A World of Vampires: Volume 1 Read online

  A World of Vampires

  Volume 1

  © 2014 Dani Hoots

  ISBN for paperback: 978-1-942023-15-9

  ISBN for eBook: 978-1-942023-33-3

  A World of Vampires:

  Hooh-Strah-Dooh

  © 2014 Dani Hoots

  ISBN for kindle: 978-1-942023-02-9

  A World of Vampires:

  Baobhan Sith

  © 2014 Dani Hoots

  ISBN for kindle: 978-1-942023-06-7

  A World of Vampires:

  Strigoi

  © 2014 Dani Hoots

  ISBN for kindle: 978-1-942023-11-1

  A World of Vampires:

  Jiangshi

  © 2014 Dani Hoots

  ISBN for kindle: 978-1-942023-13-5

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system without the prior written permission of the author.

  This is a work of fiction. All characters and events portrayed in this novel are fictitious and are products of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Content Edit by Desiree DeOrto

  Final Edit by Justin Boyer of A Bibliophile’s Workshop

  Cover Design Copyright © 2014 by Daniel Somerville

  eBook and Layout Design by Marcy Rachel

  As I walk the bustling streets of the cities; Boston, New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, it doesn’t matter, I am quite intrigued by all of the flashing lights, the countless stores and ads telling me what beauty is, what to consume, what not to consume, who I should vote for, the list goes on. Everyone wants your attention, everyone wants your money, it doesn’t seem to matter where you go now, everyone is trying to draw your attention. It’s unbelievable how much has changed in the past eight years, how much the world has suffered, how much everyone suffered, but life never stops. Nothing ever quits.

  What really strikes my attention in all of this are the countless ads for stories of vampires. Teen drama, romance, horror; the myth has spread throughout every genre I can imagine. They are everywhere: in bookstores, on the TV, there are clubs and bars with horrific themes that not even I want to attend. Young girls dream of being saved by a brooding creature of the dark in hopes they can spend an eternity with the one they think they love. And maybe, at one point in my life, I believed in the same thing, falling in love with Brian MacAuliffe at a mere age of seventeen. But the truth is that there is no happy ending.

  And everyday I will live with that fact.

  I have been running ever since that day and I will never stop. I can never stop. Not to enjoy life, not to smell the roses, not to enjoy friendship or love. The stories that say life as a vampire is every person’s dream come true is an utter and complete lie. Not only will you suffer, but you will never perish unless you get caught, and believe me it isn’t pretty.

  So I’m writing this to let people out there know the truth about us vampires, to let them know the pain that we must endure and even though we want to end it once and for all, our desire to survive overpowers it. We are created to endure such agony but nothing is more painful than seeing the years go by and not be able to stop them for a second to enjoy. Life keeps going and you are stuck in a never ending loop.

  I will agree, being a vampire has its perks, seeing things in a new light, the speed, the energy given when blood trickles down your throat, but none of them have been worth the torture. My story is a cautionary tale for any of those who go looking for people like me. Those who think they can handle it. I can tell you now, at least, you won’t be able to.

  It all started on a warm day just like today. It was mid-July, 1931 and the city of Boston was roaring with life. Prohibition was still intact and many gangs made it their business to smuggle, steal, and sell wherever they could for a quick buck. Robberies, shootings, underground parties; it was all a part of the time, and it was an interesting time indeed.

  I was living in the southern part of Boston, where the Irish mob had the most control, both MacAuliffe’s Gang and the Gustin Gang. Up until that point I had nothing to do with the mob. I had only heard the news of robberies, shootings, and of course of all the speakeasies they were involved with. Most of this I overheard at the market or sometimes from my mother and father, and if any of it hurt them financially or was just inconvenient for them because a road or shop was closed, I of course was to blame.

  It wasn’t until my brother, the idiot that he was, had gotten himself involved with MacAuliffe’s Gang. He thought it would be easy money and hoped he could make our parents proud. That didn’t happen, of course, he was always an idiot. And, to make matters even worse, he had stolen from Mister MacAuliffe, thinking he would somehow get away with it.

  We hadn’t seen him for almost a week. Either he was dead in some ditch somewhere or the gang leader MacAuliffe had locked him up. Although I hated my older brother, I hoped for the latter. I didn’t need our parents blaming me for his failures, as they usually did.

  My father’s belt came down on my arm again. “Don’t you dare defy me again, you hear me? You go out and you find my son, you worthless piece of filth.” The belt struck me again.

  “Stop, please!” I screamed as he hit my ribs. “I will go look for him. I’m just saying I don’t know what I can do to get Mister MacAuliffe to release him. Daniel was stupid to steal from them.”

  “Don’t you dare talk about your brother like that!” he yelled as the belt missed my arm and slapped me across the cheek. I felt it slice into my skin. I held back the tears, knowing they would just make matters worse. I hurried out the door before he could hit me again.

  “And don’t come home until you get him released! Do whatever it takes!” he yelled then slammed the door shut. I glanced back to find out neighbor, Miss Havington, staring at me. I diverted my gaze to my feet, not wanting to show my face to her. I felt ashamed of how weak I was and I didn’t want her to see.

