
Annie
grinned; she would make someone the perfect mate. She could work on a car, chop down a tree and then bake a cake
and sew a dress. Then the writer lost
the smile, she just might have to find out how good her father’s teaching had
been once the sun set.
Her
father had fought in the desert and in the mountains of the Baltics, he never
anticipated having to train his daughter to fight vampires. He also hadn’t
anticipated a dyke for a daughter but those were bitter thoughts reserved for a
less productive day, Annie scolded herself and turned to the tasks at hand.
Another
couple of hours of chopping wood and nailing pieces into place and Annie was
ready for a break. Travis was hungry
after chasing several animal noises in the tree-line, always keeping in sight
of Annie.
Annie
checked on Cerys again and was more than a little frustrated that the vampire
hadn’t seemed to move at all. “Gives a
new meaning to the term ‘sleeps like the dead,’” she muttered.
A
good lunch of hamburgers, French fries, soup and sodas made Annie feel better
and Travis sleepy. She let him go to
the hammock on the front porch with his books while she went back to nailing
and pounding.
By
mid-afternoon, Annie figured she was as ready as she could be without some
advice from the sleeping or dead vampire on her sofa. She tried once again to wake the vampire up without success.
Annie
knew their best defense was the fact a vampire couldn’t enter the place without
being invited but that didn’t inspire the writer’s total confidence. Somehow in movies and books, the vampires
always found a way to get in or to get the victims outside.
There
was a fire extinguisher by the kitchen door, one jug of bottled water in the
living room and one in the kitchen, and another fire extinguisher in her
bedroom as well. She spent the next
hour nailing the shutters on the cabin to prevent anything from being thrown
in.
Annie
was determined that fire wasn’t going to be one of the causes of her and Travis
having to leave the cabin at night.
The
car was already disabled and they couldn’t hike the five miles to town,
especially in the dark, so she wouldn’t make the stupid mistake of trying to
run for it only to be vulnerable and caught outside.
The
writer of horror fiction turned her mind to other plots used in horror movies,
television and books, looking for loopholes in her security. She started to
mentally check off items in her head.
Windows
shuttered, fire prevention steps taken.
Plenty of food and water, oil lamps in case the electricity was
cut. Shotgun, axe, Cerys’ silver short
sword, and a couple of other surprises Annie had worked up from her father’s
bag of tricks for weapons.
Among
the more industrious weapons were several bottles sitting on the front porch
against the solid wooden railing. Empty
glass bottles that had been filled from the extra gas container for the
generator, secured with cloth, one end trailing over the bottle opening, ready
for lighting. Cerys had said fire would
hurt or kill vampires and Annie had an idea that any evil vampires showing up
that night might not like a Molotov cocktail instead of a cocktail of her
blood.
Annie
was ready for a fight. What she wasn’t
ready for was getting her son involved.
************************
The
writer crawled into the shower and let the warm water soak away some of the
tension and grime from working throughout the day. The feeling of being under a deadly timeline kept her from
thoroughly enjoying the shower though and she was done in record time.
Clean
clothes and a clean body made her feel better and the time in the shower had
cleared her head just a bit.
Annie
sat down with Travis at the dinner table and began an early dinner of chicken,
rice, green beans and a salad. He had
grumbled a bit about the salad but she had let him add raisins and Chinese
noodles. It was always a sure way of
getting him to eat a salad and she held these favorites back so he could “talk
her into it.”
The
mother wondered if all Moms did such things to their kids but figured they
probably did. She made a mental note to
ask her own mother about that one day.
“Travis,”
Annie began, keeping her voice level and calm.
“You know that bad guy from last night?”
The
boy nodded almost absently.
“He
might come back tonight,” Annie wasn’t surprised when his head shot up from his
chicken and his eyes were wide. “I
don’t know this for sure but he might and there could be others with him.”
“Is
that why you were doing all those weird things today?” he asked.
“Yes,
we can’t use the car to leave and the bad guys might be back,” Annie nodded.
