Black Fall (The Black Year Series Book 1)

by D. J. Bodden

  What are you going to do? Madoc said.

  Make some new friends.

  ♚

  Within the hour, Jonas was feeling pretty good about his plan. He’d broken into his high school – well, technically, it wasn’t a break-in, Jonas thought. The janitor had let him in, after he’d felt a sudden, unexplainable urge to unlock the front doors and step out for a breath of fresh air. Then, scratching his head, he’d gone back inside and locked the doors behind him, but not before Jonas had slipped in, creeping silently through the empty halls until he’d reached Mr. Edwards’ office. It was locked.

  Any idea how to pick a lock? Jonas asked.

  How about a credit card? Madoc sounded amused.

  “Hmm,” Jonas reached back to grab his wallet.

  I was joking, Jonas. That only works on doors without dead-bolts. You’re a vampire, force it open.

  Won’t that make a lot of noise? Jonas asked, scowling.

  The door’s wired with a silent alarm. But you were expecting that, weren’t you? I’m several hundred years old, you know. I was in special operations, overseeing missions far more complex and bloody than whatever it is you have in mind. I don’t have to put up with some snot-nosed, smart-ass kid’s cryptic comments.

  Jonas grinned, but didn’t answer the question. When he’d found Madoc, the specter had been broken and afraid. Annoying him seemed to be the only way to draw him out, and for Jonas’ plan to work, he needed Madoc to be the big bad specter everyone thought he was.

  He planted his foot to the left of the door, grabbed the handle, and pulled. The door was solid, but the doorframe less so. It splintered, and Jonas stumbled back as the door swung open. He stepped into the room, turned on the normal lights — not the UV bulbs — and sat down behind the desk. He checked the drawers, but all they contained was regular teacher’s stuff. Disappointed, he pulled out a quarter and started rolling it back and forth across his knuckles, wishing he’d brought his MP3 player. He hadn’t listened to music in days.

  After about three minutes of waiting, Madoc said, Two armed men have entered the building and are headed your way. This is part of the plan, right?

  Yes, Jonas replied.

  A few moments later, two large men, body armor under their trench coats, walked into the room with submachine guns pointed at Jonas. They had that funny-looking, half-crouched walk, Jonas had seen on TV, which kept them perfectly level as they moved. They split up once inside the doorway, one to each corner, keeping their aim on Jonas.

  “What are you doin’ here, kid?” the one on the left said, in a light southern accent.

  “He ripped the lock open, Billy. Looks like a vamp to me… fry him.”

  Billy narrowed his eyes, then shrugged. There was an attachment under the barrel of his gun, with a big red button. He pushed it with his thumb, and it flashed like a camera.

  Jonas wrinkled his nose and blinked. His skin tingled. More UV weapons. “I came here in full daylight, you know.”

  “Serum,” the serious one said. “Hit him again.” He threw the special switch on the wall, and Billy flashed the UV weapon again. It wasn’t pleasant, but Jonas kept his mind on the quarter that was still rolling back and forth across his knuckles.

  “What’s going on here?” Edwards said, stepping into the room. He was wearing a coat and a beige knit cap. His face was red, and he was breathing hard. “Jonas?”

  “Hi, Mr. Edwards. I need your help.”

  “He’s a vampire, Dave.”

  “I’m aware of that, Frank. This is Alice Black’s kid,” Edwards said.

  Jonas put the quarter on the table and flicked it, making it spin.

  “And you,” Edwards said to Jonas, “get out of my office.”

  “Or what? Billy and Frank here will shoot me?” Jonas slapped his hand down on the spinning coin. Billy and Frank pulled the magazines out of their weapons, racked their bolts, and a bullet from each fell to the floor. They stood, staring forward, hands at their sides. Jonas tried not to show how much effort he was putting into it.

  “Cute, kid,” Edwards said, pulling a pistol from inside his coat. Jonas tried to push into his mind, but it was like there was a steel wall between them.

