Jacob stumbled back into my vision. His hair was smoking, his face was charred and burnt, but what I found funny was the way he was batting at the flames coming out of his arm. The light hadn’t killed him, but he was quickly burning like he was made of kerosene. His mouth opened and closed as he screamed out unheard orders. Both of the immortals rushed to his side and began to slap the fire out.
They were distracted.
I drew my gun and lifted it with my unfrozen synthetic arm.
The UV targeting laser flashed to life on the back of the clearest target, the intact immortal had no idea as the purple light of death traveled up its back towards its head.
Once the light reached the back of its neck at the base of the skull I started to squeeze the trigger.
Jacob’s unburnt arm exploded in a cloud of blood.
I froze in mid-pull as I watched another hole explode through his shoulder.
The immortal that already looked like Swiss cheese started to explode one piece at a time. That’s when I noticed the light blue tracer lines coming through the broken window.
Ripper rounds poured through the window at an alarming rate. Fast enough that the tracer lines looked like a solid stream of blue fire. The explosive ammo shredded the window and the surrounding walls in a rain of destruction as several rounds destroyed the immortal one chunk at a time.
I focused my synthetic eye out the growing hole in the wall. My vision telescoped out following the tracer lines to their source.
Cassie was flying, screaming with rage as she fired the assault rifle with just her right hand. The six barrels of the Gatling styled assault rifle spun around faster than the eye could track, spitting out a solid onslaught of explosives at over six thousand rounds a minute. The seven-year-old never flinched from the recoil. Her eyes were filled with bloodlust while her school uniform flapped in the wind as she was pulled through the air by her left hand. Her hand that was firmly grasped around the handle on the underside of Floaty.
The volleyball sentinel was in robot form, eyes blazing to light up the night, and dual cannons firing away, opening the hole in the wall by several inches with each hit.
I was torn between tears and laughter once I saw the child soaring in to rescue me from the monsters of my nightmares.
The last intact immortal grabbed Jacob and darted for the stairs. Floaty turned to intercept them. Cassie let go of the flying robot and crashed to the ground, somersaulting through the hole they had blasted in the wall. She ended up on her feet and emptied the last of her clip into the remains of the Swiss cheesed immortal. Its head exploded, and the rest of its parts suddenly dropped lifelessly to the ground. When the gun ran dry she dropped it and grabbed the other one from her back.
Her face was twisted into an adult expression that I’d seen only on those that have seen the horrors of war first hand as she scanned the room for any threats. Once she was satisfied nothing was an immediate problem, she stopped to look up at me.
“Injuries?” she asked in an all business tone that sounded way too old to be coming from such young lips.
I held out my arm and gave her the “okay” sign with my finger pressed to my thumb making a little o in an attempt to let her know I was alright. She gave me a nod and went to Darcy’s side. I watched her search the vampire over looking for injuries. She pulled out a compress from her belt pack and fixed it on the unconscious girl’s gashed head. Then she placed an injector against Darcy’s neck. With a final nod to herself she moved to me.
“Don’t move. I need to check you for wounds before I give you the antidote. Even a small wound you never realized you got could leave you bleeding to death once you thaw.”
Her hands slid up and down my body as she looked for any wounds. I tried to tell her with my hand that I was alright, but she just slapped it away and went back to work. She reached up and bent me over once she was done looking at what she could reach of me. Only after her hands finished sifting through my hair did I feel the injector against my neck. She helped me straighten back up, and I finally got a good look at her face. The warrior’s rage had faded to be replaced by tear-stained cheeks.
With my one arm, I pulled her into a deep hug.
I’m fine sweetie. Thanks to you I’m fine.
* * *
We were still hugging when Julie dropped through the hole in the wall.
“It is imperative that we relocate. The fight is heading this way,” Julie announced in place of a greeting.
She walked up to me and reached behind my head. Before I knew what had happened, I was suddenly looking at myself with the remote enabler sticking out of my neck.
“I wish she would’ve warned me before she did that,” I said with Julie’s voice.
“I’ll get Darcy.”
Cassie reached down and scooped the sleeping vampire – that was twice her size – up and over her shoulders. That left me to carry . . . myself.
Sometimes, my life is just too weird.
I grabbed myself (not in that way) and inched my way up the stairs gun first. The house was empty. It was a welcome relief to finally step out into the organized chaos in the street. A bonfire of zombie flesh burned in the center of the street as the shifters chased the remaining flesh eaters down and tossed them onto the blaze.
“This way,” Cassie nodded her head towards Ren and the perimeter.
I gave her a nod and followed her. She carried Darcy like the vampire weighed no more than a pillow. It always amazed me how strong she was.
“Incoming!” someone screamed from a distance.
Even in Julie’s body I could feel where the threat was coming from. I looked up to the right and saw the sedan in mid-flight. One of the zombies that was still running loose had thrown it, and it was flying straight towards Cassie.
“Cass–” I screamed for her but was caught short as she tossed Darcy towards me.
I dropped myself without thinking and barely caught Darcy, but I wasn’t ready and we ended up crashing to the ground.
I was barely able to lift my head back up in time to see the airborne car smash Cassie into the pavement.
