“How do you know we’ll be indoors?” Annabella asked.
Zachariah said, “Do you know how many Slayers there are? There could be hundreds. Thousands. Two gargoyles are not going to change a thing.”
“Do y’all have a better idea?” said the blond-haired girl Mike didn’t know.
“Shut up, Caroline,” Zachariah said maliciously. That caused Caroline to get visibly upset, although probably not solely because of Zachariah’s insult. She buried her head in her hands and began to cry.
“Great,” Aaron muttered to no one.
“It’s settled, then,” Mike said aloud, hoping that would decide things. “We’re all going to the Slayers. I’ll tell Nukes and Groundhog.”
Zachariah shoved his chair out, sending it tumbling away. “Over my dead body.” He flicked his lighter open and brought the flame over to his open palm, elevating it ever so slightly.
Aaron rolled his eyes. “Here we go.”
Julius Brutus said, “Come on, gentlemen, this is unnecessary.”
Mike pushed away from the table and stood. He felt the heat from Zachariah’s weapon, but it did little to intimidate him. “Don’t make me embarrass you, Zachariah. Stockton’s not going to ring the timer and save your butt.”
Zachariah glowered. “I’ll be making the decisions for the Guardians from here on in.”
“So what’s your great plan, oh wondrous leader?”
“Working on it,” Zachariah said, eyes cold and hostile. The flame in his palm grew bigger.
Mike threw up a shield just in case. If Zachariah was going to challenge him for Guardian leadership, he had no problem with that. He was the most powerful one here, and he would protect the clan at all costs, even from idiots inside the guild. “That’s what I thought. Slayers it is.”
“Stop it, both of you!”
Both boys’ heads snapped around to find the source of the words. Mike was shocked to see it was Annabella.
“You’re both insane! Our friends are all gone, probably dead.” She rubbed her nose and fought back tears. “We have no way of protecting ourselves from another attack. The Brethren could be at our door right now and we’d have no idea. And you two want to fight amongst yourselves? How does that help matters at all? You’re both arrogant jerks!”
Zachariah stared at his girlfriend. It was plain to Mike that Annabella had never spoken to Zachariah in that way before. But it seemed to have an effect. Zachariah lowered his weapon and drooped his head. He nodded ever so slightly, then went to pick up his chair.
Mike folded his shield and went back to his seat as well. His cheeks felt hot. He didn’t want to admit it, but Annabella was right. If they fought amongst themselves, they’d be even easier to pick apart.
“I agree with Mike,” Annabella said softly, her words more composed. “If it looks like things are going bad, we’ll get out of there. The Gargoyles will help, right Mike?” Mike nodded from across the table. “Now, the only problem is, how do we find them?”
“Mike, you want to call your ex?” Zachariah said.
“Maybe if I had a phone,” Mike muttered. Plus, he didn’t think that was a great idea. For some reason, he didn’t want to include Laura in this. Because if this goes to hell, she’ll be right in the middle of it, with no place to turn for help.
Steph coughed, and muttered something Mike couldn’t hear.
“What’s that?” Aaron said.
Steph cleared her throat and looked up. “I know how to find them,” she said, her voice low, almost embarrassed.
“And how do you know that?” Aaron said with eyebrows raised.
But instead of answering, Steph climbed off her seat and headed towards the door. She paused only for a moment to motion for them to follow her.
“Okaaaay,” Mike breathed. He was relieved to see that all the Guardians were getting up, as well.
The Guardians followed Steph to the garage. She grabbed two keys off of a keyring fashioned to the wall near the entrance, then tossed a key each to Mike and Zachariah.
“So much for finishing my hamburger,” Mike muttered.
Steph headed for a motorcycle in the front corner. It was red, not black like the other cars. Without saying a word, she put on the helmet and slipped her legs over the bike.
“That is super hot,” Aaron commented.
Mike looked at Zachariah, who had the same puzzled expression on his face.
“Are we trusting her on this?” Mike asked.
Zachariah shrugged. “It was your idea, it’s your call. If it goes to hell, it’s your fault.”
