by J. L. McCoy
“I can’t, but maybe Corvus can.”
Just then we heard voices in the distance and froze.
“Grab everything you think is important and let’s get the hell out of here,” Hagan commanded before walking back over to the entrance.
Tucking the journal under my arm, I grabbed everything I could find on top of the desk and handed them off to Hagan before jumping the fifteen feet back up to the main floor of the now demolished house.
Two locals were examining the wreckage and turned when they heard Hagan and me walking over the rubble. They shouted at us in a language I couldn’t understand, and after a brief look at each other, ran the other way.
“Well, that was weird,” I commented before glancing over at Hagan.
“Not that weird, actually,” he answered with a grin. His fangs were out and his eyes faded. I supposed Hagan had decided the best recourse was to scare them away.
“Great, and I was going to ask them if they could spare a bite,” I scoffed, only half joking. Healing Hagan had taken a lot out of me, and I needed to eat sooner rather than later.
“Let’s get back to the taxi,” he suggested, putting his fangs away. “More locals will probably be on their way soon, and we don’t need any more company.”
I agreed with him, and we flashed back to the taxi, which thank God was still sitting there, and made our way back to the airport and an awaiting Corvus.
Chapter Seventeen
“The woman and child you found in that basement were Stanus’s wife and son. They died in 1402 by his own hand,” Corvus said, grinning ear to ear, reading from the journal.
We were back in the air flying to our next location, and Corvus had practically salivated when we handed him the journal to decipher. He’d been busy the last two hours pouring over it, commenting every now and again when he found something of interest.
“That’s terrible,” I said, looking up from the GPS screen. Hagan and I were scoping out our next stop, which appeared to be an old teahouse in the middle of Amsterdam. “Why would you find something like that amusing?”
“It’s just desserts for that sanctimonious prick. Don’t tell me you’ve gone soft on me.”
“No, but the death of his family is nothing to be smiling about, Corvus.”
Scoffing, he continued. “It seems he killed them by accident when the madness overtook him after he was turned.”
“How sad,” I remarked, shaking my head. “He must feel terrible about it.”
“I think that’s why he kept their bodies the way he did. Practically built a shrine to them,” Hagan said, crossing his arms over his chest and glaring at Corvus as well. He seemed as unamused as I was about the way Corvus had found delight in their deaths.
“Fine,” Corvus sighed, rolling his eyes at me before going back to his reading.
Hagan and I glanced at each other, shook our heads, and went back to planning our next rendezvous.
From the papers we seized in Stanus’s German vault, we learned Stanus had purchased the teahouse in 1878 and briefly lived there before moving back to the New York colony for the final time. From what we could gather, it looked like Stanus liked to purchase places he took a fancy to, move into them, renovate, and then move on to the next place.
“I really don’t think he’s going to be hiding out at a teahouse in the middle of Amsterdam,” I commented, studying the satellite images of the building. “The area is just too busy. The chances of him running into a fellow Dark One are huge.”
“Agreed,” Hagan said, nodding, “but we have to check out every possibility.”
“I wouldn’t put anything past him,” Corvus chimed in, looking up from the journal. “That could be the very place he is hiding. What better than to hide in plain sight. No one would look for him where they least expect him.”
“You have a valid point,” I conceded, turning my attention back to the screen.
“We will go recon the area before going in after the business closes,” Hagan instructed, pointing at the areas of interest around the building. “Morrison, you’ll take the north end, across the bridge and do reconnaissance. Corvus, you’ll take the east end by the park. I’ll take south and west along the canal. We will only be taking one gun each as to not scare the locals. Make sure you keep it hidden at all times. I’ll keep an ammo bag with me just in case we come across any heavy hitters, but I’m not expecting much from this location.”
Corvus got up from his chair and walked over to his ammo bag, pulling out three walkie-talkie systems complete with earpieces. “I figured we’d probably need these at some point,” he said, setting them down on the table in front of Hagan and me.
“Sweet! Good thinking.”
“Yes, very useful, Frost. Thank you.”
Corvus and I froze and glanced over at Hagan.
“What?” he asked, confused.
“Uh, you just thanked him, sir.”
“Yes... and?”
“Um... nothing,” I hurriedly said, looking back at Corvus. “It’s just that...”
“I’m allowed to thank the man for doing something productive for a change, aren’t I?”
Sighing, I smiled and shook my head. “Whew! There you are, sir. I was worried for a second.”
We all chuckled at the same time before Hagan shook his head and resumed his usual professionally pissed-off, no nonsense attitude. “All right, enough of that shit.”
Corvus winked at me and then went back to his seat to study the journal as Hagan and I resumed our planning.
“Radio check... 1, 2... 1, 2... sound off.”
It was nightfall and we were standing in a hangar at the back of the Amsterdam airport waiting for our hired car to arrive. Corvus and Hagan were checking coms as I finished loading the mag into my boot gun.
“Morrison,” I confirmed in my walkie.
“Frost,” Corvus affirmed next.
“Hyland,” Hagan said into his lastly. “Coms are a go.”
