Vampire Dancing (32 page)

Andred is no more and the interior of the car isn't on fire. Wendy has stopped screaming.

Everything is as it was.

No longer gagged and bound, Laura sits up and turns to see Devinniel looking straight at her. It has the point of a knife sticking out of its throat. It opens its mouth to say something, then crumples to the floor, revealing Amber.

“Amara,” Laura says, getting up. She instinctively touches Amber's arm, then, realizing what she's doing, withdraws her hand. What just happened to her, even though it wasn't real, was all so vivid. She even has a strange feeling in her chest, where the ax was embedded.

Never forget
.

Amber sweeps her hair back from her face. She breaks a few tangled knots, and winces. Looking at Devinniel, she says: “We need to take out its heart.”

“There was spiders everywhere. It was horrible.”

Laura turns at the sound of Wendy's voice. The girl looks like a wreck.

“None of it was real,” Laura says.

“I know,” Wendy replies. “but it felt real.”

Never forget
.

Amber crouches over Devinniel. She pulls the knife from the back of its neck and places it over its chest. She looks at Wendy. “You might want to look away.”

At that moment, Devinniel's eyes flick open.

“Amara!” Laura cries.

Before Amber has time to react, Devinniel grabs her by the throat. Amber stabs the knife at Devinniel's chest, but it clutches her wrist, preventing the attack. It then increases its considerable grip, forcing the woman to drop the weapon from her weakened grasp.

An anguished cry escaped Amber's lips.

Laura motions to assist Amber, then stops herself.

“What are you doing!” Wendy cries. “Help her!”

Never forget
.

Laura steps away from the struggle.

“What the hell's gotten into you?” Wendy says. She motions to help Amber, but Laura grabs her. “What the...” Wendy pulls on her arm. “Let me go!”

“You'll get yourself killed,” Laura says.

“What do you care?”

Laura looks at Wendy. “You're pregnant.”

“So ... it's not like I'm keeping it.”

Laura's expression clouds over. “What?”

“I said I'm not keeping it, so let me go!” Wendy pulls her arm free and turns to assist Amber. She doesn't get very far before she's yanked back by collar of her jacket.

Laura hauls Wendy in front of her. “So you're going to kill the baby growing inside of you?”

“Yes,” Wendy says. “I hate it and I hate the guy who gave it to me.”

Laura tries to read Wendy's face. “You don't mean that. A child is a gift.”

“Then he can keep his fucking gift,” Wendy replies.

“You know what,” Laura says, simmering with rage, “you're just like Amara. A baby killer.”

Wendy's starts to tremble at the sight of Laura's eyes turning red.

Laura pulls Wendy close. Her nostrils flare. She can smell the girl's fear.

“Don't!” Wendy cries. “I- I might change my mind, keep it. Nine months is a long time.”

“Don't you dare play on my emotions,” Laura says.

“My boyfriend and I had an argument. He dumped me on the street. If it wasn't for him I wouldn't be on this stupid train, wouldn't have been shot at a thousand times. Seriously, what the fuck do you expect me to say!” Wendy starts to cry. “Please, Laura, I just want to go home.”

Laura falters in her conviction, then screams with frustration and casts Wendy to one side. She turns her attention to Devinniel and Amber. Devinniel has Amber pinned against the end door and is in the process of drawing its razor sharp nails down the woman's left arm.

Amber squeezes an agonized wail past the tight grip on her throat.

Never forget
.

“
Get out of my fucking head!” Laura screams.

She runs up behind Devinniel and pulls it away from Amber.

Amber slides down the wall, leaving a thick trail of blood behind her.

Devinniel spins rapidly. It plunges a hand straight through the material of Laura's tank top and into her stomach.

Laura's mouth drops open and she looks down. The fire in her eyes fades all at once. A croaking sound escapes her lips.

Wendy throws her hands over her face. "Oh my God!"

