"She's Fallen, D'Toeni. You won't be able to feast on her." Jules was obviously finding this funny but D'Toeni’s face was turning bright red..
"You what?" he spat. He twisted to look up behind him as Cassidy and sniffed really hard.
He turned back to look toward Jules. "You stupid fucking bitch!" he yelled.
Jules stopped laughing.
"You let a Fallen into your group," he screamed. "Are you fucking insane?"
The other vampires started to stir.
"She came with Darwin," Jules protested. "I had nothing to do with it."
"But you never did anything?"
Jules started to stammer. "I... I wasn't in charge."
D'Toeni stood up.
"What's going on," another sleepy voice called out. "What's wrong?" Darwin thought it might be Monk but the blankets muffled any certainty.
"What's wrong? What's wrong? It's no fucking wonder you lot are almost extinct."
"Go back to sleep" another voice called out.
"This is what happens when you put the nigger and half-breed in charge. Her kind have been trying to eradicate us for hundreds of years."
"I've never heard of angels with tentacles," Darwin commented.
"Yeah," Monk called out. "You said they were like giant octopi. Not like any angel I've heard of."
Had the situation not been so fraught, Darwin might have used this situation to undermine the vampire and get back some of his credibility. But D'Toeni looked genuinely incensed.
"You're all fucking mad," the vampire muttered to himself. "Well, if you lot aren't going to do something about it..."
He made a lunge for Cassidy, grabbed her around the front of the neck and pulled back. Cassidy resisted, gripping firmly on the steering wheel. But the force was enough to cause her to jolt the wheel. The minibus careened into the next lane. There was the sound of horns and a thump as it banged into the side of another car.
Darwin lent over the back of the seat and tried to make a grab for D'Toeni. In response the vampire stepped out of reach, tugging at Cassidy's head again. The minibus veered again, this time to the opposite lane. A cacophony of horns blared, and there was another thump and the sound of breaking glass.
D'Toeni wobbled slightly with the bump, but his grip remained firm. "Move closer," he told Darwin, "and I'll break her neck."
"D'Toeni, Have you gone mental? She's driving."
"Take the wheel from her if you're so worried."
Darwin pointed to the blacked out side windows. "If we crash and the sun gets in. You're all going to die."
D'Toeni scoffed at this idea. "As if I care. Better to die at our own hand than at the... tentacles of those things."
Darwin felt a fire ignite in his belly. Anger rose up from within, filling him, consuming him.
"Let her go, D'Toeni"
"Who are you to give me orders, boy?"
"I said let her go."
Darwin was shaking now, he was so angry. He knew that if it came to a fight, D'Toeni would beat him, probably rip his limbs off. But that didn't matter right now.
"Ooo look," mocked Jules. "The little bastard's trying to grow some balls."
D'Toeni sneered at Darwin. "And what are you going to do if I don't?"
Darwin looked D'Toeni in the eyes, something he'd never been able to do before now. It had been fear of the vampire that had kept his eyes downcast, but no longer. He was no longer afraid of D'Toeni. He no longer admired the vampire, no longer wished he was more like him. That had all been replaced with anger, not only at the vampire for threatening his friend, but at himself for being taken in by the vampire's bullshit.
"I understand you're scared," Darwin said calmly. "But if you make one more move to hurt her, I'll kill you without a second thought."
D'Toeni scoffed as Cassidy fought to keep the minibus steady. But he must have seen something in Darwin's eyes, as his own seemed less self-assured, possibly even worried.
Darwin calmly reached down by his feet and retrieved Metzger's old sword. He unsheathed it with a little difficulty, refusing to look at Cassidy less it somehow weaken his resolve.
"You going to fight me with that old thing... in here?" D'Toeni glanced around him. He was right, there was no room to swing a sword, especially one as large as Metzger's. But Darwin read uncertainty in D'Toeni's face.
"Kill her," yelled Jules. "Kill the little bitch."
