“Don’t you think this can wait until . . .,” she began, but Lazarus shook his head before she was even through.
“He’s changed,” Lazarus said. “I want to find out how much.”
“You’ve changed over the past thousand years, I’ll wager,” Meaghan said to Lazarus, unwilling to confess that she shared some of his anxiety. “And you haven’t been suffering the entire time.”
“Meaghan, it’s all right,” Peter said. “He doesn’t have a right to ask, but you, blood-daughter, have a right to know.”
Blood-daughter, she thought, that’s what I am to him now. And she felt a little sadness for all they had lost.
“I will save the whole story for a more appropriate time and setting,” Peter said, “but I’ll answer the most important questions now. When Mulkerrin and I arrived, I was preparing to kill him, though his magic still allowed him to call some of the demon-slaves here to his aid. But Beelzebub, whose escape to Earth I had prevented by bringing Mulkerrin here, was there to stop us. Instead of killing us on the spot, which I have wished infinitely he had done, we were kept alive, made to suffer . . .”
He trailed off for a moment, and Meaghan wanted to go to him, to hold him, but she needed to hear more. Peter detailed much of the suffering he and Mulkerrin had endured side by side, how Lord Beelzebub had worked some kind of dark magic on the sorcerer to keep him from dying, to keep him suffering.
“Many times, the demon-lord mentioned his hatred of the Stranger, and in describing why vampires had no real mooring in our world, he revealed a little of our people’s true history, though he vowed he would not do so. He could not help it, so enraged would he become. Of course, Mulkerrin did not believe a word of it, dealing as we were with the Prince of Lies. I will not tell you, now, of the other tortures and indignities he devised for me, and for the despicable sorcerer. Instead, I will say only that I had a moment of rationality during a particularly agonizing time, and realized that Mulkerrin was gone. Somehow I sensed that he was not only gone from me, but from Hell. Of new power, I know nothing. Of our people, and the Stranger, I know only what the devil told me.”
“How can you trust what he has said?” Meaghan asked softly, pained by Peter’s tale.
“Why shouldn’t I?” he said. “He had no reason to think I would ever leave here.”
“So what did he tell you?” she asked.
“That’s for later,” Lazarus said, and Meaghan now looked at him in a new light, a light of doubt and suspicion. But Peter continued speaking, and Meaghan forgot about Lazarus for the moment.
“I was moved here just after that time I mentioned, when I noticed Mulkerrin had gone. You may not believe it, but this prison, suffering in the searing heat of the crystal, was a relief in comparison to what I had already endured. I have not seen Beelzebub, or any other demon, lord or slave, pass through this place since then. But I do suggest we get out of here as quickly as possible, in case my escape is sensed somehow.”
“I second that,” Meaghan said sincerely. “Lazarus, let’s get that spell going.”
“Yes,” Octavian said. “Let’s go.”
And so Lazarus began to recite the spell that would take them home. He had searched for exactly the right spell, he explained, one which would take them to the location of the latest such portal opened to Earth. If Mulkerrin were still on the loose, the spell would bring them right to him. If not, they would end up back in Boston, where they had begun, and life could begin anew for them.
Meaghan could not help but wonder what she would do without Alexandra in her life. She found no answers, but knew for certain that she could not stay in Boston. She would find another home.
At Lazarus’s words, the portal shimmered to life before them . . . and the ground began to quake. A natural occurrence in this unnatural place, or a reaction to the magic, she didn’t know. New crystal spires, filled with the damned shot up from the ground, stabbing the sky.
“Go, Meaghan!” Peter yelled, and pushed her toward the shimmering silver doorway. But when Lazarus moved forward, Peter said, “No, you’re the spellcaster, you’ve got to be last!”
Half her body through the door, Meaghan turned and watched helplessly as a crystal spear shot up from the ground, impaling Lazarus, then quickly absorbing him and The Gospel of Shadows before he could even scream. She saw the pain and terror in his eyes, saw Peter diving for her, grabbing her around the waist, his momentum carrying them both completely through the shrinking portal.
