by Ken Lange
Cole winced. “Ouch.”
The memory of that day washed over me, and my voice came out in a growl. “Traitors irritate me.”
Danielle shivered and gestured at my hand. “I can see that.”
I glanced down. My right hand had turned onyx and my left was covered in blue flames. Thank God we were the last ones in the place. It took a moment, but I suppressed my anger, and my flesh returned to normal. “Sorry about that.”
Cole cleared his throat. “No worries. It took me years to get my powers under control. You’ve been at this, what, nine months?”
I nodded.
He grinned. “Give it time, and it’ll become second nature.” Sighing, he pushed back from the table. “But for now, we should probably get on the road.”
Danielle leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. “Be safe, my love.” She placed her hand over her heart then held it out toward me. “May the gods watch over you.” Bowing, she said, “It was a pleasure to meet you, and I’m so happy one of our own has finally become a vigil. It’ll be nice to have someone who understands our ways.” Her voice dropped. “Martha was nice enough, but she was an outsider.”
That was code for Martha relying on information she got from the townsfolk. Which wasn’t entirely her fault, if I had to guess. The way it tended to work—where I was from, anyway—was this: Everyone on the reservation kept to themselves, even refusing to cooperate with outside law enforcement, who didn’t typically try very hard. In the end, all it did was create misunderstandings on both sides. There was a good chance I’d meet with the same resistance, since I was only half native.
“Let’s hope others share your viewpoint.”
Her forlorn expression told me everything I needed to know. “With luck, the others will see you as a bridge between our people and…everyone else.” Lifting her steely gaze to mine, she squared her shoulders. “You are the future, and if we hope to survive, everyone will have to adjust their perceptions.”
Cole beamed. “Well said.”
“Thank you.” She curtsied. “Be safe, and call if you need anything.”
She took our plates and left us. I pulled some cash out of my wallet, and Cole held out a hand. “It’s on the house.”
“Thanks, but I need to leave a tip…I wouldn’t feel right otherwise.”
He frowned. “Fine.”
I folded two twenties and placed them under my glass. “Where’s the trailer?”
“Around back.” Cole walked toward the door then stopped at the bar and yelled, “We’re leaving. Need anything before we go?”
Danielle popped out of the back and smiled. “No thanks.” She shooed us out. “Now hurry up and get this over with so we can get back to our lives.”
Cole snickered. “Yes, ma’am.”
He pushed open the door, led me out into the darkness, and pointed down the block. “The trailer’s around the corner, in one of the storage units. We’ll need to hook everything up before we get on the road.” Gesturing at the door, he said, “You’re welcome to catch some shut-eye while I drive.”
Shaking my head, I took a deep breath. “That won’t be necessary. I got a few hours’ sleep on the plane, and I’d like to do a little sightseeing since this is my first time out this way.”
That was the funny thing about my life; I’d traveled the world a couple times, but I’d only seen a few of the states in the country I was born in.
It took a half hour to get the airstream in order, another three to make it to the tiny city of Grants, and our destination, the Ice Caves, was still thirty minutes away. While Cole didn’t seem impressed with them, I thought it was pretty damn neat to have a year-round frozen grotto in the middle of the desert.
Chapter 4
February 21st
Stars shone brightly in the night sky, and the silver moon lit the vast emptiness of the desert, giving it an otherworldly quality. About ten minutes outside of Grants, the old-growth evergreen forest came into view. The primeval landscape jutting out of the rich volcanic earth was made up of junipers, firs, and pines. It was a scene that had changed very little over the last few million years, and with luck would remain as pristine for many lifetimes to come.
What remained of the extinct Bandera Volcano dominated the horizon, and while it wasn’t a giant mountain oozing lava, it was still quite impressive. Cole turned off the highway onto a well-kept dirt road. After about a half mile, we found a paved lot where we parked. At the far end of the asphalt, there was a pale green wooden shack with a flat roof that looked as if it had seen better days. A big sign across the front read Trading Post.
