Dread Nemesis of Mine

chapter 21

Katie screamed bloody murder.

She whipped out the automatic rifle she'd taken from the vampire. Pressed it against her hip. And unleashed a hail of bullets at the vampires. Her entire body shook with the explosive kickback. Vampires dove left and right. One screamed as a bullet struck his leg. Another dropped lifeless to the ground as crimson blossomed on his forehead. I could only stand in stunned silence watching Katie rampage like a Mafioso with a Tommy gun, spraying the vampires' positions until the gun clicked empty.

She stood frozen, her breath coming in ragged pants before apparently realizing there were no more bullets. Her eyes grew wide as she took in the bodies, the blood, the carnage. The gun dropped from her hands. Vampires poked their heads from behind cover. I jerked Katie behind the dumpsters as they returned fire.

Bullets dinged and ricocheted off the dull green metal. We crawled through the smelly refuse on the ground toward an open hatch protruding from the ground. Its top was lined with bricks. When closed, it would blend in with the surrounding pavers—perfect camouflage. The gray man appeared ahead of us. His hat was gone, as were his Jersey-boy shades, but I didn't notice any bullet holes in him.

I'd been in danger before. Giant dragon worms had nearly run me down; creepy, dark, cherub creatures had tried to drain me, and even shadow people had taken a shot at sending me to an early grave. But there was something about being shot at that made my bowels turn to water. I crawled at top speed along the ground, like a baby whose diapers were on fire. God knew I'd need diapers if I didn't get down that hole in a hurry.

"Stop firing, you idiots!" Amanda screamed from somewhere behind us. "They're out of ammo. Go get them!"

Katie trembled as she reached the open hatch and climbed down a ladder inside. I saw tears streaming down her face as she vanished into the darkness below. I waved the gray man to go ahead of me and followed him down, closing the hatch with a click as the sounds of running footsteps approached. With any luck, the vampires wouldn't find it. I didn't plan on waiting around to find out.

"I didn't think, Justin." Katie sobbed and almost dropped to her knees in the cramped tunnel. "Oh, god, they're dead."

I grabbed her before she collapsed and surveyed the darkness with the aid of my night vision. Flashlights hung on a rack nearby, but I didn't bother with them. The tunnel was dry, roughly hewn from rock. We could stand, but judging from the irregular ceiling, I didn't dare put Katie on my back and run. One of the crags in the roof might brain one of us.

"Can you see in the dark?" I asked the gray man.

"Yes."

I looked at his eyes, but unlike most supers, his didn't glow in the dark.

Katie sniffed and wiped her nose with the back of her hand. "Oh, god, I'm such a mess. I go all vampire slayer and then fall to pieces."

"It'll be okay. Just hold it together until we get out of here, okay?"

She nodded.

Placing her hand on my shoulder, I guided Katie down what was, for her, a pitch-black tunnel. Her breathing grew rapid, and I heard her struggling to keep her sobs under control. It was a fight to keep my own fear subdued as I listened for sounds of pursuit. We jogged down the tunnel, despite Katie's blindness in the pitch. She kept her head low and hand against my back.

Light appeared ahead from a hole. I stopped. Katie ran into my back.

"Is that light?" she asked.

I heard voices ahead. We had nowhere to go but back, and damned if I was going to go back. The light from outside was dim—probably from a street lamp—but it was enough to make my night vision flicker wildly. A figure dropped down the ladder, followed by another.

Vampires.

It had to be. They must have already known about this exit. Amanda could have radioed ahead to cut us off. If they wanted to take me back in, they'd pay dearly for it.

I took Katie's hand and transferred it. "Katie, hang on to the golem."

"But—"

I didn't listen. I launched myself at the shadow ahead. Crashed into it. A female yelled in surprise. I bulldozed her back into the one following her, roaring like a crazed beast. I had to get up the ladder. Had to escape.

The first vampire gripped my neck. I punched her in what felt like the face.

"Oh dear, what's going on down there?" said a very familiar voice.

I reared back my fist again just as a bright light illuminated the person I straddled. I caught a glimpse of Fausta's face just before her fist eclipsed it and slammed me against the ceiling. I thudded face down in the dirt.

"Justin?"

"Elyssa?" I woozily crawled forward and saw her lying beneath Fausta.

"Oh, god!" Tears sprang into her eyes. "It's Justin!"

