A lightning-fast blow struck the back of my head. I dropped to the ground, landing on my face as heat burned up the back of my skull. The deafening sound of the erupting room quickly returned to silence, the floorboards below me now as dark as those in the corridor. I glanced up, hurrying to my knees and looking for Keira, who had vanished.
“Welcome back,” came a familiar voice from behind me.
I spun around to find Link perched on the end of a dusty old bed. The room fell dark again, and behind him, two dirty, mite-ridden teddy bears lay on their sides, staring up at the ceiling through frayed threads where buttons dangled loosely as victims of time.
“Where am I?” I said, climbing to my feet, my mouth cottony.
Link shrugged. “Looks like a bedroom to me.”
“What happened?”
“It’s a mystery, Jack-o. After you started rambling on about some singing, you came in here and closed the door. I had to smash the lock to get in.” Link’s eyes drifted to the now-open door, then back to me. “When I found you, you just stood in the dark, repeating ‘Keira’ over and over. So I bopped you round the head with a plank of wood.”
I rubbed the back of my head, where the pain still lingered. By my feet, a piece of wood lay broken in two parts. Had I been hallucinating this whole thing? I must have, and I was willing to bet that this was how The Ancient lured its victims into the house. “It hurt like a son of a bitch, but thanks.”
“You’re thanking me for hitting you?” Link chuckled. “It was my pleasure.”
“I bet. Come on, let’s explore the rest of the house.”
We went from room to room, finding nothing but sheet-covered furniture and old dolls. I wasn’t exactly sure what I was looking for, only that the Sword of Lucada had to stay in my hand. If anyone or anything lunged out at me, I wanted to be ready for it.
Giving up our search of the upper floor, we returned downstairs where there were two demon statues on each side of the hallway. They were placed at an equal distance from each other, starting at the base of the stairs and ending where the basement door met with the back of the house. I scratched my head, thinking hard as to whether they had been there before.
“These weren’t here when we came in?” I asked Link.
“I didn’t notice. You were worrying me with your comments about the singing.” He flew over to the nearest one, landing on its head like pigeons did to statues in the park. “Ugly sods though, aren’t they?”
“Yeah.” I approached the same statue, studying its horrified, gray face. Although it had the body and shape of a man, its face looked more like a demon. The eyes were larger than normal and there was no nose, but a long tongue snaked out of its mouth. “Creepy.”
As I was distracted, it took me a moment to recognize the horrified look on Link’s face. He stared over my shoulder like a child who’d seen a ghost, as he pointed at the terrifying sight with a trembling finger.
My own heart racing now, I followed his gaze to the dark hallway, where the other three statues no longer stood. In their places were dark circles where the dust had been unable to settle, which only proved that the statues had been there the whole time. The only question was: where the hell were they now?
Catching me off-guard, the statue beside me jolted forward and opened his gray, clay hand, wrapping it tightly around my arm and squeezing. My mouth was agape, shocked and petrified as the statue came to life, towering over me with my arm in its vice-like grip. I was aware of a stomping sound behind me, and turned my head as far as I could to see the three other statues line up with their long claws ready to take me out.
There was no way I could beat all four. Not alone.
I was trapped, destined to become a story that Harvey would spread all over town, warning people not to enter the large, ominous house. The Ancient, he would say, had taken a Cardkeeper as its latest victim, and just like any other fool who’d dared to ignore the rumors, I would never be heard of again.
Chapter Fifteen
“You have a sword,” Link screamed. “Use it!”
I snapped from my hypnotic trance. Feeling the weight of the weapon in my free hand, I drew back my arm and brought the edge of the blade down on the statue’s wrist. The hand came off easily, crumbling to the floor and shattering into a thousand tiny shards. The statue, however, didn’t make a single sound – it only reached for me with its other hand, that same face frozen behind clay.
