I turned towards the shooter. A tall ghoul with red-dot sights. I flung my dagger through the air, planting it square between the ghoul’s eyes. It crumpled.
Chaos. It was our enemy. Their friend.
“Form a wall!” I tried to shout. We had to have order. We had to get organised. But my pleas fell on deaf ears.
Through the smoke, I saw Henri collapse against a desk as a ghoul fell on top of him. The ghoul fell backwards, as Henri fired point-blank with his rifle, just as more ghouls took its place.
I tried to charge through the melee to help him, but more bodies fell in front of me. Blade against fang. Flesh and blood, spraying everywhere.
Images flashed before my mind. The relentlessness of the dead. Of the Battle of Ithalen. A battle I had survived but lost. For no one else had lived to remember it.
I couldn’t let that happen again. I couldn’t!
A renewed vigour filled me, mixing with the panic rising within my heart. I became an animal with blades, launching myself over the bodies, slitting throats and colliding with my foes, shredding them and moving onto the next target.
I found myself near the wall of the Mosh-Pit. Well, where the wall should have been. Treth and I beheaded a bunch of ghouls as they poured out of what looked like an armoured bus, which had barrelled through the wall. I should have suspected this tactic. Necromancers did it with abhorrent all the time.
One would have hoped that the police would have flagged down such a vehicle. But it seemed they were blissfully unaware of our plight.
The room was growing darker. Soon, the ghouls wouldn’t even need the smoke to protect them from the sun. Then, there’d be nothing to stop their tide. Nothing but me…
My coat ignited into an inferno, streaking out from me and setting fire to the ghoul corpses. A wall of fire erupted, pushing away the smoke. Ghouls and humans alike backed away from the onslaught.
I stared at the ghoul ranks. They backed away, their red eyes wavering. They were beasts. Minions of parasites. Less than leeches!
And they came into my home.
“You attack us?!” I yelled, my voice booming with the intensity of a hundred voices, Treth, Gorgo, Arden and many others among them.
The Crusaders were hushed. All except for some of the resident cats, who hissed at the ghouls. Their mouths and paws were covered in red. Seemed they were also Crusaders.
“I am the Last Light. You are the slaves of beasts. Less than animals! And you think you can fight me in my home?”
The ghouls winced. I took another step forward. They backed away in unison. The Crusaders huddled together, forming a line behind me. The wall of fire separated us.
I stepped through the wall, the fire parting as I did so. I let the flames touch my fingertips. They didn’t burn me. In fact, they felt familiar. They had saved me so many times before.
“Hello, Hammond…” I whispered and felt my friend grin from within the Vessel.
“Stay back!” I called to my comrades. “I’ll handle these invaders.”
Before the ghouls could realise what was happening, I fell upon their ranks, rushing between them like a spirit of death. Perhaps, because I was. I was more spirit than woman. An avatar of the void.
Ithalen popped in and out of existence, ensuring there was no delay between blows. Nothing to hamper my assault. Ghoul heads flew, and the ghouls, in their panic, fell on each other, attacking comrades and devouring their flesh. Beasts. Less than beasts. At least zombies never attacked their own.
Ghouls…
I could have laughed. Pathetic.
A hand caught my ankle, and I fell. Ithalen shot out of my hands, dispersing into the In Between. I reached for another weapon. Any weapon. But my arms were caught. Drooling, bloodied ghouls crowded over me, holding me down. My coat flared angrily, but they didn’t care. Bullets flew from my comrades, but there were too many ghouls…
I felt teeth pierce my flesh. My vision faded. Treth screamed in my ears, trying to pull the beasts off me. I felt faint. Dizzy. And oh, so…tired.
And then the wall exploded.
Shrapnel flew overhead, shredding the ghouls above me. I saw light. The reddening, golden light of the twilight. It felt sweet.
Shouts and gunfire erupted from both sides. The ghouls were cut down. And, through all the noise, I heard the voice of my beloved, calling my name.
“Bre…tt…” I wheezed.
