The Wicked Dead (The Tome of Bill Book 7)

by Rick Gualtieri

  “That doesn’t make any sense,” Sally replied. “These things are walking, talking monstrosities. The meatsack is just an immobile piece of cheap plastic.”

  “You do know I can hear you, right?”

  “They’re golems too,” Christy said, certainty filling her voice. She turned to me, her eyes gleaming, but thankfully this time, it wasn’t with anger. “This pit you mentioned; it’s full of this stuff, right?”

  “Yeah,” I replied. “An Olympic-sized swimming pool of it at least. No idea how deep, but it’s pretty much in a pit of rock...” I trailed off, realizing the rock surrounding it wasn’t all too different-looking from the things marching us forward to our doom right now.

  “To infuse life where there is none would require a lot of power to sustain, far more than I could generate myself,” Christy continued. “All I did was make a spark by comparison.”

  “But it was enough,” I concluded.

  Indeed it was, Decker said, breaking his silence with a chuckle. Congratulations, my dear. No one can say how this power was first found. That is lost to the mists of time. Even I cannot peer through them. But I can hazard a guess that perhaps it was an accident – maybe not much different than today. They say those who fail to learn the lessons of history are doomed to repeat it. It would seem ignorance of those lessons leads to the same result.

  “Shut up,” Christy hissed.

  In turning your back upon our ways, spitting upon the glory of the White Mother, you have become her. All hail the new White Mother.

  Unsurprisingly, the Jahabich were right there to once more add their voices to the chorus. “Mother.”

  I could only echo their sentiment, but added my own twist for our current predicament.

  “Motherfucker.”

  * * *

  We marched in silence for a while. There wasn’t much else that needed to be said.

  Okay, maybe not total silence. Tom kept up with his bitching. Oddly enough, though, I found his voice comforting. Despite all that had happened, at least he was still with us – in a manner of speaking.

  At one point, maybe an hour after we’d started our trek, the tunnel ahead forked. As we neared the split, we found a few more Jahabich waiting for us. They weren’t alone.

  “You guys okay?” I asked Dave and Adam after reining in the whoop of joy I wanted to let out. Now was not the time to celebrate. Also, it would have probably just gotten us pummeled.

  “Aside from getting the fuck beaten out of us, sure,” Dave replied bitterly.

  “What happened to you two?”

  “What the fuck do you think? We ran.”

  “Our heroes,” Sally commented as they were integrated into our group.

  “Nothing wrong with a tactical retreat,” Adam said.

  “Exactly,” Dave replied. “Remember those beholders you guys pussed out on a few years back?”

  “Who the fuck throws beholders at a first level party?” I snapped.

  “The whole concept of a random monster encounter is that it neither need be fair nor level appropriate.” Dave glanced around, taking in our group. “Your roommates get away?”

  “Nope, I’m still here,” Tom replied.

  “Vehron captured Ed,” I added.

  Dave spun around, no doubt looking for Tom, until his eyes settled on Max Adventure. One of our Jahabich captors, not particularly appreciative of having their forced march interrupted, clubbed him in the chest and shoved him forward.

  “Whoa, hold on for a second there,” Dave sputtered once he had caught his footing again. “What the fuck is going on? You didn’t tell me you lived with Doll Man.”

  “Maybe it would be best if you stopped talking now,” Christy said.

  “No, seriously. What the hell happened? Did his mom fuck a voodoo doll or something, because that is some fucked-up shit right there.”

  All at once, Christy turned toward him, a bright red glow enveloping her. “I said it would be best if you stopped talking.”

  Oh crap.

  I stepped between the angry, grief-stricken witch and my tactless DM. That was a mistake, as it brought me into contact with the boiling hot power flowing off of Christy’s body.

  “Fuck!” It was like putting my hand onto a hot stove. I jumped back instinctively, only to feel my backside bump into razor-sharp stone.

  I turned, just in time to learn that the Jahabich’s first warning against Dave had been their last.

