Fanghunters (Book 4): The Claw Order

by Leo Romero

  “We won’t let him hurt you, Daddy!” Annit said, staring over Rufus’ shoulder.

  The thing let out another moan.

  Annit glanced behind her at the corridor outside. She smiled. She turned her attention back to Rufus, that smile still on her face, her fangs on show. She threw her hands up and toward Rufus. “Get him!” she screeched.

  The cats came streaming through the doorway. Panic erupted in Rufus’ mind. They were storming toward him from the left and right, those eyes glowing, those furry legs pumping in a gallop. In seconds, they’d be on him and there was nowhere to escape to this time.

  There was only one thing he could do. In an act of desperation, he aimed his sun cannon at the floor and pulled the trigger. An ultraviolet burst of light shot from the muzzle of the cannon. The fat beam hit the first of the cats. Its eyes flushed purple-blue and it screeched to a halt, its tail bristling. Its eyes bulged in that artificial light for a second before it spun and scurried back the way it came.

  A hopeful grin broke out on Rufus’ face. They were scared of the light. Without hesitation, he began shining the beam into the eyes of every other cat heading his way. The effect was identical. They cowered under the light, turning on their heels and scampering out of the chamber to safety. Hope blossomed in Rufus’ heart. He watched them in glee as they ran away like cowards. Soon, every cat had been vanquished from the chamber.

  Rufus took his finger off the sun cannon trigger and faced the vampires. He puffed out his chest, placing the barrel of the cannon on his shoulder. He glared at the vampires with his chin raised in the air and his mouth turned downward.

  The vampires watched the last of the cats scurry away in confusion. Annit and Ram glanced at one another, their mouths agape.

  Seth pointed a shaky finger at the gun on Rufus’ shoulder. “What is that thing?”

  Rufus flicked his eyebrows up. He threw the barrel down into his waiting hand and put his finger back on the trigger. This thing? This is your worst nightmare!

  Rufus pulled the trigger. The indigo-violet beam smashed into Seth’s rotund belly. Seth leaped up like a jumping frog. A hot sizzle rose into the air, accompanied by Seth’s screams. A blackened mark burst from his stomach, smoke billowing from its epicenter. The other vampires cowered back, their gaze fixed on their brother. Annit grabbed hold of Ram, who watched what was happening to Seth with fear brimming in his eyes.

  Rufus kept his finger pulled on the trigger. The beam bored into Seth’s stomach some more before he burst into flames.

  Annit yelped. Ram gasped. Seth screeched under the pain of being set alight, his mouth stretched to splitting point. Rufus tongued his bottom lip, making sure to keep the beam on the vampire. He was enjoying watching him burn, the sun cannon was a whole lotta fun.

  Burn, baby, burn!

  Seth whirled around in a fitful circle, the beam now dousing his back, the ensuing flames singeing the clothes right off him. The chamber lit up orange-yellow as the flames intensified. In seconds, Seth’s whole torso was aflame, his limbs the only things free of the blaze. The others remained rooted. They stared on in horror as their brother was burned to death.

  With a big grin, Rufus soaked Seth in rays, moving the beam up and down, left and right, and in circles as if spraying bug killer on a swarm of flies. Wherever the beam touched, fire broke out. In the blink of an eye, Seth was a raging inferno. He thrashed his fiery limbs around, inhuman screeches bolting from somewhere within the fireball.

  Rufus kept up the pressure. Die! Die!

  He clenched his teeth, the astringent stench of charred rotten meat filling the chamber. His nose twitched, but the smell didn’t deter him. He kept drenching that fiery vamp with sublime rays. Seth staggered off and Rufus followed him with the beam.

  Uh-uh, there’s no escape!

  Seth spun in a quick, fitful circle before the pressure reached boiling point. His screeches intensified and he literally exploded with a massive pop!

  Annit almost jumped out of her skin.

  Rufus’ eyes widened in pleasant surprise. Oh man, that’s so cool! Ha ha!

  Bits of Seth shot out in all directions, hitting the ancient walls, the floor, where they continued to burn and melt. The bulk of what was left collapsed to the ground where it twitched and burned. Rufus finally let up the pain, not wanting to use up all of his juice on one vamp.