“I
saw the car wheels,” he said softly, surprising Annie with his insight, especially
how he hadn’t asked her or been afraid.
He had stayed quiet and stayed out of her way during the day, as if
sensing that it was important to both of them that she finish whatever she was
doing.
“I
need you to do something for me tonight,” she continued. “It might get dangerous tonight and I want
you to be safe. Will you do what I
ask?”
“Sure,
Mom,” he agreed easily. “You want me to
hide, don’t you?”
“Yup,”
she agreed. “I want to make up your bed
in your closet, and I want you to stay there tonight. No matter what you hear, okay?”
Travis
frowned and appeared to think about it.
“Can’t I help?”
“Knowing
that you’re safe will be the best help you can give me, Trav,” she responded
truthfully.
“Okay,”
he finally agreed reluctantly.
After
putting the dinner dishes in the sink, and checking the setting sun’s position,
Annie accompanied her small son to his room and set about helping him get ready
for the night. Fortunately, his closet
was a huge one that was almost the size of another bedroom or storage
room. It also didn’t have any windows
and was far away from the main door.
They
gathered up his pillows and blankets and made a bed in one corner for him. Next they supplied the closet with some of
his toys, a camping lantern that ran on batteries, some of his books and a
small radio.
Annie
hated shutting her son away in a closet for the night but she knew it was
probably the safest place for him, especially since most houses and cabins on
the west coast didn’t have basements.
She closed the door while he cheerfully played with some of his Hot
Wheels’ cars.
The
writer looked around and found the cabin hadn’t changed much in appearance on
the inside and, hopefully, not from the outside. Surprise was always an advantage you wanted on your side, her
father had often preached.
The
writer in her remembered a quote from Robert A. Heinlein that her father had
printed up and framed in his den:
“A human being, should be able to change a diaper, plan
an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet,
balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders,
give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem,
pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die
gallantly. Specialization is for
insects.”
Annie
was hoping that the part about dying gallantly wasn’t part of fulfilling that
quote tonight.
Annie’s
sense of dread lightened immediately when she walked down the hallway and found
Cerys sitting up on the sofa.
“Thank
God,” Annie grinned.
“I’m
sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you,” Cerys smiled and looked around the
cabin. “Why didn’t you and Travis get
out of here?”
“The
phone line is cut and I can’t splice it and the car has four slashed tires,”
Annie answered and sat down on the sofa with the vampire. “How did you get here, you don’t happen to
have a car stashed down the road, do you?”
“No,
I hiked in from town,” Cerys shrugged.
“I smell gasoline.”
“Then
the idea that vampires have heightened senses, is correct?” Annie grinned.
“Yes,”
Cerys nodded with a shrug.
“I
did some stuff around the cabin,” Annie shrugged. “They’re coming back tonight, aren’t they?”
“Yes,
they sabotaged the phone and car to keep you here,” Cerys frowned. “They’re hoping I’m dead and they’ll finish
you and the boy off to keep the existence of portals and Master vampires a
secret.”
“What
exactly kills vampires?”
“Fire,
decapitation, sunlight, stake through the heart, massive amount of silver, and
possibly starvation but that would take centuries to test that theory.”
“Good,
then we might be prepared for tonight,” Annie smiled grimly.
“I
hope so, now that they know a Warder is here, they’ll send even more than last
night,” Cerys warned. “Annie, about
last night…”
“Look,
it’s getting dark and your relatives will probably be here shortly after that,
won’t they?”
“Yes,
the Hellgate isn’t far from here,” Cerys responded.
“Then
I guess the conversation will have to wait until after we deal with them,”
Annie said firmly.
“No,”
Cerys countered and surprised Annie by grabbing the writer’s wrist and keeping
Annie on the sofa. “Thank you for last
night, I would have died.”
“I’m
glad it worked,” Annie said softly as she shrugged off the thanks. “What happens now?”
“We
get through tonight, find a way to get you out of here tomorrow and call for
help. Your editor is likely to come get
you and hopefully more Warders will come and help me keep the Master from
coming through the portal on Halloween night.”
