Vampires Don't Sparkle: Deathless Book 3

by Chris Fox

  “What’s that city?” Liz asked, pointing at a series of ruined buildings below them. None stood more than two stories, but the complex was massive. Far larger than man should have been able to construct before agriculture.

  “That’s Gobekli Tepe,” Blair said, scrambling down the trail as he made his way toward the ruins. He slid down some gravel, catching himself as he made it to even ground. “These are, so far as we know, the oldest human ruins in the world. They’re from about nine thousand BCE, well before man had learned to farm or build permanent settlements. The anthropological community teaches that we were nothing more than hunter-gatherer tribes back then. It was the tail end of the Pleistocene, the last ice age.”

  “Weren’t we cave men back then? Like the Cro-Magnon?” Liz asked, tucking her hat low to block the sun as she scanned the structures.

  “That’s what universities teach, but this place proves that theory wrong,” Blair replied, starting towards a pillar just a few dozen yards ahead. “See these animals? There’s a fox, a cow, that’s probably a raven. There are a couple I don’t recognize that are likely extinct. This kind of iconography shouldn’t have been possible, but clearly it was.”

  “So what do you think happened?” Liz asked, leaning close to examine the pillar.

  “Well, so far as we know, this complex was used for about two thousand years, then in about seven thousand BCE it was deliberately buried. We don’t know by who, and we haven’t the faintest idea why,” Blair explained, walking slowly around the pillar. “It’s a good thing, though. Otherwise this place would never have survived.”

  “The fact that it sits right beneath a floating city certainly seems suggestive,” Liz said, peering back up at the shimmering city. “I’m not an anthropologist, but it doesn’t seem like the dates line up, though. From what we understand the Arks submerged around eleven thousand BCE right?”

  “I can see where you’re going with this, and you’re right,” Blair said, peering up at the city himself. “If the dating is accurate, this place was built two millennia after the Arks disappeared. If that’s the case, maybe they could still see that city. That would definitely explain why they went through so much effort to build it here. Can you imagine what that place would have looked like to primitive cultures?”

  Be wary Ka-Dun, we are no longer alone, the beast rumbled.

  Blair spun, looking for whatever had alarmed it. A figure stepped from behind one of the buildings, a man with long white hair in dark blue robes. He wore golden slippers completely unsuited to the hot gravel, and leaned heavily on a gnarled wooden stick a little taller than he was. If he’d been wearing a hat he would have given Ian McClellan a run for the part of Gandalf in the Lord of the Rings.

  “You are the first to come here since the sky turned,” the man called in a quavering voice. He started down the path towards Blair, tottering like he might fall at any moment. “Judging by your companion’s hasty departure, I’m guessing you’re either of Isis’s bestial get, or perhaps that of Osiris. Am I correct?”

  Blair realized for the first time that Liz had disappeared. Good on her. She’d probably gotten into position to attack, which very well might save their lives. There was no way this was just some kindly old man. No god they’d run into was benevolent, not even Isis.

  “We’re champions of Isis,” Blair said, shading his eyes as he moved to meet the man. He concentrated for a moment, feeling for the na-kopesh he’d taken from Irakesh when they’d beaten him. The weapon was there, melded with his body and waiting to be called. Blair didn’t really have much idea how to use it, but the sword still gave him comfort. “I’m Ka-Dun Blair. Who are you?”

  “I am known by many names,” the man said, giving a gap-toothed smile. Every part of him looked harmless, except for the steely grey eyes. “You would know me as Hades, I think.”

  Blair blinked a few times, considering the legends he’d heard. Supposedly Hades was bound to the underworld, though clearly that couldn’t be the case if he was standing before them. “Isis sent us to negotiate with you. We’re, uh, emissaries I guess.”

  “I see,” Hades said. He gestured weakly at a neighboring building that might once have been a temple. “Perhaps we could get out of this hot sun? I enjoy it no more than you do.”

  That was an interesting tidbit. Deathless drew strength from the sun, and they didn’t sweat. Hades had a clear sheen across his brow, and seemed to be genuinely suffering in the heat.

