Caught in the Crossfire
The four vampire hunters stood in what seemed to be a state of total torpidity, silent and unmoving as if what they saw had rendered them insensible. I could hardly blame them for this, for I too found myself taken aback by the sight of the creature to have appeared before them. Ever since my resurrection, I had already seen quite a few things that were successful in giving me utter shock: the hideous consequences of Nosgoth's corruption, the degradation of my brethren and their tribes, the dimension of the dead with all its dismal environment and dwellers… Yet, even with this kind of experience already harbored within my heart, the thing I was beholding now was still able to stir my inner wall of sedateness.
The beast that came to the water surface was all wet and sleek, streamlined with slimy grayish skin like that of an amphibian. Its arms and legs were long and thin, braided with doubled pairs of brown bands, most likely, leather ones. The creature's crotch was also covered by a slovenly torn piece of the same fabric the bands were made of, its tattered edges all sopping and dripping onto the watery waste beneath. The hands of the entity were webbed, with large crooked tridactyl claws growing in-between the membranes. This feature instantly suggested affiliation to the vampire race, but I quickly dismissed this ridiculous idea from my mind, persuading myself that there could be no way that the members of my former kin could have possibly overcome their vulnerability to water.
But the strange and terrible didn't stop at the extremities of the fiend. Alongside its neck was growing a rounded, fanning out membrane that looked like a cobra frill. The creature's head also had something snake-like to its outward, being relatively small, yet having very elongated, plain jaws full of long, sharp teeth. And clutched between those jaws was something that turned out to be even more harrowing than the monster's appearance - it was the head of the very hunter whose decapitated cadaver had just been fished out of water by his former brothers-in-arms. Already all mangled and serrated from the touch of the beast's razor-like teeth, its facial features had become completely unrecognizable, drowned in thick streams of blood running all over it and dribbling heavily on the watery plane at the wretch's knees. This probably made the biggest part of the hunters' consternation now as watching such brutality being done to their fellow soldier right before their eyes had to be the most soul-crushing spectacle imaginable.
Silence reigned for a very long time, frightening and discomforting just like the scenery it accompanied. The warriors of the Human Citadel were staring at the impossible creature in front of them and the creature was staring back at the warriors, the look of insentient animalistic curiosity reflecting in its bulging reptile-like eyes. But this dumbness could not last forever, and at some point, one of the hunters finally managed to retrieve his gift of gab.
"What sort of devilry is this?!" he asked with so much constraint in his voice as if he was literally squeezing each word out of himself.
The amphibious beast only gave another gurgling roar in reply to this. Then the angles of its mouth parted slightly and the creature clenched its jaws on the human's head it was biting into even tighter, causing it to shed some more blood onto the water beneath. That must have been the last straw needed to awake the rest of the hunters out of their trance of shock as one of them finally grabbed his crossbow tight and aimed it at the monster before him.
"You wretched filth!" he shouted, but before he was even able to move the trigger, all of a sudden, a small area of the watery waste to the left of the reptilian creature violently erupted in a tall jet as if a geyser had just ejected from under it.
All four mortals staggered back in surprise as out of the splashes emerged another amphibian-like entity, its appearance similar to the one of the beast standing nearby. Only this ghast was of a larger size and had skin that was decorated with various black pattern-like designs. Also, instead of unappealing ragged leather bands around its ankles, wrists and upper arms, it actually turned out to wear gold. To see such brutishly looking being to be dressed in jewelry was odd, to say the least, but even this was not the biggest cause of my astonishment. The eyes of this strange thing were blank and crimson red, just like of the adult vampires originating from the clans. This was another trait to imply that these beasts were somehow connected to my former race, but I still refused to believe in the possibility of this. Even with allowance for all the phenomena I had seen after my rebirth, to concede that some of the creatures of the night could have evolved to the point when they were able to withstand an element that had always been one of the most destructive to them was little but impossible. Besides, what kind of clan could have possibly developed such groundbreaking adaptation? My own tribe used to be the strongest of all six, and even they couldn't have boasted of something like this. No, there had to be some other explanation for these creatures' unlikely habits…
The abrupt apparition of the second monster made the crossbowman that had been looking to expel a metal bolt into its smaller partner just seconds ago inadvertently delay the moment of his attack. It was not long, though, before he came back to himself and raised his weapon back in position to fire. Unfortunately, even this short instant of cunctation cost him dearly. Once again, before the human could even make one faintest move with his finger, the bigger beast in front of him suddenly reared back its head and then bloated his throat so fiercely that the cobra-like hood around its neck even started to vibrate. Then, in less than a second to follow, the monster's sharp-toothed jaws curtly spewed at the arbalester something that looked like a compressed water-spray. There was a loud sound of metal armor being dented by a forceful impact and the vampire hunter was sent flying about ten feet away from where he stood, helplessly dropping his crossbow on the pebbly ground in the process. His partners could only gaze after him in disbelief, probably not even having been able to follow what exactly had happened to him. Again, it was hard to blame everything only on their innate response rate, for the speed of this projectile the beast had discharged was absolutely unthinkable. If it hadn't been for the distinctive outer contours of the spray and the splatters from the collision, I could have easily believed it to be some variation of a telekinetic blast. But what was even more remarkable was the unprecedented force put behind this spittle. I had no idea how something as seemingly harmless as a water-spray could hit with so much weight, but the sound with which it collided with the crossbowman's armor abundantly showed its power could have put a cannonball to a shame. Whatever it was that allowed these creatures to project water at such high pressure had to lie with their own unique physiology. And if that was so, then what I had seen up until now was probably far from the limit of their potential.
