A Hero's Death: Aris Crow Vampire Legend

by Rachel McClellan

  "I'll make sure that doesn't happen, then. Do you want to show me where he was being held?"

  For the next hour, Jordan showed me around, including where Crow had knocked out the two men with a two-by-four and rescued Oz. He took me upstairs and around the club. I inspected every room I could to search for Richard but found no sign of him.

  Finally he showed me the security tapes, which I pretended to study carefully. I even asked for a list of names of people who went in and out of the club during the thirty-minute window when Oz disappeared.

  When we were finished, I asked, "Can I inspect the property?"

  "Help yourself."

  I left him and walked the grounds, taking mental notes of each camera's location and angle. I peeked in the windows of the other outbuildings, but they were as expected, just garages with antiqued vehicles or lawn care equipment.

  After about an hour, Jordan found me outside. "You discover anything we didn't?"

  "I think I know how the kid escaped. There's a broken bush beneath the second floor bathroom window. I'd bet money the Crow lowered him out of it."

  He nodded, as if considering the idea. "That's a long drop, but you could be right." He handed me a slip of paper. "Here are those names you wanted."

  I took it from him. “Thanks.”

  "I hope you find him," he said. "You seem like a decent enough guy. Too bad you got mixed up in all of this."

  The way he looked at me, he already figured I was a dead man.

  "You'll see me again," I said.

  I turned around and headed back to my car. Other than not finding Richard, I had all the information I needed. With Oz's help, we could easily make it inside the house. I didn't know where Victor slept, but I could figure it out. Now I just had to stay hidden the rest of the day to make sure Victor didn't find me. There was no way I was giving up Oz.

  33

  The first thing I did was check in with Emma while the garage door back at the Southside building closed behind my vehicle.

  Are you okay?

  A message returned. I'm safe. You stay the same.

  I breathed a sigh of relief and returned to Ironwood.

  Oz sat on the steps of my home fiddling with some wires and electronics. He looked up at me as I approached. "All good?"

  "It went better than expected. I was able to gain access to Victor's home and the Devil's Playground. I'll draw up everything I remember about their security. Where's Amy?" I peeked through the window of my home.

  "Roman's showing her around the place." He narrowed his eyes. "He's cool with her, right?"

  "Absolutely."

  "Good. Because if he tries anything, she's carrying a gun I stole from your safe, and she legit will shoot him."

  "I don't know who I'm more concerned for," I said. "How about you don't steal my guns?"

  "With Victor looking for us, we need to protect ourselves."

  "Then let's take him out of the equation."

  For the next hour, Oz and I discussed the best route into Victor's home. We went over camera placements, number of security guards, a backup plan, and then a backup plan to the backup plan. We needed to make sure everything went perfectly.

  It was afternoon when Roman returned with Amy. He practically carried her because she was so tired, but she was smiling big.

  "I'm so glad we came down here, Oz," she said. "This is the coolest place I've ever been!"

  "Don't get used to it. It won't be long before we can return home." Oz stood and stretched.

  "Can we come back and visit?" she asked Roman. She leaned into the doorway, inhaling deep breaths.

  Surprisingly, Roman answered, "You are welcome here anytime, as long as you can keep this place a secret."

  "I will never tell a soul," she said, making a crossing motion over her heart.

  Oz walked over to her and scooped her up. "I think you need to rest."

  She closed her eyes. "I think you're right."

  While he carried her off to bed, Roman said, "I trust everything is in place for tonight?"

  "It is. I don't foresee any complications." I walked past him onto the porch. He followed me, his body tense.

  "You can still change your mind," he said. "Fighting Victor will be more difficult than you can imagine, but if you were a vampire—"

  "I shouldn't have to keep telling you this," I said. "I'm going to stay who I am."

  "It won't be enough, and I fear you may get hurt in the process because of your stubbornness."

  "There is nothing wrong with wanting to stay as human as possible. Why can't you understand that? You know how hard I've worked, how hard I have trained for this moment. I will not lose."

  "I hope you're right." He turned around and walked away leaving me staring after him.

  It pissed me off that he had so little faith in me, especially since I'd endured his countless, brutal training sessions. I have given him my blood and sweat for as long as I can remember. Would it kill him to give me a few words of encouragement?

  While we waited for nightfall, Oz mapped out a way for us to get to the house without being seen. It involved shutting off cameras at certain points in time but not long enough to alert security. He would shut off one camera for four seconds while we sprinted to the next area. We would hide, wait a short amount of time so cameras didn't "malfunction" too close together, then shut off another camera and sprint again. We had to be fast.

  If everything worked out as planned, we estimated we could get to Victor's mansion without being seen in under an hour. This felt like a long time to be hiding from wandering guards, but it was the best option. Plan B involved me fighting my way in, which I really didn't want to do. I needed to avoid as much altercation as possible to save my strength for Victor.

  Getting into the house would prove to be a little more difficult. Oz had to be physically at the security system to crack it, and it would take him at least a few minutes. As long as we weren't seen, everything would be okay. If we were, well, then I was ready to do what was necessary. I needed this to end tonight.

  I took out my phone and texted Emma again. Where are you?

