by R. J. Wolf
CHAPTER 15
IVAN’S COVEN
Eric shrugged and continued to follow him down the dark corridor. He didn’t trust Andrei, but whatever he was planning couldn’t be worse than the commission.
“You’re lucky you know,” Andrei started again. “Being new and all. No telling what those agents would’ve done with you. They’ve got some archaic practices.”
“I’ve heard.”
“Yeah…where’d your friend go? The warlock.”
“Don’t know. Couldn’t find him. How far are we going?”
“It’s just up ahead,” Andrei replied dismissively. “What’d you say your name was?”
“I didn’t.”
“Hey, we’re all friends here buddy. Underworlders have to stick together and you’ve got the scent of something dark, very dark.”
“I thought the club was legal,” Eric said, changing the subject.
“There’s a gray area. Lot of things move through the club, some legal, some not so much.”
Andrei stopped at the end of the alley and nervously glanced around. On the other side of the street there was a towering iron gate that didn’t look like it belonged. Eric wasn’t shocked to see it however, he was coming to accept that most things weren’t as they seemed.
“Looks clear,” Andrei said. “Stay close.”
He hurried across the road and waved his hand as he approached the gate. The tattoos on his arms glowed and moved like they were alive then the gates swung open and he quickly passed through them.
Up ahead there was a massive home that resembled an English castle. Colossal slabs of stone covered the lawn from side to side and stretched up to the sky.
“What is this?” Eric asked as he stared up to the looming tower in awe.
Before Andrei could answer a loud crash erupted behind them as agents flooded down the alley they’d just left.
“Come on!” Andrei shouted and sped inside.
Eric passed through the double oak doors and was immediately engulfed in darkness. Andrei’s beady eyes blazed in the gloom ahead like tiny floating orbs. Eric reached out and clawed his way through the abyss, blindly taking one step at a time.
“Where did you go?” he whispered.
“Right here,” Andrei replied, his voice brushing against Eric’s ear.
Eric jumped in shock. Andrei chuckled then snapped his fingers and the room came to life with the warm glow of torches that were affixed to the wall. One by one they lit up as the fire danced from each sconce then dashed into the fireplace and set the kindling ablaze.
“Is that better? I forget the dark is, dark.”
Eric scanned the room as the light stretched deep into the far reaches of the massive space. He was standing in the atrium of what could only be described as a fortress. Four stories above him wooden beams angled toward the sky. Wedges of aged brick made up the walls and Eric could feel the imbued magic that thrummed within foundation.
A vast staircase made of stone winded upwards from both sides of the room, coming to a landing on the second floor. Flames crackled in the grate as smoke spilled from the roaring lion-shaped mantle, filling the air with the smell of charred wood.
“What is this place?”
“This is our home.”
“Our?” Eric echoed him.
Andrei waved his hand toward the landing above as several figures materialized out of thin air. Eric stared in confusion and fear but tried not to show it. His heart was churning like a locomotive and sweat trickled down his forehead.
“Make yourself at home friend,” Andrei said. “I’ll forego introductions since I still don’t know your name.”
“Er…Everett,” Eric replied.
“Well Everett, this is my coven,” Andrei smiled and waved his hand toward the group upstairs.
Eric eyed them one by one, taking in their peculiar appearance. Five gangly figures peered down at him. They all had pale skin and gaunt faces, exposing their jaw bones and hollowed eye sockets.
Two were female and looked nearly identical. They had bleach, white hair and dark, crimson eyes that shifted from side to side. Their lips were cracked and dry and their atrophied arms were riddled with blue veins that pulsed brightly through the nearly translucent skin.
Next to them stood a towering man with a bald head and thin gray eyebrows. His skin seemed to lay across his bones like wet newspaper. By Eric’s estimation, he had to be in his late seventies and his stern gaze sent chills all the way through Eric’s feet.
Beside him were the only two vampires that appeared to be in good health. They were thin like the others, but muscle gleamed beneath their pale flesh and their eyes seemed a little brighter than the rest of them.
