Chapter 35
Soot-covered snow blanketed the churchyard when the vampires left the lair the following evening. To prevent leaving footprints in the snow they turned to mist and moved low along the blackened snowy surface until they reached Church Street. They materialized behind a large elm, and stepped over to the clear walkway.
"I wonder if we could have flown above the snow without turning to mist," Susie mused.
"How could you wonder such a fantastic thing?" Amy exclaimed.
"Please pardon me, Ruthie, for reminding you of that horrible night, but when I attacked Reverend Williams it seemed as though I were actually flying," Susie admitted.
"What!" Ruthie exclaimed, "You're saying you flew at him?"
"It seemed that way," Susie defended herself, "it all happened so quickly that I may not remember correctly."
"I think that if we were able to fly," Amy argued, "Robert would have taught me. He at least would have told me of the ability."
"Perhaps the opportunity never arose," Susie considered, "or maybe he didn't want you to know. Men don't like their women to be strong and forceful. They like to be superior."
"Why don't you try to fly, Susie," Ruthie suggested sarcastically, "then we will know for sure."
"Oh, Ruthie," Amy laughed, "are you making a joke at Susie's expense? That isn't like you at all."
"No," Ruthie's expression was stern, "I'm not making a joke. Susie believes she's more powerful than God. Why wouldn't she believe she can fly?"
"I never believed vampires existed until I became one," Susie explained, "I'd believe anything now."
"All right, then," Ruthie challenged, "when we find the first empty alleyway, you try to fly. Then we'll know for sure."
"Fine," Susie quickened her pace toward Main Street and into an alley between two mill buildings that were closed for the night. The three vampires searched the alley for life and finding none took a place several yards back from the street to conduct their experiment. Ruthie and Amy having no confidence in Susie's claim stood together amongst the debris expecting to see Susie, at the most, fall and soil her cloak on the slushy dirty ground.
Susie, with confidence in her immortality showed no fear as she stepped upon an upended ash can, lowered herself slightly at the knees and launched herself into the air. Amy and Ruthie's eyes grew wide as they watched Susie travel twenty feet through the alley before landing on her feet and turning triumphantly toward them smiling, "It wasn't my imagination, was it?" she asked her companions who stood staring.
"Good Lord!" Ruthie whispered.
"You can fly!" Amy exclaimed.
"Try it," Susie said when she walked backed to Amy and Ruthie, "it's wonderful."
"How can it be?" Amy asked incredulously, "How did I not know this?"
"I told you," Susie replied, "Robert didn't want you to know everything he knew. He had to remain your superior by keeping something a secret."
"Maybe he didn't know he could fly," Amy defended him.
"Then how did he get up to your window?" Ruthie asked, "He flew up there."
"Oh!" Amy replied, "I can't believe he would withhold such important information."
"I can," Susie said, "that's how he kept you dependent on him."
"Well, you'll be sure I'll question him about this as soon as he returns," Amy stamped her foot and pouted.
"Why don't you try," Susie suggested, "go on."
Amy nervously climbed onto the ash can, collected herself for a moment and jumped. Her eyes widened in surprise and a smile spread across her face as she flew a few feet and dropped to the ground landing on her feet, "It's your turn, Ruthie."
"Yes," Susie urged, "go on, Ruthie."
"All right," Ruthie responded, "I might as well try," She slowly climbed up onto the ash can just as the two before her and launched herself into the air, "I can fly!" she exclaimed as she drifted down the alley and dropped to her feet several yards past the ash can.
The others rushed to meet her as she landed out of breath and laughing in excitement, "It's unbelievable!" Amy said.
"Amazing!" Susie agreed.
"Why wouldn't Robert tell me about something so wonderful!"
"I'm glad we discovered it," Susie said, "do you realize how much more powerful this makes us?"
"We can search the streets from above," Amy suggested.
"Won't someone see us?" Ruthie asked.
"We will need to be very discreet," Amy replied, "fly short distances up high. We will go from roof top to roof top."
"We will find the vampire who killed those two women much faster now," Susie said.
"The dead women were found not far from where we are now," Amy reasoned, "perhaps the vampire is close by."
"He must have taken the women to those locations," Susie suggested, "women who frequent the streets wouldn't be found there. They would be near the waterfront."
"He must also frequent that area," Amy decided, "if he's stalking ruined women to feed upon."
"That sounds right," Ruthie agreed.
"Then we're bound to find him," Susie said, "because that's where we do most of our hunting."
