“Of course you are, otherwise you wouldn’t be here and James Resnik wouldn’t be endangered and your little chain of events would breakdown.”
“It isn’t that simple.”
“Explain that to me.”
“I gather you’ve followed this with more than a mild interest?”
“Yes.”
“Then you’re aware of the discrepancy with the twelfth murder.”
“I am.”
“Then you can realize that there is not always a single target, but multiple possibilities.”
“Then who was the true twelfth victim?” Mizuno asked him. “Was it Jenna Bell or Ryan Sage?”
“Does it matter? They’re both dead.”
“True.”
“How much more of these meaningless questions do you intend to subject me to?” Cladis inquired as his interest in the situation waned. “You seem to me to be quite intelligent, so you should know what’s going to happen here.”
“And what’s that?”
“I’m going to kill James Resnik and then each and every one of you here.”
“I highly doubt that.”
“How do you expect to kill me if you can’t see me?”
Mizuno chuckled and told him he was more than capable of hitting a target in the dark.
Cladis lunged toward where James Resnik stood moments before total blindness overtook the entire area, but his effort was foiled as Mizuno shot him twice in the back and once in his lower left thigh. Mizuno rushed at the man through the darkness, seized him, and threw him off the edge of the building.
Mithra let his power go so they all could see while Mizuno walked to the edge and looked down to see whether his efforts were successful. All he saw at the bottom was a large crater in the street below.
“You got everything, right?” Mizuno asked Melanie.
She didn’t answer.
The foundations of the building shook so violently that Mizuno nearly lost his balance and fell over the edge. He looked at the group and realized he’d made an uncalculated error. Mithra, Melanie, James, and Afifa were huddled together away from him near the center of roof. He told them to scatter, but no one managed to move before the area they stood on was destroyed and a broken, scarred, and bleeding man resurfaced.
Cladis stood, or tried his best to do so, as his limbs, ribs, spine, skull, and nearly every other bone in his body was broken. He managed to keep an iron grip on Mithra and James while the two girls retreated from the monster. Mizuno’s eyes flashed, but he failed to glean anything from the fiend. Cladis’ bones protruded through his skin, as did parts of his muscles and organs. He bled profusely, his body was contorted into a hideous form, yet while he remained where he stood, his body repaired itself and his hold on the two men grew tighter.
Mizuno rushed forward with two weapons in his hands and shot off all of his remaining rounds at the regenerating foe. He landed thirty-one bullets straight into Cladis’ skull and heart, but the man refused to fall. Cladis only continued to reconstruct his body as each of the metal slugs were purged from his system.
“Damn it,” Mizuno swore under his breath. He discarded the weapons and regretfully told Afifa and Melanie that they needed to leave. “
Mizuno made it to the edge and heard Melanie scream as Cladis killed James and Mithra right in front of her. Mizuno glanced back and watched as Cladis lunged at Melanie and tore her head clean off her torso. Mizuno swore again and dove off the building with Afifa in his arms, though Cladis continued to pursue them over the edge. The monster nearly caught the pair, but a bright ray of light erupted from where the two escapees were over Baltimore and they vanished before the monster could reach them.
---*---
9:50 PM
Seattle, Washington
Rachel continued to lead the way and hadn’t stopped since she and Vladimir uncovered the second part of her ability. She was even rather excited to explore the city with her newfound power, which was the direct reason her complaining ceased, which was a relief to Vladimir. However Rachel’s only basic understanding gave her slight unrest, since she couldn’t completely tell what an evil spirit would feel like or what it would appear as.
“Where are we now?” she asked Vladimir.
“Pioneer Square,” he told her, “Do you see anything?”
“No, I’m sorry.”
“It is not your fault, so please do not worry about it. Let us press onward though.”
The pair walked down a cobblestone path while Rachel scanned the crowds and saw the worth of their souls. The further they walked the darker things became, so much so that she began to worry about the foreshadowed event altogether.
“Are you sure we shouldn’t wait for Pyotr to help us?”
Vladimir glanced at her, saw her trepidation, and reassured her that everything was under control. “Cipriana may be immortal, but she is not empowered by any means.”
“So if we find her there won’t be a fight?”
He shook his head and said there would be someone there to protect her. “She is not that foolish. However, the incident will be minimal in comparison to some of the other quarrels I have had the misfortune of partaking of.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Although Pyotr and I have the primary task of vanquishing Constantine and his followers, I have been known to seek out and destroy other forms of evil whenever they present themselves.”
“Like what?”
“Other vampires would be a suitable example.” He told her his duty was hardly as simple as what they would soon face. “Normally Pyotr and I face opposition that, should we fail, would shake the foundations of this earth.”
“Have you ever failed?”
He shook his head, “Aside from our folly with Constantine, no. Pyotr is an angel, might I remind you, and as such it is impossible for him to lose, or so I choose to believe.”
Rachel continued to listen to him, but stopped when she saw a massive collective darkened aura around an entire city block. “What is that?” she asked him while she pointed at the building.
