by Al K. Line
Each had a name-plate screwed into the wall above the alcove, some recent, others too faded to read, which would mean this place wasn't popular, otherwise it would be all newer dead folk.
Ivan stopped at a particularly nondescript alcove, the urn inside a plain canister with a screw lid. There was a faint name on the plaque, green and untended. It looked just like the others, like the can of a dead human being had been here for decades.
"This is him," said Ivan.
"So grab it and let's go."
Ivan reached for the canister, the door banged open behind us, moths hissed as they fried, and I sighed deeply.
Told You
"See?" I chided as we turned to face the door.
"You have a point," Ivan conceded, eyes empty of emotion reflecting the light. His teeth were down; beads of blood trickled from the corners of his mouth. The vampire's tear.
Vampires filed in, or out, and they kept on coming, and coming, and coming. We'd run out of room soon, but that didn't stop them fanning out and lining up against the wall like a firing squad. Except, these assassins didn't have guns, not all of them anyway, but they all had several things in common. Bloody long teeth and a thirst.
"And how do you usually handle such situations?" asked Ivan. His mouth twitched at the corners and he licked the blood that stained his lips.
"You're enjoying this, aren't you? Even now, when we're about to get our asses kicked?"
"I told you. I don't get out much. And you didn't answer my question," he said as we both spied Tasius, the last to make an appearance.
"What usually happens is I do some cool magic, I kill a load of dudes, I get battered and bloodied along the way, then escape to tell the tale."
"Sounds like a plan. Let's do that then."
I shrugged. "Whatever." I released the Velcro and slowly pulled Wand out. The sigils flared, gotta have the drama, and Wand grinned at me. Okay, he didn't, but he swiveled in my hand and I swear he turned my way.
"You ready?" I asked silently.
"As ready as a... Um, hang on, I'll think of something."
"Make sure it's nothing dirty," I warned.
"Damn, now I'm all out of quips. Spoilsport."
"You good to go?" I asked, exasperated already.
"As prepared as a nun in a—"
"I said no dirty stuff."
"Fine, be like that. I'm ready."
"Good, because these guys are tough, some of them have very big guns, and they all want to rip my throat out then use you as a toothpick."
"That ain't nice. It would be all goopy."
"Tell me about it."
I lifted Wand, took a wizardly fighting stance, which involved tipping my hat back with Wand, flicking my jacket back just because it looked cool, and placing one worn boot in front of the other.
Ivan studied me as I did it, an eyebrow raised. "Ah, I get it now. I never even noticed before, just thought you were naturally like this. Knowledge spoils the illusion."
"Yeah, well, don't go telling."
Ivan nodded, grabbed the canister, pocketed it, and then he swept his jacket behind him, which got a nod of approval from me. He snarled, baring his teeth, then put a hand through his shiny hair, the epitome of cool, confident, and deadly vampire.
"Still looking good, dude."
"Thanks." Ivan grinned, and trust me, it wasn't often he did so. You wouldn't use the word jovial to describe him.
"We want Father. We want the ashes, and we want them now."
"And I want lasagna and garlic bread, but it ain't gonna happen. Especially after I burned my fingers last time. Do you know how hot the butter gets? It's molten. Molten I tell you."
"Control your pet, Ivan, or he'll be first," warned Tasius.
"He's my equal. A friend. Family. The only ones who will die will be you if you don't leave. I warned you, don't take me for a fool."
"Haha, what, you two against us? That hardly seems fair."
"He's right," I said conversationally to Ivan. "I mean, they're a bunch of pussies and we can kick their asses easily."
"You know what I meant," snapped Tasius.
"Then let's equal it out a bit," I said, smiling, utterly relaxed.
The ash addicts surged forward, as keen as me to get to it, but they were too late.
Even as the weapons were raised, I let an inner peace settle, the calm before the storm, and dove deep down inside myself, found the place where my power resided. My will, my resolute determination to not die, to fight for life now I truly had something worth fighting for. Happiness, love, companionship, and even understanding.