“What
happened to me sticking around for Halloween and writing about it?”
“That
was before I found out about your son, I’ve got to get you and your son out of
here,” Cerys said firmly.
“What
about us?” Annie asked softly.
“It’s
not a good idea for vampires and humans to mix for long,” Cerys continued to
frown. “The emotions are just too
intense for both sides but especially for humans.”
“Afraid?”
Annie taunted, her voice bitter. “You
come into my home, tell me cosmic truth about vampires; next thing I know,
we’re fighting vampires, my son is almost killed, you nearly died and now we’re
stuck here!”
“Yes,
I know. It all happened too quickly,”
Cerys agreed.
“We
had this incredible connection last night and I don’t even know if you have a
last name,” Annie complained. “I find
you incredibly sexy and fascinating and would like to know you better.”
Annie
turned to face Cerys on the sofa. “You
warned me last night that the emotions might get intense and that you were
attracted to me. Okay, this might not
work, I’ll buy that. What I’m not
willing to do is to walk away from this fight.
You and my editor got me into this and I’m going to fight my way through
it. Cer, it’s too late to get out,
isn’t it?”
Cerys
sighed heavily and released her hold on Annie’s wrist.
“Yes,
now that you know about the vampires, they’ll track you down and kill you even
if we get you out of here safely,” the vampire admitted.
“So,
let me into the fight,” Annie urged.
“You
sound like something out of a movie,” Cerys complained.
“I
agree, first to admit it,” Annie grinned. "I'm a writer, we're allowed to
be melodramatic."
“Look,
the vampires will be here in about an hour,” Cerys said softly. “You don’t know me and you really don’t know
what we’re up against.”
“Then
tell me because we’re stuck here tonight,” Annie countered.
“In
my realm things are different,” Cerys frowned.
“It’s almost like a medieval place where magick is possible though frowned
upon. Like I said last night, some are
drawn to the power that dark magick can bring them. It’s mostly men, although some women fall prey to the desire and
lust for power and riches.”
“Doesn’t
anyone oppose them?”
“Yes,
but over the last twenty years the Dark Ones have built up such a power base
that they’ve actually been able to hold off most opposition. The power base in the realm is minor little
kingdoms, City States like your ancient Greece.”
“Okay,
so the good cities join together and take out the bad ones,” Annie suggested
with a frown.
“I
wish it were that simple,” Cerys smiled slightly. “Unfortunately, it’s been the other way around. The Dark Ones have banded together and one
had worked his way to the top of the food chain. To cement his power, he’s crossing over into this realm to
perform the ritual that will make him immortal in my realm.”
“So
some of you cross over to stop them in this realm. I remember from last night.”
“Right,
usually female warriors because we aren’t as tempted by the darker forces for
some reason,” Cerys continued.
“I
don’t know, have you ever seen the head of Rosalynn Publishing?” Annie grinned
bitterly.
Cerys
smirked at Annie’s sense of humor.
“So,
when you cross into our realm you end up as a vampire,” Annie commented.
“Yes
and we try and stop the Dark Ones from killing humans and completing their
ritual,” Cerys repeated. “A Warder came
through at the Summer Solstice, last year. My mate and I joined with her in
fighting this new Master when he came through in the next gate.”
Cerys
hesitated and stood up slowly and walked to the window, noticing the closed
shutters for the first time.
“The
other Warder was killed,” Cerys said softly.
“My mate… she was wounded.”
“Why
are you telling me this?”
“So you
understand what and who we’re going up against,” Cerys explained. “I was chosen for this fight because of my
past with this Master. My mates’ name
was Arekla. She was wounded and
captured by the vampire. Instead of
killing her, the vampire seduced her and turned her to the dark side.”
Annie
felt like someone had just hit her in the chest.
“Cerys,
I’m sorry,” she whispered but the Warder vampire merely shrugged.
“My
mate has been turned for almost a year and has been killing humans for that
time without remorse and without consent. She’s been paving the way for the
Master to return to this realm and increase his power through dark rituals
involving human blood,” Cerys explained.
