Vampire King of New York by Susan Hanniford Crowley Page A

hunter,” said the vampiress. “He was from Jersey, an amateur, but toting professional weapons. We followed procedure, but found out later that the human was killed at the same time.”
    Max turned to the cop. “How were you called to the scene?”
    “An anonymous caller from a phone booth.”
    “What can you tell me about the scene?”
    “The vamp drank, but not to cause death. It was a messy crime scene. The victim bled to death all over the garbage.”
    “Could you distinguish the vampire’s scent?”
    “No, sir.” The cop flipped the notepad closed.

    Max turned back to the team for that part of the city. “Did you scent a vampire on your human vampire slayer?”
    The two looked at each other. The black man frowned. “It may be nothing.”
    “Anything could be important.”
    “Myrrh. I’m not sure but I thought I smelled myrrh on him.”
    “You went through his memories?” Max asked.
    “Yes. They were normal for an amateur hunter. I saw no vampires in them other than us.”
    Evelyn reached for her sister’s thoughts. I don’t understand. People are killed in New York City every day. Why is Max upset? I can feel his shaking anger. Why is this such a big deal?
    Laura sighed. There has not been a human killed by a vampire in New York City for over a hundred years. This is Max’s city and his peace that has been violated. If we let this rogue vampire go, there will be more deaths and the community of vampires here will be in danger. Vampire slayers will come. Not like the guy from Jersey. She cast a quick glance at Evelyn. Real slayers trained to kill our kind. They won’t care that I just drink animal blood. And they won’t care if you’re human. Only that you’re with vampires.
    Evelyn slid down the wall and sat on the floor. She didn’t want everyone to see her shaking. Laura inched back from the crowd and joined her against the wall.
    Max sat in a chair and the knights sat on the floor. To Evelyn, even though it was not a throne, he appeared every bit the king. She bit her lower lip and trembled inside. His concern, anger, and sadness washed over her. These were not her emotions. She was experiencing the turmoil inside Max, but Evelyn also felt his strength. If anyone could lead the Arnhem Knights to catching the killer, Max could. She was confident of that.
    “Everyone, I would like you to meet another Telkhine in our city, Laura’s sister, Evelyn,” Max said.

    She immediately stood up, her back against the wall. Nowhere to hide. “But I …”
    Sssh, Laura spoke directly to her mind. Her sister stood beside her. Say nothing. Only smile .
    Knights came up to her, bowed, and shook her hand.
    Max cleared his throat and was the center of attention again.
    “Evelyn was attacked the other night, and I believe the two cases are related.”
    The cop opened his notepad. “Ms. Cordelais, a description, please.”
    “A woman wearing sunglasses.” The instant the words fell out of Evelyn’s mouth, she felt lame.
    “Anything else?”
    “Her memory has been tampered with,” Laura said. “Possibly a vampire.”
    “But if it were a vampire, she wouldn’t have remembered anything.” The cop jotted more notes in his notepad.
    “She’s a Telkhine,” Max intervened. “Erasing her memories would be more difficult, hence the partial memory.”
    “Hence?” David chuckled.
    Max frowned. “Listen up, everyone. If anyone sees Evelyn alone, it is your responsibility to protect her. She may be attacked again. We have to stop this rogue vampire or whatever it is, before it takes another victim. David, I want only teams of four in the field. One team must always remain at the Arnhem Society.” Looking over the crowd, he paused in thought. “Hatcher, what are you doing here?”
    Hatcher stood up. “I came to help, Max. It’s as simple as that. Make me an Arnhem Knight.”
    “That is not a simple request. To be an Arnhem Knight is to exist for others. You would have to obey me without question.