Hi. Sophie here. God bless!
The end of a story is close. Or not. At least I hope so. This is already the 9th time already ( Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8 . Ok, let’s get on with it.
Father George finally came. He was, basically, trapped in another country, even if he initially left for a pilgrimage. I do not think his story is for today, perhaps for another time and I think he shall share it, if he decides. What I would like to say is that he went for a couple of days in the north-east Carpathians, at a hermitage, where a hieromonk who was famous to live a mystical life, looked out by many people for spiritual guidance, although he truly disliked being treated as an oracle. Not just to his fame, but also due his own life experience, father George felt the need to go to father Dometie for a few days, in order to get some answers, as this situation seems to have been beyond even his expertise.
We were overdue for a confession for months, already, we really need it, after all it happened. Father George came to our house, so that we all would be able to confess without leaving the city, as his church in Ialomița county. He met Sidonia and Michael. Sidonia was eager to confess, since she decided to leave her old confessor.
He smiled when it was her turn: ”Now, less than two years ago I fought demons and I never imagined I shall become the confessor of Vampires, Elves and Mermaids. I wonder what shall be next.” He winked. ”Nonetheless, Helena seems to function for some of us, as some sort of confessor. Sidonia called her amma, after a long talk.” ”Is that true?” smiled father George to Helena. ”I had no idea I was in the presence of a lady worthy to get her way into a Matheric.” Helena gave one one her cheeky looks: ”I told her not to tempt me into pride. I am like an older sister at best.” Sidonia cheered childlike: ”Come on, she is like mom to me, it is my right to call her mommy…”
One note, calling a woman amma is akin to calling a man abba or avva, an informal title given to a man, usually a priest or a monk, who is very advanced spiritually and mystically being a guide for other people into strong and intimate issues or the soul or even in mystical endeavors.
We finally gathered and discussed the situation. We could not continue like this, especially since things seem to escalate. Helena said: ”Most likely, they will have to stop at some point, because the life force they take from living Elves to maintain their creations can not last too much. I think they shall bring it to a halt and create those things only in need, now being the experiment of pushing the limits. Especially since the two we know about seem to be part of a certain circle of interests, larger than them. Yet, something could be possible, that this has turned into an irrational tail spin, for them only or maybe even for others, greater than them, and they can not stop. Like drug addicts escalating a drug.”
”What about Mr. Breeze, who clearly comes from Hell?” asked Michael. Father George said: ”Demons hate us all and want to bring us down, out of hatred and spite. We can not imagine how deep their hate is. Sometimes, they have a well conceived plan. Like, in this case, there may be one, or they just wreck some people. Regardless, they can only achieve what they are allowed to by The Lord. As Saint Arsenie Boca said, the meekest of demons can destroy the Earth, but God does not allow it to happen. They are only allowed to do certain things at certain points in time with a sense. Like us being able to do what is right.”
Mom said: ”I can not make peace with the idea of my father being of those creatures. Day and night I think about it. Is there any way he can be removed from this state?”
Father George replied: ”We can not be sure if there is really him or not some demonic deceit. No matter how open minded we are, a certain degree of skepticism is always important and it is, actually, part of being open minded. I have thought this will be asked, this is one reason why I went to visit father Dometie. He did not give me a straight answer, but I think it is really relevant. He said that, if one of those things is your father, then something needs to happen to him, at a given moment, when it is the most important, that he remembers who he was when he was alive and gain at least of the freedom he had as a living Elf, because he is now a tormented slave. A confrontation will be necessary, at some point, things will not go back to normal on their own.”
I replied: ”Indeed, for us who feel the signal from that tower, it has a feeling of doom to it. I do not know if this is fake, but it increases. Like it is in the air, like something comes from there to the sky. Also, it signals for us to come there.s without much success. We are aware of it, but most Caterpillar Elves, who do not know what they are, probably think they are having a bad day, or due to smog or something, but they are affected, I see certain people outside that look and feel in a certain way. There is also another dimension to it. It seems they are after Artanis in particular. I do not know what Doina desires, maybe because Artanis has her blood, or something else.”
