The Wrath of Pan (The Inglewood Chronicles Book 2)

by Jeremy Croston

  I’d felt that surge of power before. I knew exactly what it was, Liz’s blood in me. Just as Rosette said the first time we met, I’m an abnormality. “Never mind how I did it, I’m free and I’m going to get you out of here too.”

  It took me a minute searching the cellar, but I found a bolt cutter over in a secluded area. I also grabbed a pretty big hammer and a few of the sharper instruments, we needed weapons. I came back over and freed Gregory from his chains.

  I handed him the bolt cutters and after a few moments of wobbling, helped him cut mine off too. “Thank you Victor. As much as I want to run off and attack them, I think we need to rest and let the silver nitrate leave our systems. Well, maybe just mine.”

  The juice I’d been running on wore off and I could feel the poison once again take over. I stumbled back down to the ground. “It’s still in me too partner.”

  “Since we have a few minutes, what happened?”

  I replayed the events of the catacombs over in my head. “I saw Rod advancing on ‘em, ready to kill all three. I made a split second decision and put three bullets in him. Two to the chest and one between the eyes. If that didn’t end him, Tucker going boom probably did.”

  Low doses of silver act as poison, but a full silver metal jacket does serious damage. I didn’t know if the bullets were bad enough to be lethal to someone like Rod, but if they didn’t kill him, Tucker’s blaze of glory probably did.

  “You made a tough call and did what you thought was right. If anything, Jonathan is to blame as he orchestrated everything.”

  I looked over at Gregory, “I tell you what, the next time I see him, I’ll be righting a wrong.”

  “I have no doubt you will. Unless Liz gets to him first.”

  I looked over at the door leading out of the cellar. “What’re the chance that thing’s locked?”

  “Nothing’s ever easy is it Vic?”

  I half laughed, half coughed, “Easy would be someone kicking the door down and breaking us out.”

  BOOM! Both Gregory and I dropped to the ground as splinters from the door went flying everywhere. From my spot on the floor, I had to do a double take.

  “I take it you thought I was dead?” Rod stepped over the remains of the door. “Have no worries, I am still very much alive.”

  Chapter 35

  The three of us were upstairs, sitting in another living room type area. Rod had done his best to provide me with something to eat, but seeing as this was a vampire’s home, my choices were pretty limited. I had a few piece of stale bread and expired jerky.

  “Gentlemen, we have much to discuss and not much time to do it.”

  I took a measure of the man. He looked no worse for wear, as I didn’t even see wounds from the bullets or the explosion. “What’s going on here? How did you survive?”

  “Your bullets hurt quite a bit, but I was able to move just out of the way enough for them to miss vital locations, sparing my life. As for the explosion, I used a piece of fallen rock to protect myself. By the time I dug myself out and escaped, Pan and Jonathan already had Elizabeth and yourself prisoner.”

  “Roderick does anyone besides Victor and I know you are still alive?”

  He sat down and closed his eyes for a moment. “No, I waited until I knew everyone had left the catacombs before I emerged. I followed them back to Jonathan’s house and then to here after they left with the two of you.”

  “Liz is still there.” I tried to stand up, but the silver nitrate was still doing its thing. “They also have Rosette and Rissa too.”

  “The witch they will need if they are truly trying to release Cain.”

  “You knew about Cain?” I was starting to get pissed.

  “Only after being dragged into the catacombs. Jonathan is a very talented actor and made it look like it was my actions that led to all of us being there.” He apologized to Gregory, “I regret my actions to you and your lady friend. I truly thought she was in league with Pan. Had I realized sooner just how duped I had been, I would have confided in everyone.”

  I wasn’t going to let him off the hook easy. “How do you explain the grave of dead bodies with the key to the catacombs? Plus you grabbed Rosette while we were tied up with Pan? Please oh great one, explain those!”

