Meta Marshal Service 4

by B N Miles

  11

  He wasn’t sure how long they kept him in that cell. At some point, a guard came in, removed his bonds, and left a meal behind. He ate reluctantly, figuring he should try to keep his strength up if he could—otherwise, if the time came to make a break for it, he wouldn’t be able to do anything but wither away.

  Time has a strange way of contracting and expanding like a pair of lungs when there are no outside cues. There was always a dim light in his cell, the single overhead bulb glowing constantly. He fell into a rhythm of walking around his cell, testing his block, trying to manifest his powers again, and failing to do anything worthwhile. At some point he fell asleep, and then woke as the door to his cell banged open.

  Two Vampires blurred in. One knelt down on him and pinned him to the floor while the other slipped a needle into his neck. He gasped as the liquid plunged into his artery. “There you go. Keep you tame, little Magi,” one of the Vampires said as they turned and left him there.

  He stared at the ceiling and felt the poison in his veins, keeping him from using magic.

  It was a horror beyond all horrors, and the worst part was knowing Lumi was nearby and going through the same thing. He wished he could speak to her, or touch her, or do anything to try and alleviate what she must have been going through. He remembered what brought her to him in the first place: when she’d failed the Medlar, they made sure she suffered from the Need, then blocked her magic. They left her like that, unable to do anything but feel the full force of the Need clawing at her skull.

  At the very least, they hadn’t used much magic before getting taken. His Need was a silent throb at the back of his head, but it wasn’t bad enough to make him suffer, only enough to keep him from getting comfortable. Maybe that was a good thing—if he managed to get comfortable in a place like this, then he’d be giving up completely, and he wasn’t ready to do that.

  He had to plan and figure a way out.

  But there were no windows, no gaps in the floor or the ceiling. There was a drain in the floor beneath the chair they’d tied him to and a bucket in the corner for waste, but otherwise it was empty and barren. He strained to listen to the sounds of his captors moving through the halls, but only ever caught snippets of shoes marching along the floors, of doors opening and shutting, of murmured conversation that was nothing more than a low hum at the edge of his awareness.

  It drove him wild with rage.

  His family needed him right now. Lumi was suffering because of him, and all the others could be slaughtered or dead already. He had to hold out hope that Bea realized something was wrong and decided to go back and defend the refugee women instead of trying to come after him. Fighting against the Medlar was one thing, but trying to take a Vampire installation after dark was suicide.

  He paced like a wild animal.

  Worst-case scenarios spun through his mind, horrible thoughts of his girls ripped to shreds, of Penny and Izzy begging for their lives, of Cassie bleeding out on the ground, of his houses in ruins, left smoldering in the sun. It drove him wilder and wilder, and soon he found himself pounding his fists against the walls in mute rage, unable to hurt anything but himself.

  When he heard the sounds out in the hall, he thought they were fake. At first, he thought they were a trick. There was a shout, quiet and cut off, but unmistakable. Then a thump, and more sounds, like a struggle, and another bang. Jared pressed himself against the door, heart racing, as he heard footsteps approach, then someone stopped nearby.

  “Jared.”

  He knew that voice, but he didn’t believe it. It couldn’t be her. “Nikki?”

  “Oh, thank fuck you’re in there. Step back, I’m here to get you out.”

  Jared backpedaled, mind racing. It couldn’t truly be her, she wouldn’t have come for him like this, she was smarter than that, had a long self-preservation streak, and yet—

  The door buckled inwards then burst off its hinges. Jared sucked in a surprised breath as it slammed to the ground in front of him.

  Nikki stood silhouetted by the lights behind her. She smiled at him, head tilted, wearing tight jeans and a low-cut top, looking like she stepped off the set of a movie. “Hello, darling,” she said, and came to him.

  He kissed her. He couldn’t help himself. She was the sweetest thing he’d ever seen. She returned that kiss with a surprising hunger, and when they broke off, she stared into his eyes.

  “Your Lord is an asshole,” Jared said.

  She grinned. “Yeah, so it seems.”

