Chapter 11
"The Final Battle"

Entreri sat in his restaurant listening to the rain outside and enjoying a very big steak. Entreri had his doubts that Alececarr was dead, but there was nothing he could do about it right now. The sewers would not be friendly in this storm and according to John, there was nothing left. Entreri respected the captain more than most, but he still had his doubts. At the same time, if Alececarr had been above ground during the explosion, the assassin didn't care how powerful the vampire was, he would have perished. If tomorrow, when Entreri sorted through the rubble of the Ruddy Mary, he found his weapons, he would rest easy.

If Alececarr wasn't dead, then he was definitely injured. If Entreri found him in the sewers tomorrow, then he should be an easy kill. The idea that the vampire might run entered the assassin's thoughts, but not for very long. If he was still alive, he would hunt Entreri down for revenge. But that wouldn't be tonight, so Entreri was going to enjoy his steak.

Even though Entreri had opened this restaurant more than two months ago, he had eaten in it very infrequently. Tonight he felt he deserved a treat. The place was about half full, with few people wanting to brave the elements for a meal. Most of these people lived very close by, and Entreri didn't expect them to leave any time soon, nor did he expect anyone else to come in.

The doors to The Dragon's Lair burst open suddenly, and a dripping figure in a hooded poncho stumbled in. Entreri had his guess from the figure's size, and as he removed the poncho and hung it on the coat rack to the left of the door, Entreri was proven right. Captain John Irenum shook the rain from his hair as he looked over the small crowd, spotted Entreri, and made his way over to the owner's table. The limp from John's bad leg was very noticeable with the captain having just been in the cold spring rain.

"You couldn't wait until tomorrow?" Entreri asked as the captain pulled back a chair opposite the assassin. "It's quite a ways from the guard house for you to come in this weather."

John shook another chill out of his spin as he sat. A waitress was quick to the table, and John spoke before she could great him. "Coffee. Hot. Very hot." She nodded and left. John turned to Entreri. "Not so far away considering I won't sleep a wink tonight, or for the rest of my life perhaps, until I know more about what I saw this afternoon."

Entreri nodded. "Vampires are demon possessed corpses. They retain the knowledge of their body's life before, but not their soul. They are unredeemable and unrepentant. They are pure evil."

"Then why are you fighting them?" John quipped, only half joking.

Entreri started a response, and then bit his lip. Entreri had used many adjectives to describe himself over the years, but evil had never been one of them. He was a pragmatic person who did not hold to the standards presented to him by the religious leaders of the community. He lived in a world with consequences where lives were taken as a result. Everyone died, some for a purpose, and some not. Entreri was just an instrument in that purpose. But was he evil?

The answer to that question rested in the potential for evil to be a relative term. Was he a demon? Obviously not. Was he a priest? Not remotely. He had always thought of himself as being somewhat neutral, taking lives when necessary, but never for pleasure. Now, over a year after leaving Calimport, he couldn't honestly classify his old lifestyle as one of neutrality.

John hadn't expected such a long pause before an answer. He realized he might have struck a nerve, and for the first time realized the potential for Entreri's past sins and the amount of effort he had taken to remove himself from them. For some reason, John respected him for that.

"I can assure you they are all dead," John said, changing the topic. "You seemed concerned that some might have escaped earlier, but we got them all."

"Their leader was about 5'8'', shoulder length blonde hair, blue eyes, and faster and stronger than any of the other vampires."

John nodded, remembering that vampire clearly. "He was the last out of the fire, though he did not have a burn mark on him. He dodged our arrows and raced down the tunnels, trying to escape, but I got him through the heart, and he did not get up."

"You saw him turn to dust?" Entreri asked. From his research, Entreri would have predicted that a stake through the heart wouldn't have been enough.

"He did not get up," John repeated, the confidence of the kill gone from his voice.

Entreri shook his head. Alececarr was still alive and not nearly as baldy hurt as Entreri had hoped. He might come for the assassin tonight. Entreri looked down at his waist, already knowing that he would not see a weapon. This habit of walking around unarmed had to stop soon.

John saw the look on Entreri's face and could figure out what it meant. "You said that wood through the heart. . ."

"The leader is more powerful. I expected him to be upstairs in the tavern, in which case either I would have faced him or he would have been destroyed in the explosion."

