Librarian. Assassin. Vampire_Amber Fang_Book 3_Revenge

by Arthur Slade

  “Good,” I said. I didn’t add he was a big part of my everything because she might think I had feelings for him.

  “Do you have a plan?”

  I was plan-less, of course, and flying by the seat of my vampiric pants. “Well, he was the cause of this firefight.” I motioned around us. “We just have to follow his tracks. It’ll be like following a trail of breadcrumbs.”

  “Yes, well that really didn’t work out well for Hansel and Gretel, did it?”

  I ignored her comment and led the way down the hall.

  24

  An Offer of Ice Cream

  It was easy to follow the breadcrumb trail of death and destruction. Scorch marks. A splash of blood. Smashed concrete here and there. And the occasional dead vampire. Dermot had shot two in the head. But he wasn’t using those nice, neat diamond-tipped bullets—Dermot’s ammo left a mess.

  “This human of yours certainly knows how to fight,” Mom said. Maybe she was warming up to him!

  “He’s been augmented.”

  “Oh,” she said. “Another one of those.”

  “Yes. And he’s wearing an exoskeleton.” Something occurred to me. “I’m not sure why Dad and Patty are chasing him, though.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Well, they want me. They know I went into the central room.”

  “You were in Hector’s lair?” she said. “What was in there?”

  I touched my pocket—the marble was still safe and sound. “Oh, a big abyss with catwalks that led to Hector’s brain.”

  “I hope you put a steel bar through it!”

  “Not exactly. It’s another long story. But I was able to get the number of your cell out of him. Then I, uh, dashed out of the room without a scratch.”

  “Okay,” she said slowly as if she didn’t quite believe me. Shit! Only a few minutes into our reunion and I was already lying to her. It was prom night all over again.

  “Anyway,” I continued. “Dad and Patty should be looking for me. Not him.”

  “They likely just wanted to be sure he was dead—probably consumed by bloodlust and revenge. He seems to be a bit of a thorn in their side. They could track you down rather easily if you did the improbable and got out of Hector’s inner sanctum.”

  “I’m getting good at doing the improbable,” I said. We eventually came to another vampire body that was lying in front of an elevator.

  “That’s Max,” Mom said. “He always smelled of garlic.”

  The doors behind him had been blown open. I stepped over Max and into the elevator. Another smaller explosion had blasted apart the trapdoor and most of the roof. Another dead vampire was hanging down the jagged hole. “He’s killed five vampires,” Mom said. “I’m slightly impressed.”

  “I’m sure you’ll like him, Mom.” Crikey! It sounded like I was prepping her to meet my grad date. And why was I flashing back to grad again? That had been a bloodbath.

  Anyway, I could see far enough up the shaft that a door had been opened high above us. It let in a rectangle of light. “Dermot retreated this way.”

  “What kind of name is Dermot?” Mom asked.

  “It’s Irish, I think. It’s his name, that’s all. Follow me!”

  I jumped through the hole and climbed rapidly up the elevator shaft to the opening above. The door to that level had been torn open. I crawled into the hallway and Mom popped out a few seconds later.

  “You move faster than you used to,” she said. “You seem more confident.”

  “I was always confident.”

  “Of course, you’re a vampire. But your level of confidence is much, much higher. You’re coming into your own.”

  She was right. In the old days she would have taken the lead, but this was my mission. I must say I felt a bit of pride at that. “Things have happened, Mom. I’ve adapted to them.” There was so much to tell her—my battle with the mobs, my time as an assassin, getting great grades in my library classes, all the books I’d read, all the hours searching for her. “I never gave up looking for you.”

  “No. You didn’t. Oh, my dear, you didn’t.” She patted me on the shoulder. “We can catch up on all of that. Let’s find this human of yours and get out of this hellhole.”

  The hallway revealed that the battle had continued all the way to the end of it and further. We loped along, putting together the scene like a sped-up version of CSI. Because now we were also finding the bodies of security guards and technical staff and what looked like accountants, along with the occasional vampire. The three opposing forces had obviously bumped into each other. I expected to see a crumpled, bent version of Dermot, his exoskeleton shattered. But he continued to defy the odds.