Laura fights to keep her head upright. She reaches out to snatch Devinniel's face.

Devinniel sneers, then drives its hand up into Laura with so much force she's lifted onto the tips of her toes.

Amber crawls towards Devinniel.

Wendy is shaking her head and backing away. “I need to get Michael.”

“Wendy!” Amber cries. She reaches a vertical handrail and pulls herself up. “It's too dangerous!”

“I don't care,” Wendy replies, “we need him.” And with that, she hurries back along the aisle.

Devinniel wraps its cold digits around Laura's heart. “This is what you have always have wanted ...
deep down
.”

A bloody string of saliva hangs from one side of Laura's mouth. Her eyes are closed and her arms are swinging limply by her sides.

Amber stumbles forward and collapses to the floor. She looks up, but all she can see is the back of Devinniel.

“Launa,” she says, breathing heavily. She opens her mouth to say more, but can't find the words.

Laura can feel Devinniel's gaze penetrate her mind. She knows this is finally it: the moment centuries of suffering comes to a close. She wonders if-

Devinniel rips Laura's beating heart from her chest and holds it aloft.

Amber watches Laura's body drop to the floor. She screams from the pit of her soul.

Devinniel drops Laura’s heart and t
urns at the sound of Amber's anguish. “Now, Amara, it is your turn to find lasting repose.”

*

Wendy enters the adjacent car. It looks like a slaughterhouse.
And the smell
. Michael is just standing there, surrounded by bodies. She's shocked at how awful he looks. His hair is all messed up and he's covered in blood. How much of it is his own is impossible to tell, but his nice silk shirt is in tatters and he has all sorts of wounds on his torso.

Michael snaps out of whatever trance he was in. “Wendy?” He walks up to her, blocking the aisle from view. “It's best you don't look back there.”

“It's a bit late for that,” Wendy replies. She regards Michael for a moment. He has such a caring look about him; such an attractive man. Suddenly, rediscovering the need for urgency, she blurts: “Oh my God, you need to hurry! It's killing Laura!” She grabs Michael's hand and pulls him along behind her.

They enter the car to find Laura dead and Amber struggling for survival against Devinniel.

Michael pulls free of Wendy's grasp and slows to a stop.

“What're you doing?” Wendy says. “Michael?”

Let her go, Michael
.

Michael looks across the aisle at Amber; can see she's losing the fight.

“Michael!” Wendy shouts. “Jesus Christ, what the fuck is wrong with everyone!”

Do you know why she has to die, Michael
?
Let me show you
...

Michael sees Amber. She's behind the wheel of a car. The day is bright, but not to the extent they're forced to remain indoors. The road ahead is long and winding. They're somewhere in Europe. He's unsure where, exactly, but he feels he knows, deep down. Amber's voluminous mane courses across her shoulders. She's wearing a bright tank top. She smiles at him. He feels a tickling sensation in his chest
.

Now they're standing on a wide balcony, below the late evening sky, overlooking a ripe and fertile landscape. The sun hangs low on the horizon. There's a slight chill in the air. Amber is dressed in blue jeans and a camel colored roll-neck sweater. She puts her arms around him and kisses him on the lips. He can feel the warmth of her body and the swell of her breasts
.

“I love you,” she whispers in his ear
.

They're in bed. It's dark beyond the window. They've just made love. He feels satisfied. Amber props herself up on an elbow and looks at him. She's so beautiful, both physically and in spirit. He strokes her cheek then traces the outline of her body through the thin cotton sheet. He hasn't felt this way about a woman in such a very long time. Not since Rinnae died
.

“I love you too,” he hears himself say
.

And now he stands, on top of a tall building, overlooking a world in ruin. The sky is overcast. The air is acrid. Fires burn in and around the city. Empty office blocks, made of glass and steel, stretch all the way up to a Heaven populated by an indifferent God. Abandoned vehicles litter the cracked and tangled streets below. Human vermin scamper from their hiding places and take whatever they can get their hands on: food, drink, clothing ... often each other
.

