The Dirty Affairs of a Vampire and His Horny Stepmom-Chapter 104: The deadly mission begins
Here we are.
The tall gates of John Hardley’s villa loom before us. Kimberly, in addition to the long black cloak, is now also wearing a wig. She’s visibly tense — much more than I am.
I press the intercom, and a moment later a female voice answers — a voice that makes my nerves spike just hearing it.
Alex’s.
«You’re late tonight, my dear Jace.»
«I had a setback,» I reply curtly.
Yeah. A setback called an evening of unrestrained sex on the grass. We were supposed to finish by midnight so we could be here by one — the time I usually arrive. But truth be told, at midnight we were still naked and tangled together in Central Park, rolling around in a puddle of Kimberly’s orgasms like pigs in the mud.
«And who would your little friend be?» Alex asks.
Kimberly slightly pulls back her hood, showing the camera a pair of gleaming blood-red eyes.
«I’m a vampire who fled from Elyndra. I arrived on Earth only a few weeks ago, and since then the Monster Slayers haven’t given me a moment’s peace. Jace told me that here I could put myself at your service in exchange for protection and a roof over my head. That’s the reason for my presence,» Kimberly concludes with absolute seriousness.
The way she speaks, the weight she gives her words... damn it, she’s so convincing I almost believe her myself.
«Oh, perfect — then I’d say you’re in exactly the right place,» Alex replies cheerfully.
The heavy electric gate slides open just enough to let us pass.
«My boss is currently busy dealing with some matters. Given Jace’s delay, he assumed he wouldn’t be coming and went back to his work. Take the new vampire to the villa entrance — I’ll personally make sure our guest is properly welcomed,» Alex concludes.
At this point, the plan calls for me to lead Kimberly along what appears to be an ordinary cobblestone path.
In reality, it’s a trail riddled with forks, flanked by dense tangles of plants and shrubs swarming with small but deadly poisonous creatures imported directly from Elyndra.
Cutting through the vegetation would mean near-certain death by those insidious creatures and their lethal venom, just as choosing even one wrong fork would lead to being swarmed and torn apart. For an intruder, fighting them would inevitably draw John’s and his men’s attention — cover blown.
But we’re not just any intruders. In fact, I’m not an intruder at all. And as a permanent guest, I know perfectly which path to take at every fork.
I move forward with steady steps, and Kimberly follows me closely, without saying a word. Yet even in silence, the tension gripping her is palpable. Who knows what an insane effort it’s taking for her not to tremble like a leaf — if she did, Alex would immediately grow suspicious.
And so, after about ten minutes, we emerge unscathed from that deadly maze of paths and reach a final ring of trees — this time without dangerous creatures. Beyond it, the vast clearing opens up, the one where John trains me and Melania, and beyond that rises John Hardley’s enormous villa.
«All this quiet is really strange...» Kimberly murmurs suspiciously. «I expected the stronghold of someone like him to be crawling with surveillance, yet we got here without meeting anyone. And there aren’t even guards at the entrance or around the perimeter of the villa. Something doesn’t sit right with me...»
Fortunately, she seems to dismiss the thought quickly.
«Jace, you told me John spends most of his time in his office buried in paperwork, and that when he’s busy with his business affairs, he wants to be alone. Alex just said that since you didn’t show up, John went back to his work. If those "matters" are his financial dealings, then right now he’s alone in his office. In other words — the perfect moment to kill him. Show me where his office is, then our paths split here.»
I do as she asks, pointing to a window on the third floor of the villa. The room is lit — Kimberly’s prediction was spot on.
«Thank you, Jace,» she says with a smile. And then... a sword of solid light appears in her grip.
«W-What are you doing?!» I stammer in terror.
D-Don’t tell me her plan all along was to force me to bring her here and then kill me in cold blood?! Damn it... I’m such an idiot! She herself told me she’s now tasked with killing me, and if she showed up at headquarters with both my head and John’s, she’d probably get promoted. And yet, she never struck me as that kind of ruthless girl...
