A Prison of Worlds (The Chained Worlds Chronicles Book 1) (36 page)

“Help,
I’m trapped in Sebastian’s nostalgia fantasy and I want to get out,” I moaned
to myself.  I might as well pedal us all there, I’d get there faster.

Once
the rickety looking device started I began to feel better.  It was obviously
heavily modified, because as we picked up speed the engine sound never
changed.  Pretty soon we had to be going over hundred mph.  I could feel the
odd inertialess sensation of a kinetic dampener and at that point I shrugged my
shoulders, earning an elbow from Mei, and shut up.  The field also seemed to
have a weak barrier effect that prevented us from picking bugs out of our
teeth.  By the time we reached Jeremy’s apartment, I had to admit that it was a
pretty nifty variation of an antique car.

Of
course, street traffic these days was mostly zoned for pedestrians and
alternate quirky modes of travel, so we had many people leaping out of the way of
the car.  The vampire managed this with aplomb and barely appeared to notice
the curses that followed in our wake.

Jeremy’s
home was a bit more damaged than I had imagined.  Police buoys floated just
outside spouting their holographic lightshow that was intended to show the
house was a crime scene.  I pushed past one, ignoring the high voltage
discharge while Mei paused to call Conrad on her wrist vid terminal.

There
were blackened and charred parts on the wall, likely curtesy of the electrical
powered shifter.  Half the living rooms couch was burned to the frame.   I
looked up at the ceiling and down to the floor and noted that there was a faint
residue from the fire suppressant foam.  Apparently once the minions had left,
the electrical system reset.  There was also a lot of overturned furniture. 
Considering how little Jeremy had resisted they might have been looking for
something.  Jeremy kept a physical notebook in his personal code but as far as
I knew he wasn’t really digging into Jin. 

Unless
of course he did it on his own.  It wouldn’t be the first time Jeremy took the
initiative and then came to me once he had answers.  He became a detective
because he liked solving puzzles, not because he liked money.  It was why I had
him on retainer.  I liked his initiative, even if it did get him shot at with
his other side work.

Apparently,
Jin did not like initiative.  I was starting to wonder if I had been attacked
because of my relationship with Jeremy, rather than the reverse.  That was an
amusing thought, though it gave my ego a kick in the pants.  While I was
contemplating the situation I had moved back towards the bathrooms.  His
parents had a very modern bathroom and some odd tools by the sink.  Examining
them, I realized they were personal grooming tools that disintegrated dead
skin, loose hair, saliva and all other bodily waste matter as the person
groomed.  For a moment it occurred to me that a paranoid person who was aware
of the magic and the use of sympathetic spells might just live this way, before
I recalled that the parents were hosts to nanite colonies.  Colonies that there
were very strict laws about.

Afterward,
I went to Jeremy’s room with some trepidation.  If he had the same grooming
tools I would have to come up with another plan.  I breathed a sigh of relieve,
as I noticed that my friend was far more traditional and actually had a real
hairbrush.  I should have known.  If I could count on archaic behavior from
anyone it would be Jeremy.  I quickly grabbed a tuft of hair and made my way to
the car while attempting to wind the unruly tangle of fibers around my tooth.

Sebastian
hadn’t even bothered to exit his baby and when I noticed that Mei wasn’t in the
couch-like seat I looked back to see her still talking angrily to her vid
terminal while absently swatting away the buoys.

“Stop
playing cat and mouse with the drones and come over here,” I said, finally succeeding
in knotting the hair in place.  Mei growled at me and in a last burst of
exasperation backhanded the drones into the wall as she turned to walk over to
the car.

“Conrad
is having a hissy fit about us ignoring protocol,” she complained.

“Yeah,
he takes that whole police thing way too seriously,” I commiserated.  Sebastian
grunted in agreement and quickly got the car up to speed.  “If Mat was still
alive he could have come with us and Conrad wouldn’t whine as much.  Damn.  I
wish I could work that resurrection spell.”  This earned an odd look from my
companions that I ignored.  Shaking off my mood, I concentrated on keeping the
tooth balanced while hanging from the golden chain.

