Chapter 5

The blood moon hung overhead like a sinister omen as I pulled out of the Underground in one of our black SUVs, Annabelle riding shotgun and Pauli—now shifted into human form—in the back. A crimson light cast swallowed up the city like a whale might engulf a disobedient prophet. It hadn’t changed a bit since the last I saw it. Certainly not normal. Usually an eclipse lasted a few hours—and a total lunar eclipse only thirty minutes, an hour at most.

I clenched my hands on the steering wheel. “Why the hell is this blood moon overstaying its welcome?”

Annabelle was scrolling through her phone. “It’s certainly unusual, Mercy. The longest blood moon on record happened just a few years back in 2018. It lasted an hour and forty minutes. I’m guessing based on the time you called me earlier, and what time it is currently, we’ve exceeded that by now—”

I glanced at the clock on the dashboard. “I don’t remember what time it was when we were at the club. But you’re right. It’s been almost two hours, maybe longer. What could that mean?”

“Something bad,” Pauli interrupted, scratching his head. “Naughty, naughty, moon. Reminds me of this pasty white boy I used to date. After a night with me, it took hours before the red was gone.”

Annabelle let out a chuckle at Pauli’s comment, but her eyes remained serious as she peered out the window at the blood moon. “We can only speculate on what this extended eclipse might signify, but one thing is certain – it’s not natural. And from what I could tell online, there isn’t supposed to be a lunar eclipse right now.”

I gripped the wheel tighter, my knuckles almost glowing in the dim light of the SUV. Annabelle was right – this wasn’t just your run-of-the-mill celestial event. The blood moon lingered in the sky like a festering wound. If it wasn’t because of an eclipse something supernatural was at work. It wasn’t just some kind of an ancient spell that used the energy of a blood moon, but somehow, someone caused the moon itself to radiate a hue I’d otherwise find appetizing.

“There’s only one explanation,” Pauli said with more monotone in his voice than I was used to. “We’re talking about the fifth dimension. The middle ground between light and shadow. The place that lies between the pit of man’s fears and the summit of his knowledge. The dimension of imagination. It is an area which we call the—”

“It’s not the goddamn Twilight Zone!” I interrupted.

“Doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo!”

“SHUT UP, PAULI,” Annabelle and I shouted in unison. I smiled a little. Pauli was probably Annabelle’s best friend. But even she could only take so much of his untimely bullshit. For once, Annabelle and I were on the same page.

“Seriously, I need to concentrate!” I insisted, my voice firm. “I can’t find Juliet right now. I don’t know where all the possessed vampires from the Underground might be. I made Mel and Muggs. I can use our sire-progeny bond to find them, but it takes total focus.”

With Pauli momentarily silenced, I gripped the steering wheel tighter. The SUV roared through the empty streets, each jolt and bump making me more aware of the stakes we were up against. The city was eerily quiet under the blood moon’s ominous glow, as if it sensed the dangers lurking in its shadows.

My connection with Mel and Muggs tugged at my consciousness like a taut wire, pulling me toward them. It was a subtle but compelling sensation. It wasn’t easy to follow while driving. The streets didn’t always lead straight where I wanted. When my sire-bond moved from my brow to my temple, I knew I had to turn. Seeing a street heading in the direction I needed, I wrenched the wheel. The tires screeched in protest, but the SUV complied, barreling down an alleyway that looked like it hadn’t seen sunlight in decades.

“Jesus, Mercy.” Annabelle clenched onto the handle on the passenger door. “We aren’t all immortal vampires. We can’t just walk away from a car accident without a scratch.”

“Sorry.” I wasn’t really sorry, but it was easier to apologize than respond. I couldn’t afford the distraction. We were getting close.

The pull had gravitated back to my brow once we hit the narrow alley. Then it abruptly shifted again as we passed an unremarkable metal door in the side of a brick building.

“They’re in there.”

“You sure?” Annabelle asked.

I nodded. “But they aren’t alone.”

“You can sense other vampires?” Pauli asked.

I shook my head. “I can smell the blood. Even from inside the car. It’s that strong.”

