Chapter 26

Deep in the darkest dungeons, Reiko Kaneshiro lay on the cold stone ground, stripped of his weapons, his clothes torn to shreds. A pool of blood collected about his battered and broken body, which stirred slightly as the vampire began to reawaken. His hazel eyes fluttered open, his slightly parted lips closed as he struggled to sit up. He gasped and panted with pain, clutching at his side, feeling something hot, wet and sticky coating his hand. He removed his hand and looked at it, his face showing no expression as he stared at his blood-covered fingers, at his red, sticky palm.

Memories washed back into his mind, flooding him with knowledge. They had run him through several times with a sword made entirely out of silver. Nine times in total now that he thought back to it. The last time they had driven it into his gut, bringing blood flowing out of his mouth in a crimson mess. The harpy men had laughed at him as he had screamed out with agony, as white fire blinded his vision, choked his thoughts. He had become mindless with pain; he had clung onto one of the guards, his fingers becoming like claws as he screamed out over and over again, his body in excruciating anguish. The guards had told him to beg for mercy, but he had refused, his pride telling him that it was all he had left. He had suffered because of it, had suffered for the need to keep his pride and dignity intact.

He gritted his teeth, felt his fangs pressing against his bottom lip as he slowly shifted so then his back was against the wall, giving him the support he needed, helping his body to hold itself together. Already he could feel his body responding to the wounds, working on healing them. He could feel his skin mending itself, joining carefully, healing the raw bleeding wounds, where one could see his pulsing organs had they wanted to.

He coughed several times and gagged as he felt the sharp taste of fluid surge up into his mouth. He spat it out and stared at the mess through blurring vision. Blood. His own blood. Still, he was not too worried. If he was lucky he would be left alone for an hour or two and he would be able to heal his internal injuries within that time. Time. It was all just a matter of time. It would be a simple matter of time until Remy got his ass kicked. Reiko knew he'd make sure of that.

He groaned again, despair washing over him. And to think that he had been so close as to achieving his goal, that he had been so close to forming an alliance. He had failed his master, the one who ruled over all the vampires in the world. He had failed Dante, for wasn't he the main reason why he had accepted the mission that the vampire master had set out for him?

The answer was yes. They wanted to raise an army, and in order to add to their numbers, Reiko had wanted all the vampires of the world to fight under his and Dante's rule. He had failed in that aspect too. But what was perhaps the worst was the fact that he knew that he would probably never get to see Lorelei ever again. His eyes closed at the thought of her, his thoughts drifting aimlessly.

How long would it be before he was forgotten by all of them? How long would it be before Lorelei found another to claim her love for his own? He conceded sadly that it would probably be only a matter of weeks. After all, Lorelei had hated him for so long and now, when he did not return, she would have all the more reason to hate him. They'd be good reasons too and the sad part was that she would never know the truth and that she would never get to hear the reasons for why he had done what he had done.

His eyes snapped open and fixed onto the bars of his cell as he heard sounds outside. He waited, his face impassive, while wishing desperately that his eyesight would return to normal. He was able to make out the vague shape of someone's head as they entered his cell. He presumed this to be one of the guards. He watched as the guard carefully placed a bowl of something near to the door, as though he were nothing more than a dog.

Reiko looked to his legs and his eyes narrowed as they fell upon the shackles that kept him bound. His lips drew back in a silent snarl, feeling utterly humiliated, his pride taking a great blow at this great lack of respect. He found enough presence of mind to wait until the guard and all sounds had gone before he dragged himself using the strength in his arms over to investigate what had been placed before him. The smell of it invaded his senses almost immediately, making him feel weak, making his stomach hurt. He licked at dry lips as his eyes fell upon the bowl filled with blood. It was still warm; he could smell it, but he knew better than to accept anything from the hands of his enemies.

Who knew, it could literally be from the hands of his enemies and he knew that it would spell certain death if it were the case. He growled.

