by Nick Stead
“Show me.”
I didn’t give the man much option but to do as I bid him, forcing him to his feet and keeping a tight hold on the collar of his shirt so he couldn’t run. He stumbled forward as I pushed him onward, back out of the door and along the corridor, trusting his fear to steer me in the right direction for as long as he believed it might save him. It wouldn’t, of course. I had no intention of letting him live once he’d served his purpose, but he had to know that doing as I asked was his best bet, since if he led me the wrong way I certainly would kill him.
“It’s just down here,” he said after a while, gesturing to the corridor we were about to enter.
More Slayers appeared from somewhere behind us at that moment, opening fire with no regard for their ally’s life. I growled in frustration, using him as a shield as I turned to deal with them. For his part, the man tried to appeal to the better nature of his fellow humans but they clearly had no problem with sacrificing the lives of others for ‘the greater good’. It came as no surprise to me by then that they were every bit the monster as those of us they were so determined to wipe out, their hatred for my kind so great that they didn’t even hesitate to shoot. I was seeing more and more evidence of that with every encounter. The man should have known he was doomed and saved his breath, but maybe he hadn’t truly understood what he’d signed up for. Bullets thudded into his flesh until it was riddled with the lead slugs, blood gushing from numerous holes and his body going into a series of uncontrollable spasms, his pleas turning to gurgles.
Guns clicked empty and I tossed the dying man aside, his usefulness outlived. Charging my enemies while they fumbled with their guns in an attempt to reload, I dispatched them in a similar fashion to the first group. And as the last one lay dying, it occurred to me that I might have just walked into another trap. I could detect another scent I recognised from the control room where I assumed anyone David deemed important would have been to oversee his game and share in the enjoyment of watching our suffering, but there was no way of knowing if it was the warlock I sought or not. The man’s smell came from another room in the corridor I’d been guided to and there was the perfumed scent of incense, so it was safe to bet I had the right room. Whether the man I needed was the one inside or not remained to be seen.
There was nothing for it but to go in and find out so I prowled over there and was surprised to find the door was unlocked, allowing me easier access to my prey than I’d been expecting. I was also surprised when the man inside stood boldly by his desk, incense and various bones arranged upon it in a circle and what looked to be an incantation scrawled on a scrap of paper lying next to the ritualistic ring. A bowl of what looked and smelled like blood sat in the centre of the circle.
Fresh pain stabbed through me as I entered the room. My body was still pressing for the transformation but the agony of it was made all the sharper by the fact it was going so slowly, and I faltered on my way over to the man I assumed was the spellcaster I needed. I had to lean against the wall until the worst of the throbbing subsided, the man watching me with disdain.
“Are you Aeshma?” I grunted.
“I might be. It depends what you want with me, beast.”
“I need you to dismiss the demon you summoned.”
“And why would I do that? My servants are far more powerful than one injured lycanthrope trapped in human form. You do not frighten me, wolf. They will crush you before you can lay a finger on me.”
I made it across the room to him, finding the strength to press him against the wall, my face inches from his as I glared into his eyes. My ears had turned pointy by then and I imagined I looked like a demon myself. “I will give you two choices. You can either perform the ritual to dismiss your pet demon and I will give you a quick, clean death, and if you’re lucky your soul will find the peace of eternal darkness or stay on the mortal plane, or even find its way to Heaven. Or I can send you down to the demons you’ve enslaved to your will and you will know torments far worse than any I can bring you.”
“You wouldn’t know how to send me there,” he sneered.
“Maybe, but I’m sure Selina will when she wakes and recovers enough to work her own witchcraft. Are you really willing to take that gamble? I don’t think those demons are going to be happy with you for making them your servants. And I wouldn’t count on your pet in the dungeon coming to save you. It already found a way to disobey your orders and let me through to the control room, so I could free it.”
Aeshma’s face paled. He didn’t need to know Selina might already be dead, obviously taking my threat seriously since he was quick to answer “I need my tools.”
I let him go, keeping a close eye on him as he returned to his desk and began rearranging the circle of bones, dipping his fingers in the blood and splashing each of them. He also lit five candles placed on the points of a pentagram carved into the desk and an incense cone. When he started to chant the incantation needed to work the spell I relaxed slightly, trusting I’d put enough fear in him to make certain he would do as I’d instructed. It seemed easier to let him dismiss the demon and finish killing the humans before going back for the others than letting it run free for as long as it took to bring Selina to perform the ritual herself, if she was even still alive. And I was confident I could clear the place of enemies without the demon’s help now that the serum’s effects were slowly giving way to the moon’s power.
The bloodied bones started to rattle with the dark energy the warlock was channelling through them and the blood began to bubble in the bowl in the centre, the candle flames quivering in the still air. I took that as a good sign. But the sound of more Slayers advancing towards the room reached my ears and I realised we were about to be interrupted.
“Hurry!” I growled, not wanting to take my eyes from the spellcaster in case he found the confidence to try anything. I was warier of him than I was of the guns coming our way.
