Twice as High, page 14
“Come, we must regroup. To lose Leslie to the others would place the entire Order in danger.” Alistair pressed on the com in his ear. “Meet at Leslie’s.” This was the meeting he didn’t want to have, and the thought of loss punched him in the gut. For so long, he yearned for someone to share his world with, and when she came, he’d not swept her off of her feet. He’d not allowed himself to cherish her.
“Damn it,” he cursed. “Did you say dragons?”
“Yes, two dragons are working together. One has returned as a vampire and the other is communicating through a seer, not as powerful as Leslie, and therefore unable to use the artifacts. That is why they need her.”
“Possessions?” Dragons were almost immortal, and if not killed correctly, and decomposed correctly, their essence could wander to possess from this realm or from another. Only through the power of cremation through either dragon fire or the blessed fire from Asgard, would it allow their smoke to carry them onward to their afterlife. But if they were not burned in a sacred pyre, their essence could be left to wander and to seek out vessels to possess.
“Yes, I couldn’t make heads or tails as to who they were.”
“A female dragon?”
Medusa nodded. “When I was back at Leslie’s apartment, her gran was also there. Maybe she’ll be able to piece this all together. But I must also tell you, Leslie only listened to me because she thought I was Rose.”
“You placed her in this peril?”
“It was the only way to draw them out. I haven’t been with the Order this long without consequence, and that means ensuring that we get the bad guy.” Medusa had been part of the Order since being cast into the labyrinth by Athena.
“How did this change?”
“When I went to take all of the items back, I missed Pandora’s box. They used it on her.”
“What of the relics?” Killian asked.
“Crashing through cement has a way of making it easy to lose a sack of artifacts. They took them all.”
Alistair leaned his nose into the night breeze and allowed the scent of the city to move over him.
“We’re on the move.” Alistair heard Leslie’s voice clearly. The link was back.
Chapter 23
Leslie
When one thinks of the gangs of New York, surely one with fangs wasn’t on the list. Apparently, there was a party all of the vampires wanted to go to. I just needed to bide my time. Claudine was still in Poseidon’s clutches, and I had the tool to save her. Now, I needed a plan to get away from them.
The magical adrenaline left me just as quickly as it began.
We entered the old and abandoned underground tunnels that crisscrossed through the city. Despite what should have been low light, everything was highlighted with technicolor that vibrated.
I must have gaped. “What you’re experiencing now,” Jenny began, “is your echolocation.”
I knew that echolocation was common for bats and even dolphins, but I never thought to include myself in that category.
“It appears that your sire has taught you nothing of your abilities,” Sam cooed.
It seemed there was an echo of that sentiment, and it was getting old. I was tired of hearing it. I had to contain my utter disdain.
Jenny ogled the necklace I’d worn at the studio. “This really should have killed you at the studio, but somehow someone or something made it that you could survive, even a curse of the gods. To be honest, we’ve been trying to find a way to discern your power, your strength. Your usefulness.”
Sam observed me. “The gods infuse their blessed and kindred seers. But you are different, somehow."
At one time, I’d been practically obsessed with Sam. He’d been the Hollywood image that made me pleasantly sigh. He was chic, eloquent, and coming from the world of film and stage, he carried himself with respect and treated everyone with respect around him. In those rag mags, there was no gossip of his bashing his co-stars, those in production, or even his dog walker. He was a gem, a British national treasure.
“That was you in the museum with Professor Mason?” I asked.
“No, child, I do not need to toss magic about, but we have our ways.”
“It was your cat that kept you safe.” Jenny interjected. “Freyja’s cats always have a way of mucking things up.”
Despite Sam’s cooler-than-cool demeanor, why was he giving me the creeps?
He inhaled deeply, and I could have sworn he sniffed my hair.
“You stink like him.”
Uh-oh, tension filled the space.
Alistair? I hope you can hear me. We’re on the move.
“When my fledgling arrived,” Sam said, “I ensured that he was apprised of his skills. Even now, he’s been stalking us, and you’ve not picked up on his being there.”
The air around me quickly shifted, as if someone sped by me. Magic usually smelled of cotton candy: sweet, indulgent. But this new air was not so.
“You should have spent time studying the runes to understand your strengths and weaknesses. The otherworldly can be drawn into this realm. This world will soon be ours.”
“Don’t you know the story, Leslie?” Jenny asked.
“Of course.” I thumbed back to all that I knew and could recall about the runes. “Odin sacrificed himself on Yggdrasil, the world tree, for knowledge.”
“Oh, how trite.” Jenny chuckled.
“Not quite.” Sam interjected. “In near-death, Odin shared this great secret with us throughout the planes, drawing from the primordial plane, and even more so the knowledge to describe the chaotic magic. As vampires created from his lineage, that chaotic magic therefore belongs to you.”
I considered his words. There was so much I didn’t know, but to think I was walking chaos didn’t sit well with me.
“So, I’m black magic?”
“Chaos does not mean evil, just as the Order does not mean good. They are two forces that hold the worlds together and enact change. Would you regard change as bad?”
I considered this.
