‘There must have been some kind of malfunction,’ Alexandre exhaled. ‘Those lights! They were everywhere. Is everybody well?’ He looked at them. They all appeared dazed, but physically were completely recovered. ‘We need to return to the gallery to see whatever could have happened. Is everybody alright to come now?’
But before anyone could reply, UV flooded the small room. They cried out in shock and pain. Madison ran out into the corridor and saw yet more ultraviolet pulsating down its length.
‘We have to find you somewhere safe!’ Madison yelled over their cries. ‘Follow me!’
They ran and stumbled down the corridor, pushing open each door they passed, only to find UV shining down from every ceiling in every room. At the end of the corridor, they saw another door, but it was locked. They ran, crawled and staggered down the deadly luminescent corridor.
‘Open this one!’ Maddy screamed. ‘Here! Over here!’ She was crying at the sight of them so consumed in flames she could hardly make out who was who.
The mass of glowing red vampires hurled themselves against the locked door and thankfully it soon gave way. They tumbled into a bright space, but the lights were blissfully ordinary and it was cool and free from the UV’s torturous beam. Leonora and Isobel were sobbing, but Madison heard an angry cry followed by a crashing noise behind her.
Alexandre was going crazy. He pulled over filing cabinets and hurled desks at the wall so they cracked and splintered. The room was completely destroyed. The others sat on the floor in shock. Alexandre now stood in the midst of the chaos he had created with a murderous stare in his eyes. His skin had rapidly repaired and he looked almost normal.
‘I am going to kill those two men,’ Alexandre said, his eyes glinting with fury. ‘I am going to rip their heads off and smash their bodies to pieces.’
Madison realised it hadn’t been an accident. Blythe had tried to kill them. Alexandre was so angry he could barely talk. His eyes glittered and his muscles tensed and flexed. He looked ready to explode at the slightest provocation.
The others were bewildered and scared. Everything they had seen so far was alien to them. They did not understand any of what had happened or where they were. All they knew was that Alexandre and Madison were trying to help them, to save them from the hellfire that pursued them, that tried to scorch their flesh and visit such brutal agony upon them.
Madison peered out of the door and saw the UV lights still pulsing throughout the corridor. She closed the door and took in her surroundings - it had been an office of some sort before Alexandre destroyed it. She noticed another door at the back of the room and tried the handle.
As the door opened, she felt a chill. Madison now stood in a vast, clinical room which stretched away into the distance. Everything was white, except for a wall of large grey filing cabinets. The harmless overhead lights hummed, but Madison saw grids of black tubes running alongside the normal ceiling downlights – ultraviolet.
They were currently turned off, but she knew potentially they could come on at any moment. In the centre of the room she saw a high table covered with a sheet and Madison realised there was probably a body under the sheet.
Alexandre followed her in and she pointed to the banks of UV. He looked up, nodded in acknowledgement and walked straight over to the table. Lifting up the sheet he saw the naked body of a young man. But it was no ordinary man. Alexandre knew instinctively that he was looking at a vampire.
Chapter Thirty
*
Alexandre stared at the beautiful young male vampire lying on the slab. He was overcome with a strange creeping sensation. The feeling he knew its face from somewhere, but it was as if his brain didn’t want him to remember. Looking around the rest of the cavernous room, he saw a wall lined with deep metal drawers. Alexandre pulled one open. It slid back a long way, revealing the unconscious form of another vampire.
Even though he was one of them, Alexandre did not consider himself to be the same as these creatures. He still thought he and his family were intrinsically human and did not believe these others bore any relation to him.
Alexandre had the chilling realisation this drawer was only one of many. The wall of drawers towered up to the ceiling and stretched off down the vast room into the distance. There must have been hundreds. He opened another drawer, then another and another. They all contained the bodies of dormant vampires. What were they doing here? Why had they been kept alive? And why had Blythe revived him and his family if he was going to kill them in the end anyway?
He went back to the naked creature on the table and examined it more closely. It had that statue-like quality which characterised the sleeping sickness. Madison came up behind him, staring nervously at the body.
