Vampire Thirst (27 page)

“I
know
you will,” Burvis replied, and pulled a small gun out of the bag. “Say hello to Angel when you meet her in Apa Sâmbetei.”

“One day, he will. But not today.”

Sam’s voice made them both stop in their tracks. Burvis’ wide eyes confirmed Hikuro’s hopes. He turned around. Sam stood a few feet away from them. Alive. No, not just alive – she glowed. Her blue eyes had grown brighter, almost silver. Her blond hair had turned into electrifying platinum and white energy coursed through her veins. She looked divine, like a true angel. The ugly wound that had claimed her torso was now just a ghost.

“Time to pay your dues, Burvis,” she declared.

She lifted her index finger. White thunder left her hand and hit Burvis’ gun. The faint sound of electric shock echoed in the room. He dropped it on the floor as if it were a hot iron.

“You should be thanking me for what I’ve done to you, Angel,” Burvis said, holding his wounded wrist to his chest.

“Save your lies for the Gods, Burvis.”

The doctor glared at Sam, then raised his burnt hand up. It looked intact, as if nothing had ever happened. “You can’t kill me, you stupid bitch. I told you, we are one of a kind. My body regenerates just like your dear vampire here.”

Hikuro tensed and prepared to attack. Sam shook her head slowly. Her assertive look stopped him.

“Yes, I noticed,” she replied to Burvis. “But can you heal as fast?”

Sam darted across the room and clutched Burvis’ head with both hands. He covered them with his own, but before he could free himself, his eyes went wide with terror and his shoulders started shaking. After just a few seconds, his entire body was quivering as if hit by a powerful electric surge.

Hikuro could see that the doctor was trying to fight Sam with his own mind, but whatever powers he had, they were nothing compared to Sam’s.

Two guards stumbled into the room. Hikuro crouched low and prepared for battle. A wave of bullets flew in from the corridor, sorting out the problem. Yara and Dyam came in with semi-automatics in their hands and determination in their eyes.

Yara glanced at the sight in the room and lifted her gun high. Hikuro lifted his palm at her. A silent plea for them not to interfere. This was Sam’s fight.

Despite the deafening sound of explosion and battle everywhere in the compound, Sam didn’t flinch, as if nothing could disturb her concentration.

The stench of burnt flesh invaded Hikuro’s nostrils, but it wasn’t coming from the corridor, it came from within Dr. Burvis. He opened his mouth and crystal white sparks spurted out like electric serpents. They swam around him, in and out of his eyes, his mouth, his nostrils, engulfing his entire body, consuming him whole.

With one last, terrifying cry, Dr. Burvis collapsed on the floor.

Sam let her hands drop to her side and took a deep breath. She then turned around and glanced at Hikuro. Peace and certainty filled her crystal blue eyes.

They just gazed at each other. The world was crumbling down around them, but Hikuro couldn’t care less. His heart was too full with pride and love.

“Are you alright?” she asked.

“How could I not be? You’re alive.”

She blinked a couple of times, then smiled. The world lit up.

Unable to wait any longer, Hikuro closed the gap between them and drew her into his arms. He felt a low, soothing hum everywhere his body touched hers. He claimed her mouth and let his kiss show her how much he loved her.

After a while she pulled back slowly. “We have company,” she whispered.

Hikuro lifted his head and saw Yara and Dyam, jaws dropped, by the door.

“Holy Apa Dobrý!” Yara exclaimed. “How did you do that?” she asked Sam.

Sam glanced at Hikuro. “I stopped wasting my focus.”

Hikuro couldn’t stop a silly grin from reaching his ears.

Yara frowned, clearly not understanding her friend’s answer. “Whatever. I’m just glad you’re safe.” Then she crossed the room and pulled Sam from Hikuro’s embrace. “My turn, Fangs,” she told Hikuro before squashing Sam into a bear hug. “Disappear on me again, woman, and I swear I’ll turn you into a frog.”

Sam hugged Yara back.

Seeing the two friends together again after so much tension and quarrelling brought a lump into Hikuro’s throat. His nose picked up a salty smell, just before he heard someone sniff.

“Err, we gotta go,” Dyam said, saving them all from further embarrassment. “We need to evacuate before the bombs go off.”

“Bombs, as in plural?” Hikuro asked.

“Oh, yeah,” Dyam replied darkly. “We’re burning this fucking place to ashes.”

