Revelation (The Keepers of the Teardrop Book 1)

by Simone Lari

  "And who the fuck are they?" Vans burst out, annoyed.

  "Aren’t they friends of yours?" asked Christopher.

  From under their clothes the newcomers pulled out samurai swords engraved with strange symbols.

  "Zmeu, vampire warriors, of the Duergar clan" established Christopher.

  "Fantastic" remarked Vans mockingly, "two hearts, so we'll need a pair of brass ones to get rid of them."

  The Zmeu began to attack.

  Vans immediately put a hand under his leather jacket and pulled out a revolver that he pointed at the closer of the two. He fired two shots: the first in the chest, the second to the head.

  Facilitated by the short distance, the first hit the target, the second was diverted by a very rapid turn of blade. Vans quickly fired another two shots: the Zmeu protected himself from the bullet aimed at his second heart, but the shot directed at his knee hit him in full, turning it to pulp.

  The hooded one collapsed; the katana fell to the ground and rolled away a short distance.

  "Who trained you, Mister Satan?"

  The clunking noise of the fall was nothing compared to the echo generated by the shots of the old revolver and the heart-wrenching scream from Nina which followed.

  At the same time, the other Zmeu had thrown himself upon Christopher.

  While still dodging the countless skillful attacks from his opponent with the katana, Vans holstered the weapon and rushed to Nina who was in an evident state of shock.

  "Get up, come on!" he yelled at her, taking her by the hand, "That thing won’t stay down much longer, and someone will have already called the cops because of the gun shots."

  Vans’ voice, firm and reassuring at the same time, helped her to come back to her senses. The girl turned her gaze to Christopher, engaged in a duel.

  "And him? Do we leave him here?" she asked worried.

  "Of course we do!" he snapped, incredulous.

  "But… he helped me earlier. Please, do something!"

  Vans sighed and shook his head repeatedly.

  "What am I going to hear next? Amazing ... “he muttered to himself, inserting more silver bullets into the almost empty chamber of the Colt. Then, just as he put the first shot in the barrel, Nina made a noise, choked by her hand cupped over her mouth. "Now what’s wrong?" he barked, seeing her staring with wide eyes. Following the direction of her spooked gaze, he saw the vampire he had fired at getting back to his feet, with spurts of blood dripping from his chest and leg. "Stay down a while, you!"

  The hunter exploded a bullet that centered the other knee, and a second one at the head; he collapsed again, knocked unconscious.

  "Vans!" Gabriel called him in a loud voice as he arrived with girls at his heels, and threw a sort of tubular spike to him.

  He grabbed it on the fly and rushed to the vampire on the ground, pressing with his thumb on one end of the tube. On the other end a silver pick sprang out, which he stuck savagely into the second heart at the exact moment he reopened his bloodshot eyes.

  "Die, bloodsucker!"

  He planted it deep down, turning it several times. The Duergar Zmeu let out a cry of pain. He put a hand on the boy’s lapel and the other one on the pick, in an attempt to push the first away and pull out the latter, but Vans did not give up and, for safety, also raged pitilessly at the heart already wounded by the previous bullet.

  A few moments later, as if he were the victim of some sort of chemical reaction, bubbling acidic foam leaked from the holes on the vampire’s chest, eating away at his torso in a gruesome manner.

  Vans pulled back with a wrist pressed on his nose disgusted, complaining about the stinging fumes, just in time to support Nina in his arms: she had not been able to stomach the sight of the Zmeu’s ribs and innards which were still bubbling.

  The other warrior made a decisive thrust with the katana. Christopher parried and blocked it with his bare hands. He tugged first to the right and then from the opposite side, trying to wrest the weapon from his enemy. He quickly realized that he had no chance of disarming him, so he broke the blade in half with a sharp blow.

  Quickly, he landed a violent kick at the rival’s ribs.

  He took some steps backwards, almost falling over. He sheathed the broken katana and leapt towards the wall of the building. With his palms attached to the wall, he scaled it rapidly and disappeared.

