Rise of the Seventh Reich

by Jeremy Croston

  Who needed a holy sword after all, eh?

  “Nice shot,” a second voice said.

  Ahhh man, this night just wouldn’t end. “Now who’s here?”

  A slender figure stepped out of the shadows. I took a quick step backwards; I wasn’t the worldliest daemon hunter, but I knew a witch when I saw one. The enchanting blue eyes, the glossing black hair that seemed to flow even though there was no breeze, this was a witch.

  “It took a lot to summon that one and you killed him in less than two seconds,” she admired. This was certainly odd.

  I cocked my pistol again. “Sorry witch, but you’re about to join your friend.”

  She just laughed as she placed her hand on the gun and lowered it. “Please, I could kill you in three seconds, hunter. This conversation could go very poorly if you keep down this path.”

  The more she stepped into the dim light, the more scared I became. Her white-blonde hair flowed down to her shoulders in stark contrast to her black dress and purple trench coat. Someone who basically flaunted the fact they were a witch was probably very, very deadly. With a deep breath, I put my pistol back in my hip holster.

  “Smart choice.”

  “We seem to be at an impasse.”

  She tapped her foot on the wooden floor. The noise was kind of annoying. “I’m going to cut straight to the chase. I just want a place to sleep so I can get back to America tomorrow. I want no problems here, witch. Can we both live with that?”

  “Texas, am I right?” she asked.

  “El Paso, to be exact.”

  Her bright blue eyes never broke contact with me. Her lips curled into a small smile, as if she knew something and couldn’t wait to share. “Are you familiar with a very old vampire named Abigail?”

  A giant lump formed in my throat. “What did you say?”

  “Abigail, if you’re from El Paso, you know who that is.”

  “My name is Castor Brinza and Abigail Dracul is my great-great-great grandmother.”

  Oh hell, why did I tell her that?

  The witch’s face couldn’t hide the delight at my dumb admission. “You don’t say? No,” she said, throwing her hand up. “You don’t even resemble a Dracul.”

  “How do you know what a Dracul looks like?”

  “Because you were seen with Radu Dracul earlier? That man looks like a Dracul.”

  My gun was back in my hand and the hammer was cocked faster than the witch could blink an eye. “Are you stalking me?”

  The speed in which the gun was back in her face surprised even her. “Let me take that assessment back, you just might be a Dracul.” She reached her hand under the pistol and took my other one in it. “The name’s Cassie O’Donnell.”

  She didn’t have an accent. “Are you Irish?” Actually, that didn’t seem very important.

  “I am, if you must know. Oh, that lack of accent, huh?”

  “Actually yeah, but I guess that’s none of my business.”

  For the second time, my gun lowered into my holster. My itchy trigger finger would one day get me in trouble. Today didn’t seem to be my unlucky day.

  She didn’t seem to give me any clues on the lack of accent. “Do you care to know why I followed you and Radu?”

  That seemed to be a much better question to ask. “Yeah, I’d love to know that one.”

  “I’m seeking help; do you know what a banshee is?”

  I’d heard the term before, but I couldn’t specifically say what it was. “I’m guessing some sort of Irish daemon?”

  “Lucky guess,” she smirked. “You are correct in theory, though. It’s a female vengeance daemon that kills its victims with the screams of Hell. My sister brought one into this world and it is my job to remove it.”

  “Ahhh, you summoned the ghoul in the hopes to see who was strong enough to kill it.” Yep, the gun came back out. “Unfortunately, the victims in this hotel didn’t seem to appreciate that, ma’am. I’m afraid I’m going to have to kill you, too.”

  “You certainly can try, though I make no promises about what happens next,” she warned me.

  CRACK!

  Chapter Two

  T he bullet stopped just inches from her face. There was a wicked grin on the witch’s face. “That’s the closest I’ve been to death in some time. Well played, Tex.”

