'He's going to tear me a new one'.
Trying to conceal a very noticeable uneasiness, Blade watched Whistler walking towards them with his characteristic, pronounced limp. His mentor appeared to have come out from another entrance to the side room, the one where those creepy blood-themed color field paintings hung in, and he kept looking around the mess the main room was in till he stopped before the pair of them. All through the way, his face showed a variety of expressions, from amusement through confusion to outrage.
"What did I tell you just a few hours ago!? Gettin' stupid with a vampire? That's beyond kinky, son…".
The Daywalker raised his palms in the attempt to appease him.
"Whistler, listen to me…".
Eric didn't fail to notice that the old man had kept himself at arm's length from them and, far more importantly, how tightly Abraham was holding a handgun. It was one of the two Beretta 92FS, heavily modified with huge blades at the bottom of the barrel, that he had probably commandeered from the much-lamented Dieter Reinhardt.
"You have twenty seconds".
Blade raised an eyebrow at those curt words.
'Seriously!? He just saved me from that twice-damned blood-draining table'.
Amid his conflicting emotions though, Eric felt the usual and adamant resolve as it transpired from the brusque tone of the old and blue-eyed devil. That could be either a danger or an opportunity. So, he breathed in deeply and thought about the mess in that room, Nyssa's plan or what he had grasped of it and how summing the whole thing up in the shortest of the sentences.
"The work's done…. both Damaskinos and Nomak are dead, so that the Reaper outbreak's been contained and the world's safe now".
He took a moment to look at the vampire princess, before continuing in his explanation.
"Nyssa's been explaining to me this plan of hers… something about shaping this weak truce into an effective peace settlement".
For some passing yet interminable moments, Whistler said nothing and stood still, moving only his eyes to carefully scrutinise both him and Nyssa. Then he tapped a few times the side of the handgun against his right thigh, seemingly relaxing, and a knowing smirk appeared under his beard.
"Oh… but of course! Should I make myself scarce, and leave you with the princess to discuss the details of such an agreement?".
Blade looked up, completely deadpan.
"I've just saved the girl, so she was giving me some suga—".
He was not even able to finish the sentence. Eric winced in surprise as a sharp pain shot through his left arm, hit by a powerful and quasi-faster-than-light backhanded slap.
"If memory serves me right, it was I who saved you from being beaten to a pulp by Nomak!".
When he briskly turned to Nyssa, her eyes looked like two oil wells which just caught fire and were burning with rage.
'God, I lovewhen her fire gets well and truly stoked… wait! What am I thinking!?'.
Trying to get himself together, he attempted sound as cool as possible while he retorted coldly.
"I'll keep that in mind, next time I've to stop someone from killing you…".
Nyssa locked her eyes with his, while pointing her index finger at his chest. One could not tell if she was about to pierce through his vest or simply jump on him.
"You better do, Daywalker".
Once again, a very specific kind of tension filled the air between them. The kind of tension which prompted Blade to lower his gaze to Nyssa's broken yet thin and sensual lips and made him want to kiss them, to savour them, slowly but thoroughly.
"Ahem!".
For his own sake, Abraham coughed to prevent Blade from making a fool of himself.
"As much as I'd like to watch you kids bantering, I don't have time for this shit. I've got a maybe-not-so-pretty gunshot wound at my good leg and I need to go back to that shitty warehouse Scud called base and try to patch myself up, somehow. So… kid, if you're done playing with your sweetheart, I wouldn't mind your help to get some wheels and get the fuck out of here".
Then, his old mentor addressed to Nyssa who was still standing in front of Eric.
"Speaking of… princess, if you don't want any of your surviving lackeys to get hurt, I'd suggest you tell them not to stand in our way".
As if on cue, from the same adjacent room Whistler had come out, a dozen lightly armed guards hurriedly entered the main room. Though initially startled by the chaos, they quickly surrounded them, pointing their guns at Blade and Whistler, who turned his back to Nyssa to faced them and limply retreated beside his mentee, who had in turn drawn his left arm towards the Damaskinos heiress and shoved her behind himself. Meanwhile, the older slayer raised the Beretta but did not still fire at the men, opting instead for continually change his aim from one guard to another. For his part, Eric widened his stance and readied himself for a fight which odds he was not sure about, since this time only his mentor got a firearm, and he had bare hands.
Then, from the familiars surrounding them an anxious yet commanding voice came out.
The Daywalker was fluent in some foreign languages such as Romanian or Japanese, and lingual in others like Russian but Czech was not in his bag, yet. However, what he could discern was something along the lines of freeze and drop your weapon.
Before the whole situation could have escalated gruesomely, Nyssa pushed past him while confidently lifting with her index and middle finger the arm Abraham was holding the gun with, in order to tilt the Beretta in the air and away from the guards.
"Enough!".
Shouting authoritatively in Czech something like that, Nyssa placed herself between them and the man who had previously yelled.
"Lady Nyssa!? Are you all right?".
The vampire walked towards the guard and, when she was right in front of him, she slightly tipped her head to the side.
"Jan? Is that you?".
The familiar she addressed to moved one of hands he was holding a standard issued Beretta 92FS with to his head and raised the visor of his helmet. Granted, it was a rather pointless move in Eric's opinion since a balaclava and a gas mask still covered most of his face, except for two worried, seemingly blue eyes. Besides, it did nothing to defuse the situation, given that all the other guards had still their firearms aimed at Whistler and him.
"Yes, ma'am… but, wha—what happened here!?".
The man glanced around the room and goggled at the chaos ensued after their fight with Nomak.
"We were waiting outside for the Overlord and you, when the steel blinds came down and shut us out! We had to go all around the complex and took the other entrance from the Eastern Corridor".
A weary sigh escaped Nyssa as she extended her left arm to show them the dead body of her father.
"We had been trapped here as we were heading to the exit doors, then Nomak caught us up and killed my father".
As the familiars gaped in horror at the remains of their master, she turned to look at Blade.
"Then the Daywalker appeared and helped me in cutting the Reaper down".
Upon hearing that, the supposed leader of the small group of guards tore his eyes from the corpse and flickered his gaze between Nyssa and Eric.
"Bu—but, my lady… how, why!? We have orders—".
She swinged her head round and fixed Jan with a hard stare.
"He saved me… at nearly the cost of his own life".
The vampire princess gave the slayer a meaningful glance.
"No matter what your previous orders were… no harm shall come to him, in my house".
In one of her signature gestures, Nyssa bent the ring and little finger to touch the thumb while extending her index and middle finger, which she placed under Jan's gun to tipped it upwards. The familiar quietly gave in to both her verbal and non-verbal demand and put his Beretta back into its holster, while the other guards followed suit.
"As you wish, my lady".
The Damaskinos heiress wheeled back to face her familiars.
"Now… Jan, first things first: I want you to get me every senior Ghoul on the site. I'm going to the infirmary, so see to get them there".
The man blinked in surprise then started to frantically search himself, probably to find the MBITR radio attached to his belt.
"Next, I want this place on lockdown: Cloistered Protocol. Movement is restricted to only security and medical personnel, whilst all the others must stay in their work rooms. Anyone who wants to get out or in must have my explicit permission".
The guard froze and began to pay attention to his mistress.
"So, I want you gather as many familiars as you can and secure the complex. Since there's the high chance that Nomak had infected many of the guards who stood in his way, the situation requires that we plan their containment and neutralisation a little more carefully than before. Firstly, I need you to check whether there's still someone in the security control room and, in case not, I want at least two men to be placed there to be our eyes and ears. Secondly, I suggest you go to the armoury and get some heavy weapons, ballistic weapons and above all as many UV torches as you can. Remember, it's of the utmost importance not to leave any Reaper behind, so we must be sure to search every nook and cranny of the whole building".
