The Tome of Bill Series: Books 5-8 (Goddamned Freaky Monsters, Half A Prayer, The Wicked Dead, The Last Coven)

by Rick Gualtieri

  “Wait,” I replied, “how did you know that?”

  “As I said, child, one does not live as long as I and not understand the workings of lesser men. François harbored deep resentment toward me. Coupled with his ambition and an exaggerated opinion of his own intelligence, I had little doubt of his betrayal. It is almost a pity, though. The misinformation he’d been given access to would have wreaked havoc with The Destroyer’s plans in the short term.”

  “Lord François fell,” Gan stated neutrally, “in a manner most ignoble.”

  “Of that, I have no doubt, but such knowledge will be expunged from the official record. He was of the First, after all.”

  Gan nodded again, her expression all but unreadable.

  “You were able to tap into your hidden power once more?” James asked me. “Fortunate.”

  “Yeah,” I replied, trying to keep my tone conversational. “Even more fortunate that Vehron didn’t do the same. I don’t remember much, but I doubt we’d be talking now if he’d gone all apeshit on me. Not sure why he didn’t.”

  “Is it not obvious, Dr. Death?” Gan asked. Before I could deck her, she added, “He could not.”

  “What? Why not?”

  “Freewills throughout history have manifested their powers in myriad ways,” Alex said, continuing to watch the fight going on. The final handful of Jahabich were in retreat, forced back nearly to the prefect’s office doors.

  Oh crap!

  I almost had a major panic attack, but then I saw two of Alex’s men helping Christy away from the fight. She was back on her feet, but they were both supporting her on either side. The poor girl still looked out of it, which was probably why the vamps hadn’t been disintegrated yet.

  I turned back to the discussion at hand. “What do you mean by that?”

  Alex, obviously deciding this topic was beneath him, simply nodded toward Gan, who said, “Any student of our history knows this.”

  “I must’ve missed that class.”

  “That is not surprising,” she replied. “Most who are young do not care for such things. All Freewills shared some abilities in common – their ability to resist compulsion and their capability to feed upon our kind. It is recorded in our archives, however, that some exhibited talents above even that. Wang Leng, for example, was said to be able to defy gravity. In tenth century Byzantium, there was a Freewill known only as the Grey Fox who could blend invisibly into shadows. In...”

  “That’s fascinating, really it is. So you’re telling me Vehron couldn’t do what I do?”

  “Of course not,” Alex said. “He was known as the Sun Strider. He was unique in that he was able to resist the rays of the sun for up to an hour. It made him singularly dangerous amongst our kind.”

  “I’ll bet. Wait, so why didn’t anyone tell me this?”

  “I would think you would have asked,” Gan replied matter-of-factly.

  I took a deep breath, concentrating on ignoring her. “So that means my ability to turn into a rage beast...”

  “Is unprecedented,” Alex said. “Even I must admit it is among the more interesting manifestations I have seen. Such a pity it is uncontrollable. However, now that you have reawakened it...”

  “Lord Alexander,” James said, stepping forward just as Alex was about to broach a dangerous subject for me. “Perhaps we should concentrate on securing the facility first. There are no doubt more zealots about and likely even more kept prisoner here against their will. With The Destroyer dead, perhaps we need not purge the entirety of the population.”

  “Still holding out hope for your protégé, Wanderer?”

  James turned his head toward me, his brows raised questioningly.

  “Sorry,” I replied. “I haven’t seen Calibra anywhere. Although, to be fair, I haven’t exactly had time to look for her. Assuming there are no more surprises here, maybe we can find out what happened...”

  A creaking sound at the far end of the room caught our attention. It was the double doors to the prefect’s office being pushed opened from within.

  As usual, I’d spoken too soon.

  First Base

  Two figures emerged from the room beyond as a contingent of Alex’s men broke off from the Jahabich and raised their guns toward the newcomers.

  Firebird was the first, which explained where she’d disappeared to during the fight. Though I wasn’t at all comfortable with how Alex had dealt with the compelled vampires in the room, a small part of me wouldn’t have minded seeing that traitorous bitch eat a bullet or three.

