Honor Bound

by Al K. Line

  Mikalus was the original, and who knew what went along with that? Clearly not Carmichael by the seems of it. Did Mikalus himself even know this was a possibility? Had it happened before?

  The monster roared.

  Time to Scarper

  "Run?" I asked Ivan.

  "Run," he agreed.

  We ran.

  And got nowhere.

  Time to Think

  The prehistoric beast, like a failed genetic experiment, lifted me up in one malformed hand and the talons closed tight around my middle. Ivan was grabbed in the other and I watched from on high as Carmichael ran for the door.

  He didn't make it. Mikalus bellowed in rage and used Ivan like a misshapen bowling ball and threw him in Carmichael's direction. Ivan slid across the polished floor and slammed into Carmichael's legs, bowling him over. Thinking that I'd had a lucky escape as I watched Ivan crawl away, his arm at a most peculiar angle, I ran through a number of scenarios, trying to figure out how to destroy this monster. All the possibilities I could come up with didn't result in anything but a lot of squashed Hat, which was kind of depressing, so I did the only thing I could do, and tried to avoid getting bitten in two or eviscerated.

  Mikalus turned beady eyes on me, sunken and myopic, that nonetheless could see me well enough up close. I could smell his foul breath, taste the sourness as he breathed in then snorted out, and then he snapped at me, the huge dinosaur head intent on taking my head off.

  My hat went into overdrive, hard as Mikalus' ward-protected steel walls, and an umbrella of protection fanned out. It was handy in the rain, just as handy when attacked by prehistoric beasties. I felt the reverberation through the creature's body as its teeth shattered against Grace, but it didn't pause, just snapped over and over, pile-driving me so it felt like my neck was about to break or I'd at least be several inches shorter when this was all over.

  Ha, when this was all over. Even now, The Hat had confidence he'd get out of this alive, and that meant there was a plan somewhere in my feeble mind, a way to beat this even though I couldn't imagine what it was.

  Then Mikalus tried a different approach. He pulled his spindly arm back and with inhuman force he threw me right at the wall. I hit hard, side-on, and landed just as badly. The wards flared on the wall angrily, keeping the integrity of the steel intact, but it sparked something in my mind and I finally had a plan.

  Wasting no time, and as Mikalus advanced on Ivan and Carmichael who were hurriedly trying to get up and away somehow, I focused Wand on the wall and ran through numerous ancient spells and devious ways to negate wards.

  "That won't work," said Wand.

  "Why not?"

  "Because your spells are out of date. This is modern stuff, just for a specific purpose, and besides, they're impenetrable. These wards are here to stay."

  "Ah, right," I said, panicked. "Um, any ideas?"

  "Yeah, course. We're a team. Leave it to me."

  I shrugged, like I had a choice.

  Wand spun in my hand even as I regained my feet, and he spat a spear of white pain that lanced the monster's foot, or it should have, but Mikalus' appendage merely hardened and the talons grew more fearful.

  "That's not a good plan," I noted.

  "You'll see."

  Mikalus roared his annoyance and changed direction, moving fast to me, arms clawing the air.

  "And this is helpful how?"

  "Just wait, but don't forget to dodge."

  "Eh, what? What's the plan?"

  No time, as Mikalus was almost upon me. As a hind leg kicked out with incredible speed, the talons capable of tearing me in two, I sidestepped just in time and the deadly foot connected with the wall. Metal screeched, the talons clawed down fast and hard, and left a deep gouge in the steel.

  With that, the wards burned brightly then died. Mikalus had taken them down himself, the only one who could. His actions had somehow negated the wards, which meant I could attack the steel and burn a damn hole right through.

  I ran around behind him and Wand was lifted high. Feeling euphoric, I summoned as much of my will as remained and focused on a spot on the wall, ready to blast this puppy back to the stone age. And just as my sigils flared, the damn wards popped back into place, red and angry and stronger than ever.

  "Some fucking plan," I moaned.

  Wand had the good grace to remain quiet.

