And Stanza...
No.
Stanza stood at the hawk's side, aiming her machine gun at Jonah.
"Change of plan," she said. "Surprise."
*****
Chapter 73
"These are the fruits of betrayal," said Shakespeare as he throttled the last of the vampires sent to kill him. "Would I had your master in your place, that I could give this message to him sooner than later."
With that, Shakespeare broke the vampire's neck and hurled him against the wall. The vampire fell onto the pile already amassed on the floor there—six other vampires, all dead or broken, who had come to murder him in his watching place overlooking the Brain of Kitezh.
Moments after James and Thomas had left to neutralize Nicolo, the vampires had swarmed Shakespeare. So numerous and well-trained had they been, they'd kept him busy a long time and had nearly killed him more than once.
They had never told him the name of the master who'd sent them, but Shakespeare knew. He knew with unwavering faith that there could only be one man behind it.
Genghis' plan is in full bloom.
Battered and bloody, Shakespeare gazed from one of the round windows into the great chamber of the Brain of Kitezh. Things had changed since the last time he'd looked.
It was war down there. From what he could see, three vampires stood alone against dozens. The three stood back to back to back, fighting like maniacs, holding one circle against the press of an irresistible sea.
Without another thought or hesitation, Shakespeare bolted from his roost. With his tattered black cloak whipping behind him, he charged down the grand spiral staircase. Two levels down, he burst onto the ground floor and raced to the Brain of Kitezh.
The huge door to the chamber was closed. Shakespeare hurled it open and leaped in with a primal roar.
All his artful thoughts dissolved in a haze of red. Suddenly, he was back to being the vampire warrior who had murdered his way through the shadows of history—nothing but breaking and killing.
He hadn't fought with such frenzy in years, tearing through enemies like a runaway buzzsaw, ripping apart vampires who in some cases were two or three times his size. The truth was, those vampires were only stand-ins for the real focus of Shakespeare's rage—Genghis, who of course was nowhere in sight. Each vampire he dismembered, disemboweled, or decapitated was a warm-up for Genghis, a practice dummy for the real thing. He'd been angry at Genghis before, but now he was murderously furious, and the enemy's foot soldiers paid the price.
After long, bloody moments of hacking through the mob, Shakespeare reached the three lone holdouts he'd glimpsed from above: Arthur, Hercules, and the priest, Alexander. When Shakespeare brought down the last vampire blocking his way, bashing its head in with a mace he'd taken from another opponent, he found himself face to face with Hercules.
Hercules then proceeded to try to kill him with a punch from a fist the size of a battering ram.
"Friend, not foe!" said Shakespeare as he ducked to one side, avoiding the blow. Surviving that, he quickly killed a screeching vampire who was diving at Father Alexander.
"You've earned your chance!" Hercules stepped aside to make room for Shakespeare to squeeze into the group. "Now make the most of it!"
Shakespeare joined the circle, moving in to stand back-to-back with the other men. As the feratu in his chest shot liquid fire into his bloodstream, he swung his mace in wild strokes at the onrushing horde.
"What's your name?" Arthur shouted over his shoulder.
"William Shakespeare...though I fear am not now the man I once was."
"It's an honor, sir," Arthur said over the clang of steel. "A great honor, fighting alongside a countryman so noble as you."
"The honor is mine, King Arthur," said Shakespeare as he bashed a vampire's skull with the mace. "You are far more of a legend and inspiration to the people of England and the world than a shadow like me can ever hope to be."
"Why are you here, Shakespeare?" said Hercules.
"I'm in search of lost friends," said Shakespeare. "Yours as well as mine—all taken, I am sure, by the same dark bird."
"I've battled such a bird," said Arthur. "A red-winged hawk that kidnapped my love and nearly killed me."
"His name is Genghis Khan." When the latest attacker grabbed the mace in midair, Shakespeare kicked him in the gut and took back his weapon. "He has taken more than your love and stands to take much more besides." One good stroke of the mace was all it took for Shakespeare to bring down his attacker.
