by N M Thorn
Yaroslav got up, leaving Gunz sprawled on the floor, but didn’t sit down. “I’ve been training with this man for a week, master,” started Yaroslav. “While I can see that he is a skilled fighter, his controller drains too much of his strength. He is less than a human hunter. Too slow, too weak, and getting hurt too easy. Besides, he’s always in pain. The gray stones magic stops him from healing. As a sparring partner, he is useless to me.”
“I can assign a different sparring partner to you, Alucard, if that’s what you want,” suggested Mr. Novak with an indifferent flick of his wrist.
“No, I like him. I want to keep him, if you don’t mind, master.” Yaroslav laughed icily. “It’s like a punching bag and all you can eat buffet in one tiny human body.”
“Then what do you want me to do?” asked Mr. Novak, narrowing his eyes at Yaroslav.
“The event,” replied Yaroslav. He put his hands on the back of the chair, leaning forward slightly. “You can’t let me fight this man with his controller set to maximum.”
“And why not? I believe he needs a lesson in humility and serious punishment.” Mr. Novak pulled up slightly, leaning over the desk and Gunz met his mocking gaze without blinking.
“He’s getting punished enough in training. It’s not that,” continued Yaroslav, shaking his head. “I’m worried that a match like this will make the guests of the event a little upset. They’re coming there to see me fighting a worthy opponent, hoping that the fight will last longer than thirty seconds.”
“Oh,” muttered Mr. Novak, rubbing his forehead. “You’re right. In my desire to punish him, I forgot about it.” He opened one of the drawers in his desk and pulled a controller out. Then he got up and approached Gunz, staring down at him with disdain, his lips pursed.
“You have to release his magic at least a little, master,” said Yaroslav, approaching him.
“Fine.”
Novak pressed a button on the controller and Gunz sucked in a ragged breath, feeling the fire slowly spread through his body. It wasn’t strong, but it made him feel better, taking the edge off the pain, slowly restoring his physical strength.
“I gave him some access to his magic. It’s not a lot, but it should be sufficient for him to gain some strength and perform better at the event. As far as self-healing, that wouldn’t be enough,” said Mr. Novak, throwing the controller back on his desk. “Now, Alucard, be a good boy and heal him. He looks like he’s about to cross the veil and I can’t afford losing captive fighters.”
Gunz stiffened, throwing a desperate glance at Yaroslav.
“Master, but I just fed on him. If I give him my blood now, it will—,” Yaroslav started to say, but Mr. Novak raised his hand, frowning.
“Are you questioning your master, Alucard? Do as you’ve been told, or do I need to control you?” he seethed, pushing Yaroslav toward Gunz. “Heal him! I know it will create a psychic link between the two of you and I don’t give a damn. I want to see him healed and ready to fight. And if he gets hurt during training, you will heal him again. Am I clear, vampire??”
“Yes, master,” whispered Yaroslav. Lowering down to his knees next to Gunz, he bit his wrist. A thick dark liquid trickled down his arm, dropping on Gunz’s chest.
“No, please,” croaked Gunz, but Yaroslav frowned and shook his head slightly.
“Drink,” he ordered, pressing his bleeding wrist to Gunz’s lips.
The smell of the vampire’s blood invaded his senses and he turned his head away, smearing the dark liquid over his face. Yaroslav seized his hair and jerked his head back. He put his bleeding wrist back to Gunz’s lips again and pressed down.
“Drink before my wound heals,” he hissed, pulling on Gunz’s hair and then quietly mouthed, “Please…”
Gunz cracked his lips open, allowing a few thick drops to slip into his mouth. It wasn’t as disgusting as he imagined it would be. On the contrary, it had a sweet flavor to it and as soon as he swallowed the blood, the pain started to fade away. He felt stronger and better than he had in days. He raised his hands and seized Yaroslav’s arm, taking more of his blood. The swelling started to go down and he was able to open his left eye again.
After a moment, Yaroslav pulled away from him. Gunz got up, feeling recharged and strangely energized. Nothing hurt, and most importantly, he had at least some of his fire back. George Novak was looking at him, his arms crossed, an arrogant expression on his face.
