Zero

by R. E. Carr

  Georgia blinked a few times, taking stock of the fake leather upholstery sticking to her face and the bright lights streaming through the windows. She groaned and pushed herself into a sitting position. Zip ties bound her hands and feet.

  Gail Filipovic smiled coldly from behind the steering wheel. “Did you have a nice nap?” she asked, saccharine practically dripping from her voice.

  “You’re not Gail, are you?” Georgia asked, her lips cracked and her throat aching.

  “I would keep that opinion to yourself, if you know what’s good for you. As it stands now, you have two options – you can play my game; or I can use your corpse to upset and distract our would-be ruler. It won’t be as effective, but it will buy my boys some precious time,” the Gail behind the steering wheel said.

  “I’m done playing games,” Georgia said softly, scooting over so she could see out the window. She could see a vast open space and a small plane with a few figures milling about stacks of boxes, but that was about it.

  “I thought you liked them. You’ve certainly toyed with both my brother and my son’s affections,” Gail said, her eyes flashing green for a moment. “Well, mostly my brother’s host’s affections, but it’s so tough to tell anymore, now that they are finally integrating.”

  “Ren,” Georgia said softly. “Ren is gone.”

  “Ren is not the only one who will be gone soon if you don’t help me. I’m afraid there has been another incident in Boston. Your old friend Minerva has been a rather busy little bee while you’ve been traipsing around the world with werewolves.”

  “Minnie, huh?” Georgia asked flatly. “She probably deserves Arthur at this point.”

  “Oh, she does. They are kindred spirits. I’m sure that once they truly start working together, Arthur will be happy, calmed, and ready to take on the world. Tell me, though, is that really what is best . . . for the rest of us?”

  “Sure, he’s King Arthur, right? The once and future king sent to save you all? Oh wait, you’re Morgana really, aren’t you? I guess you two don’t get along.”

  “You’ve seen my brother and what he can do. I think you have quite a good grasp on what Arthur is actually like.”

  Georgia continued to stare out the window. “Yeah, and what do you want me to do? Annoy him until either he or Minerva kills me? Maybe your option two is just easier for all of us.”

  The shapeshifted Gail cocked her head. “I’m surprised. This is not the Georgia Sutherland I’ve come to know and expect. Did I hit you too hard over the head? Where is your obnoxious determination and near-suicidal spunk?”

  “I’m talking to a vampire who can literally shapeshift into anyone, right? If you’re trying to convince me to do something, it’s because it’s too crazy and dangerous for you to do yourself, right? Maybe I’ve just dealt with one too many hopeless scenarios to really jump at the chance anymore.”

  Gail laughed. “I see. Your rather dizzying logic has come to play again. However, you are missing one key point, my annoying human.”

  “What’s that?”

  “While I can change my soft tissues and the pigments of my skin, my skeletal structure is rather limited. I can’t impersonate you and distract Arthur because you are simply too damn tall. Arthur always preferred tall women. An inch or two I might be able to get away with using heels, but even the highest wedges wouldn’t give me your more Amazonian frame.”

  “Really?”

  “I’m afraid so. Even noble immortals have limits. Furthermore, in time, Arthur would be able to command me. I can resist better than most, but in the end, I will fall.”

  “That is . . . not comforting. It also doesn’t change the fact that Arthur doesn’t . . . that Ren doesn’t remember me. Even if he did, Minnie wouldn’t want competition. I don’t see how—”

  “Your brother is still alive, Miss Sutherland. Mr. Lambley is still alive. Bam-Yin is still alive, and Klaus is still alive. All these good men are trapped by Arthur. Don’t you care about them?”

  “Of course, I care! But what can I really do? Arthur doesn’t remember—”

  “He remembers Guinevere, and you still bear a passing resemblance to her – more than enough to exploit. Surely with a little advice, some batted eyelashes and a few honeyed words, you can distract Arthur. I just need you to get us inside his operation, keep him a little off-balance, and a little unsure of himself. Certainly, no human on this planet can distract and annoy like you do. Think of those you care about.”

  “Damn you,” Georgia said resignedly as she saw the plane door open. “Can I at least tell the others that I’m going? I would hate for them to worry about me.”

