The Dark Magical World of Alamptria (9 page)

Calista ran to Caprius and began to untie him. She had to shove the corpse of Enlora aside, and she landed bum side up. “Is this what you call getting to the bottom of things?” Calista asked Caprius. Calista looked at the lifeless naked Enlora Renfield and began to laugh.

“Sorry, but I was a little too tied up to notice,” said Caprius.

Calista sat on the bed. “I’d love to take advantage of this moment,” she smirked, “But, I sort of set the house on fire. We should probably go.”

Caprius looked at his partner, amazed at how unflappable she was. He opened his mouth to make a smart retort but thought better of it when he realized he hadn’t gotten what he came for. “The information; it’s on one of those papers on the dresser,” he said.

Calista ran over and riffled through the papers. She held one up. “Here we go. No, wait a minute. This isn’t the address of a clock shop. Why, this is the address of a church.”

“Is there anything else on that dresser?” asked Caprius.

“Let me see.” She ruffled through stuff. “No. This is all we’ve got. But we’ve got an address. 661 Ainsworth. It has a name on the card, a Sister Mildred.”

“Then, that’s our contact!” said Caprius.

Calista turned over the business card. “There’s a note on the back of the card. It says, ‘kill Sister Laura.’”

“So I see. You know what that means, Calista.”

Caprius paced back and forth. “It means Sister Mildred can’t be trusted. She’s one of them!” said Calista.

“This means if Enlora had failed to dispose of me, or us, she would have made sure that sister Mildred would destroy us.”

“But, how? We’re knight masters,” said Calista.

“There is more to this church than meets the eye, something very foul.”

“Do you think that entire church is up to no good, Caprius?”

“No, I don’t think so. Sister Laura’s life is in danger. What’s the name of the church?”

“A St. Basil’s Church,” she replied. “Caprius?” Calista said in a humble voice. “Sister Laura might already be dead.”

“We have to leave immediately. We have to get to Sister Laura. We have to get her to a safe place.”

“Come on, let’s go.” Calista grabbed Caprius’s hand, and they ran out of the room and down the hall. Flames were halfway up the stairs. They ran back up and into Enlora’s bedroom. Caprius dislodged his claymore of power and channeled his powers at the wall. In a second, the claymore blew a hole through the stone.

“Come on, jump!” Caprius said. Without hesitation, Calista jumped out of the second-story room and landed in a snow bank. Caprius leaped after her and landed beside her, his face inches from hers. They were both breathing hard. Caprius stared at her for a second, then grabbed her by the back of her head and kissed her.

“What was that for?” she asked gently when they took a pause.

“For saving my life,” he said.

“Remind me to do it more often,” she said.

They picked themselves up and made tracks through the snow away from the house. Moments later, behind them, the house exploded, flame and embers shooting into the sky like a volcanic eruption. From their safe distance, Caprius and Calista paused and looked back at the burning home. Caprius pulled Calista into a hug. He said into her hair, “Calista, you don’t have to leave Castle Elysium. I want you to stay. I reacted badly. Selfishly.” Calista smiled, happy in his muscular arms and thrilled to hear him say these precious words.

“Really?” she asked. She was surprised to see that his eyes were wet.

“I feel safer with you by my side,” he said, pulling back to look her in the eyes. “Will you stay?”

“I’ll think about it,” she smirked. “You’ll just have to work for it.” She touched his cheek. They turned and walked back to Jethro, now warm against the icy night.

Quantum Heights
- Excerpt 8

No book is complete without a dramatic conclusion. And the ending is nothing less than spectacular! From the city of Elysium, to the train ride to Koriston, to the dramatic vampire fight in Jethro, and now to an explosive conclusion at Quantum Heights, we near the end of the story. The clock is ticking, and time is running out. Time and time again we are bewildered by the stamina and determination of Calista Genesis and Caprius Seaton. Let us see how this all unfolds…

***

Calista checked Tilly’s pulse. “She is dead,” she said. “You didn’t have to kill her.”

“Oh, but I did. I wanted to show you both that a bullet is quicker than a blade,” said Lavender. “So, if the two of you want to stay alive, you’ll do exactly what I say.”

“What do you want, Frikiseed?” asked Caprius.

“What do I want? What do you think I want, moron?” Lavender pointed the gun at Calista. “Take it out, Caprius, real slow. And put it on the table. Or your lady friend here dies.” Caprius slowly took out his claymore of power from his sheath and placed it on the table. “Now, turn the sword’s handle toward me.” Caprius did as he was told. “Push it here.” Lavender picked up the claymore. “Now, you, up!” he said to Calista. Just then, the waiter approached with drinks. When he saw what was happening, he jerked backward, spilling the glasses on his tray.

