Kill Wilson (Petersburg Vampires) (9 page)

------

Wilson’s human woman hadn’t been to town for a few weeks,
the business affairs of the Wilson companies keeping her occupied, as well as
the overbearing behavior of Beryl. She normally made it into Petersburg at
least once a week, having drinks at the Harbor Bar, visiting the shops along
Main Street, and occasionally meeting somebody and having a casual, anonymous
afternoon of fun.

The paranoia that had escalated with so many deaths a
year ago appeared to be dormant, and Miriam prayed that Wilson would keep a
tighter rein on his progressing insanity. She couldn’t understand what was wrong
with the vampire.

The only plausible explanation was that he had been born
with mental problems, and upon being turned, had brought the paranoia and
delusions along with him to his vampire life. The past several decades had been
miserable for Miriam, and Wilson’s mental health was not improving. Her hope of
being given eternal life from the vampire kept her from making an issue of it.
She needed his blood to remain young, wanted to be turned to gain the ultimate
reward. He had always promised her, and was using that promise as the carrot
that he constantly dangled in her face.
 

When Miriam had first been hired by Wilson almost 100
years ago, she was an 18 year old homeless girl, miserable with her life, a
failed marriage making it imperative that she find some type of work. It took
her little time to use her body to move closer to Wilson, and was soon sharing
his bed. Upon discovering the power of his blood, and his need for hers, the
relationship evolved to the place where it was now.

Although Miriam had started as an office girl eventually
evolving into bookkeeping, she was now the driving force that kept all of the
various business dealings running smoothly. Wilson had long ago lost interest
in operating anything more than the bodies of his various boy toys.
 
Wilson knew that the loss of Miriam would
mean the loss of his considerable income, so even though she drove his madness
to new heights with her defiance and manic behavior, as well as her constant
unfaithfulness with the working men on the docks, he was careful with the
corporal punishment, and generous with his blood donations to keep her young
and healthy.

As she parked her Mercedes around the corner from the
Harbor Bar, she couldn’t help but remember the night more than a year ago when
Sheldon was killed by the girl, Anne Marie, right at this very spot.

Miriam had never been more scared in her life, the girl’s
raw courage and rage a thing of beauty. The young girl had been death’s instrument,
and Miriam was thankful every day that the girl had spared her.

Sheldon, the blonde vampire who had struck the first blow
in the battle against the vampire Danner, had deserved to die, and Miriam had
not been sorry to see it happen. When the girl had tossed his head into the
car, landing on Miriam’s lap, she had lost complete control of her bladder, and
soiled herself.

Looking back, she felt a certain amount of pride that the
young girl had attempted to even the score following the murder of her sire and
her friend. What balls that girl displayed, Miriam thought, as she walked over
the spot where Sheldon had died.
Unbelievably huge balls.

What Wilson had done that night was despicable and
unforgivable. In Miriam’s mind, Anne Marie had every right to do what she had
done, and she was thankful the girl had not taken her head at the same
time.
 

Pushing through the door of the town’s most popular bar,
Miriam’s mind switched gears to the reason for being here. There were plenty of
visiting fishermen, summer tourists, and lumberjacks that visited Petersburg, and
Miriam was on the prowl for some casual, anonymous sex to satisfy the need that
she could never fill while living at the Wilson manor. As long as she was
discreet and careful, her town liaisons would fill the gap that Wilson no
longer could fill.

As she walked down the bar, looking for the man that
could fulfill her need, her last thought of Anne Marie was what had become of
the little girl, and the hope that she had found someone to take care of her.

------

As Katy and Amp settled side-by-side into their seats on
the Amtrak, Amp’s mind was going a mile a minute, trying to decide on her next
step, knowing she was alone and desperate. She was embarrassed for thinking
that the men of Skagit Valley would be her allies. Her people skills were
terrible, having assumed that one short meeting in a bar meant that these guys
would support her. Never in her life had she been so wrong about somebody. She
told herself, it’s your mistake, not theirs. They have a life; I have nothing.

Her honor demanded that she avenge her friend’s, but the
girl Nikka had expressed the truth coldly. It would be a suicide mission going
against Wilson alone. She wasn’t afraid of the dying part, but she needed to
take as many of Wilson’s people with her, and most important, Wilson had to
die. She was all out of ideas, out of friends, and aside from Katy, alone and
desperate. The depression came upon her, all-encompassing, not certain she
could move forward.