D'Toeni thought about it for a second and then Darwin saw the vampire's arm muscles tense.
Darwin reacted immediately. He brought the sword round at an angle. He couldn't put any real force behind his swing but its approach caused D'Toeni to lean back, which in doing so lost him the leverage to break Cassidy's neck. But still he pulled on it, Cassidy managing to hold onto the steering wheel with little more than her finger tips, as the vehicle veered left and right to a chorus of horns.
The whole minibus jolted as the vehicle slammed into the side of a van but this did not stop the forward motion of Darwin's sword sweep.
Despite leaning back, D'Toeni was unable to avoid the snapped shaft end of the sword. It slashed him across the face. He released his hold of Cassidy, his hands going toward his face as he started to fall backward.
Forward momentum carried the sword on. It struck the blackened window next to Cassidy's seat, the glass shattering and sunlight pouring in.
Jules screamed as the sunlight hit her. Her hands exploded into clouds of dust and her face started to blister and burn.
Still the sword progressed. Darwin felt the tip slice into the side of the van the minibus had crashed against. But it cut through metal like butter.
Cassidy let go of the wheel and started to twist and duck as the sword came overhead, slicing through the door support. The glass in the driver's side door shattered. Darwin felt the sword leave the other vehicle as it sliced through the driver's side roof strut, the momentum coming to an end over the steering wheel as the windscreen showered them with glass.
Behind him, D'Toeni collapsed on top of the sleeping vampires whilst Jules' screams were drowned in ash. The van veered off into the central reservation, Darwin noting a red stain on the scar he'd just inflicted, as the vehicle flipped and was lost behind them. The roof of the minibus, now free of two of its supports, caught the wind beneath it and began to flap up, flashing sunlight down on the exposed D'Toeni.
Cassidy grabbed the wheel and managed to correct their direction as they scrapped along the central reservation. Darwin put the sword down beside him as Jules' head exploded into ash. He made a grab for the roof in an attempt to stop it flipping the vehicle.
He was aware of screaming and looked over his shoulder to see D'Toeni clutching his face, his hands red with his own blood, his head and hands smoking, as the other vampire attempted to pull him beneath their covers.
"I'll kill you, Darwin," he shouted. "I'll fucking kill you."
There was another voice as well, almost drowned out by D'Toeni.
"Jules? Jules are you OK?"
Darwin almost felt sorry for Brian as he turned to Cassidy. "Are you alright?"
She rubbed her neck and nodded.
There was a struggle under the blankets.
"Let go of me," D'Toeni shouted.
"Keep still, you're still bleeding."
Darwin expected some venomous comment, but when it finally came, it was from a teary Brian, not D'Toeni
"I swear I'm going to kill you, Darwin," he said, “first chance, I get."
CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR - Unexpected Arrivals
Mr West held up his hand. "Run that past me again."
The drone sighed, took a deep breath and retold her story.
"Magellan and North attempted to set a trap for our quarry. Managed to lure them to an abandoned underground complex..."
"Yes, yes, you said that. The bit how they lured them there?"
"People from their past. An ex-boyfriend for the girl, a vampire for the boy."
West searched his desk for a bit of pape
r with a list of names on it. He'd embraced paper as part of his whole plan to understand his enemy, but frankly, it tested his patience not having everything at his fingertips.
"What was the name of the vampire?" he asked pulling out the piece of paper he'd been searching for.
"D'Toeni," the drone replied.
West slammed a fist on his desk. He'd spent the last couple of days searching for that vampire, all trace of him seeming to vanish. Now he knew why. Damn Magellan and this unexpected move.
That was his real concern. Not that they'd set a trap, but that he hadn't seen it coming. He couldn't blame the data models. Unlike most drones, his was perfectly intelligent, not defective in any way other than she did not like authority. She did not fit into his people's neat and ordered universe and because of that she'd been stripped of her name and demoted to drone. But where others had found her disruptive, West had not. He’d trained her to think like him and embrace the quirks of humanity. Maybe because they were so alike, the only difference being that she was not as good at covering up her tracks.
