An excerpt from:
The Vampire
Bureau
by Lisa McCourt Hollar
Stefan watched
the boy as he approached the yellow house. Decorated in gaudy ornaments, the
porch light brightly lit the door, displaying a witch in garish orange and
green colors. Stefan hid behind a tree, just out of the reach of the
encroaching glow.
The boy, plump
for someone so small, struggled to keep up with the rest of the children, his
short, stubby legs sticking out beneath the sheet serving as his costume.
“A ghost, boooo
hoooo,” Stefan said, his voice so low, the surrounding crickets wouldn’t have
heard. How he tired of these games. The boy’s scent carried to him, causing his
stomach to rumble a little louder than he would have liked. A bird sitting on
the branch, unaware of Stefan, who had been standing so still he could have
been one of the plastic figures peppering the lawns of the neighborhood, took
off, startled by its sudden proximity to danger.
“Never worry,”
Stephen grumbled, “it’s not your blood I am after. I would have to be far more
starved than I am to find the little nourishment you would provide, palatable.
Stephen’s eyes
never left his prey. The boy was slow, which took the sport out of the game,
and probably dimwitted. The other children looked to be the kind who would have
a sporting chance at survival, though even that was unlikely. He nearly said
damn it all to the rules, his legs itching to spring from his hiding place and
gather the children in his arms. He could be gone before the first trick or
treat bag hit the ground. Their blood smelled more appetizing than the ghost
boy’s. He could only imagine what kind of in-breeding might have gone on in
Stubby’s family gene pool.
The Vampire
Bureau would be on him before he had the first child drained. They had gotten
rather testy lately, insisting all un-dead abide by the treaty they had
negotiated with the government. The idea of a treaty being signed between the
living and dead seemed ludicrous, but it had happened and all because a few of
his kind had gotten greedy. Even then, the existence of vampires might have
gone unnoticed, if not for the special task force the government set up to
investigate Supernatural happenings around the world.
“We should have
wiped them out,” Stefan grumbled, his belly protesting his delay to action.
The argument for
a treaty had been sound though. They could have wiped out the human population,
but in doing so, would have wiped out their food supply. They could have
enslaved the living, but again, that would have meant trusting them not to
revolt during the daylight hours, when they would be otherwise incapacitated.
The treaty assured the government would leave the general population unaware of
their existence, so long as they abided by rules.
Rules included blood
banks and plasma stored in refrigerators, nursing homes and aged blood of the
dying, the forgotten elderly lying in beds, neglected by the staff and ignored
by their family. Rules didn’t allow for the draining of children, whose blood
was fresh, pure of the toxins that would pollute their blood stream as they
grew older; alcohol, drugs and sex with unprotected prostitutes, all served to
make the blood a little less savory.
The group of
children reached the front door and rang the bell. A woman answered, feigning
fear at the gruesome creatures standing outside her door.
“Oh my, what do
we have here? A witch, oh my, oh my… and Frankenstein and a werewolf, oh look
at you, aren’t you a little doll.”
The princess
smiled, holding out her bag, threatening to reveal a scarier side if the woman
didn’t drop in a treat. The woman obliged, after insisting everyone follow the
inane ritual of singing out their request.
“Trick or
Treat,” they all echoed and the woman dropped her bribe into each bag, insuring
her house would not be assaulted with rotten eggs and toilet paper. Last in
line was the ghost, who stumbled over his feet in his rush for the door.
“My, but aren’t
you a scary little guy,” the woman chuckled, dropping a chocolate bar into the
proffered bag. The ghost mumbled a thank you and turned to join the rest of his
group, who had already moved on, parents and all, confirming what Stefan had
already suspected. The boy was a straggler, no more a part of the group than
Stefan would be if he suddenly decided to join the group of parents.
Stefan had tried
the year before to blend in with a group, hoping perhaps for an invitation into
one of the homes after the evening was over. He was sure he had heard once that
these humans threw costume parties and played such games as bobbing for apples
pin the fangs on the vampire. He’d thought about how much fun it would be if a
real vampire showed up and played a game of his own.
If there was a
party, he never found out. All parents have a warning signal inside, warning of
danger. Most have learned to suppress it, dismissing their fears as silly and
superstitious. Stefan had given a
friendly, “Hello,” having trailed a lone child to the group. They parent’s had
looked him up and down, glancing at the boy, who was dressed in rags, with a
fake hobo beard painted onto his face.
