Vampire Manifesto (36 page)

“
Watch.” Thanatos the White Wolf was as beautiful as she was horrifying, yet I did as I was told. “Prepare yourself, Vampire. The time is almost upon us now.”

Holiday ceased her recital and when she did the ceiling collapsed in on itself, returning to normal, Jenova Darkstar falling to the ground, released from the hands of oblivion.

“
I know your real name Demon.” Holiday said. “If I have to come back here again, I’ll banish your ass back to whatever hell spawn dimension you managed to escape from.”

Darkstar stood, brushed off his clothes somewhat and sat back down on his chair, very calm like. “At first I was just going to kill you Holiday, but I think I just changed my mind.”

Holiday took a step closer. “Then I guess I should be grateful.”

“
Trust me.” Jenova appeared extremely calm. “There are fates much worse than death.”

They both locked eyes for a moment, neither blinking, neither looking away.

The ear piece Holiday wore crackled to life. “Holiday, its Theodore. Graul and Amastacia are in transit from sanitizing our last location. Transport to Eden in ten.”

“
Copy that.” Holiday replied. “On my way.” She held the Demons gaze for a second longer, then walked out the room.

“
I’ve got a surprise for that bitch.” Jenova uttered under his breath before turning his attention towards Connor. “You said you couldn’t generate a flame because of the drugs they gave you right?”

“
Yeah.” Connor whispered. “It’s wearing off, but I don’t know how long it will take.”

“
What if you didn’t have to generate the flame?”

“
What do you mean?”

“
Like I said before, they caught me slipping. Tricked me into this Devils Trap is what did. I thought I was buying this house, was going to retrofit it as a pending… headquarters, so to speak. They set up a bogus, open house meet and greet. Even had food. So when they showed me this bedroom, I just walked in, then BAM. Locked in the Devils Trap.”

“
That sucks.”

“
Tell me about it. But the thing about a Devils Trap is, there is no in and outs, once I’m in, I can’t leave and they can’t come in, not unless the seal is broken.” Jenova motioned towards the circle scrawled in blood on the floor.

“
I know how a Devils Trap works.”

“
Good to know.” Jenova said. “Good to know. Anyways, from what I can tell, they weren’t supposed to keep you here, they were supposed to keep you contained at your place, but that Vampire…”

“
You mean Madison?”

“
Yeah, that’s the one. Well she really screwed up their plans. They shot her through a wall, did you know that?”

“
Yes. I was there.”

“
Yeah well, your place was too hot, too much attention drawn, so they brought you here with me.”

“
We only have ten minutes Demon.”

“
Well you said you couldn’t generate flames.” Jenova reached in his pocket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes. He put one in his mouth then lit the end with a match, inhaling deeply, savoring the moment, before exhaling a puff of smoke. With the lit match, he set the entire book of matches on fire, a large burst of flame flared up as all the matches caught ablaze all at once. He tossed the burning little pile next to the binding circle of the Devils trap.

Connor concentrated on the fire, molding it with his mind, bending it to his will. The flame straightened itself out into a line and from that line it grow little fire legs and arms. A tiny little flame head began to appear, a small four inch little man composed of fire. Connor pushed his thoughts as hard as he could, fighting back against the drugs, blood trickling down his nose as he did.

The Matchstick Man got down on its knees, rubbing his little flame hands back and forth against the circle, yet as he did, his size began to diminish. Connor was losing control, unable to keep the form, unable to control the flame, the drugs in his system specifically designed to do just so. Faster and faster he rubbed, his little flame hands burning away at the blood until all at once he burnt himself out.

Jenova Darkstar began to grin ear to ear, clapping, harder and harder, louder and louder, rising to his feet, giving Connor a standing ovation.

Holiday burst into the room. “What the hell did I just tell you about the…”

She paused suddenly, sensing something was wrong. The seal of the Devils trap had been broken, only just a scratch, burned away by the Matchstick Man, but a scratch was all it took.

A Devils Trap was ineffective if the seal is broken.

She went to raise her weapon but it was already too late for her. The body of Jenova Darkstar collapsed on the ground, as if he was just stricken dead on the spot. Holiday went rigid, arms straight at her side; palms open wide as her body arched back. She rose up from the ground, levitating in the air, eyes stark wide open, pupils dilated.

She stayed like that for a moment as Connor looked on, helpless, unaware of what was happening. Holiday dropped to the ground, landing in a low crouch as Connor waited, not sure what to do, unable to do anything even if he wanted to. Holiday began to stand, looking at her hands, opening and closing them repeatedly.

Closed fist. Open palm. Closed fist. Open palm.

She turned her head towards Connor, paused, then looked at the body of Jenova Darkstar who lay crumbled up on the ground like some discarded rag doll. Holiday strode towards the body of Darkstar, stripping him of his jacket, his wallet and keys as well. Holiday then began walking towards Connor, who pulled away instinctively.

“
Get away from me!” He yelled.

Holiday crouched down low so she could look Connor in the eye. “Calm down Firestarter. Looks like Christmas came early for the both of us.”

“
What?”

Holiday’s eyes began to swirl as they changed, becoming jet black.”

Connor couldn’t believe what he was seeing. “Jenova?”

