by J. C. Diem
I roughly remembered the path we’d taken when I’d first been invited to join the group and headed back to the main tunnel with the intention or retracing my steps. With the package slung nonchalantly over my shoulder, I strode into the hall and into confusion. Minions milled in small groups, worriedly searching the tunnels for signs of Alexander or Ty. They were used to being led but I couldn’t dredge up any concern for what would happen to them now. I’d worry about that in the future. Right now I just wanted to get the hell out of there alive and intact.
Roxie took in my change of wardrobe and glared at me with suspicion. She started in my direction as I made my way through the throng toward the tunnel I recognized as being the entry point. Someone grabbed her arm and whispered something urgent. She scowled at me then turned and ran off back towards the sleeping area. I forced a sigh of relief. If she’d questioned me and found my answers lacking, I would have been in deep trouble. I had no illusions that I’d be able to fight my way to freedom through fifty or so vampires.
Mostly ignored by everyone else, I slipped into the tunnel and began to jog. I’d never had a great memory or sense of direction as a human but I found my way back to the lair that had so briefly been my home. There was nothing of any value to salvage there so I oriented myself, chose a direction and began to run.
·~·
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Staying in the sewers was now out. Alexander’s minions might put two and two together and figure out that I’d had something to do with their leader’s death. My new plan was to get to the surface and to find somewhere secure to hide for the day. London had soured for me. I’d have to find somewhere else to live.
Making turns at random, I made my way back up to the surface tunnels. I stopped when the noises of cars and people on the street above became muted with distance. Finding a rusty metal ladder, I climbed up to the manhole and listened for the sounds of activity. I heard no footsteps or signs of life. Metal grated loudly when I pushed the manhole up. There was no one around to hear me as I scrambled out and dropped the lid back into place.
Dawn was still a few hours away. There was plenty of time to put some distance between myself and this place. A wave of homesickness and despair hit me. I was stuck in a foreign land with nowhere to go and no one to turn to. Every time I turned around, someone tried to kill me. I hadn’t asked to be turned into the living dead or to become the dreaded Mortis. But it was a gig I was stuck with, permanently. It’s not going to be very permanent if you’re going to end up dead. Sometimes I hated my snide subconscious.
Footsteps far down the street drew me out of my self-pity. Maybe a meal would lift my spirits. I’d need energy if I was to make my escape from the city. It was a good enough excuse so I hustled stealthily after the unsuspecting prey.
A tall, dark haired man, clothed in a long black coat, strolled along the footpath. He sensed nothing as I crept up behind him. He heard nothing as I launched myself through the air before landing on his back. Tilting his head sharply to the side, I was about to bite into his neck when he spoke. “I would not do that if I were you, Natalie. It would be very bad for your health.” The tone was calm and the voice familiar.
Rolling my eyes upwards from the vulnerable stretch of neck I’d been about to munch on, I saw a profile I would have recognized anywhere. “Luc?” At his nod, I let go of him and dropped to the ground in disgust. “Great,” I muttered, “I’m dying for a feed and you have to come along and ruin it.” Beneath my disgust was silent relief that I had stumbled across a friendly face.
Turning, Luc watched me gravely. “I have been searching for you.”
Under any other circumstances, having a hot guy looking for me would have made my night. The circumstances being what they were, the prospect filled me with dread. “Why?” I heard the whine and didn’t care. “Why couldn’t you just leave me alone?” I kicked a stray brick in annoyance. It hurtled through the air and through the back window of a parked car. Glass shattered, the alarm went off and dogs up and down the street began to howl. Pretty soon, there was a barking frenzy as dogs in neighbouring streets became caught up in the excitement.
“Perhaps we should discuss this somewhere more private,” Luc suggested. Lights were turned on, windows were shoved opened and irate humans began screaming for someone to turn the alarm off.
For a moment I struggled against my destiny. But it had found me once more and had wrapped its tentacles around me firmly. I’d escaped for a brief time but I was now back in its clutches and it wouldn’t let go of me again. “Fine. Whatever,” was my ungracious reply.