I could scream for help, but she’d kill me before anyone could get here. What a shit situation...
«Isn’t it obvious what I’m about to do?» she murmurs, pointing the sword at me. «I’m saving your life.»
«I think you’ve got a pretty twisted idea of what "saving someone’s life" means,» I reply through clenched teeth, trying to hide my fear behind bravado.
«Idiot. If John found you on the ground, barely alive, you could tell him I tricked you by pretending to be a vampire seeking his help. Not even someone like him would suspect you deliberately got yourself nearly killed just to have an alibi. I’m warning you, though — it’ll hurt. A lot. And it’ll take months for your body to regenerate a wound inflicted by Sacred Light. But it’s still better than dying, right?» she says with a radiant smile.
A smile that sends an icy shiver down my spine.
«And all that talk about risking your life together? The way you said it, it sounded like I’d be fighting at your side to the death — and now... why did you change your mind at the last second? W-Why didn’t you tell me earlier that this was your plan...?» I murmur, consumed by growing guilt.
«Come on, Jace, I said help would be appreciated — not mandatory,» she replies with a trembling smile — the tension of the imminent attack now impossible to hide. «I’m the Monster Slayer, not you. Blackmailing you into bringing me here was really underhanded, and I felt awful about it — believe me. That’s why I racked my brain all day to find a solution that would let you come out clean if I failed. Now turn your back to me and don’t move a muscle — I want to avoid damaging any organs that would make the next few months even harder for you.»
«There’s no need — I can make something up, like saying I lost sight of you or something...» I mutter, eyes glossy, tears on the verge of spilling.
«As you wish,» she shrugs, then flashes me an amused grin. «Come on, don’t tell me you’re crying over me?»
«In a way...»
Kimberly adjusts her hood and cautiously advances through the trees, ready to burst into the clearing.
But before doing so, she turns back to me one last time and smiles again.
«You were right, Jace... giving up sex all these years was a mistake. And Naomi was right too. The pleasure you gave me was so intense it can only be a gift the God of Light gave us humans to make life less burdensome. If I make it out of this alive, I want you to help me make up for all the lost years,» she says with a sly grin. Then her expression softens, turning bittersweet. «But if this is the last time we see each other... know that I’m truly happy I met you, Jace. And promise me that even if I’m no longer there to stalk you day and night, you’ll keep being a good boy and stop hunting humans, alright?»
«I-I promise...» I sob, collapsing to my knees, shattered.
Kimberly gives me a final nod and dashes across the vast lawn toward the villa.
But halfway there, she suddenly stops.
The massive front doors burst open, and two figures emerge.
One is John, and another appears to be a woman, judging by the curve of her hips and a prominent bulge at chest level, though a long brown cloak covers her from head to toe.
Could it be Clarissa Fairmolt — the woman present at the business meeting with John, Alex, and my mother? I can’t think of anyone else who could be hiding under that robe, though I don’t remember her being that busty...
Kimberly whirls around — probably intending to retreat back into the trees — but she’s forced to stop again. She conjures her blade of light once more and takes a defensive stance as the very trees we were hiding behind transform one by one into beings at least two meters tall, their skin some dark gray, others pitch black. Their hair ranges from white to pale gray.
Dark elves — creatures capable, among other things, of transforming into plants completely indistinguishable from real ones. In fact, that ring of trees surrounding the villa didn’t exist until this afternoon.
Alongside them appear dozens upon dozens of orcs — massive, concrete-colored creatures armed with heavy weapons, led by Hank Dalloran in his ogre form, so enormous he makes both orcs and dark elves look like dwarves.
Hank and the orcs had been hidden among what moments ago were trees, waiting vigilantly for the signal to attack — the front door bursting open.
«Truly an excellent job, Jace,» Alex’s voice sounds behind me as she pats my shoulder. «Now just stay here and enjoy the show. We’ll take care of her.»
