Feeling like my guts were trying to squirm their way out of me, I struggled to my feet. With my level of power, it should have been child’s play to overtake her, but my body was trying to rewire itself. That made moving just a wee bit difficult.
As I stumbled, my partner continued to walk away – ironically enough, side by side with the redheaded traitor she’d set out to kill. Firebird must have sensed my eyes on her backside, because she turned and flashed me a saucy little smile before doubling her pace to catch up to her master.
And still Sally marched onward.
I gritted my teeth and bit down on my lip, drawing blood. Not on my watch.
Pushing myself forward, willing myself to stay me, I hobbled after her – slowly at first, then with more confidence.
Calibra stopped before the entrance of her office and held up her hands. Sadly, it wasn’t in surrender. Myriad colors ignited from her body. She was apparently going the Saruman route. As dangerous as Christy looked when she was pissed, she was a firecracker next to the walking fusion reactor that was Calibra. The entire cavern lit up as power coalesced around her.
“Do not let her escape!” Alex shouted.
I silently told him to go fuck himself as I reached Sally and spun her around. Her eyes were so completely glazed over as to appear white. There was no recognition in them whatsoever, no sense that she was in there fighting back. The only reaction from her was to try pulling away so as to resume walking toward her new master.
I glared Calibra’s way, hatred in my eyes, and she smiled back, mouthing a single word – “fool.” The power she’d been gathering lanced out from her in an upward arc, where it spread out over the granite ceiling above us. The room immediately began to shake, but not like before. We’re talking the difference between one of those tiny New York quakes and something that could tear California apart.
Despite my strength, I lost my footing and went down. Sally almost slipped away, but I grabbed her by the ankle and dragged her back to me.
“Sorry about this.” Before she could escape again, I turned her over and decked her in the mouth.
She went limp as the ceiling began to crumble from above. Huge chunks of rock fell all around us. I immediately scrambled to cover her body with my own, barely noticing that, in the chaos to save her, the change had receded. I was still me.
Of course, that would be small comfort if I ended up crushed like a bug.
The room continued to shake itself apart, but I dared risk a glance up anyway. By now, Calibra had retreated into her office – which didn’t strike me as a particularly safe place if this whole cavern collapsed. The vampires under her thrall were busy marching in after her.
I was about to duck my head again when movement caught my eye. Still more compelled vamps walked in that direction, heedless of the destruction raining down upon them.
I remembered how vast the Boston complex was. There were surely more vamps present in this place and Calibra had seemingly summoned them all to her. Talk about power. How many could that be in total?
“Let me go, cocksucker!”
Turns out I only needed to care about two.
I glanced to my left, still shielding Sally from the falling debris, and saw Dave. His escape attempt had apparently been cut short by Calibra’s power. That in itself was bad, but what made it far worse was who he was dragging along with him – Ed.
Fuck!
By now, it was getting hard to see. Boulders – some as big as a car – fell from the ceiling and smashed into the floor, kicking up a storm of dust. Still, Dave continued his onward trek toward the doors Calibra had disappeared into, while Ed struggled ineffectually against his vampiric strength.
I was stuck between the proverbial rock and a hard place – in more ways than one. Continue to shield Sally or save Ed?
Sally was helpless, but for some reason, Calibra – a being from the dawn of time itself – wanted my roommate. I had to think it wasn’t to invite him over for a tea party.
Sadly, right then, my choice was made for me as a particularly heavy slab of stone landed on my back, pinning me. More and more debris rained down around me until my friends were finally hidden from sight.
“Ed!” I screamed, choking on dust as the place shook itself apart.
It was the last thing I was able to utter before everything went dark under the crushing weight of oblivion.
The Spine Crushing Epilogue
“There he is!”
“Well, get him out.”
“It’s not that easy. You want to do it?”
“Sorry, babe. Those who can’t do, teach.”
“That’s not funny.”
Ugh! Waking up from a bender was never fun, and this felt like one of the worst of them. My head was pounding. It was dark. There was a near crushing weight on top of me – that was new. Oh, and something soft was beneath me.
Wait, it felt like ... holy crap, was that a boob?
Did I say “worst”? Fuck that shit. Any night when one could wake up to the feel of tits beneath them was epic indeed.
“Ow!”
Something hot seared into my back. What the fuck?
After another moment, my head started to clear. College was years ago, yet I kept dreaming of it like it was yesterday. I really needed to move on with my life at some point.
Wait a second. I had moved on ... quite literally, as in to the other side. It all came back to me as I continued to feel something red-hot grind into my back – Vehron, Calibra, Alex ... Sally! That’s who was beneath me. I’d been shielding her as what seemed like the entire Boston complex dropped on our heads. Hopefully, taking that into account, she wouldn’t begrudge me the quick feel I’d copped upon regaining consciousness.
Holy crap, we were alive. Or at least I was. I assumed Sally was too, since most piles of dust didn’t have a set of awesome funbags to play with.
“Fuuuck!” The heat reached a temperature that I was pretty sure no person, alive or otherwise, cared to experience and then – right as I was certain I’d be burnt to a crisp – a good chunk of weight fell away from atop me.
