Evolution (Demon's Grail Book 2) (20 page)

Turning, I see Emilia standing in the doorway, with the blood of my friends smeared across her shirt and face. She takes a step forward, raising her dagger as if she's relishing the idea of killing me. “I just had the pleasure of executing the council of Gothos,” she says with a grin. “Could you hear their screams from here?”

“Wait,” I stammer, “you're being tricked, there's not -”

Before I can get another word out, she lunges at me, screaming with pure hatred as the fangs of her spider form burst through from the slit in her belly and bite down hard into my chest. I try to cry out, but I can already feel burning black venom being pumped into my body, filling my veins as it pulses through to find my heart. Emilia pulls me tight into an embrace of death, and all I can do is reach up and put my hands on her shoulders as I stare into her hate-filled eyes. I have to warn her, to let her know, before it's too late, that she and the other spiders are being tricked, that something far darker is using her army as it seeks to return.

“If you're in any doubt at all,” she says darkly, “let me promise you that Abby Hart will be my next victim.”

“Listen to me,” I whisper, as I feel the venom filling my chest. “He's not... This
thing
is not... You're being...”

She bites down harder, ripping her throbbing fangs through my chest, and then finally she disengages, pushing me back until I slump down onto the stone floor.

“Go, child,” Skellig tells her, placing a hand on her shoulder. “Ms. Hart awaits you, does she not?”

She nods, before turning and hurrying out of the room.

“She knows nothing of the truth,” Skellig continues, looking down at me. “Like the rest of her pathetic species, she is incapable of seeing the bigger picture. Instead, she is driven by hatred, and it is hatred that can be used to control her. By the time she understands the truth, it will be too late for her to do anything.”

With pain bursting through my body, I try to sit up, but I can feel spider venom burning its way toward my heart. I try to block its path, to use my healing powers to create new barriers, but I know it's only a matter of time. And then, before I can even take another breath, Skellig blasts me with another burst of energy from his eyes, and I feel every atom in my body explode with pure pain.

Jonathan

Screams.

Everywhere.

Stopping for a moment, I turn and listen to the sound of people dying all around me. I can barely even process the individual cries anymore; instead, they've become a kind of wall, an impression of misery and suffering that seems to be filling the air. So much death, so much pain, so much pure agony.

I can feel it creeping into my soul.

I can feel it changing me.

“Stop,” I stammer, trying not to panic before finally I have no choice but to scream: “Stop!”

I stumble back, feeling as if I'm about to lose my mind. Ever since I first learned about Abby and about the vampires, I've tried to approach the whole thing from an academic standpoint, analyzing facts and striving for calm, logical solutions. Finally, however, I can feel that approach starting to crumble, replaced by a sense of anger that's rising in my chest and threatening to consume me entirely.

I can't survive in this world. I have to find a way out, or die, or become someone else.

Suddenly I hear another scream, closer this time, and I turn to see a female vampire racing along the corridor, limping heavily and covered in blood. All I can do is stare, however, as a huge spider comes scurrying after her and digs its fangs into her back, dragging her down and pressing her against the floor. I'm frozen by fear as I watch thick black venom being pumped into the woman's body, and after a moment she raises her head and looks at me, as if she thinks I can somehow help her. Her eyes are filled with the knowledge of her own impending death.

“I'm sorry,” I stammer, taking a step back. “I'm not a soldier. I can't -”

Before I can get another word out, one side of the woman's head bursts open as a torrent of burning venom flows out, running down the side of her face and searing her flesh as she lets out one final, agonized scream. The spider pulls its fangs from her back, tearing out part of her spinal column in the process, and a moment later its eight black, glistening eyes turn toward me. Scraps of the woman's flesh are still stuck to the creature's fangs as it starts to climb over her corpse, already making its way toward me.

So far, I've run every time I've faced one of these things.

This time, however, I find myself rooted to the spot. Running is no longer an option.

As I watch the creature's fangs getting closer, I can't help thinking back to Ash and the way she died. She was just a kid, just a human who got lost in a world she didn't understand, and instead of finding a way home she ended up getting torn apart on a dusty, rocky landscape. Even though I know I should run again, and even though I have no weapon in my hands, I somehow manage to stand firm, filled with a growing sense of anger as the spider approaches. Finally the beast is just a few feet away, towering over me with its eight black eyes staring down and its venom-and-blood-smeared fangs twitching, as if it's waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

I should be scared, but I'm not.

