“I had hoped that you would have learned something these last forty years, but I was sadly mistaken,” the vampire said, and tensed to spring—
shift—sirens wailing, gunshots, people screaming, pale shapes sprinting down a high street, blood flowing in the gutters—
shift—tombstones in moonlight again—
shift—Cooper, grabbing the head of a man who held an AK-47 in both hands and effortlessly snapping his neck and flinging him at another armed man crouched in the shadows—
shift—a wax disk covered in occult symbols—
shift—a newspaper. The headline read: Bloodsucking Bastards: Outbreak continues, hundreds dead as capital quarantined. The date on it was June 24.
Chapter 9
1000–1600, Thursday, June 16, 2016
“Okay, so you saw a wax disk, which we’ll presume is the thing your mother told us we needed to get back Olivia. More details, Julian. Anything you can remember about the locations. Maybe a detail from the graveyard? You saw the graveyard just before the disk, didn’t you?” I shook my head, but Dana just tapped the top of her notebook with a pen in reply before pointing at me and blurting, “Names on the markers, can you remember any of those?”
A nurse walked by the bench where we were seated in the Ealing Hospital maternity ward; I waited until she was out of earshot before I continued. “If I could have read the name of the graveyard, don’t you think I would have told you by now? And before you ask again, I couldn’t read any of the writing on the wax tablet. How are you not more amazed that I might be seeing the future?” I said, rubbing my throbbing forehead. We’d already had a tense breakfast and trip to the hospital. I’d dreamed of rivers of blood and a vampire apocalypse coming to London in less than two weeks, but Dana’s mind was focused, laser-like, on obtaining the artifact.
She waited until I looked up before speaking. “You dream other people’s dreams, and that seems normal to you. Seeing the future in dreams is a much more widely reported phenomenon—Joseph from the Old Testament, the Emperor Caligula, Edgar Cayce, all historical figures that were well-documented dream seers. I was wondering when this kind of thing would happen. Now, back to the important point. I’m not asking about the name of the graveyard; I want a name. Like on a grave marker,” she said, fighting to keep calm.
I shook my head. “No, I couldn’t read any signs, couldn’t read any markers. Too dark. There weren’t many plain markers there anyhow. More like little temples, obelisks, statues,” I explained. Dana perked up, seizing on something I’d said. “Look, like I said before, it won’t matter if we get Olivia back if the whole city is overrun with vampires. You seem to accept that what I’m seeing is real, and Sloane’s existence makes it pretty clear that at least some of what I’m seeing is real, so shouldn’t I…shouldn’t we be spending our time trying to figure out what to do to stop them?” I continued, barreling past her attempt to interject.
“Can’t you leave the vampire thing alone? Is life not terrifying enough at the moment? Your mother’s note made it clear that we needed the artifact to get Olivia back. I don’t think that she’d put us on the trail of that just to drop her granddaughter into a sea of monsters. Why don’t we just focus on the task we’ve been given and let someone else sort out the vampire mess? C’mon, Julian. I need you. Your family needs you now. Focus on us.”
I felt like I’d been slapped. She was right. Not only did I have a missing daughter, but I had a wife pregnant with a child that might not be all right. I needed to apologize, to tell her that I’d get my priorities right, but before I could reply, a matronly Filipino nurse stuck her head into the hallway and called our number.
◆◆◆
“I’m afraid that we couldn’t get a clear picture this time either, Mrs. Adler. The heartbeat sounds fine, so I think that all we can do is wait for the baby,” the ultrasound technician said as she proffered a handful of paper towel for Dana to clean herself with. I felt a squeeze on my hand just before the technician continued, “If you could go back to the antenatal ward to provide a blood sample for some final screenings, then I think you’ll be done here for the day.” The tired-looking woman gave Dana a pack full of various and mysterious pregnancy-related paperwork. Dana nodded, pulled up her trousers, and extended her hand to me so that I could help her off of the table. When she turned toward me, her eyes glistened and her face was red, but she refused to shed any tears here, where other people could see her. We walked, Dana leaning on me, down the hall to the Hematology Department.