Chapter 19
“NNNOOOOOO!!!!”
My mind was awake and running in Julie’s mechanical body, but I still felt my heart shatter as I watched Cassie being crushed. I knew there was no way she could survive that impact. Memories of her flooded my mind. The knowledge that I would never again see her smile or hear her laugh tore me apart. The robot’s body wouldn’t let me cry, but the tears fell from my own eyes only feet away.
Vicki and Ren appeared at my side with medics in tow. I couldn’t form words. I could only scream. Both of the others threw their arms around me. They had tears in their eyes.
“CASSIE!!!!” I wailed again and started towards the smashed car. It took all of Vicki’s strength to keep me from moving.
“No! No Kieran. She’s gone. She gave herself to save Darcy. W-w-we can’t help her now. S-s-she’s gone. . . .” Ren choked on her words as her tears fell.
I lost all will to even hold myself up once her words sunk in.
I failed. I couldn’t protect her. I let her die. . . .
Earlier I had thought that the worst thing in the world was to watch Cassie cry. At that moment I found something worse.
* * *
Nothing mattered anymore. I’d watched my Cassie die. My little sister gave her life to protect another. I was so far in shock that I couldn’t even force myself up to get revenge for her death.
“Look!” one of the medics yelled while pointing towards the wreckage.
The car had smashed into the pavement hard enough to embed itself into the street.
Suddenly it moved. A little shake at first, then it started to move inches at a time. A moment later the entire car lifted into the air.
Seven-year-old Cassie was alive and well, not to mention holding the entire crushed sedan above her head by herself.
“THAT REALLY HURT YOU PRICK!!!” she screamed at the zombie that
had thrown the car.
It stood in the middle of the street like a deer caught in the headlights. Cassie let out a scream as she grabbed the axle of the car and started spinning with it. She stayed in place and spun a full circle with the car sticking straight out from her arms. After four full rotations she let go of the car. It arced up in the air and came crashing down at an angle smashing the zombie into a greasy smear.
She looked down and held out her tattered skirt with a pout.
“He messed up my pretty uniform,” she whispered to herself.
I tore myself out of Vicki and Ren’s shocked arms and wrapped myself around the child.
“I died again.”
“Cassie . . . don’t ever scare me like that again! I thought I’d lost you for good.”
“I’m alright. . . . Old Mother Grey,” she said teasingly.
I just hugged her tighter.
“Really Big Sister. I’m okay,” she whispered into my ear in the sweetest, most lovely voice I’d ever heard.
* * *
“As soon as she got back from her trip I had her arm up and head out. Just before she hit the jamming field she said something about seeing your emergency flare. I thought you might need help, but I had no idea.” Emmy was knelt beside the couch, smoothing back Cassie’s hair as she slept. It had taken me over an hour to explain what all had happened to her.
I had finally thawed out once the zombie BBQ was over. My head was throbbing where I’d dropped my body in order to catch Darcy. Apparently I’d cracked my head on the sidewalk pretty badly. All I wanted to do was sleep, but everyone was worried that I had a concussion like Darcy did. So we were both forced to stay awake regardless of how tired we were.
“Keiran look at this.” Tanaka was waving me over to Arkon’s computer.
I’d made everybody meet at Arkon’s room so I could take advantage of his comforting size. Being around the old dragon made me feel safe. And I honestly didn’t think he minded the company. My body resisted but I ignored the protests and stood up anyway. Darcy gave me a glance from under her ice pack then let out a groan and leaned back into the chair again, not willing to force herself to join me. I shuffled my way to the display and draped the ice pack back over the back of my head again.
“What am I looking at?”
“This is satellite footage we took after Floaty lost track of Jacob in the woods.” Arkon stretched out an enormous claw and tapped a red blob on the screen. “That is Jacob. We know because this is a match for the thermal signature that Floaty was able to retrieve before they evaded the robot. One vampire, minus an arm. Now watch where it goes.”
The red blot zigged and zagged around the trees of the forest and straight up a cliff wall without slowing.
“Moves pretty fast for a guy missing an arm,” I commented.
“Keep watching.” Tanaka nodded at the screen.
Jacob’s thermal marker went straight from the cliff into a building that looked like a ski lodge.
“He’s never left yet. Arkon’s been keeping tabs on the place, and Jacob’s still inside.”
“Then let’s go kill the bastard.”
“Wait it gets better.”
A helicopter came into view. The screen switched to show a night vision camera somewhere on the ground looking at the lodge. The camera panned up at the noise of the chopper as it landed on the helipad on the roof. It zoomed in and showed two heavily armed guards step out of the helicopter. They were followed by a woman dressed up like an 80's porn star.
“Vixen!? They’re both there now?”
“And more.” Tanaka pointed at the screen again.
Following Vixen out of the chopper was Doc. Then a small shiver ran down my spine as I saw the spider legs stick out of the open doors of the chopper. Four large hands grasp the doorframe as the arachnataur pulled itself out.
“But I killed that thing!” I protested in shock.
“Apparently he was not the last of his kind,” Arkon sighed.
“How could she stand to ride in the same vehicle as that thing?” Ren asked with a shiver.
