Gauntlet Rite of Ascension (22 page)

              I walked over to one set and picked it up. My heart and mind started to both alternate between stopping and freaking out as I detected the strong scent of an Ascended that seemed all too familiar. I knew my father’s smell. He raised me from a baby and I spent hours on his lap, watching T.V. and being fed. He would tuck me in at night and lay next to me reading stories. He hugged me when I got hurt, and when he just wanted to. The way your parents smell is something engrained into your D.N.A.

              There was no mistaking it. My father had been chained up here, he had been held hostage and forced to undergo whatever sick torture these things conjured up.

              I looked to Abaddon who held the other set of restraints with the same look of understanding on his face. I started to ask him what the hell was going on when I felt more than heard the rest of the vampires that occupied this dark and destitute place answer the death call of the other two.

              I felt the almost physical wave of the vampires twisted auras as dozens of them came towards us out of whatever deep abyss they had been in.

              I looked at Abaddon and a powerful urge to ignite my swords and force the answers out of the bastards threatened to cloud my vision.

              Abaddon saw it and calmly tried to get me to see reason.

              “You saw how hard it was to kill two of them, and that was one on one. Imagine if we were outnumbered ten to one. Think, we have to get out of here, live to fight another day.”

              I knew he was right, I just didn’t care. Everything in me told me to fight, told me to cut, slice, rip and tear until the answers came.

              “Abaddon’s right, you have to leave now before she comes.” I heard the voice of my father’s legacy say.

              Hearing the familiar sound of my dad’s voice broke the spell and I shook my head, clearing it of the irrational anger. I nodded at him and we hurried out the same way we came in.

              We ran along the darkened tunnels, unafraid to keep our movements silent. They knew we were here and they were coming for us. I felt them as they closed the distance, their essence a dirty stain on existence. Among them, deep in their midst I felt something else. A presence that was deeper, darker and far more ancient than any of the others in the tunnels. Its power overshadowed all the rest and I knew this was something other than just a normal vampire.

              We soon came to the spot we dropped down into. A bright ray of the early morning sun beamed down from the opening like a beacon showing us the path back to the world of the living.

              Just as I stepped into the light I heard a woman’s voice speak one word. 

“Waaaaaiiiiit.” It came on the air like a powerful, yet corrupted cancer, full of dark mystery and deadly focus. The sound filled the darkness but never seemed to penetrate the sun’s light.

I turned and faced back towards the tunnel’s darkness. I saw dozens of eyes that glowed slightly red in the inky void. They all looked at us with insatiable hunger. I saw one pair above the others, this one was of a far deeper red and as its owner made its way through the others I saw as they gave way like the parting of the sea.

She stepped into the meager light and a pain filled her features. Her face never showed a wrinkle or imperfection but the fact that even the smallest amount of sunlight hurt gave me some satisfaction.

              She was almost seven feet tall; her hair fell to her waist. It was perfectly straight and its blonde hue emitted an almost slight phosphorescent shimmer, like a deep-sea fish that dangles a small glowing lure in front of it, confusing its prey before it eats them whole.

              She would have been an absolutely beautiful woman if she wasn’t marred by the fact that she was a living corpse.

              She reached back and tossed something to us underhanded. I instinctively brought my gauntlets up as I saw a brown shoe hit the ground in front of us. I knew that shoe, it belonged to my father, it was actually a present my sister got him for his birthday. I bought him a complete suit with the money I had earned mowing lawns; the shoes were given to complete the outfit.

              A longing to see my father pulled at me. I knew what this thing was doing. It was tempting me, giving me a lure, trying to get me to leave the protection of the sunlight. I came close to going, close to rushing into the mass of vampires to either force them to talk or enact my revenge.

              I thought of my dad and all the wisdom and love he gave me during my life and knew that he would be disappointed with me if I did something so foolish.

Instead, I did something else. I thought of fire and envisioned my blades to once again be covered in flames. I willed my wants to become reality and used the memory of my father to fuel it.

              My gauntlets answered with a bright flare up as the blades elongated and glowed with golden flames.

              I quickly reached out and stabbed the shoe, bringing it back to me. In the instant I did a vampire lunged out and grabbed my flaming blade. It was instantly sorry as its hand and then body quickly became engulfed. The light hit the rest of the bastards like a physical blow as they shrunk away from their burning comrade.

              The sun glinted off the silvery surface of my gauntlet and hit one of the vamps in the face. To my amazement I was stunned to see its head literally explode from the contact with the sun’s rays.

              Realizing the power I had I turned the beam and aimed it at the closest creature only to find they all had quickly scattered, seeing the damage I could do.

              We turned and quickly started climbing up the mineshaft. I felt more than heard as the vampire’s body burned to a cinder. It let out a similar moan of release as once again today the fire from my blades sent a vampire into the great unknown.

              I saw Abaddon shudder as the sound washed over him, but for me the sound was sweet in its meaning. I relished the echo of the vampire’s death as it signaled something I had every intention of hearing more of, and often.

Chapter 22

The Hunter watched from his hiding place among the shadows. He saw as the spawns of darkness dragged the false Leader and the true Leader down into the deep.

