Author's Preface
Ian stepped into the small living room, instinctively leaving his shoes at the front door. He was conditioned to do so by Dani, lest he feel the pressure of one of her boots being thrown at him with the speed and accuracy akin to a shot putter. His host hurried to place his groceries in the empty fridge. The light inside flickered, ready to fade out upon its next usage. There wasn't much but spaghetti sauce and the cheapest canned food in the store. Given the boy's skinny physique, Ian doubted his diet was a product of his own preference.
"Don't you need to be invited before you enter someone's property?" asked Nikolai.
"I'm the type of vampire that doesn't require such conditions," said Ian as he looked around while fixing his glasses.
"How so?"
"I remember reading somewhere in the hunter's guide that most vampires can enter a home without an invitation as long as their heart truly doesn't hold any malicious intent."
"Are you only saying this to reassure me?"
"No." Ian shook his head. "I mean no harm, unlike my friend, and I use this word sparingly, who would no doubt have you pinned to the ground as she did her inquiry. Let’s cut to the chase. Do you know anything about the recent murders in your town?"
"One of them happened near my workplace at the diner, or so I was told after my shift ended. That's all I remember," he scratched his head as if he were talking about a football game rather than a homicide.
His hands didn't look like those of a teenager. The dry skin around his fingers resembled that of a factory worker. His posture was bent as if he were being crushed by life. There were patches of burn marks on his forearms, no doubt caused by the sizzling oil spurting from the deep fryer. Those patches were all too familiar to Ian. It wasn't like he didn't spend the last year of high school breaking a sweat at the nearest fast food restaurant to afford going to a slightly better college than the one his parents chose for him. None of it mattered in the end. In his third year of education, he was faced with the decision to either drop out or go to his graduation ceremony as a pile of ash. It was quite unfortunate that all of his classes took place during the day.
"I'm sorry for asking, but do you live alone?" said Ian, his ears picking up a faint noise coming from behind the east wall.
"No. I have a parrot. He's in my bedroom."
"You know what I meant."
"My parents passed in an accident. I dropped out of school after that. It's just my day job now."
"Don't you have any friends or relatives who can take care of you?"
Nik scratched his head again, thinking.
"Would you like to talk on the balcony?" he said at last. “I need to feed the birds.”
Ian nodded, and the two went outside, the fresh breeze wrapping them in its cold embrace. The sparrows peeked from their nest to see who was there, and just as quickly returned to their peaceful rest before they started their day. More birds began to chirp, gathering around the ledge. Nikolai reached for a small can of seeds, pouring a handful into his palm and extending his bony arm to feed them. They ate their chow cheerfully, and with caution not to peck at his fingers.
"There was someone who took care of me,” said the boy. "A kind old lady. If it weren't for her, I’d probably be no different than those sparrows chomping on the sill." He smiled faintly without moving his gaze from the sparrows.
"Was she your grandmother?"
“She's everyone's grandmother. She lives in the woods, surrounded by the wildlife and spirits inhabiting the forest. Her hair is like a heap of straw, grey like the clouds before a storm, long like her tattered gown. Her eyes shine a deeper green than the trees in spring. Her nose is like the beak of an eagle. An appearance suited for a crone, some might say, but looks could be deceiving. I owe her much gratitude for the gifts she gave me."
Ian had a sinking feeling washing over him, making his heart skip a beat. He did not know why, but something about this description filled him with unease, and the way the boy spoke, as if he were lost in a fairy tale, only underlined his anxiety around this mysterious woman. He vaguely remembered Dani telling him stories about a lone hag living in the woods, but he never paid much attention to her drunken ramblings. After living with her for nearly a year, he was convinced she was making things up, using his limited knowledge about the unknown to mess with him. Like the time she told him some dogs turn into werewolves on a full moon, and watched him stare warily at the golden retriever in his parents' house whenever he was visiting. However, this time, he couldn't shake the thought of something sinister going on, considering the "kind old lady" Nikolai spoke so fondly of.
Ian turned to the boy, meeting his cold eyes that held no semblance of emotion in them, like those of a puppet. He felt a chill going down his spine from the disingenuous smile the boy gave him.
