Kill Wilson (Petersburg Vampires) (6 page)

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As Amp finished the story of the massacre in Alaska,
there was silence in the room. The shock of losing two friends was dominant,
but the knowledge the rogue vampire had desecrated several decrees was high on
the lists of atrocities.

Morgan sat in a recliner, sipping a glass of white wine
as he patiently listened, not interrupting until Amp was finished. Amy sat on a
loveseat next to Amp. The fourth person in the room had not been introduced. He
was leaning against the door and hadn’t moved the entire time Amp was speaking.

“First of all Amp, I am so terribly sorry for your loss.
I have known Danner and Riley for
 
 
many years, and I considered both of them close
and dear friends,” Morgan began.

Although he had been turned when he was twenty one, Amp
knew Lord Morgan was more than 500 years old. An inch shy of six feet, he was
all man, almost a contradiction to his gentle nature. Amp had watched him work
out with martial arts on several occasions, and knew he was put together as
well as any man she had ever seen. His courtly manners hid the deadly side she
knew existed, and often wondered how many of his enemies had underestimated
him.

“There is no rhyme or reason for what happened in Alaska.
This Wilson character broke several edicts, more than enough reason to seek remuneration;
his guarantee of your safety is something never to be compromised. Throughout
our species history, this guarantee has been ironclad, even between blood
enemies. Furthermore, I do not condone his men using shotguns to take down Riley,
although it seems I’m living in the past. More and more vampires are carrying
and using firearms these days. It’s more than distressing he displayed our
friends in such a grotesque manner following the murders…I am appalled…and a
bit sickened. What do you say, Silas?”

The man leaning on the wall straightened up, and looked
at Amp as he spoke.

“I also knew Danner well, and Riley and I have met on
occasion. I don’t think we have ever met, Amp. My name is Silas, and I handle
much of the security here at Morgan’s home. I applaud you for your bravery in
the fight, as well as the message you sent to this Wilson person afterwards.
You are a brave child, and you have nothing to be ashamed of. Your friend
commanded you to run, and you obeyed him. You did exactly what you were
supposed to do, and for this I respect you deeply.”

Amp had not told anyone how ashamed she felt for running,
but this man had picked up on her feelings, and his words were a salve to her
inner bruising. Looking at him, she noticed for the first time how large he
was. Well over six and a half feet, his black jeans, tailored pullover shirt,
and cowboy boots made him a formidable looking man. His shoulders were broad and
appeared to be made of granite. His light hair was cut short, in a military
cut, buzzed on the sides and a bit left on top. His eyes, Amp thought, were
full of honesty…and kindness. He had a long scar down the left side of his
face, the cut having missed his eye by less than an inch, ending near his lips.
The mark added, rather than detracted from the rugged beauty of the warrior.

“The question now is
,
what will
we do…if anything? What is it you would like, Amp? I think I can speak for
Morgan, as well as the rest of the household, in stating you are welcome here
for as long as you like. Our home is your home, and we all mean it. But I have
a feeling there is some unfinished business you have on your mind.”

Looking around the room, Amp knew she was among friends.
The older vamps considered her an equal, and the story of the Alaskan murders
had escalated their opinion of her. Finally, her eyes returned to Silas, and she
told him what she wanted.

“I’m going back there…to Petersburg. And I’m going to
kill every member of his family; and spike every one of their heads on his
fence. When I’m done, the Beryl Wilson lair will be laid to waste. I don’t know
yet how I will do it, or when, but I’ve got some money Danner set back, and I have
a couple of friends, and I’ll come up with a plan. But I made a promise to
Danner and Riley…and I’ll take every head on the island. After I’m done, it
still won’t be enough…but it’s all I have.”

Morgan stood up and crossed the room, kneeling down in
front of Amp. Taking one of her hands, he spoke softly, looking the girl
straight in the eyes.

“Amp, we all say things in the heat of passion, or
battle, or stress; things we can’t…or don’t want to, complete. I want you to
take as much time as you can to think about your vow to Danner and Riley, work
it out for yourself what you want and what you are capable of doing. I don’t
want you to go off half cocked and get hurt…or worse.”

When Amp answered, her voice was ice. Nobody in the room
had a doubt about whether her mind was set.

