by Jon F. Merz
32
I whirled to my right, bringing my elbow up as I did so, knocking the camo guy’s gun arm off the line of fire. He fired anyway, the round punching through the space my heart had been in a split second earlier. The round caused everyone to scatter. I heard more gunshots then and one of the henchmen that had been guarding the Maxine imposter went down as blood erupted from his chest, spraying the walls of the white gazebo.
Camo guy immediately occupied my attention, whipping the gun back up at my head, trying to knock me in the temple with the barrel. I brought both hands up, checked his arm and swung my right knee up into his midsection. He grunted, doubled over, and then tried to take me out by tackling me to the ground.
I sprawled instead, driving my hips back and away and then piled down with both elbows onto his exposed back. It should have been enough to shatter his spine, but as I made impact, I could tell he was wearing a vest. Great. Body armor. That meant I was going to have to do this by hand unless I could somehow figure out how to rip the vest off.
I heard a growl some distance away and in my peripheral vision, I could see that Belladonna must have assumed her true moon form. She looked like a giant gray wolf with her teeth bared as she circled Kaesun. Kaesun laughed and morphed into his own wolf, a black number with a gray streak down his back. I thought he looked like a mutated skunk, but then I took a kick to my balls for not paying attention and instantly had to redirect my attention back to camo boy.
As I came down in reaction to the kick to my crotch, I head-butted him hard over the right eyebrow. I was trying my best to shatter the orbital bone. Instead, he simply turned his head and I got a glancing blow at best.
My groin was on fire from the shot but I was able to bring my hands back up as camo boy came back at me with a slashing attack with some sort of knife. The blade could cut me but it wasn’t going to do any sort of permanent damage. Maybe he’d never fought a vampire before, but a toothpick was deadlier than that.
It didn’t matter, by the time he realized it, it was going to be far too late.
Another gunshot echoed off the pavement and I saw the second henchman fall to the ground.
That left three bad guys to dispose of, and quick. Gunshots in Bar Harbor were as rare as they came. The cops would probably already be scrambling.
Camo boy kept cutting at me, but I checked the arm at the elbow again, making it tough for him to move the knife. Then I drove a fist into the back of his hand. His hand snapped open from the jarring impact and the blade skittered away. I followed it up by falling forward onto his outstretched arm, all the way to ground. As we crashed into the dirt, I heard his arm snap at the elbow. He cried out, but then to his credit, tried to immediately jerk the useless limb away.
I wasn’t giving it to him.
I grabbed at his bad hand and then rolled across his back, bringing the arm with me. It was already broken at the elbow, but now as I leaned back across his back, I jerked again and popped it at the shoulder joint, tearing the entire assembly. Wearing the body armor had become a giant liability for camo boy because it didn’t permit as much freedom of movement.
Oh well.
I rolled off and he struggled to get to his feet. I sent a thundering front kick into his groin and as he retched, I caught his head coming down with a knee to the nose. It cracked, spraying more blood and smearing it with the camo face paint. He sank on his knees and then toppled forward into the grass.
No time to waste, I saw his pistol and snatched it. I lifted him up, rolled him over and then tore at the vest until it came loose. Then I snaked the gun underneath, pressed it flush to his chest and fired three times for good measure. His body convulsed and then went still.
I heard more growling and looked up int time to shield myself as what I could only assume was the Maxine imposter barreled into me, smelling like a wet dog. We went over backwards, me doing my best to shield myself from the teeth and claws that raked and snapped at my face.
She jumped off and circled me, haunches coiled like some beastly spring, ready to leap on me and tear me apart. I had to time it just right. I knew lycans had insanely fast reflexes. If I could just get her to commit to the attack…
She did.
I blinked and she was already airborne, heading right at my throat. I had no choice but to launch myself backwards like I was going to do some sort of bizarre back flip. As I craned backwards, she arced over me and I brought the pistol up, firing into her chest over and over again, the rounds pumping silver nitrate into her bloodstream.