"I need to get more seeds for the sparrows. Please wait for me here," said Nikolai, closing the door behind him.
Ian was relieved to no longer be in his company, though only for a short while.
A wave of heat engulfed him, making him sweat profusely. The clouds began to part. Small rays of sunlight crept slowly under the horizon, their warmth soon about to paint the dark skies in pastel hues of blue and yellow. There were no taller buildings around to cast their shadows. Ian felt the sun's scorching heat swallow him at an excruciatingly slow pace. He placed his hand on the door handle, but it wouldn't budge, and even with the advantages of being a vampire, he lacked the strength to tear it off the frame.
"Nik!" he yelled, loud enough to wake the neighbors. "Nik, open the door!" A response didn't follow. "Gavril, Matei, anyone! I'll burn to a crisp if I stay here any longer!"
The reflection of the sun had already started to appear in the murky window, along with a heap of smoke surging from behind his back. He saw the face of his mom, shaking her head as if she was disappointed to lose her son in such a ridiculous way. The face of his father, tugging behind a newspaper, gave him the same look as his mom before returning to his reading. The face of his sister, begging him to stay alive so they may be rejoined one day. And at last, he saw Dani's face, which made him curse silently. He did not know to which god to pray.
He glanced down at the shadowy streets. If he survived the fall, he would have a couple more hours before the sun stood at an angle at which it could kill him. He was not in control of his life, even before he met that crazy woman. For what it was worth, he decided he would at least be in control of the way he died.
His tears blended with the sweat rolling down his face. He closed his eyes and counted to three. With the final words of contempt, he leaped from the ledge.
***
"It all worked according to my plan," said Dani as she and Vladislav left the car and hurried to the entrance of the apartment complex.
"What are you talking about?" asked Vlad with a confused look on his face.
"The stop we made at the bar. I bet you thought we went there on a whim, but it worked out in our favor at the end!”
"We found the cadaver by chance while you were heaving behind those containers. There is no way you planned any of this!"
"No, think about it," Dani persisted. "It's easier to catch prey when they are most vulnerable, right?"
"I suppose."
"And what easier target than people who are piss out drunk?"
"But why did you have to get drunk yourself?"
Dani was already running up ahead of him, ignoring his question. Her boots made loud thumping noises as she ascended the stairs. With the amount of stamina she had, one would never believe the large quantities of alcohol she had ingested nearly an hour ago. It made Vlad wonder if she was even human.
When they reached the ninth floor and opened the door to apartment 908, they saw that no one was there. No sign of Matei, Gavril, or Ian. Only the smell of gunpowder and the aftermath of their fight the night before remained. The day was already in motion; there was no reason for them to be out at this hour.
Dani suggested they should scout the area. The ninth floor was no use. Two angry neighbors yelled at them for being woken up this early in the morning, and after Dani spewed back some insults, they shut the door in their faces. The eighth floor had a strange scent to it. It was faint, barely noticeable, and highly unpleasant.
"Is it just me, or does it smell like a slaughterhouse in here?" asked Dani, turning around, trying to pinpoint where the stench was coming from.
"The downstairs neighbors work as butchers," Vlad explained. "Or at least that's what Nikolai told us when we moved in."
"Who is Nikolai?"
"A teenage boy who helped us move in. He lives alone on the seventh floor of this building."
"A teenager who lives alone?" Dani raised an eyebrow. "I bet my older brother, Stojan, would have loved to have this kind of freedom instead of sharing a room with me. Are his parents rich or something?"
"He's an orphan," said Vlad. "As far as I know, he's no longer in school. His only relative is this peculiar old lady living in the forest."
The smile on the huntress's face was quickly washed with gloom. Her pupils dilated to the size of a pin. The hair on the back of her neck stood straight as if it were ready to march. She turned to Vlad, blinking twice, hoping her liquor-filled brain made up the last part.
"What did you say?" she asked in a stone-cold voice.
"That he's an orphan," said Vlad, confused.
"No, no, no. That last part with the old lady. Who is she?"
"I haven't seen her."
"Have you seen those neighbors of yours who supposedly work as butchers?"
