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Guillermo was starting to wonder if all vampires attracted bad luck or if it was just his housemates. Ever since the first council incident the various situations they'd gotten into had only increased in danger. From witches to the theater, his chosen family had a knack for endangering themselves.
With a heavy sigh he continued sweeping the front hall. It was already fairly clean but the patter of rain he heard at the windows discouraged him from any outdoor chores, even with the daylight half gone. Life had, more or less, settled back to normalcy in the past few weeks but it had taken ages to deprogram Nandor from his stint at the wellness center. Guillermo was just happy to see him acting like his old self again, back to being the vampire he'd known for over a decade. Guillermo didn’t want to linger on things said before the incident but he found his mind wandering back to the night Nandor left.
“I've grown to have some… affection for you.”
He refused to let himself think too hard on it. At the time he'd tried to reply with his own affirmation but, as usual, his master had cut him off. Neither had mentioned it since. They were back to being a vampire and his bodyguard. As far as Guillermo was concerned, for now, that was enough. There was no need to rock the recently repaired boat by bringing up feelings. For the time being both of them would simply continue the way things had been before.
A loud knock on the door snapped Guillermo out of his half focused cleaning. He definitely wasn’t planning on any visitors and nowadays the vampires tended to at least mention if they were having guests. Maybe the Guide had finally learned to enter the house normally? He doubted it. He hurriedly put the broom aside and walked up to the door. From behind him he heard shuffling feet and knew the camera crew was setting up. Despite having them around for years Guillermo still wasn’t entirely used to their presence. He begrudgingly let one dart over and clip a mic to his lapel. One hand reached for the doorknob and the other hovered near the stake tucked into his beltloop. He made sure to keep some kind of weapon with him since becoming a bodyguard. He took a deep breath and cracked open the door.
“Is this the residence of one mister Cruz?”
“It's de la Cruz.” Guillermo corrected before he could stop himself. The woman on the other side of the door nodded. She had a simple grey suit jacket paired with matching slacks. Equally grey eyes looked at him from behind thick framed glasses on a silver chain. Her once permed brown hair had been damped by the rain and pale hands clutched a clipboard to her chest. The only spot of brightness on this lady was her fuchsia purse. Guillermo relaxed the hand by his stake slightly. She was out in the daytime so she likely wasn’t an assassin.
“Of course. Would I be safe in assuming I’m looking for you?” asked the lady. “Guillermo de la Cruz?”
“That's me. What can I do for you?” Guillermo hazarded a guess that she worked in sales, going by the office look and clipboard, so he plastered on his best customer service voice. It was a tactic that usually worked for getting people to shut up faster.
“I wanted to ask a few questions for a local survey. For the town council?” said the lady. She paused a moment and looked thoughtful. “Hmm… “Protector of the cross”… quite the name.”
“You speak spanish?” said Guillermo. The woman shook her head with a small laugh.
“Not really. I started learning once for a vacation I'd had planned but that… didn’t happen. I guess I just liked the meaning of certain things.” she explained. She had a far off look in her eyes for a few seconds. “Anyways, the survey isn’t very long. Only seven questions.”
“I guess that's fine. Ask away, uh…”
“Ruby, Ruby Piscine. A pleasure.” She smiled and clicked her pen a few times. “This survey is focused on what kinds of families are living in our local area and what they'd like to see implemented by the council. Infrastructure, bylaws, that sort of thing. Your neighbor told me this house has a… unique situation… so I thought you would be the perfect people to ask.”
“Oh, he did?” said Guillermo. Dammit Sean. “Well, I’m the only one home at the moment so…”
“That's completely fine. We only need one household member of age to give us information. Your name was top of the list for this residence.” Ruby clarified.
“That's fair I guess. What's the first question?” Guillermo said. At least one of the vampires couldn’t fuck this up like usual. He really did care about them but their communication skills with humans were… lacking.
“How many adults and or children currently reside here?” Ruby said.
“Um… five adults, no children.” Guillermo said. He wasn’t about to count the Nadja doll as a child and she didn’t go outside so no one would know about her as an adult. Ruby nodded and scribbled down his answer.
“Wow. Must be fun having that many housemates.” she commented. She kept her voice chipper but an air of sadness crept into it. “I've lived on my own for… ages. I wish I had a place like this.”
“It's not all it's cracked up to be, really.” Guillermo assured her. Ruby had a tired look around her that he emphasized with. She gave him a slightly more genuine smile and continued.
“Second question. How long have you been living here?” she said. Guillermo took a moment to plan his response.
“Personally, I’ve been here for around twelve years. The others lived here way before me. I don’t know how long honestly. They'd probably say it feels like forever.” he said.
“I can only imagine calling somewhere home that long. My mom and I always moved around a lot.” Ruby said. A wistful expression passed over her face. “Anyways, next question. What services in our town do you find yourself using the most?”
“Uh, probably the dry cleaners or laundromat but I kinda do all the laundry for everyone so that’s… biased.” Guillermo said. Ruby smiled and leaned in.
“I won’t tell them if you’re using the coin trick for the laundromat. I used to all the time.” she said. “When it's everything at once you gotta save where you can.”
“Preaching to the choir on that one.” Guillermo said. He couldn’t resist smiling back as he recalled shoving quarters into the machine slots just right to get an extra cycle out of them.
“Okay, next up. What services would you like to see more of?” Ruby asked. Guillermo found himself thinking on his reply longer then the last one.
