The Tome of Bill Series: Books 5-8 (Goddamned Freaky Monsters, Half A Prayer, The Wicked Dead, The Last Coven)

by Rick Gualtieri

  “Way to go...”

  “Yeah, yeah, I know, way to fucking go, Bill,” I snapped, redirecting my anger at Sally. The bitch didn’t have to rub it in.

  Oh, crap! If that whole thing had been by design...did that mean he knew about Theodora and Yehoshua? Worst of all, had he also planned that I would... “So Vehron, too?”

  At that, a momentary pained expression crossed Alex’s face. It was only there for a second, but it said a lot. For all his brilliance, he couldn’t control everything. There was still chance to contend with, still - dare I say it - free will.

  “I will admit that was unexpected,” he confirmed. “An anomaly I hadn’t counted on.”

  “Then why did you stop us?” Sally asked. “We went after that guy once. You had to know...”

  “Of course.” He waved his hand dismissively. “One does not need the counsel of the elder seers to have foreseen that.” Once more, his voice assumed its normal arrogant undertone. “As I have already said, I did not achieve my position without learning the value of improvisation. The truth is, Vehron, though appearing as an agent of a long-dead foe, is in actuality doing my bidding.”

  ♦ ♦ ♦

  “What?!” Talk about your fucking bombshells.

  “Not purposely, of course, but despite his military prowess, the lout was always a bit one-dimensional in his thinking.”

  “Not following.”

  “Vehron has proven useful. The forests of the Northeastern United States are a Grendel stronghold, but a containable one. However, if they are allowed to press north, they could potentially catch our Canadian offensive in a phalanx.”

  “What a shame that would be.”

  “Mind your elders, child,” Alex reprimanded. “François may be a shortsighted imbecile, but he is one that shall be disposed of at a time of my choosing, not our enemy’s.”

  “When we tracked him up to Boston,” Sally said, dragging us back on topic, “we came across a group of Feet. There were a few survivors, but the majority had been slaughtered.”

  “Exactly,” he confirmed. “And that was only those who got in his way. He is a brutally efficient warrior. In his attempt to fortify his stronghold, he and those foolish enough to follow his banner have undertaken a scorched-earth policy - cleansing a rapidly expanding radius of all supernatural entities unfriendly to their cause.”

  “And how is that good for us?”

  “It was a simple matter to inform our troops and allies to stay clear and let him conduct his work.”

  I had to admit it was a good idea in the short term - introducing a hostile new species into an area to clean out the pests. But the problem with such strategies was in the long haul when they didn’t play nice and die out when they were supposed to.

  “Worry not, Freewill,” Alex said as if reading my mind. “The enemy of my enemy is my friend, but only until such time as they outlive their usefulness. The Cult of Ib was crushed eons ago. Vehron is a fanatic to their cause; powerful and a ruthless battlefield commander, but he is a man out of his time, embracing long-dead ideals. He is a weapon of war, but lacks the finesse to lead as ruler. The ancient magicks once used by their priesthood are lost to all save our archives, and I have taken the liberty of having those sealed.”

  “I’m sure that’ll piss off Colin.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “Nothing. Inside joke.” I waved a hand dismissively - not so subtly mocking him and just barely resisting the urge to smile. “But what about the possibility of vampires flocking to him? I mean, I was led to believe that might be a problem.”

  “And indeed it has been,” he replied, seemingly no more worried than if I told him it might rain the day after he washed his car. “Some have abandoned their posts, hoping the ways of old might prove more to their liking. Still more have proclaimed him the true Freewill of legend - reborn to lead us into darkness.”

  “And that doesn’t bother you?” Sally asked.

  “Quite the contrary. In times of war, one must always be wary of traitors. The disloyal have done me the service of outing themselves. Once their usefulness comes to an end, so shall they. As for the deluded, they will see the error of their ways. Some have already returned, having found their new savior not to their liking.”

