by M. Lorrox
She squeezes him a little harder. “It’s going to be okay.”
He glances at her. “I know.”
Charlie smiles at the two young ones that hover over him. A tear falls from his eye, and he lets out a soft sigh.
Eddy turns to him. “Dad? What’s wrong?”
He swallows. “I’m just glad I got to see you both again.”
Ghost strays from the group and walks up the shore. She stops at a long lane of black charcoal that covers the ground—where with Charlie’s help, she cremated Naga and Ricochet. There, she pauses for a moment. “We did it.”
Tears flow from her face as she imagines Naga standing before her. She pictures him placing his large, broad hands on her shoulders, then leaning forward and kissing her on the forehead. She knows that Ricochet would have stood off to the side, smiling with his arms crossed in front of his chest, a toothpick sticking out of his mouth. Ghost swallows and takes a shaky breath. “I’m going to miss you guys.”
She walks the perimeter of the charcoal with the intention of making one loop, of not stopping, and then of returning to the others that are farther down the beach. As she rounds the far end and turns back though, the angle of the sun shines off something in the ashes. She raises her foot to walk over, but she decides not to walk through the ashes from the end. Instead, she walks farther down the side where she might have to only step once or twice in the ashes.
She steps in, bends, and locates the object.
Naga! You found it! She flips the pendant over in her hand—the pendant that she threw into the ocean over fifty years ago. It’s a circle made of steel; not a ring, but just a shape her dad cut from sheet metal and drilled a small hole on one side.
She squeezes it and recalls the last time she saw it. She and Naga were talking and walking together along a beach in South America, and she was sad about losing her father.
Naga said, “You must hold memories dear, but mind that objects have power.” He motioned to the pendant. “Whenever you touch that, I can feel your pain and sadness. Your father wouldn’t have wanted that.”
Ghost shakes her head now, just as she did those many years ago. I was angry, and I threw it into the ocean. I told you that maybe someday it could lose its sadness, but that you were right and I couldn’t let it drag me down any more. She smiles while tears wet the ashes by her feet—the ashes of the person she knows she’ll always remember with warmth and love. She stands, squeezing the pendant in her hand, and her voice shakes, “Thank you, Naga. I believe it has lost its sadness.”
Rusty wakes again, but he’s covered with broken glass. He stands and shakes it off, then he looks around the room. It’s empty. -Bark!- He listens, but the only sounds come from behind him, through the window whose curtains sway in the wind.
He turns on the bed to look out the glassless window and the light sky beyond. He groans, then sheds some weariness with an entire-body shake. In a bright green flash, he snaps out a large pair of bat-like wings, then he stretches them by fanning the air a few times. He lowers his head, folds his wings in, then runs and leaps off the bed and out the window.
Outside, he opens his wings and glides. Below him, the scene of people coming together in response to the bombing gives him a moment’s pause. The flashing lights, running emergency personnel, and hugging survivors all capture his attention.
Rusty beats his wings hard, giving him lift. He banks into a tight turn to take in the surroundings. There’s a busy road, a busier highway, suburban strip malls, and toward the southeast is a park. He flaps his wings and heads for the park.
Rusty spots a rabbit nibbling in a small glade beside a creek, and he prepares to dive.
The rabbit munches on dandelion leaves, and while its ears are constantly perked and listening for predators like foxes, it doesn’t expect to be attacked from the sky while it’s so close to trees. Rusty dives, then opens his wings and swoops from the side. The rabbit looks up with its little eyes, then it springs away and bounds around a tree.
Rusty banks, inches from the tree, then ducks his head and snaps onto the rabbit’s neck. In a flash, the wings turn to dust, and Rusty runs along the ground with his prey. After snapping its neck with a quick jerk of his head, his long canine fangs find the rabbit’s jugular, and he slices it. Rusty laps up the blood, then sets the bunny down and holds onto it with a paw. After peeling off the fur—which Rusty always found to give him gas—he bites into the legs and eats them, muscle, sinew, bone, and all.