I forced my will up and out, spiraling down my arm and joining with Wand, powering him. He almost exploded out of my hand. So fat and forceful was the energy that it felt like he expanded to twice his size. A wide, shimmering, deadly sheet of translucent magic burst forth, ghostly images of death dancing and rippling across the surface, drawing a gasp from Ivan. The others recoiled in horror as these were no random images, but copies of the men themselves, their faces contorted, wailing in anguish because of the eternal hell they were stuck in.
And then the wall of death hit. With a bang.
Magic burrowed into the men in the front line then seared through their backs. Their bodies burned and blistered, giving them pause, and a lot of pain. They were surprised to find themselves alive.
"Wait for it," I shouted above the roar of the air and the guns going off, Ivan and I protected behind the sheet of death.
The men stopped, looked down at their bodies, then screamed as the damage grew, spreading like cancer across their flesh and clothes, chewing away, eating up anything in its path. Holes appeared, so we could see right through them, gaping wounds randomly dotted about their bodies, gristly innards and cartilage where their faces were chewed away like rabid dogs starved and willing to eat anything, even vampires.
The magic petered out as it came to the next group and they wasted no time aiming and firing, but they were too slow.
I'd like to say I dodged the bullets, leaped high, then came down on them like an avenging angel, but Ivan just grabbed me and we were off to the side in a moment, lucky to be alive.
I blasted at the men, especially Tasius, but they were alert now, no longer cocky and thinking this would be easy. It became a game of cat and mouse, both sides firing and dodging, but I got in a few direct hits, evening out the odds in our favor.
Then Ivan misjudged a dodge and we slammed into a wall, face first. Which hurts like a mo-fo and is not ideal when dealing with vampires.
They were on us in a moment. I felt their hot breath on my cheek as I bounced back and fell.
Damn, it was going so well too.
Second Thoughts
"Call the others. Get the entire brotherhood here, fast," barked Tasius to the burly, and none-too-smart looking guy next to him. The goon pulled out a phone and I watched, upside down, nothing but a thin layer of magic stopping those crowded around from tearing me to shreds.
Ivan was a whirlwind of ferocious insanity, a dervish darting this way and that, never pausing, in and away before the others could react. He was unstoppable and before I knew it, the surrounding men were flung away and I wasted no time getting up to rejoin the fray.
We bumped into each other, stood side by side to fight off what was still way too many, but neither of us would back down, would give in because much as I wanted to just give Tasius what he wanted, I knew it was a bad idea. One, he'd still try to kill us. Two, all that other stuff about the end of the world and what have you.
"I warned you," said Ivan. "I told you to stay away, to leave. You could have gone back home, avoided all this."
"You'll pay for the death of my brothers. When Mikalus returns you will be his prize, a gift from me to him."
"Aw, what about me?" I asked. "That's made me all sad and weepy."
"Enough! One more chance. You will give me the ashes. Now."
"Here, how about these?" I said as Tasius and his men moved cl
ose. I snatched up an urn, and threw it at the nearest numnuts. It smashed against his head, sending him reeling and ash flying everywhere. As visibility reduced, I took down another, offering a silent apology as I removed the lid and flung the contents up high. Grit stuck between my teeth and coated my tongue but it gave us a moment.
"Let's get out of here," said Ivan through the death-fog as he, at least I hoped it was him, grabbed my arm.
Ivan dragged me away but I whispered, "No, there'll be more inside, and out front. Over the wall." I shook free and jumped for an alcove. Foot dislodging an urn, I reached up and sprang for the top of the wall.
I pulled myself up, which, let me tell you, is damn hard, as my boots scrambled for purchase between the bricks. Then I was up, and on the wall.
Pain flared and I wondered if I'd been shot, but the scene below was still clouded with ash, everything in chaos as Tasius shouted and the men ran around like idiots. The damn razor wire! My jacket snagged, my palms tore, and it hurt like all kinds of hell, but in for a penny.
