Bloodstone: Written in Stone

by R. J. Ladon

  “Wiseguy.” Megan shot back. She felt pride in finding the phone. “Now what?”

  “You found the phone. You know you have the skills. Now apply that knowledge, find Kevin and Kragnor. You have the phone. You can use it to focus on.”

  Megan frowned. A phone was one thing but a person? She turned the phone over, tracing the design on the back with her finger. She wafted the phone, catching a slight musky odor. “What if this isn’t Kevin’s phone?”

  “Let me get this straight. You focused on Kevin and Kragnor, and that focus brought you to that phone. Which looks like Kevin’s, but now you think it might be someone else’s. Are you serious? Do you know what the odds are against that?” Johnny sighed, then drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. “Okay, I understand. I told you a lot today. You need to process. Let’s get some lunch.”

  Megan’s stomach twisted. Kevin and Kragnor could be hurt or dying. “Lunch? No, I’ll eat tomorrow.” She climbed over the seats into the front, buckled, then closed her eyes, and pointed. “Go that way.”

  Chapter 59

  K evin landed on the cement, rolling into a summersault. A spider web of cracks marked where he fell. The case was open, and on the ground, two recessed cavities were empty. He closed the lid and pocketed the stones that bounced out.

  After looking out Tai Lu’s bay window, Kevin knew which direction would lead to Chicago. If he followed that route, he might find people and help. Kevin jogged, his bare feet slapping the concrete. He pulled the jacket around him as a cold wind whipped off Lake Michigan.

  A large building blocked his path. Its thin metal walls were worn and rusted. He jogged around it and found another building and a tall fence hindering his progress. There would be no straight line to downtown Chicago. He turned back the way he came, only to see eight men in suits and Tai Lu. The men glistened, like a mirage. Kevin thought he saw a hint of green.

  Naga.

  He glanced at the building. A door stood slightly ajar. Next to it was a broken window. Jumping through the window would be faster than opening the door. Kevin squinted at his options, not pleased with either.

  “Give me the stones, and I’ll let you go, peacefully,” Tai Lu shouted.

  “Bull shit,” he muttered under his breath. He looked at the case. If he tossed it in the opposite direction from the door, he could buy time, but he couldn’t do it. The stones were too valuable. Kevin darted toward the building.

  Tai Lu screamed unintelligible orders, and bullets zipped past Kevin’s head.

  He leaped at the window, using his shoulder to finish taking out the glass. Kevin landed, sprawled on the garbage-covered floor. He scrambled to his feet and ran away from the door, knowing the naga would charge through at any moment. Cars and trucks in various levels of disrepair and dismantle filled the warehouse. Everything appeared to be covered in fifty years of dust and grime. Was that an airplane engine?

  Kevin weaved around an old tanker when he heard gunfire and a couple of ricochets. He felt a massive blow against his back and a hot burning between his shoulders. Kevin stumbled but kept to his feet and moved faster. Reaching up and back, he touched a hole in the jacket. His fingers returned, covered in blood. He wiggled his shoulders and was surprised by the lack of agonizing pain. Kevin hurdled the next car in his path, not wanting to slow and weave around. The case struck his leg when he landed and popped open. The stones vibrated in their compartments but didn’t bounce out. He reached for the lid and slammed it home.

  An open overhead door beckoned at the end of the building. Beyond looked like a train yard. He willed his feet and body to move faster. Some of the tracks had cars and engines sitting on them. He followed a set of tracks that appeared to lead in the right direction. As he ran, he placed his feet on the wooden ties. The subgrade rocks looked like sharp pieces of flint. Even though his body seemed bullet resistant, he was unwilling to try the stones against the soles of his feet.

  Stones! While running, Kevin opened the case, and one by one dropped a protection stone between the ties. The shadows thrown by the massive wooden beams hid the round among the pointed. He closed the case and continued running. The track he followed split into two. One way went back into the abandoned buildings, the other over an arched metal truss toward a lakefront factory. Kevin chose the bridge.

  The closer he came to the bridge, the more exposed he felt. There was no cover, no buildings, no train cars, nothing. He heard the zip of a bullet pass, followed by the echoing bang. He’d played enough war video games to know that he was being shot at by a sniper. He was out in the open, a prime target.

