In that moment, reality slowed to a standstill and something inside me snapped. I felt a twang, like a rubber band being let go, and it was like my soul just popped out of my body. I exited my physical existence, through the top of my head and flew above where I sat motionless, suspended in time, with Beaufort’s snarling, slavering mouth, open and ready to feast on me.
Above my body, I turned my hands over. I existed as a glittering, semi-corporeal being, translucent and insubstantial. The events of the world below seemed less important and real than the events of the world I now inhabited. And what a world it was, swirling, metallic lights whirled around me in spiralling patterns, in every colour of the rainbow. The lights were the source of my powers, I now understood but it felt like so much more. I was made of light and would go back to it after I died. Death seemed not so much an ending but more of a transition. All these thoughts and more drifted through my mind wordlessly, in a transmission of wisdom that seemed to come from the lights themselves.
Then I became aware of more beings around me, thousands of them, more than could be fit into the room my body sat in. Even that room no longer existed. It was an illusion, like the rest of physical reality. The spirits around me drew close, flitting in and out of my body with the playfulness of a child. Some of them had transparent, silvery bodies, like mine but others were just orbs of light, zipping in and out of my sphere of reality. I loved them all just the same and they responded in kind, filling me up with love and strength and power like I’d never felt before. Euphoria rushed over me and a clarity of mind and all at once I snapped back into my body. But this time I wasn’t alone. This time, I had the power of a thousand spirits at my beck and call.
It was as if someone hit the ‘play’ button on reality once more and Hugh’s teeth reached my neck but at the same moment, he cried out, his eyes widening in fear as I whipped my head backwards, holding a hand in front of his mouth.
“No!” I didn’t recognise my voice - it was like a sonic boom, filled with the voices of a thousand angry spirits, of all ages and generations.
Beaufort’s face turned white and he shrank back and started shaking. “It… it can’t be. No, it can’t be.”
The room filled with dazzling light and a penumbra of swirling spirits filled the air around us. The spirits carried me into the air and I floated above the bed. Catching sight of myself in the mirror, I no longer looked human but more like a goddess of destruction. Blazing streaks of iridescence cascaded from my head. My hair flapped outwards, as if blown by an ethereal wind which emanated from the spirit world. My eyes were vengeful and full of fury as I turned them on my vampire abuser.
“Now you die, vampire!”
I pointed a finger at him and white ectoplasm flew out of it, hitting Beaufort in the face. He fell to the floor, screaming and writhing in agony as the fluid began to dissolve his facial features.
Beep, beep, beep.
I looked at the door. Somebody had sounded the alarm. That meant the other vampire guards would be here soon. And I was right.
The door flew open. Outside, a group of around twenty armed guards stood, dressed in bulletproof stab vests and carrying semi-automatic weapons.
They opened fire. I flew up higher, as the bullets whistled beneath me. But I felt no fear. “Spirits of war, lend me your weapons.” I shouted.
All the guns started floating in the air and not just those that the vampires had been holding. It looked like every weapon in the house, including knives, swords and stakes. The vampires stared, open mouthed, petrified by fear. I pointed at one of them and ectoplasm shot into his face. He fell to the floor and started clawing at his face. “Aargh, get it off me, get it off me!”
When they saw this, the other guards looked at each other, then turned and sprinted towards the stairs.
Seeing that I was distracted by the guards, Beaufort rolled and scuttled out of the door, disappearing around the corner.
White hot fury surged through me as I flew after him, with the weapons still floating around me like a macabre cloud. But as I entered the corridor, he was nowhere to be seen.
Veena stood on the corridor, trembling and pale as she looked at what I’d become.
I softened my voice. “You don’t have to fear me.” Holding out my hand, I lowered to the floor. “Join me.” I raised and lowed my hand and the weapons dropped to the floor. I handed a gun to her. “Here - do you know how to use it?”
She nodded enthusiastically. “I used to be in the army.”
“Do you know where they keep the silver bullets?” I reasoned they had to have some here in case of attacks from rival vampire groups.
“Yes. I’ll go and get them.” She sped off, holding her rifle aloft.
By now other servants were gathering around and I handed out weapons to each of them.
But I couldn’t wait for Veena to return. I had to go down the hill and make sure Beaufort wasn’t carrying out his threat to kill Rainie. Grabbing a sword in one hand and a stake in the other, I flew into the air and shot down the hill, with the speed of a torpedo.
I burst through the door of my former house. But there was no one there. They must have heard the noise and fled, to hide somewhere on the estate. As I moved through the other little, brick houses, I saw it was the same in each one.
I circled over the estate, looking for the blood slaves. As I approached the perimeter fence I saw what Oliver, in the dungeons, had been talking about. Two vast spirits, seething with fury and darkness, hovered over the fence, flying from left to right as if on patrol. I could sense their energy and their power. It was the energy of decay and destruction. The energy of cycles completed and lives ended. These were spirits of death and disease. They’d been shackled to this location for decades and they were very, very angry. Then I realised, they weren’t flying because they were on patrol. They were trying to escape, just like everyone else on this estate. As I looked, with spirit vision, I saw what was tethering them - two etheric strings, bendy enough that they could fly around the estate but strong enough not to break.
