The tone in his voice when he answered made my heart sink. “Nola, don’t call me again. I was just erasing your cell number from my phone.”
He had promised me that my call would be welcomed. I began to feel as if the world was just a broken promise—nothing was real and nobody was true. “I’m sorry,” he continued, “but Claudius has commanded me to join him. If he directly asks me any questions about what I know of the knights and their plans, I’ll have no choice but to tell him. For your own safety we can’t see each other until this is over. I would die if he made me hurt you.”
“Fuck,” was the only thing I could say—the only word that seemed to make sense, although his explanation meant that he wanted to protect me and he didn’t really want to leave me.
“I can let you know that we plan to meet tonight at Red Rock Casino. Let the knights know; he must be staying somewhere near the casino.”
“Okay,” I replied, “please be careful.”
“Nola, I need you to do something for me.”
I couldn’t reply. I’d been making so many mistakes lately that no action or words was my best course. I no longer knew what to say, or do, about anything at all.
“Don’t go with the knights. I’m under the control of Claudius and will be forced to fight anyone who attacks him.”
“Very well, I understand,” I said. “Goodbye Mark.”
“Goodbye Nola. I love you.”
The connection was broken; I couldn’t reply. It seemed unlikely to fall in love in such a short period of time but the feeling was there and mutual. I felt the same and wished I could tell him. There was a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach and I feared that we would never be together again. “Thanks Universe, you got me good this time, I didn’t see that coming,” I said out loud, unable to stop the tears from rolling down my face.
Perhaps if I tried reverse psychology with the all-knowing cosmos and thanked it when it fucked with me, I could force some changes in the universal mind I was beginning to believe in. Surely someone was in charge of all this bullshit.
Harold walked into the room. “Nola, we have a meeting set-up…”
Being a nurturer, he noticed my distress and asked, “Are you okay? What is it, what’s wrong?”
Stifling my emotion, I smiled and replied, “Oh, it’s nothing. I’m just thanking the universe for its gift to me.” With that grin, I was able to stop the tears. It is what it is; I am just a pawn in the universe’s game. “So, you set up a meeting with Magnus?” I asked, walking over to the broken coffee cup, picking up the pieces and cleaning up my mess.
“Yes, Otis and I will accompany you. Magnus has a lead on Claudius—we’re meeting tonight at the Red Rock Casino. An informant told Magnus that Claudius is planning a kidnapping at the casino.”
Harold looked rather concerned as I began laughing hysterically. “I stand corrected! Thank you Universe--you’ve outdone yourself! This is the best one yet!” I would have to convince Magnus to join us and face Mark who is forcibly aligned with Claudius. Apparently all my gratitude to the universe for its irony and malevolence wasn’t working to change my fate—a different tactic would have to be used. Looking upwards, I made a simple statement, “You’re quite the fucking asshole and I hate you.”
Harold shook his head, not pretending to understand who I was talking to but realizing it wasn’t him. “Nola, Nola—my goodness, your language! I do hope you’ll watch it when we’re back with the children.”
“That depends on the universe,” I said.
Chapter 21: The Noble-Minded
“It’s been said that nobody likes a backseat driver,” Harold admonished, sitting in the front passenger seat next to Otis who was driving us to Red Rock Casino for our meeting with Magnus. It wasn’t something to be proud of but I couldn’t stop myself from letting Otis know where he should turn or at what speed he should do it. I’m certain that my backseat driving skills have prevented accidents in the past with many drivers and yet nobody has ever thanked me for my services.
My backseat driving was irritating Otis, who just kept saying, “Okay, okay then” every time I gave him better directions or warned him the light was changing.
Harold kept trying to stop my nagging by changing the conversation. I stopped myself from telling him he needed a shave because that would have been bitch overkill and besides, the stubble on his face produced a strong, sexy look.
“So, what will you say to Magnus to get him to work with us?” Harold asked, rubbing his upper lip.
“I don’t know. I still think it’s a bad idea to work with those idiots. Otis, turn left, I can show you a shortcut.”