  “I’ve already taken care of it.”

  “Of course, you have. What about Steve though? Somehow, I don’t think he’d be too happy about me running right back to Arthur.”

  “Do you actually care about my son, Georgia?”

  Georgia looked away pointedly.

  “If you care about him, let him go. He’s young and foolish, but the young and foolish recover easily.”

  “Well at least let me—”

  “Already taken care of.”

  “Of course, it is,” Georgia replied sadly. “You know your son, Bam-Bam, had a message for you.”

  “Oh?”

  “Yeah, he always knew he’d be a disappointment.” She then raised her bound wrists. “So, are you taking me in as a prisoner, or what?”

  “So, Georgia and Gail never showed up, mom?” Paige asked, as the pack gathered outside the little motel that had been home since they holed up in the lab. Maria shook her head.

  “Gail and Javier were both in league with my mom - surprise, surprise,” Steve said bitterly. The vampire kicked an empty can, sending it flying with enough force to skip the curb. “Now they have Georgia; and we have the vomiting, LoJacked nightmare.”

  “Steve—” Paige started to say. He walked off, not even giving her a chance to finish. Maria grabbed her daughter’s hand.

  “What happened?”

  “Well, either Georgia totally just left him, or she’s been kidnapped. Either way, Steve is upset.”

  “Oh no,” Maria exclaimed. Before she could continue, Kyle came over and motioned to Jonathan throwing up in a nearby trashcan.

  “What the hell is going on?” Kyle asked. The other werewolves kept a watchful eye on the perimeter. “He’s back, but—”

  “Long story short?” Paige snapped. “The sheriff is just fucking with us. Javier got him away from us, but didn’t actually turn him in, so apparently there was some big vampire fight; and we found a high-as-a-kite Jonathan line dancing near the airport. One of the sheriff’s goons offered him a chance to come quietly – he said no – and boom, we were let go. He’s sick as a dog because all he’s had is nonstop beer and nachos, and won’t go near a pint of blood. Now Steve is a wreck, we’re all confused, and Georgia and Gail are missing. Oh, and apparently our vomiting friend has a chip in him somewhere so the sheriff can find us at any time. So, yeah - sorry I ran off, but I didn’t know what else to do. I still don’t have even a shred of a plan, so don’t give me that look, Red.”

  “That’s OK, for once I have a plan,” Kyle sighed. He looked over to Jonathan. “Line dancing?”

  “Yup.”

  Kyle paused for a moment. “Yeah, something is wrong with the universe. Come on, Paige, look at me. I really do have a plan. No matter how insane the world gets, we somehow survive.”

  “I hope your plan involves soothing a savage Steve,” Paige said, as she watched her great-grandfather kick the trash can hard enough to dent it. She then motioned to the other trash can in the lot where Jonathan was vomiting again. “Not to mention convincing a guy that is petrified of blood that he has to drink it instead of a keg of beer.”

  “One step at a time,” Kyle said putting his hands on her slumping shoulders. “Phase one—”

  “—Run to the middle of nowhere and hope we can find every way the sheriff is tracking us before we either get caugh
t or run out of money?” Paige asked, the tiniest of smiles creeping across her face. “Ninety-nine percent of our plans involve road trips and motels.”

  “No, for once, I say we stay put and hunker down here, like I suggested before,” Kyle said, now looking her right in the eyes. “And before you say, ‘you’re crazy, Kyle’ just hear me out, OK?”

  “OK.”

  “We can’t run forever, eventually we just slip up and they find new ways to track us; but here we have a lab – a lab with access to their networks. Sure, they may find out where we are, but we are learning more and more about them. The current vampires left their foothold in town, are you saying Steve with his whammy voice can’t slide in and encourage a network of desperate bondsmen? The old locals must have had some hideouts we can take over.”

  “But what about Kevin?”

  “I think we have a better chance to take him on some turf of our own rather than being on the run. Also, I may have found us some reinforcements.”

  “You mean I found us some reinforcements,” Toy called from the other group of werewolves. “Typical dude.”

  “Sorry, Toy made contact with an RV full of some old friends, and apparently they’ve been doing some recruitment of their own.”

