As soon as they were done with the planning, Ben went home to get some much-needed rest. His confidence in the plan was pretty low, but it was higher than it had been before Castling had turned up. With the element of surprise, and a gun full of silver bullets, they might just be able to kill Theo. And if not then Ben would just have to resort to fleeing. The world was a big place and he was confident that if it came to it, he could keep out of Theo’s reach at least until he found a way to defeat the much older vampire.

Falling asleep was not easy. He was too stressed, and every time he closed his eyes his mind suggested new ways in which the plan could go wrong. In the end, he resorted to opening the curtain and sitting in the sunlight until his energy was so badly drained that he could barely muster the strength to close the curtains and climb back into bed. When he did make it back beneath his duvet he fell straight into slumber.

He was woken several hours later by somebody ringing his doorbell. He sat up in bed, the room totally dark now that the sun had set and no light was making its way through the closed curtains.

Ben grabbed his dressing gown from the back of the door, and trudged downstairs, pulling it on, and fastening the cord. He’d been expecting to find Theo on his step, but there was nobody outside by the time he reached the door. He thought that they had impatiently left until he saw the little white envelope that had been left on the doorstep. He looked around at the deserted area before bending over and plucking it from the step. Sprawling golden letters spelt out his name making the envelope look like a wedding invite. He knew that it was not.

He retreated into his apartment and kicked the door closed behind him. He pulled the note out of the envelope on his way to the living room where he flopped down on the sofa.

Dear Benedict,

Please meet me at the Rockin Robin public house at 7 pm.

I look forward to seeing you.

Yours faithfully,

Theodric

Ben had no idea where the Rockin Robin was since he’d never heard of the place. A quick Google search showed that it was not far from the hospital. The place had obviously been chosen out of convenience. Either that or Theo had a penchant for oddly named pubs.

Ben got washed, dressed, and fed before heading to the pub. He feasted greedily on two strangers to ensure that he was as strong as he could be before heading into the fight. As he climbed into his car he made a mental note to find a nicer set of wheels when all the drama was behind him. His battered old car completely undermined his new image.

He arrived at the pub just before 7 pm and walked inside sheepishly. He’d always felt uncomfortable walking into pubs, especially for the first time. Ever since he’d been a child pubs had been places where men went; not the kind of men like Ben, but the big burly men who liked to dominate the spaces they occupied. Naturally, Ben knew that that was not the case, all sorts of people went to pubs, big men, small men, young, old, women of all varieties, and non-binaries too. But in his head, the image had been solidified and even in adulthood, he couldn’t shake it. He felt out of place.

When he entered the Rockin Robin, he expected to see groups of violent looking men sitting around with pints of overflowing larger, laughing loudly at crude jokes that they made to one another. He was almost disappointed when he was proved wrong.

There were three middle-aged men sitting quietly at the bar and having a perfectly respectable conversation. Sitting at a nearby table was a couple enjoying a meal together. And in the far corner, looking dapper in a suave light-blue suit, was Theo. Ben’s throat dried up like the Sahara when he saw that Theo was not alone. Sitting opposite him, smiling warmly over the top of her glass of red wine, was Izzy.

A droplet of anger fell into Ben’s stomach. Threatening him was one thing, but bringing his friend into matters was crossing the line completely. As his Gran would have said, this was a completely different kettle of fish.

He walked over to the pair, trying his best to at least look calm. Since Izzy looked totally relaxed and happy, she clearly did not know who Theo really was. Ben would prefer to keep it that way. At least until it was all over. There was no need to make her anxious over a situation that she had no control over. And if tonight went according to plan then Theo would be dead before tomorrow. By the time Izzy learned the truth the threat would no longer exist.

“Ah, Benedict,” Theo said with false joy when he saw Ben approach. “I encountered Miss Butler on my way to the hospital, and just moments ago, we discovered our mutual connection through yourself. Miss Butler was just telling me all about how the two of you have been close since you were little children.”

“You can call me Izzy,” Izzy said, her voice low and a touch embarrassed.

“Small world,” Ben mumbled.

Izzy’s brow creased in concern, but she didn’t ask why Ben looked so uncomfortable. She probably just put it down to him not liking pubs.

