04 Silence (13 page)

“So, how does this device work again?” Kevin asked Steve, who passed him what looked like a perfectly ordinary touch screen phone. Kevin looked over at
Fallon
who was standing a little ways away with his arms crossed.
Fallon
had
called
him immediately to get him into town, saying he had found a way to find the vampires coming into town. And best of
all,
a way to find locate gates to Palisor.

“
Well,
first, I thought it would just be a case of looking at the environment. You know, things that signal gates, things that vampires like around them, that kind of thing.”

“But then,” Maisy said, looking at Steve with pride, “Steve realized that if we could tap into a live satel
lite
feed, we could put an infra-red filter over the images, letting us see people’s heat signatures. And obviously, vampires don’t give off as much heat as other people, so every time this spots something that looks human, but doesn’t give off heat, it highlights them.”

Kevin nodded, and looked down at the screen. Sure enough, there was a large, purplish blob where
Fallon
stood. “So can we set it to find concentrations of vampires?”

Steve nodded and adjusted a couple of things on screen. “There. Just fol
low
the directions that come up.”

Kevin thanked him, then he and
Fallon
set off together through the woods, keeping one eye on the screen while simultaneously looking out for vampires around them. It was slow going, checking and re-checking the screen as they made their way through the undergrowth, yet the device seemed to be clear that there was a large concentration of vampires ahead. When Kevin zoomed out on the map, he could even see it; a scatter of dark spots moving about like bees in a hive.

Soon, and they found themselves getting close to an area that looked familiar to Kevin. There was an open pasture ahead with flowers and a brook that Kevin was sure was the one where the gate had opened before. Kevin and
Fallon
looked at each other.

“Why would the device lead us here?”
Fallon
asked.

“I guess Steve must have got his settings wrong,” Kevin guessed. “He said before that it could find places the gate might open. He must have accidenta
lly
set it to search for them.”

Kevin started to check the device, even though he wasn’t entirely certain how it worked.
Fallon
nudged his arm and pointed.

“Kevin, look.”

Kevin fol
lowed
the line of
Fallon
’s finger and saw it. A dragon, heading straight for the clearing in which they stood. It was huge, with blue and green patches.

“Is that the one you saw before?” Kevin asked.

Fallon
nodded. “We need to get out of the clearing.”

Agreeing, Kevin ran back with him into the trees, trying to stay hidden as the great beast landed in a flurry of wings. The last thing they wanted was to be spotted. With an inrush of air its form changed, the dragon shifted into a young man whose spiky blonde hair had blue streaks running through it for an effect that was striking, almost punk.

Without pausing, the transformed dragon walked to a spot beside the brook. Mist rose from the ground, swirling up more than ten feet from the ground.

It thickened, and Kevin started to see the outline of stone within it. The dragon was summoning a gate.

Kevin could hardly believe their luck. They had gone looking for vampires, but they had stumbled upon something far better. Something that might let them get to Briony and bring her home.

Kevin looked at
Fallon
, who nodded. They tensed themselves to run for the gate.

Before they could actua
lly
do it though, figures started to emerge from the gate. They were powerfu
lly
built, wearing furs and scraps of chainmail, carrying weapons that looked hundreds of years out of date.

And they were vampires. Kevin was sure of it.

One of them stepped forward to grab hold of the dragon’s arm roughly, wrenching it behind him.

“Now, Dragon, since you have fulfil
led
your promise to open the gate and
allow
us through, I promise not to k
ill you
for now. Never let it be said that I am not fair. Where are the others?”

“They’re here,” the dragon said. It sounded like it was in pain. “In the trees.”

Almost as the dragon said it, a shadow dropped lightly from the trees, landing on its feet in the clearing. It seemed that Steve’s device had been accurate after
all,
which raised the worrying possibility that there were far more vampires around. This one had dark midnight hair and appeared to be in his late twenties. He was dressed
all
in black, in a black sweater and dark jeans that only served to heighten the contrast with his pale skin.

As he moved forward, more vampires
fell
down behind him, moving to form a half circle around the gate. Inevitably, they were
all
attractive young women and men, dressed with as little color as their leader.

“We’ve been waiting for you,” the newcomer said.

“I see that.” The vampire from the other side of the gate nodded. “Marcus
will
be pleased that you are the first group to answer his
ca
ll.
What do they c
all you
, and where have you come from?”

The vampire
all
in black looked back at his group. “I’m Sloane,” he said, “and we’re
all
from the Western part of the U.S.”

“And you know where we are from, Sloane?”

Sloane nodded. “Palisor.”

The vampire who had come through the gate nodded. “Exactly. You’re lucky. You and your group are about to have a free for
all
in a paradise for supernatural creatures. No more hiding behind human rules. No more being careful.
You
’ll
enjoy that, I think.”

