Resistance (Dark Realm Series)

by Mason, Patricia

I glanced to the side and saw Marlowe scrutinizing me in silence with knowing eyes. He knew what my supposed phobia was about because he'd actually been in my vision. He hadn't been a figment of my imagination after all.

  Stomping toward the door, I grabbed Marlowe as I passed him and he allowed me to pull him through to the hall.

  "That girl is strange," I heard Riley say.

  "She's a bitch, that's what," the medic muttered.

  Riley snickered. "Well...both are true."

  I slammed the door closed to block out their laughter.

  "What are we going to do about those things?" I whispered furiously at Marlowe. "And don't pretend you don't know what I'm talking about."

  "I have no intention of pretense," Marlowe said in a low voice. "As I said before, those things are golems. But I don't know what we are going to do about them. They are generally considered indestructible."

  "Bloody hell. So what you're saying is that the prince is...the prince is..."

  "The prince is creating an army of invincible twelve-foot mud monsters."

  Chapter Six

  "Can you imagine what I would do if I could do all I can?"

  Sun Tzu, The Art of War

  "I must tell the general about these golem things." I said, charging down the hall.

  With his long legs Marlowe should've been able to easily keep pace with me, but he lagged a few steps behind. "How do you know what we saw in the vision is real?"

  How did I know? Certainly the vision had been nothing like any other I'd experienced. The things I'd seen could have been my own delusion. Or the images could have been manipulated by Marlowe. Was he playing a devious game? Showing me those golems and then trying to convince me they might not be real?

  "Think, Amy," he said panting a little as he chased me. "Even if Gethin is actually creating golems in that warehouse, how will you explain your knowledge of their existence? You do not wish to tell her of the real source of your blood phobia, do you?"

  I skidded to a halt.

  "No more than I wish to tell her of all my talents," Marlowe continued. "I understand your General Thatcher does not tolerate powers of the supernatural."

  "You understand right," I muttered before pinning him with an arched gaze. "Just what are all your talents?"

  "Oh no." Marlowe's lips twisted into a sly smile and the glint in his eyes taunted me. "What fun would there be in telling? I prefer you to discover me bit by bit."

  Something about his innuendo had a hollow ring as if he were trying to rile me and divert my attention from something. Was it my question about his talents or something else? For the first time since I'd encountered Marlowe he appeared fatigued. And this after he'd merely been lounging against a wall in the clinic. He'd been in my vision but...

  "Are you all right?" I asked him.

  Marlowe gave a startled jerk. "Of course."

  "Really? Because you seem pale."

  "Shouldn't we be discussing the golems?"

  "Not until I know whether you're going to faint on me."

  "I am not going to faint. I have never fainted. I never will faint," he shouted.

  "Okay, okay. You have no weaknesses. I get it."

  "I did not say that," he shouted. Visibly calming himself, Marlowe rubbed his temples. "Our excursion into the vision merely gave me a headache. I am otherwise fine and I don't expect a headache will cause me to lose consciousness. Satisfied?"

  With a shrug and a nod, I continued on down the hall, this time at what felt like a stroll. "If Driscoll hadn't been there I could tell the general that Fenwick gave me the information about the golems."

  "Is it likely he would tell her otherwise?"

  "Oh yes. He loves to tattle," I said. "What about actually going to the warehouse for real."

  "And have your soul sucked out for real?" Marlowe asked. "I think a confrontation with the golems and their ghoul handlers should be planned for after we learn a little more about how to defeat them."

  After proceeding in silence for a few moments, Marlowe and I turned a corner and descended the stairs.

  "If we knew where this feedlot C-1 is located we could at least save the human prisoners," I muttered.

  Marlowe heard me. "But, if that vision was true, we do know they were headed to the Tower Bridge.

  "Right. They could still be there or not far away. We have to mount a rescue." Despite the dire situation I couldn't help staring into the depths of his brown eyes. Losing myself in them seemed so easy, even now. Marlowe wasn't human. But what was he? And whatever he was I didn't trust him...even though I wouldn't mind kissing him again.

  Disgusted with myself, I shook my head as I stomped away down the hall. "We have to mount a rescue."

  "I'll come with you." Marlowe said, easily coming alongside me.

  In order to lead us into a trap? Even if that were his plan, I found I couldn't stand the thought of leaving those humans to be milked and fed upon like so much cattle if even a chance of saving them existed.

  "I don't need you," I said.

  Marlowe grabbed my arm and pulled me to a stop. His eyes locked with mine. "No, my dear Amy. I will accompany you. I have a vested interest in your well-being."

  What did that mean? Even as I craved clarification of his last statement, I found I couldn't ask.

