by Al K. Line
It was there, an anxiousness, a dissatisfaction with her suburban life that would boil over, the pressure building until it found release in an extreme act that would ruin her life forever. One minute perfect mom, the next everything would be a mess and she'd be a bag lady roaming the streets, her eating disorders finally too much, her nervous energy turning to madness, unable to go on with the life she'd lived for a moment longer. Estranged from her kids, lost to the world, and maybe lost to herself.
Maybe that was extreme, a worst case scenario, but I knew Vicky and I knew she was trapped, that she desperately needed what I could offer her so she could carry on with her regular life without losing the plot.
And besides, she was old enough to make her own decisions. Right or wrong, she had to live with the consequences of her actions and the life she chose to lead. Or was I talking about myself here?
We were too alike even though we were so different. Two malformed peas in a cancerous pod. Perfect for each other in some ways, dangerous for each other in more.
But friends, and I'd do my best to keep her safe, although I hadn't done a very good job of it so far.
There was a knock at the door. At least whoever had come to make my day worse was being polite about it. As I opened my eyes I realized it was dark. Through the closed curtains I could see the glow of the streetlight, the living room dark apart from the dull light in the hallway from the bare bulb I always left burning.
Damn, George would be wondering where I was. I sent her a message, apologizing, and she replied instantly, calling me names no girl should ever call her father.
I also realized I wouldn't get my smoke, and before I answered the door I could really use one.
There was another patient knock so I heaved myself up from the musty smelling sofa, feeling like a bad gangster and an even worse father.
A Visitor
"It's you," I said, knowing he wouldn't go away if I slammed the door in his face.
"So it is," said the Second who I'd handed Mikalus' ashes to what felt like several lifetimes ago.
I checked up and down the street, expanding my senses, searching for a hint of anything vampire or laden with magic, shocked to discover he was alone. "Come in," I said, lowering the wards and stepping back.
Surprisingly trusting, the Second didn't pause before he stepped over my threshold and closed the door behind him. There was an awkward silence in part because he was just standing there smiling enigmatically with one eyebrow raised, and partly because he kept zoning out of my awareness unless I concentrated very hard. This close to being the one true vampire meant he was almost invisible to citizens and magic users alike. Entirely forgettable, unassuming and bland to a scary degree because you knew you'd never be able to remember this man, and it was only with extreme concentration that I could recall having ever met him before.
Damn, that was a scary thought, and as I thought it I wondered if maybe we'd met many times and I didn't remember. Maybe I'd encountered him in less dangerous situations and had forgotten as he was so damn unassuming in every regard.
He stood patiently while my mind played tricks on me and I grew increasingly nervous. I'd screwed up, again, taking something from one of their own. I may have been in their good graces but how far did that gratitude go? Did it extend to stealing magical belts from those newly brought into the fold, or was that signing my own death warrant?
"I'd offer you tea but getting to the kitchen is a little awkward," I said, and it was. Because of the Gate of Bakaudif in the hallway you had to go around the back of the entire row of houses, up the lane, then come in through the back door. Hardly a perfect setup but it rocked as a portal, just not as a place to rest for a cuppa.
"I understand." The Second glanced down the hall at the kitchen, then at the rough plasterwork of the hidden gate and nodded. He knew all about it, had gone through it himself.
A reminder I should relocate not only this gate, but maybe my entire life to somewhere else. Start again in a new place, maybe move cities. The thought alone made me exhausted. The amount of effort involved, and the secrecy required, wasn't currently an option. I had too many eyes on me. Life needed to quiet down before I bothered going to such an expense and disruption to both my life and George's. I seriously doubted that would happen for some time to come.
"Please, take a seat." I indicated the raggedy living room and he brushed past me, took a chair, and relaxed. Honestly, if I'd glanced away I think I'd have forgotten he was there, locked up, and left him to it.
Keeping my eyes trained on him, trying to attune my senses to his presence, the vibrations he emitted, something clicked into place and I saw him properly for the first time. He snapped to a solidity I hadn't known he had, my mind adjusting to a wavelength where the vampire must vibrate at a different frequency or something. See, this was the thing with the vampires. Nobody knew enough about them, about how the whole thing worked. But I'd solved one small piece of the puzzle so at least I'd remember if I spoke to one and what they looked like.
As the Second became a solid presence, a familiar face so to speak, I wondered if in the future this would be a necessary part of all wizards' training. Would the vampires be so dominant that you'd have to learn how to tell them apart, focus on them, or risk your sanity or your life?
"I have a request," said the Second.
"Is that right? And do I have any say in the answer I give?"
"You are a very astute man, Arthur. No, not really. I would like you to come with me please. I have been courteous, called on you personally when I have much more pressing matters, but I would like a moment of your time."
"If you're so busy, why bother with me?" It didn't ring true. They would be immersed in vampire business, surely? Where did I fit in to all this? Then I understood, and the Second saw that I did.
"Yes, he wants to see you."
"Oh, goodie, can't wait."
