Nadya's Nights: Road to Vengeance (21 page)

Chapter Thirty-Six: Showdown

Looking up at the vampire standing at the edge of the hole in the ceiling, Bridget snarled angrily, thick strands of bloody saliva dripping from her exposed fangs.  With a burst of movement, the female werewolf launched herself towards Remy, clearing the distance between the floor to the high ceiling in an impressive leap.

Nadya and Remy both watched Bridget’s attack; Remy wearing a smug smile.  A moment before Bridget’s jaws clamped down over his shin, he lifted a hand and the werewolf froze in mid-air.  Nadya’s eyes widened as she saw Bridget’s momentum halted, ended just as quickly as it had begun.

“Whoa…” Remy said, that smile still plastered over his face.  “Down girl.”

He made a small downward motion with his hand and Bridget fell.

No, she didn’t just fall.  She was shoved downward hard.

Landing on one of the numerous corpses that littered the floor, Bridget’s massive form crushed it into pulp before smashing into the floor and lying still.

“Honestly,” Remy said, looking down at the dazed werewolf then to Nadya.  “All I did was kill her boyfriend.  Now, our relationship…  Much more interesting.”

“Oh, I agree…” Nadya replied.  “Now why don’t you get down here so I can cut your fucking head off already?”

Stepping off the edge, Remy dropped to the ground, landing between Nadya and the still dazed Bridget.  Nadya’s fingers tightened around the hilt of the katana, holding it ready.

Bridget burst up from the ground, her mouth open wide and aimed right for Remy’s head.  Again, Remy’s hand shot up, freezing the werewolf in mid-strike, her glistening fangs inches from either side of his head.

Nadya saw the opening and charged Remy, lifting her sword high, readying herself for a hard strike at his exposed neck.  Lifting his other hand towards her, Nadya felt a pressure on her chest, halting her movement and freezing her just as still as Bridget.

“Not exactly a fair fight,” Remy said.

Flicking the fingers on both his hands outward, he shoved both of his assailants backwards.  Nadya slammed against the wall and was held there, struggling against the invisible force gripping her.

Turning his back on Nadya, Remy moved towards Bridget.  “Really, now.  Can’t you just get over it?”

Bridget growled and thrashed on the floor but she didn’t have any more success at breaking the hold than Nadya.

“At the very least, I’d figure you’d learn from the past.  After all, this is just how your boyfriend died.  And he was plenty older than you are.”

Bridget’s snarls died off and she lay still, glaring up at Remy.

“Don’t worry,” he replied to her.  “I won’t kill you.  Yet.”  He shifted his hand slightly, curling his fingers towards her head.  “But I really can’t have you interfering with my climactic battle, can I?”

Still struggling to get free, Nadya watched the exchange between Remy and Bridget, not sure what was going on.  She knew he was quite adept at mental powers.  The way he’d invaded her subconscious had been evidence enough of that, but she hadn’t realized he’d been so strong with telekinesis.  She tried to think of a way to disable his powers somehow, but the only way she could think of would be to kill him.  She planned on doing that anyway.

Her attention was drawn back to the situation at hand as a pained howl pierced the air.  At first, Nadya thought Remy might be killing Bridget, but as she looked, she couldn’t see any actual physical harm being done to the female werewolf.

Then it struck her.

Remy wasn’t hurting Bridget physically.  He’d invaded her mind and was doing something to her there.

The more she watched, the more she realized what he was doing as Bridget began to shrink.  Her muscles and fur pulled back into her as she was returned to her human form.  Bridget huddled in a fetal position, clutching at her nude form, weeping.

“What the fuck did you do to her?” Nadya asked, catching Remy’s attention.

He turned to face her, a triumphant smirk on his face.  “Nothing much.  Just made sure she wouldn’t be getting in our way anymore.  It’ll wear off.  Just in time for her to watch me rip your fucking heart out.”

“Shouldn’t take too long then,” Nadya replied, her eyes narrowing at him.  “Since you’re a pussy motherfucker who’s too shit scared to fight me fairly.”

Remy’s eyebrows rose.  “Oh?  Is that what you think?”

“Seeing as I’m glued to the fucking wall,” Nadya said, still pulling at her pinned arms.  “Yes, that’s exactly what I fucking think.”

