by ID Johnson
"Stay as close as you can," Cadence ordered as the building came in to view.
"Okay," Elliott acquiesced. "But I'm gonna go ahead and put in an order for the flowers for my funeral. You wanna go halfsies?"
"He can't kill you," Cadence reminded him.
"True, but Aaron can. And will," Elliott clarified.
Chuckling under her breath and wondering if that were even true, Cadence crouched down beneath the branches of the only tree that seemed to have survived the strangling fingers of the thorn bushes. Up close, the house didn't seem as large as it had from the road. Though it was tall and long, it was quite skinny. This would lend itself nicely to a labyrinth. If Barbarosa wanted as much security as possible, he would be in the center of the house. Anything on either end would be too reachable. Likewise, he wouldn't want to be on the top level where he would have to chance traveling all the way down before he could exit. No, if he was a smart creature, and it seemed that he was, he would be on the second floor, in the area of the house that had the least amount of access points, with an easy exit nearby. Her eyes covered the building quickly, resting on a spot near the center of the house where there were no windows. There was a small balcony about twenty feet to the right, the entrance somewhat obscured. That was her best bet for getting in, finding Barbarosa, and destroying him without being detected.
The balcony was on the second story. There was no fire escape or other ladder, but Cadence didn't need one. She slunk beneath the thorn bushes, catching her hair a few times, knowing her path had to be more direct this time, more precise, until she was just under the balcony. She paused, listening for movement of any kind. She heard a bird in the distance; other than that, nothing, not even Elliott.
In one leap, she bounded over the railing, landing firmly in the middle of the balcony, so lightly that she hardly made a noise. The only evidence that she had even made her ascent was the softly humming squeak of rusty metal, gently caressing the air, from the shift in balance of the well-worn metal railing.
Cadence knew that Barbarosa wouldn't be in the room directly through the door, not unless he had heard her and had come to greet her. Rather, she felt she must enter the room, find a hall, and get into the room next to this one. By the sounds of it, the hall would be a winding one. Standing on the balcony contemplating her next move, she realized there had to be a quicker access point between the two rooms directly in the wall of the room in front of her. She also recognized that there would be some sort of alarm on the door to the balcony. If she took too long to find the entryway into the adjoining room, he would either be on top of her or escape before she could get to him. Unless. . .
She had seen Aaron enter through her own bedroom window so quickly on more than one occasion that, if there had been an alarm, he said it wouldn't have gone off. Cadence had never attempted such rapid movement before, but she would have to try. If she were genuinely going to sneak up on the monster, she'd have to do so without setting off any blaring horns.
Before she touched the door, she looked at the latching mechanism. It appeared to be locked, but she was strong enough to break through just about any human made apparatus. This appeared to be a simple lock, not even a deadbolt, and she was confident, when she turned the handle, the door would react as if it wasn't even locked at all. She peered through the glass, attempting to see the wall between the two rooms. A large bookshelf covered most of the wall. "Damn," she whispered aloud. If one of the books were the trigger, she would never figure out which one fast enough. Another idea popped into her head, and she decided it was time to move.
In case she needed both hands, Cadence shoved the Glock into the front of her pants. She was vaguely aware that Elliott was talking to her on the IAC but she tuned him out, only listening for key words, such as "run" or "get down." Whatever he was saying, it could wait. Grabbing ahold of the doorknob with both hands, she gave it a quick jerk while simultaneously thrusting her entire body through the small opening she made with the door, flinging it shut behind her. Upon realizing there was no audible alarm, she took a deep sigh of relief. Either she had triggered something her ears could not detect, or she had actually been fast enough not to set off any alarm.
