“Sure,” Tanya said. “But he could still be useful, yeah? He could help us track down these five hierarchy demons is all I was thinkin’.”
Cheyne seemed to be choosing her words with care when she answered. “Kinkade is kind of . . . flighty. The words ‘handle with care’ describe him to perfection.”
“You guys want me to talk to him? Back in Hawaii I worked the streets for a lot of local charities. Could talk a donation out of a tramp if I had to.”
“Maybe,” Cheyne said. “We’ll let you know.”
Tanya continued to talk. I tuned her out and finally closed my eyes. It had been one hell of a night, and a crazy few weeks. The world was in turmoil. How normal people reacted to the existence of Ubers, let alone all the new developments, had yet to be seen. The gates of hell still stood open back there, quiet for now, but who knew what manner of beast might soon emerge?
I was glad that Giles drove like a speed-obsessed demon.
*
What woke me I’ll never know, but my eyes snapped open and I felt a brief moment of disorientation. The swaying car brought everything flooding back, not to mention Belinda’s hand resting casually on my knee and the quiet conversation of Giles and Cheyne.
A pale dawn was already lighting the eastern horizon. It occurred to me then that Lucy was traveling in the car behind us, sitting alongside a vampire.
“Guys,” I said. “Has it occurred to anyone that Ceriden might . . . you know . . . combust?”
Belinda gave me a sardonic raise of the eyebrows. “Wow, shake n’ bake, you’d think a four-hundred-year-old vamp king woulda thought of that. Want me to call him?”
I felt a rush of embarrassment. “No. Not really.”
Cheyne turned half around to face me. “It’s not like they have to go underground or return to a coffin these days. A simple thick cloak will do. Our world is no longer full of the pure magic it once was.”
“Yeah,” Johnny put in. “Definitely a whole lot more sin out there these days.”
I thought back through history. I wasn’t so sure. “Surely it’s always been a bit of a balancing act.”
“True,” Cheyne acknowledged. “The main problem is that the forces of good are on the wane. Ancient vampires—all gone. Ancient elves—all gone. Same with the lycans. And other species—long since gone. In contrast, the bringers of evil are spreading, enjoying our world.”
I spread my hands. “You can’t bring back the dead. Can you?”
“Oh, they’re not dead.” Cheyne sighed. “They still exist. But they have no interest in the world any more. It’s been said that the older you get the less you recognize the world. And it’s true. Everything evolves around you. The world you know, and love, is soon gone, replaced by an abnormal version of itself. And that’s the world your children know and love. And so on. The Ubers—they grew tired with the changes, the steady progress, and sought simpler pastures where nothing ever changes. They dwell there now, unaffected by innovation.”
“Where are they?” Natalie Trevochet asked.
“Sounds like York to me,” I put in under a cough.
Cheyne turned away. “Nobody knows where the Old Ones dwell,” she said. “And never will. They do not wish to be found.”
“Even if the world they inhabit is overrun by evil?” I asked.
Cheyne threw up her hands. “I do not know! They cannot be found—”
A distant rumble stopped her in mid-yell. We were cruising up the I-4, somewhere near Celebration. The big interstate was busy but not unduly so. Long stretches of empty road existed where Giles could put his foot down. Orlando wasn’t too far ahead. Another rumble made me tilt my head.
“What the hell is that?”
I found out about fifteen seconds later. It was running down the median, something bigger than a T-Rex and more ferocious looking. Every primeval nerve in my body stood on edge. Pure terror lit me up. The thing pounded down the interstate like a carnivorous mountain. Every time it passed a vehicle on either side it swiped at it with its massive, fang-filled mouth, sometimes striking and sending that vehicle tumbling, at other times missing and roaring so loud the entire car shuddered and trembled all around us. Once it even managed to get its entire jaw around a smaller car and lift it up into the air. Teeth gnashed and saliva flew in ribbons. The car bounced in the thing’s jaws, metal crunching, and was then thrown to the opposite carriageway with a disdainful swing where it bounced and jounced until coming to a hard stop against the far guardrail.
“Drive!” I screamed at Giles. “Faster!”
