chapter EIGHT
Harrow
I had been following the King’s men for an hour or so as they went from place to place collecting protection money. It amazed me how, in this day and age, they were actually able to keep this racket going. This wasn’t the twenties, when the mob ruled the streets with blood and terror. It was 2016, where the long arm of the law might be just as corrupt, but it wore a pair of brass knuckles when it bitch-slapped you. Somehow tough, The King made old world intimidation work in the modern age. Following the thugs might not have been the most exciting thing, but it gave me a break from Mihaela, one I needed to get away from her particular type of crazy.
We had gone around the whole damn city, I thought. They were too busy looking behind them to realize I was tracking them from the rooftops. Legend said that vampires could turn into bats or mist, but if that was true, I never learned it and my maker never told me about it. It was evident that the city's broken economy and the empty real estate had not just affected the common folk who depended on the automotive industry to feed their families, but also those less desirable too. Either way, as soon as they turned onto Walker Road, I knew where they were going. The King was warned to stay away but, like most powerful men, he didn't follow my reasonable suggestion.
It had been some time since I had come anywhere close to my brother’s house, if one could actually call it a house. Unlike so many other businessmen who had factories scattered around Essex county, with expansion into the USA and Mexico, Nathaniel had kept the whole operation in one place. It was a three-story, three wing, little city in its own right. Keeping the local economy strong, he would say.
I watched as the car shut off its lights as it turned into the entrance of the underground parking garage. As the door opened, I couldn’t help but wonder how the gangsters got a hold of a company security badge. This wasn’t the employee entrance, but Nathanial’s private entrance. Just how much power did Wilson have in the company? Or even worse, just how much power did the Mob have in the family business? Slowly, the door opened, making a loud series of clinking sounds as it rose upwards. They drove a dark blue 1987 Ford Crown Victoria. These guys were a living stereotype if I had ever seen one. They wore dull brown suits from what looked like the seventies, and a couple gallons of Aqua Velva aftershave. Big, middle-aged Italian men past their prime sent on the easy collections freeing up the younger guys to battle and intimate their enemies and allies alike. I watched their lights fade into the darkness as the door closed behind them.
Whether they had planned it or not, they had just beaten me. This wasn’t my home and Nathanial never invited me in, so I couldn’t enter. It was one of the few limitationsof being immortal, depending on how one looked at it. He always called me brother, but treated me as more of an outcast than a member of his family. It started shortly after he realized what I had done. I never should have shared my secret with him. I wasn’t truly tricked or trapped by Mihaela. I didn’t realize what she was, but I didn’t run from her. No, I welcomed what she offered. I was cursed from birth and she offered me immortality. She offered me life, and so I took it. When her make came, Renaud traded his life for mine. Of course, that was the past and the past could not be changed or forgotten. A memory can only be endured.
Humans would have missed the faint smell of cigarette smoke shifting through the wind, but to me it was as strong as if I was smoking it myself. I looked up and saw him. It was him, but the horrors he had faced had taken its toll on him. A large,wide gash ran down the whole length of his face and the other side of his face was torn away so deep that I could see bone. Even looking straight down upon me, my dear brother couldn’t tell I was there. It was a good thing too, because I knew why he was home even if he didn’t. He was here to finish up old business and I was a part of it. A soul for a soul after all.
“Now, what would a Nightbreed be doing here?” Murlin hissed as she strutted out of the shadows, swaying like a palm tree caught in the wind. “I thought this would be the last place that you would want to be. It should be the last place you want to be.”
“And miss my brothers homecoming? How could I possibly be so rude?” This wasn’t really small talk, but playful flirting. Even when I was a child, any conversation shared with her was filled with sexual innuendos. It wasn’t that she was trying to be a whore, she just liked to play the role of one.
Her claws clicked as she ran them together, which was as much of a warning as she was willing to give to me. “He doesn’t remember everything that happened, but I still do. I remember what you did to him, Harrow and it wasn’t terribly wise.”
“We all have our burdens to bear. My sins are just a bit heavier to carry.”
Shaking her head in disgust, she said quietly, “Time seems to have kind to you. It’s a shame that we all can’t say that.”
Still staring at my brother, I responded, “You are looking at the face of a predator, old friend. If I can still call you that. I must look the part.”
