by Chris Fox
“W-what are you?” a frightened deathless said, dropping his rifle and backing away as Nox passed him. He stank of decay and fear.
The gunfire grew sporadic, as the deathless gave up attacking. By the time Nox reached the first floor, he could only hear it from outside—punctuated by a single scream, then silence.
Nox’s eyes narrowed. Kali was pushing boundaries again.
Hades views you the same way you view that girl. He knows you plan to escape. The tone was amused. Is it any wonder you see the same in Kali? She still serves her grey men masters; you have to know that. The pretense that she serves you only lives until we earn their displeasure. Then she will turn her flames on you.
Nox spotted a stairwell leading to a basement, so he made for that. He paused at the top of the stairs, wincing as a flash of white-hot flame splashed the ground outside a window. He forced himself to ignore it, walking down the stairs.
Below waited three bodyguards, all deathless. All were dark-skinned, darker than he’d have expected. Each held his gun like a talisman, and none employed any of the shaping that might have allowed them to escape, or possibly even to harm him. These people had little to no training. If these were the best Camiero could surround himself with, then Nox questioned the man’s usefulness. How had he maintained control here?
“Tell your master that Nox has arrived,” Nox roared.
The name still made him chuckle inwardly. He was the night; it made him sound like a bad comic villain.
One of the guards disappeared through a doorway, while the other two continued to cower. Both had lowered their weapons, evidently realizing that they were unlikely to have any better success than their companions on the second floor. Those fools still lurked above, peering down at Nox from the landing above. It puzzled him that none used their deathless abilities. Those wouldn’t have worked, but these fools couldn’t know that.
“Who—or what—are you?” a voice asked, speaking from a few feet away. The air shimmered, and a deathless stepped from the shadows. He was dark-skinned and impeccably dressed. He wore a suit of the finest cotton, the type Nox would had greatly enjoyed before his transformation. His goatee was neatly trimmed, his cufflinks buffed. His tie was even tied with a Windsor knot.
This man, Camiero, had swum with the elite before the world ended. That could make this alliance much more palatable, and potentially fruitful—depending on just who this man had been, and who he had become in the new world.
Nox took three unhurried steps closer to the deathless, then extended a clawed hand. “You may call me Nox. I’ve travelled a very long way to meet you, Camiero.”
Camiero took the hand, shaking it firmly, then released it. He met Nox’s gaze. “You’ve invaded my home. You scuffed up the floor with your clawed feet, and shattered my window. You’ve murdered my guards, though thankfully not as many as you could have. Why have you come? What do you think you can gain from assaulting me?”
Nox was impressed. The man calmly stated the situation, calling Nox out without insulting him. He didn’t threaten or posture, though both knew it could come to combat, depending on how Nox responded.
“My entry was aggressive, but I needed to ensure that I have your full attention,” Nox explained. He folded his powerful arms, tail swishing behind him as he spoke. It coiled, ready to grab Camiero’s ankle if needed. “I’ve come to offer you power. I can give you demonic strength, elevating you above all other deathless on this continent. I can provide an army of demons to help you conquer all of Brazil—and eventually all of South America.”
“An entire army, you say? And you will simply give it to me?” Camiero’s words were jovial, his half-smile friendly. There was steel underneath. “That is a very generous offer, but my mother had a saying: do not trust those bearing gifts, unless you understand what they seek to gain in giving them to you.”
“Your mother was a wise woman,” Nox said, smiling in spite of himself. “I won’t sugarcoat this. Accepting this gift will mean serving me. You will be more powerful, but you will also be subservient. This entire continent will be yours to do with as you wish, but when I have need…you will accept my commands.”
“I already have plenty of power.” Camiero pursed his lips and walked to the nearby bar, withdrawing a crystal ewer and pouring himself a glass of what Nox guessed was Scotch. He didn’t offer any to Nox. Swirling the contents of his glass, he seemed to gather his words. “That you are so open about the cost suggests that you expect me to accept your offer anyway, even though you know that I’ll eventually conquer this continent without outside aid. Why else would you have chosen me to make this offer to?”
