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The hunger was starting to get bad, but Geoffry was worried about what would happen if he went outside to find someone to feed on. I should have moved, should have changed apartments right after or right before the hit, just to reduce the chance of this guy stumbling into someone in my neighborhood that recognized me.
The thought had crossed the vampire's mind at one point, but he'd dismissed it as overreacting. Or maybe I've just become used to this little place. It's the only home I remember ever having known. They were the closest thing I had to a refuge, but now they seem to close in a little tighter each day.
If I go outside now I can probably find someone, feed and be back in less that a couple of hours, that will buy me another couple of weeks, and I can ask Venice about moving when she stops by next time. Really, how could this guy have possibly tracked me back to this neighborhood or any other? There are millions of people on this island.
His decision made, Geoffry exited the apartment and headed in a random direction. Once again the vampire couldn't shake the feeling of being watched. It's just nerves. Nobody is taking special notice of me.
An hour of random searching didn't provide any likely prospects, and Geoffry was becoming more and more uneasy the longer he was outside, so he finally decided to swing by an area fairly close to Melody's where he knew a large number of prostitutes gathered. I might be recognized there, but I'll only be on the street for a few minutes before we go inside, and then I should be fairly safe.
Geoffry was in the process of cutting through an alley when two figures stepped out of the shadows in front of him, and mental alarms started going off. Their thoughts. Uneasiness, but with a definite sense that they are prepared for a confrontation. Why are they uneasy? Oh no, they know I'm a vampire.
Geoffry's questing thoughts brushed up against a solid surface and he threw himself to the side as a bolt of fire streaked past him near enough for the heat to make his clothes smoke.
Rolling to his feet Geoffry frantically beat against the mental wall separating him from the other vampire's thoughts. Sensing that the two humans were in striking distance, Geoffry ran past them, slashing twice with the katana that he didn't remember drawing. The pair went down in a spray of blood, and Geoffry ducked behind a dumpster as another ball of fire nearly clipped him.
Frantic efforts to worm probes into the pyromancer's mind were meeting with almost no success, but the sudden increase in the air temperature around Geoffry was enough to tell him it was time to move.
I'm over matched, I can't break his mental shield, and it's only a matter of time before he lights me up and this is all over.
Acting on little more than instinct, Geoffry suddenly realized he was once again fighting defensively, and instead of running away as he left the cover of the dumpster, he ran towards the other vampire, launching a mental attack that consisted of nothing more than a crude blow of pure force.
Geoffry's clothes had just started to heat up when the mental hammer hit the other vampire. Rather than failing as he'd half feared it would, the attack destroyed the other vampire's concentration sufficiently to save Geoffry from bursting into flame.
There was the briefest of instants to savor the success, and then the pair clashed together in a whirling storm of steal.
Now that he was inside his opponent's mind, Geoffry found it only slightly better protected than that of a human. Ensuring that the pyromancer was too off balance mentally to roast him, left Geoffry with insufficient resources to get any sense of what physical attacks to expect.
A pale, freckled face pulled back in a expression of rage and hate as the other vampire launched a series of strikes with his sword, an ancient looking straight-bladed thing about four feet long.
Geoffry wasn't as used to countering stabs, but he managed to dodge each attack, and his katana licked out twice to score slight wounds on the other vampire.
He's probably a little stronger and faster than I am, but his weapon is heavier. As long as I can avoid having mine damaged, we're on nearly even terms.
As the fight ground on, Geoffry found that he seemed to be slowing faster than his opponent. I'm in too deep, I have to pull out of his mind slightly or he'll just wear me down. Panting Geoffry tried to retreat slightly from the depths of the other vampire's mind, but that triggered a sudden spat of mental attacks designed to push him far enough out that the other could access his pyromancer abilities again.
One of the mental blows nearly succeeded and Geoffry momentarily slowed as the mental battle took up his full concentration. That was all the other vampire needed, and one of his thrusts went home, piercing Geoffry's stomach.
The pain shattered Geoffry's probes, and he suddenly found himself confined to his own mind with a certainty that his opponent was about to finish him with conjured fire.
Reflex once again took over, and Geoffry grabbed his enemy's hand to trap the longsword before it could be withdrawn. A split second later Geoffry's katana found it's mark and the other vampire collapsed like a puppet who's strings had been cut.
Geoffry managed to sheath his sword before collapsing to the ground in agony. My organs don't feel right. I was almost too late, he was going to cook me from the inside out. Have to make it somewhere safe.
Venice came to mind first, but Geoffry suddenly realized he had no idea where she lived. Not only that, but she indicated that Imastious would have me eliminated if anyone managed to pin the hit on me. Can't place myself in her hands right now.
Geoffry had been insulated from the pain of his wounds by the adrenaline coursing through his system, but now that the immediate emergency was over, he could feel shock setting in. I have to get somewhere safe. Not my apartment. It might already be compromised. I'll need help if I'm going to survive this.
The next few minutes were a haze. Somehow Geoffry levered himself back upright and plugged the hole in his stomach enough that he didn't immediately bleed out. The vampire hadn't had an actual destination in mind when he'd started out, but he shortly found himself in front of Melody's building, and without thinking of the possible repercussions made his way up to her door and feebly knocked on it until he heard movement inside.
The peephole in the door darkened, and then Melody called out. “Who...Geoffry, is that you?”
The vampire mumbled an affirmative, and then all but collapsed into Melody's arms once she got the door open.
“I'm sorry, I shouldn't have come, but I didn't have anywhere else to go.”
Melody shushed Geoffry as she guided him into her room and parked him on her bed. “I'll call an ambulance.”
“No. They might be watching the hospitals. Even if they aren't, the police will ask questions about how I was stabbed.”
Melody looked at Geoffry with a trembling lip and then nodded. “Ok then, we'll just have to the best we can here. Daddy made mom and I learn some basic first aid, he said he didn't want us panicking and being useless in an emergency, but I don't know if it will be enough.”
Geoffry was having a hard time focusing on what Melody was saying, but he understood enough to nod and mumble. “If I can make it the next few hours I'll probably be ok. I heal faster than humans.”
Melody might have said something in response, might have had a question, but if so Geoffry missed it. The exertions he'd made both before and after being wounded had finally caught up with him, and unconsciousness claimed him.