by B N Miles
Jessalene blinked twice. “Uh, yeah,” she said. “That would’ve been ideal.”
“Unfortunately, Vampires are just like people. They can have awful taste too, you know.” Nikki sat up and pushed her door open. “Come on, let’s get this over with.”
Jared let out a breath and looked back at the others. “Jessa, do you mind staying here with Wade?” he asked.
Wade glanced up, let out a little grunt, and looked back out the window.
Jessalene opened her mouth to protest then rolled her eyes. “Fine,” she said. “But I pick where we eat dinner tonight, okay?”
“Deal,” Jared said. “You’re the light of my life.”
“And the fire in your loins,” she replied.
Lumi made a fake gagging noise and Wade covered his face with his hands.
Jared hopped out and walked after Nikki. He heard Lumi come after him, and she caught up, leaning her arm against his shoulder.
It was stifling hot, and Jared felt himself start to sweat the second he stepped foot on the pavement. Everything was covered in a layer of dirt and dust, like the desert kept blowing in over civilization, threatening to swallow it whole. Short trees and small shrubs grew from manicured, rock-covered plots, and Jared noticed there wasn’t any grass anywhere.
“Can you feel it?” Lumi asked, her voice low as they stepped up onto the sidewalk and into the beautiful shade of the strip mall’s overhang
“I don’t know what you mean,” Jared said.
Lumi stopped and grabbed his hand. She looked up at him, her eyes wide. Nikki reached the bagel place’s door but hesitated and looked back at them. Jared answered Nikki’s confused frown with a shrug then looked back to Lumi.
“Come on,” Lumi said. “Concentrate with me for a second.”
Jared took a breath and let it out. He squeezed Lumi’s hand and closed his eyes. “What am I looking for?”
“Just feel around us,” Lumi said.
At first, Jared felt nothing but the dry breeze on his skin, the heat of the bright sun, the sound of cars passing on the nearby road. But then there was something else, something he didn’t understand. It was a pulse, a beat below everything, a deep glowing warble of magic beneath his feet, deep down in the earth, groaning like a huge grinding pendulum.
“Shit,” Jared said.
“Yeah.” Lumi shot a breath from her nose. “Right? It’s just… right there.”
“I’m surprised I didn’t notice it sooner.”
“You’re still getting your sensitivity back,” Lumi said. “I could feel it in the car, pounding away on our drive over, but I didn’t know what it was until we put our feet on the ground.”
“Now I get what you meant when you said deserts can have their own power,” Jared said.
The pendulum continued beneath their feet, grinding away. It was energy, pure magic, trapped down in the rock and dirt and sand, thousands of feet below them, millions of years old. It had probably been there since the world was created, a leftover from whatever energy had formed the planet in the first place.
“My family’s been looking for places like this for a long, long time,” Lumi said. “I’m worried about what they’re trying to do.”
He squeezed her hand again. “We’ll figure it out. I promise.”
She chewed her lip and nodded. Jared dropped her hand and walked to Nikki then gestured at the door.
“Ready?” she asked and pulled it open.
Miraculous air conditioning blasted Jared’s face. He let out a sigh of pleasure.
“Ready,” Jared said and stepped inside.
Lumi followed next and Nikki brought up the rear.
31
The inside looked like any other chain bagel shop. Jared stepped on a black rubber mat and brushed the dirt from the bottom of his shoes. There was a counter on their left and toward the back, with a cash register, a card reader, equipment for making coffee and heating things up, and a display case with the current bagel stock.
The rest of the space was filled by a few scattered Formica tables with uncomfortably small chairs shoved around them, bright yellow signage displaying steaming cups of coffee and dough slathered in melted cheese, and the ubiquitous giant carafes of stale coffee tucked back on a counter. A bored young guy with shaggy black hair, a black polo shirt, and a white apron stood swiping at his phone behind the register. A woman with dark skin and dark hair covered in a black baseball cap was cooking eggs on a flat top stove with surprising efficiency.
