Chandler: Books 4 The Witch and the Vampire (12 page)

Chapter Twenty-three

Reviewing what he learned about
Richard
Mallory
and his association with
Johannes
,
Chandler
returned to the banker’s office in the bank building downtown. He lit on a window ledge and seeped beneath the frame, materializing once he was concealed inside the spacious office.
Johannes
had confessed he needed Mallory’s connections to sell the stolen artwork therefore he believed there were still paintings to be gotten rid of. If he could find where
Johannes
concealed the stolen goods, perhaps he could put
Johannes
out of business and scare him enough to make him leave town.

He scratched his head.
Johannes
won’t scare easily. He murders those he has difficulties with.
He remembered the man who called him for help.
Johannes
had merely taken his life and was done with him.
Yet he proceeded to tell me he was going to kill Jada and
Mike
.

A terrible thought flashed inside his head.
Did I fool
Johannes
into believing I was really
Richard
Mallory
or was he merely playing along with me?

 
Chandler
gnashed his teeth. If
Johannes
indeed knew who he was, then that fact put a whole new light on the situation. He should be guarding Jada instead of planning to search the banker’s office again. He turned toward the window, vaporized quickly and slipped beneath the window frame. He took to the air, his sight set on the west side of the city and Jada’s house.

She was just stepping from the tub as he shapeshifted before the bathroom door. He watched from the hallway as she wrapped her naked body in a fluffy white towel and crossed the room to remove the clip from her hair. She looked so inviting he could hardly resist the urge to step into the room and pull her towel off.

An uncommon feeling gripped him suddenly. He drew in a quick breath, bared his fangs, jerked his head from side to side. The scent of a vampire filled his nostrils.

“Take the towel off, my sweet.”

The voice reverberated through
Chandler
. He acted on instinct, bounding through the opening at the bathroom door. His ability to quickly assess the situation identified
Johannes
perched across the room at a small dressing table and Jada standing in the center of the floor completely under his vampire power.

Johannes
jumped to the middle of the floor upon seeing
Chandler
. He snarled, bared his fangs and raised his clawed hands in prelude to attacking.

Chandler
pushed Jada behind his body in order to protect her. In the same instant, he bared his fangs at
Johannes
and lashed out with one long arm, landing a glancing blow to the master’s chest. The old vampire reeled backward, stumbling into the dressing table and upsetting several bottles of perfume.
Chandler
whirled around and pushed Jada through the open door, then kicked it closed with one foot.

An ear-piercing snarl echoed in the tiny room as
Johannes
bounded to his feet and threw his body at
Chandler
. He landed atop his foe and gouged his long nails into
Chandler
’s midsection, pressing his body against the floor. He opened his mouth and bared his fangs as he lunged his head toward
Chandler
’s neck.
Chandler
wrenched to one side, attempting to roll out of the old master’s clutching hands and avoid his razor sharp fangs.

“I am stronger than you! You cannot escape me!” His voice was raspy and hoarse, rumbling with untold rage.

Chandler
raised one knee and levered the vampire’s body back, kicking his chest with his foot. The old master slammed against the wall, caught himself with his hands and bounded back toward
Chandler
.
Chandler
scrambled to his feet and met the forceful vampire with clawing fingernails aimed at his face. He shredded his cheek and cut a deep gash in his lip, gaining a few seconds as the old master paused, stunned somewhat by the younger vampire’s ability to act quicker than he. Rage engulfed his snarling features as he examined the stinging cuts and the flow of red blood. He glared at
Chandler
with brilliant red eyes.

“You dare to strike the master!”

Chandler
glanced about the room. It seemed to grow smaller by the second. There was little room to maneuver and their flailing bodies had destroyed everything but the porcelain features. A flash of light and a shadowy movement spun at his head suddenly. He glanced around just in time to throw up his hands and fend off
Johannes
’s body as the old vampire propelled himself at him. He pushed at the shadowy form, heaving it across the space. It hit the edge of the sink and fell to the floor, but within a breath,
Johannes
materialized and came after him again.

Chandler
backed up against the edge of the tub. Water remained in the basin, the bubble bath Jada had used still steamed in frothy invitation. His mind spun as he darted his gaze toward the angry
Johannes
. He barely had time to react before the vampire launched the next assault against him. He was cunning and sadistic with his attacks. One second he was a shadowy vapor launching himself across the room, intent on sinking his fangs into his throat and the next he was hurtling his empowered form against his chest with clawing fingernails.

