The Dark Messenger (4 page)

‘So. Lance, have we not
known each other for over a thousand years? You dare to try to
ridicule me, make a fool out of me in front of my fellow brothers
and sisters? Well, I don’t take kindly to your comments, so get
yourself down here!
NOW
!’ he screamed.

There was a huge roar of laughter, and all
the other vampires started banging the walls again, forgetting that
they had just been warned to shut up.

Lance placed his hands firmly on the small
ledge in front of himself and then took a huge leap out of his
cave, landing down hard beside Kaine. As he did, a huge cloud of
dust roared up into the air all around him, so much so that it
covered the face and body of the older prisoner, who was standing
nearby. She started to choke and then began to cough, like a cat
that had a huge fur-ball stuck in its throat. She was furious, and
cried out in rage as she rubbed the dust from her pain-filled
eyes.

Lance walked towards her sniggering and put
his hand out to prod her. As he did, she let go of the little girl
and lunged for him. By the look on her face it was evident that if
the chain hadn’t been there, she probably would have done him as
much damage as she could. Kaine could hardly believe what he was
seeing; the woman’s rage was unlike any rage he had ever seen
before in a human. Somehow she was different—fearless with no
regard for her own safety.

Kaine could see that, just for a second,
Lance was glad that the chain was still around her leg. The
vampires above saw too, and started laughing at him.

Lance felt embarrassed. ‘How dare she
challenge me!’ he thought as he leant down and grabbed the chain.
He pulled it so hard that the shackle dug deep into the woman’s
flesh. The woman screamed in agony. Seeing the effect, he then
hoisted it high in the air and quickly snatched it backwards to
cause her even more pain. She fell to the floor and lay there
screaming, her ankle spewing blood onto the ground beneath her.

Kaine looked at Lance disapprovingly, and
then allowed his gaze to be raised up to the vampires who were
cheering above.

Kaine tore the chain from Lance’s grasp, and
stood between him and the injured woman. ‘No more,’ he said simply,
glaring at Lance.

The vampires above were screaming down at him
disapprovingly. One of them even spat at Kaine and then another
threw a huge rock, which bounced and landed inches away from him
and then rolled past his feet.

Ignoring it, Kaine narrowed his eyes and
said, ‘Lance you are pathetic picking on someone who can’t begin to
fight back. Why don’t you fight me instead?’ Kaine pointed to his
own chin. ‘Go on. I will give you the first few punches.’

Lance knew what would happen if he did fight
Kaine though, and knew it would be an unfair fight from the first
throw of the fist. There was no doubt that Kaine would kill him.
The rumors about him in battle were enough to dissuade him from
even trying, so he bowed his head and stepped aside. It was a
vampire’s way to step out of a duel, but if he did, he would be
shamed forever for doing so. With all the hundreds of vampires
above that were glaring down at him with intense hostility, he knew
it definitely would be forever too.

‘Lance!’ Rex shouted down at him. ‘Do you
know what time it is, by the way? Because I have a surprise for
you.’

Lance was confused. He knew it must be a
trick question, and with his limited intelligence he was going to
have to be very careful about how he answered it.

‘Yes I do,’ he said warily as he looked down
at his watch that was encrusted with diamonds. ‘It’s just turning
12pm.’

‘Aha. Then—everyone, it’s time,’ Rex
chortled. He looked across at a guard to his far left and nodded
once.

Suddenly a three-meter-length spear was
hurled through the air and hit its target perfectly. The spear went
straight through Lance’s leg just above the kneecap, before burying
itself deep into the dirt on the other side. Lance let out a huge
roar, and nearly passed out from the severe pain. Leaning down, he
desperately grabbed at the wooden shaft and tried to snap it in
two. He was surprised to find that he couldn’t; his normal powers
had faded from within. Then suddenly a hidden doorway opened
beneath Rex and four guards ran out carrying a huge steel net. The
evil leader nodded to them and they launched it into the air. Then
it came down on top of Lance and crashed to the ground all around
him.

Without warning, the woman and girl began
screaming and clutching their faces. Kaine had no idea what was
going on, but by the deeply worried expressions that were on the
guard’s faces, he knew that it wasn’t good whatever it was. The
guards then turned and fled towards the exits.

Reaching the doors, the fleeing guards found
they had been locked in like everyone else. Shocked, they turned to
look at Rex high above, and then when they were met with a
stone-cold stare, in desperation they turned to look at the second
in command, Hoidrious.

Hoidrious ignored them
though and Rex who was showing no signs that he was going to grant
their escape, simply grinned. The evil leader then
turned to the other vampires in their caves and
said, ‘Now, about the planet’s cure. Please watch and take
note.’

Lucius didn't wait around when he saw the
women begin to change. Instead, trembling with fear, he ran through
his door and locked it from the other side.

Kaine glanced to his right and saw to his
astonishment that the woman prisoner had just started changing into
a werewolf. Her body had outstretched and her legs had dislocated
from their sockets in front of him. The young girl wasn’t that far
behind in her transformation either.

He couldn’t believe his
eyes.
Werewolves? How? Had the war not
been won against them? Surely they were extinct,
Kaine thought.

The vampires in their caves were in an
uproar, as they sensed the great possibility of bloodshed. Rex then
held his hand up and signaled for them to wait.

Kaine who sensed he hadn’t much time before
the beasts would be upon him, then flew up to a ledge beside the
old fool and turned to watch.

The four guards in the arena beneath him, who
were trying to open the exit door to escape, then drew out their
swords with the intent to save themselves from being eaten.

Lance was shouting out for help from his own
coven members, but no help came. His own coven members were just
looking at him and grinning.

