“You keep these things on you, just in case?”
Steph said, “Behind you!”
Mike turned his head only to be greeted with a punch to the face. His world exploded, the lights turning out and his nose flooding with warm liquid. Blood seeped into his mouth. Mike felt himself get tackled him to the ground. The stench of his breath was nauseating as the vampire dove in for a bite. Mike’s fingers grasped the vampire’s head, sticking his fingers into his eyes, pushing him desperately. The vampire squealed like a pig, trying to get at Mike’s neck. Mike pushed harder, now scratching at the creature’s nose, careful not to stick his fingers into its mouth—
There was a hiss of flame. Then Mike’s attacker disappeared, leaving only a flurry of ash and Steph’s arm outstretched for Mike to grab.
It was the most bizarre sense of déjà vu.
Because back at the Slayer lair, it had been Laura who’d done the exact same thing.
Not that Mike was complaining. He took Steph’s offering, then jumped in front of her to stake another vampire through the heart. First he felt the impact of wood on hard cartilage. Then he felt nothing, as if the body had never been there before.
“That’s wicked,” Mike breathed.
“Sure is,” Steph called as she uppercut a girl vampire, then finished her off. Mike took a moment to survey the battle. His nose was probably broken, but he couldn’t think about that now. It was impossible to tell who was winning. Mike saw flashes of light and flame amongst the mass of bodies, so he knew there were at least a few Guardians left. But how many, and how they were doing… it was impossible to know.
“We have to find the gargoyles!” Mike called to Steph as they fought back to back. He flung two vampires off to the right, then electrocuted another in the head. The fried vampire convalesced on the ground. But then he got up again, a nasty look on his face. There was really only one way to kill them…
Steph disengaged herself from battle. She surveyed the scene, as if thinking about which way to go. “Okay, the best way is through the lab! But we might need more than the two of us.”
Mike nodded. If Dementae didn’t already know about the battle, he’d find out any minute now.
Touching his amp, Mike thought, Magus, can you fight your way over to our position?
A little busy, Michael.
Then can you be busy over here?
Mike saw an extended wall of flames shoot up from over on the left, so large that he felt the heat on his face from all the way across the room. His palms sticky, Mike wiped them on his sweat-soaked t-shirt. Which was pretty much the worst surface to soak up unnecessary perspiration.
“Come on,” Mike said, grabbing Steph by the arm. He telekinised his way in Stockton’s direction. The pair fought their way through mass until they reached the flamethrowing Magus.
“We’re going to free the gargoyles,” Mike said loudly. The Magus only nodded in response. He threw up his hands, and a shimmering barrier encircled the three Guardians. The noise of the battle dimmed slightly, and Mike saw vampires throw themselves against the shield, only to bounce off like they had been electrocuted.
“It won’t last long,” Stockton cautioned. He hurried towards the entrance and burst through the doors to the Greeting Hall of Chateau de Vincennes, which was now Dementae’s laboratory. Stockton spoke a locking charm on the door, and the crystal barrier dissolved around them.
Surprisingly, there was no one in the room. The huge white sheet lay flat on the ground. The body it had covered had disappeared, and the electric chair stood unused. Mike wondered where Dementae was, but he was not about to question this stroke of good luck.
“Hurry!” Steph ran towards the elaborately carved wooden doors that led to the courtyard of the palace. “They’re keeping most of the gargoyles outside!”
Steph threw the door opened and Mike followed her out. But as he exited the building, he was greeted by a tempest, with gusts of wind that nearly pushed him back inside the building. Something howled – no, roared – behind the gusts of air.
Mike shielded his face and his body, struggling to stand upright against the airstream. As he peered through squinted eyes, Mike beheld the most terrifying creature he had ever seen.
It was enormous, dragon-like, a reptile with wings the size of airplanes. A pointed tail snapped back and forth. Its scales were jet-black. Enormous claws and legs protruded from its body. And two heads extended from its chest, tendrils of flame curling from its nostrils, screams of anger exiting its mouths.