“You’re very astute. I’m glad you live up to your reputation.” Nox found himself liking the man. He walked to the far side of the room, staring through a wide bay window that overlooked the harbor. A body plummeted past, charred beyond all recognition. Nox winced. Kali’s antics would probably make this more difficult.
Camiero joined Nox at the window, setting his glass down on a mahogany end table. “You’re very good at this, Mr. Nox. You enter my home like a brute, demonstrating your strength. You do not threaten my life, but you do bring a butcher so that the threat is implied: join, or be wiped out. Those are my choices, yes?”
“Something like that.” Nox turned to face Camiero. “I would prefer not to kill you, but if you refuse to serve me I will simply approach the next candidate. I’ve identified a dozen. Eventually, one will accept. That one gets to live, and to grow in power. The others, as you’ve deduced, will be… removed.”
“And what is it you want on this continent, Mr. Nox? I’ve been aware of you for some time, but in the last five years you’ve never come to South America. Why now? What is it you are seeking here?”
Nox weighed the benefits of telling the truth. In this case, that seemed the most expedient method. Camiero was too intelligent to labor in ignorance. “I’m searching for something in the Amazon. To get it, I need the resources you command.”
“You seek El Dorado, yes? The legendary city protected by the jungle? Yes, by your expression I can see that you do. Getting into the jungle will carry a high cost. The champions rule the trees, and they will destroy any deathless who enters. My best men are either slain, or flee.”
“Let me worry about the champions,” Nox said. He turned from the window, taking a step closer to Camiero. “I will provide you the weaponry with which your deathless can fight the champions. By tomorrow morning, a full battalion of my demons will arrive.”
“I do not like conceding power, but I am no fool,” Camiero said. His gaze was heavy with acceptance. “To refuse is to die. I will agree to your bargain, though I’m sure it carries a much higher price than I wish to pay.”
“Far higher,” Nox agreed. He extended his right hand, using a claw to slice open his palm. “Drink, and learn the cost.”
Chapter 4- San Francisco
Liz dropped to a crouch, resisting the urge to gather the shadows around her. The platform they’d arrived on was well-lit, a familiar golden corridor disappearing into the Ark beyond. The silence was total.
Blair stood next to her, his eyes going momentarily glassy. It was creepy watching him bond with the Ark. Liz knew he could somehow see the world outside, and was probably scouting not just the Ark, but the entire Bay Area.
The immensity of that power was humbling. Blair was, in most senses of the word, a god. What would he be like in a decade, or a century? The gods were supposed to live much longer than that.
He is finally coming into his own, Ka-Ken, a voice rumbled in her mind. Liz blinked. The voice was different, familiar somehow.
You’re not my beast, she thought. Liz wasn’t alarmed, not yet at least.
Not so, Ka-Ken. I am very much your beast, though your recent actions have altered me, the voice rumbled. You drained my essence during the battle at the First Ark. Such feeding through a Sunsteel weapon carries a heavy cost. By consuming me, you have preserved a fragment of my mind
. That fragment has bonded with your beast. I am a part of you now, Ka-Ken.
“Wepwawet.” Liz was positive, even as she uttered the word.
Indeed.
“What about him?” Blair asked, blinking as he stirred from his trance. He scrubbed a hand through tousled blond hair badly in need of scissors.
“Nothing,” Liz said, maybe a bit too quickly. She wanted a little time to figure out exactly what was going on in her own head before telling Blair about it. Otherwise he’d start probing, and they had more important things to deal with just then. “What did you find?”
“I scouted the surrounding area,” Blair said. “There are definitely a few surprises. It’s easier if I just show you.”
He rested an hand on Liz’s arm. She shivered, there was a flash of light, and then she was elsewhere. She wrapped herself instinctively in shadow, struggling to get oriented. It was dark, but a large moon hung in the sky above, reflected in the lapping waters of San Francisco Bay. She and Blair stood at the very top of the Golden Gate Bridge—what remained of it anyway. Blair gestured at the city itself, but there was no need. Liz was already staring.
