Book One, Chapters 81 to 90

The Vampire's Daughter
Book One
Chapters 81 to 90

Copyright, 2003, 2004, 2005, Reuben Gregg Brewer, all rights reserved.


0081
Sabastian was taken aback by Wayne's statement. He knew that someone had to be the father, but had never expected to meet him. He had, as Elizabeth suspected, begun to think of Susan as his own.

"Well, Wayne, the best way for me to help her now is to help you. You must both leave here as soon as possible."

Then John asked, "O.K., if I believe that someone or group wants to kill us, then who? Who are these people?"

"I believe Wayne already knows, to some degree. They are not human, at least not anymore."

"They are like you, death," Wayne said.

"Death is such an inappropriate term, but yes they are like me."

"They are trying to cover up Jane's murder," Wayne guessed.

"Yes, they are. But, in typical fashion, they have done a poor job of it."

"Then why are you trying to help us?" John asked angrily.

"I do not wish to see more deaths."

"I don't buy it," said John, but as he finished the word “it,” Sabastian had the gun out of his hand and John lifted off the ground by his neck.

With his face barely an inch away from John's, Sabastian said quietly, "Then would you believe that I do not care at all about you, but believe that I may get some use out of you in my efforts to save the girl?"

John made no answer, though, as all he could do was struggle to breath.

"You're hurting him," Wayne said.

Turning to look at Wayne, Sabastian answered, "Yes, I am," and dropped John to the floor.

John, struggling to catch his breath, stood up with his hands on his knees. He choked out, "Was that supposed to make me trust you?"

"No, it was to make you fear me. And to make you understand the peril you will be in should more of my kind come. I assure you, they will make quick work of both of you."

"John, don't be stupid, let's get our things and head out. You're not going to solve this murder if you're dead."

Largely recovered, John said, "I don't know that Sabastian is giving us much of a choice anyway."

"I think I know where we can go, man. I know Claudia will take us in,'' Wayne said to John. Then, to Sabastian, he said, "Claudia is Janet Long's neighbor."

John let out a loud expletive, while Sabastian asked, "Is Susan there now?" He did not let on that he knew Janet.

"No, Janet took her on a trip or something."

"You will tell me where this place is, but I will not go with you. I have other matters to attend to. I will contact you there if needed.

"For now, you must quickly gather your belongings and leave."


0082
"Thomas!" Elizabeth exclaimed with genuine surprise, as she walked to the youngish looking man feeding pigeons in Central Park. "What on Earth are you doing here? And dressed like this."

Thomas looked like a homeless teenager. He was wearing an old overcoat and worn shoes, and was happily feeding the birds flocked about him.

"Elizabeth, this is a surprise. I don't imagine you stumbled across me by chance, so I assume Sol had a hand in this meeting."

"Yes, he did."

"I am not the least bit upset to see you, but Sol wouldn't have told you where to find me unless you needed to speak with me for some reason."

"Yes, I need your guidance."

"Sol seems to think I am good at giving advice, though I think he values my opinion far too highly."

"In this case, I think you're the only one qualified to give advice."

"Well, then, tell me why you are here."

Elizabeth sat down next to her sire and explained what was going on. The dead body, the Enforcers acting without her authority, the death of Dana, and Sabastian and the little girl.

"Now that is quite some tale," Thomas said when she was done. "Do you really believe Sabastian killed this woman?"

"Yes, I do. And I believe he is protecting the girl."

"But such a gross error. It’s rare among our kind, let alone by someone as old as Sabastian. Does that not seem odd?"

"Yes, it does. But all evidence leads to him. I think it ties into the girl. I think she reminds him of his daughter."

"Of course, but his reasons are not at issue, the rules are your concern."

"Yes," she replied.

"The others have taken this opportunity to demand his death."

"Yes."

"And you do not wish it."

"No, I do not wish to see Sabastian killed."

"They will say it is because you made him, that you are unfit to head the Tribunal if you don't enforce the rules equally."

"Yes, they have already insinuated as much."

"My, this is a quandary."

"I’m afraid for the Tribunal, too," Elizabeth said. "If I enforce the rules, I believe a great many of our kind will die trying to kill Sabastian."