There was no way of knowing. The smell was not any different, and he had been warned that the taste was no different from that of a human's. He knew that he would only be able to tell once he fell sick, and by that time there would be nothing that he could do to stop death from coming to claim him fully.

Though things were desperate, he knew that he had to stay alive, that hope would die with him if he succumbed. Who's hope though? he asked himself mentally. No one would know where he had gone and he knew that if anyone mourned his disappearance, they would not mourn long. He had to stay alive, he just had to. He did not know why exactly, but the knowledge that he had to was enough to sustain him for now.

He stared longingly at the bowl of blood that was there to at once nourish him and torment him. He decided to try and distract himself by examining the contents of his cell more closely, noting with a certain degree of relief that there were no windows; that he would be safe from the dangers of the sun. This relief was relatively short-lived as his eyes fell upon a far less pleasant sight.

Corpses. About fifty of them. He could not understand why he had not noticed it before, why he hadn't been able to notice the foul stench. Now it claimed his senses completely, rapidly doing away with any type of thought to do with finding food to keep himself well and in health. He knew he could survive for a while without anything to sustain him but he knew he would not be able to last for more than ten days. Then he noticed the other bowls that were littering the room. He dragged himself over to the nearest one to his left, stretching the chains as far as they would go. The bowl had not been emptied, but was filled with some sort of solid substance that Reiko could not identify.

He sniffed it gingerly, and the shock of realization that lanced through him was enough to make him drop the bowl out of revulsion, sending it crashing to the ground with a clatter. The bowl had been filled with blood too; it had been there for so long that it had congealed to form a solid mess. He stretched out in front of him, reaching out for the bowl that lay there, his face forming a mask of horror as he saw that the contents of that one were the same. He looked at another, and then another, and with each one his terror was further compounded. They were all the same; blood had filled all these bowls and all of them had been left untouched. He turned around desperately, his chains rattling as he moved frantically.

Were these corpses all…they couldn't be…could they? He was surprised to hear a whimpering sound echoing throughout the cell. Then he realized that the sound was actually coming from him, that he was actually capable of making such a noise. He was scared and he saw no point in denying it, especially when his worst fears were confirmed as he inched over to the heap of corpses. He studied them closely, his eyes wide with panic, his mouth open out of sheer horror, his stomach churning painfully, making him feel sick. He wished he would be sick, just so then he could get rid of the pain that plagued him. His eyes fell upon the open mouth of one skull, his eyes transfixed as they fell upon the teeth of the skull. Fangs. The skull had fangs.

Glistening, white, sharp deadly fangs. He looked hopefully at the rest of the skull but soon saw that there was no chance that the skull belonged to any type of animal. No, the skull was undeniably human, the only thing setting it apart from a normal man's were the teeth, the fangs, so dangerous even now. Some corpses were fresher, which still had flesh hanging onto their bones, still had starved expressions of terror frozen onto their faces. Reiko wept, sobs wracking his entire body, knowing now that he was doomed, so utterly doomed to become one of them as more and more of his time passed within the cell.

He gasped and tried to jump to his feet, but the manacles cut into his ankles painfully, ensuring that he could not stand. He curled up in the corner furthest away from the bars and watched fearfully as the guards came in, whips and three-pronged tridents in their hands. Reiko's eyes fell upon them and widened, their hazel colour darkening markedly, pupils contracting with terror. One of the guards motioned to the other, and an ugly smile appeared on the first's face as he came towards him.

'No…stay back!' Reiko hissed, his voice braver than how he actually felt inside. 'I warn you! Stay back! Stay back or else!'

'Or else what?' the first jeered. His eyes slid to one side, eyeing the blood that stained the stone floor. 'What are you going to do, Head Vampire? Are you going to bleed on us? Is that it? Bleed? You gonna bleed?' The second guard had paused; he had been truly intimidated by the weakened vampire. The first saw this and promptly snarled, forcing the second, the younger into movement once more. 'Get him. Get him and bring him to me.' The second obeyed but cried out and backed away as the vampire clawed at him viciously, gritting his teeth and punching, clawing, tearing at him with his bare hands, desperation driving him onto greater efforts, driving him inwards in a blind fit of crimson rage.

