Revelation (The Keepers of the Teardrop Book 1)

by Simone Lari

  "What's wrong? Why is she doing that?"

  "We have visitors" explained the hunter, opening the weapons rack.

  "What do you mean we have visitors?" yelled Jude, hysterical, as Angelique kept making the sign of the cross.

  "Are you saying that...?” Nina dared to say, touching the burning Trequetra.

  In response, Jared handed them three light crossbows. "Here, take these." With trembling hands and a lump in the throat, the three obeyed. "Shoot only when the target is close, and always at the height of the heart. Reloading is easy, just nock the arrow and pull until it snaps."

  He simulated a demonstration reload with Nina's weapon and distributed some quarrels that the girls put in their pockets. Then he placed his sawn-off shot gun and two long knives on the table, checked that the Beretta in the holster was loaded and took up his precision crossbow.

  The sound of frantic steps was heard outside the door and windows.

  Kira hid under the table; Jared positioned the girls in the corners, so that two were aiming toward the window and one toward the front door.

  "Remember that those bastards will have no pity on you, so you don't have any for them."

  Nina's Trequetra continued to burn, Angelique continued to tremble, and Jude mumbled unspeakable swear words.

  Jared rushed to the electrical panel and turned a switch; the outside was immediately lit up as if it was daytime.

  "My lord, get out of the way" urged Duncan, worried, protecting his face with his arm.

  The sudden intense light forced Lord Gregor, austere and impassive, to retreat, while the other eight Zmeu gathered together in front of the door ready to break in.

  "At my count of three" ordered Duncan. "One... two... "

  Instead of the three, there was the mighty thunder of an engine roaring and two quick sounds of braking, tires squealing, behind them.

  The sudden arrival of two cars had raised thick dust. When it settled, six people were towering lined up in front of the house, already in position to attack.

  "My compliments, Lord Gregor" began Christopher clenching his teeth in rage.

  The elder gave him a sarcastic grin.

  "Abraham's beloved children. Your mentor raised you well: you are still alive." He made a brief gesture of the hand and the warriors lined up to face them.

  "Why did you kill our elder, you piece of shit?" shouted Sting.

  "How dare you speak like that to our lord?" Duncan rebuked him, furious.

  Lord Gregor placidly lifted three fingers, silencing him, and then explained with an unnatural calm: "Morland, you are not worthy to speak to me, just as you are not worthy to be called vampires. You're only scum, who feed on rubbish and keep company with very vulgar food."

  "Food that will make your ass become all one with that mouth when it reduces you to putrid slime!" Vans shot back at him, tightening his grip on the weapons. He received a delighted little look from Alyna and Sting's gaze of admiration.

  Gregor uttered a grim guttural laugh, and then looked closely at the hunters one by one, finally fixing on Christopher. "The choices your clan makes have always been questionable but when a simple compromise was transformed into squalid alliance, you overstepped the mark. Abraham was punished and now you will be too. The Morland are blasphemous traitors of their own race and, as a result, will be exterminated from the first to the last."

  He snapped his skeletal fingers. Six Zmeu fell on them, while a seventh went with Duncan toward the door of the chalet.

  "We need to stop those two!" cried Christopher waving the katana a couple of times to focus and prepare for the upcoming duel.

  "The old man knows how to manage things. Let's get rid of these here and then we'll take care of the head of the clan" Vans retorted taking aim. He fired. The bullet was deflected by a masterful parry by a warrior who went immediately toward Alyna.

  With a sharp crack that echoed like a thunderclap, Alyna unrolled her whip and launched it at her enemy. With a sinuous precise movement, the Duergar's katana cut it clean in half. After a brief momentary scowl, the vampire drew out two daggers just in time to ward off the formidable blade of her opponent in a shower of sparks.

  Lynn fired the quarrel, sure she would hit her target at such short range, but her opponent pulled away in time and the dart buried itself in his forearm, causing him to lose his grip on the weapon. The second quarrel hit him in a shoulder, but instead of discouraging him, it infuriated him. Gnashing his teeth, the Zmeu confronted her a moment after she threw the crossbow to the ground and pulled her big hunting knife from its sheath.