“Sorry about that,” Remy shrugged, waving a hand and letting Nadya drop from the wall into a crouch.  “Just had to make sure we wouldn’t be interrupted first.”  Spreading his arms out beside him.  “No powers.  I promise.  Just a sec…”  He extended his right arm upwards and flicked his wrist.

From the second level, there was a clanking and then a sword not unlike Nadya’s flew down through the hole in the ceiling and into Remy’s waiting hand.  “There.  A good, old fashioned sword duel.  Work for you?”

Grabbing her katana, Nadya pushed herself to her feet and held it up in front of her with both hands.  “Sounds great, asshole.”

With a feral growl, Remy lunged towards her, swinging his sword downwards.  She stepped back and brought her weapon up and sideways to block the blow, guiding Remy’s blade to the side harmlessly then swinging the sword back around in an attempt to cut into his neck.  He jumped back just in time, receiving only a superficial nick across the side of his throat.

Hissing, he placed a finger to the cut, looking at the blood then to Nadya.  “Silver blade?”

“Only the best for you,” she replied with a cold smirk.

Flicking the blood from his fingers, Remy growled and took another step towards Nadya, jabbing his sword out at her, aiming for her chest.  The movement came quicker than she’d anticipated and she swung her sword sideways out of pure reflex that wound up saving her life, knocking the sharp tip of Remy’s sword aside before it pierced her breastbone.

Spinning around and backpedaling, Nadya kept her sword up, ready to block any attacks he threw her way.  Advancing, Remy continued to strike out at her, looking for any openings he could take advantage of.  His super-human speed made his attacks difficult to block, but Nadya’s own speed – nearly supernatural in its own right – managed to keep her from being mortally wounded.

A couple glancing blows opened up a pair of shallow gashes along each of her arms and she could feel the warm trickle of blood running down her elbows.  She was being forced to remain on the defense, stepping backwards and hoping she wouldn’t trip over a piece of debris or a corpse.

If that happened, the fight would be over real quick.

As she moved, Nadya tried to keep an eye out for anything that would give her an upper hand.  She was fast, but her stamina wouldn’t hold out forever.  And it would only take one slight dip in her reaction time for Remy to score a fatal blow.

Deciding that a stand up, face-to-face sword fight with the vampire probably wasn’t the best of plans, Nadya parried Remy’s most recent attack and immediately lashed back at him with a flurry of movement, causing him to step back, bringing his sword up and back close to him to block her attacks.

Nadya saw his eyes widen from the sudden attack but he still managed to block her at every slice and thrust.  Still, hitting him wasn’t what she was after.  With him on the defense now, she turned and darted towards the nearest exit to the room.  As she passed through the shattered doorway, she dove to the side on the off chance Remy decided to hurl his sword at her exposed backside.

Retreating through a building she wasn’t familiar with may not have seemed like the smartest strategy, but Nadya always found she did her best fighting while on the move.  Standing still and exchanging blows with an enemy just didn’t feel right to her.  Better to mix it up a bit and maybe catch Remy off guard.

Unless, of course, he catches me off guard first.

Chapter Thirty-Seven: Settling Up

Barreling down the hallway, Nadya took notice of the various items that adorned it.  For a den of feral beasts, the place actually wasn’t that badly decorated.  Various antiques were displayed along the hall.

Ornate vases, colorful oil paintings, statues of armor.

The details of the items were lost on Nadya as she passed them.  She held her sword up in front of her, firmly, ready to strike at anyone or anything that decided to lunge at her.

Reaching an intersection, Nadya caught the briefest glimpse of light reflecting off of metal and without sparing a moment to consider the source ducked low into a summersault through the intersection, swinging her sword out to the side.  She was rewarded with an angered snarl and took the time to glance over and see that she’d managed to open up a deep gash into Remy’s thigh.  Dark crimson blood seeped from the wound, soaking into his pants leg.

The brief glance was all she took, pushing herself back to her feet and spinning around to face him.  Remy brought his overextended sword back, lifting it up just in time to block her next attack, which would have cut clean through his neck.  The two swords slammed together.  The two combatants pressed against each other, testing the other’s strength.

Knowing that ultimately she’d lose the test, Nadya gave a hard push forward then relaxed, letting Remy shove her backwards.  Her boots slid against the hard wood floor several feet.

Suspecting he’d gotten an advantage, Remy charged after her.  To his surprise, she charged right back.  His sword was already up, poised to slash out at her.  With no other choice, he swung his weapon.

