The Pilgrims of the Damned: A Vampire Thriller, page 35
Miles followed Church around the perimeter of the house, letting him see the small garden, the basement shutters, and the spotlights over the front and back doors. He wondered if there were alarms on the doors and windows too. Probably a good idea to expect the unexpected.
Miles remained crouched looking at the back door with Church beside him. He needed to get inside. He didn’t want to leave either Thomas or Amelia, nor anyone else for that matter, to the devices of the kinds of people that Liam and Stuart were.
He paused. The werewolves would probably be able to smell him if Church could smell them. He wondered just how good their noses were, and wished he’d taken some of the doc’s grenades from down in the city.
Miles sighed; if they knew he was here, there was nothing he could do about it. He needed to hurry and hope for some luck.
He motioned for Church to stay where she was, and he moved around to the side of the building. There was no obvious entry point there, with the two windows both boarded up, just like every other window on the property. He could pull the boards free, but they would alert anyone inside, and that was the last thing he wanted to do.
He ran to the house wall and, using his talons, scaled the wall as quickly and quietly as possible, landing silently on the roof. Miles walked along the top of the roof to the attic skylight, which was also boarded up, but the lack of proximity to those inside the building meant he could use his telekinesis to slowly prise the nails free of the wooden boards. The glass window beneath it was another matter, and shattering the glass would alert everyone inside. He picked up the four wooden boards and tossed them over the side of the house, using his telekinesis to shatter the glass window the second they hit, catching the shards before they hit the floor of the attic. There was still noise, but he hoped it was muffled by
the sounds of the boards.
Sure enough, he heard footsteps below and the front door slam open. There was no voice, and the door quickly slammed shut again, as Miles placed the broken glass on the floor and removed the telekinetic bubble around them. He crossed the attic floor slowly and remained crouched at the wooden hatch. It was attached to an old ladder, and Miles was pretty sure the second the hatch moved, the ladder would fall down, making a lot of noise.
Miles moved back under the skylight and waited until he heard footsteps coming up the stairs. He leapt up, back out of the skylight, landing softly on the roof, where he jumped off, onto the ground next to the back door. He opened the door and stepped into the empty kitchen, where Liam sat at the table, Amelia beside him. He was in his human form, his hand wrapped around her neck, his eyes the yellow of a werewolf.
“You really want to see her head pop off?” Liam asked.
“She dies, you die harder,” Miles told him. “My advice would be to start running and never stop.”
Liam pointed through the kitchen door beside him. Miles didn’t move.
“You’re going to want to see this,” Liam said. “I’m not going to hurt her, just come look.”
Miles walked toward Liam until he could see through the door. Thomas sat on a sofa with Jenny beside him, a shotgun pointed at the First Authority’s head. A slight smile played on her lips.
“He’ll live,” Miles said.
“It’s an explosive round,” Liam said. “Templar International was working on them. At that distance, it will remove Thomas’s head.”
“So what’s your plan here, Liam?” Miles asked.
“You should have just come to meet our boss,” Liam said. “None of this would have been necessary.”
“First Priest Pedro de Moxica?” Miles asked.
“You know?” Liam asked.
“His name popped up a few times over the last couple of days,” Miles said. “Apparently, he’s big into finding something near Ellsworth. When I found out that the Dusk’s burial ground was around here somewhere, I figured he was involved. Nice to have it confirmed.”
Liam bristled slightly; apparently he hadn’t meant to confirm something Miles hadn’t already known.
Miles smiled, enjoying the mild discomfort on the face of the werewolf. Because when you’re about to be someone’s captive, you get your enjoyment where you can. “What did he want with me?”
“Why don’t we go talk to him and you can see for yourself,” Liam said. “No one has to die here today.”
“A lot of people have already died today,” Miles said.
“No one else, then,” Liam snapped. “We go for a little walk, everyone lives. Thomas will stay here with people I trust, and if you cause any trouble, I’ll have them kill him, and I’ll pop Amelia’s head. Do we understand each other?”