Having blood taken didn’t require my participation, so I ended up with some unwanted free time while Dana filled out some paperwork. I tried browsing the BBC headlines, but everything there was about Brexit, and I just couldn’t get interested in the mundane news while a rivulet of fear-sweat trickled down my back. My mind kept coming back to my premonition about the vampires. I desperately wanted to get Olivia back, and I knew that I needed to focus on my family, but regardless of what Dana said, Olivia needed something to come back to. This meant that I needed to find a way of looking into the missing artifact, and I’d have to find a way to do it while secretly digging up information on the vampires. I reviewed my options: The most obvious was to pump the Sons of Perseus for information. I worked for them now, and Christian had been the one to put a name to Sloane. I’d passed out before I could pump him for more information, but I’d be back in the office in the afternoon. Hell—this kind of threat was exactly what the Sons had been founded for, so I should be able to rely on their help. Next on my list was Father O’Hanrahan. I’d refused to be a pawn in his game to get back at the Sons, but he’d probably still give me something on the off chance that I might change my mind. His knowledge was pretty hit or miss, but it wouldn’t cost me anything to get it—as long as the Sons didn’t find out. Probably too risky.
A nurse called Dana’s number, so I helped her up and pondered whether or not to contact Jack Redderton—a chat with him was long overdue. I couldn’t afford to hire his private investigation firm in any official capacity, but after I’d helped him get revenge against his brother’s killer, he owed me. I also considered making a trip to Camden Market; there was supposed to be a reputable shop there that dealt in magical items, and although it had been closed last time I went there, it seemed a relatively safe avenue of investigation.
Finally, I considered Detective Chief Inspector James Badger. He’d been there for me in some pretty tight spots, but the recently promoted cop had taken over as head of operations in the prosaically named Arts and Antiquities Unit of the Specialist, Organized and Economic Crime Command of the Metropolitan Police. This essentially made him the top field man for the newly reconstituted paranormal police—the same paranormal police who had taken a hard line in cutting off all government cooperation with the Sons of Perseus. Maybe I’d hold off on that one for now.
With a plan of attack already worked out for myself, I turned my pondering to Dana. The thought of vicious monsters bursting loose on London made my palms sweat and my head ache, but I’d rather try to stop the outbreak myself with a toothpick and a bulb of garlic than leave her stuck at home with nothing to do. She wouldn’t rest until our daughter was restored to us. If only I could—
“I’m going to spend the day trying to identify your wax disk thingy,” Dana announced as she snuck up on me. “I expect you to speak to Mia. Get some answers from her. Try to find out about this Sloane, but play down the artifact angle; if Sloane wants it, and your mom wants it, then I’m sure there are others who will want it. Tonight we can go see Jack,” she finished. Like I said, not going to stop. I took her hand, and together we walked out of the hospital. I’d do what she asked, but maybe not for exactly the reasons she wanted me to.
◆◆◆
I met Vir, dressed in running shorts and a Danger Mouse T-shirt, in the lobby of the office and changed into my own workout clothes in the lobby bathroom. After I left my work stuff with Reception, we headed down to the Thames path and jogged along the rive
r in the scorching late-morning sun. I’d forgotten my sunscreen, but we only had time for a short run, so it was unlikely that I’d get worse than second-degree burns. We jogged in silence, Vir seeming distracted, until we were near the Millennium Bridge. That’s the pedestrian bridge that the Death Eaters destroy in the Harry Potter film, if that helps.
“Hey, J-man. Umm…so how you doin’ after…” Vir spit out.
“After what?”
“After, you know, all the guys from the office getting torn up, and the monster dude—”
“The Protean,” I corrected.
