Dragon Down (11 page)

Chapter Eleven

We broke camp early the next morning. I sent Hans and Tokem back to the boat. Zane and I needed to talk to Corbin before we decided
on our next move. Once Hans and Tokem left, Zane and I went to get Corbin. He was awake and waiting when we entered the building. Vampires have very acute hearing.

“Are you ready to go to work?”

“Lauren, where do you want to begin?”

Zane answered him. “Which island is closest
, the Red Court or the Black Court?”

“They
’re all the same, just different dimensions.”

“Corbin, what are you saying? Doesn
’t each court have its own island?”

“They do, but it is the same island
, in a different dimension. Vampires from the four courts can move between dimensions. However, it is dangerous and anyone without a legitimate reason for doing so would be killed.”

I had to let this sink in. The fairy
kingdom was similar. So it wasn’t totally out of the vast realm of possibilities. It also meant that we would not be able to enter without being detected.

“Can you get us in and out fast enough to avoid being killed or trapped?”

“I’ll do my best, but I can’t promise. It depends who they send to track us. Also, they will want to kill me more than you. Now where do you want to begin? If you tell me a little about the prisoner, I might be able to narrow it down.”

“A changeling from an ancient kingdom on the coast of Ireland
, he vanished while fighting Viking invaders. The Vikings were assisted by vampires. I don’t know which court they were from, but my guess is the Black Court.”

“I think you can rule out the White Court and the Jade Court. They are users, but they don
’t usually involve themselves with kidnapping. I’m not aware of anything in the Red Court, but I’ve been in exile. I think we should start with the Black Court. If they aren’t involved they’ll know who is.”

“Sounds like a plan to me. Where do we begin?”

“The causeway.”

“What causeway?”

“The one right off the cave entrance. It is invisible and unless you know where to enter, you won’t find it.”

I didn
’t like the sound of this. You know me, the thought of being over, under, or around the ocean made me nervous. It was going to take more than that flimsy explanation to convince me. Changing dimensions to enter a world ruled by vampires was iffy enough without the added thrill of walking on water.

“Corbin, are you suggesting we just wal
k out into the ocean? I think I might have already mentioned that I don’t like water when I can’t see the bottom.”

“Corbin, I
’ve got a less paranoid and more relevant question.”

“Zane, ask your question.”

“Where will we enter the next dimension? Also, how do you know which dimension you are entering?”

“There is no way to tell exactly where we will enter
. However, we can tell which court we are entering. The courts are layered. The lowest court is nearest us, which is the White Court. Next is the Jade Court and so on until we reach the Black Court.”

“I don
’t like the sound of this. What is to keep us from popping into the next realm in the midst of a horde of White Court vampires?”

“Lauren, I can
’t give you any guarantees, but I can assure you that I will do my best to avoid such places. Remember, I have as much to lose as you do. Now I think you should get ready. I recommend dark clothing, and a hood to help conceal your identities. Bring whatever weapons you want to carry. There will be ample food and water.”

I arched an eyebrow at the food comment. “I sincerely hope you don
’t mean we will be dinner.”

“I told you I couldn
’t make any promises, but there will be bread, eggs, and cheese. They need to feed the captives.”

“Why?
They’re going to kill them?”

“Precisely, no one wants an anemic dinner. Shall we?”

I’ll be damned. The vampire had sense of humor. Nevertheless, I knew he wouldn’t hesitate to kill us all. Zane and I gathered our gear, leaving Hans and Tokem to guard the boat and followed the vampire. We headed back to the beach following the shoreline until we reached the cave entrance. The tide was starting to come in and the water was up to my waist and rising. Wherever this causeway was, I hoped we found it soon or I’d be swimming. I was about to ask when a wave washed over my head. I drank more seawater than anyone needs.

