With no time to think, she did the first thing that came to mind and dropped flat to her back as the monster leapt at her. Her sudden movement caught the creature off guard and it wound up jumping clear over her. As it passed over, she brought up her machine gun and pulled the trigger, spraying a line of bullets along the werewolf’s body.
The creature howled in pain and slammed into the floor, flipping head over feet and leaving a trail of blood in its wake. Flipping to her feet, Nadya turned towards the werewolf when she heard another snarl and without thinking launched herself backwards just in time to avoid a second werewolf diving towards her from another of the doorways.
Landing on her back, she used her momentum to flip her feet up over her head and performed a backflip, landing on her feet and facing the new werewolf. This one was of a more average size – for a werewolf. One of his eyes was missing and a long scar traveled across where it would have been. He growled and snapped his jaws at Nadya, starting towards her.
Raising the MP7 to her shoulder, Nadya squeezed the trigger. Instead of a blast of automatic fire, there was a click that was quite loud in her ears. Looking at the rifle, she saw it was jammed. Her eyes flashed back to the werewolf and she could swear it grinned at her. He moved towards her more swiftly. Over his shoulder, Nadya saw Bridget grappling with the wounded werewolf that had leapt over her.
No help there.
Dropping the useless automatic rifle to the ground, Nadya reached to her side and grabbed hold of her katana, drawing it from its sheath and holding it out in front of her. The werewolf stopped his advance, looking at the weapon for a moment before starting towards her again, resuming his cautious approach.
The two circled each other, staring into one another’s eyes, waiting for an opening. The werewolf lunged first, expecting Nadya to dart in the direction she’d been moving. Nadya, having predicted the werewolf would try the attack, jumped backwards and slashed her katana down, slashing deeply into the werewolf’s backside. Letting out a yelp, the werewolf jumped back and put a hand to the bloody gash, glaring at her.
Nadya smirked, keeping her sword at the ready and the two continued their dance. The second offensive maneuver was from Nadya, who feinted to the left before spinning right and swinging the katana low, slicing into the wolf’s ankle and forcing him to hop away. The pain of the wounds caused the werewolf to lash out, but his movements were slowed a bit and easy to spot in his haste.
Easily sidestepping the beast, Nadya swung the sword downwards hard, cutting into his forearm and severing it from his body. Now the werewolf howled, throwing himself back and falling to the floor, clutching at the stump of his arm as blood spurt from it.
Walking around her fallen foe casually, Nadya stopped when she reached his head and brought her sword up. “Heads up, Nibbles,” she muttered before bringing the sword down and splitting the werewolf’s head down the middle. Yanking her blade free, she saw his brains spill out as the body shrank and lost the coarse hair that covered it, leaving yet another nude corpse in the room.
Glancing to where Bridget was, Nadya saw the female werewolf ripping organs out of the smaller werewolf, prolonging its agony.
“Hey. Four left. Quit playing around,” Nadya called over.
Bridget looked up from her plaything then gave a nod before looking back. She raised one of her feet up and slammed it down, crunching the small werewolf’s head into mush.
The two moved back to back, eyeing the entranceways into the room. There was only one set of doors that had yet to be forced open, the other three having been smashed to bits. The gaping hole above them loomed ominously and they each glanced up every few seconds to make sure they weren’t about to be blindsided from above.
The remaining door smashed inwards, revealing one of the four remaining werewolves in the hideout. It didn’t charge into the room. Instead, it seemed content to stand in the doorway, staring in at Nadya and Bridget.
As Nadya considered drawing one of her pistols and opening fire on the beast, she caught movement out of the corner of her eye and turned to face the second door she was keeping an eye on. A second werewolf entered that doorway and stood staring in at them.
Looking between the two werewolves, Nadya gripped the handle of her sword tighter, waiting to see what they planned on doing. She turned her head, glancing behind her in time to see a third werewolf entering the doorway on the other side of the room. Turning her head to the left, to the only doorway that remained clear, and then upwards to the hole in the ceiling, she waited to see where the fourth and final werewolf would emerge.
Keeping their backs to each other, Nadya and Bridget turned with each other, keeping an eye on the three werewolves waiting just outside the ball room. As they finished the first full circle, the fourth werewolf finally came into the empty doorway.
Nadya didn’t like the look of things.
So far, they’d been rather lucky at how the werewolves had attacked. Facing the last four of them all at once was not something she was looking forward to, even with a werewolf of her own at her back. The four beasts each let out long howls and Nadya steadied herself. She’d come this far and she wasn’t about to back down.
As their howls came to an end, the four werewolves charged forward.
Deciding that being at the convergence point of all four of them was probably not the best plan, Nadya picked a target and charged right back at her. The werewolf’s foot falls faltered a bit, clearly caught off guard by her offensive movement. Nadya used the surprise to her advantage, sidestepping the lumbering beast and swiping her sword in under her arm, opening up a deep gash along her midsection.
The werewolf let out a roar of anger and pain and tried to spin around to slash a claw at Nadya, but she’d already gotten around her and changed directions, rushing another of the werewolves who’d taken an interest in Bridget.
