Demonspawn (31 page)

Victoria lunged from a corner building. She
fell gracefully and landed right on top of the van.

“Victoria! What are you doing!?”

I knew she heard me, but didn't glance my
way. She brought her right fist back and pounded on the roof. Then
again, and again. She was trying to punch her way inside.

The van took an insane right turn down an
alley. I followed. They were hoping to shake her off. It didn't
work, as Victoria barely moved an inch. I could see a hole in the
roof. Her crazy plan was working.

I saw one of the guys start to climb out the
passenger's seat window with a gun. I looked ahead to see there
wasn't too much left to the alley. It led to an empty street, and
right into an abandoned building, maybe an old factory of some
kind.

There was no way the van would be able to
stop or turn in time.

I swooped down as fast as I could. Victoria
had a hand inside the van, and was trying to pull away at the
metal. The guy hanging out the window was trying to hold a steady
aim at her.

I landed on the van near her, wrapped my arms
around her waist, and flew up once again. The guy fired a shot, but
didn't hit anything.

Victoria and I watched from thirty feet in
the air as the van nearly flew over the street and into the old
factory. It sounded like a bomb going off as they crashed through
the wall. Smoke and debris were everywhere. We heard cars from the
next street over screeching to a halt.

“Holy shit,” I said.

My heart was hammering. Victoria was cool as
ice.

“Get us over there.”

We floated down to the street and Victoria
wiggled free from my arms. She started sprinting to the factory. I
was a step behind her. I remembered to retract my wings back to
wherever the hell they came from.

The first thing that hit me was the smell. A
little bit of alcohol, some shit, and God knows what else. There
were a few homeless people running around, scared and confused. The
factory must have been a shelter for them.

I was amazed as we drew closer to the van and
saw one of the hunters trying to open the back door, going for a
weapon. They still weren't done fighting. They were a sturdy bunch
of bastards.

“You guys better head out,” I called to
anyone that could hear. “This ain't gonna be pretty.”

Victoria snatched him by the back of the neck
and shoved him headfirst into the door. He barely hit the ground by
the time Victoria was ripping the passenger's side door off the
van. She tossed it behind her and grabbed the man who tried to
shoot her. He still had the gun in his hand. She grabbed his hand
and squeezed. His face was a mess of pain as I heard bones
breaking. Even I winced. I looked at the driver's side to see the
third guy leaning on the wheel. He was conscious, but wasn't making
an effort to do anything. Shock, maybe.

“You fucking bitch!” he screamed, then spit
on her. “I swear to God we'll fucking kill you!”

So much hatred in his voice. It sent a chill
up my spine.

She clutched him by the throat and lifted him
clear off the ground.

“I want you to tell Bachner and Heins
something. Tell them they're gonna start a war they can't win. If
you leave me alone, I'll leave you alone. If not, I will kill each
and every one of you. Do you get it?”

He managed a nod before she dropped him to
the ground. He gasped and rubbed at his throat a moment.

“Get what's left of your friends and get the
fuck out of here.”

I'd never seen people move so fast. The two
that were conscious picked up the third and left through the back
of the warehouse through the dark alleys. The homeless people had
all fled. The street outside was empty, at least for the moment. We
were alone.

She punched the van, leaving a huge dent. She
turned and gave me a dangerous look, then an almost sheepish
smile.

“Four hundred years old,” Victoria said.
“You'd think I'd have a better grip on my temper.”

I was finally calming down myself, and saw a
trail of blood on Victoria's shirt that started from her shoulder.
I was wrong. The vampire hunter actually managed to shoot her.

“You're hurt.”

She looked down casually. She didn't even
notice. “Eh, bullets don't do much to me, at least not in small
doses.” She started pacing a little. “I just want to live a normal
life, you know, Alex? I don't want to go on wild fuckin' rides in
the city.”

Hell, I could relate to that.

“Anyway, forget about them. There's more
important things going on.”

“Such as?”

“Those two newborns. Why were they feral? How
the hell did they both become vampires? I'm telling you,
something's going on here.”

