She hurried down the corridor ahead of me. “The necro wants the swirl key, and we have to get it first. To get the swirl key, we’ll first need a magtroller, only two of which exist, both currently in the Dulane Building for testing. It looks like a necro has gotten there ahead of us.” She stopped. Light emerged from the cracks around the door in front of us. “Someone’s back at least,” she said, relief in her voice. She inserted the key in the lock and turned.
A swirl key? A magtroller? I hadn’t the faintest idea what Danielle was talking about. As the door opened, I caught sight of two figures, a man and a woman, in a living room. They both turned. The man had a faint gleam of whiteness around him; he was a mage, like Danielle. But my focus was on the woman.
She had a red aura.
“Vampire!” I shoved Danielle out of the way and charged inside.
Chapter 4
The vampire sprang forward to meet my charge, her long black hair flowing out behind her, her speed matching mine. We collided against each other, both striking out at the same time, both flying backward at impact. I staggered against a wall, and she collided with a couch so hard that it broke into pieces.
She was on her feet an instant later, and I smiled with satisfaction. Unlike the zombie, this would be a real challenge; the vampire’s speed and strength matched mine. This was what I was born to do. Green against red; helsing against vampire.
She lifted the broken backrest of the couch and threw it at me. I crossed my arms before me and swung them wide just as the backrest arrived, smashing it into pieces. I felt Harps escaping from my jacket. I glanced across to make sure he was unharmed, then returned my attention to the vampire.
She lifted the right side of her long leather jacket and drew a katana from a sheath embedded in the lining. She held it in two hands, the curved blade pointing to the ceiling.
“It’s a pretty sword,” I said. “Though it’ll look better shoved down your gullet.” It was clear from the way she held the katana and her stance, the way she balanced on the balls of her feet, that she was accomplished with the weapon. It didn’t matter. Her miserable half life would end tonight. I wouldn’t allow myself to be defeated by a single vampire. Whatever her abilities, she couldn’t match having been trained from a young age by a warrior like Dagger. I pulled a knife from the inside of my hunting coat and moved forward. “You are mine, blood fiend.”
I only made it a single step before my entire body froze. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the mage clutching a pendant at his neck. Since when had mages started helping vampires?
The vampire didn’t take advantage of my immobility; she backed away when she should have charged forward. I strained against the mage’s magic, broke free, made it a few steps forward, and then his spell caught me again. My hands vibrated with the effort of escaping. Nothing physical held me; the magic of mages tended to work on the mind. Being a helsing warrior gave me some immunity from their power; I just needed to focus my will.
“Quick, do something, kill him,” the mage said, his voice strained.
“I’m not easy to kill.” I broke through his spell once more, springing forward—then the magic grabbed me once more.
The vampire backed against the kitchen wall. “I’m not sure I should. He has to be our helsing, right? The one who was supposed to join us.”
“I will never join a vampire. Nor a mage who helps them.” I broke free of the mage’s spell and dashed forward, throwing my knife at the vampire while drawing a second knife from my coat.
The vampire deflected the knife with her sword, then darted to the side, using her speed to get around me. My hand whipped out, thrusting the dagger at her midriff. She swiveled to avoid the knife, her leather jacket spiraling outward. Then she was past me.
As I turned to face her, the mage’s spell grabbed me again.
Either the magic wasn’t as strong as before or I was getting better at breaking through, because this time it held me barely a second. I sprang forward.
“Wait, wait.” Danielle stepped in front of me. “What are you doing?”
My arm was swinging downward, and I just managed to stop my blow short.
Danielle’s eyes were wide as she stared up at the point of the knife an inch from her face. “Are you going to stab me?”
“I’m not sure.” Were all mages in league with vampires? “You’re with her as well?” Had things in Philadelphia gotten that bad?
“She is part of the mage team,” Danielle said. “You were sent to join us, right, not kill us?”
