by R. J. Wolf
Mount Veil was a place people seldom spoke of. Some thought it was just an urban legend, but Gary knew better. It was a massive volcano in hell that had been erupting for all eternity. The lava that flowed from the burning mountain crystalized into diamonds of enormous power. The magical properties of the diamonds weren’t entirely known, but thousands had lost their lives trying to retrieve them.
Everything he’d ever heard about the volcanic stones was bad. Tales of lost souls or people’s minds being warped and twisted by the evil crystals haunted his dreams as a child. Mount Veil was pure evil and the diamonds, a conduit to the dark magic that smoldered below.
“Turn here,” Gary suddenly ordered.
“Central Park?” the driver replied.
“Just turn.”
He whipped the wheel to the left and accelerated. Gary stared out of the window as the dim buildings passed by. He hadn’t had a night this long in a while and his age had already caught up with him. He needed a good sleep, but he knew that wasn’t going to happen.
“You can stop here.”
The van slowed down and pulled up to the curb. Gary handed the driver a wad of cash then grabbed the case and stepped out. The man glared at the pile of money and smiled as Gary slammed the door and walked off.
“You have a good night, young man,” he screamed after him.
Stepping over puddles, Gary headed down toward the park. A low mist floated across the ground, turning the field into a vast ocean of smoke. Just out of sight dark creatures tinkered in the night, reveling in the few hours left before the sun would chase them away.
Gary quickened his pace, eager to leave the park behind and be done with Noll and his shady business. He should’ve known better than to trust a dwarf. As he came to the bridge he paused and cleared his throat.
“Noll!” he screamed at the top of his lungs. “Noll, you get out here and get your damn diamonds!”
As if he’d been hiding in the shadows all along, Noll popped his head out and waddled across the sidewalk. He waved his hands furiously, his face twisted in anger.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” Noll roared. “Get over here.”
He grabbed Gary by the arm and yanked him into a corner awash with shadows. Gary pulled away and bore down on Noll with the devil in his eyes. He shoved the case into Noll’s chest and pushed him backward.
“Mount Veil, Noll? You send me to collect diamonds from Mount Veil!! I could kill you right now.”
Noll dropped the case as he stumbled into the wall. “You don’t understand, Gary,” he pled in a shaking voice.
“You lied!” Gary roared.
His hands trembled with power as a blue light exuded from his palms. Simultaneously the case on the ground started to shutter and rattle across the floor.
“Calm down, Gary,” Noll cried out. “Calm down or you’ll kill us both.”
Gary breathed in all the air he could then stepped back. He stared from Noll to the quivering case then closed his eyes and mumbled under his breath. Noll cautiously watched him, fear sweating from his pours and splashing onto the ground.
“What did you do, Noll? What did I help you do?”
“It’s nothing. I swear it’s nothing. It’s just for collection…that’s all Gary. I swear.”
“Why was it moving?”
“Your magic, it felt it.”
Gary turned and walked a few steps away. “Mount Veil, Noll…these are from Mount Veil.”
Noll shifted uncomfortably as he tried to conjure up a believable lie. He knew Gary wasn’t easily fooled especially now that he was channeling all his power.
“It’s nothing Gary.”
Gary turned around and grabbed the case from the floor. “You’re right it is nothing. That’s exactly what you’ll get.”
“No!” Noll shouted and lunged for the case. “You can’t! They’ll kill her, Gary.”
“Kill who?”
Noll clasped his hand over his mouth and clenched his jaw. “I…I didn’t mean it. I didn’t mean that.”
“Noll, what are you talking about?” Gary grabbed him by the collar with his free hand and lifted him off the ground until they were face to face. “Talk.”
“I, I got into it with some unscrupulous characters. I have to deliver.”
“Mount Veil, Noll,” Gary replied in a stern tone.
“So what! You know as well as I do there’s nothing to that. Diamonds…just diamonds. No different than any other magical artifact.”