  "Besides," he continued, breaking into a smirk. "Do you trust me to stay here in your absence? What might I do whilst you are away? Alas, I know not."

  Bollocks! If Marlowe planned a trap he could just as easily be trying to lure me out of headquarters so he could spring it here.

  "Wouldn't you rather have me where you can keep an eye on me?" he asked teasingly.

  "All right. Sod it. You're coming with me." He had me and the bastard knew it. "First, I need whisky."

  ###

  Author's Note

  Thank you for reading Resistance, Volume One of the Dark Realm Series. If you enjoyed it, I hope you will post a review at Amazon.com. And if you would like to know more about me, please visit my websites at http://www.patriciamason.net and http://www.prmason.net You'll find out how to get free books there.

  Look for the continuation of Amy's story in VENGEANCE, Dark Realm Series, Volume Two. Coming in March 2013.

  Bonus Exclusive: TRANSCRIPT OF AN INTERVIEW WITH A PRINCELY VAMPIRE.

  The audience is led into a darkened room illuminated only by the flickering light of three small candles on a corner table. There are no other furnishings aside from a wooden easel at the room's center. Mounted on the easel is a large, ornately framed mirror. On closer inspection it's clear the room has been painted black and the windows have been obscured by heavy drapes.

  Moderator: Hello everyone. We are in store for a rare treat: a televised interview with a princely vampire. On one side we have Kizzy Taylor, a feisty fifteen-year-old high school girl from Savannah, Georgia. On the other side—in an alternate dimension—we have His Royal Highness, Prince Leopold, monarch of the British Empire of Dorcha.

  First of all, Kizzy, can you tell the audience a little about yourself?

  Kizzy:I didn't realize this would be about me. I don't want to talk about myself. I'm just here to gather intel from my enemy, Prince Leopold.

  Moderator: Just a little background for the audience? Please?

  Kizzy: Well, first of all, I'm not really fifteen. I'll be sixteen in a few days. I enjoy urban spelunking, which is exploring abandoned buildings and tunnels, with my friends. There's not much else to tell. I'm pretty average except for the fact that my father tried to kill me and I just discovered my blood can open a vortex leading to an evil alternate dimension.

  Moderator: How about telling the audience where we are?

  Kizzy:This room is a psychomanteum.

  Moderator: Psycho—what?

  Kizzy:It's a visioning tool. The basis for the psychomanteum dates back thousands of years. Staring into reflective objects such as pools of water or mirrors has been considered a conduit to communicating with spirits or other dim
ensions since the ancient Greeks.

  Moderator: How does it work?

  Kizzy: The room is set up so that I can reach a meditative state. Once, I get into the right frame of mind, the prince should appear in the mirror. At first when I started using this thing it was hard to get into the right headspace. But it's been easy lately.

  Moderator: Why do we have to use a mirror to talk to the prince?

  Kizzy: Duh. Since Prince Leopold is the ruler of an empire in an alternate universe, it's the only way to talk to him. I'm certainly not about to open the portal between our worlds and allow him to come here to be interviewed in person.

  Moderator: Who is Prince Leopold?

  Kizzy:He's the son of Queen Victoria. He was born with hemophilia, a blood disorder that prevents clotting. In our dimension he died in 1884 as a result of internal bleeding from a trip and fall.

  Audience: Awwwww.

  Kizzy:Don't feel sorry for the prince. In his alternate world, Queen Victoria employed a warlock to try to save his life. But the cure went wrong and he was turned into a vampire. He became monarch of the Empire of the Dark after killing off his entire family, including his mother. Since then he's been busy creating a vampire aristocracy and gathering all sorts of paranormal creatures into his sphere. Only trouble is, humans are becoming scarce in his world so he'd like to get control of me so I can open up other dimensions for conquering.

  Leopold (laughing as he appears in the mirror): Kizzy, you make me sound so evil.

  Kizzy: Hello Your Highness. I didn't realize you'd already arrived. I'm just telling them a few facts.

  Leopold: You'll have these nice people thinking that I'm some kind of villain. While it's true I will do anything and everything to do my duty to my subjects, I believe that clearly makes me the hero, not the villain.

  Kizzy: Whatever floats your coffin.

  Leopold: I do not understand this idiom.

  Kizzy: Never mind. So, what new schemes are you plotting against the human race these days?

  Leopold: You do not expect me to reveal my plans so easily do you?

  Kizzy: It was worth a try.

  Leopold (shaking his head sadly): Am I really so different from you? You want to save your friends and family. I merely want to save my people.

  Kizzy: You used my friends as your personal sippy cups. Should I thank you for that?

