| Subscribe to Dean Murray's Mailing List |
|
Joining the mailing list will let me keep you in the loop as new stories are released. Additionally, people on the mailing list will get neat extras from time to time. |
The nightmares hadn't left completely, but they were somehow less intense. It's less often that it's Melody's face that looks back at me as she's pushed from the platform, and when she does look at me, she is somehow slightly less condemning.
As a result, Geoffry had been sleeping slightly better. He was still a little slower than he should be, but training over all with Venice was going much better. It's not just because I'm getting some sleep either.
The vampire mentally shied way from really examining the changes that were happening to his relationship with Venice. No, that isn't quite true, I've examined them, I'm just not quite comfortable with the direction they're going. Not at ease with the idea that I'm starting to care for her.
The other thing that Geoffry had been avoiding thinking about was the fact that he'd fulfilled his promise to Venice and fed. Even having just fed from Venice, it was hard to avoid taking too much. I thought about trying to engineer some constructs in the poor girl's mind as a form of repayment, but it seemed like doing so would just mock what I'd taken from her, as if it was of so little value that it could be replaced by a few mental parlor tricks that may or may not even work.
Geoffry finished stretching on the blue mats as Venice came out of the dressing room. “I stretched out before leaving home, love, so I'm ready to go whenever you are.”
“I think I'm pretty much there, too.”
Venice nodded, but Geoffry snagged her arm before she could turn away. “Thanks for this. Not just teaching me, but for helping, for being understanding.”
“I told, love. We used to be close. You're forgotten, but I haven't”
The moment could have grown awkward, but Venice smiled and turned back to her dufflebag.
After putting on some minimal padding and face protection, the pair squared off without weapons, and Geoffry was surprised to find that for the first time he seemed to be faster than Venice. He'd managed to press the lithe vampire on more than one occasion due mostly to his superior reach, but today it seemed almost as if Venice was on the defensive from the start.
Geoffry's right fist flicked out again and again, and if Venice was able to dodge or block most of the jabs, there were still a significant percentage of them getting through. The pretty face behind the headgear was getting more and more frustrated as Venice proved unable to close to a range where she could punish Geoffry with the body blows that were her usual response to his attempts to stand back and wear her down.
Geoffry felt his mind begin to relax as the fight continued in a rapid exchange of blows and counters that seemed to require no conscious though on his part. Gradually Geoffry realized that his blocks were being executed as soon as Venice began her strikes. It's as if she's telegraphing everything, but I can't point towards anything having changed on her side.
Venice launched a punch towards Geoffry's face, but he somehow knew it was nothing more than a feint, and brought his right foot up and lashed out to the side, catching Venice in the ribs as she charged in.
The blow picked the smaller vampire up and knocked her to the ground several feet back from where she'd started. Geoffry ran over worried that he'd hurt her.
Venice stripped off her head gear, obviously mad until she saw the concern on Geoffry's face. “I'm more or less ok, you probably broke some of my bloody ribs, but nothing that shouldn't heal in a couple of days.”
Geoffry sighed in relief, only to watch in surprise as Venice's eyes momentarily became distant.
“You sneaky jerk. At first I just thought you'd finally started to speed up to where you used to be, but I just realized that you were using your abilities to predict my actions.”
Geoffry rolled away from a weak punch as he considered Venice's words and realized that she was right. “I didn't mean to...”
Venice shrugged, and then grimaced and grabbed her side. “It's ok, I should have realized that this was bound to happen sooner or later.”
The younger vampire waved Geoffry off again. “I'll be fine, but we'll have to wait for a bit until I'll be up for a full scale practice again.”
The rest of the training session consisted of Geoffry performing a wide variety of techniques while Venice watched and critiqued his form.
When the beautiful blond finally allowed Geoffry to collapse to the floor, tired and sweaty, he found he was exhausted enough that he couldn't seem to achieve his usual level of self-condemnation.
Is that the real cause, or am I finally getting to the point where what I've done doesn't bother me?
Even as tired as he was, Geoffry managed to beat Venice to the lobby after showering and changing. I rather suspect she'll be moving a bit slower than usual until those ribs heal.
When Venice finally came out of the locker room she flashed Geoffry a smile that had only the smallest shadow of pain attached to it. “So oh chivalrous one, you decided to wait and make sure that the damsel you beat up wasn't going to need help getting dressed huh?
