Blood of the Gods (The Vampire from Hell Part 5) (6 page)

I guess you aren’t checking your messages, so when you do read this, I hope you are well, not sitting around feeling sorry for yourself.  You’re better than that, Rayea.  I’m sure you still have your phone and you’ll be able to read this, even if you don’t respond.  I hope you do.  I’d love to hear from you.  I hope you can read this before the meeting, and try to understand some of what I’ve said.  I’ve asked Ra to find you before Death does.  It’s vital you see Ra first.

Listen to me please, Rayea.  I know I haven’t always been there for you, but that will change from this day forward.  I refuse to let you down again.  If I have to kill every god on the Ancient Council, I will not let any harm come to you.  You may not believe it, but you are the reason my heart beats.  You mean more to me than anyone else I know.  You are my best friend.  You saved me from your sister and father’s clutches.  I don’t want to know a world where you don’t exist.  Not having you in my life is not an option for me.  I promise you.  I will not fail you ever again.

I know now that I can’t stand by and watch your fate be decided by others.  There was a reason you were turned into a vampire, even if we don’t fully understand it yet.  Someone out there does.  We’ll find the answers together.

I know this is too much for you to get your head around.  I regret I have to tell you like this, typing it out on a computer.  Take the gift Ra brings you and use it wisely.  Delete this email after you read it.

All my love, Blick.

Author’s Note:
Passage from the chapter named ‘Bye, Bye Vampire’ in
A Vampire on Vacation (The Vampire from Hell Part 3).

***

The ringing of my phone made me jerk and yanked me back into reality.  Rayea’s book fell to the ground.

“What?” I snapped into the phone.  My anger had reached new heights. 
Focus.

“Blick, get to your computer.  Something was posted.”

“WHAT?” I turned on the speaker and placed the phone on the counter so I could hear Demetri’s voice, but not destroy the phone.  As I rolled the book up in my hands, I held my breath and stuffed it into my back pocket. 
Please be okay.

“I’ll forward you the link.  Maybe you can find it.  Grace says Rayea is in a place called Valeria.  Not sure what that is.  It is not on my list.  I’m searching for more info now.  But she’s with Beelzebub I think.  I’m not sure.  Over the phone, Grace didn’t make a lot of sense.  I’m picking her up now.  We’ll meet you at the apartment.  Okay?  Blick?  Blick?  BLICK???... Fuck!”

[No response.]

Conversation (Grace & Demetri)

***

“
Always do what you are afraid to do.
”
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

***

September 2

1:45 pm

After Lynn and I talked for many hours in the coffee shop, I bought a new iPhone and said goodbye to Lynn.  She was headed to Barnes & Noble on Market Street to see if she could negotiate the start of a book tour for Rayea.  Lynn had declared herself Rayea’s agent while I suppose I was her publisher.  The one posting on Deadit.com had convinced Lynn that Rayea was alive and well, and she would be home very soon.

I had shared her infectious optimism immediately, but the more I read over the posting, the more I felt a sinking sensation in my stomach like my heart had turned to ash and was falling away in tiny bits, slowly drifting down to the depths of my soul.  Something was going to happen.  I felt it in my bones, and it was not going to be good.  I wanted to find Rayea as quickly as possible, but something caught in my throat, making me think it was the stupidest decision I could ever make.

When I walked outside, Demetri was sitting on his motorcycle that I had driven to the coffee shop.  “Let’s go,” he shouted as he cranked up the Harley.  The thunderous rhythm of the pipes always excited me.  Riding off into the sunset with this man was a dream I loved having while riding snuggled up against his body.  It was not so much a dream as it was a reality.  I knew I was one lucky girl.  However, as the comprehension of where we were going settled upon me, I saw Demetri’s stern face.  His laughing dark blue eyes hardened, his strong jaw clamped shut, his gaze penetrating my soul, yet looking beyond me.  It was the rigid look he took on when business was at hand.

Standing frozen to the curb, I could not move.  Fear paralyzed me.

He yanked off his helmet, ran his hand through
his dark-blonde hair, and shoved the spare helmet into my hands.  “Don’t think.  I don’t know if she’s truly alive.  It could be a trap.  I just know we have to move.  We have to go.  Blick has gone after her.  We have to find them.”

My eyes widened. 
Breathe, breathe, you have to do this, Grace.  You have to.
  I heard my brain telling me the words.  I often talked myself into a calm state because the alternative would be too much for those around me to endure.  I had no idea how strong my firepowers had become, but I knew they rivaled Rayea’s.