Father George said: ”Perhaps Helena could do something, we know she is capable of many things, especially when working alongside Elves.”
Helena replied: ”I can, of course, but think that things are tricky. I do not know how powerful I am right now, I haven’t fed too well lately. Sophie, who is most well trained and the most helpful in working with me on those things, needs to take care of Artanis. Could she leave Artanis safe, while she would be doing all? Odette seems to be pretty good at this, but I do not know if it is enough. Sidonia is very new at this. Sophie was also new last year, in the Circus Park, but this time the foes are stronger. Sidonia seems to have similar powers like Sophie and Odette, but not exactly the same. We need time to explore. And Michael…” She looked at him, he turned his said eyes to her. ”I don’t know, he is also even newer to this and, with him there is another issue. He would fight his own mother, I do not know if he is willing to do this, if we can ask him to.”
Michael put his head down, I think he would have cried, if he could, but he kept it to himself. Finally, he said: ”That is not my mom. I lost my mom already. She turned into something I can not describe. If there is no other way, I would help, since I can not let mom do the evil thing she is doing any longer, also for Artanis, I am willing to accept even death. I admit, I still think if there is anything that can be done regarding mom, if there is any chance of, I don’t know, of getting her back. Or at least something of her… If there is anything left…”
Father George gave a sigh and touched his shoulder: ”Lad, only God knows the hearts. You can pray, of course, she is your mother, even the worst of sinners can return. Yet, for her, it seems she got a gradual fall in evil, like someone going down gradually in a swamp. There were, probably, moments, at first, when at least fear made her want to turn back. But, for one reason or another, she got deeper, and the demons got hold of her soul. It was her continuous choice…” Michael replied, without looking at him: ”In this case, I shall fight her.” He turned his head to me: ”For Artanis.” Then he led his head down again.
Helena said: ”I suggest that Artanis, with Sophie and Michael get somewhere before we perform the attack. We know where the center of this madness is, we can send them far from there.” Father George added: ”I could send them to my parish, in Ialomița county, but I think they can better stay somewhere closer, like in the south of Bucharest, a hotel room may be rented there. They can have guns with them.” Michael replied: ”I think all the Elven help available needs to be there, but I agree that Sophie and Artanis need to be safe. I suggest Mr. Marinescu to stay with them that night at a hotel or in a rented apartment, with guns available, and I shall come to join the attack, when the time comes. I do not feel ready to fight, but I feel it is my duty to be there when this is done.” Helena replied: ”Sounds pretty reasonable.”
I thought that Full Elves, if they still existed, somewhere, I think they would know and act on it. Probably. Yet, there is no sign of them for decades, we know for sure that there were no Elves alive left up to 2007, as the Elvenhome was gone in January 2001. Elves were already on the decline for millenia already, it was clear the world would be inherited by Humans and they shall retreat to Elvenhome. Until it was, suddenly, gone,and the world was devoid of Elves. Until February 2008, when Caterpillar Elves re-appeared. All possible survivors of past generations of Elves would have been married to Humans and became Humans up to that point.
”What about former Full Elves? Wouldn’t they know this was happening?” I asked. Helena replied: ”If they were still around, but I think they are gone.” ”This means it is on us.” ”Indeed. But we might see a sign from them, once we reach there.” conclude Helena. She looked around and said: ”Ok, are we doing this?” ”Yes.” ”Yes.” ”Yes.” ”Yes.”
Dad kept silent, as all seemed set. He found an apartment to rent in Berceni, in the south of the city, the area seemed pretty safe. We managed to get Ferdinand on board on this afterwards, as he seems to hate both the Candles and Doina and Sanderson. Dad will take us to the rented apartment, while the rest of the crew will prepare the attack. Father George will perform the exorcism prayers nearby.