  Not only did I fail in killing her, she’d come up with a corny nickname for me. “You did a lot of bad things. I’m not going to stop trying to kill you.”

  “I expect not. In the meantime,” she went on casually, as if my death threat was just an afterthought. “I could use the help of an experienced hunter and I have one right here.”

  “You want me to help you? Are you insane?” I asked.

  “A few people have come to that conclusion.”

  This may have been one of the weirdest conversations in my life. It was clear to me that I wouldn’t be able to kill her right now. Hell, the bullet was still just spinning there, harmlessly in front of her face. I’m pretty sure she was taunting me. With a heavy sigh, I put my gun away for good this time. Max’s sword was still within reach, though. Not that my skills with that heavy thing were any good. I’d have to give Julia a good talking to about her weak attempts to get me to use this thing.

  “What’s the silver you have hidden up your sleeve?”

  How in blue blazes…? “That’s none of your business, ma’am.”

  “Ma’am? Just how old do you think I am?’

  She looked maybe a year or two older than me, but it was drilled into my head from a young age that any being with supernatural touches to them were not to be trusted. Miss Cassie here could be well over a thousand for all I knew. “Couple hundred years, give or take,” I answered mostly sarcastic.

  “I should be offended.” Apparently she wasn’t. “I’m twenty-nine, I promise.”

  What would Julia tell me? She’d probably warn me that witches should be killed at all costs, or something along those lines. Or would she tell me to keep my enemies close and take the opportunity when it came? That seemed dangerous, but it also seemed intriguing.

  Also, there was the fact I was going back to El Paso empty handed. It might’ve been making a deal with the devil, however, I needed something. “Tell you what, I need help and you do, too. I think we could come to some sort of understanding,” I suggested.

  “I’m listening, Tex.”

  “I hate that name, by the way.” She just stood there, half-smirking, half-looking as if she could snap my neck with a thought. And how long was that bullet going to hang there? “I help you; you help me. Granted, coming to El Paso won’t be a pleasant trip for you as my Grammie Julia hates witches.”

  “But you need the help.” It wasn’t a question; it was a statement.

  “We need help. Abigail Dracul’s gone off the deep end and we’re barely keeping the peace.”

  “That’s why you sought out Radu.”

  It seemed transparency was in order. “Neither of us are getting help from that guy. Besides, he would have been very successful in ending your life.”

  “If he was the one who came in, I wouldn’t have summoned a ghoul. I’m a witch, not an idiot,” she snapped.

  “Would you mind letting the bullet fall? Seeing my failure just hanging there is pretty annoying,” I admitted, defeated.

  She snapped her fingers and it dropped to the floor, clanking a few times before it rolled away. Those silver bullets cost me an arm and a leg. As soon as, whatever this was, was over, I’d go and fetch it.

  It was getting late. “If I help you, would you think about potentially helping me?” Why in the world was I trying to get a murderous psychopath to help me? Oh right, I didn’t want to come back empty handed, even if it meant having to kill the help once Abigail was somehow handled. “Again, can’t give you any promises that Grammie Julia will like you, but I think I could convince her not to drain you.”

  “You help me take care of the banshee and I help you soothe a pissed off vampire; I thin
k we could make this work,” Cassie agreed.

  With a tentative hand, I slowly stuck mine out towards the witch. Her chilly hand immediately snapped mine up and gave two stiff shakes. “What’s next?”

  Hell if I knew. “I could use some shut eye and then I guess we take a trip to, Ireland?”

  “The Emerald Island, that's right. Why don’t you just take a nap in one of the rooms here? The place is rather empty tonight.”

  I bit back a harsh response. It wasn’t in good taste to make light of the situation that she had created, no sir. Annoyed, I started walking down the hallway without as much as a word. Cassie, my new friend, was thoroughly amused and followed me. The hallway split left and led to a little outside area with a shanty in the center. It looked vacant.

  “Are you going to keep following me?”

  “It’s a dangerous night, we should stick together.”