The hunters, this time probably shocked by the extraordinariness of the attack the amphibian-like entity had brought upon their fellow crossbowman, now stood dumbfounded and watched their injured partner lying on the ground in a fetal position and clutching at his abdomen. After a few moments, the first one to regain his senses was the captain of the squadron, the warrior in a green cloak named Hinrad who starkly screamed at the top of his lungs,
"Enrith!" he appeared to have called the knocked-down hunter by the name and then rushed toward him as if looking to check on his condition.
This was a strange way to act in full swing of the battle, even if assuming that the crossbowman's trauma really was serious. For an instant, it even seemed to me that this, Hinrad, was simply using this as an excuse for withdrawing from the epicenter of the fight.
However, the aquatic monsters facing the hunters were not going to tolerate any attempts to retreat from the battlefield as the one with a human's head between its jaws quickly dropped its delicious trophy into the water and made after the fleeing vampire hunter. In response to this advance, the black-armored warrior with a flamethrower standing in its path instantly directed the tube of his weapon at the approaching beast and pulled the trigger. Within a blink of an eye, the air in front of the amphibian like creature got ignited and a maelstrom of fire washed over its unlucky bulk.
The being shrieked, at once getting its whole slimy carcass flared up like a match head. Thanks to its presence in the river, the beast needn't have looked too hard for where to douse itself, so it immediately slipped beneath the water it stood in, the flames raging around its body disappearing in a hissing sound of evaporization. Still, it was obvious that the damage had been done, and judging by how easily the creature's body had been set ablaze even despite its natural wetness, these amphibian like entities were very susceptible to the touch of fire. This seemed like another mark that could only pertain to vampires, but even with so many facts speaking in favor thereof, I was still reluctant to accept such insane possibility.
Inspired by the successful shot he had sent into the monster, the hunter hoisted the flamethrower back over his shoulder and unsheathed a short blade hanging from his belt. Then he stepped into the water and started trudging toward where the creature had dove, probably looking to finish it off below the surface while it was still in pain from burning. But this turned out to be a mistake, for the hunter's enthusiasm left him open to an attack. The moment his feet left the shore, the bigger beast standing to the left swelled his scaled throat yet another time. Before anyone could even bat an eyelid, a concentrated water spray hit the warrior with a flamethrower right on the shoulder, almost tearing a piece of pauldron off it.
The knocked-down mortal helplessly dropped into the water back first, the weight of the weapon he carried clearly not helping him maintain his foothold. He hurriedly tried to get back on his legs, but then, the watery waste around him suddenly exploded in another round of intense splashes. When these splashes settled, the hunter screamed and began to get dragged into the depth of the river, some serious force beneath visibly pulling his body deeper and deeper down. It must have been the monster this human had tried to incinerate now looking for some retribution. And at the rate things were going, this reptilian beast was going to get it.
The last crossbowman to remain on the firing line continued to stand in some hesitation, as if uncertain whether to come to the aid of his drowning comrade or to attack one of the aquatic fiends. At some time, he lastly made his choice in favor of the last variant and fired a bolt at the bigger monster in front of him. With the distance between the hunter and the beast being not more than ten feet, that should have been a sure shot. However, at the dying second before the arrow pierced the amphibian like being's flesh, another unexpected thing happened. With one gracious move, the beast brought forth its left forearm right at the swishing projectile, causing the latter to hit the golden arm band worn around it instead. As a result, the bolt just rebounded off the precious piece of garment like off a shield, the two colliding metals clanging loudly. So this jewelry the creature wore turned out to have more to it than just decorative purpose. But even more fascinating than that was the dexterity with which this monster was able to use it. A bolt shot from a crossbow had lightning speed, and this beast repelled it like it was nothing. It was a sign of extremely heightened reaction and reflexes, and with such abilities, these brutes needn't have feared any of the weapons or devices their human opponents could possibly throw at them.
The black-armored arbalester froze on its spot in stupefaction, clearly unable to believe that his attack had failed to find its mark. After standing like this for a few seconds, the human nervously started loading a new bolt into his crossbow. But this short hitch was exactly what his adversary needed in order to gain the upper hand. In one mighty hop, the aquatic beast lunged at the lingering hunter and fiercely slashed him with its sharp-clawed palm, this time demonstrating some of its melee combat skills. The mortal flew head over heels for several feet backwards, losing a huge piece of his breast plate and the grip of his weapon. When his body stopped rolling across the pebbly ground, the hydrous monster began to slowly draw closer to him with its talons outspread and its snake-like mouth foaming profusely. The assaulted human could only barely lift his helmeted head at his offender, but any act of defense on his part was evidently out of the question right now. If no one was going to interfere, this mortal would be doomed, and based on the behavior of his captain who was still leaning over the other injured crossbowman and not even trying to make a move in his direction - he was not going to get help from anyone from his squadron.
