THE last blush of twilight relinquished its desperate clutch on the mountain ridge to abandon the diversified splendor of the treacherous forest below. Nocturnal predators rose from their lairs, dens, and hollowed perches to scavenge the countryside in hopes of capturing lingering prey reckless enough to tempt the proclivities of fate.
“Lukas—anything?” Strong gusts of wind whipped Gryffen’s short, blond curls about his face as he punched through the surrounding cloud cover.
Gossamer webs of sleep still clung to his mind as Lukas flew just under the low, ashen clouds. A light film bathed his face from the weight of their burden, lifted by the breeze of his passage. “No, all’s quiet. But the blood moon’s on the rise.” Soon it would flood the land with its heavy crimson blanket, foreshadowing a braided entanglement of destiny with man’s single-mindedness to survive.
“Hell, we can’t circumvent the prophecy if we don’t find the damned artifact.” Gryffen’s life consisted of one capricious adventure after another, sewn together with a penchant for finding trouble.
With all the modern technological advances extorted from fate, nothing explained Lukas’ ability to defy gravity any more than his telekinetic talent. Yet these skills renewed his enthusiasm for learning and validated his intellectual existence and worth. “Too much mystery surrounds this gem.” A composite of scents and sounds of the forest rose from below to greet Lukas in the deepening twilight.
“Yeah, like how do we destroy it? If it’s part of a prophecy, sophisticated safeguards must protect it, probably dark magick. For something so critical, why not send more in its search? Aren’t there a couple others older than dirt—like yourself?”
“Thanks, Gryffen. It’s unusual for The Brotherhood to withhold information considering the dire repercussions for failure. At least they didn’t object to my enlisting you and Nichasin for assistance.” As an apex predator, Lukas enjoyed existence at the top of the food chain and master of everything within his enhanced sight, yet the deep stillness surrounding them was rank with the niggling portent of evil yet to come.
“Ah, figured I’d lend the old one a helping hand.”
“I’m surprised to see you in this sector…Thought you’d gone caving.” Gryffen’s fascination with caves spanned centuries without the slightest inclination of waning. No surprise he volunteered to search them. Still, his help would shorten the hunt for the artifact.
“Thought I’d check in with you first. I’m still amazed this brotherhood couldn’t give you further information. Hell, find and destroy the ruby that will key a prophecy? Sounds pretty shifty, even for them.”
“Yeah, not much help, except the minor detail…I’d probably find it on or near a demon, which will die for its effort.” Hair on his nape stood as if to ward off the virulent tension romping down his spine.
“Only an angel can kill a demon, Lukas, and you sure as hell don’t play on either team. Hey, remember the first time we encountered a dirtball from hell we’d dispatched months earlier? He thought he’d get another shot at a master vamp. The dumb shit.” A slash of moonlight exposed perfect, white teeth in Gryffen’s youthful grin.
“Yeah well, consider the source.”
“Probably won’t see you again tonight. Some of those caves run pretty deep. Happy hunting.” The stiff breeze snatched Gryffen’s last words as he angled toward the saw-tooth profile of his destination.
“Go, have fun. Maybe Providence will grace you with her cutting-edge wisdom.”
“Not in my existence.” Gryffen’s laugh filtered back, thinned by the growing distance and moisture-laden air.
Despite Lukas’ studies and commitment to humanity’s protection, a void had rooted in the darkest corners of his mind. Each rising, it surfaced to extort any novelty or anticipation in his automated reality. Duty had always come first, after which he studied whatever snared his attention at the time. Still, he hungered for more—something to chase away the shadows and blisters cauterizing his soul.
Centuries of experience honed him into an expert assassin and tracker for evil’s myriad and divergent forms. Yet each kill left a new stain on his spirit that darkened his aura and took him further from the light of man. Since defeat had never left its toxic breath in his extended history, this mission would prove one more in a long series of significant encounters.
