Ring of Madness

by Royden Labrosse

  The closest thing was supposedly poisoned me.

  - As long as it's not drugs. Okay, put it there. That's a name! It's Danielle. What's that in Russian? Danielle?

  - For you, whatever you want, the vampire bowed his head. All so noble and charming. The knight plucked the princess out of the clutches of robbers... for which the latter were very grateful and gave money for the road. - But actually, I'm Russian. Shestakov Daniel Sergeyevich. Mother, you see, participated in the festival of Friendship of Nations. So I'm named after my father. Although Seryoga Shestakov didn't know about it.

  - Well, well," Nadia stretched it out. And she looked at me carefully. - It's four hours till the end of my shift. And then I made a deal with my shift. I won't be free until 8:00 tomorrow. You can't leave you here for the day. Why don't you go to my house for a while? Although... I don't know how you got here, but you can't go outside like this.

  I unwittingly slipped my eyes on myself and Daniel. Danielle's wearing jeans and a shirt is four sizes larger. On top of them is a leather jacket three sizes larger than necessary. Lacquered shoes on her feet. Looks like there were others in the club. Did you change your shoes in the car? I'm wearing a shirt and a sweater. The sweater's sleeves are bleeding out. Jeans are all covered in blood stains, too. On my arm, where I made the incision, it's a homemade bandage that makes any medic stand up on horns. I never dreamed of sterility there. On top of everything - a man's jacket, in which I was just lost, like a mouse in a fireplace. No, we can't go outside like that.

  - Yeah, problem. Nadia, are you sure we can go to your place? The dorm after all?

  - Yes, you can. If anyone sees you there, they won't pay any attention. Only I can't escort you. But I'll give you the key. Where I live, you know. That's where you'll go. Danek, sit down, you'll call your grandfather in peace, you'll figure out what and where. You're not being followed?

  - If we had, we'd be killed. And long ago.

  - Is it that serious?

  - Even more serious," the vampire sighed. - We don't even want to show up on the street yet.

  - Write me your measurements. There's a shop nearby. It's a 24-hour shop, but you can find it all if you want. I'll buy what I need from food and stuff. Do you have any money?

  - Yes," Danielle said, quietly taking the notes out of his pockets. We've got the thugs," said Danielle, taking the bills out of his pockets. Well, in heaven they'll be honored. - Will ten thousand be enough? Really, it's dollars, but you'll exchange it at the store?

  - Not fox fur coats, but I'll buy you jackets.

  - The Arctic Fox can come to us without a fur coat. Daniel needs a hooded jacket, gloves and glasses," I noticed. - Black.

  - Okay. How about you?

  - And I don't care.

  - Excellent approach. Teach you, you fool, to be a woman, don't teach - it's like an ice-hole! You should have listed what to buy you, including three packs of lingerie, and you still think about others! That's not going to do any good!

  Is she the one who's gonna teach me?

  - Fuck off with your notations," I suggested, "KVN watch!

  - Take it easy, girls," the vampire cut us both off. - Nadia, I take it you don't have a cell phone?

  - What do I need him for?

  - Buy it. And two more SIM cards for me and Japya. Here's another five grand.

  - What's that for?

  - So I can contact you at any time," her vampire broke it off. - This is no time to show your character. I'm not offering you a bribe or a fee for helping a friend. Let your pride abate for the sake of general safety!

  Well done, fanger. Something else just wouldn't work. The fact is, Nadia's as proud as an infestation. I have pride, too (you can't praise yourself...). And we both have characters, God forbid. In other conditions, we just couldn't communicate. Rather, on the contrary - would be hostile to the last drop of poison. But the commonality of professional aspirations worked - I am still a biologist, and then I will specialize in microbiology. And Nadyushka is a future doctor. A doctor. And she read my notes on biology from and to. And also - she and I share a pathological love for books. It's enough to meet once a week, talk for two hours about nothing and go home.

  My mother wanted to invite Nadyushka to visit us, but my grandfather once went to the dorm with me and advised me.