Aeshma didn’t break his chant but his lips moved faster as he sought to finish the spell and earn the quick death I’d promised him. The power of the ritual seemed to be growing, the bones shaking more violently and crimson fluid spitting from the bowl, splattering the desktop red. It occurred to me the warlock could be working any spell at that point and I’d have no way of knowing until it was too late, but I didn’t know what would happen if I killed him before he’d finished; whether the dark magic would simply dissipate or whether it would explode or something. I daren’t test it, feeling it would be better to let him finish and just praying he was dismissing the demon as I’d told him to.
The Slayers had almost reached the room and the ritual still wasn’t done. I debated rushing out to meet them before they had me cornered with the warlock but indecision made me hesitate for a moment too long, and another wave of pain racked my body, slowing me further. The next thing I knew, the humans were bursting through the door and had their guns trained on me.
Aeshma stopped his chanting, presumably releasing the flow of dark energy he’d been channelling as the bones became inanimate once more and the surface of the blood grew calm and still in its dish. He smirked and made to sidle away from me, giving his allies a clear shot. David was not among them, apparently too cowardly to come and kill me himself, and from the grim looks on the faces of his men, I didn’t think they were going to risk taking me alive. I was out of options so I did the only thing I could, forcing my aching flesh to move as swiftly as my lycanthropy allowed.
Bone snapped and the warlock’s body crumpled to the floor, head twisted at an impossible angle. It was too quick for the humans to react and squeeze off a shot in time to stop me, though their guns remained fixed on my head and my chest and it was surely only a matter of moments before they opened fire. I just hoped Aeshma’s death would be enough of a distraction for me to somehow fight my way out without sustaining a mortal wound.
“You fool,” one of the men gasped, a look of horror creeping over his face as he realised what had happened. “What have you done?”
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br /> Chapter Twenty Eight – Keeping Promises of Blood
Fresh power surged through the room, extinguishing all the candles, scattering the bones on the desk with enough force to send them clattering across the floor and flipping the bowl in the centre, splashing blood across the wooden surface and down onto the PVC. As one, the force of Slayers started to scream, their bodies breaking before my very eyes. They fell to their knees, fingers twisted unnaturally and fractured bone sliding through the flesh of their forearms like blades being drawn from grisly sheaths. More blood gushed across the floor, turning it red.
Ribs exploded outwards from their chests, making craters like I’d seen in the chest of the demon, except these weren’t empty. Their beating hearts were visible; dark red rubies nested between the paler pinkish red of lungs filled with the air needed to make those pain filled cries possible. I found myself waiting for the power to squeeze the life from those organs but the seconds dragged into minutes and still the men suffered, denied an end to their pain.
The demon’s voice returned, hissing “Your lives, in return for my freedom. Enjoy your revenge.”
Inwardly grateful it didn’t seem to know freeing it had been my second choice, I tried to thank it both telepathically and out loud, though I’m not sure whether it heard me or not. Then I stalked through the dying men, ignoring the pleading in their eyes for me to finish them off. Hannah’s blood still stained my skin, mixed with that of the dog and above all Amy. They didn’t deserve my mercy.
I headed back towards the control room, wanting to check on the others before resuming the hunt for David. I knew the longer I delayed searching for him, the more chance he would have to escape the base, but the need to make certain if Amy was still alive proved stronger than my dark need for revenge. And I convinced myself he wouldn’t have run yet, instead coming up with some last attempt to kill me before he fled the area. So I made a vow that whatever else happened that night, he wasn’t getting away. I would send him into the same world of pain his men had just been plunged into, and nothing was going to stop me.
There was still the matter of the necromancer as well. I guessed he or she hadn’t been among the humans I’d already killed, since they’d all been armed with guns. They could well be with David, guarded by more reanimated corpses as they set another trap and waited for me to come to them. If the humans had any sense they’d have all run, regardless of what abilities they possessed, supernatural or otherwise, but they were blinded by hatred, especially David, and I felt certain most of them would stay to try and kill me. After all, they’d built the entire place purely so they could enjoy my suffering and ultimately my death, and even though they’d panicked when things had started to go wrong, the chance for vengeance would be too tempting to pass up.
The core of my being was darkness so I knew all too well the lengths that need for revenge would drive men to and I was sure it would overpower their fear, but as I stalked back down the corridors without encountering any more of the living, I began to have my doubts. No more groups of Slayers came to take a shot at me and there weren’t even any risen as zombies. The only thing that slowed my progress was the transformation, causing me to falter again. The serum seemed to be having trouble holding back the tidal wave of fury by then, more of my body growing visibly wolfish. My face was starting to lengthen into a snout and fur was sprouting. Despite the agony, I revelled in the rush of lupine strength coursing through my veins and willed it to go quicker, but the injection I’d been given hadn’t completely worn off and it was still pushing against my bestial nature, trying to hold onto the human side of me. I roared with frustration through a half formed muzzle, ears still too far down the side of my head and body still mostly humanoid. But it was enough to rip and tear the flesh of my enemies, when I found more of them. It would have to suffice for the time being, as long as the pain of this agonisingly slow change didn’t keep getting in the way. And there was still the throbbing of my wounds which at least were no longer bleeding, but they hadn’t healed yet either.