John's hand dropped to his sword, which he always wore when he went into the north section of town. "He is still alive?"

The door to the restaurant burst open again. Like when John had entered, the rain soaked figure was at first unrecognizable. Unlike when John had entered, the doors were ripped from their hinges and crashed into two of the tables, spilling food and drinks everywhere.

The men at those tables stood and turned, angry looks on their faces. Those looks never had a chance to turn to fear as Alececarr was beside them in a flash and ripped their throats open. He didn't drink as much as he bathed in the fountains of blood. The vampire had fed on a dozen people on his way over to the restaurant and now only hungered for Entreri's flesh.

Alececarr flung the dead men across the room like weightless rag dolls, inspiring a mass evacuation from the rest of the patrons, storm or not. John rose from the table, pulling his sword and planning to finish the work he had started.

Entreri didn't bother warning the captain that he wouldn't beat this foe, instead he thanked the big man for the short reprieve while he scanned the room for a weapon. Entreri's weapons were upstairs in his office. To get to them he would have to turn his back to the vampire, something he was not going to do.

John stepped up to Alececarr, feinted an attack from the left, pivoted his weapon around and swung in from the right. It was an impressive attack, one that would have defeated almost any over aggressive enemy. In fact, Alececarr bit hard on the feint, moving to his left and into the path of the real attack. He was too quick though, and the vampire managed to duck the might swing and punched out under it.

John accepted the punch, stopping his swing and bringing the pommel of his weapon crashing down on Alececarr's head. At least, that was his plan. He never got past the "accepting the punch" part. The vampire's diminutive frame masked his incredible strength and the captain of the city guards went stumbling backwards into the table.

Before he could regain his balance, Alececarr spun a kick into his chest, lifting him into the air and slamming him into the restaurant wall. John's head hit hard against the wood, and he slumped to the floor, his sword clattering to the ground.

The vampire turned his attention to Entreri now and saw the assassin held a wooden broom handle. Alececarr just laughed as he pulled Cicle from its sheath. Entreri swallowed hard but kept his weapon of choice for now. One direct hit from the frost blade and his weapon would be halved, but the assassin didn't intend to use the broom handle to engage the rapier, but to keep his adversary on the move, giving Entreri a chance to direct the fight.

Alececarr understood the tactic, but it would only work if he feared a hit from the weapon. The vampire decided he would let Entreri spin his stick about all he wanted. Alececarr would just step in and kill him. He attempted to do just that as Entreri wove his makeshift staff around his waist. The assassin used the momentum of the broken handle to redirect his weight, dodging to the side as Cicle came in. The frost blade just missed, and Entreri lashed out with his weapon, striking the vampire in the eye.

Alececarr howled in pain, slashing out at the assassin. Entreri blocked the strike by rapping the vampire's knuckles with the handle and then jabbed out with the broken end of the pole into his enemy's neck. The soft skin under Alececarr's chin ripped open and retained a few wooden splinters as the vampire cried out again and rushed forward to crush the assassin.

Entreri was too focused on the weapon to defend against the body and had to bail out by rolling to the side. Alececarr defied the laws of physics by halting his momentum before crashing into the bar and slashing down at the elusive human. Entreri had no defense but his broomstick, and as predicted, it was cut in two by the frost blade. The impact did slow the strike enough for Entreri to roll further out of the way. As he did, he threw the longer half of his weapon between the legs of the vampire, and as the blood-thirsty creature turned, he tripped, giving Entreri enough time to get to his feet.

The unarmed assassin ran three steps away from the bar, saw the shadow beside him on the floor, and dove under a table as Alececarr came crashing down from above. The vampire hit the round table on the edge, flipping it over, and shielding the human as he scrambled a few more feet. Entreri threw a chair over his shoulder as he went, deflecting a killing blow as the vampire leaped over the table, and finally made it to John's limp form. He picked up the fallen broadsword and turned just in time to catch Alececarr's next attack.

Entreri managed to get his feet under him as the two combatants kept their weapons in contact. The vampire just smiled at his opponent and Entreri understood why as he felt the chill creep down the handle of the big sword. If it got much colder, it would become brittle and useless. If he made it through this fight, he didn't want to have to explain to John how he had shattered the captain's favorite sword.

