by J. C. Diem
Before the Prime Minister could respond, the door opened and feet stomped towards him. A moment later, the phone went dead. Still inside Townsend’s mind, I looked through his eyes as Prissy Pete snatched the phone out of Townsend’s hand. The glint in his eye was icy and disdainful as he placed his Prime Minister under guard. Two soldiers stepped forward to escort Townsend from the room.
Throwing the phone onto the bed, I bit back the urge to let out a string of foul curses. Luc’s hand on my lower back had the calming effect that he was aiming for. “Townsend has just been put under guard, so we can’t count on his help anymore,” I told my small army.
Kokoro accurately summed up our dilemma. “So, it appears that Fate has once again taken control of our destinies by restricting our numbers and taking away our hope of assistance from the armed forces.”
“Now that we know the humans do not trust us, I suggest we leave this hotel immediately,” Gregor said.
Sudden alarm thrummed through me and I sent out my senses. Just as Gregor had surmised, soldiers were already on their way to surround the building. While I and my six closest friends were indestructible, none of the others were.
“They’ve sent soldiers to attempt to eradicate us, haven’t they?” Ishida asked.
I nodded unhappily. None of the delegates that I’d bamboozled had made the decision, it had come from higher up on the political ladder. “They’ll arrive in a few minutes, so grab your gear and head for the lobby.”
Everyone scattered to gather their few possessions that Townsend had thoughtfully provided for us. The approaching soldiers were only half a block away when I whisked my army back to the safety of the catacombs in France.
While my soldiers retreated to the rooms that they’d claimed earlier, Igor called the rest of us together. “Since it has been decided by the authorities that we can no longer be trusted, we should retrieve as many weapons and ammunition as possible from the underground warehouse before they shift them to another location.”
Thankful once again for his practicality, I barely waited for the others to agree before moving into action. Danton and his five warriors accompanied us to the secret weapon cache on the outskirts of London. Stacking containers in neat rows, they continued to work as I transported the gear to the prison cells on the lower levels of the catacombs.
By dawn, we’d stolen everything that would be useful to us from the storeroom and returned to our hideout. We now had more than enough weapons and ammo to deal with the octosquids, yet the humans didn’t want our help. Once again, they’d turned on us but this time they hadn’t waited for us to save the day first. They’d been on their way to stab us in the back but this time I’d managed to avoid any losses on our side. I was frankly amazed that they’d even tried to plot against us after I’d bamboozled the American troops and had reduced the U.S. president to chunks of meat. They were either very brave or very stupid, I couldn’t quite decide which.
Gathering in the plush living area of the courtier’s former quarters, we dragged several sofas into a square. Geordie was pressed up against my left side and Luc was on my right. Once upon a time, I would have felt smothered by the contact. Now, I couldn’t imagine not having them near.
“What the hell are we going to do now?” I asked without preamble. “Do we just let the humans screw up and die?” I was under no illusions that they would be able to take on the gargantuan aliens and actually win.
“Now that Danton’s master is deceased and I no longer have the gift of prophecy,” Kokoro said, “we are unable to foresee the future.”
Sitting on the other side of Geordie, Ishida leaned forward to see my face. “Natalie often has dreams of what is to come. Have you had any strange dreams lately?”
“The last dream I had was about a creepy old ruin that I think was an abandoned monastery. I haven’t dreamed about the octosquids since we started fighting them.”
Momentarily crestfallen at the reminder that he was masterless, Danton made a suggestion. “If Mortis is our only oracle, perhaps she should try to sleep and see what message her dreams bring us.”
I love it when people talk about me in the third person, I thought dryly. Everyone acted as if Mortis was a separate entity. Latin for death, it was more than just a title, I was death and it now seemed that I always would be.
Luc made the decision for me and drew me to my feet. “Someone should stay alert and monitor the news. Wake us if any developments arise.”
“I will keep watch,” Igor volunteered.
