Chapter 83

New York City, New York, USA, 1887
Sol had gotten a concession or two tossed his way. The turncoat Vampire had managed to procure the two rooms right across the hall from the ones the other Vampires were using, so Jeffrey had staged his two teams in respective locations so that the second the bloodsuckers came in for the evening, the peepholes would reveal all. He and Jamie would still tail them into the building and set up position down the hall, one on either side so that no matter which way the Vampires may flee, they would come face to face with a Guardian. Jamie was still not thrilled with this plan.
As they waited downstairs, out amongst a pair of trees that stood between the front of the hotel and the muddy streets, Jamie studied Jeffrey. He was a man of few words, nice enough, but very much in charge. He often stroked his handlebar mustache in deep thought. Jamie wondered if he realized Kit had her gun. He thought, perhaps, he should mention it, but it seemed impossible to break the silence. Surely, he knew. She was on his team, after all. He had to know what she was up to.
It wasn’t quite 1:00 in the morning when noise down the street caught their attention. Off in the distance, Jamie could see a party of eight or so people loudly making their way toward the hotel. Jeffrey grabbed his arm, and the two of them took off for the shadows between the hotels, hoping the Vampires would be so busy with their prey they wouldn’t notice Guardians in the area.
As he came to a halt about twenty feet from the entrance of the narrow alleyway, Jamie glanced behind him. Deep in the darkness, he saw four more figures. These were the other Hunters and Guardians Jeffrey had collected to help his team out should the Vampires leap out of the third story windows.
The noise increased as the revelers drew near. They were walking quickly, but as they passed by the entryway, Jamie got a glance at them. They walked four abreast, two men and two women in each set. On the outer edges of each couple, the Vampires were evident. Though they walked at the same pace as their would-be victims, their skin was paler, their eyes blacker, their laughs more sinister.
Once they had passed by, Jeffrey waited a few minutes before elbowing Jamie and heading back to the front of the establishment. They didn’t need to trail them too closely as they already knew where they were headed, and letting the Vampires know of their presence wouldn’t do any of them any favors.
Jeffrey had made it crystal clear that they weren’t trying to save the humans the Vampires brought with them tonight. If it could be done, that was fine, but otherwise, they could be expensed. The main objective was to ensure this was the last party the Vampires threw at this hotel--or anywhere. While Jamie disagreed with the decision, there wasn’t much he could say. His role here should be a minor one. Patch people up if they needed it, and cut Vampires off if called upon to do so. By the looks of these monsters, he’d be quite happy if none of them made a run in his direction.
Once they were certain the Vampires would’ve reached the third floor, Jeffrey gave him a nod, and the pair headed up the wide, winding staircase. This hotel was even nicer than the one next door, but Jamie didn’t have time to take all of it in just now. They reached the third floor in time to see the doors of the Vampires’ rooms shutting. With a nod from the leader, Jamie headed off to the other end of the hallway. Surveying the area, he saw there were two more halls here, one that led off in either direction. The one to the right was a dead end into a wall, other than the respective rooms which should be locked. The one on his left led to a stairwell. Jamie realized the Hunters and Guardians outside were all on the same side of the building because they were watching the windows. If any of the Vampires got past him and to this alternate escape route, as far as he knew, there wouldn’t be anyone down there to stop them. They should’ve noticed the stairs in the blueprints, but either they hadn’t been included or everyone had overlooked it.
He hadn’t been in position too long before the doors directly across from where the Vampires disappeared came open at almost the same time. The team closest to him, led by Sol, approached the door across from them. Kit turned and caught Jamie’s eyes, even though she was at least thirty feet away. She looked determined. He hoped she didn’t do anything to irritate Sol and everything worked out all right for both of them.
Jamie couldn’t see the other team, but he knew when the doors to the Vampires’ rooms came open because the next thing they heard was a flurry of screaming and furniture being shuffled about. Jamie wanted to run and see what was happening, but he couldn’t leave his post. There was a shattering of glass from one of the rooms, followed by a Vampire shriek from the other, a sound Jamie knew all too well now. It meant one of the Vampires had been dispatched.
