"Well, we had better be here for him to make that apology." Xanthic muttered as he dug claws into the wood and with supernatural strength ripped the frozen frame apart and lifted the window, it was still an exertion for him and we wedged it in place with one of Adam's longer stakes.
"Room 206." said Xanthic. "If all goes wrong run here as fast as you can as it offers our best egress out of this place."
Room number mentally noted I followed the boys inside.
*
We ignored the other doors on the third floor due to lack of any signs of disturbance; Xanthic informed us whatever we had to find or wherever the vampire rested would be in a location heavily used. We ruled out a search of the top floor using the same logic. The undisturbed view down to the ground floor showed trails in the detritus where heavy objects had been dragged - or at least I hoped they were objects and no unfortunate individual pulled in against their will to end up on the menu for starving vampires. On the journey here Xanthic had educated me with vampire lore which intrigued me and disgusted Adym. Unlike the movie and paperback versions of modern legend, vampires were not beautiful things full of charm but twisted insane beings who confused and disorientated humans around them through an innate ability to appear more like us than we are. A vampire will not burn in daylight but instead appear in its true form with no chance to camouflage itself through a glamour and you'll see a decaying hairless body with all muscle mass reduced to nought and grey leathery skin stretched tight across the bones. If it has recently fed its bloated distended abdomen will protrude and its famous fangs will return to rotten black teeth used to rip into its prey so it can swallow mouthfuls of its fresh blood. A stake through the heart or removal of its head will banish the soulless spirit back to the Limbo, but then again a stake through any headless body will end most things human or otherwise, but fire that consumes the whole body was Xanthic's favourite method of ensuring the spirit never returns to inhabit its deceased remains. They are weakest in the light and that’s why they employ familiars to act as servants, couriers, informants and guard dogs. These dangerous are dangerous in their own right, they owe their existence to their Master and displeasure from them will end all employee privileges terminally.
The staircases running sinister and dexter were in poor repair and we had to step carefully displacing our weight evenly on our rear foot before placing a tentative foot onto an untested step. Xanthic showed no such disadvantage and proceeded down with the swagger of an aristocrat making an entrance at his Imperial Ball in times gone by. We were descending into a gradually thickening darkness, the shuttering across every window driving what little light there was still making its way through the filthy pyramid skylight above us into a unfocused circle in the centre of the reception lobby. We paused as Xanthic stopped to survey the scene and he pointed out the footfalls leading towards what was a function room in happier times. The temperature had dropped and I shivered as we carefully picked our way down. The insistent ache to be far from this place was gnawing at my soul and started to itch my paranoia causing every knot-marked face of timber appear to be an evil spirit looking straight at me. We landed in the reception hall and I orientated myself with the rays of light forcing through the gloom from the slightest of gaps in the front double doors. I knew now why they proved so immovable to Xanthic's foot, twin bolts housed firmly into drilled sockets in ceiling and floor with a heavy wood beam resting the length of the doors and a good way into the walls either side; it would have taken a battering ram to get through.
Quick in and out was the plan, if we find any evidence of a vampire track it down safely and put an end to it; to that end we carried amongst us containers of magnesium and thermite, enough to seriously brighten up this place permanently. This one weighty package gave me more comfort than the two boys who were scouting around the lobby. From behind the reception desk Adym called us over, he found a pile of about twenty or more small suitcases, sports bags and rucksacks all abandoned and covered in differing layers of dust which Xanthic pointed out to us indicated the pile had been added to over time and the top three bags being clean of any traces were deposited here only recently. He opened one of these and clothes fell out to the floor. Teenage girl's clothes and jewellery, a notebook with Cassandra written on the front. The next bag had clothes of a different size, much larger and mostly black but still very teenagery and feminine. In fact all the bags we searched mirrored the first. Whoever these belonged to going back several years dating by cheap trashy or gossip magazines scrunched up in some of the bags were new when dumped here.
"Runaways?" Sounded Xanthic with a puzzled tone. "A vampire has to eat and it explains why no one has bothered to look into this place before. Although it looks like the pile has been disturbed recently" He extracted a slim notebook from his inside pocket and withdrew a metallic pen. He noted down all the names from any identification we came across and I knew we would be following them up later. It saddened me greatly to know there could be families, Mothers and Fathers out there who still hold hope of their daughters returning home one day, but here in the belly of a soulless undead their journey had ended.
"Someone stealing from them? The familiars do you think. Looking for something to sell?" Asked Adym trying to make sense of this.
"No, familiars don't think like that anymore and none of the bags had been opened before we arrived; maybe one bag in particular was searched for and taken but that is stretching the evidence to make a simple explanation." Xanthic said standing and moving away from the bags.
