by Keri Arthur
Meaning there'd been no military installations near it, I suspected. That he hadn't said it suggested there were people with him who hadn’t been fully informed about the situation.
“Have you spotted Penny?” he continued. “Or located the building in which she's being kept?”
“Not exactly.” I hesitated. “There's a large nest of vampires here though.”
He didn't say anything. He didn't need to. Even without the link between us being active, I knew him well enough to know he'd be angry—at himself as much as at the situation. He'd sworn long ago to protect his niece and, like me, he kept on failing.
“I found a couple of places the vampires could be using to access the underground system,” I continued, “but Penny wouldn't be able to use any of them.”
Because unlike either the vampires or even possibly Dream, she couldn't take on a shadow form. But even as that thought crossed my mind, doubt stirred. In truth, we couldn’t be so sure of that now. Not after everything that had been done to her.
“Right,” he said. “Find that access point, but don't go in until we get there.”
“Jonas, they're going to feel the pulse of your blood the minute you enter the system—”
“Yes, but we need to be outside, armed and ready, in case you either find Penny or get caught.”
“Does that mean you have UV lights with you?”
“Indeed we have.” His reply was grim. “I wasn't about to take any chances given it was vampires who snatched her.”
They hadn't snatched her—she'd answered their call and followed them into the park, where she was transferred into an ATV that had subsequently disappeared into one of Carleen's false rifts.
Cat and Bear appeared and spun around, at once excited to be somewhere new and more than a little uneasy about the vampires being so close.
“I'll let you know if we find anything.”
“Are Cat and Bear there?”
“They just arrived.”
“Good.”
The line went dead. I swung around and studied the trees. There had to be another entrance here somewhere—one that I'd missed on the way up—and it would be logical to have it somewhere close to the rift.
Except the track I'd followed up here was little more than a footpath, and if Dream was using the rift to move supplies and even test subjects back and forth, then she needed something wide enough to cater for vehicle use. Even the smallest ATV wouldn’t be able to traverse this one.
I glanced down at the city again and studied the roads, looking for one that might have once swept up this hill. After a moment, I found a likely candidate and moved off the path to follow the edge of the cliff around. Cat and Bear roamed ahead, checking every nook and cranny, even though it was unlikely the entrance into the main nest would be in any way hidden.
The farther along the cliff we got, the worse the stench got, and that at least meant we were heading in the right direction.
There are bones up ahead, Cat said. They are piled up strangely.
Do they resemble a humanoid figure? I asked, remembering the macabre homage to humanity I'd found in the other nest.
One does, Bear said. But others resemble animals.
Probably the ones they fed on—though if there were many animals left in this place after almost a hundred years of vampires hunting them, I'd be very surprised.
The edge of the cliff swept to the left and the remains of a bitumen road appeared. I followed it into the trees and soon came to an intersection of four roads. The road I was on continued ahead, the one to the left disappeared back into the trees and was—if the indentations on the road's surface was anything to go by—the one used by the ATVs. I swung right.
Found the nest entrance, Bear said. It lies near the base of the hill and to the right of the road you're on.
Is it a large sewer entrance?
Big enough to allow ATV entry. Cat paused. There’s one inside but it’s empty. Do you want us to investigate further?
No. Wait for me to get there.
Will do.
The ear-mic buzzed and then Jonas said, “We're ten minutes out.”
I pressed the receiver. “Cat and Bear have found the entrance. I'll send them over to guide you once you arrive.”
“No need—you swallowed a tracker, remember?”
I hadn't remembered, but maybe that was because I was just so used to it being the ghosts and me against the world. It was a rather weird—but also very gratifying—realization that that was no longer the case. Not only would Raela join our little family once all this mess was over, but very possibly Jonas—if things worked out between us.
I rather thought they would. Or at least I hoped they would.
“Right,” I said. “See you soon.”
As I continued down the hill, fat blobs of rain began to splatter around me. I glanced up. While there were still patches of blue, a thick strip of heavy gray hung directly above this section of the city. I was about to get drowned.
I broke into a run in an effort to beat the oncoming storm, but just as I hit the bottom of the hill, the clouds opened up and the rain pelted down. I was soaked through in an instant.
It's dry in the outlet tunnel, Cat said helpfully.
And warm, Bear added.
That’s really not helping right now. My voice was dry and their giggles ran through my mind, bright and happy.
I stepped off the road and followed the sense of their energy through the scrub. Up ahead, visible through the smattering of trees, was another cliff face, though this one was semicircular in shape. Drifts of rubble and dirt appeared, and the nearby trees bore the scars of that long-ago landslip. But there was a clearly defined—and very wide—path weaving its way through it all. I eventually reached the base of that cliff and a clearing that was a sort of forecourt to the sewerage entrance.
