***
Derek completed the finishing touches to the portrait tattoo of the man’s dead son. It was one of his best yet and he was extremely proud of it. He dabbed a towel gently against the tattoo to get the blood. He set the towel aside and wiped the sweat from his brow with the back of his hand. “Whew. Done. What do you think, Becca?” Derek turned to get Becca’s opinion - only to discover that she wasn’t there!
“If you’re looking for the sexy redhead she left the shop about an hour ago.” The biker said as he sat up and began to gingerly put his shirt back on. “You were so in the zone that you didn’t notice. Oh, I also saw her take your credit card.” He chuckled. “Women, they’re a handful, huh? She probably went shopping.”
“She what?” A feeling of dread swept over Derek. Sure, Slaine couldn’t go out in daylight but…Neena could go out during the day and it was possible Slaine might try to enlist her help. Therefore, it wasn’t entirely safe out there during the day. Crap, crap, crap. I should have warned her about Neena.
“How much do I owe you, buddy?” The biker asked.
“Oh, er…three hundred and eighty five.” Derek replied.
“Here ya go.” The biker handed Derek four hundred dollars. “Keep the change. You did a bang up job. It really looks just like him.” The man’s eyes teared up for a second but he quickly wiped the tears away with the back of his hand. “Thanks again.” He left the shop. Just like that, even though it was still daylight out. It was three o’clock in the afternoon.
Derek envied the man. He could go out into the sun so easily. Derek closed his eyes and concentrated on the connection he had with Becca because of the magical tattoo he’d give her. She was a good forty-five minutes away. He had a bad feeling about this.
Derek began to pace back and forth across his tattoo parlor floor. It was useless, he couldn’t just sit around and do nothing. It was incredibly foolhardy, reckless and dangerous, but he was going out there after Becca.
Derek went upstairs to his room, and slathered SPF 70 onto his skin. Then he dressed in a black turtleneck, leather pants, and boots. He put on a long, black trench coat, and a fedora to shadow his face from the sun. Derek grabbed his black umbrella and headed back downstairs. He took a deep breath in front of the front door. It’s okay. I can do this. As long as his skin wasn’t exposed to the sun he wouldn’t catch on fire.
Derek opened the door, opened the umbrella, and stepped out into the sun. Even with his sunglasses on his eyes still stung. Derek quickly made his way to his Rover and got inside. He closed the umbrella and tossed it into the backseat. Derek started the engine and began to drive in the direction he could sense Becca was located.
The sunlight hit his hands and they started to burn. “Crap.” Derek opened the glove compartment with his left hand (the steering wheel in a ’59 Rover is on the right side), pulled out a pair of gloves, and quickly put them on. “I must be an idiot.”
Or in love. A tiny voice whispered in his mind.
Derek pressed down on the gas. He noticed a motorcycle that had been going the opposite direction do a U-turn. What the hell? The motorcycle began to approach the Rover and Derek wondered if it was someone he knew. He looked into his rearview mirror. What he saw made his eyes widen.
A man in a black, leather hooded vest was behind him…a sleeveless vest. The man’s blue, Celtic animal tattoos were visible. The man behind him was no ordinary man at all but a Druid Vampire Hunter. “Holy crap! A Druid Vampire Hunter…what the hell is he doing here in San Francisco? The Hunters should know this area is covered. Unless this man knew the dead Hunter. He could be looking for him. Dang it…just my luck.” The man’s hood was raised and shadowing the features of his face, so Derek didn’t know who it was or if he’d encountered this particular Hunter before or not.
Derek watched as the Hunter whipped out a gun and aimed it at Derek’s car. “He wouldn’t-” A bullet shot through Derek’s back windshield and shattered it. “He frigin shot at me! And in broad daylight and with all these normals around! What the hell is he thinking? Is he crazy?”
The Hunter shot at Derek again. “Crap!” Derek was forced to try and dodge the shots by swerving left and right on the road. A bullet tore through a car’s windshield and Derek heard screams. “That jerk!” There were too many innocent people around for this. He had to get off the main road. Derek took the next exit ramp and floored it. The Hunter on the Harley was right behind him. The motorcycle increased his pace and shot at Derek again.
One of Derek’s rear tires was blown out. “Son of a gun!” Derek was having trouble controlling the Rover now and was swerving haphazardly across the road. Derek glanced to his right where the ocean was visible. The street he was on was directly next to the beach. In fact, this area looked oddly familiar. And then he realized they were close to where his friend Levi had done most of the filming for the movie The Little Merman.
