by Ben Zackheim
“Still,” she said. “I have wondered if Skyler would change sides.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. He’s like five hundred years old. You know how many sides he’s been on? Only a matter of time before he slips into another role somewhere else.”
“Asshole,” I grumbled.
“Oh, sure, you’re above all that.”
“You think I’d turn on you?”
“If you thought I’d betray you first, sure. And I know you have your eye on that kind of thing. Don’t deny it.”
I didn’t. That was the main reason we made such a good team. We never lied to each other. We may have had secrets, sure, but once it was all out, it was all out.
“I knew it,” she said.
“Can you blame me?” I asked.
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” she asked, slapping down her glass on the armrest.
“Just that you have anger issues, Rebel,” I said with a shrug.
“Fuck you.”
“See?”
“You think I’d ever get angry enough to betray you?”
“Probably not,” I said.
“You are an asshole, Kane Arkwright,” she said, and stormed off. After she took the bottle of whiskey.
And the Wad.
I could have called her on it and asked her to give it back. But she probably would have ignored me.
We had three days at sea to tolerate each other and, frankly, by the time we spotted a slim green line on the blue horizon I was more annoyed by Rebel than the vampire. He’d taken his newfound psychological advantage over me and gone to sleep for the entire trip. Running out the clock like vampires love to do. On the third morning, I heard him wake up and feed on one of his creepy little flesh sacks.
Rebel, on the other hand, was not a seafaring woman. Her way of taking it out on the world couldn’t be something normal like puking all over the place and bitching about it. No, she held it all back and fumed, sweating on the coldest nights and growling when I dared get anywhere in her field of view. I managed to get her to smile once when I chucked whiskey from the gut all over one of the hot tubs. That’s just her kind of humor I guess.
I think when the trip started I was hoping for some time to relax. Ridiculous idea, with everything else going on. But I wanted to catch some sun, check my weapons, read some books, maybe look for whales or sharks. But I found myself mostly looking out at the ocean and waiting for trouble.
I knew something was going to happen. I wanted to be ready for it when it did. I didn’t know if the trouble would come from Fox, from the ocean, from the sky. But wherever we were looking, I was pretty damn sure trouble would come from the other direction. That’s the creepy feeling our adversaries were giving me.
They knew where we were.
They wanted the sword.
And they would go for it when we least expected.
Chapter 26
As the sun went down and land filled the horizon, Fox emerged on the deck.
He wore the same black on black on black under black outfit.
“You look ready for the beach,” I said.
“I’ll take care of business at the bank and be back within an hour.”
“What are you doing there?” I asked.
“I can’t tell you,” he muttered, adjusting his cuffs. “Orders.”
“I’m really glad we trust each other,” I said.
He reached his hand out. “I need the sword.”
“Bite me,” I said. One of his eyebrows shot up. “No, not literally, you animal.”
“There is zero chance we let you take the sword, vampire,” Rebel said.
I threw on my jacket and secured my Glocks. “We’re going with you.”
Fox crossed his arms and shook his head. “They won’t allow humans in a vampire bank.”
“There’s a first time for everything,” Rebel said, shrugging. “We’ll be trailblazers! I’ve always wanted to blaze a trail.”
We could do a lot of long-term damage if I knew where vamps deposited their loot. “We’re going with you.”
He jumped over my head and kept walking. “We’re not doing anything,” he yelled over his shoulder. “I’m going alone.”
“Then the deal’s off,” I shot back.
He stopped and turned. “What deal? There’s no deal here. You either follow my plan or you lose the sword and probably die.”
“Who’s going to kill me?” I said, standing up to face him. “You?”
“I hope not. But if you keep defying me, yes, maybe me.”
“Defy…” I turned to Rebel. “Did you hear that? He said I’m defying him! When, exactly, did you take over, asshole? We’re not your slaves.”
Fox took a few steps toward me. His pale skin flooded to an off-white. The kind of designer-white with a name like Mushroom Bisque that everyone paints their living rooms.
I was witnessing a vampire’s cheeks flushing. The undead dick was as pissed as me.
Rebel stepped between us. “That’s a good idea, Kane. Why don’t we go as your slaves, Ali Baba?”
Fox broke his glare from me, and shifted it to Rebel, “What do you mean, slaves, woman? Vampires don’t keep slaves.” Her nicknames for him didn’t get a rise out of him anymore.
“You know what I mean, Alison,” she said, rolling her eyes. “Sex slaves, vampdom pets, whatever. We do your bidding. We’re yours, and you won’t let us out of your sight because we, I don’t know…” She looked at me for ideas.
I threw my hands up. “I have nothing to do with this! This is your dark fantasy, not mine.”
“Thanks Kane. That’s really helpful. Maybe I could just let the two of you kill each other and walk away with everything. I like this boat.”
I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, you were clearly born for ocean living, Rebel. You could dry-wretch for the rest of your life in luxury.”
“Maybe she has a point,” Fox said. “I could claim you both as under my protection.”
“Which means sex slave in vampire-ese?” I asked.
“You could say that,” he answered.
“It’s settled then!” Rebel hollered, slapping our backs. “You’re our sugar daddy with fangs! I like this plan!”
