Into the Shadows (32 page)

"I did not expect you to be here so early,
Audra," Viggo/Mr. Stone said as he began to walk toward her. I
followed a few steps behind him.

As we approached, Audra clicked on a penlight
and pointed it at a recliner near her. The back of the chair was
facing us until she stretched out one long leg and swiveled it.
Sitting on the ripped padding of the chair were a number of
cardboard boxes of different sizes. "I had some free time," she
said in response. "Anyway, I got everything on your weird list.
You've got the money, right?"

Viggo/Stone stopped a few paces away from
Audra, which meant I was close enough to get a better look at her.
Holy shit, she was gorgeous! She was of average height, with thick
black hair to her shoulders, vivid green eyes, and had an athletic
body and full hips under her body-hugging pullover and snug jeans.
I caught my drool just in time. While Audra seemed cautious, her
full lips were set in a subtle, crooked grin that almost made me
groan.

While I was staring at the stunning woman, I
remembered that I looked like a retarded fisherman. Okay, I had my
Super Shorty on my back and my Glock in a shoulder holster, but I
still felt like a dork.

In answer to Audra's question, Viggo/Stone
pulled an envelope from his coat and held it out to her. When she
leaned forward and snatched it from his fingertips, he said, "The
other half, as agreed."

Audra opened the envelope and began to count.
"It's not that I don't trust you, Stone," she said while her
fingers deftly went through the bills. "It's just that I don't
trust anyone."

"As would I in your situation, Audra, but I
never break my word. I hoped you would have realized that by now."
When she shrugged, Viggo/Stone went on to say, "I will be very
disappointed if what I ordered is not in the boxes. I rely on your
honor." He looked at me and pointed to the chair.

While I went around behind him to pick up as
much as I could hold, Audra chuckled and said, "I don't know about
honor, Stone, but I know it is bad business to cheat a good
client." I stood straight with a stack of boxes in my hands and
noticed her looking at me with a smirk. Without taking her eyes off
me, she asked my commander, "A minion, Stone? That's a first for
you. Taking him spelunking later?"

"More like scavenging. I'm sure you're
familiar with the concept," he answered coolly.

"I am," she answered agreeably, "but the
things I look for don't need to be blasted with a sawed-off
shotgun." Audra slipped the envelope into a back pocket and
casually stepped away. "It's always nice doing business with you,
Stone. Call me again when you need more odds and ends. Happy
hunting."

I watched that swaying ass, and the rest of
Audra, push open one of the front doors and walk out of sight.
"Damn," I muttered, not intending for the word to fall out of my
mouth.

"Had an effect on you, did she?" Viggo asked
rhetorically. "To my knowledge, Audra does not have the Gift of
Enchantment, which means your reaction is truly visceral."

"Yeah, she was . . . I mean . . . Damn." I
turned to him and asked, "Okay, how does that happen? Uh, I mean,
being without a faction. Did she choose that for some reason?"

Viggo/Stone shook his head. "One never
becomes a derelict as a matter of choice. It could have been that
her sire brought her into the night and was then killed or forced
to flee very soon after. Perhaps she was a member of a faction and
was banished from their ranks for a severe transgression. Or, it
might have been that a nomadic being turned her and moved on
without offering any mentoring; the Outsider faction is known for
such a tactic to test their progeny's survival instinct. In most
cases, a Doyen may choose to enforce an informal bylaw of
sanctioning progeny, and the sire in question did not abide."

"No shit?" I asked, surprised. "You mean that
any of you in town need Le Meur's approval to do that?"

He shrugged. "It is not a core law, but any
unapproved scion commonly has no rights. Nor do derelicts."

I thought for a second while my commander
turned away and gazed out the windows. "So . . . Audra; she's
constantly on the run?" I asked.

Still facing away from me, he nodded. I
noticed that his wiry white hair was back. "Audra has more to fear
than others. Still, she has adapted well, learned quickly on her
own, and has proven herself useful."

"Is there possibly a pack of derelicts around
town that help each other out? I mean, it must suck being out there
on her own."

