At last, Soborgne found the one she would use. He was lingering near the opening of an unlit alley. He leaned up against the brick, pretending not to notice the fair-skinned, pretty girl stumbling through the street. Soborgne knew better because she could see his thoughts. He was watching her very carefully. He thought she was drunk or stoned. Why else would a young girl be tripping through the dark streets with no coat on in the middle of the winter? The snow was beginning to stick now. It was freezing to him.
Soborgne stumbled a little for his benefit and looked around densely as if she was lost. She could see his plan formulating inside his sick and twisted brain. He would wait for her to walk by and then he would grab her. Once he got her into the alley, he would bash her head into the bricks of the building. They’d find her and probably just assume she was another junkie who fell down and never got back up again. It wasn’t unusual around here. The druggies and homeless flocked here at night, hoping to guilt trip the rich people in the fancy hotels and dining rooms out of a few bucks. All rich people thought the same way. A few dollars relieved their conscience and made the ugly in the world fade into the background.
Soborgne couldn’t help but smile. He thought he’d knock her out and then have his way with her. Wouldn’t he be surprised? She would have her way with him. The thought of drinking the black blood that must surely flow inside such a horrid person made her mouth water and she wiped at it with her sleeve. She may be playing the part of the druggie but she wasn’t about to start drooling on herself.
She didn’t look at him as she passed but she could feel his eyes bore into her. He was crazed. She knew he thought she was just a rich kid who had found herself lost and alone while experimenting with mommy’s secret stash. Even in generic clothing, Soborgne couldn’t disguise years of training and poise. Just as she thought he might chicken out, his hand shot out and grabbed her. She didn’t scream but she allowed herself to be dragged backward out of the sight of the other pedestrians. Though she doubted any of them would have noticed or cared if she had screamed. Stupid, mindless cows.
Once they were in the safety of darkness Soborgne began to struggle slightly. She wanted the game, the hunt, as much as she wanted the kill and the reward. His breath was hot and rancid and the smell of stale sweat and cheap beer poured from his skin. His mind was racing, filled with sex scenes that even the most depraved person would have blushed at. His words came out in harsh whispers as he told her what he was going to do to her. He wanted her to be afraid; he craved the begging and screaming of his other victims. Soborgne saw their faces in his mind and her anger grew. There was a girl, around thirteen, with red hair like Jenda’s. Soborgne saw a little blonde girl that couldn’t have been ten, clutching her teddy bear in the backseat of a dirty van. There were others but she didn’t want to see. Just like a light switch the images stopped. She had simply shut them off out of disgust.
Soborgne’s mind was filled with horror and hatred. The pumping of his heart echoed inside her head. She couldn’t play the game now. Not after seeing what this monster of the human race had done. She grabbed him by his throat and lifted him off the ground as he clawed at her skin vainly. She squeezed hard enough to stop his airway and carefully tried not to crush his windpipe. She would make him scream and beg. She would make him know the fear he had caused. Soborgne smiled sweetly up at him and repeated the words he had screamed into the face of his high school girlfriend after he had beaten and raped her. “You know you make me be like this. You drive me crazy, then won’t do a thing. It’s all your fault.”
At first, he was confused and then recognition dawned on him. He began to cry, to blubber like a baby. Soborgne dropped him to the ground in front of her and in a cold and passionless voice, she continued. “Beg. Beg as you made them beg. Scream for your mother and your father. Better yet, scream for your god. Bargain for your life. Promise anything so I will spare your pathetic existence.”
The man tried to beg but nothing came out but noisy gurgles. Soborgne realized she must have broken his windpipe by mistake. This wasn’t much fun and the hunger was driving her mad. Her two tiny fangs had extended and were now protruding down on to her lower lip. She could taste the blood burning in her mouth. She grabbed him by his hair and yanked him up from the ground, sinking her teeth into the tender flesh above where the shoulder muscle met the neck. Blood rushed into her mouth and she moaned in pure, sardonic pleasure. She squeezed him so tight that she could feel his ribs cracking as she drank in deep, hungry gulps. The salty fire filled her and made the world shine and shimmer.
