Dark Legion

by Rob Cornell

  She swung her rifle over her shoulder and pushed past him. “You’re a perfect gentleman.”

  Looking up into the dark shaft, Teresa asked, “You think they’ve got the ‘vators covered?”

  Lockman scanned the shaft at ground level, looking for the access ladder, but couldn’t see much of anything in the dark. He wished he had brought along the night vision goggles. “Without their fresh vamp army, I’m betting they’re spread too thin to worry about anyone climbing up here to greet them.”

  “What do we do once we’re up? Assuming my arms can take it.”

  “We’re the two-man strike team, remember?” When he let his mind move to the next stage of his plan, the light banter felt forced. “We get Jessie and we get the fuck out.”

  “No swipe at the king?”

  “Another day. Unless we can’t help it.”

  Teresa put out her arms, palms out, and entered the elevator shaft, feeling her way in. Lockman could just make out her form as his eyes adjusted to the dark. A second later, she said, “Found it.”

  Lockman followed the sound of her voice and went in after her. He bumped against her, his front against her back, his hands instinctively going to her waist to steady himself. Her hands slid over his. Calluses occasionally broke the otherwise softness of her skin, unlike Kate’s hands—smooth from fingertips to wrist.

  He pulled his hands out from under hers.”You want me to go up first?”

  “No. Me first. That way if my arms get too tired and I fall, I’ll take you with me.”

  “This is why I don’t tell you my plans before hand. You’d never go along without bitching the whole way.”

  She elbowed him in the gut. “Come on. Jessie’s waiting for us.”

  Again, he thought about Vera’s reading. The energy source fallen dormant, as she had put it. He hoped to hell Teresa was right. The alternative was unthinkable.

  It was a dark climb, but Teresa’s arms had no trouble reaching the top.

  Lockman knew she wouldn’t. While she by no means had a self-esteem problem, she had always underestimated herself. With the Agency it had held her back at times. She should have advanced up the ranks faster than she had. She could have been Creed’s second in command, instead of that traitorous bastard, Tanner.

  “Now what, ace?” Teresa whispered down to him.

  “Give me your dagger.” Unlike the door in the lobby and the one on the third floor, the top floor’s door was closed. Luckily, with the faint light let into the shaft from that third floor door, Lockman’s eyes had adjusted enough to see Teresa above him. She handed down the dagger.

  He clamped the blade in his teeth and used a small ledge around the shaft to shuffle along the wall to the door. Once there, he held onto a metal lip above the door, took the knife from his mouth, and jammed the blade in the crack between the doors. He had to work the dagger back and forth before the doors finally split enough to get his fingers in. He clutched the blade between his teeth again and yanked the nearest half of the door toward him.

  Hopefully, one of the vamps wasn’t standing there watching all this.

  Nothing leapt into the shaft and bit him, so he assumed he was safe. When he had the door open enough to fit through, he slipped out of the shaft and found the hall empty. He poked his head back in and gave Teresa the all clear.

  She grumbled something as she navigated the ledge around the shaft. Lockman had his hands out to help her through the door, but she swatted them away and climbed out on her own. “I don’t need your damn help for the easy part.”

  He had to admit his own arms burned along with his calf muscles from the climb. Focusing on Jessie had got him all the way up without noticing the strain until now. He handed Teresa her dagger back and found his hand trembling slightly. “Which way?”

  In typical hotel fashion, the hall ran in two directions from the elevators, rows of numbered doors lining either side in regular intervals. Both ends of the hall came to a corner, presumably turning to similar halls accommodating more hotel rooms. They had no way of knowing which room the vamp king had Jessie. While some of the doors hung loose in their frames, most of them had stood the test of time. Checking each room would take too long.

  “There has to be something significant about the room. He wouldn’t pick one at random.”

  “How do we know which room is significant to a vamp? There’s only five stories to this hotel. No room number six, six, six.”

  She walked over to a plaque with a list of room number ranges and arrows pointing in corresponding directions. “I was thinking more like a luxury suite.” She tapped a spot on the plaque that read, “Master Suite.”

