Shadows of New York (12 page)

Jimmy’s flashlight focused on the wraith again. “He doesn’t tell you anything interesting,” said Nick. “Just something about how he works for someone else. The big boss. But I don’t want to give away any spoilers. You’ll have to see what happens when we get farther in the game.”

The wraith’s hands formed short swords again and, instead of striking out at Jimmy or Kevin, hacked at the torch’s wall. A crack formed through which the wraith disappeared.

“There was no way to kill him there,” said Nick. “But we’ll get another chance later.”

“So he’s not the big boss?” Aiden asked. He was once again looking wide awake. “There’s someone else out there controlling him?”

“Yup.” Nick sounded rather pleased that the dude nanny was so interested in his game. “A few levels down the road, we’ll get to meet him.”

“Who is he?” asked Aiden, a note of desperation entering his voice.

“It’s just a game,” Josh reminded him.

“I know, but it’s so incredibly accurate so far.”

“Accurate?” asked a puzzled Nick.

After a very short pause, Aiden said, “Architecturally, I mean. City Hall, the Statue of Liberty. They’re so close to real life.” Josh had to give Aiden credit. He was good at coming up with quick excuses.

At Pappy’s, Kevin traded in his machete for a chainsaw and replaced his standard pump-action shotgun with an automatic model with a 20-round drum. Jimmy kept his old equipment, but added a grenade launcher to his inventory.

“This next level might be my favorite. It’s werewolves,” said Nick.

Josh looked at Aiden, feeling a little guilty about what he was about to have Kevin do. Aiden gave him a little smile and said, “It’s just a game. I’m going to hit the bathroom and get a snack. Just, you know, let me know when you’re on the next level.”

As he left the room, Jimmy and Kevin’s cab rolled up to Central Park. Wolves’ howling filled the air.

His heart wasn’t in it, but Josh made Kevin march through the park, swinging his chainsaw and blasting away with his gun. Next to him, Nick let out a little shout of glee every time a hairy limb was severed or a grenade reduced a wolf to a messy puddle.

Each werewolf, Josh noticed, had the same lean, muscular look he had seen when Aiden transformed. The only differences were subtle shading variations of their fur. While they were all brown, some were darker, some were lighter, and some had mottled or striped fur. The main difference, he noted, was that the Aiden werewolf wore clothing, but the ones on the game didn’t. Suppressing a grin, Josh wondered if, had they all changed back to human, the television screen would show a bunch of naked dudes.

In the middle of the Central Park Zoo, they encountered the alpha she-wolf. Surrounded by a pack of regular wolves, she stood a head taller than any of them. Her shape had subtle differences that looked female, and gray patches on her pelt hinted that she was older than the others. “How dare you slaughter my children,” she said in a calm voice. Her yellow eyes blazed with suppressed fury, impressing Josh with the level of detail to the game’s graphics.

This time, Josh was determined that they speak with her before shouting, “Die, monster!”

“I’ll pick what we say, okay?” he asked Nick, who just shrugged.

Quickly reading through the options, Josh had Kevin say, “Who are you?”

“I am Mira, Mother of All Werewolves,” she replied.

How can she possibly be the mother of all werewolves? Josh thought. This wasn’t one of the dialogue choices. He looked over the other options, trying to decide which one would give him the most insight into werewolves. He must have taken too long, because Jimmy suddenly shouted, “Die, monster!”

“Dude!” Josh said to Nick. “I wasn’t done talking to her.”

“Sorry, but you better stop talking and start fighting or you’re gonna get pwned,” Nick replied. Together, the van Helsings managed to defeat Mira.

“Wow,” said Josh, pausing the game. “I’ll, uh, be right back. I want to get more chicken.”

He went to the kitchen. Aiden was there, sitting at the island with a plate of salad in front of him.

“We finished up the wolf level,” Josh said. “We met someone named Mira.”

Aiden’s fork stopped halfway to his mouth. “You did, huh?”

Josh nodded. “Yup. Listen, I didn’t know—”

“We can talk about it later. You and Nick have some more monster slaying to do.”

“I’m not sure I want to play this game anymore.” In Josh’s mind, each werewolf he had just killed had been named Aiden.

“Well, I want you to. I want to see what else it shows. I want to see who Mr. Midnight works for.”

“It’s not Mr. Midnight. It’s just a game.”