Another bullet whizzed through the air and hit Derek’s rear right tire. “Crap!” Derek lost control of the Rover and it veered off the street. The Rover hit the curb and continued on. It began to roll down a slightly grassy and sandy incline that led to the beach. Derek tried to break the car before it hit the water, but the car wouldn’t stop. It ended up hitting a sand dune flipping up into the air and ended up landing in the ocean upside down.
The Rover began to sink fast. Derek unbuckled his seatbelt, and he fell to the roof of the car. He flipped over, and began to punch his side window. Cracks formed in the glass. He punched the glass until it shattered and water rushed into the car. Derek pushed himself out of the car and swam into the ocean.
He started to swim back up towards the surface; however, a sea creature began to approach him. No, wait. Its body was translucent, blue-tinged, and shimmery. The Hunter was using one of his battle tattoos against him. And he had a sea serpent in his arsenal. No frigin way? Who the hell is this guy?
Derek barely managed to avoid getting chomped in half. He quickly summoned his magical powers and willed his python tattoo to peel off his arm. His python materialized and swam quickly for the sea creature and wrapped around its neck. That’s it…now constrict! Derek willed in his mind as he clenched his hand into a fist.
The sea creature was defeated and exploded into blue ink, which created a blue cloud in the water. Derek’s hat fell off his head and he had to cover his face with his hands as it began to burn from the sunlight that was shinning down into the water from overhead. Crap. He was so screwed!
And then he saw another sea creature swimming towards him rapidly through the water. Great, just his luck. However, as the creature neared Derek, he suddenly recognized his friend Levi Devlin - the merman chef!
Levi grabbed Derek’s fedora before swimming back to Derek and putting it on his head. After that Levi put Derek’s arm around his shoulders and swam off like a bullet, heading to only God knew where.
Levi swam them to an underwater cave and entered. Derek wanted to remind Levi that he couldn’t breathe underwater, when they were abruptly surfacing inside a strange cave. Derek was gasping for breath once he was finally able to surface. Derek looked up and could see the sky - this cave had once been a volcano.
Levi swam Derek over to a shadowy corner of the cave. Derek pulled himself out of the water and huddled into the shadows.
Levi swam close. “What the hell were you doing outside in the middle of the day? You’re a vampire for heaven’s sake. You’re lucky I decided to go for a swim! What happened?”
Derek sighed. “To make a long story short…Becca Thorn is in danger. I need to go to her.”
Levi raised an eyebrow at Derek. “Becca? She’s still in town?” Levi knew Becca had a huge crush on his ex-grill chef, but he didn’t know Becca and Derek were seeing each other. He smiled. “I don’t know what’s going on between you two, but I’ll swim back to the restaurant and call Mal. He can teleport to her location by picturing her in his mind, and rescue her if she’s in trouble.”
&nb
sp; “Take me with you.” Derek demanded.
“No way. Are you crazy? You’re lucky you didn’t burn to a crisp out there! And you still didn’t tell me how you got into a car accident either.” Levi shook his head at his friend. “I thought you were supposed to be the responsible one?”
“A Vampire Hunter was after me.” Derek explained in a nonchalant tone.
“A Hunter? Man…I feel so out of the loop. But there’s no way I’m taking you with me. You need to stay here until nightfall. I will return for you with news of Becca then, my friend. I promise.”
Derek let out a defeated sigh. “Alright…but Levi?”
“Yes?”
“Please hurry.”
Levi smirked. “You got it, bud. I happen to be the fastest fish in this sea.” He dove down into the water, his enormous blue and green scaled tail visible for a moment, and then he disappeared.
Derek sat down, put his face in his hands, and prepared to wait. He never hated his vampire nature so much as he did right then…dang it! He should have been the one rescuing Becca…not his friends. Levi didn’t even know what the hell was going on with his Archenemy Slaine and Becca, or that Dracula was in town too! It was a real crap storm in San Francisco all of a sudden.
***
Neena clapped her hands together excitedly and jumped up and down. “Oh, goodie! Can I eat them? Please! Please! Pretty please! Pretty please with whipped cream and an eyeball on top!”
Becca felt a scream of terror bubbling up her throat.