“I know who you are! You’re Chandler Sutherland!”

“I’m the vampire who is going to end your existence,
Johannes
!” His teeth gnashed, his eyes glowed in warning.

“So you survived through the centuries.” He threw back his head and laughed jeeringly, his fangs dripping with saliva and his eyes fiery red. His long clawed hands waved in the air, threateningly. “What did you do with
Richard
Mallory
? Or should I assume you fed on him?”

“He attacked me and I destroyed him.”

Johannes
glared. “You are given to trickery, like your brothers.” He swiped one hand through the air, narrowly missing
Chandler
’s chest. “Though you are the youngest with the least experience. I will rend your body to the four corners of this room and then I will destroy the whore who stands on the other side of the door.”

Chandler
dared not risk tuning his senses to Jada. He had shoved her from the room—she was safe.
Johannes
was just trying to get him to let his guard down so he could be successful in one of his attacks. He stared at him, his claws extended, his fangs ready.

Johannes
leapt at
Chandler
suddenly.

Chandler
lurched to one side and the old vampire collided with the bathtub, landing head first in the hot water.
Chandler
dashed to the other side of the room.
Johannes
roared at the top of his lungs and splashed angrily in the tub.

 
Water flew about the room as the old master tried to right himself. He lunged upward, slinging his head and spraying water from his mouth and nose. His face distorted with further rage as he turned his red gaze on
Chandler
. Barely righting himself, water streaming down his face and chest, he launched another attack.

Chandler
had no place to flee, trapped between the sink and the toilet. He leapt upward, springing into the air with a quick bound. They collided against the ceiling, both powerful vampires with fangs extended and razor sharp claws ripping at each other’s body. They fell to the floor, arms and legs tangled, fangs sinking into cold flesh.

The master’s fangs sank into
Chandler
’s chest, making him bellow with pain and increasing his rage. He gathered his strength, sank his own fangs into
Johannes
’s shoulder and wrenched the old vampire to one side, freeing himself as he bounded to his feet.

 
Johannes
leapt at
Chandler
, clawing at his face and head.

 
Chandler
threw up his hands and caught
Johannes
’s wrists. His muscles flexed as he tried to hold the mighty force at bay.
Johannes
brought up one foot and kicked
Chandler
in the groin, bringing a loud bellow of complaint.

Growing weary,
Chandler
’s mind spun as he searched for a way to end the battle and become the victor.
Johannes
appeared as strong now as he had at the onset of the fight. He was seasoned and experienced, while he was a novice in the art of battling a vampire to the death. He dragged in weary breaths, his strength waning in the face of the tormenting war. Blood trickled down his chest from the piercing bite
Johannes
had delivered and his clothing held great long gashes from
Johannes
’s long nails. He watched as the old enemy got to his feet near the tub of water.
Water has no effect on vampires.
He thought suddenly of all he knew about destroying the creatures.
Fire. Decapitation. A wooden stake through the heart.

“You grow weary.”
Johannes
snarled the comment.

“I grow determined.”

Johannes
threw back his head and laughed tauntingly. “Your strength cannot best me. You are mine to destroy.” He leveled his gaze on
Chandler
. “I am the one who created you, I will be the one to annihilate you!” He flung himself at
Chandler
.

Chandler
reacted with renewed speed. He grabbed the master by the throat as he fell toward him and thrust his body against the mirror hanging over the sink. The glass splintered, spraying the room in sharp deadly shards. The wind was knocked out of
Johannes
as he landed against the mirror and the unyielding wall.
Chandler
clenched his fist in the master’s clothing reinforcing his grip as he lunged his sharp fangs toward the bulging vein in
Johannes
’s neck. He sank his fangs in, tightened his grip on the vampire as he felt the first gush of blood fill his mouth.

Johannes
bellowed and clawed at
Chandler
’s head and shoulders, seeking to push him away and free his deathly fangs from his throat. He wrenched his body and struggled beneath the pinning weight.

Chandler
braced his strong legs and pressed his prey against the sturdy support of the sink. The master’s blood flowed quickly into his mouth and he gulped it down, feeling a sense of power he had never felt before. He drank and pinned the vampire beneath his muscled chest. His weary body began to take on new strength, he felt rejuvenated, strengthened like he never imagined. His mind cleared. New thoughts began to take form, materialize. He felt his muscles growing stronger, his grip intensifying on the old vampire he drank from. Confidence came to his mind. He sucked the blood and reveled in the newness spreading throughout his body.

