Loyalty Oath

by Edmund Hughes

  “It’s alright,” said Mezolak. “I understand how you must be feeling, mortal. It was quite an unfortunate ending for Brian, but I assure you, it was not an undeserved one.”

  Mezolak moved as he spoke, opening the warehouse again and dragging Brian’s body out of view. The blood was still obvious on the concrete, but it was hard to draw much in the way of conclusions about what might have transpired from just that.

  “Would you like to know how he came to be in my service, Jack?” asked Mezolak.

  Jack didn’t say anything.

  “Brian was a committed member of his local church and a dabbler in the occult,” said Mezolak. “He also had… certain attractions. Mostly to children, which he used his magic and the occasional potion to take advantage of. The police found out, at least in part. He was in a bind.”

  Mezolak set a hand on Jack’s shoulder. He immediately shrugged it off.

  “It just so happens that Brian worked at a funeral home,” continued Mezolak. “He was ideally suited for the purpose I had in mind, so I helped him out. Called in a favor. Had a few associates eliminate the cops on his case.”

  “Why are you telling me this?” asked Jack.

  “So you’ll know,” said Mezolak.

  CHAPTER 4

  “Now, where were we?” asked Mezolak. “Ah, yes. I believe you were expressing moral outrage at the idea of turning those empty bodies into ghouls, were you not?”

  They were back in Mezolak’s SUV, headed into the city. Jack couldn’t get the expression he’d seen on Brian’s face off his mind, despite what Mezolak had told him about his past. He wasn’t interested in having a conversation with the demon.

  “Ghouls are clumsy and basic,” said Mezolak. “Inelegant. Unsuited for my purposes. True necromancy, the kind which brought you back to life once, is incredibly inefficient. So, in order to take advantage of the resources Brian has provided for us, we need something special. You, mortal, are the one who helped point me in the direction of it.”

  Jack furrowed his brow.

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” he asked.

  “Zedekiah’s Scepter,” said Mezolak. “I’ve done some research of my own on the weapon since you first mentioned it to me. It’s exactly what we need.”

  It took all of the willpower Jack had to maintain his poker face at the mention of the artifact. Zedekiah’s Scepter was an ancient enchanted weapon capable of stealing the supernatural essence from people. Permanently. He’d seen it in action and knew that it was the real deal. Mira had been essentially cured of her vampirism in the aftermath of a single strike.

  In the first few days after entering Mezolak’s service, Jack had told him about the weapon. Mezolak had been questioning him about any secrets he might have that could aid his nebulous cause.

  Mentioning Zedekiah’s Scepter had served a specific purpose. If Jack could get his hands on it, he could use it to not only free himself of his vampiric curse but quite likely also break the bonds that connected him to Mezolak.

  “How does Zedekiah’s Scepter relate to those bodies?” asked Jack. He kept his tone level, shifting the edge of his eagerness to sound more like annoyance.

  “It’s a weapon that steals the Potential from mortals, along with a sliver of their life essence, to use as its own,” said Mezolak. “Trapped within it are the imprints of thousands, perhaps tens of thousands of supernatural entities.

  “With a little modification, I can force the artifact to regurgitate those imprints. Each one of those bodies you saw in refrigeration will become an incarnate, a reanimated fiend with supernatural abilities. Smarter and more powerful than any ghoul, and most importantly, loyal to our cause.”

  “That’s insane,” said Jack. “No. I’ll have no part in this.”

  He let outrage bleed into his voice. It wouldn’t seem convincing if he went along with Mezolak’s plan straight away. He needed to act like himself. Unwilling, and aware of the potential ramifications of his actions.

  “You’ll do it,” said Mezolak. “We’ll be leaving to recover the artifact tomorrow morning. It’s in South America. Guyana, to be specific.”

  Jack said nothing.

  “Do I need to command you to have your obedience in this?” asked Mezolak.

  He stayed silent for a while longer, trying to play up his reluctance and anger.

  “Fine.”