Trying desperately to rid herself of the low feelings,
she stared out the window at the approaching darkness, thinking that this part
of the country was
prime
for vampires. Overcast and
gray a good part of the year, the sun was not nearly as brutal like it was in Southern
California or Florida.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the presence of another
vampire on the train, very close, and her body tensed. Turning, she was
surprised to see Nikka strolling down the aisle, slipping into the double seat
across from Amp and Katy.

“Small world, huh?”
Nikka smiled at Amp before turning to Katy. “Hi, I’m Nikka, a friend of Amps.”

Katy smiled at the openness of the pretty girl. “I’m
Katy,” she said, pleased to meet a friend of Amp’s.

“You didn’t say you were going to Seattle,” Amp said,
wondering about coincidences, at the same time pleased that Nikka had referred
to her as a friend. She hoped the girl meant it.

“I thought this would be a lovely time to do some
nighttime…errands…in Seattle, and thought how cool it would be if you and I
could go together. That is if Katy doesn’t mind. I think what I have in mind
might be good for you.”

Amp knew the girl was trying to tell her something, but
wasn’t for sure what. It was too good to think that it had anything to do with
her busted plans for Alaska.

“Katy will be fine while we do the things we need to do,”
Amp replied.

“Sure, I can always find something to do,” Katy said
without a great deal of enthusiasm. She knew that being with a vampire would be
different, and the most difficult part
was knowing
that
Amp would be gone, doing the things that vamps did. She had yet to bring it up
to her lover, but the girl had a burning desire to be turned. Sometime in the
future she prayed that Amp would be open to that.

After the conductor checked their tickets, Katy excused
herself to explore the train, leaving the two vampires alone.

“What’s on your mind, Nikka? I know this isn’t an
accident, us being on the same train.”

“How old are you, Amp?” Nikka asked, changing the
subject. She smiled as she waited for the answer.

“132. I was 16 when I was murdered, reborn thanks to the
vampire, Danner Gray.
You?”

“I was turned in 1490 by the pirate, Jan de
Bouff
. I was the only survivor from a ship that my sire had
plundered and sank in the North Sea off the Dutch coast. I was 19 years old at
the time. I was with de
Bouff
until his head was
taken in 1710. I’ve been on my own since.”

Amp was overwhelmed. Vampires earn respect from their
age, and this young woman had been around for a long time.

“I’m an infant compared to you,” Amp said quietly. “You
honor me with your presence.”

“I’m not here to be honored, Amp, and I’m not trying to
impress you. I told you how old I am so that you understand that I do not make
decisions lightly. I’m here because when I dropped you off earlier, I felt we
weren’t finished, that maybe we have some uncompleted business. I don’t know
how else to explain it, only that I feel as though we need to spend time
together. You’re either the bravest girl I’ve met in a while, or the craziest.
I want to find out which. So do you mind if I tag along with you?”

The look of happiness on Amp’s face answered the
question, her depression dropping away in an instant. “I am overjoyed you’re
here. I’ve never…it’s just that I’ve always been with guys, traveling, living,
hanging out. I’ve never had a girl who I could call a friend. Yes, I’m thrilled
you’re going to be around. I hope we’ll become friends.”

“Your little human won’t mind?” Nikka asked, half
serious.

Amp thought about the question for a moment before answering.
“She is human,” she surprised herself with the answer. “It doesn’t matter what
she minds.”

“Good, then it’s settled. Seattle is a great city; we can
have a good time there.”

“So what are we going to be doing in Seattle?” Amp
finally asked.

“Hunting, what else,” the girl said with a grin.

------

Amp couldn’t remember having this much fun, jumping from
rooftop to rooftop, using the speed and power that only vampires possessed, to follow
Nikka across the sky line of Seattle, high above the traffic and unsuspecting
humans on the sidewalk. It was an unbelievably beautiful spring evening, just a
tiny sliver of moon showing amongst the millions of stars in the clear, black
sky.

After leaving Katy at The Paramount Hotel on Pine Street
where the three had checked into adjoining suites, Nikka and Amp had dressed in
dark clothing, and left for the night. This was all new to Amp, and she was
enjoying it as much as school kids enjoyed a snow day.

