Edit: When I uploaded the chapter, for reasons unknown to me, random words were strung together without spaces. I've gone through and think I've corrected all them. I have enough problems with grammar without Editor making things interesting.
"This is such a bad idea," Mickey said, somewhere between a whine and a whimper. He tugged at the collar of his shirt, shivering. The early autumn air already had a bite to it, and the narrow alley only managed to funnel it right down their necks.
"Shut up, you always think it's a bad idea," Covo snapped. "But you never come up with anything better." Despite the iron in her voice, Mickey could tell by the way she twisted her watch round her wrist that she was none too sure of herself.
"Getting backup is an excellent plan!" Mickey protested, but the others ignored him, focusing instead on the vampire they'd cornered. The creature cringed away from them, as if it could burrow into the brick and asphalt.
"Christ," Kai swore, "If we can't take one vampire without backup we're not much of a patrol."
"Yeah," Levi agreed tugging on his brow piercing. "We wanted to be taken seriously. If we go running back now…."
"Besides the pack'll look weak if we let little vampiesrun all over us," Kai pointed out.
"So we're agreed, we have to take her in," Covo indicated the vamp with her chin. There was a long silence in which nobody moved. "Anytime now, guys."
"You first; this was your idea," Mickey said, backing up a little.
"Oh for fuck's sake. Here, give me your belt- you too Levi," she demanded. Mickey complied quickly and Levi followed suit though a bit more reluctantly. She approached the vamp, who went even paler but seemed otherwise unthreatening. She looked young- not that that really mattered when dealing with vampires, about seventeen, pale brown hair, average looks. She could have been one of the thousands of waifs in the city, except for the stench of the supernatural about her, and her slightly oversized incisors.
"Be careful- they bite," Mickey barked. Covo rolled her eyes and efficiently bound the unresisting vampire's wrists and ankles.
"That's okay. So do I. Levi, could you bring the car around? I'm afraid we'd be a little conspicuous dragging her around. Kai, you stay with me." Levi nodded and trotted off.
"And me?" Mickey inquired.
"Whatever." Covo flicked her dreds over her shoulder dismissively.
"I'll stay and help."
It was a tense wait until Levi returned. None of them had a good explanation if the police showed up, not that there was a particular risk of that in this part of town. Though they would have been able to evade capture pretty easily, but they wouldn't be able to do it without making a scene- something werewolves tried to avoid at all costs. Luckily, the familiar blue van pulled around and the vampire was unceremoniously tossed in the back.
"Move an inch, and I rip your throat out," Levi warned.
"That won't kill me,"came the petulant voice; the first thing the vampire had said since its capture.
"Yeah," Levi agreed, "But it'll fucking hurt."
Mickey alternated between scanning the roads for police cruisers- Levi's somewhat erratic driving would surely get them pulled over- and keeping an eye on their captive, who was currently looking surly. When they made it outside of the city, Mickey breathed a little easier; now they had room to fight if they needed to. The pack estate was set in a wooded area, a large tract of land where they could stretch their legs, so to speak. He hadn't been a werewolf long, but he could hardly remember a time when he wasn't. His former life seemed very far away. Just as well, really- he'd always hated it. His parents hadn't been particularly fond of their introverted, scholarly child. It had been easy to lose himself in learning and books, taking the advanced classes, graduating early. His life had been shaping up to be the completely ordinary life of a genius astrophysicist, until a girl had walked into it and changed everything. She'd been a werewolf, and offered him the chance to join her pack. It was science fiction- hackneyed, overdone science fiction at that- but it was also true. And along with Levi, Covo and Kai, Mickey was inducted into the Audacia pack and a war for territory. They'd won, but the cost had been high and they were now limping along, trying to hold a decimated pack together and protect hard won territory. Which is where their little bloodsucking friend came in. Vampires preferred to hunt and live alone, mostly staying out of the way of werewolf packs. Occasionally though, ambitious vampires could bully or cajole others into a coven; the trade in human blood was high and monopolies could be quite profitable. The Audacia pack at its height could easily take on a coven, but they were vulnerable now, still recovering, and a well-organized coven could actually be a threat. This particular vampire seemed more pathetic than anything else- but why take a chance?
At last the van turned onto the long unpaved driveway that signaled they were home. The house came into view through the trees. 'House' was something of an understatement considering the palatial proportions of the thing. There were just over a hundred members of the Audacia pack and all of them lived here. At their peak the number would be closer to two or three hundred. The mansion looked like it belonged in old world Europe, not Illinois, at least on the outside. The inside seemed more college dorm than manor, albeit with sweeping staircases and a ballroom. Mickey still got lost sometimes.
The pack's Thain, Vexin, was waiting for them as they piled out of the van. He was a tall man, with dark hair and eyes, and an angular almost harsh face. He looked older now, though Mickey knew he hadn't actually aged any; an effect of the dark circles and slightly haunted look. He was still an imposing figure, though, and effortlessly commanded respect and the obedience of his pack. His slight smile of greeting turned quizzical as they hauled their captive.
"What's this?"
"A vampire we found on our territory, Thain," Covo started, unofficial spokesman for their small clique, grabbing the creature by the scruff of the neck and hauling it to its feet for inspection. She nearly fell over again, what with the bound feet, but she steadied her, none too gently.
"A vampire?" The Thain looked at the vampire critically, clearly not impressed. "Why didn't you just chase it off?"
