by SGD Singh
Kelakha had a knife to the Vampire’s perfect neck in the blink of an eye, lifting him off the ground with a handful of leather jacket. Only Asha’s sharp bird call stopped him from cutting the Vampire’s throat.
The Vampire smiled in admiration at Asha. “I’m buggin’ out seeing you guys here, you know? That was some righteousness like I’ve never seen back there.” He put a fist to his chest, looking solemn. “We owe you for what you did, opening that trap. You should know that.”
Asha nodded, knowing if she spoke her voice would give away the laughter bubbling up inside her.
He glanced at Kelakha, mild irritation marring his features. “But get this Crawford Ran out of my mug, would you? He’s harshing my mellow to the max, jammin’ up my threads and shit.”
Ursala stood. “No one understands what the fuck you’re saying, dude. What year were you banished?”
The Vampire looked confused for a second. “Nineteen seventy-nine. What year is it in Satya now?”
Asha stepped closer to the Vampire, peering into his face. “Nineteen seventy-nine? You’re not Sid Vicious, are you?”
The Vampire’s smile widened. “What it is, Shagadelic Dream Eyes?”
Aquila’s knife was in his hand. Did he just call you shagadelic?
“Wow, wow.” The Vampire held up his hands, stepping back. “I didn’t mean to dip into your Kool-Aid, dude. Don’t spaz out.”
Aquila lowered his gurkha blade as his mouth twitched with a reluctant smile.
Ursala shook his head. “There’s no way this guy was ever in The Sex Pistols.”
Asha smiled. “He’s much better looking than Sid Vicious ever was, actually.”
Oh, you think so, Miss Shagadelic Dream Eyes?
Asha let her gaze wander down the Vampire’s pants just to see Aquila choke on his laugh.
Most definitely.
“Because that’s what you do, right?” Jax’s eyes were flashing with hate as she glared at the Vampire. “You kill only the most beautiful humans.”
The Vampire turned his attention to Jax and sniffed the air. “Oh, snaps. You’re a chick.” His eyes dropped to Jax’s chest. “Harsh bong, dude. Sorry about the confusion.”
Jax shrugged, but Kelakha took another step toward the Vampire. “We’re kind of busy. So explain how you’re here, and fast, or piss off.”
But the Vampire just smiled at Asha again, bowing low.
“As a matter of fact, Dream Eyes, my friends call me Sid.”
† † †
There was something about this Vampire that was… important. The Guard reluctantly followed Asha and their new Vampire companion into the steadily lightening gloom. As they moved down a hill he talked cheerfully, as if he missed speaking English.
“Okay, let me give you the skinny,” he said, pointing around at Asha. “Me and a group of five other relocated Strigoii found this group of totally wired kids, just bitchen’ primo looks, as you can see.” He gestured toward himself with a flourish. “Everything was copacetic, man. But then, about two years later or whatever, maybe five, the drama starts. As always. Vampires are buggin’-out on me all over the place, givin’ me the hairy eyeball and shit. I try to float, but they wouldn’t stop making life colder than a deuce, man. All ’cause I talked to his girl, or some shit, I’m not even sure. I do remember this one girl was choice, though. Very shagadelic, if you catch my drift.”
Ursala groaned. “English, man! What the hell are you talking about?”
“I think he’s telling us a Vampire tried to kill him because he shagged his shagadelic girlfriend,” said Asha.
“I didn’t realize they… did that in dead bodies.” Ursala scratched his head thoughtfully.
Sid stopped, turning, and grasped Ursala’s shoulder. “Do I seem dead to you, man? Love is universal, can you dig it?”
Kelakha and Aquila laughed as Ursala shrugged out of the Vampire’s grip. “No, I can’t dig it.”
Sid looked hurt. “That’s bogus, dude. You’re one zappy bunny, man.”
At the worlds zappy bunny Ursala reached for his ax, but Asha lunged forward, getting between them.
“Okay!” She smiled at Aquila, and he winked. “I’m sure we’re all in agreement that the urge to shag is universal.” Asha tore her gaze from Aquila’s lips with tremendous effort, the thought of him without his clothes filling her mind with sudden, vivid force. Damn what this realm does to my hormones. She turned to Sid. “What happened to get you banished?”
