Chapter 7
“Your new friend is named David Erikson.” Leo said as he slid a manila folder containing several sheets of typed pages across the desk towards Asche. “Leah’s ex-fiancée. You remember him, don’t you? He’s been missing for over a year. She told me that he had run off with some old girlfriend. I had no idea that he was dead.” Leo tried to avoid thinking about the last time he’d seen Leah with Asche…“So he thinks I killed him. I wanted to, for a while, I threatened to kill him several times over the club. Stubborn fool wouldn’t sell. Then he vanished, and it didn’t matter any more.” Asche scanned the pages quickly. “He was killed in the tower explosion, according to his own memories. Where’d you get this?”
“Uh, Clark Technologies had a full file on him in their system. My sources at C.A.M.P. hacked into their database. It turns out that Clark Tech’s Medical division did a full series of tests on David. After his death he apparently worked for them.” Leo cleared his throat, and then began reciting from memory. “He doesn’t eat, breathe, sleep, have blood pressure or a pulse…they couldn’t figure out what kept him moving, other than some undisclosed source of ‘magic’.”
“I can read for myself, thank you, Leo.” Asche flipped to the second page and continued reading. “And I can vouch for the blood pressure thing.” He muttered, quietly enough that he doubted the human could hear. He still had a sour taste in his mouth from his earlier attempt at draining the undead David, and was looking forward to hunting up some fresh blood after he took care of the samurai-carrying creature. “If he was killed in the tower bombing, then I suppose you’re just as responsible for his death as I am. I wonder how long it will take for him to come after you too, Leo.”
“That whole ‘Leo’ this and ‘Leo’ that thing you’re doing isn’t intimidating me in the least, Asche. It’s an old trick.”
“You should be intimidated, Leo. Not everyone on J Street can say that they have two undead killers after their neck.”
“From where I stand it looks like David’s only killing off you bloodsuckers. He's not after us normal folks.” Leo smiled. “So maybe you should just run along and hide.”
“He has no idea where I am, Leo. And as for your other comment, if you want to be one of us, that can be arranged. As a matter of fact, all this talking has made me a bit thirsty…”
“You wouldn’t dare. I can have security in here…”
“…before I can do anything?” Asche lifted Leo until the older man’s legs dangled several inches above the floor. “Yes, I suppose I should be worried about your security people. They might shoot you by mistake, and then I’d have to either kill them all, or leave hungry.” Asche threw Leo back into his chair, and kicked it against the back wall, away from the desk and all the electronics on it, eliminating any possibility of his calling for aid. “You really shouldn’t have pushed your luck, you little rodent. No one threatens me.”
Asche caught movement from the corner of his eye and turned quickly towards the window, just in time to see a pair of pigeons flutter by. “Hmpf.” He turned back towards Leo, who had made a dash for his desk. “Tisk tisk. You are so impatient."
He was across the room and had one hand around Leo’s throat before Shelby could react to his words. Asche walked slowly, pushing the old man backwards with each step, until Leo was forced back into his chair, his eyes wide with fright. He was enjoying torturing this fool, and the adrenaline would make the blood even sweeter. He had every intention of taking his time; letting Leo realize just how much trouble he really was in before he killed him. "Your wait is over. Death has come for you.” He grasped one chubby arm and raised it to his lips and began to feed.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
~ I hate pigeons. Filthy creatures. ~
“Did I ask you your opinion?” David said quietly, as he kicked the shattered nest he’d just stepped in off of the building’s ledge.
~ Maybe we can kill two birds with one stone, as it were. Asche and Leo are both inside. ~
“That was truly awful. Your puns are getting worse.”
~ Who’s joking? I’m not. This job has taken far too long as it is. ~
“Just shut the hell up, and we’ll go introduce ourselves properly.” David swung around to face the double-paned window leading into Leo’s office and pulled back a fist.
~ What, you’re not going to knock first? How rude. ~
“Why ruin a perfectly good entrance by knocking?”
