Storm Surge
Michael F. Haspil
I. THE WEALTHIEST ZIP CODE IN THE U.S.
Tuesday, August 10th, 6:30 A.M.
South Floridians had to worry about two things in August, hurricanes and vampires. Everyone knew vampires were real, but few could acknowledge they were a threat. The Lightbearer Society’s multi-billion-dollar propaganda machine had made sure of it long before they revealed themselves. Vampires were everywhere, from children’s programming and breakfast cereals, to love interests in romance novels, to protagonists in action films—seldom portrayed as the monsters many of them were. Anyone who didn’t adhere to the Lightbearer’s depiction of them was a “conspiracy theorist.” In turn, conspiracy nuts called it predictive programming and they weren’t wrong.
Alex Romer’s stomach lurched in the bucking police helicopter as sheets of rain smashed against the canopy. The feeling reminded him of headier days millennia ago, sliding through the upper Nile’s cataracts, when he was pharaoh, and his land was Kemet. Both experiences shared the feeling where an instant was all that lay between survival and oblivion, like other helicopters in other rainstorms during sketchy half-planned ops over Laos and Nam almost sixty years ago.
Alex had been hunting vampires for a little longer than that. Most recently for the NSA, hunting down the worst of the monsters for a government program called UMBRA. Now that vampires were in the open, he worked Nocturn Affairs for the Miami-Dade Police Department.
The pilot white-knuckled the helo into a dive until Fisher Island’s lights swung into view. The helo straightened out of the dive, lined up with a lighted helipad, and landed gently.
Alex exited in a hunched run. An officer waved a flashlight and guided him toward a large mansion.
He counted five strategically positioned vampires wearing black figure-hugging overalls and strange closed-faced helmets as he ran. It made sense. The Lightbearers owned the mansion. They’d made a public show to volunteer the place as a refuge to the wife and fourteen-year-old daughter of a local man killed a few days ago in a vampire attack.
They’d been a bit too Johnny-on-the-spot with their help. Vampires attacked saps—regular humans—every day. So what made this one different?
Alex had sources of his own, which was why he was here.
He crossed the space into the mansion’s foyer under the gaze of more private security, humans this time. They looked less exotic than their vampiric counterparts, all business suits distorted with telltale bulges under their jackets. They didn’t sport the extreme headgear, but they didn’t have to worry about the sun.
Lieutenant Molina came forward to greet him. “Romer, you’re out here early. Thought you were gonna catch the ferry.”
“Trying to beat the weather. How are the principals?” Alex answered.
“Settled in the back. Kid won’t talk to anyone. She’s kind of on the spectrum. Her mom is having a time of it.”
Alex looked past Molina toward the back of the mansion. “Word is she saw her dad get shredded by a vamp…by a nocturn.” Alex corrected himself. “That’d mess anyone up. But we have to move her and her mom. Now.”
Molina courteously ignored Alex’s faux pas. The polite word was nocturn now; vampire carried too much baggage. “What’s the hurry?”
“We have reliable and actionable intel they were going for the girl.”
“Okay, why the girl?”
Alex lowered his voice. “Ever hear of something called the Sayta Door?”
A lithe and rangy female vampire crossed into the foyer from outside, in a gliding fashion just odd enough to unsettle anyone. She tore the helmet off, revealing a supermodel face wreathed by blonde hair. All vampires skewed toward being ultra-attractive; for them it was a survival trait. They’d evolved to be seductive.
“It’s pronounced Sæta Dauðr,” she said, an indeterminate European accent tripping off her tongue. “Dagny Iversen, special security for the Lightbearer Society.” She held out a gloved hand.
Alex didn’t take it.
She withdrew her hand and pushed past the awkward silence. “Your intelligence is superb. You must know why we moved so quickly.”
Molina asked before Alex could. “I’m lost. What the hell are you talking about? And why the girl?”
“We don’t know,” Dagny said.
“That’s bullshit,” Alex deadpanned.
“Detective.” Dagny’s tone was one of reproach. “Your attitude is unhelpful.”
Dagny turned her attention to Molina. “The Sæta Dauðr is a death bringer, a nocturn assassin. A legend. That young girl is as good as dead without our help.”
“Any time a hitman has a nickname, that’s not good. But if it’s the girl, he missed his target and killed her father,” Molina said.
Alex stared directly at Dagny. “You have to start thinking like a vampire, Molina. They like to toy with their prey. Keeps things interesting.”
Dagny pursed her lips. “There’s no need to be rude, Detective.”
Alex turned from Dagny; anything she said would be a distortion of the truth. “Molina, get them ready to move.”
Dagny looked surprised. “Detective, you don’t know what you’re up against. We have optimum security here. We—”
Alex interrupted. “If you’re serious about keeping the girl and her mother safe, and I doubt very much that you are. Offense intended. They are in rather good hands.”
Molina broke in. “I’m assuming you’ve got authority to move them, Romer?”
“Yeah.” Alex produced a written order and handed it to Molina. “You can clear it through with Captain Roberts if you want to double-check. He’ll approve any OT for your people too. We need to keep this place locked down to make it look like they might still be here. I’m sure Iversen here would agree.”
Molina nodded to a uniformed officer and the man stepped into the back of the mansion, presumably to retrieve the girl and her mother.
Alex added as an afterthought, “But don’t clear it through with the chief’s office.” He gave Dagny a sidelong glance. “They’re…uh…compromised.”
“Where are you moving them?” Dagny asked.
“Come on. Really?” Alex brushed her off. “Need to know.”
“I am part of their protection detail.” Dagny said. “I’ll need to clear it with my people, which may take some time.”
“Take all the time you need,” Alex said. “Helo leaves in ten. With them on it. As far as your part of the protection detail…that’s a little too ‘fox guarding the henhouse’ for me. Consider yourself relieved.”
Alex turned to Molina. “I’ll be out front.”
Dagny called out to him as he walked out, “Detective. Remember. If you are wrong—and you are wrong—it is likely to be the girl’s funeral as well as yours.”
Alex could usually tell if he was dealing with a Youngblood, an Oldblood, or an Ancient. Youngbloods still acted mostly human. Oldbloods had maybe a few centuries behind them. They were more practical, even if they were more difficult to deal with. They had more to lose.
Dagny Iversen felt like an Ancient, vampires with several centuries and even millennia of history.
There weren’t supposed to be many of them left.
