Samantha Moon Phantasm, page 130
part #9 of Vampire for Hire Series
The kids laughed.
Allison gave me a look like I’d suggested we do something naughty. “Ooh. Perfect opportunity to practice controlling it.”
“I think I’m figuring this energy thing out pretty quick. I didn’t siphon anything from Annie, or you guys even though I’m still kinda hungry.”
“Well, if you were at the point of starving before,” said Kingsley, “your subconscious might’ve taken over and done what was necessary for self-preservation. It is possible that under normal circumstances—i.e., not starving—you’d have to actively want to absorb nourishment.”
“Great. Good an excuse as any to go to the mall. I still need to do more testing.”
“On?” asked Allison.
“Not sure if my telepathy or mind control powers are still there.”
“You’re not going to make that donation guy sing Figaro again, are you?” asked Tammy.
I cackled. “Oh, I wouldn’t dream of it.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
Well, I learned a few things at the mall.
One, a giant crowd is basically a buffet. Within five minutes of walking down the concourse, I felt like I’d overdone it on food. Taking tiny scraps of mental energy from a hundred different people was ridiculously easy, unnoticeable, and it tasted way better than cow or pig blood.
To be truthful, it didn’t really taste like anything. Which, given the rancid flavor of blood, I considered an improvement. Instead of flavor, this psychic vampirism deal was more like going from hungry to full over the course of a minute or five without any true sensation of consumption or taste.
I did experiment with eating normal food. It seemed that Talos’ opinion that my creator-ness pushing my wants into some sort of reality held true. I didn’t feel like throwing up what I ate, even with the ring off. Perhaps because I no longer counted as an undead? I had missed food more than almost anything else about being alive. Though, I can’t say that food offered me any real nutrition. Though maybe it did. I didn’t really know. Considering I needed to absorb mental energy from others now instead of blood, I doubted any other nourishment really worked for me. Which meant I could still eat a hot fudge sundae loaded with brownie chunks without any guilt at all.
Yeah, life was good.
Between the inter-dimensional hopping, our fight with the Red Rider, and puking up an ancient sorceress of doom, my exhausted ass spent a few days loafing around the house trying to avoid people. Allison came by to visit and we did some witchy type stuff. According to her, I had magic, but didn’t have much of any clue how to tap into it. She said I was as strong as I should’ve been had nothing weird happened during this lifetime. Maybe even stronger since this lifetime is going to be the last one for me. She’s made it her new mission in life to work with me, and seemed as thrilled as a giddy schoolgirl about it.
She still hadn’t lowered her mental shield, even though she trusted me and knew Elisabeth was gone. Evidently, she needed the okay from Millicent first.
Anyway, a few days after normality returned—or at least the best that passed for normality in my life at this point—I started making phone calls and dealing with that whole inherited creepy-as-hell mansion thing.
I can’t say I felt any temptation at all to move into that place. Tammy and Anthony agreed on that point. Neither of them liked the vibe of the house nor did I want to uproot them from their school and friends. So, I decided to sell the place. Money was good, and something I didn’t have anywhere near enough of. Plus the property taxes on a place like that would be astronomical.
Rather than go through the usual channels, I figured I’d try niche markets first. I got lucky… the first person I contacted about it, Fang, almost did a backflip at the thought. Apparently, his blood bank business was doing pretty good. Then again, we were talking a lot of money here. Whatever secret some vampires had to generate cash out of thin air somehow eluded me. Maybe it was that whole power of wanting thing. I’ve never craved being wealthy, just having enough to survive. Though after ‘just surviving’ for years, it will be nice to be comfortable.
Oh, and Mary Lou did a good impression of a demon-possessed hamster on a partial overdose of amphetamines when I told her everything that happened. I almost needed to mentally compel her to calm down, but she managed it on her own. I can’t say whether she was more excited for me or dreading what Elizabeth would do now that she’d gotten off the leash so to speak. I countered by saying if what she’d told me was true, she had never truly been on any leash at all… merely using me the way people use cars.
***
Four days after destroying the Red Rider, I headed out to the house after sunset to meet Fang and a realtor I’d hired to deal with the paperwork. The bizarre old couple showed us around. Despite the outward appearance of needing some work, and the inward overabundance of creep, Fang adored it. Speaking of adored, I adored no longer feeling like a prisoner of the night. Probably why I had spent so many years going to great lengths to defy the sun however possible. But, hey, the big ball of fire and I have made up and we’re friends again. Now I just need to find someone interested in a fifty-gallon drum of sunscreen.
Maybe I’ll even visit the beach again soon… though Tammy’s so pale, if she went outside in a bathing suit she’d probably blind pilots from the glare. Having a vampire mama tended to result in a lot of ‘indoor time’ for me and the kids.
We ran into the shadow beings during our walkthrough, and it reminded me of the promise I’d made to help free them back in the boxing gym.
