Jerusa’s throat felt crushed. Her body still ached from Alicia’s spectral jolt. But she didn’t care. None of that mattered anymore. She ran to Silvanus with all her vampiric speed. His reflexes outmatched even hers, and he caught her in a spinning embrace and held her tight. A gentle tickle of static electricity flooded her body, easing her pain and soothing her wrenching blood thirst. He was pouring his life force into her, and she so badly wanted to return hers to him. She took his face in her hands and kissed him passionately. Tears spilled down her cheeks and she knew they would be red with blood, but she couldn’t help it. She loved him. Always had, ever since she had met him in the forest outside her home. But now she knew it, without a doubt, and the power of that emotion couldn’t be contained.
“Where have you been?” she asked when their lips parted.
Silvanus stared down at her as though the beauty of the whole universe resided in her eyes. He brushed away the blood tears from her cheeks. “I’m sorry. I wanted to come to you, but I was…detained. I would’ve been here sooner, but I needed to stop and feed. I didn’t have enough life force to make the leap here.”
“Well, you’re not allowed to leave me again.”
Laura touched Silvanus on the shoulder. “We should go. That time clock is showing less than two minutes.” She turned to the other vampires. “Take our hands and we’ll leap you out of here.”
The pile of rubble that had been the glass cage shifted violently. A large chunk of concrete, with jagged pieces of rebar sticking out of it, launched from its place, smashed against the wall, scattering Jerusa and the Divines. The twin umbilicus rose from the dust and debris. Their smooth, almost babyish skin was now riddled with throbbing tumors. Thick, black veins fractured across their now putrid green flesh. Their black eyes were now crimson. Their sharp tongues lashed at their own faces, while their umbilical cords danced about, searching for prey.
“They’ve gone savage,” Jerusa said, almost gasping the words. “They fed from Heidi.”
“Burn them, Silvanus,” Laura said.
Silvanus let go of Jerusa and pushed her behind him. “I can’t. Not in here. My fire is too hot. I might burn the vampires. Use your lightning.”
“That obviously didn’t work,” she said with snide disgust. “Come on, we’ll do this the old fashion way. Drain their life force and leave them dead on the floor.”
Jerusa tried to hold on to Silvanus, but he pulled free of her grip. The three Divines walked to the base of the destroyed cage. The umbilicus climbed out of the destruction.
There were no words exchanged. No offers of surrender, or taunting. The two groups merely rushed into battle, striking each other with elemental calamity.
Jerusa had never seen such a fight. They moved too fast for her eyes to track, whipping back and forth like warring whirlwinds. Heidi’s savage blood had lent the umbilicus an insatiable ferocity not seen on this planet since the meteor wiped out the thunder-lizards. The trio of Divines spun in and out of the melee, as though it were a dance. Every time an umbilicus tried to attack, the Divine would vanish, reappear behind it and deliver a powerful blow.
Silvanus was incredible to behold. The umbilicus came at him, perhaps expecting him to vanish. Instead, he caught them by their throats, one in each hand, and heaved them up from the ground. The creatures’ cords lashed out, striking Silvanus in the chest and he cried out, dropping them. One landed a hefty kick, sending him soaring into the wall. Jerusa rushed to his side and found two large holes in his chest that were already healing. Those things had somehow managed to pierce him.
Jerusa’s stomach shriveled into a tiny ball. “Don’t touch them,” she turned and screamed at the other Divines, but it was too late.
Laura and Hector each had a hold of an umbilicus, trying their best to siphon the life force from the vile beasts. The umbilicus thrust their sharp, barbed cords into Laura and Hector, then stabbed their pointed tongues into the throats of the Divines.
What happened next, happened fast. The umbilicus pulled the Divine blood from their prey, while replacing it with the savage blood they had taken from Heidi. Silvanus had drawn only a tiny portion of savage blood from Jerusa when he had created her, and that almost killed him. Laura’s and Hector’s eyes were wide with pain and shock. Their skin darkened as the savage blood, mixed with the umbilicus’s own toxins, took hold of them. Tears spilled down Laura’s face, but Hector appeared to be smiling. Then, both of the Divines broke apart like sand castles caught in the tide.
“No,” Silvanus screamed. “No, no, no!”
The umbilicus reeled on their feet, drunk on the blood of Divines.
The timer on the wall began its countdown from sixty seconds and a new alarm, like a banshee’s cry, echoed throughout Purgatory.
Jerusa yanked Silvanus to his feet. “We have to go,” she said, forcing him to focus on her eyes. “You might survive whatever is about to happen, but I don’t think we will. Can you leap us out of here?”
“I don’t know. Maybe not all of us.”
