Pulse of Heroes

by A. Jacob Sweeny

  “No,” Michelle said, blushing. “I was just commenting.” During the next set change, Michelle had to use the bathroom and the girls pushed their way out of the packed crowed. But not before Togor told them that they shouldn’t miss the next Russian band because it was his favorite. Vilna explained to Michelle that there had been a sort of a pan-nationalistic revival of Slavic lore, and that the band Togor was talking about sang songs about pre-Christian Slavic myths, although most of them were either pure fabrications or a complete mish-mash of Christian beliefs mixed in with earlier pagan ones.

  “The Slavs didn’t have a written language,” she explained, “and the Christians didn’t like the stories about all the other gods so they only wrote bad things about them.” As the girls started to work their way back towards the stage, a young couple followed them, weaving in and out between the clusters of people. The guy was dressed very similarly to the way Adi had been, and when he and his girlfriend finally reached Vilna he tapped her on the shoulder. Vilna turned around in surprise to see her two friends standing with faces full of sorrow. The girl gave Vilna a big long hug and said something that obviously puzzled her. Then the guy put his hand on Vilna’s shoulder and said something else to her in Hungarian. Vilna became upset, yelling something back at him to which he shook his head sadly. Michelle had no idea what was happening as Vilna began shaking with rage. The young man stopped a random girl who was passing by and asked her a question. The girl said something to Vilna, and Vilna’s white face became even whiter.

  As the couple disappeared into the sea of people, Michelle asked what had happened, dreading the answer. Vilna just shook her head and quietly said something in another language. Then she looked at Michelle and told her in English that Adi was dead. “They said he drowned. They find him in the river yesterday early morning,” Vilna said as if she was asking a question. “This can not be. I don’t believe it. But the other girl said she saw it in today’s paper. They said they found his body at 3:30 in the morning. Vilna started walking with Michelle behind her.

  “Are you sure? I mean, are they sure it was him?” Michelle asked. “They probably made a mistake.”

  “I have to find a newspaper… I have to make sure.” Vilna’s mood digressed. She was becoming more frantic. The girls climbed the path towards Vilna’s house. Vilna looked at the house, then back at Michelle. “Do you mind if I go by myself to drive to the store? I don’t know why, but I have to see this on my own. I don’t know how I’m going to react if it’s true. Right now I don’t believe it.” Her voice was dry and shaky. Michelle completely understood, and told her that she would wait for her right there, pointing to a small outcropping of rocks midway down the hill.

  “I’ll sit there. I can still see the stage, don’t worry about me… I’m worried about you. Please drive carefully.” Vilna gave Michelle a small hug and walked up the hill. A few moments later Michelle saw a red coup speeding up the mountain, leaving a trail of gray and white dust behind it.

  Rion was just about to give up on finding Michelle when he saw a bright red car heading up the mountain on a dirt road above the concert area. He had been through the entire crowd several times, and even had to push some guy to the ground when he stood in his way. He was already angry as it was, and could have taken out his frustrations on the poor jerk, but decided to spare him the embarrassment. And besides, why draw any unnecessary attention. He only knew one thing; if Michelle was somewhere close by, then so was Hadeno, and he would not be alone. It was one thing for one of their kind to go up against humans, but a whole other thing when they fought against one another. It was never just one-on-one. Rion hoped that Hadeno was not aware of his friendship with Elliot; that way it wouldn’t seem suspicious if he ran into him. His goal was to get Michelle to safety before the fight began. Haneul and Mikoto had already arrived from Japan with a few choice weapons, and Elliot, Ando and Devin were hopefully high above the Atlantic Ocean by this time.

  No one knew what it was that Hadeno really wanted. If he was after the clay tablet and had amassed a large number of supporters then things could get ugly, not only here in Europe but back in the States as well. To be safe, Kahl had remained in California with the tablet, and they had already made contact with Thonapa who still lived in Peru and their old friend Jason, letting them know that their help might be needed.

