Mourning Lark

by Jen Pretty

  Outside the door was a small oriental woman pushing a cart with the smell of bacon wafting from it. I stepped back, and she pushed the cart in before she turned on her heel and walked back out again.

  “Thank you,” I called, closing the door and turning back to get to the food before Singh stole all the bacon again.

  As I munched and Singh licked his plate clean, I decided. “We should get back to the tunnels.”

  Singh stopped licking his plate and looked up at me, a tiny blip of his tongue sticking out between his whiskered lips.

  “I need to get this over with,” I said. He licked his lips. “Be a human for two seconds so I can talk about this. You are the worst embodiment of my will and determination ever.”

  Singh huffed and shifted.

  “Well excuse me. I thought we were having breakfast. From now on I’ll be ready to jump to work at a moment’s notice, but if I pass out from lack of food, it will be your fault.”

  “You ate three helpings of bacon and then half of mine.”

  “Fine, you need waterproof clothes though. Let's go shopping first.” Singh pulled out Vincent’s credit card. Who knows how he got his sticky paws on it, but I would not complain. I would never get the million dollars Vincent owed me if I killed his brother and according to Durga, we wouldn’t have a choice.

  “We could go back to the mansion. We don’t have to stay here,” I reminded him.

  “Kelly won't make me bacon,” he whined, leaning back in his chair.

  The laugh jumped out of my mouth before I even had time to acknowledge it was coming. “You are such a cat. Follow the food.”

  He grinned, then stole my last piece of bacon.

  As I was getting my boots on, there was another knock at the door. Singh opened it to reveal Ninel, Vilen and Alex.

  “Hey, guys. Come to join the party?” Singh asked as they filed in.

  “We heard there might be a hunting party,” Alex said.

  The wall of muscle behind him smiled, their eyes twinkling at the prospect of violence.

  I finished pulling on my boots, and we left the hotel. Parked in front was the giant hummer, full of all our gear. I guess we didn’t need Vincent’s card.

  We went back to the place we found Vincent.

  Entering the tunnel system in a different area had me completely turned around. Alex had a hand-drawn map of the tunnels around the Red Square, but the small tunnel wasn’t on the map, so we had to approximate its location.

  The entrance was a grate in the park, and there was no ladder down, so Ninel tied a rope around my waist and lowered me down. The rope cut into my sides and pinched the skin under my arms. I spun a few times before my feet touched down in the water below.

  Singh jumped down after me with a splash, and the vampires dropped into the water with a splash, one at a time. It took a while to find our bearings in the tunnel. The sewers looked the same once you were in them in this area. Faded red brick and mortar arched over our heads. Hard water deposits etched the walls, and as we moved towards the old mine, the stalactites grew longer. The meters of stone and soil above our heads muffled the sound of traffic above. When we found the turnoff to the mine, I oriented myself and pointed up.

  Singh stood by the wall beneath the drain and lifted me so I could pull myself up into the tight space. The crawl through the narrow sewer was drier than the last time, and I paused at the grate below the highway and tried to send out my senses. I didn’t like going in there without being able to sense anything, but it was still a dead zone — a complete black hole. I continued, and as I tumbled down, I swung my headlamp around, it was, thankfully, empty. I wasn’t ready to meet up with Mahishasura yet, but I worried that Vernon had already left the tunnels or even left Moscow. He stayed nowhere long.

  I swept my headlamp around the room. The wall where Vincent had been pinned like a butterfly was bare except for the holes where the stakes had been driven in. Dark stains ran down from them. A sharp pain in my stomach reminded me what had happened in the room. I put my hand to my stomach and closed my eyes. Durga flashed on my eyelids, her reminder of the pain Vincent had caused. Like that would be enough to change my mind about him. He wasn’t in his right mind when he did that. Durga vanished, disgusted at my resolve not to blame Vincent.

  “Look at this,” Ninel said from the other side of the cavern. I walked over and found markings on the wall. There was a straight line and below the line were curls and dashes. It looked like writing, but I didn’t recognize it.

