by Hayes, Drew
Krystal and I pulled away from each other, both looking to the door.
“Did you let Amy get the car for this trip?”
“She said she knew of one we could borrow,” I supplied weakly. Only now, with a few spare moments to think properly, did I realize that the majority of Amy’s friends outside of the House of Fred would be other mages. And mages tended to be a bit… eccentric at times.
Interlocking our hands, Krystal and I made our way onto the front porch of Charlotte Manor, where I found Gregor already loading bags into a van. It was certainly a large enough space to accommodate all of us, along with our luggage—that much had been delivered as promised—and I trusted that the windows would repel the sun once it began to beat upon us. But the giant, tie-dye swirls along the right side of the extra-large van gave the distinct impression the vehicle had just driven right out of Woodstock. In a way, it was impressive to see such a vintage machine running so smoothly; although, that was slightly mitigated when one realized the owner was likely employing magical maintenance.
“Great, right?” Amy leaned out the passenger’s side window, dropping an empty potion bottle to the ground as rings of light began to ripple through her brunette hair. “Borrowed it from a buddy. Won’t get stopped by any police, barely needs gas, and drives like a dream. I just chugged a Nectar of Navigation, so I’ll guide the driver around any upcoming traffic.”
“Great? It’s awesome!” From around the other side of the van, Albert stepped into view, followed closely by Neil, who was wearing a far less amused expression. I hadn’t even noticed them arrive, but the day had been busy as I prepared to depart. He caught sight of me and gave one of those big, enthusiastic Albert waves I’d grown to know so well. “Fred, you gotta come see this! There’s a mural of giants fighting on the other side.”
I forced a polite smile onto my face as I waved back, mercifully spared the need to come up with an immediate response by the distance between us. Krystal gave my other hand one last squeeze before letting go. “I was hoping she’d find a wild one, but this is better than I dreamed. Damn, really should have set up a camera to record your expression.”
A quick kiss on the cheek pulled me back from my shock. “Go on, and get moving. Sun will be coming in a few hours. Be smart, be safe, and be back here with me when it’s all over.”
“You’re more worried than normal, given the job we’re doing,” I noted. Krystal didn’t tend to be overly concerned unless my life was in immediate peril, which, admittedly, had happened a few times by now.
“Geez, Freddy, all those old movies you love, maybe work some classic action flicks in there occasionally. I’m more or less a parahuman secret agent and long-time loner on the verge of settling down with someone I really love, which means it feels like fate is just waiting for the chance to snatch it away. Of the two of us, you die a lot easier. It’s hard not to worry the closer we get.” To my surprise, she slipped in for a hug. Quick and tender, with none of the usual overt display Krystal favored. It wasn’t part of any show; she’d just needed a moment of embrace.
I held her, too, considering my words. Promising not to die was a silly thing; if it were my choice, I wouldn’t choose to, but I knew all too well the fragility of this undead life. “I’ll do everything I can to come home safely. No needless chances, and if things smell funny, we’ll pull back right away. Given that we’re just going to see some mage’s prototype, odds are it’s going to be another boring business meeting.”
“It’s not this job that scares me. You pissed off the Turvas, the Blood Council has special interest in you, and there’s always Quinn lurking out there somewhere. One thing this job has taught me, grudges have a way of coming ’round again.” Letting me go, Krystal turned back to the van, where Gregor had nearly finished loading everything. “I’ll feel a lot better once we’re finally married. Some of the restrictions we’ve been dealing with get eased up, and you gain access to more protective services from the Agency. Until then, stick near Gregor and Albert if things get dicey. The other two can’t protect and attack at the same time; you’d be slowing them down.”
“I shall keep it under advisement.” One last kiss, a quick peck before I headed into the night. “See you soon.”
“You damn well better.”
I left her on the porch, watching as we piled into the multi-colored van that smelled strongly of rock concerts and late-night munchies, if you take my meaning. Bracing myself for an odiferous next few hours, I made my way around to the left side of the van to pile in with the others. In doing so, I made quite the discovery.
