Page 65 of The Vanishing
When Haruka turns, the detective is staring at them, her mouth agape. “Well damn, that was… quite the display. I thought I might have to turn a hose on you two.”
Haruka scoffs, holding one of Nino’s hands as he walks forward. “I would be impressed at your resourcefulness in finding one in this godforsaken place.”
* * *
As Haruka had suspected,the descent into the space underneath Lajos’s house runs deep. A narrow set of stone steps was revealed when they opened the kitchen door, the path leading into the depth and darkness of the mountain. There are no lights or torches lit with fire along the cold stone walls, just blackness. Thankfully, the detective and her deputy brought many emergency supplies in their backpacks, including two flashlights.
“Even purebreds can’t see in the dark, right?” Marcus asks, trailing behind Haruka to bring up the rear. “I’ve never met any purebreds until the two of you… and Lajos.”
“Same,” Detective Cuevas calls from the front. “Only seen the more famous and flashy ones on TV. We have an aristocracy in New York, but… our realm leaders don’t interact much with vamps under first-gen status. It seems like the purebreds overseeing aristocracies in other countries maintain a much stronger sense of community.”
“To answer your question, the way weseeis based in feeling and sensing another vampire’s energy,” Haruka says, following the path and stepping down, deeper and deeper into the clammy earth. “Our vampiric natures and abilities as purebreds are rooted in attracting prey for feeding, or partners for sex and mating. But we have since evolved with the modernization and civility of society. Feeding and mating are no longer a purebred’s sole objective in life.”
“You think?” the detective asks. “Ladislao is pretty famous for being focused on feeding and sex.”
“Well…mostmodern purebreds?”
“That guy…” Nino says contemplatively. “The one who attacked us… His energy came at us like a laser beam. It didn’t do anything to my aura, but it surprised me.”
“Yes,” Haruka agrees. “The impact was rather weak.”
When Detective Cuevas stops, everyone behind her halts. She shines her flashlight further down the steps. “Thank God. The path is flat a little further ahead. I didn’t think I was claustrophobic, but this place is suffocating me. What are your purebred vibes telling you?”
“That there are many creatures down here,” Haruka says. “The map of my consciousness is lit with multiple faint energies.”
The detective moves faster, demanding that the others fall into step behind her. Soon, they reach a flat, cavernous space. It is large—how large, Haruka can’t discern due to its dark nature. But he can feel the vastness of it. The cool breeze whisks against his cheeks and the damp, muddy smell is surprisingly clean as he breathes.
Without warning, Nino swells the weight of his red-orange essence outward so that it covers the four of them. The detective jumps from the sensation, unaccustomed to being directly impacted by a purebred’s aura. She stiffens, turning on Nino. “Wh—What the hellare you doing? A little warning next time you decide to whip your energy out?”
“There wasn’t any time!”
“We are surrounded,” Haruka announces.
Lights in every color of the rainbow shower them, fierce and unyielding—some like long arrows or darts, others like spears or bullets. If this wasn’t some sort of full-frontal attack, it might be a pleasant display. But Nino’s aura holds firm, the energies bouncing and shattering against the glassy surface of the sphere. Haruka steps up behind him, ignoring the ruckus and placing his palms on his shoulders. “Is this hurting you in any way?”
Nino shakes his head, glancing around. “No. It’s a little tingly, but I’m fine.”
Haruka squeezes his shoulders, reassuring as the barrage continues. Glowing streaks of yellow and purple, varying shades of green and some blues fly through the air like festival fireworks against a nighttime sky. Haruka addresses his mate. “Should I stop this?”
“I, for one, would appreciate it if youdid,” the detective snarks. “Are these creatures freakishly weak, or are you two freakishly strong? It’s like they’re throwing electric rainbow sprinkles at us!”
Nino turns his head, eyeing him. “Maybe yes? I don’t know how long they plan to do this and it’s not getting us anywhere. We just need to talk.”
Haruka steps around him and moves to pass the barrier of Nino’s protective aura. Nino reaches out, his voice panicked. “Wait! Haru,don’t—”
When Haruka steps outside, the warm energy around him lingers—pulling and reforming around his body in a bright, fiery glow. He pauses and looks back. He is encapsulated in his own protective aura, autonomous but identical to the one enclosing Nino, Marcus and Detective Cuevas.
Nino blinks, standing straight with his hand still outstretched toward him. “Okay, wow… Are you doing this?”
“I am not,” Haruka confirms. “This is your power but initiated within me.”
“Alright… so that’s a thing I can do.”
Grinning, Haruka moves forward and near what he perceives as the center of the large space. The bright lights of purebred energy are still assaulting him within the darkness as he lifts his hands, breathing and allowing the power within himself to unfurl and fan out toward the energy sources surrounding him. His eyes alighted, it pours bright red, moving with intention and glowing within the cave.
Voices cry out, but having learned his lesson, he focuses to promptly silence them. Haruka pulls his energy back into himself, dragging his victims with it. They’re hefty, like a fisherman hauling a crowded net from the water and onto a ship’s deck.
Fifteen—twenty… then more and more bodies float through the darkness and toward him like glowing red orbs. He arranges the still figures in multiple rows so that they rest on the ground before him, sitting upright. He walks among the crowd, eyes scanning. There are at least fifty creatures here altogether and they look skeletal—hollowed cheeks, long, bony limbs and bug eyes. Somehow, they are even worse off than their companion from earlier in the kitchen. Their clothes are like rags, insufficient in covering their pale bodies.
