Chapter 19
The factory seems deserted. But I know it isn’t. I don’t know if it’s a power given to me by my keeper status or what. There is something in there and whatever that something is, it’s evil.
Vincent walks slowly to the front door of the factory and looks at me for encouragement. I don’t think I offer much, but Vincent opens the door regardless. We walk into the old factory to find that although dark from the outside, it has a little bit of light in the one and only corridor leading away from the entrance.
Vincent walks forward slowly before raising his right hand, signaling me to stop.
“Wait,” he says softly. “I can sense them…they’re nervous.”
“What? Who?”
“There are seven vampires here,” Vincent elaborates, turning his face slightly to the right. “I can hear their thoughts. They were warned about us. They were supposed to move all of this out tomorrow, but they got antsy. Gutless bastards couldn’t even wait for their master’s orders. We’re in luck though, they haven’t moved any of the Hela yet, but they’re going to. And another thing Izzy…”
“Yeah, what?”
“They have other supers here,” Vincent replies softly. “I can’t tell all of them by thought alone, but they’re definitely not human. So hopefully, you can keep your hormones in check.” I hit him in the back of his neck as hard as I can with my free hand.
“Stop that,” Vincent says with a hush. “I’m not joking. The other supers are here and they’re terrified. I think they’re being experimented on, but I’ll need to get closer. So seriously, just keep it in your pants. We need to be silent so they don’t make a phone call. Can you handle that?”
“Just go,” I say in irritation. “We have to reunite with the others and I doubt Michael is being this hesitant. And if we need to be so silent, why not use your telepathy trick instead of talking? They’re bound to hear us if we keep talking.”
“True,” Vincent answers me smugly. “But Michael isn’t towing a supernatural sex hormone. I could keep the telepathic link up, but I’d rather focus on keeping the vampires’ focus away from your keeper pheromones. Just a gentle push so the vampires can’t focus on you and your ‘gifts’ until we’re in the clear. But as far as the other supers here, I won’t know for sure if I can influence them. I’m not completely in control of the powers Cain bestowed upon me, not yet.”
I brace myself at the uncertainty of Vincent’s last statement. We head further along the corridor before it splits into five different corridors. I look above me and it would seem that there are catwalks above us, but they seem to serve no purpose. There’s nothing to access from what I can see up there. I guess the catwalks are there just for ceiling maintenance.
Vincent tugs on my belt as he tries to pull me back to the here and now. I shake my head before I continue walking. He motions with his head the corridor to take and before I know it, I see what can only be described as jail cells all along the left and right walls. Thick glass panels separate us from the creatures captured here. I ready myself for the worst. As we walk forward, I see an empty cell to my left and a strange creature to my right.
The creature is beautiful in its own way, I suppose. Its hands have four fingers and a short thumb, but they’re all webbed together and end in a thick claw. The dark blue creature is huddled in the corner, bearing the appearance of an abused animal in a shelter. It looks at me with a seemingly human face and acknowledges me with a melodic voice. I don’t really understand what it’s trying to tell me, though.
“You all right?” Vincent asks me as he gets in between me and the cage. “We don’t have time for this. There’s some really dangerous stuff here.”
“I’m fine,” I say as I immediately look at Vincent. “What is it?”
“That’s a siren,” Vincent answers in surprise. “There are all sorts of stories about sailors being lured to their deaths by them. Heard of any? That’s one, albeit a beaten-down one. You’re not feeling compulsive or needy?”
“If you’re asking if I want to jump his bones, the answer’s no,” I say quickly with frustration clear on my voice.
“That’s interesting,” Vincent says in obvious surprise. “There are all sorts of supers up here. Don’t get close to the cages at all. This siren was trying to get you to fall into a trance; it’s what they do. He wanted you to free him. The fact that you’re a keeper and this thing is a siren…it’s interesting. Sirens are made to lure people, control them. I figured for sure you’d fall for it. These next ones though, they don’t sing, they scratch and bite. I’m sure seeing you will reinvigorate them too, so seriously, stay away.”
“You’re not just going to leave them here, are you?”
“For right now? Hell yes I am,’’ Vincent answers me. “There’s a freaking bugbear up here, you can’t even speak to those things. If I let these loose now with you here, it’s going to turn into a rumble. If it means that much to you, I’ll come back later. After we’re done. One thing at a time”
“Fine,” I say as I look back at the siren. Poor thing seems shocked and disappointed. He slinks back to the corner and falls to the ground.