  He put his head down in shame. “The grave was where I decided to bury those who attacked me. I needed someplace remote to hide just how badly things were. The key was hidden in there as a last minute precaution.”

  Of course, pride was at play. “That doesn’t explain the coincidences with Pan. That’s the hardest pill to swallow.”

  “The day Pan came to Jonathan’s house; I received a strange call from an acquaintance named Warren Tucker.” Of course Tucker was involved. “He told me I needed to get the witch out as quickly as possible, that Pan was going to take her.”

  “Don’t tell me you told him where the key was hidden.”

  He shook his head yes. Obviously in hindsight he saw just how stupid he was, but it was too late to change that. John was the traitor and Rod was just a moron who made our jobs a lot harder.

  “Your actions were pretty damn dumb, but I’ll concede some points. We’re outsiders and you didn’t know who to trust.” The pity party needed to end. “The three of us are the only hope for those girls. We need to get it together and devise a plan to rescue them.”

  Rod offered up something useful. “I can lead us through the secret passages in the house. We should be able to enter without notice.”

  Next up was Gregory. “I am not too proud of this, but I was a very good thief a long time ago. I can procure us some weapons once we make it back to the city.”

  “You’re going to steal weapons?”

  “Trust me Victor, it is not my first choice, but we do not want to leave a trail. We need to be invisible.”

  My buddy had a point. As for me, “Due to certain natural gifts I have, it would make the most sense for me to go there and recon the situation. No point in going in not knowing what we’re up against.”

  Rod stood up. “My vehicle is a few kilometers down the road. I did not wish to be spotted, so I entered the property by foot.”

  I still was a bit woozy, but we could recover in the car. “If Gregory is up to it, I say we hit the road now.”

  “I am fine. The sooner we can get on the move, the better.”

  So with that, the three of us made the walk to Rod’s car. We were under the cover of night, and the roads were pretty empty. By the dash clock, it was about three in the morning when we entered the city limits again.

  “I own a small storefront not too far from here. With everyone assuming I am deceased, it will be the safest place to go and prepare.”

  I didn’t have any objections and neither did Gregory. Rod drove us a bit further, only stopping to pull into a pretty secluded parking spot in an alley behind a little strip of stores. He backed the car into the spot and killed the lights. We followed him into his store, which turned out to be an antique dealer.

  “Years of hoarding finally paid off huh?”

  He gave me a look of irritation. “Most of the items in this store are priceless. You would do well to stay in the back, as I would hate to have to bill your boss for any unfortunate instances after the rescue is complete.”

  “She barely pays me enough as it is…” But my grumbling fell on deaf ears.

  “From our location here, where would the closest place be to get the proper gear?”

  Rod led us to his office space upstairs. On his desk was a ton of papers, which one was a map of the district we were in. Pointing to a place, “Two city blocks over there is a store that specializes in edged weaponry. It is convenient to our location here and there is a side entrance that would offer easy access.”

  Gregory took the map, “I shall return. Anything in particular either of you would like?”

  Rod reached under his desk and pulled out a case. Popping it open, “I have all I need right here.” A long, thin sword was sitting there,
shining brightly.

  “Is that silver?”

  “A keen eye Mr. Inglewood. It is perfectly balanced and the point is like an ice pick.”

  As for my weapon, “I generally use a gun and a short sword. I’m not particularly good with the sword, but I guess that’s all I can handle without hurting myself.”

  Gregory smiled, “Do not worry, I will find something useful for you.” With that, he opened the back door and snuck out into the night.

  Without having him as a buffer, the awkward silence between Rod and I returned. I figured I owed the guy an apology too. “Sorry for shooting you. Though in my defense, you weren’t acting normal.”

  “Bygones Victor, if the roles were reversed, I would have killed you.”

  Didn’t that just make me all warm and fuzzy inside? “I get why you acted the way you did to me, but why Liz? She’s been nothing but supportive of you.”

