Maybe it doesn’t matter anymore.
Kojiro shook his head. He was coming back and as if to prove the point, he squeezed the little can of air freshener into the side pocket of his jeans. No more chemical crap being sprayed in this room. It was a bad idea to keep aerosols in the kitchen where he might be tempted to use them again if he was feeling lazy. He owed his mother better at least. His father? He wasn’t so sure.
He made a mental note to drop the can off in another room on his way out.
It was almost time to go. With a sigh, he went over to the two scented candles sitting on the kitchen counter. Both candles had burned out a while ago, judging by how cool and dry they were. Picking up the Zippo lighter off the counter, Kojiro lit the trimmed wick and watched in silence as a pale flame took hold in the tunnel of wax in the centre of the glass.
He tucked the lighter into his back pocket. Then he leaned closer and inhaled the subtle aroma of lavender. His mother had loved her floral scents and she’d often mentioned to him that lavender was known for its calming and soothing effects.
“I hope it works,” he said.
Kojiro turned back to his mother and laughed. He’d turned into an apocalyptic Norman Bates – someone who conversed with his dead mother and thought nothing of it. If they ever did tear down the M25 they’d throw him into the first asylum outside London.
At least he wasn’t wearing her clothes.
He reached down and squeezed the handle of the xiphos. Pain surged through his hands and shot up his arms. Kojiro wished at least that he could close up these gaping wounds before exposing them to Miss Minty’s whip sword. But there wasn’t enough time.
He walked past his mother. Something made him stop at the door.
“I’m sorry,” he said. The words sounded feeble, too little and nine years too late. But he meant them.
Kojiro walked through the hallway in darkness. When he reached the front door, he flicked a switch on the wall. Through the glass panels, he saw a white light washing over the driveway. These would be the floodlights for tonight’s entertainment.
Everything was quiet outside.
Kojiro took several, slow deep breaths. He had to get his mind right. He had to stop thinking about the pain shooting up and down his hands and arms. How was he supposed to beat her like this? With a grimace, he pulled down the sleeves of his sweater as far as he could to shield the wounds on his forearm. Gloves would protect his hands, but they would hinder his grip on the sword. With any luck, the whip wouldn’t get anywhere near his cuts. He could only imagine the pain.
He glanced at the garage door on his right hand side. His father’s Bentley Continental was in there. What’s more, the car was still running because Kojiro had driven it every time he’d come back to keep the battery from going flat. Who knew when a car would come in handy?
It was a way out. He could go in there now, jump in the car and drive past them all and flee to safety. The snow on the ground wasn’t that thick. The car would move if he pushed it hard enough. He’d lose the house, swords, the armoury and the bodies of his parents – but he’d be alive.
Kojiro dismissed the thought. He’d agreed to the duel and to run away would be both cowardly and dishonourable. And no matter how far he ran, his father’s ghost would be on his tail, chasing him to the far corners of the Earth just to remind him how much of a coward he was.
“Now,” he said. “Do it now.”
He opened the door and was met with a chilling silence.
Kojiro walked down the steps, a stoic expression glued to his face.
The Vampire People were standing on the street. Most of them were located on the road itself, a short distance behind the wall that ran outside the house. Only Morrison and Miss Minty were standing inside the brightly lit driveway.
Morrison smiled. Kojiro thought it was a nervous smile or at least he hoped it was. Miss Minty’s expression was as hard as granite but Kojiro noticed her twitching around the eye. Was she scared too?
“You turned the lights on,” Morrison said in that high-pitched, effeminate voice. “How thoughtful.”
He took a backwards step towards the street where the rest of the gang were waiting and watching.
Kojiro’s eyes roamed the terrain quickly. Conditions weren’t ideal – the driveway itself was about fifteen metres long and it was a lot narrower, seven metres at most. There were two stone walls located on either side of the driveway, separating the extravagant house from the next, equally as lavish property.
A thin layer of snow covered the ground. It would make for treacherous footing and one slip could prove fatal.