We knew this backfire in several ways. This could be suicidal. But we knew we had to do it. It was quite an uneventful morning, as me, dad and Artanis were at the apartment. It was an alley in the Apărătorii Patriei region, communist apartment blocks, with small alleys around them. I prayed for everything to work well, but I still felt something was wrong or would not work according to plan.
Something in my gut told me I should have stayed in, even if this was broad daylight. And it was. Nothing out of the ordinary, on an outer level. We entered a local supermarket, to get some water and tissues, for Artanis. We got some sunflower oil, some baby tissues, and biscuits. Behind us, there were two men, strongly built, who looked at us in a bizarre way. I rushed dad to hurry up, it would have been better, perhaps, if we stayed in the shop itself. We paid, stuffed them into my backpack and left.
Unfortunately, we had to go through a narrow alley, with many trees on it. I fastened the pace, as they came after us. We turned to enter the small alley that led to the access door. Dad did his best to get the keys but he did not get them fast enough. As he opened the door, they came running to us and they were fast. He opened the door to let me in, and I did it but, as he almost got in, one of the men grabbed him by the shoulder, preventing the door from being shut.
I screamed and started running in the hallway. Dad fought them, but they brought him down pretty fast. I tried to get to the stairs, but one of them came after me. He pulled a gun from his jacket and got to me as I took the first steps on the stairs. I scream: ”Help! Somebody help me!” The gun touched my head and he said in a very firm tone: ”One more scream, and you are gone!” I trembled, but became quiet, with the exception of a few sobs. Several doors opened, from one an old man came. He looked at us, as I was pulled back from the stairs towards the exit. The other one got another gun and showed it to the old man, who backed down. My mouth was covered and rushed towards the exit.
Near the door, I saw dad on the floor, with a small wound at the back of his head, and a small amount of blood. They ignored him, as they pulled me out. They moved me pretty brutally and in haste, as my mouth was covered and Artanis was crying. I desperately thought of kicking them, to escape, but they were two of them and, even if I could escape one, the other would be harder to. I kicked, nonetheless, but they were too strong. They dragged me like this into several alleys, until they reached an SUV, with black windows.
”Give me your phone, now!” growled one of them and I complied. They briefly checked my backpack, then signaled the driver, who opened the window. I felt a familiar, yet unfamiliar instinctual fear, when the window was opened.
”We got them. Both of them.” said one of the men. ”Very well. Open the door and bring them in.” a twisted woman’s voice was heard. I had to get in, as the guns were pointed at me. The man gave her my phone. The backseat smelled chemical, but it also felt somehow akin to a mortuary car, to a hearse. I struggled to get in, also to keep Artanis as comfortable as possible, who was crying. The doors closed on us, like a prison. I tried to breastfeed Artanis, in order to calm her down, although my heart beat up very fast.
The woman said to the men: ”Good job. I did not expect to get it done so fast, so good. Here you go.” and she handed them an envelope each. I already noticed the dark magenta hair, braided in office style. Sunglasses on. She closed the door, as my heart pounded into my nightmare coming true. Silence came over, I thought of screaming for help, the woman took a gun that was placed above the steering wheel, like showing it to me, then placed it in a purse.
”Don’t worry,” she said without turning back. ”I also have a spray with a mix that can cause suffering for your kind, so I suggest not trying anything.” She took out her and called someone, presumably Doina, looking at me with wicked satisfaction: ”I got them. They are in the car. Do it fast, we need to get going, Mr. Breeze is not patient, as you already know. Go for it.”
My heart was beating fast and irregular, as my face felt hot. Artanis sucked on the breast very fast, feeling my dread, most likely, crying in between. I remembered what father George and Helena kept telling me, quoting one of the principles of father Ghelasie of Frăsinei: ”Do not panic! Never. No matter how bad the situation is, never panic. Be afraid, if necessary, but do not let fear control you, you control it for your benefit.” Therefore, I started saying the Jesus Prayer in my mind, to keep my emotions and thoughts in check, as I was hyperventilating. And it worked, as I kept quiet and looked careful on what was going on.
