The Division of the Damned (48 page)

*  *  *

The Dracyl received the news from Arak calmly. They were in the library. "They’re using swords? Have they run out of bullets for their guns already?”

"It looks that way, Master. They’re pressed in tight under the
t
ree, fighting hand-to-hand with our men. Soon they will tire and the night will be ours.”

"I don’t believe they’ve run out of bullets already. Let them fight a while until they’re tired and we’ll see if they resort to their guns again.”

Arak made a short bow and turned to leave.

"Arak, is my brother among them
?
Is he fighting for them?”

"Yes, he is.”

The Dracyl nodded his dismissal and Arak left him to his rage.

*  *  *

They were surrounded and fighting on all
sides,
and the tables were all that distanced them from the bloodsucking horde. The work was hard and bloody; all finesse and balance was lost to the blood lust as they hacked and chopped at the slavering foe.

The silence of the v
ampires' advance under fire had now given way to a frenzied and rabid scrambling to climb over the wooden tables they had carried as cover. Each man took care to keep the killing arc of the next man’s sword arm free so as not to hinder his movement while killing anything that attempted to climb over.

The silver blades had the same killing properties as the bullets, and as soon as the silver made a forceful impact on the skin of the vampire, the creature burned to a crisp right in front of their eyes.

The shadow of the tree also affected the vampires' speed and strength, sapping them of their will to fight so much that they seemed sluggish and hesitant.

That, together with the instantaneous combustion the silver produced, helped even the field against the inestimable enemy numbers.

The vampires came at them with only their talons and teeth as weapons. The wild staring eyes, drooling fangs and insane screaming made for a daunting enemy to stand against but each held to the line. Nobody wavered in their task for they all knew that it would only take one to falter and they would all be lost.

All communication was forgotten as each man relied on instinct to read the battle and hold his position in relation to the next. Chaos was only staved off by their small number and their intimate understanding of each other’s strengths and habits.

Von Struck knew they couldn’t keep the same pace for long, so he took a step back and unslung his rifle. Immediately one of the creatures sprung over the table and into their line. In the blink of an eye, Von Struck had cocked his weapon and fired into the vampire at point blank range.

Stepping through the already flaked cinders of his assailant, he sprayed his rounds into the other vampires from over the table edge. The squad took his lead, unslung their personal rifles and poured fire into the now retreating mob.

The creatures disintegrated into flame and ash as they fled in disarray and panic. They reached the tree line and took
off into the black of the night-
time forest.

"Look, there they are," Inselman pointed. Silhouetted by the light of the moon, the vampires could be
seen flying in line up to the c
astle.

"Let’s build the fires up again. They didn’t like those.
Rohleder, issue new ammunition, please.”

"Right,
b
oss.”

"Henning, sort the wood out. I think we can venture out into the fringes of the forest for the next few minutes. Take Inselman and Nau with you.”

Henning nodded and the three of them moved out into the forest.

*  *  *

The vampire’s headless corpse lay at his feet a
s the c
ount slowly receded back to normal size. The other generals had watched impassively as he’d bitten the head off of the vampire who had called the retreat. He smoothed himself out an
d turned to address them.

"Let that be an example to you all. I say when we retreat, and not before. Do you all now understand?”

They hissed their
understanding and he carried on.

"It is close to midnight. We will attack en masse. Lilith
." He turned to Maria. "Y
ou will summon the names from their shrines. Bring the child with you. The hour draws near. Utu will be called to battle and this time we will win.”

His soldiers howled their pleasure and filed out to gather their troops for the final assault.

The
c
ount turned to Maria. "Demon, you’re sure nothing can go wrong? We need my brother on our side and at the moment he stands with the enemy.”

"He will come over. I will see to it. He has no choice. Once a man has lain with me, he is a slave to my will.”

"And the named ones, you are certain that it is the list that will destroy Utu
?
”

"Master, you concentrate on the humans and I will see to it that all ten names are in position at midnight. Then we need only to await Utu. If he doesn’t come before dawn, the day will no longer be your enemy.”

"And if he comes?”

"Then he will see that he now faces the full power of our alliance. With the
Book of Blood
, the named ones and the fulfilling of
the prophesies
, he will be forced to turn away and the curse will fall. Then, Master, you will rule the day and thereafter the world.”

The Dracyl smiled slyly and nodded to himself. "And you, Demon? How will you reclaim your powers?”

"I only have to wait until the Utu comes to us. Then I will enter the tree and will be more powerful than ever before. The Book,
the prophesies
that it holds, and the circle of ten will also ensure my rebirth at the tree.”

Chapter 61

Borkin
slid forward on his stomach. The fires around the tree were bright and the Germans had collected a lot of wood in reserve.

"SS," h
e breathed to himself
.
"
T
here must still be a camp here." Suddenly he heard a rustling in the snow behind him.

"What’s going on?" It was Stephanie.

"I asked you to wait for me. Can’t you do anything I say?” He sighed.

"It was cold and dark, and besides, I was curious.”

