I got up after once again colliding with the stone walls at a much higher-than-recommended velocity. Toussard tossed me around the room like a tennis ball and was showing absolutely no sign of stopping anytime soon. He moved through the room with a frightening amount of grace, deftly avoiding the flames as they reached out to him. Each and every time I hoped for just another inch… half inch… even if it didn’t immolate the insane prince it would do me good to see something out of his control happen. I braced myself as he stalked back up to me once again.

“You really should have just let things progress naturally. Your pathetic attempt at destroying me has only wrecked my sanctuary here.” He glanced above him quickly as if searching for something that was missing. Maybe things were not going quite as well as his bravado would have me believe. I swung at him as he came within range, he somewhat shimmered before my eyes and I hit nothing but air. “As such I feel I must take my time and hurt you before you die.” He knocked me back against the wall, hitting me mercilessly with his fists that a prizefighter would envy. I let myself go limp and slumped underneath his jab, letting it crash against the stone wall above my head. A rain of chipped stone fell on my face as I scrambled away.

I grabbed one of the flaming wooden pieces of the furniture and waved it menacingly at Toussard. I grinned at him through the blood running down my face as he moved at me faster than my eye could even register and knocked my weapon from my hands, it clattered to the floor a useless remnant of hope lost. I needed a weapon, something that could at least lessen the gap between Toussard and me. Then I saw something, a set of crossed swords hung over the mantle like some sort of medieval soccer trophy.

I ran at Toussard and he swung another backhand lazily in my direction, honestly he didn’t have to hit hard to send me reeling. I zigged left only catching the edge of his hand and spinning with it. I stumbled from the hit, scrambling straight across the room for the blades. I leaped up onto the mantle grabbing both by the hilt and trying to tear it from its mounting. The sword came loose and I fell backward, managing to keep hold of only one of the swords as I did. Toussard was coming up behind me fast and I swung the sword at him with both hands.

He caught the blade in his hand with ease. A quick punch with his knuckle to the blade snapped it clean in half. A quick jab to my gut sent my eyes swimming, I had lost count of the breaks and sprains I had gained in this fight alone. My body was running on empty and I was no closer to putting this corpse in the ground. I had to come up with a better plan than I had been using. Maybe I could pull off one last surprise.

I retrieved the remaining sword and charged at Toussard swinging it at him. Again, he caught the sword in mid-swing, his face alight as he enjoyed showing his superiority over the annoying insect of a human. It was that ego I hoped to exploit if I were to have any chance. His fist slammed into me, dislodging at least one of my teeth, probably more. I went tumbling through the gouts of flame back across the room skidding to a stop against the wall, all my concentration bent to not letting go of the sword as I flew. It took everything I had to stand up one last time, body shaking with the strain but I only needed it to hold together another minute.

I charged Toussard again.

I screamed as I ran towards him, sword raised to strike, the flames taking hold of my gas-stained clothing. Toussard stood there, relaxed and amused, as if he couldn’t believe I would try the same attack a second time the same way. The amusement drained away when a mere step away from him I let the sword slip from my grip. It was too late for him to adjust as I lowered my arms and charged straight into him, pushing both of us into the flames. The fire consumed both of us immediately, the pain went beyond my expectations but I doggedly held Toussard down as long as I could.

“Pawn takes king you undead sonuva…”

The skin on his face peeled back from his skull like paper curling in the heat. At the same time, the blood in my hands boiled and burst its way out of my veins. I could smell my own flesh burning and the high-pitched shrieking of the vampire was matched only by my own wails. Only when he had stopped thrashing beneath me did I let go, staggering to my feet and falling to the ground.

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“Nate…I got the bastard.”

Then it started raining. It dawned on me it was the sprinklers. Of course, Toussard was looking skywards not knowing why they hadn’t kicked in at the first sign of the fire. One of the ARC boys must have gotten to the controls and shut them off. If I could move any bit of what was left of my burnt body I would jump in elation.