"As far as I know, she is the only derelict
in this city. A great majority of her kind don't last long." When
he turned back to me, I saw the Viggo I was used to - inhuman and
scary as hell. "Don't dwell too much on it, Leo," he said. "Audra
is ultimately a thief. I assist in her survival for no other reason
than pity, and that well is beginning to run dry."

Glimpses of faded shadows began to flicker
around Viggo. The conversation was going to a place that was making
him edgy. When Viggo got edgy, I got nervous. "So, these boxes . .
." I said to change the subject. "I'm sorry sir, but I can't quite
get all of them."

Viggo stepped over to the chair and picked up
the last box, a heavy one, and cradled it under his arm. "I do
believe I mentioned taking you to a more populated location," he
commented, and then held his other arm open to me in invitation.
"Come, we'll pass along gifts and enjoy some needed
camaraderie."

I had no fucking clue what Viggo was talking
about, but it sounded a hell of a lot better than trudging through
more sewers. I stepped into his grasp, and then once again into the
void.

UNDERGROUND

Maybe I was getting used to void-walking, or
maybe it had something to do with being Viggo's minion. Either way,
I was only a little dizzy and queasy when my feet found solid
ground again. I couldn't see a damn thing in front of me, and I
thought better of sticking my hand out into the darkness. The air
was cool, clammy and stagnant. The sound of my foot moving on the
hard, gritty ground made a slight echo, so I figured we were
underground again.

I heard Viggo behind me taking in a deep
breath through his nose, like he was catching a scent of something.
I waited another second in silence and then asked, "Sir, can I turn
my headlamp on?"

"Very well, but do not face my
direction."

I didn't ask why not. The headlamp had
reflectors in it, giving off a wide radius of light. We were in
what would technically be called a cavern, although it looked like
a deep, wide crack into bedrock. The fissure was about six feet
across where we stood, although I could see that it widened further
ahead of me.

"There is a . . . creature further back
behind you that is very sensitive to light," Viggo explained. "I
should go tend to it for a short time. You may venture ahead if you
like. Once you reach a set of metal stairs, stop there and wait for
me."

"Yes sir." When I heard him move away from
me, I slowly started forward. If there were any dangers ahead, I
was sure Viggo would have told me. The coarse stone walls on either
side of me receded into an elliptical cavern fifty feet wide and
twenty feet high. The area was cluttered with loose rock, numerous
little puddles, and a shitload of thin stalactites hanging
overhead. The echoes of my footsteps and of dripping water were
amplified in the wide space. I reminded myself that I was safe and
kept moving.

Even though the ground was bedrock, I was
able to see a thin path formed by loose rubble pushed to either
side like crumbled curbing. It led around puddles and in-between a
handful of naturally formed pillars. After about five minutes of
walking, the walls gradually curved back in and the uneven ceiling
steadily sloped down. I was starting to feel a little
claustrophobic. My light reflected off something metal on the
ground not far ahead. I could feel that the bedrock floor was
slanting down toward it.

I got closer and saw that the metal was three
long sections of industrial floor grates, supported by two heavy
girders. The simple but sturdy bridge stretched over an abrupt
chasm, a twenty-foot wide crack in the earth that my light couldn't
see the bottom of. The ceiling curved into the nearly vertical wall
across the chasm. The other end of the inclined bridge connected to
roughly circular hole in the far wall.

The bridge itself looked strong enough, but I
took no chances. I found a heavy rock and tossed it onto the first
section of grating. Moving forward, I picked it up and repeated the
process on the second and then third section of metal grating. I
had to push the stack of boxes along with my foot. I was hunched
over by the time I got near the circular cave mouth because of the
lowered ceiling, and had to stay that way for the first few feet
into the new cave. There was dim light ahead; I took it as a good
sign.

Once through the cave mouth, I stepped onto
flooring made of large flagstones. I swiveled my lamp all over and
saw that I was at one end of a long, wide man-made (or hemo-made)
half circle tunnel that slowly curved off to the right. The glow of
lighting somewhere ahead shone on the cut stones along the left
wall. More than once I looked up to admire the craftsmanship, and
eventually noticed the small camera mounted in the ceiling about
one hundred feet in. The length of the tunnel felt like a few
football fields, but I saw the end of it coming up. Beyond the
tunnel looked like another natural cavern.

