2006, 6th February

Los Angeles, USA

Magnus was a man who easily stood out even in the most dense areas through sheer size alone, and now, standing alongside Astrid, every gaze in their surroundings was drawn to them as the two of them walked along the beach at the crescent bay park where they had chosen to meet.

Astrid was a woman of striking physicality, easily over seven feet tall, and her broad, muscular form was marked with burn scars, a testament of her will to survive, the marks having been left when she and her unit had been lured into a trap, and trapped within molten silver, one of the few means of attack that could leave permanent marks on a shifter’s skin.

“I must admit, Magnus, I was surprised to learn that you, of all people, were working for Apotheosis. And now, to approach me on their behalf-”

“Perhaps it’s a more selfish reason than that.”

“Perhaps. Your timing couldn’t be better though. It’s like we’ve got a sudden flood of new work on our hands.”

Magnus remained silent, allowing Astrid to continue.

“You’ve come in at an interesting time. I suppose it has something to do with why Apotheosis is suddenly taking an interest in LA. There’s been a mass migration of the leeches from other states. And they bring word of strange stories with them. It almost feels like something forced them to flee. And our services are in higher demand than ever.”

“It’s a good thing I came over to offer a hand, then.”

“Is that all you came here to do? Surely, our overlords at Apotheosis have big plans in motion.”

“Need to know. You know how it is.”

“I do indeed.”

Astrid stopped walking, and fixed Magnus with a studying gaze.

“I heard about your unit in Iraq, you know. Wiped out to the last.”

“Anders escaped.”

“And so did you.”

“Is that disapproval I sense in your voice?”

Astrid hesitated for a second or two before she answered.

“I get that you lose people sometimes. That comes as part of the lives we lead. But leaving your people behind on the battlefield… That doesn’t really-”

“What if this didn’t have to be the way we live our lives?”

“What?”

“Have you ever tried? Doing something else?”

“What? Put up my feet, take up knitting, or cooking?”

Agitatedly, Astrid placed a hand on Magnus’ chest.

“I need this. Everyday I pretend to be just another one of these people is suffocating. I feel my blood boil with every hour of idleness. Even after everything I’ve lost. I’ve spent my life fighting, and I’ll die fighting. Tell me you don’t feel it too.”

Magnus calmly wrapped his fingers around the burnt flesh of her wrist.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

“I don’t.”

Astrid huffed and pulled back, then resumed walking along the shoreline.

“Then what exactly are you doing here?”

“I’m here to help someone that’s important to me. If that ends up taking care of your problem too, then all the better. But I’m not looking to reenlist, so you can forget about that.”

“Ha! Your name’s been compromised, Magnus. Here and beyond. I don’t think people are lining up to offer you reenlistment. But fine. I’ll be in touch.”

“As will I.”

As they parted ways, Magnus hurried back to the local accommodations Michael had arranged for him and Lucia, all the while hoping their new allies had done nothing stupid and provoked Lucia into killing them.

Their accommodations had been keyed to his DNA print earlier, so he could find his way to the place even if it had been warded from detection.

The Red Brick building was on the lower end of the facilities Apotheosis used that he had seen so far, but it had a certain charm to it, and the interior was fascinating, stacked with all the artefacts and tools he could imagine.

And it was staffed by two Hollows, terrified enough by the vampire in their vicinity to have done something fatally stupid.

As he made his way inside, Magnus marvelled at the intricacies of the displays carved onto the walls flanking him, apparently mages of some renown who he did not recognise, as well as a lifelike sculpture of Alexander atop his steed on a raised podium at the centre of the room.

Two sections branched out from the entry chamber before it opened into the central hall, the one on his right opening into the dining area and the one on the left, to the library.

He took the right turn and found Stephanie and Jacob, expressions weary, seated at the table, dressed in their signature grey uniforms.

These weren’t there real names, just the identities they had assumed for this specific missions.

Hollows that had spent a fair amount of time working for Apotheosis had no need for names.

“Hanging in there, I see,” He addressed the two in a dry tone.

Stephanie managed a strained half-smile, but both their gazes remained trained across the hall, on the door to the library.

Magnus sighed, and made his own way to the library.

Lucia probably hadn’t really done anything to provoke this kind of reaction; in his experience, she wouldn’t need to actively try to unnerve the Hollows- her mere presence would get the job done.

He made his way up to the second floor of the library, where the seating was, and found Lucia reclining on the couch, book in hand, unbothered by the sunlight streaming in through the window thanks to a spell Michael had cast to shield her.

She was halfway through a thick leather bound textbook, eyes distant and unfocussed, not because she was not paying attention to the contents of the book in her hand, but more likely because her focus was split along multiple parallel tracks.

“How did your meeting go,” she asked him as he entered.

“Well enough. Also, we might have a confirmation that our quarry has made it to the East Coast. There’s been a flood of refugee half bloods in the nearby areas. Like they’re fleeing something.”

“Good. Then we still have time.”

“We do. They managed to escape, after all.”

After a pause, Magnus glanced at the book Lucia was poring through.

“Interesting read?”

“A history of biomodification procedures Apotheosis employs. Terribly outdated, of course. Jason down there has more up to date ones. Including modified cerebrospinal fluid. He could probably withstand 24,000 pounds of force.”

“Tell you that himself, did he?”

“No.”

Magnus shook his head.

“They’re afraid of you, you know. This assignment might go over easier if they weren’t.”

“Nothing can be done about that. Besides, fear can be useful too. But look at this; Biomodification procedures with vampiric blood have been carried out since the dawn of this organisation, with varying levels of success. But they’ve been observed as a phenomenon outside the organisation as well. The symptoms most closely match the myth of the zombie. Conscious functions replaced by instinctual functionality.”

“That means the vampires had figured out that their blood could induce such a transformation in humans. And probably how useful such a process could be.”

“Apotheosis wouldn’t need such a workforce, with their technology, but a lone ancient in an unknown land would certainly make use of every resource available.”

“So that’s our first target to hunt? We find these- zombies doesn’t seem like the right word.”

“Slaves. Pawns.”

“Pawns, then. We find them, and we find this Grandfather Winter?”

“We do.”