  A club-like arm of solid stone smashed against my skull a split-second later, and I was mercifully carried away into darkness.

  Undead Alive

  “C’mon, Bill, wake up.”

  “Let me sleep a little longer, Mom. It’s Saturday.”

  A hand grabbed my shoulder and gave it a shake. It was gentle at first, but then gradually got stronger – far stronger than my mother had ever been, even when I’d been a child. Hell, if she’d used half the strength being used on me right then, she’d have dislocated my arm.

  I’m sure I’d done things as a kid to deserve it, but I wasn’t a kid anymore. My eyes popped open to find a beautiful face smiling down at me – light brown skin and dark eyes surrounded by a cascade of dark brown hair.

  “Oh good, you’re awake.”

  “Hey, Star,” I said, giving my head a shake. It was a good thing vampires healed so quickly, because otherwise, I’d need a CAT scan to go along with all the times I’d been knocked out as of ... wait a second. “Starlight?”

  “It’s nice to see you too, Bill.”

  My brain immediately went from fuzzy to “what the fuck?” I sat up and instinctively scooted back a bit until my hands felt nothing but air and I tumbled backward, landing clumsily on the floor. I glanced around and saw I was in a room. It was Spartan in appearance, and first I thought it might be a holding cell, but then I saw the whiteboard hanging on the wall above me. I looked up at the table I’d been lying on. It appeared I was in a conference room.

  Had I died? After all, spending eternity as a cog in corporate America sure as shit fit my definition of Hell. Starlight’s presence didn’t help to quell that fear either. Don’t get me wrong. As far as ghosts went, her shapely form was a metric shit-ton more welcoming than some old dude wearing chains and moaning about Christmas past.

  Then I noticed the sub-standard lighting. Where normally overly-bright fluorescents would be shining from the ceiling – their artificial glow burning away all semblance of motivation for most – the lighting instead had a soft flickering quality as if little more than a nightlight illuminated the place.

  I was in the Boston complex.

  “What happened?”

  “They carried you in a little while ago. I thought it might be easier if you had a chance to wake up in a quiet place. The halls can be a bit chaotic.”

  The pounding in my head was still noticeable, but starting to subside. My healing was taking care of any blunt head trauma. After a couple of seconds, I pulled myself up and regained my footing.

  All the while, Star stood close by, concern on her face. She’d always been an odd duck amongst vamps; a gentle soul within the wolf pack. The problem there was the past tense part of it. When last I’d seen her, she’d just been newly promoted to master of Village Coven – the position having been vacated by Sally when she moved to Vegas. Unfortunately, our reunion had been short-lived as I’d brought baggage with me in the form of a two-thousand-year-old killing machine.

  “Don’t take this the wrong way, Star, but if you’re fucking with me, I’m going to be mighty pissed.”

  “You didn’t know I was still here?”

  “That’s one way of putting it. They told us you were dead.” She smiled at that, to which I added, “For real, as in dusted.”

  “They?”

  “Firebird.”

  “Oh, her.” Star’s tone implied she didn’t find that all too surprising. “She definitely didn’t waste any time falling in line. Guess she was s
till angry that Sally chose me to take over. No offense, but I wouldn’t expect her to say anything other than whatever she thought would make her look better.”

  “Or piss off Sally?”

  “Or that. I don’t know what you’ve heard, but they have history.”

  “I gathered that,” I replied. “Just not sure how much of that history she remembers.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “Never mind. So you’re saying that Firebird lied?”

  “I’m standing here, aren’t I?”

  That she was, in all her hotness. Even so, I wasn’t quite ready to concede the tearful reunion yet. “Speaking of Sally, where is she?”

  “With the others.”

  “My friends?”

  She nodded. That was a good sign, but I thought it best to play it coy before demanding to be brought to them.

  “Any other survivors beside you?”

  “The rest of Village Coven are here. The new recruits, anyway. Although we’re not called that anymore.”

