Dread Nemesis of Mine (43 page)

"I'm rather surprised a vampire of your age
doesn't grasp the obvious, sir. We have cautioned you to keep your
protégé under control. We have, time and time again, told you a
vampling plague is unacceptable. You then created a serum and used
it willy-nilly in the mortal population without properly testing it
to see the results, ending up with a massacre at a high school when
your recruiter turned into a vampling."

"Blah, blah, blah," Maximus said. "How was I
supposed to know the serum would have that effect? Besides, no
lasting harm came out of it."

"Oh, I disagree," Conroy said. "An unknown
third party with access to quicksilver cleaned up the mess. I even
found out from police reports my grandson was party to this
debacle."

Grandson?
It felt so bizarre hearing
this man I'd never met—or at least remembered meeting—spoke of me
like a family member. Hearing a third-party recounting how poor
Brad Nichols had been infected with the vampling curse seemed even
stranger.

Barclay flicked aside the criticism with a
hand. "Yes, well, with any great undertaking, mistakes are bound to
happen, Conroy. How do you Americans say it—ah, yes. To make an
omelet, you must first break some eggs."

"Exactly," Maximus chimed in. "And don't
forget it was you people who asked us—" he jabbed a thumb at his
chest, "—for help. Your crazy angel chick begged us to help her.
And that's what we've been doing."

"Daelissa never begged, boy. Your
organization was starved for money and you, Mr. Barclay, feared for
your life." Conroy sighed and shook his head. "No, I'm afraid the
experiment is over. We have fingers in enough other pies that your
organization is no longer needed. If anything, it has become a
threat to the greater good."

"Then, by all means, Mr. Conroy, take your
leave, and consider our business concluded," Barclay said, waving a
hand toward the exit. "I think you can see yourself out."

Conroy put both his hands atop his cane and
smiled. "Perhaps you misunderstand, gentlemen. Your organization is
far too dangerous to leave to its own designs. The Red Syndicate,
despite its many flaws, does an excellent job keeping youngsters
from trying to spread their gift prematurely, if at all. Not only
do you two not care about the dangers, but you have done nothing to
educate your group of renegades about the dangers of the vampling
plague." He put hand on his chest. "I feel we bear some
responsibility for not seeing that potential pitfall."

"Are you threatening us?" Barclay said.

"You've got one way out of here, old man,"
Maximus said. "And that's through me and my people. So why don't
you shut your mouth and haul your old ass out of here before I call
down a hundred vampires to tear you and pudding boy to shreds?"

Conroy took off his spectacles and stowed
them inside a front pocket. "I do apologize for the necessity of
this, Barclay, but we have recognized the error of our alliance
with you and have decided an amputation and cremation is the most
effective solution."

Elyssa and I exchanged horrified glances.
What the hell did this mean?

Barclay's calm composure faltered. "Surely
that's a bit extreme. W-w-we could come up with procedures to
alleviate your concerns."

"Oh?" Conroy leaned back and regarded the
other man. "And if I told you the only way we would consider your
proposal is if you handed us your associate's head on a plate?"

Maximus tensed, his burning red eyes going
back and forth between Barclay and Conroy. "You aren't seriously
listening to this jerkoff are you, Master? He's bluffing us."

"I'm sorry, son, but these people do not
bluff." Metal rasped as Barclay whipped a long blade from his cane
and flashed it at Maximus's neck.

Elyssa and I both gasped.

Maximus blurred. An explosion boomed through
the cavern. Barclay's head turned into red mist. The sword dropped
from limp fingers as his headless corpse tumbled to the floor. The
big pistol in Maximus's hand snapped to Conroy.

It boomed several more times until clicking
empty. Half a dozen smashed bullets hovered a foot from Conroy's
face before dropping harmlessly to the ground.

Maximus roared and dove at the Arcane,
pressing ineffectually against thin air. Apparently realizing the
futility of this, he did a one-eighty and ran for it.

"I'll get him, Bigdaddy," said a girlish
voice. Maximus jerked like he was on a rubber band and popped
backwards, sliding across the rough stone floor to stop at the feet
of a blonde girl.

At the feet of my sister, Ivy.