“Maybe… more open spaces and time slots at the community center? It's a shame to see small clubs with so much passion fizzle out after one or two meetings.” he said eventually. He, of course, left out that those small one-off clubs were perfect hunting grounds for finding virgins. It surely couldn’t hurt to encourage something that made his job easier.
“That's a great idea, Guillermo. I wish the council saw things like you did.” Ruby said. She heaved a sigh that Guillermo found himself mirroring. “The community center was always a safe space for me and… people like me. Sadly the town budget doesn’t account much for free programs.”
“Yeah, I get that…” Guillermo was starting to pick up a familiar vibe from Ruby. “… can I ask what ‘people like you’ means?”
“Oh, um, y’know…” Ruby waved a hand and looked away. “People who are… different from normal. Whose lives are… overlooked.”
“I think I do know. When I was younger I definitely found some comfort in the youth programs… especially the queer support groups.” Guillermo said slowly. Ruby beamed as if he had just cleared the storm clouds. That settled the vibes then.
“It's not easy find community in a smaller town like this. I’m glad you found your place.” Ruby said. Her grin faded a little. “I'm, uh, still looking for mine.”
“Hey, I get it. Don't worry. Things will be better eventually.” Guillermo assured her. Her smile in response was small but it reached her eyes. Guillermo leaned on the doorframe and relaxed more. Being interviewed by someone like Ruby made him think about all the times he felt alone in the world. He knew his upbringing wasn’t uncommon but he rarely met others who related to low income childhood struggles. Learning she wasn’t cishet either was a bonus. Other queer people could still be assholes but they tended to be easier to talk to.
“Fifth question.” Ruby said. She also looked more at ease than before. “The council is concerned with the somewhat steady rate of missing persons in our area. Do you feel safe living here and if not what can we do to fix that?”
“Well that's, uh, I- I feel safe. It may not be the best neighborhood but it's home.” Guillermo said. It must have been years ago when thinking of the Staten Island house as home would be a surprise. Now it was simply fact. This was his home because this was where his family lived. He would protect both. As the thought of protection came to mind Guillermo was hit by a realization.
Ruby Piscine.
Red Fish.
Red Herring.
An icy chill filled his body. Guillermo willed his senses to start paying attention to everything that wasn’t the councilwoman. How didn’t he catch that before? He should have been suspicious the moment she introduced herself. Sure, she didn’t give off any threatening vibes but what if that was the point? He’d been distracted by her for several minutes. Even one would have been long enough for someone to break in, uncover a window, open a coffin and…
“That's good to hear, Guillermo. Being able to feel safe in your home… it's a privilege.” Ruby interrupted his thought process. “Question six. Related to the last question, are there any parts of town where you feel we need to increase our security measures?”
“Uh, no, not… particularly.” Guillermo said. His attention wasn't focused on Ruby anymore. The sooner she asked her last question the sooner he could comfortably slam the door in her face. He shot a glance to the camera crew and was surprised to see them as worried as he was. Their expressions told Guillermo that they knew something he didn’t. Not for the first time Guillermo thought their no interception approach was bullshit.
“Most of the neighbors would disagree with you there. They’re scared of the disappearances and poorly lit parks. I definitely side with them. My sister disappeared a few years ago when she was taking a walk nearby. Just a few streets over." Ruby said. Guillermo was acutely aware of the haze settling over his mind. It reminded him of when Colin Robinson would drain him. Was Ruby an energy vampire? That couldn’t be right. She wasn’t trying to bore him or annoy him. She was just doing her job. He could almost feel his brain processing things slower. Without noticing he'd began to slump down the edge of the doorframe and ended up sitting on the floor.
“Final question.” Ruby declared. She clicked her pen closed with a flourish. Her grin was shark like as she leaned over to look at him. Her eyes flashed a brilliant blue.
“Do you think you can save them?”
Guillermo couldn't answer. He was fighting to keep his eyes open. Ruby stepped over him and into the foyer. Her beige heels clacked on the wood. Guillermo tried to reach for his stake but couldn’t hold his grip. More people followed Ruby into the house and walked off towards the bedrooms. He spotted a glimpse of a cape as it fluttered past. There was an image adorning the back. A circle of what seemed to be fangs surrounded the silhouette of a bat. Even with all his time at the council he didn’t recognize it.
Ruby knelt down next to Guillermo and brushed a strand of hair away from his face. He tried to pull away from the contact but didn’t have any strength left. Ruby’s face held maybe the smallest speck of guilt but it was soon replaced with a pitiful pout.
“Don’t worry, little slayer. You can rest now. We're going to take care of everything. Just stay home and live your short human life without stressing over undead monsters.” she whispered. Guillermo wanted so badly to shout, to attack, to do anything, but his vision was starting to fade out. Ruby patted his cheek and stood.
“You know, I never had a real family. With my mom and I moving around so much she never had time to take care of me. I was always alone no matter what I did-"
The darkness took him while she rambled.
Guillermo awoke with a shiver. He cracked open an eye and saw that the invaders were gone. He groaned and pushed his way off the floor. Once he'd fully recovered from his collapse he turned around to see the camera crew hadn’t moved.
“What the fuck was that?” he said coldly. None of the humans answered. Guillermo scoffed and started looking around the house.
“Nadja? Lazlo?” No reply. He felt a pit form in his stomach.