Albert was right: whatever else I thought of the van, that mural of the fighting giants turned out to be exceptionally well done.
2.
Whether it was the van’s spells or Colorado’s new attitude toward alternative recreation, our ride was shockingly uneventful for a road trip in a tie-dyed vehicle. No police pulled us over, thanks to the van’s enhancements; no sudden, comically timed breakdowns. Not even an attack from an overhead helicopter. Neil behind the wheel even proved to be a good choice, as the young man made a quite competent driver.
Looking at Neil, it was hard not to notice he was leaning more toward “man” than “young” in that equation. Over the years since we’d met, he’d undergone untold hours of training under both Amy and Arch, an effort that had shaped him from a scrawny megalomaniac into a sturdy fellow who wouldn’t have looked out of place on a soccer or baseball field—far from Bubba or Richard’s bulk, yet athletic all the same. The contrast was especially sharp when compared with Albert, whose only physical changes were whatever tricks they’d done to add more muscle to his frame. Outside of that, and some style updates, he looked the same as he had the night we met. The same way he would always look.
At least Neil wouldn’t be aging into dust too soon, leaving Albert behind in the process. Mages lived extended life spans, and the greater the magics they commanded, the longer they could last. He’d already been considered a talent; under the tutelage of someone like Amy, Neil was probably on the path to serious power. But he wasn’t my chief concern for this trip; that honor belonged to a newer mage.
“Walk me through this once more,” I said, angling myself toward Amy in the front seat. Making sense of Amy’s notes—really, most mages’ notes—was a Herculean task, if not a Sisyphean one. Sentences on top of sentences, scribblings and scrawlings through the margins, it was a wonder they could read their own spells, but perhaps that was the crux. This might be the ideal way to record arcane rituals, and the worst method for literally anything else. “Your potential investment, Shun, was raised among mages, so she already knows the systems, but still applied to you for startup capital.”
“Correct. She too sees the inadequacies of capitalism’s hungry chains and seeks the greater freedom.” Whatever was causing those ripples in Amy’s hair had also impacted her mind, clearly, but this was actually one of the more helpful states I’d found her in, so I wasn’t complaining.
Double-checking the files again, I shook my head. “That’s one explanation. Another is that, whatever her pitch is, it looks like no one was buying. I think you might be her last resort, after everyone else declined.”
“Yeah, I figured that might be it, too,” Amy admitted. “But she’s been the only one to apply, so I also thought, what the hell, let’s give her a shot.”
The van sputtered as Neil took a sharp turn, a hazard born of poorly marked exits rather than inept driving. With the sun overhead, I had a hard time not tensing at the slightest sign of trouble. For most of the others, a crash would be inconvenient. I was the only one at risk of suddenly lighting up. And this far from civilization, there wasn’t going to be any help coming.
We’d gone well off the main roads by this point. I had been reviewing Amy’s files rather than watching the window; however, a cursory glance showed me little more than rocky terrain and patches of shrub grass. Whatever we were here to find, it wasn’t the type of attraction one spotted
from a distance.
“Has no one really applied? I’ve seen the terms you’re offering; to call it generous would do your charity a disservice.”
“They’re too blind and stubborn to see the gift she’s setting before them.” Neil laced the words with liberal venom. He’d never been particularly adept at hiding his devotion to Amy. “The existing structures are familiar, so that’s what they use, even though she’s offering them a lifeline they’re too much of cowards to take hold of.”
From his side, Amy patted Neil’s shoulder. “People are slow to change; mages even more so. We tend to be wrapped up in our projects. Give it time. When the need arises, they’ll come, just like Shun.”
“Yes, about that. This would probably go much easier if you could tell me what it is we’re here to evaluate.” I held up the clump of pages in my hand, resisting the urge the shake them ineffectually, albeit not by much. “The notes are not as enlightening as one might hope.”