I kept my precious daughter on my breast, and both of us, especially her, were at the mercy of this hideous woman. Hideous not on the outside, but on the inside. God has sent Artanis in this world for a reason and He allowed us to be in her hand for a reason. In fact, His hand was bigger than the hand of any earthly foe and held both us and the foe in it.
Irene Sanderson took down her sunglasses and turned to us. She gave us a slimy gaze with her eyes that were blurred out, somewhat similar to the eyes of Helena. In fact, all the hearse feeling was pretty similar to what I felt when I was close to Helena. Most mortals who are not used to this, freak out and run. But for me, it was familiar. Indeed, near Helena it was comforting, with this one on the opposite. Yet, due to my experience with Helena, it did not get to me very easily. Sanderson wore a thick layer of makeup, akin to certain types of theatrical makeup, most likely to hide her real, Vampire complexion, although I tried to guess what it was underneath that cakey, grayish, foundation. I looked at the hands, they look corpse-like, similar to the ones of Helena.
”You do not feel so brave now, without Helena, in breaking down vehicles and shooting drones, isn’t it?” Her gaze was disgustingly contempfull, yet, dumb, in a way. I think I would have given a smile, if the circumstances were different. I felt a strange cocktail of emotions, fear with disgust and amusement, mixed into something that made her very revulsive to me. ”What do you want?” I asked in a pretty sharp tone.
She turned to her purse, got a black spray recipient and shook it smiling at me. I did not know what that was, but, most likely, I did not want to find out. ”What do I want? What do I want? What do all of us want in life? Progress? Order?” She tilted her head a bit and continued: ”Discipline?” She pointed it towards us, especially Artanis. I felt that she was ”tasting” us, probably being an energy Vampire or a hybrid of energy and sangvinic Vampire, like Helena.
”Probably not just to feed on us, or at least not mostly that.” I replied, looking at her with deep, yet calm, anger. I continued: ”Are you a mother?” She looked at me surprised and replied, probably without thinking too much: ”No, why?” ”Because you would know how dangerous a mother protecting her child can be. Especially an Elf mother.” She burst into a sordid, annoying laughter. ”You are really funny, kiddo. Fortunately for you, for now, we prefer your daughter alive and in one piece. She is meant to be our apprentice, my own and Doina„s.”
My mind has seen red. (Not literally, of course.) If I had the power, I think I would have crushed her at once. But I soon remembered that, if I lost control of myself, it would be bad for sure. At least, if I keep control over myself, there is a chance. So I restrained myself and waited to see what was to come. Sanderson, seeing that I kept quiet, put the spray behind the steering wheel and started the car.
I tried to assess the situation, as the car went towards South Square (Piața Sudului). Firstly, I thought they found out about our plan, somehow. I thought that, perhaps, Michael betrayed us, or mom was caught and tortured, things like that. And what were the options? I knew nothing about dad„s state, if he was still alive. And nothing about the rest. If Artanis weren’t here, I would have charged at Sanderson, regardless of consequences. I did not care if I crushed the car and died, if all was lost. A mature Vampire is much stronger than a Caterpillar Elf, but I could have still pierced her eyes with my fingers. But being Artanis with me I had to resist those impulses. I almost felt sorry that I had to.
The traffic jam at South Square kept us a bit, I remembered that in there, where the Sun Plaza mall now resides, there used to be the Văcărești monastery, one of the largest abbeys in the Orthodox world, destroyed in 1986. Firstly, it felt bitter, then I remembered that demolished churches are still there, only that we do not see them anymore, and an Angel remains to guard the place of the altar. I crossed myself and I felt a bit of hope and, giving the circumstances, it was a lot. Already my heart beat became normal and the storm of emotions turned into a steady wind. I realized they may not know about our plan so I needed to be careful not speak of it.
Visibly frustrated by the traffic jam, as the car went on Calea Văcărești, to the north, she said: ”Do you think your God will help you?” ”I am pretty sure He will but, even If He decides not to, He knows why and I am ok with that.” She burst into laughter, but already it felt less scary and annoying.
