Authors: Stuart Meczes
I can make it!
I forced myself to run harder and faster than I had ever run in my life, moving on screaming legs towards the light at the end. I burst out into the daylight, shielding my eyes from the brilliant glare that overwhelmed me. I was stunned when a thundering round of applause broke out around me. I lowered my hand and as my eyes adjusted, my stomach lurched.
I was standing in a giant pit, bathed in baking hot sun and surrounded by countless Umbra faces that cheered from spectators stands high above. I spun around in time to see Pitguards on a raised platform above the door I’d emerged from drop an adamantine gate down from a set of chains, barring my way back. Fear pounded through me as the realisation of what had happened took hold.
No, no, no!
A second later, I saw Grey emerge from a similar door on the other side of the arena. He stumbled in and then stared around with the same confused expression that I’d no doubt been wearing. He was followed closely from another exit by Troy, who looked around him wildly and then produced a screaming sound of anguish.
No…they tricked us!
A guard with a smooth patch of burned skin where his mouth should have been raised his hands from a nearby platform and the crowd fell silent. A figure appeared on a stone balcony ahead, and I saw a suit of armour gleaming with orange streaks and a metal mask, topped with long black hair.
That was the knight. The one I saw in the Atrius. She’s the one who took me.
The atmosphere was palpable as she walked to the front of the balcony, opening her arms wide out as she addressed us in her tortured voice.
“Greetings Guardians, I am Highwarden Lilith, otherwise known as the Scorched Knight. Welcome to my colosseum.”
Scarlett
We tore across the Darklands whilst a stream of Bloodseekers – who rode on the backs of large Hiveminds – thundered behind us. They were naked apart from ragged loincloths, and carrying weapons carved from the bones of their previous victims. Their eyes shone with the madness of hunger, their Bloodseeker sentience giving way to the unavoidable pull of predatory instinct. They had flanked us, knowing that we would be distracted by their Hivemind kin and unprepared for a secondary attack.
The chase forced us to change direction, heading away from the Lightshuttle until we managed to create just enough distance that we were able to start curving back around to the right route. I stormed forward on Picera, turning to fire everything I could at the chasing horde, pulling extra ammo out of my reserve supplies. Our shots caused Hiveminds to crumble to ashes and sent their riders flying off their backs, or took out the Bloodseekers themselves, which in turn killed the Hiveminds through their powerful telepathic connection. Mikey and I commanded the Gargoyles to bathe our pursuers in the washed-out flame, but for every Vampire we killed, countless more poured in from the sides – whooping and snarling as they joined the chase. The lust for blood had made them hysterical, and their frenzy was making them fast.
“We aren’t going to make it!” yelled Lightwarden Udan over the thundering cacophony of stamping hooves, crackling fire and battle cries.
“Yes we are!” I shouted back.
“No! We need to distract them!”
I watched in horror as he turned and shot two Vengeful. They let out gasps of pain as they tumbled from their horses and were immediately set upon by the masses, screaming as they were ripped limb from limb. I had to turn away and close my eyes against the awful sounds of their yells.
“You murderer!” screamed Mikey.
“It worked!” he shot back.
And he was right. The snarling Vampires were fighting over the remains, the temporary distraction giving us the extra edge we needed to break away from the pack. But that didn’t change a single thing. Regardless of what the Lightwardens saw the Vengeful as; I saw Udan’s actions as cold-blooded murder.
He is going to pay for that.
The Vampires who were lucky enough to get their fill stayed behind, whilst the rest continued the chase. I cracked Picera’s reins and the Unicorn gave a high-pitched whinny as she galloped even harder, kicking up dirt and shoots of dry grass. Soon we were all a good twenty seconds ahead of the chasing Vampires. I saw the Railport on the horizon – a crumbled, broken thing with a sagging roof and bloodstains over its windows and walls. The Lightshuttle hung from the sweeping tracks next to a platform at the top of a long flight of metal steps. Next to the stairs was a vast cargo elevator operated by an electronic pulley system. The shuttle itself was covered in grime and moss, like the carcass of some great beast that had long since returned to nature. We tore towards the platform and I jumped off Picera’s back, rolling and skidding to a halt.
“Everyone get on!” I yelled as I ran over to the pulley system. I waited until everyone had crowded onto the elevator plate and then pressed the button to work it.
Nothing happened.
Shit!
I had no choice but to start heaving at the chain manually. It took all of my strength to pull it down, the weight of so many almost defeating the winch system. The rusting chain groaned and shrieked as I tugged at it. I glanced over my shoulder and saw the approaching horde, their weapon-wielding arms raised and poised to attack.