"Then I suggest that's where we go now," Amy led the way to the river.
Frigid temperatures moving into the city after the snowfall resulted in the waterfront being mostly deserted by nightfall. The three vampires traveled within the shadows close to the assorted wooden buildings of the craftsmen between the railroad tracks and the rear of the buildings on Bank Street. Many men had walked this route during the daylight hours trampling the snow flat into a slippery walkway of blackened snow and ice. Footprints were impossible to single out or even recognize as such rendering the vampires' steps invisible.
"There's no one out in this weather," Ruthie observed, "maybe the vampire won't be out either."
"Or he may be the only person out," Susie said, "I suggest we fly up to a rooftop and get a better view."
"I suggest the roof of the Custom House," Amy said, "we should find quite the view from there."
Walking back toward the Custom House on Bank Street, Amy asked Susie, "Why did you wait so long to voice your suspicions regarding our ability to fly?"
"I didn't think flying was possible and had almost convinced myself that it was my imagination," Susie replied, "I was also reluctant to remind you and especially Ruthie of my accidental attack on Reverend Williams."
"Then why did you decide to talk about it tonight?" Ruthie asked.
"The problem of leaving footprints in the snow led me to wonder how we could avoid it," Susie replied, "then I again began to question myself on my experience that night with Reverend Williams."
"Poor Reverend Williams," Ruthie said, "he only wanted to lead misguided people to God."
"I'm sure he helped a lot of people to find God, Ruthie," Amy comforted Ruthie but hardly believed her own words.
"I'm sure he did," Ruthie said as they reached the north wall of the Custom House, which bordered a narrow alley.
"Let's search the alley for any inhabitants other than the usual rats and occasional stray animals," Amy suggested, "we certainly can't have anyone, drunk or sober, witness our flight."
Once they were confident no one would see them fly the three vampires launched themselves easily up through the frigid air to the roof of the Custom House where they met smiling at their newfound discovery.
"I wouldn't dare attempt that as mist," Amy admitted, "one strong gust of wind could spread one in several directions."
"How would we reform if that were to happen?" Susie asked as she scanned the skyline.
"I don't know," Amy replied, "I limit myself to second story house windows."
Susie turned toward Ruthie, "I've never seen you smile as much as you have tonight, Ruthie."
"Yes," Amy agreed smiling, "I was afraid I'd never see you smile again, Ruthie."
"I have to admit I have never felt so free," Ruthie lowered her hood to feel the wind blow through her hair, "I feel like I'm queen
of the world!"
Amy laughed happily sharing Ruthie's joy. "The world would be privileged to have you as its queen."
"It's good to see you enjoying yourself for a change," Susie remarked, "you can't change who you are so you may as well enjoy yourself."
"I will never enjoy murdering like the two of you do," Ruthie said, "and after killing Reverend Williams I will never get to heaven."
"Well, perhaps we should look for the vampire," Amy changed the subject as she turned toward the river, "but what a wonderful view from here!"
"Imagine it in the daylight," Ruthie said, "we could see the whole city from here."
Susie walked to the edge facing Bank Street, "We can choose a victim easily from here," she said smugly, "as we stare down at the weak humans as they pass, ignorant of our superior presence."
"Yes," Amy joined her and peered over the edge of the roof to the street below, "being up here is an excellent advantage."
"Susie," Ruthie said, "you are not superior. God could put out his hand and brush all of us off this roof like we were crumbs on a table."
"Yes, but it wouldn't kill me," Susie replied confidently.
"It would if you fell on a stake of wood, or if you fell onto a saw blade and cut your head off," Ruthie argued, "He could push you onto it by choice."
"All right," Amy interrupted, "we must look for the vampire. That was our purpose in flying up to this rooftop. We need to find him to protect ourselves."
"And when we find him," Susie said, "I will kill him. Surely, you can't disapprove of killing a vampire, Ruthie."
"No," Ruthie sighed, "I can't."
Silently they stood on the roof in the frigid breeze unaffected by the temperature watching for anyone who might be stalking passersby or women out alone. To get a different view they flew to an adjacent rooftop then moving from rooftop to rooftop they surveyed side streets and alleys. They could monitor an entire section of the city much more efficiently than if on foot in the streets.
"Look at that man who just came around the corner, Susie said to her companions as they returned to the roof of the Custom House, "he is walking very slowly as though he's not affected by the cold. Most men take hurried steps toward someplace with a warm fire."
"When he's closer we will see him better," Ruthie said, "maybe he'll raise his head a bit."