“Okay,” Otis said as he continued to drive where he wanted, ignoring my instructions. He had dressed up today, sporting a plaid, button-down collar oxford shirt and tan, pleated khakis. I didn’t like the smell of his cologne, it was no match for Green Irish Tweed, but he was putting his best foot forward today, no doubt to please the woman hunter who had kissed him and would probably be at the meeting.
“Please don’t call them idiots, Nola,” Harold pleaded. “By the way, Master Kong gave me a message for you.”
The plan was for the knights to patrol outside the casino, waiting for Claudius. We would take the inside. Everyone was aware that Mark was being forced to help Claudius and we would all do our best not to harm our friend. “What could Kong want me to know? I thought we planned this out?” I questioned.
“He wanted me to remind you that you are noble and that the noble-minded encourage what is beautiful in people and discourage what is ugly in them. Little people do just the opposite. In other words, don’t be petty. Please try to inspire the hunters to do the right thing,” Harold implored.
Being called noble-minded by someone who truly embodied what it means made me want to act accordingly. “Okay,” I said, sounding like Otis, “I’ll do my best to convince Magnus we are on the same side but I hope we don’t end up fighting the hunters and the vampires at the same time.”
We circled the parking lot of the stand-alone, Red Rock mega-casino. I’ve enjoyed staying at the resort on past missions--the rooms are lavish and you can enjoy a deep soaking in a bubble bath while watching the TV positioned over the tub. I always book a deluxe suite with views of the canyons. Dining alone there was not too lonely; Red Rock Resort has the best international buffet in Vegas and seven restaurants to choose from, satisfying any craving and allowing a party of one to be among many. The resort was not far from the actual, natural Red Rock Canyon conservation area where I loved to hike and explore.
Red Rock Resort was not actually in Vegas but west of the city in Summerlin, a growing community of shopping, homes, parks and trails on land originally purchased by old-time tycoon Howard Hughes who was an infamous recluse before his death.
“There’s one,” I shouted, leaning over the front seat and pointing to an empty parking space. Otis and Harold exchanged glances even though I was the one talking. I knew what that meant and settled back into my seat.
By the time Otis drove to the empty spot it had been taken. “Just park anywhere,” Harold said, “we can walk.”
We entered the gargantuan casino, strolled past a few restaurants and down the maze of thousands of slot and video poker machines, heading towards the Lucky Bar, located in the middle of the gaming floor where Harold said Magnus would meet us. Literally over a million crystals hung from the chandelier that anchored the bar, attracting all the ferret minds in the vicinity to the bright lights. I decided that sitting in a side corridor at some video poker machines would give us a safer vantage point.
Placing a twenty into my chosen machine, I clicked on the Deuces Wild game. “Do you need any playing money?” I asked Otis and Harold. Both shook their heads and reluctantly put cash in their machines.
“I’ll keep a lookout to the east,” I announced, hitting the max button and holding cards that seemed worthwhile. I couldn’t seem to lose my backseat driving, even in the casino. Noticing that Harold was o
nly playing one quarter at a time when the highest play and cash out value was five quarters, I said, “Damn, Harold, you won’t win shit if you don’t play the maximum button! Have you ever played video poker? Shit, you’re playing Deuces Wild and not holding your deuces!”
Harold nodded in my direction and said, “You’re not a very good lookout—they’re coming from your direction.”
I had failed to notice the four men and two women hunters approaching in spite of the fact that they were hard to miss. All six of them wore the same large silver ankhs around their necks, all wore black pants and black boots and Magnus had on his scruffy-looking trench coat. They might as well carry neon signs with flashing red arrows.
Harold stood up to greet them and Otis and I followed his lead. Our handshakes and greetings were blocking the aisle so I suggested that we break up and cover points of the vast casino. Mindful of the Master’s words about being noble, I refrained from making a statement about splitting up these clowns.
