Mission five: Hate

Dani kicked the door open using all her might, not even bothering to check if it was locked or not. Her mad gaze fell upon the boy with stretched out arms, eyes white and beaming, his head tilted back, enveloped in the trance that fueled his magic. He kept reciting the same incomprehensible combinations of words without paying attention to the intruder.

Dani used the moment to strike, gaining momentum with each step in preparation to slash away at his skinny fingers. To her astonishment, that moment never came. Seconds before impact, her body was slammed to the ground by an unknown force. Her rage had blinded her enough to the point of dissuading her from noticing there were two other silhouettes present in the room.

"You truly are like a cockroach," she heard the boy say. "I thought locking you up with the curse would put an end to your pitiful life, but alas, you found a way to counter it. I was left with no choice but to spread it out through the rest of the building."

Dani struggled to get back up, only to be apprehended by one of the men looming over her. He held her hands behind her back as if she were under arrest. His touch was cold and stiff. A walking corpse. He didn't say a word, but the huntress already knew who he was, and the other dead-eyed man standing behind Nikolai only confirmed her suspicion.

"This is Matei, right? Then the one behind me must be Gavril, or am I mixing them up? I couldn't remember who's who," said Dani, wiggling her arms to get out of the tight grip. Her efforts were fruitless. "Either way, they are not really themselves, are they? You've turned them into another one of your mud puppets. Am I wrong?"

Nikolai said nothing and instead leaned in to take a better look. It was a pitiful sight. The woman who was once feared by many, now pushed to the ground, all bruised and beaten. He examined her face closely, taking in every small detail like a sculptor preparing to create his masterpiece from memory. It gave him great pleasure knowing she would soon meet her demise in his hands.

"Who the hell are you, kid?" Dani asked, straining her eyes to look at the boy despite the awkward position she was in. Her question was answered by a kick to the temple, making her yelp.

"How dare you ask me such a thing?" Nik grabbed her by the hair, forcing her chin up. "Take a better look. Who am I?"

Once the image became less blurry, she noticed he looked familiar. She didn't know from where, but the scared look in his eyes, coupled with those small green irises, filled her with a sense of unease.

"Do I owe you money or something?" She was met with another kick, this time more spiteful than the previous one.

"You're on the right track. Keep thinking, I'd like to see the gears shift in that empty head of yours."

Nikolai… Where had she heard that name before? It wasn't a name common in America. She repeated it in her head time and time again until it echoed louder. A woman was shouting it, but why? The images became clearer. The woman was holding a child, dragging him away from his sobbing father. They were all weeping. There was someone else in the room—a tall, bald man with a golden chain around his neck. He stood next to Dani, his cold glare fixated on the mother and her son, while Dani's was set on the father. The muzzle of her pistol was resting against the poor man’s head.

She remembered him pleading, his hoarse voice so distorted, she couldn't understand what he was saying. A hit to the temple with the back of her pistol put an end to his whining, and he faced the floor once more. " What are you waiting for? This bastard clearly doesn't have the means to pay off his debt," said the bald man. He spoke in Serbian. His voice had a metallic clang to it. With a wave of his hand, he encouraged her to hurry it up. " I'm not going to blow his brains out in front of a child. Get them out of here," she said, and so the man obliged. Dani turned her attention back to the father. "You know there is no easy way around this, right? I hold no bad feelings towards you. I'm merely acting as an envoy for my boss. Even if I do let you off the hook now, my friend over there will get the job done instead, and he might not spare your wife or your brat. " She pulled the hammer. " Now pray to your God, and when you're done, I'll count to three before I put you out of your misery."

There was no prayer. The man didn't even make a sound. What was the point after all? By then, he was convinced there was no God, and so was his wife, and so was Nikolai. The boy's last memory of his father was a single gunshot heard behind the red door of his old home. What deity would allow for such a thing to happen to a child barely above the age of six?

"I suppose an apology wouldn't be enough to convince you not to put my head on a spike," said Dani. "But even so, I am sorry. Sincerely."

"Is that all you have to say to me after ten years? You're 'sorry'," he said, making a mocking gesture. "'Sorry' isn't the word to use when you're speaking with the child you orphaned. I doubt even a ritual suicide would be kind enough of a gesture."

"Orphaned? What happened to your mother then? She had nothing to do with your father's debt to my boss."

