The Guardian Angel: Tales of the Vampire Hadley Price

By W. J. Onufer

They caller her The Guardian Angel. A Vampire of great power. But what is she guarding?
These are the continuing short story adventures in the Tales of the Vampire Hadley Price.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Feb 25, 2023
• ISBN: 9781667888958

Book preview

Pumpkin Spies

A short story from the

Tales of the Vampire Hadley Price

By W. J. Onufer

Bobby Joe Hawkins stepped back from the work bench to admire the device he assembled. In some respects, building it was easier than he thought it would be. In other respects, it was more challenging. But he had associates who help him with that. Some of the parts were illegal or at least hard to come by. But he acquired them.

In public, Bobby Joe appeared normal, average, even boring. Unlike his associates, he had no tattoos that advertised his hate and ignorance.

He walked past the Nazi flag pinned to the wall and ascended the stairs up to the kitchen to make himself some dinner.

*    *    *

More people were out and about on this crisp cool fall season night. As it should be. It was Halloween. Trick or Treaters were walking house-to-house. Some with an adult. Other without, but within the safety of numbers.

And of course, it was mischief night for teenagers.

That one. There, the leader said. pick it up and smash it on the side walk.

Yeah! Do it! the other teenagers said to the new kid.

The new kid thought that smashing a beautifully carved pumpkin was a stupid thing to do. But he want his new friends to think he was cool so he left the group of them and walked across the lawn to the pumpkin. He bent down to pick it up,

YOU! GO AWAY!

A cold sting of terror jolted the new kid’s body when he heard that chilling voice come from the pumpkin. He jumped back, turned around and ran. He took five leaping steps before something like a rational mind reasserted itself over the primal fear reaction. The person who lived in that house must have set up some sort of high-tech motion detector that played that scary recorded warning. And he, the new kid, tripped it.

Both his rational mind and the primal fear, however, agreed that getting far away from that pumpkin was a good idea. So he kept on running. And as he did, he wondered if the others guys knew about that clever Halloween set-up. Probably. New kid. New town. They knew the turf. He didn’t. Big laugh on him.

When he was about the block away he slowed down to a stop. The other guys, a distance away, out in the street, didn’t hear what scared him. They slowly walked toward him. For the rest of the night they would be merciless in their friendly taunts to the new kid who whimped-out.

Amoung the other people out walking this night was a petite woman, pretty with long red hair. Most other people took no notice of the street gangs wanna-bes, none of whom were older than 13 years old. But she did. She left the sidewalk and walked over to the pumpkin. This woman knew that there was no motion detector. She knew that the scary voice was not a recording.

Do you enjoy making teen age hooligans piss their pants? she said.

Actually, I do, the pumpkin said. Hello, Hadley. It’s good to see you.

And you too, Sydney. Hadley said. And now, seeing you, my Halloween is complete. Face-to-face with the Great Pumpkin himself.

Yes. The Great Pumpkin is real. Or something like it. And they are very good at hiding their existence from the Humans. People wouldn’t know about them at all if it weren’t for the legend created about them by the Peanuts comic strip. And that was just a coincidental lucky guess. That news paper comic strip did get one thing wrong, however. The Great Pumpkin is an entire supernatural race, not just one lone pumpkin. They go dormant eleven months of the year and only to awake during October.

So Sid, Hadley said, are you seeing anything interesting this year, anything surprising?

Nothing Humans do surprises me anymore, Sid said. See that house over there?

The Mc-Mansion with the tacky fake pillars on the front?

Yes. The woman who lives there has started to embezzle funds from the company she works for. And that house over there? The man who lives there was in a hit and run auto accident last week that permanently injured someone. And—

Do you ever see any good things? Hadley asked.

Not as often as I’d like. But the house next to this one? Tomorrow, the guy there is going ask his girlfriend to marry him and she’s going to say yes.

So the Humans aren’t all bad, Hadley said.

No. But some of the Human who are bad, are really bad. Down right evil.

Evil? In a middle class neighborhood like this?

Sid kind of laughed. Hadley, there’s a Vampire living in this middle class neighborhood. Three in fact,

It was Hadley’s turn to laugh. Imagine that.

Do you think you’re the only one with secrets who lives here? Sid said. You, Nathan And Svetlana?

I guess not, Hadley said. So where is this Human? The one who is down right evil?

