The Night Beat, From the Necropolis Enforcement Files

by Gini Koch

  Jack’s face was back, but the body was that of the Adversary’s favorite monster from Hell form. The head turned around, so it was facing me. Considering I was on its back, this was nauseating and vile.

  Jack’s eyes were wide. “Vic -- help me!”

  “You’re not Jack.”

  “Yes, I am! What’s going on? Why are you doing this to me?”

  “I’m not doing anything to you that you don’t deserve.”

  The body was still jerking and writhing, giving all the indications an internal fight of some kind was going on. I felt the claw of doubt run over my spine.

  Jack looked more like he always had, albeit terrified. “Help me,” he whispered. “Please, help me.”

  “Tell me how long you’ve been a part of the Adversary.”

  “I…I don’t know.” He closed his eyes as he winced in what sure looked like pain. “Vic, you have to believe me.” He opened his eyes and they were really Jack’s eyes. “I love you. I always have.”

  My throat felt tight. “But…you’re evil.”

  “Help me. You’re the only one who can save me, I know it.”

  He looked sincere, and if I didn’t look lower than his neck, just like the Jack I’d been partnered with for a year. The guy who was so male that he made everyone else look wimpy by comparison. Maybe he was telling me the truth -- maybe Jack was taken over by the Adversary when I bit him. Maybe he was still in there, and I could save him.

  Jack’s face disappeared and Little Harp’s made the scene. “Come home, you hellion child! Your mother cries for you every night. You belong with us, on the dais with the Prince himself. I, your father, order it.”

  “Wow, I guess it’s because you killed every sibling of mine before they could walk so you’ve never dealt with a teenager or anyone older. But, seriously, that ‘because I said so’ thing doesn’t work, pretty much ever.”

  His eyes narrowed. Didn’t look a thing like Jack’s. The claw of doubt tapped my shoulder. “We will give you the being you want, separate from us, if you return. You shall have him, as his own entity, as yours, for eternity.”

  “How could you possibly do that?” I tried not to wonder if it would really be Jack, but I couldn’t help it. Wolves were monogamous, and I’d given myself to him well before we’d actually acknowledged the relationship.

  “As we did it before,” Little Harp answered, almost kindly. The body moved to match the head, and his arms were around me, but he wasn’t trying to hurt me. “We will be father to you, and he will be mate, as you always wanted. After all, don’t you long for a true family?” His voice was gentle, soothing.

  My head nodded, without my brain’s consent. “But…you’re evil.”

  “Evil is in the eyes of the beholder. I’m not evil to your mother. And to those who fight alongside us, I am the leader, the one they turn to for guidance. Is that evil? To care for your people?”

  It sounded so reasonable. The claw of doubt was drumming on my head now. But the base of my tail was twitching, and I’d spent a lot more time listening to it. “How can you separate Jack from you?”

  Little Harp smiled. “As we separate ourselves. Souls are simple things to divide. And highly overrated.”

  “Was your soul always inside Jack?” I had to know, one way or the other.

  Little Harp nodded. “We studied you. You are our daughter, your mother’s daughter. You needed the male of males -- anything less left you feeling incomplete. We created your perfect mate, over time. Put the right humans together at the right time, a nudge here, a shove there. Finally, he arrived, exactly what you needed. Throwing you together was simple.”

  “Uh, wow.” I didn’t know what else to say. I wouldn’t have credited either Harp with the brains to perform the ultimate genetics experiment.

  He smiled and kissed my forehead. Just like a father would. “You are our only living child. We want the best for you, for you to be mated with perfection, so you can enjoy all the planes of existence have to offer.”

  It all sounded so reasonable. If I didn’t think. But I’d never been able to not think, even when it had seemed like I was going to die because of it. The base of my tail asked the question it had asked before, as we were leaving the Little Church. “Why didn’t you all finish us at the Estates, when you had the chance?”

  Little Harp chuckled. “The work was done. We want you safely with us, before we destroy the others. You are more important than all of them put together. You are our child.”