Giggling, she ran her finger through my hair, “Oh Harrow, aren’t we all predators now? Your kind of monster seems to get all the fame. What are you doing here, old friend?” I was surprised as she wrapped her arms around me and pulled me close. “He doesn’t remember the details that lead to his destruction and I haven’t told him. Leave this city and find a new home. Find a sanctuary far from this storm.” I knew this was as close to compassion as she could offer, but I couldn’t leave. I had been running and regretting everyday of life I had since that day. I wasn’t running anymore. A touch of sadness filled his voice as she whispered, “I think he’ll kill you, once his memory comes back.”
“Yes I know, and I will let him. It’s the least I can do.”
I heard muffled voices in what appeared to be a heated argument. Threats and insults were being thrown around like grenades in the midst of a war. I was concentrating on the voices trying to distinguish who they were and what they were arguing over. It wasn’t fear, but anger and frustration that bounced around like a ball being tossed in a room. Murlin went to say something, but I shushed her as I tried to concentrate on what they were saying. That’s when I heard Jenny’s scream.
I ran towards the dull grey aluminum doors that separated me from my friend. Even my hearing couldn’t distinguish between them, but I was well aware of the fact that the number of voices was growing. At first I thought it was fear echoing in Jenny’s voice, but the more intently I listened the more I began to understand that it was anger. Hatred and disgust twisted in her tone as she lashed out. I could only assume that it was Wilson bearing the brunt of her lashing. Jenny took emotional blackmail to a whole new level. The image of poor Wilson pissing himself as Jenny gave him a verbal lashing made me smile. That bastard truly deserved whatever abuse she gave him.
“You aren’t invited to this ball, princess.” Murlin blurted out as she walked up behind me and started knocking on the door. “What, you can’t enter the palace?”
I wasn’t sure if she knew that my genius brother built the whole damn place like an anti-vampire lair, ensuring that I was locked out. All three wings were more or less his home and as the rule definitely made clear I couldn’t enter a home unless I was invited. It was like supernatural red tape.
“I must be invited if I am going to enter.”
In confusion she snorted, “Even the parking garage?”
“Nathanial built the damn penthouse on top of it, so yes, I must be invited.” I looked at the white stucco wall in front of me. Running my fingers along the rough surface it seemed so ironic that I could poke holes in it like it was wet paper, but even if I made a hundred holes I still couldn’t step into the building. What a brilliant little bastard.
“The King wants the woman,” a deep voice spoke. “He says to get her tonight, but we can’t harm her. She’s a bargaining chip.” I couldn’t help but wonder, was I the cause of this or was there something else happening here? Normally, a man like The King discovering that a man like Renaud had sudden
ly returned might try to blackmail him out of his empire, but then there was the message I sent last night.
“Yes, I know. It’s like fishing. You get to catch them, but you don’t get to eat them,” another voice mumbled. “I don’t like snatching the rich ones. They get to scream and bite, yet you can’t smack ‘em to shut ‘em up.”
“What about Bailey?”
“He’s not to be touched yet. Boss wants to have a little talk with the broad. Something about this new guy that beat up his brother real bad,” he chuckled. “He's going to be ok though. They didn't touch his pretty face, or anything else that he considers important.”
"Yes, that would be a tragedy now wouldn't it?"
"Invite me in," I yelled, frustrated. "There are some very bad people just inside this door." I was pushing on the door and watching buckle inward, knowing that no matter what I did I couldn't even put a finger inside.
Murlin smiled and just sat there on the side of a large flower urn. "Why should I invite the big bad wolf into my house? Trading one monster for another isn't what I would call security."
"Please Murlin, don't do this. It's not for me, it's for Jenny," I pleaded with her.
"Harrow, leave now before Renaud realizes that you are here. Nothing good can happen if you step through those doors. Leave now and just let things happen."
"Invite me in Murlin or Jenny won't be the only one in trouble tonight!"
Her eyes turned glassy and began to glow as she snarled, "I don't serve you. You cannot command me and I think it's best to let the wheels turn as is. For now, we need to sit back and watch life pass us by and not interfere."
"Not this time, Murlin!" I slammed my fist into the thin metal door. Each time I connected with it, the sheets of metal rippled and boomed like thunder. The more I pounded the flimsy door, the more it began to shake and rumble. Finally, the whole thing caved inward sending shrapnel flying all over the place.I listened to the loud ringing sound that followed as the mobsters dived under cover.