I flew to the etheric strings and focused my attention on them. “Be gone.” I ordered and watched as the strings dissolved back into the spirit world from where they’d come. The spirits changed colour, from dark, blackened red, to vibrant pink. Flying once around my head, they transmitted gratitude, telepathically, then disappeared. Had I done it? Was the spell no longer in place? I had to be sure. I couldn’t give any of these captives false hope, like last time. Floating down to the ground, in front of a part of the fence, I approached it cautiously. I felt normal, no itchy skin, no nausea. Placing my sword and stake on the ground, I got right to the fence and grabbed hold of it. It was too tall to climb so I flew to the top, still tracing my fingers over the steel of the fence. Then I landed on the other side. The thrill of success coursed through me. But I wasn’t going to stay this side of the fence. I’d made a promise to get everyone out of here and I was going to see it through.
The next task was to find where everyone was hiding. I picked up the sword and stake and headed back into the sky, circling overhead to view the entire scene.
By now there was a gun fight, going on, at the front of the mansion, between vampires and house servants. Would the same thing I’d done before work here? I called out, “spirits of war, lend me your weapons.” But nothing happened. It seemed this spirit magic was just as unpredictable and hard to control as arcane magic was. But at least now the servants were armed - it was a fair fight.
I spotted Samuel and Grace crouched behind a makeshift barricade, they’d constructed out of a food trolley. Samuel was firing shots at a vampire, positioned behind a wall, in the mansion. The vampire’s head popped into view, he fired a few shots, through the window, which had been relieved of its glass, and then disappeared again. Samuel swore and returned shots at him.
I floated down, to crouch next to them. “Where are the others?”
Grace whipped her head round, startled, then relaxed when she saw it was me. “How did you get there?” She asked.
“I’ve discovered I have spirit witch powers. That means I’ve removed the spell from the perimeter fence.”
She raised a skeptical eyebrow. “Yeah, you’ve told us that before and, as you know, it ended really badly.”
I patted my hands up and down. “It’s different this time. I’ve tested it and everything. I went over the perimeter fence - nothing happened to me.”
Pop, pop, pop. Samuel stopped shooting and turned to me. “Are you serious?”
I nodded, looking him in the eyes.
“Then why are we wasting our time in a gunfight. Let’s just get out of here.”
Grace added. “Some of the blood slaves are up here fighting. Paulette, CJ, Rainie and all the rest are hiding in the thicket of trees to the West. Do you know which one I mean?”
“Yes, I ran past it during my first few days here.” It was a smart choice. They could gather branches to create makeshift stakes and arm themselves against approaching vampires.
Samuel held his body flat behind the trolley as another volley of bullets whistled past. “We need a large vehicle to get out of here.”
He was right. I’d heard Beaufort boasting about his garage full of luxury cars but that wouldn’t be enough to get all the humans off this estate. By my count there were about one hundred and fifty people here. We’d need at least one bus. The fleeting thought of Beaufort created a murderous reaction within me. Where was the bastard hiding? The thought that he might get away with all the sick things he’d done here, burned a hole inside of me. But this mansion was huge and spending time combing over every nook and cranny to find him, would mean putting all the humans at risk of death or recapture. I needed to prioritise. I could come back and finish Beaufort off once the humans had been safely transported off the estate. But how were we going to do that without a big vehicle?
Then it came to me. “Derek!” I cried out.
“Who?” Grace looked at me in confusion.
“Derek the vampire.”
Her face soured.
“No, he’s a friendly vampire - he’s not part of Beaufort’s crew. We formed an alliance after being imprisoned in the dungeons together - he’s still there. He knows how to hot wire a car. If he drives one of Beaufort’s fancy sports cars off the estate, he can find a bus and glamour the driver into coming back to collect us all.”
Samuel smiled at me. “It’s a great idea. But he’s not taking a sports car - Beaufort has a full-artillery hummer in his garage.”
My eyes popped open. “How do you know that?”
“It’s what I used on my first escape attempt. Didn’t work of course, I couldn’t get past the perimeter fence.” He took another few shots at the vampire then turned back to me. “But we’re going with him. You may have formed an alliance but I’m not trusting our freedom to some random vampire who may not come back for us.”
He turned back to take another shot at the vampire.
“Eurgh!” The vampire cried out and then turned to dust.
“Got him” Samuel exclaimed, punching the air with his fist as he held the gun in his other hand. “Right, let’s do this. Where are these dungeons?”
“Trapdoor at the back of the kitchen.”
“Are there other humans locked up there?” Grace asked.
“Yeah, I’m not sure how many but I’d say about a dozen.”
“And what kind of locks are on the doors?”
“Old-fashioned style, with a key in the door.”
She smiled. “Easy to pick”. She thought for a moment. “I’ll come with you, I think they have metal kebab skewers in the kitchen. I’ve seen the favoured humans eating kebabs at their lawn barbecues.”
Samuel nodded. “Okay, I’ll cover you and you two start sprinting. Deal?”