“Oops,” I said to the shadow watching me. “Sorry, it took me so long to come back here. I got sidetracked with something on a bit of a time limit.”
It nodded solemnly. Then again, I think everything this creature did, it did solemnly.
“So, umm… how do I free you guys?”
The shadow grasped at its chest and thrust its arm forward.
“I have to rip my heart out?”
It shook its head and made a series of gestures. Ugh. I’ve always hated charades. This poor creature is harder to interpret than my father after six joints and a case of Budweiser.
“Hang on.” I stepped closer to it, leaving Fang, my realtor, and Fang’s realtor to wander off together exploring. “Let me try something.”
The shadow figure hung there like a soot-stained bit of cobweb with eyes.
It almost had readable thoughts, though they flitted around, collapsing in on themselves before blooming again further away from me. Attempting to discern them amounted to trying to pick up raw eggs with my bare hands. However, I picked up enough to suggest whatever force bound them here obeyed the current master of the house. Also, he wanted freedom or oblivion, not to possess anyone or cause harm. No guarantee he’d stay benign after release, since those in captivity often had desperate thoughts.
But… I did give my word back in the gym.
As far as the shadow figure knew, I merely had to collect the floating candles from the corridors that served as wards to block them in. He trailed after me as I made the rounds, grabbing candle after candle. Once I plucked the thirteenth one out of the air and added it to the stack, he bowed, spread his arms, and disappeared in a shimmer that I now recognized to mean he’d gone up to a different dimension.
Well, there’s that. Guess he wasn’t lying. He won’t be causing any trouble in this world.
I waited a moment for the others to leave, then re-hung the floating candles where they’d been. The house might need whatever protection they afforded as they could easily have been keeping other things out.
That done, I made my way toward the sound of voices. Fang and the two realtors stood in the enormous kitchen. The agents discussed the particulars of the sale while Fang chatted up the old couple, evidently adoring them. Seems I made a good decision to ask him about the place.
My phone rang within seconds of inserting myself into their conversation.
“Ugh. Hang on.” I pulled it out and answered. “Hello?”
“Sam… we need to talk,” said Max… or Archibald Maximus, the alchemist.
Uh oh. I didn’t like the tone in his voice. It made me feel too much like a kid in trouble. Or maybe that came from my guilty conscience. “Okay. I’ll be right there. Just need to wrap up a quick thing here.”
“All right. This is important.”
“I understand, Max. How urgent is it?”
“Tomorrow is fine.”
After hanging up, I spent another few hours with the realtors and Fang, and we shook hands on a verbal commitment to do the deal. The paperwork would take weeks, but we’d gotten the ball rolling.
***
Speaking of change… you know what feels super bizarre? Sleeping at night.
Whatever I’ve become, I’m not beholden to a nocturnal schedule anymore. I still evidently require sleep, but ever since my experience outside the third dimension, I’ve been waking up after only four-ish hours. I still don’t dream, and as soon as I make a deliberate effort to go to sleep, it’s exactly like my vampiric rest had been—zonk straight out.
Since I’ve apparently decided to wake up early now, I’d gotten back into the habit of fixing an actual breakfast for the kids. They’ve been unsure how to handle me wide awake in the morning. Ever since they’d been tiny, they’ve had to deal with me being barely coherent before late afternoon. For most of their lives, me forcing myself up and about during the day resulted in my being more or less a high-functioning zombie.
Once they were off to school, I hurried out the door for my meeting with Max. I’d say anxiety over this meeting had something to do with me only getting four hours of sleep, but I don’t think my sleep works that way anymore.
***
I strolled into the library, cringing at the overwhelming darkness in the air around the books.
Yeah, they’d felt bad before, but the chilling doom they threw off seemed far more intense. I suspected that without Elizabeth inside my head, the energy in them viewed me as hostile, or at least as a complete stranger. Maybe, too, since I’d regained body heat and my heart now worked like it should, I’d become more sensitive to evil of this magnitude. It’s difficult to give a corpse a chill after all. Also, I knew she’d been responsible for binding some of the entities within the books, which might account for why they no longer called out to me.
Thank God...
Archibald Maximus strolled urgently over. For an instant, I expected him to grab me by the arms and give me a verbal lashing for doing something bad, but when he reached me, he simply stared at me with an expression as though I’d run over his dog and laughed about it.
“Oh, this can’t be good,” I said. “Whatever it is.”
“You don’t know?” He blinked.
“Evidently not… though maybe I have some suspicions.”
“Why don’t you tell me what you think you know and I’ll fill in the rest?” He paced around, hands in his pockets, his ever-changing eyes—this time they were gray—flashing.
I explained what happened with the Red Rider, visiting the 99th dimension, and barfing out Elizabeth.
He nodded along as though none of what I said surprised him. At least until I got to the part about my no longer being an undead and evidently having regained the magic I’d been destined to inherit in this reincarnation. When I reached out a hand so he could check my fingernails, he took it gently, studying me like a jeweler.