The
tracking part of the tooth wasn’t as clear as I liked.  As the tooth hung in
the air it wobbled a bit, similar to a compass that didn’t quite know where
north was.  It bobbled about thirty degrees and I scowled as I wrestled with my
new wrist terminal to integrate the direction the tooth was pointing onto the
map.  Thirty degrees is a huge margin of error and only the fact that we were
traveling through the city helped triangulate the area to something that was
hallway reasonable.  Still, I was slightly encouraged that I had anything. 
Either he was moved to an area with anti-scrying spells on it or this tracking
rune could punch through such protection.  Well, at least somewhat.

My
frustration must have been somewhat visible, because Sebastian was giving me
glares himself.  “Calm down.  This car is very well shielded, however I am
starting to feel your agitation and I would rather not tempt fate.”

“Fine. 
I think I almost have something.”  The thought of us all tumbling end over end
before plowing into a building was worth a smile.  After all, we would be
mostly unhurt, just a little jostled.  Still I wouldn’t want to traumatize
another companion so soon after the last one.  “I think if we make another circle
around the city I should be able to get a firm location.  Let’s hurry and
finish up with Mr. Sully.”

The
building we were headed to was smack dab in the center of the land previously
known as the Blight.  They were going to have to rename the district.  Although
I had never been there, I had seen some very realistic holograms of the state
of Las Vegas, especially the capital, and the block seemed to be a microcosm of
the entertainment capital of the world. 

The
construction at this location was complete and crowds of well-dressed fun
seekers roamed through a forest of garish lights and holograms.  These weren’t
advertisements in the traditional sense.  These were displays to draw the eye
and entertain.  They varied from mere fireworks to dance and choruses writ
large on the sky, to large shows accompanied by music.  Okay, I suppose some
may still call it a blight, just in a different manner.  It certainly clashed
on my senses and I am sure that they were not nearly as sharp as the average
vampire or shifter.

We
finally stopped outside a huge palisade with glowing fountains.  A valet
dressed in an old style tux stepped up to Sebastian.  “May I park your car sir?”

“Here’s
the valet code,” he muttered while tapping something out on his wrist
terminal.  “Damage my car and I’ll report you as an unregistered newbie to
Fiero.”

“Here
in Purgatory we only answer to Master Sulayman,” the valet stated haughtily. 
Sebastian nodded tensely.  “Okay, let me put it this way.  If you damage my car
I will hunt you down, cut off your head and soak both parts in a barrel of holy
water.”

“I
have the barrel if you need it,” I volunteered.  Both vampires glared at me and
Mei coughed off to the side, ignoring the testosterone display and obviously
trying to disassociate herself from all of us.

The
valet went silent as whatever vampire aura Sebastian was putting out thoroughly
cowed him.  As amusing as it was, it never the less pointed out some rather
disturbing things.  The first was simply Sebastian was a power tripping ass.  I
knew this already, so I discarded this tidbit of knowledge.  Second was the
vampire valet was acting very atypically.  Not acknowledging the master of the
city was absurd.  Vampires just didn’t abandon territory like that.  There was
a hierarchy that was almost hardwired in.  Shifters could fight it out and
change their status if they had the physical prowess and the guts, but vampires
weren’t built that way.  Except now it seems.

Looking
around I could see human, vampires and shifters mingling on the streets.  The
humans should have been twitchy and fearful as the psychic energies and auras
they weren’t fully equipped to sense grated on their nerves and warned them on
a subconscious level that an apex predator was stalking them.  Yet here they
were, completely oblivious and having a marvelous time.  The shifters and
vampires talked politely and traded small jests rather than insults and there
was no violence or bloodshed as far as I could see.  Something was up.