  I was going faster now that there was more destruction. The blood splatter seemed fresher, if that made sense. The smells were certainly fresher! I was pretty certain only a minute or two had passed since this part of the conflict. I did notice that there were no windows, which indicated that we were likely still deep underground.

  “Who’s creeping down my hallway?” a male voice asked.

  Mom grabbed my arm and we both skidded to a stop in a puddle of fresh human blood.

  “I know that voice,” Mom whispered. “That’s Hector.”

  “Yes, kind of,” I said.

  “What do you mean?”

  “I can hear your whispering,” Hector’s sim said from directly above us. “I didn’t see you come up from the basement. Not sure why my eyes can’t look down there anymore. So many faulty sensors! But it has been a busy, busy day. Unexplained explosions. Vampires to the left, exoskeleton dude to the right, and my own security forces obviously need more indoor tactical training. Anyway, both of you stay right where you are. I’ll give you ice cream if you do.”

  We broke into a run.

  “Oh, you don’t have to flee! My protocol is to not harm a pretty hair on your heads. Or, well, I think that’s what it is. I’ve misplaced my protocol folder. It was right there—right beside the kill everything that moves that isn’t ZARC folder.”

  I took the lead, jumping over bodies and through a row of flames. There was more fire than I’d expected, and I was soon jumping left and right to avoid getting burnt.

  “Fire. Fire! Fire!” Hector’s sim said. “Quick! Everyone panic. Wait… ixnay on the anicpay! To fight fire one needs water. Protocol five engaged.”

  Several sprinklers came on, soaking us but also putting out the fires. We kept running.

  “Where are we going?” Mom asked.

  “Away from him.”

  “That’s not friendly,” Hector’s voice said behind us.

  “And technically you can’t run away from me,” he said in front.

  “I am everywhere. Totally omnipresent!” This came from directly above us.

  A metal door slammed down and blocked our way forward, forcing us to stop. Another door closed about twenty feet behind. Then doors to our left and right opened. “Two doors opened in the woods,” Hector’s sim said. “And one of them was.. .how does that poem go again? Two paths diverged. No. There are circular paths. Logic paths. What kind of paths were in the woods again?”

  “He’s going insane,” Mom said.

  “This way,” I said, choosing the door on the right in the hopes it would lead us to some stairs. Instead, we were now in a boardroom, complete with a long slate table and leather chairs.

  “Choices. Choices,” Hector’s sim said. “Oh, like Scrotum’s cat.”

  “It’s Schrodinger’s cat,” I hissed. “Alive and dead at the same time.”

  “Yes. Yes. It doesn’t work as a situational comparison.” His voice followed us through the boardroom. “But the cat was in the box. And you’re in a box.” The door slammed behind us, and when I got to the one that led out of the opposite side of the room, it was locked.

  Gas immediately began to fill the chamber. “Breathe deep my lovelies. No sense fighting the inevitable.”

  I held my breath and yanked on the door. Mom joined me, but
we only managed to pull the doorknob off. I didn’t even want to open my mouth to speak. Or suck in the slightest breath.

  Then Mom took three steps back and ran forward, throwing herself at the wall.

  Which was brave because it could have been made of concrete. But the plaster broke and she burst into another hallway. I followed her, sucking in my first deep breath once we’d sped far enough away.

  “Oh, you two!” Now Hector’s voice was in front of us. “You keep being a bother. A bother! And it’s getting hard to concentrate on you and all the other pieces that are in motion. Oh look, I think that Dermot guy is down.”

  “What?” I shouted. “What happened?”

  “Oh, wait,” Hector’s sim said, as if he were calling a play-by-play. “Good news, folks! He’s up again and ready to join the game. Nice dodge! Oh, but he’s leaking blood, folks.”

  “Where is he?” I shouted.

  “I am not telling you. Now cooperate with me. Your disobedience is so incredibly frustrating. This is a game I will win. I can plan several moves at once.”

  “I don’t like games,” I said.

  But I remembered a movie that Mom had made me watch over and over again. One of the few that didn’t have Clint Eastwood in it. “Play x’s and o’s against yourself,” I shouted to the ceiling.

