by JG Cully
She desperately wanted to believe it, desperately wanted to believe that this was the start of a new life. She read over the page again, then started to flick through the book. Quickly she realised this was something of a vampire 'manual', one that seemed to have been copied from something much older; that explained the use of the Common tongue.
She saw instructions on how to feed, how to avoid sunlight, how to dream. For a brief moment she thought she had found how to turn someone into a vampire, but the pages had been torn out.
Maybe this is real.
From her own experiences, the instructions in the book were all accurate. Some even had crude diagrams. Ancient vampire instructions.
Maybe the ritual was real. She looked to her friends. Katy was the first to speak up.
“What do you want to do Alyssa?”
Alyssa pursed her lips. Could she take the chance? Take the chance on this?
“Alright” she said with an accompanying sigh of trepidation, taking herself off guard with how quickly she decided. “Let's try it.”
“Yes, let’s.” came a voice.
The three of them spun round. James lantern illuminated Victoria as she stood in the doorway of the room. She had a pistol drawn, and aimed. To Alyssa's eyes, she didn't look all that happy.
Uh oh.
“Hello again.” Victoria said, her voice not as angry or surprised as their previous encounter.
“Ah, hey.” replied Alyssa, giving both a confused and at the same time fearful wave.
“Who might this be?” asked Victoria next, stepping into the room but keeping her pistol primed and pointed at Alyssa. She was directing her question at James. James didn't flinch. Alyssa was impressed.
“My name is James Fogan.” he said, meeting Victoria's eyes. “I'm her boyfriend.”
Alyssa did her best to hide her pride.
“Cute.” remarked Victoria.
“So” she said next, keeping a respectable distance from all three of them. “You've found a way to change her back?”
Alyssa and her friends exchanged glances.
“Yes” said Katy.
“And you're going to do that right now?”
“Yes.” said James next.
“Good” said Victoria. “Won't be needing this then.”
She holstered her pistol.
“So, how can I help?”
Ok? thought Alyssa. The hell?
“You want to help us?”
“Don't look so surprised,” said Victoria, taking a more relaxed step toward the group. “You changing back into a human actually helps me.”
“How?”
“You'll see. And don't look too happy.” added Victoria, looking directly at Alyssa. “I still owe you for blowing me into a snowdrift.”
Alyssa adopted an apologetic expression.
“Yeah. Sorry about that.”
“Anyway, here's the deal kids.”
Victoria outlined what was to happen. It generated a lot of surprised expressions, and a few raised eyebrows.
“That's your plan?” asked Katy, eyes betraying a great deal of uncertainty and communicating what all three of them felt.
“Granted, it's not my best,” she looked to Alyssa again. “but for you, it might offer your only way of living a normal life after this. That is assuming you change back into a human. I caught what you were saying, but how's it going to work?”
Katy, with caution, passed the book to Victoria and James kindly lifted the lantern so she could see properly. Victoria's eyes very quickly went wide.
“Ouch.” she concluded.
“Yes.” agreed Alyssa. “I'm not looking forward to that. I'm not sure how we'll do it.”
Victoria drew her pistol again. “I'll do it.”
Alyssa gulped, and Victoria smiled a very chilling smile.
“I'm an excellent shot so don't worry.”
“Next question, which virgin? Cause I'm not doing it”
Alyssa, Katy and James all managed to give Victoria the same look of surprise. Victoria glared back.
“I just haven't found the right man yet!” she protested. “Which virgin out of you two?”
She nodded to Katy and James. The two of them shuffled nervously. Alyssa wasn't looking forward to inflicting it on either of them. That was if they were both virgins.
“We can try eeny meany mini mo if you like?” said Victoria with a smirk.
“Not helping.” replied Alyssa.
“Me.” said James, stepping forward.
“And me.” said Katy, doing the same.
Alyssa caught Victoria rolling her eyes. “Youngsters, she needs just one of you.”
Alyssa looked from one to the other, before settling on Katy.
“We'll need you to get us out of here if things don't go according to plan.” Alyssa said, by way of explanation. Katy seemed to understand, nodding.
“Good luck.” she said, stepping back and giving Alyssa and James room.
The two of them stared at each other.
“I love you,” said Alyssa. “but please don't look at me when I do this. I...”
She swallowed, looking down, not able to meet his gaze.
“It's monstrous.”
She felt a hand gently raise her chin and she looked into his eyes again.
“If it gives you back your humanity,” he said with that wonderful caring voice of his. “then I don't care. I'll do whatever it takes.”
He turned, exposing his neck and obediently closing his eyes. That was sensible considering the last time he'd fainted at the sight of the teeth. Twice.
Alyssa closed her eyes likewise, summoning her courage. She opened her mouth and her fangs extended with that same horrible sound they always made. She leant forward.
And felt them pierce his flesh.
* * * * *
Victoria had to fight every urge in her body not to bring her weapon up and blow the girl's head clean off. She was acutely aware of the vampire aura that made her involuntarily tense and wary. She forced down the instinct.
No, let her try. Even if it doesn't work, let her try. After all, it's giving Malak more time.
