by Jex Lane
Time changed things though. Around the time Rage-Boulder appeared, so had witches who were willing to work with vampires, and vampires them.
Jet resisted the urge to rip Tarrick’s throat out for hurting Fate-Pebble, even if it was for her protection.
When it was done, Tarrick released her unconscious body and looked at the remaining rods. He chose one, bent it, and stuck it in his mouth.
“Remember, when it hits zero, pull me out of here,” he said to Jet.
The magic kicked in and Tarrick’s body went limp, his head drooping to the side. His eyes dropped to the phone before all life left them.
Jet poked the incubus. No breathing, no heartbeat. Nothing.
Above him, he could hear hunters on land looking for them. Distant and faint though.
Jet settled. Waiting and watching didn’t bother him. The chance of accidentally killing something Rage-Boulder enjoyed did.
He looked at the phone. Humans had fascinating inventions. Not that he’d tell anyone that he admired them. His brethren would make fun of him. Not Asper though, she never did.
84:39…84:38…84:37…84:36…
CHAPTER NINE
00:03…00:02…00:01…00:00.
Jet grabbed Tarrick and began to fight through the dirt above him. Unlike a vampire, he couldn’t command it.
“There!” someone shouted when he broke the surface. A team of hunters stood waiting at the water’s edge.
The Wardens.
They looked exhausted, and their uniforms had holes and tears. Weapons dripped with blood.
An SUV waited nearby.
With Fate-Pebble under the spell to prevent tracking, how did the hunters find them? Jet would find out later. For now, he dragged Tarrick’s body out of the sand. Silva opened the Warlord’s mouth and pulled the metal rod out.
Jet didn’t wait around to see if she’d begin kissing and fucking him. He dug down into the sand to retrieve Fate-Pebble. When he pulled her out, another hunter approached. Jet growled at him, stopping the hunter in his tracks.
“Jet, are you going to let one of us pull the flickstick from Samantha’s mouth or you going to do it?” Silva asked. Beside her, Tarrick was on his knees heaving, his claymore missing from his back. Lost in the sand.
Jet looked at his own claws. Unless he shifted back into the human form, he’d cut up Fate-Pebble. And paws couldn’t grab anything. He didn’t want to shift again, so he backed away.
The hunter he had growled at opened Fate-Pebble’s mouth and pulled out the magic rod.
Her eyes snapped open and she stood in one quick movement. Growling, she crossed the sand to Tarrick and slapped him across the face.
The hunters pulled weapons. Jet went to her side, keeping his back hunched and baring his teeth at them.
Tarrick motioned for the hunters to put their weapons down.
“Sting a little! I hate you,” Fate-Pebble said.
“You’re alive, aren’t you?”
“Undead. And I’m telling my father how painful that was.” She turned and stomped to the waiting SUV, slamming the door behind her. Jet went and sat outside the car door.
Silva laughed. “She knows how to throw quite the tantrum, doesn’t she, sir?”
Tarrick stood, brushing sand off his suit and from his hair. “She’s a child.”
“I’m not a child and I’m not throwing a tantrum and you said you dismissed the Wardens for the night. Liar,” Fate-Pebble said from inside the car, knowing everyone could hear her.
Silva laughed harder. “What, you didn’t know I was following you with all your oracle powers?”
Fate-Pebble said nothing. Jet didn’t think the hunter commander's comment was reasonable. His stone couldn’t see everything all the time.
“Report,” Tarrick ordered as he walked to the car.
“We engaged three teams before the warriors began showing up. I ordered our retreat then.” Silva opened the door for him. Jet jumped inside before Tarrick could get in. He settled on the floor at Fate-Pebble’s feet while Tarrick sat next to her. Silva sat in the backwards facing seat. “You were right—Vassu’s in the city. Are you certain you want to stay here? Is King Magnus really worth all this effort, sir?”
“If I can convince him to join us, we’ll not only gain some much-needed funds but he has sixty hunter teams loyal to him and almost as many warriors. He influences this entire region. It’s worth the risk.”