  “Oh, you fucking whore,” a voice behind me growled. I didn’t need to turn to know that Sally was back on her feet. Whatever guilt she’d been feeling was obviously superseded by her anger. That was fine by me. I didn’t blame her for what happened. Hell, I was just glad to have her back, even if it meant I had to watch a prolonged session of her tearing Firebird’s entrails out. Ah, the sacrifices we make.

  It took me a moment to recognize the other person. Calibra looked much different than when I’d last seen her. Gone was her tight bun and prim business suit. Her hair was down, long and black with a bit of waviness to it, and she wore a flowing white dress. Think Lily Munster, minus all the eye makeup.

  The way she moved was also different. When last we’d met, the best way I could describe her was as having a massive stick up her ass – both in attitude and presentation. Now, she moved with an easy gait. Maybe it was the new attire, but she almost seemed to float toward us.

  “At ease!” James said, striding past me. The guards, who looked like they were just waiting for Alex’s signal to start blowing more holes in things, lowered their weapons and stood at attention.

  I risked a glance over and saw that while a small handful of Jahabich remained, they appeared to have given up. They stood still as, well, statues, while Alex’s men surrounded them.

  Seeing that the chances of eating a stray bullet were significantly lower now, I started toward my other friends. Dave was awake, albeit looking spooked out of his fucking mind. Go figure. Ed was still down, but appeared to be stirring.

  Halfway to them, I stopped and turned back – seeing Sally still standing there, glaring in Firebird’s direction. She noticed me and I waved her over. For a moment, I thought she might turn away, but then she shrugged and started in my direction.

  “There’ll be time for her later,” I said as she caught up to me.

  “Oh, believe me, there will be lots of it. I’m gonna make it so fucking slow, she’ll think it lasts forever.”

  “If you’re expecting me to talk you out of it, don’t bother.”

  She glanced sidelong at me, but then once more averted her eyes. Oh fuck this. I stepped up and put an arm around her shoulders. “Hell, I might even help you, partner.”

  I expected some retort, or maybe an elbow in my gut, but all she said was, “I’m sorry, Bill. I really am.”

  I lowered my voice to a bare whisper. “There are lots of people who deserve to be sorry. You’re not one of them.”

  A look of gratitude crossed her face for a single moment, then it was replaced by something I would have given my left testicle to see – her familiar arrogant smirk. “Let’s go check on the meatsack,” she said, striding forward. “But be warned. If he bleeds on me, I’m kicking his ass.”

  “I think you already did that,” Ed said, finally sitting up.

  “Sorry.” She offered him a hand. “I didn’t mean to hit you so hard.”

  “What happened?” I asked.

  “Bad timing all around,” she said. “After I realized what that red-headed bitch had done to Starlight, I sort of lost it.”

  “You remembered things?”

  “Yeah, but nothing good. All it did was put me in the mood for murder. Right about then, Alexander’s orders kicked in. Let’s just say it was like mixing whiskey with a blowtorch.”

  “I can see that.” I turned to Dave. “You all right?”

  “
Define all right,” he replied.

  I faced Sally again. “Adam?”

  Sally gave her head a single shake. “Like I said, I’m sorry.”

  Fucking Alex! That was yet one more life I owed that fucker. This whole thing had been his deal, his setup. I’d been little more than a pawn to him – we all had.

  Well, this was one pawn who wasn’t going to forgive and forget.

  “It’s okay. It wasn’t your fault.” Oh, the hell with this. I turned and grabbed her, pulling her in and hugging her hard. For a moment, she stiffened against me, but then she let her guard down and returned it. I could have sworn I heard the softest of sobs come from her, but maybe it was just my imagination.

  “Eh hem.”

  I turned to Ed. “Get the fuck over here too.” He narrowed his eyes, my affection toward Sally perhaps a bit too out in the open, but then he sighed and jumped in, grabbing both of us.

  I glanced quickly at Dave, but he just held up his hands and mouthed, “No.” Oh well.

