Vampire Phantasm – The Beginning of the End 

 

Chapter 1 – Jill’s Request 

Jack anxiously left his sire’s room, still aching from the encounter, and stopped a moment to catch his breath against the door outside the room. Clutching his stomach, he gritted his teeth and cringed, as the unwelcome wound brought back many horrible memories of torture, broken bones, burning, and being torn apart – all of this at the hands of his master Maximilian Orlock. Through the centuries, he had been forced to stand by Orlock, obeying his commands, though Orlock was the cause and continuing source of his agonies.

No, don’t think about it, just put it in the back of your head like always, he told himself, trying to bury the nagging memories of his dead family, his old life. Orlock’s torture, which Jack presumed was meant to dehumanize and strengthen him, tended to bring back his most painful memories of during and before the time he was turned.  

Looking down at his wound, he saw it already healing and took a deep breath before returning downstairs where Vallov and Jill were waiting for him. The sounds of nervous footsteps alerted him to Jill’s presence, since she was pacing back in forth anxiously. When he descended the stairs and she saw him, she stared at him warily and said, “You took a long time.”

“Yes, forgive me for leaving you alone with Vallov, but Orlock wanted a few words with me,” he said, scratching his head absentmindedly.

“What’s his deal?” she asked, gesturing to Vallov. “He was growling and…what happened to you? You are covered in blood!”

Looking down at his blood-soaked garments and torn shirt, he felt the wound carefully and it was nearly healed, so he opened the cut in his shirt to show her.

“I guess your smart mouth rubbed off on me, and Orlock didn’t take to mine as kindly as yours,” he said, laughing and wincing slightly at the same time.

“I see, so…I guess you’ll be alright? I mean, vampires seem to heal quickly…”

“Yeah, give it a minute or two. It just hurts like hell right now,” he said, looking at Vallov and indicating that they were to leave.

“Okay, if you say so,” said Jill, feeling more than a little freaked out that she was now among vampires who seemed to torture each other for fun.

As they left the castle, they started through the outlying forest back to Jack’s mansion, where Topaz and Maila were waiting. Jill held the hem of her dress off the ground, annoyed at having to wear a dress to travel to a psycho’s house, wait for her escort to be stabbed through the stomach, and then return, where who knows what would happen to her.

“You never did tell me what the deal was with Vallov,” she said, remembering.

“I didn’t? Oh, I’m sorry, he’s a drone who was assigned to me a long time ago.” Judging by Jill’s do-you-seriously-expect-me-to-know-what-that-is stare, he continued, “A drone is a reanimated corpse. Orlock created him for me, but used my blood, so he is linked to me and I am his master. Orlock made him to protect me from other vampires during my fledgling days, though Orlock did more damage than the others could, I think.”

“So he’s a slave?” asked Jill contemptuously.

“No, not really, he doesn’t retain any of the memories of his former life. Originally he was like a blank slate, not really capable of any emotions, just suitable for guarding me. Now he’s able to show a bit of feeling, I don’t know whether they’re his own or just imprints from me, but it’s made him a bit more of a companion.”

“That doesn’t sound much better than slavery,” she said.

“We’re not controlling his mind because he doesn’t really have one. His old self died when he became a corpse. Either way, if you think it’s slavery, don’t blame me, since I wouldn’t have elected to make him if given the choice,” he said loftily, a bit annoyed at her condescending tone. Still, he kind of liked her obsession with free will and justice; she reminded him a bit of how he used to be before Orlock. The moment he thought that, his wound ached and he remembered Orlock’s warning: I truly hope you have forgotten the vampire you used to be. I’d hate to see you overly “inspired” by Jill, and become him again.

Chuckling to himself, he thought, like that could ever happen.

“I really don’t like Orlock, I never want to see him again,” she said.

“Well that’s a shocker,” he said, laughing. “But I was a bit surprised by your reaction to him – why did he startle you so much?” asked Jack.

“I saw him in a dream the night you turned me, and that was far enough. I just got this…awful chill from his eyes, the most horrible feeling in the world,” she said, cringing.

“I’m sorry I had to bring you to see him. I wouldn’t have, but he’s not the type to accept ‘no’ for an answer, as you can see,” he said, gesturing to the blood-drenched spot on his front.

“Why do you associate with him if he does this to you? And is such a terrible…whatever he is?” she questioned.

Looking away distantly, almost sadly, Jack answered, “Don’t think I wouldn’t if I could, but Orlock saw to it that everything I had was gone – my wife, my daughter, my entire village…he tore apart everyone from my human life so that the only person I had was him, whether I liked it or not. I’ve tried running away, killing him, killing myself…but to no avail.”

“He killed your family?” she asked softly.

“Heh, that’s a humane way of putting it,” he said, grinning darkly. “Have you ever had a family? A husband, or a baby?”

“No, since the infection spread, no one has had any time for romance or settling down. I haven’t had any constant companions for years now,” she explained.

“Well, if you’d had a family, you might understand the pain I went through seeing mine dismembered,” he said coldly.

Jill was silent for a moment and felt a bit sorry for being so short with Jack earlier, especially since she had assumed, when he mentioned his family’s demise earlier, that it had been his own doing. Holding her hands at her side as she walked, still pinching the folds of fabric, she saw the mansion ahead of them. She remembered seeing that one vampire, Raff, and realized that he was responsible for her new existence. She could clearly recall herself fighting on the sand dunes against her enemy, the vampire Raff, as he dodged their attacks and blew holes in her new comrades. Her anger boiled when she remembered the look in his eyes as he said, “Oh good, there’s one GIRL left.” The sight of his eyes on her body and then the intense pain…

“Jill, since I forced you to come with me to see Orlock, is there anything you want me to do for you? There are only two things I cannot do – betray Orlock, Topaz, and Maila, or kill you or make you human,” he said.

“I see, anything but those things, eh?” she asked, remembering Raff.

“Yes, to get back into your good graces,” he said, smiling. “Besides, now that you’re a vampire, you should be allowed to indulge in something.”

“Where is that vampire who tried to kill me?” asked Jill coldly.

“Erm…” Jack said, looking away and grinning, realizing he hadn’t told her about his encounter with Rendal.

“I want to kill him,” she said.

“Do you?” asked Jack. “Well, we’ll have to track him down…but I’m sure that can be arranged. He was kidnapped from me by one of Orlock’s vampire underlings – her name is Rendal.”

“How will we find Raff?” asked Jill.

“You’ll see.”

They finally reached the castle again and Vallov opened the heavy doors and escorted them back inside where Topaz was trying to calm Maila, who was frantic and crying. Jill looked to Jack, who didn’t seem surprised that Maila was still upset, and back to the sobbing Maila.

“…I have to go to him! He’ll be hurt, and tortured, he might be killed!” screamed Maila, crying against Topaz’s chest where he was holding her, her fists attempting to push away from him. Despite the attention Maila brought to herself with her incessant pleads, Jill noticed that Topaz had a pained look in his eyes as Maila beat at his arms, attempting with all her might to free herself and go to Raff.

Looking at Jack, Topaz said, “She’s been like this ever since she came out of her room – she announced she was going to Raff and I’ve been trying to restrain her. I guess she figured out Rendal got him.”

Jack thought a moment and said, “Let her go.”

Jill, Topaz, and Maila all looked at him incredulously, and from the look in Jack’s eyes, they could tell he was serious, so Topaz released her and she stood a few feet away from him.

“I have to go to him. Goodbye,” she said, starting out the door.

Topaz looked after her and approached Jack angrily, repressing with every last ounce of strength the desire to slug him roughly in the face. As if knowing what Topaz was thinking, Jack answered, “We’re not letting her go. We’ll follow her.”

“But how does she even know where he is?!” shouted Topaz, clenching his fists tightly to his sides.

Pausing a moment, and checking to see that Maila had left the room, Jack answered, “You know what we’ve suspected for some time now. I think she knows where he is because of her link to him. You remember how things were when Raff first joined our group – she wouldn’t have anything to do with him, and you two were very close, then she abruptly became distant and attached to Raff. Seems pretty clear to me now.”

“Why couldn’t you have done something about it before?” asked Topaz, still upset, but seeming to have cooled down a bit.

“What could I have done? Besides, you are her sire. She’s your responsibility,” answered Jack stonily.

Topaz was silent and Jack looked to Jill, who was watching quietly beside Vallov. Smirking, Jack said, “You get your request, Jill. It’ll be a bit difficult with Rendal guarding him, but I’ll take care of her,” winking as he finished the sentence.