Mike said, “She is the Headmage’s daughter.”
Zachariah scoffed. “Well, that clears everything up.”
“I’m not sure, man,” Aaron whispered. “That girl gets crazier by the minute. How do we know she’s not the Brethren spy Garzan talked about?”
Mike didn’t want to mention that he’d thought about it. In his mind, they had no choice but to trust her. The entire clan was gone, most of the Gargoyles had been murdered, the Headmage lay dying… and once Dementae found out a handful of them had escaped, he’d surely send another force to finish the job. Mike didn’t see any other way.
Besides, maybe she was just acting off because her father was in a coma. Steph would’ve been perfectly in her rights to be acting sad, depressed, reclusive. And it wasn’t right for him to be upset at her for it, either.
I want to trust her… I have to trust her.
“We follow,” Mike announced, and headed for one of the cars.
Chapter Thirty Three
Julius Brutus stayed back to work on the videotape, and Caroline stayed back to help Alexis with the Headmage, so Mike ended up with Aaron in his car. Zachariah took Annabella and Kiva, the other Espionage major.
The ride took over three hours, ending once the group reached the west side of Manhattan. Mike had figured the Slayers were somewhere in New York; after all, Laura and her crew had ambushed them in Central Park.
That thought got Mike’s blood flowing. He really didn’t want Laura involved in this, but there was more than a slight chance she would be, anyway…
The two cars followed Steph as she motored down the West Side Highway, past Chelsea Piers and the Intrepid. Finally she pulled into a parking lot that led to an old warehouse right on the pier.
Mike smirked. It couldn’t have been more out of a Buffy episode than this.
He parked the sedan as close as he could to the wharf, then slipped the keys in his pants pocket. There were other cars in the parking lot, mostly nondescript ones like the Guardians had. Mike felt a salty breeze hit his face. He stuffed his hands inside his trench coat and headed towards the entrance.
As the six Guardians stalked towards the depot in full leather, Mike felt the slightest urge for theme music.
Born to be Wild? Enter Sandman? Mike smirked. Nah… it’s got to be Hells Bells.
The warehouse was made out of brick, with a ton of glass windows that were all dark. Several light bulbs hung around an unmarked metal door. Security cameras were noticeable all around the building, even though it didn’t seem as if they were protecting anything important.
We are here, waiting for your signal.
Mike looked upwards and saw Groundhog and Nukes floating overhead.
Any word from Sepulchra?
Mike touched his neckpiece. No. Stay alert, we may need you in a hurry.
As they neared the door, Steph motioned for them to get off to the left. The Guardians hugged the brick wall and waited further instructions. Steph pointed at two cameras attached to the wall and removed the electricity from both of them. She did the same with three light bulbs that hung from a small overhang. Finally, she walked up to a metal door and banged on it with her fist.
Mike heard something that sounded like an eye-slit opening. Then there was a voice from behind the door. “Yeah, who is it?”
“It’s Steph, open up.”
Aaron tapped Mike on the back and raised his hands as
if to say, What the hell? Mike shook his head, thinking the same thing.
The metal door creaked open. Steph stepped inside, and Mike lost sight of her.
“Why are the lights out?” a voice said, the same that had asked Steph’s identity.
Steph said, “Tell Cassandra I’m here with company.”
So much for a surprise entrance, Mike thought. He heard the guard scurry away. Steph poked her head out called them with her finger.
“Let’s go,” she said tersely.
The Guardians entered the warehouse, eyes alert and weapons at the ready. Zachariah had already flicked on his lighter. Annabella had brought small water bottles, which were open inside of her pants pockets. Mike saw Aaron looking around for electricity to grab.
The warehouse was spacious but dimly lit. A few pieces of machinery were piled off to the right, but aside for that, there wasn’t much there. The glass windows let in some moonlight. Several shipping crates were scattered around the room. In terms of people, the place was deserted.
“Where is everybody?” Aaron asked aloud.
Steph gestured at the open warehouse. “If you were fighting a never-ending war against vampires, would this really be your base of operations?”