Elyssa tried to get around Fausta, but the tunnel was too tight.

"Ugh, can't you wait to get aboveground before getting all smoochy?" Fausta said, motioning for Elyssa to ascend the ladder behind her. She followed.

I climbed up after, breathing free air at last with the compound a hundred yards or so behind me. Elyssa launched herself into my arms, planting kisses all over my face. I felt like I'd just won the Kings and Castles Grand Tourney, even if I did smell a bit ripe from captivity.

"Are you hurt?" I asked. "I thought you guys were vampires."

Elyssa's full lips spread into a beautiful smile. "Hurt? You're alive. If you want, I can fly."

Just the sound of her voice sent a wonderful chill down my back.

"Oh no, dear, what's wrong?" Bella said from somewhere behind.

I turned to see Katie pulling herself out of hole, sobbing. She shook her head. "I—I—"

The gray man emerged behind Katie.

"Son of a—!" Elyssa ripped her sword from its sheath.

I jumped in front of him and threw up my hands to ward off his quick dismemberment. Strong arms gripped my waist. Before I could get out a word, he flung me over a shoulder and ran.

"Stop!" I shouted as he rushed down an alley at breakneck speed. I looked up to see Elyssa and several others in hot pursuit. "Where are you going?"

"The other entity wishes you great harm, Justin," he said, his voice not the least bit strained from exertion. "Her sword could be detrimental to your health."

"Stop, stop, stop! She's not trying to kill me. She's my girlfriend."

"Are you certain? She appears dangerous."

"She's not after me. She's after you."

He stopped so suddenly, I was surprised I didn't fly off his shoulder. "Should I leave you and continue to flee?"

I sighed. "Put me down. I'll save you."

He placed me on my feet a split second before Elyssa and Fausta, swords drawn, reached us. I held up my hands. "Wait. He's with me!"

Elyssa's violet eyes blazed. "Justin, he's a freaking golem. How can he be with you?"

"Trust me on this." I noticed the golem edging away from us ever so slightly, and motioned him back over. "I'll explain it when we get back to the group."

"This is one of the golems you told me of?" Fausta said to Elyssa.

"Yeah." My girlfriend shook her head and furrowed her lovely brow. "How do you do it, Justin?"

I caressed her cheek with a hand and pressed a kiss to her lips before whispering, "I'm just a badass."

Fausta groaned. "In case you don't remember, we're on a mission to save Templars, people. We can't waste any more time on lovesick teenagers."

"Wait, you're going in there?" I said, jabbing a finger at Maximus's fortress.

Elyssa nodded. "I'll explain on the way back."

We jogged back to the hatch and Elyssa told me about their plan of attack.

"Ugh, this is not how I envisioned spending my first day of freedom." I took Elyssa's hand. "But there's no way in the world I'm letting you go back in there without me."

"Justin," said a sharp male voice and Adam Nosti appeared. "Where's Felicia?"

A knot of dread caught in my throat. "She freed me, and was supposed to meet us so we could all leave at once. But she didn't show up."

"And you left her in there?" he stared incredulously at the walled compound.

"I didn't have a choice," I said. "A group of vampires was shooting at us. We had to get out of there."

"So you're saying that tunnel could be full of vampires?" Fausta said. "Merda!"

I shook my head. "No, I don't think they found the hatch. I closed it behind us and it's pretty well hidden."

Fausta lowered her ear to the open portal and listened. "I don't hear anything. Maybe you're right." She pulled out her phone and started issuing commands.

I turned and saw Bella hugging a distraught Katie who still shook with sobs. Someone gripped my shoulder. I turned to see Adam all up in my face.

"How could you?" Adam said, his face crimson. "We talked about this, man. Both our sisters are in trouble."

"No. Mine wasn't in there," I said. "It was a lie."

"My sister saved you, and you didn't even make sure she got out okay?" His eyes glinted with anger. "Son of a bitch."

"Adam, it's not his fault." Meghan took his arm. "We can still save her."

"Look, man," I said, staring into the geeky Arcane's furious gaze. "I'm going back in. We'll save her. I promise."

His eyes reddened. He bit back on what might have been a sob or a shout of frustration. "She's all the family I have, Justin." He turned away. Clenched his fists tight. "Look, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to blame you."

I put a hand on his shoulder. "Believe me, I understand. I know how you feel."

He looked back. "Yeah, I guess you would."