Blushing slightly, Jill thanked him and reminded, “I still want you to let me deal the final blow to Raff.”

“Why are you so intent on killing him?” asked Topaz.

“To avenge my friends and the life he took from me,” she said evenly, looking at Jack and Topaz as if daring them to question her resolve. Shrugging it off, Jack gestured to Topaz and Vallov and they began following Maila in her desperate return to her entrancing lover. 

Chapter 2 – Revenge 

It seemed like they had been walking for a long time, but it was around 2 am so the sun wouldn’t be up for a few hours. They were now amongst the ruins of a town, indicated by the skyscrapers with mangled innards, shops with all the windows broken, and, every so often, a blood-drained corpse littering the street. Charming… thought Jill, looking around for any sign of other vampires, but if there were any, they were keeping themselves hidden. As they walked, Jill was relieved that she had been able to wear boots under the dress; heels would have reduced her feet to aching stumps.

“Jill, how well do you know how to fight?” asked Jack, watching her.

“Well enough. I’m very good with a rifle and small hand guns,” she said proudly.

“I see, anything else?” he continued, not seeming all that impressed.

“Uh…what else do I need?” she asked.

In response, Jack withdrew a long sword and held it out to her. “The best way to kill a vampire is either putting them in direct sunlight, or slicing their head off. You’ll need this to finish off Raff.”

Swallowing nervously, she acted unperturbed and took the handle of the sword. She expected it to be heavy, but was surprised when it felt as light as plastic. Noticing her confusion, Jack added, “Now that you are a vampire, you have added strength.”

“I see,” she said in awe, swinging the sword around haphazardly. The blade almost grazed Jack’s face, as he could tell from the feel of the wind and the whoosh of the metal. Putting his hands up quickly, Jack grabbed her wrists and stopped her, saying, “Um…perhaps I should show you how to hold a sword…”

Feeling a bit foolish, Jill nodded and Jack stood behind her. Reaching around and holding her hands, Jack placed her palms on the sword’s handle in the correct position. Jill noticed his hands were surprisingly gentle as he guided her hands and spoke with his head resting over her shoulder. She smiled involuntarily at the feel of his chest against her back and his strong arms guiding her; subconsciously, she hoped he wouldn’t let go of her.

“Now,” he said, holding her hands firmly, “you’ll want to raise it up in a scooping motion. You can do it in either direction. Hold it above your head parallel to the ground when you want to block an attack, but be sure to remember you are leaving your stomach wide open if you do that. And then there are thrusts and slices which you can experiment with.”

Jill nodded slightly and Jack reluctantly let go of her, allowing her to practice as they walked. He grinned as he watched her, her lovely eyes focused and determined as she practiced the same moves over and over, growing more comfortable with the weapon. Jack wondered idly if she was thinking about Raff as she swiped forward and blocked, imaging his demise. While he observed her motions, he couldn’t help but notice the movements of her slender arms, the way her lips pursed in concentration, the loveliness of her features. For a second, he saw a flash of Emily, his murdered wife, in her face as Jill looked at him for approval.

“Jack?” she asked, jogging him from his daze.

“Oh,” he said, collecting himself and blushing slightly, “I’m sorry, I…nice weather, you are doing well, keep at it.”

Feeling a bit stupid and telling himself not to associate her with Emily, they continued walking and approached a well-maintained building on the left of the street, which Maila had entered a few blocks ahead of them. Jack looked at Topaz, relying on his link with Maila to lead them in the right direction once they entered through the spinning glass doors. The building appeared to be an old office structure, but there were shards of glass in the foyer and used bullet casings littering the ground. Topaz started heading to the elevator and said, “Maila’s in the basement. I think she’s found him.” 

 “Can you tell if Rendal is with them?” asked Jack.

“No, but she probably is. You know her, she likes to play around,” said Topaz, chuckling slightly and hoping Raff was in extreme pain.

As the elevator reached the lobby, they entered and waited inside the steel box as it lowered them to the basement. Jack glanced at Jill, noticing that she seemed both excited and apprehensive. Putting a hand on her shoulder, he said, “Don’t worry, you’ll do fine.”

They both grinned and the doors opened, revealing a storage basement, but Maila, Rendal, and Raff were ahead of them under the light of a single light bulb which was illuminating the room. Rendal was grinning fanatically as she held Maila against the wall by the throat, staring at her squirming prey. Topaz screamed and ran forward, his eyes locked on Rendal and the sword she had speared through Maila’s shoulder. Tears were pouring down Maila’s face and she whimpered, “Please, let me go, let Raff go, we…urg…”

As Topaz attacked Rendal, Jill spotted Raff seated in the middle of the room, restrained in a chair and covered in bloody cuts and bruises. He seemed unsure whether to view his visitors as a blessing or a curse. Topaz kicked Rendal away and pulled Maila into his arms, removing the sword and pulling locks of hair away from her face.

“Maila, Maila!” he shouted as she strained to be conscious, having lost a bit of blood flow to her head.

“I’m alright…where’s…Raff?” she asked dazedly.

Topaz grimaced at the sound of Raff’s name and looked at Jack, who nodded and approached Rendal.

“I know why you are here, Jacky poo,” said Rendal tauntingly, pulling out a chainsword and a short blade with which to fight.

“Gee, that’s a tough one,” Jack said, laughing and removing one of his own swords. “You almost lost before when we were outside, what chance do you stand down here?”

Frowning, Rendal answered, “What the hell do you know?!”

Jack rolled his eyes at her instability and waited for her to swing wildly at him, which she did. He stepped aside and kicked her against the wall, dissolving himself into the shadows and observing from the many dark corners of the room.

“Where the fuck are you!” shouted Rendal, who was staring around her frantically.

Jill was wondering the same thing – Jack had appeared to disintegrate, though the shadows were growing longer and more ominous, especially closest to Rendal. Her back was to a corner and Jill saw Jack materialize out of the darkness, sword ready. However, Rendal felt his presence and swiped behind her, just slow enough to be nicked slightly on her elbow by Jack’s sword.

Twitching, she screamed, “NOBODY makes me bleed! Oh, I’ll love tearing you to pieces…bit by bit…”

“Confident, aren’t you,” interrupted Jill, annoyed at Rendal’s random outbursts.

“You shut up, bitch! You are next,” she shouted, losing her focus and leaving herself open for Jack to strike on her hand, slicing it deftly off. In disbelief, Rendal stared at Jack and, rather than spear at him, kicked and ran to the elevator, knowing that without both hands, she didn’t stand a chance. Jack was caught by surprise, not really expecting her to retreat so easily.

“Bye bitches, catch you later!” shouted Rendal crazily, “Keep the hand as a token of good will! It’s the only bit of flesh you’ll ever get from me!”

The doors shut in front of her and Jill looked at Jack, confused by Rendal’s bizarre comments. Shrugging, Jack answered, “She’s a bit insane…”

“A bit?!” shouted Topaz incredulously.

“Hehe, I guess that was a bit generous of me…” said Jack, looking away, amused. “I guess she is about 51 cards short of a full deck.”

“Nothing but jokers left!” Topaz added, tending to Maila who was now growing more conscious since her shoulder wound was almost healed.

Now that Rendal had left, Jack glanced at Jill, who had gotten past her surprise at Jack’s shadow ability and was now staring scathingly at Raff, blade ready. Jill looked to Jack for permission and approached Raff slowly, ignoring weak cries from Maila to spare his life.

“Urg…” uttered Raff, looking up from the chair.

“It looks like you are fun to abuse,” muttered Jill, commenting on the many bruises and cuts from Rendal, Jack, and Vallov.

“…hey, you look familiar…” said Raff slowly, squinting at her.

“Here, I’ll jog your memory,” she offered, stabbing him in the chest. “How does it feel to be on this end of the sword?”

He let out a painful cry and moaned slightly, saying, “So you are the cunt who threw the grenade at us…”

“Yeah, I’m the ‘cunt’,” confirmed Jill, her eyes narrowed in anger.

“I guess Jack turned you, eh?” he said, only mildly concerned for his life after being beaten nearly senseless by Rendal.

“Yea, because I would have died thanks to you,” she growled.

“Aw, come on, we’re vampires, that’s what we do,” he protested, dismissing her quarrel with him as impractical.

In response, she twisted the blade which was lodged in his sternum and said, “NOT all vampires! You would have stabbed and violated me in my last few moments of pain-filled life! You are scum! Vampires like Jack don’t sink that low, he even saved my life!”

