“I wasn’t the one yelling just a...”
“Not now, Meg.”
Kelly chuckled softly, no doubt enjoying seeing her friend knocked down a peg, but I was already on the move by then. “Flashlights down and auras to a bare minimum,” I whispered behind me, doing the same. Whether it was anticipation of combat or nervousness of who we might find waiting ahead, it took me more effort than I thought it would, but at last my power obeyed and faded out.
Though the corridor was a mess, it was still passable. Thankfully, we didn’t have far to go. Double doors, twisted and bent, stood before us partially opened. A thick plume of dust hung in the air, seemingly coming from within.
I held up a hand for the others to stop. Voices, much clearer now, were coming from inside.
“That statue down there. It was her, wasn’t it?”
Though the words didn’t mean anything to me, they didn’t need to. It was Bill. He was alive! A mix of both excitement and trepidation raced through me, causing my pulse to increase. Somewhere deep inside of my head, the warrior let out a growl of anger. Oh no you don’t! I grasped onto the positive feelings, forcing the rest back down, and was about to step forward when someone else spoke from up ahead.
“What are you talking about, Freewill?”
I knew that voice.
It was Alexander, the vampire leader and the bastard who had set all of this in motion. What was he doing here? Had he been captured? Or was this some double cross on his part?
I tiptoed closer to the door to see if I could learn more.
“I am not in the habit of tolerating insolence,” Alexander continued. “Now would be a particularly bad time to test my resolve. I would highly suggest you...” A hand fell on my shoulder and I let out a whoop of surprise, so intent was I on listening.
I glanced back and found it was Kelly. She smiled sheepishly and whispered, “Sorry.”
The jig was up. With Alexander’s level of power, there was no doubt he’d heard us. We had little choice now but to meet this head on.
“Lock and load,” I whispered, bringing my aura to bear. I pushed on the doors ahead of me. They squealed in protest, but opened enough to let us pass.
Answers lay within, but first we needed to make sure our friends were okay.
And if they weren’t, then Lord help anyone, vampire or otherwise, who stood in my way.
EPILOGUE
The next hour was a whirlwind, but not in the way I’d expected.
I’d been poised for a fight, ready to face The Destroyer and my destiny – the final battle between Icon and Night Spawn to determine the fate of humanity – be it freedom or an eternity of darkness.
Instead, I’d learned that The Destroyer was already dead by Bill’s hand. However, that wasn’t the only surprise. It turned out he’d merely been an errand boy, a servant. The true power behind the throne was Ib the First – the original vampire, a creature thousands of years old and yet somehow living under the nose of the First Coven all this time.
They hadn’t been the only ones fooled, though. Some months back, Bill had mentioned the name Calibra, Ib’s assumed identity, to me. It had seemed familiar, but I’d dismissed it at the time.
It was only now, huddled with Bernadette and Vincent, that I realized my mistake. Though the vampire nation had assumed her destroyed all these millennia, the Templar’s archives made mention of her possible survival. I’d seen them myself, a myth about an ancient evil with many names – Khal, Ibris, Calibrea and more. The Talmud called her Lilith, the first demon, but all of them ultimately referred to the same being.
Had I been paying better attention, I could have warned Bill. He could have warned the others.
But I hadn’t. And now she had revealed herself, dropped all pretense of hiding in the shadows. Though it wasn’t clear what her plans were, it didn’t really matter. She had kidnapped Ed and had taken many more – including members of the vampiric First Coven as prisoners. In the end, we’d been forced to make a deal with the devil himself, Alexander, to create a temporary alliance so as to track her down, end her threat, and rescue those we could.
“She is a demon of infinite dark magic,” Bernadette said.
“She’s a vampire,” I replied. “Older than the rest, but...”
“No! There’s more. Yes, she is older and stronger than any other, but it’s said that is only one of her guises. According to the tales, she can summon demons from Hell itself.”
“Listen to her, Blessed One,” Vincent said.
