by Cheree Alsop
“Dartan. I was dying on an operating table. He muttered it after telling the nurses what blood type I needed in order to save my life.”
Dartan looked truly appalled. “I didn’t know you heard that.” He held up a hand. “To be fair, I was about to lose my best friend. I can’t be held responsible for anything I said.”
The vampiress stared at them both. “You’re best friends?”
“Hard to believe, right?” Lilian asked.
The vampiress looked at the human and her gaze softened. “I heard them fighting on their way down the stairs. No wonder. You’re gorgeous! They should be fighting over you.”
“They weren’t fighting over—”
“Come get warm,” the vampiress said, cutting off her reply. “It’s freezing out there.” Lilian gave Aleric and Dartan a little helpless shrug as she was led past them by the vampiress. “I apologize for my inhospitable entrance. It’s hard to find privacy in a city like this. I’ve had to make due.”
“You make due very well,” Lilian replied. “This place is beautiful.”
The vampiress smiled as she sat beside Lilian near the happily dancing fire in a brickwork fireplace. A closer look revealed that it was powered by a propane tank hidden artfully behind a decorative end table.
“I don’t have many visitors,” the vampiress said. “Actually none since I’ve been here.”
“How long have you lived here?” Lilian asked.
“Decades. I’ve lost count.”
Dartan cleared his throat at the vampiress’ answer. “The Rift has only been here a few weeks.” He paused at the vampiress’ glance and ended with, “Uh, Miss.”
“Call me Vallia,” the vampiress said. She extended a hand. Dartan hurried over to it, bowed, and kissed the back of it as though he was a suitor at a ball from a time long past.
“Dartan Targeshson. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“The pleasure is mine,” the vampiress replied.
Aleric and Lilian exchanged surprised looks.
“I didn’t come through the Rift,” the vampiress continued. “Though I’ve seen signs of your entrance to this city.” She met Aleric’s gaze. “I’ve hidden here alone for such a great amount of time that I became curious about a fae so actively involved in helping the humans. I followed you.”
“And saved me when the gorgons attacked,” Aleric said. “That’s actually why we’re here. I need another antidote like the one you gave me.”
“The gorgons have bitten someone else?” Vallia replied in surprise.
“An elf,” Aleric told her. “A woodland elf, to be exact. I’m afraid she’s weakening at the hospital from the effects of the bite as we speak. She doesn’t have much time left. Can you help?”
The vampiress had risen at Aleric’s words and was already pulling vials from a bookshelf near her dining table. The speed with which she worked made it hard to follow her actions.
“You said you’ve been here decades,” Dartan said. “How is that possible?”
“My mother left me at Edge City when I was nine with nothing but a book on potions and this place in which to hide,” Vallia replied without looking at him. “She feared for my safety and felt it was the only way I would survive.”
“There’s another Rift?” Dartan said in shock. “Do you know where it is?”
Vallia paused and looked at him; the dancing light of the fire reflected in her sad, purple gaze. “I’ve searched for it my entire life.”
Dartan’s tone was unreadable when he said, “Why look for it when going home would mean your death?”
Vallia turned back to her work. “Sometimes facing down death is a better option than living a life that impacts no other. Loneliness can be far more painful than not existing at all. I had to try.”
“We could help you get back,” Aleric offered. “It might be safer now.”
Vallia shook her head. “There’s danger coming. I don’t know how, but it’s drawing near. I can feel it. I need to stay.”
Aleric opened his mouth to argue, but Dartan shook his head.
“A vampire’s instincts are something never to argue against,” the vampire said. “We’ll respect your wish.”
“Thank you,” Vallia replied. She handed Aleric the vial she had mixed. “This should help the elf if it was indeed a gorgon that bit her.”
The thought seemed to bother the vampiress a great deal. When she walked them back to the door through which they had come, she had a pensive look on her face. “I wish you all the best of luck.”
“The same to you,” Aleric told her. “Thank you for your hospitality.”
“Thank you for making me laugh,” she replied with a kind smile. “It’s been a long time.”
