Chapter 1

In an expensive studio apartment in the Dupont Circle neighborhood of Washington

DC, a mummified corpse laid on a fluffy bed with purple sheets covered in red hair. The
corpse was shriveled, desiccated and hairless, as if it had been there for centuries,
though the cat print nightgown it had on was relatively new.
The subsonic alarm next to the bed went off at 6pm sharp. It omitted a sound too
low for mortal ears, but the dead could hear. The corpse groaned. A shriveled hand
slapped it off.
Gwendolyn McCallum, who went by simply Gwen, sat up and yawned, extending
her long, sharp fangs.
Gwen lumbered out of bed and across the room to the fridge. She opened it and
pulled out of a package of chilled cow's blood. It was not fresh human blood but would
do.
Most vampires drank animal blood, at least in the United States. This was due to a
centralized animal blood distribution network called Nosferatu Inc. She had ordered her
blood online through their website and they delivered the blood to her apartment
building the next evening. They also ran physical stores, but online was easier.
Gwen pierced the pack with her fangs and drank though them.
As she drank the mediocre tasting blood, life returned. Her body transformed into a
stunning petite redheaded woman that looked to be in her mid-twenties. The
mummification had all but vanished and hair had grown out of her head. Her evening
routine not done, however.
Gwen walked into the bathroom and took off her nightgown and stepped into the
shower. She washed herself like mortal would, with soap and shampoo. She stepped out
and dried herself off with a towel. She covered herself with a special cream that gave
her skin a healthy sheen. She sprayed on a perfume on her to cover up any lingering
smell of death. She brushed and sprayed her hair. She put contacts in her eyes that hid
their lifelessness. She brushed her teeth with a special tooth polish that wouldn't gum up
her fangs. Then she put on makeup to accentuate her features.
She walked back into the main room and put on black underwear and a slinky red
dress that matched her hair. She picked a pair of pumps and put them on. Next was a
long coat. Lastly, she took her purse and stepped out into the hallway.
Her neighbors, all mortal humans, were returning from at work. Her night had just
begun. She walked down to the lobby where a man from another floor checkedhis mail.
She walked up next to him and opened her mailbox and pulled out an envelope from the
management company. it was rent time.
Vampires used to live in mausoleums, but they had been banned in the United
States some decades before to keep vampires from living in them. Now vampires lived
in human dwellings and had to pay rent or be evicted, just like mortal humans.
She sighed. That meant one thing, she wouldhave to go to work.
Work meant seducing, stealing from, and killing a rich and powerful man. She only
had to do it once a year because she usually got enough to pay for the entire year. After
one hundred seventy-seven years, she had gotten pretty good . But her money were
running low again, so she had work... tomorrow.
The man, still going through his mail, said, "Hello."
"Hi," Gwen.
"Going to bite someone tonight?" The man said without looking away from his
mail.
Gwen looked at the man. "Excuse me?" She said.
The man turned and looked at her. "I heard from a neighbor you were a vampire."
 "I'm sorry, I don't think we've met."
The man dropped his mail. He opened his jacket and produced a cross around his
neck. Gwen yawned. The man's face twisted. "I guess you're not?"
Gwen opened her mouth and extended her fangs. "You're right, I am a vampire.
Crosses and holy water don't work on vampires. Only UV radiation from sunlight and
stabbing me through the heart will kill me. Silver hurts like a bitch but is survivable."
"Good," the man replied.
The man pulled out a knife and lunged at Gwen. She slid to the side. The man
stumbled. Gwen grabbed the arm holding the knife and twisted it behind him into a
hammer lock, causing him to drop the knife. She let go.
"Who are you? Do you really live here?'
"I do," the man said as he shook his arm. "I just thought that if I killed you, I could
collect a reward. You're very predictable, so I knew you'd be coming around now to get
the mail."
"Ok wanna be vampire hunter, only licensed and experienced vampire hunters
stand a chance, and I've killed plenty of them over the years. If I were you, I'd stop
trying to kill me. Next time," she snapped her teeth, "I'll kill you!"
He picked up his mail and walked to the elevator.
"What's your name?" Gwen called.
"Jason," the man said.
"Gwen." She retracted her fangs. "Nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you," Jason mumbled as he stepped into the elevator.
Gwen exited her apartment building, and used the Uber app on her phone to call for
a ride. Turning into mist and a bat was another myth about vampires. While she could
run fast and leap several stories, it would draw attention to herself. So, she acted like
mortals and called for an Uber.

Chapter 2
Situated in an industrial park in Northeast DC, Club Mystique was a trendy
nightclub, often hosting big time DJs that lit up the dance floor. Gwen's spent most of
her nights at Club Mystique, the days it was open. When it was not, she mostly stayed
in Dupont Circle at various night spots. On that Friday night, the club was hosting a
trendy DJ Gwen did not care to know the name of. While everyone else had to wait in
line with tickets to get in, Gwen did not have to bother, instead going to the VIP
entrance off to the side.
The bouncer there opened the door.
"Enjoy your night," he said.
Gwen smiled. "I will."
She entered the main dance floor, still mostly empty as a local DJ played a set. The
headliner would not be on for hours, but she was not there for him. Instead, she went to
the side of the dance floor and through a second door. Here was a second bouncer, a
hulking African American vampire named Tyrone. Tyrone stood in front of an elevator.
"Hello, Miss McCallum," he said.
"Hello," Gwen replied. She bared her fangs. While everyone at Club Mystique
knew her by name, club regulations still required her to prove she was a vampire to be
let in. Some stupid idiots though wearing fake fangs would fool Tyrone. They did not.
The idiots were thrown out of the club for life.
 He pressed a button, and the elevator door opened.
Gwen stepped inside and the elevator descended beneath the dance floor to the true
Club Mystique, a popular gathering spot for DC vampires, of which there were several
thousand. Washington DC was the seat of power in the United States, so it naturally
attracted dark forces eager to feed off politicians and their sycophants.
Glen entered the vampire club and gave her coat to the hostess named Amber, who
was a mortal human college student working at the club for extra money. Amber did not
have to worry about being fed on by the patrons. It was forbidden within Club Mystique
to feed on mortal employees. Mortals willing to work in a vampire club were very hard
to find for obvious reasons.
The club was done up with dark hardwoods like mahogany, the walls draped with
blood-red tapestries. The light was via thousands of candles. Ambient music wafted
over the loudspeaker. One could not hear the revelry above.
There was currently one other vampire in the club, Kamaria. Kamaria was a six-
hundred-year-old vampire from West Africa, from what was now Benin. Turned in
Africa, she crossed over on a slave ship bound for Jamaica and spent several centuries
haunting the Caribbean. Now she resided in Washington DC.
She wore a yellow dress typically found in Benin along with a headdress. She sat at
the bar drinking blood-wine, which was red wine mixed with various animal bloods.
Blood-wine was not a substitute for feeding on straight blood, rather it was a treat for
vampires.
Kamaria looked at Gwen. "Good evening, Gwen," Kamaria spoke in an stange
accent.
Gwen sat next to Kamaria. "Hello, Kamaria."
The bartender, an older human named James, placed a glass of blood-wine on the
table. It would automatically be charged to Gwen's tab.
"How are you this night?" Kamaria asked.
"Got my rent bill tonight. You know what the means."
"Won't your boyfriend care?" Kamaria asked.
Gwen rolled her eyes. He's not my boyfriend. He's just a human I fuck a few times
a year, that's all. Besides, because of what I'm about to do, I'll get to see him."
"Therefore, you should be out seducing."
Gwen sighed. "It's not that simple. I need to figure out who it will be, plan the
seduction and put it in action."
Kamaria held up her cell phone. "Why not go to Secret Rendezvous, I hear its all
the rage now in certain circles."
"What's Secret Rendezvous?"
"It's an app where rich and powerful men hook up with young attractive women
looking for sugar daddies. Its free for ladies to create a profile." Kamaria pulled out her
phone and brought up the app. "I used it once, matched with a man cheating on his wife.
He was such an asshole, I told his wife."
Gwen sipped the blood-wine. It was sweet and fruity. "I don't know..."
Kamaria laughed. "I'm three times older than you and I'm more technologically
advanced than you are. Try it, worst thing that happens is nothing at all."
Gwen shrugged. She brought out her phone, went to the app store and downloaded
it. She opened the app and clicked "create profile."
It asked for a username. "What should I call myself?"
"Don't vampire hunters call you 'the Red Widow'?"
"I never got that, I'm not a widow, I died before my husband did."
"But isn't your husband dead?"
 "Yes."
"And you're undead?"
"Yes."
"Then you're a widow."
Then they laughed. The real reason she was called the Red Widow was that she
preyed on rich men and had red hair.
Gwen was an Irish immigrant who came over with her family during the great
potato famine and settled in New York City along with many other Irish. She was
turned into a vampire two years after coming over by a vampire named Charles looking
for a beautiful bride, did not matter much if she was married with children. Her
relationship did not work out because she was Catholic and could not annull her
marriage due to some bizarre technicality.
Because she was undead, the church considered her still alive, and her husband
refused to annul. The relationship with Charles fell apart and Gwen could not bring
herself to kill her husband. Her husband would die several decades later. Charles, as far
as she knew, still haunted New York City.
As for her children, she removed herself from their lives and eventually lost track
of her descendants. Along with them, over the decades, she lost her thick Irish accent
and any connection to her heritage. Meeting her, one would not know she was an Irish
immigrant. Gwen was jealous Kamaria kept her heritage connection, but it was Gwen's
mistake to let it go in the first place.
"I guess I am then." She put her username as the "The Red Widow." She created a
password. Next were her details. She put her age as twenty-six, the age she was when
she was turned. She then put her measurements. It then asked for a blurb.
"What should I say?"
"Say the truth: That you're a sexy, fiery redhead who'll put you in heaven," Kamaria
said.
Gwen put that down in some many words.
It next asked for pictures.
Gwen handed her phone to Kamaria. "Take one of me." And she smiled.
There was an old superstition that vampires could not show up in mirrors or photos.
That was wrong. Vampires might have been supernatural, but even they had to conform
to the laws of physics... most of the time.
"No. Not of your face, but of your bare body."
"Are you serious?"
"Yes. These men are looking for sex. And you'll give it to them. Come with me."
They walked out of the club room and into a hallway off which were private rooms.
The stuff that went on in them could usually be classified as outright horror with what
on, usually the feeding on idiot mortals from above. They picked an empty room and
walked into it.
"Now you strip naked, and I take pictures," Kamaria said.
Gwen muttered to herself as she removed her clothes. Kamaria took several
pictures of Gwen's body, then handed the phone back.
Gwen put back on her clothes and they went back to the bar where Gwen picked
the best picture, which hid her face, but not much else.
The profile was complete.
"Now we wait," Kamaria said.
Gwen went back to her drink. Ten minutes later, her phone beeped. She picked it
up to find she already had a message.
 A user named Superman 426 texted, "Hey baby, r u available tonight? I'm horny
and the wife is not interested anymore."
This was too easy. "Yes, I am."
Superman426 exted an address with a room number. She looked it up to find the
address was a Budget Motel in Prince George's County outside DC.
"This seems fishy," Gwen said.
Kamaria smiled. "You're a vampire, you have nothing to fear," she replied.
"True but why that motel I wonder?"
"Nobody asks any questions there, I'm sure. It's also probably far away from the
wife."
Gwen replied, "On my way."
"I'm going," Gwen said to Kamaria.
"Good luck. Tell me all about it tomorrow."
Gwen exited the club, and called an Uber to take her to the motel.

Chapter 3
It was 11:30pm when she arrived at the Budget Motel. It was rather dumpy and not
in the best part of town. The motel was dark and quiet in the night. She got out of the
car and thanked the driver, who squealed off. She sensed she was being watched by the
less than savory characters hidden in the dark. She was a vampire. She had nothing to
fear.
Gwen walked to the room specified.
She knocked on the door.
The door opened to reveal a short, balding, chubby man in his fifties in khakis and
a polo. It was not much of a surprise his wife was no longer interested.
"Hi," Gwen said. "I'm Red Widow."
"And I'm Superman 426," he said. "But you can call me George." He stepped back.
"Come in."
She walked inside. He shut the door behind her. On one of the beds was red
lingerie. "Why don't you put that on in the bathroom while I get ready out here? I think
it's your size."
Gwen picked it up and looked at it. "It looks sexy, I can't wait to try it on."
She went into the bathroom, took off her clothes and put on the lingerie. It was
totally sexy!
She walked into the bedroom to find it empty. "George?" She said.
The closet door opened. She turned to find George running at her with a syringe
full of liquid.
Great, she had walked right into either a rapist or a serial killer's trap. It did not
matter which, but instead of instantly killing him, she'd let it play out, then drain him
dry.
He slammed the syringe into her neck and injected the liquid. "Night, night,"
George said.
The liquid, whatever it was, would have no effect on her, so she pretended to faint
and went limp. George picked her up and put her on the bed.
George climbed on top of her. She felt two fangs on her neck. She opened her eyes,
extended her own fangs and let out an otherworldly hiss.
 George instantly jumped up off the bed. "What the fuck?" He screamed. "You're a
vampire too?"
She sat up. "Yes, I'm a vampire." She crossed her arms. "You think anyone else
would show up in this rathole to screw you?"
They both started laughing at the fact that they had walked into each other's trap.
He planned to feed on her while she planned to feed on him.
George sat down on the bed. "My name is George, for real."
"I'm Gwen. I've never seen you around before."
"I'm a drifter. I use Secret Rendezvous to lure unsuspecting women to their demise,
and then move on. What were you using it for?"
"Luring a rich man to his demise and steal money so I can pay the rent," Gwen said.
"I'm sorry to disappoint you," George said. "I don't have much money."
"And the wife part?" Gwen asked.
"She was my first kill."
They told each other their story. George was a door-to-door vacuum cleaner
salesman from the 1950s. One day, he went to the wrong house, woke up the resident
vampire, and the vampireturned George as punishment for waking him up from his
slumber. George went home that night, fed on his wife, then drifted the country around
ever since, never staying in one place more than a few years.
"What's with the tranquilizer?" Gwen said.
"I have a thing for feeding on comatose women in sexy lingerie. It's not so different
from you feeding on rich men during sex right before they cum. Every vampire has their
own distinctive feeding kink."
"I guess you're right," Gwen said. She nodded. "I never thought of it that way."
George slyly smiled. "Since we're both here, do you mind if we fuck anyway?"
Gwen thought about it. She had not gotten laid in a few months and to not have sex
right then would have made the whole ordeal pointless. She nodded. "Might as well."
They disrobed and proceeded to have vampire sex. Sex between vampires was
better than sex between humans because vampires never had to worry about pregnancy
and STDs, it could last a long time, and things were far less messy.
Despite his appearance and initial actions, George was surprisingly a decent lover
who tried hard to please, making her cum twice.
When they were done, they cuddled in bed and talked.
"I made the most money," Gwen said, "a few years ago. I pretended to be an escort
providing the girlfriend experience. The guy ended up forking over a million in cash
and gifts before I killed him."
"Why don't you keep doing that?" George asked.
"I have to keep changing my act to keep one step ahead of vampire hunters. Also,
being an escort really isn't my style."
"Fair enough. I wish I had a gig like yours, most years I barely scrounge up enough
to survive. This year I happened to win some money with a scratch off, so I so could
afford the Secret Rendezvous subscription."
Gwen got up and dressed. "I should get back to my apartment before the sun comes
up."
"Good idea," George said. "I'm staying in DC for a bit. We should do this again."
"That would be wonderful. Can I keep the lingerie? I like it."
"It's yours," George replied.
Gwen took the lingerie and left George's hotel room.
 ***

When she was back in her apartment, Gwen called Kamaria and told her about her
experience with George.
"It's hilarious that happened, but I am glad you got a pleasurable time out the deal."
"I'm wondering just how many vampires frequent Secret Rendezvous, it could be
half the active platform," Gwen replied.
"I'd keep trying, eventually you'll hit a real well-off human."
"I'll try one more time. If he's a vampire too, I'm off the platform."
"Fair enough," Kamaria said.
The call ended.
Gwen checked the app to find another message, this time from a SexyAce: "I'm a
buff lawyer looking for a good woman to treat to a cooked dinner and more. Are you
available tomorrow night for dinner at my place?"
That was odd, usually one never brought someone to their house for a first date.
One generally met in a public place. But this SexyAce probably had his reasons.
Perfect. "Yes I am. What's your address?"
The man did not reply right away. Gwen got ready for bed and went back to being
dead.

Chapter 4
Gwen awoke in the late afternoon to find a message from SexyAce with his address
and to meet him at 7pm at his place. The address was another apartment in the Dupont
Circle neighborhood, close enough she could walk there.
Gwen replied, "I'll be there."
She proceeded to do her wake-up routine. This time, she put on a more
conservative dress. This man, if he was really a man, would be her prey and she would
toy with him a little.
When the time came, she walked the several blocks to his apartment and dialed up.
He remotely opened the door, and she took the elevator up.
Gwen went to his door and knocked. It opened to reveal a man straight out of a
romance novel cover. Buff, sexy and with a half-buttoned shirt showing off his
muscular chest. He was just the man she wouldlove to drain dry, figuratively and
literally.
"Are you Red Widow?" He said in a deep, sexy voice.
"Yes." She held up her phone with their conversation on it. "Are you SexyAce?"
"I am, I'm Ron."
She wondered if he'd be another vampire, so she looked past him into the dining
room, and saw a table set for two with food already on it. She could see beyond to the
balcony and out to the city. Vampires had their windows and balcony doors painted
over to let no light in, just as Gwen had hers. A real vampire would not risk bringing a
random woman to their actual dwelling because it would be blatant something was up.
It was why George had chosen a Budget Motel in a bad part of town.
Ron was human.
 "Come on in."
Gwen walked inside and she handed him her coat. He put it in the closet.
"Why not a dinner in a fancy restaurant?"
"I'm great cook, almost decided to pursue being a chef, but chose law school
instead. I've found prior girlfriends loved when I'd cook for them."
They walked into the dining room. The meal would be roast beef, mashed potatoes
and asparagus paired with a vintage red Bordeaux.
If she were human, her mouth would be watering. She was not hungry, but she had
to play the part. "Looks delicious."
"Sit and eat," he said.
They sat and ate, Ron faster than her. Ronald was a lawyer in his late 30s with a
high-priced DC law firm. He was not interested in settling down but had money to burn
and wanted to burn it on women.
"How about, if this works," he said, "we take a nice vacation to Aruba?"
"That sounds amazing." While a vacation would be nice, traveling long distances as
a vampire was extremely difficult without prior planning. When Gwen made the move
from New York City to Washington DC twenty-one years prior, she planned the trip in
advance, planning for contingencies like getting stuck on the New Jersey Turnpike as
the sun came up.
Then it was her turn.
"I'm a staff member of Congressman Harris from New York. I mostly take
incoming phone calls and answer emails from constituents. It's rather boring work to be
honest, but it does have its occasional perks of rubbing elbows with famous politicians."
Congressman John Harris from New York had been dead for thirty years. Most
people, even then, did not know his name. Ron would not live long enough to find out
her deception.
It was a myth that vampires could enthrall humans to do their bidding or tell them
anything. However, Gwen could work her feminine charms well. The longer dinner
went on the looser she made her dress and the more sexual her demeanor, including
playing with her hair, pushing her chest out, and licking her lips.
Soon, they were making out on the couch. They shed their clothes. She took the
lead.
She rolled Ron onto his back and straddled him. She began to ride up and down,
keeping a nice rhythm. Her goal was not her pleasure, but his. This was work and she
needed to get it over with. Fortunately, like most human males, he would not last long.
At the edge of his orgasm, she threw her head back and extended her fangs.
Ron's face twisted in fear. He was flaccid in a flash, but she held him in her grip.
He squirmed and thrashed but she was too strong for him. Gwen leaned forward,
pushing him down into the couch, and she sunk her teeth into his shoulder as he
screamed.
She drank.
The taste she got from his blood was of fear, not pleasure, but it was tasty all the
same.
When Gwen came up, Ron was a desiccated corpse, his blood and lifeforce
completely drained from his body.
She went to the bathroom and cleaned herself. She vomited up the undigested food
in the toilet. Then she went to work cleaning him out.
She took his phone and tried his fingers on the fingerprint scammer until the phone
unlocked. On it was a bank app. She unlocked that and saw that his bank account was
full of cash. He must have gotten paid recently. She initiated a wire transfer to a
compromised bank account under someone else's name. It would take a few days, but
once the transfer was complete, the money would be gone.
She found his laptop, locked with a password, but she had his phone, so it was
quickly unlocked. Then she went into his browser and found his investment account in
the bookmarks and cleaned it out of cash as well. She netted about three hundred fifty
thousand. Not as much as she wanted, but it would do for now. She occasionally had to
kill twice in year, but it had been some time since she had to do that.
On her way out, she took his phone and laptop, went to the floor's trash room, and
dropped them in. Nobody would be any wiser for a few days.

