by J. P. Rice
“Thank you. Send him in,” Jonathan said with a smile.
Lexis walked out, and my eyes widened as Roman marched through the jamb and shut the door. It was the skinny medium from Reg’s séance. When Glenda had barged in and blasted everyone. Holy shit, did these guys heal rapidly! I couldn’t believe they were still alive from the blood loss aspect alone.
Roman’s upper lip twitched and he sneered at me as he walked by without so much as a slight limp, heading for Jonathan’s desk. He swung his arms excessively and the snotty look on his youthful face basically said, Look, I’m fine. “So skinny boy, look who I’m here talking to. The guy you said had ordered my death.”
Roman kept his back turned to me and said, “I still think he should carry out your killing. I’ve volunteered several times.”
I laughed. I would dismantle this kid in about four seconds. “Ask Roydell and Timson how that worked out for them. And fuck you anyway, nobody even asked you.”
Facing Jonathan’s desk, he looked over his shoulder. “You just did a moment ago.”
“Bullshit. I made a comment that wasn’t open ended. You should learn to respect your elders, son.”
He looked at Jonathan and chuckled. “I should say the same to you. I’m one-hundred-and-twenty-four.” He rounded to face me and tilted his head. “How old are you, young blood?”
I squirmed in my seat and his eyes lit up. Roman spoke condescendingly, “Oh, does that nickname ring a bell. We’ve been talking to Reg, you know.”
I cut him off, “Bullshit. You think you’re talking to him. Probably just some demon spirit fucking with you. Because you’re a little fuckin’...”
Jonathan raised his voice, “Gentlemen. I hate to break up the cat fight, but let’s put away our claws for now.”
I sat down, and Jonathan handed the card to Roman. The little prick nodded confidently as his lips moved. “It’s Tibetan.”
Jonathan smiled proudly upon confirmation that he was correct. “What does it say?”
I got up and moved closer. Roman ran his finger over the letters at the top. “It says services rendered, then next to that it says transfer of goods.”
I saw Jonathan perk up and lean forward with great interest after those words escaped Roman’s mouth. The young-looking vampire continued, “Under that it says Mathias Reedlong. And under that it says King’s Mountain.”
The name sent a shiver down my spine, triggering thoughts about the town I grew up in, which was called Prince’s Mountain. I wanted to forget that place as it represented the worst period in my life. I was dead, and this was my life after death.
Jonathan slammed his fist on the table, and shouted, “I knew it. I can’t believe that bastard would do this. And using Tibetan, the secret language of the wolves.” He jumped up from his chair that rivaled a throne and took three purposeful steps toward the wall. He cocked back his fist and it launched forward like a whip. A loud bang pierced the heavy metal coming from the speakers.
My eyes almost popped out of my head as I watched Jonathan pull his hand back out of the nice hole he’d just made. He looked at his bloody knuckles and took another swing, easily busting through again. As I inspected the damage, I noticed he’d hit a stud on his first punch, splintering the solid wood. It didn’t affect him at all. The stories about him busting people’s skulls with his bare fists didn’t seem far-fetched anymore.
I made eye contact with Roman and gestured with my head toward the wall. I had threatened the medium that Jonathan would do that to him on my previous trip; actually, a kidnapping would be a more accurate way to describe my last visit.
Jonathan finally stopped pacing around with a crazed look on his face and sat down at his desk. His flushed faced started to return to its normal orangey appearance.
I asked the obvious question, “Who is this Mathias guy?”
“He’s a lawyer who specializes in representing the supernatural.” Jonathan took a drink from his red beverage and I hoped it would calm him down. Fired-up Jonathan was a scary creature. “Were-shifters and vampires are his specialty. From what I can gather, he had someone powerful like Octavius help him steal the portal and then he sold it to someone else. I assume that is what the transfer fee is for.”
“This doesn’t make sense. Why would they leave a paper trail behind?” I asked.