“These are pure evil. I can feel it. Seeping into my pores, whispering to me, begging me to heed their call. These aren’t just diamonds.”
“Dark magic…you can’t tell me it’s your first foray into the forbidden arts. My clientele dabbles in perverse. They’re no worse than anything else we have here.”
Gary dropped the bag on the ground as he released Noll’s shirt. He couldn’t stand to feel the evil power any more. He turned his back and walked down the sidewalk.
“I don’t want to hear from you again, Noll.”
CHAPTER 14
THE THIRST
Gary opened the door to his apartment and froze. Eric was standing in the living room holding a cup of water as smoke rose from his sofa where half of it had been reduced to bits of charred fabric stretched over firewood.
“Eric?” Gary asked in an exhausted voice.
“Why didn’t you tell me about the letter?” Eric replied in an accusing tone.
“What letter?”
“This letter,” Eric said and held up his hand. “It’s from Anna.”
“Where did you find that?”
“In your picture.”
Gary rubbed his face then turned and headed into the kitchen without another word. He grabbed a glass and poured himself a drink of water. Staring down into the clear liquid he grinned then poured it out and filled the cup with bourbon.
“I didn’t know that was there, Eric,” he said as he stepped back into the library and emptied the cup.
Eric frowned then sat back on the smoldering chair with the letter clutched in his hands. “She loved me,” he mumbled.
“Of course she did.”
“The letter…she said I would find her. She said she’d be waiting for me to come and find her.”
“That’s exactly what we’re going to do.”
Eric smiled. “So, you found something?”
“I did.”
“Where did you go?”
Gary launched into the story of his night. He told Eric all about the Troll Ferry and Noll and the blood lotus. Eric seemed amazed, but still reluctant to fully accept it. Gary couldn’t blame him and knew that the only way for Eric to understand was restoring his memory.
When he was done telling his story, Gary filled his glass again to the brim and gulped it down. He looked up and stared out of the window then yawned and forced himself to his feet.
“You ready to get your hands dirty?”
~~***~~
The bass from the music rattled Eric’s bones and echoed through his chest cavity. He tried to shield his eyes from the glow of flashing lights, but his hand offered little defense.
“Listen to me,” Gary said and pulled him close. “Past these doors, you leave the world you think you know behind. Past these doors you’ll find what the real world looks like. Stay close and no matter what happens don’t tell anyone who you really are.”
Eric nodded. “So who are we looking for?”
“A vamp named Vlad.”
“What does he look like?”
“He looks like a vamp…named Vlad. Now, let’s go.”
Gary pushed the doors open and they stepped into a short, dark hallway. It led to another door and when they passed through that it was like entering a different world.
A series of blacklights pulsed from the ceiling, giving everything a vibrant shadowy look. Along the back wall was a bar that ran the length of the building. The bartenders were a collection of pale-skinned vampires and half-morphed shifters.
The dancefloor was packed. Brainless zeroes intermingled with vampires and other underworlders, dancing to the melodic trance that thumped like a heartbeat. Blood trickled down their necks as the creatures fed on them. They smiled in euphoria, unaware of the fate that waited at the end of the night.
“They’re killing them,” Eric mumbled as his mouth dangled open.
“So long as they keep it inside, the commission has never saw fit to save anyone. One of their many shortcomings.”
Eric gaped as he stared into the cloudy eyes of a college-aged woman taking her last breath. Her body fell to the floor with a ragged thump and no one even gave her a second glance.
“Vamps,” Gary growled in a disgusted voice. “Come on.”
They kept pushing through the sea of tangled lives. Pixies dashed through the air around them, spreading their intoxicating drug through the crowd. They jeered as the crystalized dust took affect and sent them reeling.
Gary stopped at the bar and beckoned one of the bartenders with a wave of his hand. A stout vampire with long, black curls and a pierced nose leaned forward. He wore a sleeveless, leather vest and had ancient looking runes tattooed up and down his arms. He gave Gary a once over then smiled at Eric.