The younger guard was bleeding profusely by the time he managed to back away from the enraged and frightened vampire. The older growled with irritation before grabbing the other's three-pronged staff, driving it into the stone, effective pinning the vampire's right hand. Then he took his own and thrust it through the vampire's chest. While Reiko was still in shock from the blow, he quickly pulled it out and trapped Reiko's other hand between the three prongs. The second guard, seeing that the vampire was no longer able to cause harm came forwards once more, more cautious than before.

Reiko waited until he was close enough before giving vent to one last snarl, bringing together his chained legs and driving them deep into the guard's stomach and then once more several inches below, sending the younger guard reeling backwards, gasping for breath, tears coming to his eyes. The first, more experienced guard quickly jumped on top of him and sat on his legs. He leant in towards the vampire, his eyes shining malevolently.

The vampire hissed again before summoning the last of his desperate strength and bringing his head forward, head-butting him on the nose, causing a fountain of blood to gush from the guard's face. Reiko had time for a triumphant smirk and a split second of hope that they would give up, but this quickly evaporated when agony lanced through him, causing him to see stars before his eyes, blinded with pain.

If anything, it appeared as though his show of defiance had done nothing to help him but had done everything to further incense the guard, making him all the more determined to cause the vampire some form of extensive harm. A vague thought entered Reiko's head. Could hate really influence someone to go to such lengths? As pain blasted through him like a cannon once more, he knew that the answer was a resounding yes. He screamed and thrashed about madly as the guard bent his leg at a painful angle. Reiko's screams intensified, drowning out the resonating crack as the guard finally got what he wanted.

But the harpy had not stopped there, and he started bending the other leg, either ignoring Reiko's shrieks of agony or silently revelling in them as he snapped his other leg in half. By this time, Reiko's chest was heaving, red tears streaked his face and blood streamed out of his legs. He raised his head shakily and caught a fleeting glimpse of flesh and bone. He gagged, thinking he was going to be sick with pain as he lowered his head again.

'And to think he still didn't beg…' he heard a voice say. A few minutes passed before he was finally able to recognize it to be the second guard's. He heard him gasp loudly. 'Don't you think he's had enough? You just broke his legs for God's sake!' He heard the strange sound of metal rasping against metal and whimpered as the first guard touched his legs cruelly, causing him further harm. The guard seemed to be pleased by the sound and did it again and then once more for good measure, satisfied only when he heard the vampire scream chillingly.

'The git broke my nose!'

'And you broke his legs! That's fair, isn't it?' There was a silence that Reiko knew was broken only by his sobbing as he lay on the ground, helpless. He raised his head momentarily to see that the guard had freed his useless legs from the manacles. He was also just in time to watch the younger guard grow silent under the hard glare of his superior. He himself gasped as the first guard grabbed him by the shoulders roughly and wrenched the tattered remains of his shirt from his body, leaving him shivering. The guard then laughed derisively as he dangled his whip before the stricken vampire's eyes.

'See this? This ain't no ordinary whip, vamp. It's a special kind, with silver sharp edges, actually the blades of silver daggers intertwined into it. You see this water? It's special too. It's holy. Holy Water. So, what do you think will happen when we dip this silver studded whip into holy water and lay into you?' Reiko's eyes widened with realization and understanding. 'You thought you were in pain when I broke your legs. Vamp, you don't know the meaning of pain!'

As he watched the harpy dip the whip slowly into the water, an image of his mother floated into his mind's eye. His face crumpled; he wanted to cry again, and he gave vent to an inarticulate sound, unable to express fully his desire to be held by her one last time. The sound died, leaving his lips to work silently as he mouthed her name for what he believed was the last time. His eyes closed tightly.