Bridget had also decided to charge one of the four attacking werewolves and had locked arms with him. They snapped their jaws at each other, trying to find a good chunk of flesh to bite into without receiving a similar blow. The second werewolf going for Bridget was coming up from behind and didn’t notice Nadya rushing up with her sword held low until it was too late.
Catching the movement of Nadya, the werewolf turned his head as he continued to stomp towards Bridget’s exposed backside. Planting a foot down onto the chest of one of the already dead werewolves, Nadya launched herself into the air, spinning and lashing out with her sword. The blade caught the surprised werewolf in the mouth, splitting his top and bottom jaws apart, clean through to the back of his skull.
The top of the werewolf’s head came off, blood spewing up into the air. His large tongue flopped wildly as the rest of his body collapsed to the ground. Nadya landed a moment later, turned around and immediately pulled the upper half of her body backwards as the female werewolf she’d previously slashed tried to return the favor.
The clawed hand came within an inch of her face. As the muscled arm missed her, Nadya moved forward, bringing her sword up and thrusting it forward into the werewolf’s stomach. A pained ‘urk’ escaped the werewolf’s mouth and her eyes widened. Smirking, she yanked the sword to the side, splitting the werewolf’s gut open.
Stumbling backwards, the werewolf brought her hands down, trying to hold in the steaming guts that spilled from her torn stomach. The intestines splattered onto the floor and got tangled under the beast’s backpedaling legs, causing her to trip and fall to the ground.
Rushing forward, Nadya jumped up onto the werewolf’s chest and slammed the tip of her katana downwards, crunching it through the werewolf’s thick chest and spearing her heart. Nadya gave the sword a twist, slicing the rapidly beating organ in two, and then yanked the blade free as the werewolf went limp underneath her.
Before she could check her surroundings and see where the other two werewolves were, a furred hand grabbed hold of her leg and yanked her off the dead female. Nadya was hurled, gaining weightlessness for a moment before she slamme
d into the wall and dropped to the floor, her back screaming at her.
She watched the werewolf stomping towards her. Her sword lay a good five feet away, dropped as she’d been hurled. Wincing, Nadya turned her head and saw Bridget was still occupied with the original werewolf she’d begun grappling with. The two were slashing at each other and smashing into furniture and walls. Turning back to the werewolf before her, Nadya saw that he was standing right before her now, leering down at her with a look of rage.
“Mangy motherfucker…” Nadya muttered, drawing her pistols and unloading them both into the werewolf’s chest.
The expression of rage became one of surprise as the silver slugs tore through his body and he fell back to the ground in a heap. Using the wall to help her, Nadya pushed herself back to her feet.
Across the room, the remaining werewolf gave Bridget a solid punch across the snout causing her head to snap to the side. The werewolf followed the strike up with an uppercut, sending Bridget up into the air before slamming back down onto her back. The victorious werewolf placed a foot down onto Bridget’s chest, pushing down hard and tilted his head back to let out a loud howl.
A single gunshot rang out, striking the werewolf under his throat before scooping out his brains and sneezing them out of the top of his head. The beast remained standing for a few more moments before falling backwards to the floor.
Nadya looked past her smoking pistol and smirked.
Bridget climbed to her feet, nursing some deep gashes that were already starting to seal themselves up due to her increased healing ability. Limping over to where Nadya was, she licked at the wounds she could reach.
Nadya looked up at the wolf-woman. “Wasn’t so hard…”
Bridget looked down at her with a look of disbelief.
From above, the sound of clapping was heard.
The two looked up to the hole in the ceiling and saw Remy standing there, looking down at them with a wide grin as he clapped his hands together. “Not bad…” Remy stopped clapping and his grin faded as his face transformed into something more demonic. His eyes grew red and his fangs elongated. “But I’ve had just about enough of you…” He extended a finger out towards Nadya.
Scooping her sword up, Nadya planted her feet firmly and looked back up at him. “C’mon, then, asshole. I’m right here.”
Chapter Thirty-Six: Showdown
Looking up at the vampire standing at the edge of the hole in the ceiling, Bridget snarled angrily, thick strands of bloody saliva dripping from her exposed fangs. With a burst of movement, the female werewolf launched herself towards Remy, clearing the distance between the floor to the high ceiling in an impressive leap.
Nadya and Remy both watched Bridget’s attack; Remy wearing a smug smile. A moment before Bridget’s jaws clamped down over his shin, he lifted a hand and the werewolf froze in mid-air. Nadya’s eyes widened as she saw Bridget’s momentum halted, ended just as quickly as it had begun.
“Whoa…” Remy said, that smile still plastered over his face. “Down girl.”
He made a small downward motion with his hand and Bridget fell.
No, she didn’t just fall. She was shoved downward hard.
Landing on one of the numerous corpses that littered the floor, Bridget’s massive form crushed it into pulp before smashing into the floor and lying still.
“Honestly,” Remy said, looking down at the dazed werewolf then to Nadya. “All I did was kill her boyfriend. Now, our relationship… Much more interesting.”
