NOVEL NEXT Chapter 17: “A Book, Ledger and Diary” – Part 6.
About that time, Haley walked back into the room carrying a few large vials of water, with a cross emblem on them. “How the hell?” Haley pondered for a second, and launched the first bottle at Casey, missing her by a wide margin.
With most of the artificial sunlight damaged in some way, Sylvie began to groan from under the blanket Casey draped over her. “I feel like I was hit by a truck.” Sylvie peeked her head out of the blanket just as the first bottle of holy water bounced off her head and splattered on the floor. Quickly shuffling to avoid the enchanted water, Sylvie grimaced and made her way to the sofa, pulling herself up. “How does a precog not see something like THIS?” Sylvie rubbed her arms and sent blood to seal up the minor holes that the light had caused.
Breaking the bottle in the center of the room, Casey sent the potassium flying all over the room in a white cloud. “Can we focus on the visions later? This chick needs to go down.” Casey dropped into a fighting crouch and flicked her claws out. Focusing her twin suns on the tall and fit reporter, Casey’s fangs locked into place. “I would really like to know where the diary and ledger are. I can make this painless or make you suffer more than we did burning on your floor.” Casey’s gold eyes slowly rimmed with red as she circled the reporter.
After she'd sealed the holes on her body against the artificial sunlight, Sylvie threw off the protective blanket and froze in place, her third eye showing the mystic the truth standing before her. “Casey..Love..Don’t drink her blood.” Sylvie’s eyes shifted into blank pools of black-rimmed red as well. “If I see this right, Miss Grant is not who you think she is.” Sylvie’s vision pierced the illusion that hid the Shadewraith under the woman’s skin.
Taking a careful step back, Casey heeded the words of her maker and looked around for an alternate means to fight the woman holding a single bottle of holy water. “Got any ideas? I mean we can’t just leave this thing free, right?”
A deep hollow laugh came from Haley and her eyes shifted to bright white diamonds. “Talented Nightstalker. You’ve been graced I see.” The Shadewraith grunted and applied horrific pressure on what was left of the real Haley’s persona. “Every little twist I do to her, makes this sack of blood cry out in pain…” It tilted its head, “Feed..ing…me, little bloodsuckers.”
Sylvie ran beside Casey in a flash and put herself between her lover and the Shadewraith. “Casey, I don’t know how to fight these…” Sylvie paused as a realization hit her. “...I have an idea.”
Remaining in her crouched position, Casey kept an unmoving watch on the Shadewraith known as Haley Grant. Initially ready to jump if the creature made a move towards Sylvie, Casey let out a little gasp when she witnessed the body peel off from the Shadewraith in layers, hitting the floor in little pieces of rotten skin, muscle and bone. Casey felt fear creeping up from her chest as Haley’s eyes rolled her skull in a bloody mess and then it hit her that the monster wanted the two vampires to be scared of the little act. “Sylvie..” Casey gulped and fought back her fear, replacing it with anger so she could protect Sylvie. “It mentioned that it got stronger as it tortured the woman…” Casey furled her eyebrow and let the rest of the gruesome scene wash over her. “...So don’t give it any extra power by being scared.”
A second later, what was left of Haley’s body hit the floor, as though a heavy wet sponge had been tossed casually to make the worst sound possible. Screeching and laughing, the Shadewraith spun little circles and floated above the two vampires, morphing its form into various shapes and sizes. It dove with lightning speed towards Casey with six arms and wispy hands at the ready.
Protecting Sylvie had become the sole focus in Casey’s mind as the Shadewraith plummeted from the ceiling. She pushed her mistresses away from her and leapt from where she felt the ghostly creature would land. Not anticipating that the creature could expand just as fast as it could fall, Casey felt six fingers dig into her ankle and pull until she fell flat on her face. “Owww, Fuck!....” Casey howled in pain. “Let…go…you..” Casey tried to kick the beast with her other foot, and sadly watched her foot go through the shade harmlessly. “Your idea would be lovely right now…” Casey winced in pain as she felt herself getting dragged into the air.
