Lewis Aleman - The Anti-Vampire

Another voice calls out from the opening in the bookcase, “Look at the two brave, male vampires attacking one girl all by herself.”

It’s Katrianna.

Roderick stops, surprise freezing his movement, and says, “You’re supposed to be dead. They said they killed you.”

“I’m supposed to be a lot of things—not many of them are true.”

Stopping at Maxine’s side, Katrianna continues, “If you want a nasty job done right, Roderick, don’t leave early next time, trusting imbeciles to do it for you. And, who said they killed me—this idiot straining to hold that little girl over there—Carvelli? Please . They killed my helpless little ones, but not me. Or was it his sick, little idiot-twin that bragged about killing me? Where is Quint anyway?”

Carvelli’s face grows angry, and Ambrosia scrunches her shoulders under the increased pressure from his hand squeezing her.

Maxine answers, “Quint ran out with the others after Edgar and the new breed.”

“Ha!” explodes out of Katrianna, “Never know who your friends are, huh, Roderick? And you, too, stupid,” she says pointing a razor-like fingernail at Carvelli.

“Still four of us to rip you two apart—that’s all we need,” Roderick says cold, flat, and steady.

Maxine says, “It seems all you’re good for Roderick is a lot of talk, and talking to you has always made me sick anyway.”

“Me, too,” Simon adds, jumping through the hole in the window, landing his feet forcefully onto the hardwood floor with me still hanging onto his neck.

Roderick turns around, looking back and forth from Maxi and Katrianna to Simon and me, slowly backing away from being caught directly between them all—moving himself toward Carvelli and patchouli girl, the young vamp with the long sideburns following his lead.

Staring at Simon, Roderick says, “Well, here’s the boy who’s having a lot of trouble dying tonight—we can take care of that for him soon enough.”

“Let Ambrosia go, and none of you have to die,” Simon commands.

“Oh, I think we’re way too far gone for that, Mr. Hero, and I’d say your luck has got to be running out soon,” he pauses looking over all the girls in the room, still backing up slowly, getting closer to Carvelli and his captive, “Let’s see here…Katrianna, Desirée, Ruby, Maxine, and Ambrosia—isn’t anyone named Jane anymore? Only in Uptown New Orleans could those names come together in the same room. Only here could all but one of them be very dead together—very soon.”

All eyes scan over the room—all of them except for Roderick’s and patchouli-girl/Desirée’s—they both stare at Ambrosia.

Simon turns his head sideways toward me—still keeping his eyes on the room, and says, “Ruby, stay in the corner once this starts. Try to get away from this window—get over to one of the corners by that torn bookshelf.”

“Okay.”

Roderick reaches Carvelli and Ambrosia, grabs her at the shoulder, and says, “I’ll take the girl—let her go.”

He slides his hand down Ambrosia’s back, grasping her trapped wrists, and takes hold of her from Carvelli.

Katrianna and Maxine move toward them slowly from the front of the room, and Simon does the same from the rear. Still outnumbered four to three, but they’re the ones making the first move.

Roderick looks to the young sideburns vamp, Desirée, and Carvelli, and says, “If I have to dirty my hands with this, none of you will ever taste the new breed again.”

The three henchmen stare at each other, thinking it over, and Roderick adds, “I swear it…never…again.”

With her head cocked at a harsh angle, Desirée stares at Maxine and says, “Well, if the whore bleeds on me and infects me with some godforsaken disease, I’m gonna expect alotta the stuff from you, Roderick.”

Desirée looks back at him for his reaction.

Roderick says, “Don’t worry; there’s plenty of it for all of u—”

Maxine’s opened hand smacks Desirée’s face so hard the whole room seems to shake, and she falls to the floor, not moving. So fast—didn’t even see Maxi charge her.

The room becomes a blur—Simon lunges forward, grabbing Carvelli. A blur of yellow is Maxine, gray-black smear is Katrianna—the rest are hard to make out.

I see a clear path to the front of the room—I move, trying to get in that corner like Simon said.

Just in front of me—nearly hitting my face—Sideburns crashes into the wall—cracking some bricks in the fireplace. He falls to the floor.

Two more bodies speed close by me. My hands go up instinctively before I realize it’s Katrianna and Maxine.

Quickly, I run past them toward the corner.

Grabbing Maxine tightly by the arm, Katrianna says, “Maxine, find Edgar—save those girls! Go now—before it’s too late!”

Maxine nods and turns toward the exit.

Sideburns jumps back to his feet, swinging wildly at Katrianna. While she dodges his punches, she calls after Maxine, “Nice to see you doing something worthwhile, darlin’.”

Maxine doesn’t look back, but she’s smiling as her blazing fast body whizzes past me, shooting out the hole in the bookshelf with the fear-inducing fluidity of a bat bursting out of a cave.

Focus hard, and my eyes are able to make out more of the quickened, blurry movements. Sideburns lands a punch on Katrianna—she grabs his arm and slams him to the floor.

Simon kicks Carvelli solidly in the stomach, and he drops to a knee.

Katrianna catches a punch by Sideburns, and holding onto his fist, she rolls onto her back—pulling him toward her—jamming her feet against his chest and flinging him into the air like a missile.

She’s accidentally sent him soaring toward Simon, who has his back to them, throwing a punch of his own at Carvelli.

Sideburns’s boot cracks Simon in the back of his head. Simon falls forward onto Carvelli, who is still on one knee.

Sideburns hits the floor and rolls with the momentum—popping himself back up on his feet, turning quickly, and attacking Katrianna again.

With Simon still flopped over him, Carvelli spins around, grabbing Simon around his waist, and quickly stands with my love hoisted on his right shoulder—head out in front.

Katrianna’s busy fending off an onslaught from Sideburns.

Roderick flashes his fangs and flings Ambrosia into the far corner of the room—at a diagonal from me. His eyes land on me as he sprints across the room, fangs and nails exposed.

Smiling, Carvelli charges toward the brick fireplace, aiming Simon’s head to crash directly into it. Close to the bricks, Simon shoves himself off Carvelli’s shoulders, propelling his combatant into the fireplace face first.

Nearly an arm’s-reach away, Roderick cocks his hand back—ready to slash into me—hideous, sharp nails angled at my face.

Landing and spinning in one motion, Simon throws a kick into the air, crashing hard into Roderick’s chin. Roderick smashes into the corner of the giant bookshelf, cracking the wood, and then he falls to the ground about a foot in front of me.

Simon grabs him by his shirt and pants and throws him atop Carvelli in front of the fireplace.

Moving toward me so smoothly that it looks as if he were sliding, Simon grabs me—both hands firm and tender at my waist. Lowers his eyes closer and closer to mine—reflecting and becoming one.

His voice rushes through me like a current, “Ruby, I love you.”

His lips press against mine, pulsing the intense truth of his words into my soul—surging from the energy of his kiss.

Two steps pound toward us—Simon spins round and charges in a flash—slamming his entire arm across the upper chest and then crashing higher into the neck of Sideburns, who falls to the ground grasping his throat.