Kojiro and Miss Minty took their positions on opposite ends of the driveway. Some of the Vampire People hissed at Kojiro from the street. He ignored them.
“I want your word,” Kojiro said, looking over at Morrison. “I win and you leave, all of you. That’s what honour demands.”
Morrison scratched at his chin thoughtfully. The skin there was smooth and boyish.
“You have my word stranger,” he said. “We’ll stay away but we still own the neighbourhood. You’ll be resident in our territory but you’ll be untouched.”
“You don’t touch the house either,” Kojiro said. “Or anything in it.”
“You have me intrigued,” Morrison said. He pointed a finger towards the house. “What have you got in there?”
Kojiro shook his head. “Your word.”
“Of course,” Morrison said. “And my word counts, especially when I give it in front of my people. Anyway, I’m not going to go back on my word because you’re going to die tonight stranger. Miss Minty doesn’t lose duels – it’s that simple. And just so you know, she likes to drink from her vanquished foes. That’s the last thing you’ll feel as the lights go out on your life – Miss Minty feasting at your neck.”
Kojiro drew the xiphos out of the scabbard. “So be it,” he said.
Miss Minty stood across from him. Her red lips curled into a snarl, showing a hint of the golden canines.
On the street, a young woman stepped forward. She knelt down in front of the crowd and set a small goatskin drum on the road in between her knees. She went to work quickly – she hit that drum with every ounce of strength she had while her long black hair swayed in time to the exotic, dangerous beat that oozed from her.
Miss Minty didn’t blink. Kojiro assumed the drum had been a feature of all her previous duels.
“Participants,” Morrison said. “This is a duel to the death as agreed upon by both combatants. This is strictly one on one combat and there are no rules except you must remain in the chosen arena – the driveway of this beautiful, soon-to-be-ours building. And what’s at stake tonight has already been discussed. Are you ready?”
Miss Minty nodded. Kojiro did likewise, ignoring the stinging pain in his hands.
“Then begin.”
Kojiro watched as Miss Minty rolled her strange dance of death into motion. It was faster this time and her tiny, slim body moved in perfect sync with the beat of the drum. She leapt and twisted in the air like a ballerina.
“Yes!” Morrison yelled out.
Kojiro stayed put and extended his sword arm to ward her off making any sudden advance. He tightened his grip on the handle and winced. It felt like somebody had taken a hot iron to his arm.
Miss Minty came at him. She covered the ground in between them at a tremendous speed, swinging the urumi over and around her head and shoulders in unrelenting arcs. The whip whistled and cracked. Her body was a blur of continual movement – movement that was necessary to generate the slashing power that she needed to make a weapon like the urumi effective.
Kojiro rushed backwards. She backed him against the wall and charged in, still spinning and twisting her limbs with supernatural dexterity. Her confidence was remarkable. The woman didn’t seem to possess any fear of Kojiro or his sword.
Kojiro sidestepped to the left and using his feet, worked his way out of danger. Footwork and distance – these w
ere his friends today. Balance too –without that, he was a dead man.
Miss Minty swung the urumi over and around her shoulders. It was a miracle her arms weren’t exhausted already.
Kojiro stabbed at the whip-like urumi. It was hard to keep track of the weapon because it was so fast and blurry. He thrust the xiphos at Miss Minty’s short legs, trying to tip her off balance but he couldn’t get close enough. He went upstairs, aiming at her head but wherever he pointed the sword, the urumi was already there, countering his blows. On several occasions, Kojiro got too close and he could feel the heat of the metal blade, just inches away from his hands.
He continued on the back foot, warding off the metal whip with the sword. Miss Minty chased Kojiro around the driveway for about a minute until there was a brief lull in the action and both duellists found themselves in their starting positions on opposite ends of the driveway.
Kojiro was breathing hard. Miss Minty hadn’t broken a sweat yet.
C’mon! You’re embarrassing me boy!
His father. He was still up there at the bedroom window. Kojiro could feel those cruel and decaying eyes condemning his every move.