Still it served as a daily warning to West of what awaited him if his plans went wrong. And if Magellan and North had set a trap without him anticipating it, something had definitely gone very wrong.
"Why didn't the data models pick this up? Why is this move unexpected?"
He said it more to get the frustration out his system rather than expect an answer, but the drone had one forthcoming.
"It's you."
"Me?"
The drone nodded. "Your interference and methods have frightened them into taking action. They're worried how this might affect them, should it all come out. This was... how do the Human's say it... damage limitation."
"But why did our simulations not pick up that this would happen..."
It dawned on him before she even said it.
"The model we have for you is incorrect. In order that no-one can anticipate your moves, the model in the central databanks is fake, designed to mislead."
Of course, and if his model was incorrect then that would have a knock on effect on anyone who interacted with him. Curses, how could he have been so sloppy?
"We'll have to update the models," he said.
"Yes sir. I've already taken the liberty of doing it."
Her initiative unnerved West slightly. He didn't like anyone being one step ahead of him. There was also the worry that someone might get hold of the model and use it against him. Relax, he tried to tell himself. Would they find someone who was betraying his people? No, they'd find a passionate, loyal citizen who felt his leaders lacked agency. They'd see he'd do anything to save their world, and had little time for the petty politics that seemed to envelop and hinder this mission.
Still the feeling that the drone was in possession of an accurate model of him was unsettling. And besides, was he really that easy to model that she'd made the changes already? He sighed.
"Good work," he said rationalising that whatever his personal feelings, she'd made the right logical choice. "Anything else to report? How's North?"
"Wounded. He lost a substantial part of one limb."
"Did you say they shot him through the eye?"
"Yes sir. Hit a nerve cluster. Word is that he was so enraged they had to sedate him."
With twenty seven limbs, limb damage was not uncommon amongst his people. Imagine only having these puny four and losing one of them, West thought. That would be very traumatic. Perhaps he could relieve Darwin of one of his the next time they met.
He sighed again and lent back on his office chair, staring at that little picture of a windmill on his wall.
"I don't suppose we know where our half-vampire is, do we?"
The drone nodded. This came as a surprise. West sat bolt upright in his chair. She was damn good. How could the Dictatoriat have been so cruel with her fate? It just seemed to say everything about the corruption he believed lay at the heart of his society.
"I've just completed the revised simulation," the drone said.
"And?"
The drone smiled.
"They're coming here."
CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE - Our Heroes Meet
The knock on the door came as Maureen was washing up in the kitchen. She'd been anticipating it, but as the hours had passed it seemed less and less likely Simon would call on her. Never mind, she'd consoled herself. He's a very busy person, I'm sure he'll be round when he has time.
So when the three large taps of her door knocker came it still made Maureen jump.
She dried her hands and walked into the hall. She was feeling good, all things considered. The stress was still there but she felt positive. A good cry over Ernest had cleared her head a little. With Ernest's recommendation that she should not trust the Friary, her guilt in trying to make her eviction as difficult as possible had disappeared. Rofen could go hang himself for all she cared.
She would sit down with Simon and find out about her rights, and then she would demand - not ask - for all the things that she was entitled.
And so she flung open the door with a mighty "hello" only to be presented with a face she didn't know.
Before she had time to react, his hand was at her mouth. "You scream, you're dead, you hear? Guys, bring him in."
Maureen was still in shock, trying to understand what was happening, when the others came. Two men brought a third slung between them. His face was cut and bleeding badly.
"D'Toeni's still bleeding, Darwin," the hairier of the two said.
"We'll worry about it when we're through the gateway, Monk. You and Honest Tom just worry about getting him there."
Her captor - the one they called Darwin - turned to her and released his hand. "Where's your gateway, old lady?"