The ground slammed into me and my head crashed back, knocking my skull again. I saw stars and the world went into full tilt mode. I heard the whimper next to me and looked up in time to see the Maxine imposter morphing back into her human form, her chest torn apart by the special bullets. Her eyes went vacant and I knew she was dead.
I rolled over to my feet, retched from the thunderous headache and slowly got to my feet.
The scene around me was pretty awful. Four dead bodies leaking blood and other bodily fluids everywhere. It smelled awful. But I was used to that.
What I wasn’t used to was the fact that Belladonna was nowhere to be seen.
And Kaesun was gone too.
33
I grabbed up the M4 as I moved. I couldn’t risk staying in the park any longer, not with the cops almost assuredly enroute by now. I caught movement to my right and swung up ready to fire but then I saw it was Arthur. He held up his free hand and I relaxed. He was still carrying the other M4, with the Cloak of Despar whipping around in his wake.
He pointed beyond the park. “Saw them go tearing down that way, lad. We’ve got no choice but to follow.”
I surveyed the scene behind us one last time and nodded. “Lead on.”
Arthur took point while I brought up the rear. We were in serious deep shit now. Two vampires conducting unauthorized operations in lycan territory. Cripes, if either of us got pinched for this, we were as good as dead. And that was no lie. The Council would drag our asses in, interrogate us, and then just execute us - if for no other reason than to send a message that behavior like ours wasn’t going to be tolerated.
That didn’t matter to Arthur. He was in love with Belladonna and would do anything for her. I knew the feeling: it was what I’d do for Talya.
The land beyond the park turned into a marina with rocky beach on either side. Arthur took us down to the wharf and then we leapt down onto the beach itself. The waves licked at my feet as we moved. Arthur tracked at a run, pausing only to point out the tracks to me. I wasn’t nearly as adept at tracking, but I could see the bits of sand and grass streaking the rocks - top sign, so to speak.
“There,” said Arthur. “That’s the lady. And here, this is the wanker she’s chasing.”
“Why did he run?”
Arthur eyed me. “He was getting his arse kicked, lad. That Belladonna, she’s nobody’s rug that’s for sure. You’re not gonna walk all over her. Gave him the business she did.” Arthur reached into his coat and drew out a vial, tossing it to me. “Best tank up, Lawson. This is gonna tax us both.”
I sucked the blood down and threw the vial into my back pocket. The energy hit and then we were both off after the two lycans chasing each other in the night.
The curvature of the coastline drew us around Bar Harbor. I could hear the screams of the sirens far off to my right as we ran. I’ve always hated running; I blame the extensive training I did when I was joining the Service. You can’t get away from it, you just have to suck up the pain and get it done. I think I run about as well elephants trying to do Tai Chi, but there you go.
Arthur, however, was far superior to me. He ran lightly and easy over the slick surface. He seemed to float over the waves that kept coming in and soaking our feet. It wouldn’t matter how far we had to go. We might end up twenty miles away from Bar Harbor and Arthur would run it without complaint.
Thank god for the juice he’d given me. I doubted I would have had the stamina to do the run otherwise. Figh
ting takes a lot of energy out of you, even when you’ve had a hit of juice to help the cause.
Arthur stopped short and his fist jumped into the air. I skidded to a halt and froze.
Arthur knelt down in the sand, the surf crashing in around him, but he didn’t seem to notice. He was fixated on something else. Something only he could sense. He looked back and waved me on ahead.
“What is it?”
“They’re close, lad. Close. We get small from here on out until we can take the wanker down.”
I put a hand on his shoulder. “Are you sure we ought to be helping her? She might want the kill herself.”
Arthur eyed me. “We’ll make the call when we catch up to them. But be careful: if we get too close that bastard might try to get to us, to use against her. Watch yourself.”
“Noted. Let’s go.”