  - We have too different standards of living," he said then. - She's a good girl, but she won't accept help. And if we impose it, you'll lose your girlfriend. And you shouldn't poke her nose into our material well-being. It would be embarrassing for both of you.

  - And there's no way I can help her?

  - Yes, you can. But so that she never finds out about it. Okay?

  It was clear to me.

  - I'm sorry, Nadjushka bubbled. - Take the keys.

  - Thank you.

  - I won't be here until 12:00. I'll get the shopping and go back. So I'll see you later.

  - See you later, - Danielle gracefully kissed his friend's hand.

  - Just a minute!

  Nadia rushed somewhere deep into the morgue. And a few minutes later, she came back, holding a flask of instant coffee.

  - It's alcohol. There's a mouse in my fridge that hangs itself, but you need something to warm up and grind.

  - Thank you," Danielle quietly slipped a flask in his jacket pocket. - It's a pleasure to meet you. You're a good man and a good friend, Nadia.

  That's why we went out in the cold.

  I went back to my car again in the hands of a vampire.

  - Where's the dorm? - he asked me, sticking me in the front seat of the car.

  - On the outskirts of town.

  The vampire got into the car and turned the key in the ignition.

  - You have a good friend. You look something alike.

  - We both like to read and discuss what we've read. Otherwise... She's a cobra, I'm a gursa, what's the resemblance?

  Danielle had a snort.

  - It's more like you can take me to the snakes here. You don't have fangs...

  - Oh! - inspired by me. - What's the deal with vampire fangs? Are they foldable, retractable or just always in the same position? And why are your fangs shorter than Duke's? Is he a saber-toothed vampire? Or does their length also depend on the title? Who's cheekier, the one with the longer fangs?

  The vampire bent in half with laughter. I resented clapping my eyes at him, not knowing what the problem was. What did I ask you that?! The same Andre had long fangs, two and a half centimeters, if not all three. And they were even sticking out from under his lips. And Daniel didn't. He did have fangs, they were quite long, a centimetre in length, no less, not humanly sharp, but in general, nothing special. If you don't open your mouth wide, no one will notice.

  Danielle laughed until he cried. Finally he curled up, wiped his eyes with his hand, and I saw red marks on his skin. He put his hand to his lips and licked them off his skin.

  - Do vampires cry with blood?

  - We have no other fluid in our system. Blood is at the heart of the vampire's entire body, and we have nothing else. Well, unless there's more semen. By the way, vampires can have sex, but we don't have any other physiological needs like humans.

  - Oh, I see.

  - I'm glad for you. At least take a snack in your voice. - And in answer to your previous question, vampires can't walk around with their fangs out all the time, or they'll bite themselves. Oh, look.

  A vampire opened his mouth, and I stared at my white teeth. This is where any dentist goes bankrupt! The fangs were very sharp, but short. In the beginning. And then they started lengthening, coming out of the gums. I've never seen anything like it. Snakes fold their fangs and vampires hide until they bite? How weird is that? The fangs lengthened and lengthened until Danielle closed his mouth, and the white points shone wetly on the skin. Now his teeth were almost like Andre's.

  - We need fangs to pierce the skin. It's very convenient. But it wouldn't be wise to keep them out all the time. We'd be too easy to tell from peo
ple, and we're not loved anyway. It's a kind of protective mechanism.

  - It's more or less clear.

  The vampire rolled his eyes.

  - Jane, if you understand, then tell me, where do we go?

  - On the eastern edge of the city. On Listviakov Street. Do you know where that is?

  - I have no idea.

  For some reason, I thought so.

  - Then now back to the square - and to the right. You turn by the bookstore building, I'll show you next.

  Danielle obediently touched the car from its seat.

  In the city, I was mostly oriented towards bookstores. And they were the only shops I could walk around without restrictions. Except for the financial ones. But ever since my grandfather got rich, he hasn't restricted my book spending. And neither did Mom's. He also joked that a three-volume Biological Encyclopedia or Iris Mer-Dock novel collection would still cost him less than a diamond ring. Our books are a terrible family disease. If once in two days none of the three of us buy at least one book, I'll be very surprised. Grandpa usually buys historical literature, from serious research to popular science reading. Mom takes novels and detectives to the house, and I take fiction and adventure. And we love to criticize each other's choices. Then a book bought and criticized travels from me to my mother, from mother to grandfather, and from grandfather again to me, being there and there. Now literature began to travel also to Nadyaška.