So this is what it was about, Maureen thought. A group wanting to illegally enter Venefasia.
"I've not got all day, luv."
If this had been Venefasia she wouldn't have tolerated a comment like that, but she eyed the huge sword on Darwin's back carefully. Here she was vulnerable, and these men looked violent.
"Down the stairs," she said. "In the cellar."
Darwin turned back to look towards the open door, as a man of similar age stormed through. He looked like he had been crying.
On sight of Darwin, he charged.
"You killed her, you bastard," he screamed. "You killed my Jules."
He threw a punch at Darwin's jaw that twisted the young man round so much, Maureen thought he might collapse onto the floor.
It was only as Maureen sidestepped the scuffle that she noticed the pointed teeth.
An elderly thin man pulled the man off of Darwin. "Brian, not now. There will be another time."
"I'm going to kill you, Darwin," Brian continued to scream. "I'll fucking kill you."
Darwin nursed his chin. "Get him downstairs, Stevens."
Maureen took another step backward. Maybe if she could get to the back garden she could get the attention of Simon and Sally. Darwin noticed her backing away and grabbed her shoulder.
"Don't you go anywhere," he warned.
Last to enter was a girl with pigtails and oversized glasses. She closed the door behind her.
"You manage to hide the minibus, Cassidy?" Darwin asked.
She nodded. "Not very well. I just jammed it down a bridle path so it was off the road. We should be OK until morning though."
"We're not going to be here in the morning. We're leaving now before anything more can go wrong."
D'Toeni looked over to Cassidy and snarled. "This is your doing," he swore. "You'll fucking pay for this. You and your boyfriend."
Cassidy ignored him, instead catching sight of Maureen.
"Hello," she said cheerily. "And who might you be?"
The girl seemed different to the others, but still Maureen was wary.
"No time for chat," Darwin interrupted. "Everyone downstairs. We're leaving."
They all filed down the stairs: Monk and Honest Tom with D'Toeni first, Brian with S
tevens, then Maureen, Cassidy and finally Darwin.
"Is that it?" asked Stevens looking at the big oak door.
Honest Tom laughed. "Yeah, it's not what I expected."
"I expected something... bigger."
"Who cares so long as it's big enough for us to go through," said Monk taking the key off the hook.
There was silence as Monk unlocked and opened the door. Everyone looked down the corridor toward the far door. "Guess I'll go," he muttered.
Maureen had anticipated what would happen next. Monk reached the end and tried the handle.
"It's locked," he said.
"Find a key," D'Toeni shouted back.
"There isn't one."
D'Toeni pushed aside Honest Tom and rounded on Maureen, his hand going to her throat. "My dear, I am in a lot of pain, so I'm only going to ask this once. Where's the fucking key?"
Rage boiled inside of Maureen. These people had barged into her home, had taken her hostage, and if the demands weren't bad enough, now one of them was swearing at her.
"You genuinely find people are more helpful if you ask nicely," she shot back.
D'Toeni laughed, glancing back at the other vampires, before moving just inches from her face, his expression changing. "I'm going to assume you're not fucking stupid. So you know what I am, and what I'm capable of. Now, open that fucking door or I will cause you pain like you've never suffered before."
If only she had been in Venefasia. Then she could have taught that vampire a lesson. But she wasn't. She had no mana, no plants and as a result felt utterly helpless.
"I can't," she replied. "It's locked from the other side."
The vampires all looked at each other. D'Toeni maintained his grip around her neck. It was starting to hurt.
"She's lying," said Stevens. "Why would they lock a gateway?"
Maureen nearly tried to explain that they regularly locked the gateways, specifically to avoid such situations as she was in now. But that would just cause too many questions. So instead she said, “They've closed the gateway."
"Closed?" D'Toeni spat. "What do you mean, closed?"
Maureen struggled against his grip. "I mean, closed. As in shut; no longer open."
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