  He remembered the throne in the lobby. “Yeah, this king thinks he’s a high roller. Good call.”

  Lockman drew his hand cannon from his waistband.

  Teresa checked the safety lock on her rifle.

  Then they headed for the master suite.

  They stopped at the corner right before the hall to the suite. Teresa crouched at the edge, drew her dagger, and slowly poked the blade into the open. She turned the blade to several different angles and, once satisfied, turned back to Lockman. She held up two fingers, which meant two guards in the hall.

  Lockman lifted his gun and tapped it with a finger, asking if they were armed.

  She nodded and patted her rifle.

  So the guards had automatic weapons. Probably more ammo than Teresa had, too. A noisy assault wouldn’t work anyway. Not if they wanted to get to Jessie before she was harmed. He gestured for Teresa to hand him the dagger and switched positions with her so he could take a look. The blade reflected almost as sharply as a mirror. He could see the guards and the Uzis they held in front of them like a preacher carries his closed bible. The worst part wasn’t their weapons. It was the distance between the corner and the double doors to the master suite. A wide open space they could not cover without the vamp guards spotting them.

  When he finished looking, he turned back to Teresa. She raised her eyebrows in a question. He breathed slowly through his nose and unfocused his eyes, looking inward for some idea how to move forward. He pictured the layout of the floor as he figured it. Basically a square hallway with rooms on the inside and outside of the square. Probably gaps between some of the rooms for an ice machine, a storage closet. Nothing useful.

  Had to be some way to draw the guards from their post. Or get at them without firing a shot.

  He signaled Teresa to back down the hall. Once they cleared earshot, he whispered, “I surrender.”

  Her gaze bore through him. “Not an option, Lockman.”

  He waved a hand. “Not for real. I circle around to the other side of the hall. I distract them by giving myself up. You come up behind them and we take them down.”

  “Aw, hell no. They won’t let you ‘give yourself up.’ They’ll eat you.”

  “Then you better move fast.”

  She screwed her lips together, thought a minute. “How about this instead? I give myself up, and you ambush them.”

  “How is that any better?”

  “You’re faster, stronger, and you’ve already walked into the middle of a suicide mission tonight. It’s my turn.”

  “You’re letting your personal feelings get in the way.”

  “Am I? Then what’s your excuse for not letting me do it?”

  He looked away. He didn’t want to chance her seeing his feelings on his face. Because he shouldn’t have those feelings. He had Kate. Loved Kate. This attraction to Teresa didn’t add up to more than a mix of physical reactions to stress and a few good memories from a long time ago. The hell he was going to let it get in the way of saving Jess.

  “All right. Hand me your rifle and dagger.”

  “I’d rather keep the dagger, but you can have these.” She dug into a pocket in her cargo pants and pulled out stack of six throwing stars. She handed them over.

  “Since when did you become a ninja?”

  “They’re silver. You know how
to throw Shuriken?”

  “Been a while. Me and Rodriguez used to play darts with them.”

  She rolled her eyes. “My life’s in your hands, Lockman. Make it count.”

  “Heh. No pressure.”

  Chapter Sixty-Two

  She was willing to die for him.

  Not for the mission, though Teresa badly wanted to save Jessie from these evil fucks. She would die for him because—it didn’t make any sense, but she knew it from the moment she had tackled him in the woods behind his cabin—she loved him.

  Not that she fooled herself into thinking he felt the same. Sure, the attraction was obvious. And if she tried hard enough, she might get him to forget Kate long enough to get him in bed. That isn’t what she wanted, though. She wanted the whole package. Christ, they were made for each other, were practically mirror images, a fucking male and female matching set.

  Too bad it took this long to realize it.

  But that was life, right? The man you love loves someone else. Vamps get hyped up on ogre blood, follow a king, form up an army, and one of the fucks turns your sister. Your best ogre friend gets killed. Yeah, just another day in the life.

