The Enemies of Vengeance

by P. A Ross

  I still had my hands on my knees, breathing heavily. I looked up as Rip leaped at me and put both my hands up to parry his oncoming attack. He barged into my chest and we both tumbled to the floor. He punched down at my face. I blocked with my forearms and tried to dislodge him by bucking my body. He didn't move and followed up with more punches onto my forearms. He stopped and stood up over me.

  "Where is your magic? At thirty percent better in your hybrid state, you should almost be as good as a normal Dragan. You should be able to defend yourself and fight me without the formula. So what happened to your magic?"

  He was right. As soon as he attacked, I forgot all about my magic. I couldn't do that in a normal fight. I always had to be prepared to push my magic into my body. I decided the best way to answer him. I let my feelings of humiliation and anger burn into my magic and let it spark across my body. I rolled backwards and sprung up, forcing Rip backwards, and I landed on my feet. I lunged forward with a front kick. Rip leaped back and avoided the blow. I followed on with a flying left punch. Rip spun around and blocked it with his arms. With Rip going backwards, I powered the magic into my fists and let them blur towards his face, knowing I couldn't do him any real damage. After several blocks, I smashed through his guard and hit him clean on the nose. He staggered back and tripped over onto the gravel floor with his hands over his nose.

  Blood poured onto his hands and soaked back into his fixed nose. "Better. It took me by surprise, just as I did to you. An important lesson if you're fighting another Dragan. It takes time to get the magic to flow, whether subconsciously or consciously in our case. Most Dragans can use this magic on an unconscious level. You and I, my friend, are fully aware of its true power and can accelerate it and enhance it to levels that they cannot reach."

  I smiled and held out my hand. He reached out, grabbed my hand and dragged me down, pulling himself up. He then thrust himself backwards, coiled a foot into my chest and flipped me over into the air, spinning me into the field behind. I let my magic flow and righted myself in the air to land on both feet. Rip continued with the momentum and rolled onto his feet, ready to attack when he saw me waiting for him. He stopped and grinned. "Wow. You really are getting the hang of this. I suggest tonight we call it a draw and have a drink. Tomorrow, we train some more and I will look forward to it. It is the first time I have fought against another Dragan for many years. And the first time I've really used my knowledge of the magic to accelerate my own powers. You will be training me as much as I am training you."

  He held his hand out for me. I was expecting another trick, but I walked forward and shook it. He grabbed it and shook my hand with both of his hands, and then slapped me on the back and walked me back into the cottage where he poured us another glass of wine and lit another cigarette.

  I went around the other side of the table. He raised his glass and I picked up mine. "To new friends," he said.

  "To new friends," I replied.

  Chapter Thirteen

  We carried on drinking the rest of the night until Rip checked his watched and looked out the window.

  "Daylight approaches my young apprentice. I need some quiet time to plan your training program. I wasn't expecting to work out your next stage of training just yet. But you have advanced quicker than I expected."

  "Are you sending me to bed?"

  "Yes. Get some sleep."

  I sunk back the last of my wine and said goodnight. I went to bed while Rip fetched out a pad of paper and started scribbling some notes. I had gone to bed at 4 o'clock in the morning, which meant I slept most of the next day. But at least I was awake at night ready to train with Rip.

  As darkness came, I made my way down into the kitchen, searching for food. The noise must have woken up Rip, and he appeared and grabbed his cigarettes from the worktop and went out into the field for a smoke. I wandered after him while munching on a baguette. He offered me a cigarette, and I shook my head.

  "You are fine to smoke, it can't do you any harm with your powers," he said.

  "I know, but I just don't like smoking," I replied.

  "Nor do I really, it's become a habit, a way of feeling something after being alive for hundreds of years. Feeling it burn down my throat and into my lungs. And then letting my body fix itself and expel the toxins. You're right, I should just give up. I have plenty to feel and live for now you are here. We are gonna have great fun," he replied and flicked his cigarette out into the field. Then he walked back into the cottage and threw the rest of the cigarettes in the bin. He poured himself a glass of water from the tap and drank it down.