  It was only dangerous because of the witch standing with me. My finger twitched, ever so slightly. Could I get off a shot fast enough to end the threat? If I failed, she’d end me, that much I knew for sure. The impulse slowly went away. You’re doing this to help Julia, I reminded myself. The two of us weren’t strong enough to deal with Abigail. Without Radu, Cassie was my only choice.

  A really, really bad choice.

  I stormed off and pushed up open the shanty’s door. Besides being musky and unclean, the place was at least suitable. “You, go clean up that mess your ghoul made before the authorities find it.”

  “Now, now - is there any need to give orders?” she asked. She was baiting me.

  “One of us is in charge, and it ain’t you, sweetheart.” Almighty alive, I was playing with hellfire. “I asked politely the first time, the second time won’t be as kind.”

  Cassie grumbled something under her voice about me having the temperment of a Dracul, but she did relent. “As you wish, Lord Master,” she answered, giving me an exaggerated bow.

  Cassie gave me one last haunting glance before she exited, leaving me alone. I was nervous; I didn’t fear for my life exactly. No, my fear was rooted in just the primal nature of witches. I needed to stay on my game until this was over. Or, mind you, until I was back with Julia. She’d keep this one in line, long enough to accomplish our goals.

  I reached into my bag and pulled out my oldest treasure; Max Brinza’s Bible. The stories this book would be able to tell… I opened the worn, rough book to Psalms and began my nightly devotional. Prayer and Bible studies were very important to my family, even if the Holy Catholic Church no longer recognized us as God’s sons and daughters. Yes, being excommunicated and then condemned to be hunted was a major blight to the Brinza/Dracul name. It was a pain that even Julia never quite overcame.

  He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”

  “Psalm 91?”

  Cassie was back a little too quickly. “Yeah, that’s the one.”

  She didn’t say anything back. She disappeared right back out of the shanty, leaving me alone again. I shook my head and tried to get a little bit of shut eye.

  ****

  The building shook, which wasn’t normal. I’d been in a very deep sleep before the earthquake hit. Did earthquakes happen in London? That’s when I felt the presence behind me.

  Before I knew it, my hunter instincts kicked in. I ripped the silver cord out of my jacket sleeve and had the blessed garrote around the neck of my potential attack. The flash of movement surprised the shadow figure to the point she barely had time to stop me from choking the life out of her. She was whimpering as she was pushing me away with all her strength.

  That’s when I realized it was Cassie.

  I let the slack go and the garotte slid back into my sleeve. “Sorry about that,” I grumbled.

  She was breathing heavy and her face was even paler than before. “I take back my earlier comment,” she gasped. “That was the closest I’d come to death.”

  The sounds of thunder clapped all around, the shanty shaking violently. “What the hell is going on?”

  “If I had to guess, I think the Germans might be attacking.”

  The rat-a-tat-tat of machine guns echoed all around us. She wasn’t kidding; London was under siege. “C’mon, Cassie,” I growled as I got up. “We gotta help.”

  “Help?” she squealed. “Help? We have to get out of here.”

  That wasn’t an option, not when innocent people were at risk, even if it was from a non-daemon threat. “You want my assistance with the banshee? You’re going to earn back some retribution for the folks you killed last night, got it?”

  Cassie looked as if she was going to say something smart, but then she just kept it to herself. “Fine, if I must assist you with this nonsense, let’s get it over with.” It wasn’t the most convincing answer, but it’d do. “Can we at least make our way towards the airport? I do have transportation arranged to get back to Ireland.”

  I ignored her and made my way outside. Instead of going through the massacre site, I went around the side of the building to the main street. The fighting hadn’t reached this portion of the city. I pointed north and the two of us were off.

  “Are you going to use that sword on your back?” Cassie questioned quietly.

  It was almost as if she knew I couldn’t use it. “It’s just for show, another family heirloom.”

