Immortal Death (Kieran Grey Psionic Hunter Book 3)

by Fivecoat, R. B.

  “Dead?” she asked in a whisper.

  “Yes you were.”

  She shook her head. “No Kradd–”

  I stopped her with a finger on her lips. “–will never bother you again. He’s gone for good.”

  She smiled. Then she squinted like she was having trouble seeing. Her hand came up to point at my right eye.

  “Your eye is glowing.”

  “I know.”

  “Your also naked,” she said with a weak smile. To prove her point she lightly pinched my bare breast.

  “Wha–!?!?”

  For the first time I realized that the entire front of my sweater was missing along with my bra. My cut and bloody breasts were out for all to see. I screamed a girlish scream as I clamped my arms down over my breasts. Embarrassment flooded my system, flushing out the bloodrage.

  That’s why all those people were staring! God, won’t Emmy love this one!

  * * *

  I’d waited all day with Darcy at the Archives as Romeo rebuilt DPN for Vicki. Darcy was still exhausted from the fight with Kraddick. She spent most of the time sleeping.

  “Phawne call! Phawne call! Emmy calling fawr Darcy the Queen of Darkness!” Vampirina called out as she danced on the end of her chain tied to Darcy’s pants.

  I reached down and unclipped the chain. When I tried to lift the little vampire doll she lunged out and tried to sink her tiny fangs into my synthetic hand. It didn’t hurt at all, in fact it was incredibly cute.

  “Stop that! Darcy is sleeping, so let me talk to Emmy.”

  I had the doll in the palm of my hand up at eye level. After another try at gnawing into my hand she stood up and faced me with her arms out. The lightning image flickered to life.

  “Hello Kieran.”

  “Hey Sis. What’s up?”

  “Just calling to see how you two are doing.”

  “Fine. Darcy’s asleep again. She’d drank Kraddick’s blood right before he killed her. We think that’s what brought her back to life. Too bad she’s so tired though.”

  “Give her some time. You should relax too you know.”

  Without missing a beat I changed the subject. “Romeo is almost done rebuilding DPN. He said it should only be another two hours.”

  “That’s good. Look, Cassie wanted to know if we could go to the movies tonight. She’s been waiting to go ever since I mentioned it to her the other day. Besides it’s not like you can do anything about Jacob right now anyway. You deserve a break. So how about it?”

  “I need to wait for him to finish up here.”

  “After that then. Just meet us at your place.”

  “Alright.”

  When the image faded Vampirina returned to her normal self and tried to bite a chunk out of my thumb again. Darcy was sound asleep, so I entertained myself by watching the tiny vampire try in vain to devour my hand.

  * * *

  DPN was good as new and stashed in a box in my coat pocket. I had it all planned out. I was going to greet Vicki with a deep kiss and then give her the rebuilt doll. It was a cheesy romantic move, but that’s just me.

  When the elevator stopped at my apartment I had to drag Darcy’s sleepy form behind me. It was like moving a drunken elephant. Once inside I was glad to see Mary.

  “Welcome home!”

  “Thanks Mary. Can you put sleeping beauty here to bed?”

  “Sure. I just set up a cot for her in your room earlier. Is that alright?” she asked like she was worried she had done something wrong.

  “That’s fine. Alright Griffith off to bed with you.”

  I gave Darcy a push in the right direction and Mary fell in step beside her to help her keep walking.

  Now to surprise Vicki.

  I went to the spa room first to make sure the tub was empty. The seduction plan included a nude dip. Well nude for her anyway. I still couldn’t stand to see all my scars, and the new bandages covering my chest weren’t pleasant to look at either.

  The door to the spa opened easily, but the place was a mess. Empty wine bottles were in every nook and cranny. Clothing covered the room as if it had been ripped off and tossed in a hurry. To top it all off, the room reeked of recent sex.

  Well someone had fun. I wonder if it was Emmy and her assistant, or did Mary have a fling? I did tell her to bring her date home if she wanted to sleep with him. Oh well, I’m sure to hear about it sometime in this house of gossips. Vicki must be in her room.

