I'm going to fuck you up beyond belief, Stinky. Man, did I owe that wanker.
'You think that little stick will hurt me?' the Vampyre sneered as she strolled up to us. Impressively confident, I thought. Slowly, she imperiously pointed a finger at Dawn. 'You will come with me.'
I nearly laughed, settling for slight snigger. Compelling Dawn. Cheeky mare.
'Piss. Off,' said Dawn through what sounded like gritted teeth. Seems she'd taken her lessons to heart. Risking a quick glance over my shoulder, I could see by the sweat pouring down her face just how hard it was to resist the Compulsion.
'You,' the bitch said, finger still outstretched, walking even closer, 'will sell her to me.'
She didn't seem to think that the three feet of glowing Magic I held in my hand was a threat. A quick flick of my wrist, barely any movement, and the finger tumbled away. After that, things became a bit of a blur for the next few seconds. She screamed. So did I. Then she slammed into the Shield I had up. I remember that because the breath was driven from me by the impact. She had a lot of mass behind her. There was some shooting and more screeching and screaming. Not sure from whom. I think I managed to get a couple of cuts in with the sword, and then I was skidding back a few yards, Dawn sliding along on her arse in the mud-covered street.
Something warm ran onto my lip. I sniffed, wincing at the sudden pain in my nose, and ran my tongue over whatever was on my face. Blood. And by the explosion of pain in my nose, it was mine. I glanced over at Dawn, who had a proper shiner and a split lip. Her right arm hung strangely, and my stomach flipped as I realised it was either broken or dislocated.
Tucking down behind my Shield, raising my sword so it was pointing over the top. I crab-stepped over to stand in front of Dawn. 'Get up, babes,' I said, keeping my full attention on the Vampyre. Crouched, arms splayed out, impressive breasts heaving with each ragged breath she took. A gaping wound ran from the remains of one eye, across her nose, and then down and over both lips to the side of her chin. I counted at least three gunshot wounds, as well. Any of these wounds would have been enough to finish the fight if she'd been a normal human.
'Oh, not so fucking pretty now, are you?' I sneered, then winced as I realised that somewhere I'd lost a tooth. Touching the gap with my tongue, I nearly cried as I touched exposed nerves on at least two other teeth.
I changed my guard, pushing my Shield out before me, hinging my hips, Shield further out than the sword, a nice bit of I.33 buckler and Shield. Got to love the classics.
Dawn's hand double-tapped me on the shoulder, letting me know she was up and good to go. I seriously doubted that.
'Back,' I murmured, sliding my rear foot backwards, then dragging my lead foot in towards me. Slowly, we started to retreat towards the entrance of Parliament Street, the world's narrowest street according to some. The Vampyre snarled, made to move towards us, then clutched at a wound in her gut. The gap between us widened, the Vampyre watching us with hate-filled eyes.
'Entering Parliament Street now,' said Dawn and slowly, eyes still on the Vampyre I backed into the dark, dank alleyway.
Parliament Street was incredibly narrow, so narrow that anyone who was of the portlier side of a healthy weight could get stuck at the narrowest point of two feet. What that meant for us at that moment was that Vampyrella could only fight in a very limited manner, the buildings looming over us preventing her from leaping. We continued to back away, ignoring the various things that squished underfoot, as well as the odd hiss and squeak. My Shield Icon threw shadows in all directions as its glow did its best to dispel a gloom that seemed impervious to its attempts.
The disco queen appeared at the entrance. Standing straighter, it seemed that she was starting to heal. Not good. Especially as all I wanted to do at that moment was have a good lie down. Dawn must have been feeling worse.
'Well done, pretty ladies, well done,' she said, slowly clapping, the sound dead and muted as it travelled down the alley. 'This game is fun. It will make taking your girl all the sweeter.' She smiled, lazily, making sure that her teeth were fully exposed. 'But I think it's time that I invited some more people to play.'
Oh fuck. That was not what I'd wanted to hear. I'd wanted to hear, ‘Well played, I'll leave you alone, toodle pip,’ or something to that end.