There were indeed bones here—mounds and mounds of them. Some had simply been discarded into drifting piles, but most had been used to form effigies of the vampires’ food sources. The one representing humanity stood on the left side of the road in the center of the clearing, and it was definitely the biggest, but on the right side there were numerous other piles that vaguely resembled various animals. There were also bloodied bits of flesh and internal organs in various states of decay scattered around the base of each of these, which were undoubtedly offerings to ensure more success in hunting. I had no idea if those organs were human or animal, just as I had no real idea where this city was in relation to the nearest human population or even Central. But it was possible that—like the nest that lay in the sewerage remains near Central—these vamps were using their sick and dying as an additional protein source. They tended not to be overly fussy about things like that.
The sewer outlet itself was a big, semicircular opening in the middle of the scarred and pitted cliff face. There were remnants of red brick in amongst the cleared pile of rubble on the left edge of it, and a couple of fingers of black metal that might have been the original entrance’s grate to the right.
I continued to follow the well-defined path and did my best to ignore the stench rolling out of the opening ahead. Neither the wind nor the pelting rain did anything to alleviate the almost thick solidity of it, and it was everything I could do to ignore the growing urge to just turn around and run.
It was an urge that rose more from knowing what awaited inside that sewer than the smell.
I stopped just inside the entrance. Water ran from my clothes in a dozen different rivers, but even though I was wet right through, there was no chance of being cold.
Bear was right. This place was warm.
That was extremely unusual for vampire nests, as they tended to prefer a cooler clime. The heat—along with that odd vibration I'd felt near the rift—all but confirmed there was more than just a nest here.
I stripped off and wrung out as much water from my clothes as I could, but getting back into them was damned unpleasant. I shifted from one foot to the other, my i
mpatience growing. Time was something we didn't have a whole lot of right now; if Jonas didn't get here soon, I was going on without him.
Just as well I'm here then, isn't it? His thoughts slipped easily into my mind, his mental tones warm and amused.
I swung around and saw him striding toward me. There were at least a dozen men and women behind him, all of them well armed and bearing heavy backpacks. They were all also wearing wet-weather gear, so they were a whole lot drier than me.
Thanks for the warning, guys, I grumbled to my ghosts.
Sorry, they both said at the same time, we were watching the tunnel, not the clearing.
Which, considering it was the direction any danger would come from, was perfectly reasonable. “There's something other than a nest of vamps in this place,” I said, as Jonas and his people came to a halt.
All of them were regarding the sewer entrance and the smell wafting out of it with varying degrees of horror and distaste—even Jonas, who knew exactly what to expect within the stinking tunnels of this place.
“My guess is it's a generator,” Jonas said.
I frowned. “It would have to be a pretty powerful one if we're feeling it at the top of the hill.”
“Or it’s old and not well maintained. Given whatever complex it's supplying power to is sitting on a vampire nest, I'd imagine getting people out to fix the thing would be rather hard.” He glanced at the woman standing just behind him, and she immediately stepped forward and held out a backpack. He passed it on to me. “It contains grenades, more ammo for your weapons, and a halo light.”
What's a halo light? I asked silently, not wanting to ask the question aloud when it was obviously something I should have known.
A small but extremely powerful UV light disk that clips onto your belt. When activated, it creates a halo of light around your entire body. The rangers have been trialing them for the last couple of weeks.
And just how did you get hold of them? I asked, amused. A little mercenary thievery, perhaps?
We do have to keep up to date with the latest in weaponry, otherwise we'd very easily lose our standing amongst mercenary ranks.
And obviously that would be a bad thing. I hitched the pack over my shoulder then added aloud, “If I find her, I'll contact you.”
He nodded. “Be careful. And keep the ear-mic open when possible so I can hear what is going on.
“When possible” meaning when I was in human form, not vampire.
I nodded and, with Cat and Bear by my side, turned and headed deeper into the sewer drain—though in this section at least, there was very little of the old structure left. The widened walls had been braced with steel and concrete, and the ground underfoot was concrete rather than brick. An open drain ran down the middle, and if the increasing water level was any indication, at least some storm water outlets remained in working order deeper in the mountain.
We reached a semicircular junction. An old ATV and several air transports sat here, but I couldn’t see any security measures. There certainly weren't any guards.
Which was odd. Granted, this place was a vampire den, but there still should have been other protections if Dream had established some sort of center here. Especially given we'd now taken out all three of their laboratories.
I opened the backpack, found a small silver disk that looked like a button more than any sort of light, and clipped it to my belt. After I'd hooked several more ammo clips onto the various hooks on my belt and pants, I swung the backpack on and then walked past the vehicles. There were three tunnels leading off this main area; I paused again, studying them with a frown. The stench coming from the left tunnel was so thick it was almost liquid, and that suggested the den was down there. The middle tunnel seemed to slope upward rather than down, meaning there might be another exit point up that way—perhaps one that was closer to the rift. The tunnel on the right was where the vibrations seemed to be coming from.
It made sense to go that way. No matter how in tune Penny might now be to the vampires, surely she wouldn’t want to be near them on a permanent basis. And given Dream had been so desperate for her retrieval that she risked sending her semi-light-immune vamps into Chaos—and thereby outing their existence—she surely wouldn't tempt fate by keeping a successful but still all too human test subject in such close proximity with them.