  “Good,” said Mezolak. “Be ready. You won’t have much time to sleep. The plane leaves early.”

  They arrived back outside the hotel. Mezolak said nothing to Jack as he climbed out of the SUV and shut the door. He took the elevator up to the penthouse, sat down on his expensive couch, and poured himself a drink.

  For the first time in months, he could see a way out.

  ***

  Jack slept fitfully that night. His dreams were plagued by images of Brian’s face, along with an echo of the soul-searing pain that had forced him to commit the act. He was sweating when he finally woke up. More importantly, someone was opening the door to his room.

  The sun had not yet risen, but Jack’s night vision was good enough for him to make out a woman’s silhouette in the dim light. He started to sit up in bed, but the woman bounded forward before he could, striding across his room with loping steps before leaping onto him.

  She landed with her legs straddling him and with both hands pressing down on his chest. Jack let out a grunt in confusion and started to cast a spell. Before he could, however, the girl leaned her head forward and licked his face.

  “No smell…” she whispered in a singsong voice. “But you taste normal. A little salty.”

  “What the hell?”

  The girl laughed. Jack tried to push her off him, but her lips were suddenly against his. She gave him a strange kiss, heavy with exploratory tongue, then returned to licking him.

  The light flicked on, and Mezolak stepped into the room after the girl. Jack glared at both of them, trying to preserve as much of his modesty as he could with the sheets.

  “Haven’t you ever heard of knocking?” he snapped.

  “I told you the plane leaves early,” said Mezolak. “And I thought some introductions were in order. Jack, meet Reese.”

  Jack scowled at the girl, seeing her in the light for the first time. She had short hair, almost a pixie cut, and it was glossy and bright white in color. About average height, but with a build that somehow managed to be both slim and busty, with a significant amount of lean muscle. She was wearing a white and blue sundress, with fabric thin enough to showcase the impression of her nipples and the lack of a bra underneath.

  But the most striking detail of all lay in her face. She had cat eyes, and her golden-yellow irises were dotted with vertically-slitted pupils. Her ears had a slight but distinct point to them and seemed to sit a little higher up on her head than what was normal.

  On top of the other obvious clues, she was literally purring while simultaneously undulating back and forth on top of his crotch. It was early enough in the morning for Jack to be more sensitive than normal to that kind of movement, and he felt an immediate, unwanted rush of blood to his nether regions.

  “Do we have time to play?” asked the girl. The question was directed at Mezolak, but she didn’t glance away from Jack as she spoke.

  “No, Reese,” said Mezolak. “Enough nonsense. We need to move immediately if the two of you are to act on my information while it’s still good.”

  “Do you mind explaining just who this girl is and how she’s relevant?” asked Jack. “I’m not really getting what the point of you bringing her is.”

  “She’s your new thrall,” said Mezolak. “You’ll have to be quick about feeding off her, since we are in a bit of a rush. But she’s yours for the taking, mortal. It should make things a fair amount easier for you.”

  Reese had leaned forward and begun kissing him again. Jack had to admit that he didn’t find her body against his to be entirely unpleasant, though the idea of enthralling her made him grit his teeth.
>
  “Are you going to bite me?” asked Reese. “Maybe I’ll bite you, too.”

  “You should get off me,” said Jack.

  He started to shift her to the side. Reese hissed at him and swung her arm in a blur of movement. Jack let out a small grunt of pain as he felt her fingernails slash four parallel cuts into his cheek.

  “Hey!” he snapped.

  Reese laughed and jumped onto him again, trying to wrestle for control and digging her surprisingly sharp fingernails into his bare shoulders and back. Jack cried out as he felt her gouging into his skin and lost his patience.

  He seized her by the shoulders, flipped her underneath him, and sank his fangs into her neck. Reese made a whining noise that turned into more of a pleasured moan as Jack started to drink her blood. She tasted like sweet lavender, and her hips moved against his in a way that would have been impossible for him to ignore had the two of them been alone.

