Forbidden Drink (31 page)

He knew immediately he was in trouble, so twisted slightly, to try to meet me face to face. So, when my stake entered, it missed his heart and jammed against his shoulder blade. Painful, but useless. He kept moving forward, taking my stake with him, but by the time I had landed on my feet again, I had my spare out and ready to go.

Nero had taken out number two, flicked a glance at me and saw I was armed, so returned to help Amisi and Erika. Being invisible he had a hand up on the game. Erika had sliced one vampire really beautifully, but not fully decapitated him. Both she and Amisi were still head to head, a vampire apiece, so Nero went in to finish off old Slice and Dice, and I went back to work on number one.

He had recovered from his close encounter of the silver staked kind and now decided coming in low wasn't a good idea, so chose to fly high. I was getting a bit sick of all of this by now, usually it didn't take quite so long to take a vampire out, but these guys were like the elite fighting force for some battle ridden country, or some such thing. A cut above the normal Rogue I dealt with. Still, I really wanted to finish this. So, although he was coming in at me all large and at full height, I started running full speed to meet him head on. I suppose, I could have spun, that would have worked too, but I felt like getting a little dirty, so just as we were about to meet, I skidded to the ground and slipped past his feet, coming to stand up behind him and landing the stake with ease. This time I didn't miss and dust exploded in my face, gently wafting to the ground around me.

I took a moment to catch my breath as I checked on the others. Within a minute, Nero helped finish them off and the sounds of fighting left the air. Erika glanced around and sniffed the air, checking for Norms, no doubt. She must have smelt some because she took off at a run no doubt to glaze away any memories. Myers Park is a popular place after dark, for various human activities, if you know what I mean. The chance of someone having seen us and called the police was high. Sometimes having a vampire with you can be handy. I may be able to glaze vampires, but not humans. I usually don't fight in such public places. I prefer dark alleys and shadowy spots out of sight and tucked well away.

She was back a few seconds later, sliding her Svante back in its sheath and dusting off her hands.

I turned back towards Nero and Amisi.

“You guys OK?” Amisi looked all fired up and full of beans, excitement shining in her eyes. Nero looked unflustered, calm and nothing like a hunter having just dispatched almost half a dozen very well trained vampires.

They both nodded, but it was Nero who spoke.

“They were experienced fighters.”

“Yeah. Their moves were familiar,” Erika added. I swung back to look at her and raised my eyebrows. “The
Iunctio
guards fight like that. Close quarters, some dual action fighting, cohesive, tight. They were
Iunctio
, no two ways about it.”

Iunctio
. Shit.

“
What were they doing here?” I asked, stunned at the repercussions. If we had just taken out some
Iunctio
guards, surely they would be missed. Double shit.

“That.... is a very good question, Kiwi. Very good indeed.”

We all stood staring at each other for a moment, letting that little bit of news sink in.

It seems every which way I turned I threatened to bring the
Iunctio
down around my ears. I wondered if Gregor knew some of their guards were here in NZ. I'd have to ask him, but it could wait.

Now... now we go help my kindred and kill an old friend.

Albert Park was downhill from where we were, but still a fair distance. There was no point going back up hill to
Sensations
and the car, so we just ran as fast as our legs could carry us. Which was pretty fast, all things considered.

My head was still a little trippy from the whacks I had sustained and pounding the pavement was not making it any better, but I didn't have the luxury of grabbing some asprin, so sucked it up and kept at it. The thumping of my head and the jarring of my feet on solid concrete pavements was not making me a happy chappy though.

Not to mention what would wait for me at the bottom of the hill in Albert Park. I tried to reach Michel to let him know we were coming, but he was still bound up tight, there was no getting through those shields of his, so what awaited us was very much a mystery still. And then there was the train of my thoughts. Rick. I was heading towards a confrontation with Rick which could only end one way.

I had been trying not to think of the possible outcomes, I had been in denial to a certain extent. Part of me knew I had to end this. People I cared about were dying or being hurt and it wouldn't stop until he killed me and hunted down all the vampires in Auckland. I didn't want to have to do what I had to do. I really didn't. So, I had been ignoring the issue altogether. But as my feet hit the ground and my head responded with a sharp explosion on every downward strike, I forced myself to face what was ahead of me tonight.

I was running head on into a fight for my life, but not only that. A fight to stop Rick and there was now only way to achieve that. I was going to have to kill him. Even as I ran, my breath getting quicker, my heart rate rising and my head about to explode, I still managed to feel despair at what was about to happen. My friend, my once best-friend. The person I had told all my deepest darkest secrets to, who had been there when I killed one of my first vampires and let me cry on his shoulders when I realised what I had done. Who had shown me the beauty of shape shifting Taniwhas, who had welcomed me into his home and life. Rick. He wasn't that Rick anymore and it wasn't my job to save him. I wanted it to be, even now, after he had killed Bruno, tortured Michel and trashed my house. Even now, I wanted to save him. But it's not my job.

