by Leo Romero
Ram turned to face him.
Vincent’s chest collapsed. “All right.” He lowered his eyes toward the floor. “All right. We have a deal. I’ll hand over the relics. The Eye. The Fangs.” Saying both words almost hurt. He looked back at the screen. “Just end this madness. All of it.”
“Dad...” Trixie cried. “Don’t do it!”
“I have no choice, Trixie. I can’t let any more people die.”
Ram turned back toward his siblings. “Aww, isn’t that cute?”
“Like apple pie and dead dogs,” said Seth.
They cackled; Vincent’s skin crawled.
“This is too easy,” said Karim.
“Like taking candy from babies,” Seth said.
Annit licked her lips. “Mmm, babies. I like mine fried.”
“With a little seasoning,” Seth said, pointing at her.
Ram chuckled. “Listen to me, Clement. Our convoy will move across the sands to the ancient sites. We will be performing public executions at the foot of the Pyramid of Osiris for the world to witness our power. Our domination.”
“You have twenty-four hours to bring us the relics,” said Annit.
“Or the children die,” Karim added with a shrug.
“Their blood on your hands,” said Seth.
“When the midday sun rises tomorrow, the world will be shown our power,” said Ram.
“If the relics are not in our hands, her blood will be on yours,” said Annit.
“And everyone else’s,” added Karim.
Vincent clenched his teeth. “A representative of Sun Enterprise will be sent to deliver the relics and ensure the safe return of Dom and Trixie.”
Ram nodded. “A deal’s a deal. Follow our signal, Slayer, if you wish to find us. Don’t be late.”
“We aren’t known for our patience,” said Annit.
“Twenty-four hours, Clement. That’s all you’ve got,” Karim reminded him.
“Prove you actually care about them.” Ram shook Trixie’s head. Although she clenched her teeth to stifle her screams, fear flashed in her eyes. The image cut out, leaving Vincent with a blank screen. His legs turned to jelly and he almost collapsed, the release of tension overwhelming. He staggered back, his rear hitting the sideboard. He steadied himself and grabbed his head, regret and shame overcoming him like a thunderstorm. It was always the same. Always the same visceral response when they were captured, or... when they were killed.
Nausea rose from the pit of his stomach and he dry-heaved. Hopelessness plummeted into his heart like an anchor. “I’m so sorry, Trixie. Dom. I’m so sorry to you both. I really believed. I really believed...”
A hand fell on his back, sending shockwaves through him. He straightened and whirled around, his bulging eyes falling downward. He found himself staring into Rufus’ warm, concerned eyes. “Rufus!” he gasped in relief, grabbing his chest. “You startled me.”
Sorry, Rufus signed.
Vincent flapped his hand on the air. “That’s all right, young man.”
Are you okay? Rufus asked him.
Vincent shook his head. “No. I’m afraid I’m not.”
What’s wrong?
Vincent sighed. He placed a hand on the young man’s shoulder. “The Claw Order have captured Dom and Trixie.”
Rufus snapped his head to the side, his brow furrowing. He curled his hands up into fists and smacked his thighs. He met Vincent’s stare once more. With frantic hand gestures, he asked, What should we do?
Vincent gave him a rueful shake of the head. “I don’t know. Rah wants the two relics we’ve acquired in exchange for their lives.”
And you believe them?
“Of course I don’t. They’ll take the relics and kill Dom and Trixie.” He turned and rubbed his head, staring out of the rain-smeared window. Then, it hit him. There was something. A final hope. He began wagging his finger up and down. “You,” he said, turning to face Rufus.
Rufus pointed at himself and widened his eyes in surprise.
“Yes, Rufus. You’re made of stern stuff. And you’re the only one I can trust. You’ll have to go to the desert and rescue Dom and Trixie.”
I’d love to, Rufus replied. But, me on my own?
“It’ll have to be. Who else can I ask?”
Rufus shrugged. The army?
“No, no, no. They’ll end up bombing everyone and everything. What we need is stealth.” Vincent gave him a friendly pat on the shoulders. “I have faith in you. You’re special, you’ve only just begun to realize how special you are. You’ve survived this far. I’ve looked after you, but, your time has now come. Maybe this is how it’s supposed to be. Maybe the forces are trying to make men out of us all.”