I look forward and focus on Vincent’s back. I refuse to look to the side. I truly feel pity for these creatures; I don’t want to get them riled up. I hear all sorts of noise as we both make our way past the jail cells, but I stay focused on Vincent’s back. Vincent grabs me and places me alongside him, letting me know we’ve passed the jail.
“They’re much farther down the factory,” Vincent explains. “I don’t sense any more supers other than vampires from here on out. So you see anything that moves, you shoot it if you can. Soon as we finish here, I fly us out of here.”
I nod as we continue to walk for what seems like forever. Finally we make it to a bigger, round opening in the factory. Vincent pulls me close to the wall as he examines the area. As far as I can tell, there are three huge vats in the room. I see two men attending the far vat, but I can’t account for the remaining five.
“I’m going to try something,” Vincent tells me, using his mind. “Don’t move at all.”
I watch as the two I’m looking at begin brawling with one another ruthlessly. It doesn’t take long before the other five appear to separate them. I look to my side and Vincent’s gone. I see nothing but blurs in the factory ahead of me. This takes me back to that day in the woods when I was at the mercy of the witches. I point my gun forward, but I really have no idea who I’d be hitting, so I clutch it close to my chest.
Torsos are falling down or being thrown into the vats. It’s all over in a wave of screams and violence. The other vampires never stood a chance. I don’t know if I’m qualified to make a judgment on this, but it seems that Vincent has become much more powerful. Vincent appears next to me to check on my safety.
“Thanks, I’m okay,” I assure him. “How about you? Are you fine?”
“Yeah, I’m fine,” Vincent says as he examines his clothing. “I did manage to get some on my shirt though…damn, and this is dry clean only. Let me clean up this mess and get out of here.”
Vincent turns around and tosses all of the ripped up body parts of the vampires into the Hela vats. He pulls a water bottle containing a thick, red liquid from his pocket. I can only assume it’s his blood. With the bottle in hand, he goes to the farthest vat and pours some in. I hear the Hela poison scream in agony before it explodes upwards and turns to dust before landing to the ground. Vincent winces as he looks at me and starts making his way to the other vats.
“You don’t smell that?” he asks me.
I shake my head no and shrug my shoulders.
“That’s weird,” he says. “I think this could actually be used as a gas weapon if they thought of it. I doubt they could repeat the results without my blood, though.”
After Vincent finishes with the remaining vats we make our way out of the factory without incident. After the fly back to the rally point, I’m not surprised at all to see that we’re
the ones running late. Michael is back and even in his wolf form, I can tell he’s disappointed as he shakes his head.
“Nothing important, ya could take all the time in the world,” Bobby says to Vincent as we walk towards him. “What ya planning anyway? Mikey here said he did his part, we been waiting on ya.”
“Don’t worry, Bobby,” Vincent says as he analyzes his sleeve. “I did just find something out though. I can completely dominate vampires in a flash flawlessly, they do my will like puppets, at least the ones we ran into. Don’t even have to look at them, either. I’m thinking they don’t even know I’m alive. They won’t be looking for me anyway, so we’re going to get a real ‘oh crap’ expression on their faces. It’ll be priceless.”
“That sounds good then,” Michael says as he transforms instantly into his hybrid form. “I’ll just walk in and make a proclamation against the Coronam, charge them for their crimes against nature. They’ll buy it; they know who I am. Robert, previous plan still applies for you and your team. I want to resolve this peacefully, only fighting Klein if necessary. But if it comes to fighting, tag any violent stragglers.”
The slayers cheer at the chance for carnage. Mary still seems on edge. I can’t tell how Michael feels because of his wolf face and Vincent seems disinterested.
“All right, when the Hela poison pops, it really pops,” Vincent says, still looking at his sleeve. “If all hell breaks loose after that, then whatever, we deal with it. Regardless of who is attacking, you behead his ass. When I destroy that Hela poison, it’s really going to explode badly, so seriously, guys, be ready for anything.”
We all make our way just outside the perimeter of what seems to be a gigantic mansion. There are people, vampires I assume, posted all around the place. I don’t see how we’re getting in there without a problem…
“This is us,” Bobby says as he and his boys start fanning around the mansion.
“Do you know how you’re going to get in there without making a fuss?” Michael asks Vincent. “How much time do you need before I move in with Liz and Mary?”