"No."
Dani pulled out one of her pistols and checked the magazine, then carefully filled out the missing bullets. She repeated the same motion with her left-hand pistol without saying a word as the vampire watched, muddled.
"I'm going to pay your little friend a visit," she said with a rage-filled fire in her eyes.
"You will do no such thing!" Vlad grabbed her by the arm, squeezing tightly before she descended the staircase.
"Let go of me, budala ! I only need to talk to that little brat to make sure he is what I think he is.
"No." Vlad stood firm in his decision. "I've seen your attempts at resolving conflicts before. I'm not letting you hurt an innocent child."
"Innocent? Are you certain he is innocent?"
Their bickering was cut short by the sound of a sudden crash, followed by an agonizing howl. It seemed to be coming from the containers. The screaming and sobbing could be heard clearly on the eighth floor from the open window near the staircase. It was easily recognizable. Dani thought there could only be one person it could belong to.
"Ian!" she shouted, peeking from the frame. "Are you okay?"
"Fresh as a cucumber, as you can see!" he shouted back without trying to mask his annoyance.
"What are you doing in the dumpster?"
"That little prick tried to turn me into flambé by locking me outside while the sun was rising!"
"Are you really that stupid—letting a kid outsmart you like that?"
"If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have to worry about getting scorched by the sun, Daniela!" He waved his fist angrily. His heart was about to burst out of his chest from the adrenaline while he tried his best to hold himself from going through another panic attack. It was his second near-death experience within the last twenty-four hours, and he was convinced that the second he got inside that building, there was going to be a third. "Next time you dare to bring me to one of your requests, I swear I'm moving out!"
Dani dismissed him as always. She didn't possess the time to deal with his petulant attitude, not when she was dealing with one of them.
She turned away from the window and began walking down the steps to the seventh floor. The smell of blood was even more prevalent than before, making her wonder how she had even missed it the first time they came to this place. No doubt the boy was the one responsible for the golem they defeated last night. Such creatures were often used by sorcerers to guard their den from potential enemies, though Dani knew he wasn't a real sorcerer. Not if he was truly associated with the witch of the forest.
Down the dark, grimy corridor, there were crimson droplets splattered around, leading to a door that stood ajar. A fresh kill, she thought as she stepped closer, observing the traces. An eerie tune began playing in her head, making her heart sink. A melody of grief, colored by a crescendo of deep-seated hatred. Her breath felt slow and heavy. She extended her hand, placing it on the handle of her machete, preparing for the gruesome image in her mind's eye. A cold hand stopped her.
"Be careful now," she said calmly without the usual rondo in her voice. "This is the second time you've tried to stop me, Vladislav. On the third, your arm would be resting on the concrete, and I would like to avoid adding one more body to tonight's hunt."
"This boy helped us move in. He gave us cover and lied to the other residents to keep our identities a secret," said Vlad, meeting her eyes as he removed his hand from hers. "If you think there is a reason he might be behind all of this, the least I ask for is an explanation. You owe me this much."
"When you become a hunter—I've heard—they make you take an oath to protect the world from what lurks in the night. To kill all that poses a threat to a man. To swear off fear. They have not heard of Baba Yaga," Dani clenched her jaw. "She is the embodiment of fear. The child is her apprentice. She makes a deal with lost children and turns them into sorcerers. I don't yet know how, but she does. She's far more dangerous than any other hunter has faced before, and her name doesn't even show up in the hunter's guide.
“The Slavic fairytale?" Vlad mused.
"It is not a fairytale." The look on the huntress's face became gloomier as she spoke. "Come take a look if you don't believe me. If you dare. I won't be wasting my breath trying to convince you she is real."
Without further delay, they entered the bloody room. The lights were off. There was no furniture in the dimly lit room, only the decrepit wallpaper hanging by a thread. The blinds were down. The rays coming from the windows cast striped shadows on the wooden boards, which answered with a creak from the slightest movement. In a way, the air itself felt heavy, as if the whole atmosphere had shifted to the Earth's center. It filled their lungs with a musty scent mixed with smoke from a burnt tree, though there was no trace of a fire around.