“No,” he whispered. “Go away.”
Miss Minty leapt forwards, spinning the urumi around in a never-ending arc. The crack of the metal whip was deafening.
Can’t you even beat a little girl?
She got closer this time. The urumi was a blur of movement and Kojiro was pushed backwards at a frightening pace. His battered hand dropped the sword before he even realised that his grip was loose. The xiphos landed on the snow with a thud and skidded briefly along the driveway.
Now he was in big trouble.
Miss Minty launched a vicious kick at his exposed body. With the flat of her boot, she landed on his midsection and sent him flying backwards across the driveway. Considering her petite frame, there was an extraordinary amount of power in her attack. Kojiro groaned as his back slammed into the hard wall. The lights went out in his head for a second before he crumbled to the ground in a broken heap.
The drum was still beating. It was a relentless, evil heartbeat ticking away in the background.
Kojiro’s body trembled as he lay in the snow. Everything was blurry and he fought hard not to drift into unconsciousness.
The foggy shape of Miss Minty walked across the driveway. She looked like a giant from where he was on the ground.
A voice screamed at Kojiro. It wasn’t his father’s voice this time. It was his own.
Don’t give up!
He got up into a sitting position and looked for something to defend himself with. But the xiphos was out of range and there was nothing else at hand except snow.
Kojiro felt the warm blood running down his hands and arms. The heat was oddly comforting in a macabre way. His arms dropped to the side, exhausted. His right hand landed on something hard. Grasping at his pocket, Kojiro remembered the little aerosol can that he’d forgotten to drop off on his way out.
The lighter. He slid a bloody hand into his back pocket. It was there too and suddenly there was hope again.
Miss Minty walked forward, confidence oozing out of her. She was toying with him – there was no longer any danger. The fight – if you could even call it that – was over. Kojiro thought he saw a glimmer of relief in her blazing red eyes. Perhaps she’d expected more from him?
He was loath to disappoint her.
She spun the metal whip in a looping motion.
Kojiro waited until she got a little closer. When it was time, he made his move. He launched himself off the wall, both legs extended like a footballer going in for a foul tackle. It was a manoeuvre he’d practiced many times before with sparring partners. Tonight, it was his last hope. He went through the snow like a human toboggan and locked both legs around Miss Minty’s lead leg. She looked down in surprise and the first hint of fear showed in her eyes.
He twisted violently with all his strength, pulling her off-balance.
Miss Minty shrieked as she fell crashing to the ground. Her arms flailed for a couple of seconds, although she still held the urumi in her grip.
Kojiro leapt on top of her and threw down a barrage of punches to her face with whatever strength remained in his arms. The whip sword flew out of her hands. There was an explosion of pain in Kojiro’s knuckles as they landed on Miss Minty’s hard head. It was mostly his blood that decorated her face.
When she was stunned. Kojiro pulled out the can of air freshener and held it up close to her face. With his other hand, he flicked the lid of the lighter and a tiny orange flame popped up. He lined up the nozzle of the aerosol can with both the lighter and Miss Minty’s blood-soaked face. Then he pushed down, spraying a gust of fire in a straight line.
Miss Minty screamed as the flamethrower chewed up her demonic features. Kojiro fought with all his strength to keep her pinned down. He was like a wrestler, smothering her with his weight and no matter how hard she fought to get free – and she did fight hard – he didn’t let her out. He kept his finger on the nozzle, spraying as much fire as he could in what little time he had.
The drumming stopped.
Kojiro threw the can onto the snow and pocketed the lighter. He jumped off Miss Minty and leapt back to his feet. He then ran over and grabbed his sword off the ground. Hurrying back, he stood beside her. She was wriggling on the ground in agony, like a dying insect trapped in the glare of the sun.
That burning smell – it was acrid and moist in his nose.
Kojiro looked at Morrison and the other Vampire People. They were watching events unfold in horror from the street. The sight of their champion in distress was something none of them had prepared for and now they were holding onto one another in the absence of any comforting words.
