by Al K. Line
This time it was personal.
Haha, I've always wanted to say that. But yeah, it was. Occasionally, I wish I'd settled down and got married. Had kids, maybe a steady job where I got to eat my sandwiches behind a desk, and got an early night all the time. But my life took a different path. Sure, I can blame the fact my parents were Hidden, that Grandma is a mad witch, that my folks got killed by vampires, but it would all be a lie. I live for this stuff. It's me, who I am. It makes me alive.
The truth is I'm an addict, just as much as a vampire is. My addiction is to the Hidden and all it has to offer, good and bad. Plus the dark magic, of course. That's the true cause of it all. The draw. It changes you and there is no forgetting it once you let it in. Why would you want to?
Sometimes, I get these flashes of insight, which you may think is obvious as I creep through the dark lanes of the countryside on the outskirts of a small city in a tiny country on a tiny island, invisible, unsmellable—I'm still not sure if that is a word or not but I'll go with it—sick to my stomach, ready to invade a vampire den because they'd pissed me off and I'd been told to by my boss, but, you know, I'm kind of used to it. I've been involved in magic, had it in me, for over a hundred years so I have done a lot, seen even more.
Okay, it's not like popping out to the supermarket for some milk, but when demons, wizards, shifters, vampires, and zombies are part of everyday life I guess you get a little blase about the whole thing.
At this moment I could definitely see the absurdity of the situation though, or not, as I was so damn well camouflaged!
Yeah, I'm Black Spark, Dark Magic Enforcer, Laugher in the Face of Vampires, Wielder of Invisible Hands, Creeper Through Bushes, and Longer for Sexy Times with Best Friends. That's right, all I could think about was if Kate was naked in bed and if she'd mind if I climbed in once I'd hopefully got out of the vampire den alive.
Visions of firm buttocks and wobbly boobies gave me more motivation than I can tell you. No way would I die before I squeezed them all. If I could do it all at the same time then all the better, but if I had to I'd do it one hand at a time. Let nobody say I'm not prepared to follow through on my fondling promises.
For the first in a very long time I had something real to look forward to. A future. A life. A family of my own. Me and Kate, the odd couple, and I wanted it more than anything.
My musings were interrupted by the sounds of dogs barking behind a large wall that hid Taavi's headquarters and more vampires than is healthy for even an invisible dark magic enforcer to try to deal with.
With visions of soft and wobbly female flesh replaced with visions of gnawed and screaming flesh of the Faz Pound kind, I hitched up my trousers, dug my winklepickers into the stonework, and climbed up and over the wall.
Ninja Spark
I was some distance from the house, although house hardly does the scary-as-hell vampire headquarters justice. It would give me a little wiggle room to test out the potions before I got into the thick of things, as I figured having one vampire Doberman chasing you was better than a hundred.
I hoped the only thing I had to be concerned about was noise, so I lowered myself down the wall as carefully as I could, trying not to curse as my winklepickers scraped against the stone. I seem to be going through an awful lot of shoes lately.
The patrols were usually about as subtle as an imp with an open jar of Marmite and a brown stain around its smiling mouth, but all was quiet as I dropped to the grass. Weird.
Wasting no time, knowing I had to get away from any dogs and somehow manage to infiltrate House Taavi and do nasty things to Yrjo, I did that weird crouched over running you always do when you are trying to be sneaky, even though nobody could see me anyway—at least I hoped they couldn't.
Up a gentle rise through the woods, then back out into the open grounds that stretched for what felt like eternity with no cover whatsoever. I prayed my potions were doing their job or I was seriously screwed. There is no way you can outrun a dog or a vampire, and I was in the thick of it all.
But things weren't right. As I got closer to the building, I saw the first patrols, but they weren't walking slowly, bored with their tedious jobs. Quite the opposite. Men and women with dogs on tight leashes were rushing toward the house from all directions.
It was obvious why.
House Taavi was burning.
