Guardians (Chosen Trilogy Book 2) (6 page)

I listened in as Cheyne again and again consulted with boffins over at the Library of Aegis. They employed a human computer geek named Nathan and a clever vampire—Taryn—who, it turned out, was Ceriden’s first thrall and first-turned. From shade to first-turned in a little over a year and now ensconced inside the relatively safe library, Taryn must be very dear to Ceriden. Belinda spoke of her as a vampire of repute, known to have carried out many selfless acts and several for the wellbeing of humankind. And, of course, when Ceriden spoke to her his voice softened and his eyes went far away.

The only other creature
that introduced himself through phone and video conference was a kind of demon named Kage. He was on the run from the Devil, and from hell, and had been allowed to hide out at the library; most likely as a source of valuable information, since this kind of mole could not be ignored. I drew the conclusion from Giles’ and Cheyne’s reactions that Kage was seen as a bit of a joke and was being used by Aegis. Indeed, the only thing to recognize him as anything other than human were the two small nubs of horn that protruded from the sides of his head, just above his ears, and a third in the center of his forehead.

Lysette, ever the mind reader and the woman
that remembered people through her use of appropriate nicknames, said, “I’d call him ‘extra-horny’, but I just
know
how a certain person would get jealous.” She nudged Giles.

The Englishman straightened a stiff-looking tie. “
Ah, well, down to business then. We have the Text of Seven right here.” He touched a button, flicking the image on his computer screen up onto a white wall so all of us could see. “Take a few minutes to absorb it.”

I blinked at the big lettering. When I got my head around it the sentences began to take shape.

Collect ye seven artefacts and speak mine sacred chant that onlee ye daemon brethren may utter at lowest abode, where Lucifer once dwell’d. The Seven
Hell Gates shall forthwith be sundered apart and shall admit all manner of creatures to the earth and they shall traipse up from every level, even the Pit, and so bring forth the new Lord, Lucifer himself.”

I reread it several times. On first and second glance it seemed pretty straightforward, but then I began to notice a few references that should be raising questions.

“Lowest abode?” I said. “Where’s that
then?”

“Where Lucifer once dwelled?” Belinda coughed. “On
Earth? I never knew he lived here. Did any of you?”

“The Devil,” Cheyne said. “Lucifer. Is a being of many faces. Many disguises. He has visited our realm thousands upon thousands of times, and all for research, I guess. He could have lived anywhere. Everywhere. Keep in mind the numerous places that are named after him. Perhaps some of them are clues.”

“And . . .” Giles said, “‘Speak mine sacred chant’,” he quoted. “That means this text was written by a very powerful demon, and a famous one by the sound of it. This text could hold several clues.”

Nathan, the
library’s computer genius, said, “We’ve learned a little more about the demons and their relation to these so-called artefacts. They are indeed drawn to each other, simply because each artefact belongs to or is a part of each demon. It’s a part of their makeup. A clever idea by the one that dreamed it up. They simply . . . attract.”

“All right
,” Cheyne said. “So start spelling the text itself, and we might get a fix on their whereabouts. By the Sacred Broomstick, we sure need to catch a break somewhere in this case.”

Giles nodded. “By God too. We do.”

Ceriden’s eyebrows rose. “By Beckham’s Sacred Boot. We do.”

Belinda joined the action. “
And by my trusty pink vi—”

I interrupted fast. “
How long will that take?”

Cheyne unsuccessfully tried to crinkle her nose. “It requires a fine concoction of alchemy and ancient magic. I cannot say. Hours? A day?”

I felt a deep anxiety twist queasily through the pit of my stomach. “We don’t have that long.”

Ken drifted to the back of the little group, watching Felic
ia as she ranged ahead and sought out a safe trail for the rest of them to follow. The wolf had barely spoken to him since their little encounter back at the house, and he sensed an awful lot of reservation and a touch of regret there. It pained him. A pleasant feeling had risen inside him that he’d never felt before. He actually felt like sticking alongside Felicia, maybe trying out a relationship. And, damn, he knew how ridiculous that sounded.

She was a wolf. Born to be wild. Mate to freedom and to free-running. Nothing alive could hope to restrain her. He was a fool.
Born to be a jackass.

The vampires kept on giving him odd looks. Maybe they knew about his recent dalliance. Of course, he didn’t care. But
, the looks Mai the vampire was giving him stirred more than just feelings. Twelve hours after feeling a sudden attachment to the wolf he was wondering if they might not be severed in favor of the vampire.

But no.
The vamps were merciless and heartless, cold. Felicia was comforting and warm and pretty; she cared. A petite Joss Stone. She deserved him. Or did he deserve her?
Whatever,
he thought. They were meant to be.

At length, they crawled down an ancient spiraling walkway, a cleft between cliff faces, and found themselves treading the deadly byroads of the fifth circle of
hell. Ken noticed an instant difference. Even the air down here tasted of desperation, of something tainted and bad. Every time he put his foot down the ground puffed out little bursts of what he imagined was dusty poison. Rows of empty crosses littered the roadside, the hills and the mountains. Ancient manacles clanked against the wood, the only evidence that once, millennia ago, they had seen use.