Jonathan counted with his fingers as he spoke, “Hubris. Sloppiness. Thinking no one can read Tibetan. A lot of his clients are less than reputable people, so he is always trying to hold some sort of blackmail material over them. Since there isn’t a price on the card, I’m assuming that he hasn’t been paid yet and needs this as the proof.”
“There are some indecipherable words at the bottom of this card.” Roman pointed at them. “Now that you say that, they might be signatures of the people paying our good lawyer. How do you know so much about this guy?”
“Because he’s my fucking lawyer too.” Jonathan jumped up out of his seat, seething. He began to get animated again, gesticulating wildly as he paced the length of his desk. “Was. Was my fucking lawyer. Now, I’m going to kill him,” he proclaimed, nearly frothing at the mouth.
I tried to unhear that. I knew a lot about the vampires. Too much. They weren’t held to the same moral code as me. They never pledged an oath to anyone, let alone a pantheon of Gods. They did have the Midnight Council, which kept all the vampire clans in order so that nobody attracted the police. But as long as the vampires stayed off the cops’ radar, they could do whatever they wished.
I shuddered at the thought of those wishes. “I don’t think we need to kill him necessarily. We just need to rescue the portal.”
Jonathan’s bloody-knuckled, clenched fists rested on the desk in front of him. He was panting like a lion primed to hunt. His wide-open, crazed eyes landed on me. “I appreciate the advice, but you won’t be needed anymore, Mike.”
Fine by me. I wanted to spend the time with my family anyway. Jonathan could hunt this portal down while I rested and prepared for the trip to Sleepy Willow. It would be hard to relax with everything hanging over my head, though.
As I stood up, Jonathan turned to Roman, and said, “Gather up Roydell and Timson. Tell them they need to be ready to leave in an hour. In battle gear.”
“Yes, sir,” Roman responded and walked over to the door with me.
I opened the door, let Roman leave and turned back to Jonathan, “Give me a call when you get back.”
His face had returned to bright red and I was surprised smoke wasn’t coming from his ears. “Will do.” And then he was back to brooding.
I got my car from the valet and headed for home.
Fuck. When I thought more about it, I wasn’t sure if I could trust the vampires to handle this without me. I’d heard stories about Jonathan, but I’d never seen him in action other than punching holes in his office wall. Added to that, he was steaming mad and his judgment could be off.
I started having second thoughts. If they screwed this up it would guarantee that Alayna would die in Sleepy Willow. I needed that portal.
And he was taking Roydell and Timson. Those two would surely fuck things up. I hated them, and they hated me, but I’d worked with enemies before. Fuck.
I turned the car around and headed back to the Purple House.
Chapter 14
I sat in the back seat of the Jeep Wrangler tapping my foot on the ground. Roydell merged onto the turnpike and Jonathan cracked the passenger window just enough to let in some fresh winter air. Timson sat next to me and I glanced over at him wondering if I could trust these fools.
The hardtop Jeep had bulletproof glass, tires and paneling. The 35-inch tires and 8-inch lift gave it the appearance of an offroad beast with some luxury. The custom seats were made of plush leather and it had a GPS system and touchscreen monitors molded into the back of the seats, which were also automatically heated.
Jonathan had insisted we take this vehicle for some reason he hadn’t fully explained. We drove for a while in si
lence with some heavy metal buzzing on the speakers, too low to determine the band or song. Jonathan’s phone rang to the tune of some classical music. I leaned to my left to peek through the seat openings, but I couldn’t make out the text.
Jonathan said, “He knows we’re on the way. Here’s the plan.”
The head vampire turned his head to the side but didn’t fully shift his body around to face us. It was as if he didn’t want to leave Roydell out of the conversation. “Mathias has a long driveway with three separate checkpoints on it. Those checkpoints are manned by guards. Since we are expected, that shouldn’t be a problem. Roydell, Timson and I will go inside and Mike will wait in the car with the semi-automatic pistol in case things go awry.”