  I left the spa and turned the corner only to run into Vicki coming out of her room.

  “Vicki!”

  “Aaak!!! Kieran!” She jumped when she saw me. Her face instantly went red as she finished pulling on her work clothes.

  “You off to work? I thought you had the night off.”

  “Uh, I, uh switched shifts. Sorry, I forgot to tell you.”

  “Oh. Well that’s alright.”

  The moment for my romantic kiss was ruined, so I changed my plan. I reached into my pocket and grabbed the box with DPN in it.

  “You ready yet?” a female voice I’d never heard before asked from inside Vicki’s room.

  Vicki’s face seemed to flush with guilt.

  “Oh. Uh . . . hi there. I’m Anika. I work at the hospital with Vicki,” the redhead from yesterday said as she stopped in her tracks when she stepped out of the bedroom. Her short hair was cut in a style that was more a man’s than a woman’s. She tried to smile at me while closing the door to Vicki’s room, then she offered me her hand after tucking her shirt inside her denim coveralls with the arms tied together around her waist.

  I dropped the box back into my pocket and shook her hand as my heart went numb.

  “Vicki offered to give me a ride to work, so I changed for work here too. . . .”

  “I see,” I said being careful not to let any emotion show in my voice.

  “I thought you’d already left for work!” Mary cried out in shock when she saw us standing there.

  “We were just on our way. Right Vicki? It was nice to meet you.” Anika gave me a faked smile and almost had to shove Vicki to get her out the front door.

  Mary walked them out, whispering back and forth all the way. I just stood there and tried to keep my mind from racing with wild thoughts. When the front door closed I looked over and watched Mary walk back into the living room. She had a look on her face I couldn’t place.

  I turned to Vicki’s door.

  “Wait!” Mary called out to me.

  “I forgot to give her this before she left.” I dug out the box and held it up over my shoulder for Mary to see before I opened the door.

  Vicki’s room was a mess like it always was. But the unruly state showed signs of recent sexual activity. Vicki’s growing collection of favorite sex toys were strung out on the bed. The air in the room smelled of sex, Vicki, and an unfamiliar woman.

  My body was numb as I walked through the clutter to the head of the bed. The sheets were soaked, and stray red hairs that were obviously not Mary’s dotted the pillows. I smoothed out Vicki’s pillowcase and placed the box with the new DPN in it on the pillow.

  “Vicki will find it there when she gets home,” I mumbled to myself.

  “I’m sorry. I, I didn’t know what to. She doesn’t know that you know she–” Mary stopped when I held up my hand.

  I turned and headed out of the room. When I passed Mary at the doorway I paused.

  “She is an adult. Besides it probably isn’t healthy for her to be in a relationship with the clone of the body of her ex, regardless of who is inside it. She is still one of my best friends. Nothing will change that. Thanks for not trying to stop me from finding out. I’m glad she found someone, I really am. She deserves to be happy.”

  “What about you? Don’t you deserve to be happy too?”

  I looked into Mary’s eyes and saw a hurting there that shouldn’t have been.

  “I’m part cyborg, part clone. Only humans deserve to be happy.”

  Chapter 22

  I spent the rest
of the night on autopilot. Emmy and Cassie had been out shopping and they dragged me out of the apartment as soon as they got back. There wasn’t any time for Mary to tell them what had happened. That was a blessing and a curse.

  At least they didn’t nag me about it all night. But it was hard to be upbeat and happy with them.

  We started out the night at a pizza parlor where everything was based off of some cartoon character I’d never seen before. For Cassie’s sake I pretended to enjoy the games and food. Especially since she didn’t throw a fuss when she found out about the fight with Kraddick she’d missed. But afterwards, ten minutes into the movie, I couldn’t stand it anymore. I excused myself and ran to the Ladies.

  I locked the stall and sat on the toilet just before the tears finally fell. For an hour I let everything out one silent tear at a time.