  Leopold: My subjects — vampire, ghoul and the like— require humans as food. Am I to disregard my duty and allow them to starve? To perish in the most horrible of deaths? No I must provide for them. In this world, all free-range humans have been or soon will be rounded up and placed in the feedlot system. But we need an influx of new food sources and the only choice is to go outside this world.

  Kizzy: So you admit you're killing people.

  Leopold: All human feedlots in my empire are run to the strictest of industry standards for production. Food stock is treated in the most humane way possible.

  Kizzy: Yeah. You suck 'em dry and use their bones for toothpicks. Real humane.

  Leopold: Would it be better to allow them to be hunted down in the wild? No. It is better this way. Our system ensures that the humans do not feel pain or fear. They are virtually unconscious. In a trance.

  Kizzy: Like zombies.

  Leopold: No. Zombies are brain-eating fiends. They are rotting flesh. I would not suck on them if—

  Kizzy: I get it. There's a difference.

  Leopold: Let us not argue, dear Kizzy. We will agree to disagree. But let me say how happy I am to be here today to communicate directly to my fans in your world.

  Kizzy: Fans? What fans?

  Leopold: Come now, Kizzy. I am a ruler of great power and wealth. If I may be immodest for a moment, I also possess good looks and charisma. I embody a very attractive combination. Of course I have fans in your world.

  Kizzy: No, I don't agree.

  Leopold: Besides, you Americans love British royalty. I have heard, for example, about your admiration for one of the descendents I would have had but for my transformation. The wedding of Prince William to a girl named Kate was quite a popular event in your world by all accounts.

  Kizzy: Yes, but that's different. They are a beautiful young human couple in love and living a romantic fairytale. You're a...a ...

  Leopold: Blood sucking monster?

  Kizzy: If the fangs fit.

  Leopold: Is that sarcasm?

  Kizzy: Oh no. Not a drop.

  Leopold: Just because I used a couple of your friends for —what did you call it? — a sippy cup, does not require a fit of ill manners on your part.

  Kizzy: Why don't we try a few questions about your likes and dislikes for the throng of "fans" you imagine you have out there? I'll throw a few choices out and you go with your first answer.

  Leopold: Ah yes. This is bit like word association. My psychoanalyst has utilized this technique on me to explore my Oedipal issues.

  Kizzy: Your psychoanalyst?

  Leopold: Yes. Sigmund Freud.

  Kizzy: Is Freud a vampire in your dimension?

  Leopold: Of course. You may find it hard to believe, but I was quite traumatized by my childhood. I am not ashamed of requiring therapy. Dr. Freud was one of the first humans I turned after my transformation was complete.

  Kizzy: My question was legitimate. He could be a ghoul. Those creatures are created by you vampires, right?

  Leopold: Yes, but you don't think I'd divulge the innermost workings of my psyche to a mere ghoul do you?

  Kizzy: Well he could be a werewolf or—

  Leopold (snapping fingers): Me talk to a dog? Please. Now you are just being ridiculous. On to your questions.

  Kizzy: Okay. First of all, messy or neat?

  Leopold: Neat.

  Kizzy: Mozart of Beethoven?

  Leopold: Mozart.

  Kizzy (mumbling): Figures...he was crazy.

  Leopold: What did you say?

  Kizzy: Nothing. Chocolate or Vanilla? Oops sorry. You don't eat do you?

  Leopold: In fact, I find chocolate quite delicious when added to some pickled brain. It's the perfect combination of savory and sweet that—

  Kizzy: Moving on. Dog or cat?

  Leopold: They're both tasty.

  Kizzy (shaking head): Team Edward or Team Jacob?

  Leopold: I have no idea who theses "teams" are. Do they play rugby or football?

  Kizzy: Never mind. It's a stupid question. All these are stupid questions. Let's wrap this up.

  Leopold: All right, but before I go I'd like to say thank you to the moderator for having us on your television show. I hope you didn't consider the animosity of my exchanges with Kizzy discourteous to you or your audience. I really would like to visit you all in person one day.

  Kizzy: I bet you would. Interview over. I'm shutting this down.

  Leopold: You may run away now, Kizzy Taylor, but be assured you will not be able to run forever. I will find some way to open the portal between our worlds again very soon.

  She steps away from the mirror and the prince's image fades to fog

  Kizzy: Not if I have anything to do with it.

  To read more about Kizzy and Prince Leopold, and to find out what's happening in our dimension while the action of RESISTANCE is taking place, look for ENTANGLEMENTS, a paranormal romantic suspense, which is part of the Paranormal Realities Box Set. http://amzn.com/B00AAZ5YMO. Watch for Amy to make her appearance there as well.

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