Vadiraj
October 1, in the year of 8845, Reminis Calendar (RC)
After making sure that the ripples had swallowed up two of his men and Elli completely, Vadiraj turned to the remaining Vampists. "Guard the portal," he commanded, before throwing one last look at his homeland. Set five miles from the waterfall, the cottages and magical accessory shops slept like innocent toddlers. The airborne highways for animal carriages had quieted. He thought, soon, both worlds will be mine, before stepping into the swirling water.
He closed his eyes shut as he fell into the bottomless pit. An invisible force tugged at him -- tossing him from one side to another as he descended through the channels connecting the two worlds. A bright light flashed. He squinted until finally he was thrown out of the portal like a sack. The first thing he noticed was the smell. It was strong and familiar, a lot like the kerosene that his people used to light the oil lamps. Only, it was nastier. Sneezing, he took in the surroundings, and couldn't help but notice the huge contrast between the two worlds. In Reminis, sorcerers had to travel with their carriages using the air-highways, while the pedestrians enjoyed the cobblestone path to the last sunrays. Though Reminis had high population, there was no pollution.
Here, the people clogged up the whole road. Whereever he looked, people were milling about. He hadn't anticipated how crowded this place would be.
Cringing, he thought about the changes he could apply to this Modern World. I'll enforce a better traffic system once I conquer this place. His eyes landed on a weird looking pole with jumping colourful lights, which had been planted in the middle of the road. To his surprise, the whole road was filled with such poles. He shook his head. I'll turn all of these horrendous poles to blood vending machines.
Stroking his goatee, Vadiraj continued to survey the surroundings.
Stray dogs whimpered at the sounds of his boots; birds hooted and flew away from the trees. He frowned at the dogs; those dull-witted eyes made him irate. His hellhounds were tenfold larger and smarter. He promised that these dogs would be one of the first creatures he pointed his staff at once he owned the place. He would leave enough blood in them so they could mutate. What about the birds? Hmm, I'll feed them to the dogs. He never favoured winged creatures.
As he wandered around, he realised something was wrong. He was too caught up thinking what he could do to this new kingdom that he'd forgotten the reason he was here! Where were his goons? He called for their names mentally. The Vampists came scrambling to him.
"My Lord, she-- she had escaped." They panted. Their cloaks were torn; their faces bruised red.
"Fools! I can't let you handle things on your own for a moment. Which way?"
They pointed to the edge of the bustling pavement, where they could still see the top of Elli's brown hair. Quickly, they shoved past the crowd to reach her, when a bunch of teens came from the other side. Their hands outstretched, exploring every inch of Elli's creamy skin.
Vadiraj's body turned to one like a wind. In the next instant, he appeared next to the teens.
"She's mine!" Gritting his teeth, Vadiraj swung his staff and batted the teens away.
"Hey dude, who the hell are you? And who do you think you are? You do dress funny, don't you?Halloween is still far away!" The same punk belched, while flipping Vadiraj's cloak.
Vadiraj bared his fangs, and the teens laughed harder.
"Oh Jesus, this one is really dressing to the top! We won't interfere with your silly game now. Let's go, guys! We'll find some other chicks." The drunkards moved away, zigzagging along the pavement. Their noise had wooed several curious crowds.
Vadiraj ground his fangs. He thought about killing the teens but that would attract attention. The mere thought of killing made his stomach rumble. So did his goons. They needed food -- in a secluded area. Instead of retaliating, he clasped into Elli's arm tighter.
"One more move, and I guarantee you that your father will not live to see tomorrow," he whispered to Elli's ear.
Elli eyed Vadiraj with towering hatred at his threat. However, her anger soon morphed to immense suffering. She balled her fists, swallowing the pain caused by her injured foot as they progressed. Along the way, the Vampists kept kicking the stray animals to release their wrath. The stray dogs whimpered at the sound of his footsteps -- quiet but firm, promising nothing but death.
What's wrong with the people here? They must've been too drunk to know what they were doing. Vadiraj stroked his goatee as he thought. Nobody had ever looked at them with such light mood. In Reminis, even the name of Vampists would make the dwellers pee their pants.
At the edge of the pavement, a stall was sitting before a junction. The vendor was shaking his meaty body and humming some tunes as he stood over a grill, cooking circles of meat. Vadiraj gripped Elli tighter and watched what show this comedian man before him could perform.
"Give me a hamburger," said a woman in a thin outfit.
Nodding, the vendor poured some red sauce and vegetables on the breads.
Vadiraj's nose scrunched up in disgust at the smell of the greens. While waiting, the female customer applied a red stick to her lips. Vadiraj's goons sniffed the air and relished the scent of the distinctive human blood. Their bodies trembled in excitement. They preferred to hunt a small group of individuals. The mob of humans who had attacked them just now ejected odour that confused them, causing them to look so embarrassing. Grinning, they pounced onto the humans. The vendor and the woman, both in a conscious state, screamed as they saw the fangs. Before they could put up a fight, the Vampists pointed their staffs at their prey.