There was nothing left to find behind the reception desk itself apart from piles of notebooks all matching the sheets we had found in the car-park so we spread out to continue the search the lobby. All the side doors were locked fast, only the twin doors with the legend ' Fine Dining' carved across the pair moved easily at a gentle touch. It was the same pair that the drag lines and footprints led through. Xanthic carefully pushed the left door open with a stake from Adym's bag holding it at the very end and pushing slowly as if he expected a guillotine blade to drop once the threshold had been breached. He edged his toes across the wooden bar outlining the lobby floor from that of the dining room as well as holding down the threadbare carpet and once this action was complete and no untoward effects were felt he stepped through with confidence and swagger; Adym and I followed with less enthusiasm. It was utter darkness inside and not for the first time I cursed the fact I did not bring a torch with me; after all it was broad daylight outside and the intense rays were enough to render the roads into rivers of sticky tar.
Under the direction of Xanthic I skirted the right hand wall, keeping the back of my right hand firmly pressed so I did not lose my position, stepping carefully around; Adym copied on the left wall and called out twice of doors present but locked before moving on and I met him in the centre on the far side. Xanthic crept like a panther stalking prey through the centre feeling under tables with his extended leg or lifting dust-sheets with the point of the stake. All I found were a row of windows but each was fastened on the outside by heavy plywood sheets. Once again the only way forward was through one set of doors and this was where the entirety of the traffic flow within the building over its more recent history had passed.
"I guess it makes it easier for the hired help to get around quickly and not get lost." I whispered relieved we didn't have to split up and search the whole floor room by room.
"Or it’s a trap and the spider who sits in the centre is funnelling us straight down towards him." replied Xanthic with the least reassuring statement possible right now.
"Is that likely? Would whoever is behind this really know we would come here?" whispered Adym with deep concern in his eyes. He looked at Xanthic like a puppy to its dog for support.
"I believe we are fully expected. Don't give me those eyes both of you; we've been allowed passage around a building this big unaccosted so far which in itself is suspicious, no guards on patrol, no obviously watchful eyes alert to intruders. They may not have kn
own it would be us at this time on this day but they had planned for investigators at some point in their strategy. So with that in mind....." he stopped whispering and pushed the doors open and the slam they made striking the workbenches in the kitchen beyond resonated throughout the ground floor and beyond.
"You can't hide." he bellowed. "So don't even try you soulless beast."
The idea of the trap to welcome us although not high on my wish-list was confirmed as soon as we stepped into what turned out to be the kitchen. The work surfaces were generously covered in black dried blood; Human according to Xanthic without more than a cursory inspection and I believed him. There was rotten stink worse than that of the vampire which was steadily growing the further we travelled into the building. Flies kicked up and buzzed angrily at our intrusion to their feast. I felt sick but Adym went one step further and the flies buzzed quickly to the fresh warm meal. Long knives which were soiled and stained in black sticky lumps along their cutting edge as if used to butcher live meat. Copious amounts of blood mixed in with the scuff marks and dust trails led around the floor towards the back and a left hand door.
"Check that other door would you." asked Xanthic indicating the fire escape door over to the back of the room although we all knew it would be as effective an exit as the brick walls themselves. Adym gave a negative response after he tried the handle.
"This must lead down to the basement. If anyone wants to go back now would be the time."
Xanthic's words cut me, as if he expected me to run away, Don't get me wrong, I was highly tempted to flee this building and burn it down while watching from the safety of the street as the walls fall in and all within are consumed; But I wouldn't give him an excuse to fire me; after all a good job well paid is hard to find. Adym looked like he was following a similar line of thought but struggling more with the outcome.
The next room, once a larder with two large work surfaces and cupboard space leading to a walk in freezer, could now be described more aptly as a charnel house. It was near total darkness within the room and Xanthic saw my distress and handed me his metallic pen.
"I know these are supposed to be mightier than a sword but I don't get it." I said as I took it from his cold hand. He placed one finger on the base which was pointing down and rotated it in my hand till it faced up, then he touched the base and a LED bulb lit up. It gave a pin point circle of light which muddied into nothing an inch either side but it gave some relief until I started floating the tiny orb over the surfaces in the room. The blood was still on the floor in long lines as if whatever had been dragged had bled heavily from multiple wounds through the journey and splatters up the walls and along the units indicated it wasn't lying still. I gulped the thoughts that sprag to the forefront of my mind down.
Bones picked clean of flesh and sinew were stacked in piles according to length and size across the surfaces. The almost pitch black inside gave some relief as the view was restricted to the limits of the torch light and I tried not to investigate too deeply into what was left laying around.
"Are they the missing girls?" I hesitated to ask, so Adym did it for me.
"No." I was horrified to see my employer pick up a large bone and bring it close to his face. In the darkness he showed no signs of restricted sight nor did he appear to walk into furniture or other obstructions like me. "This isn't human at all."
He went on to tell us that the bones appeared to be from a variety of sub-human creatures, Under-Fae and Fae. He found the skull of a Fae and showed us the differences between our species. He threw it back onto the pile and the other skulls rolled onto the floor.
"So where are the girls?" I added hopefully. "Could they still be alive?"
I didn't need to look into Xanthic's face when he turned to look at me to know he did not favour their chances.
