Angel's Kiss

by Melanie Tomlin

  “Got it. Don’t try the hands unless I have no other choice. Chop and burn is the best defence or offence. But that would require me to carry around a weapon. What other choices do I have?”

  “All methods mortals can employ require some sort of weapon. A varakiana can be killed by stabbing or shooting them in both eyes, penetrating a specific section of the brain. An injection of dry ice at the base of the tail — on the underside, that is, where it joins the legs — also works.”

  The creature turned around and raised its tail to give me a better view — not a pretty sight.

  “The dry ice effectively freezes them and they can then be broken up quite easily. However, they’re not likely to raise their tail willingly, and the tail is very strong and muscular. I once saw a varakiana knock a vampire twenty metres away using only its tail.”

  Danny waved his hand dismissively and the varakiana walked back to its place in the line. The vampire stepped forward, teeth bared. Was he going to make all of them bare their teeth?

  “As you’re already aware, vampires look like mortals. The easiest way for us to tell them apart from mortals is by the sickly-sweet smell each of them exudes. Mortals cannot detect this smell, so vampires can live amongst them with little to fear — sunlight, garlic, crosses and holy water are no barriers to them. They do, however, require three hours of sleep each day, generally in a clean dirt-free bed, not a coffin.” He snickered softly before continuing. “They have not evolved to such a degree that they can do away without some rest all together. This is when they’re at their most vulnerable.”

  “Do stakes work,” I asked impatiently, “or is decapitation and burning the only way?”

  “It always amazes me the number of rules and requirements mortals create around monsters to help them sleep at night.” Danny chuckled. “Think about it. If you stabbed something through the heart that was already dead, what do you think would happen?”

  “Well, if it was already dead, I guess it couldn’t get any deader.”

  “Exactly!” Danny said.

  He produced a wooden stake and stabbed the vampire through the heart to demonstrate how futile this was. The vampire stood there, unblinking, uncaring.

  “Anything that makes a vampire burn, either internally or externally, can kill them. Flares, napalm or sulphur — ingested or injected — will cause a reaction that, once started, cannot be stopped.”

  “Sulphur?” I asked.

  “Many chemicals and elements react differently for monsters and immortals,” Danny explained. “Sulphur causes something akin to spontaneous human combustion in vampires. There is something in their bloodstream that causes the reaction.”

  “So a stake through the heart doesn’t work because the vampire doesn’t get burned to a crisp?” I asked.

  “Not quite. A vampire can heal itself, provided their body isn’t damaged beyond repair. They can sustain a substantial amount of damage and still repair themselves. The only sure way to prevent that from happening is to turn them to a pile of ash, hence the burning.

  “Now, note how human they look. Their eye colour is the same as when they were mortal, as is their hair colour, though it no longer continues to grow. Their skin retains its natural colouring, thanks to evolution and their teeth remain the same shape, size and colour. Some have white teeth, others yellowed or rotten, and since the last century some have fillings. Everything about their physical appearance will remain exactly the same.”

  I ran my tongue over my teeth, the only part of me that I’d taken particular care of. A pretty face — even one considered as exceptionally pretty as mine — was not a pretty face unless the smile, and the teeth the smile revealed, completed the picture. At least now I’d never have to worry about their condition, or visiting the dentist.

  “What about how they reproduce? I’ve heard of quite a few different methods — biting their victim, but not killing them, draining their victim till they’re almost dry, then making the victim drink their blood — the vampire’s blood that is — or killing them outright. And then I remember hearing about an incubus and succubus… It’s all too confusing!”

  “A simple bite, if they can disengage, is enough. That’s the only way they can reproduce, except in your case, but you are the exception to the rule. As to the incubus and succubus, they’re real enough, but use the brain He gave you, Helena. Would a woman get pregnant if she slept with a corpse, or if she was the corpse?”

  “Ewww, that’s gross!”

