If that happened, the fight would be over real quick.
As she moved, Nadya tried to keep an eye out for anything that would give her an upper hand. She was fast, but her stamina wouldn’t hold out forever. And it would only take one slight dip in her reaction time for Remy to score a fatal blow.
Deciding that a stand up, face-to-face sword fight with the vampire probably wasn’t the best of plans, Nadya parried Remy’s most recent attack and immediately lashed back at him with a flurry of movement, causing him to step back, bringing his sword up and back close to him to block her attacks.
Nadya saw his eyes widen from the sudden attack but he still managed to block her at every slice and thrust. Still, hitting him wasn’t what she was after. With him on the defense now, she turned and darted towards the nearest exit to the room. As she passed through the shattered doorway, she dove to the side on the off chance Remy decided to hurl his sword at her exposed backside.
Retreating through a building she wasn’t familiar with may not have seemed like the smartest strategy, but Nadya always found she did her best fighting while on the move. Standing still and exchanging blows with an enemy just didn’t feel right to her. Better to mix it up a bit and maybe catch Remy off guard.
Unless, of course, he catches me off guard first.
Chapter Thirty-Seven: Settling Up
Barreling down the hallway, Nadya took notice of the various items that adorned it. For a den of feral beasts, the place actually wasn’t that badly decorated. Various antiques were displayed along the hall.
Ornate vases, colorful oil paintings, statues of armor.
The details of the items were lost on Nadya as she passed them. She held her sword up in front of her, firmly, ready to strike at anyone or anything that decided to lunge at her.
Reaching an intersection, Nadya caught the briefest glimpse of light reflecting off of metal and without sparing a moment to consider the source ducked low into a summersault through the intersection, swinging her sword out to the side. She was rewarded with an angered snarl and took the time to glance over and see that she’d managed to open up a deep gash into Remy’s thigh. Dark crimson blood seeped from the wound, soaking into his pants leg.
The brief glance was all she took, pushing herself back to her feet and spinning around to face him. Remy brought his overextended sword back, lifting it up just in time to block her next attack, which would have cut clean through his neck. The two swords slammed together. The two combatants pressed against each other, testing the other’s strength.
Knowing that ultimately she’d lose the test, Nadya gave a hard push forward then relaxed, letting Remy shove her backwards. Her boots slid against the hard wood floor several feet.
Suspecting he’d gotten an advantage, Remy charged after her. To his surprise, she charged right back. His sword was already up, poised to slash out at her. With no other choice, he swung his weapon.
Nadya saw the attack easily, parrying it with her own sword, knocking Remy’s blade aside harmlessly as she spun around and lifted her left leg. Slamming the heel of her boot into his face, she heard an audible cracking as his nose flattened against his face. Blood squirted across his lips and he stumbled backwards against the wall, stunned.
Turning to face him, Nadya pushed her offensive. He attempted to bring his sword up in front of him but she leapt into the air, using her left foot to kick the sword to the side then slamming her right foot into his chest, shoving him into the wall again. Pushing off with her foot, Nadya back flipped and landed on her feet in front of him. He was still stunned, his sword to the side.
It would be so easy.
One step forward and a hard slash across his throat.
Game over.
Too easy.
She flashed him a smirk then darted down the intersection he’d emerged from. She wasn’t through torturing him just yet. She wanted to hear him beg for mercy before she finally ended his suffering. There was a score to be settled, with interest.
And Nadezhda Valentina’s interest rates were a motherfucker.
Adrenalin pumping through her veins, Nadya couldn’t even feel the various aches and pains of the wounds she’d sustained so far during the night, and from nights previous. Her breathing came easy, not bothered by the rapid pace she set for herself.
As usual, despite the speed and intensity of her situation, things seemed to move much slower in her eyes. As if she were using sheer willpower to force time to lag, allowing her movements to become perfectly choreographed.
Spotting an open door leading into a side room on the right, Nadya put her abilities to use, skidding on her boots, reaching out to grab hold of the door frame with her left hand and pulling herself into a spin.
As she turned to face the way she’d come from, she could see Remy charging towards her, limping on his injured leg. His face was the definition of pure rage.
Nadya lost sight of him as she slid into the room backwards. There would only be a few seconds before he caught up to her. Turning, she quickly surveyed the room.
A billiard room.
A large pool table set in the center. It looked as though her and Bridget’s arrival had interrupted a game. Colorful balls and a pair of pool sticks were laid out on the table. On the far side of the room was a wet bar, a pair of neglected glasses filled about halfway with alcohol on top of it.
Hearing the thudding of Remy’s feet against the floor, Nadya spun back around just in time to see him come through the door. Jumping back and bringing her sword up, she deflected his first downward blow. He didn’t let up, striking out at her several more times, but she kept the strikes at bay.