Cole waved a hand at the hovel. “This is our first stop.”
I furrowed my brow. “Seriously?” Gesturing at the shop, I said, “You brought me here to go to some tourist trap that isn’t even open?”
His voice dropped. “Not quite. We’ll be taking the path down to the caves themselves. The owners know I’m stopping by, so they won’t mind us doing this before business hours.”
Hmmm. “Okay then. Will all our stops be so touristy?”
A small groan escaped his lips. “God, I wish.”
I pulled air through my front teeth. “I take it that things get worse after this.”
His tone soured. “You could say that… The nightmare I’m about to show you will be an absolute joy, compared to what’s next.”
Grimacing, I shook my head. “Damn, dude. I never thought I’d be the one saying this to someone else, but you seriously need to work on your interpersonal skills.”
He grinned as he got out of the truck. “Nah, I think it’s best to temper people’s expectations, especially when it involves the Grants.”
Curious, I asked, “Are they related to the folks the town’s named after?”
Cole snorted. “Nope, they are the ones who founded the place.” His expression turned hard. “You should be aware that they’re going to be pissed you’re in town without their permission.”
“Huh?” I shrugged. “Last I checked this was a free country, and people could go wherever they wanted, whenever they wanted.”
His voice had a hard edge to it. “Maybe most people can, but you’re part of the Archive, and more importantly…you’re a vigil.” He huffed out a laugh. “Technically speaking, you’re the man in charge, which will only serve to complicate things even more.” He pointed at my bags. “Might want to grab your things.”
I’d changed into tactical gear before leaving Santa Fe, so all that was left was my backpack, where I’d stored the gladius and a few other items. After strapping on the sword and a pistol, I said, “That still doesn’t explain why they’ll be angry.”
He shrugged and started walking toward the trail marked with a weather-beaten sign that read Ice Caves with a big red arrow. “In their mind, they own this land, and the people in it. Plus, they really don’t like outsiders—and that’s especially true when it comes to a member of the Archive telling them what they can and can’t do.”
I rubbed my face, trying to wake up. “You keep saying they… How many of them are there?”
Cole grunted. “There’s the head of the family Lewis, and his two brothers Angus and John. Out of the three of them, there isn’t a nice one in the bunch.” He turned toward town and gave it a middle-finger salute. “Which is why I didn’t bother telling them I was going to contact you.”
I glanced out toward the lights in the northwest. “Fuck those guys. If you ever need to speak to me about anything, call, and we’ll work it out. If that’s a problem for them, they can kiss my ass.”
A half-smile crept onto his face. “Good to know.” He pointed past the shanty. “We should get going.”
It was a quarter mile before we came to a rickety wooden staircase that led down into a collapsed lava tube. A couple of twists and turns later, we stood on a flimsy wooden patio that overlooked a sheet of green ice.
It probably made me an asshole, but I totally lost interest fifteen or twenty seconds after seeing the plac
e. Suffice it to say, a bunch of blue-green ice in the bottom of a cave sounds a lot more interesting than it actually is.
Turning to him, I shook my head. “Okay, am I missing something?”
He grinned. “Took it all in, did ya?”
With a dismissive roll of my shoulders, I frowned. “What can I say? I’ve seen it. Now what?”
Cole pointed his flashlight at the far side of the chamber. “What we’re looking for is over there.”
Leaning over the railing, I did my best to find something worthy of attention. “Could’ve fooled me.”
He waved for me to follow. “Come, you’ll need to get closer to see what I’m talking about.”
I looked around for a ladder. “How do we get down?”
Laughing, he said, “Don’t tell me this is your first time jumping a fence.”
Bewildered, I shook my head. “No, but…”
“But what?” Pointing at the far end of the cavern, he said, “Once we’re there, it’ll be just around the corner.”
Throwing my hands up in surrender, I sighed. “All right, let’s go.”