Miles nodded. “Who went up the stairs to check on the attic?”
“You remember Travis, one of Jenny’s friends,” Liam said. “We’ve all been working to get this done for a long time.”
“I don’t get it,” Miles said. “I already know that you’re working with Commander Bailey because he sucks at lying. I know he works for the Magistrate, because he’s a hateful prick. I know that you work for the Magistrate, because I had people look into your time in the CIA, and it popped up more than once. I also know that you’re working to raise a Dusk from their grave. Not sure how those two things can work.”
“Need a cure for Stuart,” Liam said.
“There’s no such thing as a cure,” Miles told him. “The only cure for being a witch is death. He’s a witch. Can’t change that.”
“A Dusk can,” Liam said, letting a little anger out. “The First Priest told us all.”
“First Priest lied to you,” Miles said, feeling no need to say where that information came from. “He just wants to resurrect the Dusk, I assume because he’s insane. Do you know what will happen once Ulfrik wakes up?”
“Not my problem,” Liam said, motioning to the door with his free hand. “Move. And if that dog does anything, I’ll make you watch as I kill her, too.”
Miles kept his anger in check. There would be time for it later. “Where’s Lauren?”
“Safe,” Liam said. “You’ll see her soon enough.”
Miles stared at Liam, and looked over to Amelia. “You okay? Considering.”
Amelia smiled slightly. “Not my best day.”
“You two can chat amongst yourselves later,” Liam said. “Move.”
“Go fuck yourself,” Miles said.
Liam let go of Amelia and pushed the table aside as he stood. He radiated anger and a need for violence. “When this is done, you’ll be dead, and I’ll hunt down everyone you care about,” the werewolf said, his words low and gruff. “And if by some miracle you can keep a civil tongue in your head and you make it out of here alive, I’ll happily make you watch as I kill your dog and hunt down your friends, bringing them back so you can watch as I take my time with them. You should be thanking your lucky stars if you die here, boy. It means you escaped my wrath.”
Miles’s smile was unpleasant and he thought he saw a glimmer of worry in Liam’s expression. “It’s a date,” he said. “Now go take me to your boss, I think the grown-ups need to talk.”
Chapter Thirty-One
Miles was marched along the path toward the large barn he’d seen in the distance. He knew that Church was nearby, just out of sight, watching from the darkness of the woods that surrounded them.
“I can smell your dog,” Liam hissed in Miles’s ear. “You think I should go bring her, make you watch as I—”
Miles stopped walking and turned to face Liam. “Not on your best day could you take Church.”
Liam’s face contorted with anger.
“You let the werewolf control you,” Miles said calmly. “You’re just a ball of rage and hate.”
Liam pushed Miles a little, who took a step back from the force. He looked over at Amelia, who remained on Liam’s side, and back to Liam. “Do you remember when the werewolf started to take control?”
The snarl that left Liam’s lips told Miles that he did.
Miles nodded sadly, turned, and recommenced walking toward the barn.
“Why aren’t you angry?” Liam shouted after him, shoving him in the back when Miles didn’t respond. “Why are you so fucking calm?”
Miles took a deep breath and let it out slowly before turning back to Liam again. “You want me to see your boss, so let’s go. You want to fight, we’ll do that instead. The vampire part of me doesn’t control who I am, Liam. I control it. I don’t think you’d enjoy seeing me lose control.”
Liam stepped up toward Miles.
“You’re like one of those people on a night out,” Miles said softly. “You’ve had too much to drink, maybe a bit too much coke, too. You think you’re invincible, you think you’re the toughest man in the world, and you’re so desperate for a fight that anything you perceive as a slight should be met with brute force. Someone says something innocuous, or they bump into you, and you meet that small act with a completely unnecessary level of violence.