The room smelled of old; musty, moldy, a tinge of mahogany. It felt cold and damp, even more so than the December air outside. She had been right about the girth of the bookshelf. After a quick glance around the rest of the room, which appeared to be an office or small library, she approached the monstrosity. She placed her hands under the middle shelf, ascertaining how heavy it might be, if it was actually attached to the wall. She could easily tell that it was quite heavy and seemed to be attached at several anchor points or possibly even built-in. In order for her plan to work, she would have to remove the entire bookshelf from the wall in one movement. Otherwise, whatever was left might block the entrance to the room next door, which could give Barbarosa time to escape. Sighing, she wished that Elliott were there. As strong as he was, she knew they could have easily moved it together. She didn't have time to wait, however, and she decided to give it a try.
It didn't work exactly how she had planned, but it was good enough. She grabbed ahold, gave it a good yank, and managed to move the entire middle section away from the wall, sending it crashing over her head, into the wall behind her. The noise was enough to wake the dead, or the undead, and she knew instantly her time was running out. Though some of the shelf stayed behind, fastened securely to the wall, she had moved enough to find the hidden door. Just as she reached out to grasp the doorknob, Barbarosa came flying through the door, knocking her to the ground, her Glock flying out of her waistband and across the floor, disappearing under the pile of books.
Cadence had seen some unbelievably wretched monsters these last few weeks, but nothing prepared her for this. Pale white skin, covered in craters and thick wrinkles, draped down from his ancient face, his white hair in tufts around his head, whisping out like so many ghostly fingers. His eyes were not the steel gray she had expected, rather they were almost white, opaque in the centers. His jowls furrowed, his fangs exposed, surrounded by bleeding gums the color of crimson ocean tides, foamy and oozing. He grasped her neck with his spindly fingers, roaring in her face, his putrid breath making her gag and spew. Though his body was thin and elongated, the weight of his knees as he pushed against her gut was enough to take her breath away. She dug her fingers into the flesh of his arms, which, though they gave in the same way one might expect a rotten corpse to break apart, did not weaken.
She had been caught off-guard, and he seemed to have the upper hand, but Cadence was a force to be reckoned with. Using the muscles in her legs, she brought her knees up sharply, making contact with the small of his back. He was not expecting her to be so strong, and the impact caused the grip on her throat to lessen just enough for her to pry one hand off. It was adequate so that she could catch her breath and she inhaled deeply, ignoring the stench of his rotting breath. He attempted to bring his hand back down on her neck, but she was able to bend his arm back, forcing him off balance. As he began to topple backwards, she pushed up, arching her back and bringing her left leg up at the same time, pushing him off of herself.
Cadence quickly came to her feet, expecting another charge. Barbarosa had not survived so long by making hasty decisions, however. Rather than charge at her again, he gave one last shriek before tearing through the door to the hallway and into the labyrinth.
She had two choices at this point. Go back out the window and flee Barbarosa's lair or follow him through his maze. It only took a split second for her to decide what to do. Grabbing the butt of the Glock from it's resting place beneath a pile of books, she pursued the villain, hoping she could catch up to him and that he wouldn't make his way out of the building before she could figure out which way he had gone.
As she entered the web, she realized exactly why so many Hunters before her had, had difficulty traversing the narrow passage. Not only was it dimly lit and restricted; the floor was built on
a slant. It was almost impossible to keep one's balance without sliding against the wall. However, Cadence had one skill even the most noted of Hunters before her could rarely utilize: her instincts. It was as if she knew exactly which way he had gone, which direction to turn, which path to take. Before too long, she could see the tails of the long white nightdress he wore making the turns ahead of her. She was closing in, and she was pretty sure he knew it.
Not only were they winding their way through the corridor, they were also headed down and out of the building. Cadence could feel that as well. If she didn't catch him in time, he would make his way out of the house and into the brambles before she could destroy him. The further she chased him, the steeper the floor became, the more narrow the path. If she had been at all claustrophobic, she would not have been able to handle this situation, and even without those tendencies, she began to feel dizzy.
