Ring of Madness

by Royden Labrosse

  - No! Someone screamed. But I didn't take my eyes off the blackened Doe's eye.

  - I offer you my body. My soul. My power. If you can eat it! I am stronger and tastier than Nastia. And you can't crush me. You've already figured that out, haven't you? I'm not gonna let you do the ritual, and that's what you need.

  - Witch," Dosya whispered.

  I smiled. Or did you just smile?

  - You have a chance until I know the limits of my power. You're taking a risk, you bastard?

  Cold and heavy seconds stretched out like drops in a klepsidre. The dock drilled me with its eyes. And then she whispered and whispered.

  - Rissknu.

  - What should I do?

  - Come here and suck my hand.

  - That's it?

  - Shh, shh, shh, shh, shh.

  I nodded.

  - Nastia will be gone as soon as we get together. A deal?

  - A deal.

  - Leonidas! - I barked.

  And in return, silence.

  - I'm gonna let him go.

  - Yes. Stop pushing my people. Your prey is me, not them.

  I didn't have much hope. If I almost got cut by that trap, what happens to me now?

  I guess I'm gonna die.

  But I'm not scared right now. I've already been there. When I was pulling out the vampire. And I know it's not scared. I also always have hope. I'll just take roots in my favorite clearing a little earlier. Isn't that so bad?

  I don't think so.

  Shacking up, Charles got off the floor. Mieczysław's fingers were slightly unlocked. It's about time. They'll clamp the blood vessels, you won't notice. All I missed was the gangrene...

  Shit, what am I thinking!? I'm about to get eaten, and I'm...

  Nastia took a tiny step aside. I took a step forward. There was nothing left but desperate determination.

  - I come up to you, and you let her go. Okay?

  - That's great.

  And it seemed to me for a split second that a split snake tongue flashed through Dosi's mouth.

  I took a step forward.

  - Julia...

  This is Mecislav. The devil contacted the baby... on his head! My death will hurt him, too. I'm sorry. But Charles will help if anything. We are brother and sister now.

  I had a lot to say. But there was no time. I was waiting for Dosya. Waited for that creature. And I took another step forward. Without looking back.

  It took nine steps in total. So few. Nine steps to death.

  I can handle it.

  I made a move. Second. I got close to Doza. And I looked into her eyes. Once blue, now they were covered in black film like cataracts.

  Possession," flicked in my head.

  But how could that help?

  It was even scarier and more painful up close. The black spots slid around her, merging into one snake. And I knew that once we touched it, all that power would come down on me. And she'd only have one goal.

  EAT.

  And I wanted to live like this. But I couldn't do it otherwise.

  - Let Nastia go.

  - I promised. I won't hurt her.

  Somehow I knew that I was being spoken to by Dosi's body.

  - Let him go. When you... activate... I don't want her children to get hurt.

  - Kids? Pishcha.

  Kids!? Food!? Crimson rage splashed a wave, consuming, flooding the mind and soul. Our children are food to you, you beast!? Like mice for a viper!? But a hundred rats will eat and boa! And it won't wince.

  - Let him go.

  I was all shivering with rabies. But the creature seems to have taken it for fear. There was a nasty grin running through Dosi's lips.

  - You're free, foxy. Go on.

  Nastia twitched, tried to make a move - and settled on the floor. Her legs didn't hold her. She tried to crawl, clinging to the floor with her hands, but with her stomach could not even move. And she had wild, animal horror written all over her face. And fear. Not for herself, no. To her children.

  Dosya threw her head back and laughed.

  Loudly. That's mocking. Self-confident.

  And I feel like I've been whipped.

  Are you laughing, you bastard!?

  Well, we'll see who laughs without consequences! You were strong when I was afraid! And now...

  I'm gonna smother the devil so you can fall and die!!!

  I guess that's how our soldiers were attacking.

  The last step was easy for me. I grabbed into a woman's wrists and sizzled like three ga-ducks.

