A few vampires rose from the table and walked over to search the files. A female said to another, as she flipped through the paperwork, "I honestly hate violence of any kind, but if these humans are guilty, they must be punished."
The woman next to her nodded her head solemnly.
"Aris," Bastian said to me, his voice low. "You are welcome to see for yourself. This is our way and has worked for centuries."
I wanted to get up to confirm their guilt for myself, but that would bring me dangerously close to the humans. I was too afraid I wouldn’t have the strength to resist the pull of their blood in front of everyone. Already I was digging into the underside of the table just to keep me seated.
"I trust they are accurate," I lied. I had no reason to trust them, but since I couldn't move in place, I might as well let Bastian think I did.
He smiled at me appreciatively.
I averted my gaze. It fell upon the humans sitting at the table. Most of them were still eating, occasionally glancing up at the scene playing out before them. They held no fear in their eyes.
After the vampires examining the folders were satisfied and sat down, Bastian addressed the guards. “Prepare the humans.”
The guards stepped in front of the humans, eye to eye, and whispered commands, compelling them to remain still with their arms out from their sides and to keep quiet no matter what happened. They did as they were ordered, standing several feet apart until their fingertips almost touched.
"We all know the rules, but for our new guest," Bastian’s eyes flashed to mine, "I will repeat them. One vampire is not allowed to drain a human. You take your fill and stop so the next person in line may have a turn. There's enough blood for all of us to feel satisfied. We will begin at the end of the table. Six may come up at a time."
I swiveled my head to the end of the table as six vampires rose to their feet. Two of them with fangs extended were opening and closing their hands like they couldn't wait to feed. It wouldn't have surprised me if they leaped across the room toward their prey, but somehow, they managed to keep their composure. The others, much older vampires, walked calmly toward the humans and surrounded the pedophile first.
One of the taller vampires, said, matter-of-factly, "I plan on making this hurt."
He ripped off the man’s shirt and plunged his fangs into his shoulder, but instead of just drinking, he slid his mouth sideways a good six inches tearing open the man’s flesh. The pedophile’s eyes watered, but because he'd been compelled, he didn’t cry out, not even a whimper.
The other vampires also bit into the humans and viciously drank their blood. They did not show mercy. Some of them dug their claws into their skin, while another ripped a chunk of flesh from a man's chest with his mouth. It was at least thirty seconds before they let go. The marks they left behind were raw and bloody.
I gripped the back of my chair until I thought it would snap. The site of blood running down the nearly naked humans was more than I could bear. I should leave. I should not take partake in this.
Something about it felt wrong, but I couldn't quite grasp why. They were going beyond handing out a punishment I thought the criminals deserved. They were taking pleasure in hurting their victims, much the same way the criminals had, too. The line between right and wrong was too blurry for me to see through.
A new set of vampires approached the humans. They were more casual, laughing and speaking about how they might hurt the criminals. Their methods were just as brutal as they drank from newly created wounds. More blood flowed, and the humans grew pail. The woman’s eyes had closed, but she remained upright, swaying slightly.
Finally, it was my turn. There was no stopping me. I had lost all rational thoughts the second I’d seen and smelled fresh blood.
I drew near the pedophile first, but there was barely any life left in him, same as the rapist. Instead, I stopped in front of the fattest of the six. His mouth had fallen open, but he stared straight ahead, the most alert of the six. I chose an untouched spot on his left wrist where his vein pulsed fast and hard.
Striking hard, I drilled into his arm until his wrist bone stopped me. I sucked fast and hard, moaning in pleasure as warm blood coated my insides and filled my stomach. It felt like I had just begun when someone took hold of my shoulder and tugged me away.
"That is enough," Bastian ordered.
I stumbled back, slightly dazed. When my mind cleared, and I became aware of my surroundings, I locked eyes with several vampires. A few of them looked disgusted by my behavior. I lowered my gaze to the floor, feeling stupid and embarrassed. I needed to get control and not act so much like a new vampire if I was to be trusted.
Bastian and Annabella took their turn with the humans, and when they concluded, he addressed his guards. "You may terminate them."
They were the most ruthless with the humans, practically tearing the limbs from their bodies. When they finished, the humans, all crumpled on the floor now, were barely recognizable. I stared down at their bodies, knowing what we had done was wrong but caring very little. All I felt was the ecstasy of their blood coursing through me.
After those who needed freshening up, more like wiping the blood from their face and clothes, did so, we were invited back into the living room where people returned to conversing and laughing as if we hadn’t just brutally killed six people.
I lowered into a Queen Anne chair and stared out across the room not looking at anything specific. Hunger and guilt, a toxic combination, ate at my gut creating a giant hole I wished I could climb inside. But why? We had killed terrible criminals. Had I caught one of them murdering a human, I would've taken their life with no hesitation. And yet, we had done it cruelly and without thought.
Annabella approached me and lowered into a chair next to me. "This must be shocking to you. Do you think us monsters?"
"They deserved death." I spoke the truth, and yet I shifted my weight uncomfortably at the memory of what we had done moments ago.