“Oh, I agree…” Nadya replied. “Now why don’t you get down here so I can cut your fucking head off already?”
Stepping off the edge, Remy dropped to the ground, landing between Nadya and the still dazed Bridget. Nadya’s fingers tightened around the hilt of the katana, holding it ready.
Bridget burst up from the ground, her mouth open wide and aimed right for Remy’s head. Again, Remy’s hand shot up, freezing the werewolf in mid-strike, her glistening fangs inches from either side of his head.
Nadya saw the opening and charged Remy, lifting her sword high, readying herself for a hard strike at his exposed neck. Lifting his other hand towards her, Nadya felt a pressure on her chest, halting her movement and freezing her just as still as Bridget.
“Not exactly a fair fight,” Remy said.
Flicking the fingers on both his hands outward, he shoved both of his assailants backwards. Nadya slammed against the wall and was held there, struggling against the invisible force gripping her.
Turning his back on Nadya, Remy moved towards Bridget. “Really, now. Can’t you just get over it?”
Bridget growled and thrashed on the floor but she didn’t have any more success at breaking the hold than Nadya.
“At the very least, I’d figure you’d learn from the past. After all, this is just how your boyfriend died. And he was plenty older than you are.”
Bridget’s snarls died off and she lay still, glaring up at Remy.
“Don’t worry,” he replied to her. “I won’t kill you. Yet.” He shifted his hand slightly, curling his fingers towards her head. “But I really can’t have you interfering with my climactic battle, can I?”
Still struggling to get free, Nadya watched the exchange between Remy and Bridget, not sure what was going on. She knew he was quite adept at mental powers. The way he’d invaded her subconscious had been evidence enough of that, but she hadn’t realized he’d been so strong with telekinesis. She tried to think of a way to disable his powers somehow, but the only way she could think of would be to kill him. She planned on doing that anyway.
Her attention was drawn back to the situation at hand as a pained howl pierced the air. At first, Nadya thought Remy might be killing Bridget, but as she looked, she couldn’t see any actual physical harm being done to the female werewolf.
Then it struck her.
Remy wasn’t hurting Bridget physically. He’d invaded her mind and was doing something to her there.
The more she watched, the more she realized what he was doing as Bridget began to shrink. Her muscles and fur pulled back into her as she was returned to her human form. Bridget huddled in a fetal position, clutching at her nude form, weeping.
“What the fuck did you do to her?” Nadya asked, catching Remy’s attention.
He turned to face her, a triumphant smirk on his face. “Nothing much. Just made sure she wouldn’t be getting in our way anymore. It’ll wear off. Just in time for her to watch me rip your fucking heart out.”
“Shouldn’t take too long then,” Nadya replied, her eyes narrowing at him. “Since you’re a pussy motherfucker who’s too shit scared to fight me fairly.”
Remy’s eyebrows rose. “Oh? Is that what you think?”
“Seeing as I’m glued to the fucking wall,” Nadya said, still pulling at her pinned arms. “Yes, that’s exactly what I fucking think.”
“Sorry about that,” Remy shrugged, waving a hand and letting Nadya drop from the wall into a crouch. “Just had to make sure we wouldn’t be interrupted first.” Spreading his arms out beside him. “No powers. I promise. Just a sec…” He extended his right arm upwards and flicked his wrist.
From the second level, there was a clanking and then a sword not unlike Nadya’s flew down through the hole in the ceiling and into Remy’s waiting hand. “There. A good, old fashioned sword duel. Work for you?”
Grabbing her katana, Nadya pushed herself to her feet and held it up in front of her with both hands. “Sounds great, asshole.”
With a feral growl, Remy lunged towards her, swinging his sword downwards. She stepped back and brought her weapon up and sideways to block the blow, guiding Remy’s blade to the side harmlessly then swinging the sword back around in an attempt to cut into his neck. He jumped back just in time, receiving only a superficial nick across the side of his throat.
Hissing, he placed a finger to the cut, looking at the blood then to Nadya. “Silver blade?”
“Only the best for you,” she replied with a
cold smirk.
Flicking the blood from his fingers, Remy growled and took another step towards Nadya, jabbing his sword out at her, aiming for her chest. The movement came quicker than she’d anticipated and she swung her sword sideways out of pure reflex that wound up saving her life, knocking the sharp tip of Remy’s sword aside before it pierced her breastbone.
Spinning around and backpedaling, Nadya kept her sword up, ready to block any attacks he threw her way. Advancing, Remy continued to strike out at her, looking for any openings he could take advantage of. His super-human speed made his attacks difficult to block, but Nadya’s own speed – nearly supernatural in its own right – managed to keep her from being mortally wounded.
A couple glancing blows opened up a pair of shallow gashes along each of her arms and she could feel the warm trickle of blood running down her elbows. She was being forced to remain on the defense, stepping backwards and hoping she wouldn’t trip over a piece of debris or a corpse.
Nadya's Nights: Road to Vengeance Page 21