“You mentioned a
grand bazaar?” Eliza half-turned toward Lilith. “I see and sense no signs of life around here.”

“
No. It is near the eternal grand staircase that dissects all the levels. We will have to travel there first.”

They tramped on, the mood only darkenin
g the further they went. Depravity lay all around them. Rotted gallows. Tall, deadly guillotines with shiny blades still intact. Graveyards with endless rows of marker stones, all covered in slime and black blood. This vision of hell was corrupt in the extreme. Torture devices stood arrayed upon the hillsides, standing stark against the pale light behind them, no doubt even now tended to on a daily basis by some degenerate watchman. Wooden stakes were everywhere, their bases piled high with short sticks as if waiting for the next burning.

The group threaded through them, sometimes brushing against the various devices and shivering with distaste. As they walked it became darker, the light fading to a thin, pale glow. Felicia finally came back to Ken, her lips curled with revulsion.

“Hate this place. It stinks. It breeds evil. It
crawls.
”

“I truly do know what you mean.”

“There’s no freedom here. No place to run. I don’t even feel like running. The depravity disheartens me.”

“You feel trapped? I know. So do I.”

“Not like me.” Felicia’s body shook. “A lycan will die of a broken heart if not allowed to run.”

Ken was well aware they weren’t even half way through their journey if Dementia had made it down to the
lowest level. “Try to stay positive,” he said. “Hey, you’re supposed to be the optimistic one. Not me.”

“Well that’s the trouble with optimism. When it finally dies it dies hard. It crashes and burns.”

They saw and heard the grand bazaar well before they reached it. Orange flames illuminated the black skies and gray clouds, and could be seen many miles away. Closer, the sound of strange music and hawkers yelling their wares, of creatures screaming and baying with laughter, of implements and machines being used or demonstrated, filled the air with life. Rich scents drew them closer, and Felicia forgot her melancholy to sniff out the best of them.

“Meat
,” she said, her mouth watering. “And edible.”

Ken felt his stomach growl. He couldn’t remember his last good meal.
“What’s the plan here?” He turned to Lilith.

“I could do it, but it’s risky
,” she said. “Every time I’m spotted increases the chances that Samael will find me. No human may enter, and a lycan would stand out like horns on a baby. I think only the evil ones should enter.”

Ken wondered who she was referring to for a second before he understood. “Evil ones? Oh, you mean the vamps.” He smiled at Milo’s grimace.

Eliza sighed. “And we’re the ones that don’t actually need the food.”

Lilith shrugged. “Buy
ega meat or blue spike meat. Both are edible for humans and lycans. Get it dried and salted. It will last longer. And water. That is also available. Also medication. A form of antibiotic is called Whalen and available in plant-like form. You can chew it or make it into a pulp. Very fast acting. There are other goods, more delicacies, but I think we should work fast rather than methodically whilst we’re here.”

She pointed out the way to the three vampires. “Walk straight through the fiery pillars. You can’t miss it.”

Ken looked around at the endless desolation. “So we have to wait here?”

“No
,” Lilith returned. “We can watch from the rocks.” She gestured up at the clumps of hillocks and rocks that surrounded the area. “It’s how I first surveyed the bazaar and pinpointed where best to buy things. Come on.”

The two groups separated, K
en following the girl and the wolf along a short escarpment and then picking their way through a jumbled assortment of rocks. Lilith slowed when the rocks grew tall enough to hide them and settled down in a slight depression. Ken found his own little niche and appraised the view.

Less than a hundred feet below the
grand bazaar sprawled out in resplendent glory. It was nothing more than a disorganized jumble of colorful stalls and open squares where musicians and street performers played. Flickering torches sat on the tops of hundreds of dark pillars, illuminating the area, along with another several hundred being carried by hawkers and buyers. A tantalizing aroma of meats and spices drifted through the air. Ken was momentarily taken aback, this scene being so similar to many he had witnessed back home. A slice of normality, it shocked him.

Then he looked a little harder.

Lilith was pointing out the fiery pillars at the entrance to the bazaar. The three vampires were already there, entering the market and casting around. But Ken didn’t really hear her. His attention had just been seized by a staggering sight. The hawkers and the customers, the players and the wanderers, were all species of hellbeast. Not a one looked alike, not a one looked vaguely human. There were beasts that slithered and beasts that ran on spindly legs. Beasts that sported many tentacles and beasts that had dozens of trinkets dangling off curved horns. Too many to count, Ken gaped in awe.

Lilith saw his face. “
What did you expect?”

“No idea. But
. . . but . . .”

Felicia leaned in. “Tell me this. Are there other vampires out there? If not, our three friends might find trouble.”

“It’s possible.” Lilith shrugged. “We have many of their kind down here.”

