SNAP: New Talent (23 page)

“Hah!  You’ve just given me entry into your thoughts!  It’s like hacking a computer.  Once I learn the way your mind makes decisions, I can trace that to your recent memories.  And once that happens, our entire strategy is open. You have to keep the wall up.”

It was the hardest mental effort I’d ever put out.  Way worse than cramming for finals.  Way worse than memorizing channel schedules in 25 different countries.  Those were efforts at stuffing facts in.  This was an exercise in covering facts up.  It wasn’t a case of wiping the hard drive clean, I’d need to have all my memories and all my knowledge when this was over.  I didn’t see how Jean-Louis was able to switch back and forth.  Probably the same way he thought and spoke in several languages without having to translate in his head.  He trained himself to compartmentalize his mind.

And then, something clicked.  I had a room in my mind.  When I went in that room, all I saw and heard and felt was the now, like watching through a lens.  I stayed in that room until I opened the door and walked out, out to where all of me, my life, my memories, my feelings, lived.

Jean-Louis watched my face as I concentrated on going in and out of the room.  “I can see you understand now.  I think you’re ready.”

I closed my eyes and was in my room, with fingers of mist and fog trailing around the outside walls.   They weren’t a distraction, I didn’t see them or feel them, but I had a awareness they were there.  When I opened my eyes, Jean-Louis’s glimmer intensified.

“You passed well.  I sent probes.  You had no reaction.  Well done, love.”

High praise! 

Mind-work wasn’t my only task to get ready for the raid.  I spent hours with Sandor, shooting various weapons until I was able to hit the head and chest of the target.  He gave me my own .22 handgun, loaded with silver bullets, two extra magazines and fitted me for a Kevlar vest.

“You wont’ be able to kill anyone with this unless you’re on top of them, but if you hit a Huszar, the silver will slow them down and give us a chance to get to you,” the demon gave me a look that could be affection.

“Thank you for teaching me, Sandor.”  My voice was raspy with emotion.

Jean-Louis noticed that.  “Sandor, I thank you.  You’ve touched her with your caring and warmed me with you concern.  I value you, old friend.”

Sandor bowed his head.  “Sir, Magda was taken from you.  I could not stop that.  But Maxie will not be taken.”

Ahhh, another piece fell into place.  I knew that these two went back, but had no idea that the demon felt any responsibility or remorse for Magda’s death.  Now the constant, cloying closeness of the demons was clear.

And it was also clear that the demons assumed I was Magda’s replacement.  A frisson of fear mixed with joy ran up my back.  Jean-Louis loved me, considered me as permanent as any regular could be, and yet was willing to let me be part of a risky scheme because he knew I needed to be with him.  This was monumental.

We, Jean-Louis, Nik, Bela, Milos and myself, gathered for a fast meal before the raid.  This was a hurried meal eaten while Jean-Louis was pacing.  “Stefan, are you ready to receive our visitor?”

“The basement room is set.  We’ve replaced the steel door with silver bars.  He’ll be confined to a space only big enough to lie down.  I thought about silver chains, but we need him able to stand trial.  I don’t want him to show up in the dock with silver poisoning.”

All of us in the raiding party headed for the armory where we picked up our weapons, body armor and a contingent of demons.  It was 5 a.m., the raid timed to be completed just before sunrise.  Jean-Louis wasn’t taking a chance that either the Kandeskys or Matthais would be caught outside when daylight hit.

The door to the tunnel swung open, Sandor took the lead and we headed into the earth to bring Matthais to justice.

Chapter Forty-one

This time, I had night-vision goggles.  They didn’t want any sound, any light, to escape to alert the night animals, let alone any roving band of Huszars, shapeshifters or other sentinels.

Our journey was silent, thanks to Jean-Louis’ order that everything—weapons, magazines, communicators, silver handcuffs and rope—was Velcroed to our clothes.  The vampires wore surgical gloves to guard against silver poisoning and the demons and I wore thin, flexible black ones.  Against the dark night, we would be less than deeper black shadows, sensed rather than seen.

At the end of the tunnel, one of the demons lifted me and flew up the ladder with me.  In an instant, our raiding party was assembled at the edge of Huszar territory in the Neutrality.

The green glow of the goggles showed stands of virgin trees, the forest before regulars had logged it or used it for fuel.  On the floor of the forest, paths and trails led through the bushy growth, lanes that patrols used for reconnaissance and the feral pigs used for hunting.

