by Daniel Ruth
“So this won't affect us at all I suppose,” Mat said as he digested the explanation.
“Not unless you have some mages hidden away somewhere,” I chuckled. I had searched the city pretty well. All it had was a few natural mystics that could do a few minor enchantments. Well, until Jin had started sending his students here. Hmm, and I guess I completely missed Mr. Zombie man. I was starting to wonder if I knew this city at all.
“Nope, you're all we have,” he said a bit grimly. I looked at him, startled. If they counted me as a mage they were going to be pretty surprised when a real one showed up, throwing spells around.
“Hmm,” I muttered noncommittally. “The really bad news is that I would really be shocked if the circle master didn't have a surprise in place when his shield ran down. When this thing goes down...” I tapped the shield's surface again, eliciting a wince from the police. “I would bet there's something triggered to go off.”
“A bomb,” Mat asked tensely.
“Could be. Could be something magical. I can't tell with the dampening circle in place.”
“Is there any way to tell?”
I looked intently at the shield. If it was for purely physical effects, I may be able to astral project a short distance to see what was inside. It was a long shot, though. Most psionic and magic shields stopped astral travel. The astral plane was just too closely tied to the physical plane. It almost didn't count as another dimension. I hadn't tried it in a long time due to the discomfort and hazards inherent in it, but the rune branded on my chest may not count that as real dimensional travel, just as it didn't impede too much my use of psionic teleportation much, limited as that was. The last thing I wanted was to peek outside my body in my astral form only to have it yanked to the rune's anchor in the city.
I slowly shook my head. “Sorry, there's nothing I can think of offhand that would be able to peek inside.”
Mat looked at me confused. “What do you mean peek inside? We can already see inside, except for the buildings he was holing up in.”
I looked back at him blankly in turn and cursed under my breath. I ran into it pretty rarely, but there's a down side to being able to see invisible objects and magic. They appear rather solid to you and often you aren't aware that other, less gifted people may see through them. “Okay, maybe there is something I can do. I'll need a minute.”
Mat just shrugged. Apparently, if I could help he wasn't in a hurry. I looked around noticed a bench off by the wall, next to the remnants of an overturned waste drum. Walking over to it, I sat down and assumed the thinker position while entering a light meditative state. I could have just sat down in the lotus position, but I dreaded having to clean my pants off after sitting on the remnants of undead flesh that lay scattered on the floor. It also lacked a bit of dignity.
Concentrating, I worked to suppress my higher mental sensitivity. I had spent years honing my mental prowess and it went against the grain but at the moment it was hindering me. I imagined it as closing certain doors in my head and almost winced as I felt the world around me get smaller. On the bright side, the oppressive background noise of the city that drove away the human psychics almost vanished.
After about five minutes I was done and stood up to walk over to the barrier. The change in my senses was not physical, but it put me off my stride enough that I almost felt unsteady as I approached it. The barrier still glowed a faint blue due my heritage but now it was transparent enough to clearly see the details inside. I assume the people around me didn't even see the barrier at all, but didn't feel like advertising my limitations.
On the other side I saw rows and rows of circles, each several yards wide, etched into the concrete floor. Lines connected them in some pattern that would probably make sense one day if I gained more proficiency in this type of magic. My instinctive sense told me that each of these circles unleashed waves of fire and necrotic energies that would simply stop one's heart if it overcame a person's innate defenses. Considering how that mess was layered, it would be like waves of magic beating on a sandy shore. Once activated they would go off in rapid order. If a person withstood the first, the second or even the sixth, the twentieth would probably finish off the person. I felt a chill down my spine as I looked over the field of death. I am pretty resistant to hostile magic, but I really wouldn't want to be here when this was triggered.
“The man that did this was a really vindictive bastard,” I said to myself. I wasn't really talking to Mat, but he responded anyway.
“How so?” he asked warily.
“When this shield goes down... whether you blast it or just wait... this entire area is going to be filled with fire and death.”
“What do you mean 'and death'?” Mat asked tensely.
I looked at him, thinking of how to explain to someone that didn't know anything about magic. “This area will be flooded with death magic. Enough to make your heart stop.” An idea occurred to me. “Or it could make you wither and die. I am not sure exactly what that much necrotic power would do to a person.”
“So it's all one big death trap. Will the explosion take down the ceiling?”
I winced; if the ceiling came down I wouldn't be able to study the circles. Doubtless, the circle master had taken his books when he abandoned his lair but if I could examine those circles, perhaps capture some psychic impressions on what the creator was doing when he made them, I might someday be able to recreate them. The death and fire circles were a bit overkill for home defense, but they would be fascinating to learn. The real gems would be the shield and portal circle. With that, I may be able to get out of this dimension.
“It's not quite like that. I don't think there will be an explosion.” I gestured with wide sweeping motions. “It will just fill this area with fire... and death of course.” Death magic doesn't have any concussive force, you just drop dead.
“So this cavern isn't going to collapse?”
“Well, it’s going to get really hot in here. You may want to talk to an engineer and see if the supports will survive.”