It didn’t take long to make our way down to the slick frozen surface of the cavern. Cole stuck close to the side, using the rockface to stay upright. I, on the other hand, simply walked behind him, easily matching his pace. Cole ducked around an outcropping of rock before disappearing into a smaller tube. When I rounded the ledge, the scent of death and decay nearly took me off my feet. Unconsciously wiping my upper lip, I grimaced before following him in. Due to the tight quarters, I was forced to stoop and do a little shuffle in order to catch up.
About fifty feet in, Cole dropped his voice and held his finger to his mouth for quiet. “Over there.”
He lifted his light to illuminate the far corner. My mouth went dry, my stomach started doing flip flops, and my mind did its best to make sense of the scene before me. Two bodies had been flayed and left here in the cold. Gore pooled at their feet, and their muscle tissue was a weird pinkish color as they’d long since dripped dry. Given the amount of blood on the ground, it was obvious this was where they’d been murdered. This was the part of the situation that made sense.
Where things went off the rails was them squatting under their own power and trembling here in the darkness. Every now and again, they twitched oddly as their desiccated sinews contracted. The sudden movement made weird clicks that echoed throughout the chamber as bones ground against one another. Anytime they shifted their footing, it made a vomit-inducing sucking noise due to the goo on the floor. There was no way they were alive, yet…they were still functional somehow. For the first time in my life, I viscerally understood the word abomination.
Shivering, he grimaced. “This is why I called you here.”
I was numb for a moment then fury crept through my system, making my hands quiver. Keeping my gaze locked onto these…things, I asked, “Is there any reason I shouldn’t end them right now?”
He shook his head.
I strode past him, tugged the gladius off my hip, and quickly removed their heads. While I hadn’t a clue what they were, the Grim was incensed by their presence. I hoped Kur would have some insight, but he was trying to rouse himself out of stasis, which left me on my own for now.
Anger coursed through me. “What the hell were those things?”
Cole prodded one of the heads with his boot. “They were the chindi of the tribal elders I told you about.” He gestured at the way back. “Let’s get out of here and find some fresh air. This place reeks.”
We were a bit quicker making our way up to the surface than we’d been getting down. It was as if the stench was following us… Hell, for all I knew, I’d stepped in some tribal elder and was tracking it up the stairs as I went. About halfway across the parking lot, the putrid odor seemed to dissipate. Thank God for the great outdoors and a good steady breeze.
I pointed back at the stairs. “Mind filling me in on what chindi are, and why they’re skinless?”
He chewed on his bottom lip and was quiet for a moment. “I’m guessing you’ve never heard of them.”
I blew out a long breath. “Can’t say that I have.”
Nodding, he leaned against the railing. “Well, that’s sort of a blessing and a curse for you.”
“How’s that?”
He let out a rueful laugh. “It’s good you’ve gone this far in life without ever having to deal with one. Today, however, I’m sorry to say that’s changed.” Sighing, he shook his head. “The chindi have many forms. Normally, they’re what you would call ghosts, spirits, specters. In the form you just saw, the spirit’s left the body, leaving only the flesh behind to continue without direction or purpose. Popular culture calls them zombies, or the undead.”
A shiver ran up my spine. “How does something like that happen?”
He kicked a rock off the pavement. “At a guess, there’s a necromancer in town, which is why I called you. From what I hear, you’ve dealt with them before.”
I facepalmed myself and sighed. “Just one, and that didn’t exactly turn out well for either of us. But as far as I know, he never created anything like those things down there. Specters, yeah, but nothing like that.” Squeezing my eyes closed, I leaned heavily against the truck. “No other possibilities?”
His face screwed up in disgust. “If I believed the old myths, sure, there’s a chance they were created spontaneously, but I don’t.” He thumbed over his shoulder, and anger colored his tone. “And when we add in the fact that they were skinned, we’re likely looking at not only a necromancer, but a flesh-walker as well.”
