by S. L. Eaves
“What’s the matter, Marcus? Can’t carry quality conversation without scotch and a chess board?”
He forces a smile, shifts in his seat. It occurs to me he hasn’t told me why he’s paid me a visit.
“What’s on your mind, Marcus?”
“You should not have come back here,” he says finally.
“I’ve told you before, I’m not a threat. I left you to clear the air, left the truth in your hands to tell. This lie you’re living, it makes you just as bad as Striden, as bad as anyone who’s defied our clan.”
“Watch it, Lori; bite your tongue if you don’t want to lose it.”
“I’m trying to be on your side with this, Marcus. You’ve had plenty of time to tell them your side of the story. Make them understand. Mistakes were made, Marcus. I want to believe you are better than the sum of your faults. Prove to me the man I thought you were—the man Catch knew you to be—is not an illusion. Are you really too proud to come clean?”
“Admitting my hand in the war is pointless now; it’s in the past and it won’t change anything for the better. It’ll tear what’s left of this clan apart.”
“Is that how you rationalize it?” I sigh, then ask what’s really been bugging me: “What happened, Marcus? Striden, he was just a kid—a teenager—when he first surfaced as a problem. When the fire happened…why did you help him?”
The question slips out before I can stop myself.
Marcus is expecting it. He shakes his head, a defeated expression on his face.
“Looking back, after everything…I honestly don’t know what I was thinking. The fire wasn’t supposed to happen. I was feuding with Dominique and Vega at the time and things got out of hand. I won’t bore you with the details.”
“Do I look bored?”
Marcus gives me a look that says he’s not going to elaborate.
“It was a power move. I used the wolves, or tried to. Everyone thought the little rebel was dead, that it was his pack acting out of revenge. The wolves were the perfect antagonists. Perfect fall guys, if you will. I told him and his boys where the Covenant was. The plan was to take Dominique out along with a few others that were…let’s say problematic at the time. The fire was not my idea. I need to emphasize that mass extinction was never my plan. I just wanted a few adversaries to see the light, so to speak, but a bunch of young werewolves had other plans.
“They used bombs and accelerants…the place was a fortress. Much like this mansion, but bigger and minus today’s technology. Still, I never fathomed I’d return to find a mountain of burning rubble where a castle used to stand. It was horrible. It happened during the day and there was nothing I could do. I tried to make the best of the situation but it was impossible. War broke out. Anything short of retaliation was not an option…
“No one felt more betrayed and guilty than me. What I did—what we did—we made things right.”
“Yeah, I don’t know if that’s quite how I’d sum it up…”
“Do you believe me?”
“To the extent that I believe you regret some of your actions. Not to the extent that you’ve learned any sort of lesson from it. If you had, things would be different now. And you wouldn’t be trying to decide how big of a problem I’m going to be for you,” I say, addressing why he’s really here. It certainly isn’t to confess his sins.
He studies his perfectly manicured nails. “What did Vega say about you coming here? About us helping with this…human situation.”
“Really? Marcus, I’m disappointed; you shouldn’t be so concerned about Vega.”
“That so?”
I concede.
“Vega is willing to put aside differences. Going up against Brixton will be easier with more manpower.”
“Speaking of manpower—why can’t your organization, the DIA, handle this?”
“Honestly, I’m not sure. They wouldn’t have brought me in and played all the cards in their hand if they weren’t desperate. I got the impression the director is facing a lot of red tape and lacks support internally. The group I went to Alaska with, they were pulled in from other branches, mostly military backgrounds, all very classified stuff. Everyone was only told what they needed to know. Important thing I took away from it was that they aren’t coming after us. They know about our existence, they know the lengths we go to, and are willing to go to, just to stay off the grid, and they aren’t hunting us. An important distinction between those humans and the ones in the PMC.”
“Fair enough.” Marcus seems to be weighing his options. “Vega DIA too?”
