The Angel Wore Fangs(28)

Tell me about it.

The other person must have been saying something because Cnut paused.

“Who are you talking to?” she asked.

My brother, he mouthed silently to her.

“Your brother! Shouldn’t you be calling the police? Or the owners of this place?”

He put a forefinger to his lips and continued his phone conversation.

“We just got here. There’s nobody around. Just Lucie slime and sinner harvests.”

Huh? What’s a Lucy? And a sinner harvest?

“I don’t know how many were here to begin with, or how many might be out and about the ranch. Based on the cars in the lot. I’m thinking at least a half-dozen guests, and several dozen employees, not to mention all the recruits. No, I haven’t investigated outside yet. Barns and outbuildings. Yeah, send my team here ASAP, and some of yours as well.”

More talking from the other end. So, Cnut has a team, huh? Of what? Detectives? Security guys? Basketball players?

Cnut was walking while he listened, peering out the windows, leaving the dining room, taking a quick look into an office where there was slime again, then on to the massive kitchen with its commercial-size gas range and stainless fridge and freezer. It was a dream kitchen to an experienced chef like herself. All high-end appliances and tools.

She went over and turned off several knobs on the range where breakfast had cooked down to a burnt mess—oatmeal turned to concrete and pancakes hard as hubcaps. In front of the stove was another pile of clothing, what appeared to be a long robe, sandals, and an apron. Cnut came up and peered over her shoulder, then continued on his cell phone.

Andrea was beginning to freak out. Whose clothes were they? Celie’s? Oh God! Oh God!

“Must have happened within the past hour. The leftover food hasn’t drawn maggots or flies yet, and the slime hasn’t evaporated.”

Suddenly Cnut stiffened and said, “Holy shit!” as he looked out of a side window. Quickly, he went to another window and said, “Holy fucking shit! They’re coming. Dozens. Gotta get outta here.”

She looked outside now, too, and yelped. Huge animals—at least she thought they were animals—were rushing across the pasture, headed this way. And they weren’t cows. Not by a bovine long shot. Unless they were the Jurassic kind. From this distance, they did look like scaly prehistoric kind of creatures. Maybe they were cattle of some kind; this was a cattle ranch, after all. Yeah, mad cow–diseased creatures. But cows that ran on two legs? No. The closer they got, she could see long fangs coming out of their mouths, clawed hands, and red eyes, but even so, they seemed sort of human.

Cnut grabbed her hand and was dragging her back through the hallway toward the front door.

“What are they?”

“Demon vampires,” he said, at a run now.

“Oh, that is just great,” she said, running to keep up with his wide strides. “You say that as if it’s an everyday occurrence. What’d you do at work today, honey? Nothing. Just ran into a few demon vampires. Jeesh, don’t go so fast.”

“We have to get out of here. Right away.”

“No kidding. But we have to find my sister first.”

He came to a skidding halt at the front hall. Through the open front door, she could see more of the monsters coming. This was fast becoming a bad horror movie, and she was the star.

“Forget your sister. For now. They’re already in the parking lot,” he pointed out, glancing toward a window in the second parlor. “Upstairs. Quick.”

“I don’t understand,” she cried, even as she rushed upward. She was halfway up when she turned and saw that Cnut hadn’t followed her. Instead, he pulled some kind of weapon out of a back pocket in his jeans, pressed a button, and whoosh, it became a long, thin-bladed sword. A switchblade sword? Holy cow! In the other hand, he had the handgun. And he appeared to have grown big fangs, and his blue eyes had turned an odd silver color. In fact, he made a low growling sound not unlike a wolf, although she’d never actually encountered a live wolf before, and said, “C’mon, make my day!” He was talking to one of the creatures who suddenly appeared on the porch, not her. It must have come from the parking lot. The large band of things was still some distance away. But getting closer.

She almost fainted and had to hold on to the stair rail for support.

Cnut wasn’t looking her way. He was concentrating on the lone animal/monster/human thing that was raising its own sword. A bigger, longer one. No matter. Cnut lunged with his weapon, nicking the creature in the arm, then swiping the point across its scaly chest where two breasts burst open like melons. The thing had breasts, for heaven’s sake! A female beast, then. Oh Lord! Oh Lord! Cnut ducked and swiveled to the side when the creature swung its sword in a wide arc intended to decapitate him. Can anyone say ISIS? Then Cnut went in for the kill, literally, running his long, thin spear directly through the heart of the creature.