There was an acutely uncomfortable silence in which many, many accusatory glances were exchanged. "We, uh, thought it best if we brought it back for interrogation."
The Thain looked slowly at each of them, as if unsure whether or not they were kidding. Finally, he settled his hands on his hips and said "Well…great job, you guys. Get to it, and let me know if you learn anything interesting" in a voice that implied that he very much doubted that they would, but that he thought it was cute that they were going to try. Mickey realized just how ridiculous they must have looked to Vexin- a bunch of kindergartners who'd drug home a half-dead bird and expected praise.
"You want us to torture it?" he exclaimed.
Vexin shrugged, already turning and heading back into the house. "You kids do what you have to," he called over his shoulder.
They stood for a moment, looking at each other.
Covo sighed heavily. "We could put her in the basement."
"You guys suck," the vampire said. None of them argued.
Cates glowered down at his cowering minion. Well, the minion wasn't actually 'cowering' per se. And Shelly would probably object to being called 'minion', but never mind that. He tried to focus on what she was saying. The technicalities could be worked out later. He'd had no idea being a master vampire would be this much work. But unfortunately is seemed to consist of alternately cajoling and bullying weaker vamps into obeying him and not being completely stupid. Not nearly as much seducing of innocent virgins as he'd hoped. In fact he wasn't getting any more now than he had when he was still mortal. Oh shit, Shelly was still talking.
"….And we think she might have run into the local werewolf pack- Audacia, I think." She paused and looked at him expectantly.
He scrambled to look all-knowing, or at least like he'd been paying attention. "Ah, yes. Well, werewolves. We haven't had too much trouble with them…right?"
Shelly rolled her eyes. Uppity minion."They've been too busy rumbling over territory with another pack to worry about us. Not that they need to." That last bit was muttered under her breath but well within vampiric hearing. He'd have to see to her; she was becoming incorrigible. But she was his best minion, the only intelligent one. And cute too, with the windblown blond hair and green eyes.... It was a shame she wouldn't sleep with him. Wasn't he good enough? He was a master vampire- that used to mean something, people used to respect their lord and master. He was just warming to the rant when he realized Shelly was looking at him again.
"So? What is your bidding, O Master?" He elected to ignore the sarcasm. "Do we abandon Lydia? She wasn't the greatest member, kind of obnoxious really, but it seems a bit harsh to leave her to the wolves. Literally."
He raked a hand through his dark curls, further mussing his already rather mussed hair. "It we can't take them on head to head, then we'll have to be crafty. Brain over brawn and all that."
"And how is that exactly?"
"Well…they've taken one of our loyal number, so…we kidnap one of theirs…?" That made sense. "Then we can offer to trade hostages."
She set her hands on her hips and considered his plan skeptically. "Do you have any particular method for capturing a werewolf? They do tend to stick together."
He'd been pacing and turned to look at her it a way he hoped was vaguely imposing and not vaguely constipated. Not that vampires got constipated. "Honestly, Shelly. You can't expect me to do everything for you. I came up with the plan; surely you can manage the petty details."
Shelly examined a long pink fingernail, and apparently finding it acceptable, she looked up and sniffed. "Right, well, I'll get right on that."
Cates waited until Shelly had made her exit to collapse into his favorite worn recliner with a heavy sigh. He pinched the bridge of his nose and desperately wished alcohol could intoxicate vampires. Being a master vampire had not been one of his career goals; it'd just sorta happened. He'd come to the city, still mortal, and desperate for a change from the mind-numbing boredom of small town Illinois. Well, he'd gotten a change, alright. A random guy in a bar had turned out to be more than he'd seemed and with little more than an introduction and very little ceremony inducted Cates into the ranks of the undead. Cates had quickly learned that immortality was not nearly all it was cracked up to be. Yeah, there were some seriously kickass perks: speed, strength, night sight- but there were also some serious drawbacks. The sun was now an enemy, though not as fatal as movies would have you believe. And honestly, there wasn't much to do with all the time he'd gained. Most jobs were impossible, and getting meals was a pain. Cates didn't like hunting, and had never even killed a human. Ironically, the blood that fed him also made him a bit squeamish. Though there were always Goth kids all too willing to tangle with a creature of the night, they got very tiresome very quickly. So he was a stuck hanging around drinking ineffective whiskey and watching Passions. It was the very life he'd been trying to avoid as a human.
Perhaps it'd been that frustration and disillusionment that had spurred him on to get in a fight with a vampire fifty years his senior. Vampires grew in strength as they aged; by all rights, it should have been Cates who got ploughed into the pavement. Cates hadn't even meant to fight. He'd come across the other vampire roughing up a girl in an alley; something had clicked on in his head and the next thing he knew the other vampire was a bloody pulp and his knuckles really hurt. The vamp had limped out of town and Cates had earned a reputation. The girl had been Shelly; she'd become his first minion, employee, whatever.
Since then, he'd gathered a lose gang of vampires too bored, lonely, or weak to remain by themselves. It wasn't glamorous, they were neither rich nor hot, like vampires always seemed to be in the movies (Cates was thinking of suing Hollywood for false advertising). But bossing them around gave him something to do. And it was a helluva lot more interesting than Passions. He didn't have any real ambitions, no plots for world domination or anything. Right now, he was just trying to get by. And he would too, if his minions weren't stupid enough to get captured by werewolves.
Christ, werewolves. How cliché.