Quantum Heights: Book one of the Dead Path Chronicles

by Richard A. Valicek

  “When we were in the cave of the cult, I noticed piles of dirt and a number of wooden caskets. That was from where they delivered those bodies. The deliveries were obviously meant to be a warning to us that we needed to stop sending agents, or those we did send would be returned dead,” mused Calista.

  Tilly’s back seemed to be going up. “Calista, we know that already. I’m the one who was following their orders and helped send those bodies, remember? And, I was the one who sent you that pocket watch? If it hadn’t been for my thinking, you never would have discovered that vampire cult,” said Tilly.

  “Alright, and if it hadn’t been for us, you would be dead or undead,” said Calista, frowning.

  “We all certainly played a part,” said Caprius smiling at the two women. “I just wish we had destroyed Volsar and Cambrozes.”

  “Yes,” said Calista. She looked down at her hands.

  “You don’t still have warm feelings for your father, do you?” asked Caprius.

  “No, I do not.” She stiffened and sat up tall. “I am now a knight master of Petoshine. My allegiance is to the vim and the great Grongone. There is no conflict within me. If it must be that I will kill my father, then that is what I will do. I know now he is an evil man.”

  “Evil, yes. But, he is no man, and whatever humanity he might have ever had is gone now. Now, he is a creature of great power. Only together can we destroy him,” said Caprius.

  “Then, that is what we shall do. Destroy him together when the time comes,” said Calista.

  “Wait a minute, Cambrozes Genesis is your father? And, you’re a knight master of Petoshine?” asked Tilly dumbfounded. “I was wondering how you were able to do those things with your sword, like throwing flames of fire.”

  “You know, I could use a fine glass of grog. I need something to warm me up,” said Calista, rubbing her arms. She turned around to look for a waiter.

  “Wait a minute. Don’t go off the subject. You have some explaining to do. I just heard Caprius say that Cambrozes Genesis is your father,” said Tilly.

  Caprius sighed. “I said all of that in full confidence. Tilly, now that you know the truth, this conversation doesn’t leave this table. No one needs to know of Calista’s past,” said Caprius.

  Tilly was aghast. “Caprius, this isn’t right,” she said.

  “Tilly, please,” said Calista.

  “She’s had a hard life. And, that notwithstanding, Calista has earned her status of knight master. She saved my life,” said Caprius.

  “Yes, twice,” Calista held up two fingers.

  “So, please, let’s just keep this between ourselves,” said Caprius.

  Tilly shook her head and glanced meanly at Calista. “Fine, but I don’t understand this at all,” she said. “That someone with her history could suddenly be a knight master possessing the vim of Petoshine. It’s ridiculous.”

  “It’s a very long story,” said Caprius. “So, for now, let’s just enjoy the fact that we’re in comfortable seats, with drinks soon to be in front of us, and we can rejoice in our health.”

  A waiter stopped by the table. “Your timing is excellent, my good man. A round of grog for us, please?” said Caprius.

  Tilly was glowering. “So, tell me, Calista, how in the world did you become a knight master?”

  A man approached their table. At first they didn’t look up, thinking it was the waiter again, but once he began to speak, their hearts froze. “Yes, Calista, how in the world did the daughter of Cambrozes Genesis betray her father and follow the vim of Petoshine?” Without another word, the man turned to Tilly and fired three shots from his pistol into her chest, killing her. Tilly slumped over on the table. “Lavender Frikiseed,” said Calista. She leaped up, and her and Caprius’ hands instantly went to their claymores.

  “Tut tut,” he clucked with a fiendish smile on his face. “Hands off your claymores, or you’ll both be dead like your friend here,” said Lavender.

  Calista checked Tilly’s pulse. “She is dead,” she said. “You didn’t have to kill her.”

  “Oh, but I did. I wanted to show you both that a bullet is quicker than a blade,” said Lavender. “So, if the two of you want to stay alive, you’ll do exactly what I say.”

  “What do you want, Frikiseed?” asked Caprius.

