Starlight screamed as I tore into her. Honestly, I kinda felt bad about it. She was one of the few vampires whom I actually gave a shit about. Unfortunately, she had three things going for her that were perfect for me at that moment. She was close by, she was older than me but not so much as to fuck me up before I could bite her, and if I were willing to attack her then it would surely send a signal to the rest that they’d be fair game no matter what.

At first it was close. She almost shrugged me off, but then that first mouthful of blood hit my stomach and my body instantly reacted to it, adding her power to my own. I held on for a few more seconds, more for the effect than anything else. I took a few greedy slurps and maybe copped a feel too―hey, I never claimed to be applying for sainthood―then pushed her to the side with a grin.

She hit the floor and lay there sobbing. It made me feel like a real shit, but I needed to keep my resolve, otherwise this whole thing would fall apart.

Thankfully, my actions had the desired effect. The jaws of every vamp around me practically hit the floor in shock. They’d all heard the stories, but this was the first time any of them, save Sally, had seen it in action―vampire myth made reality―and they were terrified. I wasn’t about to let the opportunity pass me by.

“I tried to be nice,” I said slowly, my fangs out and on full display. “I wanted us to have a new beginning, forget the past. I even kept my distance and my hands to myself. I didn’t ask for much, just that we try to curb our base nature, to stop acting like fucking animals!” Oh, how I wished someone was taping this. “You’d think I wasn’t asking for much, but no. You had to flaunt my rules.” I turned to glare directly at Dusk Reaper. “You had to challenge me. So I decided that a lesson was in order; that you all needed to learn what it was to fear the dark again.”

Steeling my gaze, I glanced at each of them, partially for intimidation purposes, but also to gauge whether I was about to be dogpiled en masse.

Focusing again on Reaper, I continued, “I’d hoped that would be enough, but I see now that more is required. I am the legendary Freewill of the vampire race. Face me if you dare.”

Oh snap! Judging by the look on his face he’d just dropped a load in his pants. Maybe some days this gig wasn’t so bad after all. Of course, I was potentially writing a check that my body couldn’t cash, but these fuckers didn’t need to know about that.

Dusk Reaper was backed into a corner and he knew it. He needed to either shit or get off the pot. Facing me was uncertainty itself. He had no way of knowing that at best my power was on par with his. For all he knew, my next act would be to drag his ass out onto the street and beat him to death with a Mack truck. Backing down meant his credibility in the coven was shot―he’d no longer be able to say shit against me―but it also meant life. I wasn’t Night Razor. I knew the concept of mercy.

For a moment I could see the choice waging war inside of him. Then he averted his eyes and looked down.

Holy crap was that it? I’d won without throwing a punch? Hot damn! That’s the beauty of cowards, they always chose to live to fight another day.

I let out a breath and relaxed my posture, the tension draining out of me.

Yeah, I should have realized my mistake in thinking I had a chance in Hell of ever being that lucky.

Reaper looked down, as if just now remembering the makeshift stake in his hand, and charged me.

Guess he decided to shit after all. I just hoped it wouldn’t end up being on top of my grave.

♦ ♦ ♦

Dusk Reaper closed the distance between us with frightening speed, a reminder that he was three times my age. I’d let my guard down for only a second, but it was more time than he needed.

Weapon pointed at my heart, he rammed it home with a solid clunk.

The collision knocked the breath out of me, but I was certain that was nothing compared to the agony of dying that was sure to follow.

Wait… clunk?

A second passed and I couldn’t help but notice I wasn’t busy turning to dust.

That stupid baking pan under my shirt! It might never again be undented enough to reheat pizza, but it had saved my ass nevertheless. Holy shit. I’d thought it by far the stupidest part of Tom’s plan, yet it had turned out to be pure brilliance.

Reaper, for his part, seemed stunned that I was still standing there. His eyes opened wide in surprise and his gaze met mine―just in time for me to drive a fist into the side of his face with a wild haymaker. The strength of two vampires, augmented by brass knuckles, proved a formidable combination. Blood and teeth flew, as Reaper dropped the splintered remains of his stake and spun from the impact.

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Not one to look a gift asshole in the mouth, I threw another punch to the back of his head, hoping I scrambled his brains real good.

I knew I wasn’t much of a fighter, but I really didn’t need to be. All I needed to do was press my advantage, throwing blow after blow into his stupid fucking face. Oddly enough, my conscience offered few moral qualms against doing so.

It didn’t take long before Dusk Reaper, his face bruised and bloody, went down to his knees.

I grabbed him by his long hair to hold him up as I raised my fist and readied to knock his block off.

“All hail the Freewill,” he sputtered weakly.

I paused mid-swing. “Excuse me?”

“All hail the Freewill,” he repeated in a slurred voice. “All hail the rightful master of Village Coven.”

That’s exactly what I wanted to hear and, more importantly, what the rest of the vamps in the room needed to hear. With that, the fight was over. I’d once more solidified my position as leader of this pack of bloodthirsty monsters.

“Thank you. Oh, and by the way, my name is Bill.” And then I punched his lights out.

