by Terence West
Hoping quickly we could let bygones be bygones, I waited for him to recognize me.
"What you want, Seeker?"
That was as close an invitation as I would get. I looked at the two women and bared my fangs. They quickly slipped out of the booth and disappeared into the waves of humans. Sliding in next to him, I placed my hands on the table and folded them neatly. The whammy didn't work on his particular species. I had to do this the hard way. I didn't think we were getting off to the best start. “Hello, Crash."
"Dammit, Rose.” Crash spoke with a thick Cockney accent. “I dropped good money for those whores."
"There'll be others,” I assured him.
Crash cocked his head slightly. “Look, I don't know why you're mucking about in Toltec tonight, but I didn't do nothing. I'm clean."
"I know."
He cocked his eyebrow. “Then what the hell are you doing here? This isn't some kind of social visit.” He leaned back in the booth playing with an empty glass. “Or maybe a new Brimstone ex-con outreach program? You know, making sure I'm reintegrating into society.” I watched the glass fog over in his hand then melt into a puddle on the table. Drawing his fingertips through the fluid, it vanished leaving no trace of the glass at all. He was trying to unnerve me. “I don't think you would come here on holiday."
I nodded. “You're right. Business.” Reaching into my pocket, I produced a thick wad of bills and set them in front of Crash. He eyed them warily. “I need your help."
"And?” He scooted several of his empties out of the way. “You've busted me three times, Rose. You cost me a lot of business, not to mention time spent in Brimstone lockup. That place isn't especially pleasant, you know? I've heard Hell has nicer accommodations."
"At least you're still alive,” I offered, refusing to apologize. “We all have a job to do.” I pointed at the money. “You gonna help me or not?"
Crash stared at the money. I knew he was deciding if this was some kind of sting operation or not. He was wary of me, and for good reason. He was also extremely clever. But there was one thing I could count on: his greed.
Finally snatching the cash off the table, Crash dropped it into his coat pocket. “What do you need then?"
"Come on.” I slid out of the booth. “I'll tell you on the way."
Chapter 8
Crash rolled up onto his toes and whistled. “You say a Brimstone Cleaner pulled this off, yeah?"
"From what I understand,” I admitted, looking over the gorgeous park before us. The sprinkler system had apparently come on while I was gone. Beneath the industrial strength streetlights the wet grass glittered and twinkled. It struck me. The illusion was so complete, so well thought out, that it had a sprinkler system. It was simply amazing.
"This bloke worked some powerful mojo,” Crash added as he stuffed his hands in his jeans pockets. “I don't know what you expect me to do. This is beyond even me."
"Don't give me that line, Crash,” I warned him.
Crash couldn't take his eyes away from the park. He seemed transfixed by it.
I stepped closer to him. “What do you see?"
"Colors, Rose,” Crash breathed. “My God, the colors are breathtaking."
With my preternatural sight, I could see some of the telltale signs of magical use, but I was sure it was nothing like Crash could perceive. Magic left a very specific fingerprint that often times looked like a television screen when it was slightly out of whack. Colors jumped and shimmered over objects randomly creating a beautiful prism effect. The more powerful the magic, the more brilliant the colors were. I knew then that the lowly Cleaner Witch had nothing to do with this. The magic users delegated to the Cleaners were indeed powerful, but this was well beyond that. This was simply incredible. But there were always seams where the magic was stitched to reality. The trick was finding and exploiting them.
"What exactly are you looking for, Rose?” Crash asked, finally turning away from the park. “I mean, why are we here? You obviously didn't bring me out to play on the jungle gym with you."
"This used to be a Vampire nest.” My tone was flat and even as I stared. “I need to know if there's anything left."
"You can tell there's nothing left,” Crash said, motioning to the park before us. “You don't need a bloody Razer to tell you that."
Crash, much like his name implied, was a Raze Demon, a destroyer of things. His species had the particular ability to bring down anything, including complex spells. He had a unique understanding of the world, not seeing it as most of us did. He saw patterns in everything, and with that talent, he saw how to undo them. He was a living wrecking ball, capable of wiping anything from the face of the Earth.
