Roundtable nights, p.11
Roundtable Nights, page 11
Once we climbed into the truck, I shifted back to human form. Emilie tossed me my clothes and I quickly slid into my pants.
“Did you find anything?” Emilie asked.
I nodded. “Stone is working with the Mordredans. He mentioned a boss; has to be Blackwood.”
Merlin’s eyes widened. “So we were right.”
“We have to get Sloane out of jail,” I said. “Tonight.”
Emilie frowned. “Elijah, I know you want to help her, but—“
“No buts,” I cut in. “She’s innocent. They’ll never press charges. They wanted her out of the picture for a reason.”
Percival grinned. “I like this plan. A daring prison break to rescue my damsel.” He padded at my thigh. “Think I can impress the detective with my valor?”
“I don’t think this is a job for cats,” I said. “I’ll have to teleport in and out of there. Sorry, buddy. You’ll have to stay back this time.”
Percival hissed. “Thou art a rampallian!”
“Uh oh, Dad. You’ve done it now. He’s talking Old English again.”
I winked at Merlin. “I think our kitty cat has a crush on the detective.”
I reached to scratch Percival behind the ears. He swatted at my hand, claws extended. I pulled my hand away just in time. “Toucheth me not, you flea-bitten knave! You milk-livered cur!”
All I could do was shrug my shoulders. “At least I’m not a pussy anymore.”
13. Jailhouse Blues
I took a deep breath as I surveyed the tense faces gathered around the round oak table in the DDA library. Emilie’s eyes were hard with determination, while Merlin nervously looked back and forth between his mother and I as if expecting us to have a fool-proof plan to rescue Sloane. Sir Percival’s mood had softened—for the time being—but he was a cat. His temperament was as unpredictable as Missouri’s weather.
This rescue mission was risky, but we had no choice. Sloane was one of our own, and we needed to break her out. We needed her investigative skill if we had any hope of figuring out what the Mordredans were up to. And if we didn’t get answers soon, we’d be too late. Things were going down. Better to be proactive than reactive. The best way to stop a threat is to ensure it never materializes.
Still, caution was key. We knew next to nothing about the layout of the city jail or where they were keeping Sloane. I needed a good lay of the land before I teleported there. I could just as easily appear in front of a bunch of cops, or in a cell with someone who was actually dangerous. And that wasn’t the worst possibility. If I cast my portal into a wall, I could end up trapped in stone or with steel bars—if they still used steel bars in jails—intersecting my mid-section.
Emilie cleared her throat, straightening in her chair. “I think Sloane was with us long enough that I can tune my music to her spirit. I can cast a vision to tap into Sloane’s recent memories. We’ll be able to see exactly where they took her.”
I nodded slowly, impressed by her quick thinking. “That’s brilliant. With a firsthand look at the jail, we’ll have a much better shot at pulling this off.”
Emilie lifted her violin to her shoulder, closing her eyes as she rested her chin on the instrument. Her brow furrowed in concentration as she drew the bow across the strings. Pink magic exploded in waves from her instrument, flowing through the room like ribbons in the wind.
An eerie, melancholy melody filled the room. The hairs on my arms stood on end as Emilie’s magic took hold.
The DDA library around us faded, replaced by a dim hallway. Fluorescent lights flickered overhead, the walls barren except for the occasional faded poster or chipped paint.
A few strands of Sloane’s normally tied-back brown hair fell into our vision. We were seeing everything through her eyes.
Beside her was Ernie, her former partner. He kept a tight grip on her arm as he led her down the hall, his eyes hard.
“Ernie, please listen to me,” Sloane pleaded, her voice echoing strangely in the vision. “I was only trying to protect that man. Nedley Mandigo. That was his property. Those protestors weren’t what they seemed. They meant to kill him. I had no choice but to shoot.”
Ernie’s lip curled in a sneer. “Save it, Sloane. You think I’m enjoying this? Arresting my own partner? Do you know how embarrassing that is?”