Nikki stepped in front of Jared, and her eyes scanned the small space until they stopped on a man sitting at a table in the corner, right next to the front windows but obscured from the outside by a giant decal of a hash brown.
He had bright blue eyes and long, dark brown hair slicked back across his skull. His lips were wide and pink, and a small birthmark sat at the crest of his right cheek. He looked to be in his thirties, with slight stubble on his chin and neck, and he wore a white polo shirt and a pair of dark, tight jeans.
“Ewald,” Nikki said with the kind of bright smile most people reserved for long lost friends.
“Nikita,” he said and stood.
Nikki approached, kissed his cheek, and gestured at Jared. “These are my associates, Jared Bechtel and Lumi Medlar.”
Ewald’s eyebrows shot up. “Two Magi?” he asked. “Impressive, even for you, Nikita.” He had a hint of an English accent, very slight but noticeable. Jared wondered if it was an affectation.
“Nice to meet you,” Jared said and shook the Vampire’s hand. It was warm and firm and clammy.
“Same to you,” he said.
Lumi shook his hand next and said nothing as he smiled at her, his eyes sparkling, before gesturing at the seats around him.
“Please, get whatever you want,” Ewald said. “Might I recommend the bacon, egg, and cheese? It’s a classic, but I swear, the cheese they use is magnificent.”
Nikki smiled politely. “No, thank you,” she said, and took a seat.
“I’ll get coffee,” Lumi said and walked off without a word.
Ewald’s eyes tracked her as she approached the counter and spoke with the bored teen.
“I know that one’s name,” he said. “She’s a bit infamous, isn’t she?”
“Infamous, how?” Jared asked as he pulled out a chair and sat next to Nikki.
“Oh, I’m sure you know,” Ewald said, his gaze falling on Jared. “She has something of a… destructive streak in her.”
Jared couldn’t help the smile that crept over his face as he looked at little Lumi, pretty little Lumi, with that deep, dark, pit of a Magi mark.
“I’ve seen it,” Jared said. “It’s probably worse than you think.”
“Ewald, darling,” Nikki said. “We’re not here to gossip, you know.”
“Oh, but Nikita, you love to gossip, or you used to.” Ewald’s eyes flashed as he leaned forward. “Remember Munich?”
“Stop it,” Nikita said and laughed. “That was so long ago.”
“You were the prize every man coveted,” he said. “The single jewel in the rough, or so I thought, at least. It was no surprise when I heard you ascended the ladder and took over as Underlord out east.”
She smiled and waved a hand. “You’re flattering me,” she said. “You’re absolutely right, of course, but you’re flattering me.”
“How do you know each other?” Jared asked.
“We were both Bottomlords in Germany,” Ewald said. “When was this, Nikita?”
“Turn of the century,” she said, then hesitated and glanced at Jared. “Turn of the last century, to be clear.”
“I figured,” Jared said.
“Things were so different back then,” Ewald said. “Do you ever pine for the old days, darling?”
“Not even a little,” Nikki said. “We have the internet now. And medicine is so much better.”
“That is true,” Ewald said. “Humans were dying left and right back then. What dreary little existences.”
“Much harder to get blood, too,” Nikki said. “At least through official channels. Though we could sneak more on the sly, here and there.”
“We sure could,” Ewald said with a nostalgic little grin, then he sighed. “But times are what they are. I hope you’re well fed?”
Nikki glanced at Jared. “Very much so,” she said.
“Lovely,” Ewald said and shifted to sit up straighter. “Now, to what do I owe this pleasure? You know I’m not in the habit of meeting without my Underlord’s knowledge.”
“Of course,” Nikki said. “If one of my Bottomlords went out behind my back, I’d be terribly upset.”
“So what am I risking the wrath of my master for?” Ewald spread his hands out then leaned back.
Jared glanced over as Lumi stomped to the giant coffee carafes. She filled her cup, dumped in cream, dumped in sugar, stirred with surprising aggression, then took a long sip. She stomped back toward them and slumped down into a chair at the neighboring table.
“We’re looking for a facility,” Nikki said. “A very particular facility. It’s not far from here, out in the desert somewhere.”