At the mention of Reapers possibly at large in the complex, the familiars stiffened with fear while Jan's eyes bulged in shock. A few seconds of awkward silence followed, until Eric heard Whistler rummaging through his pockets. Then, from an inside pocket of his coat he pulled out one UV flash bang grenade, probably the last one from the stock Scud and he made the other day. He tossed the flash bomb at Jan who caught it, somehow.
"Don't worry too much about that, fuckhead… those Reapers seem to gather in packs, are immune to silver and garlic but they're extra-sensible to UV light. Throw that grenade into whatever hole they're hiding in, and then mop up what remains with the torches. That's the safest way to clean up the place without getting yourselves killed like the dipshit you all are".
The familiar looked absolutely dumbfounded by Abraham's sudden gesture, and even Nyssa twisted her head round with puzzled look on her face. Apparently, his mentor too had somehow caught the meaning of the orders the vampire princess was giving to the guards and, in his bad-tempered and foul-mouthed wisdom, he deemed the task worthy enough of some piece of grumpy advice. And that advice had come from a man who had his wife and daughters brutally slaughtered by a bloodsucker: remarkable.
What had prompted such an unexpected receptiveness to emerge? Was it the genuine shock and horror Nyssa displayed when her father had shown them his bioengineered and abominable progeny, the brothers and sisters she could had been tasked with eliminating in case they proved to be a liability? Was it because he too could sense some humanity in that pure-blood vampire, something she should never have the chance to develop? Or maybe he just wanted to believe the refreshingly straightforward attitude of the Damaskinos heiress and her plan, or dream, about a lasting peace between humans and vampires? Hell, for all he knew or thought, his recalcitrant support could be a continuation of what they agreed upon when Eli Damaskinos sent them his daughter and Asad to call for that phoney truce of his. A mere setup to illuminate parts of the vampire world they had never seen, from the inside out, in order to cut off the beast's head when it was just reforming.
Indeed, both the Daywalker and his mentor had suffered tremendously at the hands of vampires. So, why should they help the wannabe bloodsucker queen in brokering, or enforcing, such a peace? Shouldn't they simply go back to hunt her kind down or find new and better ways to exterminate them all? Or maybe, after decades doing the job, they were simply tired out and waiting for an opportunity to stop a seemingly never-ending war?
He contemplated Nyssa in silence.
Could she really be the key to end a thousand years-long conflict? A woman who less than an hour ago was ready to let herself being put to death, for having blindly followed her father in his demented obsession with racial supremacy? Could they really bet the ranch on her? Even if her intentions were good and her desire sincere to bring peace to their warring factions, would she have been up to the task?
Lost in his thoughts, Blade's gaze wandered over Nyssa. Occupied as she was with her familiars, she had inadvertently struck a kind of bossy pose, which stirred his desire. Inconsiderately, and despite the whole ordeal she had been through, he once again got the unfamiliar yet intense sensation of being further and further drawn to her. Better than admitting to himself that he was simply and definitely lusting after the vampire princess.
His eyes were riveted on her figure.
Though torn and tattered from the fight, her leather gear fitted her slight yet athletic build like the proverbial glove as those slightly flared trousers of her adhered with grace to her slender thighs. If he wanted to find some flaw into them, they did not make it easy to appreciate her calves. The same calves he had revelled in delicately running his fingers over and over, to fully enjoy their tone and definition. Her feet were encased in a pair of low-heeled boots which hid her toes and red-painted nails. The same blood-red polish with which Nyssa also coated her fingernails as Eric discovered when, in not one of his proudest memories of the previous day, he had found himself avidly sucking on her toes, realising that he might also have an unsettling penchant for the vampire's feet.
The Daywalker's gaze wandered upward her right hand which, mirroring the other, was resting on her thin waist and accidentally pointing something to the attentive observer. From his angle, he had indeed a magnificent view of the Damaskinos heiress' princely bum which round cheeks stuck out proudly and boldly, as per usual. Small flashes of exposed, olive-toned skin between the waistband of her trousers and her bodice briefly caught his attention before his gaze shifted up to the notable swell of her chest, which was effortlessly showcased by the black leather of her corselette.
'Even better than Karen's'.
The thought flashed through Blade's mind as it did an automatic comparison between the breasts he was looking sideways at right now and the ones that he had been so fond of as long as his fling with the doctor lasted.
The shoulder straps of Nyssa's bodice left a wide opening which bared her neck and a significant portion of her upper chest. When thinking that her brother was about to finish her off by jumping at the very same neck, he felt himself growing angry and hard, and his whole blood stirring in his vein. Right now, he would have jumped at her too, canine teeth showing and all, though with very different intentions.
At that precise moment the vampire princess finally caught him looking and still baffled by Whistler's handy tip, she raised an eyebrow quizzically though he saw her mouth curving in a small, wicked smirk.
'Busted'.
He swiftly reached his shades and tried as hastily as casually possible to spare himself of more embarrassing moments.
Meanwhile, after Whistler's little piece of advice the familiars had started to group around Jan, who in turn appeared to have finally found his radio and was anxiously shouting some orders through it. Just as he spun on his boots to lead the guards probably in direction of the former Overlord's personal quarters, Nyssa caught him by the right arm.
"One last thing… spare a couple of men to put my father's remains to the complex mortuary. And tell them to take there Nomak's ashes, too. They're near the base of that toppled sculpture, and the Daywalker's blade should also be somewhere among or over them".
Jan nodded at her, while his eyes swept the room to locate the Reaper's ashes. He then addressed to two of his men, who quickly ran to the same entrance from which they all had come, possibly to fetch some tools for the chore. Eric and Whistler watched in silence the rest of the group cautiously going towards the Damaskinos's housing quarters. As they went out of sight, Nyssa turned to face them and then focused on his mentor.
"I thank you Whistler, for your words. I might not have the slightest idea of how much it costs for you to help me and my people, but I assume it took a lot given the… strained relationship you have with my kind, to put it mildly".
The stern set of old, blue-eyed devil's jaw made Blade realise that Nyssa had just ventured into a topic he himself shied away from.
"Yeah, right. Now, if you princess will excuse us, we'd like to get the fuck of he—".
The woman did not let him finish the sentence.
"Whistler! Before you go, let me take you to the infirmary. There, I can treat your leg wound… and we all can discuss about my plan".
Eric heard Abraham breathing deeply through his nose before answering.
"You have twenty seconds".
§§§
The journey to the goddamned infirmary proved to be more grueling than Whistler would have thought. He felt his strength ebbing away as soon as they left the ruined room where the kid and that bloodsucker woman he fancied fought and killed her own father and brother, or something like that. The three of them had just reached a long and wide corridor, probably the same Eastern Corridor that chicken shit had told them about before. Its left side was just a solid concrete wall upon which stood several long and large windows, though they now appeared shut down and sealed by metal blinders. At their right side there were instead many security doors, at which end the she-vamp said they had to take an elevator for finally getting to the infirmary. As they stopped for a moment, Abraham leaned against the wall to catch his breath. Seeing that, Blade and the girl stood there for a couple of minutes, to give him some more respite. All the while, other small groups of guards, armed to the teeth, kept entering the corridor through some of the doors, running the opposite way. They were probably heading to the room they just got out from, to help that Jan and other Damaskinos little dumb minions to get rid of some Reapers possibly spawned from Nomak's attack. Since they paid little or no attention at all to Eric and him, it seemed the whole staff of the complex, or the parts still working, got word from their new mistress to stay the hell away from them.
"It better be some infirmary".
As he said that, he fell to his knees. Blade caught him in time to prevent him to crash his face to the floor.
