Zero Sum (31 page)

“Please, sir?” I pleaded.

Jasper shook his head no. “When we get into Green River, we’re stopping for gas and gas only. Everyone is to stay in the vehicle. I don’t want you to be spreading your scent around for the Weres.”

Rei chuckled.
 

I failed to see what was so funny.

“But I have ta wee again,” Jules whined.

“Jesus H. Christ. You’re like an Irish spring.”

A sign for Jim’s Diner announced that we were only thirty miles away from Green River. Despite the haze of the falling snow, I could make out some of the first houses in the distance. If we blew this chance, Jasper wouldn’t have to stop again until we reached Salt Lake. We’d have to overcome them in the car—which simply wasn’t going to happen. We could barely move as it was.

The romstone flickered.

“Not again,” Jasper grumbled.

I squinted. “Funny. No lightning that time.”

Rei perked up next to me. She slid her hand between our legs.
 

I perked up.

She undid her seatbelt.

I perked down.

The romstone went full crimson.

My shoulders slacked. Figured.

“I win,” Francesca rasped. She already had her Glock out of its holster.
 

Jules shrank away at the sight of the meaty firearm.

Francesca exchanged clips, jamming in one labeled S&S.

“What’s S&S?” I whispered.

“Silver and Splinters,” Rei answered. “It appears the cataphract is splitting the difference.”

Ten cell-cycles shot past us on a gust of wind. There was no roar. No growl. They lacked the cylinders needed to make such sounds. I stared wide-eyed at the bikes. Cell-cycles were the fastest rides money could buy. Their engines were formed out of complex matrix of nanotubes. You needed a PhD just to change the freakin’ tires. Some Chinese company had patented the entire design, and the United States had promptly banned them.
 

The swarm of pearl white next-gen motorcycles formed up in front of our SUV in ordered rows. Their brake lights burned a creepy neon green, and all the riders wore matching white leather jackets with a gold cheetahs etched on their back. Not a single bike had their headlights turned on. It occurred to me that they had chased us down at over one hundred miles an hour in the dark.
 

Rei was already halfway to the front seat.
 

“What are those things?” she asked. “Can they be purchased in black?”
 

“You don’t want one,” Dante replied. “They’re like baby Hindenburgs.”

Rei shuddered and sank back into her seat.

“Oh. Then I am not wanting one.”

I let out a sigh. “Come on, Dante. Not even a bullet could crack the fuel casings. We passed that law because the Chinese refused to build their factory over here. It’s a classic case of—”

Jasper’s swerved into the middle of the two-lane highway. Two overbuilt 4x4s were churning the pavement behind us. The move had kept one of them from coming up beside us. Sighted, the two gas-guzzlers flipped on their huge floodlights. Grabbing hold of the door handle, Rei threw an arm across my unrestrained chest. Then things started moving fast. One of the Jeeps struck our bumper, sending everything in the truck flying. The second Jeep tried to exploit the confusion by sweeping up on our left side.

“They are flanking us now,” Rei commented.

The two Jeeps were trying to expose our back wheel. Ramming us there would send us into a spin. Fortunately, Jasper had brought his A-game. Shifting left, he gave the breaks a tap. Our hefty GMC had mass on its side. The collision took a chunk out the left Jeep’s bumper, and the smaller truck nearly swerved off the road.

“Nice!” Dante shouted.

“A minor victory,” Rei replied. “They still control both fore and aft.”

In front of us, one of the riders removed her helmet, revealing a woman with long blond hair. Letting go of her bike’s handlebars, she hopped up on the butt end her cycle. It was an impossible feat. No human being could have ever done that. The blaze of our headlights reflected off her crimson eyes. She crouched on the bike’s seat like a cat ready to pounce.

“Those eyes…” I said. “Are they Nostophoros?”

“Weres,” Rei corrected. “Only mongrels such as these hunt in packs.”

“Aye,” Jules replied. “Besides, Dieter, no Nostophoros ego would ever fit into one of those helmets.”
 

Still staring at Jasper, the blond rider tossed her helmet into the air. Jasper didn’t panic. He kept his line like a pro. The helmet came crashing into our front window, leaving a huge divot in the glass. Spanking her ass, the rider plopped back down on her saddle. She made a single motion, and the entire gang burst off into the distance. The taillights blinked out in mere seconds. The cell-cycles must have cleared 200mph. The six of us sat in silence as the spider web of cracks spread across the front window.
 

