by Megan Parker
This stopped the onslaught for a moment—the half of Keith’s face that wasn’t hemorrhaging and swollen beyond use gazing out thankfully for a pause in the rampage—and the rage-filled face of Zane’s curse turned away from its work to snarl at her:
“WE DO NOT SAVE! WE ARE DEATH! WE ARE DESTRUCTION!” he jabbed a finger at Keith, causing the beaten and bloodied vampire to wince, “AND WE WILL NOT STOP UNTIL HE IS—”
Nikki, now beside him, brought her hand down on the beast’s face, “Shut the hell up and keep Serena alive!”
Maledictus snarled and narrowed his eyes at Nikki as he raised a massive clawed hand.
Nikki narrowed her eyes, her tattoos flaring, “If you care about her you’ll be able to stop killing and destroying for five minutes!” The scarlet aura and fiery rage in Maledictus’ eyes calmed and shifted to Serena. “That’s what I thought,” Nikki nodded, “Now do whatever you can for her!”
As it turned out, the Maledictus curse—one that was created to kill, maim, torture, mutilate, and destroy—made the curse surprisingly good at knowing how to treat the conditions of its handiwork. Unable to focus entirely on the task of keeping Keith’s ravaged body from slipping into unconsciousness, Nikki found herself glancing back at the beast as its scarlet aura worked fervently on keeping Serena’s vitals stable. Zoey, after helping Isaac and the others finish off those of Keith’s army who hadn’t fled into the woods after Maledictus had begun painting the clearing with him, had hesitantly stepped beside the strangely calm beast to do anything she could for her friend, though the assistance seemed unnecessary at that point. Stealing another glance, Nikki watched again as Maledictus utilized its knowledge of anatomy and pain tolerance to numb Serena’s agony while keeping her life-force from fading any further than it already had.
She bit her lip and turned back to Keith, throwing another wave of magic into his body to keep his heart beating and hoping the impact hurt him.
It just seemed so… unnatural.
As dawn approached and the sun began to take its scheduled journey over the horizon, a roar of vehicles grew in the distance. Being so deep in the forest, the sound of anything motorized—short of the occasional dirt-bike or four-wheeler driven by thrill-seeking campers—was an alien one, and as every ear in the clearing still attached to a living brain was made aware of it, all attention turned towards it.
When the first of the pitch-black SUVs broke through the brush and into the clearing—kicking up clumps of frosted earth under its belted tires—and skidded to a violent stop, it became very evident that campers were not the source.
This Jeep was soon after joined by several others that were just as dark and tinted and ominous, and as they came to stop around the first their doors swung open simultaneously and a team of Mythos in equally dark suits stepped out. With nearly three dozen seemingly identical figures strategically placing themselves around the clearing—some casting out their auras in preparation for whatever might be stupid enough to try something while others kept their hands close to whatever gun or bladed weapon they’d strapped to their waist—and making sure that anything that could surprise them would be unable to. After a moment, one of the aurics that had stayed nearer to the parked caravan reached out with a pine-green aura to each of the others and took a psychic reading before giving a final sweep of the clearing and nodding to somebody in the back of the center SUV.
As the door opened, the clearing went ten degrees colder. With every eye glued to the him, an immaculate vampire with slicked-back blonde hair and a finely-trimmed, matching goatee and sporting a blood-red three-piece suit stepped out and nodded to the auric.
“Thank you, Angelo. If you and the others can begin to tidy up I’d like to have a moment alone with our new friends.”
The auric nodded and quietly turned and began gesturing to the others. In a flash of activity, the sangs in the group vanished into overdrive and the aurics began a choreographed sweep of the area with their auras. In less than ten seconds, nearly all of the dead bodies had vanished and all evidence of the battle stripped from the landscape.
“So graceful…” Zoey stared in awe.
“Aren’t they, though?” the blonde vampire chimed in a smooth Italian accent as he stepped towards them, beaming a perfectly-white smile beneath a pair of perfect green eyes, “It’s always fun to watch them work.” He quirked an eyebrow at the sight of Maledictus and lingered on Serena’s body before moving his gaze as he took in each of them, “What? Why’s everyone so tense? Oh my, of course! Where are my manners?” he bowed slightly, “My name is Damiano Moratti—fifth chair of The Council—and I’ve come in regards to a troubling message from Vail-heiress, Serena.”