“Is it still difficult for you?”
“What?”
She touched a silver locket hanging on a black choker around her neck. “The smell and sight of blood. I remember having such a hard time with the bloodlust in the beginning. It took me ten years.”
"Ten years?" Would it take me that long to control it? That sounded impossible. "What finally helped?"
“The Principes Noctis. Their training is incredible. I rarely have a problem anymore. You should consider it.”
“Possibly,” I said and meant it. I hated the thought of losing control again.
“Will you be staying the night?" she asked, a hint of hopefulness in her voice.
I regarded her steadily. Her blue eyes were even more piercing, made brighter by the blood she had just ingested. Her lips, too, were fuller and redder. I grew excited at the thought of licking them.
I turned away quickly. "I will be leaving soon."
"That's too bad." She reached over and lightly touched me on the arm. There was nothing electric about the touch, not like what I experienced with Emma.
When I said nothing else, she eventually got up and left me alone. I continued to stare, riding the waves of both pleasure and pain. My gaze floated across the room until it landed on the witch, almost as if she had made it so. Her intense eyes bore into mine, and I flinched at the power pulsing toward me.
Words appeared in my mind, as clear as if someone were speaking right next to me. “Lies are always wrapped in pretty bows.”
My phone buzzed in my pocket, startling me and breaking the connection. I scanned the room until I located Bastian. He was in the middle of conversation with three women and was paying no attention to me. I checked my messages.
Oz had typed: We need you. Complications. Cameras down. Identity will be safe.
I slipped the phone back into my pocket, my pulse racing. How to make a casual, yet speedy exit? Only one way: just do it.
25
I stood from my chair and wandered over to Bastian as casua
l like as possible. I broke up their conversation about a recent vacation to Italy. "Sorry to interrupt, but I must go."
"So soon?" Annabella said from behind me. A moment ago, she had been across the room.
"I have some business to attend to," I said and looked at Bastian pointedly.
"I trust this has something to do with our earlier conversation about Victor?"
I nodded. "I will find out what I can."
His voice lowered. "Though I appreciate your eagerness, feel free to stay and begin work tomorrow."
"I would like to minimize damages as quickly as possible, assuming your assumptions are correct."
He smiled. "Then, by all means, go save the city."
I spun around to leave, but Annabelle stopped me. She touched my forearm. "Will I see you again?"
My gaze lowered to her bloodstained lips. "Perhaps."
I hurried outside and slid into my car, tearing off my tux jacket. As soon as the key turned, I slammed on the accelerator. Swollen storm clouds had swallowed the moon and stars creating an oppressive darkness. I punched through it, speeding across the streets. I had no fear of being pulled over by a policeman. Speeding residents was the least of their problems, for the cops who still cared anyway.
I raced into the hospital’s parking lot and jumped the curb, stopping only when I reached the front doors of the old building. I wanted to be as close as possible in case I needed to get the others out quickly.
Before I rushed in, I crouched low and placed my hands on the concrete, focusing all my senses. My heart was beating so fast that it took a few seconds for me to calm my mind so I could concentrate on earth’s magical powers. As soon as I was connected, my consciousness expanded through ground and past concrete, giving me information about everything it touched. There were lots of noises and movement inside. Swords clashing, fighting, shouting, moaning. I sensed there were at least two dozen people. Most of them were vampires. They were on the other side of the building, which worked to my advantage.
I straightened and opened the trunk of my car to arm myself with all kinds of weapons. My scimitar blade warmed my back as I jerked open the glass front door, but the motion was too quick and hard. The door crashed into the wall behind it shattering the glass. So much for my surprise entrance.
I bolted past an outdated lobby with floral wallpaper and a counter that had been smashed long ago. Spray paint tagged the walls with offensive words and drawings. The destruction matched the crumpled beer cans and old cigarettes littering the floors. This probably used to be a favorite place for rebel teenagers to frequent before it was taken over by vampires and mutated humans.
Speeding down several hallways, I noted many claw marks scratched into the walls. Some of them were filled with blood as if someone had continued to scratch long after their nails had broken.
I slowed when I reached the sounds of fighting just around the next corner. I risked a quick glance. Rebecca and Roman were trapped at the end of the hall with open elevator doors at their back. Oz was inside on the floor attending to someone. I couldn’t tell if it was Richard or not. There were too many people between us moving in and out my view.
I say people, but very few of them acted human. The way they were attacking, spitting and snarling, jumping into the air with no real purpose, lunging then retreating, was more animalistic. There were over a dozen of them, all intent on killing Rebecca and Roman, but the two fought them off expertly. One would never know Roman was blind by the way he was fighting.
Stepping into the mouth of the hallway, I whistled. The rear of the pack whirled around, and I choked at the sight of them. They were ugly creatures with many of them missing parts of their faces. Some lacked noses and lips, and others, eyes, but a couple—I exhaled the air in my lungs so horrifying was the image—had parts added to their face. The most disturbing one had two mouths, side by side, above his chin. Both were chomping up and down on rotten teeth. I had no doubt that monster would eat me if he could.
