by Kat Cotton
“True.”
“If all else fails, get him on his left side. That’s the blind side. He’ll be weakest there.” My hand automatically went to the orb hanging around my neck. The one I’d used to take out the Vampire King’s eye.
“Right,” Kisho said.
“No, left. Well, his left, your right.”
Kisho put the pillow down.
“Huh?” I said.
“This tiny pillow isn’t cutting it,” he said. “I’m going to the garage to train with Andre.”
He left. That was a good thing, I guessed. An angry Kisho was a Kisho who’d fight. That was much better than him being a quivering mess. But sex was off the menu.
I sighed. Being leader was no walk in the park, that’s for sure.
But then I remembered Nic’s cake supply. That was mine now, since it was technically leader cake. I was sure that was how it worked. And if anyone needed cake right now, I did.
I went downstairs, and Hellhound came running to join me. He always knew when cake crumbs were on offer.
If we all died tomorrow, Nic wouldn’t even notice the cake was gone.
Chapter 34: Born Ready
I woke up the next morning to pounding rain. Why had I listened to that kid? I would’ve been better off reading the weather forecast. This was not optimal weather for a fight. It was “stay in bed and watch TV” weather. No staying in bed for me today, though.
Kisho made me coffee while I rushed around, checking and double-checking everything. We needed weapons, and we needed the car and the van in top running condition, and we needed to make sure we’d eaten properly and were hydrated. So many things to think about.
“Settle down, Clem,” Kisho said. Now the day had come, he was all calm.
“I’ll settle once this is over. Until then, panicking helps. It stops me thinking about the worst.”
“Do you think this t-shirt is best?” Kisho asked. “Or maybe my blue one?”
“Huh? You’re thinking about what you’re wearing to a fight?”
“Nic always said you fight better when you’re well-dressed.”
Yeah, Nic would say that. Then he’d bitch because his favorite shirt got cut to ribbons. What a little bitch.
I really missed that guy.
“Bollocks,” I said. “Wear something you can move in and that doesn’t show blood stains. You don’t want your good clothes being ruined. It might be okay for Nic. He can just go buy new clothes, but I can’t replace my wardrobe every time I fight. The most important thing is to wear something waterproof in this weather.”
I was all talk. I’d actually put on my lucky plaid skirt and my favorite lucky black t-shirt. Not to forget my best face-kicking boots.
I checked my knife was in place a hundred times, and double-checked my stakes. This was no time for logistical fuck-ups.
The rain was beating a harsh rhythm on the roof. It just intensified the thudding of my heart. Damn rain.
“Where are those damn Germans?” I checked the clock on the microwave. “Aren’t Germans meant to be all about punctuality?”
“It’s still ten minutes before they’re due to arrive,” Kisho said. “Seriously, I’ll take your coffee off you if you don’t settle down. Maybe you need a chamomile tea instead.”
“You sound like Nic.”
The girls had gathered in the living room.
“Anything we can help with?” Francine asked.
“I think we’re fine.” I kept pacing.
Portia and her team would be our base contact. I had no idea why we needed a base contact, but it seemed like something Portia could do to keep her out of trouble. If nothing else, she could advise people of my death.
I sucked in all the oxygen I could. Kisho rubbed my shoulders. That helped relax me. His fingers moved firmly, easing out the tension.
“You’ll be fine,” he said. “We’ll all be fine.”
Yeah, he could be all Zen now.
Finally, the Germans arrived.
“Okay, is everyone ready to go?” I asked. “You’ve all been to the toilet and checked your weapons and done everything else you need to do?”
Everyone nodded.
“I want you all back here safely at the end of the day. Hear that? No fatalities. No injuries even. And, Andre, drive carefully. We don’t need accidents on the wet roads. Where’s Vlad?”
He came running from upstairs. What the hell had he been up to at the last minute?
“You forgot this,” he said. He held out my orb necklace.
“I don’t think that will work on the Vampire King again.” But I slipped the necklace around my neck.
