Vampire in Silver

by Mia Strange

  Dropping what was left of the trace wire, Eli removed his gloves. He made his way around the other side of the bathtub. I heard the echoing drips as he reached into that murky water and lifted Annabel out.

  I held my ground in the front, blocking what I could from the pack’s view. I didn’t dare take my eyes off the soon to be new alpha. One challenger had just been lamed, by a single bite that broke bone. Another lay in a pool of blood, torn and bleeding. So far there were no more takers. And that did not bode well for us.

  We were three humans, facing off-the-Richter-Scale magic in this monster. And we were right within chomping range. It was a miracle we had a reprieve from the Micas at all. I had to think that the hearts pounding in our chests were more tempting than old school bacon.

  “Ready?” Eli said from behind.

  I nodded. I backed up until we stood side by side. I glanced at Annabel. She looked so small in Eli’s arms. Vulnerable, alone, lost. She still hadn’t stirred. My heart squeezed. I couldn’t help it. She reminded me of Emma.

  Eli motioned to his boots. I knelt and pulled out his knives. Neither one of us had crossbows. The blades would have to do.

  A cold wind snaked into the Underground, and the hum of a strong rhythm echoed our way. Whatever was making the sound, was heading toward us. I raised a questioning eyebrow at Eli. “What now?”

  “Let’s deal with one monster at a time.”

  “No argument here.”

  The sounds increased, thrumming and pounding its way down the underground streets. Closer, and closer yet.

  The pack noticed. Some whined, making strange clinking noises from deep in their throats. Others clanked their jaws, inching in closer. We backed away, counting down how many feet lay between us and the steam bath entrance.

  “Five,” I whispered. The thrumming grew louder. “Four.” Vibrations of beating wings, moving together in unison, flew down the wooden corridors. Old rafters shook, while the floors beneath our feet trembled. “Not the bats,” I whispered. “Not again.”

  “No,” said Eli. “This is something else.” He cocked his head toward the sound. Annabel shifted in his arms. A soft moan escaped her lips. The magic of her sweet, waif-like voice drifted all around us.

  The dogs heard her. They stopped their whining and infighting. The pack froze and stared in our direction. Annabel’s Mermaid Magic drifted through the air, and I knew the moment it landed on their wicked snouts.

  The Micas, with the new alpha in the lead, charged.

  “Three, two, one,” I yelled. “Run.”

  The stale air filled with the smell of the ocean from long ago. Crisp. Clean. Strong. Vibrant. Pure.

  Seafoam rolled in, thick and billowy, cloaking us from the Micas. At the same time, the fog blocked our visibility as well.

  Like crashing waves during a hurricane, the ocean scent enveloped us. A thin spray of salt mingled with a fine mist dampened hair and seeped into clothes.

  Something massive, thundering like the beat of a thousand wings flew over our heads. The shadow overcame us, suffocating the light of the moonstone.

  Whatever had joined us, had just charged back.

  9

  Holding Annabel tight against his chest, Eli dropped to his knees, hitting the wood planks hard. He folded himself around her, making the two of them look as small as possible. Following his lead, I too dropped, and now, by lying flat on my belly, I tried to blend in with the floor. I held the knife in a death grip, and I knew without looking that my knuckles were chalk white.

  Damn if I wasn’t tired of being terrified.

  I glanced to my right, amazed to see the saloon girl ghost flat on her stomach too. By the look on her pretty face, I could tell. She wasn’t having fun either. I didn’t think it was possible for a ghost to look even paler.

  The sea fog swirled, thick and dangerous.

  Dangerous, because we could hear the Micas, whining and clicking and clanking all around us.

  Dangerous because the constant beating, the pounding of hundreds of wings, vibrating in my ears, hovered above us.

  We could see nothing, only a gray curtain of fog oppressing the weak rays of the moonstone. And what you can’t see coming? Could get you killed.

  “What are we up against?” I whispered to Eli.

  “We may be in luck.”

  “Luck?”

  “Luck.”

  Somehow, I didn’t believe luck factored in here. Only because mine hadn’t been all that great lately. Biting my tongue against negative thinking, I didn’t say it. Not one word. I simply nodded. And wondered if Eli Dark had lost his mind.

