The Vampire War

by Eric S. Brown

  Though Ringer was slaughtering the vampires around him wholesale, he was just one man, and they were many. His aggressive offense quickly turned into a defensive stance as Yama joined the fight. The elder vampire drew a curved obsidian blade, swinging it at Ringer, who was just barely able to reinforce the protective field about his body before the sword struck. Sparks flew as the vampire’s blade made contact with Ringer’s shield and slid across it. Ringer’s shield kept him from being cut in half, but did nothing to lessen the blade’s impact. Picked up by the force of the elder vampire’s blow and hurled across the room, Ringer crashed to the floor with a loud grunt.

  Katherine Grimm was nearly in tears as she saw Ringer wasn’t alone. A man stepped out of the wall he’d apparently been hiding in. His body was almost transparent one moment, and fully solid the next as he raised the barrel of what looked to be a modified P-90 at Yama and squeezed the trigger. A blast of fully-automatic fire caught the elder vampire in the chest. Silver bullets punched through Yama’s flesh and ribs, sending the elder vampire staggering backward. Katherine saw Richard tap the earpiece comm unit he wore.

  “This is Psi-4. The enemy has been engaged!” Richard yelled. “All units, commence attack.”

  The surviving vampires were scattered and in utter chaos as the Psi-mechs entered the warehouse. There were four of them in all, one crashing through the wall of each side of the building. One of the Psi-mechs let loose on a small group of vampires with a flamethrower unit mounted on the side of its right arm. The geyser of flames it aimed at the vampires lit two of them completely on fire and drove the others back, hissing and snarling. Another Psi-mech’s hand spun and transformed into a wide-mouthed cannon that thundered as it unleashed a barrage of wooden spikes into the two vampires closest to its position, ripping them to shreds. The third Psi-mech was carrying an oversized squad automatic weapon, or SAW. The heavy weapon cut a swath of destruction through the vampires dumb enough to charge in its direction. The fourth Psi-mech popped its arm blades as it entered through the warehouse’s wall, and Katherine knew without a doubt that Scott was piloting the mech. Its movements were far more human-like and graceful than the other mechs as it barreled into a group of vampires, engaging them in an up-close-and-personal manner. Its right arm blade removed a vampire’s head from its shoulders, and its left plunged into the heart of another vampire within its reach.

  Katherine’s attention was suddenly drawn back to Archibald. The man had been sputtering and chanting in a language beyond the scope of humanity’s concept of time. She could feel the power of the magic he was conjuring tainting the air around her as it grew within him.

  “Ringer!” Katherine shouted in warning as Archibald swung his fingertips toward the telekinetic, who had only just gotten back onto his feet. Snake mouths composed entirely of bristling black energy streaked toward Ringer from each of Archibald’s fingers. Knowing they were magical in nature, Ringer didn’t even try to block them. He flew straight up, taking off like a rocket out of their path. The snake mouths corrected their course, chasing after him into the air. Magic was a strange thing to Ringer. He knew very little about it, beyond that a few real forms of it existed. That kind of power was far rarer than even psychic abilities, and almost never wielded by humans. The problem with magic was, it wasn’t bound by the same laws of reality as everything else in existence. That’s why he hadn’t chanced being able to block the flying snake mouths with his telekinetic shield.

  A young woman with long, flowing, reddish-brown hair that Katherine didn’t recognize came running in through one of the holes the Psi-mechs had left in the warehouse’s walls to join the battle. She carried a silver-bladed katana in a two-handed grip. Katherine’s heightened vampiric senses allowed her to hear the girl’s heartbeat without even trying. It was much stronger and faster than it should be for a girl her size. Katherine was no Frank Dubin, but she knew psychic power when she felt it. And the girl’s entire body was charged with it.

  Moving as fast as a vampire, the girl leaped through the air toward the snake mouths pursuing Ringer. Her silver katana dispatched them one by one in a flurry of controlled slashes as the girl passed them. She landed on her feet with the grace of cat, without stopping. The direction of her course zagged as she turned to go straight at Archibald.

