by J. C. Diem
“Keep your distance, Asian scum,” Nicholas snarled to one of the Japanese vamps.
“Who are you to call us scum, European dog?”
“At least we are civilized and live in a mansion rather than squatting in caves like cockroaches,” the ex-courtier countered.
Even with the engine rumbling, I heard the sound of swords sliding free from their sheaths. Turning before any black ooze could be shed, I pounded my fist on the wall that separated us from my team members. “Sit down and shut up. Don’t make me come back there!” Christ, I sound like my mother!
With a few mutters too low for me to make out, they complied and silence descended again.
Throwing me a sympathetic glance, Sanderson couldn’t quite hide his smile. “What?” I asked grumpily.
“Is ruling a race of vampires turning out to be as much fun as you’d anticipated?”
“It’s worse than I could have possibly imagined,” I complained, not caring if my kin overheard me. “I can’t wait for this to be over so things can go back to the way they were.” What I meant was that I could return to being a nobody again and having zero responsibilities.
Sanderson’s expression was slightly pitying this time and I wasn’t sure he even knew it. “Do you really think anything can ever be the same again?”
In the short time that I had become one of the undead, the world had irrevocably changed and I was to blame. Almost every human on the planet now knew that we existed. I was kidding myself if I thought we could ever return to our former obscurity again.
Chapter Twenty-One
We didn’t bother to come up with a detailed plan during the journey. Like I’d told my teams, our goal was simple; take down anything that wasn’t human. It was impossible to plan for every eventuality that might be thrown at us until we came across it anyway.
Sanderson checked our coordinates regularly to make sure we weren’t straying from our path. The track we were on was narrower than usual and one of the armoured trucks was pushing its way through the dense jungle ahead. Our pace wasn’t exactly swift and I was beginning to worry that we would be the last to arrive at the party.
“We’re nearly there,” the colonel reassured me after I’d glanced at my watch for what had to be the fiftieth time.
As planned, we stopped a couple of kilometres away from the area that I’d termed as the kill zone. Three villages were on the outskirts of the zone and one of them was just ahead. Instead of evacuating the townsfolk, we crept quietly past their dwellings. Sanderson had called for radio silence so that our arrival would hopefully be a surprise to our enemies.
By now, most of our troops should be in place near the village that was central to our plan of eradication. I didn’t have to send out my senses to know that a large number of fledglings weren’t far away. I could feel them and the terrible hunger that drove them. Some of the older fledglings were mature enough for their flesh hunger to have risen by now.
My hackles began to rise as we drew closer to the mob of undead. Touching Sanderson on the arm, I indicated that he should give the signal to attack. At his nod, one of the Americans raised a flare gun and pulled the trigger. At the bright red burst of light overhead, our troops rushed towards the next village.
As soon as I saw the fledglings, I knew why the Second had been so smug. They hadn’t fallen into our trap at all but had allowed us to herd them to this spot. All were armed with some kind of weapon, whether it was just a crude rock or a rusty spear. Facing outwards, a few of the vamps on the outer edge of the circle even held guns.
“Take them down!” Sanderson screamed and bullets began to fly. As per the plan, my vamps stayed back to avoid friendly gunfire from our soldiers in the initial attack. Grenades were tossed into the mob and vampire parts rained down.
Hundreds of fledglings huddled together, protecting the disciples hidden in their midst. The ones with guns fired wildly, managing to take down a couple of dozen soldiers but not making much impact otherwise. With dismay, I realized that the disciples were just waiting for the soldiers to close with them before they launched their own attack.
Before I could shout a warning, the fledglings were suddenly let loose. Deranged with hunger, they sped towards the soldiers. Too fast to track with a human eye, they dodged bullets, leaped over flamethrowers and began to feed.
“Move in!” I shouted to my entourage. Nicholas hesitated then reached for his machete.