The Vampire began walking at his easy pace again, and Aquila, Ursala, and Kelakha shook their heads at the back of his pants.
“The most wacked part was, this bugged-out cheese weasel was Strigoii royalty. Which I didn’t know, being new in town. I was about to acquire some killer diller threads, when they came for me. I fought man, but still, I was pretty tattered after an hour. Major harsh bong, dude.”
Aquila turned to Asha. You mind giving us a translation, Dream Eyes?
“He was shopping when a group of Vampires beat the shit out of him,” Asha said.
“Oh,” Kelakha said, nodding. “You fought multiple Vampires?”
“Sure, man,” Sid shrugged. “I didn’t want to damage any of them, but I’m royalty myself, you know. Not so easy to kill.”
“Royalty?” Jax said. She was still shooting murderous looks at Sid, and Asha noticed that Kelakha was staying unobtrusively between them.
“That’s right.” Sid’s smile was chilling as he bowed low. “From the most ancient bloodline in our race. So they negotiated to have me banished. Totally bogus situation. Having this body and being one of the few here…”
The Vampire scanned the horizon. Bruised light filled the sky, barely illuminating the bleak landscape. Asha removed her night vision glasses and could see nothing but rocky cliffs and valleys stretching along what looked like dry river beds.
“The sun is weak here, but I’ll still get some pretty gnarly burns if I stay in it too long,” the Vampire said, quickening his pace as he led them into the shadow of a canyon. “It’s all good, though. I’m glad I went. Your realm is far out to the max, man. And it was slammin’ to get away from the toads for a while.”
“The toads?” Ursala said.
Avinash rolled his eyes. “His parents.”
“I heard The Guard were wacked, but when I saw what you did back there?” Sid turned to Asha. “You saved those families. I don’t mean to get heavy, but that was twitchin’. I’m stoked to help any way I can.” He bowed. “I’m guessing you’re headed to the palace, am I right?”
Asha nodded, feeling the group’s disapproval.
Looks like you’ve got your own personal Vampire, Shagadelic Dream Eyes.
Oh, shut up. Asha knew better than to look at Aquila.
The Vampire bowed again. “I would be honored to guide you until everything is copacetic.”
“Thank you, Sid,” said Asha. “We really appreciate it.”
“But I can only take you as far as the river, which, thanks to our bugged-out Emperor, is full of holy water now. Kills anyone who falls into it.” He jumped lightly over a boulder. “But, hey, I can dig increasing security once you decide that genocide is a nurkin way to rule. There’s more than a few downtrodden subjects who aren’t stoked about it.”
Kelakha reached to help Jax over the large boulders, but she swatted his hand away. Still, Asha watched him wait patiently for her, catching the civilian when she stumbled, and she smiled, catching Aquila’s eye and sticking her tongue out at him when he grinned.
Jax cleared her throat. “So… is anyone going to explain what a Manananggal is? And why the Urnayu are poisoning an entire city?”
The Vampire looked confused. “The Urnayu?”
“Those spider things,” said Jax.
“Oh!” Sid brightened, then made a guttural hissing noise, and everyone stopped to look at him.
The Vampire laughed. “That’s what we call those cheese-weasels who serve the Emperor. I can get you guys not b
eing able to pronounce that. Urnayu. That’s cool, man. What is that, like, Sanskrit or something? I heard Sanskrit is popular with The Guard.”
“Manananggal, Sid,” said Jax, gritting her teeth. “Try to focus.”
Asha smiled, taking Aquila’s hand. See? She bosses hot Vampires around and everything. And here you thought she was losing her shit.
Aquila brought her hand to his lips, and his other arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her close. Asha nearly forgot where she was as desire flared through her.
He smiled an adorably crooked smile. I’m going to lose my shit pretty soon if you keep touching me.
Asha stared at Aquila’s perfectly silky neck. Is that a promise?
She felt his arm tighten around her. I’m serious, Asha. This place… It’s bad for my gentlemanly resolve.
Asha giggled as euphoric anticipation filled her every cell and she heard Aquila gasp.