II. TOLLWAY TO NORIEGA’S PLACE
7:15 A.M.
The helicopter managed the short hop from Fisher Island to Alice Wainwright Park on the mainland before the storm truly hit. An unmarked police SUV awaited them. Katya Martel, another Nocturn Affairs officer, had successfully redeployed the convoy they would take to the safehouse.
Alex led Mrs. Johnson and Gabrielle to the SUV and got in. “Mrs. Johnson, if you want to sit up front, there’s more legroom,” Alex said.
“You can call me Latonya. I’m good back here.”
“I’m Alex.”
He pulled the SUV out into traffic and headed south. He glanced at Gabrielle through the rearview mirror. The girl already slept.
He turned his attention to Latonya. “If you want to catch a few z’s, we’ve got at least an hour down to Homestead.”
Latonya nodded. “She just crashes whenever we get moving. She has a really hard time sleeping otherwise. Night terrors. Khofi drives her…” Latonya stifled a sob. “Khofi drove her around the city until she fell asleep.”
Alex stole a glance at the sleeping girl in the mirror. The way her braids hung in front of her forehead, the shape of her lips…it was uncanny. Suddenly, it wasn’t Gabrielle sleeping there. It was his own daughter from another lifetime, Reonet. And just as suddenly they weren’t in the SUV anymore.
Reonet lay on the ground, a spear lodged in her side and too much blood pumped from the wound. He clutched at her legs—at the palace floor’s gritty sandstone—screaming, as his bodyguard pulled him away. Khuenre, his eldest son, lay ruined and mutilated next to his sister, their blood mingling together in death. Khamerernebty shrieked in anguish and horror and Rekhetre joined her. If only he had died instead.
Alex tore his eyes from the girl’s reflection. He squeezed them shut for a moment and wanted to shout the memory out of his head. He opened his eyes just in time, hit the brakes a little too hard, but avoided hitting the car in front of him.
“Are you okay, Detective?” Latonya asked.
“Yeah.” He shook his head as if he could somehow shake the memory free.
“You want to talk about whatever’s bothering you? I’m a counselor. This may seem weird, but I think I need to listen to someone else’s problems right now.”
Alex reached for the amulet around his neck. Rekhetre had fashioned it for Reonet when she was about the same age as Gabrielle. Alex had taken it back from the British Museum nearly a hundred and fifty years ago.
“Your daughter reminds me of my daughter. She died.”
9:10 A.M.
The contractor gate guard at Homestead Air Reserve Base glanced at their credentials then waved the convoy through.
“How’s that going to stop a bad guy from killing us?” Latonya asked.
“It’s only one layer. You’d rather trust your safety to vampires?” Alex sensed Latonya’s tension. “This is a lot better than the Lightbearer’s place.”
“If one bad apple spoiled the crate, I couldn’t trust anyone. Not vampires. Not cops. You all seem callous and fake, like we’re going to die either way and this just gets the public off your back. Why should I trust you?”
“Maybe you shouldn’t. You don’t know anything about me. For all you know, I’m only different because of this badge.”
The convoy blew through several intersections flanked by immaculately manicured lawns. Say what you wanted about the Air Force, their groundskeeping was second to none.
“The lady from the Lightbearers told me it would take a nocturn to stop a nocturn. They want to stop attacks on people as much as you do.”
Alex sighed. “The Lightbearers aren’t good people, vampires or not. They have their own agendas. They don’t act in good faith.”
Latonya didn’t look convinced.
Alex continued, “I’m sure Dagny Iversen is very capable at what she does. They’ll know where we’ve moved you soon enough if they don’t know already—”
“Then why move us?”
Alex finished his thought: “…if the Lightbearer’s intentions are legit. Then they’ll offer to help. If not…”
Latonya’s voice came out as a hoarse whisper and she subconsciously pulled Gabrielle closer into her. “You’re going to use us as bait.”
“No. It’s not like that,” Alex said, but he sounded unconvincing to his own ears. The absolutely wretched truth was that it was exactly like that. They were worse than bait, they were targets. If the vampire assassin was as good as the Lightbearers said he was, he was going to keep coming for them until he succeeded or until someone stopped him.
Alex might stop him if it happened on his watch.
Latonya looked out the window. Gabrielle slept so peacefully, it looked like the first good rest she’d gotten in days, or even weeks.
Alex changed the subject. “Anyway, you asked why we moved you. I’ll give you the straight deal. Folks in city hall didn’t want you there. Too many powerful people on Fisher Island. Too many eyes if something goes wrong. Too much prospect of collateral damage. That’s not pretty, but that’s the truth.”
Latonya glared at him. But at least she listened.
“So what’s the upside?” Alex said. “Well, for starters, I’ve personally vetted everyone with us.”
At the next intersection, the convoy of unmarked vehicles turned onto a stretch of road less maintained than the rest of the base.
The rain turned to a light drizzle.
Alex continued, “The place we’re going is still pretty posh and way more secure. You’re probably too young to remember Noriega, huh?”
Latonya shook her head.
“Dictator of Panama. The cover story laid out that he dealt with some bad actors. Drug cartels, narco-terrorists…” Alex left out all the supernatural stuff the world still didn’t know about.
“So, we went down there and got him. Bunch of people died. Whole world got pissed at the US. We put him on trial for numerous crimes. It looked great on TV. Except, that was Lamont Estevez, an actor. You want to hear something funny? He had a sitcom a couple of years back, no one put two and two together. Anyway, the real Noriega had too much dirt and information. Too valuable to put in prison. So the government built him this pretty swank gilded cage to keep him cooperative.”
They drove through a section of the base strewn with signs of abandonment. Side streets led off to nonexistent destinations. Cul-de-sacs turned in upon themselves, no longer serving a purpose. Roads going nowhere. Neighborhoods with no homes.
A few abandoned buildings were open to nature and overgrown. Some were still boarded up. One large brick-faced building fared better than the others. The red spray-painted words on the boards still legible, “Andrew, Go Away!”
They turned onto a gravel maintenance road. A huge ranch-style mansion with exteriors in stucco and a Spanish-tile terracotta roof came into view. A lawn so glorious French kings would have been jealous extended all the way to an inner and outer pair of formidable chain-link & razor wire fences surrounding the house. Guard towers rose from the corners. From the fence, gravel stretched for a hundred yards. There was no cover on the approach. It was a killing field.
