The Book of the Fang

by Eric Asher

  A low wrought-iron fence flanked the right side of the yard, while the left was wide open. Aged stairs led through a small gate and a well-kept brick path. The home itself was mostly red brick, with only a slight slant to the roof. Chimneys rose from both sides of the home, and eight windows adorned the face. A white front door sat below a second-story deck, framed by a simple white fence. Anything that wasn’t glass or brick had been painted white.

  “You think he’s here?” Sam asked. “Maybe the rune is pointing me to the cale, instead?”

  Cizin frowned. “Luna and I will scout the grounds. We’ll know soon enough if he’s here.”

  Luna hopped over the seat and followed Cizin out the side door.

  “Go with them,” Vicky whispered to Jasper. The gray furball slithered out the closing door, and stayed close on Luna’s heels.

  Sam rolled the window down as they watched the two death bats circle the house, pausing at one of the windows and whispering to each other. Jasper headed toward the pile of firewood, only to hurry back to Luna’s side.

  Cizin and Luna followed the furball to the side of the house, where they crouched and pointed to something in the mud. Luna shook her head, and the trio started back to the SUV.

  “Nothing?” Vik asked when they climbed back in.

  “Something was here,” Cizin said. “And not long ago. My senses may be dulled from being stuffed in the car with you all.”

  “I’m not sure if I should be offended by that,” Sam said.

  Cizin grinned. “A vampire was here. I just don’t know if it was Vassili.”

  Dominic crossed his arms. “I doubt Newtonia is a hub for the undead. Chances are good it was Vassili.”

  Vik put the SUV in gear and continued on to the next street. The homes were quiet here, and Sam didn’t see lights on in any of the houses. She wasn’t sure if no one was awake yet, which seemed unlikely, or if the early sunlight was enough for them.

  “We can spread out,” Vicky said.

  “Split up?” Sam said. “Are you looking to die today? I don’t care if it’s high noon. None of us needs to be facing Vassili alone.”

  Jasper purred on the seat between Cizin and Sam as Luna settled back by Vicky.

  “He’ll stay away from the battlefield,” Vik said. “If enough people died here, Vassili will have no interest in being near gravemakers.”

  Sam frowned, trying to remember how many casualties there’d been at Newtonia. The battles overlapped in her mind. “Three or four hundred, I think.”

  “That would be enough.”

  “There isn’t much outside of the battlefield, themselves,” Cizin said. “They spread north and south of here, with only a few areas that did not see bloodshed.”

  Sam groaned. “The old cemetery.”

  Dominic and Vik exchanged a look. The enforcer spoke first. “That sounds like Vassili. Let’s try there.”

  Vik turned the SUV around on the narrow road after about fifteen tries. Sam bit her tongue to keep her sarcasm in check.

  She glanced down at her phone, following the GPS. “Turn right at the next street.” As soon as they turned, Sam felt the pull on her skin, dragging them down the road.

  Vik followed her directions as they passed by a few small homes before the road appeared to end.

  “More gravel,” Vicky said.

  “I think that might be someone’s yard.” Sam squinted at the tree line.

  “Regardless, it does appear the gravel road continues into the woods.” Vik pulled forward, keeping a slow pace as they made their way off the pavement and onto the gravel.

  The forest closed in around them, casting the early morning light into a dim shadow of itself. Sam didn’t need to ask when they reached the cemetery. Her skin crawled before the aluminum gate came into view, and the first headstones showed up ahead of them.

  Vik turned off the SUV, and they piled out, lining up before the gates. Huge trees peppered the old graveyard, casting shadows that looked like the twisted arms of a gravemaker reaching out to take them. It was an unsettling sight, and Sam wanted nothing more but to leave that place.

  Cizin looked across the field at the aged and worn headstones. “Sometimes I wonder if we should have joined the fight in Falias. This doesn’t feel like the real fight.”

  Sam shook her head. “This is the last piece, Cizin. We get Damian back, and then you’ll have your fight. And I doubt you’ll want it, once it begins.”

