Tomas took a step toward Claus. The spy cocked the hammer on his pistol. “I won’t tell you again.”
Tomas returned to his place. “You won’t get away with this. The others will hunt you down long before you reach the Empire.”
“They won’t even know to look.” Claus nodded to the hall. “Let’s all go outside for a minute.”
Anya made her way slowly down the hall and out into the yard, every step of the way imagining that gun going off and her journey ending. After all she’d survived, to think it would end up like this. Captured by an Imperial agent in the middle of nowhere.
They stopped a few feet from the limo. Claus pointed the gun at her. “Open the door.”
Anya eased her way over and grasped the handle. She tugged it open and looked at her captor.
“Out of the way, girl, unless you want me to shoot through you.”
She scrambled to Fedor’s side. He put a big hand on her shoulder. “It’ll be alright.”
Anya wished she believed him.
The pistol boomed and a bullet pinged off the base of the seat.
Tomas laughed. “The secure chamber is made of half-inch-thick steel. You’ll need something a hell of a lot stronger than that forty-five to get through it.”
Claus snarled and pointed the pistol at Anya again. “Open the seat top.”
“How?”
“I don’t know. There’s got to be a catch or something. Feel around.”
“I don—”
“Now!”
Anya flinched at his shout. She had to think of something. Slowly she walked to the limo and climbed inside. The underside of the seat was smooth, no catch, no button, no nothing. Lord Talon had simply dissolved and vanished. Perhaps that was the only way in or out. If she were a vampire she wouldn’t want a hiding place anyone could access just by pushing a button.
“Hurry up!” Claus shouted.
“I’m trying.” She refused to give in to the tears gathering in the corners of her eyes.
“Don’t yell at her,” Fedor said. “She’s been through enough.”
Anya looked up from her futile search to find Fedor confronting the spy. Claus had the pistol jammed into his stomach.
Oh god, he was going to shoot Fedor. Anya would be all alone then. She didn’t think, she just screamed, “I found it!”
Claus turned her way and the moment he did Fedor grabbed his wrist and twisted.
The pistol went off, but missed him.
Claus roared and the two men struggled back and forth. The gun wavered, pointing every which way.
Tomas lunged into the scrum, trying to help Fedor. They fell in a heap and rolled around, grunting and punching at each other.
The gun went off again and Tomas screamed.
Claus got free of Fedor who yelled, “Close the door!”
Anya grabbed the handle, yanked it shut, and flipped the lock. She was safe, but Fedor was alone out there with the spy. What should she do? What could she do?
“Open the door, girl. Open it or I’ll kill your friend.”
“Don’t do it, Anya,” Fedor said. “Stay in there until dark. Lord Talon will get you to safety.”
Claus struck Fedor in the side of the head with his pistol, staggering the big man. “Shut up!”
Anya didn’t know what to do. If she opened the door there was no doubt in her mind that both of them would end up dead, whether now or back home was the only question. If she didn’t open up Claus would kill Fedor. What should she do?
Fear and uncertainty froze her. She looked around for inspiration, but neither the fancy interior of the limo or the log cabin outside provided any. Outside Tomas dragged himself toward the car.
What was he up to?
The half-dead driver grabbed Claus by the ankle.
When the spy looked down Fedor lunged toward him. He grabbed the barrel of the gun and wrenched it to the side.
Claus screamed when his index finger tore off. Fedor drew back and clobbered Claus in the temple with the pistol grip. He went down like a ton of bricks.
* * *
Fedor ripped open Tomas’s blood-soaked shirt and tossed it aside. Anya winced when she saw the damage the bullet had done. All they’d been able to find was a simple first-aid kit in the cabin kitchen. She seriously doubted the two small painkillers they’d given him would make much of a difference.
Once the spy was bound and secure Fedor had carried the wounded driver inside and laid him on the bed. Anya fluttered around, alternating from wanting to help to wanting to throw up. Unfortunately neither she nor Fedor had much, if any, training as healers. God, there was so much she didn’t know. She was completely useless.