I pushed myself off of Sally and was happy to find that I was able to move. Rocks, dust, and other assorted debris fell to the side and I forced my way up.
“All right, you did it!”
“Tom?” I asked, recognizing the voice.
I glanced around and immediately caught sight of Christy, a red glow fading from her fingertips. She was bruised and battered. Dark circles ringed her eyes, making her look like a tired raccoon. She was alive, though. Same with the bad seventies action figure she had tucked into the crook of one arm – sorta anyway.
“Are you okay?” she asked wearily.
“I’ll live. You?”
“I sensed what she was doing. Managed to get a kinetic shield up around myself in time. Just don’t ask me to do anything else. Getting you out really was the last I had. I doubt I could even light a candle right now.”
“Don’t sell yourself short, babe.”
Tom appeared unhurt – for a toy anyway. At least I didn’t see any busted pieces. I shifted my gaze between him and Christy, then raised an eyebrow. Mindful of the potentially fragile state of things, I asked, “Are you both okay?”
“I’m still not sure,” she replied. “But I do know that once everything started to fall apart, he was all I could think of. No offense, Bill.”
“None taken. We vamps can take a licking. Speaking of which...”
I reached down and grabbed hold of Sally to drag her out of the rubble. She groaned as I pulled her free, and her eyelids fluttered before opening a crack. I was happy to see that although they appeared dazed, they didn’t have the vacant look of being under compulsion anymore.
She sat up and began to rub her jaw. “What hit me?”
“Um, a rock. Yep, fell right off the ceiling onto your head.”
“Then why does it feel like somebody socked me one?”
�
�It bounced?”
She narrowed her eyes at me for a moment, but then smiled. “I’ll buy that for now. What happened?”
I gave her a brief rundown, then turned to Christy. “Did you see anything after things went boom? Any sign of Ed?”
She shook her head. “I was too busy trying not to die, but it seemed like everyone was headed that way.”
The whole place was a mess. It was a miracle the entire thing hadn’t collapsed. Torn wires hung from the ceiling, still sparking. Dust and smoke hung heavy, obscuring even my vampire vision. Still, I didn’t need to see to know what was in the direction she indicated – the doors to the prefect’s office.
I pulled Sally to her feet, noting that I could feel her weight – however slight. Whatever power I’d gained from Alex’s blood was rapidly wearing off. No surprise there. I’d felt what hit me. No doubt my body had been working overtime to heal from the crushing weight that had been busy trying to squish me like a roach. “Come on,” I said. “We need to check and see if they’re still...”
“I can assure you, they are not,” a voice answered from somewhere off in the gloom. Of course. It was too much to hope that a little thing like tons of falling rock would take out the leader of the Draculas. A few moments later, Alex stepped into view. He looked like a bus had been dropped onto him, but despite his disheveled appearance, he still carried himself with an air of arrogance. Goddamn, what a walking fuck nozzle.
As he approached, my friends all huddled closer. Can’t say that I blamed them.
“There is no one here but us,” he said.
“How?”
“I believe we have our friends the Jahabich to thank. A tunnel was cut into the back wall. Even amidst the destruction, it is easy enough to make out. They collapsed it behind them, though. I get the impression they did not wish to be followed.”
“Where’d they go?” Tom asked.
Alex raised an eyebrow, noticing that an action figure was addressing him. However, that was the extent of his surprise. He’d been around the block once or twice in his day. I had little doubt he’d seen his fair share of shit. “Elsewhere. That is all I can say for certain.”
“Great. No forwarding address,” I groused.
“The caverns,” Sally said, gripping my arm. “The one with the cave painting.”
I glanced at her questioningly.
“It’s all back.” She tapped her forehead. “Nice to remember the little things. I’d have hated to forget my tour of the Vegas sewers.”
“Maybe,” I said. “That statue down there. It was her, wasn’t it?”
“What are you talking about, Freewill?” Alex asked.
“Just idle chitchat,” I replied blithely.
“I am not in the habit of tolerating insolence. Now would be a particularly bad time to test my resolve. I would highly suggest you...” Alex trailed off and his head whipped toward the opposite end of the room. “Impossible.”
“What are you talking about?”
There came a sharp squeal of metal against rock. We all spun toward the direction of the doors leading out of here. It sounded like they’d been damaged in the fallout, but someone or something was forcing them open.
Beams of multiple flashlights began to cut through the gloom from that end of the chamber, headed our way. A moment later, though, a far more brilliant light shone through the darkness – an aura of pure white.
A look of unadulterated irritation passed over Alex’s face as Sheila approached us, flanked on either side by a contingent of armed Templar. She looked around, whistled in appreciation of the destruction, and then smiled once she saw me and my friends.
“How did you get in here?” Alex asked.
“Someone left the front door open,” she replied, her sword held at the ready.
I glanced over at Sally, who shrugged. “There wasn’t anything in my orders about locking back up afterwards.”
I stifled a chuckle at Alex’s expense, but just barely.
“Looks like a hell of a party,” Sheila said. “Sorry we’re late. We ran into zombies, a lot of them ... and a few other things. Anyway, Sister Bernadette insisted they all be laid to rest before we moved on.”