I switched over to particle form and moved into the left tunnel. There was no concrete propping up this section of the sewer, and it certainly wasn't wide enough to drive a truck through. Water dripped from the upper sections of the old brick arch and slime hung in drooping ropes of thick green. I avoided both as best I could, but the occasional drop still splashed through my particles, making me shiver even though I shouldn't have felt the cold in this form. But I could feel fear, and there was plenty of that gathering as we moved deeper and deeper into the mountainside.
Somewhere up ahead, a light flickered. It was a pale yellow glow in a world that was otherwise black, and trepidation stirred. It rather looked like flame thanks to the way it was flickering on and off, but no firelight I knew was capable of directing such a powerful beam of light directly upward.
I slowed, and then stopped. I had no immediate sense of vampires, so I shifted back to human form and studied that single, solitary light.
Do you want me to investigate? Bear asked.
I hesitated and then shook my head. I don't like the feel of it.
All the more reason for me to investigate, he said, quite reasonably.
You may be right, but I'd rather you both keep close.
I unhooked a couple of guns and walked on. That flickering light grew closer but no warmer. I reached up and switched the ear-mic on. It was far better to do so now, when I had the time, because Rhea only knew what was about to happen.
But I was pretty sure it wouldn’t be a vampire attack, even if that would undoubtedly happen before we got out of this place.
If we got out of this place.
My footsteps echoed across the heavy darkness, a sound accompanied by the steady drip of water. Several foul droplets hit the back of my neck and dribbled down my spine, but I wasn't entirely sure the shiver that followed was due to their coldness.
As I drew closer to that light, it became obvious there was a small figure standing near it. That figure wasn’t a vampire, but it also wasn’t human. It was someone who—like me—stood somewhere in between.
Penny, the ghosts said, even as the same thought ran through my mind.
I stopped again, but the force of whatever machinery they were running was now so strong that my body shuddered under its force and my feet were slowly being inched forward against my will. The sheer strength of those vibrations was undoubtedly the reason for the flickering light—it was, as I suspected, a flashlight, but it was lashed to the top of a rather unsteady rod of metal.
Penny stood in what looked to be a small sewer junction. There were tunnels to her left and her right, but no indication where either of them led. From the little I could see of it, the left one lacked the grime and the hanging strings of green, which suggested it was used more often. Whether that was by the vampires or someone else, I had no idea.
She was alone in the junction, but there were vampires near. I could smell them. Hear them.
But did Jonas know she was here?
They could communicate telepathically, but I had no true idea just how strong that link was. The last thing we needed right now was him rushing into what could possibly be a trap.
Cat, I said. Can you go back and tell Jonas not to move into this place until I give the word? There's something very wrong with this whole situation.
Done, she said, and zipped away.
And me? Bear asked.
For now, stay with me. I'll need you as backup if this all goes to hell. And it would, of that I had no doubt.
Penny was obviously well aware of my presence, but she didn't say anything. She simply watched me. Though there was little life in her expression, I doubted it was
due to drugs or any other method of control. That same remoteness had been evident in Chaos, before she'd knocked me out and run to the vampires.
I drew in a deep breath and then stepped into the junction. No reaction from her, and no attack from the nearby vampires.
Or anyone—anything—else, for that matter.
But that didn't mean there wouldn't be.
I stopped again. A gentle breeze brushed my face and teased the ends of my hair, its touch cooler—fresher—than anything I'd smelled so far in this wretched place. It also had a slightly metallic and recycled smell—something I was very familiar with given the air in my own bunkers often had that same problem when the purifiers were playing up. Vampires didn't need either ventilation or fresh air, so who else was using this place?
I took another step forward. Neither Penny nor the vampires I couldn’t see moved.
Sweat started trickling down my spine. I wondered what would happen if I simply grabbed her and ran... but even as that thought crossed my mind, she said, “Don't.”
Shock crashed through me, followed swiftly by a deepening feeling of dread. She'd known what I was thinking—but how? Penny wasn’t telepathic—her ability to hear both her uncle’s and Nuri’s thoughts had come from the rift they’d all be caught in.
I took another step and swiped at the sweat dribbling down the side of my face. It wasn’t the heat of this place, because with the breeze washing past my skin, it was quite pleasant—or as pleasant as a sewer filled with vampires was ever likely to get. It was fear. Of the situation, and of what this little girl—who was almost as old as me—might unleash. Not so much on me, but rather the man who would move mountains to protect her—to save her.
“What’s going on, Penny? What are you doing here?”
“You should not have come after me.” Her voice, like her face, held little in the way of emotion. And yet there was an odd sadness in her eyes. “Neither of you should have come after me.”
It was no surprise she knew Jonas was here given their connection, but the question was, did the vamps? The nest as a whole should be well asleep, but the ones in the nearby corridors certainly weren't. I could hear their restlessness; could feel the growing tide of hunger and anger. They wanted to attack. They wanted to rent and tear and feed. Was Penny restraining them? Or was it something—or someone—else?
