Empire of Blood (Book 2): Fading In Darkness (6 page)

Chapter 8

Message Deliverable

A bland array of trees, warehouses, and orange cones blurred past as Hank watched from the backseat window of the imperial car. His stomach was wrapped in knots and he wasn't sure if it was his fear of going back to Necropolis or the fear of his son hating him for the rest of his life that was responsible. The car merged right onto the exit.
Sam Jones Parkway
. It had barely been a month since the last time Hank was on a plane—the day he was sentenced to die—and yet he was never truly prepared to go so high in the air. His stomach clenched harder at the thought of it. He unbuttoned his imperial suit jacket and took a deep breath.

"Ever flown before?" the driver asked, leaning his head to look at Hank in the mirror. Gray hair crowned his head and long wrinkles stretched down his face. He was quite a bit older than the other drivers Hank had seen before.

"I have. I'll just never get used to it." Hank looked back out the window hoping the driver would ignore him.

"Oh, you will some day, sir. After a few flights or so, there's nothing to it. Well, except the occasional bad weather flight. But you get used to those too eventually. Where you headed?"

Was this a test? He'd not to this day met such an inquisitive Imperial employee before. "Out west, Imperial business, classified."

"Oh you don't say. You don't look like a soldier, a scrawny thing like yourself."

Hank held back his tongue. He was strangely relieved to find his annoyance was distracting him from his anxiety. "No, I'm no soldier, all right. I'm more of a diplomat."

"Well, what the Sam hell they got you
goin
' out west for? Shouldn't you be going overseas
talkin
' to them A-
rabs
in the
Middle East
and converting them to the
one true religion
?" The old man lifted up his sunglasses and winked at Hank. Maybe it was a test.

"You speak with disdain. Do you doubt our Lord and Emperor?"

"Well,
supposin
' I did, it
might'n
be so bright for me to talk such a way to an official of the law and a fervent believer. But I'm talking to you, Henry Evans." Hank and the driver's eyes met.

So, they gave this driver my name. It's a test, has to be.
"Do I know you, sir?"

"No, Henry, I reckon you don't. But I know you.
There's
a lot of people who know you now. Don't reckon I should say how and don't reckon I need to tell you why. But they know you just the same."

Hank's anxiety had returned tenfold. He had so many questions but this man was already in big trouble. And whatever information Hank learned the Emperor would learn as well. Did these people know this? Had this man sacrificed himself to reveal this information to him, or...

"Anyhow," the car came to a stop.

Hank hadn't even noticed they'd entered the airport. He looked around at the crowds of people going in and out of glass doors.

"I reckon I won't be seeing you again. Maybe when you come back from
out west
, you could meet the rest of the gang." The old man was smiling in the mirror, his eyes faintly visible through the dark glasses. Hank nodded slightly. The driver got out of the car and opened the trunk as Hank opened his own door.

By the time he came around to the back of the car, the old man was gone. Hank looked around just in time to see him being dragged away by two Imperial soldiers.

* * *

The plane ride went surprisingly smooth. Hank had managed to sleep for a while until the dream. It was her again. Diana. Rachel.
One, then the other.
Then both of them.
Each of them held one of the driver's arms as they dragged his body away. Blood dripped from his face and bruises covered his skin. And at the last moment, Diana looked Hank in the eyes and winked with those red eyes. Long fangs appeared as she spoke, "
There's a lot of people
who know you now, Henry."

Her laughter echoed inside Hank's brain as his eyes burst open revealing the back of the seat in front of him. Several brochures and a menu were clasped inside the long pocket attached to the seat below the tray table. The intercom piped in then with the announcement for the final descent. Hank pressed the back of his head against the seat and gripped the arm rests as the plane began to dip.

* * *

"Gordon Hutcheson. What's a nice old
prat
like
yourself
doing blaspheming to an Imperial official?"

Gordon returned the vampire's glare with equal disdain. His bones had ached enough before the Imperial soldiers dragged him into this holding facility. He smiled,
then
took a sip of his coffee. The man who had introduced himself as Jack reached across the table and knocked the coffee from Gordon's hand. The cup shattered on the floor and hot coffee went all over the table between them, on the floor, and some of it splashed in Gordon's face, burning the flesh. But he didn't
so
much as flinch.

