Elegant Death Read online

  Elegant Death

  Book Two

  The Vampires of Rock and Roll Series

  By M.L. Bullock

  Text copyright © 2020 M.L. Bullock

  All rights reserved

  She walks in beauty, like the night

  Of cloudless climes and starry skies;

  And all that’s best of dark and bright

  Meet in her aspect and her eyes;

  Thus mellowed to that tender light

  Which heaven to gaudy day denies.

  One shade the more, one ray the less,

  Had half impaired the nameless grace

  Which waves in every raven tress,

  Or softly lightens o’er her face;

  Where thoughts serenely sweet express,

  How pure, how dear their dwelling-place.

  And on that cheek, and o’er that brow,

  So soft, so calm, yet eloquent,

  The smiles that win, the tints that glow,

  But tell of days in goodness spent,

  A mind at peace with all below,

  A heart whose love is innocent!

  She Walks in Beauty

  Lord Byron,1814

  Dedication

  To all the little rockers.

  Chapter One--The Creep

  1978

  Another concert, another hunt. The crashing of drums and screeching of guitars made my hunting all the sweeter. The heartbeats of mortals were as predictable as those of cornered rabbits. They thumped and banged all around me making their own concerto. Their living bodies responded to vibrations, to sound rather instinctually, and without any consciousness of such activity. They had no consciousness about the workings of their own hearts--or their souls for that matter. What did I know of souls?

  I lost mine long ago on the shores of an island lost to time.

  Nothing changed much in the human world, I observed sourly, as I watched one male stroke the arm of an interested female--unbeknownst to his current mate. Mortals were always reaching, grasping, taking. Not much better than grunting primates, to my mind. They assumed their own superiority not realizing that they were the weakest of creatures. Humans continue to covet their neighbor’s wives and feasted regularly upon their unholy thoughts and went about like worker bees as if their lives mattered. Humans were bees with no queen to reward them for their toil.

  Ah, but I had a queen.

  Loved and hated. Revered and reviled. Queens could be all those things although I dare not express any of those emotions. Dared not even think her name for that would assuredly spark her interest and I was too sour of a mood to draw attention to myself. She could hear my thoughts, as I could sometimes hear hers. That is our fatal flaw I think. We live forever but our thoughts are never our own. Someone was always listening.

  Oh, but it wouldn’t pay for Queen Alice to hear me now. The queen did enjoy her mortal lovers and she had many. At least she was more selective these past few centuries and for good reason. Queen Alice had her throat cut. By Emerus, her choice of consort before this one. But his blade had not severed the queen’s head. She’d come back with a bloody vengeance.

  And after? Oh, it had been a time bathed in blood. Almost as bloody as Hungary during her brief rein. Hungary would never forget Countess Bathory. No, not quite that bad. I had been there too, still young in my immortality, young in my naivety. I believed her promises in the beginning, that Alice would raise me up to rule at her right hand but we had our moment in the sun.

  I couldn’t help but laugh at the irony of that phrase.

  Fog machines noisily forced synthetic smoke out of their black tubes as the band’s music took on even darker tones. How I loved this age and the music of lust and anger. We were building a kingdom, the queen reminded me recently. And upon this angry worship we would build wide and deep. The Frenzied will be the masters of this age!

  A kingdom built on music and worship and everything we need to rule, Nikolai.

  Nikolai...

  A name I rarely heard anymore save coming from her wine-colored lips.

  I preferred the name of my choosing--the Creep. Let me have no mortal name. I smiled at the cavorting young females; they did love their new king, even though they did not know of his new royal status. They chanted, “Rex! Rex! We want Rex!” This was the part of the show where the band pretended to be finished but they were merely toying with the screaming young people. The band gathered off stage to smoke their choice drugs, to consume alcohol or blood while they waited for the cries to reach epic proportions. It was dark in here now, oh so dark. The lights were dimmed and I felt alive. So very alive! What rich irony! I smiled at that thought and remembered to keep my eyes cast down or else they would flicker. They would sparkle with excitement. The lights would pop back on any moment to signify the continuation of the performance.

  Rex! Rex! Bring us Rex Teaser!

  They wanted him--demanded him. No, there had been nothing like this in previous centuries.

  Alice, Alice.

  I thought her name as hunger for her rose within me. Not merely in my groin but also in my slow, thumping heart. Oh yes, I still had a heart. But it was only for my queen. Queen Alice, as she was known now among the Frenzied, was here tonight to enjoy the festivities. How she loved to dip her pale toes in the tempting waters of the mortal world.

  I sometimes wondered if she secretly hoped to recapture her lost humanity. Perish the thought, I mused as I stepped over a sleeping partier. I growled at him and did not bother hiding my sharp teeth. The inebriated man would be crushed by the throng if someone did not move him. I would like to see that.

  Queen Alice, you are brilliant, my royal one. Look at this. I could drink him now and no one would know or notice.

