by Kailin Gow
It seemed that the fight was turning against Pietre’s vampires too. Gradually, more and more of Marcus’ vampires were finding ways to get through their defenses, leaving nothing but clouds of ash behind. Maisy saw Steve look over at her.
“We have to go, Maisy.”
“If Marcus catches us…”
“We just have to make sure he doesn’t. Come on, we won’t get a better chance.”
That was true. With the violence of the battle raging around them, no one seemed to be paying them any attention. They might, if they were lucky, be able to get clear.
“All right,” Maisy said, “but I’m driving. Ready? Let’s go then.”
Maisy rolled out from under the car, dodging the stomping feet of the battling vampires around her. She opened the driver’s side door and leapt in, slamming it again just as a vampire was thrown against it. Steve scrambled into the passenger seat. Maisy didn’t hesitate, and the engine roared into life. A couple of the vampires looked around, but by that time Maisy had already put the car into gear. She slammed her foot down on the gas pedal.
Vampires leapt from the car’s path. A few, too slow to do it, bounced off the hood before being dragged back into the fight. One tried to get in the way, but Maisy just drove straight through him, not even looking back to see what kind of damage she had caused. Behind her, she heard Marcus bellow with frustration, but that just made her go faster.
In seconds, they were clear of the fight, barreling along the road to Wicked so fast that Maisy was worried about what would happen if she turned a sharp corner. Right now though, their safety depended on getting as far away from the fight as they could. More than that, the safety of the whole town might depend on it. They had to warn the Preservation Society about what was coming, and that meant getting to the diner as quickly as possible.
Chapter 14
Maisy drove down into town as fast as she dared, bringing the car screeching to a halt in front of the diner, where she and Steve leapt out and hurried inside. Steve slammed the door after them, bolting the door behind them. Maisy wasn’t sure what that would do to keep a hungry vampire out, but hopefully, Marcus’ vampires were still too busy fighting Pietre’s to follow them yet.
What kind of reaction she was expecting from the customers in the diner, Maisy didn’t know, but that turned out not to be a problem. The diner didn’t have any customers. Instead, the members of the Preservation Society were seated around the room, with George behind the counter and Fallon standing out in front of them.
“Maisy, Steve, what’s wrong?” he asked. “Didn’t you get my message to come here?”
“What message?” Steve asked.
“Fallon was just telling us about another new group of vampires that has arrived in Wicked,” Jill, the diner’s main waitress, explained. It was always strange hearing someone who looked so utterly normal talking about that kind of thing. “You’re going to want to know about them.”
“We’ve met them,” Maisy said. “Their leader is… he’s terrifying.”
“You’ve met Marcus?” Fallon asked.
Maisy nodded. “Him and a bunch of others. They’re heading this way.”
“That’s bad,” Fallon said. He looked around at the members of the Preservation Society. “I know you all want to do what you can to protect the people of Wicked, but these vampires are very dangerous.”
“Are they as bad as the ones who came in to help Pietre?” Pete the fry cook asked.
“They’re worse.” Fallon shook his head. “They are from Palisor, and they’re so old that they don’t even think like modern people. They’re barbaric, and they’re powerful. I couldn’t beat one of them in a straight fight. Marcus, their leader… well, you can tell them what he’s like, Maisy. Steve.”
“He’s a monster,” Maisy said. “I saw him killing Pietre’s vampires like it was nothing. And the worst part is that he probably has more humanity than the vampires with him. He thinks. They just wanted to tear me and Steve to pieces.”
“It sounds like you were very lucky,” Jill said.
“If you call being stuck in the middle of a battle between two groups of vampires lucky,” Steve added.
Fallon shot them a questioning look. “Pietre’s vampires?”
Maisy nodded. “They didn’t look like they were winning though.”
“They won’t,” Fallon said. “Though I guess it’s good that at least those two groups are as interested in fighting each other as in hurting everyone else.”
“With any luck,” George said from behind the counter, “they’ll wipe one another out.”
“Pietre’s vampires won’t stop Marcus’ ones,” Maisy said.
Fallon nodded. “The question is, can we do anything to stop them? Like I said, they’re pretty much unstoppable in a fair fight.”
“It’s a good thing we never fight fair then, isn’t it?” George said. To Maisy, he seemed less like the ever hungry George he’d been recently, and more like his old self. Maybe he was finally getting a grip on his hunger.
“The way I see it,” the preservation society’s former leader said, “these vampires have just come in from another world where there isn’t much advanced technology, so they won’t be used to it being applied against them.”
“That’s great,” Fallon said, “but we all know guns won’t stop vampires, and these are very fast, so whatever you try has to work.”
George nodded over to Pete, who with his nephew Percy went into the back of the diner. “Since the town council whose in Pietre’s back pocket wiped our stash of weapons clean, Pete has been working on one or two new toys. Show him, Pete.”
The fry cook brought out something that looked like a cross between a rifle and a bazooka. Though maybe it was just the width of the barrel that made it look that way. The combination produced a result a bit like an up to date version of an old fashioned blunderbuss.
