Deck of destiny 4, p.19
Deck of Destiny 4, page 19
“The Blue Dawn’s power,” Lana nodded. “I had some of the same.”
“Did you take it?” Mayce asked.
The Arbiter shook her head. “Elsie’s right. It’s foolish to throw aside your Cards when you know them better than the others. Stick to what you know, and it’ll serve you well.”
“And you don’t feel weird still using your old Arbiter’s Cards?”
“There’s a certain irony in the future when I take them on with their own power.”
A flash of a berserker grin touched Lana’s face. “Fifty years teaches you some things.”
“You’re asking a lot of questions, Mayce,” Elsie noted. “What did you get?”
“Handy new little thing called Mindcrack,” Mayce said.
“Got the same thing,” I told her. “Looks like it’s right up your alley.”
“Sure is. Love giving people headaches.”
“Does that mean we get to train tomorrow morning?” Elsie asked excitedly.
Mayce rolled her eyes behind her. “Give it a rest, Elsie. We’ve got so much on already.”
“It’s a good idea,” I countered. “Been a while since we went sparring. Vampires might even be able to help us with technique. Not sure if our Clannad’s memberships are going to hold up after the shit we pulled in the Castledaine today.” I checked the glowing numbers on the dash. “Fucking hell, it’s barely lunch.”
“Hard to tell in this weather, isn’t it?” Elsie stared out at the sky. “Dark enough to be midnight.” Her eyes narrowed as we passed through a narrow portion of trees. “You think it’s got something to do with the elves being here?”
Mayce and Elsie turned to Lana, who gave them a vague shrug. “I can pull up the Tome, but we agreed it was better not to. I don’t remember any information about adverse weather conditions, but—”
“But there was a tsunami last time they were in Japan,” I finished.
The car went quiet for a moment, and Elsie pointed to the next curve in the track. I turned into a wider road as rain smashed down on the cab around us, and I caught sight of a single figure in black. Red eyes sparkled in the shadows as he raised a hand to greet us and gestured off to the right. A path had been cut into the pine trees off to our right, and I steered the Dodge up onto another sharp incline. Lights spilled out from a series of tent-like structures on top of a hill, and I parked the truck outside a ring of trailers.
The coven had been busy since I’d last visited their camp.
The terrain was different, but that was to be expected. The Leviathans had hired mercenaries to drop magical mortars down onto their last camp. There were more trailers, trucks, and vans than I last remembered. Each of them was splattered with mud, and a makeshift pavilion had been set up with tarps, tentpoles, and clever use of the trees around us. Lana stiffened in the truck as someone knocked on my window, and I saw a familiar hooded face through the glass.
Tilly gave me a small wave and a cute grin and gestured up toward the camp.
Fires and camping lamps flickered under the makeshift roof as we piled out of the truck and quickly made our way through the mud and up into the wide, covered plateau of the hill. The freezing wind and pouring rain quickly gave way to a toasty, warm environment as we ducked into cover under the tent roofs. Lines of drying clothes hung up in the rafters of the tent, and I realized after a moment that Elsie was right. The last time I’d been up here, there couldn’t have been more than two dozen vampires. Tight knots of the coven murmured quietly to each other as they glanced up at us with blood-red eyes, and I heard snatches of words I recognized as the rest of my team pulled up behind me.
We must’ve looked like hell.
Mud-plastered, sweating, red-eyed, and finally glad to be out of the rain.
A familiar vampire stepped out of one of the trailers and halted when he saw us. The classically handsome features, sharp jawline, and dark hair caught my eye immediately. Misha gave us a genuine, if subdued, smile and gestured to a row of trailers on our left. They were beaten up and looked secondhand, but they’d give the girls the privacy they needed to change.
“Welcome, brother,” Misha said in his low, musical voice.
I inclined my head and answered him in his own language. “You honor us with your hospitality, brother. Thank you for taking us in on such short notice.”
Misha barked a laugh of sudden surprise and delight.