  He watched those flames for a second or two in satisfaction, the heat emanating from the pyre hitting his skin, causing him to sweat. He looked from the convulsing inferno to the other vampires. They were huddled in a petrified cluster, their wide eyes fixed on what was left of their brother as he crashed and burned. While he did, they flicked their eyes toward the guy with the gun.

  Rufus put the muzzle of the sun cannon up to his lips and blew on it. Man, that felt good!

  Above the sound of the roaring fire, the colossal creature behind him groaned.

  Ram grabbed hold of Karim’s shoulder. “Get him!” he said, shoving him toward Rufus.

  Karim held his ground. “Why me? You get him!”

  All three of them juddered in fear. Rufus just stood there, watching them, rocking from side-to-side. He was enjoying watching them squirm. Now they knew how it felt. Rufus’ top lip curled up. He lifted the dangerous end of the sun cannon and aimed right at them. Kill them. Light em up!

  The three of them startled all at the same time.

  Rufus curled in the trigger.

  Ram threw a hand up in the air. “Wait!”

  Rufus’ brow furrowed. Ram was holding something in the air. The Heart of Moroz. Rufus became still.

  “You’ll destroy this if you use that on us,” Ram told him. “And I know that’s what Clement sent you here for.”

  Rufus’ eyes narrowed. The vampire was right. The sun cannon would probably melt the Heart as well. It was made of vampire after all. He kept the cannon aimed on them.

  Ram’s eyes widened in hope. He met Rufus’ stare. Rufus held his ground. He didn’t want to risk anything. The last thing he wanted to do was destroy the thing Vincent wanted so badly. That wouldn’t be good. The standoff continued for a few more seconds.

  The obese creature behind Rufus released a long moan, breaking the tension. Ram grabbed the opportunity. He threw the Heart across the chamber. Rufus’ jaw dropped. He watched the Heart arc through the air in bemusement, his head turning to the side alongside it. It hit the floor in the corner with a dull ping!

  Rufus’ heart skipped a beat. Go get it!

  He went to make a dash for the Heart when a roar caused his head to whirl back the way it came. Before he had a chance to react, a claw scraped across his face. Searing pain tore through his cheek as sharp nails raked down it. He staggered back as multiple hands grabbed hold of the sun cannon and yanked it from his grip. He tried his best to hold on, but he lost the ensuing tug of war with ease. The three vampires were on him, and he was outnumbered. Ram took hold of the sun cannon, gave it a look of disgust and terror and slung it away, out of harm’s reach. Annit threw another claw at Rufus’ face. Rufus swerved his body back, his eyes fixed on those deadly nails. They tore through the air, missing him by inches.

  Rufus’ arms flailed, his body reeling in shock. Hold, on, hold on!

  He managed to regain his balance, just as Karim swung a punch at him. Rufus threw up a solid forearm, blocking the weak punch. He returned it with a karate chop to Karim’s throat. The impact caused the vamp to stagger back and hit the far wall, his tongue lolling from his mouth. Ram dived in, his punches amateur; they swung on the air like out of sync pendulums. Rufus bopped and weaved like a pro, evading the blows with ease. He sent a solid return punch to Ram’s stomach. The vamp doubled over. Rufus leaped up, flinging a foot right in Ram’s face. Ram straightened under the impact. He staggered back a few paces before stumbling over, the back of his head thudding painfully into the hard floor, dazing him.

  Next it was Annit’s turn. She rushed in, her claws at the ready. Rufus kept his cool. Once
she was close enough, he took a sidestep, allowing her to go past. He shoved her in the back as she went. Her momentum took her toward her obese daddy in the center of the room. She slammed into the side of his huge, rubbery belly. She bounced right off and hit the ground. Daddy let out a small moan.

  Rufus dusted his hands. He was more than a match for these vamps. They all lay on the floor around him, out for the count.

  Pussies, Rufus thought to himself with disdain. I thought vampires were supposed to be stronger than humans. Whatever.

  He went and snatched up the sun cannon, just as the vamps stirred. Karim was the first. With a roar, he raced across the room toward Rufus. As he advanced, he raised a fist, hoping to bring it down on Rufus’ head. As cool as ice, Rufus turned his way and nonchalantly fired the sun cannon right at Karim’s punch. His hand caught alight mid-air. In the next instant, his fist exploded like it had been fitted with an IED. Black blood spattered the far wall where it frazzled away into nothing. Karim released a hellish scream, pulling the remains of his arm out of the beam. Fire danced across the air as Karim waved his stump around, blowing on it to try and quell the flames eating his wrist and forearm away. He reeled off to the side, wailing like a baby. He hit the wall and collapsed to the floor where he nursed his damaged arm.