“You think those vampire guys have anything
to do with it?”

She paused to think. “Anything's possible.
But I doubt it. Anyway, it's something we'll have to look in
to.”

“Uh,
we
?”

“Yeah, we. Alex, I'm gonna need your help on
this.”

I couldn't believe my ears. “No, you won't.
Are you kidding? What am I gonna do?”

“You were
amazing
back there. Who
knows what else you can do.”

“Victoria, I don't
want
to know what
else I can do. What the hell am I even doing here? I should be
sleeping.”

“Ah, you got something exciting going on this
weekend? Gonna pine after Cindy a little more?”

“What do you want from me? I gotta live my
life, right? Gotta make money, right? Gotta live normal, like you
just said.”

“You want to talk money? Five hundred dollars
a day. Just to be my eyes. No flying, no crazy heroics. I can't go
out in the day. You can. Be my eyes.”

Money didn't matter at all to me. Victoria
sounded like she really wanted my help, and that's the hook that
got me. Victoria sensed it, and put a hand on my shoulder.

“Something important is happening,” she said
again. “Please help me figure out what it is.”

Even as I nodded, I couldn't believe what I
was agreeing to.

We left before the cops showed up. Indeed a
busy night for them. I barely remember driving with Victoria back
to her house, and then back to my apartment.

It was one of those deep sleeps where you
don't even remember if you dreamed or not. I woke up, and it
actually took me a minute to figure out where I was. I felt my
comfortable bed, recognized the morning sun throwing shadows on the
closet door. I was home.

I half stumbled to the bathroom and gave
myself a look in the mirror. I was surprised at what I saw. I
looked terrible. An insane night in the city would do that. A few
tiny cuts in my hair from crashing through the butcher shop glass.
Huge circles under my eyes.

I was in the middle of making a microwave
breakfast when I heard the front door open. I turned to see Cindy.
It felt like it had been forever since I last saw her, although we
just fought the night before.

I took a quick look down at myself. I
couldn't remember what I wore to bed. Luckily I put on a pair of
shorts sometime before passing out the night before.

Cindy looked great. Tight pair of jeans, a
shirt that showed that slim stomach of hers. She gave me a small
half smile, a sign that we weren't fighting anymore.

“Rough night?”

I never lied to Cindy, but wasn't up to
talking about the night before. Luckily I didn't have to. Before I
could say anything, she lowered her head and looked at the
carpet.

“Sorry about last night,” she said.

I actually had to think back to our fight.
“Hey, no problem. Wasn't our first fight, won't be our last. But
what the hell was that about, anyway?”

“We'll talk about that later, okay? I won't
leave you hanging, I promise.”

I shrugged. Fine. I had other things on my
mind anyway. I turned back to the kitchen.

“So when do I get to ride you?”

What a thought. I turned, and actually caught
her staring at me.

“Huh? What?”

She smiled. “It's all over the news.”

“
What's
all over the news?”

She grabbed the remote and turned on the TV.
It only took her a second to find what she was looking for.

I felt my heart sink.

Pictures of me were on the local news.
Different angles, different cameras. Some were from cell phone
cameras. One was from a traffic camera. No shots of my face, and
none of them were very clear. But there I was, flying through the
city streets, for everyone to see. They even interviewed a guy
while a slide-show of all the different photos played of me.

“Aw man, it was awesome,” he said. He stood
on a sidewalk while gesturing behind him. “I was right here. The
dude actually saved a guy's life. He had these huge wings. It was
just nuts. I saw the whole thing. He pulled this guy out of
traffic, then started flying away.”

Cindy muted the TV. We locked eyes. Part of
me thought she was gonna run away. Why not? I'm pretty much a
monster. But she didn't. She just gave me that smile.

“So, you can fly,” she said. “I thought it
was weird you kept going in the woods. Didn't think I noticed, did
you?”

“I was gonna tell you, Cindy. Just as soon as
I got a grip on everything.”

“Oh, I know. Sounds like you had a crazy
night. When do I get to try you out?”