Not anymore.

I'm just angry, and for the first time in my life I feel pure hatred in my soul.

“Go on, then,” I tell the spider, as I see my own face reflected back at me in each of its eight eyes. “How many lives have you ended today? Are you enjoying the carnage?”

The spider leans a little further toward me, as its fangs start to open. It's going to attack at any moment now.

From somewhere deep down, I can feel my anger growing. Not just anger, but pure, blind rage and fury. Maybe Abby was right, maybe I
do
have a deep-rooted genetic hatred for these things, or maybe I'm simply feeling guilty over Ash's death, but suddenly I know I can't run, not anymore. This creature will most likely tear me apart in no time, and I've seen trained, armed vampires being felled by them, but at the same time I feel as if I can't run anymore.

And still the spider hesitates.

What's it waiting for?

Does it sense my anger? Does it somehow know that I'm different, that I'm not like all the soldiers it has killed since it broke through the walls of Gothos? Because all of that's true...

I'm not a soldier, and I don't need to become one.

I'm angry enough already.

We strike at the same time. The spider lunges toward me, spreading its fangs and then driving them down against my chest. I manage to push back at the last possible moment, gripping the slimy, warm points and twisting them around while slamming my elbow into the creature's eyes. I have no idea if I manage to cause it any pain, and I don't wait to find out. Instead, I grab hold of the top of one of its eyes and I haul myself up, digging my boots into several more of the black orbs and slicing my heel through a thick, black ball of viscous fluid that bursts as I clamber onto the spider's head. I have no idea what I'm doing up here, but a sense of anger is driving me onward and I reach down to dig through the creature's flesh with my bare hands.

Suddenly I'm knocked to one side as the spider twitches and turns. I almost fall down, but I manage to grab the front of the head and pull myself back up. Looking down into the seven remaining eyes, I see my own reflection and I immediately grab the nearest eye, digging my fingers into the surface until it bursts. Reaching down, I tear two more eyes open, and then another two, and I keep going until finally I rip away the last of the spider's eyes, leaving him blinded as he turns and crawls back against the wall. Hanging on tight, I wait as the beast tries to shake me off, and then I look down at the top of the creature's head and realize that the only way to kill it is to get to the brain.

Screaming louder than I ever imagined possible, I start crashing my elbows down onto the top of the spider's head, desperately trying to crush its skull. At first I have no luck, and the spider simply twists and turns as it continues to try throwing me off; I keep going, however, and finally I feel something cracking beneath the spider's flesh and the whole damn thing tilts forward slightly, stumbling as if it's in pain. Filled with anger, and with the memory of Ash's death, I keep trying to crack the skull with my elbow while reaching forward with my other hand and digging my fingers into the mashed, broken eyes on the front of the spider's head. I start scooping out all the soft, gooey material I find and then I dig deeper, trying to force my way to its brain by punching through from the front. The spider is shifting furiously now, desperately attempting to throw me off, but I close my eyes and cry out as I punch through the skull.

“This is for Ash!” I shout. “And for everyone else you've killed today!”

Finally I feel something soft and fleshy deep inside the spider's skull and I press my fingers in harder, digging with my nails.

The spider lurches to one side and lets out a high-pitched squealing sound, before tilting back and charging at a wall, slamming against the stone with such force that it's either trying to throw me off or maybe even knock itself unconscious. I keep digging into its brain, scooping out as much matter as I can, until the spider tilts forward and some kind of hot liquid starts pouring out around my hand and onto the floor below. The squealing sound is getting louder, but I can feel the beast starting to weaken as its legs struggle to hold it up, and finally the main part of the body is lowered to the ground. I push my hand further into its brain and take hold of a large chunk, finally ripping it out and tossing it aside. The spider drops down but I'm not done yet; I keep going, removing more and more of its brain until the body lets out one final twitch. I pull back, holding the brain stem in my hand, and for a moment I'm filled with a sense of disappointed rage that I don't quite understand, until suddenly a moment of realization hits me.

Breathless and exhausted, I look down at the head of my dead enemy, and I realize that I'm
sorry
it died so easily.

I wanted to make it suffer.

