Read The Tome of Bill (Book 7): The Wicked Dead for Free Online Page A

the fuck had happened here?
    Just then, the sound of a door opening somewhere behind me registered in my overly sensitive vampire ears. Scratch that question, I knew what – or more precisely who – had happened here.
    “Oh shit.” There came a quick gasp of surprise followed by the squeal of the door reversing course.
    “Not so fast, asshole,” I snapped. “You have some explaining to do.”
    “Wait a second,” Adam said, looking me over. “Aren’t you hurt?”
    “Just my feelings.”
    “Holy shit. Are you a vampire too?”
    “No, I’m the fucking Batman.”
    He turned toward Dave, who I assumed was still standing behind me with a guilty look upon his face. “You didn’t tell us you bit Bill too.”
    What? Oh Jesus Christ. “Everyone get inside now.”
    “Who died and made you...”
    “ SHUT UP, GET INSIDE, AND CLOSE THE GODDAMNED DOOR!! It sounds like you guys have a story to tell, and right now, I’m all ears.”
    * * *
    It wasn’t until we were all settled in Dave’s apartment that I realized that had been the first time I’d tried a mass compulsion. I’d been so annoyed at the whole situation, it had just come out ... barely registering with me until I noticed my gaming buddies standing around with glassy-eyed stares on their faces.
    All at once, I sort of got an inkling why the other vamps enjoyed doing this. Goddamn, there was something to be said for telling a group to shut up and them actually doing it.
    No, I reminded myself. That was a slippery slope. I might be trying to change my outlook on life, but there were some lines I needed to be mindful of lest I completely bypass tough-guy wannabe and end up as a total asshole-in-training.
    I glanced around Dave’s apartment. Huh, that was interesting. The gaming table was all set up. Despite the power being out, it looked the same as it always did on game day.
    Fuck it. There was no point in wasting the opportunity. I sat myself down in Dave’s seat and took a deep breath. Clearing my thoughts, I willed my friends free of my control – hoping that’s how it worked. After a moment or two, they all blinked a few times and their eyes cleared. Not bad for a first try.
    When that was done, I held up a hand before Dave could say a word and indicated the player chairs around the table. This time, I was the dungeon master, and these fuckers were going to play my game.
    * * *
    “You’re probably a little angry,” Dave began, his usual attitude shelved for the moment.
    “Let’s say I’m more concerned than angry, shall we?”
    “What the hell is going on here?” Mike asked, his gaze alternating between us before settling upon Dave. “I thought you said you were a master vampire, hundreds of years old.”
    “Is that what you said, buddy?” I leaned forward, making a tent of my hands upon which I rested my chin as if listening intently.
    “I may have...”
    Adam interrupted him. “Fuck yeah, he did. We were all gathered for the game – sorry about what happened to Kelvin, by the way – when he laid it on us and...”
    I spun toward him, my brows furrowed. “Wait a second. What happened to Kelvin?”
    “You shouldn’t have tried to steal the astral gems from that statue of Morog, the demon god of sodomy while...”
    “Why was I stealing gems from a sodomy demon?”
    “Why not?”
    My fangs descended in annoyance. Another few seconds of this and I was gonna compel them all to act it out in front of me. “Okay, we can discuss that later.” I threw another glare toward Dave. “Let’s get back to this master vampire stuff.”
    “No prob, man,” Adam said as if discussing just another in-game adventure. “So we all thought he was full of shit, but then he pulled out a lead pipe and bent the fuck out of it.”
    Carl tapped him on the shoulder. “Don’t forget about the rat.”
    “Oh yeah. Then he told us to follow him back to his lab, where he pulled this rat out of its cage and ate the fucker right in front of us.”
    “I drained