Glamour Bites

I pulled into the parking lot of the small circle of offices where the main branch of Glamour Hunts Inc. was located and was greeted by the site of half a dozen bounty hunters standing in front of the building. Even in the darkness, I could pick out the pale green skin and short figure of Karma standing in the middle of the crowd.

I stepped out of the car and was immediately the center of attention. Karma came at me, Cassi in tow, and everyone looks worried. Somehow, I didn’t think it was because of the mission I had been sent on.

“Oh my gods, A! Are you alright? Cassiopeia came straight here from the studio and told us about Andreas showing up. Are you alright? Did he bite you?”

Like a mother worried about her young, she grabbed my chin and moved my head around to get a good view of my neck. I grabbed her wrists and held her hands in mine. “Karma, chill out. The blood is mine, yes, but only because he had me pinned. He kissed me and I used his fangs to bleed me. He got a mouthful of witch blood. It’s alright.”

I spotted Cassi and let go of Karma, walking over to check on her. She was shaking and there were signs of blood tears on her cheeks. I wrapped my arms around her and sighed. “I’m fine, Cassi. He didn’t do anything to me and I know you had to leave. You’ll have the blood to clean up as payment.”

I was rewarded for my comment with a large smile and a hard punch in the arm. “Not funny, Lexi. I was worried that he was going to do something to you. I didn’t want to leave, but if I had stayed, I wouldn’t have made it through tomorrow night. I’m sorry.”

“If you don’t shut up, I’m going to sic Karma on you.” I glanced at Karma and she nodded playfully at Cassi. “It’s alright. I can handle myself. And I would rather you run and be safe tomorrow than stay and have to face him again.”

She rewarded me with a hug that could have crushed a normal person’s ribs, and turned to Karma. “Are you going to tell her the next bit of business, or am I? Cause I’m sure she’s curious as to why everyone in the firm is out here.”

I looked between Karma and Cassi, frowning. Cassi knew me well enough to know that I didn’t like it when a group of dangerous people gathered. It usually meant something equally dangerous needed to be destroyed. Turning to Karma, I raised an eyebrow, asking the question.

“I guess it’s up to me, Cassiopeia.” Karma turned to the others and told them to head back to their branches before turning back to me. “We were going to send a search party out to help you, but that’s not needed now.” I wasn’t fooled and let my face show it. “Fine, Alexia. There wasn’t enough room for all of us inside this branch. The other hunters have heard rumors about an uprising of vampyres. We don’t have many details, which is why I’m glad that Cass showed up.”

I knew where this was going and glanced at Cassi to see if she had figured it out yet. She was already mentally going over all the things she would need to go undercover. I sighed and nodded. “So we send Cassi in and hope that they let her in enough to know what’s going on so we can bust it, right? Does DIT know about this?”

Karma nodded as Mike came up behind her, speaking before she could. “Just got off the phone with DIT and they want Cass to go undercover and for you, Lexi, to be her backup. They won’t accept anyone else.” He smiled a little and laughed. “But we have yet another mission before you go undercover. They have a vampyre group they need put out of commission tonight. Are you up for it, Lexi, Karma?”

I glanced at Karma and met her smile with my own. “Do you even have to ask, Mike?” I walked briskly up to my Jeep and crawled in. “Grab your gear, Karm. I’m ready and willing.”

Mike laughed and tossed the file at me before heading back inside. “Have fun, ladies. Oh and Lexi? What happened with that band? Teeth and Claws?”

I groaned and sighed. “Lycans, all four, but harmless. I’ve given them my number to check in each week and will have the DIT put a trace on them to make sure there are no killings or such going on around them. I’ll call Greg in the morning.”

Greg Savage was our contact in the DIT. He was a rather large African American guy who reminded me a great deal of Michael Clarke Duncan, except for the shoulder length beaded braids. But more than anything, I loved Greg for the effect that his name had on Karma.

She blushed as soon as I said his name, climbing into the car without a word. They had been dating since just after Glamour Hunts had been existence. Karma didn’t talk about her relationship with Greg, but I was almost positive that there was a sexual aspect to it.

“Yes, Lexi, you do that. Greg will get everything set up for you, but you’re right. Those boys need someone not exactly related to the government. You’ll be the perfect parole officer, I guess you could say.” Mike seemed to think about it and nodded. “Well, I’ll let you two get to work. Call me when the job is done.”

I turned to Cassi as he walked inside and smiled. “Do you want to meet at my place, or yours tomorrow night for the job?”

“Mine, Lexi. I don’t think your neighbors like me too well. An hour after sunset would be good. Give me time to get ready.” Cassi gave my hand a squeeze and smiled. “You two be careful. I don’t want to lose any more friends.”

“Will do, Cass.” Karma saluted Cassi and nodded for me to start it up. I shrugged at Cassi, letting her know without words that I’d try to see her before sunrise, and started the car, pulling out onto the street.