Jerusa squeezed his hands. “Try.”
They rushed past the umbilicus, who were moaning in ecstasy, to where the other vampires were. “Everyone join hands,” Silvanus said. “It’s time to go.” They formed a tight circle, and Silvanus closed his eyes.
Nothing happened.
The umbilicus looked around, blinking as though they had just awakened from a wonderful dream. They looked more human than ever, no longer giant babies, but not quite a perfect mimic for men. They fixed their dark eyes on Silvanus and the look of desire gave Jerusa a deep chill.
“They’re coming, Silvanus,” she shouted. “Hurry!”
“I’m trying,” he said with a furrowed brow. “There’s too many. I don’t have enough energy to leap us all.”
“Leave me,” Shufah said.
“No,” Jerusa snapped back. “We came here to rescue you.”
“It’s all right. Leave me and go.”
“We’re not leaving you, so shut up about it.”
The umbilicus kicked away the rubble blocking them from the group. There were only seconds left on the clock. Either the demons would overtake them, or Purgatory would devour them.
“Silvanus,” Jerusa said. “Take our life force. Use our energy to make the leap.” He looked at her, uncertainty nestled in his eyes, but nodded. They had no other choice.
The ring of vampires groaned as a collective pain filled them. It was as though a cold hand had reached inside their chests and was tugging at their souls. Jerusa’s army of ghosts appeared round about them, laying their incorporeal hands on them. Foster was there, he and Shufah standing face to face, sharing a sad smile. Alicia touched Jerusa’s chest, a jolt of spectral energy flashed around the ring, and just as the umbilicus reached out to grab them, Purgatory vanished.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
None of them heard the explosion, or implosion, deep within the mountain, except for maybe Silvanus. He looked toward the high peak and simply said, “Purgatory is gone.”
They were on a dark and deserted road, low on the eastern side of the mountain. Dawn was approaching, but they still had time to find shelter. Celeste showered Taos with kisses, and the blond giant was actually laughing. The Furies tended to one another, gingerly applying their blood to each other’s wounds. Silvanus lifted Jerusa from the ground and they shared another kiss that melted her knees and inflated her borrowed heart.
Shufah pulled Jerusa away and hugged her tight. “I knew you’d come for me. I knew if anyone could find me, it’d be you.”
“I’m just sorry it took me so long to get here.”
“Just a drop in the ocean of time to a vampire,” Shufah said.
“What do we do now?” Celeste asked.
“We search for my brother,” Shufah said. “The High Council underestimate what Suhail is capable of, and are not prepared to defeat him. But in the meantime, we hide. The Watchtower will know what I did to Heidi. The Hunters will be coming for us.”
Shufah smiled. “I had a little help.”
“The skinny human,” Tisiphone said. “You entranced him. How? Has the great Shufah been an augur all this time?”
“No, I’m not an augur.”
“You have tactile persuasion, don’t you?” Celeste asked. The others looked at her in confusion. “She can control people’s minds when she touches them.”
“That’s right. But it’s a dangerous thing, playing in someone else’s mind. I used my gift on Marjek once, to convince him to return Suhail and me to our father. He has been obsessed with me ever since.”
“Suhail has this power too, doesn’t he?” Tisiphone asked. “That’s how he is controlling the other savages.”
Shufah nodded. “I’m afraid so.”
Jerusa turned to her. “Wait a minute. Have you ever controlled my mind?”
Shufah laughed. “I have tried, but it doesn’t seem to work on you. If it did, you would have fed by now. I suspect your ghost has something to do with that. Besides, I can only persuade, not force. Free will is still free will.”
Jerusa turned to Silvanus, but his back was to her. “What’s wrong?”
It took him a long time to face her. “I have to go.”
The words tore at Jerusa’s heart. “Why? No, never mind. You don’t get to leave me. I won’t let you.”
“Those things killed Laura and Hector. I didn’t even know it was possible for Divine Vampires to die, but they did. The other Divines don’t know that Laura set me free. But they will know that two of their own are dead. They’ll sense it. I know, because I can feel it, too. They’ll think I killed them. They’ll come for me soon. They have no love for blood drinkers. As long as I’m with you, you’ll be in danger.”
“I don’t care. We’ll explain what happened, but I can’t do this anymore. I can’t have you show up whenever you want, only to vanish like a dream. If you love me, stay with me.”
His face broke at her ultimatum. “If something happened to you because of me, I couldn’t bear it. I love you too much.”
Jerusa was about to beg him to stay, drop to her knees and plead, but an intense pain filled her arm, stopping the breath in her throat. She collapsed to the ground, clutching the shoulder that had never quite healed. She couldn’t move her arm at all. It was fixed in place, as though someone had filled her shoulder socket with molten lead and allowed it to harden.
