“I’ll show you…”
Catherine’s skin was beginning to blacken and flake away, her fight draining.
With all my focus on her, my right cuff finally snapped! It took me a moment to even realize it had been freed, but once I did, I frantically removed the splinters from my other arm, giving me the strength to snap the left one too.
It took only a few more seconds to completely liberate myself. I tried the door first, which was locked. I used all my strength to rip it out of the frame, but tore the handle off while leaving the door securely in place.
I raced back to the window and shattered the glass. There were bars on the outside, but those I was successfully able to kick away from the exterior of the building. I climbed through the shards of glass and dropped from the second story window.
Catherine was nearly still now, her skin peeling from her body like embers. I scrambled to my feet and charged across the clearing, feeling the full heat of the sun on my back. Like the splinters, the rays weakened me, slowing me to human speed. But before I could reach her, the floating embers began to crumble—then her entire body began to collapse. Suddenly, she was reduced to ash, nothing more than a cloud of dust just dissipating in the midday breeze.
“No!” I yelled, still trying to get to her—to where she had been a moment ago. I stumbled in the grass just beneath the empty noose, tears streaming. My whole body was on fire, but in that moment, I didn’t care. I had no intention of moving from the spot where I’d fallen.
But the next thing I knew, I was being lifted off the ground and hauled back to the hospital. Frederick had run after me and thrown me over his shoulder; I’d been too weak and distraught to fight him.
“I didn’t give you permission to die yet,” he said as he carried me out of the sunlight. “We still have work to do, you and I. No more distractions. Your loved ones will never be safe as long as you keep the portal from me.”
Then I won’t love anyone again since I sure as hell will never take you to the portal, I vowed.
43
Frederick
The sight of the blue planet below my feet was glorious; there were no other words to describe it. And I didn’t even want to travel down there to witness the state of the world. It would be like flipping to the end of a book to find out how it ends. I didn’t want to know how my story ended, just that it would have purpose and impact. Oh, and what impact it would have!
Taylor had already left in the van with Susan, and I was ready to fly out of the True North Society compound—until I received the text that they were ready. Everything was going precisely as planned.
I made the first call. When no one answered, I made the second—then the third. On my fourth attempt, someone picked up the call.
“Who’s this?” a man asked.
“You first, since I know you’re not the person I called,” I said.
“The name’s Aaron. Your turn.”
“Hello, Aaron. This is Damien Galt. Would you please pass the phone to Matthew?”
“Ahh, the puppet master, watching from above. How is Matthew involved? Are you two—”
“Put Matthew on the phone,” I growled.
There was a short pause and I could hear a jumble of voices at the other end.
“Hello, Frederick,” It was Matthew.
“Good evening, old friend,” I said. “Did you find what you were looking for?”
“That depends…” he said.
“You wouldn’t believe the night I’ve had,” I told him.
“Frederick, what did you do?”
“It’s not what I did, but what I saw,” I said. “I always thought it would be you, but I got tired of waiting. Seventy years is long enough.”
“Where are you?”
“It was glorious, Matthew. Like you always described.” I was walking down the middle of the road now, the darkness of the night under the canopy of trees consuming and comforting. It didn’t matter who showed up now. No one could stop me—that much was clear. “Are you familiar with a man named Nathan Kinghorn?”
“No… you didn’t… you couldn’t have…”
“I’ve seen the future and it was everything I hoped it would be.”
“How did you—where’s Fiona?” Matthew demanded.
“She’s safe. At least she should be. You can rest assured I would never harm her. I promised her mother years ago that I’d keep her safe, and I will continue to do so.”
“Susan? Susan is working with you?”
“We are working together—as the power couple Damien Galt and Clementine Biel—to take the world into a new era, just like you described to me on that fateful night in 1949. It was destiny.
“And now, I no longer need you. But as a token of my appreciation, for what you’ve given me and for all the years we’ve shared, I’ll give you the chance to save yourself tonight. Leave my people where they lie. Leave now or your entire team will be slaughtered. At this very moment, you are entirely surrounded. We’ve obviously had our disagreements but I’ve never lied to you. Heed my warning and escape while you still can.