Sanderson wisely stayed back, uselessly ordering his men to retreat. His soldiers were either screaming in terror or were firing at the oncoming vamps, drowning out their boss. My worst fears were coming true; the soldiers were being overwhelmed and would soon become the very things they were trying to eradicate if my people didn’t put a stop to it.
Passing General Merwe, I shouted at him to pull his men back. Wild eyed, he gave no indication that he’d heard me and shot a fledgling point blank in the face.
My swords went into action and fledglings fell. Battle lust descended and I chopped, sliced and diced any vamp that came within my reach. A strange and not completely unwelcome thrill raced up my spine with each death that I doled out.
Nicholas did an adequate job of keeping up with me but he wasn’t doing a great deal of damage to the enemy. He only attacked when he was directly threatened. The rest of my entourage did a far better job. The ten of us cut our way through to the centre of the circle to what turned out to be a lone disciple.
Luc and Igor had already beaten us there and were engaged in combat with several fledglings. Geordie screeched from somewhere in the crowd. It was a scream of triumph rather than pain so I turned my attention to the disciple and started towards him.
“You dare to attack me?” he sneered. “You are a lowly dog and should bow down to one who is far greater than you.”
“You’re not greater than me,” I contradicted him. “You’re just really, really old.” He was also less skeletal than the last two disciples I’d seen and had fleshed out a bit. This one looked a bit less like a mummy. Even his skin was more brown than grey.
Drawing himself up, he gestured me forward. “If you think you are a match for me then come, face me in battle.” Armed with a spear, he twirled it to show me that he was skilled with his weapon of choice.
I could have twirled the swords flashily in retaliation but chose not to. “This one is mine,” I said to my friends. They had finished off the closest fledglings and had gathered to assist me. “See if you can help the soldiers.” They reluctantly turned their attention to the rabid fledglings. Luc tipped me a wink and I gave him a smile. Even when my eyes were glowing orange, he was still attracted to me. Sadly, so was Nicholas. He ignored my order and remained a few steps behind me.
The disciple moved around me in a slow circle. I copied him, studying his movements as I’d been taught. I was ready for it when he suddenly lunged forward. His spear missed me by inches but my sword scored a slash across his stomach. Rage flared as his intestines bulged out through the seam I’d just made. He healed almost as quickly as I did, pushing the slimy, stinky innards back into the slit first.
Not quite as cocky now, he made a feint then went for my face. He might be fast and have thousands of years of fighting practice behind him but he was doomed to failure. He was armed with only one weapon while I was armed with two. It would have been satisfying to draw the fight out but there were still dozens of fledglings to eradicate.
Slicing the blade of his spear off with one sword, the other opened a wound across his throat. Proving just how fast he was, he leaped backwards before I could slice all the way through his spine and sever his head completely. For a second, he looked at me in shock then his head tipped backwards until it was hanging by a flap of skin and a couple of veins.
“Oh, gross!” Geordie complained. He’d stumbled his way through the fight in time to witness the near decapitation.
Groping blindly, the disciple grabbed his head and set it back on his shoulders. The wound healed and he was as good as
new again in seconds. His grin of triumph turned to a look of surprise when a crossbow bolt appeared in his chest. He stared at Geordie, amazed that the teen had dared to shoot him. My young friend’s aim had been slightly off and he’d missed the disciple’s heart.
Switching his gaze back to me, the disciple realized he was facing someone even more skilled with a weapon than he was. He turned and ran and I was on his heels instantly.
Dodging and weaving like a rabbit attempting to outrun a fox, he made it as difficult as possible to keep him in sight. I was impressed with his speed even as I was annoyed by my inability to catch him.
“Screw this,” I muttered and put my swords away. Sparing a moment to concentrate, my left hand came free at my mental command and I lobbed it at the fleeing vamp like a grenade.
Glancing backwards, he caught sight of Lefty about to descend on him and his mouth opened in a scream. Landing on the disciple’s face, Lefty didn’t give him a chance to utter his terror and clamped down hard. I unleashed the power of the holy mark before my hand could be torn away.
