The three
vampires deposited the bodies around the field along with the rifles. Alexander
had picked up one of the fallen guns and felt the weight of it, probably
wondering if he should add it to his arsenal but then decided against it.
Apparently he wasn’t too fond of using guns. He liked a more personal approach.
Whatever that meant.
“I would have thought the Nest would have
sniffed us out,” said Varsee, swiping sticky blood from her jacket. Hiding all
the bodies had taken several trips and every time they disturbed the corpses,
the smell of fresh blood filled the air. It blackened Caius’ vision at the
edges as the hunger stirred inside. His fangs had unsheathed several times,
making Alexander smirk when he caught his eye.
“They’re probably full after jumping my
meal,” grumbled Alexander, kicking a corpse in the leg.
“Maybe.” Varsee looked down the field. Now
the barn was in full view but they were still a safe distance away. “Let’s hope
they’re still around. Come on, we’ve wasted enough time as it is.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Varsee sent her brother a glare before
pulling out the handgun that she had stuffed down the back of her leather
pants. With a swift head gesture, the three of them started their descent to
the barn. Now wielding the gun and stalking across the dewy grass with her
shoulders arched, Varsee looked incredibly intimidating. So did Alexander
striding by her side with his coat blowing back like a cape, spinning his
butterfly knife in his hand with ease. Caius withdrew his stake and curled his
fingers around it, hoping he hadn’t gotten himself in too deep.
In the back of his mind there was a
nagging voice that told him he should have informed the Court about the Nest
when Milah had summoned him but at the time, a Nest full of crazy vampires was
the last thing he had been thinking of.
They waited for a moment outside the huge
wooden building before edging their way through the open crack of the back
door. Caius’ eyes burned when they met the flickering lights of the fires
dotted around the huge hollowed out space inside. The fires were contained in
bins. Caius figured they were used for a light source as vampires didn’t need
the flames for heat.
Three figures huddled around the bin
nearest to them, blacked out in stark contrast to the fire. Caius followed
Varsee’s lead and slipped soundlessly into the shadows behind a beam. He
spotted several more figures sat on the hay strewn ground, chewing on each
other’s necks and arms. There were two more beside another bin. He wasn’t sure
how many there were all together but he knew they were outnumbered greatly. The
Nest were chattering amongst themselves, Caius caught bits of conversations.
When he looked back, it was only him and Varsee standing against the wall.
Alexander was halfway up the beam, skittering soundlessly like a lizard up a
wall. Caius watched as he reached the beam overhead and perched in the corner
of it, watching the three Nest vampires below. The shadows concealed him
perfectly but the vampires still cocked their heads up in his general
direction.
“Smell that?” asked one of them, a male
with a gravelly voice.
One of his companions nodded. “Human.”
“No,” said another, a woman, “-vampire.”
“Both?”
The Nest vampires that had been sitting on
the floor jumped to attention, their bottomless black eyes searching the
darkness. Caius counted eight all together but he was pretty sure there were
more he just hadn’t spotted yet. The three vampires under Alexander snapped
their heads in Varsee’s and Caius’ direction, readying to advance. Alexander
dropped down between them as if falling from the sky, the tail of his coat
picking up sawdust as it swished around his ankles.
The
three vampires turned back and looked at him, slightly perplexed. In the
flickering light of the fire, Caius could see the thick purple veins corded
under their eyes, thick and pulsating, and his stomach twisted at the thought
that he looked like that when he gave into his hunger. So… inhuman.
“Hey guys,” said Alexander with a rakish
grin. “Fancy seeing you here.”
All three vampires hissed and snarled,
snapping their fangs and clicking their nails together - which Caius noticed
had been filed to deadly points.
One
lunged, arms extended to grab Alexander’s throat. But then Alexander ducked,
caught the tackling vampire above his knees and flipped him up and over his
back. The vampire thudded to the ground in a cloud of sawdust. Alexander spun,
now with a stake in his hand, and drove it into the vampire’s chest. He
exploded in a vile burst of sticky red goo, splattering up Alexander’s front
and painting his face crimson. While distracted, the female vampire dove for
Alexander’s back and burst into goo instantly as an explosion rang in Caius’
ears. He spun to see Varsee holding her smoking handgun before she disappeared
in a flash.
