by Simone Lari
"It makes sense to me, though. The girls left their overcoats at the club, and the car will probably be in the area too; seeing that it’ll be closed for sure during the day, they’ll definitely have to go this evening to retrieve their things."
"Sounds good" remarked Alyna, shooting a dirty look at Sting.
"What? You agree with him? That’s new" he muttered sarcastically.
"He, at least, when he crosses his legs doesn’t squeeze his brain."
"You know, you’re as funny as a stake up the ...”
"That's enough, you two!" the other rebuked them, "We're in a situation that's already quite complicated, so just stop this bickering!"
After the brief altercation, the three left the villa. Sting headed to his sports car and Christopher to the bike, which he'd got going again.
"Aren’t we all going in my car?”
"I don't have another set of tires in case they give me another little surprise like the one last night" he answered, putting on the helmet.
Alyna started to get onto the saddle, but he intercepted her leg in the air and pushed it rudely away.
"What are you doing?" he asked irritated.
"I’m coming with you. I‘m not going in the car with that madman."
"Yes you are, because I don't take passengers on my motorbike" he said coldly, pointing at Sting’s sports car.
Obsequiously, amused by the vampire's look of annoyance, Sting got out of the car and opened the door.
"Madame?"
Alyna stared at the centaur with loathing for a few moments, upset by his refusal, then resigned herself to sharing the car with Sting, and got in sighing.
Back in the driver's seat, he glowered at her.
"What's wrong now?"
"The seat belt, darling, safety first."
"Ridiculous!" she snapped.
"Think how ridiculous it would be if we were in an accident, you shot through the window and then, in front of everyone, you got up dripping with blood as if nothing had happened." Scowling, she fastened her seat belt. "That’s a good girl; you can never be too prudent. By the way, did you bring a weapon with you? We could have unwelcome encounters."
She opened her leather jacket and he glimpsed the whip fastened to her belt.
"Hmm, if you want to practice with that, when we get back…" he suggested with a roguish glance at her.
"Why not, I’d very willingly whip you till you bled!" she replied, baring her large canines.
"Oh well, if it would help to vent that repressed secular desire for the penis, why not?"
"Start the car and shut that disgusting mouth or I’ll start immediately."
Sniggering, Sting turned the key with a roar of the engine, followed by Christopher who was the first to set off with a noisy squeal of tires.
When they arrived in the city, they headed to the Black Sun and, at a good distance, they sat waiting.
Christopher got into his friend’s car, fearing he would be too noticeable in the saddle of the bike standing still at the edge of the road.
The minutes passed slowly and Sting began to lose patience.
"This plan sucks! Those three wouldn't come back here tonight."
His friend pointed to the sidewalk in front of them.
"Ok, I take everything back" he said as he saw them. "What do we do now?"
"Let them go in. Then we’ll join them; that way we’ll have a quiet public place where we can talk quietly. They'll feel safe and won’t complain."
Alyna nodded, Sting muttered.
The girls arrived just as one of the bartenders was opening the front door.
"No bouncers tonight?" began Jude, who would have appreciated having the bruisers around at that moment, more than anything else.
"No, only on Friday and Saturday after eleven p.m. when the club becomes a disco. During the rest of the week we only serve aperitifs. The bouncers aren’t necessary, most of the time at least" replied the boy with a half-hearted smile.
"Listen, is the cloakroom open? We left our overcoats here yesterday evening, and my phone is in the pocket of my coat." asked Nina.
"Of course, did you keep the tickets?" The girls showed them to him. "Ok, come with me."
They followed the barman to the cloakroom.
"There's always something left behind at the end of the evening; here, these should be yours" he said, giving them the three overcoats corresponding to the tickets.
Nina checked the pocket, pleased to find her cell phone; it was off, the battery was dead.
"After the police arrived, there was some sudden turmoil among the customers" the boy announced.
"What happened?" Nina asked, pretending to be surprised.
"They heard some gunshots, in the back, and someone called the cops. Weren’t you there? Did you leave because you had something to hide maybe?" the young man teased her with a complicit grin.
"We had nothing to hide, the fact is that this little saint here present" Jude answered, indicating Angelique, "had a curfew, and in our haste we forget to take our overcoats. Anyway, with all the alcohol we had in us, we could have got to Siberia!"
"But listen, can you tell us what happened?" Nina pressed him.
The bartender smiled at her and, leaning on the wall with his arm, he bent toward her, getting a forced smile in return.
"Well, nothing very serious. The cops found some shells, organic liquid and some blood, it seems. Oh, when they took away the evidence, I saw them bag the tip of a sword, like those Japanese ones I believe."
"A katana?" suggested Angelique.
"Exactly! But no-one was wounded, and just as well, otherwise they would have closed the club for days."
"How lucky” Jude muttered quietly getting a nudge from Angelique.
"Well then, thanks for the coats" Nina cut short, "we should go."
"I can offer you something to drink, if you like, before ...” he hesitated and as if he was embalmed, stared behind her.
A violent shiver passed down Nina’s back: the Trequetra was burning hot, and a very strong familiar sensation came over her; but she didn't want to look around to confirm it, as if she refused to accept it.
