Lyra continued to back away until she could feel the brick wall behind her.
Any time now, Mace.
Almost as if on cue, several blasts of blue light fired into the alleyway. The laser beam struck several of the vampires, stunning them and knocking them to the ground. She caught a glimpse of her hunky coworker, his futuristic gun blazing as he mowed down more unhumans.
Mace continued to fire as he tossed an object toward her. "Catch!"
Lyra leapt high into the air and snagged a sharpened stake from the night sky. When she landed, she turned left and immediately stuck the weapon through one attacker's back. The moment he screamed and disappeared, Lyra snagged the stake from the now-dusty air, and used it on the heart of another attacker. When he disappeared, the alleyway was littered with piles of dust and unconscious unhumans Mace had gunned down.
Lyra sprinted to Mace's side. "You guys certainly took your sweet time."
Mace looked back and forth between Lyra and Nikolai. "I didn't want to be a bad wingman."
The Russian looked down in awe at the unconscious vampires. "I don't understand. Is this date or rescue mission?"
When the tires of the surveillance van screeched to a stop in front of the alley, Lyra grabbed her date's hand once again. "A little bit of both. Come on."
The three of them rushed forward and jumped into the now-even-more-cramped surveillance van.
Doug shouted from the driver's seat. "Hold onto something!"
As the van peeled away from the restaurant, Lyra slammed the door shut behind Nikolai. She heard a loud thump as one of their pursuers leapt upon the vehicle. Then another thump. Then another. Before Doug could get the van into third gear, one of the vamps began pounding on the metal roof.
Lyra looked up at the noise. "Does Dougie Boy's magic gun shoot through metal?"
"I heard that! Stop calling me Dougie Boy!"
The van swerved to avoid oncoming traffic, and the passengers inside lurched to their left.
Mace shook his head. "Might just ricochet around in here and kill one of us."
Lyra pulled the knife from her boot. "Guess we're gonna go old school with this."
When the vampire pounded so hard through the top of the vehicle that his hand went through, Lyra stabbed her knife right through his palm.
The attacker screamed and lost his balance, falling off the van and landing with at thud behind them.
Nikolai braced himself against the backdoor of the van while Doug once again swerved to avoid oncoming cars. "I may not have the best memory, but I do not think any of this was in your dating profile."
Before Lyra could respond, the backdoor flew away from the van, torn off by one of the remaining attackers. Nikolai lost his balance and fell out of the moving vehicle.
Heidi shrieked. "Stop the car!"
As the van skidded to a stop, the remaining vampire on top of the vehicle went flying forward. Lyra watched him land on the pavement with a sickening crunch.
She leapt through the now-open back and looked to see what damage had been done to her Russian date. The vampire with the knifing through his hand and the one who'd pulled off the door closed in on Nikolai, who remained motionless on the street.
Lyra rushed toward him, until she noticed something that gave her pause. Through the back of the Russian's dress shirt, she noticed tears begin to form. And through the new rips in his shirt, she no longer saw muscles and skin. When the Russian arched his back, she could see the fur begin to spring forth as his body grew in response to an unnatural change. Claws descended from his hands, which now looked more animal than human.
She shook her head and continued to walk toward the transformation. "Great. Looks like my blind date is a shifter."
Chapter 5
Mace could feel his jaw drop as he watched the Russian mobster’s full transformation into a werewolf. In over 100 years of life, he could barely remember the last time he'd seen what looked like a human transform into something very different. The Russian's fingernails had grown into sharp, frightening claws. The well-fitting dress shirt had been torn in several places, with ratty fur sticking through the ripped stitching. And there was one trait almost all of these wolflike creatures seem to share: they always looked pretty pissed off.
Mace pulled his futuristic-looking stun gun from his holster and glanced over at Lyra. "I guess neither of us saw that coming."
Lyra's beautiful eyes stared straight ahead at the vampires surrounding the Russian mobster turned wolf. "I guess not. Hell of a lot super smell did for us."
"I suppose we’re out of practice."
Lyra's response came in the form of springing out of the now-damaged van and running for the closest vampire.
Heidi, who didn't look shaken in the least, took the spot the former hunter had vacated. "You guys are great with this conversation stuff. I think you're meant to be."
Mace grumbled as he joined Lyra in the fray.
As his partner seemed to be handling her vampire quite well, he pointed his weapon and fired blasts of hot blue light toward the closest assailant. His first two shots were true, stinging the side of one vampire, who convulsed and fell to the ground. Attacking members of his own species never sat well with Mace, but everything had to play second fiddle to the mission. The second vampire he fired upon was faster than most, avoiding several blasts and getting right up in the face of the former prince in a matter of moments. With a swipe of his razor sharp fingernails, the vampire attacker sliced through the side of the weapon, causing sparks to fly and rendering Doug's creation useless. Well, not completely useless, as Mace used the weapon to pistol-whip the unhuman in the face.
The vampire touched his cheek and turned back toward Mace with a smile. "You're on the wrong side, my brother." When the vampire stood all the way up, Mace realized the attacker had half a foot on him. "You should be shooting the wolf in the face with that thing."