As if to reinforce the point, one of the crates slid open to reveal an elevator chassis of some kind. A doorman was already in it, probably the guy who had let them in. He motioned for the Guardians to join him.
There was room enough for everyone to fit, and then some. It must’ve been an elevator shaft for machinery, Mike figured, because it could’ve held at least fifty people.
We are screwed if there’s an ambush.
It was Zachariah’s voice inside Mike’s head. Mike turned his head ever so slightly and caught Zachariah’s eye. Mike nodded imperceptibly, then touched his Amp. If I knew how this would go down, I never would have brought it up.
Uh, huh. Just don’t get us all killed, okay?
Mike didn’t respond, but he knew Zachariah was right. If there was trouble, the Gargoyles would never be able to help them, nor would there be an easy way to escape.
And it would be his fault.
Mike braced himself as the elevator doors finally opened, assuming there would be some sort of ambush. But his fears were for naught. As the Guardians stepped out of the shaft, Mike saw they were in a room very unlike the warehouse.
It was a reception hall, done nicely and illuminated quite well. The walls were painted a tint of beige, with fluorescent lights drawing out the color from overhead. Two rows of square pillars, also cream colored, supported the room’s ceiling, just like in the basement of the manor. The floor featured a tiled mosaic, depicting a Slayer clutching a knife next to a fallen Vampire.
Straight ahead there was a gathering of people. Every single person was focused on the elevator shaft. Mike took a quick count: ten, twenty thirty… Mike swore. At least a hundred. Maybe more. He combed the crowd for Laura, but couldn’t spot her.
An elaborate silver chair jutted from the wall, placed evenly between two pairs of swinging doors. Seated in the chair was a woman about Mike’s age, legs crossed and arms placed on the armrests, head tilted as if she were royalty. A charcoal cat was buried in her lap, its grey eyes staring at them.
“Hi, Steph,” the woman said. “I see you’ve brought your friends.”
Steph bit her lip. She looked at Mike, then back to the woman sitting in the silver throne.
“Hello, Mom.”
Chapter Thirty Four
“Mom?” Mike spit out. And Garzan was her father… Steph was a Slayer and a Guardian?
“You must be Mike,” the woman deadpanned. “I’ve heard so much about you.”
Well, this is a nice surprise. Or not. “Nice to meet you too…?”
“Cassandra.”
“Right,” Mike said. “Anyway, we were wondering if you could help us a little.”
Cassandra’s eyes narrowed. A thin smile etched itself on her lips, making Mike uneasy.
“Why should I trust you and your Guardians, Mike Prior? We have been enemies for hundreds of years, you and I. Not to mention that after your Headmage agreed to renew our alliance, he promptly murdered our greeting party as a pretense to back out of our agreement!” The veins bulged out of the side of Cassandra’s neck as her face grew red. “And now you come to us, seeking our help? Give me one reason why I should assist you.”
Mike felt his ears get warm with anger. “No offense, but the Headmage didn’t murder your greeting party. We have a common enemy—”
“Do not feign ignorance! Garzan agreed to hand over the Book of Lineage as a gesture of goodwill. We sent out a party to accept it, you killed them as a pretext for war!”
Something clicked in Mike’s mind. Stockton had said something that first day, in his apartment in Queens, which had freaked out his mom. They have the book, Sepulchra, or something like that. He must’ve meant the Book of Lineage. And his mom had mentioned afterwards, in his room, something like… if they have the Book of Lineage, every Guardian family will be tracked down and killed.
So that was how the Book of Lineage had been lost. The Guardians had trusted the Slayers enough to give them the names of every Guardian family, only it had never gotten there… both parties had been murdered before the agreement was finalized, pissing off both the Guardians and Slayers… and with that information, the Brethren had started a new war against the Guardians and gargoyles of Windham Manor…
Mike’s mind raced. The Brethren were behind this, obviously. If the Guardians and Slayers had been ambushed separately, before the peace agreement… that meant the Brethren had information on both sides. A spy in both Windham and Slayerland. From someone who was both Guardian and Slayer…
Mike’s head snapped over to Steph, who was watching the exchange with intent. He seethed with raw emotion. So it was her…
Just then, Groundhog’s voice spoke in his head. There are Vampires advancing on your position, Michael! I think there is a Necromancer among them!
