Cronin's Key III (13 page)

“
Yeah, I’m okay,” he
said. He shuddered again. “Something’s not right,
though.”

Eiji spun on his heel, instantly on
guard. “Which direction?”

“
No one is here,” Alec said. “But
I can sense something. I don’t know what it is. Down
below us.”

“
The crypt,” Cronin said. He put his hands on Alec and
Kennard
. Jodis and Eiji, who
were centuries-used to Cronin’s ways, reached out, and they found
themselves in the crypt.

“
I also have a healthy
loathing of underground pits and tunnels,” Alec mumbled.

Eiji and Jodis disappeared and
returned a moment later. “Completely empty. There’s nothing
here.”

Alec didn’t know how he knew
; he just did. He walked over to the far western wall, an
area that was cordoned off to the public. It was natural bedrock
with the numbers 1080—or the year, to be exact—carved into the
stone. Alec looked at Cronin. “Was that you?”

Cronin snorted. “Defacing church
walls, or graffiti for that matter, is not my style. Even back
then.”

Alec looked at Eiji. “You totally
would.”

Eiji nodded but looked at the
inscription. “Yes, but this is not mine.”

Alec laughed and put his hand on the
wall, he closed his eyes and breathed. “There’s something behind
here.”

“
It’s a solid stone wall,”
Jodis said. “Isn’t it?”

Alec shook his head. “Do you trust me
enough to leap us all in there?”

“
Leap into a stone wall?”
Kennard asked.

“
Behind it,” Alec elaborated. “I can sense it. I don’t know
how. A sense of space or something. There’s a void. A
cave.”

Cronin nodded. “I trust you
implicitly.”

Eiji and Jodis nodded, and Kennard
sighed dramatically. “Fine.”

Alec
closed his eyes
and pictured the space in the rock wall and leapt them all there.
It was a room all right. It was huge with a low ceiling and
completely made from stone. There was no way in, no way out,
impossibly hand carved. The ground seemed to have a circular design
etched into the stone. But that wasn’t the most disconcerting
thing.

In the middle of the room in pointed formation stood five
stone statues.
They were as
tall as Alec with cloaks of sandstone covering them from head to
foot, their faces lowered and half-obscured, their feet tethered to
the stone floor with heavy, rusted chains. But there was no
mistaking what they were.

A cacophony of hisses came from Cronin, Eiji,
Jodis
, and Kennard, all
poised and ready for a fight. Alec threw out a protective shield
around them, but the statues never moved.

Using one of his many talents, Alec
got a sense of their true being. “They were Zoan. They’re stone
now.”

Eiji stepped forward
,
and crouching down, looked up into the cloaked face. With a sharp
gasp, he staggered backwards.

Then in a nanosecond, before Eiji could even hit the
ground, Alec threw out his hands. The stone Zoan statues exploded
in
to a mist of dust. Alec
mentally grabbed everyone in the room, and he leapt.

They landed
in the middle of their apartment in New York, just as they’d been
in the stone room. Cronin had his hand out to Alec, Jodis was
reaching for Eiji, Eiji was falling on his ass, and Alec had one
hand raised to where the stone statues had been and his other arm
out protecting Kennard.

Their sudden appearance, even with the one second warning
from Eleanor, had sent
Jacques into battle mode. He was on his feet, ready,
standing in front of Kole, protecting him.

“
We’re fine,” Alec
declared quickly, sending a wave of calm over the room. “We’re all
good.”

Cronin was
quick to embrace Alec regardless, and with his arms around Alec, he
turned to look at Eiji. “What the hell was that? What did you
see?”

“
Its eyes moved,” Eiji said, swiftly getting to his feet.
“Took me by surprise, which is something that doesn’t happen often.
I was not expecting that
.
Sorry.”

Using his ability to pluck through memories, Alec saw what
Eiji did. The creature’s face was all teeth and
look
ed just like a gargoyle,
but its eyes of stone glinted and looked directly at Eiji. Eiji’s
visual perception skewed as he recoiled, and even through the shock
and alarm, Alec could taste Eiji’s need to get to his feet to
defend and protect his friends.

That was why
Alec adored him. Eiji was honest and as honorable as could be. He
left the warmth of Cronin’s embrace and gave Eiji a quick hug. “We
don’t need to worry about them anymore,” Alec told him. “I turned
them to dust.” Alec went to his father next, clapping Jacques on
the shoulder as he did. “You okay, Dad?”

“
I’m fine,” Kole replied.
“It’s not me I’m worried about. You saw more of those
creatures?”

Alec gave a
nod. “In a cave-like room built into bedrock under a church. They
were gargoyles made of stone, yet they moved.”

“
Like the Terracotta
soldiers moved when in your presence,” Kennard said. “In the
museum, those statues became animated too, Alec.”

“
What is it with your blood, Alec?” Kole asked. “I thought
it would be different now, you know, now that
you’re
different.”

“
Now that I’m vampire?”
Alec asked rhetorically. “So did I.”

“
It seems the key is exactly that, a key. Vampire, human, it
doesn’t matter,” Jodis said.

“
That room the Zoan were
imprisoned in,” Cronin said, “had no entry or exit. It was simply a
hole somehow carved into stone. How is that even
possible?”

“
Were they turned to stone and leapt there?” Eiji offered.
“Maybe to warn or threaten other Zoan? How the room was made, or
why they were chained to the floor, I cannot say.”

The room was silent for a moment.
Kennard looked at Alec and Cronin. “What now?”

“
We go to France, as originally planned,” Alec answered. “I
think England gave us some answers, but I think the truth is in
Paris.”

“
I agree,” Cronin said. “Though it will be morning there
soon. We should use this time to rest and research.”