  An Aha Moment

  Mikalus spun on his not inconsiderable heels, his rear claws piercing the floor like it was sponge and pulling away the remains of the skirting board. Ivan and Carmichael dashed over. Ivan said, "We have to get out of here. Let's go," and looked at me hopefully.

  "Why don't you blast the door, or just open it?" I asked Carmichael, who was looking at me like Ivan was. As if I had the answers to this.

  "Because of him. We can't leave until this is settled. Look at him. You are seeing what I'm seeing, right?"

  "Yeah, I'm seeing it," I sighed, but why they both thought I could deal with this when these two were vampires and I knew for a fact Carmichael had deep magical ability of his own, I didn't know. Then I got it.

  "You can't use magic at the moment, can you?"

  "No, and don't ask me why," snapped Carmichael, looking stressed for the first time.

  "Why?" I asked. You would, right?

  Carmichael sighed, pulled the dressing gown tighter as we all kept a careful eye on the thing that was Mikalus as he snorted and roared and generally trashed the floor as he watched us with hate in his eyes.

  "Because I haven't had time to go to the Quiet Place. I'm wiped out. You have no idea the trouble all this has caused, the things I've had to do to get the warehouse moved. It was exhausting. Then," he said, pointing at me, "you blew me up, set me on fire, took my life's work, and brought me here."

  "Blimey, don't get shirty. This is all your fault anyway."

  "If we can save the bickering for later?" said Ivan as he flung himself aside and a foot the size of a, well, the size of a T-Rex's foot, crashed down and punched an impressive hole in the floor.

  "Good idea," I shouted as I ran away.

  I hid behind Mikalus who was now utterly out of control. People began to bang at the door to the penthouse; they'd be through in minutes. This wasn't going to get easier, it was going to get a lot harder.

  I backed up against the steel and felt the power of the wards encompassing the length of the outer wall, and stared down morosely at my boots. Something caught my eye, a view down to the apartment below, and then, as if by divine intervention, although I knew He wouldn't lift a finger to help this poor wizard, I had an epiphany.

  "I bet they didn't bother," I muttered, and with that I stepped away from the wall, spun to face it, and lifted Wand as Mikalus grabbed Carmichael and manhandled him to his mouth.

  "This is more like it," said Wand with glee. "An actual plan."

  "Just blast it good, real good," I ordered.

  Wand spasmed into life like a fireman's hose spouting magic. Great thick streams of sparkling heat erupted from his tip and chewed up the floor against the wall as I carefully moved my arm from left to right, taking out the floor in a rough line. Girders and wooden joists were revealed, the supports for the building and for the floor itself. I saw what I was interested in, a girder that ran along the outer wall, installed to hold the steel that acted as Mikalus' protection against the sun.

  With grim determination, I gritted my teeth and pushed Wand to his limits, and mine, and aimed at the center of the beam. It was unprotected, just regular steel, and was melted through in a moment.

  Carmichael screamed, his face inches from Mikalus' jaws, but he was on his own for now. Ivan ran to the door, yanked it open, fired rapidly, then slammed it shut and ran back to me.

  "Why didn't you use the gun on Mikalus?" I bellowed above the roar of Mikalus, the splintering wood, and a groan that became louder and louder.

  "Because he's a vampire. Duh." Ivan actually smiled, guess he was trying to be funny.

 
; "Okay, get ready."

  "For what?"

  "For some sunbathing."

  The girder lost it's seating on either side and fell down into the suite below. As it dropped, so the massive sheet of steel welded to span the whole wall slipped a little then caught on the original supports.

  "Shit," I squealed, but then a sliver of light appeared right where the wall met the ceiling, and I turned at the ungodly screams coming from behind.

  The raised arm of Mikalus, still holding Carmichael, was ablaze, burning with an intensity I'd never witnessed before. It was brighter than any magic, more violent than any conflagration I'd caused, and hotter than hell itself. I could feel it on my face, feel my hair singeing. The pain must have been unbearable.