Chapter 7

How many guards were in that fucking compound? It didn’t matter how many Tardieh killed, more kept on showing up. Just like in those kung fu movies.

He ripped the throat off yet another, then swirled around and slashed two more. Zoricah was right at his side, fighting three guards. As planned, Joel had gone ahead in search of prisoners, while Tardieh and Zoricah charged in through the basement. Tardieh hadn’t spotted Dyam and Yara yet – their mission was to infiltrate into the complex unnoticed, find Sam and Hikuro, then come help them on the front line. Tardieh hoped their absence meant they had managed to find Hikuro and Sam.

“Tardieh, look out!” Zoricah shouted.

Tardieh ducked low. A sharp zing deafened his left ear. The crystal white bullet went past and hit the razbian behind him. In less than half a second, the lizard was incinerated. Fuck, what in Hiad was in those bullets? They were similar to the blue ones they had encountered in New York, but much, much more powerful.

“Time to move, Z!” Tardieh said and pulled out his two Fairbairn Sykes knives. The light, tailor-made daggers fit like a glove in his hands. Their stiletto blades glistened against the basement’s fluorescent lights.

Tardieh slashed, swirled, hacked, kicked, ripped. One by one, he cut through the thick mass of razbians and gained ground. His acute hearing confirmed Zoricah was also busy, right behind him. They finally got to the top of the stairs that led to the rest of the compound.

“Get behind me!” Zoricah shouted, then her honey-hazel eyes turned into a bright shade of gold. She opened her mouth. Tardieh ducked down low. The swarm of razbians behind them didn’t stand a chance. Zoricah’s deadly dragon fire incinerated them before they even noticed what was going on.

Tardieh sheathed his blades and opened the heavy double doors. He waited for Zoricah to cross, then locked them behind him.

“My king!” Joel called from the other end of the room. “I found them.”

They followed Joel through a maze of corridors, careful to stay out of sight of the razbians who were frantically trying to reach their colleagues in the basement. Too bad they had no idea their enemies were no longer there.

“Over here,” Joel whispered, then stopped in front of a set of doors with heavy bolts.

Joel took out a small pouch from his backpack and unwrapped it on the floor, displaying several tools. He chose two slim metal sticks and started working on the locks.

Tardieh pulled out his pistol and positioned himself at the mouth of the corridor. “Hurry, this is the worst place to get ambushed. We need to…”

Four clicks echoed in the chamber. “Say no more,” Joel said, then opened the heavy fire door to reveal a massive room beyond it.

The lights lit up automatically. And Tardieh paused. He had never seen anything so dreadful in his life. Yet nothing else could have made him happier. They had found the prisoners.

With white walls and white concrete floor, this section could have been just another room in a hospital. Instead of beds, however, there were several cages made of some sort of glass, scattered throughout the room. Each held a prisoner inside. Several pairs of lifeless eyes stared at nothing. Vampires, dracos, fae, even razbians had been used as guinea pigs. Every second or so, a spark ran across all corners of the glass boxes. As if in sync, each prisoner shuddered in response.

Tardieh’s blood boiled as pure rage crawled up his spine.

Zoricah crossed the room and stopped in front of one of the massive cages. “These are the same people I saw in Apa Sâmbetei,” she whispered. “When I broke Sam out of the mental asylum forty years ago, she was in a horrible catatonic state, just like these people are. It took her a decade to come around. Then the nightmares came. Every night we would wake up with her screaming about a light that was coming for her. I never understood what that meant until now.”

Tardieh frowned, then understood what Zoricah was saying. “Sam must have been one of the first subjects of Yerik’s experiments.”

She nodded but didn’t meet his gaze.

“That would explain a lot,” Joel agreed. “But what’s the connection between the orphanage she grew up in and Dr. Burvis?”

Zoricah looked at him, then back at the prisoner. “Sam!” she shouted suddenly.

Tardieh looked around, startled, thinking Zoricah’s friend had just walked into the room, but she hadn’t. “What are you talking about?”

“Zmyzel showed me an image of a blond teenager, and the word Angel came to me,” Zoricah said almost to herself. “The vision was actually of a younger Sam. It must have been. She had the same large, sad, blue eyes, the heart-shaped face, the wavy golden hair.”

“So, what you’re saying is that Zmyzel was trying to tell you that you had freed one of the victims already, by saving Sam?”

“I think so,” Zoricah replied, but she didn’t sound very convinced of it herself. “Just like I did with Sam, we have to get these prisoners out of here.”

