Her head tipped back, and there were tears leaking from her glowing blue eyes. “Vincent,” she whispered. “Vincent, it’s scary.”
I sat down on the floor across from her. “Tell me,” I said. “What’s scary?”
“There are other things inside my head,” she said, the horror plain in her voice. “One of them is gentle, and, I think, nearly as frightened as I am. The other only wants violence, and rages inside my mind, telling me to kill, to hurt, to destroy. What is happening?”
“You accidentally absorbed a weapon made of celestial metal,” I said. “The weapon was made to kill paranormals, and there was an innocent man’s soul attached to it. Their voices are what you’re hearing.”
My mind raced, how could I fix this? “Cynthia, the gentle presence you’re feeling, his name is Herb Wallenby. He’s a good person. If you can make contact with him, I’m sure he will help you fight off the violent presence. Try, please.”
Cynthia nodded, then lowered her head as she concentrated, her silver hair falling over her face again. She shuddered as she breathed in and out. After what seemed like an eternity, she lifted her head back up. “Thank you for the suggestion, Vincent,” she said. “Herb is restraining the darkness for the time being.”
I wasn’t sure how Herb was doing that, but then again, as a necromancer, he’d probably had all kinds of experience with cursed or semi-sentient objects. “How long does Herb think he can hold it?” I asked.
“He has it contained and feels he can hold it for an hour, perhaps more, before he needs to rest.”
“How long do you need to make Breath?”
“At least—” she stopped and blinked. “That is, it used to take at least three or four days to synthesize the Breath of Life. I was nearly done generating a dose earlier. But now that I am bigger…” She trailed off, and a silvery sphere the size of a golf ball swelled up from her palm. “Take that to Jacob,” she said. “It will help him. I will try to make more.”
“Thanks, Cynthia,” I said. “Tell Herb that Megan’s safe and we’re working on bringing him back to her.” I took a breath. “And tell him I’m sorry. Tell him I’m going to make this right.”
I didn’t feel right about leaving Cynthia restrained, but I didn’t want to risk the Rosario taking control again. As I left the room, I considered the sphere in my hand. I had no way of knowing if it was the Breath of Life or if the Rosario had tainted it to be toxic. The only other person alive who knew anything about the stuff, according to Gears, was Santa Claus, and to the best of my knowledge, he didn’t come to Olympus. I shook my head. Jake was down permanently either way, this would either help him or it wouldn’t. I just had to hope Cynthia, and not the Rosario, had made whatever was in this sphere.
I walked cross the hall to where Jake was stretched out on a bed. I created a portal at the foot of the bed and pushed him through into the workshop. Gears scrambled back and forth across the room, grabbing tools and small parts. “What do you need, Gears?” I asked.
“I need this to be a worktable instead of a bed,” he said. “And I need those two tool chests over there”—he gestured at the giant toolboxes on the far wall—“over here,” he pointed next to the bed. I waved my hand, and the bed transformed and the chests rematerialized where Gears had indicated.
“Vinnie, you are the best,” Gears said as he bounded over to a tool chest and pulled out a soldering iron. He plugged it in and anxiously waited for it to heat up.
I held up the sphere of Breath. “Present from Cynthia,” I said.
Gears’s yellow eyes widened. “She did it! Oh wow, that’s fantastic!”
I regarded the silver ball in my hand. “Yeah. Do you know how to administer it?”
Gears tipped his head at me. “When Santa gave a vial of Breath to Jake, he just sort of inhaled it, you know, like how President Scroob used that can of Druidian air?”
“Right,” I said, giving the sphere an experimental squeeze. It felt like it might pop with a suitable amount of pressure. I moved over, planning to use the sphere like smelling salts, but paused. “Gears, if this wakes Jake up, is he going to be in a ton of pain? Jesus, does he even feel pain?” How did I not know that?
Gears drummed his claws on the worktable. “I don’t think so, Vinnie,” Gears said. “I’ve only done a little work on Jake before, but I have a really good understanding of his systems. I don’t think he’s got pain receptors.”