Still hiding behind a crag and watching the scene from afar, I gradually started contemplating the idea of finally taking to the open and joining the battle. However, there were a few reservations I had about it. One of them was that I had long since disposed of the wraith blade and thus had already lost a fair amount of my soul energy by this moment. Not to mention, I didn't have the Reaver at my disposal right now, and with opponents like these aquatic beasts, this would be a considerable implication.
Another thing to hold me back was the fact that I was still not certain as to the agenda of either of the parties to this conflict. Even though the beasts appeared to bear some similarity to the vampires, for now, there was still no telling for sure to what they really were. As far as the hunters were concerned, their intentions here were also questionable. From what I was able to learn, they were looking to seek out the artifact with the essence of telekinesis and then use this prize to their advantage in their war against the vampire plague. And while I had no problem with that, especially now when it hardly mattered anymore, I couldn't help being apprehensive of their captain Hinrad's aspirations. The way he spoke of his plans and the way he acted indicated that there was much more for him at stake in this feud than just the fate of his people. This man was not to be trusted, as was not this mission he led.
As I continued to calculate the pros and contras of my dilemma, the bigger monster already got within a foot from the arbalester he had dashed to the ground. Any second the warrior could receive his fatal blow and the hunters' squadron would be reduced to only two remaining members. His leader still showed no signs of attempting to come to his rescue, pretending to be nursing another one of his wounded subordinates, but in reality, most likely just being afraid of entering the combat. Logic suggested that I should have ignored what was happening here and let both sides to this conflict handle everything all on their own, without my interference. Yet, some deep instinct within me, a relic of the human heritage I had discovered to have after visiting the Tomb of the Sarafan, was telling me to do otherwise. These humans here were plainly fighting a losing battle, and if I was to let them die here like this, I would have rejected the last residues of humanity I could possibly have. Besides, even if these beasts they opposed were not vampires, they still were abominations, and destroying them will hardly do much harm to this world. Having summed all these inferences up, I finally made my decision and prepared to make my presence known.
The bigger beast was already swinging its long arm at the defenseless hunter lying at its feet when I raised both my hands and cupped them in front of each other. Then, focusing the compressed air energy between my palms, I shortly jumped out of my hiding place and shot a bolt of telekinetic force forward. The combination of the projectile's speed with the element of surprise I created worked irreproachably and the amphibian creature got the air blast right into its slobbery snake-like muzzle. This time it was the monster's turn to whirl about from impact as the warrior it had been about to eliminate wonderingly turned his head back to observe the source of his unexpected salvation. Needless to say, the instant he saw me, his wonderment seemed to have been taken to an entirely new level. His leader, Hinrad, who was still cowardly hunkering near the other crossbowman, also looked up at me in surprise from under his green hood. The hunters watched me raptly and motionlessly, almost as if mesmerized by my appearance. None of them voiced any words of disarray, but that seemed to be only because their disarray had temporarily rendered them speechless. Just like before, when those hydrous creatures emerged from the river for the very first time, the humans were paralyzed with shock, and even what they had already seen heretofore did not seem to have hardened their hearts enough to stomach a being of my exterior.
The silent tableau could have held sway for quite a while, but the beast I had knocked off with a projectile was not going to bide its time for so long. So once it came to itself from my previous attack, it didn't slow a second to retaliate. The stillness of the environment was instantly broken by its loud guttural growl of rage, and then the aquatic ghast again inflated its throat to the size of a watermelon. Already aware of what was going to follow next, I at once jumped off the spot I was standing on. This turned out to be a wise move to make, for in an instant after that, a jet of condensed water blasted past this area, crushing into the nearest rock snout with serious force.
Without losing the momentum, I promptly formed another glob of kinetic energy and sent it into the monster in retort. Despite the creature's enhanced reaction, the power of telekinesis was still new to it, so the being failed to either dodge or block the shot projectile. The orb of force went right on the target, shoving the fiend back into the water where it came from. Of course, this was not going to stop it, but at least this would cut its comb for a while before I could shorten the distance between us. The telekinetic bolts were helpful, indeed, but they alone could not do all the work. To take down these wretches, I would have to face them in short-range engagement.
Spreading my talons wide for the upcoming skirmish, I speedily sprinted toward the shore side of the beach. But as I darted past the hunter whom I had saved from the beast, he suddenly halted me in mid-stride by aiming at me with his crossbow.
"Don't move an inch, demon!" he bawled out to me in an orderly tone as if I was his subordinate.
I stopped short in front of the black-armored warrior and slightly raised my hands into the air to display my lack of enmity.
"I'm not your enemy, mortal," I told him calmly, yet unflinchingly.