Sloane huffed. “Well, I’m so sorry that arresting me put you in an awkward position.”
“Bottom line, you shot people.” Ernie shook his head like a disappointed parent. “No warning. You didn’t give them a chance to back off. Besides, it’s not my call. The order to bring you in came from the top.”
The vision blurred as Emilie continued playing, sweeping us along through the maze of the jail. We passed holding cells full of tattooed, hard-looking men. Many leered, laughed, and shouted lewd threats as Sloane was led by. Men she’d probably had a hand in putting away—if not this time, then in the past. These men looked like repeat offenders. They were clearly getting a kick out of seeing one of the city’s finest in cuffs.
Sloane kept her gaze fixed straight ahead, ignoring the taunts. She’d been in tough spots before, but this was different. Her own people had turned against her.
At last they reached her cell. Ernie unlocked the door and roughly shoved Sloane inside. She stumbled, catching herself against the cinder block wall.
“Damn it, Ernie. Was that necessary?”
“Get comfy, Harding,” Ernie said coldly. “You’re gonna be here a while.”
He slammed the barred door shut. The lock clicked into place with dreadful finality. Then he turned and strode away without a backward glance, his footsteps echoing down the hall.
Sloane sank slowly onto the cot, dropping her head into her hands. I couldn’t see her face, since the cell didn’t have mirrors, but I got the distinct sense from her posture that she was utterly defeated, as if the fight had gone out of her.
Suddenly, gunshots rang out in the distance. Screams followed—horrible, bloodcurdling screams. Sloane’s head jerked up, eyes wide. More shots, more screams.
My heart lurched as I noticed the clock mounted on the hallway wall outside Sloane’s cell—it was only five minutes earlier than when Emilie started playing her violin.
That meant, the vampire attack was happening right now.
The screams were getting louder, closer. There was nothing we could do within Emilie’s bardic vision. But I’d seen enough. I could get there.
“Emilie!” I shouted. “End this, now. I need to go!”
Emilie’s eyes flew open as she released the vision. I was already spinning my oaken staff overhead, channeling the druidic magic within me. A shimmering portal swirling around me.
“Stay here,” I told Emilie, Merlin and Percival. My cat-familiar let out an indignant yowl, clearly wanting to come along. “Sorry, furball. This is too dangerous.”
Percival hissed at me but didn’t argue further. Emilie grasped my arm. “Be careful, Elijah. We only just got Sloane back.”
I cupped her cheek and kissed her forehead. “I’ll bring her home. I promise.”
14. Fight for Flight
The portal dropped me smack in the middle of Sloane’s jail cell. All concrete, brushed metal surfaces, a small sink and a toilet that offered no privacy at all. Sitting on a cot with her head in her hands was Sloane.
She jolted upright as I appeared, her face flush as if she’d just seen a ghost. “Elijah? What the hell?”
“No time to explain.” I grabbed Sloane’s hand and helped her to her feet. I raised my staff again overhead. “I’m getting you out of here.”
“You can’t just bust me out of jail!” Sloane grabbed my staff, stopping me from casting our escape portal. “I’ll be a fugitive!”
I shook my head. “You were set up. Not to mention, you did nothing wrong. The victims were just nightmares made flesh.”
“That doesn’t matter!” Sloane’s voice rose in frustration. “No one will believe that. Not even the best lawyer could convince a jury to acquit based on the idea that a monster no one believes in, one that haunts people’s dreams, somehow got infected with otherworldly power and brought someone’s nightmares to life.”
I met Sloane’s gaze steadily. “They’ll never indict you for anything. It would risk exposing the truth.”
“The truth?”
I sighed. “Your old boss, the Police Chief is a Mordredan, working with Blackwood.”
Shock rippled across Sloane’s face. She took a deep, shaky breath, hands clenching at her sides. “Stone is...one of them? Are you sure?”
“Saw it myself.” I put a hand on her shoulder. “Come on. We need to move.”
Sloane hesitated, glancing back toward the hallway outside her cell. “Those vampires are here. It must be them. I heard screams, gunshots. Just before you arrived. I have friends in there. People are hurt. We can’t just leave them.”