Chapter 5

Gwen returned to her apartment building satiated and happy. Another rich man
dead and her rent paid for a year. She took the elevator up to her floor and walked down
the hall.
As she put the key in the lock, Gwen heard running. She turned to see Jason
throwing a vial of liquid at her. It splashed it on her.
Her skin felt on fire.
She became to scream.
She fell to her knees in agony.
All she could hear was Jason, "It works! It works you fucking liar! Holy water does
work, it just needs to be formulated by the right hunter who knows what they're doing!
Now you'll suffer, you bitch!"
The hallway began to spin and warp. She looked up to see not Jason, but Ronald
standing there looking desiccated. "Why? Why did you do this to me? What did I do to
deserve death?"
"I needed you to live!" Gwen screamed.
"You don't live, you're undead. Your existence is just one kill to the next, no
purpose, no meaning," Ron said. "You slumber through the centuries with no goal. You
just kill a man and kill time until the next kill. What is the purpose of existing if you
don't do anything with the gift you have been given?"
"How?"
"You have the power to change the world, but you squander it on luxury and death!
Now you'll rot in Hell for all eternity!"
"Why?" Gwen cried.
Ron pointed at her. "Because you are evil!"
"No, I'm not!"
"What good have you done? What joy have you brought? Nothing. You bring only
misery to mortals, and now you will suffer!"
Gwen fell through the floor into a pit of darkness. At the bottom was a fiery
hellscape of the dammed, her flesh roasting off her body forever as she felt every
second. She screamed in anguish, but nobody cared because she was in Hell, and she
would be punished for her wickedness.
 She saw all the men she had feasted on over the years and felt their torment, their
pain. She understood that she was a monster and had always been a monster. It did not
matter if they were good or evil, they should not have died at her fangs.
She did not live. This was not living. Ron was right, her existence was pointless
and cloaked in darkness. Gwen pretended she was one of the good vampires by only
killing one human once a year to survive. Instead, she was evil incarnate, a parasite on
the living.
Gwen curled up and cried tears of blood. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" she repeated.
She felt bathed in love, not fire. She saw a figure of light standing before her.
"Gwen," it said. "You don't have to be evil. You can be good. Be the light, not the
darkness. Become The Fanged Angel and save humanity from the darkness your kind
brings!"
She reached up towards the light and tried to touch the figure, who took her hand.
She saw what she must do. She must be better. She must be a paragon. She must be a
hero. She must stop feeding on innocent humans. Instead, she must save them from the
darkness.
She found herself on her knees back in the hallway with Jason standing before her.
She rose and grabbed him. "Where did you get it?! Where did you get this holy
water?! I need to know!"
"Father Juan Sanchez of Santa Maria Bible Church in Langley Park."
"Is he there now?"
"He's a vampire hunter, so he might be. Why do you ask? Planning on killing him?"
She looked at him with wild eyes. "No. I have seen the light! I know now what I
must do and save humanity! Thank you!"
She ran into her apartment and slammed the door behind her.
"You're welcome!" Jason shouted. He walked off down the hall audibly mumbling
to himself.
She could not wait. She ran into her medicine cabinet and pulled out a bottle of
vampire sunscreen, 1000 spf. Not a whole lot was left in the bottle, but it would do for
that day. She'd pick up more later.

She covered the parts of herself that would be exposed, her face and hands.
She ran out the door and took an Uber to Langley Park.

Chapter 6

Langley Park was a heavily Hispanic suburb of DC, so much so that most of the
signage was in Spanish. Gwen did not speak Spanish, but she had a feeling Father
Sanchez spoke English.
Iglesia Bíblica de Santa María was a storefront church in a shopping center between
a pupusa restaurant and a hairdresser. She arrived to find the church dark and locked.
The parking lot was empty as all the stores were closed, except for one car parked in
front of the church. She peered through the window. In the back of the church, a door
was open, and faint light streamed out.
She banged on the glass. But nobody came.
 Somebody was in there. She had to get in. She would not come back later.
She noted the security notice on the door. If she broke the glass, the alarm would
sound. She realized there was probably a back door. Try that.
She noted the number and walked around the shopping center to the back alley and
went to the door that corresponded with the number.
She tried the door and found it open.
She walked inside and down the hallway past a storeroom and restrooms into the
church. She walked to the door with the light and saw stairs leading downwards. She
walked down the stairs into a vampire hunter's lair.
All around her were crosses and pictures of saints. In one corner was a cauldron of
holy water. Vampire-killing weaponry hung along one wall, some simple silver, others
more high-tech.
Sitting at a desk facing away from her was an older Hispanic man wear priestly
clothing reminiscent of a Catholic priest. He was reading an old book. Next to the book
was what appeared to be a flashlight.
"After all these years," Father Sanchez said, "I have finally met The Red Widow,
who only kills once a year when her rent is due." He picked up the flashlight and spun
his chair around to face her. His face was pock-marked, and a noticeable scar ran down
his left cheek, no doubt given to him by a vampire. "This flashlight shines a UV light so
powerful your sunscreen will not protect you. Try anything, and I'll reduce you to dust."
"How did you know I would be coming?"
"Jason Roth called me. Said you would be coming to see me. I left the back door
open for you."
"Where did you get that holy water?"
Sanchez picked up the book he was reading. "I prepared it myself according to the
steps outlined in this book. This book was written by a vampire hunter who managed to
figure out the correct way to formulate the water by studying works on vampires from
all over the world and putting it all together into said formula. It's the only known
original copy still in existence because only five copies were ever printed and the other
four were destroyed by vampires, with good reason, as you found out."
"When I was splashed with it, I saw things. I saw who I really am, a being of evil
who deserves to suffer in Hell for all eternity. Then I saw a figure of light tell me I
should save humanity from the darkness. I should become The Fanged Angel."
Sanchez rubbed his chin. "I should laugh at you for thinking you could ever save
humanity from your kind. But The Fanged Angel is a very specific, obscure, reference
and lends credence to the idea you were not hallucinating." Sanchez stood and went to a
bookcase and pulled out a book. "There was a Jewish prophet by the name of Seth
whose writings were not put in the Old Testament. He speaks of a vampire that will turn
against his kind and deliver humanity from darkness. The vampire will be known as The
Fanged Angel. However, note I said 'he,' the legend speaks of a male vampire, you are
not a 'he.'"
"Does it matter?" Gwen asked.
"No. While you are a hundred pounds soaking wet, you do have enhanced strength
and speed, and will only get more powerful with age. He pointed to his scar. "This scar
was given to me by a female ancient I killed some years back in Bavaria. I was lucky I
managed to escape with just the scar." He opened the book to a page and handed it to
her. "Read."
Gwen read out loud. "'And I see a figure of darkness. He is an abomination who
feeds upon the Children of Israel. However, the figure of darkness will realize who he is
and what he is. He will then be cast out from his kind because he is no longer like them
and he will grow to despise them. He will fight his own kind to save the Children of
Israel from them. He will become a fanged seraph and bring the light back to the land of
Israel.'"
"What's a seraph?" Gwen asked.
"It's another term for angels."
She handed the book back to him and frowned.
"What's wrong?" Sanchez asked.
"I don't hate other vampires. Not all feed on humans. I know Kamaria doesn't."
"Make no mistake, Kamaria has murdered countless in her time. Just because she
does not choose to feast on humans now does not mean she would not, given the
opportunity. Her heart is even blacker than yours."
"You don't know her like I do."
"I don't have to know her. She fed on the slaves in the boat on her way over here.
Then she murdered the entire crew upon docking in Kingston so they'd stay silent. She's
fed on countless since. It was why she was mythologized in the Caribbean. Parents
would tell their children to behave, otherwise Kamaria would come in the night. It was
why she eventually had to leave, there was a push to eliminate her. Vampires rarely
change unless there's a reason too. Choosing to feed solely on animal blood is not really
a change because most vampires feed on mostly animal blood today. I'm sure Kamaria
will feast on human blood again, when the time is right."
She frowned again. "Oh." Sanchez was right. Darkness lay within Kamaria; Gwen
chose to ignore it.
"Yes, every vampire you find will have a dark and twisted existence," Sanchez said
as he sat down in his chair. "At least you now realize who you truly are and want to
change, else you would not be here."
"We should splash every vampire with your holy water, and they'll all turn," Gwen
said.
"I have splashed countless vampires with my holy water, and none had the reaction
you had. Maybe you are the vampire Seth spoke of. There is only one way to find out.
You must kill a vampire yourself."
"But if I do that, I will be ostracized by my community, banned from Club
Mystique and Nosferatu's website physical stores, possibly destroyed. It's part of the
unwritten vampire code not to kill other vampires."
"Remember the prophecy, 'he will then be cast be out from his kind,' why do think
this happens?"
"Again, where will I get my blood? Where will I sleep? Vampires know where I
live."
"Don't worry about that. First, I know a guy at the Red Cross. He can get you
human blood taken from volunteers thinking they're donating to blood banks. Second,
there's a safehouse nearby for those who are being actively hunted by vampires. You
can stay there as long as you don't order Ubers there. So, pick your first vampire and kill
them."
"But I'm not sure who I can kill... wait... there was the vampire at the Budget
Motel." She told Father Sanchez about George.
"Perfect choice, he's a drifter, so the local vampire community is not aware of him,
nor do they care."
Sanchez stood. He took a vial and filled it with holy water from the cauldron. He
went to a cabinet and pulled out some thin metal stakes. He handed them to her.
"Don't I get a cool costume and high-tech weaponry?" Gwen asked.
"In due time. First prove you are the prophesied vampire."
 "I will."
As she was about to walk up the stairs, Sanchez said, "Be sure to bring me proof of
the kill."
"I'm not sure what," Gwen said.
"You'll think of something."
Once Gwen was outside, she felt like calling Kamaria and telling her. However, she
realized that was a terrible idea.
The path she had chosen was a long and lonely one, but there was light at the end.
Hopefully, she would exist long enough to get there.

Chapter 7

Ron, full name Ronald Bloustein, did not show up for work on Monday morning
without phoning, missing an important client meeting. With the phone not answering,
the law firm contacted his emergency contact, his sister, who lived not far away. She
had a key to his apartment. She found poor Ron nude and desiccated on the couch.
That is how vampire hunter Chad Stone, with his bulging muscles and olive tan,
found himself in Ron's apartment's basement trash room later that day. He wore a black
leather outfit and carried his special vampire-killing shotgun on his back.
Ron's body did not interest him. The missing cell phone and laptop did. He dug
through the trash bin at the bottom of the trash chute, pulling out bag after bag, ignoring
the horrible stench. Not glorious work, but he had a feeling he'd find them there.
Eventually, he found the laptop and phone next to each other. He turned on both and
they loaded up. The bags below them had softened the fall.
He went back to the apartment. He tried using all ten of Ron's fingers to unlock the
phone, but it would not unlock. The body was too cool and too poor shape for Ron's
fingers to trigger the fingerprint sensor.
A Metropolitan DC police office, an Officer Mason, filled out paperwork in the
kitchen.
"Hey," Chad called, "how do I unlock his cell phone? The finger trick isn't
working."
"Get a warrant," Mason called back.
"That will take too long. I need it unlocked now."
Mason walked over to Chad. "Due to encryption on the phone, you can't unlock it
without a warrant. Besides, this is the Red Widow. You have another year before she
strikes again."
"That's just it," Chad replied. "The trail will go cold again, and I'll have to wait
another year to get back on track."
"But you know who the Red Widow is, right?"
"Yes. Let's say just say we've run into each other before."
"Then go interrogate her," Mason said.
Chad closed his eyes and sighed. "Regulations prohibit me from even approaching
her without solid evidence to tie her to the crime. That's why I need this phone
unlocked."
"She's on the apartment's CCTV coming and going. There's a record of her dialing
this apartment. What more do you need?"
 "I practically need a picture of her sticking her fangs into his shoulder."
Mason crossed his arms. "I've stories of old-school vampire hunters, they did what
they wanted, when they wanted. Now you're all ham strung by FBSA bullshit. No
wonder vampires are more numerous now in the US than they ever have been at any
prior point in world history. "
The Federal Bureau of Supernatural Affairs licensed and regulated vampire hunters.
At first, it was to protect the average people from the vampires by making sure only
strong and capable hunters could hunt them. Now it protected vampires from vampire
hunters with obscene regulations. It was frankly a chain around Chad's neck he wished
was gone.
"Blame the vampire lobby strong-arming congress to pass laws that tie up vampire
hunter."
Mason raised an eyebrow. "There's a vampire lobby?"
"Yes. There is even a vampire congressman, not much power, but he's there."
"Who is it?" Mason asked.
"That's well guarded secret, I know who he is, but I'm signed to an agreement not to
share."
"I don't need you tell me; I'll find the stiff that never ages." They both laughed.
"Regardless," Mason said, "maybe it's time to bend the rules a little."
"You're right," Chad said as he rubbed his chin in thought. "It's time to bend the
rules."
He exited the apartment building and went to his car, a modified Ford Expedition.
He got inside, turned it on, and drove the five blocks to Gwen McCallum's apartment
building.

***

The subsonic alarm went off. Gwen opened her eyes. She glancedat the clock. It
was three hours early. Not only that, but the lights were also on. She saw Chad standing
at the foot of the bed. Gwen automatically knew why, and her body tingled in
excitement.
"Hello, Gwen," Chad said.
"Hello, Chad," Gwen said as she sat up. "I guess you figured out I killed that man."
"I did. And I'm here to talk to you about it."
Gwen lumbered out of bed and shuffled towards the fridge. "You know you could
lose your license for being here unannounced."
Chad stepped in front of her. "I know, but I've decided to bend the rules this time."
Gwen tried to go around him, but Chad held his arm out, blocking her path.
"You really want to do this while I look like this?" She cooed, a shriveled hand
rubbing his chest.
Chad stepped to the side. Gwen went to fridge and pulled out cow's blood, which
she drank. She un-shriveled.
Gwen retracted her fangs and threw the packet into the trash. She then stepped
close to Chad.
Chad held his nose. "Go shower."
"I'll go shower."
She went and washed away the smell of death.
 She walked back in the room completely naked. Chad had vacuumed the hair off
the bed.
She stepped close to him. After a few seconds, Chad wrapped his arms around her
and smelled her clean body. Their lips met.
They kissed in each other's arms, Gwen reveling in Chad's masculine aura. She
could feel his manhood grow in his pants.
"Oh, how I've missed you!" Gwen said as Chad lifted her up and carried her to the
bed. He laid her upon it and began to kiss her supernaturally soft skin.
Gwen descended into ecstasy.
Gwen's relationship with Chad was forbidden. He was a vampire hunter. She was a
vampire. They were not supposed to be together, but it always felt so right when they
were. Chad was the first human in decades who made her feel alive. In another life, they
would be married with children, but it was not to be. Eventually Chad would grow old
and gray and then decay into dust. She could turn him into a vampire by draining him to
the edge of death, then feeding him her vampiric blood. She felt that would be wrong.
Chad's mother was a vampire who was turned when Chad was ten. Seeing
vampirism turn a kind woman into a remorseless monster meant Chad did not want the
same for himself. Gwen would not turn Chad unless he wanted it. For the moment, she
would enjoy their secret rendezvous.
Her relationship with Chad began seven years prior, when he was a new vampire
hunter. He got her case when she killed a man and managed to track her down in an
alleyway.
He had her at the butt of his shotgun, ready to fire. But there was a strong, almost
animalistic attraction between them.
She stepped into his shotgun, but he did not fire. She grabbed it out of his hands
and dropped it. They closed in. She retracted her fangs.
They kissed, fell onto the pavement, and Gwen had the best fuck in two decades in
that alleyway.
Chad never lasted longer than five to ten minutes, but it was always an intense five
to ten minutes.
When it finished, Chad immediately dozed off, as he usually did. Gwen wanted to
stay there with him. However, she had something to do that night: Kill George.
She slipped out of bed and went to the bathroom to freshen up. She put on her
slinky red dress again.
She texted George. "Are you available for a round two?"
"No. I have a lady coming over," he replied with a wink emoji.
"Never mind," she texted back.
George was going to kill a human woman, she knew it. She debated whether killing
him tonight was a good idea. On one hand, if the lady was not over, she could kill him
with few if any witnesses. However, if her purpose was to save humanity from
vampires, there was a good place to start.
She walked over to Chad in bed and pushed him. "Walk up, sleepy head. I have
things to do."
Chad opened his eyes and frowned. "You usually clear your schedule when you're
with me. What's up?"
She could keep her secret and risk a big blow up later when it comes out or tell him
now and get it over with.
Gwen sat on the bed and told him about getting hit with holy water. "It was like for
the first time in a hundred and seventy-seven years, I finally saw that I am a monster. I
needed to change."
 He took her hand in his. "You're not really a monster. There's some good in you, I
know it."
"That's just it, it needs to come out."
She told him about Father Sanchez.
"You should have come to me," Chad said.
Gwen looked down. "I know. But it was sudden, and Father Sanchez created the
holy water, so I felt I needed to talk to him."
Chad got out of bed and started to dress. "I'm coming with you."
"Why?"
"Because if your change is real, I need to be there in case things go wrong," he said
as he put on his underwear.
"I tell you I've changed, and you accept it?" Gwen asked.
Chad sat down on the bed and took her hand. "I wouldn't have been with you all
these years if you were completely evil. When you kill, I'm not angry, just disappointed
you keep falling into the same trap. But if you have suddenly changed, I want to see the
results." He smiled.
She could not help but smile back. "Alright." She kissed him. "You can come, but
let me do the kill."

Chapter 8

They drove to the Budget Motel, Chad getting some McDonald's along the way.
They sat in the Expedition in the back of the lot with the lights off.
The hours started to tick by.
"Maybe she's not coming," Chad said.
"No, George likes to work in the middle of the night," Gwen replied. "I am sure she
is coming."
"You may want to kill him now, before the woman gets here."
Gwen shook her head. "No, I want my first kill to be heroic."
Chad groaned. "Being a vampire hunter is a dangerous thankless job. Once you are
cleared to kill, you just kill, you don't wait for the right timing. The clearance can be
retracted at any time."
Then a Subaru pulled into the parking lot and parked near George's room. A
beautiful woman stepped out and walked to George's door and knocked.
"Here we go," Gwen said, and she stepped out of the vehicle. She grabbed her
purse and shut the door.
The door opened and George welcomed the woman inside.
Gwen silently ran across the parking lot, almost floating over the pavement.
She stood next to the door and listened in.
"Put this on," George said through the door.
"I don't feel like it. let's just get it on," The woman said.
A man two doors down in jeans and a t-shirt stepped out of his room. He noticed
Gwen and nodded, then lit his cigarette.
"I said put it on!" George said.
 "Never mind, this was a bad idea," the woman said. "I'm leaving."
"No, you're not!"
The woman screamed.
The man heard the scream and started for the room. Gwen opened her mouth, bared
her fangs, and shook her head.
The man's face drained of blood. He backed into his room and shut the door. The
screaming continued from George's room.
Gwen kicked the door. it flew open with a thud. She pulled the vial of holy water
out of her purse and popped the top.
George had the screaming thrashing woman pinned down on the bed his fangs
ready to bite.
"Help me! The woman screamed.
George stared at Gwen with shock. "Gwen, what are you doing here?!"
"This!" Gwen zipped to the bed. She threw the holy water into George's face.
George screamed and rolled off the bed grabbing his face.
Gwen pulled a stake from her purse. She rolled George onto his back. She stabbed
the stake through his ribs into his heart.
George instantly turned to dust.
Gwen stood. The visibly stunned woman did not know how to react. "Did George
have a syringe with him?" Gwen asked.
The woman pointed to the dresser. There was syringe on top. Gwen took the
syringe and put it in her purse.
Gwen walked towards the door.
"Who are you? The woman called.
Gwen turned with a beaming smile. "The Fanged Angel."
Gwen walked out of the hotel room and shut the door behind her.
Chad was talking to the man out of a smoke, who had his cell phone in his hand.
"Why shouldn't I have called the cops?" The man said.
"Because we were cleared to kill the vampire. This is not a police matter."
The man pointed at Gwen. "She's no vampire hunter. She's a motherfucking
vampire!"
"Regardless," Chad said. "The police should not be involved. But what's done is
done. Just tell them Chad Stone killed the vampire, they'll understand."
The man folded his arms. "You want me to lie?!"
"Yes, it's better for everyone that you lie," Chad replied.
Police sirens blared off in the distance.
Chad and Gwen took off running for the Expedition.
They jumped inside. Chad turned the SUV on, hit the gas and sped out of the
parking lot.
"There's one problem in your plan," Gwen said.
"What is that?" Chad replied.
"The woman I saved is going to tell them a vampire saved her."
Chad groaned and slammed the steering wheel. "Fuck! I knew this was going to
spin out of control!"
"You don't get it. This was always going to spin out of control. I'm destined to be
cast out of my kind, it's in the prophecy. If I didn't want that to happen, I wouldn't have
stabbed him."
"I know. I just want to protect you, that's all."
 Gwen smiled and grabbed his thigh. "I know. But I don't need to be protected. I can
take care of myself. Anyways, a vampire hunter will be assigned to this case, do you
know who it will be?"
"This being PG county, Sanchez probably."
Gwen replied, "Then that is the first place we go."

