Exsanguination

by DeDanaan, Sean

  “Good to know. If you devastate the body sufficiently, it dies.”

  Nikki’s lip curled. “That is so gross!”

  Faces began to peek out of doorways and Vanessa took the knife back to the man who had given it to her. She smiled, nodded, and, once again, thanked him. Soon, they were surrounded by the locals expressing their gratitude in a language only Vanessa understood but the others got the drift.

  The next day, they left their hotel and took a cab to the warehouse. Vanessa pounded on the door and, after several moments, the door slid open.

  “Ah! You are here! Good!” the rather gaunt, black-haired vampire said with a heavy accent.

  She nodded. “You have our things?”

  The man smiled. “They came in during the night. Over here,” he led them to the crate that rested on a table. “I have a jeep for you to use and here’s a G.P.S. with the coordinates of the cave entrance,” he placed the unit in her hand. “Be careful. If they sense you, they will flood out of the entrance to attack. We don’t know how many are inside.”

  “Delightful,” Vanessa responded dryly and began changing clothes. The crate was loaded into the jeep and they drove out of the warehouse with Phillip behind the wheel.

  “See?” he said, grinning at Vanessa who sat to his right, “this is the side of the road you’re supposed to drive on.”

  She shook her head with a slight smile. “Whatever you say, darling.”

  They stopped about two hundred yards from the cave’s opening, climbed out and began arming up. In addition to the usual armament, several grenades hung from points on Vanessa’s tactical vest. Phillip saw them.

  “Whoa! Serious stuff, eh?”

  She nodded. “Last resort kind of thing. I’m not enthused with using them in a cave system. Caves have a tendency to . . . well . . . cave in,” she winced and continued. “I want you and your sister to remain outside the entrance. I want your solemn word that you’ll stay outside where I’ve stationed you. I don’t want to have to worry about your safety,” she said, looking at both Phillip and Nikki.

  The two grumbled but grudgingly agreed.

  Moments later, they watched Vanessa and Antoine enter the mouth of the cave. Phillip’s stomach twisted with worry and fear. If something happened to her, he didn’t know what he would do.

  As they moved into the cave, their vision adjusted almost immediately. The first thing that struck Vanessa was the smell. It was the odour of rotting flesh.

  “Oh, that is so nasty,” Antoine commented.

  She nodded and moved forward.

  The passage was fairly large and travel was easy. As they progressed, they could hear sounds they recognized as those made by animals eating flesh. There was also something that sounded like inhaling and exhaling from some sort of large creature.

  The passage opened up into a large cavern and they entered it side by side. There were ferals everywhere on the cave walls and roof as well as swarming the floor areas. In the distance at the back of the cavern, they could see a large mass. Vanessa pointed to it.

  “That must be the mother,” she whispered.

  There was a shriek that was quickly followed by others and they were quickly under attack. Vanessa and Antoine immediately began firing, trying for the heads. As they went through magazine after magazine, the mass at the end of the cavern roared.

  “I don’t think it is happy,” Antoine commented.

  “Need help?” Vanessa heard Phillip’s voice next to her.

  “God damn it! I told you to stay outside.”

  “We’re just kids. What did you expect?” Nikki laughed from next to Antoine as she opened fire.

  There seemed to be thousands of them and they showed no sign of faltering. Vanessa dropped her M4.

  “This time do what I tell you. Stay here!” she leapt into the air and hit the ceiling, skittering in the direction of the mother mass at the other end. Phillip cursed under his breath but kept firing, thinning out the numbers as best he could. The echoing in the cavern made the whole thing sound like a war zone which is, in fact, what it was. Above the mother, Vanessa grabbed a Mac11 and began firing into what she thought was the thing’s head. It roared, resulting in an increase in the shrieking from the cavern. Unfortunately, the attack didn’t seem to phase it much. Vanessa could see where the ferals were coming from lower down on the creature’s body. She dropped from the ceiling, pulling two grenades from her vest. Landing on the floor, she was immediately under attack. One of the ferals attached itself to her back, biting. Ignoring the pain and using as much force as she could, she hurled both grenades into the opening that was spewing new offspring.

