by Simone Lari
Chapter 13 - Contact
Jude parked with a single decisive maneuver, bumping the car behind her and hitting the one in front even harder when she adjusted the direction.
"So, what are you going to do?" Nina dogged her.
"If we survive the wrath of my neighbors, you mean?" she retorted, looking at the bumper of the car in front.
"You don’t really want to help those monsters, do you?" Angelique snapped, in disbelief.
"I have the impression that we don’t have too many choices" she said, serious, gazing at each of her girlfriends one by one. "Christopher was kind, but I don't know how much he and his companions would have liked it if we'd refused. And then there’s still that thing of the warrior vampires. Do you feel like risking it? "
"We don’t know if it’s true" Jude objected. "It really seemed to be an out and out pretext."
"And if it isn't? What if we're all in danger?"
The three looked hard and long at each other in silence, which was finally broken by Angelique’s shrill voice: "Well then, do you want me to call Gabriel?”
"Yes, please."
The girl adjusted her glasses, took a deep breath and began to make the phone call.
Gabriel’s cell phone sounded the notes of Sultans of Swing.
"Haven’t you changed that damned ring tone yet?" protested Vans, joining him in his room.
"Hello?" answered his friend, curtly.
"Oh, hi Ga-Gabriel… it’s Angelique, do you remember me?"
"He’d be brain damaged if he didn’t remember" muttered Jude quietly, but Gabriel heard her just the same.
"Yes, of course, Angelique" he confirmed, nodding to his friend to follow the conversation as he put it on speaker. "Are you well, do you need something?"
Some lengthy rustling noise could be heard, alternated with sharp incomprehensible whispers and a couple of "ow" accompanied by brief complaints. And then, silence.
"Hello? Angelique? "
"It’s Nina, Gabriel."
Vans tore the phone from his friend’s hand and put it closer to his ear.
"Nina, what the devil is happening?”
"Oh, Vans, well, you see… we’ve just come back from the club where we were the other night, the Black Sun; we went there to get our things and Jude’s car, and…"
"And what? Come on, come on, talk, dammit!" he urged her rudely.
"Those two vampires, the tall one and his red-haired friend, and a girl with black hair were there waiting for us."
"What did they do to you? Did they take you captive?" he hypothesized, getting in just before Gabriel did.
"No, we're alright. But they’ve asked us to contact you, with a certain insistence I’d say."
Vans covered the small microphone with a fingertip.
"Are we sure the conversation is secure and the number is not traceable?" Gabriel nodded repeatedly. "Do they have a message for us?"
"Exactly, they have a sort of favor to ask of you."
"Wait, wait, repeat that: a favor? Them, from us? Are they out of their minds?"
"Listen, I’m only repeating what Christopher asked me to pass on to you: they’re offering you a kind of exchange of favors, they have a quid pro quo to propose to you."
Vans stared hard at Gabriel, not at all encouraged by the girl’s words.
"Listen to me, Nina. You're not rational right now, you don't have full control of yourself, but you can get it back if you listen to me carefully and do as I tell you…"
"No, no, calm down, they haven't used their power on me, we just talked. And if you’d let me finish, maybe I’d tell you what they're offering you."
"Go on then Nina, speak, we’re listening to you" said Gabriel.
The girl took a deep breath.
"In short, their elder has been killed by the Duergar, and they need to find another elder to be affiliated with. As far as I understand" she added, encouraged by the looks from her friends, "if you provide him with information on where to find a cell of their clan, they'll help you find and eliminate the group of Duergar that attacked them and that are your enemies as well, according to them."
Vans took time to reflect.
"If we should decide to give them a hand, where can we find them?"
"You have to let us know, and we'll pass on your message."
"Well, Nina, it doesn’t depend only on me. I have to talk to all the others before I can give you a reply."
Gabriel stood there dumbfounded, but with a grin and a nod of the head Vans made him understand that he had everything under control.
"As soon as we've decided, we'll call you back."