The Hunter followed them, knowing that in these underground tunnels the Enemy lived.

              The Vessel would soon come and he settled down to wait.

              Just as the One said, the Vessel arrived with the Teacher, the Hunter followed them as they confronted the spawn, he tracked them as they fled from the Enemy, he hoped that the Vessel would be ready, that the time would be right and he could begin the true Hunt.

              But this was not to be the time, soon the Hunter knew the Vessel would be prepared, soon he would be able to finish the Hunt started over a year ago.

              Time was meaningless to him. He had stalked prey for decades if need be. The Hunter was patient and ruthlessly tenacious. The moment will come, the Hunter knew.

              The One has said so and so it shall be.

Chapter 23

Exiting the dark mine shaft and entering the pure sunlight of the dawning morning almost felt like I had moved from one realm of existence, down in the deep darkness, for another, one filled with hope and life.

I stood at the rim of the shaft and held out the shoe to Abaddon.

“What the hell was my father’s shoe doing down there?” I asked him, as though he had all the answers.

“I don’t know, but I fear the worst.” He responded.

I hadn’t really expected an answer and what he said startled me.

“What do you mean?” I asked, stopping him and forcing him to face me.

“What do you know about your father’s death?” He asked instead.

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“Just answer me.” He said.

“He was in a car accident, a drunk driver hit him head-on. His car caught fire and he was unable to get out.” I said, remembering the pain of his passing and the funeral.

It was a closed casket because of all the damage done in the wreck. I remembered the guy at the morgue talking to the coroner about how the fire had burnt him to the bones. There was a lot of people at the service, more people than I ever suspected he knew. I remember being almost paralyzed with grief, having for the first time come face to face with the realities of life and death.

“Why? Is there something I should know about it? Are you not telling me something?” I asked, a spark of hope that maybe he hadn’t died; maybe he was still alive, kindled in my chest.

Abaddon stepped away from me and started walking down the hill, away from the hole. I hurried to keep up.

“I don’t know much more than you. Your father kept strong relationships with many Pack members throughout the world. As Vicktor started gaining more and more power people came to him seeking council.”

“Your father was deeply disturbed about the odd disappearances of some Pack members who voiced their displeasure of Vicktor’s rule.”

“He went on a couple of trips to investigate; he said he was repaying some outstanding favors. He never came back.”

“Yeah he did, he got into the car wreck when he got home from his business trip. Or at least he said it was a business trip.” I mused, remembering the week long trip he took, for work he said.

“I came to the cemetery after the funeral services. They lowered the casket then had everyone throw some dirt in the grave. Everyone left and before they got the backhoe out to finish filling in the hole I checked inside the casket. I had to be sure.” He said almost asking for forgiveness for his sacrilege.

“I saw a burnt body, mostly bones. The smell of burnt flesh was strong, but I knew your father very well and I couldn’t detect his scent in there. The person being buried wasn’t your dad.” He finished.

“What are you saying? My dad’s alive?” I asked, the possibility of seeing my dad seemed more and more plausible.

“I don’t know, I don’t want to get your hopes up.” He said, trying to keep me from jumping to conclusions.

“You’re telling me someone buried a body and it wasn’t my dads. He was the former Pack leader and Ascended, I know we can take a lot of punishment, I just assumed being burned down to the bones was enough to kill him, now your saying my dad
wasn’t
the one we buried and you’re telling me not to get my hopes up?” I asked.

“Yes because you don’t know everything.” Abaddon said with calm assurance.

“Well?” I asked, exasperated.

“When you and your sister were born your father asked me to be your godfather. An honor I hold dear. He tasked me with your training in the event he should die or be unable to if you should ever have to face your Beast.”

“What does that have to do with anything?” I asked.

“I want you to know that I care about you and your father and I want to believe he is still alive to, but I fear our hopes may still be in vane.” He said, we had started back on the trail that would take us to our camp.

“Why?” I asked.

“There were two sets of shackles in the chamber that held your father. There were two people being held in the vampire’s lair with chains even an Ascended couldn’t break. One held your father, you know this because you recognized his scent as well as I. The other you wouldn’t know because you have never met him.” Abaddon explained.

I started getting impatient with him; his failure to get to the point began to grate at me.

“Well? Who was the other person?” I pleaded with him.

Abaddon stopped and I did the same, he turned to me and looked me square in the eye.

“Vicktor, Vicktor was down there with him. The same man who now is in control of the Pack, the same man who has been trying to kill you before you finish the Rite and become a member, able to challenge him for control.” He answered.

My mind started racing at the implications. I knew someone from the Pack had to be providing the vampires with Altered. I assumed it was probably Vicktor but it was more of a hunch than anything. Now we knew Vicktor had contact with the blood suckers. We also know he was kept in chains like a slave. Vicktor was still alive, however, hell he was Pack leader. If the vamps had him maybe he escaped? No, the evidence of their partnership was evident after the night’s adventure.

Add to that the reports of members being attacked with no traceable proof of who did it and a picture began to form. Vicktor was working with the vampires, why I didn’t know. Abaddon said the manacles had Vicktor’s scent, meaning he had been a prisoner like my father, only now he was the Pack leader and my father was missing.