At that moment, the door burst open and Slaine stalked inside. He used his powers to turn on all the lights inside of the room, and Becca noted she was in what appeared to be a storage room or basement somewhere. There were several cases of alcohol and wine, and glasses on the nearby shelves. She even caught sight of her Jimmy Choo shopping bag on the floor close by. My shoes…
Slaine stopped dead in his tracks when he spotted Becca tied to a chair. His eyes widened in surprise, and then he noted the metal table piled with torture devices. A dark, furious expression crossed his face. He looked positively murderous, but when he caught sight of just who had captured Becca most of his anger left him to be replaced with mild irritation. “Girls, what is the meaning of this?” His tone of voice was chiding.
“Slaine-sensei.” The twins greeted him simultaneously.
“Slaine, you can’t really be thinking of turning this common woman into one of us, can you?” Koko questioned in a petulant tone.
Slaine cast an emotionless look Becca’s way. “The woman…is of no importance. More importantly, when I awoke I didn’t find you both at my side and grew concerned. I immediately went in search of you girls and am glad to find that you are both safe.”
Koko’s expression turned pleased and she blushed. “Truly, Slaine?”
Slaine nodded. “I missed you, girls. I also hunger for you both…even now. Won’t you sate my desire?” His voice had gotten deep and alluring.
Koko and Yoko latched themselves onto Slaine’s arms. “Oh, yes. Please Slaine, let us sate your hunger.” Koko purred. “Let us sate all of your dark desires.”
“Yes, feed from us. Only us. We are yours.” Yoko said.
Slaine glanced at Becca. “Not here. I wish to be somewhere more private with you both.”
Koko cast a glare Becca’s way. “What of the human female? Shall we give her to Neena as a snack?”
“No!” Slaine burst out but then coughed into his hand. “I mean, no…that would ruin the surprise Dracula has prepared for Neena, you see.”
Neena immediately took the bait. “Ooo, Dracula has a surprise for Neena? Is it a present? Is it YumYums? I do hope it’s YumYums. I’m soooo hungry…!”
Slaine shrugged carelessly. “I don’t know, Neena. Perhaps, you should go find Dracula and find out.”
“Ohhhh good idea! I’m coming, Master!” Neena skipped out of the room, giddy with excitement and hunger.
Becca shivered when she imagined just what YumYums might be.
“What if the human escapes?” Yoko asked in a droning tone.
Slaine chuckled. “She’s a lowly human. She won’t be able to. Even if there was a giant butterfly that could help her. She would still remain trapped here.” He joked.
Koko frowned at Slaine’s odd words. “A giant butterfly?”
“It’s a human expression.” Slaine slyly lied.
“Ah, I see.” Koko readily agreed. “Well, let’s go somewhere more private, sensei.”
“Yes, let’s.” Slaine agreed as he escorted the vampire females out of the basement and the door closed behind them, leaving Becca alone in the basement.
Giant butterfly? Did he just give me a clue? Is Slaine trying to help me escape? He must mean that I should use my tattoo but I don’t know how. Crap. How did I get it to come to life the last time? Becca wondered and thought back to the night Slaine had tried to turn her. She remembered calling out for help in her mind with all her heart and soul. Becca took a deep breath and prepared to call for help once again. Please…help me. Please. Becca thought.
The same stinging sensation was felt on her lower back, and a few seconds later a glowing, blue butterfly was hovering directly in front of her face. Becca’s green eyes widened at the sight of it. “It worked…quick! Get the ropes!”
The butterfly opened its mouth to reveal its sharp, pointy teeth and then it swooped down and began to gnaw at the ropes around Becca’s wrists and then her ankles until she was free. Becca stood up and rubbed her red, sore wrists. There was a twinge of pain in her shoulder but she willed herself not to look at it. “Now I just need to find a way out of here. One where I won’t get caught.”
The butterfly hovered in front of Becca’s face and instead of heading towards the door - headed towards the back of the basement and flew behind a pile of crates. Becca swallowed. She had no choice but to follow the butterfly though. But first she grabbed her shopping bag. What? She couldn’t leave the Jimmy Choos behind, now could she? Not after she’d spent more than three thousand dollars on them!
The butterfly led Becca to a hatch that appeared to lead outside. Becca climbed up a short ladder, and pushed against the hatch. It opened and sunlight spilled into the basement. She’d never been so happy to see sunlight in all her life. It felt refreshing, warm, and safe. Ah, the sun! How I’ve missed you. Okay, so that was a little melodramatic.