My job is to protect the innocent and if the Prophesy is correct, to bring Light to the Dark. Rick is not the Dark that the Prophesy refers to, he has his own demons, but he doesn't answer to me. I am not born to save him, like I am others in this world. So, this was it, this was the moment I turned from being one of the good guys and did something quite horribly wrong, to keep the Light going and be able to battle the Dark.

They say there are always casualties, collateral damage, in war. Is Rick collateral damage? Or is he just one more creature in this world who has given in to their dark side and just happened to cross my path? I wish I could honestly say there is no choice here. I wish I could tell myself, this is out of my hands, I have to do this no matter what. But, all I can hear in my head is: this is wrong. This is not me. This is not what I have been made for.

But, and I am clinging to this
but
right now, if I am to commit to the Light, the Prophesy and to Nut, this is what I must do. To fail in this, would be to either get myself killed, or allow something unrelated to the Prophesy to stuff it all up for the rest of us. Prophesy or Rick?

I choose Prophesy.

That doesn't mean I have to like it.

We could hear the sounds from a block away. This was going to have ramifications far beyond the supernatural world. For some reason, there weren't any wards to keep the noise from the Norms, I could even see people approaching, cautiously, inquisitively, towards the main entrance of the park. Either the vampires didn't have time to set up perimeter wards, or they had failed. Either option was not very reassuring.

I knew Erika would be essential in the coming battle, but Nero and Amisi did not have to get their hands bloodied like this. I could keep them from the Dark a little longer, I could at least protect their Light.

I made everyone stop before we got too close and turned to Nero and Amisi.

“We need wards and we need to keep the humans back. Can you both do that?”

Amisi looked unsure, but Nero looked furious.

“I will not leave you to this alone, Kiwi. It will not be pleasant in there, you need us.”

I hated this, but... “No. I don't. This is Auckland's battle, not yours. You're here, so I ask for your help in placing the wards and protecting the innocent. That is your job, Nero, not interfering with a local issue.”

I swear the air got colder around us. My heart ached at the look of disbelief on Nero's face, accompanied by the look of shock and maybe a little hatred, on Amisi's. Sometimes you have to harm those you love to save them.

I held Nero's gaze firmly, I didn't blink. He was the first to back down and he didn't nod, he didn't agree, he just turned away and Amisi followed. He'd do it, I knew he would. Not necessarily because I asked, but because there were too many Norms here and they needed to be protected. That's Nero. The protector. Protects me. Protects Norms, would protect everyone if he could.

I took a deep breath in as they walked away. It felt like they were walking away for the very last time. It felt so final. I didn't allow myself to second guess my decision, I didn't have time to be weak.
Never show fear. Never give an inch. Always stay on guard.

Nero had taught me that.

I nodded to Erika, who had remained very quiet throughout and we both turned to face the roar from behind the gates.

It was chaos, just as I had suspected. Dust did hang in the air. I pushed that thought aside and scanned for Michel. For Rick. Erika patted me on the back and jumped right in, heading towards Jett, slashing out with her Svante sword, culling shape shifters like they were wrapping paper, shredding them here, slicing them there, ripping them apart over here. I pulled my own Svante out slowly and prepared for the inevitable.

I hadn't been able to spot Michel or Rick, so I just dived in where I was. Flashes of grey, streaks of white, glints of scales and sparkles of light off serrated teeth. Snapping, snarling, growling, yapping. The noise was so loud, I couldn't hear the thumping in my head any more, I could still feel it, but it was now just a drumbeat, a war cry, to my heart rate, to my arm swings and stabs and jabs and slices. Blood flowed freely, animal cries of pain filled the air and I didn't allow myself to think, for a moment, that I knew these shape shifters. That they weren't just a beast attacking my kin. That I hadn't sat in their backyards and drunk beer with them and broken bread at their tables. That they didn't make the best
Hangi
and sang the best songs. I didn't allow myself any of that, because I was killing them.

Perhaps not intentionally. Initially, it was to just ward them off, so I could get further into the park and find Michel, but they kept coming back. A small slash, a soft jab, just didn't do it. Once they saw me, they went for my throat and nothing was going to stop them unless they could no longer move. So, my small slashes and soft jabs became desperate strikes and fervent stabs, all of which were aimed at the heart, or the head. All of which were aimed to incapacitate, permanently.

All of which were killing blows. I hadn't thought before that I was a bona fide killing machine. I mean, I know I hunt and kill vampires, but it had never occurred to me that this skill, this lethal weapon of mine, could be turned on others. That I could pick up a sword and do with it, what I so naturally do with a stake. I always thought I was born a vampire hunter and that was that. Stakes, vampire, dust. But, here I was using an ancient Swedish weapon of war and achieving much the same thing with much the same ease. Shit. I
was
a killing machine.