Entreri broke off the contact, and swung the weapon about quickly, trying to ward off both the vampire and the chill in the weapon. Neither goal was met. Alececarr stayed on the offensive despite the huge sword flying about him. Entreri dodged the attacks both because he feared for the weapon he was using and because he could not move the heavy blade fast enough. He was used to much smaller weapons.

As Entreri backpedaled, he could feel considerable warmth from behind him. The assassin pretended to stumble as he took another step back and dropped into a crouch swinging his weapon in a wide arc. Alececarr took the bait, coming in hard, and then had to leap back, giving Entreri enough time to bring his weapon completely around his body and into the fire pit behind him.

When the sword came around the other side of the human's body, completing the 360-degree swipe, there was a flaming log impaled on the end of it. Alececarr stayed back a moment to allow the flaming strike to pass in front of him, knowing that Entreri would never be able to bring the over-balanced weapon back in for a block. Entreri had known it too, and Alececarr only realized that the sword had been thrown at him when the flaming log slammed into his gut, bowling him to the floor.

The vampire cursed his carelessness as he scrambled back to his feet, wiping the hot embers from his wet clothes. When he stood, Entreri held a poker from the fireplace. This weapon was poorly balanced, but was the closest thing he was going to find to his dirk without going upstairs.

The two fighters traded blows now evenly, striking and parrying instead of dodging and jumping. Alececarr was fast, very fast. His weapon was better balanced, and Entreri lacked a blade. That point became painfully obvious as Entreri crossed up his opponent and swiped over his shoulders. The round poker hit the side of Alececarr's neck and stopped. Had it been his dirk, the vampire's head would now be rolling on the floor.

As Alececarr laughed, Entreri realized that he had probably been allowed to make the attack only to show him the uselessness of it. The vampire brought his rapier in from the side, and Entreri pirouetted, knocking the attack back out wide and coming around to stab straight forward. Again he was allowed to make the strike, the poker sinking into the vampire's chest. Alececarr kicked out, sending Entreri over a tabletop in a cascade of silverware.

The poker was still sticking out of the vampire as he leaped to the tabletop, looking down on Entreri as the human scrambled to pick up a steak knife. If the poker hurt him, Alececarr was not letting it show. "Now it ends," he said, leaping high into the air.

Entreri struck out with the steak knife, not at the vampire, but at the wall behind him, cutting through a rope. The assassin rolled to the side as the vampire came down and a chandelier came down on top of him. Entreri didn't bother to see the effectiveness of the cast iron cage but turned and ran.

He raced to the corner of the main room, through a pair of doors, up a flight of stairs, down the hall, and into his office. His weapons were in a chest at the foot of his bed. He opened the chest, grabbed his dirk and borrowed saber, and turned to meet his enemy. The room was empty. Entreri strained his ears but could only hear the pounding of his heart and the occasional clap of thunder outside.

Entreri had not bothered to light any of the lamps during his mad dash, and the upstairs of the restaurant was eerily dark. For the first time in a long time Entreri was scared. He slowly walked back across the room to the hallway and peered out. It was empty. The floorboards did not creek and the shadows were all still.

The vampire would come. Entreri was sure of that. There were no windows into this room and only the one door. He could wait for Alececarr and be prepared. The assassin did just that.

Alececarr took his time lifting the heavy chandelier off him, cursing each time he cut himself on the shards of glass from the broken lamps. He was not concerned about losing Entreri. If he understood his opponent, he would not go far. He was probably only going to get his weapons. Alececarr respected him enough to allow him the chance, wanting this kill to be one he could take pride in.

With Entreri defeated, he could begin anew in this town. If he killed him fairly he could rest assured that he had beaten the realms best. If he was unable to do so, then he would always live with the knowledge that he could be defeated. He did not want that.

The poker was still shoved into his chest and the vampire pulled it out slowly, relishing the pain and letting it fuel his anger. He walked slowly to the corner of the room that Entreri had fled to, walked up the stairs, and paused at the darkened hallway.

A faint light came from a room halfway down on the left. Alececarr drew Entreri's jeweled dagger with his other hand, realizing that the assassin had probably paired off his weapons as well. "I did not take you for someone to hide," Alececarr called as he cautiously peered into each darkened room he passed.

"I'm not hiding. I am waiting."