“Give me three minutes,” he answers Michael. “Then head in. We’ll keep track of what’s going on via telepathy as per usual. Izzy, you don’t have to worry about your keeper mojo here. I’m sure everyone here is controlled to avoid keepers under penalty of death. After all, the council wants all keepers to themselves. But, like I said though, make sure to brace yourselves for the Hela to explode. I’ll watch your progress if need be.”
Michael nods and Vincent vanishes almost exactly the way Cain did…
“Michael, how much more powerful has Vincent become? I mean exactly?” I ask him.
“Powerful enough that we’ll be seriously messed up if he gets overwhelmed by the power,” Michael replies with no hesitation. “Did he act strangely with you? Did you notice anything unusual in his behavior?”
“No, not at all,” I answer. “He’s still Vincent; it seems that way anyway. But he took care of the seven vampires in no time at all, even faster than before. I think, anyway; it was just way too fast.”
“I see,” Michael says as he lowers his powerful head. “We’ve been fighting, sparring with one another, as part of Vincenzo’s rehabilitation. Every time we sparred, he pushed me harder and harder. Finally, I couldn’t keep up with him in my hybrid form. I was forced into using my war form, a phase I only enter when fighting off an army of vampires, as a last resort. He could hurt me, even in my war form…and that was when Vincenzo wasn’t even fully recovered. I don’t doubt that he could do this entire mission alone, if he chose.”
“So why bring us, then?” Mary asks. Her face is in total shock. I guess she didn’t know any of this.
“It’s a good thing, actually,” Michael replies with a low growl. “It would mean he wants to prevent bloodshed if possible. It means we still have at least that piece of Vincenzo with us. Are you two ladies ready?”
“As I’ll ever be,” Mary asserts.
I just nod and walk behind Michael. His hybrid form conceals my body entirely. I’m hoping that when they see Michael and Mary, they won’t see me behind him. I don’t know if they’re going to shoot us on sight or really what to expect. Do vampires even resort to using weapons?
“I need you to be focused,” Michael says to me softly. “Don’t worry, I won’t let any harm come to you.”
“You say as we walk towards the main headquarters of all the vampires on the planet,” I reply sarcastically. “If I wasn’t scared, I would be terrified at myself for not being scared.”
“Liz, please try to compose yourself,” Michael continues. “I hold a certain amount of respect here, a certain authority. It’s true that they want me dead, but they can’t announce that to the entire vampire race. Every vampire would try to get a feather in their cap with the Coronam and come after me. When they order those teams to kill me, they do so in secret. As a super, they know that the werewolves exist to keep them in order. They won’t attack us on sight, unless they want all of the tribe to come down on them.”
“You mean to tell me they’ll just let us right in?” Mary asks, becoming even more confused.
“That’s exactly what I mean,” he responds confidently. “Now that Vincenzo isn’t with us, that’ll at least let us get inside for an audience. They can’t kill us at the gate, unless they’ve lost their minds.”
So things have come to this. What are we really walking in to? I try to prepare myself mentally as the mansion draws ever nearer. There are vampires on the high walls surrounding the mansion. They’re aiming what seem to be rifles at us, but they’re not firing. We make it all the way to the front gate. I’m as nervous as can be, but Mary seems truly mortified to be returning to this place. Michael, however, walks calmly up to one of the gate guards, only to stare down at him. It’s truly an incredible sight.
“On behalf of the balance,” Michael says menacingly. “I come to discuss order. Will you respect my station, vampire? These two are with me; please speak with your masters. Inform them that Michael of the Ironskin has a quarrel with them.”
The vampire nods and gives a fake bow before sucking his teeth and walking back to the gate. He speaks quietly into a speaker and motions for the gate to open. He escorts us deeper into the house. All around me I see horrendous atrocities being committed. People are being tortured, vampires are practicing at a firing range, humans are being fed on…it’s like something out of a nightmare; it just has a snazzy décor to the home. It’s like having a blood stain on a Da Vinci original…beauty corrupted by pain…
After an exhausting walk, we make it to the main council chambers. The chambers have a glass roof. It’s almost the size of a concert hall. A large curved table is pressed up against the wall. The table is solid and actually hides most of the body of whoever sits behind it.
And then there are the people who sit behind the table. They sit coldly, their eyes overflowing with judgment and vengeance.
“Michael of the Ironskin, what an honor,” one of the elders near the middle of the table says as he stands up. “It’s been what? Forty, fifty years? Your work must have kept you busy. If we were of a different breed, we might take it personally that you haven’t visited us. We are one of the elite species, after all. Some would say we’re superior even to your kind, tribesman.”