He feels his mind begin to suffocate under a swell of memories; memories of happier times. Such a very long life. So many mistakes. So many regrets. How did everything come to be like this
?
How could he have let this happen
?

Now he has no one. He stands alone
.

The vision ends and Michael sees the subway car interior once more. Wendy is looking straight at him, shouting, and Amber is fighting for her life. The mental images - what he just witnessed - must have lasted mere moments.

Amber
.

Michael springs into action. He scoops a knife off the floor and rushes over to where Devinniel is choking the life out of the woman. Taking a fistful of its hair, he stabs it repeatedly in the lower back. Inky fluid spreads from the wounds.

Devinniel issues a shrill cry and lets go of Amber. Both she and It fall to the floor.

“You can't do this!” Devinniel shrieks. “This is
my
body, Levagnion!”

Michael says nothing. Still holding Devinniel by the hair, he drags it to the midway point of the aisle.

Wendy steps to one side and looks away.

Do you think you can change anything, Levagnion? I've shown you the future. This is what happens if the woman lives and you separate from me. You destroy everything. Including her
.

Ignoring the voice in his head, Michael turns, drops onto one knee and plunges the knife into Devinniel's heart.

Devinniel clutches Michael's arms and shrieks all manner of expletives and nonsensical babble.

Grunting, Michael drives the knife deeper.

A profound gasp escapes Devinniel's lungs and its body goes limp. The jet black eyes with the bright yellow vertical pupils flicker then vanish, revealing the eyes Michael first looked into several decades ago in the corner of a devastated London building.

Amanda's eyes
.

Michael closes over the eyelids - “It was never your body” - then gets up.

“I can't believe how easily you killed it,” Wendy says.

"Its focus was elsewhere," Michael replies. He looks across the aisle. Amber is lying on her back. Her eyes are closed and her breathing is shallow. The vision Verestanias had shown him: it was meant to convince him this woman had to die.

It had backfired.

Prior to the vision, he liked Amber, and was keen to get to know her more. It was obvious right from the get go that something had clicked between the two of them - a connection had been made, as Amber had put it. But now, his feelings for her have changed. They've grown considerably. He can still feel the residual from the vision, like an emotional echo. It had felt real, and, if Verestanias was to be believed, it was real. It was his future.

However, there was something about the vision that didn't fit with what Verestanias had told him before. It had spoken of a world in subjection to some kind of global Satanic governance, and yet what he had witnessed was nothing other than complete ruin. No doubt Verestanias would argue that the outcome presented in the vision was no more desirable than the one it had spoken of. Still, Michael can't help but wonder why the apparent discrepancy, and why those who run the World would want to destroy it. What could they possibly hope to gain from killing everyone – or almost everyone?

Thinking about the vision brings the undesirable imagery to the forefront of his mind. He casts it aside, choosing to believe that nothing is set in stone, and wonders where this leaves Verestanias? Assuming Verestanias
can
see into the future, it must have foresaw this night - his meeting with Amber - and panicked; slotted itself - and whatever took possession of Amanda's body - into this crazy mix in a bid to secure its continued freedom, or whatever it is that it's after.

One thing that's become clear is that Verestanias can't force him to kill Amber, or even remain bound to him if he falls in love. And what is it about love that severs the bond between himself and It? All these years ... he had no idea Verestanias was even there. All he'd had to do was fall in love and he'd never even have known. A pity, then, that falling in love –
truly falling in love
- is no simple task when you deny yourself romantic attachments to mortal woman for fear of losing them to the passing of time. The solution to this would be to turn a willing romantic partner immortal. But that would be a betrayal of Rinnae. He could have turned Rinnae immortal, and knows that, were he to take this step - to make a woman immortal for the sake of love - every time he looked into her eyes, he would only feel bitter it wasn't Rinnae standing before him.