This one I saw coming, and dodged out of the way before bringing the sword down again. The entire arm of the statue crashed to the floorboards, and I kicked it out of the way before ramming my shoulder into the beast. It toppled backward easily, smashing its way out of existence as it struck the ground.
“On your right!”
At the sound of Link’s voice, my instincts drove me to duck. It was lucky I did, too, as a long, clay claw swished just over the top of my head, the breeze blowing my hair back. I flipped the sword around so the blade faced downward, and with all of my strength, I drove its hilt into the statue’s jaw, knocking the head clean off its neck.
With two enemies down, I turned quickly to see Link halfway up the stairs, a statue on either side of him. If I didn’t move fast, they would kill him in an instant. There was no time to take the stairs, so I leapt for the bannister, climbing over the rail and landing beside Link. I quickly raised my sword into the air, ready to strike the statue below us, but came to an abrupt stop as the blade refused to budge.
Confused, I craned my neck, and saw the statue holding the sword in place.
“How…”
A clay fist shot out and struck my chin, sending a wave of hot pain searing through my jaw. I recoiled, losing my balance on the step, and grabbed hold of Link just in time to throw him to safety. His wings would take him from there.
The other statue grabbed me from behind, wrapping its tremendously strong arms around mine and dragging me back down the stairs. I tried to kick free but couldn’t gain my footing. By the time it looked like I had a fighting chance, the statue in front of me dropped my sword, letting it clatter to the ground, and then stooped over to grab my feet. Now I was being escorted downstairs, where they set me down by the front door and held me in place. I tried to shout, to call to Link to help me, but the words fell short as the basement door slowly began to creak open, a whining hinge making everyone in the room stop moving.
I watched with dreaded anticipation as I saw a pale, bare foot stomp out of the basement. A cloud of dust exploded around the heel before it stepped out even further, revealing the figure of a tall, white, man-like creature. The thing turned our way, walking toward me slowly while it made a horrible clicking sound. It wasn’t until it stepped into the beam of moonlight that I got a good look at its face.
The eyes were human – no doubt about that. Its teeth were shaped into the longest fangs I’d ever seen, and, in place of a shirt, its flesh was thick and leathery. I knew immediately that what I was looking at was a vampire, only it was fucking gigantic, and its claws were far longer than those of your everyday bloodsucking dirt bag. As I gawked at it, fearfully awaiting my demise, I realized the ghastly creature’s identity.
“The Ancient.”
It stomped closer to me then, its mouth opening as it prepared to eat. The creature’s power emanated from every pore. I had already fallen victim to its hallucinogenic power, and its clay warriors had weakened me even more. If I had a fighting chance of beating this thing, the energy to do so had evaporated into thin air. That led me to a thought – perhaps it wasn’t that strong. Maybe its plan was to wear me down because it knew how weak it was, the same way a boxer would exhaust his opponent to gain the upper hand.
Well, it had worked.
Things looked bleak. The statues held me in place while Link fidgeted with the sword on the stairs. He struggled to pick it up, to throw it to me so I could make my escape. When he realized he couldn’t make it move, as I had formed a bond with it, he gave up and shook his head, before flying like a b
ullet into one of the statues. The clay exploded around me, deafening me as it turned to dust right by my ear. I acted quickly, rotating my body and driving my knuckles into the arm of the other. Now free, I scrambled away from The Ancient and made for the stairs, where I finally reunited with the Sword of Lucada. It had never felt so good, and it looked good, too; orange, green and blue embers blending as they ran up and down the length of the steel.
“Now you’re screwed,” I said to The Ancient.
I dove over the bannister, landing on my feet behind the creature. I caught a glimpse of Link dealing with the final statue, and knew that I was safe for an extra moment or two. I seized this advantage to swing the sword into The Ancient’s arm. The blade went clean through, slicing through the elbow like butter. The forearm dropped to the floor and burned a hole right through the floorboard. The Ancient made a monstrous screaming sound that I’d only ever heard from a demon before, and then turned to face me.
