The Crucible: A Lawson Vampire Novel (The Lawson Vampire Series)

by Jon F. Merz

  I pointed at Xuan Xiang. “Just for the record, he’s not my friend.”

  “Put the Cloak on, Lawson.”

  I slid the Cloak around my shoulders and heard gasps as I presumably faded from sight immediately. I waited three seconds and then removed the Cloak, reappearing in front of Wei’s eyes.

  “Incredible,” said the Chinese general. “I was skeptical, obviously.”

  “You and me both,” I said. “It’s very old. We located it in a cave in Bhutan. It was guarded by some very ornery spirits.”

  Wei frowned. “Spirits? Did they attempt to kill you?”

  “That would be one way to put it. Fortunately, the boy over there helped me.”

  Xuan Xiang spoke up. “He is known as an Invoker. He can communicate with the spirits of dead vampires.”

  I sighed and eyed Xuan Xiang. “You really have given up everything, haven’t you?”

  Xuan Xiang shrugged. “I’m doing what you would do if you were in my situation, Lawson. Making the best of it.”

  “I wouldn’t sell my race out for power and profit, you scumbag.”

  “Gentlemen,” said Wei. “That will be quite enough.” He held out his hand. “Please give me the Cloak.”

  I hated to do it, but what choice did I have? I handed the Cloak over to Wei and he tested its weight in his hand.

  “It weighs next to nothing.” He held it up to the light and shook his head. “This is utterly extraordinary. Imagine if I could somehow figure out how to replicate this process by which it renders people invisible. My soldiers could go anywhere and do anything. They would be unstoppable.”

  “Now, why would you want to do that?” I asked.

  “Because,” said Wei. “I want to rule the world.”

  27

  “Being in charge of the Chinese government isn’t enough for you?”

  Wei smiled like he was dealing with a simpleton. “Lawson, tell me: have you ever known a man in power who ceased lusting for it?”

  “Only dead ones. That shit will kill you after a while.”

  “I don’t intend to die,” said Wei. “I intend to be the one true leader of this planet. I alone will bring all the races of living beings under my thumb.”

  I frowned. I’d heard the megalomaniacal ravings of other madmen before, but Wei didn’t strike me as the type. He was too smart to fall prey to that sort of lunacy that drives power-seekers crazy. At least I thought he was. After all, he hadn’t come as far as he had by being stupid. He’d gotten there through guile, shrewd moves, and tactical discipline. Going off the deep end like this seemed entirely unlike him. Plus, I doubted Xuan Xiang would have been attracted to this type of insanity. No, there was something else going on here.

  “Really,” was all I said.

  Wei threw his head back and let a belly laugh bubble up and out of his mouth. His laughter seemed to echo off the walls. It made me wince.

  “No, I’m just kidding,” said Wei. “Did I have you there for a moment?”

  “You’re not that stupid,” I said. “And you didn’t rise to the position you have now by being dumb.”

  Wei looked shocked. “Was that a compliment?”

  “I can objectively take note of another man’s accomplishments without liking him,” I said. “You have obviously done well for yourself. That doesn’t mean I want to buy a timeshare in your world, mind you.”

  “I wouldn’t insult you by asking,” said Wei. “Men of your caliber don’t take well to being asked to betray their conscience and moral high standards. I try my best not to do it.”

  I glanced at Xuan Xiang. “He just insulted you.”

  Xuan Xiang shrugged. “I made peace with my moral compass a long time ago. It doesn’t bother me.”

  “Figures,” I said. I looked back at Wei. “All right, so if you’re not some crazy world domination guy, then what gives with the set-up here? Why all the remote location bullshit? What the hell are you digging for? Gold?”

  “I don’t need gold,” said Wei. “I need something ever more powerful.”

  I waited. But Wei just looked at me with a grin.

  When neither of us said anything for the next minute, I cleared my throat. “Wasn’t that your cue to go into your grand schemes? I was all set to be impressed.”