Minutes later, the scent of demon filled his nostrils. Descending to skim the void above the treetops rewarded him with a stronger stench. Whether this demon held the precious artifact or proved another dead end didn’t matter. Its removal fell among his duties as an ancient vampire and benefactor to humans, a win-win situation in the grand scheme of things.
Dark hues of maroon and purple bruised the evening sky. The sunset’s colorful merging with the distant horizon lent him barbarous satisfaction. Those same colors would soon spill from this prick’s skull. Its gray matter, if demons possessed such a thing, would pour to the ground, obliterating all vegetation in its path. At least the creature couldn’t wreak havoc on society until his master resurrected and sent it back. Fortunately, that took time.
“Demon, face me. What do you have to lose? You know I can’t kill you…Perhaps facing your boss, defeated, frightens you?” Rare was the demon that could resist a taunt. The thunder in Lukas’ voice scattered a small herd of deer grazing beside the fast-moving river nearby. A meticulous search below yielded no visual of anything in demonic form.
The hunter in him was determined and ready to finish this task and knew the evil nearby would sense his presence. Why can’t I get a lock on its position?
Shadows lengthened and crawled over the earth below, denoting rise and shine for the creatures of the night while daylight critters scurried to find comfort and cover in the obscure niches of darkness. In counterpoint, the soothing sounds of the nocturnal forest punctuated by the lonely call of a wolf reminded him of his goal.
With a slight shift of the wind, he sensed movement in the forest below. Off to his right and just ahead, the demon’s obvious attempt at a stealthy passage failed to camouflage the swish and slap of branches flung back in its wake.
“Ugh. I don’t fear you, vampire. However, I do fear my master if I fail to deliver this objet d’art.” Like most of its kind, the harsh guttural voice grated Lukas’ nerves.
Altering his course delivered a stronger hellish stench, searing a path to his nostrils as the repetitive crunch of dead leaves and snapping twigs guided him. Maybe the assignment would end this night, allowing him to revisit and re-evaluate his current path in life.
Now, with no apparent concern over the noise made or the swath it cut, the fleeing pestilence would’ve attracted the youngest of vampires with the snapping and shuddering of branches even without its odor and aura.
“You’re kidding me, a demon with intelligence? Your boss educates you clowns now?” Dropping through the web of interlocking limbs, Lukas used his telekinesis to clear a path, providing a fleeting visual of his prey. The clicking and swishing of branches and leaves muted the demon’s heavy grunts.
Damn shame my psychic talents don’t work on these deviants. He hit the ground running, his adversary near.
“You’d be surprised, bloodsucker. You’d be surprised. Once upon a time, I attended an ivy-league school. Why do you think master chose me to find and return this treasure?”
Broken and bowed branches whipped back along the path to provide a stroboscopic view. A second passed, then another, followed by the sounds of accelerated movement and the demon’s occasional growl punctuating its hoarse breathing.
“Huh, and now you’re just a flunky. Is that where you became a demon?” A burst of speed increased the terminal case of sulfuric fetor blazing a trail through Lukas’ senses but yielded more frequent flashes of his objective. Footprint-sized patches of wilting vegetation betrayed the demon’s exact steps. Few living things could survive evil’s deadly contact.
Large exposed roots and mid-size saplings necessitated agile footwork at breakneck speed to avoid losing ground. Skirting these obstacles with flight would drain even an ancient vampire’s energy reserves. He’d need them all to fight a demon possessing such unusual speed.
A steep incline presented more slags and escarpments to negotiate, some snagging his leather vest in passing. Vaulting over the next two outcroppings demanded even more of his strength.
He didn’t break stride.
“If you have no fear, why run away like a schoolgirl?”
Budding underbrush foiled a good visual, though this thing’s odor and noise rivaled that of a trumpeting elephant. He’d never tracked such a swift and agile creature. With practiced ease, he gripped the pommel of his Falchion. The slide from its fur-lined scabbard muffled the blade’s draw even as the material kept the steel oiled.
