by Nick Freo
“It seems our visitor is confident enough to announce their presence,” I pointed out. “Otherwise they would have stowed their cars at a distance, as we did.”
Pride nodded, still scanning the empty street for threats. “I do not like the quiet, my lord. I have never seen this block so deserted.”
“It is like the wildlife at the watering hole when a leopard appears,” I agreed.
We approached the steps leading up to the cathedral cautiously, hands on weapon hilts, and checked the cars. They were empty. We moved stealthily up the steps, passing the plateau where I had battled the bullet priests, and progressing on to the large wooden double doors.
From there on, there was little we could do. Our enemies would almost certainly be waiting just inside those doors.
“I will open the doors as swiftly as I can,” I whispered. “And you will conjure a bright flash of light to blind them. Remain here to watch my back.” We crouched side by side, breathing in synchrony as we went to work together as we had done countless times before.
Three... two... one.
I tore the doors open and dove into the entry hall as a brilliant light flared behind me. I closed my eyes to protect my vision, tucking and rolling on a diagonal in case anyone had a weapon pointed at the door.
“Jesus fucking Christ!” a man cursed. I came to my feet, hands on weapons, backing myself against a wall and scanning the room.
There were eight men arrayed around the entrance in a loose semicircle. None of them carried weapons—at least, not visibly— and they seemed to have been standing about talking. All of them were covering their faces, having fallen victim to our invasion tactic.
“Was that really goddamned necessary?” spat one of the men near the middle of the group. He was a touch shorter and rounder than the others, and older as well. He was the leader, I decided.
“Who are you, and what are you doing in my home?” I demanded. Pride came into the entry hall behind me, pulling the double doors shut.
“Your home?” The group’s leader blinked rapidly as he gazed at me. “Okay, maybe my eyes are still fucked up, but you don’t look like that greasy creepy bastard who runs this place. You new? You his quartermaster or something? The place actually looks livable since the last time I was here.”
“I am not his anything,” I replied, “other than his killer.”
The smallish man stopped rubbing at his eyes and smoothed his thinning dark hair. “You saying you killed the guy who ran this joint? The one who called himself king? Fuck, I heard he was plenty dangerous. I heard he once broke a guy’s neck one-handed. Could you do that, big guy?” He seemed to be attempting to taunt me.
“I can show you if you like,” I said and took a step toward him. The semicircle of men began to close in on me.
“Hold up!” the small man laughed. “It’s all good. I’m just joking around. Come on, let’s go inside and sit down with the rest of the boys.”
The rest of them? I shared a glance with Pride.
“We’ll have a nice chat,” the little leader continued, “about who’s gonna be takin’ over this territory, now that the old king is, uh, gonezo.” He slid a finger across his neck and stuck out his tongue.
“Very well,” I said tensely, eyeing the men surrounding me. They moved away and filed through the far doors into the cathedral proper.
“Well, last one there’s a rotten egg!” the group leader cried as he hustled after his men.
“Come, Pride,” I growled, trudging after them. “Let us get to the bottom of this.”
“We don’t know how many there are,” she said as she followed me.
“I would learn more about these interlopers,” I said, “and test the might of these brazen foes.”
Another half dozen were in the sitting room, bringing the total to fourteen. Fourteen able-bodied, mean-looking men in their prime. Such a large group could only be sent to accomplish a very specific task. I wondered what their instructions had been.
“So,” the little leader said, hands on hips as he stood proudly in the center of the room. He was surrounded by the seven men who had been with him in the other room, while those who had been in the sitting room kept their seats. It was a large room, but still, it felt rather crowded. “Here’s what we were thinking. Now that the old king’s gone, this territory belongs to us, specifically to our boss. We don’t really want this old dump of a building, so you can keep it if it’s important to you, but you’ll have to pay protection same as everyone else. Hell, maybe we’ll throw in a discount for the first year, since you offed the bastard.” He laughed and glanced at his cronies, who laughed along with him.
