by Morgan Hawke
Rick stared in horror. “And still you unleashed these things on towns and villages.”
Draugar shot him a cold stare. “And then burned those same villages to the ground to keep the rest of the outlying villages and towns safe. Do not mistake me; I abhor them, and their creator. They are a death-plague, an abomination against life itself. I destroyed them whenever I found them.”
Rick shook his head. “Then what the hell were you doing with them?”
“Following orders.” Draugar sighed. “My function was herd-master. I controlled the dominant minds of the herds, the Nazi officers, Kaminski and Dirlewanger. By controlling them, I controlled their individual herds.” He looked toward the distant trees. “Fully half your troop was already infected when I had you transferred to my camp.” He raised a brow at Rick. “You may not believe this, but I was trying to keep you from being bitten by your fellow officers.”
Rick scowled. “You’re right, I don’t believe it. Especially since you put a bullet in me.”
Draugar shook his head. “At the time, it was unavoidable.” A blaze of white fire formed in his outstretched hand. The white fire elongated then coalesced into a metal rod as thick as his thumb and about same length as his forearm. “Take this.”
Rick took the rod. “What is it?”
“A silver rod. Gold is the easiest medium to focus and direct power through, but silver is more resistant should someone else try to redirect your charge. I need you to maintain the blaze once its started. If we are lucky, they will run straight for it, missing us entirely.”
“Shit, you’re going to scorch my lawn!”
Draugar gave him an amused smile. “Would you rather they got into the house?”
“Fuck, no!”
“I thought not.” Draugar pointed at the rod in Rick’s hand. “I will draw the magic from you to cast fire, but you have to grasp it and maintain the blaze by keeping the power steady. More specifically, do not point the rod anywhere but at the fire you start. Understood?”
“Yeah, sure, whatever...” Rick turned a sharp look at Draugar. “Wait a minute, are you telling me that they run to fire? Not away from it?”
“Yes, rather like moths.” Draugar said dryly then pointed with a long finger over toward the trees. “Point the rod at the crest of the hill and keep it pointed there. Do not waver or you will set fire to your entire lawn and possibly the house.”
Rick nodded and pointed the rod. “Right, okay...”
“Prepare yourself...” Draugar spat out a phrase.
Rick stiffened and fire blazed on the grass where the rod was pointing. “Shit!” He kept the rod pointed at the one spot.
“Do you have it? Can you feel your power in your mind?”
Rick frowned. “ I think so... Yes.”
“Good. I am releasing control to you.”
Rick gasped and the blaze leaped up as tall as the house. He frowned and the blaze moderated to a small bonfire.
Draugar chuckled. “Good. Contact Rowan and have her bring the barrier in to there.” He lifted a long finger and pointed at the crest of the slope below the house.
Rick opened his mind. Rowan?
* * *
Rowan opened her book-filled suitcase on Rick’s bed. The Gods only knew how long she was going to be stuck in here, she might as well do something with the time she had.
With ruthless determination she thumbed through the titles until she found the Grimoire, the spell book, she was looking for. Sooner or later, Rick was going to change his mind about trapping Draugar and calling Klaus. She wanted to make damn sure she had a ghost trap strong enough to hold Draugar ready.
Rick’s presence washed across her thoughts. Rowan?
Rowan stared up at the ceiling. “Rick?”
Yeah, hang on, I want to get a tighter connection. Rick’s presence in her mind strengthened. Can you see this?
Rowan suddenly realized that she could see a hill, and a fire. The night was oddly well lit, and in color. There was an odd blue wash to the sky. Even the trees in the distance gave the impression of grays and browns. It looked as though movie techs had filmed during the day and darkened the film to pretend that it was night. “Yeah, I see it. Is that a fire on your front lawn?”
Yeah, I’m maintaining it. Hang on I want to get a little closer. His presence bloomed until she felt as though she was being wrapped in a tight full-body hug.