Fair combat, indeed.

♦ ♦ ♦

Any other coven master would have dusted a challenger’s ass without a second thought, but that wasn’t my style. I’d killed a vampire in self-defense, and hopefully wouldn’t hesitate to do so again. But straight out murder? No, I wasn’t there yet. With any luck I never would be.

Instead, I faced the rest of the crowd and asked if there were any other challengers. Unsurprisingly, there weren’t.

I can’t say for certain I saw actual respect in their eyes, but gone was the open rebellion―for now. I’d take it.

I ordered them to pick up Reaper and get the fuck out of there before I changed my mind about them all. I was relieved to see no hesitation on their part. None met my gaze upon leaving, save Starlight. I felt really bad because what I saw in her eyes was fear. I’d need to make it up to her, but it would have to be at another time. For now, I needed them to do what I knew they all would―spread the word to the others before the hour was out.

Maybe that high school mentality wasn’t so bad after all.

After they filed out, I called up my roommates to give them the all clear.

Tom began peppering me with stupid questions, which I of course started to embellish in my answering, but then I spotted movement out of the corner of my eye.

Sally stepped out from the maze of crates and into the opening opposite me.

A flash of hot anger hit me at the sight of her. I said, “I’ll fill you in when I get home,” and hung up without another word.

“That was well done,” she said, without even a hint of remorse.

“Well done? You have a lot of nerve saying that after fucking me over.”

“Pretty sure I didn’t do anything that had to do with you and fucking.”

“I’m not in the mood for jokes, Sally. You lied to me.”

“Yep.”

“All that stuff you said you told Reaper…”

“Guilty as charged.” She held her hands up in mock surrender. “Why do you think he accepted the challenge so readily? I told him we’d set a trap and he’d be sure to walk away as coven master.”

“So this was a set up?”

“From the start.”

I gritted my teeth. How the hell could she be so smug about what she’d done? “So all that bullshit about having faith in me. That’s exactly what it was, bullshit.”

To that, she appeared surprised. “No. I meant it. I knew you’d come out on top. It would be hard not to against a loser like Reaper.”

“Cut the crap. You set it up so that he’d trap the vigilante. If things hadn’t worked out like they had, the rest of the coven would be tearing me limb from limb right now.”

To my surprise Sally rolled her eyes. “Do I really look that stupid?”

“What?”

“I asked a question. Do you really think I’m that stupid; that I didn’t figure out you were the one in that stupid costume the second I heard about it?”

That caught me for a loop and for a second I was silent, but then I remembered what a master manipulator she was. “Bullshit. You had no way of…”

“Oh please.” She leaned against a crate and folded her arms across her ample chest. “A mysterious vigilante showed up in our city and started specifically targeting vampires, leaping out of the shadows to save their victims then disappearing just as quickly.”

“Yeah and?”

“And it’s straight out of a fucking comic book. If that had really happened, you’d have creamed your pants so hard there’d be a snail trail all the way back to Brooklyn. Hell, your fucking nerd herd roommates would have joined you in the circle jerk. But instead you acted like you couldn’t have cared less.” She puffed out her chest and lowered her voice. “You were all like ‘I fear not this enemy of my people.’ There was so much horseshit there, I’m surprised I didn’t drown in it.”

I stood there blinking like an idiot as I absorbed this. “Really?”

“Really.”

“But all of this…”

“All of this is exactly what you needed. I’ve been filling their heads with Freewill crap, but that only goes so far. They needed to see it with their own eyes. And now that they have, I doubt you’ll have to worry about any of them for a while.”

“How did you know it would work out?”

“As I said, I had faith in you. Don’t ask me why, but I had a feeling that if push came to shove, you’d come through.”

“And if I hadn’t?”

At that, Sally unzipped her purse. She reached inside and pulled out the biggest handgun I’d ever seen.

“If you hadn’t then you would have still won. I’d just have needed to do a little extra recruiting for the coven when it was all over.”

I stared hard at her, my mouth agape, trying to sense if there was any deception in what she was telling me. In the end, though, I had to accept a simple truth: I’d underestimated her once again. I’d thought I was the puppet master, when all along she’d been pulling my strings.

She walked up and slipped an arm around mine. “Come on, coven master. I could use a drink. It’s been a long night.”

That was the truth. “Okay. Maybe we’ll make it a double.”

“But first you need to lose the stupid costume.”

“This?” I replied in mock horror. “How dare you profane a hero’s uniform? Besides, doesn’t it turn you on just the slightest?”

“Nope.”

“You could be the Black Canary to my Green Arrow.”

“Don’t push your luck.”

“The Lois Lane to my Superman?”

Sally patted her purse. “Care to see if you’re bulletproof?”

“Maybe some other time.” I laughed as we walked out of the warehouse. Knowing the life I’d found myself thrust into, I had a feeling there was a pretty good chance of that happening sooner rather than later anyway. For tonight, though, it was enough to know I could hang up my cape and enjoy the rest of the evening in peace.

THE END

Bill Ryder will return in

SCARY DEAD THINGS (The Tome of Bill – 2)