"They were vampires, of course," said Nicolo.
Jonah glared at him. "You don't know what you're talking about. You don't know anything about them."
"More than you, apparently." Nicolo chuckled.
"Oh, yeah?" Jonah's voice oozed sarcasm. "And what makes you such an expert?"
"Because." Nicolo nodded soberly. "I've been investigating their murders."
Jonah experienced a moment of dislocation, as if he'd been shunted elsewhere, away from the conversation. And then bounced back. "Did you say, 'murders?'"
"Yes, murders." Nicolo cocked his head. "Don't tell me you don't know your parents were murdered."
"They died in an accident," said Jonah.
"It was made to look that way, but no," said Nicolo. "It was not an accident. That much is clear."
"If it was a murder, who did it?" said Jonah. "Who killed them?"
Nicolo shook his head. "All I know is, it involved the search for Empyrea. Apparently, they were on the verge of finding it."
Jonah rubbed his temples. He was having a hard time getting his head around the possibility that his parents were vampires, let alone that they had been murdered. "Since when is finding Heaven a bad thing?"
"When it threatens those in power, of course," said Nicolo. "There is a legend about Empyrea, you see. About the reason it is such a paradise for vampires."
"What's the reason?" said Mavis.
"That it makes them powerful beyond imagining." Nicolo patted the spot on his chest under which the feratu nested. "That it makes them like gods." A wicked smile unreeled across his bone-white face. "Can you imagine how that would be? What would happen if thousands of godlike vampires were suddenly unleashed upon the world? Upending the status quo, overthrowing the power elite of Cruentus Estus...destroying the delicate balance of vampire and human that has held since the time of Lazarus?" Nicolo fanned his arms and hands wide, taking in everything...encompassing the world. "It would be chaos. Armageddon."
"Oh my God." Mavis turned to Stanza. "Is that why we've been looking for Empyrea all this time?"
Stanza squared her shoulders. "We need to find it before anyone else does."
"No wonder they're all hunting it," said Mavis. "They want to become gods."
"Or prevent others from doing so," said Arthur. "Others who would abuse such godlike power."
Jonah shook his head slowly, feeling completely overwhelmed. The stress that had been building like a storm cloud within him was pushing outward, about to let go.
How could his parents have been vampires without his knowing it? How could they have been influential members of a secret religious order? How could they have been murdered over a secret paradise that could turn vampires into gods?
It just wasn't possible.
"You're full of shit." Jonah jabbed a finger at Nicolo. "Everything you say is bullshit."
"You're wrong," said Nicolo. "I've told you the truth about your parents...about all of it."
"I don't believe you," said Jonah. "It's all lies." He looked at Stanza, who was watching him solemnly. "He made it all up, didn't he?"
"No." Stanza stepped toward him and took his hands. "I'm sorry, Jonah, but it's true."
"Bullshit!" Jonah snapped his hands out of her grasp. "They couldn't have been vampires. I lived with them! They raised me! I know them better than anyone."
"Everyone has secrets, Jonah," said Stanza.
"Not like this," said Jonah. "Not like drinking blood and having a monster instead of a heart. It would've been physically impossible for them to keep this from me!"
"There are ways," said Stanza. "You're not the first son or daughter to have been fooled by a vampire parent."
"It's just not possible!" said Jonah.
"Why do you think they spent so much time indoors, out of the sun?" said Stanza. "Why do you think they worked so many night shifts? Why do you think they were so distant? Always pushing you away?"
"No." Jonah shook his head. His heart was pounding, and he was breathing hard and fast.
Stanza turned to Mavis. "Why do you think they wouldn't adopt you when your parents died? Why do you think they wanted to keep you from getting too close?"
Mavis' face turned pale. She opened her mouth to say something, then closed it, speechless.
"They wanted to keep you away from the life," said Stanza. "They didn't want to take the chance that someone from their world might turn you. Or worse, they might turn you themselves in a moment of weakness."
Mavis looked stunned. She grabbed handfuls of her pleated red hair and tossed her head. "That's why? That's why?" She gaped at Stanza and Jonah. "All this time, I never knew. I blamed them. I hated them."