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
“Asche…” Leo croaked. “Asche…”
Asche lifted his head from the most recent of his tiny bites. He’d lost count of how many veins he’d punctured, but the fat man still had a little life left in him. “Don’t beg, Leo. At least die with some dignity. You never had any in your life, but it’s never too late to start.”
“Out…side.” Leo croaked out between his gasps for air. His feet were numb, and he felt cold all over, except where he’d been most recently bitten. The tiny wounds burned with heat where blood was being draw from his body.
Asche turned, looking out the window quickly. A smiling dead man in a billowing coat filled the entire frame of the window and then, he was inside, glass raining down and falling onto the thick carpet without a sound. Asche stood still for an indeterminate amount of time, hypnotized as heavy boots crushed the glass underfoot as they moved towards him.
"Did I catch you at a bad time?"
Behind him, he could hear Leo’s shallow breathing, and in front of him, he could hear the swish of fabric on fabric, cracking glass, and slow, steady footfalls. He just could not fathom how this being could have followed him here. The sound that broke him from his trance was the sound of metal scraping leather, followed by a breath of disturbed air.
Asche ducked in time to avoid a quick beheading, then shot away from David faster than the revenant could follow, or so the vampire thought. David’s sword swung through the air again, catching Asche’s arm at the wrist and severing the hand. Asche howled in pain and was gone, dropping to the ground through the open window.
~ If you’re going to kill him piece by piece, go for a bigger chunk next time, ok? ~ The bird commented as it flew off, following the fast-moving vampire.
“Well, at least this piece of shit is still here. Hello, Leo. Goodbye Leo.”
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
The hall was quiet as the group waited. Then the clicking began. The rhythmic click-click-click Aquarius knew too well. Pollux stepped out of shadow and into the gloom. "Good evening, Sir. We'd like an audience." Pollux looked at Aqua then turned to Ciela. He lowered his head and made it clear he wasn't fond of her presence. The mastiff turned and strode back into the shadows.
"How many of those beasts are there?" Mike inquired of Zan.
"Pollux and his brother Castor, are unique I assure you. They are as close to Ravenstrom as Kelegar." Zan said emotionlessly
"Am I the only one bothered by his familiarity with these 'people'?" Mike wanted to know.
"It bothered me at first too, but it's part of the job. I've come to understand that." Jayna said softly.
"I'm staying out of it." Ciela replied. "It's too late and I'm too tired to care now."
"Ok." Mike said as the double doors opened.
Kelegar leaned out. "The Master will see you."
"Your revenant is making a lot of my people nervous, paladin." Ravenstrom stated from his throne.
"He is not MY revenant. He is my friend." Az retorted.
"Semantics, my lord. Nothing more." Kelegar replied.
"Thank you." Az snorted.
"My Lord." Aquarius began stepping forward. "I assure you we want an end to this situation as much as you."
"I doubt that." Kelegar muttered.
"Why have you come?" The old man reached over and stroked Castor's head.
"We now know who he is after and why. We had hoped you would know David's; the revenant's location. We hope to confront him and bring a stop to this."
"If I knew where he was he wouldn't be a problem any more." Ravenstrom said sharply.
Ciela glanced worriedly over to Aquarius, who still had the same impassive look on his face that he’d had when they entered, then to Mike. Neither seemed too surprised by the old Vampire’s comment.
“And as for you, mercenary…” Ravenstrom paused, looking about the room with movement so slow as to be almost imperceptible. “Do not ever bring ‘guests’ uninvited to my home again. Do you understand me?”
“Yes, Sir.”
“You may leave now, unless you have something more…interesting to tell me.”
“No, Sir.” Aquarius replied slowly, measuring his words carefully. “We are done here if it pleases you.”