"That is very likely."

"If I don’t enforce the rules, I fear the Tribunal will fall and civil war will erupt among our kind."

"That, too, is possible."

"We have decided that all of the humans must die. We remain divided over Sabastian's fate."


0083
"Divided?" Thomas asked rhetorically. "I doubt that, you are the only one who wants to see him live."

"Yes," Elizabeth said. "I suppose I should say I am divided. Either decision seems to lead to death."

"I am afraid my advice will not be very helpful no matter what I say. If you give in to them, you save the Tribunal but weaken your control because they know they can push you around. And, of course, you send many of our kind to a certain death as they try to kill a powerful foe.

"If you allow Sabastian to live, the Tribunal is likely to fall and civil war will ensue, leading to the deaths of many of our kind. To make matters worse, the vast majority of the covens will be allied against you. You, Madam President, will be a target."

"So, what do you think I should do?"

"At one point I believed that Sabastian should be killed. I learned, after sending many to die, that he was a harmless recluse. I find I am more like him than I realized at that point.

"For whatever reason he is involved in this matter, I think he will disappear after it is sorted out.

"I think you are going in the right direction. You must stress the danger of confronting him. They will not listen, but that should not deter you.

"If Dana is dead, Sol is now in charge of the Enforcers. Do not be afraid to use this to your advantage. If you need to, kill your fellow leaders and install others that will follow you more loyally.

"If any covens rebel, squash them. Kill them all. The Enforcers are a powerful tool, use them," Thomas said.

"You are suggesting that I start the civil war?"

"No, that you stop it before it begins."

"Is this what you would have done?" asked Elizabeth.

"No. When I was leading the Tribunal, I would have tried to kill Sabastian."

"And yet you tell me to save him?"

"I am wiser now."

"And what about the girl? Sabastian will try to save her."

"I don't doubt that, but what does it really matter. Kill her or not, your biggest concern right now is maintaining control. You must exert your power. If the girl escapes, so be it. The covens will lose interest in little girls very quickly when they think their lives are in danger."

"I am afraid that you have more conviction than I," Elizabeth said quietly.

"Perhaps, but I trust you will do what is necessary. I only hope you listen to your feelings more than I did. I was a slave to the laws even when I disagreed with them. Now I regret many of the actions I took.

"Our laws do not allow us to ask why something was done. It only matters that it was done. Break a law and suffer the consequences. This is too harsh. I knew it then, but I followed them just the same.

"These were the laws of the Old World. I knew no others. Because of this, I killed many of our kind that were caring and compassionate. That acted to help others at the risk of their own lives. I killed those that made mistakes. I killed too many. I killed far too many."

"Sol said that time had changed you. He was correct. But, Thomas," Elizabeth said touching his sad face, "I think you have changed for the better." She stood up and left.


0084
John and Wayne arrived at Claudia's apartment in a little less than half an hour. When she opened the door, she took one look at them and said, "It has begun."

"What?" Wayne asked. "What has begun?"

"Come in," Claudia said with a wave, "I make tea."

Both men sat down, but didn't talk. They knew from Sabastian that something was happening, but Claudia's comment sent chills down their spines.

"Do you remember dream?" Claudia asked walking back into the room after boiling some water.

"Yes," Wayne answered, as she poured him tea.

"The lions, they protect little girl."

"Yes."

"But from what?" she asked him.

"I don't know."

"I tell you she is special girl, they will try to kill her because of what she know."

"Who are they?" asked John.

"Those like Sabastian," Claudia said.

"Death," Wayne said under his breath. “He spoke with us tonight.”

"You expect me to believe that we have a city full of dead people running around playing human and looking for your daughter," John shot at him. "What are they mummies?"

"Vampires," Claudia answered.

"Oh come on," John exclaimed, "I don't believe this!"

"Explain how strong Sabastian was," Wayne demanded. "Explain away the first meetings you had with him. You can't."

"There has to be a rational explanation, one that doesn't involve things that go bump in the night."

"Sabastian is like them, but he is different," Claudia stated. "He does not give in to the blood lust. His heart is too strong, the love he shares with Susan too deep.

"Tell me, what did he say to you?"