  "So I have a training plan for you. I'm going to attack you to try to mimic the moves of a werewolf. I will use my magic to make myself stronger and more aggressive. You must use your magic to move faster and more agile. And then tomorrow night we will swap roles. Then maybe you will experience what a werewolf sees when they fight a Dragan. But before we train, I am hungry and need to feed. So we will drive a couple of hours to another town, where we will try to find something. Plus we need to get you some food as well."

  I totally forgot about the need to feed on blood. "I understand. Do you need me to come with you?"

  "Yes, it is part of your training. You've already realised you need blood on occasions. After the werewolf attack, you needed blood to heal quickly. The more time you spend as a Dragan, the more blood you will need eventually. You need to learn how to feed and how to find your food."

  "Thorn has taken me on her feeding trips before. Do you do it the same as her?"

  "Well, that depends on how she does it?"

  "She likes to seduce men and then take them somewhere quiet to feed, or she looks for trouble and takes her fill of their blood, usually killing them."

  Rip nodded. "Back in the old days, I worked for Thorn. We would fetch her something to feed upon. Very rarely did she venture out on her own to find food. She was royalty after all. But it does seem like we get food in very similar ways, which is not a surprise. The ability to seduce is something you are aware of. But also our psychic powers allow us to pick vulnerable people or people that probably deserve to be fed upon. Tonight we need a quick feed, so we head to the rough part of a town and attack one of the local drug dealers. They are easy to spot on the street corners. We attack one of them and get their guards to chase us into dead end."

  "You want me to feed as well. I'm not in my full Dragan state and don't need to."

  "Maybe you should try it. See if you can use that magic to produce claws and fangs. Seventy percent of you is Dragan. Test how drinking blood affects it. You can practice your new fighting ability against the dealers even if you don't feed. Come on let's go, if I get a good feed tonight, then I don't have to go again for a few nights. Then we will have plenty of time to get on with your training."

  Rip headed out of the cottage, swooping his hand into the bin for his cigarettes and then through the door. I followed him out, and he locked the cottage door and then walked over to the small garage. He flipped open the big long metal door and shuffled down the side of the garage and climbed inside a beaten up old white Citroen. He started it up and drove out. I shut the garage door and got in the car. He drove out along a gravel path that was overgrown with patches of grass, and then turned right and headed out of town.

  It would take a couple of hours to get to our destination, so I decided it was my chance to ask him some questions.

  "So what is the deal between you and Thorn?"

  "She hasn't told you about me?"

  "She told me that you were in charge of the Royal guard. It was your job to protect her and her family during the Dragan wars. And that you probably feel guilty about the fact they broke in and killed her husband and child, and her mother and father. And that you been running from her too ashamed to face her, or feeling guilty because of what happened."

  Rip stared ahead at the road for a while and wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. "It is true. But did she tell you how it happened, how they got past
me?"

  "No. She only told me that you were in charge of the guard and would have felt guilty about not protecting her."

  "It was my fault that they broke in and attacked Thorn and her family. I had been distracted and seduced by the twins, who worked for Cyrus. They tricked me into letting them in. I thought they wanted to see me, but it was all a ploy to gain access to the castle. I knew they wouldn't be allowed in under normal circumstances. They were a sworn enemy of Thorn as an ally of Cyrus."

  "Thorn was with Cyrus in that video. Are you telling me that Cyrus was the one who ordered the raid that killed her family?"

  "Yes, it was Cyrus who was at war with her. Hence, if she can forgive Cyrus for what happened, I believe she can forgive me as well. And therefore I suppose she can forgive the twins for their part in her family's death. But I'm not sure I can ever forgive them for what they did to me."

  "So why was Cyrus at war with Thorn?"