"They needed to keep you safe," said Stanza. "Because you're one of the keys to Empyrea...and because they loved you. They loved both of you."
"How do you know any of this?" said Jonah. "Why should we trust you any more than him?" He gestured at Nicolo.
"Because I have it in writing," said Stanza. "Your parents left me very detailed instructions when they hired me. They left nothing up to interpretation."
Jonah felt an unreasoning rage billow within him. "No! This is all wrong!"
"Jonah..." Stanza reached for him.
Jonah lurched away from her. "You're a liar!" He spun and glared at Nicolo. "You're both liars!"
"Wellll." Nicolo shrugged. "I confess I did lie about one thing."
Stanza spun to face him. "What's that?"
"Hercules was right." Suddenly, Nicolo plunged two fingers into his mouth and let loose a shrill whistle.
Right after that, Jonah heard a flurry of movement from the hallway outside the brain chamber. He turned and looked through the doorway.
A mob of vampires flowed into the chamber, hissing and snarling. There were males and females, human-shaped and bat-formed and in-between, brandishing claws and fangs and all manner of weapons.
As the horde crept and crawled and flapped closer, Nicolo laughed. "I'm not here to witness the reopening of Empyrea. I'm here to seize Empyrea."
*****
Chapter 69
Arthur fought like a whirlwind.
As Mavis watched from below, he tore the attacking vampires to ribbons, swooping and spinning and diving through the air. His sword, Excalibur, flashed and twirled in his hands, moving so fast that the trails of blood it left crossed in midair before falling.
Hercules fought like a rhino, plowing through enemies with brute force, thrashing off hangers-on, using bodies as bludgeons...but Arthur was graceful. The speed and elegance of his movements made him seem fiercer than Hercules, more like a glittering angel of death.
Mavis thought he was beautiful to behold.
Stanza's voice snapped her attention back to ground level. "Look out!"
Mavis turned in time to see a female vampire spring at her, mouth cranked wide open and fangs gleaming.
I'm dead meat.
Just as the vampire was about to reach her, Excalibur shot straight down, right through the vampire's back, and pinned her to the floor like a bug. One second later, Arthur dropped down like an anvil, crushing the vampire's skull with his feet.
In one smooth motion, Arthur popped Excalibur from the vampire and ducked forward to plant a kiss on Mavis' lips.
He broke the kiss, leaned back, and smiled. "We really must get you a sword, dear."
Then, he flapped his wings and vaulted back into the heights.
Mavis would have melted right there if she hadn't been standing in the middle of a battle.
Definitely true love.
Suddenly, Mavis heard Jonah shout for help. Whipping around, she saw that Nicolo had bound Jonah's arms with a chain and was dragging him across the floor.
Instinctively, Mavis ran to help her cousin. Feeling bold after Arthur's kiss, she hauled back a leg and kicked Nicolo hard in the side.
I don't care if you are my great-great-great-great-great-great grandfather.
Mavis kicked him again, this time
in the shin. Nicolo hissed and staggered.
"Cute," he said, letting go of the chain with one hand so he could slash his claws in her direction. "I could just hug the life out of you, you little gelato."
Mavis ducked back, and the claws missed. She timed her next kick just right, catching Nicolo in the belly after his claws slashed past again.
Nicolo doubled over, but only for an instant. Without warning, he suddenly sprang at Mavis. Fortunately, she shot straight up in the air before he could get her. More specifically, someone lifted her...and she thought she knew who it was.
"That was close," said Mavis. "Thank you, Arthur."
Then, she looked up.
But it wasn't Arthur who looked down at her. It wasn't Hercules, either.
It was a giant red hawk, the size of a man.
*****
Chapter 70
As Mavis sailed up out of reach, Nicolo crashed into a female vampire, bowling her over. He quickly regained his feet, though, and hurried back to Jonah.
Jonah was on his feet, staggering toward the door, but Nicolo leaped in front of him and spread his arms.