“What can I get you?”
“I’m looking for Vlad,” Gary replied.
“Never heard of him.”
“Oh, come on. I know you know where he is. Why don’t you just make both of our lives easier?”
“Like I said, I never heard of him. Now you gonna get a drink, warlock?”
Gary frowned and gave him a sideways glance. He didn’t have time to waste, but he was never one to pass up a drink. “What do you have that doesn’t taste like O negative?”
The vampire bared his teeth then turned to his coworker. “Nick, two ales for the snobby aristocrats.”
A long-haired shifter with tattoos scattered across his face lifted his head and gave them a rough look. “Friends of yours, Andrei?” he asked.
“Not particularly. So, none of the good stuff.”
Nick smiled then slid two bottles down the bar and mumbled something under his breath that sounded Romanian. Gary grabbed a bottle and examined it. The golden brew sloshed around even while he was holding the bottle still. He could smell the simple magic simmering inside, but he was a warlock. Smiling, he brought the bottle to his lips and chugged it dry.
“Drink up,” he looked at Eric and said. “When in Rome.”
Eric hesitantly grabbed the bottle and took a sip which he immediately spat back out. The amber colored liquid tasted like melted wax and cyanide.
“What the hell is this?”
“Drink it…it’ll help with what we have to do later.”
“What?”
“Just finish the damn bottle. I’ll be right back.”
Gary walked off and headed into the restroom. Eric watched him then tried another sip of his drink. The second taste was worse than the first and he doubled down on his refusal to ingest anymore of the acetose liquid.
“I’d listen to your friend if I were you,” Andrei said. “Don’t wanna look like you don’t belong here.”
Eric took a deep breath then grabbed the bottle and tipped it back. The ale slipped down his throat like sludge as he gagged with every swallow. When he was done he could barely stand.
“Feeling better, buddy?” the vampire laughed.
Eric tried to make a smart remark, but all he could do was chew on his tongue and the side of his cheek. He fell into the bar then pointed at the man before letting his face collapse onto the wet, sticky surface.
He closed his eyes and the noisy club faded away. The burning lights disappeared, and he found himself surrounded by fire and shadows.
Something reached out from the darkness. Something familiar to him, but something he hadn’t known in a very long time. He shrank away and let out a scream that echoed in his ears.
“You are ours…” a voice in the shadows echoed.
Eric felt himself sink deeper into the nothingness. The darkness drained him, sucking away every hope he’d ever had. Then just like that, it was gone.
“Come on,” Gary said and grabbed Eric’s arm. “We’re going upstairs.”
Eric opened his eyes and peeled his face from the bar. He looked around the club in confusion then stumbled as he tried to straighten up.
“What is wrong with you?” Gary asked with more annoyance than concern in his voice. “Let’s go.”
Gary led him up the stairs to the second floor. There was a wide platform that overlooked the dance floor and plush blue couches like horseshoes pushed back against the wall. A few small groups were scattered around the VIP lounges, puffing clouds of multi-colored smoke from elaborate hookah pipes. The air smelled like a fresh orchard, but beneath the fruity scents the bitter tinge of blood lingered.
Eric clambered up the last few steps as he clung to the railing. He fell onto one of the couches then leaned his head back as the world spun around him.
“Jesus, Eric. It was just ale. Stay here.”
Gary shook his head in disappointment then headed off to find Vlad. Eric gripped the couch like it was a moving car and wrestled to keep his stomach’s contents on the inside. The thundering base from the nightclub threatened to knock him onto the floor and the ale was still racing through his system like a drunk driver.
The air wreaked of blood and death and Eric didn’t know if it had always smelled that way and he was only now becoming aware of it. Sounds he’d never heard before flooded his ears, sounds he knew were impossible for his ears to pick up. One moment he could hear a group of women giggling in the bathroom downstairs, the next he could hear a roach crawling in the walls of a building a block away. He squeezed his hands to the side of his head, trying to block it out.