"Oh, her? My dear mom tried her best to keep it together after witnessing the death of her husband. She found a new job after nearly a decade of being a housewife, but alas, despite all her efforts, she couldn't drown her demons, and they ended up taking her instead. She wanted to take me with her. It was then that I realized there were worse things than hearing your dad get shot. For example, hearing the screams of your mother while she strangles you after taking an overdose is much more harrowing."

"If you want to blame someone for your luck, blame your stupid father for taking a loan from the mafia." Dani clenched her teeth, feeling the pressure on her back build up enough to crush her ribs. "You can blame me all you want, but it won't change anything. My death won't bring your parents back from the grave, neither will the deaths of the countless people you've killed so far to get to me."

“Do you know why I killed them?"

"It's the spell you cast. It requires a copious amount of blood, doesn't it? I've seen such spells before. It's not my first time dealing with that bitch's apprentices."

He kicked her in the head once more; she expected no less.

"I don't take kindly to people insulting our grandmother." The words flew out of the boy's mouth like venom. "As far as I'm concerned, she's the only God there is. She gave me these powers. She taught me how to use them. She gave me a reason to exist in this perverse world, the one people like you poisoned."

"And what did you give her in exchange? Your soul? Did you take a life in her name to appease her? Was it worth becoming a killer like me to take your petty revenge? There is no free lunch, so you must have sacrificed something."

"Would it make a difference if I told you now? You'll only have the maggots eating your flesh to share this information with, once I'm done with you."

"Then you have nothing to lose, kid. Come on now, tell me your secret.”

The boy paused, stepping back.

"Fifteen years."

"Fifteen years?"

"Of my lifespan, I'd say it's a fair price. I can tell you now, after seeing you like this, at my mercy, knowing I can end your life with the snap of my finger—it was worth every single second."

"What's stopping you then? I'm right here at your feet. How much backstory do I need to listen to before you decide to bash my brains in, dechko ?"

"You would like it to be quick, wouldn't you?"

Nikolai walked over to his desk, where a book with a brown leather cover rested. The years had made the edges jagged, and its spine was barely holding the pages together. With a flick of his thumb, he flipped through them until his eyes beamed with curiosity as they settled on what he was looking for. His devious smile was enough to figure it won't be anything pleasant for the huntress.

"What do you think about this one?" Nikolai brought the pages closer for Dani to see, although she couldn't read a thing. "It's a glyph sorcery that can make objects age and deteriorate. I bet mixed with my curse magic, I can make your brain rot inside your skull. That would be quite amusing." He spoke with such fascination, even the golems around him felt unnerved. "Or this one. It makes liquids evaporate in a matter of seconds. Perhaps I can use it on your eyes and watch them slither out from their sockets. Ah, so many spells to choose from."

"Or you can just beat me to death with that hammer over there. I bet that would feel more satisfying to you. Although I do have to admit, it's not as creative as whatever's written over there." Dani could tell her casual attitude irritated him, so she decided to see if she could make the vein on his forehead pop. "You remind me of a certain guy from Poland, considering your elaborate torture methods, though he does use them in a way you're yet too young to understand," she added with a grin, expecting another kick to the head.

"Thanks to you, I've seen things most adults wouldn't even see in their nightmares," the boy continued with a chilling smile. "I have an offer for you, idiot huntress. An act of mercy, if you will. If you beg for my forgiveness on your hands and knees, I'll consider giving you a quick death, but you must be convincing. Otherwise, I might take your advice and see if you're really as disgusting on the inside as you are on the outside."

"Okay…" Dani nodded in agreement, her voice faint and exhausted. "If that would give you solace, I will beg. I have one final request; however, you can hear for yourself that I can barely talk anymore. My voice is hoarse and beginning to crack. Could you please give me a glass of water before I begin my formal apology? It's all I ask for."

Nikolai considered her request, and without answering, he walked over to the sink and turned on the tap. He came back with a tin bowl, placing it in front of her. The name on it was worn out, but still readable. He didn’t bother hiding his giddiness at seeing her pleading on all fours like a stray dog.

"What are you waiting for? Drink," he ordered.

"May I use my hands at least?"

"You may not."

She furrowed her eyebrows, but that didn’t sway his decision. He kept watching with glee as the huntress lowered her head to the bowl, the sweat forming around her eyes dripping onto the still water. She saw her reflection being distorted in the ripples. It was the last thing she wanted to see before her execution, much to her capturer's amusement. She knew denigrating herself like this brought nothing but bliss to his little shriveled-up heart, but she had to do it.