  "Well how clever of you, you made Spiderman run away!" Vans needled him, pointing the revolver at Christopher. Heedless of the threat, the latter combed apprehensively through the surroundings with his gaze. As soon as he saw Nina propped up by the other girls sheltering behind a second hunter, he turned on Vans.

  "That won't be enough to beat me, especially if you've finished the ammunition" said the vampire.

  "Do your sums again, handsome: while Spiderman was about to carve you up, I reloaded it. And four shots will slow you down just enough to give me time to stick this you know where!" replied the hunter, showing him the sharp spike.

  "Hey!" exclaimed Sting, arriving at that moment, breathless and extremely angry.

  "Oh, your little friend has arrived at last" said Gabriel. "Did you like the shower a little while back?"

  "So you're the asshole with the holy water?"

  "Sting, stay calm" Christopher urged him.

  Understanding the situation, Sting called on the little self-control he had to keep still.

  The sirens of the fast approaching police cars broke into that tense and unnerving silence, filled with numerous reciprocal nasty looks.

  "Everyone goes his own way" Christopher promptly proposed.

  "Just this time. Next time I’ll have a proper crack at you" retorted Vans.

  "And I will at him!" added Sting, pointing at Gabriel.

  The two vampires took off, cautiously at first, then Christopher picked up the Zmeu’s katana which was slowly falling to bits and they hurried away into the night.

  "You three, come with us" intimated Vans.

  "No, we’re not going anywhere with you!" argued Nina who had just overcome her terror.

  "Get going immediately, or do you prefer to explain what happened to the police and let them think you're crazy?" he insisted.

  Jude nudged her in a sign of agreement.

  "It's better if we do as they say."

  With a furious snort Nina gave in. Gabriel took Angelique by the hand and led her to the car, a short distance away. Vans pushed Nina with one hand on her back, but she pulled away annoyed.

  "Don't worry, little princess, you're not my type" he said to her grimly.

  They got into the car, and the girls squeezed together on the back seat. Vans left just before the police arrived to find an organic pulp still boiling and foaming, giving off a poisonous miasma.

  "What the heck were those beings?" asked Jude, articulating every syllable.

  "In your opinion what were they, circus performers?" said Vans, sarcastically.

  "I know it will seem absurd, but those creatures were vampires" revealed Gabriel.

  "It might have been absurd if I hadn't seen one of them get back on its feet after you'd killed it" said Nina, addressing the driver.

  Vans nodded.

  "And… go on bubbling until it wasted away when you used the dagger" added Angelique.

  "It was a silver spike" Gabriel explained.

  "Vans, were the other two also va-vampires?" Nina ventured.

  "How the f… how do you know my name?”

  "That’s what he called you, in the alley" explained Angelique pointing at Gabriel, who responded with a guilty smile.

  "Smart, Gabriel, very smart. Anyway yes, those two were vampires as well, the tall one that likes spikes, and his second-rate buddy."

  "Well, I suppose I should thank you for your intervention…" the girl said.

  "Hmm" he muttered smugly, making some strange movements with his lips.

  "Anyway, I’m Nina."

  "What are you doing? Introducing yourself to these two madmen?" protest
ed Jude. "We have no idea what they want to do to us!"

  "That’s right… where are you taking us and what are you going to do to us now?" Angelique intervened.

  "Don’t worry, girls, we just wanted to get you away from that dump and try to explain calmly how things stand" Gabriel reassured them.

  "Or, to be clear and precise: tonight nothing at all happened, you have never seen us and, above all, vampires do not exist!" decreed Vans.

  "They’d think we were crazy if we told anyone about it. They'd think we were drunk or worse" retorted Angelique.

  "Exactly, I see you've understood perfectly. It’s best not to tell anyone what you have seen tonight, not even a trusted friend" suggested Gabriel patiently, never taking his eyes off Angelique.

  "Forget everything as quickly as possible. Keep out of this world" finished Vans, serious.

