Dominant Species by Guy Pettengell Read Free Book Online

if you know what’s good for you.’
    As the door began to open, Jackson slammed the door shut hard with his shoulder. Then he grabbed the handle, holding it tight with one massive hand.
    ‘ You heard the boss, now get lost,’ he roared in his uncultured, rough voice.
    Th inking that would be an end to that, the Mayor nodded, but as he went to continue the door handle, despite the best endeavours of Jackson, now using both hands, began to turn again.
    The Mayor’s face turned to thunder
    ‘I said...’ he shouted, just as the door flew open, sending the bodyguard flying across the room and into the long table. In its place the huge figure of Voltan filled the doorframe. The cigar dropped from the Mayor’s mouth as the huge vampire entered the room. He was so vast that he had to stoop to clear the doorframe.
    The Mayor fought quickly to regain some of his composure.
    ‘Lord Voltan, I’m so sorry I….’ he muttered in a shaky voice.
    ‘Mayor Cooper, Overlord Karick wishes to see you’. The vampire spoke with a voice that growled across the room.
    ‘Of course, of course’ stuttered the Mayor , ‘I’ll be there as soon as I finish here.’ 
    Voltan raised an eyebrow. The Mayor hesitated; replaying the words he’d just spoken in the privacy of his own his mind. Realising what he had said, he swallowed hard and bowed deeply. ‘If...if that is acceptable to my Lord, of course?’
    Voltan took a huge breath, the frown not completely gone from his face.
    ‘One hour, don’t be late .’
    He turned and disappeared. As he did, each of the men released the breath they didn’t know they had, up until that point, been holding.
     
    Ten minutes later, outside on Forty Ninth Street, the Mayor strode past the worldwide plaza, flanked by Josiah and Jackson. People spilled out of their way, one man who didn’t was knocked unceremoniously to the ground by Jackson, as together the three continued like a tidal wave down the street.
    Mayor Cooper spoke to Josiah , an urgent look on his face.
    ‘Have you any idea where they are?’
    Josiah had to skip a half step to bring himself level with the Mayor.
    ‘I’ve got my best men on it.’
    ‘But nothing yet?’
    ‘We’ll have them soon, don’t worry, Tom’.
    The Mayor smiled uncertainly. Clasping his podgy hands together he stopped abruptly and looked straight into Josiah’s eyes.
    ‘You’d better Josiah. I promised Rodan. If we pull this off we won’t have to take any more crap from Karick and his lapdog, if we don’t….’ He cast a worried glance at Josiah, and then looked hurriedly around, his face a mask of fear. ‘Well let’s just say Rodan’s a real evil bastard that makes Karick look like a lamb.’
    He set off again at an even more urgent pace, leaving Josiah once again to half jog in order to keep up. As they crossed a deserted Broadway, Mayor Cooper caught a glimpse of movement in the shadows and realised that there were figures following them. Agitated, he stopped, his arms outstretched. He turned toward the shadows where a brace of yellowish, red eyes stared back.
    ‘What do you dogs want now? Don’t you know who I am?’ He glanced at his entourage, sniggering. ‘Are you waiting for some scraps or something?’
    Then he turned to Jackson and spoke in a loud voice. ‘You know what Jackson? These half human, half vampire scum should be put down, put out of their misery. They’re neither one thing nor the other, nothing but worthless dogs, literally worthless - ’
    From out of nowhere came a voice that seemed to shake the very ground.
    ‘Dogs they may be. But they are my dogs and as such they do as I bid. Best you remember that, Mayor Cooper.’
    The title ‘Mayor’ was stated with a tone dripping scorn. The voice belonged to Kadir, a massive black Vampire who now stepped from the shadows of a derelict doorway. Standing at over six feet six and weighing at least three hundred pounds he towered above the mayor and his entourage. As he stepped