“Ah…just want you to have a clear view of approaching death.” The demon’s chuckle boded ill.
A moment of uncertainty flashed in his mind when the crashing noise ahead stopped. Thinning trees gave way to tall grasses on the rock-strewn promontory, reminiscent of a shelf tucked in the side of the mountain.
Silvery moonlight gilded a small open plain as he left the forest behind, the sudden rush of air focusing his thoughts. Why would a demon give me the advantage of open ground?
“You’re pretty fast for an evil shit.” This demon’s pace surpassed that of any other creature. Were there any other nasty surprises ahead? Normal fighting tactics won’t apply here.
Bulky frames and club-like fingers normally deprived these things of agility, yet no creature would triumph in a test of strength.
A small mesa gave way to rising cliffs on his right. Present options included changing direction for the advantage of cliffs at his back or taking a stand in the open field. Large boulders dotting the landscape before him necessitated a zigzag path. Doubt became a tangible knot in his thoughts over the creature’s incredible agility. With a burst of speed, Lukas angled toward the cliffs, intending a quick dispatch.
“I’ll wear your fangs around my neck.”
Lukas’ dodge to the right wasn’t fast enough. The rhodium stake slicing through the air at blinding speed cut through his leathers to miss its intended mark, his heart. Pain exploded in his left shoulder as a grating chuckle drifted back to him.
Maybe not so clumsy after all. Since when did they start throwing things? Damn close to a kill strike.
As he yanked the stake out in mid-stride, torn skin knitted almost instantly. He barred the pain from his mind. For the first time in centuries, niggling doubts filled him with uncertainty as to the outcome of fighting a demon.
Loose shale challenged his balance in a bid to rush his opponent and end this fiasco. A split-second in time, a blur to his right caught his attention. He blinked, refocused.
The demon’s partner stepped from behind a large boulder before its monstrous fist smashed into Lukas’ chest and hurled him back to the edge of the woods.
“Hmm, target practice.” Gnarling laughter fragmented its words.
Audible cracks announced broken ribs when he collided with a large oak. Not sure if the second crack came from his skull or the tree, he shook his head. Seconds felt like hours. His vision swam in a fuzzy haze. This suffering—he couldn’t deny it entrance to the smallest recesses of his mind.
Throbbing chest pain rivaled the brutal pounding in his skull. Familiar wet warmth trickled down the back of his neck as the scent of blood drifted to his nostrils. A glance down at his chest afforded a view of his leather vest, intact, instead of the bloody, fist-sized hole he expected to see.
Laughter from his attacker drifted back to him. They thought they would defeat him? Not today. With sword gripped tighter in his right hand, he stepped forward and settled into a battle stance. “Let’s try this again, honorless asswipes.”
Several quick blinks helped clear the fog filling his mind. Two-to-one odds necessitated a change in battle tactics with something solid at his back.
To his right, the rocky bluff rose vertically, fifty yards of solid protection. Several outcroppings jutted from the face, none large enough to hide a small demon. It seemed the best defensive option.
These demons spoke of his objective and were the closest he’d come to finding it so far. In a blur of pain-filled speed, he stood with his back to the granite rock and faced his lethal enemies.
Fire laced each breath. Though not a requirement for existence, the oxygen would speed the mending process.
The steep drop-off to his right appeared at least several thousand feet deep. And demons can’t fly. If he couldn’t defeat them quickly, he’d take to the air and find them once healed.
Odd, demons don’t usually work together. Two-to-one odds—still doable. “You missed, schwanz. You’ll only get one good shot. Tell your boss I’ll send your buddy along momentarily via headless express.”
The first demon’s appearance took him by surprise as it stood hunched, a rare intelligence lurking in its gaze. Its chest heaved, each gasp emitting twin plumes of putrid breath, snatched away by the breeze. Its mass of black, leathery skin reflected the last dwindling rays of luminescence peeking through the clouds.
He’s the weakest link.