“I’ve adapted some air rifle designs,” Pete explained, “so now they’ll fire stakes on a semi-auto feed. Just point, pull the trigger, and there’s a vampire with a stake in it. Miss, and there’s a magazine feed, so you don’t have to worry about reloading before the next shot, like you would with a crossbow.”
“If things do get closer and we have to fight hand to hand,” Jill said, standing and reaching into her handbag, “then we have these.”
She pulled out a length of chain, but Fallon could see the way it gleamed.
“It’s not pure silver,” George said, “but it’s a high enough content to hurt a vampire.”
“And we have lighter versions,” Jill said, handing a silver necklace with multiple crosses arranged around it like the charms on a charm bracelet to Maisy. Maisy put it on gratefully, seeing as she did so that the largest cross, at the front, had what looked at first glance like a rim of lights around it.
“We’ve updated things a little from the old version,” Jill said, reaching out to touch the largest cross at the front of the necklace. It lit up, and the light reflected off the silver. Right into George’s eyes, as it happened.
“Turn it off!” George cried out, ducking down below the counter. “Come on. You know I won’t be able to see for a minute now.”
“That’s not all,” Jill said. “These charms don’t just stop vampires biting you, Maisy.”
She plucked one of the small charms from Maisy’s new necklace and threw it at the nearest wall, where it stuck. It was obviously a lot sharper than it looked.
“But how will that stop a vampire?” Steve asked.
“Are you kidding?” Jill went over to the wall and plucked out the charm. “A vampire with a solid silver cross stuck into it? It will be in agony.”
Maisy’s eyes widened at that. It seemed that the Preservation Society had been busy while she and Steve had been off hunting for the portal between worlds. It made their efforts seem a lot less impressive by comparison, but it also made her feel a lot safer.
“And then there are the improvements around the diner,” Georg
e explained. “We put them in when we were making repairs to some of the damage Pietre did.”
“What kind of improvements?” Maisy asked.
Percy, Pete’s nephew, grinned. “We dug a moat.”
Maisy looked outside. There was no sign of anything like that, and she was sure she would have noticed on a busy street.
“We dug a trench and filled it with holy water,” George explained. “Then we covered it and Pete and I rigged it with small demolition charges. One push of a button and we can have an instant moat full of holy water. Oh, and we’ve rigged a few sprinklers around too. Fallon, you’d better remind me to show you where those are. You wouldn’t want to be near when they go off.”
“And make sure you don’t touch anyone’s neck,” Maisy said.
“Or wrist,” Pete added, holding up an arm to show that he was wearing another length of silver chain like a charm bracelet.
“This must have cost a fortune,” Steve said.
George nodded. “It will be worth it though if it saves lives.”
Maisy had to admit she was impressed. The Preservation Society seemed like it might be able to hold off an army with precautions like this. Of course, with Marcus’ vampires approaching, they might have to.
“We have a chance now at least,” Fallon said. “The trick is going to be luring Marcus’ vampires here.”
“Um…” Maisy said, “I think they’ll definitely be coming this way. They think Briony’s here.”
“They do? Why?”
“Mostly because that’s what Steve and I told them.”
Fallon nodded. Maisy was half expecting him to make some kind of comment about how she shouldn’t have told Marcus anything, but obviously he knew how impossible that was. “That’s good, but I still think we should try to evacuate as many of the people out of Wicked as possible. George, could we try talking to the mayor and the sheriff?”
“We tried that once before, remember?” George said. “They didn’t listen. And we know that there are people in both the local council and the police department who are with Pietre. Besides, we’ve always been worried about starting a panic if what the society did came out into the open.”
“It might be worth it to save lives,” Fallon countered. “Trust me, Marcus’ vampires aren’t the type to hold back and take a few people from the edges, like Pietre’s did. They’ll treat the whole town like a buffet. In fact, the vampire sympathizers might work to our advantage. At least they know these things are real, and they’ll probably be able to guess what will happen to Pietre’s sympathizers when Marcus’ vampires attack.”
“I can’t go though,” George said. “I’m going to be needed here, and anyway, I can’t see them believing me after last time. They won’t believe any of the kids, which just leaves either Pete or Jill.”
Jill immediately spoke up. “Pete, you go. You have more chance of convincing the mayor than I do.”
Pete nodded and went to get ready.
Fallon looked slightly uncomfortable. “We still have one potential problem.”
“What’s that?” Maisy asked.
“The vampires know to come here, but do they know how to get here?”
Maisy hadn’t thought of that. She swallowed. “Steve and I can get them here. We’ll go back. Marcus… I don’t think he’ll kill us. He’s out of his territory, so he needs all the help he can get. We can get him to the diner.”
Everyone in the diner looked at them as though they were seeing Maisy, really seeing her, for the first time. Fallon still looked worried though. “That’s a big risk to take, Maisy. Are you sure you want to do it?”
“Everyone else is ready to stand and risk their lives,” Maisy pointed out, “so why shouldn’t we? I figure that it’s time to stand up for something bigger than myself. I mean, Briony is out there fighting for Palisor and Wicked. You and Kevin are both risking your lives. So is everyone here. And Wicked… this is where I’ve lived all my life. If I can’t stand up to protect it, who can?”
