by Jen Pretty
I looked back and caught glimpses of Drew as he marched behind. It seemed they established the pecking order. Drew looked happy to follow, so I left it alone. Durga purred in pleasure at the wall of muscle at my back. Vilen held my eye and lifted one side of his mouth in a smile. Cocky. Durga liked that and batted her red eyes at him. I turned back to watch where I was going. I would not fall and embarrass myself because Durga wanted to make dough eyes at the giant man.
Vaughn led us upstairs and to a room with a snoring lion on the bed. Vilen set my bag down on the chair in the corner and then stepped back to flank the door.
I cleared my throat, startling the lion, but he grumbled and rolled onto his back. Great.
I turned to face Vaughn. “Thank you for letting us stay here. I think I’ll get changed and then we will head out to get looking. I haven’t been able to sense Vincent, but I’ll try again before I go.”
Vaughn nodded and handed me a cell phone and a credit card.
“I have a credit card,” I explained.
I would disappoint Vincent if I didn’t make sure you had everything you needed. Sometimes American cards do not work in stores. This one will be better for Russia.”
“Ok, thanks,” I took the items. I needed the phone. Mine quit somewhere over the north pole. I guess I didn't have international roaming set up.
“I have put my number in the address book along with Vilen and Ninel’s, though I doubt they will be far enough you will need to call for them on the phone.”
With that somewhat ominous statement, Vaughn left, closing the door behind him and sealing me in with a sleeping lion, a weird surfer dude and two slabs of Russian muscle.
The room was plain, other than the fact it contained our odd team of vampire hunters. White walls and beige bedding dotted with white cat hair.
I grabbed my bag and went to the washroom to have a quick shower and change into clean clothes I hadn’t been rolling around on the ground in an airplane wearing.
I shut the door behind me and heard the Russians move to stand in front. The Tv flicked on, and the sound of someone speaking Russian slid under the door as I rooted through my bag. I had a sweater and a pair of shorts: six pairs of socks, no clean underwear and one running shoe. Fuck my life. Good thing I had a credit card.
I took a shower and washed my hair, then combed the tangles out with a brush I found in the drawer beside the sink. When I reemerged, cleaner and less funky, Drew scooted past the giants into the bathroom too, carrying his bag. Vilen and Ninel moved back to the main door. I wondered if all they did was guard doors.
Durga took that moment to show me what they could do.
The two Russians were swinging swords and decapitating advancing hordes of vampires. Their muscles bulged and rippled as their weapons sliced through the air with a whistle. Each back swing sprayed blood through the air, and their grunts filled the air as the chopped down dozens and dozens of ravenous fallen vampires.
Durga dropped me out of the vision so fast, I almost collapsed. Well, note to self, don’t piss off the Russian vampires. They were warriors all right.
I collapsed on the bed next to Singh. I was sure Durga was leaving me the hangover as a lesson in the consequences of drinking. She was a bitch sometimes. I closed my eyes and rubbed my forehead.
There was no warning before a sandpaper tongue slid up the side of my face, scratching and drooling all over me.
“Gross, Singh. What is wrong with you?”
He huffed a few times like a lion version of a laugh. As Drew exited the bathroom, hair still dripping and in clean clothes, Singh rolled up and hopped down off the bed, before stretching like a cat and then sauntering into the bathroom, slamming the door behind him.
“MNE NE NRAVITSYA LEV,” Vilen said.
“What’s that?” I asked from the bed, looking up at the Russian.
“I am not sure I like this lion,” he said.
“You and me both,” I said laughing.
“Don’t provoke him,” Drew warned.
There was a roar from the bathroom.
“Well then stop being such a dink, Singh,” I yelled in reply. You would think he would have thicker skin, being a lion and all, but he was sensitive, often stomping off in a huff if I poked fun at him.
I sat up in the middle of the bed and tried to use my sense to find Vincent again. Searching the city I found a lot of vampires again, but even as I tried to focus in on Vincent, I couldn't sense him at all.