Alex resumed his tour guide monologue. “It’s no surprise this house survived hurricane Andrew. There are bank vaults built less soundly. When I told you we’d keep you safe, I meant it. Aside from Space Mountain at Disney, this is the safest place in all of Florida.”
“You’re joking about Disney.”
“Maybe.” That cleared away some of the frost and won Alex a small smile from Latonya. He wasn’t joking about Disney.
The convoy parked. Several plainclothes police stood with M4 carbines at the ready, others performed maintenance on the tower spotlights.
“Sorry, but we walk from here.” Alex stepped out of the SUV and opened the back door.
Gabby crawled out of the SUV, stretched, and took a deep breath. “I like it here, Mom. It’s quiet.”
Katya called over from her car. “Hey, come get your stuff. I’m not hauling it for you.” Katya Martel was an UMBRA alumnus who had also crossed over into law enforcement after the NSA disbanded the program.
Alex sighed. He’d get his principals settled and then he could move the supplies in. Re’s golden disk peaked from behind dissipating clouds. It would do well to recharge.
Gabrielle surprised him. “Hey. Can I have my phone back?” The police had taken it when they’d placed her in protective custody. It sat in an RFID-shielded bag in the glove compartment.
“No, I’m sorry, hon. Not yet. Bad people would be able to trace your phone.”
Gabrielle turned to her mother. “Does he think I’m a little kid or something?”
Latonya gave Alex a sympathetic glance. “He’s trying, Gabby.”
Gabrielle held her palm out to him. “Cancelled. Till I get my phone, you’re dead to me.” She headed off toward the house on her own.
She reminded him so much of Reonet. Different language, different eon, but same attitude. And she wasn’t wrong.
He was dead to her. And everyone else.
III. SPIRIT WORLD REVELATION
2:30 P.M.
Latonya and Gabrielle settled into the bunker living quarters below the house. True to her word, Gabrielle ignored Alex. Every time he tried to engage her, she just asked for her phone. People dealt with grief in their own way, and she seemed fine.
Until she wasn’t.
They were in the upstairs screening room when Gabrielle’s eyes flitted around her in complete panic.
She shrieked at Alex, “I’m not playing! Give me my phone now.”
She lashed out at him, punching and kicking.
Latonya pulled her away and held her in a tight hug. “She’s having an episode.”
The girl covered her ears, writhed away from her mother, and curled up in the fetal position on the couch. Like she expected a flurry of blows and couldn’t do anything about it.
Alex reached out to her. “What can I do?”
Gabrielle came up for air and screamed, “Give me my phone!” She curled back up into her shielded position.
“Please,” Latonya said, “you’re just making it worse.”
Alex nodded and left to go be useful.
That had been almost five hours ago.
He’d emptied the SUV and Katya’s car of equipment “appropriated” from UMBRA. A lot of it was illegal to own, let alone use, even for law enforcement. Some of it was simply rare and getting harder to replace as the years moved on. His personal khopesh was one of a kind.
He’d inspected the perimeter. Every other spotlight had been replaced with ultraviolet bulbs. Sunlight and ultraviolet radiation affected each vampire differently. None of them would die from it, but every advantage helped.
Alex readied the compound’s concert-venue-quality sound system, again, courtesy of ensuring Noriega would cooperate. It would be put to great use against creatures with sensitive hearing; fully operational and paired with the UV, it was the equivalent of an ongoing flashbang.
The vegetation on the northwest corner of the compound had grown a little thick. It gave him an idea.
He could take a metaphysical tour of the compound. Whenever he astral projected, it took a lot out of him. But Re still shone down and would recharge his lost energy.
He pulled the necklace holding Rekhetre’s amulet over his head and let the chain coil in his hand before carefully placing it in his lap. The air hummed with an edginess as if filled with static electricity. He began to mentally prepare himself for whatever lay on the other side.
The world always looked different on the astral plane. There, he could perceive lay lines and other energy conduits, gaps in space-time, psychic vortices, and souls. Humans appeared as a soft orange-yellow glow. Vampires appeared as tears in the fabric of reality. Then there might be the spirits of those who had died, but not yet crossed over. Their blue-white presences indicated tortured, often confused souls who hadn’t made peace with their passing and so could not move on. Normally rare, Alex had noticed a correlation between their increased numbers and the vampires.
With a force of will he separated his ka, his essence, his soul from his body. He was Menkaure, the Great Bull of Horus, in his true form once again, unshackled by the undead flesh he needed to influence the physical world.
Something was wrong.
Energy crawled across his being in tiny pinpricks. A loud susurration overwhelmed the song of the world, which always hummed in the background.
He opened his astral eyes.
Thousands of blue-white spirits crawled over the compound.
Hundreds of thousands.
They shrieked and shouted but were muted to him and he could only see them as outlines with rudimentary features. Their screams of anguish came to him as mere whispers, but there were so many.
They rolled over him in waves, ignoring him while heading to another destination. He was just in the way. He traced their path and perceived a dazzling golden beacon competing with the radiance of Re himself.
Menkaure had never seen anything so beautiful. The spirit-souls mobbed it, suffocating the light of the beacon in their eagerness to grow closer to it.
Then Menkaure realized the direction of the beacon. He sent forth an ethereal wind and pushed the spirit-souls from his path. At the speed of thought, he moved within the compound’s mansion, which appeared constructed from fog and mist.
He darted to the source of the beacon, and his heart leapt and fell nearly simultaneously.
There, looking much as she did in the physical world, lay Gabrielle. Dozens of spirits assaulted her. But any injury they caused was accidental, done in their zeal to command her attention.
One spirit seemed to battle the others. It pushed and strained and tried to hold hundreds back. For every half dozen it managed to turn away, a score more would take their place and then the originals would return. There was only one person that could be.
Khofi?
Here, thoughts carried weight. The spirit turned in reaction.
Then Gabrielle sat up and looked straight at him. You can see them? Are you dead too?
IV. THE KEMET CONNECTION
Alex’s ka flew across the compound and slammed back into his body. He snatched Rekhetre’s amulet, bound to his feet, and sprinted to his SUV. He retrieved the RFID bag with Gabrielle’s phone in it, then raced back to the house.
He found Latonya sitting on the couch next to her daughter, who was just as he’d last seen her, sitting up and staring around her. When her eyes fell on him, she looked puzzled.
“I just saw you. How?” Gabrielle asked.
Alex took her phone out of the RFID envelope. “Here, I didn’t understand.” He handed the phone to Gabrielle, who immediately turned it on.
