Song and Key

by Connie Bailey

  “I don’t think anyone is coming after us,” Seva said after a few minutes.

  “I don’t either.” Keller slowed down and took a look around the forest, hoping they weren’t lost. Getting lost in this particular forest was not an experience he wanted to repeat. “You know where we are?”

  “Of course I do. The ruins of the abbey are right over there.”

  “Excellent. We’ll be back to the inn in time for dinner. Almost.”

  Seva nodded. “We can ask around tomorrow and see if anyone knows about the caves and tunnel.”

  “We could always hike up here and knock on the door,” Keller suggested with a cocky grin.

  “Let’s save that option. Come on, the light’s going fast.” Seva cursed. “And here’s that damned convenient fog again.”

  In less than ten minutes, the fog was thick as cotton batting. They stumbled around for almost half an hour by Seva’s watch, before happening on something familiar.

  “Fuck me,” Keller exclaimed as he stubbed his toe again. He glared down at the offending rock. “Fuck me again. We’re in the ruins. I hate these ruins.”

  “Just slow down. You’ll be okay.”

  “Foolish mortals!” a deep voice boomed from above. “I warned you never to return.” A caped figure with red eyes loomed out of the mist and floated a few feet overhead. “You have doomed yourselves to—”

  “Put a sock in it, Count Schlockula,” Keller said. “We’re not buying your act.”

  “You dare mock the Prince of Darkness? Your suffering shall be long and—”

  “Uncut?” Keller grinned.

  “You will long for death,” the faux vampire threatened as he was absorbed back into the fog.

  Faintly they heard a high-pitched humming noise and the soft crunch of large underinflated tires on pine needles. The next sound they heard was a loud hissing. Moments later both agents dropped unconscious to the forest floor.

  Chapter Twelve

  Same day, maybe an hour later, annoyed and losing circulation in their hands

  “WELCOME back, Sleeping Beauty,” Keller said as Seva woke.

  Seva blinked and saw his partner tied to a chair a few feet away. They were trussed up in the same fashion, bound at the wrists, ankles, thighs, and chest.

  The room they were in looked as if it had been blasted out of solid rock. High overhead, banks of fluorescent lights provided pallid illumination that washed the color from everything. Seva opened his mouth to speak, but the sound of footsteps stopped him.

  From the darkness at the far end of the cavernous chamber, a man walked into the wan radiance of the overhead lights. He was of average height and build, but his flawless three-piece suit and impeccable grooming lent him presence. Large dark eyes and an aquiline nose made up for a weak mouth and somewhat retiring chin. As he crossed the floor, heels clicking smartly on the hard surface, he touched his hair, tie, and cuffs in a fussy manner.

  “Gentlemen, I’m glad the effects of the gas have worn off,” he said in a slight Romanian accent. “I apologize for the circumstances, but you were warned not to trespass.”

  “Aren’t you Atanase Creanga?” Seva asked.

  The man looked startled. “How do you know me?”

  “I know your English teacher.”

  “Ah, I see. I do not like coming to Dragascar, but Miss Balancal will not come to me.” Atanase cleared his throat. “But that is unimportant. All that matters to you are the next few minutes that you have to live.”

  “Why didn’t you just kill us out on the mountain?” Seva asked. “Why go to all the trouble of bringing us here and tying us up?”

  “Are you seriously complaining about not being dead yet?” Keller hissed.

  “I’m just curious. If we’re going to be killed anyway, why are we still alive?”

  Keller sighed. “That’s actually a good question.” He looked inquiringly at Atanase.

  “I am not here to answer your questions,” Atanase said defensively. “And if you were not so curious, you would not be here.”

  “We don’t have anywhere else to be right now,” Keller assured him, trying for all he was worth to shift into a casual lounging position.

  “Why were you looking around in the ruins?” Atanase demanded. “I know you told the innkeeper you’re tourists, but I’m not as gullible as that old man.”

  Seva eyed him. “A friend of ours died here recently. We came to find out more about his death.”