He came back out a few minutes later in human form and dressed in clean clothes. He gave me a scathing glare and then pulled on his boots. I got up and tracked down my winter clothes I had tossed on the couch that ran along one wall, then we all marched down to the main foyer where the house human was waiting.
He reminded me of Drake, Vincent’s house manager, killed by the rogues. Maybe anyone who gave their lives to serve vampires had to be a certain type of person.
“BLAGODARYU VAS,” Vilen said as the human handed him a set of keys. Vilen then opened the door and held it for me. I walked through, but a scuffle behind me made me turn back. Singh had shifted and had Vilen by the throat. When Vilen went limp, Singh walked over the Russian man and out the door to sidle up. He rubbed his furry head on my stomach and purred.
“You could have used your words,” I said, petting the bad cat anyway. Vilen stood up and dusted off his pants, then nodded once to the lion and we were all a happy family again. Vilen's neck was whole and unmaimed. Having seen what Singh could do, his restraint impressed me. The big cat licked my hand and rubbed one more time across my stomach. Pecking order established now, we all crammed into a Hummer parked in the driveway as the gate to Vaughn's mansion slid open.
“Where would you like to start?” Vilen asked from behind the wheel.
“I need to get clothes. Let's start there. If we have to go into the sewer, I will need waterproof boots too.” I looked down at Drew’s boots. He would need some too. I couldn’t believe we were going down in the sewers like the freaking ninja turtles.
The hummer sailed through the city, past some incredible architecture and pulled into a parking space in front of a glass building. We all piled out, and Vilen pointed to what looked like a blocked off-road. People moved in and out between the posts that blocked out traffic.
“Mall in Red Square,” Vilen declared with a look like he had single-handedly saved the day.
“Thanks,” I said, moving past him across the street and down a narrow alley beside what turned out to be the state museum into a long wide courtyard. Hundreds of people walked around here — tourists with cameras and cell phones taking photos of the buildings and scenery. The building that Vilen pointed to was a castle. It would still hold out to an army attack. The stone walls looked ancient. I glanced towards the end of the Red Square and saw the stunning Saint Basil Cathedral. It looked like it belonged in a theme park — colourful turrets and spires, topped with gumdrops in green and red and gold stripes and patterns. I had never seen anything so beautiful and filled with history. I hoped we would have time to tour the buildings in the Red Square before I left.
Wind swept through the square, chilling me to the bone and pushing me into the giant mall. Once I was inside the design of the old structure again struck me. I could see clear up to the sky through the arched glass ceiling several stories above. Escalators carried people up and down to the various floors of food, clothing and all manner of things.
“Can you find me a clothing store?” I asked Vilen. The place was huge. I would be here all day. He nodded and took us on a tour of the building, going up three floors and walking along the glass balcony railing, we weaved through the other shoppers and teenagers mulling about. We even passed a group of senior women who were striding along at a brisk pace. We came to a halt just inside the doors of a department store.
“Perfect,” I said as I walked into the women's clothing section, Singh and Drew went to the men's department on the other side of the aisle. Vilen and Ninel followed
me around as I grabbed pants and shirts and underwear. That wasn’t awkward at all. I went to the back of the store and found the shoe section, selected some tall rubber boots and tossed it all into a shopping cart that Ninel had procured from somewhere. Singh and Drew caught up to us at the cash register. I put all of our items on Vaughn’s credit card.
“I got these for you,” Drew said, holding up a pair of waterproof pants. That was a smart idea.
“Thanks, Drew.” I smiled at him, and he nodded.
The woman behind the cash spoke in Russian. I assumed it was how much I owed her, so I handed her Vaughn’s credit card, and she seemed happy enough with that.
We were all set. We left the department store each carrying two bags. I admit most of the items were mine, but that happens with you pack in two seconds and dash out the door on a crazy mission to find a guy who has ghosted you.
I stopped walking, struck stupid by that thought. What if he was taking a vacation? I had brought a lot of drama into Vincent's life. He left me a letter and took off.