Clambering down, I stumble back with blood and cranial fluid soaking into my clothes. I stare at the dead spider for a moment, shocked that I was able to bring it down but also filled with a sense that I should have drawn its pain out for longer, that I should have made it pay for the way Ash died.

The whole building shudders as some distant impact shakes Gothos to its foundations, but a moment later I hear a scratching sound nearby and I turn to see another huge spider crawling toward me along the corridor.

This time, however, there's no fear in my soul.

I'm actually
pleased
to see it.

After all, the only way to deal with my anger is to rip another of these goddamn things apart with my bare hands. As the spider scurries toward me, speeding up as it gets closer, I watch its eyes and decide that this time I'm going to go straight for the brain, but that I'm also going to find a way to make the monster pay. All that matters is that this spider, right here and right now, dies in the most agonizing way possible.

It's what Ash would have wanted.

Maybe it's what my father would have done.

As the spider reaches me and lunges at my face with its fangs, I throw myself at its eyes, digging my hands into the glistening black spheres. I barely even pay attention to where the fangs are, or whether they're close enough to bite me; my rage is taking over and I force my hands through the eyes and into the brain cavity, ready to deliver the maximum possible level of pain while the damn thing is still alive. I let out a cry of anger as I hear the spider squealing, and then I bite down, digging my teeth into the creature's flesh and tearing through its meat with my fangs.

For the first time in my life, I feel like a true vampire.

Emilia

She's close. I can sense her.

My two venom sacs, located just below my stomach, are full and ready. I've saved these final drops for Abby Hart's death.

The spider army broke through the barrier at the top of the stairs with ease, forcing the vampires back and killing several of them. Now there can only be half a dozen of the wretches left, most of them trapped in one of the two rooms at the end of this corridor. Several spiders are already breaking the door down, but I'm holding back because somehow I can tell that Abby Hart is separate from the others.

Turning, I look the other way.

She's not hiding.

She's waiting.

Planning something.

She won't accept her fate, not until the very last moment.

I reach for the hilt of my sword, before realizing that this is exactly what she expects. Instead, I need to unsettle her. After all, despite my hatred for her and for everything she represents, I know full well that she's no idiot. Somewhere deep down, she must have a trace of her father's wisdom. Taking a step forward, I try to ignore the cries of dying vampires all around me, and I focus on everything else. Abby won't be where the cries are coming from, she'll be waiting in the pockets of silence. She'll be watching, plotting, trying to think her way out of this.

She -

Suddenly I hear a series of screeches from over my shoulder, and I turn just as the far end of the corridor bursts into flames. Two huge, beautiful spiders come stumbling back, their bodies burning, and I watch in horror as they drop down against the floor. Vampires learned long ago that my species is vulnerable to fire, and although we've managed to defend ourselves for the most part with additions to our armor, small injuries can sometimes offer a way for flames to ignite our venom sacs. I feel a sense of rage in my chest as I watch those two magnificent spiders burning to death, and I realize that even though our casualties are dwarfed by the legions of vampire dead, I hate the idea of even a single spider fatality.

And then a figure steps past the burning corpses, and I finally find myself face-to-face with Abby Hart.

“Is that your plan?” I ask, reaching for my sword before holding back. After all,
she
's unarmed, so why shouldn't I kill her with my bare hands instead? “Do you seriously think you can injure and then burn whole legions of my species?”

“I just wanted to get your attention,” she replies darkly, with her eyes fixed on me. “Plus, I think I might have broken a record. I've killed eight spiders so far.”

“You're hurt,” I point out, spotting the numerous deep cuts and wounds on her torso. “You must be in pain.”

“Don't worry about me,” she replies. “I'm fine.”

“Still,” I continue, pulling my sword from its sheath, “I wouldn't like you to think that I have an unfair advantage. That looks like a particularly nasty gash on your left shoulder. It goes all the way through, I think.” Holding my sword up, I maintain eye contact with Abby as I drive my blade against my own left shoulder, copying her injury by carving to the bone and then through to the other side. The pain is intense, but I think it's only fair that we should start this fight on level terms. Finally I pull my sword out and toss it over the balcony, letting it fall down onto the steps below, where it clatters against the stone until it comes to rest in the hallway. “There,” I say with a smile, “that seems fairer, don't you think? A certain symmetry seems to follow us around. We start with the same shoulder wound.”