Fedor packed gauze into the wound and bound it in place with strips of cloth. He straightened up and sighed. “I can do nothing more for him. Perhaps when he wakes Lord Talon will have a plan.”
Anya hoped someone had a plan because theirs was falling apart in a hurry. “What should we do? It’s got to be at least ten hours until sunset.”
“We’re going to tear Claus’s room apart and see what we come up with. I doubt he’d be so stupid as to leave documents lying around, but maybe we can find whatever he used to contact the Empire.”
They left the softly moaning Tomas to suffer in peace and made the short walk over to Claus’s room. Nothing had changed since Anya entered by mistake. Had that only been half an hour ago? It felt like days.
She went straight to the closet. The inside looked ordinary enough. Two uniforms hung from a bar, a pair of black shoes rested on the floor. There was a shelf up above, but it was empty. She reached up and felt around, just in case something was hidden toward the back. No dice. That would have been too easy anyway.
To her left Fedor was emptying the drawers of a chest on the floor. Nothing but linens and towels. She’d seen a few spy movies over the years. Usually the agent would hide his gear in a secret compartment.
Anya tapped the back wall of the closet and listened. Halfway across it still sounded pretty solid. She reached the far side and it still sounded solid. So much for that.
“The dresser’s a bust,” Fedor said. “Help me flip the bed.”
Anya left her fruitless search of the closet and joined him. Together they flipped the mattress over on its side then let it fall to the floor. Nothing underneath. The box spring got the same treatment, joining the mattress on the floor revealing the bare floor.
Fedor sighed. “This is getting us nowhere. Where could he have hidden his phone?”
“Was it even a phone?” Anya asked. “Tomas said there was no cell service here.”
Fedor slapped his forehead. “Of course not. The witches must have provided him with a communication device.”
He rushed over to the pile of linens and pawed through them, finally coming up with a brass hand mirror. “I’ll wager this is it. I’ve seen similar items taken from dead spies. Pity I don’t know how to make it work.”
“Would you really want to talk to whoever was liable to answer?”
“Good point. Let’s get a bite to eat. We can’t do anything else until dark.”
* * *
Anya and Fedor stood together facing the limo as the sun sank below the horizon. The instant it vanished a black mist gathered in the air and solidified into the pale figure of Lord Talon.
“My friends, I am so sorry. I hadn’t the slightest idea we had a rat in our midst. He must have turned after joining my service as I vet all my employees most thoroughly.”
“How can you know what happened?” Anya asked. “I thought you were unconscious inside your coffin.”
“Not unconscious, just unable to move. I heard everything that happened. How fares Tomas?”
“Not good,” Fedor said. “We did what we could, but it didn’t amount to much.”
“There is very little violence in my land so we don’t stock much in the way of medical supplies at these cabins. Until today I would have said there was no need.”
“You can
do something for him though, right?” Anya asked.
Lord Talon’s smile was bleak. “We shall see.”
The vampire led the way inside and went straight to the bedroom where Tomas lay, unconscious, on the bed. Lord Talon drew in a sharp breath. “It’s worse than I feared.”
“You can’t help him?” What had Anya expected? He couldn’t heal her mother, why would he be able to do something for Tomas? The shock must have broken her mind.
“No. As far as I know there isn’t a single light magic healer in the entire country.” Lord Talon leaned closer to Tomas. “Wake, my friend. I must ask you something.”
Tomas’s eyes struggled open. “My lord, I’m sorry. I had no idea about Claus. Forgive me.”
“Have no fear on that count, Tomas. He slipped under my nose as well. For your service I would offer you entry into the Court of Midnight.”
Tomas gave a weak shake of his head. “No, my lord. Thank you, but I am not worthy of such a gift.”
“You understand that without my blessing you will die?”