Raff didn’t say anything and glanced at Jack, who was surprised she was talking so highly of him. Her words reassured Jack that she didn’t hate him, that she didn’t curse him for turning her into a vampire despite her hatred of their kind. Perhaps she will stay by me willingly after all.

Jill continued, “For every despicable act, there is a just consequence – here is yours.” With that, she sliced the sword up through his body, slicing his neck and head in half. To make doubly sure that he was dead, she cut across his neck, letting the two halves of his head fall to the blood-spattered ground next to his body. As soon as she had finished, she was almost frightened by how much she had enjoyed it; she had never had much taste for violence before, except in self-defense of course. While she pondered it, she noticed the blood draining from his wounds and felt a strange feeling welling up – as if his blood were the most desirable thing, as if she craved to taste it and feel it run down her throat.

Her newfound desire was interrupted by a loud shriek from Maila, who had fallen over into what appeared to be a coma. Topaz, concerned, shook her shoulders and attempted to rouse her.

“Maila!” he shouted, staring at her ashen face.

“She’s gone into shock because one of her links has been severed, especially since he had control of her mind,” announced Jack. “You’ll have to feed her your own blood to strengthen the link you have and quicken her recovery.”

Topaz nodded and took her in his arms, carrying her to the elevator alongside Vallov, Jack, and Jill. When they got up to the main lobby, they saw it was nearing daybreak and figured it would be best to stay in the office building until nighttime – they didn’t want to risk a trip back, especially with Maila in her weakened state. They went past the front desk and ascended to the second floor where they found a spacious, comfortable room to rest in for the duration of the day.

Upon entering, Topaz ran to the couch and carefully placed Maila in a comfortable position. Without hesitation, Topaz sliced at his arm, fed Maila some of his blood until his wound healed, and then made another incision, a procedure which Jill assumed he intended to follow until Maila became conscious.

Turning to Jack, she said, “Thank you, for helping me kill Raff…”

“It’s not a problem. I want you to think of me as your companion, not an enemy. If you need anything, you are free to ask. But I do have one request – that you stay in our group, at least for the time being. You are a fledgling, so you are vulnerable, and however strong you may be, you still need our protection as I needed Vallov’s.”

Jill nodded and Jack smiled, feeling more reassured than before that she was beginning to trust him. Perhaps he didn’t come off as crazy as he had, now that she knew his history a bit more.

“Do you feel like killing Raff gave you closure?” he asked.

“Kind of…but now I need to adapt to this new existence since I no longer have any excuses,” she answered.

“Understandable,” answered Jack, adding, “You are handling it a lot better than I did.”

He got that distant look again and Jill looked at Topaz, suddenly feeling very tired herself. She felt a hand on her shoulder and saw Jack standing beside her, guiding her to one side of the room. In her fatigue, she leaned her head slightly against him and fought to keep her suddenly heavy eyelids open.

“You should get some rest now, as I’m sure you are tired. You have borne a lot today, and it’s only your first day as an immortal. Once you wake up, we’ll find you some weapons to use besides the sword. Alright?” he asked, sitting her down on the couch across from the one upon which Maila was resting.

“Okay,” she said, looking down at her hands. Smiling, Jack lingered a moment, caught by a sudden desire to sweep her into his arms and feel her skin against his face, taste her warm, soft lips as he smothered them with his own. Fighting it because he knew it was too soon for her, Jack awkwardly withdrew his hand and righted himself, announcing that he would look around a bit and then return to rest with them. Jill wished he would stay, but kept silent and made herself more comfortable on the couch. After ordering Vallov to keep watch over Jill, Jack cast one more glance at her and left the room without another word.  

Chapter 3 – The Calm before the Storm 

Jack stirred in his sleep, dreaming restlessly, and awoke with a start, his body bathed in sweat. Wiping his forehead, he took several deep breaths and tried to calm his nerves, forcing all the residual images out of focus. He had had that dream far too many times – witnessing Orlock slice open his baby daughter, watching his wife Emily being slaughtered, and the madness that ensued after he tasted Orlock’s blood. The torture and pain of those two hundred years when he was locked away with Orlock would have driven him completely insane were it not for his ability to clear his head of those thoughts most of the time. This dream had been slightly different however. Near the end, where he normally saw flashes of Emily, he had instead seen Jill fighting Orlock while Jack was watching, helpless to aid her in her struggle. Right as Orlock was about to decapitate her, he had woken himself up from his strong reaction to the dream.

As if to reassure himself that she was still all right, Jack stood up and sat by the couch on which Jill was sleeping; she seemed to sleep quite peacefully compared to the tormented nights he endured after his transformation. While he sat watching her, he felt even more determined to keep her safe from Orlock. For some reason, being around her made his older memories seem less traumatizing; she was like a focal point, anchoring him more firmly in humanity. Lately, Jack had feared that he was becoming more merciless and cruel like Orlock, especially since he didn’t have anything to care about or protect. He chuckled to himself and mused that it was funny how having someone to protect can make a person, or a vampire in his case, more grounded and emotional.

While sitting beside her, he remembered something that Orlock had told him, which Jack had meant to ponder later. In their last meeting, Orlock had mentioned a growing faction of vampires, but what concerned him more was his comment about Rendal and Raff. His voice echoed in his head – I know Rendal is delving into things she ought not to, so I was going to take care of her myself at some point. Raff is just a nuisance, so if you get a chance, please dispose of both of them in addition to that new gang the Dark Wolves. What exactly was Rendal working on?

Jill stirred and opened her eyes, at first looking up and then seeing Jack sitting by her couch. Wondering if he wanted something, she sat up attentively and asked, “Is something going on?”

“No, I just woke up a little while ago. It’s nighttime again, I imagine,” he said distantly.

“How are Maila and Topaz?”

He had forgotten to check on them and glanced over to where Topaz was sleeping, his head resting against Maila’s hand. Grinning, Jack answered, “It seems they’re doing all right.”

“Where is Vallov?”

“I have him guarding the door,” said Jack, unconcerned. He was never worried about Vallov since he was a strong protector and so tall that most people wouldn’t dream of messing with him.

Remembering something, Jack said, “Jill, are you ready for some real weapons training?”

“Yes, I suppose,” she answered uncertainly.

“Alright, then, come with me,” he said, holding her elbow and pulling her up. Vallov seemed alerted to them and came along, following a few steps behind Jack. Jack led Jill down the hall to the elevators and went to the top floor, where they entered a large room filled with weapons. To the right of the room were about thirty different masterfully crafted swords, on the left were various automatic weapons, and in front were more specialized weapons, like chainswords, various short blades, etc. Though Jill was most used to using guns and grenades, she couldn’t help but admire the collection.

“I found one of Rendal’s smaller troves of armaments. She’s a bit of a weapons freak,” said Jack, looking around. As he noticed a few of the swords on his right, he approached and took them off their racks, feeling the smooth cold blades and the sharp edges. Smiling eagerly, he figured he could take one of them for himself and set it aside, returning to Jill who was eying several short hand blades.

“Any catch your interest?” Jack asked, stepping close behind her.

“Well, they’re all very neat…how do you do handle these ones?” she asked, pointing to a pair of three-pronged metal swords about the length of her forearm. Grinning, he picked them up and said, “These are fun ones – they’re called Sai’s I believe…you hold them against your arm and can twist them to hold. They’re very useful because they can stab and strike effectively, but are also excellent at catching and blocking swords.”

“Oooh…” she murmured, impressed. The edges were filed down to sharp points and there was gold filigree on the black leather wrapped around the handles. He showed her how to hold them and flip them out, until she soon became proficient. She seemed to be more adept at the short blades than the sword, so he said, “You can probably use these as one of your primary weapons. It’s good to have a few different ones.”

After he showed her several moves to practice, he said he would be right back; he wanted to check on Maila and Topaz.

“I’ll leave Vallov here to guard you in case anything unexpected happens,” he said, grinning and closing the door behind him.