"He's a wicked man," said Alexander, "violating the holy cathedral of Kitezh with his war!"
"You have no idea how wicked," said Shakespeare. "And I say this as one whose own blood is far from pure."
Hercules hoisted an opponent overhead and pitched him at the crowd, bowling over three vampires at once. "How is it you know this wicked bird so well, friend Shakespeare?"
There's no use in lying, I think. As poorly as the truth reflects on me, 'tis better yet to place it in the pipe and give all here a taste than sink it in a pond and hope it floats not to the surface later.
"We were allies of a sort," said Shakespeare. "Lords of rival sects of Cruentus Estus. We'd been dogging your steps to Empyrea, pledged to share the prize together—but Genghis must have decided to take it all."
"Hah!" Hercules tore off a vampire's head and hurled it like a missile at an incoming flyer, hitting it square in the belly. "I guess you're our ally now, eh?"
"Of course," said Shakespeare as he blocked an incoming blow. "Our goals are the same. We can be of much help to each other in this dire time."
"And you promise not to switch sides again?" said Alexander.
"Whatever vow we make today," said Shakespeare, "I with all devotion will uphold its precepts."
Hercules grunted as he strained against a new opponent. "Tell me...you're not just...looking for help...to steal this 'prize' back...from your former ally."
"Genghis may have kidnapped my young page and his twin brother," said Shakespeare. "I am more concerned for those two lives than all the treasures of Empyrea."
Hercules overcame his opponent and heaved him across the chamber. "I don't suppose you know where Empyrea is, do you? Because that's where we'll need to go to stop this Genghis."
Shakespeare scowled. "Say not you lack the secret, else our enterprise is doomed...and with it, those lost souls caught in the claws of our deceiver."
"Kitezh told Stanza," said Arthur, "and she's disappeared. Genghis must have taken her along with my love, Mavis."
"But Kitezh spoke through the priest," said Hercules. "Any chance you remember what she said, priest?"
"I remember," said Alexander, "and I'll show you the way. I'm coming with you."
"At least we know you can fight," said Hercules.
"Just like old times!" said Alexander as he killed two vampires at once, cracking their heads together in a burst of black ichor. "Reminds me of fighting the Persians!"
"Thank you for the offer, Father," said Arthur. "We'll gladly accept it."
"I'm 'Father' no longer. I've broken too many vows of my faith today." With that, Alexander strangled a bat-winged vampire and pitched its corpse at the mob like a sack of garbage. "Only Alexander now."
"Alexander the Great!" Hercules roared and slapped Alexander on the back. "Good enough for me!"
"Now if we can just get out of here," said Arthur. "Every moment we delay puts Genghis another moment closer to his goal."
"Will he kill our people?" said Hercules. "When he has what he wants?"
"Who can say?" said Shakespeare. "Genghis is a monster with hunger aplenty for death, but his dark needs and whims may lead him to save our people for other uses."
"In other words," said Hercules, "fight harder!"
Shakespeare swung the mace up and caught a diving flyer in the face. The winged body dropped to the floor at his feet, writhing and screaming and clawing at him. Shakespeare pounded it with the mace, cracking open the ribcage,
freeing the feratu to scramble out...at least until he smashed it, too.
It was then that he felt it. Back to back with King Arthur and Hercules and Alexander the Great, fighting against the odds for the lives of endangered friends and charges, he felt it. For the first time in ages—centuries, perhaps—Shakespeare felt as if he were fighting on the right side for a just cause.
*****
Part Six: In Flight
Chapter 74
Jonah gazed out the window of the airplane, watching the cottony cloud deck slide past far below. That far up, with the clouds so thick, he couldn't make out a single landmark to tell him where he was going...where Genghis Khan was taking him. All he knew for sure was they were headed for Empyrea, but that didn't clear things up at all.
Only Stanza knew where Empyrea was, and apparently she was telling only her new boss, Genghis—the vampire bastard for whom she'd betrayed Jonah and the others.