He kept his words in English. “I see you’ve spoken to our forebearer once again.”
“He said to pass on his best wishes.” I chuckled. “Something about you being his favorites.”
The vampire’s eyes lit up at my words.
“There are showers and fresh clothes for your ladies inside,” Misha said. “Please, stay as long as you like.”
Mayce made a small sound that almost sounded like lust behind me. “Are they warm?”
“As warm as we can make them,” Misha assured her.
“Go on ahead,” I told the girls. “I’ve got some catching up to do.”
Elsie gave me a grateful peck on the cheek as she passed me, and Mayce surprised me with a quick squeeze of my ass and a wink as she followed Elsie. Lana’s eyes flickered over each of the vampires as if measuring which one of them would turn into a ravening fiend first, and I turned to face her.
“You’re amongst allies here,” I told her.
“That doesn’t change their nature—”
“They won’t hurt you,” I told her. “They’ll answer to me if they do.”
The former Arbiter didn’t look convinced, but she gave me a curt nod and followed the other girls into the interconnected trailers. The door closed behind them, and a slim pair of arms closed around my left arm with a tight, playful pressure.
“I thought they’d never leave,” Tilly murmured.
I shook her off with a good-natured frown. “You’re lucky you’re cute.”
Tilly’s fangs flashed into another grin. “You’ve still got your sense of humor.”
“And you’re still delightfully weird,” I assured her. “Can I talk to the boss now?”
“Sure can. Just letting you know that you’re safe as houses up here,” Tilly said. “And if you get bored tonight, well”—she gave me a sly smile and a shrug—“come find me.”
“I’ll bear it in mind,” I said politely.
She rolled her eyes, turned on her heel, and plunged back out into the rain.
Misha chuckled again as I turned back to join him by a small campfire. The smoke rolled up through some kind of makeshift chimney, and he gestured for me to join him as he settled down onto a patch of dirt beside the flames. I settled down beside him, glad of the warmth, and let my eyes drift around the camp. Misha spoke to me in vampirese for the first time.
“Tilly’s taken quite the shine to you, brother.”
“Feeling’s pretty much mutual. She’s hell on wheels.”
Misha chuckled. “You do know that she’s serious.”
My mind flickered over Lana in the trailer, Jenna back at the Castledaine, and my two gorgeous girlfriends probably already naked and in the shower together. I tried not to let my imagination get out of control and focused on why I’d come up here in the first place.
“Don’t you normally talk business first and pleasure afterward?” I asked him.
Misha’s eyes shone at that. “We believe in both, Matvei.”
“I’ll bear it in mind,” I muttered. “You know why I’m here.”
“Your knight did speak of it,” he agreed. “The elfkin have returned, and you’ve placed her here as bait to draw them out. A good strategy but a dangerous one.”
I shook my head. “Never intended that to be the case, Misha.”
He tilted his head a little. “No? It’s a good strategy.”
“I just needed her out of Millbank. This is the safest place I know.” I warmed my hands by the fire and took a moment to appreciate the overhead cover and the coziness of the structure that the vampires had set up. “You didn’t do all of this for us, did you?”
“We’re not savages.” He chuckled. “The rain may not bother us as much as it does you mortals, but we like to be clean when we can.” He nodded at the trailers across from me. “Your elf is in a bed. She’s making a remarkable recovery despite the poison in her veins.”
A rush of relief rolled through me. “I’m glad. She deserves it.”
“So, brother,” Misha said, “tell me why you’ve sought us out after so long.”
“You know, Misha? I’m not even sure I know what the hell’s going on.”
“Some would say that it’s the beginning of wisdom.”
I grimaced. “Didn’t that guy end up killing himself?”
“Socrates fulfilled his duty to the state. As will you to your oath. I have no doubt about this.” Misha leaned forward and fixed his eyes on the flames beside us. “We have the benefit of time here, Matvei. And you are family. Tell me how we can help you. And of the Hellforge.”