Jill practiced various strikes, repeatedly until she got them down, and then looked at a few of the other blades. Try as she might to ignore it, her thoughts kept drifting back to Jack. At first she had assumed it was because it was at least ten years since she had been around anyone long enough to get to know them, but now she wasn’t so sure. Jill wondered if perhaps she felt drawn to him since he was her sire and tried to think of the sire-sireling pairs she knew of so far – Raff had killed the vampire whose blood transformed him, Topaz seemed to be quite attached to Maila even if she had been preoccupied with Raff…and Jack apparently despised Orlock…

So much for that theory, she thought to herself, glad that her fondness for him was a result of her own feelings as opposed to an after-effect of their blood bond. She flipped the Sai’s faster, feeling a bit foolish for developing an interest in him so quickly…although, it was nice to have someone who cared about her and wanted to protect her, for once. She hadn’t had anyone to rely on except for herself for years, and it was refreshing to have a comrade; especially one as regal and debonair as Jack, she thought with a smirk, even if he is a bit nuts.

Vallov turned his attention to the door and Jill assumed it meant that Jack had returned. When the door opened, Jack seemed a bit perturbed by something, but it disappeared slightly from his face when he saw her.

“Are you all right?” she asked.

“Yeah, I just stumbled across something very interesting. I’ll show you later when I go back to check it out more thoroughly…” he said, his voice drifting off. There was a slight pause before he switched gears back to the present situation, wiping all preoccupations and concerns from his face.

“So, ready for some combat practice?” he asked, grinning mischievously.

“What kind?”

He grabbed the sword he had been drooling over earlier and held it at the ready position in front of him.

“En guarde!” he shouted, laughing.

“Woah, hold on –” she shouted, but he swung to her side and she lifted up her right arm instinctively, the Sai protecting the flesh of her forearm from the blow.

“I’m going slowly, practice what I showed you,” he said, bringing it around to strike at the other side of her.

Flipping her left Sai to its unsheathed position, she caught the sword between two of the blades and swung it to the side, lunging forward to strike at Jack but felt a hit in her stomach – he had used the handle of the sword to hit her.

“Urg,” she uttered, not hurt badly but feeling a bit short of breath.

“You have to be ready to defend against the person, not just the blade,” he reminded her, swinging at her again when she was ready. He tried spearing at her, relatively slowly, but as they sparred longer he picked up the pace to test her reflexes. Since he had perfect control of his weapon (and had been longing to use it since it was such a fine piece of craftsmanship...), he could easily turn the blade’s sharp end away from her in an instant to dampen the blow.

She was adapting remarkably fast and Jack was almost tempted to spar more seriously, but kept it at an intermediate level. He brought the sword down as if to strike her head and she caught it between the crossed blades of both her Sai’s, and swung and twisted it so quickly that it actually flew out of his hands. Momentarily stunned, he lost focus for a second and she elbowed him in the stomach, bringing her right Sai down to the side of his neck with the other poised at his stomach.

Smirking, he said, “I guess I was going too easy on you and let my guard down.”

Before she could take offense, he added, “But you are doing great, especially considering that it’s just your second day.”

Exhaling and letting her Sai’s drop to her sides, she sat down to rest for a second. Jack seated himself by her and picked up the sword, examining the engraving at the base of the blade. It looked like Latin, but he couldn’t understand what it meant. I guess Rendal really was into her weapons, as with that other project of hers, he thought to himself, laying the sword back down next to him.

“So Jack, I guess you are all healed from yesterday?” she asked, remembering that Orlock had ripped a chunk out of his stomach.

“Yeah,” he said, pulling his shirt up a bit and showing her where the skin was now smooth and scar-free.

“Hyuu…that’s impressive,” said Jill.

“You can regenerate as well,” he reminded her.

“I haven’t been injured yet.”

“Well, hopefully I can keep it that way,” he said, smiling.

She blushed slightly, still not used to having someone earnestly offer to protect her. When she had first seen Jack, injured as she was, she was scared and distrustful of him since he was a vampire and his red eyes seemed menacing; now she knew there was more to him than what she’d thought. As she recalled that, he seemed to have moved closer, his face only inches away. The way he was looking at her was captivating, a gentle grin crossing his face while he paused slightly, waiting for her to object. For a moment, she thought she had stopped breathing, nervous and excited as he drew closer, his arms so close it was virtually an embrace. Closing her eyes slightly, his hair brushed her cheek and she waited, savoring the anticipation and cursing the prolonged seconds.

“Jack! Jack, Maila’s woken up!” called Topaz from outside the room.

As the entrance flew ajar, her eyes shot open and she jerked away, embarrassed. When she finally had the nerve to look at Jack, she was surprised to see his face was livid and his eyes locked with intensity – very scary.

Jeez, is that what he looks like when he’s angry? she wondered to herself.

“Great, she’s awake, we’ll be right there,” said Jack hurriedly, trying to get Topaz to leave and let them be.

“Um…did something happen?” asked Topaz, surprised that Jack was acting so touchy.

“No, nothing,” answered Jack accusingly.

In an attempt to ease out of such an awkward situation, Jill stood up and said, “Come on, let’s see how Maila is doing.”

Jack reluctantly stood up, his face still very tense, and waited for Jill to lead the way. As they left, Jack swung his tightly clenched fist into the doorframe, letting out his frustration on inanimate objects like usual. Jill and Topaz turned around, alarmed by the loud crash, and Jack shrugged innocently, pointing accusingly at Vallov while hiding his own dust-covered arm behind him.

As he followed, he cursed himself for making such an obvious move on her, but he couldn’t help it – the moment had just been so perfect, and now it was lost. Still, she hadn’t resisted him, he thought to himself, smiling excitedly. He quickly regained his composure and followed them back to the room, where Maila was sitting on the couch and seemed fairly coherent.

“Maila, it’s great to see you are feeling better,” started Jack.

“What happened?” she asked.

“What’s the last thing you remember?” asked Topaz.

“Well…I remember that Raff was being a jerk like always and I was going to go give him a piece of my mind,” she answered, recalling how much Raff ticked her off.

Jack and Topaz stared at her incredulously, as if she had just grown a second head.

Topaz said, “What did you just say?”

“Well come on, you’ve seen what he’s like. He’s only been with us for two weeks and he’s already wreaked havoc at every human base within 5 miles,” she said, rolling her eyes and wondering what they were so surprised about.

“Maila, that was years ago,” Jack informed her.

“Then…what has happened since?” she asked, bewildered.

Jack and Topaz looked at one another, not sure who should be the first to tell her. Jack nodded to Topaz and let him handle it, since he was her sire.

“Maila,” started Topaz, “since then, you and Raff were…well…lovers. Or more, you were completely infatuated with him though he still raped and killed human women. Just yesterday, Jill, sired by Jack, killed Raff and you’ve been in a coma until now.”

“For years you say? I…with him…” she said, looking for confirmation while her growing disgust started making itself obvious in her facial _expression.

“Yes,” Topaz said painfully. “We, well, Jack, recently realized that Raff had probably put you under some kind of hypnosis, which had gradually become stronger.”

Repulsed, she looked down at her body, horrified at the knowledge that Raff had used it like those of countless other victims. Tears welled up in her eyes and Topaz sat beside her, one arm around her shoulders and the other holding her hand tightly.

“It’ll be okay. At least you weren’t aware of it at the time. For you, its as if it never happened,” said Topaz, leaving unsaid how pained he had been over the years as she had drifted further and further away from him, right when they had been closer than ever.

“Well, we’ll leave you two to discuss things. There’s something I want to show you, but I’ll take Jill first. We’ll be on the 5^th floor, so come up when you feel ready,” said Jack, nodding to Vallov and leaving the room with him and Jill.

“What do you want to show me?” asked Jill.

“I found one of Rendal’s private rooms on the 5^th floor – it has a lot of research which is…interesting, to say the least.”

“What about?” she pressed, following him to the elevators.

“You’ll see,” said Jack quietly, escorting her into the sliding doors and standing beside her, awaiting the ascent. 

Chapter 4 – Behind the Crimson Door 

Jack’s sire, Maximilian Orlock, was pacing restlessly through the cavernous halls in his stone castle, passing his traumatized human serfs as he went. His bloodshot red eyes were ablaze, and his body seemed unusually tense; something was unnerving him, and Jack was the cause. Nothing frightened him, but he knew that Jack had grown more distant since he had sired Jill. Despite the warning he had given Jack, Orlock knew that he was not listening. A few hours ago, he had sensed a surge of emotion through Jack that he hadn’t felt since he had first encountered and turned him.

If his humanity returns, then all the effort I put into making him would have been for nothing and I’ll have to start all over…right when he’d become the obedient sireling I always wanted him to be.