“It must have strong power if it worked on the King even once,” Vlad said. “Taking out the eye of an ancient vampire is not an easy thing.”
That made me think of something. I called Francine over.
“Take this.” I twisted my wolf ring off my finger. “If those eyes flash, get the fuck out of there. Take the van or take the car, but scram as fast as you can. Flashing eyes mean danger.”
“Won’t you need it?” she said, but she slipped the ring on.
“I know I’ll be in danger. That ring has nothing to tell me,” I said. “Oh, and if you can’t get out in time, that ring is pure silver. It’ll sear the flesh right off a vamp. Smash them in the face, and it’ll do a ton of damage.”
She held up her hand and smiled at the ring.
The girls, the Germans and most of the pack got in the van. Kisho, Vlad and I took Nic’s car. I hyperventilated all the way. This battle had been coming for so long, and now we’d fight, but I wasn’t ready.
I watched Kisho as he drove. Even though he’d changed since he’d started to feed, he was still my Kisho. The two of us had something between us that I knew I’d never find with anyone else. The moment he’d walked into my office, my life had changed. I couldn’t lose him.
Fuck this shit. You’d think one of the advantages of falling for a vampire would be that they had eternal life. You wouldn’t have to go through the pain of losing them. But, nope, I had all the worries.
I reached over and put my hand on his thigh, just lightly placing it there because I needed to feel his body. The feel of him reassured me.
He smiled at me. “Don’t worry, Clem. Soon, this will all be over.”
That didn’t help.
“Your biggest concern should be Nic finding out you used his purple whiteboard marker,” he pointed out. “And that you ate all his cake.”
To be honest, the thought of Nic going nuts about things like that was the happiest thing I could imagine. I’d give anything to be back at the lair, all safe, with Nic yelling at me.
At least for the moment, driving in the rain, it seemed there was only us three in the whole world. The swipe of the windscreen wipers was the only thing stopping the world from being blocked out completely.
I put my fingers up to the orb hanging at my neck. It gave me comfort, knowing it was there. Kisho had given me that orb to protect me, and I sensed his feelings in it. That might sound stupid, but I had to cling to things like that.
We were to meet the gang in one of the back streets so the vamps wouldn’t see us approach by the beach road. Although, in this rain, that was no advantage. Visibility was so minimal, anyway. We could be at the front door without them seeing us.
We drove down the deserted street, and Kisho parked the car behind the van.
This was it. No turning back.
“Are you ready to fight?” I asked Kisho.
He gave me one of his old grins, with his head slightly bent. That grin with the dimples and the sweetness. I hoped I’d see that grin again. I had to. A grin that sweet couldn’t just disappear from this world.
“I was born ready,” he said. “Literally, I guess. Since that’s what the prophesy says.”
Chapter 35: Rain
We waited for the girls to head off. They needed to position themselves around the pub. I felt sorry for them, having to loiter outside in
this rain. They’d be soaked to the skin. It wasn’t like they could stand around holding umbrellas, but they did have coats.
I put my phone on vibrate and slipped it into my pocket. They would be in constant contact with Portia, but really, I didn’t think they’d be needed that much.
The rest of us headed to the beer hole.
“Be careful, guys,” I said. “Everything’s going to be slippery.”
“We’ll deal,” Andre said. “Vampires, remember? A nasty fall won’t kill us.”
Yeah, that was reassuring to remember. Especially for non-vampire me. At least he hadn’t made some dirty joke about slippery holes. Thank goodness.
“You’re fine with the whole plan? Get in, rescue Nic and take out as many minions as possible. Then get the hell out of there,” I said to him.
“Yep, we’ve got a bet running. The one who takes out the most of the King’s lackeys gets the jackpot.”
I grinned at Andre. “Can I buy into that?”
“No way,” said Jeb. “You could lie your pants off to win. None of us will be around to see.”
“Hell, I’d put my money on the Germans, anyway. Okay, guys, get going.”
