Nimravid (The MacFade Chronicles Book 1) Read online

  “What in THE HELL are you doing?”

  “Trust me.”

  Kolann stiffened. He even looked a little affronted as the light left his eyes and his natural vamp Glamour reasserted itself. “Of course we do. We were a civilized society long before your kind were known to exist.” MY kind? I let it slide. “Glad to hear it, Master Kolann. So I believe the onus is mine.” Kolann’s features became wooden and cold. “Although sparing me such a duty is not necessary, I suppose it is your’s if you so desire.” I looked him in the eye, Projecting my sincerity directly into his powerful mind. “No father should have to explain to his sons why he was required to execute their mother. This, I would do for my worst enemy.” I slowly turned to Svetlana, allowing the rod to uncurl from around my waist and morph into the Katana. Svetlana gasped, “No, Kolann! Kill me quickly! He’s the son of The Scourge. He will make my suffering the stuff of legend, like his mother!”

  “What a drama queen!”

  My head snapped around to face her. She had sunk to her knees for the death blow. “You have no right to speak of my mother, be quiet.” I had just about had it with her when I heard a sword being drawn behind me. “Mai, has our invisible friend moved?” I took a quick Sighted glance at the nebulous blob of energy. “Not an inch, just some nervous feet shuffling.”

  Keeping the blade behind me, I slowly turned to face Kolann. He was holding out a beautiful sword, in a formal blade presentation posture. “I would consider it a personal favor if you would make it quick. She’s my wife whom I love and I do not wish for her to suffer.” Kolann’s eyes searched mine. I broke the gaze before it became too personal. “Enough Alex... We both know you have no intention of executing her.” I waved my hand, refusing the sword. He looked puzzled. “I have my own, but I think I have a better idea.” I lowered the Katana and allowed it to curl back around my waist, before he spotted it. “I have no desire to take Svetlana’s head—tonight. I exercise the right to choose the place and time.” I winked at Kolann. “Get up Svetlana; you’re wrinkling your pretty dress.” I gave her my handkerchief. “Thank you.” She spoke at barely a whisper, looking me in the eye, “You could have taken my head. It was your right. No one in the clan would have retaliated.”

  “Wanna bet?”

  “Not my style, Lana. I’m a warrior and a businessman, not an executioner, now we need to talk, have a seat.” I picked up an overturned chair and pulled it opposite of my own forming a triangular conversation area between the three of us. Svetlana sat down and hesitantly handed the mascara smeared handkerchief back to me. I took it and folded it into my pocket. The contents could be useful later, if I ever needed to scry for her. “You don’t have to be afraid of me. In fact, I would very much prefer it if we could get along.” She looked suspicious. “Why?” I smiled and sat back rubbing my tired eyes with my palms. “Because I suspect, like it or not, Kolann and I are going to become great friends. We have a great deal in common.” Kolann leaned forward in anticipation of where I was going with my statement. “Like what, Mack?”

  I made a grand sweeping gesture, encompassing the room. “This room for instance. It’s set up exactly like I would, from the steel panels in the walls, to the secret exits behind the bookcase and fireplace. By the way Kolann, a couple of those guns are a little too high caliber to be used inside a safe room. A ricochet could bounce a few times and hit everyone inside.” Kolann started to relax and then he started to chuckle. Svetlana looked at him like he had lost his mind. “So how long did it take?” He rested his chin on his hand and adopting an amused expression. “How long for what?” I played dumb. “How long did it take you to find everything?”

  “Around six seconds.” He laughed even harder. “So what originally brought you to our home, Mack? Surely not a social call.”

  “Svetlana can supply the answer to that question.” Kolann shifted in his chair so that he could stare her down. “Oh, can she?” I’m not going to like this, am I?”

  “No, I’m thinking not, sorry to spoil your evening.”

  Kolann became impatient when Svetlana didn’t voluntarily begin speaking. “Well, we are waiting, Svetlana. What did you do?” He demanded. “I…I… didn’t mean any harm,” she said in a small voice. “I don’t even know why I did it.”

  I inhaled deeply trying to sound patient. “Svetlana, I spared your life just now and interceded on your behalf, facing down a berserk vampire scion. No offense, Kolann.” He waved a hand dismissively. “None taken.” I continued, “So now is not the time to lie.” Kolann began to look frustrated at being out of the loop. “What? What did she do? I demand to know!”