  - From the bookstore back to the right to the second alley - and straight.

  But luck wasn't on our side. The vampire suddenly scolded so that even the headlights in the car seemed to blush for a moment.

  - What else is wrong?

  - No gas," Danielle barked. - You idiots! We don't even have enough gas for five kilometers.

  - I'll have to go to the gas station, I shrugged my shoulders.

  - I'll have to... Danielle's strain. - If I knew where she was!

  I looked out the window.

  - There should be a small gas station a block away. And there's a little shop there. Two in one. My grandfather and I go there sometimes when we go to the cottage. We buy gas and groceries from a gas stationer at once. If you turn left now, and at the next crossroads you turn left again, we'll go to her.

  Danielle nodded and turned the car around.

  I wrapped up in a leather jacket a little tighter. Strangely, I didn't feel anything. No cold, no hunger, no fear, nothing. Apparently, there was still a horse's adrenaline dose in the blood.

  Well, the better. I'll be hysterical later when we're in a safe place. In the meantime, I can't relax. Danielle doesn't know the city, he's the only one who can't find a dorm or eat half the city before he gets there. And he doesn't know Nadushkin's room number. In a nutshell, pull yourself together, your zebra behind your leg!

  Five minutes later, I realized that our luck was over. At the moment when we stopped at a gas station and a sleeping guy of twenty-five years of Caucasian nationality came out to meet us! And he stared with rounded eyes at our car. Even in my twilight state I understood - he expected to see completely different people driving.

  - He obviously knows our car," I exhaled as soon as my lips moved.

  That was enough for Daniel. Three o'clock in the morning is dark time. There's no one on the streets. And those who are, they try not to draw attention to themselves.

  The vampire, like a giant cat of prey, got out of the car and attacked the gas station. I've never seen how vampires kill. Even in the movies, it wasn't like that. It's a lousy props. Sometimes I'd watch horror movies at night if the day or week was gray and boring enough. I'd get an adrenaline dose and fall asleep in peace. Now it was scary. If I saw it on the screen, I wouldn't sleep half the night. I'd sit, read, play solitaire or watch some comedy. And when I went to bed and tried to sleep, I would have taken an old soft toy to bed with me. Cheburashka. It was old and not even pretty at all. The fur was wiped and bent, I sewed his ears with different threads, and on his stomach there were several patches, but he was still the best. And he calmed me down like nothing else. But not now.

  For one brief moment, Danielle turned into one blurred strip. I couldn't follow his movements, but I knew from somewhere what he was doing. One hand he grabbed the poor man by the back of his head, the other by his chin, and his fangs closed around the unlucky boy's neck. He couldn't even squeak. If we'd played cheap American horror movie, there'd be blood spatter on the pavement after that. Maybe even something got on the car. But there was real life around here. And in life, vampires don't waste precious red liquids. They drink it. In the silence of the street, there was a distinctly soft squelchy sound. You can't drink it quietly? I didn't want to find out. Finally, Danielle moved away from the guy, and his body settled softly, somehow bonelessly on the pavement. The vampire turned to me and smiled with his fangs released.

  - It's gonna be okay now.

  His eyes were solid lakes of red and grey. No pupil, no squirrel. Twilight permeated with bloody veins. And for a second, I got scared. But only for a second. And then it nauseated again and I wasn't scared anymore. A vampire came up to the car and looked me in the eyes. His face was full of some kind of predator or something, and he became detached and focused.

  And I suddenly realized clearly that if I showed you how disgusting and scared I was, I would never be able to communicate normally with this vampire again. And not only our lives, but also Kat'kin and my relatives depend on my attitude to him - and his attitude to me now. So I gathered once again and asked in the most impassive tone:

  - Was it so necessary? Kill him?