Coming from the side, everything had looked normal, the monstrous edifice declaring its seventeenth century splendor in all its gray and intimidating glory. But as I sped up and moved to the front of the building the fire was impossible to ignore.
Smoke drifted down to the ground, the air heavy. A fog that clawed into my lungs and it was all I could do to stop myself coughing—should have thought about a potion to stop sound as well as scent.
It was pandemonium.
The guards were running back and forth, shouting and unsure whether to go help or to continue their rounds. Vampires spilled out of the entrance in a tide of ancient cruelty. The grounds teemed with them.
So much for plans. Um, okay, I didn't have an actual plan, but I had a goal. Kill Yrjo, preferably slowly. Gravel crunched, fire licked higher, and vampires shouted and ran around wildly, while others stood and stared at the numerous windows and tall spires as glass blew out and tiles crashed to the ground.
The place would be an inferno soon enough, and there was no doubt it would be decimated before help arrived, assuming it had even been called for.
I couldn't imagine the fire brigade turning up and not hightailing out of there real quick once they were confronted with so many odd looking people—I wondered what they would actually see if they did show. Just a group of strangely dressed people from countless eras all looking a little on the sleepy side, or brimming with vitality? It would certainly be odd, no matter how Hidden the vampires were.
It would probably just mean a snack for the ancient ones, awoken from their centuries-long slumbers and now stood in groups staring at the building, uncomprehending, new to the modern world and even the possibility of the building being saved.
I stood some distance from the groups of vampires, my goal forgotten amid the carnage. A massive crash split the air as a steep roof collapsed, timber, tiles, and brick crashing down into the interior, the fire erupting out the top like an oversized medieval torch declaring "Here be Vampires."
I almost felt bad for them. Instead, I felt bad for the rest of us.
It's one thing knowing there are literally hundreds, if not thousands, of vampires of all ages and strengths on your doorstep, many sleeping away the years behind closed doors, in crypts or locked in darkened rooms throughout a very spooky building, it's quite another to realize that they have no home and could be roaming the streets of your city with less than charitable intentions.
Before I knew what I was doing, I was walking toward a specific group of vampires stood staring at the building as the flames took hold and their home blazed—there was no saving it now. It would be dust by the morning.
Bonfire of the Vampires
At least three hundred sleepy and almost crumbling vampires stood or slumped in various states of confusion on the drive or grass, looking dazed and utterly bewildered. I hadn't realized there were quite so many ancient ones behind the walls.
There were hundreds more in their prime. Active vampires I had seen over the years then never again. Many spent their lives close to House Taavi, while others preferred to roam the world looking for entertainment, amusement, or new horrors to inflict on the innocent. Each one of them looked like a little child after being told the truth about Father Christmas. If they weren't such cold and merciless killers you could almost feel sorry for them. Almost.
The old ones were the hardest hit. Awake for only a few minutes—with no time to orient themselves or draw on what blood magic still coursed through their veins, no chance to feed and restore their vitality—they were like lost children, except with fangs, and stupid clothes.
Judging by the way a few dogs
barked, it was obvious the potion to hide my scent had worn off. As I looked down, I saw that my body was now entirely visible too. I muttered a curse at the Chemist—no way was that an hour—and decided to go with it.
Yes, I could have run, but I could also have been chased down by dogs and numerous vampires, so being brazen and cool as a cucumber down a Yeti's pants felt like the better of all the bad choices I could have made.
I cleared my throat to announce myself without causing a mass feeding on my sweet tasting blood. Here went nothing.
They turned as one, red eyes gleaming in skeletal faces wrapped in paper-thin skin, yellow fangs snapping at the air. Some of them looked worse than the zombies on their reservation.
Taavi held up a hand and one of the scariest sounds I have ever heard drowned out the terror of the fire and the crashing of crumbling roofs.
It was the sound of so many teeth being licked.
"No killing. He is mine," said Taavi. I may have gulped.