Chapter 24
Misha was a good listener.
He had centuries of experience on Earth, in the Game, and he’d probably survived crazier things than I’d ever seen. I warmed myself by the fire and brought the vampire up to speed on what had happened since we’d last seen each other. The forming of the Phoenix Guild, the insane situation with the Arbiters, and the battle against Darxos. The vampires around me locked their eyes on me as I described the Black Dawn’s Grim Reaper, and where I’d found myself in the Hellforge Palace. I’d never really been a storyteller, but I knew the focus and the determination that the coven had when it came to getting home. I described everything that I’d experienced, and I didn’t pull my punches on how much it’d terrified me.
It felt like therapy in a way. Therapy with immortal, bloodsucking monsters.
Misha asked me to describe the city of the Hellforge three times, each with more detail than the last. The vampires were typically a stoic bunch, but I could see the excitement and the hunger in his eyes as I spelled out everything I’d seen in the palace and on the parapet. I recalled the conversation with the Black Dawn, his warning using Wilson as an example, and Misha finally relented with his questions as I dipped back into Millbank and told him how much of a nonstop fuckfest it’d been since I’d gotten back. I told him about what I’d said to Daine, to Bess, and the attack from the elves. I brought up the Cowboy and gave Tilly her due in how well she’d handled herself against a borderline supernatural Player.
“Then we got told that we were public enemy number one,” I said, “ran into a couple of Athena’s war cats on the way up here, and here we are bothering you again.”
Misha let out a long, rolling chuckle of genuine amusement. “You wouldn’t be out of place in our more remote gatherings, brother. There are those amongst us who prize storytelling in all its forms.”
I let a beat pass.
“So,” I said, my tone brisk, “any tips for how the fuck to get out of this?”
“You seem to have a strategy already,” he reminded me. “The elfkin are dangerous. This much is true. Their machines of war were always a match for the forces of the Black Dawn, and we lost countless covens to them. I cannot assist you with the White Ones”—a flicker of mischief touched his smile—“unless you intend to seduce each and every one of them.”
“Don’t have the time.”
“Well, your pet seems to enjoy your company well enough.”
I grimaced. “She’s my head of security, Misha, not a pet.”
“Call it what you wish, brother.” He considered my question again. “We will stand with you. We have not heard news of home for centuries.” The coven’s captain gestured to the still, curious faces around me. “And your telling of what our Lord lives in now has warmed many hearts. The elfkin are dangerous, yes. But we will stand against them. And hunt them, if necessary.”
I considered the thought.
It was tempting as hell. Letting the vampires off the leash to hit the elves after we’d already weakened one of them sounded like a good idea. But I had no idea how many more of their machines they’d brought with them. Tilly had already mentioned casualties from the battle at Phoenix HQ. I didn’t know if the fight had been fatal, but I couldn’t stand the idea of throwing the vampires en masse against a better-prepared and better-equipped target. The elves hadn’t expected a vampire cordon around my building, and we’d managed to catch them by surprise.
We wouldn’t get so lucky a second time. Not with the kind of power they wielded.
“I think we should hold back and hit them where they least expect it,” I said. “The coven has already made sacrifices for me, over and over again. I don’t want to waste their time or their lives. We have a common enemy, but we are family—as you said.”
Misha gave me a strange smile. “And you’re beginning to believe it.”
I frowned. “What do you mean?”
“Matvei, you’ve been avoiding us. You seek out our help when you need it, and you trust us to kill and to hunt. But you’ve not sent us people to protect. That’s a show of trust—to entrust your family with the safekeeping of another. Especially one as important as this elf.”
“I’d love to agree with you. But I wasn’t sure I had any other option.”
“The pub?” he challenged. “Perhaps your other friends amongst the Giants? You have never chosen the easy road, Matvei. You may have been lacking in allies, but the simple fact that you brought her here is a demonstration of your trust in us. We have fed well with you by our side. You have brought news from home.” He inclined his head in a show of respect. “We will follow you wherever you may lead.”