“Nandor?” Still silence. He tried to swallow the lump in his throat.
“Colin Robinson?’
“Hello!~”
“Fuck- of course you’re still here.” Guillermo sighed as the energy vampire approached.
“Yeah, they didn’t bother coming downstairs for me. I didn’t even notice anyone was in the house until they dropped a coffin while leaving.” said Colin Robinson. His usual smile dropped from his face. “I'm gonna level with you Gizmo, this isn’t good.”
“What happened?” said Guillermo.
“Offshoot of the supreme vampiric council, based on their cape sigils. One of the more radical branches. Real wildcards. They even used an emotional vampire to get past you. Now that's modern thinking. Most people don’t think of energy vampires as particularly useful for operations like this-"
“Colin.”
“Yeah, alright. Sorry.” He cleaned his glasses with an uncharacteristically nervous look. “I kind of go into drain by default when I’m upset.”
“Do you know where they took everyone?” Guillermo asked. It wasn’t often that Colin Robinson actually listened to him and it made everything feel worse somehow.
“Probably to the council building. No one bats an eye at coffins being brought there. Since Nandor, Nadja and Lazlo are currently the council leaders no one is gonna be there to stop them from heading in.” Colin Robinson said. “There's also lots of things in there they can use to keep them restrained, or worse.”
“Okay. Let's go then.” Guillermo said. He turned on his heel and started up the stairs.
“I’ll drive you there but I’m not heading in. I’m not suicidal.” Colin Robinson called after him.
Guillermo tried to plan his approach as he got ready. He let bodyguard mode take over and guide his actions. It was all he could do to keep himself from panicking. Going off of what Colin said these vampires were very dangerous and very smart. Fingers deftly packed holy water as his mind raced. He had no idea what these rogue vampires wanted with his housemates but whatever it was it wasn’t good. What Ruby had said to him stuck in his mind.
“Do you think you can save them?”
“You bet your undead ass I can save them.” he mumbled to himself as he strapped on his belt of stakes. He had saved them from the council assassination attempts. He had saved them from the Theater nouvèâu des vampires. He'd saved them at the casino. He'd saved them so many times it was almost funny. Most recently he'd saved Nandor from the wellness center. He stuffed a bottle of garlic powder into his satchel and made sure his crucifix was under his shirt. The enemy would definitely know he was coming and try to set up an ambush. This wasn’t going to be an easy rescue. But he had no choice. Jaw squared and weapons prepared, Guillermo stepped out into the moonlight to save his family.
Ten minutes into the car ride to the council building Guillermo was feeling a lot less badass than before.
Colin Robinson hadn’t even bothered to struggle with the engine or flip through the radio. They rode in silence. He tapped his leg with a stake anxiously as he watched the streetlights wash over them. He didn’t know what he would do if one of them or, God forbid, all of them died. Even a single member missing would feel wrong. Guillermo wondered if he would stay at the house if everyone was gone. His first instinct was no. What reason would he have? He'd staked, pun not intended, his entire existence on those dumbasses. A sideways glance at Colin Robinson gave him pause. If everyone else wasn’t there would he stick around? Guillermo wouldn’t have thought so but given the solemn attitude the energy vampire had right now it really hit him how much all of them depended on each other. Guillermo decided that, yes, he would stay at the house even if it was just him and Colin Robinson. It would be an absolute living hell but he couldn’t abandon his chosen family. No matter what.
“We're here.” Colin Robinson said. Guillermo looked up at the council building and tried to steady his nerves. He stepped out of the car and was surprised to find a hand offered to him.
“Best of luck, Guillermo. I’ll be hanging around here." Colin Robinson said. “I know I can’t do much in combat but I do still have that umbrella. Just in case.”
“Thanks, Colin Robinson. It's weird to see you so serious but… thanks.” Guillermo said as they shook hands. Colin Robinson gave him a nod. The gravity of the situation was settling in sickeningly fast. Guillermo barely noticed the documentary crew piling out of the backseat. He had to focus. Colin Robinson drove off with a final wave.
“You guys should wait out here. I can’t guarantee your safety inside.” Guillermo said to the crew. The group discussed it for a minute before opting to send one very brave cameraman to follow directly behind him. With determination as steadfast as he could manage Guillermo headed inside the building.
He encountered no resistance as he headed down into the basement, which was almost worse than a waiting army. He found a stray vampire when he got to the tunnels leading to the chamber of judgement. They didn’t have the sigil on their cape and once they spotted him they immediately shifted into a bat and flew towards the exit. He kept moving. He couldn’t waste time chasing down maybes.
“So you showed up after all.”
Guillermo whipped around and a stake left his hand before he realized he'd picked it up. The fake friendly voice of Ruby Piscine laughed as she stepped aside just in time. The LED torchlight cast orange toned shadows over her pale skin.
“Don't kill the messenger, Protector. I’m not here to fight you this time.” she said. Guillermo replied with another stake. Ruby's laughing stopped fast. She scowled and dodged the wooden weapons. “Listen. Are you here to save your family or waste time attacking me?”
“I can do both.” Guillermo said. He readied another stake. Ruby stepped closer despite the danger.
“Look, Guillermo. I wasn’t lying about everything earlier. We're not all that different. I may not have been able to save the people I love-"
“Stop draining me and shut up!”
“- but that doesn’t mean you can’t.” she finished with a glare. She huffed and crossed her arms. “I'm not supposed to be helping you, you know. I barely convinced the others not to kill you when you passed out.”