Most of the city was dark, but lights came from the skyscrapers in the financial district. Several cars even moved down Market Street, and she could make out a trickle of figures moving up and down sidewalks. The city didn’t look much different than it had before the world had ended. A casual observer would have no idea it was anything but a thriving metropolis.
“So, what now?” Liz asked, fighting to be heard over the wind. It was cold this high up.
Blair crouched on the rusted metal arch next to her, unblinking eyes fixed on the city. He shifted to werewolf form, the silver fur covering his body in the blink of an eye. Liz took the cue and went into warform as well.
“Most of the activity is around the ferry building,” Blair called. “If you look across the bay, you’ll see lights in Oakland, too. Not as many, but there are definitely people there.” The wind howled, nearly drowning out his words. He closed his mouth, looking at her, and his words appeared in her mind. My guess is that the deathless have seized control. Based on the concentration of people, I’m guessing their leader lives near the ferry building. We can probably learn more if we get closer.
What about Angel Island? Liz thought back.
Blair’s face fell, and he shot an agonized glance at the shadowed island. A cluster of trees still dotted the familiar hills, not far from the bridge. There were no lights there, but Liz couldn’t see much else. Maybe that was a good thing.
Empty, Blair thought. I don’t know where everyone went, but no one has lived there for a long time. I checked a little ways into Marin, and the place is a wasteland. There are some zombies, but I didn’t see any people. Not a single one.
We need answers badly enough to risk going down there, Liz thought back, knife sharp anger slicing her patience to ribbons. I’ll ride your shadow, if you take us down to the city. We were supposed to protect those people. Someone down there knows what happened to them.
Blair nodded, his wolfish face somber. He probably felt the loss of Angel Island as keenly as she did. Give me a moment. With the Ark, I can scan on a much larger scale. I think I can locate their leader. May as well go right for the source.
Her Ka-Dun closed his eyes, the wind rustling his fur. He stood there serenely, but only for the moment he’d asked.
His eyes quickly opened, and he gave her a toothy grin. I’ve found her. Hop in. Let’s go get those answers.
Liz flowed into Blair’s shadow, the familiar numbing cold washing over her as she vanished. Blair blurred forward, far faster than she could track. They zipped across the bridge, bounding into the air above the bay. The apex of their jump carried them over the charred crater where Irakesh had detonated the bomb, what felt like a lifetime ago.
Blair caught a rusted streetlight near the crater’s edge, bounding from landmark to landmark as he crossed the city. He paused briefly atop the Palace of Fine Arts, then darted up Lombard Street. Liz didn’t know the city that well, but she could tell he was making for the cluster of lights in the financial district.
The closer they got, the more deathless they saw. Most were inside buildings; without heartbeats, they were difficult to hear. But Liz could smell their putridity, lurking all around her. Hundreds of them—maybe thousands.
The foot traffic grew heavier as they made their way up Market Street, especially as they approached the ferry building. Beyond lay the bay, dark and silent save for a few lights on the skeletal bulk of the Bay Bridge.
“She’s inside,” Blair said, “holding court, it looks like. I probed a few minds, and they think of her as the Lord of San Francisco. They fear her, but they also respect her.”
Chapter 5- Melissa
“How do you want to do this?” Blair asked, crouching low atop the building. It was only four stories tall, but that was enough to shield them from anyone at ground level—especially in the dark. The city felt empty, and though there were some lights it was nothing like it had been before the CME.
“These deathless are living their lives. It’s some semblance of society, and societies have laws. Let’s find out what theirs are.” Liz shifted back into human form. “It’s possible they might attack us, but I’m hoping you and your fancy key can evac us if things go south.” She shot him a crooked smile, then leapt off the building, falling four stories to land in a silent crouch. A few deathless turned to look curiously in her direction, but no one moved to investigate.
“I guess we’re just going to walk in,” Blair muttered. He stepped off the roof, shifting to human form as he fell, and landed next to Liz, occasioning no more comment than she had.