***

Vincente Boni sat in the back seat of his Rolls Royce down the street from the
Budget Motel. He did not want to be there, but the rumor that the vampire George
Palmer died at the hand of a vampire was too important to let slide, even if he was a
drifter.
The third rule of the vampiric code, which stretched back thousands of years, was
that vampires did not kill other vampires. If somebody had broken that code, it was to
be dealt with.
He poured himself a glass of chilled teenage human blood and drank it while
waiting for the investigation to finish up. Such fine blood was only for the richest
vampires.
A police detective, Detective George Johnson, a middle-aged male, got in the car
and sat next to Vincente.
"Did the vampire hunter arrive yet?"
"We're still searching for one," Johnson said. "Juan Sanchez declined the case, said
inter-vampiric violence was not his concern."
"Good. If we can keep this among ourselves, the better."
"According to both witnesses, Vampire Hunter Chad Stone was at the scene and
was with the killer."
Vincente nodded. "Then we must pay him a visit."
"I'd refrain from doing that," Johnson said. "If you kill him this early, it may draw
the wrath of the FBSA."
"Fair point. But are you sure the vampire is Gwendolyn McCallum?"
"According to Ms. Anderson, George called her Gwen. And Gwendolyn McCallum
fits the description given by both witnesses. Also, we have her on a security camera, but
could not get good enough facial recognition for an automatic id, but we're positive it's
her based on manual comparison."
Vincente reached into his suit pocket. He pulled out ten hundred-dollar bills and
handed them to the Detective. "Thank you for the invaluable information."
Johnson started to scoot out of the car, when he stopped. "There was something
else. Gwen McCallum called herself, 'The Fanged Angel.' I'm not sure it means
anything beyond her giving herself a cool sounding name."
"It means a lot, but it's not your concern. Good night, Detective Johnson."
Johnson left the car.
Vincente signaled to his human driver to pull off.
"What are you going to do?" The driver asked.
"End this before it ever goes anywhere." Vincente pulled his out phone. He went to
contacts and pressed one of them. The number rang and a man picked up. "Hello,
Director Carmichael, the is Vincente Boni. We have a little issue I'd to discuss."
"What is it?" Director Carmichael asked.
"Gwen McCallum and Chad Stone," Vincente replied.
 Chapter 9

Gwen and Chad pulled up at the church. There was no light inside and the back
door was locked.
"Do you know where Father Sanchez lives?" Gwen asked as they walked back to
the Expedition.
"Nearby, I think, not sure exactly where though." Chad pulled out his cellphone. He
dialed a number. "He's not picking up either. He could be busy."
Gwen then pulled out her cellphone. "Give me his number. I'll call him. He may
pick up for me." Chad did, and she dialed. It rang, but Sanchez did not pick up. "I guess
he is busy. We'll come back. Take me home."
They got in the Expedition. Chad turned it on. Then Sanchez's car squealed into the
parking lot and pulled up next to them.
They all got out.
Sanchez glanced at Chad. "The rumor of the relationship between you two is
correct after all."
"It is, what of it?" Chad said.
"Nothing," Sanchez said, "I just find it interesting. Regardless, sorry I didn't pick
up. My car is old, doesn't have Bluetooth, and I don't talk on my cell while driving."
Sanchez unlocked the front door and let them inside. He then locked it behind him.
They walked down to the vampire hunter lair.
"So, tell me exactly what happened. The cops on the phone painted a picture of
sloppiness, but I want to hear it from you," Sanchez said as he sat at his desk.
"I wouldn't call it sloppy," Chad said. "There was just a witness we didn't account
for."
"That witness called the cops and said you gave him your name, which is sloppy."
Chad's eyes narrowed. "You're not my boss. Don't tell me what I should have
done!"
"I'm not. I'm just saying that the FBSA will be breathing down your throat because
of what you did."
"I thought that if I gave my name, the witness would finger me instead of Gwen."
"Instead, he pointed to you both."
"And what about me?" Gwen said.
Sanchez sighed "I don't know. On one hand, it looks like George is dead with
minimal struggle. On the other, you left too many witnesses. There should have been
none."
"I wanted my first kill to be heroic," Gwen said. "I wanted there to be at least one
who knew my name."
Sanchez put his face in his hands and sighed. "You're not a spandex-wearing
superhero. You're an unlicensed vampire hunter. George should have been killed when
he was alone. If you had done that, none of what occurred after would have happened."
Gwen frowned. "Sorry."
"What's done is done," Sanchez said. "You'll learn." He turned toChad. "You
should have known better."
Gwen folded her arms. "What is with you two?"
 "He and I see things a little differently," Chad said. "He's more old-school in his
approach. I'm more by the current book."
"Apparently not," Sanchez replied, "as your relationship with Ms. McCallum here
is frowned upon by the FBSA."
At that moment, almost as if on cue, Chad's phone beeped. He pulled it from his
pocket and sighed when he read the message.
"Iyer wants to see me at noon."
"Then you better get some sleep," Sanchez said.
"Yeah, I'm not welcome here either..." He looked at Gwen. "You'll be fine?"
"I'll be fine." She kissed him and Chad went up the stairs. They heard the front door
open and shut.
Sanchez pulled a pen and paper from his desk and gave it to Gwen. "Write down
your measurements. I'm going to order you a skintight full-body catsuit to hunt In."
"Now that I've hunted. I prefer my dress..."
Sanchez raised an eyebrow. "Didn't you want a sexy costume?"
"Well, yes."
"Well, you'll get one. Your dress offers poor protection. In addition, I'm going to
order you a full helmet. This will allow full protection from UV radiation. Vampires
might not use UV, but vampire hunters will."
"Vampire hunters will be after me?"
"Yes, now that the FBSA is involved, it'll only be a matter of time before a squad of
them shows up and they'll use UV weapons."
Gwen thought and nodded. It was a real possibility. She wrote down her
measurements and gave it back to Sanchez.
"What about a weapon?"
Sanchez walked over to the wall of weapons and took a gauntlet off the wall with
leather straps hanging off. He handed it to Gwen. "Put your left arm through the straps
and tighten."
Gwen did so. "Now what?"
Sanchez stepped away. "Turn your wrist down and pull the strap."
Gwen did so and metal shards unfurled from the gauntlet and came together into a
shiny, sharp sword. She swung it a few times. "This cool. But seems unwieldy to stab in
the heart."
"It's designed to chop heads off."
"That works," Gwen replied.
Gwen had lied to Jason, there were four ways to kill a vampire, not two. In addition
to stabbing in the heart and UV radiation, vampires could also die from fire and having
their heads chopped off.
"How do I retract the sword?" Gwen asked.
"Simply pull the front strap again." Gwen pulled the front strap with her wrist and
the sword retracted. "The suit will not be in for in a few days as it is custom made. But
come back in the evening and I shall train you further in the ways of vampire hunting."
"Will do," Gwen said.

Chapter 10
 Promptly at noon, Chad showed up at the FBSA headquarters in a non-descript
office building in DC. He was forced to check his gun in at security, no guns in the
building. Then he took the elevator up to the floor where the DC area Vampire Hunter
Coordinator, Prabodh Iyer, has his office.
Prabodh was a naturalized citizen from India, where he emigrated from as a child.
He had been a hardcore vampire hunter until he turned 40, at which point, he switched
to being a bureaucrat. Now he oversaw the vampire hunters in Maryland, Virginia and
the District. He was the one who signed off on any clearance to kill any vampires.
Prabodh would have freely signed off on vampire kills, except he was hamstrung by the
FBSA's Compliance Department, which guaranteed all vampire hunter regulations were
strictly always followed. They were the ones who meted out any disciplinary actions.
This was clearly evident as Chad walked in Iyer's office, as Kathy White from the
Compliance Department, a bookish lady in her mid-50s, was sitting next to him with a
laptop in her lap, ready to record the forthcoming dressing-down.
Chad sat down in the chair in front of Iyer's desk.
Iyer put his hands on the desk. "I'll be blunt. You were not authorized to kill
George Palmer."
"I did not kill George Palmer. I did not even touch him. Gwen McCallum did, and
she's a vampire. Inter-vampiric violence is not covered under FBSA's guidelines. In fact,
I'm not even sure what Gwen did is technically illegal. So why are we here?"
"We are here," Kathy said, "because the Director got a call directly from Vicente
Boni, a prominent and respected member of the DC vampire community."
"How did he find out?"
"We're not sure, but Vincente knew and wasn't happy about it. He wants Gwen
McCallum shut down. As it seems you have a relationship of some kind with her, we're
putting pressure on you to make it happen."
Chad replied, "It's not illegal, nor is it covered under FBSA guidelines. If vampires
attack and kill other vampires, it is dealt with internally by vampires. Again, why bring
me into this?"
"I don't care if its legal," Kathy said, unshaken, "I don't care if it is not in our
purview. Gwen McCallum is not to kill again or there will be consequences for you!"
Chad glared at Karen. "Why are you protecting remorseless murderous monsters?
You should be a glad a vampire is finally taking a stand against her own kind."
Kathy typed on her laptop. "I don't appreciate your vamphobic tone."
Chad did a double take. He had never heard the term before. "Vamphobic?"
"Yes, Vamphobic. You don't like vampires."
Chad glare got even more intense as he got hot. "I'm a vampire hunter. Of course, I
don't like vampires. I watched my mother get turned into one and kill countless, and
she's still out there murdering and tormenting me because I'm not allowed to touch her!"
Kathy was still unmoved. "Then explain your apparent relationship with Ms.
McCallum. You've been on her trail for years but have never applied for clearance to
kill her. Now, it seems you have a more than friendly relationship with her. Wouldn't
that be a conflict of interest?"
Kathy had caught him in a contradiction, he did not like vampires, yet he was
sleeping with one. That was an uncomfortable silence in the room as Chad considered
his response.
Prabodh finally spoke. "Kathy, I think his relationship with Ms. McCallum is
something to celebrate. Remember the new initiative."
 "Oh, yes. That." Kathy reached into her laptop bag and pulled out a sheet of paper
and handed it Chad.
It showed a smiling vampire and human holding hands.
The text read: "The FBSA is proud to announce our inclusion initiative for
vampires. It is time to welcome the mortally-challenged into our community. Do not
fear vampires, for they are our neighbors and friends. Feel free to even embrace them,
they won't bite!"
Chad didn't bother reading onwards and just crumpled the paper. "What the fuck is
this?'
"The Allen Administration wants to wind down the FBSA's mission of containing
vampires and instead integrate them into society," Kathy said.
Chad seethed, the fumes of rage rising off his body. "That's not possible! They're
dark and twisted beings that feed off the living!"
"It doesn't matter," Kathy said. "That's what the administration wants, so that's what
they get. The funds were appropriated in the last omnibus spending bill."
Chad leaned forward. "This is insanity! So, we're just going to let vampires kill
unmolested?!"
"The vampire community has pledged not to murder humans nor turn anymore."
Chad stood and slammed his fist on this desk. "That's a lie!"
"Calm down, Chad. It'll be ok," Prabodh said. "Murderous vampires will still be
taken care of as they always have been."
"Yes," Kathy said. "Vampire Hunters will still work, they're still necessary."
"But for how long?" Chad asked as he sat down.
Kathy shrugged. "We don't know. I've hadn't heard anything about going any
further. That doesn't mean they won't." Kathy put her laptop bag in the bag. "You have
your assignment, keep Gwen McCallum from killing another. If she does, the
disciplinary action will be on you!"
Chad closed his eyes. "I don't think I can. It's not that easy."
"Well, figure out a way!" Kathy got up and walked out the door. She shut it behind
her, leaving Chad and Prabodh alone.
"You're putting me in an unwinnable position." Chad sat down. "I know Gwen
won't listen to me. She thinks she's the fulfilment of some ancient prophecy."
Prabodh put his hands up. "It's not my doing. This comes from the top. You have to
try."
Chad sat back in his chair and thought. "What if... what if Gwen doesn't have
choice but to kill another vampire in self-defense?"
"If the vampires were going after her directly, we wouldn't be having this meeting."
Chad rubbed his chin. "But what if Gwen doesn't kill, but does something so
offensive to vampires, they attack her?"
"I'm not sure what that could be short of blowing up Club Mystique, but the
vampires would just move their club somewhere else, it's happened before."
"Gwen may know something we don't," Chad replied. He saw the crumpled paper
on the ground. "So, when did the inclusion initiative drop?"
"The news of it came to me yesterday. Although that bill passed last year, it was
kept secretive on purpose to prevent outrage such as yours. It's to be rolled out officially
next Monday," Prabodh said.
"How could the administration be this stupid?"
"I'm not sure. I think somebody has the president's ear. It could be Vincente Boni,
another vampire, or maybe not a vampire at all, just a regular human with an extremely
misguided view of social justice. It would do well to ask around, maybe the vampires
know who it is."
Chad stood. "Even if they did know, we're powerless. I'll just focus on Gwen for
now."

Chapter 11

That evening, Chad came to Gwen. They made love, but Chad did not fall asleep.
Instead, he was troubled, frowning and withdrawn.
"What's wrong?" Gwen said, propping herself up and staring in his eyes.
Chad looked away. "I had the meeting with the FBSA today."
"Oh, I was going to ask about that."
"If you kill again," Chad said, "they'll bring disciplinary action against me."
She sat up. "That makes no sense!" Gwen replied.
Chad shook his head. "Of course, it doesn't. Never expect the FBSA to make any
sense. But that's the rule."
"Well don't help me again and they may not go after you."
"I'm not entirely sure that'll work."
Gwen laid back and stared at the ceiling. "What are they seriously going to do, call
your mother?"
Then they looked at each other for a moment. Gwen smiled. Chad looked away and
sighed.
"No, I know what you are thinking, and the answer is no."
Gwen put a hand on Chad's chest. "Come on, it's perfect. I get my second kill; you
get rid of the horror tormenting you."
Chad's mother was a constant source of pain. For one thing, she occasionally sent
pictures of them together when she was human to bedevil him. Second, the images of
his mother's early killings, including his father and older sister, were still burned in his
memory and played on loop in his nightmares. Third, the fact that she was a vampire
was the very reason Chad became a vampire hunter. It still drove him to continue being
a hunter even as he saw Gwen. Chad swore he would eventually drive a stake through
her heart. When his mother was dead, Chad could retire. Until then, he would wear the
mantle.
"First, I don't even know where she is. Second, even if I did, getting her to come
here isn't going to be easy. Third, if my mother dies at your hand, the FBSA will know
I'm involved."
Gwen was silent for a moment, thinking. "But what if... what I went against your
wishes? What if you wanted to reconcile with your mother, and I killed her anyway?"
Chad nodded as he considered it. "That may work, considering the FBSA's new
vampire inclusion initiative."
"What that?" Chad explained it. "That's stupid and will be abused to no end."
"I know, but it rolls out next week." He sat up on the side of the bed. He reached
for his pants and pulled out his phone. "Here, let me call my mother." He dialed his
mother.
 ***

Leslie Stone groaned as she dragged in the heavy, comatose man into the bathroom.
She pulled him over three corpses, a teenage boy, a teenage girl, and a middle-aged
woman. They were American tourists at the posh Bahamas resort Leslie staying at, that
she had befriended that day while sunbathing.
UV radiation killed vampires; it was why they hated sunlight. But with the use of a
special tanning bed, vampires could build up a tolerance to sunlight, allowing them to
go out during the day. Strong direct sunlight was still a no-no for very long without
vampire sunscreen but lying in the shade was fine. That's where she met the nice family
from Rochester, New York, two adults and their teenage children.
They invited her to their beachfront villa for dinner, where she secretly drugged
their food, and then one by one, drained their blood in the master bathroom bathtub. The
villa had a hot tub, but it was outdoors, which would draw attention.
She hung the man over the bathtub edge. She took her sharp knife and slit the man's
throat and let the warm red blood drain into the bathtub, mixing with the blood of his
family. Leslie dropped her sundress and underwear, stepped into the bathtub and laid
down in the warm blood.
Bathing in the blood of their victims was a proud vampire tradition stretching back
even before Elizabeth Bathory made it famous. Elizabeth Bathory was 15th century
vampire who was caught bathing in the blood of her young girl victims to retain her
youthful appearance, and subsequently destroyed. However, the ritual dated back to
ancient times. The blood soaking into a vampire's skin had a rejuvenating effect even
stronger than imbibing the blood.
Leslie turned side to side and onto her tummy, making sure the blood touched
everywhere, even her face.
Then her phone rang from her purse in the master bedroom. She would let it ring.
She did not feel like getting out of the tub to get it. The ringing stopped, and a minute
later the phone beeped, signaling a message.
A while later, once the blood had cooled, Leslie stood, letting the blood slide off
her. She then grabbed a towel and dried. She pulled the plug and then let the blood drain
out. She was not going to bother rinsing the tub.
She stepped out, washed the blood out of her hair in the sink. She admired her body
in the mirror. The bath had taken a decade off her appearance. She would definitely be
looked at on the beach tomorrow in her bikini.
She dressed and walked into the master bedroom and pulled out her phone. Her son
had called. He never called, which made the fact that he had called all the more
interesting. Maybe the last set of pictures she sent got to him.
She dialed her son and he picked up.
"Hello, Chad," she said. "Sorry I missed your call. I was preoccupied."
"Pre-occupied with what?"
"Resting right now, but I just had the most wonderful dinner with a nice tourist
family at this resort I'm at. So, what drove you to finally call me?"
"I've been thinking," Chad said. "We need to work things out."
"Really? You've never been in the mood to work things out before."
 "The FBSA is putting out an inclusion initiative, seeking to integrate vampires into
society. I figure now is the best chance to reconcile. Also, there's someone I'd like you
to meet."
"And who is that? A girlfriend?"
"Yes. For the last seven years, I've been seeing a vampire."
Leslie laughed. "Surely, you're joking. You're a vampire hunter because I'm a
vampire. You seek to wipe me off the planet, but you've been dating one for years."
"Yes... its hypocritical I know, but it's true. She's right next to me. Do you want to
talk to her?"
"Sure. Put her on," Leslie said.
"Hello," A female voice said. "I'm Gwen."
"So, tell me, why are you with my son?"
"We just love each other," Gwen said.
"Love?"
There was a pause on Gwen's end. "Yeah... love! If you want to call it that."
"You haven't turned him, have you?" Leslie asked.
"Oh no. He's still human. I won't turn him unless he wants to be turned."
"Oh."
"So, will you come to visit?" Gwen asked.
Leslie thought about it. She saw the pile of corpses and realized it was better to exit
the Bahamas as soon as possible. Plus, she would finally get to see her son after far too
long. "I'll try to switch to an earlier flight and be in DC tomorrow night."
Chad was now on phone. "That's sounds great. I look forward to it. I'll prepare
some lodging for you."
"I look forward to it," Leslie said.
The called ended.
Leslie thought about it. Ordinarily, any attempt by her son to reconcile had to be an
attempt to kill her. However, he dated an actual vampire. Maybe he changed.
Leslie left the villa and began to prepare her trip back to the US.

***

When Chad hung up the phone, they shared a long celebratory kiss. Chad's torment
would finally be over, and Gwen would have her second kill.
"There's one thing though," Chad said.
"What's that?" Gwen said.
"We're not going to kill her right away. Wait a day or two, then strike when the
time is right."
"Why?" Gwen asked.
"Because my mother is not stupid, even as a human she was sharp. I'm sure even
now she suspects something is up. Lull her into a false sense of security, then kill her."
Gwen thought and realized that was a good idea. "Alright, but what if she's
changed?"
"I doubt it. That family she had dinner with, I doubt they're alive." Chad's mother
killed frequently, that was why she was always moving around.
 "I'll be on my best behavior," Gwen said, and kissed him on the cheek. "Btw, how
can she afford a trip to the Bahamas?"
"Not sure, but we'll ask."
Chad was pensive. This could go either very well or end very badly. But ultimately,
he had to confront the woman who haunted his dreams face to face.