  “No!” Katherine heard Ringer shout at the girl, but it was too late. His face tightened in fear and desperation as Archibald screamed an ancient and alien word. His muscles grew beneath his flesh, shedding it as a new skin of stone replaced it. The girl’s katana met his neck, but instead of severing his head, merely knocked a chip of stone away from it. Archibald’s eyes were wide with the terror of being so close to death. He recovered quickly, however, throwing a heavy-handed punch at the girl. His rock fist passed over the girl’s head as she ducked beneath the swing of his arm and rolled into a ball as her momentum carried her past him. Archibald swung about to go after her, but Ringer intervened.

  Archibald suddenly discovered he couldn’t move. Tendrils of telekinetic energy bound his arms and legs, holding him tightly to the spot where he stood, giving the girl the chance to get to her feet. She sprinted away as Ringer flew to land in front of the dark mage—or whatever the hell Archibald was. Katherine watched helplessly inside her cage, a boiling fury building within her.

  Ringer and Archibald stood, each waiting for the other to make the first move as the battle continued to rage around them. The vampires had managed to bring down one of the Psi-mechs. The mech lay on its back on the floor with two vampires holding it there as a third clawed open the mech’s forward armor, exposing the pilot compartment behind it. The pilot died as the vampire who’d opened up the mech yanked her out of it and effortlessly snapped her neck. As an added insult, the vampire sliced the woman from her groin to the top of her ribs with its claws. Her entrails poured out of her body, the long, purple, red-slicked strands of intestines falling to wind about themselves at the vampire’s feet.

  The Psi-mech that had entered using a wrist-mounted flamethrower unit had switched over to the autocannon mounted on its other arm. Spent shell casings flew, clattering to the warehouse floor, as the mech targeted the elder vampire going after Richard. Yama had recovered from the barrage of fire the psychic had hammered him with. The Psi-mech’s autocannon chattered as Yama stood his ground, his black-bladed sword spinning and sweeping in front of him madly as he blocked the bullets. Each one sparked away from the blade of his sword as it made contact with them. As the Psi-mech ceased fire, Yama screamed a battle cry, charging toward it. The Psi-mech tried to bring up its flame thrower again, but the elder vampire was too fast. Yama’s blade struck the side of the flamethrower unit, rendering it inoperable. The Psi-mech swung its heavy body sideways, dodging the elder vampire’s next swing. The third swing of Yama’s sword removed the Psi-mech’s right arm, slicing through the armor and the flesh and bone beneath it alike. The Psi-mech’s pilot howled in agony as it slumped to one knee.

  Yama moved in to finish it, but Richard was there behind him. Richard emptied the remainder of his P-90’s magazine into the elder vampire’s back. Yama was flung forward by the impact of the bullets as they hammered into him. He rammed into the damaged Psi-mech, sending both of them toppling to the floor with the elder vampire on top. The wounded and stunned pilot tried to bring the Psi-mech’s remaining arm up to block Yama’s fist as it came crashing down onto the mech’s faceplate, but failed. Yama shattered the reinforced glass, punching through it to collapse the pilot’s face. Blood splashed outward over the vampire as the Psi-mech’s pilot died within it. Yama launched himself up and off of the Psi-mech, spinning around in Richard’s direction. Richard was desperately attempting to shove a new magazine into his P-90. His eyes widened as Yama came snarling toward him.

  Katherine watched as Richard became immaterial. His entire body became ghost-like. Normally such a move would have made him invulnerable, but not today; Yama’s blade was enchanted. The blade of Yama’s sword slashed through Ri
chard as if he was still solid, cutting into his ghostly form as if it were normal flesh and blood. Richard would have died instantly, but he’d started twisting away from the blade as soon he felt it cutting into him. Richard’s body rolled away from the blade. The cut on his side leaked ghostly drops of blood that floated in the air, and he was clearly hurting badly. Yama’s bloodthirst was far from slaked, however. The elder vampire’s eyes flared red like miniature glowing suns as Scott came rushing over to engage him, drawing his attention away from Richard.

  The blade of Yama’s enchanted sword clanged as it blocked an overhand swing from one of the arm blades of Scott’s Psi-mech. The blow would have shattered the arms of any human blocking it from its sheer power, but Yama was no mere human; he was a master vampire of the highest order. Sparks flashed as Yama’s sword slid along the length of Scott’s arm blade before he jerked it away and into position to make a counterstrike. Scott was ready for the elder vampire, though. His left arm blade blocked Yama’s attempt to gut his Psi-mech. Yama and Scott danced in a violent clash of rapid-flowing blows like the sword masters they were.

