by James Somers
“A lie, young woman,” the old man hissed low.
“Anna, sir. Anna Parks.”
“You have been misinformed, Ms. Anna, as have these good citizens. Nevertheless, why do you seek him?”
“A message from the young man. But it must be delivered to Mr. West or to either of his companions, Mr. Laish or Mr. Redclaw.”
The old man turned fully to her now, grinning. “How lucky for you, young lady. I am Laish.”
In a home in the town of Highmore, Laish looked again out to the street where a commotion like that in the city of Rockunder was presently underway. Many disturbed Descendants who still lived in the town were perplexed at the news about the man they had so long loved and admired—more so that his wife had been killed.
The Lycans were in an uproar, as eager to find Brody as any Leprechaun. Their queen had been killed. As far as they were being told, her beloved husband—the non-Lycan they had trusted for so long as their king—had been the one to take her life in a jealous rage.
The elders of the Lycan people had never enjoyed the idea of a king who was not one of them, so they fomented this rage. They had accepted Sophia’s choice years ago, but only grudgingly. Now, they were rid of her and had the opportunity to rally their race around some new king of their choosing.
Laish shut the door, turning to Anna. “We can speak freely here,” he said. Then he spoke to someone who had been sitting in an adjoining room. “Redclaw, please come in and meet a messenger sent to us from Cole.”
Anna started noticeably when she saw the big troll come through the shadowed doorway.
Laish came to stand behind her, putting his arm around her shoulder to steady her. “I can assure you there is no need to fear, Ms. Parks. My friend here is a hulking brute and often to opinionated for my tastes, but he is a good soul and trustworthy.”
“You always did talk too much, old man,” Redclaw said, giving the young woman a nod. “Please, tell us, Ms. Parks, what did Cole say when he sent you.”
Anna attempted to relax, though the old man was little comfort in the presence of such a large and slightly green person as Redclaw. “Cole sent me for Brody West. He and Sadie are being held prisoner in Trinity. Trinity is the vampire city where I was taken after being kidnapped from my home in Baltimore.”
“Trinity?” Redclaw asked, mulling over the message. “I’ve never heard of such a place. A city of the vampires?”
“Yes,” Anna said. “But it was in no country that I know of in the world.”
“Matters are bad on every hand it seems,” Laish said. “Cole and Sadie held captive by vampires in an unknown city, Sophia and the Shade King killed, and Brody missing with a bounty on his head. It’s hard to know what to make of all this.”
“Bah,” Redclaw said indignantly. “You and I both know what to think. This has to be the work of Lucifer or Black. Who else could have orchestrated such a plan, and just when we were enjoying peace. As long as we’ve been dealing with them it’s been this way.”
“I have to agree with you, my friend,” Laish said gravely. “But what to do? If only we knew where Brody was. It’s not like him to simply disappear.”
“And if he’s dead?” Redclaw asked. “They may have done him in and taken his place somehow.”
“I refuse to believe he’s dead, Redclaw,” Laish replied. “Not until we have proof.” He turned his gaze back to Anna. “Tell me, was Cole in possession of a sword that you know of, or perhaps an ebony cane with a silver lion’s head?”
“I saw no such object, sir,” Anna said.
Laish smiled a little. “You see, Brody is probably alive. You know as well as I that he willed Malak-esh to Cole. If he had been killed, the sword would have gone to him.”
“It’s not conclusive,” Redclaw said, “but I want to agree with you. The question is, what do we do until he returns? And when he returns, what do we do after? The new king has everyone looking for him.”
“Perhaps, Mr. West has heard what happened and is in hiding,” Anna offered.
“Brody would not hide from anyone, especially with Sophia murdered,” Redclaw growled. “The fact that he hasn’t shown up makes me wonder. He would have to be ignorant of what’s happened, or unable to do anything about it—a tall order in of itself.”
“Agreed,” Laish said. “However, until we know more, we should find a safer place to hold up. Anyone caught aiding Brody will be arrested, and there are far too few Descendants who will side with us when the evidence against Brody seems to be so cut and dry.”
Punctuating that thought, the door burst open behind the old wizard. Leprechaun spell casters were the first through the door, discharging plasms that bounced around the room hitting both Redclaw and Anna. The girl fell unconscious to the floor instantly. Redclaw was assaulted by several more before he was driven to his knees. Laish had instantly defended himself with an extension shield that repelled the attacks.
“Give yourselves up,” a Leprechaun officer commanded.
For a moment there seemed to be a stalemate. Laish now included both the weakened Redclaw and the unconscious girl within his extension. The spell casters remained ready to attack again, if necessary.
The officer stepped into the room. “We have prisoners of those loyal to Brody West at the palace already, Laish. If you wish to see them kept safe then you will surrender yourself for questioning.”
“Questioning or hanging,” Redclaw spat, coming to his feet again.
“We only wish to see justice done for the death of our king and your queen,” the officer said. “If you believe West to be innocent then surely you have no qualms about coming to speak to Liam Shade. Come and clear the man’s name, if you can.”
“They just want to use us as bait,” Redclaw said to Laish.