She turned to look at the fires.
"Michael!” she exclaimed, and then she was up and running towards the Germans.
Borkin watched in disbelief as she dashed through the line of fires and into the arms of one of the shocked soldiers. Confusion gave way to understanding as he realised who they were. He wretchedly looked on as she covered his face with kisses, laughing in effortless joy.

He decided to stay a while to make sure all was well until another noise from above him attracted his attention.

The Dracyl was on the attack again and this time in force.

*  *  *

The whole squad couldn't believe their eyes as Stephanie sprinted out of the tree line towards them and almost knocked Rohleder over as she sprang on him.

"What are you doing here?" he gasped in between kisses.

"I’ve come for you
.
I had to find you, it was important
.” S
he beamed, delirious in her joy. "Michael, you’re going to be a father. I’m carrying your child.”

His jaw dropped.
"A father?”

Von Struck came up behind them. "Michael, they’re coming back. Get your woman behind us and get ready.”

"Who’s coming back?" she asked, already knowing the answer.

"The vampires," Rohleder stone-facedly answered. "We’re here to fight the Dracyl. You couldn’t have come at a worse time.”

"Oh no
.
"
S
he turned to the wood
.
"
Olaf
—
”

*  *  *

Borkin froze briefly as he saw
the gathering cloud above the c
astle. They numbered more than the stars and he realized that now he knew where all the Red Army’s losses from the last couple of months had gone.

"Vampires," he whispered to himself.

Deciding that to hide was the best course of
action,
he covered his
jacket in snow and branches, and waited to see what would happen.

*  *  *

"Get behind me, Stephanie. If anything attacks you, use the sword if you can," Rohleder ordered her, gently shoving her behind him.

"Face the front. They’re coming from the sky again,” Von Struck shouted as they switched off the safety catches in readiness.

As the first faces became recognisable, Von Struck gave the order to fire. Like the assaults before, this one dissolved into an inferno of death as the silver bullets winged through their ranks. The effect was total devastation as the missiles that hadn’t hit the front echelon shot through the flames of the dead vampires to kill the ones behind.

As the first ranks disintegrated into ash and smoke, the next swooped throu
gh, only to be met by more high-
speed silver. The rifles thudded their lethal mantra into the diving horde with venomous efficiency. Each new rank that presented itself was blasted into oblivion by the continuous volley coming from under the tree. The ecstasy of imminent success burned through them all as they discharged their rounds in death crazed abandon.

Then disaster struck. As one, they stopped firing to change magazines. It was as unforeseen as it was unprofessional and the vampires made good ground, landing in front of the table barricade.

"Swords!
Swords!"
Von Struck screamed desperately, rushing to meet the onslaught.

He swung wildly in near panic, the arc of his sword edge igniting vampire flesh as it carved through the flames. Each new target that presented itself was met by biting silver as he chopped with almost boundless energy. The rage of battle was upon him and he knew no fear and no mercy.

Rohleder dropped his rifle to stand in front of Stephanie, reluctant to leave her side in the hand-to-hand fighting. In one hand he held his blade, with the other he felt behind him to make sure she was there. His hand fell on cold metal and he turned in shock to see that Stephanie held a sword and was mentally gearing herself up for the fight.

His words were just forming in his mind as she raised her blade and ran screaming at the vampires on the other side of the tables.

"Bloody woman," he thought as he ran after her.

She reached the edge of the table and swung the sword around ov
er the top and into one of the c
ount’s soldiers. In an instant it exploded and she ignored it as it crumbled to ash before her and she moved to the next. Michael saw Stephanie in action and shouted to all, "Now we are ten
! N
ow we are complete!”

An ecstatic cheer spontaneously erupted from the men, and at the
back of his mind Von Struck registered that they were all feeling what he felt, the power of the tree coursing through their mortal frames.

Grand dropped his sword and quickly slapped a magazine in. Cocking the weapon as he stood up he fired into the mass before him. He marched forward, keeping up a steady rate of fire and stood in front of the barrier to shoot.

The space cleared by Grand’s fire was used by the rest to reload their rifles and to take up the fight with firearms. Soon the area in front of them was clear but for a fine layer of ash and dust on the snow.

The vampires finally retreated to circle overhead and the respite was used to discuss what had happened.

"From now on we fire in ranks. I don’t want to get caught like that again. That was too close,” Von Struck ordered.

"Keep to the same line-up as the first time?" Smith asked.

"Yes, as soon as one rank comes to the end of their ammunition, the next takes over to let the first load up. Let’s use this time to load some more mags and check the weapons.”

Rohleder knelt down to q
uickly oil and clean his weapon.
"Where did you learn to fight like that?" he asked Stephanie over his shoulder.

"I didn’t. It just felt like I knew what to do,” she answered. "It felt good kill
ing those monsters. I felt like
—
”

”Like you were reaping your revenge?”

She looked him in the eye.
"Yes, revenge, that’s what
it
was.”

He studied her face. She seemed stronger now, more resilient. He pondered briefly on all that had happened since he had seen her last, and wondered what she had been doing these past months.