  Reaching over her shoulder, she dug her fingers into the skull of the feral on her back and ripped. Its head came off and she tossed it aside, jumping to the ceiling once more. Skittering across, Vanessa made it almost to where her three companions were when the grenades went off in quick succession. From over a hundred yards away, they were splattered with noxious flesh. The ferals seemed to become enraged and redoubled their attack.

  “Run!” Vanessa yelled and they headed for the cave entrance. As they came out into the sunshine with ferals moments behind them, Vanessa ran for the jeep. She quickly shouldered what appeared to be a backpack and pulled the minigun from the bottom of the crate. The ferals were almost upon them when the barrels began to spin. Phillip watched as she moved the gun back and forth as if it was a water hose, spraying. After a fashion, he could see the barrels beginning to glow red.

  “It’s like a meat grinder,” he mused.

  With Antoine, Nikki, and Phillip joining in, the threat was quickly neutralized. Not a feral still stood although some were still crawling toward them. The group spent the next ten minutes moving through the carnage, putting bullets in the heads of those that seemed to still be alive. Finally, using grenades, they sealed the opening of the cave.

  They reloaded the crate but set the minigun aside to allow it to cool as they travelled back to the city. As Phillip drove, Vanessa got on her mobile.

  “Sigrid?”

  Pause.

  “It’s done. The thing is in a thousand pieces and we came out of it unscathed.”

  Pause.

  “We can do that. Please have your people get our weaponry sent back to Smythe House if you would.”

  Pause

  “Thank you. I’ll call when we land. It shouldn’t be long,” Vanessa disconnected the call.

  Back at the warehouse, the man they’d originally dealt with was gone, replaced by two men who looked astonished to see them. One of them stared at Vanessa.

  “What is?”

  She made a gesture indicating it was finished. “Destroyed.”

  They spent the next minute expressing their gratitude in Romanian which sounded like gibberish to all but Vanessa.

  Back at the hotel, she made reservations on the next plane out and, within the hour, they were back in first class seats.

  “We’re not going to England straightaway,” Vanessa announced.

  They stared at her. “Where are we going?” Nikki asked.

  “We’re going to spend a couple of days just outside of Berlin. Sigrid is going to throw a banquet in our honour.”

  “I have the bad news,” Antoine stated with a sigh.

  Vanessa looked at him with raised eyebrows.

  “I will move to Paris.”

  “What? Why on earth would you do that?” she frowned.

  “I will leave the council. I have been away from my home for too long.”

  “And you’re sure that’s what you want to do?”

  He nodded. “I have thought about it for a time.”

  “If you’re positive . . . I’ll notify your replacement.”

  “Who’s Antoine’s replacement?” Phillip asked.

  “Not one of your favourites, darling.”

  “Oh no, don’t tell me,” he groaned.

  She nodded. “Azar. She’s the next eldest. In fact, she’s in charge in London at
the moment.”

  “Oh, Jesus, you’ve got to be kidding!”

  She shook her head.

  Nikki grinned. “She really gets to you, doesn’t she? Tell the truth, you think she’s hot.” she teased.

  Phillip looked at her. “Every time I’ve encountered her, I think she’s going to jump me, run her tongue down my throat and stick her hands in my pants!”

  Both women laughed. “If you give her half a chance, she might,” Vanessa said. “Do you want to get it out of your system?” she barely smiled.

  “What? No! There’s nothing in my system that needs to be gotten out! It’s all in her system!”

  Vanessa chuckled. “You know she only does it because it gets a reaction from you, don’t you?”

  Nikki patted his hand. “If you didn’t know Vanessa, you’d be on Azar in a heartbeat, engaging in God knows what kind of perversions.”

  Phillip folded his arms across his chest. “I’m not talking to either one of you for the rest of the flight.”