  Something clicked. All the little things, from the first time I’d met my real father until now started to fall into place. And something Jude had said -- that I always made the right decision when it came to good and evil -- surfaced. Jude had said that I made mistakes in my love life just like every other being, but that when it came down to it, I was important because I always made the right choice. And I was the child of the Adversary. And a werewolf.

  The Adversary had hunted werewolves for all of my existence. Because of me. No one had ever said it aloud, but I’d known, for all my undead life. I was the reason my undead kind were forced to separate, to live more like other undeads than werewolves. I was the reason we no longer had a true Pack.

  And one werewolf out of all of them refused to give in to the fear, refused to hide, even though it made him an outcast within the group. No wonder they wanted me kept away from him. What would have happened if I’d ever actually listened to what Ralph was saying?

  I didn’t have to guess. I knew. It was why they wanted me with them on the other side. Why they’d gone to the trouble to create Jack. I was the Child of the Adversary, title totally important.

  “Can I see Jack again?” I needed to, just to be sure.

  Little Harp smiled. “Of course. Whatever you want. You are our child, and we will care for you as you need and deserve.” The entire being switched and now I was in Jack’s arms. “Vic, are we going to be okay?”

  I looked at his face, studied it really. It looked exactly as it always had. There was no difference. He was still incredibly male, still appealing to me in ways no other male ever had been.

  Over the centuries, I’d been many things. But what I’d always been, from the moment Black Wolf brought me to Necropolis, was a cop. And cops knew how easy it was to become just like the perps they spent so much time with. Hang with drug addicts, become an addict.

  I stroked Jack’s face. “You’re my drug, aren’t you?”

  He gave me a half-smile. “I suppose so.”

  I leaned up and kissed him. “Jack, thanks for the offer, but I’m going to have to do what all our stupid posters suggest…and just say no.”

  Then I shoved out of his arms and let myself come down from the high.

  Chapter 59

  I landed a few seconds later. Because I crashed into Maurice.

  “Ooof! Let’s work on losing a few pounds, shall we, Vicki darling?”

  “Nice catch.” I looked around. Amanda and Ken were here, too. Here was, easily, a mile up. I stopped looking down quickly and focused on something sure to keep my mind off going splat -- everything else that was going on. “Ken, I’m so sorry. For everything.”

  He shook his head. “We picked up that something was wrong, but he was pretty well hidden, Vic. Him suggesting we had infiltrators was pretty ballsy, though.”

  I sighed. “I’m the one who came up with that.”

  “Correctly, I must add,” Amanda said. “You just didn’t look in the right place.”

  “Clearly.” I looked up, where the right place had just been. “Where did he go?”

  “Disappeared,” Ken snapped. “I’d love to say he was worried about the three of us arriving, but I doubt it.”

  “So, Kenny briefed us on what was going on, at least what we think was going on.” Maurice gave me an arch look. “Mister Yummy was actually the Adversary? As in, you just personified the Elektra Complex?”

  “You know, I feel grossed out enough about it. You don’t have to add salt to the
wound. But, yeah, from what I can tell, there was at least a part of the Adversary’s soul mingled in with Jack’s. Maybe his entire soul. I’m not sure yet.”

  Amanda hugged me. This is hard to do while flying in the air when the huggee is being held by another vampire. But she managed it. “Oh, honey, I’m so sorry. You were so crazy about him.”

  “Yeah, I was. I was supposed to be.” I filled them in fast on what Little Harp had told me. “So, apparently, they’ve been setting this up since I became an undead.”

  Ken shook his head, as we started back towards the ground and I did my best to pretend we were already there. “I never got the impression the Harps were that smart.”

  “That was my thought, too. I don’t think they are.”

  “Then someone else is helping with the hard work of thought processes. Vicki, darling, stop thrashing.”

  “Trying, trying. So, any ideas of who came up with this plan, and why?” I had some, but I wanted to hear what these three thought first.

  “Possibly the Prince himself,” Amanda suggested. “Though it seems too….”