  “You’re speaking of the foreigner who inherited the land,” Atanase said dismissively.

  “His name was Gwillym Cynwrig,” Keller corrected with a scowl. “He was a hero and a good friend of a man I greatly admire.”

  “He was a nuisance. I’ve been planning this resort for a long time,” Atanase said. “And then some crazy bird-watcher shows up to claim the property. Obviously I had to remove him.”

  “Are you admitting to murder?” Seva asked in a neutral voice.

  Atanase raised his eyebrows. “I’m admitting to removing an obstacle.”

  “Too bad for you the obstacle had people who care about him.”

  “This is a minor inconvenience, no more. The people of the village are already too frightened to come onto this land. Soon I’ll be able to purchase it from the foreigner’s estate and begin construction. Of course, I’ll have to dispose of you as well,” he said with a shrug.

  “That would not be wise,” Seva said. “If you kill us, you have well and truly spewed the hooch.”

  Keller looked admiringly at his partner. “That was a gem.”

  “You’re tiresome,” Atanase said. “I don’t like tiresome people who think they’re clever. The first thing I did after being appointed director of this region was get rid of all the tiresome people.”

  “No wonder you have so few guards,” Seva noted.

  “Laugh while you can,” Atanase said. “Why would it be a bad idea to kill you? From what I hear in the village, you’re just a couple of amateur historians who probably visit remote sites so you can practice your homosexuality without worrying about anyone seeing you.”

  “To be fair, I’m bisexual,” Keller pointed out. He turned to Seva. “Why does everyone think I’m gay? I like boobs too.”

  Atanase ignored the comment. “It will be easy to get away with killing you. A tragic mountain-climbing accident and bodies undiscovered for days or weeks. No one will be able to tell how you died.”

  “Not true,” Seva said. “Our organization has labs that can tell you how King Tut’s cat died.”

  “Your organization?”

  “We’re GLEN agents,” Keller said. “We work for the Global Law Enforcement Network.”

  “Proud of our acronym, are we?” Atanase sneered. “My organization has one too: TWISM.”

  “Twism?” Keller cocked his head to the side. “Sounds like a term for female ejaculation.”

  “It stands for The World Is Mine.”

  “That spells TWIM,” Seva pointed out.

  “There’s no need to provoke me. I fully intend to kill you. I don’t care who you work for.”

  “You will,” Keller promised.

  Atanase sneered. “I doubt it. It’s not as though you’re Interpol. If you were, I would have heard of you. My organization is truly global and controls over 50 percent of the world’s wealth.”

  “La-di-da,” Keller said. “Does your organization have jets with missiles that could turn this mountain into dust?”

  “Probably, but I’ve never had need of them. I am in finance, not defense.”

  Keller glanced at Seva and cocked an eyebrow at him. Seva shook his head, indicating he had never heard of TWISM either.

  Atanase cleared his throat again. “I am afraid it is time to say goodbye. What a pity you did not keep to your own business.” He took a small device from his pocket and pressed a button. “While we wait, would you care to inform me of any relatives Mr. Cynwrig might have had?”

  “So you can eliminate them?” Keller
shook his head.

  “Only if necessary. First I intend to offer them a price they can’t resist. If only Mr. Cynwrig had accepted my offer.” Atanase turned as another man entered the room.

  “Did you need me for something?” asked the tall man the agents had followed earlier.

  “Yes, it’s time to dispose of these pests.”

  “What do you expect me to do? I’m an actor, not an assassin.”

  “Perhaps you could act like an assassin.” Atanase took a gun from his pocket and held it out to the Dracula impersonator. “Unless you expect me to dirty my hands.”

  “Absolutely not! When you hire Simon Bartok, you get one of the finest working actors in the business. I can pretend to be a killer quite convincingly, but I do not perform actual murders.”

  “I’d hardly call that versatile, Simon,” Atanase said.

  “I wouldn’t call your vampire convincing either,” Keller said in a not-very-quiet undertone.

  “No one asked you,” Simon snapped. “My portrayal of Dracula was called superb by the drama critics.”