“And now you do?” Latonya asked.
“They weren’t using the phones to trace your daughter,” Alex said.
The girl sat back on the couch and pressed the earbuds into her ears.
Alex stepped back toward her. “May I see your phone? Promise I’ll give it right back.”
Gabrielle handed over her phone hesitantly. Alex took it and flipped it around in his hands. “What’s MyNoise?”
Gabrielle shouted; she must have had the volume cranked. “It’s just a noise generator. Then I can’t hear them as loud.”
Latonya grew concerned. “Hear who, honey?”
“The voices.”
Alex handed the phone back to the teenager, then reached out with Rekhetre’s amulet. “Here. Put this on.”
The girl took the amulet and looked it over as it hung from the chain. The gold-flecked faience caught the sunbeams and projected sparkles which hung in the air against the blue-green scarab amulet.
Alex had never seen it do that in all the years he’d had it. The girl slipped it on, and it rested in contrasting radiance against her dark skin.
The amulet didn’t belong to him anymore.
Gabrielle changed, as if a cloud had moved away from the sun. A dazzling smile broke across her features. “They’re gone.”
She leapt off the couch and threw her arms around Alex and hung from his neck in thanks.
Tears pooled in his eyes and ran down his face. “Reonet.”
“Gabby,” Gabrielle said. Sadness returned to her voice. “Oh, but Dad’s gone too.”
Alex put her down.
Latonya gave her a puzzled and terrified look. “Your father?”
“Yes,” Gabby answered. “Dad’s been here trying to help. But now he’s gone.” Her hands flew to the amulet. “Is it because of this?”
“Yes,” Alex said, “but don’t take it off. Your dad will be back. But we have to talk.”
Gabby took out her earbuds.
Latonya had overcome her initial shock, and anger tinged her voice now. “What is going on? You owe me some explanations.”
Alex moved to the doorway and shut the door. “The good news is that Gabby isn’t…troubled or anything. And we have a solution. The bad news is that Gabby does have a condition—an exceedingly rare and incredible one. With the proper training, she can be devastating to the vampire’s cause. That’s why they’re after her.”
“She is not a weapon. She is my child. Not yours. And—”
“I know.” Alex sat down on the floor across from the couch and looked at his watch. He took a deep breath. “You can’t tell anyone what I’m about to tell you. I have my secrets and would like to keep them. The reason I know what Gabby is going through, is that my own daughter, Reonet, went through much of the same.”
Gabby toyed with the amulet on its chain, admiring the scarab and the inscriptions written on the underside. “That’s a pretty name.”
“It means ‘Gift of Re.’”
“Who’s Re?” Gabby asked.
“You see him as the sun. That’s just one manifestation.”
“Oh, you mean Ra! I learned about all the Egyptian gods. He was in Stargate too,” Gabby said.
“Ra or Re. The neteru go by many names.” Alex smiled.
“You said she died,” Latonya said irritably.
“She did. Rekhetre, my true wife, was a powerful sorceress. She made that amulet for Reonet, but she never got to try it.”
Latonya interrupted. “What would your wife think of giving up that amulet to a stranger?”
“Rekhetre long ago crossed over into Duat, the afterlife.”
“I am truly sorry so many of your loved ones are gone from your life, but it also scares the hell out of me. If you want to protect Gabby, then protect her. But she’s not your daughter, and she never will be. Stop telling stories and tell me who you really are.”
Alex sighed. “It was a long time ago. So long ago, the pyramids of Giza hadn’t been fully built yet. Depending on which calendar you use…it was about forty-five hundred years ago. My real name is Menkaure. I used to be king of Upper and Lower Egypt.”
Latonya stiffened. “So you’re a vampire. But the sun—”
Alex dismissed her concerns with a wave of his hand. “No. No. Nothing like that.”
“Then how?”
“You’re a mummy!” Gabby almost leapt from the couch in her excitement. “Awesome.”
“Oh, I’m awesome now?” Alex said.
“Well, you’re not an idiot cop anymore. That’s just your disguise. Mummy is way cooler than cop. Mummy is a whole mood.”
“I guess? Mummy, though. People always think of wrappings and stories always make me out to be a bad guy,” Alex said.
“Enough! I still don’t know what the hell is going on,” Latonya said.
“Long story short. Gabby is a conduit between the lands of the living and the dead. She can communicate with spirits.”
“You can too. I saw you. You were very bright,” Gabby said.
“I can’t, Gabby. I can see them, and they can see me, and I can convince them to move out of my way and do some other tricks, but nothing like you. I can barely hear them.”
“They’re always screaming and shouting and scratching at me,” Gabby said.
Latonya looked horrified. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I did. And you took me to the counselors, and they wanted to put me on the pills that made everything worse.”
“Oh, baby, I’m so sorry.” Latonya’s tears streamed down her face. She turned to Alex. “But it will be okay now, right?”
“No.” Alex put up his hands in defense. “I can show her what I know. I figured things out on my own through trial and error. I can show you some things to help you tame those spirits. Keep in mind, they’re not bad people. A lot of them are hurting and they’re all terrified. They are drawn to you because you are so bright in the ether. Those spirits feel like they are drowning, and you can save them. They are lost and confused and react out of instinct. So they might be scary, but they don’t mean you any harm.”
Gabby nodded.
“The bad news is that the old vampires, the ones we call Ancients—they can perceive the astral plane too. I’m not exactly sure how. There aren’t a lot of them around. But all it takes is one and they can find you. Let’s move out by the pool where I can get more sunlight. And if your mom says it’s okay, then we can start.”
Latonya scowled at Alex but gave a reluctant nod.
“You’re going to have to take off the amulet. Are you okay with that?” Alex asked.
Gabby looked frightened. “I guess so. Will you be there?”
“I’ll be right there. And your mom will be there too. We won’t let anything happen to you.”
* * *
Under Latonya’s skeptical eye, they began.
“I’ll be right on the other side waiting for you,” Alex said.
He slipped his ka out of his body. A static charge itched and moved over his soul. The spirits were all around him, though he couldn’t perceive them yet. As if his “eyes” hadn’t yet adjusted to the astral light. They made a shifting sotto voce scream multiplied by a hundred thousand voices. Slowly, he began to perceive them. An enormous mob of blue spirits surged his way. He held out one hand and pushed them back.