  Michelle sat on top of a large rock, sipping the last drops of her Ursus and trying to remain calm about whatever news Vilna may bring. When Rion spotted her he was surprised to see her alone. He scanned the nearby faces and immediately picked up Togor a few yards to her left, and an amazingly tall man with a slick muscular body and the darkest skin that Rion had ever seen, wearing a spectacular collection of bone earrings decorating every possible space on his lobes. Both of them were of his kind. But they didn’t know who Rion was; they weren’t looking for him. It was very clever of Hadeno to bring Michelle to such a public place; there was always safety in numbers, Rion mused while subconsciously running his hand up and down the double-edged short sword that hung safely in its baldric under his left arm. He could take two of them he thought, maybe three, but not more. And he couldn’t do it in plain day with twenty-thousand people watching. He’d have to come up with a plan.

  Rion called Haneul and Elliot to let them know that he had spotted Michelle and that she was unharmed. He gave them the exact coordinates of where she was, and let them know that Hadeno had fortified the place quite well. Still, he told them that he was going to try and talk to her and see if maybe he could persuade her to just walk with him and then they could slip away.

  Rion contemplated his next move. He had to be very careful with this situation; what if Michelle turned down his offer? It’s not like he could grab her kicking and screaming.

  When Michelle first saw Rion she didn’t recognize him at all. At a distance he simply blended in with the rest of the guys because he wore all black and his normally striking features mixed in well amongst the foreign faces. As he walked directly towards the rock, she sensed his urgency before she placed his face, and immediately stood up on the rock as a way placing space between them. “What are you doing here?” Michelle asked the smiling Rion, trying to shake the feeling that she might be looking at an apparition or something of the sort. The Transylvania Rockathon was the last place she expected to see anyone from back home.

  “Not even a hello, or how are you?” Rion couldn’t help himself, “and besides, you’re in my neighborhood. I should be asking you the same question.”

  Michelle looked down at her empty bottle, trying to figure out if she felt dizzy from the beer or could it be that she just stood up too fast. She gave Rion half a smile and told him that she was just enjoying the music. “I’m here with a friend. This is my vacation,” she told him.

  Rion sensed eyes watching them so he did his best to appear relaxed. He told her that he was there for the music too, and asked her if she enjoyed the bands. Rion stretched his hand out for Michelle to grab.

  “Here, I’ll help you climb down.” Hadeno’s guys began moving a bit closer when they saw him approach her. Michelle didn’t really want to join Rion. Her anger and disappointment in Elliot had somehow transferred to his friends as well. They were all there that night, and they supported his decision. They were guilty as he was.

  “So I guess Elliot is not in danger any more? I mean, you’re here, so I guess it must be summer vacation for everyone?” Michelle said, slightly bitter. She felt dizzy again and looked up at the hot sun above her head.

  “Are you feeling all right?” Rion asked her, inching a little closer.

  “Yeah, it’s just hot and I drank that beer. I just need some water.”

  “Let’s go get some,” Rion said, pulling some money out of his pocket.

  “I can’t. I’m waiting for my friend and I told her I’ll stay here till she gets back,” Michelle explained to him. “And besides, I can get my own water, but thanks anyway.” Michelle was failing to pick up on the subtleties
in Rion’s behavior, so to get her attention he brought up Elliot and watched Michelle’s face reflect an array of sentiments. He told her that Elliot missed her and he knew so for a fact. Michelle couldn’t believe that Rion was telling her that crap after he had helped convince Elliot to do what he did. Did he forget how Elliot had hurt her and just left her there in her party dress like some discarded rag doll? Rion sensed the wrath of negativity brewing inside Michelle. She wasn’t taking the bait. She was very hurt and angry, and he couldn’t really blame her.

  “Why don’t you tell Elliot not to send his friends to spy on me. He said he didn’t want me hurt, then fine. I’m not hurt anymore. I just want to be left alone.”

  “Is everything ok, Michelle?” Both Rion and Michelle looked up to see Haden descending down the hill. He smiled at Michelle warmly and she felt her legs grow weak underneath her. She hadn’t even thought about Haden being there.