I blinked. I looked from Danielle to the mage to the vampire, uncertain. I took a step back and lowered my knife. “It’s not possible.” Dagger wouldn’t have sent me on a mission that involved working alongside a vampire. No helsing would.
“We were told you would be aware of the situation,” the male mage said, still clutching his pendant.
Keeping one eye on the vampire, who still held her sword aloft, I turned toward the mage. “You are Gabriel, the leader of this team?”
“No,” he said. “I’m Lionel.” He gestured at the vampire. “And this is Alessa. Gabriel told us that he’d arranged for a helsing gypsy to join our team and that this helsing—you—would be amenable to working with a vampire.”
“I told Gabriel it was a stupid idea,” the vampire, Alessa, said. “I told everyone.”
I shook my head. “No one told—” Then I remembered something. “Bitch,” I said.
“How did you know?” Alessa smiled sweetly at me.
“Not you,” I said. “You are much worse than that. I was thinking of the woman who knew and didn’t warn me.” I remembered the toothless grin and the glint in Rosehip’s eye. I wish I could be a fly on the wall when you find out, she’d said. I threw my knife in anger. It turned end over end, then the point slammed into the plasterboard of the kitchen wall. Just like the Hawke family had let the Dagger and his family fall into a trap, Rosehip had sent me to meet this vampire without warning me.
“So are we good now?” Lionel looked across at the quivering knife. “This was all just a little mix-up, right? Your friend forgot to tell you about Alessa?”
What was I supposed to do? My mission was to help these people. If Rosehip had known about the vampire, then the helsing kings had to have known too, didn’t they?
“Little mix-up? He half destroyed this place.” Alessa nudged a piece of the broken couch with her foot. “And he tried to kill me.”
“That would have been a terrible pity,” I said. “One less vampire in the world.”
“Don’t take it too personally, Alessa,” Danielle said. “He almost got me killed too. And I’ve got zombie bites to prove it.”
“A zombie? Are you serious?” Lionel asked.
Danielle pulled down the collar of her hoodie to show a blood-crusted bite mark. Lionel rushed to her side and bent to examine the wound.
“Have you decided you won’t attack me?” Alessa asked, holding her sword ready.
“I’ve decided no such thing.” I had thought that Dagger had prepared me for anything. But not only was I expected not to kill the vampire, it appeared I was expected to work with it, with her.
“My life force is low after holding off the gypsy, but I should manage one more spell.” Lionel put one hand on Danielle’s shoulder and reached for his pendant with the other.
“No, don’t.” Danielle moved back from Lionel.
“What is wrong?” Lionel asked. “You have to be healed. A zombie-inflicted wound can’t be allowed to fester.”
“You may need your life force tonight,” Danielle said. “Do you have a telephone number for Gabriel, any way to contact him?”
Lionel shook his head. Danielle glanced across at Alessa, who also gave a slight shake of her head.
“What did you discover?” Alessa asked, keeping her gaze glued on me and her posture stiff and alert. The point of her sword didn’t waver.
“The zombie used to be a security guard in Dulane Building,” Danielle said.<
br />
“Christ!” Lionel said. “That means the necromancer Gabriel warned us about is getting there first. All our planning will have been for nothing.”
“Not if we go right now,” Danielle said.
“It’s too late to try something like that. For all we know, the necromancer has already left Dulane Building with what he wants,” Alessa said. “And even if we did have time, Gabriel, who did most of the planning, isn’t here. Lionel is low on life force. You, Danielle, need to be healed from a zombie bite, and fast. And we still have to deal with the half-crazed helsing gypsy who hasn’t yet decided if he’s going to kill us all.”
“I’ve decided,” I said.
“And?”
“I won’t kill everyone. Just the vampire.”
Alessa aimed her sword directly at me, and Lionel grabbed his pendant once more.
“But, not immediately. First I’ll deal with the necromancer.” I walked straight past the point of Alessa’s sword and into the kitchenette unit. There, I pulled my knife from the wall and violently sheathed it. “I don’t exactly know what’s going on, but I didn’t race all the way back here just to listen to squabbling.” Action was always better than talk. “I’m going to this Dulane Building place. If the rest of you want to stay here, just tell me how to get there and I’ll figure things out.”