“Let me consider that,” I said. I understood perfectly what he was offering. I was no stranger to thieves and ruffians. I smiled at the small man and spread my hands.
I covered the distance between us in four swift strides and reached out, one-handed, grasping his neck.
“Watch closely,” I said.
His guards pounced on me like youth chasing after a greased up gladiator. They clung to my arms and legs, to my armor and weapons, attempting to bear me to the ground by sheer force of numbers. Laughing, I turned limp and followed the momentum, slamming into the ground so hard that several of them broke limbs and dislodged. Two of them managed to grab hold of Pride’s arms and hold her still. I allowed the rest to pin me down at their leader’s feet. I would see this farce through a little longer, to see what could be learned.
“You shouldn’t have done that!” the little man raged, his face growing red as spittle sprayed from his mouth. “Shouldn’t have put your hands on me, and you’ll regret it, oh boy you will...” He reached into his jacket pocket and produced a small device, which I expected to be a piece of technology. I was disappointed when he snicked it open to reveal a small blade concealed within the handle. Merely a knife. He bent down toward me, bringing the glittering blade toward my face.
I could only watch Pride out of the corner of my eye, but in motion she looked more beautiful than the world’s most wondrous dancers. She stomped on the toes of one of the men restraining her and headbutted the other, breaking his nose. She returned to the first just as swiftly, kneeing him in the groin and then grasping each of them by the collar and driving their skulls together. The entire sequence took less than two seconds, and then she was moving toward the sputtering fool like a panther through the night.
Some of the men holding me down tried to stand up and stop her, but they had not considered the ramifications of their position. While they lay on top of me, I had entwined my arms in and around them, grasping collars or sleeves with my powerful hands. The result was a Gordian knot of body parts which would not release until my fists opened. The men cursed and pummeled me, all to no avail.
The little leader squeaked when he saw Pride’s sleek approach. His hands fumbled the knife as he tried to exchange it for the gun inside his jacket. He managed to draw the weapon, but a ferocious sidekick from my Viceguard smashed its end into his face, sending him stumbling backwards, bleeding.
“That’s enough!” one of the men on top of me shouted, and I heard the now-familiar sound of a bullet readying itself within a handgun. I felt the cold barrel press against my hip. “Let him go, or my first bullet will paralyze your boyfriend for life if it doesn’t kill him.”
Pride looked at him and smiled, but the smile was not for him. “Do you trust me, my lord?” she asked.
“Of course,” I replied, voice somewhat muffled by the press of bodies.
“Good.”
She drew and threw faster than a spring uncoils, her dagger spinning through the air and striking the man holding the gun in the eye. He died instantly, for the hatred behind the throw had lent strength to its spiral. Rather than admire the throw she turned and kicked the little leader’s legs out from under him as he tried to climb to his feet.
More of the men on top of me began to loosen their grip, and suddenly I stopped relaxing and struggled with all of my might, tu
rning over and pressing to my feet despite their persistent weight. I shook them off like a dog shedding water as Pride dragged the small man to his feet by what remained of his hair.
“None of you move, or touch my lord,” she barked, “or else he dies!” She drew her other dagger and held it to the man’s throat menacingly.
None of them moved. I shook the last few off and barged through them to get back to Pride’s side, stooping to grab the leader’s dropped knife from the floor.
“Let me see that a moment please, my dear,” I said to Pride. She released the leader, and as he tried to scramble away, I grabbed him by his collar and brought the blade up to his face.
“You want to know what kind of man cuts another like this?” I asked him. With a sudden burst of violence, I broke his neck. One-handed. “A coward.” I dropped the knife atop the corpse in disgust and turned toward the remaining thirteen men. “Get out now, or you will all end up like him,” I said.
In the end, only two of them ended up like him, necks broken by a single hand. The rest died to slash and puncture wounds from mine and Pride’s weapons, save for the two who fled instantly and managed to make it outside. We pursued them down the steps as far as the plateau, only to see them hop into a car and escape.