And I saw him, standing over me, his face disbelieving and horrified. His pallor turned to red. To a red-hot rage. A ghoul leapt upon him and he caught its neck with his hand, crushing its windpipe as he pummelled it into the ground, again and again. Blood sprayed into a fine mist.
Cindy rushed towards me, calling my name. It sounded distant. She looked into my eyes, and mouthed:
“It’s going to be okay.”
I felt the warmth of her pure magic close my wounds, as I heard Brett scream in rage, beating a ghoul that was long since dead, even as Krieg and Guy tried to drag him away from the blood mulch that remained.
Chapter 13. Leadership
My muscles ached and I was still very tired. I had lost a lot of blood. But, I was alive. I had to remember that I couldn’t die. Was easy to forget, sometimes. Treth didn’t find that joke very fun.
I lay in my office, facing the window, watching as the sun slowly set. What terrors would the vampires wreak on us tonight? I doubted they would give us a reprieve. Not so much as even a breather. Their day attack had failed to kill me, but it had killed so many others.
Albert had disappeared. Conrad and Jane swore they had been watching the only exit. I didn’t blame them. The Mentor had ways of getting in and out unnoticed. I was just surprised he hadn’t left the corpse. Because, once he was done with Albert, there was no need for him anymore. And it would have left a statement.
Another terror.
I wasn’t terrified. I was too tired to be terrified. All I felt was intense sadness. I could still hear Brett’s primal cries in my head. Guy and Krieg had finally used a tranquiliser on him. Cindy said that something had gone wrong in his head. Seeing me like that - it had triggered something.
He wasn’t okay. And I didn’t know if there was anything, I could do for him.
“You’re worried about him,” Treth said, sitting at my desk, shining Ithalen.
“Of course, I am! Stupid question.”
“Wasn’t a question. Was a statement. I know you’re worried about him. And rightly so, but you were the one bleeding out after you fell into the horde like you were some sort of grim reaper.”
He looked up from the blade and looked me in the eyes, his expression grave.
“Do you think you’re a god, Kat? That you can shrug off whatever life throws at you? That you can take the world on your shoulders? The Vessel is not infinite power. It’s a responsibility. You can’t just throw your life away…”
“What else am I supposed to do then?!” I yelled back. “Watch everyone die? I have the capability. I have the power. I can end this! I have to end this.”
“But what if you die, Kat?” he asked, softly, almost a whimper. “What about Brett then? What about me? We need you. And you can’t help us if you’re dead…”
A knock on the door cut off my rebuke. I was thankful for that, as I didn’t know what I was actually going to say.
“Come in!” I called. The door opened, revealing Guy Giles-Mgebe. His face was impassive, even as I could see slick spots on his black tactical armour. The blood hadn’t even had time to dry yet!
“How’s Brett?” I asked.
Guy paused, glancing at my chair, which was currently spinning as Treth spun it side to side. Guy didn’t comment on that. At least he knew I wasn’t mad.
“You should be focusing on your own recovery, Kat.”
I let out a frustrated sigh. “I don’t need you and Treth badgering me. I can handle myself! How is my boyfriend?!”
Guy’s expression didn’t change at my outburst, which gave me pause. I frowned, th
en averted my gaze.
“Sorry…I’m just…”
“Overwhelmed?” he continued. I nodded.
He took a seat opposite Treth, facing me in my bed.
“Brett is in the med-bay. Cindy checked him over. He’s fine. Just sleepy after the tranquiliser.”
My frown deepened. It was going to etch itself into my face at this rate.
“Has…has he ever acted like this before?”
Guy rubbed his chin, leaning forward. If I hadn’t seen the way he acted around Cindy, I would have thought him a robot. But, Guy was anything but. He was just calm. Professional. He had fought many battles, and he had learnt to cope with them.
He was a rock. Unmoving against the tide. Just what the Crusaders needed.