'Well, it would be rude to keep us all to yourself,' I sneered, trying not to wince as the air hit my exposed tooth nerves. I think I succeeded. And it was dark, so maybe she didn't see.
'Soon settled. Soon settled.' She reached into that impressive bosom of hers, then pulled out what looked like a silver whistle. Placing it to her lips, she blew hard. No sound came out, but it didn't need to. Those she was calling would hear it from the other side of the world if necessary.
Shit a bell, she's got a fucking Entourage. What the fuck are we facing now?' I felt like I was going to puke. Most Vampyres are lonely creatures, sometimes teaming up, but mostly keeping to themselves. Some, like Lady Gaga before us had Entourages. Followers that were either Turned or just willing slaves hoping for a taste of immortality.
At least some will be mortal, I thought, glad for a moment that I'd be able to take some of the bastards with me.
'I'm fucking threaders. We need to get the hell away,' whispered Dawn. 'I'm sure my arm's broken. And she's fucked up a couple of ribs.' She gave my belt a tug to emphasise the need to get away.
'Let's make this game more exciting. My people are on their way. So, I'll give you five minutes. Run into the warrens, little rabbits, run.'
I wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth, turning, I tipped my head at Dawn towards the other end of Parliament Street, giving her a gentle push. And then, as we ran, she started to laugh. An evil muahahahahahahaaaa that seemed to chase us. My last thought as we finally burst out of the end of Parliament Street was that I really wasn't getting paid enough for this sort of shit.
We were well and truly into old Exeter, the really old part where Romans had their barracks, and before them, the ancient British had probably tended their sheep on the ridge that most of Exeter was built. Ancient buildings vied for space on what people would now know as Waterbeer Street. I love history and would have loved to take our time, but five minutes wasn't a long time to get away from a savage pack of Vampyres when you felt like you'd been run over by a truck.
'Maybe you should just let her have me,' panted Dawn as we moved as quickly as we could along the street.
This part was paved, probably because of it being paved by the Romans. I couldn't have cared less at that moment, but for the fact that it made walking much easier. My feet were utterly caked in mud, and it felt as though I was wearing ankle weights. We cut left into Pancras Lane, as I scanned every shop’s sign.
We needed a place we could hole up in, where I could heal Dawn and myself. Whoops and shrieks sounded in the distance, it appeared as though we weren't going to get the full five minutes.
Fucking bitch never trust a bloody Vampyre. I thought as I herded Dawn on to Pancras Lane.
'Fuck's sake, Jane! I need to rest. I can feel my bloody ribs grating against each. I can taste blood as well, and it's not from my mouth.'
She looked bloody awful, paler than I'd ever seen her, sweat beading on her brow. Just up ahead, I saw an arched entrance leading off Pancras Lane.
'In here, love.' The sign said Arthur's Court, another part of Exeter lost to history, remembered in the UnderCity and on old maps. Moving under what must have been some sort of hayloft, maybe even someone's actual home, we entered the court. Old buildings looked over the open space, and a couple of pigs and chickens rooted around the trash that had presumably been dumped for them to eat. A cart, untended and missing part of a wheel was just off to our left. Gently, I laid Dawn down onto it, praying the bloody thing wouldn't collapse beneath her.
'Right, babes, I'm going to have to do some quick and nasty battle healing. It's going to fucking hurt, so bite down on this,' I pulled out a small stick. Teeth marks covered its entire surface,
and I shuddered at some of the memories certain imprints gave. She opened her mouth without hesitation, letting me place it before closing her mouth at my nod. 'This isn't the sort of healing you'd get anywhere else, okay. Normally, you'd be off with the fairies as the Healer did their work, but I can't have you as high as a kite. Not now. So, no painkillers. If you need to puke, puke. But do not scream. We can't let them know where we are. Once you're done, I'll do my myself. Okay?'
She nodded jerkily, chest rising and falling as she tried to keep her fear and pain under control. The sight of her filled me with guilt once again. I hated that I was going to have to hurt her, even though it was going to heal her, and I really hated the fact that I'd put her into the situation in the first place. Still, the Merlins had decided that she would be best placed being an Agent, and I wasn't going to argue with the Merlins. Especially as they'd just take her and stick her with someone else, then just add another black mark to my record.