  Luna’s nostrils flared, and she hopped over the fence into the cemetery. “Vampires, definitely vampires. But I can’t track it. Something’s interfering with my nose.”

  “It’s the souls,” Cizin said.

  Luna cast a skeptical look over her shoulder. “Souls don’t smell.”

  Cizin inclined his head. “But the tragedies that bound them to this place do. Death is all around us here, and more than one vampire has visited this graveyard.”

  Sam looked down at Jasper. “How about you? Can you smell Vassili?”

  Jasper chittered and rolled up closer to the gate before circling back to Sam’s feet. His chitter grew lower in volume, and lost some of its excitement.

  Vik frowned and looked around the group. “I do not like to say this, but we need to split up.”

  Dominic nodded. “We’re close enough it’s not like truly parting ways. Do not worry.”

  Sam pursed her lips and gave Dominic a slow nod. “Don’t worry about the ancient murdering vampire. Got it.”

  Vicky grinned up at Sam. Sam watched as Jasper followed Vicky along the edge of the fence, and the pair disappeared behind the wide trunk of an old oak.

  “Come, Luna,” Cizin said. “Stay low to the ground. Vassili may be watching the skies.”

  Sam took a deep breath and walked with Dominic and Vik for a short time. They reached a headstone flat against the ground before they split up, each taking their own path.

  If Vassili was in that graveyard, they’d find him. But Sam wasn’t sure what would be waiting for them if they did.

  CHAPTER NINE

  Sam could feel the unease in the earth all around her. There was a peace in cemeteries, one the vampires had more of a connection to than most. But Sam had found, in the older places—those that had been touched by blood and fighting—there was always a ripple of anxiety.

  At the moment, she couldn’t tell if that anxiety was coming from the dead, or if it was entirely from her apprehension as she slid through the shadows and watched her allies across the fields.

  She was more concerned that the blood rune’s pull felt as though it was yanking her in all directions at once. And she had no idea what that meant.

  While most of them were still within line of sight, the shadows of the early morning would swallow them in an instant, only to have them reappear a few steps later. If something struck out at them with the speed of a vampire, the damage that could be done in those few short steps could be immense.

  An owl hooted above Sam, and she glanced up in time to see it take flight, its wingspan one that could have been mistaken for a distant dragon at the right angle. She returned her focus to the ground, looking for any disturbed earth around the graves, or even a hidden passage at the base of the trees, like the nigh behind’s lair.

  The grounds had been well kept, most of the leaves raked up into small piles at the edge of the forest. Whoever the caretakers were here, they kept the ground neat and the headstones restored. Some of the aged stones were no longer legible, but a great many were. Sam didn’t know the names, but she could feel her flesh crawl when she walked over an unmarked grave.

  Something scampered up the tree at her side, larger than a squirrel, but too quick for her to get a good look at it. She continued on, leaving the cemetery and stepping into the woods themselves. Sam felt more exposed there, with every tree only a step away from the next, than she had in the open fields of the cemetery.

  The stone monuments might not have provided much shelter, but sometimes it was better to see what was coming
. It wouldn’t have helped. Sam didn’t so much as glimpse what struck her. She only felt the impact across her chest as if a car had run her over.

  The tree she cracked her back against felt soft in comparison. If she’d been human, she wouldn’t have gotten back up. But she lunged to the side as a shadow blurred across the forest floor—a shadow with a streak of white on its head.

  “Here!” Sam shouted. She meant to say more, but the claw that closed around her neck and bent her head back prevented any sound.

  “Be silent girl, da?”

  Sam’s lips curled into a snarl, and a wide-eyed Vassili leaned away from the rage on her face. It shifted his balance just enough that she was able to lash out with her right leg and hook the back of his knee. As fast as he fell, he vanished, only to reappear on the other side of her. Even weakened by the sun, Vassili’s strength was formidable, and his speed was nearly unmatched.

  A huge black shadow loomed at the edge of the woods, and Jasper’s roar shook the earth beneath Sam’s feet. But the trees were too crowded together for the dragon, and his wings caught on limbs as he tried to charge through, some of the branches so thick that they held him back.