The werewolf and vampire reached the stairs.
“Please come by to visit any time,” Vallia told Lilian. “I would love to have a friend here, especially a female. Sometimes it would be nice to have some girl talk.”
“I would like that,” Lilian replied. “Thank you for your kindness.”
Dartan chuckled as they walked through the subway passage. “That was not what I expected at all,” he said.
“She was very sweet. I’ll definitely take her up on her offer. I could use a friend to talk to myself,” Lilian mused.
“I’m a friend,” Dartan pointed out.
Lilian smiled at him. “I mean a girl. It’s different.”
“I could pretend to like shiny things, pictures of cats, and chocolate,” Dartan replied.
“Chocolate?” Aleric repeated.
“Dreadful stuff. Sticks to my teeth, and you know how I feel about my teeth,” Dartan said. “On second thought, hang out with Vallia.”
Lilian laughed. Aleric was about to join in when a sound caught his ear. He held up a hand.
“What’s that?” Dartan asked. “You have a question? I thought our friendship was a bit less formal than that, although your politeness is to be commended—”
“I heard something,” Aleric replied, cutting him off.
“We’d better listen,” Dartan said in a mockingly loud undertone to Lilian. “This one has sonar hearing.”
“Seriously?” Aleric said.
Dartan held up his hands. “Fine. Listen away. If your hearing’s so good, why can’t you hear over us, huh?” At Aleric’s look, the vampire quieted.
In the silence, the sound Aleric had heard intensified.
“There’s fighting ahead.” He took off running.
“Why are we running toward the fighting?” Dartan asked, chasing after him.
“Have you ever heard of people fighting this early in the morning?” Aleric called over his shoulder.
“It’s just before five o’clock,” Lilian said, catching up to them both. “What would they have to fight about?”
“I think I might know.” Aleric led the way up the stairs from the subway tunnel and paused on the steps above the road.
A brawl took up most of the street. Nearly a hundred people threw punches, kicked, bit, slapped, screamed, yelled, cried, and argued. The sun was just showing as a gray wisp of dawn caught in the high windows of the buildings around them. The people looked poorly suited to be fighting in the streets. Most of them were in their underwear, nightgowns, sweats, and a few were completely naked.
“It looks like they woke up and came to brawl,” Lilian said, her eyes wide. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”
“That’s ridiculous,” Dartan said from Aleric’s other side. “What could cause this much chaos?” The vampire lifted his voice and shouted, “Hey! Knock it off!”
The fighting continued as if his words didn’t matter.
“I know of only one person who could infuse so many people with the will to battle.” Aleric cupped his hands around his mouth. The howl he let out was long and angry. It tore from his chest and echoed along the brick buildings.
The sound was so unexpected amid the brawl that the humans below slowed, then stopped entirely. The crowd looked at
each other with baffled expressions. Eyes were blackening and noses streamed blood from faces that took on apologetic expressions. Startled exclamations and apologies sounded.
“Wallace!” Aleric shouted. “Show yourself!”
A moment later, the clop of hooves was heard. A man appeared at the corner on a blood-red horse. He held a sword of fire in his hand. Gasps sounded from the crowd; the humans pushed against the buildings on either side to make room for him.
“Why does Aleric know the Horseman of War by his first name?” the werewolf heard Dartan whisper to Lilian.
“I have no idea,” she whispered back with shock in her voice.
Aleric walked down two steps and paused so that he was eye-level with the horseman. He had to admit that Wallace made an impressive sight, his red mount pawing at the pavement while the sword of flames crackled and glowed in the early daylight.
“I saw that you were in town, Aleric,” the horseman said in a tone of camaraderie that chased away the intimidation of his appearance.
“What are you doing?” Aleric demanded.
Wallace looked around at the people. The sight of the bloody faces and bruised knuckles made his mouth turn up at one corner. “I don’t see a problem.”
Aleric glared at him. “You invoked a riot in people who were asleep, not to mention you stole Fluffy. Why put your brother through that?”
“Who’s Fluffy?” Dartan whispered.