  The missing member of our quartet weighed heavily upon me and I gripped my friends all the tighter for it. Ed must’ve sensed this because he asked, “Tom?”

  “He’s a twelve-inch plastic doll.”

  “What?”

  “I tossed him into that corner over there.”

  “You’re not making any sense, Bill.”

  No, I most certainly wasn’t.

  Nor would I be given a chance to, because right then, the screaming started.

  ♦ ♦ ♦

  My friends and I broke contact to see what the commotion was all about.

  It was Christy.

  She’d broken free of the vampires helping her along and was pointing an accusing finger toward where Alex and the other elder vamps were converging with Calibra and Firebird in the center of the room.

  “What are you?” she snarled.

  Alex looked at her as if he’d noticed a gnat on his arm. “Restrain the Magi. She is clearly ... overstressed.”

  The two vamps managed to take a single step before Christy’s power flared up around her. They were flash-fried from the waist up, turning to dust in the next moment.

  Okay, that was unexpected. Had the poor girl finally gone round the bend?

  Alex raised the barest of eyebrows. “I would highly suggest you stand down, witch.”

  “Oh crap. Let’s go.” I didn’t wait for my friends to start moving. Christy was tired and stressed, but apparently still dangerous as all hell. That was a bad combination when facing the most powerful vampire on the planet. I sincerely doubted Alex would tolerate even the slightest hostility from her.

  Thankfully, James stepped forward, hands raised in a placating manner. “You have nothing to fear from us, Christine. I promise you that.”

  “Not you,” Christy shrieked. “Her!”

  Who? Firebird?

  “I can assure you...” James began.

  “Oh, it’s quite all right, James. This charade has truly gone on for long enough,” Calibra said.

  I skidded to a halt just short of Christy, partially to avoid ending up like the last two guys and also because of what Calibra had just said. What the hell?

  James turned toward the former prefect, his expression still disarming. “I beg your pardon, my dear. I know you have had to endure quite the ordeal, but I must insist you remain silent for the time being. Until we can assess what damage The Destroyer did to your mind, I cannot guarantee your safety.”

  Calibra raised what looked to be a bemused eyebrow at that. “I’ve been silent for over three thousand years. You have no idea how sick of it I am.” She turned to Christy. “How did you know?”

  I jumped back a step, almost bowling over Sally and Ed, as Christy began to power up again. The strain must’ve been incredible for her, but she was somehow managing it nevertheless. “I sensed it earlier,” she said. “You were using the redhead as your puppet, your mouthpiece. And now it’s stronger than ever. I can feel the connection between you and those things.”

  Calibra let out a musical laugh, far different than the stuck-up bitch attitude she’d used when last we’d met. “I’m impressed. As for my children, call it a necessity. I’m afraid they’ve always been a rowdy bunch, very much in need of a mother’s touch.”

  At that, the remaining Jahabich simultaneously replied, “Mother.”

  Oh, I didn’t have a good feeling where this was going. Not good at all.

  “Silence them,” Alex said to his troops before turning back to the unexpectedly mouthy vampiress.

  “YOU’LL DO NO SUCH THING!!”

  The compulsion that erupted from Calibra was like nothing I’d ever felt before – subtle, painless, but seemingly attached to the world’s biggest bass, one that just happened to be vibrating beneath our feet.

  “Did you feel that?” Sally asked.

  “Kind of hard to miss.”

  Alex’s soldiers definitely didn’t because they all went slack – doing the very worst thing a vampire could do: ignoring his orders.

  As for Alex, the only sign from him that anything was amiss was a slight frown creasing his face. “So, it would seem you were compromised after all. A pity. The Wanderer spoke highly of you. In time, you might have even made a fine contender for the First.”

  The next thing I knew, Alex was flung clear across the chamber. He slammed into the wall, and slid down to land in a heap. Calibra stood where he’d been just a moment earlier, her arm outstretched as if she’d just backhanded him, but I hadn’t seen any blow – not even a blur of motion. Yet the scene spoke volumes.

