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Chapter 10
Shen couldn’t believe how dark it was as he drove the rental car as fast as he dared around the snake like mountainous road of I-93 toward Phoenix. He’d driven the notorious Taconic Parkway from Queens to upstate New York on several occasions and thought its winding roads, threatening boulders, and speeding traffic couldn’t be topped; until now. Perhaps it was the mood he was in. He longed to be back in the arms of his new bride. He was foolish to leave her like he had.
His body ached and needed to stretch and rest. He looked for a sign that would give him an idea of how much further he had to go. When his headlights illuminated a sign with the words “Bloody Basin”, he shuddered.
He’d lost cell phone reception somewhere back on I-40. When the phone rang, he released air that he didn’t even know he was holding. He felt his muscles ease from their tenseness. Relief flooded him when he heard my voice on the
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Elsa made her way home after a long afternoon at the local Botanica. Her studies in the old family collections of spells and remedies hadn’t been of great use. Apparently, her family was not, nor had they ever been, adept at dealing with vampires. She needed to find help from another source.Her family still spoke their native language when gathered together, but she’d made it a point to be fluent in English, since it was the language that had settled the lands she now lived in. It never ceased to amaze her how others didn’t make the effort to fit in as best they could in the country that they chose to make their home. The old man who operated the Botanica barely spoke a word of English. Since she spoke minimal Spanish, it was a very long afternoon of energy draining communication until she felt she’d satisfactorily managed to acquire the few things she needed.By the time she’d reached the steps of her house, her limbs f
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Elsa listened to the ring through the receiver of her telephone. She’d managed to decipher the telephone number the Botanica owner had scribbled on a small piece of paper for her, as well as the name and was wasting no time making the telephone call. She’d counted six so far. What time was it in China, anyway? It was after ten o’clock her time, so it was after one o’clock the in the afternoon in Beijing. Ming Ho shouldn’t be sleeping at this hour. She was told he’d be there when she called. Why wasn’t he answering the telephone?As luck would have it Cui Fen, her housekeeper of twenty years, was an immigrant from Beijing and spoke fluent Mandarin. Since Elsa had never met Ming Ho and wasn’t certain he spoke English, she’d taken a risk and confided in Cui Fen with her story and her plight. To her amazement, not only had Cui Fen heard of Ming Ho, but her family had called upon him and his
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I had decided to go with Shen to pick up the voodoo priestess, Elsa Prescott, at the airport. I had limited knowledge of voodoo or religions of such, but from what I saw on the television and movies, the priestesses were always called “Mambo”. From what I was told by Shen, this woman went by the name of Elsa. Elsa, the African high priestess. How very odd. I hoped she was legitimate in her claims.Sky Harbor airport was uncommonly crowded, or so it seemed to Shen and me as we picked our way through the mass of people toward the US Airways arrival area. We’d barely settled in the waiting area when the plane eased its way to the terminal.It didn’t take long for the passengers to debark the plane.Elsa gave Shen a brief description of herself, but even if she hadn’t she’d have been easy to find. Her rich ebony skin against her deep purple tunic was a sight to behold. It was only surpassed by the combinati
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Bruce was silent during the drive back to the hotel. Shen and I sensed his need to think things through, so we refrained from disturbing him. Instead, we focused on contacting Ken to arrange for the use of a kitchen for Elsa.The same woman, who offered her home for the meeting opened her kitchen to Elsa. The ride to her Buckeye home from our Scottsdale hotel felt far longer than it did the first time. I figured it was because we were all anxious to get Bruce taken care of so we could focus on finding Tatyana; each for our own reason, of course.The sun was well behind the jagged mountain’s edge by the time we reached Millie’s home. Elsa said little during the drive, except to remark about how bland the houses looked. She didn’t understand the native concept of blending the homes in with the desert landscape with earth tone houses and stones for grass. She was of the frame of mind that we should celebrate life and o
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Nandru eased himself onto the fainting sofa that he’d brought with his from the old country. Hidden in the Big Horn Mountains, not far from Tonopah, his den made it easy for him to govern the vampire kingdom in Arizona, as well southern California, lower Utah, and all of New Mexico. He’d recently been approached to take over Nevada, a state that had always been immune from governing vampires while Wadim had reigned over the city of Las Vegas.Repelled by Wadim’s cannibalism, but respectful of the fact that he was the son of Count Dracula, Nandru and his associates had avoided any confrontations or interactions of any type with him or his den. Now, with him gone and the den in ruins, the state was open territory for those eager to expand their reign.A knock on the door to him study caused him to sit upright and call for entry. He smiled softly when he saw that it was his favorite mistress, Lucinda, seeking an audience.“I&rsqu
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I paced the floor of the hotel room. Bruce was a werewolf! I still couldn’t believe it.Shen put in a call to Ming Ho to discuss the matter. Ming Ho was openly disturbed by the turn of events. He felt we could still turn things around, but it meant capturing Bruce and getting that potion down his throat. It didn’t seem like such an easy task to Shen.To make matters worse, Elsa was pushing to return to San Diego to check on little Charles. I couldn’t blame her for wanting to assure the child’s safety. It was something that we all wanted. Even so, I’d sure feel better if she was in the area and available in case we needed her to whip up a fresh batch of that gooey looking gruel. Fortunately, she was sympathetic and understanding of this.We’d decided to put Elsa on a plane in the morning. She’d return to San Diego, check on Charles and then come back to continue the search. Millie requested t
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Even though the pounding on the door was loud enough to awaken the dead, Shen still had a difficult time rousing himself enough to get out of bed and answer it. He glanced at the digital alarm clock. Its brilliant numbers illuminated the time in the darkness of the room. It was one o’clock in the morning. Who did we know who’d be pounding on our hotel door at such an hour?Keeping the light off, he reached over to the bed next to him and shook me vigorously. I sat up with a start, but remained quiet as I gathered my wits about me.I slipped out of bed and stood flat against the wall behind the door while Shen slowly opened it.“I know it’s late boys, and I’m sorry, but we have a situation here that can’t wait,” Elsa blurted as she pushed her way past Shen. I let out a grunt as her powerful thrust of the door sent it crashing into my chest. She stopped and looked at me quizzically, but said nothing. &ldq
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Nandru entered his den with his spirits high. He could already feel the glory he’d be bathing in after he surrendered Bruce, me, and the baby to Dracula. He wasn’t clear on the reward that was set, but it didn’t matter. Shining in the eyes of his maker was reward enough. He’d been in the background for far too long.A shrill scream caught his attention and he rushed in its direction. Following its incessant flow, he found himself heading for the family’s private quarters. Recognizing the voice as that of his first mistress, Yolanda, his anxiety mounted as he envisioned what could possibly be causing her such distress.The corridors leading to the family wing seemed endless and he cursed himself for building such a complicated and extravagant den. Vampires stood in the doorways of their rooms with worried faces. No one dared to stop their commander to find out what was happening as they watched him dash past.
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