Chapter 12

Later that night, Gwen went to the Bible Church, where she found the back door
unlocked. Sanchez was in the basement reading a book. But this time there was another
chair next to him, taken down from the main floor of the church.
"Sit down," Sanchez said. "There's something important we need to discuss."
Gwen sat next to Sanchez, and she saw that the book was the one with Seth's
prophecy.
"What do you need to talk about?" Gwen asked.
"I've been thinking," Sanchez said, "there's no way you can possibly do what you
plan on doing alone."
"What do you mean?"
"When Seth wrote the prophecy, there were only a few dozen vampires in the
Middle East. It would have been quite easy for Seth's prophesized vampire to wipe out
all vampires in Israel alone."
"That few?" Gwen asked.
"Yes. In ancient times, vampires fed on mortal humans alone, and if they grew too
numerous, humans would revolt and vampires would be wiped out. Therefore, vampires
were few in number. Now, with the human population approaching eight billion,
vampires have likewise increased in number. Now, we're talking at least a hundred
thousand just in the United States alone, we're not even talking the rest of the world. It
would take you killing at least one vampire a day every day for decades to even make a
dent."
Gwen frowned. "You're saying I should stop?"
Sanchez shook his head. "No. Just the opposite. I think you should continue and
become a beacon of light and hope for humans. But what I am saying is, you can't do
this alone. You will need allies, both mortals, and especially vampires, to help you."
"I already do, you and Chad."
"I know, and that's great, but you also must find vampires willing to stand with you.
How you do that, I can't say. You'll have to figure that out on your own, but I'm sure
you can."
"I see." Gwen's mind was equally blank on how to do that, she'd have to think about
it later. "So what training do you have planned tonight?"
"You're going to use a tanning bed I procured for you to build up UV radiation
resistance," Sanchez said.
"Then why order me the get up?" Gwen asked.
"To protect you from UV weapons. The resistance is so you can go out during the
day more often, which you're going to have start doing."
"But I like slumbering!"
 "You know it serves no real purpose other than passing time. Some vampires never
slumber at all. If you're going to make a dent, you're going to have to be up for longer
and that means daytime."
"Ok, so where is it?"
"Come with me." She followed him through a door into another room with mats
and training dummies. There was a tanning bed along a wall.
"Strip naked, get in the bed and pull down the top. I'll give you privacy."
Sanchez walked out of the room. Gwen stripped, got in the bed, and pulled down
the top.
"I'm ready," she called.
Sanchez walked back in the room. "I'll set the bed to a very low dose. The entire
process will take an hour. Get comfortable and whatever you do, don't slumber or you
won't come back. The UV will completely destroy you in the shriveled state."
"This'll be boring."
"I'll put on music," Sanchez replied. "You'll be fine. "
Sanchez turned on the machine and it lit up. Gwen instantly felt like she was
burning.
"Turn it off!" Gwen screamed.
The cover lifted up slightly and Sanchez peeked in. "You're fine. The burning
sensation means it's working."
"But it hurts!"
"As it's supposed to." He put the cover back down. "It's like exercising, your
muscles are hurt and become stronger. Your skin does the same."
"Fine."
Then Latino music began to play. Gwen put the burning in the back of her mind
and lost herself in the music. Before she knew it, Sanchez was back, the machine turned
off, and the cover lifted.
Gwen sat up and examined herself. Her skin looked a little tanner but was
otherwise fine.
Sanchez stroked his chin and said, "That's odd. Apparently, a vampire's skin is
supposed to singe in the machine, and you drink blood to heal it. Over time it tans. But
you just tanned."
"Is that bad?"
"No. Just interesting. You can have this anyway." He handed her a packet of human
blood, which she gladly took and drank. "I'll let you get dressed."
Gwen dressed and walked in the room to find Sanchez looking over the prophecy
of Seth. "What are you looking for?"
"Clues if the prophesied gets any special powers, but I've been over the prophecy
many times, and never saw any."
"So, my skin didn't singe, what's the worry?"
"I'm not worried. If you do get abilities, that very good for you." He smiled. "That's
all for tonight. See you soon."
 Chapter 13

The next night, Chad and Gwen stood in the international arrivals section of
Baltimore-Washington International Airport. BWI was a further drive than Dulles
International Airport in Virginia, but it was cheaper to fly into BWI, so his mother
chose that.
Chad was obviously nervous, while his mother was a constant tormentor with the
pictures and the phone calls, he had never seen his mother in person since he was
twelve. When his mother was turned, she killed the rest of his family, but kept him
around for reasons his mother never fully explained. For two years he had to bear
witness to her kills as they moved around. Then vampire hunters rescued him from her
clutches and put him in the foster care system where he stayed until he was eighteen.
Leslie did not contact him during those years in foster care. But once he was out and he
became a hunter, she somehow found his contact info and began the torment.
Chad kept his nervousness in check to start, but when the flight number showed up
in baggage claim, he almost trembled, the flight had landed, and she was coming. Chad
was fearless, he had to be as a hunter, but Leslie got to him in ways no other vampire
could.
Gwen had her sword in her purse, which surprisingly fit, just in case Chad's mother
tried something, like turn her son in the airport, but it did little to calm Chad.
A mass of people exited through some doors and into the baggage claim area. They
herded towards baggage claim and waited for their bags. They noticed Leslie among
them, but she did not notice them yet. Leslie had not aged a day since the last time Chad
seen her, in fact, time had seemed to reverse, and she appeared not much older than
Gwen.
Chad's breathing was sharp and rapid, but Gwen gripped his hand to calm him, but
did little.
"It'll be ok," Gwen said quietly.
Chad said nothing.
Once Leslie had grabbed her two suitcases, she began to look around.
Then Leslie's eyes settled on Chad, and she lit up with a huge smile.
Time seemed to stand still.
Leslie walked over to them. Chad standing completely still.
Chad stared at her, Leslie at him.
The she hugged him, and the blood seemed to drain from Chad's face.
Leslie tried to rock her large son. She turned her face against his chest. Gwen could
see tears welling up in Leslie's eyes.
Chad looked at the Gwen for guidance, but he was confused when he saw the
comforting look she gave back. Chad looked down, saw Leslie's demeanor and backed
up, causing Leslie to let go.
"It's so nice to see you, all grown up," Leslie said.
"Let's go," Chad said as he turned and walked towards the doors.
Leslie sighed and looked defeatedly at Gwen, who replied, "Give him time."
It struck Gwen, at that moment, that Leslie was not an evil tormentor, but a mother
who wanted to reconcile with her son. Gwen, as a mother herself, understood. It was
painful for Gwen to remove herself from her children's lives and never see them again.
Leslie, unlike Gwen, never wanted to do that, wanting to be a part of her son's life while
he was still alive.
 This did not mean Leslie was not a remorseless killer, but it softened her. If Leslie
was not faking her joy at seeing him, or sadness at rejection, and Gwen thought she was
not, then killing her just got way more difficult.
Being a vampire was to be a walking paradox, where you were both inhuman, yet
completely human at the same time.
They went to the Expedition, Chad and Leslie in the front seats, Gwen in the back.
They left BWI and got on I95 South towards DC.
The tension in the car was thick, and nobody said anything for a good ten minutes.
Then Leslie spoke up, "You probably think I'm the worst being on planet Earth. It
isn't true."
Chad replied, "The news out of the Bahamas is a vampire killed a family at the
Crystal Sand and bathed in their blood. That was you, wasn't it?"
"It doesn't matter," Leslie replied.
Chad gripped the wheel hard. "Yes, it does!"
Leslie pointed behind her. "Your girlfriend is called the Red Widow because she
stalks and kills rich men and steals their money. There's no difference."
Gwen was not going to reply, and instead see how this played out.
Chad did not reply either.
Leslie continued, "There's something, after all these years, I don't think you really
understand. I could've killed you, like I did your father and Jill. But when I looked at
you, curled up and frightened, the last vestiges of my humanity returned. I swore that
vampire or not, I was still your mother and would raise you. That is why I kept you with
me!"
"Always on the run," Chad yelled, "always killing! My childhood was dead!"
"I killed for you!" Leslie screamed. "I killed to keep you fed and a roof over your
head! Times were different then. No one was going to hire a vampire for anything. So, I
did what the woman you're screwing did, killed people and stole their money to
survive!"
There was nothing for Gwen to argue with there, so she continued being quiet. It
was only within the last few decades vampires could get hired easily for jobs unrelated
to being a vampire. That was why most vampires were either independently wealthy or
destitute drifters.
Leslie went on, "Then they came and took you from me. Because I'm undead, I
couldn't even get a custody hearing. You spent six years bouncing from home to home
because your foster parents never loved you like I did. I counted the days until you
turned eighteen and I could get you back. And what happened? You became a vampire
hunter to stab me in the heart!"
"Maybe if you would have stopped tormenting me, I wouldn't still be a vampire
hunter!"
"Tormenting you?!" Leslie's voice was choked now. "Is that you think I was doing?
I was trying to get you to remember who I was and still can be if you'd give me a
chance."
"Then stop killing!" Chad purposely slowed his breathing.
Now it was Leslie's turn to be silent, but it did not last long. "You have no idea
what it's like to a vampire, the hunger, the darkness. It's ever present and ever pulling at
you. You can't stop killing because it won't let you! Animal blood only will satiate you
for so long until the need gets so powerful you take human life!"
Again, nothing that Gwen could argue against. The hunger was there, the need was
there. Gwen could keep it under control, but once a year, it came out when the rent
came due.
 "And that is why vampires should die!"
"Then why isn't she?!" Leslie shouted, pointing at Gwen.
The answer was there was no answer. Gwen and Chad's relationship made no
logical sense, but there it was. But then, love defied logic and reason. The heart wanted
what the heart wanted.
The silence returned to the Expedition and did not abate.
They drove into Northern Virginia, and into Arlington, where Chad lived. They
pulled up to the Arlington Inn, a mediocre motel not far from his apartment.
"You hate me so much you put here?" Leslie said.
"No," Chad said. "I live down the street, that's why. I want to keep you within
striking distance."
Leslie turned to Gwen. "Where do you live?"
"A studio in Dupont Circle," she replied. "But I agree with Chad, its better if you
stay closer to him."
"Fair enough, now what?"
"Get out, I need some time alone." Chad looked at Gwen, who instantly understood.
That also meant her as well.
Gwen replied, "I'll keep an eye on her."
Gwen and Leslie got out of the Expedition. Leslie got her luggage out of the back.
Chad squealed off.
They went to the front desk and Leslie checked in.
They then went to Leslie's room, which was completely unremarkable.
Leslie put her luggage on the bed.
"Ok, now that I have some free time before my son decides to stop brooding, why
don't you show me where the vampires in the DC area hang out."
"Why should I?"
Leslie sat down to the bed. "I think you know I know I'm not as evil as my son
paints me as."
Gwen leaned against the dresser. "All vampires are evil. You mentioned the
darkness in the car."
"True, but I think you get what really went on, not what my son likes to think went
on."
Gwen shrugged. "I'll give you the benefit of the doubt, for now. Alright, let me
think."
It was Wednesday, which means Club Mystique was closed, it was only open
Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. There were the spots in Dupont, but she would
be recognized at those places. She needed a place where she would not, in case the news
of her killing George got around.
There was a vampire bar called the Crook in Alexandria, which Gwen rarely visited
and would be less known there. Plus, it also did not have a particular dress code.
"Does a seedy vampire bar work?" Gwen asked.
"Perfect, I'd like to get to know the vampire who stole my son's heart."

Chapter 14
 Unlike Club Mystique, the Crook did not have a front business to hide its true
purpose. Instead, it sat in a building which looked abandoned to anyone standing on the
street.
To get in, vampires had to go down the alleyway to an odd-looking part of the wall
and knock.
A slot opened in the wall. Gwen and Leslie showed their fangs. The wall opened
and they walked into the bar.
The bar was decked out as an antique pub, with a wooden bar and round tables to
sit at.
The bar was half-filled with vampires of a different sort. If Club Mystique attracted
upscale vampires, then the Crook attracted "working-class vampires." The dichotomy
between independently wealthy and destitute changed when the job market for vampires
began to open up. For one thing, hiring vampires meant more things could be done at
night. This meant the destitute now had money, and the Crook was where they spent it.
Being vampires of a different sort, all eyes were on the two ladies. It was as if the
country music wafting over the speakers stopped.
Gwen was scared they were looking at her because they knew what she did. But
after a few seconds, the vampires went back to their drinks and ignored her.
Gwen and Leslie sat down at a free table and a vampire waitress walked up with a
menu. It listed a variety of beers that contained varying amounts of animal blood. Blood
wine was not served.
"What do you recommend?" Leslie asked the waitress.
"For new beer drinkers, I recommend Deer Horn Light. It's a light beer with
venison blood."
Leslie nodded at suggestion.
"We'll take two," Gwen said.
"Excellent," The waitress said and walked off towards the bar.
Leslie looked straight into Gwen's eyes and asked, "Why are you with my son?"
Gwen sighed. "It's complicated."
"I'm sure it is, but we got time!"
"We've always had an animalistic attraction to each other. And a few times a year
we have sex and spend time together. That's about it."
"Is that all?" Leslie asked.
"Yeah, it would be a lot different if he weren't a vampire hunter, but he is and
technically is supposed to be hunting me, so he's bound by FBSA rules."
"Get him to quit!"
"He won't quit, because of you," Gwen said.
The waitress brought their beer. They took a sip. It was surprisingly tasty.
"Well, I'm not going to let him kill me, that's for sure," Leslie replied. "Besides, I
don't think he really has it in him, otherwise he'd have tracked me down long ago."
"I believe the reason he hasn't tracked you down is because he tends to follow
FBSA rules, and it makes it more difficult."
"I don't buy it," Leslie said, and took a sip of beer.
"So, what do you think it is?" Gwen asked.
"I'm not sure," Leslie replied. "But I intend to find out and exploit it to get him
back."
"You killed his father and sister, he'll always hold that against you," Gwen said.
"Newly turned vampires often feed on their loved ones due to the overwhelming
blood lust that comes with being newly turned. You know that." Leslie drank.
 Gwen drank and then said, "I do. But thankfully, due to the circumstances of my
turning, I never got the chance to feed on mine. Instead, I fed on some prostitutes. So,
I've been wondering, how do you afford to travel?"
"I was destitute for years until I saved up what I had and bought a newfangled thing
called Bitcoin," Leslie replied. "I bought a whole lot of it. Now I've got money and
make money through other investments as well."
Gwen felt like she was being watched and noticed two scruffy vampires, one white,
one black, in construction worker outfits, were staring at them. Leslie turned and
noticed them to.
The white man stood and walked over carrying his beer. "Mind if I sit?"
Gwen shook her head. "We're having a private conversation."
The man pointed to his ears. "I heard the whole thing. Apparently, you're screwing
her vampire hunter son."
Gwen and Leslie looked at each other. Gwen pointed to one of two empty chairs.
Then man waved his friend over and they sat down at the table.
"I'm Ben," the first man said. "He's Richard."
"Hello," Richard said. "We work construction. We just got off, went to grab some
beers."
"Why are two beautiful ladies like yourselves here?" Ben asked.
"Club Mystique is closed," Gwen said. "So, we came here."
They got to talking.
Ben and Richard were surprisingly about as old as Gwen. Richard was a slave who
was turned into a vampire in the 1830s. Ben was a US Civil War soldier who fought on
the side of the Confederacy. Ben lay dying at Shiloh Church and was turned by Richard.
"I'm not sure why I turned his ass," Richard said. "He was fighting for my former
masters." Then they smiled at each other. "But I'm glad I did. I found a traveling buddy
and we've been together ever since."
"You didn't find each other on opposite sides of the Civil Rights movement?" Gwen
asked.
"No," Ben replied. "By that point, I hated segregation and Jim Crow. Made
traveling around for my buddy just that much harder. Like I could stay in a nice inn, but
he couldn't, even if he was a vampire. Wasn't fair."
Richard sighed. "There I was, a century old vampire, and was still called 'boy'." He
spat on the table. "Still kind of bitter about it. But times have changed."
Ben gulped the rest of his beer. "Enough about the past, why don't we go
somewhere and have some fun!"
"I'll pass," Leslie said. "Not really in the mood."
"Come on," Ben said, "take your mind off your son."
Leslie down at herself and smiled. "I am beautiful right now, but really, I just don't
feel like it."
"Me neither," Gwen said.
"Well then," Ben said, "We'll have to find our fun with a mortal them."
Ben and Richard walked up to the bar to pay their tab.
Leslie leaned over. "Are they going to do what I think they're going to do?"
"Seduce and feed on a mortal, maybe," Gwen said. All vampires were twisted in
some way, but from the conversation, it wasn't clear what exactly that was, but Gwen
was sure it would appear very shortly.
She remembered what Sanchez had said about needing allies. Leslie was the perfect
ally. Gwen was sure, given the right situation, she could use Leslie's love for her son to
gain one.
 Richard and Ben exited the bar.
Gwen looked at Leslie. "Want to take a walk on the Alexandria waterfront, it's very
nice this time of night?"
"Sure," Leslie said.
They paid their tab and exited the bar. Gwen pulled out her phone and brought up a
map of the area. She picked a walking route and they started.
They got close to the waterfront, when they passed an alley when they heard
screaming from inside, then Richard shouting, "shut her up before somebody comes!"
How typical of male vampires, Ben and Richard were rapists.
Gwen reached in her purse, pulled out her gauntlet, put it on, and extended the
sword.
"What are you doing?" Leslie asked.
Gwen put her finger to her lips, then said, "trust me!"
Gwen walked into the alleyway and Ben holding a woman down, her undies in her
mouth. Richard pounded away.
Gwen ran down the alley. "Hey!" she screamed. Richard turned to look. Gwen
swung with full force and lopped Richard's head clean off.
It never hit the ground, because it, and his body, instantly turned to dust.
Ben screamed and lunged at Gwen. Ben was too fast for Gwen to dodge, and he
slammed Gwen into the wall. He had one hand on her sword arm, and the other one her
neck.
Ben had his fangs out and rage in his eyes. "Vampires don't kill other vampires!"
"This one does!" Gwen kneed him in the balls, which caused him to let go.
Gwen zipped around to his back, and chopped his head clean off.
He turned to dust.
The victim had wasted no time getting up and was running shoeless down the other
end of the alley screaming, "Help!" She turned a corner and was gone.
Leslie stood in the alley, speechless. Gwen ran to her. "We need to go, now!"
Leslie didn't budge. "I get it now; my son wasn't going to kill me. You were!"
Gwen looked into the Leslie's eyes. "Yes, maybe to start, but not anymore. I can
explain everything, but you need to come now."
Leslie saw the scene, then left the alley with Gwen.

Chapter 15

"Let me get this straight," Leslie said back at her motel room, "you got hit with
holy water and now you think you're the fulfilment of an ancient prophecy."
"I know it's hard to believe," Gwen said, "but I believe I'm destined for something
greater than what I have been, I could make a difference."
"By killing vampires? You know we're like weeds. Kill one and two more pop up
to takes its place."
"But I have to start somewhere."
Leslie sighed and looked down. "I saw you kill vampires, but I'm not sure I'm fully
on board with it yet. I mean what promise do I have you won't eventually kill me?"
Gwen put her hand on Leslie's. "I don't think you're evil," Gwen said. "Maybe
somewhat powerless against the darkness. But there's a good heart somewhere in there."
 There was a loud knock on the door. "It's me," Chad said.
"My son has returned," Leslie said as she went to the door.
She opened the door and Chad stormed in.
"Word among vampire hunters is two vampires just got popped in Alexandria by a
sword-wielding vampire who matches your description. Would you mind telling me
what happened?"
"Simple," Gwen said. "We went to the Crook for drinks, ran into the two vampires,
who we later by coincidence found raping a woman in an alleyway. So, I killed them."
Chad folded his arms. "Two problems. First, you left another witness."
"What was I supposed to do? Let her get raped and murdered?"
"I suppose not, but still, this'll get out again because of that. Second, she now
knows," Chad said, looking at his mother.
"I do, and I'm still not sure what to think, especially because my initial suspicion
was correct. You did lure me here with the intent to kill me. Do you still plan on going
through with it? Gwen told me she doesn't want to kill me anymore."
Chad sighed. "No. We're beyond that now."
"Well good!" Leslie said. "We made some progress."
"The sun is about to start coming up," Chad said.
Leslie said, "I don't slumber much."
Gwen said, "I'm too wound up."
Chad said, "Well I will get a few hours of sleep, we'll talk later." He left the room.
"Now what?" Gwen said.
"Show me the DC sights, White House, Congress, Lincoln and Washington
Memorials."
"Now?"
"Yes, now. I have vampire sunscreen and a hat in my suitcase. Besides, its
wintertime, the sun isn't nearly as powerful as it during the summer. I guarantee you'll
be fine."
"Well, I used the tanning bed last night... let's go!"

***

Vincente Boni was a certified ancient. He was not the oldest vampire on earth, that
designation belonged to Lilith, a creature from Ur who lived alone in the desert. Still, he
was old enough. Born and raised during the Pax Romana in Rome itself, his Roman
name was Ignatius Clara, and he was born of a military family. Then he was turned by a
vampire he fell in love with. Vincente saw the fall of Rome and the Dark Ages,
Medieval times and the Renaissance. Over the centuries, like most ancients still around,
he amassed an obscene fortune, with large land holdings all over Europe. Then World
War II destroyed his Italian castle, and so he moved to the United States, settling in
Washington DC, the seat of power.
For most of his existence, he cared little for the lot of vampires beyond his own.
Then he settled in DC. With a change of scenery came a new perspective, and a new
goal, for vampires to rule the world from the shadows. He was instrumental in
hamstringing vampire hunters to near uselessness and getting a vampire elected to
Congress. He could even take indirect credit for the forthcoming inclusion initiative,
convincing mortal useful idiots that vampires were marginalized in society and needed
to be protected. That was not exactly wrong, but the initiative would backfire
spectacularly on the useful idiots.
While everything was going well, Vincente was extremely troubled and for a
reason that ordinarily should not. Despite the vampire code, vampires killed other
vampires all the time, usually over petty drama. It usually took the prospect of spending
eternity a shriveled waif to get them to fall back in line. However, Gwen McCallum was
different, she killed because she believed she was the vampire prophesied by Seth,
hence the moniker, "The Fanged Angel."
The book of Seth was purposely hidden by vampires to keep other vampires from
believing they were the prophesied. In fact, the only surviving manuscript should have
been burned and lost to time, but it got into the hands of an ancient league of vampire
hunters, who hid the manuscript in a secret vault for almost two millennia, where it was
unearthed by archeologists in the 1950s. Still, even unearthed, the manuscript was an
obscure artifact of the time it was written, only of interest to scholars and hardcore
vampire hunters.
Now there was a vampire out there who believed she was the prophesied and she
needed to be stopped, immediately, before scores of vampires died at her hand.
He had heard of the two dead vampires in Alexandria and before the description of
the perpetrator was even given, he knew it was Gwen McCallum. Obviously, using the
FBSA to end things did not work. So, this issue would now have to be handled
internally among vampires.
In the cozy study of his Potomac mansion, he sent an email to his most trusted
associate, Claus Brandt, to issue a ban on his behalf to ban Ms. McCallum from all
vampire establishments in DC and from buying from all Nosferatu stores, even online.
Vincente could ban her from Nosferatu because he was a powerful company
shareholder.
Hopefully that worked. If it did not, more drastic measures would have to be taken.
Vincente hoped he would not have to need them.
And at that moment, Vincente's mind turned back to Lilith. It had been a while
since he had talked to her, he should give her a call. Lilith was history's first recorded
vampire. She was not turned. She simply died and came back a vampire. Being six
millennia old, she was the world's most strongest vampire. Nothing scared her. She was
also carefree about everything, including technological change. She lived in a tiny hut in
the Iraqi desert feeding off a flock of goats. She liked it that way. She would not have a
solar-powered phone except a local vampire left it on her doorstep and ran off, forcing
her to have it. She didn't even have a clock or calendar, because she did not care what
day it was. Time was meaningless.
He pulled out his phone and dialed her number.
She picked up. "Hello, Ignatius." Lilith was the only vampire who called him by his
original name. He could hear a man pleading in Arabic in the background.
"What's happening?"
"Oh, the usual, the superstitious who occasionally show up to destroy me. They
should do what most do and leave me alone to my goats, but they keep claiming I'm the
daughter of Satan. It's quite annoying, but it's one of the few times I indulge in human
blood. Hold on."
Vincente head the phone put down and a blood-curdling scream, then silence. The
phone picked back up, "So, how are you?"
"Troubled," he said.
"Why is that?" He told her about Gwen and the prophecy. "I wouldn't worry. A few
vampires will die. Who cares? You can easily make more."
 "It's not that simple, the prophecy was hidden for a reason."
"It was written by a crazy man and hidden from the bible by paranoid vampires.
Again, I wouldn't worry."
"You live in the desert alone. I'm basically the leader of United States vampires, it
matters to me."
"Suit yourself. I'm going to enjoy my meal. Goodbye." The phone hung up.
He wished he had Lilith's attitude towards existence. She was already ancient by
the time Vincente was even born. She had that attitude even then. She was content to
live in her hut and raise goats to drink their blood, when she could rule the world. Even
the rise of Islam barely changed things for her. Maybe in time Vincente would come to
see things as she did. For now, he'd continue with his plan.