“What do you want?” Guillermo snapped.
“I want to tell you how to get your friends out of here. I did my job but I don’t owe the council anything more. I wasn't exactly working for them by choice.” Ruby said. Guillermo gradually lowered his weapon but kept his guard up.
“Okay then. How?” he said. Ruby pointed at a nearby door.
“Through there, up the stairs, down two chambers and take a right. They're being held there until setup is finished. Hurry.” she said. Guillermo didn’t have any other leads to go on. He holstered his stake and pointed a finger at Ruby.
“If you’re tricking me I will kill you.” he said as he walked out.
“I know.” she called after him. Guillermo broke into a run as he followed her directions. He really hoped the small spark of genuine connection he'd felt with Ruby earlier wasn’t leading him astray.
Within minutes he arrived at the supposed holding chamber. He flung open the door with a stake at the ready. Three vampires restrained with silver ropes looked at him.
“Guillermo! You're here!”
“Master!” Guillermo sprinted over. He felt his heart leap to his throat as he started untying Nandor.
“It's about bloody time!” shouted Nadja.
“What took you so long?” Lazlo chimed in.
“Even better, how the fuck did he let this happen?! We didn’t keep you alive as a bodyguard so you could be bad at your job!” Nadja added.
“They sent an emotional vampire first. I didn’t know what she was and she wore me down.” Guillermo explained. He got the knots to release for Nandor and moved on to Nadja.
“Oh, well isn’t that a con-fucking-venient excuse!” she said even as he freed her.
“I must agree with my good lady wife on this one, Gizmo. You’d think a vampire slayer would know all there is about the enemy.” Lazlo said.
“Do you want me to untie you or not?”
“…. alright, you win this round.” Lazlo said begrudgingly before Guillermo undid his ropes. As the vampires whined and rubbed at their burn marks Guillermo kept an eye on the door.
“We can’t just run away from this one. I need you guys to help me fight.” he said. “I know, I’m the bodyguard, but we're dealing with some very radical vampires according to Colin Robinson.”
“What did that boiled egg of a man tell you?” Nadja said.
“The vampires that captured you are an offshoot from the council. He said they’re dangerous and, going by the fact that he didn’t try to drain me at all on the way over, it's serious business.” Guillermo explained quickly.
“Did they, perchance, have any specific sigils?” Lazlo asked. He had gotten quieter since Guillermo mentioned Colin Robinson.
“Uh, yeah, it's uh, a circle of fangs, I think.”
“With a bat in the center?” Nadja said. She had joined her husband in looking grim.
“Yeah, there was.” Guillermo said. The vampire couple hissed.
“Bloody hell.” muttered Lazlo. Nadja continued looking repulsed. Guillermo shared a look with Nandor and found they both were confused.
“What is this, bats and fangs? Are you two knowing them?” Nandor said.
“The Order of the Broken Fang. They're radical alright. Used to be part of the London supreme council back in the day before they pushed things too far.” Lazlo said.
“They're vampiric purists.” Nadja spat. “Anything they don’t see as truly vampire has got to go.”
“Their vampire true idea doesn't include us? Bullshit!” said Nandor. Guillermo found himself hoping the reason wasn’t because they kept him around. If he ended up being the cause of this… he'd never live it down.
“Okay, so they are dangerous. Will you three listen to me now?” he said.
“There's no escaping The Order of the Broken Fang, my boy. We're fucked. Proper working girl at an orgy fucked.” Lazlo stated. Nadja had started to hug his arm and he turned to meet her embrace. “At least we die together, my love.”
“What- You're not even gonna try?!” Guillermo said. He felt his dread turn to anger. “You’re gonna give up? Just lie down and let them kill you?”
“Guillermo is right.” said Nandor. He bared his fangs. “We shall not fall without a fight!”
“Exactly, thank you Nandor. Now are you coming with us or not?” Guillermo said. Even with how tense the situation was he couldn’t deny the small amount of satisfaction he got from hearing Nandor agree with him. It was less of a rare occurrence nowadays than it had been in the past but it was still special to him. He grabbed one of his stakes and made sure to point it towards the door. “Well?”
“It's a suicide mission either way.” Lazlo said. After a moment he straightened up with renewed fire in his eyes. “I suppose I'd enjoy taking a few of the bastards with me.”
“I'll make it more than a few.” Nadja growled.
“What are we waiting for then? Let's go home.” Guillermo said. It was the best he was going to get out of them. For a moment he really did feel like they were a family, united in one goal. He led the way out of the room and back down the hall.
This time the trip wasn’t so easy. No sooner than five steps away they were set upon by a group of vampires. Guillermo headed the charge with a stake in each hand. Out of the corner of his eye he could spot the others making good on their decision to fight. Nadja was a blur for the most part but he was sure he'd seen a heart in her hand at one point. Lazlo was mainly dodging yet he threw in some solid punches. Nandor…
Even though his head ripping gloves were absent that didn’t stop the once warlord from putting his skills into practice. Vampires screeched as he appeared behind them. Decapitated bodies marked his path through the hall. If Guillermo wasn’t high off adrenaline and focused on surviving he would have spent much longer admiring his master's strength.
“You four really are annoying.” said one of the Order members out of their reach. “We haven’t even finished setting up your trial yet.”