Come on you bloody thing!
Mikey dropped down next to me.
“What are you doing?” I hissed.
“Helping!”
He grabbed the chain above me and together we yanked down, heaving at the pulley until the rest of the convoy was hurtling up on the elevator towards the Lightshuttle platform. All the while the chasing masses drew closer.
“Use the Gargoyles!” I shouted.
Mikey raised one hand out to the circling Protectors at the same time I did, and together we commanded them to attack. They reacted in an instant, swooping down towards the mounted Bloodseekers and unleashing streams of fire. The Vampires jumped from their Hiveminds and landed on the Gargoyle’s backs - howling as they shattered their fangs and weapons on their stone skin.
“Come on!” growled Mikey as we continued to heave against the pulley. I felt something hard and sharp thud into my shoulder blade and gave a loud hiss of pain.
“I’m hit!” I gasped and sank backwards. Mikey shot me a concerned glance. “I’m okay, keep going!” I shouted as I reached a hand over my shoulder and yanked out a ten-inch blade carved from the rib of some unfortunate soul. I could feel blood seeping down my back.
There was a clicking sound as the chain stopped moving. “It’s done!” called Mikey.
“Then climb!”
Mikey vaulted onto the chain, crossing one hand over the other and throwing himself upwards as fast as he could. I jumped up behind him and followed. As I tore upwards, I felt the chain shudder and looked down to see a female Bloodseeker stalking after me, a shank blade pinned between her fangs. Her long black hair was ragged and caked with dirt, and the smell that emanated from her bare skin was the acrid stench of someone who has spent a lifetime away from civilization. I kept furiously climbing up the chain, trying my best to create a distance, as more Vampires abandoned their Hivemind rides and surged towards the chain. In a matter of seconds the ground below us had become a pool of Bloodseekers, which converged from every direction, scratching and biting at each other as they fought to get to the chain. Seeing how crowded the area was, some of the Bloodseekers changed tact and swarmed towards the staircase instead, bounding up three at a time, and screeching with pure bloodlust.
I felt a momentary sense of relief when I saw Mikey being pulled onto the elevator platform by Aran and Sophia. As soon as he was over I saw his arm dip down towards me.
“Take my hand!”
I stretched out and our fingertips only grazed before the Bloodseeker caught hold of my boot and yanked me downwards. Gasping, I slid down several feet before I stabilized myself. I could feel the Vampire’s sharp nails digging into the leather of my trousers, cutting into my skin and pulling me down with incredible strength.
“Get the hell off me!” I hissed, driving the heel of my other foot into her face. Her head snapped back and she shrieked in a blend of fury and pain, shouting something in a guttural language I didn’t understand. While she was still recovering, there was a crack from overhead and I saw Sophia’s bladed whip streak down past me and snap into the Bloodseeker’s face. The Vampire lurched backwards and her grip faltered, sending her tumbling all the way down into the crowd. She hit hard, knocking several other Vampires over like bowling pins. But the horde kept climbing – becoming a clambering ball of limbs and fangs – and I could feel the groans as the chain strained from the overpowering weight.
“Sophia, get the others into the shuttle!” I ordered. The whip was snapped back and she disappeared from view.
“Scarlett, jump!” urged Mikey, dipping as low as he could over the edge of the elevator.
I leapt off just as the chain snapped.
There was a stomach lurching moment of gravity, before his hand closed around mine. The chain whipped down in a blur, scattering the bundle of Vampires clinging onto it and carving through a dozen Bloodseekers as if they were butter.
Mikey hauled me onto the collapsing elevator, which was breaking apart from its supports. Grabbing his hand, we both jumped as the floor gave way beneath us with a scream of protest, tipping onto its axis. We landed hard on the platform and I rolled, narrowly avoiding the stabbing dagger of a Bloodseeker. I pulled my Pinknife blades free from my belt and drove them up into the Bloodseeker’s eyes as I stood.
I scanned across the platform. The others were at the far end, Aran and Iralia prizing open the doors of the shuttle whilst the Lightwardens and Vengeful stood in front of the Unicorns and horses, fending off the increasing stream of Bloodseekers who had chosen the stairs route, and were leaping off the top of the Lightshuttle towards them. The Vengeful and Lightwardens fired with their hybrid cane guns, whilst Sophia spun around like a ballet dancer, slicing out throats with her whip, and Aran and Iralia used Coffin Nailer launchers to fire stakes into their hearts.