The view changed subtly and she heard sounds. Small movements became very apparent. The wind shaking the distant winter-bare branches, and ruffling the yellowed grass in the lawn kept taking her attention. She had almost the feeling of a breeze sliding through her hair. No wait; it was his hair... “Wow, it feels like I’m almost inside your skin.”
Humor slid across their connection. You’re seeing through my eyes.
“Then this is what the world looks like to you? Weird.” Rowan could almost smell his skin, and the soap he had washed with. She sniffed. It wasn’t an actual scent, but the impression was very strong. She could also feel the subtle shifts in his power as he fed and controlled the fire.
“Wow, nice job on the fire-casting. So what’s up?”
Thanks! Oh and Draugar needs you to move the Barrier in—to here. The view focused on the crest of the hill only a few yards away.
“Okay—but I have to move the entire barrier, all the way around the house, does he know this?”
I’m pretty sure he does. There was a wash of bitterness. He seems to know every other damned thing...
Rowan frowned. “That’s awfully close. In fact, you’re going to be outside my barrier.”
Tell me about it. His grim humor washed across her senses. Don’t worry about me, I’m not exactly helpless and I won’t be that far from the barrier.
“Just be careful.”
Oh, I will. A streak of pure testosterone-driven male possessiveness washed from Rick. I won’t leave you alone with him.
“Good.” Rowan reached into her center where her power was still, but awake and alert to the barrier with only a tail twitch of movement. She stretched out along the power strands maintaining the barrier around the house. “Okay, here we go...” Curling her hand, she pulled in, and the border moved closer to the house.
The points of energy pressing against the barrier followed. Some came slower than others, but they all followed the wall of energy inward, toward the house.
“Rick they are headed your way.”
“Okay...Keep that wall tight. He paused and Rowan felt him peek from her eyes. What are you doing?
Rowan bit her lip. “Research. You know, just in case.”
Rick’s suspicion slid across the link. Okay, but don’t do anything, not right now.
Rowan sighed. “I’m just doing prep-work. That’s all.”
Okay...His view slid out of focus.
“Rick?”
I’m still here. Humor threaded across their link, and grim alertness. I just need all my attention to deal with this.
“Be careful.”
You already said that. She could sense his grin
“Well, I’m saying it again.” She bit her lip. I love you, she added softly. I just got you, I don’t want to lose you.
I love you, too. The barrier slid past him and he was outside her senses.
Rowan felt the shimmer of rot that signaled the dead people approaching the new border of her barrier. She could just make out Draugar’s white earth energy humming just outside her borders, and a warm, yet cool shimmer that was Rick. At least I’ll know if something goes wrong.
Rowan opened her book to the page she was looking for, then dug a piece of parchment from her folder and pulled out her colored pens. “Might as well get busy with this ghost trap...”
The drawing was complicated, but the spell itself was really simple. A very fast shift in her mind would activate the trap, but she would need the intricate mental maze that the drawing represented to hold a being as powerful as Draugar in place. Very carefully, she made changes and a
dditions to the original puzzle, in case this particular spell had been used on him before. It stood to reason, Draugar was old. Someone had to have used something like this at least once on him. She did not need him solving the puzzle as soon as it caught him.
“I just hope he doesn’t figure out my changes in the puzzle before Klaus can get to him.”
* * *
Six shambling figures lurched from the shadows of the trees at the bottom of the hill. Slowly, they lurched toward the ring of light cast by the floodlights around the house. Their eyes reflected glints of scarlet flame.
“Here they come...” Draugar drew his gun from his pocket. “Do not allow yourself to get bitten, I have no idea what their bite would do to you. They would not normally affect a vampire as they are already animated corpses; you however, are still living...”
Rick frowned at the fire he was maintaining. “How did you know?”
Draugar raised a silver brow. “I have destroyed a number of vampires in my lifetime. I know the difference.” He turned and pointed his gun at the first shambling figure to step under the floodlights. “Use extreme caution with these creatures. I’d hate to have to destroy you.”