  He didn’t like enthralling her, but he didn’t see any other option. For starters, Mezolak would probably just command him to do it if he refused. Secondly, he would need to feed on their journey, and he doubted that he could manage to dose Reese with the anti-enthrallment potion on a regular basis without being caught.

  Most importantly, it made sense to have her obeying his commands if he was planning on keeping Zedekiah’s Scepter for himself. Not only would it give him a potential ally if it came down to a direct fight, but if he did manage to get the artifact, there was a good chance that it could break his enthrallment over her anyway, given the way it seemed to work as a supernatural leech.

  “Mmmm…” purred Reese. “I wonder how I taste?”

  She kissed him before he could say anything, before he could even lick the remnants of her blood from his lips. Jack felt her tongue probing into his mouth again, and he couldn’t decide whether he felt turned on or disgusted.

  “Get dressed,” said Mezolak. “You won’t need to pack much beyond a few changes of clothes. I’ve arranged for a car to be waiting at the airport with everything else the two of you will need.”

  “You aren’t coming with us?” asked Jack.

  Mezolak shook his head. “I’m afraid my attention is required elsewhere, mortal. But the trip will be good for you. It will give you a chance to bond with your thrall.”

  From the way Reese was still kissing his neck and moving against him, Jack got the feeling that she’d be more than willing to do some “bonding.” He pushed her back, and she took the hint, though her lips turned down into a girlish pout.

  Jack waited until Mezolak and Reese had left his room before climbing out of bed, not wanting to reveal how much her teasing had excited him. He pulled on jeans and a t-shirt, packed a few sets of clothing into his backpack, and headed down to meet them in the lobby.

  CHAPTER 5

  “Zedekiah’s Scepter is currently in the possession of a man named Pierce Wrangler,” said Mezolak as he drove them toward the airport. “My sources tell me that he’s taken up semi-permanent residence in South America, in a small farming village in Guyana known as Kamarang. You and Reese will go there, kill him, and return with the artifact.”

  “Sounds simple enough.” Jack was sitting in the front seat, and he glanced over his shoulder at Reese. “Can she handle herself in a fight?”

  “I’m right here,” said Reese, in a purring voice. “And I’m a great hunter. So are my cats.”

  Jack raised an eyebrow, but neither Reese nor Mezolak provided further elaboration.

  “Come straight back once you have Zedekiah’s Scepter,” said Mezolak. “We’re working on a restricted timetable. The Order of Chaldea has begun poking their nose into my business, and I have no interest in sparring with them without a decisive advantage at my back.”

  “The Order’s involved?” said Jack. “Should I expect company?”

  “Not just yet,” said Mezolak. “The Order and I have had an arrangement for quite some time. I’ve presented myself to them in a way that placates their expectations, but they have finally taken notice. We will have to deal with them sooner rather than later.”

  Jack wasn’t sure how he felt about that. He’d never really been on good terms with the Order of Chaldea, but he wasn’t interested in making them into an enemy. Especially now that Katie was a member. The idea of seeing her again made his heart beat a little faster, even if they’d be on opposing sides of a hypothetical fight.

  Mezolak drove them out of the city and through the western outskirts. He brought them to a small private airport with several large storage buildings nearby that Jack hadn’t known existed. Their plane was already waiting for them, by the looks of it, and there were no employees or security to get in their way as Mezolak brought the car through the main gate and onto the tarmac.

  “Get me that artifact,” Mezolak said, addressing them both. Jack nodded slowly, grabbed his bag, and climbed out of the vehicle.

  Reese walked alongside him over to the plane they’d be taking, which reminded Jack of the tiny aircraft he’d originally flown on to return to Lestaron Island once upon a time. The pilot stood outside the main passenger door, smoking a cigarette and looking visibly unnerved.

  “Ready to go?” asked Jack.

  The pilot gave him a strange look. “I’m ready. Just know that the door to the cockpit will be locked for the entire flight. I’m not putting any of my flight attendants in danger, so don’t expect drinks or meals, either.”