  Durga flashed forward, turning my vision red, she inspected the markings. Words poured from my mouth in a strange language, and a glow radiated from the marks. We all took a step back, and the glow expanded to cover the whole wall. A sharp squealing sound emanated from the smooth cement and the light split upwards from the floor and then across the ceiling and back down again in the shape of a large garage door.

  I held my breath and waited. The magic was thick and palpable.

  The cement wall faded until it disappeared revealing a second cavernous space. As my headlamp illuminated the space, several pairs of red glowing eyes reflected back. A low growl came from Singh behind me. A hissing noise rose from the depths of the shadows beyond the new doorway.

  “Oh shit,” I whispered. A loud squeak shattered the silence. Several more followed and the red eyes launched towards us. My headlamp caught on a furry body about the size of a large cat just before it cleared the door and jumped for my face. My knife was in my hand in an instant, and in the next, it was slicing through fur and flesh until it scraped across the bone. The animal screamed and fell to my feet. Its long, skinned tail quivered a second before it was still. I didn't have time to be disgusted by the rat because dozens more flooded out of the doorway. The sounds of fighting filled the cavern. Singh’s roar deafened me as another rat launched towards me. I swung my knife down again and sliced across its neck before it got to me. The next rat was swifter and got its foul teeth into my arm. Its breath was like death as it filled my nose and churned my stomach. It bit down and held on. I shook my arm as another rat grabbed onto my leg. Durga, having had enough, pushed me out of the way and took over the job of killing giant rodents. She sliced and diced the rats as they came forward. I had never seen so many rats, and they continued to flood the tunnel. The blood sprayed, and the dying animals screamed. They weren’t magical creatures but to be acting so out of character they had to be under the influence of magic. I was willing to bet that the witch who had captured Vincent was behind this disgusting display.

  The guys behind me cursed and roared, fighting off the gross sewer rodents. I left Durga to do the worst of the work.

  She kicked a rat sneaking up on me while she stabbed another. Blood sprayed and coated my headlamp, sending me into darkness. I could make out the figures scurrying around me like I was a rock parting the river of fur and rat tails.

  The viscous liquid dripped into my mouth, and I sputtered and spat as the last of the giant rats moved by. I swung around and watched as they scaled the wall and out the drain, we had entered from. I reached up and cleared the blood from my headlamp and made sure everyone else was ok. Singh had a dead rat in his mouth. He shook it one last time before dropping it with a plop. Gross.

  “That was disgusting,” Alex commented. He wiped his knife on his shirt and tucked it back into his boot.

  Ninel and Vilen stepped between the rat bodies and moved towards the doorway to the new cavern. I swung back around and illuminated the space with my headlamp. It was now empty of rodents. We crept forward. Squishy rat poo coated the floor. The stench was overpowering, burning my eyes, and I prayed there was an exit on the far side. It was so much darker like the room was full of fog. I put my hands out and felt someone’s back, but I couldn't be sure who it was because my vision had gone to zero.

  “Lark, I don’t like this,” Alex said. Singh’s huff alerted me to his presence at my side a moment before his furry mane touched my hand. I threaded my fingers through his fur and
stepped forward. Durga stayed close to my surface. Her presence, along with Singh, bolstering my confidence, but I was sure something would jump out at me from the darkness. I was fine with monsters, but I wasn’t fine with them sneaking up on me.

  I reached up and wiped at my headlamp again, but the darkness wasn’t because of a dirty light. It was this place. It was dark magic that hung in the air. I put my hand out again, but could no longer reach the back in front of me.

  “Ninel?” I whispered. When I got no reply, I tried again. “Ninel?” I called louder. My fingers were still threaded in Singh’s fur. I held on, his low growl, almost inaudible, rumbled under my hand. I wanted to turn and run. Leave and never come back. The air grew thick until I was struggling to take each step and each breath was laboured. I knew it was magic, but that didn't stop the desire to flee.

