by Simone Lari
"It doesn’t affect a single thing, and Jared won’t hear us, unless you intend making a lot of noise, or if the bed squeaks" she said opening the last button.
The military jacket opened a little, enough to glimpse her cleavage and flat belly, with a half-moon shaped piercing showing on her naval.
Muscles tense, face contracted and turgid penis, Vans gathered all the self-control he could muster. "Lynn, think again, I'm telling you for the last time. I'm not a saint and certainly not virtuous, I usually give in to provocations, especially of this type."
Lynn stopped.
"I can feel that I've had an effect on you. A large wonderful effect, I’d say: you want me" she said mischievously.
They looked into each other’s eyes for a few brief moments, and then with a sudden quick movement, she got off the bed.
"Well, maybe you're right: it’s better to avoid implications of this kind. Goodnight."
She picked up the combat boots and hastily left the room, leaving Vans, shocked, to deal with the reaction she had caused him.
I should have guessed it; she’s the same bitch as ever! He thought.
Chapter 15 - A Difficult Meal
"Christopher, do you think the girl will do what you requested?" Alyna asked him, worried.
"I think so, something tells me we can we trust her" he remarked confidently.
"Perhaps it would have been better if you’d used your power on Nina, instead of explaining to her how it works" argued Sting, slamming on the brakes in front of the private clinic where they usually picked up the transfusion bags.
The clinic was located in an area that had very little traffic, on the outskirts south of the city. The facade was white and showed some cracks; it was not very well looked after, although inside the environment was very orderly and aseptic, with modern machinery and comfortable chairs in the waiting room.
The people in the surrounding area knew the doctors paid very well for the "donations" of blood, and how safe and clean the place was. This was enough to guarantee the clinic a steady inflow of a variety of customers.
For several years now, Abraham and his clan had been regular customers. The medical staff did not know their nature and did not probe: the fact that they paid ten times as much as the hospitals did was sufficient for them. This compensated for the inconvenience of making deliveries in the late afternoon or evening, and allayed their curiosity about what the blood was actually used for.
"What a stroke of luck! I was afraid it was too late, but someone’s still there" remarked Sting.
"Let’s get as much as we can and that way we don’t have to be seen around this way for a while" suggested Christopher, checking to see how much cash he had with him.
The front door was open. As soon as they went in, the annoying noise of a small bell above the door resounded feebly inside.
There was no-one at reception, but that was nothing new; often when they arrived there was only one of the doctors there, with at most one nurse with him.
As soon as they moved a few steps inside the building, they noticed a strong odor of blood.
"Something isn’t right, the little perfume isn't usually as strong as this, even in the room where they take the samples" said Sting, who came more often than the others to procure the nourishment for the clan. "Follow me!" he urged them, going further into the building.
They did not meet anyone, even though the vampire called out loudly the names of the doctor and the nurse with whom he usually did business.
Arriving in front of the room where the plasma was kept, they noticed the door was ajar, and glimpsed a thin trickle of blood coming through it.
Sting jerked it open, and the body that was leaning on it in precarious equilibrium flopped to the ground.
The neck torn apart at the jugular, a noticeable pallor on the face, glassy eyes still staring: everything indicated death from loss of blood.
"Dr Quentin" he said pointing to him, before entering the room. "My God, Debhra!" he shouted at the sight of the nurse. The woman was naked from the waist down; several bruises and swellings on her thighs and clear bite marks indicated where they had taken their perverse pleasure and also their source of nourishment.
Sting closed her eyes, fixed in an expression of pain and terror, and then covered her with a white sheet he took from a nearby stretcher.
"Debhra was a beautiful girl. We spent some pleasant moments on these stretchers" Sting recalled. "Those bastards are going to pay for this!"
"And that must have been the nurse" said Alyna, indicating a second man with his neck ripped open.
"There had to be at least three of them to massacre their bodies like this" Christopher remarked. Then he turned toward the refrigerated room where the bags were stored, which had not been touched at all. "Get those thermal containers and fill them as fast as you can, we must get out of here before someone comes" he urged them.
With the containers filled, they prepared to leave the building but as soon as they were out of the room, the doorbell at the entrance sounded in the distance, announcing an unexpected arrival. Muffled sounds of quick footsteps were heard. They did not even have time to hide before three vampires of the Duergar clan appeared along the corridor.
Instantly, Sting grabbed his spike, Alyna unrolled her whip and Christopher took the katana in his hand.
"We knew you’d come to get your third-rate vampires food" said one of them, corpulent and short of stature.
"We were anxiously awaiting your arrival. Now we'll resolve things with no problem" added the second, squeezing the handle of his katana.
"What a stench! They’re so young they still stink of human" the third said contemptuously, a step ahead of the other two.
"Go fuck yourself!" Sting answered, running towards him.
Just a few meters from the latter, he hurled the spike at him. The Zmeu intercepted it at chest height with a firm precise grasp, and lost no time giving his opponent a scornful look that cost him dearly: Sting jumped as he ran, literally stepping on the spike which the Duergar was holding in place.
He opened his eyes wide in amazement, just a moment before the spike plunged into his heart. The thrust made him fall backwards. Sting stood over him.