“Morgan, I appreciate your hospitality, I didn’t know who
else to call. I will stay here for a few days until I get things in order…with
my bank accounts and stuff. But don’t ever doubt what I told you about my vow
to my sire. I will find some way to destroy Beryl Wilson, if it takes every
penny I have…even if it means sacrificing
myself
.
 
Beryl Wilson is a dead man, and I am the girl
who is going to send him straight to hell.”

Morgan stood, his eyes still locked with Amp’s. Turning,
looking at Silas, a slight smile crossed his face. Silas turned and left the
room, Morgan taking his seat in the recliner.

“Amp, you are in no shape for a fight of any kind. You
were very fortunate to get out of Alaska alive. If it is all right with you, Silas
is going to start a training regimen for you starting tomorrow. Before I send
you from here, I want him to sign off on every aspect of your skills. I refuse
to see you enter a life and death situation ill prepared. This means sword
fighting, martial arts, hand-to-hand combat, and archery, as well as becoming
familiar with modern weapons. This is not going to be a picnic, Amp. Silas will
drive you so hard you might hate him.
 
Any questions?”

Amps face finally relaxed, a smile appearing for the
first time since her friend’s deaths. “No questions, Morgan. I’ll train hard,
and Silas will not find me lacking for effort. I promise

you
. Thank
you. I didn’t come here expecting this type of help; I came because I was
hopeless. You’ve given me a great gift, and I will honor you for this.
Goodnight.” Turning, Amp walked out of the room, a glow finally gracing her
skin.

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The training sessions with Silas and his staff
was
like nothing Amp had ever dreamed of. They started at eight
every evening with a ten mile run at human speed, more to build self-control
and discipline than muscle. This was followed by sessions of martial arts,
modern weapon training, ancient weapon training, boxing, and what Silas
referred to as kill class.

Kill class was devoted to learning everything about
vampires; predominantly their strength and weaknesses, and how to gain advantage
of their vulnerabilities. Amp was the type of
vampire
 
shielded
from the race, having traveled
with her two companions for a century with little contact with other members of
her race.

This had been Danner’s way, and Riley and Amp had nothing
else to compare it with. The information she was gleaning in kill class was all
new and intriguing to her.
 

It was during these sessions of kill class Amp discovered
vampires could be killed with a number of human weapons. Enough
trauma
to a heart or a head would render their recovery
process useless. The old tales vampires could die only from a stake to the
heart, or having their heads cut off was nothing but one of many urban legends.
A shotgun blast to the brain or heart was as handy as a stake. Now she
understood Morgan’s disdain for human weapons.

She discovered holy water had no effect on vamps, but
silver did; an odd allergy nobody could figure the cause of. Silver would cause
severe burns if in direct contact with vampire skin, as well as draining their
strength, much as a severe case of the flu might a human.

As for sunlight, many people believed sunlight would ignite
a vampire, instantly killing them. Although sunlight was not ideal for a vampire
to spend time in, it would take a day in a desert to cause death. Amp had
always been able to walk in the sun for short periods of time, but used
sunscreen and covered up due to the likelihood of sunburn.

Amp had always wondered if some vamps actually slept the sleep
of the dead, as portrayed in popular novels. She had always slept normal,
awakening whenever she wanted, never in a grave or a coffin, preferably in a
soft bed with three pillows. Of course Amp and other vampires slept mostly
during the day, for no other reason but to stay out of the sun. Silas explained
horror writers couldn’t sell a lot of books if vampires were portrayed as a
semi-normal race.

“We’re strange enough, but the extras they throw in the
stories are what sell books and movies,” he explained to Amp. “The no heart
thing makes
no
sense whatsoever,” he laughed. “We have
blood,
we live on blood, so we need a pump to
circulate it; which is the purpose of a heart. We would be in pretty bad shape
without a pump. Fiction authors will say whatever they want in order to sell
books, and some of it is rather bizarre, in my opinion.”

Silas explained that there were many covens around the
world, and each country had a semi-governing body that policed the race. The
exceptions were people like Danner and his crew who moved around very few
years. Because they stayed out of trouble, nobody gave them a hassle. Then
there were the rogue vamps whom preyed on humans, who believed
humans
were meant to be hunted and killed. They were usually
tracked down and eventually eliminated by the policing authority. Then there
was Wilson and his ilk
who
set up shop in an out of
the way place, keep a fairly low profile, and make their own rules. They should
be eliminated if they are breaking vampire law, Silas explained, but the option
of going to war with a large coven is distasteful to most.