Sloane smiled. So did most of the vampires he had with him. “Yes, we
wi
ll.
We’re hungry. A
small
taste at a human school simply isn’t enough. We can’t wait to sink our teeth into some of the more delectable creatures we’ve heard about…mermaids, unicorns, hugtandalfs.”

“And who can blame you?” This voice came from back in the trees, but Kevin recognized it even before Pietre stepped out into the clearing. The vampires already there turned towards him with suspicious looks that quickly became even more hostile when more vampires joined Wicked’s master.

“Now, now,” Pietre said equably. “There’s no need to get upset. I’m not here to
spoil
you
r fun. After
all,
Palisor sounds like a feast far too good to miss.”

“Who are you?” the leader of the Palisor vampires asked, drawing his sword with the hand he wasn’t using to control the dragon-shifter.

Pietre didn’t seem to be bothered by that in the least. “I am Pietre, the master vampire here in Wicked. I was just fo
llowing
this one,” he nodded at Slone, “to teach it some manners for hunting so openly in my territory, but it seems that he has done me a favor, leading me to you. You are welcome here, of course. Very welcome.”

“Good,” the leader of the Palisor vampires said, not sheathing the sword. “I wouldn’t want to have to rip your head off for not being hospitable, would I?”

“Oh, no,” Pietre said. “I’m sure none of us would want that. You are in a position to offer free access through the gate?”

“Hey!” Sloane interrupted. “I was here first.”

Pietre ignored him. “If you can get me through the gate,
I
’ll
allow
you free access to
all
of Wicked.”

The leader of the Palisor vampires nodded.

“Done. You’re the kind of vampire we are looking for. Both of you,” he added, cutting off Sloane’s protest.

“Come, there is little time.”

The vampire turned, preparing to head back through the gate. As it did so, however, the dragon shifter he held twisted in his grip, wrenching clear of it. It stepped back from the vampire, kicking out at another that tried to get close.

“No,” it said, “I can’t do it. I won’t. I won’t let so many vile things into Palisor.”

Vampires lunged for it, and the transformed dragon moved out of the way. Kevin turned to his brother. “That dragon’s our way in to help Briony. We have to help it.”

Without waiting for an answer, Kevin charged forward, transforming into a wolf and attacking the nearest of the vampires. The move was enough to
allow
the dragon-shifter to get close to one of Slone’s vampires,
killing
it with a move Kevin barely saw.

“Don’t just stand there,” the Palisor vampire
called
out to the others, “
kill
the dragon!”

“You can’t
kill
me,” the dragon shot back.

“You need me to get through the gate. Whereas I…” he ducked and snapped the neck of another vampire,

“I can
kill
as many of you as I want.”

The leader of the Palisor vampires aimed a sword blow at the dragon that it barely dodged. “We
needed
you. We needed someone to open the gate.

Now that you’ve done that, we just need a shifter to go through with. The wolf
will
do as
well
as you.”

The vampires surged forward, and Kevin cursed himself then, even as he snapped at another vampire, bringing it down to ground level so he could finish it off. If he hadn’t come out of hiding…

But it was too late to think about that.
All
he could do was keep fighting.
Fallon
was beside him, trying to help, while the dragon transformed in a blaze of green and blue, knocking vampires flying before turning its flames on them. A whole line of vampires next to Pietre ignited, screaming as they burst into flames.

“Get him!” The Palisor Vampire charged forward as he said it. Other vampires rushed at the dragon too, but a quick lash of his tail sent them sprawling.

Kevin knew it couldn’t last though. There were simply too many vampires. The dragon looked over at Kevin then, and somehow, Kevin knew what he had to do if he wanted to stop the vampires from using the gate as they wished. In a blur of movement, he transformed, knocked a vampire from its feet, and sprinted for the dragon.

It blew forth another gout of flame as Kevin leapt onto its back, forcing the vampires away from it.

Then, with a mighty burst of effort, it leapt for the gate, its wings spreading even as it ploughed through the mist at the gate’s heart. Kevin clung on as best he could while the dragon flew through, not wanting to find out what kind of damage
falling
off at this speed would do.

The dragon whirled and Kevin looked down at the gate. Vampires were coming through, hurrying to fol
low
in whatever wake he and the dragon had left.

Some looked like Pietre’s vampires, while others looked like the ones from the West coast. More started to appear, but even as they did so, the gate faded and vanished, leaving those on this side stranded.

Kevin wondered if that was the dragon’s doing.

Certainly, it seemed too sudden to be down to anything else. Vampires mil
led
about in the meadow on this side of the gate, looking lost and out of place.

Right then, though, Kevin didn’t care. Accident or not, he was in whatever world Briony had gone to.

