The Tome of Bill (Book 7): The Wicked Dead (58 page)

“What the fuck?” I cried as the carnage played out before me. I stood and took it all in, appalled at the utter lack of mercy on display.

That’s when I saw them. Off to the side, not far from where I’d told Adam and Dave to keep an eye on Sally, lay my friends. Ed and Dave were both sprawled on the floor, unmoving. Adam was – crap – nowhere to be seen. In the chaos following Vehron’s death, I hadn’t noticed what happened.

I turned back to Sally, grabbed her shoulders, and shook her like a rag doll. “What did you do?!”

“She did as commanded, Freewill.”

The voice was barely audible over the gunshots ringing out, even to my ears, but somehow, it still managed to convey a sense of authority.

I turned toward its source, finding Alexander – leader of the First Coven – standing just inside the doorway. He was wearing similar body armor to the goons busy mowing down Vehron’s minions, except, of course, much more regal in appearance. Gold highlights were apparently still the fashion for dickheads in power looking to distinguish themselves from the rabble.

He stepped in and two other members of the Draculas joined him – Vargas, who I’d met briefly during my trial, and another whose face was much more familiar.

“James?”

“The Wanderer did warn you not to trust her, did he not?” Alex asked, raising his voice so it was discernible above the gunfire. James’s eyes opened wide at the statement. “Oh please, Wanderer. One does not live as long as I without developing some skill in foreseeing the actions of others.”

Shit!

I wanted to pummel the smile right off his fucking face, but could sense the weariness in my body. I was back to normal – the boost from both Dr. Death and all the stolen blood was gone. There was no way I could do anything against him ... unless.

For the briefest of moments, I’d been in possession of Dr. Death’s power – the hidden strength within me. Then I stupidly let it go somehow – probably the elation at seeing Sally back to her old self.

Go figure. Just my luck to pick the exact worst moment to do so. If I’d held onto it for even a minute longer, I could be feeding Alex chunks of his own asshole right now.

The question was – how did I get it back?

Was it even possible to?

I hadn’t heard a peep from Dr. Death since almost blowing myself to bits, and I had a feeling he wasn’t going to be particularly helpful, even if he did deem me worthy of a mental conference bridge.

I was on my own, but maybe that was enough.

The very sight of Alex filled me with rage. His casual words of how he’d used my friends against me did nothing but add to the disgust I felt toward his continued existence.

I let those feelings take me, just as he’d taken Sally from me. He’d manipulated her, filled her with a hidden agenda, and now was nonchalantly enjoying the fruits of his labors – his men blowing others to bits as if this was a shooting gallery.

And yet, as the anger filled me, I was still just me, and me I remained.

“Destroy the Jahabich,” Alex commanded, his tone no more emotional than if asking someone to change the channel. “Cleanse this place of their presence.”

Oh crap! I spun back to where Gan had been fighting, but saw that she’d leapt clear of the fray as some of Alex’s men began to engage the creatures, switching from guns to melee combat.

She strolled in our direction, seemingly unfazed by the slaughter going on around her. One of Alex’s men turned toward her for a moment, but a quick sidelong glance from her sent him back to his task.

And a slaughter it was. The vamps I’d unwittingly ordered to act like statues were starting to snap out of it, but it was too late. Many had already been exterminated like bugs, and still Alex’s men continued their advance.

The thing was, considering everything that had happened here, I wasn’t sure I wanted them to stop. For all his bluster, Alex had been right about the Cult of Ib being a blight upon this world.

I turned away, disgusted with myself as much as anyone else here, and glanced back to where my friends still lay. Thankfully, they’d been untouched by the newcomers. I aimed to keep it that way.

I stalked up to Alex, ignoring every self-preservation instinct I had. “If your people harm my...”

He merely waved a dismissive hand. “Spare me your impotent rage, Freewill. Had I wished this facility fully cleansed, we would not be having this conversation. You and your friends have fulfilled the terms of your sentence. Regardless of what you might think of me, I honor my bargains.” I couldn’t help but notice a note of annoyance in his voice as he said it.

