Page 50 of Good Vampires Go to Heaven

“A Russian cossack who still has a taste for horse blood . . .”

“Serving under Genghis Khan, he was partly responsible for a million deaths . . .”

“Liked to feed Christians to the lions . . .”

“Looks like an angel but made 300 or more victims walk the plank . . .”

“A Nazi general who has a close bond with Satan . . .”

“Jasper has to suspect that you’re with us and sharing information,” Sven said. “Wouldn’t he have changed all those dynamics by now? I mean, those headquarters may be empty and relocated.”

“Eventually, he would have, but not yet. You have to understand the order of Lucipires. Haakai, mungs, hordlings, and imps. The majority of Jasper’s forces are in those lower orders, the foot soldiers of Satan, and they love unruliness and disorder. They thrive in it. Nothing happens quickly with imps, and hordlings aren’t much better.”

“And you were a haakai?” Vikar asked.

Zeb liked that Vikar had used the verb “were.” He answered truthfully. “For my sins, I was. For almost two thousand years. Almost as long as Jasper himself.”

The fact that he was older in demon/vangel years than any of them did not go unnoticed. Regina was practically gaping at him. Hadn’t she known that about him? Obviously, not.

“Well, let us hope your experience can help us,” Trond said. He was the brother who’d had the most association with Zeb. Almost a friend, you might say.

Zeb nodded his thanks at Trond.

Then, while everyone sat down in chairs on both sides of the huge table, Harek stood and updated them on all the happenings around the world the past few days that were believed related to the Lucipires.

“Islamic extremism abounds in the world, without any Lucipire influence, as you all know. Unfortunately, terrorism is Jasper’s fastest and most efficient conduit for evil deeds. He has already infiltrated more than 500 of his Lucipires into dozens, maybe fifty, ISIS cells. They’re in Boko Haram, too. And al-Qaeda. The result is even more murders and atrocities. Not to mention the bomb dropped on St. Peter’s Square in Rome several days ago, or the continued widespread beheadings in Syria, or rioting in major cities, or the satanic cult in Colorado that got so much publicity because of its orgies and human sacrifices.”

Everyone was grim-faced at Harek’s report.

“Yesterday alone, fifty more girls were kidnapped in Nigeria, gang raped, and left for dead,” Harek continued. “Lions were let loose in French, Spanish, and London zoos, devouring some children and maiming numerous adults. A town occupied by special forces in Afghanistan was bombed. An American airplane headed for Israel was hijacked and its whereabouts is still unknown. At least a thousand females in cities across America, Europe, and South America were seized overnight and believed sold into the white slave trade. Some whackjob guy, who claims to be the Antichrist, is on the Internet calling for Satan worship in order to gain world peace. He already has a million followers. And that’s only the beginning,” Harek concluded. “I guarantee it’s going to escalate even more.”

This was bad, very bad. Worse than Zeb had expected.

“And this is all my fault. I unleashed this,” Regina said with dismay.

“You may have been the trigger, Regina, but this was going to happen sometime,” Cnut told her. “It’s like nibbling away at ducks. Eventually the ducks rise up and either fly away or attack the hunters. That’s what we vangels have been . . . the hunters. And we’re seeing now what havoc the ducks have created.”

“Cnut is an expert on ducks,” Trond teased his brother.

“Quack, quack,” Ivak said, also teasing Cnut.

“Bite me,” Cnut replied.

“Back to my report,” Harek said. “That was the outside news. Now for what’s happening with regard to us vangels. Regina and Zeb, you have to know that Jasper is searching for you everywhere.”

They nodded.

“The Crazy Coven, they don’t care so much about, although if they catch them, there will be witch stew, for sure.”

“At the moment, they are in demonoid form and clawing each other. The Close Quarters room reeks of demon mung,” Svein reported.

“That’s Michael’s problem,” Vikar said, then immediately added, “I mean, we should do nothing more until Michael decides their fate.”

“Once again, back to my report,” Harek said. “Zeb, I am sorry to say that your island hideaway is no more. As of last night, it was razed to the ground.”

Zeb was sorry about that, but he didn’t figure he’d have much opportunity to go there again anyway, no matter what Michael did with him.

“Ivak, your plantation is no more, either. It is as if a tornado swept the grounds. All your renovation work for naught.”