Demon Vampire (The Redgold Series) (88 page)

Damien stared at Yugo. “You don't want to do this.”

“And what if I do?” Half of Yugo's face began to change into a malicious grin.

A thunderous sound shattered the tension in the room. Something big had happened. The far corner of the room snapped in half. A large piece of stone impaled the older man that was still standing. Snow blew in as parts of the roof fell. Yugo and Damien braced the ceiling before it killed the last surviving man inside. It slanted as they looked on in complete shock. There was someone there, standing past the open tear in the building. A familiar face to Damien. A person he did not want to see, not then.

A black figure stood just outside of the moonlight, still deep in the shadows. He stepped back, letting the light strike him for a moment. His face was devilish, sinister.

“Fear.” Damien said to himself.

“Yes.” The dark shadow exclaimed calmly.

The black, cloaked figure vanished. Only a trail of destruction hinted towards his location. He had moved across the room. Damien turned around. Yugo was trying to keep up with the astounding speed, he was too late to see. Damien however, watched in horror as a sense of dread overcame him. The man behind them was being ripped into three pieces. His blood poured down as his head was torn by this nightmare's fangs. His right arm was pulled from his body, letting the rest fall to the ground in a lump of dead flesh. Yugo stared at the carnage after it happened. A line of blood splashed him in the chest, ruining his fox pelt.

Yugo protested. “You fu-”

The black cloaked figure moved too fast for Yugo to understand. Before he was able to finish his comment, Yugo's jaw had been removed, completely, with precision. Yugo was knocked backwards, taking out the far support keeping the roof from collapsing. Damien moved into position to carry the remaining load. The ceiling shifted, the snow blew violently.

“This is to ensure you will never talk ill of me again. Unless you speak my name. Know me, and know Fear.” Fear held Yugo's jaw in his right hand. The blood was soaking to the floor.

Yugo had been knocked out, his tongue was flopping out of his neck.

“Fear, what are you doing here?” Damien shook as the roof crumbled above him.

“This is a distraction.” Fear reached out with his left hand, taking the long piece of timber bracing from the wall and formally embedded it in the old man.

Fear cut the ceiling open it shattered around them. Fear dropped the wooden shard, still hanging onto Yugo's jaw firmly. Damien no longer had to hold the roof. He took a deep breath, exhaling while looking at Yugo. He was covered in debris, he continued to bleed.

Fear smiled. “There, that's better. We can talk now.”

Damien brushed the clutter off of Yugo and helped him up while he was still unconscious. Yugo's tongue was oozing saliva onto Damien's robe. Fear grinned, and flashed Yugo's jaw in his hand.

“You could at least give back his jaw.” Damien requested.

“No, he doesn't need it.” Fear said coldly.

“He does if it will help me.” Damien knew something was up. “Or am I wrong that you came here for me?”

Fear tossed Yugo's jaw to Damien.

Damien caught it and closed Yugo's lips. He used his right index finger to slice a line in his left palm. He stood Yugo up, and smeared the blood from one side of his throat to the other. The jaw was set, the blood sealed the wounds. Yugo was healed.

“I see you've picked up some skills since we last met” Fear was impressed. He walked up to Damien. “That's good. They'll keep you alive.”

“What do you want Fear?” Damien got to the point. He set Yugo down, propping him against the snow.

The moonlight shined brightly on their faces, the storm had ceased. The light was calm and eerie, particularly Fear's pale skin. It appeared to glow along with his full green eyes. “I want you to slay a demon.”

“A demon?” Damien was skeptical. He had never seen anything besides the texts relating to other vampires that would suggest the existence of actual demons. Then he remembered the ritual.

“His name is-” Fear was interrupted.

“Salas.” Damien said it first.

Fear took hold of Damien's robe at his neck and he pushed. “How do you know that name?”

“I know all about the ritual, who Salas was. How it failed catastrophically.” Damien held his ground, he was physically pushing back.

Fear realized what was going on. Damien was able to contest his strength. “Good. This is good.” Fear let up, releasing Damien. “You might have a chance if you can resist me like that.”