Dani closed her eyes, grabbed the edges of the bowl between her teeth, and threw it with a single swing at the golem bearing Matei’s features, effectively melting his face off. It wasn't enough to destroy it, but she managed to escape his grip and grab her weapon. She shoved the blade inside its chest, already knowing the position where its core rested. It bounced out of its body, hitting the ground and rolling over to the corner, where she used one of her knives to shatter it.

Nikolai's eyes grew wide, but he still had enough time to react. While the huntress was battling Gavril's golem, the boy began reciting the spell again, bringing forth the bloody appendages. His casting was cut short by a knife to the shoulder, causing him to wail in pain. By the time he gathered the strength to pull it out, he was already facing the wrathful gaze of the huntress. The boy extended his arm to use a simple deflection magic, without knowing it would be to his detriment. He could hear his bones and cartilage produce a sound similar to a twig being shaped as she twisted his wrist in a position he never thought possible for a hand to stand in.

"W-what are you?" Nikolai cried out, frozen in his spot while the tears streamed down like a waterfall.

"I'm a human," said Dani.

"That's impossible! What kind of human moves like that? You must be using some kind of sorcery!"

The huntress rolled her eyes.

"No. There is no magic, no tricks, only years of training and hard work to get where I am now." She leaned in, squeezing him by the neck. Her expression bore no semblance of empathy or regret for what she did next. “Typical for someone who had their abilities bestowed upon them from someone above to think that everyone else is cheating." With those words, she grabbed his other wrist and repeated the same motion, rendering him unable to cast another spell. "That's why I hate sorcerers, even more—fake ones like you!"

"Are you going to kill me now? The same way you did my father?"

"Not yet, kid." Dani shook her head. "First, you're going to tell me everything you know about your dear old granny, so I can spill her guts upon our next encounter."

"I can't do that."

To his response, the huntress simply kept twisting his wrist with her free hand, listening to the satisfying cries escaping the child's lips.

"Are you sure, dechko ?" She smiled. "I thought you knew better than anyone how easily I can make people talk. Let's start with her location."

"I don't know it…" he answered through a high-pitched shriek, which turned into a deafening scream when she snapped his wrist in a way where the back of his fingers were touching his forearm.

"Are you sure? Do I need to do the same with the rest of your limbs to jog your memory?"

"It's the truth! It's the truth! I swear on my parents' names! Her house walks on chicken legs, I don't know where she is, or where she would be at any given moment!"

"You must have some way to contact her. How did she find you?"

"I found myself drawn to the forest one day. I don't remember how it happened. I remember being scared at first, but she was kinder than her looks led me to believe. She saved me… she saved all of us lost children who had no one to call family."

"Saved? By draining years of your lifespan? I wouldn't call it the most altruistic of deeds.”

"What is the crone's real name?"

"She never told any of us. We all refer to her as 'grandma' or 'babushka'."

"How does one get turned into a sorcerer or whatever you are?"

The boy sealed his lips, refusing to let out another word. By the look in his eyes, she knew he was hiding something, but no matter how much pain she inflicted, he wouldn't let out a peep. Part of her found his resilience commendable, another wanted to see exactly how much longer he would last before spilling out even his mother's maiden name.

During her days as a henchman, she'd seen grown men cry over much less than a few fractured bones. Some needed only to catch a glimpse of their torture device before loosening their lips. Whether they resisted or not, the result was always the same.

***

Meanwhile, Ian had all but lost his mind when he was once again left to fend for himself with the other vampire. Whenever he wasn't spitting obscenities from sheer shock and anger, he was doing his best to stay alive. Fortunately, his experience with video games was enough for him to memorize the attack patterns of the weird blood tentacles and dodge them whenever he saw one coming his way.

Vladislav, on the other hand, was on the brink of exhaustion. The creatures had torn off a piece of his flesh, and his left shoulder was hanging out of its joint. He had no other use for it other than to swing it to fend off any upcoming attacks.

As more and more appendages began to appear, the desperation started to settle in, and for Ian, it was only the third near-death experience he had to face within the last twelve hours. One sprang out from underneath the cracked floor, ready to slice his head off, before it stopped, and splashed on the ground. The curse was broken. Their relief was brief. They only had enough time to catch their breath before hearing the harrowing screams of the boys echoing throughout the imbrued corridor.

Upon arriving at the scene, none of them could say for certain that they were surprised to see what they did.