When he’s done, he licks the blood from his snout and paws, then snaps out a pair of wings again. He lifts off the ground with more strength, and when he’s high in the sky, he scans for another meal. He finds a fox slinking near a drainage ditch, and a flash of excitement crosses his bright, emerald eyes.
Paramedics triage the injured at the hotel and ferry the most grievously wounded to the nearby hospital, INOVA Fairfax. Fire crews extinguish the remnants of the burning van, and police and federal investigators interview survivors and preserve evidence.
Among those reported dead at the scene are Tihomir Popov, House of Elders; Lucian Wildgrube, Order of Knights; Céleste Page, wife of Elder Edur Aldana; Tip Millerson, aide and assistant to High Councilor Bruce Tittensor; and Deina Mulder, Council Guard—whom paramedics found with a piece of a steering wheel jutting from a very nasty neck wound.
Dozens of others are wounded, including Lieutenant Colonel Schermer. She refuses to be brought to the hospital though, and instead, she uses her contacts in the police and FBI to expedite the release of any vampires that don’t need medical attention.
While streams of other hotel guests are herded to the lobby and then off to hospitals, the worse-for-wear High Council is sequestered away to a cramped hotel room.
Half of High Councilor Philip Simonsen’s face is covered with dust and caked with blood, and he shakes his head so hard that entire sheets of the stuff fall from his face. “Why are we up here? We should be down there! We can help...can’t we?”
Schermer took a piece of metal in the shoulder, but the injury was minor enough for her to just rip it out and wrap a fabric bandage over it. Still, when she raises her hand to appease him, the pain registers, and she grimaces. “There’s a global situation, remember? You were all meeting for a reason, weren’t you?” Her phone buzzes, and she checks it while other voices raise to fill the silence. She gasps and yells, “Mission update!”
All talk ceases while Schermer reads the end-to-end encrypted message to herself. When her lips grow into a smile, the high councilors watching inhale and prepare themselves for good news.
Her smile fades to one of horror, and the others now hold their breath. She looks up and finds War and Defense Cabinet Chair Vincent de Villablino, then Interim Prime Minister Sadie Costanza. Schermer nods. “They did it.”
Sadie swallows. “And?”
Schermer frowns, the blood and life receding from her face. “More casualties and another death: Ms. Wollstone.”
Everyone closes their eyes for a moment while the news registers—some open them sooner than others.
Sadie’s eyes stay closed, and a tear rolls down her cheek. “Please read the message.”
Schermer clears her throat. “Lieutenant Colonel Schermer, this is Second Lieutenant Owen Metcalf reporting. The team has returned after successful disruption of local Væir activities. If attacks are carried out, they won’t be by this target. Colonel Costanza received grave wounds, but is conscious. Major General Hecate has third-degree burns over a quarter of her body, but is stable. Ghost, Balena, and Gabriel received additional wounds, but are mobile. High Councilor Wollstone is confirmed dead. New Zealand military taking over site. End of report.” Schermer lowers her phone.
Sadie pushes the image of Mary, one of her oldest and closest friends, out of her mind. Her mouth is dry. “Can someone get me a glass of water?”
Eliza Leroux is clo
sest to the bathroom, and she fills a cheap mug with tap water. She hands it over to her.
“Thank you.” She takes a sip while her eyes dart to the other brilliant green eyes staring back at her. “It may be too early to assume that there will be no attacks carried out, but if that is the case—” She looks into Vincent’s eyes. “—if no attack takes place, what is our action?”
Vincent shakes his head. “Nothing.”
James Cartwright nods. “Let it fade as a hoax.”
Eliza motions with her hand. “If we still hold the vote to go public, and it’s approved, we could spin this as a stunt by opponents to rally anti-vampire sentiment… To influence the vote.”
Raúl swallows. “Mirabelle Darien, she manages our PR, right?”
Schermer shakes her head. “Sir, yes she does, but my contacts in the intelligence community should probably handle it.”
