Foreboding Skies (The Skybreaker Saga Book 1) (17 page)

“What…ugh…was in…that?” Surely such a horrendous concoction violated international humanitarian laws. It was a grave offense against all creatures with taste buds. Usually Izzy whipped up some delectable shit. What I hesitantly ingested was much worse than shit. “Gasoline, wasabi, scotch! Something to make the taste go away!” I stumbled out of the room and into the maze of halls. Vlad was by my side and subtly guiding after a few steps.

“I’ll tell Izzy that his miracle pick-me-up is up to snuff.” Smug bastard. He didn’t have to drink it.

“The hell it is!” I was thinking of all the horrible things I could force down Izzy’s throat when two things hit me. One, that was a filthy image and two, I felt fantastic. Better than I could remember feeling in a long while. It didn’t take much to beat that low bar. The last few days mainly comprised of me getting my ass kicked. Even my lung felt better. We were caught flat-footed. But that didn’t matter now. It matters not who strikes the first blow, but the last. So sayeth I.

“I have prepared some of your clothing for you. I believe you are rather fond of this particular outfit.” He gestured toward a pile of clothes resting in the corner. I swung my legs over the side of the alter and took a few tentative steps. With renewed faith in my body I took a look at what Vladimir selected for me. It was my favorite pair of blue jeans that they were pushing two months without a wash. I had some difficulty placing the t-shirt. I wasn’t certain I owned a hipster grumpy cat t-shirt. A cartoon version of the famous feline was wearing a fedora with the tagline ‘I was grumpy before it was cool’. I recalled the origins of said garment the same time my stomach sank. “I got that for you, but I never saw you wear it. Now is as good a time as any.” 

“You shouldn’t have. Really.”  I pulled it on and found it fit well and was made out of a finer material than your average t-shirt. That wasn’t the issue. The shirt I was wearing single handedly made a farce out of the entire situation. Perhaps that was for the best. A little stupid levity couldn’t make things any worse. I didn’t know how I felt about wearing a cat into the most important fight of my life. Maybe it would confuse my enemies. I certainly didn’t get it. “Let’s get this over with.” 

I heard the bustle of activity before we ascended the final staircase to ground level. We emerged into a vast room larger than a standard warehouse. The shape was rectangular, with the long side stretching several hundred yards. There were rows upon rows of sleek vehicles of numerous makes and models. The prevalent colors were black and red. No originality. Crates of supplies were stacked neatly along both sides of what I gathered was the staging area for our assault. All of them were labeled vaguely. I saw ‘Food Stuffs’, ‘Reusable Scrap’, and one labeled ‘Raw Materials’. I wondered why the crates weren’t simply labeled ‘illegal arms shipment’. It’s not like Vampires had to deal with airport security. They also didn’t really need guns either, but Vladimir understood the value of keeping up with modern military technology. As such all of his soldiers were equipped with everything from M-9 handguns to combat shotguns. Many in the Community did not share Vladimir’s philosophy.

Vampires clad in matching combat fatigues like Vladimir’s own set zipped to and fro with their usual creepily precise and silent movements. Stealth talisman or not Vampires were plenty stealthy on their own. Whatever minute noise they normally made was drowned out by the second group at the far end of the warehouse. Aslan brought in most of his wolves for the fight. I counted thirty volatile apex-predators bustling around. And there were most likely more hanging around. I couldn’t find Aslan or his second in the crowd. “Where is Aslan?” I asked.

“He and Kovo are finalizing some final details for the plan. They will be meeting us shortly for a final briefing.” Vlad answered. We continued to walk through the bustle of Vampires. They flowed around us easily. It felt like I was inside of a beehive with every drone doing exactly what was needed with perfect coordination. I only recognized a few of them. Vladimir really did have an army at his disposal. “Alewyn and Lucy will also be here shortly.” Alewyn was a competent if unorthodox fighter. But Ms. Gousie was still only human.

“You’re ok with her coming along?”

“I will do my best to ensure her protection, but I will not forbid her from fighting. She made a compelling argument as to why she needed to participate directly. I could not deny her request. Well, it was more of demand than a request. She is a strong, remarkable woman.” High praise, very high praise indeed. Perhaps his feelings went beyond mere admiration. Interesting. My friend hadn’t shown interest in any women that I had ever seen, or any man for that matter. My eyebrows were at full elevation. The dauntless lord appeared to be bashful. “Where is that Turkish hairball? And put those eyebrows down.” I lowered one. “Both of them.” He snapped. Peculiar. He must have felt conflicted.  

Speak of the prick and he appears. Aslan entered the warehouse from the far end at the head of half a dozen wolves and Kovo. Who was walking dangerously close to an embarrassed looking Amare. It would have been cute if not for all the crippling emotional trauma involved. Such is the way of love. I was a bit concerned at what Alewyn would whip up for Gousie. They weren’t anywhere I could see and that concerned me. In situations like this Alewyn tended to get weird.

