The Vampire's Heart (9 page)

We pass quickly over the Macenial House; Hier-Mehhok will be sleeping in his bed, unaware of what’s happening under his very nose. I glance down again and see the market area below me. I sweep my wings back hard, angling myself down, knowing that the other four are doing exactly the same. I’m falling hard, the cobbled ground rushing toward me, dropping like a stone to my death. I only hope that our drop is too quick to have been noticed by the drunken revellers and the night workers.

A little before I need to, I spread my wings, catching the air, and slowing myself dramatically. Penk falls furthest, braking his fall at the last possible moment to avoid impact. I flap lazily and drop to the ground, Sin, Iniar, and Lorien following me.

Penk has already cast a Sanctuary, creating us a magical safe haven from prying eyes, completely unnoticeable to all but the extremely gifted, and then only those extremely well trained.

“
Iniar, Lorien,” I have their attention immediately, “I want this area searched. Penk, Sin, I want you two searching the northern residential sector.”

The two men nod and vanish into the night, leaving me alone within the sanctuary. I sit down, taking a thick stick of white chalk, imported from Dawn View, out of my pack, and mark a large Sircless onto the floor around me. I begin to raise power within the circle once it is complete.

Penk or Iniar will send a magical signal to me when either finds the girl, so that I’ll know when to cast. Within the Sircless I draw magical power directly from Calcia, and that power is held within the boundaries of the Sircless, unable to escape, charging the small space around me with phenomenal magical power. I find it constantly amazing how much magic can be manipulated. Never before have Calcians been able to BodyShift, but now we can grow wings, thanks to our observation and study of other magical practices.

Something itches at my senses, something pressing against the edges of the Sircless, trying to get in; it is Penk’s signal. I siphon a small amount of power off to Iniar, letting him know the situation and where he should go to lend support. Gathering all of the power within the Sircless, I cast and my vision shifts until I get a birds-eye view of the residential area, though I am still sat in the market. I focus the magic around me, and the roofing that hides the people of the city shifts slightly and I see hundreds of dots pop into existence. Some are a dull grey misty colour, people that are not adept in magic, and four vibrant white people, Penk, Sin, Lorien and Iniar, and one pulsing green; the witch. There are other colours, but they a few and far between, and we have come for this witch in particular.

I lash out with the power raised within the Sircless, striking out at the witch. Magic connects with magic, grinding against each other, a test of strength, quantity and skill. I increase the flow of power into the casting and the witch’s shields fail, flushing her with Calcian power designed and shaped to render her a magical void, temporarily, anyway.

Suddenly the view below me changes and a howling black void opens up where I struck at the witch, which is slowly expanding. The white lights of my men are quickly closing on the epicentre of the void. I switch my vision back to my eyes and stand, somewhat shakily, still flushed with more power than I usually can carry within me. Stumbling sideways, I support myself with a weary arm on the wall of a shop, dark to the world and unknowing of what goes on just outside its purview.

My head swims with the magic and a dull thumping begins at the base of my skull, instinctively I know that it’s going to be a very long headache. I close my eyes for a couple of moments until I hear the sound of footsteps approaching.

Straightening, I prepare to cast, hoping it is my squad but fearing it won’t be. Penk rounds the corner followed by Lorien and Sin. The latter man is carrying a body over his shoulder. Iniar is last to arrive. I let out a deep breath, completely unaware I’d been holding it in. I take in Sin and the man at his shoulder.

“
New boyfriend?”

“
Ha, bloody ha. You’re so funny. I can barely contain my hysterics,” Sin retorts in the most deadpan voice he can muster. The corners of five mouths turn up.

“
So I take it this is our witch?” I had assumed it would be a woman, but I know that a man can just as easily be a heathen.

“
No, I thought he was pretty, so I hit him with my club and now I’m going to take him home to my cave to make passionate love to him. Of course he’s the witch.”