Kojiro looked at Morrison. With a curt nod, he brought the sword down and drove it deep into Miss Minty’s heart. The screaming stopped instantly. He looked at her face – a mask of red and black with a narrow plume of smoke rising out of the charred skin. The smoke drifted up like a spirit towards the night sky.
“It’s done,” Kojiro said.
There was stunned silence amongst the Vampire People.
Kojiro took a step back from the body, moving towards the house. He was waiting for Morrison to say something. He half-expected the man to reach a hand into his leather jacket and pull the revolver out. Then he’d take aim at Kojiro with that last emergency bullet and fire.
All Kojiro wanted was an acknowledgement of his victory. It was a fair fight – a one on one duel and it had been decided.
The painful silence was broken by the sound of a slow handclap. It took Kojiro by surprise and at first he couldn’t see where it was coming from.
The clapping got louder. Slowly, the crowd of Vampire People parted in the middle and it was like God parting the Red Sea. A narrow channel opened up and Kojiro saw a tall figure walk through the crowd and approach the driveway.
It was the old man.
He strolled through the crowd, surrounded on both sides by a flock of adoring worshippers who looked at him like he was their savour. His bald head gleamed as it caught the white light coming from the house. The wispy hairs on his head danced in the breeze. Kojiro noticed that the two bite marks on his neck were still there but his limp was gone.
“Good evening,” the old man said. “I see you caught up with my children after all. I tried to warn you about staying in the area, didn’t I?”
Kojiro shook his head. “You?” he said.
The old man stopped beside Morrison. He turned to face the younger man and cold, disapproval showed up in those dead eyes.
“You thought my son was in charge?” he said. A claw-like hand grabbed Morrison by his long curly hair.
Morrison cried out in pain. Now he too, like the boy Kojiro had killed earlier, sounded like a frightened child when things went wrong.
“This?” the old man said. “You thought this was in charge? I thought so too. I wanted the boy to show me that he was a man.
He’s supposed to be cleaning out the neighbourhood for me and yet he can’t even get rid of one sword-wielding Nip.”
The old man let go of Morrison’s hair and pushed him to the ground. Morrison fell willingly back onto the snow. There was a wounded look in the son’s eyes as he looked up at his father.
“This is my territory,” the old man said, turning back to Kojiro. He scratched at the bite wounds on his neck – wounds that were probably inflicted at his command to fool Kojiro into leaving the area. “I’ve fought for a long time to get a territory of my own. There was so much clutter in this neighbourhood and we’re so close to cleaning it out at last and declaring peace.”
He pointed at Kojiro. “There’s just you in the way.”
“There was a duel,” Kojiro said. “You might have noticed.”
“I don’t make deals with Nips who wander into my territory. You should have listened to me earlier when I gave you the chance to leave.”
“Dishonourable bastard,” Kojiro said.
“Look at them,” the old man said, pointing a thumb over his shoulder at the Vampire People. “Lost souls all of them. Broken hearts. Abandoned children. They come from all over the city and now at last, I – their father – have a chance to give them somewhere to call home. We’ve worked too hard for this day and you’re not going to fuck it up. You have weapons – good weapons. We’re going to need them to hold onto this territory.”
Kojiro shook his head. “This is my house.”
The old man sneered. Then he turned back to the Vampire People.
“What are you waiting for?” he yelled. They cowered at the fury in his voice. Even the two wolves jumped in fright at the back of the crowd. “Do you want a home? Take this house. Kill this man. It’s not that fucking hard. Do it NOW!”
The Vampire People charged across the street, rushing at the house with reckless abandon. There were about fifteen of them and they leapt over the front wall, almost trampling on the slain Miss Minty in their eagerness to get to the house. They would have ripped Kojiro to pieces to please the old man. He saw the look in their eyes – a blind and dangerous devotion with no happy ending. The cause didn’t matter. It was enough that they had a cause – better than having nothing. They would kill him, drink his blood and eat his flesh raw if that’s what he told them to do.
The Future of London Box Set Page 77