A blinding force manifested itself at his side. Warmth and Love and Purity. Gabby. She’d removed the amulet. Menkaure turned his attention to her. It would be easy to become enraptured with that light. To become lost in its splendor.
THEY ARE SO LOUD. I AM SCARED. Gabby’s being boomed through his.
The spirits surged anew. Menkaure created a current in the ether, a power they would have to “swim” against and pushed them back.
I’m right here. Remember, they don’t mean to hurt you. If it gets to be too much, remember the amulet. Now, I want you to try something. Focus on your core and then imagine there is a powerful wind coming from you and moving outwards. It will create an ethereal—
A shockwave of power radiated from Gabby outwards and threw Menkaure backward. Thankfully, it wasn’t painful, but it was an irresistible force. Instead of walking into the wind, which is the best he could muster, this was like he was walking into a category five hurricane with a truck pulling him from behind. The blue spirits were blown clear until he couldn’t see them anymore.
He willed himself back to Gabby with the speed of thought. That was incredible. A little less forceful next time.
I DIDN’T MEAN TO DO THAT. DID I HURT THEM? IS MY DAD GONE?
They’ll be back, including your dad. They can only move as fast as they think they can. So it might be a while. That’s why they didn’t bother you when you were moving. They couldn’t catch up to you
WILL YOU SHOW ME HOW TO MOVE LIKE YOU DO?
Maybe eventually. I’m not sure what would happen if you tried full astral projection. But there are other things I can show you.
Hours passed in the physical world. Alex broke several times to recharge, and the sun grew lower in the sky each time. Gabby strolled around the edge of pool, simultaneously experiencing the physical and astral world. Alex explained to Latonya what was happening.
Gabby’s face grew dark.
“Alex, they are coming back. And faster this time,” she said.
“I’ll be right there.” Alex sat and let his ka reenter the spirit realm.
He only perceived Gabby. Then, gradually, at the limits of his perception, a wave of blue spirits.
THEY ARE LOUD AGAIN. IT’S DIFFERENT THIS TIME. WHAT ARE THOSE?
I can’t hear them. I don’t know what you see. Describe it to me.
THERE ARE THREE RED COLUMNS. TORNADOES OF BLOOD. SOME OF THE SPIRITS ARE SURROUNDING ONE OF THEM. IT IS MOVING THIS WAY.
Menkaure saw none of that. The spirits swarmed around him and Gabby. They faced away as if creating a protective crowd.
YOU’RE TOO LOUD! I CAN’T UNDERSTAND YOU. DAD, GET THEM TO BE QUIET! I WILL SEND ALL OF YOU AWAY AGAIN! Gabby screamed into the ether.
The crowd of spirits calmed immediately. Awe and admiration suffused Menkaure’s being. She could communicate directly with them. He’d never seen anything like it.
She turned her full attention on Menkaure. Lances of emotion surged within him.
SOMETHING BAD IS COMING. TIMELESS EVIL. WE HAVE TO GO. EVERYONE HERE IS GOING TO DIE.
Alex snapped his ka back into the body. Timeless evil? An Ancient vampire? He glanced at his watch. He had about a half hour of sunlight left to charge what he could. He may have underestimated what they were up against. One capable vampire maybe accompanied by a Youngblood strike team is what he’d expected. He would have handled the assassin while his task force dealt with the others. Not easy, but he’d done it before. Now, hearing this new warning about timeless evil and tornadoes of blood, he wasn’t sure exactly what he was up against.
He had to evacuate the compound. He began to make a mental list of how he’d adjust his preparations.
Gabby interrupted his thoughts. “Should I put the amulet back on? Whatever it is, it’s coming.”
“That’s up to you, Gabby. It already knows where you are. I’d like you and your mother to head down into the bunker and seal it up. See if there is any way the spirits can help you stay safe.”
“What are you going to do?” Latonya said.
“I have to get everyone out of here,” Alex said. “If there is an Ancient leading an Oldblood strike team, humans don’t stand a chance. Things are going to get unbelievably bad here. No need for more deaths than are needed.”
“I see where we stand. So you’re going to just sacrifice us? And—”
“No. Those cops out there will lay down their lives to protect you and Gabby. But they don’t need to. They’re outmatched. I’m not.”
“You’re arrogant. If the amulet hides Gabby, why not have her put it on and evacuate us? We could be long gone before they ever got here,” Latonya said.
“Yeah,” Alex agreed. “This time. But what about the next time, or the time after that? You want to live your lives in fear? Head on a swivel? Ready to run at every bump in the night? Here. We’re ready. This is ground of our choosing. Here we end it, and they stop hunting you.”
“You really think you can handle whatever is coming?”
“Not a problem.” It was, in fact, a pretty damn big problem.
Gabby saw through his bravado. “You don’t sound sure.”
“I’m sure.”
He lied.
V. SURVIVAL ODDS OF A PLAN
07:45 P.M.
Alex briefed Katya and tried to call for some ex-UMBRA backup. It was already too late. Their adversaries were more powerful and organized than he’d expected. Landlines were turning up busy and jammers ensured there’d be no communications leaving the compound.
Katya convinced the others that they were moving Latonya and Gabby because the location had been compromised. Once clear of the jamming, she’d send help from Nocturn Affairs and any UMBRA alumni who could make it down.
In the meantime, Alex moved Latonya and Gabby into the bunker. As disconcerting as it was, Gabby carried on whole conversations with spirits they couldn’t see. Now they were her allies and not her tormentors.
The bunker door slid closed, and Alex secured the door lock code, setting it so it could only be opened from the inside. He placed an M4 and sidearm by the door, intended as last-stand weapons. If he ever fell back to this position, things would have really gone sideways. Better safe than sorry.
He grabbed a duffel full of kit and headed out to prep the compound his way. Things would be a bit different now that he’d be defending the place on his own.
The sun was no longer visible. The last rays turned the sky a rosy pink. They were in a new moon cycle, so there’d be no illumination from there.
Halfway across the killing field he set up the most expensive claymore mines in the world. These were loaded with silver balls. Though a regular claymore probably would make short work of some Youngbloods, the silver made sure. He worked feverishly, trying to beat out the dying light, and aware that he was probably under observation.
A lone car drove up to the compound and parked.
Alex drew his sidearm and approached. As soon as the passengers disembarked, he re-holstered and relaxed. It was two of the team who had left shortly before, Sergeant Alonna Washington from SPD and Sergeant Hector Reyes from the Special Response Team.