Frustrated, he knew Jack’s new feelings were directed at and caused by Jill. Though he had been happy that Jack seemed to embrace his vampirism and sired someone of his own, Jack was being influenced by the fledgling, and not the reverse. In a matter of hours, Jill was threatening to dislodge one of his favorite protégés. Shrugging, he knew that the warning was more than fair, and he would have to end it his way – in the only way he saw fit.

Poor Jack, but I do look forward to devising new ways to torture him… thought Orlock sadistically.  

Back at the building Rendal had abandoned, Jack had brought Jill to a dark, rosewood door at the end of a hallway on the fifth floor, its edges stained with blood. The carpet had worn thin, revealing the weathered wooden planks underneath; clearly Rendal had been here often. Jack opened the door slowly and turned on the light, which illuminated the room and revealed an astonishing sight - on every wall, even the floor and the ceiling, there were markings; some of it appeared to be in blood.

They seemed to be magic arrays of various shapes, though primarily pentagrams and hexagons. The floor was littered with scribbled notes and there were open books with dusty covers piled upon the desk.

“What is all this?” asked Jill.

“These are arrays. For sealing a demon,” answered Jack excitedly.

“Demons? I didn’t know those existed,” replied Jill, still trying to make some sense out of the room’s contents.

“Oh, they did exist at one time, we’re pretty certain of that, but we don’t know of any pure demons that exist anymore. Not in this world anyway,” he said. “Also, take a look at this,” he continued, picking up several letters of Rendal’s which were stamped with the insignia of a menacing looking wolf.

“What does that mean?” she asked.

“It’s a symbol Orlock and I have been seeing recently – it’s the crest of the vampire gang ‘The Dark Wolves’. They are one of the larger groups that pose any kind of threat to Orlock. And it looks like Rendal has been working with them,” said Jack.

Still not following him, Jill asked, “So, what does all her work here have to do with the Dark Wolves?”

Pausing a moment, Jack answered, “There is a lot of speculation and proof that Orlock is part demon. So they could attempt to use these arrays to seal him.”

As he said that, Jack smiled and looked at the arrays on the wall, pausing before a hexagon enclosing a circle, each corner framed with short markings.

After looking at the books and back up at the array, he said, “I think this is the final array they’ve developed. From what is written here, and based on my knowledge of demonology, it looks like this one would be able to seal Orlock…”

Jill saw a strange change occur in his face, a new clarity in his eyes she hadn’t seen in the time she had known him. The grin on his face gave her the impression that he had reached a new understanding, an epiphany; it was as if this discovery opened a whole new chapter in his life which was both excited and daunting. At that moment, Maila entered the room with Topaz and they both looked awed by the drawings on the walls, apparently seeing what Jack saw.

“You see what this means, don’t you?” said Jack, turning to his comrades.

“Was this all Rendal’s work?” asked Topaz, surprised Rendal had space left in her demented mind for anything but weapons and bloodlust.

“Yes, and she’s been working with the Dark Wolves,” Jack added, tossing Topaz a few of the correspondences.

“This is…impressive,” said Topaz cautiously. “I hope you are not thinking what I think you are thinking…”

Jack chuckled and answered, “So what if I am?”

Right as he responded, he cringed and started muttering to himself, leaving the room momentarily to listen to Orlock’s message. Topaz and Maila looked at each other nervously, hoping that the timing was unrelated to what they had just uncovered. Jill recalled seeing Jack go through this before, so she assumed it was something usual. Outside, Jack was leaning against the wall, bottling up the hate he felt at the feeling of Orlock’s presence in his mind. He despised when Orlock contacted him telepathically – and especially at as inopportune a time as this. Jack cringed and held his head against his hand asking, “what…what?”

Jack, I need you to bring Jill to see me again.

What?

You heard me. I want to see you, too.

But you already met her, what more do you want?

You’ll find out when you bring her. I’ll be expecting you tomorrow.

Very well.

When his mind was released from the strong connection to Orlock’s, Jack gasped and bent over, his head swimming. Immediately, with the feeling of Orlock still in his thoughts, he felt a chill. There’s no way I could seal him. But at the same time, he had a feeling that Orlock had something in store for Jill – and what it was, he really didn’t want to find out. Upon reentering the room, he glanced at them and they stared back expectantly, wondering what he was planning to do.

“What did Orlock say?” asked Topaz.

“He…wants me to bring Jill to him tomorrow,” said Jack evenly.

Everyone was silent and Jill felt a shiver run through her at the thought of seeing those piercing, unforgiving eyes. She still shuddered when she remembered how he had licked her hand and gripped it coldly, as if letting her know that a single, easy movement of his arm would rip hers out of its socket.

“Why?” asked Jill.

Jack was silent and then answered, “I don’t know,” looking away deep in thought. Topaz looked at Maila and then to Jill, who didn’t know what to make of the situation. Jill thought everyone else seemed to understand what a second visit would mean except her, so she asked, “Don’t you have any idea?”

Pausing, Jack replied, “He…well, it probably isn’t good. Let me worry about it for now.”

“We don’t exactly have a lot of time, Jack,” said Topaz, “so we should get a plan ready before we sleep in the morning. Are you just going to hope he is merely asking her back for a friendly chat?”

“No,” Jack said scathingly, “but…I just need to think for a few minutes…”

“Well, hurry. I don’t like Orlock any more than you do, but we need to think it through as far ahead of time as possible to avoid doing anything rash,” warned Topaz.

“Don’t lecture me like you know him better than I do!” shouted Jack. “You…you’ve no idea what I’ve endured at his hands. I understand the situation perfectly. I just need to clear my head. Why don’t you take Maila, Vallov, and Jill back to the room – I’ll be right there.”

Startled by Jack’s outburst, Topaz shut his mouth and, one arm around Maila’s waist, headed out of the room with Jill and Vallov. Jill didn’t want to look at Jack, afraid that he would lash out at her as well; he was scary when he got angry. Though she could sense his conflict and wanted to remain with him to help, she knew that solitude was truly what he needed.

When they emptied out of the room, Jack closed his eyes and took a deep breath, thinking to himself and indulging in a moment of frailty. Why now? Everything at once is so much to handle – things finally start going well, and Orlock decides to tear it apart. Right when I have finally accepted being Orlock’s sireling and have sired a companion of my own… Frustrated, Jack clenched his fists and turned his head up to the ceiling. It wasn’t so much that he didn’t know what to do, but fear was making him vacillate between the choice that would protect himself at the cost of his soul and his heart, and the option with which he had just been confronted after more than two hundred years of painful servitude.

It’s not just yourself, though you are most afraid for yourself. Finally, right when you have something that makes you want to fucking stick around, he wants to take it away. For a moment, he wondered if he was jumping to conclusions, if perhaps Orlock didn’t want to kill Jill. That instant of doubt passed quickly, when he remembered Orlock’s madness and cruel nature – that he, Jack, was having these conflicts was proof enough that he was reverting to his former self, which was exactly what Orlock had warned him not to do. And if Jack knew the cause, then surely Orlock would sense it as well. He was also lying to himself if he didn’t find the idea of sealing Orlock away to be tempting, but it wasn’t something he would have normally attempted under such time constraints. Though he had tried to kill Orlock several times before in his younger days, he had never been successful, and each punishment for his disobedience was too painful to recall.

Ultimately, he knew he had to pick whether he wanted to risk years of pain, and possibly death, to save that which made him want to live, or he could let Orlock kill Jill and sacrifice what remained of his humanity, a decision which would eat at his soul for the rest of eternity because he’d had a chance to prevent it, and hesitated. When he thought about it that way, he saw the answer was very clear and chuckled that he had even needed to deliberate it. Taking the book and the correct drawing of the array, which he folded up and slipped under the dust jacket, he left the room and returned to the second floor with his decision.

Upon entering their room, he saw Jill sitting anxiously on the couch next to Vallov. Topaz and Maila stood up abruptly from where they were sitting on the arms of the opposite couch, watching Jack expectantly. The air was still with tension as they all waited for Jack to say something. Looking at everyone, he stated simply, “If you are with me, let’s get started – we have a lot of work to do.” 

Meanwhile, in the highest room of his mansion, Orlock stood surveying the distant cityscape, wondering how Jack would respond to the death of the first vampire he’d ever sired. Grinning maliciously, the powerful vampire chuckled and looked forward to seeing the agony in his sireling’s face, as if Jack were reliving the death of his beloved little wife. Before Orlock had sired Jack, he’d watched him for days since he was looking for a human worthy enough to sire. Previously, he’d experimented with siring loners and powerful fighters, but they had a streak in them that made them difficult to control, as they had never needed anyone and were too used to being independent. When Orlock saw Jack, and the circle of people around him on whom he relied, Orlock knew Jack would be perfect. Once those people were erased, he would have a gaping hole in his life that would need to be filled, and Orlock could slip into it given the proper persuasion.