I nodded and burst the Breath capsule under Jake’s nose. A glimmering mist shot from it and surged up his nostrils. The big man’s eyes snapped open immediately, and he sat bolt upright, his arms coming up on guard like a boxer. I’d say his fists came up like that, but Gears hadn’t built a new right arm for him yet. The result was a fist and an elbow stump. Just the same, I’m sure Jake could’ve snapped me in half if he wanted to.
“Easy, big fella,” Gears said. “You’re safe.” Jake’s ruined face looked at Gears and then me. A thin flap of skin hung from his cheek, and he reminded me of Two Face from the Batman comics. The big security guard looked at the ruined stump of his arm and frowned. I realized he couldn’t sign anymore, completely unable to communicate with us.
Well, maybe not completely. I looked around and saw a small panel about the size of a laptop screen nestled into the wall. Commander Courageous had terminals like that set into every room, so he could always communicate with Alexis. “Alexis, do we have a Gizmatronic Telepathy Helmet anywhere around here?” I asked.
“Affirmative,” Alexis replied, and a map popped up on Alexis’s screen showing which cupboard in the workshop contained the desired item. I jogged over and located the cabinet, pulling out a silver headband with three coils of wire wrapping up to a point. Blue motes of light flicked along the wire, and the thing hummed as I carried it back to Jake.
He took it from me, a skeptical look on his face. “Put it on,” I said. “It should allow us to hear your thoughts.”
Jake slipped the helmet onto his head.
I feel ridiculous, Jake sent. This thing looks like a cybernetic dunce cap. Jake’s voice was as deep and rich as it’d been when I could telepathically communicate with him. The only difference was it sounded like he was speaking through a metal tube.
“It works,” Gears squealed. “Oh, that is so cool! Do we have any more of those, Vinnie?”
“Gizmatron only made one,” I said, “so there can only be one here.”
Jake started, as if suddenly coming awake. Is Cynthia all right? What happened to her? To the rest of the agency? He glanced around. And where am I?
“I’ll fill you in while I fix you up, big fella,” Gears said. “You just sit back, and I’ll have you shipshape in no time.”
I took Gears aside. “Can you make skin for him?” I asked.
Gears pursed his lips. “I think so. The Breath is what turns the silicon rubber he’s covered with into something that looks like human skin.”
“Cool,” I said. “While you do that, I’m going to check on Megan and Galahad.”
Back at the Defender’s table, Galahad was having a cup of tea. “Gearstripper showed me how to work the food replicator,” he said, gesturing over at the boxy device mounted on the far wall. “What a remarkable device it is. This Yunnan Tea is delicious.” Thinking a drink was a brilliant idea, I went over and had a Pepsi whipped up for me. Then I rejoined the boss at the table.
“Galahad, with all the confusion and whatnot, I haven’t had a chance to ask you. The sword. The physical version of your magic sword, was in HQ when it blew up. Is it…” I trailed off, not sure how to finish the sentence.
The former priest gave me a weak smile. “Is it lost? Am I weaponless when we face one of our most dangerous foes?” I nodded. “Vincent, if the sword were destroyed, Leslie would no longer be here.”
“I don’t follow.”
“She is tied to the sword. She is its keeper. I wield it for a time, until I am no longer able. Then it will pass to another. When it does, Leslie will go to that person, and advise him or her as she has me. If the sword had been destroyed, she would have returned to Heaven.”
I could feel the confused expression on my face. “But why?”
Galahad paused. “I have said too much already. If you want to know more, I would suggest asking Leslie. It really isn’t my place to be telling her story like this. But Vincent, if you do decide to ask her, ask her. Don’t use your Glimpse.”
I nodded, and the boss leaned back in his chair. “Vincent, I want to tell you something. I am proud of how you’ve conducted yourself these last few days. You are showing the initiative and clever thinking that have always been hallmarks of your behavior, but I’ve seen a newfound maturity in you, especially since we came here. You took control of the situation as if you were born into leadership. Keep that up. We need it.” He took a sip of his tea. “I do not think we need to keep you on probation any longer. Consider yourself restored to full duty.”
“Thanks, boss. That means a lot.” I took a swig of my Pepsi. “I wish Kristin had lived to see it.”