“Chance is Wilson is a rogue, should have been hunted
down years ago, but he found a way out of it, created his own little world, and
disappeared off the radar.”

“Would going to war against Wilson be distasteful to you?”
Amp asked.

Silas gave the question a long moment of thought before
he answered.

“No, going to war is never distasteful. Warriors fight
when they are told to fight. First and foremost I am vampire…and I am warrior. I
have been involved in many vampire disputes throughout my lifetime, but I’ve
also been a part of many human wars, including the Civil War and both World
Wars. Now I pay honor to Morgan by doing his
bidding,
and for this reason alone, I would crush Wilson if ordered. My sire is dead,
and Morgan is who I have sworn my allegiance to. But also, Danner and Riley
were friends of mine. Not close, personal friends, but friends nevertheless. I
understand your need to retaliate.”

“Do you think Morgan would be open to the idea of joining
me against Wilson? I thought maybe it’s why he has me training with you.”

“I think it’s something you and Morgan will have to work
out, Amp. If ordered, I will destroy Wilson. Without Morgan’s order, I will not
move against the Alaska coven. I am Morgan’s warrior, and I do not pretend to
be anything but.”

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During the months Amp trained with Silas, the teacher
could not believe the devotion the girl showed to her lessons. Never had he known
a student so committed as this one. Amp would spend all of her night’s
training, and most of her free time finding partners to practice with her.

The girl was a natural, born to fight, and the other
students, as well as Silas, grew to respect the fire burning within her. The hand-to-hand
combat classes grew to be wars, Amp handling men twice her weight, inflicting
as much damage as Silas would permit. She wasn’t particularly fond of using the
human weapons, the guns bringing back horrible memories of Riley being blown
off his feet during battle. It was the sword fighting classes where she
excelled, shocking Silas with her natural ability. It was as if Amp was born to
fight with a sword, and after being instructed for several months on technique,
strategy, and discipline, Silas privately told anyone who would
listen
Amp was one of the most skilled sword fighters in the
world.

It finally got to the point Silas felt the need to
interject some type of diversion to the fanaticism the girl was displaying. He
started pushing her out of the gym, forcing her to enjoy life a bit more. She
was difficult to rein in, but his gentle manner and obvious affection finally
convinced her to spend more time taking care of Amp, rather than constantly
training to kill.

During this time Silas and Amp developed a friendship going
well beyond that of teacher and student. Silas tried, subtle at first, and then
a bit more aggressively, to fill the void created with the death of Danner and
Riley. The two often took trips into the inner city to feed, separating and
hunting on their own, then meeting back and enjoying the night life of the
giant city.

It was one of these nights, sitting in a club near
Hollywood, the two enjoying the loud music and scantily clad girls, Silas
finally brought up what had been on his mind.

“Amp, I don’t think it’s a good idea, going back to
Alaska. If what you told me about this Wilson guy is true, his insanity and
paranoia will keep him on constant alert. You’re not going to be able to sneak
up on him, and you’d have to have a small army of skilled warriors to attack
his compound. It would be suicide, honey. To be perfectly honest with you, I
don’t want to lose you. Friends like you don’t come around often.”

“Then go with me,” she said.

“I go where I’m told to go, you already know that,” he
said, smiling warmly at her. “If I was a loner, I’d jump at it. I love a good
fight, and I love you like the sister I never had. I think you better prepare
yourself for Morgan’s decision. Knowing the way he does business, I think the
odds are long that he’ll send anyone to Alaska. Everything in this coven is
based on economics, and if the projected bottom line doesn’t justify the
output, it’s not going to happen. Emotions play a very small part in Morgan’s
decisions. Just stay here with us…with me. We can have a great time, doing just
what we’re doing.”

The conversation was taking a melancholy direction, and
Amp felt it down to her bones. Sadly she looked into Silas’ eyes, knowing that
she was going to lose another friend soon.

“I love you, Silas. You’re a good…no, a great friend. And
I am so tempted to stay here with you, just fight and party and be with you
forever. But my heart is driven to finish this thing, and that’s what I’m going
to do. Don’t ever think it’s easy to give you up. But I’ve got an obligation,
and I’m seeing it through to the end.”