Chapter 7
4057words
Trinady found himself in a familiar village, and slowly, the sounds of screaming and crying children filled his ears.
We set the fires to drive people into the streets, and although we were not allowed to kill anyone, we had free reign to make a statement through violence. We were invincible, after all.
Trinady found himself as an observer as he watched himself roaming the streets between burning buildings as other lycans herded people like cattle into one large building.
Nobody was supposed to die, and if anyone fought back, a display of power was more than enough to squash any form of defiance the people had to offer. A strike to the abdomen, a broken arm, a simple howl, all were usually enough. None of us knew what we were going to face that night.
He recognized his younger brother in the group of werewolves as they surrounded the same building, and watched as he and his brother caught the scent of someone new to the village.
Trinady opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. He wanted desperately to warn his little brother, to warn himself, to stop what they were doing and run. Run away from this horrible memory.
He watched himself and his little brother follow the scent to a small house. He watched as they tried to force the door open, listened as the children inside screamed in terror, and could do nothing. He was trapped in his own body as an observer to this nightmare of a memory.
And he watched as the stranger showed them just how invincible they really were.
With a loud thud, his brother's head tumbled to the ground, his body pressed against the wall just inside of the home they were invading.
We were promised invulnerability in exchange for our obedience. No one was supposed to be able to hurt us, let alone kill us. We fought like we were immortal, and we followed out orders to the letter. With every successful raid, we were given riches and all the food we could eat. We would never have to hunt again. But as I watched my brother's head fall to the ground, his eyes looking at me in shock and horror, I realized that we had been deceived. We were no more immortal than we were before we were reigned in by the Lords. Our group was in so much shock, we panicked, and we ran, as the fear of our own mortality took control.
Trinady watched his brother's head fall to the ground over and over again.
This was my fault. I got us into this. I should have gotten us out.
The memory changed. This time he watched himself defiantly speaking against the Lords in a dark room, a small flood of moonlight focused on him as he shouted his rage at the lies, and his outrage was quickly struck down, and he could feel the pain of the whips all over again as the Lords struck him from all angles, laughing and mocking him disgustingly.
I knew it was impossible to make up for the things I had done. My cage was of my own making.
He found himself in a small cage, too short to stand, and not long enough to lie down, the cackling and insults of the Lords still echoing.
With every ounce of his strength, he closed his eyes and slowly reached out for the bars in front of him.
And as he tightened his grip, he found his fingers wrapped around the throat of a slender man with blood dripping from his fangs.
The memory was gone, and all that remained was a dimly lit hallway.
An illusion. It was all an illusion.
Trinady growled with fury as he looked into the eyes of the vampire in his grip.
The vampire looked back fearfully.
Trinady killed the vampire as quickly as he could with his bare hands before proceeding through the dimly lit hallway, and took a deep breath as he walked through the next door into a well lit room.
Karma's tears streamed down her cheeks as the thing resembling her mother slowly approached, it's long talons scraping the floor with a long and grating sound.
Yes, Karma's tears streamed down her face, which was twisted in fury, her green eyes ablaze as she drew her sword and launched herself like a missile, slashing at the monster in front of her with wild abandon, every swing striking at what should have been a vital spot, severing limbs and arteries alike.
The creature fell to the ground in pieces, groaning horribly.
Karma was breathing erratically, her eyes still wide with rage as she turned to see her handiwork.
She was taken aback as each severed piece of the creature started moving, started sprouting limbs of their own and started moving toward her.
Out of pure habit, she slapped herself, and suddenly, the room was empty once again, the book on the table closed.
“I'm dreaming...” she whispered to herself, and without further hesitation, she bit down on her hand as hard as she could.
Kuma waved his hand through the air in front of him and an icy blade formed in his fist.
The vampires surrounded him and the cage, hissing and cackling cruelly. He turned to Alice and smiled.
“Heal them as fast as you can, I'll deal with them.” He raised his hands and ice consumed the sides of the cage, surrounding Alice and the two wounded men, leaving only the top of the cage open, and he quickly turned his attention to the hoard of vampires surrounding him.
Alice groaned in frustration. “Stupid man.” she growled.
Kuma stood outside the cage, his eyes darting around the approaching vampires, waiting for an attack. And the attack came from his left as he nimbly dodged a flying pitchfork, snatched it out of the air and hurled it at the nearest vampire, impaling it through the chest. The vampire stumbled backward, but quickly rose back to his feet, pulling the pitchfork slowly from his rib cage. The next attack was less subtle, but much quicker, as the raven haired vampiress lunged at incredible speed, trying and failing to grab Kuma's neck as he swung his blade of ice and missed. A third vampire leapt high into the air and fell upon Kuma like a missile, but this time Kuma hit his mark, his blade slicing between the vampire's upper and lower jaws, removing most of his head in one swipe.
