Nightmare In The Flesh

“Where are you, Sumire?” Takao mumbled to himself as he exited yet another shop that hadn’t seen Sumire all day.

He sped off down the street, trying to think of where to check for Sumire next. He’d already checked all her favorite shops and restaurants with no success, and no one at the guild halls had seen her either. Takao kept checking their apartment, hoping she would turn up there, but had seen no signs of her. He was starting to worry she might have left town by herself, but she knew the woman in black was after her and surely wouldn’t do something so stupid.

Takao felt like he was running out of time. Something was off. There were still more places he could check, but the real problem was no one had seen Sumire all day. This was giving him a bad feeling, and it was only getting worse as time passed. Where could she have gone? If only he had some clue, or even just a small hint.

Just then, something caught Takao’s attention. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a purple flash in the sky, followed a second later by the characteristic booming thunder of Sumire’s lightning magic.

Takao smiled to himself, then dashed toward the source of the lightning strike.

***

Sumire had barely managed to draw enough strength from the storm clouds overhead to send a single purple lightning bolt skyward. After which, she and the crate she was trapped in were pulled from the carriage and thrown violently to the ground. The burning crate burst open, sending Sumire rolling painfully across the cobblestone. She was battered and bruised, but luckily, her captors quick reaction saved her from any serious burns.

Sumire glanced around, looking for help or a way to escape, but the small plaza she found herself in was empty. The surrounding buildings looked just as decrepit as the alley she’d been snatched from. If there was anyone inside, she doubted they would offer her any help, even if they looked out and saw her. The town wall wasn’t far off, but was still too far for any guards to come to her rescue. Her plan had failed.

“Put that fire out! Use magic, you idiots! WATER magic!” A woman shouted angrily.

Sumire turned with difficulty to see her abductors scrambling to put out their burning wagon and calm their frightened horses. She would’ve smirked were it not for the menacing figure of the woman in black stalking toward her. Fury etched on her face. She cursed and kicked Sumire in the stomach. Sumire curled into a ball as the woman stomped and kicked her relentlessly, all while spitting insults and verbal abuse.

“Stinking ugly lizard!”

Kick!

“Trying to escape!”

Stomp!

“Know your place!”

Kick!

“If our client didn’t want you alive, I’d kill you and be done with it! Count yourself lucky! But, alive doesn’t mean intact! Give me any more trouble! Any excuse to start cutting away pieces, and I won’t hesitate!” She threatened, punctuating her threat by cutting a long, slow line across Sumire’s cheek.

Sumire screamed through her gag and shut her eyes tight, trying to hide from the torture. Everything hurt so much. She wanted to cry from the pain.

“Boss Mia!” One of the men from the carriage called.

“Hey! I told you no names while we’re in town, idiot!” The woman in black snapped.

“Sorry boss! Fires out. Carriage is still usable.”

“Good. See if you can find another crate or something to shove this one in. I don’t want to kill any guards on the way out if we don’t have to.” After giving her orders, the woman in black leaned down close to Sumire and spoke in a soft, cruel whisper. “Lucky you. You’re one of the first on this continent to learn my name. It’s Mia, but across the ocean, I’m better known as the Shadow Vampire. Funny thing is, I’m not a vampire; I just like how it tastes. And guess what? Our client promised I could have a taste of you! I imagine a dragon god is quite delicious.”

Sumire tried to stay calm. She didn’t want to give Mia the satisfaction of knowing she was scared, but try as she might, she couldn’t help the tears that trickled from her eyes. Mia laughed cruelly, then kissed Sumire’s cheek, catching a tear as she did. The touch made Sumire’s skin crawl, and she struggled to get away, which only made Mia laugh harder.

“We found a crate, boss!”

“Great.” Mia said as she stood up and to Sumire’s relief moved away. “Pack her up and let’s get out of here.”

Sumire tried not to imagine what horrible fate awaited her. She wanted to be strong, but she couldn’t stop her muffled sobs. She was afraid, terrified. The only small comfort she could find was the thought that Takao would be safe. He wouldn’t have to share in what would surely be an awful, painful death. Then, as if to steal her last comfort, she heard a familiar voice calling her.

***

Takao ran through old, deserted alleys toward the spot where Sumire’s lightning had come from, Old Demon’s Ward. He’d rarely been to this part of town. It had been largely abandoned long ago after an illegal magical experiment had gone wrong. The effects on the people living there at the time had apparently been gruesome and horrifying. Though it was now considered liveable, the terrible memories remained, and so it stayed abandoned.

Why would Sumire be in Old Demon’s Ward? Why had she sent up a bolt of lightning? He couldn’t shake the feeling that something was terribly wrong, and when he stepped out of the alley into a cobblestone square, his feeling was confirmed right.

There saw Sumire lying on the ground, tied up and gagged. The woman in black, Mia, (whose name Takao learned later) was standing over her, and that was all Takao needed to see.

“SUMIRE!” He shouted, then wished he wasn’t so stupid when Mia plus four large men turned to look at him.

“Spear boy!” Mia said in a friendly, welcoming tone. “Nice to see you again, but we’re a bit busy, so—” She waved him away as if shooing an insect.

“Let her go! NOW!” Takao yelled.

Mia looked between him and Sumire contemplatively, then a wicked smile graced her lips.

“You love her!” She laughed crudely. “You know she’s a lizard, right?”

Takao felt the blood boiling in his veins. He was done talking! He charged toward Sumire, hands balled into fists, intent on freeing her at all costs.

The closest man stepped in front of Takao, but was a second too slow, drawing his sword. Takao grabbed his arm and flipped him over his shoulder, slamming the man into the ground, flat on his back.

As Takao turned to face the remaining three men, they paused smartly to draw their weapons. Takao charged forward, undaunted. He caught the arm of his next opponent mid sword swing and kicked the man in the stomach, sending him tumbling back into the next man. The final abductor stopped and seemed to be thinking about how to proceed when Mia interrupted the fight. She held a golden, intricately engraved amulet in her hand, and pointed it toward Takao. A bolt of purple lightning leapt from the amulet with a crack and struck Takao in the chest, sending him careening across the ground.

“Is everyone stupid today? He’s unarmed, for god’s sake! Don’t engage in close combat! We’re not having a bloody bar brawl!” Mia yelled.

Takao tried to stand, but Mia immediately zapped him again.

“Now, now Takao. No need to get up, and yes, I know who you are. I investigate my targets thoroughly, and you are always by little miss Sumire’s side, so of course I looked into you. You know, after you came out of that dungeon alive, I was sure you would give us some trouble, but seems my intel was accurate after all. You can’t use magic, can you?” Mia asked in a mockingly sweet, sympathetic tone.

Takao didn’t answer. He felt like his blood was actually boiling. His body felt charred and cooked. He tried to stand anyway, but was immediately struck by more lightning.

Takao fought back the pain, trying again and again to stand and fight, but each time Mia shocked him ruthlessly.

With each attack, Takao’s efforts to rise amounted to less and less, until he could barely move a finger without being zapped. His consciousness was fading. He knew he couldn’t take much more of this. Then, despite the ringing in his ears, he heard a sweet but sad sound, Sumire’s voice.

Sumire’s Exposé!
Vampires are a rarely seen race due to their solitary and nocturnal nature, the latter is likely the source of the common but untrue belief that sunlight harms them. Another common belief, that vampires prefer the taste of human blood, is in fact true.