His partner, who’d lain in wait, stood over seven feet tall without stooping. He’d also been faster than Lukas expected, perhaps smarter, too?
“How did you know to be here, at this moment?” Lukas frowned as the timing suggested more than coincidence. Only his two friends knew which sector he’d planned to search tonight.
“Didn’t I tell you I was an ivy leaguer?” Condescension laced the first demon’s tone.
“So you’ve said, hure. You’ve lured me into two-to-one odds. We gonna play? I’m waiting.”
“What’d you call us?” The larger demon snarled as it shook its head.
“He called us whores,” the first replied. “He’s German, remember?”
Experience fighting demons taught that cognizance of surroundings remained key to survival during battle. Yet now he couldn’t pinpoint the source of his rare trepidation. Something felt wrong to his vampire senses.
When the second beast tried to flank him, brandishing two wooden stakes, Lukas stepped into his path to face off.
“Oak stakes? Really? Guess you’re not an ivy leaguer, too. It must be hell inside your head.” His mocking laughter echoed his thoughts. No, not smarter. Those stakes wouldn’t kill him, but they would hurt like hell.
“Actually, Lukas, you’ll see my boss before I will,” the second one countered as his gaze shifted restlessly. Its series of grunts narrowly passed for speech as its eyes glowed an eerie, lantern yellow. Larger teeth came with the larger head, obviously not proportional to brain mass.
Tufts of matted, knotted fur erupted sporadically from its torso reminiscent of a mange-ridden dog from hell. Small, leather-like triangular ears stood out from the sides of its head, lending somewhat of a comical appearance. Its thick body loomed tall but stooped. Like most demons in this form, leather board shorts covered its bits.
“Huh, how is it a demon knows my name?”
“We know a lot about you, vampire.”
“With all that fur, mud and…What exactly is that stuff covering your leather hides? Smells like shit. Though, your kind usually do. It’s been a while since I’ve had the displeasure. Even without breathing, I can’t shut it out in this close proximity. Anything this side of the equator ought to wear a nose condom.” Heightened vampire senses do have their drawbacks.
“Doesn’t matter. Unlike you, we can’t die,” the larger beast snarled with a faux lunge forward, his stakes aimed for Lukas’s chest. “Besides, I’m the fantasy of every psychopath, pyromaniac, and serial killer on this planet, considering my endless existence and minimal restrictions.”
“Maybe I can’t kill you, but I can send you back to hell, if only for a time. Give my regards to your boss, the devil himself.”
“You’re the one who has to die, Lukas. You’ll never fulfill your destiny. Never.” The second demon’s self-assurance was unsettling.
The off-hand commentary added another layer of mystery that needed sorting, which couldn’t happen if the source no longer inhabited this realm. The lumbering giant’s lurch forward forced Lukas into a risky strategy never tried with demons of this nature. These creatures loved to taunt. Still, an element of truth often muddied their unconstrained conversations. Detangling truth from lie could come later but not without more information.
Pain in his thorax upon raising his sword brought an uncomfortable reminder of these beasts’ speed. Satisfaction would come with their decapitation.
“Let me guess…You’re as dumb as you are ugly? I’m vampire. Vampires don’t have destinies.” A quick sidestep brought him into position to disable versus taking its head.
His blade flashed downward with lightning speed. Its clean slice below the larger demon’s shoulders bought him a little time. Two dull thuds signaled the dismembered, trunk-like arms landing in sparse, seedy weeds, their acid essence poisoning everything they touched. The hiss and sizzle of shriveling chaparral and meadow grass reminded him to step clear.
Its howl of pain and rage brought all the emerging night creatures within a mile’s radius to a standstill. The oppressive and unnatural silence reinforced Lukas’ sense of protective responsibility in sending these things back to hell.
“You know, I initially thought this would be fun since thwarting demons is my favorite pastime, but I think I’m over it now. Come on, dipshits. Let’s finish this.”