“Oh?” I asked before common sense could take over. “Is that why you’re here now? Is that why you ordered Sally to ... um ... do whatever she did?” I glanced back and saw her slumped against the wall, her knees drawn up and her head down in them. A wave of pity washed over me at seeing her like that, used like a pawn in a game of chess.

“That is precisely why I gave her the orders I did,” Alex said, drawing my attention back to him. “I knew you would try to fulfill your end of the arrangement. She was to be my contingency once you failed.”

* * *

“Wait?” I replied. “When I failed?”

“Indeed. Facilities such as these are heavily modernized, but even modern security measures are a fickle thing. They can be beaten, circumvented. Unsurprisingly, passwords were changed and remote access cut off not long after Boston fell. However, each of our strongholds has an override as well – known only to the eldest of the First – hardwired at the very deepest layer.”

“What’s that got to do with...?”

“If you had been paying the slightest attention,” he interrupted, “you would have noticed what I said about remote access being severed. The override could only be triggered from inside the facility. Your dear Sally was given that override along with orders to use it at the first available opportunity, letting nothing stand in her way. Doing so shut down all security protocols, allowing my strike team access.”

“So why are you here with them?”

“I am not some armchair general who commands from afar. I am a born leader of men.” He stepped past me and watched as the Jahabich resistance continued to be whittled down. “I am also quite aware of Vehron’s power.” He glanced back at James, a mixture of pity and disgust on his face. “As well as the fact that I alone possess the strength to defeat him.”

“Yeah, but you didn’t. I did.”

Alex turned to face me, the brow over his blue eye raised ever so slightly. “As I can see. Imagine my surprise. Sorry to say, but you, the Icon, and your friends were all expected to perish at The Destroyer’s hands. You were merely a means to an end to gain access, carrying a payload that you were not aware of.”

“So this was a suicide mission all along.”

“Oh, I don’t think Yehoshua meant it as such, but have no doubt that I am every bit as amazed as I sound. I suppose I owe you some modicum of gratitude. Though I am not certain how you managed to pull it off, I am nevertheless impressed that you saved me the effort. You will forgive me, though, if I do not shower you with praise. This was, after all, meant to be a death sentence for your betrayal.”

“Sorry to not oblige.” I glanced back at Sally again. Free of Alex’s compulsion, she thankfully hadn’t blabbed about walking in to find me in control of Dr. Death’s skin. I had little doubt Alex would have found that too interesting to let pass and possibly far too dangerous to let me live.

“How did you defeat him?” Vargas asked.

“The beast inside of him raged out of control,” Gan said, joining us. “It proved too much for even The Destroyer.”

Alex acknowledged her with a slight nod. “Prefect Gansetseg.”

“Lord Alexander,” she replied, bowing.

“I will admit to some trepidation in risking you on this mission,” Alex said to her. “However, I see that those fears were unfounded.” She merely smiled as if there was no doubt in her mind. “As I do not sense his presence, is it safe to assume that my dear brother Francois is in need of having his seat on the First Coven filled?”

“Wait,” I replied, “how did you know that?”

“As I said, child, one does not live as long as I and not understand the workings of lesser men. Francois harbored deep resentment toward me. Coupled with his ambition and an exaggerated opinion of his own intelligence, I had little doubt of his betrayal. It is almost a pity, though. The misinformation he’d been given access to would have wreaked havoc with The Destroyer’s plans in the short term.”

“Lord Francois fell,” Gan stated neutrally, “in a manner most ignoble.”

“Of that, I have no doubt, but such knowledge will be expunged from the official record. He was of the First, after all.”

Gan nodded again, her expression all but unreadable.

“You were able to tap into your hidden power once more?” James asked me. “Fortunate.”

“Yeah,” I replied, trying to keep my tone conversational. “Even more fortunate that Vehron didn’t do the same. I don’t remember much, but I doubt we’d be talking now if he’d gone all apeshit on me. Not sure why he didn’t.”

“Is it not obvious, Dr. Death?” Gan asked. Before I could deck her, she added, “He could not.”

“What? Why not?”

“Freewills throughout history have manifested their powers in myriad ways,” Alex said, continuing to watch the fight going on. The final handful of Jahabich were in retreat, forced back nearly to the prefect’s office doors.

Oh crap!