Annabelle cocked an eyebrow. “The blood?”

I nodded. “They’re feasting.”

“Gross,” Pauli muttered, wrinkling his nose. “Let’s get this over with.”

We piled out of the SUV. I turned to each of them. “Remember, we aren’t here to fight. We grab Muggs or Mel. Both of them, if possible. And we get the hell out of here.”

Pauli nodded. “Easy enough. If I can see them, I can zap over to them, give them a little squeeze, and take them straight back to the base. Unless they’re standing next to each other, though, I’ll have to make two trips to get both.”

“Or three,” I added. “If you see Juliet in there, take her. If we don’t get Mel or Muggs this time, I can track them later. It won’t be as easy to track down Juliet later.”

Annabelle tilted her head. “Are you sure we should grab all of them?”

I stared at her blankly. “If we can get them back, why the hell not?”

“Because these ghosts are up to something. You mentioned an emperor before. Emperors are all about building empires. If they’re traveling together, it makes sense to leave at least one of your progenies inside. It’ll make it a hell of a lot easier to track them down later.”

My jaw tightened at Annabelle’s words. She had a point, as much as I hated to admit it. The possibility of leaving behind one of my progenies was a bitter pill to swallow. But in the world we navigated, sacrifices were often necessary to ensure the survival of the rest.

“Fine,” I relented, my voice clipped with tension. “Grab whoever you can first, Pauli. Come back for Juliet, if she’s there and you have an opportunity. But we’ll leave either Mel or Muggs behind for now. Until we know more about what we’re facing.”

With a plan in place—I pressed open the door. The smell of blood, already strong from the alley, hit me like a wall as soon as we stepped inside. My fangs throbbed in response. It was like walking into a steakhouse.

“So many victims…” I sighed.

“We should try and save those we can,” Annabelle whispered back. “While Pauli is doing his thing. A little rescue might provide the distraction he needs.”

My hand clenched around my wand. “I don’t know. We can try. But there are too many people here to count.”

“Every life counts.”

I nodded back at Annabelle. Leave it to a human to prioritize saving lives. I tried to minimize bloodshed too but as a vampire… well… saving humans was secondary. Sort of like how saving your dog from a house fire comes after getting the family to safety.

Not that humans were dogs. More like cattle. But still valuable. And as a former-human, myself, the better part of me understood Annabelle’s concern. Humans still held a special place in my undead heart. Nostalgia is funny that way.

“You’re right,” I whispered. “But if these ghosts are still seeking and possessing more vampires, and this emperor has empire-level aspirations, this is just the beginning. The primary objective is recovering Mel or Muggs, or someone who can tell us more about what we’re dealing with. If we save a few humans in the process, so be it.”

“I’m shifting now,” Pauli announced. “Grab my clothes, Annabelle. Or don’t. I’m fine coming back without them.”

I glanced at Annabelle. “Grab his clothes. No one wants to see that.”

With a pulse of multi-colored light, Pauli returned to his boa constrictor form and slithered out from what used to be the neck of his shirt. Annabelle had a backpack and quickly tossed his clothes inside. She’d come prepared. After working with Pauli a few times myself, I’d also learned the same lesson. If you don’t want a naked Pauli following you around—and who wants that?—you’d best make sure he has a change of clothes at the ready at all times.

We navigated through a labyrinth of boxes and broken machinery, drawn deeper into the belly of the beast. The fragrance of blood grew stronger, mingling with the stale air and dust.

As we rounded a corner, the full horror of the scene unfolded before us. Hundreds of vampires and just as many humans were tangled together in a grotesque tableau. Blood splattered everywhere, pooling on the grimy floor and streaking the walls. The vampires’ eyes glowed a sickly green, the ghosts possessing them clearly struggling to control their bloodlust.

“Sweet mother of darkness.” I’d never seen anything this grotesque and delicious all at once. I was as horrified as I was tempted. I swallowed my carnal instincts and focused instead on the greater implication of what was unfolding. I recognized most of the vampires, some of them were older than me. But they were behaving like younglings. The ghosts driving their bodies didn’t know how to manage their cravings. That spelled bad news for everyone. All the strength and speed of experienced vampires with none of the control. “This... This is worse than I imagined.”

