by D L Greeley
“Mai, is Shelly in any immediate danger?” I asked aloud.
“Not right now. The focal point of the spell is the mirror and it’s not doing anything. I think we may have interrupted Bastet just in time. We need to get Svetlana to safety. She’s confused and she’s very vulnerable right now.”
“And your point would be?”
“Alexander MacFade Yoshida, she was possessed! She’s helpless and terrified! You’re a better man than that! You are YAKUZA!”
Ugh! She was doing the using-my-whole-name thing. I’d never hear the end of it if I let one of these things kill a defenseless vampire. The fact the latter was a COMPLETE contradiction in terms, was apparently beside the point. “Alright, alright I’m doing it! This is a big bloody mistake…”
I leapt down to pull Svetlana out of the fray, fighting crazed vamps and thralls the whole way. I took out over a dozen of them before I got to her. Mai was correct. She was dazed and couldn’t protect herself. As much as it pained me to do it—I got her back behind a stack of crates, near the wall, just in time for Dominic to charge me from behind again. The sleazy little coward! Bracing myself and pointing my right gauntlet at him, I barked, “SEISHIN NO KAZE!” A torrent of hurricane force wind blasted from the palm of my hand and caught him in the chest, hurling him 200 feet straight back to impact with a support beam. Hopefully that would be all out of him tonight.
I put my shirt on Svetlana to cover her nakedness, as she lay on the concrete floor completely exposed and wild eyed. I was big and tall. She was short and petite. It was strange, how tiny and frail she seemed, now that Bastet was gone. I began wondering if I had ever really met the true Svetlana, at all. The black BDU shirt fit her like a full length bath robe. I shrugged, “close enough.” Turning to rejoin the battle, a hand clamped down on my ankle. The grip was like steel. “I don’t have time for this,” I muttered to myself. Balling up my fist for a quick blow to knock her unconscious, and turning my head to sight my target, I looked into a pair of desperate, pleading eyes.
“Please, Mr. Walker. Take your vengeance, if you must, I deserve it, but first save my boys. Save my husband. Please, Mack, I beg of you, have mercy on THEM.” I dropped my head to my chest. Shit! She wasn’t a heartless bitch after all. There went the better part of my edge. Having a big heart can be a huge ass inconvenience. I needed that anger. Looking back into those beautiful, crystal blue eyes, so filled with fear and shame…my heart went out to her. I really hate what a soft touch I am, with women. “I’ll do my best, Svetlana, but you have to stay out of this. Do you understand me?”
“Yes I do, thank you.”
“Don’t thank me yet. We are still in the thick of it.” Mai swelled with maternal pride.
“I’m proud of you, Alex.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah, save it for my memorial service.”
“MACFADE! FACE ME YOU COWARD!” Dominic’s voice screamed in rage. What did shit-for-brains want now? I ran out to the battlefield to find Dominic pointing a semi-automatic at Shelly. “You have interfered in my plans for the last time, freak.”
Freak? “I’m going to end you, Dominic!” I was just about to charge when Shelly leaped up and head-butted him in the crotch. Her feet and hands still tied, she fell over on one side but it had the desired effect. He stumbled backward bent over, but quickly recovered. “Just for that I’m going to cut your eyes out!” I Slipped across the room and exited of The Void, directly behind him. “Really? How are you going to do that without a head, asshole?” My Katana appeared in my right hand as he wheeled on me. Easily knocking his blade aside with mine, I decapitated him on the back stroke.
“MACK! WE COULD USE SOME HELP HERE!” Kolann was injured and there were two Guards down. Dent was double duty trying to protect himself and Kolann at the same time. Slipping into their midst, I grabbed the two injured by their weapons harnesses and Slipped back into The Void. I drug them to the spot where I left Svetlana and materialized a few feet in front of her, startling her, fearing I had changed my mind about killing her. Svetlana recovered as soon as she noticed the two injured, helping me pull them into the shelter of the crates.
“I don’t know much about vamp physiology but I’m assuming they’re still with us if they haven’t started to disintegrate.” She nodded as she looked them over. “Correct, Mr. Walker. They are badly injured but they still live. They need to feed if they are to recover. We all do.” She gestured indicating the three of them.