“I’ll be facing a Master with more powers than I’ve ever seen and my
mate.”
Cerys’
eyes suddenly became distant. “They’re
approaching.”
“Can
you tell how many?”
“No,
but more than last time,” Cerys said with a frown.
“Well,
this time we have a few surprises for them,” Annie grinned, handing Cerys her
short sword and going to the door to pick up the shotgun. "Stay away from the front door, don't
touch the knob."
Cerys
picked up her sword and stood by the front door, mindful of Annie's warning not
to touch the handle. Her sharp vampiric
eyes noticed the bare wires wrapped around the knob and wondered what the
writer was up to as Annie stood by the window, watching for movement.
The
writer had the shotgun cradled in her arm as she watched through a small slit
in the shutters, her hand on the light switch.
"Don't
go out until I say, okay?" Annie glanced over at the vampire and Cerys
nodded, her face serious.
"They're
at the edge of the tree-line, I can see five of them," Cerys commented a
moment later.
Annie
flipped one of the switches, flooding the clearing in front of the house with
bright light. She could see a couple of
figures throwing up their hands against the light and grinned when a high
pitched scream came to them from the left of the cabin.
"Watch
the trail," Annie said softly as Cerys looked out the peephole in the
door.
One
of the vampires, a male in a cowboy shirt, jeans and boots, stepped forward
into the light, his fangs flashing. A
moment later he was looking down at the two stakes sticking out of his chest.
Dust
filled the air a few seconds later and the two vampires with him were looking
at the snare trap that had taken him out.
"What
the hell?" Cerys asked.
"It's
called a spear deadfall. You trip the
wire and the weight of the log and the rocks brings the stakes down onto the
prey. The rocks add weight and make the
blow more crushing," Annie explained.
"Wow!
And the scream?"
"A
Sprung Spear Trap. A couple of stakes
are attached to a flexible branch and suspended over the trail, add a slip ring
to the trip wire, and a couple of other moves and you're set. Very deadly, as one of them found out."
"Who
are you, MacGuyver?" Cerys grinned.
"They
have television in your realm?" Annie teased.
"I've
been here awhile. Reruns during the
daytime," Cerys muttered.
They
both kept their attention on the figures moving even more cautiously towards
the cabin.
"No
more tricks! Give us the Warder and you and the boy can go free!" called
out the vampire in front of the four vampires now standing in the clearing.
"I'm
going to agree to it and tell one of them to come up on the porch," Annie
said softly.
"What?"
Cerys demanded.
"Just
watch, when the lights flash, fling open the door and decapitate whatever is
standing there," Annie instructed grimly.
"Okay
Annie Oakley," Cerys grumbled, standing ready with the sword in hand.
"The
female vampire is hurt from last night, one of you will have to come in and get
her!" she called out.
"It'll
take two of us!" the leader called back with an evil grin.
"Only
one or I blow your heads off like last night!" Annie warned.
"Alright,
you give your word you won't shoot the one coming in?" the leader
demanded.
"I
give you my word," Annie grinned behind the shutter.
One
of the vampires next to the leader slowly moved forward and began mounting the
stairs, his body language indicating that he was ready to jump or run. Not perceiving any immediate threat from the
cabin, he walked a couple of steps closer to the door and hesitated.
"I
invite only you in," Annie called and the vampire grinned and reached for
the door as Annie closed her eyes and flipped the other light switch.
Cerys
blinked against the sudden sparks flying from the door handle and the screams
on the other side of the door. Annie
flipped the switch off.
"Now!"
she yelled and Cerys jerked the door open and her other arm swung in a backhand
motion that would have made a tennis pro proud. The twitching electrocuted vampire stood helpless as his head
left his body and then he turned to dust a moment later.
The
vampires in the clearing screamed in rage and rushed the porch. Cerys met one in the center of the chest
with her sword as Annie stepped out beside her and used the shotgun to
decapitate another one. The leader
turned to run as Cerys struggled with the vampire impaled on her sword and
Annie knelt down by the railing. A
quick flash of a match and she was tossing a flaming bottle after him.