Across the street. His name is Bobby Joe Hawkins and he lives in that white house. In his basement, he has a work shop where he’s assembling an explosive device. A bomb. He plans to blow up a church filled with people who have a skin tone darker than his. And that alone is why he hates them. He’s researched the schedule of services. He knows when they take place. And with that, he intends to blow up that church during the busiest Sunday morning service.

What a waste of all that perfectly good Human blood, Hadley said.

Yes, A Human spilling blood, disrespecting the living flesh and the power of the Red.

I’m not a big fan of religion, Hadley said. When one really does have ever lasting life, we tend to see all of that as mostly Human wishful thinking.

My thoughts as well.

But most churches are just a gathering of friends, Hadley said. They’re not harming anyone when they do that. She thought about it for a moment. So this man, this Bobby Joe Hawkins, is he the evil you speak of or is he just misunderstood? If it were explained to him, would he change? Could he be talked out of it?

I doubt it, Sid said. His hate for people who are different than he is just plain evil. I don’t think even a threat by a someone as powerful as you would stop him from carrying out the mass death he has planned. Sid paused. Ya know, Hadley, I see Humans getting into trouble all the time. When they’re alone, they don’t edit their behavior around vegetables. And certainly not a pumpkin. I see it all. But when I come back the next October, a good deal of them see the folly of what they’re doing and get back on the straight and narrow. But not this guy. He’s been planning this since last year.

It looks like one Human needs to be killed.

It does look that way.

That is rather…vicious…don’t you think, Sid? Hadley said.

Yeah. Right. Like I’ve never hear that one before. Ever since that no-talent, junkie, musician killed himself, people like you can’t resist associating his name with mine.

People like me?

Vampires, Sid said. But tis the season. What better time for the likes of you and me and ghosts and witches, than Halloween? I’ll bet you can display your fangs in public, and on this night, no one would say anything.

Can. But don’t. Hadley said.

You’re no fun, Hadley, Sid joked with her.

No fun? Hadley said. I’m talking to a pumpkin right now. A supernatural being, spying on the unaware Humans.

Yes. Pumpkin Spies, Sid said. I see it all. But I can only observe. I can’t do anything about it. You have the arms and legs and fangs and, I might add, the cute booty, to do something about it.

Flattery will get you nowhere, Sid.

You’re known for it. Hadley Price, very powerful Vampire woman, they say. Nice butt.

Hands off, mister, Hadley said with a laugh.

I don’t have any hands, Sid said. But that Halloween scare crow decoration on the front lawn, a couple houses down? He does. Watch yourself around that guy.

Hadley took out her cell phone and looked at the screen- and not because it rang. One of Hadley’s neighbors was about to walk past her. The man was with his kids. Hadley was always careful to conceal her Vampire identity. None of her neighbors guessed that she is that. One rule of conduct was an absolute for Hadley. She never blood fed on anyone in the neighborhood. Always outside of that location.

It was unlikely that, standing alone, near this pumpkin, would give away to her Vampire secret. But it would look kind of strange, so she took out her phone, as if she paused to check a text message. As the Humans approached, Sid remained silent.

Hello, Mike, Hadley said.

Hi, Hadley, Mike said. Perfect weather for a Halloween night, isn’t it?

It is, Hadley said. She looked down at Mike’s kids. A little boy and little girl. I love your costumes.

That house over there, the boy pointed, Gave us…apples.

His child mind couldn’t understand why any adult would give out fresh fruit for Halloween. Anything with a high sugar content was mandatory. Everyone knew that.

Hadley stopped herself from saying that, decades ago, in the mid twentieth century, before the time of Kit Kat and Skittles and Nutella, getting an apple was perfectly acceptable.

Have a nice night, Hadley, Mike said.

You too, Hadley said.

Mike looked forward as he kept on walking. Both of his kids looked back and gave Hadley a cute wave of their hands. Hadley gave them a cute wave back.

Hadley Price had perfected cute. It helped that she was a small woman. All the better to add to the disguise. No. Her neighbors had no idea that this friendly, petite woman had fangs, drank blood and was not Human.

She put her cell phone back in her hand bag.

So that man should die to prevent his evil act, Hadley said to Sid, picking up their conversation from where it left off.