Alec hadn’t realized how tired he was
until Cronin mentioned it. He was still getting used to his vampire
energy, and it was easy to forget that it had been days since he
slept. Having such immeasurable powers was exhilarating, yes.
Sometimes it felt like he could run and never stop, yet his powers
were also taxing. His body needed rest, even if his mind never
stopped.

And seeing how tired Kole looked made
Alec stop. “Yes, I think that’s a good idea.” He looked to his
father. “It’s midnight, Dad. You should be in bed too.”

“
I was waiting for you to get back,” he replied
quietly.

Alec sighed. “Sit with me?”

They sat on the sofa and the other vampires in the
room—despite being able to hear every word anyway—left to give them
some privacy, except for Cronin. Alec asked him to stay.
“There’s something I need to ask,”
Alec said. “I don’t need an answer right now. In fact, I’d rather
you think about it.”

Kole was concerned. “What is it,
Alec?”

“
From our meeting with Jorge and all this talk of mortality
and the afterlife,” Alec said, “well, that got me
thinking….”

Kole smiled. “I wondered when you were
gonna ask me this.”

Alec could
see in his father’s mind that he knew what Alec was asking. “If you
were to be changed into a vampire, you could live
forever.”

Oh, Alec, son,
Kole
thought fondly.
No, that’s
not a life for me.

Alec saw
his father’s
answer, but it was something he needed to ask anyway. “I don’t want
to lose you, Dad.”

“
You won’t,” Kole said with a teary smile. “Use that perfect
recall you got going on in that head of yours, and you can see me
crystal clear.”

“
It won’t be the
same.”

“
No,” Kole said. “It
won’t. But Alec, you can’t have eternal life without facing death
every so often.”

“
Cronin said something
similar.”

Kole smiled at Cronin.
“He’s a smart man.”

Alec nodded and had to swallow the
lump in his throat. “It won’t be the same, Dad. You’ve been my one
true rock, ya know? No matter what, you were always
there.”

“’
Course I was,” he said softly. “You’re my son. Where else
would I be?”

“
That’s why I need you to say yes,” Alec said, fighting
tears. The emotions of knowing he would one day lose his father
overwhelmed him.

Kole shook his head slowly. “That’s
not my fate, son.”

“
I can’t do forever
knowing you’re gone.”

“
You have to. Like every
person who loses their parents, Alec. It’s the natural
order.”

“
But it doesn’t have to be,” Alec tried again. A single tear
ran down his face.

Kole wouldn’t be swayed. “Alec, I’ll
have my life and I’ll not regret a minute. I’ll go to my grave
knowing you live on, and that right there is enough for
me.”

Alec started to cry and Kole pulled
him in close. Alec cried into his neck, the way he did as a small
boy. “I’m not gonna die just yet.” Then Kole froze. “Am I? Have you
seen it?”

Alec shook his head. “I won’t look. I
don’t want to know. I don’t ever want to know.”

“
Death and taxes, Alec. Can’t avoid either of them,” Kole
said. “Oh shit, that reminds me. I have to fill out my tax
forms.”

Alec laughed
despite his tears. He pulled back and wiped his cheeks with the
back of his hands. “Oh, Dad.”

“
What?” Kole asked with a
smile. “I’d prefer to face a pack of those Zoan creatures than the
IRS.”

Alec sat back
on the
sofa and sighed. He squeezed his father’s hand. “I had to ask, Dad.
But I will respect your wishes.”

“
I know you had to ask, Alec,” Kole said. “But when I do go,
don’t be sad. Remember a life well lived
. Be happy that I died knowing I raised you
right.”

Alec swallowed hard. “Thanks, Dad.” He
took a moment to collect himself and to bask in the love of both
men beside him.

Are you well, m’cridhe?
Cronin asked.

Alec gave him a nod.
I am. Disappointed but fine
. After a moment of silence, Alec thought of something.
“Dad,” Alec started, “we need to go to Europe.”

“
I know.”

“
I want you to come with
us,” Alec said.

Kole was
clearly surprised. “What for?”

“
Don’t you want to see it?” Alec asked. “The Eiffel Tower,
Notre Dame… the old churches, the history…
.”

“
The history, yes,” Kole
said. “Those Zoan creatures, not at all.”

“
You’ll be protected with
us,” Alec tried. “Jacques will need to come with us. And he’s sworn
to guard you, Dad.”

Kole frowned. “I’ll be okay
here.”

Alec nodded but couldn’t help the
disappointment that showed clearly on his face. “Okay.”

Kole sat
back on the sofa, looking older than Alec ever remembered. “What’s
the real reason you want me to go?”

“
I want to spend time with you,” Alec admitted
softly. “I worry, that’s all.” He
was quiet a moment, then added, “And I’m busy all the time, and I
don’t want you to feel excluded. I miss you, and I thought you’d
like to see some of Europe. You’ve never been, and it’s something I
can give you.” Alec sighed heavily. “I just want to spend time with
you.”

“
Oh, Alec,” Kole whispered. He put his hand on Alec’s knee.
“If it means that much to you, then I’ll go. But be warned, I’m old
and I’ll slow you down.”

“
I’ll leap you back here
at the first sign of trouble,” Alec told him. “It’s not all bad,
Dad. You’ll see some amazing things as well.”

Kole patted his knee, then stood up
with a groan. “Better put this old body to bed then.”

“
Night, Dad.”

Cronin gave
Kole a nod, and Alec knew Cronin was watching him as he watched his
dad walk out of the room. It amazed him still to see himself
through Cronin’s eyes. It was intense and humbling.

Alec?

Alec looked at Cronin then and gave him a smile.
Hey.

Are you well?

Alec loved it when Cronin asked him that.
I am. How about you?

You are worried about your
father?

Alec let out a slow breath.
He’s human… mortal.

Oh, m’cridhe.

I will miss
him.