Minutes ran by like a track meet and after almost an hour, Eric was finally able to sit straight with some effort. Balancing on the edge of the couch, he pushed himself up on wobbly legs and looked around. Gary was nowhere to be seen, but the club had doubled in occupancy and the lower floor was now a bloodbath.
The music pulsed as swarms of people, lulled by the intoxicating drugs, willingly offered their lives. Vampires crawled from body to body feeding greedily, gorging themselves on the human buffet. Eric watched in horror as the life faded from a woman’s face and she was tossed away like trash.
Gagging, he leaned to the side and unleashed a stream of vomit onto the floor. He wiped his mouth then scanned the club for Gary.
“I gotta get out of here,” he mumbled.
He grabbed hold of the iron railing and staggered across the landing. Taking a deep breath, he straightened up and made his way toward the stairs but stopped as his eyes fell on a strange man standing across the room.
The man was tall and muscular with jet, black hair and stubble across his face that was obviously meant to be stylish. He wore a navy-blue suit and had the buttons of his white dress shirt undone, exposing his trimmed chest hair.
“Vlad,” Eric mumbled.
Still fighting grogginess, Eric made his way across the landing and approached the man. He held out his hand and started to introduce himself but paused as he remembered what Gary told him.
“My name’s…Everett,” he said in an unconvinced tone.
“Vlad,” the man replied and shook his hand.
Eric bit his lip and looked around awkwardly. Fidgeting with his hands, he grinned then turned his head to the side.
“Can I help you with something…Everett?” Vlad asked.
“Well, I was looking for something. Something strong, you know?”
“There’s enough pixie dust and crank to kill an ogre. What else could you want?”
“Something stronger,” Eric replied.
Vlad raised his eyebrows then turned on him and grabbed Eric by the collar. He pulled him close and bared his teeth. Eric could see flakes of skin and rotting meat stuck between them, his breath wreaked of death and decrepit carcasses. Er
ic lurched forward as vomit rose in the back of his throat.
“Who are you?” Vlad growled.
“I told you. I’m…I’m Everett.”
“You smell funny Everett and ask too many questions.”
There was a sudden commotion downstairs and the music stopped. The doors flew open and men in tactical uniforms stormed inside.
“The commission!” someone shouted as the crowd scattered for fear of their life.
Vlad glanced downstairs then shoved Eric away. In a blur he vanished into the dark, leaving Eric standing alone on top of the landing.
He looked down to the dance floor as men stormed in, slamming people to the floor and restraining them with binds that he couldn’t see, but feel. Hysteria stabbed at his heart and he stared around in a clueless panic then heard a familiar voice.
“Hey…hey buddy.”
Eric glanced over his shoulder toward the back of the room where Andrei, the short, vampire bartender was hiding. He was crouched behind a case of boxes and had a worried look on his face.
“Hey buddy…this way,” he said and waved his hand.
Eric knew better than to trust vampires, that much Gary had taught him. But as he looked back at the agents, he remembered Gary’s warning about the commission and the fear of what they’d do to him if he was caught.
“Hurry up man,” Andrei called again.
Eric nodded and scurried across the floor. He stopped at his side and Andrei smiled, his elongated canines gleaming under the strobe lights.
“Follow me.”
Andrei pushed against the wall and it slid backward, revealing a passage into the dark. Eric gave it a skeptic glance and Andrei winked.
“It’s safe. Just a way out of here for times like this.”
As the sound of agents storming up the stairs rumbled, Eric shrugged and followed Andrei into the darkness. He was immediately greeted with the smell of mildew and rotten wood. Small animals scurried into the shadows and the hairs on Eric’s arms turned rigged and bristly.
Andrei glanced back, and his eyes glimmered with an ominous red glow. “It’s not much further,” he said then paused and turned to face Eric. “You smell funny. What are you?”