My eyes were fixed on the car behind us where I thought I could see Lucy with her face pressed up against a window. My heart began to pound twice as fast. The T-Rex from hell was coming up fast, hammering down on the asphalt with two enormous, clawed feet, leaving craters the size of golf carts in its wake, and bellowing in supreme anger.
The vast jaws swung over toward the other carriageway, and I felt an instant of guilty relief, but then they quickly shifted back, snapping around as it sought more prey.
“Do we have time to hit it?” I heard Johnny say, clearly referencing our powers, but I had so much more on my mind by that point. The immense jaws had battered Lucy’s vehicle, teeth gnashing and grating across metal, the tongue covering the vehicle’s windshield like a slimy red ribbon. I saw a fang penetrate the roof, smashing down like a knife through plastic. I saw the entire vehicle shuddering in the grip of primordial power and pure evil.
In one terrifying display of brutal intent and strength the T-Rex tore away the vehicle’s roof and part of the front door. Metal squealed and rasped. The driver—Marian Cleaver—swung the wheel hard in the opposite direction, severing any last ties to the beast. Cleaver was exposed, sitting beside only half a door, but kept his cool with style and efficiency, guiding the car slowly away. The T-Rex then had a choice: Continue its rampant, destructive dash or veer off toward the escaping car. It chose to continue, flinging the roof high in the air with a disdainful toss of its head. Giles veered in the same direction as Cleaver as the beast drew level with us.
I heard its terrible breathing, its nightmare snorting. I heard the whistling of wind passing between its racks of extended fangs. I saw the blood-red gleam of horrible malevolence in its slitted eyes. Then unadulterated viciousness was swiping at us, stomping along at our pace, using the median and reveling in its unspeakable power. The great head swung like a wrecking ball, but it was a ball lined with long teeth that grew even bigger as they drew closer, dripping with saliva and blood and other fluids. Slime splashed the car window. The teeth clacked together less than an inch from the car’s door frame, the snap of jaws sending bolts of terror down my spine. Air snorted from the enormous nostrils. The callous eye blinked once. A roar blasted forth, forceful enough to send the car swaying off course. That sway was what saved us, for as the beast struck again, our vehicle was already beyond its reach; and it didn’t want to slow down or veer off course. It looked like it was having too much terrible fun right where it was.
Giles slowed and came to a stop. Quickly, we all jumped out. Lucy was being shepherded by a fully-cloaked Ceriden. Immediately, my hackles rose and I ran to her.
“Are you okay?”
My daughter held out her hand, eyes glistening and wide. I enfolded her in my arms. All around us cars and trucks either crawled by or stopped right behind us, giving the creature chance to move off ahead. Shocked expressions of disbelief marred every single face. I heard car radios blurting out the news—some kind of spin no doubt. But how could anyone make themselves unsee what we just saw?
“Did the dinosaurs come to life, Mommy?” I heard a child ask. I remembered there was some kind of themed dinosaur world around these parts. No doubt existed in my mind that a simple ‘yes’ would be far better than the truth.
Giles was consulting with Cheyne and a map of the area. “Asmodeus was spotted here,” he said, pointing to what looked like I-Drive. “And here.” He jabbed at a place called Silver Sprin
gs. “I think if we set up a base along I-Drive we’ll have everything we need.”
It made sense. Lodging, food and access to the big interstate was just seconds away. I really wasn’t sure what to expect until we arrived, but as we drew closer I soon realized that the opening of the gates of hell or a skirmish with a being from before time began was not going to spoil people’s enjoyment of the world’s greatest entertainment venue. The roads that led to Disneyland were busy, that part of I-4 that ran past Disney and I-Drive was pretty much bumper to bumper. Clearly, the T-Rex hadn’t gotten this far. Maybe it had stopped off at the Magic Kingdom.
Giles hit the off-ramp at Sand Lake Road, and I wondered about the endurance of the human spirit—was it stalwart and strong, or just plain stupid? Of course, many families switched off completely on vacation and quite possibly hadn’t heard the recent news, but in these days of Android phones and tablets I somehow doubted it. Maybe they were just putting on a brave face—treating all this as a terrorist scenario.
