by S Mays
A cruel smile crept across his face. The arrogant smile disappeared almost instantly. A faint curl of smoke escaped his gaping mouth. His body jerked as a look of fear and pain erupted on his face. He looked down to see Casca’s smoldering tip slowly emerge from his chest armor. Steam and a small flare of flame spouted from the wound, along with boiling blood. He attempted to turn, but flames ignited all around him as his heart disintegrated. Screaming, he fell to the ground. A geyser of fire exploded from his corpse and died out immediately after. It was as if someone had struck a million matches that had instantly extinguished. An empty suit of armor and smoking ashes remained. Elizabeth uncovered her eyes and stared at Jessica in disbelief. Smoke snaked away from Jessica’s armor. She regarded the vampire with contempt. She stepped forward.
“Jessica, I order you to stop!” Elizabeth screamed, backing away. Jessica took another step. Inside her helmet, she heard nothing but her own breathing.
“Jessica Luvkrafft, I order you to cease!” the vampire shouted, her panic increasing. Jessica could make out a faint murmur through her helmet. She advanced.
Elizabeth looked from Jessica to the pile of ashes that had been her bodyguard until seconds ago. Her eyes focused on Casca’s edge. “I did not live to be my current age by engaging in needless combat. Perhaps we can discuss this. You would like to have your father back? I could free him. You could take him home with you. Wouldn’t that be nice? I have no quarrel with you. Let us parlay.” At that moment, a motorcycle approached, sirens blaring. Red and blue lights flashed. Elizabeth smiled.
“Jake Luvkrafft, kill your daughter,” she said, backing away from Jessica.
Jessica turned in time to avoid her father’s blow. He was unarmed and unarmored, but she recalled his combat prowess all too well. While Jessica was distracted, Elizabeth sprinted toward the motorcycle officer.
“Dispatch, I’ve got some kind of industrial explosion down here. Looks like… What the hell? I think this might be a terrorist attack, Dispatch. I’ve got men with a lot of —” he said before Elizabeth dashed out of the smoke. “Hold it right—” he began, starting to draw his weapon, but she reached him first. Slashing with her long, hard nails, she slit his throat and kicked him away from his motorcycle. He flew fifteen feet through the air before sliding face-first across the asphalt parking lot. He attempted to stand once, but collapsed. Blood pooled under his unmoving body.
Leaping onto the bike, Elizabeth cast one last glance over her shoulder at the fight between father and daughter, then accelerated away from the scene. The rear tire broke loose and squealed as she disappeared down the deserted road.
Jessica watched the vampire flee, but she had her hands full with her father. “Father, please stop. I don’t wish to hurt you.”
“Jessica…you don’t understand the power. I…can’t control myself,” he said, then launched a flurry of punches at her. She blocked them easily. Even if they had connected, it was unlikely they could harm her through the armor — but underestimating her father could prove fatal, especially since he was a vampire.
“I’ve been their slave all of this time. You…cannot imagine the horrors I’ve seen. You don’t know what I’ve been forced to do. I’ve resisted… Lord knows I’ve resisted, but they’ve gained many secrets from me. There are shadowy organizations we can’t even imagine.” As he conversed with her, he continued his assault. It was disconcerting, fighting her father while he verbally tried to help her.
“Father, let me help you. We can take you to Inquest for study. They may be able to help you. Maybe we can duplicate the Universal Cure,” Jessica pleaded, dodging and blocking her father’s attacks.
“The serum was never properly tested, and it can’t bring the dead back to life, Jessica. I am no longer living. I am an ambulatory corpse, devoid of my own will. You-you must slay me. As long as I live, I am a threat to the Order. I am a threat to you.”
“No! I will find a way to help you. There must be a way. Grandfather’s magic —”
“There are no spells to reverse vampirism. We’ve tried. There’s nothing that can be done. I suffer, Jessica. End my suffering.”
