by Justin Sloan
Then it all faded as sleep took her.
Chapter 13
Again the dream came. This time Matthew was huddled in a room, shivering, nude. He turned, eyes to the ceiling, the walls, then directly at her, as if Katherine were there, though she knew she wasn’t.
When his eyes moved back to the floor again a moment later, she knew he hadn’t seen her.
A thick, metal door separated him from a hallway. Spaces between the bars on a small window in the door revealed flashes of red light, the occasional dark form passing, and the sound of someone whispering a name, “Altemus.”
Matthew spun and ran to the door, flinging himself against it and then cursing at the pain as he rubbed his shoulder. Now Katherine could see the scratches covering his legs, arms, and back. Deep, as if he’d been mauled by a bear—or a vicious, clawed vampire.
“I’m not one of them,” he shouted, “You cannot call upon me!”
One of the dark forms stopped outside his window, its eyes almost visible in the darkness. “For now, that may be true. For now.”
And then it was gone and, as if a gust of wind were blowing her from that spot, Katherine flew backwards as it all darkened.
She rolled from the bed, claws out, ready for the attack.
Just a dream… Just a dream… Just a dream. She breathed, trying to control her heart rate, and closed her eyes.
A light tapping startled her and she tensed, claws at the ready once again.
It was dark outside, and at first she only saw her reflection in the window, but with a step closer she saw blond hair and a nervous smile. Triston.
She went to the door and inched it open. “What are you doing here?”
“I had to see you,” he said, the smile faltering. “Can I come in?”
“You aren’t supposed to be in here,” she said. “Mauro said—”
“Do we really care what we’re supposed to do or not?” he said. “Matthew’s in danger.”
“What?” She opened the door the rest of the way so he could enter, then closed it behind him and leaned against it. Triston sat on her bed, head in his hands.
“A dream, maybe, but it was so real,” Triston said. “He was in this—”
“Temple,” she said. “Yes, I know. And this wasn’t the first time, was it?”
His eyes were full of wonder and horror as he stared at Katherine, then he stood and came to her, holding her. She was still feeling jumpy after the dream, so at first resisted, but soon found herself falling into the embrace.
The comfort of his arms around her almost made her believe it was a dream, instead of the reality it had seemed.
But if they both had the same dream…
“Last time, the woman in the red dress?” she asked, to be sure. “Now the cell…?”
“Rosita last time, only, I thought for sure it was a dream,” he said, shuddering. “Then this time, the spirits, another name… I don’t know how I knew, but it was like I was there, like I was with Hunter.”
“Matthew, you mean.”
“Yes, sorry…” He ran his hand through her hair and pressed his forehead against hers, eyes closed. “It doesn’t make sense.”
“Is it supposed to?” She pulled back, so that he looked up at her with questioning eyes. “I mean, my parents, your family, all this insanity here with portals or whatever the hell is happening?” She scoffed, moving away from him and lying on the bed to stare at the ceiling. “If there’s one thing we can be sure of, it’s that nothing makes sense anymore.”
He stood there, hand on his chin, thinking. “We have to get Mauro.”
“And if it was just a dream? Somehow a shared dream, but… a dream?”
“We have to at least tell him about it. Everything in me says this is something he has to be aware of.”
She glanced over at him, feeling the pout forming. “Even if I talk a lot of crap, this place is nice. You know, in its weird freaky kind of way.”
“We might not be going anywhere,” he said, then forced a smile. “You know, when they showed us to our rooms, I was kind of hoping the first time I snuck in here would be for different reasons.”
“You’re bad,” she said with a half-smile.
“I don’t suppose…”
She sat up and threw her pillow at him. “Shut up. Let’s go find Mauro.”
“Yeah, of course, that’s what I was going to say.” He blushed as she stood, then motioned to her outfit—a t-shirt and panties. “Might want to throw something on, or my mind’s going to keep going back there, seriously.”
“Turn around.”
She waited for him to do so, and then quickly threw on some of the new clothes Merriam had left for her. They weren’t a perfect fit, and she wasn’t used to wearing cammies, but the military feel suited her, she thought. A look at Triston’s smile showed he felt the same way.
“Hey, who told you it was time to look?” she asked as she pulled the belt tight.
“Breaking the rules can sometimes be worth it.”
She hit him playfully. “Seriously, though. Are those the same clothes as yesterday?”
“I passed out when I got to my room. Didn’t even have time to check out the outfits they left for me.”
“Yeah, well.” She spun and struck a pose as if in a fashion show. “If I’m going to look silly like this, so should you.”
“If me wearing cammies turns you on half as much as you wearing cammies does me, I’ll go get changed right now.”
“Ooh, you have a good point.” She laughed. “Let’s go straight to Mauro, so I don’t lose control along the way.”
He bit his lip at that comment, but she nodded to the door and added, “Remember the dream, or whatever the hell that was. That ought to dampen your libido a bit. Unless of course, you have a thing for red dresses.”
“Not when the lady wearing them is a scary-as-hell vampire, that’s for sure.” He paused, looking pensive. “On that note, did you see the glowing stones too?”