"Whistler!".
Abraham hung to his mentee tightly, realizing that he might have underestimated the gravity of the gunshot wound to his one good leg.
"Shit!".
The vampire quickly kneeled down to his side too, examining his injury. Nevertheless, the old devil shouted at her.
"Damn, woman! It's just a fucking flesh wound… I tripped 'cause I'm pooped as hell. Now, Blad—".
She pressed her index and middle fingers over his mouth to shut him up.
"Whistler, I am very sorry for all we have caused to you, and I am truly grateful for your help… but now, if you keep being uncooperative, I will have you physically restrained!".
He shot an angry glare at the prissy girl, but did not counter and kept his mouth closed, clenching his teeth. Then, the woman turned to Blade.
"Can you hold him up? We're nearly there…".
The kid passed his mentor's right arm over his shoulders, while also moving his own left arm on the old man's back and grabbed to his coat.
"Sure".
To his surprise, Nyssa took his other free arm over her shoulders, helping Blade to carry Abraham along the corridor. They both slowly walked him in silence for some time, until he turned his head to the vampire.
"Why the hell are you helping me, princess?".
She did not answer him immediately and kept her gaze forward.
"Artem salutarem, quam adeptus sum, in aegrorum solamen, este, solerter exercitorum; eadem sollicitudine ac animi aequitate pauperi atque diviti operan medicam laturum".
He tilted his head to the side in a quizzical expression.
"My Latin is a bit rusty… What the fuck is that?".
Blade gave him a warning squeeze to his side.
"Whistler…".
He twisted his head to look at his mentee.
"Calm down, kid… I'm just trying to make conversation with your girlfriend".
He felt the next, harder, squeeze even with the coat and the armour vest on him.
For the sake of both of them, Nyssa chimed in.
"It's part of the oath medical students had to take in Austrian universities… or, that was what Landsteiner told me once, when he tutored me in Hematology".
Abraham's attention promptly returned to the vampire princess.
"Landsteiner!? Dr. Karl Landsteiner!? The Landsteiner who was awarded the Nobel in Medicine for his discovery of human blood groups?".
Nyssa nodded in response.
"The very same".
He could not hide his surprise and opened his eyes wide.
"Jesus H. Christ! It was even before I was born… how fucking old are you, lady?".
That was the straw which broke the camel's back, since the vampire princess stopped and whirled, furious, to glower at him.
"Abraham Whistler, I reckon that in most human societies asking a woman's age is still considered as downright rude. For your information, that also applies in vampire world so I trust that you will abstain from asking something like that… ever again".
Since he could not open his eyes any wider, he dropped his jaw in astonishment. As he struggled to articulate some caustic retort, the woman kept going at him.
"Furthermore, I'm no stranger to cursing but, still, I would like to ask you to keep your swearing to a minimum. If you persist with it… I'll give you a plaster, a foot in the arse and shove you out of the front door. I can recalibrate my plan to work perfectly out even without your otherwise precious help".
Whistler remained speechless.
'Wow, just wow. She may look like a little girl, but in reality she's an old and sour hag. I can work with that".
Finally, he smiled weakly and nodded.
"I'll do my best, ma'am."
Returning his smile, she slowly closed and open her eyes in relief.
"Good".
Then, she turned her attention onwards and began to move, prompting Abraham and Blade to move together with her. As they walked down the corridor with measured steps, the old man cautiously swivelled his head to face the other vampire stalker, and whispered with a smirk.
"I like your girl, kid".
He did not answer, but Whistler could have sworn he caught him rolling the eyes, behind his sunglasses.
When they finally reach the elevator doors at the end of the corridor and Nyssa asked Blade to press the button to call it with his free right hand, his mentee took the chance to break the silence.
"So, you're a doctor or something like that?".
The vampire princess took her time to ponder the question, staring blankly at the elevator controller.
"I was taught to be a Lékař… what you may call a physician".
She turned to them, showing her face.
"Have you ever wondered why there are four points tattooed above my eyebrows?"
Both the old and young vampire hunters looked curiously at the aforesaid little black dots.
"I earned every single one them by successfully specialising in specific fields".
"How can physicians be of any use to virtually immortal people?" Blade enquired.
"For mainly tow reasons. First, you never know. Second, you seem to forget that our familiars are still humans, and thus subject to their inherent, human, frailties… and I—".
Abraham turned to face her, arching an eyebrow, and intervened.
"Are you saying that you actually care for those wannabe vamps?"
At that, Nyssa finally turned to face him.
"Someone has to".
Then, her expression hardened into one of strong resolve.
"To me, they are part of the people I am meant to rule and protect".
Again, a somewhat awkward silence fell amongst them. Fortunately, the elevator dinged, and the doors open.
"Go in, Whistler" urged Blade.
The elevator was different from the one Abraham and his mentee took the first time they were brought to the Caliban Complex, down into the Overlord's lair. This one effectively resembled those hospital elevators which could easily carry a standard medical bed with the necessary staff and equipment. After the she-vamp and the younger hunter helped him entering, he abruptly disentangled himself from their hold and leaned on the elevator railing in front of him.
"Thank you, kids, but I think it's time to let you rest too, at least till we get out".
As he turned around to face the doors, his mentee went to rest his back against the elevator wall to his left while Nyssa casually pushed a button from the controller to her right prompting the elevator to begin its descent. She was standing right before his kid and, since her last statement had aroused his curiosity, Abraham quickly brought the conversation up again to weigh the bloodsucker princess up and gauge her intentions.
"So, you were saying… you felt the call of medicine? What was your dad's thoughts about that? Was he proud to have a doctor in the family?"
At the mention of her father, Nyssa abruptly turn her head round to scowl at him. Careful not to goad her beyond endurance, he toned down his talk with something personal: a regret.
"I know I would have… believe me".
The vampire princess folded her arms across her chest and stiffened. Nevertheless, she answered him.
"Indeed… since the Scientific Revolution, my father and the Overlords before him had always been fascinated, to say the least, with modern medicine and were convinced it could unveil some mysteries of the curse our kind is afflicted with".
She moved her gaze to Blade.
"After my preceptors, the učitelé, brought to Eli's attention my… let us call it inclination for medical science, my father enthralled some of the most brilliant minds in the field to tutor me and then, once they deemed me ready, he put me to work on this great idea of his: the Ambrosia Project".
The old hunter stopped to lean on the railing and took a step towards the bloodsucker princess.
"Wait a minute… are you saying that you've had hand in the bioengineered abomination that was your brother?".
For his part, the younger slayer stared stonily at the she-vamp as he joined the questioning.
"Then why were you so appalled by the embryos that your father showed us before? Was it all an act?".
Nyssa stared at the old man and answered him categorically.
"No".
Then, she turned back at Blade.
"I felt beyond shocked, I was betrayed… my father went behind my back and used decades of research and trials on viral epidemiology, immunohistochemistry and recombinant DNA to chase his insane dream of racial betterment and supremacy".
The old blue-eyed and bearded devil tilted his head to the side.
"I don't follow… if you weren't working on that bio-frigging nonsense, what were you working on?".
That moment, the elevator dinged again, and the doors opened.
"You will see".
After giving a stern look, Nyssa got out into another wide and long corridor. Contrary to the one some floors above them, this one had no windows although it was illuminated with the same ceiling lights he had previously noticed around the complex. As Blade helped him to leave the elevator too, Nyssa disappeared behind an automatic door on their right. She quickly came back pushing a wheelchair and stopped before Abraham.
"Hop on".
He put his hands on his waist and gave her a long, hard look.
"What's this thing for?".
She looked at Whistler as if he were stupid, or worse.
"To safely transport an injured person to the Emergency Room, which is near but not that near… I can't allow you to walk by yourself any longer".