  The fog started to disperse. To lift and evaporate.

  My skin felt tight, dry. I looked at my hands. They were caked with a white residue. Lifting a finger to my nose, I identified the substance. I touched a fingertip to my tongue.

  Salt. From the ocean. Mermaid Magic. Had to be.

  I looked up. The sea fog was gone. Like an off switch, the deafening drumming and beating of wings stopped cold. The moonstone roared to life, showing us what we already knew. The Micas had us surrounded.

  Strangely they didn’t rush in. Didn’t attack. The monsters stood frozen in place, their empty black eyes focused on the rafters above. The dogs were in a trance. Threads of thick magic, like lines off a boat, hovered all-around their razor paws, anchoring them in place. Black feathers floated around us like a bizarre rainfall.

  The Micas couldn’t move. Most didn’t even try. I followed their gaze and almost wished I hadn’t.

  Hundreds upon hundreds of ravens filled the roof above us. They perched in every corner, sat on every exposed beam. The eerie light of the moonstone danced off their jet-black feathers, casting the birds in a ghost-like blue. They were huge, bigger than Poe. How was that even possible? Poe, our Academy mascot, was magically enhanced, by a necromancer and an alchemist. He was . . . Super Bird. What the hell were these?

  “The Birds,” I whispered.

  “Yeah,” Eli whispered back. “As you would say a ‘shit-ton’ of them.”

  “No.”

  Eli raised that questioning eyebrow.

  “I mean yes, I would say that. But what I mean is, THE. BIRDS. That creepy movie Jin loves.”

  Eli gave me a blank look.

  “You know,” I jabbed him with my elbow. “It’s a classic. The birds go berserk, attack, peck, wound, maim–

  “That doesn’t sound like a very good movie.” Eli frowned.

  Jeez. I wanted to tear my hair out zombie style. He was such a geeky mad scientist sometimes. I had a point here. “Forget the movie-”

  “You brought it up.”

  “Eli. If the Micas don’t get to us first, I’m thinking the birds are here to, you know, finish the job. So, while these monsters play statue, we should get out of here. Correction. We should get the hell out of here.”

  I shoved my hair out of my face in exasperation. I pushed to my knees. “Just when did we get so low on the food chain?”

  Eli smiled. Yep. He was losing it.

  “I agree,” he said. “We should leave.”

  “So soon. Right?”

  “Very.”

  Damn it. He was still smiling. His dimple showed, and even covered in dried salt, with a white-tipped nose, the guy looked hot. But I’m not gonna lie, my confidence in his sanity was slipping. I started to stand.

  Eli propped Annabel on one knee and reached up to tug on my sweatshirt. “Just a minute. Something is about to happen. I can feel it.”

  “And this is good for us?” Eli pulled on my sleeve until I knelt beside him.

  He nodded toward the birds. “They’re here for us. Thanks to your steam magic the ravens from the totem pole live.”

  I looked up at the birds. They had flown in with magic. That much was clear. “How can you be sure they–”

  “Site history.”

  “What?”

  “The totem was carved in honor of a woman.”

  “From the Raven Clan.”
I began to connect the dots.

  “Yes. The tribe called her, Chief-Of-All-Women.”

  “She protects Annabel-”

  “And those who protect her.”

  I looked up at the birds in wonder. Could these huge Ravens, so menacing and fierce, really be our salvation? “Can we leave?” I whispered.

  Eli shrugged. “Let’s try.”

  Together we stood. Annabel, still unconscious and oblivious to the danger around her, shifted in Eli’s arms.

  Black feathers continued to rain down, sticking to our hair and clothes. The Micas were completely covered. They looked like large lumps of coal, scattered throughout the room. Light from the moonstone played in their dark eyes, making their pupils glow. Iron teeth, protruding from frozen jaws, looked scary and lethal.

  We backed away, carefully picking our route around the Micas. We painstakingly made our way toward the iron gate and the boardwalk to freedom beyond. The ravens, cawing and calling, watched us, cocking their heads this way and that. It was as if they were encouraging us to move faster.