As we passed the enormous Mickey D’s at the junction of Sand Lake and I-Drive, I saw first-hand that my thoughts were close to the real truth. Parents were walking their kids across the busy parking lot, driving into and around the drive-thru, holding the side doors open for each other and sitting in their cars with the air-con up high and their dashboards littered with ripped open Happy Meal boxes and drinks holders. Further up, a Popeye’s was bustling and, as we turned the corner, I saw an IHOP and then a Denny’s all doing brisk business. The sidewalks were crowded, the flashy billboards advertised all the newest rides and attractions. Surely the authorities couldn’t let this continue? Asmodeus was already here, for God’s sake. I voiced my concerns to Cheyne and Giles.
“What can they do? Declare a national emergency? They just don’t have the manpower to back it all up. And think of the panic it would cause, the tailbacks. Even riots, looting and more murders. Sooner or later the psychos out there will get the idea they can blame every killing on some fiend from hell. It’s gonna get ugly, folks. And the sooner we can end it the better off we’re all going to be.”
“And they have no contingency plan,” Giles added. “How could they? Everyone that already knew is busy fighting this thing on the front lines. No one has time to stop and start bickering with a bunch of politicians.”
“We have to save the world in the next few days,” Cheyne said. “Or lose it forever. These hierarchy demons won’t mess around. They’ll be searching for those artefacts every minute, every second, and then they’ll come together for some kind of ceremony. After that you may as well head up into the hills and end it quietly.” The witch made a gun with her right hand and pointed it at her head. “Lights out. It’d be the easiest way.”
Giles pulled off the main route, spying a large hotel off to the right. “Enclave,” he read out. “Looks big enough. Off the road. Plenty of flat land around it to keep a watch. Shall we see what Aegis can do?”
Whilst Giles and Cleaver headed into the lobby and bartered for rooms, we exited the cars and stretched our legs. Cheyne wandered off to make a private call. The weather was cooler than I’d imagined, a chill breeze made goose pimples stand out on my bare arms. I nodded to Lysette and Jade, the elf, whom I hadn’t really seen since Miami Beach, then once again extracted Lucy from Ceriden’s shadow.
“I’d be careful,” I said to the rather camp vamp. “Don’t want that cloak to fall off.”
“I’m positively certain it won’t,” Ceriden said. “Its human hide. Shapes and clings perfectly to the shoulders, love.”
I blinked, sure that he was joking but not sure enough to venture a rejoinder. We stood in silence for a while, the ten of us, and then Cheyne returned, her perfectly crooked nose practically twitching.
“Interesting news,” she said. “My coven traveled here separately . . .”
I felt Lucy’s tug on my arm and looked down to see the twinkle of laughter in her eyes and, through some kind of father-daughter psychic link, knew exactly what she was thinking—by broomstick?—but we kept our mutual witticisms to ourselves.
“. . . and very quickly. They have been laying some hard groundwork. Remember the wayclearer demons? Those ugly, little squat creatures with teeth growing everywhere and the distinct lack of anything even remotely resembling a brain?”
I nodded. We’d come across the wayclearer demons several times already, chiefly during the attack on the Aegis HQ back in York.
“The hierarchy seem to be using them as a kind of foot soldier. Their numbers are growing and they’re heading north. On foot, it will take time, but even a mindless beast can move fast if it has sufficient motivation and needs no rest.”
“Let’s hope they find a way to shut down that gate,” Johnny said.
“Damn straight,” Belinda agreed.
“Now, Asmodeus has been seen again. The demon is definitely being drawn to something in this area, which can only be the artefact.”
“Where this time?”
Cheyne scanned the skies and then her surroundings with trepidation. “Actually, around here. International Drive and Sand Lake. It appears the beast destroyed a nearby establishment.”
“Searching then.” I nodded. “So they can’t pin down an exact location on these artefacts?”
Cheyne shrugged. “It appears not. If they’re merely drawn to the item then I guess it would leave them with a large search area.”
“Let’s hope.”
Giles reappeared in the lobby’s entrance and beckoned us over. From the smile on his face I guessed the Aegis name had done the trick, not to mention its bottomless wallet.
