Chapter 6
***
I started with a quick safety lesson, and we spent the entire morning, and well into the afternoon practicing shooting. All four of my friends were getting pretty good at it, and most could already shoot a can off a fence, 100 yards away. When I felt we were ready to take on Luthar, I loaded everything in the car and we drove back to town.
***
It was dark by the time we reached Reno from the remote shooting range. I dropped everyone off at their homes to change into dark clothes.
***
We drove to the warehouse and parked the car close to the street for an easy getaway, should things get ugly enough to cause us to run. I had faith in my team to keep fighting, though, and I certainly wasn’t going to turn coward.
We got out of the red Porsche, threw our black trench coats on, and slung our rifles over our shoulders.. Walking toward the warehouse entrance, I remained forever alert of anyone hiding outside. As we approached the large door, it slid open noisily, and several vampires appeared, lined up for battle. They watched us with gleaming red eyes, gnashing their horrid fangs at us. Then they parted, allowing their master to come forward.
***
Luthar walked out into the light of the one street lamp up ahead and looked me square in the eye.
“Catalina, you’ve brought recruits? How unlike you to enlist the help of.... mortals. I always knew you as such a loner in your time,” he spoke with a gruff but authoritative voice, his servants seeming to cower at the sound of it.
“I’ve come like you asked me. We’re ready to fight. What are your rules?”
“Rules? Suddenly you want rules?”
“Yeah. You may be a real jerk-off, but at least you’re honorable. I’ve never known you to fight dirty.”
“I’ve always been confidant that I wouldn’t lose. You want rules? I’ll give you rules.
“Everyone fights. Dirty shit allowed. They’ll all fight each other,” he motioned to his vampire lackeys and my four friends. “You and I will fight one on one. Whichever of us lives gets the soul.”
“You can’t take it unless I allow you to. What if I don’t promise it?”
He snapped his fingers and four of his vamps ran to my friends and pinned them to the ground, faster than a blink. “If you don’t perform the chant, your friends die now. So, what’ll it be?”
I looked to my friends, struggling under the massive strength of the vampire slaves. “Alright.” I rolled up my sleeves and stepped into the circle of flickering light cast on the ground from the streetlamp.
We held up our hands, mere inches from each other and I began the chant to transfer my soul into his body.
“Flesh of the dead A smug grin flashed onto Luthar’s ash-white face. “I knew you would do it, threatened with your friends’ lives.” To his lackeys, he called, “Let them up. We shall begin the fight!”
I could feel the ring of magic that had formed around us, break as Luthar walked back into the warehouse, disappearing among the crates.
I followed him, my automatic held ready. I could hear my friends behind me, shooting up the dozens of vampires gathering around them.
I was soon lost in a maze of crates and boxes, trying to find Luthar. I could feel the magic connection between us, however, created from the voodoo chant I had recited. It gave me a general idea of where he was.
“Luthar, why are you hiding from me? Are you afraid to fight me? Afraid you would lose?”
“On the contrary Catalina,” he shouted back, “I am quite sure I shall have your soul before the night is through.”
A hawk swooped down from the rafters, barely missing my head. He had changed form! I quickly transformed into a white tiger. I leaped into the air, trying to catch the bird in my teeth. He flew out of the way, and landed on the ground, changing into a huge lion. He stalked towards me on soft-padded paws. I jumped up and swiped at him. He dodged the blow, knocking one to my head. I changed back into human form, brandishing my gun. I got a shot off, hitting him in the shoulder, but he shrugged it off, quickly becoming human once again. He looked at his shoulder, healed now, and laughed.
“You forget, Catalina, I am a master vampire. Your bullets can not harm me, whether they be silver or not.”
“Well, at least I can try.” I fired a whole magazine off into his chest, but he just stood there, taking it as if my shots were simply leaves in the autumn wind.
***
At this time, James, Alissa, Erica, and Gwen had killed all of Luthar’s vampire slaves. The dozens of bodies littered the floor in piles. James stepped over the bodies, checking for anyone still breathing. Gwen looked around for me, hearing the sounds of my battle with Luthar. The foursome split up inside the large warehouse, determined to find me and help me defeat my foe.