The former vampire prince crouched into a ready stance. "And you shouldn't be disrupting fine dining without a reservation."
The unhuman sneered and once again used his speed to his advantage. His fists were lightning fast, and Mace barely avoided a series of three rights and four lefts. As he dodged the blows, he took his eyes off the attacker for just a second. While it afforded him the opportunity to see that Lyra had her boot on her attacker's neck, and that the wolfman Nikolai seemed to have carved out the chest of his attacker, it wasn't a great idea against such a speedster. The vampire unloaded a barrage of attacks on Mace's jaw and chest. The former prince lost track of the number of hits the tall, lanky assailant landed on his body. While vampires didn't feel quite as much pain as humans, Mace could feel these resonate throughout his body. His eyes began to water before they turned blurry. He threw up his arms in front of his face and attempted to leap backwards to avoid the assault. But it was no use, as the vampire jumped with him and wrapped his sharp nails around Mace's midsection. The unhuman slammed the former prince into the blacktop so hard, it unlodged a manhole cover and caused a crack in the street.
Mace could feel a stinging sensation through his spine as he tried once again to block the vampire's attacks. Fists and elbows flew at him with incredible speed, though he was able to block about half of them with his own reflexes. One whopper of a blow landed under Mace's chin, causing him to let his guard down and the vampire to show off a fanged smile.
"It's not going to be better if he wins, Turncoat. Do you really want the city crawling with werewolves?"
Mace quietly moved his left arm to the side and grabbed hold of something solid between his fingers. "I don't, but I appreciate the heads-up."
With a faster-than-expected swipe of the manhole cover, Mace sent the metal disk right through the vampire's neck. The speedy creature didn't even have a chance to scream as the improvised weapon decapitated him. The severed head flew off the unhuman's body and rolled to a stop with a surprised look on his face. The headless body flopped to the side as Mace quickly got to his feet.
With the rest of the vamps disposed of, Lyra looked straight into Mace's eyes and began to slow clap.
She grinned. "Now that is something I've never seen before. Kudos."
He cracked his neck and rubbed at a particularly nasty blow the now-headless unhuman had left him. "I'll take the style points." He glanced over at Nikolai, who seemed to be wobbling a bit over the dead vampire beneath him.
Lyra was the first to his side. "You're not looking good there, Wolfman."
Mace watched as the fur and claws retracted and the transformation reversed itself. Gone were the wolflike indicators, replaced by a now-half-naked man with his clothing in tatters.
Nikolai stumbled and Lyra caught him before he could fall.
"Is a more exciting first date than usual."
Before Mace or Lyra could say a thing, the wolf shifter went completely unconscious in her arms.
Mace gingerly walked toward them. It was true that vampires had incredibly fast healing, but it certainly wasn't instantaneous.
He placed two fingers on Nikolai's throat. "He's still alive."
Lyra smirked. "It sounds like you're surprised."
"This whole thing is surprising. What the hell did those vampires want with the Russian mob anyway? And since when was the Russian mob made up of wolf shifters?"
Lyra heaved the unconscious mobster onto her shoulders. "I think you're telling me we’re going to do an interrogation, right?"
Mace sighed. "We are. But can you try not breaking the suspect's arm again this time?"
"You're no fun." Mace and Lyra walked back to the van as the former prince wondered if they'd accidentally stumbled into a gang war.
Chapter 6
Nikolai felt terrible pain in every organ of his body as he came to on what felt like a hospital bed. He hated having to transform without getting properly warmed up, as it gave him one hell of a hangover the next day. He groaned as he tried to bring his hand up to his head to rub out some of the cobwebs. Unfortunately, his wrist was bound by his side, along with his ankles being shackled down as well.
"I guess I have not earned much trust."
"Being a wolfman plus a mobster puts you at a disadvantage."
Nikolai's eyes widened as he watched the blonde American woman keep her distance from the bed as she checked his vital signs on a monitor.
At first, he thought he might be in some sort of hospital, but the equipment seemed too new, and from his keen sense of smell, he couldn't pick up the usual mix of disinfectant and illness that a medical building usually gave off.
He wrinkled his nose. "If you got to know me, you would know I was a very nice mobster and wolfman."
The woman gave a slight smile before returning to neutral. "Don't try to charm me, Russian werewolf in America. I don't care much for the living."
Nikolai chuckled. "Where am I? Or is that on a need to know basis?"
"You are usually where I examine the dead bodies. But they apparently want to keep you alive, so I suppose that's a good sign."
Before the Russian could say a word, a tall, skinny man who looked like he belonged in front of a computer monitor came blasting in through the door with way too much energy.
"Okay, thank God interrogation hasn't started yet. I have so many questions about shifting. I've never had a chance to talk to a shifter before."
Nikolai chewed at his cheek. "This seems like interrogation already."
The skinny man laughed. "No, no, no. They have way tougher questions than I'll have. So, do you have like dozens of the same shirt to get ready for when you tear yours apart during the transformations?"
Nikolai glanced toward the blonde woman.
She waved her hand. "You don't have to answer him. He's not that important."