I walked over to Katie and Bella.

Elyssa stood nearby, a helpless look on her face. "What's wrong with her?"

Katie took a shuddering breath and looked at Elyssa. "Nothing. I'm sorry I'm such a wimp." She wiped at her tear-stained eyes.

"She shot some vampires," I said.

"Shot them?" Disbelief took Elyssa's voice up an octave.

"I couldn't help it, okay?" Katie broke into new tears. "The gun fired so fast. I think I killed at least five of them."

"More like two," I said. "You just seriously wounded the others."

"But I had to save you, Justin. Screw that jackass Underborn. He's a first class bastard."

"Wait a minute," Elyssa said, mouth dropping open. "You were one of Underborn's moles?"

Katie gave a miserable nod.

"The poor girl has been through hell," Bella said.

Elyssa walked up to Katie, mouth set in a firm line—and hugged her.

I felt my eyebrows try to climb off my forehead. I'd expected to meet a fairy riding a flying dragon before seeing this.

"Thank you," Elyssa said, and pulled away after a moment.

Katie's green eyes looked a bit shell shocked as she nodded. "I did what was right."

"You did good." My girlfriend looked at the other woman as if seeing some hidden potential. Or maybe she was just looking for a reason to punch her anyway.

"And now, back to me," Fausta said, pressing a thumb to her chest and gazing expectantly at the rest of us. "Got your attention? Good. The other rescue team just entered their tunnel. We've got to move out now."

I turned to see a large figure emerge from the shadows. The breath caught in my throat. Michael gave me his trademarked, calm look.

Offering him a nod, I said, "'Sup?" and tried to keep it real.

He grunted.

The gray man stood nearby, watching as Fausta began her descent into the tunnel.

"Can you stay and watch Katie?" I asked it—him—whatever.

"I will, Justin."

Katie offered me a tear-stained smile. "Be careful. Don't get shot."

I smiled. "You know me, I'm always careful."

Elyssa snorted and followed Michael and the others in the tunnel. Noticing I was the last person, I quickly followed her down.

"Uh, so we're gonna go in blasting?" I asked, trying to readjust the sword on my back so I could actually use it if need be.

Just ahead of Elyssa, Michael pulled something from a holster and passed it back to Elyssa who gave it to me. A gun. A big one. I looked it over, my night vision allowing me to see it with nearly perfect clarity. "A Desert Eagle. Nice." All my knowledge about guns came from video games. I'd blasted a virtual zombie or two with a gun like this. Thinking back to Katie's traumatic breakdown, real life promised to make it an unforgettable experience that would scar my very soul.

"I'm having flashbacks to El Dorado," Bella said. "You sure there aren't any shadow people down here?"

"Shut up back there," said Fausta in a harsh whisper.

Elyssa passed me a couple of clips for the gun. I shoved them in my pockets. We scurried down the tunnel in silence and drew to a stop right back where I'd come from—Maximus's godforsaken compound. I couldn't see much past Michael's over-muscled form, but caught a glimpse of Fausta climbing a ladder.

My nerves knotted. What if all the vamps were still waiting up there, guns drawn, and ready to blast anyone who came out? Then again, if they'd found the hatch, I felt certain they would have chased me. The line started moving again. Before long, I was able to climb the ladder. Three unconscious vampires lay nearby.

Fausta gripped one and motioned to Meghan. "Can you wake him up? I want to ask some questions."

Meghan nodded, made some flippity-do patterns with her wand before touching it to the vampire's head. His eyes jerked open. He opened his mouth wide. Meghan touched his throat with the wand and only a whisper emerged.

"Where are the others?" Fausta asked.

He clamped his mouth shut.

Meghan ran the wand along his skin, and blood seeped from the vampire's pores. He tried to scream, but again, only a hoarse whisper escaped.

Fausta gripped his shirt and put her knee on his groin. "You better speak up before I turn you into a eunuch for the rest of eternity."

A horrified look crossed his face. "They left us here to find the secret exit. Amanda left to report to Maximus."

My phone dinged. Everyone glared at me. I turned down the volume, and looked at the notification. There was a text message from an unknown sender. I almost ignored it since I was, you know, breaking into a vampire fortress and all, but satisfying my curiosity was only a thumb-flick away. The text appeared, and my stomach lurched.

I have Felicia. Return to me or she dies. –Maximus