  “As well as stockpiling a small militia’s worth of weapons that Irvine left behind out west,” Toy added. “Originally, they were going to use them to come rescue you and Morgan, Shorty, but I think they will work for lair defense as well as hunting . . . dinosaurs from what I’ve heard about Bernard’s stash.”

  “Bernard? But does that mean the old pack . . .?” Paige asked. “They wanted nothing to do with us, I thought.”

  “Think again, Shorty. The band is totally getting back together,” Toy said, now bounding over to join Paige and Kyle. “So, let’s see how well that anime-inspired fucktard does against a motherfucking werewolf army.”

  “I don’t even know what to say,” Paige muttered. “I mean as far as plans go, it’s not the absolute worst we’ve had . . . but somehow I doubt we’re all going to fit into a motel without attracting attention.”

  This time Kayleigh spoke up. “Oh, trust me, I got this,” she said with a mysterious grin.

  “Just make one decision . . . do one thing,” Paige whispered to herself. “Damn it Georgia, you were right.” She looked up at Kyle again. “All right, let’s get this party started.”

  32

  “What’s wrong? Don’t you want to play anymore, Gail?”

  Gail groaned and shielded her eyes from the harsh light coming off a tiny screen. She pressed her palms into cold, hard concrete, slowly pushing herself off the ground. Her joints popped at the exertion and her head rang. Thick, heavy manacles - rather like something out of a horror film - rubbed against her blistered wrists, while chain clinked against the floor. Her eyes followed the chain all the way to an anchor on the other side of her cell wall. A folding chair sat next to the anchor, with a guy in a trench coat lounging in that chair. His right hand toyed aimlessly with the chain, making an obnoxious tinkling sound.

  “Fuck you,” Gail growled.

  Her captor responded by jerking her chain – literally. Gail slammed against her bars. Her captor continued to pull, keeping Gail on a short leash until he saw fit to wander up to her cell. He tipped his sunglasses down just enough so she could see his black eyes leering at her.

  “You know you love the rough stuff, always have.”

  Gail tried to pull away, but her captor held firm. His left hand slid between the bars and caressed her bruised and blackened face. He smiled, baring his fangs. “Now this is the way I always remember you, honey,” he said softly. “You were a little softer then . . . a little tastier . . . but now I can have real fun with you.”

  “Fuck you, Kevin,” Gail spat.

  He laughed a little. “Oh, you will, believe me. Soon enough, you’ll be begging for it, just like you always did, you little whore. You don’t remember, do you? Let me remind you.”

  He pulled the chain sharply downwards, driving her to her knees. “Yeah, that’s more like it,” he said as Gail found herself glaring at his “Bad Motherfucker” embossed belt buckle. She turned her head. Kevin yanked her by her hair until she was forced to look at his smug face again. “Come on, you know what you’re really thirsty for – don’t you?”

  Gail involuntarily gagged. Kevin barely jumped back in time to avoid the thick, sticky mess of blood that erupted from her mouth. As before, she followed it by a thin, clear chaser as the venom glands in her neck flared.

  “Eww, bitch please!” Kevin exclaimed. Gail scrambled away with the new slack in her chain.

  “That shit is nasty,” he said, moving his chair. He grumbled for ages while Gail wiped her mouth with the tattered hem of her dress. The sight of her bare thigh was enough to get Kevin leering again.

  “You’re a pig,” Gail muttered, curling protectively against the wall of her cell. She looked at the chipped painting of a jungle scene on one wall, and a faded sign that read “No Flash Photography”.

  “Well if I’m a pig, that makes you a pig fucker,” Kevin said, bursting into laughter. “Oh yeah, you certainly liked to squeal . . .”

  Gail pointedly ignored him, focusing instead on all the little details of her surroundings. She eyed the bolted shut door in one wall, the drain on her floor, and what looked like a feeding trough still rotting under the boarded-up window. Kevin scowled and tugged on the chain.

  “Hey, I’m not done with you.”

  “I’ve been done with you for a long time,” Gail replied flatly.

  “Maybe I just need to jog your memory a little more.”