Stockton grabbed both Steph and Mike and pulled them back inside. Then he closed the door with telekinesis, struggling against the gusts but finally pushing it shut. He spoke a locking charm on both doors, then rested his arms on the wood, breathing heavily.
“I see you’ve met my Chimmy.”
Mike whirled to see Dementae, standing with his arms crossed, a placated smile on his face. On his arm stood Cassandra, who was sucking on a lollipop as if she was at a carnival or something. And hunched over next to them, with her eyes glazed over in a blank stare, was Sepulchra Prior.
“Mom!” Mike yelled, to no response. She was a zombie dressed in Guardian clothing. “What did you do to her?”
Dementae tapped his Amp. “Amazing what this thing can do, isn’t it?”
“Morningstar, of all the despicable things,” Stockton said, his mouth curled into a vicious snarl. “Breeding Chims?”
“Oh, come off it now, Magus. I’m only making upgrades on the Gargoyles. They’re like gargs 2.0, or something like that.”
“Chimaeras are abominations, that thing is enormous!”
“I know, isn’t she beautiful?”
Stockton shook with rage. “How many gargoyle hearts did you use, Evan? Twenty? Thirty?”
Mike’s eyes widened. So that was why he had found the gargoyles ripped open at Windham. Dementae needed gargoyle hearts… and he wouldn’t have been able to get them if the gargoyles were in their stone form… that’s why the Brethren had attacked at night…
“For Chimmy?” Dementae rubbed his chin. “I think it was forty four?”
“Aaarrggghhh!” Stockton shot an electric bolt at Dementae, who merely rolled his eyes and flicked his wrist. The weapon ricocheted off an invisible shield and slammed harmlessly into the stone wall.
“Please, Magus, save the theatrics for the fans,” Dementae gestured to Steph and Mike. “All I have to do is think the order, and my Brethren – who I’m leaving out of this for the moment, by the way, because it’s infinitely more entertaining without them – and my Brethren will feed all the remaining gargoyles to my Chimmy.
“Come now, consider the facts. I have your Guardians outnumbered a million to one in that room.” Dementae threw a thumb over his shoulder. “I have all your Gargoyles hostage, and I have the beautiful Sepulchra here attached to my mind.” Dementae tapped his temple. “Which means if I go, she goes. And we wouldn’t want that, would we?
“Oh, and by the way, Stephanie?” Dementae shook his head. “I had high hopes for you, I really did. But I have to admit, your mother called it first. I just didn’t listen.”
“She’s not my mother,” Steph said, an acerbic tone in her voice.
Mike trembled with anger. Or was it fear? Probably a mixture of both. “So the video… the video that showed my mom…”
Dementae’s face brightened. “Ah, you did see it! I was beginning to think you cute little magicians had missed it. A piece of art, wasn’t that? I must say, my old classes in moviemaking really paid off there.”
“What are you talking about?” Steph said.
Laughing, Dementae said, “I rigged the surveillance video in Windham in hope that Mister Prior here would see it and assume his mother was on my side. Which, technically, she is.” Dementae patted Mom’s hair like she was a pet. “I was really hoping you would join me willingly, Mister Prior. I so despise using threats to get what I want. By the way, I hope you appreciate my honesty in our business dealings. Like I said, I al
ways keep my word.”
“I swear I’m going to kill you when this is over,” Mike muttered. “Let her go!”
“Now, that wouldn’t be good for business, would it?” Dementae disengaged himself from Cassandra’s half-embrace and took two steps in the Guardians’ direction. “But I’m a man who loves competition on the highest level. And I see three of you, and three of us.” Dementae grinned widely, displaying yellow teeth that were a bit uneven in length.“How about a little three on three? Last team standing controls the fate of the universe?”
For a moment, no one said anything. Stockton glared at Dementae the entire time, his gaze never wavering. Steph looked uneasily from her stepmother to Dementae to Sepulchra, clearly unhappy with the proposition. It was one thing to be disloyal to her stepmother, but another thing entirely to have to kill her…
“Nobody opposed? In that case – Sepulchra!” Dementae’s eyes narrowed as Mom snapped to attention.