Both
Cerys and the vampire she was fighting hesitated as the lead vampire began
screaming; his clothes were on fire and his skin was quickly following. Cerys reacted first and pulled her sword out
and tripped the vampire, sending him to his back and slashing off his head with
a single stroke.
The
Warder vampire looked over as the screams died down and the vampire fell face
first onto the ground and slowly burned to ashes.
Cerys
looked around and was surprised to see stakes now lining the railing of the
porch, making it very difficult for a vampire to jump over the railing to get
to the women. Cerys also noticed
several more bottles by Annie's foot.
"Are
there more?" Annie asked, scanning the area for movement.
"Yes,
I sense more to the left and right," Cerys informed the writer. "They're hesitating because they are
now very unsure of how to handle you."
Annie
looked over and found Cerys grinning at her.
"Do
people always underestimate you?" the Warder asked as they moved back into
the house.
"Usually,"
Annie grinned back at the vampire.
"What will they do next?"
"Probe
for weaknesses in the security," Cerys said thoughtfully. "Shutters secure?"
"Yes,
nailed shut," Annie responded.
"Anyone trying to pry one open will find a shotgun waiting for
them."
"Good,
they might try fire."
"Bottled
water and fire extinguishers at the main points of the cabin," Annie
answered.
"Your
son in the closet? He won't come out?"
"How
did you know where he was?" Annie asked with a frown.
"I
can hear his heartbeat," Cerys shrugged.
"I'll
check in on him and reassure him," Annie said simply.
"Do
it now before the next round," Cerys urged.
Annie
moved slowly into Travis' room and knocked softly on the closet. "Yes," a timid voice called.
"It's
Mom, Trav," she called.
"Who
is better, Batman or Wolverine?" he asked and she smiled at the test.
"Wolverine,
he is way more cool with those claws," Annie grinned, knowing the response
he expected and she heard the door unlock and quickly hugged him when her son
opened the door. "Hey, kiddo. I was missing you and thought I'd let you
give me some courage with a hug."
"I
heard gunshots," Travis answered, his eyes wide.
"Yeah,
some of those bad guys came back but we ran them off with the shotgun. They're still out there though and are
probably going to try something different," Annie explained.
"Like
in that Jason movie, figuring out other ways to get in?" he asked and
Annie made a mental note to discuss his babysitter's choices in movies when her
son was around, thank you!
"Something
like that. Can you go back inside your
fort and keep quiet?"
"Okay,
will you be okay?"
"You
betcha! Grandpa taught me lots of tricks to play on bad guys," she smiled
at her son and hugged him tightly once more and urged him back into the closet,
waiting until she heard the door lock shut.
The
writer found the Warder Vampire ready and waiting by the door.
"He's
a great kid," Cerys commented.
"You
could hear my conversation in the other room?" Annie asked.
"Yeah,
when I focus I can hear your heartbeat," Cerys shrugged.
"What
happens when we get through tonight? Do you go back to being the sleeping dead
tomorrow?" Annie asked as they watched several figures moving in the
trees, keeping to the shadows.
"No,
I needed the full day of sleep because of the injuries I took last night,"
Cerys answered. "I still say you should
hike down to town tomorrow and get out of here."
"I'm
not leaving you alone to face a Master, your ex and who knows how many more
vampires."
"It
won't be as easy as this to stop the Master, we have to be at the gate tomorrow
night," Cerys explained. "We
have to defeat his vampires, counter his magick in crossing over or kill him
when he gets here and is weak."
"Where
is the gate?"
"An
old mine about two miles from here, through the woods," Cerys responded.
"And
you can't get there until after dark?" Annie frowned.
"I
can't let the direct sun light hit me.
The woods aren't that shadowy," Cerys frown matched Annie's.
"So
we need to figure out how to get you there without exposing you to
sunlight," Annie said thoughtfully.
"Any trails or roads to the mine left?"
"An
old horse trail is about all that is left, why?"