Vladimir looked and told her it was a nightclub. “Do you think this is the place?”
Rachel shut her eyes, calmed herself, and when she reopened her eyes, her vision returned to normal. “If she’s anywhere, I would say she’s there.” She looked at him and asked how they would get in.
“Normally Pyotr and I would walk in, find her, and kill her, no matter how many people were present,” he told her. “However you are hardly fit for combat of any sort and as I am uncertain as to what sort of contingency Cipriana has planned, I also feel it is wise to take matters slowly and with tact.” He looked at her vacant expression and simply told her he also needed her to point out which one of all of the individuals was actually her.
Vladimir looked about the building in an attempt to find a viable entrance. He focused momentarily, shut his eyes, and felt out how many people were in the building based off of his ability to sense blood. It was far from an easy feat though, as many of the individuals within the complex polluted their systems with drugs and liquors, which concealed those who were not completely intoxicated within the masses at the club.
He managed to find a small opening on the roof and determined that it would be the best way into the building. “Rachel, am I correct in recalling that you possess a regenerative quality?”
“What?”
“Can you heal yourself if you are wounded?”
“Yeah, why do you ask?”
He said it was not important. “I simply want to ensure that you won’t die if you are critically wounded if there is heavy opposition here.”
She paled a bit and asked what his plan was.
“Basically we are going to infiltrate the building via the rooftop access point that w
ill allow us to descend into the club through a stairwell which should also grant us a moment to search out Cipriana before she is apprised or aware of us,” Vladimir told her. “The reason I asked about your regenerative skill is in case her back up is somehow more than what I am readily able to handle. In that event any damages you would incur would mean little and not hinder me too much more than killing whomever assaulted you, all while allowing me to continue to watch for Cipriana without letting her slip away.”
“Then I’m bait?”
“Hardly,” he scoffed. “You are supposed to find our target, which I am relying on. So, until you locate her, I will devote myself to ensuring no one harms you.”
“Thanks,” she muttered.
He asked if she was ready and swept her up in a colony of bats which quickly landed on the rooftop. Vladimir led the way, asked her to ready herself with her ability, which she did, while he slowly opened the door.
No one lingered in the stairwell, but a raucous noise bombarded them along with a wave of heat and the odor of alcohol and sweat. Vladimir slipped inside, Rachel followed, and as they made their way into the party Rachel noticed a shade that made her sick. The aura she witnessed was in a color and shade Rachel never saw before and the sight of it caused her bowels to twist within her.
She stopped him and took a moment to compose herself. Rachel did away with her visionary ability and told him Cipriana was most likely at a table in the club on the main floor. Vladimir nodded and crept along in search of the individual Rachel described. The club was filled and Vladimir imagined that he could blend into the crowd to cover his approach toward Cipriana. He was concerned with the smokescreen, the sparse lighting, the odor, and the strobe lights, all of which he felt hindered his progress.
He studied the group Rachel pointed out and tried to sort out who Cipriana was. A young Korean woman caught his eye and after a minute Vladimir felt comfortable enough to assume she was his target, based on what gestures he remembered of Cipriana’s from centuries earlier. Vladimir paused for a moment to contemplate what he needed to do with Rachel, as he felt bringing her to the fight would create more risk than reward, yet he did not feel safe leaving her alone on the roof. He weighed the options and decided to have her return to the roof and wait for him there. “I will find you once this is over, but until then, please stay out of the building and should anyone access the roof, hide,” he shouted to her through the boisterous music.
She did as he asked and as soon as she was out of sight he hurried down the staircase and into the body of the party in search of the woman. He believed he was well hidden until someone struck him in the back and five large men restrained him.
Vladimir cursed under his breath and heard the music in the room die right as he lashed out, broke free, and engaged the five men in quick combat which resulted in each person’s death. Half a dozen others followed suit, but Vladimir soon realized that he was not only outnumbered, but Cipriana knew he had found her and fled. He engaged two more of the aggressors before he surmised that the entire club would combat him if he continued to waste time fighting and not flee. In a moment he transformed into a colony of bats and made an escape back to the rooftop.
He reemerged as a man at the final steps up to the roof, burst through the door, and found Cipriana with a handful of bodyguards who already subdued and capture Rachel.
The young Korean woman looked at Vladimir and commented at how lively he looked. “It must be such a blessing to never have to worry about how you look, or aging, or even dying,” she began.
Vladimir let out a strained breath and told her to release Rachel. “Your time is up Cipriana and you–”
“I’m not sure who she is,” Cipriana interrupted, “But apparently she’s with you and that means she’s leverage.”
“She can hardly be considered as such,” Vladimir told her shortly. “For starters I am only with her because Pyotr has justified adding her to our small band of heroes. And besides,” he smirked, “She can regenerate, so nothing you do to her would matter.”
Cipriana retrieved a small bronze dagger from her purse, tossed it to one of the men who restrained Rachel, and told him to slit her throat. He did as she commanded, Rachel screamed, bled out, died, and revived intact. The Korean woman smiled and told Vladimir she could continue torturing her forever. “Your friend might not die, but she still feels pain and with enough force I’d imagine even her regenerative properties wouldn’t spare her from madness.”