The crossbowman shivered a bit at this phrase, audibly not having expected an articulated response from a creature like myself. Nevertheless, he managed to regain control of himself and tightened the grip on his weapon.
"I warn you, ghoul – no further!" he barked again.
His mulish obstinacy was gradually starting to irritate me.
"You could be more grateful to someone who saved you from getting your guts ripped out," I told the hunter in a more rigid tone.
The crossbowman didn't reply anything to this, proceeding to keep me at gunpoint. Suddenly, though, his helmeted head slightly boggled to the right as if he had seen something over my shoulder. I quickly turned my head as well and then clapped my eyes upon his leader named Hinrad rabidly racing toward me with what seemed to be very hostile intentions.
"Stay away from him, hell spawn!" he burst out loud, not an ounce of his former yellowness remaining in his demeanor.
Promptly reacting to this unsuspected advance, I disregarded the arbalester lying at my feet and refocused on the hunter rushing at me. Hinrad was impeding fast, those strange wing-like blades projecting from his shoulders dangling loose with a clatter as if they were not fastened to his armor or whatever they were attached to. Then, when the last couple of feet remained between us, he briskly twisted with his whole body like some human humming top, causing his cloak to swing right into my face. This appeared to have been a distraction maneuvre as the next thing I saw was his right shoulder blade turning in such a way its sharp point became directed straight at my neck. Then the momentum of the mortal's pivoting motion carried this razor-like protrusion forward and I finally grasped the reason for these unusual weapons not being tightly affixed. The blades must have been purposely designed to accommodate to all the moves of the warrior that bore them, and for that, they had to stay mobile.
Acting on instinct, I jerkily slipped away from the whizzing edge, avoiding getting my throat slit by mere inches. But after the blade had missed me, I abruptly heard some distinct mechanical click a kind of which usually accompanied an activation of some mechanism. Before I was even able to process my observation, the second shoulder blade that was already hurtling at me by inertia suddenly sprouted into a triad of feather shaped knives, each of which extended the weapon's length by no less than several feet. It must have been another of those ingenious human inventions as its mode of operation instantly reminded me of that gauntlet I had seen on Bolgor, the leader of the vampire hunters' squadron that assisted me in fighting the Zephonim during my quest in the Silenced Cathedral.
Even though I was anticipating the second part of Hinrad's swirling blade attack, that trick with unfolding knives really caught me by surprise, leaving me neither time, nor space to evade it. The blades dug into my flesh hard and deep, making me swill the ground with a lot of blue plasma that was my soul energy. Since a part of my vitality had already been cankered by the matter decay I invited into my body after pawning off the Reaver manifestation, this shot had reduced my energy reserves by more than half. This resulted in my vision going blank for an instant, forcing me to buckle up with a little lightheadedness.
Striving to return into the fight as soon as possible, I focused hard in an attempt to shake off the gibbiness the received blow had given me. But before I was able to do it, an ominous gnashing sound of a weapon taken out of a scabbard rang right in front of me. Then I heard my assailant, Hinrad, declare in his usual pretentious tone,
"That shall teach you how to ambush our people, foul thing!"
The realization of what was going to happen next, as well as the hunter's offensive reference to me had sent a wave of fury through my entire body, which, however, also approximated the moment of me retrieving my vision. So in the following instant, the shroud of white had dissipated from my eyes and I was able to see the leader of the vampire hunters' squadron standing over me with a sword in his right hand brought above my head. Now that both his shoulder blades were completely unfolded, they began to bear evermore semblance to wings, thus giving him some very demonic guise. Also, in such proximity, I was finally able to discern his face. 'Discern', to be honest though, was a pretty strong word, for underneath his hood, this human also turned out to wear a black half-mask covering his mouth and nose. The only part of his face that was visible was his eyes – they were vulpine and emerald green, almost like the cloak he wore. Those eyes were regarding me very closely now and I could see a whole multitude of emotions reflecting in them all at once: revulsion, scorn, fear, amazement, intrigue… Hinrad could have finished me off long time ago, but now that he got to examining me at such close range, he just couldn't compete with his anthropic curiosity to envisage a wondrous creature like myself at the very length. This hitch of his provided me with an excellent opportunity to get some respite, but I knew it wouldn't last forever and already girded myself for repelling his upcoming blow.
A few moments passed, and the captain of the vampire hunters' squadron finally got over his inquisitiveness and recalled what he had been looking to do all along. His green eyes again narrowed on me in portentous concentration and his grip on the sword tightened anew. Then, within a twinkle of a second, his metal blade violently came down on me, slicing its way through air with a hiss.
That was when my own warrior instincts entered the frey. In one brusque move, I brought up my hand at the lumbering blade and caught it on the fly with my braced Zephonim-like talons. Hinrad's eyes could only bug out in shock when he saw that his sword had failed to cleave through my claws. He quickly grabbed the hilt of the weapon with his other hand and tried to squeeze it through my countervailing, but his strength was no match for mine, and I easily overpowered the hunter by pushing him off me and whipping out the blade from his grasp.
