by Mark Taylor
As the two of them walked across the floor to the casino, the Devil asked what she was drinking. “The Witch's Heart, what else?”
As they entered the private room attached to the back entrance of the casino, the six wait staff that Excalibur had requested jumped to attention in the empty bar. Excalibur led the Devil to the center table of the room, walled entirely by mirrors. It was unnoticeable to the naked eye, but both Excalibur, and the Devil had slight translucency in their reflection.
“Hm,” he said as he sat. “I hadn’t really noticed before.”
“It’s the night in you.”
“I see.”
“Something you’ll have to get used to.”
“Enough playing. What is this irrefutable deal you have for me?”
Excalibur smiled. “I know that we can run, but after this short length of time, I’m tired. I can offer you more than you asked of me last time. I can be your General, and do your bidding, and I will give you Mary, Lady, and Dina. The returners too. I just don’t want to have to run anymore.”
The Devil sat back in his chair. “This is quite the change of direction for you. Why should I believe you? I still expect this to be some childish trap.”
Excalibur sighed. “After Dina and Lady ran out on us in Texas I was left asking myself why bother? I risked everything for Dina and for what? She left me stranded with a weak-ass witch who can’t even poof, and doesn’t know how to have a good time.”
“Poof?”
“You know, poof.” Excalibur made the now recognized hand gesture for poofing, and Devil seemed at least to understand.
“I see. And what does young Marie-Anne think of this?”
“Well, you know where she is. I just told her I was going for a drink. I knew she wouldn’t ask to come. Boring. Ass. Witch.”
The Devil grinned. “Despite everything, I still like you, Cali. Can I call you Cali? I think we might make a beautiful team.”
Excalibur beckoned over the waiter, stood far enough away not to be able to hear the conversation. He placed the bottle of Conti on the table, a corkscrew, and two wine glasses, as Excalibur had previously instructed.
“I thought you would prefer to open the bottle yourself. Ensure I’m not trying to poison you.”
“You should know that would be quite impossible, but I appreciate the gesture.” He uncorked the bottle and poured the two glasses of wine.
Excalibur raised her glass, waiting.
The Devil looked at her suspiciously. He seemed to ponder for a moment, and then raised his glass too.
“To us,” she said.
He nodded and brought the wine to his lips. The aroma of the wine caught him.
“You must be a connoisseur,” Excalibur said, bluffing.
“No,” he said. “Not of wine, no.” He placed his glass back on the table without touching the liquid. “You must think me quite stupid.”
Excalibur shook her head. This wasn’t working.
Suddenly enraged, the Devil backhanded the glasses, bottle, and corkscrew from the table. “I don’t know what you’re trying to play, Missy.” He stood, and bared his fangs for the first time. Unlike all the vampyr, the Devil’s fangs were rotted to the core. He threw himself over the table with far more agility than he had ever demonstrated before, catching Excalibur on the shoulders and knocking her to the floor.
He pinned her down, and straddled across her, far stronger than she had imagined he would be. “I shall enjoy this.”
He rose up, growing in size slightly before bringing his whole weight down on Excalibur, biting her hard on the neck. She felt her life draining from her.
This was what it was like to be bitten by a vampyr.
As she became weaker, she felt all six of the wait staff drag the Devil from her. He fought back, but they had taken him by surprise.
Excalibur leapt to her feet, and was on him before he had broken free of the six’s grip. She twisted his head around so that both he and her looked at each other in the wall mirror.
“Bottom’s up.”
She sunk her teeth into the Devil and felt his warm blood trickle into her throat.
The wait staff pulled the two of them apart, pushing Excalibur away, which she let them do, before watching as the Devil dropped to his knees. He held his neck, blood seeping from beneath his hand. “What have you done?” he said, far weaker now.
“Taken back what’s mine.”
The wait staff were now largely in a state of confusion, and Excalibur took the opportunity to slip out. She flew up the stair well to the floor that Mary was on, and slammed her way into the room.
Mary was at the bottom of a bottle of white wine that room service had brought up.
Excalibur dragged her back out of the room and into the corridor.
“Time to go, Tink.”
“Is it done?” Mary slurred.
“It is.”
***
Excalibur dragged Mary out of the elevator and into the lobby. The sudden skirmish caused a great deal of unwanted attention, as two of the lobby staff rushed to aid the staggering Mary, pulled almost from her feet by Excalibur.
