Fledgling (The Vampire Manifesto, Book Two) (5 page)

“Like us, Madison.” Connor completed.

“Jesus.” I wasn’t sure to make of what I was hearing. “He’s a goddamn Super Soldier.” I turned back towards Connor. “And he’s here?”

“Possibly.” He stated.

“What does he want?” I already knew the answer to the question before I asked it.

“Me.” Connor proceeded towards the door. “Let’s go.”

I could perceive the misery in Girard’s face and I grabbed her hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze in a vain attempt to sedate her fear. Things were happening so quickly. It seemed like it was only yesterday when the most complicated decision I had to make was what outfit to wear and now…

A part of me wanted to fault Connor for all of this, for turning me into a Vampire, transforming me into some impassive, immortal killer. My life was so much easier before I met him and everything that’s transpired since that auspicious night at the bonfire could be blamed on him and him alone.

Yet I knew this not to be true.

Connor protected me, liberating me from Goodwin’s failed abduction and has been guarding me ever since. Truth be told, it all originates with me and some nonsensical prophecy that I am believed to fulfill. The Box of Pandora. That’s what has devastated my life, completely rewriting my existence to the point that I’m not even the same person anymore. I could only imagine if this is what my life was like now and I haven’t even found the damn thing yet, what’s it gonna be like once I open it?

“You.” Connor was pointing at Staci. “I don’t want you at my back. Take point. I want to keep my eyes on you.”

She gave me an apprehensive glance and then did as she was told. The 20twelve Lounge should have been in state of hysteria and panic, but it wasn’t. The fact that three dead bodies were being lugged off to some back room while the janitorial service began to mop up blood didn’t seem to disturb the patrons in the least. As far as they were concerned, it was business as usual.

“So what’s the plan?” Connor prompted.

“Wait, you’re asking me?” I wasn’t prepared. “Why are you asking me?”

“Because, I came up with a plan, which you then promptly disregarded.” He enlightened. “And since capture, torture, murder is officially off the table, what are you replacing it with?”

Once we filed out of the entrance to the 20twelve Lounge all that became moot.

The anterior of the club was completely besieged by men and women decorated in some type of white and yellow Kevlar body armor. The way their uniforms looked, you could tell that they were unquestionably government issued, yet their armor was nothing that was in circulation today, maybe in another ten years or so. They each held some modified version of an M-16 and there were numerous lime green colored infrared lights being trained in our direction.

“Thank God.” Girard exclaimed in relief as she took off, sprinting well behind their fortification line. “You said that you were going to raid the Lounge if I was in trouble.”

A grizzled man marched forward. His façade was rigid and battle worn. “Your objective was to escort them outside of the 20twelve Lounge. I’m impressed. You succeeded and you’re still alive.” He turned towards Connor. “Seems like you’re not as much of a bad ass as the Colonel alleged you were.”

“We’ll see.” Connor replied.

“You assumed he was going to kill me?” Girard demanded. “You said I was going to be perfectly safe. I didn’t volunteer for…”

“Secure that woman and process her for Yellow Brick Road transport.” He ordered.

“YBR transport?” Staci Girard was struggling with two captains as they were twisting her hands behind her back and securing them in flexi handcuffs. “But that’s only used for summary executions!”

“Get her out of here now.” He barked before turning back to us. “My name is Staff Sergeant Maritol with the United States Defense Initiative. By edict of the President of the United States of America, Connor Prometheus has been herby classified as an enemy combatant with terrorist affiliation and shall be placed under immediate arrest.”

I glanced directly above us and saw numerous Defense Agents on the rooftop of the 20twelve Lounge as well, leveling their weapons at our position. We were completely surrounded. The streets had been gridlocked off in both directions and there was also a helicopter just above us as well, shining a search light that lit up the evening sky as if it was day.

“Terrorist?” Connor found that moderately humorous. “I’ve been called many things, but never a terrorist.”

“You are wanted for denoting an incendiary device within a residential district as well as the denotation of an eighteen wheeler on a freeway in Oakland.” Maritol explained.

“This is about California?” Asked Connor. He paused then turned to me, sighing. “This is about California.”

“This arrest warrant is issued for Mr. Prometheus only.” Maritol continued. “We have been authorized to release any and all individuals with him during the serving of his arrest. Do you understand what I am telling you?”

It seemed like I did, but I wasn’t certain.

“It means that if you vacate the area now, you are free to go.” The Staff Sergeant gestured to me. “It has been explained that any individuals with Mr. Prometheus may have been subjected to extreme distress and are not to be prosecuted if they claim that they are a victim of coercion. Are you a victim of coercion ma’am?”

And there it was.

My out. My means to get as far from Connor as conceivably possible if I so choose. Whoever this Steven Hawking is, he recognized that Connor was a Vampire, that he was capable of enthralling humans to do his bidding, which is the only reason why something like this coercion, get out of jail free card, would exist. Yet it was also clear to me that the Colonel had failed to apprise Staff Sargent Maritol and the rest of the Defense Initiative Agents of that fact, because if they knew he was a Vampire, they would have attacked by now.

“It’s okay.” Connor said to me sympathetically. “Just click your heels three times and you’ll be home. This is my problem. I reap what I sow.”

“I ask once again ma’am…” Maritol repeated. “Are you a victim of coercion?”

As much as I detested him for creating me, I still needed him. He was the only thing that was standing in between my family, the Marauders and me.

“I go high, you go low?” I asked.

Connor glanced up. “Think you can get that far up?”

I took another look. “Umm…no, not really, but fuck it.”

“Did you hold back the first time we fought the Marauders?” Connor asked.

“Well, yeah, maybe a little.” I said.

“And you remember what happened right? What they did to you?”