"Checking
options," Annie muttered and opened the door to let off a shotgun round
when one of the vampires got close enough to the porch. The writer missed decapitating the vampire but
sent buckshot into his face, throat and upper shoulder. He was sent flying backwards and then
rolling on the dirt howling in rage and pain.
Annie
slammed the door. Cerys growled and
pointed to the roof as footsteps sounded loudly.
"What
the hell? The fireplace isn't big enough to play Santa Claus," Annie
demanded.
The
answer came a moment later when a burning pine bough was thrust down the
chimney, followed by bits of dried pine needles, branches and pinecones.
"They're
trying to smoke us out!" Cerys growled as Annie handed her the shotgun and
grabbed the large bottle of water. She
rolled the plastic jug up and over the hearthstone and into the fireplace. The writer pulled a buck knife from her hip
and sliced open the jug, sending water splashing all over the pine bough,
needles and pine cones.
Annie
turned and wiped her brow and jumped slightly when one of the pine cones
exploded from the heat.
"Clever!"
Cerys said, admiration in her voice.
Apparently
the vampires couldn't find anything more clever than Annie had come up with
because they spent the next four hours pounding, screaming and howling on the
cabin walls and shutters.
They
also avoided the back and front door after the shotgun turned two more of them
into dust. Cerys waited by the front
door with her sword and Annie waited by the back door with her shotgun and axe.
A
very tired Annie turned to the Warder vampire at around 3 a.m. "When do they give up?"
"About
an hour before dawn, probably," Cerys answered.
************************
Annie
smiled when she opened her eyes and realized Cerys was shaking her awake. The writer looked around and was relieved to
see daylight creeping in through the cracks in the shutters.
Cerys
was sitting against the front door and looked like she was about ready to drop
into an exhausted sleep as well. It was
still dark in the cabin from all the windows being boarded up but Annie still
could catch Cerys’ blue eyes watching her.
“Thank
God,” she muttered.
“Him
too,” Cerys grinned. “I think it’s more
to your credit that we survived last night.
Where did you learn the survivor stuff?”
“My
father was a former Army Ranger and passed along some things,” the blonde
shrugged and sat up a little straighter in the chair she had fallen asleep in,
careful not to tip over the shotgun leaning against it.
“Good,
now if we can figure out what to do for tonight, we’ll be set,” Cerys yawned,
sitting down heavily on the sofa.
“First, I suggest a couple of hours of sleep at least. You’ve been up over 24 hours now.”
“I’d
normally argue with you that we have too much to do but it’s likely that we’re
going to be up all night again, aren’t we?”
“Yup,
safe bet. The portal will open about an
hour after sunset and the first set of vampires will come through. Then it opens again at midnight and the
Master will come through,” Cerys explained.
“When
does your ex show up?”
Cerys
frowned as she pulled her dusty and scruffy cowboy boots off and threw her feet
up on the sofa. “Probably right after
sunset, she’s most likely already hiding in the mine.”
“Are
you going to be able to face her as an enemy?” Annie asked softly.
“I’m
a warrior, I have to,” Cerys attempted to shrug again.
“You’re
also human,” Annie countered.
“Not
quite,” Cerys grinned at Annie’s exasperated look at the vampire’s humor. Then Cerys was serious again. “I have to,” she repeated. “There isn’t a choice, is there?”
“Maybe
not,” Annie agreed and stretched. The
writer smiled when she noticed Cerys admiring her lean and fit body. “You sure you don’t want to discuss getting
to know each other a little better?”
Cerys
growled and sat up quickly.
“I
thought I explained that vampires and humans don’t mix well,” the vampire snapped.
“Why
not? Don’t give me the bit about the emotions being too intense for humans,
you’ve obviously never lived with a writer,” Annie countered.
“I
am attracted to you and think that you’re incredible,” Cerys admitted. “I also think this should wait until after
tonight, don’t you?”
“I
agree that we should discuss this later after we get some sleep,” Annie
responded casually. “Especially
considering what we’re facing.”