"He told us we had to get out, to hide because more like him were coming," Wayne answered. "He said that they would kill us and that he was using us to save Susan."


0085
The rest of the night John, Wayne, and Claudia spent in relative silence.

John refused to believe that vampires were roaming the city looking for a little girl. He felt that there had to be a rational explanation, a human explanation.

Wayne, still working the drugs out of his system, fell asleep on the couch.

Claudia, seemingly unfazed by the news, busied herself around her apartment for awhile, but eventually said, "I need go buy food. You stay with Wayne. I be back soon."

"Sure, I've got nothing better to do," John replied.

After she left, John looked at Wayne and thought.

He replayed all of the events in his mind: The joke he made with the photographer about vampires making the headlines; His odd meetings with Sabastian; The bum and her tale. Nothing seemed to make any sense.

Weighing most heavily, however, was the fact that everyone involved with the case was dead. Everyone except him, Sabastian, and the girl.

"There has to be a logical solution to all of this. A sick cult or a well-connected freak, something. I don't buy vampires," he mumbled.

"Vampires are wives tales for old women like Claudia and kids like Wayne," he thought.

He ran things around and around in his head until Claudia returned from the store. Instinctively he jumped up and helped her with the bags.

In the kitchen, he said, "Claudia, I'm going to head out for a walk. I'm feeling a bit cooped up."

"Yes, go. But be careful. Death live in the night."

"Yeah, I'll be careful."

As soon as John left the building, he pulled out his cell phone and dialed his captain; The Chief, as John called him.

"Hey Chief," he said as soon as he heard a groggy hello.

"John, how are you? You still on the East Coast?"

"Uh, not quite."

"What does that mean?" the Chief asked with two or three expletives thrown in. It was obvious that he was now fully awake.

"I'm in New York. I think I have a lead in that case."

"I knew it was too good to be true. I knew you wouldn't listen to me.

"Well," the Chief continued, "you made your choice. I did the best I could.

"Let's get this over with. Tell me what you've got."

Desperate for a rational opinion, John ignored the tone in his mentor's voice and told him everything.

"So you don't have the girl?" the Chief asked.

"Not yet, but I think I will soon."

"Call me as soon as you have her."


0086
As John hung up the phone, Wayne woke from his dream screaming.

"Child, child," Claudia said as she rushed to his side. "What is it?" she asked stroking his forehead. His shirt and hair were wet from sweating, and his face was red as if he had been straining.

"The dream, it was the dream," he answered, getting his senses back.

"Tell me." Claudia said.

Wayne explained that the dream started the same, but this time he escaped from the cage. In the dream, he pulled and pushed the bars until they started to bend. The more he worked at the bars, the more they opened. After what seemed like an eternity, they bent enough for him to slip through. As he stepped out of the cage, though, he found that he was no longer a monkey, that he was now a lion cub.

The lioness came to him and welcomed him. She told him that he had much to learn yet not much time. She took him to his daughter, but as they approached, the creatures swooped in and took his little girl.

The lions watching stood in awe, there was nothing they could do. Then the monsters came and took all but the sleeping lion. It was as if they didn’t dare to disturb the sleeping lion. The monsters seemed afraid of the sleeping lion.

The lions and the little girl were put into a cage, but it was different than the first cage. This cage was like a labyrinth. The lions all tried to find a way out of the maze, but it seemed like every turn led to a dead end. The little girl, however, was calm. She seemed to know more than the others, but would not speak about what she knew. She almost looked sorry for the lions. Eventually, Wayne stopped looking for a way out and asked his daughter, "What do you know?"

The girl answered, "Do not get upset over me, I will be O.K. You need to worry about yourselves." That was when Wayne woke up.

"This is bad," Claudia said, as John came back into the apartment.

"What's bad?" he asked, shutting the door.

"We are in danger here, we are not safe."

"Well, we can't leave until the girl comes back."

"He's right," Wayne shot, "I'm not leaving until I have my daughter."

"Then the game has begun and nothing can stop it," Claudia said coldly.


0087
After John and Wayne left the apartment, Sabastian found a quiet spot on a nearby roof and waited. He wanted to see the reaction of the Enforcers when they found the apartment empty. He also wanted to see who showed up to do the search.