  “That’s what they are, Helena, walking corpses. They just don’t realise it.”

  “What about werewolves?” I asked. “The werewolf we found that the vampires had killed, it was killed during daylight and I’m pretty sure it wasn’t a full moon. What’s the deal with that?”

  Danny waved his hand and the vampire and werewolf changed places. The werewolf’s teeth were huge, its canines longer than those of an ordinary dog.

  “More mortal constraints to help you sleep at night,” Danny laughed. “It was a full moon. It’s just that it was on the other side of the world and you couldn’t see it. If the moon is full, or new, no matter which side of the world it’s on, it affects them. They’re another creature that hasn’t quite evolved far enough. None of them have. If they had, we’d not be able to find them at all. I imagine that would be the beginning of the apocalypse… and judgement day.

  “When the moon is full or new, they must become a wolf by night, as soon as last light has faded, and until first light touches the ground on which they walk. Any other time they can become a wolf when they choose. In their human form they’re vulnerable and can be killed like any other mortal, just like the varakiana. When in human form, much of their time is spent watching their backs and keeping weapons on hand that can kill their enemies. Most mortals would consider them to be overly paranoid people.”

  Danny clicked his fingers and the wolf changed form. He liked his monsters to retain some modesty, by way of underwear. I couldn’t help but smile. He knew the sorts of things I’d seen in my past. A bit of flesh was nothing new to me. Maybe he was embarrassed by their flesh.

  “They may look like your average man on the street, but you’ll be able to detect their distinctive wet dog smell. If you can smell vampires I have no reason to believe that you won’t be able to smell werewolves.”

  I sniffed the air and could actually detect a difference in its scent. I stood and walked over to it, sniffing its neck, shoulders and back. There was something mixed in with the wet dog smell that made it quite distinctive, but I couldn’t pick it. I knew it, but it was firmly hidden in my subconscious, just outside of my grasp.

  Another click of the fingers and it changed back to a werewolf.

  “As a wolf they’re quite hard to kill. Their rib cage forms a protective granite-hard casing around their heart and lungs, which is why their chests look so big, as the inflexible ribs must allow enough room for their lungs to expand. Their skull is just as hard.”

  Danny waved his hand and the werewolf stood on its hind legs and peeled back the flesh of its chest to reveal a rib cage that looked very much like corrugated iron that had been painted a grey-white. I rapped at the rib cage with a knuckle, expecting to hear a hollow metallic sound, and was greeted with nothing, though admittedly it was rock-hard and my knuckle smarted.

  “If you can shoot them or stab them in just the right spot — the base of the skull at the back of the neck — they’ll die.”

  The werewolf dropped to all fours and turned to its side so Danny could point out its weak spot. It looked like he was scratching it behind the ears, but he parted the fur to give me a better idea of where to aim.

  “Otherwise injecting them with rabies will kill them… eventually. A wolf infected with rabies is usually killed by its own kind — one less for us to worry about.”

  I pointed to the zombie. “So what about our other friend, surely he’s easier to dispose of?”

  The zombie stepped forward and the werewolf padded bac
k to his original position. I paid extra attention to the noise its paws made on the floor. Any little detail that might help me in a scrape was useful.

  “Out of all of them he’s the easiest to destroy, but,” why is there always a but? I thought, “he acts on base instinct — eat, hide, sleep, reproduce. That makes him more dangerous, like a dog with a bone. When he’s hungry, and he’s got his eyes on the prize, he won’t relent until he, or his prize, is dead. Zombies aren’t the living dead by the way. They’re alive and live a normal life span — approximately eighty years. They also only come out at night. A lesser demon infected the first zombie with a disease that cannot be treated. They know what they’re doing, what they’ve become, aware of absolutely everything, but trapped within a body that no longer listens to reason.

  “Twice a year, at each solstice, they feel some primeval urge to reproduce, and try to infect as many mortals as possible. On these nights, we concentrate our efforts on destroying as many as we can, but we haven’t been able to eradicate all of them… yet.

