The Tome of Bill Compendium Vol. 1 (Books 1-4) (108 page)

I’m pretty sure that alone would have put the kibosh on our make-out session, but then I had to up the ante on our little game of super-power poker.

Her unexpected surge of power activated the beast within me, and I’m not just talking about being a horny, single guy either. Whatever makes me a Freewill also comes with some nasty perks. Under extreme stress, pain, or anger I change. Into what, I’m not sure, but I become much stronger and a hell of a lot meaner. I’m kinda like the Hulk if he had a craving for blood clots.

Maybe Sheila’s power would have protected her, maybe not. All I knew was that I couldn’t risk hurting her. Before it could completely take over, I took off. In a lot of ways, I haven’t stopped running.

* * *

Since encountering Sheila and her newfound power, I’d been doing my damnedest to avoid anything supernatural - vampires, Icons, wizards, you name it. Believe me, I felt like shit about it. Not so much for the vampires or wizards, - most of them can go fuck themselves sideways with a rusty cheese grater - but for her. I can only imagine what she was going through, discovering she’s not quite human anymore. Unlike me, however, there wasn’t anyone to teach her the ropes or offer her a helping hand. Sally may be a bitch, but she was my lifeline in those early days. Not so for Sheila, though. If anything, she would have a price on her head should anyone else learn of her
birth
.

It figured. I’m one of the few who would willingly reach out to help her make the transition and, as luck would have it, I’m fated to be her arch enemy - according to vampire lore anyway. She’s either destined to destroy me or I’m going to wind up killing her. Stupid fucking vampire prophets! What a bunch of assholes.

Of course, that’s only half the issue. The other reason I haven’t reached out to her is simple...I’m a goddamned pussy when it comes to women.

Especially her.

The cold hard reality of my body slamming down onto the asphalt brought me back. I bounced once, twice, vaguely aware of the green sparks flying off of me as I slid into the middle of the street. For anyone watching from the sidelines, I’m sure it looked pretty goddamned awesome.

I finally skidded to a halt, hoping my vampiric healing kicked in before my nerve endings started working again. The buildings towered over me for what felt like weeks. Finally, the screech of tires and the familiar cursing that is second nature to city dwellers rung out around me. They could call me a cocksucking dick nozzle all they wanted, but at least they didn’t run me over.

I blinked a few times and the faces staring down at me came into focus.

“Is he hurt?”

“Dude’s completely shit-faced.”

“Goddamn homeless assholes!”

“Get out of the street and get a job you fucking faggot.”

Gotta love the sympathy of New Yorkers. You’d think they might be a little more concerned for my well-being considering I was just blown to fucking smithereens. At the very least I hoped a few might dial 911 because of the building engulfed in green flame just a few yards away. As weird as New York can be, that sure as shit isn’t an everyday occurrence.

I shook my head and sat up, glad to find my limbs were all still attached. “Are you assholes all blind? Don’t you see the burning...”

The words died in my mouth as I looked up. The building that housed the loft stood completely untouched. The lights in the bar were still out, but otherwise it looked completely normal. What the hell?

“Yep, fucker’s totally high.”

“I want some of the shit he’s smoking.”

Maybe the people around me were right. Wouldn’t be the first time I had woken up and completely blanked as to how I had gotten that way.

I staggered to my feet and the small crowd, seeing that the show was over, started to disperse, eager to get on with whatever they had been doing before I had so rudely come crashing down...

Except I
had
come crashing down. My clothes were in tatters. Hell, they were still smoldering. Yet my eyes, ears, and all the rest of my enhanced senses were telling me that everything was just fine. Maybe somehow Sally had...Sally!

I walked back to the sidewalk and looked up and down the street, but it was the same as on any other night in the city. Sure, there were plenty of weirdos about, but not a vampire in sight.

I turned back toward the loft. Maybe someone in there would have a clue about this fucked up hallucination I seemed to be having.

Oh who was I kidding? Outside of Sally, most of the coven was lucky if they remembered what day of the week it was.