The captain of the hunter squadron didn't lose his bearings, though, and again span with his whole body, once more applying for the help of his shoulder blades. Fortunately for me, the previous blow I had received from him was more than enough to make me remember the specifics of his attacking technique, so this time I met the charge learnedly. As the first round of blades whizzed at me, I craftily ducked under them and swept the mortal off his feet with a twirling move of my leg. The green-cloaked warrior clumsily fell down, his armor and shoulder blades tingling loudly from the contact with the pebbly surface of the beach. He hurriedly tried to get up, but I prevented him from doing that by pointing at him with the sword I had just snatched out of his own hands.
"Stay down!" I menaced him, holding the tip of the blade an inch away from his throat.
Hinrad at once froze in fearful numbness, pointedly not looking to take any chances while being in such a compromised position. His fellow crossbowman who had been watching our duel from a distance this entire time immediately attempted to intervene on the part of his commander by directing his weapon at me yet again, but I stopped him right there.
"You make as much as a move and your captain's head will be adorning this blade," I said tartly and, to emphasize my point, slightly pressed the nib of the sword against his leader's chin.
The arbalester continued to hold his crossbow directed at me, yet his helmeted head nervously turned to his leader, probably in wait for any command or order on his part that would give any solution to the dilemma I had put him into. Hinrad could only glimpse frightenedly now at his partner and now at me, seeming to be not knowing himself what would be the better option in this case. After exchanging a couple of glances with his subordinate, the leader of the squadron finally gave in.
"You heard what this creature said, Kallejon! Put down your weapon!" he instructed the arbalester, his voice trembling.
The black-armored warrior whose name appeared to be Kallejon seemed to be in disagreement with his captain's decision, but didn't go against the authority and slowly lowered his crossbow. After he did this, I waited for about five seconds to let the dust settle, and then slowly moved the sword away from Hinrad's face. I knew that while he was down on the ground right in front of me, there was little he could do to catch me off-guard. And if his fellow hunter tried to use this as an opening for assaulting me, I could easily neutralize him with one telekinetic bolt.
When it became clear that no attempts to sneak attack me were going to follow, I took the word,
"Listen to me. I'm not here to pick a fight with you – I'm on your side," I addressed myself to the hunters, trying to sound as friendly as possible, "But I won't be able to help you if you continue…"
Alas, I was never allowed to finish that phrase as out of nowhere, something forcefully struck me right on the back and hurled my carcass forward like some ragged doll. I tumbled across the graveled ground for several yards until bulging into the nearest ground cliff. The impact caused my head to swim and sway as my already dwindled soul energy began to precipitately expend itself to repair the damage done to my physical body. On top of that, I sensed the flesh on my back where I had been hit scorch and sizzle as if it had been touched by something acidic. Then I started hearing the already familiar gurgling animalistic growls coming from somewhere far behind, interspersed with the hunters' terrified screams of alert. It didn't take me long to realize that due to my little quarrel with the humans, I had forgotten about a more serious threat, which was, of course, those aquatic creatures. And now, it seemed, they had decided to remind me of themselves by shooting me with another of their water projectiles. That explained that burning feeling I was experiencing now. As a former vampire, I still retained my weakness to the touch of water, and those jets these beasts could squirt out of their vile mouths were no exception. Unlike the mortals that should only have feared the incredible force behind those spits, I also had to be apprehensive of the mere contact with them as it could gnaw at my soul energy like rust at steel. This was an admonition for me to keep my eyes open while fighting these monsters as I might not have had the luxury of affording another mistake like this.
Assiduously, I lifted my face from earth and looked behind me. Even despite my still blurred sight, I could see that where Hinrad had been lying just a moment ago there was nobody now. However, looming a couple of yards away from that spot was a silhouette of some dark monstrous figure with burning diabolical eyes that was slowly marching in my direction. It must have been the very creature that had nailed me with that water blast, for its smaller counterpart could be seen somewhere to the right of it, busy battling one of the hunters in close-in combat. The bigger beast, nonetheless, appeared to be looking not just for any fight, but for a fight specifically with me. In all likelihood, it still could not forgive me those two telekinetic bolts I had thrown into it earlier, and for one of them, it had already returned me the favor. But if that thing thought it could catch me twice with the same bait, it was dead wrong.
When the hydrous monster got close enough for me to be able to see it in all detail, its hooded neck bloated yet again, indicating that it was going for another water blast. Upon seeing this, I summoned my mental strengths and clenched my right hand into a fist, a turquoise halo of energy appearing around it. Then, once the beast sharply brought forth its reptilian like head and vomited a spurt of water at me, I brought forth my right hand in return, unleashing the accrued kinetic energy right at the coming jet.
In less than a heartbeat, the two lightning-fast projectiles collided in mid-air, creating some sort of a shockwave, with the water projectile crushing to tiniest particles and the telekinetic projectile dissipating into large ripples like the surface of disturbed water. The aquatic beast could only glimpse at that spectacle wonderingly, unable to comprehend why its shot had failed to find its mark. Regardless, it had enough smarts not to keep trying the same maneuvre over and over again, and after the last drop of its ruptured projectile hit the ground, the fiend rapidly advanced on me. This was going to be the first time I would face one of these creatures in a close-in encounter, and judging by what I had already witnessed by now, this was not going to be an easy venture.
