The Lostkind (32 page)

"So. That locker wouldn't be 44-B by any chance?"

Grey spun, one hand going to the gun in his holster, as Yasi and Christen walked in. She was cool and confidently striding in, Christen was nervous and shrinking against the door frame.

"It was you?" Grey said in surprise when he saw the man in the janitor's uniform. "Owen was worried about being watched, but he didn't know it was the Janitor."

"Nobody did." Christen took a slight bow. "Nothing in the world that's harder to notice than the man holding a garbage bag."

Yasi took a step closer. "So. Where is Vandark?"

"Who?"

"Don't pretend you don't know why Owen was all over this." Yasi pointed to the locker. "You're NYPD, you wouldn't take part in something like this blind."

"Owen Niklos is dirty, I know that. I'm not an idiot." Grey scorned. "But he showed me proof. If there's a whole community squatting illegally, taking part in organized theft, blackmail, and-"

Yasi swore colorfully. "You don't have a clue what you're into here, do you?" She snarled. "Owen fed you a pack of lies and you swallowed it whole. People are dying because you helped that worm."

"What?" Grey was stopped short at that one. "What do you mean, people dying?"

Yasi bit her lip, thinking. Yasi had always felt a certain affinity for police.
Serve and Protect? That's what I do too.
The Shinobi and the NYPD were part of the same Brotherhood; even if they didn't know the Lostkind existed. "I am bound by oath to keep Rule Number One." She said calmly. "But I do need to check a few things; so I will give you one part of the story; the part that involves Owen Niklos, and what he was up to. After that; you will tell me everything he told you in return. You may think about hiding it; but don't worry: I think we've both heard the story we're about to tell each other."

~oo00oo~

It was hard to see what was happening at first, with so many people in the way, but at the bottom of the 'Seven Steps', the lowest point of the level, was the water. It led out in several directions, and was moving slowly enough that when he'd first arrived, Vincent had thought the water still.

But this aqueduct led to to the Great River that even Yasi spoke of in whispers. The ultimately necessary, but always feared part of The Underside.

And now suddenly, rising from the still waters, were hulking monsters.

"Riverfolk." Connie whispered.

The effect on the Lostkind was electric, they fell back from the monsters, screaming in fear. Sheer panic and mortal terror ruled every motion and action in the retreat, and what was an orderly pedestrian traffic, became a petrified mob. The few Shinobi that Vincent could see where struggling to maintain order, keep the crowds under control...

The reaction was visceral, instinctive. The Riverfolk were few in number, but the mere sight of them sent the Lostkind into hysterics.

Vincent's brain was overloaded. A confined space, a thousand people, everybody screaming, and monsters hunting him...

Connie was trying to stick with him, pulling him along as they tried to stay with the crowd. Behind them, Vincent caught glimpses of more Riverfolk climbing out of the River, emerging from the still waters, weapons in hand. As the Lostkind fled from them, they tore apart stalls, tents... fires broke out, and chaos reigned.

The crowd scattered in various directions, some of them scampering up the ropelines, running along the thin lines with ease. Some clambered over each other acrobat-style, climbing up the Seven Steps themselves, despite their height. The rest, Connie and Vincent included, pressed in toward the staircases, trying to get distance. The crush of people slowed, and the Riverfolk grew closer, smashing and slicing anything in their path.

Vincent couldn't get any closer to the steps through the crowds, and looked over his shoulder. More Riverfolk were emerging, some armed with crossbows, picking off the Lostkind that climbed the ropes. One of them slashed the anchor points. The ropeline severed, and almost a dozen Lostkind fell screaming...

The nearest Riverfolk were getting closer, close enough to smell them. Connie looked at Vincent in despair. They were the target. It was likely the last thing they would ever see.

And then Dorcan dropped out of the sky. Nobody saw where he came from, but he landed in a cat-like crouch, halfway between the civilians and the invaders, a blade in each hand. The Riverfolk tensed, recognizing the first thing they met that could possibly face them.

While the Lostkind fell back in panic, the Shinobi stood defiant, ready for war.

The first Riverfolk charged him, blade out, howling as he ran toward Dorcan. The Shinobi was more than willing to meet him halfway. They charged, passed each other in less than a second... neither turned around for another pass. After a timeless beat... The Riverfolk fell to the ground. Dorcan didn't even glance back; already hunting a new target.

The others were quick to attack, to avenge their fallen member.

Battle was joined, and for all Dorcan's skill, he was hopelessly outnumbered.

The crowd was finally getting through the bottleneck of the stairs, moving again. Connie realized Vincent was staring back at the fight and started tugging on his arm. "Come on! We're the target remember?" She shouted at him over the crowd.

Vincent tugged back the other way. "Exactly! We can't lead them
toward
these people!"

"Well what exactly do you
intend
to do?!"

As the crowds moved further away from the Riverfolk, Vincent could see people pushing their way through, trying to get closer. As they escaped the crowds, he saw the weapons and leather vests. It was the same style Yasi had. They were the warriors of the place, the Shinobi.

The Riverfolk had emerged from the water, and had gathered into a group. The Shinobi were gathering, forming a line, putting themselves between the water's edge, and the retreating crowds.

There was a pause as both sides got ready for the inevitable, and Vincent finally got a look at them. Fifteen Riverfolk, gathering together against seven Shinobi. The Riverfolk were all identical in features, the only notable difference was their height and build.

Vincent looked around for Yasi, and didn't see her. Dorcan stood in the middle of the defensive line, looking in both directions, checking his backup.

The Riverfolk Leader was a foot taller than the rest, and he let out an inhuman roar; though his mouth wasn't visible. It was the signal that the monsters were waiting for, and both sides exploded into action.