“I am not at all pleased with you, Mr. Aquarius, not at all. Perhaps when this vampire-killer has been stopped, my attitude will have changed.” The old man shifted in his chair so uncomfortably that one expected his bones to creak in protest. “In the meantime I suggest you leave. Now.”
“Yes, Sir.”
Chapter 8
The heavy double-doors closed behind the retreating backs of the four friends. "I guess we're not the most popular people in this neck of the woods." Michael commented to no one in particular.
"You have a real talent for understatement, Cochise." Zan sneered. Michael took four quick steps to the right and pinned Zan against the wall of the hallway leading out of the mansion, his forearm jammed against his throat. "I'm generally not a man of violence," he said through clenched teeth, "but if you call me that again I'll make an exception in your case." He held his position for half a moment for effect, and then stepped back and continued down the hall.
"Ok, we are all WAY too tired for this." Jayna sighed. "Let's just call it a night." She stepped out the door and noticed that the sky was brightening off to the east. "Heh, looks like it will be almost morning by the time we get home..."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Ravenstrom sighed and shrunk down in his chair when he heard the front door close behind Aquarius and his party. It was almost dawn and the night had been far too long and stressful. "The dawn is nigh. Why don't you crawl out of hiding and explain to me why I should allow you to see another moonrise, Asche." Pollux nudged Asche from his concealing blanket of shadows. The vampire clutched the stump of his arm as he shuffled forward.
"You need me to control the young, Ravenstrom. The 'old guard' all look up to you, but the younger generations look to me." Asche stepped before the old man, barely choking back his hatred. Ravenstrom was everything he despised in Kindred, powerful arrogant, and that old man had allowed himself to become so ill sickened the younger vampire. "I am the bond that keeps the peace." Kelegar snorted at Asche's last boast.
"What peace? The last two nights have been hardly that. We are the lead story on the news, you arrogant swine. Your bribes are only going to keep the vermin from your crypt for so long!" Kelegar crossed his arms. "I think your usefulness is at an end." Asche began to protest but his words were lost in the growling of the dogs.
"I agree my lord."
"Ah, the last player in this Puccini Opera has taken the stage. You enjoy theater Charles, come watch the last act unfold." as the old man spoke another figure stepped from the shadows of the room. Ravenstrom touched Castor who stood at his master's side, the fur on his back a coarse bristle. Kelegar motioned for the master's protégée to join him, and Charles responded by moving to the Master's left. "You come uninvited to my home, Revenant, with a great deal of blood on your sword."
"Kill him! Kill him now!" Asche spat. "There is your murderer!" Pollux silenced Asche with a bark and a mouthful of dagger-like teeth.
"We will remind you both that you are uninvited here." said Kelegar.
"I seek the blood of only one more of your kind, great and terrible one. Allow me to rid your hall of this pest." David bowed cordially.
"As if you could." Asche muttered.
"How's the hand?" David asked with a sly grin.
"You have yet to answer my question, Asche." Ravenstrom leaned forward.
"Question?" Asche turned his attention back to the wretch in the chair. "Your question?"
"You see, Revenant, it seems we have the same goals you and I, but I cannot let you have him."
"What?"
"I suppose I should thank you for bringing this all to a head. The final curtain is falling, and in Puccini's operas the main players never survive. Except of course for Turandot, but we all know what a travesty that was." He turned to face Asche. "And I should thank you for arriving on cue."
"Ravenstrom! You're babbling! This is madness!"
"No, it all makes sense." David said, straightening his coat. "They get what they need, I get what I need. One hand washes the other and no one is any the wiser." David saluted the man in the chair. "Goodbye Asche, I'll keep your seat warm in hell." The
Revenant bowed deeply. "I leave you to your work, my lord. I will go and watch the dawn." David spun on his heel and walked from the hall the way he had entered, closing the doors behind him."This is madness! Kelegar! Even you can't sanction this!"
"Kelegar. Kill him." The Master demanded.
