Chapter 42: Hell to Pay

March 1999

The infirmary had changed shifts, and another nurse who was not dressed like a gothic princess came in to check on both of us. I realized that for the moment, Julie and I were the only two patients in the ward. Some of the names the familiars were given were extreme ... almost to the point of ridiculous. This nurse’s name was Dementia. She was dressed up in all white, just like any other nurse. In fact, I did not really notice anything strange about her at all. She smelled nice, and there was no bad breath. I did see that she had a couple of bite marks on her arm, as she apparently was “giving for the cause.” She was quiet and spoke only to give information when needed. She checked my dressing and asked if I was in pain.

I said, “Only when I move about”, and the next thing I knew, I was nodding off.

I awoke later, only to notice the faces looking at me, were in a cluster, like a catch of fish on a stringer. Some of the bloody faces had open eyes glazed over and their cheeks were touching each other’s. A bloody hand, which bore a familiar royal signet, held their hair!

As I opened my eyes, further I noticed Tayla standing beside me, holding a trio of three heads of her enemies. Her face, smeared with blood, had some of it coming from the corners of her mouth. She held them up proudly, their severed necks still slowly dripping blood that was starting to coagulate. She handed them to Dementia, and in a commanding voice ordered them taken to the Gleaning Room, with the rest of the bodies. The bones would become trophies as well as the skulls, displayed in the Hall of Skulls as trophies of a great victory over her enemies.

“My children have exacted a great and terrible toll from our enemy. They paid that price with their lives. My pets will eat well for this! I hope you feel avenged but most of all I hope the Black Velvet Clan is aware of this and knows not to use mortals to fight against vampires.”

I was startled and did not know what to say. Still, I knew that the nightmare was real, or at least continuous, and I was powerless to change anything. All I could think of was to ask, “How many casualties?” She replied, “We took four hundred thirty-eight lives tonight! That is quite a catch for one night of hunting! It was a real task to bring them all here for disposal. The Gleaning Room will be busy for several days. I will need extra crews in there. I did lose two of my children. Those Jackals were smart to keep some silver tipped bolts around for reprisals. Nevertheless, we could see where the easiest place was to hit them, and we did ... all at once. I have not attacked like that in years. Their ranks are in total confusion, as we nearly decimated their numbers locally. They are now moving reinforcements in from down south no doubt. Even from Miami.

This would be a good time to move your family here. Shall we?”

I nodded yes, still groggy from the medication. I passed out again while Dementia took my blood-spattered sheets off, replacing them with clean ones.

There was one thing to be learned from this experience. If one crosses Tayla or hurts something (or someone) that she values, there will be hell to pay for it. The Jackals were being slaughtered for their arrogance and poor choice to attack the Queen in her own home. No one gets that privilege.