  Wei shook his head. “I get weary of seeing that in movies and other books. There’s always this grand explanation by the bad guy about what he’s going to do. Then the hero comes up with a plan and manages to turn the tables on the bad guy. I think it’s a cheap plot progression, frankly.”

  “All right, so no explanation?”

  “No. If you can’t figure it out, then so be it. I’m not at liberty to discuss any of it with you. Nor do I much feel like doing so.”

  I shrugged. “Okay, so where do we go from here?” I took a glance at Jack, but he hadn’t moved. As far as I knew, he was still alive, but if things took much longer, then he would be dead. I needed the remedy from Xuan Xiang and I needed it now.

  Xuan Xiang coughed once. “I did everything you asked.”

  I turned around. “You talking to me?”

  “He’s talking to me,” said Wei. “And yes, you did Xuan Xiang. Your country is very grateful to you for performing this service. You managed to do what you said you would do and it worked out marvelously.”

  “What worked out marvelously?” I asked.

  “Us,” said Talya. “He lured us both here.”

  I looked at Xuan Xiang but he only smiled. “Yeah, but for what reason?”

  “To kill you,” said Wei. “You are two of the finest killers the world has ever produced. And both of you have a lengthy history. One full of dead bodies and enemies. Enemies who respect you and enemies who hate you. The fact that you two somehow found each other amid the bloodstained paths you’ve walked is fairly remarkable. Convenient, too.”

  “Convenient for who?” I asked.

  “I don’t want to spoil the surprise,” said Wei. “But soon. Just be patient for a bit and you will see.”

  I stared at Xuan Xiang. “I need that remedy for Jack. Tell me where it is and I won’t kill you.”

  Xuan Xiang stepped closer to me and smiled. “You don’t scare me, Lawson. You never have. I had a grudging bit of respect for you after the last time we enjoyed each other’s company, but the fact is, you’re weak. You play the strong silent type to a T but you are soft. Your underbelly is your vulnerability. And you’ve shacked up with a human woman of all things.”

  “What about yourself,” I said. “You’re throwing stones inside that glass house you built.”

  Xuan Xiang laughed. “What - I’m a traitor?”

  “You’ve betrayed far more than just your race. You’ve lost any sense of honor you might have once had. Back when you cared about protecting our race. Back when you knew better. Before you allowed yourself to become corrupted.”

  “I’m not the only one who allowed himself to get corrupted, Lawson. I just deal with it better. I’m honest about it. You hide from it under the guise of some sense of duty. You’re pathetic.”

  I couldn’t resist the urge; I punched him hard in the belly.

  He double-over and head-butted me over my eye. I saw it coming and turned, but still caught a glancing blow as I brought my guard up and kept my elbows tucked tight against my body. I was aware then of Wei shouting orders to his troops, but instead of breaking us apart, they simply moved out of the way. Wei must have been itching for a fight and was going to give us all the room we needed.

  Xuan Xiang dropped into one of his characteristic stances from the White Eyebrow branch of Kung Fu that he studied. It was an old style that not too many people knew about. But I’d been a martial arts junkie for a long time. And the last time Xuan Xiang and I had tangled, he’d used the art on me several times. I felt like I was better prepared for him now.

  But instead of leading low, which is what I thought he might do, Xuan Xiang went high with a straight shot over my guard that very nearly dropped me
when it impacted my chin. I exhaled hard and rolled back and away from him, coming up on to my feet and aware that my vision had momentarily doubled.

  Shit.

  I was rusty from a lack of activity over the last few days. Xuan Xiang was obviously still in prime form.

  He circled me and threw a series of feints toward my head. They were probes and I ignored them, focusing instead on his footwork using my peripheral vision. I kept my eyes locked onto the space between his eyebrows with a soft focus that allowed me to see his whole body as it changed and moved.

  Xuan Xiang telegraphed a looping overhand right and I backpedaled, knocking the arm away with a solid strike to the underside of his triceps. I saw him grimace and shake this arm out. I kept my breathing low and steady, trying to gauge when his next attack would come.

