Tooth and Nail

by Chris Underwood

  “Lilian,” the vampire said, still holding my gaze. “I need to talk to Osric. We’ll leave you to get everything organized.”

  “No rush.” Lilian didn’t look up from her work. “This’ll take a while.”

  Lockhart nodded curtly, then stepped around the growing pile of gadgetry. She glided over to me and lowered her voice.

  “Let’s take this into the stairway.”

  “Sure.”

  We left Lilian to her work as we stepped back out into the stairway. I leaned against the banister on one side while Lockhart stood straight-backed, facing me.

  “Well?” she asked.

  “Well what?”

  “Out with it. I can see how angry you are with me, Osric.”

  I shook my head. “Angry doesn’t begin to describe it, Sonja.”

  “Are you having second thoughts?”

  “Second, third, and fourth. But unlike you, I’m not a treacherous snake. I said I’d fight your duel, so I will. I have some conditions, though.”

  “Please,” she said, her voice laced with sarcasm. “Share them.”

  “The investigation continues. No matter what, it continues.”

  “We won’t need—”

  “Yeah, yeah,” I interrupted. “You already said that. Once the duel is over, there will be peace in our time. I don’t care. I will only fight if I know that the truth will come out eventually. If I die, then you extend every assistance to Early. Even if the investigation lasts weeks. Months. Even if it ends up looking bad for your people. The investigation will continue. I want your word on that.”

  She smiled a little. “I’m surprised you put much stock in my word, Osric.”

  “Oh, I don’t. I’ll just make sure Early holds you to it. I’m sure Early can think of some ways to make your life hell if you break your word. Maybe he could just tell all your lackeys what you’re letting Lilian do to poor Selene Eventide in there.” I jerked my head toward the basement.

  “There’s no need for threats. We’re beyond that now, you and I. If you insist that the investigation continue, then continue it will. I will not stand in the way.”

  I searched her face for a hint of deception, but she was too well-practiced to give anything away. I’d have to take her at her word for now.

  “All right,” I said. “One more thing.” I lowered my voice, even though Lilian was too far away to hear us. “If I don’t make it out of the duel alive, you still owe Lilian access to your archives. She might not come searching for answers right away. It might be years from now. It might never happen. But if she ever comes to you and asks to look in your archives, you say yes. No deals, no bargaining. You open the door and let her in. Understand?”

  “Certainly.”

  I paused, eying her. “You’re not going to argue?”

  Lockhart shrugged. “If the revenant can do what you say she can, then she could prove valuable. It’s in my best interests to foster a relationship with her.”

  I frowned, but nodded. This was something, at least. At least when I went to the duel, I wouldn’t have to worry about all the loose ends I’d be leaving behind. Early would be okay. Lilian would be okay.

  Me, I wasn’t so sure about.

  I glanced back toward the basement, where Lilian was working. She’d rolled up her sleeves and pulled her hair into a small ponytail. With a pencil between her teeth and a notepad in her hand, she flipped switches on a piece of machinery the size of a large microwave. Vacuum tubes began to spark and glow. She studied them for a moment, then scribbled something down in her notepad.

  “If you really want to help her,” Lockhart said to me, “you should concentrate on winning the duel.”

  “I’m not planning to throw the fight. But you’re the one who decided to put me up against a fucking ogre.”

  Lockhart went quiet for a second. After a moment, she abandoned her straight-backed posture and leaned against the wall behind her.

  “I can arrange for you to get your hands on something belonging to Holdfast,” she said.

  I frowned at her. “What do you mean?”

  “If there’s something you need, I can get it. Some possession of his, or a toenail, or whatever it is you people use.”

  “So I can use it against him, you mean. So I can curse him. Weaken him.”

  Lockhart nodded, holding my gaze.

  “Does that treaty of yours allow things like that?” I asked.

  “What do you think?”

  I chewed my lip for a few seconds, then sighed and shook my head. “If we did that and the ogres found out, it wouldn’t matter who won the fight. The whole point of this stupid sideshow is to get all you idiots to calm the fuck down. We have to do it in good faith, or not at all.”