Chapter 16
Gwen and Leslie had a wonderful morning on the National Mall seeing the sights.
Gwen felt like she was making a good friend in Leslie in quick time. Leslie seemed to
have a good heart, just being a vampire led to a dark and twisted side. Not only that, but
Leslie was also correct, going out in the daytime was not so bad as long as a vampire
prepared. The world was completely different during the day, the city alive with its own
energy and filled with people.
At around noon, It was time for a midday meal of blood. Fortunately, there was a
Nosferatu store just off the Mall in an office building. They walked into the office
building and went into a what looked an empty office but was a small store selling
animal blood packets.
They picked their blood and went to the counter. The human behind the counter
looked at a picture and said, "You Gwen McCallum?"
"Yes," Gwen said. "Why?"
"You're banned from purchasing from all Nosferatu Stores," the clerk said. "Notice
came in this morning."
Gwen was not happy about it. Still, she knew this was coming. The clerk was just a
human doing what he was told, not worth making a scene over. This was because there
was a way around it. "Leslie, purchase the blood for me. I'll pay you back."
Gwen walked out of the store, and moment later Gwen walked out with two blood
packets. She handed one to Gwen. Gwen handed a ten to Leslie.
"What are you going to do?" Leslie asked while Gwen drank. "I'm not going to be
around every time you need blood."
"I already have a good source in case this happened," Gwen replied. "Sanchez has a
source of human blood straight from the Red Cross."
Leslie smirked. "Can you get me some of that?"
"I can ask." Gwen had an idea. "You want to meet Father Sanchez?"
"Sure," Leslie replied.
They finished their blood and took an Uber to the Bible Church. The front door was
open, and Father Sanchez walked up to meet them.
 "Already putting your training to use, I see," Sanchez said. "Who are you?" He
asked Leslie.
"I'm Leslie Stone, Chad Stone's mother."
"So, you're the reason Chad became a vampire hunter," Sanchez said.
"Yes, though he has a terrible view of who I am. Still brooding over it."
"And I assume you know all about who Gwen is?"
"Yes, I was there when she killed the two vampires in Alexandria last night."
"I heard about that," Sanchez said. "Those two apparently had a long rap sheet of
rape and murder stretching back decades in twenty states. But because they decided to
become construction workers, they weren't on anyone's kill list. But no loss."
"In retaliation, I'm banned from all Nosferatu stores," Gwen said.
"I'd assume all other vampire establishments as well," Sanchez replied. "It's time
you move into the safe house, and disappear for a bit."
"I'll go back to my apartment and get my stuff," Gwen said.
"But come with me, your suit has arrived."
Gwen lit up. "Awesome!"
They went to the basement. Sanchez handed Gwen the maroon catsuit, which was
folded in a plastic bag. "Try it on."
Gwen went into the other room and put the catsuit on. It was form fitting, hugging
every curve.
Gwen walked back into the room and spun. "How is it?"
"Sexy," Leslie replied.
"I know, right?!"
"It's also incredibly strong, yet flexible," Sanchez added. He picked up a pair of
steel toed boots. "These go with it." Gwen put them on.
"I thought there was a helmet?"
"Yes," Sanchez said. He handed her a fat tiara. "Place it on your head and press the
button."
Gwen put the tiara on and pushed the button. The helmet unfurled and covered her
head, front and back. Gwen pushed the button again and the helmet retracted. She
realized this was easier than carrying around a full helmet.
Sanchez walked to the wall and took off a gun with a small cylinder on the top of it.
He handed it to Gwen. "This is a mini-flame thrower. It's currently empty, but any
flammable liquid will work. Gasoline is your best bet. Alcohol isn't bad either."
"Thanks."
She looked at Leslie. "Want to accompany me to my apartment?"
"Let's go..." She turnedat Sanchez. "Can I get a weapon?"
"You want to fight vampires too?" Sanchez asked with a raised eyebrow.
"No. It's just if I'm going to be with Gwen, I should have some protection."
"As long as I don't hear it being used to fillet humans, you can have a knife."
Sanchez pulled a silver-plated knife off the wall and handed it to Leslie.
They said goodbye to Sanchez and left the church and took an Uber to Gwen's
apartment building.
They took the elevator to her floor. They walked down the hall towards Gwen's
apartment. Her door was busted open and rustling inside. Gwen put on her sword and
extended it. She turned to Leslie, who clutched her knife. "Go wait downstairs."
"It could be Chad."
"It's not your son, he has a key to my apartment!" Gwen said.
Leslie walked towards the elevator texting something on her phone.
Gwen entered her apartment to see Kamaria wearing gloves and a face wrap.
 Gwen folded up the sword upon seeing her friend.
Kamaria took off the face wrap and hat and bared her fangs. She zipped towards
Gwen. Gwen tried to dodge but Kamaria was faster.
Kamaria grabbed Gwen and slammed her to the floor. Gwen writhed in pain. She
might have been undead, but she could still feel it.
"You do not kill other vampires," Kamaria seethed. "Vampires who kill other
vampires deserve to die!"
"But I'm your friend!" Gwen squeaked. "Can't we at least talk this out?"
Kamaria flipped Gwen on her back and glared in her eyes. "There is nothing to talk
about! You killed three vampires and if I don't kill you, you will kill me!"
"You don't know that!" Gwen cried.
"I don't care to." Kamara ripped off Gwen's sword and tossed it away. She stepped
on Gwen's chest and grabbed her head, preparing to rip it clean off.
"Get away from her," Leslie yelled from the doorway with bared fangs. She was
clutching the knife with a shaking hand.
Kamaria shook her head. "This is not your fight."
That was the distraction Gwen needed. She headbutted Kamaria. Kamaria stumbled
back. Gwen rose, grabbed Kamaria and tossed her on the bed.
Gwen dashed out the door. "Let's go, now!"
Gwen and Leslie ran down the hall towards the elevator. Kamaria appeared outside
the door. Kamaria appeared behind them. She tossed Leslie sideways through a door
into an apartment. Sunlight shone into the hallway.
Kamaria put up an arm to shield herself from the sun and backed up. Gwen lowered
her helmet, grabbed Kamaria, and dragged her into the apartment. She did not know
much about the guy who lived there, other than he was never home. Leslie was
beginning to come around. Kamaria thrashed and screamed as her face began to blister
and burn. Someone did not put on vampire sunscreen or use a tanning bed. Kamaria had
no resistance despite her age.
Gwen dragged Kamaria to the window and slammed her face against it. Now her
skin was badly charred and beginning to turn to ash.
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm your friend! Make it stop!" Kamaria screamed.
Gwen grabbed the cord and dropped the blinds. Gwen could have destroyed
Kamaria, but Gwen would give her the benefit of the doubt.
Kamaria fell to the floor, grabbing her ruined face. Leslie stood, a little dirty, but
otherwise fine.
Gwen retracted the helmet into the Tiara. "Get blood from my refrigerator." Leslie
walked out of the room. Gwen grabbed Leslie's knife from the floor and pointed it at
Kamaria. "Why did you attack me?"
"You don't survive six hundred years letting threats walk," Kamaria replied.
"But I wasn't a threat to you," Gwen said. "You'd be the last vampire I'd attack."
"I don't know that," Kamaria said.
Gwen lowered the knife. "You're being a little paranoid," Gwen replied.
"You don't survive as a vampire not being a little paranoid. Then again, you're the
vampire fucking the vampire hunter that's supposed to be chasing her."
Leslie returned with a packet of blood and Gwen's sword. She gave the blood to
Kamaria, who devoured it.
Kamaria's face returned to normal. "Thank you. So, explain to me why you're
killing vampires."
Gwen explained everything since they had last spoke. "You really believe this
prophecy?"
 "I do," Gwen replied.
"What do you hope to achieve? Every vampire in DC now knows about you, and
they'll be after you."
"We're dark and twisted beings, humanity must be saved from the darkness."
Kamaria stood. "And what happens if you succeed and you're the last vampire left?
Will you destroy yourself?"
"I can't eliminate all vampires," Gwen replied, "but at least I can bring hope to
humanity."
"How noble of you," Kamaria sneered. She turned to Leslie. "And why are you
helping her? What's in it for you?"
Before Leslie could reply, the elevator door opened and somebody ran down the
hal. Chad ran in the apartment, gun at the ready. Seeing the situation, he holstered the
gun. "What happened?"
"I got a little too paranoid," Kamaria replied as she walked out of the room and
turned towards Gwen's apartment.
"Kamaria attacked you?" Chad asked.
"Yes." Gwen explained the fight. "We're good now though."
Chad looked at his mother. "Why did you get involved in this again?"
"I'm beginning to think Gwen's telling the truth about the prophecy," Leslie replied,
especially after she was just attacked."
Chad closed his eyes and sighed. "So, what now?"
"We need to repair this guy's door," Gwen replied. "I'll let the landlord know."
The three walked out into the hall. Kamaria walked towards that in her head wrap
and headdress. "We'll be in touch," Kamaria said as she passed them. They watched her
enter elevator.
"I'm going to move into the safe house," Gwen said. "I should pack up before more
vampires come looking for me."
"I'll have a private conversation with my mother in the meantime," Chad said. He
and his mother walked into the empty apartment and closed the door. The lock was
broken so it did not shut all the way.
Gwen walked into her studio and began to pack. It did not look like Kamaria had
gone through her stuff much. Besides, there was not anything to find even if she had.
A few minutes later, Chad and Leslie walked in.
"My mother has decided to stay in DC, for now," he said.
Gwen smiled. "I was hoping you would."
"I will need to look for more permanent lodging," Leslie added.
"Stay here," Gwen replied, "the apartment's rent was just paid for and I'm moving
to the safehouse."
Leslie shook her head. "Too dangerous here. It seems just anyone can come in."
"Blame the crappy locks on the door," Gwen said. "I've complained to the landlord
in the past, but they haven't updated them yet."
"Well, I'll make a phone call to the FBSA," Chad said. "They can put pressure on
the landlord because it jeopardizes vampire safety."
"If you do that," Leslie said, "I'll stay here."
Chad pulled out his phone and exited the studio.
"So, what now?" Leslie asked.
Gwen shrugged. "I'm not sure. I think I'm going to lay low in the safehouse, let
things die down a bit before striking again."
Leslie frowned. "But who is going to be my wing-woman when I make my debut at
Club Mystique tonight?"
 "I'm banned from there," Gwen said. "I doubt they'll let me in." A thought hit. "Or
maybe not because I know all the bouncers. Here, let me go to the safe house, freshen
up and then we'll go later tonight." She rubbed her hands over her body. "I can even
wear this!"
Leslie smiled. "Yeah, let me get my stuff from the motel and I'll meet you here
later."
Gwen gave Leslie the keys to the studio, and she walked out to find Chad brooding
in the hallway.
"What's wrong?" She asked.
"I was suspended without pay by the FBSA pending a full disciplinary investigation
because of you killing two vampires last night. These things move slowly, I'll be out of
work for months. I'm not mad at you, the FBSA had lost their minds."
Leslie walked out into the hallway. "I'm sorry," she said. "But maybe this is for the
best."
Gwen nodded. "I think so too. Start over somewhere new, fresh start."
"Yeah, I think you two are right. My heart hasn't been in it for years," he looked at
Leslie, "and with our relationship changing, my reason for being a vampire hunter is
quickly going away. I'm just not sure what I'll do."
"Try being a security guard, or maybe a regular police officer," Gwen replied.
"Yeah, those are fine ideas. Let me think it over."

Chapter 17
Gwen left the apartment building, and phoned Sanchez and told him she was going
to the safehouse.
The safehouse was in Deanwood neighborhood of DC, a crime-ridden blighted area
of DC near the PG county line. Crime was rampant and there was a shooting nearly
every day. Perfect place for a vampire to hang out.
Gwen got out of her Uber with her luggage and walked down the block towards the
safehouse. Some hoodlums were milling about, but a flash of her fangs told them not to
mess with her. The safehouse itself was a two-floor house with blue siding and bars on
the windows. Sanchez's car was out front.
Gwen knocked on the door and Sanchez opened it. Gwen stepped inside the foyer
and looked around. The house inside was from a different age and not much work had
been done on it to keep it up.
"You look disappointed," Sanchez said.
"I was expecting something a little nicer."
"It's a safehouse, not a five-star hotel," Sanchez replied. He handed her the keys.
"There's several weeks' worth of blood in the fridge. Enjoy. If you excuse me, I'm off to
take a long nap."
"I think I will as well."
Sanchez exited the house, entered his car, and pulled off.
Gwen walked into the dusty kitchen and open the fridge, which was forty years old.
There were hundreds of packets of human blood stacked inside. Gwen took one and
drank it. It was fresh, as if it had just been pumped.
Gwen could get used to that.
She went upstairs to the master bedroom. The king-sized bed had an old mattress
on it and did not look comfortable. If she was going to stay long term, that would have
to change. She pulled out her travel subsonic alarm and plugged it in. She changed into
her nightgown.
Gwen laid down, got as comfortable as she could, and slumbered.
A few hours later, the subsonic alarm went off and she awoke. She went through
her evening routine and put back on the catsuit. She texted Leslie to meet her at Club
Mystique.
There was a knock on the front door. Gwen grabbed her gauntlet. She walked to the
front door. An older-looking male vampire was standing on the front porch. Behind
him, on the street, was a limousine. This was interesting.
Gwen opened the door. "Hello," she said. "Can I help you?"
"Mr. Vincente Boni would like to speak with you. You are to come to his home in
Potomac for a meeting."
"I'm sorry, I have somewhere to be."
The vampire was unmoved. "It was not a request. I was instructed that if you
refuse, I am to make you come."
The sword extended and in a split second, Gwen found herself staring up at the sky
and the vampire still holding her arm, ready to dislodge it from her shoulder. "I can
continue if you so choose," the vampire said, "or you can come."
"I'll come," Gwen said.
The vampire let go. "Good choice. Leave you weapons behind and come to the
limo."
Gwen got up, went inside and got her purse. She left the flamethrower and sword
behind. She was sure that vampire would check.
She locked the door to the house and got inside the limo. The vampire was sitting
inside on the side seat facing a small bar. Gwen sat down in back seat and shut the door.
The limo drove off.
"Why does Vincente want to see me?"
"You've killed three vampires, and he wants you to stop, now. He realized a few
hours ago that you won't really care about the ban from vampire establishments and
Nosferatu, so he's going to drive the point home, personally."
"And who are you?"
"My name is Claus Brandt, and I have been Mr. Boni's associate for the last three
hundred years. I do his dirty work for him. But, in this case, he wants to handle it
himself."
"Why do you can about some random vampires dying?"
"Because we know you're not going to stop at random drifters and working-class
vampires. Eventually, you'll set your sights higher, and that worries Mr. Boni."
"How do you know?"
"Because you believe you're the one Seth prophesized. But I'm not going to spoil
the conversation. I'll let Mr. Boni tell you the rest."
"Just tell you how you found me?" Gwen asked.
"The safehouse you are in is owned by the FBSA. Mr. Boni was informed by our
informants in FBSA you were staying there."
Gwen realized that if she survived this meeting, she'd have to find somewhere
secret to stay, preferably with all that human blood.
Gwen messaged Leslie with the truth.
"Good luck," Leslie replied.
It took forty-five minutes, but eventually the Limousine pulled into the driveway of
a gargantuan gothic-looking mansion straight out of a horror film. Vincente's mansion
should have been far less conspicuous, but maybe that was the point, to scare people.
 The limousine stopped in front of the front door and Gwen and Claus got out. They
walked inside. The interior was as cliché was the exterior, complete with candelabras.
She almost expected Vincente to come out of a coffin.
However, Gwen was shown to a sitting room where Vincente sat on a couch
drinking blood from a glass. A large bottle of blood sat on a coffee table in front of him.
Upon seeing her, he motioned her to sit an oversized armchair next to him.
She sat and he poured her a glass of blood.
"Here," Vincente said. It was delicious.
"Where did you obtain this blood?" Gwen asked.
"From the nubile teenage co-eds I have imprisoned in a dungeon below."
Gwen started to laugh, and stopped when she realized Vincente probably did have a
dungeon full of co-eds.
Noticing her look, Vincente said, "Adelaide!"
A healthy-looking girl who appeared no older than 18 walked into the room
wearing a long, flowing dress. "I am here," she said.
"Tell our guest here how I treat you."
Adelaide smiled. "Mr. Boni treats me very well."
"Thank you, you may go."
Adelaide turned and walked from the room.
"Where do you find the girls?"
"Prep-schools in the area." He took a sip. "Now, I brought you here to tell you to
stop killing, or I'll have you imprisoned. I generally don't destroy vampires for their
transgressions."
"Why do I need to stop killing?" Gwen asked.
"You've broken the vampiric code."
Gwen shrugged. "So?"
"Vampires do not break the vampiric code," Vincente replied, and then took a sip
of his of own.
"Why?"
"When vampires were young, we were feral monsters, killed freely and without
remorse. We almost were hunted to extinction as result. Then Lilith helped developed
the Vampiric Code. It made us... respectable monsters. We kill for sustenance, not
pleasure. We kill only as much as we need to, not more. And most important of all, no
infighting among vampires, which means vampires do not kill other vampires. It was in
place for millennia before I even was born. Every vampire has to follow it, it's not a
choice."
"When I was turned," Gwen said, "no vampire ever told me the code and how to
act."
Vincente nodded. "But you learned of it, yes?"
"I did."
"Then you will follow it, no questions asked," Vincente said.
"I do have one question," Gwen put the glass on the coffee table. "Who died and
made you the leader of vampires?"
"This." Vincente stood up and picked Gwen up off the armchair. He lifted her
above his head.
Gwen struggled to break free, but Vincente was too strong
He walked around the coffee table and threw her directly on the floor with full
force.
The floor was carpeted so it muffled the sound, despite being incredibly painful.
Nobody came running.
 Vincente picked up Gwen and just stared at her.
"Destroy me! I'm not afraid to die because I'm already dead!" Gwen was actually
frightened, the fear wracked her insides, but she dared not show it.
Vincente's face was deep red, and he was shaking.
Then Gwen realized something. Vincente was not destroying her. Hurting her, but
not killing her in a moment of weakness. There was a reason for that. She started to
laugh, still hanging in the air. "You won't kill me. You're full of empty threats because
if you were to kill me, you'd violate your own code and lose any legitimacy you have in
the eyes of other vampires."
Vincente dropped her on the floor. "You're right. I won't kill you. But that doesn't
mean I won't harm you."
Gwen brushed herself off. She hurt all over, but nothing a drink of blood would not
fix. She picked up the bottle of blood from the table, unscrewed the cap, and took
several gulps. She spit blood in Vincente's face. Not lady-like but fit the moment.
He wiped the blood off his face with a handkerchief he had in his shirt pocket. He
threw it in her face, it bounced off and landed on the ground. "You're not going to leave
this mansion and pray you never come back."
"Something clicked in Gwen's head again. "You're afraid of me, aren't you? This is
all a big show to scare me." Vincente began to squirm. "Why are you scared of me? Is it
the prophecy?" Vincente did not say a word. "It's totally the prophecy. You believe in
it!"
"The prophecy was obscure. How do you know about it?"
"I got hit with holy water, and an angel, I think, told me to become the Fanged
Angel. Then a vampire hunter gave me the prophecy itself."
He sighed. "Leave here. You won't be able to return to the safehouse. And if you
kill again, you'll be in my dungeon for the rest of eternity."
"Can you drive me back to my place?" Gwen asked.
Vincente pointed. "Leave!"
"Fine. I'll leave." She walked towards the front door and called Chad, who picked
up. "I need you to pick me up at Vincente Boni's mansion."
"Why are you there?" Chad asked.
"I'll explain everything."
"I'll be there as soon as I can," he texted back.
Gwen walked out onto the front porch and waited.
After a few minutes, Adelaide walked out. "I overheard everything. Vincente fears
you because he believes in Seth's prophecy. He thinks you will destroy vampire kind."
"Aren't you going to get in trouble for even talking to me?"
"No." Adelaide opened her mouth and fangs slid down. "I'm actually four-hundred
and two. I was given to Vincente when he came to my village on business because I was
the prettiest girl in the village."
Gwen scratched her head. "But--"
"I'm his vampire bride, forever young and beautiful."
"So where is he getting the blood?"
"From the teenage girls he has imprisoned in the basement." Gwen realized that
Vincente misdirected her. He never said Adelaide was one of those girls.
"Can I see them?" Gwen asked.
Adelaide nodded. "Yes, but only because there's an entrance to the basement from
the outside. Come."
 They walked around behind the mansion to a locked door with a keypad on it.
Adelaide typed the code and the door unlocked. They walked down the stairs into a
mental asylum.
There was a row of heavy doors. Behind each door was a padded cell with a toilet
and a bed. In each cell was a young nubile co-ed wearing a hospital gown. Some were
reading, some were watching TVs built into the wall, others were staring off into space
or crying.
"They get fed three times a day and allowed out of their cells during the day. They
can move about as long as they don't leave the property," Adelaide said. "Keeps them
sane."
"But he's running a jail in his basement," Gwen said.
"It's worse than you think," Adelaide said. "When these girls turn twenty-one,
they'll be disposed of."
"How?"
"They'll be fed on directly, then their bodies will be burned." Adelaide turned
towards Gwen. "The code to the back door is 49832. In time, use it to free these girls.
Though I suggest not tonight."
Gwen nodded. "Thank you. But why are you helping me?"
"I was once these girls. I was given over to a man I didn't like and still don't,
instead of being fed on, I was turned to spend eternity servicing him. I feel their pain."
A door at the end of the hall opened and Claus walked in.
Gwen was about to run the other way when Adelaide touched her arm. "It's ok.
Claus is on my side. None of Vincente's associates chose this life. We were all forced
into it."
"But Claus tried to kill me," Gwen said.
"You unsheathed your sword, ready to strike. I was protecting myself," Claus
replied as he walked up.
"But the things you said in the limo, do you believe them?"
"I have a job to do, and I do it. Doesn't mean I personally like doing it. Vincente is
not the man he used be, he's consumed with a lust for power that I believe will not end
well for vampires."
"Why don't you just kill him?"
"After a certain age," Claus said, "a vampire becomes essentially unkillable. Even
stuff that would destroy a younger vampire no longer works."
"I know a hunter who claims he killed an ancient."
Claus replied, "You mean Father Sanchez? Yes, he killed an ancient, with the help
of four other hunters. It took seven UV blasts, lighting her on fire and chopping an arm
off to weaken her enough so her head could be lopped off, and he has a permanent scar
to show for it."
"How do you know that?" Gwen asked.
"That ancient happened to be the woman who turned Vincente millennia ago. I
heard what happened from a servant who fled here after she was killed."
"Is the servant here?" Gwen asked.
"No. The servant was killed by Sanchez when it was discovered she was over here.
But anyway, if that's what it took to kill an ancient, you really have no idea what you've
gotten yourself into."
Claus was right. She was in way over her head, there was no way she could hope to
make a dent in vampire kind without vampire allies. Leslie was a good start, but Leslie
was a young vampire who did not have many connections. Claus and Adelaide were
close to Vincente and could make things happen. They needed to be on her side.
 "Then help me," Gwen said.
"I've already helped you," Adelaide said.
Gwen looked at Claus. "What about you?"
"I'll help you in exchange for sparing my existence when Vincente falls."
Gwen nodded. "That's a deal. What can you provide?"
"I can feed you information on what Vincente is doing," Claus said.
"Like what?"
"Nothing you don't already know, except he called Lilith recently."
"The literal mother of vampires?" Gwen asked.
Claus nodded. "The one and only."
"I thought she was a recluse in the Middle East."
"She is, but she's come into the twenty-first century and now takes phone calls. She
told him not to worry about the prophecy. If you continue, he'll most likely contact her
again, maybe even try to get her involved."
"But she hasn't left the Middle East since before Islam was founded," Gwen replied.
"Then hope he doesn't give her a reason to leave," Claus replied.
Gwen's phone beeped. It was a message from Chad saying he was outside to pick
her up.
"I need to go," Gwen said. "Let's exchange numbers."
They exchanged cell phone numbers and Gwen left the jail.