“I’m not going on fucking trial again, you shriveled frogs ass!” Nadja yelled as she pounced on them. The vampires and their hunter cut a bloody swathe through the tunnels until they arrived in a larger chamber.
Guillermo was about to herd everyone down the right path when something slammed into the back of his head. He was on the floor almost immediately. Warm liquid trickled down his neck. He heard shouting. His hand grasped for his crucifix even as his vision started to fade. Something was on top of him, something hissing loudly. He didn’t have the chance to figure out what it was as his consciousness left him.
Guillermo awoke with a throbbing headache and his mind racing. As his senses slowly returned he took in his surroundings. Stone floor. Slightly damp. Dark. He cautiously attempted to sit up. Was this… the well? It definitely looked like it. While it wasn’t ideal it was a hell of a lot better than being dead. He looked around the well and saw a dark figure huddled against the opposite wall. There wasn’t any equipment nearby so it wasn’t his cameraman.
“Guillermo? You are awake?”
“Master? What happened?” Guillermo groaned. Nandor looked at him but didn’t move.
“They got us. Put us in the well. Then you woke up. Now we are talking.” he said. Guillermo couldn’t tell if Nandor was trying to be sarcastic or if he was genuine.
“Where's Nadja and Lazlo?” Guillermo said. He and Nandor seemed to be the only living, or partly living, things in the well.
“On trial. The bad fang has them.” Nandor said.
“Broken fang, master.” Guillermo corrected him.
“Whatever. It doesn’t matter now.” Nandor said. “We are all done for.”
“What happened to going down with a fight?” Guillermo said. He felt well enough to stand and leaned on the side of the well.
“I already fought. This is the going down part.” Nandor said. Guillermo shuffled over to his master. The vampire's voice had been unusually subdued since Guillermo woke up. He didn’t hear Nandor like this often.
“They didn’t kill us right away so we still have a chance to escape.” Guillermo said. He knelt down next to Nandor. “Why are you insisting we give up?”
“Because we can’t escape. Why do you think they didn’t kill us?” Nandor said. “I would do the same sometimes with prisoners of war. Let them waste away, clinging to false hope.”
“This isn't like when you conquered stuff, okay?” Guillermo said. He suppressed the urge to grab Nandor by the shoulders and try to shake him out of it. “I'll think of something.”
“…. They're so cruel, Guillermo. Putting you here with me.” Nandor said quietly. “They know you would do anything to protect your master.”
“Yes, I would.”
“So they force you to do nothing and fail.”
Guillermo felt his blood run cold. He finally clocked that Nandor was sitting very hunched over and hiding his body with his cape. Guillermo tried to sound optimistic.
“The sun shouldn’t be up for hours. We have time.”
“You do.” Nandor said. The vampire wouldn’t meet his eyes. “I do not.”
“What are you talking about?” Guillermo said. He desperately wished Nandor would say he was kidding, that everything would be okay and they could go home to laugh about it later. Instead Nandor drew back his cape. Guillermo gasped and a hand flew to his mouth.
He was used to seeing his master coated in his victims blood.
Never his own.
But there it was.
A red stain so deep in color it almost wasn’t visible against Nandor's shirt. It radiated from a tennis ball sized hole in his stomach. Nandor's already pale skin was starting to grey. He finally made eye contact.
“They half-staked me. Without fresh blood to heal myself I will waste away.” he said grimly. “The sun won't matter if I am dead before it rises.”
“Fuck.”
The word was all Guillermo could say without losing his composure entirely. He tossed his stake belt aside along with his crucifix. Within seconds he had pulled off his own coat and folded it. He pressed it to Nandor's wound and winced as the vampire hissed.
“That hurts, Guillermo! It won’t help me anyways. The damage is done.” Nandor said through clenched teeth. Guillermo kept the pressure all the same.
“No, this has to work, you're not gonna die, you can’t die, I won’t let you.” he rambled under his breath. Everything else happening faded into background noise. All he knew at that moment was Nandor and the vampiric blood coating his hands. He didn’t notice he'd started crying until a clawed finger rose up to gently brush his cheek.
“Guillermo.”
Nandor said it with such sadness it took all of Guillermo's willpower to not start sobbing. Nandor moved his hand and tapped Guillermo on the nose.
“Boop! Come on, where's that smile?”
“I, I can’t master, please just, stay with me.” Guillermo said. The words came out half choked. More tears ran in rivulets down his face. Nandor didn’t say anything back. Guillermo refused to believe what was happening. His master, the man he had dedicated over a decade of his life to, was dying and Guillermo couldn’t stop it. After everything they had been through it was going to end like this. A vampire and his bodyguard at the bottom of a well. He'd moved beyond panic and landed directly on devastated.
For several minutes they stayed like that until Guillermo's grief addled brain finally dredged up an idea.
“You said you'd need fresh blood to heal?”
“Yes. Lots of it.” Nandor said.
“How much just to keep you alive? To save you?”
“Hmm. Maybe… one person?”
“Okay.” Guillermo leaned back and swiped at his face. With a sniffle he looked at Nandor. “You'll be okay.”
“There is no one here to eat, Guillermo.” Nandor said. Guillermo wasn’t backing down. He reached up and undid the first button of his shirt.
“I'm here.”
“No.”
“If you don’t you'll die.”
“Guillermo… if I drink from you now I will not be able to stop. Even if I try to turn you afterwards it's not one hundred percent. Gail was lucky.” Nandor said.
