So You Used to Be Human - Book 3 (Original Version)

Chapter 38: The Goddamn Vampire King

"Damn, that was quick," Chastity noticed as she strapped herself into one of the captain's chairs. "Is that for us?"

"Response time in the city usually cuts in half at night. I'm actually surprised they took this long after the first explosion."

Claude adjusted the mirror as the squad car sped by, siren blipping and echoing in the night air. He noticed Hester staring into the distance.

"Has he gone comatose again?"

Chastity was hesitant. She reached out to snap her fingers in front of Hester's eyes; Hester turned his head to look at her.

"I will destroy that she-bitch. She is an abomination..." Hester's eyes unfocused and he turned to stare into the distance again.

"Why does he do that?" Chastity wanted to know. "It's like he just... switches off."

"He's six thousand years old. Think about that. Six thousand years of memories in a brain that can't hold any more information. Personally I think it's the brain trying to repair itself without killing the body, so maybe it's shutting off everything that isn't a vital function."

Chastity climbed into the front passenger seat and Claude glared at her.

"What do you think you're doing?" he asked. "You might want to be back there for when ol' crusty the vampire wakes up."

Chastity grinned slyly and Claude was instantly suspicious. He knew girls like Chastity, who had the advantage of not being brainwashed vampires, and when they were smiling and being friendly, that was the time to cover your balls and protect your throat.

Carpe jugulum, as Madame Vera would say. Seize the throat.

"You seem to know a lot about us vampires," Chastity said. "Is this why the master picked you?"

"Will you please stop calling him that? His name is Hester and he is fucking psychotic."

"He will usher in a new age of blood and we will put you humans in your rightful place!"

Claude just gave her a look.

"And you consider this a good thing?"

"Obviously! Vampires were born to rule—"

"How long have you been a vampire? You sound new."

Chastity was petulant and haughty. "I've been a vampire for over eleven years—"

"Then you know Harry has certain rules in place, even how long you have to be in training before becoming a vampire, right? All of that training is supposed to weed out any idiot with thoughts of world domination and vampires taking their 'rightful place' you know. It's not just because he wants to torture you for ten years."

Claude gunned the engine as he pulled the car out onto the onramp to the highway and smoothly joined the flow of traffic. There was a Highway Patrol unit that pulled up next to them almost immediately but Claude wasn't worried. Nobody was looking for them yet. By the time anyone noticed the car was missing, he would have moved on to another vehicle that nobody would be looking for; at least not for a month.

"You don't know what you're talking about," Chastity said, but she looked conflicted as her brain strained to start working again under Hester's glammer.

"Think about it. You will never hear Harry or any of the older vampires talking about wiping out the human race. They've gone and set up a system where you guys can co-exist peacefully and invisibly with us humans and you know why? It's not just numerical superiority. It's because at the end of the day, you don't take a hammer and destroy the machine, not when it's running smoothly, and especially not when your kind hates getting their hands dirty."