  Holy crap. She’d just punched out Alexander the Great. A part of me would have been tempted to applaud had I not been scared shitless.

  Vargas was quick as a snake to respond to James’s wayward protégé. He shoved Firebird aside like she was nothing – which she probably was to him – and then advanced upon Calibra. “Die, slave of Ib!”

  Sadly, he ended up following his own advice as a second later, he turned to ash around Calibra’s arm – plunged through his chest at nearly the same blazing speed she’d struck Alex with.

  This shouldn’t have been happening. I mean, we’d won, for Christ’s sake. Why was everything falling apart?

  For a second, I was sure it was Dr. Death doing all of this and that I was stuck in my freaking head again.

  Unfortunately, if it was all just a delusion, it was a damned good one. Just then, Christy began to pulse with dazzling energy, hot enough to singe my eyebrows even from several paces back.

  Gan saw what was coming and dove into James, knocking him out of the potential path of the spell.

  She needn’t have bothered.

  Just as Christy let loose, Calibra held out a hand palm up, and a skull shimmered into existence in it. I wasn’t a phrenologist by any stretch, but the sickly purple glow from within gave me a clue as to who it had once belonged to.

  “No!” Christy shrieked. The energy wave dissipated instantly, leaving not even a single scorch mark on Calibra’s stark white dress. As this transpired, Decker’s spectral laugh emanated from his noggin – an asshole to the end and beyond.

  “You asked what I was, child,” Calibra said. “It is not what, but who. I believe you know, though. Your friend here certainly recognized me.”

  Christy dropped her hands to her sides and her knees buckled. Fuck the danger. I immediately stepped in to catch her, hoping she didn’t decide to go nuclear in my arms. “Kala the White,” she whispered. “The White Mother.”

  ♦ ♦ ♦

  How the fuck was that possible? “Why didn’t you tell me witches were immortal?” I asked Christy.

  “That’s because they’re not, Freewill,” Calibra replied.

  “Then how...”

  “A bargain, no doubt.” I turned and saw Alex was back on his feet. If he’d been injured by the blow, he didn’t show anything beyond a theatrical wiping of his lips for a non-existent bloodst
ain. “Tell me, Magi, to what entity did you barter your soul so as to serve the abomination of Ib?” He began to casually saunter her way, but I had little doubt he was ready to strike. You didn’t deck someone like Alex and hope they were gonna let you get away with it unscathed.

  “Alexander of Macedon, for all your vaunted wisdom, you truly are as blind as those fools you keep in your cave.” She smiled, revealing a set of fangs.

  “Impossible,” James said, picking himself up off the ground, Gan by his side. “Magi cannot be turned.”

  “Um, is that true?” I whispered to Christy.

  She elbowed me in the ribs. Okay, probably not a great time for Q&A. By then, Sally and Ed had stepped in, standing on either side of us. Now where was...

  I glanced back and saw Dave making a beeline for the door. I really needed to kick his ass when this was over.

  “Magi cannot be turned, this is true,” Calibra replied.

  “Then how...”

  “Unless they are the very first to be turned.”

  What the fuck?

  Holy shit! That’s when it hit me. Vehron had said it in passing, referring to his so-called master as a her. I just hadn’t paid it any attention at the time.

  The room seemed to grow dim, the light condensing in on itself until it seemed a spotlight shone on Calibra, her white dress nearly glowing in the illumination.

  “I’m surprised none ever figured it out. I even made it a point to hide both of my names in plain sight. I was once Kala the White, but I am now and will forever be Ib. I am The First, your lord and master. And my time has finally come.”

  The End Days

  I waited a moment to see if any other shoes were going to drop – like maybe she’d turn out to be Colin in a wig – then took a tentative step forward. “Um, excuse me.”

  “This is not your concern, Freewill,” Alexander replied conversationally, continuing to approach Calibra, who, for her part, appeared unworried.

  Risking a pounding by multiple beings that outclassed me several times over, I ignored him. “What do you mean, your time has come?”