  - You want my soul!? Well, then get it, mrazssh!!!

  And rage covered my head, burning everything but one furious desire.

  I'll die, but they'll bury you with me too. I wasn't afraid of anything anymore.

  No pain piercing the whole body like ice stakes in a hundred places.

  No death with a gloomy grin from moldy eyes.

  No way.

  I fell into blackness... I fell to open my eyes in the very desert where I found Mieczysława.

  * * *

  Red sand. The bloody sky above your head. And the crazy, drying heat. And in this desert, there were two men standing opposite each other. Though they were standing - loudly spoken.

  I was standing.

  And second...

  It was wrapped around me.

  It really was some kind of snake. Like, because there was a human head on the snake's body. It was like a human head.

  It's like the same eyes, same lips, same cheekbones and same nose...

  And at the same time...

  That face was completely alien to all people. The nose was too long with a hunchback. Too big eyes with vertical pupils. White eyes - with black failures in nowhere. Too high forehead and narrow cheekbones. And sharp as a needle, chin.

  The snake was blaming me so hard it was hard to move. My hands were still free. Bye. But the bastard tried to drag them to my body.

  And I grabbed it just below my head.

  We looked each other right in the eye.

  - That's what you are, I was hissing.

  - That's what you are, you sizzling bastard. The bastard? Doesn't matter. The important thing was different. To cling to it, to strangle it, to strangle it. Ignoring anything. No heat, no pain in the whole body, no gravity...

  I'll hold on. I don't know how long it'll be before I fall.

  Probably a lot. I'm strong. And this thing is weak now. That's why I'm still alive. But I still can't win. And then this bastard will look into my eyes and lie down with one last kiss on the lips, sucking the soul out of my body.

  And I will disappear. Or worse, I'll be her servant.

  The desert, as it should have been, was empty. But still, I felt, somewhere far away, on the very edge of consciousness, a polyphonic whisper of hundreds and thousands of souls absorbed by this creature. They were here, too. But somehow this creature was in no hurry to set them on me. Why is that?

  Doesn't matter. What matters is different.

  Hold on to your strength. Fight death to... to death! How did our guys stay in Brest Fortress. To the last cartridge, to the last drop of blood, to the last breath, bloody foam freezing on their lips. Dying? Let it be. But even in death, not to give up.

  And soaked in with numb fingers so that they can cramp. So they don't get unlocked even after I die!

  - Pocorissus... - the snake was hissing. - Sssssss...

  I didn't answer. I'm not gonna trade you for the little things. I'm gonna fight to the end. What about the words? There's no need for words.

  Except...

  Can you hear me? You, who did that bastard kill!?

  I'm not giving up. I'm still alive.

  * * *

  Mechislav helplessly watched Yulia go forward. To the monster that an ordinary singer has turned into.

  Next to him, Charles moaned, stretched out his hand in a futile attempt to stop Julia. But where is it?

  That crazy one went forward.

  Mecislav knew she couldn't do
it. There's no way she can do it. And he also knew...

  Gods, he would never dare to do that.

  Death isn't that scary yet. It's the end of one path and the beginning of another. But this one...

  This bastard is the end of everything. Lives. Death. Souls. Mind.

  He wanted to scream - but his throat didn't obey him. He wanted to stretch out his hand, but it was as if the invisible stove was pushing harder and harder. He wanted to blink so he wouldn't see this nightmare... but he was denied it too.

  And he saw perfectly well how Julia approached the monster. How quietly he says something - and how Nastia, released to the will, tries to crawl away.

  And then Julia leaps like she's been hit - and she herself squeezes Dosi's wrists with her dead grip.

  Two bodies dropping to the floor like rag dolls.

  And it's over.

  The vampire's gravity has disappeared. He moaned and Charles kneeled down. Nastia's voice burst into tears.

  Vadim and Valentin immediately rushed to her. Leonid torn his cell phone out of his pocket and rushed to the street, calling someone.