Zoey frowned, looking down at Serena for a moment, “Troubling?” she frowned at Damiano, “What do you mean? When did she—”
“I believe her exact words were…” he frowned and shook his head, reaching into the breast pocket of his coat and pulling out a small piece of parchment, “Ah yes! ‘Incompetent sheep-fuckers’—so delightfully charming, yes?” he glanced at the leering Maledictus and nodded, “You have a keeper, my friend!”
Maledictus sneered and stifled a growl.
“Down, Dino. We’re here to help,” he waved a condescending hand at the beast as he turned his back on him and started towards Keith. “Yes… quite troubling indeed. I daresay that for one to use such…” he smirked, “… colorful words when addressing us is a sign that things may have gotten out of hand somewhere.” He knelt down in front of Keith, rubbing the flat of his thumb against the bottom of his goatee, “wouldn’t you say so, compagno?”
Keith whimpered and groaned in pain as he tried to put distance between himself and Damiano and forgetting that Maledictus had, true to his word, fractured both of his femurs. The tremor of pain and ensuing threat of shock reminded Nikki that she had stopped casting on him when The Council had arrived, and she went to give Keith another dose of magic.
“Oh no no no, bella, that will not be necessary. From what I’ve gathered on my way here our dear Keith is quite capable at taking care of matters himself.” His green eyes shifted for the first time to something terrifying and the air chilled-over once again in response, “Isn’t that right?”
Keith shook his head, trying to form words with a broken jaw but only succeeded in offering an airy whistle as it passed through the series of broken teeth in his mouth.
Damiano stood and folded his arms behind his back, nodding to Nikki, “You’ve done beautifully, dear, but we’ll take it from here.” He sighed, shaking his head, “I must say, Vailean, I’d wanted to like you—this is not to say that I ever did; to be perfectly honest I and many of the other chairs found you to be something of a nuisance—since your father was held in such high regards with us.” He shook his head, “But, when Gregori refused the offered chair that you so enthusiastically volunteered for, we were, though disappointed at his decision, hopeful that you—of his own blood—would serve to some adequate respect in his honor.”
Zoey and Maledictus stared at Damiano in awe.
Gregori had been offered a chair with The Council?
“However, as we’d feared, honor is not something you’d know too much about, and while we would have liked nothing better than to see you serve as a feeder, we do have an etiquette to abide by,” he shook his head at that, “And, with no reason to bleed you like a wine grape, there was nothing we could do.” He sneered and reached out with his bright yellow aura and pulled Keith to his full height—keeping his toes an inch above the ground—and keeping him conscious despite the growing pain, “‘Incompetent sheep-fuckers’ indeed. You have, to say the least, disappointed us, Keith, and, as you will come to find out over the next few months of your sentence, we do not take well to disappointment. This will perhaps go without saying, but you are aware of our affinity for protocol.” He nodded to several aurics that had been waiting nearby and glared at Keith as they stepped forward and wrapped him in a reinforced, auric-blocking straightjacket. T
hrashing and groaning, they pulled his head back and held his mouth open as Damiano’s aura reached out and tore his fangs from his gums. As the severed teeth slowly floated into the vampire’s hand, the auric guards pushed Keith forward and slipped a metal guard over his bleeding mouth and, using a small drill that one of them drew from their pocket, drove several screws into his jaw to hold it in place to keep him from biting.
Damiano’s posture straightened and his voice shifted to one of authority, “Keith Vailean, for your deceit against The Council and your crimes against the Mythos community I, Damiano Moratti—fifth chair of The Council—with the unanimous written-and-spoken consent of the other chairs, do place you under formal Council arrest. All rights and privileges bestowed by your superiors are hereby stricken and all benefits and protections offered by your comrades are hereby revoked. For the severity of your crimes you will be denied trial and bail and none, with the exception of the unanimous consent of all Council chairs, will be permitted to cease or alter the conditions of your punishment. Do you understand and acknowledge?”