“Amazing… but I’m afraid things are far worse than you imagined.”
I blinked. “I seriously hope you’re not about to tell me I’m going to die in a few years or something.”
“No. I’m certain you are still as immortal as you were before, for your soul is still fully contained within your corporeal form. Indeed, Father Time is no threat to you, but other things are. They’re a threat, well, to everything.”
“Uh oh. Did I do something bad?”
“Yes.” He sighed. “But, you had no idea. She played on your compassion. And, she had me fooled as well, so I can’t fault you. While I’m sure my mother had no control over that Red Rider, she knew he would eventually reach a point of starvation where he would begin preying on children.”
“He preyed on children the whole time,” I snapped, a little nastier than I meant to. “Sixteen is still a child.”
“Yes, yes, but a ten-year-old angered you beyond reason. By destroying him and releasing magic back into the world, you inadvertently gave my mother the means to break down the barriers of the Void. All the Dark Masters that had been imprisoned in there will soon be free… and they’re in the process of doing what my mother did... manifesting into their own bodies.”
“Ah, shit.” I flinched, only half contrite. No way could I have allowed Annie to die, especially such a torturous death.
Max bowed his head. “I am not upset with you. I’m upset that Elizabeth and her underlings are free from the Void.”
“I had no idea… I merely destroyed a source of incalculable evil.”
“My mother knew you. She knew everything about you. The Red Rider preyed on children. What wounds your heart more than anything? People who harm kids. While you did do the world a great service, you have unwittingly unleashed…” He let off a heavy sigh. “We’re in for a war, Sam. It’s going to get nasty.”
“How long do we have?”
“It will take my mother some time to gather power. A few years… maybe as many as ten. Maybe as few as one. Considering how patient she had been to let her plan play out, I imagine she will not be rushing into anything. She made that mistake once.”
“What happened?”
“She wound up in the Void.”
“What of the other creatures of the world? The werewolves and mermaids and even the Lichtenstein monsters? Will their dark masters flee their hosts, as well?”
“I doubt they can. They knew the consequences of taking possession early on, leading the charge so to speak. But that does not mean they are happy with it. Undoubtedly, some will do all they can to end the lives of their hosts.”
I nodded. “Freeing them to take their own form again.”
“Indeed, Sam.”
“And what of those who are, you know, happy with the current set up?” I knew, for instance, that Kingsley had an agreement with the entity within him. He fed the bastard rotten meat each month, and in turn, the entity left him alone. Kingsley also spoke once or twice of his past mermaid wife who’d had a real friendship with her dark master.
Maximus read my thoughts like a pro. “The mermaid of which you speak is known to me, as are others of her kind. Many host dark masters from another epoch, another set of circumstances, and they have no dog in my mother’s fight. I understand you have several close immortal friends. Watch them, Samantha. They are in danger.”
“And the only way for such dark masters to leave a host is through death?”
“Precisely. In your case, the blast of magic did the job. Few will ever come across such conditions again.”
I didn’t know much about the dark master inside Fang. Perhaps my friend could strike a deal with the guy... give him what he wants within reason. But, I guess, that also meant Fang would join sides with Elizabeth. Or he could just remain strong and...
“Vigilant,” added Max. “I see in your mind’s eye that the one you call Fang has allowed his dark master to temporarily take him over. A poor decision. It wouldn’t be very difficult for his dark master, in full control of Fang’s body, to drive a silver dagger into his heart. Indeed, your friend is in grave danger.”
“Unless his dark master wants nothing to do with the coming war.”
“There’s always that chance.”
“But it’s doubtful,” I added glumly.
“My mother and her cohort Cornelius have promised their followers immortality... and so far have delivered. In return, they demand loyalty.”
“War huh…” I glanced at the shelves of dark books, then at my pinkish hands. They had color now. Color. “Count me in.”
Max offered a wan smile. “I’d have expected nothing less from you.”
“Oh did you notice anything?” I leaned closer to him, showing off my face.
He studied me for a few seconds, then subtly shook his head. Of course, being his mother’s son, he was arguably the second or third strongest telepath and could have read my mind. But he didn’t out of common courtesy. Or didn’t let on that he had.
“A suntan.” I smiled, despite my nervousness at the coming storm.
“Looks good on you, Samantha Moon. You know, I can’t say I’ve ever encountered a being such as you.”
“I’m special like that.”
A warm smile finally broke through his gloom. “A true angel.”
“Nah.” I winked. “Only about a quarter.”
The End
Samantha Moon returns in:
Dead Moon
Vampire for Hire #17
Available now!
Amazon Kindle * Amazon UK * Paperback
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J.R. Rain is the international bestselling author of over seventy novels, including his popular Samantha Moon and Jim Knighthorse series. His books are published in five languages in twelve countries, and he has sold more than 3 million copies worldwide.
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