  I took another few steps with my arm outstretched before I felt the familiar back of Ninel’s jacket. Grabbing onto it, I let him lead me through the dark. It was several more steps of total blackness before my headlamp seemed to come back to life and fight through the magical darkness to illuminate an immaculate subway line. This was nothing like the dingy one that took people from one end of the city to the other. This one was mint.

  We found Metro 2.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  The ceiling in this tunnel was not like the others. It was square and modern. It wasn't wet and fractured or dirty. Tracks gleamed under recessed lighting that illuminated the dim space. The sound of feet on the cement floor of the tunnel alerted us to people coming, and we all turned. Soldiers armed with semi-automatic weapons came towards us, their guns drawn and pointed. They wore pristine uniforms and looked like commandos in their helmets, fatigues and boots. Masks and goggles covered their faces. As they marched closer, they yelled in Russian. Their voices echoed through the tunnel, and I watched as Alex, Ninel and Vilen got on their knees and laced their hands behind their heads. I stood and waited beside Singh. The men surrounded us and continued yelling. Singh yawned, and a few of the men backed up, but they didn’t stop yelling.

  “Just get on the ground, Lark,” Alex said, his voice rising over the horde of soldiers.

  I relented and got to my knees. Some soldiers approached us, pulling our hands behind our backs and cuffing them. The rest kept them kept their weapons trained on us. Singh sat down and yawned like it was the most boring day. The fact he wasn’t a lion skin rug yet was strange. It was as if they were expecting us and knew what Singh was.

  “Stand up,” the man behind me said in English once he cuffed me.

  They marched us through the tunnels to a set of stairs leading up to a metro station. The markings painted on this platform were the same as the ones civilians used all over the city. Once on the platform, they pressed us into a freight elevator which took us up into a building. According to my approximation, we were under the Kremlin.

  The elevator door opened, and they ushered us down a long corridor and into a massive room I recognized as the grand Kremlin from photos in the travel brochure in the hotel. It was a building within the fortress in the city's center. The floor was ornate and glossy in gold and blue patterns. Our feet tapped off the surface, sending sound around the vaulted ceiling.

  The arched walls had decorative gold and red engravings, and the ceiling matched the walls and pillars. Ahead a set of doors stood open. Above them, stylized pictures of men on horseback in long cloaks and warriors with spears decorated the wall.

  Lining the sides of the immense space were golden chandeliers with hundreds of tiny bulbs. They matched the sconces on the walls, and every light glowed like a Christmas tree.

  We walked through the set of doors, beneath a carving of an eagle. Inside they turned us to the left and marched through a hidden doorway in a bookcase.

  “Good evening,” a stern man in a military uniform said. He stood behind his desk, his sharp eyes taking in our ragtag appearance. He was in his late 60s, but his graying beard didn’t make him looks soft. It made him look coarse and sharp like the blade of my knife.

  “Hey, how's it going?” I said, and he scowled at me.

  He walked around the desk, his eyes still on me like I was the biggest threat. Everyone in the room dwarfed my five-foot frame, but with Durga on my team, he was right to watch me.

  Singh stepped in front of me and huffed at the army general.

  The man sneered at the lion but stopped moving towards me.

  “What were you doing in the metro?” the general asked, pacing in front of us.

  “Hunting giant rats,” I said. One soldier behind me snickered but bit off the laugh before the general's eyes shot up to pick out the responsible party.

  The door behind us opened, and I heard a set of dress shoes on the parquet floor. I knew who was back there; I didn’t need to turn around.

  “Good evening, General.” Vincent's sharp voice rang through the room.

  The General knocked his heels together and saluted. I changed a look and discovered Vincent dressed in as a Russian General too, except he was higher in rank, based on the number of people saluting him. I wondered if he was taking his brother's official place at the moment. It was doubtful he would have army rank after centuries in America, but he looked like his brother dressed up as he was and he had let his accent come back into his voice. He looked amazing. I had never thought of myself as someone who liked a man in uniform, but this was something else. This was the potent combination of Vincent and the power he commanded.