This was heaven and hell. Torture and pleasure all wrapped into one. Soborgne could feel his body slacken and knew he’d passed out from the pain, fear, and blood loss. His heart fought against her valiantly and she tried to drink slower, to savor the taste. After a few more swallows his heart sputtered and then stopped. Soborgne dropped the body and smiled down on him. She had wanted to kill and would have taken the life of any stranger but that she had chose someone so purely evil had pleased her greatly.
She raised her head to see two people standing at the end of the alley facing her. Instincts kicked in and she crouched, ready to attack. A feral snarl snaked out of her, low and long. It echoed off the bricks around them as she prepared herself for an attack. Then she recognized the two faces in the dark, Jenda’s painted with shock and fear and Matteo’s a perfect mask of gentlemanly concern. That’s when the shame of what she had done hit her. She had killed, murdered. He may not have been innocent but who was she to judge. The hunger had driven her out and the bloodlust had led her here but now when that all faded into the background she was just Soborgne and she stood next to the body of a man she had murdered.
38
Soborgne’s hair was wild and matted to her face with sweat. Her eyes were starting to refocus. The blood was leaking from them, leaving them dull and confused. She was frightened and ashamed. Matteo approached her slowly. This was all his fault. Someone should have stayed with her. He should have known that the bloodlust would come. In his selfishness, he had abandoned Soborgne so that he could share the night with Jenda. Guilt wracked his mind as he held one outstretched hand towards the girl.
Soborgne couldn’t look at Matteo. She knew he was there and could see the outstretched hand but her eyes were locked on Jenda. Her best friend looked frightened and appalled. Soborgne couldn’t read her thoughts. Something must have happened when she shut her mind down to the man she had killed. She wanted to know what was in her friend’s mind. She needed confirmation of what she thought was there. Jenda must surely find her a monster. The girls were paralyzed by the awfulness of the situation. They stood staring at each in mute horror and shame.
Soborgne could not bear it. She turned to run. She would flee. If she could hide through the night then she would lie down and die in the sun’s rays when dawn came. She would not be a monster. She would not cause her friend pain or humiliate herself further. She heard Jenda scream her name and glanced back for a final glimpse of her best friend.
Pain screamed through Soborgne’s face and she felt herself flying backwards. Sound erupted around her in the darkness. Jenda screaming Matteo’s name, the sound of fighting, and heavy blows filled the air. Soborgne sat up shaking her head, trying to clear out the dizziness. Before she could wonder what hit her she suddenly knew. Above her stood a female vampire with blazing red eyes, pale skin, and a razor sharp grin. “Oh, did the little fledgling bump her head?” The woman cooed and then slammed her thick leather boot into the side of Soborgne’s head.
Jenda appeared behind the woman, her eyes flaming as she leaped onto the females back. Her fangs bared and her hands formed into talons, the razor sharp nails trying to gouge the woman’s eyes from her head. Soborgne stood ready to help her friend fend off the obviously more powerful vampire. She took one step forward, trying to find an opening that wouldn’t land a blow on Jenda instead of the woman before she heard him calling her.
She whipped her head to the left a
nd then to the right. Then she saw his shadow near the end of alley. One alabaster hand reached towards her, beckoning her towards him. Her mind filled with his silent words. “Come with me, ma amour. These two cannot protect you, they cannot understand you, and they do not love you. They think you are a monster. I will teach you to kill, to love, to live forever in the grand style you deserve. Come now, love. Let us leave this dirty place.”
Soborgne took a step forward. She knew he was right. Jenda thought of her as a monster. She had been trying to run away before this woman and her friends had come. She wanted to be with him. She wanted all the things he promised. She no longer hesitated. Soborgne began walking towards him, wanting to feel him here in the real world as she had in her dreams. She was a foot away when Jenda’s voice snapped Soborgne back into the reality of the situation.