  Jack frowned and shook his head a little.

  “What the hell is that supposed to mean?” he asked.

  The pilot just shook his head and waved him off. He figured it wasn’t something worth picking a fight over, so he followed after Reese up the stairs and into the fuselage.

  What he saw as he made his way inside was explanation enough. Five large cats with paws big enough to swat skulls were already on board the plane, and they watched him with eyes that managed to seem sufficiently threatening without doing anything special.

  There were two panthers, larger than average. Two mountain lions, similarly oversized. One orange-striped tiger, so massive that there was no chance in hell that it wasn’t supernatural in origin.

  “Holy shit…” muttered Jack.

  “They’re nice,” said Reese. “At least, when I’m in a good mood, they’re nice.”

  She flashed a wicked smile at him and let out a tiny, squeaking laugh. She’d chosen a seat on the left-hand aisle, and with her cats around her, there was basically no room for anyone else to sit down on that side of the plane. Jack took a seat on the other side, putting a little distance between himself and the merry band of cats.

  “What are you, anyway?” he asked. “Some kind of cat whisperer?”

  “I’m a werecat,” said Reese. One of the mountain lions was attempting to climb into her lap and curl, despite being about the same size that she was.

  “A werecat?” asked Jack. “So you can turn into a cat?”

  “That’s right,” said Reese.

  “Are your cats also werecats, or…?”

  “No,” said Reese. “They’re just big.”

  She brought one of her hands to her face and started licking her palm. Most of the big cats had found spots to stretch out on the plane, and all of them but the tiger began to let out low, rumbling purrs.

  They took off down the runway after a few more minutes, and they were on their way. Jack was all right with having his row to himself, and he got as comfortable as he could in the presence of five of humanity’s ancient animal enemies.

  A werecat. The sundress, with nothing underneath it, made a lot more sense to him now. If Reese ever needed to transform unexpectedly, she could just toss the dress aside and not have to worry about ripping out of her clothes. Though, that was assuming the magic that let her transform didn’t take objects in contact with her along for the ride, like his Shadow Form did.

  He tried not to let the mental image of Reese tossing off her sundress excite him too much as he leaned back in his chair. He cl
osed his eyes and eventually managed to catch up on some of the sleep that had been stolen from him that morning.

  ***

  It was only a seven-hour flight, which was bearable enough. Jack slept through most of it, only waking as the plane touched down. Guyana was a beautiful country, thick with deep green jungles and pressed up against the coast of the South Atlantic Ocean.

  The airport they arrived at was much like the one they’d left from: small and private. Only the runway was paved, with everything else nearby being packed dirt. The pilot came around to open their door but then backed off, giving them an understandably wide berth. Jack acted the part of the gentleman, letting Reese and her cats depart first. It wasn’t because he was scared of turning his back on the creatures or anything. Of course not.

  “Mezolak said he left a car for us,” said Jack. “Any idea where it is?”

  “There,” said Reese.

  She pointed at a vehicle sitting alone in the airport’s parking lot. Calling the vehicle a car was a little like calling one of Reese’s cats a cute little kitten. It was a Hummer with a number of choice, off-road upgrades. It had massive tires that looked like they could drive up cliffs. The back had been converted into a truck bed, which answered the question of how they would transport Reese’s cats along with them.

  Reese pulled the keys out of her bag and dangled them in front of Jack.

  “Awesome,” he said. “I’ll drive. Can you navigate?”

  “I can,” purred Reese.

  They loaded into the Hummer. The weight of the cats caused the frame to sag slightly, but not enough to be worrying. The driver’s seat felt like a miniature command center. Jack rolled down both windows and adjusted the mirrors, marveling at how high off the ground the massive tires put them.

  “Kamarang will take us about a day’s worth of traveling to reach,” said Reese. “It’s very remote.”

  It was mid-afternoon, and they still had a few hours of sunlight left. They’d have to make camp at some point, but Jack had already spotted a bundled-up tent and travel rations in the back.