Becca pulled herself out of the hatch and saw that she was behind an enormous building that was painted black and that had pieces of metal stuck to its exterior. She realized that she’d been in the basement of Iron Casket!
Becca took off running and hailed a cab. She had to get back to Voodoo Tattoo A-SAP. She wasn’t sure how many hours she’d been trapped in that basement, but knew that Derek was probably worried sick about her. Becca also couldn’t stop herself from thinking about how Slaine had saved her life.
Why? Why did he decide to save me? She wondered.
***
The hours crawled by painfully slow until finally Levi returned at sunset. And he wasn’t alone. Becca also emerged from the water with Levi when he surfaced. She’s alive! Derek leapt to his feet. She was also wearing a sexy red bikini. And looking smoking hot! “Becca!” He rushed over to Becca and crouched in front of her.
“Hey.” Becca pulled herself out of the water onto a rocky ledge, and Derek helped her to stand. “Levi told me all about how you got into a car accident while trying to find me and ended up getting stranded here because you can’t go out in the sun. Because of that allergy of yours.” She shoved his shoulder playfully. “If I didn’t already know you’re a Druid I’d suspect you were a vampire too! Is your allergy to the sun really that strong?”
Derek was so happy to see her, her words barely registered. “Why did you leave?”
A guilty look crossed her face. “I just went shoe shopping…I’m sorry. I didn’t know you would worry, so I-”
Derek abruptly pulled Becca into his a
rms and hugged her close. He stroked her hair in a tender manner. “I’m just glad you’re safe.”
Becca melted into his embrace and wrapped her arms around him. She felt so safe in his arms. “Me too.” I’m safe because of Slaine. But how can I tell Derek that? Slaine killed his wife Cinnia. He’d never believe me. He thinks Slaine is a monster.
“You guys done with your romantic moment? Or should I go grab a beer or something and come back?” Levi asked in an amused tone.
“Shut up, man.” Derek said and then all three of them laughed.
Levi swam Derek and Becca back to shore, and they took a cab back to Voodoo Tattoo. “I can’t get over how fast your merman friend can swim!” Becca was saying as they approached the front door.
Derek grinned. “He says he’s the fastest fish in the sea.”
“When are you going to tell me what Garth and Malakye really are. I get this feeling they’re not human either.” Becca began casually.
Derek’s expression darkened. “Becca, the less you know about us the better. I still don’t like how you’ve gotten involved in all this.”
“Hey.” Becca put a hand on Derek’s arm. “You forget that I got myself involved by choosing to go out with Slaine. That was my choice.”
“True. But I should have warned you about him sooner.” Derek said as he opened the front door and they entered the townhouse.
“I’m going to go take a shower. I smell like fish!” Becca began to head for the stairs, planning to take a shower in her room and change.
Derek followed behind her, also planning to head up to his room and take a shower. “Hey, don’t be so ungrateful to our savior. It’s not his fault he smells fishy.”
Becca giggled. “Well, Vivien Tempest sure seems to like it.”
“Vivien always liked seafood. She probably just wants to eat him all up.” Derek joked.
“Do my ears deceive me?” Becca looked over her shoulder as she ascended the stairs. “Did you just try to make a joke? It was pretty bad, by the way.”
“Hey.” Derek complained as they reached the forth floor and went their separate ways. He went to his room, took a quick shower and changed. Afterwards, he made his way into the living room that was on the third floor, and turned on the TV so that he could watch the news.
“I’m reporting live from the site of what appears to be another gruesome animal attack!” A busty blonde female reporter was saying.
Derek sat down on the couch and listened to the news report about how just last night ten people were killed in San Francisco in various different locations throughout the city. But all of the attacks had the same M.O. (method of operation) - they appeared to be some kind of fluke animal attack. All of the victims had a bite wound on their neck, and had been drained of blood.
“Hey, what’s going on?” Becca questioned as she came into the living room with a towel wrapped around her head, and noticed Derek’s dour expression. She took a seat next to him on the couch and looked at the TV.
“Last night…ten people were killed by vampires.” Derek explained solemnly.
Becca gasped. “Last night…?”
Last night, Derek had been distracted with using edible paints on Becca, and then with watching martial arts films with her and Garth. The vampires had taken advantage of his absence and had killed ten people in one night. Somehow they’d known that Derek had been stuck in the townhouse protecting Becca from Slaine. Crap! This was all his fault. Just how many vampires were currently in San Francisco? Derek wondered. This wasn’t normal.