“Why’d they leave?” I asked.

“Spike strip?” Jasper asked.

“I would wager five miles on,” Francesca answered. “They probably possess a chop shop on the outskirts of town.”

Jasper had opened his mouth to say something less than nice when another jolt came from the back of the car. The Jeep behind us wasn’t going to let us slow down. They wanted us to keep moving. I was about to ask what the heck was going on, when out in the cold distance, a flash of light ballooned high into the sky. The giant plume lit up the clouds with a brilliant orange glow.

“And what the fock was that?” Jules asked.

“The gas station,” Rei replied. She leaned forward. “I am wondering, sirs, will you attempt to surrender and beg for our lives? Perhaps they will spare a few limbs.”

Agent Tools glanced at Francesca.

She gave him a subtle nod.

My Sight flared right as we were hit by a blast of magic, and the four of us were plastered back against our seats. A weight pressed against my chest, and a slight twinge of pain pricked my neck. I glanced down to find one of Francesca’s daggers against my throat. Jules let out a gasp as a warm trickle rolled down my neck. My heart began to pound. Francesca’s blade was so sharp that I hadn’t felt it slide in.

“This was the most dangerous moment of our journey. The time we could least afford detection.” Francesca examined the four of us. She didn’t seem angry. She didn’t look rushed. “The town we approach is isolated. Dwindling fuel denies us any retreat. Yet now is when a pack of predators decide to nip at our heels. Predators outfitted far too well. Predators that have tracked us with far too much ease.”

She examined each and every one of us.
 

“A teaching point has been arrived at. What say you, Elliot’s finest?”

“That you should drop that knife,” Dante answered. “You have no right to do that.”

Francesca lowered her blade an inch.
 

Blood rushed down my collar in a stream.

“Better,” she asked, “or a bit lower still?”

My Sight roared a warning. Rei was taking a keen interest in my neck.
 

I tried very hard not to swallow.
 

I tried very hard not to piss my pants.

“I’ve spent years working with a romstone. The pack was tracking us since St. Louis. Before I only had questions. Now I have a rear bumper to repair. I will ask each question one time, and a wrong answer will cost this one a major vessel.”

Rei let out a strangled gulp, and my Sight roared with the Niagara Falls of bloodlust. My own heartbeat was being played back to me. I could hardly focus on the conversation.

Francesca glanced at Rei.
 

“Thirsty?”
 

My heart stopped.

Francesca smiled.

“Such a sweet little treat…and after such a long ride in the sun. Must be terribly tempting. But biting a member of the Magi? Goodness, I’d hate to hand out a death penalty.”

The trembling in Rei’s thigh told me all I needed to know. She was mere seconds away from biting me.

“I thought you Purebloods were special. To think Theodus’ youngest would engage in such a grave—” A sickening little crack interrupted her. Dante let out a little gasp, and for the first time Francesca looked a bit uncertain. Whatever she had just seen unnerved her. On the plus side, Rei’s bloodlust vanished. Whatever she’d managed to do had worked.

Rei’s voiced grated the words like cheese. Fury laced every syllable. “Stupid, cataphract. Is that all your eyes can see? Your own precious Councilwoman drove the knife in.”

Francesca’s brow furrowed. “What are you talking about, blood-bather?”

“To a minion of Zeus, the Laws of Xenia are quite strict. One must offer the guest food. One must offer the guest drink. A fine bath must be heated. The master’s clothes must be tendered. Even her courtesans should be shared. She must guard her guest like family, and she mustn’t dare to ask a question until all the guest’s needs have been sated…were they sated, Dieter? Did you eat your fill?”

“Yea,” I managed. “Wait…is that why Dante got laid?”

Rei began to chuckle. It sounded like a razor on glass. “Dante was laid upon by that viper because he is a tempting little lamb—now do focus, Dieter. This is the portion of the tale in which you confirmed your foolery. On parting, the host must offer her guest a
xenion
, a gift meant to honor the gods. Which god the host chooses to honor is irrelevant to the Laws—but it is of critical interest to the one doing the accepting.”
 

My shoulders sank. “Oh.”

Rei let loose a shiver. “And now I am once again becoming most distracted by all the gushiness, so if you would please finish this tale while I occupy my fangs.”
 

Another tiny crack interrupted us, but with Francesca’s blade still in my neck, I couldn’t turn to find out what was going on.