”You know, I never thought the mighty Helena the Clown, the terror of the 1930ies nights would become pious, as well as awaking Caterpillar Elves, for fun. She is very cruel, you know. Full Elves knew why they let Caterpillars live Human lives. You have no chance in becoming Full Elves. At best, you shall dream all your life for something you shall never have, in deep bitterness and so you shall wither away on it. Guess what? Elves are a dead race, gone. They lived their time, they are already a myth at best, no society, only scattered ruins, artifacts and some bones Humans who will find shall not know they are Elven bones. And some drops of blood in some meek leftovers like you.”
She really thought she was smart at this. But she wasn’t. We were already at the crossroad with Gheorghe Șincai boulevard, she turned north, into the north-south axis. No, she seemed to be really dumb if she drove through downtown during rush hour. I restrained myself from laughing, but this was really funny. Artanis was calmer and looked at me with a sweet calm baby face. Something made me feel hopeful, I did not know what. ”No, we are not dead at all. Look at us. All Elvishnes in me, very much alive. And, as Helena said, do not mess with Elves.” Sanderson only smiled this time, so I went on: ”What do you think the Full Elves of old would have done to you if they saw all this mess you and Doina did? I do not think you would have dared.” Her laugh sounded like the imitation of the laugh of a 1960ies bad Italian actress who failed to portray a countess on screen.
”Honey, you have no idea how Full Elves were. Helena described High Full Elves pretty well as looking like living full moons. Not just that they looked like this, but they had a power that would make you feel like a mosquito next to a hornet, or ugly like a crow next to a peacock. You would lay your head down in shame at the mere thought that you ever dared to consider yourself the same kind of being as they.”
”No, I would not. I would show them respect, because this is natural to do, like a child towards an adult, but I would not let my head down. Because I have the same nature as them. And, by the way, you should show me the respect required for an Elf.” I looked into her eyes in such a way that I felt something flinching in there. ”And, as you are very much aware, I am sure, Elves are terrible in their wrath, when their kin is hurt. The blood of the dead Elves you killed and the desecration of the dead Elven spirits would be upon all their enemies and traitors.” Artanis gave a smile, while I finished saying all this and Sanderson gave me a weird look. I added: ”And an Elf is an Elf, even if they are a Caterpillar. And you seem too sure of yourself when assessing the power of an Elf.”
This time her gaze even became a little… troubled. Her left eye moved like having a sty. Like she was, at least a little, afraid. I kept staring at her, she was obviously not comfortable now, and wanted to save face. Fortunately for her, she had to drive, so she moved her eyes away from me. ”You shall see something very soon…” she mumbled.
We were near the church of Saint George, where the right hand of Saint Nicholas of Myra (yes, the Saint Nick himself) was kept. I crossed myself and asked his help in prayer. I had to open my backpack, to get some dissolved medication I wanted to give to Artanis for a minor rash. ”What are you doing in there?” she asked, irritated. ”Just giving the baby medication.” She kept looking at me, almost hitting another car, as we crossed the University square, to the north. I kept praying and tried to keep quiet, to assess the situation.
No, I could not gauge her eyes, this can cause a terrible accident. Or could I risk a minor accident? Perhaps, but I had to plan it very carefully. I had nothing sharp to charge at her one to one, it could get really bad, really fast. A minor accident while in traffic, minor enough not to get harmed or trigger anything like an explosion, but strong enough to incapacitate the driver and the car, especially around many people. The car should not be in high speed, but slowing down before a traffic light behind another car, hitting it from behind, just enough right. It would be very risky especially for Artanis. If she was in a baby car seat, protected by the seat belt, I might have tried it. But this is not the case here. I could make sure that she stays in the baby carrier, under the seat belt, but she would probably still get the shock.