“Nope. He was pretty pissed when they showed up at his place in Fairbanks.”
“Oh yeah?” Marcus scoffs at that. “I bet he was.”
“What’s the story behind you two?”
His amusement wavers slightly and he brushes off my question.
“What, you didn’t have a vision? Can’t see it?”
There is hatred behind the sarcasm. I give him a dismissive look and he rethinks his answer.
“Just never saw eye to eye. Not about the world, not about our place in it, nothing really.”
“Like working with the wolves. You realize what a hypocrite it makes you being mad at me for working with humans.”
“Ah, but you see, what I’ve done, it’s all for the betterment of our kind, to evolve in the right direction. Keep us on course. I am a survivalist, Lori, and a traditionalist. I’ll do anything it takes to see that our kind continues to walk the earth unhindered, powerful and untouchable. The old rules must be adhered to or else all chaos will break loose, and we will no longer be able to hide in the shadows. The old ways are the reason we have persevered for centuries.”
“I’m sure there’s a hundred or so vampires that would disagree. What was the body count in the fire?”
“As I said, the fire wasn’t supposed to happen. We all have our reasons. And we have to live with the consequences of the decisions we make. But you weren’t there; you can’t possibly begin to understand.” Marcus gets up, straightens his perfectly pressed shirt, fingers adjusting the cufflinks. “We’ll go with you and take out this PMC. But after that, I don’t think you should come back here anymore. I think it’d be best to part ways.”
I stand. “Deal.”
Marcus starts to extend his hand, rethinks it, and simply gives a nod as he exits. He hasn’t touched me, not so much as a handshake since I told him about my visions. Moreover, he doesn’t want me around. The closer I am the easier it is for me to see his thoughts and read his energy. He wanted me around when he didn’t believe Adrian’s claim about my abilities. Wanted me around when I could be a pawn in his chess board.
Now he’s afraid of me, doesn’t like what he can’t control. And if he doesn’t want me seeing his true intentions…that can’t be good. Not for me or anyone close to him.
I bet the only reason he hasn’t killed me is his own devotion to the Pureblood laws. And I’ve kept my word about remaining silent. I’ve got no actual proof of his betrayal. And he knows it’ll come down to his word against mine, which gives him the upper hand. I can’t begin to express my disappointment in learning his truth. It is probably best for both of us that we keep our distance.
***
A herd of terrified shoppers flee the mall, screaming as they dash down the street. Brixton and Owen stand on the top floor, leaning over the railing to watch the action below unfold. The werewolf is wasting no time as he zeros in on his prey, a heavyset man still clutching his shopping bag as he stumbles clumsily out of the food court, and pounces from behind. The sight and sound of his limbs being torn off causes even more panic from horrified onlookers.
With two exceptions. Brixton and Owen smile through the deafening screams.
“Well, this should get the vampires’ attention.”
“Indeed. However, I am a little concerned that it will get everyone’s attention.” Owen looks around as people sprint by on their phones, shouting for police.
“Is your friend in pla
ce?”
“Yes.”
“Have him start wrangling the wolf into the van. Let’s move this party to someplace more secluded.”
“Sure thing, boss.” Owen pulls out his phone and heads for the steps. Brixton starts to follow, lingering just a little longer to watch the wolf work.
***
“The plane will be ready within the hour.” Marcus studies his phone screen as he enters.
We are all gathered in a study that serves as a makeshift conference room. Like most of the rooms in the mansion, it’s lined floor to ceiling with shelves of antiques and books and smells like a musty library. Unlike most of the other rooms of this kind, this one has a large mahogany table surrounded by high back chairs with intricate carvings depicting warriors, inventors, and philosophers. The set has been well preserved and can probably be traced back to a king’s castle or some wealthy emperor’s dining room.
As if to remind us that it’s not the seventeenth century, a flat-screen television hangs over a blacked-out window. The news streams on mute: a continuous loop of a wolf terrorizing shoppers at a mall outside London. Practically in our backyard.