  “What do I want? What do you think I want, moron?” Lavender pointed the gun at Calista. “Take it out, Caprius, real slow. And, put it on the table. Or your lady friend here dies.” Caprius slowly took out his claymore of power from his sheath and placed it on the table. “Now, turn the sword’s handle toward me.” Caprius did as he said. “Push it here.” Lavender picked up the claymore. “Now, you, up!” he said to Calista. Just then, the waiter approached with drinks. When he saw what was happening, he jerked backward, spilling the glasses on his tray.

  Lavender pointed the gun at the waiter and shot him. The waiter dropped to the floor. “The drinks are on you,” he chuckled, then pointed the gun again at Calista. “All right, Calista, my sweet; you’re coming with me. This way.” Calista glanced quickly at Caprius before walking down the aisle in front of Frikiseed. “And, you, don’t get any ideas, or you’ll have her blood on your hands.”

  Calista walked toward the front of the car with Lavender’s gun at her back. They went through the doors into the next car, then through that car and into another. At the table, Caprius sat quietly, trying to devise a plan for getting her back. After enough moments had passed, he jumped up and followed them.

  When Lavender and Calista arrived at the front of the train, only the engine remained. They went into the engine car. “OK, stop here,” he said. “Now, unhook the train from the engine,” said Lavender nudging Calista with his gun. Calista unhooked the first car, and they separated. She watched regretfully as the train separated from the engine where she stood alone with Lavender and the conductor, who she was sure would soon be dead, too.

  As Caprius walked through the aisles, he noticed the train was slowing down. He knew instantly that Lavender had unhooked the cars and made his getaway on the engine. He thought a moment, then as the train lost its momentum and stopped, he bolted toward the back. He passed through each car on his way to the last, people turning in confusion, not only at the stopped train, but also at the knight with no sword sprinting through.

  When he came to the first freight car, he opened the door and saw the horses. The conductor turned around to see Lavender pointing his gun at Calista. “What the hell is going on?” he asked.

  “Just shut up and keep going,” said Lavender.

  “Is that one of those new guns?” asked the conductor nervously.

  “No talking from you,” said Lavender. The conductor turned around and, with shaking hands, kept the train moving on course.

  The train continued to travel up into the mountains. Calista stood by the wall never removing her eyes from Lavender. “Since you’re undoubtedly going to kill us both,” said Calista, “you could at least reveal the hiding place of the vampire nest. It wasn’t in Jethro; the cult there was too small. It has to be somewhere we’d least expect it,” said Calista.

  Lavender laughed. “Calista, you are right. There will be no hero rescues here. You’re on your own. So, of course, I can let you in on my little secret.” He leaned in and whispered. “We’re going to the nest right now.” He cackled.

  “What do you mean; we’re headed for… oh, no. You’re planning on striking Quantum Heights?” asked Calista, astonished.

  “Wouldn’t you know that we’ve been nesting in the hotel basement all along! Slowly multiplying. In…” he checked his pocket watch, “exactly twenty minutes, if not sooner, all the civilians vacationing there will be undead. We can’t be stopped!” grinned Lavender. Then, his face darkened. “By the time we arrive, it will all be over.”

  Caprius had gotten into the freight car, where he saw horses.

  Calista was dumbfounded. She became angry. “All those innocent people,” she whispered. Her hand instinctively
crept down to her claymore of power. Lavender nudged her arm away with his gun. “Ah, ah, keep your hands off your claymore. And, you, driver, look at me!” The conductor who was trying to see what was happening behind him spun back around to the front. “Wait, come back,” said Lavender. “I want you to take the lady’s sword. Do it!” Lavender yelled. The man leaned over and took Calista’s sword. “Now, open your window and throw it out.” He did as was told. All three watched the claymore bounce off the rails and sink into a snow bank before they sped out of sight. “Now, then, my good fella, you have overstayed your welcome. I have no more use for you.” Lavender fired at the conductor and killed him. He crumpled onto the floor.

  “How many people have you killed?” asked Calista.

  “Do I hear judgment in your voice, Calista? How many of my kind have you killed? No matter, though. I’m about to kill you, and we can stop the cycle right here.”