“So they are all there? Right now?” I asked.
“Yep. All of them in the same place at the same time, and we can’t do a damn thing about it.” Tanaka shrugged and walked over to the coffee cup he’d left on the table.
“Why the hell not? They’re all there. Let’s blow the entire place to hell!”
“The building in question is one of a few Vampiric Embassies around the entire world. To attack it would be a declaration of war against all vampires. That is something that the GCP will not allow. It is hallowed ground as far as the GCP is concerned. No one may enter without invitation,” Arkon explained everything with another sigh.
“So we can’t touch them?”
“Not unless they leave, or a high ranking vampire invites you inside. Even then your jurisdiction is limited. Right now we’re screwed. We can’t do anything but wait.” Tanaka took a sip of his coffee and winced. “Gone cold.”
“I can’t believe they’re right there and we can’t do anything!”
Ren stepped in pointing towards the satellite image at a number of thermal images surrounding the turnoff to the lodge from the main road. “DEA, FBI, ATF. . . .” She pointed to each on in turn. “They have all been camped out here for over a month now. Each one believes that something big is going down inside the Embassy. So does the NSA but they’re waiting for the others to move in first. Then they’ll show up and take all the credit. . . .
“Naturally none of them is talking to us. The Embassy is outside the city limits, so we have no jurisdiction. All we know is that hundreds of people go in every night, and only a fraction of them ever come out. Supposedly it’s the hottest night club you can ever dream of if you can get in. The feds are limited on the searches they can do on the vehicles coming and going. From what we’ve heard the place is like a fortress inside. But as far as that place is concerned, our hands are tied even worse than yours.”
“If Yuric was here he would have the power to let you in. However he is still missing along with Marsala. They were last known to be traveling together. The Vampire Council has sent a replacement in Yuric’s absence. Perhaps he would allow you passage. If you asked nicely,” Arkon added a lifted scaly eyebrow to that last part.
“I can do that,” I said plainly.
Everyone in the room either snickered or flat out laughed at me. I didn’t even bother to give them a glare.
“When can we see this guy?”
Arkon dropped his smile. “I have already made you an appointment. You’re to meet with him in two hours. I suggest you take the opportunity to clean up and get some rest. Darcy’s presence was also requested.”
She sat up and twisted around in her chair to look at us with a puzzled look.
“Why do they want to see me?”
“I have no idea young one, only that your presence was requested.”
Emmy stood and stretched with a yawn. “Well my presence was not requested, so I’m going to find a nice warm bed. You want me to take Cassie home?”
“She’ll be pissed when she finds out I didn’t take her with, but yeah. If she wakes up before we leave call me and we can pick her up on the way. Otherwise just let her sleep it off. That car took a lot outta her.”
Emmy gave a nod and tapped her watch.
That suddenly gave me an idea. I activated the locator function on my watch and rotated the dais to show me Yuric’s vitals. The watch wouldn’t give me a location, but it did show me that the vampire was alive and unharmed as far as I could tell.
As good of news as that was, I didn’t bother sharing. I knew he was alive, but until we found him it made little difference.
Emmy was gathering her things when the door chimed and a man walked in. He was ruggedly handsome, 6'7" if he was an inch. The tailored suit accented his muscles as well as hid his holsters from all but those that knew what to look for. I had thought Scott looked like a Greek god earlier, but this guy
made Scott look like a weakling.
“You called Doctor Grey?” he asked her with an accent that sounded Mediterranean to me.
“Helios, gather the girl for me please. Gently.”
“As you wish.” He nodded to her and dropped to a knee. He scooped up Cassie in his arms with a grace I’d only ever seen from one other.
“Emmy? What’s going on? Who is this? And why does he remind me of Julie?” I asked while walking closer to them.
Emmy smiled at me. “Because he’s Julie’s brother.”
Helios turned to face me. In the center of his forehead was the same inverted blue triangle that Julie had.
“Since I took over for Doc I’ve been looking for an assistant I could trust. Then I found Helios when looking into the robot projects. He is the only other android that is combat programed like Julie. So I figured, why not? Assistant and bodyguard in one. My life is chaos at best and he is a great help. Besides he has great benefits.”
I started to ask what she meant, when she held up her hands slightly more than a foot apart and lifted her eyebrows at me.
“Emmy! You didn’t!”
“Why not? You did with Tanaka’s.”
The last thing I need right now is to hear about my sister’s sex life. Which I guess it’s no worse than learning she had a vibrator. In a way he is just a deluxe sex toy. Ugh! Why in the hell can’t I have a normal quiet day without monsters or intimate secrets being revealed?
* * *
Tanaka left us to take Ren home. I had a feeling they weren’t going straight to bed either. Since I was now alone with Darcy and Julie, Arkon brought up something I’d been wondering about.
“Project Adam is ready.”
“How long will it take?” I asked with honest interest.
“Since we already finished the setup it will only take a few minutes. However it will be very painful. And I would advise against it in your current condition young one. It may do more damage than help.”
He was giving me a genuine look of concern, which was unnerving on a dragon.
Immortal Death (Kieran Grey Psionic Hunter Book 3) Page 19
