Quantum Heights: Book one of the Dead Path Chronicles

by Richard A. Valicek

  Fetrona went on. “And, to think, when Confidus told me that you were back in Elysium, I actually felt joy!” she said. “Who would have thought that the man I used to love so much would turn out to be such a horse’s ass!” She leaned into him, her plump breasts in his face. “I hate you with all my heart,” she sneered. Then, she paused and smiled. “My face is up here, idiot! You’ll never get to see these again.” When he wrenched his eyes away from her bosom, she slapped him across the face and walked away.

  When she was well gone from them, Andromin said, “Well, I’d say that went much better than I thought. I actually expected her to be upset.” Marcus and Vijas dissolved into laughter.

  Fetrona had gone into the other dining room and taken a table for two. She propped up her chin in her hands and waited. When the waitress came to her, she said, “Something strong. Make it a double.”

  A Goncool had followed her out and came to her table. He leaned over. “You know, beautiful, he’s not worth it. You deserve far better,” he said running his swarthy hand down her neck.

  Fetrona glared at him and grabbed his hand. “You think so? What do you think of these?” She put his hand directly on her breast and threw her head back. “You’re darn right I’m worth more.” She brought her head up and looked at him with a sultry gaze. “Are you more?”

  He bent down and put his mouth up by her ear. “The name’s Godfrey Miles.”

  She took his hand in hers. “Fetrona Nightly.”

  “And, what a pleasure it would be if you were,” he said. Without taking his hand away, he sat beside her. They began to talk, their heads getting closer and closer together. Finally, she decided it was time to preserve the rest of her secrets. She stood.

  “Going so soon?” he purred.

  “Perhaps, I’ll see you at Confidus Seaton’s masquerade ball tonight,” she said.

  “Masquerade ball? Yes, of course. What time did that start again?”

  “It’s at 7:00 p.m. sharp at Castle Elysium. Do you have a costume?”

  “No, but if I can’t find one, I may just come as I am.”

  “I’m sure that would be just fine. Good day, Mr. Godfrey.” Fetrona walked out of Quigley’s Pub.

  Godfrey made haste back to his table. “Gentlemen, we have a masquerade ball to go to. And, Confidus Seaton will be in attendance.” Godfrey took a big gulp of his grog and grinned.

  Chapter 18

  Time and Time Again

  Caprius and Calista walked through a run-down part of Jethro until they arrived at Braden Clockworks. The businesses on either side of the shop had closed down. Braden’s was quite small, its sign torn through the center and faded so it was nearly illegible. The only giveaway that the shop was still in operation was that the clocks in the window were merrily ticking away.

  When they entered, they went directly to a young woman dusting the small clocks that arrayed the front counter. Behind her sat a man on a stool polishing the glass of a pocket watch.

  “A good day to you, Sir. Good day, Madam,” said Caprius.

  “‘Tis a good day if I make a sale. A far better day if I make several. But, today is just another day.” The man looked over his spectacles at Caprius. “Unless you are buying?” asked the man.

  “I’m sorry, but we’re not,” said Caprius.

  “Then, as I said, today is just another day. I’d be happy to make one sale,” the man said. “So, how can I be of service to you?”

  “My name is Caprius Seaton. I am with his majesty’s ‘Holy Council of Sacred Deeds.’ This is my partner, Calista Genesis.”

  The man gasped, lost his balance, and fell off of his stool. “Well, agents! What a nice surprise.” He chuckled awkwardly and furtively looked around. “I truly didn’t expect the pleasure of your company,” he said as he stood and dusted himself off.

  “Are you all right?” Calista asked.

  The young woman did not offer to help; she only watched as the man struggled to regain his composure. “Papa, you should be more careful,” she said.

  Caprius raised an eyebrow, then pulled out the pocket watch. He handed it across the girl to the man. “Does this belong to you?”

  The man examined the pocket watch silently. He looked at the two soldiers, let his eyes trail down to their swords, and sighed. “Yes, this belongs to me. At least it did at one point. But, I guess it’s yours now.”

  “You manufacture these pocket watches here, do you not?” asked Calista.

  He hesitated. “Yes,” he said and looked down.

