Zajzon’s sensitive nose quivered. Not because he’d just placed another corpse in the carefully arranged display in a weed and trash filled empty lot but because he smelled another vampire. Stiffening, he raked his gaze around the block of tired, ill-used factories and empty streets, seeking the threat. He could feel eyes boring into his back which sent him whirling around, talons extended, ready to defend himself and his turf. Nothing.
Baltimore drowsed in the quiet of pandemic darkness as night ebbed from the city. In the east, dawn pinked the sky, promising a new, cloudless day. At such an early hour in that blighted neighborhood, little moved except the homeless, prostitutes, drug addicts, and the occasional vampire. Vampires, however, had become scarce in the Crab Cake Capital of the World. Once, the city on the Chesapeake had been awash with the blood-sucking creatures. Indeed, the real estate site Redfin had declared Baltimore the best city in the country for the vampirically inclined. Not so anymore. Because of a single vampire’s crusade against his own people.
The fact that another vampire ranged near filled Zajzon with dread, although he doubted what he sensed was the alpha lord who’d laid claim to the city. Zajzon had kept sharp tabs on that particular vampire and knew exactly where he was tonight. So this was something different.
Refusing to be distracted, Zajzon focused on his work. He considered his display of corpses, designed specifically to prick the nerves of that alpha, before he addressed the issue of someone watching his activities. The five bodies rested as if asleep in a line across the shattered concrete of the lot, their hands carefully crossed over their chests. Zajzon smiled. A poignant jab that, he thought. Mr. Gule would recognize the taunt and it would infuriate him.
At the sound of human voices, Zajzon withdrew to his safe zone. He’d already selected his spot to view the festivities, a basement in an abandoned warehouse with ground-level glazed windows looking out on the lot. After scenting the air a second time and not catching another whiff of vampire, he decided he could proceed with his plan. With a pleased grin, he slipped to safety just as a group of drunken young men tottered into the lot.
With careless agility, Zajzon nipped down a set of concrete stairs and through a door he’d previously assured would grant him access to the basement. A quick survey of the musty space told him it remained abandoned, although it was so huge, anything could hide within its depths. Zajzon shifted to the window to watch events unfold.
The group of humans stumbled towards Zajzon’s display. They were so drunk, they didn’t even see the bodies in the dim light of the rising sun until they tripped on them. Like falling dominoes, one after another stumbled over the corpses and collapsed in a heap on top of them. The realization that they’d landed on a pile of dead people cut through their alcoholic haze and suddenly shouts of surprise filled the morning air. With a scramble of arms and legs, the lads scattered from Zajzon’s display and tumbled to sit on their butts amongst the weeds, gasping for air.
“What the fuck!” one of them exclaimed. “Are those dead people?”
“Shit! I think so!” panted another.
The one with the most wits tugged a cellphone out of his jean’s pocket and stabbed it with a finger.
“What are you doing, man?” a buddy complained.
“Calling the cops! What do you think?” The young man refused to be deterred from performing his civic duty.
While his pals debated the wisdom of calling attention to themselves, the alert one reported the discovery. Then they waited in a confused gaggle as far from the pile as they could without leaving the lot. After ten minutes, the wail of sirens cut through the cool air and a series of cop cars raged to the crime scene.
Zajzon watched with glee as uniformed officers poured forth. They corralled the young men and began questioning them. Meanwhile, a small, blue Fiat careened into the lot and skidded to a stop. Zajzon licked his fangs with anticipation.
As he expected, a dark haired, spunky woman popped from the car first, followed by her partner, who unfolded himself more carefully. As the form straightened, Zajzon grinned.
At his full height, Niles Gule stood over six feet tall. Like all his vampire brethren, he was long and lean, ashen faced and a little gaunt. Like the majority of vampires, he dressed with care in a tailored suit that fit his body to perfection. The only oddities to his appearance were his brilliantly blue eyes and corn colored, neatly shorn hair. Vampires tended towards the dark end of the hair and eye charts. With his pale coloring, Niles stood out in a crowd.