  Returned? I threw a worried glance Sally’s way. We’d both been witness to what this psycho had been able to accomplish with seemingly little effort - planting orders in those who weren’t even turned yet and being able to somehow undo the multiple safeguards compelled into the Boston staff.

  “I assure you, I am well aware of Vehron’s age and power. Those who have come back to the fold are thoroughly sanitized of his potential influence.”

  That didn’t sound good. “Sanitized?”

  “Indeed. It has been some time since so many of our people have been exposed to the glory of the First Coven. It has given us a chance to...reconnect, so to speak.”

  “Insulation,” Sally muttered.

  “Yes, and then they are put into service to test their loyalty.”

  Older vampires were capable of undoing the compulsions of those younger than them, even protecting their minions from the control of others. According to what I’d been told, it was likewise possible for multiple vamps to pool their powers - weaving a tapestry of defenses greater than the sum of its parts. The mass compulsion that had been used on the Boston crew hadn’t been powerful enough, but that only meant the vamps doing the compelling hadn’t been up to the task. Apparently, they’d never anticipated a foe of Vehron’s might. But if the Draculas themselves were involved now, that was a whole other ball of wax right there. The combined power of even a few of them would be nigh unbeatable. If the majority of them...

  That thought trailed off as the rest of what he’d said registered in my brain. “Wait. Did you say ‘test of loyalty’?”

  “Yes.”

  Hadn’t Colin said something about that regarding the douche patrol that had guarded us? “Hold on. So those doofuses we rode in with...”

  “I would not quite refer to them as that. They did prove themselves, after all, but yes, they were amongst a group recently liberated.”

  Maybe it was the hunger or the righteous anger or simply that Alex was a cock-meat sandwich with a side of twat, but I momentarily forgot whom I was speaking to. “So let me get this straight. You handcuffed us in the back of a locked truck with a bunch of inexperienced morons who might or might not have been compromised by a vampire who I did a really good job of pissing off just a few months back? Does that sound about right?!”

  Silence descended upon the room for what seemed an eternity.

  “Nice knowing you, Bill,” Sally muttered as she backed up a couple of steps. So great to know she had my back when the chips were down.

  Fortunately, Alex didn’t seem to be in the mood to kill me horribly. No doubt he wanted to save that part for the crowd. It would probably make for a memorable after-dinner show. “Your way with words never fails to amuse me, Freewill. I thank you. So many, my colleagues included, often prove disappointing when it comes to verbal discourse. To answer your question, though, you survived, did you not?”

  “Well, yeah.”

  “I calculated the risk to be low. Had they attempted to free you, I sincerely doubt you would have marched willingly into the Destroyer’s camp. Had they attempted to kill you, I had little doubt you would have found a way past their meager defenses. In either scenario, they would have been exposed and we would have known their true intentions.”

  “Why can’t you just compel the truth out of them?”

  “We do. The test of loyalty is merely an extra precaution.”

  Right. Translation: we never miss out on a chance to fuck with Bill Ryder.

  “The others feel it isn’t necessary, but I have no intention of jeopardizing the war effort by relying on the fickleness of chance or the arrogant assumptions of others.”

  He certainly had enough of
that latter part to go around. “So you had faith in our ability to survive long enough to arrive safely and be sentenced to death?”

  “You wound me, Freewill. I would not have invested so much effort in you just to toss it away like dust in the wind. Had I wished, I would have ended your life without pomp and circumstance. I still could. None would question me.”

  In my periphery, Sally took yet another step back. That chick's a real confidence booster, I tell ya.

  “The truth is, your death serves us ill. There are many who still believe in you, and I would not see that faith dashed to pieces. No matter the outcome, your survival this day is assured.”

  Alex inclined his head, then turned and stepped toward the door.

  Well, that was a load off my shoulders. So this whole thing was just a fucking dog and pony show? I should have known. Probably an excuse for them to stick me with some other insane mission as a form of penance. Assholes. I could only imagine what fuckery they’d send me and my friends on next.