Felicia nodded, but didn’t look happy. Ken knew that though the wolf harbored no love for the night creatures
, the group needed their power to defeat Dementia. He tracked their progress through the noisy, chaotic mess, holding his breath when they stopped before a stand where fires burned in back.

“Don’t worry
,” Lilith said. “That’s the ega meat stand. I recognize the vendor.”

Ken surveyed the area. “What is this place though? I mean, why do they need it?”

“Through commerce, advertising, business and entertainment the masses are kept preoccupied and unaware of what’s really going on. Is it not the same on earth?”

Ken blinked. “I try not to get involved.”

“No doubt the best way.”

The three vamps had also bought water by now and looked to be checking around for Lilith’s other prerequisites.
Ken felt himself relax a little, realizing he could probably do with some sleep. Not the easiest thing in this godforsaken land.

“How ‘bout we catch a few ze
es, girls? I’ll go first. Felicia—you’re in charge.”

The wolf-lady snorted. “As if you
—”

Lilith’s soft voice stopped them both. “I thought you said Dementia had gone down to the seventh circle?”

Ken sat bolt upright. “
What?
”

Lilith pointed. Ken felt his heart leap into his mouth as he set eyes on his nemesis. The unexpectedness of it all
made it worse, adding to the angst he suddenly experienced. Dementia, the demon-bitch, strolled the confusing streets herself, necklace of bones dangling and racks of teeth snarling at anyone that dared offer her a ‘special’ deal.

“Not good
,” Ken said. “That’s not good.”

Dementia turned into another street. The three vampires were stalking up a nearby offshoot, completely oblivious
to the impending danger. Time stood still as Dementia stopped at a stall and bought a swag bag of food.

Behind her, another demon halted.

Lilith saw it at the same time as Ken. “Oh, no. That’s Rapatutu.”

“
Oh shit. The
brother?
”

“Yes.
He sure looks as crazy as she does.”

“If we ever had an emergency
,” Ken said. “This is it.”

“There’s nothing we can do
,” Lilith told him. “A human would get eaten alive in there. Literally.”

“You’re human
,” Felicia put in.

“I’m
. . . different. They won’t touch me.”

Ken rounded on her. “The
trees
did.”

“I mean living, thinking creatures won’t touch me. Look, it’s a long story. I’ll go in there and try to help. But if I’m
recognized . . .” she left it hanging, shaking her head.

As she ran off, Ken turned to Felicia. “
Recognized? Who the hell is she anyway? Some kinda celebrity?”

“Not in the way you’re thinking
,” Felicia murmured thoughtfully. “I get a peculiar odor off her. Nothing evil, but something . . . tainted. Like nothing I’ve ever smelled before.”

Ken stared down into the bazaar. By now the three vamps were approaching the corner. Dementia was turning away from the trinket stand, showing something to her brother. As she turned
, the vampires came into view, but now outside her field of vision. Lilith had already scrambled down to level ground and was sprinting toward the bazaar. Ken stood up and started waving, knowing the effort was futile and dangerous, but having to at least try to do something.

As he rose
, Eliza stopped in the middle of the dusty road, her eyes fixed on the demon-bitch. Milo paused too, eyes widening. There was a moment of indecision, a second of pure shock, and then Eliza burst into action. No doubt thinking to take the initiative she struck first, becoming a streak of violence. But she didn’t count on the speed or strength of Dementia or Rapatutu.

A shout of warning from her brother and Dementia was spinning, swinging out with sharp claws. Eliza ran right into them, lurching to the side and falling, stunned. Milo was less than a step behind. Rapatutu stepped up to meet the huge vampire. A blow from the tree
-like arms was blocked easily by the new demon and then he made the ground beneath Milo’s feet turn into a pit of snakes. Milo danced back, running into Mai. The three vampires slammed into the dirt.

Dementia pounced, landing atop Eliza. Her claws struck furiously. Ken watched as Eliza barely blocked the blows, the adept vampire set squarely on the back foot by her own over-confidence.
Milo and Mai rolled, then leaped lightning-quick at Rapatutu. The male-bitch—as Ken had decided to think of him—flipped backwards over a market stall, landing on all fours atop the cluttered table. When Milo lunged he leaped over the strike but came down entangled with the gaudy blanket that formed the roof of the stall. Mai raced around and tore into him.

Ken was startled to see Dementia notice her brother’s plight and break off from pummeling Eliza, rushing over
to help. The mental-case did have feelings after all, albeit toward her equally deranged brother.

Still feeling inadequate, Ken fidgeted and hopped around as Dementia threw Mai across the already damaged stall and then stood up to a charge from Milo.

Not a clever idea. The vamp hit her like a pack of bricks, smashing her off her feet and into the clay wall at her back. The wall itself then collapsed, raining rubble over her flyaway hair and twisting body. By now, the tussle had begun to draw a crowd. Otherworldly creatures, reptiles and insect-like things had drifted over and were watching with interest. Ken began to wonder about security.

An inner voice laughed at him.
Right . . . security . . . in hell?