“Sounds like something she’d do,” I replied.
“Oh yeah. Last rites and everything.” She turned toward Alex and pointed her sword his way. “This guy giving you any trouble?”
Alex crossed his arms over his chest. “If you think I am intimidated by you, you are sadly mistaken.”
“What about us?”
“Sisters!” Christy whooped in joy as the three witches stepped out from behind the Templar. Each began to glow with power, adding to the light show already on display.
After a few moments of letting the tension grow – enjoying it ever so slightly – I decided that things had escalated far enough. Outmanned and outgunned as he was, Alex was still incredibly dangerous, especially if he decided to start throwing compulsions around. Considering all that had transpired, it was foolish to let this devolve into another royal rumble.
I stepped forward and held out my hands, one toward Alex and the other toward our reinforcements. “I believe what we have here is an impasse.”
“Oh?” Alex replied, his tone dangerous.
“Yeah, exactly what I said. I know how powerful you are.”
“You have no idea what I can...”
“I have a good imagination. But at the same time, you’re facing both the Freewill and the Icon – not to mention a bunch of guests who brought party favors. Would it be too much to presume that no matter the outcome, it would be hard won and costly?”
Alex appeared to consider this, eyeing the newly arrived forces as he did. “I will allow this presumption.”
That would have to be good enough. “Thank you,” I replied as diplomatically as I could.
“Yeah, you tell him, Bill!”
Why oh why?
Christy hastily stuffed Tom into a pocket of her maternity outfit before he could say anything else to fuck things up. “Sorry,” she said. “He can be a bit ... over-enthusiastic.”
I took a moment to massage the bridge of my nose. “As I was saying, we’ve all suffered losses today. Vehron may be dead...” I allowed myself a quick glance in Sheila’s direction. A look of surprise crossed her face, but then she smiled and nodded back to me. “...but we have uncovered an enemy potentially far more dangerous. To make matters worse, she has hostages – including a member of the First Coven and...”
“That is not knowledge I wish shared beyond this room,” Alex stated.
“Understood. I was simply emphasizing the stakes at play. Calibra also has...”
At my mention of her name, the Templar broke out in murmurs. I heard things like “The first demon,” and “Lilith” spoken. I made it a point to ask about that, but decided it could wait until later.
“Calibra also has my friend Ed and...”
“You think a human carries as much importance as my brother?” Alex asked.
So much for being allowed to finish a thought. “She wanted him for something. I have no idea what that is, but I plan to find out. Regardless, I think it’s fair to assume it isn’t for anything good.”
“Perhaps there is logic in your words. The Cult of Ib once sought to grind this world beneath their heel, subjugate all who opposed them. I dare say, I would be almost disappointed to learn their current plans involved any less.”
“I wouldn’t, but I sorta get what you’re saying.”
Alex lowered his head for a moment, as if pondering something. Finally, he looked up. “You continue to surprise me, Freewill. I accept your terms.”
“Terms? I haven’t gotten to any...”
“I propose an alliance,” he said, raising his voice. “A fellowship of sorts. A great evil has awoken, one that threatens us all. Until such time as this cancer is put down, sent fleeing back to the myths of the past where it belongs, I say that there sha
ll be no quarrel between my people, the Magi, the Templar ... and the Icon. You will be treated as equals under the condition that you aid me in stopping whatever machinations have been set in motion this day. Once this task is complete, I will allow for a one-month grace period so that none may fear immediate reprisal.”
“How do we know we can trust you?” one of the Templar asked. Oh great. Just what we needed – a Jesus freak to fuck it all up. “You speak of evil, yet reek of it.”
“What you call evil, I call order,” Alex retorted. “Nevertheless, the word of Alexander of Macedon is law. Any of my people who dare break it shall know my wrath.”
Alex’s word was law, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t or wouldn’t twist it to meet his needs. Working with him was like hashing out a contract with a legion of opposing lawyers while trying to make a wish in D&D that couldn’t backfire on you.
“In return,” Alex continued, turning to face me. Ah, here was the rub. “I expect there to be full disclosure of all information concerning this matter. Do we have an accord?”
“Full disclosure in due time,” I amended, hoping to buy us a bit of breathing room – especially since we were still sorting through the pieces ourselves.
Alex’s eyes narrowed for a moment, but he said, “Agreed. Know that time is short, though. I will not allow us to perish simply because you do not think the time is right to share.”
* * *
Alex departed shortly after, presumably to meet with the remaining Draculas. There were reinforcements to gather, plans to make, intelligence to ... err ... not be dumb about. In short, all the things one would expect of a commander.
As for us, Sheila sent the Templar topside to guard the place. No point in being lax just in case there were still zealots, thralls, or more zombies about. I’d had enough surprises for one day.
Christy’s sisters set up a scrying circle on one of the upper levels to track where Calibra had gone – just on the off chance we were wrong about her intended destination. I didn’t have a lot of faith that they’d succeed. After all, we were dealing with the witch who’d pretty much written the book on magic. Still, it didn’t hurt to try, and it gave them something to do.
The Wicked Dead (The Tome of Bill Book 7) Page 49