Jean-Louis said, “We’ll take the left one.”  I stared at him, then realized he’d sent the message, not spoken it.  I’d passed one test.

We moved out at a fast pace, me being practically towed along in the slipstream of the lead demons.  The forest whizzed by in a faint green blur.  So far, there hadn’t been any living animal show up, but a sudden flash between trees resolved itself into an owl, grabbing a vole and making off with it.  If I hadn’t had the goggles, the quick breeze from his passing wouldn’t have registered.

We were at the Huszar castle? house? compound?  before we ran across our first shapeshifter, a wolf.  A soft pffft and he was down, dissolving into a one of the heavy-shouldered Slavs the Huszars kept around.

I had a brief glance at the compound.  One main building, stone, three stories high judging from the glow of candles at windows small enough to be arrow slits.  Dating maybe to the 17
^th
century.  It was flanked by two smaller wings, also stone, with no windows.  Dormitories for the help?  Bedrooms for the Huzsar vampires?

A separate, newer building sprawled in front of the left wing.  This one must be the office complex, with a couple of satellite dishes on the roof.   And this one had windows.  A glance blinded me.  The lights were on and someone was home.

Low voices behind me.  I heard Jean-Louis.  “It’s Karoly.  He’ll lead us in.”

Spoken?  No, it was silent again then Jean-Louis. “Can you see us?”

I sent back, “Yes” when I found a few green blips.  Vampires didn’t show up on night-goggles as clearly as other warm-blooded animals, their outlines were hazy but I could locate them easily.

“Follow us and make sure you have demons.”  The blips disappeared through a door in the main building and I followed them in.

The inside of the Huszar stronghold
was
from the 16
^th
century.  Massive furniture lined the walls of the main room.  A dying fire in the huge fireplace threw out flickers of light, showing tapestries maybe ten feet tall hung for warmth against the bare stone walls.

But even with the fire, the tapestries, some rugs on the floor, it was cold.  And clammy.  I’d become used to the Baron’s castle, a bastion of warmth, light and comfort, even beyond what the Kandeskys needed for themselves.  Stefan, Pen, Jean-Louis and the rest of them had moved gracefully into the regular world of the 21
^st
century.  All the tales I’d heard didn’t prepare me for the medieval world where the Huszars lived.

I took the goggles off.  The room regained dim colors and I saw Karoly and Jean-Louis in one corner talking furiously.   In my head, Nik’s voice said, “Matthais is in his quarters, getting ready for sleep.  Markov, Alessandr and Karoly will take us to him.  Bohdan and some others are in the sleeping area.  Most of the Huszars take a small drink of blood from a supply they keep on hand just before going to rest.  We’ve put drugs into that.”

That sounded like a plan.  I wondered who he was talking to.

“You.  Stay behind us.”  OK, that was Jean-Louis.

I sidled over to the corner, swiveling my head around, looking out for any movement.  All I heard was a low chuckle in my ear.  “Most of them are immobilized.  Let’s go.”

This parade was led by Karoly, followed by Jean-Louis, Nik, Sandor, me flanked by two demons, and several more demons doing a Secret Service tail—whipping their heads to take in 360 degrees, maintaining a constant low chatter on their communicators and earbuds.  We sped down a long, dank hallway lit by flaring sconces and pulled up at a door guarded by Markov.  He nodded, stepped back, a string of pffts echoed from the stones and the heavy wooden door swung in. Here was Matthais, feeding off a young dark-haired woman while another sat beside him on the bed, waiting her turn.

My anger was rising, my heart was pounding and Jean-Louis was in my head. “Be careful, be careful.  Don’t let him sense your blood!”

I willed myself still and clinically looked over this creature who would destroy my life and happiness.

Matthais was a beautiful man and I understood Felix’ attraction and felt how he maintained his power.

He was Byronic, with dark brown hair combed back from a high, white forehead.  His dark, soulful, bedroom eyes, looked out sleepily from a pale, almost delicate face.  As he raised his head to see what caused the intrusion, a drop of bright red blood oozed its way down his chin.  He lazily licked it up with a long tongue as the young woman moaned, “Please, please.”

Then all hell broke loose.  Matthais threw the dark woman to the floor, began hissing and whipping around the room looking for an exit.  Jean-Louis executed a cowboy noose toss with his silver wire and caught Matthais’ arm as he pulled himself back for another pass.