  Vanessa was unable to completely suppress a smile. Phillip glanced at her.

  “You’re enjoying this!”

  She shrugged, her smile widening slightly.

  “Well, I don’t like it one bit!” he huffed and settled into silence.

  After landing at the airport, the three climbed into the car that Sigrid had sent for them

  “I think, when you see where she lives, you two are going to want to move,” Vanessa grinned.

  “Big house, eh?” Phillip asked.

  She shook her head. “Not so much big but the style of it is rather unique. It’s actually a castle that overlooks a river from a cliff about a thousand feet up. Not a very large one but definitely atmospheric – very gothic. You’d expect to see bats flying around it at night.”

  “Sounds like fun,” Nikki grinned.

  As they approached, about an hour later, Phillip and Nikki stared in awe. As Vanessa said, it wasn’t very large at all although it was hard to tell since part of it was built into the side of a mountain. It was completely black with turrets and spires projecting from the top.

  “This is so cool!” Nikki seemed delighted.

  “Wow,” Phillip joined in, “It’s positively mediaeval!”

  The grey, stone road led through a raised portcullis and, as the car pulled up in front, Phillip could see that the large double doors looked sturdy enough to withstand a hell of a battering. Greeted at the door by Sigrid, they entered a large room that Phillip would have called something like a drawing room. He looked up to see an incredibly high, vaulted ceiling, thinking it amazing.

  There were, he guessed, roughly twenty-five to thirty people milling about. One caught his eye. She had skin as white as milk, piercing blue eyes and snow white hair that flowed down to her waist. He thought she was beautiful . . . stunning. She smiled widely as she spoke to a dark-haired man. Phillip found himself staring.

  “That’s Astrid. She governs Norway, Finland, and Sweden. Quite striking, isn’t she?” Vanessa asked, snapping his attention to her.

  “Not nearly so much as you,” he smiled.

  Vanessa chuckled. “Nice save, darling.”

  “I’ve figured it out, Vanessa.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Why almost all vampires are so damned good looking.”

  “You have?” she shot him an amused look.

  Phillip nodded. “If a vampire was going to turn someone, would he or she pick her or some sloppy, overweight tavern wench with bad breath?”

  Hanging on his arm, Vanessa responded with an entertained sigh. “Nothing gets by you, does it, darling? Has it never occurred to you that you’re damned good looking, yourself?”

  He tilted his head and smiled, looking extremely pleased. “You really think so?”

  Nikki found Sigrid, who had gone off to speak with a man who looked like he was Balkan – very swarthy.

  “I’m sorry I didn’t bring anything to wear to a fancy dinner,” she was dressed in what she called her working clothes.

  “Don’t give it a second thought, my dear,” she smiled.

  “I love your home! This castle,” Nikki stared all around her.

  “Thank you.”

  “Have you lived here long?”

  She nodded. “About eight hundred years. I married its owner and waited for him to pass on.”

  “You didn’t turn him?”

  Sigrid shook her head. “Back then, I was just old enough in appearance that I could marry. I fell in love with the castle and had to have it. His father had just died so we had no interference and, some sixty years later, he died and I inherited. It’s how many of us do things – how we acquire wealth, property and, to some degree, power.”

  “So the vampire social structure here is the same as it is in Britain?”

  “Very similar, yes. I’m sure you find it strange that someone who looks my age rules an entire continent of vampires.”

  “I did at first but not so much now,” Nikki smiled warmly. “I think you’re amazing.”

  “Thank you, my dear,” Sigrid returned her smile.

  “I wonder . . . since my human is a long way off . . .”

  “All taken care of. If you’d like, you can feed on Knut.”

  “Is he . . .?” she raised her hand indicating height.

  Sigrid nodded. “Yes. Tall and very Nordic.”

  “Yummy!”

  Sigrid laughed.