  "If you've finished with the big gun, sweetheart, what say you take us to the car?" muttered Jude, acidly.

  "I guess it’s parked near the club, and I’m not going back there with all the cops around."

  "Can you take us home? We’ll come back tomorrow to get it, and maybe our coats and my cell phone as well" said Nina.

  "Ok. Where do you live, gorgeous?"

  "Are you sure you want this guy to know where you live?" Jude intervened, suspicious.

  Nina made an indecipherable grin, and then gave her address to Vans.

  "Leave us here, my house is that one just over there" she indicated cautiously.

  "Do you think those two will come looking for us?" Angelique asked Gabriel.

  "I don't think they will, but… if you like, I'll leave you my number. If you need help, you can call me at any time and I, I mean we will come running."

  "Won’t you leave me your number?" asked Nina.

  Vans turned with a smug smile.

  "Have you have changed your mind, little brunette? Earlier in the alley you didn’t even want me putting a hand on your back and now you want my number?"

  Crossing her arms on her chest, Nina’s face darkened.

  "Now that I think about it, no, I don’t want it!"

  Vans smirked and gestured to Gabriel.

  "You can call me, we're always together and my cell phone has a protected number, which can’t be traced in case… well, in case I give it to the wrong people" he rattled off.

  "Well, if that’s all, you can get out ladies. So we can go home and put a nice steak on Gabriel’s black eye."

  "And maybe I’ll sew up your arm" he answered, indicating his sleeve soaked in blood.

  Angelique was horrified when she saw it.

  "Oh hell… I've soiled the whole seat! I must have been wounded when he threw that bin at me."

  Gabriel could barely hold back a laugh.

  "Before we go, I have one last question" Nina broke in, serious.

  The two nodded and she plucked up courage.

  "Who were those two who attacked you and the other vampire?"

  "It's better if you know nothing about what just happened, and I say this for your own good" replied Vans, in a calm and quiet tone for the first time.

  She wasn't satisfied with the evasive response. She would have liked to ask him a lot more questions but, considering his behavior, she knew she wouldn’t have the explanations she wanted.

  "Go and retrieve the car and your personal items in daytime, be cautious and take someone with you" Gabriel advised.

  "Ladies?” Vans invited them with a gesture to get out of the car.

  They did so, uncertain and cold.

  Gabriel made the gesture of a phone to Angelique provoking an intolerant scowl from Vans who started the car and took off, though not without stealing a glance at Nina, a glance that was returned by the girl's intense gaze.

  As soon as the car disappeared around the corner, the three girls hugged their arms to their chest and squeezed close to each other.

  "We will we do now? Shall we ask Nina’s father to go with us?" Angelique proposed.

  "Of course, and that way we’d have to give him a heap of explanations!" she objected.

  "Let's call Tony! He’ll be here in a flash, wait and see" suggested Jude.

  "Sure thing! Here, Nina, call him." Angelique handed her the phone with the call already on the way.

  "Why me?" she protested.

  "He’d never say no to you" whispered her friend.

  "Hello, Angelique?" answered Tony in a sleepy voice.

  "Ehm, no… it’s Nina."

  Silence.

  "H-hi, what's up…" he replied, suddenly awake again.

  "You couldn’t come and pick us up, could you? We’ve had a small problem. We’re near my house, on the corner between Jasper and King's. And it's freezing cold."

  "Sure, sure, I’m on my way!"

  "Wonderful, thanks a million." Nina ended the call. "And now what excuse are we going to give him?" she asked her friends.

  "Angelique will think of something, and anyway if you're the one who tells him, he’ll believe anything" Jude stated.

  Chapter 8 – Abraham’s Villa

  "I don't get it, why didn't we kill those two hunters?" Sting protested fiercely from the driver’s seat of his sports car.

  "It was neither the right place nor the right time" answered Christopher. "Besides, killing one of them only serves to draw the attention of other hunters."

  "You know what I think of those bastards!"

  "Yes, I know very well, but don't you think you've killed enough of them?"

