“Fine. I’ll meet you inside in a minute. I need a quick word with the others.”
He floated out of the car and drifted across the hood, landing on his feet in front of the bumper. Without looking back, he walked inside.
I got out the old-fashioned way; bouncing out of the seat, using a one-handed vault to clear the passenger’s door like a champion gymnast.
There’s a reason I like convertibles.
No one seemed to have noticed my agility and innate coolness. Saddened, I stood by the Mustang’s door, reaching in to grab my sword. I settled the sheath and straps on me as Osamu parked the BMW in the adjoining space. He got out along with Vivian and Craig.
“Where are we?” Craig asked.
“Just off I-20, in Shreveport,” I said. “We’re going to get back on the highway in a minute and change-up later, taking I-220 to Cross Lake and some cabins there. Just keep following us.
Craig looked at me. “That red tunnel we went through, it really was a magical portal?”
I nodded. “Yep. Think Vivian would lie to you?”
He shot her a quick glance. “No, of course not. It’s just, I never knew how much of the world I didn’t know about—until recently.”
“If things get too weird for you…,” Vivian said.
A hard confidence deepened Craig’s voice. “I’ll manage. It’s better to know, right?”
I shrugged. Unless that knowing gets you dead.
I said, “Colt’s inside. Keep an eye on him. I’ll be back.”
Taking my request as an order, Osamu bowed and hurried toward the store entrance. Vivian and Craig followed. I moved toward the RV which had parked off to the side of the property. Gloria climbed out the driver’s door and dropped to the pavement. Her stiletto heels clicked as she approached. Kain came out another door, hurrying to catch up.
I looked at Gloria. “We’ll be taking I-20 to I-220. It bridges Cross Lake. There’s a marina there and some rental cabins where we’ll stay.” I looked at Kain. “You’ll probably want to stay in your beloved RV.”
Ignoring my comment, he stared at the sword hilt over my shoulder. “Is that solid gold?”
“Yeah,” I said.
“A magic sword?”
“Yeah, blessed by the Goddess Dana. It’s one of the Celtic treasures of Tuatha De Danann.”
Kain’s eyes got big. He whispered in near reverence. “The Sword of Light!”
I nodded. “Yeah, I’d draw the blade and let you look, but the divine light might crumble you both to dust. If you ever hear me yell, ‘Fire in the hole’, get to cover fast. I’ll be using the god-slayer on Anubis.”
“We are forewarned,” Kain said. “When this is all over, I might be interested in making you an offer for—”
“Forget it. I stole it fair and square, I’m keeping it.”
“Fine,” Kain said. “Just remember, that applies to the Mustang I stole from you, years ago.”
I wasn’t going to debate the idiot. I pointed at the store. “Last chance for a potty break or to buy gummy worms.”
I was kidding about the candy.
“Oooo! Gummi worms!” Kain hurried away.
I just stared at his retreating Hawaiian shirt, and shook my head. “Oh, the ravages of time. Alzheimer’s. I think the legend is starting to tarnish, wilt, and fray.”
Gloria shook her head in warning. “Don’t believe it. He puts other vamps off with that act, and they never see his sword’s naked edge until it’s way too late.”
“He needs his own reality show,” I said.
“He used to have one, but it didn’t go well. They got someone else to wear the purple dinosaur costume. Method actors… He stayed in character weeks after they let him go. I thought for sure I’d have to have to lop his head off or die trying.”
“What saved him?”
“He discovered BBC and Dr. Who about then.”
I stared at Gloria, half convinced she wasn’t putting me on. I sighed. “Excuse me, future bride of mine. The gummi sharks are calling...”
“Do they have gummi bats?” she asked. “I can go for some gummi bats dropped into a cherry slushy.”
Here’s what happens when vampires are so strong, all weaknesses are lost. They lose all dignity.
I walked away. “You blood-sucking fiends need to remember how vampires are supposed to act. You’re embarrassing yourselves.”
THIRTEEN
“If I hurt you it’s only because
it’s needed, or enjoyable.”