As soon as she saw an opening, she launched herself into a back flip, rising into the air and planting her feet down on the pool table, managing to avoid landing on any of the balls. She only remained there for a moment as Remy slashed at her ankles. Taking a short jump upwards, she slammed her feet down onto his blade, pinning it to the billiard table. Remy tugged at the sword, but Nadya had her feet planted firmly.
Lifting her left leg, she kicked out. The toe of her boot hit him across the face and caused his head to snap to the side. Nadya spun, bringing up her right foot from the table and kicking out straight, slamming the sole into Remy’s forehead as he brought his head back around.
The vampire stumbled back, losing his grip on the sword. Crouching down, Nadya grabbed hold of his weapon by the blade, lifting it up and flipping it in the air. She grabbed hold of the handle before throwing it point first at her dazed opponent. Remy let out a roar of pain as the sword impaled him through the gut.
Launching herself off the pool table, Nadya extended her left leg outwards into a jump kick, slamming her foot into the bottom of the sword handle and sending it deeper through Remy’s midsection. Forced backwards, the bloody blade emerged from his backside and was forced into the wall, pinning him there.
Landing in front of him, Nadya brought her sword up, holding it ready. Remy reached for his sword with his right hand, attempting to pull it free. Before he could move it, she swung her weapon downwards and was rewarded with a howl of pain.
His severed hand dangled from the sword that impaled him, fingers partially clenched around it. Remy’s eyes were wide with pain, shock and anger as he stared at the stump at the end of his arm. Blood pumped from it, flowing down what remained of his limb and splattering onto the floor.
Turning his eyes to Nadya, he tried to lunge forward, only managing to pull himself further down the length of the sword until the hilt firmly pressed against his stomach. His movements caused his severed right hand to slip free from the handle and drop to the floor.
Reaching out with both arms, Remy tried to either claw at Nadya with his left hand or batter her with the stump on his right arm. She watched the show with sadistic glee for a few moments before slashing her sword out again. Another howl of pain escaped Remy’s lips as his left hand dropped to the floor to join its companion.
Holding up both of his arm
s in front of him, Remy looked between the two stumps, emitting a scream of impotent rage. Stepping forward, Nadya took hold of the sword impaling Remy, gripping it tightly and then yanking back, pulling it free from the wall but not from his body. She gave the blade a twist to the left, then to the right, then once again back to the left, enjoying the pained looks she gained from Remy.
Pulling back hard, Nadya removed the sword from Remy’s gut, watching as more blood poured from him. Noticing something odd about the blade, she looked down at it and saw that a loop of the vampire’s guts had been ensnared on it and had now been dragged out of his body. Pulling the sword further back, she watched as more of his intestines were dragged out. Remy moved his stubs down to the hole, trying to pull himself back together but finding it difficult without any hands.
Turning, Nadya hurled the sword towards the opposite wall. The blade slammed into the far wall, a long length of gut strewn along behind it still attached to Remy’s insides.
Admiring the streamer of intestine, Nadya was caught off guard as Remy leapt onto her back, bringing his arms around her, trying to clutch her as tightly as he could. His fangs pressed into her throat on the opposite side that he’d bitten her the previous night. Grimacing, she tried to throw him free but found it more difficult than she’d imagined. Nadya spun, struggling to get free and found herself becoming tangled in the length of intestine that she’d pulled from Remy’s gut.
Trying to pull her sword up, Nadya found it impossible due to the guts holding her arms down. She could feel herself growing colder and weaker as Remy sucked at her life blood, trying to get as much of it into his mouth as quickly as possible. Nadya’s head grew light, eyelids drooping. Her hands moved of their own accord. If they couldn’t bring the sword up, then they’d just have to find another way.
Flipping the sword around so the tip pointed downwards, Nadya moved her hands down – the only way she could – and moved the blade between her legs before slamming it upwards.
Remy’s feast stopped suddenly.
There was no scream of pain this time; only choked gasps as he fell free from her back.
Yanking the sword back out from between her legs, Nadya sliced through the guts that were wrapped around her before spinning around to face Remy once more. The vampire pressed his stubs against his blood-soaked crotch. He stared up at Nadya, tears streaking his eyes.
“You stabbed me in the balls! Fucking bitch!”
“Don’t worry, asshole,” Nadya responded, bringing her sword up and back. “You won’t be needing them anymore.”
Slashing out at him, the tip of her sword cut deeply into his throat. His mouth had been open, in the midst of throwing a selection of choice curses at her. Instead, his voice was reduced to a wet gurgle. The blade just barely nicked his neck bone. Blood poured down from his throat.
Everything seemed to freeze for several long moments before Remy’s head hinged backwards, falling against his back. A geyser of crimson sprayed from his neck and Nadya could feel the cool spray of his undead blood over her face.