To his surprise, four cars pulled up at about midnight and fifteen Enforcers swarmed the building. It seemed overkill to have sent so many.

One Enforcer sat with the cars, which on closer examination, turned out to be Baal.

When the others came back empty handed, Baal was obviously angry. He pulled out a cell phone and called someone. The person on the other end must have given him some instructions, as Baal hung up and started to tell the others what to do.

One Enforcer was left to watch the building and three of the cars sped off in different directions. As Baal was getting into the fourth car, his phone rang. After a short conversation, he sent the last car off without him.

When the car left, he walked off by himself. Sabastian followed.

Baal worked his way to a small park. The type that only locals know about, wedged between buildings on side streets. He sat down and waited.

Sabastian, hiding his many thoughts, waited on a nearby rooftop.

After about twenty minutes, a police car pulled up and an older man got out. He sat next to Baal and they talked for a bit.

Sabastian could feel Baal's pleasure. Whatever this man was saying was making Baal positively giddy. This fact concerned Sabastian greatly because he felt that anything that would make Baal this happy had to be bad.

After the policeman left, Baal quickly found his way back uptown to the Tribunal's headquarters. Sabastian kept his distance from the building for fear of being noticed. He waited for quite some time, but eventually gave up and went to see if Elizabeth was home. She was still his best source of information despite the friction of this situation and their personal history.

He met Sol, who was also waiting for her, at her house.

"You are not at the Tribunal," Sabastian said upon seeing Sol.

"No, I've been here most of the night directing the search.

"I sent Baal to the drug dealer's apartment. He found nothing," Sol said, not even mentioning his "deal" with Sabastian.

"I know, I watched them. He called you from the apartment to tell you."

"No, he sent one of his men to tell me."

"But he spoke to someone at the apartment."

"It wasn't me. Baal has many allegiances. Mine is, perhaps, the most tenuous, as you might have guessed."

"Yes, I sensed that," Sabastian replied. "After he made that phone call, he received one. He sent all of his men off and went by himself to meet a police officer."

"What?" Sol asked with some surprise.

"Yes. After their meeting, he went back to the Tribunal's headquarters. That is why I was surprised to find you here. I assumed he would be conferring with you."

"No, as you can see that is not the case. I fear this may be unfortunate news."

"Do you know where Elizabeth is?"

"No."

"Could he be reporting directly to her?"

"It is possible, but unlikely. I do not believe she is at the Tribunal and the two of them do not particularly like each other.

"It is more likely that he has reported to his sire, another of the leaders on the Tribunal."


0088
"Why would Baal be talking to a police officer?" Sabastian asked.

"We have many contacts within human society. We routinely meet with them to keep abreast of activities that might interest us. Baal's encounter, however, does not sound like routine contact."

"No, I do not imagine it was. I do not know what was said, but I could feel that it made Baal very happy."

"He has never been very good at hiding his mind," Sol replied.

Just as Sabastian said, "So, do you know where Elizabeth is..." she walked into the house.

"Sabastian," she said a little surprised.

"Yes, my dear. You look ravishing, that shade of lipstick makes your lips look simply luscious. Where did you acquire it?"

With a smile, she answered, "Henry Bendels, they stay open late for me if I ask. I’m surprised to see you."

"You should not be, your watchdog gave me little choice. He is so thorough that I just as soon follow him, lest he learn all my secrets."

"I don't believe anyone will ever know all of your secrets Sabastian," Elizabeth answered. "But, unfortunately, I don’t have time to reminisce tonight. I need Sol to accompany me to the Tribunal. I would have you join us, but I don’t believe that it would be prudent."

"Yes I think it would be unwise, I will go home," Sabastian said, as he got up to leave.

Elizabeth walked to him and kissed him. Looking him directly in the eyes she said, "I’ve been so bound to the past that I haven’t allowed myself to live in the present. I thought I had a debt, a duty to perform, but I’ve been mistaken. I have no obligation to history."

Sabastian looked keenly at her face. She was being genuine, but her statement was cryptic. He was not certain of its intent even though her statement was meant to be reassuring.