  She did not answer but I sensed her annoyance with me. When I first met the queen, I thought her another statue. Like the blue marble statue perched in the inlet of my homeland. She stood next to it and the sight of her surprised me. Yes, a statue except her long dark hair blew in the sea breeze. There were no stars that night. Only fog rolling in off the sea. She had taken me without much fight, but I did not die. She drained me and left me abandoned on the shore, but I resisted Death.

  As it turned out, I was not merely a mortal, a source of warm blood for the Frenzied of whom I knew nothing then. Later I would understand that I was no Sustainer either. I was something else altogether.

  Yes. Something else altogether. And that is why I should be king!

  I was strong and I sought her out easily after my rising. Her blood, the tiny amount she had deposited in me as she sucked me dry made me immortal.

  Forever living, forever hungry.

  Forever needing her.

  I knew from the beginning that it was a rare privilege to be made by someone as strong as the Queen of the Frenzied!

  She had given me the gift of eternal life. But it was up to me to avoid being stabbed, burnt, or otherwise vanquished by one of these crafty humans. What a funny word. Hu-man.

  Thump, thump, thump.

  The drums tapped threateningly and the audience cried out for more. Oh, the band would come back; they always did. Of course, they would. Taking an encore was nothing new but it always amused me. The enraptured audience screamed with delight as the drums tapped harder. The bass guitarist strummed a few ominous notes. A red light flicked on, and then another. Soon, the stage appeared awash with blood. Somewhere in the not too far distance, a woman screamed. The crowd answered with a collective and excited howl.

  What fools these mortals be. Ah, Shakespeare. He would have made a suitable vampire.

  With my inner eye, I explored around me, searching diligently for Levi or his mother. Or the other one. Jackson was of no true merit except for he had escaped Crush with his life. It was no ma
tter. He would be no more. Who knew what plans the queen would have for him? Or this Levi and Naomi.

  Ah, Naomi. I once knew a woman named Naomi. She had been quite mad in a beautiful way. Such deplorable things. I did not need to inspire her to do evil for her soul was made of darkness. Yes, over the centuries, she had been the most notable. The only human whose company I could deign to share.

  Enough with these faraway memories.

  I did not have a sentimental bone in my undead body.

  Levi would come. Eventually, he would come and I would be ready for him. How Levi avoided me and the other searchers for so long was a mystery but he clearly had help from someone who knew us. Knew the ways of the Frenzied. Orders had been given—I had given them in her name. All betrayers would die tonight, regardless of the danger. Anyone suspected of working to hide Levi and his mother would meet their doom.

  I stood in the center of the auditorium watching the lights flash; thick smoke rose to the ceiling. The band strutted and strolled across the stage like the jesters of old. Thousands of worshipers exclaimed their fierce love for Rex, Bryce, and the others. My, what a cacophonous sound! What an absolute luxury to experience.

  A smile stretched across my face as I watched the sensuous captor dance in her cage. The cage had been my idea. Literally living bait. And her name suggested her fate...Lisa Dance. It came to me as the queen pondered over what to do with this morsel.

  She would be the siren call, the reason for Levi to return to us. That is what I told Queen Alice but something entirely different stirred in me. Lisa Dance had power, over nothing and no one, except perhaps some dead part of me.

  No, you are the Creep. That is who you must remain.

  At the appointed time, Rex removed the key ring from his oversized belt and strode over to the cage to release his captive. She would obey him for she wanted Levi as much as we did.

  The females in the audience screamed with jealousy as Rex opened the door and led Lisa out of her golden prison. This whole scene was a tribute to their much played song Golden Doll. She was a lovely girl with her dark hair and well-shaped lambs. She spun as Rex sang; she did not need to be coerced into cavorting, she heard music in her brain. The music demanded obedience. Lisa adored music, all kinds, especially the music of the Black Knights.

  More’s the pity for her. She will enjoy a short lifetime of listening to it. However long that might be.

  Why did that make me feel such bleakness?

  After a long session of undulating and writhing around his muscular body, Lisa collapsed in the rocker’s arms. Rex played up the scene by scooping her up and carrying her around the stage, as she laid her head limply on his shoulder. He carried his microphone too and sang about possessing the Golden Doll. The crowds screamed in unison. They were roaring. Lisa’s mind buzzed with many thoughts but none of them were of escape. She thought of school, her parents, her dog and sometimes her runaway boyfriend. Most of the time she pondered her own questionable future.

  Even when alive I could read the minds of others. As poor as I had been and on so remote an island did I live, I never thought much about this ability. And now here I was, nearly six hundred years later reading this mortal’s mind. Ah, Lisa Dance, the human trap that would bring us the strongest Sustainer the Frenzied had ever seen. Why? Why did I care to listen in on her thoughts?

  To make things more interesting, I could feel Alice watching me, but I did not have to glance in her direction. She wasn't far away. She would be observing her king and all the mortals in her red hooded coat. One day soon, she would insist Rex place a throne on the stage for her. Queen Alice allowed him to have his worship now, but that would not satisfy her forever. Rex returned Lisa to her cage where she commenced dancing just as before.

