The Vanishing by Karla Nikole

Twenty-Nine

“They’re here,” Nino explains. “Underneath the house.”

“Like, in a basement?” Detective Cuevas frowns.

“We are not certain,” Haruka says, his arms folded as he leans with the small of his back against the kitchen counter. “The pulse of energy we feel is underneath our feet, but the sensation is muffled. Likely, they are far beneath the surface—much more so than a shallow basement.”

“So that awful screaming we heard… The guy just ran away?” the deputy asks.

“Yes,” Haruka confirms. “I did nothing to harm him.”

The detective shakes her head. “It sounded like you were literally murdering him.”

“I was not. I only held him still because he attacked us without warning.” Haruka exhales, bringing his fingers to the bridge of his nose. What the hell is this place?

The geography, desolation and remoteness of this realm are jarring enough, but seeing that purebred—an emaciated and ragged creature with his bulging eyes and shallow cheeks—screaming and scattering away like an oversized cockroach…

Haruka has met a diverse assortment of purebreds in his travels. From different cultures, ethnic and indigenous backgrounds, varying social-economic statuses and ranging in all ages. He has never seen a purebred like this: existing in such a horrific, malnourished and terrified state.

“Well?” the detective says, walking toward the door where the purebred retreated. “Are we following or what?”

“We’ve come this far.” Haruka shrugs. He looks up to see Nino staring out the window. The apprehension set in his expression is heavy—his anxiety rolling all throughout his tensed body. Haruka pushes up from the counter and takes a few steps forward to meet him. When he’s standing in front of him, he lifts both hands, running his fingers into the back of Nino’s hair to cradle his head. Haruka pulls him close so that their foreheads touch. Nino closes his eyes.

You do not need to do this,Haruka assures him. I can go with the detective, and you can remain here with Marcus?

Nino lifts to look into Haruka’s eyes. “I can help protect you with our aura. It’s better if we’re together, right? Offense and defense.”

“I agree.” Haruka rubs his fingertips against his scalp, rustling his coppery waves. “But it is your choice.”

Tilting his head, Nino leans into him, his lips parted but his eyes open. Haruka drops his jaw to receive the swift kiss, reveling in the unexpected heat and sweet-smoky flavor of his mate’s mouth and tongue. Nino sighs and raises his head, his gaze heavy with affection. “I have to go with you—I’ll just be worried otherwise. But thank you for giving me that option.”

“Of course,” says Haruka, lowering his hands and grasping both of Nino’s between their bodies. “Shall we?”

“Mm.” Nino nods.

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 we see is 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… most modern 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 hell are 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 you did,” 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.

Haruka shakes his head in disbelief at the wasted, depressing sight of them. Is this a perfect purebred society? He chooses one of the vampires at random. A female. He isn’t sure what language these creatures speak, but he defaults to English. His deep voice echoes in the cavern. “Why do you attack us when we have done nothing to provoke or harm you? We come to you in peace.”

Lifting a hand, Haruka removes his hold on her mouth. The scrawny female stares up at him, her face twisted in rage. “Intruders! Powerful monsters from the outside world! Demons! Where is our leader? What have you done—”

With a flick of his fingers, Haruka reseals her mouth shut. He sighs. “That was pointless.”

“Tesoro, let’s ask someone about Ladislao—if he’s still here?” Nino stands at his side, his nearness causes the two bubbles to brighten then merge back into one entity.

Nodding, Haruka looks around. The vampires on either side of the female read just as hostile, their brows furrowed tightly and their eyes filled with unwarranted hate as they stare up at him. Glancing a little further back, he eyes a young male with a dark, scabby gash across his bony forehead. His eyes are much less hostile than the others’. Taking a chance, Haruka lifts his hand and removes the hold on his mouth. The male inhales a sharp gasp but doesn’t scream.

“We are not here to harm you. Can you please tell us if the vampire called Ladislao is here?”

The young male nods, his eyes wide and his raspy voice quiet. “He is.”

“If I release you, would you bring him here? Then, I promise that we will gladly leave your society and I, for one, will never return.”

“Yes,” the young vampire whispers. Haruka releases him. The male pauses, placing his hands against his half-exposed chest. Checking himself. He looks up at Haruka, then stands and nods. “One moment… my lord.” The young vampire runs off, disappearing down a dark tunnel.

Haruka turns to face his comrades, rolling his shoulders. “Your move, Detective.”

The glow of both Haruka’s and Nino’s auras lights her distraught features as Detective Cuevas steps forward. “Lookat them. Purebreds. The state of them down here. My God. This is horrific.”

“And they’re fighting us,” Marcus offers, stepping up beside the detective. “They’re defending their home. Are we in the wrong, here?”

Nino looks at Haruka. “What should we do about this?”

“We have to get them out of here, of course.” The detective gestures. “This is awful—they need food and sunlight and accommodations. They’re down here living and looking like ancient horror-movie vampires. It’s unbelievable that Lajos has done this to them, and for almost two hundred years!”

“You may wish to rescue them,” Haruka says, “but it is possible that they do not want to be liberated.”

“What?” Detective Cuevas balks. “You’re insane! Why on earth—”

Haruka holds a hand up, then chooses a vampire at random, removing his hold on their mouth.