The jaws on the staffs, upon touching the humans' skin, opened up and extracted rivulets of blood. The Vampists closed their eyes, savouring the blood as it channeled from their staffs to their veins, and to their lips. Hmm, those metallic and coppery flavours...
Though they could store the blood in their veins, they preferred to taste it on their lips. It tasted better than the finest wine, richer and smoother. Seconds later, the dried-up bodies fell flat to the ground, lying on the marble slabs like rubber mounds.
"Eww, the vendor's blood is so full of fats!" the scarlet-haired Kaizord spat out a pool of black spittle on the floor.
The other Vampist chimed in, "The woman was worse! A streetwalker! I might need to cleanse my own blood afterwards."
They laughed at the tragedy as if deaths were just jokes.
"Enough!" Vadiraj scolded. His voice sounded cooler than the evening air.
The Vampists bowed and their playful mood morphed back to a serious one. They were about to leave when four teens walked past the crime scene. They opened their mouths to shout but before their voices could travel out of their lips, the Vampists whipped them until they were unconscious. The Vampists didn't linger for more feeding; time was of an essence they couldn't afford to waste. The portal going back to Reminis, their homeland, would only open for an hour. They hurried down the street, until they reached the industrial district mentioned by Dominic, where the sound of hammer pounding on iron could be heard.
"Move!" Vadiraj pushed Elli forward, and she slammed onto the fragile shuttle door.
Kaizord pointed his staff at the door as he muttered an incantation, and it lifted up instantly. Before Elli could forewarn anything, Vadiraj stepped into the brightly lit garage with a wide grin, as if he was attending a party. Rows of long white lamps stretched along the yellowish ceiling. A burning fireplace was being set at the far back of the garage. Cobwebs coated the sword stand and oil dribbled down from some machinery Vadiraj knew not the name of.
A man with peppery hair came out from behind a wall and yelped at the sight of the Vampists. Eye-bags lingered underneath his brown eyes, and his skin was of an ailing pallor. To save his daughter, he had become two rings thinner. He heaved a sigh of relief as he saw Elli.
Tears streamed down from Elli's eyes as her vision landed on her father's bandaged fingers.
"Oh Halford, my dearest blacksmith! A month has passed and hither I come to retrieve my gifts."
"Please, let her go." Halford knelt before Vadiraj and pointed to a floor of silvery chain-mail, each shone with pride under the long-stretching lamps. "I forged three hundred suits of them in total. Just like what you had ordered me to do. Please, release her."
Vadiraj picked up a chain-mail and threw it at the face of the blacksmith. "Wear it."
The blacksmith put it on like an obedient servant. Without a word of warning, Vadiraj withdrew a sword from a holder and tried to stab it into the blacksmith's heart. The old man stumbled backwards at the force; Elli gasped but the sword didn't pierce through the chain-mail.
Laughing, Vadiraj tossed the sword aside. "Now, take it off!"
The blacksmith did as he was told. The Vampists hastily wore the chain-mail underneath their cloaks and embraced the rest on the floor. They could now spread their claws throughout Reminis and the Modern World, without needing to fear the blades of their foes.
"I enjoy collaborating with you, old Halford. A Vampist always keeps his promise. I will take good care of your daughter."
Gripping Elli's shoulder with his left hand, Vadiraj pierced his staff through the blacksmith's neck with his free hand. Elli's eyes widened as she watched her father's blood being transmitted into Vadiraj's veins and to his lips. Soon, her father's body, like a balloon out of gas, deflated.
"Elli, it works the other way round," the blacksmith whispered before dropping to the floor.
Elli didn't comprehend what did her father mean. Weeping, she wriggled herself free from Vadiraj's grip. Seizing the sword on the floor, she pounced onto Vadiraj. She aimed it at his unshielded face, but he parried it away with his staff. With a fluid movement, Vadiraj kicked Elli, sending her reeling to a wall. Like a wind, his boot landed on her stomach. Before Elli could resume complete consciousness, Vadiraj knelt beside her and grabbed her hair.
"No weapon could hurt us now. I couldn't express my gratitude enough. If only your father could hear it."
Elli spat at his face. "I hope your skin will rot under the sun."
Her voice was back finally, now filled with enmity and despair. She had witnessed her father's death and she could do nothing about it!
Vadiraj slapped her head. "We will be careful so that won't happen. Well, for a month, I've been trying to drink your blood, but something blocks your veins. Why?" Vadiraj's fingers caressed Elli's hair and all of a sudden, he scratched her cheek with his black nail.
Blood seeped into his nail, along with sparks of lightning. He frowned and licked it. "Hmm, such a fresh scent. Juniper, I love juniper. Let's try it again. I'll leave enough blood in your veins to let it mutate." Grinning, he lifted her chin and pointed his staff at her neck.