One of them had a spikey, blonde hair and a thick, chain-link necklace wrapped around his throat. His face was angled and hard and he didn’t look particularly excited that Andrei had brought a guest to their home.
The other vampire looked aloof. He yawned then swept his brown, curly hair out of his face and lit up a cigarette. Eric’s eyes lingered on him a bit longer and he winked then turned and walked down the hallway upstairs.
“Where is Ivan?” Andrei asked.
“He’s not returned,” the bald vampire replied. “I suggest you hurry.”
“Don’t worry Nicolas. We have time.” Andrei looked back to Eric and smiled. “Let me show you around.”
He walked through the atrium and passed under the landing. An expansive pane of tinted glass made up the back wall with a soaring view of the grounds and a massive black lake that sparkled under the moonlight. A set of heavy drapes hung to the side, bundled together with a yellow braided rope.
“We don’t spend much time out here,” Andrei smiled. He pressed a button on the wall and the drapes unraveled and started to close.
A footstep fell onto the stone floor and Eric whipped around. The group from upstairs had followed them, lingering near the stair case as they watched Eric with eager faces.
“I should probably go find my friend,” Eric said with a shaky voice.
“Nonsense. It’s not safe out there right now. The commission will have the block quarantined for hours. Way into the daylight. You should relax, you’ll be here for a while.”
“Get it over already Andrei,” one of the women said in a husky, dark voice as she shivered and snapped her head to the side.
“Elena where are your manners? Control yourself,” Andrei replied then turned to Eric. “Forgive her, it’s been sometime since we’ve had guests.”
Eric gave her a sideways glance then nodded. As he looked back to Andrei he felt someone brush up against him and a hand wrap around his arm with a firm grip. He was pulled forward a few steps before he realized what was happening.
“This is Eleanor,” Andrei said. “Elena’s sister. She’s much more hospitable.”
Eric looked to her and smiled as she brought her face within inches of his. Her lips pursed, and she stroked his cheek with her icy fingers, causing him to drawback.
“Don’t be afraid,” she whispered and sucked in his scent, shivering as her brain processed the aroma.
“This castle is more than a thousand years old,” Andrei continued. “The magic is ancient. Completely invisible to the uninvited. A perfect place to hide in plain sight.”
“What are you?” Eleanor asked as she leaned in closer and sniffed him again.
Eric frowned and shrugged his shoulders then pulled himself away from her and hurried after Andrei. They passed through a door to the side and stopped at the top of a stairwell that looked like a pathway to hell.
“Connects to ancient catacombs that were here before this city even existed. Lot of power drawn in from the ley lines that crisscross this whole place,” Andrei explained. “Follow me. I want to show you something.”
Smiling, he started down the steps. Eric watched him then looked back to the gang of bloodshot eyes that were fixed upon him. The definition of a rock and a hard place.
“Don’t min
d them,” Andrei said. “It’s seldom we have visitors, especially any that smell as strange as you.”
“Um, thanks.”
Andrei laughed. “Nothing personal. All blood has very identifying properties. Yours…it’s nothing I’ve ever smelled before.”
Eric could hear the intrigue in his voice. Andrei seemed harmless enough, but his friends had a hunger in their eyes that made Eric’s heart beat wildly.
With one last step, he reached the bottom floor and Andrei hurried to light more torches on the wall. The crackle of the fire made him jump, but there was a familiarity to the flame that gave Eric comfort. As his nerves settled he looked around at rows and rows of wooden shelves. Each contained hundreds of wine bottles with black labels and squiggly white lettering.
“What do you think?” Andrei asked with a grand smile on his face.
“What do I think about what?”
“This…our collection.”
“Wine? It’s a lot.”
Someone chuckled from behind him and he felt a firm, cold hand slide across his shoulders. He turned and came face to face with the man named Nicolas. Up close his features were even more unsettling.
His raspy breath smelled like decay. His skin barely hung onto his skeletal frame and his lips quivered as he bared his cracked, yellowing teeth every time he spoke.
