by Jen Pretty
“Maybe let's take it down a notch,” Drew said, breaking the tension.
Durga stormed back into her place, releasing me from her grip.
“What just happened?” I asked, setting my knife on the dresser by the wall.
“There is an old legend, Mahishasura. I say this right?” Vilen looked to Alex who just nodded.
“Durga slew him. So, the story goes.” Alex sat on the corner of the bed and began his story.
"Mahishasura means Buffalo Demon. He meditated for thousands of years so he could please Lord Brahma. In return, he gained a boon. No man or God could kill him. He then waged war like no other before him. He was tyrannical and unstoppable."
"In his rage and pride, he almost destroyed the entire earth. Darkness and death covered all the land, and soon even the Gods ran away. "
"The Gods went to Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva and spoke of the troubles. They pleaded for protection or some divine intervention."
"Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva conferred for a moment before they held each other and created a beautiful light. This light was brighter than the sun. The other Gods joined in and form this light they created the Goddess Durga. She was the embodiment of Adi Shakti. As a woman, nothing was stopping her from killing Mahishasura, for that was the loophole left behind when the arrogant man thought to become a God."
"The lords approached her, each bearing a gift that might assist her in her work."
"When each of her arms bore a weapon, she started a battle with Mahishasura. The battle raged for ten days. Mahishasura changed form to confuse Durga, but on the tenth day, she chopped off the head of the buffalo, killing Mahishasura once and for all."
"Durga restored the balance, and life returned to earth. The rivers ran clear, and the people prospered. It was Durga who saved us all, for she was just and strong.”
“Shit,” Drew said into the silence that followed.
“Exactly. If Mahishasura has returned, he will bring death and destruction,” Alex said.
I rubbed my forehead. Durga was doing cartwheels inside me, pressing me towards the door. “Where did you see this Mahish… buffalo demon?” I asked.
“In the tunnels. There are miles of tunnels that remain unexplored, they branch off into little-known tunnels and go on for miles heading out of the city. It is an easy place to hide.”
“How would we find him in the tunnels? Are we going to wander around until we stumble upon him?”
Durga lashed out. That was her plan.
“We don’t have much choice,” Alex said.
I threw my hands up and turned to let Durga push me out the door. The rest followed me, Singh caught up and walked pressed up against me. As I pushed out the front door, the house human scurried to hand the keys to Vilen. It was raining outside. Great.
I pulled the collar of my jacket up to my ears and hustled towards the Hummer.
“Are you going back to the tunnels?” Vaughn’s voice called from behind me.
“Yup, off to find a demon,” I said waving over my shoulder.
“Good luck,” He called as we all climbed into the hummer. Singh decided shifting wasn’t for him and stood in the foot space of the back seat as a lion. Alex, Drew and I couldn't move our legs as Singh’s body pressed them into the seat, but it was better than him sitting on us.
“Is he always like this?” Alex asked, trying to move the lion forward a little.
“Yeah, pretty much,” Drew replied.
The vehicle wove through the city. The streets were laid out in concentric circles around the Red Square. It looked nice on a map but meant it took a lot of time to drive a short distance. The traffic was heavy at this hour. Commuters were clashing with tourists. The city was not dull that was for sure. When I saw the tops of Saint Basil Cathedral, I knew we were getting close.
Vilen parked in the same place as last time, and we all got our waterproof clothes on. Thankfully Singh deigned to take human form for a little while. A lion on the streets of Moscow would have brought some unwanted attention. I could see it now on the 6 O'clock news; animal control trying to capture the white lion that was terrorizing the city of Moscow.
Vilen held open the drain cover, the rainwater poured down the edges, leaving a water-free area in the middle, but my chances of not getting soaked were about zero. My legs would be dry, but the rest of me was about the get cold and wet.
Ninel and Singh went down first, followed by Alex. I took a deep breath and made the plunge.
