All characters are over 18 years old. There are no acts of sex in this chapter. Please leave me a comment, and don't forget to vote.
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Chapter Seven
May 29,
It's an all-out war. I have never seen anything like this. Someone knows all our secrets. I can't shake the feeling that this isn't a vampire. It has the feel of Mason and his crew. I can't tell Gabriel yet. I don't have enough proof. But I think I know how to get it.
"Where are we going, sir?" Alek asked. He opened the rear door and held it firmly in place until Gabriel was seated. Paul was already supposed to be here to drive them. He watched the door, waiting for the telltale sign of Paul.
"Away from here," was Gabriel's only reply. What else could he tell him? The coven had always been secure, but after the attack on the Council Hall, he was forced to move to another secure location. He had to start questioning who could attack an elder of his age and status.
Yada walked out of the apartment building and noticed a set of headlights racing down Third Ave at them. She ran to the open door of the Lexus. Alek must have seen it at the same time she did. He already had the car started and moving by the time the headlights crested the small rise. He gunned the car. But the acceleration wasn't equal to the vehicle following. Alek turned onto Williams Ave at a high rate of speed. The Land Rover chasing rammed into the passenger side. The Lexus launched into the air, rolling once before skidding for several yards and finally crashed into a retaining wall with great finality.
Yada grabbed Gabriel by his right arm and pulled him towards her just as they impacted. The side airbag deployed. Most of his weight hit the bag and not her. She lay on the floorboard watching dancing lights invade her vision. A small trickle of blood flowed from the corner of her mouth. She sat up, disoriented.
Alek was tossed from one side of the car and impacted the other in rapid succession. He felt the center shift dart through his shoulder before cracking his head on the side window. It was all he could do to fight off the pain and elude blackness. He forced himself to maintain consciousness, though the tranquility of death was enticing.
"Alek!"
He heard his name and snapped from the dizzying haze, but could not bring the courage to pull himself from the leather seat. Even when the side door was ripped from its hinges he didn't move. He recognized the voice of Gabriel and felt his body being lifted.
Yada held Alek's weight. Gabriel approached the Rover. Ripping the driver's door off and tossing it aside, Gabriel grabbed the driver. She could see a protruding bone just below Gabriel's elbow. Even with the wound he hoisted the driver and leaned him against the smashed hood. Yada produced a handgun and kept it trained on the driver. She could see his body convulse in pain, but he still managed to laugh quietly.
Gabriel was taken by this peculiar behavior. He stood with his katana drawn, and watched the driver. "This is no laughing matter!" He growled.
Through blood laced teeth the driver smiled. "Perhaps not for you, but for me," he laughed again.
"Who sent you?" Gabriel growled, pressing him harder against the side of the car. The snapping of several ribs could be heard.
"Someone seeking justice," he spat blood-laced spittle in Gabriel's face.
"Justice?" Gabriel asked, looking over to Yada and Alek. "He wants justice." Just who in the hell does he think he is? He thought.
"He will have justice," the driver laughed again.
Yada could see Gabriel's eyes were not tinged with battle lust or even blood lust. He was mad. She had never seen him this mad before. His Egyptian features were accented by the graying beard and gave him a hint of girth.
The driver reached into his pocket and removed a photograph.
Gabriel let the man slump against the car. Without compromising his sword hand he took the photo. "Who sent you with this?" Gabe snapped. "Tell me and I may let you live long enough to take back a reply."
"Fuck you and fuck House Michelson," was his answer.
"So be it!" Gabriel rolled his head across his shoulders before letting the katana loose.
Yada and Alek could both hear the sound of air escaping from the man's esophagus. She watched in horror Gabriel's mouth descending on the man's neck and he drank deep.
A crimson strand of spittle caught on the night breeze and fluttered over the body. Gabriel sniffed the air and stood full height and sniffed again. Gabriel smelt something threatening in the air and quickly returned to Yada and Alek. Grabbing Alek by his coat collar he half dragged him to the entrance of the building.
With little effort he ripped the door from its hinge and thrust Alek forward. "Quickly now," he shouted. He looked over his shoulder and slid a.9 mm from his shoulder harness. "Yada, get him out of here."
Yada snaked her way through the furniture store to the back door. She looked over her shoulder to see Gabriel disappear into shadow. She had seen him do this twice before, simply vanish. It was like he was made of shadow and darkness.
