by Lari, Simone
Behind him, the hunter saw the Katrina’s silhouette. Deprived of the enemy’s support, Jared fell to the ground.
She took a bottle with the heart pills and, raising his head, helped him to take one. He swallowed it but shook his head.
It’s… it’s too late now ... they won’t sa-save me this time."
"I should have acted sooner, but I can still do something" she insisted, looking straight into his eyes. Without hesitation, she opened her mouth and showed her canines.
"No! Do not do this..." he begged her.
"You will die if I don’t do it."
He nodded and gave a hint of a smile. Then he gathered his last remaining forces.
"I’ll die, fuck it, but I will do as a human being. No offense, but I do not want to become what I have always fought against."
She closed her mouth and nodded.
Kira went to the hunter, rubbed her nose against his hand in search of a last caress that, with effort and love, Jared gave her.
The hunter was shaken by violent tremors and died in the arms of Katrina.
When she had recomposed Jared’s body, the vampire woman glanced around, picked up the carrier and tried to capture the cat, but she nestled down on her master’s hand and with fur raised and enlarged pupils, hissed at her threateningly.
"Don’t be afraid, I don’t intend to leave him here, alone. I just want to take you somewhere safe, as he would have done."
Chapter 18 - Attack on the Manor House
Katrina braked suddenly, accompanied by an annoyed meow from Kira. With the headlights turned off, the elder looked down at the road below.
"We’re late."
A column of black vans with darkened windows sped by in the night along the narrow country roads.
As they arrived in the vicinity of Agata’s manor house, the convoy stopped and several vampires got out and spread around the building.
Banedoom was one of the last to get out with Garland, the sorcerer, at his side.
Chandra appeared from nowhere, surrounded by a crackling of red flames and dark shadows.
"I see that you are ready for the battle" commented Banedoom.
"You, on the other hand, are not ready yet. Where is the mask you’re so proud of?" she needled him.
Garland handed the vampire a box of black opal. He opened it, feasting his eyes on its contents.
He took the mask in his hands. The reflection of the moon bounced off the white, perfectly smooth surface.
"No Tear of Persia can stop me tonight!" he announced, placing the artifact on his face.
The bone spikes sprang out as if they were spring-loaded, and stuck into his temples, cheekbones and jaw.
Banedoom bent over in half and gasped, shaken by uncontrollable tremors. His muscles spasmed and his skin darkened and became noticeably callous.
One of the vampires in his entourage came to him.
"Sir, you are alright?"
Banedoom quickly stood up straight and grabbed him by the neck.
"Never-been-better" he spelled out, taking his head off his neck.
The group reached the borders of the manor house courtyard.
Garland made a sign to the others to stop, tested the air and examined the ground in front of them.
"Something is wrong."
"Let's find out" proposed Chandra, pushing forward a vampire.
He was hit by a counter thrust that bounced him backwards several meters.
On the ground, with moon stones scattered over it, runes inscribed in concentric circles were glittering.
"Just a small glitch" decided Garland.
With joined hands, he recited some formulas in Latin and then made opened a cut down his left palm, making a few gushes of blood fall onto the ground.
The earth trembled like a small earthquake.
Chandra, amused, pushed another vampire forward and he fell clumsily to the ground.
"The way is open!" she proclaimed.
Banedoom gestured to his subjects to advance. They obeyed instantly, but imposing walls of brambles, with long spiked thorns, arose from the low vegetation and sparse shrubs.
Several vampires, pierced in the heart, began to burn in the grip of spontaneous combustion.
With his hand still bleeding, the sorcerer touched the soil and a black strip of decomposition went toward the thorns which withered immediately.
Inside the big house, the heterogeneous group composed of witches, druids, hunters and vampires watched the scene.
"The outer defenses were a little scarse, they did much better at Hogwarts1 " commented Sting, looking from one of the windows.
"We don’t need you to be witty; we need you to be angry!" Christopher rebuked him.
"Damn! Where’s that old blockhead Jared? I told him not to worry about the last load and what’s more not to go alone" protested Vans.
"I’m sure he will be alright" Nina tried to reassure him, concealing a bad premonition.
"Perhaps he wanted to convince Katrina to follow him. And anyway he would never have left Kira alone" said Gabriel, with Angelique at his side supporting him.
"Listen, darling, it’s precisely the right moment for you to put on your show" said Jude, concerned by the rapid advance of the enemy.
"I feel strangely calm, as if those simpletons out there weren’t a real threat to me", explained Sting.
Jude, resolute, took Christopher by the lapel and pulled him to her. She deposited a kiss on his mouth, and did not hesitate to push her expert tongue into his tight lips.
Sting was stunned at first, then, overcoming his initial amazement, forcefully pulled apart the two mouths still joined to each other.
In the face of that unexpected gesture, even Nina unexpectedly felt ill at ease.
"What the fuck are you doing?" the red haired vampire burst out.
In response, Jude slapped him with her open hand, which fueled the amazement of those present even more.
The veins in Sting’s neck began to pulsate frantically.
"It works" she stated, exultant.