I followed her gaze, considering. It was risky. The longer we stayed, the more likely the vampires would find us again. But the thought of abandoning innocents didn’t sit well with me either.
“I may be able to heal some of them,” I said finally. “But it’s dangerous. The vampires won’t give up until they get to you. The best way to save these people is to get you the hell out of here and hope the vampires sense your departure and leave.”
Sloane met my eyes, jaw set stubbornly. “I’m not going to gamble with people’s lives on a hope. We don’t really know how these things track me. Is it because the mare connected to my mind? Do they have some kind of sixth sense? Doesn’t matter. We can’t leave until we’re sure these people are safe.”
I sighed, knowing further argument was useless. Sloane wasn’t the kind of person who was easily dissuaded once she set her mind on something. Her stubbornness was a virtue—it’s one thing that made her such a great detective. She never gave up. She was immovable as a mountain. But in some circumstances—like this one—her hardheadedness was a liability.
“Alright,” I conceded. “But at the first sign of trouble, we’re teleporting out of here. We can’t let these bloodsuckers get to you. I need you. Hell, the world needs you to sort this shit out with Blackwood and the Mordredans. Because they’re working on something and shit’s going down soon. I’m at a loss to stop it.”
“Agreed,” Sloane said. “If there’s nothing we can do, so be it. But we have to try. At the very least, if the vampires see me they will follow. We can lure them out of here then teleport in plain view. They’ll keep looking for me, but at least everyone will be safe.”
I nodded, knowing she was right. As much as I wanted to get her to safety, we couldn’t abandon these people. The only way to guarantee that the vampires would leave was to lure them out.
“Alright, but first, we need to figure something out,” I said. “These aren’t regular vampires. They were created by the mare from your nightmare. When we were at your apartment we learned that a crucifix could repel them. Staking them didn’t work at all. We still don’t know how vampires create more vampires.”
Sloane furrowed her brow. “What do you mean?”
“Well, how real vampires multiply doesn’t matter here. How do you think vampires are made?”
Sloane looked thoughtful for a moment. “I don’t know...if you get bitten by one, doesn’t that turn you into a vampire?”
I stared at her in disbelief. “Seriously? That would mean every feeding would create a new vampire. At that rate, they’d overrun the world in no time.”
Sloane held up her hands defensively. “Hey, it’s not like I’m an expert on goddamn vampires. Cut me some slack. Why does that matter?”
I sighed. “Because it means we have to assume that every cop in this building who got bitten has now turned. We’re not just dealing with the vampires the mare created from your nightmare. We’re dealing with a station full of vampires.”
“Sunlight kills them.” Sloane shook her head. “If we kill the mare will it cure anyone who the vampires bit?”
I shook my head. “I can’t say for sure. I hope so. But we already suspect these vampires can be killed by sunlight. If anyone was turned, let’s assume the worst. They’d die, too. And I don’t think killing the mare will resurrect them.”
Sloane took a deep breath. “Which means if we don’t kill the mare by morning…”
“Any friends you still have in the department might die, too.”
Sloane clenched her fists. She took a deep breath and exhaled. “Alright. What if we lock them up in these cells?”
I narrowed my eyes. “Fat chance of that. How are we going to lure them in? This place is all concrete and steel. I can use my staff to fend them off, but I don’t have nearly as much power here as I would if we faced them outside. If we lured them into a park, somewhere with trees, I could snare them in roots and branches. But they’d also be vulnerable to sunlight.”
“What if they follow us into the cell? There are some larger holding areas. We could get them in there, you could portal us straight out of there.”
I shook my head. “And they’d be on us faster than flies on shit. There’s no way I’d have the space or the time to portal us out of there before they drained us dry.”
Sloane shook her head. “What if I can get a crucifix? It worked before, right?”
