"Resorb! Stop!" cried Mystie, desperate, to the wave she had created.
The explosion was devastating for its target, but the shock wave was worse. It destroyed everything in its path with uncontrollable waves.
And under the anxious eyes of Mystie it reached the fighters. Fortunately they separated in time and entrenched themselves at the end of the hangar where the wave came to die.
The three vampires stared at Mystie, stunned by this unexpected show of strength. Only demons and angels could develop such power. And the angels did not make use of it. This left the demons. And there were few witnesses who survived such a demonstration.
"I am not afraid of death. I will find my God. What about you vampire? Are you ready to find Satan? Are you ready, you and your evil whore?" Childeric asked.
Delatour answered with a wild shout and rushed at him, pushing him, never ceasing to hit and hit again. He no longer thought, he no longer saw anything. Only one idea filled his head, destroy! He gave everything he had.
Charles approached the two belligerents without seeming to be aware of it. He was ready to intervene. He lived the violence of the slaughter as if he was one of the two fighters. He was no longer a mere spectator. Mystie saw that he was filled with an equally destructive fury. She hurried to build an attack power. It would be more difficult after having used it once without taking time to rest, but she should be able to raise enough to hurt, if not destroy, the vampire.
In the air, the fighting continued, unabated. Charles, totally subjugated, had ceased to keep Silvo and his men against the wall. They collapsed on the floor and deployed around Mystie.
Reassured by Delatour’s newfound power, Mystie never took her eyes off Charles. She had to focus her energy. She felt he was going to attack Delatour at the end of the fight or even perhaps before. She perceived his contained violence, and rage. It was obvious that it was difficult to restrain himself from intervening. A bad grin distorted his face.
Under the roof the battle drew to a close. The two vampires were dangerously exhausted. If they did not return to their bodies soon, they might be sucked into limbo. They must have realized it, as they slowly descended without ceasing their fight.
Mystie had concentrated sufficient energy to destroy the body of Childeric, but Charles remained a threat. She had to make a choice.
If she did not destroy the mortal coil of the monk, this fight would start again, endlessly, until one of them crossed the gate. And Delatour had very nearly been carried away.
If Charles intervened, Delatour would not have enough power to defend himself against an opponent at his best.
Charles released her from her bonds. Why? He maybe saw that Diego was going to step in and gave her the means to stop him. But that did not make sense. Why condemn one of his team to save Delatour?
She thought too as human being. For black souls, life was nothing. Maybe he wanted to use Delatour. Unless it was her. Perhaps all what he was looking for was to see her use her power, to evaluate it, test it live, on any target. He knew she would help Delatour against Childeric or any other opponent. Well, she hoped he had enjoyed the show because she had not finished.
Killing a black soul during a battle did not pose any problem of conscience to her. But if Childeric returned to his mortal coil, it would not be the same. Defend, protect those she considered as her own, yes. Destroying in cold blood was not in her temperament. If she destroyed the mortal coil of Childeric before he joined it, she would not feel any guilt. She would only wreck a mass of flesh. That his soul would then leave for the hells was another story.
After a last hesitation, she released a portion of her energy on the remains of the monk who caught fire and disappeared into dust in seconds. The smell of burning flesh did not even have the time to diffuse.
Delatour reentered his body, and remained lying down for a few seconds. Obviously, he had difficulty in regaining control. He was encouraged by Casper who jeered.
"Go, move! You can do it! You won the fight. So get up and watch your enemy disappear."
After several attempts, Delatour managed to kneel, and then to stand up. He stared at his enemy. He had so much hope that time five hundred years earlier. He had always thought that if he had had the opportunity to kill Childeric with his hands, he would have found peace. But even this satisfaction was denied to him. He felt neither pleasure nor a sense of accomplishment. It would not bring back to life the victims of this madman. He just felt a strong weariness, and was exhausted physically and mentally. He still had difficulty remaining in his body. He felt, although to a lesser extent, the attraction of limbo.
Childeric looked around, seeking an escape, while he was sucked. He was trying to hang on, fighting against an invisible current, but Delatour had greatly weakened him. He tried to approach the humans, unaware of the danger that hovered, invisible, a few meters. But Childeric would never be able to take ownership of a body already possessed. Only a demon could do such a thing, and he knew it.
