by J. C. Diem
As expected, an uproar ensued at my decision. “You cannot fight the Viltarans without us, Nat!” Geordie almost begged.
“Even you cannot face so many enemies alone, Mortis,” Ishida told me archly.
“You yourself admit that your talent for strategy is somewhat…lacking,” Gregor said as diplomatically as possible.
Igor was far blunter and to the point. “What you plan is sheer idiocy.”
“Am I your leader?” I asked when they were all done.
“We did all agree to follow your counsel,” Kokoro conceded.
“Then follow my counsel now and find somewhere safe to hide. I’m not going to risk anyone else. I can’t die and there is nothing they can do to stop me from sneaking in and killing them all one by one.”
No one could argue against my logic. I’d proven again and again that I was impervious to death. Colonel Sanderson had managed to confine me for a time but I’d broken free from my prison eventually. The Viltarans might be more advanced than us but they were also far more arrogant. They would never believe that a lone vampire would be able to eradicate their species. I’d have the element of surprise on my side because who in their right mind would take on a superior force on their own?
“Wait!” It wasn’t the voice I was hoping to hear but I turned around anyway as M’narl gestured for his warriors to drag the disassembled robot over to translate. “I have a gift for you that may come in useful.”
Intrigued, I waited as several Kveet rolled the droid onto his side. Lying beneath him were twin samurai swords. They were plain in comparison to the swords Ishida had gifted me with back home but they looked sharp and would get the job done.
Crouching down, I took the proffered weapons and stood to test them out. They were perfectly balanced and the ideal length for me. From their dull silver colour, they must have been made from the same material as the walls, floor, ceiling and droids.
“They have only just finished being crafted and we did not have time to etch a dragon and lion onto them,” Ishida said with regret.
Speechless, I offered the teen a deep bow. He and his small retinue returned it automatically. “Thank you, Ishida. This is the best present anyone has ever given me.” Sadly, it was one of the few presents I’d been given since my parents had died in a car crash when I’d been nineteen.
“Use them well,” he replied with quiet dignity.
“Are you really leaving us, chérie?” Geordie asked. His expression reminded me of a puppy that had just been swatted on the rump with a rolled up newspaper after peeing on the carpet.
“I’ll be back,” I promised. “This is the only way I can make sure no one else gets hurt,” I explained when he looked unconvinced.
“Promise me you will be careful.” As soon as he said it, he grimaced, knowing the futility of asking that particular plea.
“I’ll find you once I’ve finished off the Viltarans,” I promised him instead.
Despite the teen’s intuition that Luc really did love me, my beloved didn’t even look at me as I turned to walk away.
.~.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Going by past experience, striking out on my own usually resulted in something horrible happening to me. I wasn’t deterred by that prospect since my goal was to stop something horrible from happening to everyone else. Luc had come within inches of dying right before my eyes. Hopefully one day he would see that my choice to hunt the Viltarans alone had been motivated by a desire to keep him safe. I stomped on my inner voice before it could remind me that my kin were doomed no matter what steps I took to save them. I couldn’t just stand by while my friends and allies were zapped out of existence. The Viltarans didn’t know it yet but Death was now stalking their halls.
Without a portable monitor, I wouldn’t be able to operate the elevators so I would have to hunt my quarry on foot. That was fine by me. Thanks to the Viltaran blood infusing me, I felt like I could run forever. Besides, I had no idea how to operate the monitors anyway.
Angling towards the closest group of adversaries, I checked to make sure no one was following me. As per my order, the Kveet and vampires were heading in the opposite direction. At least they’ll be safe now. Gregor would make sure no one did anything stupid.
Armed with a death ray and my new swords, I felt equipped to deal with any threat that might appear. I missed my original samurai swords but now I had replacements that were almost as good. Since they were made from the same metal that everything else on the planet seemed to be made from, I hoped they would be able to cut through the droid’s armour.
Keeping my senses on full alert, I picked up on a small group of Kveet imps as they arrived via elevator near the next batch of aliens I intended to target. It seemed the Viltarans had stolen Gregor’s idea to rapidly shift the clones into position.
There was another, larger mob of imps slightly to the east. They were stationery so they were most likely still penned in their cells. I’d managed to bamboozle one small horde of the creatures and I’d heard that you should fight fire with fire so I shifted direction and started to sprint.
Silver walls, floors and ceilings flashed by as I soundlessly traversed the distance to the cells. We’d always been careful to stay away from the imp holding areas as we’d made our way through the subterranean hallways so these corridors were unfamiliar. Without my remote senses, I would have stumbled around down here for hours before managing to locate my targets.
Just like their masters, the imps were nocturnal. Only one of the many cells held occupants. Standing beneath the window, I placed my swords on the ground then lifted myself up by my fingertips on the tiny windowsill.
Crammed in together in a wall of grey flesh and scarlet eyes, they were difficult to count visually but my senses told me there were seventy clones. These ones had a light dusting of fuzzy black hair on their scalps, a piggish snout and no chins to speak of. Their ears were the same as usual, long and curling at the ends.