“Small world indeed.” Theo turned back to Izzy. “Well, Izzy, it has been an absolute pleasure meeting you. I do hope that we can repeat this tēte-à-tēte sometime soon. You have been most wonderful to talk to.” He stood up and buttoned up his suit jacket before throwing a couple of banknotes on the table and heading for the door.

Ben didn’t bother to tell him that this was not the sort of place where you threw money down on the table. “I’ll call you tomorrow,” Ben said quickly, and then hurried after Theo.

Izzy nodded, getting the message that he had no time to explain anything now. It was obvious that Izzy had deduced something was amiss. If he survived the night then he’d tell her everything in the morning. With Theo dead, she’d have nothing to worry about.

Ben found Theo leaning on a BMW that was parked outside the pub. When Ben came out, Theo straightened up and stood over him, he was so close Ben could feel his breath on his face.

“Hopefully, our conversation last night was enough to prove to you that any attempt to circumvent my will is fruitless. However, indulge me for a moment, whilst I make myself as clear as a Summer’s sky—of which you will be seeing very few of regardless of how tonight plays out.” He stopped to smirk at his own remark. “Should you turn on me tonight, you will fail. No matter what plans and schemes you have devised, they will fail. I am older than you, smarter than you, and a lot stronger than you. I will win any confrontation between us. You might survive my wrath, you might not. If you do, I will hunt you until I find you, and then I will crush your heart in my hand. Now, regardless of whether you survive or not, I will pay your little friend a visit, and I will feast on her eyeballs. Am I understood?”

Ben held his gaze for a long while. He weighed up the pros and cons of smacking Theo right on his ridiculously straight nose. He knew that he could not beat Theo in a fair fight, so punching him was pointless. He had to be clever and lead Theo to the hospital where the fight would be less even. He could gloat over Theo’s dying body. Until then he had to suck it up.

“Yes,” he said through his teeth.

“Excellent. Get in the car then.”

They both sat in the back of the BMW whilst another man drove them in silence. Ben had intended to ignore Theo the entire way to the hospital, but after only a few minutes of endless silence, he changed his mind.

“I’ve seen you before, you know?” he said.

“Yes, Benedict. I was at your apartment last night,” Theo said, smiling widely as if he’d just told the funniest joke in the world.

“I guess living for a few centuries doesn’t improve your sense of humour,” Ben said. The atmosphere turned icy, although Theo said nothing. “When I was ten you killed a woman in the park opposite my house. Do you remember that?”

Theo laughed lightly and turned away from Ben to look out the window at the dark streets. “Benedict, I’ve lived for over 500 years. Do you have any notion of the number of girls I have killed in parks?”

Revulsion crawled down Ben’s spine and he wanted to put as much distance between Theo and himself. Sadly, he was stuck in the car with him.

“I get it. For me, it was the event that started a lifelong obsession with vampires, but for you it was Tuesday,” he said, quoting one of his favourite internet memes. He didn’t bother hiding the disgust in his voice. No matter how long he lived, he would never end up like Theo.

“That is the gist of it.”

Ben balls his hands into fists tight enough to turn his knuckles white. Theo noticed and smiled.

“She had a younger sister who looked into her disappearance. Her name was Mia. She went looking for you. Did she find you, or was that just another Tuesday?”

“In 500 years there have been a lot of Tuesdays. Although, now that you mention it…” he made an exaggerated show of trying to think back. “I think I do remember. Mia Castling! Oh, she had such fire and spunk. She was nothing like her sister at all. And, oh, how that story ended. I wish I could tell you, but I’m afraid we’re out of time.”

The car stopped moving and looking out the window, Ben saw that they were right by the hospital entrance.

“Your job is simple. You are to go to the abandoned ward and disable all of Erin Bellicose’s traps. You will then return to me to inform me that it is done. This will take no more than ten minutes. If you are not back in ten minutes precisely, then I will assume you have chosen to side with the foolish girl in there. And then I will come in. And I will kill you all on sight. Then I’ll go and kill your little friend too.”

Theo raised his arm and looked down at the expensive gold watch that decorated his wrist. “Tick-tick, Benedict.”

Ben mesmerised his way through the hospital entrance, ensuring that all of the guards on duty forgot him completely as soon as he was out of sight. After the deed was done they would need to stop off at the security office to wipe the footage.