She nodded. “I don’t understand, though.”
“That’s how they’re made,” another voice said, and they jumped. Mauro stood just outside the door, arms folded. “I believe you weren’t supposed to be in each other’s chambers here.”
“We’re not teenagers,” Triston said, irritation plain in his voice.
Mauro raised an eyebrow. “Whether you act like it or not, I suppose that’s true. But this is Merriam’s request, and we are guests here.”
The two had a bit of a stare down, so Katherine asked, “What’s how who’s made?”
“Huh?” Triston said, confused.
“No, Mauro. You said ‘that’s how they’re made.’”
“Yes, well…” He glanced over his shoulder. “I have to brief Merriam on this, but walk with me. I’ll tell you more along the way.”
They nodded, and Katherine tightened the laces on her boots and closed the door behind them, not failing to notice how large the moon was when she stepped outside.
Mauro walked briskly, but slowed slightly for her to catch up.
“You know Matthew is a vampire, or a half-vampire. And we talked about how they aren’t the creatures of legend, or not exactly. They are men and women who looked to dark magic for their answers to life’s problems. People who sought out evil, and whom evil has embraced.”
“And they use magic rocks or something?” Katherine asked.
“Emeralds, gems, other precious stones that have the ability to hold magic, yes. It isn’t that they need the stones to do their magic, but being connected to the earth as these items are, they allow the users of magic to channel magic, to amplify their powers. Different stones serve different purposes, I’d imagine, but that’s something we’ll have to ask Matthew about when we next see him.”
“I’ve never seen Matthew use them,” Triston noted.
“Ah, but as we’ve already discussed, he’s only a half-vampire. He threw these powers aside in favor of remaining human. If he were to channel energy through th
e stones—dark magic, to be more precise—he would likely go over to the other side. On that day, I wouldn’t imagine there’d be any way to bring him back.”
Katherine frowned. “On that day?”
“If he’s where I think he is, he’s going to have a hard time not resorting to anything and everything to escape… which means it’s only inevitable.”
They approached the main hall where Merriam had said she could be accessed, but paused at the sign of a light from nearby, in the dining hall.
“No one should be up at this hour,” Mauro said. “Something’s going on.”
Indeed, a form appeared in the doorway and, as they approached, they saw it was Merriam waiting for them.
“You had the dream too?” Mauro asked, bewildered.
“Dream?” She shook it off. “No, I don’t like the sounds of that if you all are on the same page there, but this is different. A pack of werewolves has been seen on the move, and more reports of a large meeting in west Oakland, by the underpass.”
“We have to get to them,” Katherine said, her excitement mounting. “Figure out what they’re up to.”
“And abandon Matthew?” Triston asked.
“Damn.” Katherine turned to look out at the night. It wasn’t a full moon, and that meant that these werewolves had the serum and could change at will. That might mean that at least some of them were Aldrick’s old lackeys, or spinoffs. She was torn here, between stopping potential deaths and saving their new teammate.
“You didn’t care much about him just yesterday, am I wrong?” Mauro said, glancing over and then back to Merriam. “At any rate, I think I have a solution.”
“A solution to what?”
He filled Merriam in on the dream, on everything the three of them had seen about Matthew, and it was a whole new level of creepiness for Katherine to hear from him everything she had seen in her own dream. Triston too, she noticed, was staring with wide eyes.
“Someone has to go after him,” Merriam said. “This is bad.”
“And the werewolves?” Triston asked.
“That’s where my solution comes in.” Mauro motioned them inside, where several soldiers stood at a map against the far wall discussing plans. “I’m going after Matthew, while you and a couple of the Guardians will go after the werewolves.”
Chapter 14
Mauro refused to listen to Katherine’s protestations as he finished securing his heavy parka. He had a pack with water and food, since they weren’t sure how long this would last.
Merriam had taken one of the portals to their home base, where they were able to seek out the general location of Matthew, as they had done with Katherine. But this time, it wasn’t a place where sending multiple groups of Guardians would make sense. It was too dangerous,
Their findings had said he was in the mountains of Central Asia, and when Merriam had told Mauro that, he knew right away that, for some reason, they would be heading to the temple where Matthew had first gotten his power.
“But he said it was burned to the ground,” Katherine said, pacing along the windows, anxiously glancing outside at the team that waited for her. “This can’t be about the temple, can it?”
“When dealing with dark magic, we shouldn’t assume anything,” he said. “So if he’s in the vicinity of this temple of vampires, I’m going to highly consider the fact that he might have either returned to the vampires, or we have to rescue him from them. We’ll find out soon, but for now, you have a pack of werewolves on the move that you need to see to.”
He saw the worry etched on her face as she stood there, torn.
“I get it,” he said, pausing his packing and casting a glance over to Ricky and Destiny to let him know he would be a minute. “Matthew has become a member of the team and, even if you didn’t like it at first, his absence has made the reality of our team even more present in your mind.”
“He never should have gone after that vampire without us!” she said, spinning on Mauro. “And you let him.”
