Demon Vampire (The Redgold Series) (69 page)

“In this place you cannot die. No matter what degree of damage I deal to you. Your essence will never fade. I will not allow it. Time stops here. The real world sits frozen from us. In this reality we are lost. They will never miss you, they will never find you. We stand apart from existence. A separate dream that few can enter or understand. That is why I need you to understand that I have only killed you. Next I will murder you. In my world I can murder you without end. You will die. You will bleed. You will rise and I will tear you a sunder ad nauseam.”

Malio felt fear again.

“I know everything. Since the moment you came here. I've read your mind. I know the explicit things you've done in the night. I know what you've done to people and what you thought about when you did it. The beautiful horrors you've prided yourself on for the last four hundred years. I know your hatred, your pain. The irritation you've endured, it's truly rapturing.” Salas smiled wide. “It's blissful.”

High above the scene, Zack witnessed Salas playing with Malio, the blood was dripping from Malio's chest. Zack viewed the dream without physical form, a sequence that transpired below. He was front row to the savagery of the demon vampire. It disturbed him.

“Now you are in the nexus. Here dwells the pain and fire that are born from hell. Here the motion of ants creates thunder that surpasses the heavens. In my world time absolves the mind. I am your only door to salvation.” Salas bent down and reached into the blood sea. He pulled out a fist sized stone with an edge on it. “Honestly, I quite liked this memory.” The stone took the shape of the same fragment that Malio used on Teresa when he first captured her. “Although I believe the execution was wrong.”

Salas let go of the rock and it shot through Malio's partially open mouth, knocking out his front teeth, destroying his face. It exited through the back of Malio's skull. He dropped again, falling dead.

“Such frailty. Are all the vampeals of your age so weak? I shudder to think just how flimsy Zack actually is.” Salas laughed.

Zack's perspective lowered, placing his eyes directly in line with Salas'. The sight of Malio dying again and again had a nice ring to it in theory, but in practice, it was unreal, cruel. The power Salas had here was indomitable. He stood a pillar in the sky, untouchable by all. Zack both envied Salas and hated what he represented. Salas was an abomination, a force unmatched. His description of himself as god in this place was not far off. What Salas was doing now was pointless. Malio had lost, Zack wanted it to end.

Zack called out. “Salas, stop this. He's had enough.”

“Get up.” Salas said as Malio stumbled to his feet. “We have a lot of time to play. There's so much of you that is intact.”

Zack's demand meant nothing to Salas. He either didn't hear him or chose not to.

“So killing me isn't good enough? You have to hurt me little by little?” Malio managed to say with a lisp. His tongue was difficult to manipulate. Part of his jaw was missing, the muscle was disconnected on one side.

Salas didn't answer. His hands moved in, sinking past Malio's ribs, breaking as straw. Salas took hold within, extracting Malio's lungs. More blood splashed onto the sand.

“Hey, he's powerless here! Stop this! You just keep killing him! Why do this!? You're just toying with him!” Zack yelled at Salas.

Salas didn't respond.

Zack was getting sick, and nauseous from all the spilled blood. Malio was nothing more than an upright piece of animated flesh now. His chest had been flayed, ripped open, torn apart. He was meat. His face distorted, the back of his head was oozing. Malio's hands were punctured. His legs bore several holes, his arms and feet had been shredded by the red spear. His blue eyes were afraid of what Salas was going to do next.

Zack was looking through Salas now. He felt his breathing, the slow, cold nature of it. The pleasure he gained from the sight of Malio's shambled body.

“Malio, I must wonder one thing. Something that has been on my mind since you came here. With all the gifts, you've stolen, did you ever expect to actually kill Zack? Did you think it was honestly going to be that easy? To drink his blood and walk away with my power at your disposal? Did you think you could do it by yourself? Or did you have help? Well Malio? How much did Damien really help you?” Salas was asking about a man that Zack knew nothing about. A complete stranger that Salas seemed to know about from a previous host.

Malio vomited threw his chest, the blood and bile spewed without end. Malio coughed, clearing a throat that had already been destroyed beyond normal use. He spoke, understood only by Salas. “You tell me. You've read it all, haven't you?”