"Why fight it?" Laughing, Nicolo feinted toward Jonah, then bobbed away without touching him. "He won't take 'no' for an answer. In fact, he already owns you."
"'He' who?" said Jonah.
Nicolo lashed out a claw, and Jonah sidestepped...right into the arms of another vampire. Before Jonah could make another move, the vampire's grip had tightened around him like a boa constrictor.
"All done." Nicolo dusted off his hands. "Not much of a fighter, are you?"
As Jonah struggled in the vampire's grip, he looked around for help, but all his allies were busy. Stanza's full attention was focused on gunning down vampires with ironwood rounds from her machine gun. Hercules was battling a trio of brawny vampires on the wing. Arthur was chasing a giant red hawk that had Mavis in its talons.
I'm on my own this time.
Nicolo strutted over. "Wise decision, surrendering like this. Saves everyone a lot of trouble." Chuckling, he tousled Jonah's hair.
Then, he punched Jonah in the face. Hard.
"I'm doing you a favor," said Nicolo, and then he hit him again. "You don't want your girlfriend to think you didn't put up a fight, do you?"
Jonah howled in pain as Nicolo punched him in the gut.
"I'm a real Good Samaritan," said Nicolo, pulling back his fist for another blow.
Jonah shut his eyes against the coming pain...but it never came. When he opened his eyes again, he saw the reason why. Two bat-winged vampires had descended on Nicolo and were taking turns pounding on him.
Though the two newcomers were smaller than Nicolo, they had him outmatched. They struck him hard and flitted away, first one and then the other, before he could grab them. As small as they were—each only five feet tall, thin, and wiry—they seemed to bring exceptional force to every blow.
Nicolo shrieked in pain from the pummeling, which only got worse. The two vampires latched onto him with their clawed feet and ratcheted up the bombardment, not even bothering to flit away anymore.
With a shriek, Nicolo made a last-ditch effort to save himself, trying to leap up into the air and fly away...but he never got off the ground. The two vampires hurled him down to the floor and pounced, exploding in a frenzy of motion as they literally tore him apart.
When they were done and turned to Jonah, their light brown fur was spattered with Nicolo's blood. The mess they left on the floor behind them looked like Nicolo from only the waist down.
*****
Chapter 71
Mavis screamed as the giant hawk dove toward the floor, then pulled up at the last second. She wondered if Arthur, who'd been chasing them, had managed to pull up, too.
She found out when the hawk looped around at the ceiling...and came face to face with Excalibur.
Arthur roared as he swung the blade, slicing across the bird's chest. He pressed the attack as the hawk flapped backward, but his next two strikes missed the mark.
Then, with a shriek, the hawk burst past him, knocking Excalibur from his grip. As the hawk carried off Mavis, she watched the sword spin end over end toward the battle below.
Mavis expected Arthur to retrieve his weapon, but he turned his back on it and hurtled after the hawk. He caught up fast and swung the hawk around by the tip of its wing, then leaped onto its back. Mavis couldn't see what came next, but she guessed from the hawk's jarring movements that Arthur was hammering it with blows.
Before long, though, the hawk bolted upward and hit the ceiling. The impact knocked loose Arthur, and Mavis saw him fall past. He plunged straight down, just as Excalibur had before him.
Mavis lost sight of Arthur when the hawk soared into the mists of the Brain of Kitezh. Amid the twinkling lights, she glimpsed images like movies projected on the rippling fog—but none of the images showed Arthur or the others.
The hawk swooped around and angled downward. Mavis felt little crackles on her skin every time they passed through one of the glowing images in the mist.
Just as they glided toward a big one—a scene of the city of Kitezh sinking into the lake, under fire from Soviet tanks—the mist stirred violently. Suddenly, Arthur exploded from the center of the rippling movie, armed again with gleaming Excalibur.
The hawk veered off, but Arthur still nicked him with the blade. Drops of blood spattered Mavis as she swung like a rag doll in the hawk's grip.
Excalibur slashed uncomfortably close to Mavis, just over her head, and she ducked. It whizzed past again and again, hacking at the hawk's talons.