Twisting to deflect the first demon’s shovel-sized fist resulted in the incoming blow glancing off his shoulder. The creature’s forward momentum and loss of balance gained Lukas a temporary advantage as he shoved it toward the larger beast.
Curses, growls, and threats followed the tangle of stumps, arms, and legs while their acidic spittle seared wild grass shoots on contact. Still vertical and pissed off, both straightened and faced him again with foul teeth bared and snarls filling the quiet night.
“So, you’ve found the gem, vampire. Where’s the angel, Lukas?”
The smaller demon thought a vampire and angel would associate? To what end? As a sacrifice to destroy the gem? I don’t think so. Time to refocus these shits and get the information he sought.
“I think I’ll name you Heckyl,” he said, speaking to the first. “And I’ll call you Jeckyl.”
The second creature roared its fury as its arms grew back with a lighter cast and lack of fur on its new hide.
Executing his revised plan wasn’t going to be easy. If fate favored his path, he’d take out the non-talkative beast first with a clean head shot, leaving him to toy with the other.
The ground shook as Heckyl stepped wide to Lukas’ right. Its restless gaze roved in search of—what? It seemed to be stalling as his companion stretched his regenerated limb. Each smile radiated a menace the devil would be proud to call the new face of evil.
Shit. Need a better plan.
“We’ll just call you dead Kraut.” Heckyl smiled through yellow, chipped teeth, his foul breath a thin trail tainting the air.
With advanced vampiric age came sharpened instincts. Right now, an urge to abandon his position blasted up his spine. Since demons couldn’t fly, the only clear path was vertical. Conceding this skirmish and returning with reinforcements would prove a wiser choice.
A small doubt niggled at the back of his mind—they specifically wanted him and obviously went to some effort in this setup, but why? They hadn’t yet made a concerted effort to gain the upper hand…
These demons were after more than just the artifact. They wanted him. And what was this talk about an angel?
Heckyl waved a red cloth bag from two sausage-like digits. “I know you want this, vampire. Think you can stop the master’s plans? Let’s see what you’ve got.” Heckyl made a very good point for a demon but why bait him?
But—the ruby.
“All I’d have to do is fly out to ruin your master’s plan, according to you. What is this destiny you ramble about?”
The two creatures stepped sideways, once again trying to flank Lukas instead of moving in for the kill. With no way to counter their movements and no advantage in returning to the forest, his options were limited.
Three feet behind him, sharp, jutting spikes of granite bluff narrowed his fighting area even as it protected his back. He had no room to the side unless he counted the sheer thousand-foot drop-off into the atmosphere.
“Ah, that would be cowardly, yes? And why worry over a destiny you won’t survive long enough to fulfill?” Heckyl’s snarky attitude grated as the small bag waved back and forth.
The artifact.
A slight change in air currents alerted him to a third demon approaching from above. The great height from which it descended created a quiet whoosh only the preternatural could detect.
Using the adrenaline surging through his system, Lukas took two steps back and arced his sword upward with all his strength. With timing born from centuries of fighting experience and instinct, his steel intercepted the creature’s body, cleaving it lengthwise.
An upper leg and the long half of its torso landed to one side. What passed for its eviscerated internal organs exploded all around him, covering then burning through his leathers. Its left foot and other remains thumped beside the spilled innards and sizzling grass. A vicious kick sent the bulk of its shriveling remains out of his working area. Gut-wrenching pain from its acid made him stumble.
Steel link webbing brought by the dismembered attacker clinked and clattered harmlessly to the ground beside the shrinking remains.
“Clever bastards. Think you can capture me with a rhodium mesh net?” They meant to capture, not kill him. Why?
Shock registered in the two beasts facing him as Jeckyl reached for the netting, not once removing his gaze from his intended prey.
To see so many demons in one place and working together defied logical explanation. If there are others involved, there must be much more at stake. Now wasn’t the time to untangle the mystery. Now was the time to drop back and punt.