  As Lavender raised his gun, Caprius was racing on horseback, trying to catch up to the train’s engine. He galloped as fast as his horse would go over the snow-covered ground. As he rode, sweat and tears clouding his vision, he saw Grongone’s face in the clouds above. Grongone used the vim of Petoshine, and threw it down to Calista’s claymore of power nestled in the snow. The tip glowed blue. Caprius looked into Grongone’s eyes before the blue light caught his attention. Caprius slowed his horse to retrieve the sword. He held out his hand and channeled his inner power. The sword began to vibrate and shake, its blue glow strengthening. Caprius sped up, leaned over, and forced the sword into his hand. Grongone’s face disappeared from the clouds. Caprius picked up speed and soon saw the engine on the tracks.

  Calista saw over Lavender’s shoulder a small figure. As it approached, she could see it was Caprius on horseback. She began to inch back toward the controls.

  She purposefully made a frightened face and looked out the side window. Lavender followed her, and in that instant, she lunged at the controls and pulled down the emergency brake. The engine screeched to a stop. Both Calista and Lavender fell over from the abrupt motion; startled, Lavender fired as he went down. Calista jumped on top of Lavender, and they struggled for the gun. When the train stopped, Lavender cracked Calista hard across the face and pushed her off of him. He took his gun and pointed it at her.

  “Poor pathetic, Calista,” said Lavender aiming at her heart. Just as Lavender was just about to squeeze the trigger, a claymore of power burst through Lavender’s back and out through his stomach. A red glow appeared from the sword, which ignited a flame. The fire spread throughout Lavender’s midsection. He looked down at his body, in shock and perplexed. “But, how…” he began before Caprius, who had boarded the engine car, yanked the sword out of Lavender’s body. Calista accepted her claymore of power Caprius held out to her, channeled her powers, and blew a force of energy at Lavender, sending him as a blazing torch flying out of the engine car and onto the snow.

  They sheathed their swords and smiled. “It’s over,” said Caprius. “We did it.”

  Calista returned to the controls. “Not yet, I’m afraid. Lavender said that the vampire’s nest is in the basement of Quantum Heights. We have about ten minutes before the entire hotel is infested with vampires.”

  Caprius swallowed. “My God. Under our noses all this time.” Caprius ran his hand through his hair. “We have to get to the hotel. When we get there, we will have to burn it down.”

  Calista chuckled ruefully. “Mr. Willy B. Pinkles is not going to like that.”

  “He’ll like that more than becoming a vampire, I assure you,” Caprius said. Caprius joined Calista at the controls. He put his hand gently atop hers, and together, they pulled the lever up slowly until the engine began to pick up speed. Soon, the engine was moving at a good clip over the tracks.

  ***

  The Goncool who Cynthia was chasing had arrived at the Quantum Heights hotel. Cynthia was approaching the grand hotel. The Goncool opened the doors and headed for the basement. Cynthia entered the hotel doors. As she looked to the distance, she saw him enter a room. He went down the stairs to the basement. Cynthia walked in and heard the thumping of footsteps going down the stairs. The Goncool arrived in a large basement hall. There, he saw other Goncools, vampires, and Droges. Cynthia came down the stairs, slowly opened the door, and glanced in. She hid, spying on them. She saw the creatures of the underworld. The Goncool was talking. Cynthia knew she was outnumbered by many. She knew that approaching them was suicide. She squinted her eyes and drew her hand across her hair. “Shit. I’m too late,” she said.

  ***

  The train picked up speed until it was storming at full capacity across the tracks. They drove across a long bridge that stood one hundred and fifty feet over the sea. Ahead were the mountains of Morbid, smaller mountains near the Moldavian Sea. The sky above was thick with storm clouds, but the moon shown through, creating an eerie white glow over the snowy mountains. The engine traveled over the bridge and was soon again on land. “Calista, get down. We’re going to make a dramatic entrance!” said Caprius. They threw themselves onto the floor. The engine went right through the train station, careened off the tracks and slammed into the Hotel Quantum Heights. The impact caused the engine to flip over onto its side, but Caprius and Calista hung on. The engine slid on its side through the hotel lobby, throwing sofas and tables into the air, people screaming and running, expensive vases shattering, water and flowers flying every which way. Paintings hanging on the walls came crashing down. The engine kept on through the marble room, crushing the concierge desk and a ghoulish vampire who had come up from the nest. Its skull was bashed in, and blood splattered everywhere. Finally, the engine came to a stop. Cynthia heard the crash. She knew her mission to destroy the serum was foiled. But, she managed to destroy Cyril Colburn. For that, she was satisfied. She went back up the stairs. She arrived at the hotel lobby to find a train had crashed through. She observed the fire. Calista was lying on top of Caprius, their bodies pressed against each other. She could feel his heart beating inside her own body. Though she wanted nothing more than to stay with her body on his, Calista turned away from Caprius at the smell of hot wires. In an instant, a fire sparked in the engine, and the engine burst into flames. The concierge desk close by caught fire, and the fire caught on all the splintered wood spread throughout the lobby. Calista crawled out of the engine and Caprius followed. They stood on top of the engine by the doors, the engine on its side. They noticed that a number of vampires, in anticipation of their big event, had come up and were shaken by the blast. “We have to get off the engine! It’s going to blow!” Calista yelled. They jumped down and unsheathed their swords in preparation for combat, then ran into the adjoining hall, blowing out flames with their claymores as they went. Spotting a spiral staircase, they noticed Cynthia watching.