He turned to his mentee for some back-up.
"I think I can manage with the kid's help".
She gave him another of her serious look.
"Whistler, you can go to ER by wheelchair or on a wheeled EMS stretcher. The latter has side rails and straps to secure, and restrain".
His gaze swung from Nyssa to Blade, who did not take sides with and instead remained silent.
"The choice is yours".
Helpless, without much energy and with his good leg starting to effectively ache, he gave in and settled in the chair.
"Good boy".
The trio resumed their way to the Emergency Room, which indeed happened to be near the very end of the corridor. Upon entering through a pair of automatic doors, they found themselves before a medical or nursing station. It was some kind of large booth with a counter surrounding what seemed to be desks, storage cabinets and two big refrigerators. At either side of that large space there were four treatment rooms, isolated from the main area by screen doors. Apart from them, the whole place appeared otherwise deserted.
"Eric, please, take Whistler into the first treatment room on your right and get him on the bed whilst I borrow something from the med station".
The old vampire hunter shook his head as he spotted his mentee flinching almost imperceptibly, upon hearing his birth name.
'Girl, the kid hates being called with that name'.
The adjacent room they just went in had one hospital bed covered with light green disposable sheets, a pair of chairs, clinical bins and an assortment of medical carts of varying size equipped with monitors and other doctors' tools. On the wall behind the bed there were some outlets for IV pumps, ventilators and monitors again.
"Can you get on that bed by yourself, or do you need my help, old man?".
Abraham quickly turned to give a pissed off look at Blade, then got up by himself from the wheelchair.
"Stupid son of a bitch, I don't need any fucking babysitter!".
As he carefully walked towards the bed, Nyssa entered the room.
"Before getting on the bed… please, take off your coat, handgun, armour and shoes".
While the old slayer grumpily did what the vampire princess asked and finally sit on the bed, she addressed to the younger hunter.
"As Vedoucí Lékař of clan Damaskinos… I had been tasked with heading the research team here at the Caliban Industries which, as Whistler had discovered, is a biotech company focusing on synthetic biology. Beside that, I personally oversee the Genetics and Hematology sections".
She was holding what seemed to be a unit of whole blood, which she placed into Blade's hands.
"And this is what I had been working on for about 50 years…".
The younger slayer surveyed the bag and read the small label on it. In the meantime, the vampire princess took off her jacket and tossed it on the nearest chair. Then, she pulled her hair into a tight bun and walked towards a small metal sink next to his bed, which he had failed to notice before.
"Ziodex Industries… is it another front company?".
Nyssa did not answer immediately, since she had started to thoroughly wash and clean her face, arms and hands.
"Yes. It's a subsidiary based in Budapest, which manufactures the pharmaceuticals we develop here… first there was synthetic plasma, and now this".
Blade went to Abraham's bedside, opposite to Nyssa, in order to show him the bag which he took into his right hand to quickly examine it.
"It's cloned blood, ain't it?".
The she-vamp turned the tap off and began to dry herself with some white disposable paper towel dispenser on the right side.
"Yes, again. Once it's approved by EMA and FDA, it should become not only our newest cash crop… it's meant to be a viable alternative to traditional ways of feeding, which inherently contain elements of risk".
Whistler moved his eyes from the blood unit to the wannabe vamp queen, who was pulling two yellowish rubber gloves.
"Yeah… that happens when you're caught bleeding humans dry or turning them into blood dolls and treat them as cattle for the slaughterhouse".
She did not seem to mind his reproachful tone.
"You might want to get comfortable during the procedure… handing on the right side of the bed there should be a controller. Use it to raise the bed till you reach a semi-setting position".
From a nearby cart, the vampire princess took a roll of some light green medical paper and drew some of it over a Mayo stand trolley, where she placed several tools. Then, she took a pair of scissors and started to cut open his left trousers leg, to expose what was beneath.
"If it makes you feel any better… that cloned blood is also the answer to the plea of all Kindred who abhor those ways and have consciously chosen to abstain from preying on humans".
From the other side of the bed, Blade intervened. Even with his sunglasses on, his eyebrows visibly arched high in an expression of incredulous bewilderment.
"Are you actually saying that there are vegetarian vampires?".
Nyssa ceased her cutting and looked at the younger hunter.
"Since they still have to consume human blood to sustain themselves, I find the term quite inappropriate… further, it's not my area of expertise but, given their guiding principle of not causing harm to human beings, I would rather borrow from Hindu and Jain concepts and call them Sattvic…".
And she got back to work. Once she finished with the scissors, she put them back on the trolley, from which she took absorbent cotton and disinfectant. From his view, Abraham could see some dried blood all over his lower leg and what might be a small gunshot wound at the calf. As Nyssa began to clean the leg and inspect the injure, he winced at the sudden pain which shot through the wounded limb. She stopped to look at him.
"Does it hurt, Whistler? Can you bear it? I have some Lidocaine 2% which I ca—".
He interrupted her before she could finish.
"No! I have a very high threshold for pain… and I want to have a clear mind while listening to your wooly plan! Do I need to time the twenty seconds I've given you?".
Her worried expression changed to a peeved one.
"Very well then… first, my plan is not woolly at all though it is certainly being adjusted and sped up".
She resumed her procedure.
"As soon as the Ambrosia Project had proved successful at achieving Blood Security and enabling vampires to access, afford and source adequate sustenance, we would have pushed in the House of Erebus for a total ban on feeding and preying on humans…".
Both Whistler and Blade were at a loss for words.
"Mm… from your anamnesis and my physical examination, I wouldn't exclude that a pellet from a shotgun shell entered the calf. Given the absence of any exit wound, I presume it's still inside… so, we need to get it out. It shouldn't be that difficult but, since you didn't want even local anaesthesia… you better grit your teeth".
Nyssa nonchalantly turned back to open a clinical bin, where she tossed the used cotton. From the Mayo stand, she took a pair of long tweezers and some bad-looking forceps.
"Whoa! Wait a minute, ma'am… you cannot drop a bomb like that, and I ain't talking about my frigging wound! Do you really expect us to believe that bull!?".
The vampire twisted her head round so that her unfazed gaze could meet his.
"Of course, you are entitled to your opinion and to doubt the truth of my words and, given the inclination of my kind for lying and intrigue, I myself would distrust our motives if I were in your place".
She bent over his leg and began to probe the wound with her tools.
"Okay, fair point… but pray tell, how come that in all these years you didn't notice your precious dad had a hidden agenda behind his own pet project? It surely doesn't seem something one can do without leaving traces, especially a shift of this magnitude— ouch!".
The she-vamp stopped her probing and stared at him.
"It's easy to criticise with the benefit of hindsight, and what may look obvious to you now was not at all obvious at that time… and to me, in particular".
"Why's that?" Blade asked.
The vampire princess abruptly turned her attention to the younger slayer.
"There's an old tradition, which is deeply ingrained in most of my family: the Damaskinos rule one at a time… even if I have been my father's designated heiress and right-hand woman for decades, there were side-projects and operations I was deliberately kept outside of… I was not expected to enquire, and I did not: ever".
"A truly doting and dutiful daughter" Whistler chipped in.
She slowly moved back her stare to the older hunter and probed his wound a little more without looking, causing him to wince in pain.
"Ouch! Damn it, woman! That's my good leg you're toying with!".
She did not even blink.
"Conspiracy, backstabbing and intrigue are sadly part vampire culture. Most kindred failed to even reach one hundred years of age because more often than not they got caught up in some trivial yet dangerous power struggle… loyalty is not a common trait among us, and especially within my clan. I have almost reached that threshold by outsmarting my opponents, whether they were relatives or not, but also by showing the staunchest support to my father… I've never questioned the Overlord, I've carried out his orders with the deadliest efficiency and I've always trusted him with the blindest faith: until today".
