The Lycan Collapse (The Flux Age Book 2) (2 page)

“The mayor has publicly called upon the lycans for the first time,” Julian said. “Breaking the vow of secrecy between them. They must be desperate for
someone
to succeed. These humans don’t even know that seven lycans are currently being held under their city by the wights.”

Hector laughed out loud, not exactly an inspiring sound. “Go,” he breathed, playing with his leather band again. “Go and deal with these wights. I want you to impress the lycans. Especially the redhead.”

Julian glanced up at his superior sharply. What did he know about Florence? He wasn’t even sure about his
own
thoughts on the attractive lycan.

“It’s what you’ve said about her,” Hector said merrily. “Or rather, what you haven’t said. I can tell you fancy the girl.”

Julian felt his face turn red. He had to remind himself he was a successful CEO of a multi-national company, not some giddy schoolboy called to the headmaster’s office.

“It’s quite alright,” Hector said, his eyes smiling. “The Council agrees that this Florence Underwood could well prove to be a useful means of making peace.”

Julian stood, wanting to leave as quickly as possible. He wasn’t exactly comfortable with Hector’s cavalier approach to the lycans.

As Julian prowled down the western corridor he was overcome with a feeling of renewed purpose. Despite the troubling nature of his meeting with Hector, he was glad that he now had a chance of seeing Florence again. Better still, he now had permission to actively protect her from the wight nest under New York. In some ways he could ignore all the politics swirling around him and just focus on the girl that had somehow managed to work herself into his mind. He pictured himself standing heroically over the plasma of defeated wights as Florence approached him through some dark tunnel. It was a nice image and one that distracted him so much he didn’t notice Jasmine standing by the edge of the landing platform overlooking the woodland. She turned and smiled.

“You know, it isn’t easy staying here,” she said slowly. Julian looked at her closely and saw her eyes were a lot sadder than the rest of her face. She was certainly attractive in many ways, but the truth was that something about her gave Julian the creeps. Sometimes she got a remote, other-worldly look in her eye and Julian knew she was seeing things he couldn’t. Sometimes she seemed to exist on another plane entirely, becoming frightened when there was no one around or laughing when there was no reason to. Julian had no doubt as to her worth to the aquilan High Council - he didn’t know much about diviners but it was quite clear that they were exceedingly rare. Hector kept Jasmine here at the Lodge under a careful eye. It was true that she wanted for nothing - Hector knew her worth and paid her handsomely. But there was no chance of her leaving. If she wanted to see her mother or perhaps an old friend then Hector had them flown out to the Lodge. Jasmine was effectively a prisoner, and Julian wasn’t even sure if she believed in the aquilan cause just yet. She was nice enough, sure, but clearly had trouble being confined to this valley, however beautiful.

For his part, Julian never knew how to respond to these comments from the diviner. In the end he simply shrugged. “You’re very important to Hector,” he said quietly. It was his usual answer. It not only reminded her that she was valued, but also that her protector was a very, very powerful aquilan.

In any case she didn’t seem to notice, gliding to Julian with eerie grace. Before he could prepare himself she was standing so close that her breasts were pressed against him. Her body was lithe and athletic, but she had never turned his head. He felt like stepping away but her eyes had locked him down.

“It’s not easy, working exclusively for the aquila,” she purred. “But you put a little sunshine in my day.”

Jasmine’s pale lips were barely inches away. Julian blinked and struggled to form a reply. By the time he had one or two words she had placed a hand on his inner thigh. Despite his best efforts, he felt a little tremor there.

“I’m glad to be of help,” he said breathlessly. “But right now there’s business to be done.”

Using all his will, Julian stepped back and approached the platform edge. With a rush of excitement he always felt at this moment, he extended his pristine wings. They extended several yards to either side. As far as aquilan wings went, Julian’s were considered works of art. Even Jasmine seemed entranced by them for a moment.

“Now there’s a reason for me to believe in you creatures,” she said in awe.

“Just don’t forget it,” Julian said, launching himself from the platform. He hadn’t meant to sound so harsh but Jasmine’s attentions were becoming a problem.

Building speed through the trees, Julian tried to focus on the task at hand. The first few minutes after an aquilan launched always demanded high concentration. There were always low branches and other things to watch out for. Some of his comrades had already received serious concussion from lapses in concentration. Julian had always taken to the air like he was born to it but it was true that all aquilans needed to “rediscover” the skills that were dormant in their genes. Skills that hadn’t been seen on Earth for hundreds of years.

Julian carefully gained altitude in the traditional, patient aquilan way, resisting the urge to break into a steep upward climb. The winds could be tricky in the valley and today was no exception. Once Julian was high above the Rocky Mountains he settled into a slow grind to the east, back to New York. The prevailing wind was still onshore and it was hard work tacking his way against it. Despite the slow speed it was still early in the day and Julian would have plenty of time to begin his explorations of the tunnels under New York. He had a fair idea where to find the wights that were causing New Yorkers so much trouble. Aquilans weren’t well suited to confined spaces - in fact, tunnels and caves were probably their biggest weakness. The species typically needed space in which to spread their wings and use their speed. Out in the open aquilans were almost unstoppable. Julian would need his wits about him if he was going to venture underground. He consoled himself that Florence would soon be joining him down there. It would be a matter of pure survival, nothing more, but he found himself relishing her company nonetheless. It was a such a curious notion, being interested in a lycan. But then again, perhaps it wasn’t so curious after all. Julian had only awoken the aquilan within him recently - less than six months ago in fact. It hadn’t taken much time to consider other creatures - lycans, wights and even diviners - as foreign and alien. Hell, six months ago he might have been chatting Florence up in some bar!

For that reason Julian didn’t feel so weird about being drawn to the redhead.