  “Very noble of you.”

  “That’s what they all say.”

  Lockhart raised her hands as if to say, Well, I tried.

  “Just tell me how this damn duel is supposed to work,” I said.

  “The ogres are insisting on their own territory. The wrecking yard, tomorrow at ten. I will accompany you. So will some of my people.” She pointed a finger at me. “That’s non-negotiable.”

  “Fine. And what about weapons? I get to choose, right?”

  She nodded. “Firearms are excluded.”

  “Probably for the best. I think Holdfast could take a bullet better than I could. I’m guessing magic is out, too.”

  “Offensive magic is prohibited, yes.”

  I paused. “What about spells I cast on myself?”

  “It isn’t outlawed, as far as I know. What are you thinking?”

  “I know a few things that might help. Charms to help me ward off blows, potions to help me dull pain. Not much, but it’s something.”

  “The treaty defines several broad categories of weapons to choose from. Unarmed combat—”

  “No thanks.”

  “Knives, swords, blunt weapons, spears, bows, etcetera. You get the idea.”

  “Hell,” I muttered. I didn’t fancy my chances with any of those. Not against a brute like Holdfast.

  “We have access to an extensive armory,” Lockhart offered. “You’re welcome to peruse our weapons.”

  I sighed and shook my head. I dropped my hand to my side and patted my truncheon hanging from my belt. “This is the only thing I really know how to use. Blunt weapons it is, I guess.”

  Lockhart frowned skeptically at my truncheon. “It’s a little…small, isn’t it?”

  “I’ve never had any complaints.” I shook my head. “The truncheon is my best chance. It’s got some power of its own. If I can get in close, I can hurt Holdfast.”

  I tried to make myself sound more confident than I felt. It didn’t work.

  Studying me intently, Lockhart took a step toward me. “I want you to know something, Osric. I didn’t choose you because I expected you to die. I chose you because I expect you to win.”

  “Well, it’s nice that someone has confidence in me, I suppose.”

  “I’ve been taking an interest in you for some time. I know what you did in the Mines, when the goblins took your brother. I know what happened when you faced the Mills witch. I know about the wraith you battled with, and that madman and his band of fanatics. You beat them all, Osric.”

  I shook my head. “If you think that, someone’s been feeding you false information.”

  “How so?”

  “I didn’t beat any of them. Not the way you think. I talked them into beating themselves. I made deals. I found leverage and used it. I turned them against each other. Something tells me I’m not going to be able to talk Holdfast into knocking himself out.”

  “I’m sure you’ll think of something,” she said simply.

  I don’t know why, but I couldn’t help but laugh at that. This was what I got for tangling myself up with vampires.

  I glanced over at Lilian again. She’d set Eventide’s severed head in a shallow metal dish filled with water, and now she was hooking up a few more wires. She cau
ght me looking at her.

  “You all right, boss?” she called out, giving me a strange look.

  I realized I was still chuckling to myself like a crazy guy at a bus stop. I wiped the smile off my face and nodded.

  “How much longer?” I asked.

  She pursed her lips and cast her eyes over the equipment. “Nearly there. I’m just having a little trouble getting everything calibrated.”

  “Is something wrong?”

  “I don’t…I don’t know. I don’t think so. Like I said, I’ve never done a vampire before. The numbers just aren’t quite lining up right.” She shrugged. “Might be an artifact. I think I can work around it.”

  I nodded again, my gaze returning to Eventide’s severed head. The dead vampire’s eyes were open and staring at me, face twisted into a mask of fury. A shiver ran down my spine.

  I stopped watching when Lilian pulled out some silver-tipped nails and started hammering them into Eventide’s skull. Even Lockhart looked a little bit queasy about the whole thing. I turned away, but the sound of cracking bone still worked its way into my ears.

  “Does anyone else know what we’re doing here?” I asked Lockhart. “Any other vampires?”