“I hate this part.”
“Preaching to the choir, sister.”
“What do you need, Svetlana?”
“Blood, the fresher the better.” Somehow I already knew that. “Lady, it looks like dinner is on me tonight. You might as well call me, Mack.”
I fought my way back out into the fray. Kolann and Dent were holding their own, now that they didn’t have to protect their wounded. There were a couple of mortally wounded thralls on the edge of the fight. I knocked each one unconscious. I may be providing Svetlana with prey but I’ll be damned if I’m going to make it fun for her. I dropped the two testaments to man’s inhumanity to man in front of her. “Bon appétit.”
“Thank you, Mr. Walker. This is enough to keep us from expiring. We’ll need at least three more to fully recover and rejoin the battle.”
“It’ll have to do,” I said coldly.
Running back into the battle again, I noticed two of the guards had gotten their AA-12s into firing position and were doing a lot of damage. The problem was, these thralls were like lemmings. With no concern for self-preservation, there were still bikers trying to get into the door and several were trying to get the large rolling door unlocked and up, giving me an idea. I dispatched several scum de la scum while I worked it out in my head and wolfed down an energy bar. The tank was starting to run dry.
A large portion of thralls and vamps seemed to be fighting whomever came at them now. “Of course! Why didn’t I think of that?” The enthrallment is broken, Alex!”
Bastet had been cast out and Dominic disintegrated at my feet. Well, most of him was at my feet. I lost track of his head. All of these guys were operating solely on the last set of instructions received… Kill!
“Kolann, pass the word. When I give the signal,” I beheaded two more feral vamps. “Get everyone into the air. Don’t land on anything. Just get airborne! Archie?”
“Got it!” He called as he went loping by. He was slowing down. We all were. Every member of our group was riddled with various lacerations and loosing blood. I had to act fast. Getting down on the floor, I extended my Senses, Focusing on a point right in front of the side door, the bikers were crowding into. The flow was smaller now but it was still constant. We were in serious danger of being overrun. As I concentrated, the Katana morphed into the flat headed Viking War Hammer. I Felt my way through the breast plate until I came to the storage amulets, singling out the kinetic energy.
“Alex, this has to be done just right or you’ll bring the whole building down on top of everyone.”
“I got this, Mai. Keep an eye on Shelly and watch my back.”
Reaching up, I held the hammer aloft in one hand. Kolann saw it. “NOW!” He cried. All of them shot straight up in the air. Archie made a running leap for his father’s hand catching it just in time. I activated the Kinetic amulet and as the energy coursed through my body like an agonizing shower of pins and needles, I shouted, “SEISHIN CHIKYŪ!” at the top of my lungs bringing the hammer down on the cement floor with both hands.
The shockwave moved through the floor in a tidal wave of broken concrete, knocking everything on two legs off their feet. The wave came to rest up against the front wall and doors of the warehouse. No one was coming in that way, anytime soon. I whistled to Kolann and his crew and pointed to our hiding place behind the crates. They swooped down and hit the floor running. I checked the circle for Shelly. “Shelly! You OK?” She shrugged. “I’m fine, Mack. I never even felt the impact.” That was curious, the circle was maintaining its own reality. Th
e shockwave should have shattered the mirror. This was some really powerful magic and a bad sign. I raised a large Shroud wall in front of us. To outside observers, it would appear that the circle was empty and nobody was on this side of the room.
Kolann landed next to me eyeing the Shroud. “Mack? What are you up to?” He noticed Svetlana and the other two guards walk cautiously out of their hiding place. “Those two are looking surprisingly well.”
“Walker Express, it’s warm and alive in thirty minutes or it’s free,” I said darkly. “Are we all present and accounted for?” Kolann surveyed the group. “It appears so. What’s the plan here? Why are we hiding?”
“We were being overrun by the thralls, Kolann, if you hadn’t noticed.”
“I did.”