“What has he done to you, Fear?” Damien asked the hard question.

“He betrayed my trust.” Fear sat down across from Yugo in the snow.

Damien sat as well, eager to listen to what had happened to Fear. He wanted to engender a solution for what Salas was as much as Fear did. He knew that extirpating all of the demon vampires from the world would be a blessing.

“I made a deal with him. A pact of blood. It was a truce to let him gather what he wanted in order to further my own habits. Not once did I come to consider his motives.” Fear seemed distraught. He was not the same vampire that had killed Damien decades ago. Salas had changed his attitude. He had set things into perceptive for him.

“What did he do?” Damien asked politely.

“The demon has come to fill her eyes. The last remnants of her must have been gone years before it happened. The demon vampire, Salas, has awakened.” Fear appeared to be afraid.

Damien understood everything. Fear was about to ask for his help to kill Salas. To destroy a six thousand year old demon that is in all respects truly immortal. He was going to ask the impossible. “You want me to fight him?”

“I want you to win.” Fear clarified.

Yugo woke up. He felt his face, it was intact. “What's going on?”

Damien looked at Fear and turned to Yugo. “We have a job offer.”

“What do we have to do?” Yugo asked eagerly, he was excited regardless of Fear ripping his mouth apart.

“We get to kill someone.” Damien turned back to Fear. “If the price is worth the risk.”

“Name your desires.” Fear offered anything, knowing the risk was worth the payment.

“Historical seclusion.” Damien said to Fear.

“You want to fade away then? I can do that easily enough.” Fear causally accepted the price. “And what of the youngling?” Fear gestured towards Yugo.

“No. I want your seclusion.” Damien was requesting a true sacrifice of Fear. “You are the one I wish to fade away into history.” Damien stared at Fear. “If we do this, I want you to let Rebekkah go and disappear forever.”

“You want me to relinquish my slave and hide in the shadows of time?” Fear stood up, offended by Damien's demands.

“Then we walk.” Damien nodded to Yugo.

Fear was in a very difficult situation. He had no other options and Damien had realized how valuable he was. If Fear wasn't there, he wouldn't be desperate. He was the one that needed Damien, not the reverse.

Damien and Yugo took a few steps.

Fear called out. “Wait.”

Damien halted, wanting to hear Fear's answer. “Yes?”

“I can agree to let her go. I can't agree to fade away like the others have.” Fear was negotiating.

Damien walked back to Fear. “If I'm doing this, it's to rid the world of that thing. To save people from its wrath. To keep people alive.”

Fear clenched his fist at Damien's words. He didn't like being scolded.

Yugo readied himself to attack Fear.

Damien waved Yugo down. “If you are let free to roam as you please, you will continue to do what Salas would, just in smaller numbers. I can't afford that loss. If we do this and seal him, I will save millions. If I put you away, I will save thousands more.” Damien got in Fear's face. “Rebekkah is a small favor of mine to cement the deal.” Damien leered at Fear. “That is if you are still able to make an honest pact without a demon present.”

Damien's words bit into Fear's ego. He was quickly losing this argument. He knew that if he resorted to violence now, Damien would never help him and Salas would be let loose upon the world. His fire would consume everything, civilizations would burn under him. Fear decided to give in. “Fine. You will never hear of me after it is done.”

“And Rebekkah? I want your promise.” Damien asked Fear.

“I will let her go.” Fear said quietly. “We have to circumscribe Salas at all costs.”

“Then we accept your offer.” Damien said proudly.

Damien, Yugo, and Fear traveled north. Fear went on to explain that Salas had tricked him. Fear allowed Salas to drink as much blood as he wished as long as he was able to get an increased supply of his own. Rebekkah only saw Love when she looked at Salas. The demon took advantage of her weakness and used her to willingly feed off of during their nightly entanglements. Ten years were spent as Salas grew quickly in power. Combined with Rebekkah, he gathered 300,000 bodies worth of blood with the multiple sources they had come across through their journeys. Salas had awakened. He had obtained all the potency of his former life's gift. He would even be in a position to obtain the greater ability to control the minds of thousands at once. Age, strength, rank, nothing stood against that new gift. Salas had become a god on earth and he knew it. He quickly cast Fear aside, ignoring his abilities. The years of Fear's amassed strength meant nothing to Salas. Awakened, he was far more enabled at just ten years of life, than Fear was at nearly eight thousand.