  He pulled the chain again, forcing her back against the bars. She grimaced as her feet slid in her own sick. This close, she could taste the slick, oily miasma pouring out of Kevin’s pores, mixed with loads of hair gel and douchey men’s cologne. If she had a reflection, it surely would have shown up in his helmet of product-enriched hair.

  “Don’t you think the sheriff wants me alive if she went through all the trouble of dragging me down here?” Gail asked.

  Kevin burst out laughing again. “You really don’t get it, do you?”

  “Enlighten me,” Gail muttered as she scraped her slimy shoe against the bar. A faint sizzling sound piqued her interest, but she didn’t dare look away from her smug captor yet.

  “You don’t need to exist anymore, babe,” Kevin gibed. “The sheriff has gone and figured you out; how you look, how you sound, even how you smell. She is you now.”

  Gail rolled her eyes. Kevin continued.

  “Yeah, I didn’t believe it until I saw it a few times. My mistress is a grade-A, number one badass! I mean, I always knew that she understood my needs and paid me ever-so-well, but to learn that she is a genuine ancient noble badass, well - that is just the icing on the cake. Did you know that she is actually Su Min Lung, the single greatest spy in vampire history? I mean shit - I have read books on her, and I hate reading. The best part is, it doesn’t matter what all I tell you, because she can just wipe you like a hard drive – just like all the other times she’s used you. This is fucking great!”

  Gail shivered. Her stomach growled.

  “You’re getting hungry, aren’t you?” Kevin asked, licking his lips. “If you like, you could always drink deep from me, since your coward of a traitor boyfriend has gone off and left you—”

  “Javier would never—”

  Kevin mock cringed. “Oh yeah, did you not get the memo? Our homeboy Javier is back with his old bae. That’s why you’re feeling a little weak and jittery—”

  Gail grabbed her neck. Her head swirled as she felt the tiny little wounds. She stumbled. “I—I r-remember . . .”

  She closed her eyes, focusing on a warm embrace, on fangs sinking deliciously into her throat. Her hands shook as she relived the horrible draining, the emptiness. Kevin clicked his tongue and shook his head.

  “You’re what, some paper noble in a start-up house?” he asked, givi
ng her a mocking pout. “The sheriff is an appointed law-keeper for all of North America, and she happens to be the head of her own damn house—”

  “No . . . no Javier . . .”

  “That’s right, no Javier at all in you. He just pulled out and shoved whatever part of you he sucked right back down your throat like you were yesterday’s news. He’s officially kissing a higher-ranked ass, babe, so get used to it. However, if you’re really feeling all lonely . . .”

  Gail couldn’t conceal her disgust. Kevin yanked her against the bars.

  “Come on, I’m not all bad. I wasn’t kidding when I said I used to make you moan. Sometimes the sheriff asked me to play nice with you, just to see if you would have a harder time forgetting the sweet rather than the spicy.”

  “He must have had his reasons,” Gail said, rubbing her neck again.

  “Yeah, he totally wanted an upgrade.”

  “But he . . .”

  “Loved you? Aww, so cute!” Kevin said, nearly crying with laughter. “A traitor like that only loves one thing – himself. The only thing more pathetic than a sniveling rat, is a doe-eyed girlfriend who gets all weepy over him. Believe me, sister - no two-faced, two-timing fake Azarola motherfucker will ever be honest with you. If it makes you feel any better though, Mr. Sugar will probably tear that dickhead a new asshole before the end of the week. He might seem like a gentle giant on the outside, but deep down, Sugar is not that sweet. He’s the jealous type, and the sheriff has strung him along since the civil war.”

  “I don’t believe you,” Gail said, slumping to the floor. She used her pathetic posture to cover up her finally checking out how her caustic vomit was bubbling and sizzling against some of the rusted patches on the bars. “He probably had no choice.”

  It was Kevin’s turn to roll his eyes. He made a gagging noise. “How can you possibly have faith in a guy who all but dragged you here, ripped his blood out of you, and gave you to the sheriff? Are you hopeless, or just that much of a dumb little bitch?”

  “My memories are a little hazy,” she said softly. “He didn’t . . . he wouldn’t—”