“In lieu of tonight’s events, Crina and I will stay behind with Jiro to take care of this wolf issue. Dade and Xan—you two will go with Quinn and Lori to Vega’s.”
“How did this happen? A werewolf living less than an hour from here and we didn’t know about it?” Dade is concerned, eager to go after it and likely disappointed he’s been ordered to sit in a plane instead.
“We don’t know. But my guess is he came in from elsewhere. Maybe a tourist who got infected and hasn’t learned to control it. There is a full moon tonight. And from what we’ve seen on the news, the animal is still on the loose. That’s why both Crina and I are going to hunt it.”
“We must act fast. Hopefully by the time you land, we’ll be sending word that the wolf has been contained. It looks as if it’s acting alone. Even with a full moon, shouldn’t be a problem,” Crina adds while loading clips of silver-infused bullets into her pair of custom M1911s.
Chapter 14
As they enter the park grounds, Owen slows the van as they reach a path shrouded in trees. They wait for a minute, checking that the coast is clear. Owen kills the engine and goes around to the back of the van. The mercenary jumps out the back door to meet him. Inside, their wolf is asleep in his cage, snoring away. Blood stains his fur; flesh hangs from his claws.
The hired gun hands Owen the key to the cage. “When you want to wake him up, just shoot him in the backside. I didn’t give him a strong dosing so it shouldn’t take much to get him going again. You can keep the van.”
“Thanks bro, I owe you one. Might want to get out of here for phase two. We should be good from here on out.”
Owen slips the man a padded envelop and he takes off towards the nearest road. Sirens can be heard in the distance, otherwise the park itself is very peaceful.
Owen goes to the passenger side and waits for Brixton to get off the phone.
“We’re good to go, boss.”
“Excellent. You pay the man for his fine service?”
“Yes. He’ll keep quiet, too, no worries. He’s a pro.”
“Make sure the wolf’s tracker is working, then set him free. Unless these vampires are supremely bad hunters, it shouldn’t take them long to find us.”
“What’ll we do if Lori shows up?”
“If we could only be so lucky.”
All these years of working with her and that smile still sends a chill up Owen’s spine.
***
Richmond Park had been a guess at first, given its close proximity to the mall. They comb the paths along the woods for a sign. It doesn’t take them long to spot blood and dirt-streaked paw prints across the paved biking trails.
“We’re close,” Marcus gestures to Crina as she enters the woods, following a path of broken branches and tufts of fur.
“I hear growling.” Crina draws her gun.
They come across the beast helping himself to a deer he’s just brought down. Distracted by his fresh kill, the wolf doesn’t sense them approaching at first. Then a shot hits his side and he jolts upright, looking for the culprit.
He spots Crina first, drops to all fours, and charges. She fires a single shot into his head. The copper casing fragments in his skull to reveal a small silver core filling. It’s enough to do the job. He drops without so much as a whimper.
“Nice shot.” Marcus appears at her side.
“He’s not turning.” Crina walks towards him and fires another shot, this one through his heart.
“That’s odd.”
They stand over him. Marcus bends down to check for a pulse.
“Strange, isn’t it? That he doesn’t revert back to human form, I mean,” a female voice behind them asks. They immediately turn around, but can’t pinpoint the voice’s location.
“Relax, I’m a friend. I released the wolf to get your attention. I can explain why he’s different from the usual breeds of werewolves you hunt. And I’ll be happy to tell a great deal more, but I’ll need you to lower your weapons first.”
Crina and Marcus are standing shoulder to shoulder, guns aimed in the direction of the voice. They ease their stance, Crina turns to Marcus, and he nods, lowering his gun.
“Alright, who are you?” Crina asks as she holsters her weapon.
Brixton clicks a button and the invisible shield drops. She holds up the box.
“You’re familiar with these, I assume? I believe you have one of my devices in your possession.”
“Brixton?” Marcus guesses.