He could fina
lly
find her.

Kevin held onto the dragon for dear life as they flew, clouds passing by beneath them, and occasiona
lly
around them. As the dragon glided on, Kevin dared to look down, seeing acres of trees give way to
valleys
and high pools. He gasped aloud as he saw the mermaids in them, and spotted other, stranger creatures in open spaces between the trees.

For someone who had spent so much time around nature, someone who had spent so much time learning about the creatures of his own world, this place was incredible. Would Briony have seen
all
this when she came through with Archer? Would she have seen the same dramatic mountains, lush emerald grass, and silvery trees?

The beauty of the landscape didn’t last, though. Almost without Kevin noticing it, a subtle shift came over the landscape that they flew above.

Jagged mountains and outcrops stood up from the surrounding fields in dark spurs, the trees grew more stunted and twisted, interspersed with rocks. Even the air seemed cold and damp, while the clouds around them grew dark with veins of lightning flashing through.

Kevin hoped the dragon shifter wouldn’t fly through one of those.

It didn’t, but it did head down into a secluded spot largely hidden from view by overhanging cliffs, landing with a jolt that nearly bounced Kevin off its back. Kevin slid down, glad to get his feet on solid ground again, and the dragon transformed back into the shape of the young man with the blue streaked hair. His clothes, Kevin noted, didn’t get as rumpled as Kevin’s did from the transformation.

The dragon-shifter looked at him, turned around, and started to walk.

“Hey!” Kevin
called
after it. “You can’t just walk off. What’s going on? Where are we?”

The dragon shifter looked round, seeming faintly annoyed. “Palisor. Now don’t talk.”

“Why not?” Kevin asked, but the dragon shifter gestured to be quiet. Taking the hint, Kevin stopped.

The dragon shifter pointed, and Kevin looked, just as a lightning flash lit the sky. It revealed a shape against the skyline that it took Kevin a moment to process. A castle, looming dark and foreboding against the angry sky.

“Don’t
tell
me, Dracula lives there.” Kevin made a joke of it, but again the dragon shifter silenced him with a look.

“Are you determined to make as much noise as possible?” the shifter demanded. “Do you
want
them to find us here?”

“Who’s them?” Kevin asked. He looked at the castle again. There rea
lly
was only one type of supernatural creature that could live in a place like that. “Vampires?”

The dragon nodded. “Yes. They are holding the Prince and princess inside, along with my brother Archer. I hope we are not too late, but we must try.”

“Try what?” Kevin asked. He didn’t know anything about princes or princesses. About the only part of it he understood was Archer. Perhaps the dragon would know something about what had happened to Briony.

“To save them, of course,” the dragon-shifter said. “If we do not, then King Waltham
will
try it himself, and he is not
well
enough. So it fal
ls
to us.”

Kevin wasn’t sure why it
fell
to him. As far as he could see, the whole situation had nothing to do with him. On the other hand, he wasn’t about to leave anyone in the hands of vampires if he could find a way to free them. “If it’s against these vampires aimed at destroying Wicked, then
I
’ll
help.”

“Good,” the dragon-shifter said. “We should have the advantage of surprise. The master vampire, Marcus,
still
thinks he can see me in the alchemist Malwinn’s
ball
,
which shows that I am
still
in Wicked.

But he does not know that I have tricked the
ball
’s seeing eye. It
will
continue to show me there, even while we sneak up on those who hold the royal family.

They
will
not see us coming.”

He started forward towards the castle, and Kevin stopped him.

“Wait.”

“What is it now?”

“We’re about to assault a castle, and I don’t even know your name.”

The dragon-shifter shrugged. “Is that
all?

People who spend so much time in human form are strange. I am
called
Fletcher. Now, can we go?”

Fletcher didn’t wait for an answer, but set off towards the castle. Kevin fol
lowed.
The dragon-shifter led him to a
small
side gate, the lock of which didn’t last long under the dragon’s hands. Sticking to the shadows, they made their way into the main rooms of the castle, keeping a careful eye out for vampires.

Twice, Fletcher had the two of them stop, staying out of sight while footsteps passed nearby.

Kevin had other things to think about beside the closeness of vampires though. There was a scent in the air, part sweet honeysuckle, part warm
vanilla
, that Kevin recognized. That he would know anywhere.

“Briony. Briony’s here.”

Fletcher rol
led
his eyes. “What did I say? The Princess is here. Now hurry up.”

Princess
? No, there wasn’t time for that. Kevin had to find her. Had to find Briony. He practica
lly
raced through the castle, the dragon-shifter in tow, fo
llowing
that oh so familiar scent every step of the way.

It led them to a large room furnished opulently.