  I hurried off towards Mister MacAuliffe’s office.

  I loathed to go home emptyhanded and didn’t look forward in returning either way. I was never given mercy nor love, I just always returned to a prison. I should have run away when I had a chance, but I had nowhere to go and life could be worse if they ended up finding me. My body was already covered in bruises from refusing to go out and search for him the night before. Today’s beating left me even worse.

  The heat hammered down on me as I made my way through the busy streets of southern Boston. I held up a dirty, week-old newspaper to shield my face from the sun. I really had nothing else and the temperature was almost unbearable. It had been a while since it was this hot.

  I dreaded going down into the area Brian MacAuliffe had his headquarters. Being a young girl of seventeen, it wasn’t one of the safest place to go alone but I had no choice. Not if I wanted to survive the day.

  The walk was long, at least a good four or five mile walk. I hadn’t had anything to eat yet that morning, my parents finally letting me out of the closet before making me head out into the horrific day. I had refused to go out the night before and my father wanted to remind me who was in charge of the family. If he cared so much about his son, he should have gone out and got him himself.

  This is where the my story began. I had arrived to the headquarters of the infamous Brian MacAuliffe, taking a moment to wonder what possessed me to go there in the first place. Brian had a reputation throughout the city of being one of the most ruthless killers, not caring who or what stood in the way of his rising underground empire. Both he and the Gustin Gang ruled these streets in southern Boston together, givin
g all the other gangs a run for their money.

  After taking a deep breath, I stepped towards the simple building that matched every other building on the block. Red bricks, wood, and concrete meshed together by some contractor who had no imagination, just wanted a building there so he could get paid. The only thing that stood out about this building was that it had a different number for the address compared to those around it.

  That and the bullet holes.

  I entered the building, the door creaking as it swung open. The fans were going but it didn’t seem to keep out the hot, humid air. A girl at a desk used a folded paper to try to keep herself cool. From how red her face was, it didn’t seem to be working.

  “Need help miss?” her Eastcoast accent was heavier than most. Her hair was cut in a short bob and her dress matched her eyes; a dark green.

  I held my head up high, knowing I could show no weakness, even though I could feel my legs tremble beneath me. I had heard stories of these men from my brother and what they would do to those who feared them. They were worse than what our parents did to me, or at least it sounded that way. He could have been exaggerating since even after all those stories, he still was an idiot and went and got himself in trouble. Glancing back and finding two guards at the exit did not help my confidence. I gulped, seeing their revolvers at their sides and the scars on their face.

  Turning back to the girl, “I need to talk to Mr. MacAuliffe.” His name came out in a squeak.

  She tapped her pencil against the table. “Got an appointment?”

  “No, I don’t. I just need to talk to him. My brother hasn’t come home for days and I need to find out what has happened to him,” I explained, trembling. I rubbed where I had been hit with the belt. It still burned and reminded me that I had to get my brother out of there or worse would be waiting for me at home.

  She gave me a look, as if I wasn’t worth the time. “Look, if you don’t have an appointment or good reason to see Mr. MacAuliffe, I can’t help ya. I would lose my job if I let in every pretty brunette in just because they wanted to talk.”

  “But it’s not like that, he has my brother and if I don’t return home my father...” I stopped, not wanting to dump my entire life story to a stranger. The woman took another look at me and must have noticed the bruises on my arm and the scratch under my eye.

  She sighed as she started fanning herself again. “I will see what I can do for ya, sweetie.”

  “Thank you,” I watched as she went back to the other room. I glanced back at the two guarding the door. They simply stared at me. I didn’t want to think about what they would do to me if they saw me a threat. A few moments later the woman came back out of the office.

  “He’s got one minute. Make it quick.”

  I nodded quickly, tears of relief forming in my eyes. “Thank you so much.”

  “Yeah, yeah,” she stepped forward so that only I could hear here. “If he asks though, just tell him you had an appointment a while back that got shifted today.”

  She winked and I understood what she meant. She wasn’t supposed to do this for me but thankfully she understood my situation. I looked at the door that led into his office. My heart raced and I thought about running but I wasn’t one to let fear control me. Not when worse was waiting for me at home. I straightened my skirt and I entered his office with my head held high.

  The office was surprisingly dark, all the window shades closed and the fans on full blast. Through the shadows, I could make out a desk and a couple of chairs. My skin felt cold even though it was still hot in the room. After a few moments, my eyes adjusted to the light and there stood Brian MacAuliffe. I squeezed the newspaper that was still in my hands.

  At that second, I understood why he was the most feared man in all of Boston. Not only was Brian handsome, but he also had the eyes of a murderer, someone who never took no for an answer, someone who would be feared even after his death. His hair was a shaggy brown mess and his eyes the color of the deep sea that surrounded the city. Even now when I look out at the ocean, I feel him watching me. I know that is impossible, but I like to think maybe it’s not and that it all had been a dream.