“I can't lose you, okay?!” Guillermo shouted. “I don’t care about being a vampire anymore, I don’t care about anything right now except for saving you! Please! Just…. please.”
“I don’t want to kill you, Guillermo. I care about you too much.” Nandor said. Perhaps his weakened state had gotten rid of some inhibitions regarding his feelings. It was the most open he'd ever been.
“And I don’t wanna die but you’re more important!” Guillermo said. He didn’t bother trying to hide his tears at this point. “Nandor, please. I can’t do nothing. Please let me help you. Let me save you. One more time.”
“……. I will try.”
“You will?”
“I will try to turn you once you are gone. I cannot lose you either.” Nandor said. His voice was barely a whisper now. His eyes shone with the start of his own tears. Guillermo could only nod and finished exposing his neck. Without warning Nandor pulled him into a hug. In any other circumstance Guillermo would have blushed.
“See you later.” Guillermo said quietly. He returned the embrace as tightly as he dared. Cold lips brushed against his skin.
“Soon. See you soon.” Nandor mumbled into his neck.
“Of course. Soon.” Guillermo said. For a split second the mouth pressed to his artery stilled. Then a hot pain pierced through him.
Guillermo closed his eyes and suppressed a scream. He knew it would hurt but the experience was beyond what he imagined. The twin puncture wounds pulsed with constant agony. He wasn’t going to last long. With the final dregs of his rapidly fading strength Guillermo reached up to run a hand through Nandor's hair. He focused on it, petting in small motions, as if this was just another night of tending to his master. Soon he couldn’t keep it up anymore and his arm dropped limply. Nandor bit down harder. Guillermo saw stars. The cold nothingness of unconsciousness seeped into him. His last thoughts before the dark consumed him were of hope.
“Please let this work…”
The Order of the Broken Fang were having a mixed bag of a day.
On the one hand their plan to capture the heretical local council had worked flawlessly. Their horrifying slayer bodyguard had apparently been easy for Ruby to subdue. Blackmailing her had been well worth the effort. The Order now had two of the three impure vampires ready to stand trial.
On the other hand over half their members had been slaughtered during an escape attempt. Said attempt included the bloodthirsty ex familiar who had somehow made his way into the holding cell. The Order had no clue how he'd managed that without getting lost. He’d nearly ruined everything but thankfully one of their own had managed to knock out the little monster. Even better, the move had a domino effect on the fight.
Relentless had immediately rushed to protect his human and therefore made himself vulnerable. They hadn’t been planning on half-staking him but it made way for a punishment equal to the planned trial. Seeing their default leader go down had slowed the reaction speed of the others. Cravensworth and his wife were easy to recapture after that. The Order had placed the bodyguard in the sunlight well with his dying master and brought the remainder of the group to the judgment chamber.
“Are we ready to begin, everyone?” said the vampire currently lounging on the throne. He cast his gaze across the assembled order members. He’d been a little thrown off by the lone human who had entered earlier but the he’d been wearing a crucifix and explained he wasn't going to interfere. The Order figured documenting the trial would do well to further their cause and thus allowed the cameraman to stay. The vampire standing next to the throne cleared his throat.
“Well, we did lose a lot of vampires just now so not as ready as we'd like.” he said. “We don’t have John, Willem, Max or Christopher."
“We lost Christopher?” said the head vampire, turning to look at his subordinate.
“Yes sir.”
“Good. He was going soft.”
“Uh, anyways… despite the tragic loss of our cherished comrades we are technically still good to go.” said the second in command. He fiddled with his cape and avoided eye contact with the leader. “Would you like to start the trial?”
“Of course I do! Let us enact the punishment for these filthy traitors.” the leader said. He gestured for the prisoners to be brought forth. The two vampires hissed as their captors tightened the silver ropes binding them.
“The fuck do you want?” spat Lazlo. The leader laughed.
“Oh, like you don’t know already, Cravensworth.” he said. “Personally, I thought we should have executed you for marrying that pheasant girl, instead of just kicking you out of the Sherwood club.”
“That's why you got kicked out?” Nadja exclaimed as she looked to her husband. Lazlo looked back at her with all the love in his heart.
“It's true, darling.” he said. “They couldn't stand that I fell in love with such a sweet, simple, small town girl.”
“Enough of this inane prattle!” shouted the leader. “You are here to stand trial.”
“And just who the hell are you?” Nadja shouted back. “Last I checked the Order didn’t have anything that ugly working for them.”
“You insolent - I am Murlough the Murderous! Supreme ruler of The Order of the Broken Fang!” said the leader. He sneered down at her. “I shall take great pleasure in your demise.”
“See here, vagrant, you still haven’t told us why we're being killed. Exactly what rules of the Order have we broken?” Lazlo said.
“Your flagrant disregard for the natural order is more than enough.” Murlough said. “However, we specifically take issue with your employment of a Van Helsing.”
“Guillermo de la Cruz is your bodyguard, correct?” said the second in command. “We have checked his family tree and it reaches all the way back to old Abraham himself.”
“Kurda is correct. Your pet slayer is of the most dangerous lineage. And you take no issue with exposing all of vampire kind to him?” Murlough said. He didn’t wait for an answer. Movement in the shadows caught his attention and he beckoned with a finger. “What do you have for us?”