  Rufus laughed to himself. Now, that was uber-cool!

  He showed Karim no mercy. He stepped over and let rip on Karim’s crumpled body, showering him with beams like MacReady unleashing on the infected with a flamethrower in The Thing. Karim’s screams rocketed off the ancient walls encasing them. He smoldered for barely a second before erupting into flames. He thrashed on the ground like a beheaded snake, its body writhing with involuntary instinct. The stench of barbequed defiled meat filled the air. Rufus gagged and turned away, but a smile still remained on his face. He was an exterminator, here to eliminate parasites, to detox this ancient site. Karim very quickly joined his brother Seth in becoming a bonfire. The flames cooked him till his limbs fell still. Rufus kept the beam focused on him, making sure to incinerate the vamp till there was nothing left. Karim’s blackened corpse disintegrated before his eyes, white bones showing through, melting under the pressure of the UV light. Karim’s hair singed away, his face melting off his skull, his eyeballs bursting and dribbling down his cheeks in red and white gooey rivulets. The white of his skull came into view, the black of his dissolved brain draining out through his vacant eye sockets. In no time, the skull collapsed under the pressure, the flames breaking it down, melting it like plastic.

  Rufus watched on with a morbid fixation. Man, that is gnarly.

  His concentration was severed as something leaped onto his back. His grip on the sun cannon loosened and he staggered forward under the pressure.

  “You’ll pay for that!” Annit sneered in a crazed wail. She dug her nails into Rufus’ cheeks. The flesh erupted in pain. Rufus clenched his teeth and whipped his body left and right hoping to shake her off. She stuck firm, her nails digging deeper. Rufus threw back a hand, grabbed her top, and threw his momentum forward. He bent over and managed to sling her over his shoulder. She thudded into the ground, her eyes zoning out. Rufus went and planted a foot on her, holding her down. Annit struggled, but Rufus was her equal. With Annit pinned down like an animal, he sprayed her with sun cannon beams. Annit writhed in agony as she burst into flames. Her skin sizzled and split like dogs on a barbeque. Her hair caught alight, the ensuing odor getting caught in Rufus’ nostrils. Annit’s inhuman screeches reverberated in his ears like the noise of feral cats in the height of battle. Rufus didn’t let it deter him. He kept his focus, kept her planted on the ground with a firm foot while cleansing her with sublime rays. What remained of Annit writhed and wailed like a rabid jackal as the flames licked away at her putrescent flesh.

  Soon enough, her noise petered out and her thrashing limbs ran out of juice.

  Rufus gave himself a firm nod. Okay, she’s cooked enough.

  He released the trigger and spun away from her, leaving the flames to finish her off. His eyes fell on Ram, who was on his back, watching his sister burn with a slack jaw. He was shivering in fear, rooted in terror.

  Rufus glared down at him. And now for you.

  Rufus advanced on him, his sun cannon at the ready. Behind him, Annit continued to burn, a small pop and splat told Rufus she’d been microwaved.

  “No!” Ram said in a pained voice once he watched his sister splatter.

  Rufus shoved the muzzle of the sun cannon in his face. He gave Ram a steely glare.

  Ram’s bulging eyes moved from his sister to the sun cannon. “You are holy!” he exclaimed, glaring up at Rufus with bulging eyes. “Daddy told us Clement was the last. That you’d all been destroyed.”

  Rufus just glowered down at him from beyond the barrel of the sun cannon. He shook his head.

  “You are strong,” Ram told him. “Just like Daddy told us of the Holy Order. Stronger than… the other humans.” He closed his eyes and gave Rufus a solemn nod. “Go ahead, Holy One. Sear me with your hellish device. I cannot continue without my sister and brothers.” He rolled his eyes beyond Rufus, laying them on the obese vampire. “Or Daddy.” He met Rufus’ gaze once more. “Just promise me this, Holy One. Take my granddaddy’s heart, give it to Clement. And then go and kill my remaining uncles. Sen Fang. Benedict. Slay them while they sleep. Make it last. Make it… painful. Only Daddy deserved to rule alongside Granddaddy, not those pretenders.” His voice was laced with scorn. “Now, do as you will to me. It is no shame losing to a holy man. It is the reason you exist.”

