Dread Nemesis of Mine

chapter 34

"My own staff!" I said for at least the tenth time, so excited I couldn't stop rubbing my hands together.

Elyssa snorted and glanced over at me. "Don't have a nerdgasm in the car, hot stuff." She took a left turn and pulled into the parking lot of the pizza place.

"Is a staff a big deal?" Katie asked from the back seat.

"Don't even get him started," Elyssa said with a grin.

Nyte and Ash stood near the front door of Ghetto Pizza, their eyes already locked onto us. Elyssa opened the door to get out, but Nyte jogged over. In place of his usual Goth attire, he wore designer jeans and a leather biker jacket. He wore only a couple of earrings in place of the metric ton of metal he used to wear in his nose, eyebrow, and numerous other places on his face. His red hair was shorter and worn stylishly. He looked really good.

I leaned over so I could look at his irises, and breathed with relief when I saw they weren't red—a sure sign of vampirism.

"Don't come in," Nyte said, looking around conspiratorially. "We grabbed some pizza to go. Thought we'd eat it at Spooky House for old time's sake." He winked at Elyssa. "You cool with that?"

She smiled. "Wow, I haven't been there in ages." She looked at me. "You're not scared to go are you?"

I laughed. "I'm petrified. Let's do it."

"I'm in," Katie said, an uncertain look on her face.

"Sweet!" Nyte slapped the top of the car and jogged over to Ash's tank-like, periwinkle Ford, a car that looked like something out of a seventies film.

"What's this Spooky House?" I asked.

Elyssa rolled up the window and made a U-turn out of the parking lot. "It's this old antebellum house just down the street. Nobody's lived there for years. Remember how I told you about our ghost stories in the graveyard?"

I nodded.

"This is just another place we used to go to scare each other and party." She smiled. "Not just us, but a bunch of other Goths, too. It's a cool place."

"You used to party? Like drink and all that?" It was hard to imagine Little Miss Templar as a party girl.

Her lips curled into a lopsided grin. "Yeah. Alcohol doesn't affect me that much thanks to my dhampyr–enhanced metabolism." She gave me a sideways look. "I suppose I could lie to you and say I did it as part of my undercover duties as a Templar, but truth is, I actually had a lot of fun." She sighed. "I miss those days sometimes. Now everything is so serious."

"Well, maybe we can have fun tonight. Doesn't look like our friends are vampires."

"You looked at his eyes, too?" Elyssa glanced at me as she stopped at a stop sign, and looked both ways.

"First chance I got."

"Thank goodness," Katie said. "I was so worried we were too late."

"We might have gotten lucky." Hopefully. I looked out the window at the neat little houses with their porches and tiny front yards. We were in Kirkwood, not far from East Atlanta Village, so the houses were smaller and tightly spaced.

Elyssa parked on the road before a crumbling stone wall. Behind it loomed the silhouette of a house. Darkened windows and a thick overgrown lawn told me it had been abandoned a long time.

"Whoa, this is a spooky house," I said, peering out the window. I looked at Elyssa. "Does it have ghosts?"

She laughed. "Probably." We got out of the car. "Looks like they're inside already."

"The ghosts?"

"No, Ash and Nyte, silly."

Katie regarded the house, an uncertain look on her face, but said nothing.

The three of us squeezed through the gap in the rusted, iron gate and waded through a footpath overgrown with weeds, brambles, and ivy. Large columns supported a wide porch. At one end, a broken bench swing hung by a chain. A gentle breeze caused the swing to scrape against the deck, sending a chill up my spine. Skeletal branches from the oak tree slapped against a window. Despite all the horrors I'd seen, something about this place creeped me out. The porch groaned when I stepped on it. Cracks and holes showed where other people had found weak spots in the flooring.

Something thudded against a wall inside the house, followed by a muffled cry.

Elyssa and I looked at each other with alarm. She burst through the front door. I'd actually planned to run away from the house, but steeled my balls and rushed in after her. We paused in the silence at the bottom of the main staircase and listened. Katie plowed into me in the darkness as she caught up. Another thud boomed against the floor upstairs. Dodging broken spots in the stairs, we ran up them. The space upstairs consisted of one large room with a few wooden supports holding up the ceiling.

Old paint buckets and broken scaffolding leaned against a wall. It looked like the previous owners had tried some renovating before leaving the place to rot. Dim light from a streetlamp glowed through a broken window. A cold breeze ruffled the tattered curtains. My night vision flickered on. A figure writhed against the far wall.

"How's this for OP?" Nyte shouted and tossed a something across the room toward the figure on the floor.

Ash laughed as another body thudded against the hardwoods. "Dude, that is so IMBA." He flashed across the room in a blur and leaned over the person. "How does it feel to be on the receiving end, Nathan?"

"What in the hell is going on?" Elyssa said, eyes wide with shock.