A few hunched figures ran out of the room furthest from him, headed toward Jeffrey. Jamie recognized them as two of the humans who had been brought up. Jeffrey must have known this as well as he didn’t stand in their way as the man and woman fled for their lives. A few seconds later, a shriek sounded from the room closest to him. By his calculations, that mean there was only one living Vampire still in one of the rooms, assuming the glass shattering was the sound of a beast hurling itself from the window. Surely, the team of four below would’ve gotten that one.
As Jamie peered down the hall, waiting to see what might happen next, a flash of a figure came careening out into the hallway. Without pausing, it turned to its left and headed in his direction. He knew this was one of the Vampires, and as it headed toward him, he made out the face of a young man. Though pale with sunken black eyes, he was well-dressed, despite some rips in his suit Jamie assumed were from the fight. He came tearing down the hallway knowing full-well this was his only chance at escape.
Jamie was ready for him, though. As the man neared the end of the hallway, he must’ve seen the Guardian waiting for him there. He slowed a bit, and Jamie took that opportunity to hurl himself at the monster. They connected, and the creature went flying back into the wall where the two halls met. He hit hard and fell to the ground. Jamie jumped on top of him, hoping Sol or someone was on their way. This bloodsucker was strong, and he didn’t know how much longer he could hold on, much less decapitate him.
The Vampire was struggling to flip himself over so that he would be on top and could break free of Jamie’s grasp. The doctor kneed him hard in the stomach, trying to subdue him, but he just wasn’t strong enough to stop the monster, and as Jamie heard footsteps behind him, headed in their direction, the Vampire got the better of him, rotating so that he was on top. At that instant, a shot rang out in close range, and Jamie felt a sharp sting in his left shoulder, followed by an exclamation. Looking up, Jamie could see the Vampire seemed just as shocked as he was. He grabbed for his right ear, which was no longer there, and then hastily jumped up off of the doctor, running for the exit.
“Come back here, you bastard!” Jamie heard Sol exclaim as he followed him toward the exit. There was a loud noise that sounded like both of them must’ve fallen down the stairs. Abel and Joseph both took off after Sol, and Jamie felt confident they’d get the last bloodsucker.
“Oh, my God, Jamie! Are you okay?” Jamie turned to see Kit hovering over his head, the derringer in her hand.
Having not taken the time to assess himself, he tried to pull up to a sitting position and realized she’d shot him. His left arm was almost useless, and it was a struggle just to lean against the wall. Looking down, he could see the entrance wound, blood seeping through his white shirt into his suit jacket. “Holy hell,” he muttered.
“I’m so sorry,” Kit said, dropping to her knees and discarding the gun. “I was trying to hit him.”
“I know,” he replied. The pain was sharp, but he knew it was high in his shoulder, nowhere near his heart. He would survive, so long as he could stop the bleeding. Gesturing toward his shirt, he said, “Can you… unbutton?”
Kit complied at once, and when she had the top three buttons undone, he slid his hand under his shirt and put pressure on the wound. He could already feel the healing process starting before he even touched it, but having his hand there made it work that much faster. He thought he’d be fine in a few minutes, though he’d likely be exhausted. He prayed no one else needed his services.
“Damn it, Kit!” Jeffrey exclaimed, stopping behind her. “I thought I made it pretty clear we are not using any guns on my team.”
“I’m sorry, Jeffrey,” she said, her lips trembling. “I just… I didn’t think I’d have a chance without it.”
“And here we are with the only man who can save anyone bleeding out all over the damn floor!”
“I’ll be fine in a minute.” Jamie could hear the weakness in his own voice. He could heal himself, but it would take all of his energy.
Muttering another string of curse words under his breath, Jeffrey headed down the stairs. A few minutes later, Jamie noticed Kit’s face was getting rather blurry. He closed his eyes hoping when he woke up, somehow, he’d be back in his own bed in Boston.