Remy’s body remained in a sitting position for a moment longer before his torso collapsed forward between his splayed legs. His head snapped forward again and landed – more or less – back in its proper place.
Nadya gave him a final kick to the head, nailing him firmly in the forehead and managing to break through his spine and sending his severed head flying back to hit the wall behind him. It landed on the ground right-side up and Nadya saw the last flickers of Remy’s life fade from his half-lidded eyes.
“Consider us even, motherfucker,” Nadya muttered.
She was about to step over the corpse and leave the room but stopped and looked back to the wet bar.
Walking around behind it, she surveyed the various bottles of liquor. She grabbed two bottles of vodka. Popping the top off one, she tilted the bottle back, resting the opening against her lips and letting the clear liquid flow down her throat. The alcohol warmed her all the way down, liquid fire filling her chest and stomach.
After taking a long swig, Nadya walked back around the bar and poured the rest of it onto Remy’s decapitated corpse. Tossing the empty bottle aside, she retrieved her lighter from her pocket and knelt down, flicking it open and lighting it up. The alcohol lit easily enough and it wasn’t long before the flames spread.
“Can’t be too careful,” she muttered, placing a cigarette between her lips and using her lighter to ignite the tip.
Flipping the lighter closed, she slid it back into her pocket and carried the second bottle of vodka with her out of the room. She’d have to find Bridget and get out before the whole place went up in flames.
Chapter Thirty-Eight: Twisting
Popping the top on the second bottle of vodka, Nadya brought it to her lips and tilted it back, taking a long swig from it and letting the alcohol flow into her. Bringing the bottle away from her lips, she poured a fair amount of the clear fluid over the bite wound on her neck, hissing at the burn of it and letting out a few choice Russian curses. She quickly took another swig before tossing the bottle aside, smashing it against the wall. She flicked what remained of her cigarette into the spilt booze and watched it catch fire. She still felt light headed from blood loss, but she forced herself through it.
The knowledge that if she passed out in the place she’d wind up a blackened corpse helped to keep her moving.
Working her way back the way she’d come, it didn’t take long for her to find the ball room again. The place was as she left it.
In shambles.
Bridget was where she’d been the last time Nadya had seen her. Huddled into a fetal position.
A naked, quivering ball of trauma.
Sliding her sword back into its sheath, Nadya approached the woman and knelt beside her. Bridget’s eyes were puffy and bloodshot from sobbing, staring vacantly outwards. Placing a hand gently against the woman’s shoulder, Nadya gave her a shake.
No response.
“C’mon,” Nadya said. “I’m not about to piggyback your ass out of here. And we really need to get going.” She gave her a harder shake.
Still nothing.
Sighing, she brought her hand away from Bridget’s shoulder and smacked her hard across the face.
The woman’s teary, emerald eyes blinked and then focused on Nadya.
“The fucking building’s on fire. Get your shit together.”
Sitting up, Bridget looked down at herself then over to Nadya, confused. “On fire?” Her eyes narrowed. “Where’s Remy?”
“Turning to ash at the moment,” Nadya replied. “Unless you feel like joining him, we need to leave.” She rose to her feet and looked around the room. “Looks like you’ll have to streak.” She looked back to find Bridget still sitting on the floor, her eyes going distant again.
“I couldn’t avenge Doyle,” she said. “I couldn’t even defend myself against him. He showed me things. Such horrible things.” More tears fell down her cheeks. “He trapped me in a nightmare.”
Nadya reached down and hooked a hand under Bridget’s armpit, lifting her to her feet. “He did the same to me. He was a real fucking cunt and now he’s a real dead fucking cunt.”
She could smell smoke.
The fire was spreading.
“If you wanna go all useless and catatonic, you can do it once we get out of here.” She tugged at Bridget’s arm, forcing her to walk forward. “Now, show me how to get the fuck outta this slaughter house.”
Shaking her head clear, Bridget’s eyes lost the distant look. Her nose twitched as the smoke billowed into the ball room in thicker clouds. “This way.” She broke free from Nadya’s grip and headed for one of the smashed doorways leading out of the room.
Nadya was thankful that they seemed to be heading away from where she’d started the fire. Racing through an inferno wasn’t something she wanted to do. Neither was racing back through the sewers with only her sword for protection.
“At least tell me he suffered,” Bridget sa
id as they headed down a hallway. Her lack of clothing didn’t seem to be bothering her any.
“He suffered.” Nadya wasn’t bothered by the nudity of others, but she did find it strange how anyone could strut around that way without caring. It wasn’t that she was self-conscious about her appearance – either clothed or nude – but her body was private. She didn’t want anyone else seeing it.
She imagined Bridget’s desensitization came from her life as a werewolf. If you plan on getting big, bad and furry, you have to take a bit of public nudity along with it.
Nadya was glad she wasn’t a werewolf.
Nadya's Nights: Road to Vengeance Page 22