  “What can you tell us about the markings?” she asked.

  “They’re just markings,” he shrugged. “What do you mean?”

  “Whom do you work for?” asked Caprius. He was getting tired of all the back and forth.

  The man got off his seat and put his hands on the counter. He righted his posture. “All right, if you must know, I work for the people of Plaphorius. They come to me, and I give them what they want. I’m not involved in anything. I just do my job. I don’t ask them any questions and keep my business to myself. They tell me where to put the markings, so I keep my mouth shut and do it.”

  “You realize you are working for the undead, the underworld,” said Calista angrily.

  “Yes, I know. Look, it may be morbid and unethical, but they pay well. I have a business to run and a family to support,” said the man. “When you’re paid as much as I am, you don’t ask questions, you just do the job.”

  Calista leaned over the counter and squeezed the man’s fingers. “Ow, that hurts!” he yelped. Calista released his fingers, and he shook his hand out, the two of them glaring at each other.

  “If you don’t want to feel any more pain, you’ll tell us what we want to know,” said Caprius.

  “I don’t know anything,” said the man. “I told you all I know.”

  “Two of our agents have been killed and shipped to us in caskets filled with soil. Do you know anything about that?” asked Calista.

  “No, I don’t,” he claimed, but his face betrayed him. They knew he was lying.

  “Our last agent to be seen, Lynin Chiles, was headed to this shop. Have you heard of anyone by that name?”

  “Can’t say as I have,” smiled the man pertly.

  “Protesting while your face tells us the truth is only going to make this hurt more,” said Calista grabbing his fingers and squeezing so hard tears came to the man’s eyes. The man’s daughter stood like a statue.

  “We’ve got lots of time,” said Calista. “You’re just going to have to try harder. Calista twisted his fingers again, and his face contorted. The girl continued to stand there, looking on dumbly. “Don’t stare, my dear. It’s embarrassing to your father,” said Calista.

  “All right, all right, I’ll tell you what I know,” said the man. Calista released him. “Lynin Chiles was here. But, he didn’t stay long. Like you, he asked me about the pocket watches. The watches are Telusion. Markings of the undead. I told him the same thing I’m telling you. But, there is something else. I… I can’t tell you much about it, but I can show you. It is something from the undead, something that might be very useful to your investigation. It’s in the back room,” he said. His smile had fallen.

  “Fine. Bring us there,” said Caprius.

  “Lana, can you prepare the blood work for them,” said the man over his shoulder. “We’ll be there in a couple of minutes.” The girl went into the back room.

  “What is this blood work?” asked Calista.

  “It is pure blood extract taken from Dark Lord Makoor himself.” The man’s demeanor shifted suddenly; he became chatty and congenial. “Now, generally, when a vampire baptizes you with its own blood, you become one yourself. But, this blood extracted from the Dark Lord is extremely potent. We’re talking about super vampires.”

  “Interesting,” said Calista. She glanced at Caprius and raised an eyebrow.

  “Let me take you to the back and show you the samples I’ve got. Come with me,” said the man. Calist
a and Caprius followed.

  In the back room, two stools sat at the ready. Caprius and Calista slowly walked toward the stools looking at one another curiously. Caprius shrugged before they both sat down. Before them was a counter with two flasks filled with blood. “This is the blood I was talking about. From the Dark Lord himself,” said the man.

  Calista and Caprius examined the flasks. “How many of these do you have?” asked Calista.

  “I only carry a few. The main shop that produces this carries a larger supply,” said the man.

  Calista was confused. “But, what would a clock maker want with this?” she asked.

  “They’re for me and my daughter. Makoor has promised us eternal life,” said the man, smiling slowly.

  “Have you taken it?” asked Caprius holding up one of the flasks.

  “No, no,” he waved his hand and chuckled. “They need us here at the clock shop. If we had, we would have killed you both by now. But, we’ll take it eventually,” said the man.

  “How soon can you take us to the main plant?” asked Calista.