“I believe Andrei hasn’t been completely honest,” he croaked. “You see these are not wine bottles.”
“Blood?” Eric mumbled and took a step away.
Nicolas laughed. It was a throaty, deep sound that could’ve been mistaken for a cough if not for the painful smile on his face. The others echoed him, and the room became a chorus of hoots and chuckles.
Eric looked at them in confusion then Andrei raised his hand and they all stopped.
“We don’t mean to offend you. It’s just that, this is quite the opposite. You see, this was once a great coven and yes at one point each and every one of these bottles was filled with only the rarest of bloods. But the commission has cracked down on our kind and chased us further into the shadows. They’ve left us weak, with little to no food and our coven disgraced.”
“I don’t understand,” Eric said, still not entirely sure of his place in all of it. “The club…I saw them feeding, drinking blood.”
“Vermin!” Nicolas growled. “Do you take us for commonplace leaches?”
Andrei flashed a warning and Nicolas lowered his head. “The vampires at the club, they are…they are unevolved. Our kind no longer consumes blood from the humans. It is weak and unbefitting.”
Nicolas tightened his grip on Eric’s shoulders as Eleanor and Elena slowly closed the distance between them. He could hear shuffling in the shadows of the room as something stirred in the darkness.
“So, what is it that you feed on?” Eric asked, regretting the question.
“Underworlders…preferably darkkin.”
Eleanor and Elena seized his arms and shoved him forward. He tried to resist, but they were too strong. As Nicolas squeezed his neck he felt a sharp prick and the room swam in a giant wave.
“I’m not darkkin,” he cried.
“You’re something dark and very, very rare. I’m sure you’ll do just fine.”
Eric staggered as his knees buckled. His vision blurred, and he gasped to catch his breath as an immobilizing panic set in.
“Quickly,” Andrei ordered. “Before it wears off.”
The younger vampire stepped from the shadows and tossed his cigarette onto the floor. He pushed out a table that looked like a medieval gurney. There were straps with needles attached to long plastic tubes that all ended in a large, glass cylinder.
Grinning, he swept his curly hair from his face and grabbed Eric by the throat. He yanked him into the air like he weighed nothing then slammed him onto the table. Leaning his head back, he took a deep breath and a delirious guise spread across his face.
“Hurry up,” he snapped. “I can hardly wait.”
Snarling and licking their lips the two women quickly buckled him to the table. Eric tried to pull his hands away but could barely muster the strength to move his finger.
“Please…please stop,” he begged, fumbling his words like a drunk.
“Shh,” Eleanor smiled and caressed his neck with her cadaverous fingers.
“You won’t die in vain and it won’t be quick. You’ll sustain us for months,” Andrei said as he took one of the needles into his hand.
Suddenly the door at the top of the stairs burst open and everyone froze. Andrei looked up and Eric could see the fear in his eyes.
A man slowly made his way down the stairs, his feet silently landing on each step. He didn’t have an imposing physique at barely six feet with narrow shoulders and a weak jaw, but something in his eyes exuded a power that made the cellar shudder.
“Ivan,” Andrei gasped. “I…I didn’t think you’d be home until later.”
Ivan didn’t respond. He ran his fingers through the shaggy, dark brown strands of hair, exposing a scar that sliced across his face. His ancient looking gaze flitted between Eric and the rest of the coven with a wisdom far beyond his apparent age.
Swallowing, Andrei gripped the needle tighter as he nervously trembled.
“What is it that you think you are doing Andrei?” Ivan asked.
Andrei looked back to Nicolas then to Ivan. He took a deep breath and chased away his apprehensions. “I’m saving this coven,” he growled then stabbed the needle into Eric’s neck.
CHAPTER 16
BLOOD LOTUS
“You fool!” Ivan roared. “Stop this now!”
Andrei ignored him as the thick, sanguine fluid flowed from Eric’s veins. Like drug addicts, the other vampires gathered around. They beamed at Eric with wild eyes and trembling lips, barely able to contain their thirst.