We hurried off before we could be discovered by the angry owner of the car. Luc kept his left hand at waist height and it dawned on me that he had his sword beneath the coat. It was bad enough knowing my fate without having a constant reminder of it in my face all the time.
Luc led me to a car, a black sedan he’d probably stolen since it didn’t have a rental car sticker on it. We drove away and ended up in the parking lot of a small, rundown hotel. The lobby was shabby and decorated in tones of grey that was depressing and did nothing to lift my mood.
Luc’s room also turned out to be grey. A queen sized bed took up most of the room. A small couch sat in front of an old boxy TV. Tucked in the corner was an utterly useless kitchenette. Useless to us anyway. Locking the door, Luc engaged the safety chain to keep staff out if they were rude enough to ignore the sign he put on the door warning them to keep out. He gave me a guarded look then pointed to a small suitcase at the foot of the bed. “There are several changes of clothes inside if you wish to freshen up.”
Guilt crashed down on me again. I’d run away and left Luc to deal with the imposter on his own and he had still thought of my comfort. Dropping my gaze, I mumbled my thanks.
The suitcase held four changes of jeans, shirts, jumpers and underwear. All were in my size and still had the tags on them. Picking clothes at random, I locked myself in the bathroom. I left the blanket wrapped bundle just outside the door. Steam probably wouldn’t be good for the ancient books. I kept the picture of my eventual beheading close. Luc was under enough stress already, he didn’t need to see that.
After taking the longest shower in history, I could no longer hide myself in the bathroom. The room was full of steam and my skin was wrinkled. I managed to delay the inevitable a few minutes longer by blow drying my hair. Clean and almost warm for the first time in days, I braced myself for an unpleasant confrontation and left the bathroom.
Luc sat on the bed, flicking through the book I’d pilfered from Alexander’s torture chamber. His expression was faintly disturbed. “Have you read this?” he asked without looking up.
“Not yet.” I hadn’t exactly had time to since fleeing for my life from the sewers.
“It is similar to the Prophet’s journal but seems to tell the tale from a different perspective.” I’d expected anger from Luc once he caught up to me but he was acting as if I hadn’t cowardly run out on him.
“Aren’t you pissed at me?” I had to know.
“No,” he replied, flicking to the next page.
“Why not?”
At my persistence, Luc shut the book. “You do not come from my world,” he said and I saw something like compassion in his dark eyes. “You do not understand vampire politics and you do not care about them.” This was true and I didn’t bother to deny it. “Not only have you been turned into a creature you previously had no belief in, you have been made into our doom.” He shuddered and glanced at the prophet’s journal where my story was written and helpfully illustrated. “You may be our doom but you are also our hope.”
“How do you figure that?”
Taking my hand, he carefully avoided the holy mark and drew me closer. “You read the Prophet’s journal and know what he foresaw. You shall decimate us but ‘a remnant shall remain’.” At my puzzled look, he elaborated. “We are the only two who know of this. The woman impersonating you does not.”
It finally dawned
on me then. “You mean that if I don’t fight her to the death, she’ll end up killing all vampires.”
He nodded and pointed at Alexander’s book. “I am very interested in what this book has to say.”
I wasn’t but gave in with good grace and took a seat beside Luc. Touching the pages made me feel unclean even after my lengthy shower. Ignoring the lurid pictures of humans being flayed open and eaten by vampires, I quickly read through the first few pages.
“It’s an account of how we came to be, just like the Prophet’s journal.” Reading a few more pages, I was relieved to see this book didn’t mention me at all. My relief was quickly replaced by unease. “It rambles on about the alien who gave its blood to change us into vampires. It says that vampires will ascend into ‘greater beings’ but a price must be paid and the human who started all this had no idea what the price would be.”