She kicked the back door open and helped Alek through.
Alek vaguely became aware of his surroundings. He gripped Yada's wrist hard and twisted her body into his. Without thought he buried his fangs deep into her throat. Holding her against his chest tight he drank until his mind cleared. Releasing her, she fell to the ground.
The combination of the collision and the blood loss made her head spin. She backed from him and rested against the cool brick. Her hand held the fresh wound as her eyes locked with his as her chest began rising and falling in rapid succession.
He began the process of healing from freshly consumed blood. Still disoriented, he searched the area for Gabriel. "Where is he?" It wasn't like Yada to leave Gabe alone after such an attack. "Where is HE!" Again he demanded.
"He ordered me to take you to safety." Yada struggled to talk. She moved her chin pointing to the building they had just departed from.
Alek was already half the distance to the door. He entered quickly.
Using what little strength she had left, she aimed her gun at the door. Yada moved her knee so it held the weight of the gun. Weaken by the sudden feeding she did not have the strength to stand. She heard three shots echo down the wall. Squinting in the near dark she saw a figure emerge from the door. It wasn't Gabe or Alek. She heard a pounding in her ears. She knew it was the sudden rush of panic. A split second later she started to empty the clip into the man. Step by step he moved closer. Each shot snapping his shoulder back. He was within three yards of her when his head suddenly rolled to the ground. Gabriel and Alek both stood behind the slumping body.
Gabriel sniffed the air again. This time he didn't detect anything threatening. But he knew the crash and gunshots would attract the attention of the police and others. Hoisting Yada by her shoulder he guided them down the alley. Using the cell phone he made a call for a car. Two minutes later Simon pulled beside them. As he drove off with the light out the faint flicker of blue and red illuminated the road behind them.
Gabriel removed the photograph from his pocket. Quietly he searched for answers. The photo should not have existed. But here it was in his hand. It was of Yada and Alek. It looked like it was taken while she was patching up an injury. He glanced at Yada. She was leaning against the cool glass. Her eyes were clouded over. He watched Alek. Alek was running his hand through Yada's hair. It was probably an attempt at an apology. Gabriel folded the picture in half and placed it in his breast pocket.
"Simon, take us to Stone Bridge." Gabe pulled Yada close to him. He bit into his wrist and held it to her lips. "You have been through so much," he whispered. He often forgot she wasn't like him. She was fragile. She was human.
"What are your orders, sir?" Alek asked. He already knew. But he needed to hear it from Gabriel. He had served with Gabe for nearly nine hundred years. With each new attack he was the one to defend the city. Somehow this attack seemed different. It seemed personal again. Alek had no knowledge of anyone stupid enough to come after Gabe personally.
"For now, we retreat to a safe house. Tomorrow night we will show them who owns this city." He stared out the window.
June 5, 2000
We have been moving from safe house to safe house since the attack last week. Gabriel believes Darius has sent Shanda on a blood spree. Shanda is a formidable force alone. I fear Mason may still be around.
I thought I saw someone last night. Someone who should have been dead. I have been known to make mistakes, but this time I fear the worst.
The limo stopped at the front door of the house. The thick cloud cover blocked any moonlight from the manor. Gabriel stepped from the car. The normal night serenade of birds and insects was absent. He noticed the lights were off. There was no greeting party present either. He had sent Carlos and Regina ahead to secure the home. Gabriel's fairly reliable personnel were nowhere to be seen. Gabriel could tell by Yada's expression she noticed the lack of reception as well.
Alek found the front door unlocked-- another oddity. Removing a handgun he entered the foyer first. Flipping the light switch, the chandelier above his head flickered and finally cast light over the front entrance. The power seemed to be on, but otherwise the rest of the manor was dark. There was a deadly silence throughout the house.
"Carlos! Regina!" Gabriel called out. He looked over his shoulder to Yada and Alek. "You two look around," he motioned to the main hall and then upstairs. Gabriel retreated to his private study. Surveying the room, he didn't see anything out of place. He rarely came to this house. But he kept his private office in order, so he could tell if there were visitors while he was away.
Alek climbed the spiral staircase two steps at a time. His back remained to the wall. He made no noise as he disappeared from sight.