Trixie is a woman, Rufus reminded him.
“Well, yes, you know what I mean, don’t get pedantic now. No, you’ll have to go and rescue them from the clutches of those vile beasts. And...”
And? Rufus asked, rolling his hand on the air.
“And retrieve the relic the children of Rah hold. The Heart of Moroz. If you can do both those things, man—humankind will forever be in your debt.”
So, no pressure, Rufus retorted in irony.
“On the contrary, there’s plenty of pressure,” Vincent said with a grave look. “Absolutely plenty.”
Outside, an ominous rumble of thunder shuddered across the sky.
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
“There’s no time to waste,” Vincent stated as he threw open the door to the stock room at Sun. Rufus clambered in behind him and looked around. Ahead of him was every weapon and vampire hunting device Sun had ever devised. He looked around the room in both awe and bewilderment.
Woah, check out all this stuff!
Vincent was busy pulling items off shelves and out of boxes and throwing them down on the desk. “You’ll be needing some of these, and definitely one or two of those, and without a doubt a few of those.”
In a stunned stupor, Rufus began filling up his duffle bag with the items Vincent was piling on the desk. They were multiple boxes of stuff that Rufus either hadn’t seen before, or didn’t really understand their purpose. He just went along with it, hoping to have it all explained later.
Vincent spun around to face him. “You’ll need these as a precaution,” he said in a flustered manner, handing Rufus a small, clear plastic box. Inside were plastic capsules filled with liquid. Rufus gave them a dumb stare.
“Anti-vamp hypnosis lenses,” Vincent informed him. “These will ensure none of those pesky vamps do that nasty hypnosis business on you. Although, you may well not need them, it’s better to be safe than sorry.”
Rufus nodded in understanding. He threw the box in his duffle bag.
Vincent clapped his hands and looked around. “Right. What else will you need?”
Headache pills, Rufus said to Vincent’s back.
Eddie burst into the room as if there was a fire. He laid eyes on Rufus and flinched back. Rufus gave him an unsure look in return.
“Hey, Rufus,” Eddie said, his voice choppy and nervy. A chuckle escaped him as he spoke.
Rufus gave him a polite wave and nod. He looked around him at all the stuff, his shoulders up in an exaggerated shrug.
Eddie frowned. “What’s going on?”
Vincent spun to face him, dart guns in his hands. Eddie rolled his eyes down on them. “Hey, don’t shoot!” he said in a jokey fashion, but no one was laughing, including Eddie.
Vincent took a deep breath. “Eddie, the news is grave.”
“Yeah, there was something I really wanted to talk to you about.”
“I’m afraid we don’t have time,” Vincent retorted in a hurried manner, throwing the guns into Rufus’ bag.
Eddie squinted. “What is it, Vincent? What’s going on?”
Vincent grabbed Eddie’s upper arms. “It’s Dominic,” he said, giving Eddie a serious stare.
Eddie turned his head to the side. “What about him? Is he in some kinda trouble?”
Vi
ncent pursed his lips. “I’m afraid so,” he said. “Him and Trixie.”
Eddie’s eyes widened in concern. “What happened?”
“I’m afraid they’ve been captured by the Claw Order.”
Eddie’s jaw dropped. “Are you sure?”
“Unfortunately, yes. Rah’s children have been in contact. They are demanding I hand over the relics of Moroz your brother has helped collect in return for their safety.”
“What?” Eddie exclaimed. “And you believe them?”
“Of course not! Which is the very reason why I’m sending Rufus to go and rescue them.” Vincent patted Rufus on the shoulder.
Eddie flicked his eyes toward Rufus. Rufus gave him a rueful grin and swallowed hard.
“Vincent, with all due respect, I don’t think Rufus can handle it alone. I want to go with him!”
Vincent groaned. “No, you cannot, Eddie. I want you to remain here.”
Eddie’s back straightened. “Why? What you both got planned?” He flicked suspicious eyes at them both.
Vincent recoiled. “Excuse me?”
Rufus just stared at him nonplussed. He had no idea what Eddie was talking about.
Eddie closed his eyes. He took a deep breath. “Look, all I’m saying is you’re seriously gonna send Rufus alone to take on the Claw Order? Are you crazy?”