Alexander grinned at the one remaining
vampire in his little group, his white fangs almost glowing in contrast to his
bloody face. The dark haired vampire snarled, clicking his nails as he began
circling Alexander, ready to leap. But Alexander was faster and had the vampire
pinned against his chest from behind in a matter of milliseconds, his head
wedged in the crook of his elbow. The vampire snarled and wriggled against him
but Alexander lodged his butterfly knife into the side of his neck. The vampire
cried, clawing at the arm around his throat. His nails ripped into the thick
leather of Alexander’s coat as he dragged the blade sideways. Blood bloomed
around the knife and gushed down the vampire’s neck. When he reached the
vampire’s Adam’s apple, Alexander dropped the knife. The vampire was gagging on
his own blood now as it poured from his mouth and the gruesome open wound
across his neck. With a look of manic glee, Alexander dug his fingers into the
wound and started yanking upwards, tearing the vampires head from his body
before it exploded.
A cry caught Caius’ attention and he
snapped his head to the side to see a vampire being dragged back into the
shadows by a manicured hand around its ankle. Another cry erupted in the
darkness before he heard the gushing sound of another body turning into pulp.
The red goo ran out into the light in a shimmering puddle. Caius could smell
it, thick and pungent in the air. Vampire blood had the coppery smell of human
blood but tainted. It was hard to describe. It just smelt dark and wrong.
Varsee and Alexander continued to
massacre the Nest as Caius felt himself drop back against the wall with sudden
dizziness. He was transported back in time. Back to when this was a regular
occurrence for him. All the blood. All the screams. All the fear. But they were
human. The blood, the screams, the almost tangible fear. All of it was human.
And Caius had revelled in it. He’d crushed bodies against him and drank from
them until they fell limp before he chased down another. Milah had been by his
side, smiling like a beautiful devil as she danced and laughed in the moonlight
among the dismembered bodies and burned down homes. And when they felt the sun
beginning to rise, they’d fall in bed together- painted from head to toe in
blood with the life of the fallen running through their veins- and sleep in
each other’s arms only to wake and do it all over again.
A searing pain in Caius’ left shoulder
yanked him violently out of the past and propelled him back into the present.
He cried out and grabbled at the vampire at his side that had imbedded its
fangs into him, tearing through his flesh and muscle. Caius managed to grab a
fistful of greasy black hair and used his grip to throw the vampire to the
ground. His fangs ripped free and the blooming pain made Caius’ vision darken
at the edges once more. The vampire spun to push himself back up but Caius
stomped on his head with such force that he heard the crack of bones. The
vampire fell flat on his stomach but continued clawing at the ground in an
attempt to get back up. Before he had a chance, Caius drove his stake between
his shoulder blades and the vampire erupted into a bloody mess.
Screams of pain and rage filled the barn.
Caius looked up to see Alexander and Varsee back to back in the centre of the
collection of fires, fending off crazed Nest vampires with the skill and ease
of trained assassins. At this moment, it was two against five. Caius sprang
into the melee wielding his slick stake and drove it through the female vampire
that had Varsee by both shoulders. Varsee, coated in a mess of black and red
vampire goo, smiled at him as the remains of the vampire rained over them,
before spinning around, kneeing an oncoming vampire in the stomach and shooting
it straight through the temple.
Caius readied himself to help take out
the remaining three vampires but there seemed to be no need for him. In a
matter of seconds, Alexander had driven his butterfly knife through a vampire’s
open mouth and into his brain, and staked another one through the chest while his
sister kicked and punched the one attached to his leg until he was weak and
bloody before shooting him in the face.
The three of them stood there for a
moment with gore dripping from their bodies, before Alexander turned to Caius,
his eyes impossibly blue in the darkness. “Finally thought you’d make yourself
useful?”