"We-weren’t y-you sup-supposed t-to be the person that keeps me calm?" he attempted to say as his body changed under everybody’s stunned gaze.
"I am also one that makes you get mad, okay? Now go and destroy!"
"We’re ready" announced Ossian, overcoming his surprise at the sight of the mutated Sting.
Even Clarissa was amazed to see a being nearly nine feet tall, with long bat wings and impressive musculature, stand next to her breathing hard with anger.
"Don’t worry, Jeannie 2 , I’m one of yours" he said, with a guttural tone.
Ossian and Maycon began to make way first, Clarissa and Agata following them. Sting tagged behind the tiny group too, finding it difficult to go down the corridor that would lead them to the front door.
"I beg you, please remain with the novices" implored Clarissa. Agata, upset and uncertain, agreed very unwillingly.
"Come on my friend; show them what you're made of” Christopher encouraged him.
"Remember that when I return I’ll make you pay for that kiss” Sting reminded him.
"Thanks for playing the part" Jude whispered to Christopher.
Nina attempted to follow her mother, but she stopped her.
"No, you stay here. If something goes wrong out there, and the Teardrop is not enough to defeat the enemy, then it will be you with your symbol who will have to defend everyone and fight until the end" decided the mother, with a serious voice.
Reluctantly, she nodded. Her grandmother took her by the hand to comfort her and the three women held tightly to each other in a brief embrace.
Steven placed a kiss on his daughter’s forehead and then slipped away behind his wife before the door closed again.
"We’re playing in defense tonight" commented Vans, trying to defuse the situation.
"It seems to me that we’re playing in B series, considering the caliber that’s out there" retorted Gabriel.
Angeliqu
e hugged him tight. "You will always be my champion."
"Stay on the alert, the calm before the storm is about to finish" Christopher admonished them.
Clarissa, Ossian, Maycon and Sting arrived in the center of the square in front of the house; Steven was behind them.
Banedoom, Chandra and Garland faced them, surrounded by a considerable number of vampires.
Banedoom immediately rested his gaze on Sting.
"You must be the vampire of legend. Your place is not beside the humans. Join me, and together we’ll overcome this scum!"
Without uttering a word, Sting put a finger in the huge nostril of his nose and looked at the formless hairy mass he had pulled out and threw it to the ground. He then flashed a cheeky smile which, on that huge and monstrous face, looked decidedly grotesque.
"He must be a completely idiotic creature" commented the sorcerer.
"Kill them all!" Banedoom ordered.
The vampires behind him advanced.
Clarissa raised the stone above her head; a reflection of the moonlight struck and it and intense rays of light sprang from it.
Many of the vampires were struck down and burned, overcome by spontaneous combustion.
In the midst of the fire, dust and the disintegrating bodies, emerged Banedoom. The rays of the Teardrop were absorbed by the white mask; both he and the vampires around him were not affected at all.
"Better than I’d hoped" he commented triumphantly. He charged at Clarissa who, surprised and confused, was late in reacting.
Banedoom hit her with the back of his hand.
"Be careful!" yelled Steven, pushing her away. The attack reached his back, and they were both thrown to the ground.
At that point it was Sting who faced the enemy: he loaded a punch and smashed it onto Banedoom’s face. The mask of bone cracked and the vampire elder fell onto his back.
Sting flashed his usual confident smile, but the opponent got up from the ground with a sudden movement and landed a violent kick on his abdomen. Planting his feet on the ground, the other staggered backwards without falling, making a deep furrow in the soil.
Ossian and Maycon quickly moved away so as not to be trampled by the enormous creature.
"This does not change anything" Clarissa said, getting to her feet, heedless of the injuries Steven had suffered.
Chandra looked on, curious.
Ossian planted his stick in the ground. He and Maycon chanted a spell and trees immediately appeared.
Bereft of leaves, they shook their bare branches with sharp tips at the vampires and impaled them pitilessly.
"Chandra, Garland!" the vampire called to them.
Hearing the second name, Steven stared astonished and lifted himself from the ground, ignoring the piercing pain.
Garland launched a wave of dark energy against Ossian, still focused on the spell. The druid elder was knocked backwards; Maycon grabbed his mentor’s stick before he fell and continued to keep the spell active.
Garland placed both hands on the ground: some traces of decomposition, mildew and decay advanced to the roots of the trees, paralyzing them and making them die.
A trail advanced to the stick Maycon was holding, lapped at his hands and, before he could try anything, invaded his body, making it wither and die.
"Don’t think that I have not recognized you, disgusting traitor! You’re next" growled Garland, crazed, pointing at Steven.
"Noo!" cried Ossian as he looked at the lifeless and tortured body of his apprentice. He rubbed his hands together and a roaring fire ball came from them. He hurled it at Garland angrily.
The sorcerer, sure of himself and distracted by the threats to Steven, became aware of the ball too late. He tried to protect himself by crossing his arms in front of his face, but the impact was devastating just the same.
In the meantime, Chandra and Sting were sizing each other up.
"You're a strange creature; it’s a pity you have to die" the daemon spirit said.
Sting snorted, annoyed, and charged.