He looked at his Master in search of an answer, or perhaps advice. Charles had a face distorted by an evil grin. Maybe he could not stand failure.
"Go find your true Master! He has been waiting for too long!"
Childeric had an ecstatic smile, and no longer struggled against the attraction. He disappeared for all to see, swallowed into nothingness.
Charles face relaxed. He seemed exhausted by nervous tension. With slow movements, he turned to Delatour, and stared in silence, with an indecipherable expression. His hands shook as if ready to release a wave of energy and he began to raise his arms toward the vampire.
Mystie was prepared to intervene with her remaining power. Delatour would never resist a new fight. He just managed to remain in his mortal coil. She gathered everything she had in the palm of her hands, raised them towards Charles.
"No Mystie!" Delatour shouted in a breath.
Mystie hesitated, not understanding this intervention. Had Delatour gone mad?
"No Mystie," Delatour repeated. "I beg you."
She did not know what to do. She tried to read in the eyes of Delatour, understand what motivated him. But he was not looking at her. His eyes remained fixed on Charles. Mystie decided to trust the vampire. He never had begged her for anything.
Charles had let his arms fall slowly. Mystie felt her energy flow back and disperse in her body.
Charles and Delatour had not broken eye contact. "We will meet again," Charles said.
Delatour nodded. "I will be there for you."
Charles walked slowly towards the exit without looking back. Silvo intervened, but the vampire had only to look at him a few seconds and the policeman moved away.
The hangar door slammed. Charles had disappeared. When Silvo regained control of his mind, he heard the sound of an engine and then a car driving away. He took his radio to order an interception, but again Delatour opposed.
"Don't. He does not represent any threat. He'll leave."
Silvo, as Mystie, hesitated, not understanding what he meant. He added, "Trust me. I ask you, as a favor."
All wondered if the fight had not affected him more than it seemed.
"Who is in Charles’ body?" Casper asked.
Delatour did not answer right away. Casper believed he had not heard the question, and was ready to renew it, when Delatour muttered under his breath, "My sister."
***
Delatour was in his lounge, sitting on the floor in front of the fireplace. The sun would soon rise. But he was not conscious of it. He did not even know long he had been in this position, almost motionless, lost in her memories. He saw the flames, which rose in the hearth, heard only the crackling of the fire.
He raised to his lips a glass of cognac he had poured hours earlier and took a sip. But the glass had been too warmed by the proximity of the hearth, and he threw the rest of alcohol in the flames, abruptly reviving the fire.
Near him, parchment was placed on the carpet, seeming to defy him, challenging him to destro
y it. He had to break with that past, but was not convinced he wanted to. He would probably never be able to do it anyway.
Silvo had confirmed him that his sister had crossed the border three days earlier. She flew back to the United States, and her passport bore the name of Charles Delatour. Could she give him better absolution?
"It is time to end this," he repeated to himself, but failed to make the gesture. The parchment seemed to burn his fingers. He made a ball of it, and threw it angrily into the fire while releasing a cry of anger.
Done! The parchment caught fire immediately, and disappeared in seconds.
If only his unhappiness could disappear as easily!
He took out of his pants pocket the envelope Clothilde had given to him. "On behalf of all of us!" she had said. He was not sure he wanted to read it. He feared that recent events would have changed something in their relationship. Silvo, Clothilde, that idiot ghost, and especially Mystie, who had become very important in his life. Probably too much. But he did not want to lose that complicity which had built up between them. Not right away. Although, given his condition, it was inevitable.
There was a single way to know it. He tore the envelope.
"Long ago, in the kingdom of England lived a noble lady with her son and daughter. She took care of hers, her family, filled the responsibilities that were hers and those of her husband, whose death occurred too soon.
One day, a monster appeared, and by the lie wanted to tarnish the reputation of the noble lady. He inflicted suffering on, and insults and she died from his hand.
Her son, proud officer, made the mistake of getting carried away by the need for revenge. He was blinded by grief and guilt even though he was not responsible for this madness. And for five hundred years, his soul has bore the scars of it.