—Caine Deathwalker
It was late morning as we reached the marina cabins. Leaving my magic sword with Colt, I walked down to the office to rent the cabin next to Kat’s. An internet search on my phone told me it had four bedrooms, and its own little dock for fishing.
While I did this, Kain and Gloria parked the RV, retiring for the day so they’d be rested for night action when evil often strikes.
Osamu and the slayers went to appraise Kat of the loss of her home and to give her a duffle bag with the last of her personal possessions. Somehow, I figured they’d blame me for burning her house down. I hoped no one mentioned my involvement.
Zombies, no choice. Just because I enjoyed it doesn’t mean it wasn’t necessary.
I went in a huge building with banquet rooms and a gym. One door said: Office. I went through and stood at a wood counter with a cash register, registration book, and a credit card reader.
On the other side of the counter, inside an open door, I heard an old granny quavering away. “A sea monster, I tell you. Big as life and twice as ugly. It stared at me with one big black eye. It was red and had a beak, too, and coils everywhere. I thought I was a goner, then it just sunk into the water and was gone. You’ve got to warn everyone.”
“Just how many drinks have you had to celebrate Memorial Day?” the manager asked.
“I only drink diet soda, and I know what I saw!”
“Uh-huh, I’ll get right on that. You can leave it to us.”
“Aw, phooey! You ain’t gonna do squat.” Granny hobbled out of the office on a cane with four mini-tips at the bottom. She wore baggy mom jeans, a teal green NRA tee shirt and a pink sweater. I wondered if she’d be open-carrying the next time I saw her. Stomping hard toward the office door, she trudged around the counter and passed without giving me a look.
The female manager came out, a middle-aged woman with a brown beehive hairstyle look at me. “Hello, can I help you?”
“I’m here to fish for kraken and need that big cabin down by the water, the one with four bedrooms.”
“I’m sorry, that one is reserved.”
“Lose the reservation.”
“I-I can’t! That would be wrong.”
I pulled out a thick envelope packed with hundreds, my petty cash traveling fund. She watched as I fanned through all those crisp green bills. “Are you sure? Isn’t it only wrong if you get caught?”
“Well, uh…”
I flipped the envelop onto the counter. “Show me where I sign and give me the keys.” I was out of there and on the way to the cabins in just a few minutes. As fond as I am of money, there are times it must be used as a tool or weapon. I already had a plan on recouping my losses: a few digital pictures of Colt’s kraken sold to the tabloids would do it.
Having parked down by Kat’s cabin, leaving Colt there, I strolled alone back along the lake. The blue-gray water lapped softly as I passed. A fish jumped. I kept moving, all my senses alert for werejackals and kraken.
Golden eyes opened in the back shadows of my mind; my inner dragon stirring awake, taking an interest in the world. Don’t forget, this is werebear territory.
“Are you hungry for bear?” I asked.
“What did you say, young man?” I’d overtaken Granny. Hearing me, she’d stopped to quaver, staring through thick-lensed glasses. I smiled at her seamed pink face, wondering if she’d ever been pretty.
“I asked if you were loaded for bear. I heard you back at the office, goin
g on about that sea monster.”
“Well, more of a lake monster, I guess, but to answer your question, I’m going to get my shotgun, just in case.”
“Well, good hunting.” I passed her, leaving her to follow since she seemed to be going my way.
My dragon said: Keep an eye out. She’ll dump herself on her ass first time she takes a shot.
“One can only hope,” I muttered.
As I walked up to Kat’s cabin, I found her and Josh out on the porch. She had her arms crossed under petite tits, and an angry expression on her face. “What’s wrong? Can’t stay out of other people’s fights?”
“He came after me and Gloria, too,” I said. “We’re going to help you finish things with Anubis. Or do want to go up against a god all on your own?”
The smarter of the two, Josh said, “We appreciate the help.”
“Just don’t burn down our cabins,” Kat added.
I smiled. “That would be repetitive.” I kept going, heading for the next cabin. “I’ll be back after we’ve settled in next door.”
