Myths & Magic: A Science Fiction and Fantasy Collection

by Kerry Adrienne

  Lyra hoped against hope that the surprise she felt didn't show up on her face. As far as she'd known, from the moment she'd killed Mace's father, the leader of the Tuscan clan worldwide, the group had disbanded and scattered throughout the world. Even Piers seemed to think that the group was gone for good. She should have known that wishful thinking never paid off.

  Nikolai licked his lips. "I have feeling vampires aren't interested in our gold and jewels."

  Yuri nodded. "That is correct assumption, my son. You, your brother, and your lovely girlfriend will lead strike team into the heart of Tuscan stronghold."

  Lyra tried to slow her accelerating breath. "They're here in Chicago?"

  Does Mace know about this?

  Vanya's nervous grin spread wider. "We're the ones who are going to pull this off. And then the mission will finally be complete."

  On the word complete, Vanya's gaze rested upon her. She had a feeling that if Nikolai's brother had anything to say about their forthcoming mission, her death would be its final punctuation mark.

  Chapter 17

  Early that morning, Mace traded off shifts with an even chattier-than-normal Doug. The computer nerd had a glazed over look that didn't put the vampire at ease.

  He gave Doug a sideways glance. "Are you sure you got enough sleep to keep an eye on her?"

  Doug nodded about ten times in response. "Of course. You saw yesterday that she could handle herself anyway. I'm sure they'll just be planning out their final mission today."

  "But if anything happens, you'll definitely call me right away?"

  Doug's smile was wide and creepy. "You'll be the first to know, Mace. Besides, this van was starting to smell too vampiric. We need to bring a little humanity back to it, you know what I mean?"

  "No. I don't know what you mean." He took his first step out of the van. "Just call me if anything strange happens."

  Once again, Doug nodded way too many times for Mace to feel comfortable.

  It didn't take long for the vampire to take a cab over to the former stronghold of the Tuscan clan. The taxi driver even asked him twice if he was sure he was going to the right address. Mace stepped out into the street of an abandoned lot that seemed more likely to attract squatters than unhumans. The building that had once been a powerful fortress hidden in plain sight now appeared to be crumbling along with the rest of the neglected corner. If the city of Chicago had any interest in the rundown neighborhood, the building might have been torn down years ago. It remained a relic, like the kind of building you might find underground in an archeological dig. He tapped on a rusted metal door, and the hinges creaked as it opened up the abandoned stronghold. Mace pulled out a flashlight and began pointing it left and right. While he spied a few symbols of the old Tuscan clan, everything else had been stripped bare from the walls and floors.

  It felt like so long ago, but Mace could remember his father showing him everything that he would someday inherit. It made complete sense to the Tuscan king that his son would be interested taking over everything in the duplicitous clan, from its vast holdings of wealth, to its frequent criminal endeavors. The Tuscans had lasted for centuries in this way. But Lyra's timely assassination of his father plus the public outing of vampires seemed to erase all of that from history. At least, it had for Mace until he saw the altered tattoo on Heidi's computer. Mace touched the wall and wondered what had truly become of his "birthright." It was just then that he heard a sound coming from the front door. Almost instinctively, Mace sprinted up the wall with incredible agility and braced himself between the wall and the ceiling. This gave him the perfect bird’s-eye view to the source of the sound. Two men, who he assumed were vampires of course, entered the room with a purpose. One of them placed his hand on a certain part of the wall, and much to the former prince's amazement, a new doorway opened up on the other side of the room.

  "These shifters are driving me crazy. Why doesn't she just have us go over there and slit their throats?"

  The other vamp beside him nodded in assent. "I wish we could. Seems like they have a little bit of help."

  "The hunter? She's out of practice."

  The conversation continued as the two vampires walked through the doorway, which quickly shut behind them. To the naked eye, there was no obvious way that the wall had ever been anything other than what it was.

  Mace released his grip and landed softly on the cement ground.

  He examined the spot in the wall that the vampires had used. "They know Lyra as the hunter." He looked toward the door outside and then back at the wall. "I really should tell Rhea about this." He took a deep breath and pressed his hand into the wall, which instantly opened the doorway once more. "Maybe just a little peek."

  Mace tiptoed across the room and walked into the secret passageway. As he could still hear echoes of the vampires' conversation, he waited a few minutes until nothing but silence met him. The passageway was lit by fire alone, which felt extremely familiar to Mace. His father had never been much of a fan of electricity. As the passageway angled downward, Mace could see the true Tuscan hideaway come into focus. The two vampires he'd seen weren't alone. He detected dozens of unique voices and smells amongst them.

  "And they're probably going to smell me too. It's not worth it."

  As he turned to go back, Mace heard the door behind him open once again.

  His chest tightened. "Damn." With no hiding place to speak of, Mace pressed forward into the stronghold. He listened for voices and turned the corner whenever someone came close, doing his best to keep a mental map of the place.

  While fire had lit the passageway, he now knew it was more of an homage than anything else. Everything inside the stronghold was as modern as can be. It looked as though it had been redecorated within the last few years.

  "Someone has good taste." He quickened his pace as he heard more and more voices approaching. "Just go in a circle, get back to the exit, and get the hell out of here."