Please stop, Asha. You’re driving me insane, and you know it.
Asha looked into Aquila’s eyes, feeling as though she could happily drown in their beauty for all eternity. Aquila shook his head, all of his feelings at complete odds with his words, and Asha, forgetting where she was, leaned in to kiss him. The urge to devour him welled within her chest, nearly overpowering, just as two rocks hit her in the back.
“Oy!” Ursala said. “Stop flirting and tell your civilian about the Manananggal before I strangle this blood-sucker, yaar. I can’t listen to any more of his crap.”
Aquila stepped away from Asha, joining Jax. “I’ll tell her,” he said.
Asha scowled, her skin protesting the cold after the warmth of his touch, but although she saw him try not to smile, Aquila ignored her.
“The Zombie weapon affects each creature differently,” Aquila began, as they started walking again.
Asha saw it made Jax uncomfortable to have Aquila’s full attention. He either didn’t notice or didn’t care that he was making her uneasy.
“In our realm, it was primarily used as a way to tilt the balance of war, mostly to wipe out the Werewolf population. It doesn’t affect wildlife in Satya, or plants. A Vampire is another story.”
“The Manananggal is rare in Satya,” Kelakha cut in, obviously trying to ease Jax’s discomfort. He held out a hand to help her over a hole in the ground, and this time she took it. “Since it’s historically been the Vampires that use the weapon, they make sure to move out of range before it’s deployed.”
“Right,” said Aquila. “But when they aren’t out of range, purposefully or not, they become Manananggal. Or Tik-Tik. They’re creatures so hideous it’s said their victims die of fright just looking at them, which is probably a blessing since they suck their victim’s guts out through their naval with long, hollow tongues.”
“They prefer pregnant women above all others,” said Ursala. “For obvious reasons.”
“That’s…” said Jax, looking at each in turn. “Are you guys fucking with me right now?”
“No,” said Sid. “It’s all true. I’ve seen it with my own eyes. Bummer deal. To go from the gorgeous undead to a hideous monster cut in half at the waist, with no lower jaw, and real gross-like. All claws and gnarly guts hanging out of you like smelly slime. Heavy.”
“They get their wings back, for some reason, though,” said Ursala. Leaning toward Jax, he added, “Tik-Tik is the sound you hear, just before they get you. Fading, not growing louder as they get closer. Tik tik tik.”
Kelakha slapped the back of Ursala’s head, but Sid brightened. “Their wings are cool beans, man, I hear that. But still… harsh bong, dude.”
Asha noticed Jax shudder. “But… the Vampires in the city were in their true forms, so it shouldn’t affect them the same way, right?”
Aquila shook his head. “Not the same way. But there have always been a few Vampires in their true form back home, whether they just arrived through flash portals or hadn’t decided on a body yet. When the wars happened, it’s said these true form Manananngal were almost as dangerous as the humanoid ones, because they could avoid capture because of their size. Their bites can kill given enough time, and they don’t rest until they feed on what they crave more than anything else.”
“Human,” Jax said.
Everyone was silent. Asha calculated it had been twenty minutes since the explosion that had shaken the ground from inside the living dome. Eleven hours and forty minutes until ravenous Manananggal started to come for them.
“Ah, snaps, man.” Sid cleared his throat. “I should tell you guys I’m not the only banished Vampire here from Satya. There were at least ten more, maybe like fifteen, in the city last time we hung out.”
Jax stopped. “Fifteen of these things will be coming for us, plus whatever is in true form?”
“We’ll be gone by then,” said Kelakha.
Don’t promise her that. Aquila’s voice was hard.
Thanks for the tip.
“You guys and whoever Dream Eyes here saved were all that got out, man,” Sid said. “The Urnayu make sure whoever is inside, is stuck inside. Major bummer…” The Vampire’s perfect features filled with sadness as he studied the sky. Whatever terrible things could be said about Vampires, they were incredibly loyal to each other. “My family lives closer to the palace. I wouldn’t have been out here at all, except… the food at this one place is swell to the max.”