Razers made especially good thieves. There wasn't much they couldn't break into. It was a simple matter of making the vault door nonexistent and they were in. I had caught him fencing stolen goods twice, and once during an actual robbery. He had chosen to knock over one of the smaller casinos off the Strip in hopes he would take enough to retire somewhere. Instead, he had lost his focus during the heist and melted a hole in the floor. I found him stuck as the floor solidified around his legs. It took a crew with two jackhammers working ten hours to get him out. That one had been a bit difficult to explain to the human authorities.
If you weren't on Crash's good side, then there was a good chance you could stop existing. Luckily, Razers didn't seem to affect vampires. We were already dead, removed from this realm, yet somehow still anchored here. Crash had told me once that when he looked at me, all he saw was a hole in the fabric of space. There was no pattern, no logic to my existence, nothing he could undo. For that alone, I was thankful to be undead.
"Dammit, Crash!” I growled, my eyes glossing over black. “This is important. Don't make me bleed you.” I grabbed his expensive leather jacket and lifted him easily off the ground. I didn't want to have to pull the Vamp card on him, but if he wasn't going to help me—
I stopped myself.
Crash was playing cool, but I could hear his heart beating wildly in his chest. He was scared out of his mind. I was one of the few things he had no defense against. If I decided to take him, it was all over. And he knew it.
Setting him down, I took a step back from him and tried to regain my focus. “I just need to know if you can raze it."
Adjusting his glasses, he straightened his leather jacket with a quick tug. He stared angrily at me. “You know I hate it when you do that."
I nodded. It seemed everyone hated it when I went all vampy, probably with good reason.
"Give a bloke a heart attack. Did you ever stop to think that maybe I had a condition? Like a pacemaker or something? Shouldn't do that.” He was playing it up now. I had folded my hand. Crash knew I needed him more than he needed me. He turned back to the park. “I don't think I want to raze this one, Rose."
I shifted my weight between my feet impatiently. “Why not?"
"It's a work of art,” Crash said gently. “It's the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. Besides,” he turned back to me, “think of the children. You don't want them playing in the street again, do you? A damned shame, that's what it would be."
I sighed in frustration. Now he was just yanking my chain. I was done. There were other ways to do this. I didn't need him. “Fine. Go find your hookers and have a good time,” I looked squarely in his eyes, “but I'll remember this the next time.” Walking around the driver's side of my car, I yanked open the door angrily.
His eyes widened. “Wait,” Crash said, rushing toward me. “I was just jerking you around. You know, a little payback for going all Queen of the Damned on me."
I shook my head. I had given him his chance. “I don't have time for this, Crash."
"Okay, okay.” He turned and walked back to the grass’ edge. “Down to work.” He paused and leaned slightly to the right. “There's a seam right there,” he said, pointing just past the jungle gym. “I can see the house's foundation. It's still here."
Reaching into my backs
eat, I grabbed a black tote bag of supplies and slung it over my shoulder. My bluff had worked this time. I moved to his side. “Any bodies?"
"No,” he said, scanning over the park. “It looks like they...” He let the sentence die and started into the park. I was quickly on his heels. Moving to the pond in the center, Crash squatted down next to the water. “Never use water in an illusion,” he said, shaking his head. “Tell me what's wrong with it."
I cocked my head slightly and stared at the pond. I saw a telltale hint of magic, but nothing more. It looked like a pond to me. “I don't know,” I said in defeat. “What's wrong with it?"
"The pattern's all wrong,” Crash answered.
Ah. He was seeing with his demon eyes.
"It's so hard to get water right,” he admitted. “I've only seen it perfectly created a few times. Looks normal enough, but it will always be a few degrees cooler than it should be, and there will never be any plant life in it. It's barren."
I waited. “How does this help us?"