  "No! After what they did to me, it will never be enough!" he yelled putting his foot to the floor.

  "The thing that worries me is another: why did those Duergar target us?”

  "Maybe they were just rangers in the mood for a fight" hypothesized Sting.

  "I don’t believe they ran into us just by chance, they were armed and ready to fight. It was a premeditated ambush."

  "We’ll discuss it with the old man, he’ll decide if we should inform the people in high places or not give a damn" decided Sting as they entered the suburban street that would lead them to Abraham’s villa.

  A few miles later, on the narrow and lonely side street, Sting saw a black van approaching, going at high speed in the opposite direction to them.

  When the two cars competed for the roadway, it moved suddenly to the right, almost finishing in a small ditch to avoid a head-on collision.

  "Hey! Who the fuck were they?"

  "I don't know, but no-one ever comes down this way. Accelerate, I have a bad premonition" replied Christopher, clenching his jaw.

  When they arrived at the villa, they saw immediately that the tires of the sedan had been slashed, and the same fate had befallen the motorbike that was lying on the ground, while the front door was wide open and almost pulled off its hinges.

  "Let's get a move on!" Christopher pressed him, katana in hand.

  They rushed into the building.

  No noise and no movement could be noticed from the entrance.

  "Check the rooms on the ground floor; I'm going to look around upstairs."

  "Sure, let's split up, a fantastic idea!" Sting objected, nervously shaking his head.

  Christopher went quickly up the stairs, looking carefully into the darkness of the corridor before going any further. He opened all the doors, but there was no trace of Abraham or Alyna or of any possible assailants.

  Arriving before the large salon, he saw that the door was just slightly ajar. He kicked it open and burst in.

  Chairs and armchairs scattered along the floor, pieces of semi-destroyed furniture and the contents of various drawers spread on the ground testified to a violent fight.

  Papers and old rolls of parchment strewn everywhere indicated that the attackers were looking for something very specific.

  A pile of dark ash still smoldering attracted his attention.

  He went over and inspected it, finding a heavy medallion with a red gem in the middle. He recognized it. It was a family jewel which Abraham al
ways wore.

  Sting was inspecting the rooms downstairs. When he arrived at the door of the library, he opened it and what he saw made him smile contentedly.

  Alyna was lying on the ground in a pool of blood, buried under a wall full of heavy ancient tomes.

  It’s the opportune moment to give this bitch the coup de grace, he thought.

  He approached the book shelf, grabbed it firmly and pushed it to one side. He was about to take her by the neck when he pulled back his hand and breathed: "Hey, little shit, are you conscious?" he said, tilting her head.

  He examined the vampire's body and saw deep slashes on her torn clothes. Through the shredded fabric he glimpsed serious wounds on her back which had not yet closed and a hole, probably caused by a sharp edged weapon, roughly at the height of her heart.

  Taking advantage of the situation, he gave her firm buttocks, perfectly outlined by the latex pants, a generous squeeze.

  Then, having satisfied his desire to feel their consistency, he turned her gently onto her back.

  He saw that she also had several wounds on her face and legs that were not healing.

  He slapped her hard to bring her to her senses.

  A few minutes later she opened her eyes with difficulty. As soon as she was conscious of herself, she jumped in fright, then tried to pull away, disgusted, when she realized that she was in lying in Sting's arms.

  Christopher joined them at that moment.

  "How is she?" he asked.

  "Let’s give her a bag of blood and she’ll be better" he answered.

  "I’ll go get it," said his friend, setting off in haste.

  "What about the old man?" asked Sting, getting no answer.

  Alyna tried to get rid herself of that unwanted embrace.

  "Keep still, don't move around. You have several severe wounds and you've lost a lot of blood."

  "Let go of me!" she burst out.

  "As you prefer."

  He loosened his grip, letting her fall onto the floor. Alyna arched her back in pain and clenched her teeth, mentally cursing him.

  A few moments later Christopher returned with the bag of blood.