by Jon F. Merz
“Good work.”
Wolfric nodded. “I think I need something stronger than a sword for this.”
“You’re probably right,” said Felix. “When we get back, I’ll put in a requisition for a crossbow pistol for you. In the meantime, we’ll have to make do with what we have.”
Wolfric looked up, suddenly noticing that the sound that had initially attracted them had stopped. He glanced at Felix and pointed at his ear. Felix listened and then nodded.
“They know we’re here.”
“They?”
Felix pointed at the corpse. “There’s more than just one of these, I guarantee it. And given that shriek, it will be a miracle if any of them still don’t know we are here.”
“So what do we do?” asked Wolfric. “If we keep going, won’t they just ambush us?”
“It’s a possibility,” said Felix. “A big one at that, But we can’t allow them to escape. If we lose them now, they’ll just regroup and come back when we’re gone. We can’t stay here forever.”
“And they know that.”
Felix nodded. “No doubt. So, we’ll do the unexpected: attack.”
He rose and Wolfric followed behind him. The cave curved and they stuck to the walls as they came around the curve. Felix had his crossbow up, ready to fire again. Wolfric felt woefully unprepared even with his sword and pistol. They were formidable, but not against vampires.
The cave emptied into a larger main cavern. The walls curved up and around them like some grand amphitheater. In the center of the cavern, a large fire pit lay covered in smoldering embers. Several cords of wood were stacked nearby. And a small tunnel led out. Beyond that, they could hear the sound of someone chopping. More wood most likely, thought Wolfric.
As they entered the cavern, Wolfric caught movement out of the corner of his eye. He looked up and blinked twice. It looked as though the walls were moving. As he watched, the stone walls undulated and pulsed with some strange motion. It was only after several seconds that he realized what he was seeing.
“Felix-!”
But his teacher was already shooting the crossbow pistol at the strigoi as they came alive from the walls and slithered down to the ground, coming toward them with their eyes gleaming and incisors already extending. They wanted to feed. And they thought that Felix and Wolfric were humans who had just happened upon their hiding place.
Wolfric plunged his sword into the closest one. It wouldn’t kill them he knew, but it might slow them down.
Felix kept shooting and putting down the strigoi as they closed in, but there were too many of them. At least two dozen came off of the walls, and when Wolfric turned slightly to stab at another one, he noticed that the way they had come into the cavern was now being blocked by four more creatures.
He had a hard time even thinking of these things as vampires. Wolfric was used to his people looking every bit the same as humans. But these things were different. They appeared to live underground all the time and the few bits of them that weren’t concealed by the mottled clothing were almost translucent. Even their eyeballs looked pale. And their teeth were the whiteness of alabaster.
One of the creatures slashed at Wolfric and he felt the searing sensation of pain across his cheek from where the thing’s claws raked his flesh. He spun, drove his sword deep into its chest. The creature cried out, but then drew itself back and two more took its place.
It was rapidly becoming apparent that they were hopelessly outnumbered. Felix was shooting as fast as he could, but he was running out of bolts. And as those he shot fell away and died, the others kept advancing.
Wolfric heard the crossbow string twang once more and then Felix said, “I’m out of ammunition.”
Felix drew his pistol and took aim on the head of one of the creatures. He fired and watched as the ball tore into the skull of the thing and splashed bits of its head across the cave wall. The creature faltered for a moment and then simply stood up and kept walking toward them both.
Felix’s pistols barked a couple more times before he abandoned them in favor of his blade. He dodged and parried and slashed with his sword but its effectiveness was blunted by the fact that the steel would simply not kill the vampires.
Finally, with sweat pouring from him, Wolfric was back against a wall with Felix to his left side.
And the creatures kept coming for them. One of them moved closer now, tearing off its mask and revealing the albino skin beneath it. It licked its lips and a raspy voice croaked out then. “You have trespassed upon our domain, humans. Your flesh and blood shall feed my people now.”
Felix braced himself against the wall and brandished his sword. “You are greatly mistaken.”
The creature halted. “Am I?”
Felix nodded. “We are not humans. We are your brethren.” He pulled aside his tunic and revealed the discolored patch of skin by his collar bone. “Look upon my mark and know I speak the truth.”
The creature drew closer, its eyes narrowing and then growing wider as it saw the birthmark. But rather than look pleased, it looked repulsed. “Why have you killed my people then?”
“We are granted that authority by the Council.” Felix pointed the tip of his sword at the creature. “And I demand to know your name.”
“You demand? You demand?” The creature chuckled and it sounded like a bubbling vat of lard. “You are in no position to demand anything, whether you are our kin or not.”
“Tell me who I am addressing,” said Felix.
“I am Vusola. I am the night hunter and keeper of my flock. These are my people.” He glared at Felix. “Now who are you to come here and kill?”
Felix stared right through the creature. “I am the Fixer.”
Vusola paused as Felix’s words fell upon the cavern, causing a wave of murmurs to ripple through the ranks of Vusola’s people. Wolfric watched as some of them retreated then.