Yes, Sid said. But might I suggest that it not be a blood splattering mess? I’m sure you’re well capable of that, Hadley. He paused. Halloween is for those like us. Creatures of the Night. And as much as I enjoy the variety of us who share that kinship, it’s nice to see that there aren’t any zombies this year. I hope I don’t come off prejudiced,

I happen to share that prejudice with you, Sid. Hadley said. Zombies are just gross. No subtlety. Bad table manners.

Yeah. They are a bit disgusting, Sid said. But Halloween is also for the Human children. To dress up and get their candy. The innocent fun of youth. The discovery of unnecessary mutilation of a neighbor would freak them out.

No unnecessary mutilation of an evil Human? Hadley said. Now who’s the one being no-fun?

No fun? Sid said. An evil Human needs to be unnecessarily mutilated. And this year? Where’s a zombie when you really need one?

Hadley smiled at that. Okay, she said. It looks like I’ll have to deal with him.

I take it, the blood won’t be wasted.

Not my first choice for a Halloween drink, but since he’s about to meet me anyway… Hadley turned to walk away. It’s always nice to see you, Sid. You take care. Hope to see you next year.

So long, Hadley. Happy Halloween.

*    *    * 

There was no discovery of the mutilated corps of Bobby Joe Hawkins, nothing to add a real-life horror story that would be retold every Halloween and leave a morbid shadow over the neighborhood the rest of the year.

No horror story. But instead, a mystery. Bobby Joe Hawkins disappeared on Halloween night, never to be seen again.

The Ballagula

A Short Story From The

Tales of the Vampire Hadley Price

By W. J. Onufer

Hadley! Look! The shoes, they are on sale! the tall blonde teenage-age girl said in her Russian accent.

Hadley, a petite red-headed woman, who looked to be in her twenties, smiled at that. The tall blonde didn’t usually refer to her as Hadley. She usually called her something else. Hadley wouldn’t mind if her shopping companion used her proper name all the time. It wouldn’t change the nature of their relationship. She was just amused that the attractive blonde did that in public. Not in private, but always in public.

Oh my! Hadley said in her North American accented English. They are! Come on, Vettie. Let’s go inside and take a look.

Vettie. It was short for Svetlana, the blonde’s name. It was the term of endearment nick name Hadley called the blonde both in public and in private.

They both wore hats. Hadley’s was a fashionable, white, floppy 1960s style with a fluffy feather plumage. Svetlana sported a neon-pink cowboy hat. Hadley had her Jackie-O sunglasses on. Svetlana wore aviator style mirror shades. They looked like rock stars. But in truth, achieving that look wasn’t the reason they chose those outfits.

Most people wouldn’t notice at first look, but both also wore long sleves and gloves. Both wore pants and shoes that were not open-toes. None of that concealed the curves of their beautiful bodies. Both of them were gorgeous women, just in different kinds of gorgeous. The rock star look, however, saw to it that no parts of those beautiful bodies were directly exposed to the sun.

There was a good reason for that.

Hadley Price and Svetlana Magnovska were Vampires, real neck-biting, blood-drinking Vampires. Sure, Svetlana’s Slavic accent might remind some of Bela Lagosy. But other than that, they didn’t look like Vampires. Their rock star look was of the non-Goth variety, nothing to even hint at anything Vampire. There was nothing about them that repelled anyone. No sense of danger at all. With their graceful feminine charm and beauty, quite the opposite. That made them all the more successful when either of them wanted a deep drink of the red.

Hadley was just over three hundred years old and well known in the Vampire community. Some said she was unique among Vampires. Faster. Stronger. She could do things all other Vampires couldn’t. And that, in a cute petite woman who had no outward appearance of being a superior. 

There was definitely something about Hadley Price that made her different. Perhaps one of those differences was her association with Svetlana, who was only forty years old, but retained the youthful appearance from when she was brought over at twenty years of age.

They looked and spoke so dissimilar that no Humans would never guess that they were related. The tall blonde draped her arm around the shoulders of the short woman. The petite woman leaned into her and held the blonde’s hand against her chest. The easy familiarity with each other’s bodies as they walked had some guessing that they were lesbian lovers. Others assumed that they were, at the very least, very friendly, BFFs. The two were close. Very close. But neither of those two relationship categories applied to them. 

In the worlds of blood-feeding immortals, however, Svetlana was Hadley’s daughter.