Rufus glanced at him and nodded. Yep, looks like that’s what’s gonna happen, he thought to himself.
“I know you’re upset,” Vincent told Eddie, “and I understand your consternation in this matter, but Rufus is more than capable of handling himself out there. Trust me. He’s better equipped than you are at coping with the harsh environment.”
“Yeah? And why’s that, Vincent? Huh? What’s so special about Rufus?”
Vincent gave him a stern look. “He is special. He survived four bullets to the chest.”
“Yeah, I know,” Eddie said with a firm nod. “And I know—” He cut himself off. He flicked his eyes away and began tonguing his bottom lip.
Vincent gave him a sideways stare. “Is there something troubling you, Eddie?”
Eddie grabbed his forehead. His hand was trembling. “Look,” he said in an exasperated voice. “He’s my brother.”
“And she’s my daughter.” Vincent stared at Eddie square on; there were tears welling in his eyes. “Eddie. I’d do anything in my power to protect you all. Trixie, Dom, Rufus, you, and all the others working here at Sun. You know that.”
Eddie met his stare. “Do I?”
“Yes, you do. And if you don’t, then you should. But this life we’ve all signed onto is one rife with danger. This was made clear to everybody on joining up. Our lives, all of our lives, are at risk. And so what we must do is band together, fight for one another in order to reduce that risk as much as possible. Sometimes we win, sometimes we lose. But we must fight till the end. What we mustn’t do under any circumstances, is allow our emotions to lead us to snap decisions that do more harm than good. You don’t have the physical attributes Rufus has. Nor the fighting skills. If you join him on his mission, you will just hinder him and he may well find himself having to save you as well as Dom and Trixie.”
Eddie glanced at Rufus.
Rufus cocked a thumb at Vincent and nodded, his mouth turned downward. He’s right you know.
“God willing, Rufus will return with your brother and my daughter and we can go on from there. The last thing I want is to risk your life too. I need you all. The more valuable people I lose, the stronger the vamps will be for it. And I cannot let that happen. Do you understand?”
Eddie’s chest slumped. He nodded. “Yeah, I understand.”
Vincent grinned. “Good. Now trust me when I say the House of Rah’s hubris will be their downfall. They’ve underestimated us here. They think they have all the aces, but we’ve got one or two tricks up our sleeve too. Rufus is under the radar. He knows more than the orders realize. He’ll be more than a match for them.”
They both turned to face Rufus. Rufus gave them both thumbs up, a beaming smile spread across his face.
A small burst of laughter erupted from Eddie’s chest. “All right, all right,” he said with a sigh. “Good luck, buddy.”
Rufus glanced down at his feet, then looked up at Eddie. He began speaking to him in sign language.
Eddie watched him nonplussed.
Rufus moved his hand across the air from Vincent to Eddie, urging Vincent to translate.
Eddie glanced at Vincent. Vincent still had a smile hanging on his face. “He says he’ll do everything he can to save your brother and Trixie, even if it costs him his life.”
Rufus nodded. He began speaking again.
Eddie looked at Vincent and raised his eyebrows.
“He said ‘we’re family and we have to be together to be strong. It’s the unity that gives us strength’,” Vincent told him.
On hearing that, Eddie’s eyes welled up.
Vincent stared at Rufus with wet eyes. Rufus gazed down at the floor in a sheepish manner.
Vincent snapped out of his daze and clapped his hands. “Now, Eddie, help us get Rufus packed and ready to go.”
Eddie looked around while Vincent stared at the open cupboard ahead of him, scratching his head.
“Why don’t you take the sun cannon?” Eddie suggested.
Rufus gave him a puzzled look, then sent Vincent the same look.
“It’s a newly crafted device that mimics sun beams,” Vincent informed him.
Oh, said Rufus. Sounds cool!
“It is indeed very cool.”
“Might be a good time to test it out,” Eddie stated with a shrug.