Mike swore in his head. He would deal with Steph later, after they sorted out this little problem. Zachariah had been right – they were going to be attacked here.
Just not by who he’d thought.
Well, he’d gotten them into this, and it was his job to get them out. Mike formulated the simplest of plans, knowing that if he played this wrong, he would have to fight vampires, Brethren, and Slayers…
“Uh, we have a slight problem.”
“Is that so?” Cassandra inclined her head, and the crowd tightened around the Guardians.
“Yeah,” Mike rubbed his chin. “You see, the Brethren are right outside, as we speak.”
“What?” Aaron and Zachariah said simultaneously.
A commotion broke out amongst the Slayers.
“If we leave now,” Mike continued undeterred, “They’ll probably kill us. And that’ll leave nobody to protect you and your hideout, or whatever you call this magnificent place you got here.” His eyes narrowed. “You need us.”
“Liar!” Cassandra snarled. “Do not play games in an attempt to win my favor!”
Mike shrugged. “See for yourself.”
Cassandra hesitated, then nodded at one of the Slayers. He ran out through the swinging doors, only to return a second later with a fearful expression on his face.
“They are in the warehouse, my Queen!”
Cassandra threw the cat off her lap and jumped to her feet. “Weapons at the ready, lethal force is permitted!” She ran out with most of the Slayers, leaving Mike and the Guardians alone in the throne room.
Mike wasted no time. He went over to Steph and grabbed her by the wrist. His eyes burned as they stared into hers.
“You have a lot of explaining to do,” he said, his jaw squared.
Steph made to pull her wrist away, but Mike held tight. She stared at him, her eyebrows slanted, mouth open. “Do not judge me, Michael Prior. You think it’s easy to split time between your parents when they hate each oth
er with a passion?”
“I’m not talking about your mom, Steph.” Mike lowered his voice. “If you bury us out here, I’ll make sure the last thing I do is put an electric charge through your head.”
“Mike, what’s going on?” Kiva said from behind.
Aaron said, “Have you lost your mind? Let her go, man!”
Steph drew her hand away, a horrified look on her face. Mike let her go this time. “What are you talking about,” she whispered in a genuinely surprised manner.
Mike didn’t have a chance to respond. A sea of vampires burst through the swinging doors, screaming like an angry mob.
Zachariah screamed, “Look out!” He shot a volley of flames towards the vampiric host, engulfing some of them in fire. Mike uses his telekinesis to clear two more vamps out of the way. Light bulbs shattered, and Aaron’s hands filled with electricity. He shot bolt after bolt at the invaders, connecting every time he fired.
But there were so many more. The Guardians bunched together in tight formation. The vampires snarled, spittled, tried to get close, but every time they were thrown backwards by some Guardian weapon. Unfortunately, none of the Guardians had brought stakes with them, and the difference between maiming and killing them was starting to get important.
Suddenly, Slayers filled the room from all sides, charging out of hidden doors in the walls. Mike noticed Cassandra leading a battle at the front. Steph cracked a light bulb and shaved a path to her, leaving her Guardian brothers behind. Mike was about to stop her, but thought better of it. It was her mother; this wasn’t about choosing a side.
The vampires changed their focus and engaged the Slayers. That allowed Mike to turn back to his group with an idea.
“Can you make icepicks for all of us?” Mike yelled at Annabella. She nodded, pulling a bottle of water out of his pocket and spilling out its contents. Annabella immediately froze the water before it hit the ground, then pulled off shards of ice and handed them out.
Mike grabbed one of the frozen stakes – jeez, it was cold – and peered at the battle. It didn’t seem to be going all that well. There were a ton of vampires who looked like they hadn’t drank blood in days. Mike held the spike in one hand and grabbed flame from Zachariah’s lighter in the other, careful to keep the two apart so that the fire wouldn’t melt the ice.
The Guardian Lineage Page 20