“Well we could have fought them all night and still been here at sunrise. That thing back there is close to fully powered up and we need to deal with it soon. I noticed after Svetlana’s exorcism and Dominic’s demise, the thralls seemed to lack any direction. Knocking them off their feet served two purposes. One, it blocked the door and two it stunned everyone. Let’s see what happens now that the reset switch has been pushed.” Kolann considered my words. “What’s your thinking here?” I turned to answer him and started a bit. Kolann arched an eye brow at me. He was all milk white skin and blue veins again. His empty white/silver eyes bored into mine. I turned my head to break the gaze. “Sorry K, not used to seeing you like this. Reckon I should have expected it.”
“You’re thinking?” he asked again, gesturing to the group that was just now starting to pull themselves to their feet. I was still working out the details. “How in control of your blood lust, are you guys?”
“Expert control, every one of us. Why?”
“I’m thinking we have two groups out there, feral vampires and human thralls…all of them left to their own devices now.”
“I don’t think I like where this is going, Mack.”
“Stay with me, Kol. We weren’t getting very far in the fight and we are running out of time because this thing behind us is going to pop any minute. We still don’t even know what it does and sure as Hell can’t examine it sufficiently in the midst of a fight.”
“Agreed,” Kolann said with an air of caution.
“I was always taught to fight smarter not harder.” Kolann nodded, “I’m with you so far.” He sounded like he was waiting for the other shoe to drop. It was, but I was holding a steel toed boot. “I say, let’s goose up the feral’s bloodlust and let them kill each other. We can deal with the few that are left, afterward.” Kolann brow furrowed. “You do realize that this will leave only the strongest, fastest and most vicious ones among them.”
“Darwin’s law of vampires?”
“Of course, I’m living proof. Do you think it’ll work? They look pretty disoriented.” I studied the milling group. “They won’t be for long. Hunger being the basest of instincts.”
Archie walked up to us after checking on Shelly. I still didn’t like the idea of those two fraternizing but it didn’t seem appropriate to bring it up now. “Won’t they smell us?” I turned and gave him a look of affront. “No, not through one of MY Shrouds, we can deal with them individually if they wander near. Now here’s where the really dangerous part comes in.”
Dent groused, looking worried, injured and bleeding from several places. “Oh, there’s a REALLY dangerous part? You mean, aside from fighting the titans in that group? I can’t wait to hear this,” His injuries were closing up but he was tired and hungry so it was going slowly. Dent looked at me meaningfully. “I’m not sure we’re up to it.” Archie surveyed the pitiful looking group. “Mack, if we are to survive this, I think you’re going to have to set a few more of your principles aside.” I held up a finger. “Hold on.” I walked over to Shelly on the edge of the circle careful not to step into it. She was still on her side. “Hold still.”
“Why, what are you going to do?”
“I’m going to cut you loose.”
“Mack, wait—” A thin wire slipped out of the right gauntlet and slid between Shelly’s feet and wrists, looping back to me, I gave it a sharp tug. The wire sliced through the ropes like they were made of cotton candy. “…it’s a trap.” Shelly finished looking at her newly freed hands and feet. I squatted to be eye to eye with her. “I know it’s a trap, Shelly, but you seem to be safest in there, for the moment. I need some time to figure this out. We are going to let these guys do what comes naturally and then we’ll sweep up the crumbs. I want you to get as far back in the circle as you can. Behind the mirror would be best. I think I can see enough space. DO NOT, under any circumstances, watch what is about to happen. Understand me?”
“Yes.”
“You’ll PROMISE me.”
“Oh, now you’re just being a bully.” Shelly’s feathers ruffled a bit. I let my eyes flash, fixed her with my sternest parental stare and held it. I have seen Cathy do this several times but never tried it myself. Shelly lifted her chin defiantly. “SHELLY, I haven’t got time for this. I need this from you. I can’t safely fight these guys without this peace of mind.” Nothing like a little guilt to grease the wheels.
“OK, OK, bossy much?” I lifted an eyebrow at her. “I PROMISE I WON’T PEEK. Happy now? Jeez you’re are acting like you’re all going to get naked or something.” That’s my Shelly coping with fear through sarcasm and wisecracks. “I’ve rubbed off on her way too much.”