“Why not just call the cops and claim there’s a terrorist attack?” She yelled, sharply as she glared into the darkness. The truth of it was, I never thought of doing that and it probably would have been a lot easier then smashing through the doors. Luckily, I was the only one who couldn’t be caught on camera doing it.
Long before I could see the flashing lights, I could hear the sirens wailing like a spoiled child. It was less than sixty seconds and they were on their way. I wondered if they had come this quickly on the day that my brother was hacked up. How ironic. Here I was —a real monster in the flesh— yet something even scarier killed the only good part of my life. It would only be a matter of minutes before they were here and Jenny was safe.
I turned to see a pair of blindingly bright headlights coming straight towards me. The rumble of the V8 engine broke through the night like a tone deaf child singing in a church choir.The tires made a loud screeching sound with each turn, but by the time I realized it was charging right at me, it was too late even for my quick reflexes. I pushed Murlin to the side and watched her bounce across the pavement, leaving a small trail of blood as she skidded along. The full force of the vehicle smashed into my midsection, folding me in half and driving my face into the hood. I could feel the metal under my flesh give way and buckle, making a hollow crunching noise as it sank, but the true pain came from the fancy angel hood ornament stabbing into my chest. Driving my fingers through the surface to stop myself from being tossed aside and run over, I screamed as the burning sensation started.
Each time they swerved to try and throw me off, I felt the ornament tearing through my body. If I was human, the sheer force of it would have torn me in two and spread my flesh across the parking lot.
“The son of a bitch just won’t let go,” one of them exclaimed as they hit the gas. I was most certainly not letting go. The force of the crash might not kill me, but it would hurt like hell even for me. My legs were shaking as they were dragged along the rough road and the heat on the bottoms of my feet from the friction was unbearable.
A loud booming sound echoed past my face as little shards of glass bit into my face. The fat bastard in the passenger seat screamed, “Won’t this bastard fly off the car, or at least die?” as he fired a second shot. The shot drilled its way into my neck and stung like a bitch. I was going to rip off the man’s hand who had pulling the trigger and ram it down his throat. A third shot whipped past my head followed by a fourth shot. Luckily for me, these two goons were way past their prime and blind as hell, otherwise I’d be feeling even more pain. Like I needed any more pain.
The car turned, jerking my body sideways and snapping the hood ornament, freeing my flesh from its grasp and guaranteeing their deaths. I started to slam my hands into the hood, rending jagged holes in my attempt to find a handhold. I was slipping on the blood covered hood, but still I refused to let myself be thrown aside as they skidded out of the parking lot and sped down Walker Road. I was struggling to hang on, but with each twist and turn the puncture holes that kept me from flying off became bigger and bigger until there was nothing left to hang onto.
They hit the brakes and skidded forward with such force that my body slid off as if I was being tossed by a catapult. The wind whistled as I flew through the air, smashing into a lamppost. I screamed in agony as my bones shattered and my body folded around it, much like a wet noodle hitting a wall. I started gasping as my throat began to fill with blood and I felt like I was drowning. A reflex commanded me to fight for air, even though I hadn’t needed to actually breath in so long. I slid down the pole and landed on the ground. I laid there struggling to move, with a flashing sign hanging over my head. Looking up I could see the words “No good night ever started with ‘Let’s share a salad.’” Forcing my eyes to scan deeper into the night, I saw that the sign was for a place called “The Gentlemen’s Club.”
A young, female voice whispered, “Mister, are you ok?”The smell of cheap perfume and even cheaper whisky told me where I was, and the tingling that was spreading throughout my body told me what I had to do. Another broken promise, I thought. Never feed in public and not on those who have a future, especially younger folk who still have a chance to change their futures. As I looked up, I saw brilliant, youthful eyes filled with a twisted innocence of a sort. As she looked into my eyes a slow, relaxing calmness over took her being. She couldn’t see the monster that I was, she only saw the vulnerable, injured man that I wanted her to see. “Can I help you?” she asked, with heartfelt concern in her baby blue eyes. She never had a chance to ask another question as she brought her head down closer to my chest to listen for a heartbeat. Realizing that there wasn’t one, she looked at me wide-eyed for a second before I dug my fangs into her neck.