  “I think you could handle a zombie with little difficulty. You’re getting stronger and faster. Decapitation, cutting out the heart, burning, a bullet or knife through the cerebellum — any of those would work.”

  It seemed that all the methods I could use required me to get quite close to the creature involved, except a bullet to the head for the zombie. That made me vulnerable and more open to attack! I needed to hear the other side on killing these things, one which might possibly relate to me if I were part monster, or all monster.

  “You once told me that as the vampires and werewolves were constantly at war it kept their numbers down, or something like that. How do they kill each other?”

  “A monster’s physical defences do not hold true for other monsters or demons. Their bodies are just as vulnerable as a mortal’s body. For some reason we cannot fathom, the armour plating of the varakiana is like ordinary scales to other monsters, and the werewolf’s granite ribs are plain bone. But monsters that are venomous or poisonous can use those weapons just as effectively against other monsters.”

  “Hmm,” I said. “That’s a lot to think on.”

  “Would you like to practise?” Danny asked.

  “Practise what?”

  “Killing them,” he said bluntly.

  “I guess that’s a good idea…” I said hesitantly.

  He folded his arms across his chest and smiled. “What?”

  “Is there going to be much blood, with all the stabbing and decapitating I have to do? I get a bit queasy.”

  “Any creature whose heart still beats will bleed a fair amount until it’s dead. Vampires, your most common foe, won’t. You’ll need to get used to it, Helena. This is as good a place to start as any, maybe better. How would you be in a real life situation if you thought you were going to faint?”

  I cringed at the thought — Monsters one, Helena none.

  “Okay.” I held out my hand expectantly. “Can you provide me with a suitable weapon, please?”

  Danny produced a sheathed knife. When he drew it out of the sheath and turned it from side to side the blade shimmered, as if coated in an oily rainbow.

  “A seven-inch angel-forged bowie knife, perfectly balanced.” He looked at it appreciatively, smiled and held out the haft for me to take.

  I tested the knife’s weight in my hand. “Angel-forged, hey? I’ll bet that means it’s a bit better than your average hunting knife.”

  “Much better,” he laughed. “Created with angel fire and cooled in angel ice, nothing will break it. The edge will never dull and the blade will always remain as true as it is today. When you’re hunting, strap it to your left arm so that it’s always within easy reach.”

  Danny tied the sheath to my left arm and adjusted the strap so it was snug, but didn’t cut the circulation. He took the knife from my hand and sheathed it.

  “Take it out and we’ll see if the height is right.”

  I reached to my left arm with my right hand, fluidly removed the blade from the sheath and held it to Danny’s neck, all in the blink of an eye. If I was this fast already, imagine what I’d be like when I reached my peak!

  I let my hand drop, not wanting to give Danny the wrong impression of my intentions with his knife.

  “Not bad,” he said, grinning slyly. “You almost stood a chance of nicking me.”

  “Hah! I would’ve had you,” I replied, toying with the knife and turning it from side to side.

  “Not likely. Come on,” Danny gestured with both hands for me to give it my best shot, “think you can take on an angel?”

  “Not now you’re expecting it,” I pouted. “The element of surprise is gone.”

  Danny’s eyes narrowed, serious. “Let’s hope it never comes to that.”

  “Agreed,” I said.

  “Well, what are you waiting for?” He waved me on. “They won’t fight back, for now. Practise.”

  I tried decapitating the vampire from behind and found I had to exert a lot of pressure. I didn’t make it all the way through, as its head, lolling from side to side, distracted me.

  “Try holding the head back by the hair, to expose the throat,” Danny suggested.

  The vampire’s neck had already healed. I stood behind it, gripped a handful of hair, jerked the head back and applied as much pressure as I could into getting the blade to slice through its neck in one go. I was glad there wasn’t any blood gushing out, but the smell was making me hungry, and it was hard to concentrate. I let my lips brush its neck and the vampire disappeared beneath me.

