Chapter Twelve: Trials
The vampire waited patiently in the center of the plaza. He sat on the edge of the Fountain that mad a mermaid grotesquely curled up at the top. His opal eyes concentrated fiercely on the cobblestone tiles and his forehead was pressed against his interlocked spidery fingers. The sun loomed ominously behind, but thank goodness he was in the shadows of the fountain.
"Gabriel", a familiar voice called to him. His head rose and his was half in gear to rush over, but was stopped by the sweet sadness in her gray eyes. Rowan stood several feet away from him and drew closer, her auburn hair flamed like a dark fire in the after sun—a midnight sun. She reached the darkness and sat beside him. Her slenderness was engulfed in his and was give a tight squeeze.
"you worry me," he stated the obvious.
"You worry about everyone," she amended. He flashed an empty smile and took in her expression.
"I'm blind as blind as bat, aren't I?" Gabriel humored darkly.
"Ninety percent of the time," she replied flatly.
"And the other ten percent?" he asked coolly.
"Elsewhere," she rumbled.
"Oh," he was sniveling like a child. Rowan sighed exasperatedly and rose.
"Gabriel—" the woman-child began to say.
"I know. I know. You always seem to know what is happening," he frowned.
"I do not mean to hide things from you—but tell me this, Gabriel. What would you do if I told you the truth? What would you do with the knowledge? Stormy gray eyes stared at him waiting for an answer.
"I—understand—your—point—I think," the vampire pronounced slowly. She nodded and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Trust me. I know what I'm doing," she reassured him.
"I feel useless," he pouted. Snicker. She shrugged and walked into the light.
"She will be the death of me," she mouthed the words.
A little blond ball was stooped over a body twice her size. There was a faint slurping sound as if someone was enjoying a cup of noodles with relish. A final moan accompanied that. The figure straddled the dead body over to the dumpster and slashed his throat with her nail. She then covered up the body with garbage bags. Her eyes gleamed a rusted ruby. She scoffed at a shivering cardboard box in the corner and left.
Out of the box came a tattered old man with a jacket so spotted that it would not pass as a dirty dish rag. His lips quivered, his human eyes flickered to the dumpster then to himself. He cried out, staggering out of the alley and into the streets.
His hands crawled all over and grasped air. Vampire, he cried. Vampire. The body is in the alley. The body is in the alley. The civilians laughed at his ludicrousness. Civilians walked past him with a wrinkled nose. No one would listen. No one would stop. He finally staggered across a police office holding a hot dog slathered with mustard and sauerkraut.
"Officer! Officer! Pluse—dead body behind 7-Eleven!" the medicant gasped. The officer raised a skeptical eyebrow and took a bite of his hot dog.
"Slow down. Slow down. The soup kitchen is over there," the officer pointed.
"No—no. You don't understand! See! See!" the vagabond held out his bloody hands. The officer grew alarmed. He talked into his radio and the radio answered.
"Come on," the officer's voice was rough and the crowd parted for them whether out of paranoia or laissez-faire. They took a turn and went into the back of 7-Eleven. The vagabond dug the body out of the pile of garbage bag and retreated to his cardboard box.
Vampire, the wind seemed to whisper. "Sends the S.T.A.V.S," the officer said, squinting at the vicious wound on the corpse's neck.
Half an hour later, an armored van arrived. Several black-suited individual rushed past the officer and threw the corpse into a containment unit. The containment unit was loaded into the van. One of the dark-cloaked individuals pulled out a .31 mm gun and shot the officer in the back of the skulls. The officer had a lock of surprise as body slumped down onto the ground in slow-motion and his hot dog wrapper floated down. Gore and blood burst out of his cranium and a good chunk of brain landed on a dollop of leftover mustard.
The people heard the gunshot. They saw the van drove away. A crowd drew into the alley and a buxom woman screamed. The people were on full alert. In the distance, the coking of rifles riveted off the walls. The chant of "Kill, Maim, Kill" chorused doom for our main character. The gray, pot-bellied clouds floated into the cheap seats to watch the snow. Kill! Maim! Kill!
The forces were mustered. Windows and doors were barred. The roar of the battle was faint. It crescendoes louder, louder and louder! Argh! Here comes ye olden men with pitchfork, torches, and suicide bombs! Oh—god. Run Gabriel! Run Rowan! Err—hide Lucia?
They gathered in the plaza and the chant was deafening. Gabriel sat his lonesome self on the fountain, his expression pensive and spidery fingers interlocked. The crowd threw rocks at the vampire. They bounced off and formed a little pile at his feet. His sat there like a statue, unbreathing and unmoving.