  Kevin tossed the case toward the bridge and ran down the sharp rocky slope of the embankment. He slipped and tumbled to a stop. He took a couple of moments to catch his breath, then he stood.

  Was that a car?

  He ran toward the sound and found a road, but the car was long gone. He trotted on the blacktop, headed toward Chicago, or so he hoped. A tall chain-link fence rose to his right.

  The sun was setting; Kragnor would appear soon. It was almost over.

  He heard a car headed in his direction. It squealed around the corner and stopped. The window of the ugly tan AKG vehicle came down. “Get in.”

  “Johnny?”

  “Hurry!” Shouted Megan.

  “Megan?” He had never been so happy to see the ugly car in his life. Kevin ran to the vehicle, opened the door, and dove in the back seat.

  Megan looked back at him. “You look like hell. Are you okay?” She gasped. “Are you naked? Again?”

  “I’ve got a jacket.” Kevin straightened the front making sure his lap was covered. The jacket was not designed for a man. It was too high in the waist, a problem that was evident while sitting. “Tai Lu wanted to cut parts of me off to sell on the black market. There’s a huge market for gargoyle parts. She implied that your father…”

  “He is not my father. He betrayed me, you, and Kragnor.” Megan growled. “If I ever see him again, I’ll kill him myself. He sold you to gain protection from the Russian Mafia, among other things.” She grunted. “Now that you’re not in Tai Lu’s hands, he won’t be protected.”

  Kevin narrowed his eyes. He wasn’t happy with Artem either, but something else must have happened for Megan to be this upset.

  “Shit. Another dead end.” Johnny spun the car around, speeding back the way they came.

  “Don’t you know where we are?” Kevin looked out the window.

  “No, Megan got us to you more or less by scent. Getting back out of this mess seems to be more difficult than I expected.”

  “By scent?” Kevin looked at Megan. “What?”

  “I’m a Wolf of the Woods.” She shrugged. “Actually, my mother is.”

  “Wolf of the Woods? I read about that in one of the books on werewolves. Remember that day? When you gave me crap about lycanthrope?” Kevin laughed. “You’re a werewolf.”

  “Shut up, Kevin, don’t make me give you back to Tai Lu.” Megan looked over the seat with mirth in her narrowed eyes.

  “I’m serious. The book said a Wolf of the Woods could turn from a beautiful woman to a wolf at will.”

  “That’s good to know if it’s right,” Jonny commented. “Would you two pay attention and help me get out of this stupid maze? It’s starting to get dark, and I don’t want to spend the night here.”

  “Why not just go back the way you came?” Keven suggested.

  “Because getting here wasn’t a direct route, and nothing looks the same going backward,” Johnny said.

  “There, I didn’t see that road.” Megan pointed.

  Kevin looked out the window. The area looked hazy. “That’s a glamor.” But it was too late. A building rose before them, blocking the path. Johnny turned the car around. But the road out was gone.

  Bullets ricocheted off the ground on Johnny’s side. “Get out!” He pushed Megan toward her door. “Use the car as a shield.”

  Kevin climbed out of the car naked, leaving the jacket behind
. A bullet struck his shoulder with enough force to push him into the car. He fell forward onto his hands and knees. If Tai Lu is right, I need to will Kragnor to come now. He took a deep breath and mentally screamed Kragnor’s name.

  Pain exploded from every extremity. Either he was dying, or Kragnor heard the call.

  Chapter 60

  T he door slammed. Megan turned and saw the empty back seat, except for the long black jacket. She looked around and saw Kevin’s pale flesh as he fell to the ground. Kragnor tore his way out of Kevin. It appeared as if the gargoyle exploded forth, and Kevin was no more.

  Bullets bounced off Kragnor and struck the car, tearing at the metal on the driver’s side with a squeal. “What can we do?”

  “Fight back.” Johnny leaned over the seat and gave Megan a long thick roll of fabric. The cloth fell away, exposing two long curved blades. “Nikolai said you’re good with a blade. These are treated with gold, silver, and platinum to give certain creatures a quick and final death. They’ll dispatch a normal human too, so watch where you swing them.”

