by Nick Stead
Luke couldn’t offer much comfort either. He still seemed to be in awe of me, exclaiming “Wow man, that was the coolest thing I’ve ever seen!”
“I’m glad you enjoyed it,” I growled.
“Really, you didn’t? You looked to be having a good enough time of things.”
“I told you before, you don’t want this life. The curse has taken everything from me, even my ability to feel things normally like most people. There was a savage joy to be had in all this for a while but even that seems gone now. This was a mistake, I should never have come here.”
“Don’t be too hard on yourself, bro. That Slayer killed almost as many as you. He seemed a bit psycho to me; who’s to say he wouldn’t have killed them all on his own if you hadn’t been here?”
I shook my head but didn’t reply and we fell quiet. I didn’t even care about all the unanswered questions I had for him at that point, like how he just happened to be in the pub and how he knew there was a Slayer in the room, or even how he knew who the Slayers were to begin with. None of it really seemed to matter in the aftermath of all the carnage.
I forced down more of my pint but I’d only managed half of it before the gruesome decorations became too much, and I didn’t recognise the latest song blaring through the speakers. There was nothing more for me in that place, not even the warmth bringing me any comfort in the wake of this latest atrocity I’d committed. So I allowed the transformation to take hold, though I only took it halfway again. I chose to spend the remainder of the night in that most monstrous form between boy and wolf, because a monster was what I truly was.
Despite my earlier concerns about changing while it was still the night of the full moon, the human half of me remained in control. I still needed to feed and replenish my energy, so I ate my fill from the bodies surrounding me while Luke continued to sit enraptured by the impossible sights taking place right before his eyes.
The first corpse I ate from was the man who’d turned out to be a Slayer. A phone fell from his pocket as I ripped through parts of him still left intact from the initial attack, and with some difficulty I grasped it in my clawed hands. I didn’t really know what I hoped to find and there wasn’t much that made sense to me or gave me any fresh insight into how my enemies worked, but I did find the text he’d received when I’d first entered. The chilling message read ‘Target entering your location. Contain the damage.’
So that was the real reason why he’d joined me in the slaughter and taken measures to prevent anyone escaping. It hadn’t been to slow me down so reinforcements could have another shot at me before I had chance to lose them again, and his death hadn’t been a noble sacrifice for the countless lives that would be saved if they did succeed in killing me. No, the Slayers seemed to have given up on killing me that night, perhaps feeling the need for a rethink of tactics after I’d slipped through another of their traps. The events in the pub had all been about keeping their precious secret from the rest of mankind, nothing more.
Once I’d eaten, I grabbed the blanket Janet had wrapped me in when I’d first entered. I’d already lingered too long and there were probably more Slayers on the way, who obviously felt a pile of dead bodies was easier to cover up than dealing with any living witnesses. I didn’t feel like fighting my way through more of them that night.
I said nothing to Luke as I prowled over to the doorway. I wasn’t sure why I was letting him live when I’d just killed so many others and I still didn’t trust him. A part of me wanted to place my trust in him, I think, but something about him didn’t feel right and I had enough sense to listen to my gut, for the time being at least. I could feel his eyes on me as I left, but he also remained silent.
The winter seemed all the harsher when I ventured back out, even with my fur coat. But at least the blanket would provide some added warmth when I eventually settled down to sleep. It was a small comfort and one I didn’t really feel I deserved, but I knew I would be grateful for any added defence against the cold once I was back on the moors. So I kept the one Christmas present I would receive that year, forcing myself to focus on finding my way back to Lady Sarah and trying to forget the carnage I’d left behind.
Chapter Thirteen – Anger Rekindled
Even though the Slayers probably had some kind of clean up crew in each area to hide their activities and evidence of our existence from the rest of the world, there was no evidence of any nearby humans when I stepped out of the pub. It seemed it was safe to head for the patch of moorland where I hoped I’d find Lady Sarah, so I made my way back there.
She had indeed decided to return to the area and wait for me, and to say she was not happy at my reckless decision to run off on my own was an understatement.
“You fool,” she hissed. “How can I protect you when you continue to be so reckless?”
“Why do you care?” I retorted. “It seems like the rest of your race hates me. Why are you so interested in helping me?”
“After giving up so many of my nights training you, I’m not about to abandon you now.”
“And what would you do with those nights if I wasn’t around?” I pressed.
“This is a discussion for another night,” she said, and I knew better than to push her when she was already angry with me. So I let her change the subject. “What happened after you left me feeding? How many did you kill?”
“It was weird, the wolf left you wanting to make another kill and feed on more fresh meat, but then I blacked out and when I came to I had this weird feeling like I was both human and wolf at the same time. There was a body lying nearby so I ate, but I seemed to have shifted at least partially and my hunger was stronger again. I went off in search of more prey but everything was confused, until finally the human me was in control again and my body was completely human.”