"I hope it’s a positive response. To me, Christopher seemed to be a reliable individual and very calm considering… what he is."
"And here's another of them!" Vans burst out.
"What?" she asked.
"The umpteenth vampire fan. So beautiful, dark, and so distressed: a classic. It's typical of young girls who read Twilight. It has been manna from heaven for those fucking vampires!"
"Listen, gorgeous, I don’t know who you usually hang out with, but it’s obvious you don't have high values! I am not a vampire fan, I'm someone who is afraid to go around at night because, suddenly, the small worthless town where she lives is invaded by disgusting monsters, and the only one who thinks and who gives me a little security and hope, that makes me feel protected, have a guess who it is?... It's certainly not a hunter!"
She hung up.
"She hung up in my ear" said Vans, surprised.
"So she should. Always going on about this Twilight thing."
"But it’s true, goddammit!"
"Not for everyone, apparently, and you do tend to generalize very flippantly."
"I'm not flippant!"
"You’re biased, annoyed and you're denying the evidence. I hate vampires too, but you make too much of a personal issue out of it."
"Because it is, for heaven’s sake!" he protested, sticking the phone to his chest.
"So what do you want to do? Nina’s fears about the Duergar are not unfounded."
"I know! Let’s go and tell Jared about this situation, perhaps he’ll excogitate a way to eliminate those two and the vampire bitch they take along with them, and at the same time get the information on those fucking Zmeus' lair."
"What an example of a class and temperance" stated Gabriel, sighing.
"What an idiot!" Nina exploded, "To think that I tear my hair out for the first vampire I meet! And then, even if it was true, what’s it to him? "
"He’ll have said it to warn you" Angelique conjectured. "In fact, you should think twice before putting your trust in them."
"Wrong! In my opinion it’s all envy" Jude decided.
"What?"
"Why envy?" Nina asked, perplexed.
"Let me explain: he is a hunter, his natural enemy is the vampire, so if he’s got a thing about Twilight it’s because he envies the... "
Angelique opened her mouth to speak, but Nina shouted: "No! Don’t pander to her in this folly, you at least!"
"The fangs, what else? We know that the vampire’s charm is all about the bite, and the hunter is envious of his charm, that’s the reason for his languages riddled with swear words, which also denotes a certain degree of insecurity barely concealed behind his tough guy attitude."
Her friends stared at her dismayed.
"Since when have you become an analyst?" Angelique challenged.
"I'm not an analyst but, unlike you, I've had many relationships and I know certain mechanisms" Jude boasted, giving rise to a debate between the two that Nina didn’t even catch.
The girl was too busy reflecting on her personal sensations.
Do I really need to be wary of Christopher? And yet he seemed so innocuous, so friendly. I didn’t ever think that he had who knows what diabolical plans for me. His concern was sincere... or maybe I'd wanted it to be? Maybe I misunderstood? Perhaps vampires are really big liars and pretend to be what they’re not? M
asters of deception?
She shook her head.
No, his gaze did not lie, it was so sad. So I wonder what it meant... and what led him to intervene in my defense...
"Hey, Nina, everything ok?" asked Angelique, shaking her gently by the shoulder.
"Eh? Oh yes, sorry, I was lost in thought for a moment" she quickly justified herself.
"Do you think that imbecile will agree to negotiate with the vampires?" asked Jude.
Nina sighed and shrugged.
"And how would I know? Anyway I really hope so, that way they can sort it out between themselves then they'll finally leave us alone."
Although her words betrayed certain intolerance at the idea of having to be a go-between for the two factions, this story was beginning to involve her and, secretly, excite her; so much so that the idea of being cut out of the adventurous mission irritated her somewhat. And, judging by her friends’ frenzy, they too were beginning to feel pleasantly involved in the matter.
Chapter 14 - Shades of Grey
The two boys prepared to go down to the ground floor. Kira appeared at the door to Van’s room.