Vlad pointed to the middle of the room without saying a word. His lips were sealed from the alarming feeling that had etched itself into every fiber of his body. There on the damp floor, where once lay a carpet, surrounded by tiny pebbles and bird bones, stood a doll made of straw. He felt an inexplicable urge to walk to it and examine the odd relic. It had eyes made from buttons, no mouth, hair… human hair. The same strands were used to tie it and hold it together from coming apart. He was warned not to go near it by the huntress, but by now it was too late. He was drawn to it like a moth to a flame. His trance was only broken once the tips of his fingers grazed the face of the doll, making it crumble into countless bits and pieces, each scattering to every edge of the room. As if propelled by a powerful magnet.
"Let's get out of here," Dani whispered, pulling him by the collar of his shirt.
The door closed shut on its own the moment the two landed their eyes on it. No amount of brute force was enough to rip it off its frame. The walls began to rumble, twisting ever so slightly, bubbling, breathing. It was no longer a room they were trapped in, but rather the belly of a starved beast. Blood oozed from the ceiling, turning into tentacle-like appendages. Long, thin, and with a peculiar shape, one that resembled the capillaries of the human body. They twisted and contorted, stinging their prey like a crazed animal.
Dani quickly drew the blade out of her scabbard and sliced two of them before they reached her, but just like the head of a hydra, two more grew in their place. Vlad used his strength to rip them off. Soon, more began emerging from beneath the floor, wrapping their slimy ends around the legs of their victims. Luckily, they were easily warded off by bullets, making a glorious splash with each gunshot.
Dani let out an agonizing scream when one of the appendages pierced her thigh. She had run out of ammunition, with one hand holding a gun and the other being apprehended; she was unable to reload her magazine. Her machete rested on the floor. She used her foot to kick it up and slice off another appendage before it got the chance to cut her throat. Vlad managed to free himself from their hold, promptly ripping off the one wrapped around the huntress's arm. He grabbed her by the waist and tossed her on the ground next to the window and away from the red creatures. It gave her enough time to reload her pistol and spend her last bullets to save her companion.
Soon their numbers began to dwindle. Perhaps the spell wasn't potent enough to keep them rising. The two used this opportunity to make their escape, dashing down the hallway, their vision blurry from exhaustion. They made their way to the open bathroom and locked themselves in. Praying that would be the end of it.
"What the devil was that?!" Vlad let out an astonished gasp. "Never in my humble two hundred years of life have I seen something so demonic."
"It's a curse. Witches use them to kill any unwanted visitors."
"Are you saying Nikolai is a witch?"
"He's not a witch. He's a sorcerer, a fake one."
"A fake?"
"Real ones have their powers from being the descendants of a demigod." She closed her eyes, letting out a deep sigh, clenching the bridge of her nose in vexation. "Shit, I wasn't supposed to tell anyone. Forget about what I said."
"I care little about their origin. How do we get out of this mayhem? Matei, Gavril—I need to make sure they are safe."
"I'll get us out of here. Don't worry, I've dealt with curses before." Dani forced a reassuring smile. "Look inside the drawers and see if there's anything containing alcohol."
"Do you seriously still think about getting drunk in a moment like this?"
"No, you idiot! I need it to make a Molotov."
Vlad searched every drawer to find nothing but soap, empty shampoo bottles, and a tube full of bleach. The cabinet behind the mirror was empty, save for the cockroaches that scattered around upon the door being opened. "Look within the space between the wall and the bathtub," she instructed him, and sure enough, there was a bottle half full of brandy.
"How are you going to ignite it?" Vlad regretted asking as soon as he saw the devious smile forming on the huntress's face.
"You see that small beam of sunlight coming from the window?"
"You're not suggesting I should…"
"Sacrifice the tip of your finger to produce an itty-bitty flame? I am, actually."
"Are you convinced this is going to work?"
"What other choice do we have?"
Dani tore a piece of the yellow curtain using her knife, while the vampire swallowed the thought of purposefully burning his flesh for their plan to work. He was handed the bottle, and after taking a deep breath, he reluctantly held up, placing his thumb on the bottle neck, and waited. The scorching heat was no worse than what waited outside.