‘Why’s there a dead bloke in here?’
‘Madison, I think you should go back into the other room. This is not a dead body. It is a ...’ Before he could finish speaking the vampire sat bolt upright and opened its eyes.
Madison gave a short scream of fright and realisation hit Alexandre like a knife through his gut. He did indeed know this creature but the last time he saw it had been over one hundred years ago, when they had both been deep in the belly of the earth. The creature had not been naked, but magnificently clothed in an elaborate golden headdress, robes and shimmering cloak.
All those years ago it had hissed viciously at him before draining the blood from his human body. Alexandre remembered how it had felt to know he was about to die, and he put his hand up to his throat, to the place where his human skin had been punctured. This was the ancient Cappadocian vampire who had stolen his life and turned him into one of them. He realised he had come face to face with his maker.
Alexandre and Madison stood, shocked.
‘Get out,’ Alexandre whispered to her. ‘Back out of the room, slowly.’ Madison felt the chilling numbness of terror. She didn’t know how she managed it, but she got out of the room, making it back into to the wrecked office where the others were huddled together in the corner, trying to recover their strength.
Alexandre stared in fascination at the creature which followed his every move with its dark vacant eyes. It was an ancient being with no remnants of humanity left in its cold soul. Alexandre knew that if it wasn’t sick, it would have crushed him like rose petals.
‘Quickly!’ he heard Madison calling from the other room. ‘The UV lights have gone out in the hall. Alexandre! We have to go now while it’s safe.’
Alexandre was momentarily torn. Here was his chance for revenge. He could easily despatch this creature in its weakened state, but he had to consider his family. He had to get them to safety.
‘You will see me again,’ Alexandre spoke to the creature. ‘And it will be right before you breathe your last breath.’
It continued to stare at Alexandre. Its head turning slowly to track his movements, but there was no light of comprehension in its eyes. Nothing to reveal whether it had understood Alexandre’s threat.
He leaned in close to the ancient creature. ‘Do you want to know how you die? You will find out soon.’
Alexandre left the mortuary. Madison was halfway through the outer door, waiting for him. The others looked to Alexandre for direction.
‘It may be a trap,’ he said. ‘They may have turned off the chemical rays to lure us out again.’
‘No,’ she replied. ‘It’s not a trap. I didn’t tell you before, but I bought some insurance with me.’
Alexandre frowned.
‘You’ll see,’ she said. ‘Come on, we have to go back to the viewing gallery.’
They hurried along the long corridor, terrified the ultraviolet would come back on at any moment. Scorch marks smeared the walls and great chunks of carpet were burnt, still smouldering and smoking. It was a miracle the whole place wasn’t on fire.
They crowded up the steps which led to the gallery and as Alexandre approached the door, someone opened it and ran straight into him. Vasey-Smith.
The solicitor looked shoc
ked, like he was running away from something, but when he saw Alexandre’s furious expression, his shoulders sagged. Alexandre grabbed him by the arm and dragged him back into the gallery.
The room was a mess. Smoke billowed and an enormous great hole had been blasted into the control console. Mini fires burned and electrical sparks showered and fizzed. Alexandre heard a woman coughing. Some of the smoke cleared and he saw Winston Blythe standing stock still, with the muzzle of a twelve bore shotgun pointed at his head.
Holding the weapon, Alexandre recognised the ruddy-cheeked countenance of Morris Foxton, wearing his usual attire of checked shirt and worn tweed jacket. Esther stood next to him, brandishing another shotgun. Her bobbed hair swayed manically around her face.
‘Hello, Alexandre, love,’ she said. ‘You alright?’
‘Yes thank you, Esther. I am now. And may I say it is quite wonderful to see you both.’
‘Did we do alright then?’ Esther asked her young boss, who had just walked in with the others.
‘Esther,’ Madison replied, her heart filling with gratitude. ‘You and Morris are a couple of life savers. Thank you.’
‘What d’you want us to do with this one?’ Morris asked Alexandre.