“So, Gunz, how is your stay so far?” he asked.
“I’m enjoying it immensely,” replied Gunz calmly, meeting his eyes with a deadpan expression. “Wouldn’t change it for the world.”
“Nothing is a lesson to you, boy,” growled Mr. Novak, his pupils dilating, coloring his eyes black. He turned his sinister eyes with fluctuating pupils to Yaroslav and the vampire recoiled under his gaze, wrapping his arms around his head. “Alucard, are you still hungry?”
“No, master,” replied Yaroslav, his voice hoarse, and lowered his arms. “I just fed.”
“Too bad, I would love to see him squirming while you’re draining his blood to the last drop. Oh well. Next time around,” exhaled Mr. Novak, his eyes returning to their normal state. “If there is nothing else you wanted to discuss, take him out of my sight. I don’t want to see him until the event next week. And when you’re in the cage, I’ll make sure you don’t hold back, Alucard.” Mr. Novak walked around the desk and dropped into his chair. “You may leave now.”
Yaroslav bowed, then grabbed Gunz by the back of his neck and pushed him out of the office.
As soon as they walked into their room, Gunz stopped. The stress of this endless day and the severity of everything that had just happened finally caught up with him. He leaned back, resting his back against the door and slowly slid down to the floor, closing his eyes tiredly. Yaroslav sat down by his side, resting his arms atop his bent knees.
“Should I be asking you?”
“No,” Gunz cut him off. “Don’t ask anything.”
“I didn’t know that would happen.”
“I know. I’m not blaming you.”
“I’m sorry—”
“Don’t apologize. You have nothing to apologize for.”
“I do.”
They both fell silent, sitting on the floor, deep in their own thoughts. A few minutes later, Gunz opened his eyes and carefully ran his fingers over the tattoo on his shoulder, sending a tiny amount of his fire magic through it.
“Mishka, can you come out now?” he asked in a soft whisper.
With a light pop the wyvern materialized in front of him. Yaroslav hissed and hopped to his feet.
“Slavik, relax,” said Gunz. “This is Mishka, my wyvern.”
“You have a pet-wyvern and you carry it with you?” asked Yaroslav, carefully backing away from the wyvern.
“A pet??? Who are you calling a pet, vampire?” squealed Mishka, turning to Slavik, a cloud of fire energy rising around him. Yaroslav raised his arms, taking a few more steps back.
“Mishka, cool down. Sorry, but Yaroslav didn’t get a chance to meet you before. Are you okay, my friend?” asked Gunz peacefully, offering him his arm to land on, but the wyvern ignored it.
“Am I okay?” he yelled in a high-pitched voice. “What do you think, firetwat? You left me without any fire for God knows how long!”
“I’m sorry, I had no choice,” said Gunz, notes of remorse in his voice. “I couldn’t leave Yaroslav without help—”
“That’s right. You had to go and get yourself into another mess just to help this blond leech! But you didn’t care how it made me feel. It’s always about you and what you want and what you need! When are we going to do anything I want or need?”
“Mishka, please, it’s not a good time—,” Gunz started to say.
“It never is!” shouted Mishka irritably, interrupting him. “Selfish firetwat!”
The wyvern flew up to him and slapped him across his face with his wing. The slap wasn’t strong, but Gunz grunted, annoyance flar
ing through him.
“You two are bickering like an old married couple,” said Yaroslav snickering, and sat down on the bed.
Before Gunz could say anything, Mishka landed on his shoulder and wrapped his wings around his neck, pressing his hot head against Gunz’s cheek. “I’m sorry, boss, I didn’t mean it,” he mumbled. “I was a little upset.”
“It’s okay, Mishka,” said Gunz, petting the wyvern’s golden wings. “We don’t have much time and I need to explain to you what needs to be done.”
“I’m ready, boss. No more interruptions.”
Yeah, right. Gunz chuckled. “Mishka, I need you to leave this place and deliver two messages for me.”