Karma went through the file and sighed. “St. Katherine’s Cathedral is right across the street from this address. I think I know how they got their victims now. Mostly old people go to that church and they’re always trying to help people out. They’d have made good victims.”

I nodded in agreement to what she was saying, heading the Jeep toward that church. The elder people who still did not understand what was going on with the Dimensionals were always so trusting of anyone asking for help. And a vampyre would be able to notice that.

I turned into the back lot of the church and was greeted with the presence of Father Jacob. He had been a friend of my aunt’s but I recognized him. He was bald now, with graying eyebrows and a clean shaven face. He had to be more than seventy years old, but he was still an active priest around the city.

I glanced at Karma and turned off the car at her nod, pulling my bag of tricks out of the back seat, following Karma toward the priest. “Father Jacob, it has been a long time.”

Father Jacob looked at me through his half moon glasses for a moment before smiling brightly. “Young Alexia Mooren! I did not recognize you for a moment there. You have indeed grown since the last time I saw you. What brings you to this neighborhood?”

I opened my mouth, but Karma spoke for me. “Father Jacob, I am Karma Douglas. Alexia and I are with Glamour Hunts Incorporated and are here about the vampyre problem your parish has been having.”

“Yes, I had heard that you were coming. I am glad to see that you have found your calling, Alexia. Come, come. Let’s get you two inside so that you can prepare without the criminals knowing.” He turned and headed up the stairs into the back.

I glanced at Karma to see who she wanted to go in first and she raised an eyebrow at me. I shrugged and headed in, knowing she was wondering what I was doing talking to a priest. I wasn’t religious, and I sure wasn’t Catholic.

We walked into the darkness of the church and a shutter ran through me. The truth was that I wasn’t religious because vampyres were not meant to go into churches, and I was pretty much vampyre. I could feel the heat running through my body and gulped down the urge to lose my dinner all over the carpet. I had to get suited up and weapon ready before I could get out of here, and I wasn’t going to show any weakness.

He led us into his office and gestured around. “I have some patrons to attend to, but you may use anything that you need in here. If you need me, I’ll be in the sanctuary.” He turned and left, leaving me and Karma alone.

We turned to each other at the same time and smiled, dropping our bags and opening them. I pulled out a black cat suit and took my jacket off, tossing it onto a bench. I glanced over to see that Karma had done the same thing, tossing her purple suit jacket onto my black leather one.

After removing my weapons and slipping out of the knee high boots, tight black leather skirt, and leather vest, I slipped the black leather cat suit on and pulled some thigh high boots from the bag, adding them to the assemble. I glanced up to see Karma in a matching get up. Adding a double shoulder holster complete with the two P85 Rugers, my choice of 9mm guns, I looked in the mirror. I nodded and completed the ensemble by strapping two pure silver blades to my forearms and putting on a belt. The belt held modified gun clips. Each clip held hollow point bullets filled with silver nitrate and holy water, a deadly combination to all preternatural beings, except Fey.

I heard the click of a clip sliding home and turned to Karma as she holstered her Beretta 9mm’s. She put on her belt, her ammo being hollow points of holy water and lead which was deadly to only vampyres and Fey, and walked toward the door. “Ready to go kick some vampyre ass, A?”

I laughed and nodded. “Always, K.”

She smiled and opened up the door, heading out the way we had come in. She led the way to the side of the church that gave us the perfect view of the vampyre halfway house. She leaned into me and whispered in my ear. “Can you hear what they’re saying?”

I squatted down in the grass in front of the building and threw my vampyre powers out, eyes going black as I did so. I could hear the mutterings of confession in the church and the normal things that were said in the local houses. I focused on the house where the scent of vampyres was heaviest and listened carefully to their words.

“Hey, Deon! Where are those strippers you called about?” Gruff voice, probably had been smoker when alive.

“I don’t know, DJ. They should have been here by now.” Another male voice. There were at least three more voices, all male, coming from the house, but I couldn’t hear what they were saying.

I nodded and turned to Karma. “How would you like to be a stripper for the night?”

She raised her eyebrows and I laughed, quickly explaining to her what was going on. She nodded when I was done and we straightened, heading toward the house.

I took a deep breath and knocked on the door. It didn’t take long for them to answer, as they had undoubtedly heard us coming, and we were on. “Hi. My name is Alex and this is Karma. We were told that you would like some … company for the night.”

The vampyre was tall and ragged looking, like he hadn’t fed in weeks. He looked us up and down and smiled. “Come on in, ladies. I was hoping they would send up some entertainment with a gimmick. Let me guess. Vampyre bounty hunters Gone Wild?”

Karma frowned and turned on some of her faerie glamour, nodding. “You’ve figured out our gig. Next time we’ll have to try harder, won’t we, Alex?”