“Traaaaack?” Jet asked, his voice like rocks grinding together.
“It’s always super creepy when they talk,” Silva said.
Fate-Pebble hissed at Silva. “Jet is not creepy. You take that back.”
Jet knew that other creatures found gargoyles a little unnerving. It didn’t bother him. Even still, he did appreciate his stone’s defense.
Silva held up her hands in surrender. “Nope. Not creepy at all. What’s he asking? Track?”
Fate-Pebble rested her foot on Jet’s lower back. “He wants to know how you found us.”
“GPS. Warlord’s phone.”
Ah. Some type of technology thing.
“Speaking of my phone…” Tarrick looked at Jet.
When the phone timer hit zero, it stopped being his responsibility. Jet lie his head down on the floor, and let his wings droop to the sides.
Silva lifted her wrist to her mouth. “Jones. Retrieve the Warlord’s phone from the sand please.”
“My weapon as well. Have it cleaned when we return.”
“And his claymore,” she added.
The SUV continued along. The occupants silent.
For an incubus, the Warlord didn’t talk as much as the others of his race. He always seemed satisfied to reflect on a situation. Or maybe he was scheming. Either way, his mind, not his mouth, always seemed busy.
If Rage-Boulder were here, it wouldn’t be quiet.
A hunter teleported into the passenger seat of the car and held out the Warlord’s phone.
Silva passed it to Tarrick who busied himself with it. Fate-Pebble kept glancing over. When they’d look at her, she’d return to looking pissed off.
Tarrick looked annoyed when he caught her. “If you have something to say, by all means…”
“How do hunters teleport into the car?”
“I’m sorry?”
“It’s just…they’re standing still right? Then they teleport to a moving vehicle. There’s like a whole momentum thing…”
“Magic,” Silva said; deadpan.
“But sometimes…never mind.” Fate-Pebble scowled and then tried to look at Tarrick’s phone. “What are you doing?”
“Pulling reports of missing children from December,” he said.
“Why?”
“To locate Krampus. Something is abducting children and I didn’t notice.” Tarrick shook his head as if disappointed in himself. “The most recent reports are from Germany. Commander, we’re headed there tonight. I need operators scanning for any reports of abducted or missing children. It’s priority one.”
“Yes, sir.” Silva took out her own phone and began working on it.
Fate-Pebble sighed. “My German sucks.”
“You’re not coming with me,” Tarrick said.
“Yes I am.”
“No.”
“But—”
“No.”
Fate-Pebble met his hard gaze. “If you say so.”
“I do.”
She shrugged and leaned back in the chair. The rest of the drive was mostly silent, save for the tapping on phones.
When they arrived back at the fortress, they changed clothes yet again. Jet slumped down by the fireplace and Tarrick called in a servant to light it.
Fate-Pebble lifted the landline and began dialing a number.
“What are you doing?” Tarrick asked, adjusting his compression suit.
“Calling Devak.”
Tarrick paused. “Why?”
“To come pick me up.”
“That is unnecessary. My hunters will return
you to the base.”
“Oh no, we’re heading to Germany”—she feigned an innocent smile—“to find Krampus. Devak could probably locate him in a fraction of the time you could.”
“Doubtful.”
“I started this. I’m going to see it through. If you want to kick me out, fine. I’ll do this with Devak instead.”
“Alright, Oracle.” Tarrick grabbed the phone from her and hung it up. “The Wardens are coming with us, I’m going to use my favored weapon, and if I order you to stay back, you’ll do so. No complaining.” He called Silva in, who helped him into his armor. On her command, the magic activated and the iridescent metal wrapped around him. He fastened his kanabō to his back and said, “Let’s go” before marching out the door, his hunter bodyguards behind him.
Jet begrudgingly left the warm fire surrounded by comfortable hearthstones. He wanted to hunt the Krampus but the constant sex and changing clothes annoyed him. He could do with a good sit for a few days.