“Alright,
just get some sleep, I’ll wake you. I
only need about four hours,” Cerys laid back down on the sofa, dismissing the
conversation.
Annie
was tempted to force the issue a little bit more but the aches from her body,
from the exhaustion, were agreeing with Cerys and so Annie gave in and headed
for her bed.
************************
The
writer felt someone gently brushing her hair back from her face and opened her
eyes slowly. It had been a long time
since someone touched her like that and she was enjoying the feeling.
Annie
smiled at Cerys sitting on the edge of her bed. The blonde held the vampire’s hand against her cheek and closed
her eyes with a soft sigh. Annie felt
Cerys other hand softly stroke her other cheek.
The
blonde moaned slightly as Cerys’ lips met hers. The kiss was tentative at first but became more solid as Annie
reached behind Cerys’ head and pulled the vampire closer. Annie drew Cerys down alongside her on the
bed and continued the “getting to know you” session without any words.
Annie
could sense Cerys hesitating and tightened her hold on the vampire as they
continued kissing and holding each other.
Cerys finally pulled back and looked into Annie’s green eyes.
“We
should figure out what we’re doing tonight,” she said.
“Yup,
we should,” Annie agreed and grabbed the vampire and began kissing her
again. Cerys started to protest but
became a willing participant in the distraction. The writer finally broke the kiss. “Okay, right, we’re up and planning things,” she muttered and
captured Cerys’ lips again.
Cerys
pulled out of Annie’s arms and sat up with a gentle laugh that softened her
usually stern features. The writer felt
her heart melting at the sight of the beautiful dark woman.
“How
do you usually plan these things?” Annie asked, sitting up in bed. She noticed Cerys watching her again and
glanced down, realizing the tight t-shirt was leaving nothing to the
imagination for the vampire. There was
no doubt about Annie’s state of arousal.
Annie
smirked and snapped her fingers in front of Cerys’ blue eyes. The vampire looked embarrassed and grinned
slightly.
“I
trot over to the mine with my sword, hope that some of the other Warders get
there about the same time as the vampires from town, fight the vampires and
kill them. Then we try and seal the
portal and, if that doesn’t work, we wait for midnight and greet the Master
with swords and stakes,” Cerys explained.
“Okay,
how about we figure a way to get you to that mine, we take out the vampires who
are hiding there and set up some surprises for those coming in tonight?” Annie
suggested.
“I’m
game,” Cerys grinned wolfishly. “How do
we do that?”
“I’m
not sure yet. Can’t go by car and I
don’t have a horse, that leaves on foot and we’ve got to find a way to keep you
covered while we do it,” Annie mumbled, her mind already thinking as she got
out of bed. She reached for a clean
pair of trousers, unaware of the effect her body, clad only in a tight t-shirt
and thin underwear, was having on the vampire.
“We’ve
got a large wagon that was used to bring in vegetables in from the garden. How do you feel about coffins?”
“What?”
Cerys demanded, her eyes widening.
“Well,
actually, I was thinking a large box or heavy blankets or something. We pack you into it, load up the wagon with
some other goodies and I pull you to the mine.”
“Impossible,
it’s much too far,” Cerys protested.
“Not
with an ATV pulling it,” Annie grinned.
“ATV,
one of those four wheeled motorcycle things?”
“Yes,
there’s one in the storage shed,” Annie answered.
“Then
why didn’t you get out of here yesterday on the thing?” Cerys demanded.
Annie
shrugged as she put on the jeans and pulled out a pair of socks.
“I
wasn’t going to leave you behind and I knew I couldn’t take you out in the
sun,” Annie said. “Besides, I only
found the stuff to fix the flat tire on the damned thing today.”
“You
could leave today,” Cerys growled.
“Nope,
you and Jeannie got me into this; I’m staying,” Annie said firmly.
“It
might actually work,” Cerys said thoughtfully.
“Excellent,”
Annie smiled and looked at her watch.
“We don’t have a lot of time to get things ready, get Travis to town,
and then get to the mine.”