by Stead, Nick
The vampires tried to attack again, Zee charging his enemy head on while Lady Sarah tried to circle round and strike from the side. They were knocked back once more and once more Zee sprang straight to his feet. But Lady Sarah struck the wall and stayed down.
Zee drew a pistol in his offhand and aimed it at the demon’s head. Surprisingly he was able to fire it, though the lead shot stopped short of the creature’s skull, clattering harmlessly to the floor. The thing unleashed the full power of fear then, giving another roar like the one it had made earlier through the chamber of fire.
It was a sound full of hate and pain and so very wrong on a level that went completely against nature. Again we were reduced to cowering wrecks trembling beneath the demonic nightmare. Those of us on our feet fell to our knees and mine and Zee’s weapons clattered to the floor, our hands clasped over our ears to try and block out the terrible noise. Even Varin cowered like a mortal dog and whimpered pitifully.
Lady Sarah had just been picking herself up when the roar sounded. She collapsed again, lying on her side and covering her ears like the rest of us. Then blessed silence came rushing in and Zee found the strength to stand tall once more, even as the rest of us were still suffering the after effects. He’d retrieved his cutlass but his pistol lay forgotten, utterly useless as it was against so powerful a foe. Not to mention it would have taken far longer than a modern gun to reload, and that was the kind of time the vampire didn’t have.
The demon paused a moment to consider its prey, then began to stalk towards Lady Sarah. With a cry, Zee ran to attack again. He was able to get within striking distance this time, but before he could cut his opponent, the Hellish creature whipped its tail across his path, sweeping his feet out from under him and sending him crashing to the floor yet again.
His sword was torn from his hand. The demon turned to regard him, like a cat surrounded by mice to play with. It seemed so completely sure of itself and the inferior beings before it that it was in no rush to kill any of us, probably content to watch its prey suffer awhile. How long before it decided to end it?
I bent to grab my sword and made a move to go to my friend’s aid, but Gwyn placed a hand on my shoulder. He spoke in a murmur, just loud enough for Selina to hear as well. “We have to a find a way out of here, now!”
“It pains me to say it but he’s right – there’s nothing we can do for them in here,” Selina said. “The only thing that’s going to stop that demon is the ritual to banish it back to Hell.”
“And how are we meant to get up there?” I growled. “In case you hadn’t noticed, that’s a pretty insurmountable wall to climb with our bare hands.”
“Gwyn, if we smash the lights can you break through the window and find something to use as rope for us to climb up?”
“Like it’s going to be that easy,” I said.
“We have to try, mate,” the knocker replied.
I wanted to argue that we were wasting our time, but I supposed it was worth a try, though I was still sure David would have taken some kind of measure to keep Gwyn from his powers.
Tearing my gaze away from the vampires wasn’t easy. The demon was already on Zee, pinning him down with one clawed foot. It stretched its wings out to make it look more impressive, and its tail raised like a snake rearing up to strike. That terrible noise sounded forth once more, like it was uttering a cry of triumph.
Before it could slice into the pirate, Lady Sarah ran back into the fray. She sliced at the leg holding Zee down but again the demon was too quick, stepping out of the way so that her blade cut through nothing but air. Zee was able to roll away and pick himself back up, though his cutlass lay out of reach.
I had to force myself to look away, running for the nearest light and smashing that source of Gwyn’s weakness. The moment the bulb shattered, a stronger beam appeared from within the room above, spilling into the chamber where we were locked in our bitter struggle. There was no way to bring Gwyn the darkness he needed for his ethereal form, short of the vampires using their telekinesis to destroy the lights currently out of our reach. But they were too focused on battling the demon and besides, they needed all their strength to endure against it for as long as possible. We would have to think of something else.
The demon seemed to be growing bored of merely batting around its prey, or maybe it had been ordered to start doing some real damage. Either way, after dodging Lady Sarah’s sword it had turned on her again, and when I looked back over it was to find the creature had her in a single clawed hand.
It held her up towards its hideous face. She writhed in its grasp, clawing at its black skin and fighting for all she was worth. It was no use; she couldn’t free herself from the fingers wrapped around her torso.
A look of disgust crossed her features as the demon’s forked tongue snaked out and brushed her cheek. For a moment the creature just looked at her, as if it was deciding how it wanted to go about breaking its new toy. Then it began to squeeze.
Bones broke with a sickening crack, so loud even Gwyn, Amy and Selina heard it with their human ears. But the noise was soon drowned out by Lady Sarah’s screams.
Zee took the opportunity to retrieve his sword and made another charge at his adversary. The demon dropped Lady Sarah and she crumpled to the ground, then it returned Zee to his earlier position, standing over him again as he lay helplessly on his back. It seemed like the fight would soon be over and they were both going to die in vain if we couldn’t climb up to the window above. But I had no ideas as to how we were supposed to accomplish that and neither did the others, despite their urgent insisting we find a way. To their credit, though, Gwyn and Selina were both studying the wall, looking for anything that might help us climb all the way to the top. Amy was watching everything with wide eyes, and I kept finding my own gaze straying back to the battle.