“I will allow that blatant change of subject for now.” We stopped where we were when Aslan arrived. It was a small power play with a clear message. We are more important so you must walk to us. Vladimir was reminding the alpha who was running the operation. It was better to clearly establish the chain of command now than when the shit hit the fan. Though I had spent a great deal of time unconscious and undoubtedly missed a great deal I was still certain Aslan hadn’t accepted a subordinate position.

              Aslan’s party headed toward us at a slow pace, a little counter move. As we stood in the middle of warehouse surrounded by an army in motion the enormity of what we were doing really sunk in. “We are going to launch an assault on the U.S. government. Most of the people there don’t know a damned thing about what’s going on.”

              “We have taken measures to ensure that innocent lives will be protected. As for the rest, they are a rogue faction that has elected to operate outside of conventional means thereby stripping them of whatever protections they enjoyed previously. We will only attack those that have attacked us and are threatening this city and her people. This is a limited military action for the greater good.”

“Spoken like a true politician.” But it made sense that Vladimir had already begun putting a positive spin on what we were doing. It would have to be exceptional spinning indeed to satisfy everyone that would be asking questions.

“Goodwin has stepped into our world now. We will deal with him in our way. I am sure that Goodwin has backers higher up, but his actions have drawn too much attention. I believe he will be abandoned. As for the rest of the oblivious government. Hopefully we can polish this situation somewhat.”

              “Polish? What does Poland have to do with anything?” Never underestimate the power of terrible humor to relieve tension. The corner of his mouth involuntarily jerked upward. He was also a connoisseur of humor foul enough to bludgeon some amusement from its victims. “Speaking of changing the subject. Where is the asshole that wears a powdered wig?” Too late. The alpha picked up speed and was nearly upon us. All hope of amusing banter had been dashed.

              Aslan stopped well within spitting distance. He looked ready to fire a few lobs at our shoes or simply skip the foreplay and cut to the violence. Kovo was by her master’s side in a blink. I realized he wasn’t only pissed at us. He was pissed at all living things. His bloodlust was already on the rise before anyone could utter a word. No alpha holds his place through shrewdness alone. Savagery was the primary requirement and the reason most alphas didn’t reign for long. Aslan was a glaring exception to that.

              “I hope you are done chatting like maidens. I would like to begin this venture before my pack and I lose our patience. Being surrounded by easy prey is making us excited.” Several of the more aggressive Vampires stopped mid-motion and swiveled around to face Aslan. Vlad sent them back to work with one motion. He wasn’t interested in taking the bait. He knew Aslan was throwing a fit. Though the alpha spent little time in Detroit it was still his territory. The current trouble was a challenge to his authority. The agitation of their alpha drew the attention of the rest of the wolves. They weren’t moving yet. I wondered how strongly Vladimir felt about the city. I didn’t have much attachment to it. Detroit was just another assignment.

A fight breaking out over nothing is depressingly common when too many ancient egomaniacs gathered. We supernatural creatures really weren’t that different from humans. I knew Vladimir could take Aslan down with ease. I could only hope that a swift defeat for the alpha would cow his pack and prevent a Westside story from breaking out. If not, then our enemies didn’t need to bother worrying about us. Everyone but the two belligerents moved to form a rough circle. I was far from diplomatic enough to defuse the situation. Hell, I wanted to join in. Even as my rational mind reminded me what was at stake I still couldn’t shale my bloodlust and focus. I couldn’t deny that Alewyn was right. I had gotten more savage over the years and dealing with my unwanted guest failed to make me feel any differently

The stage was set for a good old fashioned duel for control of the operation. Then Ms. Gousie walked in with a gleeful elf in tow. I still don’t understand the point of fashion as a whole, but I will admit that Alewyn brought some practicality to it. The theme appeared to be modern samurai. A suit of detailed urban camouflaged colored samurai amour encased a bashful looking Gousie. I believe that it was modeled after Tom Cruise’s armor from The Last Samurai. It was a peculiar combination of old and new. I doubted the armor was made of anything known to mankind. The armor was impressive enough to draw attention from the small arsenal the woman was hauling. I counted two pistols, an SMG, a combat shotgun, and a few grenades to top it off. The lone human would be superbly protected. Alewyn was dressed like a man going clubbing, jeans with a tight black shirt. His only visible weapon was an ornate cane. I had never seen it before. Like the armor it was a masterpiece of elven craftselfship.

Every eye was pulled to the pair. A room of the most powerful supernatural creatures in the world were stopped dead by a human woman. Again. “What’s going on here? Why is everyone standing around?” Her answer was an awkward silence. We were caught like kids in a schoolyard.

“Yes. Well…back to work everyone. Good pep talk guys. Very inspirational.” I knew how to be smooth.

