Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Necrofiend: Blood Moon ❯ Chapter Four ( Chapter 4 )

Blood Moon
-Original Work-
Warning: yaoi, yuri, graphic violence and gore, supernatural creatures, OC POV, etc

Special Thanks to: Kelsea, aka Rose_Fury, for volunteering to be my beta! Your help is and will always be appreciated. <33

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Chapter Four

CANAAN DIDN’T MISS a step when Soloman slipped and fell back the way we’d come. It made the spill all that much more amusing. But Raven seemed to take pity on the guy. While he ran back to help him to his feet, I continued up the slope that I could only guess flattened out to something manageable by the construction team. After all, the pictures of the site had been of something flat not slanted. We reached the top of the slant and sure enough, there was a plateau. I swept my gaze left then right, making out the various bones that littered the ground. Some of them had been partially buried again as sand and dust was blown back over the skulls. One last attempt to return to the parched graves each fragment had known for god knows how long.

I knelt and ran my hand over the ground. To the untrained eye, it looked like I was attempting to gauge the quality of the earth beneath my feet, however that wasn’t the case. While the combination of sand and dust was fine, it was of very little interest to me. What I was trying to feel for was several yards away from me, partially at the surface and partially situated several feet below. When nothing came right away, my eyes closed and my hand stilled. The humid caress of wind, the harsh slow burn of the sun, the smell of heated earth and what little vegetation that lingered around us slowly faded into the background until there was nothing. Moments passed and that nothing became something cold and faint.

Death had many scents depending on the person smelling it and the place it was located. This wasn’t the kind of death you smelled on a fresh corpse or on a dying patient. This body had been here far longer than I’d been alive. Possibly longer than Canaan and a few vampires I knew as well. I inhaled the musky scent. It held the faint, but familiar, scent of mothballs with an underlying wafting of something sweetly-sour. What pushed the scent either way, I had yet to understand. Some people guessed it had something to do with how the person died. If they had gone peacefully, the scent would be sweet in the way that flowers were. Not the faked-perfume flower but the natural scent that was almost too soft to truly smell. If the person hadn’t had the time to accept death or had gone violently, the scent was sour, much like bad milk. Here the smell was a mixture of them both, as expected with a large, disturbed burial ground. I opened my eyes though I didn’t quite see the flat anymore.

“What’s he doing?” There was a harsh whisper off to my side followed by an even harsher ‘shush’. My head turned slowly to look in the direction of where Soloman and Raven had rejoined us. I blinked and my concentration was gone. I pushed to my feet and brushed my hands against my legs.

“Did you find out anything?”

I grunted. Though the question wasn’t coming from Canaan, I would answer.

“The bodies here are old…very old but I don’t sense any lingering spirits. This flat isn’t haunted…why would you need any of them raised?” I fought to keep my voice neutral but it came off as demanding. There were many reasons why someone would want a body animated that didn’t involve entertainment. Was Canaan looking for treasure? Ancient secrets, what? A quick clean up of all the bone fragments?

“Until you answer me, I won’t be animating anything. You won’t be required to provide us with transportation back but you will still pay for getting me out here.” I hated playing this card; throwing it in someone’s face that they’d be spending several hundreds of dollars just to have me do nothing; but I was hoping that money was important enough to Canaan that it would loosen his tongue.

Canaan ran a hand over his brow. For a man who looked so tired, he was proving to be quite resilient. He sighed heavily and let the hand fall to slap against his leg.

“Are you able to raise any of the bodies here?” He asked. I looked back out to the area before us and shrugged.

“I won’t know until after sundown.” I explained. I was one of the rare animators that could work before sundown but there wasn’t much I could do this early in the day. The fact that the graves had been disturbed and that the remains were so old didn’t play in my favor either. I was sure I’d explain that beforehand

“And you won’t try until I tell you my motives?”
“Correct.”
“Ms. Nagumi never said that it’d be this complicated.”
“Of course she didn’t, she’s not the one that has to come out here.”

We exchanged looks then, both bemused by the set back and the secrecy.

“I could offer more…pay under the table. Anything you ask.” He was the first to break eye contact. There was that desperation again. I’d just started to open my mouth and explain that money couldn’t buy me and that he should have went with Xavier, when my cell phone went off. The sudden, overzealous, mariachi band ringtone made us all jump. While I fumbled with the phone, I excused myself. I flipped it open and pressed it to my ear. Instinctively, I began walking forward putting some distance between me and the others. The only person that would be calling me at this time was Remi, my adoptive older sister. She had raised me after my accidental raising of a neighbor’s dead dog had my father trying to get me exorcised. He had taken the accomplishment just as he’d taken our mother’s death, horribly. I still sometimes that he prays for my soul, despite having practically disowned me. Go figure.

