Summoned to Rule

by C L Walker

I told Buddy I didn’t need him with me this time, and ran to the gate using the shortcuts I’d discovered before. I was there in a minute, and through the next heaven a minute later.

  I was worried about the things I couldn’t see, the oddness to my life over the previous few days. But I only had one way of dealing with things, and that was to charge at them. I didn’t know how to do anything else.

  I was feeling better, at least. I wondered how long that would last.

  Chapter 18

  A message came through on my phone as I took a taxi to the vampire king’s court. It was from the waitress at the coffee place in Chaos territory, Sammy.

  “Hey, um, I don’t know if this is what you were talking about,” she said. “But they’re loading up. A bunch of them just got into trucks and tore out of here like they were going to war.”

  I had to speak to Artem before I dealt with them, both to hand over the community’s requirements and to make sure he didn’t mind me looking into what Chaos was up to. I was going to look into it anyway, but I thought it was good politics to let him know first.

  It didn’t matter. I had the taxi stop a block away from the nightclub because the trucks Sammy the waitress had mentioned were all parked outside. The war they’d been heading for was with the vampires.

  I waited for the taxi to leave, standing on the street corner and surveying the situation. Ten men stood outside the club with their guns on display. The bouncer lay on the floor, groaning and twitching, and the line to get in had all run away. Why Chaos weren’t worried about the police showing up was a mystery.

  I sent the tattoos out to check for things I couldn’t see. They stopped at the entrance to the club when they ran into a magical barrier; I could probably shatter it but I’d be letting them know I was coming if I did.

  There was nobody else on the street, as though they’d somehow forced everyone to leave. It was strange, like a dream; even after my short time in the city, seeing the empty streets was unnatural.

  I attacked, moving at a speed that slowed everyone else down to a crawl. I had energy to spare after my time with Buddy and the angel, and this was the place to use it.

  I was among them in a moment and dispatched them quickly. All ten men received a punch to the face that would floor them when I allowed them to move. I checked the vehicles for any reserve troops and found them empty. They had committed everything they had.

  I entered the club, still moving faster than anything else. Whatever the barrier was over the entrance, it only blocked my magical sight and didn’t stop me from using the rest of the tattoos.

  The dance area had a few bodies scattered around, less than I expected to find but more than I’d hoped. They were mostly humans, gunned down and left to die gasping. Three vampires were eviscerated in their midst.

  I burst through the door to the vampire court, smashing a guard on the other side into the wall. I ignored him, advancing down the stairs and entering the small waiting room before the great hall. There were two guards here, facing up the stairs. With my speed they appeared to be statues. I reached out and put a hand on each of their heads, slamming them into the wall before kicking the door open and entering the hall.

  My speed faltered and I stumbled as I crossed the threshold. Another barrier had been erected, this one far more powerful, and it stripped me of a few more of my options. I checked the room quickly, knowing I was walking into a bad situation without the advantage I’d had outside.

  A score of men and women, guns held at the ready. Vampires baring their fangs against the walls of the hall. Three men standing before Artem and Ashe on their simple thrones behind the meeting table.

  The Chaos turned on me, firing in broken bursts. The tattoos threw up a shield as I dove behind a pillar to plot my attack.

  But the gang had made a mistake turning their backs on the vampires. I heard the first scream and risked looking around the bullet-riddled pillar to find them turning back to their undead captives in terror.

  Things went crazy after that. Bullets flew and humans screamed as vampires took my distraction and used it to fight back. Whatever had allowed the humans their advantage in the first place was gone now that I had burst in.

  I joined the fray, moving from enemy to enemy. I grabbed one as he fired on the back of a vampire, tossing him across the room and into one of the others. Another received a kick to his lower spine while another had his head crushed against a wall. By themselves the vampires were whittling down the humans, but in conjunction with me the gang was being decimated.

  A Chaos member ran to the entrance and stood in the doorway. I knew what he was about to do and started running toward him, but I wasn’t fast enough. He muttered under his breath, holding his hands out at his sides. A moment later the vampires started growling.

  It was madness; vampire turned on vampire, ignoring the humans to better hurt each other. The remaining Chaos began picking off the vampires, easily cutting them down and moving in to finish off the job when the undead were on the ground.

  Artem and Ashe joined in, cutting the three Chaos before them down with their claws. They didn’t appear to be affected by whatever insanity was running through their people. They split up to try to stop them from tearing each other apart.

  I reached the man in the doorway and slammed his head against the wall, but whatever he’d put in motion kept going by itself.

  I returned to the hall and the humans with guns, taking them out one by one. They had done a lot of damage and I didn’t know if we could stop the crazed vampires from killing themselves, but there was no way Chaos was going to win the day.

  And then everything went quiet. I punched the woman before me in the kidneys. She screamed and fell to the ground writhing in pain, but my attention was on the vampires now. They had been running wild and attacking anything that crossed their paths, but now they stood still, staring at the door. Artem and Ashe were casting their eyes around the hall, trying to work out what was happening, but their subjects were transfixed.

  There were a handful of humans left and each of them had a blissful smile on their face as they too turned to face the entrance.