“Kill your son.”
Sepulchra charged into action, flames twirling from the torches in the room directly to her wrists, then flying off in Mike’s direction at incredible speeds. Mike reacted quickly by throwing up a shield.
The battle sprung into motion, as if a switch had been flipped. Stockton charged Dementae with electric fire, while Cassandra pulled out a broadsword from underneath her robe and ran towards Steph.
Mike had no time to watch anyone else. His mother fought furiously, and Mike found himself parrying intense volleys of flame. Even worse, he hadn’t figured out how to attack back. He didn’t want to injure her, but he couldn’t just sit back and wait for something to happen… he had to disable her somehow…
Sepulchra fought with a contorted hatred on her face. It must’ve been a conveyance of Dementae’s feelings; Mike had never seen his mom look like that before. Her assault was so intense that Mike put up a second surfboard, just so he could deflect the flames that were coming from both of his mother’s hands. Finally, when she seemed to hesitate for a moment, Mike took down a shield and snuck a telekinetic shot at his mother. Sepulchra did not react in time, and the force of the weapon flung her into one of the knight statues, toppling the metal over her and burying her underneath.
Sorry, Mom, but you’re not giving me much choice here...
Mike took the free moment to examine the other battles. Steph was engaged with her stepmother in a purely non-magical fashion. She had grabbed a sword from one of the beheaded knights and was parrying the broadsword, as if she had been taking lessons for years. The two used no magic, seemingly an unwritten rule between them. Mike was surprised – he had experienced firsthand how powerful Steph’s attacks were. Maybe, like him, Steph didn’t want to hurt her stepmother. Mike didn’t know how foolish that might turn out to be – Cassandra seemed perfectly willing to kill her stepdaughter.
Stockton and Dementae, meanwhile, were locked in an epic battle towards the electric chair. Lights flashed brilliantly from that side of the room. Mike recognized some of the normal weapons from his training courses, but mostly there were colors and flashes that he had never seen before, surely more advanced and powerful magics. Neither warrior used shields, instead deflecting their adversary’s attacks with other methods that Mike couldn’t recognize. It was a battle beyond Mike’s skill and know-how, being fought on another dimension entirely.
Mike’s attention turned back to his mother, who had freed herself of the rusty iron and was back on her feet again.
Okay, break’s over…
His mom grimaced, as if she had hurt something – yes, she was limping on her left side. Mike’s first instinct was to run over to help her, but that was muted by a fresh volley of fire, which Mike blocked.
The strength of Sepulchra’s attacks increased now, and Mike found it harder to hold his ground. He had never faced an adversary that was stronger than he was. Well, except Steph. It was new territory for him – he struggled and grew frustrated. His mother limped towards him, eyes glazed but focused, firing an ever-constant barrage of weaponry in an attempt to dismember him.
I can’t actually shoot back, can I?
Save for one or two well-placed telekinetic attempts to thrust his mother backwards, it was almost impossible for Mike to fire on his mother. And even when he did, he let up a little on his telekinesis, afraid he would snap his mother’s ankle or injure her more severely if he sent her flying into another pile of twisted metal.
Problem was, he wasn’t going to get anywhere fighting like this.
As Mike was forced into a corner, he realized he had to do something different. His eyes scanning the room, Mike finally realized his way out. Parrying with his shield the whole time, he waited for the perfect moment, the pause in between Mom’s attacks…
There.
Mike slipped a thrust of wind through his mother’s defenses, stronger and quicker than the last. She was surprised at the speed of the attack, and again she didn’t get up a shield in time. Maybe because Dementae’s strength was offense, not defense. Whatever the case, Mom flew backwards and skidded across the white tablecloth. Mike then grabbed the sheet with telekinesis and folded it tight around his mother’s body as if she were wrapped in a straightjacket, covering her head as well so she couldn’t see. That would buy him some time… Dementae was across the room, behind the electric chair, locked in battle with Stockton. He would never see it coming…
Mike reached out with a hand and grabbed at Dementae’s Amp from across the room. But to his surprise, the Amp did not attach itself to Mike’s magic. Both Dementae and Stockton stopped fighting and turned to look at Mike, a bemused expression on their faces.