“Yes, my lord. Will you send word to my wife and tell her I died well?”
“I will tell her myself. Rest now. I will stay until the Endless Night takes you.”
Tomas’s eyes closed and Lord Talon held his hand. Tears streamed down Anya’s face. Each breath Tomas took grew ever more shallow, until at last he breathed no more.
“Why didn’t he take the offer?” Anya asked. “He could have gone on living, sort of.”
“His wife,” Fedor said. “Eternal life would mean watching her grow old and die before his eyes. I couldn’t have faced it either.”
“You are correct.” Lord Talon rose, barely contained fury causing his body to tremble. “I had forgotten Tomas was married. If I’d recalled I never would have offered him the gift. Where is Claus? He has much to answer for.”
“We left him tied up in the kitchen,” Fedor said. “Figured you’d want to talk to him when you woke up.”
Lord Talon’s eyes flashed red. “He will talk, of that you may be sure.”
Anya swallowed the sudden lump in her throat as they followed the vampire into the kitchen. In that moment he appeared every bit the monster she’d first believed him to be. Claus was slumped against the stove where they’d left him. Blood trickled down his cheek from the wound on his head.
Lord Talon grabbed him by the throat and lifted him off the floor like he was a child. “Wake up, you miserable wretch.”
When Claus didn’t react at once Lord Talon shook him until his teeth rattled.
Anya hurried over to the sink and drew a cup of ice-cold water. “Lord Talon, if I may?”
He looked at her with eyes that glowed like coals in a stove. He dropped Claus to the floor. “Go ahead.”
Anya tossed the water in his face and Claus sat up sputtering. He spotted Lord Talon and shrank back against the cabinets.
“Please, my lord, show mercy.”
“The same mercy you would have shown me and my guests? The same mercy you showed Tomas? Is that the mercy you plead for?”
“No, I only sought a better life. The czar would have rewarded me greatly. Blame him, not me.”
“Oh, I do. I blame the dragon pig, but that doesn’t absolve you of your guilt and you’re here in front of me while he is far away. I am not without mercy. Tell me everything your czar has planned and I will grant you the mercy of a quick death. In all honesty it would please me greatly if you make me beat the information out of you.”
“I don’t know much, I’m a nobody. I’ve been watching this miserable shack for years with nothing to report to my superiors. When you all showed up I thought I’d been given the biggest break of my life. The order was sent out to all foreign agents to be on the lookout for a blond girl traveling with a large bearded man and an older woman. They were to be returned to the Empire for punishment. We had permission to kill the man and woman, but His Majesty wanted the girl alive.”
“What else?” Lord Talon asked.
“That’s all, I swear.” The spy trembled and scrunched down into himself. If he hadn’t just admitted to being willing to kill Fedor and her mother Anya might have felt bad for him. As it was she had nothing but loathing.
Lord Talon snatched him off the floor and stared into his eyes. Claus went stiff then limp.
After a moment Lord Talon said, “He’s telling the truth. He really is a worthless worm. You may not want to watch this.”
Anya stood straight. “He would see me a slave of the czar and my mother dead. Whatever punishment you give him, I will witness.”
Lord Talon’s faint smile revealed a hint of his right fang. “You have steel in you, girl. I fear you’ll need all of it and then some. Very well.”
He opened his mouth and the fangs grew from one inch to four. Quick as a blink he used those fangs to tear Claus’s throat out. Anya winced, but refused to look away. The bastard deserved what he got.
Blood gushed and Lord Talon gulped it down. When the flow stopped he went to the door and tossed the body out into the backyard.
Power burst from Lord Talon and the blood that had covered his face and clothes vanished. “The wolves will make short work of that trash. We must be on our way if you’re to make your destination on time. I will drive you myself tonight and tomorrow we’ll pick up a new chauffeur. I will assure myself of his loyalty before leaving you with him. This will not happen again. I swear it.”