"You are right, Asche." Kelegar said to everyone’s amazement. "You may be correct for the first time in your life, however marginally." Kelegar turned to his Master. "I will not kill him, Master."
"WHAT?"
"You must." The words hung in the air for long moments. "We have endured too much of your suffering for far too long. We need our Master back. Feed from him. Go to ground. Heal yourself, so you can be the man you once were, the Master we need."
"Kelegar..."
"Master." Kelegar raised his arm and motioned to Asche, offering the sacrifice.
"Castor, Pollux, kill this vermin!" Ravenstrom demanded. The dogs looked at their Master, but did not move. "Mutiny."
"You've made the right choice Kelegar!" Asche retorted. "You will..."
"My allegiance is unchanged! You are less than nothing to me. Master, we do this for you."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Asche couldn’t believe his ears.
Neither of the older vampires ever had any intention of letting him live. Ravenstrom had either planned on giving him up to David, or killing him outright. On the other hand Kelegar, the horrific toad, had planned to serve his neck up to Ravenstrom on a silver platter.
The surprise he’d experienced upon seeing the ‘revenant’ inside Ravenstrom’s manor had passed, turned into anger as the vampires allowed the undead creature to leave unharmed, then calmly discussed his fate in front of him. He was not some useless mortal, but he was being treated as such - as livestock, a cow that would stand by idly until the butcher was ready for it.
Neither the dusty old fossils before him, nor the four-legged abominations that glared at him with unabashed hunger would be his downfall, he decided. He was the new blood, and such an ignominious death was not part of his master plan. The door was mere feet away, unguarded, as the dogs and their master all listened to Kelegar, still gesturing at him like a master salesman.
He readied himself, gathering his strength. In a burst of speed, he was to the door and through it, racing like a madman down the long hallway towards the main door. He had moments to escape to the air, before the dogs caught him.
There is no shame in retreating in the face of insurmountable odds. He thought, tearing the wooden door from its hinges and flinging it aside.
Asche was mere inches from the ground when he heard a growl and the scratching of claws on concrete behind him. Pollux, Castor, one of the monstrous dogs, launched itself at him, jaws clenching down and crushing the bones in his lower leg. He twisted in midair, clawing at the canine’s snout, trying to dislodge the jaws that held him firm, but his claws had no effect, splintering against the ancient vampire’s hide. The dog snorted, almost a human laugh, and dragged him back towards the throne room, where Ravenstrom and Kelegar waited.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Asche was drug kicking and screaming in front of Ravenstrom, any pretense of dignity having been stripped away by abject terror. The prospect of facing his 'true death' was not one he relished. The snapping teeth of a hound in his face silenced him, and allowed him to hear the others in the room.
"... surely not my place Master." It was the other one speaking, the one he didn't recognize. "But I feel Kelegar may be right. With Asche out of the way, you would have time to heal while his minions were without a leader. I think that..."
"Enough. I have heard enough from all of you." Creaking like an old door, Ravenstrom stood. "Your nights will be full while I am aground." Asche felt his own blood, called by the elder, sing of his final death. Asche's blood turned upon him and lept to feed Ravenstrom whose hunger was to be feared.
In his final moments Asche understood. The loyalty of a ghoul, after they have out lived their natural lifespan, is bought and paid for with their Master's blood. Ghouls who have lived long enough can be mistaken for true Kindred. Asche discovered in is final lingering moments that Ravenstrom's "boys" were just that. In those ancient days Ravenstrom must have known that the day would come when he would be forced to feed only upon his own kind, and allies would be non-existant. He made his first progeny then, his most loyal and favored. Many believed that they merely fed upon their Master, not so with Castor and Pollux. The cycle was clear, Castor and Pollux are Vampires.
Chapter 9
Leah placed the receiver back in its cradle gently. A Lt. Torres of the JSPD had called to let her know that her father was dead; to offer her condolences, and the rest of the false sentiment that usually went into that sort of a call. Leah had actually stopped listening sometime after the words ‘murder’ and ‘sword’ had been used together.