Standing up on the bike and holding it in position, Demetri pulled me into his arms with his other hand.  When he had left his job, he started wearing a tight white t-shirt, a black leather jacket, dark blue jeans, and black boots.  His closeness made my heart leap.

I wrapped my arms around him and rested my head on his shoulder.  “I’m not sure if I can do this,” I whispered.

“Grace, it’s okay.”  He kissed me lightly on the inside of my neck, ignoring the fact that my long red hair blew in our faces.  The day in San Francisco had turned into a blustery one with high winds whipping around the buildings.  The incoming storm made me think of some chaos about to fall upon us.

“You don’t have to do this,” he said.  “You haven’t been a vampire long, so I understand.  She’ll understand.  Do you want to stay with Lynn until I get back?  I’m sure she won’t mind.  I just have to go.  Time is of the essence.”

As Demetri held me, my mind whirled with indecision.  I could easily elect
not
to go.  I could do that.  But why was I hesitating?  Why was I afraid?  I sighed.  “Am I ready?”

His disposition softened.  Playfully he nipped me on my neck as the bike leaned hard against my legs.  “You are like her in so many ways.  Sweetheart, you are ready.  You were born ready.  I love you and I know if you are with me, I can keep you safe.  I don’t know what we are going to face, but you have the skills.  Trust me, you’re a bad ass just like your maker.”  He nipped me again with his teeth and winked at me.

When a ray of sunlight peaked through the overcast clouds, I felt the answer rise up inside me.  My fangs throbbed in the roof of my mouth and I knew it was time to stop acting like a weekend-vampire.  I had become something more than human.  I needed to admit it to myself, and I wanted to see my maker again.  I wanted her back.  It was time I grew up.  Demetri would need all the help he could get.  It was about time that I started acting like fighting demons was no big deal.

“Five seconds.  I’ll be right back!”  I raced into the coffee shop, which was probably a blur to the people strolling down the street.  Getting Sasha’s attention, I explained to her my dilemma.  “Can I leave my backpack with you?  I’ve got a hot date on a bike waiting for me!”

She glanced out the window near a table she was cleaning off.

I could have sworn her mouth dropped when she saw Demetri putting his helmet back on as he revved up the bike.  The noise the bike’s engine made shook the windows slightly.  I took the opportunity to discreetly remove my concentrated blood pills from the backpack and zip it up.  I latched a small lock around the opening and snapped it shut.

“Oh my god, yes, honey!  Go get that sweet meat!”

I shoved a twenty-dollar bill in her hands and smiled at her.  “Thank you!  I’ll see if he has a friend, okay?”

She laughed aloud.  “Oh yes please!”

As soon as I hopped on the bike with Demetri, I shoved my pill bottle into a secure inside pocket in his jacket, minus the handful I had snagged.  “Rayea will need blood too,” I yelled.  As I fastened my helmet on, I crunched down on the pills, feeling the warm heat of the blood flood my mouth.

“Good thinking,” he said, leaning for a moment into me as we roared down the road.

Not having time for a proper kill sometimes was a reality.  I prayed I would have the opportunity to feast on some demon blood if the situation got deadly.  I assumed it would, but I was going to do this.  I was a child of the Vampire from Hell.  I
could
do this.

Lynn’s Notebook

***

“
The danger of the past was that men became slaves. The danger of the future is that man may become robots.
”
~
Erich Fromm

***

September 3
rd
.  Bookstore.

Fucking off time while waiting to speak to manager.

Vampires
.  They actually do sparkle!

Something funny to tell Rayea and Grace!  Read this in a book called
Twelve Years’ Study of the Eastern Question in Bulgaria (1877)
:

A fledgling and mostly harmless vampire, called an
obour
or
ubour
, who returns nine days after burial in “an aeriform shape.”  One may see the
obour
in the dark by its sparkles, “a succession of sparks like those from a flint and steel,” and in light by its shadows.  It is reported that citizens in one village, overrun with
obours
, gathered in candlelit homes at night, and took turns keeping watch, “to avoid the assaults of the
obours
, who lit up the streets with their sparkles.”

Thoughts.

Did Bella worry about becoming an
obour
when Edward changed her?

Would I have liked those books more if one had been called
Blood Moon
?

Am I still pinching myself because I know not one, but two vampires?

Yes.

Is Rayea coming back?