“
By Calcia, what has gotten into you?”

“
Well, this guy isn’t exactly light and we’re all just stood here contemplating my comedic, yet untrue, sexual preferences. Can we go yet? I don’t fancy getting caught stealing a person from a city. It’s just a little bit on the side of extremely rude.”

There is a glint of mischief in his eyes. I glance to the skies to make sure they’re clear. As expected, they are, so I beat my wings heavily and lift myself from the ground, slowly rising up toward the heavens.

This success will do some good in pleasing Legion after the Angel-Mexis debacle. I hope it will, anyway.

- Muzbeth -

The rumours of me must have already spread to the town we are headed into; Longbridge. Kellum and I both look alive at the moment, which is a rarity. I can now use magic to appear as a normal person. Basically, the more blood and thus magic within me, the more normal I look; except for my teeth. They don’t change. Though I’m sure I could change them if I expended a little magic, but what would be the point in hiding what I am? I’m only human looking at the moment because Kellum asked me to very respectfully.

We’ve both gained new clothes too; my old funereal garb is long gone and now I wear a simple plain white shirt and breeches, held at the waist by a sash-belt. I’ve had a haircut, and my beard shaved. That was two days previously, while Kellum was sleeping. The barber had nicked my chin whilst shaving me, and he was amazed to see the small cut heal before his very eyes; he had muttered something about magic or a miracle or something. He was an idiot, so showed him what I really was, and killed him. It was only fair. I, and people in general, shouldn’t have to suffer such inadequacy.

Shaven and cleaned, I look like an inheritor to land. Kellum on the other hand is dressed in a spectacularly dramatic long coat. He’d taken it from the Macer of Sacrem, and the workmanship was perfect. Unfortunately, it got a little blood stained when I had stuck my claws into the Macer’s throat. Kellum had managed to find a way of keeping the garment, despite its ruddy stain; he dyed it black. It was originally white with some kind of silver stitching, and now that same silver glitters in the moonlight. I don’t know how or why it didn’t go black like the white and crimson had. Beneath this new coat of his, he wears a white shirt and black waistcoat, which has an expensive iron fob watch tucked into the pocket. Knee high, dark leather boots and dark grey loose fitting britches finish his attire; the vampire looks like how I imagine a big-city Macer would, though surrounded by dirty provincial commoners.

As we enter the town, we see that a raging fire illuminates its central area. As we draw closer, I notice that within the flame is a blackened corpse, which seems to be held to a post in the centre of the bright inferno. We head closer, confident that we will have some fun here. I glance sideways at Kellum and he gives me that weird grin that I’ve somehow come to like.

But then it drops, and Kellum follows suit, falling to his knees. He brings his hands up to his head and begins muttering to himself. Suddenly he emits a short scream, drawing the attention of a few villagers that heard it from around the fire. Kellum quietens but does not get up. My ally looks terrified. I squat beside him and manhandle his face so that he is looking at me.

“
What’s wrong?” I ask. I am more worried by my concern for him than I actually am for him.

He tries to speak, but before he can get any words out he screams again. I send a little calming magic into him and reiterate my question. This time he answers.

“
It’s a vision. You have to protect us. You hav–”

His third scream makes me start. I’ve never seen him in such a panicked state before. I would like to say it scared me, but instead I just get a sense of power from it; seeing him so weak and defenceless only serves to bolster my own ego. I feel so full of energy that I must be impossible to defeat. I am truly and undeniably immortal. “Undeniably”? Maybe I am actually learning something by having Kellum with me... even if it is just his words.

The few villagers that started towards us have stopped now and are stood a good many paces from where Kellum whimpers. I straighten and turn to face them. Some of the men have tools. Maybe they hope that they can stop me. How foolish.

Surely they’ve heard of the obliterated settlements. The few victims I have left alive to spread the legend should be doing their jobs, and yet here we have a typical human answer. ‘We can stop it; surely it can’t be that powerful’. Oh, how wrong they can be. I think I’ll have some fun and play with them a little.