Lazarus was not dead, Meaghan knew. He was a prisoner, as Peter had been. But this time the book was on the other side, and as far as Meaghan knew, only Mulkerrin knew the spells by heart that would allow them to return to Hell, to rescue Lazarus
She knew that would never happen. Lazarus would be in agony among the damned for eternity.
18
Pongau Basin, Austria, European Union.
Wednesday, June 7, 2000, 10.24 A.M.:
They stood at the entrance to the Eisriesenwelt, ice caves that stretched for dozens of miles beneath the mountains of Austria. The entrance was cut into the western face of the Hochkogel, thousands of feet up from the Salzach Valley. Rolf and his four remaining SJS agents—Annelise, Sebastiano, Carlos and Erika—and Jared, who had led them there, prepared to enter.
In truth, Rolf was surprised the others had stuck by him, for he didn’t know any of them that well. Except perhaps for Erika, who had tracked him down rather than the other way around. She looked sixteen, and probably wasn’t more than twenty. She’d been a vampire only two years when she joined the SJS, and before that, part of a very angry crowd on the streets of Atlanta, Georgia. She was violent, pessimistic and outspoken, but she was on his side, not Hannibal’s, and that gave him hope.
“Hey, Boss,” she said, speaking up now, though she’d been unusually quiet. Rolf had a moment to realize how glad he was that she had survived.
So far, he reminded himself as he turned to acknowledge her inquiring tone.
“Anybody else notice we haven’t seen hide nor hair of anyone?” she asked now. “No military, no civiiians, nobody working this frig-gin’ tourist attraction? What’s going on?”
Rolf looked at Jared, who obviously didn’t have more of an answer than he did, but then Sebastiano answered for them.
“Well, let’s put a little thought into this now,” he said precisely, fighting his Italian accent. “If you were America, and your President had been assassinated, and your troops were being wiped out, and most of the civilians were already dead or evacuated, and the most powerful evil you’d ever known was back from the dead, what would you do?”
And then they were all as silent as their mute leader. Rolf lifted a hand to his forehead and closed his eyes a moment. Nobody said a word as he motioned them forward, into the caves. They didn’t want to think about Erika’s question, or Sebastiano’s theory. They only wanted to destroy Hannibal before he could do more damage to their kind.
Of course, Rolf also wanted to rescue his lover, Elissa Thomas, but he knew that for the others that was less of a priority. And he couldn’t blame them. Perhaps only Jared with his strangely peaceful manner, would truly make the effort to keep Elissa alive. A quick glance at Annelise and Carlos, who entered the cave shoulder to shoulder, their faces etched with hate and thoughts of murder, and Rolf knew that he had a job ahead of him
Hannibal’s band of killers had a head start but the burden of carrying Elissa ought to have slowed them down. It was possible that Rolf’s group was only a few minutes behind, but Hannibal had thirty miles of cave in which to hide—if he wanted to. Rolf was gambling that Hannibal wanted to tear him apart just as much as he wanted to see the white-haired animal dead. Oh, Hannibal was hiding all right, but only for the moment. All Rolf and the others needed to do was walk through the caves and wait to be ambushed.
A simple plan, when you thought about it.
And if America was indeed planning to hit Salzburg with a nuclear strike, Rolf’s only concern was th
at he see Hannibal dead before the missiles arrived.
“This way,” Jared said, and led them deeper into the caves. Ice formed enormous caverns and tunnels branching off; waterfalls were frozen in place, and had not run for millenia; nearly humanoid ice figures stood like statues along their way. And soon they were past the area where tourists were allowed. They arrived at a fork, and once more Jared chose their path, prompting Rolf to look at him quizzically once again.
“I hate to admit it,” Jared said in response, “but I can hear every thought in his head.”
Rolf’s eyes widened. Jared must be one of Hannibal’s blood-sons, he thought.
“I can’t hear your thoughts,” Jared said then, “but I know what you’re thinking. And you’re wrong. Courage can hear your thoughts, can communicate with you, because he is your, how did he put it, ancestor? Yes. And I am Hannibal’s. Though it shames me, he is of my bloodline.”