  “Seriously, though,” Seva said. “You have to admit your rendition is somewhat… dated.”

  Simon glared at Seva. “What is wrong with a classical interpret—”

  “Enough!” Atanase snapped. “You couldn’t frighten them away, and you refuse to kill them. You are no good to me.” He raised the gun and shot Simon twice in the chest.

  Simon lurched backward and dropped to his knees. He had a supremely surprised expression on his face as he stared at Atanase. “You shot me.”

  “Yes, and I expect you to die. Can you not even do that properly?”

  “That’s cold,” Keller remarked.

  Simon toppled over and lay still. Atanase walked over to the body and prodded it with his toe.

  “Looks like you’ll have to kill us yourself,” Seva said. “Or call in one of your soldiers to execute us.”

  “Yes, it really is tiresome.” Atanase tapped the warm barrel of the gun against his chin as he gazed at the agents. “Why did you pretend to be historians?”

  “We find that people are less likely to answer our questions if we identify ourselves as officers of the law.” Keller shrugged as best he could in his bindings.

  “Yes, that makes sense. To answer your earlier question, I didn’t have you killed right away because I wanted find out what you knew. And I admit to wanting to gloat a little first.”

  “That’s what I thought,” Seva said, shaking his head. “You wanted us to know you were more intelligent than us.”

  “I’m only human,” Atanase agreed. “But I’m aware of my shortcomings.”

  “Yeah, we get it. You’re very centered,” Keller said.

  “Can I ask another question?” Seva said.

  “Yes, you may.”

  “You used actors dressed as Dracula and packs of wolves to scare people away, yes? And there was something in the fog that induced panic and hallucinations. But how did you make the white-haired vampire look like he was flying over the gorge?”

  “The aerosol drug in the fog makes people panic, but it doesn’t cause hallucinations,” Atanase said. “That is a good idea, though. I will remember it.”

  Seva bit his lip. If he hadn’t hallucinated the wolfman, what exactly had he seen? What had left those marks on him? “What about the white-haired vampire?”

  Atanase pointed at Simon’s body. “He was the only vampire.”

  “And this was your idea?” Keller asked when Seva failed to respond.

  “It seemed appropriate given the history and superstitions of this area. Any more questions? No? Good.” Atanase raised the gun. As he sighted down the barrel at Keller, the device in his pocket beeped. With an irritated look, he took the communicator out and pressed a button. He jumped when a scream emerged from the device.

  “Who is this?” he said. The only answer was more screaming, loud snarling, and the sound of gunfire. Abruptly, the noises ceased.

  Seva and Keller looked at each other and then redoubled their efforts to free themselves from their bindings while Atanase was distracted. They all froze when a howl echoed through the room.

  “What is happening?” Atanase said into his tiny radio. “Did you let one of the wolves get out of the pen?”

  Blood from Seva’s gouged wrists lubricated his left hand just enough to pull it free. He lost a not-insignificant amount of skin, but he quickly freed his other hand and went to work on the cords that bound his chest and thighs.

  While Atanase was distracted, Seva pushed the rope down and freed his ankles. He went to Keller and finished untying him. Both agents dropped to the floor when Atanase fired the gun.

  “Stay where you are,” Atanase commanded. He took a step toward them, and then a real-life movie monster batted him aside like a rag doll. Where he had stood, an enormous amalgam of man and beast slavered and frothed at the mouth. Two-inch-long claws dripped red onto the concrete as the creature blocked the path to the exit.

  Without a word, Seva and Keller separated and ran to either side of the monster. It swiveled its great head from side to side, momentarily unsure which to follow, and then lunged for Seva. Seva dodged agilely and sprinted for the door. He turned his head and saw Keller kneeling beside the heap that had been Atanase. When the wolfman went for Keller, Seva didn’t hesitate. He threw himself on the creature’s back and wrapped his arms around its neck. He barely made the reach, but he locked his fingers together and held on. Keller came up from the floor with Atanase’s gun, but he hesitated to fire.