  What in the hell is the purpose anymore?

  My thoughts turned disturbingly dark. Through all the memories of death and chaos I found myself latching on to the happy memories of my new family to keep me sane.

  Ten more minutes of deep breathing finally had me ready to go back and face the end of the movie with my sisters. I was using the toilet paper to dry my tears when two giggling girls burst into the bathroom. Even from inside the stall I could tell they were kissing and groping each other. I listened to them as they made their way into the stall next to mine. Once they closed their door I decided to sneak out and let them have their fun. I got a full three feet away from the stalls before I stopped in my tracks.

  “Wait, this isn’t right,” a familiar voice whispered.

  “Why not? Your girlfriend thinks we’re at work. No one would look for us here,” whispered another familiar voice in a lustful tone.

  It can’t be!

  I moved closer and tried to look through the crack between the doors to see who it was without being caught. The angle was bad so I couldn’t tell so I stopped and listened.

  “My girlfriend caught us! She knows!”

  “No way. Your housekeeper was going to cover for us. And you said she wouldn’t mind sharing you anyway. I thought you wanted this. Don’t tell me you changed your mind. C’mon Vicki–”

  The rest of the conversation was lost to the pounding in my ears.

  That fucking two-timing bitch!

  I placed my fingers on the top of the stall door for support as the world spun under my feet. My chest tightened until I couldn’t breathe. Then my anger got the best of me.

  My fingers dug into the door with a protesting groan from the metal.

  “What the?–”

  “Oh no!”

  The synthetic arm ripped the door off its hinges as easy as tearing a page out of a book. I tossed the door into the mirrors over the sinks behind me and tried to force myself not to do anything worse.

  Anika held Vicki in her arms with one hand suspiciously buried inside the blonde’s jeans.

  I balled my hands into fists as I tried to keep from lashing out.

  “We can explain. You see–”

  The sword extending from my hand silenced Anika instantly.

  “I may not know what’s going on, but I am pretty sure this isn’t the best place for this discussion,” Emmy suggested in a cautious tone as she entered the bathroom with her hands up in surrender. “I came to check on you and– Oh my!”

  Anika and Vicki hadn’t moved so Emmy got the chance to see them as I had found them. Emmy closed her eyes and clenched her jaw before stepping between us.

  “Not here, not now. Not in a public place. Let’s take it to the Archives.”

  I ground my teeth together hard enough that Emmy cringed from the noise. Then I took a deep breath and recalled my blades back into my hand.

  I knew this day would come. But I’m not ready to let go. Dammit! Not just yet.

  “Nothing to talk about. I couldn’t give her what she wanted and she found someone else. It’s perfectly normal. She is still my friend and I’m not going to hold it against her. But right now I need some air,” I said it to Emmy, but spoke loud enough that the others could hear it.

  Then for the first time in my life I did the smart thing as I forced myself to calmly walk out.

  * * *

  I hadn’t realized that Cassie was following on my heels until I stepped out onto the sidewalk. Suddenly she was right there, eyes full of concern, hands and face covered in popcorn oil. I had no clue if she knew what was going on, but the look on her face told me that she would stand by my side no matter what.

  “Sorry for interrupting your movie.”

  “S’okay Big Sister. We can watch it some other time. Popcorn?”

  She held the big tub out for me. Seeing her like that, I just couldn’t refuse. I took a handful of the greasy mess. Cassie smiled at me, and suddenly I didn’t feel so bad.

  Emmy met us outside a full twenty minutes later. She looked utterly exhausted.

  “I can’t believe those two. Are you alright Kier-Bear?” she asked with concern and gently rubbed my shoulder.

  “I will be. It just hurts, you know? I only wish she would’ve said something to me herself instead of having to find out like this. I mean honestly, just how long did they think they could get away with this before I found out? Really how–” I stopped myself and took a deep breath. “Never mind. It’s done. Anyone up for ice-cream?”

  “You never cease to amaze me little sister.”