  “Only Carlotta. I would have preferred that not even she knew, but that went out the window when you asked her swain to help you secure Selene’s body.”

  I made no apologies. Nolan had come through—that was all that mattered.

  “I don’t suppose it’s a secret that you nominated me to fight Holdfast,” I said. “How’s that going down?”

  “I’m managing the situation.”

  “That good, huh?”

  She smiled a small smile. “I think it would be worse if certain members of my brood weren’t so excited to see you broken in half by Holdfast.”

  I grunted. “Booker isn’t exactly rooting for me, I take it?”

  “You really shouldn’t have attacked him at Doyle’s Reach. It will be a long time before he forgets that insult.”

  I thought about telling Lockhart my suspicions about Booker. But then I’d have to tell her about the goblin assassin as well, and I wasn’t ready to do that yet. Not until I had more information.

  In all honesty, I didn’t trust Lockhart much more than I trusted Booker. I still wasn’t convinced her throwing me into a fight with Holdfast wasn’t an attempt to derail the investigation. If that was the case, she was going to get a painful surprise when the truth finally came out.

  Lilian finally stopped hammering. I turned back to see her attaching electrical cables to two of the three nails sticking out of Eventide’s skull. She glanced at a box full of dials once more, frowning at the needles that trembled in place. Then, stretching her arms above her head, she turned back to us.

  “Okay,” she said. “I think we’re ready.”

  23

  “Have you got your questions ready?” Lilian asked. “You might not have much time.”

  “I think so,” I said. “What kind of response do you think we’ll get?”

  Lilian sat cross-legged on the floor, considering the question. In front of her sat Selene Eventide’s head in a shallow dish of water. Two thick cables were clamped to the nails Lilian had driven into the dead vampire’s skull. They trailed away in different directions, connecting to the network of gadgets and machinery that surrounded Lilian. More cables trailed out of various boxes to plug into outlets around the basement.

  I stood facing Lilian and Eventide’s head, while Lockhart lingered somewhere over my right shoulder. She’d pulled up a chair for herself, but I didn’t think I could sit down if I tried. I was too on edge.

  I hated this part.

  “Hard to say,” Lilian said. “She’s been dead more than a day now. That’s going to affect things. And there’s still something a little bit off about the numbers. I don’t know if you’ll get anything coherent at all.”

  “I don’t understand,” Lockhart said. “I thought you just bring her back, and we ask her what happened.”

  “I’m not bringing her back,” Lilian said. “I’m just sparking her brain and interpreting the impulses. Maybe there will be enough of her left that we can get some sensible answers out of her. Maybe not. Maybe she’ll be all scrambled up.”

  Lockhart frowned and looked at me. “Are you absolutely sure this is necessary?”

  “No. But Selene is a witness. If there’s a chance she can give us her side of the story, we have to try.”

  Her frown deepened. “This is your investigation. I will not stand in your way. But I want to register my unease.”

  “Noted.” I looked at Lilian. “Ready, Slim?”

  “As I’ll ever be.”

  Lilian flipped a couple of switches. Machinery hummed to life. She took a deep breath and reached out, her hand hovering over Eventide’s head.

  “Wakey wakey,” Lilian said.

  She grabbed hold of the nail poking out of the center of Eventide’s skull. Instantly, Lilian’s back went rigid. Her head snapped back and something dark and smoky swam through her eyes, blacking out the whites.

  Electricity crackled and sparked in one of the big glass vacuum tubes beside Lilian. There was a high-pitched whine, just on the edge of hearing. The lights overhead flickered uncertainly.

  The severed head of Selene Eventide began to twitch. Small muscle spasms rolled across her face like ripples in a pond. Eventide’s eyes rolled about in her head.

  Then, as two more of Lilian’s vacuum tubes sparked to life, Eventide’s face began to settle. Her eyes began to move as if she was trying to spot something. Her gaze passed over me like I wasn’t there.

  Eventide’s mouth opened. But when she spoke, the sound didn’t come from her.

  “Where is it?” Lilian said.