Vusola held his hand up and barked some sort of command in a guttural tongue Wolfric did not understand. Then he regarded Felix with a smirk. “The Council holds no sway over me or my people. We are independent of your so-called civilization.”
Felix shook his head. “All of us are subject to the laws set forth by the Council. And I am here to enforce those laws. You and your people are guilty of unapproved hunting practices which threaten the safety of our people and the secret of our existence. To that end, I have been ordered to bring you all to justice.”
Vusola licked his lips. “And how do you propose to do such a thing? We are legion and you are…but two.”
Felix smiled. “I will do whatever it takes to bring about the fulfillment of my orders. That is my solemn sworn oath. You can either come peacefully and allow me to carry out the sentencing, or else we will have to do this the hard way.”
Vusola laughed. “I would never allow myself to be led to my own slaughter. Nor will I allow you to do any more harm to my people. In fact, while you think you are putting us on trial, I rather think that you are the ones who will have to face your crimes in our own court of justice.”
He barked another order and instantly, the other creatures swarmed them. Both Felix and Wolfric slashed and hacked but they were overwhelmed and had their arms pinned behind them in short order. Their weapons were taken from them and Vusola ordered them bound with ropes such that they could not move.
“Now, we will try you for your crimes. And then we will execute you.”
Chapter 36
They were led to the rear of the cave where a section of rock was slid back to reveal living accommodations and beds for the rest of Vusola’s pack of strigoi. It was weird, Wolfric decided, he thought of them more as being un-vampire and more beast than anything else. He saw little in common with the creatures who now held them prisoner. Executing them would prove easier than he had expected and there wasn’t a trace of remorse in his heart.
The scent of blood hung heavy in the cloistered air of the rear section. A rotting section of human torso lay on a makeshift stone table
, maggots and flies crawling all over it despite the winter air outside the cave. Rather than look appetizing, Wolfric found the scene utterly repulsive.
Felix did as well. He wrinkled his nose in disgust and looked at Vusola. “Who was that poor sod?”
“We have been scattering our hunts so as not to arouse too much suspicion. There are several villages that lay within a few hours journey of this place. One old man here, a child there…the disappearances get written down as unfortunate incidents. But they are not. They are us.”
“And you’ve been hunting in this area before?”
“Several years ago we came through. We took as we wanted in full. But we hadn’t yet acquired a taste for the flesh of humans, only their blood.” Vusola licked his lips. “Now, however, we find that every bit of them can be used without letting anything go to waste. We are stronger for it also. And we so enjoy tearing the flesh free from the bones of our meals while they still whimper and die a slow death.”
“You are monsters,” said Wolfric. “Literally, monsters.”
Vusola smiled, revealing his teeth again. “We haven’t yet had occasion to feast on vampire flesh and I find myself growing curious as to whether it tastes as good as that of the humans. Perhaps we shall not simply kill you after all. Perhaps you will sustain us for the coming months.”
“And the handiwork in the tunnels behind the cavern?” asked Felix. “You’ve been using them to hunt in the village of Malancrav.”
“Malancrav?” Vusola shook his head. “Absolutely not. We would not touch anyone there.”
“Stop lying,” said Felix. “There have been attacks on the villagers. They have not been slain or…eaten…but they have had blood taken from them.”
“And you think we were responsible for it?” Vusola laughed. “We are not, I assure you.”
“But that is why we are here,” said Wolfric.
“Well, I don’t know what to tell you,” said Vusola. “But if someone is hunting villagers in Malancrav, it is not us.”
Felix narrowed his eyes. “You know who it is.”
“Do I?”
“There must be a reason,” said Felix. “You have a ready source of food there, but for some reason, you have not touched it. So someone else must be hunting there and you have an agreement with them not to encroach on their territory.” He glanced at Wolfric. “It would appear we’ve stumbled on to a double case of treachery.”
Wolfric nodded. “So if it’s not them, then who is it?”
“I’d like to know,” said Felix. “But it has to be someone powerful.”
“Indeed,” said a new voice.
Wolfric jerked his head to the sound and his eyes fell open as wide as they could.
“So…” Felix’s voice trailed off. But he didn’t sound as surprised as Wolfric felt.
“This was not supposed to happen this way,” said Father Mirescu. “You were not supposed to find your way to this cavern alive.” He looked at Vusola. “I told you to kill them both as soon as they came to your lair.”
Vusola shrugged. “They killed a great number of my people. I intend to make them pay for their crimes.”
“Our agreement stipulates that they are to die, not be left around in some sort of mockery of justice.”
Vusola came closer to the priest. “Perhaps we should renegotiate our pact then.”
Father Mirescu blanched and leaned away. “I didn’t mean to imply you aren’t well within your right, it’s just that we agreed and now that agreement seems to have fallen away.”
“They will be killed,” said Vusola. “But you are not in any position to tell me what to do.”
Father Mirescu bowed his head. “Very well.”
“You have the town of Malancrav to feed from. We have the rest of this area. In exchange for us leaving you alone, you are not to interfere in our doings anywhere else. Otherwise, we will kill everyone in Malancrav. Including you.”
Father Mirescu nodded. “I understand.”