I really wasn't hearing what she was asking.
Panic started to set in. I did my best to keep it in.

“I can fly.” I sat on the couch. “And now the
whole world knows.”

Cindy knew I was upset, and like the true
friend she is, did her best to bring me out of it. She sat next to
me and put a hand on my shoulder.

“Hey, it's okay. A lot of the news reports
are already saying the whole thing is a fake. It has to be, right?
Because no one can fly. You okay?”

I didn't say anything. I kept looking at the
TV.

“Look,” she said. “Has anyone knocked on your
door yet?”

“No.”

“Then no one knows. You're safe. Just wear a
trash bag on your head next time you take off.”

I laughed. That's all I needed, was a laugh
and a friend. As always, Cindy made me feel better.

“Thanks, Cindy.”

“Anytime.” She smiled and rubbed my shoulder,
a little more than I would have thought. Or it could have been my
wishful thinking. We did hold eyes for a moment, long enough for
her to suddenly pull back her hand and stand up, almost awkwardly.
“Well, I gotta head to work.”

“On a Saturday?”

“Yeah. We're behind, and my dad's paying
double, so off I go. I'll talk to you later. And call Leese. She
misses you, and keeps crying about boys. Take her out to lunch or
something.”

I nodded.

I would call Alicia, but I had a little
Saturday work to do myself.

After Cindy left I immediately went for the
phone. I had no idea what Victoria's day schedule was like. Did she
sleep all day, like in the movies?

“Hello?”

“Victoria. It's me.”

“I thought you'd be sleeping. How the hell
are you awake?”

“Listen. I'm all over the damn TV. They know
about me.”

“Who does?”

“
Everyone
. There's
pictures
of
me flying through the city.”

She was quiet for a moment.

“And?”

“
And
? There is no
and
.”

“Please tell me you didn't call just for
that. It's not a big deal.”

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. “Are
you serious?”

“Yeah, Alex. Shit. They've got pictures of
Bigfoot and the Lochness Monster. And no one thinks they're real.
Well, the funny part is they are, but no one believes it. They
won't think you're real either.”

“Victoria-”

“Look,” she cut me off. “If you're really
freaked out about this, I'll take care of it. Alright?”

“What do you mean? Take care of it?”

“Just trust me. You ready to do a little
running for me?”

I took a deep breath. To be honest, I wasn't
sure I was ready. “I gotta take a quick shower.”

“Alright. Head down to the police station in
the city. I already talked to William. He's gonna look over the
corpse of that guy in the street last night. Bring me a copy of the
report.”

“You don't have like a fax machine or
something?”

“Yes, I do. But I want another set of eyes.
And not just a cop's eyes.
Your
eyes.”

“Okay. Don't know how much help I can be. But
sure.”

“Good. Stop by later. And hey?”

“Yeah?”

“How are you and Cindy?”

I was touched she was actually asking. “We're
not fighting anymore. She stopped by this morning. Still don't know
what her problem was.”

“She's a woman. You might never know. But
after all this is over, you've got to just throw her down on the
couch. Alright?”

I laughed and shook my head. Getting romantic
advice from a centuries-old vampire. “Whatever you say, Victoria.
I'll see you soon.”

Before jumping in the shower I called Alicia.
It was short, but not really sweet.

“Hey, Alex.”

“What's going on, sis?”

Cindy was right. She was down. “Not
much.”

“What's wrong?”

“Nothing. I'll be fine. Cindy told me how her
date went last night.”

“Yeah. She said it went good, then comes home
and gets pissy with me.”

She laughed, but it was more irritated than
happy. “You have no clue, do you?”

“Uh, no. But I guess you do?”

“No. Forget I said anything.”

“Alicia.”

“Hey, you remember that guy I talked about a
few times? Mark from Spanish class? You think I should ask him
out?”

I rolled my eyes. Nothing like changing the
subject. “Sure, go ahead. But remember what I said. Don't be
stressing yourself out.”

“Yeah, yeah. I won't. I'm gonna clean the
house. Give me a call later, alright?”