  “She’s the one who tipped off the media this evening, Kolann. She made the calls herself. One of the reporters recognized her voice.” Svetlana’s head suddenly came up. “That’s impossible, I…” She didn’t finish her sentence. “You enthralled the reporter personally, I’m well aware. You’re just not very good at this, are you?” She turned her head to look away. “Why, Svetlana? How did you even find out about the chief hiring me?” She remained silent. I reached forward and grasped her chin to pull her head up, to face her eye-to-eye. “Answer me!” She jerked away from my grasp almost as soon as I touched her. As I made contact a jolt of something hit me. Almost like a vision but it was so fast I couldn’t tell what it was. The amulet perhaps, it might have a localized defense spell to protect the bearer. I morphed the bracer into a gauntlet and reached into Svetlana’s pocket to retrieve the artifact. It was overcharged. She was definitely planning to kill me. “I’ll take that, if you don’t mind. You’re lucky it didn’t explode in your pocket.” I turned and held it up to show Kolann.

  “A word of advice, don’t charge up wards if you’re not absolutely certain you’re going to use them.” She had her hands folded in her lap and was staring at her palms with a miserable expression on her face. I siphoned off enough power to make it safe and provide myself with a little recharge. The sigils on the gauntlet and rod glowed gently, flashed a couple of times, and then went dark. Kolann saw the flash and looked at me with a question on his lips. “The amulet,” I said as I passed it to him. “It’s safe now.” He took it as if I had offered him a poisonous snake. “Thank you, Mack. Could it really have exploded?” I nodded. “And would have taken most of this wing of the house with it.”

  “I don’t know why I did it,” Svetlana said quietly. I looked at her more closely. She was telling the truth. “How did you find out, the chief?”

  “The chief had nothing to do with it.”

  “Then who told you?”

  Kolann rolled his eyes and smiled knowingly. “The Chief of Police is one of her thralls, it had to be him.” Svetlana hissed at him. “Kolann!”

  “He would have found out eventually. There doesn’t seem to be much anyone can hide from this man.”

  “You thinking what I’m thinking, Mai?”

  “The Chief of Police is directly involved? It sure seems that way. Throw her a curve ball see how she handles it.”

  “I was talking about the Chief of Detectives, Svetlana, but now that I think about it, it was highly privileged information. So it was the Chief of POLICE who told you? Don’t lie to me, woman. I’ll know it.”

  “Don’t be so sure about that, Alex. She’s blocking me and very effectively at that. She must be older than we thought.”

  “Weird…She doesn’t smell that old.”

  “Maybe it’s different with the females. We don’t exactly have an extensive knowledge base about vampires. Your mother killed them so quickly I never had a chance to access their minds, even the young ones.” I shivered at the thought. “I’m sorry, Alex. I didn’t mean to go there.”

  I placed my hands on top of Svetlana’s. She snatched them away. OK I get it, no touching. “Svetlana, I am sorry I got rough with you earlier and the other night. It was so that other violence could be avoided and I regret that, but I really need to know who told you about me.” Svetlana barely reacted at all. “I understand.” Svetlana spo
ke in an almost clinical tone of voice. “I don’t remember who told me about you working for the police. It was one of the security officers, I think. They thought I should know because you and I were at odds. I called the media because I was angry about the auction. I don’t know why. I just really wanted that box. Probably because I knew YOU wanted it.”

  “And the money, how did you know I had been hired?”

  “Your reputation precedes you Mr. Walker. It was just common sense that you wouldn’t do anything for the police, unless someone was paying you.”

  “Well now that’s a bit insulting.”

  “Let it go, Alex.”

  “Believe it or not, Lana. I’m a not a half bad bloke once you get to know me and I really do want us to get along. As I said before, Kolann and I are going to become good friends, I have an instinct about these things. I’ll need his assistance in teaching me to conceal an immortal identity. A feuding friend and spouse tend to get in the way of such things. You’ll help me with that won’t you, Kol?” He narrowed his eyes and wrinkled his nose at the “Kol” but it didn’t seem to bother him over much. It’s a game I play. I find out how familiar I am getting with a person by seeing how far I can shorten their name before they say something. He smiled and spread his hands. “Absolutely Mack, it would be my pleasure. What are FRIENDS for?”