  I’d been turning toward the door, curious to see what lay beyond, but her words caught me. “What do you mean by that?”

  “At first, nobody was happy. Firebird sold us out. We were prisoners, forced to do as we were told.”

  “What changed?”

  “Everything. I can see why the Draculas forbid the Cult of Ib. There are no covens under their teachings, no strict code of control. We work toward the common good, but there are no quotas to meet, shadow treaties with the humans, that sort of thing. If someone wants to go out and hunt, they hunt. There’s freedom here that I haven’t known since before Night Razor turned me.”

  “Freedom, huh? And yet you’re still here.”

  “What was there to come back to?”

  “Your friends.”

  She let out a musical laugh. “Somehow, I knew you and Sally would make your way back here.”

  “Oh? Do you know why we’re here?”

  “I can guess.”

  “So then the question is, where will you stand?”

  “Just hear him out. Please.”

  Ah, and here was the sales pitch. As much as my heart had leapt for joy upon seeing Starlight, I knew it was too good to be true. That Firebird had been lying about her death didn’t seem too much of a stretch. At the time, it had seemed she’d been way too into putting the screws to Sally, knowing that she and Starlight were friends of a sort. Those two had a history I really needed to ask about one of these days.

  For now, though, it was probably wise to keep my emotions in check and not be distracted by the one piece of potentially good news I’d seen in some time. “I already heard him out,” I replied, bitterness creeping into my voice. “When he was done feeding me his bullshit, he killed my best friend.”

  I expected her to fall in line like a good thrall, tell me that it wasn’t Vehron’s fault or that maybe one couldn’t make a world domination omelet without breaking a few human eggs. Thus, I was caught off guard when she stepped up to me and put a hand on my arm.

  “I’m so sorry, Bill.”

  “So am I. So is Christy.”

  “The witch? So the baby is his?”

  “Yeah.”

  She appeared to think about it for a moment. “I don’t know if that can ever be made right with you. I imagine not, but I’m telling you things are not as you think they are here.”

  “So again, I ask why haven’t you just left?”

  A sardonic smile spread across her face. “And again, I ask you, what would we return to? I know how things work. It would be endless compulsions to pry the truth out of us, even more to bend our wills to theirs, ensure our loyalty to the Draculas. Then what?”

  I knew what would happen then. They’d be given tasks to prove that loyalty, more of Alexander’s dirty work. However, that had come back to bite him in the ass. Somehow, a young vampire schmuck by the name of Farley had been insulated against not only Alex’s compulsion ability – something that was terrifyingly powerful in itself – but also that of other members of the Draculas.

  Starlight had a point. Who knew what paranoia the Dracs would adopt now that they knew their power wasn’t absolute? Hell, might they not just take a scorched earth policy and dust any vamps they couldn’t be entirely sure about? It’s not like they couldn’t just make more to replace them.

  Damnit, I hated when logic that ran counter to my beliefs made sense. Still, it didn’t do much to dissuade me either. I knew Vehron was an animal. I’d seen him in action, seen what he’d done, and would have to live with the fact that I was the one who’d unleashed him onto the world.

  “Fine,” I replied, looking deep into her brown eyes. No trace of glazed compulsion stared back at me, but that didn’t mean anything. That look was usually only present when a vamp’s full will was being subjugated. Who was to say whether Vehron’s mind-messings weren’t of a more subtle nature? “I can understand why you might not want to leave, but don’t forget, he’s the one who kidnapped you to begin with.”

  “I know,” she said, heading to the door. “Believe me, I’ve thought long and hard on that one. The vampires from Village Coven were my responsibility. Any decision I made had to be with them in mind. The thing is, once the choice was made, it was surprisingly easy to live with it.”