  My leg hit the side of a Mica, and the dog sent a warning from deep in its throat, the sound thundering throughout the cavern. The birds went crazy, flapping their wings and screeching warnings from above. Someone tugged on my sleeve, and when I looked, I was surprised to see it was the saloon girl ghost, her fingers somehow gripping fabric. Black feathers were floating right through her.

  “We’re here. We’re going to walk right out.”

  “Or run.” The ghost next to me nodded in agreement, and gathered up her bar skirts, freeing her legs.

  “Compromise. We’ll walk fast.” Eli smiled.

  My heart flipped. We were gonna make it out of here. We were.

  As I passed through the archway of the iron gates, I whispered. “Do I need to close them?” I really hoped not. After all, my skills were, how should I put it? Not reliable. That was it. Yeah. So not reliable about covered it.

  “No. We turn around and walk.”

  “Fast,” I reminded him.

  “And Skye? Don’t look back.”

  I nodded. I got The ‘LOOK.’ How did he know that was a maybe?

  Almost sprinting, my version of walking fast, we put distance between us and the gruesome scene unfolding behind. I knew it was gruesome, I could tell by the insane amount of clanking, along with the high-pitched screams of the ravens.

  The Micas were under attack. And there was not a damn thing they could do to defend themselves. I flashed on all the people they had killed, about all the hearts consumed. Bred in blood magic, anointed with black magic, the animals were cursed from the day they were born.

  A rush of wings flew over my head and I made the mistake of looking up. A monster- sized raven met my gaze, the bird’s beady eyes blinking crimson in the dim light. The bird swooped down, the draft from its huge wings ruffling my hair. It dropped something at my booted feet. It felt like an offering. Like a gift of some kind.

  I almost stepped on the object, stumbling away from it just in time. I left the oozing, bleeding eyeball, with the soulless black pupil behind me. These birds really were related to Poe. Our Academy raven had been known to fetch an eyeball or two…or more. And that’s why the bird and I were not friends.

  Eli didn’t have to worry. I so wasn’t going to look back.

  And I didn’t.

  Not until we were clear, and once again walking along the crumbling streets of Seattle. Pausing, I looked over my shoulder. Hundreds of ghostly spirits crowded the entrance to the Underground. Our saloon girl was in front. She dabbed at her eyes with the hem of her skirt. The miners were there too, raising their mugs. A sheen of tears shown in their eyes as well.

  I touched Eli on the arm. “Look.”

  He turned, and with Annabel in his arms, he managed a formal bow. I waved. The spirits waved back. The saloon girl curtsied, blew a kiss and gave us a watery smile.

  “Why are they all here?” I asked.

  “They love Annabel.” Eli turned around and started to walk away. “And we will too.”

  Neither one of us looked back again.

  10

  We walked past the totem pole with quiet reverence. In the fading light, the great cedar looked unremarkable. Forlorn, forgotten, plain.

  All the carvings were gone.

  But I knew differently. The ravens would return one day. Of that I was sure. Misty steam magic, in that amazing color that had no name, now clung to the decaying wood. And like a bookmark, I knew this magic would hold the ravens’ place, no matter how long their journey.

  The closer we got to The Madison, the less we felt the cool bite of the sea. The rotting city had pushed and crowded out the scent of the ocean until nothing was left but the foul odor of urban decay.

  Annabel noticed, and she turned in Eli’s arms, moaning. Tears slipped from her closed eyes, trailing down her filthy cheeks. The sight of her tears unnerved me. I thought of Chapter Three in The Alchemy of Dark. The Mermaid’s Tears. Once we got Annabel back to the safety of the train, we could close the chapter.

  Saving Annabel was so much more than irony. Or coincidence. Or even dumb luck. This was Dark family magic.

  A thin sheen of sweat covered Annabel’s pale face. Her hair was losing its luster, the carrot-red color fading right before my eyes.

  She looked so sick. It was then I realized that Annabel Lee, our mermaid, our rare and magical water element, might yet die.

  “We need to get her in water,” Eli said.

  He quickened his step. I kept up, but I nervously looked around in the dim light of dusk, searching for Gov Rats. Or The Ignored. Or an off-chain zombie. How I missed our train. Even with Darius aboard, the sanctuary the rails offered was far better than this treacherous city landscape.