Holiday grabbed the chains that bound Connors left hand and ripped the bolted portion from the wall in one pull. He did the same with the other, then broke the shackles that were wrapped around Connors wrist. “I always repay my debts.”

Connor stood, swayed once and had to balance himself against the wall for support. “I don’t understand. What did you do?”

“
Flesh of my flesh.” Holiday stated. “This body is mine now. Permanently. I told that bitch there were things worse than death.”

Connor put the pieces together. “Demonic possession.”

Jenova nodded in agreement. “Of the permanent sort. Holiday is gone, her soul burned away in the watery fires of Oblivion.” She squeezed her own breast. “I’ve never possessed a woman before. Does that mean I’m a lesbian now?”

Connor didn’t bother with a response, instead running over to the body bag, unzipping it open, then nearly collapsing from what he beheld. My body was inside, lifeless, skin withered to the skeleton. There was a whole in the side of my head from where Graul shot me in the temple, the exit wound on the other side of my skull. My chest was torn open, dense metal coating most of my insides.

“
Oh my God.” He whispered.

Jenova Darkstar in his/her new body ripped open a window frame, tearing the security bars off. I had never seen or met a Demon before, but apparently they seemed stronger than a Vampire. At least Jenova was by any accounts.

Connor saw that Darkstar was about to crawl out the window. “Where are you going?”

“
Getting the fuck out of dodge.” She answered back. “If I was you boy, I’d do the same.”

“
No.” Connor refused to leave. “We can’t leave her.”

Jenova looked at the corpse of a thing in the body bag. “Dead is dead.” She proclaimed. “And she looks pretty damn dead to me.” She was halfway out the window now, one leg in, one leg out.

“
Please.” Connor pleaded. “Help me.”

Jenova paused a little longer then climbed the rest of the way out the window and was gone.

Connor didn’t know what to do. He was just standing there, looking down at my body, unmoving, unflinching.

“
Run.” I whispered to no one. “Get out of there.”

The White Wolf watched me with morbid curiosity, but didn’t speak.

“
Consider us really, really even.”

Connor looked up and saw Darkstar climbing back inside through the window. She came over to the body bag.

“
Move Firestarter.”

She shoved Connor out the way and took everything in, examining my body fully, determining her next move. “In my history, I’ve met a Vampire or two. Killed maybe three or four. Five to six times out of seven I’ve found them to be extremely resilient.”

“
What do you mean?” Connor asked.

“
Well everything seems to be here, body pretty much intact, more or less.” Jenova started ripping the metal out of my chest, organs and everything else coming out along with it. “First thing we need to do is get rid of all this bullshit here.”

Pieces of metal coated lung and kidneys clanged on the ground. “Isn’t she gonna…need that?” Connor asked.

“
Eh…” Jenova didn’t stop pulling out every bit of metal she could find. “I have an idea.”

A big chunk of my heart struck the floor.

“
Are you sure?”

“
Not particularly.” The Demon took a step back, admiring her work, double checking if all the metal was gone. My chest was almost all hollowed out, chunks of organs scattered about here and there.

“
But it can’t get much worse than what it is now. Most of the heart is there. Very important that part is. Majority of the body is intact.” He examined the gun wound in my head, sticking her middle finger in the wound as far as it would go, moving it around a bit before pulling it out.

“
Good portion of the brain is still there. Head still attached to the body.” She turned to look at Connor. “We got lucky on that. If they would have decapitated her, I doubt we could have reattached it at this stage.”

“
If they cut her head off?” Repeated Connor. "She could have lived if they cut her head off?”

“
Oh for a good twenty, thirty minutes.” Jenova walked over to her previous body. “Learned that the hard way about ninety years back.” She stared at her old self sprawled out on the floor. “Such a handsome devil I was, wasn’t I?” Jenova hoisted the body up over her shoulder.

“
When I possess a body, I burn the soul completely out. The body becomes mine.” She explained. “But when I leave a host, the body doesn’t die; it’s just…what’s the word? Catatonic? Yup, that’s it. The body remains in a catatonic state. Stand back.” Jenova gripped his old body from the back of neck, hoisting him up in the air with one arm. She reached down and pulled out a black stainless steel bayonet from its sheath from her leg.

“
What are you doing?” Connor asked.

“
Well she’s a Vampire right?” Jenova jammed the knife into his former body’s stomach, then slit it open from gut to collar bone, dropping the body on top of me. “She needs blood.” She grabbed his old body by the back of the head, slit the throat, then positioned it so the wound was directly over my mouth, then took a couple of steps back.

Connor just watched, unable to speak, not knowing what to say even if she wanted to. Blood oozed down my throat, so much blood I could taste it, even here, standing on the shores of She’ol, I could taste the blood. I could feel it trickling down my throat, the sweetness of it, warming my body, working its way into my cells.

“
Prepare yourself, Vampire.” Thanatos the White Wolf placed her hand on my shoulder. “The hour is upon us. Chronal Temporal Displacement has been initiated. ”

My chest was damp. I could feel something inside of it, mixing with my soul, overpowering my senses. I stumbled back unto the rocky shore, falling to a knee, my hand coming down on the crushed bones and ash that made up the beach head. My body was becoming cold, oh so very cold.