The wet steel bars were even more slippery under my boots this time, and I got both arms wet to the elbows but kept the rest of me dry by some magic, that is until I got to the bottom and had to walk through a waterfall to move away from the bottom of the ladder.
I squealed as the ice water fell over my head and down my neck. Shit, my life sucked. I would kill this buffalo guy slowly for making me come down here to get him. Vernon would die painfully too for bringing me to this stupid city.
And Vincent… well, I wouldn't think about Vincent, wherever he was. Ok, that was wishful thinking. He was always on my mind. Even when I should think about where I’m putting my feet, I was thinking about stupid Vincent. That's why when I stepped on something sticking out of the water, I tripped and ended up on hands and knees in the gross swamp water.
Something squished between my fingers and the dirty water soaked into my sleeves.
“Well, fuck,” I muttered as I rose from the filth.
I heard a stifled laugh. I knew exactly who it was too. That little shit, Drew. I turned slowly to look at him. Durga helped by turning my eyes red, so when I locked on him, he took a step back and lost all humour.
“I’m sorry, Durga,” he muttered.
“You will be,” I replied.
We carried on through the tunnels, climbing up and down from one system to the next until we arrived at the center of the Red Square. It was a cavernous space of smooth cement. The ceiling was low, but it was wide, and the water coming through the drains ran away with some speed, unlike the lazy water in other tunnels. Rivers rushed beneath our feet, weaving around our boots. Above, the dim light of day came through the grates. It darkened anytime a pedestrian hustled over, then flicked back on, like a switch. It was eerie to be right beneath all those people. They didn't know we were down there.
We marched on heading south, following the flow of the water. My breath hung in the air, and my wet skin started to tingle with the numbing cold.
We came out of the smooth tunnel into a wide brick tunnel. Alex stopped at the mouth of this tunnel.
“Watch your step. The Neglinnaya river is deeper. You might not want to go for a swim.” He smiled and then moved along the edge where there was a walkway. The water was dark and moved at a reasonable pace.
The tunnel curved up ahead. I could hear traffic above, and the occasional honk echoed through the underground.
“You know some people come down here just to explore,” Alex said, disrupting the sound of our feet on the brick walkway.
“I can see why,” I said. It was a magical world. Like a different planet. The echoes and the rushing water. The way it muffled the city sounds; it was peaceful. If it was warmer, I might say it was fun to climb around down here.
We scuttled along beside the Neglinnaya River for several more minutes before we heard voices up ahead.
“Watch your step; the brick is crumbling here. Please stay close to the wall.”
As we came around the next bend, we were face to face with a group of people with cameras led by a bored looking vampire in hip waders. I looked back, thankful that Singh had returned to human form.
“David,” Alex said in a tone that indicated he didn’t like this David person.
“Alex, you starting your own tour guide business?” David laughed.
“No, this is Lark.”
David’s eyes landed on me and grew round, but he said nothing, he just stared at me.
“Where is the king?” David whispered low enough the humans behind him
wouldn't hear. I still hadn’t thought much about that part of the prophecy that Alex had been spittering when we first met him.
“He is lost,” Alex replied.
David's eyes grew wide. He turned to his group of tourists. “Everyone please, move against the wall and let these diggers pass.”
There was muttering about diggers and excited smiles as we walked by. Diggers were what Moscow’s tunnel explorers called themselves. It was a cult almost, Alex had explained to me. Vampires and humans who came down here day after day to find new tunnels and map them.
Once we were past the tourists, I felt Durga shove me hard. I took off, my feet slapping against the brick walkway in my clumsy rubber boots.
Let’s go!” Drew yelled behind me. The sound of them chasing, pushed me to go faster. I rounded another corner and slammed to a stop in front of a small drain that was running water down into the Neglinnaya. I scrambled up into it and stood. It was just tall enough for me to stand, the guys would have to crawl. I didn't wait for them though. I took off at a sprint and nearly collided with my target as I came around a corner.
My knife flashed into my hand, and the vampire dropped the human in the water at his feet. He hissed at me and launched himself towards me, his disgusting nails aimed for my throat.