“Thrilled,” Kat growled.
Colt came out and ran past them, hurrying to catch up to me, my sword clutched in his arms. The blade looked awkward as he carried it. I paused to take the sword. We went on, side-by-side. The four-bedroom was a big box, the exterior, white slat boards. It had a back porch sealed in with glass, and wooden stairs that connected to a boardwalk that slanted down to a small dock. I looked out that way. A giant squid surfaced and stared with a single black eye. The beast was indeed blood red with a beaked mouth. He waved. Colt waved back, and the kraken submerged, leaving behind dying ripples.
“He might start eating people if the fish in the lake get scarce,” I said. “You might want stock the lake up with some freshwater sharks or something.”
“Won’t the sharks eat people, too?” Colt asked.
“Circle of life. Let the swimmer beware. You want your pet to starve?”
“Well, no.”
“Okay then, work it out. Having an animal is a big responsibility. You want to keep the kraken, prove to your mom you’re man enough for the job.”
The nine-year-old straightening his spine, drew a deep breath, and squared his shoulders. “You’re right. I’ll think of something.”
I went up the stairs to the screened-in porch, used my key, and opened the door. I heard a couple steps and smelled citrus aftershave. One step inside, I threw up an arm to bar Colt’s path. “Someone’s here!” I warned him.
“Hell yeah,” a young voice said.
I angled to stare across the living room. A teenager hurried toward us, maybe sixteen, and he looked like… “Colt?”
“Right first time, Old Man.” It was a temporal ghost of Colt, a couple years younger than the one who hated my guts. From the broad smile on his face, this version didn’t have issues with me--yet. He opened his arms and flung himself into a hug with me, just like his nine-year-old self might.
I looked aside at younger Colt and lifted my eyebrows. Why are there so many of you flitting around in time? Isn’t that dangerous?”
Sixteen-year-old Colt let go of me. “Hey, Dad, I brought in all the luggage. Everything’s in the bedrooms.”
“Thanks. Mind if I ask a question?”
“Sure. You want to know why I’m here, when it’s going to complicate things for the me that’s two years in the future, right?”
“Okay, let’s go with that.”
“Well, Mom needs our eighteen-year-old self for a special mission in another dimension. I don’t know the details.” Sixteen-year-old Colt looked at his younger self. “Mom’s got a job for you, too.”
“Dad and Zahra need me more,” Younger Colt said.
“Mom says only you can do this, and if you don’t Julia could get hurt—bad.”
The name of my adopted daughter riveted my attention. “I’ll go.”
Older Colt shook his head. “You can’t. Colt needs to jump time on this one, going to a place where you already are. And Zahra needs to go with him. Otherwise, there’s a good chance Anubis will get her.”
Selene ought to know.
“Fine,” I said.
Older Colt sighed. “It’s better if you don’t try to guess anymore. You’ve got to act normal.”
I just know all this fucking with time will bite us in the ass like a rabid honey badger.
Older Colt looked back at his younger self. “Don’t worry, I lived through what you’re about to go and do. You’ll never have more fun.”
I, too, shifted stares to give younger Colt my full attention. “Don’t argue with Kat; just grab Zahra and flash-out to where Julia is. I’ll explain it to the Pride once they’re calm.”
“Okay, Dad.” Copper-red light washed him away, leaving an empty space where air swooshed in to fill a vacuum.
I looked at my replacement Colt. Older, face softer than his eighteen-year-old self, he had a few small razor nicks. I think he’d just started to shave. He’d given up the hoodie but hadn’t yet adopted the tough-guy look. He wore black shorts with an aqua stripe on the sides and a royal blue sleeveless tee. His expression looked open but the eyes had a hint of calculation contradicting total honesty. On top, he wore his midnight-red hair in a high wave. The sides were close trimmed.
He doesn’t have a weapon on him, or a tatt. Makes it hard to believe he’s my kid.
“So, what now?” I asked.
“Well, I thought we—hey!”