Spitting and sputtering I was about to give Corbin a piece of my mind when he appeared to be walking on the water. No I wasn
’t hallucinating. If I didn’t hate the water so much I’d of been stoked. We were all, literally walking on water. Then I felt a slightly elastic tug and an audible pop. When I looked around me we were standing on a bluff overlooking a town. Our survival skills immediately kicked in. Zane and I pulled our weapons and crouched down to listen. Corbin stood still and seemed to be sniffing the air.

“We are alone for the moment. We better get moving
in case someone heard us arrive.”

He started off into the trees and moved in a slow zigzagging pattern down the hill. If anyone was following us
, it would be harder to track us this way. When we got closer to the town, Corbin motioned for us to stop. I didn’t have any idea what we were going to find or see. He signaled for us to wait, as he strolled out into the town like he lived there.

I didn
’t like letting our prisoner walk out of our reach. Still, I couldn’t think of any other way to scout out the town. Zane and I would likely do something that would give us away. We inched back into the tree line to watch and wait. The town looked a lot like a small New England seaside fishing village. We were still near the ocean. I could hear the surf pounding against the sea wall, somewhere nearby.

What I hadn
’t seen was a single resident. The placement of the sun told me that it must be early afternoon. It made sense. I’m sure the town didn’t come to life until after dark. This gave us three or four hours to investigate before the inhabitants woke up. I wish Corbin would return and get us out of here.

The hairs on the back of my neck were standing on end and my bracelet w
as throbbing. Instinctively, I ducked down and activated my bracelet. Then someone tapped me on the shoulder and clamped a hand over my mouth. That is when Corbin identified himself. When I got safely out of this I might kill him. Note to self, these vamps can move undetected. They don’t have a heart and their strength and speed are superhuman.

Corbin motioned for Zane and me to follow him. We crept toward the town
’s buildings, staying in shadow whenever possible. Once we reached the first building, we moved down the alley to approach the back of the structure. It looked like the alley ran the entire length of these buildings. It felt good to get into an area that provided cover, unfortunately that worked both ways.

We had nearly
reached the end of the alley when I heard voices, sending the three of us diving for cover. The voices were getting closer, when I noticed a woman enter the alley. She was followed closely by five more women. Every single one was dressed to the nines and I couldn’t help feeling a little jealous. A Dior, Versace, and a Hollis, I couldn’t afford a Hollis. Whoever they were they were connected. The women continued past us, walking about half way down the alley. Then, they entered a building. We’d definitely found the White Court. Those women were not vampires. They were as human as I was. These women were here to provide the vampires with hedonistic pleasure and God only knew what else. I was tempted to sign up, if they were providing the wardrobe. Their shoes alone cost eight hundred to a thousand dollars a pair. I only owned a couple of Manolo Blahnik’s.

Corbin nudged me and I picked my chin off the ground to follow the
guys. We left the alley and moved across an intersection and into another alley. This one seemed to be leading us closer to the water or at least that’s how it sounded. The further into the alley we moved the louder and louder the surf thundered. I nearly missed it, the sound of the ocean was almost enough to mask the scratching or scuffing sound. I froze and crouched down. Zane and Corbin had taken similar defensive positions. It took me a few minutes of straining my ears to realize the sound was coming from behind me. I spun around in time to see the silhouettes of three men coming down the alley. The liquid fluidity of their movements could mean only one thing. They were vampires and they were heading right toward us.

Corbin got to his feet and staggered toward the men. He swayed drunkenly and gave a slurred hello to
them. They hesitated a moment and Corbin lashed out. I heard bones snapping from where I crouched. I raised my bracelet and aimed at the lead vampire. Flames flew from my bracelet and sent a spray of energy into the vampire’s body. It erupted in to flames and disintegrated. Zane pounced on the remaining vampire and took its head off with a swing of his sword. The three of us didn’t wait around to see if anyone had heard the exchange. Corbin shot out of the alley, running hard toward the waterfront. I could make out the masts from sailing vessels bobbing on their moorings, their riggings clinking in the breeze off the water. Then I clearly heard shouts and the sound of running feet. Damn it, we’d been spotted. Corbin picked up the pace and we did our best to keep up. I thought my lungs would burst.