Jessica tried to ignore her father’s words. She concentrated on attacking his knees and other joints. Perhaps if she could wound him enough, she could capture him. That was when she realized she’d had the upper hand in their fight the entire time. In fact, she was barely breathing heavily. Her father’s attacks were slow and weak. Looking at him closely, she noticed just how emaciated he was. His eyes were sunken in his skull, and his jaw was more prominent. He looked as if he’d lost half his body weight. As a vampire, he should be several times stronger than he had been when he was alive, but he wasn’t even half as strong.
“What-what did they do to you, Father?” she asked, continuing to fend off her father’s attacks.
“I was tortured. Physically and mentally. I was denied sustenance. I-I craved human blood. I’m a monstrosity. My very existence mocks what I stood for. What we stand for.”
Jessica kicked at his leg again. Her father’s tendons tore, causing him to fall sideways. He cried out in pain.
“I-I’m sorry, Father,” she said, reaching out to him.
“Stay back!” he shouted.
“Command, do you read me?” she said. Perhaps the jamming device had been on the big vampire or the female.
“We read you, Stalker Luvkrafft,” the response came. Thank God.
“I need a cleanup crew at my location ASAP. I also need a transport pod for a live vampire.”
“Roger. Sending assistance now. ETA twenty-one minutes.”
Her father looked up at her with pleading eyes. “Jessica, I can’t be taken in. They will experiment on me, torture me. I’ve seen what they do to captured paranormals.”
“No, you are part of the Order. They won’t do that to you. Not you, of all people,” she insisted.
“You…you don’t know. You are still young. You must kill me. Please, Jessica. Please,” he begged.
She looked down at the pathetic creature at her feet. He swiped at her if she got too close, still under the control of the last command he had received. His mind was his own, but his body was not.
“Please…please…please,” he repeated.
Tears formed in her eyes. This was not her father. The white, skeletal mockery looked and sounded like him, but her father was a strong, proud man. He was devoted to God and the Order. He was one of the fiercest warriors the organization had ever seen, and one of its most brilliant minds. She remembered the evidence of his accolades in Rome. This creature dishonored the man he had been. Her visor fogged up from the internal moisture. She ripped her helmet off and tossed it away. She wanted to see her father with her own eyes. Kneeling, she remained just out of arm’s reach.
“Father…” she began, unsure of what to say. They’d never been terribly close. It was partly her fault for her slavish devotion to achieving her goals, but also his for his duty to the Order. She had thought that once she had become a Stalker, he’d accept her, and they’d spend more time together. Now, there was no more time. Her father was in front of her, but he was also gone.
“Please…please…please,” he continued. Tears of blood streamed down his face.
“Father, stop. I-I’ll do it. I won’t let them see you like this. I won’t let them use you as a lab animal. You died years ago.”
He stopped his pleading. A look of hope crossed his face. “Jessica…” She moved closer, but he lashed out at her. “I’m sorry, Jessica. I can’t…”
“It is not your fault — I know. I swear this to you: I will find that woman and make her pay. I will slay her and all of her kind.”
“You gave them my research. They may be able to duplicate it now. I-I’ve been forbidden from speaking about what I’ve seen, but they are powerful. It will take the Order’s full resources to…” He struggled. “I can’t reveal more. My master is the legendary Countess Elizabeth Báthory. Our records say she was killed, but she liv
es,” he sobbed.
She pulled out another USB drive. “No, this is your research. She has Grandfather’s heavy metal music library.” Her father smiled weakly. She moved in to comfort him, but he slashed at her face.
“I want so badly to hug you, Jessica. One last time.”
He struggled to stand, but his legs were useless. Pity overwhelmed her. She entered a sequence of commands on hidden points on her armor. The suit split open. She removed the gauntlets first, followed by the chest, then the rest. She set the pieces gently on the ground.
“You’ve made improvements. But I never made a suit for you,” he said, watching her remove the armor.