Erin had explained that they would need to burn Theo’s remains to ensure that he stayed dead—vampires were like cockroaches apparently and could survive a fair bit of damage. Castling wanted to set fire to the disused wing and then claim that the killer had died in the blaze. It was a decent enough plan that ended Theo and closed up the murder investigation as well.

Ben used his vampiric speed to move through the corridors unseen. The last thing he wanted was to run into somebody he knew and get stuck in a pointless conversation. When he arrived at Erin’s room, he found her and Castling ready and waiting.

“Are we good to go?” Erin asked, one eyebrow raised. She was playing it cool, but her nerves were betraying her.

“He’ll be coming after me in ten minutes. And then he’s going to kill us all,” Ben informed her.

“Excellent,” Castling said. He had a sheen of sweat across his forehead. Without another word, he made his way to hide in the bathroom, checking his gun as he went.

Ben turned around and held his hands behind his back for Erin to tie him up. He thought back to all of the steps they’d agreed on earlier and hoped that they were deft enough to pull the plan off.

“You know as soon as you return to him he’ll kill you, don’t you?” Erin asked. “Once he thinks you’ve disabled my traps, you’re nothing but a loose end. He won’t have any further use for you. Don’t be fooled by the act he puts on. They call him the gentleman vampire ironically. Behind that mask, he’s an animal. And his word cannot be trusted.”

“It sounds like I’m dead either way,” Ben said, a little petulantly.

Erin shook her head. “We all are unless we’re smart. When you come to disable the traps, we’ll make it look like I caught you. It won’t be hard to convince him that an older vampire took you down. That’s exactly how it would play out if you actually came to stop me.”

“Oh really?” Ben said testily.

“Let’s not get into a pissing contest here,” Castling said to them both, the way an adult might speak to two arguing children.

“I’ll tie you up loosely so that you can easily free yourself. I’ll leave you like a nice little hostage right by the trolley of goodies. Then it will be up to me to lure him into the middle of the room.”

Ben sat down next to Erin’s arsenal of silver nitrate. His hands were tied loosely behind his back, and he’d let her rough him up a bit for the visual aesthetic. His injuries had healed immediately, but his clothing was still dishevelled and torn from the false fight. He suspected that Erin had enjoyed their little scuffle more than she should have done.

Neither of them uttered a word to each other. Theo could arrive at any moment and they didn’t want to risk being overheard. Theo had to believe that Ben had been captured or he’d never enter the room.

Erin stood in the centre of the room, eyes trained on the door and waited.

Theo did not make them wait long. Ben didn’t hear him approaching. Theo simply appeared in the doorway as if he’d teleported there. His keen eyes roved around the room, making a deliberate effort not to look at Erin until he’d taken in everything else.

His gaze fell on Ben and his eyebrows lifted just a little. Then his eyes moved on until they landed on the shattered glass and abandoned net that had been torn from the ceiling and pushed to the side of the room.

“Well, at least you served your purpose before you were captured,” Theo muttered. Then, finally, he turned his attention to Erin. “Miss Bellicose.” He spoke as if he was greeting an old friend who he’d lost contact with.

“It’s Mrs actually. I’m widowed,” she replied curtly. Ben notice the tension that spread across her body as soon as Theo spoke her name.

“How sad.” The corner of Theo’s mouth twisted in a slight sneer and he changed the subject immediately. “Did you seriously think that would work?” Theo asked, pointing at the messy remains of Erin’s former trap.

Ben looked up at the suspended net filled with glass bottles of silver nitrate solution and grimaced. “Yeah, I can’t see him stepping into the middle of the room whilst that is there. Seriously, it took me less than a minute to spot that ridiculous contraption.”

Erin was about to argue, but Castling stepped in quickly. “I’m afraid I agree with Ben on this one. However, I might have a more effective alternative.”

“You give yourself too much credit. If your little errand boy hadn’t torn it down then you would’ve stepped right under it without even realising.”

Theo began to walk into the room with agonising slowness. Each word he spoke was punctuated by another step. “I sincerely hope that you are not insinuating that my mental capacities are in some way deficient. After all, I was clever enough to thwart every one of your escape attempts for eight loooooong decades.” By the time he finished, he was standing directly in front of Erin. His hideous gloating face hovered inches before her own.