“Maybe,” Aiden said.

Ten minutes and one trip to Pappy’s later, Jimmy and Kevin were once more fighting creatures and making money. They went through dragons at Yankee Stadium, ghouls at Grant’s Tomb, and minotaurs at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Josh kept expecting each mission to take him to the Guggenheim. With each new creature they encountered, Aiden made quiet remarks about how accurate they were.

“Okay, here we go, final level,” said Nick, who was starting to look tired. The bottle of “
сахарный
взрыв
кофеина
!!!
” was empty, the candy had been reduced to empty wrappers, and the brightening sky hinted that the sun would be rising soon.

In the game, it was pitch dark. The street was lit only by dim streetlamps when Jimmy and Kevin stepped from the subway exit and stood before the Empire State Building. In front of the building, as if daring them to enter, was the wraith. He slid through the crack between two doors and disappeared from view. The van Helsings, taking the dare, ran after him.

It was a floor-by-floor battle through every type of monster they had fought so far. Luckily, the game was scaled down and they didn’t really have to fight their way up all 102 stories. Being so close to the end, Aiden didn’t seem too bothered when they encountered the werewolves. He continued to sit on the edge of his seat, leaning forward, watching everything. On their last trip to Pappy’s, they had unlocked the use of the metal fangs. Josh wasted no time trying these out on a poor goblin, and he had to admit that the graphics of that particular attack were cool. After twenty stories or so (Josh lost count after eight), they emerged onto the roof. Like the real sky outside, Jimmy and Kevin’s sky was starting to turn pink on the horizon.

The wraith was there, and he was not alone. There was a second black figure with him, but this one was solid, not shadow. It was his (or possibly her) clothing that was black. Cape with a hood pulled low over their face, shirt, pants, everything was as dark as the wraith.

Jimmy and Kevin didn’t have the option of running forward with guns blazing. The game automatically switched to a cut scene with the two heroes strolling forward to confront the big boss.

“This is the part I don’t like,” said Nick. “I mean, we’re in the middle of this battle and we just stop to have a little chat? Lame. If I were Kevin, I’d just jump through the door and—”

“Shhh,” said Aiden as the dialogue began.

“So, you made it this far, did you?” said the black-clad figure in a man’s voice. “I must admit, I’m rather surprised.”

“Please, can I choose, ‘Die, monster’?” asked Nick.

“No,” said Aiden and Josh together.

Josh took over selecting their speech options.

“Who are you?” asked Kevin.

The man in black pulled back his hood, revealing a very pale face and long, pointed teeth. He looked familiar. “I am Lord Wallachia, and I have run out of patience with the two of you.”

Aiden let out an audible gasp and moaned, “Larry.”

Nick gave him an odd look and said, “Don’t worry, we’ll take him out. Hit, ‘Die, monster!’”

Instead, Josh chose, “Why have you unleashed your foul hordes upon this fair city?”

“Fair city?” scoffed Lord Wallachia as he began pacing in front of Jimmy and Kevin. “This City of New York? This cesspool of both poverty and excess? This city, indeed this world, could be truly magnificent, but you pathetic humans have sent it into the depths of depravity and decay!”

“Blah, blah, blah,” Nick said, prompting a “shush” from both Josh and Aiden.

“This world should be mine,” Lord Wallachia continued. “For far too long, I have sat in the dark. I have watched as others did what I should. They took the power that should be mine. The fools and scoundrels have all but destroyed this city, this country, this world. But no longer. I am not content to let others occupy my rightful place. Both worlds and all their people will be mine. All shall love me and despair!”

“I never got that ‘both worlds’ part,” muttered Nick.

“Shhh,” said Aiden again as Lord Wallachia continued.

“And now, I’m afraid that I must give you to my most trusted lieutenant,” he said, motioning to the wraith. The wraith took a step forward and the game released Jimmy and Kevin from the dialogue screen, giving Josh and Nick control again.

“Flashlights?” asked Josh.

Nick nodded. The twin beams converged on the wraith, who jumped around, trying to dodge the light.

“Enough of this,” bellowed Lord Wallachia, baring his fangs and rushing toward Jimmy and Kevin.

“Auto crossbows,” instructed Nick.

“Okay,” said Josh. “I was wondering why you insisted we get these. They’ve been pretty useless so far.”

“Go left, and we’ll try to catch him from two sides. And don’t forget that the wraith is still running around somewhere.”