“Do you even know how to operate a laptop?” Geordie asked his mentor with a hint of a grin.
Turning his shaggy head, Igor glowered at his apprentice. “I know how to operate a computer, you impudent whelp.” He lunged at the teen and Geordie fled with a screech that was half laughter and half fright.
Smiling at their antics, I followed Luc to the bedroom that we’d claimed as our own.
·~·
Chapter Twenty-Six
My mind was racing, making it almost impossible for me to fall asleep. Fate had created me to save the human race, but it had just hobbled my ability to pull off another rescue attempt. It wouldn’t allow me to create more of our kind, so I was at a loss as to what to do next.
Pulling me into his arms, Luc ran a hand up and down my back, lulling me towards the oblivion that my team was counting on. Eventually, my eyes closed and I succumbed to sleep.
Standing in the middle of a crowded street in London, I stared up at a gigantic TV screen. Motorists had stopped their cars and had climbed out to watch the scene that was playing out. Half a world away, four fighter jets menaced the octosquid that had just finished destroying LA. Finally satisfied with the destruction that it had caused, the gargantuan lumbered towards the ocean. It ignored the jets as they zoomed past.
The pilots waited for the creature to reach the water before firing their weapons. Instead of shooting useless missiles that did little damage, this time they unleashed a different barrage of projectiles. Shocked awe sighed through the crowd as they winced at the bright light that flared on the screen. Horror shivered down my spine when four distinctive and deadly mushroom clouds formed. The gigantic black alien disappeared from sight and I crossed my fingers that the nuclear missiles had managed to kill the thing.
A cheer rang out when the cloud dissipated and the creature appeared to be much smaller than it had been. The cheers died as they realized the pilots had just doomed any survivors of a once great city to death by radiation poisoning.
Cries and moans of disappointment swept through the crowd as the behemoth rose out of the water.
“Can’t anything kill these monsters?” an agonized Brit shouted.
Only a small portion of its body had been damaged by the nuclear warheads and only I knew why. Back on Viltar, I’d witnessed them flattening themselves down to speak to their Kveet allies. Even now that they were gigantic, it seemed that they could still flatten themselves down low enough to be able to duck beneath the missiles.
Delving into the mind of the alien, I drew back from the enraged mental bellows as it called on its brethren to attack. This time, there wouldn’t be three assaults on coastal cities, but eight. The humans had utilized their most fearsome weapons that were in their possession and they’d only succeeded in annoying their target.
Before I could wake and advise my friends and allies of impending disaster, I was sucked into another dream.
Once again, I stood in the ruins of a monastery. Before me, the robed statue held a bowl as an offering to an unknown deity. Nothing rushed forward to push me down the stairs this time so I descended them voluntarily. I sensed no eyes watching me and the area felt deserted.
Darkness waited at the bottom of the stairs this time and I traversed the hallway with my senses on full alert. The heavy metal door at the end of the corridor was standing open a couple of inches. I pushed it open all the way and stepped inside.
The last time I’d been in this room, I hadn’t really ta
ken in much of my surroundings. The strange creatures had distracted me from the fact that I was in a laboratory. This time, the room was empty of life and I had the opportunity to examine it in greater detail.
A series of cages lined the far side of the room. Their doors had been burst open and either hung askew or had come off their hinges completely. The metal was marred by dents and claw marks that had been made by fists or feet. Each cage was large enough to hold even the tallest Viltaran that I’d ever seen, and Uldar had been eleven feet tall.
Whatever had been caged inside had broken free and had slaughtered their captors. Dried blood smeared the ceiling, walls and floor. Drag marks where the bodies had been carried away led to a different door and disappeared into another dark hallway.
The structure was ancient but some effort had been made to modernise it. Repairs had been made to the rough stone, which was a direct contrast to the modern computers and other equipment. Gurneys had been tipped over and what appeared to be medical equipment had been smashed to pieces. Righting one of the gurneys, I took in the sheer size of it. Far larger and stronger than usual, it had been designed to carry something a lot bigger and heavier than a human.