  The show was ending and there was no sign of the Sustainer but there would always be another show.

  I had no doubt he would come. But not yet. The show ended and the magical combination of canned lights and fog vanished as the stadium’s lights came on and the fans of the Black Knights streamed out of the place, many of them high or drunk, all of them were thoroughly entertained.

  Hordes of humans would be backstage offering themselves to Rex Teaser soon, but there will also be treats for the Frenzied too. A few of us, only a few of the Frenzied would satiate themselves tonight but we had to be careful now. We had to be very careful.

  Loomis! What was that detective doing here? Did he think he could come up against us and live?

  I cocked my head slightly although it wasn't necessary. I saw him very well with my inner eye. Oh, but I wanted to lay eyes on him and for him to see me. Let me see this human who dared think he could unravel the workings of the Frenzied. Yes, Loomis was a stupid man. I shook my dark hair and growled at him but he did not notice. His mind was full of stupid thoughts. The girl beside me whimpered and got out of my way.

  Alice’s voice filled my head.

  Nikolai, come now.

  With one last glance at Loomis, I swung around and slid through the crowd without much struggle. It was very simple to do that, I used the powers of my mind to project negative thoughts ahead of me. Humans were sensitive to negative energy, even though they didn't acknowledge the power of such things or express it. They chalked up those feelings to deja vu or rabbits running down their spine. As I envisioned a cone of unhappiness before me, my path cleared just as it would have for any celebrity. Or a king.

  Let Rex Teaser pen his ridiculous song. Let him put our vision, a vision for our bloody world, on paper.

  I will be the one to use its power.

  I would be the true king of rock 'n' roll.

  Chapter Two--Virgil

  If my information was correct and I had no reason to believe that it wasn't, my son was hiding out at Jimmy's Burrell’s place. More specifically his grow shack. It was amazing how kids thought you didn't know what they were up to when you weren’t around. Levi had always been one to push the envelope. But I guess I had to share in some of the blame. I’d been out of his life for well over a year, more than that if I was totally honest. But this wasn’t the time for shrink talk or navel picking. Levi was a grown-ass man and he could make his own decisions.

  The problem was he usually made pretty bad ones. Much like his old man.

  Yep. Coming here, believing the Frenzied would be afraid of some fluorescent weed lights was a stupid assumption! Fake lighting didn’t faze vampires. Thank God Agent Ford came by to see me. It was Ford that told me about Levi’s encounter with Alice. He’d escaped, but for how long? Once the Frenzied knew you were a Sustainer, you couldn’t avoid them. They could smell you in ways I could not understand. You couldn’t disappear into the woods or into a sea of people. It was as if a world full of bloodhounds--vicious bloodhounds with a thirst for your particular blood were hunting you. They would certainly come for Levi.

  In the beginning, I begged Ford to bring my family here, but as always he refused saying it was too risky. I was making too much progress, my work was too important. My blood was needed to defeat the Frenzied. Finally, he suggested that it was better for them to stay put. How could he think that leaving them in the crosshairs of the Frenzied could possibly be the best thing to do? I pleaded and begged, promised and cajoled but at the end Agent Ford confessed the decision was out of his hands. He couldn’t get permission to bring Levi, Debbie, and Naomi here. They were to stay where they were, but the agency would keep an eye on them.

  Agent Ford was good like that, dropping me disturbing information from time to time. Like my wife had taken up with the neighbor again--the kid was half my age--and my son sold my car. The old Virgil Wallace would have shrugged these responsibilities off. Once upon a time, I cared about no one but myself. Naomi had been right about me in that regard, but that was before I made that horrible delivery.

  Before I understood how fragile and precious life was for humanity. Now I knew what these creatures were capable of I could not forget it. Before I understood what this meant for my fa
mily—and all living people. No way would good old Agent Ford have any idea that I would do something reckless. None whatsoever. But I was tired of being as reliable as bran flakes. I could no longer sit back and wait for this story to come to an end. This was my life, my family! Breaking out of the Lab, stealing the van, heading back to my hometown, this was all on me.

  And the agency knew nothing about my spying on my family, or at least they didn't let on if they did. It was wrong to spy on people--that's what the government tells us, but when it's your family and you're worried about a pack of crazed vampires murdering them in their sleep, well then yeah. You'd be spying on them too.

  That's what I intended to say if anyone ever busted me listening in on the occasional conversations, but no one ever did. I’d heard nothing remotely relevant, except Naomi’s feeble attempts at finding a job and Levi’s dirty talk with Lisa.

  I wheeled the white van behind Jimmy's ramshackle house as quietly as possible. It was a newer model government vehicle so it ran quietly and thankfully it had a full tank of gas. It was fifty miles from the Lab, I was surprised the folks in white coats weren’t waiting there to greet me.

  Whatever.

  I didn’t care what they thought about my van jacking, my family was coming back with me or I wasn’t going back into that underground prison. I couldn’t live another day knowing I couldn’t protect them. Naomi had made her choices, but I had to do the right thing. Be the father my kids deserved.