The response came from the lit room, and Alececarr moved toward it.

"Let's end this," Entreri said just as the vampire moved into the doorway.

The room was dark except for a single candle just to the right of the doorway. Alececarr saw Entreri standing against the far wall, dirk and saber in hand. The vampire walked into the room to meet him. "Yes, this ends now."

Entreri stepped forward and swung his dirk. Alececarr thought the assassin still too far away to initiate an attack, but he brought his weapons up anyway. As Entreri's blade swept in front of him, Alececarr cried out as he felt a searing pain slice across his side and back. Reflexively he turned and saw a second Entreri behind him. "What?"

The vampire glanced back over his shoulder and saw the first Entreri was still there and stabbing forward. He was unsure which one to block and swept his dagger around his back and the frost blade across his front. The dirk was deflected, but the saber followed in a similar thrust that opened the vampire's stomach.

Both attacks had now come from the same direction, and Alececarr turned his back to the first Entreri, hoping that it was only an illusion. "What magic is this?"

Entreri laughed as he launched into a complex series of attacks against the heavily injured vampire. Alececarr was over matched and stumbled backwards. He came up against the far wall and felt the cracking of glass. "What magic indeed!" Entreri cried. "The magic is your own."

Alececarr cursed his carelessness. He cast no reflection in the mirror and so the ruse had been very effective. Too effective. His body ached, and his parries came later and later, if they came at all. Only half of Entreri's attacks encountered steel, the rest bit into the vampire's quickly deteriorating body. The assassin was chopping him up like a butcher.

With one last burst of strength, Alececarr pushed off the wall and rushed the human. Entreri calmly stepped aside and dropped into a crouch, dragging his saber across the vampire's torso, and cutting through the back of his knee with his dirk. Alececarr stumbled to the floor and turned quickly. He did not have the strength to rise, but brought the frost blade around for an attack. Entreri blocked the blade with one weapon and severed the arm with the other. The blade and the arm fell to the floor.

Alececarr tried to bring the dagger around, but he couldn't get that hand to work properly. He glanced down at his wrist and saw that all the tendons that controlled his fingers had been cut at some point before his charge. The dagger was lying on the floor back by the broken mirror. He hadn't even noticed when it had happened.

Defeated, the ancient vampire looked up at Entreri and laughed. The assassin held his dirk poised for his last strike but allowed himself a pause to analyze this unusual response to death. "You can not defeat me!"

Entreri begged to differ. Even if taking this vampires head did not turn him to dust, he could hack him into a dozen pieces and burn them in a blacksmith's fire or burry them miles apart from each other. He would kill him.

But that wasn't what Alececarr had said. "You will never defeat me!"

Entreri's mind went back to the scroll he had read concerning this vampire. The elves had been concerned that if they killed the body, the spirit might be released and roam free. They had been sending the body to the priests on the southern tip of this continent. Those priests probably no longer lived there.

What was Entreri to do?

He could cut off the legs and arms, box up the torso and head, burry it, and wait for a priest to rise up in the land powerful enough to kill the demon spirit. Likely that wouldn't happen for many years and possibly after Entreri had died. So he would have to leave instructions for. . .

"Ah, to hell with it." Entreri took Alececarr's head.

The body fell forward unceremoniously, and nothing happened for a few seconds. The assassin thought that nothing might continue to happen, but a small rushing sound started slowly, swirling a breeze around the room. Entreri suddenly wished he was somewhere else, but he was transfixed by the sight in front of him. The candle blew out, but there was a soft glow in the room, and the swirling air formed itself into a glowing image. The fearsome canine head of the demon materialized in the whirlwind over the body. It lashed out quickly at Entreri, and the human stumbled backwards, dropping his weapons. The image seamed to chuckle at this reaction and then disappeared, the rushing wind racing down the hallway. Entreri raced after it just in time to see the window at the end of the hall explode and the stormy night lit up with a fantastic display of lightening.

Then there was silence. Even the rain outside slowed to a drizzle and stopped. The silence was far more disturbing than the noise had been.

Entreri shook his head, trying not to think about what he might have just done. He moved into his office and lit another lamp. The room was empty save for his dagger and frost blade on the floor. There also appeared to be a small pile of dust near the door. Other than that, there was nothing.

One more to go . . .