Her daughter killed the monster that had destroyed their lives. To punish herself of her act, so as to never forget the cruelty this dark soul had shown, and monitor his actions, she had retained the monster's soul under her control until final judgment. Judgment, which should have been pronounced five hundred years earlier. She did not want to remind her brother of the nightmares of the past, or have him know her condition. She did not want to increase his guilt. But she has never forgotten or stopped loving him. She discreetly followed the life he led.
The pure soul of the beautiful lady is high, and where she is, she continues to love those who have always been dear to her.
The soul of her daughter and son will be marked forever by the events that cannot and must not be forgotten. But these two beings are not alone, and never will be. Many people are proud to know them and have them for friends. And we want, with this letter, to say loud and clear, how precious they are to us, and the place they have in our lives, places that can only grow.
With all our respect and affection,
Mystie, Clothilde, Silvo, Casper.
(Note from Casper: I added this sentence later, because Mystie would have probably grumbled, if she had seen it. You should complete the approach phase, which dragged on, dude, and move to the serious stuff with Mystie...)
Delatour closed the letter and held it tight against him.
"Moron!" he murmured at the ghost.
But he had a big smile on his face. The fool was right. Now that the past rested in peace, it was time to explain to this little redhead that she was his.
###
Don't miss
The Visionaries
Book 3 of the Blood Memory
The upcoming adventures of
Mystie, Delatour, Silvo, Clothilde and of course … Casper
And discover the story of the Ghost,
and unexpected new supernatural beings
TABLE OF CONTENTS
THE MEMORY OF BLOOD
The Memory of Blood Novels
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
CHAPTER - 1 -
CHAPTER - 2 -
CHAPTER - 3 -
CHAPTER - 4 -
CHAPTER - 5 -
CHAPTER - 6 -
CHAPTER - 7 -
CHAPTER - 8 -
CHAPTER - 9 -
CHAPTER - 10 -
CHAPTER - 11 -
CHAPTER - 12 -
CHAPTER - 13 -
CHAPTER - 14 -
CHAPTER - 15 -
CHAPTER - 16 -
CHAPTER - 17 -
CHAPTER - 18 -
CHAPTER - 19 -
CHAPTER - 20 -
CHAPTER - 21 -
CHAPTER - 22 -
CHAPTER - 23 -
CHAPTER - 24 -
CHAPTER - 25 -
CHAPTER - 26 -
CHAPTER - 27-
CHAPTER - 28 -
Don't miss
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Table of Contents
Title page
THE MEMORY OF BLOOD
The Memory of Blood Novels
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
CHAPTER - 1 -
CHAPTER - 2 -
CHAPTER - 3 -
CHAPTER - 4 -
CHAPTER - 5 -
CHAPTER - 6 -
CHAPTER - 7 -
CHAPTER - 8 -
CHAPTER - 9 -
CHAPTER - 10 -
CHAPTER - 11 -
CHAPTER - 12 -
CHAPTER - 13 -
CHAPTER - 14 -
CHAPTER - 15 -
CHAPTER - 16 -
CHAPTER - 17 -
CHAPTER - 18 -
CHAPTER - 19 -
CHAPTER - 20 -
CHAPTER - 21 -
CHAPTER - 22 -
CHAPTER - 23 -
CHAPTER - 24 -
CHAPTER - 25 -
CHAPTER - 26 -
CHAPTER - 27-
CHAPTER - 28 -
Don't miss
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Table of Contents
Title page
THE MEMORY OF BLOOD
The Memory of Blood Novels
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
CHAPTER - 1 -
CHAPTER - 2 -
CHAPTER - 3 -
CHAPTER - 4 -
CHAPTER - 5 -
CHAPTER - 6 -
CHAPTER - 7 -
CHAPTER - 8 -
CHAPTER - 9 -
CHAPTER - 10 -
CHAPTER - 11 -
CHAPTER - 12 -
CHAPTER - 13 -
CHAPTER - 14 -
CHAPTER - 15 -
CHAPTER - 16 -
CHAPTER - 17 -
CHAPTER - 18 -
CHAPTER - 19 -
CHAPTER - 20 -
CHAPTER - 21 -
CHAPTER - 22 -
CHAPTER - 23 -
CHAPTER - 24 -
CHAPTER - 25 -
CHAPTER - 26 -
CHAPTER - 27-
CHAPTER - 28 -
Don't miss
TABLE OF CONTENTS
The Parchment (The Memory of Blood) Page 24