Soborgne whirled back around and saw that the female vampire, now missing an eye, had Jenda pinned to the ground. The woman was attempting to tie Jenda up. Matteo couldn’t help her. He was at the back of the alley struggling with two large male vampires and he didn’t seem to be doing well. Without thought as to what she would do or how she would do it, Soborgne sprang. She closed the fifteen-foot distance in that one jump. The female vampire jerked her head up in surprise and Soborgne grabbed her chin in one hand and the back of her head in the other. With one powerful twist, Soborgne heard the bones explode. The woman’s eyes went blank and Soborgne threw her away from her friend.
Grabbing Jenda to her feet, Soborgne ran towards Matteo and the two men. Jenda followed suit. Without a word, without any telepathy, the girls worked together seamlessly. They chose the male closest to them to attack. Jenda circled around to the right and Soborgne to the left. The man didn’t fear them and that was his mistake. He grinned madly and in a deep Scottish brogue taunted them, “Come now me pretties, ye wana play tuf do ye? Well, let’s hav it den.”
“What are you supposed to be, half leprechaun and half vampire?” Soborgne could provoke anyone into a fight with her quick wit. Her jab hit its mark and the male vampire became enraged. He lunged at her and forgot completely about Jenda, whose foot smashed into the back of his head and sent him sprawling face first onto the cracked concrete. The girls didn’t allow him the chance to recoup. Soborgne grabbed a piece of rusted rebar laying a couple of feet from her and slammed it through the man’s back in the spot where she hoped his heart would be.
There was the sound of rib bones cracking, a wet liquid bubbling sound, and then the definite clink of metal on concrete. The male vampire’s body shuttered once and then lay still. With no time to rest, the girls didn’t stop to check for certain that the vamp was dead. Anyway, it wasn’t like they could check for a pulse. Both of them turned to find Matteo and help him but there was no need. He was sauntering towards them looking just like a knight who had slain a dragon. His hair blowing slightly in the breeze, a proud cocky smile on his lips, and he dragged the other vampire towards them by its foot. The vampire’s severed head hung from Matteo’s other hand.
“We got to move fast.” Matteo’s voice was hurried but he grinned like a naughty child. “These were Dracul trackers. You girls did well but we are lucky we all survived. Their back up will be here soon. I will finish them and we will throw these bodies into the dumpster. The sun will take care of them before anyone notices.” With that, he lifted the body of the man he had slain and threw it in the trash.
After Matteo removed the head, the girls grabbed the woman and heaved her in while Matteo handled the second male. “What do we do with this one?” Jenda asked, knowing her friend’s humiliation and self-disgust wouldn’t allow her to go anywhere near the human body. Matteo walked over to kneel beside the man. He lifted the body and turned the head so that the wound from Soborgne’s bite was showing. Matteo told the girls, “If ever you find yourself in a situation like this, when you don’t have time to properly dispose of your meal, simply bite your tongue and put some blood onto the wound.” Matteo spat fresh blood onto the man’s neck and Jenda was amazed as the skin instantly healed. Soborgne was reminded of Maya for a moment until Matteo let the body drop to the ground and said, “Let’s go.”
They walked quickly out of the alley and hurried back to the hotel. Thankful that most of the guests were already out for the evening and there was no one to notice the blood stains on their clothing, they took the stairs to avoid the elevator porter. No one spoke. It was a time of hurried motions and deep reflection. After a quick change, they were ready to head out. Jenda took one longing look at the bathtub. Ah well, an eternity together was plenty of time for that.
Outside they flagged a cab. Once they had all piled in and Matteo had given the order that they needed to be driven to the Harrisburg International Airport, silence filled the cab. Jenda made the first attempt to discuss what had happened. Jenda whispered so that the cabbie wouldn’t hear her. “We woke up and came to find you. The room was a mess. I was worried. I thought they had found us and had gotten to you. When you weren’t there, we came to search for you. I’m sorry we um…interrupted you um…well you know.” The apology was so sincere that Soborgne knew her friend had meant it.
“I don’t understand what happened. I didn’t mean to. I just had to go, you know. I had to do it and then when I saw you looking at me like you were scared to death, I just freaked.” Soborgne was holding back the tears she knew she couldn’t cry in front of humans.