Anya found she believed every word he said. She certainly wouldn’t want to be the one that betrayed him next.
* * *
After three days and nights of driving through winding mountain roads, some of which looked barely wide enough for the limo, much less two cars, they finally reached civilization. The sun had just set and Lord Talon emerged from his daily rest when the jutting towers of the city appeared in the side window. From a distance the dark city appeared perfect. Skyscrapers pierced the sky, far higher than anything she’d seen at home. But where were the lights?
They made a sharp turn off the dirt road they’d been following and onto a proper paved street. Derelict, rusty cars sat on the edge of the road. From the look of them they’d been waiting there for a long time.
Half an hour later they reached the outskirts of the city. Up close it was every bit as dark as she’d thought. No people moved around and the buildings looked deserted.
“What happened here?” Anya asked.
“The people fled,” Lord Talon said. “No one has lived in the cities of my land for a long time.”
“Why?”
He turned to look out the window, a melancholy frown crinkling his brow. “The elves came.”
Anya shivered. How many horror stories began with that line?
“It was two years into the invasion and they’d just finished destroying Budapest when they turned their sights south. The humans fought bravely, but wizards had never been common in this area and NATO’s magical brigade had more important countries to defend. Not that they were much use there either. Many of my people argued that we should stay out of the fight, leave the humans to their own devices. They’d been hunting us for centuries, many said. See how they like being the prey.”
Anya nodded. It wouldn’t be easy to convince anyone to fight for their enemies.
“I argued that when the elves finished with the humans they’d turn their magic on us. Those who agreed with me attacked. It turned out that the elves were weak against our powers and over the course of a month of nights we drove them out. We also revealed our numbers and powers to the humans. They were as afraid of us as of the elves. Most of the population packed up and left. After the war I made it known that any that wished to return would be safe, but few did. My land is a hollow shell, dotted with empty cities.”
“I’m sorry. You seem nice enough to me.”
Fedor chuckled and Lord Talon shrugged before smiling. “Maybe one day the people will return. I no longer care.”
“They’ll probably return with a
n army armed with stakes and swords,” Fedor said.
Lord Talon bared his fangs. “We would not take kindly to that sort of return.”
Anya shivered, glad once again that the vampire was on her side.
It took eight days to travel from one side of the territory to the other, but at last they stopped a hundred feet from a border crossing manned by ten men armed with machine guns. The crossing was lit up by a handful of bright sodium lights and a modest-sized building sat off to one side of the road.
None of the soldiers raised their weapon, but from the way they fidgeted Anya could tell they were nervous. Probably because they knew who, or more accurately what, was in the limo.
Lord Talon must have noticed her eyeing the soldiers because he reached out and patted her hand. His fingers were ice cold. “Don’t worry, there’s a protocol for this sort of thing. When their commander appears we’ll get out and take care of the transfer.”
He reached under his shirt, pulled out a gold-inlayed cross with a red crystal in the center, and lifted it over his head. “Here. This is your token of safe passage. Wear this and you can travel anywhere in my land without fear. As I said, any time you wish to visit your mother you are welcome.”
Anya slipped the cross over her head and tucked it out of sight. Before she could thank him Lord Talon said, “Here he comes.”
The three of them piled out of the limo and went to meet a middle-aged man in a brown uniform sporting over a dozen ribbons. Lord Talon took the lead and the two men stopped a few feet apart.
“Lord Talon.” The soldier bowed.
“Major. I trust all is well in Germany?”
The major blew out a sigh through his thick mustache. “As well as can be expected with a civil war raging to our west. As always the Kaiser appreciates you keeping things peaceful on your side of the border.”
Lord Talon chuckled. “Given that the entire population of my nation is less than one of your smaller cities, keeping the peace isn’t difficult. May I introduce my guests? Anya and Fedor.”
“I was told to expect three. Where’s the woman?”
Escape From the Dragon Czar: An Aegis of Merlin Story Page 12