Seduced by the Night (30 page)

Julia pulled her hand away. It was covered with blood. "Do you suppose they carry diseases? Like a rat?"

Bethany didn't know. "You're lucky you're still alive."

Julia grimaced. "If we get out of this alive, remind me to speak to Charles about hazard pay."

The comment struck Bethany as funny but another commotion on the roof caused her smile to fade. "I can't tell how many there are."

Julia's eyes darted to the ceiling. "It sounds like they're all around us."

"We need weapons." Bethany resumed her search.

"Do you think the others heard our shouts?"

"I'm sure they did," Bethany said with a confidence she didn't feel, not wanting to upset the woman further; needing to believe for herself that it might be true.

An incessant pounding started on the shed doors, jerking both women's attention in that direction.

"They won't hold much longer," Bethany said. "Maybe instead of looking for a weapon, we should find someplace to hide." She studied the covered car, but quickly dismissed the idea of hiding inside it. They'd be like rabbits trapped in a burrow.

She looked around. "Maybe we can hide in the back."

She pointed and together the women moved in that direction.

Bethany didn't see the spot lamp on the ground until her foot hit it. Picking it up, she wondered if it still worked. There was a fine coating of dust on it, but it wasn't as thick as the coating on some of the other items lying around.

Pulling the trigger, she quickly put a hand to her eyes. The lamp worked. The burst of light that shot out was far more powerful than any she'd come across before. It had so much candlepower, it would have turned the darkest night into the brightest day.

Wanting to save the battery, she let up on the trigger and the inside of the garage was instantly plunged into pitch-black.

For long minutes, only the sound of their breathing could be heard. Then came the sound of splintering wood as something crashed through the shed doors. Her eyes now adjusted again to the dark, Bethany stared, horrified, at the vampire standing there, silhouetted by the moonlight behind him, red glowing eyes staring out from an eerily pale face.

She shrank back, wishing she could disappear into the woodwork. A cold chill of fear raced down her spine as he looked around the garage. Then his gaze locked with hers just before he launched himself across the room, little more than a blur.

Bethany and Julia scrambled back, trying to get away as he dived across the car, his arms outstretched to grab them. Instinctively, Bethany lifted the lamp to knock him away. Her finger, still on the trigger, involuntarily tight-
sned
and the blinding light filled the room.

She waited to feel the impact of the vampire's body hitting hers; waited for the pain that would come when he ripped out her throat. Nothing happened.

The vampire seemed frozen in
midflight
, his arm outstretched, still reaching for her. He didn't blink. In fact, he no longer looked alive.

Taking a closer look, she noticed something odd about his appearance. His face, still very pale, now had the gritty appearance of stone. She moved the lamp's beam and noticed that wherever it touched, the vampire's skin hardened.

"I think he's turned to stone," she whispered, leaning to one side, letting her gaze travel down the length of him and saw his foot twitch. "At least, most of him has."

"It's the lamp," Julia said in an equally awed tone. Bethany cringed, wondering what would have happened had she spotlighted the lower half of his body first? Would the upper half of his body still be alive?

Just then, the lamp's light flickered. "I need to turn it off," she said. "In case we need it again." Not wanting to be near the vampire when the light went out, she and Julia moved along the space between the workbench and the car.

As they moved, so did the lamp's beam, turning more of the vampire's body into stone. As the now heavier weight of the upper torso pulled the body downward, it started to slide.

"Hurry," Bethany shouted. They had barely enough time to scramble out of the way before the vampire toppled forward. The moment his head hit the workbench, it exploded in a cloud of dust, along with part of his upper torso. Only the lower part of his body remained intact.

Bethany doused the light and the two women stood huddled together.

"Did you know that would happen?" Julia whispered.

"No," Bethany admitted.

"I thought vampires were supposed to burst into flames if the sun touched them."

Bethany shook her head. "The
chupacabras
turn to stone during the day. Maybe it has something to do with the candlepower of the spotlight being so high. Regular fluorescent lights don't seem to affect the vampires this way."

Julia turned suddenly and went to the workbench.

"What are you doing?" Bethany whispered to her.

"I'm looking for a weapon. If there are more of those creatures out there, I want to be prepared."

Bethany nodded. "We need a stake or knife or something like that. That's how Dirk kills them. He stabs them through the heart with his dagger."

The sound of more splintering wood caused them to look up as the roof came crashing down. Then a vampire jumped through the opening.

Boldly taking a step forward, Bethany pointed the lamp and pulled the trigger. Brilliant light flared out, momentarily stopping the creature as he threw up his arms to protect his eyes.

Bethany watched in fascination as the creature's skin thickened, taking on the rough, gritty texture, but it was happening more slowly this time, and she found herself straining to see. With a shock, she realized that the lamp was dying.

Trapped in a slow-moving nightmare, Bethany stared as the lamplight grew dimmer. Then Julia was
there,swinging
a crowbar like a baseball bat. When she finished her swing, the tip of the crowbar was embedded in the chest of the vampire, sinking deep into the spot where his heart was.

A look of surprise crossed the creature's face right before he crumpled to the ground, dead.

Bethany stared at Julia with something akin to shock. "You just impaled a vampire with a crowbar."

"Why, yes. I believe I did." She stopped in the process of pulling down the cuffs of her blouse and smoothing the wrinkles from her slacks to look at Bethany as if she was shocked that Bethany should be so surprised. "You did say they could be killed by stabbing them through the heart, did you not?"

A slow smile crept over Bethany's face. "Yes, I did." Her admiration for Julia went up another notch.