David had gone after Asche, who in turn had probably gone after Leo, looking either for help or for some last-minute revenge. No amount of security would have been able to stop either of them, or keep Leo alive, once they arrived.
It wasn’t that she was concerned about her father’s death; she had as much emotional attachment to him as she did to gum stuck to the bottom of her shoe. What bothered her more was the fact that David - this incarnation of him anyway - had become so bloodthirsty, and seemed to revel in it. Killing of vampires she could understand, almost. They were - she was - already dead. Leo might have deserved to die several times over, he had ultimately been behind David’s death and her current …situation, after all, but her David had always been more interested in justice than revenge. This new version was something different, violence and revenge only wrapped in the shape of her fiancée. The slaughter at the club and his brief fight with Asche had proven that.
Then again, the way he’d looked at her before leaving, before going after Asche…
Leah shuddered slightly and looked down at her hands, milky white even in the dim light coming in through the shattered window. Rain pelted the floor inside, blown in by the night breeze, and spread across the carpet like a biblical flood, trying to wash away evidence of the sins that had been committed here. That thought in mind, her newly reborn eyes picked out the details in the darkened room, the widening stains on the carpet, the shattered decorations, the bloody handprint on the doorjamb, and the miniscule flecks of darkened blood under her fingernails.
She quickly moved to the upstairs bathroom, keeping the house cloaked in darkness as she moved from room to room. She turned on the water and vigorously began scrubbing her hands, afraid to even glance in the mirror, afraid of what she would see there. She couldn’t remember whether or not Asche cast a reflection in the mirror, whether or not she would. Honestly, she did not want to see what he had become, what she had been forced to become. She scrubbed all that much harder, letting the steam rise from the sink to fill the small room.
She turned off the water and risked a glance in the fogged-over mirror. The water had been scalding; it should have burned her, but didn’t. Her skin hadn’t even turned red, they were as pale as before, but the blood was gone. There were still the corpses in the kitchen to deal with, but that could wait until later, when a few of Asche’s followers could be called to dispose of the evidence, if there were any followers left.
In the silence of the deserted house, she heard footsteps downstairs, the slightest crunch of glass breaking under heavy boots. Her ears were more sensitive than ever to the slightest of sounds, but she could hear nothing further, no matter how hard she strained. One of Ravenstrom’s people? She thought, in a blind panic. If Asche had gone to Ravenstrom, though, she doubted they would show up looking for him, unless they were cleaning up loose ends - namely, her. Fledgling vampires were easy, and often, the preferred prey for the older vampire’s followers.
Perhaps one of Asche’s goons had shown up to take her someplace safe. Under normal circumstances she loathed his closest circle of ‘friends’, but the situation was far from normal. The continuing silence emboldened her, and she carefully moved out of the bathroom and into the hallway. A light had been turned on in the living room; she could see the amber glow illuminating more than it ever had before. She moved to the top of the stairs and quietly peered down, seeing him immediately.
David stood in the middle of the room, back facing her, long black hair plastered down against his skull and the back of his neck by the rain that dripped down him in rivulets. The coat he’d been wearing had offered no protection from the rain, instead just soaking it up and hanging on him like so many wet rags. He spoke, and once again she froze.
“I just don’t understand why I’m still here!” He paused, for some reason addressing a hideous statue in the corner, which had been spared during the earlier fight. A pity it remained, really, as it had been a gift from her father. “What the hell are you talking about?” He hissed, still glaring at the corner of the room. He removed the soaked coat and tossed it aside, shaking water from his body with all the disdain of a cat caught outside in a rainstorm.
She had taken two steps down the stairs when he spoke again, voice cracking with emotion. A single word, “No.” She froze again, wondering if he was insane, and if her plan of going downstairs was such a good one. He shook his head, violently and still hoarse. “I won’t do it. No! Get someone else to do your dirty work, I’m through.”
