by Al K. Line
It's the utter uniqueness of the situation. For Vicky, she was witnessing something she had never seen before in her life. True violence. The squishy bits of a person meant to remain inside, never to be gazed upon. The blood and crunched bone, the half-digested food and the waste products leaking and oozing and squirting between fangs, she was almost compelled to look because of its utter strangeness and surreal horror.
Then it was over, and Brains withdrew from the vampires, making strange mewling sounds like an injured dog. Whimpering and snuffling, body trembling uncontrollably. He was no unthinking animal, there was a strong sense of self inside the body of the half-wolf. Brains was very unusual. Shifters could control their change, but when they did it they were the animal. Most could shift at any time but Brains was different. He was tied to the moon. Could become the wolf but maintain a semblance of the man. Meaning, he was much more dangerous than those that shifted into an animal, for he could plan, think, second-guess his opponent and use his considerable intellect to outwit and destroy them.
The obvious drawback being he was limited to maybe a few days each month, but what he lacked in ability to change at will he sure as hell made up for in ferocity.
How in Buster's name had Merrick kept this guy on a leash for so many years? He was smart, could do this, and clearly wasn't afraid to use violence. No way should Merrick have survived as long as he had, let alone make Brains do his bidding. Guess I'd find out, if he lived. If any of us lived.
"You okay?" I whispered into Vicky's ear.
She lifted her head and said, "No, not really. He just... just tore them apart. I didn't think things like this could happen."
"They can happen. And worse. He's a rare kind of man, turns into the wolf but remains a man, too. He helped us, but it wasn't pretty." I didn't know what else to say. There was no point chastising her for wanting to tag along, she already knew it would be dangerous, but there's a difference between romanticizing an adventure and being in the middle of it and realizing it's a lot more scary and a lot more visceral than you could have imagined.
I hoped this would make her see sense and go home to her kids. But I also knew Vicky and above all else she was stubborn. She'd see this through to the bitter end no matter what. I had to make the offer, though.
"You want me to take you back? It will only take a minute and you can be home. Go to bed and pretend like this never happened."
Vicky pushed away from me, took in the sight of the mangled corpses and Brains hunched over half in shadow, body already cracking and morphing back into that of a tall, skinny man. "No, we have to get George, and I'm just as much a part of this as you are now. I'm involved and I won't ever sleep again unless I know this is over with."
"Okay, I understand."
Maybe this was the true reason why I could never sleep. I said nothing, but what Vicky was about to learn was that it was never over. There were always things lurking in the shadows in the world I walked in and she'd chosen to step over the line and join me. There was no going back. Ever.
There was no peace, there was no rest, there was always something bad ready to rip away your sanity.
Makes you wonder why I trod this path, doesn't it? But maybe I was just like Cerberus, a Hound without the name. My own personal crusade to ensure the wonders of this world belonged to the right people, or at least didn't get to stay with the wrong ones.
Or, and I regret to say I think this is probably the real truth, I liked this wildness, the buzz, the sense of danger and ability to take the moral high ground.
I was a soldier without a country to fight for. Once you've been a part of the wilder, more dangerous side of life, the mundane world with its petty concerns seems ridiculous, unimportant, and bland. You want to stand in the middle of the street and shout, "Don't you know what's happening? I've killed and I've been killed. I've lived, I've felt the rush. I've wielded mighty forces and I have taken charge of my life and chosen to walk on the side of the angels and demons. What have you done?"
But, just like soldiers once they are no longer fighting a war, I didn't. When around regular folk I kept quiet, acted as normal as I could, but I saw it in those who'd witnessed the truth of this world. The edginess in their eyes, the sense of something missing they had, the emptiness inside.
And given half the chance I'd jump right back into the madness just to feel alive.
Mousehole
Brains dressed calmly and without looking at us, taking the time to clean himself with wet wipes that seemed rather convenient to have unless he'd been expecting to change. There was no point saying anything, certainly no point forging on ahead without him. We were all in this together and he was an asset, if a rather worrying one.
Soon enough, he was dressed and came to join us, acting as though nothing had happened.
"Let's go," I said. "And thanks."
"Like I said, you owe me." Brains adjusted his shirt collar, checked himself over, and then did a strange thing. He frowned at his tie, then undid it and yanked it from his neck. "Always hated wearing a tie." He stomped on it then walked out the barn.
Nathan remained stoic as always, just turned up his nose at the smell and the mess, taking it all in his stride.
"This is all your fault. What is wrong with you?" I said quietly to him as we made our way across the fields toward Mousehole.
"As I told you, we didn't know if we could trust you, so had to try to get the ashes by other means."
"You put my daughter's life in danger, you put everyone's life in danger. Just so you can be the hero, the one that made sure Cerberus got their prize. You could have stopped this, you could have warned me, told me, and you could have had it."
Nathan moved fast to keep pace with me, but it obviously cost him. "Arthur, don't play games with me. If I'd told you who I was, who we really were, then what, you'd have just handed over the ashes and that would have been that?" I remained silent. "Exactly. You may not have given the bag to the vampires but you wouldn't have given it to me either. And it would have made no difference. We would have still been after you and the vampires, too. I did you a favor."
