The Sun had gone down and Reinhard stood in front of the Familiar, “You will be coming with us,” he handed his rifle to him, “Our enemies eluded us last night which means they are resourceful. They might exploit certain weaknesses that we have that do not pertain to mortals. When we find them, be ready.”

“Yes, Master,” he proudly held his rifle firm.

Suddenly, Mr. Tats burst into the room, “Master, I think they’re coming to us.”

“Perhaps they’re not so intelligent after all,” Reinhard adjusted his cap and tightened his leather gloves, “Prepare the compound for battle.”

Creed and Alysa drove the truck up the dirt road to the front gate. The grill of the truck had an old stove door chained to the front gate that Creed had gotten from the antique shop, allowing them to ram through the gate and drive up to the compound.

“That got their attention,” Creed told Alysa, “Remember, we start outside, then go in and take the whole place down.”

“Let’s go hunt’n,” Alysa said and they rushed out of the cab of the truck and moved to the bed.

Creed removed a tarp, exposing a gas powered generator connected to a set of flood lights that Alysa propped up on the roof. Inside, vampires raced to the windows and front door, ready to attack en masse. Once Creed got the generator going, the lights illuminated the area with halogen bulbs, flooding UV rays into the building. Two vampires at the door let out pained roars as they briefly lit up like cigarettes before exploding into ash and embers. The vampires by the windows were hit with less UV rays as they were able to duck back into the shadows and while they didn’t die, their skin turned red and puckered while smoke billowed off them.

“Next phase,” Creed told Alysa and they both rushed into the compound. Creed had a good idea of the layout of the building from the day before and knew it was a better option than allowing them to leave where they had more mobility. He also came prepared with weapons. At the antique shop, Creed was able to secure cheap furniture and break them down into stakes that they had strapped around their chests. He also got a set of silver dining utensils he duct taped to his fists as crude knuckle dusters. Meanwhile, Alysa wore a string of garlic around her neck which she got from her pantry as well as a water gun she filled with blessed water. She also wore a backpack with one more item inside.

Inside, they found more vampires in the foyer who were forced against the shadowy walls due to the beams of light shining through the front door and windows, restricting their movements. The flood of light also ensured the rest of the vampires could not get to their area, which restricted the advantage of their numbers. “We can’t get to you,” one of them sneered as he clung to the upper wall near the ceiling, “But if you want to get to us, you gotta step inside the shadows.” Alysa raised her water pistol, “Nah.” The water wasn’t blessed by a Catholic priest but she thought an Iseda priestess in training would have worked just as well. She was right. The water sprayed across the vampire, burning a swathe across his face that discolored and burned a portion of it away as if it were acid. He dropped from the wall and began kicking his feet in pain and rage as more flesh was seared away.

Creed, meanwhile, threw himself into the shadows and began throwing punches, the silver forks and knives tearing chunks out of the vampires’ faces and sending their fangs across the room. The remaining vampire in the section grabbed Creed by the arms and forced him against the wall with immense strength. At the same time, a vampire tore wood paneling from a nearby door frame and hurled it at Alysa’s water gun, knocking it from her hands. It slid into a dark corner somewhere and she knew she couldn’t waste time looking for it.

“Do what you want to her but don’t drink from her,” the vampire warned the others, “Her blood is impure.”

Alysa reached out, telekinetically grabbing hold of the vampire, then pulled him into a beam of light, which caused him to explode, “Impure or not, this little black girl just kicked your ass.”

The vampire holding Creed tore the silverware from his fists but in so doing, loosened his grip, which gave Creed the opportunity to snatch him by the throat, then shove a stake under the ribs and into his heart. The vampire gurgled as blood poured out of his mouth and into Creed’s face, “Ah, that’s nasty.”

He pulled two more stakes from the holster around his chest and Alysa did likewise. They set their sites on the last vampire in the room and rushed him. He leapt up to the ceiling, away from the light and attempted to drop down, but Creed shoved stakes into his shoulders and flipped him to the floor where Alysa dropped down, stabbing him through the heart and releasing a fountain of blood.

Outside, the Familiar had slipped out the back door and rushed to Creed’s truck where he took aim with his rifle and shot the halogen bulbs, popping them in showers of sparks. Inside, Creed and Alysa noticed the lights had gone off. They were now going by a small amount of moonlight coming through the windows and open door.

“That’s not a good thing,” Alysa whispered.

“Get the kerosine,” Creed whispered back.

Alysa immediately took off her pack and set it on the floor, then produced a canister of kerosine (also from her pantry). From a nearby hallway, Reinhard emerged along with Mr. Tats and the remaining vampires.

“It was a good strategy,” Reinhard told him, “But I fought in a war long before you were born.”

“Last I checked, it was a war you lost,” Creed told him.

“Cute but you should know you’ve lost. We are the superior race. Aryan. Vampiric. Invincible.”