  “What are you doing here?”

  “I heard whispers in the ranks and figured out what was happening.”

  “You should go to ground, get away. I can—”

  She shook her head and touched his cheek. “You’re blocked, aren’t you?”

  He touched her hand. “They injected me with something.”

  “It’s a synthetic compound that Vampire scientists created years ago. We’ve used it many times before on Magi that stepped out of bounds. I figured they’d use it on you, otherwise you would’ve gotten out by now.”

  “They have Lumi too.”

  She dropped her hand away. “Then come on. Let’s go find her.”

  She led him back out into the hallway. Bodies littered the floor, ripped to tiny pieces, and Jared realized they were other Vampires. Nikki hurried down the hall to the next door, knocked, whispered, and moved on until they found the room that contained Lumi. She broke down the door and found Lumi huddled against the far wall, her eyes wide and only half-sane.

  “Oh goddess,” Nikki whispered.

  Jared went to her and knelt down. She cringed from his touch, but he was gentle and spoke with soft, coaxing words. “Did they hurt you?”

  She shook her head then turned and threw herself at him. He hugged her tight and held her there. “They blocked me, gods, they blocked me again.”

  “The Need?”

  “No,” she said. “No, not this time, but I can’t touch the priori, Jared.”

  “I know. They blocked me too.” He stood and helped her to her feet. “We need to go.”

  She chewed her lip and looked at Nikki. “What the hell’s happening here.”

  “I’d say it’s a coup, but actually I don’t know,” she said. “I have a feeling I’m on the wrong side of something.”

  “Lord Roth spoke to me,” Jared said, fighting the anger in his tone.

  “You met with Lord Roth?” There was a strange note of awe in Nikki’s voice that pissed Jared off.

  “Yeah, I did, and he was an asshole.”

  “He’s the oldest Vampire I know,” she said, laughing. “He’s thousands of years old.”

  “And still a dick. He wants the Medlar to break the Accords. He thinks without the Accords, Vampires can run wild again, take what they want, kill whoever they want.”

  Nikki sighed. “Of course he does. Bastard remembers what it was like to live without the Accords.”

  “That’s insane though,” Lumi said. “Without the Accords, Vampires will be as exposed to Humans as anyone else.”

  “You don’t get it. Vampires aren’t afraid of Humans.” Nikki shook her head and peered into the hallway, looking for guards. “Vampires think Humans are food.”

  Jared felt a strained anger stir in him again, but he pushed it away. He could worry about what the Vampires were going to do later. Right now, he had to make sure they escaped, and then he could deal with the block.

  “Come on,” he said, tugging at Lumi. “We need to get out of here. We’ll discuss what this all means later.”

  Lumi nodded and followed him. Nikki led the way out into the hall and backtracked the way she’d come. They passed over several dead Vampire guards without comment, but Jared noticed an odd, almost wistful look she gave their corpses, like she hadn’t wanted to destroy them.

  The building was an old warehouse with tight corridors and abandoned rooms. They didn’t come across any other guards as Nikki took them out a side door and into the cool evening
air. Jared looked around, getting his bearings, and realized they were still in Philadelphia.

  “We never left the city?” he asked.

  “That’s why I could find you,” Nikki said. “Lord Roth underestimated my grip on this place.”

  Jared let out a soft grunt as Nikki led them to a black sedan parked against the curb. The building behind them loomed like a dark giant and Jared guessed they were somewhere up north, where the city was once a thriving industrial center but was now a ghost town. So many jobs were lost, so many lives were ruined, and the city slowly decayed over the decades, and those that were left in the area were the poorest of the poor, living in the ghosts of better times.

  They reached the car but a sound from behind them made Jared pause. He turned and saw two shadows disengage from the building, coming toward them. “Nikki,” he said, heart racing. He tried to touch the priori again, and felt it there, but he knew he was still blocked.

  She stepped forward, body tense. The two figures stopped at the edge of the shadows cast by the building then one moved forward into the moonlight.