Hooded vampires with carefully covered hands stepped into view. Between them was Nandor. The usually proud vampire was crestfallen. Silver ropes encircled his body and he swayed slightly as he stood. Murlough allowed his smug façade to slip a moment as shock crossed his face. He regained his composure and sat up straight on the throne.
“Why is Relentless not in the well?” he said. One vampire stepped up with poorly hidden glee.
“We returned to check on him, my lord, and found he was no longer dying. His half-stake wound has healed. He is fit to stand trial with the others.” she said. Her fangs glinted, accenting her smile.
“How did he recover? And how is it you were able to retrieve him so easily?” Kurda asked. “His little bodyguard didn’t cause trouble for you?”
“Oh, his precious slayer?” said the vampire. She threw back her head and laughed. “Dead! Killed by his beloved master! We saw the body ourselves. He drained the poor thing to survive.”
“You what!?” exclaimed both Nadja and Lazlo. The turned to look at Nandor for an explanation. He had none. His head hung low and his eyes were fixed on the floor.
“…. I suppose you didn’t have a choice, old chap.” Lazlo said. Nadja nodded.
“It was him or you. I’m sure Guillermo didn’t mind.” she said.
“She's right. That boy was head over heels for you.” Lazlo said. Their attempted reassurances did nothing. If anything Nandor slumped even lower to the floor. He refused to meet their gaze. The Order of the Broken Fang erupted into maniacal laughter.
“Oh, how wonderful! Not only did you throw him away so easily but to see a Van Helsing give their life for a vampire? This is too much!” Murlough wheezed. Eventually the laughing died down.
“Shall we proceed with the trial?” Kurda suggested.
“We can’t torture the human as planned so I guess so.” Murlough said. He snapped his fingers and two vampires approached the still figure that was Nandor. Each one carefully held a silver blade in their hands. They readied themselves to strike.
“Nandor the Relentless, you stand accused of bringing a Van Helsing into contact with hundreds of vampires, condoning his actions, and of vampicide of your own accord.” Kurda read off a scroll. He glanced towards his leader. “Verdict, sire?”
“Guilty!” bellowed Murlough. Kurda nodded.
“The supreme ruler has spoken. Have you any last words, traitor?” he said. Nandor finally raised his head. His hair shielded most of his face like a dark curtain but what could be seen of his eyes was striking. Determined and full of a fiery rage. He smiled a dangerous smile, one that had haunted the memories of those who survived his conquests. His fangs were still tinted red. He took a deep breath, despite not needing to, and all but screamed:
“BAT!”
Before anyone could process this bizarre choice several things happened. A small bat swooped down from the ceiling of the chamber and flew towards Nandor. When it was almost there it was enveloped in a cloud of smoke. A dark figure dropped down the remaining distance with a stake in each hand. The weapons stabbed right through the backs of the executioners and out their chests. The assailant landed and pulled the stakes out of the crumbling bodies. With a blur of motion the pointed ends were soon buried in the hearts of the nearby Order members. Nandor cackled as he watched the Order's confused faces turn to horror.
Guillermo de la Cruz, descendant of Abraham Van Helsing and vampire bodyguard, stood before them.
“You! You were dead!” hissed the female vampire who had brought in Nandor. Guillermo whipped a stake from his bandolier and sent it her way. It made a satisfying thunk noise when it landed.
“Still am.” he said with barely constrained rage. He turned on Murlough and Kurda with a supernatural shine in his eyes. Kurda let out a small squeak before he transformed into a bat. He was quickly felled by a custom bat sized stake thrown at him.
“What are you?” Murlough growled. Guillermo glared at him and readied another stake.
“Like you don't know.” he said. Murlough recoiled as he picked up no heartbeat from the slayer.
“Turned! That fool turned you!” he spat Guillermo threw the stake behind him to take out an incoming attacker. Nandor laughed and stood proud.
“That's my Guillermo!” he cheered. The anger Guillermo showed briefly made way for a smile. Murlough pounced at Guillermo. He was much stronger than the others but even he fell at the feet of the slayer. The wooden stake was wedged into him in a flash. The rest of the Order attempted to flee. None escaped. When the rather one sided fight was over Guillermo finally turned his attention to his housemates.
He could still feel the adrenaline coursing through him. His heavy breathing was out of habit. He didn’t need to breathe anymore, after all. He checked to make sure he'd gotten every Order member and relaxed when none moved. He'd saved everyone. He was a vampire. He'd saved them and he’s a vampire! The drive to fight was rapidly being replaced by giddiness bubbling up. Guillermo felt his newly grown fangs with his tongue. They weren’t very sharp yet but the hard edges were full of promise. He looked at the others with a smile that could only be described as goofy.
“Are you guys okay?”
“Are we- you're a bloody vampire!” Lazlo said.
“Yep. Do you want help getting out of here or not?” Guillermo said. Lazlo gave him a look but let Guillermo carefully untie him.
“I never want to see a rope again.” Lazlo grumbled. He paused. “Unless it's in the bedroom, of course.”
“I'm sorry, have we skipped over Gizmo being dead and then being a fucking vampire?” Nadja said. Guillermo rolled his eyes before starting on her ropes.
“I'll explain later, okay?” he said. He was glad he'd brought his leather gloves. They protected his newly undead hands from the silver. Nadja winced as the bindings fell away.
“Did you see how strong he is? He's a very powerful vampire!” Nandor said. He was beaming. “I expect nothing less from my Guillermo!”