A swift kick to the back of his knee brought Kuma to the ground as a blonde vampiress appeared behind him, but Kuma dodged the next blow aimed for his head, rolling to the side and swinging his blade at the blonde, only to miss as she disappeared like a candle flame blowing out.
He didn't sense the next attack in any capacity.
The blow to the back of his head made the world spin and caused all of his senses to become muffled to the point he was nearly blind and deaf, and the vampire that struck him gripped the back of his neck firmly and lifted him easily with one hand as several more vampires and vampiresses gathered around him, hissing and baring their fangs.
Trinady nimbly dodged the swing of a sword as he walked through the door into the well lit room.
The blade narrowly missed his neck, and he spun a pirouette into the corner, digging his heels in as he got a good look at his assailant.
The mad who stood before him was quite large and muscular, with dark skin and glowing red eyes, which watched him menacingly.
Trinady observed him closely and noticed the blade the man was carrying.
“That's mine.” he said confidently. “I'll be taking that back now.”
“Come and get it, dog.” the man growled and bared his fangs.
“You know vampires are just zombies with standards, right?” Trinady retorted.
The vampire growled angrily and lunged at Trinady, swinging the sword skillfully left and right, but Trinady dodged every strike effortlessly. After nearly a dozen missed strikes, the vampire lunged viciously, but again, missed his target as Trinady spun around the side of the blade, and in one swift motion, was able to dislodge the hilt from the vampire's grip, snatch the sword out of the air, and with an eloquent pirouette, removed the vampire's head from his shoulders.
Trinady examined the sword with a smug grin and took the scabbard from the vampire's corpse, wrapped it around his waste, and returned the blade to its home.
Karma found herself lying on the floor as she opened her eyes, the taste of blood still in her mouth.
“Congratulations!” a high pitched voice squealed loudly. “Most humans are too stupid to figure it out! But apparently you are smarter than you lead on.”
Karma tilted her head and grinned devilishly. “I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about.”
A young looking vampiress with ashen hair cackled dryly and waved her staff in front of her. “I'm sure you don't, ginger lady.” she spoke with a mischievous grin on her thin lips, only one of her fangs showing. “Are you sure you're not still dreaming?”
“Only one way to find out.” Karma replied before biting down on her left hand, biting hard enough to draw blood.
The ashen haired vampiress watched in awe, her eyes lighting up at the sight of the blood dripping onto the wooden floor.
“Still awake.” Karma said softly, blood running down her chin. “Ready to die?”
“Why would you want to kill me? Did you not enjoy the family reunion?” the ashen haired vampiress flashed a wicked smile and waved her staff again, floating into the air menacingly. “Do you really think you can take me on?”
Karma pointed her sword at the young looking vampiress and launched herself like a missile, striking swiftly and accurately, every strike aiming for a vital spot, but every strike being deflected by the girl's magic barrier. Karma leapt into the air and struck from above, behind, below, left and right, every strike of her sword fell short of its target.
“See?” the ashen haired vampiress hissed. “You can't even hit me.”
“We'll see how long your mana lasts, brat.” Karma growled, again striking quickly and accurately, like wildcat, looking for any weakness. As she leapt into the air and struck from above, she put all of her weight into the blow, and on her way down, out of pure frustration, she threw a punch with her bloodied left hand, and it passed through the barrier, splattering blood on the vampiress' ashen hair.
Karma took a step back and grinned.
The ashen haired vampiress didn't notice the blood on her hair.
Karma curled up like a viper and lunged at the vampiress swiftly, swinging her sword with both hands, and suddenly, as the blade scraped across the magical barrier, she removed her bloodied left hand from the hilt of her sword, and with the full momentum of her body, swung her fist as hard as she could, and it connected to the girl's cheek, sending her tumbling backward against the wall behind her.
“I get it.” Karma smiled, walking confidently toward her opponent, raising her bloody fist once again, striking with all of her strength, and slamming her bloody fist into a magical barrier. “Shit, I don't get it.”
A quick blast of energy sent Karma flying across the room, and the ashen haired vampiress returned to her floating position in the middle of the room. “You got lucky, bitch.”
Karma got up off the floor and stretched the fingers on he left hand before shaking it. “That hurt. Brat.” She launched herself at the vampiress once again, striking with her sword once, twice, thrice, and feinted to the right before launching another punch, which hit the young looking vampiress square in the nose. “Okay, I definitely get it now.”
Karma swung her sword once again, sparks flying as it struck the the barrier, and continued to striking over an over and over again, before landing a swift kick into the vampiress' abdomen, making her curl up in pain. Karma grabbed her ankle and threw her to the floor face first before leaping into the air, poised to strike again, but a blast of energy sent her flying across the room once again.