  “Anarchy,” they said in unison.

  The man entered at a slow walk, calm and collected in the face of the carnage. He was smiling too, a cruel smile I knew well. And his eyes were fixed on me.

  “Hello, Agmundr,” Bannon said.

  Chapter 19

  The soldier had shaved his greying hair leaving his scalp bare. His pale skin had been covered in subtle tattoos.

  “Anarchy,” the Chaos members said in unison.

  “I understand Invehl a lot better now,” Bannon said. He walked further into the hall, reaching out and touching his people as he did; they shuddered at his touch, turning to follow his progress like sunflowers. “This adoration is addictive.”

  “Who is this?” Artem said. He and Ashe were making their way across the hall, walking carefully through their subjects and the humans alike. Nobody moved in response.

  “I’m the guy who tortured your man, Agmundr,” Bannon said. “I got with this woman, too.”

  “Bannon is a blow-hard with low self-esteem,” I said. “I tossed him out a window when he wouldn’t shut up.”

  In fact I’d tossed him out a window the god Invehl had just created, leading to an ocean somewhere in the world. I hadn’t expected to see him again, and certainly not in charge of an army of sycophants.

  “You know what,” he said. “I’ll give you that. I am a little full of myself.”

  “What are you doing here?” I said. He was getting closer to me and my fists were itching.

  He raised his hand and snapped his fingers. The vampires and the remaining Chaos all stood to attention, clicking their heels together as one.

  “A little dance, perhaps,” he said, grinning at me.

  He was far too pleased with himself. I badly wanted to punch the smug off his face, but I couldn’t take my eyes off the tattoos covering his head. The sy
mbols and sigils were the same as mine, etched in the same long dead languages and forms of magic.

  “You used Ohm’s blood,” I said. Invehl had removed some of my tattoos and stored the original elder-god blood in jars. Bannon had taken one of the jars.

  “My former god and your former wife both think having the power for a little while is the greatest thing.” He stopped just out of reach, his façade too confident for someone this close to me. “They just drink it and experience a little greatness. But you and I know that isn’t the best way to do this, don’t we?”

  “Who created the tattoos?” I said. There weren’t any people left who could read the languages, not even high witches like Nikolette.

  “Oh, a little bird. One of your people; Roman is his name, I think. Great guy.”

  My world rocked as I searched for any sign of betrayal from the hedge-mage. He’d been excited with his findings, and with the opportunity to help me. I hadn’t seen anything.

  Bannon was laughing at my confusion and I realized he was toying with me.

  “We took detailed video of your naked ass,” he said. “I had all I needed just from that. The video and a half decent artist and I was set.”

  “It isn’t that simple,” I said, hiding my relief.

  “I didn’t think so either, but I guess I got lucky. I got the power I needed, not the power I wanted.”

  He had found a way to drive people crazy, or freeze them in place. He was a soldier and a fighter, and I knew what he could do with that kind of power.

  “See, the gods want to control things at a high level,” he said. “I just want to influence people. Make them happy, make them sad. Make them angry. Would you like to see?”

  I shook my head slowly as the tattoos began to glow. I was ready for him, and I didn’t think he’d gained any strength with his other powers. He wouldn’t last long against me.

  Ashe attacked, moving with vampire speed, suddenly leaping in to take Bannon’s head off with her claws. Bannon twisted, anticipating the move and stepping out of the way. He delivered a stunning punch to her back that sent her sprawling, before turning back to me and smiling.

  “Yes,” he said, as though answering the thoughts in my head. “I can do that, too.”

  “It won’t matter,” I said. “It never matters what you people think you can do.”

  “Now who has a big head?”

  “What reason do you have to attack us?” Artem said. His attention was all on Ashe, who dragged herself up and turned to glare at Bannon.

  “You’re helping Agmundr. And you’re in my way.” He shrugged. “I don’t know. You will be in my way, at some point. Listen, I haven’t thought this through that far.”

  “You’re insane,” Ashe said.

  “Dreadlocks gets it,” he replied, pointing his fingers like a gun at her. “Getting stomped on by a god will do that to you. Getting thrown out a window into the middle of the Pacific Ocean will do that to you.” His volume was rising as his smile finally faded and he turned his full attention on me. “Having to swim back will do that to you.”

  “You didn’t swim back,” I said. Bannon had been a trained and seasoned soldier, with the enhancement of the god Invehl, but he’d still only been human.

  “I did, actually. It’s amazing what you can manage with a deep desire to kill a man and a waterproof phone.”

  “You don’t want to kill me,” I said. I took a step toward him and smiled when he backed away. “You want to be me. You want to skin me so you can emulate me. You’re jealous and weak, little man.”

  “Weak?” he said, a fake version of his smile returning. His eyes told the true story of his hatred. “Maybe, but not for long. Things are about to change around here.”

  He backed away and I advanced. He reached the entrance and whatever was holding the people in the room still was released. Vampires and humans alike went mad in an instant, desperately clawing at each other. Only Artem and Ashe remained in control, and they immediately came under attack.

  I ran after him, brushing aside the crazed combatants until I stood before him.

  “Kneel,” he said imperiously, raising his hand to point at my head.