Johannes
sagged beneath
Chandler
’s pinning strength. His arms and legs fell limply to his sides. His eyes rolled back in his ugly skull. His fangs receded. The pallor of death tinged his cold skin. His chest ceased to move as the breath left his lungs.

Chandler
held his fangs in the bloody vein. He drank until nothing more came into his mouth. When the blood ceased to flow, he paused, waiting.
Have I destroyed the vile master?
He sensed death was upon the vampire. Cautiously, he withdrew his fangs. Blood stained his lips and dribbled down the front of his torn shirt. He gazed down at the flaccid body tangled in his long clawed fingernails. It was limp, lifeless, showing no signs of further attack against him.

He straightened and gazed down at his prey. He felt an enormous surge of power physically and mentally.
I won!

Chapter Twenty-four

Johannes
was dead. And
Chandler
was relieved that the old vampire who had changed his life forever no longer existed. He stared at his lifeless corpse as the final withering process began. He watched the arms and legs begin to shrink, draw up and grow smaller. The face, white with pallor, lost the handsome countenance of a youthful man. The flesh withered and disappeared, sinking in on the skull and drying to a thin blackish film. He sighed and reached the skull propped atop the sink. It was best if he dislocated the head from the body just to make certain
Johannes
didn’t have a final trick up his sleeve. He grasped the bony neck and snapped the skull free, then tossed it on the floor.
I can’t be too careful.

The body began to smoke, filling the small space with a rancid stench. The black smoke spiraled upward, gathered at the ceiling and fell back to settle on the fixtures and float on the top of the bath water.
Chandler
watched and smiled, enjoying the final signs of
Johannes
. At last, the vile creature was destroyed. He could stop worrying.

He heard Jada beyond the door. He listened, realizing how acute his hearing was now. He could discern her fear and rage, knew she was having thoughts of him. His smile broadened. He turned his gaze back to the withering remains of
Johannes
. Only scraps of clothing remained. The skull had turned to ashes, a small pile on the floor at his feet. The body had disappeared. He picked up the fragments of clothing and held them in one hand.
Goodbye, you old bastard!
He opened the lid of the toilet and threw the rags in, then flipped the handle on the tank, flushing away the last traces of the old vampire. He stepped to the sink to wash the blood off his hands and face, then adjusted his coat to conceal his torn and bloody shirt. A loud splintering sound brought his gaze to the door of the bathroom.

 
Suddenly the door burst open and Jada bounded into the room. “Get your hands in the air!”

 
Chandler
took in her appearance all at once. Her feet were braced apart, her knees were bent and she clutched a shiny revolver with both hands. He saw fear and surprise in the depths of her blue eyes. She stared at him for a second, then relaxed her arms. The towel tucked just above her big breasts, sagged teasingly as she released a relieved breath.

“What in hell just happened?”

Chandler
considered his words before speaking.
Is she still under
Johannes
’s spell?

Jada looked around the bathroom, wrinkled up her nose when she saw the water puddles on the floor, then reached one arm into the bathtub and pulled the plug. “Did I hear you just flush the john?”

He cocked one eyebrow.
Honey, you just unknowingly gave me a way out.
“Did you want to watch me relieve myself?”

She smiled suddenly. She looked around the room as though trying to reason what had taken place, then returned her gaze to him. “I don’t remember taking a bath.” She adjusted the towel. “Why are you here?”

He shrugged his shoulders and stepped around her to the door.
Should I tell her that I just destroyed the one threat to my existence?
He thought better of his statement. He leaned toward her and kissed her forehead. Now that
Johannes
was gone forever, he could take his time with Jada, get to know her, decide whether to turn her… “I just wanted to see your beautiful face.”

She propped her hands on her hips and stared at him. “Why am I having trouble believing you?”

He shrugged his shoulders and smiled. “Should I have said that I knew you would be taking a bath and I wanted to surprise you, just in the hope you’d invite me to join you?”

“No.” She stepped toward the door and grasped the doorknob. “Say goodnight,
Richard
.”