“Goodbye, Matthew. Tonight is the start of something truly wonderful.”
I promptly ended the call before Matthew could sneak in another word, then I saw the gate not far ahead and continued straight for it.
I’m not going to fly away like some thief in the night. I’m going to walk right out the front door.
“Who’s there?” one of the guards called into the darkness, his rifle rising to meet me.
“Just a lonely traveler looking to leave,” I called back. “I mean you no harm.”
“Put your hands up!” the guard commanded, now joined by his partner. Both had their rifles aimed in my direction.
I pushed up my left sleeve and raised my hands. “See, I’m a member. I have the tattoo.”
“But you’re a—do you feel it too?” The guards glanced at each other in confusion.
My tattoo was throwing them off. It was obvious they didn’t know quite what they were sensing.
When they glanced at each other again—each needing the other’s validation to decide how to handle me—I sped toward them and ripped the rifles right out of their weak hands.
“Call for—”
But that guard didn’t have a chance to finish his command before I bashed him in the head with the butt of one rifle, a blow that caved in his skull and covered me in blood.
The other guard turned to run toward the control station but I grabbed him before he’d made it halfway there. Clamping a hand over his mouth as he was about to scream, I sank my teeth into his throat. I only managed a quick taste before snapping his neck and dropping his limp body down onto the row of traffic spikes. Then the night was quiet again.
With overwhelming satisfaction, I proceeded through the gate and out of the once impenetrable True North Society compound.
Epilogue: Matthew
I didn’t see anyone outside when Syrithia and I left the garage in her pickup, but I knew they were out there. Frederick wasn’t one to bluff.
Everyone thought I was mad when I told them to leave the dying humans on the ground and leave as quickly as possible. And I needed to get to Fiona, fearing the worst.
“I’ll take you, so you can get home as soon as possible,” Syrithia said. “You saved my life once, remember? Now I’ll do what I can to return the favor.”
“Thank you,” I said, touched by her concern, and we both rushed toward her pickup.
We sped out of the garage and toward the freeway. As soon as we reached the on-ramp, Syrithia had her phone out and was speedily punching numbers on the touchscreen. “Hey, it’s me. I’ll be there in fifteen. Get the chopper ready,” she said and promptly hung up.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“Getting you home as quickly as possible. I’ve a chopper on standby downtown, then by flying, we can cut our travel time in half. All I need is a small clearing to let you down.”
“You can’t just
fly me home yourself?” I asked, feeling a little embarrassed by my own question.
Syrithia laughed. “I may be strong, but I’m not that strong. For that distance—I could probably manage a toddler. A full-grown man? I’m not carrying a full-grown man fifty miles.”
The conversation reminded me of one I’d had with Fiona, which felt like a lifetime ago now, when she’d asked about me running a similar distance with my supernatural speed. I should’ve known better and had to laugh at my own absurdity.
Ten minutes later, we were careening down one-way streets with skyscrapers looming on either side of us. She charged into an underground parking structure and we both jumped out at the valet.
“Why don’t you give it a wash while you’re at it,” she said, tossing the keys to an approaching attendant. Then we took the parking elevator to the lobby level and transferred to an attended high-speed tower elevator without a hitch.
All I could think about was Fiona as we rocketed to the 70th floor and rushed to the roof landing pad. The helicopter Syrithia had requested stood ready, its propellers already in full rotation. It was a small aircraft like the one we’d flown to reach Noctem City—an intimate two-seater.
Syrithia slapped the guy on the back who’d just vacated the cockpit, then climbed in and efficiently got herself situated. A minute later, we were airborne and soaring over the city.
“Just try to relax,” she said. “This will be a short flight.”
Once we left the downtown towers of Los Angeles, all the lights below began to blend together. I kept my gaze on the horizon, my mind racing on what kind of trouble Fiona could be in. I’d witnessed too many times what Frederick did to the people I loved. But supposedly this time was different. Susan had changed the equation—in more ways than one. I’d already known she was dangerous and didn’t know how to tell Fiona, but now it seemed I didn’t have to. Fiona was involved too… and I still didn’t know how deeply.