“It’s just myth and legend,” I argued.
“How do you explain away the destruction down below?”
Bernadette had a point. The Prefect’s area had been torn to shreds. It looked more like an explosion had hit that place rather than vampires duking it out. Still, the obvious answer to that was actual explosives. This complex was testament to the fact that the vampire nation wasn’t quite as archaic as portrayed in the movies.
But then I remembered the Jahabich. If there were creatures that could be said to rise up from the bowels of Hell, they sure as heck fit the bill. There was also the question of why they’d allied themselves with The Destroyer. If this Calibra could do as Bernadette said, then that could be a possible answer.
Still, it seemed too easy. I wasn’t quite ready to accept it, to attribute near godlike powers to this vampire. That seemed to be adding more than was necessary to our plate.
And mine was currently fuller than I wanted it to be, all because of a different vampire.
♦ ♦ ♦
Power was still spotty in the facility, but at least the lights were back on. Though it made me nervous to be in a den of creatures who considered me their blood enemy, I felt better knowing Alexander had departed following the declaration of our temporary truce. Apparently the high and mighty jerk was too good to lend a hand in securing this facility, and secured it soon would be. He’d let it be known in no uncertain terms that a team had been dispatched to ensure this complex was back under his people’s management. That meant it was going to be time to leave soon.
Despite his assurances, I had the feeling we’d simply cleaned out one vipers’ nest only to make way for the original snakes to take up residence again.
This and more weighed on my mind as I headed upstairs to convey some potential scrying suggestions to Meg, Kelly, and Veronica. Christy had asked me to pass on this information while she stayed below searching for clues with the others.
Therein lay my guilt. Our group wasn’t whole. Though Sally’s memories had somehow been restored, it seemed that was the sole victory we could claim. Ed had been kidnapped. Christy looked absolutely exhausted. And, worst of all, her fiancé Tom had been killed and his soul somehow trapped in a child’s toy, of all things.
I couldn’t help but wonder if it all would have turned out differently had I not fled following my brief aborted tryst with Bill. Maybe, but then Kelly, Vincent, and the others might not be alive now. Of course, it’s entirely possible they wouldn’t have faced the danger they had if I’d not been there. Some defender of humanity I’d turned out to be. The bulk of the danger had been dealt with in my absence while all I’d done was face down some minions, minions that I hadn’t even been able to finish off.
“Hey.”
I stopped dead in my tracks. I’d been so caught up in my darkening thoughts that I hadn’t noticed him approaching.
“Hey yourself,” I lamely countered, feeling my cheeks begin to flush and desperately willing them not to.
“That was some awesome timing you guys had back there.”
I smiled. “Funny how that worked out. Believe me, it wasn’t planned.”
“I can live with the occasional happy coincidence.” Bill was talking amiably enough, but something was wrong. Maybe it was just my imagination, but I could have sworn his voice carried a cadence of distance to it.
I wanted to apologize again, for so many things, but the words escaped me. Instead, I simply replied, “I’m not sure it
was.”
“What do you mean?”
I lowered my eyes as the familiar feelings again rose up in me. One part of me wished to be with him while the other conflicting desire screamed to destroy him. “Seems we’ve had an awful lot of coincidences lately, happy or otherwise.”
“Yeah, I’ve noticed that, too.”
“It’s almost like fate has...”
He held up a hand and laughed. “Let’s not get started with the F word again.”
I nodded, wanting to say more, but was afraid ... mostly that I wouldn’t be able to control myself once I started talking, although how that would manifest itself I couldn’t tell. The silence stretched out for several seconds, until I finally tried to change the subject. “I’m sorry about your friend.”
“Which one?”
“All of them. We’ll save them. I promise you that.”
He leaned against the wall and crossed his arms. I hadn’t been wrong. He was the same person as when last I’d seen him, yet not. There was a coolness about him now, although whether toward me or because of what he’d seen, I couldn’t know. “Hopefully,” he replied. “So far, I’ve been batting zero in that dugout. I mean, my D&D group and I weren’t what I’d call close, but they deserved better.”
