Jar of Souls (8 page)

The bouncer held up a hand to stop us, and with the other, he pointed to the back of the line. I gave Britta a quick look and then tried to pull her back again. She held firm, keeping her gaze locked on the bouncer.

“Can I help you with something?” he said, a bit of rage snapping at his words.

“Yes, you can move out of the way so we can go in,” Britta replied with a fair bit of attitude.

“The line starts over there,” he said again, pointing to the back. This time he tried to turn around, but Britta stopped him. Several shouts from the front of the line followed her movement, telling us we had better wait our turn.

“You might have just made it so you don’t get in at all.” This time the anger was even more apparent in his voice.

“I don’t think it will be me that has the problem. We are expected.” She kept her eyes firmly locked on the bouncer’s and put extra emphasis on the word
expected
.

The large man’s face paled at her words. “Who are you here to see?”

I could tell that Britta felt as silly saying the name as I did hearing her say it. “The Vampire Lestat.”

“One second.” The bouncer placed a hand up to his ear and muttered something into the cuff of his coat. He turned back to us. “It seems I was mistaken. He will be waiting for you.”

“Next time try not to keep us waiting,” she said with a mean smile.

I wasn’t sure if the man could grow any paler than he already was, but he seemed to turn white as a ghost as he moved to the side to let us in. “Britta, that was kind of harsh, don’t you think? That guy looked like he was about to wet his pants.”

“Well, he probably shouldn’t work for vampires, then.”

“I guess you’re right. He obviously knows who he is working for. Should we be worried that it scares the shit out of him?”

“Just think how terrifying it would be if you couldn’t fall back on your gift. They move faster than us, are stronger than us, and some of them can influence your thoughts. It seems pretty terrifying to me.”

“Then why would someone ever work here?”

“The pay is better, and I’m sure they get some kind of perks we don’t want to know about.”

I smiled at her, keeping my arm linked. We had to give off the appearance of two clubbers out for an adventure. She guided us through the club and down several flights of stairs until we came to a solid wall. A man was standing next to it, and when we walked up, he blocked the entire space with his frame. He moved faster than I would have thought possible for a man his size, and then it dawned on me I had just run into my first vampire. It was nothing like the horror tales my father had told me when I was younger, but it took everything I had not to call on my gift right away.

Britta took the lead. She offered the man her most winning smile. “We are guests of Lestat.”

The man waited for some unknown signal before moving to the side. The wall slid away, and he motioned for us to enter. The dark, heavy gothic vibe of the club behind us dissolved into a more comfortable setting. The music still thumped against us, although not at the same ear splitting level as the club. The dark tile was covered in thick rugs, and the walls were barren of any design or pictures. There was a large center room surrounded by alcoves that nestled into the walls. We followed the steel floor around until another man appeared in front of us.

“Ladies, if you will follow me, please.”

“Of course,” we both said at the same time.

We continued to follow the man arm in arm as he led us around the floor. Several people were dancing in the center room. They could have all been human from the way they were moving. I dismissed them and started to look at the alcoves we passed instead. Most of them had heavy shades drawn over the entrances; the thick cloth would not only keep away prying eyes but muffle any sounds coming from inside.

The alcoves we passed that had the curtains drawn back filled me with a sense of dread. If this was what happened on this floor, I could only imagine what would happen on the bottom two levels. The alcoves held men and women in different stages of undress. Some were being fed on; others were in the middle of one sexual act or another. In one alcove, it looked to me as if a person was being flayed; in another, they were being whipped. All of them had smiles on their faces. Not once did I hear any of them scream out in anything that couldn’t be considered pleasure.

From the look on Britta’s face, she was just as disgusted and enthralled as I was. It was hard not to look; it was even harder to look away. We both almost bumped into the man leading us when he stopped. He moved the thick curtain to the side and motioned for us to enter. After we stepped through, the curtain closed silently behind us, sealing us in with who could only be Lestat and his servant.

He was tall and skinny. His complexion wasn’t pale in the slightest. If anything, his cheeks had a flush about them. He had long curly hair, and his clothes had a flair of the Victorian era. He really had mimicked himself after one of the films. It was too bad that it wasn’t the movie that I liked better.
Queen of the Damned
was so much more fun.

As I continued to take in his appearance, I noticed for the first time that there was a woman kneeling in front of him. My first thought was,
oh, God, what have we walked into?
Based on the alcoves we had passed on our way in, a woman on her knees might be something I wasn’t prepared for. Then I picked up on two things almost at once—he still had his pants on,
thank God
, and the woman had a single drop of blood running down her neck. The vampire waited until my eyes met his, and then he smiled at me.
Super creepy!