Alexander’s book was larger than the prophet’s journal but it lacked a lot of content, apart from pictures of death and dismemberment. The last page captured our attention. A vampire was kneeling on the ground with his head touching the ground. His shadow, which should have been behind him, according to the placement of the torches, stood over him instead. A triumphant expression had been drawn within the inky face.
Luc stared at the picture, puzzled. “What does it mean?” he asked me. The explanation danced at the back of my mind then my eyes dropped to Luc’s mouth. I’d forgotten how full and tasty his lips were. “Natalie?” He reached out and shook my shoulder. My gaze lifted to his eyes and he grew wary. “When did you last feed your flesh hunger?”
My tongue felt thick in my mouth and my words were slurred. “I can’t remember. When did we last, er, get naked together?”
Surprise and alarm chased across Luc’s features then his eyes dropped to my chest. He had no idea that a few short hours ago my chest had been a hacked open ruin. “We should probably take care of your hunger.” He tried to sound unwilling and failed.
“Yep. We’ll be able to concentrate better then.” I dimly remembered promising myself I’d never use Luc again but the promise melted away as my hunger rose up.
Luc placed the books on the floor then we were tearing our clothes off. Luc’s pants went first and he was still struggling with his shirt when I jumped him. He was standing at attention and I couldn’t wait any longer. His shout of pleasure was muffled by his shirt when I shoved myself onto him.
Tearing the shirt in half, he flung the pieces aside then grabbed my hips. I rode him hard and the bedsprings protested in metallic shrieks at my intense speed. Luc’s hands rose and cupped my breasts, fingers toying with my nipples. I moaned at the sensation, glad I could still moan. I increased my speed until I felt fire blooming in my girl parts. My orgasm hit me, my back arched and my legs clenched.
Luc swore as a bone in his leg snapped. Then he pulled me down, rolled us over and it was his turn to be on top. His broken femur didn’t slow him down at all as he plunged inside me. His eyes were wide, wild and dazed as he reached his own utopia and finally collapsed on me.
Neither of us was breathing hard, or at all for that matter. If we’d been alive we might have passed out after exerting ourselves like that. Rolling onto his side, Luc contemplated me. I lay on my back, staring at the ceiling. Thoughts of doom were knocking on the door to my subconscious and I didn’t want to let them in.
“What happened in the sewers, Natalie?” Luc asked me. “I could hear a panicked frenzy beneath the streets shortly before I saw you emerge.”
“Do you know Alexander? The leader of the sewer vamps?” He nodded and I wasn’t surprised. The Councillors probably knew of all the small and not so small pockets of resistance out there that thought they were so well hidden. “He thought he was some kind of scientist. He was performing experiments on any stray vamps that made the mistake of wandering into the city.”
“He tried to experiment on you?” Luc sat up, completely at ease with his nakedness. I wasn’t and began to search for my clothes.
“He didn’t just try, he succeeded.” I described the dark ritual as I dressed. Luc saw there wasn’t going to be a repeat of bedroom acrobatics and put his pants back on. Scratches I’d made on his pale flesh were beginning to fade. His bare chest was a distraction so I hunted up a fresh shirt for him and tossed it over.
“Alexander poured his blood directly onto your heart and you survived?” Luc repeated as he pulled his shirt on. He couldn’t seem to get past that fact. “What does this mean?”
“You’re asking me?” I shook my head in bewilderment. “I have no idea. The experiment wasn’t covered in either of the books. I’m pretty sure it was something he thought up all on his own, the sick freak.” He was a dead freak now but I was afraid the damage had already been done. For once, it would be nice to kill my enemies before they managed to torture me.
“Alexander was attempting to speed up the process,” Luc mused. “You said that his shadow possessed him?” He seemed incredulous at my impatient nod. “If they have the power to take over their master’s bodies, why have they not done so before now?”
Frustrated, I threw my hands up. “I don’t know. I don’t know why I’m the only one who can see them either.” I pointed at him when his eyebrow quirked. “I am not crazy!”
“I did not say that you were.”