With an effort I got up off my knees and focused my attention on the impending carnivore, the distance between us shortening precipitately. There was no time like now that I needed the Soul Reaver's power to back me up, but with so much energy I had already lost, I was definitely not going to retrieve it any time soon. However, while I kept fixing my sight on the amphibian creature, my averted vision suddenly detected some object on the ground just a couple of feet away from where I stood. As I looked at it I saw that was the sword I had bereaved Hinrad of when fighting him earlier. Quite luckily, it didn't drop too far away from me after I was sent sprawling from that water blast. And now felt to be the aptest moment for me to make use of this happenstance.
Using my basic knowledge of telekinesis that I had even before enhancing it with the essence absorbed from the relic, I remotely summoned the dropped blade to my right palm with the power of mind. The sword returned within my grasp just in time when the aquatic beast came to me close enough for a shot. Hastily, I took the weapon in both hands and brought it in front of myself an instant before the creature threw its clawed paw at me. The monster's talons bounded off the blade with gnash, the impact budging me off my place for several feet. The reptilian-like entity also reeled back, but didn't lose its pep and quickly went for another attack. I parried it again and then tried to capitalize, slashing at the fiend vertically with the sword. But this time it was the monster's turn to display its blocking technique when it again adroitly received the blow on one of its golden arm-bands, sparks flying from the contact of metal with metal.
After this exchange of strikes, the beast and I simultaneously paused to attack one another, both of us taking defensive stances. I used this as an opportunity to once again measure my enemy, all its horrid features opening to my view at close range.
"Just what manner of being are you?" I asked aloud, even though knowing I was not going to get any answer to this.
Suddenly, as my eyes inadvertently fixed on the creature's lapidary pieces of armor, I noticed some fretted designs engraved on them. Though their contours were not very prominent, they still seemed familiar for some reason. It took me more than a second of unwavering fixation on them to realize these engravings looked very similar to the symbol I had seen on the hanging banner in the premises that brought me to this territory. It was the symbol of the Rahabim clan – the only vampire kindred I had not yet encountered throughout my journey…
...Until now.
I wish someone could have told me what my face looked like at this very instant when I gathered all my guesses together and finally perceived that the beasts the vampire hunters and I were opposing now were the vampire children of my brother Rahab. Every fiber of my conscience was still rejecting this madness, but continuing to deny it was as stubborn as it was meaningless. So many facts could not have been lying all at the same time. Against all odds, probabilities, laws of nature and logic, the Rahabim happened to have evolved into amphibian creatures, thus outstripping their vulnerability to one of the deadliest elements there was for all vampires.
After everything I had already seen and learned this probably should not have been such a great astonishment to me. Yet, the mere idea was simply beyond any comprehension. After all, water was the power that made my own downfall possible, and now, to believe that some of my former, weaker congeners could have just overcome the frailty I could not was little but infeasible. Besides, why would the evolution have been so charitable specifically to the Rahabim? Rahab's clan, as I remembered them from the years of my early vampire life, was considered to be the weakest one alongside the Melchiahim and the Zephonim. Like Melchiah's progeny that suffered from flesh decay, the Rahabim could not tolerate even the weakest ray of sunlight, and for their tribe, this weakness did not wear off even with the passing of years. This was one of the reasons for Kain to start building those furnaces all across Nosgoth to make sure the sun always remained securely hidden behind the smoke they belched into the sky. With allowance for this, could it be that the Rahabim's unprecedented development was some sort of compensation for their innate inadaptability?
As my mind was revolving around these questions, the Rahabim standing before me, for there could be no mistake as to its identity anymore, instantly detected my aversion and hurried to avail itself from it. Snaking its upper body with such intensity and flexibility as if it had no vertebrae whatsoever, it drastically brought forth its head toward my ribcage and snapped its jaws around it like a steel trap. The force of this lunge sent me to the ground back first, blinding my eyes with the dimout of severe energy loss. This pushed the outflow of my power to critical limits, and for the first time in a long while, I felt being on the verge of sinking into the spirit realm.
The Rahabim ghoul continued to tuck into my chest with all its knife-like teeth, probably looking to scrunch me in half. Any other being in my place would have already been dead from such non-survivable wounding, but thanks to my adapted nature of a wraith, my durability was a bit higher than that of the living creatures. Therefore, even despite being inches away from losing my material corporality, I still had the strengths to fight back. So, having tightened my grip on the sword I was still holding in my right hand, I grabbed it with the other hand and forcefully plunged into the beast's spine while it was busy nibbling at my scrawny husk. The Rahabim that hardly ever expected me to offer any more resistance gruffly relinquished its jaws off my chest and jerked its lizard-like head upwards, emitting a querulous 'urk'.
