Chapter 12: The Enemy's Remorse

 

The crime scene was processed rather quickly. It would seem the syndicate was very keen on capturing the killer as soon as possible. Although the murders were as grisly as the last two, the fact that there were two victims seemed to have the entire department shaken. The brutality of the murders had a cold and calculated insanity behind them and it seemed to increase with each kill. Whatever this killer was, he in no way held a shred of humanity. He was a monster, and he needed to be stopped before they faced a mountain of corpses. Kaileena was growing frustrated with the murders. Even though it was only her third case, she felt the answer to this tangled web of intrigue and mystery was just beyond that sealed door. If it hadn’t been for the expertise of the vampire working with her, she would never have been able to gain access to the crime scene after dark. She was convinced the killer was close by but at the moment he was out of reach. And that irritated the Hunter more than she cared to admit.

After the last officer left, Vincent turned to her and frowned as she paced the room like a tiger in a cage.

“There is no use in fretting over this,” he said. “We’ll find out the answers at sunset.”

“I know,” she said flatly. “But there is something about this case that bothers me. The M.O is always the same. And yet there is hardly any trace of the killer left with the victims.”

“I understand your frustration. It’s been bothering me too. But we can’t do anything about it at the moment. You may be able to walk in the daylight but I won’t last three seconds out there.”

“Yeah,” the dhampir sighed. “We’ll retire for the mean time. Gather our strength and arsenal. I have a feeling what our venture into the tunnels will not be a walk in the park.” She brushed by the vampire who followed after her.

                       ~*~

The murky water splashed against the worn brown boots. Rats squeaked in fright as a blur of black shadow flooded the passageway and left a reek of blood and death in its wake. Hoarse panting erupted from the fluid darkness every second, a beast of the abyss pushed to the very brink of exhaustion. It had been a very close call. The dhampir hadn’t noticed its presence and the obliviousness gave it ample time to unleash the Bastera on her. It hadn’t counted on the swiftness of her actions, nor the skill she exhibited with needles or a blade. It had watched the entire tableau unfold when the half-breed came to the vampire’s aid. It was evident that she was no newborn. The Bastera- a creature feared for its agility and ungodly speed and viciousness- had been brought down in mere seconds with that sliver of a blade the dhampir wielded. It was impossible. That demon was not slain easily and she had cut through it like it was nothing more than wet paper. It didn’t stay around to meet the same fate. It had to report back to the others.

The sun was high above the industrial sector by the time it had arrived at the lair. It hissed in agony as it drew back the gnarled hand peeking from the shroud that swathed its form. It slipped into the cover of shadows and paused by a large steel door. It raised the burnt hand and pounded against the rusted steel, its long talons scratching at the metal as it did so. A panel at the side of the door opened and another shadow came out, taller than the one that waited at the door.

“You’re late.” The voice of the shadow was harsh and frightening, as though the whispers of the most dreadful horror tales and the fear of the unknown darkness had melded together into a cacophony of nightmares.

“I barely managed to escape,” muttered the waiting shadow. “We have an interloper.”

There was a very tense silence.

“Get inside.”

Both shadows seemed to waft through the door before it shut behind them. In the safety of the sheltered building, both shadows pulled back the fabric from their faces. Their visages were twisted aberrations of gnarled flesh and pitted pores, creating a leathery mask that looked as though it was frozen in partial decay. Their fearsome fangs poked out from the slash in their faces that was their mouths, their eyes burning embers of violet coal peering from the hollows of their sockets. The first demon gestured to his comrade and they both walked the empty warehouse corridors before coming to a large double door. Green-skinned aberrations like themselves nodded to them and they opened the doors to let their kin through. Both demons walked the vast hall until they paused at a large dais where an altar was set up. Both knelt before the dais, their heads bowed.

“We have a report, my Lord.”

The man before the altar turned around to face them. He brushed the tendrils of his brown hair back from his face with a pale hand, regarding the two demons before him with a sour look.

“You’re late in reporting, Vernicus,” said the man coldly, his fangs peeking from his lips as his lips twisted into a scowl of disapproval.

“Forgive me for my delay, my Lord,” replied Vernicus with due respect. “I was waylaid by an interloper.”

“An interloper?” The vampire raised a dark eyebrow in puzzlement.

“Yes, my Lord. I gathered the sacrifices as you requested but my immediate return was delayed by the presence of a Vampire Hunter.”

“A Vampire Hunter?” repeated the vampire, his brown eyes flashing crimson. “Did the interloper see you? Did he know of the sacrifices?”

“No, my Lord. The interloper has no knowledge of the true purpose of the victims. I released the Bastera upon her and she effectively neutralised it.”

“Her?” The vampire was frowning deeply now. “The Vampire Hunter was a woman?”
“Yes, my Lord. A half-breed, to be precise.”