Nikolai was lying on the ground, stripped to his underwear, having not one, not two, not three, but seventeen nails wedged in his limbs. His face was distorted into a terrible grimace of permanent horror. The air escaping his lungs produced a sound similar to a whistle. He clenched his teeth as the eighteenth nail was promptly hammered into his left calf muscle.

"What on Earth are you doing?" Ian shouted at Dani, who was by then growing impatient with the lack of results from her torture methods.

"This little turd won't tell me how he got turned into a sorcerer," the huntress shouted back, irritated. "Don't worry, I have eleven more nails to make him talk, then I'm putting him out of his misery."

"The hell you are! He's just a kid, let him go and we'll figure out what to do with him once we've taken care of his injuries."

"Just a kid?" Dani looked at her friend, baffled. "He tried to kill you! He tried to kill all of us! He killed Gavril and Matei, along with countless other people. What do you mean by 'he's just a kid’?"

Vlad fell to his knees upon hearing the news.

“My friends are dead?" His voice trembled.

"He turned them into golems," said Dani, her eyes spelling regret. "I'm sorry I couldn't save them, but rest assured, he'll pay for what he did." She then turned to the boy, picking another nail.

"No, please don't!" Vlad cried out. "Leave him alone, I can't bear any more of this carnage!”

"Are you guys being serious? We can't let him go just like that. What about the people he's murdered?!" Dani snapped at them both, her voice cracking from anger.

"What about the people you've murdered?" Ian argued.

Those words made her go silent.

"Yes, what about them?" repeated Nikolai, who had barely mustered the strength to speak. "Why don't you tell them what this is all about? You fucking monster. I don't expect my death to weigh on your conscience. Did you ever think back to the time when you shot my father while my mother and I were begging you and your goon to leave us alone? Did you ever think twice before pulling the trigger? Or was it just another Tuesday for you? Do you even remember his name?"

“Ilia Pavlovic,” Dani cut him off. “He was born in Slovakia and worked as an electrician. He owed my former boss forty-eight thousand US dollars, from which he had only paid off a quarter. I recall all the names and occupations of the people I was instructed to eliminate. Do you? Do you think there isn’t a day that goes by without me seeing their corpses every time I close my eyes? You damn brat! You sold your soul to the devil for something as petty as revenge. Are you happy now? Was it worth the price?” She watched as he struggled to form a sentence. “Fine, if you don’t want to tell me your little secret, then I shall search for the answer from one of your friends. See you in hell."

She picked up her sword, flipping it perpendicular to the ground. Her hands were shaking, but she didn’t hesitate. If it weren't for the two vampires grabbing onto her arms before the crucial moment, the blade would have been resting inside the young magician’s guts. Blinded by rage, the huntress kept pushing, her grip around the handle tight enough to bend the metal. She eventually gave up, tossing the machete to the side with an exasperated grunt.

“Do you really wish to be labeled a child killer that badly?” Ian scolded her.

"We let him go now, he's gonna kill even more people!” Dani ripped her hand away from his. "I'm not some stupid comic book hero, Ian! If there is one thing I know, it's that as long as there is a person, there is a problem."

"There are better ways to deal with this than torturing a teenager!"

"He's a monster!”

"And so are you!"

Dani spat on the ground. Her eyes were flickering with fury. She ran her tongue through the back of her teeth to notice one of them had gone loose, filling her mouth with the taste of iron. Her temples were blue from all the kicks she took to her head, yet none of those things stung as much as being called a ‘monster'.

"What would Anastasia think upon learning about what you did?" Ian continued, regretfully so, as his question was answered by a right hook to the ribs.

"Don't bring my sister into this, pichko .”

What followed was a screaming match. One loud enough to drown out the faint chanting escaping from the beaten boy's lips. A few bloody coughs stopped him midway, but other than that, no one else prevented him from finishing his spell. The ground beneath him turned black and began moving in a swirl, swallowing his whole body.

Vlad, by then, had passed out from his injuries, dreaming of a time before he met the huntress. Even the raving barrage of insults being exchanged between the other two wasn't enough to wake him, and for that he was grateful.

"Oh, great, he's gone now!" Dani fumed. "Thanks a lot, dumbass! Why don't you put on a black costume and rename yourself to Bruce fucking Wayne while you're at it!"

"You're welcome."

She gave him the finger.

"Whatever, I'm too sober to deal with this mess." She walked off before suddenly turning and making a face as if she had stubbed her toe. "Fuck! You know what I just realized? Since he was the one who made the request, we're not even going to get paid!"