The crowd grew in size and tension rippled through the people. There was an unnerving silence for who knows how long. Finally someone spoke. It was a voice from the rooftops.
"Get here! The gray-eyed witch! She killed them all!
The crowd rotated 180 degrees and narrowed on a certain auburn-haired woman. Rowan narrowed her eyes at the zombified crowd and tucked one hand behind her book. She flexed the fingers of that hand. She deeply concentrated on the circulation of her energy and felt it rushing to her fingertips. Dots of blue sparks spitted and crackled, growing larger and larger it was the size of a five pound bowling ball. It was visible underneath of onion skin.
A blonde and white streak popped out of nowhere and side-tackled Rowan to the ground. The brunette gritted her teeth as her arm and shoulder scrapped against the cobblestone pavement. Additional measures of pain were added when a ton of granite slammed into her Mach 2. She was rolled onto her back and gray eyes met white teeth that shone with something like polish. Then gray eyes met ruby eyes that were bestial rather than human.
"You're going down, bitch," Lucia snorted, curling her upper lips to emphasize big, sharp teeth.
Rowan did what she never did before. She screamed. The definitely caught the crowd's attention. The vampiress glared at the crowd. Her irises flashed gray, red, gray, red like a camera shutter.
"There she is! The witch!," cried one.
"Burn her!" demanded another.
"She'll eat the children," shouted a woman.
And the crowd digressed faster and faster. Soon there shall be an inquisition and Quakers shaking in fear. Whooo. Whooo.
The crowd descended on the two and it was a horrible dog pile. Hands grabbed Lucia and tossed her into the squirming crowd. Ross was also caught up by the people and was pushed forward. Fools climbed the fountain and knocked off the mermaid with a blacksmith's precision. The fountain was taken apart, spider web cracks spread throughout the rim of the fountain. It cracked and gallons of water gushed out like a broken bathtub. People slipped and fell due to the leaking. Some were swept away for bent judgment. The crowd bellowed and ripped wood from trees, benches and even broke into hardware shops. The people began building a bonfire just like the old days. They gasped.
Gabriel stood before the people and lo, there was the sad-eyed angel. The sun shone her ray upon his skin and his flesh reflected each molecule like a mirror. Golden particles dissipated from him as he exhaled a sigh of relief. Water drops cascaded down his bare chest and around his wrinkled, blue soulful eyes. A slight breeze ruffled his mahogany hair and unbuttoned shirt. Further beams of light struck his back and ricocheted off into multiple directions. This gave him the appearance of heavenly wings.
Silence. Inside the vampire's mind, he was frantically searching for Rowan. Damn it, where are you?
Impalpable fetters coiled around his wrists, ankles and neck. A rough yank and he collapsed onto his knees, his arms were pulled back to the point of being ripped out of its sockets and his view was stretched upwards. He grunted and tried to struggle against his captor. His chiseled muscles pulsed and strained under the push and pull, but he failed.
Screams. The burning had begun. Lucia shrieked and tried to stamp out the flames that caught her dress. Her hands were bound around an upright log that was surrounded by chunks of wood. Several men had dumped liters of gasoline onto the wood and set it a fire. Lucia's expression was one of a prey knowing its own end is at the very game that it was master of. She struggled to release herself, but apparently, there were additional forces at work here. Humans could not have possibly subdue Lucia and no woven piece of twine could be durable enough.
"Gabriel! Gabriel!" she screamed, "Help me! Help me!" She bashed her head vigorously against the fortified wood and knocked over the upper half of the log. The flames leapt and licked at her flesh, leaving ashy streaks that would not heal. Upon that stake, she ceased to be a vampire. She was a woman charged guilty of murder and was being punished. Humans and nonhumans alike can be branded monsters. Let all the prosecuters burn along with her.
The chains around him plummeted and the vampire was sent ricocheting like a pebble from a slingshot. He flew headfirst into a pyramid of gasoline barrels which spilled onto the burning mound and feed the flames. The vampire pounced to tear Lucia from the post, but an erupting wall of blaze that commanded distance between them
"Argh! You son of a bitch! Don't help! Don't help! Don't help!" she screeched. Her head hung in defeat. She could see nothing, but the insides of her eyelids.
She remembered how furious Gabriel was when he saw the body. He had growled her to leave. Lucia had interpreted as leave and never come back—but what if he was merely trying to save her. It was mistake after mistake. She shook the pondering away. It is too late to contemplate such things. I am so sorry, Gabriel. The poor thing was trying to cover what the roasting brat did.