Vincent rubbed his chin. “You may well be right there. It wasn’t developed in order to be left on a mantelpiece, that’s for sure.” He turned to face Rufus. “Come on, let’s go get it and I’ll show you how it works.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
They rushed back to the mansion where a tired Mack was waiting for them. Miranda had already liaised with their Agency contacts. There was a lockdown on international flights while the spate of terror attacks was ongoing. An emergency jet had been arranged for takeoff from a private airfield that would transport Rufus to Cyprus, a small Mediterranean island north of Africa, and the British RAF base there. From there, Mack would fly a waiting helicopter down to southern Egypt, deep in the Sahara where the Pyramid of Osiris was located. The whole of the western military were under orders not to interfere or hinder the two flights in any way. It was all on a need to know basis and that was that.
Rufus grabbed all his things from the car. He strapped the sun cannon to his back, slung his duffle bag over his shoulder and held a dart gun in each hand. He stood there at the mansion entrance, looking like a little vamp slaying GI Joe.
“Got everything?” Vincent asked him.
Rufus looked at himself left and right and nodded.
“Good. Let’s go!” Vincent scurried inside. He led Rufus through the mansion hallway toward the backyard. Mack was loitering by the boarded-up back doors, taking a swig on his canteen. On seeing Vincent and Rufus approaching, he dumped his canteen in the inner pocket of his jacket. “Hey, Mr. Beauchamp,” he said, straightening his jacket.
“Hello there, Mack. Thanks for coming at such short notice.”
“Hey, I’m getting used to it. I’ll be able to catch a full night’s sleep someday soon. Where we headed?”
“Egypt.”
“Egypt, huh?” Mack echoed in a tired voice. “I’m getting to take in all the sights.”
“Don’t worry, we’ll have plenty of time for rest once all this is said and done, I promise you. And I also promise you triple pay. That and more whisky than you can drink. And not the cheap stuff either.”
Mack’s eyes lit up. “Suddenly I feel reenergized, Mr. Beauchamp.”
“Good. Now, let’s get going.”
Mack opened up the back doors, releasing the windy rain outside. They all stepped out, Rufus hitching up his duffle
bag on his shoulder. Mack led them to the chopper, the one they used to escape from the I-Sore building. It still had bullet holes dotted across its fuselage. Rufus stopped and stared at the holes in trepidation.
“You ready to go, kid?” Mack asked Rufus, snapping him out of his daze.
Rufus flinched, meeting Mack’s stare. He glared at him for a second and shrugged.
“Don’t talk much, huh?”
Rufus shook his head.
“Well, don’t worry. I haven’t crashed since 1975.” Mack darted over to the pilot door, flicking rainwater off his jacket.
Vincent rushed across the muddy grass, almost falling in his haste. He grabbed the chopper door and slid it open, ushering Rufus inside. Rufus threw in his duffle bag and took his seat. He looked around him, open-mouthed. Vincent knew it was the first time he’d ever been in a helicopter and his curiosity was taking over. He hoped it wouldn’t distract him on his mission.
“Rufus!”
Rufus broke his trance and met Vincent’s stare.
“You know what you have to do?” Vincent asked, the rain plastering his hair to his head.
Rufus nodded, his eyes wide and innocent.
“I trust you,” Vincent told him. “Be careful out there, I almost lost you once, I don’t want it to happen again. Remember, you need to drink water. You might be made of stern stuff, but you’ll still die of thirst.”
Rufus pulled a bottle of water from his duffle bag and shook it on the air for Vincent to see.
“Good. Now, you have everything you need. Remember; stealth, trickery, play them at their own game.”
Rufus nodded in understanding.
“Stay in the shadows, wherever you can find them. Sneak up on them when they least expect.”
Rufus nodded.
Vincent nodded back. “Good luck, Rufus. Good luck.”
Rufus gave him a thin smile.
Vincent turned his head away, unable to look at that smile. It cut into him like knives. With a reluctant heart, he threw the door shut and stepped back. The rain pummeled him from all angles, but he remained as he was, staring intently at the chopper.
I’m so sorry, Jacob, he thought to himself with a shake of his head. I’m so, so sorry. He’d always promised his good friend he would protect the boy, keep him out of harm’s way. Now, he was sending him into a world of danger. But, he knew it was Rufus’ duty, knew this day would come. It just had to. He could only protect him for so long. Rufus had to rise up to the challenge eventually and become a man. Vincent just prayed it wasn’t too early for him.