“Your two identities merged as I’ve been urging you to do, but without the mental preparation it was too much,” she said, somewhat calmer now. “This is normal, but as you were not prepared you returned to a more manageable mental state. However, it is unusual that your human half asserted himself given the phase of the moon, even if it was hidden behind thick cloud cover.”
“Well whatever the reason, when I came to my senses I knew I should try to find you, so I went back to where we made our first kill. But then the Slayers found me,” I continued, but then hesitated. I knew she wouldn’t approve if I gave her the full tale of the night’s events, but I had a feeling she’d find out anyway. Though I’d not sensed any other undead around while I was indulging the darkness of my human side, they were sure to be watching after the murder of the vampire the previous month, and they were obviously in contact with Lady Sarah since they’d ordered her to bring me to the meeting they’d called. “It seemed they’d set a trap for us, or at least for me. I don’t know if you slipped away before they could move in on you as well. I escaped and managed to lose them before I came back here but I couldn’t resist the temptation to kill again. I was drawn to this local pub, almost in the middle of nowhere if it hadn’t been for the little village down the road. There was a Slayer in there but I killed him and I made sure there were no others lurking outside. I left no witnesses.”
“Fool!” she said again, but she kept her temper in check this time. “The Slayers may well renew their efforts now you’ve given them good reason to. I had hoped if we went far enough afield we could minimise the risks. But after this latest slaughter I would not be surprised if they decide to actively hunt us again, instead of waiting for us to reappear in a populated area and setting another trap. I believe the moon will affect you as normal these next two nights, but once the full moon has passed we must resume your lessons and make the most of the time we have here, before we are forced to continue our flight and seek out a new safe haven.”
I wasn’t happy to hear her say that but there didn’t seem much point in arguing. I supposed I should be grateful she didn’t insist in continuing on that night, and I was glad to settle down to rest after the night’s ex
ertions. The floor was still hard, cold, and uncomfortable, but at least I had a blanket to curl up in. Sleep came a little easier, and I surrendered myself to the usual nightmares.
The next night I experienced the normal full moon transformation as Lady Sarah had predicted. After the unpleasant experience of our identities merging during the previous night, I gladly sank into the darkness of our subconscious, where I would be dead to the world until the new day dawned.
It was too dangerous for us to hunt anywhere near the same area we’d gone to feed in the night before, but Lady Sarah still considered it a possibility that I could be the killer of the two vampires who’d been found savaged. And if she couldn’t help me satisfy my bloodlust on mortals, she feared I might take a third undead victim. She decided the safest option this time was to find a farm and steal cattle, hoping if she covered our tracks the attack would go unnoticed by the Slayers.
My control was greater after a night of being allowed to gorge myself, even if the human did most of the killing and feasting on their flesh, but still I hungered for humans over animals. And it was more than just the desires caused by the curse now: the more insight I gained into their species, the more I grew to hate them.
They would condemn an entire predatory species just for being predators. Preying upon a human carried a death sentence, regardless of the beast in question, close to extinction or not. And yet, their own species could take other human lives in cold blood and still be allowed to live. Granted, they may spend some time behind bars, but often, it seemed, they were released on supposed good behaviour, only to repeat past crimes. How could they justify culling any animal they deemed to be a problem species, when they were so loathe to take the lives of human killers who were arguably more dangerous, and a much bigger threat? The thought angered me, though I was determined not to take any more lives other than those I needed to survive. I was better than them. I was better than the human half of me, who, true to its nature, had just last night indulged in mindless slaughter to feed that darker side of humanity that lurked in every last one of their wretched species.
They wouldn’t even allow the sick and the disabled a dignified death through assisted suicide, if they so wished it, despite the fact their numbers just kept on growing, at the expense of every other creature on the planet. Ultimately, all they caused was death and destruction, to themselves and their environment, or so it seemed to me. They should have been thanking the likes of myself and Lady Sarah for helping to keep their numbers down, and restoring some natural balance in doing so, but instead they’d hunted us to near extinction, like so many of the world’s natural predators.
I found myself hating them more than ever, and the idea of joining with the human half of my mind to become one again filled me with disgust. The brief collapse and merging of our separate identities that we’d experienced the previous night had only served to force us further apart once more, which would be much to Lady Sarah’s dismay I was sure. But I was grateful to remain free of all those traits the human possessed which I despised, and virtually untainted from them. The curse might set me apart from any other mortal wolf, in that I would always crave human flesh rather than our natural prey, and I would always need more to satisfy my unnatural hunger, but I would fight to stay true to our nature and apart from the human, even if it meant never finding peace with myself.
As if Lady Sarah knew what I was thinking, once again in her wolf form, she muzzled me to remind me of my place. As much as I hated the limitations she placed upon me when it came to feeding, I knew her methods were the best chance for our survival. As long as I didn’t lose control under the full moon again I would remain by her side and feed as permitted. There was more than one reason I’d chosen to see her as my alpha, and it wasn’t purely because of the greater speed and strength of powerful members of her race such as she.
