#12 - The Vampire Strikes Back

By Adam Koeth

This issue is recommended for Mature Readers only!

Blade whirled around, cutting a path through the throng of vampires surrounding him. He had almost immediately been split up from Whistler and Elizabeth, but the messy apartment wasn't all that big. Using the sword gripped tightly in one hand, Blade lopped off a charging vampire's head, not bothering to watch as the bloodsucker turned into a pile of dust.

Petra backed onto the porch as two vampire approached, greedily staring at the soft, milky skin of her bare neck. For the most part she abhorred violence, but felt that it was necessary here. Pulling a crossbow out of the folds of her flowing white dress, Petra staked the vampires. The shocked look on their faces disappeared as they crumbled.

Elizabeth sent one thick boot crashing into a nearby vampire's gut, then whipped a stake from her belt and destroyed the bloodsucker. Another roughly grabbed the young woman around the neck, but Elizabeth quickly flipped the vampire over her back and staked it. She was lost in a mad rage, a red haze fogging her mind.

King hissed as a vampire, one of Jean-Paul's, advanced on him, it's fangs bared. Suddenly, a wave of rats appeared from nowhere and swarmed over the vampire. As the rats devoured the vampire, it's screams were drowned out by the squeaking of the rodents.

Whistler stood in the entrance to the kitchen, sending silver bullet after silver bullet into the advancing vampires. A quick glance towards the door showed the vampire hunter that more vampires were arriving. Through the throng of bodies, Whistler thought he could see two vampires just standing there, but was distracted by another attacking vampire before he could make out their identities. No doubt one of them was Jean-Paul.

Drake pushed his way past a few of the vampires, his gaze set squarely on Blade. Suddenly his path was blocked by King, who forcefully shoved Drake back. Snarling, King jumped on Drake, and it was all Drake could do to protect himself from his former teammate's slashing talons.

Jean-Paul turned to see a small crowd of people packed into the hallway, staring at the melee in the apartment. His eyes narrowing, Jean-Paul roared at the onlookers, his long canines prominent. A communal scream arose from the group as they fled to their respective apartments.

"Was that necessary?" Ra-Tet asked his soon to be ex-partner, casting a droll glance down at Jean-Paul. The battle was going well, as far as Ra-Tet could see. The confines of the apartment didn't allow too much room for manuevering, one of Blade's strong suits. "You do realize that at least one of them is alerting the authorities?"

"Let them come," replied Jean-Paul, a wicked smirk on his lips.

"Hm," was all Ra-Tet said in response, turning away from his reluctant partner. A harsh scream arose from the battle, drawing the ancient vampire's attention. Ra-Tet soon realized that it had come from Elizabeth, who was almost foaming at the mouth.

Standing on the porch, Petra watched as Drake and King went at each other tooth and nail, clawing and slashing each other with their long talons. A vampire slowly and silently climbed over the railing, unbeknownst to Petra. Suddenly, a pair of massive, furry paws darted out of the darkness, cleanly ripping the vampire's head from it's shoulders.

"Ye should be more careful."

Petra whirled around to see two werewolves standing behind her, one of them holding a vampire's head in it's hands.

"He almost got ye," the shorter of the two said, tossing the head over the side of the railing. It fell amongst a small group of drunken revelers, who failed to even notice it. "M'name's Erin, by the way. This 'ere is Corrigan," she said, cocking at thumb at her large companion.

"Pleasure," Corrigan said gruffly, pushing past Petra and Erin to join the battle.

Erin laughed. "He always was the impatient one. Pardon me."

The brown-furred werewolf joined her companion, decimating the vampires that lay before them. Blade, his sword sticking out of a vampire's chest, watched as the two werewolves made their presence known.

"Nice t'see ye again," Erin said casually, wrenching a vampire's head free from it's body and tossing the corpse at Blade's feet. "Bet ye didn't expect to see us 'ere, did ye?"

"Jus' fight," Corrigan roared, sending a vampire hurtling towards Jean-Paul. The Dweller lithely stepped out of the way as the vampire sailed into the hallway. "Talk later."

Ra-Tet frowned. His minions were falling rapidly, despite their best efforts to the contrary. The addition of the werewolves to the mix didn't help matters.

Without warning, a sharp pain stabbed into Ra-Tet's brain, sending him reeling back against the wall. At first he thought he was under attack from his duplicitous partner, but soon realized that it was coming from someone else. Wrenching his eyes open, Ra-Tet locked eyes with Petra, who was standing across the room.

"Get...out...of my...HEAD!" Ra-Tet screamed, forcibly ejecting the psychic from his mind. Petra screamed, clutching her head. A thin ribbon of blood began to trickle out of her nose as she slumped to the ground, unconscious. "This ENDS NOW!"

Everyone in the room buckled under the sudden psychic onslaught from Ra-Tet, vampires and hunters both. Whistler, distracted by the assault, failed to see a reeling vampire charging at him. The vampire lashed out with it's talons, severing the tendons behind Whistler's right knee. The hunter fell, but not before staking his attacker.