  Hold on; he hadn’t said anything about them. I glanced over at Sally and she gave me a quick “go on” gesture.

  “Wait. My friends?”

  Alex turned slowly back toward me, a predatory grin upon his face. Suddenly, I had the feeling I’d just stepped right into a trap that had been laid out in front of me all along. “That can be arranged.”

  “All of them?”

  “A distinct possibility, although that really is up to you.”

  And there it was, plain as day. “What do I need to do?”

  “Nothing really. However, I believe it was you who admitted, right after your marvelous performance in the Woods of Mourning, that you have a singular aptitude for...how did you put it?”

  “Fucking things up?” Sally offered.

  “Thank you, my dear. That is it exactly. This day shall prove to be a grand morale booster for our people, as well as cementing their continued belief in me. I shall see that nothing interferes with that.”

  He had me between a rock and a hard place. Most vamps would have saved themselves at the expense of fucking over everyone they possibly could - friends included - but not me, and Alex knew it. “Fine,” I said softly.

  “So be it. Although, I must admit, a small part of me was curious to further examine the human.”

  I glanced over at Tom quizzically.

  “The other human - the anomaly,” he clarified. “That one...” He pointed down at my slumbering roommate, “I leave for you to do as you so wish.”

  “You’re too...wait. You said all of my friends. Sheila, too?”

  “Do you consider her to be just a friend?”

  Silence stretched out between us for several seconds

  Amazingly enough, the arrogant grin disappeared from Alex’s face and he looked thoughtful. Hell, for one short moment, he almost looked human. “Tell me, have you ever heard the story of the doomed lovers, Vara and Edgar?”

  “Who?”

  “I thought not. Their tale is buried deep in our archives, an embarrassment of sorts. However, I thought there might be a slight chance the Wanderer had perhaps mentioned it to you. He seems to have developed a fondness toward your plight.”

  I decided it was probably in my and James’s best interests to not elaborate on that. “Never heard of them.”

  “Edgar was the son of a former soldier turned farmer. He lived during the tenth century in a village south of Normandy. One day, a band of raiders invaded. Edgar took up his father’s sword and joined in with the defense, but it was all for naught. After a brutal fight against them, he found himself the last man standing, the only one left to protect the widows and children waiting to be raped and sold into slavery. He was ordered to surrender, but refused, vowing to protect his home no matter what.”

  “So let me guess. One of the women was a vampire and...”

  “Hardly. Edgar’s resolute vow awakened the dormant power within him. He became an Icon. Shining with the fires of faith, he proceeded to decimate the invaders. But Edgar wasn’t a conqueror. He had no interest in adventure or glory. He stayed to help his people rebuild and eventually became their sworn protector. Some years later, word of his existence reached the ears of Vara. She was a Freewill, as beautiful as she was deadly. Having just cleansed a broad swath of Germania of trolls, she was eager for a new challenge - eager to kill one of the Shining Ones.”

  “Doesn’t sound like much of a love story to me.”

  “You obviously haven’t watched too many chick flicks,” Sally replied.

  “The two mortal enemies met in the fields outside Edgar’s hamlet at dusk,” Alex continued, ignoring us. “They battled throughout the night, neither able to gain an advantage over the other. Finally, both of them bloodied and tired, the sun began to rise. Shelter was too far away and Vara too spent to make it to safety in time. She would certainly have been doomed, but then Edgar, not wishing for such an ignoble end to a worthy foe, stepped in and raised his shield above her, blocking the deadly rays. For the entire day he protected her, refusing to let her burn. By the time evening came, they were no longer enemies and much more than friends.”

  “That’s...pretty hot, actually,” Sally said.

  Give me a break. Chicks were such suckers for this bullshit. “So what happened?”

  “For a time, they were happy. Vara renounced her ways to be with her love. By day, he would stand guard and, by night, she would keep their enemies at bay. Alas, eventually the men under Vara’s command began to wonder why she had not returned. Thinking their commander slain, they ambushed Edgar at dusk, before Vara had risen. Using weapons consecrated in the blood of Baal, they slew him.”