Vladimir was quick on the uptake. “Yes. If we work together we can prevail.”  The fur ball was not as quick on the update. He was too busy ogling the sexy samurai. Who was too busy observing the room to notice. But Vladimir noticed. “Right Aslan?” A hard tone.

“Hmm? Oh. Yes we must stand united. Now see to the final preparations.” With their hearts filled by their leaders inspiring words Vampire and werewolf alike zipped off. I wanted to zip off as well but I really didn’t have anything to do. Gousie didn’t look like she bought our excuse. I blamed Aslan for that. Gousie shook it off and marched up to the head honchoes.

“How soon can we depart Mr. Rurik?” She was all business and talking to them like she was the one in charge. Neither one moved to correct her. That surprised me. I expected Aslan to have a curt response at the very least to Gousie butting in. He wasn’t even visibly upset. Either way my instinct was to slink away from the group. I trusted the four of them to handle the details. The initial energy boost from Izzy’s drink faded away, taking with it my sense of wellbeing. A heavy malaise fell upon me. I didn’t like how bright the lights were. I continued my shuffle to the far end of the warehouse. No one challenged me, or even acknowledged my existence. I reached the far end, now the near end, and slumped against the wall. Aslan’s pack had mostly dissipated and the remainder seemed content to polish their guns and knives.

I barely noticed anything going on around me. I did my best to pretend that I was an inanimate object that didn’t have to worry about anything at all. It wasn’t until I heard an annoyed Alewyn shouting for me that I remembered that I wasn’t a couch, or even a lamp. I shook myself out of my stupor and was met with a dozen gasps.

“Where the hell have you been? We were ready to go and no one could find you.”

“I’ve been sitting here the whole time.” Behind Alewyn was a whole search party. “How long have you been looking?” The warehouse was completely deserted otherwise.

“Fifteen minutes. Now get up. All the other teams have left.” Fifteen minutes? I didn’t see how it was possible that a gaggle of Werewolves and Vampires to have searched for ten minutes without finding me, not to mention Alewyn who is a superb hunter. I wasn’t trying to hide. I must have subconsciously cloaked myself. But even on my best day I couldn’t hide from such heavy scrutiny. I couldn’t help but think it was related to my unwanted guest, as with the malaise. Was I still in danger from the parasite? Stupid question. Vladimir told me what we did was a stopgap measure at best.

I wanted to think about something other than the evil entity roosting inside of me. But the only other thing that popped into my head was what we were about to do. And that was only slightly better.

I hefted myself up and tried to appear upbeat and confidant. Alewyn only looked moderately concerned as he handed me a wireless earpiece and microphone along with a backpack. “Everything you need is in there. Go through it on the way. Now follow me.” I put the earpiece in and was treated to complete radio silence.

“What are we driving?”

“Specially modified standard government issue SUVs on loan from the Feds themselves. We need them to move since the curfew has gone into effect.” I started going through pockets. It was a complete battlefield survival kit. It contained everything a modern soldier would need in a fire fight. It also held two lovely Px4 Storm Compact Beretta pistols complete with suppressors and a concealed holster, my pistol of choice. 

“And why do I need all of this? Excluding the guns, I like those.” I slipped on the holster and put on the jacket Alewyn handed me. You really couldn’t tell for certain if I was packing.

“I asked the same thing and one of Vlad’s baby Vampires tries to lecture me on proper military procedure. ‘Lord Vladimir’s standard battle back is a necessary part of any successful operation’, just rattled it off like good grunt. The bloody Pollack has built himself a formidable private army.”

“What happened to the baby?”

“Hmm?”

“The baby Vampire?”

“Oh, I slapped the little shit unconscious.” He hesitated briefly. “That’s not what you should be curious about. You should be asking what Vladimir is planning to do with his little military machine. And where, at this most crucial moment, is his shadow warrior?”  Outside of the warehouse three SUVs waited quietly. The rest of the search party filed into the first two cars “I know he has far more impressive hardware than this.” It was at that point I realized we were under a cloak. Alwyn winked at me and climbed into our car. Vladimir was driving, and Gousie, armor and all, was pouting from shotgun. Kovo and Amare occupied the rearmost seats, leaving the middle section for me and Alewyn. Kovo’s hulking bastard sword drew my attention first, and then I noticed that Amare was still in his human form. I then realized that I had never actually seen him in any other form. It wasn’t the time to question him, especially sense no one else seemed bothered by it.

A sense of grim resolve pervaded the car. Nothing needed to be said and no one said anything. The convoy began its journey. That sounded far too benign. We were a war party Trojan horsing our way past the enemy’s defenses to sever their head. I should have been thinking exclusively about the plan and my place in it. But I couldn’t stop thinking about what Alewyn said, and how he felt the need to cast a cloak to say it. I could look around the car and see nothing but allies and friends. What did they see when they looked at each other?