“Lark,” It was Drew, he stood at my shoulder looking around like we were just enjoying the scenery. “What's up?”
“He doesn’t want me to find him?” I said.
“How do you know?” he asked.
I thought about it for a moment. I didn’t know that. But what if this was all a huge mistake and when I found him, he was angry or worse, didn’t care?
“I haven’t known Vincent that long, but I don’t think it's in his character to just drop off the face of the earth, do you?”
I shook my head.
“Then let's go find him, ok?”
I nodded and took a step forward. Everyone else walked again too, but Ninel kept glancing back at me. Not meeting my eye, but more like he was making sure I was following. Vilen just continued his scanning of our surroundings. He was full security guard all the time.
My mind kept slipping back to thoughts of Vincent. Would he be upset I came? Durga reminded me of the time I walked in to see him drinking from a tall blond woman. Stupid Deity. She was the worst bff in history. I pushed them all out of my mind. I was here to catch Vernon; get him for all the pain and suffering. For blowing up the vampires in Canada and for killing Randy and my Yoga studio. I was here for revenge. Not to get some guy.
Ok, I was here a little bit to get the guy. Whatever. Oh my God. I needed to stop. New brain, please?
We got back to the hummer and tossed all the stuff in the back.
Ready or not, it was time to see about some sewage tunnels.
CHAPTER FOUR
We drove through the city; I didn't know where we were going, but leaned back in my seat and closed my eyes to search for Vincent again. It was no use. Either he wasn’t here, or my tracking was on the fritz. I wanted to believe it was the latter. If he wasn't here, there was a whole world I would have to search.
I opened my eyes, realizing the hummer had stopped and everyone was just sitting there waiting for me.
“Let's go,” I said.
We gathered our new rubber boots, waterproof gear and flashlights. At least someone was thinking ahead. I had forgotten flashlights.
When we were all geared up, Vilen grabbed a crowbar from under the seat in the hummer and shut the trunk. He locked the doors, and we followed him and his ominous crowbar to a back alley where he popped off the sewer drainage grate, uncovering a deep dark hole into the underbelly of Moscow.
Singh descended first, followed by Ninel and then Vilen waved me down while he held the grate. I placed my foot carefully on each rung of the ladder. My boots squeaked on the old steel, and I gripped tighter. It was twenty feet before I splashed down into a puddle of something, I didn’t think too hard about. Ninel was watching down the tunnel while Drew held his flashlight so I could see what I was doing.
“Thanks,” I said when he pulled an extra flashlight out of his pocket and handed it to me. The ceiling in the tunnel was high. I hoped it wasn't because the city experienced a lot of flooding. I was not ok with swimming in these temperatures though it was warmer in the sewer than on the street.
Once we were all in the sewer, Ninel led the way on a twisting tour through the underground. We came out of the narrow sewer into an old subway station. A ticket booth still stood at the bottom of a set of wide stairs, though the stairs had been bricked off. There was dust on the ground, but otherwise, the platform area was pristine.
Ninel pressed in one of the bricks, and a doorway opened in the wall, leading into another platform, crowded with people. Not people, Vampires.
We walked through, and the door swung shut. Music echoed through the hollow underground room. Its fast beat matched the vampires dance as they lurched and shook around each other. I noticed humans in the mix. Durga stirred inside me, unhappy with the humans being in here with so many vampires. Coloured lights shone out of recessed pot lights in the ceiling high above, but other than the cement walls, it was set up like a nightclub.
“We keep the balance, Durga,” Ninel said. His voice didn’t have such a deep accent. It shocked me in its softness.
I could only see half his face as the other half was in shadows, but it reminded me of the flash Durga had sent me of the man destroyer. Durga came to the surface and reached out to lay her hand on his face, cupping his cheek. The coloured lights turned a shade of red as she took over control of my body and spoke to the vampire. The loud beat of the music seemed to fade away as the world slowed down and only Ninel was in focus. The look on his face spoke of centuries of camaraderie and companionship. It felt like a homecoming.