  Teresa reached the opposite end of the hall to the master suite and took a second to collect herself. Lockman had stayed put on the other side, ready to move when Teresa initiated the plan. Her heartbeat raced. Palms sweat. Her migraine drew a cowl of rusted nails over her head.

  Knitting her fingers behind her head, she stepped into the hallway, ready to take a bullet to the chest or a pair of fangs to the throat, as long as it meant Craig got his daughter back.

  Chapter Sixty-Three

  Lockman’s chest clenched when he saw Teresa come around the corner. She had made it to the other side faster than he expected. He wasn’t ready. If he stayed honest with himself, though, he would never be ready. This had become the story of his life—putting those he cared about in harm’s way.

  The vamps spotted her right away. They stepped away from the door, Uzis up, both of them growling from deep in the throat.

  Teresa stopped with her hands behind her head, totally exposed and at the whim of these two vamps. They could easily close the distance and start feeding on her in seconds. Easier still, they could pull their triggers and end it in half the time.

  Lockman squeezed the rifle in his hands till his knuckles turned white. Stay frosty. This wouldn’t work if he didn’t keep a cool head. He chanced easing a little further around the corner and aimed down the barrel of the rifle, ready to fire if they tried anything.

  “I’m not with the others anymore,” Teresa said.

  Interesting choice of words. Lockman realized the direction she was taking this, riffing off of his original strategy, making it better on the spot.

  Her declaration was enough to keep the vamps from attacking. One of them, dressed in a black suit over a red shirt, tilted his head. “What do you want?”

  “To bargain. I can give you their attack strategy. Tell you their weaknesses.”

  The other vamp, wearing a Hornets jersey big enough to make a dress out of, laughed. “You and your ogre friends are already as good as dead.”

  “Tell that to the hundred or so liquefied vamps in the lobby.”

  She had their attention. Time for Lockman to step up to bat. He crept into the hall, staying low, ready to cut them down with the AK if he had to.

  The vamps exchanged looks. The one in the suit jerked back the bolt on his gun and shook his head. “If you’re so confident, why come begging for mercy?”

  “I’m not begging for mercy.” She licked her lips and visibly swallowed. “I’m looking to get turned.”

  He knew she was playing them, but hearing her say that made Lockman falter because she sounded like she meant it. He quickly collected himself and continued forward.

  Both vamps had a good laugh. The one with the suit backhanded the other’s arm. “She must be one of those Goth chicks.”

  “I hate Goth chicks,” Jersey said. “They’re so needy.”

  Teresa spat air. “Are you two stupid?”

  That killed the laughter.

  She continued before they could shoot her. “I’m former Agency. I have intel that would make your king so happy he could walk in the sun without getting burnt. You really want to fuck around with an opportunity like that?”

  Suit’s aim dropped. “Day walking? Are you serious?”

  Halfway there. Keep them talking.

  “It was a figure of speech, dumbo. But I’d bet money he wants to know about the return.”

  Lockman had no idea where she was going with this, but it didn’t matter. He was close enough to use the throwing stars. He just needed Teresa to get a little closer so she could get at the vamps when they turned on him. He slid the rifle back and pulled out the Shuriken, held five of them in his left hand, the sixth in his right and ready to throw.

  Suit snorted. “What the hell is the return?”

  Teresa chanced a few steps forward, hands still laced behind her head. She made it look natural. Coming in closer to tell them a secret while keeping a non-threatening stance.

  The vamps actually leaned toward her, waiting for her answer.

  “I think it’s best I keep that one for the king himself.”

  Jersey growled. “You tell me, or I’ll rip off your tits with my teeth.”

  Lockman didn’t need a better signal than that. He stood and launched the first throwing star at the back of Jersey’s neck. Before that one hit, Lockman peeled another off the stack and sent that one at Suit.

  Jersey got his right where Lockman had aimed, the silver star lodged into his top vertebrae. He dropped his Uzi, reached behind his neck, and singed his fingertips on the silver.