Even though Theo was in position, Ben did not dare to move until Erin had attacked. The slightest movement could draw the ancient vampire’s attention.

The room seemed to have grown completely silent. It was as if somebody had sucked all of the air out of the room; not a person seemed able to breathe. Ben had never felt such tension in his life.

“Let’s see who escapes this time,” Erin whispered.

Theo’s brow creased in confusion. Erin flung her hand up in the air, and released the fistful of pennies she had concealed in her palm, sending the little coins right at Theo’s face.

Theo was too fast to be caught off guard even by such a bizarre attack. He swept his arm in an upward motion and sent the pennies on a new course away from him.

Ben watched the coins fly. Castling had said that it would only take one to hit the target, but if none of them did then it was down to the police officer and his bullets.

Erin ducked down, bringing her head to her knees, and covering herself with her hands.

“What on—” Theo began.

One of the pennies hit its mark. It flew into the overhead sprinkler and shattered the tiny glass bulb that stopped the water from coming out. Clear fluid cascaded off the little metal plate and sprayed down onto Theo’s upturned face.

Except it wasn’t water. Castling had filled the tank with all the silver nitrate solution that had been in Erin’s net. If Theo had been more observant he would’ve noticed that there was very little moisture where Erin’s trap lay discarded at the side of the room.

The silver fell all over Theo’s face and he screamed in anguish as he backed away. Erin flung herself at the older vampire, who was too preoccupied with his burning face to stop her. They both hit the ground, but then Erin was screaming too as she was also soaked with silver.

“But will you have enough time to move before the silver hits you?” Ben asked.

Erin shook her head. “No. I’ll have to take the hit too. I’ll make sure he doesn’t get away either.”

“Can you survive that?” asked Castling.

Erin nodded. “Silver doesn’t kill vampires, it only hurts us.”

“I’m immune to silver so wouldn’t it be better if I lured him into the middle of the room?” Ben asked.

“No, dip-shit. He’s here for me. If you’re standing in the middle of the room he won’t be interested. It has to be me.”

“Fine,” Ben said, annoyed he hadn’t thought of that before he’d asked. “Once he’s hurt and on the floor I assume that’s where I come in?’”

“Exactly.”

Ben pulled his arms apart and tore free from the rope that bound him. Standing up, he released his own handful of pennies in a wide arc, using vampiric strength to send them soaring up to the ceiling area, where they shattered several more bulbs. More sprinklers came to life, making it impossible to escape their vicious spray.

Both Theo and Erin rolled around on the floor, trying to shield themselves from the attack. Theo lunged for the door, but Erin was already there. She kicked it closed and then threw herself at Theo, taking him down once again. Both vampires’ flesh had turned sizzling pink as the silver burned their flesh.

The liquid silver was soaking Ben too, but it might as well have been water since it had no effect on him. He grabbed the two uncapped syringes that had been prepared on the trolley, and ran at Theo, brandishing them like daggers.

There was one very simple thing that they had not accounted for when they had devised the plan earlier in the day. Ben discovered that one, small but major, thing as he ran. The vinyl flooring was soaking wet, and just as he neared Theo, his shoes skidded over the puddling solution and sent him sliding across the room. Ben was just able to keep his balance, but he lost control of his movement as he went sliding across the floor.

Theo got control of the fight with Erin as Ben approached. He grabbed hold of a handful of red hair and, holding her shoulder with his other hand, he twisted Erin’s head round until her neck snapped.

“Oh!” Ben screamed as he saw Erin’s head turned completely the wrong way around. Theo dropped Erin carelessly on the floor, where she lie totally still, her eyes open but unseeing.

Theo turned to Ben just in time to catch him by both wrists and bring him to an abrupt halt mere moments before it was stabbing time. Ben grunted as he tried to struggle against Theo, but it was pointless. Theo’s dark eyes stared maliciously from beneath the ruined red pulp that remained of his face. Baring his fangs, Theo twisted Ben’s wrists hard enough to snap the bones and make Ben yell out in pain.