“Deal.” I could’ve flown but I didn’t want Grace to feel like she was on her own. We were a team and we’d get out of here by sticking together. “We’ll get Derek, free the other prisoners and then meet you back here. Do you have enough bullets?”
Samuel held up another cartridge. “Oh yeah.” He winked, devilishly. “Ready?”
Me and Grace looked at each other, took a deep breath then nodded.
“On the count of three. One, two, three. Go” He began shooting and we raced towards the side door, with heads down, bullets flying past us. We just made it. Glass and pieces of cement and brick crunched under our feet as we entered the utility room. The mansion was starting to look like a war zone. Bits of plaster hung off the walls. And chandeliers and artworks lay, destroyed, on the floor. Why didn’t the vamps just give up and let us leave? Now that the humans were all armed, the vampires were wildly outnumbered.
But I didn’t have time to ponder their motives. I offered my sword to Grace and she took it. Then we stalked, slowly, crouching down, as we crept towards the trapdoor, at the back of the kitchen. I held my stake tightly, my heart pounding.
We’d almost made it to the trapdoor when a vampire sprang out from behind a cupboard and slashed at us, with a knife. I ducked and his swipe narrowly missed Grace’s torso. But his strike had off-centred his balance. He staggered to the right and Grace took her chance. Swinging the sword at his neck, she decapitated him. He turned to dust in front of me.
“Nice work.” I said.
“I don’t think there are anymore in here.” She sped round the kitchen opening drawers with one hand, holding her sword in the other, until she found what she was looking for. “Got ‘em” She said, triumphantly holding up a couple of skewers.
“Why do you need two?”
“In case one breaks,” she replied, walking back to me.
I reached down to open the trapdoor. It was locked.
“Hang on.” Grace said. She handed the skewers to me then braced the sword in both hands. Lifting it high above her head, she brought it down, with a colossal crash, breaking the lock.
I handed the skewers back to her and opened the latch before descending the steps.
Flicking on the light switch, I called out. “Derek.” I heard rustling and then he called back.
“I’m here.”
“We’re coming for you Derek, hold on.”
Grace looked at me. “Let’s get him first and then free the others.”
I nodded. We had to be smart. Derek was the priority here, getting everybody out depended on getting him out.
We reached Derek’s cell and he beamed at me. “You came back for me.”
“I said I would, didn’t I?”
Grace appeared next to me and started picking the lock.
“Who’s this?” He looked Grace up and down, appreciatively.
“Derek, meet Grace” I gestured between them. “Grace - Derek.”
“I take it this means you’re busting me out of here?”
“Uh huh but we need you to hot wire Beaufort’s artillery hummer then drive it out of here, find a bus somewhere en route and glamour the driver into giving you the bus so you can drive back here to pick us all up.”
Grace added. “There will probably be vampires firing at you as you leave.”
Derek chuckled. “I don’t care, I’m ready for it. Been planning how to make my escape from this place for weeks.”
“Teamwork makes the dreamwork.” I replied.
Grace finished picking the lock and opened the door. “This way Sir.” She made a comical bow and he strolled past.
“Would you mind getting this thing off while you’re at it?” I gestured to my obsidian dog collar.
“Sure.” She poked around inside the lock at the back of my neck, for a moment and I heard a click as it popped open. I tore it from my neck and hurled it to the floor. “What a relief.” Energy and power surged back through my body.
“Now to free the others.” Grace said. She sped round each of the cells, opening them with the ease of a professional thief.
Derek looked at her in awe. “What a woman.”
“Don’t get any ideas. I don’t think she’d date a vampire.”
Derek nodded, stroking his chin as he looked at her picking the locks and releasing the prisoners inside. “But I can be very persuasive.”
I frowned at him. “You wouldn’t glamour her into dating you, would you?”
He looked appalled. “Of course not! I do have some honour you know.”
Grace had just freed Oliver, who I now saw was a big, tall, bear of a black man with salt and pepper hair and a double-chin.
He dusted himself down but it would take more than that to remove the grime he was coated with. “Thank you my dear. I overheard that you have a plan to get us off this godforsaken estate?” He cocked at eyebrow.
“We do indeed Oliver.”
“Well let’s not waste time chatting.” He gestured in Derek’s direction. “God forbid this vampire starts getting hungry and attacks us.”
Derek scowled at him. “Hey, I’m not some mindless, raving beast - I can control myself. Besides, I’ve only just been fed, I won’t be hungry again for hours.”
“Oliver, do you know the quickest route to Beaufort’s garage from here?” I asked.
“Of course. I used to be a butler here you know. It’s through the conservatory. Follow me.” He beckoned and we all followed. Some of the guys we’d released looked really terrible. I saw signs of PTSD and mental illness. One guy had scratched all his hair off. We’d have to drop the sick people off at a hospital along the way. I wasn’t sure of the dynamics of this, in terms of explaining what had happened. The hospital admissions team would want to know how they’d got into such a state. I couldn’t deal with that kind of questioning right now. I was desperate to get home. But we couldn’t leave them here. Derek would have to glamour the hospital staff.
We got to the garage and I switched on the lights, then froze.
There, in front of us, stood Gemma, wearing a silky negligee and pointing a pistol at us.