Her thumbs rose up as she bit down, her jaw muscles bunching. A single tear rolled down her cheek. Swallowing, it felt as though a lump the size of a rock was slowly scratching its way down. A tear of my own ran down my cheek.
'Here we go,' I said, reaching into my shirt to clasp my Ashvins necklace, a gift from my maternal grandmother. Gods of health and medicine, I was going to need all the help I could get with this. I hadn't told her, but healing wasn't my strong point. I was more of a kick the living shit out of people sort of person.
Closing my eyes, I gently placed the necklace onto her ribs, whispered the release word, and tried to ignore the screams of pain that she gave even whilst biting down onto the stick. The worst part was her the way her heels drummed on the cart as the ribs ground together beneath my fist.
'Nearly done, nearly done,' I crooned to her, my eyes still closed. I couldn't bring myself to see her suffering. There was a final click from deep inside her, and then the Magic stopped flowing.
'Fucking hell, I never want you to heal me again,' snapped Dawn. Opening my eyes, I saw her glaring at me. They were ready and puffy, and her cheeks bore sign of where the stick had dug in.
'Yeah, well, it's my turn now. Give me the stick.'
I fumbled the catch as she threw, rather than passed, the stick to me. Biting my tongue, I bent over, picked it up, and did my best to wipe it clean. I prayed to God that the five-second rule applied.
'Budge up,' the shouts and calls were getting louder, closer. I needed to do this quickly. Biting down as best as I could on the stick, I leant back on the cart-bed, slapped the necklace onto my chest, and muttered the activation as best as I could. Stars exploded, and it felt as if my teeth had shattered simultaneously.
'Wake up, you stupid cow!' Pain. My head rocking. 'Wake up!' More pain. Right across my jaw.
'I'm awake!' I said, or something similar. My brain was fuzzy, but I managed to open my eyes. Dawn's face hovered above mine. Somehow, I caught the hand descending for another slap. 'I said I was awake!'
'You've been out for a couple of minutes,' she snapped, rage and fear plain across her face. 'You're too heavy for me to carry.'
'Saying I'm fat?' I tried to smile, but my jaw was smarting from her slaps. The joke fell flatter than a pancake. The shouts and whoops getting in the background that were getting closer by the second weren't helping.
'Whatever. Are you good to go?' Her voice was cold. As if she'd accepted the fate that awaited us and was ready for anything. It was scary seeing how she'd changed. I mentally crossed my fingers in the hope that she'd return to normal once we were back home and safe. Crossing her arms, she cocked her head again. 'Well?'
I nodded, and she pulled me roughly to my feet. We were in a good defensive position, our hunters having to either enter through the main alleyway or find a way through one of the houses that was surrounding us. Depending on which faction, gang, or creature lived there, trying to gain access that way would be decidedly risky.
'Sod it, we're leaving. I don't want the residents getting funny ideas and joining in,' I ran my tongue over my once-more perfect teeth. It felt good.
We headed towards the alleyway as I rapidly swapped my sword for Fireballs, whilst keeping the Shield. There was no telling what sort of weapons our hunters would be armed with, and I didn't want to get involved in too much close-quarters battle. We needed to keep them at a distance, and then lose ourselves in the city.
A handful of people ran past the entrance whooping and hollering, followed shortly after by a straggler. We were barely two yards from them. We froze. I didn't dare breathe. Then I heard footsteps coming back.
'Shit, want me to deal?' whispered Dawn. I nodded. Her pistol would make less noise than a Fireball incinerating someone. There tended to be a lot of screaming with Fireballs. They were effective, but not fast.
She placed a hand on my shoulder, squeezing it twice. 'Good to go.'. Raising my Shield, I stepped forward and out of the alleyway. The straggler was stood there, mouth open in shock, a hand-held crossbow hanging limply by his side.
'Shi…' Dawn's shot took him in the throat, blasting a fist-sized chunk of flesh in all directions, I gulped as I caught sight of the yellow neck bones before he clasped his hands over the gaping wound. The sound of the shot was distinctly flat, swallowed by the mud-covered ground, as well as the timber-clad buildings around us.