The noonday sun beat down on Julian’s wings as he reached the urban sprawl of the northeast coast. Of course, launching had once again ripped apart a very good suit, one that he would need to replace. He kept his mind on such matters of personal administration as he closed the final few miles of his long journey. The comforting green glow of his company’s logo was now visible in the skyscrapers of Manhattan. The north Atlantic glowed like a huge sapphire jewel beyond the living, breathing city.

Julian needed to shield his eyes from the sunlight reflecting off the multi-faceted upper levels of his penthouse suite. He glided onto the wide platform and made a perfect landing, already tasting that cold drink his assistant Tilly was no doubt already preparing. Sure enough, she was waiting for him in the penthouse, elegant in a black backless dress and scarlet heels. Julian received his drink, a lime and bitters on ice, with a smile as he let his wings settle into a folded position after his long flight.

“Exquisite timing as usual, Tilly,” he said mildly as he collapsed on a chesterfield settee that overlooked the city. “What’s news?”

“More civilians have disappeared,” Tilly said crisply, laying a fresh suit on the edge of the chesterfield.

“Oh, I won’t be needing that,” he said. “I’m heading out into the field shortly.”

Tilly’s eyes widened briefly. The loyal assistant perhaps had some inkling of what Julian was planning but she was too professional to mention it.

“A field suit, then,” she said smoothly before disappearing into a wide closet under the spiral staircase. She emerged with a sky blue utility suit, lightweight but incredibly tough. There were customized slits across the shoulders for Julian’s wings. The suits were hell to climb into but once on they were supremely comfortable and, better still, wouldn’t split with wings extended.

Julian downed his cool drink and took the suit from his assistant.

“Wish me luck,” he said with a cheeky grin.

“I’m hoping you don’t need it, Mr. Banes,” came the reply.

Tilly withdrew to her front desk and Julian prepared himself for action. He would need to walk the city streets for a little while, which always made him anxious. He wasn’t especially aloof like other aquilans tended to be but he
did
feel exposed on the streets. For starters, only a tiny fraction of the world’s population had discovered their inner spirit beast. There weren’t many creatures out there yet, which was probably a good thing. He could only imagine the chaos a few months into the future when there were more Flux creatures walking around, testing their new powers and abilities.

Of course, Julian could retract his wings and enter “human” mode if he really needed to, but that always drained him a little. It made sense to do it now, and he retracted his wings with a wince. He was still getting used to changing back and forth. Out at the Lodge he often didn’t bother retracting his wings, loving the special kind of sanctuary it provided.

With a strange ache where his wings had retracted, Julian stepped into his personal elevator and hit the ground floor.

The street was hot as he stepped from the cool ground level foyer. His first stop was an obscure glass blower in Little Odessa. The shopfront was hidden away down an alley way. Julian wondered how the Ukranian woman there did business at all. Well, perhaps not conventional business. Julian was there for something more specific, something special. Something that would help him keep Florence Underwood alive.

Bridgita, stooped and lined with age, was sorting through glass bowls when Julian arrived. One look at him over her half-moon glasses and she grinned toothlessly.

“The aquilans are my friends, no?” she cackled.

Julian returned the grin. He wasn’t sure if Bridgita had discovered her spirit beast yet but there was something animalistic about the woman. She was probably naturebound in some way, he was sure of that. Perhaps one day he’d allow her to access Jasmine.

“I’m not here for myself, Bridgita,” Julian said. “I actually need several nightfire lanterns.”

“Nightfire,” Bridgita repeated in wonder. “The flame only a lycan can see.”

“I’m aware of what it does,” Julian explained. “Let’s call it a gift.”

“The handsome aquilan has a big heart,” Bridgita said with glee. “Much room for romance, I see.”

“How many do you have?” Julian asked, quickly changing the subject. Bridgita winked and retired to her back room, rummaging around for what seemed an eternity. She returned with eleven boxed lanterns, shoving them into a hessian sack.

“May the Gods protect you, aquilan,” she said, all humor gone from her voice, her eyes. “There is no mercy where you’re headed.”

Julian nodded and slung the sack over his shoulder. Tilly would ensure that the old woman was adequately compensated.

Without another word Julian made his way back out into the street. The nearest subway was up on West 34th Street Street. Julian glided through the shiny foyer, through the unattended turnstile and down into the lower platforms. At the northern end of platform 14 a service door admitted to a tight passageway through various electrical substations. An old, creaking goods lift whisked Julian to levels no longer used by the general public. Here the bluestone tunnels were crumbling and decrepit, lit only by occasional fluorescent lights that had survived the ravages of time. Julian hustled his way through the cool tunnels, heading north along an ancient rail line that grew gradually darker. Before long he came to a hole in the side wall and hesitated only a split second before climbing through. The passage beyond was almost completely dark. A strange smell assaulted Julian’s senses, setting his nerves on edge. He set down his first nightfire lantern and stepped further into the unknown, darkness clawing at him from all sides.

2 - Yasmin

Mt Brasev, Romania

Yasmin Silver didn’t feel like a queen. The winter was cold and harsh, pressing up against the estate relentlessly. The bad weather had kept the Maramurians away for several weeks now and work on the castle had stalled. At least the main hall and most of the east wing had been completed. That meant Yasmin had access to both the central hub and a series of smaller rooms, one of which she had claimed as her own.

Of late she had given up trying to function like a human being during the day, instead bunkering down in her extravagant four-poster bed. She had no idea where Tomas had found it, just it was one of the doktor’s gifts. He and the succubi had pledged themselves to her and despite the strangeness of having servants it felt inevitable. Her four underlings were happy to rest in the dark corners of the main hall during the day. Occasionally Tomas would disappear altogether, literally spending entire days underground. Yasmin couldn’t blame him in the slightest, often feeling the pull of the earth’s secret places by day.