Chapter 18
Chad and Leslie were waiting out front in the Expedition. Gwen climbed in the
back, and they peeled out of the estate.
"This is not good," Chad said. "The most powerful vampire in DC is on to you. If
you kill again, Hell will be after you."
"But I didn't tell you what happened," Gwen said.
"It doesn't take much to figure it out," Chad replied. "Vincente acts like a vampiric
mobster."
"It's not as bad as it seems," Gwen said. "I made two allies who are close Vincente.
His associate, Claus, and Adelaide, his wife."
"I've known Adelaide always secretly hated him," Chad said. "But Claus I'm
surprised by."
"I did not get the feeling Claus hates him," Gwen said, "just disturbed by what's
going on. Claus thinks Vincente's path will bring vampires down."
"The more he attempts to stop the prophecy," Leslie said, "the more he makes sure
it comes true."
"What have you two been up to?" Gwen asked.
"Spending time together," Chad said, glumly.
"Finally, mother and son!" Leslie said, beaming.
"Well, I'm glad, take me to the safehouse to get my stuff, I'm going to have to
figure out another place to lay low."
"Where will that be?" Leslie asked.
Gwen sighed. "I don't know. It needs to be completely secret and unknown."
There was silence, and then Chad said, "I heard a rumor about a Mausoleum in
Arlington National Cemetery that Vampires used to live in."
 "I know that place. Hasn't been used in over fifty years. It doesn't have electricity,
so I can't install a minifridge to keep my blood cold."
"Gwen," Chad said, "you have bigger problems than your source of blood."
"I can bring you blood until we work out a more permanent solution," Leslie said.
"Alright, let's check it out, after I get my stuff from the safehouse."
They drove to Deanwood and the safehouse. Gwen went in and repacked her stuff.
She got back in the Expedition, and they drove to the cemetery, which was shut for
the night. They pulled up in front of the gate.
"When do you want me to come with blood?" Leslie asked.
"It'll have to be during the day, so bring it at 4:30pm, not long before closing."
"Where is the Mausoleum?" Leslie asked.
"It's called the Robertson tomb. It's in the oldest part of the cemetery, ask around
and you'll find it."
She kissed Chad and got out of the SUV. It drove off, leaving her alone.
Gwen picked up her suitcase and leaped over the fencing. She dashed her way
through the cemetery, but stopped when she heard wailing. Two transparent soldiers,
looking like they were from world-war one, were floating around.
It had been a long time, She almost forgot they existed, but vampires were not the
only undead around. There were ghosts, zombies, liches, mummies and all other manner
of undead monsters, but most had been either eliminated completely over the millennia
or reduced to a nuisance. Arlington had a zombie infestation at one point but eliminated
it and kept a vigilant watch to make sure they never returned. However, Arlington could
not rid the cemetary of the ghosts of dead soldiers who floated through the cemetery at
night. They were harmless to vampires, so Gwen simply continued to the Robertson
Tomb.
The tomb itself was two floors, the granite Mausoleum on top, and a hidden room
below ground where a vampire could stay. The door to mausoleum had been wielded
shut for decades, but there was a hidden door in the back. Gwen felt around the wall and
eventually found the button. The door opened and Gwen pushed it open. The
mausoleum housed exactly two caskets, that of Thomas Robertson, some forgotten
general, and his wife, Charlotte Robertson. They were now skeletons.
In the center of the floor was a hidden hatch. To open it, Gwen opened Thomas's
casket, and pulled a lever next to the skull.
The hatch opened to reveal dirt, nothing but dirt. Somebody had filled in the room
with dirt to keep vampires out.
Gwen felt like crying. She had nowhere to stay. Even worse, she heard footsteps
outside. Two guards were walking towards the tomb.
"But I thought the tomb was shut and filled in decades ago," one guard said.
"It was, but apparently not every vampire got the memo," the other said.
"What are we going to do?"
"Eliminate it since I doubt they will come willingly."
Gwen was caught without a means of escape. Arlington Cemetery was a run by the
United States Department of Defense, which was not bound by FBSA regulations. That
means they could freely eliminate her for trespassing on DOD property.
Gwen slipped her gauntlet on, then took it off. She could not kill these guards.
The guards walked to the back and the open door. They shone their flashlights in
Gwen's face while holding their pistols, presumably with silver bullets. Stakes were
hanging from their belts.
"Do you have any last words before we send you to Hell?" One asked.
 Gwen started to sob. "I've had a very bad day. I can't go home. I can't buy blood.
I'm hunted by other vampires. Leave me alone!"
The guards looked at each other and shrugged. "Well, you can't stay here," the other
said. "If you don't leave, I'll destroy you."
She picked up her stuff. "Fine, I'll leave."
The guards escorted her through the cemetery and out the closest gate. They
slammed it shut behind her.
Gwen slid to the sidewalk and curled up.
Her phone rang. It was Chad. She did not answer. She did not want to answer.
Instead, she wallowed in her own misery, it was cathartic in a way.
A few minutes later, Chad's SUV pulled up. Chad and Leslie got out and walked up
to her.
"Get up," Chad said. "Come with us."
"And go where?" Gwen cried. "I have nowhere to go!"
"No, you're not. You'll stay at my apartment for the night. We'll figure this out in
the morning."
"And figure what out?"
"Where your secret lair is going to be," Leslie said.
Gwen looked up at Leslie. "Secret lair?"
"Yes, your secret lair. I think we're approaching this wrong. We need to find
someplace completely secret and off the grid for you."
"Where would that be?" Gwen asked.
"We don't know yet. Maybe Sanchez will know," Chad said.
Gwen curled back up. "Thought so."
Leslie looked at her son. "Have you ever seen her like this?"
"Honestly, no." Chad bent down and picked Gwen up. "You're not spending the
night on the street."
Gwen could have easily overpowered Chad and escaped his grasp, but she did not
have the energy or the will.
Chad placed her in the back on the Expedition, along with her things. They drove to
a Metro stop and let Leslie out. Then they went to Chad's apartment.
Chad's apartment was on the second floor of a garden apartment complex. He
helped her up the stairs into his small and cluttered apartment. He brought her into the
bedroom and laid her on the bed. He brought her stuff up.
Gwen laid on her side staring at the wall, not knowing what to do. Chad slid in the
bed next to her.
She felt Chad's arms wrap around her and pull her close. She closed her eyes and
instead of giving into the sweet embrace of death, she felt love.
She felt alive.
She shifted around and kissed him. What came next was natural.
Later, they rested next to each other.
Gwen sat up. "What are we?"
"Hmm..." Chad said, half asleep.
She pushed him. "I'm serious, what are we?"
Chad finally awoke. "What are we?"
"Yes, what are we?"
He glanced down. "I don't know."
She straddled him and put her hands on his chest. "Let's have more than just sex
several times a year."
"So, you want to be an official couple?" Chad asked.
 "Aren't we already are, in certain respects?"
"I guess," Chad frowned, "but there's a problem. My mother said she wants
grandchildren."
Gwen got off him and said, "You spent your life hating her, and now you listen to
her?"
"I'm almost 30, I need to think about settling down. You're not going to give me
kids so..."
Gwen starting dressing. "What the fuck is wrong with you? You take me in off the
street, we have a romantic moment, and now you're telling me we're over?!" She knew
this conversation would eventually have to be had, but then and there was quite possibly
the worst possible time to have it.
"I'm sorry but I--"
"Shut it. And I thought I used to be cruel!"
She finished dressing, grabbed her things, and slammed the door behind her on the
way out.
Gwen was truly alone.
She called her an Uber to take her out of town, anywhere but there.

Chapter 19

A day later, Leslie came back to her condo perturbed. She just had an intense
argument with her son over Gwen.
"How could you be so dumb?!" She had yelled.
"When you said you wanted grandkids, it got me thinking about it, and now that I'm
out of the FBSA, I should settle down."
"But you should have waited until after Gwen was staying at your apartment, now
she's disappeared without a trace!"
"She'll be back," Chad replied.
"No, she won't, especially since she's been blackballed from the DC vampire
community."
"Well, that's her choice."
"That she made because you were being stupid. Go find her!"
Leslie wanted grandkids, what mother didn't? But she never meant at that moment.
Now Gwen had seemingly disappeared, and Leslie feared Gwen would let the darkness
take over.
Standing next to the door was a man. "You're not Gwen," he said.
"And you are?"
"A neighbor of hers."
"Wait," Leslie said, "you're Jason Roth, the one who splashed Gwen with holy
water."
He sighed. "Yes, I am."
 "We'll she's not here. I'm housing sitting." She turned to put the key in the lock. She
heard the click of a gun at her temple.
"If she told you about me, then you must be a vampire too."
Leslie extended her fangs. "I am. But I think its rude you want to kill me. I've done
nothing to you."
"You're a vampire, and vampires must die."
"You sound like my son," Leslie muttered.
Leslie had to think quick. Jason was a problem for Gwen and would be a problem
for her. He had to be dealt with. But leaving a dead body around would lead vampire
hunters straight to her. He had to disappear without a trace. There was one way to go
about it, but it would be risky, as she had never done it before. Only heard about it from
other vampires who had.
"What's it going to be?" Jason asked.
Leslie put the key in the lock and opened the door. "Come in. Have a drink with
me. I think Gwen has some regular alcohol in a cabinet."
"I don't think so," Jason said. "You'll try and kill me."
"You don't have a gun to your head." She walked inside. If Jason was going to kill
her, he'd already have pulled the trigger.
Keeping the gun on her, he walked in behind her and shut the door.
Being a young vampire, her powers were still weak. She had not mastered quick
movements like Gwen had. Furthermore, the blood bath had begun to wear off. She was
beginning to age in appearance to her mid-thirties. Still, she was attractive.
Facing away, she dropped her coat, then her dress, then stepped out of her shoes.
Leslie turned to see Jason's pants bulge.
She slinked up to him, and put one hand on his gun arm, and one hand on his
package.
The gun dropped to the floor. He was under her spell.
She led him to the bed and pushed him down.
She unbuckled his pants and pulled them off. She reached in his boxers and pulled
out his manhood.
Leslie retracted her fangs and took him into her mouth.

She waited until he closed his eyes in ecstasy.

She extended her fangs, and bit down.

The was something fitting about draining a man through his dick, especially when
he thought with it instead of his brain.
To turn a vampire, Leslie had to drain him to brink of death, but not to death. He
had to be taking his last breaths for them to turn.
She stopped draining when the blood was almost gone.
Using a fang, Leslie punctured her wrist. Then, as Jason lay dying, she put her wrist
to his mouth, and let her vampiric blood drain down his throat.
She pulled away when he began to convulse. He was turning.
He convulsed and shook for a few minutes, then withered to a complete husk and
his hair fell out.
He was still, and undead.
While he slumbered. Leslie went searching and found a stake in the nightstand. She
would not have to improvise.
She could kill him in his slumber, but where would be the fun in that?
Leslie turned on the subsonic alarm.
 Jason sat up, fangs out, eyes wild with bloodlust.
"I need blood!" He screamed.
"No, you need to die, motherfucker!" Leslie brought the stake towards Jason's
heart.
Jason caught the stake and pushed it away.
He looked at her. "Why would you change me, then try and kill me?"
"Because my plan was to kill you, vacuum you up and drop you down a trash
chute."
"Well, it won't be that easy. I may be a creature I hated when alive, but now that I'm
undead, I shall live it up!" He got out of bed. "I'm hungry, I need blood."
Leslie should not have said anything when she tried to destroy him. Now she had a
new vampire on her hands.
"Here!" Leslie went to the fringe and pulled out two animal blood packets and gave
them to Jason, which he scarfed down. He turned back to how he used to look.
"Thank you, but I feel to take life, human life!"
"In due time," Leslie replied. "You know as well as anyone, you can't just go taking
lives randomly, you need to plan. Otherwise, hunters will be after you. Besides, now
that you're a vampire, you're going to have to change your life around to account for the
fact you won't initially be able to go out during the day."
He smiled. "My wealthy parents basically pay for my life anyway, no way I afford
to live in DC at my age without help. I'll inherit hundreds of millions when they pass."
That made a lot of sense.
"That's fortunate," Leslie said. "Now, let me show you how to be a good vampire."
"A good vampire?" Jason raised an eyebrow. "Vampires are dark and twisted. I can
feel it within me. The need to commit evil!"
"If Gwen has taught me anything in the short time I've known her, you don't have to
let the darkness control you."
"Then teach me," Jason said.
Leslie nodded. "I'm still learning myself, but I'll try."
Leslie was not sure taking Jason under her care was a good idea, but hopefully she
could turn it into an advantage.

Chapter 20
Martinsburg, West Virginia, was a little over an hour away from DC, but might as
well have been in a different world. It was poor, run down and blighted with crime and
drug use. While industry was beginning to take an interest in it, it was not coming fast
enough to make a visible difference. It was also not ideal for Gwen because it was
sprawling and not walkable in many instances.
Despite its problems, Gwen chose to go there because it was not that far from DC,
and in that other world. She checked into a Days Inn just off the downtown strip and sat
in her motel room for two days watching television. Slumbering was not an option
because she did not have any blood with her.
The news was saturated about the inclusion initiative, about how "it'd a new day for
vampires and humans." It was all lies. Vampires lived in the darkness. They let it seep
through them and control their actions. Not all vampires did that. Leslie, despite being
immersed in it, sought to rise above through her love for her son. Even Kamaria, in her
own way, rose above by not killing humans anymore, though she fell victim when her
paranoia got too much. Otherwise, dark times were coming in the United States as
vampires would be allowed to run free.
In the motel room, the hunger for blood was intense, but Gwen swallowed it until it
became completely unbearable. Then she left the motel and walked the downtown strip
in the morning hours. She had kept up her driver's license, but never needed a car living
in DC. Now, she would have to get one if she wanted to go anywhere else in
Martinsburg.
She came to a cozy diner called The Red Diner, which was done up in red décor
and smelled of food for humans.
She walked in and sat down in a booth. The diner was filled with mostly older
folks, regulars. The waitress came and gave her a menu of standard America diner faire.
"I'm a vampire," Gwen said. "Do you have any animal blood?"
All eyes were on Gwen. The waitress backed up and the man behind the counter
pulled out a shotgun.
"Hey," the man said. "We don't serve your kind around here!"
"I'm not from here, I just wanted some--"
The man pumped the shotgun. "Get out!"
"You know there's a vampire inclusion initiative--"
"I know about what our leftist piece of shit president of ours is doing, but I don't
care." He pointed towards to the door. "Get out!"
Gwen got up and walked towards the door, as she was about to open the door, she
heard a hushed conversation behind her.
"Wait," the man said, "Our vampires don't come out during the day. How come you
do?"
Gwen turned. "Because I'm not like them. In fact, I left DC because I'm not exactly
liked there."
"And why is that?" the man asked.
"Because I kill vampires," Gwen said.
Everyone looked at each other.
The man put his hands on the counter. "Really?"
"Yeah. I've killed three already." Gwen frowned. "But I haven't had blood in days,
I'm very weak now."
"Unfortunately," the man said, "we don't have any here, but I know where you can
get some."
"Where?" Gwen asked.
"Wherever you came from!" The diner burst out laughing.
In that moment Gwen realized she had lost nearly everything, just as the prophecy
had predicted. She was cast out from her own kind, and mortals were not exactly
hospitable to her. She did not know where she would get blood.
Tears began falling as the realization consumed her. She exited the restaurant.
She walked down the sidewalk and tripped on an uneven portion. She fell on her
hands and knees and sobbed even harder.
A man passing by stopped. "Are you alright, miss?"
Gwen looked up at him. A tuft of hair fell out as she was now withering due to a
lack of blood. She instinctively extended her fangs. She had to stop herself from feeding
on the man right there.
The man bolted down the sidewalk.
A wiry old man with a cane hobbled out of the diner and over to Gwen. With his
free hand, he dropped his exposed wrist in front of Gwen. "Feed."
She peeredup at him with a raised eyebrow.
 "You'll be a husk soon if you don't feed. I won't let yet feed very much."
She bit into his wrist and drank. After a few seconds, the old man yanked his wrist
away. Gwen was still weak but would no longer wither.
"I'm James," he said. "Come, I'll take you to the veterinary blood bank, then
introduce you to Carl."
Gwen got off the sidewalk and straighed her clothes. "Thank you."
They slowly walked down the sidewalk. "I know who you are," James said. "You
still look exactly the same as you did fifty years ago."
"Do I know you?"
"No. But I've seen pictures of you dating back to the sixties. I seem to remember
you being called the Red Widow even then."
Gwen scratched her head. "I honestly can't remember the first time I was called
that."
"It doesn't matter, your reputation proceeds you. So why, may I ask, are you killing
vampires?"
"it's long story."
"We got time," James said, "as you can see, I don't walk fast anymore."
So, Gwen told the story on the way to James' Camry, and even for a few minutes
once inside.
"So, why are you helping me?" Gwen asked as they drove through the city.
"Because I sensed something in you. You're not a typical vampire, and you proved
it when I was feeding you my blood. You could have killed me, but you did not.
Besides, I've been sitting on my ass at a desk for twenty years, and my recliner for the
other twenty. Helping you will give me some excitement."
They drove to the Martinsburg Veterinary Blood Bank, a small building with
parking lot. James pulled into the handicap spot and got out. "Come with me. They
normally don't freely hand out blood to vampires, only Carl, but to me they will."
"Who is Carl?" Gwen asked.
"Think of him as a drug dealer for vampires. He purchases top quality animal blood
here at a discount rate and resells to the vampires at market value."
"Why don't they purchase direct from the source?" Gwen asked.
James grabbed his cane from the back seat. "You'll see why in a moment. They
take... extra precautions."
They stepped out of the Camry and walked up to the front door. It was locked with
a biometric finger lock. There was a call button, next to the lock.
James pressed the button.
"How may I help you, Mr. Montgomery," said a female voice.
"Judy, I would like to purchase some blood for my vampire friend here."
"James, you know we don't allow vampires in the building."
"Then how do you sell to Carl?" Gwen asked.
There was a pause. "We don't sell directly to Carl. We sell to Lust, and Lust sells
the blood to vampires. Carl just owns Lust."
Gwen leaned into James. "What's Lust?" She whispered.
"His strip club," James whispered back.
That made sense. Carl could not buy, but his business could.
"Anyways, could you make an exception this time, for me. I'll vouch for her,"
James said.
"Rules are rules," Judy said. "No vampires in the building but hold on."
A few minutes, Judy, a short, squat woman, came to the front door holding a cooler
bag. She walked outside and handed it to James. "That'll be $1000."
 Gwen opened the bag. There were fivesixty milliliter bags. "This is outrageous,
Nosferatu sells for a fraction."
The woman put her hands on hips. "Do we look like Nosferatu? Besides, you're
getting higher quality animal blood than the watered-down crap you're used to."
"But I sure Carl doesn't pay two hundred dollars a bag," Gwen said.
"He buys in bulk at a discount," Judy says. She smirked. "He's our best customer."
Gwen groaned and handed her a credit card. Judy smiled and walked back inside.
Gwen took out a bag of dog's blood and drank. Her eyes went wide as she drank, it
was exquisite. Fully worth the price.
Her strength returned.
Judy returned with the card and a receipt. "Thank you for your business. Just return
when you need more blood. We might even give you a discount next time."
They went back to the Camry. As Gwen got inside, she had a disturbing thought.
"If Carl buys the blood from the Bank, and then resells it to the vampires, if I say, killed
Carl, wouldn't it completely disrupt the Martinsburg blood supply?"
James nodded. "Exactly what it'll do."
"But that'll put mortals in danger. I'm not like most. The others will kill to get their
blood if they can't get their supply."
"If Carl dies, they'll be forced to use Nosferatu for blood. And I'm sure you know
what Nosferatu blood tastes like."
"Garbage," Gwen replied. "How many vampires in Martinsburg?"
"Eighteen, including Carl."
Gwen thought. Eighteen was far less than she expected, but Martinsburg was not
DC. That was a killable number. "Alright. Where's Lust?"
"On route 9 on the outskirts. But it doesn't open until 8pm. But I'll take you," James
said.
"Are you sure?"
"Absolutely. It'll bring back old times," James replied. "Now we'll go to my house,
and you'll meet my wife and grandson."
Gwen had nothing better to do. "That sounds lovely."

