Wouldn't that be a hell of a way to end out the day.
Jonny started the truck and pulled it around to the back. Sure enough, as the receptionist had said, there was only one door. Jonny killed the engine and sat there waiting in the truck. A few minutes later, a man in a long white doctory-looking coat stepped out and waved to Jonny. Jonny waved back and stepped down from the truck. "He's in the cab here. Let me open it." Jonny pulled the cab door open and then heard an odd clicking sound followed by the sharp pressure of something pushing against his back.
"Don't move, Mr. Cross, or I'll be more than happy to spray your internal organs all over the side of this nice-looking truck here. Got me, boyo?" Jonny nodded quickly and quietly.
"Now, I'm gonna put this away and help you pull out that body and we're gonna carry him inside. Should you say anything to anyone inside about who he is or who sent you here with him, you will leave this place in a bag, got me?" Jonny nodded in a rush. "Okay, good. Let's get to work then." The pressure disappeared, and Jonny moved out of the way while the man in the white lab coat put his silencer-attached pistol away inside his jacket and reached in and grabbed Hank's right arm and leg. "You grab the others and this should be easy enough. A gurney stood behind Dr. Connor, waiting to cart someone off. They carried Hank's body over and set him on it and Jonny backed away as Dr. Connor began pushing the cart toward the door. The gurney bumped up on the slanted entrance and Dr. Connor gave it a good push before turning around and opening fire on Jonny.
It was a split second kind of moment and Jonny had been lucky. He dived down under the truck and just barely missed getting a bullet in his chest. Dr. Connor closed the door behind him and ducked down low to try and get a better shot under the truck.
"The Emperor sends his regards. He would have liked to have just stopped your heart with the push of a button but alas he had other matters to attend to."
Jonny ran for the other side of the vehicle and climbed through the passenger side door then scrambled over and behind the steering wheel. He started the truck, put it in gear, and hit the gas in record time, the truck jolted forward and then rose up over something with a hollow thump. In the rearview mirror, Dr. Connor's body lay on the parking lot surface mangled and still. Jonny didn't hesitate then, he hit the gas with all he had. He had done what he had to do now. There was no way he was going to be cheated out of seeing Julie now. No way in hell.
Chapter 43
An Unlikely Savior
The sun had barely risen in the Eastern horizon when Chandler's front door slammed shut, waking Yusef from a rather disturbing nightmare. He sat up, relieved to realize the dream had been nothing but, and got up to see what the noise was. As he stepped into the living room Chandler's truck roared to life outside and backed into the main road in a rush and then sped off, tires scraping and squealing and kicking dust up in the air. Yusef watched as the truck made its way quickly out of town. When it was completely out of sight, Yusef sighed and turned to look around the empty living room. There were very little actual things in Chandler's house and Yusef wasn't exactly sure why that was.
He walked into the kitchen to get himself a drink when he noticed the basement door hanging open. Chandler was typically very careful to close it every time he entered or left it. The very room downstairs itself had become a sort of inviting mystery to Yusef whenever Chandler would disappear down there for hours on end after dinner and in the middle of the day sometimes and every now and then at just any random time that couldn't actually be accounted for.
After getting himself a drink and staring at that open door for a long stretched-out moment, Yusef's curiosity got the better of him. He pulled the door open. Gray-painted concrete stairs led down into a dark room. Yusef reached over and flipped the light switch. It didn't make much difference from his vantage point as the room itself was mostly obscured by the wall above the stairs.
Yusef took a few steps down to see if he could make out anything and still could not so he ventured further downward until the vast downstairs room became completely and utterly visible. Newspaper clippings lined the walls. Articles about the war from so long ago and then articles about Caesar and his rise as Emperor. Pictures of Caesar stared back at Yusef from every direction. In the center of the room a small table held a shrine decorated with Imperial symbols and a single large framed photograph of Joseph Caesar in the middle of it all. Yusef dropped the glass of milk he'd been holding and it shattered on the floor, spraying white liquid out in an outward spreading circle.