  "It's a very long complicated story. How much has Thorn actually told you?"

  "Only the Dragans were at war with one another. Through this war, they discovered their magic could turn the recently dead into vampires, hence the name of the Turned. She said the war started through jealousy as such small numbers of Dragans in existence."

  "Yes, it was Cyrus who discovered the Turned. It was he who raised an army and attacked Thorn and her family. It was due to jealousy, Cyrus believed he should be King of the Dragans. And to be King of the Dragans he needed to be in a Union with Thorn."

  "But Thorn married someone else and had a child and made them the King of the Dragans."

  "In a way, yes. Thorn had actually been married or in a Union a couple of times before and once to Cyrus. However, Cyrus was unable to father any children with her. The need to reproduce the race was too important, so their Union was disbanded. Thorn found another who was capable of giving her a child, and she formed a Union with him."

  "So Cyrus and Thorn were in love once?"

  "I never said they were in love. But it was deemed to be a good match due to their heritage. Thorn was the first child to the original mages and dragons. Cyrus's parents were one original Dragan and a firstborn. It made sense for them to be together and therefore, their offspring would be strong, but it didn't work out. And as Thorn's parents were considered to be the strongest of the Dragans, the others deferred to them and looked to them for guidance. They had become the leaders of the Dragans and were given the title of King and Queen, which meant Thorn was direct in line to be the next ruler. And therefore her partner would be King of the Dragans."

  "So Cyrus wanted to kill Thorn, and her parents and her husband and child, so he could claim the title for his own? He started the whole war?"

  "Yes. This whole mess we are in is due to the argument between Cyrus and Thorn. So you can see why I was so surprised to see them together. And why I now think I must be forgiven if she is willing to forgive him. But if we do win this war and defeat the Turned, I suspect the old rivalries will rear again. Unfortunately for you, it means Cyrus will look to take your place and claim the title he believes belongs to him. One that he was once due to inherit but lost as Thorn disbanded their union."

  I put my head in my hands and rubbed my temples, just what I needed a crazy jealous Dragan as an enemy. "Great. I will keep an eye on him and add him to the list of people who want to kill me."

  "Don't worry my friend. I have a duty to protect you as the new King. I need to fulfil the duty, as I should have done all those years ago. Thorn knew full well I would feel this obligation when she sent you to me. However, it has been no hardship on my behalf," Rip said and smiled at me.

  He carried on driving, and I had more questions for him, but I decided that was enough revelations for one night. I would get more of Thorn's mysterious past out of him as my training continued. He did promise a question for a question, and I was owed a few.

  The car rattled along the single track country lanes until we joined a normal road. All the time, Rip smoked as he drove. I opened the window and kept my face near it to get some fresh air and to allow the smoke to escape. He offered me a cigarette, but I turned it down. I decided that regardless of my body's healing ability, I just didn't like smoking.

  We joined a major route with dual lanes and sped along until we finally reached the town, Saint-Étienne. We drove in from the countryside with houses building up in density, and headed through the city centre and out the other side. The atmosphere changed as we drove into the suburbs. The roads had potholes, and we cruised along unnoticed, as Rip's car was old enough to fit in with the other scratched and dented vehicles.

  He parked along the street by a shutdown cinema. The doors and windows boarded up, and the car park blocked up with metal wire fences. The cinema had a sign for a film from three years ago, and the car park tarmac was losing the battle with the weeds erupting through it.

  We walked another couple miles into the rundown area, past boarded-up houses and broken down cars with the wheels and mirrors already salvaged by the locals.

  Other cars drove past and the passengers eyed us. The people walking the streets kept their eyes fixed ahead and expressions grim. The population carried the same disrepair as the buildings and streets upon which they lived.