He pointed excitedly at the water. “This is your entrance. I don't think I can raze the spell over the rest of the park, but I can use this error.” He waited for me to comprehend, but it just wasn't coming. He sighed. “The basement is still here, buried beneath the magic. There are seams in the park, but this is a powerful spell. The errors in the water will allow you to access the nest's basement."
"Us,” I corrected him. “I'm not going in alone. You're coming with me."
"Bloody hell,” he protested. “That wasn't part of the deal."
"I never made a deal,” I said, slapping him on the shoulder. I stood up and took a step back. “Do it."
Leaning over, I watched Crash's hands transform. The dark flesh fell away leaving what looked like red armor plating. A Raze Demon was a very intimidating creature when revealed. I was secretly glad he chose to remain in human guise most of the time. He had only ever shown me his true form once when I busted him. That was enough. As he dipped his hand into the water, I couldn't help thinking of Moses parting the Red Sea. The water spun away from him creating an almost perfect hole. A little more than six feet in diameter, we would have to go inside one at a time.
I peered inside. “Care to do the honors?"
Crash stood up, shaking his hands until his true appearance was completely hidden again. “You're such a sissy.” Pulling off his glasses, he then folded them shut and slid them into his jacket. Without any hesitation, he jumped through the hole and disappeared below the water.
Slinging my bag onto my back, I looked inside one more time then jumped.
Landing with a hollow echo, I couldn't stop a gasp escaping from my mouth. The basement was completely intact, down to the broken pool table in the far corner, but that wasn't why I was gasping. Above us the illusion of the park shimmered, twisted, and folded in on itself. Thousands of colors swirled and combined creating a Technicolor ceiling over our heads unlike anything I had ever seen before. I understood now what Crash had been seeing the whole time. It was indeed beautiful.
"Holy hell.” I heard Crash mutter from further in.
Pulling my attention away from the colors, I walked across the basement floor. But something wasn't right. It was bare wood. Shouldn't the basement floor be cement? “What's up?"
Crash pointed to the corner of the basement. I felt my jaw drop. “What the hell is going on?"
"A Cleaner Witch didn't do this,” Crash said in disbelief. “The whole house is still here. It's just been flipped.” He pointed to the reversed staircase we were both staring at. It seemed to descend into the floor, instead of up, with the handrails on the bottom. “The bloody house is upside down!"
"How could someone do this?” I paused. “More importantly, why would someone do this?"
"I don't know,” Crash admitted. “I have never seen something this dramatic done. We've stepped through the looking glass, Alice."
I knew exactly what he meant. At any moment I expected to see the Cheshire Cat or the Mad Hatter charging upside down along the stairs shouting, “Change places!"
"Come on.” I grabbed Crash's arm and headed for the stairs. My nose caught the scent of death again but this time I didn't smell dead tourists. “The bodies are still here. They didn't wipe them!"
Crash tried to fight against my pull, but I easily overpowered him. “Rose!"
Lifting him up, I jumped onto the stairwell without even looking. Sailing through the darkness all I could hear was Crash's screaming. Hitting the floor, I set Crash gently behind me and adjusted his leather coat. He stared at me bewildered then flipped me off. That must be the legendary English charm I'm always hearing about. Ignoring him, I scanned through the darkness. We were on what used to be the first floor, very near the front door. I recognized the upside down fireplace as a marker. This was exactly where I wanted to be.
"Look around for a Brimstone ID card,” I instructed him. “It has to be here."
The floor was a mess of broken furniture, dead bodies, and spent shell casings. Sifting through debris, I started to become more and more exasperated. None of this would have been necessary if Captain Dipshit had just listened to me. Grabbing a thick recliner from the floor, I lifted it over my head and slammed it into the wall out of frustration.
"Easy, Rose,” Crash scolded from the other side of the room. “Don't want to squash your friend Crash, right?"
I wiped my blond hair out of my eyes. “Sorry. Just frustrated.” I turned and faced Crash. “It's not here."
"What now?"
I started to shrug but spotted the Vampire Patrick had killed. His body was laying painfully over a broken end table. The gunshot wound in his head and the stake buried in his chest was readily visible. I stared at the dead Inhuman. Something wasn't exactly right. His fangs seemed slightly shorter than they should be. I shrugged. Each of us was a bit different.