Abraham looked at her with a puzzled expression on his face.
"Did you actually take him out!?".
Nyssa stopped once again what she was doing and put her tools on the trolley.
"No… his life was not mine to take. I left that right to my brother".
Abraham raised the palm of his left hand.
"Hold on, ma'am! Are you saying that you left your precious daddy at the mercy of your deranged, family-hating and homicidal brother, only for having him disposed of by the kid here!? You're on another level of ruthlessness".
Blade turned to stare at him, while Nyssa's composure seemed to crack.
"After my brother chose our father's fate… I gave him the chance to do the same with me".
His mentee cut in.
"And I came in just in time to prevent him from turning you into some feral and mindless bloodthirsty beast".
The vampire princess looked back at the younger hunter.
"Yes… and after I saved you from him, it finally dawned on me: the realisation that we can turn this travesty of a truce into a real peace".
For the first time in his life, Whistler witnessed a vampire for something other than their own life. Admittedly, he was baffled by the recount of her betrayal of her own father: in retribution for the abominations and havoc he wrought, nonetheless.
What also mystified him was the role of Blade: how far he was willing to go for that she-vamp he was into? On one hand, the thought made his stomach churn: did he seriously forget the very reason they both hate and hunt those fucking bloodsuckers down? The life they've been robbed of!? On the other hand, Nyssa Damaskinos: there was no denying the fact she was no ordinary vampire. Could they really pin all their hopes on this pure-blood vampire princess, who should not rightly have any trace of humanity in her and yet she had?
Abraham was so absorbed in his thoughts that did not notice Nyssa was speaking to him.
"Whistler, I know I can't compel you to believe me but… what would you do if there was the slightest chance that my words hold true, that some if not many of my people would welcome the reforms I intend to carry out? In spite of the curse we all are afflicted with?".
She did not let him time to answer and pressed her claim.
"Do you hate my kind so much that you would wholeheartedly resume this never-ending war, until one side is destroyed or this world is completely annihilated?".
Her gaze shifted towards his mentee, softening her expression.
"Would you not prefer instead to take the risk to trust and help me?".
As Blade's expression seemed unreadable, behind those shades of his, and did not appear to be in a hurry to give an answer. For his part, Abraham too was deep in thoughts. That old hag in a girl's body had put them in a tight spot. For years if not decades they had hunted down and killed vampires while mourning all those who had the misfortune of being caught up in this conflict: friends, relatives and partners. The only way they knew to stop this blood bath and save scores of potential victims was by wiping vamps out, obliterating them from existence. If a more peaceful alternative was on the table, they would have taken it, wouldn't they? But what about all those lives that had already been taken? About all that innocent blood that had already been spilled? Could they really let all that go?
'I know I cannot let it go, ever. But I can move on'.
His eyes drifted away from his legs and towards Nyssa.
'After all, peace is made between enemies'.
If that wannabe vamp queen could really manage to hold up her end of the bargain, the least they could do was keeping up theirs.
"Okay… I'm sold".
He let out a long breath, after which he rapidly raised his right arm, jabbing his index finger in her direction.
"But don't you dare think that because of that I'll be all giggly and stuff!".
The vampire princess smiled wryly.
"I would expect no less from you, Whistler…".
As he moved back his arm to the side, Abraham turned his gaze to Blade.
"What about you, son?".
His mentee did not look at him but kept his gaze on Nyssa, who was opposite him.
"I've already made my choice".
His mouth slightly curved up into an almost unnoticeable smile, which did not escape the vampire though, since she slowly closed her and flashed him a self-satisfied smirk.
"Ugh! Do you have any Pepto Bismol? I think I'm gonna throw up!".
The vampire retorted mellifluously.
"Well, since you have heartily agreed to help me… I suppose I can now sedate you, so I will finally be able to get that pellet out of your leg without you complaining like a baby".
He got back at her with feigned contempt.
"Hey! It's not my fault! It's you that you're prodding at my one good leg like a goddamm rookie butcher!".
Nyssa then took back her tools from the trolley and restarted the procedure, with controlled hand movements and attentive eye. After a few minutes of comfortable silence, the younger slayer eventually decided to spoke to her.
"So… first things first: what are your thoughts on the Reapers? Is there the risk that they show up again somewhere else?".
"I don't think so… although I obviously need to have a talk with Kounen, in that regard".
Whistler and Blade exchanged a worried look. So, the older slayer asked.
"You mean that four-eyed, slimy lawyer?".
Nyssa absentmindedly answered.
"Yes".
The old, blue-eyed devil reached to rub the back of his head, slightly uncomfortable.
"Um… I—, I might've accidentally killed him while rescuing the kid from being bled dry".
She ground her working to a halt.
"I should have considered the possibility… however, it is not much of a hindrance".
She let out a sigh.
"I'll have someone trusted to sift through the room where the embryos were kept, my father's study and Kounen's home and office… any relevant data and information will be collected and reported".
"Are you sure you can rely on them?" Blade enquired.
She briefly raised her head to look at him, then got back to work.
"Of course, I am… I personally and thoroughly vet all my aides: and I look for courage, loyalty and honour in the people that have to work directly under me".
"Your Bloodpack buddies don't seem to meet all those criteria" Abraham interjected.
The she-vamp seemed absorbed in the procedure.
"No, not at all… but, please, keep in mind that most of them had been chosen by Eli himself, so my own selection was passed over. The only choices of mine that made the team were Asad and Snowman".
He reclined on the bed, recalling that pair of vampires. The two days and nights that all of them had passed together were spent hunting down Nomak and his Reapers, with little to no time for making conversation. However, the one name Asad had indeed struck him as some kind of honour-bound soldier who would have dutifully, and tragically, followed his Overlord's orders: whether he liked them or not. As for Snowman, he had been a guy of few, if no words at all, though in Whistler's book that counted as a compliment and he distinctly recalled having hoped the man would have equaled the fighter, given the mastery he displayed with his katana. Those two were effectively the least fucked up bastards of that bloodsucker death squad, and if they have been picked up by Nyssa then she might have not been a judge of character as bad as he had feared.
Another few minutes of silence passed. It seemed that taking that goddamned pellet out was a much more demanding task that Nyssa would have let on. Not that Abraham was in agony, but the pain had been steadily increasing for the last ten minutes and, admittedly, he was starting to feel a burning sensation spreading from the calf to the whole lower leg: was it the onset of infection? If that was the case, he would have better been asking the vampire for some antibiotics.
"So… is it going to take long?".
A heavy sigh came from the she-vamp, though she did not stop.
"Whistler… I'm quite fond of small talk during procedures but, please, don't start pestering me with the same question over and over again…".
He gave the vampire a bearded smile, shrugged and opened his arms.
"I'm sorry, ma'am… I guess I have no small talk…".
As she continued her work, she both answered and questioned him.
"For your information, I don't like what I see… what about the cartridges of the shotgun you said Reinhardt shot you with? Were they from the same ammunition lot you supplied us the night we raided the House of Pain?".
He was startled by both her revelation and question.
"Yeah, sure… um, from the top of my head: Glaser safety rounds in .38, .45, and 9mm caliber, and capsules at the tip filled with silver nitrate grains… you know, our usual stuff".
Though concentrated on the procedure, the vampire listened attentively.
"Mm… on closer examination, it seems the gunshot has further provoked some sort of burn wound, all the way through where the pellet entered the calf…".
"That doesn't add up" Blade commented.
Nyssa nodded slightly without looking away from the injury.
"Precisely… that's why I am being extra careful".