  Haden didn’t wear his hair in a tight braid like he did the night she met him. Instead, it was loose around his shoulders and it was beautiful; rich, dark brown and thick like that of a horse’s mane. He wore leather pants, that actually looked good on him, and a tight white t-shirt that showed off every single curvature of his muscular torso. Just like Rion had done, Haden reached his arms up to Michelle to help her down off the rock. “I told you that if you were by yourself you were going to get hooligans bothering you.” Haden said, flashing a beautiful smile. Michelle made a split-second decision that it was probably good for Elliot to know that she had found someone new to fancy, and jumped into Haden’s arms. Only she didn’t let go, but instead wrapped her legs and arms around him and brought her lips to his. “You’re being a very bad girl,” he whispered to her as he closed his eyes and breathed in her scent, “and I certainly don’t enjoy being used by little girls,” he said, opening his eyes back up and looking at hers with an accusatory glare. Michelle flinched a bit, then Haden smiled and kissed her hard and deep, and didn’t let go of her until she was almost out of breath. “I’ll make an exception though,” he said, kissing her again, only this time it was softer and warmer and she felt tingles all over her body.

  “Let her go,” Rion called out as Haden set Michelle back on the ground. She felt very dizzy and curled her fingers around his, leaning against his arm.

  Haden put his arm around Michelle and smiled back towards Rion.

  “So Michelle, I see that you have met an old friend of mine, Amirani. Oh sorry, I mean Rioni.” Michelle couldn’t believe that Haden knew who Rion was, and when she looked up to question him she was shocked to see that his eyes were glowing just like Elliot’s. He looked back down at Michelle and assured her, “Don’t worry. We’re all old friends.” He then dropped his voice to almost a whisper and said something to Rion. Michelle didn’t understand the words they exchanged but she could tell that there was something strange going on because Rion’s eyes began to appear brighter too. “Rioni here says that he is a friend of your boyfriend, Elliot?” Haden bent his knees so he could look directly at Michelle’s face. “Is that true Michelle? Do you have a boyfriend? Because I could have sworn that you said you didn’t have one.“ Haden over dramatized feeling hurt, and gently ran his finger from the bridge of Michelle’s nose down to her open lips. She felt mesmerized by his touch and tried her best not to bite him because she was dying to taste him again.

  “Michelle, he’s playing tricks on you. Elliot is on his way,” Rion said in English. “Just let her go, Hadeno!” Rion took a step forward with his hand already holding on to the grip of his sword, but Haden didn’t seem concerned as Togor and the other guy stepped forward to block Rion’s way. Togor spoke to Rion in Ukrainian and questioned his loyalty to Elliot. Why would he put himself on the line for him, let alone for a human? And besides, he should consider joining them because they were on the verge of something greater than anything he had ever seen in his entire lifetime. Rion replied that that he liked his life as is.

  Haden asked Michelle if she wanted to leave with Rion because this so-called ex-boyfriend of hers was supposedly coming for her, or if she wanted to stay with him. But Michelle was no longer hearing anything that came out of Haden’s mouth because she was losing herself in him. He was special, just like Elliot, and he was beautiful, and unlike Elliot who only cared about himself, had already tried to protect her when he thought Rion was there to cause her harm. For all she knew, Elliot was nowhere near and Rion was full of it. No, she wasn’t going to go with him anywhere. She looked down at Rion who looked pained trying to will her to come with him, then returned her eyes to Haden.

  “Kiss me,” Haden whispered to her, and she did. Haden took her in his arms only this time his eyes grew brighter. A second later, Michelle was passed out and Hadeno threw her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. Rion drew his sword without even noticing, and Hadeno’s men flashed their small knifes. Rion heard someone clearing their throat behind him and when he turned around he saw a third man patting a large blade tucked into his belt. Naturally, Rion didn’t know if all the weapons were made of Nizabar, but it probably wasn’t a good time to try and find out. A man with a small child propped on his shoulders was passing to the left. There were innocent people everywhere. Togor spoke to Rion, this time in Russian, and told him that it was not a good idea to start a fight in front of the babies.