  “Of course,” Blair said, following the elderly man inside the temple. It was a single story adobe building. One corner of the roof had caved in, and whatever drawings had once adorned the walls were long stripped by time.

  Hades stopped in a corner, sitting atop a large rock that had fallen from the roof. He propped his staff beside him, then wiped the sweat from his brow before finally turning his attention back to Blair. “So, you claim Isis sent you. Why did she not come herself?”

  How much do you think I should tell him? Blair thought at Liz. It wasn’t difficult pinpointing her location, just a few feet to his right in the shadow cast by the crumbling wall.

  Well, the Mother did tell us to strike a deal. I guess we should be honest about why we’re here and what we’re after.

  “An interesting trick, that,” Hades said, raising a thick snowy eyebrow. “You can communicate with the Ka-Ken despite not being able to see her. That’s something I haven’t seen before.”

  “Isis sent us to find out what’s happening with the Well,” Blair said, ignoring the god’s comment about his ping ability. “The conduit to the Nexus has been severed, and it is in danger of collapse.”

  “Interesting,” Hades said, folding his arms across his robes and leaning back against the wall. He coughed once, wiping the back of his hand across his mouth before continuing. “And just what does she think I can do about it?”

  “According to Isis, you’re one of only two gods with direct access to the Well,” Blair said. He looked about for a place to sit, but didn’t spot a comfortable perch. Damn, but it was hot. “From what I gather, there’s a portal here leading to a place she calls the underworld.”

  “Do you know what the underworld is, Ka-Dun?” Hades asked, clearly amused.

  “I have our legends to go by, but they’re clearly based on mythology. If there is any truth to them, the underworld is where souls go when bodies die. The Egyptians believed Osiris was the caretaker of the underworld. The Greeks believed you were.”

  “Both are right, after a fashion,” Hades said, rolling one shoulder as he massaged his forearm. “The underworld is the world under ours, hence the name. Spirits don’t go there. So far as we know there is no such thing as a spirit. I suspect the legends arose from the armies of the dead that both Osiris and I accumulated over the millennia. Before he went mad, that is.”

  “Osiris went mad?” Blair asked, blinking.

  “Indeed,” Hades continued with a nod. “He was once the best of the gods, not just the first, but the most just and most powerful. After the Arks went into hibernation he changed. In a few centuries he grew callous, far more concerned with his own survival than that of his people or of the gods who would one day return. He began a campaign to seize the underworld.

  “I resisted at first. I am not without power, after all. Yet I was doomed from the first. Osiris had direct access to the well, you see. He could use the First Ark to create endless soldiers. Demons of exquisite power. I was left with my paltry forge, manned by one of my few surviving companions. You’d know him as Vulcan, I think,” Hades explained. He paused, watching Blair. “Or perhaps Hephaestus?”

  “I’m familiar with both names. Vulcan is the Roman god of the forge,” Blair offered. He was less familiar with Roman lore, but he’d studied it for a semester once upon a time. “So you have a forge of some kind, and you were battling Osiris?”

  “Indeed,” Hades continued, immersed in the tale again. “Osiris encroached further and further upon the underworld. From the frozen north t
o the distant east, he launched a campaign of conquest. My army of the dead was shattered, as were those of every other surviving ruler. In the end my connection to the Well was severed, and I was left to my own devices. This occurred roughly four thousand years ago, and I have been losing strength ever since. That is what has brought me to the wretched state you see before you. Now that the true energy we thrive upon has returned, I am growing in strength, but it will be months before I am hale and able to fight again.”

  “So Osiris conquered the underworld, and you were stranded up here?” Blair asked, trying to digest the information. The idea that early human mythology was rooted in fact still floored him, and he wasn’t sure how close it lay to the truth.

  “He is a treacherous snake, and while I do not know what he intends for this new world, it is clear we will not enjoy it,” Hades said, offering a sigh. “Without the conduit to the Well, I cannot fully return Olympus to this dimension. Those of my brothers who took shelter there are trapped, if they survived at all once the conduit was severed.”