“What the hell are you doing?” Alex asked. Despite his best effort, annoyance crept into his tone.
“Something is happening over at Base Ops,” Alonna said. “Some kind of rocket attack against some aircraft or a hangar or something. They’ve locked the whole place down. Threatcon delta. No one in or out. Martel and the primaries made it out.”
Reyes completed her thought. “We figured we’d come back here and help you hold down in case anyone shows.”
No one else was coming. And these two were likely to get killed for their goodwill.
Alex muttered under his breath, “Well, Murphy, you old bastard. I was wondering when you’d show up. All right. Let’s get inside. I have bad news and worse news.”
Alex carried the bags of illicit equipment into the dining room.
“So here’s the worst news first. We’re not the diversion. Katya Martel was the diversion.” Alex emptied the contents of the bags onto the oak dining table.
Alonna looked shocked. “So then the primaries—”
“Are here. Not too late to leave if you want. But the window is closing. Rapidly.”
Hector nodded. “Okay. We’ll hang until the relief gets here…” He trailed off as he began to grasp the situation.
“If they can make it on base,” Alonna said.
“If there is any relief coming,” Alex added.
“Who else is here?” Hector asked.
“Me, y’all, the girl and her mom.”
“Capital F,” Hector said.
Alex laughed. “Really?”
“Hey, I’m trying to give up swearing,” Hector said.
“You can still—” Alex started.
Alonna interrupted him, “We’re staying. So we’re wasting time now.”
Alex nodded. “First things first, look through those duffels, you’re gonna find body armor. Better than the vests you’re wearing. It’s Dragonskin. Might not be ideal, but the vampires won’t shoot at you too much. Helps to stop body attacks and they come with gorgets; make sure you put those on.”
Alex moved to a set of short-barreled rifles. “These are MCX Rattlers, courtesy of our friends at Sig. Same manual of arms as an AR but chambered in three hundred blackout. Gives you a bit more oomph, but they will get snappy on you. These rounds are tipped with silver in a mercury suspension. Any luck and even a scratch might send a vampire into anaphylaxis. Don’t count on it. These rounds are a little old. I’m sure they’ll go ‘bang.’ But no telling if the bullet will be effective. I’ve got some STI 2011 pistols, mags loaded with the same stuff. Help yourselves.”
Hector picked up what looked like a ruggedized brass knuckle off the table.
“Knuckle-dusters?”
Alex met his eyes. “Yeah. Each of you grab a pair. You’re gonna want to grab one of those machetes too. If the vampires make it in close. Look, I’m not gonna lie, if they’re Youngbloods, you might stand a chance…”
“But they’re not gonna be Youngbloods, are they?” Alonna asked.
“Not likely. So if they make it in close, it’s probably your ass. In case it’s not, punch them with these. That top bar is locked in with a pressure-activated explosive. One use only. You punch, these do the rest. But lock your wrist or it’ll shatter.”
Alonna picked up a pair of the knuckles. “That sounds fun.”
“Last resort. Anyway see those EpiPen-looking things. We call that Triple-S. Last resort. Jam into your neck or thigh and for about fifteen to twenty minutes, you’ll turn into a god. Or your heart will explode. Or it will turn you into a god and your heart will explode. Your mileage may vary. In any case if you use it, after those fifteen minutes or so, you’re gonna take a nap. No negotiations on that front. It will stress your body the hell out.”
“And these?” Alonna held up some earbuds.
“Oh.” Alex smiled. “I like these. Short-range encrypted comms. Also dampens any sound over eighty-two dB, amplifies lower sounds. But here’s where these surpass other earpro. I designed this part myself. They can null out certain other sounds. Your average vampire can hear a human pulse at over a hundred yards away. I have a playlist set up to come through Noriega’s favorite speakers. These earbuds are already slaved to the head unit and will cancel out the music. All we’ll hear whatever sound comes through the earpro normally. The vampires might get their eardrums ruptured. Hope they like reggaeton, dubstep, and metal.”
“Okay. Nocturn Affairs has some neat toys. This might be a fair fight after all,” Alonna said.
“Maybe.” Alex picked up an M1A marksman rifle and headed for the door. They were all probably going to die because he’d been arrogant.
“Where are you going?” Hector asked.
“Y’all get kitted out and set up. This”—Alex indicated the inside of the compound—“is Helm’s Deep, only Gandalf isn’t coming. We hold to the last. I’m headed out, but I might be coming back in a hurry.”
“Ambush, huh?” Alonna said.
“Figure they won’t see it coming, and a three-oh-eight to the dome is bound to ruin anyone’s day. Vampire or not.”
VI. BATTLE WITHOUT HONOR OR HUMANITY
Wednesday, August 11th, 3:15 A.M.
Alex rested prone, rifle at the ready, in the underbrush on the north side of the compound. He had good line of sight to the south and more importantly covering the northwest’s thickest vegetation.
He’d stopped breathing hours ago and his heart lay still. This state gave him the advantage of matching the ambient temperature perfectly. That took a huge advantage away from his enemies.
Maybe they weren’t coming. Maybe he’d given them too much credit. And maybe whatever attack or security Charlie-Foxtrot going down on the populated side of the base was completely unrelated.
As if to prove him wrong, a slight mist began to rise from the ground. These guys really were old school, going with the whole vampire mist precursor.
Alex took a risk. His voice rasped across the comms and, as quiet as he’d been, it came across as impossibly loud to his ears. “Eyes up.”
Alonna and Hector acknowledged.
The mist grew thicker, soon everything about two feet above the ground was obscured. The normal lights in the compound went out. There went the power. As long as the vampires stuck to the playbook, everything was going to be fine.
Thirty seconds later, the lights kicked back on as the backup generator kicked in.
Out of the corner of his eye, movement. He crept the rifle over by centimeters to line up on what he’d seen. The thermal scope wasn’t giving him the advantage he’d hoped for. If he’d been lucky, the vampires would have shown up a little cooler than their surroundings, but it looked like they’d been playing the same game he’d been—matching the ambient temperature. That meant they’d been here for a while. Maybe since sundown.
Bad news indeed.
He reached up and deactivated the thermal mode and took a bigger chance. He needed to regain the initiative. If these vampires made it into the compound unseen, it would be a missed opportunity and most likely result in every human in the compound meeting an unpleasant death. Menkaure separated his ka from his body, just for an instant.
