The Immortal Coil (23 page)

“You’re sugarcoating it again, Vivi. It’s a prison of glass walls.” Noah stood up, looking disgusted. “Why won’t you ever just call it what it is? We’re slaves.”

Vivi stared down at the map for a moment, not wanting to acknowledge his outburst. “The Carpathian in charge is known by many names, but most recently goes by The Blighted One,” she continued. “He made his presence known at the chateau when Rozalin was imprisoned. If he is defeated, the others will retreat.”

“The hunchback dude in the bird mask? Vance told us about him, but isn’t he an Ancient too?” Lyle asked.

“Yes,” Vivi answered.

“But how are we supposed to kill one?” I didn’t like where this was going.

“He may not even be here,” she said. “Like most Ancients, he acts through others.”

“You know he’s here.” Noah sounded increasingly fed up.

“There is a good chance he may be,” she said in resignation.

“So, what, this is a suicide mission?” I was getting pretty agitated myself. “You aren’t sparing me, you’re using me again.”

“Sucks being expendable, doesn’t it? Better get used to it.” Noah stormed out, leaving the rest of us bewildered.

“Am I missing something here? That was kinda dramatic, even for him.” Lyle whispered to me after waiting to make sure he was gone.

“He’s bitter because Aurelia tricked him into joining the Archios to protect her.”

“I could think of a lot worse and most of it just happened to us this week.”

“
Non
! You haven’t a clue how cruel this life can be for some of us more than others. What you have experienced in a matter of days, we endure for centuries.” Vivi was not pleased with us making light of Noah’s anger. “Noah is a wild horse that refuses to be tamed and it only makes his situation worse. It is no secret that he refuses to serve on bended knee, but instead of crudely flaunting her power over the mind Aurelia has made a game out of his suffering.”

“How did she do that?” Lyle asked.

“By breaking his heart.”

“He has one of those?” Lyle was as surprised as I was when I learned more about Noah’s past from Vivi the other night.

“Noah thought he and Aurelia were going to be together as lovers when she turned him,” I recalled.

“There were others, three in fact. Understand I am telling you this in confidence and only because I cannot stand to hear these comments made of him.

“Once Noah learned the true intent behind Aurelia’s interest in him he began to rebel. To avoid the embarrassment of having him cause a scene at her prestigious soirees she would send Noah into Paris to keep watch on the mortal families in charge of her many business ventures.

“Noah was soon distracted by a pretty young thing that happened to be the daughter of one of these mortals. He no longer minded the meaningless chore of going to Paris. Noah even snuck out quite often to court the girl and bring her gifts of jewelry taken from Aurelia’s sizeable collection. They fell in love and Noah did his best to conceal his newfound joy.

“But nothing escapes Aurelia’s nigh omniscience. She sent him to Paris planning for this very situation from the start and feigned ignorance to the missing baubles. When she felt it was time to end the game she ordered Noah to kill the girl. Aurelia claimed the girl’s family was responsible for stealing from her and wanted to make an example out of their daughter.

“I was there when Noah confessed everything thinking that it would change Aurelia’s mind. She smiled and revealed she knew all along. It was a harsh lesson in servitude. Noah offered to return the jewelry, never see his lover again, and serve without question if the girl could be spared. Aurelia rejected the offer, even when he bargained with his own life. He fought with everything he had in him to resist what came next. It was painful to watch as Aurelia took control of his mind and sent him to murder the young girl with his bare hands.

“He returned later that night, covered in her blood, and was never the same again. For years he mindlessly followed orders without so much as a glimmer of hope left in him.”

“Why don’t we just kill her?” My apathy toward taking a life was growing, but I felt it too easy to justify in this case. “I mean if we’re actually able to take down one Ancient tonight, why not make it two?”

“She could end us both with a snap of her wrist,” Vivi stated. “Conquering Aurelia is learning to make peace with her, not attack head-on. She is not our concern right now though.

“This city, your home, needs your help. Look at it any way you want, but only a fool goes into battle assuming victory is assured. Yes, it will be dangerous, but it isn’t impossible. We may not need him dead so long as we can force a retreat. Our main goal is to stop the plague.”

“We came to help because people need us, not because we thought it’d be easy,” Lyle proclaimed.

“Whatever, I’m getting really pissed at still being a pawn on somebody’s chessboard,” I said, and walked out.

The limo was waiting for us in front of the station. Far-off sounds of police sirens mixed with the occasional gunshot and commotion of a skirmish somewhere on the streets.