“Yes, yes, we get it. You’re proud. Now shut up so we can leave.” Nadja said. Nandor did so possibly because he was still pretty weakened and didn’t want to try arguing with her.
Once they left the building, slightly shaken cameraman in tow, they were met by Colin Robinson. His grin wasn’t any different from his usual but Guillermo felt it was genuine.
“You got out! Good. I don’t know what I’d do with a whole house to myself. It's a lot of responsibility, you know. More people nowadays are getting housemates and sharing space due to rising housing costs-"
“Not now, Colin Robinson. We almost fucking died!” Nadja snapped at him. She gestured to her own rope burns as well as Lazlo's. Nandor had started to list to one side and Guillermo put an arm around him to keep him upright.
“Alright, I get it. I’ll tell you later.” Colin Robinson said. Nadja and Lazlo decided to fly home in bat form rather than shove themselves into the car. The documentary crew occupied the backseats already. After some discussion on placement Guillermo ended up in the passenger seat with the exhausted bat version of Nandor clinging to him. Most of the drive passed in silence.
“I guess we'll have to find a new familiar now.” Colin Robinson said as they got close to the house.
“You will?” piped up one of the camera crew members. The man who had been in the building started whispering to them. Their eyes widened and Guillermo overheard them saying “Did you get it on film?”
“How did you know?” Guillermo asked Colin Robinson. The energy vampire pointed to the rearview mirror.
“Your reflection is flickering. Better get one last look before it’s gone.” he said. Guillermo did so. His mirror image was lagging behind his own movements. He held a wide smile and it only got wider when he glimpsed his fangs. The image was fading fast. He tried to savor it as much as he could. He'd have to deal with all the downsides of vampirism eventually but right now he only wanted to take in the joy of achieving it. He absentmindedly pet bat Nandor.
“I think we still have some blood in the fridge. I’ll heat it up for you.” he said. Nandor gave him a small squeak and wiggled in closer. A buzz from his pocket grabbed his attention. He looked at his phone to see a message from an unknown number.
?- “Did you save them?”
“Why do you have my phone number?”
?- “Added it when you were knocked out. Well?”
“Yeah, I saved them.”
Guillermo considered blocking the number. After a moment of hesitation he saved it instead.
Ruby- “Good. I was worried when you didn’t make it back.”
“Didn't you already leave by then?”
Ruby- “Yes, and? You still weren’t out of the building. I waited for half an hour.”
“Sure you did.”
Ruby- “I’m not lying. I told you where to find your family didn’t I?”
“Ok, fine, you did.”
Ruby- “Did anyone get hurt?”
“Kind of? It's a long story. Everyone’s fine now and I only died a little.”
Ruby - “Died a little?”
“Yeah, I’m a vampire now.”
Just typing the words made him smile again. Ruby sent him an emoji of a bat.
Ruby- “Can’t wait to hear this one. Can I tell people my best friend died?”
“Go for it.”
Ruby- “Sweet.”
Guillermo put his phone away and sighed. Over the course of one day he'd failed at his job, died, became a vampire, succeeded at his job, and somehow made a sort of friend. The car pulled up to the house and he felt the fatigue hit as he climbed out of it.
“Don't forget your dirt, Gizmo. I can’t drain you if there’s nothing left.” Colin Robinson reminded him. Right. Ancestral soil. Guillermo grabbed a handful from the flowerbed to shove into his pillowcase later. He shuffled his way to Nandor's room. The bat he held soon regained his vampire form.
“Thank you, Guillermo. Tomorrow we shall teach you all there is to be knowing about being a vampire.” Nandor said.
“I already know most of it but sure.” Guillermo said. His recently turned body just wanted to sleep. “I’ll get you some blood.”
He let his muscle memory guide him to the kitchen and then back with a microwaved mug full of blood in hand. It had always smelled awful to him before. Now it was oh so tempting. He handed the mug to Nandor and watched hungrily as he drank. He was surprised to find it wasn’t completely empty when Nandor handed it back to him.
“You need to drink all of it, master. You're still hurt-"
“I am O-Akay!”
“A-Okay.”
“Aykay!” Nandor said. “You are a brand new baby vampire. Drink.”
“But-"
“No buts, Guillermo. You must keep up your strength so you can continue protecting me.” Nandor insisted.
“Fine. You’re going to bed as soon as I’m done.” Guillermo said. He brought the mug to his lips. A wave of heat washed over him as soon as the blood entered his mouth. Oh. It definitely wasn’t as good as fresh prey but for a first taste it was divine. He was barely aware of anything else while he drank. When the mug was empty he was surprised to hear himself hiss.
“We will get you more later. Now, we rest.” Nandor said. His expression was full of pride. Guillermo offered him a hand and helped him into his coffin. He was about to let go when Nandor's grip tightened.
“Is everything okay?” Guillermo said.
“Now that you are a vampire… you’re not going to leave, are you?” Nandor said. He refused to look directly at Guillermo. “I don’t want you to leave again.”
“I’m not going to leave. I promise.” Guillermo said. He brushed his thumb across the back of Nandor's hand. “Even if you didn’t turn me I’d stay.”
“…. Thank you. I do not wish to be without you.” Nandor said.
“Nor I you, master.”
“You don’t have to call me that anymore.”
“What if I want to?”
“… that would be fine, I suppose. Goodnight, Guillermo.”
“Goodnight, Nandor.”