Accession of the Stone Born: The Vigiles Urbani Chronicles (36 page)

Walter shoved a hand into his jacket pocket and dove at me, forcing something smooth and hard into my left hand and clamping his around mine in a vice. Instinctually I knew it was Walter’s stone and if what Andrew told me was true I wouldn’t be long for this world. My head exploded in pain. Screams echoed through the room, and it took several minutes to realize they weren’t my own. Not that I wasn’t screaming, but I wasn’t the only one.

The few remaining souls in the room howled, all the individual cases calling out in pain. My hand was locked around a smooth hot stone that funneled power from the specters, the stones, and Walter directly into me. Writhing on the ground, I couldn’t actually see what was going on, but from my vantage point I could tell that none of them were moving to attack me. One by one they faded from sight as they simply ceased to be.

I felt Walter’s life ebbing away when I heard the others, the stone born, stepping from their display cabinets and moving toward Walter. The specters were gone now. Still unable to move, I lay on the ground helplessly as I watched the stone born advance on the dying Walter. One by one they ripped a part of their souls from him then returned to their cabinets, until there was only one left.

I felt the pressure around me ease as Walter whimpered one last time before going limp. The last of the stone born stood there and gave me a slight bow. “We belong to you now.”

Then he vanished back to his display case. Power flooded through me as I got to my feet, towering over the broken form of Walter Percy. My left hand shot out and the blue flames wrapped themselves around his neck as I jerked him off the floor. He howled, windows shattered, and I felt the warm moist air flood the floor all around us. Thunder struck and shook the building as a blinding white light crashed through the room.

Squeezing tighter, I knew that his body had given up on life several minutes ago, but his soul was still trapped inside. I tore it free and felt the building shake again, the psychic trauma bleeding out into the open. I heard people screaming in the street below, crying for mercy. They wanted it to stop. Then I remembered Alexander and his people were down there. The helpless sick and dying in the nearby hospital writhed in the background. They could feel this…they felt the anger and pain. Finally, I tore Walter’s soul free before devouring it, allowing the Grim’s eyes to turn scarlet. Then it was over.

Chapter 29

Friday June 12th

What took place immediately afterward was hard to explain. The Reaper, for lack of a better term, faded back in on itself and I went to check on those below. Alexander and two dozen of his clan were still wobbly but getting back to their feet. They never spoke of what they saw and never asked what happened.

A part of me knew they’d felt and experienced Walter’s last moments before his soul had been torn asunder. How much of what they knew was a mystery, and one they didn’t seem keen on sharing with me. They were afraid, yet brave enough to do what needed to be done. And what needed to happen was a cleanup of the entire facility.

It took the better part of two days, with men and women working in shifts for nearly forty-six hours, to move all the stones and the rest of Walter’s things out of Charity Hospital to the Elmwood facility. They would stay there for safekeeping until I could find a more suitable place. Gabriel wasn’t exactly pleased to have Alexander and his brood traipsing in and out of his domain. Alexander had to keep a close eye on things since his people weren’t real keen on working with a nephilim.

The one overriding factor for Alex and his people was the fact none of them wanted to cross me. That was both a blessing and a curse. It was clear that any chance at a friendship with the man was gone for the moment. Whatever had transpired down there was enough for him to want to keep things on a purely professional level. His normally jovial attitude had been replaced by caution and trepidation.

I’d visited the DHL complex since everything had gotten settled in at the far end of the warehouse. Everything was incredibly quiet as none of the stones had spoken to me since my encounter with Walter. Something told me that once we were all settled that would change. I wasn’t sure that was a good thing. Only time would tell.

Today was a big day however. The meeting was scheduled for 10:00 a.m., and I was told that the ceremony would be held after. Andrew assured me that it would all be wrapped up by early evening at the latest. And yes, that statement was ambiguous as hell and I told him so. Andrew had asked about Alexander’s change in attitude several times. I wasn’t in a position to speak for the man, so I always directed his questions back to Alexander.

During the move from Charity Hospital to Elmwood I’d had time to review the security footage from Walter’s lair. He’d been kind enough to keep a log of what he called “the highlights.” One of those highlights was Robert Broussard plotting his daughter’s death, along with that of his wife. Robert had hired Chan to remove his daughter and wife at the wedding in hopes of gaining access to the wards around Andrew’s property via some sort of key.