“Even if that were the case, my friend, they could not hold him unless he wished to be detained. Perhaps we can speak sense to Liam, help him understand that Brody has been framed for these murders. If we don’t try, then who will stop this madness before it consumes every Descendant in Ireland?”
Laish lowered his extension.
Soldiers and spell casters parted from the door in order to allow them to come out. Redclaw picked up the girl and carried her out with them, easily hefting her slight weight in his muscular troll arms. They came outside where more soldiers were waiting along with a compliment of Elementals.
“I guess they were expecting a real fight out of you,” Redclaw said to Laish.
“If this goes badly, they’ll get one,” Laish replied in hushed tones. “Carry on, sir,” he said to the officer.
Spell casters conjured a portal and the officer led them through. The palace stood on the other side. The new king, Liam Shade, waited for them.
Games
Yusupov didn’t keep me waiting for too long. The guards eventually came back for me. It was still daylight outside. I wasn’t even sure how long a day lasted here now that the cherubim had reordered the spiritual realm.
A guard I hadn’t seen yet ordered me out. “Time to go.”
The other two—the ones who had brought Anna to me—lingered as the other one turned to lead the way down the hall. One of them stopped me when they noticed her missing.
“What happened to girl?” he growled.
I smiled broadly as I passed on between them. “I ate her, of course.”
Their snarling expressions drooped to surprise. The other one asked, “What, really?”
I didn’t answer. Just kept on walking down the hall and out of the palace. Yusupov was already waiting for me in a roman styled chariot of all things.
He motioned me inside. “It’s time to visit the coliseum.”
I walked down the palace steps with the guards flanking me. “I’m not sure this is a good idea,” I said cautiously. “I can’t join with you, Felix. This is not who I am.”
He sighed, nodding his head. “You are a vampire. Perhaps you will change your mind when I show you what I have prepared in your honor. C
ome. This is not a request.”
The guards inched closer, waiting to see if I would comply. For the sake of my friends, I had to do as he said. Stepping up into the chariot, I gripped the rail tightly trying to keep control of my anger.
Yusupov snapped the reins on the single black stallion pulling the silver plated carriage. Behind us, the three guards took flight in their bird forms. They stayed with us, weaving back and forth across the cobbled road leading us toward the coliseum looming before us.
Still a half mile from the towering structure, I could sense powerful wards in place. Either they had been erected to keep people out, which seemed unlikely, or they were meant to keep combatants inside from escaping. The vampires did not possess this kind of ability. Almost certainly, it had been the cherubim who had established these barriers just as they had around Ireland nine years before.
Oddly, I had yet to see any evidence of the cherubim other than what they had done. When Adolf and I had gone through the ruined spiritual plane before, the cherubim had been terrifyingly visible. You couldn’t miss them, in fact. Also missing now was the incessant thrum put off by these beings.
Of course, I had little doubt that the cherubim had the power to render themselves unseen. I just couldn’t figure out why they would. If they wanted to be worshipped, as Felix had indicated, then why not simply appear to the vampires and be worshipped openly?
When the chariot began to pass through the wards, I closed my eyes, concentrating, attempting to unravel the matrix they were founded upon. That sort of knowledge might help me later to breech the barrier. After all, matters were coming to a head. I would be forced to do something very soon when Felix became convinced that I would not side with him.
However, the complexity I encountered when I attempted to deconstruct this magical mechanism overwhelmed me immediately. Layer upon layer, interwoven throughout with secondary wards that made it nearly impossible to bypass the initial wards. If one layer did not stop you, another would stun you. Either of those failing you might be incinerated or your innards eviscerated.
I backed out of any probing I was trying to do, hoping I wouldn’t inadvertently trigger what amounted to booby traps situated throughout the matrix. The cherubim’s power was clearly beyond me. I had no hope of wading through such a spell without getting killed in any number of unpleasant ways.
Opening my eyes again, I found Felix still staring ahead after the stallion as he steered the thoroughbred through the tunnel leading under the wall. We drove on, coming into the massive amphitheater with its terraced seating. A crowd of vampires cheered as Felix and I arrived.
The Breed leader waved to his people, seeming very much like one of the Roman emperors in his manner. This behavior, however, was completely foreign to me. The Breed had never acted this way in Greystone. They did not cheer, or wave to adoring throngs of their followers. Neither did we ever gather for entertainment such as this.
Vampires were often solitary, even when dwelling within a city. They enjoyed the quiet of the night, seeking prey. Stillness was preferred to clamor. These vampires resembled my people from Greystone very little. I found it disturbing.
More and more, I knew that this was not a people I could ever hope to lead away from the cherubim. Their influence had turned the Breed even from their very nature. They were proud and drunk with the power given to them by their adopted pseudo-god.
The chariot stopped and we disembarked, climbing stairs that led to a large platform overlooking the huge arena. I followed Felix up where several high-backed chairs, resembling thrones, were set for us. Felix sat in the principle chair, motioning for me to have the slightly smaller seat next to him.
“I want your people to see you,” Felix said. “I have sent word throughout the city that Charlotte’s son has arrived, and that I hope you will ascend to the throne in order to lead our people as we take the next step.”
“And what would that next step be, exactly?” I asked.
