Vampire Emeritus (Part #3) ✔

Chapter 26: Small Victories

The car dropped me off in front of a four-story building and I climbed up to the rooftop through the lobby. The house I had to spy on was a much smaller town house surrounded by larger buildings.

There seemed to be no pattern to the cultists' house choosing, but the households were always small, three people tops.

Ian said the killings served multiple purposes. One of which was fear. Vilmus preferred to cause chaos, it enabled him to do his thing while the others feared for their lives. The other was usefulness.

People were messed up, that much I've gathered. Some wanted to join Vilmus because they were ill and he offered cure, but there were others who wanted something else; revenge, justice, payback. If they had something to offer, something Vilmus could use, he would gladly murder their enemies and give them the gift of immortality.

I lay on the ground, nothing but my black cap peeking over the edge of the building, and stared at the house, wondering which category this household fit in. Were they unfortunate, clueless victims or were they patiently waiting for Vilmus, ready to give him their souls?

Everything was quiet for more than half an hour now. I checked my phone every now and then, hoping someone would tell me what was going on. The lack of action made me wonder whether we missed the date or something.

The house was narrow and relatively small, with separated front and backyard. Surrounded by much larger buildings, it looked almost as if it sneaked in the neighbourhood and was now hiding in the darkness.

I tried to keep my focus on the situation in front of me, but my mind and my gaze kept jumping to the building on the opposite side. Ian was there.

Gosh, I couldn't believe I just spilled everything to him. I told him I wanted him to marry me? That wasn't the smartest thing I've ever said.

I should have let him answer me right away, at least then I'd know. But, if he told me he didn't want to be with me, I'd be a mess right now, I wouldn't be able to focus on the task at hand.

I grunted and switched the hand I was leaning on.

After an hour or so of waiting on the building, four men appeared at the end of the street, all dressed in black. I was too far to hear whether they were talking, but that also meant they wouldn't sense my presence.

From the moment they appeared, everything transpired fairly quickly.

The men walked towards the house, casual and unassuming. Around the block, however, one police car was parked in the shadows. William said the sirens needed to be heard for evidence. Cops would announce their presence if they thought the house was about to robbed.

But only one man was in the car; the others were scattered around, preparing themselves and their weapons for the upcoming fight. I braced myself on the building, waiting for action.

The moment the vampires approached the house, the men entered the street, police sirens blasting behind them. The vampires looked around, startled and confused.

The cops circled them quickly and shouted at them, telling them to put their weapons down and lay on the ground. I pushed myself up, staring at the action. The vampires didn't listen. They stood in the middle of the road, back to back, stakes out.

The funny thing about vampires was their reliance on stakes. Since they thought humans couldn't pose an actual threat, they rarely used firearms lethal to humans and relied solely on their superior strength. But these humans were trained and they knew what to expect.

Their guns had wooden bullets.

Fifteen men surrounded the vampires, and the moment the vamps moved, they began to shoot.