Chapter Two

The vampire hunter descended down the stairs. It led to a dark hallway. Damien switched on his flashlight, holding it his left hand as we walked forward, shotgun held out before him. In the movies, vampire hunters always used UV lights to fight the undead. It wasn't ultraviolet spectrum of sunlight that harmed vampires. It was the purity of the sun's rays and what the fiery disc in the sky represented.

His eyes noticed the dark alcove. It could be a spot for an ambush, or merely was a branching tunnel. The thudding music came from straight ahead. There was a door with light flooding through it. Vampires could see in the dark, but the young ones were still too accustomed to their mortal lives and attached to what was familiar.

Damien kept his shotgun pointed right at the alcove as he advanced. He wasn't surprised when the female vampire leaped out. She was naked, her breasts lovely and firm with youth, her blonde hair streaming behind her. She probably had been sired by the vampire Damien hunted, under her sire's control.

Damien pulled both triggers of the shotgun. The explosion was deafening in the tunnels. His ears rang as the vampiress fell to the ground, her naked stomach and perfect breasts blackened by the purity rock salt. Her mouth opened but Damien couldn't hear her screams over the deafening ringing in his ears.

Calmly, Damien sheathed his shotgun in a holster dangling off his belt and drew a silver plated machete inscribed with prayers, the knuckle bone of a saint set in the pommel. He seized the vampiress's blonde hair and pulled, exposing her neck as she thrashed in pain. With a single swipe, he decapitated her. The body shriveled and grew black, decaying in a heartbeat. Before Damien could let go of her hair, she was dust swirling about his feet.

The lights were still on in the room at the hallway's end. Damien's hearing began to return as he reloaded his shotgun. The music still thudded. Damien wasn't even sure the vampire had heard the shotgun blast over the blaring music and realized his new whore was dead.

Next time, pay better attention. Damien smiled at the thought. Of course, there won't be a next time.

Damien pulled a hand crossbow from beneath the leather duster he wore. His wife always teased him for the affectation, but Damien enjoyed dressing like a badass out of a western. Of course, the jacket was woven with prayers and could give him a moments of protection against a vampire's attack.

"One dead," Damien reported as he reached the door. "About to breach."

Augustine didn't answer. The call probably dropped with all the concrete over his head.

Damien put away his flashlight and tested the doorknob. Unlocked. What a trusting vampire.

Damien twisted the handle and shouldered open the door. He burst through it and he brought up his crossbow. A vampiress lounged on a bean bag, her thighs spread open and her fingers playing with her pink pussy.

She screeched as the white oak bolt took her in the heart, paralyzing her entire body. Damien swept his gaze around as he furiously cranked back the crossbow's windlass. A male vampire with a blonde goatee and dressed in torn, black clothing stood up. A silver skull earing dangled from the vampire's right ear. Fangs flashed as he growled.

"Do you know who's territory you are treading on, Mortal?" the vampire demanded with exaggerated bombastity.

He's watched too many bad movies. "Nope."

Damien pulled out a white oak bolt and dropped it into the crossbow's cradle.

"I am Spike, the slayer of—"

Damien snorted with laughter. "Did you say your name is Spike? Like from Buffy the Vampire Slayer." That show had been big when Damien was a teenager. It helped Damien and his future wife realize a vampire haunted their school, feeding off their friends.

"No," hissed the vampire, indignation crossing his pale face. The vampires lips were dark black, almost a pair of shadows compared to the corpse-white of the his skin.

Was he wearing makeup to make himself look that pale?

"Spyke with a Y."

"And that makes it better?" Damien snorted and raised the crossbow.

The vampire attacked in a blur of speed. Damien fired the crossbow bolt straight in front of him. Like Damien expected, the vampire charged headlong towards him. The bolt took the monster in the chest. Paralysis crashed into Spyke a moment before he slammed into Damien. Damien twisted and let Spyke crash to the floor.