Jonathan stopped for a second and searched around for something. He produced a Fiji water bottle and took a long drink, uncaring that he was making us wait. “When we go in, I will do all the talking. You two don’t say a word unless you are asked a direct question. His guards are likely shifters, but still guards. If they were more powerful, they wouldn’t be guarding a lawyer’s house in the middle of nowhere.”
He took a few more sips of Fiji. “The major problem would be if he has other vampires there. I’d like to handle this peaceably and don’t want to start any trouble with other clans, but we aren’t leaving until we have the portal.”
“Are we sure he still has the portal? Didn’t that receipt say transfer fee on it?”
“No, I don’t know if he still has it in his possession. I’m going to frame it like I don’t know that he has it at first. That I am only concerned about the possible repercussions. I want to gauge his reactions before I start making threats. Timson, make sure you have the business card ready to go when I call him out on it. If necessary, of course. I’m hoping he comes clean, but I don’t expect that either.”
Nobody ever came clean. Unless it was beaten out of them. Even then, it wasn’t a given. Coming clean usually meant admitting guilt and facing punishment so it never happened. I played a game where most beings didn’t have any rules to live by. Unfortunately, I did.
This trip worried me. I was tightly bound by my oath to the Celtic Gods, which included acting with honor and not killing indiscriminately. Jonathan and his vampires could do whatever they wanted as long as they didn’t raise the suspicions of law enforcement. If they started killing for no reason, it would put me in a terrible position.
Even if some of his bodyguards were the dregs of society, I needed a valid reason to kill them. The portal was important but not a life or death situation. Although technically Alayna’s life was in the balance, there were other portals out there. But they were all a great distance away and who knew if they hadn’t fallen victim to the same fate as this portal. So it wasn’t a life or death situation where I could justify laying waste to a bunch of people, regardless of character.
King’s Mountain was located in the Laurel Highlands and in close proximity to a few ski resorts and some golf courses. Most of the properties were owned by people from Pittsburgh, who used them as a winter getaway from the city. However, there were people who lived there year-round and some of the houses were almost hidden from the public eye.
King’s Mountain was located in Somerset County and somewhat close to the location of the portal, which would make perfect sense. I looked out the tinted window as we hit a steep incline. We continued to climb toward the sky, and although I’d never been to King’s Mountain, I got the impression we were close.
We pulled off the paved road and onto a dirt street lined with towering trees on both sides. Even with the expensive struts and shocks, we bounced around on the uneven street. We wound around the path for what seemed like twenty minutes, and Jonathan pointed out his window and said, “There’s his driveway, right there.”
Jonathan looked through the middle of the seats. “Mike. Get down and under that blanket now.”
I slid off the seat and lay on the floor of the backseat. Timson helped cover me with a black blanket and then jammed his feet under the driver’s seat.
The Jeep charged up the rocky incline for about a minute and then came to a stop. I felt a cool breeze enter the vehicle. A gruff voice said, “Name?”
Jonathan answered, “Jonathan Rickleshaw and two guests. Mathias is expecting me.”
“Welcome back, Mr. Rickleshaw. Please continue up the driveway.”
The same procedure happened two more times and I wondered if it was necessary to have multiple stops. Being blind under a blanket made me uneasy. If things went to shit, I’d like to know my escape route. This prevented me from knowing which way to run if it went haywire.
Hopefully, the pistol under the passenger’s seat would keep me safe no matter what. This was a very different scenario than usual. Almost always, I was the lead man, never taking a backseat from the action. However, it made sense for this plan.
Mathias had seen Roydell and Timson before, so they wouldn’t raise any suspicion. If Jonathan rolled in there with a guy they’d never seen before, it would raise eyebrows. I still had a key role if action broke out, but I wasn’t driving the action like normal. It kind of felt refreshing that someone else was in charge for once.
Jonathan said, “All right. Here we are. Mike, there is a guard right next to the front door. I don’t see anyone else, but be careful when you come up. He’s staring at the Jeep right now.”