“Your friend is throwing you under the bus in there.” Noah stepped up next to me. “He wants to go with Vivi to play the knight in shining armor.”

“Jealous the attention is off you for once?”

“I don’t know what jealousy feels like. I just know I cause a lot of it,” Noah retorted. “I thought you should know humans aren’t any better. They’re more annoying than anything.”

“I’m happy to still consider myself one.”

Noah laughed and sat on the roof of the limo. “You’re about as human as this sword,” he said, unsheathing Vivi’s
katana
and looking at his reflection in the blade. “And just about as replaceable.”

“Doesn’t sound like you’re any more valuable.”

“Maybe to some, but the only thing that matters to me is my self-worth.”

“Not if they’re holding your leash.”

“Sounds like you’re finally starting to understand. You’ll never be free unless you overcome your fear, and you can’t overcome your fear until you believe you can be free.”

“So how do you start? And if you know so much, why aren’t you free?”

“Eliminate your weakness, then eliminate your obstacles,” he said, and swung the
katana
through the air a few times before sheathing it again. “It takes patience.”

“You’re the last person I’d ever think would have patience.” I wanted to mention I knew about his past, but Vivi had told me in confidence and bringing that up right now would probably start something that shouldn’t be happening before marching off to battle.

“ ‘All warfare is based on deception.’ ” Noah showed me the tattoo on his forearm. “Deception is an art, one that’s toppled the greatest empires, but it takes time. Desire is exploitable. Show your enemies what drives you and you’ve shown them how to stop you. Let them underestimate you, then strike.”

“But then you become exactly what you hated in the first place —deceptive and manipulative.”

“Now you’re thinking,” he said, and pointed to me like I had unveiled some big mystery. “When you’re free, will you have the strength to walk away? Or will you become weak and hide behind others?”

This was the strangest conversation I’d had, with the exception of the one about my birth. Noah seemed so enlightened, like the martial arts masters he claimed to have trained with. Was this the real him? And if so, was he only revealing it now that we were potentially headed to our deaths?

“Is that why you let Vance go?” I asked. “Because you saw him in the same situation with Minerva as you are with Aurelia?”

“I don’t kill for the sake of killing. I don’t need to prove I’m good at what I do, believe it or not. I know I am, and that’s what matters. Vance and I had an understanding. He showed remorse for what he put you through and was a victim of it himself. The world needs more people like that. Killing them would be counterproductive.”

“Vivi said that about Lyle,” I remembered.

“She’s a different story. Vivi gave up the fight a long time ago and buried herself in denial. It’s a shame. She taught me almost everything I needed to know after I was turned. I got her this sword as a present when I returned from Japan and showed her how to use it. You should have seen her face when she saw how big it was. She couldn’t keep her hands off it. Before that she was only into fencing and savate,” he scoffed.

“I think Vivi feels guilty or something for not being able to prevent this life for me. Now she thinks she can save people by helping them run from their problems instead, but that only creates more weakness. You need to conquer your problems or they’ll catch up to you.”

I realized that Noah had no idea Vivi hinted at her feelings of regret more than once to me. I thought about what she’d said — how Noah was pushing me to fail so I’d be dismissed. But they also admitted it was to see what I could do and prepare for a fight like the one ahead. Both of them seemed to constantly live out double lives and double meanings within those lives. The fact that they held on to any shred of right and wrong and hadn’t just completely given up by now said a lot for them.

“Did you ever tell her it wasn’t her fault?” I asked.

“No need to. Getting emotional never solved anything. She should know by now that I don’t blame her.” Noah flipped a small rock up off his boot, caught it, and pitched it into the police station window.

“What the hell?” I jumped back as the glass shattered. Vivi came out not a second later, with Lyle following.

“Oh, sorry. Hope I didn’t interrupt anything.” Noah’s smirk returned.

“I was erasing evidence.” Vivi glared and walked up to the limo. She was now wearing a short red dress.

“Evidence of
what
?” he teased.

“Shall I assume you discussed with Dorian what to expect should he run into the Carpathians again?” she asked.

“What more needs to be said besides that they’re ugly and need to die?” He handed her the
katana
.

“You know by now that the Carpathians’ bite causes incapacitating pain. You won’t be able to move or concentrate to use your powers should they get their fangs in you, so watch each other’s backs. It isn’t as much of a concern for you, but their blood is poisonous, meaning we can’t drink from it. Lastly, they have the ability to consume flesh and bone to heal themselves. Ancients like the Blighted One have been known to do this just by coming into contact with someone.”