  “Oh, soon, really soon. In fact, sooner than you think,” said the man cheerily. He looked across the room at his daughter, who was standing by the wall. Without a word, she nodded and yanked on a lever by her shoulder. The floor beneath Calista and Caprius opened up, and they fell through. Above them, the floor sealed shut, leaving them in darkness. They tumbled down quite a ways. Both of them had the foresight to pull their claymores out and aim them down beneath them, creating a cushion of air that helped them land gently. When they did, they stood up and realized they’d landed between spikes that would have skewered a wild boar. “What on earth…” started Calista. She didn’t bother to finish her sentence. She and Caprius used their claymores as torches. Once they were lit, the two were able to see that they were down at the bottom of a gorge. Calista poked around their surroundings; she opened a few cabinets full of supplies and saw some large sacks.

  Caprius touched the top of one of the spikes. “Youch!” he exclaimed, putting his finger in his mouth.

  “I don’t want to think about how much it would have hurt if we’d fallen just a few centimeters to the right or left,” said Calista. “I see why he didn’t mind being so candid with us all of a sudden.”

  “Sure, he figured he’d drop us in here and we’d turn into shish kabobs,” Caprius said, joining Calista at the wall. She pointed to a row of large sacks leaning against the cave wall a ways down. “I hate to say what I think these are.”

  “May as well have a look at them,” said Caprius. He knelt down and untied the one closest to him. When he pulled up the sack, he took a step backward. “Lynin Chiles,” said Caprius. His shoulders slumped.

  “That confirms our suspicions, then,” said Calista gently. “And, who is the other?”

  Caprius untied the other sack to reveal the man’s face. “I don’t know this person. He is not one of ours.”

  “Probably an innocent bystander,” said Calista. “And, the last one?”

  “I don’t know who this is either.” They both looked at the dead for a while. Suddenly, the sound of footsteps was coming from the tunnel ahead. “Quickly, hide,” Caprius whispered, “behind the rock.” Calista and Caprius extinguished their claymores and darted behind the large rock. The footsteps came closer and closer. Through a crack, they saw a large hunchback emerge from the tunnel and approach the three bodies. He hefted the first body up over a shoulder and slowly walked down the tunnel. When they could no longer hear his footsteps, the two knights came out from the rock and lit their claymores. “That man no doubt delivers the bodies,” said Caprius.

  “But, to where? And, to whom?” asked Calista.

  “To whomever is in charge of this operation. And, wherever that is is where we are going,” said Caprius.

  “But, we can’t just follow this man,” said Calista. “He’ll notice us eventually no matter how many rocks we’re able to hide behind.”

  Caprius thought for a moment. “I know, we’ll get rid of these two bodies and get into the sacks ourselves.”

  “And, we’ll be delivered directly to the kingpin himself,” said Calista, grinning.

  “Precisely!” said Caprius. The two set to work pulling the bodies from their sacks and hiding them behind the rock. They quickly slid into the sacks as the man was returning. “I’m glad he’s so big,” whispered Calista. “At least we can hear him coming.”

  Caprius and Calista stood completely still and held their breath.

  When the man came to the bodies, he stood in front of them scratching at his bald head. He paused a long time, then said, “Na, can’t be. Man, I need some sleep.” He picked up Caprius’ body and put it over his shoulder. Calista heard the footsteps trailing off as he walked down the tunnel. She waited what seemed a long while. Her muscles began to cramp. She wondered whether the man had discovered the body he was carrying was still alive but figured she’d have heard some kind of tousle if so.

  Finally, the man returned and flung Calista over his shoulder. He tromped away, whistling tunelessly. She thought about Caprius and hoped they’d be brought to the same place.

  It was very uncomfortable being bumped and jostled; at least, thought Calista, where the hunchback was walking was lit up by torches. He finally came to a stop. She heard the gentle whinny of a horse and realized she was being put in a carriage. He threw her down. She felt wooden boards and what she assumed was Caprius in the sack beneath her. “Oof,” she said inadvertently when she hit him. Calista rolled off Caprius, landing on the carriage floor. The man stood there for a moment, “What was… no, couldn’t be.”