“Fabien’s horse,” Lilian replied from behind Aleric.
Wallace looked surprised. “I didn’t steal Fluffy. Why would I do that?”
His reply caught Aleric off-guard. “To cause chaos, like you do.” He waved at the crowd to confirm his point.
Wallace glanced behind him. “I might enjoy a little ruckus, but I know better than to torment Fabien. He loves that horse more than he does any of us.” He patted his great red steed’s neck. “Who could blame him, right Bob?”
Aleric shook his head, confused. “If you weren’t the one who forced Fabien to poison the tomatoes so Perry’s business got shut down, who would do it? Who here even knows the Horsemen exist?”
“Hey!” Wallace protested.
“It’s true,” Aleric replied. “The Horsemen might be legend here, but you really belong to Blays.” He indicated the dispersing crowd of humans. Confusion showed clearly on their faces as to why they had been brawling in the street. “Look at them. They aren’t warriors. They aren’t born with fighting blood for you to boil and fill with rage. They’re businessmen and women, homemakers, doctors, lawyers, peaceful citizens for the most part. This isn’t fair to them.”
The Third Horseman studied the faces of the people who kept as far from him and his horse as possible as they returned to their apartments. Lines of apology traced his face.
“I believe you’re right.” He watched them a moment longer before he turned back to Aleric. “That settles it. I intend to return home to Blays, and I hear you’ve a way to do just that.”
Aleric nodded. “I do.”
Wallace patted his horse’s shoulder with a flourish. “It’s done. I’ll round up my brothers and we’ll head back to where we belong.”
A thought occurred to Aleric. “You might want to leave Perry here. He seems happy with his restaurant.”
A smile spread across Wallace’s face as though Aleric’s words gave him great joy. “I’ll do that. It’s about time that boy got to live out his dreams. I’m sure Fabien will be eager to go back, but I don’t know about Doyle. He disappeared the moment we got here. He can’t leave without her, you know.”
Aleric had no idea what the Horseman was talking about. “Who do you mean?”
“Haga,” Wallace said. “She’s Doyle’s girlfriend. She’s the reason we’re all here. She disappeared, so Doyle insisted we all come to find her, but this place is like looking for a sand wisp in a flock of pixies. I figured if I could create a little trouble, it might stir her up. But as you can see, no Haga.”
“Would Doyle take Fluffy?” Aleric thought it was perhaps the craziest question he had ever asked. Had the Horseman of Death taken his kid brother’s beloved pet? It sounded petty to be sure, but Aleric was running out of conclusions.
“Possibly, I suppose,” Wallace replied in a doubtful tone. “He wouldn’t do it out of spite, to be sure.” The Third Horseman looked at Lilian. “Considering the fact that he’s Death, he’s not very spiteful. I always tell him to mix it up a bit, but Doyle’s pretty level-headed in view of his occupation.”
“I’m glad to hear that,” Lilian replied in a hesitant tone as if she wasn’t exactly sure what to say in that particular situation.
Wallace watched the last of the humans disappear inside the nearby apartment complexes. He let out a sigh. “Well, I’m done here. I’ll go round up Fabian and say goodbye to Perry. If we can find Fluffy, we’ll meet you at the back of the hospital you seem to call home, Aleric. I’m guessing you see the irony in that. I love irony.” He grinned and clicked his tongue. His horse trotted up the road. “I miss good battles with steel and sweat, blood and brawn,” he called over his shoulder. “It’ll be good to return to Blays. I’m quite fond of the place.”
He spurred Bob into a gallop and vanished around the corner.
Chapter Twelve
Dr. Worthen hurried out to meet them as soon as Lilian pulled up to the hospital.
“You brought it!” he exclaimed. “Thank goodness.” He gave his daughter a hug. “I was beginning to worry that they had run off with you for good.” He eyed the vampire and werewolf with only a half-smile to alleviate his stern glare.
“They’re not so bad,” Lilian replied.