“Sounds great,” I exclaimed sarcastically. “Glad I have something of an advantage, being able to push them away.”

“You’re going to need to do a lot more than push, even with the infected,” Noah said. He disappeared for a second, returning with an empty soda can. “Remember crushing the glass at my place? Do it again.”

I crumpled the aluminum can easily and dumped it back on the ground. “Good. I hope you’ve been practicing,” he said.

“Not since that night.”

Noah shook his head. “Target your enemy’s head like it’s the can and crush it,” he instructed.

“I’ve been trying to do that by pushing them against the wall, but I’m not strong enough.”

“Yeah, you are.” Noah opened the car door for Vivi and then left for his objective without another word.

“What happens if we run into the big boss?” Lyle asked as we got in the limo with her.

“Focus on clearing out the infected. Anything with the parasite needs to die, whether or not it has turned yet. We can’t risk a breach in containment. Don’t engage the Carpathians if you can help it. Noah and I will come to you to confront them together.”

“We should still be going in groups of two at least,” Lyle argued and took her by the hand as we drove off. “Let Dorian and I go with you.”

“It isn’t up for debate,
chéri
, but your chivalry is appreciated as always.”

I would have felt more comfortable going as a group too, but, for whatever reason, Vivi was firm in her decision. We arrived at the hospital in a few short minutes thanks to the empty roads and Vivi’s police clearance.

“Once you’re inside, head down to the maintenance area to turn the power back on. You’ll draw attention, but at least you won’t be in the dark,” she advised Lyle and I as we got out on to the sidewalk. “
Bonne chance
!”

I hated hospitals. I mean I
really
hated hospitals. No amount of strategically cheerful wallpaper or watercolor paintings of flowers could ever mask what goes on within those walls. Every day people came in sick and dying and every day loved ones left heartbroken.

“Are you coming?” Lyle was already past the reception desk, waiting for me.

“It smells the same. I used to visit my dad at work and I always hated how it smelled.”

“Are you gonna be all right?” he asked. “You heard what Vivi said. We need to watch each other’s backs, and if you’re distracted …”

“I’m fine,” I answered, snapping back to reality.

A visitor’s map adjacent to the desk showed us a layout of the building. This facility was much smaller than a standard hospital, probably used as an off-site lab or for additional rooms during a crisis. We only had two floors above us and the basement, making this seem much more feasible than it had at first. With the power out, none of the elevators or security doors were working, and the emergency backup had to have run out days ago. There wasn’t any sign of trouble so far in the main foyer. A few chairs were knocked over and papers scattered, but nothing panic-worthy.

“Good news. We got a working flashlight.” Lyle held up his treasure from behind the desk.

“We should just burn the place down,” I suggested as we made our way down the stairs to maintenance.

“Jesus man, what’s gotten into you lately? If we burn it down the city is losing a hospital that it badly needs. The fire would spread to the rest of the quarantined buildings and then out of the area, putting everyone in danger all over again. Why not just bomb the city by that point?”

“All right, it was a bad idea. I was trying to be creative.”

Lyle led the way through the basement, light in one hand, gun in the other. Everything was completely normal down here, to the point of being suspicious. Still no trace of the infected anywhere.

“Stand back.” Lyle kicked in the locked door to the electrical room.

The only other room in the basement was a storage room with medical supplies and extra beds and wheelchairs. No monsters under the bed here either.

“I know we say this a lot, but what the hell is going on?”

“We got played, that’s what,” Lyle said, opening the circuit breaker. “There’s nothing here and Vivi knew it. We’re on a fool’s errand to keep us away from the real action.”

“I’m used to it. Your new girlfriend is a complicated woman.” I had hoped referring to her as his girlfriend would make him smile and ease his anxiety a bit.

“It’s no good.” Lyle got half the switches back on and stopped. “There’s probably a short somewhere or the circuits are overloaded from all the machines coming on at once. Let’s just get out of here.”

I could see how distracted Lyle was by Vivi’s scheme to keep us out of harm’s way. I understood his frustration, but as much as I didn’t like to admit it, I agreed with her reasons. Caring about people added a whole level of risk in this life. I debated bringing up that at least he was important enough for her to protect, but figured it would probably hurt his pride.

Emergency lighting was on upstairs, as well as the obnoxious blaring of the security system. If anything was festering in or around here, it would be on the lookout for us now.