Liz slid her arm through his. “Shall we?”
Blair gave a strained smile. Being here scared the hell out of him, despite the siren song of the Ark’s power. They were in the stronghold of their enemy, with no idea who or what ruled here.
They joined a few figures as they flowed through the quartet of glass doors at the front of the Ferry Building. Blair could smell the deathless, and had little doubt that most could sense his true nature as well. A few looked alarmed, giving them a wide berth as they entered the high-ceilinged building. No one stopped them, though.
Blair remembered this place well. He’d come into the city often when he’d been dating Bridget, and they’d usually taken the ferry. That summoned the ghost of one of her laughs, and Blair remembered her death, not ten miles from where he stood. He looked at Liz, and smiled. Bridget would want him to be happy. More than that, he wanted to be happy. He’d come to grips with Bridget—both her life and death.
“The boat docks right at the back of the building?” Liz asked, peering through the glass.
“Yeah,” Blair said, nodding at the one of the converted stalls. The deathless inside were dressed in business casual, exactly the sort of dress shirts and slacks he’d have expected at any large corporation. A few glanced at them, but most paid no attention. “I used to get coffee from the Roasters right there—the one it looks like they turned into an information booth.”
“It looks so…normal,” Liz replied, her gaze focused on a pleasant-looking Asian woman chatting with an older couple.
“Yeah.” Blair wasn’t sure how to feel. He was glad society was continuing, but this was still a lot to take in. Everyone around them was deathless. There wasn’t a single heartbeat anywhere, except for Liz and himself.
Where were the living?
“That one is coming over,” Liz hissed. Her grip on his arm tightened.
Blair turned his attention to the dark-haired Asian woman, who looked to be in her mid-twenties, heading in their direction. She beamed a white smile their way, and he noted that the teeth were normal. There was nothing to suggest this woman wasn’t alive—if you overlooked the lack of a heartbeat. He was guessing she’d employed an illusion, as a faint whiff of power came from her. Blair could feel the signal, even if he couldn’t pierce it.
“Welcome to San Francisco,” she said, extending a hand. “My name is Melissa.”
Liz shook her hand, then Blair did the same. Her palm was cold, but not icy. Her nails were neatly manicured, claws covered in a muted red polish.
“I’m Blair, and this is Liz,” Blair said, seeing no reason to lie. “We’re, uh, not from around here. At least not recently.”
“I can see that. We don’t often receive living guests.” Melissa eyed them thoughtfully. There was no hostility, but her gaze was calculating. She finally indicated a trio of tables in front of what had once been the coffee shop. “Why don’t we sit down and get acquainted? I’m sure you have questions.”
Blair followed Melissa to an unoccupied table, sliding into one of the metal chairs. Liz did the same, catching his eye. She gave a short nod, and he knew her well enough not to need to read her mind. She wanted him to take point, and as the resident mind reader that seemed like a great idea. He smiled at Melissa.
“We do have questions. We used to live here five years ago, right after the CME.” Blair chose his words carefully, trying to get the information they needed without revealing too much about who they were. “Our people were on Angel Island, and now that we’re back we’re trying to find them. As I’m sure you know, there’s no one there any more. Do you have any idea where they’ve gone?”
He had no idea if Melissa had ever heard of an Ark Lord, though it was impossible for her not to know what the Ark was. Every deathless would sense the power there; it was impossible to miss.
“How very diplomatic.” Melissa gave a musical laugh, crossing her legs as she leaned back in her chair. She smoothed her pants, avoiding their gaze for a moment. When she looked up, her smile had become coy. “You’ve asked for no information about this city, nor who I am. That would make it rude for me to inquire about your own identities. Unfortunately, I’m going to have to be a little rude. I sensed a great surge of power from the Ark out in the bay. Minutes later, you happen to walk into my office.” She gestured expansively at the glass wall bordering the bay. “It’s magnificent, isn’t it? A pyramid built by beings we neither know or remember. At least, beings I don’t know.”