Accession of the Stone Born: The Vigiles Urbani Chronicles (24 page)

I wasn’t pleading for my safety, but theirs.

The little girl’s specter wailed, shattering windows, and then she charged me with vengeance in her eyes. Waiting until she was within arm’s length, I snatched her up with my left hand. She howled in pain as the flames charred the spectral flesh. Her claws tore at me, passing through the enchanted cloth and digging into my flesh, allowing blood to flow freely. The blue flames intensified and her neck glowed orange, then red, before fire engulfed her form. She screeched, twitching in agony. Instinct kicked in and I thrusted the wakizashi up through her gut and out her skull, and with little more than a puff of smoke she simply ceased her existence.

Tendrils struck out from the billowing gray-black robe around me, pulling the tiny puff of smoke that had once been a soul into its swelling form. I felt her power added to my own and the others howled their displeasure. Several darted out of the crowd to score vicious blows against my midsection. I brought the wakizashi down again and again, cleaving souls in two only to have their remains pulled into the living remnants of the death shroud I wore. Even so my blood ran freely to the floor, but I wasn’t about to leave this world without a fight.

Chan took off in a run, ducking into a footballers’ stance, lodging a shoulder in my gut and driving me back several feet. Grunting, I brought my hand down, slamming it between his shoulder blades, knocking him to the floor hard enough to shatter the marble. I followed up with a kick that lifted him off the floor, and he flew at an odd angle into the others.

Charging ahead, I brought down the wakizashi in a big slash, slicing several specters in half, allowing their essences to heal my wounds and embolden my attacks. My left hand shot out and caught Chan by the back of the neck. I slammed him into the nearest wall and shoved the wakizashi up through his right side and out through his left collarbone, causing him to turn into a blazing orange and red mist that wrapped itself around me.

A jolt of energy passed through me, my eyes felt hot, and the world turned to shades of orange and red. Red lightning poured out of me in every direction like power from a Tesla coil, enveloping the nearest souls that were still standing and instantly extinguishing them. The red lightning wrapped itself around Timothy, pulling him closer. It turned him around to face me and I opened my maw, tearing into his spectral flesh with my teeth. He howled for perhaps a split second before his form erupted into the same orange and red mist as Chan.

Power continued to course through my veins, but there was no one left to kill. No souls left to devour, yet my hunger was everlasting. Now it was me who howled in rage. The hunger and power left me in a rush. I felt the house rumble and the walls around me shatter. Making a mad dash for the double french doors leading out into the backyard, I crashed through the glass at top speed. Rolling to my feet, I looked back as the center of the house caved in on itself.

I guessed I didn’t need to wait for nature to run its course!

A few minutes later the world returned to normal. The robes faded and I watched in fascination as the flames receded and my hand returned to its naturally marred state. This hadn’t been a complete waste of time…I now knew for certain that Walter was behind all of this.

Pondering the implications of someone being able to summon souls from whatever lay beyond to do their bidding unnerved me. That and other thoughts made the drive back to Andrew’s place a long one. Walter hadn’t been what I’d expected.

Chapter 17

The late evening sun hung low in the purpling sky above, keeping the air thick and steamy. I pulled off St. Charles Avenue heading for Coliseum. Making the block, I turned into the drive only to have my progress stopped by a man who made me look small by comparison. My first thought was that Timothy had a friend, but then I remembered with a personality like his I doubted he had those. On the other hand, Andrew had called for additional security and this man would certainly fit the bill.

Throwing the car into park, I stepped out of the Tucker to greet the bear of a man. It was then that I had a vague recollection of seeing the man with Isidore at the funeral. This had to be Alexander.

Even though he only had an inch or two on me in height, the massive barrel chest and body to match made me look puny standing this close. The additional fifty pounds of muscle rippled through the loose fitting jeans and long sleeved flannel shirt with every movement he made. An equally long beard matched his long black hair. His eyes were a deep chestnut brown that seemed to peer through me.

The man had a Hell’s Angel vibe mixed with something more gentle, yet far more dangerous. Sticking one of his massive hands in my direction, he gave me the slightest of smiles and a gentle nod. His voice was a deep, rumbling thing. “You must be Gavin.” He gave me an appraising eye. “You were at the funeral with Andrew.”

When I took his hand, I was surprised to find that the big man’s grip was firm without being a vice. He clearly had nothing to prove to the likes of me. “I am, and I was.”

He waved a hand and two men I hadn’t seen earlier pulled the gates open. “I’m Alexander.” Keeping his grip firm, he waved back at the drive. “When you get settled into the job I’d like to have a word.”

Keeping my eyes on his, I was instantly concerned and a little curious. “Is there a problem?”