Finally, I scrambled over. Thankfully, only one line of wire ran along the top, so it could have been worse, then I rolled and dropped fifteen feet off a wall, which isn't a nice experience. The landing was even less elegant than the fall.
Ivan was already there, looking dapper and sharp as always. He held out a hand and I grunted as I grabbed it and was hauled up.
"Still having fun?" I asked as we ran off into the night.
"I think having adventures is somewhat overrated."
"You got that right. But, and maybe this is just me, it's still kinda exciting once you know you aren't dead yet, right?"
Ivan chuckled. "Maybe you're right."
We ducked as bullets whizzed past. I reconsidered my stance on near death experiences and thought maybe a nice cuddle would be preferable to all this nonsense.
All Manic
We made it to the chain-link fence without getting dead, always a bonus, then ran along the perimeter, disorientated, looking for the entrance. This was a bad idea, and I kept thinking we should find another way out, but he insisted. What was with this guy? Didn't he know the first rule of running away from the bad guys? Don't run right at them when they're expecting you.
Maybe he had a plan? Ah, yes, a cunning plan and he'd anticipated this all along and right now was readying to put it into action.
Confident he knew what he was doing, I sped up to keep pace. It wasn't long until we came hurtling from behind a group of oaks and there was the gate, the other side of which was the car. So near, then we would be on our way, Ivan would destroy the ashes, and job done, go nick some stuff from Cerberus, night over with, everyone dead or defeated. I smiled as I thought of this, then ducked and maybe did a little scream as someone rude opened fire.
I yelled at Ivan, "What's your plan? Why are we running right at them?"
"Plan? I thought you had a plan?"
"I did. I told you. Run away, not toward."
"Oh."
"Buster's hat! You are such a noob at this."
Back it Up
We skidded to a halt, boots sliding on the soaking grass as bullets pinged past and owls hooted angrily from the trees then took to the wing.
"You're such a muppet," I told Ivan. Or shouted, as the guns made a hell of a racket.
"You are," he retorted, looking sheepish nonetheless.
"Plan?"
"Let's go with yours." He about-faced and ran away.
I wasted no time joining him, then ducked behind the oaks as bullets splintered the trunks.
"Can you pull apart the chain-link?" I gasped, sucking in my belly so it wasn't a target.
"I can rip it like butter."
"Do that then. We'll get to the car and be on our way."
"What about getting shot?" asked Ivan, like he'd never made a daring escape with a wizard before.
"I'll put up a defensive shield, that will hold for a few seconds, but be quick, and if you can take any of them out, go for it."
"Agreed."
"Wait," I shouted, but it was too late. Ivan darted from our cover and hurled himself at the fence like he was gonna tackle it into submission. He was definitely over zealous, too excited, and had lost his calm, considered manner.
I put up a hurried shield, weaker than I'd have liked, and ran for Ivan, protecting him as he tore the fence to shreds. We ducked through, sped for the cover of more trees, then dodged from trunk to trunk as the addicts shouted and fired, the night alive with flashes of light and angry wildlife disturbed from its peace.
Wand in hand, I blasted out a fat, spreading arc of heat that hit the vampires congregated outside the gate. Heat intensified until the scorching metal guns burned their hands. They dropped the weapons and retreated and I let my cheeky stick buddy flare bright, aiming at the guns, searing them until they melted and were useless. Already the magic was petering out and I knew I had to give it a rest or I'd be running on empty, so I thanked Wand silently and pocketed him, saving him, and me, for when it truly mattered.
"Hurry up," I told Ivan as we got to the car.
"I'm looking for the keys," he muttered.
"Goddamn, Ivan, always have your keys ready," I moaned, glancing at him fumbling in his pockets. Then I noticed the punctured tires. We were going nowhere in this. "They've trashed the tires. Let's nick one of their cars," I shouted, already running to one of their vehicles behind our own, blocking our exit anyway.