  In his mind, Mace had made the necessary three lefts to get back around to the entrance, but as soon as he saw the passageway, he realized his plan was screwed.

  A half-dozen vampires stood in his way, as if they'd been expecting him the entire time.

  The vampire who first showed him the way inside stepped forward. "It seems as though we have a bit of a rat problem."

  Mace's mind plotted every possible scenario as he spoke. "I'd be happy to call the exterminator for you. Should I tell him to go to the basement unit?"

  "Funny. I have a feeling she'll know exactly what to do with you."

  Mace could feel the presence of another three gang members behind him.

  These are not the best odds.

  Mace crouched low before pressing hard off his heels and flying backwards through the air. The unprepared vampires behind him couldn't react in time as he landed past them and immediately engaged in a full-on sprint. Mace grabbed one of the flaming torches off the wall and used it right away to smash an attempted assailant in the face. When two more vampires passed by, he threw the torch at one of them and caught the other in the face with his boot. He didn't hesitate for a moment as he continued to sprint past them and the wave of vampires closed in behind him.

  He had reached top speed when a leg he never saw coming swept under him and sent him slamming hard into the ground. Mace kicked up and turned toward the mystery attacker. Even the momentary slowdown was more than enough time for the other members of the clan to surround him. But they didn't faze him nearly as much as the identity of the woman who stood before him.

  Mace knelt down before her. "Isn't this a surprise?"

  The woman smiled as she looked down upon him. "It's nice to see you too, Brother."

  Chapter 18

  Lyra had gotten used to not flinching when she heard the crackling voices over her comm device. But she had difficulty not reacting when Doug spoke these words.

  "I just wanted to let you know that Mace is currently missing. He was examining something about the reemerge
d Tuscan clan. I'll call you when I know more."

  Lyra gripped the seat cushion beside her leg as Nikolai glanced in her direction.

  "Is everything okay? I'm sure the mission is going to go fine."

  She nodded. I'll be all right. Just a few pre-breaking-and-entering jitters is all.

  Lyra's chest tightened. She had no clue what the Tuscan clan would do if they got their hands on Mace. Will they treat him like a beloved former son or a traitor?

  Vanya cleared his throat from the other row of seats in the van. "Lyra, I think we got off on the wrong foot, no? This is important mission and it's best if we work on same team."

  Lyra looked into the eyes of Nikolai's brother and ignored the sense that she was walking into a trap. "That's very big of you. After all, we'll be spending a lot of time together over the coming years."

  Vanya seemed to hold back a laugh as he spoke. "Yes, for years. Maybe dog years, right brother?"

  Lyra scrunched up her face as she looked toward the Russian beside her. "What does he mean dog years?"

  Nikolai shrugged his shoulders. "Not sure. You know that my brother is quite crazy."

  Vanya laughed to himself once again and turned back toward the front.

  On the edges of her mind, something was starting to come into focus about the artifacts, but she couldn't quite place her finger on it. Before any grand revelations could be made, the van came to a stop.

  Nikolai gripped her shoulder. "I will handle my brother. You just focus on staying close to me, right?"

  Lyra tried to detect any hesitation or wavering in her fake boyfriend's voice. There was none. Either he was telling the truth or he was one hell of a liar.

  "Right. You wolves lead the way."

  The three of them exited the van to a rundown part of the city Lyra didn't recognize. She used her powers of deduction to determine they were on the far Northwest Side, but beyond that, all she knew was that there were a lot of vampires nearby. Her ability to detect them hadn't wavered in the slightest over the last decade.

  Vanya waved the two of them forward as they crouched down beside a former storefront that had long since lost its window.

  "When you hear explosion, that is our cue. Me and the lover boy will take care of fanged friends, and you find that artifact. Good plan?"

  Lyra nodded as the blast took her by surprise earlier than she expected. The ground shook beneath her as she saw a crater open up halfway down the block. The smile that spread across Vanya's face was unsettling to say the least.

  He stuck out his tongue. "It is time for business."

  Without a moment's hesitation, the Russian changed from human to grotesque wolf in a matter of seconds. He let out a howl and bared his teeth for Lyra to see.

  She did her best "not impressed" face as she turned toward Nikolai.

  "Have fun on all fours."

  The Russian grinned. "I always do. Be careful in there."

  Nikolai gave a stoic look as his transformation began as well. Unlike his brother, his wolf alter ego was well-kept and almost regal looking. He joined his wolfish brother and gave a nod in Lyra's direction.

  She started off toward the crater. "Time to take you puppies out for a walk."

  The wolfish Vanya howled once more and sprinted toward the vampire stronghold. His brother headed in his direction as well.

  As she reached the improvised entrance, she could see the faint glimmer of an old symbol. On one of the walls, the ancient Tuscan clan logo was alive and well.

  She shook her head. "I cut off the head, but it looks like the snake is still alive."