Caius let the stake fall free from his
grip and drop to the ground. He felt spent. Vampires didn’t feel exertion but
the release of his inner savage nature seemed to have drained him as he came to
terms with what had just happened. “Is it over?” he asked.
Varsee surveyed their surroundings, her
blonde hair was black with blood and her ponytail had clumped into a thick
sticky rope. “It seems so.”
Caius retracted his fangs and looked to
the gap in the back door they had come from, fearing that the longer he stayed
in these conditions, the more he’d start to like it. It felt familiar and
nostalgia was creeping up on him like a dark cloud.
“Damn, you look so hot covered in the
blood of our fallen enemies,” Alexander gushed before wrapping his arm around
his sister’s waist and tugging her close, pinning her to his chest. A primal
growl rumbled deep in Varsee’s throat before she dug her nails into his dank
hair and kissed him with bruising passion. Alexander groaned and wrapped his
other arm around her. They swayed and rolled against each other in the heat of
the kiss, their bodies shimmering in the light of the dancing flames. Suddenly
finding himself caught in a very private moment, Caius headed for the door. He
listened out for any protests but all he heard was the lustful growls coming
from the two lovers behind him. He left them to it and vampire sprinted his way
back to the house.
Caius paused at the gate to the farmhouse
and attempted to wipe the blood from his face. Everything looked normal. There
seemed to have been no intrusions.
As he walked up the path, his clothes
heavy and sticking to his body, he thought about Evie and her mistake that had
almost cost them their lives. He knew he couldn’t stay mad at her for long. It
was Evie, after all. He loved her. But he also knew he couldn’t blindly forgive
her for what had happened. She’d learn nothing from that.
He opened the door, leaving a smudged handprint
on the handle, and started at the sight of Robin springing up from the sofa
brandishing a porcelain Yorkshire Terrier by the head like a weapon. The young
vampire froze in a battle stance for a moment before his dark eyes scoped him.
“Caius?”
Caius ran his fingers through his long, wet
hair and shoved it out of his face. “Yes, it’s me.”
Robin exhaled a sigh of relief and dropped
back down onto the sofa, placing the porcelain figure on the coffee table. He
had clearly showered. He was clean of blood and his dark brown hair curled on
his forehead and under his ears. Caius recognised the big grey and blue jumper
he was wearing that had a bold geometric print as one of the pieces of clothing
he had found hung up in the wardrobe in his room. The light blue jeans he was
wearing must have also been from there.
Robin narrowed his eyes curiously, “Is
that?-”
“Vampire goo, yes it is.”
He pulled a face. “Lovely.”
“Did anyone come in? Where’s Evie?”
“No. And upstairs. I think she feels
pretty guilty about what happened. She just locked herself away.”
Torn between really needing to wash and
wanting to talk to his progeny, Caius paused in the hallway a moment and tugged
off his boots before crossing the threshold into the living room. He didn’t want
to take any chances and get on Varsee’s bad side by getting blood everywhere.
And after seeing her in action, he really needed to play his cards right.
“So, did you kill them all?” asked Robin.
Caius nodded. “We think so. Look, about
what happened before-”
“Haven’t I been punished enough? I’ve
already missed out on all the fun.”
Caius shook his head. “I don’t want to
punish you. I just want to talk.”
“What about?”
Caius scratched his neck in thought,
wondering how to start. “First of all, I want to thank you for what you did.”
Robin’s dark eyes shimmered up at him.
“What?”
Caius half smiled. “You did save us, after
all. It just… wasn’t in the way I hoped for.”
“But
I don’t know what else you would have expected me to do.”
“Compel them, maybe.”
“Compel them? Oh, you mean the eye thing. Sorry, I completely forgot I could do
that now.”
“I should teach you sometime.”
Robin smiled.
“The reason I was so mad was because,
well, what did it feel like? Killing those men. How did it make you feel?”
Robin looked down guiltily and
started playing with his cuff. “It felt good.”
