The booming crunch almost stopped, giving way to continuous champing, Alud finished his feast, complaining a little that the food was not quite healthy and not as tasty as before. Fragments of bones and scraps of clothing, pools of blood around, torn flesh, that's all that remains of a person. The werewolf turned his head, looking for some kind of package. From the shaggy mouth flew blood mixed with saliva, in time with the turns of the head, the shiny coat trembled slightly, sometimes filled with glare from the light.
- Here. - The head is frozen, the eyes are fixed on the target - a large black garbage bag is strong enough to haul heavy construction debris.
- What you need, and strong and does not shine through, and does not leak, but where were these packages a hundred years ago, at least some benefit from civilization. He muttered softly, pulling the half-empty bag towards him, simultaneously shaking the garbage out of it.
- Eat, wash the dishes. Thought Alud, with a slight smirk on his bloody muzzle. Human remains gradually filled the inside of the black bag. Alud is busy with routine business, cleans up the traces of his presence, so as not to raise unnecessary noise, and not to betray his presence in this world. Every werewolf in the city does this, obeying the unspoken rule of the dark ones, every vampire, every shadow, they all hide their true nature, creating around themselves a dense cocoon of fables, myths and fairy tales that they believe in or want to believe. Few people know about them, all who have snatched a piece of truth are either dead or walk in dark circles in the form of servants. Furry ears trembled slightly, moving a little, first to one side, then to the other, picking up the slightest vibrations of sound. Nothing special . L people walk, cars drive, water drips, fog rustles, whirling in gusts of wind, a plastic bag rustles, taking another portion of bones. Nothing suspicious, but some kind of internal anxiety does not weaken the hearing, and more and more makes you delve into what is happening, a quiet, swift rustle approaching from the back. The delicate senses of a werewolf are hard to deceive, not many creatures can sneak up on them from behind, this almost succeeded. There was a growing whistle of metal cutting through the air, Alud remembered this sound well from oMiddle Ages, especially during the Inquisition. Alud's skin knew a lot of metal. The battles took place in the open with superior human forces, but years of fighting only strengthened the will of the werewolf. An instant reaction is the best friend in such situations, an instant signal spreads through the muscles, causing them to rapidly contract, with a sharp movement, the werewolf jumped towards the garbage cans, pressing his shaggy shoulder against the brickwork of the wall, along which moisture flowed in small streams. Something metallic stuck into the dirty asphalt with a slight vibrating sound. Alud fixed his gaze in the direction from which the ominous gift had flown. From the thick fog, an approaching figure was drawn. A leather cloak, black hair, a silent gait, and a white face, with black vertical stripes at the eyes and a horizontal one at the mouth, something long and shiny is tightly clenched in the hand, cold. The werewolf's eyes widened in surprise, fur rising from his forehead, creating a line of eyebrows.
What the hell is this creature doing here? Alud hadn't seen anything like it in over two hundred years, but he immediately recognized the creature that stepped out of the mist before him. White-faced Hunter: No concept of honor, valor or feelings, their existence has only one goal to kill whoever his masters say, and then disappear into oblivion. A kind of professional assassin of the dark world. Only a few dark ones are not afraid of these accursed creatures. Called with the help of complex ancient rituals, they are full of power received through a special conductor in the material world. A treacherous shiver ran down Alud's back, he remembered the instructions of his elders from his childhood:
- If you see a hunter - run, it's better to meet with two vampires in their territory than with one hunter. - Rumor has it that if you're being tracked by a hunter, you're dead anyway. Bristling his skin, Alud slowly backed away, thinking over the tactics of retreat, the hunter walked at him, without changing the pace slowly but surely, thereby creating additional mental stress, him at least a meter. The werewolf froze, he knew what it was.
- Fuck your mother ... - The depressive tone of what was said did not bode well.
The ribbed steel surface of the rod was covered with small, pulsating filaments that exuded a faint blue glow. The rod firmly dug into the asphalt from a powerful blow. Sharpened growths slowly moved out of the surface, piercing into the dense structure of the asphalt with a characteristic sound. A pulsating ball with many notches, small ledges and hieroglyphs crowned this design. - "Pin of shadows."
The back felt the wet wall, the trembling intensified, Alud slowly shifted his gaze to the approaching silhouette. Thoughts were confused in a mess, creating various solutions to get out of this situation. Nobody likes a stalemate, nobody likes being a rat in a corner, not everyone can handle it - that's survival.
“Well, no, I won’t die that easily. I'm not a bug, you can't crush me. - The eyes of the werewolf stopped running, cleared up, the pupils narrowed, rage, anger and readiness to accept any outcome of events burst into these clear eyes with a seething stream. The carbon came out of his lungs with a low, menacing growl, and a deep breath filled his body with oxygen.
