“You in or what?” Rino said.
Ray’s eyes swept across the sidewalk cafe as they had done repeatedly throughout the angry woman’s pitch.
And what a strange pitch it was.
Help for his home town in exchange for taking part in some kind of fight later at the Freedom Championship’s closing banquet.
Naturally, he was skeptical.
Only a naive, trusting fool would’ve agreed.
The most cursory assessment of the deal came to the conclusion that it was a bad one.
It had to be some kind of trick.
Not from the slavers.
They had been transparent in their attempts to get him to swear allegiance to the king. Wealth, powers, slaves and even a noble title.
They had also offered the same thing as the angry woman.
The only thing that could sway him.
Help for his town in the form of enough fighters to clear the surrounding area of the evil creatures that constantly plagued them.
Of course that was contingent on the town becoming part of the New American Republic.
The angry woman and the slavers weren’t the only ones promising salvation at a price.
People claiming to be the actual American government had done the same.
Though the blindfold-wearing woman hadn’t framed it as an offer.
He sat heavily in his chair.
The weight of being alone and far from home pressed.
He eyed one of the slaver’s minders scowling at him from a table on the opposite side of the cafe.
Was the minder pissed because the angry woman, Rino, had just openly pitched what was basically an attack on the slavers or was it because the minder wasn’t getting anything despite whatever Skills or spells they had to spy.
“Um…” he cleared his throat.
“They can’t listen in. I already told you that! Yes or no!” Rino snapped.
“I don’t want to get in trouble.”
“You’re already fucked. You were fucked the moment you step foot in this place. They’ve got their claws in you. Your town’s already in their jaws. It just hasn’t snapped shut yet.”
“I might be screwed, but my home’s hundreds of miles away.”
“So? If the slavers aren’t stopped they’ll just keep getting stronger. How much longer until they reach you?”
His eyes scanned the area around the cafe.
People walked without armor and he saw that the most anyone carried for protection were handguns and knives. A good portion of them weren’t even armed.
The cool breeze and pleasant sunshine almost made him forget that there were monsters out there.
The sight of a collar around a young woman burdened with shopping bags jarred him back to reality.
“That’s what your people will get if they don’t join the slavers ‘willingly’,” Rino snorted. “But then if you do that you’ll make an enemy of me and mine.”
“That’s a threat,” he scowled and casually let his right hand drop toward the handle of his axe.
Rino rolled her eyes. “No. Statement of fact. Slavers can’t be allowed to exist. And relax,” she regarded his axe, “why would I attack you here? Besides, I already kicked your ass in the arena.”
He kept his hand on the butt of the axe handle. “You’re only one… concern… I have right now.”
“Dude, I keep repeating myself. All the people the slavers got watching us aren’t picking up shit. They’re all panicking and pissing themselves.”
“Well, I guess I don’t have a choice, since I can’t do anything about it,” he sighed. “Your offer sucks. Promise to fight the slavers here in the heart of their city and in exchange your ‘people’ will help my town. I’m guessing I’m not the only one you’re trying to recruit.”
Rino shrugged.
“You see why this is a problem for me, don’t you?”
Another shrug.
“For all I know it’s going to be me… you, I guess… and, like, five other guys against thousands. I’m not stupid.”
“Just go to the meeting.”
“Right, at a location I’ll receive at a later date,” he nodded. “Sounds like bullshit. You know, back home sometimes you’ll hear a voice shouting for help just behind the tree line. Picture it, you’re standing on the wall, the mists keep rolling in and out, like a wave on the beach. Then you hear your mom calling for help. Intellectually, you know it isn’t her. You just saw her safe at home a few hours ago. Except, the voice sounds just like her. You go before you know what you’re doing. Instinct kicking in. You sprint across the open ground. Hit the tree line ready with your weapons, spells, Skills… everything you have to save your mom. Then you find that she isn’t there. It’s one of the shapeshifters or spirits. Happens at least once a month, sometimes more. All we’ll find are blood and a few bits of hair, maybe bone. The worst is when we find nothing at all because when that happens there’ll be a new voice to hear.”
“Sounds like you’ve got some spawn zone maintenance to do.”
“We try to do that to the closest ones, but we’re surrounded by miles and miles of forests. We know that there are more out there, but we just don’t have the numbers to go searching for them, let alone put together an expedition. We need to protect our town.”
“Sounds like you could use our help.”
“Again, you promise to help, but I don’t know you or your people. I have no reason to trust anything coming out of your mouth.”