Her words filtered through him.
She called me
Richard
.
He stepped through the door and stared at it as she slammed it in his face. He smiled broadly as he turned to leave her house. He would return to the bank building and search for more evidence of Mallory’s involvement with
Johannes
in the hopes of helping Jada solve the case of the stolen art.

Happiness filled his insides as he took to the air and became invisible in the nighttime sky. He felt the absence of uncertainty and remorse as he gazed at the lights of the city he passed over. Taking
Johannes
’s blood had intensified his own vampire body, made him stronger, smarter, fortified his existence in ways he had yet to learn about.

 
Chandler
found the bank building and entered the office beneath the window frame, seeping onto the carpet as a wispy mist and then transforming into his vampire body. He stood near the window and surveyed the room, turning his head from side to side and taking in every nuance of the area. His eyes were keener than he had ever known them to be. He recognized little imperfections in the paintings hanging on the walls and the pricey marble statues decorating the fine furnishings. He distinguished fingerprints on the desktop and the file drawers. He saw blond hairs lying on the carpet and spied the lacy panty poked beneath the edge of the leather couch. He laughed out loud, amused by all that his new powers enabled him to see.

Mallory must have been fucking his secretary
or another blonde.
He rubbed his chin in contemplation.
I’m going to like being
Richard
Mallory
.
The thought of the new existence lying before him bolstered his courage. For a fleeting second, he had the most wonderful thought.
The world is my oyster.

 
Chandler
shook off the thoughtful spell he had brought upon himself and set to inspecting the office and adjoining rooms. If Mallory had indeed hidden any stolen artwork, he was intent on finding it. He set about searching the furnishings as he had previously, finding nothing more than he had at first, until he stepped into the room off the main office. An uncanny feeling gripped his insides as he wafted his inspecting gaze along the perimeter of the space.

 
A void at the side of the room became visible. He walked over to the wall and laid one palm against its paneled surface. His keen sense of perception revealed a hidden room. He drew back his arm, clenched his fist and drove his hand through the paneling. The wood splintered. He withdrew his hand and peered through the hole. A dark space appeared beyond the room. He quickly vaporized, passing through the opening.

“Son-of-a-bitch!” Shapeshifting, he stood at the edge of the room and gazed around, identifying several large paintings leaning against a pile of boxes. “This must be the stolen artwork Jada is looking for.”

 
Chandler
felt relieved for finally having found the objects she was searching for and pleased he had been the one to help, but finding the stolen treasures in the possession of the banker he planned to impersonate brought about another problem. He would have to move the items before he let on to Jada where to look. He took quick assessment of the things and the packing boxes scattered about. He would pack the things up and have them delivered to the club Jada was still intent on searching. His brows drew together. It wouldn’t be an easy matter, deceiving the woman he had fallen in love with, but necessary nonetheless. He set to packing the items, his thoughts turning to ways of secreting them out of the building and getting them into the club without calling attention to himself.

Once the paintings were secured within their boxes, he searched for the secret way into the room. He managed to find it quite easily once he relied on his powers of perception. A secret doorway opened into
Richard
Mallory
’s office, hidden quite nicely within a bookcase flanking his desk. Mentally pleased with himself,
Chandler
proceeded to find the phone number of a moving company and offer them double their salary if they would arrive immediately and move the contents of the room for him. Hanging up the phone, he realized he would have to command the movers to forget they ever came to the building in the middle of the night or moved anything into the Royal Nightclub after hours.

Two men with a large white truck arrived within an hour and
Chandler
met them at the rear entrance of the bank, having moved the crates out the window of Mallory’s office before hand. He enforced his command upon both men, placing them in a trance that would prevent either of them having any memory of what they were about to do, then he stood by and watched as the men handled the boxes.

When the cargo was loaded,
Chandler
gave them the address to the club and informed them he would meet them there. The movers drove off.
Chandler
ducked into the alley beside the building and shapeshifted into a bat. He took to the air and arrived minutes before the truck pulled to the curb.

The building was still cordoned off with yellow police tape, though no officers were posted to guard the site.
Chandler
instructed the movers to enter the building through the back entrance, opening the door before they arrived and deciding where he wanted the crates placed. The interior of the building was strewn with debris from the raid Jada and her police friends had instituted the day before, but the men merely passed through the unsightly mess without uttering a word. When the final crate was inside the building,
Chandler
sent the men away.

With the matter taken care of,
Chandler
returned to
Richard
Mallory
’s house and resumed his investigation of his predecessor.