Giving a bubbling screech, the disciple hit the ground and Lefty leaped clear. Scrabbling around in a circle on his side, the ancient vampire tore at his melting flesh. Only both holy marks working together could end a vampire’s life. One on its own just caused intense pain and horrible disfigurement.
Planting a boot on the writhing creature’s chest, I leaned down to allow Lefty to reattach itself. The terrified black eyes of my quarry beseeched me to end his pain. I complied but not because I felt any pity for him. It was my duty as Mortis to end the creature’s life. Placing my hands on the disciple’s head, I released the power of both holy marks this time. His head imploded and I stepped aside to avoid being splattered.
Four down, six to go, my subconscious said grimly. I wondered just how far away the other disciples had managed to travel while we’d fallen for the Second’s crafty distraction.
Chapter Twenty-Two
I’d run quite a distance away from the kill zone during my pursuit of the disciple. By the time I returned, most of the fledglings were dead. So were a great many of our troops. Sanderson’s face was tight with grief and fury as he directed his men to encircle four fledglings. Shrill screams of pain rang out as their flamethrowers were switched on and orange fire scorched undead flesh.
General Merwe had relinquished all pretence of control and was firing two pistols simultaneously at anything with fangs. Unfortunately, this also included the vampires that were on our side. Gregor narrowly dodged a bullet and hurriedly moved his team to a safer location.
I spied Ishida off to one side, battling a pair of fledglings. His young face was almost bored as he defended himself from their clumsy attacks. Kokoro stood nearby, guarded by two female warriors. Her expression was serene but she was tense with worry for her ruler’s safety. Growing tired of playing with the pair, Ishida ended the fight by brutally beheading one of the vamps and stabbing the other through the heart. His gaze turned icy as it passed over me.
“He will come around,” Luc said from beside me and I started. He could move very quietly when he wanted to.
“I never wanted to be in charge,” I complained quietly. I looked for Nicholas, positive he’d hurry to my side as soon as he saw me with my beloved. I spied Gregor speaking to the ex-courtier, either purposely or accidentally giving us a moment alone.
“You have done very well organizing us into a cohesive unit, Natalie.” I hadn’t been expecting his compliment and was momentarily thrown. “Far better than I had expected,” Luc admitted with a tiny frown of apology.
He must have known I knew he didn’t think I would be an effective leader. Hearing him admit that he’d been wrong lessened the hurt. “Thanks, Lucentio.”
One side of his mouth lifted in a half smile. “I actually think I prefer you to call me Luc.” Now that was an admission that I’d never expected to hear. “I have grown used to it,” he admitted quietly. I knew he’d come around eventually, I thought smugly.
He bent to kiss me as Nicholas finally broke free and jogged towards us. “My Liege,” the overly muscled courtier said and I lifted a finger to delay him until Luc was finished. He took his time and I wasn’t about to complain. Luc was easily the best kisser I’d ever had the pleasure of locking lips with.
“That’s so sweet,” Geordie said as he joined us and bit back a sentimental sob. “You can tell that they really love each other.” I was pretty sure he added that last bit just to bait Nicholas.
Luc finally pulled back and I discovered we were surrounded by our friends and allies. Hiding my embarrassment as best as I could, I was glad the blood couldn’t rush to my face anymore.
“How many disciples have been dispatched now?” Gregor asked.
“Four that I know of,” I replied.
“Then there are six still remaining, including the Second, who seems to be far cleverer than I’d given him credit for.” Gregor gestured at the carnage surrounding us. “Does anyone else feel that this was just an elaborate diversion staged to waste our time?”
Ishida’s head turned to survey the damage, passing over hundreds of mauled soldiers stonily. He’d lost some of his warriors and so had the Europeans. None of us had forgotten that team nine had been wiped out entirely. The child king’s expression was as blank as ever but I detected signs of rebellion in the depths of his midnight coloured pupils. I hoped he wasn’t rethinking the wisdom of allying himself with me. The aid of his warriors would be crucial to ending this threat.