“Look, dude, I get it. You’re in a bad spot. Been there. Just take the meeting. Hear him out. I’m probably not supposed to say this, but he’ll help your town even if you don’t agree to help us fight the slavers. Naturally, that’ll require us actually winning and not getting killed or enslaved. Which, should sort of push you into doing everything you can here to help make that happen.”
“You see why that’s a huge risk for me,” he eyed the minder. “They’re watching and listening. You too.”
Rino snorted. “Yeah, so, they aren’t getting any of the important stuff and they aren’t even realizing it. Even if they’re pissing themselves right now, after I leave, it’ll be like nothing happened. It won’t occur to them that anything was suspicious. They’ll file it away as you and I coincidentally running into each other at this cafe and having lunch together. One competitor to another. The better fighter graciously giving tips to her defeated opponent.”
“I didn’t go all out.”
“Like I did?” Rino raised a brow.
“Did the silver even affect you?”
“Did you think it should’ve?”
He shrugged. “I thought it had a chance. You sort of remind of those other two monsters. Rou and Gator. I’m pretty sure I know what they are. You and the blond in your corner feel similar, but…”
“They’re definitely on the king’s payroll. They run in a pack of three. The alpha is a worst monster. Goes by Garou. You’ll know him when you see him.”
“Let me guess, if I hypothetically agree to help, I’ll be put up against them?”
The thought was concerning since he wasn’t entirely sure his silver would work against them. It hadn’t against Rino.
Even with the silver he knew that he wasn’t up to even one of them judging by the fights he had watched.
“Look, I can’t beat one, let alone three.”
“It won’t be a straight, square up fight like in the stadium. You won’t be alone. You just need to help enough.”
He mulled his options.
Something told him leaving on his own wasn’t going to be easy.
He had only made it to Miami because the slavers had provided an escort.
Logic dictated that they’d need to escort him back, which had been promised.
What would happen once he was returned to his town by a large group of soldiers?
It seemed obvious.
Perhaps, they’d generously offer to stay and help fight the monsters.
And once there, they’d never leave.
“I’ll hear you out,” he said. “Seems that I don’t really have a choice. Either I throw in with you guys or the slavers.”
“You’ll be contacted soon with a location.”
Rino stood and strode out of the cafe.
He glanced at his minder.
The man’s scowl instantly vanished, like it had never been there in the first place.
----------------------------------------
The Slaver King surveyed the bloody scene.
Multiple dead bodies sprawled in the hallway leading into the master bedroom where more bodies lay with one strung up with ropes attached to the ceiling.
“They took the time and effort to punch holes,” he murmured.
“We think the perp killed Lord Stuart’s money man first. Set him up like that. Then when your investigator and Captain Stephens came to investigate, bang, ambush. Damn shame. Captain Stephens was one of my— er— your best guardians. Don’t know how I’m going to break this to his wife and kids,” Guardian Chief Lee said.
“Your report said that Captain Jackson’s log stated that he was accompanying Investigator Benoit to this house on New Year’s Eve.”
“Yeah, your majesty.”
“It’s five days later. Why didn’t you find this until now?” he loomed.
The chief swallowed. “Er… Stephens was supposed to be on vacation. Wasn’t due back on duty until a couple of days from now. I’m thinking since he was handling the murders at the Stuart boy’s place that investigator called him in to check this place out. None of us thought anything was up. I would’ve definitely been on it as soon as he didn’t show up when he was supposed to.”
“Then why didn’t his wife report anything.”
“That, I don’t know, your majesty. I’ll definitely ask her when I bring her the bad news.”
“Bring her into the station. I’d like to be present when you interrogate her.”
“Of course, your majesty.”
“Tell me, Chief Lee, using your gut instincts from decades as a police officer before I made you a guardian, why did it take this long?”
“Magic or Skills,” he replied without hesitation. “That's the only thing that can explain why none of the neighbors reported anything until this morning. I’m sure you noticed, but the smell’s terrible. They should’ve realized something was wrong at least a couple of days ago.”
“Very good, chief, now, clear out and take all the neighbors in for questioning.”
The chief was an intelligent man in as much that he knew the value of keeping his questions to himself while obeying commands.
King was alone inside the home in short order.
Just him and the bloated, decaying bodies releasing slowly feeding the foul miasma in the air.
He regarded the dead man hanging from the ceiling.
“Why tie a string around the dick?” he scowled.
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Murder had been nearly unheard of in his city at least with higher status individuals as the victims.