Change was truly neutral. It depended on what that change led to, which energy it was infused with. As long as creation existed, it continued to change, never to remain stagnate.
“And you’ve taught your fledgling all of this?”
“He is still learning, but he is mine to teach, to love, to show the beauty of what all of creation at our feet will mean.” As if summoned, the air again shifted around me and a dark figure emerged from the shadows, well enough for my eyes to take him in: ancient in appearance, still dressed in garments that he must have worn to the grave. Tattered, unkempt, and his eyes burned a bright ruby-red.
“Why are his eyes red?”
One of Sam’s men tossed Tauris a change of clothes that I’d not thought to ask who they previously belonged to. Now dressed in an impeccable suit and a trench coat, he fit, except for the long, sword at his side.
“That is the look of hunger, the look when bloodlust is all-consuming, and nothing more will do than to have it gush into his mouth for him to drink of its lusciousness. Don’t you miss the taste of human blood, Leslie?”
“I wouldn’t know. I don’t drink from humans.”
“Your sire has forbidden you your right. But tonight, you will learn what it means to be the vampire, almost like a queen in this mighty city.”
We strutted through the rat-infested tunnels to exit in the Meat Packing District.
Still, I heard nothing from Alistair. There was no guarantee he would come in time. It seemed like I would have to solve this problem on my own.
Most people knew that area from all of those mafia movies, but currently, it had more to do with art than anything overtly illegal (and of course, packing actual meat). Apparently, it also had something to do with the supernatural. Hmm, who knew?
After ten minutes of silence, we stopped in front of a massive warehouse. “Remember, you must let your vampire nature guide you,” Jenny admonished.
“I don’t have a vampire nature.”
She pulled the door open and ushered me through. “Well, I suggest you find it and quickly.”
“And what exactly am I going to do?” I whispered.
Opening the door, I expected to be greeted with loud music—the typical rave music that made me remember what it was like to be twenty and have no inhibitions, but instead, the smooth rhythms of a live jazz bar serenaded us.
“Stake your claim,” Jenny commanded. “No pun intended.”
“Come again?” Was this part of the initiation? I wished I’d watched more vampire movies, then I’d know what to expect.
“You will have to walk in there and make them leave you alone. You have all of their strengths, Leslie.”
“I’m not doing any such thing.”
“Should you not act, then the humans out here will perish.”
I looked up and down the pedestrian-filled street. All of those innocent people meandering around had no clue about the dangers in which they were now in. I glanced down at my ring and tried to call for Gran, but when I did, she didn’t come. I called again with my mind as I let my gaze wander, but nothing. She couldn’t hear me. Maybe the magic from the box nullified the magic in Gran’s ring. I guessed I was on my own until that magic was fully out of my system. Sigh.
“Why don’t you go in there and do something about it?” Sam asked. “Tauris here is quite hungry. You get to determine where we shall snack.”
I stared at Tauris, taking in the flashes of menacing red energy that shimmered around him.
“I shall be there to help, but you must drink with us, the proverbial breaking of bread,” Tauris said.
“I don’t eat from humans,” I said through clenched teeth.
Jenny placed her hands on my shoulders. “There is a time and place for everything, and this is it, where you show us how invested you are in our goals.”
The necklace tightened around my neck.
I tried to shake it off. That little voice in my head that blared “warning, warning.” “I guess this is where vampires come to eat?”
Tauris stepped forward, nodded, and whispered, “We eat, but don’t kill them.” That made me calm down some. One wanted to eat his feelings without bringing death, and the other threatened to annihilate the entire city in a bloodbath. Oh, my. What had I gotten myself involved in?
Tauris and I entered the warehouse. The bass reverberated through the floor, and the singer’s vibrato shook the walls.
The nightclub was called Crudités, with the neon symbol of the inverted Thurisaz. Instead of the typical DJ on an elevated stage, mixing electronic beats with the throng of bodies while strobe lights flashed, the place was swanky, while eloquent college students, movers and shakers, and those under thirty mingled, dressed in snazzy cocktail attire.
“We don’t believe in fast food.” He winked at me and turned at the sound of his name.
In the mass of people, I didn’t know where it came from until I saw a man approaching. Clean-shaven, slicked-back black hair, tailored suit that fit his tall and lean body perfectly, he’d been handsome before, and the vampirism just highlighted what nature had already created. Tauris wasn’t one filled with words, but this new vampire surely was.
“Tauris, welcome back, brother. I see you’ve brought a guest.” He turned to me and stretched out his hand. “I’m Duke.”
He flashed me a million-dollar smile, and I frowned. I wasn’t up to being glamoured by more vampire shenanigans. Instead, I intended to see what this place offered that Jenny insisted I taste the bounty of.
“Oh, a cautious one? But you need not be,” Duke explained. “As a new member of our tribe, let me introduce you to its delicacies.”
The bar, although with that 1920s flair that Gran would have loved, had been updated. While some seemed to be chatting at the bar, other men and women lounged in expensive-looking chairs, while blood was siphoned in clear tubing from their arms.