  After flooding his antagonist with holy water, Gabriel picked up the spike with the silver tip and his gun. While the flesh on the vampire's face sizzled, obstructing his sight, Gabriel planted a bullet in one of the two hearts. The Zmeu fell to his knees. Gabriel came closer to explode the coup de grace, but unexpectedly the vampire blindly flung a sideways blow with his weapon, cutting open Gabriel's thigh. He collapsed, clenching his teeth so as not to feel the pain, and pointed the gun. Another fast passage of the blade hit his firearm, tossing it far away.

  Without losing heart, Gabriel held up the spike and tried to stand so he could get some thrust in the lunge, but the katana hit him in the other thigh, sending him flying. Moaning in pain, he looked at him: one of the Zmeu's eyes returned the look, a cruel sneer, animal-like and merciless. He saw him. And stood up to finish him off. He raised the katana as if he wanted to cut him in two, and suddenly jolted, becoming paralyzed. Gabriel saw him drop the weapon and collapse at his feet: the handle of a familiar hunting-knife protruded from his back. He turned around desperately calling out: "Lynn!"

  After throwing her knife to save her friend, Lynn collected a violent right to the face that threw her to the ground, stunned. The Zmeu was quickly on her: hands around her neck, he began to tighten them as if he wanted to crush it into a thousand pieces.

  Overcome by suffering and pure panic, Lynn saw that diabolical expression go dark against the starry sky. She was dying. In a short time, her trachea would yield to the pressure and she would drown in her own blood. Then a sudden roar shook her consciousness, a roar close by, different to the background of blades and gunfire she had perceived until then. A frightening bang that made the vampire's head completely explode, his body falling on top of her.

  Sting blew with satisfaction on the short smoking barrels of his large rifle, borrowed from the hunters. When Gabriel looked at him, full of gratitude, he winked at him and with the tip of his foot kicked him the pistol he'd lost. Then, very rapidly, he pointed the weapon on the Zmeu he had before him.

  "We were saying?" he challenged him, loading the next blow with an amused grin. The warrior hesitated, tightening his jaw enough to break his teeth from anger. Then, Alyna's scream of pain made him turn around: his opponent had pierced her in the abdomen. Taking advantage of the distraction, the Zmeu charged. At the second step, his chest exploded spreading pieces of organs everywhere.

  "Ah-ah, you fell for it, eh?" he said sniggering. He kissed the rifle and added: "You really know how to make me happy, babe."

  "Behind you!" Christopher screamed at him.

  Sting turned, weapon at the ready. He saw only one knife cut through the air, then the harsh squeal of metals and the bitter truth: a piece of his rifle had been cleanly cut off. The Morland lifted his furious eyes toward his opponent.

  "You shouldn't have done this" he growled. He gently placed the mutilated remains of the shotgun on the ground and took his guard, fists in front of his face. "Come and get it!"

  The Zmeu, however, stumbled on the spot. With staring eyes, he fell forward revealing Gabriel, wounded, supported on Lynn's shoulder. Before liquefaction could commence, she bent down over the vampire's back to extract a spike and recover her knife.

  Sting took a breath to speak but she stopped him: "We're equal, handsome."

  There was another scream. Everyone turned to look: Alyna was on her knees at the Zmeu's feet as he stood re
ady to cut off her head. Before they could even think of how to intervene, they heard four shots in succession, which reduced the two hearts to a pulp. Thanks to the modified bullets, the Duergar immediately began to liquefy.

  Alyna looked at him with gratitude. Vans, however, inspected the surroundings in order to understand where his number one enemy had ended up and met Christopher's intense blue eyes.

  He kicked away his opponent's just severed head and indicated a precise point, then said: "Sting, take care of the injured. We'll get rid of the bag of shit."

  "Way to go, boss!" he urged him, immediately helping Lynn to move Gabriel and Alyna away.

  He and Vans exchanged a look of understanding, and then turned one full of hatred toward Lord Gregor.

  Jared spotted two vampires from the window as they came to the door, and hastily broke a pane of glass and let fly two formidable shots in rapid succession. The first Zmeu, centered in both hearts, dissolved on the threshold like snow in the sun.