Yep, I was right. The next space in front of
me was crudely rectangular, with a much higher ceiling than the
twelve-foot high tunnel I just came out of. The light came from the
far right corner, where a single light bulb shone over a large door
that was at the top of a ten-step metal staircase. Damn, it was
about time. There was also another security camera bolted into the
stone higher over the door. What helped to illuminate the cavern
were all the broken shards of mirrored glass scattered along the
outer walls. It also let me see another cave tunnel that continued
beyond the stairs to locations unknown.

I set the boxes down next to the staircase,
took a long swig from my flask, and waited for Viggo. I was about
to sit on the stairs when suddenly the big door up and behind me
burst open and slammed into the railing. It scared the shit out of
me. But what came through that door, though . . . it was worse.

RESTRAINT

He - it, whatever - was fucking enormous. I
wasn't too worried about details right then, so all I saw was a
nearly eight-foot tall guy who was probably four feet wide at the
shoulders. Most of his pale face was covered with a matted brown
beard, and mud-slicked hair pulled up into a topknot. The only
thing he wore was what looked like stained drapes as a toga. The
monster-dude wasn't muscular, but every part of him was thick. The
one thing I really noticed was his expression: pissed off. Maybe
that was his natural look, but I wasn't going to wait until it was
too late to find out.

I pulled my Super Shorty. Screw the Glock; I
needed stopping power against the barbarian from hell. If he was a
minion, he'd be tougher than normal anyway. If he was a hemo,
though, I was in deep shit.

I thought the hairy giant wasn't happy to see
me to begin with, but he went berserk when I drew the gun off my
back. He bellowed and came at me, putting one bare foot on the
third step down and swung the other with a kick that would've
snapped my neck. He was fast for his size, but not nearly enough
for me. When his gigantic foot sailed past me, I grabbed my gun
with both hands and used it to push up on the back of his calf. The
giant's leg went higher than he expected and threw him off-balance.
His planted foot slid off the metal stair, and he slammed
back-first onto half of the steps. He grunted; I cringed.

The giant sat up, glaring at me. "Take it
easy, tiny," I said. "I don't want trouble." My worry was that the
giant was another of Viggo's minions, so I was reluctant to shoot
him. He roared again and launched off the dented stairs. He charged
and swung with a telegraphed punch. I was easily able to duck under
it and turn as he passed me. Okay, fuck reluctant; I wasn't going
to keep playing tag with the huge bastard.

Before the giant could turn around, I aimed
low and blasted his big butt at close range with a round of
double-ought buckshot. He howled in pain and rage, grabbing at his
ripped and bloody toga.

Over his broad shoulder, the giant's crazy,
beady eyes found me. His crooked teeth were gritted, but he still
managed to fling spittle out onto his beard with each heaving
breath. While he slowly turned to face me, I stepped back hoping
Viggo would show up and intervene. Never bet on hope.

With one step the giant was in my personal
space like an oncoming avalanche, swinging again with a fist the
size of my head. Once again I bobbed under it, and all at once lost
my restraint. I was sick of hemos and their minions coming after
me; hit teams, mind control, you name it. Because of them, I had to
abandon my own home and go into hiding. My life and freedom were
taken from me. Well, fuck them. Payback started with the oversized
turd in front of me.

Point blank, I shot the giant in the ribs.
Grunting and grasping at the vicious wound in his side, he
staggered back on unsteady legs. Without hesitating, I raised the
barrel and shot him in the chest.

The buckshot did its job. The booming blast
turned the center of his chest into a grisly crimson mess. I saw
the shock in his eyes and didn't feel one damn bit of remorse. The
giant more than likely went down, but I never got to find out.

"You asshole," an unfamiliar male voice
yelled behind me at the same time a cold hand grabbed me by the
back of my neck. Before I had a chance to do anything, I was lifted
off my feet and forcefully flung to one side. Airborne, I smashed
sideways into a rough stone wall. I heard my shoulder pop and felt
my ribs break at the same time. The side of my head felt wet as I
slumped onto the hard ground. I might have seen movement and heard
voices, but my vision was dimming and I couldn't make sense of
sounds.