“You ruin lives, you take lives, and all because you need to show the world how tough you are. Because inside you’re a man who never lived up to whatever potential he believed he had. Or a man who thinks the world owes him something. Or someone who just bullies others to make himself feel better. Either way, you offer nothing good to this world. And when you’re gone from it, the only people who mourn you will be those who never really knew you. Because anyone who knows you thinks you’re little more than a piece of shit.”
Liam stood still for a moment as Miles turned and continued on his path.
“Don’t you walk away from me!” Liam shouted, the words coming out a growl. The werewolf inside of him was in control now. Probably had been for a long time.
Miles reached the barn, the main doors of which were wide open, showing a dig site inside. Black stone covered the floor. A dozen desolates stood guard, and moved aside as a man in long red and purple robes strolled toward Miles, who was still ignoring the furious growling from behind him.
“First Priest Pedro de Moxica,” Miles said.
The First Priest clapped his hands together and bowed his head slightly. He was a slender man of about five and a half feet tall, with long dark hair streaked with grey that fell over his shoulders. He had a neatly groomed beard that was more salt than pepper and bright green eyes.
Miles recognised him immediately. “You were with the Pilgrims,” he said, remembering the scene that Dr. Davies had placed in his head. “With First Lord Fuller.”
The First Priest tried and failed to hide his surprise. “How do you know that?” he asked, looking behind Miles at Liam. “Is there a problem?”
“He offended me,” Liam said.
The First Priest shrugged. “So? Go do your job. Leave the girl here with us—I brought her because she is going to tell the world what’s really happening here. About the rebirth of a god. It’s good that she wasn’t killed during her stay here; I do so hate to lose valuable assets. The First Lord sent you here to cover the pilgrimage, but you’re going to get a better story.”
“I didn’t come here for the story,” Amelia said as she stood beside Miles, who watched Liam walk away. “I came to reclaim what is not Stuart’s to own. I’ve come to see justice done for those he murdered.”
The First Priest looked confused for a moment. “Oh, he didn’t tell me that. He stole the grimoire? Is that it?”
Amelia said nothing.
“Oh, you’ll like this next bit, then,” the First Priest said, before looking back at Miles. “You appear to have angered my werewolf.”
“I think he’s your last one,” Miles said. “I don’t think he’s too happy about that.”
“You kill the rest?”
“Some,” Miles said. “I think two of them are in the city that Ulfrik had his thousands of slaves build. Although I’m pretty sure they’ll be dead by now, too.”
The First Priest smiled. “You know about that? Good. It will save us all some time. Oh, I believe you know this lady, too.” He snapped his fingers and Lauren Gibson walked out of the pit.
“Miles,” Lauren said softly, her single word slurred.
Miles looked from Lauren to the First Priest, and desperately wanted to wipe the smile from his face. “If you’ve hurt her,” he said softly. “We will definitely have a problem.”
“She’s not injured,” the First Priest said. “We took her from Augusta. Ulfrik himself brought her there, spoke to her over the weeks and months beforehand, in preparation for her coming here. He told me to retrieve her, that she could help ensure the digging remained on schedule.”
“He’s awake?” Miles asked, thinking back to how the Viking hadn’t wanted Ulfrik to be awakened because Ulfrik was essentially a powerful psychopath. It sounded like the First Priest either didn’t know, or didn’t care. His rush to raise his… god more urgent than his need for that same god to be in peak condition.
“Semiconscious,” the First Priest said. “Have you ever spoken to a god while you slept? It’s quite the experience.”
Miles noticed that Lauren only looked ahead. “You’re controlling her.”
“Ulfrik is,” the First Priest said. “We tried to do it nicely, but she wouldn’t play along. And when Stuart is around, his talisman helps and allows Ulfrik to rest more.”
“You sent him the talisman, yes?” Miles asked.