Vladimir let out a breath and told Cipriana that she misunderstood their entire situation. “This is not a time for bartering. Rachel may need to endure some level of pain while I slay you, but everything boils down to your end.”
Cipriana reminded Vladimir that she could always reincarnate herself and vanish forever. “But next time I’ll be the one to hunt you down and I’ll plunge a wooden stake through your heart.”
Vladimir frowned and asked where his old friend had gone. “You were once a beautiful young woman who I was honored to know. I only wish you were still that same–”
“Save your nostalgia Vladimir,” she spat. “You betrayed us too, if I recall.”
“And that was a mistake,” he muttered, “One I would never repeat.”
“How noble,” Cipriana sneered. “But after Daniel died and we all wanted to find Constantine, some for reasons other than revenge I’ll admit, you were the first to turn on our friends.”
“That is enough!” Vladimir barked. “I will not have my sins recalled by the very cretin I have come to slay.”
Cipriana smiled, “That’s fine, but you will not rescue the girl.”
The door to the stairwell burst open and dozens of the partygoers poured out and seized Vladimir. He fought as best as he could but was unable to resist the forces that pulled him back into the nightclub.
Yet just as Vladimir lost sight of Rachel and Cipriana, a ray of light pierced the night sky and Pyotr swiftly landed on the rooftop next to Rachel. He told her to worry no more and proceeded to snap his fingers. All of Cipriana’s henchmen and the people who held Vladimir vanished in an instant. Cipriana’s bronze dagger fell and Pyotr caught it in his left hand, crushed it into splinters, and wiped his hands clean afterwards.
Pyotr gave Rachel a reassuring smile and asked if she was alright.
Rachel nodded and asked, “What happened to all of them?”
He chuckled and told her he separated all of the elements and subatomic particles that constructed each person and scattered the matter into the vastness of the universe. “Now,” he turned to face Cipriana, “Where is Constantine? You are one of the few who has contact with him and as such I require whatever information you have on him.”
“I’m not saying a thing,” she spat while she backed toward the edge of the building. “You won’t find him.”
Pyotr folded his arms across his chest and told her it was over. “You cannot escape me Cipriana. You know this.”
“Watch me,” she sneered as she jumped over the ledge of the building.
Pyotr stretched his hand out toward her and lifted her back above the roof without moving from where he stood. She remained suspended in the air while Vladimir climbed back up the staircase and regrouped with Pyotr and Rachel.
“I am weary of all this,” Pyotr said as he approached Cipriana. “You are going to tell me what I need to know about Constantine.”
“I don’t have–”
He silenced her and told her he was aware of her agency. “I doubt you realize this now, but you have utilized your agency for evil measures, and as such I personally believe you no longer have that right to retain your secrets.” His eyes flashed for a brief second before he let out a breath and said she knew nothing. “The last time she had contact with Constantine was over twenty years ago. In fact,” he smirked, “She’s been just as eager as we have been to find him for herself. Now,” he paused for a moment to retrieve his blade from out of a single ray of light and proceeded to take Cipriana by the neck and rec
ited her crimes, “You have robbed many good souls of their opportunities to come to this earth, you are responsible for murder in multiple accounts, including quite a few suicides on your own part, dissention, deceit, and a dozen other abominations I would rather not list off.” He slid his blade through her chest at which point a white light collected around her, amassed into Pyotr’s sword, and ended when he tore his weapon from her and allowed her corpse to drop over the edge of the building. He took a moment to incinerate her remains before he released a breath and told his friends their work was done.
Rachel blinked and discovered she and her allies were miles away, standing in the park near her home
“Why are we here now?”
“I felt this was a much better place to have a chat after our battle,” Pyotr told her. “And it was about to rain again in Seattle, so I opted to find a dryer area.”
“And we both thank you for that Pyotr,” Vladimir mumbled. “But need I remind you that we did not gain anything from her? We still have no idea where Constantine is.”
Pyotr agreed. “It is quite a shame, though one part of our overall goal is finished, which still puts us one step closer than we were before. So we do have something to be grateful for.”
Vladimir rolled his eyes and muttered his sentiments under his breath. “This was an utter waste.”
“How so?” Pyotr asked him. “Rachel has unlocked one of her dormant abilities, we have finally destroyed Cipriana, and I know I can trust and charge you two with further tasks when they arrive.”
“This has been a senseless exercise to keep us busy, even though you were more than capable of handling matters on your own,” he snapped.
“Yet I chose to leave it in your hands,” Pyotr told him. “Had I not had a moment to spare I would have left the task of killing Cipriana and saving Rachel to you, which I know you would have accomplished.”
“I do not see the logic in pawning what you can do off onto the two of us if it would be simpler and swifter had you handled matter yourself.”
“I would if I was able to–”
“You obviously were,” Vladimir cut him off, “Otherwise you would not have arrived at the last second.”
Impact (Book 1): Regenesis Page 62