  Suit must have sensed the movement behind him. He started to turn as the throwing star reached him and caught him in the cheek. His head jerked and he staggered sideways.

  Teresa drew her dagger and dashed at Suit first. A quick slash opened his throat. He dropped his weapon and tried to close the smoking smile in his neck with his hands.

  The attack from both sides made Jersey hesitate, not sure which direction to go, still hurting from the star in his neck. Lockman tossed two more in quick succession. One popped the vamp’s eyeball. The other split his mouth in half.

  Teresa followed up with another clean slice to Jersey’s throat and dropped him.

  Suit had staggered over to the wall and leaned against it while he kept trying to hold his throat closed. A wet gurgle bubbled out from the wound. The edges of the cut glowed red like an ember from the touch of silver.

  Teresa braced him against the wall with a hand to his shoulder and jammed her blade into his heart. A spray of blood shot from his neck as he tried to scream. Then he started melting, leaving a black and red stain on the wall as he slid down.

  They froze, listening for any sign that their attack had attracted attention. He could hear voices behind the double doors to the master suite, but they sounded conversational rather than alarmed. Lockman caught Teresa’s eye and gave her a thumbs up.

  She smiled.

  Until the automatic gunfire roared through the hall and Teresa fell backward, blood pluming from her chest.

  Chapter Sixty-Four

  “No!” Lockman’s blood turned to molten lava. He dropped the remaining shuriken and wielded his rifle.

  On the floor at Lockman’s feet, Jersey turned his bloody face toward him and started to bring his Uzi around as well.

  Lockman squeezed his trigger and held it. A rain of bullets at close range turned the vamp’s head to mush. But Lockman couldn’t release the trigger. He drew a line down along the vamp’s body, splitting him open. The concentration of silver rounds started the vamp on fire. When the AK clicked dry, he still couldn’t let go of the trigger. He wanted to turn the rifle around and beat the vamp’s remains into the floor.

  Teresa called out, voice hoarse and weak.

  Lockman threw the rifle down and went to her, fell to his
knees beside her. He looked over her injuries. None of them looked immediately fatal, but the blood loss would eventually kill her. Even if he could rush her out of there and to a hospital, it might be too late.

  When he heard the doors burst open behind him, he knew he wasn’t going anywhere.

  Teresa gripped his hand. “It’s okay. I was ready for this.”

  He shook his head, wiped at his eyes. “Not me.”

  A gun barrel poked at the back of Lockman’s neck. He stiffened, gripped Teresa’s hand even tighter.

  “Get up,” a serpentine voice said.

  Teresa slipped her dagger into Lockman’s hand. “Save Jessie.”

  He tucked the dagger up his sleeve. “I’ll save you both.”

  “You always could do the impossible.”

  Reluctantly, Lockman released Teresa’s hand and stood.

  An older, craggy voice, more distant, said, “Bring him inside.”

  The vamp with the gun to his neck grabbed Lockman by the shoulder, jerked him around, and marched him into the master suite.

  The sight almost killed Lockman.

  The suite looked more like a penthouse than a hotel room, and the vamps had updated and furnished the space so that it looked brand new. The common room had its own chandelier, a bar, a set of couches in a recessed section of the floor. Panes of glass made up the far wall, giving the room a view of the New Orleans cityscape. They had installed another throne up here as well. Doors to either side of the common room must have lead to the bedrooms. But these details registered only on the periphery of Lockman’s awareness. The dining table in the center of the room captured the bulk of his attention.

  Jessie lay on the table, clothes tattered, dried blood all over her body. Blood around her mouth with long drips painted down her cheeks. Skin so pale. Too pale. Admit it. A shade of gray.

  Beyond the table the vampire king sat on his throne, wearing a smile so twisted it looked like a crack in his face.

  Lockman howled and tried to rush the king, but the vamp holding his shoulder kept him back. When Lockman spun to throw a punch, the vamp dodged and jabbed him in the face twice. Lockman’s cheekbone crunched. But he stayed on his feet.