“Yeah, the monster dude. Well, after all those guys bought it, did that bother you? And that weird old guy? I mean, what did you tell the shrink about all that? ’Cause I talked to her for like three hours. I just don’t know. I knew that I’d be dealing with weird shit, but I thought it would be like, ghosts and boogeymen. Not like, people ripping other people apart.”
I had no idea that there was a psychiatrist on staff, and I jogged another hundred yards before I replied, “V-man, I see shit more horrible than that every night.”
Vir stopped suddenly, and I stumbled to a halt. He held his arms out to his sides and spun once as he stared up at the sky in incredulity. “But that stuff ain’t real. The dudes that got ganked by the Protean—they’re dead. For real.”
Vir had a point. Maybe I should have been more bothered by what happened. But in this case, it wasn’t my fault—the plan had been Mia’s, so I wasn’t carrying any of the guilt. What I was carrying was an empty stomach. “I know, man. But you know that I’ve got a lot of my own stuff going on. Hey, this is too depressing. Let’s go grab some food before we’re missed.”
Vir pulled a U-turn, picked up the pace, and threw me a high five. We jogged back to a South American chicken place by the office and sat down to scarf, sweat trailing down our backs and the other customers giving us a wide berth. Vir told me about some cricket match from the day before, and I nodded while trying to get my food eaten before we had to be back to the office. Somehow, Vir managed to beat me and downed a bag of chips while I finished up. The little guy put away a lot of food for someone his size, and he never seemed to put on any weight. I guess it was all of the nervous energy.
We strolled into the office just before our shift started—win. After working in offices where I was allowed to set my own schedule for so many years, it had been a bit of a shock to discover that the Sons of Perseus had a strictly enforced break schedule and work rota. However, the entire organization was segmented into response teams, so it was pointless to have only half a response team available because the mind reader was getting a sandwich or the driver was having a smoke break.
I’d been settled in and going through my email for about fifteen minutes when there was a commotion in the office. The floor that I was on, one of three in the HQ, housed about one hundred people, and suddenly all of them were peering at a trio crossing the floor.
“I’ve taken care of over a dozen of them so far. I don’t need him,” Mia said, pointing behind her and striding on long legs as she addressed a tall, skeletally thin man with a shaved head and deeply tanned skin. I realized in shock that this was the big boss, the Chapter Master of the Sons of Perseus in London. I hadn’t seen him on our floor. Ever.
A Germanically tinged voice broke in: “I don’t believe that the Chapter Master has taken your estimation of what you need into account, Ms. Noel. You sent out an understrength, undertrained team, and now half of it is dead. It has been decided that I will provide oversight and guidance where appropriate…”
I didn’t catch the rest of what the man was saying as they moved out of earshot, but I didn’t stop staring—at Edward Sloane. He’d walked in with the Chapter Master, and he was suddenly Mia’s supervisor. I needed this explained - now.
I watched as the trio went into Mia’s small office, and the rest of the workers and I pretended to be productive while trying to figure out what was going on. I’d been here for over six months, and this was the first time that I’d seen the Chapter Master. The meeting lasted twenty minutes, and Sloane and the big boss headed to the back stairs without passing through the rest of the office.
I waited five minutes—the minimum amount of time decent—and then strolled, oh-so-casually, to Mia’s office. The entire floor had been watching me, but they put their heads down as I rapped on the glass.
“Come in.” Mia’s voice was flat, robotic, and completely under control. So it was that I was able to find Auditor Mia Noel in her office, picking at a china plate covered in salad leaves and sardines. “I have a situation that I need to talk to you about,” I said, rapping on the glass door and sticking my head in.
“I would hope that it’s about how you’re going to justify charging in after a dangerous target without backup, thus contributing to the roasting I just endured,” the brunette said, popping a forkful of salad past her cherry-red lips.
I cocked an eyebrow and slid into the seat opposite Mia. Organizationally, she was about four levels above me, but I’d seen her at her most vulnerable. I’d revealed that her adoptive father was secretly working against everything that the Sons stood for and then shoved her forward when it had looked like she was going to sink into a swamp of self-pity after his death.