  Chapter 18

  We sat and talked for a while, in an effort to smooth things over. “You know Svetlana, if the box means that much to you, it’s yours.”

  “What?”

  “You want it, it’s yours. My little piece offering. I’ll be right back. Kol, can you arrange for my exit and reentry to the house, please?” Svetlana looked shocked as Kolann punched an intercom button and Reggie’s voice answered. “Mr. Walker is to be allowed access to his vehicle and back without incident. Have Archibald meet him at the front door to collect the master control amulet. Is that understood?”

  “Yes father, as you wish.” Was Reggie’s only reply.

  He casually tossed the amulet to me. I gave him a raised eyebrow, looking from Kolann to the amulet and back again. “You realize, of course, what I could do with this, right?” Svetlana looked concerned and stared at the gleaming metal in my hand. Kolann laughed and dismissed my last statement with a wave of his hand. “Do I look worried? Not your style, Mack; I trust you. Now move along, we don’t have all night.” The smile he gave me as I left said “Everything’s going to be OK.” His mind however was saying,“What in the Hell is he doing?”

  Reggie was waiting for me at the door. “I do apologize, Mr. Walker, but I wasn’t able to locate Archibald. I can relieve you of that.”

  “Only if you think you can TAKE it from me, Reginald. Or more to the point if you think you can TAKE ME.” I emphasized my point with a short, telepathic burst of uncertainty. “Your pop said to give it to Archie. I’ll make sure he gets it, no worries.” I walked out before he had a chance to reply.

  As I made my way down the long winding driveway I extended my Senses out around me. I was about three quarters of the way back to the Hummer when I stopped in my tracks, holding out the amulet. “You might as well take this, power’s starting to make me itch.” No response, I turned to a warped spot in the landscape. “I don’t have time to play games, Arch. Take the amulet or I’m going to put you on the ground again.” An exasperated sigh escaped the general direction of the nebulous shape, the Shroud flickered and dropped.

  “How did you know?” It was adorable how hard he was trying to escape my attention and how utterly useless an effort it was. “When you use a Shroud and you want to move around, you have to extend it all the way to the ground and then move very slowly or employ Concealment. I saw the depressions your feet made, as you walked in behind Svetlana and those impressions were clearly visible while you were standing in the corner.” He groaned. “Ugh! No better than last night, how lame was it?” I shrugged. “Not completely off the lame-osity chart, but not at all bad kid, you just need practice.” I continued walking but Archie hung back. “Aren’t you coming? Don’t you want to see what’s in the box?”

  “What are you doing?”

  “Relax Mai, we can trust him AND Kolann. It’s just instinct.”

  “I don’t know, Alex…”

  “Mai, when have my instincts about a person ever been wrong?”

  “Come to think of it, you’re batting close to a thousand right now.”

  “Exactly.”

  “And that makes you overconfident.

  “Just couldn’t let me have it, could ya?”

  Mai’s smug silence, spoke volumes. “Come on, Arch. We haven’t got all night, mustn't keep mummy waiting.” He started forward and looking agitated. “She’s NOT my mother, Mack.” I shook my head and bent forward in a silent laugh thinking about some of the most insubstantial things children choose to rebel against. “As you like it, now let’s see what’s in the box.” Archie looked puzzled. “Here? I thought it couldn’t be opened.”

  “As the rightful owner I can open it, want to see some magic?” Archie’s eyes widened. “You’re going to open it with magic? Don’t we need to like, get behind something? Or protective gear?” I gave him a withering look. “Yes, Arch, because EVERYTHING I do is with large explosions and searing heat.”

  “Just playing the odds…”

  “What was that?”

  “Nothing.”

  “Everybody’s a bloody comedian,” I grumbled as I slid the box to the edge of the tailgate. “Any secret to this, Mai?”