  “So what did Vara do? Get her revenge?”

  “Quite the opposite,” he said. “Discovering the bloody corpse of her lover, she stayed with him until dawn - cradling him close as the sun rose. It is said that as her body caught aflame, so too was his form consumed by the heat of her love for him.”

  “That’s so beautiful,” Sally said, sounding almost choked up.

  Uh, yeah. “I don’t get it.”

  Alex looked pained for a moment, and I had a feeling it had nothing to do with the story. “The moral of the tale is that you two never had a chance, I’m afraid.” As he turned to leave, the full implication of this sank in.

  Oh God!

  “Please, I...”

  “It is out of my hands, Freewill.” He knocked once on the door and it was cracked open from the outside. “I would caution, however, that you think of your friends before trying anything foolish.”

  I bared my teeth, but said nothing.

  “To that end, I am truly sorry.”

  “You already said that.”

  “I do not mean the trial this time. As I have already mentioned, I will not leave anything to chance at this juncture. I meant what I said about you two. You are a formidable team.”

  He turned to Sally. “I was truthful in Canada. I foresee a great future for you.”

  “Thanks, but...”

  “But not at the Freewill’s side.”

  I sensed a tingling in the back of my skull as the psychic energies built up inside of him.

  “YOU WILL FORGET YOUR ASSOCIATION AND PAST WITH THE FREEWILL AND HIS FRIENDS!!”

  “No!”

  The compulsion, even targeted at her as it was, knocked me backwards from the sheer force of it. The effect on Sally was even more dramatic. She flew off her feet and slammed into the far wall, leaving a smear of blood as she slid to the ground.

  Panic coursed through me, and I shook off the effect quickly and raced to where she lay. I cradled her head and took stock of her injuries. Thankfully, it seemed to look worse than it was - a solid clonk to the head, but nothing a vampire couldn’t shake off.

  “M...Mark?” she asked groggily, opening her eyes.

  “No, Sally, it’s me. I...”

  “Who the fuck are you?”

  “I’m Bill. You
know me.”

  She glanced down at herself, no doubt noticing how close I held her to me...and probably noting her ripped shirt from our battle with the Jahabich.

  Her eyes immediately turned black and she powered out of my grasp, elbowing me a good one in the solar plexus. Oof!

  “Hands off, perv. What, a dickless loser like you can’t get any unless you attack a girl when she’s asleep?”

  “It’s...not...”

  She backed up, hands on her hips, until she nearly stumbled over Tom’s still sleeping form. She glanced down and her fangs descended. “Ooh, a threesome, is it? Well, I’d be rude to turn down the refreshments.” Her claws began to extend and she bent down toward where he lay.

  “Don’t you...”

  “Kindly leave him, my dear,” Alex said from the doorway.

  “Says who?”

  “I am a friend,” he replied. “A friend of the Wanderer...James.”

  Sally looked skeptical. “Ozymandias is here?” For a moment, a look of confusion crossed her face. “Wait...Night Razor too?”

  “No.”

  “He’s...” Her head cocked to the side as if she was struggling to remember. “Wait. He’s dead, isn’t he?”

  “For some time now.”

  “But how?”

  “Come with me. I will explain it all. You need not bother with this rabble any further. They are inconsequential to you and your new life.”

  Sally hesitated for a moment. The compulsion had obviously scrambled her brain nice and thorough. Even so, it didn’t take a genius to see which way she was leaning. On the one hand, you had a well-groomed, eloquently speaking gentleman standing at the door leading out. On the other, there was me - dirty, covered in dried blood, and wearing half-melted body armor - not to mention the groping.

  Appealing to her wouldn’t do dick. Compulsions could be overcome with sheer force of emotion, but he wasn’t asking her to do anything other than walk with him. There was also the fact that he was insanely powerful. A compulsion from him could have torn through nearly anyone’s mental defenses like tissue paper.