***
A big rusty blue truck zoomed past George's car going the other direction and he couldn't help but wonder if it belonged to Chandler Dixon. He was only about ten minutes away from the city limits of Pleasant Shade according to his talking GPS machine. The country out here was far prettier than George had expected it to be, though he wasn't particularly fond of living somewhere quite as remote as this. A few minutes later, the sign for Pleasant Shade rolled on by and George slowed the car down to keep track of where he was. After a moment or so, he realized exactly where he needed to be when he recognized both Yusef and Umar from the photographs the church had on file.
He pulled into the driveway behind the car they were standing beside and left the engine running. Yusef stopped dead still in front of his own car, with little Umar sitting in the passenger front seat. George smiled and waved and Yusef reluctantly returned the gesture. George climbed out of the car with a few more grunts than he would have liked to have made and reached his hand out for Yusef to shake. "Mr. Tahir—" Yusef suddenly shoved George away from him and ran for the driver side door of his car. "Mr. Tahir, no, wait. I'm here to help." Yusef was already in the car, getting ready to close his door when George rose up from the driveway and let out an excited whisper, "Mr. Tahir, I work for the Foederati!" This seemed to get Yusef's attention. George continued. "Joseph Caesar is a sadistic monster, a cold blooded killer, and a complete fraud. I work on the inside of the church undercover to try and help people like you, Mr. Tahir. To help you find a way to safety."
"And just how did you find me, Mr.?"
"Nelson, my name is George Nelson. A man named Chandler Dixon reported the two of you and thank the true God Almighty I was able to intercept the report."
Yusef cringed at the use of the words "God Almighty" but he seemed to be taking in everything George had said. "I'm not surprised. A man can change a lot in twenty years. Apparently, a man I once counted as a friend is now a brain-washed zealot of this bullshit phony religion."
It was now George's turn to cringe. "If you'll let me, Yusef, I'd like to help you and your precious son get to safety. You're welcome to follow me in your car with a flagged license plate, or the two of you can get in with me and ride in a car with Imperial plates. I must say, I don't get stopped often by the police in this baby." George smiled. Yusef let out a hearty laugh at George's comment then turned and looked at Umar. "Come on, Umie, get your stuff, we're gonna ride with Mr. Nelson now, okay?"
Chapter 44
Into the Bloodlust
A moan erupted from her, a mix of pleasure and pain and fury as Bellona inserted Ishan's manhood into her.
His body had penetrated her many times before and each one of them clung in her mind, a vivid gorgeous memory of ecstasy. Now, he was not himself and it was equally exquisite in a way she never could have imagined. Bellona used him with subtlety, taking her time in a way a man could never manage to do.
The thrill of it didn't guilt her, didn't shame her as it would someone human. She was a mother and a lover and a killer and a goddess and nothing these bodies could do could ever affect her in that way. In that moment Ishan was Bellona and this was new and exciting and in needed contrast of the pains of labor threatening to erupt within her at any moment. The sex would surely accelerate the birthing and bring about her death more quickly if Bellona didn't tear out her throat first. And all this together stoked the fire of it all so that the tongues of flame reached out for the stars.
; Their mouths locked in soft wet passion, lips grazing each other in seductive reproach.
Her claws gripped into Bellona's shoulder blades, familiar to the touch yet newly and differently mobile. He took hold of the back of her shoulders and pushed her legs up and open to the sides, her feet stretching up and around the tops of his arms. And Bellona thrusted slowly at first, gradually increasing her pace until the Queen's voice erupted into echoes that filled every open crevice of the Hive. Ishan's hips lifted again and again, coming down with such force and such power, Bellona gorging Ishan's muscle inside the Queen with a hammering motion now. She brought his tongue down the Queen's chin and Bellona slowly slid her way down her neck and left collarbone and then on to the nipple where one fang pierced ever so softly at first then built with pressure.