As silence ensued once again, Whistler found himself somewhat jittery and had to distract attention away from some unconscious yet fearful thoughts that had begun to darken him.
"Getting back to the Reapers… what are your thoughts about them? Why do think your father hijacked his own World Food Programme and weaponized it to produce the 21st-Century vampire?".
Oddly enough, the vampire princess' expression changed to sorrow.
'This night has been an emotional rollercoaster'.
That worked for Nyssa, but it also worked for him and Blade.
"I've been giving it some thought for the last half hour… and the only possible explanation I can come up with is… Metztli".
The old and the younger slayer exchanged confused looks.
"Metztli? Who or what is that?" Abraham enquired.
The she-vamp briefly closed her eyes in regret.
"Metztli Cianteto, my mother…".
"Cianteto? The vampire tribe from Mexico?" Blade asked.
"Yes… she was sister to the late Head of the clan, Lady Cloaticue Cianteto, who was sacrificed together with all the other members of the House of Erebus by Deacon Frost to summon La Magra… for once, my father wasn't lying when he thanked you for eliminating that turn-blood and upstart coupist…".
"What makes you think about… your mother?" His mentee continued.
Nyssa took a deep breath, as if preparing for a long story to tell.
"I suppose you don't know anything about the Outrage of Hechingen… twenty-seven years ago, on the 11 of February 1975, the various vampire families which comprised the whole Damaskinos clan gathered together at the castle above that German city to celebrate the Pomazání, the official investiture of Amyntas Damaskinos as the first Overlord of the Vampire Nation by the chiefs of the eleven clans who supported Erebus' Rebellion against Varnae and the other Ancient oppressors… at celebrations like that, it is customary for the Overlord to hold audiences and hear out petitioners' grievances. One of the first petitioners was from a minor Bloodline of our own clan, Simon Walsin, who had come to appeal against a ruling on the Panství of Lviv, a vampire domain which Walsin claimed it rightfully belonged to him…".
"My Go—goodness, it seems the beginning of The Godfather…" Whistler cut in.
"Ours is some sort of feudal society, not a crime syndicate, Whistler. Any similarities between the two that you might see certainly have to come the other way round…" she countered sharply.
"As I was about to say… Eli rejected Walsin's petition and then the audience dramatically ended as Mariña Guerrero, that beggar's rumoured lover and commander of the Stráž, the Overlord's personal guard, turned against him and ordered her rota, her company, to seize every guest and courtier in the throne room: I barely managed to fight my way out of the castle… whilst I fled to hastily rally as many armed vampires and familiars as I could, my whole extended family was being held hostage by a petty aristocrat with delusions of grandeur and that vicious, sadistic, mistress of his, who both had the misplaced idea that my family wronged them somehow… I received various and sometimes contradictory statements about what happened there but, in brief, Guerrero defeated and mutilated my uncle Samuel, her own former partner, and killed him by pouring molten silver down his mangled throat… Walsin, instead, had my father tortured and my mother Metztli executed by sunlight".
Nyssa closed once again the eyes and the procedure came to a grinding halt.
"The following night… I led the assault on the castle and Reinhardt saved my father from the clutches of his abductors whilst Asad brought to safety most of the clan-members… then I fought with both Guerrero and Walsin. I killed them. No, I slaughter them all: and with great pleasure… but I later realised that it didn't matter at all, since nothing remained of my mother but morning dust".
Then she got back to her probing Whistler's calf.
"After that tragedy, my father changed… and not for the best. His talks of peace and security became less frequent, whilst in his praises for the advancing of the Ambrosia Project words like betterment and race were stressed and highlighted… with hindsight, I even think that he took the first findings of the Caliban research teams and used them directly on himself, since in the next few years his appearance became more and more unnaturally Nosferatuesque…".
A a grim and mournful silence followed Nyssa's story. Then, she seemingly recovered and added something to the conversation.
"I've thrown myself heart and soul into my father's original project… I do believe in its possibilities, and I won't allow it to fail because the Overlord did not live up to his own expectations".
With that same resolution, the she-vamp zeroed in on his wound. Once again, Abraham got the sickening sensation of her instruments poking the inside of his calf and, after some time, he felt them grasping around something.
"Ta-dah…".
Paradoxically, the vampire princess' tone was deadly serious when she finally pulled out her tweezers and forceps. The latter were holding tightly a small metallic sphere, which had to be the goddamned pellet. Somewhat astonishingly, he saw the blood all over the little round object evaporating with steam. Both Abraham and Blade were so taken aback by the sight that they did not notice Nyssa's eyebrows furrowing with concern.
"Eric… please, tell me exactly what you did or gave to Whistler to reverse his condition".
His mentee looked at him, then at her.
"I injected him with a special, accelerated retro-viral detox".
Abraham thought back at three nights before, when the kid saved him from the halfway house those bloodsuckers were keeping him. Honestly, he did not nor want to recall exactly what happened that night, or the previous two years during which he had been tortured, healed and then tortured again in an apparently endless nightmare. Nonetheless, the concoction Blade gave him worked just fine and brought him back to human life.
"I suppose you are talking about Dr. Jenson's compound, am I right?" Nyssa enquired.
At that point, Whistler had stopped being staggered at the amount of intel the vampire got on them.
"Yes" the kid answered.
"Are there any other registered or otherwise known cases of successful recovery?" She pressed on.
"A couple more, why?".
Blade wondered at her line of questioning.
"Had all they been administered such Cure within the first days or weeks after the Embrace? Is Whistler's the first case of treatment on a subject affected so long by the Curse?".
A deep-seated fear triggered Abraham.
"What are you aiming at, ma'am?" He asked urgently.
"I fear that chronic vampirism, as in your case, might not be cured that simply. I think your body is rejecting the treatment and reverting to its… previous condition" she replied.
A long and heavy silence fell in the room, following Nyssa's revelation.
"So… you're saying tha—that…" Whistler tried to break the silence.
"Yes… if you start becoming sensitive to daylight, if you start becoming thirsty regardless of how much you have drunk… I think you know the signs and symptoms" she continued.
"Well… that's great. That's fuc—frigging great! Now what am I supposed to do!?".
He was visibly distressed.
"Calm down, Whistler, please…" the she-vamp tried to soothe him.
"I've been a human for not even a week, and now I'm going back to be a goddamm bloodsucker!".
He did not even notice he was shouting at her. Fortunately, the vampire princess just stared at him with an arched eyebrow.
"Sorry ma'am.. I, I mean no offence with that" he apologised.
She placed a hand over his shoulder sympathetically.
"None taken, Whistler".
Then, the old blue-eyed devil let himself sink into the upper, higher half of the medical bed he was on.
"Is there anything we can do about it?" Blade asked.
Nyssa ended her examination of the shot pellet and placed it on the Mayo stand trolley, together with her instruments. As she peeled off her gloves and threw them into the clinical bin, from the expression on her face one could easily deduct her mind was already working on something.
"Um… yes, I think so… well, obviously, without certain knowledge all our guesses and ideas can be dismissed as pure speculation. Before engaging in any working hypothesis, I need to get hold of all the facts, figures and other relevant materials… to this end, if I can have a sample of that compound you used on Whistler, that would be great to begin with".
"I'll get you the stock I have at the base, once I get back there" Blade promptly answered her.
"And Whistler… all things considered, the prognosis is very good and once you are in London you could stop by the UCLH and discretely ask Dr. Jenson if she's able to lend us a hand?".
Nyssa's last words baffled him even more, while the kid stiffened with unease.
"Excuse me!? Why on Earth should I go to London?".
"Ops, my fault… after your leg is finished healing, I was planning to ask you to go to London… and arrange for me a meeting with the Watchers Council" Nyssa said.