“Sure. First of all, Vir and I were the designated backup. Second, I figured that it would be a good thing if a monster didn’t break loose and rampage through the city,” I replied, trying to placate Mia.
“Why would he have rampaged through the city? Don’t you think that if he intended to rampage through the city, he could have done so at any other time? And as for your orders, we lost some agents. It’s sad, but they’re replaceable. Assets like you and Vir, much less so. So don’t go around trying to justify your stupidity by claiming that we ordered you into a suicide charge. We’d have picked up the Protean’s trail again soon enough. You can’t always play the hero, Julian,” Mia finished with a sigh, folding her slender fingers under her chin and pinning me to the chair with gray eyes that hinted at depths of mystery that would take years to plumb.
I hadn’t considered that angle, and I felt a bit foolish. But I also hadn’t spent years in big-money negotiations for nothing, so I managed to reply without any emotion showing on my face: “Well, like you told me last time, there are also plenty of people around here who would be happy if Vir, myself, and all of the attuned got ourselves offed. Like the agent that’s still alive because of my actions. Anyway, we took care of the Protean. I got results.”
“What you got was the Arts and Antiquities unit of the Metropolitan Police crawling all over us. There was a red, four-armed monster bleeding out in full sight of the public for nearly five minutes. We passed it off as a film shoot, but Badger knows better. Mr. Adler”—she paused, and I knew it was going to be bad since she’d used my surname—“you know that taking you on board required me to call in a number of personal favors. You also know that if you screw this up, you’ll be put away in one of our cells. No more heroics. Understood?”
“Understood. But what I was really hoping to learn about was the man who showed up, killed the Protean, and then threatened me—Sloane.”
Mia leaned forward, revealing a pleasant amount of cleavage; however, with her elbows resting on the desk and wrists bent in a way that reminded me uncannily of a praying mantis, I somehow didn’t get too distracted. “Oh, dear Edward? He’s a monster hunter. A mercenary—a fanatic. He hates ‘monsters’ with an unrivaled passion. And he’s the one who decides who is, and isn’t, a monster. He’s been brought in by the Chapter Master to oversee my operations,” Mia said, her professionalism allowing her to impart the information without betraying a trace of bitterness.
“But if he’s overseeing your projects, do you mean the training of the attuned or recapturing the Escapees?” I asked, concerned by what I expected as an answer.
“He is overseeing all of it.”
“And our deal?” I said, panic clawing at my chest.
I collapsed into Mia’s spare chair, causing it to rock backward as I sat. If our deal was dead, then that meant no more information sharing…and no more help finding Olivia.
“Then what the hell am I doing here? Have I just wasted the last six months of my life?”
“Keep your voice down,” Mia snapped. “While you’re here, you aren’t rotting in a cell. You also have learned quite a bit of your mother’s past, and your skills have improved dramatically.”
“Olivia.”
Mia closed her eyes, betraying the first hint of emotion since I’d walked into the room. “I have an idea. A way to get Sloane out of the picture and to get the Chapter Master to back off on his anti-attuned stance. But I need your help to capture one of the Escapees. He’s not a top priority, so I can’t get many resources for the operation, but I think he can help.”
I leaned forward, hope instantly replacing the despair that I’d felt a moment before. I couldn’t be sure that this wasn’t Mia just using me again, but I felt like she was telling me the truth. At least most of it. I knew she’d have an angle, but I’ve never had any problem with win-win deals. “Tell me.”
Mia sat impassively, not responding to my demand. Of course. She could make a deal with me, but she was too proud to take an order. My stomach felt like someone had filled it full of butterflies, but I kept a poker face. “You tell me about your plan, and if I agree to help, then our deal is back in place. And you’ll help me with a new threat, something I’ve seen in my dreams,” I countered, silently cursing myself for pissing Mia off just before I tried to get some information out of her.
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