Just enough to hurt but not enough to tear the skin.
Just a little longer.
Ishan's tongue slid around the nipple tracing its outline and then drawing a thin line of saliva down her belly and stopping just above the soft thatch of hair at the base of her pelvis. Slowly, Bellona dragged Ishan's tongue downward toward the Queen's glistening opening. Ishan's tongue softly slid its way down her labia, grazing gently enough to send the Queen's hands gripping at the hair on his head, pulling his face in for more. He lapped quickly and powerfully at her clitoris without warning causing her to press her thighs against the sides of his head. His fangs pressed against the hood of her clit and the Queen had Bellona right where she wanted her. His teeth penetrated the skin just slightly, but that was all it would take. As soon as the blood beaded out from her and sizzled against Ishan's tongue, the Queen wrapped her legs fully around his head, pressing his face deeper into her self. Bellona had no choice but to melt into the bloodlust. Ishan's hands gripped hold of the Queen's hips and sucked the blood inward thrusting Ishan's fingers inside her at the same time.
Ishan's body came up for air, his eyes and mouth sparkling in crimson and Bellona penetrated the Queen once more. A whisper called out from the darkness and the Queen cried out with joy as she neared the first rise toward climax. Bellona's light inside Ishan's eyes suddenly shifted and a worried expression seemed to unmask the pure pleasure in those eyes. Bellona knew now there was nothing she could do. And the grip of climax, the power of the blood had both pulled her into a vortex she couldn’t possibly escape. Ishan's voice rose in a woman's pitch as his body tensed.
The last light of Bellona faded with the spending of his juices and in the connection between lover and lover, mother and child renewed and Ishan's light rekindled inside those beautiful black eyes and he smiled with the tension of the Queen's writhing pleasure and so he thrust and thrust and bit down against her nipple and gripped hold of the hair on her head and in a moment of complete perfection, the Queen's body exploded into orgasm as the cavern quaked with the pressure of her releasing tendrils. Her voice rang out with the joy and the love and the heat of it and she knew nothing on Earth could take this away from her. No death could darken the light of this moment and no terrible memory from the past could ever haunt her again.
And her beloved, awake and reborn, came too then, and time failed to keep going around them in a long moment of shared beauty. A passion unquenchable.
When they were done, the Queen reached in through her tether into Ishan and sifted for any sign of the creature who had taken hold of her dearest child, her most beloved lover. In time she found what she was looking for.
Bellona's will existed no longer within the recesses of Ishan's mind.
Chapter 45
Sleight of Hand
It was as good as any place Jonny figured as he pulled into the dip in between two large trees about ten miles west of the Imperial center on some back road he couldn't even remember the name of. This was as good a place as any all right. When the truck was in park, he let it sit and run as he reached into Tom's glove compartment. When he found the small box, he pulled it out and opened it without hesitation. Inside lay a small black plastic device with a single red button, Jonny's cell phone, and a letter addressed with his name.
Jonny,
If you've already successfully dropped off the package then the Emperor is already too busy to watch what you are doing right now. I've seen this with every vision I replay. Push the button on the black device immediately. This will disable the Emperor's implant and in a few days your body will flush it out naturally.
Jonny's hand had already pressed the button before he even finished the sentence. He continued reading.
Once you have disabled the implant, you can contact your sister at the following phone number. Good luck with you and your family's future.
Your friend,
Hank Evans
A long streaming tear ran down Jonny's face. He broke into sobs at the thought of hearing his sister's voice. When he was able to calm himself, he pulled the cell phone from the box and dialed the number from the letter.
***
Reality came and went as everything that was Hank swirled together in a pool of unending void. Images twisted around him. Faces, memories, familiar and unfamiliar, real and likely just as unreal. The whole world burned to a cinder and then reappeared around him like it had never happened and then the entire process started anew. Scenes floated around his ethereal presence in flat moving images like playing cards each featuring a different movie. Some were from the past and some he guessed were from the future.