Rick slanted a gaze toward the silver-haired sorcerer. “Yeah, me, too...”
The figure stepped into a light. It looked three days dead, with blue-gray skin and flat blue-white orbs for eyes. At one time, it had been female. It was wearing the filthy remains of some kind of blue-green hospital uniform. The creature’s mouth opened and thick black ichor dripped from its lips. The firelight gleamed on a plastic tag that dangled on a string around its neck.
Rick choked. “Holy, shit! Is that a nurse?”
“My guess would be a morgue attendant. These creatures do not rise from death until the following day. Very likely Rudolf’s wounded died, and was brought to a morgue, where it killed the attendant on rising. Stay alert, here it comes.”
Suddenly the creature burst into a loose-jointed jog, straight for the fire. It dove right in and went up like a torch without a sound. The night was briefly scented with the odor of roasting meat. The magical fire crackled and the entire figure crisped to black ash in seconds, then collapsed in a small pile of gray dust.
Rick shuddered. “It just waltzed right into the fire, and turned to ash. It didn’t even make a sound, like it couldn’t feel the fire.”
“I don’t believe they can feel pain. If we are lucky, they will all end themselves as swiftly. However, that is doubtful.” Draugar’s gaze remained on the tree line bordering the lawn. “Here come the rest...”
The next shambling figure did not come alone. Two more followed at its heels. All three were in very poor condition. Hunks were missing from their bodies. Their clothes were heavily stained, and barely recognizable.
Rick frowned at the remains of clothing. “More hospital workers, I think...”
“Stay alert!” Draugar shouted as the first creature veered around the fire straight for Rick.
“Shit!” Rick lifted his gun and took out the creature’s knees in a small burst of bullets and an explosion of gore.
The creature dropped to the ground and crawled. The other two walked straight into the fire and crisped in seconds.
“Pay attention!” Draugar snarled. He walked over to the crawling thing, grabbed it under the arms, and the thing grabbed a mouthful of Draugar’s sleeve. Draugar wrested his arm free and lifted it.
Rick took a step toward him. “It bit you.”
Draugar tossed it into the fire. “I told you, they have no effect on me. Pay attention to that fire.”
The grass showed broad scorch marks where the blaze had moved with Rick’s shift in attention. “Piss, I’m going to have to re-sod...”
“Worry about your property later. We still have two more; the one in the poorest condition and Rudolf’s original kill. Rudolf’s victim will be the hardest to destroy, as it will retain much of its intelligence.”
“How do you know?”
Draugar raised a brow. “If it can hold five others, it is still quite lucid, for a strigoi.”
A young man in jeans and a leather jacket crested the hill. He looked whole, even clean. Only the reflected gleam of fire in his eyes, the gray cast to his face, and the subtle scent of rot gave what he was away. He looked at the fire and then at them.
“You are different,” he said in a voice that barely carried. “What are you?”
Rick sucked in a breath.
Draugar nodded toward Rick. “What we are is not your concern. You on the other hand...”
The young man focused on Draugar. “Do you know what happened to me? What I am?”
Draugar kept his gun trained on the young man. “You are dead.”
The young man frowned. “But I don’t feel dead...”
“Don’t you?” Draugar motioned with his gun. “How much do you really feel? How much do you remember?”
The young man’s expression showed confusion. “I remember nothing...I feel...I do feel.” His eyes focused on Rick. “I feel hunger.”
Rick lifted his gun.
The young face settled into grim lines. “You want to kill me.”
“You heard him.” Rick tilted his head toward Draugar. “You’re already dead.”
“Your kind only walks for three days,” Draugar said softly. “In the meantime, everyone you encounter will die.”
Confusion washed across his face. “I want... I want my life back.”
“There is no cure for death.” Draugar pointed at the dancing flames. “Walk into the fire. You can feel it calling to you.”