“You don’t even know what you are doing,” Alessa said.
“If I find a necromancer, I’ll pound him against a wall.”
“To get answers out of him?” Lionel asked.
I shrugged. “Sure. If he wants to tell me stuff, I’ll listen.” I’d listen to anyone willing to explain what the hell was going on. “Then I’ll pound him some more.”
Alessa shook her head. “What was Gabriel thinking? The last thing we need is some oaf with grass still between his toes thundering around the place, ruining our carefully laid plans.”
“Let’s all just go,” Lionel said. “We can decide what to do when we arrive.”
“And you aren’t worried about the helsing killing me on the way?” Alessa asked.
Lionel glanced across at me. “He said he’s happy to deal with the necromancer first. This has just been a shock to him; I’m sure he’ll come around.”
“Is this true?” Alessa asked me.
I pushed the tip of her sword aside as I walked past her again, bending to pick up the knife that I’d thrown at her. “Sure.” I flicked the knife in the air, making it spin as fast as I could, then snatched it out of the air and sheathed it. “I’m real pleasant once you get to know me.”
“I don’t require pleasantness. What I want to know is if I have to fear you’ll stab me in the back.”
“Certainly not,” I said. “I wouldn’t want to deprive myself of the pleasure of seeing the light fade from your eyes when I end your unnatural life.”
She studied me for a moment, then thrust her sword into the inside of her leather jacket. “Fair enough.”
Chapter 5
Just as I started to scan the room for Harps, he jumped up onto the back of the armchair. I leaned down and allowed him to climb onto my shoulder. Both Alessa and Lionel gave a start upon seeing Harps—they had obviously not noticed him when we’d entered.
I exited the apartment and quickly moved down the corridor, then pushed the elevator button. I would have been faster taking the stairs, probably the vampire, too, but we had to wait for the others.
I sensed some distress in Harps’s thoughts and reached up to ruffle the back of his neck. What’s wrong, boy? Are you also upset we don’t get to kill the vampire right away?
I peed on the carpet, Harps thought.
I chuckled. The apartment wasn’t in great shape when we walked in. Pee may have improved the smell.
It was when the vampire had her sword out and the mage trapped you. I was ready to spring into action. Instead, my legs froze and pee came out. Harps threw both arms around my neck. Don’t get rid of me. I’ll do better.
Hey, hey, boy. What’s brought this on? I massaged his neck. He was shivering. Why would you think such a thing?
It’s my job to help you if you are in danger, Harps thought. But I’m not brave and strong like Fierce or Glade.
You are brave and strong. Just in a different way. I should have protected Harps more from being bullied by the two familiars of my siblings if that was how he felt. I was chosen for this mission because of you. A wolf or a cougar would be a liability in the city.
But—
We are going to defeat a necromancer and save the world. When we do that, Fierce and Glade won’t be able make fun of you ever again. And Flint, Crystal, and Dagger would stop considering me the runt of the litter.
But—
I want you to be sensible. I don’t want you to throw yourself stupidly at dangerous creatures. That’s my job. What would I do if you died?
Harps hugged tighter to my neck. Get another familiar?
Of course not. Now, I’ll listen to no more of this silliness. It’s you I need, boy, not a dumb wolf or cougar. Perhaps when I’d insulted Harps in Rosehip’s wagon, it had affected him more than I’d thought. I rubbed his neck again. Poor Harps.
Alessa, Danielle, and Lionel arrived just as the elevator croaked to a stop and opened its doors.
Lionel reached out his hand toward Harps. “Cute monkey. Is he friendly?”
Harps must not have liked Lionel’s tone, because he stood tall and gave a screech.
Lionel snatched his hand back. “I guess not.”
“Still friendlier than the owner,” Danielle said.