“Yes, yes, you most certainly got him. It is not every day you see a vampire Prince brought to heel by nothing more than bullheadedness. Your long quest to avenge your friend is at last at an end, or is it?” The voice drifted down to me through the rain, which was slowly dousing the flames. Through the falling water, I could see a man leaning casually on the railing of the catwalk overhead. I tried to move but I was more char than man at that point, nothing was working.

“Give me just a minute, and I’ll be ready for round two.” The man laughed heartily, enjoying a joke I wasn’t in on quite yet.

“You do certainly have a sense of braggadocios, Mr. Hunter. I was passing through the area and noticed that somehow the sprinkler system had been disengaged. I’ve set things to rights now but it’s a shame I was not in time to save poor Toussard. Well, if he lived I would have to drag him to my superiors, they seem interested in talking to him. So, for saving me the trip and, of course, the entertainment, I grant you your life. You and your friends should leave… now.”

“Yeah, would hate to overstay my welcome, and where should I send the thank you note?”

“My name can wait for another time, but let’s say in a hierarchy that contains a prince, there are also certain higher powers. These are whom I represent. Your goal this time ran alongside mine, but the next time you follow orders, make sure it is in someone else’s house.” He turned and started back towards the far door.

“I wasn’t here on orders.” Again the man laughed.

“Simply because you didn’t know about them? Surely you learned that your friend was affected by a serum different than ours, and why after two years did you decide to look in on him anyway at just the perfect time? You were aimed and fired at our operation as any other weapon would be, and all in ignorance.”

It almost made too much sense, the trail of breadcrumbs spread out before me that I more than willingly followed. “Who?”

“I’ll leave you to ponder that, someone with a mighty grudge against my people would seem to fit, once you find the strings it is easier to trace them back to the puppet masters.” He walked out the door, returning after a moment. “Oh, and one more thing, if I don’t retaliate for your little escapade here I will become known as weak and we can’t have that. You have taken from me and mine, so we shall take from you… perhaps then you will learn to keep better watch over your women. Goodbye, Mr. Hunter.”

Out of sheer panic, I forced myself to move. My body screaming with even the slightest effort but the girls were in danger somewhere. I managed to make it to a sitting position, relying heavily on the char black skeleton of a table to do so. Gunshots sounded in the hallways, coming this way. I turned to the doorway, steeling myself for another fight that I was in no shape for when Tony came running through. Shotgun hoisted up and smoking like some eighties action star he came charging into the room.

“Well, don’t you just look like you have a spring in your step and a song in your heart?” He said after seeing me.

“You should see the other guy. Got a whole Aria planned.” I grinned, wincing in pain as my baked skin crackled with the motion. “I think my new look might put a slight damper on any kind of social life in the future.”

“I can hardly tell the difference. ‘Sides, scars give character.” He picked me up off the floor and started to make our way out of the complex. He gave me a med pack from his ARC gear, it wouldn’t do me any good healing but it would keep the pain at bay for at least a little while.

“Lisa and Mara lost them on the way…”

“Mara took almost as bad a beating as you but she’s alive… as for Lisa, there has never been a person born with a more powerful survival instinct than that girl. I just worry about what she might do to accomplish it.”

“She takes after her uncle, that’s for certain.” I grinned like an idiot, the drugs making my head a little tipsy. “But you never told me you had family.”

“I don’t… she’s not related by blood.” The steady whir-clank of Tony’s leg, as it walked the both of us out of that hole, was the only sound for a while. “Remember that job where I lost the leg? I went back weeks later, part of department-mandated therapy to get over the loss, and found her there. Unlike some of the other kids, she didn’t have a home to go back to so she had survived on her own for years, no friends but this little dog.”

“Aww… like little orphan Annie.”

“Yeah, except in this version, Annie got so hungry she ate the dog but still kept it around to talk to for over a year after.” My buzz faded quickly at that image. “There are times I wonder if she’s alright, that kind of trauma doesn’t just go away but she’s the closest thing I have to family these days.”

“Closest thing any of us have to family is each other these days.”

“Now you stop right there, Hunter, gonna make me cry.” We shared a chuckle as we slowly limped our way back out into the light.