"Let's go on shall we. Normal procedure is to ask questions first then deal out any justice but in this case I think a little Hell-fire or righteous smiting is in order before we even think about asking the slightest of query. This here is the thigh of a low level demon and if the resident here feels it can take on one of Us and do this then there is little it won't try. Keep close and be ready to evacuate when I tell you."
The darkness was as claustrophobic as any enclosed space, I felt as if I were locked away but at the same time the distance outside my vision was immense and filled with every horror of my imagination. I did not want to go further, my body finding ways to prevent this by removing feeling in my legs and I staggered to the wall for support and to keep something solid against my back so nothing could approach where I could not see it. My exploring hand felt the cool tiled wall and then a metal hatch which slid up at a touch. I placed my arm inside probing the opening and found a metal box, waist height from the floor and going back into the wall almost a meter wide and just as deep. There was something in the box and at first I pulled back when I touched it but when I shone the pen-torch on it it turned out to be a painted small wood box marked with the name Samantha in large newspaper lettering cut and glued down on the lid with a hand drawn and coloured picture of a smiling mermaid waving to a Prince upon a scribbled yellow shore. A dropped keepsake and clue? Samantha is a very common name but my mind drew me to the missing girl from Wykeham with a younger sibling and Mother who missed her so. I reached in with the intention of retrieving the box and showing my find to the boys who were investigating the larder more closely but as I lent my body in to use my hands to pick up the box something clicked and I felt weight move down, I realised what kind of metal box could be in a kitchen side room and it reminded me of one of the children's home where I grew up; A four storey town-house with the dining room for all the residents on the third floor and kitchen on the ground. The safest way to transport hot food up all the floor was by a small box on a motor and we were all forbidden from touching it after one of the girls was put in there by an older girl and moved around until she screamed to be let out - all in good fun and innocence, honest. As soon as my support gave I toppled forwards and down striking the metal floor and denting it when we hit the bottom. I called out loudly in exasperation.
"Are you alive down there?" echoed Xanthic's voice down the dumb-waiter shaft.
"What just happened? Can you get me back up?" I called rubbing my head.
"No, the rope snapped and the box is bent out of shape so we couldn't pull it up anyway. Stay where you are and we'll come straight down to you. Don't go anywhere."
Thanks for the advice I thought - I was planning on setting off on a fun run in a gorilla costume.
The room I was in was filled with the smell of strong ammonia mixed sulphur - that or this is where they kept the rotten eggs. There was also a quiet sobbing.
"Hello, is anybody there?" I called soothingly. "Are you hurt?" In the background I could sense something else as if I could hear someone talking through vibrations on my body and not through my ears.
The sobbing stopped and I heard a shuffling, so there was someone else in the room. I felt for the pen torch and pressed the end to turn it on. Shining around I could see very little of the room, what I could see looked like metal grills set along one wall in a double row which reminded me of boarding kennels in a vets. There were no other fittings but a pile of raw unidentifiable meat, bloody and in rough hewn slabs with exposed bones. Shuffling forward I shone the light along each of the cages seeing them empty but with stinking blankets curled up, shredded or covered in faeces, when the light passed over the fifth cage from the left on the row from waist height to the ceiling it fell upon a filth girl hunched up with her knees pulled in close to her chest with her arms wrapped around as if she were trying reduce herself away to nothing. The pen-light located a simple padlock fastened through a hasp and staple lock. I shook it and it was locked fast but it wasn't very big or strong so I looked around for something to hit it with.
The girl in the cage looked at me and scrabbled to the rear of the cage pushing herself to the furthest point possible.
"Don't
worry, I'm here to help you. Look, do you know if there is a key or something around?"
There was no reply but the sobbing started again.
"I'm not one of them, I'm here to help. There are more of us and we're the good guys. Give me a minute and I'll have you out of there." I turned to scan the room with the pen-light looking for a better method to open the cage. I took the time to peer into the other remaining cages and I was relieved to find them empty but nothing presented itself. I turned and put my fingers through the cage door reaching out to the poor girl trapped inside.
"I'll get you out I promise but I might have to go and get some help, stay right there." I could have kicked myself for saying that last bit but went to move away. The girl cried out as if in pain and I felt compelled to stay to calm her down.
"I will help you, I promise I really will. Can you tell me your name? Mine is Valey, Valentine"
This time the girl showed signs of recognition and moved forwards, she turned her face towards mine and I reached my fingers as far into the cage as I could with which to make contact with the poor thing. Her eyes were red rimmed and her skin puffed. She flung herself at the door screaming and clawing at the space my fingers had just been; I pulled back as fast as I could and she almost grabbed me. The door was starting to bend under her fury as she barged herself over and over again in her attempt to extricated herself from her confinement. I fell to the floor and hit my head against the wall. I dropped the pen-light and watched as it rolled across the floor back to the row of cages.
The screaming continued as did the frenzy of attack and I watched paralyzed with fear on the floor as the door buckled and the hinges bend out with a groan of cheap metal.
Diary Of An Occult Resolution Assistant Page 26