‘I will deal with both these gentlemen.’
The other vampires were rapidly gathering their strength and their wits and suddenly didn’t look quite so weak and shocked anymore. Their other-worldly beauty was evident and Madison’s attention was being pulled in all directions. Her eyes flitted from them, to Blythe and Vasey-Smith, then back to her beloved amazing Alexandre.
‘Take a seat, gentlemen,’ Alexandre said, pointing to two swivel chairs. They did as they were told, remarkably cool, considering the dangerous predicament they now found themselves in. ‘Talk to me,’ Alexandre continued. ‘I wish to know all about this evening. Why you found it necessary to revive my companions and then attempt to kill us. And I would also like to know why you have a room full of sleeping vampires downstairs.’
‘Very well,’ Blythe replied. ‘Robert, why don’t you tell Alexandre what he wants to know.’
Vasey-Smith turned from Blythe to Alexandre.
‘Well?’ Alexandre prompted.
‘We are a specialised firm of solicitors,’ Vasey-Smith began. ‘Most of our clients are like you.’
Alexandre looked perplexed.
‘Most of our clients are vampires,’ said Vasey-Smith.
‘You are a firm of solicitors who work for vampires? Why would they need solicitors?’
‘Why not? You still live in this predominantly human world. You want to live in houses and ensure your interests are looked after. You need to rely on people you can trust. Our clients trust us. We can do things for them they can’t do themselves. We can ensure their needs are met.’
Alexandre gave a short laugh. ‘Trust!’ he said. ‘You are the least trustworthy miserable excuses for human beings I have ever come across.’
‘I beg to differ. Our clients did well to place their trust in us. It is because we are safeguarding their interests that we had to eliminate you. They are extremely powerful; wealthy beyond anything you can imagine. They do not tolerate fledgling vampires.
‘But there is a problem - They’ve been unconscious for over two hundred years. They have the sleeping disease. Their systems have shut down. We don’t know what caused it, but we’ve been trying to find a cure for the past two centuries, to no avail. All we know is it doesn’t affect humans, but is highly contagious to all vampires. Up until tonight, you were the only one to come out of it.’
‘So now you want to wake all the others?’ Alexandre asked.
‘Yes, we will revive them.’
‘And then what?’
‘And then we will continue to look after their interests.’
‘And what about those in the storage room downstairs? Why do you have them here? I know the one on the table and I know he cannot possibly be a client of yours.’
‘You know him?’ Blythe said, surprised. But we have only just had him and his companions transported here. They were discovered very recently.’
‘Ha! Not as recently as you would think,’ Alexandre gave a bitter laugh and continued talking. ‘Gentlemen, you have no idea what you are dealing with. Those creatures you have stored downstairs are nothing like me or my family. They are cold, passionless killing machines. Ancient beings who do not care for argument or reason. They are beyond humanity; it is dead to them. Perhaps they never even were human. All they understand is blood and their need to survive at any cost. Even though they lie on their sickbeds, they are still so dangerous you cannot fathom it and if you revive them, I promise you it will be the last thing you ever do.’
‘That’s very dramatic, Alexandre,’ said Blythe who looked as though he was enjoying himself.
‘No, not dramatic, just honest.’
‘I think we have it under control. You have seen our security system. It runs throughout the facility.’
‘It did not stop us and it certainly will not stop them.’
‘Well, you can let us worry about that.’
‘Tell me something else,’ said Alexandre. ‘Your great grandfather, I suppose he was fictional?’
‘Oh, Alexandre,’ the old man said. ‘I am afraid so. And I am truly sorry to have lied. I am also sorry it was necessary to eliminate you. But even if we don’t manage to do it, you can be certain our clients will finish the job when they wake.’
‘The only thing you should be sorry about, is that you are about to die a horrible death and I shall enjoy being the cause of it,’ Alexandre said.
‘No, Alexandre,’ Blythe said calmly. ‘That is not going to happen.’
As Blythe had been speaking, Vasey-Smith had leant across and put a small black revolver to Madison’s temple. He stood up, pulling Madison to her feet.