“You want me to leave you here with this leech, completely unprotected?” huffed the wyvern, incredulously.
“Yaroslav is never going to hurt me,” replied Gunz, throwing a quick glance at the vampire. At least not willingly.
“So, it wasn’t your Yaroslav who beat you into a bloody pulp just a few minutes ago?” asked Mishka, blinking furiously at him.
“He had my consent. We had to do it.” Gunz sighed. “Mishka, please, let me finish. It’s important.”
“I swear, your boss is safe with me,” promised Yaroslav, struggling to suppress his laughter.
“Fine, then I’m leaving and going straight to Kal. He is the only one who can pull both of you out of this mess,” said Mishka, folding his wings on his back.
“No!” exclaimed Gunz. “You are not going to get Kal involved, Mishka. I need you to do everything as I tell you, and the way I tell you to do it. Promise me you will follow my directions.”
“Okay, okay, I promise… You’re always so touchy. Everything should be the way you want it—”
“Mishka!” yelled Gunz, throwing his hands up. “I need you to deliver two messages. First, you’re going to fly to the Celtic Otherworld and find Gwyn ap Nudd. Once you are done with Gwyn, fly back to Florida and give my second message to Agent Andrews. Do you understand?”
“Yes. First Gwyn, then Jim. Got it,” replied Mishka grouchy. “What do you want me to tell them?”
Gunz explained everything to Mishka. The wyvern listened, this time without interruptions, slightly shaking his head. When Gunz was done, he sat quietly on his shoulder.
“Gunz, I don’t want to leave you here,” he said, finally serious. “This man, Novak, he’s evil. I can feel it. Whatever he is doing here, it can’t be any good. And he is controlling both of you – an old vampire and a Fire Salamander. It’s dangerous, boss. And if I leave now, you’ll have no other way to communicate with the outside world.”
“I know, Mishka,” replied Gunz. “This is why I need to find out what Novak is up to, and then Yaroslav and I can get the hell out of here. Please, my friend, find Gwyn as soon as you can.”
Mishka nodded and hugged Gunz one more time. Then he threw a scorching gaze at Yaroslav and with a light pop vanished from the room.
Chapter 13
~ Aidan ~
It had been over two weeks since Aidan left South Florida and traveled first to Chicago and then to Los Angeles. His visit to Chicago was brief. The Guardians award ceremony was short and to the point, and the whole thing took less than an hour.
After the ceremony was over, Archmage Allerton pulled Aidan into his office, thanking him for attending the ceremony. Then in so many words, he told him that he was aware of the situation on the west coast and asked if Aidan would agree to investigate it and report back to the Guardians Order.
By now Aidan knew better – Guardians never asked any favors. It was an order, delivered in a soft and polite way. The Archmage made it very clear that the Guardians wanted him to investigate the situation, and since their order was in line with his original mission, he agreed right away. To his surprise, Archmage Allerton offered his complete support, stating that if during his investigation, Aidan would need help, all Guardians’ resources would be at his disposal.
After the meeting with the Archmage, Aidan had spent a couple of hours with Tessa. They had just walked through the gardens and talked. Since the last time when he had seen her, a little less than a year ago, she had changed a lot. Finally, realizing that her powers were no joke, she practically grew up overnight and started taking her magical education seriously.
She was worried about Gunz’s disappearance and most of their time together, she spent interrogating Aidan on everything he knew and how he was planning to find him. He couldn’t tell her much since his own knowledge was limited, but he promised to keep her updated, as long as she would stay put and didn’t break any Guardians rules. She just smiled and reassured him that her days of rule-breaking were over. He probably would have believed her serious voice and stern expression, if mischievous twinkles hadn’t been dancing in her brown eyes.
After he said his goodbyes to Tessa, Aidan teleported straight to Los Angeles. He spent almost two weeks investigating everything that was going on in the Los Angeles supernatural community while waiting for the next big event in the captive circles of California. As he suspected, getting an invitation wasn’t a problem and finding out who was the new Head of the California House had been easier than he expected.