  Mikalus screamed until his throat was raw as his arm spasmed, the hand clutching tighter until I thought Carmichael would pop. He was screaming too, hardly surprising as inches of hard keratin pierced his flesh.

  Then with a whoosh the flame intensified as the sun shone brighter and Carmichael was released. He scrambled away, body torn and strips of flesh hanging, but he didn't stop until he was against a wall.

  Mikalus lowered his arm but as he did so it disintegrated, turned to ash and fell to the floor.

  I checked the steel hurriedly, not wanting to take my eyes off Mikalus. The wards were down, gone for good.

  "Your time to shine, mate," I whispered to Wand, who nodded, which was weird, and let loose with a concentrated stream of increasingly impotent magic as our power died, drained from us.

  The steel melted through easily. First a small hole, which made Mikalus scramble to get out of the way of the sunlight, then it spread until a gaping hole from floor to ceiling gave a magnificent view out over this city where so many good days, and many more worse ones, had been had.

  Spent, I pocketed Wand with a silent thank you. I felt his presence dwindle as if he too was exhausted and had to sleep. Then he was silent.

  But the room wasn't.

  The beast went wild.

  This wasn't over.

  Uncaged

  Mikalus roared in utter anguish as he stared myopically at his stub of an arm. As light streamed in high in the room, the impossible creature bent its head and went apoplectic with rage. He dropped low on his legs and charged around the room wildly, tail whacking against walls, thudding against the floor so hard it broke the boards—I'd forgotten about the tail.

  He raced past the opening, his body steaming as he caught the daylight, but as soon as he reached a darker place he began to heal, but not the arm. How could he continue in such a state? How was it possible? My mind reeled with the agony he must be experiencing as his skin erupted time after time only to be doused moments later as this primordial force he contained sought to protect its host. This was true otherworldly magic and I could only think that maybe his resurrection had strengthened him against the dangers he faced by sunlight.

  Would he manage to get out of this alive? That was unthinkable, as we'd all be hunted down no matter the cost. We remained motionless, watching from in front of the huge gap in the wall as Mikalus tore around the room, burning then healing then burning. He crouched, he flung himself against walls, he rolled on the floor, and each time he recovered a little more of him was lost. There were chunks missing from his body now, huge bits vanished as though they'd never been. Like bites had been taken out of him by an invisible monster more terrifying than himself.

  And then the sun peeked from behind two skyscrapers, shining directly into the room in a small sliver.

  "Move out the way," I ordered. Carmichael and Ivan stared at me with blank expressions. "You're blocking the light," I said softly as I turned and nodded at the sun as it blinded me.

  They moved, as did I, and it was almost like trumpets blew as the room became awash with golden light.

  Mikalus' strange body was transformed in an instant as true sunlight hit his ruined flesh. He visibly shrank, joints popped, and he returned to being a man, but a broken one.

  He crumpled to the floor, moaning and whimpering, curled up tight, naked and alone, terrified and unable to bear the pain. With a scream that still haunts me, his flesh burst into flame for a single instant before the fire died, revealing the shape of an ash man, gray and lifeless.

  Then the illusion was gone, and the ash fell to the floor in a heap. All that remained of the First.

  Mikalus was dead.

  Again.

  Time to Reflect

  We stood either side of a gaping hole at the top of vampire headquarters, staring in mute astonishment at the pile of ash on the floor. Had any of that happened? It was hard to believe it had. Was Mikalus really dead? Was that good, or very, very bad?

  Probably bad, as what now?

  Not my problem, it was theirs. They'd managed for hundreds of years without him, I'm sure they'd cope now he was gone again. Back to their secret ways, staying under the radar of the magical community as they always had, secretly working their way toward a future vision they didn't feel fit to share with the rest of us.

  I turned to Ivan, about to say something but thought better of it as I saw a single tear fall. I understood. I really did.

  He'd loved that man, been welcomed into a family that spread around the globe, each of them having something undeniable in common, each in part owing their existence to Mikalus. And he'd been betrayed by him. Used, abused, sold out. Ivan had experienced all of that, and more, before, and it broke my heart to see him trying to cope with such a betrayal of his love and trust.