Before they could exit Tarrick’s room, Fate-Pebble yelled “Oh” and darted into the closet. She came out holding clothes in a large size.
Nope. He was not changing back into that humanoid form. He’d done it once tonight for her and he hadn’t even needed to; she’d made him do it to show off.
“I didn’t do it to show off. We’re still going somewhere that doesn’t allow gargoyles. I assumed you’d be in your human form all night is all. My bad,” she said.
All the same, he refused.
She dumped all the clothes onto Tarrick’s bed. “Fine.”
A slight rumble of displeasure came from Tarrick.
“Operator, send a servant up to clean the Warlord’s room,” Silva said into her comm, then looked at Fate-Pebble. “How do you do that?”
“Do what?” Fate-Pebble asked.
“Understand him. He didn’t say anything and he has no freakin’ facial expressions.” Silva motioned to Jet’s face.
Fate-Pebble shrugged. “Don’t know. Just do.”
“Do you read his mind?”
“Nope.”
“Can you read a gargoyle’s emotions, sir?”
Tarrick, in the lead, didn’t bother to look back or stop walking. “Only the strong emotions.” His phone began to ring and he answered it with a, “Yes.”
“Sir we have an incoming call request from your son.”
“Which one?”
The operator paused before answering. “High Lord General Tarquin.”
CHAPTER TEN
Jet took a seat in the hallway; the party of six hunters, one vampire oracle, and one incubus warlord currently occupied.
Everyone looked away, pretending they all couldn’t hear both ends of the Warlord’s call.
“Will he be able to trace this call?” Tarrick asked.
“No, sir,” the operator on the other end of the line said.
“Put him through.” There was a slight pause before he said, “High General.”
“Father. Finally coming out of hiding so you can terrorize a civilian and kill some novice hunters?” Jet could hear the venom dripping from every word.
“I wanted to stretch my wings a little. How can I help you tonight?”
“I’ve called to extend an offer of mercy. You’ve lost every major engagement since you betrayed our people, and you will continue to do so. If you turn yourself in now, the High King will give you a quick death and grant those who followed your lies amnesty.”
“Thank you for the call, but I’ll be declining the High King’s mercy at this time. Anything else I could do for you tonight?”
A growl of frustration came from Tarquin. “I will capture you, and when I do, I won’t be as soft as you are with your prisoners. You’ll regret betraying our people.”
“I haven’t betrayed anyone. I hope you see that one day.” Tarrick pressed the button to end the call but not before the word traitor came through it.
Without a word, Tarrick resumed walking down the hall, making his way to the leystone. Everyone followed in silence until they arrived and piled in.
“Where to, boss?” Silva asked, her hand on the stone.
“We’ll start at Genthin for now. An incubus child was abducted from there two days ago.”
Before Silva activated the stone, Fate-Pebble whispered, “Devak is called traitor also.”
Tarrick opened his mouth to respond, only to be cut off when his phone rang again. “Yes.”
“Sir,” an operator said, “Emissary Falise just reported his son is missing.”
“Thank you.”
Silva shook her head. “We don’t even have a stone there.”
“We have one close. I’ll fly the oracle in.”
“Carry me? My father is lucky he has wings now or he’d be so jealous I got to fly around with you. But why fly? Don’t you have a car?” Fate-Pebble asked.
“Not in Blutbad I don’t.”
Fate-Pebble mouthed ‘oh’.
“You’re scared,” Tarrick said.
“Not for me. For you. I’m not sure I can protect you from them.”
From who? Jet had never heard of the city, Blutbad. Or rather, Bloodbath. Strange name for a city…
Fate-Pebble patted Jet’s head and explained, “That’s not its real name, that’s just what everyone calls it. It’s a vampire city full of old crotchety vamps who don’t really want to team up with Tarrick. Is it true they put red dye in the river every summer?”
Tarrick nodded. “Yes.”
“We going there, boss?” Silva asked.
“We are.”