“You stupid little whelp!” Theo hissed, the pain still apparent in his furious voice. He turned Ben’s broken wrists all the way around so that both syringes were pointing directly at his own neck. Then Theo forced Ben to stab himself.

Ben screamed from the pain of being stabbed, but obviously, when Theo pressed down on the plungers, the solution did nothing to him. However, Theo did not know that, and everything was so chaotic that he hadn’t noticed Ben’s perfectly intact flesh, despite the silver that was pouring all over him.

When Theo released Ben’s wrists, Ben made a show of staggering backwards, pretending to be in pain. He pulled the syringes from his neck and threw them across the room. When Theo turned back to check on Erin’s still unmoving body, Ben reached behind him for the final weapon that was tucked into his belt.

“The syringes might not be enough to knock out a vampire as old as Theo, but they will make him weak enough for any of us to overpower him. That’s when you use this.” Erin reached into the duffel bag on the floor and pulled out a long wooden stake with a wickedly sharp point. She’d carved Theo’s name into the length of wood.

“Blackthorn,” Castling said, recognising the wood type. Erin nodded in confirmation.

“Only the deadliest wood for Theo.”

“You’re giving me the kill?” Ben asked, shocked that the person with the least emotional investment, and the weakest vampire, would be given the killing shot.

Erin laughed with derision. “Not a chance. Stakes only kill young vampires. Once you pass the 500 mark, they just put you down for a little while. Long enough for us to finish the job using that.”

She pointed across the room at the fire axe on the wall, safely held behind a pane of glass. “Whoever gets the opportunity first, takes the axe and cuts off his head. Then we burn the body. Job done. Goodnight, Theo.”

Ben pulled the wooden stake free and charged forward again. Theo turned back to him and this time he did notice that the silver had had no effect on the young vampire. His melting face creased in confusion, but it was not enough to give Ben the upper hand.

Again, Theo grabbed Ben’s wrist and spun the younger vampire around him as he plucked the stake from his grip. Before Ben had even regained control of himself, Theo wheeled around and snatched hold of Ben by the collar of his jacket.

“Enough of this!” With a vicious growl, Theo pulled Ben toward him and then thrust the stake straight into his chest.

“No!” Ben screamed, his voice high and shrill. His cry did nothing to stop Theo and sharp wood penetrated Ben’s flesh with ease. Ben gasped in pain, hoping with all he had that Theo had missed his heart. But he knew that his aim had been true. He knew from the fire that erupted from the centre of his chest, filling every cavity of his abdomen.

Ben tried to speak, but only a strangled gargle came out followed by a squirt of deep red blood. Theo relinquished his grasp on Ben’s jacket and this time Ben fell to the ground, his legs betraying him.

Tears leaked from his eyes as the pain spread, numbing his body as it went, and leaving him completely paralysed. Unable to move even his eyes, he lie on the ground, staring up at Theo. Darkness appeared at the edges of his vision as his life faded away.

Theo reached out and crushed the metal sprinkler in on itself so the flow of silver nitrate was cut off. Then he stood, a disgusting monstrous mess of a vampire, and looked down at Ben with pity.

“Such a short life as a vampire. What a terrible disappointment. You’re almost as disappointing as this shambles of a plan,” Theo said.

“Forgive me for being the party-pooper, but what if something goes wrong?” Castling asked.

“That’s where you come in,” Ben said, with a crafty smile. He was pleased to contribute at least one part of the plan, even if it was the backup part. “You have to be kept secret for as long as possible. If any part of the plan goes awry, you come out and shoot him with those snazzy silver bullets. They’ll hurt him, right?” Ben addressed his finishing question to Erin.

She nodded. “They won’t kill him, but they will put him down for a few minutes at least. Long enough to get the axe and cut off his head. I had planned to keep him alive and torture him, but I realise now that will never work. He needs to be ended as quickly as possible. So we cut off his head the first chance we get.”

“And then it’s burn-baby-burn,” Ben said, to a collective groan from the others.

“Just remember," Erin said to them both. "It isn’t over until his head is off. All the while he’s in one piece he can still kill us. Get his head off as fast as possible. It doesn’t matter who does it. It’s not about glory. It’s about getting the job done.”

The bathroom door flew open and Castling strode out, gun clutched in both hands, and pointed straight at Theo. Theo turned but he was caught off guard and was unable to anticipate the attack.