Fear explained that at two thousand years, a vampire's physical power was capped. After that, only the focus vampires could accumulate more and only the ones associated with their own muscles. Fear continued, he noted that focus vampires had the edge when it came to Salas. Even awakened, a focus vampire had the speed to keep up with him. Whereas alteration vampires were at a disadvantage. That was why Damien had a chance against Salas. Fear remarked that other psychic vampires had no effect on Salas. The demon he had been changed into was shielded against the gifts of his own nature. Salas was strong against everyone and invincible to other psychics such as Fear. He was worst of all of them, put into one blood thirsty form.

Fear had already tried to attack Salas once. He failed miserably. Salas was far quicker than Fear. He owned him, predicting his movements at every action. Salas humiliated Fear. The shred of hope Fear had was when he wounded Salas. He was able to nearly cut his head off. It flopped, leaning on his shoulder. Salas was able to push it back into place and then proceed to equivocally murder Fear, damaging the elder to the point he blacked out. Then leaving him with his thoughts of defeat. Fear had never had that done to him. He knew he had to go to drastic measures in order to correct his original error in judgment.

In the northeastern region of the same Mongolian territory, Damien and Yugo came to a hut where they were able to rest. A small house was the only structure in the vicinity. The rocks were shelved, layered in granite. Gray, long, thin slabs of stone covered the landscape. It had stopped snowing at dusk. The moon was full in the sky, larger than normal. Yugo brought scores of torches to light the arena where they were going to confront Salas. He set them up in a wide circle next to the hut. Damien let Yugo choose, realizing he was the one at greatest risk. Fear had pointed Damien in the right direction. Knowing exactly where Salas had sheltered himself. It was the last insult Salas gave Fear. The information was taunting. This was where Salas was. He invited the confrontation Damien and Yugo were about to answer. Fear had left, letting them do what they must to kill the demon that lay before them.

Yugo was growing impatient. He set up the torches hastily. Within moments, it was so well lit, it could be seen for miles. “Are we ready yet?”

“No, we have to make him come to us.” Damien said. He knew what to expect from Salas. Fear had clued him in on everything that might help win the battle.

Salas' speed, power, cunning, and devious nature was numbing. Damien knew that he was going to use everything to either disable or maim him. A shock and awe effect used well against Fear. Cripple the strongest first and demoralize the rest. Damien wanted to lure Salas in, making him come to unfamiliar footing. Forcing him to fight on even, well lit grounds would be alien to him outside of a fire lit bar or a dark night. To have such a wide space prepared, Damien expected Salas to be disoriented at the very least.

“And what am I supposed to do with him again?” Yugo wanted to go over the plan again.

“You're going to distract him.” Damien instructed. Knowing Yugo would die if he actually tried to attack Salas directly. He wanted Yugo to talk first. This would allow Damien to kill Salas without any resistance. He wanted it to be done with so they could get on with their lives.

A loud boom echoed from the distance. The door on the house they had been watching suddenly flew off its hinges. It landed, sliding down the mountain cliff in front of it. A short, thin, blond figure came out. The extremely long blond hair was swaying in the wind. Lit clearly, sparking under the full moon the person walked towards the arena Yugo had lit. Then the figure vanished in an instant as it reappeared a few hundred feet closer. Still causally walking to them the light from the fire illuminated its clothing more. It was still wearing Fear's black cloak. The same multi-layered garment, simply worse and tattered. Several trinkets were added to the coat. A bone knife, a bronze necklace, a few gems, and other small objects adorned the fabric in minute ties. The blond hair that had been tossing in the wind was stained with blood. Streaks of orange dotted the beautiful color. The figure disappeared again, flashing out and back into existence several hundreds of feet closer once more.