That earned me a shrug from Amy, causing her hair-light to ripple faster. “No idea. Shun just said it would be fun. I think the surprise is probably part of it.”
“Must be one heck of a surprise.” Albert was pressed against the far window, looking out at the vacant landscape. “I can’t see anything but rocks.”
“We’ll find out soon,” Neil announced. “According to the directions, we’re less than five minutes out.”
I dearly hoped our host had some sort of shaded parking system in place. There were contingencies, in case we had to improvise, by which I mean we’d brought along several umbrellas to hurriedly shade me with in a mad bolt from the car to our destination. I’d also slathered on a bit of high-SPF sunscreen. According to Deborah, it wouldn’t stop the effects entirely, but it would buy me a few extra seconds. With vampire speed and life-or-death motivation, I’d be able to put that span of time to good use.
Fortunately, we were only a little farther down the road when a new geographic feature popped out: a craggy outcropping of what appeared to be a massive stone formation, with a distinct slope leading downward. Seeing as it was truly the only feature for miles, Neil put us on a direct course, leaving the solid terrain of the road as he pushed into unknown. I expected the van to throw a fit; instead, there was barely a shudder as the ground changed. Whoever had made this thing really had done an exceptional job on the enchantments, or the suspension. Probably both, when I thought about it.
The trek to the outcropping was a short one, and drawing close, it became clear just how large the opening really was. Not only would the van fit, it would do so easily, as if this cavernous maw wanted to swallow as many mobile tributes as possible.
Flicking the lights on, Neil drove further, heading downward and out of the sun’s deadly glare. Immediately, it became clear that this was no mere slope: it was a tunnel, something vast and deep, leading into the earth. I tried not to think about the growing pounds of soil overhead, supported by I dared not guess what. It would be fine; even if that collapsed, relatively few of us needed air, and the others could easily dig to the surface before the van filled with carbon dioxide. Then again, if it was only one factor piled onto others, things might not be so simple.
“Sure this isn’t a trap?” Strangely, Gregor didn’t sound especially concerned about the possibility; his question came out closer to idle curiosity. It was hard to say if that effect was him keeping calm, or hubris about his capabilities, in the moment I was leaning toward the former. Gregor was far from chummy, but then, he also hadn’t shown any special penchant for arrogance. The only person he seemed to believe was infallible was Gideon.
“Fairly sure,” Amy called from the front. “Be a lot of work to take me out for offering a service no one was using. Unless this was all a ploy to get me to bring Fred along. He does have the kind of scheming enemies who love that bullshit.”
That thought didn’t make me feel much better, especially when the van rolled to a gentle stop a few moments later. Neil switched the headlights to bright mode, illuminating a dark cave wall into which a single giant door had been carved. Looking at it, I wondered how any human would possibly open such a thing—then realized quickly that the weight was likely the point. Only someone with otherworldly strength or access to magic could get through, a low-tech way to keep humans away.
We piled out of the van, some taking a moment or two to stretch, while others readied themselves in different ways. Neil checked the bags of materials along his waist, along with a dark tome fashioned into a harness at the small of his back. As for Albert, he adjusted his simple, dark armor and checked the draw for his sword. Despite the fact that this wasn’t supposed to be a battle, they were Arch’s students, and his training went too deep for the situation to matter.
“Should we knock?” If that seems odd, I agree, yet the act of dealing with mages meant that one must often throw sense right out the window. Better to ask a silly question than take a reckless action.
Potentially in response, a loud clunk echoed as the door slid away from the wall, revealing a simple room. I started ahead, only to have Gregor grab me by the shoulder. “Bodyguard goes first. Stay near the back.”
A protest withered on my tongue, an objection I knew I had no right to raise. Gregor was correct: he should be the one going first, as much for the role he was filling as the fact that he was among our hardiest members present. If attacked by something, Gregor could stop it cold, whereas I’d just be the first victim or a small speed bump as it barreled past. With some effort, I held back as the others went in, joining Neil as the final entrants. Since he had no physical augmentations and lacked Amy’s wealth of experience, he too was stuck in a heavily defended position.