Once I got free from the beast's weight pressing me down to the ground, I kicked the Rahabim with both my feet into its scaly stomach, shoving it away from me completely. The aquatic vampire fell right on the hilt of the sword sticking out of its back, resulting in the blade impaling it all the way through its abdomen in a sickly looking spout of gore. The predator made its last screech of agony and stilled, blood forming thickly on the corners of its reptilian mouth.
Realizing that the duel between me and the hydrous vampire was over, I took several deep breaths and then slowly began to rise to my feet. My body was all stiff and strained because of the desolation, so I had to make more than a few clumsy moves before I was able to right myself. Once I did, I saw that flying above the Rahabim's corpse in front of me was its soul that had just disengaged from its former corporeal vessel. With all the time I had spent without the Reaver to sustain me and all the wounds I had received during the fight, I needn't have thought twice what to do with that liberated spirit. So I reflexively undid the cowl around my missing lower jaw, exposing the magnetic light pulsing from there that at once drew in the thrashing essence.
As I devoured the freed vampire soul, I felt some of my vitality return to me, but only some of it. The damage I had absorbed lately had stripped me of too much of my energy, and one imbibed spirit did not suffice to replenish it in full measure. Therefore, the wraith blade's projection was still not restored to me.
Meanwhile, behind me, the combat between the hunters and the smaller Rahabim that was probably a fledgling species of this clan was still in full throttle. And as I shifted my glance to the battle scene, I found out that things in this strife weren't really setting in favor of the humans. Although the aquatic ghoul already had a few abrasions on its slimy flesh here and there and a bloodied metal bolt protruding from its right shoulder, it still looked to be full of vim and effortlessly dominated the two crossbowmen trying to resist its onrush with all their might. Their leader, Hinrad, was again keeping a safe distance from the heart of the brawl, insidiously cowering behind a ground crag. This man's cowardice was as palpable as it was misbegotten, and after seeing him display it again, I really wished I had finished him off during our previous confrontation.
On and on kept the black-armored men throwing themselves at the amphibian being, but the latter always found a way to evade their thrusts and punish them with a backlash. At some point, both warriors found themselves down on the ground, dead creased to get back on their feet and continue this uneven fight. Upon seeing this, the Rahabim bellowed triumphantly and started slowly approaching the two weakened bodies in front of it, clearly looking to finalize its black deed at last.
That was when Hinrad screening himself behind a cliff in the rear suddenly decided to break his cover. Using his hiding place as a spring board, the green-cloaked hunter bounced off it high into the air and pirouetted with its whole body, creating another whirlwind of its spinning shoulder blades. There seemed now that he had been purposely trying to get lost to the beast's view so it would get distracted by his fellow hunters and become open to an ambush. Perhaps, this could be called a tactical ruse, but the fact that this man was using his own comrades as bait was still not making me respect him more for his strategic thinking.
With a wondered harrumph, the fledgling Rahabim turned around and raised his snake-like head at the twirling storm of blades descending on it. An instant later, the left side of the creature's skin hood was cleaved into three parts, blood flying out of the cuts to coat the pebbly ground.
The devolved vampire screamed in pain and wavered back, while Hinrad took a moment to retrieve his equilibrium after the jump he had taken. He wasn't coming round for too long, though, and after a couple of seconds he already adopted an attacking stance, eager and ready to deliver the next shot. Coward or not, but this mortal was an impressive combatant, and whenever an opportunity turned up, he could easily prove this.
The Rahabim was still lamenting over his injury when Hinrad went for another spinning move, bringing its right shoulder blade in a deadly arc directed straight at the hydrous ghoul. In all likelihood, this was supposed to be a finishing blow, and even I was sure it was going to be this way. Yet, against all the expectations, the mutated vampire was able to prove everyone wrong here.
At the supreme moment before the tripled blades decapitated it, the amphibian predator once again showed off the intrinsic plasticity of its kind, writhing with is whole body like a serpent and leaving the sharp knives whooshing wide above its head. Then, before Hinrad was able to redirect the momentum of his body, the Rahabim ravenously bit his leg right by the calf. Even though the captain of the hunters' squadron was encased in armor from head to toe, the augmented teeth of a vampire had no problem tearing even through the toughest and thickest shell. Hinrad made a plaintive cry and hit the ground as the beast stepped over his back to ensure the mortal could do nothing to ward it off, and then continued to gnaw at the man's pauldron. The green-cloaked warrior started calling for help, but his two partners could hardly even hear him, still lying on earth barely conscious. It could be a matter of seconds before their leader lost his leg, and as much as I would have loved to watch that happen, the voice of conscience within me was telling me that I had to prevent this.
Having resigned to my inner contradictions, I turned my gaze from the battle scene to where the dead body of the Rahabim I had killed was lying just moments ago. Right now, though, there was only the sword I had impaled it withas well as the pieces of the being's former precious garment left on that spot. With its soul consumed by me, the cadaver that used to contain it had already smoldered out, just like of all the vampires poisoned by the curse of corruption. This circumstance only eased my task, so I once again summoned the weapon to my hand with the use of telekinesis.