Salas sneered. “Well, yes. I have.”

“Then what's the point? Kill me already.” Malio was begging for death. He wanted it to end.

“Yes, I will. No, I haven't. Satisfaction is the only real reason why I do anything anymore.” Salas quickly answered. “I'm not done with you yet.”

Salas extended his right arm. A long red spear of blood shot up from the ground to fill the gap of his open hand. He picked it up, and was wielding it in the air. It reached over eight feet tall, the shaft was thin, it was double edged. Salas smiled as he turned the blade horizontal.

“What now? Are you going to cut my head off?” Malio spewed blood from his lips as he jested. He was inviting death now, taunting Salas.

“Not yet.” Salas slashed at Malio's left lower leg.

It was loped off with ease, completely and cleanly. Malio's leg had fell to the sand, cut a few inches below the knee. Malio began to fall after the leg. Salas corrected this by stabbing Malio swiftly in the right shoulder, pinning him in mid air. With Salas' left hand, he took a hold of the weapon. It separated at his touch. Salas struck at Malio's left arm, above the elbow. It rolled off Malio's hip and on to the ground. There was little blood to be spilled from his body now. It had been mostly drained.

Zack watched in disgust as Salas was taking immense pleasure in mutilating Malio. “END THIS, PLEASE!!” Zack screamed out to Salas.

Salas peered down to the reflective ocean at his feet. Seeing his image, effectively looking into Zack's own eyes. He spoke. “Before me lies the soul of the vampeal that without my intervention would have murdered you and set me back hundreds of years. I will not stop. Not for you, not for him. My will is absolute on these waters. I will continue for I wish to.”

Salas pierced Malio's left shoulder now, using the other hand to pull down. The right side of Malio's body split in two. From the right shoulder down to the in-seem of his leg. Malio was dismembered.

“He deserves this. I've seen what he's done.” Salas swung up, severing the last few inches of flesh holding the right side of Malio's body together. It fell, and gathered into a slippery pile of bone and tissue with the rest of his body.

“STOP!” Zack yelled out. His own heart was suffering at this putrid sight.

“No.” Salas said simply.

In the distance, a presence entered. A familiar scent wafted towards Zack. Cherries and lavender, the sweet smell helped to replace the blood, vomit, and entrails on the ground. Zack saw long black hair and a flowing blue dress at the reaches of his vision. It was Kyli, her kind eyes were unmistakable.

“Zack! What are you doing? What's in your hand?” Kyli's voice was worried, she was concerned.

“Kyli, why are you here?” Zack called out.

Salas stopped sectioning Malio, momentarily. “She can't hear you, Zack. Only I can hear you while we're standing within my domain.”

“Zack? What do you mean? I can hear you fine. Zack, tell me what's in your hand. What are you holding up?” Kyli walked closer, she couldn't quite see the visceral reality before her.

“See, she can hear me. Now stop. I need to tell her where we are. I'll need her help to defeat Malio when this ends.” Zack said to Salas.

“You don't get it. Look at him. There is not a more lustrous way to demonstrate defeat. He embodies the very definition of the word. Besides, she already knows where you are.” Salas said out loud to Zack, returning his attention to Malio.

Kyli arrived to view the current horror. “Zack, what have you done?” Kyli gasped, as she placed her hands over her mouth and face. “I agree, you've won. But at what cost? Look at yourself, Zack what have you done?”

“Kyli, its Salas. He did this, he killed Malio, I had nothing to do with it.” Zack told Kyli.

Kyli didn't react.

“Does it make more sense now? That she can't hear you? She can only see us, hear us as I talk.” Salas told Zack.

“Zack, stop this. You've cut him to shreds, he's not even bleeding anymore. This isn't what I trained you to do. None of this, I didn't teach you any of this.” Kyli smelled the pile of wrecked flesh. She winced. “Zack, I can hear you. But what sense is this supposed to make to me? Why cut him into pieces? Why? Why would you do this to him, Zack?”

A bell chimed in Zack's head. He understood what Salas meant. He knew why Kyli wasn't hearing him, she was only hearing Salas. He knew why Kyli was distraught. Salas and Zack were one in this place. Kyli was not watching Salas dismember Malio as Zack was. She was seeing Zack committing the murder.