“I’ve known Brett for a long time,” Guy finally replied. “He is my brother. But there are still things I don’t know about him. Things he’s gone through. We all have different ways of tackling trauma. Me and you…we let it ice over. We channel our anger into determination. But Brett - he breathes in the rage. I don’t know if it’s because of the Corps. Krieg seems calmer…”
Guy frowned, subtly, at that. He looked up at me, staring into my eyes.
“I love my brother, Kat. And he loves you. What I know about him is that he has lost a great deal. So much. And that has hurt him, deeply.”
I felt a sting in my heart. The conversation we had had before the battle. What I’d said. What I had argued with Treth about.
It wasn’t just my life to give. I had given it freely to others. Others who cared about me. And that I didn’t want to hurt. Ever.
“I…” I started…
“I’m sorry,” Guy interjected, clenching his fists. His voice was charged. More emotion than I normally saw in him.
“I am sorry,” he repeated. “For bringing the vampires here. For bringing back the trauma in my brother. For letting…all this happen.”
Guy went silent. Treth watched him, his face awash with differing emotions. He saw what I saw.
Guy and I were similar. Taking the world on our shoulders. Blaming evil on ourselves. And, as he said, we channelled our rage into determination. And we became ice.
“Evil will always find an excuse.,” I said to him, quoting Ismail. “You were doing the right thing. I do not know everything there is to know about you, Guy, but I know enough. I know you are the husband of one of my closest friend’s. I know you are loyal and brave. I know you persevere. And that you do the right thing.”
I trusted Brett with my life. I trusted him with my love. But, with all this rage inside him, I didn’t trust him to lead. But Guy…
“I know that if anything was to happen to me, you would need to lead the Crusaders.”
Treth stood up, knocking back the chair. Guy glanced towards the chair moving of its own accord and then looking at me, showing visible shock.
“What?”
I waved away the forthcoming comments and questions.
“Nothing is going to happen to me. But…” I looked down towards my scarred and bandaged arms. “If anything does, I want you to take charge. Cindy will do most of the work. She already does. And Jane and Conrad will keep things running, as always. But the Crusaders need more than administrators. They need a rudder. A leader. Someone to be calm during the storm. I think you’re the only one who can do that.”
Guy opened his mouth to argue, I shushed him.
“No arguments. It’s an order. And besides…” I smiled, weakly. “Nothing is going to happen to me.”
I looked out the window, towards the darkening sky.
“But I can’t say the same for the city…”
I looked at my friend. “What can we do, Guy, against such sheer terror?”
He contemplated the words. And then shook his head.
“I don’t know.”
I nodded. “I know. The problem is…we’re human. And they’re vampires. We’re losing because we can’t think like them. We can’t anticipate their next moves, because we aren’t them.”
In silence, we pondered those words, until the flashing of blue and red lights lit up my window. I heard footsteps rushing towards door. Followed by a dishevelled Jane bursting through, face pale.
“Kat! It’s the police.”
“Finally! Are they here to apologise for letting a marauding army of ghouls get this far into Obs?”
“No…not exactly.”
“Then what is it?”
“They came with a warrant…for your arrest.”
Chapter 14. Mortality
“Are you going to go with them, Kat?” Guy asked, giving no indication of his opinion. Almost expressionless. Almost. He twitched. Slightly. He was still dwelling on what I had said.
“Do I have a choice?” I sighed, pulling myself off the bed. Thank Athena for Cindy’s healing! Treth manifested by me, holding me up. I smiled, faintly, thanking him. He looked close to arguing. He didn’t want me to go.
“There’re a lot of cops,” Jane explained. “And the Crusaders are getting antsy. They’ll kill and die for you…”
“And they mustn’t. I’ll hand myself in.”
I looked between Jane and Guy.
“Jane, act as witness, and make sure the others know. Guy is in charge while I’m gone.”
Jane didn’t act surprised. She nodded, as if it was expected.
Guy opened his mouth, about to argue, but Jane shut the door, silencing him. It was settled.