Maximus pulled out what looked like a phone
and tried to speak. The device shattered in his hand. He lashed out
at Ivy with his fist. I flinched. Felt myself jerk to my feet. A
steel grip grabbed my belt and tugged me back down to the
floor.

"Stay down!" Elyssa hissed.

When I looked back, I realized it was no
contest. Maximus floated helplessly in the air before my sister.
Foam flecked his mouth as he screamed in impotent rage.

"Very good, sweetheart," Conroy said, patting
Ivy's shoulder and smiling.

"Can I do the spell?" she said. "Please
Bigdaddy? Please?" She bounced on her toes and clasped her hands
together.

He pulled the spectacles back from a pocket
and put them on. "I do believe you're ready, young lady." Cane held
out to his side, he tapped it twice on the ground. The ends popped
out, extending it into a long ivory staff with the bust of a winged
angel atop it.

Ivy took the staff, and pulled out what
appeared to be an arcphone. Holding the staff before her, she
rotated slowly before stopping. "There's a large ley line
underneath us like you said, Bigdaddy. I should have all the power
I need." She giggled. Calmed herself and took on an expression that
seemed far too serious for a girl her age. She set the arcphone on
the ground and touched a finger to it. The air around her
flickered, tiny particulates of smoke or fog rising from the ground
to form complex patterns and symbols circling in the air around
her.

Maximus's eyes went saucer-shaped as the
patterns took shape. He squirmed and thrashed, all to no
effect.

Conroy motioned to the doughy man beside him.
"Mr. Bigglesworth, why don't you run upstairs and make ready for
our departure?" He retrieved a pocket watch from his vest and
looked at it. "It shouldn't be long."

"I'm on it, guvnah." On his way out, he
leaned down and picked up Barclay's brain-spattered bowler off the
floor. Brushed it off, and perched it atop his head.

I peered closer, focusing on one of the large
symbols floating around Ivy, and felt my chest contract. "Oh
crap."

"What is it?" Elyssa asked, crouching.

"She's using the mass kill spell. The one
that'll wipe out every vampire in range."

"How wide of a radius?"

I shook my head. "I have no idea." Panic rose
as I thought of Ash and Nyte upstairs. "For all I know it could
take out every vampire in Atlanta."

More of the misty substance swirled from the
ground in a torrent, some of it forming a mosaic of symbols in the
air, while Ivy seemed to absorb the rest into her body. It took me
a moment to realize what the mist was. It was magical energy. I
shifted into incubus mode, using the alternative eyesight it gave
me. Motes of energy drifted around the room, just like I'd seen
while Maximus's prisoner. The energy pouring into Ivy was almost
too bright to look at.

Cutting off the sight, I turned to Elyssa.
"Do you see the white mist?"

She nodded. "Why? What is it?"

"Magical energy." I let out a breath. "She's
drawing in so much, even you can see it."

"What do you want to do?" Elyssa's troubled
gaze bore into mine.

Uncertainty clouded my mind. My mouth opened
to speak, but nothing came out. I had absolutely no idea how to
approach this. Conroy and Ivy had made Maximus their little bitch.
Against the two of them, I had no chance. But if Ivy completed the
spell, she might kill my friends, not to mention a lot of freshly
minted vampires. My heart felt like lead. How could my little
sister commit such an atrocity? This was mass murder! What kind of
monster had my grandparents turned her into? For all I knew, she'd
finish the spell within seconds and it would be too late to do
anything.

Power and energy coalesced around her, white
and humming and violent. The cavern buzzed like a million bees in
my head. The vampling infection in my leg throbbed like an alien
organism, pulsing in time with the massive energies racing toward
destruction.

There was only one thing I could do. Only one
thing.

I turned to Elyssa. Gripped her shoulders,
and took in her face one last time. "You have to get everyone out.
Tell them to run as far and as fast as possible." A shuddering
breath worked through me. "I'm going to buy them time."

Her face blanched. "Buy them time? Justin,
you can't—"

I shook my head. "I have to. Don't argue with
me, Elyssa."

"But—"

"We don't have time." I kissed her, pulling
her hard against me. Savoring the feel of her soft lips against
mine. Wishing to god I didn't ever have to let her go. Before she
could say another word of protest, I dashed down the right wall of
the cave, keeping low and circling around behind dear old Granddad
and my sister.