  “I really need your help,” Jonas said. He was trying to look relaxed, but he knew he couldn’t keep Frank and Billy docile for long. Frank — Jonas had thought of him as the calmer one at first — was mentally thrashing like a madman. His body stood perfectly still, but his face kept twitching, and his eyes were bloodshot.

  “Talk to the Agency about that,” Edwards said.

  “There are over two hundred vampires, werewolves, and other creatures, hidden under the Agency. They belong to the Order of Shadows—”

  Edwards started laughing. He tucked his pistol into a holster under his left arm, and said, “Okay, kid. You got me. Very funny. Now let my men go and get out of my chair. Oh, and you’re paying for the door.”

  “I’m not joking,” Jonas said, standing and releasing the two men. They looked at Edwards, questioningly, but the teacher shook his head and they hid their weapons under their coats.

  “Wait outside,” he told them. Once they’d gone, he took his coat off, sat down behind the desk, and waved Jonas into one of the extra chairs. “Kid, there is no Order of Shadows. It’s just a scary story, made up and used by your people to keep the cattle in line, and by my people to keep humans vigilant. The Agency’s just a lobby group with sharper teeth than most - it’s all about détente these days, or I’d actually be hunting instead of keeping an eye on you.”

  His information is incorrect, Madoc said. The Order of Shadows was eradicated in 1834, but it was very real. They were the first to come up with the idea for a serum that allows vampires to tolerate sunlight.

  “Madoc says you’re wrong.”

  “Who’s Madoc?” Edwards asked, gripping the arms of his chair a little tighter.

  “A specter.”

  Edwards rolled his eyes and relaxed his grip. “And what else did ‘Madoc’ tell you about the Order?”

  “That they were eradicated in 1834.”

  Edwards nodded, steepling his fingers, his eyes looking up and to the right. “That’s a nice touch. End of the Spanish Inquisition, slavery abolished in the British Empire. Right around the time the Macready clan immigrated to Massachusetts, too. Now get out of my office!”

  “I can prove it! Just take the cap off.”

  “Right, and I’m supposed to trust you… why?”

  “Because I could have had Billy and Frank shoot you instead of unloading their guns. Besides, you don’t have anything to worry about. I don’t think I could control three people at once, even if I wanted to. I’m a kid, remember?”

  Edwards frowned, then pulled the cap off. It crinkled; the inside was silver.

  Jonas snorted. “Is that tinfoil?”

  “Laugh if you want, it works. You have exactly thirty seconds to prove yourself before my men throw you out, and I send the Agency a bill for the door.”

  “Now,” Jonas said, looking at the air above him. He could have sent the command to Madoc silently, but he thought his reputation would benefit from the theatrics.

  Edwards’ eyes widened as both he and Jonas were tapped into the hyper-awareness that the specter was broadcasting. They could see Billy and Frank standing outside the office. Billy had his ear pressed against the door.

  Hello, Dave, Madoc said.

  CHAPTER 19

  Edwards snatched his cap off the desk and put it on, severing the connection.

  “Billy! Take a walk! Frank, get in here!”

  There was muttering outside the door, and Frank walked in. Edwards waved him into the second chair in front of his desk, then he leaned back and rubbed his forehead with both hands, like he was developing a headache, and said, “You have a specter working for you.”

  With you, Madoc said to Jonas, annoyed.

  “Yes,” Jonas said.

  Frank raised an eyebrow and started to rise, but Ed
wards raised an index finger. The hunter relaxed back in his chair.

  “And there are two hundred—”

  “Two hundred and fourteen,” Jonas interrupted.

  “There are two hundred and fourteen freaks under the Agency… doing what?”

  “They’re supernaturals,” Jonas corrected. Then he shrugged. “I don’t know, what does the Order of Shadows do?”

  Edwards’ jaw bulged as he clenched his teeth. “They want to end the tyranny of the sun, run naked in the moonlight, and enslave humanity… that about sums it up. Do they have weapons? Explosives?”

  “They have access to everything the Agency has, including the serum for the vampires.”

  “And the Agency is going to roll over and let these fanatics use their gear because—”

  “Because the Director thought he could control a demon and it didn’t work out like he planned,” Jonas said, finishing the sentence.