  “You’re the bearer of the ring, should open with a voice command.” I reached out and placed my hands on the sides of the lid. I pushed a little power into the box through the gauntlet. “Ririsu”. The latch popped and I lifted the lid. “Tada!” I presented the open box to Archie, with a flourish. “Uhhh, that’s it? ‘Ririsu’ and it opens? Not much of a show, Mack. No offense I was just expecting a—” I rolled my eyes. Kids these days whether they are 16 or 61, all want instant gratification. “You were expecting a flash and a bang, maybe a cloud of smoke?”

  “Well—”

  “Sorry to disappoint, Archie, but magic is really simple most of the time. It’s the parlor tricks that make a show, not really my thing.”

  “What’s in it?”

  “Let’s find out.” I pulled the box forward keeping the rear door of the Hummer between it and the house. We examined the inside and you could have knocked me over with a feather. The interior held hollows to house several pieces of equipment. There were spaces for a helm, rod, two bracers, breast plate and what looked like shin guards, called grieves. To my surprise, the breast plate and one of the gauntlet spaces were occupied! “Crikey! Do you know what these are?” Archie eyed the pieces carefully and then reached over and lifted up the bracer, comparing it to the gauntlet on my right wrist. “They look like they match your other stuff, I assume that’s a good thing.” I reached out and took the second bracer. “That, my friend, is beautiful thing.” I slid up my left sleeve and held the bracer to my arm. “Ririsu,” nothing happened. Archie looked at me expectantly. “What gives? Why isn’t it opening?”

  “It’s depleted. It’s been dormant for hundreds of years. Push some power into it.”

  “I think it needs a jump start.” I said to Archie by way of explanation. “So you need jumper cables or what?” I narrowed my eyes at him. “Yeah, this smartass thing, getting old fast, kid. Just give me a second.” Easing power into the bracer, the sigils began to glow. Archie still looked unimpressed. This wasn’t turning out as fun as I thought it would be. “That’s pretty but does it do anything else?” I gave him the hairy eyeball. “You know you can go back up to the house, any time you want.” Archie fell into expectant silence. “Ririsu” I breathed and the armor snapped open. Placing my wrist into it, it closed up and sealed, spreading out over the back of my hand to mimic its mate, thereby creating a matched pair of gauntlets. I flexed my fingers and tensed the muscles in my forearm, the custom fit felt good. I looked at Archie.
He tilted his head and shrugged his shoulders. I gave him a flat look. “You’re a difficult son-of-a-bitch to impress aren’t you?” He raised his eyebrows and shrugged again. “Well I do live day to day with one of the oldest and most powerful vampires in the known world. So ‘amazing’, is kind of my life.”

  “You wish kid; you have no idea how easy you have it.”

  I held up my new acquisition and put it through the usual repertoire of forms and weapons I prefer, ending with the Tekko-Kagi. Archie tested a claw with the tip of a finger and whistled. “Now that is the coolest Swiss army knife, I have ever seen and now, you have two of them, doesn’t really seem fair. Now WHAT IS THIS?” Archie pulled the breast plate out of the chest, thrusting it at me. “Charge it up let’s see what it does!” I pulled the piece out of his hand. “Excuse me! This is not a toy and I am not the bleeding Energizer Bunny.”

  He held up both hands flicking his fingers at me in the universal “get on with it” gesture. “You don’t understand, Archie. I’ve had a gauntlet,” I held the right one up, “for decades, so I know how it works. This I’ve never seen before, it might actually be a good idea to back up a bit, on this one.” He did a backward handspring doubling the distance between us. “Now you’re just showing off.” He tilted his head and shrugged with a smile. “Guess it was my turn.”

  “It’s just like the gauntlets, Mack. It’s first body armor and then it does what you ask of it, within its ability.” I pushed a little power into armor causing it to glow just like the gauntlet. I pulled my shirt off and said “Ririsu”. The breast plate sprang open bottom to top with the shoulders acting as hinges. I tossed the tux jacket onto the spare tire and stripped off my t-shirt, slipping the breast plate over my head. It immediately sealed up, molding itself to my torso. As it fitted itself to me, it rose up on the shoulders forming what looked like small cavalier shields. Most likely these were for deflecting a sword stroke aimed at the neck. Spreading over my arms, to end just above the elbow; it expanded up my neck to just over my larynx. The bottom formed what can only be described as a short plated kilt, which hit me just above the knee.