“Am I the last one left?” she asks.

My smile grows.

“Am I the last one?” she shouts, her voice filled with anger.

“More or less,” I tell her, as I realize that she probably doesn't know about Absalom yet. “I found your trainer,” I continue. “Skellig did most of the damage, but I finished him off. It felt so good to fill Absalom's wretched body with my venom and -”

“You're lying,” she says firmly.

“Do you really think so?” Watching her face, I can already make out the faintest flicker of fear; she desperately wants to believe that I'm trying to trick her, but deep down she knows I wouldn't bother making up such a story. “He's dead, Abby. You killed my mentor back in New York, and now I've returned the favor. If you don't believe me, reach out with your mind and try to find Absalom. You'll quickly realize that his soul has gone dark.”

I wait for a reply, and I can tell she's trying. There are tears in her eyes now, and it's tempting to believe that I've finally broken her spirit.

“I believe your brother is still alive,” I continue. “Not for long, but... I'll get to him once I'm done with you. If I have any venom left, that is. There's a distinct possibility that I'll empty myself into you.” I take a step toward her. “I've dreamed about this moment, you know. About digging my fangs into your chest and pumping hot venom directly into your heart. I could have done it long ago, I could have done it when we first met, back in that hospital room, but now I'm glad I was patient. It's going to feel so much better killing you here, in the corridors of Gothos as the old house collapses.” I can't help smiling as my venom sacs start throbbing. “I am going to fill you up, Abby Hart, and watch you burn.”

“Do you really think you'll get what you want?” she asks. “My father hid Karakh from you, he -”

“We already found Karakh,” I reply, interrupting her.

“Liar!” she shouts.

“Look into my eyes and you'll see that I'm not bluffing.” I continue. “It was hidden well, but Skellig and his brethren were able to locate our great, lost palace. Once the vampires are dead and Gothos has fallen to dust, we're going to march to our home and then finally my father, the great spider lord of Karakh, will return from his prison in the void.” Yet again, I can't help but smile; she isn't even accusing me of lying this time, which means she knows the war is lost. “I suppose you had a similar dream once,” I add. “You thought the great vampire empire could rise again. Sorry to knock that one to the curb, but your time has been and gone.” I step closer to her, as I feel blood leaking from the wound on my shoulder. The pain is still there, but it doesn't bother me; if anything, it pushes me onward. “Don't you want to go first?” I whisper, trying to tempt her. “What's wrong, are you embarrassed to fight in public? Maybe we should get a room...”

Suddenly she lunges at me, pushing me against the wall and biting down hard into my already-wounded shoulder. The pain takes me by surprise, but I quickly dip my shoulder away and then slam my head into hers with enough force to send her staggering back. Before she can react, I grab her by the shoulders and swing her around, sending her crashing through one of the walls and into a nearby room. I step through after her, just as she starts scrambling back onto her feet. Still, I can tell I've already winded her.

“Do you think the ghosts of Gothos can see you now?” I ask, stepping toward her and smiling as she instinctively takes a step back. “How many are there by now? Your whole family is just a collection of ghosts, isn't it? Do you think Mommy and Daddy are going to watch you die from the shadows?”

“You don't know anything about my family,” she sneers.

“Gothos was always kept so safe, wasn't it?” I continue, taking another step closer. “No matter what else happened to your miserable species, you always told yourselves that everything would be fine so long as Gothos remained standing, so long as you could scurry back here to lick your wounds and plot revenge. Well, guess what? As of tonight, Gothos falls. The whole house, everything, and it takes your pathetic civilization with it. I'm almost tempted to leave a few of you alive, scrabbling through the mud, so I can watch your pathetic attempts to regroup.” I reach out and grab her by the throat. “Almost.”

She tries to push me away, but I squeeze tight and force her down onto her knees, cutting off her airway.

“How many times have we fought, Abby?” I ask, smiling as she struggles for air. “There was that time in the hospital room, and the time at Keller's house in New York... I handed your ass to you both times, and both times I held back from killing you. I have to admit, when I saw you at Jagadoon, I actually wondered whether you could be trained up so that you'd become a worthy adversary. I guess that was a little too much to hope for, though, wasn't it? You could never be as strong as me.”

She struggles to reply, but only gasps can escape from her throat.