“If it comes to that.” Vincent shrugs. “First things first: the situation stands with knights in the target cities watching and waiting for attacks.”
Sadie nods. “And so we must join them. We must wait, and we must pray that there are no attacks… If there’s nothing else we can do, perhaps we can be useful downstairs or at the hospital.” She looks at Philip, and he nods. She looks around to the group. “Agreed?”
“Yes, Prime Minister.”
Jambavan hits the deserted road outside of Lorenzo’s villa and floors it. Qilin watches the mansion and grounds through the side window, and she sighs.
Steve looks out his window as well. “Getting shot hurts.”
Jambavan watches his mirrors for anyone following him, but there’s nothing behind them but exhaust. “I’ve heard that. Good thing you’re tough.” And strong, he tossed that guard like he was a doll…
Brake lights flash a hundred yards in front of them, and headlights turn on.
Madeline watches out the mirror. “Here they come.”
Mustang nods.
As Jambavan passes them, Madeline sees Steve looking her way through his window. She smiles at him, then her head is jerked backward by Mustang’s sudden acceleration.
Qilin turns and watches behind her for anyone in pursuit. She only sees Mustang in his truck, and now that he’s caught up, she can see less of the road behind. She frowns and lets out a quiet, concerned groan as she returns to face forward.
Jambavan notices. “What’s wrong? The mission was a success.”
She nods. “Yes, but it was also too easy. We—”
Steve snaps his body forward and leans into the front. “Too easy? I was shot in the friggin’ chest!”
Qilin scowls and glares at him until he sits back in the seat. “Nobody’s following us. Did any of you see that John guy? The assistant or whoever he is? Where the hell was he? And all the guards I encountered were humans... I don’t know, it’s just that something isn’t adding up.”
Jambavan nods. “The guards in the security building were human too. I tried not to kill them, only incapacitate them.”
Steve furrows his brow. “So what? I mean, we got the trunk, it has the gold armlet things in there—I checked when I found it earlier, and I’ve still got the ring... Oh! I forgot!”
Qilin sighs. “What?”
Steve reaches into his pocket. “Li Chen was getting high earlier, and he crashes hard when he’s high. So after he passed out, I snatched his phone!”
Jambavan slaps the steering wheel. “Nice! Can you get into his email and delete the pictures?”
Steve smiles as he enters the same swipe-password Li Chen has used on his phone for years. “On it.”
Qilin can’t help but smile. “That is a pleasant surprise. Nice work, Steve.”
He blushes, then he finds the email with the attachments in the inbox, and he deletes it. He goes to the trash folder and empties it.
Following behind, Madeline glances in the side view mirror. So, I guess that’s it, Li Chen. I never got a chance to tell you to go to hell, but... She rolls her eyes. You wouldn’t even care.
Mustang follows the rental SUV into town. On a residential street, Jambavan parks, and Mustang and Qilin transfer Sadie’s trunk into the back of the pickup.
Jambavan drives another few blocks, then parks the SUV where it’s sure to be towed in the morning. They all hop in the truck; Madeline and Steve on the bench seat next to Mustang, Jambavan and Qilin in the bed of the truck beside the trunk.
Jambavan shakes his head, recalling Sky’s story about the ring and the other jewelry in the legend. And it has led us to the back of a pickup truck in Italy... I hope she’s alright. I hope she found Tiger.
Below deck on the patrol boat, medics struggle to treat Charlie’s wounds, but he isn’t making it easy on them.
“Sir, I have to cut your pants off, just—”
“No! Not yet. Bring me—”
“Sir, I’m not asking. I—”
“Listen you son of a bitch, bring me that girl, July, and clear out of here for few minutes. Then you can do whatever you want.”
The medic slaps a pair of emergency sheers onto a stainless-steel table beside Charlie’s bed in the Pukaki’s sick bay, then stands. “Fine!” What a pain in the ass!
A minute later, July walks in wearing a New Zealand navy uniform that’s way too big for her. “Charlie?”