  It was Lord Roth. Jared felt a stab of panic. Nikki seemed caught between running and dropping to her knees, and Jared didn’t know which she would choose.

  “Hello, Nikita,” Lord Roth spoke, and his voice seemed to break the spell.

  “Lord Roth.” She half bowed to him, keeping her eyes on his. “What a pleasure and a surprise.”

  “How many of my men did you kill in there?”

  She spread her hands. “Only a few.”

  He sighed and shook his head. “You can be such a nuisance.”

  “Why did you take my friends?”

  “You know why.” He stared at her, not moving, but Jared got the sense that he was a threat—a horrible, dangerous threat. Nikki was tense, like she expected an attack at any moment.

  Vampire strength didn’t entirely come from age. There were many factors that determined a Vampire’s power, though the older Vampires did tend to be stronger, mostly because the weak died out over the years. But there was no technical reason to think that Lord Roth was any stronger than Nikki and could win a fight, except for the simple fact that he’d risen to one of the highest positions in the entire world.

  Still, that didn’t mean he was a good fighter, and Jared had to keep reminding himself that Nikki was exceptional, even among Vampires.

  “The Accords can’t be broken.”

  Lord Roth laughed. “Nikita, you’ve always been one of my favorites. So strong and wild. But you’ve never known a time without the Accords. Imagine being able to hunt Humans however you saw fit, allowed to kill and drink as much of their blood as you wanted, no restrictions, directly from their skin. Tell me that doesn’t sound like heaven.”

  “It sounds like you want to turn us into monsters again.”

  He waved a hand with a chuckle. “Oh, no, no, Nikita. We were never monsters. We didn’t slaughter Humans, quite the contrary. We rarely killed them back then. It was very poor sport to kill your food, you see, much better to get them to come willingly, and when they wouldn’t, to take only enough to satisfy. Of course, mistakes were made and lives were lost, but they’re only Humans.” His smile was horrible. Jared wished he still had his magic.

  “I’m not going to help you,” Nikki said. “That’s not the world I want to live in.”

  “Yes, I know it isn’t.” His eyes flicked to Jared then back to Nikki. “You’ve grown too fond of them.”

  “That’s none of your concern.”

  “Please, Nikita. Come join me. Leave those Magi and be with your own people. We will hunt this world together and build something better.”

  “No,” she said.

  “The Magi are a curse. Their magic is addictive, and it’ll ruin you too, if you let them. I know how it feels to taste a Magi, to lay with a Magi, but—”

  “You know nothing about me,” Nikki hissed. “Now get out of the way or I’ll finish this here and now.”

  Lord Roth laughed. He’d never seen someone laugh at Nikki before, not when she was this angry, and it gave him a bad feeling. “Perhaps you could. I wouldn’t be surprised. I have no interest in fighting you, however.”

  “Then step aside.”

  “I want to give you one last choice. Come with me and save yourself this heartache. It won’t end well for you among the Magi, Nikita. I can promise you that.”

  “I make my own choices,” she said, voice low. “And I’m staying.”

  “Very well.” Lord Roth turned his back on her and gestured toward the person in the shadows. “Peter, if you please?”

  A form sprinted forward, a blur Jared could hardly follow, and smashed into Nikki like a train. She staggered back with a grunt and slammed her assailant down against the ground. He blurred up at her and she screamed, wicked and wild, her arms blurring as she slammed and pummeled at her attacker.

  Jared ran around the car and grabbed Lumi. “We have to go.”

  “What? But Nikki—”

  “She’ll win, but we might not survive this.”

  The two Vampires smashed into a building next door, their bodies slamming through the wall. Nikki roared as her attacker was thrown through another wall, brick and rubble strewn about the sidewalk. He hit the ground and tumbled, rolling over and over, before climbing to his feet again.

  He was a short man, compact, rippled with muscles, bald head gleaming. Jared had never seen him before, but his almost lazy expression and the easy grace with which he held himself suggested he knew what he was doing.

  Nikki emerged from the building and strode toward him. “You’re making a mistake, Peter.”

  “I do as commanded,” Peter rasped. “You know that.”