Galahad reached across and put a hand on my shoulder. “I have faith, Vincent, that Kristin has a front-row seat to whatever you do, should she wish it.”
I smiled at that. Kristin was proud of how I’d turned things around lately; I intended to keep making her proud. Step one of that was to stay focused on the task at hand. “Cather and the kobolds should be checking in with me soon,” I said, “and Gearstripper’s got some probes that we can use to further scout wherever they’re hiding.”
As if on cue, Kleep’s voice popped into my mind. While I no longer have telepathic powers, my priests can always reach me. Lord Corinthos, he sent. We have located the upyr’s lair.
I held up a hand to Galahad and pressed my hand to my temple, indicating I was having a conversation. Go ahead.
They are in some old tunnels, beneath an apartment complex in Danvers. He gave me the address. There are six, perhaps eight upyr here. Other creatures, too, that we do not recognize.
Can you picture them in your mind? Let me see them? I asked.
In response, an image of something like a human with a dog’s head popped up. Thanks, Kleep, I said. You and the rest get someplace safe. I’ll let you know if I need anything else. A sense of regret came through my link from Kleep, as if the kobold was sad I hadn’t asked more of him. What you’ve done today is going to save lives, Kleep. I’m proud of what you and the others accomplished. Kleep seemed happier with that, and I cut my connection to him.
“All right, boss,” I said, “I’ve got a location. It’s the apartment complex where the old Danvers Asylum used to be.” Galahad closed his eyes for a moment. “Boss? You all right?”
He opened his eyes and gave me a weak smile. “Of course, Vincent. It’s just interesting how life comes full circle.”
“Well, the good news is since you’re familiar with the place, we’ve got an edge,” I said with a grin. Let me go talk to Gears, and we’ll keep you posted on what else we find.”
I went back to the workshop and found Jake’s table empty. “Did you finish fixing Jake already?” I asked, amazed.
“Yep. Alexis here was able to scan Jake’s systems and fabricate a bunch of pre-assembled parts,” Gears said. “Jake still looks a little rough, but the Breath should eventually fix that.”
“Fantastic,” I said. “Let’s test out those probes.”
Gears nodded, and we sent the Gizmatron probes through a portal back to Boston, where he engaged their stealth mode and sent them into the tunnels. Though kobolds can turn invisible to hide from predators, vampires and upyr can scent other creatures, rendering invisibility useless. The probes, however, had no scent. Gizmatron technology made them invisible, inaudible, and undetectable to any creature’s senses, and any human technology’s detection capabilities. This was how Gizmatron had discovered Commander Courageous’s secret identity, even though the Commander had security systems all over the place in Courage Point.
“Pipe the images you’re getting back to Alexis, Gears,” I said. “And let’s get everyone together. We have some planning to do.”
Chapter 16
For the eleventh paladin, life is neither a road nor a trial, but a circle.
— From the Dodici Prophecy, translated by Stranger Wolfram
Five minutes later, all of us were gathered around Alexis’s giant screen. The probes were sending back real-time video footage of what they saw in the tunnels.
“Why is everything purple?” Megan asked.
“Gizmatron’s night vision uses a different spectrum of light,” Gears replied.
“Okay,” I said, “Alexis, overlay the probe’s progress on a map of the tunnels, and split the screen so we see can a feed from each probe.” The screen divided. On one side were four camera angles, one from each probe. The right side showed the map of the tunnels and the position of each probe in that tunnel, represented by a blinking circle with a number corresponding to the probe’s camera view. As the probes moved along on the map, the places they’d been were highlighted in blue, while places they hadn’t yet visited were displayed in gray. “Alexis, also note where the probes have detected any undead or other life forms, or any trails that indicate recent passage.”
“Acknowledged,” the AI replied.
Probe One rounded a corner, and a bipedal creature with a dog’s head stood in front of a door. I recognized it from the vision I’d received from Kleep. “Anyone know what that is?” I asked.
“I think that’s a psoglav,” Megan replied. “It’s a demonic creature from Serbia.”
“Boy, rusalka, psoglav, these upyr sure do have a lot of friends,” Gearstripper said.