"What? What is it?" Katie said, picking her way up the stairs carefully. I'd forgotten about the poor girl not having night vision. "I can't see a thing!"

Ash and Nyte flashed over to us, huge grins spread on their faces.

"Surprise!" Nyte said, flashing his teeth, and revealing sharp fangs. "Guys, you're not going to believe this, but vampires are real."

"We're vampires," Ash said. "Can you freaking believe it?" He ran across the room to a wall. "Watch this!" He reared back a fist, and punched a hole in the wall. Held out his hand. "And it doesn't even hurt."

"And if that's not enough proof," Nyte said, flicking across the room and grabbing a bulky figure off the floor. "Look at this." He flashed over, holding the form of Nathan Spelman over his head with one hand.

Nathan's eyes bulged. Duct tape wrapped around his head muffled his screams.

"Put him down this instant!" Elyssa said, eyes wide with horror.

"But—"

"I said, put him down." Her violet eyes blazed to life in the dark.

"Whoa," Nyte said. "Your eyes…" He set Nathan down.

"Who's the other one?" she asked, nodding her head toward the other figure. "Bring him here."

Ash and Nyte, eyes downcast, brought two more squirming figures and dropped them next to Nathan.

"Adam and Steve," I said, recognizing Nathan's buddies, both linebackers from the football team. I couldn't remember their last names.

"Were you wearing contacts earlier?" Elyssa said, looking into the eyes of our friends, now flashing the red of vampires.

They looked at each other and nodded.

"We knew our red eyes would freak people out," Ash said. He looked from Elyssa to me to Katie. "But you guys don't even look surprised."

"Or happy." Nyte grabbed Nathan by the hair. "Don't you remember how evil these a*sholes were to us? Remember when they shoved Ash down the bleachers? And when Nathan punched you in the face?"

"Why do you look so mad?" Ash said, a plaintive note in his voice.

"What's going on?" Katie said again. "Who's a vampire? I can hardly see a thing."

Elyssa spotted some battery-powered lamps beneath a tarp and turned them on, casting shadows across the large room.

Katie's eyes went wide with shock. "Oh my god, oh my god! Ash, how could you? I can't believe you'd beat someone up like that!"

Ash's face fell. "B-but I can protect myself now. I'm strong. Isn't that—"

"Just because you're strong doesn't mean you can go around beating up people who are weaker than you." She took a step back. "And to think—I thought you were different. I thought you were better than that."

Pain entered his eyes. "I only wanted to…" His voice trailed off midsentence and he looked away.

I squeezed my eyes shut and rubbed my forehead. "Oh, brother." My guts knotted. I pulled Elyssa aside and whispered, "What are we going to do? We're talking kidnap, assault, and hell, I don't even know how many other laws they've broken."

Elyssa sighed. Leaned down and unwrapped the duct tape from Nathan's mouth and hands, freeing him.

"Oh, god, please don't kill me," the meaty football player cried out in a hoarse voice. "Don't suck my blood, please!" Tears poured down his face as he fell at my girlfriend's feet. "I swear to god I'll never tell anyone about this. I swear!" He grabbed my foot. "Justin, we're friends, right? You gotta help me, man. Please!"

My stomach rumbled. I felt like I was going to be sick. I backed away. "Ash, Nyte, I—I can't believe you would do this."

"Nathan and his goons are nothing but animals," Ash said. "They took our dignity and dragged it through the mud. Nathan even tried to rape Katie and if you hadn't been there to save her, he probably would've gotten away with it."

"I know, I know." I bit the inside of my lip and stared.

Katie's face went white. She looked away from Nathan as a tear trailed down her face. Ash looked stricken. He took a step toward her, but she backed away, throwing her hands up in the air, palms out. "Don't touch me!" She took in a long shuddering breath. "Being a bully like Nathan would destroy anything attractive I ever saw in you. Don't you get that?"

"It's too late to send them back, and pretend nothing ever happened," Elyssa said, face blank.

"Oh, god, no!" Nathan cried, gripping me by the feet and holding on for dear life. "Don't kill us, please! I'll do anything you want. Anything." He looked at Katie. "I'm sorry. I was so stupid. Please, Katie, don't let them kill me."

Katie didn't meet his eyes.

"We're not going to kill you," Elyssa said with a sigh. "I think we'll have to send them through the Overworld orientation program."

I pried Nathan's meaty hands off my legs. "Stay there, and don't move an inch. You saw how fast my friends are, so don't even think about running. Your life is in my hands."

He looked so pathetically happy through the tears and snot bubbling out of his nose, I almost laughed. I motioned the others to another corner of the room.

I shook my head sadly, looking from Nyte to Ash. "We need to have a serious conversation. But not now."

Katie didn't say a word, though the shock and anger was plain in her eyes.