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
The sky opened up just as David left Ravenstrom’s manor, the rain matching his mood perfectly, heavy and unrelenting. Whatever the old vampire had planned for Asche was probably much worse than what he had in store, but it wasn’t nearly as fulfilling. His guide had fluttered off, swallowed by the torrential rain, after pointing him back towards his former home. He stalked down the street in full view, daring anyone to get in his way. Thankfully for them, no one bothered, mortal and vampire alike steering clear.
The grounds were deserted as he entered the same way as he had before, minus the theatrics. His guide silently waiting inside, he had no audience. Besides, he really wasn’t in the mood. He felt something like a puppet with cut strings. Bone weary, hurting all over, and with almost no strength left in his body, he entered the kitchen and crossed into the living room. The carpet squished underfoot, soaked through with rain, as he plodded across the room. He stepped on a few shards of glass, that cracked and broke into smaller pieces. Shrugging, he flipped a wall switch, turning on a small corner lamp, filling the room with a dim light.
“I just don’t understand why I’m still here!” He paused, locating his guide perched on the arm of a statue on the far corner of the room. He hoped the bird would shit on the awful thing, but the bird just ruffled its feathers and cocked its head to one side, staring at him. Finally in a dry voice it croaked at him, sadly.
~ There’s one more left. One more thing you have to do. ~
“What the hell are you talking about?” David hissed, anger and hatred for this creature before him now filling his voice with poison, replacing the need for revenge he’d been feeling since the bird first appeared. He removed the soaked coat and debated throwing it at the bird, but decided against it. He had thought he was done, the job over, that he could rest. He certainly FELT like his job was over, as soon as Asche had died - and he had died, David had felt the inhuman strength leave his body, and the pain had begun, deep inside, radiating outwards like cracks in a mirror. The rainwater dripped into his eyes, and he shook, flinging droplets everywhere.
~ There’s one more obstacle to overcome before you can rest. One more vampire you must kill. ~ The bird paused a moment and shuddered, wings beating the air as it moved on the statue. ~ I’m so sorry. ~
David said nothing, letting the words sink in, trying not to think about what came next. Somehow he knew, but he couldn’t bear to think it, and shoved the thought to the back of his mind.
~ It’s Leah. She was turned just before you arrived. ~
“No.” He heard his voice crack, but couldn’t do anything about it. He couldn’t kill her. Not her…anyone but her.
“I won’t do it. No. Get someone else to do your dirty work, I’m through.”
~ I wouldn’t say that. It has to be done, or you’ll be trapped here. ~
“David?”
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
David jumped at the sound of her voice, fragile and reedy, behind him. She stood, one hand resting on the banister, looking somewhat frightened. “You came back? Did you kill Asche?” She paused, unsure of what to do or say next.“Ravenstrom took care of him. He’s gone.”
“I could feel when he died.” She admitted with a sigh. “I just wanted to know... what happened. I guess you... really couldn’t say.”
“No.” He said, simply.
She moved into the room, trying to get a better look at him. The light illuminated the features she had once known so well. There was no doubt it was her David, but she had no earthly idea what he had become or how he was back.
“What happens now?”
~ Tell her. ~
“I have to go back, Leah. I don’t belong here, not anymore. The dead have no business with the living.” He watched her closely, studying the emotions that flickered across her face. “But I can’t go yet.”
“Why?” She caught his gaze, staring intently into his eyes, and he had to break away from her. He looked down at his feet, studying the carpet.
“Because of what Asche did to you, Leah.” He finally managed, softly.
“He kept me from dying. He turned me into a ghoul, and then a vampire.”
“You weren’t meant to survive.” David gave her several long minutes to mull over what he had said. “I can’t kill you. I have to, or I’ll never be able to rest, but I can’t do that to you.” He turned and climbed the stairs, leaving her alone in the room.
~ Dammit, I knew it. Stupid. ~