The two werewolves climbed the stairs, got a firm grip on the stone, and hauled it from the ground. There was a brief shower of dust and a single, pebble-sized piece of stone clattered down the steps. Grimacing and shuffling under the weight they brought it down the stairs and set it down on the floor with barely a bump. I gave them the okay sign with my finger and thumb and climbed the stairs. The door had swung open slightly now that it was free, but I cautiously used one finger to pull it towards me. I could tell by the resistance that it was going to give an impressive creak when it opened. The lock had been smashed, the strike plate forcibly removed from the frame, so I just had to pull it to get it open.
I paused long enough to squirt a few drops of oil onto the hinges, gave it a few moments to penetrate, and yanked the door backwards. It gave one, tiny, high-pitched squeak and swung open. Moving the door slowly would have announced our presence like a brass band. There was one moment of uncertainty when I thought the door was going to hit the wall with a resounding boom, but I managed to catch it. I was through the door in a second, my FAL raised, covering the large room. It was a cellar, and the rusted remains of iron cages lined both walls. Dracula had kept victims down here like a collection of fine wines. There were signs that the cellar had been recently used, though. A pile of clothes and cardboard boxes sat in one corner, a table that held several rifles, pistols and SMGs in another.
We quickly moved through the cellar to the stone steps that led up into the main castle. At the top I could see out into a long corridor that had been recently cleaned and even carpeted. Someone was making sure that Vlad's castle was ready for his return. Through one window I could see the full moon, low in the sky. Time to move.
CHAPTER
40
The castle was eerily deserted. I led the team through the moonlit rooms until we reached the throne room. The huge double doors were flung wide open so we kept to the shadows as we crept closer until we could see inside.
Two vampires stood beside a large, shallow bowl. From where I was standing I could see the bowl was about half full of a liquid that looked black through the NVGs. Blood. As we watched, a human in a brightly polished breastplate walked calmly to the bowl and knelt beside it. A third vampire appeared behind the man and slit his throat with an ornate knife.
Suddenly I understood. Even today when someone says 'virgin' most people think female. But if the human guards of the castle were celibate, they would fulfill the prophecy just as well, male or not.
The vampire with the knife held the unresisting guard over the bowl while his blood spurted out. Mindbroken? or simply indoctrinated from birth? I had no idea and it didn't matter. I turned slowly and nodded to each of my team in turn. Each nodded back. We'd gone over the plan and everyone knew where they were supposed to be. Bolt gave me a nod and disappeared back down the hallway.
I turned back towards the tableau inside the throne room. The guardsman's body had been dragged away and the two vamps beside the bowl had begun a sonorous chant that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. The vamp with the knife had a golden object in his hand—the Heart of Dracula.
I heard a double click in my earpiece from Bolt's radio, letting me know he was in position, which made me feel better. We couldn't be sure, when we'd laid the plans, if the concealed passageway was still clear or would be guarded. It was good to know he'd made it through. I extended my fingers, one at a time, counting down until my hand was open. Five, four, three, two, one. Then I clenched my hand into a fist. We were up and running. Marie and Cam close behind me, Eva and Jeurgen splitting off at the door and moving to the corners of the room to provide covering fire. It was a few seconds before the one of the two acolytes spotted us and yelled a warning.
“Hold!” yelled the vamp with the knife in a booming voice that echoed off of the roof. “Hold and kneel before your Master!”
The vamp was speaking French, albeit with a horrifically bad accent.
I skidded to a stop and raised my rifle, putting the vamp square in my sights. He held the heart out over the blood-filled bowl.
“Go ahead and drop it,” I said indifferently. “Like I give a fuck.”
“That,” he said, in heavily accented English, “is a failure of imagination on your part.”
He opened his hand and let the heart fall.
CHAPTER
41
The golden object fell the short distance to the bowl and hit with an entirely inappropriate and unimpressive 'plop' followed by a dull 'tink' as it hit the bottom. For a second the world seemed to hold its breath, and then I broke the silence with a sarcastic laugh.
“That's it?” I said. “No 'foom-vampire'? That's crap. That's crap. We came all this way. We were supposed to see 'foom-vampire'. I think we should ask for our money back if we don't get 'foom-vampire'.”
The head vampire stopped staring at the surface of the blood and looked up at me, his face, quite literally, purple with rage. The power flickered in his eyes and I didn't need to look around to know that our Swiss friends would be frozen in place. Bolt, in his place of concealment, might have been overlooked but I couldn't count on it.
“You did this,” he hissed.
“Yeah, possibly,” I said. “Or, and follow me here, that whole prophecy was just an unfeasibly huge pile of bullshit.”
I had to give the vamp credit. The fact that I was still in command of my faculties barely slowed him at all.
“Kill them!” he screamed.
Vamps and human guards poured out of the shadows at the rear of the throne room.
“Open fire!” I yelled.
I shot the head vamp through the forehead. I didn't even wait to see him drop as I swung the rifle to his right, reaching for the underslung shotgun and pulling the trigger. I worked the pump like a madman, firing shot after shot as the room exploded. Finally released, Eva and Jeurgen opened up from either side of the room, the crackle of their cut-down assault rifles barely audible over Cam and Marie's heavier weapons. Above it all came the sharp 'crack' of Bolt's Dragunov as he picked off targets at will from the balcony above us.