How could I ever forget? “Yeah, I remember.”

“Well if you hold back tonight then this will be a million times worse.” He added. “Because what they do to you now will be legal.”

“No more talk Prometheus.” Maritol took a step forward. “Either we do this the hard way or the harder way. Your choice.”

“Do you like to dance with the devil in the pale of the moonlight?” Whispered Connor as he held out his arms. “I always ask that from all my prey.”

From his backbone slithered two serpents composed completely of flame, moving up and around his neck, winding about his shoulders, coiling about his forearms. The fire constructs were intricately designed, each scale visible in all its fiery exquisiteness and when they had curled around his wrists, a scorching serpent head in each of his palms, they shot forward suddenly, dashing through the air, each finding their separate mark, the snakes burrowing into a Defense Initiative Agents ribcage, burning a hole in through their body.

I looked up and then jumped, rising higher and higher, three stories straight up in the air until I was above the rooftop of the 20twelve Lounge. I could hear gunfire and explosions behind me as Connor tore into the men there, but I couldn’t focus on that, I had my own job to accomplish.

There were two Agents with guns leaning over the edge of the 20twelve Lounge roof. They watched as I hurtled above their heads, dumbstruck. There was another Agent towards the middle of the roof, with one more towards the rear. I landed almost at the center, hitting the ground in a tuck and roll, crashing into the legs of the Agent there, knocking him off his feet. I continued the roll, coming to my feet, swinging my right arm in an uppercut, catching the Agent towards the rear of the roof in the face, the strength of my blow sending him rocketing up into the air and over the side of the building. The Agent I had crashed into was getting to feet, diving on my back. I grabbed him by his head and arm, twisting his body over my shoulder, placing him in a chokehold, squeezing as tightly as I could until something in his throat crushed and his body went limp.

Another explosion went off from below and debris started falling from the sky, pieces of burning cars and pavement crashing down onto the 20twelve Lounge roof. I did three back flips just as the rooftop beneath my feet exploded from a mass of twisted burning car wreckage, bodies raining down from the sky like human rain drops as Connor just began tossing Agents into the air. I spun around and kicked, catching one of the Agents in the side of the head, holding my foot in the air momentarily as his body overturned off the side of the roof, before placing it down.

The final Agent discharged his shotgun once, but I circumvented the blast. He fired once more and I sidestepped that one as well, then closed the expanse between us, knocking the weapon from his hand. From his side he pulled out an all-black bayonet and swung. He was practiced with the blade and the tip of it carved into the side of my face profoundly, blood splashing everywhere. The Agent took a step back and got into a low crouch as we began to circle each other. He swung again and I caught he bayonet blade in my hand, bringing it to a stop, halting all forward momentum. Blood began to trickle down my wrist, but before I could rip the weapon free from his hand, tiny blue lights appeared on the side of the bayonet, followed by another and another in rapid succession.

Once the third light lit up, a horrific shockwave of electricity exploded into my body knocking me backwards on the rooftop, causing me to convulse, making it problematic for me to move. I struggled to one knee as the Agent walked towards me, yet behind him, rising higher and higher into the air was Connor; his entire body incased in flame like armor, the fire taking the form of a burning eagle, his arms encompassed by its wings while his legs were the eagles burning claws. Connor landed on the Agents back, the searing talons of the eagle burning the man to ash.

As he stood, the form of the eagle about him burned bright in the night sky.

I looked upon him in amazement. “I’ve never seen you do anything like that before.”

Connor just shrugged. “There are a lot of things you’ve never seen me do before.”

“We need to get Staci back.” I looked out at the city, doing a cursory scan, my vision locking onto a street light two blocks away, then a gas station two blocks further out, to a black SUV four blocks beyond that. “I see her.”

From the skies above, the helicopter swung into view, shining its search light on us.

“We’re not going after Girard.” Connor stated.

“What?” I spun around. “They’re going to kill her.”

Connor gave a little smirk. “Good.”

“Good?” I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.

“She set us up.” He expounded. “Voluntarily. She deserves whatever she gets.”

Someone from the helicopter started firing a semi-automatic, the bullets striking the rooftop in between where Connor and I stood, kicking up dust and ruble as they struck. The flaming eagle that enveloped Connor rose up, leaving him completely, rising up higher into the air, letting out a soul-shearing screech. The blazing bird flew out towards the helicopter and engulfed it in flames. There was a torturous sound as metal shrieked in defiance before the helicopter exploded altogether. From the eruption, the burning eagle arose, flapping its wings, watching as the twisted, sweltering wreckage of the helicopter crashed into the ground.

“I gave her my word that we wouldn’t kill her.” I pleaded.

“I didn’t.” He replied.

“I said I would protect her, Connor.”

The flaming eagle screeched again then flew off, heading straight towards the SUV.

Connor motioned to the city. “Then protect her.”

“Fuck.” I muttered before taking off as fast as I could, jumping once I hit the edge of the roof. My body launched into the air as I bounded over the intersection, landing on the café roof across the street in a tuck and roll. I was on my feet again in one fluid motion, taking just a few more steps before reaching the edge and jumping to the next rooftop.

I looked up and could see the flaming bird above, its wings flapping faster as it picked up velocity. I increased my speed then jumped again, clearing the next building entirely, landing on the rooftop of the structure beside it. I continued on, the black SUV not far ahead. I landed on another rooftop, then another, still neck and neck with the eagle.

I jumped again, up and over another intersection, crashing into the patio window of a condominium high-rise complex. I landed in the living room, tumbling somewhat, trying not to break my stride, attempting to keep my momentum, when a sharp pain flooded my mind. I refused to submit however and bashed through the front door, crossed the hallway and hurtled through the front door of the condominium opposite of the one I left.