The very mention of what manner of Hunter the woman was seemed to send chills through the vampire. Which was very uncommon since vampires do not feel temperature change as acutely as humans did. But this chill had nothing to do with the frigid climate of the warehouse. “The Vampire Hunter is dhampir?”

“Yes, my Lord. I saw her with my own eyes. Her skill with a blade is remarkable and her strength is far beyond that of a normal human’s.”

“Interesting…” The vampire paced the dais a little, a deep frown upon his face. Pausing briefly, he turned to regard the demon who had addressed him. “You are certain the dhampir has no knowledge of our movements?”

“No, my Lord. I took the liberty of sealing the door before I returned here.”

“Very well.” He descended the steps and stood before the demon. He held out his hands. “Give me the sacrifices you have acquired tonight.”
Vernicus nodded and pulled back part of his shroud. Two glass jars with hearts inside were moulded into his gnarled flesh. The demon gritted its teeth and ripped both jars from his body, handing them to the waiting vampire. The flesh rippled and writhed as the wounds closed up, leaving no trace that the jars had been within his body in the first place. The vampire examined the hearts within the containers and nodded. He ascended the dais slowly once more and approached the altar. Raising his free hand to his mouth, he sank his fangs into the flesh. Blood welled up in a rich flood and dripped onto the altar. Once a small crimson puddle was made, he traced an odd symbol onto the stone with his fingers, using the blood like it was ink. Once the symbol had been made, it glowed a deep violet and the top of the stone altar slid open. Inside, nestled within a mound of white flesh, where five hearts in jars. The vampire placed the two he’d procured into the mass where it sank into the flesh. A loud hiss of breath seemed to issue from the altar, echoing from throughout the hall before the stone lid closed up. The symbol vanished from sight and the vampire turned to the demons below.

“This makes seven. We need two more to raise our queen from the depths of her torment.” The vampire fixed his dark gaze upon the two. “We must not fail. Our duties as members of the Cerc De Diavoli are paramount. We must complete the gathering of sacrifices or our queen will never be woken. Do I make myself clear?”

The two vampire demons below him bowed low. “Yes, Lord Fickzo.” With that, they turned on their heels and left the hall. Fickzo turned to the altar and rested his hand upon it, a smile of pure sadism spreading across his face.

“Soon, my Lady. Soon you will reap terror and chaos upon these decadent mortals. A true queen will rule this world and bow before your splendour. Our time is nearly at hand.” He laughed maniacally, the horrible sound rattling through the warehouse and leaving the rats that were resident trembling with fear.

                       ~*~

Vincent glanced at the dhampir who was sleeping soundly in her bedroom. She was lying on top of the covers, her face perfectly serene and her hand resting by her head. A blood red stone was glowing at her neck, which gave the vampire pause for thought as to where she’d acquired such a trinket. He shook his head and glanced at the pile of files he’d brought with him. Kaileena had sifted through them over and over again, trying to pick out similarities that may link the Cerc De Diavoli to the murders. She’d only found a couple aside from the crest carved into the bodies but it was solid enough proof for her to make the decision to break the sealed door at dusk. The sun was setting slowly, painting the horizon crimson and gold. It would soon be time for their operation, and he was growing restless. Glancing at the dhampir, he pulled out the large tome he’d had with him in the car. Turning the pages carefully, he lowered his eyes to the page and began to read the next entry.

April 2nd, 1908

The child is a remarkable student. I have taught her much over the past two years and she has absorbed it quickly and efficiently. I am beginning to learn the differences between her and the vampire plague. Firstly, she can eat like normal humans but when the Thirst comes upon her, she must feed or her urges can turn into fits of bloodlust. Secondly, she can stay out in the sunlight for protracted periods of time, but if she is exposed to too much sun in a certain timeframe, she succumbs to what I have aptly called “Solar Overdose.” When this happens, she grows weak quite rapidly and begins to sweat and pant. She also becomes slower and unable to keep her metabolism up. It can kill her if either of these two forms of treatment is not performed:

1.        That she is buried in the earth for a certain period of time. The recovery from this condition can last from two to five days depending on the severity of the overdose.

2.      She must be fed fresh, human blood and kept in total darkness until such time that she is fully recovered. Animal blood will not do when this condition is in effect so only human blood will help her. I do not know why it is necessary for her to have human blood during this condition. Perhaps it has something to do with her vampire genes. If the genes are replenished, her healing rate is accelerated and her susceptibility to normal vampire ailments is decreased dramatically.