As she was silent now, I kept saying the Jesus Prayer silently and waited for ideas. As the car crossed the Romana square into Lascăr Catargiu boulevard, the rhythmic signal got a little stronger. It was clear by now they wanted to get to the Mogoșoaia house. I predicted quite well her intentions from here, crossing the Victoriei square into Kiseleff boulevard. I wondered what happened to dad, if he was still alive, if my family and friends guessed where I was taken, if they decided to do the attack tonight, as I hoped they would.
A creeping sensation of anxiety, of lack of perspective due to the unknown dried me inside. I played with Artanis a bit. Fortunately, I had a small water pistol, empty, so we played for it a bit. The car crossed pretty fast Kiseleff boulevard, towards Arcul de Triumf square. I started singing some lullabies, to keep Artanis quiet, as she started crying again, for no apparent reason. I remembered the poems written by the political prisoners in communist prisons, who suffered greatly, unbelievable tortures and death. One of them was some kind of reversed lullaby. Without realizing it, I started singing that one. It was written by the same Poet Helena met during her uprising, before she was placed to sleep in the grave, in the 1930ies. Ruxandra described the silent meeting.
Sanderson gave some weird looks, as she heard the lyrics. The Poet spoke of the terrible prison of Aiud in the reversed lullaby, of tremendous suffering in isolation, cold and lack of medical care. Why was I singing this to my daughter? It was a bit disturbing. But I felt I had to finish it. I remembered then that the political prisoners, most of them Holy Martyrs, wrote Christmas carols, I started singing those. As I kept singing slowly in a low tone, they felt like making me more confident and more at peace.
Sanderson felt something was going on, as she turned her head several times. Finally, after passing Arcul de Triumf and reaching Presei Libere Square, she said irritatedly: ”Shut up with that crap at once, you annoy me, and you do not want that.” Artanis kept quiet, so I became quiet myself, but continued to say the Jesus Prayer in my mind.
Night was coming and the signal got stronger. I could still ignore it, yet the sky felt a bit off. I could distinguish, somehow, some sort of column in the distance, coming from the ground and reaching out towards the sky, and two lines moving rhythmically, like in a lighthouse, but fast. I do not know exactly how to describe them, they were not solid lines, more like translucent, somehow, yet dark. They diffused into the atmosphere. People around us seemed oblivious to the existence of those things. Something inside me shivered already at the thought of being close to the source of those things.
When the car stopped at the Băneasa passage, in order to turn left, some kind of explosion could be felt coming from north-west. It only took a second, Artanis started crying, some strips like dark lines dispersed and disappeared into thin air. Sanderson said: ”Mr. Breeze is anxious to meet you. He wants Artanis in one piece and fast. Regarding her mother, he would have her whole but, if that shall not work out, he would be satisfied with the bones.”
I realized immediately what she meant with whole, meaning body and soul. What did they have in mind for me? Probably something worse than death. So, I had two possible fates: either something worse than death or death. He wanted my bones, so at least my body shall become a house to a dead Elven spirit, not my own, after death. It was clear they wanted to get my soul as well, if possible, to turn into one of Candles or who knows what? And I knew what principle they shall use to get my soul, if it has already been done in Romania, in the Pitești prison, during communist times. They tortured the person until their soul became incapable of receiving God and Heaven, but only Satan and Hell. Yet, what she said about Artanis scared me far worse than the rest.
I needed to stop the car reaching the destination, and Artanis to live, regardless if I lived or died. Ok, I let my own conservation instinct aside and think of my daughter. I remember the one time I was close to the new house of Doina, it was not close to the main road, there were some patches of forest, probably Sanderson shall drive to the house itself, on the road that leads there. Helena, mom and the rest might be close by or not, I could not rely on them at all. They might not have been able to get too close. I needed to do something with the little I had. For now, I started breastfeeding Artanis, while looking at the things I had available. I needed to distract Sanderson, in order to look, then to achieve something. I had a few toys in my backpack, one being the water pistol, and the bottle of sunflower oil. What I do, I need to do it quite fast. First, I need to distract Sanderson.