  “Ok,” Hector’s sim said. Then he was silent.

  “You remember War Games,” Mom whispered.

  “Yes, it didn’t have Clint Eastwood, but it was still an okay movie.”

  We slowed our pace slightly.

  “Is he gone?” she asked. “Did that really work?”

  I shrugged. I didn’t want to say anything in case it woke him up.

  We found a set of spiral stairs. Up seemed the best way to go. So we climbed them.

  25

  A Table Set for Six

  Hector’s sim remained silent. And all I heard were our footsteps and my breathing. The silence was unnerving, especially since there had been so much noise and AI chatter. We reached the top of the stairs and discovered yet another door. I was beginning to see the whole interior of the fortress as an Escher painting—stairs that led to stairs that turned upside down and led in circles.

  I listened as best I could, heard nothing, then swung open the door and drew in a deep breath.

  For Dermot was there. Along with Dad and Patty. And they were all seated at a long dining table in the middle of the room. There was food in front of them on silver platters, set off by perfectly placed lit candles.

  Oh, and Anthony Zarc stood at the head of the table. He seemed completely unsurprised to see us. He was dressed in the same blue suit and tie his hologram had been wearing—maybe he was a one outfit kind of man. “Ah, please come in,” he said. “Our final two guests. Come. Come. I managed to rescue your friends from the conflagration.” He gestured at the table. “I know you don’t eat what is provided, but it is my meal time. And, honestly, it would be somewhat grotesque to put your choice of food on the table.”

  I was grasping for a rational thought. This had to be a hallucination.

  “You’re seeing this, right, Mom? Right?”

  It took her a moment to answer. “Yes. I do.”

  Dad was at the opposite end of the table from Zarc and looking at us from out of the corner of his eye. Patty was beside him, staring directly at us, but showing no real emotion. Even Dermot, who was bleeding from a head wound, had very little expression on his face. But his gaze was locked on me.

  “Come, come,” Zarc said. “Don’t hesitate. Your place is here at my table. Please do this of your own volition.”

  “I’m not taking another step closer,” I said. “I want to know what the hell is happening. Dermot! Tell me what’s going on.”

  Dermot didn’t open his mouth. Actually, he didn’t move other than to blink.

  “I will explain everything once you’re seated,” Zarc said. “But I’m afraid I’ll have to resort to the power of suggestion to convince you to join me at my table. Please show them what I mean, Naomi.”

  Naomi, she of the metal hands, came from some dark corner of the room and walked directly up to Dermot. She did not take her eyes away from mine. I had last seen her in northern Canada at that ZARC compound, and had ripped off her metal hand. Judging by the glowering in her eyes, she hadn’t forgiven me.

  “I see you have your hand back,” I said. This was perhaps the wrong time to quip, but I couldn’t help myself.

  “Oh, I got more than that,” she said. She lifted her hidden arm. At the end of it, instead of a hand, was a long blade. She set the blade on Dermot’s neck.

  Zarc let out a sad, disappointed breath. “See, I didn’t want it to come to threats. I truly hoped this would all be civilized and proper. So, forgive me for I am going to get a little melodramatic in this moment. Please come to the table or Dermot will die.”

  I drew in a deep breath. But I didn’t move.

  “We can keep running,” my mother said quietly. “I don’t really care about the human.”

  “But I do, Mom,” I whispered. “So let’s play along. Until we get our chance.”

  “No,” she hissed. “I won’t slip back into his clutches.”

  “We’ll find a way out, Mom. I promise.”

  She looked at me like I was insane. Then she glanced back at the door as if she were about to flee. She shook her head. “Okay, dear. I’ll have to trust you.”

  “It’ll all work out,” I said, and tried to make it sound like I believed that statement. I really didn’t see any way to avoid seeing Dermot get his throat slit, other than sitting at the table.

  We slowly walked up to the two empty chairs. I couldn’t be certain if we were speaking to the real Anthony Zarc—it could easily be another hologram. But I didn’t spot any projectors. Maybe he was real and so confident in this scenario he was risking his life.

  “Now, please, please be seated,” he said.

