[4]
Meeting Lou at seven meant that I had a few hours to kill. And by that I meant prepare. It doesn't matter what kind of situation you have to deal with, if you are not prepared then you are going to look like an arse. I took the time to head back to my flat to gather some things I was certain I would be useful. Traffic around the city seemed to be busier than usual which slowed me down frustratingly.
I knew I had time to spare, but that didn't mean I wanted to spend most of that time sitting in the back of a cab watching the meter go up. But seeing as I wasn't going anywhere, it was probably a good time to slow myself down and actually think about what I was up against. Red Court Vampires were probably the fiercest out of all the courts. They were super strong, scarily quick and extremely violent. They pretty much ruled most of South America and they had 'people' (I use the term lightly) in seats of varying power around the world.
Politicians with a very dark side.
Think Emperor Palpatine, only less lightsabers and more fangs.
But seriously they had their fingers in almost everything. Bribing police, paying off city officials, all to have them looking the other way whenever they asked. It makes the particularly public targets trickier to take down.
The thing is I know how to take down Vampires; I'd been doing it long enough that I'd picked up a trick or two of my own, but if they had the Icarus Charm in their possession then the balance of power had shifted and in the worst way possible. I didn't know what this artefact could do or what it was capable of. McCoy essentially told me that it could protect the wearer from the effects of the sun. I understood that. The Vampires could walk around without having to apply sunscreen, or burning to a crisp. Some of the more ancient Vampires of the Red Court, like the Red King, could already stand in the sunlight thanks to full body skin masks. The masks doubled up to help them look like any normal human being and hide the monsters they actually were. So the real questions were, is that all the Charm could do? Was there a small print somewhere that nobody knew about? And how would they pass that power on to the rest of the court? I had a lot of questions but no answers. Trying to prepare while having a few unknowns hanging around in the air never usually leads to anywhere good.
I finally got back to my building and told the cabby to wait outside while I went up to pick up what I needed. It didn't take me long as I always kept my magical tools in a grey rucksack beside my front door, ready for an easy collection. Just as I was locking up I noticed a shift of movement out of the corner of my eye. Quickly I spun on my heel, gathering up my will. I raised my right hand, ready to unleash my power when a cold realisation hit home.
I wouldn't have the chance.
As I spun around I found myself staring at the hideous, monstrous form of a Red Court Vampire. Its bat like head leading the rest of its slimy black leathery body, a tongue snaked out from a mouth that had pealed back to flash razor sharp teeth. The beast swung one of its huge claws at me, catching me on my right shoulder. I managed to role with the blow but it felt like being hit by a wrecking ball and the impact sent me soaring halfway down the corridor and tumbling several more feet as I hit the ground. My shoulder was on fire, hot pain spread up to my neck and down my arm as I tried to get my legs back under me. Sometime between flying through the air and hitting the ground I had let go of my bag. Scanning around me, I quickly spotted it on the floor about half way between me and the growling Vampire. 'Mr Happy' snarled as it rushed towards me, blindingly quick, once again revealing its fangs. It leaped into the air, rage and anger fuelling its every move, attempting to come down on top of me. I waited until the last second before rolling forward, letting the creature sail over me, carried by its own momentum. I managed to follow the roll through and came back up on my feet, racing towards my backpack. I heard the Vampire land with a thump behind me but I didn't look back. I kept my focus on getting to my bag. It snarled once again, being fuelled by an all-consuming rage. I reached my rucksack, dropped to one knee and began to fumble around inside, trying desperately to find something to fight back with. I finally looked back at my attacker to see that it had recovered and was starting another charge. It came at me with such deadly speed and power, nothing but my destruction would satisfy the bloodlust in its eyes. It got closer and closer, using all the power in its legs and arms to speed its way towards me. The beast leaped into the air, like a lion pouncing on its prey. I found what I was looking for, took a firm hold and withdrew it from my bag. It was a wooden Eskrima, a martial arts fighting weapon, about two feet long, different types of magical runes and sigils were carved along its shaft. I gripped it tightly in my right hand, gathering my will as I drew it level with my target. Pain flared up and spread across my shoulder with the harsh and sudden movement. With the Vampire a few inches away I unleashed my will and roared "Vilya!"
A solid column of air shot out from the end of my rod hitting the creature square in the face like a sledgehammer. The attack cancelled any forward momentum the Vampire had in the air and sent it flying backwards. In fact the spell had had more power to it than I had originally intended as the beast flew the length of the hallway and impacted against the opposite wall, smashing the window and getting itself wedged into the newly created hole. Rising to my feet, I reached into the bag and retrieved another wooden rod of similar size and dropped the bag on the floor. With a rod in each hand, I spun them around, quickly making sure I had the balance right for each and then started charging towards the trapped Vampire.