  “Nice to see the two of you,” said Cynthia.

  “Did you stop Colburn?” asked Calista.

  “Colburn is dead. I burned down the warehouse. But, a Goncool escaped with the serum. I chased him to Quantum Heights. They’re down stairs. They’re plotting they’re next move,” said Cynthia.

  “Cynthia, Calista and I have to go downstairs. We have to destroy them.”

  “There’s something big transpiring down there. There’s a large coffin, vampires, and Droges. It’s too much for me to handle,” said Cynthia.

  “It’s far too dangerous for you. This calls for the powers of Petoshine,” said Caprius. “You get out of here, Cynthia. Your job is done. Let’s go, Calista.” Caprius and Calista ran down the stairs to the basement. Cynthia looked around to see fire everywhere. The entrance to the hotel was blocked and in flames. She began to walk quickly up the stairs.

  Caprius and Calista entered the basement hall. They slowly approached the vampires and the Goncool. “Well, well, well, if it isn’t the knight master Caprius and the infamous Calista. So nice of you to join us. And, you have the claymores of power. I have been expecting you.”

  “It ends here, Goncoo
l,” said Caprius. Caprius and Calista noticed a coffin in the center. Beside the coffin was Lydia the vampire sorceress.

  “Get them!” The Goncool yelled. Suddenly, the Droges ran with swift speed. These were super Droges. The vampires readied themselves. Caprius and Calista swung their swords. They were slaughtering the Droges. A quick swing of the sword, and Calista gutted a Droge. Another swing and Caprius severed a Droge’s head. The fighting went on. Calista was knocked with great force, sending her flying into the vampires. The vampires grabbed hold of her. One of them grabbed her claymore of power from her. “Stop!” the Goncool yelled. Caprius saw that Calista was at the mercy of vampires. Caprius backed off. “Now that I have your attention, Caprius, walk toward me.” Caprius slowly walked toward them holding his claymore of power. A Droge who was near Caprius growled and snarled. The Droge walked with him. “All I need is one claymore of power. I have one. Calista, my dear, in case you get any ideas…” he paused. “Take off her arrow pack and throw it over there. And, get rid of the bow.” They threw the arrow sack and bow across, landing by the door.

  Meanwhile, Cynthia was walking the stairs. She stopped and thought about her friends. “No, I can’t leave them. I have to go back,” she said. She ran down the stairs. In the basement, the coffin was opened to find the corpse of Titanis Clore. Lydia stood by the coffin holding the sword of Petoshine.

  “Once this ritual is complete, and my powers bring Titanis Clore back from the dead, he will embrace the powers of Petoshine. Give him the ultimate power and strength. Then, not even Grongone’s power can destroy him.” Lydia began her ritual. “You, Caprius Seaton, will not interfere. Or, we will rip off Calista’s arms,” said Lydia.

  Caprius smirked. He recalled the words of Grongone. “All right, Lydia, you win. I won’t interfere. Go ahead with your ritual.”

  ***

  Melina Hampshire stood by the night table holding the empty alcoholic drink. She saw the images of Caprius in her mind but could not put the pieces of the puzzle together. It had been clearly stated to her who Caprius was to her, but she could not see it. “Why can’t I get the entire picture of who Caprius Seaton is?”