  “Detail-oriented for him,” Maurice finished. “I agree. It’s possible, but he’s reputed to like minions who can come up with havoc on their own.”

  “But all the long term plans are the Prince’s,” Ken protested. “And this is certainly long-term.”

  “There are other options. Hitler, some of the other major minions. Lucifer.” As I said it, I knew I was right. Which sucked in a variety of ways, not that I could mention any of them aloud.

  The vampires nodded. “This is his style. Smart, sophisticated and very well hidden.” Ken grimaced. “But why execute it through the Adversary?”

  I wondered that myself. I had a couple of ideas of why, but one reason stood out the clearest -- because, ultimately, it wouldn’t work. But I didn’t suggest this aloud. There were only a couple of beings I could talk to about this possibility, both of them hanging at the Salvation Center.

  But there was another reason, and it was also just as likely. Probably both reasons were true -- Lucifer would have to have a cover reason that flew in the Depths, after all. “Because I’ve got a nifty title down in the Depths -- the Child of the Adversary.”

  “Snazzy as that is, or rather, isn’t,” Maurice snipped, “what’s the point?”

  “I think I’m the Adversary’s weakness, his Achilles’ Heel.”

  Amanda and Maurice didn’t look convinced, but Ken was clearly thinking. “That makes sense,” he said slowly. “Every Adversary can be killed. We’ve killed every one but this one, after all. And we will kill him,” he added fiercely.

  “I agree, but I think I’m going to have to be the one to do it.”

  “Possibly,” Amanda said. “But I’d like to hear more of a reason why, other than blood ties.”

  Maurice jerked. “But that’s it, isn’t it? Blood ties. Not necessarily for every Adversary, but certainly for this one. It’s all about bringing the family together for Vicki’s fab parental units. Why would they care unless there was a survival reason involved?”

  “Considering my so-called family’s history, they wouldn’t. I think they’ve been after all the werewolves because that’s what I was turned into. Either they’re more affected by whatever breed of undead I am -- so if I’d become a vampire, they’d have spent the last couple of hundred years hunting vampires -- or because it was werewolves who saved me, or a combination thereof. Bottom line is I think that the undeads with the best chances of killing the Adversary are werewolves.”

  “That’s great, but there’s a new wrinkle, then,” Amanda said. “You turned Jack into a werewolf, and he’s a part of the Adversary. Meaning that they now incorporate all the werewolf skills along with their standard minion abilities.”

  “We’re so screwed,” Maurice muttered.

  I considered this. “No, I don’t think so. At least, not yet. Jack sucked as a werewolf, that’s why I got clued in that something was wrong. So either they can’t handle the idea, or the additional skills, or, because of already being the Adversary, they aren’t really a werewolf. No matter what, it’s not taking like it took with me and everyone else.”

  “Or they’re processing it more slowly,” Ken said. “And if that’s the case, we have to work fast, before they fully incorporate this new aspect into their overall being.”

  “We have to work fast anyway, since there are other aspects of the overall plan working, active and in place. It’s easy to focus on Jack and that part of the plan, but really, we still have a bunch of doppelgängers wandering about, the major minions are still on the human plane, and Nero’s gone AWOL again. And that’s merely for starters.”

  “Where do you want to start?” Ken asked as we finally reached the tops of some of the tallest Prosaic City buildings.

  “The hospital. I need to talk to Ralph.”

  There was a distinct, thudding silence. I waited it out.

  “Ah, Vicki,” Maurice said finally. “Are you sure?”

  “Is he dusted?” I made sure I had my cop-voice on. Just the facts, no emotional attachment, no guilt.

  “No,” Amanda said quickly. “Magdalena was able to catch him. But….”

  “But?” I had a horrible feeling what the “but” was going to be, but I didn’t want to guess aloud, just on the off-chance I was wrong.

  “But he’s unconscious and in critical condition,” Ken supplied. Damn. I’d guessed right. “He’s about as close to dusted as you can get without actually being dust.”