“We can’t be making new enemies,” I said to Jane, explaining myself as I limped down the hall. Through the open balcony doors, I saw the flashing of the blue and red lights, silhouetting gunmen crouching on the veranda, their guns aimed at the police below.
“I know, Kat. I know.” But her frown said otherwise. I stopped and looked at her.
She was so different from that eager, conniving politician that I had worked with and against so long ago. Now, I wouldn’t hesitate to call her a friend.
“I’ll be okay, Jane. You know I will.”
She bit her lip and nodded.
“And tell the others. I won’t be in long. I’ve been arrested before. And they won’t be able to keep me locked up or hand me over to the vamps. The Spirit of the Law won’t allow it.”
“I’ll be stationing guards around wherever they lock you up, Commander.”
“Don’t piss them off. And don’t worry about me.”
I let Ithalen flash into my hand and then out.
“They can’t disarm me. Ever.”
There was awe in Jane’s eyes. She’d seen it a dozen times. But it never got old. I used to hate that look in people’s eyes. But, I didn’t anymore. Perhaps, because I didn’t think their faith was so misplaced anymore.
Hopefully, they could now put their faith in Guy.
The door to the HQ was open, letting the sirens blare inside. The buses that had been rammed into the building had been cleared. There were a lot of people outside. The white flashing of cameras blended with the blue and red of the police lights.
I had a proper audience.
I stopped on the edge of the HQ, breathed in the night air and smell of petrol, and took a step forward.
“Kat!” I heard a yell behind me.
I turned, as Brett held himself against the doorway of the med-bay. Tears streamed down his face.
“Don’t go, Kat…”
The waver in his voice, the complete, utter sadness…it was almost too much. It almost broke me.
I gave him a weak, reassuring smile.
“I won’t be long. Besides, I haven’t done anything wrong. The Spirit of the Law will protect me.”
Guy caught up to us, putting his hand on Brett’s shoulder. I wanted to go to him. To embrace my beloved. To let him know what he meant to me.
But I didn’t know if I could ever let go if I did that.
I turned away from him, and entered the open street, to be greeted by the roars of a crowd of journalists, protesters, police, and my loyal Crusaders, standing gua
rd by my side.
I had to go. I couldn’t watch my men be slaughtered by the people they were meant to protect.
“Last…Kat Drummond,” a policeman on a loudspeaker yelled, hesitantly. “You are under arrest for crimes against the Council of Hope City, anti-trust violations, murder, conspiracy and tax evasion.”
Only some of those were true!
“Tell your men to stand down or face the consequences.”
The police stood in rows, like old Napoleonic war era riflemen. They held their guns ready, facing off against the Crusaders who held theirs.
We could probably kill them all. Even without Kyong and Hammond. We could probably kill every single one of them. We could then reinforce the HQ. And then be starved off in a siege. All the while vampires destroyed the city. Perhaps, we could flee into the slums? Live like the necromancer gangs. We could do some good there.
But, that was no way to live. And these men and women before us were scared. They had families. They had mothers and fathers, and brothers and sisters. They were people. Just like us.
And I wouldn’t be the reason they died.
“Stand down!” I commanded. Some Crusaders hesitated, but then dropped their weapons.
“Kat!” I heard Brett yell again. I heard scuffling. Guy and Krieg were holding him back.
I felt tears well up. I fought them down. I had to be strong. I had to be the hero this city needed, even if it didn’t deserve me.
I descended the stairs, down into the street. The flashes of the cameras were like gunshots. The police lowered their guns.
The protesters continued to scream.
“Murderer! Thief! Capitalist Pig!”
I wondered how reflective this mob was of my city. Was this truly what they thought of me? Or were these just a loud, angry minority?
Did my city actually want me?
And did that matter?
I held my arms out and brought them to my head. Even my coat was dulled. I hoped they didn’t take it away from me.
The crowd pressed in as I approached, flanking me on either side. At the end of the red carpet, reporters and protesters on either side, was the police captain, cuffs in hand.
Children of Blood (Kat Drummond Book 13) Page 12