Now? Multiple high level employees of several lords and ladies. A son of one of the more powerful lords. And this, that lord’s head accountant.
What was the game?
Was it just a serial killer? Or killers?
Over twenty dead bodies in the house suggest the latter.
He made sure that his guardians had decently leveled slave officers.
He glanced at one leaning against the hallway wall.
The metal collar bit into the woman’s swollen neck. Congealed blood and pus spread where the skin had split.
The killers had to have high levels.
It was the only explanation for their ability to avoid detection for so long.
He focused on the dead accountant’s bloated face, ignoring the blue, swollen tongue hanging out of a slack mouth.
“King’s Command: Tell me who killed you.”
Nothing.
He felt nothing for the Skill to latch on to.
Was it because of the length of time from the murders?
Was it the killers’ abilities?
“King’s Due: I take it all.”
Again, there was nothing.
The dead bodies were just empty husks.
He hadn’t expected anything different. That Skill required immediacy.
“I’m going to find you fucking bastards! No one gets one up on me. Not in my nation!” he snapped.
Later in a guardian station, he stood behind mirrored glass watching and listening to Chief Lee questioning Captain Stephen’s widow.
“Damn, what a milf,” Eric said. “She’s gonna need a sympathetic shoulder to lean on and a good, strong man to take care of her and her kids now that the poor captain is eating dirt.”
“Eric, shut up.”
“Just saying…”
“My guardians have generous pensions. Captain Stephen died in the line of duty carrying out my will. His family will be taken care of properly. And one day when his children are old enough they will continue on where their father left off.”
“Jeez, alright, I wasn’t going to do anything,” he muttered.
“Pay attention.”
“Okay, I know this is hard, Taylor, but I’m going to have to run through it again,” Chief Lee said.
The woman’s tear-streaked face was shadowed by her blond hair as her head hung a lost gaze on the cold, metal table in front of her. Her shoulders shook slightly from an escaping murmur of a sob as it had done throughout the entire interrogation.
Not that the chief was treating it like an actual interrogation.
“So, the last time you saw Jackson was on New Year’s Eve night,” Chief Lee prompted.
“Yeah. We were about to go watch the fireworks at the park in our neighborhood when he got a call. He said that it was just something he had to take care of really quick and that he’d try to be back as soon as possible. So, I took our kids to the show.”
“And when Jackson didn’t return…” the chief sighed, “see, I don’t understand why you didn’t call us.”
“I… I… I don’t know. I just thought that he was going to be back any minute. It didn’t feel weird. None of us thought anything of it. I can’t explain it. It was only this morning when— when—”
“It’s okay, Taylor, deep breaths. Like I said, we’re going to get to the bottom of this and anything you can give us will help.”
“I don’t know what else to say. It doesn’t even seem real. Like, the last four days was dream and now I’m waking up, but into a nightmare. I don’t know if this is even real,” she screwed her eyes shut. “This is the nightmare. I just have to wake up and my husband will be fine,” she grabbed her arms tight to her body, nails digging deep as she rocked back and forth. “He’ll be fine… he’ll be fine…”
Chief Lee choked, hesitated before rising and circling the table to lay a hand on her shoulder. “Okay, okay, I think you’ve had enough. Thanks for doing this. We’ll catch his killers and make them pay. Just wait a little and I’ll have someone take you to your kids and then home.”
“My kids? That’s right. Mine and Jackson. What will I tell them?”
“That their daddy was a brave man and that we’ll get the guys that did this.”
King watched the woman sob quietly while the chief exited the interrogation room. “Damn it. She’s telling the truth.”
“You sure? Seems fishy as a corner skank’s pussy that she goes half a week without wondering why her husband hasn’t come back. Doubly so when you figure that she didn’t check in with the station. That doesn’t sound like normal behavior. My theory is that she’s in on it.”
“Oh? Why don’t you tell me the rest of your theory?”
“The killers paid her off to stay quiet,” Eric shrugged.
“Do continue.”
“Stephens went into that house on New Year’s Eve, but he didn’t die at that time. They kept him alive for as long as they needed to torture information out of him. Since he was supposed to be on vacation no one else would’ve thought to ask where the fuck he was… except for his wife.”
“And so his wife, who secretly wanted him dead, kept quiet for money, which she didn’t need.”
“Could’ve been other reasons.”
“Like?”
“Maybe Stephens smacked her around when he drank too much.”
“Do you see any evidence of that on her face?”