"What’s come over him?" Angelique broke in.
"Idiotic Casanova fool, just as you were about to offer us a drink?" Jude objected.
"Girls ...” stammered Nina, terrified.
As Angelique snapped her fingers in front of her eyes, a hand came from behind the young bartender's shoulder, gripped his chin and pulled his head backwards.
A pale woman who had appeared out of nowhere whispered to him, looking him straight in the eyes: "Get out of here, you delicious morsel."
The girls shivered.
"O-ok, as you say…" he replied, walking away like a zombie.
The frightening woman scrutinized them one by one, as she looked into their eyes.
"So you’re the little tramps... "
The girls stepped backwards all at the same moment.
"Alyna, don’t frighten them" urged a voice from behind them. They turned, finding Sting and Christopher in front of them. Instantly, they moved close to each other, shoulder to shoulder.
"Oh fuck!" cursed Jude.
"Oh my God!" squealed Angelique.
"Don't come near us!" intimated Nina, instinctively putting her hand to the Trequetra, feeling the heat increase immediately.
Christopher opened the palms of his hands. "Don’t worry; we don't want to harm you."
Angelique took a wooden crucifix from her handbag and pointed it trembling at Sting’s face.
"Aaagh, nooo, it’s terrible!" he howled, covering his face with both hands. Christopher gave him a filthy look and he straightened up. "Sorry, I've been dreaming of doing it for ninety-two years."
"That’s not funny!"
"And nor are some fixations either." He put out his hand and tore the crucifix from Angelique’s, then held it to his face. "What a waste" he murmured and threw it carelessly on the ground. A light imperceptible
plume of smoke arose from his hand. As he dissolved it, waving it theatrically back and forth, he remarked: "One day you’ll thank me, girl."
"Thank you!" screamed Jude, firing the electrodes of a Taser she took from her coat pocket, straight at Sting’s face.
The vampire stared wildly, pervaded by a powerful electrical discharge. His body jolted and vibrated for a few seconds, causing Alyna some hilarity and an impatient snort from Christopher, until he tore them from his neck.
"Fuck, that hurts!" he protested, "But it’s exciting as well, I should try it at lower voltages" he decided in a low voice.
"Will you quit acting like an idiot...?” Christopher reprimanded him.
"Hey, they started it!"
"You're terrifying them!"
"What’s going on here?" The owner of the club and other employees who had just arrived headed towards them.
"Alyna, take care of it."
The vampire nodded in agreement and flounced over to them in a persuasive way.
Christopher looked closely at Nina and once again tried to establish a dialog: "Please, believe me, we are not here to harm you."
"Speak for yourself" said Sting. "I’d gladly do a little harm to the tall one, believe me." He winked at her, laughing as he did so.
Jude answered him with a middle finger well on show.
"What do you want from us?" asked Nina, trying to avoid looking at his eyes.
"My name is Christopher, and I want you to know that we will not use our power on you, also because... it’s rather difficult to control the will of a person who knows our true identity. It's as if your mind closes and puts up an almost impenetrable barrier."
Sting rolled his eyes, thinking his friend’s approach inappropriate and mistaken.
Angelique listened attentively to Christopher’s words, while Jude, eyes in a slit, carefully studied Sting, taking her eyes off him only for fleeting disappointed looks at the Taser.
"I, I’m Nina" she introduced herself hesitantly. "Thank you for your explanation, but my question is still the same: what do you want from us?" She glanced timidly at him.
"We need your help" said Christopher in an encouraging voice.
He moved a step closer to her, but the three girls took an equally long step back.
"What mister easy-going is trying to say is that we need a small favor from you, a very simple thing: you must put us in contact with the hunters” Sting rattled off with an annoyed grimace.
"For heaven’s sake why?" Angelique retorted belligerently.
"That’s something we'll discuss directly with them" said Christopher.
"And what have we got to do with them?" Jude argued.
"What makes you think we know how to find them?'" repeated Nina.
"We weren’t sure, to tell the truth, but your friend with her protective attitude leaves us no room for doubt."
Jude returned Angelique’s earlier nudge.
Nina continued: "Okay, so what makes you think we'll tell you how to find them?"
"Hey honey, look, we don't want to do anything to them... although we would actually like to, but we need a favor, so blood bath postponed to a later date." All eyes glared at him. "What the hell, why don’t you relax for a moment? I'm kidding!"
"Not about the fact that we need their help."
"Let’s suppose that I believe you and we had the possibility of contacting them, but if you don’t explain exactly what you want from them, how will we convince them?"
"Nina, are you mad?" Angelique upbraided her, stunned.
"Holy words, Angy! Really holy words!"
"The vampires that attacked us in the alley, the other night…"
"You mean those two armed with katana?"
"That's correct. See, they're part of a rival clan that attacked our hideout while we were at the Black Sun."
"They’re things which we will discuss directly with them" Sting ridiculed him.
"As I was saying" Christopher went on, scowling at his friend, "they have killed what could be called our supervisor, and without him we're cut off from the rest of the clan. Only the elders know the location of the other groups, and it's very important for us to affiliate ourselves with one of them to have support and protection."