I bit my lip. “Sloane, this is a huge risk. I don’t know if—”
“Risks are a part of the job. These people are like a second family. The secretary, she’s a devout Catholic. She has a rosary in her desk. If I can get to it…”
“We’d have to lure all of them into the cell at once. You realize how damn near impossible that might be?”
Sloane grabbed my wrist. “I know we can’t get all of them. But if we can save anyone who might have been turned by these nightmares, if it will keep them out of the sun, at least we’ll save who we save. We’ll still need to kill the mare if we’re going to help the rest. And we still don’t know for sure how many officers might be vampires now. Until we get in there and see for ourselves what’s happened, we won’t know. We need to make like Elvis and do this.”
I cocked an eyebrow. “Like Elvis.”
“A little less talk. A lot more action, please.”
I sighed, knowing there was no talking Sloane out of this. “Alright. I can try to teleport us to the entrance, but I’ll need a clear visual first. These spells aren’t exactly GPS-guided.”
Sloane nodded. “Get us into the hall, then. I can lead us to the front desk.”
“Hold on tight,” I said. With a twirl of my staff, a vortex enveloped us and dropped us just outside Sloane’s cell.
The hall was dark, the lights flickering ominously. Somewhere in the distance, a blood-curdling scream echoed through the building. We exchanged a grim look. Time was running out.
With Sloane leading the way, we crept down the hall. My senses were on high alert, staff at the ready in case those nightmares appeared. But we managed to reach the front desk undetected. Sloane yanked open the top drawer, seizing a beaded rosary and stuffing it in her pocket.
Now came the hard part. Luring the vampires into a trap and saving whoever we could. I could only hope Sloane’s plan would work. Because if it didn’t, we’d both end up as late-night snacks.
Sloane gestured for me to follow as she slipped through a door leading back into the depths of the station.
We didn’t get far before running into a locked door. I quickly spun up a portal, ushering us through the door. But on the other side a man with a badge lurched towards us, eyes black as night and fangs bared.
“Ernie, stop!” Sloane cried.
Sloane’s old partner pounced with inhuman speed. I swept my staff in an arc, branches bursting forth from the shaft to slam Ernie against the wall. He crumpled to the floor, dazed.
Sloane took advantage of the situation and retrieved Ernie’s sidearm from his holster. “We might need this later.”
I nodded. “Let’s move. Before he recovers.”
More screams and unnatural noises echoed from deeper within the station. Screams meant there were still humans in there. People we could help. But each scream also meant another victim—probably another cop-turned-vampire. We had to act fast.
Sloane led me towards the source of the commotion. As we entered the central hub, the sight before us was grim. The vampires from Sloane’s nightmare were there, faces blank and soulless. And now they were joined by at least a dozen officers, eyes coal-black bloodthirsty mouths agape.
“We’ve got to separate the real cops from the mare’s,” Sloane whispered. “Any ideas?”
My hands tightened on my staff. “I can try and fend the original vamps off, given the turned cops an advantage to catch up to us. But we still need to outrun all of them.”
Sloane nodded, determination in her eyes. She stuck two fingers in her mouth and released a sharp whistle. Always wished I could whistle like that. Never figured it out.
But it worked. Every black-eyed bastard in the place turned and was now staring straight at us.
“Alright bloodsuckers, come and get me!” Sloane shouted, then took off down the hall.
Damnit Sloane! All I could do was try and keep up with her. I’m a pretty fit dude, all things considered, but Sloane was next-level. She clearly hadn’t indulged in many donuts during her time on the force.
The horde gave chase in a blur of movement. This was going to be tricky. Not just because I had to run backwards to do it, either. I needed to somehow separate the mare’s vamps from the cops they’d turned, all the while staying ahead of all of them.
I swept my staff in wide arcs, branches lashing out to trip the mare’s vampires while clearing a path for the turned cops. My aim wasn’t perfect. A few cops were knocked back in the process—but I was pretty sure I’d slowed down all of the mare’s vampires. That left a half-dozen vampire cops leading the charge.
Just as I’d hoped.
We sprinted through the maze of corridors with the mob close behind.
