by Leah Silver
It was dark out at least, but Ed had parked us under a streetlight. We weren’t exactly being covert. I glanced around, but the only people about were clearly homeless or druggies, maybe both. They weren’t passing judgment. Probably thought he was some addict who’d skipped out on a payment.
“Would you like to reconsider your answer?” Oscar asked menacingly as he held the man against the side of the van, making the vehicle lean a bit once we were all out of it.
The man clawed at his neck, but then a calm spread across his face.
“Oscar,” I warned.
In that instant, he turned to stone, and it was lucky he did. The man reached into his pocket, and then pulled out a small device. A switch. He was lightning quick. Before Oscar, or even Ed, could react, he flipped a plastic cover open and hit the switch.
My world slowed once again. I saw the concussion spread outward from the human. It didn’t have any effect at all on Oscar. He was made of stone. But Ed stood off to the side in front of the van, and Ike was just next to me. I moved in front of Ike, knowing he was the one I could protect the most. I wouldn’t be killed by an explosion. Hurt maybe, but not killed. Ed…I couldn’t help him. I hoped he had the sense to protect himself.
I lunged at Ike, taking him to the ground as the concussion passed over us. Razors dug into my back and down my legs. Even the back of my head wasn’t spared. What the actual fuck kind of bomb was that?
The ringing in my ears made it hard to know if anyone was alive or talking to me after the shockwave dissipated. But the burning spread throughout my body like wildfire. As if I were being burned alive from the inside. Only one thing made a vampire feel like that.
“Silver,” I breathed.
Oscar was at my side, and Ike crawled out from under me. Fear coursed through my body. The bomb had been laced with silver shrapnel. Built to take out every one of us. Well, except Oscar. But alone, he was useless against the enemy. They didn’t need to kill him. Just take his strength. And they might have done that.
A scream escaped me as the pain coursed through me, each heartbeat bringing me closer to actual death.
“Ed,” I heard Oscar yell. But it sounded distant. Muffled.
Some shuffling, and I was lifted before being laid on something cushiony. We were moving. Ed was there. I saw his face through my tears.
“Shh. It will be okay.”
“Silver,” I managed.
Somehow, that doofus smiled at me. “Silver is no match for me, love. You just wait.”
“Well, get the fuck to it,” I said through gritted teeth.
He laughed. “That’s my girl.”
Ed started chanting. His voice encircled me, and I closed my eyes, giving myself to it. I rode the currents it created around my body. It seemed like I was watching him crouched in front of me, his back to the driver’s seat where Oscar drove. Was I having an out-of-body experience? Had I died?
Ed was slowly running his hand over my back, but not actually touching me, just waving it over me like metal detector wand. The silver currents of air started streaming out of me. As I floated wherever I was, I realized I wasn’t in pain. And I was so grateful for that. Maybe I was dead. Our coven could be led by a ghost.
“Ed?” I tried, but he didn’t hear me. Nope. That wouldn’t work. Couldn’t have much of a coven if they couldn’t talk to me. I frowned, not quite accepting that existence as I saw more and more of the silver streams coming from my body. He was collecting them in his left hand, while his right continued to pass over all over my body. Soon, he had a round clump of silver the size of a baseball. More and more was added to it.
I felt a pull, but I was so mesmerized I wasn’t ready for it. I fought it hard, not wanting to leave them. Or Sara for that matter. “No,” I said, a bit of panic taking hold of me.
“Merry,” Ed said, and I swore he stared right at me. He even turned his body to look up and over his right shoulder. “It’ll be okay.”
I didn’t know how to respond. My mouth hung open. It was all too much for me to comprehend.
“Who sent him, do you think?” Ike asked.
The pull drew me back down, and I suddenly understood. I wasn’t going beyond the void. I was going back to my body. Relief washed over me as I listened to my men talk.
“I don’t know,” Oscar said, frustration making his words short.
“Who else could it be but that super race?” Ike asked.
“The council.”