“More likely Carmilla is compelling them to serve her,” I said. “Alexis, what do we know about psoglav?”
A smaller Wikipedia-like window opened in the lower corner of Probe One’s display. On the map, a head and shoulders image of a dog-headed person appeared. “Psoglav are canine-headed demons with iron teeth that live in caves and eat corpses,” Alexis said, narrating key passages from whatever source she’d tapped into.
“Well they sound like a fun bunch of people to hang out with,” I said. “Weaknesses?”
“While strong and fast, psoglav can be harmed by normal weapons. Silver and salt are especially potent.”
“All right, can we get the probe through this door?”
“The door looks like it’s locked, Vinnie,” Gears said. “Give me a minute.” Probe One drifted back down the tunnel, maybe fifty feet from the psoglav. Then it fired a tiny flash bang against the tunnel wall, eliciting a faint crack. The psoglav’s head whipped around toward the sound, and Gears piloted the probe over its head as it rushed down the tunnel to investigate. The probe hovered in front of the lock, and a narrow beam of light appeared over the keyhole. The probe then nudged the door open enough to fit through and closed the door after itself.
This went on for a few hours. In the end, we’d mapped almost the entire tunnel complex and located where the upyr had sentries stationed. But we hadn’t found Carmilla yet. “All right,” I said, looking at the tunnels, “where is she hiding? Gears? What else do these probes have?”
Gears was sitting atop Alexis’s giant keyboard, stretching out comically to reach the keys. I snapped my fingers, and a smaller, gremlin-hand-sized keyboard appeared. Gears beamed at me. “Give me a sec, Vinnie,” he said. “There are a lot of options here.”
On screen, Probe Two was drifting past another doorway, this one guarded by a rusalka. “Wait,” Megan called. “Gearstripper, go back on that one.” She gestured at the screen and craned her neck up at the enormous display. “See that rat?” she asked, indicating a
rodent that had popped out of a hole in the wall and was surveying the rusalka with interest. “That’s the third time I’ve seen a rat come out and look at a sentry like that.” She looked at me. “Like it’s checking on them.”
I slapped my forehead. “Of course, upyr can command swarms of rats and bats and spiders,” I said, thinking about my time with Van Helsing. “Carmilla must be holed up someplace not on the map, and is using the rats to make sure her sentries are doing their jobs.” I turned to the gremlin. “Gears, can the probes follow the rats?”
Gears gave me a look. “Vinnie, I’m running Gizmatron 3000 technology here. Do you really need to ask me that?”
“Apologies for the stupid question,” I said, raising my hands.
“How are you going to follow them?” Megan asked. In response, Gears tapped a few keys, and the tunnel around Probe Two seemed to grow larger.
“Gizmatron technology relies heavily on atomobots,” Gears said. “They’re like nanobots, but that term hadn’t been invented yet when Gizmatron was introduced back in the 1940s. They let him alter his density, size, and appearance.” He finished tapping on the keys. “There we go. The probe’s about the size of a cat’s eye marble now. It should be able to fit through rat tunnels no problem.”
“Then follow that rat,” I said, pointing to the screen. “Alexis, update the map to include Probe Two’s progress.”
“Acknowledged.”
We followed the rat out into two or three other alcoves already surveyed by Probes One and Three. Then it returned into the walls and began heading downward. Alexis rotated the map, giving us a three-dimensional view of the areas surveyed. Going by what was displayed now, the rat was nearly forty feet beneath the tunnels. It came out in a circular stone chamber, where Carmilla stood, watching two other upyr.
Carmilla wore pair of jeans and a black T-shirt, as if she were just a normal girl going to the mall. But she still carried herself as a queen, and it was obvious that the other two upyr were uneasy with her right behind them. The pair of upyr was chiseling a series of complex runes into the walls of the chamber at superhuman speed. Unlike the others I’d encountered, these were dressed in utilitarian jumpsuits, the kind of thing Gearstripper wore. The sound of metal biting stone was almost like a chainsaw. In mere moments, the upyr had the entire room ringed in the same sort of complex glyphs I’d seen at the Aquarium.
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