  The way she asked certain things, it was almost as if she knew more than she had let on. Once we were out of this situation, I’d have to try some unique interrogation techniques.

  “Look out!” I yelled.

  I tackled Cassie to the ground as a heavy German mortar tore into the motel we’d just been staying at, blowing it apart. The block and force of the explosion knocked us across the street. I held on to the witch tight as I absorbed most of the impact. Immediately I knew a few ribs were broken and a possible concussion.

  “Castor!” Cassie’s voice echoed all around me. “Castor, are you okay?”

  I felt nauseous. My eyes weren’t focusing and I couldn’t breathe. My shallow gasping was all that Cassie needed to hear to know that I was far from okay.

  She picked me up and, with surprising strength, hefted me over her shoulder. “Thank God you’re not all that heavy,” she commented.

  It wasn’t my proudest moment but I vomited onto the street as she ran to take shelter. “Not to make the situation worse,” the witch shouted over her shoulder. “I think the Germans found us.”

  There was no way for me to know what was going on. There was the distinct chance I was about to drift into unconsciousness.

  “Witch stop!”

  Cassie coming to a fast stop caused me to vomit again. This was a personal low.

  “Castor, is that you?”

  At least the ringing stopped. That rough growl was a telltale sign of the owner. “R-Radu?”

  “I’m not even going to ask what is going on. We must get off the streets, immediately.”

  Cassie, while it was easy to tell she was truly afraid of this old vampire, still had enough spunk to contest Radu’s order. “And why do we need to get off the streets?”

  The scene was beginning to clear up. I craned my head around to see him. He certainly looked shaken up, which caused me to feel even worse.

  He moved in close and began to push Cassie towards what looked to be an old apartment complex. “Not even taking into consideration that Castor is in serious condition, an army like none we have seen before has breached our shores. London will fall tonight.”

  “To the Germans?” I asked.

  “Not just the Germans,” he corrected me, “but their daemon legion, the Seventh Reich.”

  Chapter Three

  T he sounds of the Germans laying waste to the city rang out all around us. Radu had just finished his examination of my injuries and the prognosis wasn’t good. “Two broken ribs, a broken orbital of the left eye, a concussion, and a deep gas
h on the back of your head. You’re lucky to be alive, Castor.”

  “Why did you save me?”

  It was a question that took both Radu and myself by surprise. “You saved her?”

  I really didn’t want to talk. I hurt all over and my insides were burning. “No one, not even you Cassie, deserves to die by mortar.”

  “What did you mean by that?” Radu kept badgering.

  The moment I said anything about the ghoul and the dead humans, her life was forfeit. It would’ve been the proper thing to do, see justice through. She was a witch, a heartless, foul creature with no regard for anything but her own agenda.

  That begged the question of why I was saving her again.

  “Just an inside joke between new friends, witches and hunters you know,” I tried to say in jest. Keeping things light seemed to be the only recourse here.

  Cassie looked mighty perplexed as to my answer. “Yes, just a little friendly ribbing between two opposite walks of life.”

  Accepting that answer, the old vampire’s next line of inquiry was focused on the sword that rested beside my broken body. “More than likely we will be here the remainder of the day. There’s nothing we can do until the Seventh Reich leaves. For protection, would you mind if I carried that sword for the time being?”

  “Go for it,” I groaned.

  “He needs to rest,” Cassie interrupted. “We can take watch until this passes.”

  Her sudden change of demeanor was a huge shift from everything I’d learned so far. Maybe it was fear of Radu, maybe it was just re-paying me back for my lapses in judgement. Or, was it something else? I couldn’t put my finger on it; there was a certain look in her eye that seemed to suggest possibly an ulterior motive. Just another item to file away for later.

  Much later.

  I thought it would’ve taken some time to drift off; boy was I wrong. My body needed the healing only sleep could bring and the moment my eyelids closed, the rest of the world became a distant memory. I was whisked away to somewhere else, to another time…