He slowly sank to the floor as the silver sapped his power until he lay at Jean-Louis’ feet.

“Get up.”  This time Jean-Louis spoke.  “Don’t think we’re going to drag you out.  You’ll walk out of here like a man, not the scum you are.”

The dark woman snuffled as she pulled herself up and slid over to her companion, a blonde whose eyes were enormous in her ashen face.  “What are you doing with Matthais?  Who are you ?  Please don’t hurt us.”  The blonde was gibbering in fear, although I’m not sure what was scarier than being sucked on by a vampire.

“We’re Kandeskys, and we’re arresting Matthais for the murder of Felix.”  Jean-Louis looked and sounded judicial, an avenger come to right a wrong.

That was in the eye of the beholder, though.

“You’re crazier than that old Baron you hang with.”  Matthais’ voice was weakened by the silver but his hatred was strong.  “What makes you think I killed Felix?  And how are you going to prove it?”

Jean-Louis’ face was carved marble, a Biblical prophet fashioned by Michelangelo, stern, angry and implacable.  “We have witnesses.”

“Who cares about your supposed witnesses,” Matthais hissed.  “You don’t frighten me.  What do you think will happen when you kill me?  I have legions of followers who will hunt you and yours down for all eternity.  The Kandesky name will no longer exist and all that you have will be dust!”

“Stop spouting that nonsense.”  Now it was Jean-Louis’ turn.  “What makes you think we’re gong to kill you, although it would certainly stop all that neo-classical babble or whatever you’re throwing out.  Have you been reading the Christian Bible?  Looking for good curses?”

This time, Matthais’s hiss climbed to a shrill screech and Jean-Louis looped the wire around his neck, shutting him up until a demon could wrap duct tape over his mouth.

Duct tape?  I’d seen the silverish roll but didn’t put it together with the best-loved, most-used method of getting someone immobile and quiet.

“No, Matthais, we’re not going to kill you.  We’re taking you to the castle.  You’re going to stand trial and we’re inviting as many of your followers who want to come.  A safe-passage will be offered to all.  You’ll be our guest for a few days until we get all set up.”

He turned to the two women huddled at the edge of the bed.  “Please dress yourselves and our demons will conduct you to your home.”

“This is our home,” the blonde said.  “Matthais promised us that he would make us famous.  He is going to get us contracts with SNAP in return for us being donors to him.”

Jean-Louis and Nik looked at each other and I could hear their confusion about this.  “For now, get dressed.  We’ll take you back to the Baron’s castle and figure things out from there.”  He turned to me.  “Maxie, help them pull themselves together, then tape their hands behind them.  They’ll have to get carried by demons.”

I threw clothes at them, then pulled their hands behind, taped them tight, ran a piece of tape across their mouths and handed them off to two demons.  I was learning new skills by the minute.  If SNAP fired me, I could always go into kidnapping.

Meanwhile, Nik and Jean-Louis held Matthais as Sandor wrapped a sheet around him and then pulled a net of thin silver wire over that.  They wanted him still, but not silver-poisoned.  He’d have to appear unharmed when he faced his trial.

 When we were ready, demons hoisted Matthais and the two women, Nik opened the door, Markov gave an all-clear and we sped back down the corridor.  I looked back just as Jean-Louis was stabbing Markov in the arm.  Why?   He was an ally.

“This will keep him safe.”  Jean-Louis in my head.  “He’ll have a mild case of silver poisoning, he’ll recover, and his bravery will convince the Huszars that he tried to save Matthais.”

Jean-Louis took the lead of our convoy and we burst out the front door just as Markov sounded the alarm.  Lights flipped on in the office complex and we heard doors slamming open in the dormitory wing, but by the time Huszars or their shapeshifters emerged, we were well into the forest and headed for the Neutrality.  The vampires were speeding full-tilt, the demons not loaded down were firing on automatic, bullets were plowing into trees and occasionally something else, which grunted.  A pig, a shapeshifter, a Huszar? 

I was pulled along by the demons, but I’d lost my goggles somewhere in Matthais’ so I just ran, blinded, where the demons led.

Jean-Louis was shouting, “Here, here, the tunnel is here” in my head but there was no direction for his voice.  I stopped for a second to look for the steps, heard a soft grunt behind me and was suddenly flying through the trees.  I closed my eyes, unable to see a thing and hoped that whoever had me had night-sight.