I'd come to fight Yrjo, maybe a goon or two, and anyone else that got in my way, but this was going too far. Part of me wanted to say, "C'mon, seriously?" or something like that, but I stood there, acting hard. Okay, I may have done a little pee. Haha, no way. I'm Faz Pound, He Who Does not Pee, Holder in of the Wee of Terror, Abstainer of the Wetting of the Pants in Vampire Company, but I certainly felt a little damp under the arms.
At least the dogs had stopped barking. That was something, anyway. Shame the camouflage had worn off. I wished I'd had a double dose, or gone to Kate's and called it a night. Maybe ordered pizza, had a cuddle after a shower. Talked about cushions and should I buy a sprinkler system for my next house just in case I got overrun with Finnish vampire usurpers, that kind of thing. Just the usual pillow talk.
But no, I stood there, feeling sicker than a faery after eating seven plates of carbonara—I saw it once, it was a sight to behold.
"Damn. Hope you had insurance?" I said, looking round nervously at the amassed militia and the confused dogs, staring at me with bloodshot eyes and sniffing the air, confused by this half-person that had suddenly materialized, offering up a tantalizing scent.
The guards and more "regular" vampires than I was happy about—meaning any—closed in on me, but Taavi waved them away with a single hand movement. Sometimes I think they have a communal telepathy, can speak without words, converse via their connection to the blood magic. I'd have to ask Kate, assuming I didn't get my throat ripped out, of course.
You know, it's one thing being brave when faced with a few foes, whatever they may be, but I was having a hard time keeping the bravado when I was surrounded by more vampires than I have ever seen in my life. They kept on coming.
Taavi waved away those stood close to him, seemingly unconcerned for his own safety. He nodded at me, like he'd been expecting me—which freaked me out more than anything. Then it was just him and me, stood on the large gravel drive, staring at the massive building he had called his home for so long as more and more of it was razed to the ground. The heat became intense, the building in full flame. Nothing would remain. It would all be gone.
Looking at it logically, this was a very bad thing. It's always been better to have so many vamps living under one roof. They like the communal life and that suits the rest of us. We know where they are, and Taavi keeps his House well run. Now what? Would they be bunking up with friends?—yeah, right! Would they be renting apartments or houses, spreading out across the city and beyond with no way to keep them under control?
And what about the dogs? It didn't bear thinking about. If even a single vampire Doberman got loose it would be utter carnage on the streets of Cardiff.
"So much history," said Taavi, accent strong, full of nostalgia. "I had items in there that pre-dated Christ. Books and artifacts, talismans and memories, all gone. And my people. Some have perished, and that is the worst crime of all. This is unforgivable. He will pay, and it will take centuries for him to die. Every second of every minute will be nothing but pain for him. He deserves nothing less."
"Yrjo?" I said, already knowing it had to be.
"Yes, Yrjo. What a ridiculous man. He thought he could hide things from me. From ME! He comes over here, thinking himself my better, that he could manipulate and fool me. As if I would believe anyone still walks around wearing capes and looking like a character from a bad movie. But I am sentimental. I had a soft spot for him. He has always played his games, it is his nature after all. Like a child seeking recognition, being a silly boy to gain notoriety and to get attention."
"Go back a long way, eh?" Yes, it felt uber-weird getting all chatty with the Head vampire.
Taavi looked at me curiously, as if he was as surprised as me we were chatting. "What are you doing here, Spark? How did you get into the grounds?" He studied me. "Ah, I see. A spell. No, a potion. You hid yourself, and your scent is still faint. How very clever of you."
"What can I say, I'm an ingenious kind of guy."
"I understand you have already encountered our friend this evening?"
"How do you know?" I shouldn't have bothered asking. I was as stupid as Yrjo for thinking anything got past Taavi. Not that I would ever say it, but he and Rikka have more in common than either would ever admit.
Taavi just looked at me. "Spark, let me tell you something about our world. My world. We are cold, some would say cruel, creatures, but we do have love. It may not be the love you humans have, in fact, I would say it makes yours pale into insignificance. Yes, we are cruel and our world is cutthroat, but we have deep feelings for one another. We will change sides, we will stab each other in the back, but we are also honorable in our own way. And we know what is best for us. Mostly."