Because of this news I’d barely left my room in days, avoiding Heather and Kimberly. I wasn’t sure how I’d be able to face them after I was forced to pass judgement on the slimy bastard. I’d intentionally waited for today to reveal the information to make a statement to the others. I wanted this to be a public execution. I needed them to see that crossing this line would mean their death. Most importantly though, I needed to cement myself as the
vigiles
without question. My authority after this would be absolute.

It would be a hard thing but it was necessary. Being the new kid, I had to find the biggest, baddest asshole in the group and give them a bloody nose. After that things would get considerably easier. And because of this decision, things could get very strained between me and the two remaining Broussard's.

For now, however, I had less than an hour to prepare for the meeting. I was hoping that Robert and Bradley would get nervous and skip it entirely. If they went on the run, I could track them down and deal with them quietly. That wasn’t going to happen though. I knew that. I’d planned for it.

Staying in my room till just after 10:00, I slowly made my way through the house and to the large meeting room. Alexander and Isidore were dressed in dark blue suits on either side of the door as silent sentinels.

Isidore reached for the knob and I shook my head. “Did Robert show up?”

Alexander growled as he gave me a curt nod. “Him and his little man servant Brad.”

“You two should be aware I’m not going in there just to be recognized as the
vigiles
. I’m going in there as the
vigiles
to pass sentence on those involved with Walter.” Letting that sink in for half a second, I nodded again. “Call whoever you need to ensure that no one leaves here until I’m done. Am I clear?”

Alexander stood up straight. “I’ll see to it.”

Isidore put a hand out. “It’s my duty to protect Andrew.”

“You’re welcome to come in with me. I got a feeling things will go south very quickly. So quickly, in fact, no one will have much time to complain about a werewolf in their midst.”

When I pushed the door open, the conversation in the room stopped as they all turned to look at me, with Isidore trailing behind. “Sorry I’m late.” Keeping a steady pace, I headed straight for Robert and Bradley. “For those of you who don’t know me, I’m Gavin Randall, your newest
vigiles
.”

Robert got to his feet and slammed his fist into the table. “Werebeasts can’t be
vigiles
! It’s against the LAW!”

Holding up my right hand for all to see, I kept marching towards Robert. “Good thing I’m not a werewolf.” He became flustered and stammered to say something. “You assumed I was a werewolf. I never actually said that was the case.”

Robert strode around the table, his face turning from red to purple as anger welled up inside him. “How dare you?! You’re nothing! How did you fake the mark?” Robert pulled in power as he readied himself to attack. “I’ll destroy you!”

I felt power wrap itself around me. Since my encounter with Walter and the horde of specters, I had been able to transform myself into the shadowy grim at will. Robert threw power at me and his face froze in horror at what he saw. I felt the impact rolling over me like a gentle breeze, only to be added to my already bolstering form.

A glint of sunlight reflected off the long silver blade Bradley pulled out of his bag. Long strands of shadows stretched over the distance between us, slicing off the offending hand and dragging him closer. I slammed my flaming left hand against his throat and he howled in pain. His body began to burn and power poured from him into me as I absorbed all that he was, leaving only the charred skeletal remains of a man.

Robert dropped to his knees, pleading for forgiveness. “You don’t understand. Walter forced me into it.” He pointed at the still upright smoking form of Bradley. “That was his son…he was sent to keep tabs on me!”

My voice boomed through the room. “Lies.” I pulled the Samsung tablet from my pocket and placed it on the table. My onyx index finger tapped the screen and it started to play. “Was it his idea to send Chan after your daughter and your wife?”

Robert’s form shook as he looked back at his wife and daughter. “Yes!”

Again my voice echoed through the room. “Lies!”

Robert’s voice broke through the speakers of the tablet and the scene played out. Robert had practically begged Walter to kill Heather and Kimberly. Walter actually refused the man’s request several times before Robert convinced him of its benefit, a key into Andrew’s home.

Robert’s face turned into a sneer, and he glared from me to his family and back to me. “What of it?” He glowered as he looked at the shocked faces in the room. “I’m a member of the triumvirate, and there isn’t anything you can do about that.”

I flashed across the room, slamming my right hand into him and pulling him off the floor. A second later there was a clink and tinkle of a coin hitting the floor as the ancient piece of metal rejected its host. “What I did to Walter will be merciful compared to what I do to you!”

Robert struggled free of my grasp, scrambled back, grabbed the silver dagger I’d freed Bradly of, and shoved it through the side of his neck, sending a spray of arterial blood throughout the room. I reached out, plucked his soul from his body, and tore it into hundreds of pieces while the others were forced to watch the spectacle.