Chapter 21

Gwen spent the day at James' modest house with his very gracious wife, Gloria, and
their two-year-old grandson, Aiden. They took care of Aiden because Aiden's mother,
their youngest daughter, worked at a nearby cat litter factory. Aiden's dad was a
fentanyl addict and was currently in jail on aggravated assault charges.
James told her stories of his vampire-hunter past, where he was stationed within the
Martinsburg area.
"There was a family of yokel vampires that lived in Kearneysville in a glorified
shack. Father, mother, 2 sons and a daughter, all vampires. They terrorized the locals.
One day in 1974, me and my partner broke in their shack and staked them all."
"Did you get clearance?" Gwen asked. She knew the answer but decided to make
conversation.
"Didn't need it then. If they were vampires, they could be freely killed, and nobody
cared. But then Vincente Boni came to power, and everything started to change. I saw it
coming, so I retired from vampire hunting in 1982. How did you survive all these
years?"
"In part," Gwen replied," because I only killed a human once a year. I was mostly
off the radar."
Gwen, in kind, told him the abridged version of her vampire life. Not that, in
retrospect, it was very interesting, as her undead existence stayed mostly the same,
regardless of the era.
Finally, he showed her his little vampire-hunter lair, complete with weapons from
the era he worked, kept in surprisingly good condition.
In the late afternoon, James took Gwen to Walmart, when she bought a pay-as-you-
go cell phone as Gwen knew turning her phone on would mean Boni would be on her in
hours. Then James took her to the motel, where she prepared for the night. She packed a
few metals stakes James had given her. She decided to leave her gauntlet at the motel as
it'd make it too obvious her intentions if she wore it.
At 8:00pm, he returned, and they went to Lust, which was a rectangular,
windowless building that was completely lit up in the night with pastel fluorescent
lighting. There were already several cars in the parking lot.
He pulled up in the front. "Call me when you're ready, and I'll come back you."
"Alright." Gwen got out of the Camry. She walked in the front door to face a mortal
bouncer. "Are you here to apply for a stripper position?"
"No." Gwen extended her fangs. "I'm new in town. I heard Carl is where to go for
blood."
"If you want blood, buy it at the bar. Two-hundred dollars a pack." The bouncer
stepped aside.
Gwen realized she should have said she was there for the position, but then, it still
might not have let her see Carl. She needed to find out if Carl was there.
The club was loud, dark and smoky. A naked woman was gyrating on stage as men
stuck dollars in her garter. Strippers walked the floor looking for customer for a lap
dance.
As Gwen walked across the floor, a drunken patron shouted, "Hey baby, give me a
dance."
Gwen ignored him and walked to the bar. There was a mortal female behind the
bar. "What can I get you?"
Gwen extended her fangs. "I'm wondering if Carl is here. I heard he runs the
Martinsburg vampires. I'm new here and would like the meet him. "
The bartender picked up a phone, dialed, and spoke for a few seconds. She then put
the phone down and pointed to backstage entrance. "Go down the hall past the dressing
room. His office is on the left."
"Thank you."
Gwen walked backstage and past the entrance to the dressing room and found Carl,
a large but built man on his computer in his small and cluttered office.
He took one look at Gwen and pulled his gun from a drawer in his desk. "I know
who you are!"
"But I haven't even introduced myself," Gwen replied.
"You are Gwen McCallum. Vincente Boni sent out an email to surrounding
vampire enclaves to be on the lookout for you, complete with a nice picture. Give me
one reason why I shouldn't email him and tell him you're here."
Gwen shrugged. "Go ahead. I'll be gone by the time he gets here in a few hours."
Carl shook his head. "And Vincente Boni will notify every vampire enclave in the
entire country of your existence, if he hasn't already. Face it, you're a fugitive. But..."
Carl was silent as he tapped his finger against his temple. "Maybe we can help each
other."
"How?" Gwen asked.
"I searched for the prophecy mentioned the email, it says you want to bring light to
mortals. In other words, cheer them up in a dark world. I do the same thing. Sad sacks
visit this club, and I sell them a sexual fantasy that cheers them up for the night."
Gwen folded her arms. "That's not the same thing."
"I think it is. You're probably looking for a reason to kill me. I just run a strip club
and a blood supply business on the side. That's pretty much it. Kind of boring if you ask
me. Besides, you and I want the same thing. I want you to kill every other vampire in
Martinsburg. I have their names and addresses. You kill, I cover it up with bribes to the
right individuals."
"What's the catch?" Gwen asked.
"The catch is you leave me alone to my business."
"But wouldn't killing every vampire ruin your blood supply racket?"
Carl shrugged. "It's not as profitable as you'd think, and besides, I've grown to
dislike the other Martinsburg vampires. Maybe not for the reasons you do, but I hate
them all the same. For one thing, some of them feed on my customers."
He typed and his computer and a paper printed out. Chad handed the paper to
Gwen. It was the list of vampires. "Thank you."
He then handed her keys. "Those keys are to a property I happen to own in
Martinsburg. It's at 456 Hubbard Street. You can stay there. Decorate it if you like.
When you kill all the vampires, maybe I'll even sell it to you at a discount."
"But why give me a house?"
"Because you'll need a permanent place to stay within Martinsburg. This will take a
while. For me to cover up well, you'll need to kill over weeks, not days."
"Makes sense. But I get the feeling you're enslaving me in a sense."
Carl smirked. "More like making sure I get what I want."
Gwen left the club and called James, who arrived a few minutes later.
Gwen got in and explained to James what had occurred.
He pulled out of the parking lot. "I would be careful of Carl. He's a snake."
"I understand," Gwen said. "But he's positioned himself well in the community.
Taking him out is not as easy as it appears to be. When the time is right, I will. But for
now, I'll work with him. "
James pulled off the road into a gas station. "Let me see the list." Gwen handed it to
him and he looked it over. He pointed to a name. "Marcus, you'll start with Marcus."
"Who is Marcus?"
"The vampire currently residing at 456 Hubbard Street." Gwen groaned. "Real
nasty character. He killed an acquaintance of mine over a poker game, before he
turned." Gwen frowned. James shook his head. "Told you Carl was a snake."
"But Carl owns the property," Gwen said.
"And it seems Carl wants his tenant evicted. But we're not going to do it now. We'll
do it tomorrow afternoon, when he'll be slumbering."
Gwen looked out the window. "Take me back to the motel them."
James pulled out of the parking lot. "As you wish."

Chapter 22
 456 Hubbard Street was at the edge of a neighborhood made up of shabby ranch
houses. It was across the street from a body shop that was currently open and operating.
"Is this a good idea?" Gwen asked James as they sat in the Camry. "People in the
body shop will see me go in and out of the house."
"Which you want to do if you want to bring hope to mortals," James said. "Carl, I
assume, meant covering it up so Vincente Boni won't know."
"Fair enough," Gwen said. She slipped on her gauntlet and got out of the car.
She walked up to the front door and knocked. No answer. She pulled out of keys
and unlocked the front door. She opened the door to find a dusty interior with no
furniture, anywhere. She went to the kitchen. No blood in the fridge. There were,
however, male shoe prints leading to the basement. She walked down the stairs. The
basement was completely dark, the upper windows had been blacked out. Gwen felt
around for a light switch and found one. An overhead light turned on to reveal a
concrete basement. There find a small minifridge and an ornate steel casket in the
center. A door led to a small bathroom. She opened the minifridge to find bottles of
animal blood.
There was shifting in the casket. The resident was up.
Gwen extended the sword.
The casket top opened. and a withered man sat up. He looked at her.
"Who are you?" he asked.
"Carl sent me, Marcus," Gwen asked.
"Let me guess, he wants me out for non-payment of rent. Well, he can suck my
dick. I can barely make enough to afford his blood, much less pay rent."
"Not my problem," Gwen said.
Marcus glared at the sword. "Are you a vampire hunter?"
Gwen showed her fangs. "Not exactly, but you have the right idea."
He reached into a small compartment in the casket and pulled out a bottle of blood.
He drank it to turn into a short but muscular bald man with a goatee. His body was
covered in tattoos.
"What was that compartment?"
"A cooler compartment to keep a bottle of blood cold, just in case this happened."
He stepped out of the casket and faced Gwen. He cracked his knuckles. "Let's get it on!"
Gwen zipped forward and swung the sword, but Marcus caught her arm and spun
her, sending her flying into a wall.
Gwen crumpled to the ground and was motionless.
Marcus walked over and flipped her on her back. He held her neck with one hand.
With the other, he raised it and made his fingers into a claw. He was going to rip her
heart out.
However, Marcus was kneeling around her sword. She simply chopped up, then
across, cutting his balls off.
Marcus howled in pain and fell back as his pants stained with vampiric blood.
Gwen was sore but unharmed She put her sword to his neck.
"What are you?" He screamed, several octaves higher.
"I'm the Fanged Angel!" She sliced his head off.
She heard faint clapping and saw James balancing on the stairs, slapping the
banister holding hand with the other.
Gwen helped James down the stairs.
"Looks cozy," James said.
"Carl said I could decorate it."
"Yeah, get some light in here at least. Maybe a new fridge."
 "Get a comfy bed too."
James hobbled over to the coffin and peered inside. "It's a luxury coffin with a
cooler compartment. He pulled a small device by the pillow. "Looks like a speaker of
some kind."
Gwen nodded. "Probably subsonic, there must be a sensor connected to that speaker
that got tripped and woke him up. Wouldn't be the first vampire with that setup."
"I'd stay in the coffin, though I'd clean and disinfect first."
She pulled out her phone and dialed Carl, whose phone number was on the sheet.
He picked up.
"You didn't tell me the house was already occupied," Gwen said.
"Yes, I did. Marcus's address was on the sheet, and I never said it was vacant. Not
hard to put two and two together. But good job destroying him."
"He said the price of your blood prevented him from paying the rent."
"If you want crap Nosferatu blood, order it online," Carl said. "Want the good stuff,
pay up. Simple as that," Carl said. "I have to go, have a stripper interview to conduct."
He hung up.
One down, sixteen more vampires to go.

Chapter 23
One month later, Vincente sat in his study feeling proud of himself. The vampire
inclusion initiative was already proving to be a success. Useful idiots were running to
embrace vampires, which would, in time, be their downfall. The goal wasn't to increase
the vampire numbers necessarily, but to make it easier to kill humans. Idiots were just
walking into being fed upon, and the government, media, and tech firms, were only too
happy to cover it up.
There was a man who posted on social media that her mother had befriended a
vampire, who then proceeded to kill her. He asked why the government was promoting
friendship with killers? The man was banned from the service for vamphobia and the
local FBSA office called him a bigot and refused to investigate.
In addition, the FBSA was letting vampire hunters go completely, or put them on a
contract basis, because they were no longer necessary. The FBSA put Father Sanchez
on a contract basis, so he'd still be a nuisance. Chad Stone would not get a hearing as he
was simply fired.
There was a knock on the door.
"Come in," Vincente said.
Claus walked in. "Sir, we think we've found Ms. McCallum. She's in Martinsburg,
West Virginia."
"And how do you know?"
"Vampires there have basically completely disappeared."
"And why didn't know this sooner?" Vincente asked.
"Because Carl apparently is covering it up according to a source," Claus replied.
"Why would he help Ms. McCallum?"
"I'm not sure, but I'm going to find out. Regardless, Gwen is staying at one of his
properties."
"Then send in the hunters, immediately."
"As you wish," Claus exited the room.
 ***

For a month, Chad pulled every favor he had to find Gwen, with little luck. During
that time, he got a job being a security guard at a gated residential community in
Potomac; not far from Boni's mansion, in fact. It was not a whole lot of money, and
boring, but better than nothing.
Chad was sitting in his guardhouse watching television, when a limo pulled up.
Adelaide got out of the back and walked up to the window.
"Hello, Adelaide," Chad said. "What are you doing here?"
"To talk to you. I know you're looking for Gwen and can't find her. I know where
she is."
"And how do you know where she is?"
"All but one of the Martinsburg vampire enclave have disappeared, and it's not hard
to figure out why."
"But what's the catch? There's always a catch with you."
"The catch is that Vincente has sent in a group of handpicked vampire hunters who
work for him directly now to destroy her."
"Why is Boni employing hunters?"
"To destroy her outside of the system. Anyways, they're on their way, I suggest you
get going."
Chad looked at the clock. "I have five hours left on my shift."
"I already made a phone call; a replacement is on his way." She handed him a note.
"This is her address. Good luck."
He got in his Expedition and headed towards DC. He'd need to bring his mother
along. Fortunately, her protégé and lover, Jason, would not be. They were practically
inseparable at night. But during the day, he slumbered. He was an annoying even while
dead, but her mother had a taken a liking to him, so Chad had to tolerate him.

***
The team Vincente hired were ex-military security contractors, not licensed
hunters. This was done to avoid the FBSA entirely and keep things in the dark. Darryl
Duran and Zack Hastings were Rangers, Amal Gardner was Delta Force and Grace
Peterson was a sniper. Vincente provided body armor and high-tech vampire-hunting
weaponry, as well as a Hummer to travel to Martinsburg in.
The team traveled to 456 Hubbard Street in Martinsburg. The body shop across the
street had been notified and agreed to vacate the premises for the operation.
The Hummer pulled up outside in morning, just as the sun was coming up. This
would guarantee she was home. The team got out and readied their weaponry. Darry
and Zack carried modified rifles with silver rounds. Amal had a flame thrower and a
small but powerful UV weapon. Grace had a sniper rifle with long range silver rounds.
They each carried a pistol with silver and regular rounds, a silver knife, and stakes.
Grace ran to the body shop, climbed to the roof via a ladder, and positioned herself.
"I'm ready," she said over comms.
Daryl and Zack carefully walked up to the front door. Zack picked the lock and it
the door opened. Inside the house, room by room, made sure it was clear. The house
was empty of furniture, even the kitchen was bare.
 However, there was a thick layer of dust everywhere, and fresh shoe prints not
made by either of them, and they straight led to the basement.
They stood at the top of the stairs and slowly made their way down.
The basement was not empty. On one wall was a refrigerator with a clear door.
Inside were packets of blood, both human and not. Another wall had a free-standing
closet and weapons rack. The rack had a variety of weapons, from guns to swords, and
none seemed to be missing. There was an open door on a third wall and a small
bathroom. In the center, was an ornate steel casket lying on a casket stand.
Daryl put a finger to his mouth, signaling quiet. They crept to the casket.
Daryl pointed his rifle and Zack opened it.
Gwen laid inside, wearing a nightgown and her sword gauntlet. She point a pistol
directly at Daryl.
Daryl said, "Vincente Boni says--"
Gwen fired.
Daryl's head exploded inside his helmet.
Gwen was out of the casket and pointing her sword at Zack before Daryl hit the
ground.
"Do you want to say anything before I chop your head off?"
Zack ducked as a stream of flames shot across the room and engulfed Gwen, setting
her on fire. Her nightgown went up in flames instantly. She flailed for a moment, then
regained her composure.
She zipped, putting the fire out. She appeared behind Amal, who was standing at
the foot of the stairs, with a charred body. But she uncovered his neck, and stuck her
fangs in. The flame damage started to disappear as Amal screamed in agony.
Zack fired a rifle shot at Gwen. The bullet hit her in the forehead.
Gwen fell backwards onto the stairs with a nasty headwound.
Amal stumbled forward, holding his neck, regaining his owm composure. "I'll be
fine, as he unholstered his pistol with his free hand.
Zack pointed his rifle at the motionless Gwen.
"Do you need me to come inside?" Gwen asked over coms.
"Daryl is dead, but we have the situation covered. Gwen McCallum will be
terminated in a moment," Zack responded.
They heard a vehicle pull up outside and stop. Two car doors opened.
"Guys, we have company," Grace said.
"Who?" Amal said.
"Gwen's vampire hunter boyfriend and his mother." They had been briefed on
Gwen's circle, so Grace knew who they were. "The hunter is checking out our vehicle.
His mother disappeared."
"Take out the hunter," Zack said. "We can deal with the mother, she's reportedly
weak."
"Got it."
On the rooftop, Grace aimed her rifle towards Chad. She had her finger on the
trigger, ready to blow his head off.
She was picked up and tossed off the roof.
Grace landed on the road with a thud, and shattered bones.
Leslie jumped off the roof and landed next to Grace.
Chad ran over and pointed his shotgun at the Grace.
"Your girlfriend is already dead," Grace seethed through the pain as shots rang out
from the house.
Leslie and Chad suddenly appeared scared.
 Grace started laughing. "She's dead!"
Male screams rang out from the house.
Leslie and Chad no longer appeared scared.
"They're dead," Chad said. "Now you're the last one left.
Gwen appeared in the doorway wearing her catsuit, holding Amal's severed head.
Blood dripped down her chin. Her face was otherwise completely healed.
Gwen tossed Amal's head on the lawn. She appeared over Grace.
"I'm going to let you live so you can tell that son of a bitch Vincente Boni to leave
me alone," Gwen said. "I know he sent you. He's the only one who would."
"He'll never let you go," Grace sneered, "you're too much of a threat!"
They heard sirens in the distance. "You two better go," Gwen said.
"Not without you," Chad said. "It's why we're here."
"I'll meet you at the Red Diner in Downtown in a bit. Go up the street and take a
left on Route Eleven, can't miss it."
Leslie said, "But--"
"The authorities here know and love me because I got rid of the local vampires. I
have some explaining to do to them, but I'll be fine. Go!"

Chapter 24
Word traveled fast in Martinsburg apparently. Because when Chad and Leslie
walked in the Red Diner the place buzzed with talks of the gunshots near Coyote's Body
Shop.
They just simply slid in a booth and said nothing.
The waitress came by with menus. A quick glance and Chad ordered breakfast.
"Anything for you?" The waitress asked Leslie.
She bared her fangs in response.
The waitress did not visibly react beyond, "You better watch out, this town is
protected by the Fanged Angel!"
The entire diner stared at them.
Leslie replied, "We're friends of hers."
Chad nodded. "Her and I were together for a bit."
The waitress smiled. "Oh, she did mention having a human boyfriend at one point.
I'll bring some animal blood."
"You serve vampires?" Leslie asked.
"We didn't used to, but the Fanged Angel has quickly become a local celebrity. She
frequents here." The waitress walked away.
A few minutes later, food and animal blood were brough, and they dined.
Towards the end of the meal, Gwen walked in to stares and hellos. She was wearing
regular clothes.
She slid in the booth next to Leslie.
"Everything good with the police?" Chad asked.
"Yes, apparently somebody phoned in during the incident that I was going to be
killed. So, they were already on their way. They weren't sure who called, but it was a
male voice, so probably Claus."
"How were you prepared for them?" Leslie asked.
"I have a subsonic alarm that triggers when it detects movement above. I keep a
pistol and my sword in my casket just in case I have to use them."
 "But you would have been withered and less powerful," Leslie said.
My casket has a cooler compartment that I keep a vial of blood."
Chad scratched his head. "Sanchez has a theory that you're developing the power of
an ancient. Its why you didn't fry in the tanning bed."
"Probably so." Gwen went stone faced. "I'm still not happy with both of you."
"What did I do?" Leslie asked.
The waitress brought a glass of blood for Gwen, who took it. "You wanted grand
kids." She drank.
"I've always wanted grand kids, even when alive and my kids were young. I don't
see what's wrong with wanting your family to continue," Leslie replied.
Gwen was silent as she took another sip .She shrugged. "I can't blame for you for
that." Then she glared at Chad. "But what you did was inexcusable."
Leslie's phone beeped. She pulled it out. "It's Jason. He's wondering where I am
now."
"Please don't tell me it's that Jason."
Leslie nodded. "It is. He's a vampire now and we're... its complicated. A lot has
happened since you left. I should call him."
Gwen let Leslie out to take the call.
"What happened?" Gwen asked.
Chad sighed. "My mother turned Jason to kill him, but it failed. Now they're an
item. I think Jason is annoying, but my mother has taken a liking to him, so I let it be."
Once Leslie was out of sight, Chad said, "I'm sorry for what I did. It was the wrong
time to tell you." Chad reached across the table and took her hand. "I do love you, but a
part of me wonders if this can last. I won't get any younger. I will eventually die
because I don't want to be turned."
"I get it. We're not meant to be. So, if you want to marry a mortal, it's fine with
me."
Chad turned his head. "Really?"
"Yes." In the month since she left, Gwen had time to think. She came to understand
that they were living a lie. Maybe the best thing to do was to let Chad go, as much as it
hurt.
He let go of her hand. "But can we still be friends?"
Gwen smiled. "Yes, we can."
"Now," Chad said, "Vincente now knows where you are. He's not going to stop
coming after you, no matter where you run to." Chad motioned to the diner. "You're
bringing hope to mortals. He feels he needs to stop that, especially with the integration
initiative fully in place."
Gwen groaned. "Yeah..."
"But you need to do something about Boni," Chad said.
"I can. But..." Gwen thought for a moment and an idea popped in her head. "He
attacked me, now I attack him. And I know just where to start."
"And where is that?"
Gwen extended her fangs. "Club Mystique."
"You love that place."
"I know, but I'm banned from it, and Boni has an ownership stake in it. It'll be
perfect."
James walked in the diner and hobbled over. "What happened?"
"Vincente Boni wants to kill me," Gwen said.
"Excuse me, but who are you?" Chad asked.
 "My name is James Callahan. Years ago I was a vampire hunter. Now I'm retried
but helped Gwen complete her mission from Carl. Can I sit."
"Sure," Chad said. James slid in next to him. "But who is Carl?"
"Carl's the sole vampire left in Martinsburg. He wanted to be the only vampire in
town, and now he is, except for Gwen."
"He just sold me that house for two hundred grand. It could've retailed for more,
but it needs some renovations. Paid in cash, closed yesterday."
"But that cleaned you dry," Chad said.
"Not quite, but since I'm now the Fanged Angel, I'm going to have to look for more
legal ways to make money. Besides, Martinsburg is cheaper than DC. I think I'll stay
here."
Leslie returned, and James introduced himself.
Then the four caught and further refined the plan.

