Killing Nikovage Bloodhunter

Chapter 3

June 19th, 2003
Denton Valley, New York
Sheriff Station

"What happened after your encounter with Merlin?"

I twisted in my seat, trying to relieve my stiff body. My vertebrae cracked and I settled back into the uncomfortable chair. The seat pads were too thin, I'd concluded.

"Alban and I went back to Massachussetts, Ramsey and the Council started researching the Cup of Life along with the Blood Sect, and I started to learn how to use a double-bladed battle ax. I've become quite proficient. See, there's a lot of B.S. out there when it comes to vampire lore. Sure, fire, the crucifix, holy water, and silver can repel them, but there are only three surefire ways to kill a vampire. Sunlight, stake to the heart, and beheading. I don't know where the garlic thing came from."

Agent Hotchner shifted and I got the point. No more unnecessary details.

"We thought things were fine. We weren't exactly churning out new leads, but we felt like we were making progress. I also had a bunch of stuff going on in my own life, like graduating high school, which was wild. Anyway, Ramsey told Alban that he was heading upstate to his cabin to do some more research. He kept some things out there, and was hoping that he would track down a lead about spells and the Cup of Life. We had agreed that it didn't matter if we found Nikovage if we didn't have a way to kill him.

"The rest of the Council thought it was best that we got eyes on him and figured out anything and everything about the Blood Sect. There was nothing wrong with that, it just felt premature, and since I was the one who had to do the actual groundwork, I sort of got final say. We'd found names of vamps that had been part of the Sect and such, but we wanted all the details, which aren't exactly pertinent to the story here. Basically, Nikovage was vile and he drove the Blood Sect and maintained his nickname as the Blood Hunter for a reason.

"Anyway, Ramsey heads upstate and we don't hear from him for days. It wasn't uncommon for Ramsey to slip into research mode, and out at his cabin, he had spotty cell coverage at best, but he wasn't answering the landline and, well, if you don't hear from some for a few days in our line of work, you have cause to be worried. I told Alban to hang back and finish up his research and headed out here, to Denton Valley."

Doctor Reid caught on to where the story was heading next.

"This is when you discovered Ramsey Donnellen's body?"

"Yes, and I wasn't the only one poking around. This was where things started to get...complicated."

June 13th, 2003
Denton Valley, New York
Gurdy's Convenience Store

Denton Valley was off the beaten path. I took I-90 straight out of Springfield and headed west for three and half hours. It took another long forty-five minutes for me to reach the Welcome to Denton Valley sign. I pulled over at the first gas station I found to filed up the tank and stepped inside to pay and ask a few questions.