  “I’m sorry, Rioni, but the lady made her choice.” Hadeno laughed and patted Michelle’s backside.

  “You drugged her,” Rion called out in anger.

  ”I think she just needs a nice long nap… it’ll stay much quieter that way, for a while at least.” Hadeno shook his head laughing.

  Rion worried. “Don’t you dare hurt her. She’s a good kid. Whatever you want with Elliot is your business, but keep her out of it.”

  “You tell Elliot I want to talk to him face to face… I’ll give her back to him if he comes to me. You tell him I said that.” Hadeno turned his back to Rion and began climbing back up the small hill, turning around to face Rion one last time. “Oh, and tell him he better come alone or else I can’t promise what condition she’ll be in when he gets her.” Hadeno roared with laughter and walked away. Rion watched Michelle’s limp head dangle and sway back and forth; seeing her like that made him want to kill Hadeno himself. “He will kill you!” Rion called out, but Hadeno disappeared into the courtyard behind the trees and Rion knew that there was nothing to be done right there and then.

  Rion made his way back to his rental car with Togor and his friend following him all the way to the parking lot. Hadeno had not changed at all since the last time Rion had seen him. As he watched the figures of Togor and his companion shrinking in the rear view mirror, Rion wondered why Hadeno hadn’t mentioned the clay tablet. Maybe he thought that Rion didn’t know about it? Or maybe there was something else he wanted from Elliot altogether. One thing he was sure of: Hadeno had something up his sleeve, and knowing exactly what excited Hadeno meant that whatever it was, it was pretty bad. Once Rion was several miles away from Alba Iulia, he pulled the car over to the side of the road and got out to search it. He found the small GPS tracker hidden behind the rear license plate. They were playing high-tech games. They must also have cameras all over the place, he thought as he crushed the gizmo into the gravel under his boot.

  Chapter 16

  “Where am I?” Michelle asked. Haden was standing a few feet away from her, bent over a laptop. When he heard her voice he closed the screen and walked over to the bed she was lying in. It was dark in the room; the only light was from a window that was shaded by a large tree on the outside. Once Michelle’s eyes adjusted to the dark she noticed that Haden was not wearing a shirt. She immediately wondered what had happened and looked down in panic, relieved to see that she still had her clothes on.

  “Don’t worry. I have a little more class than that. And besides, I already told you. I haven’t decided if you’re worth the trouble,” Haden said. Michelle pretended not to hear him because it hurt her feelings when he talked
down to her like that.

  “What happened?” she asked, looking around the room.

  “What do you remember?” he asked back while he looked for a fresh shirt.

  “I remember that I drank a beer and I wasn’t feeling good, and Vilna… where’s Vilna?”

  “She’s not here,” he answered shortly.

  “And the concert?” she asked. Haden told her that it was over and that the whole area was a mess because of the traffic. “What happened to your shirt?” she asked quietly. Haden pulled two shirts out of a large wardrobe and held them both up for Michelle to see. She pointed to the dark gray one that had some sort of a firebird motif embroidered on it in deep red.

  “Good choice,” he said as he put the other one back. Despite Michelle still feeling queasy and having a royal headache, she would have preferred that Haden remain topless. He had a manly, muscular presence that filled up the entire room. Haden caught Michelle looking at him through the mirror and smiled to himself. He didn’t say anything, but she felt completely embarrassed. “You had a heat stroke and you fainted, so here you are in my room. You also managed to throw up all over my shirt, so when you’re up to it I’d appreciate if you’d take a bath or a shower so I can have some new sheets put on my bed,” Haden said, irritated. Michelle was mortified. She sniffed her shirt, but Haden told her that she had managed to keep herself pretty clean, besides her face of course and her hair. Michelle had mostly forgotten what had happened earlier and wondered if she dreamt the whole thing up.