“Fine,” I managed. “I did accept a gift, but Madam Fremont hinted at Hermes. Hermes protects travelers. I think we’re barking up the wrong tree here.”

Jules groaned. “Fockin’ A, Dieter. Hermes only protected humans on their path ta Hades. His only concern was for their souls.”

“Huh?” I managed.

“Honestly, if we survive this disaster, I’m enrollin’ ya in
World History of Magic
meself. Hermes led the souls of the departed ta Hades—and he was also the god of dirty tricks.”

“Oh, man,” Dante said, “Fremont gave us the kiss of death, and she picked Dieter ‘cause he doesn’t know any better.”

“Guys, all she gave me was this stupid egg.” I reached into my robe and pulled out Fremont’s tiny black present. “What’s it gonna do, summon the Easter Bunny?”

This time, the entire group let out a groan.

“What?” I shouted. “What’s wrong with the nice black egg?”

“A Lidérc egg in this age?” Francesca shook her head at it. “Dispose of it, priestess.”

“Gladly,” Jules replied. “Just as soon as ya stop damagin’ me protégé.”

“Agreed.” Francesca lowered her blade.

“Thank you kindly,” Jules said with a nod. She took the egg out of my hand, tied a piece of twine around it three times, completed a complicated set of knots, pushed some mana into twine, said a sutra of some sort, and tossed the demon egg out the window.
 

“We’ll be needin’ fifty kilometers of clearance by mornin’” Jules advised.

“Fifty kilometers?” I asked. “What the heck is a Lidérc egg, a thermonuclear bomb?”

“Na, Dieter. Ya’d be lucky if it were. A Lidérc egg hatches into a six-armed rape monster that’ll perform all manners of violations on yer person until ya die from the pain or shame.”

I blinked. “That’s a thing?”

“A thing it be. And a Lidérc egg is also known ta provide the poor fool that carries it quite the misfortunes. There be no curse, mind. Just a stench. Ya see, Dieter, a Lidérc egg carries the scent of chamber lye. It be scentless ta even a Nostophoros, but it’ll draw a Were from miles away.” Jules let out a sigh. “I really cannot believe that nice old lady focked us like that…goes to show, I guess.”

A not-so-subtle bump jolted us all forward. The Weres were still trying to knock us off the road in order to gnaw on our bones. Jasper struggled to control the skid. He cursed like a sailor as he did.

“At least we can all be friends now,” Dante said with a meek smile. “It’s good to be on the same side again.”

“Not at all.” Francesca turned her blade on Rei. “This Nostophoros knew.”

I turned to look at her. Her eyes were fixed on my neck—and she was currently biting through her own forearm. I realized what the previous snaps had been. She was biting through her own bones.

Rei unstuck her fangs from her ulna and frowned.

“Of course I knew this. That is why I am telling you. I examined the pockets of his pants last night.”

“What were ya doin’ in Dieter’s pants?” Jules raged.

“There was a most curious bulge!”

I had no retort. The image of Rei perusing the contents of my pants had overwhelmed my mental bandwidth.

“But why did you wait?” Dante asked. “That monster was gonna rape Dieter and stuff.”

“Because the three of you lost my cooler,” she shot back.

“That’s a reason?” I asked.

Rei cocked her head in confusion.
 

“Of course it is a reason. Delivery does not order itself.”

And then Rei did something I would never forget. She opened the door and jumped straight out. I gaped as her body went horizontal. Her serene blue eyes sparkled in the headlights’ glare. She looked entirely indifferent to the peril. And the entire motion was effortless. I thought she might even take to flight—until her left shoulder connected with a windshield. Glass went flying everywhere. The tricked out Wrangler skidded off to the left. It looked ready to jump the median, only to overcorrect back to the right. Rei had managed to get her hand on the wheel. She was the one doing the turning. Spitting out a cloud of rubber, the Jeep caught the second in the rear wheel. Rei’s Jeep managed to stay upright. It took a leap off the shoulder into the wide-open desert.

“Jesus Christ!” Dante shouted.

As if in slow motion, the second Jeep began to fishtail. We watched in awe as the truck tripped over it’s own wheels and disintegrated into a million pieces. The poor bastards inside never stood a chance. Their tricked-out coffin was traveling at over a 100mph. Two men were tossed out like rag dolls. I never saw what became of them.