  I could see The Madison about a block or so ahead. She looked abandoned, ancient, worthless. With Eli’s powers of transformation, the railcar looked like nothing more than a rusted cube of failing bolts and corroding iron. But if one looked close enough, you would have to ask, why was there no way in? What secrets did this hulk of deteriorating metal hide?

  I was glad no one had stopped to inquire. And from the look of relief on Eli’s face, I knew he was thinking the same.

  Reaching The Madison, we stopped in front of the obscured iron doors. Following my lead, Eli turned in a final, slow circle. Together we scoured the shadows for any hint of trouble.

  “Nothing.” I let out a breath of relief.

  Eli nodded. “Good. Everyone is at The Neptune Theater.”

  I smiled. “Popular show playing I hear.”

  He smiled back. “I hear they have a beautiful girl in the show. One who wears copper tube beads in her hair. I hear she’s amazing.”

  I blushed. I did. I’d been called a lot of things in my life. Most I couldn’t repeat. But beautiful and amazing was not among them. Embarrassed, I looked away, feigning interest in a shadow I had already searched. Things had changed between us. And I wasn’t sure how to handle it.

  Eli had not transformed into Dr. Dark. That would have dangerously slowed our pace. And with the fingers of twilight wrapping around the city, time, as usual, was not on our side.

  We needed to hustle. We had the show after all. But more importantly, things came out after darkness fell. Those ‘things’ were best not to contemplate. Things easier left to urban legend and rumor and fireside stories.

  At a glance, we looked like a filthy, ragtag, group of three, trying to find our way out of an unwelcoming city. That is if one didn’t look too close. And see a tail, poorly hidden by my hoodie. And if someone or something did? That would be an unfortunate, ‘bloody’ delay.

  The Madison’s doors scraped open. Eli went in first. Stepping up onto the running board, I followed. With one last look outward into the city, I slid the heavy door shut with a resounding clank. The lock slammed into place before I even realized I had flipped the lever. Relief flooded my body from the tip of my head right down to my toes.

&
nbsp; Home.

  The Madison felt like home.

  The soft glow of the lanterns warmed the mahogany wood and flickered off the velvet curtains. I let my gaze linger on the painting of The Dark Horse. I sunk to the floor, crossed my arms, and hung my head on my knees. I closed my eyes, and for what seemed like the first time in hours, I took a long deep breath.

  Tonight, after the show, we would as Jin would say, ride the hell out of Dodge. With our string of railcars pulled by our mighty engine, fueled by scary-ass Darius, we would be on our way to . . . to what?

  Clue number four? Maybe. The next chapter in what seemed to be a never-ending book. Right now? I just couldn’t think that far in the future. I listened to the rhythm of my own heartbeat and breathed a little easier.

  The Madison jerked into motion and hearing the grinding of the periscope ratcheting up, I opened my eyes, turned, and froze. I was sure once again my mouth was hanging open.

  I stared dumbfounded at Annabel.

  She lay cloaked in water, soaking in my prized claw-footed, porcelain, bathtub.

  My.

  Bath.

  Tub.

  Straight from my railcar.

  And to think The Bone Man and I had even bolted it down with earthquake straps we found in an abandoned house, located smack on top of the San Andres Fault line.

  I shook my head. I wasn’t even going to ask how. And I already knew why. Mermaids need water. Elijah Dark once again had planned ahead.

  “I planned ahead,” Eli said proudly, as if on cue from the steering station.

  “Yep. Yep you did.” I was met with silence. I did a mental eye roll. He wanted more.

  “Um, good job?” I gave him a weak thumbs up. He beamed, and I had to admit, it was kinda cute. I guess even a world-class Alchemist needs a pat on the back once in a while.

  “Hope you don’t mind. You weren’t around to ask.”

  Mind? Eli’s words whispered through my brain. She’s dying.

  How could I possibly mind? Annabel needed this. A lot more than I did. Still, I’m not gonna lie. I’m not a perfect person. I wanted the tub back. A smile tugged at my lips. Eventually. Someday.