"You should stay there, we'll have a few things to discuss down below" he suggested to her.
The cat, as if it had understood, winked her eyes and returned to curl up on the bed.
They descended the creaky stairs. Vans, suspicious, supported himself on the handrail, but he made a disgusted grimace when, as he passed his fingers along it, a large cloud of dust flew up, and just as much stuck to his fingertips.
"For heaven's sake, Jared, do some cleaning now and then, no?”
His uncle appeared with a worn cloth in his hand and threw it at him in an impolite way.
"You start, little prince. You don’t think you’re at the Grand Hotel, do you? "
"Jared, we just received a rather strange phone call from the girls we helped in the alley" said Gabriel, serious.
"What did they want? An autograph on their panties?" he suggested sarcastically.
"Even stranger: that we make a deal with some vampires."
Moving a chair back from the table of the small room, the man sat down on it and eagerly invited them to speak.
The boys related the proposal Christopher had put forward, exactly as Nina had described it.
"So, what do you think about it?" Vans asked, as soon as Gabriel finished the report.
Jared scratched his untidy beard and was immersed in thought for a couple of minutes.
"We need to hear what they're proposing. And if it confirms the little girl’s words, we'll come to an agreement with them" he decreed.
"What? Is there an epidemic of insanity in this titch of a city?" Vans spluttered, irritated.
"Listen, kid, have you heard the saying my enemy's enemy is my friend?"
"But they’re fucking vampires!"
"For you everything is always right or wrong, black or white. There are no shades of gray, right?" he rebuked him, surly.
"But I ...”
"Let him finish, Vans" Gabriel invited him.
Jared continued undaunted: "Compared to the Duergar, those three would-be vampires' clan is an association of little Red Cross girls; therefore any help to wipe them out is very welcome."
"Then we'll get rid of them as well, right?"
"No! We'll keep our word and we'll do our part."
"But Jared, you've always said that you can’t come to terms with the vampires, because they never respect them" argued Gabriel.
"We saw them: it’s likely that they'll try to kill us when the job is finished" Vans said, adding fuel to the fire.
"If they turn out to be hostile, then we'll react, but we won't be the first who fail to honor the terms of the agreement."
The other two didn't seem at all convinced: the agreement sounded rather farfetched and a valid reason was late in coming.
"Listen, I’m not stupid or out of my depth" insisted Jared. "I've been doing this job much longer than you and I’m still around." The boys paid him a little more attention, without interrupting him. "Vampires asking for help from hunters is unheard of. They could turn out to be very useful for getting into their organization, learning how the clans move and obtaining valuable information."
"Listen, we’re hunters, not spies. You taught us to kill those monsters, not to become their allies."
"I'm saying that if you decide not to kill those three now, with their help you could kill many more in the days to come! Do you understand knucklehead?"
"Sssh! Silence: did you hear that? " said Gabriel, pointing to the door, where some slight noises could be heard from outside.
Vans flattened himself against the door, Gabriel slipped away to lean on the wall in the shadows of the entry hall, and Jared went to get his trusty sawn-off shot gun.
A slight rustling at the lock heralded the movement by a few moments. The door opened suddenly and a figure strode in.
Vans grabbed it by the arms, and turning around on himself, jammed it hard to the wall.
"Ouch!" it protested, "What kind of a welcome is this?"
Vans let go to see who he had before him: a girl with long straight hair, dark blond, wearing a tight military jacket and comfortable camouflage trousers.
"Lynn, you’re all we needed" he said turning his back on her.
"Hi Lynn, how are you?" asked Gabriel, greeting her with a warm embrace.
"I'm well, apart from the blow on the nose" she retorted rubbing it. "Would you go and get my bag and suitcase, outside?" she asked him, batting her long eyelashes in an affected way.
He obligingly went to retrieve the heavy bulky luggage.
"Welcome, you’ve come at just the right time" Jared said, satisfied.
"How did you get here? And why that scene instead of knocking?" Vans contested.