  Archibald was muttering arcane words as Ringer made the first move. Ringer sent a spear of telekinetic energy flying directly at the dark mage’s heart. Archibald’s fingers had been weaving over themselves in front of him as he cast his spell. They came to an abrupt stop as a glowing shield of energy sprang into existence around Ringer’s spear, dissolving it away into nothing.

  “Give it up!” Ringer ordered Archibald. “You can’t win this one!”

  “We’ll see about that!” Archibald replied, already working on a new spell.

  The new girl and the other Psi-mech were busy mopping up the last of Yama’s underlings. Ringer had taken over with Archibald, leaving her free to engage the other vampires once more. The girl’s silver katana severed limbs and heads alike as she moved among the ranks of the vampires with a speed that matched, and sometimes even exceeded, their own. The Psi-mech with her blew apart the upper torso of a vampire with a near point-blank burst from its oversized SAW. The high-powered rounds from the weapon mangled the vampire’s body, punching so many holes into it that there wasn’t much more left than a red mist that lingered in the air, and its legs, which dropped onto the floor and lay there twitching.

  Sweat slicked Scott’s skin inside his Psi-mech. His breath came in ragged gasps. The elder vampire, Yama, was proving to be his equal in the way of the sword. Scott was holding his own for now but knew that wouldn’t last. Despite the power of his suit, he wasn’t immune to exhaustion. Yama would never tire, however, and that meant he needed to find a way to end their fight before the tables turned in favor of the elder vampire. As Yama advanced on him, Scott watched the elder vampire closely, hoping to find an opening in his defense. There wasn’t one that Scott could see. Speed was on the elder vampire’s side just as much as time was.

  Tonya Bellmore entered the warehouse, stumbling over rubble left from the entrance made by one of the Psi-mechs. Lifting a finger to press it against her temple, Tonya concentrated the full power of her telepathy into a single psionic blast. Yama squealed like a dying cat as the blast ravaged his mind. Tonya had caught the elder vampire completely unprepared to fend off such an attack. Many vampires, especially masters, were telepaths, but just as with human ones, it took an act of will to make their power work. Yama’s focus had been entirely fixed upon his battle with Scott’s Psi-mech. Blood spurted from Yama’s ears and leaked from his eyes and nostrils as he jerked his head around at Tonya. That gave Scott the opening he’d been waiting for. The right arm blade of his Psi-mech met the side of Yama’s neck. The elder vampire’s head left his shoulders to go bouncing across the floor. Supernatural flames erupted over his headless body, consuming it in a flash of heat and light. Yama’s head burnt away into ash, too, leaving only a charred spot where it had been laying.

  “Thanks!” Scott yelled to Tonya.

  Ringer and Archibald continued to face off in a battle of sheer psionic power versus dark magic. Each held their own against the other, trading blow for blow. Ringer lashed out at Archibald with a blast of telekinetic energy that staggered the granite-skinned Archibald. The dark mage’s transformative protection spell held up against the violence of Ringer’s attack, keeping him from being pulped by it. Small cracks spider webbed the rock skin that was now this flesh, though. It was clear that another such attack might be enough to end him.

  “Your vampires are dead,” Ringer told him. “Surrender now, or join them. You can’t fight us all.”

  “You’re right.” Archibald grinned. “I can’t.”

  The dark mage’s response caught Ringer off guard. He’d expected Archibald to continue fighting to the death. Then Ringer realized that Archibald was already in the process of casting another spell. Energy crackled and flashed all over the dark mage’s body and through the air around it.

  Ringer! He’s going to…Tonya broadcast telepathically into his mind.

  Ringer wasn’t a telepath, but he knew Tonya was listening to his thoughts as he answered back, Warn the others!

  Ringer heard her telepathic voice crying out to every member of the strike team. Scott’s Psi-mech and the other surviving mech exited as they’d come in, plunging through a section of the warehouse’s wall. Selah ran with superhuman speed, grabbing Tonya as she went. The two of them disappeared through one of the holes left by the Psi-mechs. Only Ringer remained behind. Straining with all his willpower, Ringer telekinetically latched on to Katherine’s cage. He dragged it upward with him as he flew through the warehouse’s roof into the sky beyond. Katherine was jarred about in the cage, bouncing painfully against its bars.