The
biggest thing was that Sulayman had managed to instill his authority in two
diametrically opposed supernatural factions.  Something that ten minutes ago I had
thought was an impossibility.  Not to mention it was throwing down the biggest
gauntlet in the city.  Forget the tiny power play from Eddie Prince that
presaged Kingston’s comeback into the underworld.  This man had spit in the eye
of every vampire and shifter in the city.  And they were rolling over and
asking to have their tummy scratched. I turned towards Sebastian.

“So
do you see anything wrong with this area,” I asked the old vampire.

“Yes,
the newly turned ones don’t know their place,” Sebastian folded his arms in
disdain.

“Nothing
else?  You don’t feel the need to put Sulayman in his place or drive away all
these pesky shifters near you?” I ventured hesitantly.

“Bah,
not worth my time,” he shrugged impatiently.  “Let’s finish this meeting so we
can find your friend.”

I
looked over to Mei, who was looking at Sebastian in startlement.  Shaking her head,
she looked around as if noticing it for the first time.

“I...
I don’t feel any need to... er,” she struggled to verbalize her confusion.  At
least she had noticed something was off when it was pointed out, unlike our
resident vampire assassin.  It could have been her artifact.  The more powerful
ones often act to protect their wielders, beyond the obvious physical way.

“You
don’t feel the need to beat the crap out of all these vampires in your
territory?” I finished for her helpfully.

“Um,
sort of,” she said slowly.  “I travel a lot and have gotten used to being in
someone else’s territory.  But I don’t feel a thing.  And poor Sebastian
obviously isn’t connecting what this means.”  She paused for a moment, “I
didn’t even think what it means until you pointed it out.”

“What
are you two babbling about,” the vampire snapped out irritably.  “I thought we
were in a rush.  You certainly ran in and out of that apartment fast enough.”

I
gripped my rune etched tooth tightly where it once more hung from my neck and
concentrated on seeing various energies.  Auras popped into view and a
sensation of magic lapped against my senses.  Actually a significant amount of
magic.  Enough that I should have immediately been aware and on my guard.  And
yet I wasn’t.  Now that I was concentrating on it I could detect two elements,
a calming effect and another that whispered that everything was as it should
be.  Being an adept of many mental abilities, I realized that it was similar to
my invisibility field.  There I encouraged everyone to ignore that I was there
or anything was out of place.  Of course, my ability was a bit more intense,
but then again it didn’t cover an entire district.  It also would not be nearly
as effective against supernatural entities.

“Fascinating,
it’s a huge spell.  Likely a circle or ward.  Anything less powerful wouldn’t
have the range,” I rambled a bit, as I analyzed the effect.  Hopefully, it
wasn’t a rune.  Beings that have access to runes are high rollers in the
supernatural world.  God level or like my old friend Mr. Evil, wanting to join
that heavyweight class and either brave enough or mad enough not scared of the
consequences.  Or a dwarf.  Somehow, they get a free pass.  Don’t ask me how
that works.

“What
does it do?” asked Mei worriedly.

“What
does what do?” interjected Sebastian.  I ignored him; he was already under the
effects and evidentially couldn’t resist it as much as Mei could.  Despite our
discussion earlier in my house, where we had brought up this very situation as
a mystery he was now completely unaware.  It may actually be just as well.

“There’s
a calming effect, combined with a very strong suggestion that everything is
precisely the way it should be.”  I would have continued, but a cacophony of
honking noises flooded the area.  Other people with old car fetishes had come
up behind us and were waiting to have a valet park their car.

“Get
out of the damn way,” called out a large man leaning out of his window in a
pinstriped suit.

“I
thought you said there was a calming effect,” Mei said looking pointedly at the
angry line cars forming.  We stepped sideways a few feet to give them room to
pass.

“There
is, imagine what assholes they would be if it wasn’t up,” I nodded at the now
fuming Sebastian.  He didn’t know what we were talking about.  It just would not
connect in his brain, however us going on about it was wearing on his nerves.  “This
entire place would likely be a bloodbath in seconds.”