Nadya saw the attack easily, parrying it with her own sword, knocking Remy’s blade aside harmlessly as she spun around and lifted her left leg.  Slamming the heel of her boot into his face, she heard an audible cracking as his nose flattened against his face.  Blood squirted across his lips and he stumbled backwards against the wall, stunned.

Turning to face him, Nadya pushed her offensive.  He attempted to bring his sword up in front of him but she leapt into the air, using her left foot to kick the sword to the side then slamming her right foot into his chest, shoving him into the wall again.  Pushing off with her foot, Nadya back flipped and landed on her feet in front of him.  He was still stunned, his sword to the side.

It would be so easy.

One step forward and a hard slash across his throat.

Game over.

Too easy.

She flashed him a smirk then darted down the intersection he’d emerged from.  She wasn’t through torturing him just yet.  She wanted to hear him beg for mercy before she finally ended his suffering.  There was a score to be settled, with interest.

And Nadezhda Valentina’s interest rates were a motherfucker.

Adrenalin pumping through her veins, Nadya couldn’t even feel the various aches and pains of the wounds she’d sustained so far during the night, and from nights previous.  Her breathing came easy, not bothered by the rapid pace she set for herself.

As usual, despite the speed and intensity of her situation, things seemed to move much slower in her eyes.  As if she were using sheer willpower to force time to lag, allowing her movements to become perfectly choreographed.

Spotting an open door leading into a side room on the right, Nadya put her abilities to use, skidding on her boots, reaching out to grab hold of the door frame with her left hand and pulling herself into a spin.

As she turned to face the way she’d come from, she could see Remy charging towards her, limping on his injured leg.  His face was the definition of pure rage.

Nadya lost sight of him as she slid into the room backwards.  There would only be a few seconds before he caught up to her.  Turning, she quickly surveyed the room.

A billiard room.

A large pool table set in the center.  It looked as though her and Bridget’s arrival had interrupted a game.  Colorful balls and a pair of pool sticks were laid out on the table.  On the far side of the room was a wet bar, a pair of neglected glasses filled about halfway with alcohol on top of it.

Hearing the thudding of Remy’s feet against the floor, Nadya spun back around just in time to see him come through the door.  Jumping back and bringing her sword up, she deflected his first downward blow.  He didn’t let up, striking out at her several more times, but she kept the strikes at bay.

As soon as she saw an opening, she launched herself into a back flip, rising into the air and planting her feet down on the pool table, managing to avoid landing on any of the balls.  She only remained there for a moment as Remy slashed at her ankles.  Taking a short jump upwards, she slammed her feet down onto his blade, pinning it to the billiard table.  Remy tugged at the sword, but Nadya had her feet planted firmly.

Lifting her left leg, she kicked out.  The toe of her boot hit him across the face and caused his head to snap to the side.  Nadya spun, bringing up her right foot from the table and kicking out straight, slamming the sole into Remy’s forehead as he brought his head back around.

The vampire stumbled back, losing his grip on the sword.  Crouching down, Nadya grabbed hold of his weapon by the blade, lifting it up and flipping it in the air.  She grabbed hold of the handle before throwing it point first at her dazed opponent.  Remy let out a roar of pain as the sword impaled him through the gut.

Launching herself off the pool table, Nadya extended her left leg outwards into a jump kick, slamming her foot into the bottom of the sword handle and sending it deeper through Remy’s midsection.  Forced backwards, the bloody blade emerged from his backside and was forced into the wall, pinning him there.

Landing in front of him, Nadya brought her sword up, holding it ready.  Remy reached for his sword with his right hand, attempting to pull it free.  Before he could move it, she swung her weapon downwards and was rewarded with a howl of pain.

His severed hand dangled from the sword that impaled him, fingers partially clenched around it.  Remy’s eyes were wide with pain, shock and anger as he stared at the stump at the end of his arm.  Blood pumped from it, flowing down what remained of his limb and splattering onto the floor.

Turning his eyes to Nadya, he tried to lunge forward, only managing to pull himself further down the length of the sword until the hilt firmly pressed against his stomach.  His movements caused his severed right hand to slip free from the handle and drop to the floor.