  Had any other vampire said those words, I’d have laughed my ass off. Most of the undead were nothing if not self-absorbed douche canoes. The only thought most coven masters would give to their charges was how many to use as cannon fodder. But not Starlight. Though older than me by a fair bit, she managed to retain her compassion for others. I’d often been mocked for keeping in touch with my humanity, but, if anything, Starlight might have been the one vamp even more human than I tried to be.

  Which makes you both fools.

  Oh, now he wanted to talk to me again? “Shut up.”

  “What?” Star asked, turning back from the door.

  “Sorry. Talking to myself.” And if that wasn’t the truth, I didn’t know what was.

  * * *

  I half expected Star to tell me to stay put, followed by her stepping out the door and multiple heavy locks engaging. Instead, she waved me on.

  “Where are we going?”

  “I’m going to bring you to your friends.”

  “All of them?”

  A guilty look crossed her face. “Not all.”

  “What did you do with...”

  “That Chinese girl, Gansetseg – her and her men have been separated from the rest. They’re down in holding being guarded. Sorry, but it was felt they were too unpredictable, potentially dangerous.”

  “Oh,” I replied, surprised. “I didn’t really mean her.”

  “Then the others should be waiting for you.”

  “Have you seen them yet?” I asked as we stepped out of the door. I’d been right; this was a conference room. Beyond it lay little more than a sea of cubicles. Things didn’t appear to be quite the same as I remembered it, though. They weren’t all filled, and those that were seemed to have maps and other tactical information in them. No dreary paperwork in sight.

  “No. I wanted to make sure you were okay. Also, I heard that Sally is acting a little weird.”

  I thought back to what Star had said about the Draculas compelling the shit out of anyone who tried to leave this place, and I found a streak of anger worming its way through me. Hell, hadn’t I seen it firsthand, the way Alex casually wiped Sally of her memories? Who knew what else he did to her, all in the name of proving that I was nothing to him but a Freewill guinea pig – a gun to be aimed and fired at his discretion. “You don’t know the half of it.”

  Starlight led me through the cubes. I couldn’t help but notice another change – the place definitely had more security than before. Vamps with silver stakes and other riot gear stood guard at every entrance and intersection. Although whether they were protecting against outside intrusion or keeping an eye on the vamps working
the cubes, I couldn’t say.

  Still, things didn’t look as drastically different as I had thought. Hell, one could have almost confused this place now with how it had been run under James if not for the lack of...

  “Hey, Star, where are the zombies?”

  “Huh?” she grunted as she continued to lead the way.

  “Zombies. Before things got all clusterfucked, there were zombies all over the place doing paperwork, running errands, dripping bodily fluids everywhere.”

  “They were dismissed.”

  “Dismissed?”

  “Yeah. They aren’t allowed by Ib. It’s a vamps-only club here now.”

  That’s when I remembered James’s warning about the cult – how they were purists, not allowing those who were different. That had accounted for Vehron’s initial hostility toward Ed, even beyond my roommate’s normally surly personality. It was something to remember. That freedom that Star kept talking about came with a price – marching under the equivalent of a vampire Gestapo flag.

  Thoughts of Ed brought me back to the present. “What about my other roommate?”

  “Other roommate?”

  We were walking through a set of double doors now, heading through another section filled with office drones. Awe-inspiring terror this was not.

  “Yeah, Ed. They keep calling him ‘the pure one’ for some stupid reason.”

  “No idea.”

  “Really?” I asked, my tone dubious.

  “Yes, really. Sorry, Bill, but I’m not exactly a general here. I just do my job and help out where I can. Outside of that, I don’t really ask a lot of questions. Unlike some others, I don’t have a place by the big guy’s side, or on his lap.”

  There was a trace of bitterness in that last part that would have almost caused me to chuckle had Firebird not completely fucked us over last time we were here. “So what have you been up to all this time?”

  “Helping to organize the city.”

  “Organize Boston? How?”

  “Much like in New York, there were a lot of back alley treaties here, agreements with the local authorities. Heck, there’s more because this place was such a big hub for us.”