Arthur rose, bringing the M4 into his shoulder with the barrel at low-ready. I followed, keeping my gun aimed just off to the right, pivoting every few steps to watch our backs as well.
We approached a curve in the island and when we came around it, Arthur and I saw the outcropping of rocks jutting out into the ocean. Tall craggy stones that looked like they’d been dropped out of the sky millennia ago.
Two forms fought atop them about three hundred meters away from us.
Arthur brought up the M4. His had a scope on it and he could see better at that range. After a moment, he nodded. “That’s them all right.”
“Don’t think there’d be two other lycans battling it out here tonight,” I said. “She okay?”
“Not sure. We need to get out there.” Arthur lowered the gun and we moved down the beach. The rocks stood before us as we started for them, hopscotching our way out. Ocean waves crashed over them, spraying us with salt water.
I could hear them roaring in the night like some sort of bad nightmare. As we approached, I could hear the snarls of attacks and the cries of pain.
Arthur rushed ahead, not worrying about any possibility of ambush. I kept my gun ready to engage, but Arthur was desperate to reach Belladonna.
We climbed the largest boulder and then finally stood on the same level with the lycans. Only a hundred meters separated us.
Kaesun reared back, the Corantu around his neck glowing like it was made from pure magma. Something blasted out of it and struck Belladonna in the chest. She fell away, clearly injured, grasping for traction on the stones around her. She made a half-hearted attack, but Kaesun only intercepted it and then held her there for a split second…
Long enough to throw a wicked slash at Belladonna’s midsection. I thought she’d be able to avoid it, but she stumbled and Kaesun’s claws tore into her midsection. A spray of blood stained the air and Belladonna dropped to her haunches, leaking too much blood far too fast. But she’d come away with the Corantu, clutching it in one of her paws.
Kaesun roared, striding toward her with his teeth bared, ready to finish the job.
I was stunned.
Then a gunshot tore through the night air.
34
For a moment, Kaesun seemed to have frozen in his tracks. He looked down at his side and only then realized that a bullet had punched into his ribs, leaving a trail of destruction behind. He glanced over at us, as if only now noticing our presence. Then he started to turn as if to try to attack.
Arthur’s gun barked again, this time the round caught Kaesun directly in his chest. The lycan traitor clutched at his chest, then toppled over, falling into the rocks and staining them with blood all the way down.
Arthur tossed me the M4 and ran to Belladonna. By the time I caught up with him, he was already cradling Belladonna’s furry head in his lap. Her eyes started up at him with love. And then she morphed back into her human form.
It wasn’t good.
Her midsection had been torn apart by Kaesun’s attacks. Bits of her skin lay flailed apart, and she was gushing blood from everywhere.
Arthur’s face was streaked with tears. “Jesus.”
Belladonna reached up a bloody hand and laid it upon his cheek. “You beautiful wonderful man, you…”
“You’d better not die on me,” said Arthur. He glanced up at me and must have seen the look on my face.
Belladonna smiled, and sputtered blood out through her lips, dribbling pink frothy saliva.
“Lawson.”
I tossed the M4s aside and knelt before Belladonna. “What can I do?”
Belladonna gave me a smile full of sadness. “There’s nothing for you to do now, Lawson. You’ve done more than enough. And for that I’m grateful.”
I shook my head. “There’s got to be something.”
Arthur looked at me and I’d never seen the old man look so utterly at a loss. The woman he loved was dying and there wasn’t a thing he could do about it. He shook his head. Tears ran down his face.
“No…”
I bowed my head.
“My god, are you all done feeling sorry for yourselves?”
The voice came from behind us. I wheeled, ready to engage.
Megan stood there with her arms folded. “You know, it’s a good thing I always build contingency plans into my work otherwise you guys would really be up shit’s creek.” She walked toward me and shooed me out of the way.
She eyed Belladonna’s wounds and looked at Arthur. “You’ve got to let her go.”
Arthur shook his head. “No fucking way.”