That’s when I heard the door open behind me and I turned, ready for any sort of surprise that may come. At least that’s what I thought at the time. What I saw was Gabriel striding just a few steps behind another man who was tiny by comparison.

The man was unnaturally pale, so it was hard to determine his actual heritage. The sides of his head were nearly shaved with the dark brown hair at the top swept back, giving him a very early 1920’s kind of vibe. He wore a long brown robe that trailed on the floor behind him. He was so thin as to appear frail, but the light gray eyes told me he was a vampire.

He held up a hand and everyone in the room took a knee almost instantly. Looking around I could see everyone was frightened. Taking a step forward, I allowed the shadowy grim to fade from sight.

“And just who in the fuck are you?” I demanded.

His face twitched as it clearly wasn’t accustomed to smiling, and then he opened his mouth and a big deep belly laugh erupted from his lips. He got control of himself quickly as he straightened his robe, still trying not to smile.

He pointed a bony finger at Robert’s prone form and shining silver manacles appeared on his wrists and feet. Looking back at Gabriel, he nodded. “Take him away. I would like some time to speak to the dead man.” He paused as he looked at the body again and then back at me. “It appears that won’t be possible.” Another flick of his wrist and the manacles were gone. “Remove it and have it burned.” Then he turned his attention back to me. “As to who the fuck I am…you may call me Lazarus. The others know me better as Caesar.”

You ever have that moment when you know you fucked up in a big sort of way? Yeah, that’s how I was feeling just about now. Looking around, I didn’t know what to do. I started to take a knee and he sped forward and caught me. The guy was surprisingly strong.

He shook his head. “You don’t kneel.” He looked at the others. “You may rise and bear witness.” He looked up into my eyes. “You are my vigiles
urbani
, and as such you do not kneel to me.”

I looked at him, completely dumbfounded. “What?”

Lazarus looked around the room until his eyes fell on Andrew. “Step forward.” Andrew did as he was told. Lazarus gestured towards me. “I understand that he was to be one of your
vigiles
.”

Andrew nodded. “He was to take over the position from Martha O’Neil, who passed away recently.”

Lazarus nodded. “I also understand that Gavin is new to the Archive.”

Andrew looked over at me and nodded. “A recent recruit due to circumstances beyond my control.”

Lazarus smiled. “You’ll need to find a suitable replacement for Martha, but in the meantime Gavin can do the job while you train him in our ways.” Lazarus waved Ms. Dodd over as he shook his head. “Ms. Dodd, as you can see by Gavin’s actions today you can be removed from your position, and if you continue to harass me with petty disputes, that’s exactly what will happen. Am I clear?”

Ms. Dodd swallowed hard and nodded. “I understand.”

Lazarus swept the room once more with his gaze before waving a languid hand at them. “The rest of you may go about your business. I need to speak with Gavin alone.”

Other than Isidore and Andrew, people couldn’t exit the room fast enough, but even they left without a word. Caesar had spoken and they could do little else but comply.

Lazarus gestured for me to take a seat, and he did the same. He made himself comfortable and smiled in my direction. “Did you know it’s been 949 years since I’ve had a
vigiles
?”

Giving him a slight shrug, I kind of did the half nod, half shake thing that made no sense whatsoever. “I’d heard it was something like that.”

Lazarus leaned back in his chair, looking around the room. “It’s been longer since I’ve left Rome.” He was curious as he eyed everything. “Do you have any idea why that is?”

This time there was absolutely no hesitation. “No, I don’t.”

He turned his full attention to me. “Because I created the coins, but they were meant to work in tandem with a
vigiles
. Naevius went rogue on me centuries prior to his death, crippling the Archive’s power. Until the coin found a new host we were only limping along on what was left of my life-force.”

“I don’t understand,” I told him.

He fell into a long explanation, which I still didn’t really comprehend. The gist of the situation was this; Caesar needed to be paired with an equally powerful
vigiles
. They would in turn power the other coins to better govern and run the Archive. The mental connection that had once been common between the governors and prefects had long since dissipated as the Archive’s power dwindled.

The coins were all living beings, with their own unique personalities and knowledge to be passed on to the hosts. Now that I was there to counterbalance Caesar, things would start to fall into place. How long that would take he didn’t know. It had taken centuries for it to get to this point; common sense told us that it could take nearly as long, if not longer, to repair the damage.

An hour later, I guided Lazarus into the living area to find Andrew, Isidore, Heather, Kimberly, and Alexander waiting for me. They all took a knee at the sight of Lazarus, who quickly told them to get to their feet.