  “No!” Danny said and waved his finger at me. “You need to control the urge to feed when you smell the blood. Try again.”

  The vampire reappeared and I began again in a flush of anger — I didn’t like being told I couldn’t do something. I was so wrapped up in being upset that I wasn’t aware the knife had sliced through its neck as though it were butter. Its head was solely supported by the grip I had on its hair.

  I was still mumbling softly to myself when Danny pointed out that I’d managed to do what had been asked of me. I let the head drop and waited to hear the thud of it hitting the floor, but Danny had the vampire reassembled before that could happen.

  He sat sidewards in the armchair, legs swinging over one side while he watched me using the knife to dispatch the monsters over and over again. Strangely the gushing blood didn’t make me feel as queasy as it normally would have. Instead I was oddly aroused, and fought wildly to keep my emotions in check.

  I sheathed the knife and changed my tactics on the reeking zombie. If I was strong enough, perhaps my hands could still be weapons, though of a different kind. I straightened my hand — my fingers close together — and rammed it into the back of the zombie’s neck, aiming upwards, trying to reach the brain.

  “Ah, shit!” I moaned.

  “What?” Danny asked, reaching for my hand. “Are you hurt?”

  “No,” I replied sheepishly. “I broke a nail.”

  Danny dropped my hand and laughed until I thought he might collapse, he was hugging his chest so hard.

  “They’re still growing you know,” I said, “and my hair. Like you said, normal rules don’t seem to apply to me. But hey, I don’t have to be happy about breaking a nail.” I waved my fingers in front of my face. “They’re good little weapons.”

  Danny wiped the tears of laughter from his eyes. “Indeed they are. I’ve seen what you’ve done with them, and other things as well. No wonder you were on the run.”

  “Well, he deserved the thing with the nails.” I narrowed my eyes and poked Danny in the chest with a finger. “No one forces me to do something I don’t want to. Just you remember that and we’ll get along fine.”

  He laughed again and sat in the chair, holding his hands up in mock surrender, waiting for me to continue my practise session with the monster of my choice.

  “What were you trying to do to it anyway?” he asked.

  I rolled my eyes. “I was tryi
ng to be resourceful. I thought that as I’m getting stronger I might be able to use my fingernail to penetrate the skin and stab my finger up through to the brain. I did manage to nick the skin before my nail broke.”

  Danny chuckled, “Stick to practising with the knife for now.”

  “It’s a little too easy though. I mean, they don’t even put up a fight.” I threw my hands up in the air. “Can’t you make it more challenging for me, now that I know where to attack?”

  He smiled wryly and twisted a finger in the air. “If you’re up to it, sure, no problem.”

  All four became animated and lunged at me at once. I ducked and weaved until I was behind Danny’s chair. Not once did I try unsheathing the knife.

  “No fair!” I complained. “Four at once is a bit much.”

  “You need to be prepared for any situation,” he pointed out.

  “Yeah, but can’t I build up to it? After all, I’m still a learner and it’s not like I have to master everything today, is it?”

  Danny sighed. “It would be better if you could, but I understand.”

  The monsters backed off and went to stand in a corner, awaiting Danny’s command. He whispered something I couldn’t understand. The monsters eyes flared orange briefly before returning to their original colour.

  “They are yours to command, for training purposes only. Anything outside of that and they’ll return to dust. They’ll also answer any questions you may have about the history of their species, vulnerabilities and attacks.”

  I grinned. This was perfect. “Oh zombie, you pretty little thing, come here and play.”

  In the background, I heard Danny chuckle.

  13. Safety in Numbers

  After a couple of days training with my new friends I was itching to put into practise what I’d learnt and, of course, hunt and feed.

  “I’ve had enough of training for the moment,” I pouted. “Can I go out and hunt today, please?”