Usually you don't want to get in close when fighting Vampires, but I was pissed. This thing had attacked me, but not only that, it had done so outside my home. I wanted to destroy it, make it pay. Send a message to any other Vampires watching, come after me, attack me, attack my home and you will die. I quickly picked up speed, closing the gap as my attacker struggled to free himself from the wall. As I ran, I drew in my will, gathering it in, readying it for my next spell. When I was just outside the creatures reach, I stretched my right arm out behind me, pain flaring through my shoulder the whole time, and jumped into the air. As I lifted off the floor I once again released my will shouting "Vilya Alakien!"
A rush of wind roared from the end of my eskrima propelling me forward toward the Vampire who had dared attack me. I shot onward and at the last second before impact I released another spell shouting, "Tinechor!"
The air in front of me hardened into a domed shield of white swirling light and then I collided with the son of a bitch. The built up momentum meant that I hit the beast like a train and the sheer force of the impact sent us both flying through what was left of the wall and out into nothing but a five-story free-fall. In that moment, crashing through the wall, everything seemed to slow down and stop. We both hung in the air as our momentum battled with gravity, glass and debris from the wall scattered out around us. Gravity won the fight and we soon found ourselves starting to descend, literally falling out of the sky.
This was going to hurt.
The Vampire started to fall away from me, swinging and flailing its arms in a futile gesture, anything to prevent it from plummeting to the ground below. Meanwhile I did everything I could to keep my focus on my shielding spell, trying to build up and maintain as many flexible layers as I could. If I kept the shield as solid as it had been when I used it against the Vampire then it wouldn't matter if I had the shield up or not, the impact from the fall would still kill me. I needed to make the protective barrier more malleable but strong enough to protect me, and the more layers of that protection there were, the more likely it was that I would possibly survive. That was the theory anyway. The reality of it was that it required a lot of energy and a lot of focus and concentration. And I have to say it's kind of hard to concentrate when you're falling from five stories up with an enraged Vampire hell bent on trying to kill you. The energy to maintain the spell however was not a problem. Emotions are powerful tools when it comes to magic and casting spells and right now I was burning with hate and anger, two very potent emotions. I drew upon all my hate for this creature and upon all my anger and I used it, channelled it into my shielding. But there was a problem with my plan. If I survived the fall, I would have the as-for-mentioned enraged Vampire – who would most likely endure a five story free fall – still hell bent on killing me, and able to finish the job while I was trying to recover.
What a glamorous life I lead.
Then it dawned on me; with the attack and everything going on, I had forgotten one rather important fact. It was still the middle of the day.
As if by some divine intervention, the clouds parted and the sun shone down upon us. I could feel the warmth first on my back and then slowly spreading all over me. Realisation hit the Vampire like a right hook to the jaw as its black empty eyes opened wide with fear. Its dark leathery skin started to sizzle and smoulder and then with no other warning, the thing burst into flames. Bits of it began to fall apart. A screech of fear and desperation filled the air as the smoke coming from the beast all but blinded me, making it hard to see the ground rushing up to meet me. The creature's scream faded into nothing as the flames engulfed it completely, breaking down its physical body into ash. Falling fast, I hit the ash cloud of the Vampire's remains, my shield saving me from getting a face full of the stuff. I passed through the haze of residue and with only half a second of warning, crashed down onto the roof of a parked car. Instinctively I pulled my knees up to my chest and curled myself into a ball as the outer layer of my shielding impacted, smashing the poor car's roof. There was a sharp shriek of condensing metal as layer upon layer of my protective shell crashed down, each coating bursting under the pressure of gravity. And in another half second it was all over. There was nothing but silence and pain. I don't remember how long it took me to move, but somehow I managed to drag myself out of the wreckage of what was once somebody's car and my body screamed. Pain flooded nearly all of my senses and I could feel it everywhere, or nearly everywhere. My left arm hung limply to my side, devoid of all feeling and sensation. Groggily I looked back over what had been my crash site. The impact had completely totalled the thing, reducing the vehicle to a quarter of its original height. The roof was caved in; glass from smashed windows littered the street, mixed in with all the debris and rubble from the buildings wall. People had gathered around, some trying to find out what all the commotion was about, others having seen the upheaval of their daily routine and trying to help. Through my haze I could just about make out the crowd, make out the vague shapes of people saying things to me but I couldn't understand them. Their words sounding nothing like the voice of a normal person but instead of someone submerged in water. More and more shapes surrounded me, the spinning in my head threatened to consume me and then suddenly my pain stopped.
Everything went black.