“Damned scum!” I growled, seething, my blood roused. “They will be back, and in greater number. Mark my words.”
“We killed plenty.” Pride flicked blood from her daggers and sheathed them. “Maybe killing a round dozen of their men will give their leader hesitation.”
“Maybe,” I grunted. I wiped the blood from my sword off onto a dead man’s jacket and slid the long blade into its scabbard.
“More bodies for the vats,” Pride sighed, foreseeing her night’s work. “Perhaps we could hire some of the vampires that lived here back to do it. It is tedious and grisly work. And I bet your toy will not help this time.”
“She calls you the same thing, you know,” I said, meeting Pride’s cool blue gaze. She barely blinked.
“Calls me what?”
“My toy.”
A long silence passed between us, and then she smiled, wide and earnest.
“I wear that title with honor. The question is... does she? Will she? And are you interested in her if she will not?”
I grunted. “She will do as I desire.”
Pride shrugged. “Maybe.”
“The truck!” I said suddenly, my thoughts of Alia pulling my mind to her present location. “By hell’s breath... what if their plan was to steal our starfire? If this was a diversion...”
“That would have been an elaborate and costly ruse,” Pride pointed out, but she hastened to follow me down the steps and across the street. My strides devoured the distance, propelling me up the long hill. The sun had fully risen, and my dark clothing felt like a bonfire as it drank in the warmth. It could not match the heat in my mind, however. If someone had taken my starfire, I would hunt them down and tear them limb from limb. Slowly.
“My lord,” Pride protested as my pace nearly reached a dead run. “We will attract attention at this rate. And if the starfire is gone, it is already gone.”
We slowed and approached the seemingly empty alleyway, where Pride dropped her illusion. I rushed into the shadows, unlatched the back of the truck and rolled up the door.
My breath left my body in a sigh of relief. All three barrels stood unmoved in the back of the truck. I could still see the dim glow of essence emanating from the one Pride had punctured.
“I trusted Alia would keep them safe,” I said as Pride arrived by my side. I closed the truck’s door again and circled around toward the cab. “Alia,” I called. “You did well. There was an ambush waiting as we thought, but Pride and I have dispatched it.” I opened the driver’s side door. The cab was empty. “Alia?”
“She is not here,” Pride said with an air of certainty, having checked around the far side of the truck. “They did not want the starfire. Instead, they took her.”
Chapter 16
Alia’s metallic device emitted a cry. It sat in the middle of the driver’s seat. Pride and I exchanged a glance.
“What is that?” she asked over the strangely evocative music.
“It is called a phone,” I replied. “Alia manipulated it every so often. She said it is a speaking device, but she seemed more like a child with a doll the way she cradles it.”
“Can you use it?” Pride asked. “It seems to be attempting to gain our attention, or to provide the succor of a bard. I am uncertain of which.”
“Indeed, I think I can.” I placed a finger on the device’s smooth surface and flicked it toward the green symbol. The music ceased, replaced by a quiet hiss. Pride and I exchanged another glance, and I picked the phone up, holding it between us.
“Hello?” a voice said faintly through the device.
“What have you done with Alia?” I demanded. “Who are you?”
The man on the other end of the line laughed, low and mirthless. “You’re pretty pushy for someone in as shitty a situation as you find yourself in. Look, pal. I don’t know who you are, but the mob boss wants to meet with you. We didn’t send fourteen guys after you because we consider that optional. So get here, or the bitch dies. Simple enough?” He gave us an address. The colors on the phone’s surface vanished. The voice was gone.
I stared at the phone for a moment, then tossed it carelessly back into the truck.
“It seems they do not play chess on this world,” I said. “What fool captures a pawn when he could take a rook? The starfire is important to us, vital to our operation and presence here. Alia is...”
“Expendable?” Pride asked.
