by S Mays
“Wait, what do you mean by ‘our’ escape? Is there someone else with you?” Sverre asked, looking around the room.
Jessica frowned, weighing whether she should tell him. “I guess you will find out eventually. I found your mother in a cell near mine. We both escaped the dungeon. I was trying to get her out as well.”
“My —” Sverre started to yell before Jessica put her hand over his mouth. “My mother?” he whispered with force after she removed her hand. “What do you mean, my mother? I thought she was dead. You said she was dead.”
“I said that she was most likely dead. Given the information at the time and past experiences with werewolves, that was the most logical explanation.”
Sverre started to stand, intent on rushing toward the door. Jessica forced him back down, although it took considerable effort.
“This is why I debated telling you,” she said, exasperated. “You will run off half-cocked and get all three of us killed or captured. We need a plan. With you here, our chances of escape either tripled or dropped to zero. It depends on your state of mind and if you can follow orders for once.”
Sverre glanced at the door again, then hesitated a moment before plopping down on his behind, his arms crossed. “Okay, fine, tell me your fantastic plan.”
“I don’t have a plan yet. I need to assess the situation before making one,” she admitted. “I need you to tell me what’s transpired. What brought you here?”
“Okay, so, me and Izzy escaped from Inquest after I spent weeks there being tortured — by the way, thanks for coming to get me from that hellhole. We hooked up with some guys to steal some stuff from the Farm, and, no, I’m not telling you who they were. At the Farm, we fought with some werewolves who said I had to come with them here because Dragos was holding you prisoner. Dragos said he’d explain things at dinner,” Sverre gushed all at once after taking a deep breath.
“That’s a lot of information to process, but I’ll focus on the relevant parts. I’m sorry I wasn’t able to do anything for you after you were imprisoned. I did investigate incessantly to try to determine what was going on, and Grandfather did the same. It was like we’d hit a brick wall of interference at both the local level and from somewhere higher in the hierarchy of the Order. It’s nearly impossible to get someone out of an Inquest facility once they are there. I’ll skip over the fact you were raiding my home with looters and ask about the welfare of the people who were housed there instead,” Jessica said, attempting to work through everything Sverre had told her.
“Bilford was there, waiting for me. He said he’d managed to save most of the people there, including Sam and Hilda, by locking down the facility before Dragos arrived,” Sverre explained.
“Thank God for that. I did all I could against Dragos, but he’d already killed some of the guards by the time I got there. He’s virtually unstoppable. He toyed with me before bringing me here. I’m surprised he left anyone alive at the compound. I’ve never seen any being as powerful as he is.”
“There’s a reason for that. If we make it out of here, or even if just you do, you should ask Bilford about it. I don’t think it’s right for me to tell you,” Sverre said.
“Our first order of business is getting out of here. I’m not sure I can get all three of us out. Security has been increased since our escape. I should have left your mother in her cell and made my escape on my own and returned with a full company of Order soldiers. I’m tempted to put her back in her cell and hope they are forgiving of her escape attempt.”
Sverre’s voice became dead serious. “You take my mom when you leave this place, Jess. Even if I have to carry both of you over my shoulders, you are leaving.”
She could see there was no point in arguing. “Their security systems have me locked out now. There’s no way for me to contact anyone, and there are more automated sentries and sensors activated than before. I need some way to shut all of that down, and then I need some kind of distraction that will pull the guards away from near Dragos’ throne area for at least a few minutes.” She paused, grabbing his hands. “What are these?” she asked, looking at the tattoos on his hands with concern.
“Well, see, while we were at the Farm, Izzy and Bilford worked on trying to create some kind of God Particle weapon for me, but it literally blew up in our faces. When the smoke cleared, I had these weird gauntlet claw things on my hands and no way to control them.”
“That was incredibly foolish. My father was the only one who knew how to properly bond a weapon to its user. Almost all the agents who went through the process had to use a focus object, like Casca’s hilt. Trying to bond it directly to yourself could have resulted in the loss of your hands or even your life.”