The huntress took the cocktail with her right hand, the left one already settled on the door handle. She swung it open and then just as quickly slammed it shut before the weird tentacles had their chance to attack. The two of them only heard glass breaking, followed by a powerful combustion. There was a sizzling sound as if the creatures were frying in a pan, a faint screech of agony.
"What do we do now?" asked Vlad, waving his burnt finger to extinguish the flames.
"We wait."
"Won't we get caught up in the fire as well?"
"We'll just wait for the sprinklers to activate, then we're out. I'm not stupid, I've thought about everything, my friend." She smiled, crossing her hands jauntily.
Unbeknownst to either of them, sprinklers were installed only in the corridors of the building. Quite a few of the residents enjoyed smoking indoors, so they voted for them to be removed from the apartments. And so they waited, drenched in sweat as the flames grew higher, the concern in their eyes expanding with each flying ember.
Thankfully, there was someone to save the day.
"Are you guys sharing a single brain cell?" Ian asked, his face expressing a mix of disappointment and solicitude. He was covered head to toe with the white particles of the fire extinguisher he was still holding. "You could have set the whole building on fire!”
"What are you still doing here?" asked Dani, looking around to see if there were any traces of the curse left. Fortunately, there weren't "I thought you were going to wait for me in the car. Have you finally decided to grow a pair?"
"I forgot my phone on the table in apartment 908. When I came back, I saw the fire and assumed you were involved, knowing your tendency to blow everything up when you're facing a problem."
"It works in all the American movies," she argued.
"We're not in a movie!" Ian furrowed his eyebrows, glaring at her as if he was ready to melt her with his eyes.
"It worked, didn't it? There isn't a trace of that stupid curse."
"A curse?" Ian paused, unaware—and quite frankly uninterested—of what was going on while he was gone. "Dani, if I hadn't come back with an extinguisher, you would've burned alive!
"No, we would have waited for the sprinklers to activate and make our leave then!"
"There are no sprinklers inside the apartments!"
"Won't you two keep quiet for a second?!" Vlad hissed, his patience running thin. "Where are the others?" He turned his attention to Ian.
"I don't know. They weren't there when I went to your place."
***
They hastily exited the apartment, or rather, what remained of it, shuffling along the way, leaving behind trails of footprints that led to the exit. Ian stopped to stomp on a small flame creeping from the decrepit floorboards. He was promptly tugged away and shoved through the front door.
The lights were flickering. Blood oozed out from every wall, every corner. The curse had spread throughout the entire building. More strange tentacles gradually emerged, twisting, observing, preparing to ensnare their prey within their slimy grasp. Their awful dance was accompanied by the muffled screams of the neighbors.
"Where the hell did all those things come from?" Ian shrieked, his eyes bulging so far that they looked ready to pop out of their sockets with the slightest sneeze.
"There is only one way to get rid of them entirely," said Dani, drawing her machete out of her scabbard. "I need to kill this fucker. You guys hold them back for me till I find him."
"You're not leaving us here alone, are you?!"
"I have no choice. There is no easier way to break a curse than to kill the spell caster. I won't take long."
She fled the scene, dashing with the speed of a wildcat while slicing everything that stood in her way. The appendages splattered blood all over her with each cut. It stung like being whipped with the leaves of a nettle, leaving itchy red spots on her exposed skin. She did her best to ignore them, clenching her teeth from the ache.
Her mind was set on a single thing as she ran frantically down the corridor. Kill that damn brat. Her lips twisted into a sadistic grin as she imagined all the ways she could extract information on the old hag.
The huntress was barely able to hold her excitement. She lost her focus for a split second and tripped, sending her body tumbling down the stairs. For a while, there was no other sound but the ringing in her ears. And then she heard it. The slow, faint chant was coming from the end of the hallway. It wasn't in a tongue familiar to her—or any other human, for that matter. It was the language of the old gods, the one sorcerers used to craft their spells.
There he is . Her eyes glistened with a wicked fury as she got up, the image before her finally coming into focus.
" Found you .”