Suddenly, the hawk let go of her. As Mavis dropped, she saw Arthur dive after her...and the hawk plunge after him.
"Arthur!" Even as Mavis tried to warn him, she knew it was too late.
As Arthur reached for her, the hawk drove its claws into his back, and he gasped. As Mavis fell away, the hawk drew back its head and gouged Arthur between the shoulders with its razor-sharp beak.
It was the last Mavis saw of Arthur before she plunged down into the twinkling mist. "Arthur! No!" Excalibur whipped past her, turning like a wheel, barely missing her as it hurtled from the heights.
The next thing Mavis saw was the hawk, plunging toward her like a blazing shooting star.
*****
Chapter 72
"I'm James," said one of the two vampires who had rescued Jonah from Nicolo. As James spoke, he shifted shape, drawing in his bat wings and light brown fur, revealing a boy with short blond hair. He looked like he was eleven or twelve years old, though as a vampire, his appearance gave no clues to his true age. "He's Thomas."
The other vampire did not change out of his bat-winged shape. He kept looking around, alert for the next sign of danger.
"We're here to help," said James. "We're on your side."
Jonah nodded warily. "Thanks." He raised his wrists, which were still bound with Nicolo's chain. "How about giving me a hand with these?"
James unwrapped the chain from Jonah's wrists and dropped it on the floor. "Done and done," he said with a smile.
Jonah rubbed his sore wrists and stared at the young vampire. There seemed to be something familiar in James' expression. Was it the eyes? The curve of his smile? Or was it Jonah's imagination?
"Do I know you?" said Jonah.
James cocked his head to one side and stared back at him. "I don't think so."
Jonah shrugged. "My name's Jonah." He reached out for a handshake. "Jonah Ivory."
Suddenly, Thomas turned his full attention on Jonah. "Ivory? Your last name is Ivory?"
"Yeah," said Jonah. "Why?"
That was when Stanza grabbed him by the neck of his brown sweater and yanked him away from James and Thomas. As Jonah stumbled backward, Stanza swung the muzzle of her machine gun to aim at Thomas.
"No!" said Jonah, but it was too late. Stanza was already firing.
Jonah felt a flash of panic, but it was all for nothing. Thomas and James leaped away in opposite directions,
avoiding the gunfire.
"Don't shoot!" Jonah grabbed Stanza's shoulder. "They're friendly!"
Stanza frowned at him. "Say again?" Her face was flushed and sweated, and her long black hair was in disarray.
"They saved my life," said Jonah. "They killed Nicolo."
Stanza took a long look at James and a longer one at Thomas. Then, she suddenly whipped around and cranked off some rounds at a pouncing vampire, dropping him on the spot.
"Let's go." Stanza started marching for the exit. Jonah fell in behind her and waved for James and Thomas to follow.
Stanza cleared the way by gunning down every vampire who popped up in front of her. James and Thomas took to the air, fighting off flying attackers with brutal teamwork.
When the four of them had crossed the threshold into the hallway, Stanza shouted at Jonah. "Close the door!"
As Stanza kept firing into the room, Jonah grabbed the door. "Ready!" he said.
"Go!" Stanza stopped shooting while Jonah slammed the door shut.
Finally, Jonah had a moment of relative peace and quiet. He could still hear the sounds of battle through the door, but they were muffled.
"This way," said Stanza, sweeping past him down the hallway.
Jonah followed. "What about Mavis? What about Arthur and Hercules?"
"You'll see," said Stanza.
As Stanza headed around a corner, Jonah looked back to see James and Thomas following on foot, wings folded behind them. Jonah wanted to ask Thomas why he'd been surprised at the mention of Jonah's last name, but he didn't get the chance.
Suddenly, James and Thomas froze, gaping at something up ahead. Jonah looked to see what it was, and then he was shocked, too.
Around the corner, a giant red hawk stared back at him, the same hawk he'd seen earlier with Mavis in its talons. Mavis was there, too, lying unconscious at the great bird's feet.
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