  That gave Blair pause as he considered the ramifications. If Osiris were truly trying to conquer it made sense. Lock away the Greek gods and cut their power supply. Then your only competition would be the returning Ark Lords.

  Thunder rolled across the sky behind them, ominous and distant. Blair glanced through the hole in the roof, but the sky remained an unbroken blue.

  Chapter 34- Training

  Mark felt strange wearing the nylon body suit. It wasn’t at all like the tailored suits he preferred; it was too tight and far less professional. Seeing Osiris wearing a similar one was just as jarring. One of the few things they had in common, other than both being vampires, was their taste in clothing. Osiris had a wardrobe most billionaires would envy.

  “I’ve had basic combat training,” Mark said, shifting his stance as he prepared to launch another grapple. He glided forward, but Osiris flowed around the attack like a cat that didn’t want to be petted.

  “Indeed, but that training was for and against mortals,” Osiris said, tapping Mark on the chest with a finger. “You need to learn to think differently, to anticipate abilities other supernaturals will employ. Try again.”

  Mark did. He rushed forward, ducking lower and aiming a kick at Osiris’s knee. Osiris exploded into mist, solidifying the instant Mark’s blow had passed harmlessly through. He lunged, tapping Mark on the chest again. “Deathless, champions, and vampires all have their respective abilities. Some overlap, some do not. You need to learn each, and learn how to counter them. Again.”

  Mark gritted his teeth, but obligingly launched another attack. This time he sent a right hook at Osiris’s jaw. Osiris vanished, but Mark had expected it. He summoned his energy, willing himself to vanish. Mark reappeared behind Osiris, triumphantly kicking at the back of his knee. His foot passed through…nothing. It was an illusion.

  Osiris reappeared, tapping him on the back this time. “You are still thinking linearly, but that was much better. Let’s take a break.”

  “Are you sure?” Mark said, rolling his shoulder. The motion was instinctive. An old injury that bothered him in life. “I’m happy to keep going.”

  “Training is as much visualization as it is muscle memory,” Osiris explained, walking to the edge of the training mat. “The best way to learn is to study one concept, then master it. Spend time thinking about what we’ve discussed, then we’ll try again tomorrow.”

  “That’s fair,” Mark said, moving to join Osiris. He tugged off his gloves. “I just wish I was progressing faster.”

  “So do I,” Osiris sighed. “But we can’t simulate centuries of training, not in a few days anyway.”

  “The data we accumulated suggested that your kind, our kind I guess, has the ability to ingest memories,” Mark offered. There had to be a reason Osiris hadn’t suggested it, but Mark was too curious not to bring it up.

  “That’s a dark path, Mark,” Osiris said, frowning. “You can ingest the memories of others, but it muddies your personality. Changes you in small ways. I avoid it at all costs, and haven’t done it in centuries. Trust me, it’s a line you don’t want to cross.”

  That took Mark aback. He removed his knee pads, dropping them on the table next to his gloves. Osiris had done the same, and was tugging off his shirt. To Mark’s surprise his chest was littered with scars, dozens of them.

  “Earlier you mentioned going to war. I know you’re waiting for Set to make a move, but I don’t get why. Wouldn’t a preemptive strike make more sense?” Mark asked. He tugged off his own shirt, then shucked off the tight nylon pants. Once he’d added them to the pile, he pulled on his dress shirt.

  “It would, if it were possible,” Osiris said, shaking his head. He expertly tied his tie, a black silk affair that had probably cost as much as most people’s cars. “The Ark is all but impregnable, so we can’t make a move until Set comes out. He won’t do that until he thinks we’re vulnerable.”

  “Ahh,” Mark said. “That’s why you let Alaunus go.”

  “Precisely,” Osiris nodded. “Set will smell blood in the water, and soon he’ll come for us.”

  Chatper 35- Olympus

  “We must seek shelter,” Hades said, rising to his feet as he peered out at the sky.

  “Shelter from what?” Liz asked. She finally emerged from the shadows, still in human form. This god looked harmless enough, but they’d yet to meet someone from the old world who wasn’t both incredibly powerful and cunning beyond measure.