Like it or not, without her around, I was on my own. Oh well, I wasn’t getting any answers just standing there looking like a doofus. I took another step toward the loft and in the space of a proverbial heartbeat found myself standing in the middle of Hell.

* * *

I stumbled over a pile of debris and felt a blast of intense heat buffet my face. My skin blistered from the intensity of it, and no wonder why. The gutted remains of our building stood before me, still burning with that unearthly green fire. I gawked for a moment before the magnitude of it all struck me. Instinctively, I reached into my pocket for my cell phone, but it wasn’t there. Fuck! I must’ve dropped it when...well whatever the hell had happened. Damn. I doubted my carrier would be all too forgiving about that, albeit that was probably the least of my worries.

I turned back toward the street. “Hey! Someone call for help!”

My cry went unanswered, as people continued to walk by, not even glancing in my direction or at the unearthly towering inferno behind me. New Yorkers are supposed to be jaded, but seriously? Goddamn, these people were cold hearted bastards.

I was stuck somewhere between utter terror and outright confusion when a groan came from behind me, triggering my sensitive vampire ears.

It was coming from where the entrance had once been. It wasn’t hard to figure out the source, as a moment later I heard the scrape of rubble as something pushed up from beneath the fallen masonry.
Sally!

I rushed over and began digging. A moment later, a hand appeared from the debris. I grabbed hold of it and pulled, hoping it wasn’t a human. If so, I’d be lucky to not rip their arm right off. Even relatively young vampires possess strength that would make most NFL linebackers jealous. Despite the fact that most elder vamps are complete assholes, I wished one of them was there now, so I might borrow their power. That’s one of my Freewill abilities. If I put the bite down on another vampire, not only do I remain upchuck free, unlike most vamps, but I also temporarily add their power to my own. It can be quite a charge, especially if the bitten vampire is considerably older than me.

“Pull harder, asshole.”

Gotta love Sally. Do her a solid and she’s eternally grateful...sorta.

With one last heave, the rubble gave way and she came free. She stood up, coughing, singed, and covered in dust. Her dress was in tatters, giving me a moment’s pause while I noted the color of her undergarments (pink, in case you’re interested). She otherwise appeared to be okay for someone who just had a chunk of building collapse on top of her.

I took one last look at Sally, committing the image to memory for later
introspection,
and then dragged her back toward the street.

“Are you okay?”

“No,” she snapped. “This dress cost me seven hundred bucks.” Nice to see she had her priorities straight.

I ignored her comment. “Wait here and call 911. I’m going back to see if anyone else made it.”

Before I could even grasp where my newfound sense of bravado came from, I stopped dead in my tracks. The building that stood before me was whole and untouched again.

What the fuck?

“Please tell me you’re seeing this and I haven’t gone completely batshit insane.”

“I can’t vouch for that, but if you are, I’m apparently coming along for the ride.”

“It’s fine...again.”

“Again?”

“I’ll explain later. I want to try something. Tell me what you see.”

“I see you standing there wearing a dorky...”

“Not yet! Give me til the count of five.”

Readying myself, I walked back toward the loft. One step...no change. Two steps...nada. Three steps...whoa - back on the set of a disaster flick. Smoke choked my lungs and made my eyes water. The green flames had died down, but the place was still hotter than Hell.

“What do you see, Sally?”

She stood where I had left her, looking both confused and annoyed.

“Sally?”

A passerby noticed her ruined clothes and mouthed something too low for me to overhear. Her eyes flashed black and she turned toward him. Oh crap.

“Sally, stop!” I shouted, but she ignored me.

I stepped back toward her. “Down girl!” My voice echoed out louder as the heat disappeared and my lungs cleared. Goddamn it was weird.

That
she heard. She turned to face me again, forgetting whatever she had planned for the dude who snarked her.

“Glad to see you’re paying attention to me again.”

“What the fuck are you talking about?”

“I asked you to tell me what you saw.”

“No you didn’t,” she replied. “You just walked up to the building and stood there while some asshole with a death wish...”

“Wait,” I said as her words sunk in. “Just watch and tell me if you see anything strange.”