“In the flesh.”
Crina immediately shows her fangs. Marcus puts a hand on her shoulder.
“She wouldn’t have come all this way without a good reason; let’s at least hear her out first.”
“Ah, so my reputation precedes me.” Brixton smirks, steps boldly towards them, extending her hand. “And you two are?”
They stare at her outstretched hand and don’t take it. She shrugs it off.
“Marcus and Crina,” Marcus says.
“Marcus, you are just the man I was hoping to meet.”
“That so?” he asks skeptically.
“I come to offer you a deal. I’ve got a problem I know you can help me with and I can make it worth your while…and then some.”
“We don’t work with humans,” Marcus states flatly, his tone adamant and dismissive.
“Even when what that human offers in return will forever change the way your kind survives? I’m talking revolutionary technology here. These black boxes are just a taste, an aperitif if you will. The real artistry is behind the smoke and mirrors. The technology we have will give immortality a new name. Synthetic blood, limb regeneration, enhanced power…you will be invincible. Think about it: exoskeletons that let you walk in the sun. Blood from a machine that tastes like it’s tapped from a live vein.”
Crina and Marcus exchange glances, eyebrows raised. Brixton takes a measured breath and continues her speech.
“Look, I don’t presume to know what you are capable of. Vampires might be light years ahead of humans in terms of this stuff. But if anything I’m talking about is of interest, I’d like to work with you, become allies. It would be a temporary thing, a business arrangement.”
“Why do all of this for vampires? What’s in it for you?” Crina is clearly unimpressed.
“I’m not. I’m working for a corporation that wants this technology for humans, but I have the funds and capabilities to make…additional ventures possible. These things I mention—the blood for instance, it’s a side project—my contributors don’t care how their money is used as long as they receive their orders. It’s all about the end result. And as long as my weapons and related devices exceed anything else on the market, my investors turn a blind eye.
“You see, I’ve got chemists on site with the know-how; they complete my client’s orders, then develop things of this nature on the side.” She g
estures at the wolf. “I’ve been working on a few experiments and I need help from actual vampires to take it to the next level.”
“You haven’t told us why yet,” says Marcus.
“Well, that’s complicated. You see, I could use some help defensively. I’ve got both humans and vampires trying to destroy my work at the moment; I could use some stronger allies.”
“We heard you were killing vampires.” Crina’s tone is antithetical.
“From Lori, right? Look, I tried to reason with her, I really did. First of all, her team of humans came bursting in and lit the place up. Our retaliation was simply out of self-defense. They weren’t there to talk. They went in with ‘shoot to kill’ orders. Those orders extended past my guards; it included my unarmed scientists and my vampire allies. And the they I’m referring to is the DIA. I assume you’ve heard of them? It’s a clandestine government agency that’s only out to protect its own interests. We did not instigate it and I never wanted any bloodshed. The only reason they didn’t take control of my base is because they foolishly underestimated the manpower—and the technology—I had on site. I’m worried they won’t make that mistake again, though. Bottom line is, my operation is in jeopardy.”
“And we should believe you? Just take your word on that?” Crina shoots Marcus a look that says: Is she for real?
“I wouldn’t expect you to.” Brixton raises a hand, palm out, and produces a phone from her back pocket with the other, taps the screen, then hands it to them.
“If I may be so bold—I’d like to share footage from the security feed at my compound. Footage of Lori staking a vampire, a former ally. I wasn’t capturing vampires; I was working with them. The DIA found out and decided to fight fire with fire.”
The screen is small, but the image is fairly crisp for a security feed. The video shows Lori stabbing another vampire in the back with a stake and him disintegrating into a pile of ashes. Crina’s eyes go wide. Marcus grimaces.
Marcus hands back the phone and pulls Crina aside, whispering, “I honestly can’t say I’m all that surprised; she’s always resented our kind. Had a hard time dealing with being turned. I can see her taking it out on vampires.”