I grabbed a couple of rocks off the floor.
Conroy stood behind Ivy and to the side. If, by some miracle, I
could conk him on the head, I might be able to knock out Ivy as
well. I hated the idea of hitting a little girl, but I was out of
options. I caught a glimpse of Elyssa slipping away, hugging the
wall, and heading upstairs. This was it. All or nothing.

I sneaked as close as I dared, about twenty
feet behind my grandfather. Cocked back my arm. Aimed. Whispered a
prayer, and threw. The rock blurred toward his head.

The man tensed, his back going straight. The
projectile bounced off the air, leaving a gentle ripple. He turned,
an amused look on his face.

"My, my, what a surprise." He regarded me for
a moment. "You certainly have a way of turning up most
unexpectedly, boy."

My body stiffened in anticipation of
retaliation, but I still had the presence of mind to do what I
could to stop this. "Ivy, don't do it! Don't murder all those
people!"

Though her back was to me, I could heard her
chanting something, almost under her breath as she guided the staff
through an intricate series of patterns. The nimbus of energy
brightened around her, swirling. One of the complex runes in the
air flashed red and magical energy soaked into it, drawing off the
waist-high vortex of energy around her until it was gone. The rune
stayed bright, humming and vibrating the air like the deepest note
on a string bass.

She paused, taking a deep breath, and wiping
sweat from her forehead. Turned and faced me. A smiled lit her
face. "Justin, you came to watch!"

I felt an incredulous look yank my eyebrows
up. "Don't kill those people Ivy. This is wrong. It's not a
game."

She snorted and waved off my statement like a
pesky fly. "People? They're
vampires
, Justin. Bloodsucking
demonic parasites. And if they start a vampling plague, that'd be a
bummer."

"They're not all evil."

"Listen to him, kid!" Maximus said, flailing
against the invisible forces holding in in the air. "Vampires are
people, too!"

Ivy wrinkled her nose. "You want to protect
him
, Justin?" She grimaced, as if she'd just bitten into a
lemon. "It's so sad." Her blue eyes softened. "You're evil, too,
and you can't even admit it. Maybe that's why you want to protect
them."

"Excellent line of reasoning, my little
dumpling," Conroy said, smiling with what seemed genuine affection.
"Now, why don't you get back to the task at hand?" He checked his
pocket watch again. "Your grandmother is making some of her famous
angel food cake for dessert tonight, and I am famished."

My sister's eye went wide with delight. "Oh,
I love angel food cake, Bigdaddy!" She turned back to the hovering
symbols, eyes focused on another rune, and began chanting
again.

"You stupid son of a—" Maximus's mouth
slammed shut. His eyes bulged, but he seemed incapable of saying
another word.

"I will not have your foul mouth running off
in front of my granddaughter any longer," Conroy said.

While Conroy seemed distracted with Maximus,
I mustered every last ounce of speed I had, and blurred toward Ivy.
I hadn't gone five feet when something yanked me off the ground,
and jerked me back, suspending me in the air like Maximus.

"Haven't you caused enough trouble in the
past few months, boy?" Conroy said.

"Me?" I said, pinching my forehead. "Now,
that's the pot calling the kettle black." I wriggled, and only
succeeded in spinning myself upside down. It was like floating in
space—a sensation I might have appreciated at another time.

"I suppose our little plan to deliver you
into Maximus's hands wasn't the best we've ever come up with,"
Conroy said, regarding me as one might an interesting zoo
specimen.

My heart almost broke. "Ivy helped?" I asked,
a bitter taste in my mouth.

"But of course she did, boy."

I looked to Ivy, but she was too busy
powering the next rune.

Conroy shrugged. "If it's any consolation,
she didn't want us to outright kill you." A frown tugged on his
lips. "Truth be told, even if you are one of those filthy spawn,
you
are
my"—he shuddered—"grandson."

I didn't know what to feel. Rage, grief, and
fear swarmed through me, leaving my insides a conflicted mess. The
dark poison inside my leg ached and burned, tingling all the way
down my toes and up to my waist. No matter what happened here
today, I suspected I didn't have much time left.