I locked up and went to meet the original vampire. Never say I didn't get to meet interesting people.
More Visitors
I opened the door and the two style-starved elves I'd met in the alley drew back like they'd had an electric shock, hissing and looking freaked out. Was it my wards?
The Second shoved me out into the street with superhuman strength and when I caught his expression I knew it wasn't the wards that had bothered them. I also knew it was definitely time to move the gate.
"You have something we want," the male hissed, glancing at me then returning his focus to the Second.
"Is that right? Well, you have nothing I want so why don't you toddle along before I lose my temper?"
"You don't scare us, human," said the female, puffing her ample chest out, full of bravado even though she too seemed peculiarly concerned by the Second.
"You serve Elion, and he has plans that must be stopped. Give us what you have taken and we may let you live."
The orange glow from the streetlight lit them like they were candles, eyes sparkling and large, hair almost alive. Their slender limbs moved with a nervousness I didn't know elves possessed. What was going on? Surely they weren't afraid of one vampire?
The Second sniffed the air, made strange sounds of satisfaction as his tongue darted out and he licked his lips. His eyes were dark as a shark's, entirely black, and he oozed a vitality and power they only exhibited when very excited. He stepped forward and the elves retreated until they were backed up against my car.
"Guess now isn't the time for you folks to get what you want, eh? And why would you want it? What's Elion up to?"
"None of your concern!" snapped the male, pushing forward to stand his ground as the Second was drawn forward as if in a dream. The closer he got, the more the elves tried to shrink away, but their sexual attraction intensified, seemingly drawn out by the Second's presence, and as it grew so his vampire nature increased. I got a glimpse of the truth of this creature, the reality of what he was, and once again it wasn't pretty. It was utterly terrifying.
"So nice," whispe
red the Second. One moment he was beside me, the next he was at the female's neck, fangs bared, a blissful smile transforming him into an overtly sexual being. He grew, and glowed, before my eyes. I saw a dusky swirl of energy sucked from the elf. He swallowed, sighed, then rapidly went in for a real taste.
The elf was almost taken, as although fearful she seemed weakened by the closeness, not expecting the Second to have reacted so suddenly and with so little concern for the outcome. But she drew back and slapped a hand into his face, palm open, that sent the vampire slamming against my house with bone crunching force. He smiled as he skipped away from the damaged brickwork, unconcerned. He went in for another try but she gathered her strength and this time as he darted forward with impossible speed she punched out rapidly, uppercutting to his jaw.
He flew up almost to the first story windows, then slid down and went at it again, unstoppable. The male pulled his companion aside and the Second was left sucking air. I shouted for him to stop but he either didn't hear or didn't care what my opinion on the matter was.
The only bonus to the whole incident was at least it wasn't me doing any actual fighting, but this was turning nasty and I couldn't see how to get out of it without a few bits missing unless they all calmed down, and quick.
"Why are you so interested in Elion?" I asked.
"Our brother would take what is ours," said the female, getting a nasty look from the male.
"He's banished, he's no trouble for you," I shouted above the roar of the Second as he launched himself again and the elves dodged out of his way, their reflexes as otherworldly as his.
"He has employed you to get something, and you have it, intend to give it to him. You must not. He will use it to try to defeat us."
"Nah, don't think so." I had no idea why he wanted the belt. For all I knew it could wipe these two off the map with a word, which I was tempted to try, but then they'd know I had it on me, and I couldn't see that ending well.
"Must have you," screamed the Second. He moved so fast I felt the rush of air filling the space he'd made as he got to the elves.
There was one hell of a scream and I caught a snapshot of him with his teeth grazing the female's ear, biting down hard as her tall hat was dislodged. Her silver makeup at the tip was devoured along with part of the ear itself and the Second danced between one form and another. Elion's brother ripped the Second from her and threw him at me, the vampire landing with animal grace beside me like an unwelcome friend.
Strange blood tipped the missing ear; pale wisps of her mysterious energy dissipated in the cooling air like steam.
"This isn't over," warned the male. They were gone, away down the street and lost to sight.
The Second didn't try to follow, simply stood next to me. He panted heavily, obviously aroused. There's nothing quite as worrying as standing next to a powerful vampire when he's got a stiffy the size of your wand and looking for somewhere to use it. He was lost to lust and his lips were stained pale pink, traces of elven magic leaking from his nostrils like he was exhaling smoke.
I waited it out, hoping he didn't find bearded men wearing hats in the least attractive, daring not move for fear of waking the monster within. The minutes ticked by so slowly it was like time had done a runner along with the elves, and I didn't blame it.
I glanced at him again and was pleased to see the bulge had receded and his eyes had resumed their usual brown color. But he was different, like he'd topped up on super juice rather than regular. I knew enough about vampires to know they really got off on human blood, but they were never this, shall we say, eager.
"Like catnip?" I ventured, keeping my voice low.
"Pardon?" croaked the Second, seemingly having forgotten who I was or even where he was.