Firefight wasn't the right word for what was happening. ‘Firefight’ implies two groups exchanging fire. This was a slaughter, pure and simple. A short, bloody, violent slaughter. The only advantages the vamps had was speed and strength, and that's when the UVC lamps on our weapons made the difference. Every vamp flinched as that purple light flashed into their eyes, and the extra half-second gave us all the time we needed. Their human servants only had strength of numbers, but an automatic weapon is a great leveler.
When the final echo finished bouncing off of the walls only my team was left standing. No matter how brightly polished a metal breastplate is, no matter how evil a hooded black robe looks, they can't stop bullets.
I looked around, reloading both the shotgun and the FAL itself, absently noting that Cam and Marie were covering the room as Eva and Jeurgen reloaded. Nothing worse than getting hit by a second wave while everyone was busily changing mags. They looked a little pale and shocked from contact with the vampire's mind, but both gave me reassuring nods.
I carefully stepped forward, my FAL against my shoulder should anyone be dumb enough to twitch, until I reached the bowl of blood. I stared with some distaste at the liquid.
“I don't suppose,” I said carefully, “that anyone is about to volunteer to reach in there and get it out, are they?”
The rest of my team suddenly found interesting and absorbing things to stare at around the room.
“Thought not,” I sighed.
I placed my rifle on the floor and rolled up my sleeve. I thought about it for a second and dropped my backpack, opening it to pull out the towel I had there. With a grimace I reached into the warm liquid.
“Uck,” I said, feeling around in the bottom. “This is definitely above and beyond.”
“You know,” said Bolt from up on the balcony. “You could have just tipped it over and picked the heart up from the floor.”
“Cunt,” I said under my breath.
I found a hard lump and pulled it out. Blood slowly dripped off of my hand. I shook as much off as possible before wiping my arm and hand off with the towel. Suddenly I stopped, holding my arm out in front of me and drew in a sharp breath.
“Jesus Christ!” I yelled, turning to my team. “It's beating! The heart's beating!”
Five guns snapped up and five pairs of eyes widened in shock as I stood there, my hand vibrating.
“You guys are too easy,” I said with a laugh. “You should have seen your faces.”
“That wasn't funny!” said Cam. “I nearly shit myself!”
Bolt's laugh was the only one that joined mine.
“Nice one, boss,” he said.
I finished cleaning the heart and carefully wrapped it in a second towel before placing it in my backpack. Then I went back to trying to clean my hand.
“Crap, I need some water,” I said.
“There's a bucket over here,” said Jeurgen.
“What's in it?” I asked. “I ain't washing my hands in vampire piss.”
“Looks like water,” he replied.
“Taste it and find out.”
“With all due respect, boss,” he said carefully, “you can go jump in a hole.”
I shrugged as I walked over.
“Okay, where is it?”
He indicated the bucket and I knelt down and took a look. It was clear and, once I'd taken and carefully sniffed a cupped handful, smelled okay. I quickly washed my hand and forearm, drying myself carefully. I left the now bloodstained towel on the floor.
“Okay, let's get on the move,” I said after retrieving my rifle and pack. “Bolt, do me a favor, next time speak up before I do the stupid bastard thing.”
“Oh, that wouldn't be any fun,” he said as he descended the stairs.
“Yeah, true.”
We decided we were going to go out the front door. No point in sneaking around now. We followed the long corridor down to the massive doors, which were wide open to the night.
I caught movement outside and held up a hand, bringing my team to a halt. The hallway was dark but the moonwashed courtyard was clearly visible. The gates in the outer wall were also open and I could definitely see figures moving. I flipped down my NVGs to take a better look. Yes, there were figures out there, at least five or six. I flipped my goggles up again and pulled my binoculars. The figures sprang into focus. They were vampires, but they weren't religious fanatics like the ones we'd met inside. There were wearing body armor, helmets, military-style fatigues and carrying Steyr AUGs. Some sort of vampire paramilitary organization. And I was willing to bet that they knew about the tunnel, too.
Fine. Balls to the wall is the way I play best.
CHAPTER
42
I handed the binoculars around, making sure everyone knew what I was looking at. I pulled two stun grenades out of a belt pouch and held them up. Using gestures I told my team to wait for the explosions and then run full tilt out into the courtyard and find whatever cover they could. Everyone nodded.
I pulled both pins, holding the spoons in place as I glanced back at my team and nodded firmly. The two grenades made tinny bouncing noises as I hurled them down the corridor and out of the doors. They clattered down the stone steps and rolled to a stop in the middle of the courtyard.
Even with my hand over my eyes I could see the twin explosions as they lit the night. Then I was up and running, aiming to get into decent cover before the vamps could react. As I came through the doors I saw a low wall off to my left. I leaped down the steps in a single massive step, hit the ground and rolled in one motion. I hit the wall with a bone-jarring thud, but spun up onto one knee, bringing my rifle up and opening fire. My shots were soon joined by the other members of my team, all of which had made it to cover. The vamps quickly started to return fire, hesitantly at first, then in greater volume.