  The dinner was lavish – twelve courses in all. Vanessa sat to the right of Sigrid who was at the head of the table. Whether by accident or artifice, Phillip found himself seated to the left of Astrid. After a few moments, she turned from her conversation with the woman to her right and looked at him.

  “So, you have cleaned up the mess?” she smiled, her voice as soft as silk.

  For an instant, he found he’d lost his ability to speak. She was stunning. He stared at her eyes. They were bluer than anything he’d ever seen.

  “Uh . . . yeah. We destroyed all we could find.”

  She patted his hand. “You were very brave to go in there. I would not have done it,” she shook her head.

  “It was nothing,” he responded and then thought of how lame it sounded. He hesitated. “You know, I’m going to say something that may be very inappropriate.”

  She looked at him questioningly.

  “I find myself having difficulty talking with you. Your beauty . . . it’s unearthly . . . almost other-worldly.”

  She chuckled. “I don’t know that I’ve ever been paid a compliment in that way but take your ease. I’ve experienced it before and, alas, it’s killed conversational opportunities on several occasions. I can move, if you’d like.”

  “No! Please! Don’t do that!” he responded quickly.

  “Then tell me about yourself. Where you are from. How you came to be what you are.”

  Gradually, Phillip began to relax.

  “It looks like your love is enjoying himself,” Sigrid remarked to Vanessa.

  Vanessa sighed. “Sometimes it saddens me. He’s often shy and being in the presence of someone like Astrid just seems to accentuate it.”

  Sigrid laughed lightly. “When it comes to Astrid, many men find themselves without words.”

  “Antoine, by the way, is resigning from the council in Britain. He says he wants to live a less stressful life.”

  “Really? Who is next in line?”

  Vanessa sighed. “Azar.”

  Sigrid’s lip curled slightly in distaste.

  “I never have liked that woman. She’s always struck me as . . . treacherous.”

  “Mmm, I’ve come to trust her over time but she drives Phillip up the wall – makes him crazy.

  “Then warn her in no uncertain terms that such behaviour toward Phillip is unacceptable,” Sigrid shrugged. “If she continues, kill her.”

  Vanessa gave a short laugh and gave the diminutive woman a look of surprise. “Well, aren’t you the bloodthirsty one?”

  Sigr
id looked at her steadily. “It’s the path I would follow. I’ve only met her a few times but it was sufficient to form a solid opinion.

  XXXIII

  A few days later, the group returned to London and, as they sat in the morning room, Vanessa made the call to Azar.

  “She’s coming over, isn’t she? Phillip asked with a groan.

  “Yes, darling, tomorrow evening but I’m going to have a short talk with her when she arrives. I don’t think you’ll experience any future discomfiture.”

  “Good!” he responded with a slight smile. “Oh, and I have what may be the best of news.”

  “Hmm?”

  “A research company has announced that they’re on the verge of cloning human blood by using stem cells.”

  “That is good news, indeed,” Vanessa smiled. “Of course it may never be a truly decent substitute for the real thing.”

  “Why not? Warm it up and there you go!”

  Vanessa sipped her wine. “Would I trade my wine for a bottle of vintage grape juice? No, there’s no way a package of blood can feel fear. Sara and Mara and all of the others who offer us their blood know what’s coming and revel in it but fear has an effect on the flavour and sensation. It’s second only to virgin blood. That’s why I often went into the seedier parts of London to feed rather than to the clubs. When your food is truly terrified out of his or her mind, it enhances the experience and the taste. When you open your jaws and the human sees your fangs, trembling in fear for his life, it’s quite delicious. The best of the best, of course, is a panic-stricken virgin,” she grinned and shivered.

  Phillip frowned. “So you’re telling me that, given a choice between a willing donor and an unwilling, terrified one, you’d choose the latter?”

  Vanessa nodded and smiled slightly. “Every time.”

  “That’s kind of evil, Vanessa.”

  She shrugged. “I don’t see it that way. In either case, the human will experience the pleasure. Once he or she recovers, the next thing you’ll hear is ‘more’. He’s none the worse for wear.”