"Some favor. You put George at risk."
"No, you did that. You took something, agreed to a job without knowing what it meant. That's on your shoulders, my friend, don't try to put the blame on me. I know what I'm involved in, you too, and you know the risks."
I sped up to catch Vicky. He had a point, but I'd trusted Nigel, never thought he'd cross me like this. He'd betrayed me, just like Pepper had, and they were both dead.
We forged ahead, moving fast, nobody talking. Before long we were above the village, brightly painted houses palely reflecting the light of the moon, huddled close together as if for warmth through the night. As we entered the village, it was as if it knew this was no regular night, that strange things were afoot. Houses seemed to lean across the narrow streets to warn their neighbors. Be quiet, go to sleep. There are strange creatures in the village and they mean us harm.
The place was deserted, not a soul in sight. Just a few cats that ran for cover as we approached, watching with wide eyes from behind pots of plants that would be bright in the daylight, there to cheer up the fronts of houses that opened right onto the cobbled streets.
We made it down to the harbor where fishing and recreation boats bobbed languidly on the water. Everything still, everything quiet, everything feeling wrong. My village, my home, had been violated. I kept my work well away from here, lived a peaceful and quiet life, chatting with the shop owners, nodding at the fishermen when I sat by the harbor early in the mornings, sleep eluding me.
I liked it here. It was so far removed from the craziness of the cities, from the dark places I went with dark intentions and where death was always ready to pounce. Here it was a different life. Everyone smiled, and chatted to their neighbors, where the pace of life was slow and there were no gangsters, no monsters, no thieving and no murder. Crime was next to non-existent, the tourists brought in money, and the winters
were wondrous.
The number of houses owned by those only using them on weekends or a few times a year was a major bone of contention but there was nothing to be done about it. Out of season, the village was almost deserted, the streets quiet, only the locals out and about. It had a different feel then, one I enjoyed. A true sense of living in the past, everything simpler. Even now, walking the streets, I got that sense of otherworldly innocence, and I'd walked through the village no end of times, summer and winter, finding this sense of peace.
There was room to breathe, to think, to take in the scent of fish and salt and feel the wind on my face. Well away from the beeping of car horns and the constant shouting and chaos of the city.
This was my home, my true home, and I'd brought death and malice to its doorstep.
Time to clean up the mess and make sure it never came back.
Arthur was ready to take out the trash.
A Drive Home
My nerves felt frayed as I touched my wand to the door of a rather swanky BMW and it sprang open. Wasting no time, we piled in and I again let a trace of magic channel through me, out the wand, and the car started. It wasn't a local's, so I didn't feel quite as bad, and all things being well, it would be back before the owners woke in the morning.
Yeah, exactly. Not a hope in hell of them ever seeing it again.
I headed home, having to control my speed as the tight turns and narrow lanes meant an accident was likely unless I got a grip.
"How long before your people get here?" I asked Nathan.
"We had a few less than an hour away so they should be arriving right about now. But the main group are some way out, they'll be a good hour, maybe more."
"So no use at all. Guess it's just us and a couple of your spooks then, if they make it."
"Guess so." Nathan didn't seem unduly worried, and that made me worry more. All he cared about were the ashes and owning them for his nutty friends. Not my daughter, not me. Not Vicky. Brains could take care of himself, but George was just a kid, and Vicky was a mother.
The last stretch of road was a straight run so I put my foot down and tried not to freak out. My heart was hammering so hard in my chest I worried about a stroke, but I was unable to calm myself, couldn't stop my mind conjuring up images of George surrounded by vampires with the ashes of Mikalus at the center. Each vampire taking a bite of her, chanting, and lost to desire. Then it was done, and Mikalus rose from the ashes, a terrible Phoenix reborn. Powerful, invincible, the original vampire.
Hungry.
I saw George, eyes wide and frightened, shouting and screaming as the terrible body of Mikalus unfolded, revealing his true self, before he shrouded her in his tattered arms and bent her back, exposing her neck, then bit and drank deeply, her legs kicking as he drained her.
Then she was dying on the floor, and the last thing she saw of this world was the man who killed her and I was nowhere to be seen. I'd abandoned her to the monsters.
I mumbled, "No," and drove faster.
There was no way I'd let that happen. She would not die, she would not be taken from me. I shook my head to clear the fog, began to draw power, focusing every ounce of my being on the magic. Willing it to consume me, to give me the strength I needed to tear through the vampires, obliterate them and save my child.
We were there. I slammed my foot on the brake and skidded to a halt at the gate.
"Where is everyone?" asked Vicky, unbuckling her seatbelt and leaning forward between the seats.
"That's a very good question," I said.
The place looked the same as always. The exterior lights highlighted the cobbled courtyard, the barns, the mud, the house. Everything was quiet, everything as it should be. No sign of anyone or anything untoward.
My heart sank.