“You got the first two right. That last one? Not so much,” he turned to Alysa, “Light the bastards up.”

Alysa threw the kerosine at the largest gathering of vampires, having already cast a spell beforehand. The kerosine exploded, sending flames and glass shards into the vampires while she and Creed were protected by an enchantment. The vampires went up fast, their flesh peeling away to expose charred skeletons. In the same instance, the flames spread onto the floor and along the wall. “Tear them apart,” Reinhard shouted and Mr. Tats leapt into battle. Meanwhile, the fire spread around Alysa, cutting her off from the remaining vampires.

Mr. Tats tackled Creed to the floor and opened his mouth, ready to bite down on his throat but Creed snatched him by the jaw, slowing him down while his free hand searched for something that caught his eye a moment earlier. He felt the silver fork on the floor that had previously been ripped from his hand and picked it up, then plunged it into Mr. Tats’ eye. Mr. Tats screamed as blood squirted from his socket and once Creed rolled him over to the floor, he stabbed him a few more times to make sure. Reinhard hissed, exposing his jagged fangs, “You are inferior! This is only a setback! I shall-” Alysa tore the garlic from her neck and threw it at him. As he reeled back, the weakened floor gave way and he soon fell through along with some collapsing debris. The few vampires left tried their best to escape the flames but all windows and the door was blocked by the spell with only Creed and Alysa allowed to leave. As they raced to the truck, they noticed the Familiar staring in horror as the compound went up in flames but ignored him, opting to leave the area instead.

Hours later, the Familiar was left watching the collapsed building burn, the fire having been mystically focused on the top floor. Suddenly, he felt the soft soil under him shift and was surprised to see a hand pushing its way out of the ground. Reinhard clawed his way out of the hole he created, his face covered in soot and dirt. When he fell through the floor, he ended up in the basement and busted his way through the wall and dug through the bedrock to escape the fire.

“Our coven is gone,” the Familiar said sadly after helping him out of the ground.

“This isn’t the first time this has happened to me,” Reinhard stared at the Familiar with hungry eyes, “But we can start anew. You have been very loyal but you can be so much more… You can be the first in my new coven. Are you ready?” “Yes!,” he answered excitedly, “Yes, I am more than-”. He didn’t have time to finish the sentence since Reinhard pulled him back by his hair and sank his teeth into his jugular, spraying blood across the lapels of his uniform. The Familiar collapsed and Reinhard drank a little more. But only enough to turn him.

****

On Graduation night, the students happily threw their hats into the air then took time to hug, take selfies and cry with one another. Alysa hugged Grace tightly, “Party still on at your house?” Grace smiled, “Hell yeah!” Miss Gerring rushed to her along with other people from her temple, “Your mama would be so proud!” Alysa thanked her and noticed Creed sitting quietly on the bleachers across the gym, so she excused herself and ran up to meet him.

“Finally outta here, huh?,” he asked.

“Yeah, I am.”

“Real shame about that Jessica girl,” Creed looked into the crowd at the embarrassed teenage girl who had a new change of clothes, “Wetting herself in front of everyone? Guess she was nervous.”

“Yeah, don’t worry about that,” Alysa quickly changed the subject, “So I’m gonna go out to a party tonight but I’ll be at work Monday.

“Sooner or later, you’re gonna move on to greener pastures.”

“I dunno. I actually kinda like fighting vampires and stuff.”

“What about being a priestess?”

“I can do both. Mom did, basically.”

“Suit yourself,” he shook his head.

Just then, Mama Johnson and Papa Abadie arrived. Creed stepped back politely as the priestess and priest showed interest in speaking with her.

“Congratulations, Alysa,” Mama Johnson told her.

“Thank you,” she motioned toward Creed reluctantly, knowing drama was about to happen, “Mama Johnson, Papa Abadie, this is Farrell Creed. Creed, this is the new priestess and priest in town.”

“Nice to meet ya,” Creed extended a hand and they slowly shook it with a few muttered greetings.

“I know we sound like broken records,” Mama Johnson told Alysa, “But you’ve graduated. You are an adult. It’s time to make a decision regarding your future. You can work with us or repeat mistakes of the past.”

“You keep talking about mistakes,” Alysa finally snapped, “What exactly were those mistakes? Who made them?”

“We believe your mother made mistakes by working with Mr. Creed in his investigations.”

“Wait a minute,” it was now Creed’s turn to snap, “She saved lives. Isn’t that someth’n your religion is supposed to be about?”

Abadie calmly added, “We think Ella Saraki would still be alive if she hadn’t gotten involved in Mr. Creed’s affairs.”

“My mom was killed by Iconoclasts. They would’ve come after us with or without Creed being around,” Alysa said angrily.

“Choose, Alysa,” Abadie told her, “We can make you a priestess but you have to make a decision first.”

With that, they took their leave with Alysa and Creed silently watching them go.