Silvanus scooped her up and held her tight.
Shufah grabbed Jerusa’s duster and tore a hole in the leather, and shirt beneath. Jerusa looked down on her own shoulder, but where pale flesh had always been, now there was a thick shell of black obsidian glass where the wound had been. “The Stone Cloak,” Shufah said with a spiteful hiss.
“What do we do?” Taos asked. The distress in his voice broke Jerusa’s heart.
Silvanus stared down at the black patch, a mix of concern and fascination etched on his face. She wanted to tell him that she loved him, but the pain hadn’t yet subsided.
Shufah shook her head. “Fresh blood is her only hope, but that damn ghost won’t let her feed.” Because she was touching Jerusa, she could also see Alicia. The vampire and the ghost stared at each other with vehement hatred. “We’re going to have to take matters into our own hands.”
“What do you mean?” Celeste asked.
“Come on,” Shufah said, motioning for them to follow her. “If we are going to save Jerusa, we need to find a necromancer.”
* * *
The savages were herded two by two into the back of a semi-trailer. The humans stood to either side of the line, fearless, yet having their ultraviolet lights at the ready nonetheless. They each saluted him as he passed, not a military salute, but by touching their eyes and lips with the tips of their fingers.
The man returned their salute, absently rubbing the red scar spanning half of his face as he dropped his hand. He moved past the truck, onto the tiny warehouse hiding in the shadows. Several of his people waited outside the door, looking anxious and fearful.
“Uriah,” one of his disciples said as he approached. “We welcome your return. Was your trip fruitful?”
“Unfortunately not,” Uriah said, but offered no other words. He had been busy with other tasks which had been dismantled by three dogs and a former Marine. But that was a story for another time. “Is he in here?”
“Yes, but he’s been uncontrollable ever since he returned.”
“You can’t control this one. Only unleash him.” Uriah stepped inside and closed the door behind him. Suhail knelt over a mutilated corpse, licking his gore covered lips as his missing arm regenerated. “The Zealots are at your command,” Uriah said. “What is the next stage of your plan?”
* * *
He wasn’t sure how he got to the top of this mountain, or even what mountain it was. He only knew that something told him to flee. To get to the road below as fast as he could before it was too late.
It was freezing up here. The wind gnashed at him with icy teeth. The sky was growing lighter, but the shadow of the mountain made it hard to see. There was a light up ahead. As he drew closer, he saw a helipad, scorched black and littered with wreckage and fire. Something seemed familiar about all of this, but he couldn’t place exactly what.
A huge hangar door, busted and open, stood in the rock face just beyond the wreckage. Though every instinct told him to go the opposite direction, he couldn’t see any other way down. Maybe there was something inside that could help him.
It took him a long time to climb down to the helipad. The sun broke the horizon, spilling its golden light, helping him maneuver between the burned out husks of two helicopters. He stood before the hanger door, staring down into the darkness beyond. Fear welled up inside of him, fixing his feet to the ground. There was nothing inside worth crossing the threshold for.
The man turned to go; where, he had no idea. An intense pained exploded in his back, followed quickly by another in his neck. Something lifted him from the ground, turning him around.
Two foul creatures, not quite human looking, stood just outside the hangar door. Each had a long serpentine appendage extending from its stomach, and the man realized, in horror, what had pierced him from behind.
“Not a blood drinker,” one said.
“Not like Lazarus, either,” the other said.
The pair of atrocities retracted the cords attached to their stomachs, tearing the man in half in the process. They stepped over the twitching pieces of his body, their faces turned toward the sun. The world was open before them. They were prisoners no more.
The End.
A Word From the Author
Thank you so much for reading PERPETUAL CREATURES, books 1-3. Keep your blood thirst in check. PERPETUAL CREATRUES 4 is on the way. If you would like to receive an email whenever I publish a new story, please sign up for my Newsletter. For a complete list of my work, check out my Amazon Author Page.
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About the Author
Gabriel Beyers lives in Indiana with his wife, two children, and two lovable yet destructive dogs. He is also the author of:
Guarding the Healer
Contemplations of Dinner
Predatory Animals
Copyright
Perpetual Creatures, Books 1-3
Gabriel Beyers
Copyright © 2016 by Gabriel Beyers. This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either produc
ts of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. All rights reserved. No part of this publication can be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without permission in writing from the author or publisher.
Cover art created by Emily Lam.
June 2016
Table of Contents
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
Perpetual Creatures, Volumes 1-3: A Vampire and Ghost Thriller Series Page 84