  I stood there in silence, waiting for him to say something. I didn’t want to be the first to speak, fearing that I would say something wrong. I rubbed my bruised arm with my palm, waiting. He stood there, examining me as if I were some kind of prey. I didn’t want to be there but I had no choice. This was better than going home empty-handed.

  He motioned half-heartedly to the wooden chair closest to me, as if not wanting to bother with me. “Take a seat, miss...”

  “Anne Fitzgerald, sir.”

  A grin appeared on his face, as if my name answered all his questions. “Ah, I see. You are here about Daniel Fitzgerald, I take it?”

  My heart hammered in my chest. I hoped for my sake he was alive and that he had him held prisoner somewhere. “I am. Is he alive?”

  Brian sat down and leaned back in his chair. He was quiet for a moment, making me fear the worst. Then he finally spoke. “He is. Gave him a good beating and locked him up for a while, let him understand that people don’t steal from me.”

  I thanked God he was still alive, otherwise I had no idea what I would have done, probably start crying in fear of going back home with the news. “Is there any way you will let him go?”

  Brian rubbed the scruff on his face. “I don’t know if I should, I’m not quite done with punishing him.”

  “I didn’t say he didn’t deserve whatever punishment you are going to give him,” I started bluntly. Why I did that, I didn’t know. For some reason I felt calm around him, at least calmer than I should have been. My hands still shook when I was around him but I felt he wouldn’t hurt me. Not like my father did.

  I knew my brother and he got into more trouble than he was worth, which to me was very little. “But if I don’t come home with him, I will be blamed for anything and everything you do to him, the worthless girl that I am.” I whispered the last part under my breath, I hadn’t meant for it to come out but I had heard so much at home that I couldn’t help but repeat it sometimes.

  Something about Brian changed at that moment. He didn’t seem to be that menacing, as if suddenly the switch between being a mob boss and a gentleman came to him. He grinned and I watched as his eyes examined me. “Miss Fitzgerald, you look anything but worthless.”

  I shook my head. “My family doesn’t believe so. And please call me Anne, I don’t like being called by my family name.” I didn’t want to be reminded of them.

  He steepled his fingers, examining me. “You are a lot calmer than many I have talked to. Usually by now I have made someone cry. Or maybe I’m just losing my touch.” I didn’t say a word as he examined me again. “Well, Miss Anne, I don’t think I can let your brother go. He tried to disgrace me and I can’t just let someone like that go.”

  I stood up and placed my hands on the desk. I couldn’t go back empty-handed, it would be worse than anything Brian could do to me for speaking out after he made a decision. I had been locked up in a closet the entire night, nothing he could do to me would have been worse. “Please, I’m begging you, you don’t know what they will do to me if I don’t come back home with him.”

  “Then your brother shouldn’t deal with men like me if he cares so much for his life,” he sharply barked back.

  I flinched from his tone, it reminding me of my father’s. The tone before the belt came. But I didn’t give up, contrary from what I learned at home about talking back. He wasn’t my father, he was a nicer man. “My brother’s a stupid son of a bitch, I know, but that won’t change how I will be affected. If you have any heart, you will listen to my plea and let him go.”

  Brian slowly stood up and circled me, like a lion with his prey. My heart raced but I didn’t move for fear of what could happen. He stopped behind me and I could feel his breath on my neck. I closed my eyes, expecting that moment to be my last. Strangely enough, I didn’t really mind.

 
; “I have heard worse cases than yours, Miss Anne,” he whispered into my ear. “Mothers have come in here, cold and hungry crying for their children to be let go from my clutches. Wives, children, all of them have come to me with, frankly, better reasons than yours. I never let someone who betrays my trust go, it’s bad for business. You must understand this.”

  I turned to face him and said probably my third worst mistake in my life. “Then take me in his place.”

  He raised an eyebrow. “Excuse me?”

  “I will be your personal servant, I will do anything you say. Dishes, laundry, cooking, cleaning, escort, whatever you want... Just let him go.” Everything happened so fast that the words seemed to be pouring out of my mouth and I had no control over them. I was an idiot to say this and would end up being in a worse situation than I was already in. But I was desperate to escape so I took the first escape route that I found and unfortunately this was it.

  He narrowed his eyes. “You would give your freedom up for him?”

  “This decision is more freedom than I have ever had in my entire life.”

  Brian grabbed my chin, his lips inches from mine. “You will do anything I ask?”

  My heart was racing in my chest and for a moment I wanted to run, cry, and just fall apart. But I couldn’t, so I said the one word he wanted to hear. “Anything.”

  He watched me closely as I said the word, bitting his lip. I could feel my body shaking, fearing what he would do to me. The world was spinning around me, everything felt out of my control every day. But this, this I felt was my decision and I would stick to it.

  “You’re strong and confident, I like that. Or you must really want to get away from your family. Either way...” He let go of my chin. “Fine, I will take your trade. You are forever mine, Miss Anne. Would you like to say your goodbyes to your brother?”

  Did I want to see my brother again? The brother that had caused so much misery in my life? “No, can you just have your men tell him I’m never coming home.”