At first, I was reluctantly to have the child in my home. But after two years, I’ve come to love her as a father would his daughter. She shows great intelligence and her agility and strength are more than five times that of a regular human. But she is still substantially weaker than her full-blooded vampire kin. Seeing that this could potentially lead to her early demise, I have taken it upon myself to educate and train little Kaileena in the art of the Vampire Hunter. Drawing from my own experience, I will show her how to defend herself and how to repel the demons that plague our lands if she is not strong enough to slay them. I have even taken the liberty of teaching her the recipes for serums, antidotes and potions I have concocted to combat the various toxins that the demons can inflict upon their victims. She has taken to the training with good grace and enthusiasm, but there are moments when I am still painfully reminded that she is only a child.

One instance was when she went out to pick some wild berries I needed for a serum to heal injuries sustained from redcaps. She came running through the door and dropped the basket of berries on the table before wrapping her arms around me tightly. She was crying quite loudly.

“What is wrong, child?” I asked her. She sniffled and looked up at me with those big green eyes.
“I got the berries you wanted but I stopped because I saw these children running by,” she sobbed. “I asked if I could play but when they saw me, they threw stones at me and called me a devil.” She buried her face in my robes. “Why, Papa? Why am I so different?”

I couldn’t answer her. All I could do was hold her close and stroke her hair. I knew this would happen from time to time. Because of her bloodline, she was not a vampire but she was not entirely human either. I knew it would be hard for a child such as her to live under such hostile eyes. I knelt in front of her and looked her in the eyes, drying her tears.
“You’re a special child, Kaileena,” I said. “You’ve been chosen by God to help rid this world of evil. People will not understand that and will treat you unkindly.”

“Special?” she repeated, looking up at me. “You mean, I can help people?” I smiled and nodded.

“That is right, dear. You can save people’s lives. But they will not accept you because of your special blood.”
“But why do they call me devil, Papa? Is it bad for me to be special?”
I shook my head. “No, my child. They just don’t understand how special you are. And they’re afraid of you.” Kaileena scrunched her face up and cried a little more. I hugged her tightly and then she pulled away, scrubbing her face on the sleeve of her dress.

“If I can’t play with the children, then I’ll protect them!” she declared. “I’ll stop bad people from hurting them. Then they’ll like me for being special!” She beamed at me and I was at a loss for words. I smiled and picked her up in my arms.

“That’s right, my little rose.” I poked her in the stomach and she giggled. “Now, let’s go and do some training. You can’t protect people if you don’t know how!”

“Ok, Papa! Race you to the abbey!” She leaped out of my arms and poked her tongue out at me. I laughed and ran after her, hearing her giggle as she ran ahead of me. I knew she would never be accepted, but I couldn’t bring myself to wipe that precious smile from her darling face. Perhaps when she was older, she would understand. But for now, I was content with her believing what she did. I only could wonder how long it would take for her to understand that she would be an abomination to the eyes of the people for eternity. My heart ached at the thought. But it was inevitable. She would find out the truth. When that happened, it would be up to her what path she would follow.

 

Vincent shut the tome and slid it back in the folder he carried to protect it. He was beginning to understand her coldness and mistrust a little better now. He couldn’t help but wonder what it was like for a child of her birth to be raised in a mortal village. The hostility, the torment of never being able to play with the children or have anyone like her for who she was. It must have been a constant day-to-day struggle. He understood why the priest took her under her wing in the first place. It was better to have one person support her than have her all alone in a village that abhorred her bloodline. But he could only imagine it. Being a full-blooded vampire raised in the vampiric community, he never had the isolation or hostility that Kaileena suffered. The pain must have been unbearable at times. But seeing how she’d grown into such a strong and able Hunter, it was clear that when she learned the truth, she’d chosen this path of her own accord. To carry out the legacy of Mordekai and eradicate his race once and for all. It was a horrible notion to think that she was capable of such a feat, but at least she wasn’t out for his blood anymore. Sometimes it paid to have the enemy on your side.

“You’re still awake?”

The vampire lord turned to see the dhampir walking out of her room. Her hair was a frothing mass of black waves and her eyes were slightly clouded with drowsiness. She yawned tiredly and stretched out her arms to alleviate the tension that had accumulated in her spine. The last signs of sleep were chased away as she glanced at the scattered files on the table. “Anything new to add to our leads?”
“Nothing,” he replied, slipping the tome back into his coat. “The sun will be down soon. We should begin preparing for our foray into the sealed passage.”

“Agreed.” Kaileena sat down on the chair across from the vampire and gave him a once over. “Shouldn’t you clean up first though? You’re still covered in blood.”

“I’ll be fine.”

She sighed and shook her head. “You’re still not comfortable with being in the residence of a half-breed, are you?”

Vincent blinked. “Why do you say that?”

“Even though you’ve deigned to sit on my furniture, you’re still on edge around me. I already promised I wouldn’t kill you.”
“Not yet, at least.”
“No, not at all.”
“Excuse me?” This surprised him more than he cared to admit. Kaileena levelled her gaze on him.