Mauro nodded, accepting what she said. “It’s true, I can’t deny my mistake in the matter. For now, I just have to hope I get to him before they’ve broken him, if that is their goal. If they wanted him dead, we would already be too late. However, based on the dreams, I think we’re safe to assume that isn’t the case.”
Katherine grunted and went to the door, opened it, and then paused. “Just, hurry the hell back here.”
“I will,” he said, and then frowned as she slammed the door. As a priest, it had always been his way to talk things out, not storm off on people slamming doors. When he was met with ways unlike his own, it always baffled him.
He had to remind himself that she was under a lot of stress, in this place training with people who didn’t necessarily accept werewolves, either as reality or capable of good.
Add to that the fact that he was going off with Ricky and Destiny in an attempt to save Matthew, and he began to understand her that much more. He checked for gloves and a hat, and took them out of the pack before slinging it over his shoulders.
“Ready,” he said. The other two were already at the door, nodding that they were ready as well.
They marched out and back into the hallway where Mauro had arrived with Katherine and Triston, the Hall of Doors. As Mauro understood it, some doors were set up to return to key places, such as the school for young Guardians and Bringers of Light, or the main capitals of the world, in case they were needed. Most presidents or world leaders weren’t in on their existence, but over the years it had become necessary to reveal themselves to certain key individuals in the U.S., Turkey, Mongolia, and several other countries.
The rest of the doors, however, changed based on the needs of the Guardians entering. It was for this reason Mauro needed at least one of his companions to go with him, and why bringing two was prudent. He wouldn’t be able to make it back, since he couldn’t operate the portals on his own. And if somehow something should happen to Ricky or Destiny, the remaining one could serve as backup to get him, and he hoped Matthew, back to safety.
Each step sent an echo through the hallway, bringing Mauro back to a time long ago. Each step then had brought that same level of jittery nerves, each step closer to the priest who had brought him into his fold. Little had Mauro known then what he was truly becoming, or that he would never be able to reveal to his family what he knew about the world. It had driven them away at the end, his secrecy, but it had saved them as well.
When an Alpha and his pack of werewolves went after Mauro, they had searched out his family and friends, only to find none.
And then Mauro had brought the pain, for everything he knew they meant to do to his loved ones. He loved them that much—so much that he would never speak to them again if it meant keeping them safe.
Every time he walked into the face of danger, he was reminded of that day and of the carnage that had torn through his mind. When he had left the Alpha broken and humbled, sucking on his last breath, Mauro had wandered dangerously close to darkness. His mind had taken months to get right again, and then the golden glow had come. His eyes had stopped shining red, and his heart had been at peace.
Was it God, as he liked to tell himself? He had no clue. But he liked to have an explanation for all of this good and evil. Whether one wanted to call it God and the devil, or think of it as nebulous forces at work that humans could never truly understand, the fact remained that he was now on the side of the righteous.
Those who turned to the darkness would be punished.
He preferred to see it done by others, by those less likely to risk stepping over into darkness. Knowing his own history with the matter, he preferred to step aside while courageous figures like Katherine and Triston did the dirty work.
If they stumbled, he would be there to pick them up, just as he was now on his way to find Matthew and ensure he was safe and of sound mind.
Ricky stopped at a wide, oak door, his hand on the handle, and loosened his neck. “I hope you’re at le
ast half as badass as they say you are, old man.”
Mauro laughed. “Old man? I’ve got many years ahead of me before accepting that title. Though, compared to the two of you, sure, it fits.”
“We might be young, but we can fight.” Destiny zipped up her thick jacket and pulled her wool cap down so it covered her ears. She adjusted her pack, clearly uncomfortable with the weight on her shoulders. “Not that I’ll be able to throw a kick with all this gear on.”
“You’re a soldier, you’ll figure it out.”
“Just to be clear, you do understand that we’re not like actual soldiers, right?”
He nodded. “Warriors against evil, fighting the spiritual war. I’d say we have higher expectations of you than of the typical soldier.”
“Yeah, well, let’s just hope you can hold your own out there too,” she smirked, as she added, “old man.”
Ricky laughed.
“I thought this trip was going to be tough because of the weather and maybe going up against vampires,” Mauro said. “I’m starting to wonder if the hardest part will be listening to you two.”
Ricky laughed harder at that, then clapped Mauro on the shoulder. “You’re a funny one.” He looked between the two of them, smile fading, and said, “Let’s do this.”
A gust of wind brought snow flurries into the hall, and Mauro felt the bite of cold cutting through his clothes. Great, this was going to be a hoot.
He stepped through the door and found himself in the middle of a blizzard. Ricky and Destiny suddenly appeared next to him, and Destiny moved her hands in a quick gesture that closed off the rectangle of light behind them.
Mountains spread for miles around them, Mauro imagined, but with the blizzard they could see no further than thirty feet in every direction.
“Remind me, Ricky,” Mauro said as he pulled his skullcap down tighter to cover more of his face. “Isn’t it still spring back home?”