"Oh, we got ourselves a macho old
cunt
, eh?" Jack grinned as he got up from his seat. "Let's just see how macho 'e is now." Before the last syllable had even left Jack's tongue, Gordon lost all orientation. He knew he'd felt a hand on the back of his head before the world in front of him had blurred. Several loud cracks followed all at once. It felt like his head had been in a vise and tightened up all at once. He opened his eyes. The table top took up his entire field of vision. Several teeth were lying in a puddle of blood on the surface directly below him.
His blood, his teeth.

"Now that we've gotten to know each other, maybe you'd mind telling me about these friends of yours, eh?"

Gordon spit, blood and more teeth spraying out on the table. "I don'
hab
any
vens
."

Jack shook with laughter. "Oh, I'm sorry,
ol
' man, what was that? I couldn't quite make it out."

"I said I don'
hab
any
vens
!" The vampire reached forward and grabbed Gordon's shoulder and squeezed.
More cracking.
Unbearable pain.
Gordon screamed, blood sputtering out of his mouth. From the corner of his eye, he saw a familiar face in the solitary square window in the door. Gordon made the slightest of nods. The man winked and nodded back,
then
he was gone. Gordon sighed with relief. It was over now. He could feel his consciousness slipping. His tongue was numb. The toxins had been released. Gordon Hutcheson smiled a bloody toothless grin as his shoulder was ripped from his body. He'd successfully delivered his message.

Now he could die in peace.

* * *

The airport was mostly empty. Hank was not surprised that he'd been the only person getting off of the plane in
Boulder
City
. He stood in the airport bathroom washing his hands when the Emperor's voice finally broke its long silence.

"I'm sure there are many questions going through your head right now thanks to your friendly driver. But I assure you, the most pressing matters lie ahead in
Necropolis
. Mr. Draper is awaiting my command to pay little Toby a visit. Don't give me a reason to make Mr. Draper's wish come true. Do you understand?"

"Yes." Hank's voice echoed against the white-tiled walls.

"Good. Make sure to keep this in mind when you meet with the council." And with that the voice was gone. Hank knelt down to the small black case lying on the floor. He unzipped it and pulled one of the cool vials from within. He took the entire contents in one swig, tossed the container in the trash, and took a long look at himself in the mirror. He would be in the city in just a few hours time. The only idea he had to warn them was a long shot at best. It was of the utmost importance he paid a lone visit to
Ishan
. But he needed an excuse that wouldn't alert the Emperor. He might have had one by now if it hadn't been for the driver. The man had said so few words.
So few words that opened up so many questions.
Questions Hank knew were the very reason the man had spoken to him.
Had risked his life.
Had
sacrificed
his life.
And the old man never even told him his name.

Hank picked up his bags and stepped out through the open doorway out into the main hall.

* * *

The next driver wasn't so talkative. In fact he hadn't said a single word since he picked Hank up at the terminal. They'd been on the road for at least two hours now. Hank peered out the window at the setting sun and the tan-colored dust covering everything. He couldn't help but remember the last sunset he'd seen going toward the city. It had been only weeks ago, yet it seemed like decades. Tumbleweeds blew in the distance behind a thick cloud of dust.

"Have you taken other Mediators into the city before?"

"Yes, sir.
I've been driving this route for the past ten years."

"Oh really?
What did you think of the last one, if you don't mind my asking?"

"Oh, not at all, sir.
He was a wound up fellow. I mean, I don't blame any of you for being so. What with how many of you have died. But I have to say, you're awful calm.
Almost like you've been here before."

Hank fought the chuckle urging to come out. "Must be the happy pills I took to get on the plane."

The driver laughed. "Well, I'll say this much. I can usually get a feel for you guys and I've been able to tell when one of you might just make it past the first visit. And I think you just might have a shot, Mr. Evans." The driver grinned in the mirror.

Hank smiled back. "I hope you're right." He thought about what the other driver had said, what it could mean. Could there be others out there like him.
Other people willing to stand up and fight?
Hank was betting if that one man had been willing to give up his life to talk to Hank, there had to be others. But how could they know about him?

Chapter 9

For Hank

Toby woke up to the smell of breakfast cooking and he knew then his father was already gone. He thought about getting out of bed when the entirety of the night before came back to him all at once. Guilt followed. Had he only known what his father was going through, he wouldn't have behaved so aggressively toward him. He'd been angry, thought he had lost his father again.
Only this time for good.
Death would be better than his father becoming someone he wasn't.
Someone so... wrong.