Jonah wished he could get up from his seat and show Stanza how he felt about what she'd done. Throw her off the plane, in other words. If only he hadn't been manacled to his seat.
Ever since Genghis' lackeys had loaded Jonah on the plane in Moscow (after a wild ride in a van from Kitezh to the airport), he'd been locked in place, unable to move. The good news was, he and Mavis had a compartment all to themselves on the big private plane; the bad news was, they were trapped in their seats, at the mercy of Genghis and his crew.
It was enough to make Jonah feel utterly miserable and hopeless. The woman he loved had betrayed him, and there was no help in sight. Genghis Khan himself was about to use him and Mavis to bestow godlike powers on vampires and set off Armageddon. The best Jonah thought he could hope for at the end of the road was to die without too much suffering.
The only consolation was that he had Mavis to talk to. She sat across the compartment from him, looking even more hopeless and unhappy than he was. She was just as trapped and doomed as Jonah...but at least, for now, they could talk.
"Where do you think we are?" Jonah watched the cloud deck, then looked over at Mavis. "Any ideas?"
"You should ask your traitor girlfriend," said Mavis.
Jonah cleared his throat. "Yeah, I'll bet she'd tell me." He said it with heavy sarcasm.
He still couldn't believe Stanza had turned on him. The memory of her pointing the gun at him played over and over in his mind. He would never forget that moment: the giant red hawk looming, Mavis sprawled on the floor, Stanza's eyes stony as the eyes of a granite statue as she stared at him.
What happened to her? Things were going so well.
Was it all an act to get what she wanted?
"I didn't like her from the start," said Mavis. "I told you we had to watch our backs around her."
Jonah sighed. "She totally fooled me. I really thought she was on our side."
"Love is blind." Mavis clanked her manacles as she shifted in her seat. "Or, in my case, love is screwed. Thanks to Stanza, I'll probably never see Arthur again."
"Face it," said Jonah. "We're both screwed. The whole world is screwed."
Just then, someone pushed open the black curtain hanging across the aisle at the front of the compartment. Jonah's gaze instantly snapped forward to see who was approaching.
James and Thomas.
Jonah knew the boys were working for Genghis Khan, but he was still glad to see them. After all, they'd saved him from Nicolo back in Kitezh.
"Hi, Jonah." James pulled the black curtain shut across the aisle behind him. He carried a beige plastic tray with sandwiches on it. "Hi, Mavis."
Thomas toted two Styrofoam cups. "If you don't like your coffee black, tough luck."
James took the tray to Mavis first, and she shook her head. "I don't want anything."
Jonah hadn't eaten for at least a day and a half. His mouth watered and his stomach growled as soon as James put the tray in front of him.
Jonah dug in immediately. When the chains on the manacles around his wrists wouldn't let him lift the sandwich high enough, he leaned down to the tray and stuffed the food in his mouth.
"Thanks," Jonah said between bites. "I was starving."
"You're welcome." James took a cup of coffee from Thomas and handed it to Jonah. "Here you go."
"What are you going to do to us?" said Mavis.
"How should we know, lady?" Thomas laughed. "We're just the help."
"Not by choice," James said quietly.
"Speak for yourself," said Thomas.
"Where's Stanza?" Jonah talked with his mouth full and didn't care.
"Not here, obviously," said Thomas. "Guess you'll have to tell her off later. Tell her how bad it made you feel when she screwed you over like that."
Jonah swallowed. Thomas' sharp tone made him decide to proceed with caution. "Maybe she had a good reason for what she did."
Thomas sneered down at him. "Face it, she screwed you over big time." He punched Jonah in the shoulder. "And I am lovin' it. How's it feel having the shoe on the other foot?"
Jonah frowned. "What are you talking about?"
"Don't know why I said that." Thomas moved in close. "It's not like you ever screwed anyone over, is it?"
Jonah found himself staring at Thomas' gleaming fangs. "I don't understand."
"Thomas?" James put a hand on Thomas' shoulder. "What are you doing?"
"You mean you don't remember?" Thomas whispered in Jonah's ear. "You don't recognize us?"