The vampires left hollow voids in astral ether, their non-souls unable to hide. He counted about a dozen of them. Three directly in the direction he’d been looking, a few approaching from the far side of the compound, and the bulk of them coming from the northwest as he’d expected. Gabby’s tremendously bright glow shone out from the compound.
Menkaure returned to his body. Even that short stint came with a price, and he felt a measure of his precious energy deplete. Sun wouldn’t be up for at least another three hours. He doubted this fight was going to go that long. Alex returned his attention to where he’d seen the three.
Nothing.
They were good.
Then he saw the mistake they’d made. As they moved in, the mist had continued to rise, making everything harder to see. Even the smoothest vampires couldn’t fight turbulence.
Alex glacially crept into a kneeling position. There were vortices in the mist. And once he saw them, he saw his three targets. Unlike the insect-like scuttling motion vampires took on when they moved quickly, these three stalked forward slowly. It reminded Alex of the tentative way a spider moved if it prowled along.
He brought the rifle up and took aim at the farthest vampire’s head and slowly squeezed the trigger.
The rifle’s shot shattered the still night.
One down.
His next shot shattered the second vampire’s skull into gory fragments.
Two down. He was pushing his luck.
He dropped the rifle in the brush and sprinted through the mist to his second prepared position near the outer chain-link fence. He’d managed about six steps before suppressed automatic weapons fire shredded the space he’d been in.
He got his heart pumping again, giving his limbs the needed blood to break out of their stiffness and get ready for the fight. The third vampire reloaded on the move, footsteps crunching across the gravel immediately behind him.
Alex couldn’t see what he needed through the mist but slid into his position on faith. The vampire’s hand swept through the space above him. Alex twisted during his slide and reached out. He came up with a Remington 870 and fired two silver slugs center mass into his pursuer.
Three down.
Back on his feet, he snatched at the outer fence, then once halfway up, propelled himself over it. The chain links rattled too loudly. Bullets snapped past him, but thankfully none found their mark.
He activated the comms. “Go loud. You’ve got three or so coming from the east. I’m coming to you. And hit the lights and sound.”
He ran along the perimeter between the fences to the northwest. More rounds snapped at him before he saw the muzzle flashes. Judging from their fire, they hadn’t seen him; they’d heard him and directed their fire at his sound.
He bounded over the inner fence trying to be as quiet as possible, but the chain links weren’t having it and gave away his position.
With a tremendous popping sound, the normal and UV floods activated. Strobes flashed in all directions and turned the night into a visual cacophony of different light patterns. The UV made the mist fluoresce blacklight purple. If this had been a concert, it would have been amazing.
A bullet smashed into Alex’s thigh and made him stumble as he ran.
He slid into his next position and stayed low. Bullet impacts peppered the space around him.
He assessed the injury. A through and through, hadn’t hit the bone.
His leg wasn’t compromised.
It hurt. He’d heal it later, right now, he doubted it would be the last of his injuries and didn’t want to waste energy he might need later.
He low-crawled and picked up a pre-positioned M4 carbine, thumbed the select-fire switch to auto, and let fly several bursts in the direction of the muzzle flashes.
Spray and pray.
As the magazine emptied, incoming shots rained around him.
He shouted theatrically as if he’d been hit and dropped to the ground. It was a bit over the top, but he had to sell it. He felt around and came up with the claymores’ “clacker.”
Several vampires swept in. They’d abandoned stealth and crunched over the gravel of the killing field almost as loud as he had.
Right then, Pitbull introduced himself across the sound system. “Mister Worldwide!”
Alex’s earbuds did their job, but the pulsing club beats of “Bon, Bon” pounded him in the chest hard enough he was sure the vampires weren’t enjoying themselves.
Alex gave himself a three count, then closed the clacker twice.
The mines sounded with a satisfying explosion and sprayed hundreds of silver balls in sixty-degree arcs at twelve hundred feet per second.
Who said you needed stakes to kill vampires?
Automatic fire erupted from the far side of the compound and the music blared so loudly, Alex barely heard it.
Alex dashed for the entrance. “Friendly coming in!”
Hector and Alonna blasted bursts out of the east windows. Two vampires dropped, but not mortally.
Alonna shouted over her shoulder as she reloaded. “Glad to have you back!”
Alex grabbed a Rattler off the dining room table, pulled the charging handle back, but fell to a flurry of rounds impacting his chest. The Dragonskin armor stopped them all, but they hurt like hell, nevertheless.
He rolled back to his feet and emptied his magazine into the first of two vampires entering the compound.
The second vampire moved faster than he’d expected. Old blood. He struck Alex with tremendous blows and tore the Dragonskin armor off him.
The vampire stared at him, a puzzled look on its face. Any normal human would have been near death.
Instead, Alex collapsed the vampire’s trachea with a horrific throat punch. His sidearm cleared the holster smoothly and he mag-dumped into the vampire’s face.
Alex took a moment to collect himself and popped a new mag into his 2011. He thought of reloading the Rattler but drew his khopesh sword instead. He slipped on the wrist strap and tightened it.
Outside, Pitbull’s Latin beats gave way to Skrillex dubstep.
They’d been lucky so far, but it was about to get real.
The remnants of the eastern windows shattered as a pair of vampires leapt through them. They’d dropped their modern weaponry out of rage. They were out for blood now, in ways only vampires could be.
The first battered Alonna into a wall with a casual swing. The second dove onto Hector and tried to tear his throat out. Hector punched it in the side of the head and the brass knuckle’s explosive bolts did the rest, spraying brain matter and gore in a grisly mist.
The vampire engaging Alonna turned at the sound.
Hector jammed the Triple-S injector into the side of his thigh.
The vampire attacked Hector. Hector punched it with his other brass knuckle, a solid body blow, but nothing happened. He struggled with the vampire, who slowly overpowered him.
Alex moved in, but Alonna beat him to it. Her machete came down on the back of the vampire’s skull and stuck there.
The vampire pulled back from Hector, arms flailing for the machete embedded in its head. Alonna punched it in the face. The explosive brass knuckles detonated and turned the vampire’s head concave.
Alonna screamed and clutched her wrist. The lower half of her right arm hung limply.
“Power up!” Hector yelled. “Holy S! What’s in this stuff?”
“You don’t want to know,” Alex said.
Alonna dug out her Triple-S injector and jammed it into her thigh. She took a few deep breaths as it kicked in. “That sure takes the edge off. I feel invincible.”