  Chapter 19

  Mace relaxed into his arm and leg restraints as he looked up into the eyes of Aella, his younger sister. As with most vampires, she aged quickly until she appeared to be in her 20s, only to stay that way for the rest of her life. Both of them were locked into an eternal youth that she appeared to wear well as the apparent new leader of the Tuscan clan. She'd been younger than him when their father died and the news broke about vampires being real. A hint of remorse washed over him as he realized he could have been a father figure to his sisters and brothers. After they were separated shortly after the bombshell dropped, he wasn't sure what had happened to any of his siblings. At least one mystery had just been cleared up for him.

  Aella chuckled as she looked down at him. "I hope you like what I've done with the place. Father's tastes were a little old school for my liking."

  Despite being in chains, he had to admit it was sort of nice to see her. "I should have known when I was snooping around. You always had a flair for art. Though I never pegged you for a clan leader."

  Her tongue moved across her fangs. "Neither did I. But when the shit hit the fan, I had to fend for myself. You certainly weren't here to help me become a respectable member of society."

  Mace ducked his head. "You're right. Me not being here certainly didn't help things."

  Aella walked across the room and put her hand on his face. "I'm not mad at you, Brother. With you and everyone else out of the picture, I had to learn self reliance."

  "You mean, you had to take over?"

  "I may not have been next in the line of succession, but I was the only one available. There were challengers—" A sharp fingernail slowly sliced down the side of Mace's cheek. "But I handled them with a woman's touch."

  The former prince ignored the stinging sensation on his face. "So, when given a choice to be good or to be a murderer, you picked being just like dear old Dad."

  Aella let out a sharp pointed laugh. "Don't act so high and mighty. We struggled to survive just like you. Even considered trying to bring you in until we found out you became an agent of the FBI." She stepped over to her own bar and poured herself a drink. "Not to mention your whole secret society that stops all the bad unhumans thing everybody knows about."

  He raised his eyebrows. "You do your homework."

  She took a sip of the clear, strong-smelling liquid and bore her fangs. "We have to know everything that's going on. But you and your huntress are the least of our worries. For some reason, you seem to be aiding and abetting the wolves."

  He watched his sister intently. "I'm not trying to help them. I just want to figure out what they're up to."

  She shook her head. "You're going about it the wrong way. Torture is still the best way to get information."

  "You and Lyra feel the same way."

  "I'm not even going to get into the fact that you're canoodling with dad's murderer. I'm just here to tell you that the wolves are about to destroy the city you hold so very dear. And they couldn't have done it without your help."

  He leaned toward her. "What do you mean? What do the artifacts do?"

  She took another sip from her drink and sucked it through her teeth. "Apart, they're completely harmless." She stared right into his eyes. "Together, they create limitless chaos."

  Just then, the ground shook beneath them as the echoes of an explosion reached their chamber. The electric lights that their father had been so hesitant to use all went out at once. The low light of torch flame was all that reached them from the hallway.

  Mace tugged at his restraints. "What the heck was that?"

  His sister gently placed her drink down on the bar and extended her long deadly fingernails. "They're here."

  Chapter 20

  Lyra could hardly believe her eyes. A stronghold of vampires she never knew existed was in perfect condition beneath the city. Well, perfect except for the giant crater the shifters had just blasted into the side of their secret hideaway.

  She followed close behind the two wolves as the first wave of vampire guards moved forward. She crouched down to fight, but she need not have made the effort. Nikolai and Vanya quickly leapt into action, and with their claws and razor-sharp teeth, they tore through the necks of the vampire guards with ease. Before she knew it, half a dozen Tuscan vamps lay broken on the ground. She shook her head. "I should have kept a pet back in my hunter days."

  She swo
re Nikolai turned back and flashed her a smile in wolf form, but it was tough to tell without his human veneer. When a noise reached their room from the left, Vanya went sprinting toward it. Nikolai followed close behind. She could sense the vampires all around her, but there was another energy inside. It was older and potentially more dangerous than the creatures with fangs or claws. The artifact was nearby, and she was the only one with the opposable thumbs to get it. As the shifters did their dirty work, she walked toward the vampires' cries.

  As she moved in the direction of the energy, she wondered if the evil members of the vampire race could ever be snuffed out.

  "I killed so many back in the day. And yet here they are right under my nose."

  She sensed something coming up from behind her and ducked at just the right moment to avoid a sword-wielding vamp who'd gotten the drop on her. She felt nostalgic, wondering when she last fought a vampire one-on-one.

  When the vamp approached again, three swift kicks to his arms sent the sword scuttling across the floor.

  She winked at him. "Your move, Toothie."

  The vampire growled and reached for her, and she easily slid under him and worked her way behind. An elbow to the back of his head sent him to the ground and instinct had her on top of him in a moment. It also had the stake in her hand and ready to strike.

  As the vampire cowered beneath her, something stopped her from going through the motions.

  This vampire did nothing wrong to me. And I'm the one who broke into his house.

  She grunted and tossed the stake away before landing a solid punch in the center of his forehead. The vampire went limp and unconscious beneath her.

  "You got me on a good day." She got to her feet and picked up the sword just in case. "Let's go find us some wolf art."

  She listened to the chaos of the wolf infiltrators echo through the halls as she went down several corridors and found the artifact resting atop a pedestal. She snatched it from its perch and removed a shoulder bag from her pocket. "This doesn't really go with the place anyway."