I stepped backwards until the blistering heat surrounded me. I grabbed my crotch and pumped it twice at her - all while giving her the finger. She just stood there nonplussed as she watched. That was definitely not normal, but it confirmed...well, I’m not sure what it confirmed other than something really weird was going on.

Sally’s brow furrowed and her mouth moved, but there were no sounds save the destruction behind me. I stepped forward again - passing once more through the unseen line in the sand - and at once the sounds of the city were plainly audible again, including her voice.

“...and now they’re trashed again.”

“Huh?”

“Your clothes...they were fine a moment ago and now they’re trashed again.”

“That’s all you saw?”

“Isn’t that enough?”

“No. We need to know which one is real.”

“Which what?”

“Reality,” I probably sounded like an extra from
Doctor Who
. “This?” I grabbed Sally by the hand and dragged her to the point where the smoke again stung my eyes. “Or this?”

“I see what you mean.” She raised her head and sniffed the air.

“Maybe we’re in another dimension,” I pondered aloud. “Or maybe this is some twisted future we’ve been thrust into.”

“I don’t think so.”

“Why? Obviously something...”

“It’s an illusion,” she stated flatly.

A sinking feeling hit my gut. I remembered the gnome illusionist, Festus the Astounding, I had once played at my weekly Dungeons and Dragons game.

“Magic?”

She nodded. “I can smell it...a little trick I picked up from your girlfriend.”

“
Sheila
?”

She rolled her eyes. “No, the
other
one.”

It took me a moment, but then I realized she was talking about Gan. I groaned. When the little psycho was last in the city, her senses had proven acute enough to sniff out the machinations of Harry Decker and Christy. Sure, she had at least two-hundred and fifty years of experience on either of us, but that didn’t mean Sally wasn’t a fast learner.

“So is this really happening?”

“Yep. It’s real.” She put hands on her hips and surveyed the damage, her tone surprisingly calm. “The loft is gone. It’s just that the rest of the world can’t see, smell, or hear it.”

“But...”

“Isn’t it obvious? They weren’t looking to burn down the whole city.”

“Let me guess...just me.”

“If I were a betting woman...”

“Which you are.”

“Exactly. And instead of getting you, they got the rest of the coven. Guess I should thank you for making us late.”

Oh shit! The whole thing had been such a mind-fuck that I had forgotten the coven was inside when the building blew.

“We have to...”

“No we don’t,” she said coldly, turning to face me.

“But...”

“But
nothing
. If there are any survivors, they’ll have to fend for themselves. Going in there would be both suicidal and stupid. I’m neither.”

Damn, she was a reptilian bitch. “Well then I’m...”

“No you’re not,” she stepped in front of me. “You’re getting the fuck out of here with me before they decide to nuke this place again just to be safe.”

“We don’t even...” but I stopped protesting. I may not always be quick on the uptake, but my gaming days had taught me a thing or two about magic (sorta). Whatever was creating this barrier, keeping the destruction penned in, probably wasn’t very far away. We could be surrounded by witches. If Decker was controlling them - and as leader of the only group of mages I was aware of, that was a fair bet - they’d probably be more than happy to finish the job once they realized I wasn’t a smoking pile of dirt.

Goddamn it! I felt my frustration boil over and I kicked at a mound of rubble, sending debris flying. Sally waited silently, letting me get it out of my system.

At last I calmed down, realizing that I wasn’t the only one affected by this. “Do you think anyone made it?”

“I guess we’ll find out. Now move it. I don’t want to get blasted just by virtue of my association with you.”

“Yeah, because you’re
so
beloved otherwise,” I shot back without any real venom. “So what’s the plan?”

“We get underground
fast
.”

“The emergency entrance?”

She nodded and took off running toward the alleyway, where a conveniently placed dumpster marked the manhole that would lead us downward.

I thought Sally would lead us back to her new safe house (being that it was supposedly safe and all), but I was wrong. Instead, her plan was to stay below ground until daybreak and then head to the office, the hub of our coven business activities, which also conveniently possessed a sewer-based entrance.