Solomon had always found that patience was his greatest weapon when it came to hunting Vampires. The creatures, feral or otherwise, always tended to get a bit sloppy in their routine and would eventually reveal a weakness to a patient man. And so it was with Prince Matteas, the fourth son of the King, who travelled nightly from his Castle of Solleck to the nearby city where he would visit his soon to be bride. Solomon had made enquiries and learned that while the young lady fancied the Vampire Princes position and power, the idea of "true love" seemed far away. Still, the young Vampire was thinking more with his dick than his head these days and that suited Solomon well enough.
For several days he had slept out on the moor, observing the comings and goings of the Princes carriage to the city. He always travelled with two men-at-arms and four crossbowmen for protection, and only at night, as one might expect for a Vampire. The nights had been dark and with heavy cloud cover, hardly an ideal time to attempt an attack on an undead creature. But Solomon was practiced at predicting when the cloud free days his presence inspired would arrive. That day was today. Even now he knew dawn was not far off even though a heavy cloud cover still hung over the land. It would not do so for long, he could already feel a breeze strengthening from the north, tugging at the tops of the small battered trees in which he had lain for three days.
Below him a wooden bridge spanned a steep sided ravine that filled with water after every rain, running like a river for a short while before dropping away to nothing. The lack of rain the previous day had allowed Solomon to slip down and inspect the piling, unseen by anyone above. He had begun working at the pilings with a saw. The people of the region were poor enough that the Princes carriage was the only wheeled vehicle to use the road. Solomon had spent the better part of the day sawing through the struts of the bridge. His biceps and forearms were on fire but the damage was done. He had returned to his hiding place where he stretched carefully before loading four crossbows purchased in Baron Ulreks village. He was fairly certain that the old Vampire Baron had never seen so much economic activity in his life.
He thought back to the initial meeting. Ulrek was the first Vampire he had ever not immediately tried to drive stake through upon meeting. He had felt the gentle caress as the Vampire Lord tried to read his mind and seen the flicker of surprise on the ancient face. Still, one did not underestimate a Vampire and live to tell of it. When the old bastard had ordered his guards to leave, Solomon had been surprised and suspicious. Either Ulrek was very brave, very stupid, or far more powerful than his reputation allowed for. The fact that the reek of the garlic from the hunters seemed not to have bothered him at all made Solomon rethink how he might have to kill the Baron. It had been a long time since any Vampire had led Solomon Kane to second guess his killing techniques. It was not a comfortable feeling.
The wind began to freshen and strength. Solomon shifted his gaze toward the distant city. He could see a pair of golden lights bobbing toward him across an otherwise almost completely pitch black landscape. That would be the carriage. It was still a great distance off and, as he had every night, the Vampire Prince had left his journey home until the very last moment. Couldn't get enough of his ladies pasty white flesh apparently.
Solomon looked round as the vehicle drew closer and could see the sky was beginning to lighten in the East. The wind was starting to rip at the tree tops and, for the first time in generations, the thick cloud cover that traditionally blanketed the Kingdom, was being torn to pieces. The lights had picked up pace as the guards realized what was happening and the rattle of the carriage wheels carried easily with the wind to the waiting hunter.
Easing his shoulders back, he slid the first crossbow forward, eyes on the approaching riders as they drew closer. The first two riders were crossbowmen and they passed across the long span without any issue. The heavy coach however was a different story. The minute all four wheels touched the planking the bridge gave a sickening lurch. The horses, four beautiful black mares, immediately shied and staggered. Solomon felt a genuine pang of pity for the poor creatures as they screamed in terror. The bridge gave another lurch and then collapsed into the ravine, taking the carriage and both men-at-arms with it.
The two crossbowmen who had led the party were turning in amazement just as the first crossbow bolt lifted one of them out of the saddle and hurled him to the ground. His partner was staring in amazement when a second crossbow bolt cut his shield strap in half, burying itself up to its fledgling in his chest. Blood erupted from the mans mouth and he gave a cough before collapsing across his horses neck. The creature, startled and spooked by the eruption of blood, threw the body before bolting into the surrounding moor.
The two remaining crossbowmen had jumped from their horses and were desperately trying to crank their weapons when Solomon buried a third bolt in the gut of one of them. The other took a single look, dropped his weapon, leapt back onto his horse and screamed as the fourth and final bolt slammed into his lower back, leaving him paralyzed as his horse threw him to the ground and took off running down the road.
Above them the clouds were being slashed and torn by the wind. Solomon waited, eyes fixed on the carriage. It lay on its side, two wheels still spinning slowly. The door with its gold trimmed crest opened and a white hand appeared followed by a head of white hair with the face of a boy beneath it. Prince Matteas. He looked around at the devastation and then called, presumably for his guards. When no one replied he began to climb onto the carriage. At that moment, as Solomon had predicted, the sun shot its first golden rays across the moor. The Vampire Prince gave a cry of pain and spoke into his carriage before dropping back inside.