"I am so disappointed in you two," Elyssa said. "Kidnapping and assault? Really?"

I touched her arm. "We'll get to that later. As for what to do about those bozos, I think I have a better idea than sending them in for Overworld orientation."

Elyssa crossed her arms and glared at me. "And what would that be?"

"Look at the bright side—Nathan and his buddies are about to crap themselves."

Nyte sniffed the air. "Actually, I think one of them already did."

I gagged and jabbed a finger at him. "Not another word until I'm done."

He nodded solemnly. Ash, for his part, looked as ashamed as a dog who'd been caught eating the kitty treats, and kept sneaking furtive glances at Katie.

I continued. "Let's use their fear to our advantage. Heaven knows they've kept the nerd population in a state of constant panic and turmoil with their bullying."

"You want to let them go back to school, knowing what they know, and hope they'll be too frightened to say anything?" Elyssa said, skepticism plain in her voice.

"More than that." I grinned.

By the time I explained myself, even Elyssa and Katie couldn't help but smile.

We approached the victims, unbound the three of them, and lined them up. Aside from scrapes and bruises, none of the captives seemed to have broken bones. Nyte, Ash, and Elyssa gave them slow grins, extending their fangs. Ruby red irises glittered from Ash and Nyte's eyes. Elyssa's glowed violet. I still hadn't figured out how to make my eyes glow on command, but figured it wasn't necessary.

Nathan gulped. Steve whimpered. Adam shrank against the wall.

Nathan opened his mouth to speak.

I put a finger to my lips. "No talking. I want you to listen very closely."

They nodded.

"There are horrors in this world you have no clue about. Nightmares that will eat you alive and spit out your bones." I leaned in closer. "No mortal should know about our existence, but as you can see, it's too late for that." I paced in front of them. Paused and gave them a sideways glance. "There are those among us who'd like to suck you dry and throw your bodies in a ditch."

Adam's teeth chattered. All three football players shrank together against the wall.

I offered them a condescending smile. "Cooler heads have prevailed, however."

"I still think this is a horrible mistake," Elyssa said, growling in her throat. "And I haven't had a good meal in days."

"Oh, crap. Oh, crap!" Steve said, trying to hide behind Nathan even as the bigger guy fought to hide behind him.

I might have laughed if I didn't feel so guilty. "Here's the deal, boys. No more bullying. If you pick on anyone else for the rest of your life, you're dead. In fact, it is now your sworn duty to protect those who cannot protect themselves. If you see someone else picking on anyone, nerd or otherwise, you have to step in and protect them. Do I make myself clear?"

"Y-y-yes," Adam said, his teeth chattering even harder.

Nathan nodded like a bobble head doll. "I swear to god, man!"

"Yes," Steve said, voice hoarse.

I stared them down for several long seconds before saying, "We'll be watching. If you slip up, we'll be ready." I was just about to tell them they were free to go, when one last indignity occurred to me. "One last thing."

"Anything, man, please just let us go!" Nathan hugged himself like a little kid, staying as far from Ash and Nyte as he could.

"You must join the Chess Club at school."

The three guys looked flummoxed, but not a one of them protested.

"Good, now—" A sudden throb of cold raced up my leg.

Maximus's face hovers over me, blood flowing down his face. He grins. Licks the blood. "You're mine, Slade. You and your little sister." He throws back his head and laughs as he pulls Ivy from the dark. Like a viper, his head strikes forward, and his fangs clamp on her neck. Blood spurts. Eyes wide with fear, she screams.

I squeezed my eyes shut as rage boiled into me. It's just a hallucination, I thought, desperately trying to return to reality. Pain cracked into my skull like a sledgehammer. A guttural growl rumbled through my chest. The world seemed to vibrate. Energy crackled around me, lancing my body with white and black bolts of energy. The world was breaking around me. Shattering to pieces.

I roared.

Someone squealed like a pig and a rotten odor drifted into my nostrils.

"Justin!" Elyssa said, gripping my arm.

I snapped out of my trance. Nathan and his pals were literally shaking in their shoes, huddled tight in the corner next to the window. One of them whimpered as a puddle formed at his shoes.

My voice, deep and inhuman, growled, "Do as I say, or die."

They screamed.

I made a slashing motion with my hand and walked into a dark corner as the world around me wobbled. Ash and Nyte herded the captives downstairs and outside. Elyssa appeared beside me.

"Justin, are you okay?"

I nodded as the sick feeling in my stomach subsided, and the cold bite of the vampling curse faded in my leg. "It's getting worse. The visions. The anger. We've got to get to Maximus and stop him before I go over the edge." The small horns on my forehead clattered to the floor as my body reverted from its half-demon form to normal.

She leaned her head on my shoulder. "We will." Her arms wrapped tight around me and we held each other in the darkness.