“Even though you were reluctant at first, you agreed to help me track Elizabeth down. You stepped in when no one asked you to. You even went so far as to apologise for your treatment of me.” She lowered her head. “If anything, you’ve treated me like more of an equal than your inferior.”

Vincent shook his head. “We’re in on this case together. We can’t help each other if we’re constantly at each other’s throats.”

“Still….thank you. For being so kind to me.”

Now Vincent was truly incredulous. “Kind? You consider what I did before kindness?”

“No. But what you’ve done lately, yes. I do consider that kindness. And for that, I must thank you.” She smiled sadly. “No one has had the balls to treat me like I’m a human being before.”

Vincent blinked a bit and then returned the smile. “Well, if you’re going to be helping me, you should curb the language a little bit. I don’t want people thinking I’ve employed a crass servant.”
“Oh bite me,” she retorted playfully. Vincent suddenly smirked.

“Don’t tempt me.”
Kaileena blinked at him and blushed a bright crimson. “What did you just say?”

Vincent suddenly realised what he’d just said and felt his face growing warm. “Nothing.” He cleared his throat and waited for the flush to calm down. “I think I will go and clean up a little bit now.” He rose to his feet and walked to the bathroom.

“Towels are on the rail,” called out Kaileena. Vincent nodded and shut the door behind him. She ran her hand through her hair and shook her head roughly. She must have been hearing things. If she hadn’t then she must have been crazy. Did Vincent just try to flirt with her?! She shook her head roughly. No, it couldn’t have been that. It must have been her imagination. She glanced at the horizon as she heard the shower start running. The golden haze was disappearing, giving way to the velvet darkness. Soon stars would glitter in the sky and it would time for their mission. The moon would not be showing her face tonight. It was a good sign. It meant they could sneak into the passage and into whatever lair the killer was hiding in without the cold silver rays giving them away. She crossed the room and pulled out several of her blades, her sword and an assortment of vials before she carried them into her bedroom. She slipped on a pair of black leggings, a black tank bodice and her usual pair of black boots. Strapping the knives to her thighs, she adjusted them so they sat comfortable before looping the utility belt around her slim waist. Placing the vials in their respective pockets, she belted black leather bracers to her arms, checking the mechanics were all in order. These weren’t ordinary bracers. They were something she picked up in Italy after a notorious vampire had cut a swathe across Venice. They’d been effective in allowing her to kill without being noticed and she felt they would come in handy for this mission. After that, she slung her leather coat over her shoulders and slipped her arms through the sleeves, picking up her beloved sword and strapping the harness to her chest and adjusting the blade so it sat diagonally upon her back. She was ready.

 

Vincent came out of the shower several minutes later, his hair clinging to his neck and wearing a red silk shirt under his black leather coat. Kaileena came out of the bedroom and pressed a pressure plate behind the bedroom door. The bookcase slid back, revealing the impressive arsenal of weapons she kept at her disposal. The vampire lord gave the weapons a startled glance before looking at the dhampir.

“How did you manage to get all these things in here?” he asked incredulously.

“I have my contacts.” Kaileena gestured to the weapons. “Take what you need. I have a feeling we’re going to find our answers tonight and it may be a messy escape if we have to make one.”

Vincent nodded and took two silver pistols, several magazines of silver bullets dipped in holy water, vials of serums and blessed liquids and a long, shining katana with a blade so sharp it could slice through a thick tree trunk without marking the blade. He strapped the pistols to his waist and thighs, slipped the magazines and vials in his coat and picked up the sword.

“Need anything else?”
The vampire shook his head. Kaileena pressed the plate again and the bookcase slid back into place. She walked to the door with the vampire following and she turned to glance at him.

“This will be a rough ride so you better stick close to me,” she said. “I can’t have a member of the Dracului dying on me or they’ll have my head on a pike.”
“I’m not that easy to kill,” remarked Vincent.

“I hope so.” With that, they walked down the hallway and out the door. Shutting the door behind her and locking it swiftly, she pocketed the keys and walked down the stairs with the vampire in tow. Once they reached the lobby, Vincent began to walk ahead.

“Wait a minute.”

Vincent turned to Kaileena, wondering if the dhampir was hesitating. He was greatly surprised to see the Hunter pull out a large envelope containing cash and placing it in the mailbox by the front door. Seeing the vampire’s incredulous look, she frowned.

“What? The rent’s due today.”

Vincent fought the urge to laugh. “Come on, we better get moving. We have no time to dally around.”

Kaileena nodded and brush past him. With a single glance at the mailbox containing the dhampir’s rent money, he shook his head and followed after, his coat melting into the darkness.