“Good, now you get it. Took you long enough.” Salas scoffed at Zack.

Malio had lost the will to speak. His mind was absorbing his limit. Salas acknowledged Kyli's attention with a nod and began to finish things with Malio. Salas let go of the blood spear in his right hand. It melted away, into the red sea. Salas tightened his right hand around Malio's neck. He gripped it, forcing shut Malio's throat. Salas smiled at Kyli, knowing her reaction to follow.

“SALAS NO!” Zack screamed, his words had no effect.

With one sweep, Salas cut down and left. The remaining skin holding Malio's neck to his shoulder gave way, leaving only Malio's head and neck being held in his hand.

“What the hell are you doing!” Kyli screamed. She dropped to the sand in horror weak from the scene. “Zack, how could you do something like this? Don't you have any sense of compunction?”

Zack knew his words meant nothing here. In the dream world he was both second to and behind Salas. Watching the tears flow from Kyli's eyes, Zack felt sick.

“Don't worry little vampeal. He's not gone yet. Besides, you're not really crying for him anyway.” Salas was speaking directly to Kyli now. “Is she, Malio?” Salas turned Malio's disembodied head towards him. “Best laid plans, eh?” Salas laughed as Malio's eyes rolled back in their sockets.

“I don't know what you're talking about Zack. This is wrong, sick. How could you do something like this?” Kyli was disturbed by Zack's actions as she witnessed it. In her eyes there was no Salas. Zack was the only one doing all this. He was the one cutting up Malio. He was holding Malio's head by the throat.

“That's enough. Run along now.” Salas spoke to Kyli. “And don't forget to bring Yugo. One of them is still alive.” Salas was commanding Kyli as if she knew more about this than Zack did.

Salas waved his other hand and Kyli vanished into blue smoke from the shore. The particles were flowing off into the distance, and faded quickly.

“Do you see, Zack? There is no one in the living world that can help you as I have. No one that knows the mounting danger you face. I am your only friend Zack.” Salas clenched Malio's neck, snapping what was left of the spine.

“I doubt that. So far all you've done is bring me pain and attention that I didn't want.” Zack responded with a growl.

Salas chuckled. “You still think you have friends? How amusing. Kyli, Marin, your father?” Salas had read Zack's emotions and picked up on their faces in his mind.

“Of course they would all help me. They're people I can count on. All of them.” Zack tried to argue.

“A girlfriend that randomly approached you in a night club? Doesn't that seem a bit out of place to you? Compared to even Malio, you were strange and gaunt when she met you. I've at least changed that, but it doesn't take away from the original fact.” Salas sighed. He used the nail of his right thumb to bore into Malio's chin, and was playing with his skin. “Then there's the assassin, Marin. Just because he chose not to kill you doesn't make him less dangerous than he is. He is a killer. A simplistic killer, but one none-the-less.”

“My father will always be there for me. He always has.” Zack made his last stand in the argument.

“Not after he sees what you've become.” Salas's words were cold. It shook Zack at his core. “Even Kyli's mother knew what she would become. She knew what David was when she met him. Your mother was not as conspicuous. She, unlike David had the mind to hide what she was from the world.”

“You knew my mother?” Zack asked. He was focused on the conversation more than the decapitated head Salas was playing with.

Salas formed another spear and planted it deep into the sand. He mounted Malio's head firmly on its end. “Here, you can at least have the courtesy of listening.”

Malio's head dangled on the pike, the blood had dried, his skin was now coarse and dying.

Salas returned to address Zack. “I knew her when she was young. Though after Malio had already been scorned.”

“How old is my mother?” Zack was curious.

“I'm not sure. She never told my previous host. Well over five hundred now though, at least. She must have changed over the years. The old Lucretia would never have mated with a human. She was a snob when it came to sex, licentious to the core. She enjoyed her vampire relationships. It was all kink to her. She always showed disdain towards human men and women. Lucretia always said their flesh was too weak. That they couldn't handle her enjoyment for long enough. On occasion she resorted to using-” Salas was cut off.