  Luna dropped from above, her wings pulled taut, ready to sever whatever piece of Vassili she could get a hold of. But the ancient vampire smiled and delivered a quick roundhouse kick, sending Luna to crash into the underbrush with a squeal.

  “We’re just here for the cale from the Shadowed Lands. Tell us where it is!”

  Vassili paused at Sam’s words.

  “You owe me that!”

  “I owe you nothing.” He hopped back a half step as Dominic launched himself into the air, his claws grazing the front of Vassili’s vest. But Dominic didn’t move by himself. Vik tackled Vassili from behind, and the two rolled across the earth, churning up dirt and blood and bark.

  Vassili kicked out of Vik’s hold, spinning the vampire around just in time to catch a kick from Dominic across his ribs. Vik grunted and fell, and Vassili landed a brutal kick to the vampire lord’s head. Vik went still, but Dominic managed to get his claws into Vassili’s leg. He picked up the older vampire and slammed him into the ground.

  Dominic lashed out with his claws, but Vassili slipped his grip, only to back into Cizin, who landed a glancing blow on the vampire’s back. Vassili growled and leapt into the trees, taking to the branches where he moved like a white shadow.

  Cizin followed, and Sam didn’t miss the smile that crossed Vassili’s face as he twisted and struck Cizin across the neck with a savage elbow. A flurry of strikes tore through Cizin’s wings and the death bat crashed through a branch and hit the ground in a heap.

  Luna dove into the fray, grabbing Cizin and dragging him away, closer to Vik.

  Two brilliant red blades exploded behind Vassili. The vampire was fast, dodging the first of Vicky’s blows as she leapt off Jasper’s back in the treetops. He turned to strike out at her, but she’d planned ahead. Her second blade sliced through the tree branch she stood upon, and as fast as the vampire might have been, gravity was faster.

  Vassili grabbed his side as he landed awkwardly on an arched tree root, only to be clubbed by the falling branch, and Sam didn’t miss her chance. She exploded into action, striking at him from behind, folding his knee over until she heard a grisly pop. The vampire screamed and fell to the earth, trying to claw his way across the ground before Sam grabbed his left arm and snapped it at the elbow. The right arm followed, and she turned him over and stared into his eyes, then stomped on his last good knee.

  “The cale!”

  Vassili snapped his arm forward, and Sam heard the elbow crunch back together as the strike came for her face. But before it reached her, Sam saw the sword from the corner of her eye, saw Jasper’s looming gray form snap down to the width of a blade, and Vicky’s arm lashed forward, striking through Vassili’s wrist with a brilliant blue flame.

  The vampire froze, staring at the stump where his hand had been. That was all the hesitation Sam needed. She broke his legs in two more places and straddled the vampire’s chest.

  He grunted and flopped his head onto the ground. “You’re learning.”

  There was pride in his voice, and it turned Sam’s stomach. “I need the cale from the Shadowed Lands. Tell me where it is or I’ll start cutting tiny pieces off you until you do.”

  Vassili’s smile slipped a hair. “What use do you have with a coin?”

  “Why are you here?” Sam had seen Zola use rapid changes in questions to catch people off guard. She didn’t know if it would work with the vampire, but she’d rather try that than literarily cut him into pieces. That would be too much effort.

  Vassili didn’t respond.

  “We found your bolt-hole at Wilson’s Creek. Everything you had hidden there is ours now. Why are you here?” When he still failed to respond, Sam punched him in the chest, felt his ribs break beneath her strike, and she felt a grim satisfaction when blood came up with a cough.

  “Take the books back to the archives. They should be together.”

  Sam blew out a breath and closed her eyes for a moment. Her anger was telling her to kill the vampire and let it be. But she needed the cale. More than anything, she needed that damn coin.

  “Samantha. I never betrayed you.” The words were so calm, so matter of fact, so infuriating.

  Sam’s eyes flashed open, her grip tightening on the vampire. “You betrayed every one of us in our Pit. You betrayed Damian, Zola, all of the allies you swore to protect. You got us killed even if it wasn’t by your own hand. Your actions killed us.”

  “Different recollections, da?”