  I chose the chair across from Dermot. My mother sat beside me, which meant she was next to Dad. I expected manacles to suddenly shoot up. But nothing happened. The smell of hot human food on the table wasn’t very pleasant.

  “What can we do for you?” I asked.

  “Well, we are having a property dispute,” Anthony said.

  “I am not property,” my mom nearly shouted. A bit of spittle landed on the table. I didn’t blame her reaction after years of being locked up. “And neither is my daughter.”

  “Well, the dispute isn’t between you and me. But it’s between me and them.” He gestured toward Dad and Patty. “They believe they possess both of you. Now, I don’t possess either of you, but I need your genetics for the well-being of my business.” He pointed at Dermot. Naomi had taken her blade hand away and was lurking in the background again. “And he’s the bit player. I’m not completely certain of his motives. He’s the last member of a dead League so perhaps he’s just acting out of reflex.”

  My father, Patty, and Dermot didn’t react to Zarc’s speech in any way, other than moving their eyeballs. In fact, that seemed to be the only part that they could move. Dermot kept looking at me, then moving his eyes to the right as if he were trying to get me to stare at something. Or else he was having some sort of seizure.

  “Why can’t they move?” I asked.

  “Oh, that’s right,” Anthony Zarc said. “I forgot to give the signal.” He snapped his fingers. “There,” he said.

  “There what?” I said.

  “Sorry. Again, that was too much drama. Hector, turn on the chairs.”

  “Yes sir,” Hector’s sim said from above us. “Sorry I missed the first signal. I was playing tic tac toe. Fascinating game! Anyway, I’m flipping the switch now, sir.”

  At this, Mom started to get up, and I was about to follow her when I felt a sudden numbing through my body. It started at my rear end and gravitated outward in a microsecond, and I discovered that I couldn’t move a muscle, except my eyeballs. Mom, who had still been touching her chair, sat down and w
ent completely still.

  “It’s a nerve inductor,” Anthony Zarc explained. “And it works for humans and vampires. I’m very pleased with it. I used it to halt these three from fighting with each other. The inductor induces almost complete paralysis. It also allows subjects to be awake for surgeries.”

  I went to speak, but of course my mouth wouldn’t move. I glanced at Mom and she glanced at me. Her eyes seemed to say I told you so.

  Sorry, Mom!

  So this is what Dermot was trying to warn me about. He had been moving his eyes towards the door, perhaps suggesting I should run.

  “I know that you feel uncomfortable now and perhaps a little fearful,” Anthony said. “And, I admit, there might be anger toward me. But I want you to know that I am supremely thankful for everything you’ve given me and are about to give me. And I will treat you with absolute dignity and respect throughout your stay here. In time, I’m certain, you will grow to appreciate my company.”

  His self aggrandizing speech down, he sat down at his seat and lifted the silver top from the platter, revealing a roasted turkey. It was something that I’m sure would make humans salivate. He sliced three pieces for himself, dished out mashed potatoes that were steaming, added stuffing and peas, then coated it all with gravy. “Exactly how my dear mother used to make it,” he said. Then he began to eat as if he had all the time in the world.

  Well, I suppose he did.

  A little light went on in my brain. It really was Anthony Zarc in the room. I was pretty certain a hologram wouldn’t be able to lift a dish lid and cut a turkey. Oh, and eat it. Unless everything on the table was a hologram, too. But I could smell it. That indicated it was real.

  After he’d had several bites and a sip of white wine, he patted his petite pale lips with a white cloth napkin and leaned back.

  “I supposed, too, you’ve had a bit of time now to wonder about your future at ZARC Incorporated. And yes, it will involve being in a cell, but I do promise you the best in television and books. I may even play a game of chess against you, if you prove to be up to my level. And I’ve been experimenting with some wonderful virtual worlds. There won’t be any internet connection, that’s just too dangerous in terms of reaching out to sympathizers. It will take some time to harvest your genes and reproductive material properly, but it will be done with the least amount of discomfort possible.” He looked over at Dermot. “Even you, my friend, will get a good going over, as they say. I am so curious what the League did to make it so you regenerate so quickly. And I want to unlock how they augmented your strength. It’s all very interesting to me and my team.”