"Idiot!" he yelled in his face, then straightened the fingers of his right hand and stuck them into his chest, a few centimeters from the hole the spike had made. "And that's number two! Send me a postcard from hell, you big prick!"
The vampire gaped, eyes staring. Sting drew his fingers from the sternum a moment before the acidic reaction began to propagate from the two pierced hearts, liquefying the body.
Seeing that, the other two Zmeu advanced to attack.
Alyna cracked her whip in the direction of the corpulent vampire. It vibrated in the air with a sharp sound which ceased as soon as it impacted against the target's neck and rolled around it quickly like a noose.
The Duergar put his hands to his throat in an attempt to break free, but with a sharp tug she pulled it hard to herself. The vampire turned around on himself as the whip unfolded from around his neck, leaving in its place a deep furrow with copious spurts of blood flooding from it.
Alyna found herself face to face with her opponent standing motionless with a terrified expression; then she gave him a light blow to the forehead and the head came away from the body and rolled onto the ground. Shortly after, both the body and the head began to churn from the inside.
"What sort of fucking whip is that?" asked Sting, bewildered.
"Don't tell me you no longer want to have a taste of it" she retorted, pretending to be heartbroken.
Christopher, meanwhile, had engaged in a sword duel with the third Duergar.
Although it had been the clan’s preferred weapon for many centuries, and the fighting techniques were studied by all its members, Christopher was able to hold his own without too much trouble.
"If it were a sabre, I would have already sliced you into little pieces" he said scoffing, managing himself
impeccably in the face of the relentless attack from his opponent.
"Do you need a hand?" asked Sting, stopping to admire him, while Alyna measured the distance to wield a blow with the whip.
"No, just stay there!" he ordered.
Sting shrugged and enjoyed the show. Alyna, disappointed, began to carefully rewind the whip.
Christopher took advantage of an off-balance lunge by his opponent to parry and open his guard, then passed by him with the edge of the sword and plunged it crosswise into his breast.
The Duergar winced and immediately began to lose his energies, leaving him with half his strength. Christopher took advantage of this to grasp the wrist wielding the weapon and twisted it hard until a clunking noise signaled that it was broken.
His opponent lost his grip on the katana and a moment later a violent punch crashed full onto his face, sending him sprawling to the ground on his side.
Sting put his hand to the spike, ready to finish off the job.
"Wait, there's a reason if I've left him alive. Alyna, look for something to tie him up and gag him, and be careful not to move the katana: it's inserted perfectly in one of the two hearts and threatens the other one as well. As long as it remains there, it will block regeneration and prevent him from regaining his forces."
"Aren't you the clever one" Sting flung at him. "And tell me, Sensei, when did you learn to use the sword like that?"
"While you were running around sticking yours into the first hole that breathed" Alyna retorted while she hog-tied the vampire with tourniquets.
"You know, woman, you're really a ...”
Christopher interrupted him: "Save the compliments for later, Sting, and help me pick him up: we have to get out of here fast."
Chapter 16 - the Agreement
"Call the girl, tell her to report that we're ready to discuss the agreement" began Jared as soon as Vans put foot in the kitchen.
"Good morning to you too" he muttered, annoyed. He looked around: Gabriel and Lynn were having breakfast.
The boy was trying hard not to look too intently at the girl's breasts, the contours showing perfectly under the tight adherent undershirt; she, on the other hand, was doing all she could to remain unperturbed, sitting up straight and on display, trying to not smile too openly at Gabriel's attempts to not look at her.
"Aren't you cold, half naked as you are." Vans said to her, heading off the much more important topic his uncle had raised.
"No, I'm fine like this" she answered, inhaling deeply.
"We'll call Angelique right away” Gabriel cut short, not wanting to get himself caught up in the middle of one of their spats.
"Great, it's about time" Jared rejoiced.
"Bravo, you're certainly a man of action, Gabriel" Lynn flattered him, adding a gentle caress.
"Well, I'm going" he announced, jumping up from the table without finishing his pancakes and knocking his knee on the side in his haste.
Vans poured himself a cup of coffee and with a surly look said: "I'll go with him; I've lost my appetite anyway."
Taking his phone from the charger, Gabriel checked he had enough charge, and then called Angelique.
"Will this be a good hour to call her?" he wondered guiltily.
"It's too late to ask yourself that, Romeo."
In the quiet of the room, a sudden sweet melody coming from the bedside table woke Angelique with a start.
She tried to react quickly and hastily grabbed the phone that slipped out of her hand, almost falling to the floor. Then she grasped firmly and checked the number: it was Gabriel.
She swallowed and smoothed her hair in a spontaneous gesture, then answered: "H-hello."
"Good morning, Angelique. Did I wake you up?"
"Yes, but only a few minutes earlier than usual. I would have been getting up soon, for school" she played it down.
"Oh, good. Listen, Vans and I have spoken with the other hunters and we're willing to hear the details of the Morlands' request and have a meeting with them. Could you tell Nina that, please?"
"Of course!" she agreed with exaggerated cheerfulness. "I'll tell her in person, as soon as I see her at school."
