And now, the story continues.
An Eternal War
Chapter Eleven
By IceWing (icewing@one.net)
Chapter 11 warning.
Ok, I am warning everyone right now that this chapter is rated R for cruelty, blood, torment, torture, murder.. (flipping through my thesaurus) and gross desecration of a corpse. If you do not want to read this, and if you don't like this kind of stuff or it nauseates you or is against your religion or if you are under 17, please, go ahead to the next chapter.
Chapter 11
He watched as the sun began to rise above the horizon. The morning rays cast a golden hue over him as he rose from the summoning circle, tea cups in hand. It had been an interesting conversation, albeit it not very informative. Most spirits tended to be rather out of touch with current events, but give an older one a philosophical question and what usually took about thirty minutes from his morning would sometimes take all day. Well, no time to loiter, he had work to finish today. He descended to his workshop from the roof access stairs and mentally steeled himself for the days work ahead.
Setting down on the stool, he looked down at her. His fingers gently caressed her face. Such soft skin. Her brunette locks had become mussed and were covering part of her face. He carefully moved them aside, revealing her eyes. Eyes which were lit brightly from within.
"Now Miss. I am going to begin my work. I would like to apologize in advance for any discomfort you may feel during the procedure. Its going to hurt quite a bit, but that is an unfortunate necessity as I cannot allow any substances to contaminate your body at this stage. If it is any consolation, and I somehow doubt that it will be, what occurs here today could save the lives of hundreds if not more in the years to come." He patted her forehead softly, and reached for his tools.
Her eyes darted frantically around the room, panicking. This wasn't happening. It was all a nightmare. If she could just force herself to wake up.
The touch of the intricately carved blade against her throat brought yet another scream into the gag which was firmly secured in her mouth. There was an almost cold sensation as she felt the blade slice into her flesh. Then the pain hit her like a freight train. Her muffled screams took on a new pitch as he pulled the razor edge carefully across her.
As the knife worked it fateful task, he began humming the score from Wagner's Ride of the Valykries. 'She did have such nice soft skin,' he thought as he began peeling it slowly from her body below the neck. Her screams took on an almost inhuman screech, but he did not allow it to break his concentration. It would be a shame to waste such a fine hide.
Once the skin had been removed and carefully placed in a storage unit, he proceeded to then, with exquisite care, pluck the eyes from their sockets. As he held them up to examine, he could see the light inside of them diminish. These too went into a storage container. The muffled screams had now changed to an almost inaudible mewling sound. Humming a ditty, the now blood speckled man began to slowly strip away skin from the breastbone. After a few moments, he could see the pinkish bone, exposed for the first time to the air. Changing tools, he began sawing away at the breast bone. The bone saw moved slowly through the breastbone, only slightly deepening the cut with each pass. Then suddenly, there was no more resistance. The bloody saw was set down and a spreader was put in place. With a sharp crack, he wrenched the ribs apart, spreading them wide and revealing the organs they once protected. As he studied the organs, he waved his hand to summon his assistant for the evening. The rather ordinary looking man gazed longingly at the ornate container which was slowly filling with blood as it drained from the victim, as he set down three containers, each with the Red Cross emblazoned on the side.
"Taste a drop of any of it and I swear that even your Progenitors will be amazed at the amount of suffering you will be subjected to for the next decade or so." With a series of small precise cuts, he sliced the kidneys and liver free from the now dying body. Setting them in the prepared chests, he muttered a small incantation and then closed the lids. "Now, take these to the hospital. Ask for Dr. Boreanas. The paperwork which is attached should allay any questions he has. Now, hurry up and get back here within two hours, I'm going to need some help for the next stage." The vampire nodded and scurried off, containers well in hand.
Stripping off his gloves, he smiled and began washing his hands. Not only did this girl meet all the criteria he had, she was an organ donor to boot. Always good to do his part, even in circumstances like these. Sometimes he wondered if perhaps he was going too far in this endeavor, but in the end it came down to numbers, loose a few, save more. Machievelli was right.
Pulling on a fresh pair of gloves, he carried the heart, eyes and blood carefully into the next room. Suspended from the ceiling was another figure, arms bound above his head. At least he would not have to go on without his girlfriend, who had until recently been in the other room and was now reduced to bloody meat. Not fair to keep lovers apart. He smiled and greeted his guest, explaining that he was going to open up the veins in his legs and allow his blood to flow and mingle with that of his woman. It wouldn't hurt very much and that he should be thankful that no male hearts were needed for the ritual. The bound figure tried to lash out and kick the mage in the face, but to no avail.
A small pierced metal tray was place under his feet, then an ornately engraved amulet was placed on it. On top of the amulet, still dripping with blood, was placed the heart from the luckless victim in the first room. Satisfied, he reached out with an ornate, golden bladed dagger and with two short movement, laid open both the major arteries in the legs. After a small chant and watching the blood drip for a few moments, and pleased with the aura which was infusing the amulet, he stepped out of the room and bolted the door behind him.
Outside the door, a servant was waiting. "Master Ezekiel, I bear news of the research you requested. The Slayer remains in town, however her vampiric lover has left the city. Of her remaining associates, one other has departed, for Los Angles, and another, the one which you arranged to be staked, is supposedly planning a road trip."
"Of these things I could have hired a mortal investigator. Have you any word of the lair which may lie within these hills? I shall have what was mine!"
"No Lord. There are several caves which show promise, but the tunnels and caverns in this area are infested with lower forms. We have to either bargain with them for safe passage, or destroy them."
"Proceed. I have waited this long. The arsenal of NorthShield is mine and I shall reclaim it. Lair or nest, it matters not. Report if any additional information is discovered. Otherwise, avoid the Slayer until I am ready to harvest her. I do not wish to take the time right now to replace any of my minions. Now begone with you." The servant bowed and scuttled away.
Zeke sighed as he sat down at his desk, peeling his latex gloves off and disposing of them in the trash. Too much time had been spent on getting to this point of the plan for things to go wrong now. He wished there was another way, after all, the Slayer was special, but it wasn't like another would be called. That was the whole point of the Slayer project. A renewable source of warriors. This one was too much of a risk to his current plans to be spared. And as an added bonus, he could always harvest her for spell components. A Slayer had almost as many useful parts as a dragon. He laughed. Hell, if his research was correct, he could leave town in about six months with a cabinet of dragon parts and a Slayer to be harvested whenever he needed something obscure.
Another sigh escaped his ancient lips.
'It's for the best,' he told himself. Plans were in place to take care of the problems before they caused him too much grief. Yes, the Slayer would be taken out of the equation and her associates would all be used as parts also, but in the long run, what did a couple of humans mean to the big picture.
With a faint smile, he set the timer on his desk and laid back for a catnap. Have to make sure to turn the amulet before the boy runs completely dry.
And with that he drifted off.
End Chapter 11