“You...” the vampiress hissed. “You bitch. I was going to finish you quickly, but not I feel like making you suffer!”
She slammed her staff down on the floor and her eyes lit up, a large ball of fire forming above her head.
“Burn!” the vampiress shouted in a voice that sounded like 3 voices in one.
Karma didn't hesitate.
In the blink of an eye, Karma thrust her blade against the barrier, allowed her momentum to carry her forward, and quickly grabbed the girl's throat, and pulled her down to the floor. “You can only block one type of object at a time, right?” she asked calmly, still pushing her blade against the barrier. The fireball disappeared. “Your choice, brat. Die slow, or die fast.” Karma grinned as the blade slowly moved closer and closer to the vampiress who now could not breathe. “Slow or fast.” Karma repeated.
The vampiress raised her staff, but Karma swiftly cut it in half before before standing up and kicking the ashen haired vampiress hard in the stomach. “Quick it is.” She lifted her boot high and prepared to stomp down on the vampiress' head, but was blocked by an perplexing barrier, but Karma did not gawk or hesitate any further, and thrust her blade down.
The vampiress cursed foully just before the blade pierced her temple.
Kuma stumbled forward and found himself in the grip of several vampires, the raven haired vampiress swishing her hips as she approached him. “You wanna hear a funny story?” she said with a smile. Kuma cursed disgustingly at her, eliciting a hearty laugh from her. “You're a precious little furball, aren't you?” she said with a wicked grin. “See, I was out hunting a couple of days ago, and I happened to find a handsome young family in a carriage on the road. They talked like they weren't far from their destination, but I couldn't resist the temptation. I had to have a little fun.”
Kuma knew immediately who she was talking about, the the bloody image of his friends and their child flashed through his mind.
“You see,” she continued. “You see I decided to see what kind of love those adorable loving and kind parents had for their child. I and my compatriots here ambushed them, and I turned the child. Oh my, was he ravenous! Once the thirst kicked in, he could not stop himself. Oh he would have man a marvelous addition to our little village. Unfortunately, he overdid it. Drinking too much is fatal for a young vampire, you see. But it was quite an exquisite sight to behold. His parents begged and pleaded with us and their child, but as I'm sure you are aware, their beggary fell upon deaf ears. I don't remember my parents, you know. They abandoned me when I was very young, and I had to survive for twenty years on my own, scraping and stealing and whoring, gods above you would not believe what men in this world will pay for a young girl. But our master saved me from that life. He saved me from myself, and even promised to help me find my parents. A vampire's nose can smell blood, you know.”
“Shut the hell up, whore.” Kuma spat, his senses returning to him. “Not another word!”
Kuma's eyes lit up a frosty blue color, and he suddenly became very heavy as snow and frosty wind flowed from his body. Two of the vampires holding him leapt away, the third was frozen in place instantly.
White fur began erupting from Kuma's body and his limbs doubled and tripled in size as he quickly morphed into a massive polar bear, snow and icy winds circling around him like a twister, his rage overwhelming him in dramatic fashion as he roared ferociously.
He quickly lunged for the raven haired vampiress, who dodged his attack with little effort. As quick as he was, the vampires were much quicker, and every attack was met with nothing. Kuma roared furiously, his massive body lumbering chaotically.
Kuma recoiled before roaring out a blast of freezing wind, like a beam of frozen energy, and several vampires were frozen in place, but the raven haired vampiress was airborne, and soon she was on his back, poised to strike with her dagger.
A sudden blast of energy sent the raven haired vampiress flying, and she bounced and rolled along the ground before coming to an abrupt stop against a house. She tilted her head, cracking her neck before looking up to see Alice leaning out through an opening in the ice around the cage, he staff glowing brightly.
The raven haired vampiress leapt to her feet and charged, hissing venomously as she screamed “Kill the bitch!”
Alice stepped out of the cage and slammed her staff against the ground, holding out her right hand, and started chanting. An intricate design of magical energy formed in front of her hand, and suddenly beams of energy began shooting out, striking vampires down with a loud fizzle as they writhed on the ground, burning from the ultraviolet energy blasts targeting them. One after another, the vampires went down, covered in burns and bleeding profusely as limbs were torn from bodies.
Alice looked around and saw that, in spite of the number of vampires she was wounding, none of them were actually dying, and soon, they started rising to their feet.
“Magic sunlight?” the raven haired vampiress hissed. “Neat trick, but sunlight doesn't kill us, it only hurts. A lot. So we're going to pay you back for that.” She lifted her dagger into the air and started approaching once again, this time dodging the beams of light that Alice blasted in her direction.
“So, decapitation is the only way, huh?” Alice whispered. She stamped her staff against the ground once again, generating a massive ball of energy above her. Every vampire in the vicinity grimaced and began to burn slowly, crying out in pain as the ball of energy floating above Alice's head became a tiny sun, radiating energy in every direction, flooding the entire village with bright light. “Now, Kuma! Attack them now!”