“Hey, Rem, what’s up?” I asked, once I deemed the distance good enough. My shoes kicked lightly at the ground, uncovering what looked like a metacarpal bone. I bent down and picked it up while I waited for Remi to reply.

“Hey, Thiago, I heard you were in the area and have a favor to ask of you.” Her tone was light, as always. Pleasant and unconsciously contagious. Somewhere further up her family tree, someone had fooled around with a psychic. Just like any supernatural genetics, the trait had never dissipated and had never dissolved. It gave Remi the ability to have premonitions, as well as project certain emotions on others if she tried hard enough. The former she had no control over while the latter she had perfected by the time our family had taken her in at age eight. I had been one at the time.

“What’s the favor?” I asked as I turned the bone in my hand.

“There’s been a murder.” She stopped there knowing that there wasn’t much more to be said. If there was a murder and she needed my help, there was something that made it more than your run of the mill homicide. I pursed my lips and looked back to where Raven stood. When he finally looked over, I tilted my head in a silent gesture for him to come over.

“What information do you have on it?” I asked as I turned back to the conversation at hand.

“The few who are trained in the magic field say that what’s there looks like a sacrificial circle of some kind. Big time ritual, black magic type stuff. We have a suspect but he’s currently MIA from his estate outside the county where you are.”

“Name?”
“Adriano.”
 220;What’s going on, Thiago?” Raven asked once he’d caught up with me. I held up a finger.
“I’ll take a look at it but I’m kind of in the middle of nowhere…”

“I’ll give you the directions then tell me if you’re anywhere close.” I made a sideways circular motion with my finger at Raven. He faltered for only a moment before patting his pockets. How he narrowed down what I was asking for by that gesture alone, I’ll never guess. He produced a piece of paper and a pen, then turned to offer his back as a place to bear down on. Now I remembered why I’d taken him for a partner and trainee. I jotted down the information she gave me and recalled what little I knew about this area so far. Some of these streets we’d passed on the way to the mountains, which meant we couldn’t have been too far from where she was trying to get us; only about a mile or so.
“Now there’s something you should know. This Adriano guy is a master vampire. We don’t have a precise number but he’s definitely pushing over four hundred years.” I whistled at that bit of information. I had seen older vampires but even those older ones answered to someone. Master vampires were vampires that were strong enough to claim a territory as their own. This meant that St. Louis, a large portion of land surrounding his estate, was Adriano’s territory and that he answered to no one but the government; which pretty much meant no one.

“Don’t do anything stupid, okay?”

I nodded automatically, though I knew she wouldn’t see it. “

Since when do I ever do anything stupid?” I asked. I could almost see her pale delicate features turning up into a skeptical frown.

“I’ll be careful.” I added.

“Alright. I’ve got to go now. Remember, be careful. I love you”

A smile tugged at my lips. “I love you too.” We hung up around the same time. I stuffed the phone back into my pocket then took the paper from Raven’s back. He’d been a good sport to play the part of my makeshift desk.

“There’s been a homicide.” I told him as I looked over the directions once again. He turned around giving me wide eyes.

“Any suspects?” Good boy.

“A very old master vampire apparently. You in?”

Raven nodded firmly. Behind that almost childlike wonderment was something eager. I’d been in his shoes at one point. Proving yourself capable of handling all this was something every trainee worked toward. He had just so happened to choose two very difficult fields to try and prove his clout in. Ah well. If worse came to worse, he’d throw up somewhere on the crime scene and would just have to live with the taunting for years to come.

“Is there a problem….Mr. Tiaz?” Canaan called from where he stood. Once again there was that voice that was stronger than what his body led on. I started to make my way back over.

“There’s been a homicide.”
“What does that have to do with you?”
“I double as a vampire executioner when I’m not raising the dead.”
“Ah…so this homicide may be involving a vampire... How long will this take?”
“Depends on how bad the scene is and how long we have to wait for a ride.”
“You can take the jeep if you wish.”
“Thanks.”