“Let’s get separate patrols going while we talk,” I said to Magnus. My team had installed the walkie-talkie app on our cell phones during the drive over, in between my backseat driving, so it was decided that Otis and Harold would accompany two groups of hunters. The woman that Otis was looking forward to seeing volunteered to go with him, causing him to break out into a goofy grin and googly eyes. One of the men would join them and Harold made a team with the remaining two hunters. Magnus insisted that the senior woman join our meeting.
“This is my wife, Elaine,” he said, introducing the older woman who had chastised me about my lack of respect when they invaded our rental house. She shook my hand with a firm grip, “I hope this meeting goes better than the last time I saw you.” She had fine lines around her lips and eyes and deep wrinkles on her forehead but her features recalled a past when she had been a beauty.
Clearly, Magnus and Elaine had lived a hard life—her salt and pepper hair, with more grey salt than pepper scattered on her uneven, short cut, foretold her lack of money or inclination to visit a hairdresser. It was a look Magnus repeated with his unkept, scraggly, silver beard and dirty trench coat.
We sat at the table farthest from the Lucky Bar, remote from prying ears. “Harold tells us that you want to form an alliance against the vampires,” Magnus said.
“Only the vampires who are bringing the apocalypse,” I replied, “not the vampires who are trying to protect people.”
Elaine leaned across the table to whisper in my ear, “Vampires don’t protect people—they are vermin and must be eliminated.”
Being mindful of my new found nobleness, I refrained from swearing. “That’s not true. There are vampires who have never attacked humans and will kill those who feed off them. If you work with them, we have a chance of stopping the Emperor’s plans.”
Elaine shook her head. “That’s not our way,” she said, “the Order of the Pyramids doesn’t work with the enemy.”
Wondering why she was doing the talking and not the hunters’ leader, Magnus, I looked at him and said, “Cleopatra would have adapted to the times and recognized the real enemy. There are noble vampires who are on our side. If you don’t realize that, you’re a vampire bigot, and shame on you.”
Elaine was clearly becoming furious. She sputtered, “What? How dare you call me that! Who do you think you are?”
Magnus tried to calm things down. “Now, now, let’s think about it. We have only faced those vampires who murder people. We don’t know those you are speaking about but I’m willing to have an open mind, especially if we can save lives,” he said, reaching out and holding Elaine’s hand.
It had an instant soothing effect on her. “Of course, let’s not lose sight of our main goal of saving humanity,” she said.
Taking a calming breath myself, I said, “If you can organize your forces to work with the vampire Knights of the Round Table, billions of lives can be saved. At least I think so, depending on the numbers in your army.”
“We don’t reveal our numbers,” Elaine said. “Who are these “noble” vampires you’re talking about, these knights?”
“I will reveal that if we form an alliance,” I replied. “Can you tell me why you choose Red Rock for our meeting? Harold said you believe Claudius is coming here.”
Magnus rubbed the scar above his left eye as if it still brought him pain. “We have a good network of spies,” he said, “Claudius is coming here tonight to kidnap the son of a vampire opposition leader…and his girlfriend. He intends to use them for leverage and force them to join him.”
The realization that he was referring to Percy and Heather hit me with precision and made me livid. Surely this was another dirty trick from the universe. I absolutely needed to get the hunters on our side and quickly. “That’s what I’m trying to tell you,” I said, “there is strong disagreement to his plans from other vampires. We need to work with the resistance vampires to defeat Claudius.”
A static sound came from my cell phone app. “Nola, come in,” Harold’s voice called, “we have a problem. Percy just walked into the buffet with a woman—it must be Heather. Should we warn them about Claudius…over?”
I jumped up and ran towards the buffet, not caring if Magnus and his wife followed. “Yes, warn them quickly, Claudius intends to kidnap them! Over!”
My panic became overwhelming and I dropped my cell phone. Elaine picked it up and calmly handed it back to me. “We’ve got your back,” she announced in a comforting manner.
“Lance, come in. Did you hear that?” Gulping down my panic, I slowed to a fast walk since running would bring unwanted attention from casino security.