“
Halt people of Longbridge. We bring you terrible news!”

My voice is still as disturbing as when I first met Kellum. I could heal it, but it does lend a certain air of the sinister to my words.

The people’s numbers are slowly growing as more people come from the fire, and from out of houses to look at the spectacle of the two strange men in their village. The man at the head of the group comes and addresses me. The civilians come up behind him to listen in to our conversation; curiosity evidently overcomes fear of vampires in this town.

“
What news do you have for us traveller?”

“
Do you know of the vampire that hunts the peoples of Sacrem?” I ask, with a smile on my lips.

“
That vampire has been dealt with. We found her feasting on one of our fishermen this morning. She is burned now.” As he tells me of their triumph, he gestures to the blazing pyre behind him. I’m the vampire; so who the hell was that up there? I chuckle to myself; they killed an innocent.

“
How can you be sure that she was the vampire?”

“
She was feasting on blood. What else could she be? We are lucky to have stopped that brief plight.” And with that he turns, grinning to his people, his arms outstretched in victory, soaking up their cheers. I find it difficult to keep from laughing.

“
Brief? You have not solved your problem so easily.” I sneer at the man. He is a fool and I will not abide such idiocy.

Their leader faces me once more, a look of distaste on his face.

“
How so? And what is wrong with your master?”

“
He is not my master! He belongs to me,” I bellow back, anger suddenly filling me.

The man talking to me takes an angry step forward, and leans close to my face, attempting to threaten me.

“
Know your place servant. What has the world come to when servant and master are reversed? You are deluded. Now tell me, what is wrong with your master?” He raises a hand as if to strike at me with his fist. I do not flinch at his threat.

“
Do you doubt my power? Do you think that this monster that kneels could possibly hope to end my life? Let me show you something, human,” I say.

“
What?” Confusion flushes his face and that one word is all he can manage.

I reach out with my senses, probing down, reaching for the fires. I get to where my demon’s prison once was, Hell, and I draw power from that place. The demons that are imprisoned there still fill me with their magic that I can naturally use, thanks to the demon that resides within me.

I make my magical assertion and look closely at the villagers. They are slowed to little more than the pace of a dead snail. I take the time to marvel that the complete lack of sound. I extend and harden my nails, turning my hands once again into vicious weapons capable of destruction on a grand scale. Very slowly the villagers begin to move, so I slide my left hand into the soft flesh of their leaders neck. Blood would normally be gushing out of the deep cleft, but time is still moving at about a tenth of its normal speed. I drag my hand free, bringing tiny drops of blood with it, which slowly drift toward to the muddy and icy ground.

I thrust both sets of nails deep into the chest of a burly man stood just behind the as-good-as-dead leader. He does not even flinch, he just stares straight ahead. I lift him and in his eyes I see the pain register, moments after it has been inflicted. I toss him to my left knocking a quarter of the slowed posse down to the ground.

Blood is beginning to hit the floor now, and the villagers are slowly taking to defensive stances, though I’m still moving too fast for them to even pose any kind of threat. A woman has half turned to run, so I move up to her and place one hand on her shoulder and the other on her neck and simply prize her head from her body, it is a pity I will never hear any of these people screaming.

I cut the arm from a man who had been holding a long handled hammer and I take the weapon from the severed arm before it hits the floor. Wielding the hammer I swing it at head height, targeting a portly man dressed in finery. I think he was one of the latecomers. The hammer shatters his face and my swing continues through his head, feeling no resistance, to smash into the head of a second person, whose face suffers a similar fate.

I swing the long weapon up into the chin of a young woman, who would be attractive but for the size of her nose. I do not swing through her head, this time. I stop the hammer immediately after it hits. The woman begins to rise up into the air, her head smashed back. I easily dodge a fist, coming far too slowly to hit me.