  Angry, Duncan went past the biological slime and violently bashed down the door.

  At the sight of the Zmeu at the open doorway, there were three screams in succession. He entered the house and immediately caught sight of Nina.

  "Shoot!" thundered Jared.

  Without thinking, she shot a quarrel, hitting him full on. Duncan looked in amazement at the arrow protruding from his ribs and tore it away, then advanced gritting his teeth. With a trembling hand, Nina fumbled feverishly in search of an arrow to reload.

  Duncan was almost upon her and Jared was ready to come forward but Angelique and Jude fired in their turn. The arrow of the first went flying into the window frame, a few inches from Jared's nose, while the second hit Duncan in the groin.

  The vampire bent over in pain, tightening his grip on the shaft of the arrow, and glared at her.

  "I didn't do it on purpose!" screeched Jude, in a hysterical falsetto.

  Duncan drew it out and, tossing it away, held the tip of the katana toward them.

  "I'll bite off those... "

  His head jumped off, landing at the feet of Nina and Jude. Jude knocked it away, ranting and terrified, sending it rolling as far as the table, where it began to decompose.

  "Good move, red" Jared complimented her, putting away his blood-covered machete; from under the table where she had taken refuge, Kira hissed at the foaming sludge.

  Lord Gregor drew out an ancient looking katana, embellished with pure silver filigree on the cutting edge and gems on the handle.

  Vans reloaded the revolver, pointed it at him and promptly exploded three shots neutralized by a rapid rotation of the blade.

  "Fuck!" he roared emptying the chamber, with no better result.

  Christopher gripped his sword tight and charged.

  The Duergar easily intercepted his lunge. His technique and speed was impressive. Christopher immediately realized there was no possibility of a duel, but he did not retreat and very soon a slash from the old man opened a deep wound at shoulder height. He lost his grip on the sword.

  "Get out of the way!" screamed Vans with his gun already pointed at the Zmeu.

  "No, he is our business!" retorted Christopher, in much pain.

  "I'm flattered" said Lord Gregor, twisting the sword in front of his face. "You want to avenge your progenitor and this amends your regrettable fate very little. You deserve a quick death."

  He prepared a lunge, but to everyone's astonishment Christopher did not attempt to avoid it: he offered an opening and let himself be pierced in the abdomen.

  "Aaah!" he wailed. The wound was painful and the blade was scorching.

  "What's happening out there?" Nina yelled, worried by the lament coming from outside. She took an anxious step, as if she wanted to go out and see, but her friends grabbed her before she could.

  "Are you mad? Where do you want to go?"

  "Jude is right; we must stay close to each other!"

  "I can't... I have an awful feeling." She sprang into action.

  "No, stop!" Jared screamed at her. "You two stay where you are!" he ordered the others before following Nina outside, gun in hand.

  Christopher brought his palms onto the blade and although his skin sizzled at the contact with the silver edge, he held it close.

  The Duergar tried to remove it, pulling it to him, but Christopher jumped forward, letting himself be pierced until he was able to grasp the hand guard. At that point, he pushed himself back, ripping the weapon from the hands of his adversary.

  Gregor was impressed by that unexpected move, but only for a few moments: a violent punch crashed onto his face, turning him sideways. A light mist arose from his cheek. Annoyed, he stared at the man who had dared to do that.

  "And now turn the other cheek!" exclaimed Vans, about to deliver another, but he was pre-empted: the vampire unleashed one at him that almost dislocated his jaw.

  The hunter landed heavily on the ground; Gregor stooped and, taking him by the throat, lifted him up. Vans held onto his arm with his right hand as he searched for his trusty spike with the left.

  When his fingers closed around it, he gathered his forces and planted it in the Duergar's chest.

  The vampire jolted, then, almost without effort, threw him away. Vans landed on one side and rolled to the roots of a tree.

  "No! Vans! Christopher!" screamed Nina, shocked.

  "Go back inside!" he yelled, then, after swallowing, he slid the blade from his abdomen, gasping from the terrible pain.