I moved to the back corner of the elevator. Though Lionel and Danielle stood between me and the vampire, when the doors closed, my awareness of the knives inside my hunting coat increased. Harps’s toes clutched tighter to my shoulder as he, too, tensed up. The elevator was poorly lit, and the red shimmer on Alessa’s skin became more noticeable. My jaw clenched and, down by my side, my fingers opened and shut into fists.
“I’m missing a piece of the puzzle,” Lionel said to Danielle. “Where did this zombie come from? How did you and Slate end up fighting him?”
He might have been missing a piece, but I lacked the whole jigsaw. I was still fuzzy about what we expected to find in Dulane Building.
“Remember I told you about the spell,” Danielle said. “The one that detected the location of black creatures, demons and zombies and the like.”
“You got that to work? No way!”
Danielle gave him a smug smile.
“Impossible!”
“I have an advantage on you,” Danielle said. “I never had any teachers to tell me what was possible or impossible.”
Lionel grinned. “So you are telling me that hood mages are more talented than proper mages? I’ll tell Father that just to watch the veins throb in his forehead.”
The elevator chugged to a noisy stop, and the doors opened.
“What were you thinking?” Alessa, leading the way out the main door, asked Danielle. “When you found the spell working, you decided to go chasing down the undead. Why didn’t you wait for me or Lionel or Gabriel?”
“I wasn’t sure that the spell was actually working. The compass needle could have been pointing at, I don’t know…”
“Chocolate fountains,” Alessa suggested.
“If only,” Danielle said. “I don’t think magic ever finds nice things.”
“So why go charging into danger like that?” Alessa asked.
“Until a spell has worked and been confirmed a dozen times, you are never sure what it does,” Lionel said.
Danielle nodded. “For several days, I tried the spell and got nothing—it’s not like zombies are going to pass by often. And by a slice of luck, or so I thought at the time, the helsing arrived just as I set out.”
“What would you have done if you hadn’t met Slate on the doorstep?” Lionel asked.
“I would have been more cautious when I found the zombie.” She turned to glare at me. “I thought I had ba
ckup.”
I sighed. I had already earned a lifetime worth of glares from the Danielle.
Alessa led the way across the street to a black van.
“Danielle, you drive,” Alessa said. “Helsing! In the front beside her.”
“Making sure that I’m not behind you?” I asked.
“Do you blame me?”
“What about the issue of you being behind me?”
“Why? Scared?”
In answer, I stepped around to the passenger side, opened the door, and got in. Danielle slid in opposite in the drivers seat, and Lionel and Alessa piled into the back.
Alessa leaned close to me, her breath hot on my neck. “Still not scared?”
“Stop that.” Danielle twisted around and shoved Alessa in the shoulder. “We are a team, remember?”
Alessa laughed as she leaned back into her seat. “The mage team. Sure. One happy family.”
“Do you like our new van?” Lionel asked me. “Gabriel told Danielle to find transportation, and it took her forever to find something. She hasn’t admitted it, but I believe her main criteria was finding one as close as possible to the famous A-Team van. That’s where she got the name, echoing the A-team. The van is black, but we don’t have a red stripe on it. I expect to find Danielle down here some night with a can of paint.”
“Enough with the joking.” Danielle turned the key, flooring the accelerator, and the van roared into life. The engine had a rough, gravelly sound. The headlights lit up the street in front of them, and Danielle swung violently on the steering wheel as she yanked the van onto the road. “Let’s go.” The wheels skidded, then the van sprang forward.
“Alessa had never heard it of the show or movie,” Lionel said. “She considers anything newer than Shakespeare to be populist trash.”
“You have that all wrong,” Alessa said. “Shakespeare is populist trash. However, since it’s remembered after all this time, I’m willing to give it some credit. Begrudgingly. Anyway, it’s the helsing you’ll need to explain all your references to,” Alessa said. “He lives in the jungle, perpetually warrior-training, not watching children’s entertainment. Right, helsing?”
Magic After Dark: A Collection of Urban Fantasy and Paranormal Romance Novels Page 63