George Novak wasn’t hiding. On the contrary, he was a social butterfly, known and accepted in all the high elite circles of California. Ridiculously wealthy, handsome and mysterious, he was the center of attention in any high society gathering. Women lusted after him and men swallowed everything he was saying, no questions asked.
Aidan made an appearance at a few of these parties, but made sure to stay clear of George Novak, hoping not to draw too much attention to his own persona. He tried to check him with his magical sight but as soon as he touched him, George Novak snapped his head and stared directly at Aidan. His pupils fluctuated in size and a slow smile stretched his thin lips. He gave Aidan a short nod and turned away. The next day, Aidan received his invitation to the next major captive event.
Now Aidan was sitting in his hotel room with his cellphone in his hands, staring at the device like it was about to explode. Nevertheless, when the phone finally rang, he flinched, almost dropping the device. He checked the screen to see that the caller ID was blocked.
“Hello,” he said, answering the call.
“Mr. McGrath?” The voice was going through a voice changer.
“Yes,” replied Aidan.
“Without sin…” said the voice.
“There is no repentance,” Aidan finished the statement. It was the password that was supposed to confirm his identity. What a ridiculous statement, he thought, frowning.
“Mr. McGrath, your limo is waiting for you downstairs. Please leave all your weapons, magical or mundane, at home,” said the voice and hung up the phone.
Aidan silently smirked at the last statement. Leave all weapons? He was the weapon. Can he leave his godly powers at home? He walked out of the hotel and found a black limo waiting for him at the hotel’s entrance. The driver opened the back door, bowing to him. He slid inside and the man shut the door.
All the windows were tinted and covered with blinds, so Aidan couldn’t see where the driver was taking him. That didn’t worry him in the slightest. It wouldn’t matter where he was. If he was faced with a dangerous situation, he could always teleport anywhere he wanted.
The entire drive took around thirty minutes, but it didn’t really mean the underground fighting arena was within a thirty minutes’ drive from the hotel. Possibly, the driver had taken a scenic route or had been circling around for a while to deceive him.
The limo came to a soft stop and the man opened the door for him. Aidan walked out in a semi-dark underground garage. A few limos were already parked there. The driver escorted him toward a door where two large men greeted him with wide smiles and metal detectors. Aidan spread his arms, allowing them to check him for concealed weapons.
While they were searching him, he detected a soft touch of magical energy. One of the guards was a wizard and he was checking him
for the presence of magical artifacts. Aidan smirked, carefully shadowing his own energy signature. After a moment, the guards opened the door for him, allowing him to pass. Aidan walked through the doorway and halted, observing the fighting arena in awe.
He was expecting to see a dark musty basement with a rusty cage inside. Instead, he was standing in a large modern arena, lit up with bright electric lights. The guests’ sitting area was built around a professional octagon MMA cage that was positioned on a large podium. However, in the sitting area, instead of benches, there were tables with comfortable chairs around them. Everything was breathing luxury and was built for the comfort of the guests.
A man in a black tuxedo met Aidan at the entrance and asked for his invitation. As soon as Aidan gave it to him, the man bent forward in a formal bow, gesturing for him to follow. He escorted Aidan to his table and put a small booklet and a menu in front of him.
Aidan didn’t care to order anything, but he reviewed the booklet. It was the schedule of the event. There were ten fights in the Prelims and only one fight was scheduled as the Main Card. Aidan stared at the black page with golden embossed letters and his hands trembled.
“Main Card. Alucard, the Vampire vs. Gunz, the Wizard,” he read, staring at the booklet in horror. A cold sweat beaded his forehead. “Alucard?”
“Haven’t you seen Alucard fight before?” Aidan heard a pleasant female voice and lifted his face. Two young women were sitting at his table, gazing at him with interest. He glanced around with surprise noticing that most of the tables were filled with guests by now.
The woman who spoke to Aidan looked a little older than her companion. Nevertheless, they looked alike enough to be sisters. Both had long hair shining with the red tint of a dark-cherry dye, oval brown eyes framed by dark eyelashes enhanced by expensive mascara and straight noses which looked slightly long for their faces.