  She responded: On my way home.

  "Who do you keep texting?" Oz asked.

  "A girl."

  "Someone you care about?"

  I just looked at him.

  "I'll take that as a yes. You know it's a dick move getting someone else caught up in this mess, right? I experienced firsthand the repercussions of knowing you, but I chose this."

  "She's safe. Besides, after tonight, it won't matter. What time is it?"

  "Almost nine o'clock. Why?"

  "I need to see Kristen before things go down tonight."

  He reared back, eyes wide. "Is this like one of those last goodbye things, like you're worried we'll die or something? Because I'm not about that. I fully plan on owning a yacht someday with a hot chick by my side, rolling in the dough—"

  "Shut up. I just want to tell her to leave town. When I kill Victor, his men may riot. This city will not be a safe place for awhile."

  I grabbed my jacket off the back of a chair. Truth was, I was afraid Victor might find out who I was. If he did, they would go straight for Kristen, as she was the one who told everyone I had died in the fire.

  "I'll be back soon," I said. "We'll leave at midnight."

  Kristen's apartment was quiet and the lights were off. I almost changed my mind, but when I dropped onto her fire escape platform and peered through the window, I could see a soft light glowing beyond the kitchen. I softly rapped my knuckles against the windowpane.

  She appeared a moment later, smoothing her hair back. She opened the window then stepped back, stuffing her hands into the wide pocket of her sweatshirt. I quietly slipped inside.

  "What are you doing here so late?" she asked. "Are you okay?"

  "You need to leave town."

  She huffed. "Is that all?"

  She turned around and walked back into her living room, where she dropped into a recli
ner and pulled a blanket over her legs.

  I followed after her. "Did you hear me? You need to leave town. Tonight."

  "I'm not leaving. I was around when Jonas went all power-hungry. Do you think he didn't try and intimidate me? He hated me. Victor's not my fan, either. They can push me around all they want, but I'm not leaving this city."

  "Do it for me. Please."

  She looked up at me. "No. I love you, more than anyone on this earth, but this is my home. I won't be scared off."

  I stared at her in frustration.

  Her brows pinched. "You're really worried, aren't you?"

  "Not for me."

  "Do you have any doubts about not turning?"

  "No," I said, my tone hard. Why couldn't they let it go?

  She watched me for a moment. "You know I will always be proud of you, no matter what you decide. You are a good person and that won't change. But sometimes even good people need to break the rules to stop evil."

  "I will do what has to be done."

  "I'm sure you will." She smiled at me.

  I bent over and kissed her on the top of the head before leaving the way I came. I hated that she wouldn't go. She was the last tie to my mother and my only living relative. If anything happened to her, I feared what would become of me.

  Oz was waiting for me when I returned to Ironwood. "Are you ready?"

  "Let me go talk to Roman real quick."

  I headed toward the Halo and found him in his usual spot. "Have you heard anything?"

  He tilted his head. "Nothing unusual. In fact, Victor's men seem unnaturally quiet. It's like there is less of them on the street tonight."

  "Maybe they are finally scared. They may not think they'll get jail time for their crimes, but they always end up with monstrous headaches."

  "Giving out headaches is not going to win a war."

  "I was joking. I won't bother you anymore. Get back to your eavesdropping." I turned around and walked away, not caring if I had offended him or not. Maybe when all this was over, I could move above ground. There was no reason for me to stay down here anymore, especially if Victor was dead.

  I walked right by Oz into my home, careful not to wake Amy sleeping peacefully on my bed, and opened the bookshelf door to get into my weapon closet. There was only one blade I wanted to carry tonight. I withdrew the scimitar from its sheath, eyed its sharp edge, and slid it back into its cover. It would work nicely. I hooked it to a strap around my chest that held the blade on my back.

  "Let's go," I said as I walked by Oz. He hurried after me, a duffel bag slung over his shoulder and his fanny pack around his waist.

  We traveled the tunnels until we reached the garage in Southside. Oz placed his bag in the backseat of the car, then hopped into the front. I revved the engine a couple of times and tightened my fingers around the steering wheel while I waited for the garage door to open.

  "You're quieter than usual," he said to me.

  "So are you."

  "I guess we're both a little nervous. I've broken into a lot of places, but nothing like this. This is the big leagues."

  "Everything will be fine."

  "Easy for you to say. You're a freaking superhero."

  "Don't call me that," I said as I drove the car out of the garage.

  We remained silent the rest of the way to Pigtown. Oz kept fiddling with his equipment, occupying his hands and mind with something else. I only had two things on my mind: Emma and Kristen. Their safety meant everything to me.

  As we approached the Devil's Playground, he said, "Drive around the block until I can lock into their wireless network. Once I'm in, I can configure everything we'll need into my phone."

  I circled the large block, driving slowly. Oz's laptop was open with his cell phone plugged into it. He tapped out a series of commands, cursed a few times, and continued to type. "Almost got it…done."

  I turned the car onto the next street over. I had already scouted out the perfect place to park the vehicle earlier that day. It was down an alley between two buildings that were closed for the night. I parked the car behind a large dumpster where no one on the street could see it.