Chapter 25
That evening, Adelaide and Claus stood in front of Vincente's desk. Two goons
stood behind them blocking them in. Vincente sat behind his desk.
Vincente slammed his fist on the desk. "I've put up with a lot of crap from over you
the centuries, Adelaide, but this has gone too far! You've been working against me and
my plans for years. It ends now!"
Adelaide tapped her foot and folded her arms. "And what are you going to do about
it? Nothing, like you usually do!" Adelaide had openly defied him in small ways for
centuries, but Vincente refused to do anything about it.
"Not this time!" In the blink of an eye, he was standing in front of Adelaide. He
slammed his fist into, and through her chest, holding her heart on the other side. He
crushed it and she turned to dust.
Claus stood there should as Vincente shook off the dust.
Once he was done, Vincente said, "Now, if you don't want to end up like her. I
suggest you do your job and apprehend her and bring her here."
Claus nodded. "There's a little problem with that."
"What is it?"
"They're at Club Mystique tonight."
"How do you know?"
Claus pulled out his cell and tapped and showed Vincente a map with a blip not far
from Club Mystique. "Once Chad and his mother found Gwen, Gwen turned her
original cellphone back on."
"She's going to burn it down!" Vincente screamed.
"Club Mystique has sprinklers above and below," Claus said.
"Get down there and get her, now!"

***
The Uber ride over to Club Mystique was tense, because things had not cooled all
that much between Gwen and Jason.
 Sure, it was he who had jumpstarted her transition from darkness to light. Still,
some bitterness remained. Jason and Leslie sat in the back of the Uber, while Gwen sat
in the front with the driver.
They pulled up across the street from Club Mystique. It was later, a long line had
formed in the front to get in to see the major DJ playing that night.
"I think this is a bad idea," Leslie said.
"I agree," Jason said. "These are innocent mortals."
"It's a very bad idea," Gwen said. "But we may not get another chance at this."
"Just come back tomorrow," Jason replied.
Gwen sighed. "And they'll be prepared. They aren't expecting me tonight. Besides,
we're going to ruffle a few feathers, not burn the entire club down."
Jason and Leslie looked at each other. Jason was new vampire, a portion of his
humanity and vampire hatred remained within. Leslie just thought burning down club
Mystique was terrible idea.
They whispered to each other and Jason said, "We'll stay up top and hear the DJ, I
heard he's very good."
"Yeah, do you want to need to do," Leslie said. "But please don't put mortals at
risk."
"I won't," Gwen replied.
They walked across the street and down the alley to the vampire entrance. They all
showed their fangs to the bouncer. "You two," he said, pointing to Jason and Leslie,
"you can go in."
They walked through the door.
Then the bouncer glared at Gwen. "You are banned."
"Please, I won't do anything. I just want to enjoy the night with my friends!"
"Even if I let you in, you're not getting past Tyrone."
The bouncer was right, Tyrone would not let her pass to enter Club Mystique. She
could easily kill Tyrone, but he was somewhat innocent vampire just following the rules
as well.
Gwen sighed and walked further down the alleyway/ She leaned against the wall of
the club as she thought. She saw another door in the wall, quite flush and painted to
match the wall. She realized she that the dooor was Club Mystique's emergency exit,
which had to be put in to comply with city codes.
That was her way in. She pulled out her phone and texted Kamaria. "Are you at
Club Mystique? "
A few moments later, Kamaria replied, "Yes, why?"
"I need to let me in the emergency exit. They won't let me in the regular way."
"No! You disappear for a month and now you're back and ask for a favor?"
Kamaria replied.
"I let you live when I could've killed you. You owe me!"
There was no reply, but five minutes later, the emergency door opened.
Kamara did not have her headdress on, and blood dripped down one side of her
mouth.
"Try anything, and I'll destroy you," Kamaria said.
Gwen smiled. "I'm not trying anything. I just want to enjoy the night."
Kamaria bared her bloody fangs. "I know you're lying. You're wearing your catsuit
and probably have the sword in your purse."
It suddenly hit Gwen why Kamaria looked the way she did. "You're a liar too. You
were feeding on a mortal in a private room! You don't only drink animal blood, do
you?"
 Kamara lunged at Gwen, but Gwen this time was faster. She zipped around
Kamaria, tripped her and held the door before it shut. Gwen walked inside and slammed
the door behind her.
There was heavy banging on the door as Gwen walked down the stairwell. She put
on her sword gauntlet and pulled out the mini flame thrower, filled with pure alcohol.
She walked into Club Mystique, which was filled with vampires.
The room stopped for a moment as they stared at her. "It's the Fanged Angel!" One
screamed.
Gwen leveled the flame thrower at the tapestries. "I am, and to be honest, I'm sick
of ya'll!"
"Why?" A vampire asked.
Gwen lowered the flame thrower. "Because you're all a bunch of rapists and
murderers!"
"So were you," someone in the back called. There were nods and agreement.
"I know... I realize that now, and I'm making up for it by destroying the darkness."
A particularly large male vampire with long black locks wearing a suit stood up and
loomed over Gwen. "I can take you!"
"Try it," Gwen said.
He wrapped his paws around Gwen's neck and lifted her up. She dropped the flame
thrower.
Gwen kicked forward into his stomach, ran up his body, kicked him in the chin,
flipped over while twisting, and sliced the vampire in half at his stomach.
Gwen landed on her feet and curtsied. "Who's next?"
A mass of vampires started for her.
In a split second, the flame thrower was in her hands. "Sorry!" She fired.
A stream of fire launched into the mass, setting them all on fire.
They started flailing around setting more vampires, and furniture, on fire. She
watched the conflagration intensify until the city-mandated sprinklers went off and
doused the flames. The fire alarms blared.
The vampires were now all charred cinder. The human bartender looked over the
bar. The hostess peaked from behind her stand. Fortunately, the humans had survived
by hiding.
The elevator door opened to reveal a furious Kamaria.
"Where's Tyrone?" Gwen asked.
Kamaria said something, but Gwen could not hear her over the fire alarm.
Kamaria flashed her nails and zipped across the club.
Gwen stuck the sword out and Kamaria impaled herself through the stomach.
Kamara swiped at Gwen, barely missing.
"Despite your lies, I don't want to kill you," Gwen said.
"I will never stop hunting you. My hatred for you forever burns!"
Gwen pulled the sword out.
Kamaria stumbled back holding her stomach.
"Then I'm sorry, Kamaria," Gwen said with a tear in her eye.
Gwen stabbed Kamaria in her heart.
Gwen searched the private rooms and found the human Kamaria had feasted on.
They were dead. Any lingering regrets about killing Kamaria vanished in that moment.
Gwen zipped back up the exit stairway and out to the alleyway. She zipped up it to
see people filing out of the club, including Jason and Leslie, who saw her.
"Watch out!" Leslie screamed.
 "What--" Someone hit Gwen from behind and knocked her to the pavement. A
hood was placed over her head and her hands and feet shackled, and multiple
assailantsthrew in the back of a vehicle, which instantly sped off.
Gwen could have easily escaped, if it were not from the beating from blunt metal
objects keeping her down.
She heard Claus say, "I'm sorry I had to do this, but its either my life, or yours..."
The van drove for a long time. Then it stopped.
Gwen was carried from the van inside, presumably Vincente's mansion, it sure
smelled like it. She was carried into a room. She was unshackled, and new chains were
placed on each arm. They went tight, lifting her in the air. Chains were attached to her
legs and went taught as well, putting her in an X pose. The hood was removed.
Vicente was standing there next to several of his goons in a bare concrete room.
Vincente looked less than happy.
"You have bothered me for last time," Vincente said. "Now you're going to hang
here for all eternity."
"I'll just slumber, no big deal," Gwen said.
Vincente held up a square wooden frame. On two sides were thin but long metal
blades facing inwards. "No, you won't." He looked at the frame. "This is a vampiric
torture device developed in the twelfth century and used throughout Europe for a time.
It was never used on me, but I knew several vampires who were." Vincente stared Gwen
in the eyes. "None of them are still here."
Gwen chuckled. "What's the worst it can do?"
"You'll see." Vincente motioned to a goon.
A Goon took a mallet and slammed it into her ribs. Gwen screamed in agony as
several ribs broke. Then Vincente slammed the blades into her chest. Gwen screamed
again, as the blades dig into either side of her heart. The pain was excruciating. She
could barely think.
"You're in too much pain to slumber, and now you'll be in pain for centuries. Your
cries will be heard by no one who cares." Vincente turned and started walking away.
"Kill me!" Gwen cried.
Vincente did not turn or say anything, and simply walked out the door. A goon
turned out the lights, and they all filed out.
"Kill me!" Gwen screamed.
A goon shut the door. Leaving her in darkness.
She did not know how she hung there, a day, a century, she did not know. The
being of light appeared before her in the darkness.
"Gwen," it said, "have faith in those allies you have cultivated. They will come for
you, and you shall realize your destiny. Do not give up hope."
"Help me!" Gwen moaned.
"Have faith, they shall come."
The being disappeared, leaving her in darkness.
Help me," she moaned, weakly.

Chapter 26
 The next morning, Chad, Leslie and Sanchez sat in the upstairs of the Bible Church,
for a discussion of what to do about Gwen. In the month since Gwen disappeared,
Sanchez and Chad decided to end their differences and work together. It was uneasy,
but necessary.
"So, Gwen was probably taken to Vincente's mansion," Chad said.
"Jason suggested we do a full-frontal assault on Vincente's mansion during the
day," Leslie said.
"That is actually the worst time," Sanchez said, "because his captives are out of
their cells and may get caught up in the fighting with the legion of human guards he has
stationed there during the day. This is an attack we do at night."
"But even them we have problems, because every vampire who lives there is up
and ready to fight us," Chad replied
"Very true, we'd need more than the three of us to do it," Sanchez said. "We're even
assuming that's where Vincente took her," Sanchez said.
The front door opened, and Claus walked in. The three glared at him.
"What are you doing here?" Chad said. "You betrayed Gwen!"
"No, I didn't. In fact, I helped you," Claus replied. "She's now in his mansion, and if
somebody were to, say, free her, she'd do a lot of damage to Vincente's operations."
"You free her," Leslie said. "You got her into this."
Claus wagged a finger. "No. If I do it, I'm the first one they'd expect. I'll be right
next to her."
Chad tilted his head. "Then who is going to free her?"
Claus smiled. "You will, just after dusk!"
"But how," Sanchez asked, "we're just talking about it. A frontal assault is too
difficult, we're too few."
"Bring that young vampire with you, sacrifice him to get in," Claus said.
"No!" Leslie stood. "I will not sacrifice him."
"Mom," Chad said. "You created him to kill him."
She looked at her son. "I know that. But things have changed between us."
"If he isn't sacrificed, then Vincente wins, and vampires will overwhelm this county
and become its rulers."
Sanchez nodded. "Claus is right. Think about all the innocent people who've died in
the last month since the inclusion initiative went into effect. Judging by social media,
hundreds, if not thousands, already have. This will only get worse."
Leslie stamped her foot. "No! I will not allow it, and that is final. I made a mistake
in creating him, but now that I did, I like, even love him." She crossed her arms.
Claus sighed. "Then I guess I will sacrifice myself. This is bigger than any of us,
even me. I will only need the hunters then. You will wait outside for my signal at 7pm
sharp. Good day." Claus handed a paper to Sanchez. "Here is the code to the outside
door to the jail. Good luck." Claus turned and walked out the door.
"Can at least drive you?" Leslie said.
"Sure, mom," Chad said.

***

Claus paced in his office. The clock ticked towards the appointed hour. In the bag
on his desk were the things he needed.
 This was it, the end of his existence. When he freed her, it would be the end for
him. This he knew. It had to be done.
There was time when Vincente did not care for power. He simply lived in his castle
with his bride, and that was about it. Then artillery destroyed the castle, and he moved
to the States. Vincente changed. He was no longer that carefree man. He was somber
and driven.
Vampires were dark beings, Claus understood this. If vampires ruled the world,
then the world would descend into a hellish nightmare. As much as vampires needed to
feed on mortals, they also needed them to drive the world forward, to make the enduring
existence worth enduring. If vampires ruled, then the world would stand still, and there
would be no point to existing.
While the Fanged Angel could not wipe out vampire kind, she could bring balance
between vampires and mortals, and so she needed to be free.
The clock in his office struck seven pm. It was time.

Chapter 27

Gwen was out of it, lost in an eternal sea of pain. She did not even notice the door
open, Claus walking in with a bag, and putting a blood packet to her mouth.
He slapped her back to reality. "You're going to want to drink."
"Why?" She moaned.
"Because I'm about to pull the device from your chest. Trust me."
She extended her fangs and pieced the packet. As she drank, Claus pulled the
torture device from her chest, causing her to drink even faster.
Once Claus pulled the device out, the wounds healed, but leaving a breast partially
exposed. Clause put it over the opening in her cat suit. Not the most dignified thing, but
it worked.
He lowered Gwen to the floor and unlocked the chains.
"Thank you," Gwen said. "But why?"
"It was the only way." Claus handed her the sword, which she put on. "Your hunter
friends are waiting outside." He pulled out a walkie talkie. "She's free," he said into it.
"I'm glad," she heard Sanchez say. "I'm headed for the jail."
"Come, we don't have much time."
They walked out of the room into a concrete hallway. In one direction was the
entrance to the jail, in the other, were stairs upwards.
"What now?" Gwen asked.
"Simple," Claus replied. "Find Vincente and kill him!"
"I'm right here," Vincente said as he walked down the stairs with a crossbow with a
stake in it, and a sword hanging from his belt. Two goons were with him. "Claus, you
have betrayed me for the last time!"
Gwen got ready to zip to Vincente, when Claus said, "No. I've made my peace. You
can beat him. I know you can!"
Claus screamed and ran towards Vincente, who fired. The stake shot right through
Claus's heart, turning him instantly to ash.
Vincente dropped the crossbow and pulled his sword. "I'll deal with her, gather the
others, deal with the hunters!"
 The goons ran up the stairs, leaving Vincente and Gwen alone.
"It's time I finish you," Vincente seethed, "once and for all."
Vincente zipped towards Gwen. Gwen zipped towards Vincente.
They swords clashed together with sparks.
"My suspicion was right," Vincente said as the pushed against each other. "You are
the fulfilment of the prophecy, and now have the power of an ancient!"
"Sure do," Gwen said. She kneed him in the balls.
Vincente stumbled backward. Gwen clocked him in the chin with her free hand.
Vincente landed flat on his back.
"It's over, Vincente," Gwen said.
"But I have tricks of my own," Vincente said, as he pulled a vial from his pocket,
popped the top and splashed holy water in her face.
Gwen screamed and stumbled backwards as her face burned. She turned her back to
him as she grabbed her face. No vision this time.
"As it began, so it shall end," Vincente said as he stood. Vincente prepared to drive
his sword through her heart, when he heard someone coming down the stairs.
Chad walked to the bottom putting shells in his shotgun. He aimed at Vincente.
"That won't stop me," Vincente said, turning his back to Gwen.
"No, but it'll knock your intestines out!"
"We'll see." Vincente zipped towards Chad as he fired.
Vicente collided with the shells, which left a giant hole in his stomach.
Vincente stepped back a foot, steadied himself and crackled as the hole began to
close. "Behold the power of a true ancient. Now you shall die!"
A sword appeared in the hole, which closed around it.
Vincente face twisted as he knew what was coming.
Gwen, with all her strength, sliced upwards, cutting Vincente clean in half,
including his heart.
He instantly turned to ash.

Chad and Gwen went to embrace, but he motioned and Gwen realized she was
covered in blood and intenstine. She sighed.
"What now?" Gwen asked.
"Look," Chad pointed.
Through a window in the jail door, Gwen could see the girls being ushered out by
Sanchez.
"What now?"
"We follow," Chad said.
"But..." Gwen was silent as she felt heat from up the stairway. "You're burning his
mansion?"
"No..."
Then Leslie walked down the stairs, her knife dripping with blood.
"Did you set his mansion on fire?" Chad asked.
"I might have knocked a candelabra or two over." Leslie shrugged. "It was ugly
anyway."
They knocked on the jail door. Sanchez opened it for them.
"What are going to the happen to these girls?" Gwen asked.
"They're going to be returned to their families," Sanchez replied.
They walked out of the jail and around the front, where a bus waited, along with
police, fighter fighters, and several FBSA officials, including Prabodh Iyer.
Gwen stopped in her tracks. "This is not good. I should go out the back."
 Sanchez shook his head. "I called them. Prabodh promised he'll vouch for us and
keep the FBSA suits away from us, for now."
"But we killed Vincente Boni," Gwen said.
"I know, but it's really an inter-vampiric issue," Sanchez replied.
They walked up to Iyer, who extended his hand. "It's nice to finally meet The
Fanged Angel."
"Thank you."
"But I will warn you, its best if you get out of town. Your home in Martinsburg
perhaps?"
Gwen looked at Sanchez. "But you said he'd keep the suits away."
"My direct superiors," Iyer said, "but Boni had the ear of President Allen. This goes
all the way to the top of the federal government. It's only a matter of time before they
snap back."
Chad half-smiled, "then I guess we're all going to Martinsburg."
"I'll buy furniture," Gwen said, "because we'll need some."

Chapter 28
Only Chad ended up moving directly to Martinsburg to start. Leslie wanted to stay
in DC to be near Jason. Sanchez did not care what the government would throw at him.
The next day, he got a moving van, they piled in the future and Chad moved to
Martinsburg. The furniture wasn't enough for a whole house, but new furniture would
fill out the rest.
Gwen decided to get a fluffy bed and would move out of the basement into one of
the bedrooms. Chad would take another. The third would be for whomever else
eventually moved in.
So, at 1am, everything was moved in and done. Chad was tired and ready to sleep.
Martinsburg had less night life than DC, so Gwen would watch TV in the living room.
They stood in the living room. Chad yawned. "Good night," he said.
"Good night," Gwen said.
But Chad did not walk away. They stood there trying to avoid looking directly at
each other, but the magnetism was too great to ignore.
"Oh, fuck it!" Gwen tore off her shirt, ran and leaped into Chad's waiting arms. The
force toppled both to the ground. They pawed and ripped at each other. The need for
each other's bodies overpowering them...
There went Leslie's grandchildren.

***

Lilith sat in a chair on in her hut, talking on the phone to a man from the United
States.
"I'm saddened that Ignatius died, but I'm not sure how this concerns me?"
"It concerns you for two reasons," the man said. "First, Gwen McCallum will
eventually come for you in time, I guarantee it. Second, she is putting my signature
social program into disarray. The more vampires she kills the more humans become
vamphobic, instead of the other way around."
 "Maybe the average person is vamphobic to begin with?" Lilith replied.
"They are, which is why I'm trying to change that and integrate the vampire
community into social fabric of the United States."
"Even if that's true. It's not my concern. When Gwen McCallum comes calling, I
will destroy her." "She's getting more powerful and gaining more allies with each
passing day. I'm willing to offer you passage to the United States and a place to stay in
DC so you can deal with Gwen McCallum."
Lilith was silent. She had not cared about the outside world in a few thousand
years. But maybe, with prophecy being true, the outside world was beckoning. Besides,
thing had very much changed over the millennia. Maybe it was time to go see it.
"I'll take up your offer, President Allen."
"I'll arrange transportation," Allen said.
"I look forward to it," Lilith said, and hung up.
Now it was time to sell off her goats. Lilith figured she would not be back for a
while.

To be continued...