Now, its eyes were even wider. Saliva dripped from its fangs and its gaze was locked on me.
“Oh, shit.” I moved quickly, ducking under the first quick swipe of its claws, as I shrank down the blade. Regaining my balance, I stood up straight and threw my best punch into its chest, right at its heart. The moment my knuckles connected, I pushed my thumb into the button and the blade lashed out, punching a hole right through the bastard’s ticker. The added momentum of the punch lent strength to the extending blade, helping to tear through the thick, mutant-like flesh and literally break its heart.
I froze there, my fist gripping the sword as I waited for The Ancient to burn.
It didn’t.
The sword was ripped from my hand and The Ancient stumbled back. Slowly, it grabbed the hilt and pulled it from its chest, making a long whiny noise as it saw the weapon that had harmed it, and then tossed it to the floor like unwanted scrap. It panted heavily, hunched over as its head rose, its eyes full of hate as it met mine. I stood back, ready to defend myself from its retaliation, but what it did instead took me by surprise.
From its back, long, bat-like wings ripped through its skin and spread out to scratch the walls. The Ancient hissed at me furiously, turned into a crouch, and then took off, smashing through the circular window at the top of the stairs. Shattered glass rained exploded outward as the creature’s silhouette flapped in front of a full moon, before disappearing into the night.
Stunned, I looked back at Link, who was on the floor and breathing heavily, surrounded by chunks of clay that he’d created by demolishing the final statue. He didn’t look at me – he was too wrapped up in staring at the broken window, where the oldest of the world’s vampires had fled after we’d hurt it.
Or had it gone to die? That was possibly wishful thinking, but I had shoved an enchanted sword into its heart. Is it possible that it had simply used the last of its strength to find a final resting place? I liked to think so, sure, but the luck of a Cardkeeper never ran that high. Keira had taught me that much, so like her, I left the house knowing that it was not yet over, and that the fight of my life was yet to come.
Chapter Sixteen
Against his suggestion that I simply take another cab, I persuaded Link to carry me back to Harvey’s garage. Due to his incredible strength, I knew it was possible to lift me – I’d seen him lift Keira before, and she didn’t weigh much less than I did. At least that was what I thought. Unfortunately for Link, I’d underestimated my heft.
After stopping and starting the entire way, we finally reached the garage, Link losing his grip on me a couple of meters above the ground. I tumbled into the dirt, where I shielded my face from the impact and then climbed to my feet, dusting off my knees.
“What the hell was that for?” I said, gritting my teeth.
“It was an accident, sorry. You’re not exactly a featherweight.”
I grunted. “I guess not.”
Link landed by my feet, placing his hands at the small of his back and giving a little push. The poor little fella probably ached after all that, and he still had to make his way back across Europe. I didn’t know how he would manage it.
“Anything else you need?” Link asked.
“Nope.” I shook my head, rapping my knuckles on the door of the garage. “Thanks for your help, but I’ll take it from here. Just be sure to let Keira know what happened and tell her everything will be okay.”
Link nodded slowly. “I will.”
The garage door began to move as Harvey opened it from the opposite side. Before it opened all the way, when I could only see a pair of boots on the other side of the door, I waved Link off. “Get out of here.”
Saluting, Link shot up onto his wings, hovered there for an instant, and then flew off into the distance. Within only a couple of seconds, he was nothing more than a white speck on the black canvas of the night.
I’d miss him.
Harvey finally finished getting the door open, and when he saw me standing there waiting for him, his eyes lit up. “You made it,” he said, failing to disguise the excitement in his voice. “Good to see you in one piece, son.”
I smiled. It felt nice to be appreciated. “You got that beer now?”
“Sure do. Come on in.”
Gasping for a sip of cold beer, I stepped inside and invited myself to sit in the armchair. As soon as I sat, I immediately noticed the scuff marks across my pants and bent down to wipe them off. Only then did I realize that it was actually a tear in the fabric, and I would need to change at some point. I probably stank anyway, after all that fighting.