Toby's bedroom door opened a crack and Dustin's wooly black beard and brown eyes peeked in the crack.

"Hey Toby, you want some bacon and eggs?"

Toby fought back the storm of emotion threatening to overcome him. "Sure. I'll be out in a few."

"Word," Dustin said and winked. The door closed and Toby let out a long sigh. His father had left it to him to explain. But he couldn't do it here. It wasn't safe here anymore, never really was. As much as Toby had hated the place, it had at least given the illusion of safety for himself and his seemingly alien father.

He pushed off the covers and dressed himself, walked to the desk and opened the main drawer. The letter lying inside looked light as a feather but its contents had been a crushing weight on Toby's reality. And yet it had also been a huge relief. He picked it up, folded it, and put it in his pocket.

They ate their breakfast mostly in silence, Dustin reading something on his cell phone and mumbling once or twice, then giving a chuckle every now and then in between. Toby watched him as he sat eating and reading, stroking his beard between bites. He was a large man.
Heavyset in an intimidating way that gave him the appearance of a bouncer or a security guard.
People often gave him a fearful glance in public, but anyone who took more than a moment to speak to him could easily tell he was just a big teddy bear.

Toby loved him.

He hated that he would have to tell Dustin what he would, hated to have to involve him in something so dangerous. But Toby and his father's lives depended on it.

"You
wanna
go to
Rhodius
and play some basketball?" Toby asked and shoveled a bite of food into his mouth to at least attempt to act casual.

Dustin's eyes didn't leave the screen of his cell phone to notice Toby's fork shaking in his hand.
"Word.
Just let me finish my breakfast and then we can go."

Toby sighed as silently as he could. He'd been worried Dustin wouldn't want to leave the house until later that night. He picked at his food, but with the thought of all he had to explain lingering, his appetite was all but nonexistent. Dustin rose from his seat still staring into his phone and walked over to the sink, turned on the water, and set his plate underneath.

Dustin sighed.
"Trust."
That was Dustin's word for something obnoxious. He seemed to have a catalog of words he and his friends all said. He put his phone away and looked at Toby's plate.

"You better eat those eggs or I'll tell your dad you were mean to me while he was gone. I cooked those just for you."

Toby sat staring at his plate trying to bring himself to take a bite.

"Hell, I'll eat them if you won't." Dustin sat and pulled Toby's plate in front of him. He took a bite and started talking with a mouth full of Toby's eggs. "
You doing
all right?"

"Yeah, I'm just worried."

Dustin's expression softened as he continued to chew. "Yeah, I don't blame you." He took another bite. "He's
gonna
be okay, you know. He's been there before. I still don't understand how the hell he got out, but he'll manage again."

Toby nodded.

Dustin smiled. "Anyway, go get your shit ready. And don't forget to grab some extra dignity because I'm
gonna
murder you out there."

Toby smiled, got up, and went to get his things.

* * *

Toby sat with the ball in his lap in the passenger side of Dustin's SUV as they pulled from the driveway. He wondered if the car was a safe place to talk. He wasn't sure just how likely it was that the Emperor would have made the effort to bug the car. The more he thought about it, the more he realized he was being paranoid. The Emperor was probably far more focused on Toby's father. Still, he found himself hesitant to even speak.

Dustin started up his collection of bootlegged death metal music and turned up the volume just a hair.
Loud enough to hear the music better, but not so loud that it could be heard outside of the car.
Death metal was one of many genres of music outlawed by the Empire. Toby finally took a deep breath and began to speak as they pulled onto
West Morris Street
.

"Don't go to the park. I have to talk to you. I couldn't do it at home, I'm sorry. It wasn't safe."

Dustin glanced at him, confused.

"Can we just drive for a while?"

"Yeah, what's up?" Dustin pulled into the turn lane at the intersection and stopped at the red light.

"Dad's been acting weird a lot since he came back from... that place."

"I bet."

"No, not like you would think. You haven't been around much for a while, you haven't seen him. I was so scared they had changed him into... into something he's not. He started reading Caesar's Bible, reading it all the time. He was going to every church service, even on non-mandated days. He was reading books on empires and history all the time, and languages like Hebrew and I thought maybe he..."