“I’m not sure we shou—” before Fate-Pebble could finish, Silva activated the leystone and they were in Germany.
When the green light faded, Jet was surprised to find himself in an ancient crypt.
Fate-Pebble scrunched her nose. “How have the vampires not found this stone? Or the High King?”
Tarrick began walking, again expecting everyone to follow. “Sometimes the best place to hide something is where they think you’d never dare hide it. And sometimes reports get lost over the years.”
They stopped in front of a massive boulder covering the exit. Tarrick began to change into his true incubus form. His wings emerged from his back, horns from his forehead. He grew a couple inches short of eight feet and his body became bulkier; his armor changed shape around his hooves. He grabbed the boulder and shoved it aside.
Cold night air seeped in. Snow, gravestones, and many trees surrounded them. Tarrick wrapped an arm around Fate-Pebble and took to the sky.
Jet followed them. Below, he could see the flashing green lights of the hunters as they teleported along.
Flying for miles, they were farther out from Blutbad than Jet expected. Eventually, a city rose out of the hilly forested landscape. As structures became more frequent, Tarrick flew lower to the ground. His hunters erected veils, masking him from outside eyes.
A wide river ran through the city and a warm sensation began to fill Jet. Old, gothic buildings called to him. Their stones held many stories. Stories of blood and death. Wars and conquest. And of a hard people. Survivors.
Even the newer buildings—covered with glass—had carved stone worked into them. Jet sensed hundreds of his own kind here. Gargoyles usually had more of an affinity with vampires than any other creature, and this city would feel like home to any of them.
If Jet didn’t have stones to take care of, he wouldn’t have minded staying here for a few centuries.
How is it that he’d never heard of this place?
He’d never seen it on a map—yes, even he had looked at maps from time to time—nor had others talked about it. Yet, Jet could sense humans everywhere. Vampires too.
Were most of the humans thralls?
It’d take many vampire lords to keep so many humans under their control.
Still on the outskirts, Tarrick landed on a cobblestone street that didn’t seem to get much use. He stayed in his incubus form. Likely as a show of power, but he’d need more
than that if vampire lords showed up.
The hunters gathered, weapons ready, and Fate-Pebble looked around. “Wow. This place is incredible. Can you smell it?”
“The blood? Not like you can,” Tarrick said.
Fate-Pebble closed her eyes and inhaled through her nose. She did it again. And again, this time with a slight sway.
Tarrick grabbed the back of her neck and squeezed hard. “Don’t get lost in it, young one.”
Her eyes flittered open. “My father would love this place.”
Looking up at the tall stone buildings, Tarrick nodded. “Perhaps you should bring him here.”
“He’d like it better if you showed him.”
“Not here. This is my first time stepping foot in this city—”
“This is number four.”
“—I’m not welcome here.”
“Then why have you come, incubus?” a dark voice said from the shadows.
A pair of red eyes appeared, followed by a gaunt, pale face with stern features. He stepped closer, his hair dark brown, and his clothes old-fashioned; heavy coat, ruffles at the neck, cape. All colored black and red.
Jet could feel the power coming from the vampire. A lord.
And he wasn’t alone.
A pack of bloodhounds growled and stalked forward. They pressed against each other and began merging into one until they took a humanoid form. Another vampire. A female lord wearing a black and red dress.
The two lords, frozen in their twenties, had stern eyes and sharp facial features.
Behind them, other vampires began to appear from out of the shadows, surrounding them.
The Wardens raised their weapons.
“Lower them,” Tarrick ordered. They did. Reluctantly.
Jet moved over to Fate-Pebble but he didn’t growl. They wouldn’t hurt her. Jet rarely saw a vampire attack another vampire unprovoked. At least not until the leader of a territory had seen them.
Tarrick however was—to use one of Rage-Boulder’s words—screwed. And not in the way the incubus enjoyed.
“I came,” Tarrick said, rising to his full height, “because I got a report that Emissary Falise’s child has gone missing.”