Salzburg, Austria, European Union.
Wednesday, June 7, 2000, 10:01 A.M.:
Liam Mulkerrin was dismayed. He had not heard God’s voice in some time, and he worried that he might somehow have displeased the Lord, that perhaps he had been too slow in destroying those who would oppose Him early on, too slow in purifying this part of the world. He would have to change that. It would have to end as quickly as possible, so that His work could continue unobstructed. The souls of all humankind needed Mulkerrin’s cleansing fire, the ecstatic pain of purification.
Now, as he floated above the decimated city of Salzburg, he surveyed his work thus far and was pleased. Huge fissures had opened in the streets and squares; homes and historical sites had crumbled; electrical and gas fires had burned out whole blocks, caused by his earthquakes. Black acrid smoke rose through the warm morning sunlight and was carried west by a light breeze. Though most of the demons had been destroyed, Mulkerrin thought he spotted one for just a moment on a street far away. He saw no people.
All in all, it was a beautiful day.
Wlll Cody fled before him, and Mulkerrin was glad. He could not afford to let the cowboy come close to him again. There was too much he did not understand about Cody’s seeming immunity to his spells. He had never encountered such an immunity before . . . and then Liam was shamed. He knew he needn’t worry, that God would not allow any harm to befall His right hand, His most terrible and wonderful servant.
Then, beyond Cody, Mulkerrin got a clear view of the forces remaining to oppose him. He could have laughed. They were far less than the number he had already dispatched since his return. Still, he would use every ounce of his strength, every nuance of his control and endurance, to destroy them as quickly as possible. His strategy before had been to allow them to attack, and then destroy them—simple, effective, but not as expedient as a direct assault. Mulkerrin suspected that the Lord was becoming impatient, and he could not bear a moment of God’s displeasure.
“Here they come,” Allison said, worried and hopeful at the same time. Courage had told her that the bird speeding toward them was Cody, and she shivered to think that they would finally be reunited, and felt nauseated when she considored that the real battle, the final battle, had yet to begin.
The humans were in front. The several hundred remaining soldiers of the United Nations security force, under the command of Roberto Jimenez, were no longer concerned about civilians. All the people of Salzburg were either dead, evacuated, or very well hidden. As soon as Will Cody had flown over their heads, they opened fire with everything they had, rifles loaded with the deadliest ammunition available, automatic weapons, CAMEL rockets. The guys with the flamethrowers would have to wait until Mulkerrin came closer, but the point was, they didn’t want him any closer than necessary.
“Will!” Allison shouted, safe for the moment behind the gathered warriors, both human and shadow, with Courage at her side. Cody shifted back to human form as he landed, and she was stunned for a moment at the sight of him. Her lover looked like hell. His face was haggard, his clothes tattered, and the torn sweatshirt he wore was covered with blood.
He saw her, the look of alarm on her face, and smiled broadly.
“Blood’s not mine, sweetheart,” he said as she fell into his arms. He felt so good to her, she didn’t care about the blood or anything else. She just wanted him to live, to stay alive through the rest of this thing.
“Oh, God, I was so scared for you,” Allison said, letting it out for the first time; the fear, the frustration and anxiety. She was a strong, brave woman, but her confidence in the face of his captivity had been a front. Now that she had her arms around Cody, she didn’t want to let him go again.
“Well, I’m here now. I’m back,” he said, lifting her chin for a quick kiss and then looking up and around at the gathered vampires.
“Who are they?” Cody asked, but it wasn’t Allison who answered.
“Charlemagne’s personal guard,” John Courage said, walking up to them. “Mulkerrin will find them a lot harder to kill than the SJS agents were. I’m glad to see you’re healed. I wondered for a bit if you would survive.”
The two vampires clasped hands, meeting each other’s eyes, and Allison thought there was a similarity, and a familiarity, between them that she hadn’t seen before. She wondered for what must have been the hundredth time that day just where the world was headed now.
“The others weren’t so lucky,” Cody said. “Martha and Isaac—”
“I know,” Courage said. “We have a lot to talk about.”