”My bones are not very fit for a ghoul. Too frail.” I said, as I started showing Artanis several toys, pretending to entertain her. ”Don’t worry, we have used even frailer bones, as the straight is not merely physical. And trust me, you have enough in you to be used for something pretty powerful. We make progress regularly, Doina is a very intelligent woman. We already added implants to our subjects, for a few days. For now, emitters like the ones we used on you and Helena last year, but better. Also other implants would allow better control over the subjects, since they still show signs of disobedience.”
”Without demons you shall not be able to do anything. It is clear that you delude themselves with the illusion of being in control. They are playing you how they want, you are their puppets.” Sanderson turned to me to give me a death gaze. It gave me a shiver, as I looked into the white eyes. As we got closer to the tower, she looked stronger, darker, more menacing, less stupid. ”Kiddo, how do I look to you?” A few moments of awkward silence, then replied with childlike defiance: ”If you were powerful, you would be like Helena.” Another death gaze, then silence with hatred and contempt, then she returned to look at the road ahead, since the car was about to hit a pick up truck.
Probably I could not stop the car without a car crash. Not like the one we just avoided, that would have been fatal to all three. I need a small one, just enough to make the car unusable, but not hurt us. It would be dangerous even so, but I could see no other way. Perhaps something like the driver does push the brakes fast enough, and gets into the back of another car? I have seen it happening, if there is not enough fuel in the tank, it creates little issue to the people in, only to the vehicle. I tried to peek over to the board of the car, things seemed ok, not full by far. But I needed two things: an occasion and a way to make the driver lose control over the car for a few seconds. The first, stopping at the red traffic light, is probably the best way. But how do I make her lose control?
I said a little prayer and waited. I took about a minute, thinking what could I do. I could not jump to gauge her eyes, she would react and, besides, I heard it is not as easy as it sounds, people with military training might achieve it.
The tower emitted that kind of tentacle like shapes, some even gathered up, towards the sky, starting to cover the area. We passed next to the Mogoșoaia palace, where the church of Saint George was located. I crossed myself.
The car passed the palace, and the air got thicker. Artanis was clearly not comfortable with what was happening, and I started to feel weird, unreal, like being buried, if it makes sense. The sky was darkening, not just by nightfall, but also by what the tower kept sending up. I started seeing flashes of dark shapes in the air, cold, ruthless shapes. They moved around us, like vultures on their prey. I had to act fast. I noticed a few loose strands of hair on Sanderson„s head, as I played with the pistol and discovered the oil bottle. I struggled, as I fed Artanis, to open it up and fill the small gun with oil. I managed to do it, smearing a bit the inside of my backpack with oil. One last shot, the last crossroad, I needed to act not just fast, but conscious and rhythmic. Fortunately, in front of us was a small van, belonging to a security firm.
”You know (5), you are a real loser (4), I am sure of it (3, she turned around) now (2)… Scum. (1).” I smiled as the oil came into her eyes. It took about 3 seconds for the car to enter the van, I moved in a corner. You know how an angry Vampire looks from up close? It was really fast, something in me panicked, but I hardly realized it, if it makes sense. What is still Human in me was terrified at the combination of the presence of the anger in the Vampire and the crash in the van. My head came into the right front seat, Artanis was fine, but cried her lungs out. The airbag blocked Sanderson, who started growling on high pitch dirty swear words, words that I can not reproduce, I am a lady, after all, unlike the scum on the driver’s seat. I stayed as away as possible from her Vampire arms, which held pretty much force.
Sanderson broke the airbag, in order to get more freedom of movement. Deep curses she laid in her wrath, but I knew undeserved curses matter little to nothing. As the car was not moving anymore, I could feel rhythmic pulses in the environment around me, that made not just my flesh shiver, but they tried to get to my mind. They felt like manifestations of something cruel beyond anything earthly, and this time both what was Human and what was Elven in me trembled. Although I was in a pretty bad state, my plan worked so far. Sanderson tried to get her eyes cleaned out since, regardless of their strength and power of regeneration, oil in the eyes is pretty bad in the short term even for vampires. Fortunately she did not reach out for the spray, but for some wet wipes in the purse, threatening me not to move and that I shall suffer terribly, soon. But my plan was working, two men from the van came out to see the situation.