  Yulia and Dosya were also lying in a mortal embrace.

  Next to Mieczyslaw, Charles got up on his feet. The men looked over and stepped forward in silence. To the place where they knew it desperately, a woman was fighting.

  And nothing else mattered. No anger, no jealousy, no resentment. It doesn't matter that she was one sister and the other wife. It didn't matter, except for one thing.

  Both Mecislav and Charles, in their own way, but they loved her.

  The vampire knelt down next to him, touched a vein on his neck...

  Pulse was steady and strong. Even too hard and too often, like Julia was running or something...

  The vampire looked at Dossa. But he didn't dare touch it. Instead, he pulled out a knife.

  - Don't do it," Charles sounded.

  - Why?

  - They're tied up now. I know they are. If you kill her, you'll kill Julia, too. Or worse, she'll be like Dosya. Obsessed.

  The vampire looked at the dragon, who also fell to the floor next to Julia. Laskovo took a strand of hair wet with sweat from the girl's forehead.

  - You're .

  you know

  ?

  - I mean, she's my blood sister. And I can feel everything that happens to her. It's the back side of the dragons. You vampires are in control of everything about blood. But otherwise, you're helpless. And we can do a lot of things, but as far as our blood is concerned, we're powerless. That's our payback.

  - It doesn't matter - Mechislav snapped. At other times he would have gladly talked about magic, about dragons, but now... now that Julia was helplessly lying at his feet, and the pulse on his thin neck was beating harder and harder... - What can we do for her?

  Charles shrugged his shoulders.

  - If I understand correctly... The power of this thing is death. It draws its power from the life and soul of others. And Yulia is alive. And that's why she's still fighting back.

  - Something else didn't fight back.

  The look of the purple eyes was crooked.

  - You know what her power is.

  - Okay. So now what?

  - I suspect that thing dragged her to the same place you were. In the lead-up to death.

  Mechislav scolded. Dirty and helpless. But Charles isn't finished yet.

  - You'll be able to get in there. In the wake of your death.

  - Let's say. Can I help her out there?

  - I don't know. But I know another thing. The place where Julia gets her power, where she gets it from... Did you see him?

  - Yes.

  The Swordfighter's gone. Death - and it wasn't as terrible as this place scared him. Some kind of crazy chaos.

  - I can open her way in there. With the power of my blood, my kinship blood and my curse... she tried to lead me there, too. We'll have that chance.

  Medislav was not happy about it. But at least there was some hope.

  - And then what?

  - I don't know. I'd go myself, but I can't yet. Because of my curse, I'll be helpless and useless there. My power does not yet obey me.

  - But can you fool me?

  - Not me. It's your magic. The magic of blood. I can just help, serve as a link. But nothing more. You'll take your chances?

  - What can I do there?

  Charles stood still in the green eyes.

  - I don't know. It's probably nothing. Could be anything. There's hardly a chance of anything. You could die. So could she. So could I. I'll hold you while you're there. Anything can happen. So it's up to you to choose.

  - Yeah. Just me. You're going anyway, right?

  Charles silently lowered his eyelashes.

  Okay. So will Julia. With no hope of winning. In a deadly battle with something that threatens not only life, but also death and death...

  Okay. Isn't there another way?

  You can't. And Mecislav knew it. And he even smiled at his thoughts.

  - Wait a minute. I give the orders, and we go. Okay?

  Charles nodded.

  - Okay. But not for long. Yule can't take much longer. I know that.

  The vampire nodded - and with one strong, flexible movement he rose to his feet.

  - Vadim!

  The faithful squire was immediately there.

  - Yes, Chief?

  - We're gonna... we're gonna have to get Julia out of here. If we feel bad, if something goes wrong...

  - We'll die right away," Charles intervened.

  - Yeah? All the better. Vadim, if the three of us are dying, you get Dossa, and you run away from here that you have strength. You know the evacuation plan.

  - I know. Chief, you...

  - Yeah. Me. And Charles will go, too.