My stomach tied itself in knots, and Kur finally pulled himself out of his slumber, whispering, “Necromancer, body snatcher, thief.”
Images of a flayed body were quickly followed by someone chanting a spell over the flesh before they wrapped it around themselves to be transformed into their victim.
I covered my mouth to keep from losing what was left of my dinner. “Christ. They’re real?”
Cole nodded. “I’ve never seen one before, but it’s the only thing that makes sense.”
I really wanted to argue, but he was right.
God help us.
Chapter 5
It was well after sunup by the time we made our way to the far side of town. We’d just turned off Iron Avenue onto 101 Grants Loop when the Grim stirred, and suddenly it was as if someone were standing on my last nerve.
The closer we got, the more irritated I became. I was already concerned about meeting these guys, and this sudden foul mood wasn’t helping matters. Not that I was too worried about making a good impression, but I didn’t want this to go any worse than it had to. Although, based on what Cole had told me, I’d probably end up pissed off no matter what.
It was nearly a full mile before we arrived at a small fortress for overly privileged dickheads.
A massive eight-foot adobe wall surrounded the sprawling estate, giving it a prison vibe, and the heavily reinforced steel gate did little to detract from that impression. If you asked me, this was all a bit overkill, and whoever’d had it built was compensating.
Two armed guards made their way out of a portcullis, took one look at us, and scowled.
The taller of the two gave us the finger. “What the fuck are you doing here, Injun?”
Cole slowly got out of the vehicle. “We’ve come to speak with Lewis.”
He growled. “That’s Mr. Grant to you, boy.”
Cole grimaced, and his voice came out with an edge to it. “Fine.” He thumbed over at me. “We’ve come to speak to Mr. Grant.”
The guard huffed and shook his head. “Should’ve made an appointment. He’s busy this morning.”
Cole smirked. “He might want to make an exception for a vigil.”
The tall man laughed. “Unless Martha grew a beard, I’ll pass on interrupting his breakfast.”
I stepped out and held up my right hand. “Martha’s dead, and I’m filling in until someone suitable is found to take h
er place.”
His gaze swept over my hand, and he staggered back a step. “You’re the new guy…the one who took over for Naevius.”
It appeared certain bits of information traveled faster than others. “That’s right.”
He glared at Cole, and his voice became tense. “What’s he doing here?”
I moved in front of Cole and gestured at myself. “You’d be better off addressing such questions to me.”
Puffing out his chest, he sneered. “Okay then, what the hell are you doing here?”
I was conflicted. On one hand, I wanted to take the man down a peg or two for his arrogance. On the other, his utter lack of human decency made me pity the jerk. “That’s something best discussed between me and your employers.”
He gestured at his partner, who made a hasty exit. “Why?”
Wow, this guy’s snotty attitude was making me want to punch him in the face, and this was only the hired help.
It took a great deal of effort to keep my growing annoyance in check, but I managed it. Barely. “That’s really none of your concern. At this point, you have two options. Either let me in, or don’t. Frankly, I don’t care one way or the other, but I’m guessing your bosses will.”
His expression soured. “Fine.” He turned and yelled, “Open the gate…”
Cole waved me back to the truck. “That was a risky move.”
I shrugged. “Maybe, but it got us in the door.”
He bobbed his head up and down. “That it did, but I’m saying you could’ve been a bit politer about it.”
I rubbed my temple. “Probably true, but according to what you told me earlier, they’re going to be pissed off that I’m here anyway. Besides, something about this place irritates the shit out of me.”
Cole choked back a laugh. “Really? I couldn’t tell.” He gave me a dismissive wave. “At least now I know you’re a good judge of character.”
It was a real fight to keep my annoyance at a manageable level. “Even a deaf, dumb, and blind man couldn’t miss this much concentrated assholery.”
The gates swung back, allowing Cole to coast around the circular drive… Guess we’d found that loop they were talking about.