Mikey slid a pair of apotrope knuckle-dusters over his fingers. He jerked two fingers downwards, releasing small wooden spikes from the blades hidden inside. We pushed forward together, me using my Pinknives to stun the Bloodseekers, and him finishing them off with an uppercut to the throat or a punch straight into their hearts. A whirlwind of ash rushed around us as we stormed down the platform. But like a nightmare, the Vampires were never deterred, and they never stopped coming. The hunger was just too powerful – something I knew only too well.
“They’ve got it open!” said Mikey, pointing ahead.
The Guardians and Lightwardens were leading the mounts into the front carriage, whilst the Vengeful continued to fight off the remaining Bloodseekers who were thundering towards the shuttle like late train commuters at rush hour.
“Attack!” I shouted up at my Gargoyle as we ran towards the pack, throwing my hand in their direction. I turned my head to Mikey, “Get yours to cover the platform!”
He nodded and then shouted up at his Gargoyle, as mine swooped down and cranked open its large jaws, releasing a carpet of flames that ignited the starving Vampires. Most of them were instantly turned into ash, but a female one turned and ran right towards me, her burning face twisted into a grimace of hatred and fury. The image was almost identical to the dying Mother of Blood – the awful Bloodseeker leader who had tried to kill me all those centuries ago –and I was thrown completely off guard.
I ground to a halt and started to back up, but there were more Vampires approaching from behind me. I pulled out my Coffin Nailer and fumbled, trying to load a stake set in. The dying Bloodseeker let out a furious screech as it sped up – hands outstretched – until it was almost on me.
A fist came from the side, smashing into the Bloodseeker’s temple and knocking her into the side of the shuttle. He turned and hissed and was immediately delivered another blow to the throat, which put him down for good. It was then that I saw that the hand belonged to Mikey and that it was on fire. He let out a gasp of pain as the fire started to crawl up his arm and onto his shoulder.
“Mikey!”
I grabbed hold of him, tearing through the burning Bloodseekers and sprinted forward to the battling Vengeful. The Gargoyle stopped breathing fire as it saw us approach and I popped the last few remaining Vampires still standing on the platform with a few headshots. We ducked left into the shuttle and I threw Mikey to the floor, ripping off my jacket and holding it in front of me, before I threw myself down on top of him. I could feel the flames trying to survive, could feel the heat below my stomach as the fire burned his Vampire flesh like kindling. The lack of oxygen won the battle and the flames died out in a plume of curling smoke.
I heard the rushing of feet and then a slamming sound and turned to see that Aran and Iralia had managed to slide the shuttle door closed behind the Vengeful, despite the fresh wave of Vampires that had poured onto the platform behind us. Together they all struggled to keep the door closed as countless Bloodseeker hands tried to rip it back open. The loud scrape of their nails echoed over the metal, changing to deafening thuds as the rage of their hunger took over.
“Are you okay?” I asked Mikey as I rolled off him. The smoke poured from the right side of his body.
“I think so,” he winced.
The crowd of Vampires had their faces pressed against the thick windows of the shuttle, their fangs making grating sounds and secreting venom onto the glass. The guttural word ‘vadrak’ kept escaping their throats, repeated over and over again. I didn’t know what language they were speaking, but as a Vampire, I knew only too well what it meant.
Blood.
“I think now would be a good idea to get the bloody hell
out of here!” shouted Iralia, as she pressed her back to the sliding door.
“I’m trying!” yelled Lightwarden Elissa. She was standing in front of a rusting console spread out below the shuttle’s grimy windscreen, and staring down at a display monitor, where a flickering and rolling image tried to fight against old-age and show itself.
“Work, you C’unarh!” she swore and thumped the side of the monitor with a fist. The image shuddered and then settled itself, slightly off-centre. She pressed an un-gloved hand to it and the lights inside the shuttle buzzed and flickered on, revealing a large carriage compartment easily three times the length and width of a train compartment, and with a complex array of machinery running all the way down to the very end. A dusty electronic map was in the centre - in every way identical to the one that Highwarden Caria had shown us inside the Needle. The machinery let out a series of sparks and then buzzed as the old train came back online.
A distorted, stuttering female voice poured over concealed speakers, talking in Qi’lern.
Welcome L-L-luminar to Alstaar, the Advanced Lightshuttle Sys-s-s-stem for Trade Acr-r-r-ross Accepted Routes. Please enter the si-i-ix-digit access code to act-t-tivate the e-engines.