“I walk, but...” The young man stared at Rick. “I’m dead?”
“Yes.” Draugar took a step, pulling the young man’s attention from Rick. “You know that what you are is unnatural. End it now, before you spread your infection to others.”
The young man shook his head. “No. I don’t want... I’m not ready to...”
Draugar took a step closer to him. “You will drop where you stand on your third day. It is the nature of your kind.”
The young man focused on Draugar. “To kill yourself is wrong.”
“To kill others is worse,” Rick called out.
The young man’s head shot up. With inhuman speed, he bolted toward Rick.
“Idiot!” Draugar shouted and fired his gun.
The strigoi staggered on a broken knee, but kept running.
Draugar tossed his gun away then lunged for the strigoi in a blur of speed. He tackled him to the ground. Limbs flailed. The night echoed with vicious snarls.
Draugar rolled up onto his feet with the young man in a strangle hold. “You are dead. You know you are dead. You must be destroyed before you infect others.”
Black drool spilled from the young man’s lips. “I won’t walk into the fire.”
“Then I will carry you there myself.” Draugar dragged the struggling creature toward the fire.
Rick gasped. “Draugar, what are you doing?” His fire leapt high and broad.
“Hold that fire steady, Rickart!”
Rick brought the blaze down and Draugar walked straight into it. The fire lifted Draugar’s white hair and his long coat flared. The young man struggled a moment then stilled and became a figure of black ash. The ash disintegrated and fell from Draugar’s arms. Draugar brushed his pals against each other and walked out of the fire.
Rick stared. Draugar was utterly untouched.
Draugar turned to Rick and bared his teeth in rage. “Don’t ever do that again, you idiot! When dealing with those, don’t ever call attention to yourself! Did you want to get bitten?”
Rick jerked his gaze away. “My apologies.” Movement on the hill’s crest caught his attention. “There’s the last one.”
Draugar turned. “Good.” He sucked in a breath and staggered.
Rick turned to look. “Draugar?”
Draugar dropped to his knees, clutching his heart. “Get the last one into the fire.” He collapsed on the grass and was st
ill.
Rick took a step toward Draugar, then stopped. “Shit.”
The creature came crawling up the hill dressed in the tattered remains of hospital-type uniform. It was missing a leg below the knee.
Rick stared at Draugar, then back at the approaching creature. “Fuck the lawn.” He pointed the silver rod at the creature and the fire lunged across the grass for it. The creature blackened to ash and was gone.
Rick shut down his power, quenching the fire. The night went dark and still.
- Twenty -
End Game
Rowan heard a heavy metal clunk. The lock on the vault door had disengaged. Rowan quickly folded the piece of parchment up and stuffed it into her back pocket. The nail was still in the tiny pouch in her front pocket. She slid off the bed. “Rick?”
I’m upstairs. Rick’s thoughts wavered with an odd mixture of concern and annoyance.
Rowan pushed at the vault door and it swung open. “The vault door just unlocked.”
I told you it’s on a timer. Humor slithered across their link. It must be seven.
“Oh, I didn’t realize you put me in here before seven.” Rowan turned to look around the bedroom. “There’s no clock in here. Um, can I come up now?”
Sure. A crackle of confusion threaded his thoughts. Um, Draugar’s passed out.
Rowan took the stairs two at a time. “What happened?”
I have no idea. We’re in the living room. I put him on the couch. Rick’s confusion was a strong overlay to his thoughts. We had one more thing to kill. He said to get it into the fire, then he just dropped.
Rowan walked through the study and into the living room. Draugar was sprawled across the long modern couch facing the fireplace. Rick was in one of the chairs with both guns on the floor, to one side of his chair.
Rowan pulled her parchment from her pocket. He’s passed out and not in the study. Now would be a good time to pin him and call Klaus. If he gets here fast enough, there won’t be a fight in your house.
Rick studied Draugar for a long minute.