When he spoke, his voice came out deep and rich, not something I had been expecting from his willowy body. “Miranda, dear, please go clean up, and when you return, bring some drinks for our guests.”

“The drinks won’t be necessary,” Britta said.

“Please, it would be rude of me not to get you something.”

“Then it would be rude of us not to accept,” I said.

“Oh, I like her,” he said, pointing at me while speaking to Britta. “So you are Adam’s new messengers. I have to say you are prettier than the last ones he sent me. Although, not quite the right sex to spark my interests.”

“When we get back, I’ll see if we can’t fix that for the future,” I said.

“See what I mean, child, I like her. Always so helpful, don’t you think?” he said, still addressing his comments to Britta.

Britta stared at him in silence, and I started to wonder if they had met before. He seemed to be just dancing enough around it so that I couldn’t be sure.

Britta finally spoke. Her voice came out dry, matching none of the mirth that Lestat had been using. “I believe you have something for us.”

“Indeed I do. More than one thing, really. First let me give you this.” He handed a small package to Britta. “You know how it works, correct?”

“I do,” she replied.

Noticing the look of bewilderment on my face, Lestat took pity on me and explained. “It’s called a blood box. It can only be opened by the person whose blood it contains. If anyone else tries, whatever is inside of it is destroyed.”

“You didn’t tell her everything,” Britta said.

I gave Britta a quick look out of the corner of my eye. She was still focused on Lestat when he started speaking again. “I thought that would be enough of a warning for your friend. She looks too innocent to break the rules. If you must know, it also sets off a small explosive if your blood doesn’t match.”

Britta gave me a look. “And by small, he means enough to kill almost everything in a ten-foot circle.”

“Well, I can see how that would be something kind of important to leave out,” I stammered.

“Yes, but life has to have a few mysteries, don’t you think? Without them, it can become so dull.”

I gave Lestat a smile. “I agree completely.”

Britta gave him a wink. “I actually prefer a little stability. Too many mysteries can make life tedious.”

Lestat watched her closely as if deciding on if it would be worth it to try and attack her. Breaking the awkward silence, he smiled at us both. “Ah, Miranda has returned with your drinks.”

She set the two glasses down on the table and then returned to her spot, kneeling to the side of her master, facing us. He absently rolled a finger through her long blonde hair while watching us.

Britta moved toward the door. “Thank you for meeting with us, Lestat, and for the drinks, but we really do have to get going.”

I shot her another quick
what the hell
look as I stood to join her. She ignored my look completely, keeping her eyes on Lestat. “On our next visit, I hope we can stay longer and chat, but Adam asked us to return with this information as quickly as we could.”

“You didn’t even touch your drinks, after all the trouble Miranda went through to fetch them for you. You also haven’t even asked about the other information that I had. I do so hate when they send a child to do a woman’s job.”

“Adam only instructed us to come for the information. Anything that you needed to tell him should be in the box,” Britta said.

“This one is so feisty, isn’t she, Miranda?” He stopped to give her a look. “Today I received orders from someone just as old as Adam, and they would like to meet with one of you very much.”

The action of the next few seconds left me in total confusion. Britta grabbed my arm and started pulling me back toward the curtain. I let myself be dragged backward because she obviously knew more about what was happening than she was letting on. Lestat moved so quickly his image seemed to blur slightly. His hand found its way to my throat. His vice-like hand easily turned my neck, and I felt a little prick. Then the room started to go fuzzy. Britta dropped my arm and kept backing up. Someone had their arms under me and was leading me back toward the couch. There was nothing I could do to fight it.

The last thing I saw was Britta running from the room with the box in hand. It looked like she was crying. Lestat’s fuzzy face appeared in front of mine, and he smiled down at me. “I’m dreadfully sorry that it had to end up like this, but your friend wasn’t very amenable to my suggestions. It really would have been so much easier if you both would have accepted your drink. Alas, we end up at the same place either way.” Then my vision faded to black.

“
Y
ou would think
this damn tracking spell wouldn’t be affected by the weather. The rain seems to be muddying the signal somehow,” Adam said.

“Are you sure it’s the rain? It seems to me the rain had no effect on the spell for the last few days. Maybe they have found a way to obfuscate your spell.”

“It’s always possible that he could have found a way to do that. I wouldn’t have expected him to even know how. Again it seems I have underestimated him.”

“Well, at least we know that if it starts working again that we are in for some trouble. Blocking the spell has only given us a warning about his actions.”

“It’s true that he may have given something away, but if we reach him too late, it might not matter anymore.”

“All we can do is our best to find him. None of this is your fault, Adam. There is no way you could have expected one of the order to betray you.”