Six of the mutated creatures scurried after me, two of them on all fours. They lunged for me at the same time I removed the blade from my back. I swung the sharp edge through the air, slicing off the head off the first one that reached me. I spun to do the same to another who had leaped into the air, long, sharp claws extended and trained in my direction. Just as my blade cut through his neck, meeting flesh and bone, one of the mutants who had been on all fours raked his razor-sharp claws across the back of my leg
I growled, the pain considerable, and kicked, sending it into the wall where its body dented the drywall. Two more came, quicker than the last. One slashed at my right arm, just missing, while the other scrambled for my wounded leg with its mouth open. I stabbed at the mutant going for my calf first, drilling him directly into the heart. He collapsed to the ground, blood pulsing from the hole. I promptly removed his head to prevent him from turning into a vampire. I couldn't imagine something looking the way they did coming back.
With my left side exposed, the other creature grabbed my arm and spun me around. I flew into the opposite wall making my own dent. By this time, our scuffling had gained the attention of the other mutants, and they descended upon me, leaving behind only a few for Rebecca and Roman to contend with.
I unplugged myself from the wall and, with the sword held firmly in my grip, sped through the room taking off the heads of three of them, but the fourth one, a barrel-chested mutant with an unnaturally high forehead, was ready for me. He ducked at the last second and slashed his clawed hand across my gut. I skidded to a stop and doubled over in excruciating pain. His elbow crashed into my spine, dropping me to the floor.
A different monster grabbed a fistful of my hair and yanked hard as if trying to rip the head from my body. I rolled over, freeing myself from his grip. I sat up just in time to avoid the boot of the monster with the high forehead.
Despite the pain in my leg and stomach, I jumped to my feet and used my blade to cut down several more, splattering my white shirt with blood. I risked a quick glance at Rebecca and Roman. They had almost eliminated the mutants in front of them. With so few left, I had a better view of the elevator. Oz was pressing a bloodied cloth into a man's stomach. The man's face turned toward me just then, grimacing in pain. Richard. They had found him alive, but by how pale he was, it wouldn’t be for much longer.
A mutant blocked my view and kicked at my chest. My reaction time was slower than usual because his appearance had startled me. He was missing his lower jaw, but still had a long tongue that was making a lapping motion, almost as if he was trying to lick at the blood splattered across his upper chest. I stumbled, but gained my footing and swung the blade backward, slicing off his head.
At this point, there were so many bodies and heads, I had to be careful where I stepped for fear of tripping. I carefully approached Roman and Rebecca, keeping my head on a swivel to make sure I wasn't attacked from behind. There were still several mutants left, but they were hesitant to attack as if they still had a reasoning mind where the others hadn't. This was not a fight they could win, and they knew it.
I took advantage of their hesitation and attempted to use my super speed to maneuver through the rest of them, killing what I could, but the sharp pain in my stomach and leg slowed me down. The wounds had already started to clot, and with a little more time they would heal, but until then I would have to live with the biting pain.
When the task ended, I leaned over, gasping for air.
Rebecca limped toward me while Roman entered the elevator to help Richard.
"A few minutes longer, and we wouldn't have survived. Thanks for showing up." She lifted her sword and sliced off the head of a creature who still had his. I did the same to another to ensure they would not rise.
"What happened?" I asked, eyeing the bodies on the floor to make sure we hadn’t missed anyone else.
"Everything was good, at first. Oz set up a distraction out front that made the vampire guard’s leave. No one spotted us when we snuck in.”
"He ordered pizza from six different places, and they all delivered at the same time. It was actually pretty smart." She sheathed her sword into a scabbard on her hip. "Anyway, as we were getting Richard out, the power to the whole building shut off, which stopped us from using the elevator. We headed for the stairs, but that’s when we realized the doors holding all the mutants had also been unlocked when the power was cut. It was chaos from there."
"Who killed the electricity?"
She shook her head and touched her right eye that was already swollen and blue. She grimaced. "Someone obviously knew we were in here."
Roman stepped out of the elevator carrying Richard. "We need to get him back to Ironwood as quickly as possible."
Roman didn’t look much better than Richard. He had a deep cut on the side of his face and above his eyebrow. His leg was also bleeding. Oz was the only one who didn’t appear hurt. I didn’t bother holding my breath to avoid smelling human blood. The strong, almost chemical smell of spilled mutant blood had tainted everything around us.
"Let me." I carefully took Richard from Roman gently holding him in my arms.
His eyes flickered to mine. “You’re one of them.”
“Not exactly.”
We tried to hurry from the building, but many of our injuries prevented us. When we reached the car, I laid Richard down in the backseat, his legs dangled outside. He winced in pain.
“I’m going to heal you,” I said and lifted his shirt, exposing his bloodied stomach. The wound, deep claw marks into his gut, looked like mine felt. Even the slightest movement would send a searing heat across my body. I couldn’t imagine what he was feeling.
A Monster’s Birth: Aris Crow Vampire Legend Page 18