“Oh, you’re just NOW noticing that,” Mai quipped. I promptly ignored her.
“Thank you.” I said, relieved. “Now behind the mirror, things are about to get ugly.”
“Oh, so you are going to get naked.”
“Eh heh heh,” I laughed nasally in exaggerated satire. “Shelly made a funny. You should be so lucky as to see ALL THIS naked, sweetheart.”
I returned to Kolann and the rest of the group, which now included Svetlana. “OK, if you need a snack, now’s the time. There are several over by the circle that are still alive. Just try not to be too loud. This is hard enough on me and Shelly as it is. What I was saying before is that I am going to telepathically ramp up their hunger. There’s always a possibility I’ll have to drop the Shroud. It’s pretty draining and I don’t have much left. We are going to be exposed so it makes sense for you all to be well fed when it happens.”
The group looked at Kolann and he nodded. They couldn’t argue my logic and quickly made their way to the casualty pile. Kolann stayed put, I noticed this when I turned my back to the feeding frenzy. “You too, old timer.” I jerked my thumb over my shoulder. “I’m fine. I’ll stay here,” Kolann said looking resolute. I shook my head and grasped one of his shoulders. “Kolann, you’re turning out to be a good friend and a fine gentleman but you’re also a lousy liar and completely full of shit. It’s OK, my friend, you won’t offend me. They’re dying anyway and not a one of them is worth saving. Wasted lives should be made to count for something. Now go! Or I’ll throw you over there, you’re putting us behind schedule.” He stood a little straighter and fixed me with a challenging stare.
“I don’t have time for this kind of useless crap.”
I looked to Archie and he stepped between us. “Father please, he’s making sense and we are running out of time. Don’t make this any harder for him than it already is. He knows you have committed to a life of not killing but this is a righteous exception. Don’t be stubborn. Go.”
Outmaneuvered, Kolann puffed out his cheeks clapped both of us on the shoulder and muttered, “You two are a dangerous partnership,” with a smile on his lips. I shook my head. “Man I hate asking him to do this.” Archie lightly punched my shoulder. “He knows, Mack. Found these on the floor, slipped on them actually, thought they might come in handy.” He slapped my tube of Glucose tablets against my chest. “Blimey! Good on ya, Archie.” I up ended the tube and chewed noisily. Pure bliss! I was getting the sugar I needed and the crunching was loud enough to drown out what was going on behind me…mostly.
�
��Are you sure this is going to work?”
“Nope.”
“We are winging it again, aren’t we?” Mai asked with a tinge of annoyance in her voice.
“More like a wing and a prayer. Hope you know somebody up there. Now’s the time to call in whatever favors you have.”
“Very funny. You realize you’re going to have to reinforce that Shroud.”
“How so?”
“You’re going to have to make it a Repulsor field. There is going to be massive amounts of arterial spray, if the blood comes this way and simply disappears someone is bound to notice.”
“I hadn’t thought of that.”
“Imagine that,” Mai said dryly. I thought for a moment. “Got it covered, we’ve still got some of the Kinetic charge left.”
Kolann spoke quietly from behind me. “Alright, you can turn around now.” I turned around and all eight of them were standing in a group. Dent still had some dinner on his chin. I gave him a distasteful look and tapped my chin. Looking embarrassed, he quickly wiped his face on his sleeve.
Svetlana, frowned in disapproval, “It’s just blood, Mr. Walker. I’m sure you have seen a lot of it in your occupation.” I eyed her from the corner of my vision. “It’s one thing when it’s shed in the COURSE of a fight. When it’s the MAIN COURSE is when it’s a problem for me.”
Shelly called out from behind the mirror. “Can I come out now?”
“No!” Archie and I said in unison. “That was just the warm up act, Shelly. The main event is about to start, keep your head down.” She was scared, but putting up a brave front. I owed her big time, when we got out of this. “Seems to me, it’s pure semantics,” Svetlana muttered. I blew out a forceful breath, everybody tensed. Svetlana stared at my clenched fists, wondering if she was pushing her luck. “Seriously Svetlana? You want to get into this now?” It was like she was hard wired to annoy me.