The First Priest nodded. “Gave it to Liam, told him to give it to Stuart. A chaos witch is hard to find, and I knew he would make a great ally. The talisman amplified his power, and it allows the wearer to control the desolate, even Desolate Royalty to a degree. Although we had to drug her first and bring her back here because we weren’t sure just how much control he would have. Turns out, she’s quite compliant, although we can’t send her off to kill people; her will is quite extraordinary. And in the meantime, it helps keep Stuart alive. It’ll be a shame when Ulfrik takes it back.”
“And Ulfrik was okay with this?” Miles asked.
“Of course. He is uninterested in how he is resurrected, just that he is.”
Miles stared at the First Priest. “I wonder, do you know that he’s going to awaken underpowered? Maybe even vulnerable.”
“Nonsense,” the First Priest snapped.
“Oh, so you do know, you just don’t care,” Miles said. “You just want your daddy back.”
The First Priest looked ready to launch himself at Miles. “Ulfrik will strengthen over time. He is ready to awaken. I have assured him that he will be glorious.”
“I know Ulfrik is weakened,” Miles said with a slight chuckle. “You were there when he first arrived. So, you’re… you’re one of the Dark. You’re literally his child trying to claim his father’s favour from someone else, in this case First Lord Fuller.”
“You know nothing,” the First Priest shouted.
“Where were you when he started murdering all of the vampires he created because he was afraid he couldn’t control them?”
The First Priest reacted as if slapped across the face.
“You know,” Miles continued, “he was murdering your fellow Dark because he couldn’t control them. First Lord Fuller was already out of the country when it happened, I assume you didn’t take part in the attack on the Dusk, otherwise he wouldn’t be happy to talk to you. He certainly wouldn’t be happy to see you. Which means you either heard about it happening later, because how could you not, or you knew it was happening and you ran away.”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” the First Priest repeated dismissively.
“You still letting Stuart think there’s a cure?” Miles asked, needling the man as much as possible.
“He’s a dangerous man,” the First Priest said, rubbing his hands through his hair, seeming to calm himself in the process. “Dangerous men make good short-term allies, but only if you can control them.”
Miles ignored the First Priest and looked to Lauren. “That true?” he asked.
She nodded, her eyes finally focusing on Miles after several seconds. “I have to control the desolate. Keep them calm. I can’t stop.”
“Release her,” Miles said.
“I do that, and the control stops,” the First Priest said. “There are a lot of desolate here. I don’t think anyone wants them to wake up and find out they’re hungry.”
Miles bit back his reply and walked into the barn, the smell of blood causing him to pause for a beat.
“Oh, yes, sorry, I sometimes forget that not everyone is as used to the working conditions as we are,” the First Priest said. “It’ll pass.”
“What did you do with the blood in the mines?” Miles asked.
“What?” the First Priest asked.
“There was a pool of bodies, but you collected the blood, why?”
The First Priest’s smile was unpleasant. “The bodies were to feed the desolate. They do so love flesh, even if it’s not fresh. The blood was to feed those desolate who were cocooned. You know about those, yes?”
Miles nodded. “So, you pumped blood into the cocoons. You’re helping to create more giant desolate. It’s going to take a long time for them to be ready.”
“We have time,” the First Priest said as he motioned toward the pit where a set of steps led down to a large wooden door, which was already open. All four of them descended the steps, with Miles wondering how he could get everyone out in one piece before all hell inevitably broke loose.
“What is this?” Amelia asked.
“Some might call it a burial chamber,” the First Priest said. “But it’s more of a dungeon. We’ve got a few minutes to walk until we reach our destination. The dungeon is safe, Lauren here has made sure any desolate inside are no longer an issue, and we’ve tidied it up, but do be careful where you step.”
Just inside the dungeon entrance were more desolates lined up on either side, all with vacant stares as the First Priest and his “guests” walked by.
As they reached the end, two desolates, who were both huge, took up the front of the group and walked with them along the hallways and through large chambers for several minutes. Miles thought for a moment about killing the First Priest, but the idea of Amelia being caught in the crossfire was an unacceptable outcome, and Thomas being back at the house meant his death was almost assured should anyone outside of the tunnels become aware.