Lavender pointed the gun at the waiter and shot him. The waiter dropped to the floor. “The drinks are on you,” he chuckled, then pointed the gun again at Calista. “All right, Calista, my sweet, you’re coming with me. This way.” Calista glanced quickly at Caprius before walking down the aisle in front of Frikiseed. “And you, don’t get any ideas, or you’ll have her blood on your hands.”

Calista walked toward the front of the car with Lavender’s gun at her back. They went through the doors into the next car, then through that car and into another. At the table, Caprius sat quietly, trying to devise a plan for getting her back. After enough moments had passed, he jumped up and followed them.

When Lavender and Calista arrived at the front of the train, only the engine remained. They went into the engine car. “OK, stop here,” he said. “Now, unhook the train from the engine,” said Lavender, nudging Calista with his gun. Calista unhooked the first car, and they separated. She watched regretfully as the train separated from the engine where she stood alone with Lavender and the conductor, who she was sure would soon be dead, too.

As Caprius walked through the aisles, he noticed the train was slowing down. He knew instantly that Lavender had unhooked the cars and made his getaway on the engine. He thought a moment. Then, as the train lost its momentum and stopped, he bolted toward the back. He passed through each car on his way to the last, people turning in confusion, not only at the stopped train, but also at the knight with no sword sprinting through.

When he came to the first freight car, he opened the door and saw the horses. The conductor turned around to see Lavender pointing his gun at Calista. “What the hell is going on?” he asked.

“Just shut up and keep going,” said Lavender.

“Is that one of those new guns?” asked the conductor nervously.

“No talking from you,” said Lavender. The conductor turned around and, with shaking hands, kept the train moving on course.

The train continued to travel up into the mountains. Calista stood by the wall, never removing her eyes from Lavender. “Since you’re undoubtedly going to kill us both,” said Calista, “you could at least reveal the hiding place of the vampire nest. It wasn’t in Jethro; the cult there was too small. It has to be somewhere we’d least expect it,” said Calista.

Lavender laughed. “Calista, you are right. There will be no hero rescues here. You’re on your own. So, of course, I can let you in on my little secret.” He leaned in and whispered. “We’re going to the nest right now.” He cackled.

“What do you mean? We’re headed for… oh, no. You’re planning on striking Quantum Heights?” asked Calista, astonished.

“Wouldn’t you know that we’ve been nesting in the hotel basement all along! Slowly multiplying. In”—he checked his pocket watch—“exactly twenty minutes, if not sooner, all the civilians vacationing there will be undead. We can’t be stopped!” grinned Lavender. Then, his face darkened. “By the time we arrive, it will all be over.”

Caprius had gotten into the freight car, where he saw horses.

Calista was dumbfounded. She became angry. “All those innocent people,” she whispered. Her hand instinctively crept down to her claymore of power. Lavender nudged her arm away with his gun. “Ah, ah, keep your hands off your claymore. And you, driver, look at me!” The conductor, who was trying to see what was happening behind him, spun back around to the front. “Wait, come back,” said Lavender. “I want you to take the lady’s sword. Do it!” Lavender yelled. The man leaned over and took Calista’s sword. “Now, open your window and throw it out.” He did as he was told. All three watched the claymore bounce off the rails and sink into a snow bank before they sped out of sight. “Now, then, my good fella, you have overstayed your welcome. I have no more use for you.” Lavender fired at the conductor and killed him. He crumpled onto the floor.

“How many people have you killed?” asked Calista.

“Do I hear judgment in your voice, Calista? How many of my kind have you killed? No matter, though. I’m about to kill you, and we can stop the cycle right here.”

As Lavender raised his gun, Caprius was racing on horseback, trying to catch up to the train’s engine. He galloped as fast as his horse would go over the snow-covered ground. As he rode, sweat and tears clouding his vision, he saw Grongone’s face in the clouds above. Grongone used the vim of Petoshine and threw it down to Calista’s claymore of power nestled in the snow. The tip glowed blue. Caprius looked into Grongone’s eyes before the blue light caught his attention. Caprius slowed his horse to retrieve the sword. He held out his hand and channeled his inner power. The sword began to vibrate and shake, its blue glow strengthening. Caprius sped up, leaned over, and forced the sword into his hand. Grongone’s face disappeared from the clouds. Caprius picked up speed and soon saw the engine on the tracks.

Calista saw over Lavender’s shoulder a small figure. As it approached, she could see it was Caprius on horseback. She began to inch back toward the controls.