“Oh, it’s happened before, and I should have been ready for it this time. It was simple hubris that caused me to miss that Gaston cared more about the Jar and the power it could bring him than furthering our research together.”

“May I suggest, then, that we keep traveling in the direction that we have been until you get a lock on the Jar again?”

“It seems that would be a safe presumption to make.”

“Maybe I could also presumptuously suggest a night at an inn. It would do wonders for our animals and give us the chance to dry off and resupply.”

“You don’t have to presume. I’m just as tired of this damn weather as you are. An inn sounds delightful. He can’t use the Jar without it calling to us like a beacon. So until the tracking spell clears or the Jar is used, we may as well be a little more comfortable.”

“Had I not heard it myself, I would have found it hard to believe that you were so reasonable. The stories they tell among the order make it sound much more like you would destroy an apprentice for any mistake.”

“Well, it doesn’t do me much good to be considered a friend. I’d prefer that most of the order is slightly afraid or in awe of me. It makes it easier to get them to follow my orders.”

“It also keeps flippant sorts in line, at least until they find out your true nature.”

“I knew there was a benefit that I had missed missing.”

“And now you tell jokes. The world must be standing on its ear.”

We both chuckled and continued to ride down the path in silence.

* * *

T
he inn
we found was a nice place, small and cozy. The family who ran it was a close-knit group, the innkeeper, his wife, and their four children, three girls and a boy. Our first night there we had all of our clothes cleaned and dried. The food had been a simple stew served with fresh bread. The wine was actually palatable, which for a village this size was a shock. Our stay had for the most part been completely restorative, if not downright boring. Even though I hated the thought of catching up with Gaston, I was ready for some type of action. Therefore it was a shock when some simply fell into my lap.

Two men entered the inn, and their harsh voices set me on edge right away. The men were shouting for ale and food, streaking mud across the floor with every step. When the innkeeper came out to speak with them, he was roughly pushed away with a snarl. Four more men walked in, shoving him to the side, and sat at the table. The innkeeper’s daughter brought ale, and one of the men grabbed at her. When she moved out of the way, another man pawed at her dress, leaving a muddy handprint.

I started to stand up and felt a hand on my arm. “We do not interfere with human affairs.”

“The goal of the order is to protect human life from the Pretenders. What good is that if we refuse to protect them from themselves?”

Adam’s hand fell away from my arm. “No magic.” He turned in his seat to get a better view of their table, and then waved me onward.

By the time I made it over to the men, the daughter had been pulled into one of the men’s laps and the innkeeper had a knife pressed into his side. The innkeeper’s wife started to come out but turned around with a look from her husband. I hated bullies, and I was going to enjoy showing these men just how far from the top of the food chain they actually were.

“Gentleman, is there some kind of problem here?”

One of the men looked up at me; his eyes were the hardened eyes of a killer. He smiled, showing the black stubs of his teeth. “There is no problem here, friend, as long as you turn around and sit back down.” The men around him started to laugh and went back to their conversation, dismissing me.

The innkeeper shot me a cautious glance. I could tell he didn’t like the odds, but he would take whatever help he could get. “Maybe I shouldn’t have phrased it as a question. Let me explain it to you in simple terms that a man like you might be able to comprehend. Let the girl go and leave this place. If I see you here again, you won’t be offered the same courtesy.”

The man who spoke to me earlier said something to his friends. Three of them stood up. The man with the girl on his lap and the man with the blade on the innkeeper stayed put. The man giving the orders turned in his seat much like Adam had, hoping to watch the fun. I stepped back to give myself some room to work, and was shocked when all three men pulled out their swords. This was no longer some simple fight. Now someone was going to end up dead.

The men carried much thicker broadswords while I preferred the use of my rapier. I was going to have to work quickly; although my blade was enchanted, it wouldn’t be able to stand the repeated pounding of their much thicker blades. The first man rushed forward in front of his friends. He held his sword above his head and screamed obscenities as he ran. I pierced him through the heart and took a step to the side. His blade came crashing down; his body continued forward for a step before falling. I glanced back to make sure he wasn’t moving before returning my attention to the men in front of me.

The two men coming at me now split so they could attack from different directions. I cast a look back at Adam, and he smiled but made no move to stand. The leader grabbed the girl from the other man, eliciting a scream from her. He moved a dagger out of his belt and pressed it against her, while the man who had her on his lap pulled his sword to join his friends in the attack.

I smiled at the two men circling me. I could tell from their faces it wasn’t something that they expected. “I hope one of you is a better swordsman than your friend.” I tilted my head to the side, indicating the dead man on the floor.