The skinny man looked shocked. "Not that important? My tech runs this place. I probably make your job 20% easier."
"Your tech makes it 20% easier. Your voice makes it 50% more annoying."
Nikolai laughed. "You fight like married couple."
The man and the woman shot him a glance at the same moment. "We're not together."
Just then, his date and her comrade stepped into the room. He remembered seeing the two of them in the van with him before the backdoor was torn off its hinges and he was forced to transform for the fight. While some creatures couldn't remember their actions upon transformation, Nikolai remembered every single second. At least until the combination of unpreparedness and wine sent him collapsing into his date's arms. Whoever she truly was.
His date was the first to speak. "Rise and shine, Honey. I think we're past the small talk portion of our relationship."
Nikolai tried his best to look relaxed even though he was surrounded by strangers and had no idea where he was. "I don't know. I would love to know more about your family, your friends, and your occupation."
The only vampire who seemed interested in keeping him alive stepped forward. "Date's over. Why was the vampire gang after you?"
"What, you can't ask your friends. Is there not some kind of vampire Facebook?"
The blonde woman laughed. "Actually, it's all about vampire Snapchat right now."
His date flashed her co-worker the side-eye. "Heidi, don't encourage the Russian comedian."
The vampire folded his arms. "We know some things about you, Nikolai. We know that you and your gang have been snatching up ancient artifacts throughout the United States, and we know that you plan do to something with them. Whatever it is, it doesn't seem like it's making the vampires very happy."
Nikolai didn't love that his family's secrets were being talked about so freely, but his well-practiced smile didn't portray any of those feelings. "And your friends would still be brooding." Nikolai looked around the room and did his best to give a shrugging motion despite his restraints. "Tell me I'm not right. Happy vampires are like golden goose, no?"
The Russian could tell he was getting under the vampire's skin. He couldn't help but laugh a bit on the inside.
The interrogator shook his head. "Is somebody going to help me here?"
Nikolai's date bobbed her head from side to side. "The Russian does have a point. I haven't seen many happy vampires in my time."
"Enough."
A short, older woman with dark skin walked into the room and immediately took over. He could sense her magical, ancient energy from the moment she stepped in. Whatever she was, the woman was no one to be trifled with.
Nikolai could feel his smile starting to slip away. "I will cooperate. But, I would love to know where it is you have me imprisoned, first?"
His date put a hand on the vampire's shoulder as she gestured throughout the room. "This grumpy vampire, which I realize is kind of redundant, is Mace. That's Doug, Heidi, and Rhea. And you already know me."
Nikolai nodded. "Not as well as I previously thought." He looked into the eyes of the powerful, elderly woman. "Tracking down these artifacts is plan my father has had for many years. I am, how do you say, left in the dark? I'm just being good son."
Mace grumbled. "And a good mobster."
"Use whatever labels help you sleep at night. I imagine some would call you illegal vigilantes. But I am not one for labels."
Lyra walked up to the side of his bed. "So, you're telling me you don't know anything else about what your father is trying to do with these artifacts?"
Nikolai shook his head. "My father has great temper. Sometimes you just don't ask questions."
The short, powerful woman caught his eye. "And you have no clue why the vampires would be trying to stop you?"
Nikolai grinned, but not so much as to offend the magical woman. "What can I say? You've seen it in movies: vampires and shifters don't always get along. As you can probably tell, I am Team Jacob all the way."
Mace looked toward his master. "He's obviously hiding something. Maybe Lyra should break one of his arms."
Nikolai felt a shiver of nervousness go down his body as he saw just how close Lyra's hands were to his unprotected arm.
"I tell truth. If I had choice at second career, it probably wouldn't be this. I am victim of familial circumstance."
Rhea put her hands on her hips. "We can't trust him, but we also don't get much out of keeping him here." She looked over to Lyra, who seemed to be eyeing his arm with hunger. "Lyra, I want you to accompany Nikolai to the gang's next acquisition."
Nikolai's heart beat faster. "This not sound like such good idea."
He watched with amazement as purple swirls of magic appeared above the woman's hands. "I'm sorry, but this isn't the kind of situation you have a choice over."
The Russian leaned back in his bed. "I understand you. No need for demonstration."
The vampire, unfazed by his master's magic, tried to speak under his breath. "I agree with the Russian. This isn't a good idea."
Lyra moved her hands toward Nikolai's arm, and a panic set over him.
"There is no need for broken bones!"
His date bypassed his arm and unfastened the restraints on his wrists. "I thought it said somewhere on your profile that you were full of courage and Russian vigor."
"We all exaggerate on dating profiles. This is not an American-only practice."
With his arms free, he stretched out his shoulders. "If I am to take date to gang meeting, I cannot guarantee her safety."
Rhea nodded. "You'll find she can handle herself quite well."
With the vampire burning a hole into his face using his eyes alone, Nikolai looked up toward Lyra. "I look forward to finding out all about this."
While a smile graced his lips, he hoped that bringing the woman into the inner circle wouldn't get both of them killed.
Myths & Magic: A Science Fiction and Fantasy Collection Page 32