“The human world,” he said, still waving to cheering vampires.
I tried to hold back the laugh that attempted come. “And you really think that I will be a part of that? If you knew my family at all, then you know our faith. I serve the Almighty and no other.”
Felix gave me a hard side glance. “And your friends? Do they mean nothing to you?”
“You would force me? Is it really so important to you that I be a part of all this?”
Felix turned to a Breed warrior waiting at his left. “Bring him,” he said. “Put him with the minotaur we have on hand.”
“How many my lord?” the warrior asked.
Felix looked at me, answering the soldier. “All of them.”
Rather than doors and gates, this arena appeared to utilize preconceived portals. Once the order was given, it was only a matter of one minute before the combatants reached the coliseum floor where sand had been strewn down over hard packed earth. At equidistant places around the arena’s outer rim, a total of six minotaur arrived, stepping from invisible portal gateways, seeming to materialize from the air.
In the middle of the arena, a young man appeared. I had been holding my breath since the order had been given to loose the minotaur. I hadn’t known for sure who was about to face them. Still, it didn’t take much intelligence to figure it would be someone important to me, someone who could be used as leverage to force me into an agreement with Felix and the Breed in Trinity.
Adolf stood in the midst of the coliseum, still wearing the same trousers and shirt he had been when we came from the Valley of the Dragons to investigate the strange convergence with the spiritual plane. Blood stains now adorned his attire and his clothes were torn in places. He had obviously been in a fight, possibly tortured. However, his uniquely quick healing ability had rendered him whole again already.
As a vampire, I also possessed a keen power to heal from non-lethal wounds at great speed. The Lycans were, in many ways, a mirror image of the Breed in strength and power and cunning. They could heal just as well. But Adolf’s recovery time was close to half what it would require for either Sadie or myself to heal from the same injuries.
Adolf surveyed his surroundings, finding me here next to Felix Yusupov. He didn’t look pleased by what he saw. I hoped he didn’t assume that I was now his betrayer. Admittedly, I might have thought such a thing if I had viewed him sitting on a throne next to the enemy.
However, he didn’t have time to look at the crowd for long. Six vicious, bull-headed minotaur were standing around him snorting and raking their hooves at the earth in anticipation of the order that would set them running at the young man before them. But they had not been loosed yet.
Felix looked to me once again. “Your friend’s life is in your hands, Cole. What is more important to you, your friends or your faith?”
I was reminded at that moment of Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, three young Hebrews living during the days of Daniel the prophet. The Chaldean king, Nebuchednezzar, had demanded that all bow and worship a golden idol he had erected. Those who refused would be cast into a fiery furnace. When the Hebrews had trusted God instead of worshiping the image, the king had ordered them to be cast into the furnace, but not before having it heated to seven times its normal strength.
They were cast into the furnace for their faith, but they did not die. Not a hair on their heads was singed. Not even the smell of burning had infiltrated their clothes, despite the heat killing those men who thrust them inside. I knew what I had to do.
I stood, looking Felix in the eye. “My faith is more important. But I don’t value my own life more than my friends. Do your worst, if that’s your desire, but I’ll not join with you and the cherubim against God.”
I leaped over the balustrade, landing on the arena floor not far from one of the six minotaur. The crowd went silent as I walked out toward the place where Adolf stood alone. He looked as astonished as anyone, watching me approach.
I imagined Felix Yusupov fuming silently behind me, boring a hole int
o the back of my head with his gaze. By the time I reached Adolf, the minotaur had still not been set upon us. I held out my hand to Adolf. He grinned, taking it.
“I wasn’t sure for a moment if you had switched sides,” he said.
“Never, my friend,” I replied. “He wants me to assume the throne here and lead these vampires against the humans.”
“By the shade of red on his face, I would guess you told him no,” Adolf said, his grin growing wider.
I still had not looked back at Felix. “That’s about the size of it,” I said to Adolf.
“Can’t say much for your choice, though,” he countered. “Dying here with me seems like bad planning, if you ask me.”
“I didn’t,” I said, bantering with him as I surveyed what we were up against. We were both on edge, preparing for the worst, and this was the way we kept our wits about us. “Speaking of plans, do you happen to have one for dealing with these minotaur?”
“Of course I do,” Adolf replied wryly. “I’ll take that little one over there and leave you the rest.”
“So, the usual plan?”
“Right.”
Felix Yusupov stood from his throne on the platform. As he began to speak, no doubt preparing to deliver some crushing tirade about my poor choice and our inevitable demise, Adolf and I enacted our usual plan. In other words, we weren’t going to wait around for our enemies to make their move. We attacked.
As usual, in this sort of situation, our sudden offensive took them by surprise. Apparently we were expected to just stand here, cowering in the middle of the arena until the minotaur barreled down upon us. But that wasn’t our style.
Adolf took to the air. I vanished, reappearing above and behind the largest minotaur with my sword drawn and aimed straight down. Being the biggest foe, he had to be dealt with first. As yet, he hadn’t moved, but was still expressing his shock at my disappearance. Gravity brought me down onto his shoulders. My sword drove down into the base of his thick neck, passing through the beast’s spinal column and down into its heart.