The flames gorged at her eyelids and eyeballs. Her corneas sizzled and popped so that mock streams of tears ran down her withered cheeks. The voluptuous clouds glided into the scene. It began to drizzle. The rain brought temporary reprieve to the pain, but then fire would shoot back up again. The combination would be steam which is technically still a solid. The torture was continuous for it went on for who knows how long. Gabriel obviously took the vampiress's words to heart, but could he not attempt to try? This is sad. Let us just end the sadistic torment Was Lucia finally barbecued to perfection? No—she was burnt so badly that not even the blokes from Texas Chainsaw Massacre would nibble on her. The blonde female's soul went somewhere. Gabriel did not see where it went. Rowan did not see where it went. The bloodthirsty crowd did not see where it went. And the Asian girl with glasses did not see where it went. She and God are on laissez-faire terms.
So a blackened husk with pieces of clothing and skin hanging off from part of the body remained tied to the stake. Its mouth was gaping open and its rows of pearly white teeth shone.
Now the crowd came for Gabriel. He was thrown into the air and paraded around above the heads of the crowd like a mosh-pit.
"Saint Gabriel! Saint Gabriel! Saint Gabriel! He has come to deliver us from Evil!" the crowd chanted. Obviously the people misinterpreted his actions. One: he resembled as angel; two: he flew into the gasoline barrels; three: the people that he was vanquishing Lucifer—Lucia! Lucia!
A few muscle-bound men separated themselves from the crowd and began taking apart the satanic bonfire. The body slumped to the ground. A few fingers and toes fell off for the dogs to choke on. Of course, the demon was not going to be buried in consecrated ground.
There were many sighs that were passed around. Was someone crying? Gabriel scanned the vast crowds, his mind probing the outworks of their blobby minds. Rowan, he exclaimed with his head. He found her huddled on the ground with a blonde doll. The doll had tear streaks down its porcelain cheeks. The woman-child stared silently at the ground, unaware of her surroundings.
"Rowan! Rowan! He shouted and somersaulted over the crowd. Thank goodness, there were hard-headed. There people parted and formed a circle around the pair. The people were gray, humanoid figures. Eyeless, mouthless, their forms wavered like ancient specters. The vampire cradled his love in his cold arms. He tore the doll from her hand and heaved it aside. The doll shattered into Humpty Dumpty. Rowan slowly raised her head and her eyes met his. The flames were reflected in her metallic irises and scorched into the pits of her soul. He crushed her against his chest and glanced at her—obviously panic-stricken. She smiled softly and closed her eyes. His blue eyes widened and felt an impulse to shake her awake. However, the natural rise and fall of her chest assured him that the female was alive and breathing. Gabriel scooped up the woman-child and glared at the people. His pupils dilated and nostrils flared. That vein at his temple was practically throbbing.
It was still drizzling.
Then one by one, the people dropped like flies. Their bodies dissipated into the oblivion and only their clothing remained. It was the ripple effect from the inside out. Gabriel scoured across the field of clothes and his bat ears caught the sound of heavy footsteps. He whirled around and a suggesting hiss was forced through his teeth.
A man clad in black approached the pair, his emerald eye betraying his reaction. He cocked his head to the side in bewilderment at the situation.
"You fucking cur! You fare show your face?" Gabriel snarled viciously at his ex-friend. The green-eyed man slowly nodded and his sight traveled to the massive burnt pile of wood and Lucia's body that had laid cold on the concrete.
"Hmm, that did not work out as I have planned," Darian commented.
"I will rip out your filthy heart and eat it, Adrian!" the vampire continued with his threatening rants.
"You're so close. Switch the first two letters around…D-a-r-i-a-n," the green-eyed man answered. Such childish antics. Oh, I am shaking in my patent leather boots!
There was stunned silence from the vampire.
"You're really dense sometimes, old friend," Darian sneered.
Gabriel stood with his love in his arms. Darian frowned.
"That didn't go exactly as plan…oh well," he sighed.
"What?" the vampire exclaimed.
"I was planning to have the crowd rip you two up…" Darian answered. "What humans lack, they make up in sheer numbers and single-mindedness." The dark-cladded man turned around and began to walk away.
"You're walking away after you're done gloating?" Gabriel snapped.
"I don't have time for you shrimps. You see…I eradicated the Council. It was quite easy. The fools were old, senile and sadly not much of a challenge." Pause. "Oh, I did have the liberty of leafing through a few documents and did some tampering on one." Blink. Gone.
Gabriel glimpsed at the slumbering maiden and tried to shake her awake.
"Rowan? Rowan?" he whispered anxiously. She did not wake for the longest time. They stood alone in the vast field of cloth, metal and concrete.