Laughing, Orlock enjoyed thinking about the new tortures he would put Jack through after Jill’s death. He wondered if he should kill Jill as he had Emily…first ripping off her arm…then slicing her and tossing her eyeball at Jack’s horrified face. His musings were interrupted when one of his human serfs announced that he had a visitor. Curious who would want to visit him uninvited, Orlock said he would be right down and proceeded to meet his mysterious visitor.

When he got to the lobby, he saw Rendal, whose hand was a short stump in the process of regrowing itself. It almost resembled a shriveled tree, with five awkward, naked branches jutting uncomfortably from its trunk.

“Why, Rendal, what an unexpected visit,” said Orlock, almost not believing his good fortune to have his quarry march up to him as if already holding its head in a guillotine.

Laughing, Rendal waved her hand and said, “The honor is all yours, honestly! But before you tear me apart, I have a proposition you may like.”

“And what would that be?” he asked, his right hand twitching in its attempt to repress ripping out Rendal’s throat.

“Jacky-poo is entertaining some pretty naughty ideas,” she said, “like thinking that he can kill you.”

Orlock was silent a moment and than started laughing, saying, “Ren, Ren, of course he’d think it, and may even attempt it, but he’d never succeed – he’s tried before and I’ve never come out of it with a scratch.”

“Oh, ho! Show’s how much you know,” she said. “Tell me honestly Orlock. What do you know about demon arrays?”

His stony silence indicated that she’d hit a nerve and she continued, “Well, the Dark Wolves had been working on making an array to seal you, Max. Comes as a big surprise, doesn’t it? They managed to find some of those old books you hadn’t yet confiscated.”

“And I suppose you helped them with this?” he said evenly, forcing himself to wait until Rendal told him all she knew before slicing her apart.

“That doesn’t matter, Orlock – what matters is that Jacky has come across all the finished work the Dark Wolves had developed. He’s got a demon array that could seal your sorry ass!” she shouted.

“So what made you think that coming here and telling me would make you immune to their fates?” he asked.

“I want to help you kill him,” she said. “Think about it, this whole scenario only benefits you – I just want a piece of it. I want to taste his blood and see him squeal…”

Nodding, Orlock said, “Well, thank you for bringing this to my attention. I wonder why I didn’t sense it…”

“Oh, we’ve set up all kinds of magic on that building to make it difficult for demons, especially half-breeds like you, to use their omniscient powers.”

Orlock approached her, figuring that her madness had prompted her foolishly audacious behavior. Putting a hand on her shoulder, he took his fingers and dug them into her shoulder, drawing blood. Before Rendal could react, he forced his other hand into her gut and gripped her spine from the front, holding her in place. As he licked the blood from Rendal’s shoulder, he started muttering a few words and the images around her dissolved, twisting into chaotic phantasms that plagued her mind. Through the hurricane of torments, she heard Orlock’s voice say, “How do you like this Demon’s power?” When his face appeared in front of her, she felt her fragile grip on reality slowly melt away completely, and in her last throbbing moments of agony, heard the cracking of her spine as he ripped it from her body.

Tossing her carcass aside, Orlock turned and started back up to his room, ordering his servants to clean up the mess. Licking his blood-covered hands, Orlock chuckled to himself and sighed in satisfaction. Foolish Rendal, even she should have known that coming here and tossing her trump card haughtily at my feet would not protect her. He knew that her madness made her unable to perceive reality as others would have, but it was no excuse. Besides, potential ally or not, she had betrayed him, and had received his punishment.

When Orlock reached the top tower, he sat and called his servants to him in preparation. He would wait, and when Jack came, if he tried to seal him as Rendal had reported, he would add a few new lines to Jack’s definition of pain and suffering. 

Back at Rendal’s building, Jack and his companions had finished discussing the plans for the following night. How it would unfold, none of them knew, but they had silently agreed not to discuss it until the following evening. Day was approaching, and Maila and Topaz were already sleeping soundly on the couch across the room, while Jack and Jill stood outside the doorway, both waiting for a word to cut the silence.

“It’s a little bit funny,” started Jack, “that all of this has happened at once.”

“How so?” asked Jill, leaning against the wall.

“Right when everything seems to be going fine, I find a way to fight Orlock and am confronted with a reason to fight him. Almost seems like fate.”

“How do we know for sure that Orlock wants to kill me? You never really said,” reminded Jill, watching Jack’s face.

His eyes narrowed and he frowned, answering, “At our last meeting, I was a bit smart with him, and he said I better not let your humanity rub off on me, which he and I both know has. If he keeps you alive, he knows his hold on me will weaken more and more.”

“How have I done that?” she asked, confused.

“I created you, brought you into our world, and it’s my duty to protect you. Those kinds of feelings lead to other ones which Orlock sees as threatening.”

“But just because you are my sire, it doesn’t mean you are obligated to protect me.”

Tensely, he answered, “I don’t just want to protect you because of that.” She heard the unsaid words and didn’t press him to be more explicit, since it looked hard enough for him to say just that much. That nervous knot in her stomach returned and all she could think to say was, “Thank you. But, aren’t you risking too much?”

Jack scoffed and replied sourly, “Whatever I choose, I’ll be forced to suffer – for helping you, or for indulging in human emotions. I’ve endured loss before and I couldn’t do anything to save the ones I cared about. Now I have a chance to save you, however risky, and I must take it or I’ll regret it for as long as Orlock permits me to live.”

“Jack…” she said softly, wanting to reassure him, but holding back from doing so. As he turned to look at her he placed his hands on her shoulders reluctantly, as if any _expression of emotion would be an admission of weakness. Unable to bear it, he abruptly pulled her close and wrapped his arms around her, holding her to his chest.

“I don’t want to lose anyone again,” he murmured, embracing her tightly. Her heart was pounding in her ears and she buried her face against him, little pricks tingling on her head from his fingers twisted in her hair. She could tell from the way he held her how hard it had been for him to express his feelings, however vague. He always tried to be so strong and unaffected – after all, if everyone in their group lost hope, where would they be? But even so, at times like these, even he needed a release from his burdens.

When his hold on her loosened, she looked up and felt his lips come down upon hers, catching her breath. His grip was intoxicating, and he held her so tightly it was almost painful. Surrendering, she held tighter and kissed him back, forgetting her uncertainty under his touch. As he let himself succumb to desire, he also felt an aching pain at the thought that each caress would be the last, that he would never experience this rediscovered happiness again. Holding Jill in his embrace, he guided her into the other room where they lay together in one others’ arms, treasuring the last few peaceful moments they were allowed to have before tomorrow’s fateful battle.  

Chapter 5 – The Day of Reckoning 

When morning came, everyone gathered together and went over the plan once more, trying to forget their nervousness and the strength of the foe they were about to face. Collecting their things and repeating their respective tasks over in their heads, the group set out to Orlock’s castle. It was eerily dark, as there was no moon to light their path, and the tension among them was growing uncomfortable; even Vallov seemed edgier than normal.

As they walked on, the silence was getting unbearable so Maila and Topaz began talking uneasily in an attempt to make light conversation about the years she hadn’t been in full control of her mind.

“…and a couple days ago, Jack turned Jill, who was stabbed through the chest by Raff. Jack was going to kill Raff, but Rendal ended up kidnapping him just for the sake of being a nuisance. I wonder where she got off to,” mused Topaz, suddenly remembering Rendal.

Shaking his head, Jack answered, “She probably got herself in some trouble with that mouth of hers – she doesn’t know when to shut up and is too confident for her own good.”

Jill asked, “So how did you even meet Rendal?”

“A bit of a long story,” started Jack, “but somehow she came under the tutelage of Orlock. Apparently she got sick of that and joined the Dark Wolves. We still don’t know exactly what she wanted Raff for, maybe just a subject to torture, for all we know.”

“I see,” said Jill, pulling out a few of the weapons she had brought with her. She had her Sai’s sheathed against her hips, and wore a long and a short sword for a variety of fighting situations. Pulling out the pronged blades, she flipped them in and out of her hands, preparing herself for the fight.

“So once we get there, we’ll work downstairs and lure him there, right?” confirmed Topaz, for the sixth time.