However, they didn't see the man lift his head or come closer because he slipped into the first alley he reached.
"Let's follow!" Susie said as she stepped away from the front of the building before dropping to the alley below. Amy and Ruthie quickly followed and they headed toward the alley into which the suspicious looking man had disappeared.
"Now, Susie," Amy warned as they entered the alley, "this may not be the vampire. Let us remain concealed within our hoods to investigate. If this isn't the man we're looking for we must keep our identities hidden."
"It was my haste which caused this problem," Susie replied impatiently as she led them deeper into the alley against the wind, "I won't endanger our safety."
"Where is he?" Ruthie asked, "This alley seems deserted."
"Perhaps he's hiding behind those barrels near the opening at the far end," Amy replied, "it doesn't seem that his slow pace would have brought him out on the other side this soon."
"Unless he made haste once in the alley out of the public's view," Susie suggested.
Slowing their steps they approached the stack of barrels and peered behind them as the wind blew in from Long Island Sound funneling in through the alley and whipping their cloaks around them. Just as the three vampires were satisfied that he hadn't hidden behind the barrels, they heard a muffled cry from beyond the alley. Moving quickly toward the exit facing the waterfront, they walked as fast as they could through the slippery snow and found the victim of an apparent attack barely alive in the trodden snow.
Susie ran past the victim in search of the attacker but seeing none knelt in the snow with Ruthie and Amy to look for wounds on her neck.
"She's still breathing slightly," Amy announced as she pulled the young woman's cloak away to find the familiar vampire wounds on her throat confirming that the strange man was, indeed, a vampire. Greedily, she put her mouth to the wounds and drank, "There's plenty of blood remaining," she reported after a moment.
Amy relinquished her position to Susie as she rose and began searching the snow for clues to the attacker's escape route. Finding nothing in the snow, packed down and filthy from the many travelers during the day, she returned to find Ruthie draining the final drops of blood from the corpse, "We must hide the body," she said as Ruthie rose to her feet.
"Let's hope this was the only victim tonight," Susie said as she lifted the body, "we can hide this one."
"Yes," Amy agreed, "let's drop her in the river near the ferry slip where the ice will be broken, "hopefully there are no other victims for the authorities to find in the morning."
"Do you think the vampire knows he's been seen?" Ruthie asked, "he sure moved a lot faster once he got into that alley."
"He certainly escaped quickly as well," Amy said, "it didn't take us more than a few minutes to reach the alley where he found and attacked his victim, then escaped."
"He's good," Ruthie acknowledged.
"If I hadn't seen him for myself, I'd think he was Robert," Amy said, "he's so elusive."
"Perhaps he imagines he might be watched and behaves as though he is," Susie suggested as they neared the ferry slip and they all looked around to make sure there were no potential witnesses before slipping the body into the icy river.
"That's possible," Amy agreed, "but it's strange that he didn't move the victim to a more remote area such as the two we read about in the news report. He barely drank any of her blood either. Perhaps he was aware he was being followed, after all."
"Perhaps there are two vampires in town we don't know of," Susie suggested.
"Oh, Lord, no," Ruthie groaned as they walked toward their lair.
"It may be that he also read the newspaper and is changing his habit to fool the authorities," Amy said.
"I hope that is true," Susie replied, "there aren't enough victims in this town for many more vampires."
"Nor lairs," Amy added, "it would only be a matter of time before we were found and destroyed."
"How so?" Ruthie asked.
"Well," Amy explained, "the authorities would have to investigate the murders since this vampire is exceedingly careless, and when they do, they may stumble upon our lair in their search for the other vampire."
"Or vampires," Susie added.
"Yes," Amy continued, "only after they destroy us and the murders continue would they begin a new search for the true killer."
"Unless they find the other vampire first," Ruthie said.
"Yes, there is that chance," Amy replied, "but I think you'll agree that we'd rather not take the risk. We need to stop this vampire and his careless attacks. This is far more dangerous to us than the suspicious Reverend Williams was."
After returning to the lair Amy repaired the extreme wind damage to her hair while Susie and Ruthie followed their regular nighttime rituals. Ruthie returned to her Bible reading while Susie arranged her growing wardrobe. She had become just as particular about her clothes as Amy. Susie luxuriated in her new ability to dress as richly as the local shops allowed-something she never dreamed of ever being able to do in her past life. They retired for the day with a plan to continue their relentless search for the new vampire in town. They agreed that finding him the following night was their first priority before he carelessly left the authorities new corpses to find and examine.