Slipping my tote off my shoulder, I walked quickly to the Vampire and dropped down to my knees. Opening the bag, I pulled a portable battery free and set it next to the Vampire.
"You're not doing what I think you're doing,” Crash said worriedly as he watched.
I looked up and nodded. “Only choice. I have questions.” I looked back at the Vampire with a frown. “He has answers."
"You can't do this, Rose,” Crash argued. “You know what happens to Vampires when they get Franked?"
Ignoring Crash's warnings, I yanked a couple of steel bolts out of the tote. The ends were sharpened, while the opposite side had a thin tab to attach wires to. Yanking the stake out of the Vampire's chest, I tossed it to Crash. “If he goes nuts, use this."
The Raze Demon frowned. “Not very comforting."
I jabbed the first bolt into the Vampire's neck, just below his jawbone. Rolling his head over, I pushed the second one into the opposite side with a disgusting squish of flesh and fluids. Reaching back into my bag, I grabbed a glass vial filled with a purple substance. A heavy black rubber stopper was fitted securely in the end. I really had no idea what the stuff was in the vial—magic wasn't my strong suit—I just knew that it worked. Popping the stopper, I set the edge of the vial on the Vampire's lips. Tipping it up, I emptied into its mouth.
"Don't you think you're using a bit much?” Crash was wringing his hands around the stake. “We don't want him too energetic."
I couldn't help but laugh. “Will you relax?” Pulling a slim set of jumper cables out of my bag, I attached an alligator clip to each of the bolts. “Nothing can go wrong.” I was a terrible liar.
And Crash knew it. “Sure, you can think that all you want. I don't like mucking about with Frankenstein reanimation spells.” He shifted his weight back and forth from foot to foot. “It's dangerous."
He was right, but I needed answers. This was the only way. Odds were that the Vampire wouldn't know anything, but I had to try. Attaching one of the clips to the battery, I gave Crash the most confident smile I could muster. I attached the second clip.
A jolt of blue electricity skitte
red over the Vampire's body. It convulsed as the electrical current hit its muscles drawing its back tightly up into an arch. I could smell the purple powder in its mouth beginning to react. The Vampire convulsed. As he shook, a thin wisp of purple vapor wound out from his mouth and encircled him. I could smell burning flesh from around the bolts. I heard the Vampire moan.
"Cover your ears,” I said, standing up.
"What?” Crash asked unable to take his eyes away from the scene unfolding before him.
"Cover your ears!"
I clamped my hands over my ears just as the Vampire shrieked at the top of its lungs. The scream was unearthly and bone-chilling. It was reliving the last moments of its life: being shot and staked. Its hands wrapped around its bloody head. I was certain the pain was crippling. As the scream slowly died, its hands shot up to its neck and ripped the bolts free. Rolling off the table, it spit the last of the purple concoction out of its mouth. The Vampire looked up with milky white eyes and focused on me.
"You,” it stammered. It tried to move toward me, but it wasn't coordinated enough yet. Its reanimated body was still mostly dead. I had used a very mild mixture to bring it back. This pretty much negated the possibility it would go on a killing spree in downtown Vegas, or even kill Crash or me. Stumbling over more debris, its eyes became angry. “You did this to me, Seeker."
Well, at least it remembered me. I stood my ground. The Frankenvamp was no match for me, but I needed it to trust me. “No, I didn't. I tried to help you."
"I don't like this, Rose!” Crash shouted, holding the stake tightly. “Kill it!"
"No,” I said, holding up a hand to silence Crash. “This will pass. He's disoriented and in pain.” I took a step closer to the Frankenvamp. We didn't have long. He was dying ... for the third time. “I need your help."
The Frankenvamp eyed me warily. He seemed to be regaining control of more of his faculties. Reanimation was a dangerous game. If things didn't go right, you created a powerful zombie with a taste for brains. The mind had to remain intact. “What's your name?"