Realizing that he was in deep trouble, he
made a desperate attempt to save himself. Somehow he managed to
finally summon up enough strength to snap the spear. Screaming in
agony, he slid it back up through the other side of his leg. As the
splintered remains from the end of the shaft pulled backwards
through the massive hole, the pain was immense. More damage was
being done inside his leg from the timber spikes, and his blood was
everywhere. Then as he finally managed to crawl out from underneath
it, he was ripped to pieces by one of the werewolves.

‘That fool came here dressed like that? How
dare he test me in my own coven!’ Rex shouted out loud, then
grinned and broke into a cold, demonic laugh.

Meanwhile, the spectators were scrabbling to
get as far to the edge of their caves as possible. They were
shoving each other out of the way, desperate to get the best
view.

***

As a human chained in the arena below the
vampires, she was only a 14-year-old girl, but as the infection
from the moon had raced through her body, the young child that she
was began to change. The first thing that happened was that her jaw
outstretched, then her eyes glazed over heavily as they sunk back
into her skull. Then her back split and her forearms pushed
forwards and grew. Claws replaced her fingernails, and a huge tail
dropped down from between her legs. Masses of fur sprouted out all
over her body and her eyes turned into orbs, glowing brightly in a
fierce shade of red. Her back legs were the last to change, and her
ankles swelled as her feet began to look extremely evil and
grotesque. Fully changed, she craned her neck back and howled. Then
she turned and charged for the guards who were still trying to get
through the door.

Swinging their swords wildly was not enough;
in a flash of a moment two of them were down. One was underneath
her, his sword laying some distance away, and her claws were firmly
sunk deep inside his chest. The other tried to stand, but in
another slice his chest came apart and like a fountain of crimson
red, his blood sprayed across her and the ground too.

The bigger werewolf smashed into one of the
guards at the door, causing it to rattle. On the other side,
Lucius, who had summoned up enough courage to kneel down and peep
through a small hole, was terrified by what he saw. The sight of
the beasts made him drop his keys and, panic-stricken, he charged
up the stairs, desperately looking for somewhere to hide.

Kaine looked on in disgust as the guards were
being torn to pieces. He knew that he had to save them. It was
clearly obvious that this massacre was meant for the viewing
pleasure of the assembled vampires. In all the time that he had
been there, Rex had only once mentioned saving the planet.

Leaping down, he bolted straight across the
floor towards the big werewolf, who spotted him coming at the last
second. Kaine side stepped it though and grabbed its furry neck.
Then he swung it around and threw it into the rock wall behind
himself.

A sullen look exploded across Rex’s face,
which vanished as a grin emerged instead. This was an unexpected
treat; seeing Kaine fight, he realized that what was going on
before him was actually giving him more pleasure than his original
plan.

Kaine swung himself over the top of the beast
and from behind began punching it at the base of its head. Then he
leant forwards and slipped his hand inside its mouth. In one move,
he took hold of the upper jaw and thrust backwards and snapped its
neck. The sound was like a huge branch breaking in the woods.

When the little girl werewolf saw that her
partner had been slain, she howled and abandoning her attack of the
last two guards, she launched at Kaine.

Leaping in a backwards somersault, Kaine only
narrowly cleared her jaws. The beast then turned and swung her paw,
which missed him by a hairs breadth. Running forwards, he jammed
his razor-sharp fingernails deep into her eyes. She howled, then
fell to the ground and desperately clawed at the wounds. One of the
guards threw Kaine his sword; deftly catching it, he lowered his
body, his weight helping the blow deliver its full effects, the
sword passed straight through her neck.

Watching from above, Rex paused for a moment
as the wild energy inside him slowed to a settle. Then drawing his
arms out wide, he brought them in for a clap. Everyone paused,
hardly believing the old crone looked happy for once in his life,
and he was giving his unheard-of approval.

‘Fellow vampires, you can see just how
ferocious and full of rage these beasts are,’ Rex announced loudly.
‘It was my idea, rather than to make them totally extinct, to keep
ten. With the planet dying I now see I was clever and wise. This is
the end of our problem; we could release these creatures, and they
will kill most of the human race.’

Rex knew that it wasn’t his idea at all
though, but there was no one to say otherwise. Many years before, a
vampire had told him that mother nature would be dying in the
future, and that he should keep ten werewolves. He was told that if
he did, releasing them against the humans at the time of crisis,
the planet could be saved. If he didn’t listen, there would be
serious consequences, and the Earth would die.

Rex had laughed and although he did keep the
beasts, he had still ordered the informant’s ignominious death. The
vampire’s arms had been ripped off at the sockets, and then his
mouth was filled with holy water. The burning smell that had come
from within made it obvious he was suffering unbelievable pain.

Furious, Kaine shouted up
at Rex, ‘What the hell do you mean,
kept a
few
? How many more of these beasts are
there?’

Rex sniggered and said, ‘Oh since we started
breeding them in captivity, we now have forty-eight. There were
fifty, but you just changed that.’ Rex laughed, then added, ‘Oh by
the way, well done down there. Your fighting skills are still
amazing I see. What a stunning show of skill and courage!’

Rex then turned to where a guard of his had
just appeared and gestured for him to come closer. As the guard
then leant across, there was a sudden glint, and the blade of Rex’s
small silver dagger buried itself deep into his head. Rex then
pushed him away and he fell over the edge.

As the body thumped to the ground, Rex asked,
‘Kaine, would you be so kind as to reach down and pull my knife out
of his brain.’ There was a slight sneer on his face.

Anger swelled up in Kaine, and he roared back
at him, ‘Get it your fucking self, and if you kill another guard
whilst I'm here, I will kill you, you old dirty crone!’

Rex sighed. He responded in a patronising
voice, ‘He was worthless, Kaine--just a guard and nothing
else.’