“That is the thing about this place. You have a taste for something—maybe a taste of fine whiskey that you might never be able to tolerate. Here, your meal marinates, the alcohol enters their system, and then, they are ordered by the vampires at the tables. The blood is quickly purified of any nasty viruses that might hurt us or any other guests, as the goal is to keep them coming back for more.”
“And what about the vamp fans?” I asked. “Do they agree with just leaving their blood?”
“They are paid handsomely and safe here. Now, if they leave the establishment with the vampire, that, of course, is not our responsibility.”
There was a warning in those words. Surely, a vampire may have gotten too handsy, but from all that, I saw it appeared orderly, too clean. This was a place for the wealthy vampire, those who’d been around for a while, but what about those who couldn’t afford such a service?
“And the not so rich?” I waved around. “Surely, all of this cost a pretty penny, and someone must be picking up the tab.”
Tauris looked around, practically bored, I surmised, and this Duke guy didn’t seem to have a ready answer. This was not a place where low-on-the-totem-pole vamps went to get their daily meal. Were they left to their own devices?
“Unfortunately, we only cater to a certain clientele. There are enough businesses out there to suit all tastes and needs.”
Filled with chagrin, I wanted to stake him. I wanted to stake all of them just because of how they’d allowed this new power to make them like gods and completely crap on those beneath them. They’d rise socially, economically, after living for ages, but what about the new ones still struggling?
“Before you become indignant, please know that there are certain funds and organizations. Those who are under the Order’s protection also are under the Order’s funding. Only the rogue ones need to worry about payment.”
Uh-oh, I’d been taken to an Order’s joint?
Again, the hairs on my neck rose, and I saw it all happen in slow motion.
Tauris threw off his jacket, and in less than a heartbeat, he unsheathed his sword and swung it, aiming for Duke’s head.
I screamed in panic. Duke’s blood splashed across my face. The band stopped playing, people ran for the doors, but they must have been locked behind us.
In a fury, on fast-forward, he slaughtered all of those under house protection, and I did nothing to stop him. Blood from the humans and vampires pooled and seeped into the nice white cushions, the real wood floors, and onto the priceless artwork that hung on the designer walls.
Tauris pulled up a woman by her blonde extensions and tossed her at my feet.
“Why am I here?”
Tauris leveled his steely gaze at me. “They think they need you. Now eat.” He raised his sword, a weapon I’d seen do so much damage.
The screams and pleas for help mixed with my own trepidation.
“Don’t, don’t,” the woman begged, her nice silver-and-turquoise sleeveless dress evidence of the night’s massacre.
I took a step back. “I won’t do this.”
Tauris ran the woman through and closed the space between us. There was no magic that I could draw on. Nothing that I could do that might help me survive this.
Just as Tauris raised his blade as if to swing it, the wall next to us collapsed, and in a dragon fury and rage, crashed Alistair.
Chapter 24
Leslie
Climbing on top of Alistair's back, situated between two bony plates, I held on tightly, and he burst through the rubble, out of the building. Once again, on the street, he took flight.
Ripples of elation rolled over me and the necklace Jenny had placed on my neck fell to my lap. I shoved it down my bra. “I’m happy to see you.”
Having him here with me, the connection again in place, I inhaled deeply.
I’d only assumed that he was a water dragon, therefore unable to fly—sort of like a penguin—but he proved me wrong. In my mind, it was like a crow. We didn’t take off at a run, but instead, his wings twisted and flapped, creating what I’d never thought about: thrust.
Maybe he was more like the flying fish.
But maybe my limited belief was what had my intellect in a bind. Despite all I’d seen, I still couldn’t grasp that magic didn’t always work along with human understanding.
I tightened my hold on to Alistair. In those moments of panic, it was good to know he was there when I needed him.
Looking over my shoulder, I saw Sam Dolomite’s enraged face. Almost transfixed, I watched him throw his head back, and an elongated snout formed. Suddenly, large black wings sprouted from his back until he resembled more of a mighty fallen angel. Sam, athletic in build, his figure grew thicker, bulkier. His clothes ripped, shredded as his dragon form broke through.
Unlike Alistair, who’d somehow always been able to transform with clothing, Sam didn’t seem to care about the outward dressing.
He’d transformed into a massive dragon, one that reminded me of all the high fantasy movies I’d watched over the years.
Finally, it clicked. It would take more for me to make this right than to pass on this trident to Poseidon. It wasn’t only about him, or even the gods, but about saving all of us from this latest threat. Their plan wasn’t to do the Order or us any good.
I’d been cursing this status of supernatural, not understanding that meant as a curse would not save us all.
Onlookers “oohed” and “aahed,” pointing at us. Horns honked, some even screamed and jumped out of their vehicles to get a better look while we gathered height.
“He’s catching up to us.”
“Use the trident,” Alistair suggested.
“What?”
“Use the trident,” he said again.
The satchel contained the retractable trident and the firestone.
Let’s be honest here, I wasn’t sure if Poseidon's razor-sharp-edged trident operated with a fingerprint scan, and I could only hope that I could use it without hurting myself. It was like having Japanese kitchen knives ready to impale me at any moment. There was no on or off switch. Did I just point it and say something in fish language or ancient Greek? Did it matter that there was nothing godly about me?