Ivan followed and made it before me to a dodgy hire car they'd probably picked up at the airport, nothing better left. Ivan jumped in, presumably having seen the keys, so I got in the passenger seat and pulled the door shut as someone, or several someones, began firing. Guess I hadn't ruined all the guns.
"Well?"
"I haven't got the keys."
"I assumed you'd seen them," I snapped, glaring at him.
"Sorry, didn't think."
"You, my vampire friend, have a lot to learn about running away from the bad guys."
"Can you use some magic?"
"Of course, but there'll be less for later."
"If we get away you won't need it later." Ivan glanced nervously out the rear window.
"Wow, you really are an absolute noob. Even Vicky isn't that daft. There will be a later, always is. This isn't over yet." Nonetheless, I released Wand and touched him to the keyhole. A spark danced, the engines spluttered then caught and roared as Ivan crunched into first gear, released the handbrake, and slammed his foot onto the accelerator pedal.
We sped off into the night as bullets raked the car. I hoped they'd paid extra for insurance or they'd have a mighty bill to pay. Not that I planned on letting any of them ever go home.
Two's Company
Ivan was never big on driving, and since becoming the boss he always sat in the back and had a driver. He was, and this is putting it nicely, crap behind the wheel. Not that he was bad at it, quite the contrary. He was cautious, always stuck to the speed limit, checked his mirrors properly, slowed at junctions and roundabouts, used his indicators, everything you're meant to do.
What you aren't meant to do is drive like a myopic ninety-year-old with a fear of going faster than twenty when a fleet of hire vehicles rammed with gun-toting vampires are after you.
"Stop fucking indicating! What is wrong with you?" I shouted, losing my cool as Ivan took a left then checked his rearview mirror for the hundredth time.
"Sorry, it's habit. Cars are very dangerous. Do you know how many people die every year in crashes?"
"No, but there'll be two more if you don't put your bloody foot down and get us away from the crazies behind us. You keep indicating, which means," I lectured, "they know which way we're going. We're trying to lose them, not give them fucking directions."
"I said sorry, no need to shout."
I glared at him, the realization suddenly hitting. "Hell, you're just like Vicky. I can't believe I didn't see it before. You two really are brother and sister. You act just like her when there's
trouble. Do stupid stuff and try to get us killed."
"I said I was sorry. You know I'm new to this side of the action. I'm a thinker, a planner. I see the moves others will make, read them, work out how to eliminate them. I don't get involved in gunfights and car chases."
"You wanted action, here it is. Now speed up, turn off your fucking lights, do not indicate, and," I warned, "do not put your foot on the brake pedal."
"What if I need to slow down"?
"At the speed you're going, that's highly unlikely. Look, you gotta think about it. If you turn the lights off they can't see us, but if you use the brakes they'll see our lights, so do not brake."
Ivan nodded then hunched forward and focused on the driving. Slowly, he accelerated, drawing away from the others. He took several turns, hand twitching to indicate but I slapped it away, and he eased into his role as getaway driver.
After several more minutes, a handful of turns, switchbacks, and small country lanes where hedges loomed high and we could see nothing at all, it seemed like we'd lost them.
We hit a dual carriageway and joined the sparse traffic heading back to the city.
I sighed with relief, pleased to have actually got away from Tasius and his crew.
"Okay, lights on, drive normally. We don't wanna get stopped by the police. And we don't wanna crash either."
Ivan nodded then did as he was told. "We lost them?"
"Yeah. And good job, buddy. For a noob you learn fast."
Ivan turned to me and smiled. "Thanks."
"Look out!"
Before he had chance to put the lights on and drive like a citizen, we got sideswiped by a large people carrier moving into the slow lane on the dual carriageway. I don't think it even noticed it clipped our wing, or maybe the driver was just pissed and didn't want to get done. Either way, the vehicle sped off as Ivan fought for control and we skidded sideways off the road and onto the narrow hard shoulder. Metal grated beneath us, we must have hit a drain or something, and the car bucked, jumped a curb, bounced up the steep bank, and landed with a jarring jolt halfway up.