Alexander’s chest heaved as a big belly laugh came rolling out of him. “Not at all.” He clapped me on the shoulder hard enough to knock me a few steps to the side. “It can wait till this is handled.” His amusement faded as he locked his eyes onto mine. “If you need assistance with anything, anything at all, you let me know.” He pulled out a card and stuffed it into my hand. “I’ve got plenty of people, all of which want to help should it be needed.”

It didn’t take a genius to figure out that wasn’t an offer he made lightly or often. “I’ll keep that in mind if things get hairy.”

His face went blank and the big man stood up straight. “Did you just make a werepeople joke?” The edges of his mouth started to twitch, and then he laughed as he smacked me on the shoulder again. “Just joshing ya, son!” He waved me back to the car. “Go on and get upstairs. Andrew’s been looking for ya.”

Pointing to the dashboard of the car where my phone sat, I said, “He could’ve called.”

Alexander chortled. “He still isn’t used to those things.”

Grumbling, I moved the car into the garage. When I pulled the door closed I turned to thank Alexander, but he and the men were gone. Scanning the yard, I expected to see them walking around the side of the house, but I was wrong. I saw no trace of them. Heading through the back door I thought I saw someone, but when I turned there was nothing there. Spooky as hell.

Opening the door to the apartment, I found Andrew at his desk talking to Isidore and looking particularly amused. He gave Isidore a knowing glance and Isidore turned and let out a chuckle.

Andrew couldn’t keep the mirth out of his voice. “Welcome back.”

They were absolutely full of themselves. Glancing behind me before closing the door, I turned to face them, annoyance building.

“Did I miss something?” I said flatly.

Isidore pushed himself around in his chair and snickered. “Have fun out on the Lakefront?”

Closing my eyes in frustration, I groused, “I suppose my trip to Walter’s house has somehow preceded me?”

Andrew sniggered. “You could say that. There was a report of my...your car being spotted at 1601 Lakeview Drive just before the place collapsed.” Andrew couldn’t hide his delight.

Taking a seat, I threw my hands up in disgust. “Before you get upset, the place was empty when I walked in.” My frustration with the visit got the better of me. “It didn’t stay that way however. Shit got weird fast.”

Andrew’s amusement slipped. “What do you mean?”

The denarius told me to tread carefully. “What I mean is Walter is a fucking necromancer.”

Andrew’s face tightened and his back went rigid. “Are you sure?”

My confusion and anger flowed together as the words rushed out. “Yeah, I’m sure.” A part of my mind fought to keep me from saying that ghosts were real. “Walter was able to summon Chan, Timothy, and several others from beyond the veil.”

Isidore shuddered, his voice hollow. “A necromancer? You’re sure?”

Andrew remained rigid, his voice tight. “You’re positive?”

Sitting upright, I glared at them. “Unless there is some other creature out there that can summon the souls of the dead to do their bidding, then yes, I’m fucking sure.”

Andrew winced, his voice grave. “I’ve heard rumors, but no one has ever been able to prove it until now.”

Leaning back again, I felt the denarius pulsate in anger. With effort I turned my attention to Andrew. “This is just one more crime in a long list against the bastard.”

Andrew turned a nasty shade of green when he spoke. “How did you escape, let alone survive the encounter?”

The denarius urged me to answer with caution. “I used the wakizashi; something about the weapon allowed me to destroy them.”

Isidore was incensed, getting to his feet. “You did what?” He stammered as he looked at Andrew. “How is that even possible?”

Looking up at Isidore in confusion, I heard the denarius whisper in my mind
. Do not tell them the truth! They can’t know!

It needn’t have bothered. There wasn’t a chance in hell that I was going to tell them I’d shifted into some sort of soul eating monster. I did feel obligated to remind the self-righteous asshole about the situation. “Don’t forget these specters were doing their best to kill me at the time, and I used the wakizashi in self-defense.”

My words did little to sway the look on Isidore’s face. He looked at Andrew for support. “Aren’t you going to say anything?”

Andrew shook his head in disbelief. “What am I supposed to say?” He closed his eyes as he shook off a thought. “He’s fortunate to have found such a weapon.”

Absolute horror never left Isidore’s face. “That may be true, but those poor people—”

Andrew motioned for Isidore to sit down and let him handle the situation. Once Isidore took his seat, still fuming at me but silent, he continued. “Is there anything further you’d like to add?”

The denarius was alert, whispering facts and figures into my mind. Necromancers summoned souls from whatever lay beyond, and forced them to serve their new master. Under normal circumstances, these specters couldn’t be dispatched or dispersed without powerful counter spells or the death of the necromancer that summoned them.

It was clear to everyone in the room I didn’t know the first thing about counter spells. And with Walter still being amongst the living, option two hadn’t occurred. Since I’d given the wakizashi full credit for handling the situation, I could see why Andrew was skeptical. The denarius pointed out that it had never encountered anything like this previously.

The denarius was frightened yet highly intrigued by my abilities. It also cemented the fact I needed to stick to my story. The best lie always lay hidden in the truth. “As I said, I used the wakizashi I acquired from storage, which seemed to cause them to melt into a strange mist that faded away.”