“Well, how hot is that?” Mat elaborated.
I looked at him, annoyed. How the hell would I know? Did he think I had walked into a death trap before with a thermometer? “I don't know, I would guess it would depend on how much power he pushed into this. Considering all this is on a node it’s going to be hotter than hell.”
The police looked really unhappy. Mat turned to his companions and started talking tech speak. I tuned him out and looked at the circles again. They should be okay after the trigger. Their power would be exhausted, but I should be able to examine them. The circles should be immune to their own effects. I hoped.
“Okay, we'll put in electronic surveillance and evacuate the buildings above us,” Mat finished emphatically, making me start and breaking my reverie. I nodded absently; that would be the smart thing to do. I gave a last look at the circles before slowly turning away. “Thank you for your help, Professor. Let's get you back home.”
I gave him a frown as I headed out. I had told him to call me Derek, and he still called me by that title the bibliophiles had given me. What's the point in making up an identity if no one is going to use it?
Chapter 9
Back home once more, I cleaned up the mess the guests had made and polished a few scuff marks in the wood floor until it shone. I really find it hard to concentrate unless everything is perfect. I put up with it for my friends, but it is really disruptive for my concentration.
Once that was done, I went to the local market for some more food. I eat quite a bit, and having a shifter guest isn't going to lower the household food intake. I got an odd look from the checkout girl as I picked up the bags and carried them all out. The weight was hardly noticeable, but the bulk made it very awkward. Still, the odd looks would have been worse if I had used my telekinesis to float the bags in a line behind me. These days most people just had their groceries delivered, but without a computer or a reliable vid terminal I had to do things the hard way.
Maybe I should bring a pallet and tell everyone it’s a lev disk.
As I walked through the door, I saw Jeremy had let himself in and made himself at home. I groaned to myself at the thought of more housework later that night when I could be researching the new circles I had seen. I should get a housekeeper, but I can barely tolerate my friends touching my things let alone a stranger. A robot would work, but even if it didn't blow up the first day from the ambient mystic energy, the brain dead AIs that are the only ones legal these days would likely break more things than it fixed.
Throwing off my mood, I mustered a smile and greeted him. “Did you get it?”
“Hello to you too,” he grimaced.
“Yeah, whatever,” I teased him as I set the groceries down in the kitchen and started to put them away. I also started the oven; Jeremy would probably be hungry and Mei would want a meal too. Shifters always want a meal.
“I got it,” he continued. “Are you sure you want to do this?”
I gave him a skeptical look. “I admit I have no qualms about killing a vampire assassin, but if you want to keep the human death count down to zero I really don't have a better idea.” I looked him in the eye and he started to fidget uncomfortably before glancing away. “Do you have a better idea?”
“No,” he muttered quietly.
I quietly prepared and placed the turkey in the oven, and then went over to the tiny sphere the size of my thumbnail Jeremy had placed on the counter. I grimaced when I picked it up, tightening the shields on my aura as much as I could. I really didn't get along with most technology, but once in a while it made things a bit easier. Looking at the object, it suddenly occurred to me that I needed something to keep it in place. Looking around the kitchen my sight fell upon some mesh that had held some of the fruit. Nodding to myself, I grabbed it and walked outside. Jeremy looked like he might follow, but for his own peace of mind I asked him to stay inside. He glanced at me gratefully as he turned around and went back in the house.
I walked over to the neighboring house and entered inside. No one greeted me. This was to be expected since I had bought all the houses in the area. These houses all had maid service for the nonexistent people that lived in them. The houses were listed for sale, but no offers were accepted. I really liked my privacy.
I walked into the barren kitchen, down to the basement and found the bagged parts of the vampire. It was a small miracle the body hadn't turned into mist and floated away. It was probably due to the ward I affixed to the floor or the airtight bags, but I was just guessing. I had planned on simply dunking the pieces into a barrel of holy water, but my new idea necessitated that this assassin live. Frankly, this gave me the creeps since the bloodsucker had come so close to cutting my life short. Outside of a dragon that had dwarfed me in age and power, I had never come closer to death than last night. I may be brash and perhaps a bit overconfident, but I would remember that lesson for a bit. My cheek had completely healed and my index finger had almost reformed, but the memory stayed fresh.
I ripped open the bag containing the torso and used the assassin's own blade to open the abdominal cavity. I suppose I could have just used my psychic surgery trick to place the device, but I wasn't feeling charitable. I used the netting to tie the sphere in place around the organs. I twisted it all around and tied it off. Many supernatural creatures regenerate quickly. This regeneration includes the ability to regrow limbs and expel foreign objects from the body. I reached into the pocket of my coat and poured a dash of silver nitrate inside the stomach opening. Hopefully, the combination of silver, impure though it was, and the netting, would slow the process down enough to get this to work.
Once I was done with my grisly task, I unbagged the head and placed it next to the body. Once the night had fallen, the corpse's limbs would doubtless transform to mist, the parts rejoin and merge. The torso never showed any indication it was going into a gaseous state so it was all theory and guesswork. It was my plan that the vampire simply think I was ignorant of how difficult it was to put an ancient vampire down permanently.