I almost had a major panic attack, but then I saw two of Alex’s men helping Christy away from the fight. She was back on her feet, but they were both supporting her on either side. The poor girl still looked out of it, which was probably why the vamps hadn’t been disintegrated yet.

I turned back to the discussion at hand. “What do you mean by that?”

Alex, obviously deciding this topic was beneath him, simply nodded toward Gan, who said, “Any student of our history knows this.”

“I must’ve missed that class.”

“That is not surprising,” she replied. “Most who are young do not care for such things. All Freewills shared some abilities in common – their ability to resist compulsion and their capability to feed upon our kind. It is recorded in our archives, however, that some exhibited talents above even that. Wang Leng, for example, was said to be able to defy gravity. In tenth century Byzantium, there was a Freewill known only as the Grey Fox who could blend invisibly into shadows. In...”

“That’s fascinating, really it is. So you’re telling me Vehron couldn’t do what I do?”

“Of course not,” Alex said. “He was known as the Sun Strider. He was unique in that he was able to resist the rays of the sun for up to an hour. It made him singularly dangerous amongst our kind.”

“I’ll bet. Wait, so why didn’t anyone tell me this?”

“I would think you would have asked,” Gan replied matter-of-factly.

I took a deep breath, concentrating on ignoring her. “So that means my ability to turn into a rage beast...”

“Is unprecedented,” Alex said. “Even I must admit it is among the more interesting manifestations I have seen. Such a pity it is uncontrollable. However, now that you have reawakened it...”

“Lord Alexander,” James said, stepping forward just as Alex was about to broach a dangerous subject for me. “Perhaps we should concentrate on securing the facility first. There are no doubt more zealots about and likely even more kept prisoner here against their will. With The Destroyer dead, perhaps we need not purge the entirety of the population.”

“Still holding out hope for your protégé, Wanderer?”

James turned his head toward me, his brows raised questioningly.

“Sorry,” I replied. “I haven’t seen Calibra anywhere. Although, to be fair, I haven’t exactly had time to look for her. Assuming there are no more surprises here, maybe we can find out what happened...”

A creaking sound at the far end of the room caught our attention. It was the double doors to the prefect’s office being pushed opened from within.

As usual, I’d spoken too soon.

Two figures emerged from the room beyond as a contingent of Alex’s men broke off from the Jahabich and raised their guns toward the newcomers.

Firebird was the first, which explained where she’d disappeared to during the fight. Though I wasn’t at all comfortable with how Alex had dealt with the compelled vampires in the room, a small part of me wouldn’t have minded seeing that traitorous bitch eat a bullet or three.

“Oh, you fucking whore,” a voice behind me growled. I didn’t need to turn to know that Sally was back on her feet. Whatever guilt she’d been feeling was obviously superseded by her anger. That was fine by me. I didn’t blame her for what happened. Hell, I was just glad to have her back, even if it meant I had to watch a prolonged session of her tearing Firebird’s entrails out. Ah, the sacrifices we make.

It took me a moment to recognize the other person. Calibra looked much different than when I’d last seen her. Gone was her tight bun and prim business suit. Her hair was down, long and black with a bit of waviness to it, and she wore a flowing white dress. Think Lily Munster, minus all the eye makeup.

The way she moved was also different. When last we’d met, the best way I could describe her was as having a massive stick up her ass – both in attitude and presentation. Now, she moved with an easy gait. Maybe it was the new attire, but she almost seemed to float toward us.

“At ease!” James said, striding past me. The guards, who looked like they were just waiting for Alex’s signal to start blowing more holes in things, lowered their weapons and stood at attention.

I risked a glance over and saw that while a small handful of Jahabich remained, they appeared to have given up. They stood still as, well, statues, while Alex’s men surrounded them.

Seeing that the chances of eating a stray bullet were significantly lower now, I started toward my other friends. Dave was awake, albeit looking spooked out of his fucking mind. Go figure. Ed was still down, but appeared to be stirring.

Halfway to them, I stopped and turned back – seeing Sally still standing there, glaring in Firebird’s direction. She noticed me and I waved her over. For a moment, I thought she might turn away, but then she shrugged and started in my direction.