  The vampire smiled pretty good. And he didn't answer until a few minutes later, when I started to doubt I'd get an answer.

  - Not really.

  - WHAT?!

  I jumped in the seat. Did he just kill that man for nothing?! Oh, my God! I think I'm really going to start praying now.

  - It was necessary. First, he really recognized us. Five minutes after we left, the whole town would know about us. We wouldn't even have lived one day with that kind of advertising. Secondly, I haven't fully recovered yet. You saw the state I was in. It took me a lot of blood to recover. The blood of the executioner, the blood of the werewolf, your blood at last! All this made me look like a human being. But I haven't yet come to full strength. And I couldn't handle the other vampires. I could have lay down and rested. I could have slept all day and regained my strength. But we'd be defenseless tonight. I could have stunned him or hypnotized him, but both are no absolute guarantee. I can't control the human mind very well. At any moment, the boy would remember and tell everything. They'd start looking for us and quickly find us. Were you willing to take a risk? I wasn't.

  I looked at the kid. Now he looked like a broken doll. A doll with a torn throat that a cruel child threw into a corner. But that doll was alive!

  - And if he had a wife, children, parents at last! If someone was waiting for him home this morning?

  The light grey eyes didn't express anything.

  - I had a choice. It was either us or him. I chose us. I don't want to be where I left off. And I don't want to be cut with silver knives.

  I flinched. We made Mr. Duška so angry that he won't be nice to us. Yes, he will. And be in his hands?! Kill me right away! And yet...

  - You'll learn not to feel guilty about yourself," shrugged Danielle.

  I shaved and turned my back. I didn't want to learn it.

  - Do me a favor while I fill up the car and hide the corpse, go to the store, get some normal human food there and take all the money you can find," the vampire asked.

  There was no choice. I got out of the car and went to the gas station, trying not to turn around. The shop was empty. Only on the counter was a Playboy magazine on the page with another sex symbol. I had my nose wrinkled.

  First you had to find the packages. They were found pretty quickly - and I put two bags on my hands to avoid leaving any fingerprints. Sooner or later, I'll get back to normal - and I don't need a murder
charge.

  I packed more groceries in four more bags. I even raked fish and meat from the little fridge. If not us, then Nadya will eat it. Methodically, I emptied the cash register and looked in the back room. There was a warm sheepskin sheepskin in there - I took her too. I think I was becoming a professional marauder.

  - Are you ready? Well done!

  I didn't even hear a vampire go behind my back.

  - Yes. And you?

  - I'm gonna clean up a little bit, and we're gonna go.

  - Will you clean up?

  Danielle didn't say anything. He just unbuttoned and took off his jacket first, then the executioner's leather vest, and then his shirt. He left his pants, though. There was white skin underneath his clothes, all covered in wounds and scars. It used to be just a mess of leather ribbons. Now it's just cuts and burns. And old scars. And they pale and faded before my eyes. The cuts would tighten, the skin would look primordial. I imagined what he felt as he helped me walk, struggled, carried me, and exhaled sharply.

  - You must have been in a lot of pain.

  - It's little things," Danielle said. - And I am grateful to you. Your blood is very strong.

  - Strong? - He uttered that word, clearly putting the sentence out of context. And I couldn't help but ask a question.

  - Yes. Strong. I'll explain later.

  - You're gonna owe me a lot of explaining.

  - I promise.

  Danielle said it looking me right in the eyes, and my fingertips were stabbed. It was something very serious. It was very serious.

  - Pour water on me, please. I got smeared again.

  - Right here?

  - Why not?

  There was water at the gas station. Drinking, in bottles. I poured at least fifty liters on a vampire before he calmed down and got dressed.

  - Now we can go.

  - And the car? The body?

  - We're all set. Let's go.

  The vampire picked up the bags as if they weighed nothing, and went to the car. I grabbed a couple of bottles of drinking water and followed him. The trunk was busy, so I had to load the groceries in the backseat. And the vampire touched the car again.

  Thank God we made it to the dorm without incident. I just couldn't take another murder. And we went inside unnoticed.