Stefan had at first thought the hostility emanating from the group came
from the sense of danger built into all mankind and if he put on a pleasant
smile and exchanged pleasantries with them, their anxiety would pass.
“So… are you,
um, Eddie’s father?”
The question had
come from a young woman whose blood, oddly enough, smelled as though it was
void of many of the addictive substances that tainted the taste for him. Stefan
had looked at the woman, confused for a moment and then realized she was
referring to the hobo. After a long pause, he answered, “Yes.”
‘I always
wondered what you looked like,” one of the men said, turning towards him.
“Surprised you managed to stay sober for the evening.”
While Stefan was
trying to figure out how to respond, another father said, “Maybe we should show
him how we deal with men who like to beat kids.”
Amused, Stefan
realized they were angry because of who they thought he was, not because of
what he was. He tried to salvage the night, but Eddie’s father was apparently a
worse monster than any vampire could be and eventually he faded away, watching
until the opportunity arose to take the child. The blood had not been as
satisfactory as he had hoped. There are some things done to children that can
taint the blood of even the innocent. He felt perhaps he had done the child a favor.
The ghost,
encumbered by his small legs, hurried down the steps after the other trick or
treaters, calling out a tiny, “Wait for me.” They either didn’t hear him, or as
Stefan suspected, didn’t care and continued on without the boy. Hurrying his
pace, he ran to catch up, not seeing Stefan until he stepped out in front of
the child. Startled, the ghost nearly stumbled over the vampire, juggling his bag,
which bore the image of a grinning Jack O’Lantern, in an attempt to keep from
spilling his contents. He failed. The boy and the chocolate contents went
sprawling across the sidewalk while Stefan pretended to be horrified.
“Oh my, here,
let me help you.”
Stefan bent to
help the boy pick up the spilled candy. Nervous eyes peered out of the sheet
while the blood, oh the sweet blood, teased his senses, calling to Stefan to
take one little bite. A low rumble trembled in the back of his throat, the
sound startling the boy, who pulled his hand back as Stefan’s fingers grazed
the back of it. His teeth ached, longing to break the delicate skin promising
so much pleasure. Nearly in a trance, Stefan hesitated… he could do it and no
one would know. The damn Vampire Bureau and their nosey paranormal agents would
never know it had been him. Childish
voices pulled him from his reverie. Coming down the block, only a few houses
away, was another group of Trick or Treater’s. Had they seen Stefan with the
boy, could they give a description? These were dangerous times for being a
vampire.
No, Stefan
decided. Shadow surrounded him and his prey and at the moment they went
unnoticed, but it wouldn’t be long before the little monsters were there. He
needed to act swiftly.
“It seems your
friends have left without you.” Stefan smiled knowingly at the boy.
“I… I can catch
up with them.” His voice shook, betraying his nervousness.
“I bet you can,”
Stefan laughed, winking. “But why should you? They think you’re slow, but I bet
the never heard the story of the Turtle and the Hare.”
“Slow and steady
wins the race.” The boy laughed, though fear still tinged his breath. Stefan
tried not to breathe. Gads, he was hungry. A year of drinking approved blood
had taken his toll. If he didn’t get something fresh soon, he wouldn’t be
responsible for what happens.
“Yes and in this
case, bigger and better candy. I know someplace handing out the King sized
candy bars, not these tiny bite sized things which leave you wanting for more.”
“Where?” The boy’s
voice shook with excitement.
“It’s a few
blocks from here. Come with me and I’ll show you.”
The Vampire Bureau is one of 14 stories included in Jezri's Halloween Nightmares.
A collection of 14 stories, perfect for the Holiday, along
with bonus material. Collection includes, The Bainbridge Witch, The Vampire
Bureau, Ol’ Jack, Witch’s Brew, The Dress’s Curse, Retribution, Trapped, The
Dragon’s Claw, Hide and Seek, A Prank Gone Too Far, Temptations, Dare, Ageless
and Reverie, A Graystone Manor Short.Bonus Material gives you free sample reads of Progeny, The Second Wave: A Post-Apocalyptic Tale, Blood Lust and Undead Ahead, a collaboration of stories by Lisa McCourt Hollar and Jeffrey Hollar.