“What?” Ike asked. Ed struggled for concentration, which stalled my journey a bit. “How could it be them?”
“They were involved in everything. Charles himself was responsible for my capture. He handed me over to them, so they could test a latest version of the plague. One meant for gargoyles.”
I hovered above my body, and Ed turned around to gawk at Oscar. “There is much to talk about then.”
“Why? What do you know?” Oscar said.
Ed faced the front again. “It can wait until we’re all together.”
He went back to work, and I returned to my body. But I found my eyes too heavy to open. My mind raced with what Oscar had said. Was he sure? Maybe he was hallucinating again. No way was the pooh-bah involved in this. But sure as I’d thought it, something niggled at the back of my mind. They had something on him. When he wouldn’t tell me everything, I could tell he was being held back. But why ask us to take on this mission only to destroy us, one member at a time?
I thought back to the moments before I’d been separated from Oscar. I hadn’t seen the pooh-bah. What would make Oscar say he’d delivered him to the enemy?
My brain was too muddled, moving far too slowly to puzzle it out.
Ed laid a soothing hand on my forehead. A wave of comfort passed through my body, and Ed’s voice followed. “Shh. Sleep now. Understanding will come.”
I couldn’t fight it. The to Levi’s hospital was short, and I wanted to stay awake. But I couldn’t. Damn that wizard.
My mind swirled with restless dreams. Dreams of Oscar and the pooh-bah. Levi and his blackened hand, with only Sara there to comfort him. Ike and Julie. Ed and the warden. All my men and their problems.
Before I could make sense of any of it, the van shuddered as Oscar turned off the engine. I struggled to open my eyes.
Ed still sat in front of me. “You’ll feel groggy and out of it for a bit. But this could bode well for us getting into the hospital.”
Ike nodded, as if this had been our plan all along. “Good. Let’s get her inside then.”
Ed grabbed the top of my arm, hauling me into a sitting position. I felt like I had the world’s worst hangover, or maybe the flu. Seeing as I’d never experienced either, I didn’t have a reference point. But my mouth felt dry, I was sure my head would explode with my next heartbeat, and my arms and legs felt like they each weighed a ton. How exactly did Ed expect me to get myself inside that hospital?
I looked at him, the question hidden behind lips I couldn’t make form words. But he must’ve seen my confusion in my half-opened eyes.
“Don’t worry. We’ll help.”
And they did. Ike and Oscar each took an arm and jostled me inside the hospital. Honest to the Mother, I thought I was going to puke right there all over the nurse’s station when they brought me to a jarring halt in front of it.
“We need to see Dr. Pietz right away,” Ed said, putting on a dramatic sense of urgency.
The nurse’s entire demeanor changed at the mention of Levi’s name. “Why? Is she…infected?”
Ed said, “Well, we’re not here for a checkup if that’s what you mean.”
“Why on Earth did you bring her in through the main entrance? Now all these people are exposed.”
“Forgive me, ma’am, but I wasn’t really thinking about these people. I was thinking about my wife.”
I thought I saw her frown through my shuttered eyes, but everything was hazy I couldn’t be sure. Also, it was hard to hold my head up. At least most of the pain was gone. T
he burn I’d been feeling was down to a dull ache that was masked by all the other symptoms. What had Ed done to me? Saved your life, you ungrateful wanker. He saved your foolish ass.
I closed my eyes again, trying to listen to the rest of their conversation over the pounding in my head.
“Just take her down. Here’s a badge that will let you in. The code is 6342.” She gave me a once over, and her frowned deepened. “Just go. I’ll worry about the quarantine when you’re gone.” She spoke in a very annoyed tone, then, apparently into a phone. If I was feeling better, I’d have given her a sharp little piece of my mind. No worries. I’d save it for my way out.
The men jostled me over to the elevator, and the silence in the small space was welcome. I sagged against them, and Ed appeared in front of me. “Sorry, love. It’ll get better soon.”
“It better,” I said, glaring at him.
“Or what?”