"It's over," said Ra-Tet, taking a few further steps into the room. He surveyed his handiwork, noting that the few remaining vampires, including Drake and King, were recovering quickly. Ra-Tet crouched down in front of Blade, who was still reeling from the psychic attack. "My partner would like his sword back."

"Go to...hell," Blade spat.

Ra-Tet lashed out, slamming Blade's head against the floor again and again. Blood stained the carpeting as Ra-Tet continued his physical assault on the hunter. After a few moments, Ra-Tet realized that Blade had fallen into unconsciousness.

"No..." King said meekly, making a lunge for Ra-Tet. Drake was there, however, sending King crashing back to the floor.

"Claim your prize," Ra-Tet said, throwing Blade over one of his massive shoulders. Jean-Paul quickly rushed to where Blade had fallen, recovering his cherished sword. "As I claim mine," continued Ra-Tet, stepping into the hallway. The ancient vampire paused, risking a glance back at Jean-Paul. "Next time we meet, Dweller, I shall crush your head with my bare hands."

Jean-Paul ignored the comment, his gaze fixed solely on the blade. "Finally," the Dweller whispered, turning the sword over in his pale hands. Brushing past Drake, the Dweller jumped off of the porch and was gone, immediately shrouded in shadow.

Drake, taking the better part of valor, slunk out of the apartment and into the hallway. In a moment he, too, was gone, leaving Blade's allies behind. The remaining vampires, few in number, followed either Jean-Paul or Ra Tet. The battle was over.

Segovia, Spain

Deep within the catacombs of an ancient Moorish castle stands four caskets, three of which have been all but destroyed by the sands of time. The fourth, covered in dust and spider-webs, slowly creaks open.

A massive figure steps out into the darkness, his red eyes almost immediately adjusting to the inky blackness that surrounds him. He inhales deeply, knowing that he can't really smell anything, but imagines that the scent of rot and mold is caressing his senses.

"At last," the figure growls, fingering a long scimitar. "At last."

Blood soaked through the white rag that Petra had fashioned from her dress, using it to cover Whistler's wound. The wound would heal eventually, but the hunter would now and evermore walk with a noticeable limp.

"Bloody damn vampires," Erin growled, rubbing her temples. She and Corrigan had both returned to their human forms and sat among their companions, werewolves no longer. "If it's not rats, or claws, it's a damn psychic attack. Bloody hell."

"We have to find them," stated King quietly, staring out at the rising moon. He knew Drake was still out there, somewhere, and it would almost be child's play to find him again. "Especially Jean-Paul. The price of his returning to humanity would be overwhelming."

Erin turned her attention to the vampire. "What would happen?"

"With the sword and Blade's blood, Jean-Paul can expunge his vampire nature forever," King began. "If he accomplishes that task, the entire world will be thrown into darkness, and vampiricism will spread to envelop every country on the face of the planet."

"Just because he goes back t'bein' human?"

"Yes."

Elizabeth stood up. "Erin, Corrigan, and I will find him."

"We will?" Erin said meekly.

"Yes," Elizabeth replied forcefully. "We will."

Silent until that moment, Whistler spoke up. "There's nothing we can do for Blade now. With this," he said, motioning to his knee, "I can't follow Ra-Tet. Petra's nowhere near ready to face him on her own."

King sighed. "I can find him, perhaps."

"No," said Whistler. "You have to find Drake. We don't even know where Ra-Tet is going, and your former partner is our best lead." He cast a leery glance at the vampire. "As loath as I am to do so, I'll have to trust you. Vampire or not, you may be our only hope."

"Once we take care of Jean-Paul," Elizabeth said, moving toward the door, with Erin and Corrigan in tow. Luckily, none of the frightened neighbors had called the police, or if they did they were taking their sweet time getting to the scene. "We'll return and help you search for Blade."

Whistler nodded. "Be careful."

"Always," Erin grinned, following Elizabeth out of the apartment.

"I shall not let you down," King said, glaring at Whistler. "Blade is...a friend...and I won't rest until Drake is located. You have my word on that."

Whistler simply nodded in reply. King stepped to the balcony and was gone, turning into a wispy fog and melting into the night. Petra and Whistler were left alone in the apartment, a noticeable dark mood enveloping them both.

"We'll find him," Petra said finally, wiping dried blood from her upper lip. Ra-Tet's psychic assault had left her with a massive headache, and probably affected her more than it affected her companions. "Besides, Blade is quite capable of taking care of himself."

"Under normal circumstances, yes," Whistler replied.

"What do you mean?"

Whistler sighed. "Ra-Tet is one of the most powerful vampires on the face of the planet at the moment. He's been alive for over 4000 years.He's remarkably good in hiding from anyone looking for him, including us." Whistler tried to stretch his leg a little, but stopped when a shooting pain ran up his leg. "Blade is nothing but a toy to him."

"He has a destiny yet to fulfill," Petra said.

"Blade?" Whistler replied, scratching at his stubbly beard. "Yes, he does. If he survives Ra-Tet, that is."

"Have faith," Petra said quietly. "Have faith."

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