The guard was probably staring because we’d basically rolled up there in a tank. Minus the machine gun turrets, the Jeep looked ready for battle, replete with the spiked push guard on the front bumper. Even with the winch attachment, it didn’t look like a typical off-road Jeep Wrangler.
The vampires stepped out of the hunter green vehicle. Timson kicked me in the head on the way down. I didn’t yell at him, but I tucked it away for later. Payback was a motherfucker and I was one vindictive man.
The doors slammed shut and I planned to look up in a few seconds since the guard would be distracted by the new visitors. I sat up, still hidden behind the passenger seat, in the most uncomfortable position of all time. My knees were jammed into my chin and my back was screaming a sad song of discomfort.
I swiped the binoculars off the back seat. The house was pretty close, but I needed to check for weaponry planted around the house. Leaning slowly to my left, I raised my head slightly to see out the windshield. I took a quick peek and pulled my head back to safety.
The guard at the front door was an enormous man, much taller than the vampires standing in front of him were. He was wearing a bright white track suit with the jacket unzipped, exposing a vest of dark chest hair. His long hair was pulled back into a ponytail and his face hadn’t been shaved in months.
Stealing another glance, I saw the guard opening the door, stepping to the side and gesturing with an open hand for the three vampires to enter. I tossed the binoculars back onto the seat and slid the pistol out from under the passenger seat. If shit did break out, I’d hate to be caught without a weapon.
I called on my reservoirs of magic to come out of reserve and be ready for action. Gooseflesh prickled up my arms and I could feel the magic sitting just under my skin, ready for action. Another peek revealed the guard playing on his phone so I shifted my attention to the big window near the entrance.
The strained sunlight tried to poke through the thick branches of the trees above, but it kept the house in permanent shade. I could see shadowy figures behind the pane of glass, but couldn’t tell them apart. Not good considering I might have to open fire if the peaceful approach went south.
A small worry in the back of my head wouldn’t go away. After seeing how angry Jonathan had been earlier, I expected him to resort to violence quickly, rather than take a rational approach. I checked on the bouncer again. Still playing on his phone.
As I stared at the hirsute man, the ring of shattering glass rent the area. Jonathan jumped through the open window and stood over a bloody man in a suit, pointing at him and shouting something I couldn’t make out.
>
Roydell and Timson exited through the window and several men in suits poured out the door, lining up next to the guard. I rubbed the trigger in anticipation. They appeared to be shifters still in human form and I based that off the fact that all of them were extremely hairy. A telltale sign of a shifter. I could take out the row of six men rather easily with the gun in my hand if it wasn’t for the bulletproof glass.
In a wave, they rushed over to confront Jonathan. Due to the thick glass, I couldn’t hear what they were saying. From the looks of it, it was a heated argument with Jonathan red-faced and shaking. Roydell and Timson stepped in front of their boss to protect him.
The tense scene continued with the lawyer jumping up from the ground and running behind his wall of protection. The door guard shoved Timson out of the way to get to Jonathan.
The leader of the Purple House struck like lightning. He jumped in the air and threw a punch at the much taller guard. His fist crashed down, connecting with the man’s temple. An explosion of blood volcanoed from the impact, and as Jonathan pulled his fist back, he left a crater on the side of the man’s head.
It was true. Seeing that made me rethink my friendly approach with Jonathan. This exhibit reminded me that I needed to be careful around the vicious vampire.
The remaining five men went after the vampires. With all the commotion and everyone distracted, I jumped out of the car with the pistol on my hip. The vampires were surrounded by the guards so I couldn’t open fire or risk shooting an ally.
I turned away from the action to carry out my other duty. I’d been tasked with making sure none of the guards from the driveway came up to help. So far, so good.
Spinning around, I saw Roydell and Timson struggling against the shifter guards, wrestling around on the ground. Jonathan ducked a straight right jab from an opponent and drew his arm back. As his hand reached as far back as it could, long silver fingernails extended from his fingertips, and a smirk came across his face.