Megan smiled at him. “You can’t do anything right now, but if you trust me, there’s a chance I can help.”
“How?”
“Lay her down gently.”
Arthur moved out from underneath Belladonna. Megan leaned in closer to her. “Where is it?”
Belladonna’s eyes were weak, but they fluttered and with the last bit of strength she must have had, she lifted the Corantu still clutched in her hand. Megan took it and slid it over her neck.
As soon as she did so, the amulet began to glow. I heard Megan’s deep voice start chanting and then the amulet started to shine even more brilliantly. But rather than the dark red it had glowed with Kaesun, it now burned with a soft golden hue. Rays shot out from it, enveloping Megan as the moon itself seemed to radiate from the center of her chest. Megan leaned over Belladonna and laid her hands over the grievous wounds that Kaesun had inflicted.
The two of them began glowing with such intensity that I could barely stand to look at it. Arthur continued to stare, tears flowing down his cheeks.
All around us, the night seemed to be alive with a vibrant hum of unbridled energy, crackling and sizzling the night air as if the molecules themselves were being set afire. The chanting continued and I felt a mixture of heat and cold, like two elements were battling it out for control. It would grow extremely hot and then just as quickly freeze again. I had no idea what was going on. Vampire magic bugs me enough, but lycan magic? I had no idea what it even entailed.
Then everything went dark.
Quiet.
Like someone had flipped a light switch, throwing the whole world into darkness.
I tripped, stumbled forward, and fell directly into it.
Dawn came and I found myself squinting into the rays of sunlight breaking over the horizon. The ocean waves crashed into the rocks around us and the cool spray chilled me enough to shake off the last tendrils of weariness. I got to my feet slowly, trying to remember everything that had happened.
I looked around.
Megan sat on the rocks nearby.
And further off, I saw Arthur cradling Belladonna’s body in his lap once again.
“What happened?” I asked Megan.
She nodded toward Arthur. “He’s waiting for you.”
I looked at her again but she simply went back to staring out at the ocean. I swallowed hard and walked over to where Arthur and Belladonna were. As I approached, I could hear Arthur talking softly.
I sighed.
He looked up.
Smiling.
Belladonna lifted her
head off his lap and smiled too. “Good morning, sleepy head.”
“What-?”
“It worked, lad. The amulet worked. Whatever that girl did, she saved Belladonna’s life.”
I looked at Belladonna. “Really?”
She lifted up her shirt. There wasn’t a mark on her midsection. “Good as new.”
I shook my head. “Why the hell did I black out?”
Arthur grinned. “I did too, Lawson. Don’t feel bad. Apparently, lycan magic is too powerful for the likes of us. Our bodies shut down as a defensive maneuver.”
“Are you kidding me?”
“Not even slightly.”
“Really?” I eyed Belladonna. “Too powerful for us?”
She laughed. “Well, maybe that was a little fib.”
“Say what now?” asked Arthur.
“It’s not too powerful, per se,” said Belladonna. “Just think of it more as being a huge shock to your system. It’s safer for your egos that way.”
Arthur nodded at her. “Come to a lady’s assistance and this is the thanks we get: insults.”
Belladonna slapped him lightly. “I’m still too weak to thank you properly.”
“Okay, stop right there,” I said. “I’m really glad you’re healed but I don’t need to hear any more specifics, especially before breakfast.”
Megan wandered over and I looked at her. “So…computer hacker extraordinaire and you somehow know how to do lycan magic? Seriously?”
She smirked. “Wellllll…it’s amazing the things you happen to pick up in passing.”
“Tell him the truth,” said Belladonna.
Megan shrugged. “Fine. Belladonna’s been training me in secret for some time now.”
“What?”
“I suspected there was a traitor in the lycan Council,” said Belladonna. “And if there was, then the way they would try to get to me was through an apprentice.”
“So Maxine..?”
Belladonna frowned. “I will mourn her death in my own way. She was an unfortunate victim in all of this.”