  That was the moment I saw it — the glow that Alex had said flickered around Vincent like a halo. A golden light.

  I stared at him in awe. He was speaking in Russian now, and I didn't understand a word, but it didn't matter when his eyes locked with mine and my blood boiled beneath my skin. My face heated and his lip curled into a small smile.

  The guards all put up their weapons at a few more words, and they stood down. Singh huffed and sauntered towards the door they had led us through, his tail twitching back and forth.

  “Let’s go, Lark,” Ninel said, gripping my elbow and steering me past drool-worthy Vincent. I could almost feel Durga’s eyes roll and didn't care. He was stunning. His broad shoulders and well-cut uniform. His cap was sitting jauntily on his head.

  As I walked past, his eyes followed me until I was around the corner. A guard led us back to the freight elevator.

  “What did he say?” I asked Ninel as we went down the elevator.

  “He told them you were part of a special team that was hunting a dangerous fugitive. They were to let you complete your sweep and stay out of the tunnels until further notice.”

  “That's handy,” I mumbled.

  “It’s definitely handy. We have full access. Let's go find the fallen one,” Ninel spoke in the vampire soft tones, below human hearing.

  “Do you think he’s fallen?” I asked in the same voice. It had taken me a while to get the hang of speaking below human hearing, but I was confident now I could do it without being heard. Drew had helped me master it, the thought reminded me I was missing a team member.

  “Where is Drew?” I asked in a normal voice.

  “I’m sorry, Durga, I have not seen him,” Ninel's face was solemn.

  Durga rose to the surface and smiled at the vampire before she receded.

  “What is the story with you and Durga?” I asked him in the quiet voice. The elevator opened, and we stepped off, leaving the guard behind.

  We walked down the steps back onto the rail line as Ninel told me the story.

  "Six hundred years ago, Durga walked the earth in the body of a woman named Kittur. She was a warrior princess in a time of men. She rode her horse and battled full armies. I was just a gladiator, fighting men for the entertainment of kings. But through the city, I heard whispered stories about Kittur, and my curiosity grew until one day I got on my horse and rode. The journey was several weeks. I had heard of the legend of the Durga but wasn't sure how to believe it until I saw her face and her eyes fla
shed red. Then I knew she was the Goddess. I dropped to my knees before her. I was just a human, but I pledged allegiance to her on that day, swearing I would fight for her until my last breath."

  "She led me to war many times, always keeping me close to her. We battled against monsters and men. She kept the balance, no matter which way it swung, she pushed it back to the center again."

  "Watching her swing a sword from the back of her horse was the most magnificent thing I have ever seen," he said, smiling at me. His face was so open when he spoke. "I devoted my life to her, and when I died, she brought me back, immortal, so I could continue to serve her."

  My eyes went wide. “She made you a vampire?”

  “Yes, it was the greatest day of my life. One I will never forget.”

  His words echoed through the tunnel and silence descended on us. Our feet scuffled over the cement in a steady rhythm.

  Durga made him a vampire.

  She pushed forward and spoke. “I would do it again in a heartbeat. My bravest warrior.” She reached out, squeezed his hand, and then retreated inside me.

  I felt like I had intruded on a private moment. Their history was so long. Beyond my comprehension. I studied Ninel’s profile as we walked through the tunnel. His broad nose and hardened features certainly made him look like a gladiator.

  I was still studying him when Alex spoke. “We should look through some of these smaller tunnels.”

  I dragged my eyes away from Ninel and took in the rest of the space. I could see dozens of tunnels coming off the main one, in both directions. Alex was still talking about the tunnels, so I tuned back into the conversation.

  “The word is that the main tunnel goes from one end of the city to the other. There are also stories about living quarters and cities down here.”

  “Some of those stories are true,” I spun around to see Vincent behind us. My heart stuttered a second before I found my words.