Dartan excused himself as they made their way to the elf’s room. “Needless to say, the night’s activities have spiked my hunger. There’s nothing like a donation center to provoke the appetite. I’ll excuse myself.” He nudged Aleric in the ribs. “I also have a very early morning date with Dr. Indley.”
“I’m happy for you,” Aleric told the vampire.
The elf looked far worse than she had when Aleric left. The silver leaf markings across her skin were almost lost in her gray pallor. Her breaths came in short gasps and her pulse was slower than before.
Dr. Worthen gave his head a small shake. “I’ve never seen a stomach wound heal with such speed while the rest of her deteriorates so fast I feared she wouldn’t be alive when you returned. Here’s to hoping we aren’t too late.”
Dr. Worthen injected the antidote. Lilian and Aleric watched the elf with bated breaths. Aleric wondered when Lilian’s fingers had slipped into his. He was worried Dr. Worthen would notice, but didn’t want to let go.
When the elf’s condition didn’t change, Dr. Worthen let out a sigh. “I suppose we’ll have to be patient. I’ll have Nurse Tarli notify us if there’s any improvement.” He glanced at Aleric as they followed him out of the room. “She’s threatening to call animal control on your cat. She says even though he’s a patient, he should have been sent to Dr. Indley’s veterinary clinic instead of here.”
“The sphinx is safer here than out there. We’ll get him through the Rift as soon as we can,” Aleric promised. “She can’t expect us to throw him out on the streets.”
“You know she expects exactly that,” Dr. Worthen replied in a droll tone. “Speaking of cats, I’ve heard a lot about the, uh, minky, is it?”
“Diablo!” Aleric and Lilian said at the same time. They shared matching expressions of guilt.
“I thought she was sweeter than that,” Dr. Worthen replied in surprise.
“That’s her name,” Lilian replied. “And we accidentally left her at the house. We need to go get her.”
“At our house?” Dr. Worthen repeated in an uncertain tone. “Why were you at our house?”
Lilian looked at Aleric. “It’s a long story,” she said.
Dr. Worthen glanced at their hands. Lilian let go quickly. Her father’s expression became unreadable.
“We’ll be back soon, Dad. I pr
omise.”
“I’m not sure about this,” Dr. Worthen began.
Lilian kissed him on the cheek. “Don’t worry, Dad. It’s okay. We’ll be back, alright?”
They crossed through the hospital toward the back parking lot where Lilian had parked her car. Dartan stepped out of the D Wing with a bag of blood.
“We need to talk, Wolfie,” he said.
Aleric had a feeling he knew exactly what the vampire wanted to discuss.
“Don’t you have a date with Dr. Indley?” he asked, hoping for a way out. “I bet there’ll be a better time to talk later when we aren’t interrupting your wooing.” He almost succeeding in saying the last work without chuckling. Lilian laughed at his side.
Dartan crossed his arms in front of his chest. “She had an emergency surgery show up. Now is the perfect time.”
“I’m exhausted,” Aleric told his friend. “We need to go get Diablo, then I’ve got to get some sleep before I crash. It’s been a long night. Also, the day before that was long, and the night before that. It’s been long since I reached this place.”
“This is important,” the vampire replied.
Dartan put a hand on both Aleric and Lilian’s shoulders and steered them into the Dark fae side of the D Wing.
The absence of the plague victims was a relief. I.V. poles stood in a straight row against the far wall. Dartan’s tables where he had extracted the goblin bite antidotes were clean and empty. Only the faint scent of mud and lemon along with the stronger odor of sulfur remained to remind Aleric of what had gone on in that room.
“It’s quiet in here,” he noted.
“I like it that way,” Dartan replied. “Will you stop filling this place with things that try to kill me?”
“You’re already dead,” Aleric said.
Dartan sighed and slid to his usual place on the floor beneath one of the boarded up windows.
“Come. Sit. Enjoy my happy place,” he told them.
Lilian gave the dark, partially-finished room a skeptical look as she crossed it. “This is your happy place?”
Dartan nodded. “That’s why I’m so cheerful.”
She smiled and took a seat on the floor near him. At the vampire’s look, Aleric sat down as well.