  “Better than most.”

  Jared stepped around the car toward Lumi as Nikki and Peter came together again in a horrible thunderclap of power. “Are you okay?”

  Lumi nodded at him. “I think so. Is she going to win? Can you follow it?”

  “No,” he said, “not at all. And I’m still blocked.”

  “I am too.” She cursed and shook her head. “Damn them. If I could just use my power, I could help.”

  He nodded and watched as the Vampires broke apart. Both looked worse for the wear: clothes torn, small wounds all over their bodies, though Jared couldn’t see any weapons on them. Both breathed hard, like they were getting tired.

  “How much is Roth paying you to lay down your life these days?” Nikki asked. “Are the comforts worth it?”

  “You know I don’t do this for money.” He showed his teeth, his long fangs were slightly curved. “I do it for fun.”

  He attacked again and forced Nikki back. They broke through another building, shaking the whole block. Jared couldn’t keep sitting by and let this happen—Nikki would be torn apart. It didn’t matter that he had no power and couldn’t help, it didn’t matter that he was only a Human. He loved her, and he’d gladly die for her.

  “Stay here,” he said.

  “What are you doing?” Lumi’s tone was panicked.

  “Don’t move. Promise me you won’t move.”

  Her eyes went wide but she nodded. He turned and jogged toward the building they were fighting inside. It was an old, abandoned house, the front door smashed to pieces, the interior rotting and smelling like waste, old fuel, and moldy timber. Trash littered the ground, and he guessed someone lived there at some point, based on the blankets and the scraps left lying around.

  He saw them toward the back, trading blows. Jared found a long piece of wood, grabbed it, and held it like a club. He stalked forward as Peter seemed to gain the upper hand and threw Nikki against the far wall. She gasped in anger and slid down, bleeding freely from a wound above her eyes.

  Jared moved quietly, but he knew he was a clumsy animal compared to them. Their senses were beyond anything he could understand, especially at night. Nikki glanced toward him as he raised the wood above his head, ready to smash it down on Peter.

  “No
!” she said, as Peter turned to him, a wicked smile on his face.

  “Bad choice, silly man.”

  Jared knew he was screwed. He brought the wood down as fast and hard as he could but Peter simply batted it away, ripping it from his hands. Jared clenched his jaw and threw a punch—a silly, stupid, useless thing—and Peter caught it with a laugh.

  “You know I’ve killed Vampires before,” Jared said as Peter squeezed his hand, cracking bone. He let out a pained gasp but held it together. “I’ll kill more of your kind before I’m through.”

  “I doubt that,” Peter said.

  He reached his fist back to finish Jared off, but before he could bring it forward Nikki grabbed him from behind. He let out a choked, surprised grunt, and Jared stumbled back as Nikki sank her teeth into his neck. She bit down hard and ripped back, blood squirting everywhere as Peter screamed. She kicked his knees and grabbed him by the wound, digging her fingers into muscles and veins and flesh, then started to rip, and tear, and break, popping joints and flesh. Peter struggled, tried to fight, but he was down on his knees as Nikki did her gruesome work.

  With one last hard wrench, she tore his head off.

  Blood dripped from the corpse as it slumped forward. She gave the head a disgusted look and threw it aside.

  “Nikki,” Jared said, stepping toward her.

  She looked at him and for a second, he thought she didn’t know who he was. But her eyes softened and she shook her head.

  “That was stupid,” she said. “He could’ve killed you before I got to him.”

  “Good thing Vampires like to play with their meals first.”

  She sighed and stepped forward. She was covered in blood, both Peter’s and her own. Jared could tell she was hurt, and he went to her, heedless of the mess, of the sticky red staining the floor. He pulled her against him, wiped off her mouth, and kissed her.

  She was safe. Nothing else mattered.

  “Come on,” she whispered. “We have to go.”

  He nodded and helped her out of the building. Lumi stood anxiously by the car and ran over when they emerged.

  “Are you okay?” she asked. “What happened?”

  “I distracted him,” Jared said.