Caius nodded sadly. “See, that’s what I
was afraid of. Once you get a taste for it, it’s hard to stop.”
Robin shook his head vigorously and
looked back up. “It didn’t feel good ending those men’s lives. It felt good
because I was doing it for you.”
Caius was stunned to silence. Robin
continued, “I didn’t really understand this bond thing we share at first. I
thought it made me, like, idolise you and make me think that you could do no
wrong. But when you all went off and you told me to stay here, I was pissed. Like, so fucking mad at you.
When I punched that wall I was imagining it was your face.” His tight, angered
expression softened. “But then, when I was here waiting for you lot to come
back and I felt you inside my head. I could hear you.” He gestured to the back
of his head. “When you said you needed me, there was nothing in the world that
would have stopped me. I mean, I’m guessing that is to do with the bond,
because there aren’t that many people in the world that I care about enough to
help. But at that moment I truly realised what you had meant when you were
talking me through turning into a vampire. I felt like if I didn’t save you, if
you died, a part of me would die,
too. And I just couldn’t let that happen.” He looked down to the floor, hiding
the emotion in his eyes. “That need to tear those men apart wasn’t from some
primal part of me that wanted blood on my hands. It was my loyalty to you. I
did it all for you.”
There was a clatter behind Caius and the
sound of stumbling steps. He turned to see Alexander and Varsee falling into
the hallway in each other’s arms. They were laughing and kissing and stumbling
around like a pair of drunks.
Alexander pushed himself off her slightly
and tucked a sticky red strand of hair behind his ear. “I’m going to take a
shower and attempt to get this off.”
Varsee grinned showing bloody teeth and
nibbled his jaw tenderly. “I’ll join you.”
He growled and tugged her close again before
they vampire sprinted up the stairs in a red and black blur.
“…Aren’t they brother and sister?”
Caius laughed and looked back to Robin.
“Vampire brother and sister. They have the same Maker.”
“Oh,” nodded Robin, looking a little
confused. “Well, looks like you’ll be waiting a while before you can get all
that crap off you.”
Caius looked down at himself with a frown.
“I guess so.”
“What was it like, the Nest?”
Caius held back a shudder. “Like being in
the Rage all over again.”
“Oh yeah, I heard about the Rage. They
made us study it in school. Probably to make us fear vampires but I thought it
was pretty awesome. I was only three when it happened so I don’t remember it.”
“You’re lucky.”
“My mum said a vampire killed our
neighbours right in front of her,” Robin said, sounding detached. “Blood everywhere.”
“I just hope there’re no more Nests
around. Vampires are treated badly enough as it is. We don’t need them
blackening our names even more.”
Robin nodded dismally. “We were taught
not to trust them yet in another lesson we’d be told that discrimination was
wrong. It was just all so backwards, we didn’t know what to think. Have you had
trouble being a vampire in this society?”
Caius looked to his progeny in awe. He
was constantly surprised by the wisdom and understanding in a boy of such a
young age and it was making him renew his faith in humanity today. “No. Not
really. But that’s because Evie and I pretended to be human to avoid all of
that stuff. It was just easier.”
Robin frowned. “That sucks, dude. I’d
never pretend to be something I’m not. Even though being the person I am
doesn’t really do me any favours.” He laughed hollowly. “At least I’m still
me.”
Caius watched him for a moment as he
picked at a frayed bit of his cuff. “I’ve been alive for a thousand years. To
be honest, I don’t even know who I actually am anymore. Being an ancient, you
outlive yourself. Time changes you. And too much time… well, it can rip you
apart and mould you into something else entirely.”
Robin nodded. “I see that.” He looked up
to his Maker. “There’s sadness in your eyes. Like you’ve lived too long and
seen too much. I see it in Varsee, too.”
Caius looked up the stairs as if to catch
a glimpse of Varsee, the ancient that was even older than he was. “You might
love being a vampire now, Robin,” he said, turning back. “But there will come a
time in your immortal life where you will wish for your humanity. Vampirism is
a curse, Robin, and I am so sorry I have bestowed it upon you.”
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