"Elves. Like catnip for you guys are they?"
"Oh, if you could only imagine," he said wistfully. "There is much beauty in this world, Arthur, but naught compares to the essence of the elven. Not even fae. They are divine, can rejuvenate and restore Children of the Blood like nothing but Father. Even that taste means I will not have to feed for many moons, and I shall bed a maiden tonight."
"That good, eh?" A maiden? When was this guy born? His manner had changed and he was slipping into his past, losing the polite formality he'd always shown previously.
"Even better." He sighed. "Come, you are wanted."
To the Batcave
Elion had put me in the middle of something I had no desire to be in the middle of. The only things I wanted to be sandwiched between were two naked women—although I'd certainly be willing to be part of an open sandwich—not him and his nutty siblings. What the hell was he up to, this mysterious elf that was once a sort of friend, and I supposed, in a complicated way, still was?
Was he trying to get back to his home? Was that what this was all about? As I sat quietly in the car the Second had called for, listening to eighties pop I was surprised the driver and the Second seemed to enjoy immensely, I was tempted to pull out the belt and try to figure it out. But it was a useless idea and a stupid one. I'd failed to sense its power and unless I got a few days alone with it I had zero chance of discovering its secrets. I was still royally pissed at Elion though. And what was with the whole brother and sister thing?
Guess they didn't get on. Was he trying to take something from them? Their position, their power, their wealth? Something else? Elven politics made human politics look simple and respectful, made our people in charge appear sane and as though they played by the rules. What I knew about the elves, which wasn't much, and their powerplays put human history to shame. They may have been pretty, and very powerful, but it didn't make them all sweetness and light. It made them dangerous.
Lots were nice, but they were too different to us for either side to ever understand the other, and interactions seldom ended well, usually for humans. Okay, always for humans. Elves were stronger than any wizard I knew of, but the Second's frenzy had surprised me. He was certainly a match, the elven magic a hindrance but somehow subdued and weaker when he was in their presence.
Damn Elion, where was he? I just wanted out of this, to get paid and go home. George would be annoyed I missed dinner, Vicky would hopefully be sleeping but would be back on the scene soon enough, of that I had no doubt, and I was sure there were plenty of other things waiting to ruin my day that I'd forgotten about or was unprepared for.
Not normally a nervous guy as there's only so many times you can be scared witless before you become immune, I nevertheless felt mild trepidation. No way was I freaking out and fidgeting and wondering if it hurt to hurl yourself out of a limo going seventy, as we drove to the outskirts of the city. If I was going to meet Mikalus it would either be for a slap on the back and a hearty thank you, or to be ravaged, and not in a good way, by him or a bunch of new recruits for interfering with one of their own. Did they want the belt back? Did they want to punish me for taking it? Or was this something else entirely?
Guess I'd find out soon enough.
We turned off the main road and after a few miles where ancient oaks obliterated the sky we went through a large double gate, down a long, tree-lined drive, and came to a halt outside a large house that was definitely a step up from the old vampire headquarters. There were a lot of cars of all description parked out front, with many more at the rear judging by the people coming and going and driving away. The vampire party, or paying homage, or turning the country into vampire land, or whatever, was definitely in full swing.
"Follow me please," said the Second as he set off at a brisk pace up the wide steps leading to the entrance.
With no choice if I ever wanted to see George again, I followed like a meek little lamb and went to meet an immortal vampire I'd helped resurrect from the dead.
Ooh, exciting eh?
A Long Walk
It was chaos inside the luxurious building and it made my head hurt and my wand tingle. This was no place for a human unless he wanted to become an ex-human. Vampires of all types either lusted after m
e or ignored me completely. Some were clearly low down in the hierarchy and they moved with an urgency that told me what I needed to know. The elevating of many vampires to position of Second, or at least higher than they were, was in full swing.
They were being given strength and power, transforming their uncertain abilities into something most of them had only dreamed of. They would never have believed they would rise to such power, had accepted their lot as something different to human but nothing like the vampires of old. Now they had their chance and they couldn't get in quick enough.
Others had obviously had their prize and they stood tall and proud, eyes dark, senses working overtime as they became accustomed to their newfound abilities and increased craving for blood. They eyed me dangerously but nobody moved to harm me. They acted with courtesy but I saw the battle rage within. Some were rather forlorn, others scared, and I wondered what exactly was happening behind the scenes, how this all worked.
I was led past all this, taken to a large room packed with lesser vampires, the noise deafening as they chattered excitedly like they were waiting to meet a pop star or movie idol. Guess this was even better. This was their chance to not only meet the man that started it all but the one who could change their lives forever, and I mean forever, giving them something miraculous—true immortality and true vampire power. To become Seconds.
The way parted and we went through a door at the back of the waiting room into a quiet part of the building. A woman walked toward us, a bite mark still dripping at her wrist, her face lost in rapture. We stopped at a door and the Second nodded to the man outside who knocked then went in. He returned a moment later and nodded to the Second.