Harvey dangled a beer bottle by my side until I took it, and then sprawled out across the couch in front of me. He grinned, nodding as he took in the fact that I’d returned in one piece. “I can’t believe you did it. I really can’t.”
Whoa. What exactly did he think I’d done? Slay The Ancient?
“I didn’t do anything,” I told him. “At least I don’t think so.”
Harvey’s smile dropped from his face. “What do you mean?”
“I mean that I found the guy – big bastard, too – and put a sword right through its heart. After that, it still found the strength to rip the sword out and fly out of there.” I took a long pull of my beer, the refreshing drink bringing me back to life like a potion. I burped lightly as I pulled the bottle away. “You don’t think it’s dead, do you?”
“Ah.” Harvey winced, struggling to sit up and then resting his face in his hands. “This is bad – real, real bad.”
Why did I feel like I’d done something wrong?
“It’s not that bad,” I assured him. “I can try again.”
“Don’t you think we already did that?” Harvey pulled his hands away and stood up. His face growing scarlet red, he paced around the garage, shaking his head and making me nervous. “I did try to warn you that you shouldn’t head up there.”
I felt uneasy, like something seriously crappy had happened and everyone knew but me. Growing more uncomfortable, I set down the beer and went to stand by the open garage door, letting the cold air caress my cheeks. “You gonna explain what’s got your panties in a bunch? Or are you just going to leave me here, guessing?”
“It’s out there,” he said, shaking his head still. Finally he came to stand by my side, looking out at the range of trees that hid in the darkness ahead. “Wherever it is, it’s gone there to heal. All us townsfolk tried to kill it a couple of times before.”
“Unsuccessfully, I’m guessing.”
“Don’t be a smart Alec.” Harvey sighed. “Both times we attacked it, we only got as far as hurting it. Both times we attacked it, it fled and came back stronger. It might be years before it comes back this way again. Hopefully I’ll be dead by then, but… Ah, forget it.”
As the old man went back inside and sat in his office chair, sulking, I thought through my options. If The Ancient lurked out there somewhere, healing up and prepping to come back stronger than before, I had to find it fast. My only hope now was to catch it as it recovered, and this tim
e, take its goddamn head off.
“Hey,” I said, turning. “You don’t know where it goes, do you?”
Harvey shrugged. “How the hell am I supposed to know? You’re the Cardkeeper, for crying out loud. I’m just a damn eBay salesman.” He huffed, blowing out a hot gust of breath like an angry bull. “Look, all I know is that it reappeared by a body of water. Now that might be a coincidence, but it’s possible that it was a deliberate action. You can try looking somewhere like that. I know it’s not much, but it’s better than nothing.”
A body of water. Right. It really was better than nothing, but still useless to me. I needed some insight to The Ancient, and there was only one man who would know anything. That man was Edgar George, and while I was there I could ask for a little help, too. “I’m going back to Chicago,” I said.
“You’re giving up?”
“No, I’m going to get some help and see if I can’t learn where to find that big, ugly bastard.” I stormed to the back of the garage and offered my hand to Harvey. When he shook it with a look on his face that suggested sheer confusion, I took my chance to say goodbye. “Thank you so much for all your help. I’m going to do right by you.”
“Good luck, son. If you need anything…”
I waved my hand, dismissing it. “You’ve done more than enough for me. When all this is over – and trust me, it will be over – I’ll be sure to send you a muffin basket.”
Harvey laughed, showing those awful black teeth again. “I never was a fan of muffins, so you can just send me the money instead. What do they fetch these days; a hundred bucks?”
I grinned, giving his hand a final shake. “Goodbye, Harvey.” It was unlikely that I’d see the old man again, but I was glad to have met him. The kindness he’d shown me only made me more determined to slay The Ancient. Not just for him, but for the sake of all the townsfolk, and all the people who would be victims of the vampire’s next deadly reign.
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