"Like a little happy family." Taavi stared at me. I kept quiet.
"But some of us are snakes, and Yrjo is a viper. I knew something wasn't right. I felt the disruption, that there was a new one amongst us. That boy. But Oliver got to him first, that traitor. I assume he is dead?"
I nodded. "Very. But he was always armless." See what I did there? Sorry, it was in bad taste.
"I guessed as much. I feel things. I know my people. I know my Ward. It is part of me, and that is something Yrjo could never really accept. He has never had a home like I have, never had that connection. I feel the city. I know it."
"You knew he had taken Rikka?"
"No, not really. But I suspected. I had to wait, bide my time. Let events play out. It is our way."
He really is just like Rikka. "Okay."
"When Yrjo sent me out this evening I knew something was amiss. He would never skip such a treat. He is way too greedy and impulsive for that. Young girls in the woods? Oh my." Taavi licked his lips. "I left here, my home, but did not go where he had told me. I watched, and I saw. I saw him, and I saw Oliver enter your home."
"And you did nothing!"
"Please, Spark, your life means nothing to me. And besides, I saw the 'goblin,' so I knew Yrjo was defeated. Rikka is more powerful than I believe even you know. A worthy adversary. Anyway, I saw our traitor leave, knew Yrjo would return to defeat me. Or try. So I confronted him. It is our way. I am no coward. I would have fought him and destroyed him, as I still shall."
We watched in silence for a while as vampires continued to pour out of the house. They just kept on coming. There must have been close to a thousand. Some young, in their prime, others clearly just now woken from the empty sleep of the immortal. As they continued to pour out, so the house continued to burn.
Taavi watched, face blank, like it happened every day. "So what happened?"
"As is usually the way, his men turned on him. I knew he had taken some of my power, my Ward from me, but he did not know I had done the same to him. The games we play, Spark, so silly. Those still with me took him when he returned. And let's just say he surprised me with his strength. I never knew he was so strong with magic." Taavi shrugged. "The fight got out of hand. He used magic. Our home burns."
There isn't much I could say to that. That'
s magic for you. It's always a little unpredictable but I wouldn't be surprised if Yrjo used it as a last resort to escape and hit Taavi where he knew it would hurt. "What now?"
Taavi turned to me. "Why, Spark, my dear child, now we make him suffer."
"But how? Where is he? He could be anywhere if he ran."
"I have nothing he can use to hurt me, Spark. How about you?"
The bottom fell out of my world. Rikka had beaten him, Grandma had her witches, but Kate, Kate would be alone.
"Shit, shit, shit. You let me stand here talking when you knew he would be after Kate? But why would he?"
"Because it turns out he is more human than he thinks, Spark. He has lost, and all he has left is the pettiness of revenge. Such a pathetic creature, I thought him past such things."
Bret and Bart appeared out of nowhere, two twin Chinese man-mountains, like trolls in miniature but with fangs, and with no endearing qualities. "You want us to go get him?" said Bret, or Bart.
"No, that won't be necessary," said Taavi, watching for my reaction. I hated him then, but I also understood the true horror of their kind. They just don't fucking care.
"And you let him go after Kate? She is one of you, a vampire."
"Yes, Spark, she is. And that is why he wants her. To take her and to punish you. Me too. She is mine, after all." It's easy to forget, but as I killed her maker, who was Taavi's, so Kate is his.
"Why haven't you stopped him?"
"Because, in case you hadn't noticed, my home is burning to the ground and my people need me here."
I ran. I ran as fast as I could and I didn't stop until I got to the entrance, now open as vampires from across the city returned to their House to offer assistance. All except one.
I sprinted through the lanes to the car, and I don't even remember getting in or driving back to the city.
All I could think of was Kate.
I wouldn't let it happen. She was Kate. I loved her. Nothing bad could happen to her. Not now. Not ever.