I nodded my head respectfully to the man. I had no honest reason to be anything but polite to him despite his dodging my questions. I hated to be in the dark or to waste my time. Then again, the longer I stayed in Arizona, the more money I was pulling for Nagumi. Raven and I reached our starting point fairly quickly, with a thin layer of dust covering our clothes. He took the time out to dust himself off while I went about explaining to Peters why we got to take the jeep with us. He seemed like a good sport despite the scowl on his face when I told him that he wouldn’t be driving us. I thanked him either way.

“Shall we be off?” I called over to where Raven stood still fussing with his clothes. He nodded distractedly and approached the passenger side of the car. I slipped into the driver’s seat and readjusted what I needed to to make this ride a comfortably safe one.

I’d successfully managed to get the jeep turned around without running anyone over or driving off the short cliff a few feet from the path we’d taken up. I shook my head and cursed. The ride had been so smooth on the way here that I hadn’t really paid attention to any obstacles that may have been around. By the time we were driving back to the county, I was sure Grover and Peters were laughing. I couldn’t blame them. “

Listen up; chances are things are going to be pretty ugly once we get there. If you feel the need to vomit…try to not get it on the bodies or the murder scene at all.” I spoke slowly without taking my eyes off the road.

“You think it’s going to be that bad?” I didn’t have to look to know that Raven’s eyes were wide again.

“Just be prepared for the worse.” I couldn’t sugar coat this. Homicides, good or bad, were never pretty. I’d seen enough to be fairly unaffected by now, but Raven wasn’t that lucky. I had wanted to start him off with something light and less gory, but life didn’t always work that way. We spend the rest of the drive in silence, mentally preparing for what we were about to see. If only we knew that no amount of preparation would have helped us with this.

The estate wasn’t exactly something you’d expect of a vampire. Typically, the stereotypical castle shrouded in darkness with gargoyles overlooking the unfortunate souls entering came to mind. However this place was the total opposite. I counted thirteen windows as we pulled up to the front of the building. It was probably three stories high and stretched out a few thousand square feet. If there were exact numbers to be had, I couldn’t give them. I lived in an apartment and could only see the front of the property. I took a parking spot along the curb. The driveway that twisted and curved around an expensive looking fountain had already been filled with various vans and patrol cars. Before I could throw the jeep into park, one of the officers was already approaching us.

“Can I help you?” She called long before she was within range of the car. Her left hand was hooked onto her hip holster beside her gun. It was then I remembered the holster I had on as well. I held back a groan. It wasn’t like I had a badge. Though the courts had pretty much given me the title of executioner, I had no proof of it. I let my head go back and thud against my seat. I couldn’t fumble with the holster–didn’t really want to go without my gun–or grab for my blazer.

“Should we get out?” Raven asked. His hand had frozen on his seatbelt.

“Give me a second….can you reach my blazer?” I asked as I rolled down my window. Raven nodded and twisted so that he could reach into the back. While he did that, I offered the woman a friendly smile.

“Hi, my name is Thiago Tiaz and this is my partner Raven Sengoku. My sister, Remi Tiaz sent me here to see if I could help with a homicide.”

That seemed to get her moving again. As she drew closer I could make out wide green eyes framed in thick red lashes that matched the hair atop her head. A natural redhead. Her face was delicate looking with the combination of pale skin and a slightly upturned nose. Over the middle of her nose and spreading across to each of her cheeks was a thin layer of freckles. Though her hair was pulled back into a strict bun, I could tell that her hair was thick and normally curly.

“Step out of the car please.” She called over. We nodded. While Raven slipped out of the car, I slid the blazer back on. It was tailored purposely to keep the gun from showing. I could only hope that she wasn’t that well trained that she’d be able to see the slight bulge in the lining. I stepped out of the car while Raven walked around.

“You don’t look like you’d be related to Remi.” She stated skeptically. Outside of the car, I could see that she was just a few inches shorter than me and her uniform was slightly too big for her. It left the nametag hanging at the right of her chest tilted forward and unreadable.

“We’re not…blood related. She’s my adopted sister. Did she leave my name or anything?” I asked hoping that Remi had had enough sense to tell her co-workers that I was coming.

“She did…do you have ID?”

I nodded and reached for the wallet at the back of my jeans. I pulled the plastic card from where I always kept it and handed it over. She took it and looked it over. A moment passed with her looking between me and the card before she handed it back.

“Alright…this way, Mr. Tiaz.”
“Thank you, Officer….”
“Ah…Roberts, Sandra Roberts.”