I ducked forward and slammed my knife into his stomach, but that didn't slow him down. His teeth snapped together as he tried to get them into my neck. I pulled my knife out of his stomach and got my foot between us as he knocked me to the ground. His weight pressed down, but Durga gave me enough strength to kick him off me. I rose and tried to get the upper hand, but he launched himself off the far wall and slammed into me again, knocking my head off the brick wall. Durga screamed and slashed at him several times as his teeth edged closer and closer to my throat before she got in the killing blow and the vampire collapsed onto of me. I was dizzy for a moment so rested there with the putrid vampire still on top of me.
“Oh shit,” I heard a lot of splashing, and then someone ripped the weight off, and Drew’s concerned face looked down at me.
I gave him a little wave, and he shook his head.
“You scared the shit out of me,” he said, offering me his hand. I took it and let him pull me up out of the slime and water. It had drenched through. No waterproof pants could hold up to that insult.
The rest of the guys came crawling in. Alex could stand, but he had to hunch over, he couldn't see where he was going and almost collided with Ninel when he stopped moving.
“I guess you found a bad one,” Alex said, sheathing a knife into his boot. Good to know he came armed.
“Yeah, he drained that poor guy.” They all looked at the man in the hip waders and helmet. He looked like the people on the tour of the underground we had passed. That would not be good for business.
CHAPTER SEVEN
We slogged through the tunnels and out to the street. Even with Vilen's coat thrown over my shoulders and wrapped around me, violent shivers racked my body. I would need way better waterproof clothes if I was going to wrestle the occasional bad guy in the tunnels.
I had a hot shower and moseyed down to the kitchen. Inside a few vampires were cooking up a storm.
I tried to walk to the fridge to have a peek for a snack, but a pretty Brunette vampire caught me. Her hair sat on top of her head in a bun, and her dark eyes glittered in the bright lights of the industrial-sized kitchen. She was a vampire, but her features were delicate like she belonged in a china cabinet.
“I can make you something!” She said. “A sandwich. Some soup. A souffle?”
I laughed. “Uhm, I was just going to fix something for myself, you don't have to go to the bother.”
“Oh, I don't mind at all! You don’t remember me, do you?”
I took another look at the vampire. She didn’t ring any bells.
“That's ok! You had a lot going on. I was living in Canada, with Ajax. Before, you know...”
“Shit, I’m sorry. I still feel bad about getting you guys blown up.”
“It's fine. I came here for a visit while they rebuilt our home and decided I liked it here so much, I didn’t want to leave. So, here I am!” She waved her arms around the kitchen like a game show host. Weird, but at least she wasn't afraid of me.
She grabbed things out of the fridge and cut fresh bread. When she finished, she handed me a beautiful sandwich with some fresh veggies on the side.
“Thank you,” I said, my mouth watering.
She pulled out a chair and waved me to sit down.
I sat and took a bite of my sandwich. It was freaking delicious.
“What’s your name?” I asked around the next mouthful of food like I was born in a barn and had no manners.
She smiled. “Kelly.”
“Nice to meet you, Kelly. I’m Lark,” I replied taking another big bite of the sandwich. The crunchy lettuce and the thinly sliced ham brought a hum to my lips.
“I know who you are,” she laughed. Of course, she did, every vampire knew of me by now. Durga did a little happy flip inside me. She wanted everyone to fear me, to fear us.
When I finished my lunch, I thanked Kelly and went out to find Vaughn. I knocked on his office door, but he wasn’t there, so I wandered the house until I bumped into the house human.
“Hey, have you seen Vaughn?” I asked.
The human spun on his heel to face me. “Oh, yes. He is in his room.”
“Ok, where is his room?” I asked. The man bit his lip like he wasn't sure he should tell me.
“It’s on the third floor. First door on your right.”
“Thank you,” I replied — odd human.
I climbed the stairs and knocked on the door.