The kind of place that might have held guests, not prisoners. Kevin had little time to think about that though, because Briony was there. She was dressed in the most elaborate outfit Kevin had ever seen her in, looking every inch the Princess Fletcher said she was.

Well,
except for the bit where she was holding a stake and facing up to a white-haired vampire while being flanked by Archer and a burly young man dressed in armor and wielding a large sword.

There were other vampires there too, and almost as Kevin arrived, they attacked Briony and the others. They were fast. Very fast. So fast that Briony looked utterly out of her depth as the two young men beside her struggled to fight them off while simultaneously keeping Briony safe. The white-haired vampire in particular seemed to be focused solely on her, so that both of the others had to keep breaking off from their own fights to keep her alive.

the Some quirk of the battle turned Briony’s features so that her eyes met Kevin’s, and in that moment, Kevin saw the love and relief in them. Then Fletcher rushed past, blocking his view, and threw himself at the white-haired vampire. It spun, catching him and turning him into a hold designed to snap the dragon-shifter’s neck, but Archer intervened with a kick to the stomach that did little real damage, but at least
allow
ed Fletcher to wriggle clear of the vampire’s grip.

Briony took advantage of the distraction, rushing over to Kevin. Kevin eased past her, punching a vampire with bone-breaking force. Then, while it was stunned, Briony moved through to stake it.

“Fancy seeing you here,” Briony said with a smile.

“You know I’d fol
low
you anywhere.”

“I know.”

They fought together, Kevin using his greater strength and speed to immobilize vampires long enough for Briony to stake them, Briony helping to fend off a few of the blows aimed their way. They fought their way back to the other three, and together, the five of them held a rough circle against the vampires.

More vampires poured into the room, and more
sti
ll.
So many, that it seemed that the five of them would never be able to
kill
them
a
ll.
So many that they didn’t even bother attacking, because they were so certain of victory when they did. Kevin thought he recognized some of them, dressed
all
in black as they were. They had to be some of Sloane’s vampires. The ones who had gotten through the gate. They must have fol
lowed
him and Fletcher, and now, they had obviously found the part of Palisor where they most belonged.

Kevin looked down at the brush of a hand against his, and found Briony squeezing his hand tightly. That brief touch said so much; how she missed him, and loved him, and how they would get through this. At least, that was what Kevin wanted it to say.

That was certainly what he meant when he wrapped his own fingers over hers.

With the vampires holding back for the moment, Archer, Fletcher and the young man who had to be the Prince looked around at the two of them. The latter looked pointedly at the spot where Kevin and Briony’s hands were intertwined.

“You must be one of those the Princess left behind.”

“I’m Kevin.”

“And I am Vigor, Prince of Palisor, and protector of the realm while my father remains
i
ll.
”

Kevin glanced around at the vampires who
still
surrounded them. He got the feeling that they were waiting for someone to make the first move, knowing that, though their numbers would overwhelm the five, the first few of them to attack would probably die.

“How is that going, do you think?” Kevin asked.

The Prince didn’t answer at first, but looked Kevin up and down. “It could be worse. You are a wolf.”

It wasn’t a question.

“Be welcome, wolf-shifter. Palisor is for
all
those who do not carry the dark in them.”

The white-haired vampire chose that moment to move to the front of the creatures surrounding them. He smiled savagely, red-eyed and long-fanged. “Palisor
will
be ours soon enough, Prince Vigor.”

“I think not.” The Prince opened his mouth, baring fangs of his own. Kevin was glad that he had heard about the fanged elves before he came there.

“You have been here for too long, Marcus, if you cannot even remember about werewolves.”

“What’s to know?” the vampire demanded.

“Just another thing to
ki
ll.
”

“To be
killed
by
,” Vigor corrected him.

“They are guardians of the gate as much as dragon-shifters are, except that where the
skill
of dragons is to
call
forth the gates, werewolves exist to slay your kind.”

One of Sloane’s vampires laughed.

“Werewolves aren’t so strong.”

Vigor’s smile broadened. “Not in your world, where they are cut off from the magic, maybe. But here? Here in Palisor, where there is magic enough to spare, you
will
find them a little more difficult. They are poison to your kind, vampire. One bite, one scratch in their wolf form… that’s
all
it would take.”

“You’re lying,” the white-haired vampire, Marcus, said. “What would you know of the world beyond, Hugtandalfer prince who does not look beyond his realm? What would you know of creatures that fol
lowed
my kind through the gates
millennia
ago?”

Prince Vigor shrugged. “If you do not believe me, you have only to attack.”

For a moment, just a moment, Kevin thought that they might not risk it. He did not know if this story was true, but if it proved to be, who would want to fight him? To emphasize the point, he transformed, growling at the vampires there. It
still
wasn’t enough.

“Get them,” Marcus ordered. “
Kill
them.”