“I just wish I could take longer on this,” I continue, leaning closer. “You have no idea how many ideas I've got for torturing you, how many inventive ways I could make you suffer. I've imagined hurting every inch of your body, and then kissing every inch better so I can do it all over again. I've spent so many happy hours at night, when I should be sleeping, thinking about what I could do to make you scream.” Staring into her eyes, I can see that she's in danger of losing consciousness already, so I relax my grip on her throat just a little. I want her to suffer so much more before she dies. “The crazy thing is, in another life I think we could have been friends. Maybe the best of friends, even. Maybe the best
possible
friends.” I pause, feeling her hot, gasping breath on my face. “After you're dead and I'm in the throne room at Karakh,” I whisper, leaning closer until my lips are almost touching hers, “I promise I'll raise a toast to your memory, and to all those unfulfilled possibilities that -”

Suddenly she lunges at me, catching me by surprise and knocking me back. She lands on top of me and cries out with rage as she slams her fists against my face; again, I'm momentarily startled, not only by her primal anger but also by the feeling of my left cheekbone cracking open. I try to push her off but she seems to have gained some fresh wave of strength and for a moment I'm powerless to stop her as she rains punch after punch down against my face. Then she rolls off me and pulls me over, dragging me to the window and smashing my head through the glass before slamming my neck down against one of the broken shards.

I let out a gasp as I feel glass digging through my throat. She twists my head, as if she's trying to tear it straight off, but I manage to kick back at her and lift myself up, sliding the glass out of my neck and then turning just as she comes at me again.

She hits me in the chest, knocking me against the wall.

“I'm flattered,” I hiss into her ear as she leans closer. “You couldn't hate me so much if you didn't really like me!”

I try to push her away, but once again she seems to have found a hidden reserve of strength from somewhere, and now she's pressing me back even harder. I let out a grunt of pain as I try to force her off, and for the first time I start to wonder whether she might yet have enough power to actually...

No.

No, that's a ridiculous thought.

Screaming, I throw all my weight against her, landing on top of her as we topple to the ground. All around us, the walls of the house are shuddering and creaking, as if Gothos itself is about to collapse, but I'm not going to stop, not now that I'm so close to ending Abby's life. She reaches up to me, opening her mouth wide and hissing as she reveals her sharp fangs, and for a moment I genuinely struggle to pull back as she tries to bite me.

“Is that all you've got?” I gasp, as she leans even closer. I feel her teeth dragging against my skin, but she can't quite sink them into me.

She reaches around and grabs my shoulders, trying to pull me closer.

“You're forgetting something,” I stammer, straining every sinew as I feel my body being pressed against hers, and as she tries once again to bite me. “You vampires are such predictable creatures,” I continue. “You always keep your teeth in such obvious places.”

Letting out a cry of pain, I lean my head back and push my fangs out through the slit in my belly, immediately burying them deep into Abby's gut and biting hard. I feel her whole body tense with shock as my fangs – larger and sharper than anything she possesses – gouge through her flesh, ripping into her intestines and then through her kidneys and bladder until I reach her crotch. With every fresh bite, I scoop out a little more of her meat.

Tilting my human face even further back, I take a moment to savor the sensation of digging myself deeper into my enemy. My venom sacs are pulsating, throbbing with the need for release, but after waiting so long I'm almost scared to let myself enjoy this.

Almost.

“Here comes the venom,” I whisper, with a sense of anticipation in my chest as the house creaks all around us. “Are you ready? Once I start releasing it into your body, it'll find its way to your heart and then...” I lean closer, breathing in every moment of her final struggle. I can feel her hot, gasping breath against my skin. The sacs in my abdomen are pounding now, ready to burst, but I want to enjoy this moment. “In some ways, I'll actually miss you.”

With that, I give her a quick kiss on the cheek before taking another bite with the fangs that are reaching out through my belly. As I rip through her belly and crotch, I feel my venom sacs pulsating with pleasure, and I try to hold them back for just a few more seconds. Finally, however, I'm overcome by a powerful shudder that loosens all control of my body, and the sacs seems to take on a life of their own, pumping the thick black poison out of my body with such force that it's almost painful, entering her and filling her up. At the same time, she finally manages to bite down against my neck and for a moment we're locked together, each using the last of our strength to tear the other apart.