“It’s been a rough time since I was captured and escaped. I thought I could use an edge of some kind,” he responded, upset by her admonition. “Besides, Bilford seemed cool with it.”
She looked at the markings on his hands, rubbing her hands over his, which he enjoyed immensely. “Remarkable. They have partially embedded themselves in your flesh. They are almost indistinguishable from tattoos. What do the runes mean? Have you activated them yet? Do you even have an activation phrase?”
“No, no one said anything about that. I have no clue how they work. At first, they were raised up from my hands, kind of like a latticework glove or something, with these claws. But now…. this.”
Jessica sighed. “It’s just like you to do everything halfway. Since you never had a proper keyword implanted, I don’t know how they would activate or deactivate. They are useless as they are now.”
“Maybe we can figure it out once we escape from here?” Sverre asked, hopeful.
“If we escape. By myself, I think it’s possible, but with you and your mother, and the security systems and guards on high alert, I’m not sure.”
An idea occurred to Sverre. “Wait a second. I-I think I might have something that could help.” Grabbing his suit from the floor, he rummaged through the interior pockets until he found what he was looking for. He produced what appeared to be a small USB drive. “This. This will work. Find a computer terminal and plug this into it. It’ll disable their security systems.”
Jessica took the small device from him, inspecting it closely. “What is it?”
“It’s — well, it’s not important what it’s called,” he said, not wanting to give away any information about Izzy to Jessica. “It’ll disable their entire system.”
“I find that hard to believe. Even the Order doesn’t have that kind of technology. It would require some kind of artificial intelligence system that is able to —”
“Look, it’ll work. It worked at the Farm. Or at least I think it did. Bilford might have already turned those systems off. But it should work,” he promised.
“How long will they stay disabled?”
“A long time. I don’t really know. Maybe as long as it’s plugged in. I wasn’t told how long,” Sverre said.
“This operation is going to take precise timing, so ‘I don’t know’ isn’t optimal. I’m going to need time to move your mother through the building to a safe room near the throne room, so I’m going to have to use this now. There’s a hardwired terminal down the hall I can use. I’m still going to need a diversion that is big enough to bring everyone running. You mentioned a banquet or something tonight. I’d assume most of Dragos’ high-ranking men would be there, leaving the rest of the building light on difficult enemies. If you could draw their attention to the banquet hall, your mother and I could slip out through that emergency exit, then I’d return in about an hour or so with enough operatives to bring this entire place down and rescue you. If I’m wrong about the escape door in the throne room, I might try for one of the elevators.”
“How will I know when to cause a disturbance?”
“We’ll wait in the room and move once we see the guards move out. I’ll leave it up to you to select the time, but don’t wait too long, since we don’t know how long their security system wil
l be down,” Jessica answered.
“What should I do? You are the expert on infiltration and whatever,” he asked.
“If it were me, I’d probably engage in a battle of wits with specific targets in the room after carefully analyzing their strengths and weaknesses. Then I’d play certain targets against each other until a volatile situation evolved. I’d then slip away in the confusion, sabotaging critical systems as I went to add to the mass confusion. That’s if I didn’t have proper tools available to me, like explosives,” she explained. “However, since this is you we are talking about, I’d probably just start a fistfight with whomever is sitting to my right at the table.”
“Come on, I’m not that bad,” he said, trying to think of an alternate plan. He decided it would probably play out exactly as Jessica had said.
“The key is staying alive. I don’t know why Dragos brought you here, but there is no doubt he has some grand scheme involving you — most likely because of your special powers. It could be that he wants to recruit you, but I don’t think he would have gone through all of this trouble for that purpose. If he’d wanted, you would have been dead long ago. If I can escape, I can bring in reinforcements very quickly. I don’t relish the thought of a massive firefight at the top of a skyscraper in New York City, but I’ve seen worse situations.”