“Whoa, you have a last name?” I asked, surprised.
“Of course,” he answered, looking at me like I’d lost my mind.
“I don’t know... it’s just... I never knew it. All this time and I didn’t know your last name.”
“You never asked.”
“I’m definitely winning the shitty friend award this year,” I commented under my breath to myself. Between what I’d done to Jameson and Nikki, and now never thinking to ask one of my closest friend’s last names... I felt like the shittiest friend alive.
“Not a big deal, Morrison,” Hagan said rather gently.
“You reading my mind now, sir?”
“Nope, just that pretty face.”
“Stop flirting, you two. We have work to do,” Corvus interrupted, and I turned to look at him over my shoulder.
“Jealous?”
“Of course,” he said, winking at me.
“Gross,” I complained, but couldn’t help but laugh.
“Now that’s gross,” Hagan said, frowning at us as he crossed his arms over his chest.
Corvus and I laughed as Hagan shook his head and went back to checking his weapons.
A few minutes later, our hired car arrived. As we drove through the city, I drank in everything I could and committed the sight to memory. This would probably be the closest I ever got to actually traveling the world, and I wanted to remember every detail, every flower, in every way. When this was all over, I’d go through my memories with a fine-toothed comb and actually enjoy it.
Soon the car slowed and we arrived at our rendezvous point. After a brief nod to each other, we each walked to our designated recon points and surveyed the traffic going in and out of the building. It was fairly busy for a weeknight and looked to be a local hot spot for all things tea and conversation.
“We’ve got movement on the second floor,” I radioed in as I watched a figure pace in front of the window curtain. From the shadow alone, I was unable to tell if it was a man or woman, but I found the pacing very curious
.
“I can’t see it from my vantage point,” Hagan replied.
“Negative here,” Corvus acknowledged. “How long until COB?”
“Sign on the door says the business closes at eleven,” Hagan answered.
“I call dibs on the second floor. You and Corvus can fight for first,” I said.
“Are you sure you want to go at this alone?” Hagan asked. “We can check out the first floor together and then move to the second.”
“No. There’s only one person on the second floor and three workers on the first. I don’t want the person on the second floor ditching if they hear us both storming the first. Find out what you can from the workers, and I’ll find out who our guest is,” I radioed back.
“I’ll run watch,” Corvus stated from his prime vantage point by the public park. “You two can take lead. I’ll make sure you don’t have any unexpected company.”
“Copy that,” Hagan agreed.
“You’d better be watching our six and not those skirts I saw you checking out a few minutes ago,” I warned.
“Do you have to take the fun out of everything?” he asked, chuckling
“When it’s my ass on the line, you can bet yours, Frost,” I radioed back.
“Your six is hotter anyway,” he replied saucily, and I chose to ignore his misguided complement as I continued to study the form on the second floor. I was more curious than ever to find out who it was.
The last customer left an hour later, and Hagan gave the all clear to approach. I chose to utilize the alley exit as Hagan passed me on his way to the front entrance. I was prepared to scale the wall, but found a convenient metal fire escape attached to the building and used that to climb up to a second floor window. It was locked, so I used the waning power of telekinesis I absorbed during my test with The Faithful the day I awoke and slowly worked the lock free. It had been weeks since I drank the man’s blood, and I knew I’d just used every ounce of the gift I had left to open it and, surprisingly, I was a little sad. It has been a fun power to have and one I knew I would miss once it was gone.
Worried that the revelation made me too much like Amun, I put the thought out of my mind, slid open the window, and crawled in.
I found myself in a hallway and immediately drew the Hellfire 3 from my boot. Listening intently, I picked up no heartbeats, and that worried me. Was the person in the room down the hall a Dark One?
Room by room, I quietly searched for anything of note and unfortunately found nothing but storage for the teahouse below, some old, dusty furniture, and a tattered map of some country with a name I couldn’t read. On the far chance that the map might possibly be useful in some way, I refolded it and slid it down in my boot to have Hagan look at later.
Saving the occupied room for last, I didn’t bother knocking as I let myself in, gun drawn and finger at the ready, fully prepared to meet a fellow vampire.
“Took you long enough,” an old woman said in heavily accented English as I entered, and I gasped at the unforeseen surprise.
Recovering quickly, I trained my gun on her and swallowed thickly. “How did you know I was here?” I inquired as I studied her form.
Estimating her age to be in the late seventies, she had super fair skin, white expertly coiffed hair, and wore a black broom skirt with a yellow blouse and a teal shawl draped across her thin shoulders.
“The cards never lie,” she replied, her hand sweeping left to the antique wooden table. Upon inspection, I noted a tarot deck laid out with ten cards face up in a cross and line pattern.
“I don’t believe in that hocus-pocus nonsense, lady.”
“I didn’t say you had to believe, child,” she answered, crossing her hands in front of her as she studied me in turn. “Would you mind pointing that thing somewhere else, please? I am no threat to you.”
After a quick scan of the small apartment, I flipped the safety back on and rehoused the Hellfire in my right boot. “Okay, the gun is up. Now tell me truthfully. How did you know I was here already? I made no noise coming in.”