“Yes, Karma. But where do this boys want us to do our thing? I really, really excited.” I licked my lips, tongue teasing, and the vampyre followed my tongue with his eyes, lust apparent on his face and in his body language.

After a few seconds he shook himself and gestured for us to enter the room. There were four others in the room and at least one more in the kitchen. Three for me and three for Karma, it was as easy as that.

As soon as the door was closed, Karma nodded to me and I moved to the other side of the room, moving in a seductive rhythm. Karma was doing something similar as her hand moved playfully toward her gun. I pulled mine and ran my tongue over it, tasting the oil I used to clean it, but knowing that flinching from the taste would give us away.

I heard gun clear the holster and pointed at the nearest vampyre to me. I moved to where I was sitting in his lap, gun under his chin, and whispered against his lips. “Want to know a secret?” He nodded, lips brushing against mine. “I’m not a stripper. I’m a bounty hunter.”

The fear registered on his face, but I pulled the trigger before he had enough time to react. I jumped back as the vampyre beside him grabbed at me and landed beside Karma who had apparently taken out the vampyre that had been in the kitchen. Two down and four to go, and we had both doors covered.

Noises in the basement alerted me to the fact that this had just become a rescue mission. The gunshots had alerted the missing church patrons downstairs and they were screaming for us, distracting for two beings with super hearing.

While I was listening to the screams, one of the vampyres moved and hit me square in the chest, sending me flying against a wall, gun clutched hard in my hand. His fangs flashed an instant before they went straight through the protective leather of my cat suit and into my neck.

He was drinking, but the blood was still bound to me so I threw my witch abilities into it. He screamed and fell to the ground, burning up from the inside out. I stood, hand covering the wound and found that one of the other three vampyres were dead, but Karma was no where to be seen.

There was crash from the kitchen and I scented Karma in there. She must have the other two vampyres in there with her. Or not. One of the others came around the corner and spotted me, heading at me fast. I pulled the gun and popped two bullets off into his head. The silver nitrate oozed out of the wounds, but the holy water ate the vampyres flesh, burning the wound.

I sighed as the scrabbling in the kitchen ended with the sound of a gun shot and Karma walked into the room, unscathed. She spotted me and walked over to me quickly, grabbing the hand that held the wound. “Oh my gods, A. You’re bleeding. Did he bite you?”

I shoved her off me and nodded. “Yes, but I’ll be fine. We need to get down to the basement and get the victims out.”
“Alexia, we need to get you treated.” Karma grabbed me again and I shrugged her off. “Alexia Mooren, I will knock you out if you don’t head over to the church and get treated. You could easily be turned if you’re not treated.”

I fought her off again and jerked away. “Trust me when I say that getting turned is not a possibility, Karma. Now let’s go get the people from out of the basement.”

I walked boldly, head high, toward the basement door and opened it, turning on the lights and heading down the stairs. What I saw when I walked into the room shocked me?

Mike had said that the patrons that had disappeared were most likely elder people, but no one in the room was older than thirty. There were children with bite wounds on their necks and wrists. It was appalling and against the laws of both humans and vampyres.

“Karma.” I spoke softly, but I heard her answer from the top of the stairs. “Call the paramedics from DIT. We’re going to need a lot of holy water.”

I heard her scrabble to get to a phone and went to the nearest cage where the victims had been kept. There were no keys and no means to get them out, but I had the strength to do that. I grabbed one of the locks quickly and yanked as hard as I could, pulling the lock away from the cell wall.

The little girl in the cage was crying as her mother pulled her out, but they both hugged me and thanked me profusely. I did that to another three cages and the people thanked me as well, heading upstairs where the sound of ambulances was now coming from.

As the last group of people were freed and headed upstairs, I headed up there as well, listening to the soothing sound of Father Jacob welcoming his flock back to the word of the light. He was praying and I could hear it even from the basement, and it made me happy when his people started to pray with him.

I came out of the basement and was immediately handed my bag from the church. “You need to go home, A. If you’re not going to get any treatment, at least give home and rest.”

Karma shrugged, knowing that I was set in my ways and more stubborn that her brother. I was going to get treatment, but not holy water and not by the DIT paramedics.

I nodded and started toward the door, turning to look back at her. “Are you going to be ok getting home by yourself? I mean, I could drop you off.”

“I’ll be fine, A.” She blushed and shrugged. “Greg is going to come get me. I called him to have him get the DIT down here. I told him about you and he told me to send you home. I’ll be fine. Just go.”

I nodded and headed toward my Jeep in the back parking lot of the church. I threw my bag into the back and started it, pulling out and heading toward Cassi’s house. She would give me the proper vampyre treatment for another vampyre bite. That’s what I really needed right now, my best friend, and a warm bath.