That was the truth…mostly. Of course, I’d left out the fact that the mist in question wrapped itself around me in the form of whatever it was that I’d taken on. That was something they didn’t need to know. Not only did I not understand what had happened, I also didn’t know the implications or repercussions of divulging too much. 

Andrew sat there looking at me questioningly for a moment before falling back in his seat. “I see.” His face was hard as he stared at me, trying to search out the truth on his own before letting out a long breath. “Have you found the law regarding necromancy?”

It was fucking hard to miss; it was the second law, after all, and stated that necromancy was strictly forbidden.

The denarius spoke quickly to explain why necromancy was such an affront to nature itself. Lazarus was a perfect example as to why it was forbidden. He’d died long ago and a powerful sorcerer/ necromancer and a dozen of his followers performed a perverse ceremony over a course of three days that pulled his soul through the veil and forced it back into his body. The result brought Lazarus back from the dead, but changed. He came back with the powers of the stone born, vampire, sorcerer, and others; each of his new powers corresponded to the men who’d resurrected him. He was something that should never have been, and it enslaved Lazarus to this world for all time with the inability to die.

A much noted side effect unknown to any other living creature was the fact it had magnified Lazarus’s power several hundred fold. Even so, Lazarus was heartbroken and wished nothing more than to return from whence he’d been ripped away. He’d not wanted to return to this world. It was then that he created the Archive to regulate our kind and keep us under some sort of control. Necromancy had never been used in a way to benefit anyone other than the necromancer.

Part of me wanted to know how the denarius knew all this since I was certain that no other living creature, save for Lazarus, had ever heard this story. But that was when Andrew cleared his throat to get my attention.

Tearing myself away from the denarius, I turned to my uncle. “Yes, I know the law, and yes, I’m aware of the penalty.”

Andrew was exhausted. “Good….”

Isidore looked between us with his mouth agape. “That’s all you’re going to say?”

Turning to Isidore, I scowled at him. “Look, I understand that those poor things didn’t have a choice in the matter, and believe me, I don’t like it any better than you, but what the fuck do you want? It was either me or them, and so long as I draw breath I will always choose me.”

Isidore opened his mouth to respond and then shut it again. After several moments he found his voice. “I’m glad you survived, but it’s just hard for me. They were forced into—”

“They were, but people like Chan and Timmy aren’t worth mourning. The others weren’t either,” I growled.

Andrew glared at Isidore, who quieted down. “You understand what you need to do?”

Shooting Isidore a dismissive glance, I turned my full attention to Andrew. “There was never any question about what I needed to do. This just makes the paperwork easier.”

Andrew blinked. “How do you plan on proceeding?”

The way Isidore kept looking at me made me feel somber. Taking a deep breath, I shrugged. “With an abundance of caution. First things first, I need a shower and a change of clothes before heading back out.” Getting to my feet, I stretched. “Met Alexander earlier. Seems like a good guy from what little I’ve seen.”

Andrew visibly relaxed at the change of subjects. “He’s one of the good ones unless you’ve crossed him, and then he is a very difficult person to deal with.”

Stepping around the chair, I placed a hand on Isidore’s shoulder. “I’ll get cleaned up and be back out there shortly.” I looked down at Isidore. “For what it’s worth, I’m just as horrified by what happened as you. I just don’t have the luxury of second guessing myself.”

The righteous indignation rushed out of him. “Of course you were right to defend yourself, and I’m glad you survived.” He took a long breath as he looked over at Andrew and then back up at me. “You sure you want to go back out tonight?”

A small chuckle escaped my lips. “Don’t tell me Andrew’s swayed you to thinking I’m some sort of helpless child.”

He gave me a dry laugh and shook his head. “Not at all, but you should know that necromancers are far more powerful after sundown, and if Walter could conjure up that many souls in the middle of the day, just imagine what he can do after the sun sets.”

Flashing him a frown, I turned to look at Andrew, who only nodded in agreement. “Isidore is correct in this matter.”

While it was nice to have people suddenly concerned for my welfare, it was starting to give me a headache. “Even so, I’ve got to go back out. I don’t really see a way around it.”

Without another word I headed for my room. Standing in front of the washer, I dropped my blood soaked clothes in to be washed when I got back. I was fairly certain Heather wasn’t going to be up to doing my laundry for a long while. Speaking of Heather, I really needed to call her and check in, but that could wait till after a shower. Something about calling a girl while naked and covered in my own blood seemed a little creepy.

It took a good half hour of scrubbing to feel even remotely clean. While it wasn’t surprising, I was still caught off guard by the distinct lack of visible wounds. After toweling off I found a clean pair of jeans and a pullover T-shirt and got dressed. I left the leather armor on the floor. It had done little to protect me, so why bother lugging it around?