Eric dipped in and out of consciousness as his life drained through the plastic tubes. He struggled to draw breath and every beat of his heart was weaker than the last. His eyes blinked in drawn out flashes, catching frames of what was going on.
“Slow it down Andrei. He’s fading too fast,” Nicolas warned.
“Yes, slow down so we can get a taste,” Elena slithered as she reached for the glass container that held his blood.
She pulled the tubing off and blood splattered onto her hands. She licked at them greedily, groaning in delight. The rest of the coven joined her as she tipped the jar back and blood poured across their faces.
They cooed and gasped in satisfaction. Cupping their hands, they slurped the blood from their palms, bellowing with elation. In seconds the cylinder had been licked clean and blood stained their piggish faces.
“Get more,” Eleanor cringed.
“Yes more,” Elena echoed.
She reconnected the container and Andrei began to drain him again. Eric’s blood raced through the spiderweb of tubes, pouring into the heavy flask like water. Nicolas beamed in delight as his skin tightened and the glow of youth returned to his face.
“You see Ivan,” Andrei boomed, still licking the last traces of blood from his fingers. “This is what we needed. This will make us whole.”
As he spoke his hands shook feverishly and his mouth trembled. Eric let out another groan then his eyes glossed over and Andrei laughed.
“Stay strong new friend. Stay strong and feed us.”
Ivan raised his nose into the air and sucked in a long, hard breath. Twitching, he snapped his head to the side then snarled at Eric.
“Stop this now!” his voice echoed but was lost to the jeers and hoots of the other vampires.
Eric closed his eyes as he felt the last of his life trickling away. Words mumbled and blurred together then he fell into a dense fog and left the dim cellar behind.
He found himself engulfed in darkness, but he was not alone. Someone or something was there with him and he felt their power come alive as his dimmed.
“Burn them,” a voice inside of his head spoke. “Burn them all!”
&nb
sp; Ivan grabbed Andrei by the neck and threw him into the wall. Nicolas charged to help him, but Ivan’s hand shot out like a flash of light and slammed into his nose. Blood exploded from his face and he crumpled to the ground.
“Do you see what you have done?” Ivan barked. “You’ve brought the devil into my coven!”
Eric’s eyes suddenly snapped open. The blood that oozed from his veins started to thicken then turned to an abysmal sludge that boiled inside of the plastic tubes.
He shifted and twisted against the table, mumbling in a language the vampires had never heard. Andrei stumbled back toward the stairs, fear wiping away his hunger as the tubes began to melt and the glass container shattered.
The others turned to run, but they were too late. Eric suddenly burst into a ball of flames that engulfed the cellar. Nicolas and the younger vampire were the closest and they exploded in a blaze of vibrant orange hues. Screams were swallowed by the inferno that danced with the will of the living.
Eleanor and Elena screeched as the fire leapt toward them, showering them in a wave of heat. Their skin melted into puddles of wax-like globs, leaving nothing but bones behind.
Eric bellowed and ripped his hands free of the restraints then tumbled off the table. He scampered to his feet and roared as he was overcome with the darkness that was growing inside of him.
“No,” Ivan pleaded as he looked around at his decimated order.
No one was left alive except for him and Andrei. A herd of flames surrounded them, inching closer and closer as Eric savored their final moments.
“Please,” Ivan cried. “I can help you, I can get you whatever you want. Anything!”
“None shall live,” a demonic voice responded.
Eric leaned back and raised his arms over his head. With his mouth stretched open, he howled as the flames rose and spread across everything. His scream was harsh and rattled the castle to the bedrock. The deafening sound boomed with unworldly power then his eyes went black and he fell face first onto the cement.
When he came to, the cellar was full of smoke. He gasped and waved his hands as he tried to see through the thick soot. Black ichor dripped from the walls like tar, the last remnants of the coven that tried to take his life. The shelves had been reduced to piles of ash and the glass bottles melted across the floor.