  - Do you have a chance?

  - I don't know. So be ready.

  Vadim blushed even harder. Though it would seem that the vampire is nowhere else to go. And he nodded.

  - Okay.

  Mecislav knelt down again next to Julia.

  - What should I do?

  Charles put one of his hands on Jule's chest. Just above his heart.

  - Hold it like this. And now...

  The dragon tried on, stooped down next to Mieczysław, put his hands on Jóla's whiskey, trying not to hit Doza, who was also lying still, and threw his head back.

  - Bite. My blood is the key now.

  Mecislav wrapped his free hand around Charles' head. Green eyes flashed with scarlet lights, fangs moved out for the whole length. A long narrow tongue circled the lips...

  * * *

  Charles didn't feel a bite.

  Just because in a wave of pain that torn the whole body, such little things were not worth the attention.

  The pain was torn apart by claws and fangs. Striped with whips and whips. I burned with fire and froze with permafrost. Somewhere on the edge of consciousness flashed the thought that both Alfonso and all the others were just pathetic amateurs. And she was gone.

  The dragon swam in the dark, seeing almost nothing. And it felt as if it was vomiting in two parts.

  Death, the true lady of vampires, called and beckoned in the deaf, cozy darkness.

  My heart was beating deafly in my chest. Somewhere near there was a wild, crazy chaos in which he was once with Julia. A place that is truly alive. And he himself is a pitiful link. A bridge between two worlds.

  The only thing he could do was to hold on to the unplugged.

  No matter how long it takes, he'll wait. Or he'll die like this. When his last strength runs out. But he's not gonna leave his little sister in the blood.

  He will not betray.

  And the pain?

  What is pain? It's also a bridge between life and death. It's also a part of power. And damn it if he doesn't use it!

  Somewhere far away with a deaf kick, the chains of the old curse...

  * * *

  Mechislav opened his eyes.

  Oh, this place was
familiar to him.

  The sky is the color of blood and sand, as if the blood had just soaked into it. This is where he was already. And the last thing he wanted was to come back. But... is there a choice?

  Yulia did everything for him. Can't he do less?

  It can't. But how do you find her here? You should have at least asked the girl. But where is it?

  Why was he so stupid?!

  Okay. When she gets out of here, he'll take over Julino himself... if she doesn't kill him before.

  The vampire looked at himself. He looked the same as he always did. Light pants, shirt of the same material... The only difference is a heavy bracelet made of something resembling a white stone on his right hand. И?

  The vampire touched it with his hand. And he flinched. The bracelet was warm, resilient and desperately pulsating as if there was something alive under his hand, not a stone...

  Julia?

  Our connection?

  The vampire's focused. He imagined a girl in the hall, on the floor, and the bracelet warmed under his fingers. The vampire took a step to the right. It's colder. To the left? Yeah, same. Straight ahead?

  A wave of heat almost burned my hand.

  Well. Then we have to go ahead.

  Just to be in time...

  The vampire, without taking his fingers off the bracelet, took a step forward... another, third...

  And soon made sure he was going in the right direction. The bracelet was beating and throbbing, glowing under his fingers. It burned his palm, but remained completely cold on his wrist. Even a little frosty. Why is that? The vampire didn't know. And he wasn't going to look for an answer. His case was much simpler.

  Without theoretical research to find Julia.

  Get her out of here.

  And get rid of that creature that was sitting in Doss.

  So go ahead. To where their connection leads.

  Yulu he noticed suddenly. As ridiculous as it sounds in the desert. No dunes or anything else... but it wasn't there yet, and suddenly it was.

  Mecislav was horrified to see the painting open.

  A thin girl's figure almost all disappeared under the black matte rings of a huge snake. On the surface there was only the head - and her fingers - with a dead grip on the body of the viper. And the viper herself...

  The vampire's body was shaking.

  It was a creature with a human head. Apparently human. That's the face he only saw once. On an old fresco. And he really wanted to forget it forever.