***
Luthar shifted into a snake and coiled his tail around my feet, trying to trip me, but I would not be moved. I changed into a griffin and pierced his fragile snake body with my eagle’s beak. He transformed into an elephant, the section of body in my mouth becoming a hard ivory tusk. My beak became lodged in the thick bone, and I tried to jerk my head away. The tip of my bill broke off, and I changed back into human form, a reaction from the pain. I touched my nose, realizing that it had begun to bleed. It felt as if someone had skinned the tip off my nose.
I shifted into a large black dragon. Luthar followed suit, changing into a red one. He looked at me through one large, glassy eye and let out a turbulent chuckle.
“Let’s see if you can fight fire with fire. This is the final battle! No more changing. Whoever wins this one gets it all.”
James followed the sound of Luthar’s voice and soon found us. He ducked behind a box, gun held ready.
Luthar swiped at me with his large dragon claws, but I dodged out of the way, breathing a torrent of flame onto his back. His glimmering scales began to burn and shrivel. He screeched in pain, and swung his head around, clumsily knocking down several large crates with his dragon snout. He shook his head, trying to clear away the stars, and shot a cloud of fire my way. I ducked behind a large wall of boxes which burst into flames at Luthar’s breath. I ran further into the maze of crates in the warehouse, my claws skittering on the floor. He ran after me, trying to catch up. Luthar was much more clumsy on his dragon feet, knocking into crates and boxes I had easily avoided.
I weaved in and out of the aisles, but soon came to the other side of the warehouse, stuck in a dead end. I shifted back into human form and hid among the crates on the large shelves. Luthar soon lumbered into the area, looking about and trying to locate me. I watched him from my hiding place, not noticing as James snuck in between more boxes, watching.
“Where are you, Catalina? You said you wouldn’t change back into your human form until this battle was through.”
I crawled out from my hiding place and looked up at Luthar. “No, you said that. I haven’t broken any rule.”
Luthar shrank down to his human form. He had his back to James. He said, “You’re right. You never will break a rule.”
I nodded at him matter-of-factly.
“But I will!” Luthar suddenly remarked.
“Ne-aila ne-aila A blue cloud rose from my body and floated toward Luthar. I watched, mesmerized, as he drank up my soul. I slowly walked toward him, hypnotized by the spell. He took me in his arms and hissed loudly as his fangs descended on my neck, ready to kill me in one fatal blow.
“Nooooooooo!” James came out from his hiding place, and shot at Luthar, but Luthar was too quick for him. He turned away, using my body as a shield, and the bullet pierced through my heart. I dropped to the ground, dead. Gwen, Erica, and Alissa showed up and unloaded three full magazines into Luthar’s body. Weak from performing the spell to take my soul, he couldn’t concentrate hard enough to ward off the bullets. The girls shot clear through him, blowing two clean holes through his head and heart. He was dead. His body collapsed to the ground in a puddle of blood, and disintegrated before their eyes. Master vampires always have a dramatic end.
James rushed to me, feeling for a pulse. Of course I didn’t have one. My soul was gone, taking with it any signs of life. James opened my coat and felt around for the exit wound in my chest.
James cradled my head in his lap, smoothing the hair away from my face.
“I’m so sorry, Carrie. I’m sorry for never telling you how I really felt. I’m sorry for not telling you how much I really loved you.” He began to cry, his salty tears falling onto my face.
As he and my other friends gathered around, crying as they held my limp body, that same blue cloud rose from the puddle of blood left by Luthar. They didn’t notice it as it slowly seeped back into my body. They didn’t notice as color came back to my ashen face. They didn’t notice as my eyelids fluttered open and I looked up at four despondent faces. But they definitely noticed when I sat up and said, “What’s going on?”
Four grateful people attacked me with hugs and kisses and cries of “You’re alright!” “You’re alive!” “You’re okay!”
“Yeah, guys, I’ll certainly be alright as soon as you all let me go and get a chance to breath!” I laughed as I pried the many arms from my neck. James helped me stand up, and supported me as we walked out of the warehouse and back to the Porsche outside.When she awoke from her blackout, we were parked at a makeshift shooting range in the middle of nowhere. Alissa stepped from the car and joined us where we were at the back of Jasmine’s red Porsche. I opened up the trunk to reveal the five automatics and the shotgun. I handed a gun to each of my friends, all of which were huddled near me. I gave each of them a magazine, and showed them how to load up. Then I set out the targets.
In the night, walking free
I will my soul
To join with thee”
Blood of the sky
Chu-an wee dow
Bring her spirit nigh”