“Your face said it.” He frowned at that but wisely said nothing. Pacing up and down beside the bed, I came to the conclusion I’d been so desperately trying to avoid. I might be Mortis, the doom of vampirekind but I had a responsibility as well. If I did nothing, the imposter could wipe out all of my strange new kin. If I stepped in, most of ‘the damned’ would die but a few would be saved. A tiny voice in the back of my head reminded me that Luc would live. He had to, because he was the one who would eventually kill me. “Alright,” I finally gave in for good. “Let’s go and find the crazy bitch so I can kill her.”
·~·
Chapter Thirty
Energized either from the sex or from my ungracious acceptance of my dreaded fate, Luc reached into his pocket and pulled out a mobile phone. He quickly scrolled through the numbers stored on it and chose one.
“I didn’t think you had a mobile phone.” I diplomatically refrained from saying I didn’t think he would actually know how to use one.
“The Comtesse frowns on us blatantly using technology she doesn’t understand,” he said as the phone rang on the other end. “But that doesn’t mean we don’t use it when we are out of the range of her influence.” He smirked then his expression grew grave when a voice answered.
My keen hearing made out Igor’s voice from a few feet away. “Have you found her?” His question was gruff and to the point, very Igor-like.
“I have.” At the cautious look thrown in my direction, I deduced that they were talking about me. “She is well and was waiting where we’d arranged to meet. Do you have a lead on the imposter yet?” I don’t remember arranging to meet with him. I did remember running away and hoping he wouldn’t find me. It was admirable how Luc switched topics so smoothly, though.
“She has crossed the Channel and is making her way north, killing any of our kin who are unfortunate enough to cross her path.”
“Where was she last seen?”
“At McIver’s estate,” was the grim reply.
“That is only a few hours south of London,” Luc mused. “Natalie and I will head there as soon as we rise. With luck, we will run across the imposter during our journey.” Luck? That’s not what I’d call it.
Igor mentioned something about trying to meet up with us then they both hung up.
“What did you tell Igor and Geordie about my...disappearance?” The guilt came back and I dropped my gaze to avoid his.
“That I predicted your impersonator would soon head to London. I told them I sent you ahead and would be joining you shortly.”
“How did you know I’d come here?” Was he a mind reader?
Luc shrugged. “It was the most obviou
s city for you to hide in.”
Nice to know I’m so predictable. “Is McIver an actual person or just the name of the estate?” I asked to fill the uncomfortable silence.
“Gregor McIver is a very old, very powerful vampire. He was offered a seat as a Councillor when the Court was first formed but refused the honour.” I detected respect in Luc’s tone and was intrigued by it.
“I bet that made him unpopular.”
Luc inclined his head. “Indeed. I believe he abhors what we are and wants no part of our lifestyle or politics.” At least there was one other vampire on earth I had something in common with. “He has never made a servant, choosing to employ masterless vampires as guards instead. They are loyal and dedicated to him as he treats them like valued employees rather than useful tools that can be discarded at a whim.” Now I sensed bitterness at how his former master had treated him. It was weird calling a female his master instead of mistress but it seemed to be part of their tradition.
“And now they’re probably all dead,” I said morosely.
“Gregor is a crafty old monster,” Luc disagreed. “I would not be surprised if he has survived.”
With an hour or so left before dawn, we sat on the bed, studying the two books. Luc asked me to translate passages for him now and again. He drew his own conclusions to the sometimes cryptic passages. All we really learned was that the demi-god that had created the first vampires had a master plan that no one had figured out yet. Most of it sounded like wishful thinking to me but it was a disturbing read anyway.
Luc had already drawn the curtains against the death rays of the sun. I would begin to feel sleepy any minute now. Stripping down to my t-shirt, I climbed into bed. The couch was far too small to attempt sleeping on this time. Luc took a shower and came out minutes later wearing black boxer shorts. He folded his clothes neatly on the couch then lifted one eyebrow at me suggestively.