The gun roared three times and Ben saw the glistening silver bullets spinning through the air. He watched their progression, trying to will them with his mind alone to find their mark. They needed no help from him. All three bullets slammed into Theo’s chest and he staggered backwards, arms flailing to try and keep his balance. Castling released two more shots, and with an agonising shriek, Theo slammed down to the ground, splashing into the puddled silver nitrate.

The pain had spread across Ben’s entire body now, yet he still found it in him to gloat internally. His last thoughts would be of victory if he could just hold on for long enough for Castling to take over Theo’s head. But it wasn’t on the cards. The pain in his body faded to nothing as the darkness at the edges of his vision swooped in and stole the world away.

🦇 🦇 🦇

Erin’s eyes flicked open. Her neck felt like it had been penetrated by thousands of tiny glass shards that were working their way into her bones. She tried to reach up to feel her neck but her limbs refused to respond. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that her neck was broken and until her healing factor kicked in she would be unable to move.

She could see Theo on his back not far from where she lie. Castling was standing over him, a safe distance away, his gun clasped in both hands and still aimed at the downed vampire. Wherever Ben was he was out of her field of vision, but she assumed he must be down or else he’d be helping Castling.

“Not such a shambles after all?” Castling said. He lowered his hand and put the gun away in the holster on his waist.

“Who…who are you?” Theo whispered, his voice filled with pain. He was shivering on the floor as the silver ravaged his body.

It seemed that Castling was going to ignore him. There was something oddly satisfying about that. He turned his back on the vampire and smashed open the glass casing before lifting the axe free. He tested the weight of the weapon in his hands as he turned back and approached Theo.

“My name is Trevor Castling. Sixteen years ago you murdered my eldest daughter and then left her body to be found in a public park like she was NOTHING!” Castling’s entire face turned the colour of plums and spittle flew from his mouth. He took a moment to compose himself before he spoke again. “Then you took my other daughter too. And left me with nothing.” His fury gave way to sadness.

“Mia Castling,” Theo said in a pained whisper. His pain was due to the silver inside him and not the horror he’d inflicted on Castling. Erin knew that he didn’t give a damn about any of his victims.

“Well at least you know her name,” Castling said. He hauled the axe up over his head.

A sickening crack signalled the start of Erin’s healing as her neck bones began shifting back into place. With the movement came new pain, sharp and stabbing.

She watched with silent glee as Castling brought the axe down and the metal whistle through the air.

“Mia’s alive!” Theo got the words out and Castling stopped the axe, the blade millimetres from the vampire’s throat.

Erin wanted to scream at Castling to ignore Theo and finish the job, but she could do nothing but watch.

“What?” Castling demanded.

“I didn’t…kill Mia.”

“You’re lying.”

“Kill me and you’ll never know the truth.” Even as Theo spoke, Erin could hear that he was healing. If Castling didn’t take the shot now then it would be too late.

Her fingers tingled as she began to regain sensation.

“Where is she?”

“Safe. Safer than you could imagine. Drop the axe, Trevor. Drop the axe and I will take you to your daughter.”

Castling’s face twisted with indecision. He was too clever to fall for the vampire’s tricks. Erin knew it. Erin hoped it.

Erin’s neck snapped back into place and heat spread through her awakening limbs. She pushed her fingers into the wet floor and tried to rise, but she didn’t have the strength yet.

“Castling, don’t,” she said in a feeble whisper, it was all she could manage.

But when it came to a father and his daughter, intelligence was thrown right out the window. Castling tossed the axe to the side and it clattered noisily on the floor. The sound of it landing was a substitute for Erin’s silent scream of despair.

Erin pushed again and this time she lifted from the floor. But she was too late.

The window shattered and hundreds of bats flooded into the room. The squeaking swarm of flying little monsters, swirled around Castling and Theo, completely concealing them from view. The noise of the creatures was loud enough to make her cover her ears.

The swarm of bats spread outwards and then, as one, they all swept back through the window from which they had entered. Once they were gone, the axe lay alone on the floor, with only a small puddle of Theo’s blood for company.

“No!” Erin screamed. She ran up to the window and peered out but Theo was long gone.