  “What are you going to use?”

  Johnny held up two pistols. “Don’t worry about me. I’m quicker than I appear. Go!” He shoved Megan out the passenger door. “Focus! Become the wolf!” He crawled toward her, intending to come out her door.

  Kragnor landed in front of them, wings outstretched. Bullets ricocheted off the car. Some struck the gargoyle with enough force to create chips and gouges.

  “Stop them,” Megan said.

  “I am a teacher, not a killer,” Kragnor grumbled.

  “They killed your people,” Megan said. “They have every intention to kill me, Johnny, Kevin, and you. You are a protector and sentinel, not just a teacher. Those titles require fighting. But fighting doesn’t require killing.” Megan licked her lips, remembering who Kragnor thought he looked like and smiled. “Batman doesn’t kill.”

  Kragnor huffed, his brow knitted. “You are right. Batman does not kill. Stay low; I will remove the threat.” He stood tall, wings open, moving toward the gunfire.

  Megan peered over the car hood, waiting for bullets to sound off since she showed herself. Nothing, other than the sounds of shouts in the distance. Was that metal twisting? Megan turned and looked at the old factory face of the building. She stood between building and car. Someone could sneak up on them from the building, and they wouldn’t know. Glass crunched under someone's foot. Megan focused. Become the wolf. More sound came from the building, but lighter, like paw pads on cement.

  Her lip curled. She felt more than heard a growl come from her throat. Megan followed the sound of paw pads with her eyes. Johnny finished sliding out the door, putting his back toward her. She felt and heard Johnny move around but didn’t turn or look. She was confident of his movements. Megan sniffed the air, sensing Kragnor, even though he was a few buildings away. She glanced at her arms, surprised to see human flesh, not fur. Wasn’t she supposed to turn into a giant wolf?

  More sounds came from the building, but it was difficult to determine what made the noise. Felines appeared in Megan’s mind. Something bigger than a house cat and more than one. The sounds came closer. She shook the blades free from the fabric. Two white cats slipped out of a hole in the building. They walked shoulder to shoulder, tails held high above their head. Four tails, but two cats. Was that all she sensed? Cats? Was she hypersensitive because of her canine heritage? Megan frowned. They didn’t feel like ordinary cats, regardless of what they looked like.

  “Cats,” she hissed to Johnny.

  Johnny peered over her shoulder. “Not cats, nekomatas.”

  “What is Neko-whatever?”

  “Cat demon. They will try to seduce you then suck your spirit.”

  “Shoot them.”

  “Bullets don’t hurt them. You have to kill them with your blades. Prepare. Be one with the wolf.”

  The cats transformed into beautiful men, wearing finely fitted white clothing. “Hello, Megan,” they said together, harmoniously.

  She stared at them. So beautiful. The scent of cinnamon wafted from them, her favorite fall time smell.

  “Come to us, Megan. We can make all your fantasies become a reality.” They talked in unison with slightly different tones, making their voices musical, beautiful, sensual.

  She walked forward to be with them. What are these swords doing in my hands? She dropped them. The clattering of steel on cement was barely audible. Nagging in the back of her mind made her look back.

  Johnny was waving his hands, screaming at her, terror written on his face. “Go to them, Megan. They will love you forever.”

  Johnny seemed to think it was safe. Megan turned back and allowed the men to take her in their arms. She was immediately at ease; these men were nothing like her father. They would never betray her. With these men, she could finally be happy. They loved her.

  A hot ripping sensation cut into her upper thigh, which caused her vision and thoughts to clear. The men didn’t appear as fanciful as before. They leaned over her, holding her hands and sniffing her skin. Megan ripped her hands free. The men hissed at her in anger and tried to grab her.

  Megan rolled away from them, toward Johnny. The movement caused the wound to pulse and scream. The men called her name, sounding melodious with their two-part harmony.

  A sword skittered toward her, bouncing off her hand. She gripped the hilt and swung the weapon at the beautiful men, holding them off. Their glamor shimmered and broke, revealing white domestic cats. The cats hissed and ran into the abandoned factory.