“Body shots or healing, I don’t know. I figure it’s about forty percent that he beats, well used to beat her. You know how it is, forty percent of cops beat their wives.”
“An old statistic for a dead world. We don’t have cops. We have guardians. And for those with the inclination… well, that’s what the house servants are for. Why do you think I made it so that every guardian is guaranteed one as a job perk?” King snorted. “Your stupid theory doesn’t account for the kids or their essential worker. None of them noticed anything wrong, just like Mrs. Stephens there,” he gestured at the broken woman being gently led out of the room by a woman guardian.
“Hey, you asked and I never said I was good at this detective shit. You have actual detectives and investigators for that,” Eric said.
“Investigator Benoit was the only one that found an actual lead, which turned out to be a trap and now he’s dead and we’re back to zero.”
“Let’s just set our own trap and be done with it. I’ve got a bigger issue. Your champion.”
“Malcolm?”
“Yeah, dumb nigger lost to a little girl. Cost me big. I have to give my Lambo to that dick-sucker, Johns.”
King frowned.
“What?”
“Careful with your mouth. Malcolm could carve you up like that,” he snapped his fingers.
“Yeah, but you won’t let him. Besides, it’s just us two in here. Don’t have to watch my mouth.”
“Which John?”
“The queer.”
“That doesn’t narrow it down. Lord Johns has, like, a dozen kids.”
“Danny. Limp-wristed little bastard has been on my ass about it the last couple of days. It’s like I’ve got a ‘fuck my asshole’ sign hanging from my back.”
“Give him the Lambo, you can always get another one.”
“It’s the principle of the matter.”
“You lost a bet. A stupid one. Why did you take it? That girl was ranked one for a reason. Haven’t you been watching her steamroll everyone?”
“Johns gave me great odds,” Eric crossed his arms, “plus, Malcolm is your fucking champion. The best gladiator we have. Plus, he beat Gator and we know what a killer that swamp hick is. Plus, that girl looks 12 and a malnourished 12 at that. Skin and bones. Like a stick person.”
“Who stomped every person put in front of her. Give Johns your car. It’ll be a good lesson about gambling.”
“Oh yeah? What lesson am I supposed to learn?”
“That you shouldn’t gamble if you suck at it.”
“Fuck you,” Eric said flatly.
King laughed.
“Fuck yourself, you dumbass. Enjoy the thought of Danny Johns giving and getting head in your car up and down Ocean Drive.”
Eric threw him a one-fingered salute. “That’s it, bro. I’m out of here. You can watch the rest of the interrogations yourself.”
“Danny better have your car when I check later,” he chuckled as his longtime friend slammed the door.
“Er…” Chief Lee cautiously peeked around the door a moment later.
“Nothing for you, chief. So, I’m inclined to believe Stephens’ widow. Make sure she and her kids are fully supported. Station some extra protection around their home and have them followed whenever they go out and about.”
“Will you be watching the next interrogation?”
“One of the neighbors?”
“Yes, your majesty.”
“What have you learned from the others?”
“The same story. They didn’t see, hear or smell anything strange until this morning when they immediately notified us. As you know.”
The king nodded.
“Very well. Release the ones you’ve already questioned. Finish up with the remainder, but don’t push them too hard. It’s looking like we’re dealing with a spell or Skill. A very strong one. Maybe something like mass confusion or memory alteration. Keep eyes on all of them just in case.”
----------------------------------------
“It was the same as the rest. Enslaved people in comas being fed into one of those magitech devices,” Bennett said as soon as he stepped out of the deep shadow in the corner of Lord Don Wynn’s office.
Cal regarded the scarecrow-like vampire looming in the dancing lights from the crackling fireplace.
“Plastic surgeon’s office…” he consulted his notes, “number 7?”
“Yup… plenty of those around in this city. Already having medical equipment makes them desirable locations. The king’s going with two competing tactics. Keep your lots of valuable resources in one place so you can guard them easier and keep them in small numbers spread out in multiple locations so that the loss of one or a few isn’t a deadly blow. What does strike me was strange is a relative lack of protection.”
“Skeleton crews to keep watch over the enslaved and only a few guards,” he nodded. “Although, most of these spots are close to guardian stations or disguised soldier barracks.”
“This last location was close to one of the latter. An office building in the same complex. About a hundred slave soldiers and a handful of slave masters. You know, I don’t like that these classes exist.”
“The spires don’t have morality and ethics. They exist to further conflict.”
