Chapter 13

Freddie

C areful to keep his fangs covered, Freddie kissed Anthony. It was gentle, the opposite of the animal need he'd just experienced, but the ferocity wasn't gone completely. It stirred within as he tasted his own salty remains on Anthony's lips. When he broke the kiss, he stared deep into his eyes.

"You make it hard to control myself."

Anthony winked at him, his dimples flashing. "I don't want you to control yourself."

"I need to keep you safe. I shouldn't get distracted."

"Is that what I am? A distraction?" Anthony kept his tone playful, but there was an undercurrent of hurt in his voice.

"No. That's the problem."

"I don't see a problem."

"The problem is I—"

Freddie spun around, pinning Anthony between him and the wall as he faced five young vampires. He'd barely heard them approach, his supernatural senses warning him at the last second. They'd been moving fast, faster than any human could see. It was obvious and dangerous. When they came to a stop, a normal person would see five vamps appearing out of thin air. Vampires had spent centuries learning how best to avoid detection, and these idiots would ruin it for the sake of an entrance.

"What the hell?" Freddie heard Anthony behind him. He didn't think that Anthony had gotten a full view of their lightning-fast appearance, but he must have glimpsed something.

The vamps stood in a line facing Freddie and Anthony, and on the right far end was a familiar bald, goateed motherfucker.

"You two should learn to stay in." He smirked with that ugly, punchable face of his.

"Brian? Are fucking kidding me?" Freddie could tell that Anthony was scared, but it didn't stop his incredulous outburst.

"Miss me?" Brian asked.

Freddie was really looking forward to beating the shit out of him.

The five vampires formed a semi-circle around them, each of them decked out in black leather. From their scent, they were only a decade or two older than the ones that attacked in San Francisco. Three of them were gaunt and ragged, like they hadn't fed in weeks. Although Freddie knew that would make them desperate, it might also make them careless.

"The Kiefer Sutherland cosplay is too much," Freddie said, gesturing to their outfits. "Tell Charles that if he wants to have a chance, he has to stop sending babies."

The female vampire in the middle growled. Freddie assumed she was the leader, although that alone indicated how green the group was. Putting your lead in the obvious front position made it easier for an enemy to take them out.

She growled again, showing her fangs. Shit. Freddie would have to explain this to Anthony somehow. That would have to wait, though, since at the moment three of the vamps were lunging for him at once.

Five against one wouldn't normally be a fair fight, but Freddie had a couple hundred years on the lot of them. The more difficult problem was hiding his identity for Anthony's benefit. He had to limit his fighting to human speed, but he should still be able to keep his opponents at bay.

His senses, heightened from experience and age, enabled him to see the hits coming, and he beat back the three vamps without breaking a sweat. Their bones cracked as he landed a well-placed kick and two punches on sternum, hip, and knee. All three staggered backwards, stunned looks on their faces. They had clearly never encountered an older vampire in combat. They'd heal quicker than a human and be fine by morning, but the pain had shocked them.

The leader advanced on him then, her fangs out, her fingers transforming into deadly sharp claws. Her hair, perfectly coiffed in a Winona Ryderesque 80s bob, flowed in the wind as she moved. She was in better shape than the first three. She looked healthy and hale, rather than starving.

Freddie dodged her slash, the tips of her claws passing an inch from his face. He crouched down and rushed her, slamming into her torso and attempting to throw her away from the fight.

She was solid and immoveable. Freddie's impact didn't have any effect, other than to put him in a vulnerable position as she scratched at his back, her knife-like fingernails leaving deep ruts in his flesh. Freddie grunted. The pain was intense, but he had dealt with pain before.

He knew, however, that he wouldn't be able to keep pretending to be human much longer, not if she continued to give him trouble. But he waited, hoping he might avoid letting Anthony see his true nature.

With lightning speed, as fast as he could move and still look credibly human, he circled her, pushing her off her center and ending up behind her. He wrapped his arms around the front of her, pinning her limbs to her sides to limit the range of her claws.

She bit down on his forearm, hard, piercing his skin and muscle through the fabric of his suit. Freddie staggered from the surprise of the injury, but kept himself locked in place.

That's when he glimpsed Brian out of the corner of his eye. He was coming in from the side, moving fast, squeezing past them to get to Anthony. His fangs were out and his eyes flashed with brutality. He'd reach Anthony before Freddie could stop him if Freddie continued limiting himself to human speed.

For a split second, he froze with indecision, caught between the desire to hide his vampire nature and the need to keep Anthony safe. It was just long enough for Brian to get his hand around Anthony's throat. Anthony whimpered in fear and shock.

With that sound, Freddie was gone.

The red mist appeared in front of his eyes, blurring the world around him, and all noise became a faint echo, as if he were hearing and seeing the world from the bottom of a deep lake. Time lost all meaning as his body moved of its own accord. His impaired senses meant that he couldn't tell what was happening, even as he felt his fangs and claws come into contact with soft flesh. All he knew was the well of rage roiling within him like the caldera of a volcano.

His demon was in charge now. A small part of his brain, kept apart from the overwhelming need to eviscerate, understood that it was his essential vampire nature taking over. He would not be himself again until the demon was sated.

Whether it was seconds or hours later, Freddie couldn't say, but the red seeped away from his vision, and the world came back to him.

On the ground in front of him lay all five vampires, lifeless, their blood pooling around their inert bodies. Closest to him was Brian's headless corpse. He looked down at the object in his hands.

Dead eyes stared up at him from the bald vampire's severed head.