As my talons clasped around its hilt, I instantly rushed toward the wrestling duo of Hinrad and the fledgling Rahabim. The aquatic vampire immediately detected my advance and unclenched its teeth off the man's calf. When it did, I saw that its hideous chaps were all red with blood, indicating that the beast did manage to bite through the hunter's armor at the long last. Then the being dilated its throat just like its bigger vis-à-vis used to and I realized that the ability to fire those compressed water projectiles did not pertain only to the adult Rahabim.
In the following moment, a jet of liquid was already winging its way at me, its usually translucent color now mixed with impregnations of red. Already accustomed to these blasts' speed, I acted knowingly and turned somersaults on the run, rolling underneath the plowing spurt. Then, using the created momentum, I converted my roll into a thrust and brought forth the sword at the beast in a piercing move.
The Rahabim, having a keen sense itself, managed to sidestep my lunge and then tried to opt for a quick counter, haggardly throwing at me with both its arms raised above its head. Despite having funneled most of my concentration into the previous attack, I still had the creature's recharge well scouted and was able to dance out of its way at the nick of time. Concurrently, I swung the sword around me in a full circle, aiming for the vampire's torso. The aquatic ghoul dodged that feint too, but only at the cost of lengthening the distance between us and thus losingits chance for another swift counter hold. Since this fledgling wasn't wearing the same armor its older coeval was it could only ward off the strikes by avoiding them. This forced it to constantly move away from me and then launch each new assault from scratch. I knew I could use it to my advantage and continued to relentlessly stab and chop at the hopping amphibian creature, waiting for the right moment to capitalize on.
Inexorably kept the Rahabim and I taking swings at one another, my sword and its talons whistling through the air like scythes mowing a meadow. With each next blow I tried to deliver, I always kept pressing on, ensuring the beast had no chance to recapture the initiative. Perhaps, if this vampire was at its full energy, it could have still bested me now, but with all the damage already done to it at the hands of the hunters, there was always that little gap in its stamina that didn't allow it to completely conform to my onset.
At some point, I felt my opponent start to slowly lose its vigor and that was when I finally introduced the trick I had been looking to pull all along. After taking another slash at the Rahabim, I deliberately didn't try to throw another one at it straight after and left the creature some room for a trading blow. Having been under attack for so long, the beast eagerly saw its chance and hastened to resume the offensive. But with so much force it had exerted lately to evade my charges, its retaliatory thrust came out too plain and predictable. This was exactly what I was counting on, and without much effort, I strafed away from the Rahabim's lash and then whipped my sword to the side. The aquatic ghoul that had funneled all its energies into this desperation move never saw that coming and barely managed to react when the blade severed its arm from the shoulder. I thought it didn't even realize at once what had transpired, but when the blood splashed between us, leaving a cloudy crimson mist in the air, the affliction became clear.
The Rahabim moaned with the usual bobbling tone to its voice and plunged onto the ground, the blood from its shoulder precipitately creating a pool around its body. A chopped off extremity was not a fatal injury by vampire standards, for the regeneration ability allowed the creatures of the night not only to heal wounds, but even to regrow certain body parts. Yet, it didn't lessen the painfulness of the trauma, and with the weight of all the other wounds this fiend had already received, it could offer no more opposition. When I understood that, I walked behind the back of the squatted beast and then, with mercilessness of an executioner, took the sword in both hands and flourished it from left to right in one broad sweeping motion. Blood gushed from the Rahabim's neck like a dam opening its floodgates and then its head bounced off it on the ground with a loud thump. The beast's slimy carcass sank as its legs gave out under it, leaving it to lie in a pool of gore on its scaly belly.
Once the fledgling Rahabim joined its adult congener in death, its soul unfettered from its corpse and began to crinkle in the air above my head. This was an appropriate trophy for a hard-fought battle I had had, and I didn't delay to take it. So I tossed aside the weapon I had taken away from Hinrad earlier before and with a subtle motion of my hand lowered my clan drape, making the freed spiritual essence disappear in my gaping maw. It was enough to supplement the depleted energy reserves I still had left after the clash with the first Rahabim, which resulted in the Soul Reaver reemerging from my right arm and once again solidifying my physical manifestation.
Without the soul to animate its flesh anymore, the beheaded Rahabim husk began to burn down like a cindering scrap of paper. I watched that happen with some growing sense of finality, probably because nothing could herald the end of the fight more than the sight of your very enemy's dead body completely fading away from this world.
At some time, though, I was distracted from this beholding as I felt somebody's hard stare upon me. I turned my gaze to the left and saw that sitting on the ground and watching me with eyes full of catatonic shock was the leader of the vampire hunters' squadron, Hinrad. His hands were tightly fisted around his calf that was bleeding slightly, but he seemed to be careless of that as all his undivided attention now appeared to be on me and me only. Apparently, he must have witnessed the moment of me devouring the spirit of the Rahabim, and the impression had left him quite disturbed. I was not sure if he even understood what exactly he had beheld, but something was already telling me this human would not be content with 'ignorance is bliss' postulate here…