I’d only caught a fleeting look at the creatures in my previous dream and the clues I was seeing now didn’t help me much to determine what they were. The prophet had warned Danton that I had to be vigilant and my dream was telling me the same thing. I wasn’t sure what was coming next, but it gave me hope that we would at least be able to vanquish the octosquids. Why else would fate send me a preview of the next disaster before we’d finished dealing with the current one?
Snapping awake, I found Luc soundly asleep beside me. It would be safer to travel alone while I attempted to avert what would be an utter disaster, so I let him sleep. Dissolving my flesh down to dust motes and leaving my clothes behind, I teleported to LA. Through the eyes of one of the few survivors, I saw the fighter jets arrive. They circled the retreating octosquid, preparing to fire their deadly but ultimately useless weapons. Before they could unleash death on their own people, I split my consciousness.
Working simultaneously, I delved into the thoughts of all four fighter pilots. I’d never tried anything like this before, but it was surprisingly easy to issue the same order to all of them. I commanded them all to return to their home base without firing a single shot. Tell your commanding officer that firing nuclear weapons at these aliens won’t kill them and will instead force all eight of them to attack, I whispered the message into their minds and sent them home.
Returning to the catacombs, I re-formed my body and dressed. Luc heard me moving around and woke, instantly alert. He’d only been asleep for a couple of hours, but we didn’t require much rest anymore. The Viltaran blood was still strong in our veins and I was pretty sure the changes were permanent.
Igor was watching the laptop intently when we entered the living room. Luc and I sat beside him as another reporter tried to describe the scene that was playing. “I’m not sure what is happening,” the attractive brunette said in confusion. “Instead of launching their planned attack against the aliens, it appears the jets are returning to their home base.”
The Russian turned to me with an eyebrow raised. “I take it you are responsible for the aborted attack?”
Before I could respond in the affirmative, the satellite phone rang. Gregor had prudently brought it along with us and had placed it on the coffee table beside the computer. Luc handed it to me and I answered it, knowing who was on the other end even before he spoke.
“This is Admiral Peter York,” Prissy Pete said stonily.
“What can I do for you, Admiral?” I asked. I suspected this wasn’t a friendly call and I wasn’t wrong.
“What right do you have to meddle in our affairs?” he demanded.
“Like it or not, I’m the custodian of the human race. Personally, I couldn’t care less if you all became extinct,” I told him honestly, “but something else seems to have other plans.”
Fighting down his fury, the admiral paced the floor of what had probably once been Prime Minister Townsend’s office. “We do not want nor need your help,” he spat. “I personally absolve you of any perceived responsibility that you feel you have towards humankind. Stop hypnotizing our armed forces and let us do our jobs!”
Waiting for him to finish his rant, I found myself surrounded by my friends. Danton and two of his warriors were also listening in. Newly made, my soldiers had reverted to the death-like state that came with sunrise. None would wake until the sun had disappeared again.
“Are you finished?” I asked the admiral calmly and continued before he could reply. “You may not know this, but I can see the future. I just had a dream of the Americans bombing the octosquid and I saw the result of their attack.”
“Really?” Prissy Pete said with heavy sarcasm. “What exactly happened in your dream?”
“The alien avoided the attack and was only slightly wounded by the nuclear warheads. The bombs only made it mad enough to call the rest of its friends to the attack.”
Silence followed my statement. “How did you know they were going to fire nuclear warheads?” the admiral asked quietly.
“I told you, I can see the future.”
“If you could see the future, you would have known that the Americans were going to send you into space ten years ago,” he scoffed.
“I knew they were going to do something horrible to us, but my dreams aren’t always easy to interpret,” I responded. “This one was crystal clear. If you continue to bomb the aliens, it will result in the destruction of your world. You’re probably doomed anyway, but it will happen much faster if you don’t listen to my advice.”