“Good,” said Vusola. “Then perhaps we can get back to the matter at hand: namely the persecution of these two so-called Fixers sent here by the Council. Sent here, mind you priest, because of your actions and not ours. They are here to execute you for your crimes and they came upon us as a result. Your foolishness has jeopardized my people. How shall I respond to the threat you have brought upon us?”
“It was hardly foolishness,” said Father Mirescu. He stared at Vusola now, seemingly having regained his composure. “You are more a threat to my existence than I am to yours.”
“How do you figure that?”
“You are taking too much. The humans are getting nervous. Scared. You have caused too much fear in the local populace. You cannot keep taking as you have without repercussions. The Council will hear of your actions and send more like these.”
“And you will be the one to deal those repercussions out?” Vusola laughed. “I hardly think so.”
“Not me,” said Father Mirescu. “But they will. That is their job. To execute those of us who jeopardize the secret of our existence.”
“It will be tough for them to do anything,” said Vusola. “When they are dead.”
“Tougher still for you,” said Father Mirescu. And then he stabbed Vusola in the chest with a sharpened length of wood. The stake punctured Vusola’s chest with sickening crunch and blood immediately spouted from the wound, staining the air and the ground. Vusola sank on his knees, clutching at the length of wood embedded in his chest, trying to rip it free. But even as he did so, his pupils grew darker and his teeth extended to their full length.
He fell forward, driving the stake deeper into his heart until it punched through and out of his back.
Dead.
Vusola’s creatures shrieked with outrage and started converging on Father Mirescu. But the old priest took a small item from under his robes and held it aloft. It illuminated the entire cavern in brilliant light that made the creatures squeal and turn away from its light.
As he held it aloft, the priest took out a knife in his other hand and cut the ropes binding Wolfric and Felix. As soon as they were free, Felix grabbed their weapons and handed Wolfric’s back to him. But they still lacked the wood necessary to kill the creatures.
It soon became apparent that Vusola’s followers were susceptible to the light from Father Mirescu’s item. As the beams touched the skin of the creatures, they started burning up and the air stank with the stench of burning flesh. Felix began decapitating any of the creatures they could find. Wolfric did the same.
Now Father Mirescu started laughing as his item continued wounding the creatures. He moved around, chanting an old prayer while Felix and Wolfric worked to kill the creatures as best they could with what they had.
More of Vusola’s creatures poured into the cavern. And once again, it seemed their numbers would not be sufficient to kill them all.
And then Davo burst into the cavern.
The woodsman was armed with long staffs of oak, fashioned with points at each end. He tossed one to Felix and another to Wolfric while wielding his own. He moved forward confidently, stabbing each creature through the chest and watching them die before yanking the staff free and moving on to the next.
The creatures tried to fight but attacking with their claws was largely ineffective due to the brilliance of light shining out of whatever item Father Mirescu possessed.
Wolfric had no time to wonder what it was. He was hard-pressed dealing with attackers who tried to kill him. Felix moved in closer and systematically started slaying other creatures.
Sweat poured down his face but Wolfric blinked it all away. He kept stabbing, flipping the staff around, and stabbing again. More of the creatures fell, their screams and shrieks echoing off the walls of the cavern in some awful cacophony of terror and pain. But they didn’t stop until they were covered in blood and sweat and bits of body parts. It was awful grisly work, but they kept going until at last, the illumination from Father Mirescu’s item went out.
>
And the cavern was pitched back into darkness.
Chapter 37
They could still see, of course.
Well, everyone but Davo who started swearing loudly while still stabbing at whatever moved in front of him. It wasn’t until Felix called out to him that the woodsman stopped.
“They’re all dead,” said Felix. “You can relax now.”
Davo grunted and Wolfric could see his arms were bloody and he had several claw wounds from the creatures. He kept swearing to himself as the pain of the wounds came back to him in the wake of the adrenaline rush. The air was thick with breath and stained with blood and sweat.
Wolfric was exhausted.
Utterly and completely worn out. His muscles ached and his breathing came in spurts that barely seemed able to keep him flushed with oxygen. His lungs heaved and tried in vain to get more air into his body. Sweat ran down soaking him through and he felt as though he’d just run forty miles while dragging several bodies behind him.
Felix laid a hand on his shoulder. “Are you all right?”
Wolfric nodded even though he felt anything but all right. “I’m…okay.”
Felix patted his shoulder. “Take it slow. What you’ve just been subjected to, you’re going to need some time.”
“The priest,” said Wolfric before he had to gasp for more air again.
“Forget about him for now,” said Felix. “We know who he is and we know where to find him when the time is right. For the time being, we need to concentrate on making sure we’re all okay.” He looked over at Davo. “You all right, my friend?”
Davo grunted. “You mind telling me what it was we just went through here?”
“A nest of strigoi by the look of it,” said Felix. “They apparently lived underground and emerged at night to hunt and feed on anyone they could find.”
Davo struck a flame and lit a torch, casting an eerie light across the cavern filled with corpses. “Nasty looking bastards,” he said. “Not at all what I expected.”
“What were you expecting?” asked Felix.