One of the men snarled and launched himself at me, which was exactly what I had been hoping for. I moved his blade to the side and slashed him across the back. He stumbled toward his partner before falling to his knees. To my surprise, he showed some resilience and worked his way back to his feet. The other two men came in at the same time, one swinging high and one going low. I moved the high blade above my head while jumping over the low swing. I kicked out to my left and was rewarded with a
thud
. Using the forward momentum, I launched myself at the man to the right of me. His balance was off from his overhead swing. Three quick strikes later, he was dead.

The remaining two men circled around me, blood slowly dripping from one of their backs, the other holding his ribs. The bleeding man snarled and rushed forward. His partner came in right behind him. I dodged to the side, slashing at the first man’s ankle. He buckled and fell to the floor. I moved my sword up but was late and felt the blade skim across my ribs. He was still moving past me with his thrust, and I made him pay for the mistake by smashing my fist into his mouth. I heard his teeth crunch as the metal of my hand guard smashed into his jaw. I moved my sword down and blocked the strike he aimed at my ribs as he stumbled backward. One quick strike to his chest dropped the stumbling man to the floor, my sword pulling out of his chest with a wet sucking sound.

The last man was still lying on the ground. His eyes followed me as I walked forward. He tried to stand and fell back to the floor, screaming in pain. He lifted his sword to defend himself, but it was easy to bat away, and one more thrust brought his miserable life to an end. Turning back to the two remaining men, I let my smile show again. I was sure by this point I was a horrible sight to behold, covered in blood, the grin making me look like a madman. The man holding the innkeeper shoved him roughly to the ground and made a run for the door. I moved to give chase but saw Adam’s dagger plunge into the man’s back. That left only one.

The man rose, keeping the girl in front of him, one arm wrapped tightly around her waist, the other keeping the dagger firmly pressed against her throat. “Make another move toward me and the girl dies,” he shouted, eyes darting wildly around the room.

“If you hurt that girl, there is no chance that you leave here alive. You may as well come and face me like a man, instead of hiding behind the young woman’s skirt.”

He continued to move toward the door, his hand pressed tightly against her throat. A quick glance at Adam only earned me a simple shake of his head. Without being able to call on my gift, there wasn’t much I could do now. For every step the man took toward the door, I matched it. Step by agonizingly slow step, I started to worry that he might actually get away. He stumbled against the body of his friend and was forced to release the girl to keep his balance. She tried to run but just wasn’t quick enough to avoid his blade. I watched with horror as it pierced her stomach. Like the coward he was, he ran for the door, shoving the girl to the floor.

My dagger flew true, and to be fair, he never really had a chance when I used my magic to enhance the throw. He fell to the ground, the blade piercing him through his right leg. His head made it out of the door as he tried to crawl into the street. I walked slowly up behind him and pierced him through the throat with my sword. I watched for a moment as the life bubbled out of the hole I made before turning back toward the inn.

The innkeeper was on the ground, clutching his daughter tightly against him. A red spot was slowly spreading across her dress. The look on his face, knowing that he had already lost her, filled me with a sadness I hadn’t expected. I moved toward the girl, shouting commands. “Go and get some warm water and towels. I will also need a needle and thread.”

“Are you a doctor?”

“I’ve had a small amount of field training during my time in the military; if we hurry, we can still save her life.” I picked the woman up and carried her over to a table; as soon as she was lying down, I ripped her dress open with my dagger. I placed a hand against the wound to stop the blood and looked back to see if the innkeeper had entered the room yet.

I felt a warm hand fall on my shoulder and looked back. “Make sure you don’t do anything too noticeable.” Then Adam was gone, only stopping to pull his dagger out of the dead man’s back before heading up the stairs to his room.

I was happy that he knew what I was thinking, and it meant a lot that he gave me his blessing to act. Calling on my gift, I slowed the bleeding and repaired the worst of the internal damage. The innkeeper set a bowl of steaming water and some white towels next to me. I used the towels and water to clean the wound. Blood continued to seep from it, but that was ok. With the worst of the damage repaired, she was going to be fine. The thread was exactly what I needed to sew her up, and another quick check with my gift insured there was nothing left to heal but the skin.

“We were lucky the cut wasn’t as deep as I had feared. She should make a full recovery.”

“Thank you so much for your help. Who knows what would have happened here without you.” He pressed some coins into my hands. “We don’t have much, but the least I can do is return your money.”

I pushed the coins back to him and added two new gold coins to the pile. “It seems to me that all I have done is given you a rather large mess to clean up and insured that one of your family was injured. Keep the money for the expenses, and if you could have these clothes cleaned and dried for me by the morning, I would appreciate it.”

“Of course, anything you want, sir. You are welcome back here anytime. Thank you.”

“No thanks are necessary. Just send someone for the clothes and have them ready in the morning.”