“Or maybe I’ll let the warden have you next time,” I ventured, knowing it wasn’t even a little bit true.
“You are feeling bad. That wasn’t the least bit funny,” Ed said, and I stuck my tongue out at him. “Oh, I’ll take that tongue any day.”
“Get in line, wizard. You had your turn,” Ike said. I couldn’t help but chuckle at the men. But it hurt when I did, and I sagged against them as the elevator reached the bottom.
Somebody punched the code in before waving the badge in front of the door. They threw the heavy metal lift gate up. It opened into a strange room with suits and showers, which had different phases we should’ve passed through. Of course, my men blazed right passed everything and mashed the button to the left of the steel door.
“Who’s there?” Sara’s voice cautiously called.
“Sara,” I said weakly.
“Mom?” A horrible buzzing sound filled the air. I winced against it before the door opened, and Ike and Oscar half-carried me through a room of empty beds. Well, they weren’t empty. There were piles of black ash on each one of them. It gave me a sinking feeling that had nothing to do with the silver poisoning I’d just had.
“They all died,” I whispered as we moved through the graveyard of beds, the smell of death heavy in the air. It wasn’t like a rotting smell at all. It was antiseptic, metal, and failure. I could only hope we wouldn’t find Levi in the same state. The thought gave me a zing of strength and I stood on my own, putting one foot in front of the other.
“Don’t overdo, Merry,” Ed cautioned as I made my way to the back.
Sara stood in the doorway to what I assumed was their lab. She ran into my open arms, and I breathed her in. Lavender and soap. Just like my little girl.
“Mom, what happened to you? You look like death warmed over.”
“Silver does that to a girl.”
Her face turned from concern to rage in an instant. “Who tried to kill you?”
“Unclear. Oscar seems to think the council is involved in some way,” I admitted. When I glanced behind me, it sent aches through my body, forcing me to lean forward and brace myself on my knees.
Sara reached out for me. “Mom, let me help you.”
“Levi?”
“As arrogant as ever. He’s right through here.”
“He didn’t come to meet us when I thought he was dead?” I demanded, anger giving new energy to my broken body.
“He thought we might want a moment alone,” she offered. I wasn’t sure if she was defending him or if it was the truth. In the end, it didn’t matter…much.
“You called?” He leaned against the doorframe to the lab, just as handsome and full of it as ever.
“Levi Pietz, you’re a sight for sore eyes.”
“Your eyes really must be sore. What have these boys done to you?” He was at my side in an instant, genuine concern in his gentle touch. Taking my arm, he led me to a chair just inside the lab.
“It’s a long story, but I think we better start with yours. What happened? How are you not dead?”
He held up his hand, and I realized my vision was clearing. Sitting was immensely helpful, but I also noticed I could sit up straight with very little effort. Ed was right, again. If he wasn’t careful, he’d get arrogant like Levi before I could curb it. The Mother knew I didn’t need two of them in the coven.
“Well, I managed to force some of Sara’s blood into the infected cells. It’s not the most elegant solution…” He held up his hand, and it was a strange grey color. Almost like the creatures I’d seen helping Oscar. “But it stopped me from dying, so I’ll take it. I’m hoping you find it charming,” he said, eyeing me.
“I’m not sure how I find it,” I said, trying to process what he’d done. “You were attacked? That’s how you got infected?”
“Yes. That’s right.”
“Did the person who came after you have any connections to the council?” Oscar asked out of the blue. Or maybe it wasn’t out of the blue, but it sure felt like it was. He was on an entirely different train of thought than I was. But if he was right, we had another can of worms to deal with. One no one in our coven wanted to swallow.
“I’m not sure. He was someone from my past.” Levi didn’t elaborate further.
“As was the one who came after me,” Oscar said.
Ike interjected. “Not me, though. I didn’t know Julie. I had no connection to her or her pack.”
“A variable to throw us off?” I asked, my head slowly clearing. Why was I supporting this argument? “Not that I think for a minute the council is involved in what happened to us.”