We’d set off in the opposite direction to the night before and found a farm she deemed to be a great enough distance from where we’d been sighted to offer as safe a feeding ground as possible. Lady Sarah ordered me to wait just downwind and out of sight of the cattle so as not to cause the herd to panic, while she slunk under the fence to select our meal.
Again she used her hypnotic powers to keep the animals from panicking, which seemed to be just as effective on the livestock as it was on humans. For not only was she able to lead the largest specimen away from the rest of the herd in her human form, she also kept the others docile while she did so. This meant we avoided detection by the farmer.
She fed on the cow first but didn’t drain all its blood as it was so much bigger than a human. Still, the cow was dead when she’d finished and she carried the carcass with ease back to where I waited. The meat wasn’t completely dried out like her smaller kills and I was able to enjoy the meal, even if it wasn’t the human flesh I craved. It would have been more satisfactory to answer the moon’s call and make the kill myself, of course, but compared to some of the other miserable nights where I’d had to feed on less desirable prey, and not entirely satisfy the hunger, it was an acceptable compromise. Once I’d stripped the bones of meat we buried the carcass, then returned to the moors without encountering any humans, Slayer or otherwise.
We risked managing our hungers in the same way the following night, but after burying what was left of our latest kill we were not permitted to spend the remaining hours of darkness as we pleased.
Our heads turned as one to the sound of approaching footsteps. I growled, expecting another fight with the Slayers, but then I caught his scent and realised he was another vampire. He stalked forward cautiously, deliberately allowing us to sense his approach so as not to catch us off-guard. He was wary of me, it seemed. And though he addressed Lady Sarah, he kept his eyes on me as if he thought I’d suddenly lunge at him.
“Lady Sarah,” he said, with a respectful nod of his head. “I’ve been ordered to bring you and the… wolf to another meeting.”
I was no fool. I knew he’d hesitated before settling on wolf because he’d wanted to insult me, but had clearly thought better of it. I growled louder, tempted to attack him even though I knew I wouldn’t win in a fair fight – it was doubtful one of the lowly vampires would act as a messenger with the recent murder, so I had to assume he was at least as strong and powerful as Lady Sarah, if not more so. Unlike the human, I knew better than to give into that temptation, so I held my ground.
“Why, what’s happened now?” she asked him.
“Come, and you will see for yourself. Ulfarr didn’t make it a request.”
She glanced at me, clearly worried for my safety, but obviously felt we had little option but to go back to the abandoned warehouse.
“We should do as he says,” she said to me, a warning in her eyes. I knew what that warning meant – follow and for God’s sake don’t run off! But she daren’t vocalise that warning and reveal I’d been left to my own devices at all. Not when the rest of her kind already distrusted me.
Whether it was because the male vampire didn’t possess the ability to shapeshift, or due to his feelings towards werewolves, he led us away in human form, so Lady Sarah followed suit. I bounded along just behind them, forced to run at a full sprint to keep up, but well fed enough that it wasn’t a struggle to maintain that pace as it had been with the Slayers on the trail of the human, when the bullet wound and unexpected transformation had weakened us. The night was still fairly young when we reached the vampire’s chosen meeting place.
We were led inside, the Elder vampire again stood at the opposite end of the building ready to address his audience, but this time the rest of the gathering had yet to arrive. He beckoned us over and dismissed the other male vampire. I could sense Lady Sarah was uneasy and I remained alert, most of my senses focussed on Ulfarr but also keeping an ear cocked for any sounds of danger outside.
The Elder’s eyes had been fixed on me from the moment we’d appeared in the doorway, making no attempt to hide his hatred and distrust for a werewolf once again. I growled
at him, but the moment I bared my fangs he turned the full force of his power as an Elder on my mind. Instantly I was frozen in place as if paralysed, unable to attack, even if I’d truly been intending to.
“You remember our last conversation, Lady Sarah, and my promise of what would happen if I found you were lying to me?” Ulfarr asked her, but his eyes never left me, his control never lifting.
“Please Ulfarr, I swear to you I have spoken only the truth,” she said. There was a hint of fear in her voice which put me on edge, powerless to act though I currently was.
“Yes, you also swore to me he is not the killer,” he hissed, and she flinched as if he’d physically struck her. “You claimed you could account for his actions under the full moon, and yet the Slayers were out in force just two nights past hunting this same beast, who by all accounts was alone, running rampant in a town. Did you really think all of this would escape my notice?”
Lady Sarah remained silent. I hoped she was calculating, but there was something different about her now. Before she’d defended me, putting her life on the line in the process, but that night she was subdued. I still didn’t understand exactly how vampires worked since they were solitary predators for the most part, but if they’d been pack animals I would’ve said he was her alpha and she was clearly unwilling to challenge his dominance over her this time. Perhaps it was because, in his current mood, he was likely to make good on his threat to execute the both of us. Whatever the reason, she made no attempt to defend either of us.
