by Nick Freo
“You know what I mean,” she replied. “You should not be so quick to trust beings encountered on this world. Especially not those who were beholden to a ruler you killed in cold blood.”
I shook my head. “Alia had no love for the vampire king.”
“Or so she wants you to believe.”
“Well, I believe it. Not everything is a conspiracy, Pride.”
Whispered footsteps and a dark blur announced Alia’s return. She stole up to us and crouched by the bushes, pushing dark bangs back from her pale face.
“I found a side entrance that isn’t quite so heavily guarded as the main one,” she announced. “We should be able to get in there easily enough, either by force or by creating a distraction.” She looked at Pride. “Will your illusions work on security cameras?”
Pride and I shared a confused glance. “What are security cameras?” she asked.
“Right.” Alia rolled her eyes. “I guess you wouldn’t know, being old-timey magic aliens and all.”
“Skulking in the shadows does not suit us,” I growled, straightening up. “You said the side gate could be taken by force. Let us do that. There will be no need for illusions, then.”
“My lord.” Pride took hold of my hand and pulled on it until I crouched next to her. “If we err, let us err on caution’s side. We know so little of this world’s ways.”
“This world’s strength is oft hidden, it is true.” I sighed. “Alia, explain the defenses to us in terms we might understand.”
“Hoo boy, this could take some doing.” The vampire sat cross-legged and leaned forward. “Okay, the first thing to consider is the electric fence. Even if you two could plow through it, you’d trigger an alarm before we even reached the building. That means we’ve got to go through one of the gates, and I’ve selected the one with the fewest guards.” She drew a little outline in the grass with one finger that approximated the shape of the power plant. “The gates are combination locked, set to a random key that changes every twelve hours. The guards on shift carry a device with the key, so they always know the code. Even if we could get the codes from the guards, though, we can’t use them. Any unscheduled use of the access code triggers a silent alarm. Which is a problem because it means even more guys with even more guns.”
“Guns. The bullet crossbows,” I said. “I have dealt with those before.”
She shook her head. “I saw the news. You faced off with a cop carrying a standard issue sidearm that’s designed not to penetrate body armor. The CAR-15s the guards at the plant have will punch big holes in your fancy suit, I don’t care what it’s made of.”
“It was forged from the flayed hide of a living dragon,” I replied.
“What, really? Wow,” she said. “Okay, I honestly don’t know whether the rifle rounds would pierce that, but I’d rather not find out. And I know for sure too many of those bullets can kill me, so I vote for a plan that doesn’t get us all shot.”
“Perhaps you should remain hidden, then,” I suggested. “This may seem quite impassable to you, but I can defeat the guards and their guns. I can break the locks and the barriers, even without my Lustblade. That is where Pride’s illusions come in.”
“But we don’t know if those will work on the security cams!” Alia protested. “Seriously, I don’t like the idea of putting myself in the line of fire. Even getting too close to those fences is a bad idea. If someone pushes you up against them, you’re fried.”
I shook my head. “You will be fine. Pride, make it your priority to protect Alia.” Both women scowled at that, but both of them nodded a moment later. I could see some color rising in Alia’s cheeks. She was unused to being seen as a weakness. With any luck, that would encourage her to evolve.
“Good,” I said. “Are there any other security measures we must consider?”
“Not that I know of,” Alia shook her head, “but we won’t see for certain until we’re in there.”
“Well,” I rubbed my hands together. “Let us move while the night is still young.”
In single file we stole down the sidewalk and across the street, first me, then Alia, then Pride dashing from bush to tree to a pool of shadows, never visible for more than a moment. We looped around the power plant in this fashion until I saw the side entrance Alia had described. I paused in the shadow of a large sign and waited for the women to catch up to me. They settled into low kneeling positions, breathing silently, at the ready.
Two guards stood in front of the side gate, which was large enough for a truck to drive through unimpeded when opened. I could see the heavy locks on the gates Alia had spoken of, and the rifles in the hands of the guards, held at the ready.
“Pride,” I whispered. “Cloak me.” I felt the familiar shifting of arcane energies as my second-in-command cast a spell, forcing the air around me to fold upon itself and render me all but invisible in the darkness.
I left the safety of the shadows and strode across the road, through the silver wash of moonlight and into the glow of the power plant’s floodlights. I moved silently, slowly enough that my armor did not rattle. The guards never saw me coming.
I approached one from the side and elbowed him hard in the jaw, grasping his weapon as he fell. His partner turned towards him in shock, but before he could open his mouth to raise the alarm, I had silenced him by using the stout weapon as a club. As both guards slumped to the ground, I threw my shoulder against the solid gate and heaved.
The women joined me moments later, sheltered beneath their own shimmering cloak.
“This is well built... indeed.” I panted as I struggled against the massive door.
“Try attacking it here,” Alia recommended, pointing to a groove on the side of the electronic lock. “If you can pop this off, the gates should open right up.”
I drew my dagger and wedged it into the groove, then threw my weight behind it. I had to struggle for several minutes, but soon the lock came free. As it clattered to the ground the gates swung open.