Time was what they needed now. By now Horna would know that the girl was here. He, and his men, would be on their way. Malak for his part of the plan needed not to beat him, but to arrive more or less at the same time. So Victoria watched. Watched this scene as the girl drank her fill. Alyssa pulled back as the deed was done.
Promptly, the lad fainted dead away.
“James!” Katy rushed to his side and Alyssa stepped back. Fear was in the girl’s eyes, despite the fact it was she who had done the deed. To Victoria's mind it hadn't actually taken that long. Victoria watched as Katy checked him putting her ear to his chest. There was a tense moment, when everyone held their breath. Victoria's thumb found itself hovering over her pistol’s cocking hammer.
“He's ok.” Katy said at last.
Victoria nodded, and Alyssa turned toward her.
“Gal'm geady.” she said with the oversized fangs still protruding. The girl opened her mouth wider, tilting back, the fangs out. Victoria moved to one side, and brought her pistol round to aim at the side of the two extended canines. The idea was that the bullet would shatter both teeth and then embed itself safely in the far wall, without injuring anyone else.
“Katy, stay down.” she ordered, just to be sure.
Victoria and Alyssa stood still and Katy ducked down by James who was still lying on the floor, out cold. This was it.
“Ready?” Victoria asked.
Alyssa nodded. Victoria could have sworn she saw beads of sweat on the girl's forehead but disregarded the notion.
She squeezed the trigger.
* * * * *
Alyssa's eyes opened.
She found herself on the floor of a dark room, its edges lost in shadow. Adjusting her glasses she found a single light source was above her, focused on her. She was not in her work clothes of the night but in her burgundy dress, the ni
ce one. It was clean too.
Ok this is odd.
She remembered the shot and the searing stab of pain.
Her hands leapt to her teeth and...
They were fine. She could feel her canines and there was nothing, nothing to indicate they had been shattered or otherwise broken. In fact they felt normal, not quite as sharp and pointed.
Am I cured? Is it over?
“No my dear.” said a deep rasping voice. “It is not over.”
She stood up sharply, looking around for the source of the voice.
“Who's there?” she called.
“Oh no-one.” replied the voice mockingly, “just an old friend.”
The voice did have a ring of familiarity about it, but Alyssa was finding it hard to place.
“Do I know you?”
“Oh I think so.” it replied again, seeming to come from everywhere at once. “You refer to me as Vlad.”
“Ah.” Alyssa looked about trying to see a cloud of annoying mouthy nothingness. “Where are you?”
“Oh of course, where are my manners?”
Out of the darkness materialized not a cloud of nothingness, but instead, an armoured figure. A knight, of a sort.
The metal armour he wore was ornate and ancient looking, a dull gold sheen glimmering where the light bounced off the sharp contours of its vambraces and pointed pauldrons. Worked into the metal were dozens of tiny pointed symbols, ragged and alien to her eyes, and hung by the warrior's side were a thin sword sheath and dagger set cast in black leather. The armour was all encompassing, the helm fashioned into what looked like the fanged maw of some carnivorous beast. A grill was set into the maw, covering the warriors face. Only the eyes were visible through a thin slit just beneath the upper jaw. Two dark, authoritative looking eyes; dull red. They seemed very familiar.
“I can see the cogs turning in your brain as you search your memories.” the figure rasped. “In fact, I can read them. Let me save you the bother.”
“You referred to me as Vlad when you were unable to pronounce my true name.” he continued. “That was intentional. After all, the vampiric tongue is ancient beyond most human years and takes even seasoned vampires decades to learn. But I must confess, I could have given you my name translated into your own language. That was rude of me.”
The figure reached up and undid his helmet clasp, lifting it off his head to cradle under one arm. The voice had sounded old, but the face from which it came was not. Young, almost her own age, but pale and refined. The age was behind the eyes, not on the face.
More importantly, the face was very, very familiar.
Alyssa's features paled for the first time in a year and half, as she recognised the face she had not seen in exactly that length of time. Ever since she had seen that same face disintegrate at the end of a bearkin long sword.
“Hello my dear.” said Igor Regorash with an accompanying smile. “It's so good to see you again.”
* * * * *
“She's alive.” Victoria confirmed. She had listened at Alyssa's chest and whilst the girl's heartbeat was weak, it was there. Likewise, her answer confirmed another thing. Alyssa was human again, not vampire. Vampires didn't have a heartbeat. Even now, Victoria could see from the light of the lantern, colour returning to the girl's features. The uncomfortable feeling Victoria felt when around Alyssa had also gone. There was no pressure or feeling of revulsion as she knelt by the girl.
Alyssa's canine teeth, or at least what remained of them, were ruined and her face splattered with blood. Fortunately, Victoria's experience with her pistol had insured that she fired just far enough away that the girl hadn't got any powder burns. The blood was from the teeth as they shattered. James was looking on. His face was relieved, but concerned. He had awoken rapidly, and whilst weak, he now crouched nearby, looking on his unconscious beloved.
“She'll be ok James, alright?” Victoria put her hand on the boys shoulder. “We'll be able to get a healer to fix things.”