Ewald’s eyes flicked to Lumi then back to Nikki. “And what sort of facility would this be?” he asked.
Nikki leaned toward him, her mouth locked in a charming little quirk at the lips. “It’s a Medlar facility,” she said. “Super secret, if I had to guess. Not the sort of thing they could build without you knowing, but certainly the sort of place you avoid.”
“Is that so?” he asked, raising his eyebrows, but Jared noticed his leg began to fidget. “Interesting, Nikita. A Medlar research facility out in the desert.”
“I didn’t say it was a research facility,” Nikki said, wagging a finger.
Ewald opened his mouth then shut it again. He looked at Lumi and his expression darkened.
“Why not just ask this one?” He gestured at Lumi with one hand dismissively. “I’m sure she can tell you everything.”
“Not that easy,” Lumi said, sipped her coffee, and grimaced. “This is really bad.”
“You know I can’t talk about the deals we make with the Magi,” Ewald said, looking back at Nikki. “I can’t just tell you what my master’s been up to. That’s not how this works.”
Nikki shook her head plaintively. “I would never ask you to go back on your loyalties, Ewald.”
“Then why come here with this?” he asked.
“We need to know where it is,” Jared said. “It’s important. You don’t have to give us any more information, just tell us that it exists, and point us in the right direction.”
He let out a breath and rubbed his eyes, his leg bouncing up and down. “I can’t,” he said. “It breaks too many rules.”
“Darling,” Nikki said, her voice dripping with honey-sweet venom. “You know you owe me.”
He glared at her and dropped all pretense at being polite. He rubbed his hands together, leaned forward, and put his palms flat on the table.
“Don’t ask this of me, Nikita,” he said. “I know our history, and I know how much you’ve done for me in the past. But this is a step too far. Speaking of such places puts me in danger.”
“Tell us where the facility is,” Nikki said. “Please, Ewald. If this weren’t a matter of love, I wouldn’t have come to you.”
Jared narrowed his eyes in surprise and stared at Nikki. She seemed completely sincere, her mouth open a bit, her hands out toward Ewald. For his part, Ewald leaned back and raised his eyebrows again.
“Matter of love?” he asked.
“A woman we all care about might be in there,” Nikki said. “She’s important to us, Ewald.”
“Ah, Nikita,” Ewald said, shaking his head regretfully. “You always did have a thing for Humans.”
“Please,” she said.
He drummed his fingers on the table top for a moment then groaned.
“All right,” he said. “I know the facility you speak of. I’ve seen it once, and the coordinates are burned into my brain. I can give you them, but if I do, it will satisfy everything, do you hear me? I won’t owe you any more favors, darling.”
“I’m fine with that,” Nikki said.
“And you won’t speak of this to anyone,” Ewald said, his eyes moving from Nikki, to Jared, to Lumi, and finally back to Nikki. “Not to your thralls, not to your Lord. Do you hear me, Nikita?”
“I agree to your terms,” Nikki said, grinning with delight.
“Fine, then.” Ewald leaned forward and took a phone from his back pocket. It was black, sleek, and made of plastic. He unlocked it, tapped on the screen for a few moments, then put it face down on the table.
Nikki’s phone buzzed. She opened a text and smiled at a set of GPS coordinates. “This will be perfect,” she said. “Thank you, darling. I really do appreciate it.”
“Just, please, when you get caught and the Medlar decide to break all your bones while your Magi here watch, please don’t tell them we ever met,” Ewald said. “I’d like to get a promotion one day.”
“And you will,” Nikki said. “Just wait for your master to get old and bored. He’ll slip up sooner or later.”
Jared felt an odd chill down his spine and he looked at Lumi. She frowned back at him, sipped her coffee, made a disgusted face, and put the cup down on the table.
“You always were devious,” Ewald said.
Nikki stood and swept her arms out toward Ewald. Jared got up and moved out of the way as Ewald stood and kissed her cheeks. The Vampires embraced, and Jared edged toward the door. Lumi came with him, and he noticed that she left her gross coffee behind.