I bit my lip. I didn’t want to see a single one of those guys hurt. I’d grown attached to them all. My feeling was that the Vampire King would only have token guards around the place. He wanted us here. Well, he wanted Kisho. The rest of us, well, he probably didn’t care if we lived or died.
“We’ve got to find the Vampire King in that labyrinth of rooms,” I said.
“Well, to be fair, the King wants to be found, doesn’t he?” Vlad replied. “He’s the one orchestrating this whole war. If he’s in there, hiding away like a coward, it’d make no sense.”
I nodded. Still, it didn’t stop my belly doing flip-flops. Normally, I took to a fight like a duck to water. This time, we had water aplenty, but I was no duck, that was for sure.
We ran down the wet streets, our feet sloshing in the puddles.
“We can do it, we can do it.” I let that mantra run through my head with each footfall. The power of positive thinking. I’d learned that from Nic’s DVDs.
The building loomed in front of us, the whiteness almost glowing through the gloom of the rain. On the other side of the street, the rain was battering the palm trees lining the beach road. The bay looked gray and choppy. You couldn’t even see the horizon line.
We paused. I grabbed Kisho in my arms. “Don’t die. Whatever you do, don’t die. Promise me.”
“I’ll try,” he said.
But trying wasn’t enough. I wanted guarantees. I knew he couldn’t give that to me, but I wanted it all the same.
We got to the corner near the steel door flaps to the cellar. The Germans tapped their noses, a signal that they’d head off. They hugged the walls of the building until they got near the front steps.
Jeb opened the steel doors, and I gave the Germans a nod. They’d smash through the front doors and wreak as much havoc as possible while we got into the cellar. They seemed way too gleeful about that. But then, they had no personal investment in this fight, just their lives.
The ball of tension inside me grew bigger. The plank we’d used to rescue the kids had been taken away. Of course. That would’ve made things way too easy.
Jeb and Andre jumped down. Vampire strength and all that. I couldn’t jump down. I’d end up spraining my ankle or worse.
“One of you catch Clem,” Kisho said.
“Oh, pick me for that,” Andre said.
I guessed, in a case like this, I had to let him grope my body. Kisho took me by the arms and lowered me down, leaning way down into the hole until Andre’s hands grasped my waist.
“Okay,” I said, and Kisho let me go.
Soon he and the other two joined us in the cellar, landing with hard thuds on the concrete floor beside me.
“The cage should be near here,” I said.
Rain dripped down on me, so I moved into the darkness.
The cage was empty except for a few decaying cardboard cartons. I guessed it’d be useless to hold Nic. He’d broken the lock easily enough to get the kids out.
“Check the rest of the cellar,” I said. “Hopefully, he’s here.”
Something moved in the darkness. A guard?
I couldn’t see that well, but the heavy thud of something hitting the floor meant someone had attacked.
“Got him!” Jeb shouted. “One for me!”
Nic obviously wasn’t around, because he’d have heard us. Jeb sure wasn’t using his inside voice. But with the Germans causing destruction upstairs, Jeb’s shout didn’t make much difference.
“Are there any others?” I asked.
“Not that I can see.”
Maybe they’d drugged Nic. Hell, if he wasn’t down here, he could be anywhere in the building, and we really needed to find him before the King found us.
“We should split up,” Jeb said.
“Hell, no. If you guys are on your own, you can be all mind-controlled.”
“I think it’ll be okay, actually,” Vlad said. “The King can only control them so long as he’s focused on them. And he can’t maintain that.”
True facts. Also, the King couldn’t control them into harming Nic. I guessed it would be okay. I’d really been hoping Nic would be in the cellar. That would’ve been super, but having him all easy to find and gift-wrapped was never really an option.
Before we split up, I paused for a moment.
“If you were the Vampire King, where would you put Nic?” I asked.
“Sunlight,” Shelley said. “If it were me, I’d have him in the sun. Nic’s a pretty strong vampire. I’d want him as weakened as possible. Otherwise, he’s going to try to escape. Nothing surer.”