“Interesting you say that. It’s like you always know what’s on my mind.”
“Oh?”
“I’ve never had cause to question yours. Morality and ethics…”
“I’ve crossed some of my lines,” he admitted.
“Then you knew she’d do that?”
“Holly’s a slasher. She fulfills her class.”
“It can be managed with enough effort and desire.”
“As you do, I know and I think highly of you for that.”
“Then she can do the same.”
“You met her. Does she strike as someone with your restraint?”
“She needs someone else to provide that. And we both know that you are more than capable. I get that you need her to kill certain people to keep the slavers off-balance, to get the so-called lords to take blades to each other, to keep the king’s eyes off of us. But she went too far this time. I saw what she did.”
“You’ve been following her?”
“Sometimes and with difficulty.”
“You thought to stop her in case she went after innocents.”
“Isn’t that what slashers do?”
“I don’t have a problem with that. Just don’t get yourself killed or discovered.”
“Most of those people didn’t need or deserve to die. The enslaved certainly didn’t.”
“Guard Captain Jackson Stephens was a decent man by most accounts. He had a slave master class, but he obtained it out of a desire to secure a safe place for his family not out of a desire to own another human being.”
“The investigator?”
“Benoit? A lesser man. Mildly racist. Slavery to him was just a fact. Something that made life in this place as good as it was.”
“And the accountant?”
“Hmm… you couldn’t tell?”
“I have suspicions, but why not just ask you.”
“That man was filth. A pedophile. He took children between the ages of 7 and 10. No younger. No older. He used them until there was nothing left to use.”
“I thought so. I smelled young blood in a home without evidence of children.”
“A combination of our efforts and the freedom championships deprived him of the opportunity to purchase his next victim. Listen, Bennett… I don’t like some of what I’m doing here, but I’m not going to rationalize or justify them.”
“Just don’t lose sight of what’s right and wrong. We both know the only thing that keeping you from crossing lines is you and by your own words you’ve already done so. It only ever gets easier from there. Slippery slopes and all that.”
“I appreciate your concern.”
“That’s out of the way,” Bennett took a deep breath. “We’ve marked all the places the king’s keeping his batteries,” his face twisted, “in. They’re sparsely guarded considering their importance. It speaks of a man’s arrogance in the security of their position. Are we close?”
“There are more than expected, I don’t have enough of the magic items from our wizard friend. I’ve contacted her and she’ll have more ready soon. I’m going to have the rangers fly up there to get them.”
“Can’t you do that yourself?”
“Too far. I’m not a hundred percent sure that I can maintain my efforts obscuring all of our activities from prying eyes. Anyways, once we have what we need to cut off the king from his power supply without killing the people. we can get ready. I’m still targeting the closing banquet at the castle. The chaos of the event will allow me to destroy the central control unit and then pivot to putting down the king before he can set off all his doomsday contingencies… hopefully.”
“It’s a big hope. It’ll be a bloodbath for us and them if you can’t.”
“Well, the more everyone else can keep him occupied while I work the better. To that end, how have your chats with your fellow denizens of the night gone?”
Bennett let out a breath. “It’s like being in one of those insufferable vampire movies. Remember those? It’s all about the ennui of immortality. The vitae and so on and so forth.”
“Like larping, but real.”
“Except they hunt humans for sport. Literally.”
“I know. Lucky for them they don’t kill anyone. Not like those werewolves.”
“I’m not so sure. I feel like they only do that because they choose to. They see humans as beneath them. They could easily change their minds one day and choose to kill.”
“It’s the class and like you said. It’s a choice. You can only control yours.”
“Yeah, but it was disappointing. They’re the first people I’ve met with the same class.”
“Ginessa?”
“Similar, same tree, but different branch. She’d be like a distant, distant cousin. These guys would be like first cousins or even siblings,” Bennett shrugged. “It’s been hard not having anyone that could truly understand what it was like to be a vampire. Very lonely. And now that I’ve met them… somehow feel even more alone.”
“You have to think in a longer time scale. You’ve stopped aging. Possibly forever. Vampire is a class. We’d always figured more would pop up eventually. You found three. Sure, they aren’t like you, but maybe the next one will share more of your outlook on the night life.”
“I don’t even know if you’re trying to make a joke. Ever since you got that kid,” Bennett shook his head.
“I wasn’t…”
“Sure. So, how are the other guys doing? Hanna?”
He spent the next few hours filling Bennett in before the vampire was forced to retreat to his hotel room before the dawn arrived.