‘Go,’ Vasey-Smith said to Blythe. The old man nodded, stood up and left the room unimpeded. Once Blythe had escaped, Vasey-Smith spoke again:
‘We all know you are powerful creatures, but are you really willing to risk a bullet in her brain?’
The Marchwood vampires stood and began to walk towards the solicitor.
‘Tell your family to back off, Alexandre.’ Vasey-Smith stood and jerked Madison up off her chair.
Alexandre felt an icy rage. This man had dared to threaten his beloved. He had sealed his fate. He looked into Madison’s terror-filled eyes, willing her not to be afraid, wanting her to know he would never let anything harm her.
She stared back, momentarily losing herself in his gaze. He kept his eyes on her pale face as he spoke to Vasey-Smith with cold hatred in his voice.
‘The thing you have to ask yourself is, am I fast enough to reach her before you pull the trigger? Am I quicker than the speed of that bullet as it travels down the barrel? Can I stop it before it so much as warms her skin?’
Madison suddenly felt fear and the imminence of death. Her head swam and her knees buckled. Vasey-Smith jerked her upright, tightened his grip on the revolver and pressed it harder into her skull. ‘If you were quicker than that, then you would already …’
As the solicitor spoke, Alexandre moved so fast, only the other vampires could track his trajectory. He was between Madison and the revolver before Vasey-Smith had finished his sentence. Before the solicitor had even thought about pulling the trigger, he was dead. His neck snapped like a wishbone. Alexandre dropped him onto the floor without a twinge of remorse.
He held Madison’s face in his hands. ‘Maddy, you are safe. I would never allow you to come to harm. Not ever. I love you. You are my life now, Madison.’
She was too shaken up to answer.
He sat her down on a chair and motioned to Esther to come over. ‘Please take care of her. I have to get Blythe. Wait here.’
*
Winston Blythe left the room and jogged to the lift. When Alexandre had first met him on Stinchcombe Hill, Blythe had carried a walking stick, but that was also part of th
e fiction like everything else. For Blythe was fit and healthy with no need of a walking aid. The corridor was deserted and when he reached the lift, he pressed the button several times, looking over his shoulder. He was under no illusions. If Alexandre caught up with him, he would kill him. In fact, Blythe was convinced Vasey-Smith was already dead.
Finally the lift door opened and he stepped in, pressing the button. As the doors closed, he felt a sudden presence. Blythe looked behind him and saw Alexandre. The vampire had caught him up and entered the lift without him noticing. He had vengeful fire in his eyes and he stepped closer towards the solicitor. Their faces were only millimetres apart.
‘Your vampire clients will shortly be following you to hell,’ Alexandre said, his hand approaching his neck. Blythe cringed backwards, but there was nowhere for him to go.
Then, with a ping, the lift doors opened and Blythe’s fear instantly evaporated, for just outside the doors stood more than half a dozen men with guns and UV lamps which they shone into the small space. Alexandre sank to his knees, his hands in front of his face to ward off the rays. Blythe dusted himself down, squared his shoulders and stepped into the corridor which led out to the car park.
‘Finish him off,’ Blythe said to the men and walked into the safety of the car park without a backward glance.
Four of the men entered the lift which contained the cringing hunched form of Alexandre. They held the lamps out in front of them and moved in closer as his hair singed and his flesh charred. The lift door closed and they descended. Alexandre doubled up in pain, but his anger overrode everything. Expanding and hardening, it bubbled up from his core and he felt as though his hatred would explode out of every burning pore.
He gave a roar and jumped up onto the elevator ceiling. He kicked downwards into two faces at once and then smashed the other two heads together. The lamps banged to the floor and the lift door opened. Alexandre’s body was already healing itself. But the UV had taken its toll. He was mentally exhausted and needed a few moments to gather his strength.
Alexandre ground his teeth and shook his head. He would have to let Blythe go. There was no time to pursue him now. But one day soon, he would track and destroy him. He had no doubt in his mind about that.