Right before we got to the
docks, Corbin hesitated briefly before leaping over the side of the ramp, landing on the sand below. We followed or at least we tried. I landed hard enough to knock the wind out of me. Zane grabbed my arm and yanked me to my feet. Running on the sand was making my legs ache and my lungs burn. I risked taking a glance over my shoulder. Our pursuers were gaining. I wasn’t sure we could out run them and frankly, I needed to rest. I stopped, turned and lifted my staff. I yelled out a chant and sent a blast of air into the sand in front of them. The small wind storm I unleashed picked up the sand driving it into out pursuers. They were temporarily blinded by the swirling sand.

Corbin slowed and
was jogging along the surf line. He vacillated a moment before plunging into the water. The waves slammed into him, dunking him several times. He floundered in the surf, trying to regain his footing. Zane hauled him to his feet and they staggered back toward me. The vampires let out an angry yell and charged us. Corbin continued moving further down the beach and again headed into the breakers. This time he didn’t sink under the onslaught of waves. We hurried after him and within minutes we were once again walking above the water. A few more step and we disappeared with a pop. This time we landed on a loading dock that bustled with activity. Corbin grabbed us and pulled us behind a huge crate.

“We need to find a place to hide before someone spots us.”

I couldn’t tell much, because the area was illuminated by the glaring light from several large spotlights. It had to be nighttime and the Jade Court was all about commerce, illegal commerce. This meant that there would likely be heavily armed vampire security patrolling the docks. We’d landed in a very dangerous place. Scanning the area, I saw an open loading dock behind us. There was no way we would make it without being detected. Unless I created a diversion.

I pointed toward the
empty loading dock and motioned for Corbin and Zane to move. Then I found what I was looking for. There was a huge crane in front of me and it was unloading cargo from the hold of a ship. I muttered and the cargo started swaying. The men in the area yelled at the crane operator. He shut down the crane and started to get out of the crane’s cab. While, I zeroed in on the crane’s cable that was holding the cargo. A burst of energy from my bracelet was enough to fray the cable. The cable’s wires began to give and the cargo dropped a few feet. Now I had their attention. The vampires were yelling and cursing, which was my cue to run. I ran toward the loading dock where the guys reached down and pulled me up. We moved back into the shadows and away from the opening. The place was full of boxes and crates of all sizes. There was no indication from the men on the docks that we’d been spotted.

We moved deeper into the labyrinth and melted into the darkness. When we thought we had hidden ourselves well enough we listened for activity of any kind. Satisfied we hadn
’t been seen, we took the time to drink some water. Corbin signaled he was going to check out the area. He vanished before we could nod our consent. Zane and I settled in to wait. I didn’t like relying on a vampire one bit. My experience with Vicor was still fresh in my mind. Given Zane’s history with vampires, I seriously doubted he felt any different. More importantly, Traygen was still missing and I wouldn’t rest until I found him. Tired of sitting still, I decided to check out the area. I left Zane to wait for Corbin and I started working my way around the building’s perimeter.

We were definitely inside a giant warehouse. I couldn
’t tell from the crates what they held. I didn’t read Chinese, which was the language on most of the crates. Bored to tears, I decided to open one of the crates to look at the contents. Using my knife to pry the top off a medium sized crate, I let out a low whistle. This crate was full of munitions. Not wanting to pass up the opportunity to increase my fire power, I helped myself. That’s when I sensed rather than heard a vampire. I carefully slid the top back over the crate. I didn’t want to announce my theft. As slowly as I could, I began backing away from the crate. Retracing my steps until I found Zane, I signaled we had company. Weapons activated, we waited to see if our presence had been detected. I still felt the energy signature of a vampire or vampires, but they weren’t getting any closer. Perhaps we’d escaped detection, although I doubted it.