“Come in,” I heard Vaughn say from beyond the door.
I opened it to find him laying on the bed in a robe shuffling through pages.
“Oh. Hi Lark,” he said sitting up and putting his pages aside. “I thought you were someone else.”
“I’m sorry, I can talk to you later,” I said, closing the door.
“No, it's fine. Come in.”
It was awkward talking to him when he was undressed.
“I was going to update you. We didn’t get very far before we ran into a fallen vampire. I took care of him. I thought you should know.”
“Thank you. One of my vampires reported seeing Vernon in the Red Square today.”
“Shit, we were close to him. I need to get back out there. I don’t know how he is hiding from me.”
There was a knock at the door just before it swung open to reveal a tall, slim woman who looked like a model. She was wearing a short trench coat, and high heels and I imagined not much else.
She smiled at me and then said something in Russian to Vaughn. His face went pink, and he shook his head. I looked back at the woman, then back to Vaughn.
“I’ll…talk to you later, Vaughn.”
He said nothing as I scurried out the door.
I did not want to know.
I gathered the team, and we hit an outdoor supply store on our way back to the tunnels.
Decked out in a waterproof outfit, the sales clerk guaranteed to keep me dry in the tunnels, I stepped down the steel ladder and into the darkness.
This time we wandered the tunnels heading north. Leaving the beaten paths, we walking for hours. Our new headlamps did a wonderful job of lighting the tunnels, showing the old bricks and stalactites. We were like proper diggers now, but we weren’t here for exploration. We were hunting. I sent out my senses a few times, but apart from the occasional vampire that seemed to be above us, I didn't pick up anything.
The dampness and cold were getting to me, and it was getting late, but I sent out my senses one last time expecting to feel nothing when I felt a tug. Durga pulled my senses back in and pushed my feet into a run. I was clunky running in a full waterproof get up but tore through the tunnels. Water splashed and echoed through the tunnel until it opened into a mining cave. There were rail tracks on the ground
and up ahead, and the water dried until we were running over rotting wooden railway sleepers between the tracks. We rounded the next corner to find the tunnel widened before it narrowed again into a small boarded up cave opening. Someone had ripped one board down, so there was enough space for a person to get through. I slid to a stop and climbed between the boards when I saw dozens of glowing red eyes. Arms reached out for me as one latched on from behind, ripping me back through the opening. I didn’t have time to thank Ninel though, as a horde of fallen vampires flooded out of the cave, breaking the remaining boards.
My knife flashed into my hands, and my vision turned crimson. Durga was keen to play. The vampires were on us in a second. I slashed and stabbed at them. One got a hold of my right arm and clamped its filthy teeth down, puncturing my brand-new waterproof coat and flesh beneath. I switched my knife to my left hand and stabbed the vampire in the top of his head. When he reared back, I stabbed him in the throat and his blood mixed with mine to run down my arm. He collapsed to the ground. I felt no pain, but the blood on my right hand made my grip slippery. The sounds of battle and death filled the tunnels. My heart raced in my chest, pushing me to move faster and fight harder. As I plunged my knife toward the next vampire, my grip slipped. I had never dropped my knife before, but when it hit the ground, the horde of vampires took me down, slamming my head off the steel railway track. The yells and screams from the team faded for a minute as the sharp ringing in my skull dazed me.
As soon as my mind cleared, Durga blasted forward, dividing my arms and multiplying them until I was in a sea of vampires and fighting them with all of my weapons at once. Singh had pressed his way to the front, and Durga pulled my lips into a smile as she watched him tear the head off a vampire. Our arms swung with grace as we stood with the poise of centuries of battles, slaying decrepit vampire after vampire. When silence fell, and we had vanquished our quarry, she receded but not before she looked to Ninel and smiled.
Ninel was still smiling as my vision returned to normal. A river of red ran at our feet along with a sea of bodies. Blood stained Singh's white coat, matching the walls. The lion purred as he licked his talons, sitting in a puddle of blood.