Reaching out with both arms, Remy tried to either claw at Nadya with his left hand or batter her with the stump on his right arm.  She watched the show with sadistic glee for a few moments before slashing her sword out again.  Another howl of pain escaped Remy’s lips as his left hand dropped to the floor to join its companion.

Holding up both of his arms in front of him, Remy looked between the two stumps, emitting a scream of impotent rage.  Stepping forward, Nadya took hold of the sword impaling Remy, gripping it tightly and then yanking back, pulling it free from the wall but not from his body.  She gave the blade a twist to the left, then to the right, then once again back to the left, enjoying the pained looks she gained from Remy.

Pulling back hard, Nadya removed the sword from Remy’s gut, watching as more blood poured from him.  Noticing something odd about the blade, she looked down at it and saw that a loop of the vampire’s guts had been ensnared on it and had now been dragged out of his body.  Pulling the sword further back, she watched as more of his intestines were dragged out.  Remy moved his stubs down to the hole, trying to pull himself back together but finding it difficult without any hands.

Turning, Nadya hurled the sword towards the opposite wall.  The blade slammed into the far wall, a long length of gut strewn along behind it still attached to Remy’s insides.

Admiring the streamer of intestine, Nadya was caught off guard as Remy leapt onto her back, bringing his arms around her, trying to clutch her as tightly as he could.  His fangs pressed into her throat on the opposite side that he’d bitten her the previous night.  Grimacing, she tried to throw him free but found it more difficult than she’d imagined.  Nadya spun, struggling to get free and found herself becoming tangled in the length of intestine that she’d pulled from Remy’s gut.

Trying to pull her sword up, Nadya found it impossible due to the guts holding her arms down.  She could feel herself growing colder and weaker as Remy sucked at her life blood, trying to get as much of it into his mouth as quickly as possible.  Nadya’s head grew light, eyelids drooping.  Her hands moved of their own accord.  If they couldn’t bring the sword up, then they’d just have to find another way.

Flipping the sword around so the tip pointed downwards, Nadya moved her hands down – the only way she could – and moved the blade between her legs before slamming it upwards.

Remy’s feast stopped suddenly.

There was no scream of pain this time; only choked gasps as he fell free from her back.

Yanking the sword back out from between her legs, Nadya sliced through the guts that were wrapped around her before spinning around to face Remy once more.  The vampire pressed his stubs against his blood-soaked crotch.  He stared up at Nadya, tears streaking his eyes.

“You stabbed me in the balls!  Fucking bitch!”

“Don’t worry, asshole,” Nadya responded, bringing her sword up and back.  “You won’t be needing them anymore.”

Slashing out at him, the tip of her sword cut deeply into his throat.  His mouth had been open, in the midst of throwing a selection of choice curses at her.  Instead, his voice was reduced to a wet gurgle.  The blade just barely nicked his neck bone.  Blood poured down from his throat.

Everything seemed to freeze for several long moments before Remy’s head hinged backwards, falling against his back.  A geyser of crimson sprayed from his neck and Nadya could feel the cool spray of his undead blood over her face.

Remy’s body remained in a sitting position for a moment longer before his torso collapsed forward between his splayed legs.  His head snapped forward again and landed – more or less – back in its proper place.

Nadya gave him a final kick to the head, nailing him firmly in the forehead and managing to break through his spine and sending his severed head flying back to hit the wall behind him.  It landed on the ground right-side up and Nadya saw the last flickers of Remy’s life fade from his half-lidded eyes.

“Consider us even, motherfucker,” Nadya muttered.

She was about to step over the corpse and leave the room but stopped and looked back to the wet bar.

Walking around behind it, she surveyed the various bottles of liquor.  She grabbed two bottles of vodka.  Popping the top off one, she tilted the bottle back, resting the opening against her lips and letting the clear liquid flow down her throat.  The alcohol warmed her all the way down, liquid fire filling her chest and stomach.

After taking a long swig, Nadya walked back around the bar and poured the rest of it onto Remy’s decapitated corpse.  Tossing the empty bottle aside, she retrieved her lighter from her pocket and knelt down, flicking it open and lighting it up.  The alcohol lit easily enough and it wasn’t long before the flames spread.

“Can’t be too careful,” she muttered, placing a cigarette between her lips and using her lighter to ignite the tip.

Flipping the lighter closed, she slid it back into her pocket and carried the second bottle of vodka with her out of the room.  She’d have to find Bridget and get out before the whole place went up in flames.