Once I was back in the control room, I prowled over to the empty section of wall where the pane of glass had been and looked down into the dungeon. The demon was gone. I hadn’t sensed it in the corridors as I’d made my way back so I guessed it had flown through the hole in the roof. More importantly, I could see Lady Sarah and Zee were back on their feet and seemingly fully healed, and Gwyn was sat upright, but dread stabbed through my gut when I saw Amy and Selina still laid motionless.
The vampires looked up and Zee called out to me.
“Nick! Good to see you made it. Where’s the demon? Has it turned on the Slayers as hoped?”
I shook my head, climbing down to re-join them and check on my sister. “It looks like it flew off. How are you healed, have you fed?”
“No,” Lady Sarah answered. “We were dying to the demon’s power when we lost consciousness but when we awoke, our injuries were gone.”
“The demon healed you all? I didn’t think it would have the ability to cause anything other than death and destruction.”
To my relief, Amy and Selina began to stir. They also seemed to be fully healed, with Amy in good enough shape to stand on her own again. In ordinary circumstances I might have found it unfair that the demon saw fit to heal them and not me, but I was too grateful they were all alive. It had probably left my body to recover on its own knowing that the transformation would soon repair the damage, meaning my life wasn’t in imminent danger if my wounds went untreated.
“It matters not,” Lady Sarah said. “We need to leave this place before our enemies send anything else to kill us.”
“Well the warlock is dead. I found the room where he kept his things for casting spells if Selina wants to go and work the banishment ritual, if that’s still possible with the demon gone off to wherever it is now.”
“I can’t promise but I’ll do my best,” the witch told me.
“I don’t know about the necromancer,” I continued. “And I’ve not encountered many Slayers with guns yet, but those that have attacked are all dead. No sign of David yet either.”
“I will go with my sister to the warlock’s room then,” Lady Sarah volunteered.
“Good idea. I’m going back to hunting,” I growled.
Zee gave me a fierce grin. “Leave some for me. I’ll come up and sweep the base with you.”
“Okay, but David’s mine.”
“Agreed.”
“Gwyn, you stay and watch Amy for me. There’s no sense endangering her again while we clear the area; we’ll come back for you when we’re ready to go.”
“And let you guys have all the fun?”
“Yes,” I growled.
The knocker threw up his hands in mock submission. “Okay fluffy, have it your way.”
“Any of you need a help up?” I asked.
The vampires shook their heads, slipping out of their clothes and taking their bat forms with a grace that my transformation lacked. Selina bundled up their garments and Zee’s weapons, then Lady Sarah grabbed hold of her sister with clawed feet and flew her up, and Zee followed. I looked over at Amy, noting the disappointment in her eyes at my talk of revenge and the sight of my monstrous form, her hopes of us going home together dashed by the realisation I wasn’t cured after all.
“I’ll be back for you, sis,” I promised.
She kept quiet and looked away, so I left it at that. Climbing back up the wall was easy enough when I’d been granted claws again, the vampires already dressed by the time I’d made it to the top. Once up there, the four of us made our way out of the control room and I gave the Wilton sisters directions to the warlock’s room. They rushed off to attempt the ritual, leaving me and Zee to navigate the maze of corridors as we hunted for more prey.
It was suspiciously quiet. We passed more rooms that looked to be sleeping quarters, like the section of the base we’d been allowed into as part of the game, but most were empty. Only a few were occupied, the nerve having apparently failed
the men within and fear driving them to attempt to barricade themselves inside, where they hoped to wait out the night. Maybe they thought we’d pass them by if they made it harder for us to get at them, but their doors were no match for our supernatural might and they didn’t have enough furniture to stack behind them to keep us out. They died to our fangs, the walls painted crimson and the rooms decorated with gore. We also took the opportunity to feed, my body still slowly turning to wolf form. My snout had almost reached its full length and my hands and feet were becoming more like paws, and my tail had also grown. It was only a matter of time before the moon won out and the transformation completed, even with the serum still in my system.
We soon reached another T-junction but instead of picking a direction and going on together, we decided to split up, confident we could take whatever the Slayers threw at us now they didn’t have such close control over our fates as they had in the dungeon. But neither direction held the scent of the men whose blood I really wanted and the corridor I chose was as unsatisfyingly full of prey as the rest had been up to that point. There were just two Slayers waiting bravely in the section of the base I was working my way through who opened fire the moment I came round the corner, though I’d already sensed them there and bounded forward on all fours. They’d been aiming as if they expected me to still be walking upright and I was able to disarm them before they could hit me, killing one with a quick bite to the throat and then ripping into the other, giving him a slower and more painful death.
After wandering a few more virtually empty corridors, I finally found myself in another canteen. It wasn’t the same as the one that had been used as part of the game so I guessed this was the real one where the Slayers dined. Zee had arrived ahead of me and he was already closing in on the room’s remaining occupant, bloodied sword drawn.
The smell of death and gore was thick on the air, bodies of those the vampire had already killed lying in pieces. It took my nose a minute to pick up the man’s scent, lips curling into a feral snarl when I recognised him as one of the four I’d been hoping to find. He was one of the three responsible for torturing the dog.