“Nola, I’m on my way. Over,” Lance replied.
Forcing myself to focus, I set my priorities. Step one; warn Percy and Heather to flee the casino. Step two, wait for Claudius to arrive and kill his ass. The huge neon FEAST buffet sign came into view and I surveyed the long line of people waiting to enter.
Considering his financial status, Percy likely could have acquired a player’s card and zipped through the VIP line but he always liked to portray that he was just an average Joe vampire so there he was, in the slow lane with Heather. They were facing each other, smiling and talking, Heather gazing at Percy with adoring eyes in spite of knowing the truth about him, unaware of the danger that was about to descend on them.
I began to walk towards them, Magnus and Elaine now beside me, when I spotted Claudius and his entourage of four thugs walking down the game floor, heading towards the buffet. Step one would no longer be possible. Mark was right beside the Emperor, looking quite displeased at being forced to be there.
I stopped and pointed in their direction. “Yes, I see,” Magnus said, “Claudius has arrived.”
I ducked alongside a noisy row of slots and waited. When they got close I stepped out in front of Claudius. “Where do you think you’re going, turd boy?”
The walking, talking piece of shit peered at me from under the brim of his straw Panama hat and laughed. “Who do you think you are?” He looked behind and noticed that Magnus and Elaine took a position in the rear, blocking a possible escape.
“Magnus," Claudius said in recognition of the hunter, “you’re ready for another battle? Shall I give you another scar? No, I believe I’ll kill you this time.” Claudius continued laughing while we all stood frozen in the standoff.
I tried to avoid looking at Mark and failed. We locked eyes for a brief second and then he closed his eyelids, not wanting to acknowledge me.
“I’m the executioner of the niece you abused and made crazy,” I said to Claudius, hoping to draw him away from Heather and Percy, “I killed Cornelia.”
His eyes narrowed and flashed pure hatred. “Well, in that case, welcome. I look forward to spending a lot of time with you, making you plead for death,” Claudius said. Turning to his thugs, he nodded towards Magnus and Elaine, “Take care of them.”
Mark opened his eyes and showed fear. Fear for me. “You killed that poor child?” he whi
spered.
People finally stopped focusing on their slot machines and began to flee the area. One of them, overhearing the heated conversation, started calling for security.
“Anthony, you’re with me—bring that bitch,” Claudius commanded.
Looking at me with pleading eyes, Mark pulled out his gun and waved it with a flick of his wrist, “There’s no choice, let’s go.”
Remembering his shooting precision, I complied and began to walk, ever so slowly, towards the buffet. Claudius walked beside me, confidently striding in his casual brown sandals. Mark had his gun in my back and was behind us. Screams from the players, sounds of glass shattering, and general commotion hit my ears as Elaine and Magnus fought for their lives. I didn’t dare look back; there was nothing I could do to help them.
The buffet line hadn’t moved much since I first spotted Percy and Heather. They were still there, waiting. Percy was the first to spot me and gave me a frown. He then saw Claudius and moved his body in front of Heather. “I don’t want to see you,” she said, peeking around Percy, not realizing the danger that accompanied me.
Heather would receive the full brunt of the Emperor’s fury if he discovered that she was my daughter. Claudius would love to torture her in front of me as payback for killing Cornelia. I shook my head at Percy, not even glancing in Heather’s direction.
“Greetings Percy. I need you and your young lady to accompany me so we can send a message to your father. I’ve decided to be merciful and allow the Knights of the Round Table to join me,” Claudius said, “but I believe he will need some persuasion.”
He pointed towards the nearest exit. “Let’s go, I have a car waiting. Unless of course, you want General Anthony to shoot you and your lady friend with silver bullets.”
Heading to the exit, I whispered to Heather, “Look, I don’t know you, but Lance is a friend of mine and he’ll make sure this turns out okay.” I looked deep into her intelligent eyes and whispered in a lower tone, “You understand?” She nodded, a look of terror in her eyes.
Blood Crusade Page 27