“Andrew handled Night Blade quite well,” Father Michael smirked.
“He may have defeated me,” Night Blade got up in Father Michaels face. “But he is no match for the three of us, nor any of our fellow knights. If he pursues this further, Andrew Knight will die!” All sheathed their blades and instantly disappeared.
Father Michael finally breathed a sigh of relief. He was too shaken and immediately returned to the rectory. As soon as Father Michael got inside, he made a call.
Nick walked into Riley’s Blues Club. The place was packed. Nick strode up to the bar, took off his leather jacket and lay in across the stool. He nodded at the pretty girl behind the bar and she nodded back. Nick took out a pack of smokes and lit one up. A few minutes later the girl brought him his drink, a double whiskey on the rocks. It had been a real bad day at work. Most of the morning was spent testifying in court and he had mounds of reports to fill out.
Nick slammed down his drink and ordered another. He lit up another smoke. Nick spun around and scanned the crowd. He liked Riley’s, a blues club, because it was a great place to hang out after work.
Nick finished his second drink and was about to order another when someone tapped him on the shoulder. He spun around on the stool to see Andrew standing there.
“Hey Nick,” Andrew smiled.
“Knight, you son of a b-” Nick hopped off his stool and gave Andrew a bear hug. “How the hell are you?”
“I’m fine,” Andrew grinned. His mood suddenly changed, “We need to talk.”
“What’s up?” Nick ordered them each a drink. “Why are you really here?”
“I’ll explain,” Andrew answered as Nick handed him the glass of scotch.
“Follow me.” Nick led the way. They walked through the main area and finally found a secluded booth near the back.
They slid into the seats across from each other. Nick offered Andrew a smoke, which he took. Nick lit his, then Andrew’s.
“So, why all the mystery s-?” Nick asked as he sipped his drink.
“Do you know a Talia Delsmann?” Andrew took a drink from his glass.
“Yeah, I know her,” Nick answered. “We worked together on the south side. Why?”
“She’s the Sheriff for Bayport County now,” Andrew explained. He quickly finished his drink, but it was Nick that finished his thought.
“What about her?” Nick pressed further.
“Were there any cases that stick out in your mind,” Andrew asked. “You know, anything involving vampires?”
“What the hell?” Nick choked on his drink. “Vampires? Are you kidding me?”
“Just answer the question,” Andrew insisted.
“Yeah, there was one case,” Nick recalled. “The department had received a great deal of missing person reports for several months. There were no solid leads. All of them had disappeared under mysterious circumstances. During that time, we were asked to investigate an abandoned house on South Lake Park Avenue in Oakland. The neighbors had been complaining about noises coming from the house.” He paused and flagged down a waitress to order more drinks. She took their order and left. “When we first got to…” Nick stopped when the waitress returned. “We never found those responsible. It was like they were f- ghost, shadows. There were other reports all over Chicago. They even set up a task force, but nothing came out of it. We never found those responsible.”
“Is there more?” Andrew pressed.
“Yeah,” Nick answered. “There’s more to it. You see, one night after work we came to Riley’s for some drinks. It had been a really rough day for us and we needed to unwind.” Nick paused and took a drink. He cleared his throat and continued, “Anyway we got really wasted and that’s when Talia told me her secret.”
“What secret?” Andrew curiously inquired.
“She told me that at one time she was a, s- I can’t even say it now,” Nick cursed. “She told me that she had been a slayer in her past. She told me she was a vampire slayer and member of this secret society. Talia confessed the horrible things they had done. Well, let me tell you I was f- blown away.” Nick swallowed down the last of his drink. He lit a cigarette and inhaled deeply before continuing. “I told her that partners don’t hold s- like that back. I mean we depend on each other and when you find out something like this, well it f- blows you away. Know what I mean?”
“I know,” Andrew swallowed hard this time.
“Talia even told me that she still had all the stuff,” Nick continued. “You know, the outfit, body armor, weapons and s- like that.”
“I see,” Andrew said, in shock. He realized that it was Talia that attacked him while at the Higgins home that night, and not the others.
“So what do we do now?” Nick asked, as he extinguished his cigarette.
“I want you to take me to the house on Lake Avenue,” Andrew finally answered.
“It’s been a year since.” Nick was visibly shaking.
“Take me there.” Andrew insisted.
The two men finished their drinks and they left.
The abandoned two-story mansion with white columns had been boarded up poorly on the first floor. There were uncovered broken windows on the second floor. The black iron fence was standing tall, but was spattered with patches of rust.
Nick parked the car. They both got out. Andrew glanced up and down the street. It appeared that they were alone, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that someone was watching them.
Nick led the way up the steps and to the front door. He stopped to look at Andrew, whom nodded that they proceed. Nick opened the screen door and gave the main door a shove with his shoulder. The simple lock on the door easily gave way. The two men stepped inside.
It appeared that some squatters had been living in the house for quite some time. Andrew surmised that they left in a hurry as they left blankets and personal items behind. Andrew surveyed the room with his eyes. Paint was peeling off the walls and cracks spread out across the ceiling.
“What did you find then?” Andrew looked at Nick.
“Things seemed pretty normal on the outside when we got here,” Nick began. He nervously scanned the room. Andrew thought it was as if some ghost from the past was still haunting Nick.
“What did Talia do?”
“She freaked out, man and took off on me,” Nick answered. “We immediately called for back-up and got out the house.”
“What was it?” Andrew pressed further.
“There were dead bodies everywhere.” Nick pointed at the floor. He looked at Andrew with tear-filled eyes. “There were more in the basement.”
“Take me there,” Andrew asked.
“No way man,” Nick stood frozen.
“Then I’ll go,” Andrew left as Nick stayed behind.
Andrew walked down a short hallway before finally coming to the door that led to the basement. He flipped on the flashlight, grabbed the handle and pulled the door open. A wall of foul air hit Andrew making him gag for a few minutes. Andrew took out a handkerchief from his pants pocket and covered his nose and mouth. He immediately started to descend into the abyss.
Nick dried his eyes.
“Get a grip man,” he scolded himself. “You’re a f- cop for God sake.”
Nick took his flashlight and shone it around the room. He was about to turn when he felt a blow to the back of the head.
Andrew cautiously made his way across the dark basement area. He shone his light down on the floor. There were still blood stains on the concrete. Andrew scanned the wall with the light and suddenly froze. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up and an icy chill washed over him. In the light he saw the words ‘Tod zu den unheiligen’ Death to the unholy, scrawled in blood on the wall. Everyone in the house had been victims of the Knights of VanHelsing. Andrew hurried back up stairs.