She purposefully made a frightened face and looked out the side window. Lavender followed her, and in that instant she lunged at the controls and pulled down the emergency brake. The engine screeched to a stop. Both Calista and Lavender fell over from the abrupt motion; startled, Lavender fired as he went down. Calista jumped on top of Lavender, and they struggled for the gun. When the train stopped, Lavender cracked Calista hard across the face and pushed her off him. He took his gun and pointed it at her.

“Poor, pathetic Calista,” said Lavender, aiming at her heart. Just as Lavender was just about to squeeze the trigger, a claymore of power burst through Lavender’s back and out through his stomach. A red glow appeared from the sword, which ignited a flame. The fire spread throughout Lavender’s midsection. He looked down at his body, in shock and perplexed. “But, how…” he began before Caprius, who had boarded the engine car, yanked the sword out of Lavender’s body. Calista accepted her claymore of power that Caprius held out to her, channeled her powers, and blew a force of energy at Lavender, sending him as a blazing torch flying out of the engine car and onto the snow.

They sheathed their swords and smiled. “It’s over,” said Caprius. “We did it.”

Calista returned to the controls. “Not yet, I’m afraid. Lavender said that the vampire nest is in the basement of Quantum Heights. We have about ten minutes before the entire hotel is infested with vampires.”

Caprius swallowed. “My God. Under our noses all this time.” Caprius ran his hand through his hair. “We have to get to the hotel. When we get there, we will have to burn it down.”

Calista chuckled ruefully. “Mr. Willy B. Pinkles is not going to like that.”

“He’ll like that more than becoming a vampire, I assure you,” Caprius said. Caprius joined Calista at the controls. He put his hand gently atop hers, and together they pulled the lever up slowly until the engine began to pick up speed. Soon the engine was moving at a good clip over the tracks.

***

The Goncool who Cynthia was chasing had arrived at the Quantum Heights hotel. Cynthia was approaching the grand hotel. The Goncool opened the doors and headed for the basement. Cynthia entered the hotel doors. As she looked in the distance, she saw him enter a room. He went down the stairs to the basement. Cynthia walked in and heard the thumping of footsteps going down the stairs. The Goncool arrived in a large basement hall. There he saw other Goncools, vampires, and Droges. Cynthia came down the stairs, slowly opened the door, and glanced in. She hid, spying on them. She saw the creatures of the underworld. The Goncool was talking. Cynthia knew she was outnumbered by many. She knew that approaching them was suicide. She squinted her eyes and drew her hand across her hair. “Shit. I’m too late,” she said.

***

The train picked up speed until it was storming at full capacity across the tracks. They drove across a long bridge that stood one hundred and fifty feet over the sea. Ahead were the mountains of Morbid, smaller mountains near the Moldavian Sea. The sky above was thick with storm clouds, but the moon shown through, creating an eerie white glow over the snowy mountains. The engine traveled over the bridge and was soon again on land. “Calista, get down. We’re going to make a dramatic entrance!” said Caprius. They threw themselves onto the floor. The engine went right through the train station, careened off the tracks, and slammed into the hotel Quantum Heights. The impact caused the engine to flip over onto its side, but Caprius and Calista hung on. The engine slid on its side through the hotel lobby, throwing sofas and tables into the air. People were screaming and running, expensive vases were shattering, and water and flowers were flying every which way. Paintings hanging on the walls came crashing down. The engine kept on through the marble room, crushing the concierge desk and a ghoulish vampire who had come up from the nest. Its skull was bashed in, and blood splattered everywhere. Finally, the engine came to a stop. Cynthia heard the crash. She knew her mission to destroy the serum was foiled. But she had managed to destroy Cyril Colburn. For that she was satisfied. She went back up the stairs. She arrived at the hotel lobby to find a train had crashed through. She observed the fire. Calista was lying on top of Caprius, their bodies pressed against each other. She could feel his heart beating inside her own body. Though she wanted nothing more than to stay with her body on his, Calista turned away from Caprius at the smell of hot wires. In an instant, a fire sparked in the engine, and the engine burst into flames. The concierge desk close by caught fire, and the fire caught on all the splintered wood spread throughout the lobby. Calista crawled out of the engine, and Caprius followed. They stood on top of the engine by the doors, the engine on its side. They noticed that a number of vampires, in anticipation of their big event, had come up and were shaken by the blast. “We have to get off the engine! It’s going to blow!” Calista yelled. They jumped down and unsheathed their swords in preparation for combat, then ran into the adjoining hall, blowing out flames with their claymores as they went. Spotting a spiral staircase, they noticed Cynthia watching.