As they came close, she had barely been able to open her eyes properly. I could see the color of the skin around the eyes, it was black. I screamed as loud as I could to the men outside: ”Help me! I have been kidnapped! Help me!” I heard some rumble, as they were clearly scared of the presence of the Vampire, one of them ran away, but the other stayed his ground and, although his voice felt fearful, I heard him respond: ”Open the door now! I have a gun!” Sanderson growled in anger, grabbed the gun from the purse, opened the door to shoot. I shouted: ”She has a gun! Be careful!” Sanderson fired a shot but missed. ”Back me up, fellows!” the man shouted, as the distinct sound of two gunshots was heard, one coming from Sanderson, one from him.
Soon enough, the third was heard from a small distance. She got hit in the shoulder, as she turned the gun towards the others, firing several shots towards them, also exiting the car and charging incredibly fast at the man who fled but kept on shooting. I acted fast, trying to get through the seats in the front, holding the baby on the carrier. I struggled, as the distance was narrow and I could hurt her easily. I do not know how, but I managed to get through. The men fled, eventually, as they were, I think, wounded and overwhelmed. Sanderson stood angry and dripping blood from her shoulder, I felt like I was in front of an angry, rabid bear. Or in front of the fire squad. But I had nothing to lose. I had the oil bottle in my hand.
Sanderson turned to me, her fangs were visible, they were big and sharp, just like the ones of Helena. Mere seconds away from death, both for me and Artanis, I hit her on the face with the bottle once. She stumbled a bit, as she did not expect this, moving her arm to stop me. But another blow came to her left temple, making her shake. I felt for a few seconds her iron grip on my arms, powerful enough to break them in an instant but, somehow, they did not, they opened to grip as she fell to the ground, pulling her down with her. I fell to my knees over her body, softening the blow. I felt like falling on a cushion of death, yet a cushion. I landed with my left knee into the road, it hurt hard. Her grab loosened, as she fell unconscious.
The ground trembled, but not physically (I hope it makes sense.) of the signal coming from the tower, it got to my beating heart. Fortunately enough, between us and the tower there were some trees that hid us from its direct gaze. The van left in a hurry leaving us in the middle of the road, no house around. I pulled myself from the grip. I managed to get up, my knee was not badly injured, although it hurt. I took the gun, and also got to the car to get my phone. She laid there, still breathing, as a thin smog like substance became, slowly, thicker, around us, creating another layer of reality, something that made my mind and heart feel more and more like drifting away from this world. But I could not let myself be intoxicated, as Artanis needed me. Sanderson laid on the ground and, as the demonic smog or whatever it was got stronger, it entered her body, making me feel that I turned into something stronger and evil then I felt her so far. Something far less Human-like.
I did not know how to fire a gun, but I think I could place a bullet to her head and one to her heart. I felt the wrath of the entire Elven kin in me for this abhorrent enemy. But a faint whisper came to my mind. Of Irene Sanderson being a child, a long time ago, a Human child, or even a Vampire child (as I did not know if she was born Human or Vampire), born to her parents in this world. Who knows what turned her evil like this, far beyond the natural lust for blood and death of the Vampire kin. If someone ever loved her, if she ever loved anybody, if there is still someone loving her or loving someone, although she seemed incapable of love to me. I could not bear to take her out. Who knows, if Helena could repent and become the wonderful person she is now, perhaps Irene Sanderson could too, some day.
Her hand twitched and this removed me from my contemplating state, I secured Artanis, closed my backpack and, with the phone in my hand, I ran in the opposite sense of the tower.
I hope I shall be able to finish writing down everything in a few days and share the end. Stay warm at heart and protect your loved ones.
Sophie
Update: Part 10