“Yes,” answered Jack, a bit annoyed, but understanding of his comrade’s concerns.

“Jack, I know it sounds easy when we say the plan, but…well, you know Orlock best. What do you think the chances are of us succeeding?” asked Maila.

Jack wasn’t used to her being balanced and alert, so he was almost caught off guard, but managed to answer, “To be honest? I don’t know. If everything goes as planned, it should be easy, but if he has any clue what we’re doing, our outlook is much worse.”

“Do you think he could know?” asked Jill.

“We’ll know soon enough. It just means we’ll have to work faster and more carefully,” he said optimistically, trying to remain unwavering in his resolve for the sake of the group.

Ahead of them, they saw the forest surrounding Orlock’s castle, which looked even more menacing than the other times they had traveled through it. Once past the trees, they saw the impressive stone structure, the castle drawbridge lowered in waiting. As they traveled across it, Jill shivered, a bad vibe emanating from the place. Her first impression of Orlock was not very encouraging, and if he intended to kill her…

“Jill, I want you to stay downstairs with the others. Vallov and I will go upstairs,” said Jack, pressing his hand on her shoulder reassuringly.

She wanted to protest, but could feel him begging her to trust him, so she nodded and watched his silhouette disappear up the stairs. As she looked after him, she shut her eyes and hoped that wouldn’t be the last time she saw him. Opening her eyes, she turned to Maila and Topaz and said, “We’d better get started.”

Quickly, they each withdrew heavy, sharp metal lancets and began tracing their memorized lines in the floor across the entire room. The gritty feeling of the point cutting into the rock sent shivers up her spine, but she continued. Topaz and Maila seemed to be able to ignore the scraping sensation and were nearing completion of the inner symbol, working their way outward. Jill was surprised by her increase in strength after being turned, since the rock gave way almost as if it were soft clay.

Though she had started on the outer part of the array, she felt uneasy, as if cold, soulless eyes were watching her. She looked at Topaz and Maila, who were oblivious to her concerns, and tried to pinpoint the source of her anxiety. In the shadows of the room, she saw about six tall figures approaching, their eyes glowing red in the gloom. They were remarkably tall, at least one or two feet taller than she was, and their skin had a pale, dead look to it – a couple even looked like they were decaying.

“Topaz, Maila, there’re things out there!” she shouted.

They turned and saw the creatures at which Jill was pointing, not seeming too startled.

 Maila answered, “Those are Orlock’s drones. They’ll only attack if Orlock orders them to.”

No sooner had Maila said those words than the drones withdrew their swords and turned on Jill, who was closest to them. Uneasy, she set down the metal lancet and removed her Sai’s since the drone slaves were using swords.

“Maila, Topaz, I think I need some help over here!” she yelled, glancing at them.

“Hold them off for a few minutes, we’re almost done with our parts of the array,” said Topaz, etching furiously.

Nodding reluctantly, Jill backed away slightly as the first one closed and the others started heading past her towards Maila and Topaz. As the one nearest to her prepared to strike, she raised her Sai’s in defense, hoping Jack was doing okay and would be down soon. 

Upstairs, Jack and Vallov were shrouded in darkness, the door to Orlock’s chambers seeming unfathomably far away. The closer they got, the further it seemed, which caused Jack alarm and he tried to clear his head, realizing too late that Orlock had planned for Jack to fight against him.

Jack, Jack… said a cruel, emotionless voice, why all the sneaking around?

At that moment, Orlock appeared in front of him, though Jack wasn’t certain whether it was still an illusion or reality.

“After all,” said Orlock, “you can tell me anything.”

Jack remained silent and called upon his ability to fade into shadows, hoping he was near enough to a dark corner to break Orlock’s focus on him. The first time he tried, he felt several slashes hit his biceps, and suddenly heard a loud growling somewhere outside his range of vision. The sound alerted him from the images Orlock had sent him and his surroundings faded back to the staircase, though he was now at the top and Orlock was in front of him, standing by the window of his favorite room in the castle. Vallov was standing beside Jack, apparently having been unaware of Jack’s predicament until he saw Orlock and the wounds inflicted on Jack’s shoulders.

“The prodigal son returns,” said Orlock coldly, stepping forward with a sword raised. Jack backed away slightly while Vallov attempted to shield him, the drone’s face growing more ferocious as Jack’s anger grew.

“Not quite,” answered Jack, withdrawing a shadow sword and a regular short sword. Though he knew Orlock could follow him into shadows, since it had been Orlock to teach him that ability, if he had both types of weapons he could hopefully strike at him successfully enough to draw just enough blood. In the regular world, shadow weapons were invisible, just like him when he disappeared. However, in the shadow world it was the reverse – regular weapons were invisible – so with both, he had an advantage.

“Why do you fight me, Jack?” Orlock asked in a fatherly tone.

“I think you know why,” Jack replied, backing down the stairs and trying to buy time.

“Oh, come now, I just wanted to see Jill again. She’s quite a lovely young lady, as I’m sure you’ve discovered by now,” added Orlock tauntingly.

Frowning, Jack wished he knew how far along Topaz, Maila, and Jill were on the array so he could strike at Orlock. He just needed to cut him once, though throughout all his years with Orlock, he had never been successful at injuring him, try as he might.

“However,” continued Orlock, “since you seem to be betraying me, as you did in your fledgling days, I will now have to destroy the cause of your rebellious feelings. After I do that, what punishment would you like this time? The wheel? Flails? The maiden?”

Jack could feel the periphery of his vision growing blurry, and began fighting with all his might as Orlock tried to hit him with another set of misleading images. Holding onto Vallov to anchor him in the real world, he heard several shouts emanating from downstairs and wanted to hurry.

“It’s over Jack, you’ve always failed, you’ll fail again this time,” said Orlock. “Rendal told me everything.”

“Rendal…where is she?” asked Jack, his fears confirmed.

“Oh, you needn’t worry – I took care of her myself after she told me about your ‘discovery’ of the Dark Wolves’ demon array.”

Gritting his teeth, Jack lunged forward and swung at Orlock with his long shadow sword, missing and then shifting into shadows, hoping to dodge whatever retaliation he faced. As he reentered the real world, he saw Vallov attempting to edge Orlock down the stairway, several deep cuts bleeding on his appendages. From the look of his right arm, it was nearly cut all the way through and Jack hurried to the side of his drone, shoving him out of the way as Orlock attempted to sever the limb.

“I do hate to maim that wonderful drone I made for you, but he’s too persistent,” complained Orlock, kicking Jack so hard his knee dislocated and threw off his balance, sending him flying down the stone stairs. As Orlock and Vallov disappeared from view, he heard a loud cry and hoped that Vallov hadn’t been killed. When he hit the floor, he felt one of his ribs break and tried to sit up, wincing in pain.  

In a desperate attempt to see where Jill, Maila, and Topaz were, he forced himself up despite the shards of bone poking at his skin and innards.

“Jill!” he shouted, twisting his head around for a view of the room.

In the far corner, he saw Jill trying to fight off two of Orlock’s drones, while Maila stood defending Topaz from three others, since Topaz was already badly injured. He saw one drone lying in a pool of green blood in the center of the room, its head cleanly sliced off. Jack wondered if Jill had managed to kill that one. Jill seemed to be overwhelmed, so Jack got to his feet and started limping over to her while keeping an eye on the stairs for Orlock’s approach. When he got closer, one of the drones saw him and was tempted to attack, but then it stopped and Jack turned to see Orlock at the base of the stairs

Jack began rushing back to the stairwell and saw Orlock heading towards him, almost gliding along the stone floor. As he ran at Orlock, Jack intentionally landed roughly on his leg several times in an attempt to pop his knee back into place. He cringed against the pain, but a few feet from his sire, the throbbing subsided slightly and he knew it was as righted as it would get. Jack ducked and tried to rush past Orlock, slicing out with both swords, but only lightly grazing Orlock’s long cloak. Right as he thought he was clear of his master, he felt Orlock swing the flat end of his sword against Jack’s broken ribs, coming close to puncturing his left lung.

As he fell, he heard Jill shout, “Jack, my part – I was interrupted! You are closest, see what you can do!”

Before Jack could attempt to look at the array, Orlock was nearly upon him, ready to plunge a sword through his stomach and grab his head with his right hand. Moving quickly, he managed to escape from the path of Orlock’s grasping fingers – one of his most feared attacks was the use of his demonic blood abilities. If Orlock were able to taste his blood, Jack would be locked into a nightmare from which no power but Orlock’s could release him.