  He sat down behind his desk. “You know why I own this antique shop? It’s a distraction from the mess that comes with being one of the oldest vampires alive.”

  “I take it the job ain’t all it’s cracked up to be?”

  “You could say that.” He began reading what looked to be purchase orders. “Right after we reached out for assistance to Elizabeth, I noticed Nigel and Jonathan’s behavior changed. At first I figured it would just pass, that they were nervous about something.”

  I sat down across from him. “But it never changed, only got worse I bet?”

  “They became so secretive with what they were doing. Every time another death that I knew was connected to Pan occurred, Jonathan would send Nigel out on some task that seemed to only hinder the investigation.”

  “At what point did you start putting the pieces together?”

  “The night the staff ambushed me. Keep in mind to hypnotize a vampire takes an incredible amount of power and skill. Pan does not have that yet; he is more like a wild animal. Only Jonathan or Nigel would have the skill to do that.”

  He suspected before we ever showed up. “You allowed us to take refuge and help the man you knew was pulling the strings? You could’ve gotten us all killed!”

  “I thought you were all in on it. It sickens me now, but I even felt Elizabeth had betrayed me. I was paranoid with fear and figured you would all turn on me at a moment’s notice.”

  Running my hand trough my hair, “When did Jonathan figure out you were on to him?”

  “I cannot say for sure, but when I gave you his and Nigel’s names that night at my home, I guess he figured the secret was out.”

  “You knew we’d confront him, didn’t you?”

  He gave me the affirmative, “Yes. I had no other plays to make. If you or anyone else was already in on the conspiracy, you would make a move. When only Jonathan showed his true colors, I knew I made a mistake in not trusting you.”

  I stood up and walked over to him. “It’s better being late to the party than never going. Truce?”

  “I do believe a truce is in order. Thank you Victor for protecting those closest to me.”

  He shook hands and I felt a pressure lifting. “Of course my friend. As a measure of good faith, let me do you’re a favor, if I can.”

  “In that case,” he got a very serious look in his eyes, “please stop calling me Rod. I have grown to hate the snarky way you say it.”

  I smiled to myself. I guess he realized he wasn’t a young, cool kid anymore.

  Chapter 36

  After Gregory had got back, we decided to take the rest of the day to rest and get our plan together. I also needed to get used to the idea of carrying a sword. It was a bit shorter than an actual sword, but also longer than the tanto I’d gotten so used to carrying. It also was a bit heavier.

  Gregory saw me struggle with it and came over to help. “If you have not carried a sword before, it takes some getting used to.”

  “I don’t want to be a hazard if we get sucked into a fight.”

  He put his hand up and ran back into the shop. I didn’t know what he was up to, well until he came back. “Hide these and do not say a thing to Roderick. If he knows I took these, we will both be skinned alive.”

  He handed me a pair of old looking brass knuckle type things with three short spikes sticking out. “What the hell are these?”

  “These are Tiger Claws, from the Far East. They slip over your knuckles, making your strikes much more effective. Unfortunately, this pair is not made from silver, so they will not be deadly.”

  I slipped them into my coat pocket. “They’re better than nothing though. Thanks man, I appreciate how you always got my back.”

  “I also thought we could take a few minutes and go over some basics in handling a sword. If you can use this weapon with a bit of accuracy, as you know decapitation kills vampires.”

  “I don’t think we got that kinda time.”

  He picked up the sword and handed it to me. “Get into an attack stance for me.” So I did. He started laughing. “I am sorry Vic, but I cannot believe Elizabeth never corrected you.”

  “To be honest Gregory, most problems I deal with can be handled by bullets or threats. The art of sword fighting never took hold in America.” Hell the few times I had to use my grandpa’s tanto, it was mainly hacking and slashing.

  “Pan is a very skilled knife fighter and Jonathan was trained by some of the best swordsmen history knows. I am not here to show you how to defeat them. I will do my best, however, to teach you enough to stay alive.”