  Scott and the other Psi-mech came to a halt half a block away from the warehouse as Selah, carrying Tonya, caught up to them.

  “Frag me,” Anderson, the other surviving Psi-mech pilot, muttered over their shared comlink as they looked back at the building.

  The warehouse exploded, flinging debris into the surrounding street as something horrible burst out of it. The creature was close to a hundred feet tall, and it moved on two legs like a man. The creature’s arms were overly long, ending in hands that bore wicked-looking claws, each nearly the size of an adult human. They gleamed in the moonlight. Its blood-red eyes burned with fury. The creature didn’t have any neck to speak of. Its head merged into the plated armor-like scales of its shoulders. Tendrils of blackness darker than the night flowed about its body, coils of pure evil energy that bristled and cracked like lightning as they moved.

  “Well…you don’t see that every day,” Selah said, releasing Tonya from her arms and onto her feet.

  Ringer is getting Katherine out of here, Tonya telepathically told the others. It’s up to us to stop that thing.

  “You’ve got to be fragging kidding,” Anderson said.

  “She’s not,” Scott assured Anderson. “Target that thing with everything you have, and fire at will.”

  Selah and Tonya watched helplessly as the two Psi-mechs engaged the monster. Both Psi-mechs locked onto the monster with the weapons they had. The autocannons on the wrists of their Psi-mechs chattered. Armor-piercing rounds chipped away at the monster’s scales as rockets flew from the launchers mounted on the shoulders of Anderson’s Psi-mech. They streaked through the air, hammering into the monster’s chest to detonate there in flashes of heat and bursting shrapnel. The monster reared its head back to roar in pain and anger, then started forward despite the continued attack of the two Psi-mechs.

  “We’re not even hurting that thing,” Anderson snapped over the team’s shared comlink.

  “Yeah, but I think we’ve seriously ticked it off!” Scott yelled.

  The hundred-foot-tall abomination came bounding toward them.

  “We have to get you out of here, ma’am,” Selah told Tonya.

  “No!” Tonya shouted. “Hank’s on his way!”

  Selah and the others looked up into the sky as the Cerebus came swooping in from out of the darkness.
The disc-shaped fighter/carrier craft’s forward cannons lit the night as the ship opened fire. The pulses of energy ripped through the monster’s scales, cutting holes into its body. The monster reeled away from the Cerebus as it tried to use its arms to block the bulk of the pulse bolts smashing into it, but the Cerebus’ pulse cannons blew its arms to pieces. Gore, bits of charred bone, and putrid green blood rained down over the street.

  “Yeah, that’s how you do it!” Scott whooped, throwing up his Psi-mech’s right arm, urging Hank on.

  Sirens of all sorts were blaring in the distance and closing on the battle from all directions.

  We’ve got incoming cops and firefighters, Hank! Tonya warned the telemechanic aboard the Cerebus. You need to finish that thing now and get the hell out of here.

  “What about you?” Hank asked. “Need a pickup?”

  No time. I’ve called in Eddie, Tonya answered.

  A shimmering doorway of swirling colors formed on the street near Tonya and the others. Eddie stepped through it, took one look at the Cerebus engaged with the giant monster, and said, “I can’t leave y’all alone for even a few minutes without this kind of crap happening.”

  “Shut up,” Tonya snapped at the psycho-porter. “Just get us out of here!”

  Eddie waved at portal, gesturing for her to run into it. “I ain’t stopping you.”

  The two Psi-mechs went through the portal first, their metal legs pumping beneath them. Caroline blazed passed Eddie after them, almost a blur as she ran.

  “Dang! That girl creeps me out,” Eddie commented as she raced past.

  “Move!” Tonya ordered him, shoving Eddie along with her toward the portal. It closed behind them the second she and Eddie were through it.

  Hank knew the rest of the team was out of danger. The tele-mechanic also knew he didn’t have much time to finish the hundred-foot-tall monster before the city’s authorities started showing up to get massacred. His mind connected with the systems of the Cerebus. The weapon he was about to use hadn’t been tested in the field yet, and he wanted to control it “mind on,” so to speak, rather than through the Cerebus’ normal controls and targeting system.