  He could have maybe accepted it all, found a way to deal with it, as he and I both knew that people were cruel, and none could hurt you more than those you loved.

  It was Vicky that had been the real blow, that Mikalus would try to take that away from him. True family, a blood bond he cherished and would lay down his life for. That had to hurt more than all the rest combined.

  "It's done," I whispered, putting an arm around my friend. Yes, I thought of him as that. Nothing like fighting tyrannical overlords to make two blokes buddies. I felt I could finally trust him, and maybe he felt the same way, as he turned and smiled.

  "How very touching," said Carmichael, a fake smile plastered on his entirely smackable face.

  "Shut up, we're having a moment."

  "Maybe you could do that later, after the noise is dealt with?"

  It took a moment for me to register what he was talking about, but I focused and could hear the clamoring the other side of the door. More vampire goons had come to the rescue, I assumed. With a sigh, I pulled Wand from my pocket and, thinking it best not to show Carmichael that I talked to it, I spoke silently in my mind. "You up for this?"

  Wand took several seconds to stir, as if deep in slumber, the lucky bugger, then he sparked into life and I heard his voice in my head. "Sure, but then I must rest."

  Wand spasmed in my hand and shot out seven narrow lines of red fire like a laser. Six penetrated the wall, one went through the door, and then there were no more shouts.

  "Nice shooting," I congratulated, but he was already gone, back to wherever it was sentient Wands went when they slept. "Sweet dreams, my friend."

  I turned to Carmichael. "There, that should buy us a few minutes. And don't even think about it," I warned as I caught him staring at the mounds of books, most of which were still intact, if rather bruised where they'd been knocked off the shelves.

  "Wouldn't dream of it, my dear fellow."

  "Shut up," I sighed.

  "Your call," I said to Ivan.

  He nodded, then walked over to a pile of ash and bent down.

  Would he box up Mikalus and when he felt the world was ready allow the First to be resurrected once more?

  Guess I'd find out soon enough.

  It All Sucks

  "Never again," said Ivan as he bent down and scooped up the ashes of the first true vampire in his shaking, cupped palms. Slowly, almost reverentially, he walked back to the edge of the destroyed wall. I stepped forward,
knowing Carmichael wasn't about to push us out to our death, and went and stood by Ivan's side.

  Carmichael joined us, returned from inspecting the books I would make damn sure he never, ever got to put in his warehouse, and the three of us stared out into the decaying city. Tall spires shone, office blocks gleamed. Cranes and scaffolding-covered buildings either half-constructed or in need of repair littered the city, as if it was crying out for peace, to be left to die with dignity rather than this expensive and prolonged fight against the inevitable it was suffering. Everything was always changing; more incredibly expensive modern architectural blights being built even as the old were abandoned. What were these people thinking? Couldn't they see what I saw?

  As I scanned the city, I saw the truth in the distance in every direction. A foulness like a cancer spreading, creeping toward the center. Decaying buildings, abandoned warehouses, tenements ready for demolition. Cracked pavements and pot-holed roads. Dilapidated terraces where the tenants huddled around gas fires in the winter for warmth and sweltered in their boxes during this heatwave as the noxious air silently choked everyone to death.

  The marshlands cleared to provide more land to build more homes on to accommodate the pressing need for affordable housing was already reclaiming what was lost. They never did build the houses. I caught glimpses of the canals and the rivers that broke their banks each year and washed away mankind's best efforts. The myriad roads criss-crossing above the stinking outer limits of the city, bypassing the degradation and the filth, pretending it wasn't down there in the mud, an inevitable future most refused to accept or even acknowledge.

  But it was spreading, this decay, and it was coming for them all. A darkness was descending. The rich were getting richer, the poor were getting poorer, and every day more people lost hope, failed to find a way in this modern world. One day it would all come to a head and these clinical wonders reaching for the sky as if to get away from the very land they were built on would topple, and with it civilization.