  Sam ground her teeth together and her fangs flicked forward with the flood of rage.

  “Ah, Samantha. You already have cale.” Vassili laughed, his teeth and fangs covered in his own blood. “It’s always been hidden at Wilson’s Creek. But I doubt you get back before they come.”

  “Before who?” Sam glanced to the side when a shadow appeared in her peripheral vision. Dominic stood there, gently testing his ribs.

  “Some things are older than vampires,” Vassili said. “Things have come into this world. Things you cannot fight.”

  “What the hell is he talking about?” Vicky asked from just behind Sam.

  Vassili wheezed. “They are coming, Samantha. They are coming.”

  Sam squeezed the dagger beneath her jacket so hard she thought the steel might distend. “Who?”

  “Pinkerton … Pinkerton was never alone. Led by Ezekiel, da? A puppet of Nudd. But what you fail to understand is that there are powers beyond Nudd. They come. You cannot stop them. Everything you know, you love, will fall. Run. It is all you have now.”

  Vassili coughed, and a bubble of blood rose from his mouth before popping and dripping down the side of his face.

  Sam unsheathed the splendorum mortem. “For your betrayal.”

  Vassili’s eyes widened for a split second before Sam slammed the dagger into his chest. His body stilled immediately, shut down by the death magic inside the dagger, a blade with the power to slay an immortal.

  “Fuck.” Dominic rubbed at his chest.

  “I thought you gave that back to Zola,” Vicky said, watching as Sam pulled the dagger from Vassili’s chest.

  “I did. She gave it back to me.” Sam wiped the blood off onto Vassili’s vest before sheathing the dagger beneath her jacket.

  “If only we could get close enough to Nudd to use it,” Dominic said, grunting as he rolled over and cradled his arm.

  “That was too close.” Sam looked at Vik’s barely moving form. Luna cradled Cizin. The older death bat’s wings were torn and bloodied. Even as she watched, he slowly shifted back into his human form. But his expression told her the pain hadn’t gone away. She looked at Vassili one last time. “Leave him to rot.”

  No one argued.

  “What now?” Luna asked, leaning her forehead against Cizin’s.

  Sam grimaced as the pull from the blood rune became a pe
rsistent thing, pulling her toward the northeast. “We go back to Wilson’s Creek.”

  CHAPTER TEN

  Sam drove. Dominic’s ribs were still healing, and likely would be until he fed. Vik woke up in earnest by the time they reached the highway again. Sam had been more worried about him than she admitted, and it was a great relief to see his dazed face in the rearview mirror.

  “How long to heal that wing?” Sam asked, looking at Cizin in the rearview.

  “Longer than I’d like. I won’t be flying anytime soon. Or at least until we can find a fairy.”

  Sam nodded. “After Wilson’s Creek, we’ll head back to Rivercene. Someone will be there. If not the fairies, maybe one of the water witches.”

  Dominic slid a cooler out of the console of the SUV and passed it to Vik. “I told you we might need them.”

  Vik grunted and pulled a blood bag out of the cooler. He handed a pair to Luna and Cizin, who didn’t protest. Dominic pulled the cap off another and handed it to Sam. She pressed it to her lips and squeezed, feeling the slow cold flow down her throat. It was better warm, but cold was better than spoiled.

  “Well, I feel left out,” Vicky said.

  Luna grinned and offered her a sip of blood.

  Vicky shook her head violently. “I was kidding. Gross.”

  Luna bent down behind the seat and came back up with a plastic barrel filled with cheese balls. “Try some of these instead. Or we have some of Frank’s death jerky.”

  Dominic turned in his seat and winced. “There should be some soda and water in the drawers beneath your seat.”

  Vicky’s face disappeared in the mirror as she rummaged through the drawer. She popped back up a moment later, and the hiss of a bottle of soda filled the SUV.

  Sam turned her attention back to the road. “What do you think Vassili meant by ‘they are coming’?”

  For a short time, nothing but the sound of vampires slurping on blood bags filled the car, punctuated by the occasional crunch of a cheese ball. It was Vik who broke the silence.