One of the little monsters glanced up and saw me. It opened its mouth to utter a warning but I captured it before it could give me away. Alerted by instinct, more and more of the imps turned to stare up at me. As systematically as possible, I hypnotized them all until they were motionless and staring up at me blankly.
Step one of my plan was complete but the next step would be more difficult. The door was locked and I had no way of opening it. I had to find a way to break them free. Tapping on the window, I wondered if it was breakable. “Only one way to find out,” I murmured and dropped to the ground.
Picking up one of the swords, I levered myself upwards again and clung to the windowsill with one hand. Turning the sword so the blade was facing away, I hammered the window with the pommel. It might look like glass but the window was made of a substance that resembled thick plastic. It cracked and it took several more blows before it shattered.
Clearing most of the pane away, I dropped down long enough to pick up my other sword then dived headfirst through the window. Instead of trying to eat me when I landed amongst them, the imps merely shifted to give me room and waited for instructions. I’d bowled several of them over when I’d landed but they showed no animosity or any other emotion. It was creepy having them all staring at me silently. They reminded me of dolls with their softly glowing, unblinking eyes and lack of anything resembling thought.
Putting the swords down again, I started to free my new slaves the quickest way I could think of. Using both hands, I tossed small grey bodies out through the window into the hall. It took time to free them all and I hoped my plan would be worth the delay. I also hoped they would work as a distraction for when I attacked the Viltarans.
When the last clone sailed through the window, I retrieved my swords and clambered back into the hallway. At my gesture, my small army fell in behind me as I started running. Like their smaller, brown kin, their legs were short but they were fast. Unlike me, they weren’t tireless and started panting after we’d been running for several minutes. Rememb
ering they weren’t undead and therefore required rest, I slowed down to a walk.
Alternating between running and walking, we closed the distance between us and my quarry. There were twelve Viltarans in the group I was targeting and dozens of clone guards were standing between us. I assumed there would be a substantial number of personal droids and soldier droids to defend their masters as well.
By moving southward, the malevolent aliens had brought themselves within my reach. Their strategy might be to eventually band together and trap us but their plans were about to change. My friends and the Kveet were on their way to safety and Mortis had just stepped up her game. Please tell me you’re not going to start referring to yourself in the third person, my inner voice complained. I had to concede it did sound kind of pretentious so I made a mental note not to do it again.
Dawn was near when we drew close enough to the imp clones to be able to hear them. My slaves were blinking owlishly and some were looking around as if seeking a place to lie down. Their adversaries must also need sleep by now and it was the perfect time to strike.
Motioning for my slaves to stay where they were, I crept up to the corner and cupped a hand beneath my right eye. It followed my mental command to come loose and dropped into my palm. I knelt and put the orb down then sent part of my consciousness into it. Rolling over to the corner, it peeked around the edge and beheld a hallway full of clones. Beyond them was the door to where the Viltarans had chosen to bed down for the day. Two silver droids stood guard. Both held the weapons that could shoot nanobot darts at their prey.
Waiting until most of the clones had settled down and closed their eyes, I recalled my orb and popped it back into place. My slaves were weaving on their feet but were still awake. They became more alert when I dropped down to my knees before them.
“Food,” I said in Viltaran. I’d heard the word repeated often enough that I doubted I’d ever be able to forget it. They instantly became attentive and ready for action. Grabbing one of the imps, I carried it to the corner and held it out far enough that it could see its kin.
“Not food,” the imp told me when I stepped back and put it down.
“Damn it!” I swore quietly. There went my plan to use them to tear the other imps apart. I’d kind of figured they’d go on the warpath as soon as they sighted what should have been their rivals. Then I remembered they were like attack dogs in a way. They had to be ordered to rend and tear. “Kill?” I asked almost tentatively in Viltaran. I’d learned the word from M’narl’s pet droid the last time I’d used the imps against their masters.
The imp’s face brightened and it showed its sharp little teeth in a bloodthirsty grin. “Kill!” it agreed. Just like their masters, they lusted for blood, not because it would offer them sustenance but rather from the sheer pleasure of being able to shed it.
Standing, I pointed at the end of the hallway. Seventy pairs of bright red eyes followed it. “Kill!” I ordered them and the pitter-patter of clawed feet commenced. While they apparently had no desire to eat their cloned kin, they would happily tear them apart with their bare hands instead.
Screeching at the top of their lungs, they fell upon the sleeping sentinels before most of them could even wake. Bright yellow blood flowed as limbs were torn off and skulls were cracked.
Confused by the melee, the droid guards watched the battle but made no move to shoot my servants. Their weapons would be useless against Kveet that had already been transformed into clones. Using their death rays would mean they would also wipe out their own guardians so they were reluctant to fire at all.
Alerted by the noise, a Viltaran appeared in the doorway at the far end of the hallway. Stepping out into the open to catch his attention, I waved cheekily then fired a shot at the killbot to his left. It disintegrated and the other droid fired his nanobot gun. I’d already stepped back around the corner and the darts splattered harmlessly against the wall.