Something about his words sent a thrill of confidence through me. I didn’t want to feel like I was conning the coven into supporting me, but there was a serious confidence in Misha’s tone. An inevitable fact that he would take issue with if I disputed it. I tried to see the situation from their perspective for a moment, and then I quickly realized that I didn’t have the couple of centuries of life experience to back it up.
They wanted to go home. And I was their meal ticket.
I let a long, slow sigh roll out of me and felt some of the tension roll out of my shoulders. My eyes snapped up as Elsie and Mayce appeared from the leftmost trailer. Their mud-splattered clothes had vanished in favor of loose, long black trousers and shirts. I admired the way that the light caught their wet hair. My knight looked fresh-faced and ready for a fight, and Mayce had a smirk on her face that was far too knowing for my liking.
“Your turn, big guy,” Mayce told me and jerked a thumb at the showers.
I narrowed my eyes. “I smell a trap.”
“Nothing like it,” Elsie assured me with a twinkle in her eye. “How are you, Misha?”
“Well, lady knight. And yourself?”
I pushed up from my seat at the fire. The idea of even a lukewarm shower was tempting beyond belief, and I gave the vampires around me a short bow. They inclined their heads in return—in sync, which was creepier than I would’ve liked—and they watched me step up into the trailer, push the door open, and look around.
My jaw practically hit the floor as I stared around me.
I’d expected a cramped space with rundown furniture and cluttered junk all over the place. The door led me into a wide, almost building-like structure that reminded me of an apartment. White runes glittered around the door as I closed it behind me, and an incredulous laugh rolled out of me as I spotted an honest-to-God sofa off to my right, covered in chessboards and backgammon sets. An antique rug stretched out under my feet, and I didn’t have to stoop to get around—the roof sat easily a foot overhead. Lights swung from ornate fixtures, and I could’ve sworn that I’d just fallen into some kind of Doctor Who-adjacent crack in time.
I glanced around for Lana, but I didn’t see her anywhere. The shower wasn’t running, and I peeked around a short corner to find an array of bunk beds stacked up on the walls. Each of the beds looked absurdly comfortable and was piled high with thick blankets. I ducked back into the main section of the trailer and tried to wrap my head around what the hell was going on.
The interior space reminded me of the apartments back in the Phoenix HQ building. It made no sense that entire penthouse apartments could exist on top of a small three-story structure. The flicker of runes told me that even the coven had made use of whoever the hell did interior decorations for Players.
“Lana?” I called out.
No reply. I stepped through a short hallway, past an honest-to-God washing machine, and stopped at a pair of doors. I knocked on one of them, didn’t hear a reply, and frowned. I pushed open the second door, and my eyes almost fell out of my head as I spotted the newest member of my team.
The blonde fitness supermodel stood stark-naked in front of me with a towel around her feet, and her steady gray gaze latched onto me with the kind of intensity that you usually saw in carnivore predators. Color shot into my face, but my eyes latched onto her body. Rippling muscle stood out from under her skin, but it didn’t detract from her perfect hourglass hips or serious, firm bust. Glistening hair had been pulled up into a bun to keep it out of the water, and I didn’t see a shred of hair on her anywhere. Scars crisscrossed their way over her arms, her ribs, and told a half-century-long story of combat against monsters and Players alike.
My mouth went suddenly dry as I realized she was waiting for me to say something.
“You want me to turn around?” I asked her, my voice barely better than a rasp.
That steady gaze drilled into my eyes. “You know I don’t.”
My mind flickered over my two girlfriends outside, probably laughing their asses off at me. I’d seen the twinkle in their eyes, and I knew how territorial they could be when it came to keeping me alive. Apparently, even Mayce had managed to put her dislike of the Arbiter aside to set this up, and I had no doubt that I’d get a tongue-lashing when I stepped back outside.
“You’re beautiful,” I told her.