Dustin was looking at Toby with a stunned, sorrowful expression.

"But he's okay. Well, it wasn't what I thought it was. He left me a letter. Maybe we
should
find somewhere to stop so you can read it. It explains everything. How Dad got out of that place, why he was acting so weird.
And more.
A lot more.
He's in danger. I'm in danger. He didn't want to tell you because you would be in danger, but he had no choice. In the letter he told me to tell you so you could... so you could protect me."

Dustin drove quietly, the most serious expression on his face that Toby had ever seen. He seemed to be driving on autopilot. Toby waited for him to say something, but he didn't speak. He just kept looking forward, his eyes heavy with concentration. Before long they were in a part of town Toby had never been in. And not a very pleasant one either. Dustin pulled the car into an alley behind some houses, his eyes darting back and forth between the side and rearview mirrors. Then he sighed and brought the car to a halt and put it in park. 

"Let me see it."

Toby pulled the letter from his pocket and handed it to Dustin. Dustin opened the letter and began to read, his face becoming a mess of worried wrinkles and sweat. Toby looked at the letter in Dustin’s hands, skimming some of what he'd already read.

I'm not sure how, but when I drink the blood I become inhumanly strong. I don't think I'm human anymore. The more I drink it the less I feel natural. But when I stop, it becomes unbearable. And not like when I quit smoking, this is so much worse.

Dustin turned the letter over.

Don't bother waiting for me to come back, just run. If I screw this up, that monster will come for you. And no matter how much I try, I can't figure out how to pull this off. I know I'm going to fail. Dustin can take you somewhere safe. He can take care of you until I can get back. I love you, Toby. If for some reason I can't get back I need you to know that. I love you with all my heart.

Dad

A tear slid down Toby's face. Dustin stared at the letter a long time. The sound of children playing crept into the car replacing the silence. Dustin folded the letter and handed it back to Toby without looking at him. He took a long deep breath and laid his head back against the seat as he exhaled, looking up into the ceiling of the car. Toby wiped his tear away and began staring through a chain link fence at the tall, un-mowed grass behind it.

"Jesus Christ," Dustin said to himself.

* * *

It was dark. They'd been driving for hours when Toby had laid his head back and slept. Now, he was waking and still it was dark. All around them were massive amounts of cars.
Some sort of major highway that Toby had never seen before.

"Where are we?"

"Almost in
Chicago
.
I have friends there that will give us a place to lay low for a few days. After that I'm not quite sure where we'll go, but I'll figure something out.
You doing
all right?"

"Yeah.
My back hurts from this seat, but I'm all in one piece."

"Good. Let's make sure and keep it that way." Dustin smiled.

Toby smiled back and then looked out his window at the soft radiance of the neon and halogen lighting of the city. He felt himself drifting back to sleep a few times from the mesmerizing glow. Before long he couldn't fight it any longer and he fell into oblivion again.

* * *

Toby woke as the SUV came to a stop. The sound of traffic and distant horns blaring faded into the background like white noise. He looked outside to see a road that looked to be made of brick with trees along the sidewalk in uniform, equal distances from each other. Each one lined up with the line dividing the houses along the road all along side each other like a rectangle filled with squares all the same size. Each house was almost exactly the same. All painted in tones of brown and tan with concrete stairs and black metal railings reaching up to high concrete porches.

"Well, we're here." Dustin opened his door and got out, walked around to the back of the SUV and opened the hatch. Toby dropped down onto the curb and closed his door. When everything was gathered and the hatch was closed, Dustin led the way to the third house down from where they'd parked. They climbed the steps and Dustin knocked on the door. A moment later a tall, dark-skinned girl with thick black curly hair answered the door with a huge grin.

"
Duskin
!"
She jumped forward and hugged him, oblivious to the number of bags and items he was holding.

"Kathy!
You
lookin
'
good baby. How you been?"

"Okay, I guess, but better now that you're here."

"Oh, that won't last long. You'll get tired of me. You always do."

She swatted at him playfully. "Who's your friend here?"

"Oh, Kathy, this is Toby. Toby, this is Kathy."

Toby nodded at her, too tired to speak.

She furrowed her brow at Dustin.
"Hank's Toby?"

"Yeah.
Hank's out of town on business and asked me to take care of him. So, I figured wouldn't it be a great time to go for a road trip, show the boy some Chi-town love?"