Keith narrowed his eyes and let loose a series of muffled grunts and whines from behind his surgically-attached mask.
Damiano smirked and nodded, “I will take that as a ‘yes’.” He nodded to the aurics, “See that he’s secured before you leave and be sure that there’s a holding tank and a fully-equipped surgical team waiting for him in Rome; the others will want to put him on display immediately!” he glared at Keith as they dragged him away, “This will not be pleasant. I promise.”
As Keith was dragged away by the aurics, Damiano adjusted his jacket and turned to the others, his bright smile and sunny demeanor suddenly returning. “Again, my friends, I thank you for calling this situation to our—”
“Save her! WE KNOW YOU CAN!” Maledictus growled as he stood and glared at him.
Nikki frowned, “Maledictus!”
“Maledictus?” Damiano smirked and nodded, “Ah yes! The maledetto! Gregori’s warrior; the one with the Taroe curse, yes?” He nodded at the beast before him as though he approved, “Impressive. A tad excessive, I must say, but it has appeared to gotten the job done.”
Maledictus snarled and bared his teeth, “We will not let you leave until—”
“I’m sorry, what was that?” Damiano took a step towards him and sneered, “You’ll let us leave? Is that what I’m to gather from this exchange?” He shook his head, “No. We do not answer to the demands of any, and certainly not to those of violence made by those who serve us!”
Maledictus roared, “WE SERVE NOONE!”
Damiano smirked, “Then there’s nothing to discuss,” he turned to walk away.
Raving from the response, Maledictus lunged at the Italian vampire.
“Maledictus! No!” Nikki’s eyes widened.
“Zane!” Zoey started forward but was thrown back by Damiano’s yellow aura.
In a flash of movement and light, Maledictus was thrown off his feet and brought to his back; an auric bind fastening about his throat and tightening until his gasps were choked and rasped. As the beast’s kicking feet were tethered in the same fashion, Damiano appeared over him. Catching Maledictus’ arm in mid-swipe and breaking it over his knee, Damiano drove the heel of his foot into the beast’s chest over its heart. As Maledictus cried out in agony, he wrapped him in his aura and immobilized his body as his right hand gripped him at the chin and began to drain his life-force.
Nikki shivered as the air went cold, staring in shock at the display.
“N-no!” Zoey whimpered.
Whimpering, Maledictus’ body began to shift and deflate as he transformed back into Zane.
“P-p-please…” Zane whimpered, looking up at the Italian vampire. “Please don’t let her die…”
Damiano frowned, glaring down at him. “If I extend to you this favor—if I grant you your request—do you swear to The Council to control the thing inside you?”
Zane grimaced as the final steps of the transformation sent an agonized wave through his body. Stifling the cries of pain, he nodded, “Y-yes! I do! Just save her!”
Damiano smiled and stood, turning away from him and stepping over to Serena and bowing his head to Zoey, “If you’ll pardon me, miss.”
Zoey blushed and stepped aside.
Staring down at her, Damiano cocked his head, peering at the gaping wound in her stomach before letting his aura out and scanning her body for any other signs of damage. “Tale dramma...” he sighed, “Cursed-boy! Here!”
Zane groaned, still recovering from Damiano’s beating, and hurried beside him, “Wh-what is it? Will she—”
“You love the girl, yes?”
Zane stared, stunned, “I... I do, yes.”
Damiano nodded, “That would explain the idiocy.”
Zane bit his lip, “What do you—”
A sharp slap connected with the back of Zane’s head, “Blood! The girl needs blood! Idiot!” Damiano shook his head, “If you can’t use your brain for her, at least open a vein for her!”
“She…” Zane looked down at Serena, “She’s going to be okay?”
Damiano sighed, “Not if you keep whimpering over her like an idiot! Will you give the girl what she needs and stop waiting for the forest to break out into song? Idiot! This is not a cartoon!” He stood and turned, “And this doesn’t change our agreement, boy. Just because you’re an idiot doesn’t make me a fool!”