“See?” Alia grinned. “No problem. Come on, the fuel is stored in this direction. Stick close to the fence, but don’t touch it—it’s just as electrified on the inside as the outside.”
We raced along the fence silently, detouring only as necessary to avoid patches of bright light. I sensed an elemental power in the braided wall of metal—the power of thunder and lightning. We looped our way around the massive building until Alia raised a hand, calling a halt.
“See that little shack?” she asked, pointing at a small outbuilding. “That’s where they store the fuel from incoming deliveries before it gets taken inside the plant itself. It’ll only be a small amount, but more than enough for our purposes. Think you can break that door?”
“Give me but a moment,” I said confidently and strode across the open space. Unfortunately, I found the door unlatched. It rolled upwards effortlessly, unveiling an empty shed.
“Fuck,” Alia whispered as she and Pride joined me. “They must have just emptied it or stopped using it altogether. I guess we’ll have to go inside to the main fuel storage area.”
“Do you know the way?”
She blinked twice, then nodded. “I memorized the plans, follow me.”
We crept toward the side of the building but were forced to cower in the shadows of some stacked pallets when a two-man patrol came by, wielding electric torches. I moved toward them but felt Pride’s hand on my shoulder.
“My lord, be cautious,” she whispered.
“No, take them!” Alia hissed. “We need their keycards to get inside!”
I did not hesitate. I leaped straight up and vaulted over the pile of wood, landing heavily on the guards as they wandered past. They cried out in alarm as I bore them to the ground, but a moment later they were both dead as I mashed their skulls into the asphalt. I stood up and dusted my hands.
“Find your key card,” I said. “I’ll concern myself with any more who find their way to us.”
Alia’s swift hands darted to one guard�
�s belt, and then we were inside the building and moving down a long, immaculately clean hallway.
“Keep your faces down for the security cams,” Alia suggested. “Just in case the illusions don’t work on them.”
“I shy away from nothing,” I replied, but I tilted my chin toward the ground just the same.
Alia led us through a series of twists and turns, touching the thin rectangular key to several doors in order to gain access. “This is it,” she said at last as she touched her key to the final door.
Rather than open, the door made a single squawking sound. A red light above it shone on us.
“Shit,” she said. “This guard must not have had clearance for the storage area. Maybe if we find someone else and take their card...”
“There’s no time for such a gamble,” I said. “Stand aside.” I took a few steps back and braced myself against the far wall. I sprinted across the hall and slammed my armored shoulder against the door. My efforts left behind a significant dent, but the door stayed shut. I backed up and slammed my weight into the sealed entrance again and again. On the fourth attempt it gave way, and I stumbled into a dry room filled with closed metal barrels. All of them bore a strange yellow and orange symbol on the side, which I had never seen before.
“This is it,” Alia said as she stepped in behind me. “We hit the jackpot.”
Pride stepped to the nearest canister and crouched, wrapping her arms around it in a tight hug. With a deep breath, she heaved and lifted it, tottering slightly as she adjusted to the load. “This will be enough for a time,” she said.
“We want enough to last longer than only a time,” I pointed out. “All of time sounds better to me.” I moved down the row of barrels and hoisted two of them, one beneath each arm. They were dense and filled to the brim. I could barely feel the matter inside shift at all.
“Right,” Alia said. She tried to pick up a barrel in the same way as Pride, but her arms slid up its slick outside. She blushed. “Fuck. Give me a minute. I can get this.”
“Leave it,” I said, “Pride and I can carry plenty. It will be better for you to stay mobile and scout for guards, anyway.” She nodded, but the crimson color remained in her pale cheeks. That hungry look returned to her eyes as she led the way into the hall.
“Right behind me!” she cried, re-entering the storage room at double speed. “We must have triggered a silent alarm when we broke the door open. There’s a four-man patrol headed this way. They’ll be here in about five seconds, but I don’t think they saw me.”
I put the barrels down as quietly as I could and gestured for the women to stay back. I pulled the daggers from Pride’s belt and pressed myself flat against the wall beside the open doorway, waiting until I could hear the footsteps drawing near. Then I rolled around the empty door frame and sprang toward the guardsmen.
Like a rapid-fire catapult I flung the daggers in quick succession, first each of Pride’s pair, and then my own. The first one took a guard in his left eye, the second struck another guard in the throat, and the third made it a symmetrical trio as it pierced a shocked guard’s right eye. All three of them fell, screaming and gurgling. Stifling his shock, the remaining soldier leveled his lengthy gun at me and opened fire.
I slid beneath the spray of metal bits as the salvo of small explosions scoured my ears. I drew my sword as I came to a halt in front of him and thrust it upwards, through his stomach and out his back beside his spine. The man died with a surprised look on his face, black weapon falling from nerveless hands.
“Holy shit,” Alia breathed. She had watched the entire skirmish from the doorway.
“Gather their guns,” I commanded. I had been impressed by the potency of these weapons, especially the larger ones. The bullets from the last guard’s weapon had chewed a long hole in the wall behind me. “It may prove handy to have some of these weapons at our disposal, especially with Wrath absent from my Viceguard.”