“Oh no you don’t,” Dementae called from across the room. “It wouldn’t be fair to mix all the battles, would it? Something like this might happen!” Dementae fired a black missile at Steph, who was completely focused on avoiding her stepmother’s broadsword. The Aneksham slammed into her hip, and she fell to one knee with a cry.
“No!” Mike screamed.
Cassandra used the distraction to race towards her fallen stepdaughter. She lifted her sword as she ran, going for a killing stroke…
Mike threw out an arm just as Cassandra’s sword came down—
And just in time, Mike’s telekinesis hit Cassandra head on. She jerked backwards and slammed into one of the Dining Hall doors, which refused to budge because of Stockton’s locking charm. The leader of the Slayers crumpled against the wooden door and didn’t stir.
Stockton quickly fired a weird purple firecracker at Dementae. With everything that was going on around them, the weapon caught him off guard, and Dementae crashed into the electric chair. Remembering what had happened in the Slayer lair, Mike directed electricity at the metal casings, which in turn sent electric shockwaves throughout Dementae’s body. His muscles jerked, his face contorted, and a piercing scream shook the room. As the electric field died away, Dementae’s body fell to the ground with a thud.
But the scream did not go away. Instead, it turned into laughter – insane, terrifying laughter.
“Stupid, stupid boy,” Dementae said as he slowly got to his feet. His face was charred, with black streaks across it. His robes were burned and torn. But clear across his face was a wide smile, a smile that revealed crooked teeth…
“Get him, stab him!” Steph hurled herself at Dementae and shoved her sword into his chest. But instead of piercing him, the weapon thudded against something hard and fell to the floor.
Mike’s eyes widened. So that was it. That was how Dementae had been reborn. A vampire had removed his heart, thinking he would continue to live inside Dementae’s body. And that was why there was a new Brethren-Vampire alliance… the leader of the Brethren had become a vampire…
“And a stupid girl to boot,” Dementae said as he grabbed Steph’s wrist. He jabbed a hand into the side of her body when the Aneksham took root, and Steph screamed in agony.
Stockton said, “Let her go, Evan!” But Dementae ignored him. He banged a fist against his chest.
“NYPD-distributed Kevlar,” he advertised. “Protects from even the worst of shotgun blasts. Really, I have no idea why vampires don’t manufacture this stuff en masse. If you’ve got a weakness, why not protect it?”
Then he put his face close to Steph’s, who was wriggling to get free. “You, on the other hand, have no protection whatsoever.”
“No!” Before Mike could react, a burst of green light flew from Dementae’s palms. Steph slammed into the stone wall, then collapsed like her mother, unconscious and unmoving.
“Aaarrgghh!” Mike screamed. He and Stockton fired at Dementae, who was a little slower to react than normal. Dementae deflected Mike’s fire, but one of Stockton’s shots nailed him in the torso, and he dropped to one knee in shock.
Then Mike was hit from behind. He fell onto the floor but rolled through into a somersault, turning to see his mother free of her temporary confines. She stumbled towards him, firing electricity as if she was the Terminator or something. Mike brought up one shield and fired back with his other hand from a crouched position. His mother didn’t even put up a defense. The telekinesis nailed her on the thigh and stomach, causing Sepulchra to fall to one knee.
Dementae’s losing control over her, Mike realized. He was getting weaker. It was getting harder for him to control both of them…
Mike again reached back for Dementae’s Amp, but he blocked it again. “Stop meddling in my affairs, boy!” Dementae disengaged himself from Stockton for a moment and fired a huge black Aneksham at Mike. Mike blocked the weapon with his shield but was shoved over by the sheer force of the weapon. He fell onto his back. For a moment, he panicked, sure that his mother would pounce and nail him once he was down. But as he scrambled to his feet, Mike saw that his mother was faltering, her lack of balance causing her to stumble in her approach.
The Guardian Lineage Page 26
