Page 87 of Dark Obsession

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Cody gripped Demmy’s hip, digging his fingers into flesh. He wasn’t going to let Demmy get ripped away from him. Not again.

“It’s the Critter Catchers.” Bastian’s voice was smooth, but Cody could hear the excitement, the bloodlust, in it.

“Who the fuck is this guy?” Dave said to Cody from the corner of his mouth.

“This guy, David Bower,” the vampire said, “is Bastian.” He waved a hand toward Annie. “And my ingenue, Annie.”

“Ingenue!” Annie said.

They laughed together, the casual sound grating along Cody’s skin. He checked the opening onto Main Street and saw Leo and Paul had moved closer. They had nowhere to go. They would have to fight their way through. He hefted the water rifle, pointing the barrel to the sky and resting it against his shoulder.

“How the fuck does he know who I am?” Dave said.

Cody ignored his brother and said, “Back to back,” as he turned to face Bastian, and Demmy pressed himself close behind him.

“Yes, yes,” Bastian practically cooed. “The better to see us.”

Cody pumped the water rifle.

“Oh, look at you, wearing your garlic necklaces and crosses and priming your scary water gun to spray us.” Bastian tipped his head to the side, looking around Cody, even as he and Annie continued to slowly advance. “You got lucky in that woman’s corn field. She caught us off guard and allowed you to escape.”

“You mean you ran away like a little bitch?” Cody said.

A slight hesitation in Bastian’s step. “Charming. We’ve been working to build up our, shall we say, tolerance. But poor Paul, he’s brand new, and he hasn’t been able to yet. How did it feel, Paul?”

“Not so good. Kind of made me mad, Linebacker.”

“Maybe I didn’t like your last cuts of meat.” Cody heard the growl in his voice.

“That’s cute,” Paul said. “But I’m surprised you haven’t figured me out yet. All the games I came to see. All the gentle ribbing I’ve given you over the years. I’ve always had a thing for you, Linebacker. And I’m looking forward to getting a taste of that Grade A prime, dark red, All-American blood.”

Cody’s head swam for a second. He swallowed hard and adjusted his grip on the plastic. From the corner of his mouth, he said, “Demmy. I’m going to do a Summertime Rules countdown.”

He felt Demmy’s head turn slightly, could picture the initial confusion, followed by the understanding in his expression.

“Okay,” Demmy said.

“All right, everyone shoot on my count,” Cody said. “Ready? One⁠—”

He and Demmy fired, and Cody laughed as his stream punched Bastian in the shoulder. Bastian staggered back a few steps, hissing in pain as he brought his hand up. From Demmy’s side, he heard one of the vampires grunt and snarl.

Despite the surprise attack and the hits, however, he hadn’t heard any cries of pain this time.

“You’re right, Paul,” Bastian said, starting forward again. “It doesn’t feel good.”

“Now!” Zenona shouted.

The rest of the group pulled their triggers, and Cody shot on reflex more than anything. The vampires were caught off guard again, and this time got soaked. All four howled in pain and fury. Annie took off, there one second and gone the next. Bastian dropped to one knee, head bowed and hands pressed to the concrete.

“Paul’s gone,” Demmy said. “Watch out.”

“Nothing creepier than a creeper for a butcher,” Cody said, keeping his eyes on Bastian as he pumped his rifle again.

“Remind me to make inappropriate meat handling jokes at your expense later,” Dave said.

Cody grunted. Younger brothers could be such dicks.