Chapter 25
The lights inside the cabin flashed, indicating their shift to hyper-stealth as the jet entered Brazil’s airspace, and Lexi hurried to the front of the aircraft. Ariella and Koko woke up and stretched as she passed them.
Leaning over Kai in the pilot seat, Lexi watched the lights of Rio de Janeiro appear in the distance, its glow overpowering the fading stars in the sky.
With the approaching dawn, Lexi focused her mind on what would happen next. Because the truth of the situation could not be denied. Whatever the Underworlders planned to do to Nidhan, they would do before sunrise.
Zaiden. Where the fuck are you guys?
They’ve taken him to a flash portal ready location in the Floresta da Tijuca, one mile west of Mount Corcovado. We’re at a landing point. Sending up a flare now… um, over.
Copy that.
Lexi shooed Kenda out of the co-pilot seat and took his place as he settled behind Kai’s chair.
“Head toward the Cristo Redentor,” Lexi said. “The Upperworlders are sending up a flare.”
“Coordinates, Lexi,” Kai said. “Or English.”
“It’s a giant fucking statue,” Lexi snapped. “You can’t miss it.”
Kenda said, “You mean that big statue of Jesus? We’re not landing near that thing, are we?”
“No. Zai—the Upperworlders said it’s one mile west.”
They both stared at her, comprehension and then pity flashing across their identical features as Lexi saw them realize she was speaking to Zaiden with her mind. She was grateful when, a second later, they turned away without further comment, although she noticed they were careful not to look at each other.
Kenda shooed Lexi back out of his seat, and his hands flew over the controls as she resumed her place leaning against Kai’s chair. The city lights grew closer, and the aircraft slowed as the statue of Christ the Redeemer came into view in all its Art Deco and soapstone glory.
“There!” Lexi shouted, pointing at the ultraviolet light of the flare beyond the statue.
“Thank you, Hewitt,” said Kai dryly. “I can see flares, happening to be Jodha myself and everything.”
The Tijuca Forest National Park spread out below them, its scattered, rounded cliffs reaching like giant knuckles out of the ground. Kai brought the jet to hover above the landing platform, and by the light of the flare Lexi could see the three Upperworlders standing at the edge of the dense forest, like three shining angels in the gloom.
Lexi was out of the aircraft, flying to join them before the doors were fully open.
“Well?” Lexi’s sword was in her hands before her feet tou
ched the ground. “What are you waiting for? Where is he? Why haven’t you retrieved him?”
Satish and Dinesh turned to Zaiden, and their unease was obvious. Zaiden looked up at the jet, avoiding Lexi’s glare. “It’s not that simple. The Underworlders—the Goblin rigged Nidhan to fall if anything happens to any of them. Or if we unfreeze him.”
“There are three of you,” Lexi raised her arms, disgust competing with her fear and frustration, leaving her shaking. She signaled the others with one high-pitched screech, and they sprinted to her side. “You know what? Forget it. We’ll take it from here.”
She turned to her friends to hide her involuntary wince at Zaiden’s jolt of pain.
Kai, Kenda, and Koko looked at the Upperworlders and said in unison, “Where’s Nidhan? What are you guys waiting for?”
“Her,” said Satish, jerking his chin at Lexi.
Dinesh spread his giant black and white wings and crossed his arms. “They have your friend rigged to fall and… none of us wanted to risk his death.” He glanced at Zaiden.
Lexi turned on Dinesh. The Upperworlder glowered, but took a step back. “That thing could wear off any second. Mamono doesn’t know this weapon from his ass. You guys fucking know this.”
Satish lunged forward, his bright scarlet macaw wings flaring. “I hope you’re not implying—”
Zaiden spoke sharply in their language not of this world, and Satish moved back, bowing his colorful head.
Dinesh fixed Lexi with an icy stare. “We do not lie,” he said, causing Zaiden to snap something at him.
Ignoring Zaiden, Lexi started giving hand-signal orders. Move out. Ariella, Koko, take the east side. You two follow me. Stay hidden until my signal.
With one nod, the five of them were airborne. Lexi noticed Satish and Dinesh turn to Zaiden, and the prince shook his head once before the Upperworlders were lost from sight.