Geoffry felt himself blush, but managed to shrug. “It seemed like the thing to do at the time.”
Venice paused, and for a second looked as if she would apologize for making Geoffry feel uncomfortable. “Listen, I told you a while ago that things are starting to get a little hairy out there, but there's been a development that nobody was expecting. A vampire named Slasher was found dead a couple of days ago.”
Once she was satisfied that she had Geoffry's full attention Venice continued. “We've kept you pretty much isolated from the rest of vampire society, but it probably won't be any surprise that vampires are killed on a pretty regular basis, one or two a month isn't that uncommon if a given Elder is making some kind of subtle power play.”
Venice hugged herself as if chilled. “What was different about this was that he wasn't just killed, he was torn apart.”
Geoffry felt his stomach rebel at the image Venice's statement conjured up. There was so much blood when I killed the three kids that were going to rape Melody, if someone was truly ripped to shreds, it would be splattered everywhere like some kind of grotesque paint.
“I don't know what could have done something like that. Slasher wasn't a neophyte, he was stronger than either of us, and his primary ability was telekinesis. Some people are claiming that one of the masters like DeRys or maybe Bajuel used their telekinetic abilities to do him in, but there is another group, mostly made up with telekinetics who are in a pretty good position to know what's legitimately possible with mind power, who think that something else is responsible, that something he was hunting reversed roles on him and made him the prey.”
**
In light of Venice's warning and the fact that she was obviously worried about the implications of Slasher's death, it would have probably been prudent for Geoffry to remain inside as much as possible, but he instead found himself walking the streets once again as he tried to make sense of all the thoughts screaming for attention inside his head.
I have to get out. Running would leave me weaponless, but at the very least I've got to walk around so I can think. Besides, if whatever it is kills me, I'll probably be better off than I am now.
The sidewalks and streets were already dirty again, and Geoffry soon found himself spending as much time watching the sidewalk for gum and other less-desirable things as he was observing his surroundings. It wasn't until he'd been walking for half an hour that the vampire realized that he'd been wandering the same general area for quite a while, and that it was an area of the city that he recognized.
When was I here last?
A wave of uneasiness suddenly washed through Geoffry as he realized that he was very nearly to the hospital, that he was within a block of where he'd been attacked by the teenager weeks before.
I have to get out now. Maybe I can turn up my collar and make it out unnoticed.
Geoffry made it a block before he saw three sloppily-dressed teenagers, whose pants seemed nearly ready to finish their downward slide past their boxers, detach themselves from a wall and move as if to intercept him. The vampire turned his head with the intention of retreating back to a more public area, only to see the teenager who'd attacked him approaching from behind with two other men.
Geoffry backed up to a wall to avoid another pile of garbage and ensure that nobody could circle around behind him while he tried to prepare himself for what was about to come.
“You've got my gun, dog.” The rest of the toughs all laughed, but Geoffry hardly noticed as he concentrated on sending out tendrils of thought to brush the surface of each man's mind.
They won't back down. I sense a desire for pain and suffering, one that might not end until I'm dead. Some of them are worried by the fact that I haven't responded, but most of them seem to be taking it as a sign of weakness.
As Geoffry established the intent of the gang members, a variety of improvised weapons from knives to chains appeared in every hand.
A single concern that he'd regret what he was about to do spidered across the calm that enveloped Geoffry, but then the first ganger prepared to strike, and conscious thought fled.
Able as he was to read the thoughts of each attacker, Geoffry was able to start countering their actions before any of them physically moved.
The first attacker ran into Geoffry's heel as he launched a back thrust kick even more powerful than the blow that had fractured Venice's ribs.
Geoffry then stepped inside the chain that came sweeping towards him, and threw the next attacker into two of his fellows.
The next two attackers tried to spread out and trap Geoffry between them, but he had his katana drawn, and it licked out in short, brutal arcs that left bloody corpses at his feet.
By the time the last two gang members made it back to their feet, Geoffry was already upon them, crushing the throat of one with a snap kick, and trapping the knife-wielding hand of the second just long enough to pull him in close and spin him around.
When the teen that had started it all tried to escape Geoffry's hold by stomping down on the vampire's instep, Geoffry simply slid the foot out of the way and broke his opponent's neck.
Not waiting for witnesses to call the police, Geoffry cleaned his weapon on one of the fallen, and disappeared into the night.