  Ram slumped back. Rufus licked his lips. He hesitated.

  Ram frowned. He snapped his head up and focused in on Rufus. “What are you waiting for?” he sneered, his face trembling. “Do it!”

  Rufus pulled the trigger. Ram’s eyes lit up ultraviolet for literally a second before he erupted in a cacophony of unending agony, his wild screams filling the chamber alongside the stench of him burning alive. As he thrashed, he became engulfed in flames. From within the inferno, Ram shouted, “Kill them!” before he exploded from the inside out in a boiling ball of blood and flames. His blood and bones scattered across the floor where they continued to burn, the flames licking greedily at the remnants till there was nothing left. Rufus released the trigger and stood upright. He gazed around him. The vamps were vanquished. The floor smoldered in patches, making the chamber hot and humid. Now he was alone with Daddy. And the Heart of Moroz. Rufus didn’t waste another second. He went over to where the Heart lay in the corner. It sat there, a black lump, an obsidian gem. It was what Vincent wanted. Now he’d get it. He bent down and picked it up. It was hard, lumpy. On straightening his back, he grinned.

  And then stopped. Cold suffused him, slipping into his veins and channeling along them like quicksilver. It reached his heart and pumped outward, all over him, causing him to enter into shivering spasms. His breathing went erratic. With wide, shocked eyes, he stared down at the Heart. It was a clotted lump of evil, a tear down its center, punctuated by a neat hole as if it had been stabbed with something. It pulsed in spasmodic bursts as if alive. Rufus stared at the thing in his hand in wonder. The cold had reached his toes, it held him in place just like Ram had before he managed to break the spell.

  Young one, an icy voice spoke from somewhere deep within that tumor-like globule of malevolence. You’ve done well to come this far. You have power beyond your understanding.

  Rufus shivered as he listened to the words. They were somehow... comforting.

  Come with us. We will make you whole. We will allow you to unleash your powers. You will use them to your heart’s content. Use them on an unsuspecting populace. You will be strong, revered, adored, feared.

  Rufus frowned. The pulsating thing in his hand had him mesmerized.

  Come with us, come with us, come with us, that voice repeated. Join us, join us, join us...

  Rufus’ mind swayed left and right. The voice was soothing, the throb in his hand reassuring. He
felt himself floating—

  Rufus! What the hell do you think you’re doing?

  He snapped out of it, and was back in the pyramid chamber.

  Join us! that voice said one final time.

  Rufus glared down at that pulsating lump of black in his hand with a snarl of hatred.

  No! he said to it in his mind. I’m holy! Like Vincent! And my father! I won’t fall for your tricks!

  He jammed the disgusting relic into his pocket where its insane ravings were muted. He spun on the spot, his chest heaving, his teeth clenched. He was faced with the creature once more. Their daddy. He still lay there, oblivious to what was going on around him, his only thought on the food that would drop from that hole in the ceiling. Well, there would be no more food. It released yet another groan and Rufus wondered what had happened to this thing. What had made it this way? Whatever the reason, he needed to put it out of its misery. He aimed his sun cannon right at the thing’s head. As he did, a flash of recognition ignited in its eyes as if it suddenly understood what was about to happen. But, it did nothing in response. Its eyes went sullen and it let out a small moan as if resigned to its fate.

  Rufus gazed upon it with pity. I’ll make it quick.

  Rufus took a deep breath, aimed the sun cannon at its head, and pulled the trigger.

  CHAPTER FORTY-SIX

  Dom closed his eyes tight while he waited for the blade to relieve his body of his head. He’d resigned himself to his fate, caught in a sea of dejection and helplessness. Any second and a hot slice through his neck would come. He hoped it would be quick.

  Hoped it would be—

  A low rumble somewhere in the back of his mind swelled at a rapid speed. By the time it registered in his blank mind, the sand beneath his knees was trembling. Panicked voices started echoing in his mind alongside the rumble.

  What the hell?

  He popped his eyes open, and swung his head back. The burly guy with the blade was still behind him, but his blade was inexplicably lowered. Dom stared at him in bewilderment, that rumble now causing the sand around them to tremor. The guy was staring out into the distance with wide, bulging eyes.