The catch of a breath in his ear sent Zajzon almost leaping for the ceiling. He whirled around, talons at the ready to rend and destroy, only to find a familiar face inches from his. Lira grinned, revealing long, white fangs against a mouth painted with black lipstick. Her lovely face was as pale as moonlight, her hair dark cloud of soot to match her eyes.
Zajzon swore as his throbbing heart slowed its mad thumping. “Are you insane?” he hissed. “I might have killed you.”
Lira flicked a talon against his icy cheek. “Not you, my love. I’d have killed you first.” Her eyes trended towards the window. With a murmur of appreciation, she edged to the glass and peered out. Zajzon joined her.
Gule and his partner, a human named Cruz, had approached the corpses. While the woman interrogated the four drunks, Gule stood over the display, studying it with those amazing eyes. A shiver ran down Zajzon’s spine as he watched that cold, calm face consider the tableau. He could imagine the calculation running through the vampire’s mind at the sight by his feet.
“Yum,” murmured Lira.
Zajzon caught his breath. “Yum?” he repeated.
Lira purred. “Yes. Yum. That’s him, isn’t it?” She pointed a delicate white finger at the distant vampire. “The Lord of Baltimore.”
“Yes.” The word grated through Zajzon’s teeth.
“Like I said. Yum.” Lisa tittered. “He is something, isn’t he?”
“No!” Zajzon hated the jealous tenor in his voice, but he couldn’t disguise it.
Lira leaned against the glass while her eyes caressed Gule. “It’s hard to explain,” she murmured. “I’ve always wondered what makes one vampire an alpha and another not. I still haven’t come up with an answer. But I’ll say this. I know one when I see one. He’s got it, whatever it is.”
“He’s a human lover,” Zajzon growled. “A disgrace to our race.”
Lira quirked a brow. “Why? Because he carved out a territory using human labor? I’d call that brilliant. Why deal with feeding a flight of lesser vampires when you can use your own food source to aid you?”
“He doesn’t eat them.” Zajzon humped his shoulders against the wall, unwilling to watch Gule now that Lira had taken all the fun out of it. “He eats beef mostly.”
Lira shrugged. “Then he’s even smarter than I would have thought.” At Zajzon’s scowl, she said, “He doesn’t stir up human hatred of vampires that way. They outnumber us thousands to one, love. If we didn’t skulk in the night and possess superior strength over them, humans would have wiped us out ages ago. He’s found a way to hold a territory without battling its local population.” Her eyes drifted back to the scene in the lot. “Look at him. He walks among them without fear of attack. Can’t you see it? They respect him. He’s won over even humans.” Her breath sighed with longing.
Seeing Lira moon over a turncoat vampire filled Zajzon with rage. “I’ll cut his throat and take his damned city!”
Lira’s dark eyes flicked towards him. “Be careful, love. You seem to forget. His father’s a powerful lord, too.”
Zajzon snorted. “In Toronto.”
Her eyes drifted back to the window. “I’ve heard they’ve got a unique bond. Odd, really. Who ever heard of a vampire coming to know his offspring, let alone doting on it? Do you really want to take on not only the alpha of Baltimore, but a vampire with the power of Gastondal?”
“If I have to.” The words grated between Zajzon’s teeth.
Lira’s smile softened. “I shall enjoy watching that particular show.”
“I intend to finish this,” Zajzon promised as Lira drifted away. “I will conquer Baltimore.”
“I wish you luck with that.” The words skittered through the cold darkness. Lira had already vanished.
Zajzon’s body stiffened with rage. He glared through the window as the ever urbane Gule worked the crime scene, never once losing his composure though he faced the work of a rival vampire. Zajzon seethed with hate.
He cursed as he withdrew from the window and muttered of his revenge as he left the building, never realizing another pair of ears also listened.
© 2021 Newmin