She strutted off, smiling.
Fox and I just walked away from each other.
When we finally arrived at Kauai, we pulled into the dock — an isolated, old thing that stuck out in the water like it wanted to get away from the island and put an end to its misery. Rebel reached the beach and kissed the sand. She was making an ass of herself, but I totally understood.
The beach was empty of people. I’d expected to pull up to a teeming seaside with drunk tourists and bonfires everywhere, but this beach was private.
Fox bypassed the dock and leaped straight from the yacht to land. A thirty yard jump. It took our breath away. That was the one, single reason I’d ever considered a vampire’s life for myself. I’ve always wanted to fly. I heard that it took a lot out of them when they did it. Which meant Fox pulled his leaping move to impress us.
It didn’t work on me. But it sure as hell worked on Rebel, if her wide, sparkling eyes were any indication. I was going to keep a close eye on the two of them. I wasn’t jealous. I just wanted to make sure Rebel didn’t do anything stupid after one too many drinks.
Plus, he couldn’t be trusted with my best friend.
Plus, I was jealous.
“Nice beach,” Rebel said.
“Follow me,” Fox cut in. His tone was sharp. “Once we step out of the tide’s end you must walk in my footsteps. Don’t stray. Not even an inch.”
“You have the beach rigged?” I asked.
“I’m not the one who did it. But, yes. Something like that.”
Rebel shrugged and walked ahead, jumping into Fox’s footprints. She started to make it a dance, leaping sideways and holding her arms out like a ballerina. She lost her footing a bit and her toe must have slipped outside a footprint because the sand started to
shift around her.
It was as if the beach was emptying like a large hourglass. I had no idea where the sand was sliding but within seconds we were all standing on the tops of steel beams. Fifty feet down was a massive metal bowl made of concave plates. The rivets glowed in the moonlight like tiny spotlights. But they didn’t shine as bright as the spikes that pointed up at us, beckoning to drink our guts.
Fox said nothing. He glared over his shoulder with an expression of annoyance and told-you-so-ness.
Rebel and I stood absolutely still.
“No more dancing,” I said with my arms stretched wide for balance. The beam was stable, but it was only 8 inches wide.
“Agreed,” she whispered, eyes wide.
We took every step as if our lives depended on it because, well…
We made it across without any more incidents. When I was safe on solid ground I watched as the sand filled back up in the massive beach bowl. The nasty looking spikes looked like monsters, disappointed that their meal had escaped.
“Where the hell are you taking us?” I asked.
“Like I said. To the bank.”
“Are those spikes in the Terms of Service agreement?” Rebel asked.
She was being sarcastic, but Fox answered, “No, but they’re part of the Privacy Terms.”
We hiked up the hill of wild grass to the tropical forest ahead of us. The tree cover was intense. The moonlight was blocked by the thick, lush leaves. Slices of blue light faintly drew a path forward. Fox followed it. I decided it was probably best if I followed it too.
Precisely.
Down to the footstep’s toe tips.
“Whatever you do…” Fox started to say, as screeches rose from the darkness around us.
I pulled out my Glock.
“WHATEVER YOU DO, DON’T PULL A WEAPON, DAMMIT!” Fox finished.
“Now you tell us!” I yelled back. Not as loudly. What could I do? When I walk into a dark area after just escaping death by spike-up-butt, and following a vampire, well, pulling out the Glocks is kind of automatic.
Suddenly, the slashes of moonlight were interrupted by movement above us. I couldn’t make out what they were but I could feel their rage.
And I could feel them coming for us.
Rebel pulled out her gun, too. “What the hell is that noise, Fox?”
“Bats,” he said. He frowned at me, his face lit by a fluttering dash of moon blue glow. “Vampire bats.”
Chapter 27
One of the first things we learned in Spirit was when vampires and vampire bats are in the same area, they both get much more dangerous.
The story goes, vampires connected with the creatures like a shepherd takes to dogs. They made them into pets over hundreds of years. Not to domesticate them — not in the traditional sense, at least. Instead, they made the flying beasts savage, bloodthirsty and stronger. When the undead went to sleep a thousand years before, the vampire bat went back to just being a bat. But since the vamps’ return, the bats earned the nickname Bat Hounds for their sharp teeth and claws. Of course, they had no appetite for vampire flesh.
Human meat was the only thing they hungered for.
Fox tore off his button-up shirt and threw it at Rebel. He handed me his long jacket. “Wear this! Quickly!” He pulled at the waist of his pants and tore them off in one tug. He ripped them in half and slapped us in the faces with the pieces.
So yeah, he threw us his Goth outfit until he was naked.
The sound of the bats’ horrible high-pitched shriek were now mixed with flapping wing sounds.
They were over us, circling down.
I aimed my Glocks at the sky. I had no chance of taking out the horde of bats descending on us, but I wasn’t going to just stand there. “What the hell are you doing, vampire?”
“I said, wear this, idiot!” He grabbed the pieces of pants and draped them around our waists like makeshift belts, tucking them into our pants.
Then he bit into his wrist’s artery and shot the gushing blood at us, dousing us in a sheet of red.