Jack saw his chance and sliced upward, managing to cut off the very tips of Orlock’s fingers. Though far less damaging than the injuries Jack had already sustained, he was energized – having laid his first true blow against his master. Orlock frowned and then almost panicked, waiting for the array to activate; even a single drop of his blood on the surface of the array could set it off.

When nothing happened, Orlock grinned evilly and started attacking Jack more leisurely, knowing that the array wasn’t complete, if they even had the correct one. Jack saw the blood seep into a few of the newly hewn crevices in the stone floor, so he screamed, “We have to complete the array! It’s ready to be activated!”

Jill heard him and began rushing over more fervently, hoping to avoid Orlock’s gaze and the two pursuing drones as she made her way around to the front. All over her body were cuts an inch or two deep, mainly on her legs and arms, but she was so filled with adrenaline that she ignored it, her whole attention focused on the edge of the array that they hadn’t completed. She was about to lower her blade to complete the inscription when she felt a sharp metal point pierce through the side of her chest. Coughing out blood, she looked up and saw Orlock, who had diverted his attention from Jack momentarily. Behind him, Jack was bringing down both his swords upon Orlock’s shoulders but Orlock was aware and grinned in anticipation.

Jill tried to warn him, but Orlock ripped his blade from out of Jill’s side and sliced halfway through Jack’s abdomen, stopping before it would have cut his stomach completely across. Helpless, Jill watched Jack topple to the ground, holding his stomach in an attempt to keep his vitals from seeping out. Needing assistance, she looked for Topaz and Maila, who were still surrounded by the drones. Maila looked like she was beginning to tire, though she had managed to dispatch of one of the drones, and Topaz was feeling a bit better so, lucky for Maila, he could help her fight. Not much good it did Jill, as they were way across the room.

Clutching her wound and staring painfully at Jack, she felt Orlock grab most of her hair and jerk her head back painfully. Jack, please be okay.

“You really do like to stir up trouble, don’t you?” said Orlock angrily, licking the blood seeping from one of the wounds on her arm. She cringed and tried to unsheathe her Sai’s, glancing at Jack who was lying on the ground and seemed to be struggling with something.

“Jack, are you okay?!” she shouted, ignoring Orlock, which seemed to incense him further.

“Look at me when I talk to you, you worthless little girl!” screamed Orlock, slapping her face so hard that a bruise already started welling up and she thought her jaw had fractured. In response, she glared at him and removed her Sai’s, managing to stab him in the stomach with both blades. To her surprise, he barely flinched, as if he had let her do it, but she could tell it hurt from the emotion that blazed in his eyes.

Pulling out the blades and tossing them aside as if they were toys, he murmured, “I’m going to like torturing you. I’ll drag it out as long as possible – and I’ll force Jack to watch. How will it feel, I wonder, being a tool for your sire’s torment? It’s entirely your fault, you know, the situation he’s in now.”

“Is that so?” she asked, glancing at Jack who was now lying in a pool of blood and still hadn’t gotten up. She wondered why he was staying down so long – if he was really that badly injured – and glanced at Topaz and Maila, who had eliminated two more drones.

“Hey, Jack,” started Orlock, “take a look.” With that, Orlock grabbed Jill’s side and said, “Want to watch as I fry her pathetic mind?”

But Orlock’s smile vanished when he saw Jack run his hand up and turn over, revealing he had completed the array with his own blood. Before Orlock could react, darkness enveloped everyone within the array’s perimeter and Jill felt her body hit the ground, as if Orlock had disintegrated. The darkness around them felt like it was part wind and part liquid, draining into the array and spreading along the ground where the seal was created. The array they had created was now charcoal black, including the stone, and the marks they had made were burned permanently into the ground. Topaz and Maila ran over to her and Jack, their way now free of Orlock’s minions. The two remaining drones seemed disoriented and aimless, since they lacked their master to command them.

Topaz grimaced a little as he ran, his muscles tugging at the weak fibers of flesh that were sewing his wounds together. Now free of Orlock’s grip, Jill was lying on the floor and taking in deep breaths, desperately hoping her lungs would stay intact. When they turned Jack over, he was unconscious with blood smeared on his face and abdomen. Concerned for Jack, she turned her head and tried to sit up, needing Maila’s help to lift her body off the ground.

“Is he going to be okay?” asked Jill, forgetting the pain in her body and staring at Jack’s wounds.

“Yeah, but he’ll need to feed as soon as he wakes up, he’s lost a lot of blood. You’ll need to also,” answered Topaz, who was ripping a long strip of fabric from his shirt and tying it around Jack’s wound. Exhausted and relieved that the fighting had finished, Jill gave in to fatigue and let slumber take her into its seductive hold.  

Jack woke up hours later, cups of blood resting on the dresser next to him. It appeared that he had been returned to his mansion, and he sat upright, took the blood, and quickly downed it to relieve his headache and exhaustion. With fresh blood in his system, he felt more alert and the memories from the fight started coming back to him – blood surrounding him, Jill in Orlock’s clutches, Topaz lying injured on the floor… He felt the absence of Vallov and knew instantly that he must have died. Fearing the worst, he panicked and dropped the glass on the floor. Without wasting a second, Jack jumped up and bolted out the door only to run right into Maila, who had been on her way to check on him.

“Ow! Jack…” she exclaimed, annoyed.

“What happened? Where’s Orlock? How’s Jill?” he asked urgently, helping her up and staring at her face.

“She’s fine. We were all just waiting for you to wake up. We’re surprised you recovered so quickly, since your sire has been ripped from this world,” said Maila.

“Tell me what happened,” pressed Jack.

“Your blood seal worked, and Orlock was bound to it,” she answered, triumph lightening her face.

Jack could hardly believe her words and backed against the wall, almost wondering if perhaps Orlock was creating a cruel illusion, only to spoil it later. Following Maila into the recreation room, he saw Jill and Topaz sitting at the table, each holding a glass of blood. While Topaz seemed to have already chugged several cups, Jill was eyeing hers cautiously, as if hesitant.

“Jill,” Jack started, wanting to let himself believe that everything was as it seemed.

Putting down the cup, she stood and approached him, asking, “Are you feeling better?”

“Of course. Is Vallov…” he started, waiting for them to confirm the truth.

“I’m sorry, Jack, Orlock tore him apart…we buried him in the forest since Topaz and Maila said there was no chance of reviving him,” she explained apologetically.

Shutting his eyes, he forced himself to accept the loss; Vallov had died to protect him, and now Orlock was gone, so Vallov would have felt it was worth it, if he had any emotions to speak of…

“We’ll think about that later,” he said, hugging her and shutting his eyes. “I’m just glad you are all okay. For now, can you tell me what happened?” She smiled and held him, explaining what had occurred when the seal activated. To her surprise, he seemed alarmed by what she had told him and backed away slightly, staring into her eyes.

“You say the seal turned black?” he asked, concerned.

“Yes, and the lines it was made of were burning like hot metal.”

Pausing in concentration, Jack said, “I don’t think the seal will hold him indefinitely. The lines are supposed to burn orange, but the ground shouldn’t have turned black. It’s probably because Orlock was not a pure demon…”

“Don’t doubt yourself so much, Jack. Even if it’s not a permanent seal, all his drones are decaying without his presence and those little demon minions he keeps around are gone, so it looks like he wont be back for a long time,” reassured Topaz, who had just finished another cup of blood.

Sighing, Jack explained, “I guess I find it hard to accept that Orlock is actually gone. He’s always been there to torture me…threaten my friends…control my life, and now…”

Jill grinned and said, “Now you have control.”

Jack shut his eyes for a moment, savoring the thought. Freedom, I had almost given up. Though he knew that one day, Orlock would likely break free of the seal he was trapped in, they had time to grow strong enough to beat him without magic. The reality of existence without Orlock was so liberating that he could hardly contain himself. Jill saw the look on his face and grinned, asking, “So what now?”

“Whatever we want,” he answered, finally able to say those words in their full meaning. Touching her face lightly, he pulled her into a tender kiss, as if to signify the end of their struggles. They had sustained losses, but for that price, had defeated Orlock for the time being and could act freely for the first time in hundreds of years. Until the day Orlock returned, the four of them would continue on together. After all, Jack thought, grinning and holding Jill in his arms, happiness is such a rare thing. 

 

~ The End! ~