  After he had extracted it, he fell to his knees, distraught: his innards burned, releasing smoke from the wound.

  Even though the spike was driven into one of his two hearts, Gregor showed no sign of suffering or even weakening. Without hesitation he attacked Christopher, prostrate on his knees. It was a long fast step.

  "NO!" Nina held out a hand against him, as if she wished to order him to stop, and a strange heat traversed her chest, traveling down her arm to exit from the tips of her fingers. Unexpectedly, the vampire slid a few yards backwards, succeeding with difficulty to stay on his feet. She looked at her hand, red in the face. "But... but what is... "

  Jared grabbed her wrist and then cried loudly: "Now, you damned idiots!"

  Vans, from the ground, and leaning on his elbows, took aim and emptied the entire chamber on the Duergar's back, sending him to his knees. Christopher got up, listened closely and clearly heard the single beat from the single heart remaining: it was weak. He could make it. He picked up his weapon and approached the enemy.

  Standing over him, he pronounced: "Only the races which adapt to change survive. The others are destined to be extinguished."

  "Traitor..." he rattled, blood mixed with spittle foaming from his mouth.

  "Go to hell!" With a skillful rotating movement, he severed the head from the neck.

  Long moments of silence followed, with everyone staring at the Morland, immobile before the corpse in liquefaction.

  Christopher threw away the katana and nursed the wound in his abdomen, still open and bleeding.

  Vans rose tiredly to his feet and limped over to him.

  "Hey, everything good?"

  The vampire nodded. "And you?" He looked glumly at the rivulet of blood that was flowing from his split lip. Vans rubbed some away and, realizing that it was blood, looked at him uncertain and expectant. Christopher smiled: "No, I'm not going to jump on you incited by the smell of blood, if that's what you're wondering. We Morland know how to control ourselves."

  Vans managed a smile. "Well, I wouldn't have said so."

  "And me neither that you'd have had second thoughts."

  "Let's not get carried away here, eh? I'm still a hunter and you're a mons... a Morland." Christopher smiled broadly, which was reciprocated for a brief moment by the hunter. "Ok, now I think that we should...” he pointed his thumb backwards, to his companions.

  "Will you help us?" the vampire asked him before he could leave.

  Vans hesitated and looked at Jared, who stated: "We'
ll abide by the agreements. You will have the information you are looking for."

  Chapter 21 - To Each his Own

  After cleaning up the courtyard at the front of the house and sewing up Gabriel's wounds, Jared went to his computer station. He scribbled an address on a rough piece of paper and folded it, and then rushed outside the chalet where the Morland were waiting for him, immobile.

  "Who's the boss here?" he asked.

  Christopher stepped forward.

  "This is the information you were looking for, just arrived from one of our branch offices."

  The vampire nodded with deference and grabbed the sheet of paper that Jared, initially, did not hand over.

  "Listen up" he said gloomily, “we know that it was in your interests to get rid of the Duergar, and we've willingly played the part of the morons because it suited us; but we're no fools, understood?"

  "Understood" he answered drily.

  "I'm not ecstatic at the idea that a clan of vampires has established itself in my town, but of all your races, you belong to the one that I find least disgusting, so I decided to tolerate you, as long as you toe the line."

  "Save yourself the tolerance" objected Sting, "we have no intention of remaining here."

  "Speak for yourself" Alyna muttered, scrutinizing Vans leaning with his shoulder on the post of the porch.

  Christopher parried: "It has never been our intention to do otherwise. Abraham taught us to live in a civilized way."

  "We'll wait and see" concluded Jared, letting go of the paper.

  Christopher took it and checked the address.

  "Is this information secure? The place is pretty close by."

  "It's more than secure. My people have been keeping an eye on that house for a while, as a precaution."

  The vampire nodded, and then gestured to Sting and Alyna to leave.

  The girl launched a deep look at Vans, followed by a mischievous grin, and noisily snapped what remained of her whip before putting it back on her belt.

  Sting looked askance at Jude, who was next to Nina on the threshold; he was about to say something to her then, with a half-smile and an imperceptible nod of the head, said goodbye to her.