  Without warning, Xuan Xiang dropped low and lashed out with a leading leg kick to my knee. I narrowly avoided it by shifting back as it came in at me. I tried to stomp down on the retreating limb, but Xuan Xiang was too fast for me to connect. He threw his body around pivoting on his knee and tried to sweep my legs out from underneath me.

  I jumped up and the leg passed underneath me. Coming down, I rushed forward and caught him on the underside of his jaw with a simple front kick that snapped his head back and sent him reeling.

  He recovered quicker than I expected and got to his feet, rushing headlong at me with a flurry of fists aimed at my midsection. I redirected him and sent him sprawling into the wall. His face connected with hard surface and bounced off. There was swelling under his eyes, but not nearly enough to compromise his fighting ability just yet.

  “I should have killed you when I had the chance,” he said through gritted teeth.

  “You’re not the first to say that.” I punched him twice in the liver and he stumbled away, clutching at his side.

  I followed and threw a side kick at his ribs. I connected, but Xuan Xiang twisted at the perfect time and my leg’s momentum dragged me closer to him than was healthy. I paid for it when Xuan Xiang punched me hard in the gut. I sucked wind and saw stars. My lungs were on fire.

  Xuan Xiang wore a silly grin on his face. “You’re starting to slow down.”

  “You’re wasting breath talking,” I said. “Let’s finish this.”

  He nodded and circled me again. His hands moved in some sort of constant shifting rhythm that I didn’t understand. If it had been anyone else, I might have thought he was trying to hypnotize me. But that wasn’t Xuan Xiang’s style. He’d rather be upfront in his treachery than hide it somehow.

  He launched a series of kicks - low, high, low, medium, and then back to high. The volley was intense and I narrowly avoided the first four, but he scored on the fifth and I felt the top of his foot connect square with the side of my head. It felt like someone had shot off a howitzer inside my skull.

  I stumbled back, grasping at my head. I needed to make the jolted effect of my brain stop. I sucked air into my lungs. I could see Xuan Xiang moving closer in my blurred vision. He was closing in for the kill.

  And I was a mess.

  He launched another series of kicks and I ducked the first two before I felt another slam into my side. I braced for the impact and then saw Xuan Xiang leap into the air and come down with a straight punch headed for the side of my head.

  At the last second, I turned and let the punch only graze my head. If that thing had connected full on, I would have been out for the count and Xuan Xiang could have simply killed me any way he wanted.

  I backhanded him and then launched my own kick at his side as he stumbled away. I got lucky and caught him flush, folding him over at the waist. Wobbly as I was, I closed and drove a series of elbows down onto his spine. Xuan Xiang grunted and tried to sprawl and tackle me into some sort of ground-fighting maneuver. I wasn’t having it and drove another volley of elbows into his spine, wishing that I’d be rewarded with some awful cracking sound.

  But then Xuan Xiang surged upward and delivered a huge uppercut to my diaphragm that impacted hard and shut my breathing off.

  I sat down hard, lungs spasming and unable to get any oxygen into my system. My eyes opened wide as I sat there trying to suck in but nothing happened. I sounded like a fish out of water, desperate for any sort of air to reach my lungs.

  Xuan Xiang regarded me for a second, disgust clearly evident on his face. “You’re a waste, Lawson. And now I’m going to kill you.”

  When the gun shot sounded, I was still trying to breathe.

  28

  Xuan Xiang’s chest exploded outward as the round exited and carried him forward until he toppled into my lap.

  The shock of it kickstarted my lungs again and I flushed my system with fresh oxygen, grateful to be able to breathe once again. Xuan Xiang looked back over his shoulder at Wei. “Why?”

  But Wei no longer stood alone. Next to him holding a pistol stood a woman I hadn’t seen for a very long time. She hadn’t aged, which wasn’t a surprise, but her appearance certainly was. And for the first time since I’d set off on this crazy adventure, I felt genuine fear seep into my bowels.

  The Silencer.

  I’d first met her back in Vietnam. She was the best of the best. By the time I was experienced enough to go operational, she already had scores of hits under her belt. She was a ghost; invisible and yet as lethal as they came. She worked for anyone she chose to work for. She would pop up on the Council’s radar every once in an ice age before going to ground again. We never knew where she was going to show up; all we got were rumors of where she’d been. If there was anyone on this planet that could instill fear in me, it was her.

