Read Online The Vampire Hunters (Book 2): Vampyrnomicon by Scott M. Baker - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Scott M. Baker
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would grow before they were through. Most important, from Drake’s viewpoint, they had not killed any innocent bystanders. The reason for their success boiled down to one factor—the people around him.
Alison had been a godsend, ever since she had been assigned as his partner back on the Boston Police. Their first assignment had been the Night Stalker case. Alison remained loyal to him throughout, during both the hunting down and killing of the undead, and during the witch hunt that followed. The mayor and police chief offered to drop all charges against Alison and to let her stay on the force if she testified against Drake. Hell, Drake even advised her to take the deal, telling Alison that he would not hold it against her. Rather than take the easy way out, Alison resigned from the force and followed him to Washington to continue the hunt. Since then, she had been his best friend. His business partner. His comrade in arms. Everything, except his lover. He had contemplated the possibility before. There was definitely an attraction there, at least on his part. Alison was beautiful, confident, and could hold her own in battle against scores of undead. If she made love with the same intensity she showed when fighting, the sex would be fantastic. Deep down, Drake realized that acting on those impulses would at best harm that relationship, and more than likely get them killed. As much as Drake would love to spend a night with Alison, he did not need a lover as much as he needed someone he could rely on in battle. Someone whose instincts and combat skills were constantly honed. Sex would complicate everything. Besides, Alison was ten years his junior, which wouldn’t be fair to her. She would still be relatively young and energetic when he began his long descent into old age.
Fortunately, Drake faced none of those concerns with Jim. Jim had been thrust upon them three weeks ago by Smith. The kid had been a college freshman with a knack for engineering, and should have landed himself a good job that did not involve exterminating the undead. But a practical joke involving flash bombs that he played on a pack of college bullies backfired, leaving two of the bullies with first- and second-degree burns, and the other disfigured and blind in one eye. The dean was preparing to throw Jim to the wolves when Smith intervened, offering him pretty much the same deal he had offered to Drake and Alison several months earlier—work for him hunting the undead, and all charges against Jim would be dropped. Although a shotgun wedding, this arranged marriage turned out well. Jim was understandably skittish when it came to battling the undead. However, he more than proved himself in the lab, putting his engineering skills to use developing new weapons for the hunt. Infra-red goggles tuned to detect a vampire’s near-ambient temperature. A razor-sharp garrote for quickly beheading the undead. Hollow point .40 caliber rounds filled with holy water. And Heaven’s Fire, homemade napalm made of two parts gasoline and one part laundry detergent mixed with chunks of crystalline holy water. Thanks to Jim, the hunters possessed a technological edge over the vampires that already had saved their lives on several occasions.
Out of the corner of his eyes, Drake saw that he had company. Van Helsing had finished dinner and joined him on the balcony. He sat on his haunches, running his front paws down one of his lop ears, grooming himself. Drake smiled. He patted his stomach and called to van Helsing. The rabbit stopped cleaning and perked up his ears. Seeing his opportunity, he raced over and hopped up onto Drake. Turning to face his owner, van Helsing settled down on all four paws and laid his chin on Drake’s chest, begging to be petted. Taking van Helsing’s ears between the thumb and forefinger of his free hand, Drake began massaging. Within seconds, van Helsing clicked loudly.
The hell with it, Drake admonished himself. He would worry about the
Alison had been a godsend, ever since she had been assigned as his partner back on the Boston Police. Their first assignment had been the Night Stalker case. Alison remained loyal to him throughout, during both the hunting down and killing of the undead, and during the witch hunt that followed. The mayor and police chief offered to drop all charges against Alison and to let her stay on the force if she testified against Drake. Hell, Drake even advised her to take the deal, telling Alison that he would not hold it against her. Rather than take the easy way out, Alison resigned from the force and followed him to Washington to continue the hunt. Since then, she had been his best friend. His business partner. His comrade in arms. Everything, except his lover. He had contemplated the possibility before. There was definitely an attraction there, at least on his part. Alison was beautiful, confident, and could hold her own in battle against scores of undead. If she made love with the same intensity she showed when fighting, the sex would be fantastic. Deep down, Drake realized that acting on those impulses would at best harm that relationship, and more than likely get them killed. As much as Drake would love to spend a night with Alison, he did not need a lover as much as he needed someone he could rely on in battle. Someone whose instincts and combat skills were constantly honed. Sex would complicate everything. Besides, Alison was ten years his junior, which wouldn’t be fair to her. She would still be relatively young and energetic when he began his long descent into old age.
Fortunately, Drake faced none of those concerns with Jim. Jim had been thrust upon them three weeks ago by Smith. The kid had been a college freshman with a knack for engineering, and should have landed himself a good job that did not involve exterminating the undead. But a practical joke involving flash bombs that he played on a pack of college bullies backfired, leaving two of the bullies with first- and second-degree burns, and the other disfigured and blind in one eye. The dean was preparing to throw Jim to the wolves when Smith intervened, offering him pretty much the same deal he had offered to Drake and Alison several months earlier—work for him hunting the undead, and all charges against Jim would be dropped. Although a shotgun wedding, this arranged marriage turned out well. Jim was understandably skittish when it came to battling the undead. However, he more than proved himself in the lab, putting his engineering skills to use developing new weapons for the hunt. Infra-red goggles tuned to detect a vampire’s near-ambient temperature. A razor-sharp garrote for quickly beheading the undead. Hollow point .40 caliber rounds filled with holy water. And Heaven’s Fire, homemade napalm made of two parts gasoline and one part laundry detergent mixed with chunks of crystalline holy water. Thanks to Jim, the hunters possessed a technological edge over the vampires that already had saved their lives on several occasions.
Out of the corner of his eyes, Drake saw that he had company. Van Helsing had finished dinner and joined him on the balcony. He sat on his haunches, running his front paws down one of his lop ears, grooming himself. Drake smiled. He patted his stomach and called to van Helsing. The rabbit stopped cleaning and perked up his ears. Seeing his opportunity, he raced over and hopped up onto Drake. Turning to face his owner, van Helsing settled down on all four paws and laid his chin on Drake’s chest, begging to be petted. Taking van Helsing’s ears between the thumb and forefinger of his free hand, Drake began massaging. Within seconds, van Helsing clicked loudly.
The hell with it, Drake admonished himself. He would worry about the
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