The male spits, but it lands just in front of their protective sphere. “Get out! Intruders! Devils—” Haruka seals his mouth again. He does this with another vampire, who offers similar rhetoric, then another, until Haruka has tested several vampires. He turns to the detective. “Does this help you to understand?”

“I can’t believe this…” She stares. “They… they just need to see. We can teach them.”

“Forcefully removing them from the only environment and world they have known may create more harm than good. We will become the intruders and demons they already believe us to be.”

Haruka looks to his side. Through the darkness, he senses the male who initiated the attack in the kitchen. He steps away from Nino, and again the light and strength of his mate’s aura reform independently around him.

Haru, what are you doing?

One moment.

Within a few steps, he’s standing before the male, examining him. The red-orange light surrounding Haruka brightens his features in the darkness. Strangely, he is missing an ear. He waves his hand and removes the hold on his mouth. “Are you the acting leader of this realm?”

The vampire shifts his eyes up but doesn’t speak. His stare is cold, menacing. Haruka is about to repeat himself when yellow light warms and shines in the male’s eyes. Something in it is slightly green, like jaundice or unripened bananas. In the next second, the thin vampire opens his mouth wide and the yellowish light fills the cavern of his fanged mouth. Haruka steps back in shock, but it’s too late. The beam of light rushes from his mouth, making direct impact with Haruka’s shield. The cavern booms loud in echo and confusion. The ground shakes and the distinct sound of rocks falling and sliding fills Haruka’s ears.

Dust hovers in the darkness like fog. As the dirt settles, he hears Nino calling out to him from a few feet away. Haruka examines himself and takes a breath—checking his hands, chest and limbs. He moves slowly, stepping over the rubble and across the cave floor to rejoin his mate. When he’s there, Nino grasps his hand tightly, his voice strained. “What the fuck—Are you okay?”

“I think… I am unharmed,” Haruka reassures him, his body trembling from shock. “Are you?”

Nino nods, leaning and wrapping his arms around his shoulders. Haruka glances over to where he was standing. The vampires he’s holding captive within his aura are also untouched, frozen in place among the rocks and debris. But the vampire with one ear lies on his back several feet away. No movement other than his chest barely rising and falling. The ground beneath him is scorched, concave.

“It… it ricocheted,” Marcus says calmly, but then his voice escalates. “That idiot blasted himself in the face! You guys can breathe your auras? Like—like friggin’ vampire dragons?”

“Some of us, it seems.” Haruka rolls his shoulders as Nino releases him from their embrace, but they re-link their hands. Nino frowns and pulls Haruka close.

“Would you stop wandering around down here? Don’t walk away from me anymore.”

“I apologize, I—”

Everyone’s attention shifts at the sound of footfalls approaching. The young vampire with the gash appears first, followed by another thin vampire with very long hair. He pauses, but then beams, white teeth flashing with his arms outstretched.

“Honeycomb! Ebaaa, you came to rescue me—I knew you would.” He moves through the crowd of frozen vampires to reach them. When he’s standing just outside their protective bubble, he throws his arms around the curve of the large sphere, resting his cheek against the surface and grinning. “I had faith in you this whole time—my beautiful golden angel.” He closes his eyes.

Honeycomb? Haruka turns to his mate, a prickly feeling stirring inside him and making him frown. “Why is he addressing you in such an affectionate manner?”

“Whatever this is that I’m sensing from you, please stop it. I can’t control this creature or what he says. It’s just how he is.”

The dark map of Haruka’s awareness changes, the number of dim lights he first sensed suddenly multiplying, as if blinking into existence. One hundred, no, two… then it doubles again, more and more as warm spots of energy brighten in his mind. His pulse quickens as they draw closer toward them, slow but steady. It feels as if they’ve disturbed an ant hill and all of the creatures are now descending upon them.

“Haru… do you feel this?” Nino is panicked at his side, his mind frenzied as he takes a step back to shift the position of the bubble. Ladislao trips forward from Nino’s movement, surprised as he opens his eyes.

“There are too many,” Haruka says. He takes a deep breath. Nino’s aura is strong enough to fend off fifty purebreds… but hundreds of them?

Ladislao stands straight, looking at them with his head cocked to the side as if confused. But then he follows their gaze toward the darkness. When he turns back to them, he’s smiling. “Ah—they’re awake from all the ruckus. Don’t worry about them! It’s okay, it’s okay. They won’t fight, trust me. They’re just curious about you.”

It’s dark, but Haruka can see and feel them crowding in the wide opening at the opposite end of the cavern, the bright light of his and Nino’s aura giving them subtle shape. Hundreds of purebreds: skeletal and drooping with bulging eyes and rags for clothes. Cave dwellers from an ancient time living cut off from the modern world.

Haruka stares as if in a trance, disbelieving this inexplicable situation. He’s only shaken when Ladislao knocks upside the solid surface of Nino’s aura.

“Olá—my beautiful saviors, can we go upstairs now? I would really like to get the hell out of this cavern, but I want to talk a little first. Is that alright?” Ladislao moves without waiting for their response. He walks around the sphere and straight toward the stairs leading back to the surface. Not knowing what else to do, Nino, Haruka, Detective Cuevas and Marcus all turn and follow his lead.

When they reach the stairs, Haruka looks back one last time, watching the sea of zombie-like purebreds watching him in turn. When he’s out of sight, he releases his hold on the army that assaulted them. Thankfully, no one follows.