“I don’t remember how long it’s been,” Michael says as he steps forward into the very middle of the chamber. Mary walks closer to me. “It would seem, however, that I should have visited much sooner. Unfortunately, it would also seem that you consider me to be a fool. I didn’t come for you Algarus, nor did I come for any of you personally. You all know who I come for.”
“I’m afraid I don’t know,” the vampire identified as Algarus feigns ignorance. “We’ve done nothing wrong, yet you come here to us on behalf of the balance? I believe you come here to flaunt about your power in arrogance, not justice!”
“You will sit down,” Michael commands firmly. “You will hear the charges made ag
ainst you and your order. And then, you and the rest of the ones involved will be judged. Is there any grievance with that? We can just skip to the judging if that’s what you’d prefer. But I don’t think any of you want a repeat of that incident…do you?”
Michael allows his convincing threats to linger in the room. He looks around as if he is really awaiting a response. Algarus sits down like a child that’s just been scolded.
“No? That’s good,” Michael says before continuing. “I come here because of the Hela poison. I come here before you all today because of the apparent arrogance of your species. Did you think we wouldn’t have heard? Did you really think that little of me and my people?”
Murmurs from the council begin.
“And like I said,” Michael continues. “I didn’t come here for you, Algarus…I came here for Klein.”
A vampire stands up slowly from his seat. Judging from Mary’s face, that must be Klein.
“What do you want from me, dog? You dare bring my property back to me as a prisoner?” Klein asks scornfully. His voice emits arrogance and a sense of entitlement. I don’t know the guy, only what he’s done. But I have a feeling that if I didn’t know him, I wouldn’t like him just from his voice.
“Dog, is it?” Michael spits back. “What I want from you is simple. I want you to explain to all of the council members here and to the rest of your species why you did it. Why did you develop the Hela poison? I want you to face your entire species, your people, and tell them why you developed a doomsday weapon, which from the very start, was created to kill all supernaturals? In case you didn’t know this, esteemed members of the Coronam, Klein has been conspiring behind your collective backs for a very long time. Behind me stand two witnesses of his crimes. One you know, the other is the daughter of the woman you call Mary.”
“This is preposterous!” Klein yells out as the council members begin arguing with one another like immature children. “Would you really have this stray come in here and destroy our union?”
“There is no union here,” Michael says firmly. “You all have been hoping to benefit from Klein’s ambitions. I can understand your ideas; I’m not blind to your goals. I know you all want that power he promised you. Let’s not insult one another by pretending these crimes never happened. I was aware of the experiments you did with keepers, but I let them continue as you weren’t hurting actual keepers. You were merely trying to artificially recreate a natural occurrence. But now, you’ve forced me to step in when you created the Hela poison. Did you know that the poison is actually a super in and of itself? It has a consciousness; it’s hell-bent on killing the vampire race. But I know none of you would have approved of that. Klein was just inept.”
“Can you prove these allegations?” Algarus asks in a shout as he desperately tries to be heard.
“Are you actually validating these accusations?!” Klein protests in outrage. “He’s a dog! You would cause me this disrespect over his kind? Think about all of the great things we’ve done here! One accusation and that’s it?! I am a founding member of the Coronam; sit down and shut up Algarus! Your words have no weight here!”
Michael stays quiet as he watches the council suffer from infighting. The council is disintegrating before our eyes. I thought Michael’s intent was to keep the council around? Is this a distraction meant to keep attention from Vincent?
“See how he treats his cohorts?” Michael yells at the Coronam. The room silences. “I am here because Klein has been making the Coronam look power-hungry. The super community believes all of you to be readying for a war. The problem is, it’s Klein’s war. It’s not the war of your race. This man is on a power trip and if you do nothing, he will bring about the end of your kind. I can prove this to all of you and I want to do this peacefully. Can I trust in your cooperation?”
Michael watches the council closely as they begin talking amongst themselves in a foreign language I don’t understand at all. It’s definitely Slavic, but I can’t pick up on any of it. Michael seems to be listening intently, however.
“We must discuss this further,” Algarus says after the small powwow. “We will confront Klein about this on our terms and deal with the issue. Then we shall get back to you. Please accept our hospitality for now while we speak about it.”
“No,” Michael says with a loud, fierce growl. “You will answer me now or suffer the weight of Klein’s crimes on your entire council.”