"Bravo, a tribute to confidentiality. At this point you can also give them the keys to the house and a pointed weapon" commented Sting.
"I trust her!" Christopher burst out, startling Nina. "What’s more, the hunters would never take our request seriously if we justified it with pathetic stories."
"And what do they get from helping some blood-thirsty monsters?" asked Jude, perplexed. Her two friends looked at her bewildered. "What’s wrong? It seems like a very legitimate question to me."
"Yes, indeed it is" agreed Sting, "but since you've called me a monster, I’ll keep the answer to myself. About the blood-thirsty thing, on the other hand, I certainly can’t say you’re wrong." He gave her a provocative little smile.
"We'll join with them in the hunt for the Duergar clan. After the events of the other night, I'm sure they're already planning to track them down them and eliminate them" Christopher hastened to add.
"You do this to me on purpose, eh?" Sting rebuked him.
Christopher didn’t answer: Nina had taken a hand to her breast and had taken out a medallion as she felt strange waves coming from it. Sting followed the direction of her gaze, noting the object at the same moment the girl put it back under her clothes.
"What have you got between your boobs?" Sting asked in a cheeky tone.
Nina crossed her arms over her chest. "It’s none of your business."
"It looked like a fucking amulet, so that means I’ll keep well away from you."
"Shall we get this over?" Alyna urged them, tired of keeping guard over the staff of the club who were waiting calmly on the privacy sofas.
"Will you help us intercede with the hunters? Maybe you have a way of communicating with them or you know where they live?" asked Christopher.
Sting pricked up his ears, interested in the reply.
Nina swallowed, and then admitted: "Well, I have no reason to trust you, particularly after the other evening…"
"Look at it in another way: right now we're asking you for a favor in a polite way, but we could always try tougher tactics!" Sting threatened her, curling his lips and revealing the incisors.
"No! If you don’t want to help us, we'll find another solution. One thing for sure is that there will be no harm done to you, even if…"
"There's an if?" asked Angelique, frightened.
"Just like we found you, so could the vampires of the Duergar clan. I don't think they'll like knowing that there's someone around who knows of their existence."
Nina looked at her friends' taut worried expressions, the nasty look on Sting’s face and Alyna's impatient gaze, not far away.
Finally she looked for a long while, for the first time, into Christopher’s deep eyes.
His penetrating gaze did not hide any veil of bad intentions or lies. He smiled at her as soon as she granted him the trust of finally meeting his eyes. The intensity of his gaze became unbearable; it was as if he wanted to explore the innermost corners of her soul, in search of her most secret thoughts and desires.
She looked away and made up her mind.
"We do have the possibility of getting in touch with them."
"And will you?" he asked.
"We...we'll do it, but I can’t guarantee the successful outcome of the response" she made clear.
"I know that, because it doesn't depend on you. We're only asking you to take them our message."
"How are we going to contact you when we have their answer?"
"Leave a message with the barman, we'll take care of the rest," said Christopher, smiling.
"O-ok. Now can we go?"
"We'd like to accompany you to the car, for your safety."
While Alyna gave instructions to the barman, hypnotizing him with her power, the two vampires and the
three girls left the Black Sun.
Along the way, Nina and Christopher exchanged fleeting glances without saying a word. Even more silent and wary was the suspicious Angelique, who before leaving the club had picked up her precious crucifix, despite its proven uselessness.
Annoyed by the silence, and since the sound of his own voice had always been one of his favorite melodies, Sting began to needle Jude.
"A Taser? Well, and I wonder what you’ll try to keep me away next time," he said grinning.
"If I’m not mistaken, being hit on the head with a bottle hurts you quite a bit, doesn't it?"
"I’d accept any pain at all from you, if it helped to make me appreciated" he answered smoothly, without obtaining any better response than a brief grimace. "They’re lovely, your red tips, lanky one" he added.
"Can you really see them even from down there, you subspecies of perverted dwarf" Jude said sarcastically.
"Hahaha, first you scorn then you love it. Oh, just for the record, I’m Sting."
She crossed her arms over her chest and raised her eyebrows, disinterested. He came closer to her, offended.
"Usually, it's customary to say your own name too."
"Perhaps in the middle ages where you come from, but in the twenty-first century you don’t say a fucking thing to people you don’t like!"
Sting smiled delighted.
"It doesn't matter; I already know your name anyway, Jude. I heard it from your friends."
"So then why the fuck are you asking me?" she said coldly, distancing herself from him with her energetic and sensuous step.
Not far away, Alyna let out a laugh. She had just arrived from the bar and didn’t miss the chance to tease him: "You see, it’s not me. She doesn’t like you either. At this point, I’d like to ask her a couple of questions."
Muttering an insult, he turned his back on her and opened the door of his car.
"Remember, I’m counting on you" said Christopher with a small half bow to Nina.
She swallowed and blushed a little at that expression of trust and the gallant gesture.
The sound of a horn broke into the quiet tender moment.
"I must go" said Nina, pointing her thumb at her anxious friend already at the wheel of the car with the engine running.
"See you soon" he answered her gently, continuing to follow her with his eyes as Jude’s car took off at full speed.