“That we do, sir,” Cody said, a new respect, and a million questions, in his tone, “but not the time to do it.”
Cody looked over his shoulder at the gathered warriors, but made no comment about John Courage’s claims regarding their identity. Good idea, Allison thought. We don’t have time for that; that they’re on our side is all that matters.
Cody was catching his breath, getting his bearings, and he looked to see that the barrage that the human forces were launching at Mulkerrin was having little or no effect on the sorcerer’s protective shield. Not that he’d thought it would, but one could always hope. Mulkerrin had seemed desperate at the end, when he’d destroyed all of his attackers at the fortress, just before Cody had abandoned the place. He had to remind himself that retreat was the only way he could have helped. If he could catch Mulkerrin occupied and unaware, he might be able to get close enough to him to . . .
“They’re not going to last, John,” Allison said to Courage, distracting Will. He knew she was right: the humans stood no chance.
“We should evacuate them now,” Cody said. “Save those we can.”
Courage only nodded and watched the humans continue their assault. Mulkerrin had stopped advancing, and seemed to be working some kind of spells within his magical, protective aura.
Will, you have a very intelligent, intuitive woman, here, John Courage said in his head, startling him.
No kidding, he thought, turning to meet Courage’s gaze. How are you doing this, and why not speak aloud?
How is unimportant. I know you have your suspicions, as does Allison. And I don ‘t speak aloud so she remains calm. I know what has happened to you, win Even I can’t explain it, but it makes my decisions that much more difficult.
How do you mean? Cody thought, his eyes narrowing and he saw in his peripheral vision that Allison had stiffened, was aware that something was passing between them.
I mean to keep you alive, Courage began.
Well, that’s my plan as well was Cody’s cynical reply.
But you are the only one who can get close enough to Mulkerrin to destroy him. Even I can’t get past that barrier of his, Courage admitted.
Yes, let’s address that, Cody said. Since you know everything, even what l’m thinking, are you who I think you are, and if so, why can’t you simply end this now, kill Mulkerrin?
I am and I am not, Courage said in Cody’s mind. What once lived in me has long departed, leaving only a trace of itself behind.
Cody’s eyes were wide
, and he could not hide his shock from Allison.
“What is it, Will?” she asked, coming to his side in time to stop him from collapsing. He looked up at Courage, expecting a consoling, kindly smile but finding only a gravely serious face.
“Whatever you want me to do,” Cody said, touching Courage lightly on the shoulder, then turning to Allison for a hug.
“What is it?” she asked again, but it was Courage who answered.
“Between you,” John said, “you now have nearly all the pieces to the puzzle you have been trying to solve since Octavian disappeared, the mystery that has haunted our kind since the church first toyed with our minds. When this is over, you may put it together.
“But first we have to survive.”
And then the ground began to shake, and Cody saw anger flash on John Courage’s face as he looked up at Mulkerrin, who had just begun his third earthquake.
“You’re right,” Cody said quickly. “The humans don’t have a chance.”
Courage looked at them, the couple, one human, one vampire, and pointed at them each in turn, as they all struggled to keep their balance.
“Take care of each other, but stay here until I return,” he said loudly, over the noise of the quake. “Cody has a part to play in this, but it is necessary for both of you to survive.”
And then Courage was gone, rushing off to join Charlemagne’s warriors, and to talk some sense into Roberto Jimenez.
“What was all that about?” Allison asked, holding her lover tight to keep herself from falling down. Not far from where they stood, a new, wide fissure had appeared, stretching halfway across the south end of Residence Plaza not far from the shattered dome of the cathedral.
Already the quake was subsiding, and though they could expect more tremors, Cody paid that particular danger little attention. He hugged Allison to him, filled with emotion, wanting to dance, to shout, to pray. John Courage had made him whole again, when he’d never realized that part of him was truly missing. But first, he sobered; first Mulkerrin must be destroyed, and then the true battle for the future of all shadows would begin in earnest.
Angel Souls and Devil Hearts Page 30