“Welcome to the rear,” he greeted. We followed the others in, and happily, the door didn’t slam shut with a foreboding boom, like I’d been half expecting.
It was a curious room. Arcane symbols were etched into the walls and ceiling, with large, hexagonal patterns swirling through the floor—some sort of magic, or the appearance of it, but we were officially out of my depth. Thankfully, that was why we had actual spellcasters on the team.
“Lots of charms for concealment and containment; that explains why I’m not seeing any residual magic leak out. Nicely done, too. Whoever taught Shun to string spells did a killer job, though her precision could use work. Plenty of inefficiencies here.” Amy walked along the far wall, running her hands against the symbols.
Behind her, Albert and Gregor were looking at the ground, probably hoping to have more luck with geometry than magic. Neil gave a cursory glance along the walls, too, but he didn’t appear as enraptured by them as Amy.
“Yeesh, she’s not wrong. Some of the relays on these are so haphazard, you’d have major timing sync issues if you tried to run—”
Neil’s words were cut off by a sudden flurry of activity. The door boomed behind us, just as I’d assumed we’d avoided, causing me to jump. While my vertical ascent was higher than a human reaction would have been, the leap didn’t explain why my feet refused to find purchase on the descent.
That was when I noticed that the floor had dropped away. What initially appeared as simple geometric patterns were in fact a series of chutes and drops, all triggering at once. We were caught, to a parahuman, tumbling down into the trap. Worst of all, however, was our positioning.
As we slid out of the room, it was clear to see we’d be going to different places. Someone had just managed to split my team. That meant they were dangerous… and we were now vulnerable.
3.
Landing in a strange, dark room without explanation is not a pleasant experience. As a human, I’d have been blind, potentially injured, and on the verge of true panic. Thankfully, one of the first, most convenient abilities of being a vampire was night vision. Within a blink, I could see the new room in crisp detail, eyes made to sweep the darkest of nights easily adapting. Rising to my feet, I took a proper inventory of our situation.
The room I’d landed in was at the end of an im
possibly frictionless chute. Even using my enhanced strength, grabbing for purchase during the fall had been a vain effort. Magic, obviously, as I rationally suspected would be the case for most of this place. What remained to be seen was whether Amy had been wrong about her potential enemies, or whether it was one of mine trying something new. It was hard to say; I certainly had the larger number of people who’d jump at the chance to wound my clan than Amy had accumulated enemies, but they were all undead. While vampires could wield magical implements, we lacked the power to cast actual spells. Based on just what we’d seen so far, it was hard to imagine any undead successfully putting this together.
As for the room itself, it appeared mostly empty. There was a table covered in items at the far end, a single door on the opposite side, and a few runes etched into the walls at seemingly random intervals.
From the floor, a groan rose. Neil raised his head slowly, tenderly tapping a rising bump on his head. With the speeds we’d been traveling, that was a surprisingly light injury. I knew that he and Albert used protective charms, and clearly with good reason. Even a normal mage would probably be nursing a cracked skull from that headfirst fall.
“By all the nine hells, what the crap was that?” Neil stumbled to his feet, pawing at the air. It took me a moment to realize he was searching for something to grab onto. Unlike a vampire, his vision didn’t seamlessly transition between dark and light. Down here, he was effectively blind.
“Seems as though we fell down a trap.” Obvious, granted, but someone had to clear the prerequisite hurdles of laying out the basics. “I’m guessing the others wound up in different areas.”
“And I, of course, got you.” Muttering to himself, not so softly that I couldn’t make out a few choice grumbles, Neil wove his hands quickly through the air, clapping them together and causing a glow to flash in both eyes. Moments later, he looked me in the face, no longer impeded by the lack of light. That was the thing about mages; they might not start with as many advantages, yet they could adapt to new situations better than nearly any other parahuman.