“This was Mother’s spare suit,” she replied, moving behind her father.
Focusing her chi, she grabbed his arms and grunted as she lifted him up. He felt as if he barely weighed half of what she remembered. She wrapped her arms around him, preventing him from attacking her. He turned his head to bite her, but she held her head back.
“I’m sorry. I can’t…” he apologized.
“I know.” She closed her eyes, feeling his thin form against her body. It was cold and hard. She wanted him to be warm and alive again. “Father…” she breathed, unable to speak.
“I wish… I could turn back time. I want to see my little girl again. I should have made time for you. I just wanted to protect you. Jessica…you’ve made me so proud. For me…stay pure. Do not let the world corrupt you. Keep your faith. Serve…the Order. Protect…man,” he said, struggling against the commands that had been given to him.
She leaned her face against the back of his head. “I will, Father. I only wanted to live up to the expectations you and Mother had for me. That others had for me. I…wish I had spent more time with you instead of training. I don’t want you to go.”
“You’ve…surpassed those expectations. Now, you must create your own legend. My time is over. Your time is just beginning,” he whispered, choking up.
“I love you, Father,” she said.
“I love you, too, Jessica. Please…release me. You don’t know the agony I’m enduring. I can’t go back,” he said, turning his head slightly. His entire body trembled.
“Casca: dissect,” she whispered. She kissed the back of his head. In a swift movement, she jammed the blade through his heart. He gasped, falling limp in her arms. He was no longer fighting against her. His fight was over.
“Goodbye, Father,” she cried, unable to see through the tears in her eyes.
“Goodbye…” he said, then exhaled.
She felt his body warm up. She set him down gently, unsure of what to expect. His skin turned gray and began to crumble. Turning, she refused to watch. After a moment, she looked back. There was a faint outline of his body made of ash. His clothes remained. He’d been so starved by the witch, he hadn’t released much energy in his passing.
She looked once again at the road down which Elizabeth had escaped. I will find you.
She swept away the ashes and hid the clothing before the cleanup crew arrived.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
“Grandfather, I must speak with you,” Jessica said upon entering the den.
“I thought you might, my girl. What’s been troubling you?” the old man said as he sat down in his ornate chair and lit his pipe.
“I left something out of my report regarding the incident in Tennessee. Something…important.”
“What is it?” he asked, turning slightly more serious.
“That night… Father was there,” she admitted.
“Jake was with you? Why didn’t you mention this before? Where is he? What —” Bilford gushed, rising from his chair.
“You don’t understand, Grandfather. He was with the enemy. They-they had converted him into a vampire. His will was not his own. I was forced to —” she said, turning away from him.
Bilford crossed the room, grabbed her, and turned her to face him. “You did what? What did you do, Jessica?” She’d never seen him this angry before.
“I-I was forced to slay him,” she admitted, looking away.
Bilford released her and fell back several steps. A dazed look came over him. It appeared as if he was about to fall to the floor, but he steadied himself on the edge of the couch.
“You-you killed Jake? How…how could you?” he stammered.
“He begged me, Grandfather. I had no choice. He was one of them. He attacked me. He pleaded to be released,” she responded.
“You… You had no right to do that. You should have called it in. I could have – I could have done something,” he said, walking across the room. He began to run his trembling hands across the various books on the shelves.
“We…we could have found a way to do something. There was something. Jake… You killed Jake? He was like a son to me. My great-grandson. He was…one of the few friends I had left,” he said, turning to look at her again. His bottom lip trembled, and his eyes glistened. “How could you have done that, Jessica!” he shouted, and smashed an antique vase. The lights in the room flickered. Thunder rumbled overhead.
“Who was it? Who did that to Jake?” he bellowed, his face twisting into a visage of rage. The room began to vibrate. He could no longer see her. Jessica raced across the room and embraced him.
“I’m…sorry, Grandfather. I should have informed you about the situation before I left. I thought it was a trick. I should have asked for your help. As Overseer, you should have known. I should have told you,” she confessed.
