One can imagine the team’s dismay when the fog returned on the night that they set out to destroy the vampyre, and to make matters worse Rodrick instructed them to split up. They departed from the tavern at dusk and travelled down four different streets: Sam went to visit Eleanor (Pete’s granddaughter) who was a lovely woman, about 20 years old, and very friendly; Hansel visited the mayor’s office, as he too seemed a likely target; and Victor and Rodrick went on patrol and wandered the surrounding streets in search of any signs of the roach’s presence. They did not have to search long.
Samantha was on Eleanor’s doorstep when the screams were heard, frightened and disturbing. Rodrick heard the sound from far away, as his senses were keener than that of Hansel and Victor, who were unsure of it at first. In the end the two remaining students left their positions and closed in on Eleanor’s house. The door had already been kicked down, Sam stood with Eleanor, who was weeping in the corner of the living room, and all about was a putrid smell.
They followed Rodrick into the adjoining room and gasped in horror. At first Victor thought it to be the body of another resident of the house, but after a closer look he knew that it was impossible. Lying on the floor and bathed in blood was the remains of the rocha they were supposed to be hunting. The body was large and disfigured, resembling some grotesque hybrid of a man and a giant bat, however something else had tormented this one.
The smell made Vic nauseous and bile rose in his throat. He turned away but Rodrick stopped him. “Get it together! We have work to do.” The older Slayer was undisturbed by the horrid sight.
Hansel had covered his nose with a handkerchief and tried to stay focused. “How is it already dead? Was there another hunter?”
Rodrick pointed to a large wound on the creature’s arm. “I doubt any of our hunters have a mouth that big. Whatever did this was hardly human. Some of its insides are missing; the attacker fed on the corpse for a while before leaving.” He knelt down in front of the body, took out a pencil and raised its upper lip. “The fang is missing. This is the beast that likely killed our four victims, and the fact that it’s here—” He tilted the head and observed a patch of dark skin where the left eye should have been. “This is indeed One-eyed Pete.” He proceeded to roll the heavy body over to reveal its back, and the three devastating claw marks that ran down it. “This is probably what killed it. Three claws from upper-left to lower-right, the attacker was left-handed, and the wounds look about three inches deep! The attacker was taller than this roach and clawed it from behind as it tried to run.”
Rodrick turned his attention away from the victim and to the patches of blood strewn across the floorboards. He shuffled on his knees to a mark that had been placed; three scratches in the wood. His eyes followed the trail and saw more scratches further away, and another set approaching the stairs. He suddenly stood up and strode towards Sam, speaking quickly and quietly. “Get Eleanor out of here!” he told her. “Hansel, Victor, stay with me.” He looked cautiously at the stairs. “The creature is still among us.”
A blood-curding screech erupted from the floor above. Victor shuddered. “What the hell was that?”
“That was the cry of a Miakkyra. Listen to me! When you encounter it, your mind will be tricked, just like the Nokken tried to but worse. Trust yourself and trust me, and whatever you do, let me take the lead.” He drew his pistol (the flintlock was a favourite of Mr. Silver’s Slayer) and cocked the hammer.
It was terribly dark upstairs, and they relied on slimmers of light cast through the windows from the street. A hallway was at the top of the stairwell, with a room on each side and one at the end. Hansel checked left and Victor looked right but both rooms were empty. Rodrick aimed forward and nudged open the door to find a man crouching in the corner of a dark room. Victor (somewhat relieved) checked for signs of the Miakkyra.
The man was pale and sweating. “Please help me—” Rodrick unnervingly fired his gun, and the room filled with smoke. From this the vampyre discarded its disguise and shrieked in anguish. Victor saw its tall sinewy body, its elongated arms and feral claws, gruelling fangs dripping with blood and harrowing black eyes. The monster bounded after Rodrick, who took the hatchet from his belt and embedded it into its wrist. The fiend stumbled away, crawling like a wounded spider as it tore open the window and hurled itself into the street. They watched it disappear into the shadows; its cried echoed through all of West Harbour.
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