  Emmy gave me a kiss on the cheek. I never looked back as I turned and started walking to the ice-cream parlor. Cassie slid up beside me and snuck her greasy hand in mine.

  “Eeeww! Your hand’s all greasy,” I complained but never let go.

  “I know. Popcorn?” she offered me the tub again.

  * * *

  “HELP!!! Somebody help me!” a woman’s voice called out from the alley less than a block from the ice-cream parlor.

  Cassie handed the popcorn tub to Emmy and ran her greasy hands down her coat to clean them as we took off down the alley. We turned the corner into a loading area and found the woman. She was cowering in fear behind a dumpster while four hoodlums tormented her.

  I reached into my coat for my badge when I felt the bullet slam into my shields on the side of my head.

  The gunshot got everyone’s attention. Even the thugs were shocked. From the shadows emerged the shooter. He stood in the dim light of the alley and smiled, flashing his fangs.

  “They told me your shields would stop a bullet. But I had to find out. I get paid no matter how you die.”

  “Let me guess, assassin from the Vampire Council come to kill me?”

  “Yeah,” he said the word like it was the greatest pleasure of his life.

  “Cassie get the woman to safety.”

  She pulled out her Walther and fired a round at the wall next to one of the hoodlums.

  “Everybody clear out now!” she screamed with authority.

  The punks took off running and Cassie helped the woman out from behind the dumpster. As soon as they were clear I turned my focus back to the vampire. I let my shields flare out and strengthen the aura around me.

  “Very humane of you to let the civilians go.”

  “I’m only being paid for your head, no one else’s. Nice trick with the glowing eye by the way.”

  “Thanks. So how much am I worth?”

  “You trying to buy your life back?”

  “No. Just curious.”

  “Twenty.”

  “Thousand?”

  “Million. American.”

  I let out a whistle.

  Twenty million? I never knew they cared that much.

  “You know, Jacob is still alive.”

  “Perhaps. But that changes nothing.” He dropped his gun and drew a jagged katana sword from his back.

  “If you leave now I’ll let you live. You see I’ve had a really bad day, and honestly it would feel real good to kill someone right now.”

  He laughed at me. “What makes you think you will kill me?”

&nbs
p; “Because I have a few new tricks up my sleeve these days.”

  “Indeed. I know you carry a blade Kieran Grey. Now would be the time to draw it.”

  The fight with Kraddick had shown me how to use my shields in a new way. As the vampire started to circle me, I called my shields to my hand. The power gathered and grew in a glowing ball, creating another shieldbomb.

  “Last chance to live,” I told him with an honest smile.

  “So be it.”

  He drew his sword back and ran towards me. The way he was holding the blade reminded me more of a baseball player instead of a swordsman.

  His blade came crashing down. I blocked him with my shield covered left forearm. Then I shifted my weight and came in for an uppercut. Instead of punching him, I shoved the glowing bomb into his chest and pushed him away with my shields.

  The assassin went airborne. His face went from a look of shock to peaceful resignation as he instantly realized what had happened. He gave me a bow of respect with his head before the bomb inside him exploded in a violet glow.

  The light and sound from the detonating shieldbomb took on a physical presence as it filled the entire alley. With the explosion, my assassin was reduced to a red cloud. Nothing was left of him larger than water vapor.

  I need a vacation.

  I stood there watching the streetlight-illuminated cloud that used to be my assassin dissipate into the night air. A shimmer caught my attention out of the corner of my eye, but when I turned to look at it, it was gone. Not even the fancy synthetic eye could see anything but bricks and grime. Even though I couldn’t see anything, I still had a nagging feeling in my gut that I wasn’t alone.

  I expanded my shield-bubble out, bathing the entire loading area in a violet glow only I could see. Using my powers like that to see let me see things that no one else ever could. What I saw startled me.

  Standing right where the shimmer had been, was a woman, invisible to all but the vision of my shields, pointing a gun at my head.

  * * *

  Another assassin? With the power of invisibility? Is she a psionic?

  The woman fired.