“Well, hold on. Let’s hear Oscar’s side of it. Tell us what makes you think that, Rocky,” Ike said.
Oscar frowned, but I wasn’t sure if it was because of sharing his information, or Ike’s new nickname. “When my uncle came for us, he disabled Merry. While she was out, Charles showed up in all his flaming glory.”
Levi lit up, excitement gleaming. “You got to see his dragon form? What was it like?”
“Stay on task,” Ed reminded him.
“Right. We can circle back to that.”
Oscar just shook his head. “He said something about my uncle knowing the deal and sticking to it. He helped my uncle kidnap me, knowing full well what they planned to do to me.”
“Are you sure about that?” Ike asked.
“Sure about what? That he helped my uncle take me away from Merry? Yes. I’m sure.”
“No, that he knew what they were planning to do to you. Maybe his role was just separate us, and he didn’t know what they planned to do with you once you were captured,” Ike offered.
“That’s very generous of you. A bit more generous than I’m willing to be,” Oscar replied, although I did see him consider it. “My uncle did say Charles might not know the entirety of their agreement, or something like that. He called him Chuck. Like he was inferior.”
I thought about it for a moment. “We already knew the pooh-bah was at their mercy, right? Or at least suspected. Now we know for sure they have him by the balls. Keep that in mind as we move forward. Any orders we get from him are suspect. And don’t tell him of our whereabouts or progress. He might have a direct line to the enemy.”
“If he does, shouldn’t we go after him? Wouldn’t that be the fastest way to end this?” Ike asked.
“Not necessarily,” Ed said. He leaned his elbows against a counter in the middle of the lab when he had our attention. With that, Ed told us a wild tale of how he’d ended up on the production line of the plague. It ended with him placing two vials of shining silvery liquid on the island in the middle of the lab. We stared at the objectification of our enemy. I was afraid to touch it. Levi, on the other hand, seemed excited by the new development.
“Venom?” Levi asked, going to his microscope. “Of course. That’s why it isn’t contagious. It must be administered somehow.”
“But how did I get it?” Sara asked.
“That’s still theoretical. Someone must’ve planted it on your mother, who transferred it to you. But why she didn’t
get it is beyond me. Perhaps a mistake on the delivery boy’s part. We’ll probably never know for sure,” Levi offered, peeling his gaze from the microscope.
“What does it mean?” I asked, trying to process this latest information.
“It means if we shut down the production line, we shut down their effort. The head honcho is there. On the other side of the veil. We get to him, we free all of them,” Ed said, but then a shadow passed over his face.
“Is there a vampire missing that you’ve heard of?”
“What? No. Not that I know of,” Levi said.
Sara shook her head. “Nope. I’ve been watching the news closely, searching for any indication of another outbreak.”
I smiled. Of course she had. My data junkie.
“A woman named Emily was in the cell next to mine. A vampire.”
“Emily…” Sara trailed off. “Like patient zero?”
Ed paled. “Do they have patient zero trapped beyond the veil?”
I sat back in my chair. That was a new dimension of horror. Not only had they given her a terrible death, but they’d prevented her from being at peace beyond the veil, too? How?
“Were there others? There have been a lot of deaths due to this,” I asked.
“I’m not sure. She was the only one I saw, and I happened to catch her name. But there were plenty of cells around me,” Ed filled in.
“Demons’ breath,” I breathed, trying to comprehend the ramifications.
“So, Levi learned how to stop it. Ed found the source production line. Oscar learned they’re trying to expand production. Ike, anything horrible to add to this little tale we’re spinning?” I asked, hoping beyond hope he wouldn’t have another hurdle we had to jump over.
“We already knew to be leery of the goblins. They’ve got their hands in the snakes’ pockets. Apparently, there’s a drop-off point for the venom, based on how Ed described the cases, in Washington.”
“Possibly the next outbreak point?”
“It’s a possibility. There’s a huge population of vampires there,” Sara pointed out as she sat behind her computer screen typing away. “Last count by the council was over one hundred thousand.”