  “Seva, get out of there,” Keller yelled.

  Seva let go and Keller shot the monster in the forehead, or at least that was where he aimed. The wolfman darted aside faster than the eye could follow, but instead of pouncing on Keller, it moved closer to the wall. Keller broke into a run and joined Seva in the doorway. The door itself had been pulled from its hinges and lay in the hallway. Also lying in the hallway were the bodies of five men in pools of blood, which Seva and Keller had to hurdle on their way out. They recognized the tunnel when they entered it and ran until they reached the end. Moving a bit more cautiously, they started down the trail to the gorge.

  “Is it following us?” Keller asked. “I can’t hear anything.”

  “I don’t think it is.” Seva paused and leaned against a tree trunk. “At the risk of being called a wuss by you for the rest of my life, I need to catch my breath.”

  “Me too.” Keller took a few deep breaths. “What the fuck was that?”

  “Come on, Keller, say the word,” Seva taunted him using the same intonation Keller had used two days before. “Werewolf.”

  “Fuck that.” Keller looked back up the moonlit path. “It sure looked like one, though, didn’t it?”

  “It’s the same one I saw in the forest. The one I called ‘the wolf thing.’”

  “Yeah, I can see why.” Keller shuddered. “What a nightmare.”

  “Easy, partner. That nightmare saved our lives.”

  “Did you see those mercs in the hall? Some of them were torn in half.”

  Seva shrugged. “I didn’t say it was pretty.”

  Behind them, a long, shivering howl put a deeper chill in the night air.

  “Let’s get moving again,” Keller said.

  Seva was already trotting away down the path.

  “DO we inform the local cops?” Keller asked as they came in sight of the lights of Dragascar.

  “I say we leave well enough alone for now.” Seva noted a few lanterns moving along the edge of town. “I think our friends are out looking for us again.”

  “It’s nice to know someone cares.” Keller put his arm around Seva’s neck. “As soon as all this is over, I’m going to fuck you proper.”

  “Ditto.”

  Keller chuckled. “You’re cute.”

  “And you’re awfully sassy for a man who just had the shit scared out of him by a mythical monster.”

  “My recovery time is legendary,” Kelle
r agreed before he hailed a man with a lantern.

  “So glad to see you’re all right,” said Darius coldly. “But you’re becoming like the boy who shouted wolf.”

  “Don’t mention wolves,” Keller said. “Thanks for looking for us. We’re going to the inn.”

  “I’ll walk with you,” the policeman said. “Where were you tonight?”

  “Above the ruins a little ways,” Keller said. “Do you know anything about caves or tunnels around here?”

  “I’m not a tour guide. Ask Radu.” The policeman left them at the steps of the inn and walked away.

  “We’re going back up there in the morning, right?” Keller said as he and Seva went up the steps.

  “Of course. We have to figure out how to get the rental car back.”

  Neither Radu nor Cosmina was around, but the agents found covered dishes outside the door of their suite. They gratefully devoured the cold dinner and got ready for bed.

  WHEN Seva came out of the bathroom, Keller was already in bed, reclining with his head propped on two pillows and his long legs crossed at the ankles. He was wearing nothing but a seductive smile and an aura of cockiness. His hard-on was hard to miss, especially since Keller was holding it in one hand like a bouquet of roses.

  “Nice.” Seva snorted as he rubbed his hair as dry as possible with the towel. He walked around the foot of the bed and sat on the side of the mattress.

  “You can’t see with your back to me.” Keller pouted.

  “Exactly.” Seva smiled as he threw the damp towel over the back of a chair, and adjusted the bandage on his injured wrist. Relenting, he turned and lay down on his side and faced Keller.

  “Don’t you have anything to say?” Keller asked, trying to sound hurt.

  “It’s a very nice penis.”

  “You’re allowed to touch. Encouraged, even.”

  Seva cocked an eyebrow. “You’re really not having trouble with all this. I have to say I’m impressed.”

  “Finally.” Keller sighed with exaggerated relief. “I wasn’t sure that was ever going to happen.”