It was almost uncomfortable to witness, like a private moment that I wasn't a part of.
“You have always kept the balance. I am proud of you, Ninel.”
Ninel let out a ragged breath and tipped his head into my hand.
I would need to hear this story. There was more to Ninel and Durga than they told me. Durga's image flashed on the back of my eyelids and nodded before she settled in her place, and I looked at Ninel through my normal eyes. I went to drop my hand, but before I could, he put his hand on mine and pressed a kiss to my palm. Then he turned away and surveyed the underground nightclub.
Still in shock, I watched his profile for a minute before a purring rumble alerted me to Singh, as a lion, standing close beside me. The vampires closest to us noticed him and pushed away into the crowd, but soon every vampire in the place was staring at us, and the music stopped. We were standing in silence, flashing lights zipping across the crowd.
“Hey there,” I said, waving.
Singh moved forward and parted the crowd. I followed behind him, and he led me up to a table where the DJ had been playing records. Singh shifted and grabbed a microphone. He flicked it on and blew into it. The loud feedback that made everyone cover their ears.
“Oops, sorry about that,” he said into the microphone. “Here is your Goddess. She has a few words to say.”
I scowled at the lion. I didn’t have things to say to anyone. He shoved the microphone in my hand and nodded towards the crowd.
I turned around, and they were all waiting for me to speak. Fuck.
“Hi there,” I said too closely to the microphone. More feedback rang through the echoing chamber. “Sorry, look, I'm just trying to find Vincent. He looks exactly like Vaughn. You all know who he is?” There were affirmative replies and heads nodding. I didn’t know much Russian, but it seemed like they knew enough English I got my point across. I gave them a thumbs up and set the microphone down on the DJ table. It rang a loud squeal through the room and Singh grabbed it up and flicked it off before setting it down again.
“Sorry,” I said again as I followed Singh back through the crowd to where the team stood. Drew gave me a double thumbs up. Great, that probably meant I made a fool of myself.
“Come on, Lark. Let's go look around the tunnels, huh?” Drew said. He was way too keen to be down here. I sighed and followed behind them as we moved along the wall. The music started back up again, b
ut most people kept watching us until we were out of sight. We took another quick turn, and the sounds faded, except for the splashing of our boots in the water that trickled along the same direction we were going. They made the walls in this tunnel of red brick and mortar. It curved above us, well beyond my reach, but Vilen had hunched so his head wouldn’t hit any of the hanging ice stalactites.
We walked along for miles, it seemed. The sound of our boots splashing through the water and the vague scent of scum assaulted my senses. As we walked, my neck prickled like someone was watching me. I glanced over my shoulder, but there was no one behind us.
"What is it?" Drew asked.
"Nothing," I replied.
The tunnel narrowed until we had to walk single file, splashing along through the little stream of water at our feet.
The second time I felt someone watching me, I spun back abruptly. There was still no one there.
“What's wrong?” Drew asked.
I put my finger to my lips, and I sent out my senses. Someone was there. A vampire. Just beyond the bend. I pointed back to the last corner we had turned. Vilen had to lift me to get past in the narrow space. He set me back down and crept back towards the turn. The puddle at our feet should have splashed and sloshed under his steps, but it was silent.
He had turned into a hunter. Stealthy and focused, he stopped at the corner.
Singh moved in beside me, pressing me into the wall of the tunnel with his giant head. His thick mane tickled my hand, and I shivered at the rumble of his silent growl.
In one swift movement, Vilen swung around the corner, and the spy squeaked like a stepped-on Pomeranian. Vilen came back around the corner and stomped through the slosh of water carrying a skinny vampire by the front of his coat. His feet held off the ground, the vampire squirmed and mewled. Vilen set his captive back on his feet and turned him, so he faced me.
The vampire had spiked hair and his legs, clad in skinny jeans, looked like toothpicks below his heavy coat. His eyes fell on me, and he took a step forward, raising his hand like he would touch my face.