  “Wonderful.” I tried not to focus on the fact that I’d essentially put Ralph into harm’s way and kept him there. But it must have showed on my face.

  “No.” Ken shook his head. “You didn’t do this to Ralph. Our enemies did, but you didn’t.”

  “Really? I didn’t fall for their perfect man trick? I didn’t turn Jack into a werewolf, without asking anyone to verify if he could make the transition well? I didn’t help the Adversary set things up to take out Ralph and everyone else?”

  Maurice coughed. “Okay, yeah, you did. But not on purpose.”

  “I’ll bet that’ll heal Ralph right up.”

  We hit the ground, and I breathed a heavy sigh of relief. I had to figure it was going to be the only one I so sighed for a while.

  Amanda put her arm around my shoulders. “He’ll forgive you,” she said quietly.

  I pulled away. “Maybe he shouldn’t.”

  Ken sighed. “Lord, what fools these undeads be.”

  Amanda gave me a look I was familiar with -- her “you’re an ass but I love you” look. “Come on, idiot-girl.” She grabbed me again. “Let’s go to the hospital and see just how rotten things are in our personal Denmark.”

  “Everyone’s quoting Shakespeare,” I muttered. “What, did H.P. do some weekend course I missed? Just in case, I have one, too. Hey, nonnie, nonnie.”

  Amanda laughed. “Glad to see your sense of humor’s back.”

  “Such as it is,” Maurice said with a snort.

  “Yeah? Let’s hear your Bard quote, then.”

  Maurice gave me a long, slow smile. “Some Cupid kills with arrows, some with traps. Let’s go see which it’ll be for you, shall we?”

  “Um, I fell for the trap, remember?”

  Maurice still had that wide, sly smile on his face. “We shall see, Vicki darling. We shall see.”

  Chapter 60

  We reached the hospital, but getting to Ralph’s room proved to be a challenge. Due to all the activities we’d been indulging in, admittance rate was still at an all-time high, and we had a lot of beings, both sick and well, to get through.

  Monty was just being released as we arrived. He hugged me. “So sorry to hear about what happened.”

  “Yeah, I suck at the romance.”

  Rover curled up around me and gave me white worm lovies. I scratched his head and felt a tiny bit better. White worms were great because it was exceedingly rare when they made you feel guilty. Usually they just
made you feel needed and appreciated.

  “So, Jack had us pretty well infiltrated,” Monty said, back to all business. “But it brings up a good point -- how do we know we don’t have more double-agents among us?”

  I groaned. “I can’t handle it. Maybe we do. I think I don’t care. I can’t spend all my time trying to discover which unlifelong friend of mine is really working for the Prince. Unlife’s too short, okay?”

  Monty shook his head. “Maybe, but we want to extend it as long as possible.” He sighed. “I’ll work on it. You just take care of the here and now.”

  “You were suspect number one, if that helps with your search.”

  He looked startled, to the point where I thought an arm might fall off, but then he laughed. “You know, that makes sense.”

  “You saying we should dust you?” Maurice asked.

  “No. But it’s the right kind of thinking. Position of authority, person you’d least suspect, and all that.”

  “Ah, that was Jack, and I least suspected us right into almost losing the War.” Something Jack had asked occurred to me. “You know, for sure the Prince’s side suspect we have double-agents.”

  “How so?” Monty shrugged. “I mean, it makes sense, especially since they had an active double-agent within our midst. So, really, why wouldn’t they suspect?”

  “Why haven’t we suspected? Maybe because the agents, whomever they are, are so good. I mean, Jack was excellent. If he hadn’t lost it tonight, werewolf-wise, I might never have guessed until it was too late.” That it was almost too late for Ralph I did my best to ignore for right now.

  Monty looked off into space. “Why do you think they’re searching for an agent? If that’s what you mean.”

  “It is. And it’s from the questions Jack asked me. He was trying to figure out if our spies were placed like we were. You know, were the spies equal to your rank, the Count’s rank, and so on.”