I flinched and accidentally sucked a little down the gullet. I hacked it up and almost hurled, but Fox covered both of our mouths. He covered mine with the hand that was streaming blood, of course.
The bats zipped over us in circles. As our bodies were covered in vampire scent, the bats’ circles lost their pattern. They were trying to pick up on our scent but Fox’s clothes and blood were hiding it from them. I realized that Rebel was being awfully quiet through all of this.
She was too busy ogling Fox’s naked body to protest the blood steaming down her face.
As the bats gave up and flew back into the darkness, she whispered, “Is that real?” I’m not sure who she was asking but I wasn’t going to answer for her.
“Come,” Fox said, reaching out his hand.
“I think I did,” Rebel muttered.
He marched up the path, wrapping his wrist in a bandage made from a bloody sock.
We wove our way through the slim path, wrapped in complete darkness. I knew we were going up, but only because of the ache in my legs and lungs. My brain had to readjust at times to put one foot in front of the other. I guess you could call it discombobulating, but it was more like I’d been fed several hashish brownies. I assumed it was the effect of the vampire blood I’d just drunk.
“How the hell are we going to get into the bank now?” I asked. “We look like vampire dessert and you’re…”
“Amazing,” Rebel cut in.
“Okay, enough of that, Rebel,” I said, with a little more venom than intended.
“It’s a vampire bank, Kane,” Fox answered. “They see all kinds of things in there.”
I gripped my firearms tight, which wasn’t easy. Blood is slippery. “If this is a trap you’re going to find your naked ass in a pinch.”
We all let that one go. It was a poor choice of words.
“It’s no trap,” he said. “We’re almost there.”
And just then, a light appeared ahead of us. It was a flame. A torch. It flickered through the dark forest like a beacon, beckoning for us to follow. It gave me comfort to see something that looked real, familiar. But it scared the crap out of me that I had no idea what the hell was going on.
Fox stopped. “There it is,” he whispered. “The entrance. Now listen to me you two. Do not speak. Do you understand?”
“That’ll be tough for Kane, but sure, yeah, no problem,” Rebel said. I could hear the smile in her voice.
“It’s important that you appear scared, even if you aren’t. The fear will draw their attention. It will make them lazy. These are not our friends. They’re not our enemies, but they could be if they come to their senses enough to make trouble. It’s up to you to be meek and human and make them forget their duties.”
“So we need to get their attention to not get their attention,” I said.
The distant flame lit Rebel’s face a bit as she turned to face me. She smirked. “I think he’s saying we need to be afraid of not being afraid enough.”
I smiled back. “Got it.”
“You two can take your sass to your graves,” Fox growled as he started walking again. “This is your doing, Arkwright. Don’t say I didn’t warn you. You’d better hope you have enough blood on your face to avoid being recognized.”
Good point. Rebel and I spent a few seconds rubbing the thick stuff around each others’ faces. Just to be sure.
Once we passed the torch, several more lit up on their own up ahead. I noticed that the flickering light revealed a green wall.
And the wall had a cave.
And the cave had a door. A wooden door. Two vampires stood on either side, glaring at us. The expression on their faces didn’t change, even as Fox walked up to them buck-naked.
He said something softly to them and they stood aside. The hunger in their eyes was clear as Rebel and I passed. Their eyes drifted over me and settled on Rebel. They especially liked the cut of my partner’s jib.
I al
most said something. I pretended to be afraid instead. Just like Fox told me.
“Don’t hurt us,” I said meekly, with a slight sob. “I’m scared of you.” Both Fox and Rebel glared at me over their shoulders. I never said I was a fucking actor.
The doors in the cave opened wide for us.
My irritation passed. Curiosity took over.
What did a vampire bank look like?
Chapter 28
The ceiling of the ‘bank’ was just over six feet tall. It was like walking into a crappy Manhattan studio apartment. I ducked down so I wouldn’t hit my head.
“This is the story,” Fox muttered over his shoulder as we shuffled deeper into the cave. “I found you on the beach. I killed another member of your party which is why we’re covered in blood. I’ve claimed you, which means they don’t think you’ll make it through tonight. If they suspect anything they’ll kill you in a second. Don’t give them a reason.”
“What are you two looking at me for?” I asked a bit too loudly.
The long room was lit by glowing stones in the wall. I’d never seen anything like them before, but I wanted one. The light flickered inside as if the rocks confined power inside their core. I got so distracted by the gleaming beauty that I bumped into our naked partner. Fox had stopped in his tracks. He held his arm out to stop me.
I looked down. We were perched on top of a cavern cliff.
Below us, about two hundred feet down, was a circular room filled with rows of tables, covered in objects. Hundred of torches lit the space. My eye immediately went to a huge box of glistening things that sat on the end of each row. The vampire bankers looked like bugs far below us, passing shiny raindrops down the table. My best guess was they were assessing treasures and cataloging them.
My heart raced.
I may have even licked my lips.
This was a mother lode for a vampire treasure hunter like me.
We passed a few dozen vampires as we walked down the wide steps carved into the stone. The hemogoblins didn’t give us a second look. Even Fox’s bared body didn’t catch their busy eyes.