Chapter 14: Payday 1
But the sound of combat had attracted attention from the rest of the assault team. Two more vampires appeared in the doorway, these ones moving with the coordinated precision of soldiers who’d learned to fight as a unit. Both third-generation, both radiating the kind of predatory confidence that came from decades of successful kills. The first one—tall, gaunt, with Victorian-era clothing that had seen better centuries—went for Kaine with claws extended, moving in a low crouch designed to get under his guard. The second, broader and more modern in appearance, targeted Marcus with the kind of focused aggression that suggested they’d been briefed on the Ghoul’s capabilities.
Kaine’s enhanced perception slowed time to a crawl as the Victorian vampire closed distance. He could see every micro-expression on the creature’s face, track the exact angle of its claws, calculate the precise trajectory of its attack. His system-enhanced reflexes kicked in instantaneously.
Instead of meeting the vampire’s charge head-on, Kaine sidestepped with fluid grace and grabbed the creature’s extended arm at the wrist. But rather than the simple redirection the vampire expected, Kaine’s grip tightened with hydraulic force and he twisted sharply counter-clockwise.
The sound was like a gunshot as the vampire’s shoulder joint exploded. Tendons snapped with wet pops, and the creature’s arm bent backward at an angle that defied anatomy. Black blood sprayed from the ruined joint as the vampire’s scream pitched into frequencies that shattered the bedroom mirror.
"Fuck me, that was loud," Kaine muttered, driving his knee up into the vampire’s exposed ribs with enough force to crack bone. The creature doubled over, and Kaine used its momentum to slam its face into the wall with a wet crunch that left a crater in the expensive plaster.
The vampire tried to pull back, but Kaine had already shifted his grip to the back of its skull. His fingers found purchase in the creature’s greasy hair, and he began methodically driving its face into the wall. Once. Twice. Three times. Each impact sent spider-web cracks through the plaster and left increasingly grotesque smears of black blood.
On the fourth impact, something gave way with a sound like breaking pottery. The vampire’s struggles became erratic, its nervous system shorting out as brain matter leaked from its ears.
"Should’ve stayed dead the first time," Kaine said, releasing his grip.
The vampire slumped to the floor, its head a misshapen ruin that barely resembled anything human. Black blood pooled beneath it, mixing with fragments of bone and less identifiable tissue.
[MORTAL ESSENCE ABSORBED: 120 ME]