Interesting. Someone else was with him. Solomon stood from his position, picked up his small pack, and began to jog down toward the carriage. He reached the edge of the ravine and looked down. Ten feet below, their bodies twisted at horrible angles and trapped beneath dying horses were the two men at arms. Solomon took his time to reload a crossbow before carefully shooting the dying horses one by one. The sun began to creep higher as he did and it now filled the ravine with glorious sunlight. Though Solomon had not spoken, he was listening the a conversation within the carriage. He couldn't make out individual words but he knew that at least two people were inside.
As the final horse died Solomon tossed the crossbow into the heap of wreckage and then jumped down, landing on the carriage with a thud. The hushed tones within ceased at once. He knew he would have to be careful, he was no match for a full grown Vampire physically. His mirror shield, the one he had employed so successfully in the past, was slung on his back with a cover over it's reflective surface. He slung it onto his arm and then pulled off the cover. It flashed in the sunlight and he maneuvered so that the sunlight was being focused on the carriage door. Then he leaned forward hurled the door open.
The Vampire Prince was no fool, waiting patiently beneath the door to strike. He lunged right into the concentrated sunlight being reflected by the shield and gave a horrible scream as his skin burnt immediately. His finger turned to horrible claws and his features melted into a horrendous approximation of Baron Ulreks. His eyes were turned to white orbs in an instant. He was blind. He retreated into the darkness of the carriage but the damage was done. A female voice added to the din from inside the carriage and Solomon became more curious still.
He used his sword to smash the windows of the carriage allowing more daylight to illuminate the interior. The Vampire hissed, but he was alive. It was the girl however who caught Solomon's attention. She was blonde, about his own height, and undoubtedly pretty. She clutched at her arm as though it was broken, presumably in the crash.
"You're going to die slowly if you don't feed, your majesty." Solomon spoke at last, staring at the burnt figure curled in the darkest part of the carriage. The girls eyes rolled up to him in horror.
"He wouldn't..." She said, glaring at the Vampire Hunter. "Matty loves me."
"Matty!?" Solomon began to laugh. "You call him fucking Matty?" His laugh became full bodied and he slapped a hand on his leg.
"It's not funny! You will die, insolent wretch!"
Her indignant anger turned to a scream of pure terror as "Matty" suddenly lunged from his corner, seizing her about the neck. She tried to fight him off but even in his injured state he was far stronger than her. Her one good arm tried to beat him back as she screamed at him.
"NO! Matty! You said you would never do this! You told me it was my choice! Nooooooooo!" The last scream came as the blackened creature sank its fangs into her neck. The Prince began to drink and her protestations became weaker and weaker until she collapsed limply against the bottom of the carriage. The blood had a miraculous effect on the Prince as he quickly began to regain his human looks. As he did he knelt over the body and Solomon could hear him weeping.
"I am sorry my love... But I had to live. Soon you will as well, forever. You will forgive me in time."
"Not bloody likely." Scoffed Solomon.
The Vampire turned his face upward, squinting against the growing daylight at the black shape that loomed above him.
"What do you want? Money? Immortality?"
"No, no, my lord. I want something much more. I want a world free of your kind."
"Who are you?" The Vampire was trying to get a look at him and Solomon felt a feral grin cross his face.
"I am the monster who haunts your kind. I am Kane."
"Kane..." The Vampire's eyes opened wide as he realized he was going to die. He gave a scream of rage and launched himself upward. Solomons sword flashed one and the Princes head spun into the ditch, turning to dust in an instant beneath the onslaught of the sun. The body collapsed back into the carriage where it began to smoke before slowly shrivelling into nothing.
Solomon sheathed the sword, carefully recovered his shield, and placed it on top of the carriage. Beneath him the girl was starting to stir again. She was turning. He couldn't have that. He knew better than to go into the enclosed space and instead pulled a small vial from his jacket, sprinkling the liquid over the girls face and body. It began to burn and hiss at once. The creature, no longer human, twisted and trashed as the Holy Water burnt through the greying skin and destroyed the vital organs, mostly importantly the brain.
Solomon waited until he was certain she was dead before dropping into the carriage and hacking her head from her body, tossing it out into the sunlight. He collected a small pendant that had fallen from the Princes shrivelled corpse to prove the boys death. He clambered back into the sunshine and quickly made his rounds of the fallen crossbowmen and men-at-arms, hacking off their heads as well, tossing them into the carriage.
Certain all was taken care off, he set off at a jog into the moor. In a short time he could come to his own horse, stolen from the city. He would return to the Vampire capital and vanish into the throng along with everyone else. Behind him the crows were already descending on the dead, climbing into the carriage to peck at the heads.
Soldiers would find the dead and maimed but more importantly they would find no witnesses. The other Vampires would hear of the ambush and they would come to fear the daylight and know that a monster stalked their kind.