  Johnny walked, staggering, to Megan. “It would be ideal if we could catch them before they cause havoc in Chicago.” He laughed. “Aw, hell, who cares? It’s Chicago. No one will even notice.” Johnny giggled and snorted

  Megan smelled the freshly spent gunpowder. “I can’t believe you shot me!”

  “It’s just a scratch.” He covered his mouth with his hand, his eyes wide with delight. “I had to do something before you offered to have children with those cats. Uh, men. Pain seems to be the best way to redirect thought. Especially thought that is coerced. Sometimes it works when the subject is possessed.” He hiccupped.

  “Possessed?” Megan stared at Johnny. “What the hell have I gotten into?”

  Johnny smiled slyly, waving his hands. “The mysteries of the universe.”

  “Tell me, Johnny, what did those cats look like to you?”

  He grinned. “Beautiful red-haired women.” Johnny twirled his guns. “They had sinewy muscle, lean, and long. Flexible.” He wagged his eyebrows and whistled a catcall.

  “Are you drunk?”

  “That’s the side effect of a nekomata. It helps control their prey.” His eyes rolled, and he fell into a seated position. “But there were two of them, so it’s much, much stronger.”

  “Why didn’t I get drunk? I was closer.”

  “You’re not human.” Johnny chuckled again. “Give me a few minutes; it’ll wear off. Unless you have some coffee in your pockets?” He snorted at the absurdity of the idea. “Or chocolate?”

  “Why weren’t you seduced like I was?” Megan asked.

  “I’ve got a charm against manipulation.” Johnny pulled an array of necklaces out of his shirt.

  “But it doesn’t protect against the drunk feeling.”

  “Nope,” he said, shaking his head clumsily. “It would be a lie to say I wanted a charm to protect me from the drunken effects.” He laughed, then frowned. “Aw, it’s going away.” His bottom lip protruded in a fierce pout.

  “Is it always like this?”

  Johnny blinked, not understanding.

  “How many creatures are out there? How many charms? Side effects? Death? How do I prepare for something when I know nothing?”

  Johnny placed his hand on Megan’s arm. “We all started like you, totally ignorant. We learned and adapted. You have an advantage; you have the blood of the wolf.”

  “Funny. It didn’t feel like an advantage when the nekomata were dra
ining me of spirit.” Megan thought for a minute. “What does that mean anyway? Spirit? Is that the same as a soul?”

  Johnny shrugged. “Probably.”

  “We ought to be helping Kragnor,” Megan said, feeling guilty for not doing something sooner. It seemed as if night had fallen entirely while she was distracted by the nekomatas. “How long has he been gone?”

  Johnny shrugged. “Can you find him?”

  Megan focused and then pointed. Her senses, dulled by the nekomata, seemed to be working again.

  “Help me up.” He thrust out his hand.

  Megan heaved, then let Johnny lean on her for support. She picked up the remaining sword. Together they walked toward the car.

  Chapter 61

  A fter Kragnor left Megan behind, he launched into the sky, knowing the attackers were above him. He didn’t know Kevin. They never met, but he knew Megan; he would protect her. He would fight for her and for the akitu in the stones.

  Metal struck his horn, driving his head downward. Kragnor flew higher, pleased to draw their attention away from his friend. He calculated where the shooters were and sped towards them. The metal projectiles came from a building that was covered in scaffolding. The arm of a crane swayed above the building.

  Kragnor landed on the rooftop. Two men standing on a platform behind a metal wall greeted him with fast-flying projectiles. Kragnor stepped toward them, wings wide, keeping their attention on him. As he approached, other men and weapons appeared, shooting the gargoyle from behind. Kragnor stopped, confused as to which way he should go. Who should he disable first?

  “Now!” Shouted a voice.

  A bulky metal net fell from the overhead crane and dropped onto Kragnor. His knees buckled under the immense weight. Squatting, Kragnor adjusted the chain mesh, sitting back into his powerful tail and pulling his feet under his body.

  “No point in struggling that net weighs…well, more than you can move.” The men from the tower slithered toward Kragnor. Where legs should have been were muscular coils. Yellow and green scales glinted in the moonlight. They carried metal throwers on the shoulders, looking pleased with themselves.