“Sounds like it’s going to be a huge shitfest, if you ask me,” Sverre stated.
“Yes, in this instance I will have to agree with you. It will indeed be a shitfest.”
A light tapping resonated through the heavy wooden door. “Mr. Walker? I have the unusual breakfast you ordered.”
“Damn, that’s Isabelle. What do we do?” Sverre asked, panicked.
“Stay calm, invite her in, eat your breakfast. I’ll leave once she is gone.”
“Come on in,” Sverre shouted. He turned back to Jessica, but she was gone. He looked around the room but could find no evidence of her. She’d always been more adept at the ninja stuff than he was.
The door opened. Isabelle wheeled in a chrome cart overflowing with covered platters. “I’m sorry to disturb you, but I have your breakfast. I hope you had a restful nap.”
“You know, you seem far too nice to be working for a murderous vampire lord,” Sverre observed.
Isabelle stiffened at the comment, then relaxed. “Thank you for the compliment. Lord Dalca is an honorable man despite his nature. I am not at liberty to discuss his affairs, but while he is a firm ruler, he is also fair.”
Sverre lifted the lids on the various platters, filling the room with appealing scents. “Food at last. I’m starved!” He dug into each dish, taking a bite from each until his mouth was full. He noticed Isabelle staring at him in wonder.
“I’m sorry, would you like some? Maybe some sausage?” he offered.
She regained her composure before answering. “No, I’ve already eaten, and I’m beginning to think even this quantity of food may not be enough for you.”
Sverre continued shoveling the food in before pausing. “Is there something else you need to tell me?”
She smiled before answering. “No, I’m to be your personal servant for today. When you are done eating, I’ll take your tray away. If you’d like, I could also bathe you and see to any other needs you may have. I am well-trained in sensual massage and have many other…talents. Lord Dalca said to make sure you were well taken care of.”
Sverre froze while leaning over his plate, his fork halfway to his mouth. For a split second, he imagined what sorts of talents Isabelle might have. He broke away from the visions dancing through his mind, as he suddenly felt very uncomfortable for some reason. It was as if someone’s stare was burning away the skin and flesh on the back of his neck. Someone hidden in the room, seething with anger.
“Er, no, that is a very tempting offer, but I’m very tired. I think I’ll just finish napping after eating.” He yawned and stretched to accentuate his statement. “In fact, you can just leave the food here, and I’ll nibble on it a while longer before hitting the sack. Just come back in a bit.”
Isabelle gave no indication whether she was relieved or upset that he hadn’t requested her company. Was she a voluntary servant or some kind of slave, held against her will? He started to ask, but realized he needed her to leave so Jessica could exit the room.
“Thanks for your help, Isabelle. I’ll call if I need anything else. You just go rest or do whatever you want to do for a bit. Take a long break.”
She smiled again, moving to the door to leave the room. “I am grateful for your generosity, Mr. Walker. I’ll be back later to check on you.”
A few seconds after the door closed, Sverre felt a malevolent presence looming behind him. A hand fell roughly on his shoulder, squeezing the muscle too tightly. Jessica leaned in to whisper in his ear, “You made a wise decision.”
She eased her grip and patted him on the back. He started to breathe again and turned to face her. “Look, Sverre, this is the direst situation we’ve ever been in together. I have confidence we can get through it. I have faith in you.”
Sverre’s expression softened. He looked down at his feet, then back at her, suppressing a smile. “Thanks, Jess. I won’t let you down.”
She gripped him by both shoulders, staring him in the eyes. “We are going to do this. All three of us are going to make it out of here. I have one last thing to tell you. Dragos is unbelievably powerful. Don’t attack him directly. Your singular goal is to survive until reinforcements can arrive.”
Pulling him close, she hugged him tightly. Sverre was surprised by the uncommon show of emotion. Stepping back, she gave him one final heartfelt look before slowly opening the door. Noting the hallway was empty, she slipped away.