Excalibur pushed past them, repeating over and over, “There’s nothing to see here.” They reached the doors out to the valet, who saw them coming, and immediately rushed off without waiting for their ticket.
Excalibur smiled. At least there was a reason to turn up in a police cruiser. She leaned Mary against the door jamb. “We need to teach you how to drink,” she muttered, before opening the doors and stepping out into the only slightly cooler night air that surrounded the hotel. She edged forward, vigilantly looking around while patrons of both the hotel and casino considered her weirdly.
If only they too could see.
Looking up the side of the building, Excalibur saw the hordes of mongers clamped to the building like moths to a lamp. They seemed disoriented. Not so much bumping into each other, as looking for…direction.
The Devil had lost his grip on them, even if it was temporarily.
Excalibur caught sight of the cruiser coming around the corner of the building and up the driveway of the hotel.
She turned back into the building and grabbed Mary once again. “Come on, lush.”
“I’m lush,” Mary stated to a passerby.
“Sorry,” Excalibur mumbled at them. “Dammit.”
The valet was clear of the cruiser and Excalibur held her hand up for him to toss the keys to her. She could see the look of keenness in his face, probably not used to tossing keys in such a manner. Cool. Excalibur nodded a thanks as she caught them.
As she opened the rear door of the cruiser to pour Mary in, Mary asked, “Where’s our big bag of money? Did I leave it in the room?”
“Shut up,” Excalibur hissed through clenched teeth. She took a hold of Mary’s head and plunged her head first into the car, slamming the door shut behind her. She shot a look over the valet. “The bag’s in room 826, kid.” She gave him a cheeky wink and tossed him the room key, then hurried around the car and got in.
She looked at the kid as he stood watching the two of them drive away, tires screeching on the tarmac.
***
Excalibur took the I out of Vegas, ditching the cruiser in Riverside for a station wagon, before crossing the border into Arizona, and swiftly across again into Utah. Once they hit St. George and the airport they were home free.
Once Mary had sobered enough, she had watched the sky, but nothing had followed them.
They took a motel for a few hours to wait for the flight, communing with Dina and Lady once again.
“You seem relaxed,” Dina asked.
“I am.”
Mary could feel the warmth of Excalibur for the first time in a long while.
“He never followed us from Vegas,” She continued. “I expect he’s licking his wounds in Hell.”
“Wondering what to do next,” Lady said.
“Are you okay?” Excalibur asked. “You feel different.”
“He will have more to do with us, for sure.” Dina said. “And you, Mary. How are you?”
“Relieved. I think. You don’t think it’s over?”
“It may be. Time will tell.”
“How are the returners? Tell them I am eager to see them again.”
“I will,” Dina said. “They have discovered peach schnapps, and won’t shut up about it.”
Lady giggled again. “Brit drinks!”
“What is it about you?” Excalibur asked.
Lady’s warmth grew. “When are you coming home?”
“The flight from here leaves in a few hours. We should be back in London in a day or so.”
“Then you’ll see what’s up, when you arrive.”
Mary felt a coolness exude from Excalibur. “We should go,” Mary interrupted. She opened her eyes, sitting on the bed in the motel, Excalibur on the chair opposite. “What was that all about?”
Excalibur shook her head. “I don’t know. She’s not herself.”
Mary stood and looked at the clock on the front of the TV. “We should go. Whatever it is, we’ll find out tomorrow.”
To be concluded in And Then There Were Three here:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B082BC5XP6/
About the Author
Mark began writing many years ago. He had a talent for it during his formative years, but didn't follow through. He went from school into a career, and in his free time did other things.
Now his career path is set and he writes.
He worked within the flourishing small press industry at first, submitting to horror anthologies left and right, and has had dozens of stories printed in anthologies over the past few years. During this time he made a firm friend in fellow writer Charles Day, and they collaborated on pair of interconnected novellas, which eventually became the novel, REDEMPTION.
Novels come along at a steady rate, first there was SHUTTER SPEED, then A NIGHT AT THE DREAM THEATER, and then TRINITY.
He has written some original short story collections, THE HUMAN CONDITION and STRANGE.
His writing remains dark most of the time, but of late has found that his longer works err more into dark noir where he plays in a playground of demons and monsters but in the real world, where such trifles are the least of everyone's problems.
You can find out more about him here
www.authormarktaylor.com
or visit his Amazon page here
www.amazon.com/Mark-Taylor