  I laughed, but then I felt the attack. It was a compulsion, a deep desire to get down on my knees. I didn’t want to obey him; rather I wanted to cower before him. Fear swamped my mind for a moment, but only for a moment.

  The tattoos blocked him and I grabbed his raised hand.

  “This ends now,” I said.

  Bannon giggled as he attacked me.

  Chapter 20

  He was strong and fast, but nothing like me.

  He kicked me in the chest and drove me back, but I returned quickly. We traded blows, blocking and fighting back and forth as the screams and growling grew louder in the hall.

  I grabbed his arm and dragged him back, throwing him into the mess he’d created. But the vampires avoided him like fire, raising their hands to keep from seeing him as they hurriedly backed away. He stood and faced me again.

  “I’m going to enjoy this,” he said.

  Except Ashe and Artem, every vampire in the room turned to me at once and started running. Their claws and fangs were out as they used their speed to reach me.

  I wasn’t fast anymore, but I had other tricks. The tattoos erected a magic shield around me and I waded through the crowd of snarling, slashing vampires until I was facing Bannon again.

  “See,” he said. “That’s what I want. That’s what I was going for.”

  He backed away and I followed. Vampires threw themselves against the shield and crashed to the floor, scrambling to rise again under the feet of their brothers and sisters. They were rabid and unthinking, and they weren’t a threat.

  “You two,” Bannon said, pointing at Ashe and Artem. “Get him.”

  They staggered as he assaulted them. Ashe put her hands on her head and growled like an animal while Artem slowly managed to gain control of himself and begin advancing on Bannon.

  “Dammit,” he said. “Just do as you’re told.”

  Artem didn’t have a shield, and as the vampires turned on him he had to defend himself and Ashe, who was still dealing with the psychic assault.

  “You can’t win this,” I said as I once again reached him. Now that the vampires weren’t trying to attack me constantly there was nothing standing in my way.

  He answered by throwing everything he had into his next attack. His fist slammed into the shield and it darkened as the tattoos poured energy into it. He stepped back, sneering at me, and hit it again.

  The shield shattered but I was waiting for it. I ran at him as soon as it was gone, colliding with him and dragging us both to the ground. I wrapped an arm around him and started punching with my free hand. I pummeled him, cracking ribs and hitting him so hard that my fist broke through into his midsection. I grabbed a handful of his insides and tore them out.

  Everyone turned to me again and screamed as they came to their master’s defense. I didn’t have the shield anymore and I had to turn and face them. They swept over me, a wave of gnashing, slashing vampires that I couldn't hold back. They knocked me over and I had to focus everything I had to keep them from hurting me.

  Bannon crawled away holding the wound I had made. I caught glimpses of him through the crush and smiled at the amount of blood he was losing. He would be dead in a moment and then sanity would return. In the meantime I was occupied knocking vampires away from all sides and trying to get up.

  They leapt away as one and I was free, lying on my back in the open in the middle of the hall. Bannon stood near the entrance, both Ashe and Artem at his feet. They were battered and bleeding, barely moving as their former subjects swarmed around them.

  “Would you give up if I promised not to kill them?” Bannon asked. “Would you sacrifice your life for theirs?”

  I got to my feet, power draining from the tattoos and being used to heal me. I fixed my enemy in my sights and prepared to rush him.

  “Fi
ne,” he said. “I was going to kill them anyway.”

  He turned and hobbled out of the room with remaining Chaos in tow. The vampires went to work dismantling their leaders.

  I ran to their aid, once again throwing vampires away from the pile. I couldn’t kill them while they were being controlled. They were victims and once Bannon left they would be fine again. I’d seen it with his acolyte in the mall. All I had to do was keep the vampires alive long enough.

  The assault intensified as I lost sight of Bannon and the humans. Vampires leapt at me from every angle, trying to bury their fangs into me and slashing at my exposed flesh. I took a few hits but dealt far more. Ashe and Artem got the brunt of it despite my efforts, writhing in agony at what their people were doing to them.

  And then the vampires left, swarming after their new master up the stairs, crashing into each other in their desperate attempt to make it through the door to the waiting room first, and then crushing each other as they all tried to run up the stairs at once.

  I sat beside the vampire king and whatever Ashe was in his court. I had already healed but I was low on power again, and I didn’t have the strength to give chase, not when all that awaited me was an army of vampires.

  Artem rolled over, his face a pulpy mess from being repeatedly stomped on. He tried to speak but his jaw was no longer attached and he was barely able to draw breath.

  “Give it a second,” I said. “Let yourself heal first.”

  Ashe pushed herself off the floor, still growling, still furious. But she was hurt as well; she managed to reach her feet but immediately keeled over and stayed down.

  Bannon was gone, leaving bodies and an empty court in his wake. He didn’t have as much power as I had, didn’t have the strength or speed he wanted, but what he did have was devastating.

  I closed my eyes and focused on my breathing. There had been a moment when I thought we were done, when I thought Bannon was about to have me pointlessly skinned to advance his mad agenda. It had made me fight harder.

  Now all I wanted to do was go to sleep and not wake up.