“I was scared because I could feel what you were feeling while you were…you know.” Jenda blushed and ducked her head. She had finally admitted to Soborgne and Matteo that she could feel the feelings of others.
“You could what?” Soborgne shouted and the cabbie gave them an angry and quizzical look.
Matteo interrupted then. “Maybe it would be better to wait until we are on board the plane to discuss this further.”
Everyone agreed and they rode the rest of the way to the airport in silence. Every now and then Matteo would glance around them nervously. Soborgne was a little worried and became edgy. Jenda whispered, “It’s the Dracul. I can feel them too. They don’t know where we are. They are trying to find us. The city is full of them.”
Within the hour, the three of them boarded a private jet that was destined to Budapest. It was just like the hotel all over again. Surrounded by luxury, they were treated as royalty, and no one seemed to notice their disheveled, cheap clothing. To Jenda and Soborgne’s shock, the flight attendant was a young female vampire who eyed Matteo like he was snack. They settled into plush captain’s chairs circling a small table and drank warm blood from wine glasses.
With a little prodding from Matteo, Jenda told them how and when she first noticed that she could sense other’s feelings. She was reassured when he told her that it was not uncommon and the fact that both girls were experiencing such active and strong gifts was unusual but certainly a good sign. Next, it was Soborgne’s turn to confess to what she had been hiding. She told Jenda and Matteo about the dreams she had had and the man who spoke to her in Shakespearean beauty. She told them how the blood lust had driven her to the alley and pushed her to kill. Again, Matteo explained that it was not unusual. He apologized repeatedly for his negligence and Soborgne hated that he felt so guilty. They would have to be more vigilant and more careful. The girls would have to feed more often and he would have to teach them to drink from humans without killing. Then to Soborgne he spoke so gently that Jenda beamed at his kindness and Soborgne felt comforted at once.
“You have done nothing that isn’t natural to you dear. The man was a killer and a rapist. If anything, you have done the human race a favor. There are many of our kind who choose to hunt the way you did. It is an old natural instinct, when we are driven to kill we gravitate towards murderers and men of hate. Some believe it was God’s gift to the children of Lilith. The bloodlust would lead them to the evil doer if their hearts were kept pure.”
Matteo had not seen Soborgne in the alley, walking towards the man in the red cloak. Soborgne’s
eyes had been clouded with love and adoration. Jenda didn’t want to embarrass Soborgne but the image of her friend being lost in that man so much that she had almost left Jenda to die, scared her. “Soborgne, the man from your dream, was he in the alley?
Soborgne ducked her head. “Yes” was the only word she could manage to say. Jenda told Matteo what happened as Soborgne sat quietly sipping the blood and tears rolled down her cheeks. Matteo feared for Soborgne. He knew she was badly hurt. He knew how ugly the Dracul’s games could be and the damage it could do. More so, Matteo feared the knowledge he had not shared with the girls. An ancient prophecy had told of two female vampires. Their birth would end the battle between vampires and demons and would cause the downfall of God and all those who worshipped him. Matteo alone held this knowledge and as he looked upon the girls, he was almost sure they were the prophecy in flesh.
“It doesn’t matter now. We will be in Budapest soon. They will not find us there. We will be safe and I will teach you how to protect yourselves. Not to mention, I think we are all due for a shopping spree.” The girl’s heads popped up and Matteo grinned. Throughout the centuries, one thing never changed, shopping could heal almost any wound. “How does an all expense paid shopping trip sound?”
The girls cheered and hugged him tightly. They snuggled in to their chairs, sipped the blood, and talked the night away, anxious to start again and happy to be traveling together and off on an adventure. Though Soborgne sometimes still looked sad, she chatted along with them and Jenda hoped the mystery man from her dreams would not be able to find her thousands of miles away in Budapest. Matteo told them all about Budapest and the places they would go and see. His confidence made the girls certain that life would be good. There was so much for them to learn, to discover, and to share. There were many things that had happened in the last few weeks that still needed to be discussed but they could wait. The Dracul were temporarily forgotten and their futures looked promising for the first time since the day Soborgne had been kidnapped.
Requiem of Humanity Page 21