“Mercy,” Annabelle’s voice quivered. She clasped a hand over her mouth, her face paling to an alarming degree. “I think I’m gonna—”

“Don’t you dare vomit,” I snapped, grabbing her shoulder and shaking her gently. “We need to keep it together. Look at me.”

Annabelle gulped, nodding. “Okay, okay. Focus.”

“Good girl.” I turned my attention back to the chaos, scanning the crowd. Many of the vampires there were part of my team. But now, they were behaving like feral younglings, gluttonous and wild.

“Pauli, see Mel or Muggs?” I whispered. “Juliet?”

“Not yet,” Pauli replied through our telepathic bond, his snake form allowing him to slink unnoticed through the crowd.

I continued scanning. Motion caught my eye. The only vampire in the crowd of possessed monsters who moved with something resembling grace.

It was Mel, scantily clad, stepping through the throng with a regal air that wasn’t hers. She was attended by other vampires, including Muggs, who referred to her as “Emperor.”

“Well, shit,” I muttered under my breath. “That’s not good.”

“Mercy, what do we do?” Annabelle asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

“Pauli, you see Mel? She’s the leader. The Emperor. We need to get her.”

“On it,” Pauli responded. “Here vampy, vampy, vamp. Daddy’s on the way.”

In a flash of rainbow colors, Pauli disappeared, reappearing over Mel’s shoulders. But before he could wrap around her, a blast of unearthly energy sent him flying off. He hit the ground hard, his luminescent serpentine form skidding across the blood-slick floor.

“Intruders!” Mel—or rather, Emperor Whoever—shouted, her voice echoing with an unnatural resonance. She began ordering the other possessed vampires to assemble, their movements jerky and disjointed but terrifyingly fast.

“Annabelle, get ready,” I warned, adrenaline surging through my veins. “This is about to get ugly.”

“Ugly’s my middle name,” Annabelle muttered, popping her knuckles.

I chuckled. “You said it. Not me.”

“Not what I meant!”

I winked at Annabelle and twirled my wand between my fingers. “Remember, don’t stab my friends. We’re saving these vampires. Not consigning them to hell.”

“Your position is noted.,” Annabelle narrowed her eyes and summoned her spirit-blade. “Beli!”

The air shimmered, and a dagger wreathed in green energy materialized in her hand. She gripped it tightly, ready for the impending clash.

“Annabelle! I just said…”

Annabelle shrugged. “You expect me to fight unarmed? Screw that!”

Damn it. She had a point—but I still didn’t want to lose anyone to that damned blade of hers. But I’d brought her here. How could I ask her not to defend herself? And how else could she fight back against a brood of bloodthirsty spirit-possessed vampires?

Muggs—or whatever was pretending to be him—lunged at us. He was blind, but the spirit within him didn’t have any problem zeroing in on us. Somehow. But the ghost also didn’t know what it was doing. He was attempting to wield druid magic with all the finesse of a drunk toddler.

Vines erupted from the ground, but they were weak, tangled messes. I countered them with a simple spell, my wand slicing through the air like an extension of my will.

“Nice try, asshole,” I spat, deflecting his attacks with ease. “Pauli, get Annabelle out of here. Now.”

“On it, boss lady,” Pauli replied, slithering back into his human form, though his skin still shimmered with iridescent hues. He wrapped an arm around Annabelle. “Come on, girl. Time to skedaddle.”

“Mercy, seriously?” Annabelle shouted as Pauli teleported them away in another flash of rainbow light.

I was a little surprised that Pauli followed my order. He was more loyal to Annabelle than me. But he knew what I did—as many vampires as we were about to face, she couldn’t hold them off forever. Not even with the aid of her dragon dagger.

No longer distracted by the Annabelle predicament, I turned my full attention to Muggs. The ghost inside him snarled, trying to cast another spell, but I was faster.