"Sol, we must go, I have called a meeting," she said, pulling away from Sabastian. "Goodbye Sabastian," she said as they rushed out the door.

Sabastian was more confused then ever. He wondered whom he could trust and who were his enemies? There were no answers and still all he could do was wait.

He headed back to his home. There were a few hours before sunrise, but they would be meaningless to him. There was nothing to do except think, and it was Baal's encounter that weighed most heavily on his mind.


0089
As Sabastian was lying down to rest for the day, Janet Long was preparing for the drive home. Her trip to Washington had been such a success, that they stayed longer than she had originally planned. She loved Susan with all of her heart and it gave her great pleasure to see the little girl explore. It was like she had opened up, blossomed.

Now, though, home and work were calling. It had to end.

She let Susan sleep while she packed. "The little angel," she thought, "has had such active days, she needs her rest." After she finished, she sat and watched Susan sleep for a little while.

At about seven, though, she got the little girl up.

"Good morning Susan."

"Good morning Janet," she replied, groggily.

"How did you sleep?"

"I dreamed about Sabastian. He's very worried about me."

"Is he?"

"Yes," Susan answered. "Bad things are going to happen."

"I'm sure everything is going to be O.K.," Janet replied. "Go wash up so we can get going." She was cheerful with the little girl but reality had set in. The police officer she stupidly called, the stranger that dropped Susan off, failing to bring the girl to the police, the list continued. "Yes," she thought, "bad things are going to happen."

They were on the road by eight, just about the time that John, Wayne, and Claudia were waking up from what little sleep they managed to get.

"I'll go get us some breakfast," John said. "What do you guys want?"

Claudia didn't want anything, but Wayne asked for a ham, egg, and cheese on a roll.

John stepped out, checked to make sure Janet wasn't back yet, and then was on the phone with his boss.

"Hey Chief, just wanted to check in."

"Is the girl with you?" the Chief asked.

"No, not yet. I'll call you again when she is. I want to get a sketch artist with her to see if she can tell us anything about this Sabastian fellow."

"Absolutely, but what do you know about this guy?"

"Not much."

"Well, call as soon as you have the girl."

"I will."


0090
Leaving Washington DC at the height of rush hour proved to be a frustrating and time consuming experience. It added at least an hour to the trip, so Janet and Susan didn't get back to the city until early afternoon.

Both were tired when they trudged up to Janet's apartment. Just as Janet put the key into her door, John, Wayne, and Claudia stepped out.

Susan yelled out, "Wayne," and ran to him. He kneeled down so he could pick her up. The group was silent as Wayne was reunited with his daughter. The only sound was the sniffling Wayne made as he tried to hold back his tears.

After a few minutes, John broke the silence by asking, "Janet Long?"

"Yes, but I guess you already knew that," she answered looking at Claudia as if to say, "How could you?"

Sensing the feeling of betrayal, Claudia said, "They here to help, not take child away."

"That remains to be seen," John said. "Janet, I'm detective John Lewis. We spoke on the phone."

"Yes."

"Can we go inside your apartment and talk?"

"I imagine I don’t have a choice."

Everyone went into the apartment. While John and Janet talked, Wayne and Claudia listening attentively to Susan's recount of her trip to DC.

The story John told was unbelievable to Janet. The idea that this little girl, her little girl, was in such danger was almost painful for her to listen to. More painful, however, was the fact that Wayne was her father.

"So what now?" Janet asked when the story had been completed.

"All of us are going to a safe house until we can figure this murder out," John answered. "I just need to make a quick phone call."

With that, John walked into the hallway and called the station. "Chief, they're back."

"O.K. John. Stay where you are. I'll have a team over in a few minutes to pick you up."

"A few minutes" was an understatement. Within two, a black van pulled around the corner and a team of heavily armed men jumped out.

John answered the knock on the door. As he opened it he was greeted with, "Detective John Lewis?"

"Yeah."

"O.K., we have to get you guys to the safe house pronto." The man, who was obviously in charge of the unit, had two of his subordinates search the apartment as he rushed the five out.

"My things," Janet protested, but was simply told, "Sorry, no time."

They were hurried down to the street and into a van by two other men from the unit.