  Oz exited the car, taking only his cell phone and a small electronic box that fit in his fanny pack. He held his phone in front of him and inspected a map on the lit-up screen. "We need to access the fence on the southeast side where there are fewer cameras."

  I nodded and made my way back to Victor's with Oz trailing next to me. We fell in line with a cluster of people walking to the Devil's Playground, all dressed up for the night. They buzzed with excitement. It was the birthday of one of the girls in the group and they planned on celebrating with a bang.

  We pretended to celebrate with them, but separated at the front entrance and circled around the gate toward the rear of the property and Victor's home.

  "This is it," he said, glancing down at his phone.

  We stopped next to the tall fence and concealed ourselves beneath the shade of oak tree branches above us. It was a full moon, so we would have to be extra careful. I pulled on my ski mask, as did Oz. We couldn't have him recognized either.

  "Hold on," I said.

  He jumped onto my back and wrapped his arms around my neck. I held onto his legs, crouched low, and leapt into the air, up and over the wall. We landed on the other side, and I quickly spun behind a tree. Oz slid off my back and pulled out his phone from his pocket.

  I glanced all around, my night vision coming in handy. There were lots of trees across the huge lawn, creating many shadows. I counted five guards in the distance, one of them walking our way while staring down at his phone. So far no one seemed to have noticed our arrival.

  "Get ready to run," Oz said. "When I hit this button, we will have exactly four seconds to get to the next location or we will be seen. Do you think you can keep up?"

  I smirked. "Can you?"

  He tapped the screen on his cell phone. "This is where we want to go."

  I eyed the path he'd created that led to Victor's house. "Got it."

  He looked up, his finger hovering over the screen. When he thought it was safe, he said, "Go!"

  He pressed a button on his phone. I couldn't tell if anything happened, but he started running, so I followed. I could have easily passed him, but stayed close while I counted in my head. If he couldn't move fast enough, I would pick him up and carry him if I had to.

  He stopped near the base of a tall tree and motioned me to do the same. We hid behind its thick trunk and once again surveyed the grounds. There weren't that many guards on this part of the property. I could see two in the distance talking to each other.

  We waited several minutes. Oz picked at the bark on the tree while I eyed the upstairs of Victor's home, trying to determine the location of his room.

  "Get ready to run again," he said and tapped on his phone.

  We sprinted to the next spot. I silently counted, but when I reached "three", Oz tripped in front of me. He almost hit the ground, but I picked him up by the back of the shirt and tossed him the rest of the way. He landed beneath a tree. I helped him up and pulled him behind the trunk.

  Oz moaned. "That hurt."

  I looked around the tree hoping we hadn't been seen, but no one came. "That was incredibly lucky."

  We continued this process of starting and stopping several more times until we reached the back corner of the house. There was one more obstacle we had to pass before getting inside: hacking the code to get in the front door.

  Crouching down between two bushes, Oz leaned forward and peered around the side toward the front door.

  "There's no one there." He looked back at me. "Weird, right?"

  I double checked. Sure enough, the front door had been abandoned. I leaned back against the stone wall of the house. “That doesn’t make sense. Why would he leave the entryway unguarded?”

  "Maybe the guard's on a break," he said, shrugging. "Or maybe there was a fight at the Devil's Playground and they needed extra guys to break i
t up."

  A feeling of doubt wormed its way into my gut. Something wasn't right. If there was one thing I knew about Victor in the short time I'd been around him, it was his ability to make sure every detail was taken care of.

  This was a trap.

  34

  Oz stared at me as if trying to read my thoughts.

  "Do you want to bounce?" he asked.

  I swiveled around and stared up at the house, focusing all of my senses. I didn't hear much going on. In fact, I didn't hear anything. "The place sounds empty."

  "My girl said he would be here. She said he always sleeps for three hours during this time. I don't know why Victor's schedule would suddenly change."

  "I'm not saying it's changed, but why are there no men around here? If his sleeping habits are common knowledge, then he should be well guarded during this time."

  He shrugged again and looked around. "It's not like he's not protected. There are still plenty of guys patrolling the place, and the security system is on."

  I considered his words. Very few people would've been able to get as far as we had through all the cameras and men. Maybe Victor didn't feel threatened in his home and that's why there was no one directly in front. Or maybe this was deliberate. Roman had said Victor seemed to have a sixth sense. Maybe he knew I was coming somehow, which meant this really was a trap.

  But did that matter?

  "Let's get this over with," I said and advanced onto the front porch.

  Oz scrambled after me. While I kept watch, he took off the panel of the keypad and attached wires from his electronic box. He pressed a series of buttons, eyeing it intensely. Less than a minute later, the front door clicked open.

  "Hurry," he said. "I'll wait for you in the car."

  Instead of reaching for the knives in my boots, I withdrew the scimitar blade from behind my back and slipped inside the door. I closed it softly, listening to the sounds in the home. I could hear a little bit better now that I was inside. In an upstairs bedroom, someone breathed steadily in and out, slow deep breaths.

  I crept up the staircase, completely silent on the balls of my feet. Roman had taught me how to be as quiet as a ghost. Not even Roman could hear me coming if I didn't want him to.