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
An hour after Jessica had left his room, Sverre was startled by a loud electronic alarm piercing the ancient hallways and stone walls. The racket was brief, however, sputtering away into a few feeble chirps. The lights dimmed for a moment. He smiled, knowing the security systems must have been disarmed. Thinking of his mother and Jessica navigating the halls by themselves triggered his protective instincts.
Sitting up in bed, he fought the desire to burst through the doorway and assist them, although he had no clue where they were. The souls within him demanded that he aid those in need. They fed on the terrifying images his mind was conjuring. Breathing deeply, he focused on himself, finding his center point. Bilford had taught him this calming exercise long ago, while they experimented and explored Sverre’s strange powers. In the midst of combat, he was unable to control the impulse to dive into the fray, but in the solitary confines of his room, it worked.
A brief knock at the door preceded Isabelle’s entrance. Not waiting for his answer, she peered hesitantly into the room. Sverre noticed a shadow on the wall beside her, indicative of another person. Most likely a guard.
“Hello again, Mr. Walker. I’m just checking in on you. You may have heard the alarm that rang out a moment ago. It was merely a fault in our system, so there is nothing for you to be worried about. Do you require anything while I am here?”
Sverre shook his head. “No, I’m fine. How long until dinner is served? I’m getting hungry again.”
Isabelle blinked several times, trying to process what she’d just been told. “But you just ate enough for three men!”
“What can I say? I’m a growing boy,” he said, shrugging haplessly.
“Dinner will be served at six o’clock sharp. You’ll find formal wear that has been tailored to fit you in your wardrobe in the corner.”
Sverre crossed the room, curious about what clothes awaited him. He suspected it would be some kind of flowing, ridiculous outfit straight out of the Middle Ages. He opened the doors to the wardrobe, peered inside, then looked back at Isabelle, relieved. A very fine modern tuxedo and accoutrements hung inside. “Say, these look like some expensive duds!”
“Money is no object for Lord Dragos. He insists on nothing but the best for his gue
sts.”
Sverre wondered about the cells his mother and Jessica had been held in. Were they also “the best”?
“I think I’ll take a bath, then sleep a bit before dinner. Can you wake me in time to get dressed?”
“I’ll return in a while to assist you with your preparations. Then we will go to the dining hall,” she offered.
“Sounds great. See you in a bit.”
After the door closed, Sverre ran a hot bath in the large tub. His muscles instantly relaxed as the heat soaked into them. He noticed several bruises on his body from the ordeal at the Farm. Leaning back, his hand brushed a small indention on top of the faux wood. Flipping it open, he discovered a control panel. Pressing a few buttons resulted in hidden jets activating all around his body, massaging and relieving his aches and pains. “Ooh, yeah, I could get used to this,” he crooned, slipping down into the water.
He awoke a bit later, unsure of how much time had passed. The water was still as warm as when he’d entered. Standing, he almost fell over the side of the basin. The room spun around him as if he’d been drinking. There was a knock at the door.
“Mr. Walker, it is time to prepare for dinner,” Isabelle said through the door.
Sverre glanced over at the door in a panic, then slipped, falling backward. He grasped at the ornate curtains, ripping them free from the wall before slamming into the hard stone.
The door opened. Isabelle peered in, unsure of what had just caused the commotion she’d heard. She saw a soaked Sverre attempting to free himself from the tattered remnants of the fine curtains. Seeing her, he covered his nude body as best he could with the curtains.
“Lovely curtains. Such fine material. What is this, silk?” he asked.
The dining hall was unbelievably large. Decorative pictures, trophies, and tapestries lined the walls. A fireplace the size of a small bathroom comprised most of the back wall at the far end of a monstrous table. Sverre suspected the table weighed several tons. There was enough room for two more tables of the same size to either side of the one that was present.