Jonah tried to stay calm, though Thomas' fangs were inches from his throat. "Should I?"
Suddenly, Thomas grabbed Jonah by the shirt and shoved him back against the seat, sending his sandwich and coffee flying. "You're lucky Genghis needs you...for now."
"Stop it, Thomas," said James.
"Piece of crap!" Thomas hauled back a hand and slapped Jonah hard across the face. "Coward!"
James grabbed his arm before he could hit Jonah again. "That's enough!"
"Then again, I should probably thank you." Thomas bared his fangs. "Without you, I never would've become this."
That was when Jonah knew. When the realization finally burst to life within him.
When he'd first met James and Thomas in Kitezh, he'd been too caught up in the chaos to realize who they were. Maybe the fact that they were vampires had thrown him. Maybe it was seeing them out of context. Maybe it was the very fact that they didn't look any different than they had five years ago, and they should have.
Now there was no getting around it. These were the same two faces that had screamed in his nightmares since he was thirteen years old.
"Oh my God." Jonah's voice was hushed. "Tommy?"
Thomas snorted. "You are so thick, you know that?"
Heart hammering, Jonah looked at James. "Jimmy?"
James nodded.
What do I say? Oh God, what do I say to them?
They're my brothers, who were kidnapped five years ago. Stolen away as I watched. As I did nothing to save them.
"What happened to you?" It was all Jonah could think to say to them.
"The good witch took us to Candyland, where we danced with our sugar-coated playmates from sunrise to sunset." Thomas laughed. "And by that I mean we were turned into bloodsucking monsters and sold into slavery."
Jonah could feel the hate radiating from Thomas like the heat of the sun. James held back, but his eyes sparked with resentment and anger.
This is my worst nightmare. Coming face to face with them and hearing how miserable their lives have been because of me.
"What happened to you?" said Thomas. "Live a cushy life playing video games and banging schoolgirls? More to go around, since Mom and Dad didn't have us to take care of?"
"Mom and Dad are dead," said Jonah.
Thomas' hateful sneer dissolved into a blank stare, as if he were trying to understand words spoken in a foreign language. James' scowl turned into a look of wide-eyed surprise and confusion.
"Car wreck," said Jonah. "It happened a few weeks ago."
James nodded. Thom
as stared at the ground.
"They never stopped looking for you," said Jonah. "I wish they could've lived to see this."
"I'm glad they didn't," snapped Thomas. "I wouldn't've wanted them to see us like this. Like vampire freaks."
"They wouldn't have cared," said Jonah. "Believe me."
"What do you know?" Thomas drew back a fist and aimed a blow at Jonah...but before he could let it fly, the curtain across the aisle whipped open behind him.
Stanza leaned in from the forward compartment, face impassive as a sheet of paper. "He wants to see them. Bring them in now."
Jonah searched her stony gaze for some trace of recognizable emotion but found nothing. "Stanza?" She wouldn't look in his direction or meet his eyes for even an instant.
"You backstabbing bitch!" said Mavis. Her manacles clanked as she lunged toward Stanza. "You better pray I never get my hands on you!"
Stanza looked at Mavis, then spun on her heel and hurried out of the compartment. "Shackle them," she said over her shoulder. "And hurry it up. The in-flight show is about to start."
*****
Chapter 75
Mavis and Jonah hobbled into the next compartment after James and Thomas, wrists and ankles bound by heavy iron shackles. They were greeted by a round of applause.
Startled, Mavis looked around the dimly lit compartment, which was packed with people. Every seat in every row was occupied, and everyone was looking at Mavis and Jonah. There were at least a hundred people, all of them clapping and smiling...and from what Mavis could see as she staggered up the aisle, all of them had fangs.
All vampires. Just great.
Genghis Khan himself stood in front of a big video screen at the end of the aisle, watching Mavis and Jonah with arms folded over his broad chest. His red and black silk robe was embroidered with gleaming golden thread in elaborate patterns, his fingers were studded with huge rings of gold and silver and every color of gemstone.
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