  Frank sat quietly, his face impassive. Edwards looked at him and said, “Frank? Options?”

  Frank shrugged. “Can’t collapse the building. Government would have to respond, even if we explained. Plus, the British embassy’s a couple floors up. We’d be hiding in caves for the rest of our lives after a stunt like that. Elevator’s the only access point. They’d pick us off five at a time until we were all dead. Sewers aren’t an option; lost a team that way two years ago.”

  “There’s another entrance at ground level,” Jonas said.

  “Where?” Frank asked, sharply.

  “I don’t know.”

  Frank smirked.

  “Can’t your pet specter find it?” Edwards said.

  I am not your pet! Madoc shouted. A sheet of paper on Edwards’ desk fluttered to the floor.

  “No, he can’t. There’s a ward in place. It’s blocking his sight.”

  “What about your mother?”

  “They took her prisoner. Maybe my dad, too.”

  Edward’s eyes widened, then he shook his head. “Then you’re screwed, kid. We’re all screwed. No one’s going to believe this, not in time to do something about it.”

  I told you, Madoc said, sounding morose again.

  Edwards turned to Frank. “Start looking at contingencies. Get in touch with the cells in Philly and Baltimore, and tell them to be ready to—”

  “I have something they want,” Jonas interrupted. “A journal. The demon wants it badly enough to break into my apartment, twice, and risk getting the police involved.”

  Edwards looked at Frank.

  “Heard about it.” Frank said, nodding. “Eugene reported he got a call on a B&E, swore the kid who answered the door was messing with his head. Upper Eastside.”

  “That’s where I live,” Jonas said.

  “We know,” Edwards replied, rubbing his temples. “Just what is it you think we can do for you?”

  “I can get you in, and Madoc can give you the advantage if we destroy the ward. What I need is at least forty-three people, preferably carrying guns that have those little flash-toys you keep pointing at me, attached.”

  “How much time?” Frank asked.

  Jonas frowned. “Not long. The demon will probably have full control of the Director’s body by the middle of next week.”

  “Can’t do it, kid. New York’s freak city. It’s not as bad as Portland, but hunters aren’t welcome. I’ve only got ten, maybe fifteen trained men who can show up in that timeframe.” He looked at Edwards. “It will take us years to recover from this, if they die.”

  “Does that number include you?” Jonas asked.

  Frank’s upper lip twitched. “No. Not me, not Billy, not the boss, here.”

  “Then you can get eighteen.”

  Frank looked at Edwards, who nodded.

  “Fine, eighteen,” Frank said, wiping his face with his hand. “Kid, how many of my friends are you planning to get killed?”

  Madoc?

  Eighty percent casualties, ninety-three percent chance of mission failure with your current numbers, Madoc said.

  “Just get them here. I won’t ask your people to join in if there isn’t a good chance of success.”

  “That’s not what I—”

  “We don’t have a choice, Frank. It’s a demon,” Edwards said. “You remember Charles Manson?”

  “I’m not that old, boss. But yeah, I know about Manson.”

  “Manson was an illiterate hippie,” Edwards said, looking at Jonas. “Imagine that with an Agency Director’s resources.”

  Frank sighed and looked at the ceiling. “Guess we’re gonna need a priest, too.”

  “If you can find one,” Edwards said. “But we move by Wednesday or we split town. A bullet will exorcise the demon as easily as a priest, maybe even easier.”

  “And if that doesn’t work?” Frank asked.

  “We’ll either be in a different zip code by then, or the last man standing collapses the building on top of us. Anything’s better than getting captured.”

  ♚

  That was very brave of you, Madoc said, as Jonas left the school. Billy was convinced you’d managed to get inside Edwards’ head. He was trying to convince Frank to shoot you, and you sat there with your back to the door.

  Jonas stopped in his tracks. “What?” he said, then scowled and sent, And you didn’t tell me this until now?

  I would have warned you in time. Didn’t want to… how is it they put it these days? ‘Throw you off your game?’