“No need to ask twice,” Tardieh growled, more than happy to comply.

He sheathed his gun and walked to the closest container. Then he lifted his leg and kicked the glass.

Nothing happened.

He booted it again, this time with even more power.

Not even a scratch.

The third time, Joel joined forces and they both hit the glass with everything they had.

It wobbled but remained intact.

“What in Hiad are these things made of?” Joel cried out.

Zoricah’s gush of fire further down the room surprised them both. Tardieh watched as she tried to crack through another cage, unsuccessfully.

“By Apa Dobrý!” she cursed. “How are we going to get them out?”

“Maybe we can’t,” Joel pondered.

“No!” Zoricah exclaimed. “There must be a way.” She ran to Tardieh and pulled his knife out. Using his weapon as leverage, she tried to cut through the cage’s joining. After just a few seconds, it was clear that the new tactic wasn’t going to work. Zoricah let out another frustrated cry and started hammering the glass wall with the back of the knife.

Tardieh had never seen her so frantic. He held her by the shoulders, stilling her movements. “Z, it’s not working,” he said softly.

Her panting grew heavier as she rested her forehead on the very wall that refused to budge. “I can feel their desperation,” she whispered. “They are trapped inside their own bodies. They can see us, they can hear us, but they can’t move.” Tears rolled down her cheeks.

Tardieh’s heart sank. “There must be something we can do.”

“Please, Zmyzel, I need your guidance,” Zoricah whispered.

Tardieh frowned, then exchanged glances with Joel. He, too, looked confused. Who was she talking to?

“Please, please help us,” she pleaded again.

A bright, golden light invaded the room, blinding them all.
What the fuck?
Tardieh protected his eyes with one hand, while pulling his weapon out with the other.

A tall woman appeared in the middle of the room. Her exotic features were complimented by her long golden mantle, which matched her hazel eyes. Her midnight black hair cascaded down her chest. Who was that woman?

Out of nowhere, a wave of sadness engulfed Tardieh’s heart.

Zoricah straightened off the glass wall and bowed low. “Zmyzel, thank you for answering my prayer.”

Zmyzel? The mighty goddess of life?

Holy fuck.

“It’s too late, child,” the deity said. Her regal tone reverberated across the entire room.

“But they are still trapped,” Zoricah retorted. “I don’t know what to do.”

Tardieh flinched. Zoricah had probably lost her mind. She was questioning a deity! He took a step forward and placed himself between her and the goddess. If Zmyzel decided to punish Zoricah, she’d have to go past him first.

“A very noble gesture, King of Vampires,” the deity said. “I can see now why the child has chosen you as her companion.”

The child? Did she mean Zoricah?

“But if I choose to punish her,” Zmyzel added in a stern tone. “There’s absolutely nothing you can do to stop me.”

“Still,” Tardieh replied, “you’ll have to face me first.”

Zmyzel lowered her chin.

“Tardieh.” Zoricah placed a hand on his shoulder. “Please.”

He wanted to argue back, to tell her he’d protect her at all costs, but her wet eyes were too much to bear. He exhaled and stepped aside. Damn you, soft heart.

“Please forgive us, fair Goddess of Life,” Zoricah said and bowed very low. “If I don’t offend, may I ask how we can save these poor inmãs?”

“I told you in our last encounter, child,” Zmyzel replied. “You must understand the true meaning of life in order to free them.”

Tardieh’s frown mirrored Zoricah’s.

“Look inside yourself and you’ll find the answer,” the goddess said. Then the blinding golden light flooded the room again, and Tardieh heard her last words in his mind. “Be of haste. Time is not a friend but a foe.”

“What the fuck was that all about?” Joel exclaimed, after the deity had gone.

“I don’t know, and that’s the problem!” Zoricah replied sounding as exasperated as before. “Why can’t gods say things as they are? Why do they always have to speak in freaking riddles?”

“OK, let’s all take a deep breath here.” Tardieh’s words gained him a deadly glare from Zoricah. But after a moment, she complied.

“When I was in Apa Sâmbetei, I saw these prisoners there. They were just floating, aimlessly, neither in Apa Sâmbetei, nor out.”

“How can that be?”

“Zmyzel explained that this in-between state is what the humans call Hell. It’s as if their inmãs are trapped and can’t move on, can’t start a new cycle of life, nor finish the last one.”