We were led through the estate and to the backyard. Despite it being bright and sunny outside, the inside of the estate was pitch-black. While my eyes adjusted to the change in lighting, I took note of the blackout curtains that hung over each window. I had the very same curtains at home stashed away at the back of my closet. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see something move to our right. My steps paused. I didn’t try to look directly at the source of movement. When nothing else happened, I shrugged and continued forward. I could only guess that the officers had been all over this place already. If there was anything lurking around, it would have been found by now. If not, it was best that it wasn’t until some proper lighting and search party could be put together.

As I stepped outside again I squinted against the blare of sunlight. The chilled air conditioned atmosphere had passed once again into humidity. Officer Roberts had stopped not too far from the door while Raven had continued forward. The look on her face alone said that she wouldn’t venture out into the yard again unless she absolutely had to. I thanked her once again as I passed by. It wasn’t hard to find the bodies. The area had been enclosed by tape, there were uniformed people walking around taking pictures of anything they felt was evidence, and in the center of it all were two bloodied white sheets thrown over what I would have guessed were the bodies in question.

“Ah….so this is the Tiaz I’ve been hearing about.” I looked up at the person speaking but didn’t stop walking until I reached a line In the grass. At first glance it looked as if it had been burnt there but the grass wasn’t darkened in any way. Instead of being charred black, the wilted blades were the dull dead shade of green that signaled dehydration.. As I looked closer, I noticed there was a faint tinge of red to that green. That red clung to the grass close to the line but appeared to have no effect.

“Find something, Executioner Tiaz?”

I took my time looking up and even less time to acknowledge the person speaking. By the mocking tone and condescending title I had been addressed with, me and this person wouldn’t be getting along. I stood absently brushing my hands against my jeans despite having not touched anything. I stepped over the marking and was semi relieved that whatever spell that had been used didn’t linger. I wasn’t a psychic or witch but being an animator made me aware of my surroundings both physically and metaphysically. It was the same with everyone who decided to take on magic of any kind.

“Thiago or Mr. Tiaz would have worked just nicely.” I drawled, looking over the officer before me. He was my height but bulkier in build. Someone clearly liked going to the gym. His face was all sharp angles as if it had been carved out of sotne or wood, rather than flesh and bone. Five o’clock shadow clung to his chin turning his already dark complexion darker around his down turned lips and along his jaw. Unlike everyone else, he was dressed in something more comfortable than a baggy blue cop uniform. His pants were black with not a speck of lint to cling to them. The white button down shirt he had worn was left un-tucked. And by the way his collar was turned up, I would have guessed he’d been wearing a tie at some point. I was sure he was sizing me up from behind the aviator sunglasses he was wearing and I couldn't be bothered to care.

“My apologize, Mr……Tiaz.” He began and even managed to make my name sound like an insult. “My name is Marshal Johnson. I’m currently in charge of this investigation.”

“That’s nice. I need to see the bodies.” I motioned over to the covered bodies without looking away from him. I watched as the lines of his face deepened and had to figure out what I’d done to cause it. Nothing, that was the answer that came to mind. Maybe I didn’t begin kissing his ass like he thought I would. You’d think with two people dead that the pissing contests would be placed on hold. Not the case. He nodded and escorted me over to the area. Not once did he warn me of the state of the bodies or that the ground was so saturated with blood that my weight would cause the ground to sink and blood to well up. I stopped only once to lift my foot. The blood had been tinted brown from the dirt but still held its crimson hue.

“Is there a problem?”
“Of course not.”

With that said I closed the distance to the bodies and picked up the first tarp. Out of the corner of my eye I could see the marshal averting not only his gaze but his body in the other direction. Before me, all I could see was red. I folded the tarp down so that the wind wouldn’t carry it off, then stood and walked around the two bodies, focusing on the one I’d uncovered. My mind couldn’t protect me forever by making this look like a pile of meat and red liquid. There had been a person there.

“Hey, Thiago, the forensic people said they’d make a copy of the pictures and results once they’ve cleared it with….oh dear god.”

To Be Continued…..

Author’s Notes: I am…so nervous about rewriting this fic. LOL. I have a solid plot thought out but…I feel there are some expectations I need to meet as far as making this just as good as or even better than the original. I’d hate to disappoint anyone out there that was already a fan before this. So here is where I ask and beg, for those reading to not be shy. Let me know what you think.