“After her!” the Viltaran roared. I peeked around the corner to see several droids emerge from the room where the Viltarans were hiding and thunder down the passage towards me.
I could have easily outdistanced the metal men but stayed just far enough ahead of them that they could see me each time I turned a corner. I led them only a short distance away before ducking into a room and waiting for them to pass. The instant the last metal foot thudded past the door, I went on the chase.
Now pursuing the half dozen robots instead of being chased by them, I used my new swords for the first time. They were as sharp as they looked and sheared through the knees of the closest droid. It went down with a startled squawk and I cut its head off before it could alert the others. Two more fell beneath my blades before the last three became aware that I was behind them.
All three turned to confront me and fired their nanobot guns. Launching myself into the air, I sailed over the darts and landed behind the robots. Both swords stabbed through a pair of backs and scrambled the droid’s circuits before I yanked them free. Pushing aside its malfunctioning brothers, the final robot reached for me with its bare hands. My swords stabbed upwards, putting out the light from its eyes. It dropped to its knees and fell from the robot equivalent of severe brain damage. Two more slashes from my weapons took the heads off the malfunctioning robots, silencing their distress calls and mindless blundering.
More soldier droids would be on their way but I was already hurrying away from the area. Knowing the subterranean dwellings well by now, it was relatively easy for me to sprint through the halls with the blurring speed that was native to vampires. Keeping a remote watch on the Viltarans, I sensed them moving into another area where they would have more room to attack and defend.
Reaching the far side of the dining hall where my enemies had gathered, I sent out my eyeball to check the corridor for sentries. The dining room wasn’t guarded so I rolled the orb to the door and it oozed through to the other side.
All twelve Viltarans were huddled together in the centre of the room. They were surrounded by both personal droids and the silver automatons that were armed with nanobot guns. The thought of being shot with the microscopic robots was repugnant after seeing what had happened to Aventius. Our bodies couldn’t assimilate an infusion of more of the machines that had originally turned us into vampires. God only knew how my body would react if I was shot but it was a risk I was going to have to take.
By the time my eye oozed back into the hallway, I was waiting for it just out of range of the automatic door opener. Anticipating the battle ahead, my eye settled back into its socket and both began to glow as a smile touched my mouth. It was time to show my forebears what happened when they messed with humanity. They’d created creatures that were, in their own way, just as monstrous as the Viltarans.
With a quiet hiss, the door opened. None of my enemies were expecting an attack from behind and I remained unnoticed until the first killbot fell. I might have been child sized compared to the nine foot droids and ten or eleven foot Viltarans but I was fast and nimble. I cut a swathe through the robot guards and reached the centre of the circle to their furious and frightened masters cowering inside.
My swords were a blur as I severed limbs, stabbed hearts and sliced jugular veins. Yellow blood rained down and the floor became slick. The droids couldn’t shoot at me for fear of hitting their masters. The Viltarans were too panicked to raise an effective defence. All twelve went down beneath my blades and I was exposed to the robots.
Darts flew, violet bursts from death rays flashed and I used my speed and agility to dodge the attacks. My swords cut through the droids just as easily as they had through flesh. Metal arms and legs became detached and robot heads flew as I cut my way through the small army.
When the last metal man fell, I made sure none of the Viltarans were still alive by beheading them all then stabbing them through the hearts just to be sure. That was the traditional way to kill my kind so I figured it would also apply to our ancient ancestors.
Checking the state of my swords, they w
ere coated in yellow goo but were otherwise unharmed. I’d need to find some kind of sharpening stone to keep them in pristine condition but that would have to wait until my hunt was done.
Sending out my senses, there were still thirty-six Viltarans left to destroy. All should have been sleeping but they were on the move instead. I assumed their droids had witnessed my battle on their monitors and had informed their masters of the danger that was me. All four groups were converging, which meant they had put aside their rivalry and had finally agreed to band together. That would just make it easier for me to cut them all down without having to chase them all over Viltar.
.~.
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Expecting to face hordes of soldier droids and imp clones, I traversed through corridors that remained stubbornly empty. I ran until night fell, keeping my senses at full alert the whole time. The Viltarans had chosen to make their stand dangerously close to one of the octosquid imps. It lurked in its watery cell, a hulking mass almost unbelievably large and no doubt ravenous. I was suddenly very glad that I was on a solo mission. Two of my kin had been killed by the last octosquid imp we’d encountered but at least none would have to suffer that fate this time.
Although the hallways all looked the same, I had a sudden sense of déja vu that was heightened when I saw a window about a foot above my head. Stopping to study it, I saw the bleak, blasted landscape and a ruined city with mountains looming behind it in the background. At first it looked like an exquisitely detailed painting but then I noticed the clouds boiling in the yellow sky.
It wasn’t a window at all but one of the ultra-thin screens. I had no idea what it was doing in the hallway instead of being in the monitor room. Remembering the dreams I’d had before I even knew we were going to be kicked off Earth, I had a fair idea of where to go next.