"Cough, cough! What the— cough, cough!"
Abraham had a coughing fit, choking on his answer, and could not speak for a few moments.
"Ahem, ahem! Sorry, something went down the wrong pipe…".
Blade answered for him.
"As of now, our relationship with the Council is strained… to put it mildly".
Nyssa gave him a knowing smirk.
"So I've heard… it happens when you beat their whole Special Operation Team to a pulp and your mentor knocks a tooth out of its Director with a power punch…".
Abraham crossed his arms over his chest, with a grim smile of satisfaction plastered across his face as he recalled the scene.
"He had it coming… that fucking Limey bastard!".
"How come you know so many things about us, and our structure?" The younger slayer enquired.
Another of the small, wicked, smirks the she-vamp reserved only for Blade appeared on her face as she leaned over his bed to face his mentee.
"We maintain detailed dossiers about every potential threat to the Vampire Nation… I had been training for two years to hunt you, Blade: the big, bad bogeyman about whom we tell bedtime stories to scare our children… I probably know you better than yourself".
The kid responded in kind, by slightly tilting his upper body towards her and smiling faintly.
"From that little training of yours I've already seen, we'll have to spar a few other times before you can say you know me".
Her smirk turned into a mischievous grin, which spread across the vampire's face.
"Be careful what you wish for, Daywalker".
Groaning loudly, Abraham ran both his hands through his white, dirty, hair while his eyes went up to look at the ceiling.
"Ugh! If you two must be getting' stupid with one another… for goodness' sake, find yourselves a room far away from the one I'm in!".
A small laugh escaped Nyssa: a short, but genuine laugh. If she was not that old hag she very priggishly let them intend she was, the part of the young emergency physician attending an old coot while flirting with his son would have suited her perfectly. Or so Abraham thought. Suddenly, he thought of his daughters: was it Taylor or Giselle the one who dreamed of becoming a doctor?
'Giselle, it was Giselle. Taylor always wanted to be a ship captain, or an archaeologist, after we all unfortunately found out she got horribly seasick'.
He chuckled at the memory while, unbeknownst to him, one single teardrop spilled out and run down his face. Nevertheless, the vampire princess caught a glimpse of it and became more serious.
"So, Whistler… I'm now going to finish treating your wound with some dressing, IV antibiotic therapy and pain relief. I would like to keep you in observation for the next 48 hours and then, if nothing else out of ordinary happens, I think I can discharge you".
Having said that, she proceeded clean up the site she had just prodded with some disinfectant and absorbent cotton she took from the cart, along with a package of gauze and some plaster tape. Then, she proficiently applied the gauze to the wound, using also some plaster to hold it in place. Finally, she covered the dressing with a tubular bandage.
Then, she pointed his left arm.
"Roll up your left sleeve and lay the arm, please".
After he quickly did as instructed, she produced from apparently nowhere an aneroid sphygmomanometer with an adult cuff and one stethoscope, which she dextrously used to measure his blood pressure. Shortly afterwards, she expertly inspected and palpated the limb for a suitable venipuncture site. Once she found it, she turned to the nearby medical cart from which she again took some other absorbent cotton and disinfectant. Then, the vampire opened the middle drawer and, after some rummaging, drew out the equipment for intravenous therapy: one syringe with an 18-gauge cannula, three other standard medical syringes, some vials of medications and a pair of IV bags, probably volume expanders or buffer solutions. After having also drawn closer a nearby IV pole stand, onto which she hung the bags with their set of primary and secondary tubing, Nyssa went to the metal sink to wash again her hands so that, once she rinsed them enough, she could begin to work.
As the she-vamp finished to clean the chosen site near the elbow pit, she addressed to the old slayer.
"Getting back to the Watchers topic… you must know, Whistler, that brokering a truce with the Council is a key factor to the success of my plan".
Then, she proceeded to insert the venous cannula into his left arm and to anchor it to the skin using its wings, which she also reinforced with some adhesive bandages she cut from the medical plaster tape she had used before.
"One possible way to implement this plan is to brutally enforce on my people the Prohibition Laws I want the House to pass, simply relying on a system of terror and oppression which in turn would by default trigger defiance and resistance…".
She followed the dressing up by attaching the IV bags primary tubing to the catheter.
"A totally different approach would be to persuade kindred about the effectiveness of such laws with an open and strong endorsement by the worldwide leadership of the vampire hunters".
She passed to fill a syringe with the content of one the vials.
"That way, I can prove them that my intended Ban on preying is meant for their own safety, that they won't be hunted down if the abide by this new set of rules".
Then, she moved to insert the medication-filled syringe and pushed the plunger. She repeated the operation two other times.
"What's all that stuff?" Whistler asked.
"Ringer's lactate, buffer solution, Cephalosporin: you know, an antibiotic, just in case… and then some pain relievers" Nyssa answered.
"Godda—gosh, it seems like so much…" he commented.
"Yes, it's a lot" she conceded.
The vampire princess started then throwing in the clinical bin all the disposable tools she had used. Meanwhile, Abraham began to feel yucky. Probably seen his expression, she gave him a concerned smile before speaking.
"This is going to make you feel bad for a few minutes, Whistler… but I can get you some of those crunchy ice cubes to chew on".
Abraham gave her a short laugh.
"I think I'm past the age when someone like to crunch ice chips".
Nyssa turned to look around the ER.
"Well, I think that sooner or later the physician or nurse on duty are bound to show. I could have her wash and change you in some more comfortable to pass the night… how about that?".
He gave another laugh, albeit a little more tired one.
"I don't know… her name's not Mildred Ratchet, isn't it?".
Nyssa responded with a faint smile and drew out a marking pen and began to quickly write something on a log sheet, which she then attached to the IV pole. After that, she moved to foot of the bed to again write something, this time probably on the patient medical record from the folder hung at the end.
"Unfortunately, there are no battle-axe nurses in this ward… Helga, for example, has the most delicate hands I have ever seen: and the broadest shoulders, too".
Abraham had not the time to ascertain whether she was joking or not, because they all heard the automatic doors opening. Afterwards, no less than ten men hurriedly entered the ER. Most of them were wearing uniforms resembling those of the guards and familiars they had previously encountered. They quickly swept the area and then stopped to look in some kind of shock, probably at the sight of the Damaskinos heir treating an infamous vampire hunter, with the stethoscope she had previously used still hanging loosely by her neck. Some of them went so far as to undo the flap of their holsters and put their hands on the guns, ready to draw them out and shoot.
"My lady Nyssa!" A man audibly shouted.
Or so it seemed to Whistler, since his fluency in foreign languages was not as great as Blade's. Nevertheless, the she-vamp quickly put the sheet in the folder and hung the stethoscope on the end of the bed.
"Eric! Come with me" she urged him.
The younger slayer swiftly moved beside her, and together they walked towards the group. The doors of the treatment room Whistler was in opened automatically, and opened remained since the pair stop slightly after them. In spite of the sensation of nausea he was feeling, he was able to watch the whole bunch and somehow make out the conversation.
"Gentlemen, a tragedy has just occurred… ifrit Allen".
The officer she had greeted was a tall, lanky old man with eyeglasses who, contrary to the other men, was wearing a dark grey, business suit: possibly, a senior ranking officer. They all gave Nyssa a slight bow of their heads in greeting.
"The Reaper, Jared Nomak, broke into the facility and slaughtered his way through the Overlord... who is no more".
Though miserable, the men did not appear as shocked as Abraham would have thought. Maybe they got word about his death from that Jan and his buddies, and now they had the grievous confirmation directly from their vampire princess.
"It has been only thanks to the Daywalker that I managed to kill the Reaper".
She slightly turned to place her right hand over Blade's shoulders, as if to show him before the lot of them.