“Are we almost there?” I asked, growing impatient after a short while and hoping some of the lights below would start to look familiar. “Where are we right now?”
“Flying over Victorville,” Syrithia said.
“Victorville!” I yelled into the microphone. “Where the hell are you taking me?”
“To Noctem City. I need you to address the Order with everything we’ve learned this evening. I can’t present this kind of update on my own.”
“But I have to get to Fiona! She’s in danger or worse! You can’t do this to me!”
“I’m sorry, Matthew. This is more important.”
I violently shook my head. “Turn this thing around!”
“No,” she said, still calm.
“Turn this thing around or I’ll—”
“What—attack me? Do you know how to fly a helicopter? Or are you simply going to jump. It’s a long way down, even for an immortal. Unless you’ve fed from some kind of winged animal lately. Have you? If so, then you’ve got me and there’s nothing I can do to stop you.” She stopped and looked at me. “But if you had, then you wouldn’t have needed me to begin with—to drive or fly.”
“I saved your life,” I spat.
“And I’m eternally grateful,” Syrithia said.
“I’ll remember this,” I said.
“I’m sure you will. Good luck finding me again.” She sounded far too sure of herself and now had the hint of a smile on her face. “But I’m sure you’ll be up for the challenge.”
Then as fast as I’d ever seen an angel move, Syrithia swung an arm at my chest. I grabbed at her wrist, but was a fraction of a second too late. My chest exploded with a sharp pain, like I’d been shot. But I hadn’t been shot—I’d been stabbed. I had just enough time to glance down and see the wooden spike protruding from my chest before the world faded away.
“Good night, Matthew. Until we meet again.”
I was so hot when I awoke. Opening my eyes, it took me a moment to make sense of my surroundings. All I could see was open desert, and in the distance, the first rays of sunlight rising over the rocky hills.
I sat up, my head aching and my chest still burning, though the wound was nearly gone now. My shirt was caked with dried blood and dirt, while the wooden spike Syrithia had used on me was a few feet away, sticking out of the ground like a broken cross.
I looked up to the sound of an aircraft and saw what looked to be Syrithia’s helicopter flying away. She hadn’t left more than a few minutes ago.
So, you pulled out the stake and ran… I didn’t understand her motivation—for any of this. When had we stopped being on the same team?
I stood up and checked my pockets. I still had my wallet. I still had my cellphone but she’d taken the battery, so it was essentially useless. And my spare vial of sun serum was also gone. The dose I’d taken the day before would be out of my system.
The air was lightening quickly as the early morning rays shone over the eastern hills.
There was no cover for miles in any direction. I had no protection from the sun; I could start running now and hope to find something to shield me—or could use the stake to knock myself out and die peacefully. Syrithia had left it here to taunt me. Any other possible choices were dwindling by the second.
With everything I’d been through and thought I knew, I didn’t understand how it could be the end. But unless I thought of something soon, it was rapidly becoming the most likely outcome.
Ready for the next part of Fiona and Matthew’s story?
Hey Guys,
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Read more by Michael Pierce
THE ANGELES VAMPIRE SERIES
Angeles Vampire (Book 1)
Angeles Underground (Book 2)
Angeles Betrayal (Book 3)
Angeles Covenant (Book 4) - Pre-Order now!
THE ROYAL REPLICAS SERIES
Royal Replicas (Book 1)
Royal Captives (Book 2)
Royal Threat (Book 3)
Royal Return (Book 4)
THE LORNE FAMILY VAULT SERIES
Provex City (Book 1)
SUSY Asylum (Book 2)
Doria Falls (Book 3)
Archanum Manor (Book 4)
About the Author
Michael Pierce loves stories that are thrilling and unexpected, romantic and fantastical—addictive tales that will keep you reading long past the witching hour.
He currently lives in Southern California with his wife, kids, and two blood-thirsty chiweenies.
When he's not at the computer, he enjoys spending quality time with family, practicing yoga, playing guitar behind closed doors, and listening to audiobooks.
Connect with him online:
michae
lpierceauthor.com
[email protected]
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