The kettle on the stove began its slow whistle, denoting that the boiling water was ready, and she turned her back on me as she answered. “I told you, dear, the cards never lie. I have foreseen your arrival for days now. I was starting to wonder how much longer you would make me wait.”
I glanced skeptically at the cards on the table before turning back to her. “Those things told you I was coming? I don’t think so,” I scoffed.
“Well, not those cards exactly. But yes, different cards in the deck told me I would receive an unexpected visitor,” she said before motioning to them with her free hand. “And here you are. Those cards there are yours, by the way. I did your reading an hour ago.”
“What?” I questioned, shaking my head. I felt like I had just walked into the twilight zone. “That’s just crazy. Like I said, I don’t bel—”
“Believe in hocus-pocus,” she said, cutting me off as she turned back to me, hot cup of tea in hand. “Yes, yes, I heard you the first time. I’d offer you a cup, but I already know you will decline. Come sit down so we can talk. There are things you need to know.”
Without having a solid reason as to why I shouldn’t cooperate, I listened to her and did as instructed. I was far too interested in what she had to say, not that I would believe a word of it, but the situation was just too bizarre to not to hear her out.
She sat across from me and was silent for a long time as she studied my face and head closely. “You have the darkest aura I’ve ever seen, child,” she commented, almost under her breath. “Black as midnight with... with specks of blue trying to fight its way in. Dear, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but you’ve got evil inside of you.”
“Evil?” I asked in a whisper. Was she talking about Amun’s soul?
“Yes, dear. Evil. And it is powerful.”
Shaking my head, I opened my mouth to deny it, but she shook her head as well. “The longer it’s in you, the worse you will get. You’ve probably already started noticing changes within you. The goodness in you is starting to turn sour, your temper is hair-trigger.”
I pursed my lips deep in thought. Was I really buying into this crap?
“You’ll be destined for darkness before long.”
“Do you know what I am?” I asked cautiously.
“Of course,” she answered, looking up at me like it was the silliest thing she’d ever heard. “You are a Light Wanderer who has had her soul tainted. How that came to be there is most curious to me.”
“With all due respect, you can just keep wondering, lady, because I’m not telling you a damn thing about me. You said there are things I need to know and, well, here I am. Start talking.”
“Fine. Have it your way,” she answered, almost petulantly, as she set her teacup down and peered closely at the cards.
“You are a very important person, one who people rely on and come to for help. See this card here?” she asked, pointing to the center card. “That’s you, which is represented by the High Priestess. You are truly unique, and given the color of your aura, I would have to agree with the cards.”
I swallowed thickly as I studied the card in front of her. What she’d said hit way too close to home for me. I was the only vampire on earth who was half Day and half Dark.
“You are on a journey,” she said next, pointing to one card before pointing to another. “And it is very important to several lives that you complete this endeavor in a timely manner.”
My heart just about stopped. How did she know these things about me? She couldn’t have gotten them from some silly cards. This felt like a setup. I was about to stand and draw my gun, but what she said next stopped me cold.
“If you don’t remove the darkness from your body soon, you will turn into the thing you fear most in this world,” she stated gravely before looking up into my eyes and whispering her next sentence. “There will be no saving you then. You’ll be lost for good.”
I sat there, mouth agape, as
what she said sank in. She had to have been talking about Amun and the piece of his very soul I carried with me. But I was a vampire, and Amun had previously told me that he was not. So if he wasn’t a vampire, but created the Dark race when he made his first blood-turned son, what in the hell did that make me? Was I not half Dark? Was I something else?
“What do you mean?” I asked. “What is this darkness inside of me? How do I get it out?”
Her face fell, and she looked almost sad for me. “It will not be easy, and there is no guarantee you will live through it.”
I shook my head slowly as I swallowed thickly. “You don’t understand... I can’t die.”
“Your body many not die, but who you are at the core of your being will be irrevocably changed if the darkness is not removed. You will become the very thing you fear most... you will become death, child,” she said, pointing to one of the cards.
“I don’t believe you,” I whispered as I stared at the Devil card on the table.
“Believe me or don’t,” she said, getting up from the table. “But I came to warn you. There will be many trials ahead in your life, and the world will need you to have your wits about you. If you are lost to the darkness, you will become the harbinger of death. There will be no saving your soul then.”
“But what is it?” I asked, an edge of desperation in my voice. “What’s inside of me?”
“It’s a—”
Just then the door to the room swung open and Hagan entered. “What the hell are you doing, Morrison? I’ve been calling you on the radio.”
“What?” I asked, not understanding, before looking down at the radio strapped to my waistband.
It was then that I realized the room had gone pitch-black. Jerking my head up, I looked to where the woman had been sitting and discovered she was gone.
“What the...?”
“Are you okay?” Hagan asked. “What are you even doing up here? There’s no one here and nothing but rooms full of old junk. I thought you said you saw a person up here?”
I glanced around the room wildly; gone were the tarot cards, the apartment, the woman, the teacup and the table. I was instead standing in a room filled with dusty old boxes and filing cabinets.