I’d turned away, stepping away, then reversed my course, drawing the Sword of Light, swinging the tip of the blade up under his chin.
“D-dad! That’s not funny. Even though I knew it was coming.” He backed up, but I advanced just as fast, keeping the sword point where I wanted it.
The golden eyes in the back shadows of my mind were startled wide. My inner dragon was full aroused. Caine, what is this?
Anubis is a god. Gods can look how they want. I need to be sure this is my Colt. The Sword of Light will know. It has divine power and a blessing so it can never kill the innocent.
I gripped the solid gold hilt. Its handle molded itself for a perfect grip. The red leather scabbard lay behind me on the floor where it had fallen. The broadsword had Celtic runes down its center. The lines were filled in with a sky-blue light that mingled with a golden light that also beamed.
The glow cast Colt’s features in a theatrical light, inverting shadows to places they didn’t belong. His eyes were red-copper coins of fire. Red lightning crackled around his hands, but he kept them at his side, refusing to strike at me.
It was a level of trust I knew I didn’t deserve, rooted in a child’s faith in his father. I figured if he wore a magical disguise, the Light of the sword would burn it away. He remained the same.
“You’re Colt.” I stepped back and lowered the sword. Returning to the scabbard, I picked it up and sheathed the sword once more.
“Give me a new Mustang or I’ll tell Mom,” he said.
Yeah, he’s my son, but with definitely more calculation in the eyes.
“Your Mom would understand. You could have been Anubis. If I start underestimating him, he will win.”
“So, my Mustang?”
“It’s parked outside. We drove it here.”
“Yeah, but you’re going to destroy it next year—and you’ll keep forgetting to replace it.”
“I’m sure I’ll just be busy trying to save the multiverse from the coming threat.”
“As cheap as ever,” he said, “except when buying toys for yourself.”
I dropped my jaw in mock-dismay. “That’s a terrible thing to say about your own father.”
His eyes narrowed. “I’ll remember this the next time you want something.”
Yeah, that’s my son alright.
The front door banged open and an angry Kat invaded us. “What the hell are you pulling?”
Josh was right behind her and the porch was full of Slayers and werecats. I backed toward Colt, giving our visitors a chanc
e to enter. Things weren’t quite out of control; no one had shape-shifted or drawn a weapon. Yet.
“Is Zahra here?” Kat’s sweeping glance caught on six-teen-year-old Colt. “You! What did you do with her.”
Colt showed me an evil smiled that tipped his hand—here’s payback. “Dad had me take her to Talon City, to the underground’s slave market. He said we’d get a lot for her.”
I expected Kat to come lunging—all claws—for my pounding heart, but she only sniffed the air. Her eyes narrowed. “I know a lie when I smell one.”
“Not a lie,” Colt objected. “Just fiction.”
Her hot gaze slashed to me. “Where is she really, oh High King of Fairy who cannot lie?”
“She, younger Colt, and Julia are on a mission. Selene wouldn’t tell me about it except to say that if Zahra didn’t go, Anubis would take her.”
“The mission is important to the future timeline we need—to protect the Earth and everything else,” Colt said. “Beyond necessary actually. She’ll be back when it’s safe.”
“Okay,” Kat said. “I believe you. But Selene had better stop being so gosh-all-mighty dictatorial about everything. You don’t own us. You don’t run us.”
Josh glared his agreement.
It’s funny how people keep denying the obvious.
I sighed and lowered my eyes as if properly chastened.
FOURTEEN
“Everyone begrudges my interference.
Shouldn’t they be grateful I care?”
—Caine Deathwalker
Kat stayed in my face, glaring. “I want to know everything you know.”
“I’m not sure that’s possible.”
For lesser lifeforms.
“About our current situation,” Joshua said. “And why Colt is sixteen-years-old now instead of eighteen?”
“You’ve met his older self.” I hadn’t known that.
The Colt we had here hid a smile behind his hand as he muttered a possible answer. “Growth spurt?”
“Let’s go to your place for a council of war,” I suggested.
They might have beer.
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