"I owe him my life".
He could distinctly see the expressions of some of those men ranging from surprise to utter disbelief. If they got word of that, that they did not clearly believe it.
"Because of that, I've overruled any previous decisions my father might have formally taken regarding him".
The she-vamp swung back to stare at her father's minions: no, her minions, now.
"From now on, the Daywalker is to be considered a návštěvník, a guest… bound and protected by the Tradition and laws of Hospitality".
She then turned again to show them Whistler, raising her left arm and opening her hand.
"The same consideration must be shown for the Daywalker's mentor... Abraham Whistler".
Although their eyes were practically bulging out from their head, they promptly nodded their agreement. If any one of those men had a problem with their mistress decisions, they surely were carefully hiding it. However, given how fast they had agreed to Nyssa's decisions, these bunch of yes-men, no matter how skilled or competent, seemed to pose no threat to the vampire's designs. The real dangers had yet to be announced.
"Now… I've tasked the zibiniya Jan Krakowský with searching the whole complex from top to bottom and wiping out any potential Reapers which may still roam free".
Even from that distance, he noticed more than one eyebrow raising. Given the impression he too got of that chicken shit, the old slayer could understand why some of those ghouls were perplexed by her choice. Was the young man up to the task?
"What I rather want from you, instead, is sending word to the members of the Stínová vláda, the Shadow Cabinet… I need them to convene as soon as possible at the Růžový Keř, the Rosebush mansion, to formally proclaim my accession".
'Here we go' Abraham thought. If the bloodsuckers she mentioned were anything like the politicians Blade and he had in Washington, back at home, they could possibly be the first hurdle the vampire princess had to clear in order to make that plan of hers successfully work.
"Of course, my lady. Your wish is our command".
The gangly, four-eyed man with white hair was the only one to speak while the other men just nodded, albeit in a slow and grave way.
"And find me Dr. Silbermann… he's the one supposed to have the night shift, today".
As if on purpose, a bald man with a dirty white coat came in through the automatic doors, helping a burly nurse to push a wheeled EMS stretcher carrying an unconscious familiar. Other two male nurses followed suit, directing some other five injured guards to different treatment rooms at both sides of the ER main area. He heard the bald man shouting something.
"Mr. Miller! Seventy-five milligrams Demerol IV and Lidocaine 2 percent local. I'll scrub no— lady Nyssa!?".
He stopped halfway, letting the brawny nurse pushing the stretcher to a treatment room opposite the entrance doors. One of the other nurses run behind them.
"Dr. Silbermann, what's going on!?" Nyssa asked.
The man rushed through the ghouls to get before her.
"Reapers seem to have broken into the complex and all the guards stationed here are trying to repel them… these are the only survivors we have found, so fa—".
Nyssa did not let the doctor finish the sentence. She immediately turned to Blade, motioning him in some direction to their right.
"Eric! Go look at the man in the trauma room! Look for bites!".
Without even nodding, the younger hunter sprinted towards that room. Then, the vampire addressed to her people.
"Everyone! Put on some gloves and face masks, then go check the other injured! Search them for signs of bite marks! Now!".
All the ghouls scattered towards the medical station to equip themselves, while the nurses began to control a pair of lightly wounded guards standing by the large booth.
The bald man went to Nyssa's side to seemingly ask her something: quietly, very quietly. Abraham did not make out what he asked nor what she told him, but from the vampire's stressed-out expression and the doctor's subsequent, terrified, face he did not need any further clues: Reapers. If any of those guards were bitten, they might start to turn: there. In a fucking basement where they had no useful weapon at their disposal, what they could possibly do? What he could possibly do, bedridden as he was?
The moments became minutes and waiting seemed interminable. Thanks heavens, the guards standing by the medical station and the ones in the treatment rooms were thoroughly checked and deemed not infected. Everybody was so caught up by checking the familiars that almost nobody noticed that last verdict was Blade's, who in turn had not yet come out of the trauma room. Whistler had thought at some point he was hearing some noise and muffled cries coming from somewhere, maybe that room. He glimpsed the figure of Nyssa hurrying towards that room when, given the sudden and heavy silence which fell into the ER, he presumed his mentee left the room he was in. Then, he heard Nyssa's worried question.
"So!? What about that man!?".
The deep, calm voice of Blade filled the whole space.
"There's no sign of bite or turning".
Everyone, including Abraham from his bed, breathed a collective sigh of relief.
"This business is well-ended" he said to himself.
When the recognition that the serious hazard had been luckily avoided finally settled, Nyssa's sharp voice resounded through the area.
"Well? Do not stand here like fools, this is an Emergency Room!".
He heard her clapping her hands, as if to be sure she got everyone's attention.
"Gentlemen! You have your orders… carry them out!".
Whistler saw the ghouls discarding their protective equipment and rushing to leave the area, almost scrambling through the automatic doors. The last one to leave was some tall and muscular man with the guard's uniform and long red hair tied up in a complex braid, whom Nyssa caught by the arm to stop.
"Bedan, have a security team posted here, as a precaution… and armed the men with UV torches".
The man silently nodded and dashed off.
"Dr. Silbermann!" Nyssa called out.
The bald man, who had surprisingly found the time to change into some light blue scrubs, rushed to his mistress.
"The length and breadth of facility is presently being searched by armed squads, to hunt down any remaining Reapers… so, I expect some other injured may be sent here. Make sure you have all of them thoroughly checked".
The physician nervously agreed with the she-vamp, who then place one hand over his shoulders.
"Don't panic, doctor… security is on its way. You all will be safe".
The man let out his breath on a sigh.
"You can go to Trauma Room, now… help that man".
The doctor nodded, finally with some resolve, and dashed through the ER to that other room. Meanwhile, his mentee had reached the vampire princess and was now standing by her side, silently. In the end, she seemed to take his presence into account as she took him by the hand and was about to walk somewhere else.
"What, now?" He asked, without moving.
He saw the Damaskinos heir giving the younger hunter a tired, weary smile.
"Come on, Eric… we have a long day before us".
And then began walking, followed by Blade. They were almost out of his sight, when Abraham shouted.
"Don't do anything stupid, son!".
As Blade turned to stare at him, Nyssa blinked in surprise. Then, she called out.
"Helga!".
The burly man, no woman, who had helped Dr. Silbermann pushing the stretcher leapt across the main room. She ominously resembled some East German athlete on steroids, with a poor style-setting gamine haircut which did nothing but enhancing her harsh, masculine features. Nyssa momentarily disengaged from his mentee to take by arm that potentially aggressive, overbearing and forceful woman into his very room. As they stopped before his bed, the vampire moved to pick up her jacket from a nearby chair.
"Helga, dear… this is Mr. Whistler. In that folder there's some of his medical records: the rest can be easily retrieved in the database on some PCs by the medical station".
The innocent smile Nyssa was giving him then turned into a grin.
"Beware: is not a simple, albeit needy, patient… he's an honoured guest of mine. So, see that he's properly attended: wash him, change his clothes and, above all, take good care of him.
The nurse looked at him up and down, then agreed to her mistress bidding.
"It'll be done, my lady".
Nyssa winked mischievously at him as she left the room, to take once again the younger slayer by the hand. Blade, who had been staying out of the room all along, with a subtle smile across his face.
"Whistler... if things go south, check the cart on your right".
As he quickly turned to look in that direction, he saw his handgun above the pile of his clothes.
Then, they left: hand in hand.
Abraham did not know if it was for that improbable sight or not, but he had the sudden urge to throw up and was thinking about asking for a bucket to his nurse when he caught her staring at him, with his record in her hands: a cold, yet penetrating stare.
"I have a bad feeling about this…".