“Enerva!” My spell hit its mark. Muggs’ body convulsed and then went limp, collapsing to the ground.

“Gotcha,” I whispered, a sense of grim satisfaction settling over me. But there was no time to celebrate. The crowd of nearly feral vampires was closing in, their eyes glowing that sickly green. Mel was shouting at them, but they were having a hard time following orders. They were more interested in their meals than me.

I scanned the horde for any sign of Juliet. She had to be there… somewhere…

I’d spotted Antoine in the fray. Clement and several of the orphans. Most of my team. With Juliet’s bright pink hair, she usually stuck out in a crowd like a sore thumb. Where the hell was she?

Maybe her hair was blood-stained and blended in. Maybe she wasn’t there. Trying to find her in the crowd was a like a three-dimensional version of Where’s Waldo. With a lot more carnage than I’d ever noticed in any of those books.

Antoine came at me. He was moving on all fours, as if he’d forgotten he was a biped.

I cocked an eyebrow. “Really? Enerva.”

Antoine fell to the ground, face planting in a pool of blood.

“Sleep tight, buddy.”

Finally, in another burst of prismatic colors, Pauli reappeared. “Can’t get Mel. She has some kind of magic.”

“Muggs is unconscious.” I pointed at him with my wand. “Take him back to headquarters. I’ll meet you there in twenty.”

No smart ass, inappropriate response. Not a single crude joke. The scene was so damn traumatizing that even Pauli was in shock. He did as I asked, wrapping himself around Muggs’ incapacitated body. Another flash of rainbow light and they were gone.

I took one last, desperate glance around, hoping against hope to find Juliet. But the chaotic sea of bloodthirsty, ghost-possessed vampires offered no solace. With a frustrated growl, I turned on my heel and sprinted back to the exit.

“Mercy!” Annabelle’s voice cut through the cacophony as I reached the SUV. She was already in the passenger seat, her face pale but determined. “We need to go, now!”

“On it,” I said, yanking open the driver’s door and sliding in. My hands shook as I jammed the key into the ignition, but the engine roared to life on the first try. A minor miracle, considering our luck tonight.

“Did you see Juliet?” Annabelle asked, her voice tight with worry.

“Not a damned trace,” I replied, slamming the gearshift into drive. The tires screeched as we peeled out, leaving the chaotic scene behind us. “But we’ll find her. Pauli took Muggs back to the Underground.”

Annabelle’s eyes widened. “You sure he’s safe? With a possessed vampire?”

I nodded. “Muggs is unconscious. He should be down for a few hours. We’ll have to wait before we can interrogate him, which isn’t ideal, but I didn’t have any other choice. How Mel shocked Pauli, before, I wasn’t sure if Muggs would do the same to him.”

Annabelle was still clutching Beli in her hand and trembling. I’d never seen her so… scared. The big, bad, Annabelle Mulledy. She’d faced off against demigods and won. But that much blood, so many bodies unlikely to recover… it had an effect.

I hit the gas and sped out of the alley and back onto the streets. “You don’t need that blade any more. We’re safe.”

Annabelle shook her head. “I don’t know. I can’t stop seeing those bodies. All that blood. The vampires. They were ruthless.”

“They’re behaving like ferals,” I said. “Younglings out of control. This is going to get worse before it gets better. But at least we’ll be able to track their leader. So long as the emperor, or whatever he is, is using her, I’ll know where they are.”

Annabelle released her blade, but her eyes remained focused on her hand where it was moments before. “Isabelle is afraid, too. She said that these ghosts are strong. And she’s the most powerful spirit I’ve ever met, so that means something. There’s an ancient magic they’ve brought back with them. Something we’ve never seen.”

I sighed. “Let’s just hope whichever ghost is possessing Muggs has answers. Because until we know how to counter it, or how to exorcize these damned spirits, we’re at a disadvantage.”

“And there are more spirits coming,” Annabelle said. “Isabelle feels it. They’re coming for you. They want to take you like the rest.”

I clenched my hands on my steering wheel. “Over my undead body.”