NOVEL NEXT Chapter 17: “A Book, Ledger and Diary” – Part 1.
Making their way out of the abandoned three-story building, Sylvie took a moment to see the sunlight in Casey’s eyes. “Sparkles…” She contently whispered and scooped Casey into her arms, kissing her and then setting her down on her motorcycle.
“Ohh…” Casey started to exclaim when the kiss was pressed to her. Responding without hesitation, when she was once placed on the seat, she purred contently from her chest. “Sparkles?” She raised one of her chestnut eyebrows in question. “My eyes right?” Casey winked and caressed Sylvie’s cheek for a moment, “My dream-lover. Come on before we get naked in this parking lot.”
Closing her eyes and leaning into the soft touch of her partner, Sylvie lost herself in the simple touch until Casey mentioned her eyes. “Yes, your eyes. They sparkle all the time….though..” She felt the finger leave her cheek, “I should have said radiate. You have the gold of the sun in your eyes, its…so…” Sylvie shivered and had chills run the length of her arms.
“Why Miss Miakoda, I do believe that you like me.” Casey winked.
Jumping on the back of her bike, Sylvie started the engine and spoke into the microphone. “I more than like you, I happen to love you my strawberry-shake.” Sylvie paused when she heard Casey giggling lightly. “We head north, into Richmond. It should take us about an hour to reach Haley Grant’s home. “Code, the quickest route to Haley Grant’s home.”
“Public record shows one Haley Grant. 780 Madison Circle, part of the Stratton Lake development. Most efficient route will appear on the HUD. Querry?” The AI went quiet as it popped up an orange line for Sylvie to follow.
Kicking the motorcycle into gear, Sylvie patted Casey on her leg. “Hang on, I think you will like this.” She laughed, “An hour my ass…”
Interrupting her girlfriend, Casey pushed Sylvie softly to get her attention. “What a fine ass it is. I can’t wait to sink my fangs back into it.” She purred.
“I…I…” Sylvie lost her train of thought for a few seconds with the image of Casey and her back in their bed. “Temptress.” She shook off the thoughts and managed to refocus the conversation. “I meant that we will get there much faster, since I don’t plan on doing the speed limit.”
Laying her head on Sylvie’s back, Casey pulled herself tightly to the elder vampire. “At least this time, I won’t feel sick going that fast. Coming home from the beach, I thought my stomach was going to revolt.”
Within a few minutes, Sylvie had gotten the bike onto the interstate and opened the engine to its near max, going well over one hundred miles per hour. “Like I was saying before, we are headed to Richmond. I have mentioned the warring going on there, right?”
“Yep, though I didn’t quite understand. Why are vampires warring?” Casey inquired as Sylvie seemed to push the machine even faster. “Aren’t you worried about the poli…” She cut herself off before she finished the question. “So, why are you telling me this? Won’t the highway take us around the warring parts of the city?”
Sylvie slipped her motorcycle through slower traffic, following the orange line just below her vision. “No, not really. If we were headed to Washington, sure. We are going to the suburbs of Richmond, so we have a few places where we cross close to the warzone.”
Watching the blurs of cars whiz by, Casey thought about how cumbersome the adventure that she begged to do, had gotten. “Sylvie?” She quietly questioned. “I am starting to wonder if all this is worth it.” Casey forced herself up and rubbed her lover’s shoulder. “I mean what is the point in the veil, if in Richmond it’s already broken?” She took a deep breath, “I mean if this is as bad as you say, then there’s nothing left to hide.”
Tilting the blue-gray Indian to the right, Sylvie took the first exit and wrapped around the cloverleaf until she connected to a westerly highway and once more gunned the finely tuned engine. “There is still a veil council that keeps the whole mess out of the news as a war. It’s blamed on drug violence.” She sighed and looked at the distance numbers on the HUD diminishing. “You’ve heard it, I’m sure. Bodies are found all the time down in the oldest part of Richmond, where the businesses dried up and the industry left for newer locations.”
“It can’t possibly be all drug-related.” Casey added, “How the hell did all this start anyway?”
Noting that the green and white signs showed Richmond about twenty miles away, Sylvie offered Casey the best answer she could. “I’m not real sure anymore. It’s been going on as long as I can remember. It morphed into the mess it is now, but it intensified just after World War One. If the rumor is true, then it started from a betrayal of some kind within the city veil council.” Sylvie slowed down briefly when the HUD indicated a police car about a mile ahead. “Now it is a bunch of smaller cartels fighting over something. Some say it’s vampire blood, others say it's just the Hatfield's and McCoy's in vampire form.” Once they were safely past the sleeping police officer, Sylvie opened the engine wide again and almost sailed down the highway. “Whatever the case, they have staked out claims on sections of the lower parts of Richmond and some of the suburbs.” She paused, “The worst part is that the vampires are made just to fight and be sacrificed to the blood-thirsty cartel leaders.”
“Sounds lovely.” Casey mocked. “Okay, so we are going into a snake's den. Nothing excites me more.” Casey sighed and put her head on Sylvie’s back once more. “How do we fight back? Honestly, I am only as old as the ones you are saying are sacrificed nightly.” She shivered, “Resurrected to be used as a tool and discarded, sounds awful.”
“I agree.” Sylvie offered softly, “We are close to an older battleground, Amos brought me in here in the fifties. It was fairly brutal then, and that was a time where there was better respect for others overall.” Sylvie took an exit labeled sixty-six and slowed to a normal pace until she saw the sign for ‘James River Nature Park’. She turned the bike onto the small paved road and shut off the headlight on her bike. “I am not sure I want to take the motorcycle to the parking lot.” She pulled off to the side and killed the engine. “Okay, You stand guard while I hide the bike, What you are looking for are sets of red-yellow eyes. If you see more than a single set, we are in a bit of trouble.” Sylvie focused on Code, “Pause trip, Code. I need clear vision while here.”
“Trip paused and saved for future use, second-level vampiric vision enabled.” Code affirmed and went quiet.
Without warning, Sylvie’s vision got brighter and more detailed than she’d ever seen. Little blips echoed in her ears as the contacts targeted every living thing bigger than an insect and announced what it was. ‘Rabbit den, twenty feet. Seventeen count. Red-tailed fox, fifty feet north. One buck and four doe, total of five deer by the river, currently drinking.’ Sylvie easily kept up with the information as it passed into her head for easy recovery. “Code, target silently unless we see other vampires.”
“Quiet mode engaged. Query?” The AI complied and asked its normal question.
Sylvie patted Casey on the shoulder, “Hey there, spacy-Casey…you with me?”
“I’m here, Sylvie.” Casey pulled off her helmet and handed it to her partner. “I have to say, you’ve managed to scare the devil out of me. If these folks are as battle-worn as you say they are, I ask again, how do we fight back?”