She considered firing her Glock at him, hoping it would slow him down, or, at the very least, anger him enough to make him turn and fight. However, at this point, she had no idea where Elliott was, and she couldn't risk accidentally shooting him. Elliott could not harm her, even if he shot her, but she could kill him, and to her knowledge, there were no Healers in the general vicinity. It wasn't worth the risk. However, just as she began to ponder the likelihood that she would actually hit her Guardian if she shot at the wall, she heard a commotion around the corner in front of her, and shots rang out, bouncing around the corner she was approaching. Instinctively, she threw her hands over her face, waiting for them to stop before she rounded the corner.
Elliott had headed him off at the pass, surprising Barbarosa as he came around the corner. The monster had not been hit, however, and Elliott's Glock now lay behind Barbarosa on the slanted floor. One spindly-fingered hand was wrapped tightly around the Guardian's throat, the other pawing at him, as if searching for another weapon.
Barbarosa had shifted his body to fit more compactly into the narrow hallway, shrinking himself in height and making his body thinner in width. That extra mass had to go somewhere, however, and as he turned sideways to push Elliott against the wall, Cadence could see that he was larger now from front to back, almost filling the entire passage in front of her. Taking the shot would be easy from this angle, and the monster seemed to know that. As she stepped forward, Glock held out in front of her at the ready, the searching became even more frantic, and she was afraid he might actually tear Elliott apart. Even though Vampires could not kill Guardians, it would still be very painful.
"It's over, Barbarosa," she said through locked teeth. "Let him go." Even though she knew she had the shot, she had seen the way the bullets Elliott had fired bounced in the narrow space, and she wasn't sure she wanted to take the risk, not yet.
He snarled at her, showing his rotting, yellow fangs, his bloody gums, the insides of his gnarly lips. "How dare you invade my home!" he croaked, the words almost unintelligible coming from his ancient throat. "How dare you kill all of those children!" Cadence countered. Elliott was attempting to wriggle free, or at least give her the room she needed to hit the monster cleanly. Though a shot through the heart was ideal, if she could wound him, she'd have the opportunity to take a second shot, so long as she didn't hit Elliott in the process. That wasn't Cadence's preferred method of destruction, however, and she stood debating whether or not to shoot him or pry those twiggy fingers from Elliott's neck and rip his head off.
She didn't have to debate for too long, however. Just as she was about to holster her gun and fling herself at him, he found what he was looking for. Cadence was certain that Elliott only had one gun, but in all his digging, Barbarosa was able to find another. Pulling the weapon from the back of Elliott's waistband, the monster flipped the gun around in Cadence's direction, clearly hoping to take out yet another Hunter and leave himself with only the unarmed Guardian to contend with. Without hesitation, Cadence fired, hitting the bloodsucker in the side of his right eye. He reeled backward, wedging himself against the wall as bloody fragments splattered against the ceiling. Elliott grabbed for the gun, just as Barbarosa pulled the trigger, sending the shot through the wall behind next to Elliott's head. Cadence fired again, this time sending a silver bullet through the side of the Vampire's chest cavity, passing through his heart, before exiting out the other side, implanting itself in the door at the end of the hall.
Barbarosa let out a high-pitched shriek, shaking the old building, and sending Elliott and Cadence to their knees. His body had disintegrated into ashes before the echoes dissipated. Once the ringing in their ears stopped, the two clambered to their feet, Cadence stepping forward to check on her partner.
"You okay?" she asked, making sure the bullet hadn't grazed him.
Elliott took a deep breath. "Yeah, I'm fine," he said quietly. His throat was still red and looked sore, but his voice was its same deep tone, and he didn't appear to be injured, just a bit shaken.
"Good," Cadence sighed, patting him on the shoulder. "Let's get out of here before his friends show up. I've had enough hunting for one night."
"Good idea," Elliott agreed. "No need for a vacuum this time," he added, thinking the likelihood of anyone ever entering that building again was slim to none. He stooped to retrieve both of his Glocks, shoving one in the holster, the other in his waistband where it had been concealed.
"Do you know how to get out?" Cadence asked, remembering they were in a labyrinth.