Lady Sarah managed to pull her torso upright on arms that would surely have been shaking for a mortal, her legs splayed out uselessly beside her. She gave little indication of the agony she was in, turning to the one source of strength the demon couldn’t simply squeeze out of her bones. It would have to kill her to take her mental powers and she drew on them again then, her eyes glowing blue once more.
Zee had raised his head, visibly straining against the demon. His hands clutched the paw-like foot in an attempt to throw it off, to no avail. Then he caught sight of Lady Sarah’s eyes and there was a flash of something in his own. I guessed he was drawing on his telekinesis as well, and with the power of the two vampires combined I felt a surge of hope that it wasn’t all about to end so quickly.
If only the demon hadn’t been such a powerful being. The energy it summoned didn’t just shield it from the considerable power the two vampires wielded, but hit back against them like a battering ram, with enough force that even those of us who weren’t the targets felt it. Zee’s head smashed against the stone and a pool of crimson formed. He lay deathly still, seemingly unconscious. At least, I prayed that’s all that had happened and that his brain hadn’t just been destroyed.
Lady Sarah was thrown back down to her side. She retained her hold on consciousness for the time being but even so, she would be just as powerless to resist when the demon decided to switch back to her. But it hadn’t quite finished with Zee who I guessed must still be alive, though not for long. He lay completely unaware as the creature knelt beside him, raising a clawed hand to his cheek.
I had a good idea of what it was intending to do – hell, I’d used pain to bring victims round myself in the past. And there was no way I was letting it revive my friend, only to bring him a slow and agonising death.
“No!” I yelled, and before anyone could stop me, I charged at the demon.
That nightmarish face turned to regard me and it reared up to its full height again, letting me get almost within range before dismissing me with a lazy flick of its wrist. The next thing I knew, I was flying through the air just as the vampires had done, my body reconnecting with the ground with enough force to s
et my wounds bleeding once more. Combined with yet more cuts and bruises, the pain was enough to want to make me stay down. But I couldn’t let it end like that. I had to keep fighting for the new friends and allies I’d made, and above all for my sister, who didn’t belong in our world but had been caught up in it anyway. So I forced my aching body to its feet and grabbed my sword, only for the demon to make a sound far worse than its hideous shrieking.
This was a malevolent, gravelly noise, like its throat was a deep pit full of smaller demons clawing to get out, and one I’ll never forget. It was laughing at us.
I charged again, and the reason for its laughter became apparent, its true purpose revealed as Selina and Gwyn bent over to retch. Amy was similarly affected from Varin’s back. Then the barghest’s shadowy form dissolved into nothingness, just like when Death had dismissed him, pitching my sister forward, onto the hard stone. She stayed down, still retching.
I could only watch in horror as each of their features settled into a look of pure agony and blood began to stream from their mouths. The sight spurred me on.
Blood also began to trickle from the corner of Zee’s mouth. His eyes snapped open and his face twisted into the same pain-filled expression as the others, instincts driving him upright so he could heave up the precious crimson fluid as well. And Lady Sarah had also pulled herself back up onto her arms, suffering the same torment.
The demon didn’t permit me to come within range again. Something stabbed through my guts just as I was drawing level with Amy, Selina and Gwyn, sending me crashing to my knees. I couldn’t control the spasms racking my body, forcing me to give up more of my own liquid life force, even after all that had been spilled in the dungeon just to reach that point. At the rate I was losing blood, I thought it might be that which killed me, rather than whatever internal damage the demon was causing. And I realised then that this had been David’s plan all along. This had always been the endgame he’d intended; for me to watch my friends and allies die, completely helpless and unable to do anything to save them, just as he no doubt felt he’d been in the event of Fiona’s death.
I was to suffer the heartache of losing the few companions I had left before finally succumbing to the demon myself, while he watched from the safety of his control room and enjoyed my pain, both physical and emotional. We were always meant to reach that final chamber, that final fight, so after everything, after all the pain and torment already endured, I could die knowing it had all been for nothing. Our fates were sealed, and I was to be sent back into Death’s icy grasp with the terrible knowledge that there was nothing I could do.
CHAPTER TWENTY–SEVEN
Predatory Pact
All was lost. Ever growing pools of blood were spreading around our dying bodies, and still we vomited more of it. Amy was the first to collapse, her body already very weak. Selina followed next. I didn’t know if they were dead or unconscious, though I was under no illusion as to the nearness of the Reaper, knowing full well they were still slipping away, if they hadn’t already.
I was given a brief respite between retches, presumably so there was no chance of me dying before any of the others. The demon had such control over our deaths that it might as well have been the Reaper himself, but it shouldn’t really have been surprising, since the thing was probably ancient enough to have had centuries of practice.
I raised my eyes to the heavens, looking up through the hole in the roof as if to plead for some divine help to save us from our demonic tormentor. Not that I really expected anything from any higher powers that might exist, but we were beaten and I was desperate. And it was then that the clouds began to drift apart, finally revealing the pale orb that fascinated and called to me so.