  Jonas stared at empty space in front of him. Great, I almost died again, he thought, but kept it from Madoc. It seemed to be happening with alarming regularity lately, and it wasn’t getting any easier. He could feel his heartbeat pounding in his neck. I was a trigger squeeze away from being another jar of ashes in my mother’s arms. If Billy had just barged in and fired…

  Jonas, are you okay?

  I’m fine, Madoc. I’m glad you’re feeling better.

  Yes. Better. Because this is all part of the plan, right?

  Exactly, Jonas sent. I’m Alice Black’s son, remember? He didn’t add that he was sore, scared, and making it up as he went along. The rush of almost dying, gorging on blood, and kissing Eve had worn off halfway through his talk with the hunters.

  Madoc was quiet for a few minutes as Jonas walked west toward the subway station.

  I still think leaving town is the best option for you, Madoc said with a touch of concern.

  I know. I just… I can’t. Jonas felt a lump rising in his throat. He couldn’t leave. He had too much to lose – his mom and dad, Eve… they were his past and his future. If he could have gotten them away from the city, the rest of the cards could have fallen as they may. He felt a twinge of guilt that Amelia and the rest of New York didn’t matter as much to him. But that’s just the way it was.

  People have been successfully waiting out the Apocalypse for two millennia, you know, Madoc said. It can be done very comfortably… somewhere else.

  Jonas couldn’t help but laugh.

  What? Madoc said.

  You reminded me of a joke my father used to tell. A man jumps off a skyscraper. He falls past the 30th floor, the 20th… A man near an open window on the 10th floor overhears him. Do you know what he’s saying?

  Madoc sighed. No, what is he saying?

  So far, so good, Jonas said, a big smile on his face. He and his father had laughed every time one of them told it, which had been often – to each other, to friends, to strangers in a restaurant. It used to make his mother laugh and drive her crazy at the same time… good memories.

  I’m not leaving, Madoc. But if I can’t get the wards down, you can hop a ride out with whoever’s left. I won’t think less of you.

  That’s not what I meant, Jonas. This could go badly, you don’t have to—

  I know, but I couldn’t live with myself.

  Jonas could see the subway entrance across the street. He fished around in his pocket for his MTA card.

  Where are you going? Madoc asked.

  Bookstore, Jonas sa
id. He knew there were several specialty bookstores in the area, but what he needed was a mass media outlet. The light turned green.

  Don’t take the subway, they’ll corner you. M15 bus will be at the corner of 75th and 2nd Ave in two minutes, you can make it if you run.

  Jonas pushed his way through the crowded intersection and sprinted east.

  Take a right here, Madoc said.

  Jonas cut across the street. Before he could ask, Madoc showed him a white van at the next intersection with a very large man in the driver’s seat and another in the back, hand poised on the sliding door.

  That’s pretty aggressive, Jonas said.

  There are three more on the subway platform. Fangston told them to bring you in, I think. They’ll wait until nightfall to try again, though, now that they know you’re on to them.

  Jonas made it to the bus just as the last person was getting on. Should I be breathing hard? he wondered. Actually, he wasn’t breathing at all, but his stomach growled and he felt thirsty again. He knew how it worked for humans — they’d taught him the whole aerobic and anaerobic thing in PE — but he had no idea how that worked for vampires. Regardless, exertion obviously used or burned up his blood supply. He wondered if breathing made him use more or less blood? He’d have to ask Viviane when things were back to normal.

  Aren’t you going to ask me why I’m going to a bookstore? Jonas sent.

  You’re committed. You have some kind of plan. I accept that. I’ll find out when you get there.

  Jonas paused, mid-step, then made his way to an open seat. The specter was trusting him. Thank you, Madoc.

  He sat down and pulled his bulging backpack onto his lap. He tugged on the zipper and two silver blood packs popped out onto to the floor.

  “You must really like juice,” a guy in his mid-twenties said, looking over and grinning at Jonas.

  “You have no idea,” Jonas said, as he leaned down and picked up the packs. He put one back, pulled the tab on the other, and drank. He tried to sip, the way Eve did, but even with some of her memories, he still ended up with an empty packet and a few seconds of lost time.