I washed my bloodied hands in the upstairs kitchen and thought about the next part of the plan. Looking at the dagger the vampire had almost killed me with, I sighed in sadness. It was a beautiful piece of work. Runes ran the length of the blade and glowed a soft blue even in the daylight. The hilt formed a tightly coiled serpent with the head of the snake open and hissing at the pommel. It was so detailed, it looked like it would spring and bite me. Since it was a rune blade, I didn't rule that out. Like Mei's more powerful sword, it was a rune blade created millennia ago. Probably by dwarves. They didn't seem to be around in this world anymore, but they seemed to have left some very nice things behind. Nice enough that it almost killed me. I stepped outside and moved to where the final confrontation had taken place. Bracing myself, I flipped the dagger straight up and let it land with its blade fully imbedded in the sidewalk. The vampire would reform and go looking for the dagger. If I still had it, he may think it valuable enough to attack me once more before he had fully healed. That would put a kink in the plan.
I would miss it though. I admit that I am not a knife fighter, but it was certainly more elegant than my own youthful weapon selection. You begin to appreciate elegance as you get older. It also crossed my mind that if I one day found this blade imbedded in my heart, I would only have myself to blame. With that disturbing thought, I reluctantly walked back to my home. I seemed to be walking away from a lot of magic lately for someone that put so much energy in finding the damn stuff.
I checked the turkey and it looked like it was cooking a wee bit slow. I frowned at the meal. I had thought about trying to develop my latent pyrokinesis abilities, for cooking if nothing else, but never had the time to focus on the less well-traveled psionic disciplines. With my segue into the mystical arts, I may never have the opportunity.
So I waited for the food, and I sat down in my favorite chair while Jeremy watched the news in the next room and used his phone to track things down. It was subtle, yet I noticed that the holographic terminal on his wrist would be shut off whenever I entered the room. Obviously he didn't want to repair another defunct device around me. Occasionally, out of the corner of my eye, I would see his device’s tiny holographic emitter and the images of the tiny humans he spoke to. I did my best to ignore it. If I looked at it wrong it would just self-destruct.
I was getting ready to go down to the basement to try a variation of one of the minor circles I know, based on what I had gleaned from seeing the zombie king's circles and some interesting books on ancient Nordic runes I had just been examining, when the food timer went off. Looking out the window as I finished the dinner preparations, I saw the sun going down. I sped up my work. I didn't want to leave on an empty stomach.
Jeremy and I were just finishing up the meal when his phone started buzzing. I glanced over at it, then at Jeremy. He walked to the other side of the room and fiddled with the interface for a bit, then looked at me and nodded. “Looks like he's on the move.”
“Already,” I whistled. “He must be older than I thought to recover from...” I caught myself from going into too many unpleasant details. “...what happened to him.” I just hoped his regeneration doesn't pop out the tracker before it does its job.
A knock came from the front door, and I have to admit I looked over at the floating holographic image Jeremy was studying intently. I didn't understand a thing I saw, but Jeremy seemed to understand my intent. “It's not him. He's already halfway across town.”
I had kind of figured a vampire assassin wouldn't knock, but it was good to be sure. Perhaps it was Conrad.
I opened the door. It wasn't Conrad. “Oh, hello, er...” I jogged my memory to recall the fellow's name. “Eric. Welcome back.” The young vampire was restored to his normal pallid complexion so the effects of the wards seemed to have worn off. I gestured him to enter. Maybe this trial I should time the onset of the effects. That may give me a baseline idea for how strong the wards are. I cou
ld invite Eric over if I change something and see how long the appearance of the rashes takes. I looked over to the kitchen clock to note the time.
“So what brings you here?” I asked, as I went into the kitchen to load up my plate. Eric followed me, seemingly unsure of where he should be. When I walked past him with a heaping plate of turkey and a tall glass of milk, he trailed me like a kite on a string. I may have just had a meal, but if I had to talk to the vampire neophyte again I may as well enjoy a second helping. It's not as if I'll ever run out of room. When we got to the living room I gestured for him to sit on the couch while I sat in my usual chair. Jeremy looked at me oddly, but went back to fiddling with his phone after watching me eat for a time.
“Well,” I grunted as I stuffed my face. “Why are you here?” I asked again.
“The master of the city has asked for your presence,” the vampire told me somewhat hesitantly.
“Has he agreed to give me the resources we would need to track down the nodes?” I prodded.
“I don't know,” Eric admitted reluctantly.
I stopped eating and stared at Eric. His skin had already begun breaking out and although he didn't really need to breath, his was coming at a rapid rate. He must be very young. It was obvious that I wasn't going to get any answers from him. I was getting the feeling he was less of a messenger and more of a canary in the coal mine. I would lay odds that he was unimportant in the extreme and probably not very well liked. Of course, if I was correct it also meant his leader had an idea I wasn't human.
“When does the master want my presence?” I asked thoughtfully before taking a slug of my milk.
“Tonight at midnight.”