“You
ever been
hunting?” Nikka
had asked as the two sped through alleys and across roofs, running for the joy
of it, moving faster than any human ever had.

“Not hunting…not like this. I glamour humans when I feed,
drink what I need, and erase the memory. That’s how I met Katy, except she
talked me out of the erase part. For that I’m glad...I think.”

“She’s nice, I like her,” Nikka said. “So she’s not just
for feeding?”

“I don’t know what she is,” Amp replied. “She filled a
large hole in my gut, kept me from going crazy for a bit. I’ve felt so alone for
the past year, and I needed something, and Katy was there. I guess the only way
to explain her is that she’s something, but the feeding thing with her is
pretty intense. I don’t feel love for her, but I care about her. Loneliness is
a bitch, and for the past year, I’ve been very lonely.”

Nikka didn’t want the night to turn into a sob session,
so she took a running start and leapt out into space, landing softly in the
gravel of the alley below.

Following her closely, Amp was overcome with the pure joy
of using her powers. “I’ve never used my speed like this, running and jumping
for the hell of it, just for fun. This is such a kick in the ass! I can’t
believe I’ve missed out on this.”

Nikka leapt, grabbing hold of a fire escape on the side
of the old brick building, crawling up the rungs faster than a human eye could
follow, Amp right behind. Stopping on the seventh floor, the two sat on a ledge
looking down into a dark alley, their incredible eyesight seeing every movement
70 feet below.

“It must be awful not to be vampire,” Amp said,
pretending a massive shudder that made Nikka laugh.

“I know, right? Sometimes I wish there were more of
us…but I don’t think that would be a great idea. Vamp politics would be a
nightmare. With the egos and thousands of different ways to live that vamps
have, somebody somewhere would try to dictate to us. I couldn’t live like that.
I like it the way it is. I’m free to do what I please. I’m a badass, and it
would take a bigger badass to defeat me. I haven’t run into that yet. Let the
humans dictate to each other. I’ll just sit up here on a roof, and wait for
supper to be delivered.”

The girls sat and talked for hours, Nikka probing Amp
about her rebirth, and her life with Danner and Riley. As she talked, Amp felt
a great weight released, and even found herself laughing as she recounted
stories about the trio’s vagabond existence. Nikka had a calming manner, the
skill to transform the melancholy of Amp’s memories into a sense of joy, an
appreciation of the time she had with her two dearest friends.

Amp had a hundred questions for the other girl, but the
first one came out in a rush. “Do you kill when you feed?”

“When I hunt, I find somebody that needs to be hurt…or
worse. I don’t mind finding a human who I can manipulate, and occasionally I
do. Rooted in each of us is the fact that we are vampire, and humans are food.
That was ingrained in me 500 years ago, and that’s what I do. Sometimes I yearn
for the past, living in the forest, hunting travelers, attacking, feeding;
killing. I’ve traveled with bloodthirsty psychopaths who killed
indiscriminately. I’ve committed atrocities that in today’s world seem
implausible. I don’t miss the savagery, I’ve evolved from the person that did
those things, but I miss the joy of the hunt. People might look at my life and
say it has been brutal and inhumane…but we are not human. We are vampire, and I
am vampire to my core. ”

As they were talking, below them two men manhandled a
middle aged lady into the alley, one of the men trying to wrestle the purse
from the woman’s hand, the victim refusing to release her belongings. Without
warning, the second man hit the woman on the side of her head with an open
palm, a violent and callous blow, sending the lady to her knees in pain and
shock.
 

“I no longer kill recklessly,” Nikka whispered, almost to
herself. She turned her head and looked at Amp, her canines extended, giving
her the face, Amp thought, of an angel…or death. “But I do kill when death is
the just conclusion.”

And without another word, she dropped off the ledge,
landing silently 70 feet below directly behind the two men who were going
through the victim’s purse. Amp watched, ready to join her companion, if
needed. She wasn’t.

The first man that noticed Nikka turned in surprise, and
with effortless, lightning speed, the girl kicked him with her right instep
upside his left temple. He dropped without a whimper, the left side of his head
caved in at a disturbing angle.