  That gave me all the confidence in the world. “I guess show me what you can.”

  For the next few hours, Gregory showed me different stances and techniques. A lot of the movements I couldn’t do very fast or all that well, but he assured me I was learning and it might save me. I liked that he had faith in me, but if my life came down to trying to do one of these moves that he was showing me, I was in trouble.

  Roderick (see I can be respectful) came in to the room to see what was going on. “Is Gregory teaching you a few moves?”

  “He sure is trying. I just don’t think I was cut out to do this kinda stuff.”

  He picked up his rapier and stood in front of me. “With your body, you may be more apt at a fencing technique. It relies more on speed over brute force.”

  He demonstrated a few moves. Damn he was fast, the rapier almost disappearing while he swung it. What also wasn’t lost on me was how easy the moves looked. Well easier than the stuff Gregory had been showing me.

  “Damn, if I’d known you were so deadly, I wouldn’t have been such a jackass towards you.” We both knew that was a lie.

  “Here, try this.” He slowed the motion down and did it twice so I could really see. I followed and performed the move, quite to my own surprise.

  “Hell, I did it!”

  “Good, keep practicing that. I will return in a moment.”

  I did as I asked, under the watchful eye of Gregory. The sword I was using was a bit heavier, so I couldn’t go that fast, but it felt better than anything else I’d been shown.

  “Not too bad Victor.” Roderick entered the office, with something wrapped in black cloth in his hand. “I cannot believe I am giving this to you, but it will do you better than that cumbersome sword in your hand.”

  He unwrapped the cloth and sat down a very old looking, slightly curved sword on his desk. “What’s that?”

  “This is an old Mongol sword used by a very prominent vampire a long time ago. You will find that it is lighter and easier to swing than that in your hand.”

  I sat the current sword down and picked up the new one. “Whoa, this is really nice.”

  “It has survived a great many years; I do hope that I will not regret giving it to you.”

  “I don’t either. Something tells me my paychecks would never cover the cost.”

  He walked over to the window. “The sun is beginning to set. We do not have much more time before it will be time to leave.” The three of us sat down around the desk. Roderick pulled out another
map, this one of the surrounding area.

  I looked over the lay of the land. “I say we park at least five kilometers away.”

  “There is a secluded wooded area about seven kilometers from Jonathan’s house.” He circled it with a pen. “It is a bit further than you were thinking, but the road leading up to it is rarely traveled and he would not think to look there.”

  Following the area, “If you guys laid low about here,” I pointed to about the half way mark, “I could go take a look and be back pretty quickly.”

  “The area you want to pay closest attention to is an old storage shed. It looked like it is going to fall over, but that is the point we need so we can enter the house.”

  I hadn’t really seen much of the surroundings of the house, so this was new to me. “Where is it at?”

  “It lies in the back corner of the yard. It is rather hidden by some overgrowth from a lack of care.”

  “Victor,” Gregory sounded perplexed, “are not all the Lost Boys dead?” I confirmed that. “In that case, should we not experience any resistance?” That was more directed at Roderick.

  “In London there are plenty who hold a grudge against me and if the price was right, they would provide plenty of ammunition.”

  “Werewolves, vampires, worse?” Before I wouldn’t even thought there was worse, but my experiences recently told me differently.

  “Mostly werewolves I would imagine. I do not have the reputation of one who loves your kind.”

  Great, another unneeded obstacle. “I hope after this is over, that reputation can change.”

  His look was blank, no signs of annoyance or even remorse. “Life is different here than it is in America. Old prejudices are closer to the surface and a great deal of us are too stubborn to confront them.”

  “I think what Roderick is trying to say Vic is that there are many to blame. It is too late to try and heal the gap, but what we can do is save our friends and live to see tomorrow.”

  Leave it up to the guy who still gets carded for alcohol to be the smartest of us all. “Gregory is right. Let’s go save our friends and kick some ass doing it.”