Vegetables were stewed on a hot frying pan, next to it was a medium-sized pot with soup that was not yet ready, the smells of food spread throughout the kitchen, moisture from the hot steam settled in small shiny droplets, like perspiration. An older woman was standing over the stove making her late dinner. On the wall, in beige wallpaper, hung a round clock in a lilac frame with small purple patches, reminiscent of the shape of a cat's fine fur. The second hand moves smoothly in a circle. Three o'clock in the morning. The illusion of time control, an attempt to somehow tie down the inevitable course of events going up their spiral. 3:0. Brown dress, the color of fresh cocoa, with long openwork inserts, gently -blue, reaches the knees, slightly covering them with a translucent edge decorated with a fancy pattern. Large fluffy pink slippers. On a thin neck hang several necklaces of an old style, with small inlaid stones, some covered with some incomprehensible writing. They rattle ligh
A sharp lunge towards the enemy, the werewolf knocks down his enemy, powerful blows fall in an endless stream. Alud growls, with a flourish he plunges his claws into the sides, shoulders and chest of the enemy lying on the asphalt. There is a slight bewilderment on the face of the defeated hunter, turning into a cheeky grin, one blow to the werewolf's chest, and he flies off a good four meters.Why so much power in this body? The werewolf thought, rubbing his sore chest. The hunter stood up, black wounds from Alud's claws gaped under the torn cloak, greenish, thick smoke came out of them, the wounds healed instantly. Steel flashed again in his hand, an alloy with silver, and Alud smelled something else unfamiliar. It was a small, slightly curved saber, reminiscent of the Egyptian khopesh *The guard was in the form of a thick ring around the handle. The surface was covered with symbols, a vampire, in place of Alud, of course, would have examined them without any problems, but the were
A cheap, threatening-looking knife went down his neck, leaving a red streak behind him. Blood poured over his pale skin, soaking his clothes and dripping onto the pavement. Brook-ta-man was cleaning up the traces of his presence. Now it looks like a common crime "gangster attack with the intent to rob." A watch, a thick gold chain, a purse, all thoughtfully pulled out and tucked into pockets. A deep incision on the neck will hide the marks of the predator's teeth. The vampire was satiated and gained strength. Although, unfortunately, the knowledge received from the blood was not enough. The usual stupid scumbag, the vampire did not receive anything new and moral satisfaction, except for the murder itself. He straightened up to his full height, raised his head, exhaled noisily, bared his fangs. Now he is ready for battle. He will choose the time and the most important place of the battle. The vampire turned abruptly and quickly ran towards the western part of the city.Some time later,
Alud woke up, his eye was covered with blood, his shoulder ached brutally, his back ached, his whole body felt weak and in pain, the werewolf stood up, whining and groaning. The hated piece of steel that had caused him so much suffering lay nearby. The werewolf casually took it with his left hand, after wrapping the handle with a rag lying among the garbage. With a heavy gait, he headed towards his lair.A huge building of the former metallurgical shop, a long-sold machine-tool plant, a loss-making business, a suburban area. It looks like an abandoned gray building with huge workshops and a bunch of rooms, spacious basements, communications are connected and functioning, it would never occur to anyone that there was a werewolf den. Alud, with the last of his strength, reached the territory of the plant, let out a summoning howl and lost consciousness.He woke up already in the lair, on a soft bed, neatly applied clean bandages covered the wounds. In unconsciousness, he took the form o
The fog dissipated, unable to withstand the gusts of the north wind, carrying excess moisture away from the city. The clock is 4:13. The wind, howling, squeezes into all the cracks of the city streets, playing with everything that can lift into the air, or at least ruffle. Brook-ta-man hailed a taxi, said the drop-off point, and paid immediately. Leaning back in the soft seat of the car, he watched the changing pictures outside the window. Senses are sharpened vision, hearing, perception filters work in wide ranges. He clearly felt the increased activity of the Shadowfists, they were looking for something.- Yes, I'm not the only one having a stormy night. The vampire thought. The car drove through a large puddle, dousing the doors with a rich water net. The glass was covered with small drops. The vampire contemplated the downward movement of the drops for some time. The taxi stopped at a tall building under construction. The driver looked after the late client, as soon as he heard th
Sszazzul glides like a black shadow across the city, along the walls, on the asphalt, on any surface, at the same speed. Here is an antique shop, the back entrance on the wall is quaint shadows from an old lantern. He approaches one of the shadows, runs his hand over it, the wall begins to deform, twisting into a spiral, a black hole with a diameter of half a meter is formed, Ssazzul, gets lost in this hole, it immediately disappears. A smooth wall covered with small stone, and running shadows from a lantern.A large spacious hall, streamlined, columns pierce the ceiling all around, which in turn are connected to each other on the walls by small growths and black holes, the surface is constantly changing, it changes color, sometimes becoming transparent. The light comes from the spheres, shadows are all around, shadows are scurrying everywhere. Sszazzul passes by a large arch, all entwined with crooked rods, on the sides are shadows, much larger than him, growths on their heads in the
The gaze is concentrated, the pupil narrows, the vampire feels someone else's presence. In the depths of the building, among the concrete columns and unfinished brickwork, a creature moves silently, it thinks that no one is aware of its presence. It does not know, it is itself trapped. Silent movements, a pin of shadows gleaming in his hand, the hand steps back, preparing to launch the creation of shadows at the vampire, shackle him in space and finish him off. The vampire stands silently, apparently thinking about something, an easy prey for the hunter. A powerful throw, the air whistles in the complex facets of the "pin of shadows", it rotates around its axis, accelerating its flight. Satisfaction is read in the hunter's eyes. The mission is practically accomplished. But what is it? The vampire raises his hand in the direction of the flying rod, there is a slight hum, similar to the buzz of a microphone, when you bring it to the speakers, and it starts to glow, the artifact instant
Yulia was rummaging through a mountain of dusty books. Flipping through the pages quickly, she looked for even the slightest clues leading to the blade. A large room filled with shelving full of books. Werewolves ran through the book labyrinths, looking for the information they needed. She carefully scanned page after page, glancing occasionally at the blade on the table. She was in the form of a human, but she still had a slight smell of silver that irritated her. She was approached by a man who looked to be in his sixties, wearing round glasses and stooping slightly. His hair, sloppily folded into a bun, was fastened at the back with a small black ribbon, with a red ornament. Gray hair, thickly covered, changing its color from dark gray to whitish. Here and there strands of dark brown hair showed through. The whole face was covered with wrinkles. At the corners of the eyes, the folds stood out brightly, on the general background of the skin of the face. Through the round glasses, t