Page 101 of Starved Until Sunset

“Your reign of terror ends tonight, Father,” Michael said.

“Not quite yet, my son.”

Xavier lunged up and grabbed him. The two traded blows across the parking lot, the sounds painful enough to make Cody flinch. He and Demmy sat and watched, neither of them with enough energy to try and intervene. The rest of their group were fighting off other vampires, including Lucia, Zenona, and Tracey, who’d lost her glasses and was squinting as she jabbed a stake out in front of her.

With a sudden, vicious move, Xavier grabbed Michael by the throat and lifted him slightly off the ground. Michael struggled, prying at the fingers around his throat, but from the looks of it, Xavier was stronger. This might not end well for Michael and the rest of them.

“Xavier, you old fuck!” Cody shouted.

That caught Xavier’s attention, distracting him enough to give Michael the opportunity. He twisted free of Xavier’s grip, dropped to the ground, and continued turning as he circled around behind him. Michael grabbed Xavier’s right wing where it connected to his shoulder and, continuing to turn his body, tore it off with a loud, awful sound.

Xavier dropped to his knees, head tipped back as he screamed into the night. Thick, dark blood flowed down his back. The arm Aldrik had broken hung at a crooked angle along his side.. Michael tossed aside the wing, and Cody saw it dissolve into a puddle of thick, black fluid. The overhead lights shimmered along the surface, and a rising sense of hope grew inside Cody. They could win this battle. Michael would defeat his father and then take out the other vampires in town. Another monster case done and over with, thanks to, interestingly enough, one of the monsters.

Michael looked angry and determined as he approached Xavier from behind. Cody wondered how he would finish the job. Would he drive a fist through Xavier’s chest as Xavier had done to Aldrik? Or would he tear off his other wing, followed by an arm, and then a leg, until he finally decapitated him? No matter how Michael did it, Cody was going to enjoy being a witness.

Zenona screamed from the line of fighting at the back of the garage, attracting Cody’s and Michael’s attention. She was struggling with two vampires who were close to overpowering her.

Michael moved off in a blur of movement, scooping up the two stakes Demmy had dropped and driving them into the backs of the vampires attacking Zenona, piercing their hearts. The vampires shrieked before dissolving into large puddles of dark fluid, leaving Michael holding a stake in each hand. Zenona put a hand on his cheek and smiled gratefully, and in that single moment, Cody could see the depth of feeling between the two.

He wasn’t sure she needed a vampire as a boyfriend, but who was he to judge?

They exchanged a few words before Michael turned away. Gripping a stake in either hand, he slowly approached Xavier who knelt with his head bowed. Runners of thick, dark blood ran down his back. His arms were at his sides, the left held at an awkward angle behind him.

“Your time on this Earth is at an end, Father,” Michael said. “You’ve brought too much pain to far too many people.”

Xavier didn’t acknowledge Michael, and Cody figured the older vampire was suffering too much to respond. After all, he’d just had a wing torn off, and his other son had broken his arm. Only now that he looked closer, Cody could see the long fingers on the hand of his broken arm were pressed tight together, the sharp claws grouped like a single, deadly blade.

Michael stood before Xavier and held his arms out to the side, stakes held tight. Before Cody could shout a warning, Xavier struck. The move was so fast, Cody was unable to track it. One second Michael stood holding the stakes, the next, Xavier’s broken left arm had stabbed up and into Michael’s chest. Michael’s expression shifted from determination to shock. The stakes dropped from his hands and clattered to the asphalt. Xavier shouted in pain as he yanked his hand back, clutching the dark, slick heart in his fist. Michael collapsed, his body dissolving into a puddle of black fluid as somewhere over by the garage Cody heard Zenona scream, “No!”

“Oh, my God,” Demmy said. “Oh, my God.”

“Fucker!” Cody shouted, anger sending a rush of adrenaline through him. “He killed Aldrik the same way.”

“He did?”

“Yep. Saw him do it. And now it’s his turn.” He took Demmy’s face between his hands and kissed him. “Think you’ve got enough gas left to go all Critter Catchers on his vampire ass?”

Demmy smiled, showing blood-smeared teeth. “Fuck yeah.”

“I’ll go to the front and distract him,” Cody said. “Toss you one of the stakes. We’ll tag team this fanged motherfucker.”

They helped each other stand and took a few seconds to get their balance. Holding hands, they limped toward Xavier who still knelt on the asphalt, the blood of his fallen son spreading around him. His left arm hung crookedly at his side, and his remaining wing drooped across the asphalt.

Cody gave Demmy’s hand a squeeze before releasing him, and they split up. Demmy moved behind Xavier while Cody limped around to his front. He carefully bent and picked up both stakes, tossing one to Demmy who caught it like a pro.

“Hey, fuck face,” Cody said. “Now that you’ve killed both your kids, you’ve got the Critter Catchers to deal with.”

Xavier raised his head, glowing red eyes narrowed. “You think you can defeat me?”

“No, not me on my own.” Cody adjusted his grip on the stake, ignoring the feel of the slimy black vampire blood that already coated it. “But together, my husband and I can do anything.”

“Fool,” Xavier said with a snarl, showing his fangs. “I will tear off your heads and drink from your necks.”

Demmy held his stake overhead with both hands then plunged it into Xavier’s back. His red eyes widened in shock, and as he reached his good arm around behind, Cody drove his stake into Xavier’s chest. He released it and, using what little balance he had left, planted the sole of his boot on the end. Bone cracked, sending a vibration up the stake into Cody’s leg. Xavier’s mouth dropped open, the lights overhead gleaming along his fangs. The red eyes latched onto Cody’s, glaring up at him as the evil red glow faded to black, and then, with a sudden splash, Xavier’s body dissolved into thick, dark blood that spread out around their feet.

Cody took several steps back as both stakes clattered to the ground. He looked at Demmy across what remained of Xavier, then both of them lurched forward to grab each other in a tight hug, dropping to their knees with a splash in the gruesome mess.

“I’m sorry,” Cody said. “I’m so sorry.”