But that, unfortunately, wasn't the last of it. I had made it into the centre of the melee. I had also left a devastating track behind me which when I spun in a circle to get my bearings, almost made me hurl. I swallowed back bile and told myself this was life or death and just to get the hell on with it. And then I spotted Michel. And Rick. Of course, Rick would be with Michel. Sticking to Michel, he knew I would eventually come.

He must have sensed I was near, maybe he recognised my scent in amongst all of the vampires. He was in Taniwha form, something I had seen up close and personal on several occasions, the last of which he had tried to kill me. His huge shark-like muzzle turned towards where I was standing, warding off a few Taniwhas and those eyes, Rick's eyes, just bore into me as his lips pulled up and back and a multitude of sharp Taniwha fangs were bared at me in a growl.

I thought he'd abandon Michel and come for me, the hunger in his eyes when he spotted me was incredible, I could taste it on the air. But he didn't come for me, he turned back to Michel, he raised up on his hind legs and struck. I'm not sure if Michel had been distracted by my presence, or if Rick was just too fast and maybe Michel was tired, or hurt, I don't know. But, he didn't move fast enough to avoid Rick's claws and he didn't move fast enough once he had been thrown back on the ground - a large slash across his chest, already welling up with blood - to avoid Rick's jaws. Rick's sharp teeth sunk deep into Michel's side, just by his stomach. He shook his head back and forth, like a dog with a bone, and didn't let go.

I saw Michel going whiter and whiter, I saw the blood gushing out of his chest and stomach and side. And I saw red. Not blood red. But the red of Darkness. My vision shaded, everything turned crimson and two dimensional. The noise of the battle ensuing around me faded and all I heard was a beat inside my head. Not the thumping of a headache, but the gradual increase of a war drum, beating as surely and as steadily as my goal, my need, to avenge.

I had always thought that spin fighting was just a Nosferatin tool when battling vampires, but it works pretty damn effectively on Taniwhas even when carrying a Svante sword. I let out a cry and spun in the air, over the top of Taniwhas, bypassing several, then when I had to land, taking out three at once with just one strike. The force behind my action so powerful it toppled all three. And then I went spinning on through the air before any of their mates could retaliate. This happened three times before I reached them. Three times too many, I was sure. Three times too long. Michel would not survive this and I didn't think about the fact that I would die too if he did, I only thought
no fucking way
. Michel was
not
going to die. Not today. Not by this ex-friend turned homicidal maniac. Not on my watch.

I struck before I even landed, slicing through Rick's back, but he had released Michel and jumped at the same time - managing to get nicely cut, but not lethally - and rolled away. I didn't hesitate, I didn't stop to assess Michel, I didn't stop to help stem the blood flow. I wanted Rick dead. Deader than dead. Nothing could have stopped me from that objective.

I felt the Darkness take over. I knew exactly when it breached my shields and surpassed the level of Light I had within. I felt it curl around the inside of my body like it owned me, like it was coming home after a long day at work. It was familiar and comfortable and full of anger like me. I let it in, I embraced it, I encouraged it. I gave myself over willingly to the enemy and I did not regret it. I prayed it could do what I thought I could not.

Rick came at me with a roar. There would be no last words of unfriendly banter. No memories shared or thoughts given. He was a Taniwha and I was Darkness, neither of us could talk. He managed to land a claw on my arm, the pain excruciating, yet invigorating. The Dark within yelled in delight at the pain it received and used the adrenaline to fight back. Nothing was wasted. Pain, agony, despair, it was all used to fuel its flame and make it fight harder. I thought briefly, how economical, how concise. A perfect engine, recycling what comes in and using all of it to push out the anger and hatred and evil that now was me.

Ironic, isn't it? I am the the
Sanguis Vitam Cupitor,
the
Prohibitum Bibere,
the
Lux Lucis Tribuo.
I am the Light to the Dark and here I was evil personified. I was aware that this might be a one way path, that there could be no coming back from this. And I did not care.

Blood dripped down my arm, sweat ran into my eyes, stinging me, making me blink to free up my vision, but Rick didn't stop to allow us both to catch our breath, his evil was driving him too. He launched again, this time managed to pin me, my sword useless at my side. He was too close for me to get the angle right with the long blade and I was too frantically trying to keep him out of my face. Drool was dripping down his fangs onto my cheek, his hot Taniwha breath was searing me, almost burning me. And he was strong. Way stronger than me, but despite evil running through my blood, despite that I had given up my Light so easily, I was not prepared to give up my life.

In a flash I had my silver knife out of the sheath at my waist and stabbed him up through the jaw. Blood gushed from the wound into my eyes, all over my face, into my mouth. I couldn't see, I could hardly breathe, but his weight lifted off me, as he howled in pain and fury. And when I rolled to the side to try to stand, my hand landed on the dancing dragon hilt of my sword, I thought of Michel and the Light came streaming back in. The Dark banished in an instant, but my will to finish this still sound, still certain. I clambered to my feet and turned to face my old friend.