He was still trembling, though whether by lack of blood or by shock at his lover's predicament, Victoria couldn't tell. He nodded none the less.
That's when Victoria heard them. The thunder of many feet.
Here we go
“Alright you two.” she said as she stood. “Keep behind me and shield Alyssa. Remember the plan. We need to delay them for as long as possible.”
* * * * *
“How?” Alyssa breathed.
Igor's smile remained. “Why my dear, it's simple.”
“I knew my killers were on their way. Come to end my little party, to ensure my destruction. Well, I couldn't have that, so I had my more trusted lieutenants perform a little ritual. Nothing fancy. Simply something that, upon the destruction of my mortal body, would transfer my spirit to my most recent convert.”
He nodded toward her. “You being that convert. After which, I hitched a ride on your soul and took on the persona of Vlad, so as to never raise your suspicions.”
“Sadly,” his face turned irate. “you have rather a strong-willed soul. You see, you were supposed to give in to me and allow me complete control over your actions. Eventually, wearing your soul down, I would gain full unopposed control over your body and confine your soul to nothing but a weak memory. You resisted me, indeed, you even mocked me. I'd applaud you if it weren't so inconvenient to me.”
“But now,” he waggled an armoured finger, a smirk now on his face. “Now you've given me a wonderful, wonderful opportunity to correct all that!”
He let his helmet clatter to the floor, before reaching to his sword belt. He slowly drew a long, thin blade with a resounding sound of steel on steel as the blade slipped easily past the sheath's ornate clasp.
Alyssa's eyes widened as she took a step back.
“You see,” he continued. “by performing the ritual of Unracos, you've unwittingly given me direct access to your soul. If I destroy your soul, I take possession of your body. It's beautifully simple.”
He started to walk toward her, slowly and deliberately.
“Now be a good girl,” he held his blade at the ready. “and hold still.”
* * * * *
There were an awful lot of them. Unfortunately the room they were in was just about big enough for all of them. They'd swept in very fast indeed, taking positions along the length of the rooms far wall. All facing toward her. Faster than Victoria had expected. She'd been banking on the maze like corridors delaying them a bit but the Darnhun were more bloodhound-like than she'd anticipated.
Victoria raised her hands, having holstered her pistol. It seemed the best option considering the number of crossbows currently being pointed at her. Horna Gladwell stared at her wearing a crooked grin, standing in the middle of the line of warriors.
“I must congratulate you Victoria.” he said, taking a peek past her. “You've found our vampire.”
His expression darkened.
“A pity you have been found in her company, if not her employ.”
You smug bastard.
He stepped forward to stand at the front of the line of Darnhun crossbows, regarding her.
“How'd you track us?” she asked. It was blatantly playing for time but Horna liked the sound of his own voice; potentially it could buy them a lot more time.
Time for Malak to hurry the hell up.
“It took us a little time, granted.” he said, clasping his hands behind his back and rocking from the heel to the balls of his feet. “But I am not without my own skills in investigation.”
“I had already suspected something odd when you did not return from your pursuit.” he started to pace in front of her. “Then, in a follow up investigation I discovered you had returned to the tavern. Apparently you'd taken a chill during your hunt for the vampire. According to our contact anyway”
He turned for dramatic effect. “A young barmaid of the tavern in question. You had discovered the vampire but not captured it. An odd thing indeed. Considering you did not volunteer this informatio
n, naturally I assumed something else was going on and had one of the Darnhun follow you. They make effective scouts by the way. They then summoned us here when you arrived and, here we are. At the end of the story.”
So far, so good thought Victoria. Visiting Gretna and getting one of the barmaids to help with this particular part of the plan had paid off.
“Which Darnhun?” Victoria hazarded.
Horna chuckled, nodding to one of the crossbow wielding Darnhun. He gave a cheery wave, before returning to his ready-to-fire stance.
“Yes.” said Horna. “Hard to tell one from another isn't it?”
Yeah, but thanks for confirming that he's here and not off following Malak.
“Now.” he said next. “I think we've wasted enough time. If you would kindly step out of the way.”
He removed a flintlock pistol from his cloak and aimed it at Victoria.
“Right now.” he added.
Victoria, keeping her hands raised, moved to one side so that Horna could look at Alyssa's body. The girl lay cradled in Katy's arms, James holding one of her hands. They were both looking, with utter terror, toward Horna.
Poor kids.
Horna frowned.
“And why is she in that state?” he asked, his expression demanding an explanation.
Victoria summoned her courage, as well as her silvered tongue.
Play for more time.
“Well” she began. “Seems these kids found something out about vampires.”
Horna's frown did not lift and he kept his pistol aimed at Victoria.
“Continue.” he rather pointedly ordered.
Victoria was no stranger to having guns, crossbows, bows or indeed a whole armament of weapons pointed at her so this was not an entirely new experience. It was slightly worrying though, as he was awfully close and the pistol was pointed right at her face.
“They discovered something from the books,” she said, nodding over at the stacks of book cases. “...something that could change a vampire back to their human form.”