“Thank you, Ewald,” Nikki said.
“Normally I’d say, if you need anything else, don’t hesitate, but honestly, darling, please hesitate.” He beamed at her. “Best of luck with your lover.”
“Best of luck with your career,” Nikki said. “I’ll keep an eye on you.”
She swept away from him, and as she reached the door, Jared noticed Ewald’s cheery expression fade away. It was replaced by a glowering, annoyed frown. He sank back down into his seat and crossed his arms over his chest.
They stepped back out into the oppressive heat and walked back to the van. The engine was running and Jessalene had the AC blasting. She sat in the back with Wade, both of them on opposite ends of the bench seat and staring out the window. She perked up as Jared opened the driver’s side and hopped in.
“How’d it go?” she asked.
“We got coordinates,” he said.
“Wow,” she said. “I halfway expected you guys to come back with nothing.”
“Cost me a lot,” Nikki said as she got into the passenger side and Lumi got into the back. “That one owed me a lot of favors. A lifetime’s worth of them, really.”
“Were you two close?” Lumi asked. “Back then, I mean.”
“Once upon a time,” Nikki said. “We ran in the same social circles. Met at a party thrown by this minor Freiherr by the name of Hans von Funck. Military man, Funck was, turned out to be a very enthusiastic Nazi. At any rate, back then, Ewald was charming and lovely, and we became somewhat close, considering we held equivalent positions and shoveled the same metaphoric shit, as they say.”
“He seemed creepy,” Lumi said. “I couldn’t stand being around him.”
Nikki gazed fondly at the bagel place for a long moment.
“They used to call him the Munich Ghoul,” she said, her voice soft and velvety, like she was recalling a wonderful childhood memory. “He was a vicious little monster back then. Broke the Accords like they were nothing. Fed on locals day and night, drowned himself in blood. I kept his secrets, even helped hide a few bodies and solved a few botched killings. Saved his life, more than once, the little scamp.”
“Why would you do that?” Lumi asked. “He sounds horrible.”
“He was,” Nikki said. “And if I hadn’t done all that, we wouldn’t have these coordinates.” She looked back at Lumi. “It’s the long gam
e, my darling. Vampires are some of the best at it.”
Jared shook his head and felt another little shiver.
“Let’s get going,” he said before Nikki could wax poetic about her serial killer friend again. “We need to find a place to stay.”
“We can scout out the facility today,” Lumi said. “It’s still early enough.”
“Hotel first,” Jared said. “Then we’ll head out.”
He looked in the rearview at Wade and wondered what the kid was thinking. Wade stared out the window almost like he wasn’t listening at all, except he leaned toward them all, his posture tense and engaged.
Jared was tempted to go back there and shake him, but he kept that impulse in check.
“Works for me,” Nikki said and patted the dashboard. “Onward, driver.”
Jared put the car into gear and drove.
32
Jared followed the GPS along a dusty back road, moving away from civilization and into the desert. Short spindly bushes and dry, dead grass littered the dusty ground.
In the distance, rolling hills and small mountains broke up from the otherwise flat, arid land.
“There’s nothing around here,” Jessalene said from the back. She sat in the first row with Lumi, while Wade had the back seat all to himself.
Nikki turned and looked back at her from the passenger side seat. “It’s the desert, of course there’s nothing here.”
“There’s an entire city back that way,” Jessalene said. “What’s so different about over here?”
“Nothing,” Jared said. “Phoenix is a stupid idea in general.”
“Typical Humans,” Nikki said. “They think they can do whatever they want.”
“What, and Vampires aren’t guilty of the same thing?”
“Of course not,” Nikki said. “Oh, well, we built massive castles and herded Humans like cattle, milked them for their blood, used them up like slaves, but that was so long ago. We’ve gotten so much better.”
“It’s very disconcerting how nostalgic you sound when you talk about that,” Jared said.
“Oh, darling,” Nikki said, touching his cheek. “I’d never herd you like cattle. You’d be my little prince. If I had a castle, at least.”