'Moving.' I pushed past the straggler, who had collapsed face-down and was slowly twitching the last moments of his life away.
I took the next turn that came up, not recognising it. The buildings here were closer, older. We brushed shoulders with cob, wattle and daub, and wood all the way down. Shouts and whistles filled the air behind us. 'They've found the straggler. Double-time.'
Jogging, we took the next turn to the left, then the next to the right, zigzagging through the alleys and streets of the UnderCity.
'What's the plan?' panted Dawn as we took a quick breather. Sweat was pouring down my face, and I struggled to draw breath as I straightened up.
'We get lost!'
'What?'
'Literally, get lost. If we aren't trying to get somewhere, then they won't be able to work out where we're going. So, we get lost.'
She cocked her head, managing to both frown and narrow her eyes at the same time. It was strangely cute.
'Are you fucking mental?'
'Got a better idea?'
'No,' I swear she almost pouted.
'Then, as Mistress to Apprentice, shut the fuck up. And stop bloody sulking. I told you it would hurt!'
'I'm not…' her mouth snapped shut as I held up a finger. Without another word, I set off jogging again.
'Where are we?' Dawn asked, a good twenty minutes of running like blue-arsed flies.
'Fuck knows. I told you, my aim was to get lost. It's not like we're in an exact copy of Exeter. This is the UnderCity, it's a reflection. With a fuck-ton of ripples.'
'Fine,' she sniffed, 'at least we seem to have lost the psychos.'
I nodded, still pissed off at her attitude. I didn't want to make things worse again, however. Looking around, I was dismayed to see the state of the buildings around us, decrepit would have been a compliment.
Something caught my attention from the corner of my eye. Pale, it lay partially buried beneath a pile of rotten vegetables. Kneeling, I picked up a reed that had fallen from one of the thatched roofs and flicked the veg away so I could see what it was.
'Damn!' I reeled back from the partially gnawed leg, stomach churning at the sight of maggots boiling out of the bite wound mid-way down the shin.
'What the hell took a nag out of the shin bone?' she asked, seemingly more aghast at the fact that something had been able to bite through the shin bone, rather than the fact that we were looking at the remains of a leg which had a decent-sized chunk bitten right out of it. I was more than happy that I'd cast the spell on our noses, as some of the flesh was looking more than a little bit ripe.
Grimacing, I lifted the leg by the foot, surprised at the weight of it
. Holding it up, I peered at the various marks along it, as well as the main wound area.
'Whatever it was, it wasn't a Vampyre, different tooth patterns. Take a pic, you can look it up later. It's a good example of field research.'
'Yeah, because I want a picture like that on my bloody phone.' Still, she stepped up and took a couple of photos.
'Think we've lost them?'
'Dunno, they seem to have gone really quiet. I'm bloody lost, anyway. Still, if we start to head downhill, we'll find the river, then work out where we are.'
'Just how big is this place, anyway?'
'Well, it's in a pocket dimension, so it can be as big as it needs to be.'
'So, what's stopping everyone here from going up there?' I could sense she needed to centre herself, calm herself down. I didn't let her know I knew, she liked to think she was harder than she was. As she needed to be harder, I wasn't going to do anything that would chip away at her efforts. Right now, she needed an instructor, and I needed to have a break. My Spidey-senses weren't tingling, so I was happy to explain.
'Okay, no one really knows how or when the UnderCities started, not even the doppelgängers as they're born when we are. However, although they're reflections of what's above, they're reflections of the past and present of a city. The longer a building is in situ, the more chance it has of existing down here, even if it doesn't exist up there.'
I paused, mainly to make sure I had things straight in my head, but also to check that she was following me. The cheeky cow had her phone out, recording me. It was off-putting to say the least.
'However, that doesn't mean that the city can't grow beyond the size of the city above it. Like this Exeter is probably twice as big as our Exeter.'
'Yeah, but why don't the people down here come up there?'
'Jesus, give me a chance. I've got to set things out in order.' I glared at her until she gave a little shrug and gesture with her phone.
Hell Hound Page 17