That made total sense. Keeping him in a dark basement wouldn’t cut it. Not that there was any sunlight today, but in general, that was what I’d do.
“Okay, we have a few options,” I said. “The beer garden and the bay windows. Shelley and Luis, you guys check the beer garden.” I pointed so they knew the direction.
I didn’t think Nic would be there. There was only that flimsy fence between him and escape. Even if he was tied up and weakened, he could scale that fence pretty easily.
Luis and Shelley exchanged glances and nodded.
“If you don’t find him,” I said, “message Francine to check any other outdoor areas. Andre and Jeb, you guys do the top floor. I don’t want to risk Kisho going up there until we have a position on the King.”
“No, I’ll do the top floor,” Vlad said. He grinned. “I can get up there from the outside. Otherwise, we’re vulnerable on the stairs.”
“Good thinking.” I hadn’t thought of Vlad being able to scale the outside of the building. So long as there was a way in from the roof, he could do it. “Okay, the four of us will search the ground floor.”
When we got out of the cellar, I heard grunts and groans from the foyer. Those crazy Germans. They really did like fucking things up.
“First, we’ll check the front bar,” I said. Hell, we’d be wandering this place for hours, all the time being easy targets. I didn’t want that. I wanted to get his over with as fast as possible.
Through the opening between the bar and the foyer, I could see the Germans hacking their way through a slew of vampires. Those guys really knew how to fight.
I hadn’t actually thought Nic would be in the front bar, but there he was, trussed up in the bay windows. If the weather had been clearer, the girls would’ve seen him from outside. As it was, you could barely see the bay from those windows, with the rain pelting down so heavily.
It all looked too easy. No guards or anything, just Nic hanging there with his feet and arms tied up like he was a Nic piñata.
I’d have liked to mock him, but the situation was way too serious for that. The mocking could wait for later.
Andre walked toward him. “Ow!” He jumped back.
What had hit him? I couldn’t see a
thing. Then I noticed the light beams across the room. Those things would give a vamp a decent burn.
This was a job for me. “Stay back, guys.”
“Careful, Clem,” Kisho said. “He might have human traps too.”
That got my skin prickling. In my head, it’d be like a cartoon with steel spikes coming out of the walls to get me.
I tiptoed toward the windows. Something squeaked, and I ducked. Ducked like a ninja. But it was just a loose floor board.
“Nic?” I wanted to make sure he was conscious.
“Umm...”
Okay, conscious, but barely.
Now I’d gotten this close to him, I gingerly put down my foot, testing for traps before settling my weight on it.
Safe.
I took another step.
I got close enough to touch him. I actually did poke him.
“Unnnn.”
He was gagged. I pulled my knife out and slashed the rope holding him to the ceiling, and he fell to the floor with a loud thud.
Then loud alarms echoed through the empty rooms of the hotel. Those alarms would wake the dead. They’d sure as hell wake the undead.
I slashed the ropes binding Nic and took the gag off him.
“About time you got here,” he said. “That rope cut into my skin, and it itches. I bet I have red welts on me.”
I looked at the gag in my hands, and I looked at Nic’s mouth. Way too tempting.
“Give us the hexenspiegel,” I said.
“Huh? Aren’t you even going to ask if I’m okay?”
“You’re okay. I’m the new leader. Now, hand it over and get the hell out of here.”
Nic sighed, so I bent down and unfastened the chain from his neck. Then I threw the thing to Kisho. He caught it and put it on.
The alarms hadn’t stopped. We needed to act fast. I dragged Nic beyond the light beams, trying to avoid them.
“Oww, careful.”
“Sorry.” But I didn’t have time to be too cautious. A few burns wouldn’t hurt him.
As soon as I got him to safety, Andre and Jeb grabbed him.
“Through the beer garden,” I said.
The three of them took off. Nic could barely walk, but the other two supported him.