Fallon moved over to pat her on the shoulder. He did the same with Steve. “This is very brave of both of you. Okay, if you want to do it, you should. It will mean we get Marcus just where we want him, but you need to be careful, and we need to think of a way to counter Marcus’ ability to read minds.”
“So long as we manage to think of something else, we should be fine,” Steve said. He looked over at Maisy. “I know what I’ll be thinking about.”
Maisy blushed, but she knew Steve had a point.
“Just don’t think of anything too close to home,” Fallon warned them. “If you think of your homes or your families, then Marcus and his vampires might be able to target them.”
Steve put his arms around Maisy then. “I’ll keep Maisy’s mind on trivial things, don’t worry. If two geeks can’t come up with things to think about that no one wants to listen into, no one can.”
Fallon laughed at that, and Maisy found that she had to as well. It was nice to finally be able to let some of the tension she felt go. She just hoped that things would stay that way when they went to Marcus.
Chapter 15
Maisy drove the car back out of town, towards where they’d escaped the fight between Marcus’ and Pietre’s vampires. It seemed like madness to be heading back there like this, yet Maisy knew it was their best chance of getting the vampires to walk into the trap being arranged by the Preservation Society. It was simply what they had to do.
Steve reached over to take her hand. “It’s going to be okay, Maisy. Just remember to think of other things so Marcus can’t read your mind.”
“Such as?”
“Well, can you remember all the chemical elements in reverse order, for a start?”
Maisy thought for a moment. “Um… it’s Unumoctium, then Ununumseptium…”
She kept the list going in her head. Steve was right, the mental effort it took meant that there was no chance of her thinking about anything she shouldn’t. Though it probably wasn’t the best thing to think about while trying to drive.
“We need to pull over anyway,” Steve said. “We’ll never be able to lure in all the vampires in the car.”
That was true, so Maisy pulled over and they got out. They stood there together for a moment, looking down the track leading back towards the Edge Inn. The vampires would be out there somewhere. At least, whichever group had won the fight would be. The others would be no more than ash drifting on the wind by now. Maisy knew better than to think that one group might have shown mercy on the other. She shivered.
“No fear, remember?” Steve said, putting an arm around her. He kissed Maisy then, and it was, for Maisy, the best kiss they’d shared. It was sweet, and tender, but also reassuring. Occasionally, Maisy had found herself envying Briony with gorgeous guys like Fallon and Kevin chasing after her, both of whom were probably great kissers. In that moment though, she had everything she needed with Steve.
“Now,” Steve said, “how about we go and lure in some vampires?”
“What are we going to tell them?” Maisy asked. “You know that Marcus said he would kill us if we ran.”
“You’re assuming that Marcus’ group will be the winning one,” Steve pointed out.
Maisy shrugged. “It will be.”
There wasn’t any doubt about that. Not for Maisy. Pietre was evil, and his vampires were vicious, but Marcus’ vampires were ancient. They were powerful. They were creatures almost designed for war. Even when she and Steve had left, they had been winning.
“We’ll tell Marcus that we didn’t want to be killed in the fight,” Steve suggested. “It’s even true, kind of.”
“It’s a half truth,” Maisy said. She winced. What if Marcus sensed that? What if he decided to kill them? What if he decided to kill Steve in front of her? Maisy wasn’t sure that she could stand that. No though, she had to be strong. They were the only ones who could bring the vampires to the ambush. If they didn’t, hundreds of people in Wicked might be killed.
“Come
on,” she said, “before I forget why I’m doing this and just run away.”
She squared her shoulders and, together with Steve, headed back towards the spot where the fight had been. Maisy could see the scars of it on the forest around them in the form of broken branches, damaged trunks, and weapon shaped gouges in the bark. For a moment, she thought that maybe all the vampires had killed one another, because there didn’t seem to be any sign of either Marcus’ or Pietre’s creatures, yet Wicked would never be that lucky.
Nor would she, Maisy thought to the universe in general as vampires stepped out both in front of and behind her and Steve. They were Marcus’ vampires, not Pietre’s. That much was obvious from the primitive way they were dressed, as well as from the weapons that they held. It seemed that Maisy had been right about which side was going to win the fight, but right then, it didn’t seem like much of a consolation, because one figure was notable by his absence.
“Where’s Marcus?” she asked.
One of Marcus’ vampires shook his head, sending the braids of his hair flying around his head. “That is not your concern, human.”
“It kind of is,” Steve said, “because otherwise how are we going to explain what happened? I mean, you know Marcus, and obviously he’s not that forgiving, so do you want to be the ones to explain why we were delayed getting back to him?”
“That,” another of the vampires there, with claw shaped gouges in the fur of its armor, promised, “will not be a problem.”
Maisy guessed what it meant instantly, and struggled to keep control of herself. She gripped Steve’s hand tightly, and kept working backwards through the periodic table. Copernicum, right…
“You shouldn’t kill us,” Maisy pointed out. “Marcus wants us kept alive and well, remember? He’d be angry with you if we were hurt.”
The first vampire laughed. Several of the others joined in. “Marcus is not here,” the vampire retorted, taking a step forward. “You are, and we are hungry. So run, little prey. Run!”