Stubborn to the last, he dismissed my warning. “Stay away from our soldiers,” he repeated. “We’ll face down this invasion without your help.”
“Why are humans so stupid?” Geordie asked crankily as I tossed the phone back onto the coffee table. Landing with more force than I’d intended it to, it bounced off and fell to the carpet.
“They are afraid,” Igor said as we watched the octosquid disappear beneath the waves on the screen. “They do not trust us and they believe their weaponry is sufficient to destroy anything.”
Tucking his fist beneath his chin, Gregor sank down onto a sofa and watched Igor surf the internet for more information on the alien attacks. His stare became more intent as the Russian stopped on a map that had been marked with worldwide sightings of the creatures. “Are those markings accurate?” he asked me.
Sending out my senses, I picked up on the current locations of all eight octosquids. “More or less,” I replied.
Ishida studied the markings as well and his lips quirked in a smile that disappeared just as quickly as it had appeared. “The aliens near Brazil and South Africa are quite close to each other,” he pointed out.
Geordie shrugged his thin shoulders. “So?”
“So,” the former child king said with a glance at Gregor, “perhaps we could perform a test to see just how territorial these creatures are.”
Still clueless, Geordie’s brows lowered in confusion. “How are we going to do that?”
“We’ll need bait,” Igor mused. “Humans this time, since the jellyfish know we are a danger to them.”
Gregor began to smile. “Bait can be arranged, but it will require skill and finesse to bring the two monsters together.” He was smiling at me as he said that and it was my turn to be confused. I’d been accused of many things since becoming one of the undead, but I’d never been accused of having finesse before. “Exactly how many humans do you think you’d be able to transport on a large boat?” Gregor enquired.
Skimming his mind, I had to give it to the crafty old vampire, his plan was sneaky and it just might work. “There’s only one way to find out,” I replied. “Wish me luck.”
It would be full daylight where I was about to go so none of my friends could come with me. Geordie patted Luc on the shoulder consolingly before
I disappeared. “Do not fear for Nat. She will be safe, Luc.” My beloved sent the teen a sardonic glance when he used my nickname for him.
Arriving in South Africa, I dissolved my hands and head so they wouldn’t melt beneath the unrelenting glare of the sun. The rest of my body would be safe for a few minutes. The red leather suit would protect me well enough.
Only my eyes remained solid as I searched the docks for a suitable vessel. With the threat of alien invasion imminent, no one was stupid enough to brave the ocean and the docks were empty of life. A short search rewarded me with a boat that was around the same size as Shadow. This one was far shabbier and was made of much lighter metal. I hoped that meant it wouldn’t take as much out of me when I was ready to teleport it.
With the transportation sorted, now I just needed to round up the bait.
·~·
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Sending out my senses, I located a large number of humans and whisked myself into their midst. Crowded into a stadium, they were watching a football match. Intent on the game, no one noticed the headless and handless vampire that was dressed in a vivid red leather suit.
A goal was scored and the spectators surged to their feet, screaming in either agony or ecstasy. Seizing the opportunity, I reached out and touched the closest meat sacks. I gathered as many humans into my net as I could and transported them all to the docks.
“What just happened?” a frightened man asked as he looked around wildly.
“Where are we?” someone else called.
Before panic could overwhelm the group, I drew them all beneath my spell. I no longer had to bamboozle humans individually and captured the entire group instantly. As long as I had contact with their minds, I could bend them to my will.
I’d gotten lucky and had snared nearly three hundred people to use as bait for my trap. At my command, they began to file onto the boat. When it was full, I escorted the extra sixty spectators back to their game. The match had been halted and security guards were attempting to clear the stands. Exclamations of fright sounded when some of the members of the crowd that had so mysteriously disappeared returned just as unexpectedly. Their hypnotism would wear off quickly but none would remember where they’d gone or what had happened to them.