  You learn swiftly, Ka-Ken. This one is the kin of Zeus. It was they who overthrew the titans and laid dominion to these lands. Mortal sorcerers with unlimited ambition.

  “From the coming sunstorm. It will be upon us soon, and this one will be bad. It could last days,” Hades explained. He’d begun limping into the shadows, and for the first time Liz realized something was cleverly hidden there. A stairwell leading down.

  “Blair?” she asked, turning to face him. He looked just as puzzled as she felt. If anyone would know about these sunstorms it would be Trevor, though of course he wasn’t here.

  “Ra is coming here, if Isis is correct,” Blair said, directing the comment to Hades. “If we’re trapped for days, she’ll be on us when we try to leave. Assuming she doesn’t just follow us.”

  “Ahh, I should have known,” Hades replied, giving a low chuckle. He stopped on the top step, turning to face them. “You’ve few choices then. Does Isis seek to stop Osiris in his mad quest for power?”

  “I believe she does,” Liz said. She was certain it was true. From what she understood, Osiris had been Isis’s husband once, but that was millennia ago. Now it seemed like they were enemies, and if they weren’t before, they would be when Isis learned what he’d been doing in the underworld. “If he severed the conduit, then he’s the reason the Nexus is failing. She’ll want to stop him for that reason, at the very least.”

  “Very well,” Hades said, giving a sober nod. “Follow me. I will grant you access to a slipsail. It can carry you swiftly away from here, though in return I must ask a great favor. If you do not dally, you may beat the storm’s arrival, thus evading capture. I would advise that, as Ra is not known to be merciful to prisoners.”

  “What about you?” Blair asked, starting down the stairwell after Hades. “She’s coming here. She’ll be asking a lot of the same questions we are. Aren’t you worried?”

  “About Ra?” Hades asked, scoffing. “Bah, she’ll leave me be. The woman is power-mad, but she’s no fool. She’ll see the threat posed by Osiris, and will want to stop him at all costs. She might even be willing to make peace with Isis to do it.”

  They headed deeper and deeper, Hades growing visibly tired as their journey continued. The only sound was the dripping of water, so odd below the desert. That, and their muffled footfalls scuffing the stone.

  “We are nearly there,” he said at last, pausing to rest on his staff. “In the next chamber we will find the slipsail dock. Have you ever used a slips
ail?”

  “No,” Liz replied, circling Hades to get a look in the chamber beyond. Something silver glittered within.

  “I haven’t either,” Blair admitted, joining her at the entryway to a huge room. It was empty, save for a single ship. That ship was a sleek silver vessel, not more than fifty feet long. The surface was smooth metal, without a single rivet or bolt. It looked like one solid piece of metal, with nothing resembling a sail.

  “You’re just going to give us this?” Liz asked, trying to keep the mistrust from her voice.

  “Your surprise is proper,” Hades said, hobbling into the room. “This is one of the last slipsails in the world. By giving it to you, I am giving aid to Ra’s enemies, which could mean my death.”

  “Then why do it?” Blair asked, folding his arms as he peered suspiciously at Hades. Liz couldn’t blame him. The whole ‘old man bearing gifts’ trope was pretty played out.

  “You saw the city above, yes? Mighty Olympus?” Hades asked, pausing for a wet cough.

  “It’s pretty tough to miss,” Liz said, drily.

  “I currently lack the strength to pilot a slipsail. Only an Ark Lord or a being of incredible strength can do so,” Hades explained, giving them another gap-toothed smile.

  “I see where this is going,” Blair interjected. “We carry you to the city, you let us keep a ship you can’t use.”

  “Precisely. Besides, what happens in the coming days is more important than any bauble, even one so kingly as a slipsail,” Hades said, giving an exaggerated sigh. He approached the vessel, running gnarled fingers along the metal. “If Osiris is not stopped, the world is doomed. His army of demons will swarm the world, and all the gods of my age will be extinguished. Osiris will plant new gods in their place, dark gods bent on conquest. They will reshape this world into a hellish place, one I do not think you or anyone else wishes to see. You may be able to stop that, if I aid you.”