Elliott grinned. "Follow me," he assured her. Cadence did as she was instructed, following him the twenty or so steps to the door at the end of the hallway. It opened into the December air at the edge of the brambles, just a few hundred feet away from where Cadence had entered the building on the second floor.
Barbarosa had almost made it out.
***
Laura and Laney had driven up and down the same few streets hundreds of times over the last few weeks, constantly looking for the elusive black Corvette Giovani was known to wheel around town. They only knew that he was staying somewhere in the area because they had caught a glimpse of him peeling out once, several weeks ago, followed shortly thereafter by an incident where they had trailed him into the area, only to be found out and led on a high speed chase across town, ending with a smashed up fender on Laura's Charger. The paint job had not been spectacular, and each time she caught a glimpse, it made Laura's blood boil all over again. It was yet another reminder of how close she had been to finally ending this weary, exhaustive search.
They were not having much luck tracking down the Corvette this night either. In fact, Laney had requested they call it quits several times before Laura finally decided their attempts were futile and headed for the hotel room they had been staying in the past month or so. Clearly, Giovani had invested in a garage of some sort, and the only way the girls were going to catch him is if he was coming or going. And he was too smart to just dodge out without looking for the familiar red charger. Otherwise, they would have to rely on luck, and Laura had given up on luck a long, long time ago.
As they pulled into the parking spot in front of the Regency Lodge, Laney decided to give reason one more try. "Laura," she said, following her sister into the building. "I know you don't want to involve LIGHTS, I understand that, but we have a new situation here. Maybe we don't need or want their help to track Giovani, but he's not alone now. If they are looking for that other guy, this Jack Cook person, wanting him brought in, why don't we see if we can utilize their attempts at catching him, work together that way."
Laura shoved the magnetic card into the door a bit harder than she intended to. Though it didn't break, it made an awful noise and refused to let her in. She tried again, holding back her emotions slightly better this time, and the door opened. The suite wasn't much, a couple of beds and a very small sofa. It would have been fine for just a few days, but when those days stretched into weeks, it became uncomfortable and added to the increasing stress their relationship was already under. "I need to do this by myself," Laura finally replied, to
ssing her purse on the floor next to her bed and falling backwards onto the not-so-soft mattress. "I don't want help from them, not from anyone else."
Laney still stood in the doorway, tempted to say what she had been thinking for years. If she wanted to do this by herself, why did she accept her sister's help and no one else's? She bit her tongue again, however, still unwilling to start what was sure to be an epic argument. "I'm going to take a shower," she said, dropping her purse and coat next to the small desk at the front of the room. Laura made no reply, and Laney went off to the solace of the hot water, hoping that she could come up with some way to solicit help without Laura knowing about it. As the water warmed up, she began to ponder this Jack Cook. Who was he? Why was it so important to Aaron that he be brought in unharmed? Those were questions she would need to find the answers to. But not tonight. Right now, she needed to let the steam rinse away her worries and get some rest. Perhaps, the light of day would bring clarity, and she could begin to make some decisions. One thing was certain, anything she chose to do would be on her own. Laura would never go for it.
***
Giovani's apartment had a spectacular view--of the road. Which was really all he was interested in seeing. From his vantage point, he could easily see any and all cars approaching both intersections at either end of the block. This was most helpful in insuring the Vampire Hunters had moved on, well out of the area, before he ever vacated his apartment. He still wasn't sure how they had figured out he was in Lincoln, perhaps it was dumb luck, but he would have to be more cautious about who he mentioned his plans to so that, if there happened to be a leak in the system somewhere, it wouldn't be activated again.
"This is a great place," Jack said, seated comfortably on Giovani's black leather sofa, a token beer in his hand.
"Thanks," Giovani said, still peering out the window. "My sister handles a lot of Holland's accounts, so she has easy access to dough. Well, my sister, I guess she's your sister, too. She lives upstairs. I'll introduce you tomorrow. She's probably on a hunt now."