Still inordinately preoccupied with straightening her clothes, Julia gave her an exasperated look. "Oh, please, do stop gawking. It isn't ladylike. Now, I don't hear anything at the moment. Do you suppose it might be safe for us to make a run for the house?"

Reminded of their situation, Bethany grew serious once more. She cocked her head to listen, but like Julia didn't hear anything. "I don't know. I could have sworn I heard more than one up there. I'm afraid that if we try to leave, then they'll jump us or—" She paused to listen. "What was that?"

The faint sound of shouting could be heard outside. Bethany's heart gave a lurch of joy, quickly replaced by fear for Dirk's safety. "Dirk! Vampires!" There wasn't time for lengthy explanations and she prayed he understood.

"The old garage," she heard Mac's distant shout. Through the shattered garage doors, she caught sight of movement, then a whooshing noise. Minutes later, the sound of fighting drifted to them and waiting to learn if Dirk was safe proved too much for Bethany to patiently endure.

With parts of the garage door lying in pieces, she set the spotlight aside and searched through the debris until she found a board that wasn't too heavy to carry. The splintered end was sharp enough to be used as a stake.

She started for the door when Julia stopped her. For a second she was afraid the woman would try to talk her out of going, but instead Julia only wanted time to select a piece of wood for herself. Hers was smaller and she held it like a dagger. "Shall we?" she asked when she was ready.

The two crept slowly to the garage door, half expecting a vampire to leap out at them. When none did, they stepped outside.

The sounds of fighting grew louder as they ran up the small incline leading to the back of the mansion. As they crested the hill, both women drew to a halt. The sight before them was beyond anything Bethany could have imagined. Someone had turned on the mansion's backyard lights and three pairs of men could be seen fighting.

Mac and Dirk were engaged in hand-to-hand combat with two vampires, moving with a swiftness and apparent strength equal to the vampires they fought. The admiral stood off a short distance, using a sword to fend off another vampire. Bethany would have thought the admiral, a mere human, would be an easy target, but she saw from the flashes of steel in the yard lights that he was holding his own.

Two vampires lay on the ground, near Mac and Dirk. Bethany couldn't help moving closer, drawn by the scene. Eyes glowing, fangs bared, they
all
looked like vampires. It seemed to Bethany that the fight would go on forever, but at that moment the admiral made a sweep of his sword. As his opponent dropped to the ground, the admiral flung out his arm and sent the sword sailing. Neither Mac nor Dirk seemed aware of it arcing toward them, but then Mac's hand shot out. In one smooth motion, he plucked the sword from the air and made a sweeping cutting motion. The vampire he'd been fighting suddenly stilled and even before the body collapsed, Mac threw the sword.

As Mac's had earlier, Dirk's hand shot out, grabbed the sword in
midflight
, and in a single swift lunge he buried the sword in the vampire's heart and eased the creature to the ground.

The three men stood unmoving. Bethany got the sense that they were listening, preparing for the next attack. Then she heard the admiral's voice. "Anything?"

Mac's face was tense. "I'm picking up something, but I don't know what."

Bethany's eyes met Dirk's across the distance and unable to stop herself, she ran to him. She hadn't taken four steps before he was there, pulling her to him, holding her close, his head bent forward to whisper soothing words of reassurance.

"Are you okay?" He stroked the back of her head. "I was so worried when I realized you were gone." He sighed. "Why did you go outside?"

"We were looking for Gem."

"Julia, you're hurt." Admiral Winslow hurried to the woman's side and lightly touched her neck.

"I'm fine," she assured him, although Bethany thought she looked pale.

"Where's
Lanie
?" Mac asked, clearly worried, looking around the yard. "She disappeared right after the two of you did—I thought she was with you."

Bethany shook her head, getting a bad feeling. "No, we haven't seen her."

Mac swore and raised his hand at the same time that Dirk tossed him the sword. He caught it and sped toward the house.

Lanie
stood near the edge of the woods on the far side of the house. Every
fiber
of her being tingled with alarm, but she didn't move. When she'd gone into the kitchen earlier and found it empty with the door open, she'd feared the worst. About to call out to Mac, she'd seen Gem race past the back door.

Afraid she'd lose her in the night,
Lanie
had gone after the small
chupacabra
. The chase had taken them to the front of the mansion, ending at the line of trees where the appearance of the adult
chupacabra
brought
Lanie
to an abrupt halt.

Despite the tremor of fear that shot through her, she was touched. Her father had never determined the exact relationship between the adult
chupacabra
and Gem, however, both he and, later,
Lanie
, assumed the adult was Gem's mother. Even now, she nuzzled Gem as a mother would her young.

As
Lanie
looked on, some of her fear abated. She  knew now that the creature's attacks on Mac, Dirk, and the others had not been malicious.

How long she stood watching, she had no idea, but her awareness of the vampire when he emerged from the woods, not far from the
chupacabras
, was instantaneous. She knew she couldn't outrun him if he attacked, so she held very still, waiting to see what would happen.

Very slowly, perhaps not wanting to alarm her, the vampire stepped forward until
Lanie
saw his face.

"Harris," she gasped, staring at the tall, dark-haired vampire.

He smiled, but not enough to show his fangs. "Ms. Weber, I see you remember me."

"I'm not likely to forget the man… the creature… that almost killed me and my husband,"
Lanie
retorted heatedly.

"Husband? Congratulations." A pained expression crossed his handsome face and then was gone. "I don't expect you to believe me, but I'm glad you're all right."

"I don't believe you. What do you want?"