Colonel Sanderson’s voice rose, cutting through the moans of survivors and shocked chatter of his soldiers. “How many are missing?”
Geordie sidled over to me, forcing Nicholas to take a step back. “This doesn’t sound good,” he murmured as he slipped a hand around my waist.
The colonel was too far away for us to be able to hear the reply. A hand came up to cover his mouth, which was a bad sign. Signing off, he searched for General Merwe, swivelled his head until he saw me then was clearly undecided who he should go to first.
I solved his problem by motioning him to head for the general. I and my entourage met the two men on the edges of the battleground.
“What has happened?” Merwe demanded. His face and uniform were speckled with blood. Equally splattered, his hands were still shaking from a combination of adrenalin and terror.
“Apparently all of this,” the colonel circled a hand to include the whole area, “was just a diversion.” Gregor nodded as his suspicions were confirmed. “A large town was attacked while we were busy being annihilated here.” His tone was bitter and I could understand why. I’d warned him that his men would be no match for the blood crazed fledglings and I’d just been proven correct. A bare third of their troops remained. Out of two thousand soldiers, only six or seven hundred were still well enough to fight.
“Which town was attacked?” Merwe asked. His skin had taken on an unhealthy shade of grey at the news.
Pulling the map out of his back pocket, Sanderson unrolled it and pointed to a town a few hours to the north. While we had been hastening southwards to set our trap, the Second had been sidling around us, neatly avoiding it.
“How many humans lived in this town?” Luc asked. We all picked up on his usage of the past tense.
“Somewhere between four and five thousand people,” the general replied.
Silence descended as we contemplated the awful news. The Second had enough fledglings with him to take an entire large town in one night. In three nights, thousands of new blood thirsty monsters would emerge from wherever he’d stashed them. It would take us a whole night just to reach the town. In the meantime, he would be attacking even more towns and increasing his numbers.
Ishida chose that moment to voice his displeasure. “What is your plan now, Mortis?” I met his angry gaze. “You insisted on being in charge and you have led us to disaster.”
His accusation cut deeply because he was right. I had no experience at being a leader and I
clearly had no idea what I was doing.
“What would you have done differently, Emperor Ishida?” Gregor asked the teen curiously. “I myself would have done almost exactly what Natalie, Colonel Sanderson and General Merwe have done.” I appreciated his reminder that I hadn’t made all the decisions alone.
“Do you want to be in charge, Ishida?” I asked the kid bluntly. His people threw affronted looks at me for not using his title.
Lifting his chin snottily, Ishida opened his mouth to reply but Kokoro cut him off. “I mean no disrespect, Emperor, but that would mean disaster for us all.”
General Merwe seemed to see Kokoro for the first time. He was instantly entranced by her and she wasn’t even looking in his direction. “Explain your reasoning, please.” Sanderson did a double take at his colleague’s sudden politeness.
Kokoro touched Ishida’s shoulder lightly. He allowed it but kept his expression stony. “My visions tell me that only Mortis can save our people from total destruction.”
Joshua felt it was necessary to put his two cents worth in. “I guess that means we’re all screwed then.” Aventius frowned at him and received a sulky, green eyed glower.
Nicholas took a step forward so he became the focus of the rough circle of people. “I think we should contact our kin at the Court and request their assistance.”
My upper lip instantly curled at the idea of asking the Comtesse and her cronies for their help. Luc frowned slightly and I slid my arm through his. The last thing either of us wanted was the praying mantis to come within close range of him again. One word from her could turn him into her slave again and he would be helpless to resist her commands.
Aventius looked even more horrified at the idea than I was. Once the Comtesse caught up with him, his chances of survival were limited. His followers gathered around, offering him their silent support. Joshua patted his leader on the back, murmuring something comforting.
“While your suggestion is repugnant to us all,” Gregor said, “it has merit.” His tone was apologetic at causing us more distress.