“Fuck!” I yelled as I ducked behind the wall. “Leeches ain't supposed to shoot back!”
I popped back up and squeezed off a shot that dropped one vamp who was leaning out to get a better angle.
The firefight rose in intensity until a voice rang out.
“Hold! Hold! Stop firing!”
The volume of incoming fire tapered off to nothing, the shots from our side went on for a little longer.
“Okay, pack it in,” I yelled. “Stay sharp.”
“Is that the one called 'Pagan'?” came the voice again.
“Who's asking?” I said.
“I am,” said a horribly familiar voice.
Lady Lucia stepped forward until she stood between the open gates. She was wearing a black trenchcoat trimmed with black fur over a low-cut white blouse, tight black trousers and knee-high black boots. Her black hair fell around her shoulders, stirred faintly by the breeze. I let out a heartfelt groan.
“Bitch,” I said under my breath before continuing louder. “Yes? What can we do for you?”
I glanced over at Marie who had the vampire in her sights and nodded approvingly.
“Just to talk, Jack,” Lucia replied. “There's no need for this unpleasantness. We can talk this out like civilized people.”
“We seem to be doing okay with the free and frank exchange of ammunition so far.”
“Oh, Jack,” she replied with a smile. “That's true, but I have a very large group of soldiers who came into the castle via the same tunnel you did. On my command they'll take you from behind.”
“Not while I have my strength they won't,” I muttered, provoking a burst of tension relieving laughter.
“Jack, must you?” she said. “What have you got to lose? Let's talk this out. I don't think you'll find my requests unreasonable.”
I thought about it for a moment.
“Jack?”
“Okay,” I said.
I placed my weapon on the ground and shrugged off my backpack before carefully making sure my backup weapons were nice and loose in their holsters. I slid sideways to Marie and whispered in her ear.
“If she tries anything, shoot her.”
Marie nodded firmly.
“And if she asks me out to dinner again, shoot me.”
Marie snorted laughter and winked at me.
I stood up and brushed off my knees.
“Okay, here I am.”
CHAPTER
43
“Hi Jack, good to see you again.”
“Wish I could say the same,” I replied. “What do you want?”
“Are you going to shout this conversation across the courtyard? I thought you had better manners than that.”
Vampires seem to have a way of making me feel like a little kid and it pisses me off.
“Meet me halfway?” I suggested.
She nodded and stepped forward.
“Cover me,” I said to my team as I walked around the low wall.
We met in, as far as I could tell, the exact center of the courtyard.
“You're looking well, Jack,” she said.
“Yeah, and here I was worried that the last twenty-four hours had aged me terribly,” I said.
“Always so sarcastic, Jack, so hostile?”
“Always and forever,” I said. “Count on it.”
“Oh, Jack,” she said wistfully. “We could be so good together.”
“You're kidding. I'd break you inside a week. I prefer my women to be a little more robust. And a little less murderous.”
“You'll come around,” she predicted.
“Not in this lifetime,” I said. “Enough guff. What do you want?”
“Short term? I'll take the Heart of Dracula.”
“Oh? And why should I give it to you?”
“Because you were right, Jack. Nobody wants to see Dracula return, least of all me. In my hands the Heart will be safe. I'll make sure it never falls into the wrong hands.”
I stared at her for a few seconds. What she said was probably true. Nobody would guard the Heart like
she would. Strange as it may seem, the person best qualified to keep the relic out of the hands of Dracula's fanatical followers would probably be a vampire. The Heart itself wasn't important, I had no worries about a resurrection—especially as the ritual had failed so definitively—but the fanatics would keep trying. As long as the fanatics understood that the Heart was no longer in the archives, the Vatican would be safe from further attack.
“Okay,” I said. “And you guarantee that it'll be secure?”
“Absolutely, Jack, you have my word on that.”
I decided not to comment on exactly how little faith I had in her word. I popped open one of the pouches on my PLCE and pulled out the cloth-wrapped bundle inside.
“That's the Heart?” she asked.
I nodded as I unwrapped the bundle, showing her the golden object.
“It's beautiful,” she said. “And disgusting at the same time.”
I smiled and stepped forward, placing the bundle in her hands.
She looked up at me, her eyes pale and her lips almost black in the moonlight.
“Thank you, Jack.”
As she tucked the bundle away in a pocket I glanced over her shoulder at the armed vampires.
“Who are they?” I asked.
“My personal guard,” she said. “Specially selected and trained to protect me.”
“Bit shit, aren't they?” I asked.
“What do you mean?”
“Well,” I said, reaching out and using the index finger on my left hand to brush a lock of hair away from her forehead, “if I were in charge of your guard...”
I tucked the lock of hair behind her ear, running my fingertip down her neck.
“...there's no way I would let...”
I lightly rested my fingers on the back of her neck. Her lips parted as I bent forward slightly and she let out a trembling breath.
Crusader (MPRD Book 2) Page 20
