Vampire Shift - By Tim O'Rourke Page 0,66

that would excite me.”

Smiling, he produced a cigarette from a pack in his trouser pocket, lit it, and blew smoke up into the night. Then with the cigarette still dangling from the corner of his mouth, he winked at me and was gone, soaring back up into the sky. I watched him go as he headed towards Luke and Murphy, who were struggling with Rom.

From behind me, there was a noise. Spinning round expecting more vampires to be rushing me, I saw Father Taylor come limping from the shadows of the church. The tips of his battered wings were trailing in the snow. Crouching down behind a gravestone, I watched him approach Phillips’ broken and bleeding body. Kneeling beside him, he leant over and seemed to study his friend’s injuries.

Part of me wanted to step from my hiding place and ask him what he had meant when he had told me that I was ‘unique’. But more than that, I wanted to ask him what had happened to my mother. But before I’d the chance to muster up the courage, there was the sound of beating wings above me. Looking over my shoulder, I could see Luke, Murphy, and Potter dragging Rom between them from the sky. Taylor must have heard them too, because as I looked back, he had lifted Phillips into his arms, then with a struggle, he flapped his wings in a series of jerky movements and flew away into the night.

Stepping out from behind the grave, I approached the others who now had Rom captured between them. He struggled, but it was pointless. Looking at them he said, “Just get it over with, but know, there are others like me.”

“Who?” Luke snapped.

Rom just smiled at him. Coming closer, Murphy saw me and said, “Kiera, go away, this has nothing to do with you.”

“It has everything to do with me,” I told him. “He knows what happened to my mother.” Then going face to face with Rom, I looked into his eyes and said, “Where is she?”

Looking back at me, Rom smiled and said, “If you can’t see her, then I’m real sorry about that.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“Look and you will see, Kiera. But be careful of what you look for – you might not like what you find!” he said, lowering his head, resolute to his fate.

I knew that he would say nothing more. It was as if his final pleasure would be to torment me. Taking me by the shoulders, Luke looked deeply into my eyes and said, “Kiera, you don’t need to see this.”

“But -” I started.

“He can’t be changed or cured,” Luke said. Then turning away from me, he spread his wings, along with Murphy and Potter, to shield me from what they were about to do.

Turning away, I could still hear the sound of biting, ripping, and tearing.

Chapter Twenty-Two

“Is that the last of them?” Murphy asked, and I watched him wipe Rom’s blood from his chin with his forearm.

Still turned away from Rom’s remains, I couldn’t bring myself to look, Potter strode forward and said, “Phillips’ body is over there.”

“It’s not,” I told him, as he ran his tongue over his lips, mopping up the red gunge that was there. “I saw Taylor fly away with the body.”

Luke came towards me, but didn’t make eye contact, and I wondered if he thought I was repulsed by him for what he had just done. In a way I was, but I understood the reasons why. Rom and the others weren’t like Luke, Murphy, and Potter, and if they hadn’t been destroyed, then they would’ve only continued to feed off humans and create more vampires. So understanding his shame, I went to him and took his hand in mine. I wanted to let him know that my feelings for him hadn’t changed.

“This isn’t good,” Murphy said, picking up his shirt. “We should’ve destroyed them all.”

“Do you want me to go after him?” Potter asked, lighting another cigarette.

“No,” Murphy said, arching his back, which made an audible cracking noise. His wings shrunk back beneath his flesh and he pulled on his shirt. “It will be dawn soon and we need to get rid of any remains. We also need to make sure that all of those vampires have been destroyed.”

Pulling a cigarette lighter from his pocket, Potter flipped it on. Waving the flame in front of his face, he looked at Murphy and said, “The usual way?”

Nodding, Murphy buttoned up the front of