  Rip dragged us into an alleyway and whispered into my ear. "Look down the street and you will see a man standing on the corner." I looked over at a man dressed in a tracksuit with hair shaven at the sides and long on top. "He's a drug dealer. You go to him and pay the money and then walk back across the street, and a young lad will run over and give you the drugs. What we are going to do, or should I say you are going to do, is run over to the man and punch him in the face and steal all his money. Then run back to this alleyway where I will be waiting.

  Other people will appear out of these buildings or cars and chase after you as well. Lead them down the alley and then I will jump out. I can get an excellent feed off a couple of these guys. We can both practice our fighting. See if you can work your magic up into a big ball before you start. Don't run too fast when being chased, I don't want you to lose them completely. And you are to only use the magic, once they are trapped down here. I want you to try and push out your fangs and claws, and attack as if you were a Dragan. If you feel the need to take a little blood as well, it might give your powers a boost."

  I stared across the road at the man looking around for customers. I knew he was a drug dealer preying on the vulnerable to make money. But I'm sure he had his own sad tale to tell. I was basically going to trick him into chasing me to get torn apart by a Dragan, who would drain his blood. I felt better to be taking out drug dealers than just picking on a person at random. But I still wasn't convinced this was the right thing to do.

  "Are you going to kill him?" I asked.

  "Well, I am not taking him out for a five-course meal and giving him champagne," Rip replied.

  "But he is still a person. Probably has no choice but to deal drugs to make money. Not saying I agree with what he does, it is just that we shouldn't judge other people. We have no idea what's led to these decisions and this lifestyle."

  "You won't get very far as a bleeding heart liberal if you can't feed. What you have to remember is that everything has a consequence. Other people are poor and need to make a living, but they don't deal drugs. If we take him off the streets, then maybe someone coming for their fix will be forced to go clean. Maybe by taking away the drug dealers, it would prevent young people from joining the gang to become drug dealers. Maybe they will look for other employment. If there are fewer drugs on the street, there will be fewer drug addicts and therefore less crime. You may feel sorry for him, but the world would be better off without drug dealers and criminal gangs that control them. What would you rather, I found some poor innocent young girl walking down the street and ripped the life away from an A+ student, someone who might have become a doctor, someone who might have made a difference."

  "I understand. I just wish there was a better way." />
  "I've been alive for hundreds of years and have yet to find a better way. If you find one, which means I can feed without hurting anybody, then let me know. But for now, go ahead and punch that man and then steal his money and lure them back here. Just think of us as crime-fighting superheroes, who also drink people's blood."

  I had to forget about being human, and remember that I was becoming a Dragan and had to see humans as food at some point if I was to survive.

  I brushed down my clothes, pushed back my hair, took a deep breath, and then strolled out of the alleyway and down the road towards the man. He stared at me and took a step back. I guessed he didn't recognise me as a regular. He looked up and down the street for his backup. "How can I help you?"

  I coiled my fists and then sprung forward using my magic to accelerate myself, hitting him square on the chin, knocking him flying back into the brick wall and slumping to the floor. I searched through his clothes, grabbed the cash and a mobile phone and stuffed them in my pockets.

  I was supposed to hit him so he could chase after me down the alley. But the dealer was spark out, blood running from the back of his head. I looked up and down the street, waiting for his backup. A front door burst open and two men raced towards me. I had my prey. I jumped up and ran back towards the alley, making sure they kept track, letting them catch me up.

  I ran down the alley but couldn't see Rip anywhere. The alleyway resulted in a brick wall, a dead end. The men ran down and cornered me. It reminded me of the two Hunters confronting me in Vegas. I walked back towards the guys who started swearing in French slang, which I didn't understand. I prepared to fight them both, pulling my magic in-wards, preparing to let it burst out through my fists when a massive bin on wheels skidded across the alleyway and out stepped Rip.

  "Hello, my friends, glad to see you could make it to our little party," Rip said and walked towards them with his arms out to block their way. They looked at each other, and then back and forth between Rip and me. They both pulled out guns, one aimed at me and the other at Rip. I should have known drug dealers would have guns. I didn't have one.