Fucking HELL YEAH!

If Rayea comes back as an
obour
, I’ll bitch slap her or more accurately put her in a bottle and use her as a night light.  Haha.  Not funny.

Werewolves
.  What is a Blood Moon?

The next blood moon is October 8
th
.  Why have I not heard this term before?  What happened to good old fashion Full Moon?   Searched the internet for more information on this and discovered this:

The first Blood Moon eclipse in a series of four, beginning on the night of April 14-15, 2014. The next one will be on the night of October 7-8, 2014. At that October Blood Moon, there will be a lunar eclipse. The term Blood Moon has not been used in quite this way before this year, but now the term has become widespread in the media. The origin of the term is occult, at least according to Occult and Mystic expert Nathan Hagee, who wrote a 2013 book called
The New Medusa Blood Moons
.

To Do.

Figure out a way to ask Blick about blood moons.

Ask Grace if her ex-boyfriend writes books.  Surely this isn’t him!!!

Zombies
.  Is the apocalypse here yet?  Sightings?

No and no.

To Do.

See Dracula Untold with Rayea and Grace!

What is Universal Monsters?

Searched and found:

Universal Monsters or Universal Horror is the name given to a series of distinctive horror, suspense and science fiction films made by Universal Studios from 1923 to 1960. The series began with
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
and
The Phantom of the Opera
, both silent films starring Lon Chaney. Universal continued with talkies including monster franchises
Dracula
,
Frankenstein
,
The Mummy
,
The Invisible Man
,
The Wolf Man
, and
Creature from the Black Lagoon
. The studio's leading horror actors during this post-Chaney period were Bela Lugosi, Boris Karloff, and Lon Chaney, Jr..

Thoughts.

Talkies must be talking movies.

Bela Lugosi isn’t as sexy as Luke Evans, but the creepy eyeball staring helps.

Want to see new releases of
Frankenstein
,
The Mummy
, and
Creature from the Black Lagoon
.  Why did Norman Reedus’ face just pop in my head?  Watching too much
Walking Dead
.  Lol.

More from
Twelve Years’ Study of the Eastern Question in Bulgaria (1877)
:

Another way to contain a vampire is to bottle it.  A current and popular vampire hunting technique used in Bulgaria to overcome the
obour
, an immature vampire in vaporous form.  After baiting a bottle with some of the
obour’s
favorite food, hunters run after the vampire with a cross and drive it toward the bottle.  When the
obour
enters the receptacle, it is promptly corked and tossed onto a fire.  This will destroy the vampire.  [insert eye roll here. Add comment: Are you fucking kidding me.]

Thoughts.

This book is hilarious.  Must buy or search on Amazon for better price.

Ask Rayea if she wants to get in the wine business like her idiot father did.

Second thought.  Scratch that idea.

366 days since I’ve seen Rayea.  Sigh.

I had been waiting two hours for this blowhard of a manager to show.  So I got up, shut my notebook quietly as I imagined myself slamming it closed instead, and went to go find the nice young lady who had explained that I had to wait on this idiot.  Miss Bubbly was going to get a piece of my mind.

“Oh she’s at lunch.”

Rolling my eyes at another idiot, I asked when she would return.  Answer?

“I’m not sure.  She went to this rally in Union Square.  I’ll take a message if you like.”

I shared with this other idiot who I realized was just doing her job what I wanted and of course she could not help me.  So I decided to leave and keep coming back every day at this time until someone saw me.  Rayea would start her book tour here.  It would happen.

When I stepped outside, the sidewalks were busy as usual.  Not anymore busy than I would expect around lunch time.  Maybe the holiday traffic mattered some because it was Labor Day or close to it or something.  I could never remember when that Monday rolled around and since I had lost my job at the Golden Skull (it burned down due to Stephanie trying to kick Rayea’s ass, a plan that failed or I hoped it did) but I did not tell Grace that.  I told Grace that Rayea would be coming back no matter what, even if I doubted it more and more.  But after reading that posting on Deadit.com, my faith was restored.

As I waited at the traffic light, a few guys dressed in all white bumped into me.  I was about to say, ‘excuse you,’ when one tall and lanky guy shoved a flyer in my hand.  I almost screamed when I read it.

The flyer read:

Join us October 7
th
in Union Square at Midnight

When the sun will be turned to darkness

And the moon to blood

On the great and awesome night

As the NEW MEDUSA comes.

Join us and

You will be saved!