Alex’s mind flew and tried to tally how many vampires he’d seen and how many might be left. He didn’t like the math. They were winning.
It didn’t feel like they were winning.
Menkaure left Alex’s body standing and slipped his ka out. He shot back into the bunker with the speed of thought, and Gabby’s splendor nearly overwhelmed him.
KA-KHET. She called him by a throne name he’d never given her. I HAVE LEARNED SO MUCH SINCE WE LAST SPOKE.
There’s no time. I don’t know if I can hold—
Gabby cut him off. WE ARE GOING TO HELP.
Worry about staying safe. And if you can talk to the spirits, ask them if any of them are door kickers and body stackers. Have them help you defend the bunker. Menkaure didn’t wait for an answer.
He snapped back into his body in time to see Alonna and Hector trading blows with two other vampires. Their machetes whistled through the air, but the vampires dodged so quickly it looked like a poorly choreographed fight.
Alex drew his 2011 and let the khopesh hang from his wrist by the strap. He fired a few rounds into each vampire incapacitating them long enough for Alonna and Hector to finish them.
Before they had time to celebrate, another was on Hector.
Something knocked Alex across the room, and he smashed into the far side, cratering the dry wall.
Alex climbed to his feet. No sign of his 2011.
No sign of Hector.
Alonna battled a vampire atop her, but her movements grew sluggish as the Triple-S overwhelmed her metabolism. The vampire clubbed her into unconsciousness.
Four against one. This was going to hurt.
He gripped the khopesh in his right hand.
The first vampire lunged. Alex kicked it across the room. The khopesh whistled through the air at the second attacker, who dodged the blow easily, only for Alex to catch it by the throat and casually toss it aside.
He wasn’t killing these. They could keep attacking until he wore himself out.
A burst of accurate automatic fire exploded from behind him and peppered the face of his third assailant.
Alex leapt with supernatural force onto the fourth attacker and cleanly severed its head from its body in a smoothly practiced move.
The other two vampires leapt across the room, only to be cut down by machine-gun fire.
Alex turned to thank Hector, only to see Gabby reload and slam the bolt release like she’d been doing it her whole life.
The music cut out. Someone had found the head unit.
“How in the hell?” he asked.
Gabby nodded to him casually, as if there was nothing unusual. “Sergeant Major Adrian Messer. Tenth Special Forces Group. Thought I was done with this shit when I retired. One more for the road, huh? Way I see it, you owe me one, son.”
“I’ll owe you more than one if you get back in that bunker and don’t open that door until sunup.”
Gabby pulled a hand off the carbine and gave Alex a lighthearted salute and pointed at the entrance. “You’ve got another guest.” She fell back to the bunker.
Alex looked to what he hoped would be the last vampire.
It stood relaxed and informal, silhouetted in the doorway against the brightness of the outside spotlights. It tossed its weapon aside.
Alex would know that rangy figure anywhere. “Well, at least now I know how you were able to pronounce Sæta Dauðr.”
There was an edge of rage to Dagny Iversen’s voice. “Have you any idea how much damage you’ve done this night?”
“Your fault for not using Youngbloods as cannon fodder.” Alex moved to Alonna and, never taking his eyes from Dagny, picked up her machete in his left hand.
“She’s still alive if you’re curious. The other one? I don’t hear his heart. I’ll finish her off after you,” Dagny said.
“See, it’s that kind of overconfidence got you into this mess to begin with. Mission first. Play later.”
“I disagree. The other way you couldn’t valiantly lay down your life in a futile gesture. Congratulations, by the way.”
“You’re an Ancient, aren’t you?” Alex asked. “I’m gonna guess, Scandinavia? Been kicking around how long?”
Dagny smiled; her fangs caught a bit of the light in a theatrical display meant for Alex’s benefit. “Since about seven hundred, anno Domini.”
Alex shifted to the one side, keeping overturned furniture from the earlier fights between them.
Dagny circled opposite. “I can’t figure out what kind of tech you’re using to hide your body heat. Want to confess?”
“Sorry, trade secret,” Alex said. “Viking versus Egyptian. Ever wonder?” He twirled his khopesh for effect. “One of us gets to find out.”
Recognition flashed across Dagny’s face. “Oh. I’ve heard of you.” She barked forth a short laugh. “I thought you were a woman.”
“No. There is also a woman.”
“You give away your secrets too freely.”
“The dead tell no tales.” Alex reflected on what he’d just said and laughed. “Except, now they might.”
“This grows tiresome,” Dagny said.
Alex held the machete point first out in front of him. “Fair enough.”
As expected, Dagny shot forward but had to change her trajectory to avoid being impaled. Alex, in turn, spun away and leapt powerfully upward in a move that would have shamed the most skilled ballerinos. He twisted in the air and struck out with the khopesh.
The bronze blade rang out.
Alex landed ready to repel her next attack.
There wouldn’t be another.
Her severed head rolled to one side, jaw opening and closing mechanically, while her body flopped in uncoordinated spasms on the floor.
The khopesh vibrated in his hand like a tuning fork. He looked down at the blade, which now bore a severe gouge.
He was out of practice.
VII. EPILOGUE
6:45 A.M.
Alex changed into a new set of clothes in time to greet Katya and the US Marshals. Gabby and Latonya were headed for WITSEC and Katya would escort.
He looked at Latonya as he hugged Gabby. “Make sure she keeps that amulet on. At least for a while. It might be safe to take it off in transit, but definitely keep it on wherever the Marshals are taking you. Most Ancient vampires aren’t on our side.”
Latonya pulled Gabby from him. “Honey, get your things so we’re ready to go. I need to speak to Alex alone.”
Gabby waved goodbye and bounded back inside.
“I don’t want you to have anything more to do with her,” Latonya said. “What I saw down there when you were fighting up here. That wasn’t my little girl. She’s been through enough.”
“But Gabby needs—”
“Stay away,” Latonya shouted.
Alex’s phone rang. He looked at the screen. Nocturn Affairs. He took the call, then hung up. “I have to go. They’ll come for her again unless she’s ready. I don’t know how much I can help her, but we need to try.”
Latonya changed the subject. “What was that call?”
“Homicide. Up in Coral Gables,” Alex said.
“Who’d the vampires kill this time?”
“Someone murdered one of them,” Alex said.
Latonya smiled.
Alex said goodbye. He’d speak to her about Gabby another time.
This whole thing had just been the storm surge.
The real hurricane was on its way.