The second man recovered from his shock, pulling a six
inch Buck knife from his belt, raising it, only to discover that it was flying
through the air and his arm wasn’t working, the man staring at the white bone
sticking through his skin, his hand flapping loosely as he tried to gain
control of it. His anger was stronger than his shock, and he flew towards
Nikka. The blonde casually sidestepped, reached out and grabbed the man’s hair,
pulling his head back, and sinking her fangs violently through skin and
cartilage and bone, ripping his throat out. The dark red blood sprayed up and
out, a stunning kaleidoscope of crimson death.

Amp watched every move of the act, the violence topped by
the beauty of Nikka’s movements. The entire performance took just seconds, but
it burned into Amp’s brain for eternity. As she watched Nikka feed from the
human, she came perilously close to an orgasm.

Yes, she thought, this is what being vampire is. For more
than 100 years, she had been pretending, an imposter in a world in which she
didn’t belong. Nikka was demonstrating by example what it truly meant to be vampire.

Amp realized that this was what she craved; this was what
she was.

Amp dropped the 70 feet to the ground, her concern was
getting the female victim away from the alley without any memory of the rescue.
It wouldn’t do for the lady to go running down the street screaming bloody
murder about the girl sucking her attacker dry. Helping the whimpering lady to
her feet and handing her the purse, Amp’s glamour ensured that she would have
no recollection of the attack. Amp easily convinced her that the bruised cheek
was the result of a stumble.

When she was gone, Amp turned to Nikka, who was flinging
the drained criminal’s body back into the alley as if it was garbage.

“That one is dead, also. Are you hungry?” Nikka asked.
The bloodlust that Amp felt was nearly overpowering, but she controlled it, not
needing to feed but overexcited over the smell and sight of the blood covering
her friend’s face.

“I think I’m good,” Amp said, picking up the dead man and
tossing him alongside his accomplice.

Turning to Nikka, Amp couldn’t help herself. She leaned
forward and licked the dripping blood from her new friend’s face and neck, the
taste strong and fresh. Her movements were sensual, her tongue covering every
inch of the older girl’s face. She cleaned Nikka, finally darting her tongue
inside the other’s mouth, trying to find every drop, Nikka’s tongue meeting
hers, welcoming the intrusion.

Pulling away, Amp wiped her mouth with the sleeve of her
jacket. “Whoa, damn, that got away from me,” she giggled, embarrassed. “Sorry.”

“That was way intense,” Nikka laughed, looking at the
other girl in a different light.
“
Kinda
hot in a vamp-lezzy sort of way.
No apology ever necessary for that.”

Changing the subject to get away from the sexual tension
she was feeling, Amp returned to the actions that had taken place.

“That was absolutely awesome. Where did you learn to
kick…that was so…I don’t know how to explain it?” Amp asked.

The two had climbed back up the building, leaping from
window sill to sill, grabbing onto handholds only their enhanced vision could
find. Reaching the roof, they ran in the direction of the hotel, leaping
whenever they ran out of space, finally dropping down into an alley two blocks
from the Paramount, and walking the rest of the way.

“It’s called
Savate
, a martial
art form also known as French Boxing. I learned it from its original masters
back in the 1700’s. It’s my preferred method of fighting, although I am expert
in many other types of martial arts. I fight
Savate
,
but also incorporate a lot of the
Kuntaw
arts, which
is an ancient fighting method developed in the Philippines. I was trained by the
original creator of the technique, and I was driven to be the best I possibly
could. At the time and the lifestyle I lived, I had to be tougher, more
bloodthirsty than any man I came against or I would die. I killed more than I
care to remember, but I survived.
 
I’m
not telling you this to blow my own horn, Amp, but if we’re going to run
together for a while, I need you to know that first and foremost I am vampire;
through and through. I am a warrior, and I will never apologize for what I am.
I do not enjoy living in a human world; I don’t like having to pretend. I live
for the hunt.”

Amp took in what Nikka was saying; trying to fit it with
the life she had lived with Danner and Riley. She had become accustomed to the
fraternizing with humans as a necessary way of life. It was all she had known,
one of living in the background so that they did not attract attention,
pretending to be something she wasn’t.

Now she was exposed to her true heritage; the authentic
vampire life. She felt something new…something dynamic and orgasmic and raw.

With her entire being, she embraced it.