"Great, thanks very much, it's very kind of you," he said, putting on his best smile as if she could see him.
"Oh, please, you're making me feel sick!" growled Vans, obviously embarrassing his friend.
"Take no notice of him, he's a real idiot even first thing in the morning" he rebuked him.
"Well, kindness is never appreciated by people who probably receive too much without deserving it."
"And how right you are!" remarked Gabriel.
"What did she say?" Vans snapped, becoming suspicious.
His friend ignored him. "Then you'll get in touch with us as soon as you know something, right? It's not the fastest method in the world, but it will be alright"
"Ok, we'll talk soon then" she said, blushing.
"Bye for now, Angelique."
He ended the call.
"What did that repressed loser say about me?"
Gabriel looked at him angrily. "A sacrosanct truth: that you're a real peasant." He frowned, looking away from him.
Vans sighed. "Okay, okay, I get it, you like her. I'll try to contain myself next time, happy?"
"Well, being a little nicer certainly can't hurt you. As for her, you just don't get it, though. I'm sorry that I lied to her, that's all."
"Don't worry about it, Jared's idea is excellent. Tonight, when the vampires go to check if there are messages, they'll find us there, ready to meet them and hear what they say. And if we don't like what they propose... "
They went back to the kitchen.
"All done" reported Gabriel tersely.
"Good. The girls will deliver the message during the day, and this evening, at sunset, the vampires will go to the Black Sun, but we'll be there before them" Jared stressed.
"By us you mean me, Gabriel and her over there, right?" Vans specified.
"Why, don't you want me at the party?"
"I don't want you to get killed, at the party."
Jared sighed annoyed.
"Listen, I was hunting vampires…"
"Yes, I know the little story, since we were babes in arms, before we learned to use our dick and other bullshit like that. But you have to understand that a long time has passed since then, and your health doesn't allow you to be in the trenches anymore, so get used to it!"
Jared passed a hand across his heart, anxiously shaking his head.
"Darling uncle, I'll watch the backs of those two, don't worry" said Lynn, giving him an affectionate pat on the shoulder.
"Everything will be alright, you'll see, Jared. We'll reach an agreement without having to fight" added Gabriel.
"Couldn't you just sit there and shut up for one damned time?" protested Vans. "You know that your optimistic forecasts always get screwed up!" Then, seeing his uncle's worried look, he corrected himself: "But maybe this time the choirboy is right."
That morning, Angelique had her parents take her to school much earlier than the start of classes. She stopped at the entrance, as still as a stone gargoyle, on her guard, ready to spot her two primary objectives.
Nina and Jude arrived together, and she intercepted them a few steps from the front gate.
"They called me!" she began, out of breath from the short run and the emotion.
"Who? The people from Big Brother? Were they missing the religious maniac to complete the cast of nut cases?" said Jude, sarcastically.
Angelique looked daggers at her.
"Gabriel and Vans!" she remarked curtly.
"What did they say?" asked Nina, surprised and excited by the news.
"They agree to meet with them, to hear what they have to propose and discuss the terms of the agreement."
"We'll have to go to the Black Sun to deliver the message to the bartender, so he can tell Christopher tonight" said Nina promptly.
"In my opinion, they've brainwashed that guy so
much that he's there twenty four hours a day at the club waiting to be the secretariat" Jude suggested.
"Do you think you'll go after school?" asked Angelique timidly.
Nina took a breath to speak, but Jude, agitated, broke in.
"I'd say to go now."
She grabbed her friends by the shoulders, but Nina put up some resistance.
"I don't think there's any great rush: we have the whole day" she replied.
"In actual fact...” added Angelique.
"Listen, we're doing an important service for this city, we deserve a morning off. Furthermore, I'm sure that barman will get us whatever we want, so let's take advantage of it!"
Nina smiled amused, then objected: "Forget it! I'm looking after your liver."
"Oh, me too: like a good girl I'll eat all the celery of my Bloody Mary, I promise."
"We can't skip school, our parents will hear about it. You tell them too, Angelique!"
But she stayed silent: she was not at all convinced about the escapade, but she was excited at the idea of going ahead with their mission as intermediaries.
Jude insisted: "Think about it carefully. The sun is up and if we go now, we won't run the risk of any bad encounters."
"She has convinced me" declared Angelique who, together with her friend, stared silently at Nina until she let out a sigh of capitulation.
The three girls went back in the direction of Jude's car, parked a short distance away.
Tony arrived at that same moment, and from a short distance away saw them leave. He was about to join them, when Heric grabbed him from behind: "Hey, buddy, I haven't had a chance to thank you for Saturday night. If you hadn't taken me home and helped me while I was vomiting, I could have come to a sticky end."
"I certainly couldn't let you drive in that state. But see that you don't get that way again. Try to pace yourself next time" he answered annoyed, as he saw the girls climb into the car and disappear.
It was sunset when Christopher joined Sting on the porch outside the villa. With his leather suit, blood red hair and the ever-present dark glasses, he defied the last rays of the sun which, now that it was twilight, had lost most of its intensity; and with it the negative influence on his vampire body was also diminished.