Holding Casey upside down by her foot, the Shadewraith used another one of its ghastly hands and gripped her throat. “It would seem, little blood thief, that Archaios Enas is correct about this brood. You will come to anything where it seems your little illusion could be broken.” It laughed maniacally. “Inhabiting you will be such a pleasure, open up little vampire…” The Shadewraith used another hand and pressed Casey’s cheeks until her mouth opened against her will. “We are going to have such a good time…” Glowing orange for a split second, the Shadewraith’s eyes focused on its captive and pressed part of its form into Casey’s mouth intent on taking over the young vampire. From its right side, the evil wraith heard the crunch of something solid and turned to look just in time to get a face full of bloodstone dust blown into its face.
Standing with a simple smile on her face, Sylvie held another three stones in her hand. “What now, you beast?” She smashed the three stones in her hand and smeared them all over her arms before shifting into her ghost form. Spinning up in the air like a small tornado, Sylvie flung her amorphous form at the Shadewraith, pummeling it back through the living room wall and outside into the starlit treeline.
Quickly shoving blood to her numb foot, Casey stomped the feeling back into it and ran for the backdoor. “You could have told me before it nearly took me over, ladyface.” Casey looked up into the trees where the two were still locked in combat, the Shadewraith doing very little to stop Sylvie’s advance. Casey pulled the one bloodstone Sylvie found for her at the lake and tucked it safely in her palm. Scrambling up a thick tree, Casey reached where the two were spinning in a desperate attempt to gain the upper hand. Crushing the small stone and manipulating her closed fingers so that the rock would end up a fine powder, Casey clapped her hands together, producing a heavy chalk-like cloud of bloodstone and let the air carry it right into the Shadewraith.
Emitting a heartstopping screech, the Shadewraith pulled away from its combat and disappeared into the woods without a trace for the vampires to follow.
Dropping to the floor of the forest, Sylvie’s ghost shifted back to her human form and collapsed from exhaustion. “C…Casey…” She breathed heavily out of habit, “You are my savior again. I couldn’t hold that form much longer. It…it..”
Casey landed on a small bed of pine needles, crushing them and releasing its scent between the couple. “We saved each other, Sylvie.” She knelt and pulled the helpless vampire into her lap. “It’s gone, you drove it off.” Casey felt blood-stained tears stream down her cheeks, “You did it, love…you found their weakness.” Casey punctured holes in her wrist and pushed it to Sylvie’s lips. “Drink, please Sylvie. You need something until we have the strength to…to…” Casey lost her words and pointed to the other houses in the subdivision. “Heaven help me, I love you.” Casey cooed and moved Sylvie’s little cornrows from her eyes and watched as Sylvie opened her eyes and blinked her full moons to Casey. “Hi there.”
Drinking for a few seconds, Sylvie pulled away and kissed Casey’s wrist. “Hello, yourself.” Sylvie reached up and held her head. “How is it that I have a headache?”
Hunger welled up inside Casey, and it caused her eyes to rim red. “Is it possible to get a headache?” Casey asked and helped Sylvie to her feet. “My sweet-potato, I am ravenous.” Casey squeezed and kissed Sylvie’s hand one more time and dashed off to the house across the street.
Brushing herself off, Sylvie partially stumbled into Haley’s home and looked around until she found the paper versions of the ledger and the diary. “Got them. That was a pain in the ass.”
“Systems indicate there is still one form of the items left in the house, connected to the computer upstairs.” Code spoke flatly.
Curious about what the little AI was referring to, Sylvie made her way upstairs and looked into the various bedrooms until she found the computer in question. She walked to the back of the tiny tower and pulled the plug from the power supply. “There we go. It should be offline now, Right?” Sylvie asked and then happened to see a small USB device connected in the front of the computer. “Was the item a flash drive Code?”
“Affirmative. All tasks complete, repair mode activated.” Code went silent and the lights dimmed.
Sylvie yanked the little drive free and crushed it into plastic powder and wiped her hands clean. “That should take care of that.” Making her way back downstairs, Sylvie opened the front door as Casey arrived with a man with the look of love in his eyes. “Thank you.” Sylvie leaned into the older man and drained a little more than she intended, but did not kill the guy. “I am good now, let him have a lovely evening and a better morning.”
Nodding slowly, Casey grinned wide. “I didn’t kill any of them.” She pointed to the wreck of Haley’s house. “I figure the police will have enough of an issue with this.” She started to carry the man back to his home and stopped. “How will they explain her body as a puddle?”
“That is for the Richmond Veil Council to deal with.” Sylvie chuckled, “We have our own problems.” She pointed to the smitten man, “Get him home, then we go home. Mission accomplished.” Sylvie patted the two books and smiled.