Chandra joined her hands and then with palms wide open and eyes staring, created a wave of fire that spilled onto the vampire. She began to run in a whirling circle, keeping the attack with the flames constant. When she had completed the third lap around the enemy, she stopped.
The flames died down, gray smoke arose. At the center of the perfect circle traced by the daemon, the body of Sting reappeared crouched on the ground, wrapped entirely in his long bat wings.
He spread them out, first jerkily, and then burst them wide open, shaking the black soot from them.
"You're a very fiery woman, I like you, but unfortunately for you I’m already taken."
She was about to answer back, when the first five of a multitude of vampires and progeny leapt onto him, surrounding him.
The courtyard had been completely invaded now. Sting was surrounded.
"We must go back inside!" ordered Ossian.
With Clarissa and Steven he went into the house, leaving Sting in the courtyard.
"Chandra, don’t waste time with that creature, I need you inside!" ordered Banedoom, lifting Garland from the ground. When he realized he had a lifeless body in his hands, he tossed it away with contempt.
The enemies broke in. Agata and the novices, with the few surviving druids and a couple of armed family members, put up some opposition. Glinting athames, dissolving potions and the sounds of firearms alternated with the gut-wrenching cries of the humans and the screams of the vampires in the grip of spontaneous combustion.
Nina, Vans and Christopher pushed further into the fray; Gabriel and Angelique, together with Jude, followed them.
The young vampire girl looked sadly at her two friends. Nina, understanding the situation, made a gesture of assent. Jude smiled in embarrassment then made her way through their opponents and went outside.
In the courtyard Sting, surrounded by seven vampires, saw her arrive. In the midst of the blood, wounds and screams, a smile spread across his monstrous face.
Inside the manor house, the raging battle separated the five friends. Angelique and Gabriel found themselves face to face with Chandra, alone.
The daemon spirit stretched her neck with a sinuous movement and her fiery hair grew longer until it reached the floor.
She let fly a first attack. Angelique whirled the athame in front of her creating an invisible rune and the whiplash from the hair broke onto it.
With a rapid movement Chandra made another blow. Gabriel realized that the young witch would not have time to replicate the protective magic, so he placed himself between her and the enemy.
His Ank glowed, the whiplash crashed against a wall of invisible force.
Curious, Chandra hesitated.
"That amulet of yours holds a certain power, but it will not be enough to protect you."
She launched a third lash with her fiery hair, directed at the boy’s legs; she whipped him violently, making him fall. Deep wounds already cauterized went as deep as the bone. Angelique ran to his aid, while Clarissa and Steven came to support them.
Clasping the Teardrop tightly in one hand with the other wide open, the woman sent a telekinetic blow to push the spirit to the ground.
Chandra’s hair swayed as if ruffled by an impetuous wind, but she did not move at all.
"Too weak" she stated.
She rubbed her palms together and generated a powerful wave of fire which she hurled unhesitating at the witch.
"No, no!" Steven stepped in between the two.
The blow hit him full in the chest and he was knocked backwards, falling inert over Clarissa.
The woman stood up, but the daemon spirit was immobile, disconcerted and surprised by what she had just seen.
Clarissa followed the direction of her gaze and became aware of her husband: the burning cut on his chest left no doubts about his imminent death, yet there was no trace of pain or regret on his face.
"Why have you done this? I got you away, and a little while ago
I told you that helping me would not have been of any use to you."
"I-I di-did not do it for me..." He caressed her face with a trembling hand. "I have always done everything just for you..." After a gentle caress, his hand fell lifeless to the ground.
Clarissa took his hand in hers, held it tightly and pressed it to her face, bathing it in bitter tears of regret.
Chandra looked at her.
I came to even the equilibrium, she thought. I suppose I can consider myself happy after all.
She turned on herself and, wrapped in a flurry of crackling flames, disappeared into nothing.
Clarissa had no time for tears because a large group of vampires was already waiting to fight.
While that was happening, Banedoom had pushed Jude, Vans and Christopher into the oval room used for the cult’s meetings, the same place where the terrible clash had taken place some nights before.
Christopher gripped the hilt of the katana tightly and attacked with every ounce of his strength. The weapon impacted against the mask of bone, producing a muffled noise. The blade broke in half.
With a right jab to the face, Banedoom threw Christopher against the wall.
Vans emptied the magazine of his revolver, taking aim at the heart and the mask, but did not achieve the desired effect. With his head down and heedless of the danger, he charged the monster and planted the athame in his heart. It was difficult to penetrate the vampire’s tough skin with the blade, so with one fist well-positioned on the pommel of the hilt, the hunter hammered it in deeply. In the certainty that he must have broken something, he nursed his hand.
Banedoom sniggered from behind the mask and said sarcastically: "You're not at my level" pushing him away with a clout.
The symbol on Nina’s forehead lit up, and a powerful beam of light hit Banedoom. A second crack opened on the mask, but the vampire did not give up and proceeded undaunted toward the bearer.
Nina forced herself to keep the ray of light active against her adversary who was inexorably gaining ground.
A copious nosebleed dripped onto her lips and ran down her chin.
The sight of her blood delighted Banedoom and impelled him to put renewed vigor into his efforts.