  The man got into the driver’s seat of the carriage, yanked the reins and drove off. The carriage came out of the cave and up onto the street. Caprius and Calista lay still, not saying a word, not even to one another. After what felt like about half an hour, the carriage went up a drive to a large house on a hilltop. The man paused the horse, hopped out, opened a creaky iron gate, got back in, and they kept on.

  When they arrived to wherever they were, he got out and threw one of the accompanying bodies over his shoulder. Caprius waited; a door opened then shut. Once he was sure they were alone, he sat up, clambered out of the sack and nudged Calista. “Let’s go. We are here.” Calista struggled out of her sack, too. Both freed, they jumped from the wagon.

  “Where do we go now?” Calista asked.

  Caprius unsheathed his claymore of power and held it before him. “My claymore senses danger from within.”

  Calista brought out her sword, as well. “Yes, I sense it, too,” she said. They walked toward the door, which was the rear door of the house. When Caprius had his hand on the doorknob, the door flew open, and there stood the hunchback.

  “Who the hell are you?” he asked. Calista grabbed the man’s collar with both hands and aggressively turned his back toward Caprius. Caprius cracked him in the head with the hilt of his sword, knocking him out cold. Calista staggered under the man’s weight until she dropped him in the doorway. She and Caprius stepped over his prone body into the house.

  They prowled through the house going from room to room looking for clues. They turned up nothing. “Look for a door to the basement,” whispered Caprius. Calista opened a door off the kitchen; a flight of stairs lead to the basement.

  “Caprius, here,” she whispered. Caprius ran over and they walked down the stairs cautiously holding their swords of power aloft.

  In the basement, they went from room to room. They came to a door, and their claymores vibrated wildly. Inside was another flight of stairs leading down. The house had ended; it seemed they were now in some sort of cavern, as the walls were made of roughly hewn rock. At the bottom, there was earth on the ground, and stalagmites and stalactites poked into the air from all over like teeth.

  As they went further in, they realized they were going deeper underground. The top of the cave was high up, and there was no light. They lit their claymores and let the blue glow lead t
heir way. As they progressed, their swords hummed indicating the danger was coming closer.

  Finally, they saw a light. They kept on toward it until they came to what seemed to be the end of the cave; it was a cliff overlooking a giant gorge below. Torches lit up the whole space and a small gathering of what appeared to be vampires in human form was taking place. They seemed to be praising their leader, a horrific fifteen-foot tall creature standing in the center. The creature had before him the sack with the dead body inside. Calista and Caprius bent down and peered over the cliff’s edge. The vampires gently took the body out of the sack and lay the body before the great creature like an offering. They spoke words of worship to the great Makoor, praising him. Then, the creature bent down and, as if it were a feather, lifted the body up, holding it out in front of him. The next moment he sank his teeth into the neck of the corpse and held there, his eyes rolling back in ecstasy, until the body was fully drained of its blood. The dead man, who seemed to only have perished just before this ritual, instantly shriveled and aged, leaving him only a saggy layer of flesh atop bones and skull. The creature finished his meal and dropped the wasted body on the ground.

  “Shall we make our presence known?” asked Calista.

  “Yes, let’s do that,” said Caprius. He noticed that to their right was a staircase carved into the stone. He motioned to her to look at it and grinned. She knew he wanted to make a dramatic entrance. Their swords in hand, they jumped and channeled their powers to pull a force from their claymores, which gently brought them to the ground. They landed in the center of the vampires.

  The creature backed up with his hands before his face. When he recovered, he said, “How nice of you to visit; I am Volsar Goncool, and you two knight masters are about to meet your doom.”

  “I remember you, Volsar,” said Calista. “But, it is you who is gravely mistaken. For, today is the last day of your conquest.”

  “My conquest is only beginning. It is a shame we did not exterminate you earlier before you became a knight master, Ca-lisss-ta. But, no matter. We will take care of you now. Kill these humans!” he yelled to his vampires. Without delay, the vampires transformed into horrific vampire creatures and leaped in to attack the knights. Calista and Caprius swung their swords in arcs before them and, one by one, drove their swords into the creatures’ chests. Once the creatures were speared, the knights channeled their powers to ignite the vampires, centering the fire at their black chests. The fire quickly spread to engulf the creatures. They screamed as they burned.