David had been so confident he could conquer my lycanthropy, so sure he could keep my lupine side caged even in the power of my lunar master’s light, that he’d wanted to taunt me with the sight of it overhead. But that was exactly the kind of arrogance that got men killed. He’d chosen to meddle in forces he didn’t understand, underestimating the power of the moonlight shining down. And such a bright moon it was that night.
The very edge of its beam touched my clammy skin and fresh sweat began to roll down my body, my eyes burning amber. A grim smile played on my lips as I swivelled those lupine eyes round to meet David’s wide, human ones. And seeing that the serum he’d hedged all his bets on had failed him in the end, he retreated from the window, no doubt panicking already. An alarm began to sound from within the base.
I turned my attention back to the demon and met its gaze.
“Release me and my companions and I will free you from their control,” I growled through the pain, pausing to spit more blood. “I can offer you far more souls than just the six of us, if you let us live.”
The demon considered me but gave no response. I realised it probably wasn’t possible for it to simply let us go while it was still bound to the will of whoever was controlling it, even if it understood my words. And even with the moonlight beginning to restore my strength, it wouldn’t be enough. The creature would kill me long before I could heal the damage and I would still be helpless to save myself, let alone the others. But with the full moon giving me strength, I found I was no longer afraid. I looked into those glowing red eyes as an equal, a fellow predator born to slaughter without mercy.
Blood continued to trickle from the corner of my mouth. For a brief moment I imagined we’d been frozen in time, two great hunters locked in each other’s gaze. Then the moment was broken. The demon still didn’t speak, instead unleashing another blast of telekinetic energy and sending me flying through the air a second time.
My body was flung higher up than before and seconds later I crashed through the window we’d been so desperate to reach, shards of glass raining down around me as I landed in the control room. Fresh pain flooded my aching bone and flesh. I was still bleeding from both existing wounds and new, my guts still feeling like a knife twisted through them. Whatever internal damage the demon had caused, it wouldn’t heal until the transformation went far enough to repair it. But at least the creature seemed to have stopped ripping me apart from the inside, and I was no longer actively spewing blood.
I tried to embrace the change as I had so many times before, willing my body to shift and heal. But even with the moon’s power calling to it, the serum was still fighting to suppress my lupine nature. My flesh was shifting, but much slower than it should have been, so that only my eyes remained visibly wolfish for the time being.
I was going to have to battle on through the pain as best I could. My teeth gritted together, my body protesting against movement. I had to force myself to my feet, the effort leaving me bent clutching the bomb site of my stomach and spitting yet more blood. It took a moment for the worst to pass, then I risked straightening again.
The control room was exactly as I’d imagined it would be. Several computer monitors displayed live feeds, showing every part of the dungeon I’d passed through from the very first room I’d woken up in (where the camera must have been hidden especially well since I’d found no hint of it) to the passageway just outside the final chamber. And as I took all this in, I heard a voice in my head.
It was so full of malice that there was no question as to where it came from. An involuntary shudder ran through me, followed by a gasp of pain. My nerves were on fire again.
“Free me, and I will release the others.”
That was all it said and I didn’t bother to reply, unsure whether it’d even hear me if I did. I was well aware that it had made no promise to let any of us live, but it seemed as good as I was going to get. And for all I knew, Amy and Selina were already dead, lying there in pools of their own blood. I let that thought feed the darkness surging up. It rose alongside the primal fury brought on by the moon’s call, growing ever stronger the longer it was denied release. My blood was already boiling and I knew it was only a matter of time before my flesh broke free of the cage David had sought to keep it in. And when that time c
ame and the rage crashed over me, I would be unstoppable by all but Death himself.
The control room was empty. David’s minions must have fled with him when they’d seen my eyes change. Such pitiful creatures. I was going to enjoy crushing them one by one as I sought my revenge for all they’d put me through, and for the innocents they’d harmed along the way – the unnamed dog whose life would go unmourned and unremembered by humanity, Hannah and her family, and above all, Amy, my sister who I’d thought would be safe if I left her and Mum to continue on in their human lives, only for her to end up here. The Slayers were going to pay for each and every one of those deaths, until the walls were painted red with their blood and their heads decorated their desks. They were going to suffer far worse than anything they’d made us endure, just as I’d promised them partway through the dungeon. And I was going to enjoy torturing them to the music of their screams.
The demon’s fear inducing stink was already beginning to seep in through the broken window, but it was not yet as overwhelming as it had been through most of the dungeon. The air still felt much fresher than it had while we’d been locked in the chamber with the thing. I breathed deeply, taking in the scents of the men who’d watched the blood sport they’d been making of my death.
Seconds later, I had everything I needed. The room had no more to offer me and my prey lay beyond its door. Time to move on.
David had possessed enough sense to close the door on his way out, and either he or his men had barred it to try and keep me from moving any further through their base. It wouldn’t stop me. I threw myself against it, drawing on all of the moon’s power and all that rage and bloodlust, using my body as a battering ram.
My gut was on fire and I tasted more blood on my tongue, but I kept going, slamming into the metal over and over again. It wasn’t as thick as the last metal door we’d come to. The Slayers must have been utterly confident we would each die to the demon’s onslaught, or why else would they have neglected to take full precautions when designing this room? They were going to pay for that mistake with their lives.