  Two voices left Lilian’s throat at once, one laid atop the other. The first and quietest, was Lilian’s own voice. A voice I’d recognize anywhere.

  The other voice—the stronger voice—I didn’t recognize. It was deeper that Lilian’s, with a hint of a rasp.

  Selene Eventide’s voice.

  The dead vampire’s eyes darted about, her lips moving in time with Lilian’s.

  “Where is it?” Lilian said again. She sounded desperate. “Have to find it. Not much time. Not much time until they realize. Have to find it.”

  I realized I was standing there in stunned silence, my skin crawling as I watched the macabre spectacle. This wasn’t the first time I’d watched Lilian do this, but I didn’t think I’d ever get used to the experience.

  I shook myself out of my daze and crouched down in front of the severed head. Its eyes continued to roam, unseeing.

  “Selene Eventide,” I said.

  The head gave no sign that it had heard me.

  “Has to be here somewhere,” Lilian said. “Has to be. Where are you hiding it, you old bastard?”

  “Selene.” I inched closer. “What are you looking for?”

  The dead vampire’s mutterings paused, her eyes slowing their constant search. Lilian cocked her head to the side. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a needle on one of the dials set in Lilian’s machinery start wiggling back and forth.

  “Severance,” Lilian’s twin voices whispered. “Separation. Parting. Disjunction division dissolution divorce. She’ll be all right be all right be all right. Rending splitting breaking breaking breaking breaking.”

  The corpse’s eyes were blinking out of sync with each other. One of the vacuum tubes gave a loud pop. The inside filled with black smoke and the spark of electricity vanished.

  “What’s happening?” Lockhart said from behind me.

  I ignored her. “Selene. You have to focus. I can help you find what you’re looking for. But you have to help me. Tell me about Doyle’s Reach.”

  “D…Doyle. Reach. Reach. Reach in. Easy. Standing invitation. Just like I said. Got what he needs. Now just—”

  The dead vampire’s eyes widened suddenly, ceasing their endless search. Lilian’s head jerked to the side
.

  “One-tusk,” she said.

  A moment passed. The needle that’d been wiggling before now started darting back and forth faster and faster, like the beating of a panicked heart.

  “No!” Lilian screamed.

  The two voices howled in unison. Louder than thunder, louder than a fire alarm. I slapped my hands over my ears. It didn’t help.

  Eventide’s features grew sharp. Lips peeled back and fangs descended. Lilian began to jerk from the waist up, like she was dancing some horrible dance.

  And through the howling came another sound. A keening, pained cry, overlaid atop the two voices already leaving Lilian’s throat.

  “No no no no no,” a voice said. Softer than either Lilian’s or Eventide’s. Then the words slurred together and it became an agonized moan.

  “What was that?” Lockhart said.

  A vacuum tube shattered, raining glass into the air. The naked lightning arced for another half-second before it died as well. Another piece of machinery started smoking, and more dials started waving about wildly.

  “Mistress!” Lilian said in that third voice. Eventide’s lips didn’t move.

  “That’s not Selene,” Lockhart said. “That’s—”

  Another scream cut off the rest of her sentence. But this one didn’t come from Lilian. It didn’t come from the basement at all. It came from upstairs. It came from…

  “Rachel,” I whispered.

  It hit me like a baseball bat to the stomach. A sick feeling bubbled up in my gut.

  Why didn’t I realize? Why didn’t I think?

  “Shut it down!” I roared, clambering to my feet. I jerked a finger toward the far wall, where one of the thick cables snaking out of Lilian’s machines was plugged into an outlet. “Pull the plugs!”

  As I yelled, I ran for one of the other outlets on the other side of the room. By the time I reached it, Lockhart had already darted across the length of the basement, propelled by supernatural speed. She yanked out one cable while I pulled another. In a blur of movement, Lockhart flew to another wall and pulled the third plug.

  The high-pitched whine that had filled the room became a low hum and then disappeared altogether. The lights flickered one more time and then glowed steadily. Eventide’s face ceased its twitching.