As a Druid Vampire Hunter, it was his duty to protect the city from vampiric threat. And he’d failed. The news switched to a commercial for a new candy for Halloween that was ironically called ‘Vampire Bites’. The candy was apparently made out of chocolate, shaped like lips with fangs, and covered in a colored red and white candy shell. The commercial explained that the candies would be released Halloween morning.
“The name is a little freaky…and considering everything I’ve been through I shouldn’t be looking forward to trying those candies. But…the hype about them is real.” Becca told Derek. “Did you know they’re only going to be released here in San Francisco?”
Derek shook his head. “No, I didn’t know that.” He replied distractedly, he wasn’t really paying attention to what Becca was saying. All he knew was that the vampires were on the move and he had to do something about it. Derek whipped out his cell phone and dialed Malakye. Malakye picked up after three rings.
“Hey, Derek. What’s up?”
“Malakye, I need you and Garth to come over and protect Becca while I go out tonight and hunt vampires. Ten people were killed yesterday in my city and I won’t allow another innocent person to die tonight.” Derek said firmly.
“Will do…are you sure you don’t want one of us to come with you though?”
“Naw…the regular run-of-the-mill vampires I can handle. But…if Slaine shows up to take Becca you will need back up.” Derek explained in a serious tone.
“Understood. I’ll go get Garth now. He’ll probably be happy to have an excuse to leave his lonely shop.” Malakye ended the call.
Derek put his phone back into his pants pocket.
Becca was having mixed feelings about all this. Derek wanted to go hunt vampires…alone. And he wanted Garth and Malakye to protect her…from Slaine. “Do you really have to go out there tonight?” Should I tell him about what happened with Slaine? That way he could ask Garth and Malakye to go with him. It would be much safer that way.
“Yes.”
“Why does it have to be you?”
“Because…I’m a Druid Vampire Hunter. It’s what I do. It’s…who I am.”
“I feel bad needing a babysitter. I wish there was some way I could help you.” Becca said sincerely.
Derek glanced over at Becca. She was wearing a red and gold, medieval-style dress with belled sleeves, and a pair of gold, strappy high heels he’d never seen before. She was so feminine and delicate. She needed to be protected, and he would protect her unlike how he’d failed to protect Cinnia. “Women…are supposed to be protected by men.”
“You know I’m a feminist, right?” Becca joked, and when Derek’s expression remained serious she changed tactics. “Derek, there’s something I think you should know-” Becca was saying, intending to tell Derek about what had happened with Neena, Koko, Yoko, and Slaine back at club Iron Casket and how Slaine had saved her. However-
Malakye and Garth suddenly materialized in the center of the living room.
“Hey, thanks for coming, guys.” Derek offered them a half-smile. “I leave Becca in your capable hands.”
Garth clapped Derek on the shoulder. “You can count on us, man. We’ll protect her with our lives.”
“I don’t doubt it. I’m going to go get ready.” Derek left the living room and headed for his bedroom. He entered and shut the door. He made his way over to his closet and opened the door. There were several black leather, sleeveless, hooded vests, and Derek selected one. He took his shirt off and put the vest on. He already had on a pair of leather pants and boots. He raised the hood to shadow his face and looked at his reflection in the mirror that he had to will to appear.
He looked like a true Druid Vampire Hunter. No one would know he was a vampire just by his appearance, but of course Hunters could sense what he really was. He let out a heavy sigh and hoped that the other Druid Vampire Hunter wasn’t out there tonight. The last thing he wanted was to run into that trigger-happy jerk again!
Derek headed down the stairs and popped into the living room to say ‘goodbye’. Garth and Malakye were seated on the couch on either side of Becca. “Well, guys, I’m headed out. Wish me luck?” He felt awkward. He’d never had to say ‘goodbye’ to anyone before.
“Good luck!” Malakye said.
“Give them hell!” Garth rumbled and punched his open palm with his fist.
Becca was sitting on the couch with her
hands clenched into fists on her lap. She had her head bent down, and wouldn’t meet Derek’s gaze. He didn’t have time for female drama though. Whatever was bothering Becca, would have to wait. He had a city to protect. Derek made his way downstairs, went through his shop, and exited out into the night to begin his patrol.
To be continued in…Tattoo 6: Panther