The rage in Bilford’s eyes subsided. His mind returned to the present, and he looked down at the young woman who was embracing him. She hadn’t hugged him like this in years. He went limp as his muscles relaxed, and returned Jessica’s hug.
“I’m-I’m sorry, Jessica. I shouldn’t have questioned your judgment. It must have been horrible for you. If you say it had to be done, then it had to be done,” he said, stroking her hair.
“It was no longer Father. He was thin — broken. His mind was —” she said before he drew her head in close.
“Shh. Shh. It’s okay. There’s no need to relive it for my sake. I’ve seen what happens to good people who have been turned. I’ve seen the sacrifices that must be made. You have a strong will and the courage to do what had to be done. I’m…not sure I could have done it,” he said.
“You should have been informed,” she insisted.
“Yes, I believe you are right on that, my girl. As Overseer, I can’t have my Stalkers running about. If I’m going to remain in this position, and you in yours, I need you to trust me. I need you to obey me. There cannot be a breakdown in communication and obedience like this again. I am begrudgingly accepting this position as is, and I need the full cooperation of everyone in this unit. Do you understand? I am Overseer first, and your grandfather second.”
She wiped away her tears and stepped back from him, assuming a more formal stance. “Yes, sir.”
***
Over the following two years, Jessica maintained her duties as a Stalker for the Order. She used her free time to investigate any leads on Elizabeth and her mysterious organization. Whoever they were, they were extremely careful and powerful.
Her grandfather provided her with any resources she needed, but it would require the Order’s full support and investigative branches to uncover more. They were unwilling to lend credence to the theory that an organization on par with the Order could be operating without their knowledge. The technology recovered at the warehouse in Tennessee was declared the work of Underworlders, scavengers, and rebels — minor annoyances who stole Order technology and secrets using guerrilla warfare tactics. The Underworlders occasionally managed to steal something like a truck, but an aircraft like the one in Elizabeth’s possession seemed highly implausible. No one seemed interested in the fact that counterfeit AUG armor was in circulation. Perhaps the Order was getting into the arms trade business? Either way, the Council of Overseers had determined that it was not an issue they were going to pursue. Being a new Stalker, it w
as not for her to question their leadership. Her father had ingrained in her that the organization was infallible, and she chose to believe that — for now.
Jessica worked at her grandfather’s terminal, scouring Elizabeth’s files for any clues. Countess Elizabeth Báthory de Ecsed had died in prison in 1614, according to public records. Order records listed her actual death in 1763. A vampire of indeterminate age, she was also one of the worst serial killers in human history. She craved the blood of young women, and reportedly bathed regularly in their blood. Being several hundred years old, she could be one of the most powerful vampires known to exist. There were rumors of vampires who were as old as her grandfather or even older, but evidence was scarce. Of course, if such vampires existed, they could have the resources needed to avoid the Order’s detection. Rumors swirled that some Order outposts had been wiped out by vampires of that level.
An email popped up from one of her contacts. After printing it out, she rushed to find her grandfather.
“Grandfather! Have you seen this? Overseer Hetfeld was located this morning in Russia. Rather, his body was found hanging in a hotel room.”
Her grandfather was sitting at the end of the kitchen table, reading his newspaper. He lowered the paper. “Oh? I’m sorry to hear that. He was your biggest lead.”
“Yes, I’m positive he had something to do with Father’s capture that night. If only they had questioned him before he fled the country. But now…another dead end. I now have no more leads in tracking down Báthory. If Father’s soul is to be made whole, I have to destroy her.”
“At the rate you are going, my girl, you will destroy every supernatural creature on the planet. Most people are just beginning their Stalker training at your age, and you’ve been on the job for almost five years now. Speaking of which, how do you feel about college?”
“College? What are you hinting at, Grandfather? You’ve got that mischievous look about you again.”