“Good news at last,” he said. “Ethan, on the desk there, is a vampire and has extensive local knowledge. He has agreed to help us. Ethan is a loner, but was in fact made by the vampire king of Europe.” He blinked. “A good pedigree.”
Ceriden’s demeanor soured. “You mean Strahovski of Vienna, Austria? That king of Europe?”
Giles nodded.
“Pah. Knew him a long time ago. And my guess is—once a blunted fang, always a blunted fang. Strahovski is weak. Compromised.”
Giles blew out a sigh. “Well, that said, Ethan is young and vital and we need his help. So a bit of discretion would be welcome, my friend. I doubt that he could even offer a respectable army as of now.”
I filed in behind them as they pushed through the dark doors and into the air-conditioned lobby. Lucy was to my right and I distinctly heard her sharp intake of breath upon sighting Ethan. One look and she was smitten. The kid had jet-black hair and piercing eyes, a sharply chiseled face, and rippling muscles made all the more apparent by his tight Hollister t-shirt. His gaze swept across us all and settled upon my daughter.
I tended to notice these things.
Ethan smiled. Lucy took another breath. I stepped in between the almost silent exchange. “You booked us some rooms?” I asked Giles.
The Englishman shook his head. “No. I booked us the entire building to the far left.” He shrugged. “Twenty floors.”
I shook my head a little. Talk about overkill. But the distance between the lobby and the building would be a nice buffer zone. “Shall we go?” I asked. “The sooner we set up a HQ and get organized on tracking these things down the better.”
Cheyne seemed to agree. “Let’s grab our things. My coven are close by. I will call them over.”
I smiled as we all started to move out, leaving the vampire kid, Ethan, with a surprised look on his face. “Maybe this time you’ll let them take their hoods down, eh?”
“A witch is forbidden to reveal her identity until she ascends to a certain level,” Cheyne said gravely. “It is one of our laws.”
“Oh? Why?”
“Many reasons. Secrecy. Anonymity. Safety. Protection from each other, if required. Preservation of focus through the whole initiate period. Preference.”
Lucy cast another glance back at Ethan as we walked out the doors. I urged her onward. Don’t get me wrong, if the youth hadn
’t been sporting a sharp set of fangs it wouldn’t have bothered me. Not so much anyway. Back home we had youths that drove five-hundred-dollar cars and fitted them with booming exhausts and an eight-speaker stereo system. If one of those guys ever turned up to collect your daughter then, in my opinion, the baseball bat was an acceptable deterrent. Over here they had vampire receptionists with muscles and winning smiles. I wondered which was worst.
We headed over to the rearmost part of the hotel. The attractions and wonders of I-Drive were just a road away, visible over the trees even from here. Some kind of Pirates Dinner Adventure sat across the street. A brightly lit strip mall promised everything from soft drinks to suitcases.
And Asmodeus the demon waited too, even now searching for part of the puzzle that would enslave all mankind. Soon, we would have to face him. But better that than a slow death in bondage and captivity.
Better that than the experience of hell on earth.
FOUR
Ken decided to forgo the pleasure of the vampires—lame joke, he thought—and try his luck with Felicia. Just because he was tramping through hell itself didn’t mean a dude had to stop practicing the art of seduction. And besides, the bouncy lycan was a playful little thing. Maybe she would welcome the opportunity.
Ken drifted over as she ranged ahead. When she spotted him she took a quick scan of her surroundings and then dropped back, walking quickly through the thigh-length grass.
“Everything okay?”
Ken rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah. I just never realized chasing a demon with a chick dressed in black leather could be quite so . . . dull.”
Felicia’s mouth turned up at one corner. “You expected something more? From Eliza?”
“I guess not.”
“The lowliest gutter vamp rates himself a hundred times better than the best of humanity. What exactly did you expect to get from Eliza, a queen?”
“At this point I’d settle for a friggin’ smile.”
“Don’t hold your breath. It’d be easier to find a lycan that didn’t like to run naked through the woods.”
Guardians (Chosen Trilogy Book 2) Page 3