Jimmy and Kevin did their best, but Lord Wallachia was too fast and too strong. What crossbow bolts he couldn’t avoid slowed him momentarily. Meanwhile, he slashed at them with his long claws and fangs. Just when things looked hopeless, Wallachia let out a scream and ran back inside the building.

“Whew. We held him off long enough for the sun to rise and chase him off,” said Nick.

“Vampires aren’t affected by the sun,” said Aiden in disbelief.

“Sure they are. Don’t you know anything about vampires?” said Nick in even more disbelief.

“Okay, so what’s next?” asked Josh.

“Nothing. That’s it. We just beat the game.”

The game’s programming took over once more, and Jimmy and Kevin were removed from Josh and Nick’s control. On the screen, the two bloody and battered warriors followed Wallachia to the door, but opened it to find no trace of him.

They returned to their boat, finding a note on the deck. A close-up showed tight little cursive writing on old parchment. In a voice-over, Lord Wallachia said, “Well played. You may have foiled my plans, but not my ambitions. We will meet again.”

“Setting up the sequel. That’s my guess,” said Nick.

“Are you boys still up?” Mrs. F-G’s voice pulled Josh’s attention away from the screen.

“Um, we sort of…” said Josh, looking to Aiden for one of his quick excuses.

“Your mother will be up soon,” she said, not waiting for an excuse. “If you don’t want a heap of trouble, you better get to bed. I’ll clean up.” She started picking up the empty soda bottle. “Sugar Caffeine Explosion?”

Josh opened his mouth, but the look on Mrs. F-G’s face told him that he had better do what she had said, and do it right now.

“You too, Aiden,” she added. “You look terrible.”

As Josh left the great room, he heard Aiden say, “I can’t yet, Ann. I have to talk to Larry.”

Some Tunnel Place in Brooklyn

“Cleo, have you seen Larry?” Aiden asked before he’d even finished crossing to her desk. Lindsay and Britney stood up to peer over their cubicle walls.

“No, I haven’t,” Cleo answered. “He hasn’t even called me. At least, not that I can remember.” Cleo had been having even more trouble with her memory than usual since becoming human again.

“What’s wrong?” Lindsay asked, concern for Larry evident on her face.

“Nothing you need to worry about,” Aiden answered. Turning his attention back to Cleo, he motioned to the small conference room and said, “Let’s talk in there.”

Once the door was shut behind them, Aiden gave Cleo the brief version of what he’d seen in the
Monster Mashers
video game, particularly the part where the vampire and the wraith were in cahoots.

“You think Larry has something to do with Mr. Midnight?” Cleo shivered. The mere thought of the rogue wraith still upset her.

“Yes. No. Maybe. I don’t know!” Aiden threw his hands up in the air. “That’s why I need to talk to him. There must be some rational explanation.”

“And he’s not at his apartment?”

“No. And he’s not answering his phone. I left him a bunch of messages, but he’s not calling me back.” Aiden thought back on his voicemail messages, each more frantic than the last, and took a deep breath, willing himself to calm down. “Could you just let me know if you hear from him, please?”

“Of course. But, Aiden, don’t you think you should tell Siegfried about all this?”

“No!” Aiden could feel a look of panic cross his face. “Not yet, anyway. Larry’s my friend. I have to talk to him first.”

“I understand that, but even if he has nothing to do with Mr. Midnight, at the very least, he’s given away far too much information about the Imaginary World in that video game. Siegfried needs to know about it so he can start the damage control.”

“We don’t even know if Larry had anything to do with that game.”

“Aiden, please. Lord Wallachia? You know that was Larry’s title, way back when he was first turned into a vampire. That can’t be a coincidence.”

“I’m not saying it’s a coincidence. I’m just saying we don’t have the full story yet. Let me talk to Larry, and I’ll figure out where to go from there.”

Cleo sighed. “Fine. But Aiden?”

“Yeah?”

“Be careful.”

* * * *

When Aiden got back home, he was surprised to find Steve waiting for him in the great room. Rosemary, who had put some Celtic music on, was trying to get Steve to dance with her. After Aiden stood watching Rosemary tug on Steve’s arm for a few moments, she looked up at him and said, “Wow, Aiden, you look awful!”

“Yeah, I know.” He turned to Steve. “Have you heard from Larry?”