“These longer ones are called rifles.” Alia picked up the four rifles, carrying them in her arms as Pride and I gathered the three barrels of uranium.
“Lead the way,” I told the vampire.
We followed her down the twisting hallways, through many locked doors, and out into the fenced compound.
“Where are you going?” I demanded as Alia headed in an unfamiliar direction.
“They’ll be all over the side gate by now,” she explained, tossing the words over her shoulder. “We have to take the main entrance!”
“Very well,” I said. “Lead on.”
We threaded our way between trucks, stacks of pallets, and large dark tanks I could not explain. Finally, we paused behind a large vessel which reeked of rotting trash.
“I knew it!” Alia said excitedly as she peered around the corner. “They only left a couple guys at the front gate. They’re expecting us to go out the way we came in! You can handle this, right?”
“Our hands are occupied,” I replied, nodding at the barrels beneath my arms. Pride grunted in agreement. “You’ll have to take care of this pair.”
For a moment Alia’s face fell, but then a devious smile replaced the lost expression. She tucked the rifles down behind the refuse container and messed her hair and clothing up. She sprinted out into the open.
“Help!” she screamed. “The intruders are over here! Help me, help me! They want to kill me!”
“What the fuck?” I heard one of the guards call. “Who are you, bitch? How’d you get in here?”
“Dr. Metzger brought me in for the night. I’m his, you know, girlfriend.”
“What? That isn’t allowed. But, fuck, we’ve got bigger fish to fry. Where are the intruder—aaah!”
I heard a body hit the ground, followed by a trio of gunshots and a pause. The thud of another body joined the first.
“Alia,” I said, hustling out into the moonlight.
She stood over the two corpses, blowing smoke from the barrel of a freshly captured rifle. “Yes, my lord,” she said demurely.
“Get the other guns,” I growled, “and get us out of here!”
She searched one of the guards briefly before turning to manipulate the gate. It opened. Alia gathered the remaining rifles and led the way out into the street.
“There they are!” a voice shouted, followed by the staccato of weapons attacking. Bullets hailed the road around our feet.
“Run!” I grunted, plowing onward at full tilt despite the weight of my burden. Pride and Alia raced in my wake. We moved swiftly down the street and around the corner before the power plant’s guards had exited the gate. We reached the truck, and Alia scrambled for the driver’s seat. We dropped the barrels, and I boosted Pride into the truck before passing the barrels to her one at a time. I leaped into the truck’s rear beside her as more guns sounded behind us.
“Don’t let them shoot at us!” Alia screamed from the front of the truck, her voice barely reaching my ears. “If they pop a tire, we’ll be stuck here!”
Pride and I exchanged a slow smile, then dropped out of the truck and sprinted in opposite directions. We drew the attacks away from the precious vehicle, running in patterns toward the guards, then cutting inward and attacking them simultaneously.
There were six of them; it made little difference. They died to our blades as swiftly as goats taken to slaughter. We left them where they lay and ran back to the truck as Alia began to drive away, leaping into the back with the barrels.
“We are not safe,” I said in a rushed voice, adrenaline high. “The authorities... those cops will have been alerted, will they not? They will be on their way.”
As if on cue, I heard the familiar whining wail that signified their approach.
“I can take care of that.” Pride flicked blood from her daggers and sheathed one. She gripped the other in both hands. She lifted it high and brought it down hard on the top of a barrel.
Twang!
The dagger pierced the metallic lid, and my spirit vision detected an eerie glow leaking out.
Chapter 14
Pride’s face was a mask of serene focus as she maintained the illusion protecting us, one hand cupped above the glow emanating from the punctured barrel.
“Are you certain?” I asked.
“Yes,” she replied. “They could walk right up to us and not know we are here. This starfire is potent, my lord.”
“Good,” I nodded and pivoted as the truck leaned around a turn, “I will check on Alia.”
“You seem regularly concerned with her wellbeing,” the first of my Viceguard noted.
“And what of it?” I asked. “She is of this world—she is fragile, even if stronger than an ordinary human. Besides, there is much for her to teach us. I would not waste any time.”
“Is that why she sleeps in your bed?” Pride asked lightly.
“She sleeps by my feet,” I corrected, “which is her place. You know you are welcome to share my blankets any time. You always say you prefer your own space.”
She turned her exquisite face away. “I know.”
“Then speak no more on it.” I turned and trudged to the little door separating the cargo area from the truck’s cab. I pulled it open and managed to squeeze my muscular frame through, arriving in the passenger seat next to the vampire, who was hunched forward over the wheel.
“Are you unwell?” I asked.
“It’s just... weird,” she said, jerking the wheel and making a sharp turn. “No one can see me. I have to be three times as careful not to run into anything. And we’ve got a problem. I was listening on a police scanner a minute ago—they’re setting up roadblocks all around the area. We can’t get out fast enough, so we’re going to have to go to ground for a while. I know an abandoned building nearby with a parking lot that should be empty. We’ll go there, and as long as Pride’s illusions hold up, we should be fine waiting until they figure they missed us.”