Heckyl and Jeckyl leaping toward him came as no surprise. The subtle clinking of metal lacework as their net sliced through the air above him spurred him to move faster. Indeed, they must’ve expected him to fly up and around their trap. Again, instinct guided him in split-second timing.
He took the unexpected route, sailing forward between them as he sensed another demon descending from above. Calling upon his supernatural strength, he snatched the priceless cloth bag as he flew past.
With the fist-sized jewel tight in his grasp, he leapt off the mountain. A deep inhalation of clean air replaced the rancid smell of demon and would help him heal.
A split-second of crystal clarity flared when he realized Jeckyl had managed to bite him in passing through their gauntlet. He’d just traded his life for whatever rested in this bag. Demon bites were always fatal. Failure hovered in his future, his very short future.
He’d underestimated Jeckyl and demon teamwork. There must’ve been significant fragments of truth in their needling taunts to make them work together. Now, he wouldn’t live long enough to puzzle it out.
Poison from the bite spread like fire throughout his system, weakening his powers by the second. The agony of it flowing through the smallest capillaries and arterioles defined each cell’s suffering. Something regarding the dynamic of demonic poisons left him unable to expel the unnatural substance as he normally would any other.
Growing confusion led to disorientation in time and space. Visual markers blurred in and out of focus, blending to form a giant puzzle with shifting margins and dimensions. Thousands of feet below, fine detail leached from the colorful panoramic vista, muted by the poison slowly destroying him.
He prayed his remaining strength afforded him time to fly deeper into the Bavarian Mountains and hide the precious gem. Seconds counted. His mind scuttled different scenarios one after another. This thing must be hidden for all eternity. There was no time to ferret out the secret to its destruction.
He was losing altitude. Pain seized his mind in a vice-like grip.
Prudence dictated he give the gem to Gryffen, his friend and fellow hunter. Though younger and deficient in the ability to take life seriously, he also lacked lethal ambition for power and would be more likely to see to the gem’s destruction.
It wasn’t pride that dissuaded him from contacting others for backup at the start of the chase—more of a hunch. Now, the demons’ strange collusion prompted Lukas to take his meager knowledge to his death. As long as he could hide the gem before he perished, humanity would remain safe.
Venom invaded every synapse and muscle fiber, spreading its sizzling burn from one cell to the next. The progressing palsy in his hand necessitated securing the gem in his vest pocket.
Why was he heading south? His very soul pulled him this way against his better judgment. He’d intended to go north…
Demon magick?
Venom clouded his focus and reasoning. Pain he could no longer subvert filled his mind and body, leaving him shaking. Volcanic heat suffused each corner and crevice, threatening his sanity.
As in an accelerator laboratory, the chain reaction permeated every nook of his being. Instead of a narrow beam of nuclei, razor-sharp lasers of agony tunneled through muscle and sinew. His vision darkened, his mind unable to support rational thought. Considering his age, he might endure this for days before death granted him peace.
Sacrificing himself meant nothing if he succeeded in averting this prophecy. At least his death would be honorable. Thoughts of the centuries he’d survived flitted through his mind. Like many others of his kind, he’d never found his mate, the one he’d love and who’d love him unconditionally. At least his soul wasn’t burdened with the weight of senseless slaughter and greed like the lonely bastards who embraced their beast’s nature.
If evil’s spawn discovered his body before the sun could destroy his remains, they might also find the artifact. With the speed of the venom infiltrating his body, he couldn’t travel much farther. He needed a plan.
Ironic, to die in such a paradox. After striving for centuries to fill the void of time, he now raced to hide this artifact even as poison drained his reserves. Paralysis, intermittent confusion, then hallucinations all lay in store for him.
Normally in battle, he’d sever his sense of pain, allowing time to fight longer and harder, but demon venom blocked his ability to shut it from his mind. The barrage of bone-boring agony throbbing throughout induced a lightheadedness he couldn’t negate. He was vaguely aware of the ground rushing toward him, then nothing.