"I asked for a ride, hitchhiking. The guy left me at the turnoff and I continued on foot. That slimy thing wanted to try it on with me, but strangely he changed his mind" she said, turning the hunting knife in her hand with an innocent little smile. "And as for forcing the door, well I wanted to surprise you” she added breaking into an even brighter smile.
Vans made as if he was going to vomit.
"You'll be tired from the trip" Jared suggested. "Come and eat something, that way I can update you on the situation in the meantime. There's some interesting news."
She nodded and took off her jacket, just as Gabriel brought in the heavy bag; her very tight little black top gave him a bit of a tremor.
"Wh-where ...?" he stammered.
"In there, at the end of the corridor" Jared pointed out to him, and then went into the kitchen with Lynn.
Vans headed to the stairs, grunting.
"What are you doing, aren’t you coming to chat with her?"
"I’m not at all interested!" he answered sharply.
"But she’s your cousin after all, you should at least try to get on with her" his friend insisted.
"Are you sure? I still haven’t understood which branch it is where we’re related, and then it’s not written anywhere that we should get along well just because she’s my cousin."
"What is it about her that you dislike? She’s such a sweet girl" he observed in a low voice.
"Oh yes, she’s sweet, she'd give you tooth decay! Listen, my naive, easily deceived, ingenuous friend: that girl is evil. She is a manipulator, unpredictable and above suspicion, who uses her wiles to get what she wants."
"Well, what creature of the female sex isn’t? They don’t seem such despicable characteristics in my opinion."
"Yes, of course. Think about it while you go and put her bag and things in the room" he finished, going away.
Gabriel sighed patiently, and then stumbled toward the corridor, suitcases in hand.
Lynn’s sweet voice came from the kitchen: "Gabriel, my little darling, seeing that you’re there, would you mind making up the bed? Jared says that the sheets are in the closet. Thanks a lot!"
Half an hour later, Lynn kno
cked at the half-open door of Van’s bedroom.
"May I come in?" she began, timidly looking inside.
"The rooms have already been assigned. Go to the room downstairs, right next to the old trombone’s, and good luck: he snores like a tractor!" he answered gloomily, without taking his eyes from what he was reading.
Vans was lying on the bed, wearing a pair of dark blue pajamas that looked more like a jogging outfit. Kira was asleep curled up on his stomach, forcing him into a rather uncomfortable position, made worse by attempting to read the huge book he was holding.
"What are you reading?" she asked, closing the door behind her.
Vans shut the book with a bang and put it on the bed. Lynn had just enough time to see a huge dark dragon on the cover, surrounded by lightning splitting through the stormy sky.
"An historical book, very demanding reading" he hastened to say.
"It's a fantasy novel for sure, that’s all you read" she retorted as she squatted on the ground to remove the heavy combat boots; barefooted, she went to the side of his bed.
"It's a really beautiful fantasy novel!" he defended himself, "It’s written so well, and… what are you doing?" he asked perplexed when he saw her grab Kira. The cat meowed irritated and ran to its soft basket.
"You looked uncomfortable with her on top of you" she admitted, smiling. "And anyhow, I want to be there" she added, straddling him.
"Hey… what are you doing?" he said disapprovingly, trying to stand up, but using her weight she prevented him, hands spread open on his chest.
"Listen, we've absolutely got to find a way to coexist peacefully" she announced, releasing the pressure to rub against him a little.
"Well, in other circumstances this would have been a good start, but we’re cousins, you shouldn’t try to seduce me" he reprimanded her in his most decisive and firm voice, to compensate for the blush spreading on his face.
"What’s wrong if I give you a few cuddles?" she asked, as her hands went to the buttons of her tight shirt and began to unfasten them.
"It co-could have an impact on our work as hunters. And what do you think Jared would say if he found out? And he'll know, seeing that his room is under mine" he tried to argue, tightening his hands around her thighs, almost without realizing it.
