Free B00724AICC EBOK by A. J. Gallant Page A

Maggots.”
    Stephen appreciated the moment; he released his grip as he took Noah’s sword and Zacharia was decapitated. They all noticed a brief but bright light that lit up the room, though no one knew what the hell it was. His skeleton was permitted to fall to the floor where Stephen stomped and broke several of its rib bones. Joshua took the skull and kicked it out the window like a football. Luke tossed the cat out into the night’s damp atmosphere.
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    CHAPTER TEN
     
     
     
     
    VINCENT HAD TRACKED the two killers to a small bar on the outskirts of New York, but because of the heavy rain he had lost their trail for several hours. A scent trail wasn’t easy to pursue in rain as the water washed away the distinct odor, displacing it until it was no longer viable. A brief pause in the weather had enabled him to hear horrified screams which brought him to the general area where he could once again pick up the trail. There was a full moon up there somewhere, but the cloud cover kept it from view. The sound of the rain was almost deafening to his sensitive ears, he may as well have been standing near the thunderous roar of a waterfalls.
    His gut suddenly told him that the darkness was about to cough up something nasty.
    Vincent blurred up to the entrance of the bar; he stopped so abruptly that a sheet of rain left him and splattered the large window with the translucent brown curtains. The neon sign WESTERN WHISKY helped to light up the entrance, giving it a colorful ambiance. Had there been no rain there would have been tracks in blood leading away from it. He could taste the blood even through the precipitation. His stomach sank as did his mood at the thought of what awaited him inside. More nights were turning to blood than he cared to count.
    “ Oh, no, not tonight.”
    The sheriff was a big man at just under six and a half feet tall, with rugged good looks. He wore the classic trench coat with a black Stetson leather hat. He holstered a moderately curved Katana sword and an 1878 Colt revolver. Vincent had eliminated seventeen vampires with the gun over the years with a bullet to the heart’s center, not an easy shot. The gun gave him almost as much comfort as a friend. It was often a lonely and demanding occupation. He attempted to prepare himself for what he was about to see but that never worked.
    He really didn’t want to go in there although he knew it was a part of the job, the worst part.
    Vincent opened the door and stepped into the carnage that awaited him. The stink of blood smashed him in the face. Eleven human bodies were strewn about, with the two bar tenders dripping blood from the surface of the bar onto the hardwood oak surface. One had his throat ripped out with his blood dripping into an upside down pretzel bowl on the floor. In a booth against the center left wall, three girlfriends were placed on top of one another; they had been almost completely drained of their blood. They looked so pale and lifeless that it made the sheriff want to cry. Only the girls had been drained completely, most of the others had their necks broken and had been tasted as in some restaurant sampler special.
    It was an old western themed bar with bull horns on two walls and old fashioned but comfortably cushioned booths. The booths were engraved with lassos and western guns. Several paintings of old western towns adorned the walls. Abilene and Dodge City in Kansas were featured prominently. A mechanical horse surrounded by pads on the floor to ensure a soft landing was situated in the right corner. A colorful jukebox was silent.
    In less than twenty minutes the place was surrounded by cops and several detectives. Some showed the sheriff the respect he deserved but others would rather spit on him given the opportunity. Still other law enforcement officers were both impressed and fearful of the vampire sheriff. The sky continued to show emotion with its now moderate rain. The crime scene turned out