He saw the memory of Toby's death and looked away to the other scenes. In one card, he watched Jonny run beneath Tom Fulton's black truck as a man took several shots in his direction. In another he saw an early Christmas he and Diana had spent together so many years ago. The cards were falling all around him like countless snowflakes in the middle of a heavy winter storm.
He felt drunk as he spun around, surrounded by glowing memories and futures raining from the sky in an otherwise featureless void. It had to be the effect of whatever concoction of drugs the Emperor had given Jonny to inject him with. What wasn't swimming away of his mind stretched out and smiled at this realization. It meant that the plan had worked. It meant that the words Hank had told Jonny to say had created a seed of doubt in Joseph Caesar's mind strong enough to grow and propagate into full on paranoia. Now he would have no choice but to try and extract the information from Hank whether in person or through a mediary.
The plan had truly worked. Hank watched as the words in his head floated up to the top of some translucent pond he was now swimming in. The green water went in and out of his lungs without incident and he swam, letting the water carry him to some faraway shore. A hand took hold of his and he turned to find Diana naked and grinning, her hair floating haphazardly in the water behind her.
They kissed and then, hand in hand, swam against the tide in the direction of a tiny island of dull gray soil and bright red streams of blood where the Queen sat upon her throne, watching over a small horde of ancient vampires all floating on the air, pale faces watching as a comet flashed across the sky in hues of purple and gold and Hank once again, fell down into a deep unconscious state.
Part Four: A Dream Worth Dying For
Chapter 46
Eye for an Eye
It didn't take long before the new vampires of Necropolis were circling around Jackie and Simon. Floating on the air as they whipped around them, their eyes blackened with bloodlust as if these were mere humans they could feast upon. The rage was building in Jackie again but she knew the time to strike had not yet arrived. She buried her hatred deep inside her heart and locked it away for the time being. Down below on the main floor, a large crowd of human vampires approached. In the middle of them, one large blond nordic-looking bastard stood carrying Frank over his shoulder.
Jackie and Simon watched as the vampires stopped just below the platform and waited. With one fluid motion, Simon dropped to the floor below as Jackie floated down like a gentle leaf riding the wind. When they were both standing before the other vampires, the tall one stepped forward and dropped
Frank in between them. He smiled at Jackie.
"You fly? How?"
Simon let out a quick snort at the large vampire's words. "You gotta be kidding me."
"No kidding. Must know. How?"
Jackie grinned up at him, her fangs pressing against her lips. The very next second everything around them went into chaos. Rosadelma jumped down behind the blond one from seemingly out of nowhere and took hold of his neck, pulling him away from the crowd.
Jackie had been reigning in her rage, waiting for just the right moment and it seemed to have walked up and landed right in her lap. She sent out her anger in tendrils that reached for nearby machine parts, large steel pipes and blades and brought them all in at one moment crashing into the vampires standing before them. At the very second it happened several of them moved just in time. Jackie grabbed hold of Frank and flew away to a dark corner beneath another platform. Simon slashed at the nearest vampire with his claws. In one quick simple motion he ripped the other vampire's throat out with a lunge of his mouth and a pull of his teeth. Jackie watched in hiding, waiting for the right moment to do some more damage.
That moment didn't come though when the next second she looked up to find the large blond vampire, blood running down from his nose and a long tear in the flesh along his cheek, standing over her. One quick punch to her face and everything went black.
***
Simon screamed, “Jackie!"
The blond vampire, who seemed to be the leader to some capacity, reached down and picked up Jackie and Frank and threw them over his shoulders and turned and ran, jumping up onto a nearby platform. Simon clawed and tore through the three vampires blocking his way until only one of them was left alive, lying on the floor, his jaw ripped out and blood leaking from his face all around him. With all the power Ishan had shared with him, Simon leapt on the platform where the large vampire stood, waiting.
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