  Xuan Xiang clawed at me. “Lawson.”

  I looked down at him. He held something in his hand and I saw it was a very small hypodermic spring-loaded syringe. It almost looked like an epi pen. “Use this on me…at the entry wound site.” He pressed the hypodermic into my hands. The remedy. This is what I needed for Jack.

  As far as I knew, Wei hadn’t seen the exchange. We were too close together and it must have appeared that Xuan Xiang was simply talking to me.

  “Use it on me,” he said again.

  I felt the injector in my hand. It was small enough to palm.

  Pain enveloped Xuan Xiang’s face, contorting it into wrinkles. “Lawson…”

  I patted him on the back and lowered my voice until only Xuan Xiang could hear me. “You know I can’t do that for you. You’ve betrayed everything I serve, every notion I hold dear. You threatened the woman I love. You withheld the cure from the boy I consider my son.”

  His eyes were already starting to dilate. I stared into them. “It’s time for you to die, Xuan Xiang.”

  His canines lengthened then and he rolled over with a final grunt, staring at Wei and lifting his finger toward him.

  The Silencer shot him again, the round thundering into his chest.

  Xuan Xiang shuddered and then lay still. I pushed him off of my lap and got to my feet slowly. I had to make it appear that I was still recovering from my injuries. And I desperately needed to get closer to Jack so I could shoot the hypodermic into him.

  “It’s been a long time, Lawson,” said the Silencer. She lowered the pistol and eyed me with a sly grin. “I see you’re still trying your best to resemble some type of martial artist.”

  “Have you seen my videos on Youtube? They’re epic.” I clutched my side, keeping the hypodermic concealed against my ribs.

  Talya hadn’t said a thing, but there was a look in her eyes that I’d seen only a few times before. It told me everything I needed to know about the situation: she knew the Silencer. And she didn’t like her one single bit. I was relieved about that, because I didn’t much care for the Silencer, either.

  “Japan was a while ago.” The Silencer sighed. “And things that happened there should probably be forgotten.”

  Talya shot me a look, but I shook my head. “It’s not like it was some one night stand in Vegas. She helped me help some people.”

&
nbsp; “A momentary display of compassion,” said the Silencer. “Rest assured such displays are a thing of the past and there will be none on this day.”

  I nodded at Talya. “How do you know her?”

  “As the bane of my existence,” said Talya. “She’s the one that got away. Three times. Three separate occasions when I’d been hired to end her. I always wondered who she was and where she came from. I guess I shouldn’t be all that surprised that she’s one of your kind. It makes sense.” Talya sighed. “I always wondered how it was going to shake out in the end. This is not exactly how I saw it coming to a conclusion.”

  “You don’t know what the conclusion is yet,” said the Silencer.

  Talya sniffed. “Well, it’s certainly not going to be sitting down to a cup of tea and reminiscing about old times. Don’t insult me by playing that it would be.”

  “I wouldn’t dream of it,” said the Silencer. “You’re far too adept to pay you that disrespect.”

  “Thank you,” said Talya.

  The Silencer turned to me. “Imagine my delight when General Wei here told me he had a plan to lure two of the finest assassins to a remote location so that I could kill them both.”

  “Now, why on earth would you want to do a thing like that? The planet will be a whole lot more boring without either of us around to keep your life exciting.”

  The Silencer laughed. “I’m ready for you to be gone, Lawson. I don’t need a Fixer, let alone the best one ever fielded by the Council, on my ass any longer.” She looked at Talya. “And as for you, my dear, I don’t need a human hitter chasing after me, either. Even one as beautiful as you are.”

  Talya winked at her. “Too bad. We could have had some fun.”

  The Silencer paused. It’s always interesting what you find out about people when death is close by. Talya might just have surprised the Silencer.

  “No, I don’t think we could have. You’re simply toying with me. And that, my dear, is a very dangerous thing to do.”