“But a vampire. Even more puzzling is how a few humans managed to overpower Alia. Vampires are weak, admittedly, but humans are weaker still.”
“Perhaps there was an equal number to those that we faced,” she suggested. “Strong and swift as she might be, she may have succumbed to large enough numbers. Or escaped. Perhaps they are lying.”
“Are you saying we should not go after her?” I asked.
“It was you who called her a pawn,” Pride pointed out. “And how would we even find this location they named? We are completely unfamiliar with the layout and infrastructure of this city. We could wander forever looking for it, like children in a vast forest.”
“It would suit her, I suppose. After all, it was she who allowed herself to be captured. But I would know—what do you think I should do, first of my Viceguard?”
Pride shook her head, golden mane swaying. “I am happy to provide my insight, my lord, but you must decide Alia’s fate alone. I will not wash my hands in her blood, nor be the voice that sends us to our doom.”
“I would not fault you if you did, first of my Viceguard. I trust you absolutely.”
She nodded graciously. “I know that. But this decision is yours alone. I trust your judgment and will follow wherever you lead.”
We shared a long look, and I touched her shoulder.
“For the moment, let us take this truck back to the cathedral where it may be properly concealed.”
“Are you sure you can operate this machine?”
“You asked the same question about the last truck,” I replied confidently.
My confidence evaporated as I sat down in the driver’s seat. There were three pedals at my feet instead of two, and more levers than I knew what to do with. I frowned and closed my eyes, rubbing my temples as I did my best to recall how Alia had operated the controls. There had been a coordinated dance to her movement. I took a deep breath and attempted to bring the truck to life.
Nothing happened. The keys turned part way, then stopped. The truck did not even cough.
“Are you certain about this, my lord?” Pride asked doubtfully. “If we hurry, we can carry the barrels back beneath the cover of my illusions.”
“I will master this skill,” I muttered. “Keep the truck camouflaged so we do not get recognized as the vehicle from the power pla
nt.”
I closed my eyes and considered the possibilities. There were many ways to proceed, and yet the third pedal intrigued me. So far, I had observed two differences between the trucks. One had a third pedal and did not rumble to life when the key was twisted. Perhaps the two went together somehow...
I twisted the key again, then pushed the pedal down. Still nothing. Pride shifted in her seat. I tried holding the pedal down with my foot and twisted the key again, harder.
The truck sputtered to life, and I looked at Pride triumphantly.
“Well done, my lord,” she said with a smile.
I turned the steering circle and applied the pedal for power. Nothing happened, except that the truck roared like an angered beast.
“Piss in a blanket!” I growled. “How did she control this contraption?” I tried adjusting the main lever as I had seen Alia do but that only produced an even worse noise, like the monster’s bones were being ground up. “Nevermind this,” I said, quieting the truck and pocketing the keys. “We will carry the barrels back to the cathedral. Afterward, I will decide on the matter of Alia. She was useful, but we can only afford to spring so many traps before one of them catches us by the neck. Come, grab a barrel.”
I took one of the rifle weapons and slung it on my back. I wanted to examine it further. I also pocketed several quivers of bullets, the ones Alia had called magazines. We hoisted the heavy canisters and carried them out of the truck and down the alley. As we traipsed along the hill leading back to the cathedral, our exposure to danger grated on me, even if Pride had us covered in illusions. The humans had already proven they could somehow see through her illusions at times. If one of them was on a rooftop with a rifle, we would make slow and obvious targets.
But no shots rang out as we labored down the road, and we made it all the way up the cathedral’s long front steps in safety.
“Since we carried them all the way here,” Pride grunted, “I assume you do not plan on storing these in the Pridehold?”
“I cannot rely on that for everything,” I replied, “and you are already fatigued. Come, we will conceal them in my chambers.” We lugged the barrels back to the bishop’s rooms and hid them under old rugs that had been rolled up in a corner. “Now to deal with the bodies and to understand more about human weaponry.”