“It sounds to me like you tried.”
He let out a pained sigh. “Not hard enough. There’s nothing else I can do for them, but we can still save Ed. As for Tom...”
“That’s just a little weird,” I replied, hoping to add a little levity, before realizing how stupid and insensitive that was. “No pun intended.”
“You can say that again.”
“Do you think we can ... fix him?”
He was silent for a few moments, his eyes, usually so cheerful, now unreadable.
It broke my heart a little to see him like this. Barely realizing I was doing so, I placed a hand on his shoulder. For a moment, I felt the surge of energy inside of me, the hungry desire to stamp out creatures like him. No! I was in charge, not the power. “We’ll find a way,” I said through gritted teeth, trying to sound casual while a war was fought inside of me.
“Will we?” he asked, catching me off guard.
“For now, let’s just concentrate on the task at hand. How’s that sound?” Ugh! What was wrong with me? He was obviously talking about his friend, and I’d just spouted off like this was some teen angst drama on the CW.
“Probably a smart idea.” There was no mistaking his tone ... rejection. I felt slapped in the mouth as surely as with any hand. It shouldn’t have been a surprise, though. The other vampire, Sally, I’d known something had changed between them, but hadn’t wanted to dwell on it. Why would I? There was no contest between us. She was model gorgeous, sharp witted, powerful, and sure of herself in the way I was supposed to be but wasn’t. Most of all, she was whole again. One could almost feel the weight lifted off of Bill’s shoulders when he’d said that she’d gotten her memories back.
Tears began to blur my vision. Rather than let him see me like that, I simply nodded and began to walk away.
“But what about when it’s over?”
What?
I wanted to turn and run back to him, to let him know that I would try my damnedest to master this beast inside of me, just as he’d mastered his. But then I remembered what had disturbed me most upon learning that The Destroyer was dead by another hand. Damn me! “I don’t know, Bill. We might have bigger problems than our powers.”
“What?”
“Fate.”
“I told you not to use the...”
“I know, but I can’t help myself.”
“Okay, fine. So what’s the issue?”
Wasn’t it obvious? Was he just toying with me? “The Destroyer is dead.”
“Trust me, I’m aware. I was there.”
I blinked away the tears and, once I was sure they were gone, turned back toward him with a false sense of serenity. “What was it like, facing him?”
To my surprise, he actually laughed. “You really don’t want to know.”
I wasn’t sure if he was goading me or not. My insecurity told me yes, but I’d never known Bill to be cruelly petty. “Fair enough. You did good, though. I’m proud of you.” I meant it, too.
“Thanks, but I can’t help but hear the but in your voice.”
My God, he wanted me to say it, didn’t he?
I turned, unable to face him anymore, and forced my legs to continue walking. “You’re the last Freewill again, and I think we both know how that’s supposed to end between us.”
♦ ♦ ♦
I didn’t get very far. Mentally, at least.
After delivering the information to the trio of witches, my plan had been to assist the Templar in whatever way necessary to retrieve their lost members and prepare to send them home.
Instead, I found myself pacing back and forth for over an hour in a room that shared more than a passing resemblance to a mundane employee lounge.
The warrior in me had pushed to the forefront of my subconscious again, but this time there wasn’t an urge to destroy, just a disgust at the weakness I’d shown. I was the Icon, for Christ’s sake. My power was based on my belief in myself. What a joke.
As if in answer to this, my hand brushed against the pommel of my sheathed sword and for a moment the weapon vibrated, as if unsure it wanted my touch.
Finally, after much internal debate, I realized I couldn’t leave things as they were. Fate may have put Bill and me on a collision course, but that didn’t mean I needed to accept it lying down. Lots could happen between now and then. The end could be a day from now, a month, or years away. Did I really want to live my life with such indecision until then?