The invaders had long range weapons. Crossbows and throwing blades. The Shinobi were close combat warriors, getting inside their attacks, too tight to shoot. The Shinobi were all about speed and agility, glancing off their attackers, swooping around blows that could break stone.

The Riverfolk were all about savagery, sacrificing agility for power, smashing with brute force wherever they could land a blow. Against the Shinobi, they couldn't land many, but the Riverfolk seemed barely aware of any damage they took. Vincent caught a glimpse of one with three arrows in his gut, and he barely seemed to notice.

Connie bit her lip, unwilling to leave him behind, and knowing he was right about taking the fight toward the civilians.
Listen to me.
She thought blandly.
'Protect the civilians', Like I'm not one of them myself.

Casting about as the combat shifted into a deadlier gear, Connie found a place to hide, in one of the stalls. There were a variety of things in the stall that she didn't have time to study, but a huge pile of clothes were kept in a large crate. There was space enough behind it for two to hide. "Vincent!" She hissed. "Over here!"

Vincent started to follow, picking his moment to run from the staircase to the stall... when he noticed the Invader that Dorcan had dispatched. His eyes focused on the body... and the crossbow slung across his back. Without thinking about it, he inched forward, and pried the weapon loose.

Dorcan slashed at the leader, and missed; getting knocked flat on his back a moment later. He landed less than two feet from Vincent. The nearby impact shook Vincent out of his numb staring contest with the dead, and Dorcan twisted to look up at him. "Run, you idiot! Run!"

Vincent gripped the weapon tightly, as Dorcan twisted his body, jerking himself fluidly off his back and back on his feet. The Shinobi reached out and grabbed the crossbow, pumping the handle once, and shooting the nearest invader. He tossed the crossbow back to Vincent and moved swiftly back to the fight.

One of the Riverfolk looked at the two Upsiders, getting a clear look at their faces. Vincent gripped the crossbow, knowing he was a dead man. The Riverfolk looked straight at him...

And turned off to find something more interesting.

~oo00oo~

"It's an interesting story... When Owen told me the details, I didn't believe a word of it." Grey said carefully. "Some of the other things Niklos was up to? That was a surprise."

"Well, now you know. Everything you just told me? That's a long list of things that nobody knows about; for obvious reasons." Yasi challenged. "So. Will you help us?"

"I'm a cop, Miss Yasi." Grey said plainly. "If there are crimes being committed, people getting killed, then you better believe I'll do my job. This is my city too, and I intend to protect it."

Yasi smiled. "Thank you." She said gratefully.

"Anything else, we can sort out when this is over." Grey nodded, holstering his gun.

Yasi paused. "Anything else? Meaning?"

"I work for The Law." Grey explained. He wasn't being belligerent, he wasn't challenging, he was just stating the facts. "If there are Laws being broken, then I will put a stop to it. If the only way to sort that out is to drag the whole Secret World out into the light of day, then that's what I'll do."

Yasi sighed, regretful. "Damn. I was afraid you'd say that."

"What do you mean?" Grey asked.

Faster than anyone could follow, faster than anyone could react, Yasi snap-drew her sword and brought it around in a neat slash. There was a sudden spray of blood, and Grey's head fell to the ground. The death-blow was so fast it took a few moments for his body to collapse.

"Did you have to do that?" Christen asked from behind her.

"It was bad enough that he knew; but he was planning to expose the Underside to the whole world. That's the end of us; so I had to stop him. I take no pleasure in it Christen; but the First Duty of the Shinobi is to protect the Secret. The First Duty is an Absolute." Yasi cleaned her sword casually and sheathed it. Stepping over the body, she collected the contents of Owen's Locker, and sent Christen a look. "You can clean this up yourself?"

"Yes Captain." Christen said, collected his cleaning supplies. "I'll ditch the body in one of the usual places."

Yasi checked the package in her hand and smiled. "Well. This has been a very good night."

~oo00oo~

"This is bad!" Connie gasped. "This is very very bad!"

"They aren't after us." Vincent hissed at her. "One of them got a good long look at my face, and he didn't recognize me, or he didn't care. They're not after us!"

"Then what the hell do they
want
?"

"I don't know."

The two of them were crouched in one of the stalls, unwilling to lead the Riverfolk in closer to the terrified Lostkind, but unable to do anything else.

"What the hell do you plan to do with that?" Connie hissed.

"Make a lot of noise and act like Rambo." Vincent scorned sarcastically. He made a quick study of the weapon. It was not like a medieval crossbow. It had a frame in front of the trigger, with six bolts on a spring. The grip had a pump action handle, and Vincent worked it. Pulling the handle back drew back the string and raised a bolt, letting the handle forward again notched it, ready to pull the trigger.
A pump action crossbow.
Vincent thought.
Incredible.

Outside the stall, the sound of combat grew stronger, angrier. They both ducked lower as they heard the sound of someone shouting in pain, and an instant later a body was hurled into the stall.

The Shinobi flew in through the front of the stall, smacked into the stone wall of the ledge, and flopped to the ground, dead already. After a moment, the tent flap was thrown back, and one of the Riverfolk came in with an animalistic growl, ready to push the advantage. It saw its prey was dead... and then saw Vincent aiming the weapon.

Vincent hesitated, gripping the handle so tightly it creaked.

"Do it Vincent." Connie whispered, terror in her voice. "Hurry!"

Vincent was frozen. His finger was on the trigger, the bolt was aimed, and somehow he couldn't make his brain stop screaming at him.
Why isn't he attacking? He's not moving, why isn't he killing us both, what the hell am I doing here, I should be at home where things like this don't happen, just pull the damn trigger Vincent, squeeze your finger a little tighter, oh my god, that's why he's not moving, I've got the drop on him and he knows it, just do it Vincent what the hell is wrong with you?