Kuma watched the tiny sun develop in the air and was at first in awe of the power he was witnessing, but on hearing Alice's voice, he returned to his senses, his mindless rage overcome as he roared his approval, and charged toward the closest vampire.
One swipe of his massive paw was all it took to splatter the top half of the vampire into a gory paste on the ground, bones cracked and broken along the way, and with a victorious roar, Kuma moved on to the next one, and the next, in a chaotic, but effective pattern, simply annihilating whichever vampire was closest at the time.
Suddenly it got dark once again, and Alice rolled across the ground, her staff flying in the opposite direction, as the raven haired vampiress, holding an umbrella, struck her from behind. Alice was completely unconscious.
The vampiress screamed viciously and slowly walked toward Alice, and as soon as Kuma noticed, he charged, but was stopped by a group of vampires.
In spite of how many he had killed, so many more remained.
Several vampires piled on top of Kuma and began striking him with clubs as the raven haired vampiress slowly and arrogantly made her way to the unconscious Alice.
Kuma tried in vain to shake the vampires off.
The vampiress flashed a filthy grin as she approached, lifting her dagger in front of her as she dropped to her knees and turned Alice onto her back. With a gentle gesture, she swept Alice's hair behind her slightly pointed ear and giggled softly. “Too bad, sweetheart.” She raised the dagger above her head with both hands, and plunged it downward.
Blood spattered as the raven haired vampiress thrust her blade down, but in the chaos, no one noticed.
Kuma watched in stunned silence, but in the chaos, no one noticed.
In the chaos, no one noticed Karma rushing down the main road of the village.
No one noticed until the dagger fell to the dirt, and the raven haired vampiress swung bloody stumps into Alice's chest, her severed hands still clutching the dagger meant for the mage's heart.
The vampiress shrieked like an animal, then watched in stunned silence as Trinady walked out of the village's main building clutching his sword. “Mathias.” she whispered. “What have you done?” She flared her arms out and screamed defiantly.
Karma gave an exasperated sigh and quickly decapitated the vampiress, silencing her once and for all.
The burnt vampires quickly recovered their senses in the darkness, and at the same time, Alice opened her eyes, quickly sitting up and gagging at the smell of the vampire blood on her dress.
“What the bloody hell hit me?” she asked, gripping the back of her head. “I feel like I got kicked by a stag.” She checked her hand for blood, but found none, then she slowly rose to her feet and picked up her staff. “Not enough mana for another Solaris Ignis spell. I'll have to make due with what I've got left.”
Trinady cut down another vampire as he walked toward his comrades, his unique blade singing as it sliced easily through the neck of the nearest vampire to him.
All hell broke loose after that.
Three armed vampires attacked Trinady with pitchforks and cleavers, and Trinady skillfully dodged and deflected the blows, spinning around one of them, gracefully avoiding being surrounded, and cleaved the nape of the vampire with the cleaver, then blocking the pitchfork as it was thrown toward his face. He parried the next attack and quickly severed the second vampire's head. The third vampire grabbed his pitchfork off the ground and tried to plunge it into Trinady's belly, but instead was met with another blade strike, which knocked the pitchfork from his hands, and as he watched his weapon fly through the air, Trinady sliced through his neck, severing his head.
As all of this transpired, Kuma charged through a small crowd of vampires, still reeling from sunburn, and began ripping and tearing them apart, literally, limb from limb. Alice fired blasts of magical energy in all directions as vampires surrounded her, and as they stumbled back from the impact, Karma finished them off with her own unique blade, slicing through vampiric necks with astounding speed. It all occurred within the breadth of a minute, but in that short time, all of the remaining vampires were dealt with.
Save for one.
The head vampire stood by the well, slowly and deliberately clapping his hands with the usual expression of boredom on his face.
“Well done, ladies and gentlemen. Well done, indeed.” he droned monotonously. “It seems that the will to survive thrives on in both humans and lycanthropes alike.”
Karma pointed her sword at the last remaining vampire. “Shouldn't we be killing him? He talks too much.”
“Don't bother.” Trinady replied. “He's too powerful. Even for all of us together.”
“So we die?” Alice asked.
“Hardly.” the vampire replied. “I always keep my word. You are free to leave at any time.”
“His word?”
“A word once given must never be broken.” the vampire replied. “Fare thee well. You have all made for an interesting story.” In the blink of an eye, the vampire was gone.
Karma returned to human form and, with arms akimbo, strode naked up to the largest pile of dead vampires he could find, and cursed foully.
Alice covered her mouth and laughed.
Karma covered her eyes and hid behind Alice.
“Find some clothes!” Trinady shouted from across the village.