Intruder Alert
"Everyone out," I ordered.
"You don't get to be in charge," said Nathan.
"I'll tell you what, Nathan. When it's your daughter being eaten by vampires then you can have your turn, okay? Until then, shut the fuck up and get out of the fucking car or I swear to God I will make more than your arm melt. Do you hear me?"
For a moment he hesitated, and I wondered what he thought he could do. But then he sighed as if to mollify a petulant child and said, "As you wish. But if you interfere with our plans, you will never see the sun rise. Do I make myself clear?"
"Just get out," I whispered, no strength left for such games.
Nathan and Brains got out the car and I moved to exit. "Wait," said Vicky, putting a hand to my arm.
"What is it? I'm kinda busy here." Vicky held my gaze and I lowered mine. "Sorry, I'm stressed. Didn't mean to snap."
"Arthur, it's okay. Look, just remember one thing."
"Okay. What?"
"You're The Hat and nobody fucks with you." She smiled, and then she set her jaw in determination, the look she got that told the world she would have her own way, no matter what.
I nodded, and smiled back at her. "I'm The Hat, nobody fucks with me."
"Better?"
"Better," I agreed, and we got out of the car.
Standing in the mud outside the gate, I paused to listen but heard nothing. From here the house looked the same as always, just a hint of light from between the curtains that could have meant anything or nothing. George wasn't exactly an eco warrior and seemed to have an uncanny knack for turning on, and leaving on, all lights she had no intention of using for at least twelve hours. Something they did to all teenagers at a secret teenager lab designed to make parents question if they had any form of long-term memory whatsoever.
The exterior lights didn't reach this far from the house and we were in almost complete darkness. So, with sudden insight, I pulled out my wand and let a little of my focus trickle down my arm into the comforting warm wood. The tip glowed clear white, distorting everyone's features, turning them into bogeymen, eyes lost in shadow. I angled the light down as Vicky murmured her delight at the show of magic, and I wondered what the hell she'd make of what was surely to come. I knew the vampires were here somewhere, but needed to play this cool for now.
My gut was right. The entrance was criss-crossed with the tire tracks of vehicles. One set looked like those of my current four by four, the others made by two vehicles, maybe three. They'd definitely planned this, had sent some vampires ahead on the long drive to arrive when needed, the rest coming through my damn front door. Then I remembered she'd had friends over earlier, the tracks could have been theirs, but usually they got dropped off, never entered the courtyard, so maybe I was right. I found it hard to think straight, but I knew the vampires were here. They had George.
"Okay, they're here," I said, "time to go stake some hearts."
"But I haven't got any stakes," moaned Vicky, looking panicked.
"I was joking, Vicky. You just have to kill them, that's all. I mean we. You stay here. The fun is over, this is life and death now, okay?"
"No." She stomped her foot, then spat out mud as it splattered all over her face and clothes.
"Please, I can't risk losing you. They're vampires. Actual, genuine, vampires. They'll kill you."
"I'm coming." My skinny friend stuck out her chest, shook her head so her ponytail bounced, and wiped at her face. She also remained right where she was.
"My dear lady, are you certain?" asked Nathan.
"Yes."
"Then take this, I have another." Nathan handed her a gun then jumped aside as she took it and waved it about.
"Hold that down," I hissed, grabbing her arm and lowering it.
"Sorry, I wasn't going to shoot you."
"Do you know how to use it?" asked Nathan, keeping well away from her.
"Um, not really."
"No matter. There's nothing to it. Just point it at bad guys and pull the trigger. So be careful, the safety's off."
"I can do that." Vicky nodded at me and repeated her words. "I can do that. I will."
"Fine. But stay behind us and if you need to us
e it wait until we aren't in your way. This is a last resort kind of thing." I worried she'd shoot herself in the foot, but that was better than her shooting me in the head.
I opened the gate and pushed it wide, and just as we were about to enter the farm proper a car pulled up. We tensed, but as it slowed Nathan said, "My people," and went to greet the new arrivals. Less than a minute later, we had three extra men, all clearly under Nathan's direct control. They were serious, and much larger than us, which was something.
"With no chance to formulate a proper plan, and time being of the essence, I suggest we approach this in a head-on, take no prisoners style of combat."
"Nathan, stop being a dick. Let's just go." I didn't wait. With magic thrumming through my system, my wand hot and almost squirming with anticipation of unleashing terrible forces, and my mind clouded with concern, I marched through my front gate, searching for monsters.
And found them.
No Compromise
We spread out and slowly converged on the house. But the layout of the courtyard was such that there were plenty of hiding places where we could be ambushed before we got there. An old stable block was to the left, opposite the house, and there were storage barns at the far end that gave a clear line of sight to the gate.
Perfect setup for when I was in my house, not so perfect when the roles were reversed and I was the one approaching and unwelcome visitors had already arrived.
As if on cue, five vampires stepped out of the open stables one after the other like they were synchronized. More emerged from the old hay barn, and others came from the far end of the house, stepping forward into the light.