Zane blushed, quickly biting into his wrist and beginning to feed it to Serena. At first the flow merely welled in her mouth, the excess beginning to spill past her parted lips and rolling down her cheek. As the crimson trail reached a vertical drop from her jaw, it began a steady drip to the ground and Zane started to turn so that he could call to Damiano to return.
A choked gurgle sounded from Serena and the blood in her mouth was abruptly swallowed before she heaved and her eyes shot open, “N-need more!”
“Serena?” Zane turned to her.
Serena coughed and licked some of the blood from her lips, “The one and only, baby.” Her breathing began to steady as she lifted her purple eyes to Zane’s wide and disbelieving own. “So… did we win?”
Zane, despite the situation, couldn’t hold back the laugh. “Yea, hon. We won. Keith’s on his way to being a Mythos Pay-Per-View torture special.”
“Oh good,” Serena sat up, grimacing as her still-healing stomach was forced to work, “I hope they put a cherry-bomb up his ass. Come to think of it, that sounds too—”
“SERENA!” Zoey’s shrill voice chimed a split second before she collided with her, “GLOMP!”
“Ow! Bitch!” Serena groaned as she was knocked over under the playful assault, “New rule; abdominal wound CLOSED before GLOMPING ensues!”
Zoey giggled, “Deal!”
Nikki smiled as she stepped over, “Okay! I’ve gotten things all patched up with The Council.” She glanced at Zane before addressing the others, “They said that, while they have to keep a watch on all Vail activity for the next few months—‘protocol’ as Damiano put it—it looks like you’re all otherwise in the clear.”
Serena frowned, noticing the way she watched Zane with envy in her eyes and bit her lip. This girl had some sort of attachment to Zane that she couldn’t place. Though she could see it wasn’t love, it certainly wasn’t hate, either.
She knew that her being a Taroe already made her on Zane’s bad side. She wanted to be nice to her though; she had brought Zane back to her before the fight. She smiled over at Nikki and nodded warmly.
“We should get back. She’s right.” She said.
“Will you be ok walking?” Zane looked down at her and after a second thought; he lifted her against him and began to walk through the forest back to their home.
“You don’t need to carry me, Zane.” Serena pouted and blushed, enjoying the feeling of his chest against her.
“You like it. Don’t deny it,” he smirked, his fangs extending as he looked at her. She could sense the attraction growin
g between them as they walked forward. She felt another blush creep up her cheeks and frowned. She was never this bashful against anyone before.
“You going to tie me to those train tracks yet, Snidely?” She smirked, the memory of their first meeting playing through her head.
“Only if you like it that way,” he grinned.
“Do you remember when we first met?” Zane asked, staring at the ceiling of their underground base.
“Of course I do. How could I ever forget?” she answered, smirking, “I beat the shit out of you.”
Laughing, he slapped a palm over his face and shook his head, “You know what? On second thought, I’m not sure I want to finish this thought.”
Serena giggled and shook her head, putting her hand on his chest, “No! You can’t just leave me hanging like that!”
“Sure I can!” he smirked, “What are you going to do about it?”
She glared, “I can beat the shit out of you again!” she jabbed him in the shoulder.
“Ow!” he looked over, “Oh that’s it!” He laughed as he rolled on top of her and playfully pinned her down, smiling down at her as she giggled under his hold and he nodded, “Yea… you were just as stunning that night as you are now. Even in the beginning, even though I was such a hopeless dick, I saw something in you.”
“But, though I had felt something even then, I knew—I could just tell—you were desperately in love with someone else. That night, when Devon took my body so that he could have you, I watched you from the back of my own mind—sharing the view with the beast as we both watched you and fell for you—and the emotions and passion and energy in your face gave us hope that, maybe, neither of us had to live as what we were expected to; I didn’t have to be the cursed jerk waiting to fade away. But then, after all was said and done, I was afraid. Though I didn’t fight it—I mean, how could I?—I still knew I had no chance. But, now he’s gone and it’s just me and…” Zane sighed and frowned, “Serena, I want you to know that… fuck! I don’t know how to say this!”