He smiles at her for a moment, then he yells at the other medic, “Alright, times up, clear out!”
“Ugh!”
July shrugs to the medic as he storms out.
“Close the door behind you!”
-SLAM!-
The sound rattles July’s chest, but she doesn’t blink while looking at Charlie. Wow, you look like an old-school mummy. She clears her throat. “You wanted to see me?”
Bandages cover most of his face and one eye, and he smirks. “Nice uniform, maybe they’ll give me one. They want to cut my clothes off.”
She smiles. “Maybe if you’re nice to them.”
Charlie huffs. Then he swallows and whispers, “Is there anyone that can hear us?”
July closes her eyes and focuses her senses. She shakes her head.
Charlie whispers, “My left hip pocket. I can’t get it myself, my hand’s all bandaged.”
She walks to his side and reaches her tan hand into the blood-soaked pants pocket. She feels a small, odd-shaped object, and she pulls it out. When she opens her hand to look at it, her eyes grow wide. “This is that snake-infinity pin of Mary’s...” She turns it over in her hand, then she glances at Charlie. “This looks like it’s yellow gold, but it’s not, or it didn’t use to be, did it?”
He shakes his head. “She gilded it with regular gold, I don’t know, hundreds of years ago.”
July grits her teeth while picturing Mary’s face. “That song she was singing. It worked me into a trance or something…” She closes her eyes and breathes deep, then she returns her attention to the ancient object in her hand. She flips it over again. “I feel like this is very dear to me, somehow...”
A sliver of knowing sparks in Charlie’s eyes. “Listen to me carefully, July. This is yours now, and you must keep it safe.”
She squeezes it in her hand.
“You must never let anyone take it from you, ever. Okay?”
She nods.
“Keep it secret, at least until we get back home or…wherever we’re going now… Don’t even tell Eddy.”
She reaches behind her neck and removes the silver chain that the bead from her grandfather still hangs from. She smiles with an idea, and she ties the bead into one opening of the infinity-symbol shaped ouroboros. She unclasps the chain, threads it through the other loop on the gold artifact, then she clasps the chain and replaces it around her neck.
Charlie sighs and closes his eyes.
“Tell me something... This is part of that jewelry set, the ancient one, rig
ht?”
“Mmm-hmm.”
“That legend—about the shaman and the gods of life and death—what’s true in that story?”
He clenches his jaw for a moment before answering. “Well, at least some of it... The secrets that lie hidden must never be found.”
She frowns. “What isn’t true in it?”
He sighs. “Only one relic was hidden, and the only other, real one, well...” He reaches his bandaged hand out from his side and points to the corner of the room. “Eventually, it made its way into that.”
July turns to look. That dark sword... She swallows. “I can feel it.”
“You’re sensitive to it.”
She places her hand over the pendant on her chest, and she presses it into her skin. “I’ll guard this with my life.”
Charlie grimaces as he swallows. “There’s something else...”
“What?”
He whispers, “Closer.”
She leans her ear over his lips. She listens to his words—words that are spoken so lightly as to not travel another inch. When he’s done speaking, she inhales and stands, then she opens her mouth and places a hand on his shoulder.
He winces.
“Sorry!” She looks at him, notices his one leg doesn’t seem injured, and she touches his thigh, again to add meaning to her response.
At her touch, he winces again, then he smiles.
She pokes him and laughs, then she sighs. She purses her lips and nods. “I’ve felt that too, somehow. My blood stays in me. I’ll make sure it stays that way. Life in the blood—”
“Death in the blood.” He nods, relieved. “Thank you, July. Now I’m afraid I’m going to pass out or die if those medics don’t get working on me. Will you send them in?”
She touches the bandaged, far side of his face, where earlier as a wolf-monster, she shredded his flesh. “Thank you for coming for me, and don’t worry, you’ll be fine. I can feel that, too.”
“Thank you for not hurting me more.”
She walks away and frowns. I wasn’t trying to hurt you. I was trying to kill you... It’s like I was hypnotized…