There was a resounding crack, like the noise of thunder roasting something alive. For a second, Reiko didn't feel anything. Then his body was contorting and twisting, his face was a mask of open frenzied shock. A loud piercing wail shook the rafters and it was a while before Reiko finally was able to realize that the sound was coming out of his own mouth. The blows continued to rain down upon him and his wail died away to a choking rasp, as blood welled into his mouth and out onto the floor.

Blood rained from his body and onto the walls as the guard continued his brutal assault. The second merely stood in the background, watching silently, his eyes wide. Eventually, there was no longer a part of the vampire that wasn't covered in blood. Only then did the guard stop, triumph pasted onto his evil, twisted face.

This respite was short-lived, and Reiko whimpered again, his face distorting as the guard rolled him onto his belly, an expression of disgust written only too clearly in his eyes at the fact that he had to touch the vampire in the first place. Then the process continued again, Reiko's howls echoing throughout the dungeon, a lesson to the other prisoners.

The vampire no longer had the energy to cry, no longer had the strength to resist. His strength was shattered into meaningless pieces. To his eyes, the whole world seemed as though it had been dyed crimson; blood was everywhere. He could imagine blood seeping out in an unstoppable flood from his every pore.

He could feel the acrid taste upon his mouth, he knew it was escaping his body even from there. He felt dizzy, weak, sick. He closed his eyes, praying that the darkness would take him, and allow him to leave this aching world for ever. Yet it seemed that fate was willing to deny him even this.

The harpy grabbed him by the hair and lifted his head up painfully. The vampire's lips drew back in a silent grimace and his eyes fluttered open, coming to rest on the grotesque corpses that lay before him.

'See these? See what happened to them? They're all your people, aren't they? They all died by my hand. And so will you. You've been the most fun I've had for a long long while. I might consider keeping you around for a lot longer than I kept them for.' As the guard stalked out of the cell, he laughed. 'I'm talking years, Vamp! Years!' His footsteps became gradually more distant, so then they become nothing. The second, younger guard still had not left the room and now walked towards the stricken vampire, sorrow shining in his eyes as he knelt down beside him.

'I'm sorry…I'm so sorry that I could not help you…especially after the way you treated my daughter. Here…' The harpy carefully tried to help the vampire to a sitting position but was forced to stop as the vampire gave vent to another blood-curdling cry.

'Stop…no more…please…no more…' Desperation fuelled the vamp, giving him the strength he needed to speak. His eyes were wide and almost unseeing, they rolled wildly as he croaked out his plea, as he broke down completely. He sobbed hoarsely from the pain, horrid gasping noises escaping from him. He was past shame, he was past it all. 'Haven't you guys had enough? Haven't you guys…haven't you…seen enough?' He struggled to raise his head to stare at the guard. 'You wanted to see me beg and plead…here I am…please…leave me the hell alone! I can't take anymore of this!' The harpy was silent in the face of Reiko's tears. 'You have beaten me, stabbed me, drained me, starved me…now you break my legs, and whip me…what is next? Tell me! What is next?' The harpy bit down on his bottom lip, truly convinced that the vampire's mind had been utterly broken as he broke down into enraged sobbing. 'Tell me, am I to be burnt to ash next? Will you tie me and lock me in a room with a window, throw away the key and watch as I slowly die?' His words gave way, and the vampire lowered his head with a thud, giving vent to a cry that did not sound anything remotely like a human. It was more like a wordless dirge yet the harpy knew somehow what it represented, and the hurt of it made its mark deep within him.

He was glad that his companion had not been there to hear the vampire; had he heard the suggestion he might have actually gone through with it. The guard silently used his power to heal the suffering vampire and then walked over to the bowl filled with blood and sniffed it, unsure as to whether it was poisoned or not. He decided that it would be best not to tempt the vampire and threw it outside in the drain, putting the bowl back in the cell afterwards. Casting another look at the felled vampire, he shook his head regretfully and left him to finally rest, watching the vampire turn completely limp as he gave himself up to the darkness that beckoned.