Even if he rejected me outright, at least then I’d have my answer. We could still stand together against Calibra. Hell, if that were the case, maybe it would allow me to focus more properly on the task ahead.
My mind made up, I marched back down to the Prefect’s level, where he’d been headed. Being that I hadn’t heard from any of them since, I decided to check there first. Maybe they’d found something of interest that had kept them busy.
One of the double doors leading into the space had been torn off the hinges, no doubt to make passage in and out easier. Definitely done by someone with supernatural strength. Maybe Sally. A sting of jealousy hit my gut, enough to cause even the warrior inside of me to back up a step.
At the sound of voices, I slowed my pace. Bill was definitely in there, but he wasn’t alone.
Almost unaware I was doing so, I stopped just inside the door. A massive pile of rubble lay close by, enough to conceal me from the rest of the room. Any closer and they’d surely sense me, and suddenly I didn’t want that.
Despite my desire to be in their circle, I wasn’t. I didn’t deserve it. All of them, even those without powers, had followed Bill and faced the devil that needed to be dealt with. All of them save me. Thanks to my selfishness, fear, and subsequent sloth, he’d ended up facing The Destroyer alone, a suicide mission if ever there was one.
But it hadn’t been. In the end, he hadn’t needed me. As for our distraction tactic, it was hard to say if we’d made any difference at all.
How arrogant to assume any of them, least of all him, wanted me there now.
The point was further driven home listening to the easy conversation that ensued. There was none of the hesitation in his voice now. He sounded confident, not a trace of the guarded tone he’d taken with me.
All at once they stopped talking. For a moment, I assumed they’d noticed me. I’d have to make up some pathetic lie about just wandering by and checking on them. In a whole life full of excuses, what was one more?
Instead, I heard a murmur in my mind, low at first. I wasn’t sure as to what was happening, but then the voice of Harry Decker became loud and clear in my head. Why were they searching for him? Had they lost his skull in the fallout?
More importantly, why did Christy sound angry?
Heate
d words were shared, something about The Source. I had no idea what they were talking about, but then I remembered another Templar myth from their archives ... something about a wellspring from which all infernal power flowed into this world, basically their version of the Gates of Hell. I’d come to distrust their rigid dogma, but – judging from the conversation playing out a dozen yards away – it seemed as if that’s what they were actually talking about.
And that’s when I heard them utter the phrase “The White Mother.” I’d heard her mentioned before in passing. She was the legendary progenitor of the Magi, their Christ-figure, if you will ... a being given near mythical significance.
The thing was, they were talking about her in the present tense along with the Jahabich. That didn’t make any sense.
As far as I was aware, they’d faced off against Calibra and...
That’s when it hit me.
Calibra, Cynthia’s mentioning of Kala the White, the White Mother ... the legend of Khal, just another name for Lilith. The destruction in this place as if someone had set off a bomb ... the Jahabich screaming out “Mother” just before they left.
It couldn’t be.
But it was.
Kala, Ib … KAL-IB … Calibra. It sounded amateurishly simple, almost a bad coincidence. But then, hadn’t I mentioned to Bill just a short while ago that strange coincidences seemed to be the norm as of late? Also, wasn’t there something to be said about hiding in plain sight?
Calibra wasn’t just the first vampire, she was somehow a master mage as well. Heck, it sounded like she was the master mage, the one whom all other Magi revered as an almost godlike figure.
What did that mean? And, just as important, why was I just finding this out now? Was this common knowledge among the two races? Did this make them connected? Was all of the talk about Magi neutrality in this supernatural war just a ruse?
And if this Calibra was the mother that the Jahabich had mentioned, how did this all tie together?
Conflicting emotions raced through me as I tried to process this. The vampires, the Magi, the Jahabich ... all linked to this one being, the only outlier being me, the one person kept out of the loop.
Shining Fury: from the Tome of Bill Series Page 17