“Where are you going?” I shouted over the alarm. Lyle was marching out of the vestibule.

“Seriously, man? What did we just talk about?”

“Lyle, we didn’t even check the rest of the building. We need to finish what we came here to do.”

“Weren’t you the one who asked me about following orders or doing what I feel is right? If there’s anything here we can come back for it.”

“The Carpathians are looking for me to return. I’d rather be somewhere Noah and Vivi can find us. What if they come here and we’re running around the streets?”

“Fine,” Lyle begrudgingly agreed and walked right by me into the hospital.

“Do you know where you’re going?” I asked and ran after him.

“Security office. If the alarms are working then the cameras probably are too. We can use them to scope out the other floors so there’s no surprises.”

The hall to reach security wasn’t much of a change in ambience from the entrance. The lack of bodies told me they were already roaming elsewhere. The dim lighting from the emergency backup was almost worse than no light at all. Shadows moved about, playing tricks on our minds as we passed. No longer could I tell myself there wasn’t anything to be afraid of or rationalize the unnatural like I had back in my apartment. The need for fear was very real.

Paranoia kept getting the best of me. I peeked in every room, hoping I’d see something before it saw me. The security alarm was impairing any ability we had to hear danger coming.

I fell behind from checking rooms and had to jog to catch up with Lyle. I called out for him to wait up, but over the alarm it was no use. My foot slipped on a wet patch of blood. I caught myself with my powers, but Lyle was so set on reaching the office he didn’t notice. It was strange how this was the only area in the hallway with blood like this, like it had just dropped straight down.

I soon wished I hadn’t thought of that. My first reaction was to look up and I knew I wouldn’t like what I’d find. Several of the ceiling tiles were missing, creating an entry for the perfect hiding place.

I caught sight of a face watching from under a desk in the room next to me. I shouted and raced to get Lyle. Of course he didn’t hear me until I was on top of him. I grabbed his arm to get his attention. He responded by shoving his gun in my face.

“Don’t sneak up on me like that!” he exclaimed. “I almost shot you!”

“They’re in the ceiling.” I pointed to where I had fallen. “And there’s somebody in that room.”

We waited to see if anyone would come chasing us, but nothing happened. “It was probably a dead body,” Lyle said.

“I’m telling you, someone is in there. They were watching me.”

Carefully, we approached the room. Lyle had his gun ready for whatever was about to jump out and I kept an eye on the ceiling, waiting to be ambushed.

“Look.” Lyle tapped me and motioned under the desk.

A pair of tiny feet was sticking out in plain view. Lyle and I entered the room cautiously with our backs to the wall as we made our way around the desk. The little feet belonged to an equally little girl. She was around kindergarten age and dressed in a dirty hospital gown for kids.

“Hi there.” Lyle put his gun away and crouched down to her level. “What’s your name?” She didn’t respond. Her big brown eyes darted between the two of us nervously.

“I’m Lyle and this is my friend Dorian. I’m a police officer.” He took out his badge to show her. She snatched it from his hand and inspected it. “I’ll let you hold on to that if you can tell me why you’re here.”

She still wasn’t answering. Lyle carefully got closer and checked the hospital bracelet around her wrist.

“Emilia?” He read out loud. “Is that your name?”

Emilia wouldn’t open up to us at all, but I had a pretty good feeling Lyle wasn’t getting his badge back.

“Emilia, we have to get you someplace safe,” Lyle told her and held out his hand. She scrunched herself back as far under the desk as she could. I looked around as Lyle continued trying to get Emilia to warm up to him. The room was an office very similar to my father’s at his hospital. The decor was all different, but the layout was the same. Maybe there was some generic standard hospitals used that I didn’t know about.

From the door there was a wall with a bookcase to the right. To the left was the same kind of metal filing cabinet where my dad used to keep toys in the bottom drawer for me to play with when I was little. The couch and two chairs opposite the desk were different here. I remembered taking naps on the leather couch and coloring at his desk while he was with a patient.

I looked at myself in the shattered glass of the door. I could almost see a young version of me sitting at the desk over my shoulder. In middle school I liked doing homework at my dad’s desk as if it was important paperwork.

“Dorian, Emilia and I are ready to leave now.” Lyle held the little girl in his arms. She was still clutching his badge and had managed to charm his flashlight from him too.

“Okay,” I said and moved out of the way, letting them go first. I paused to take another look at the room, imagining myself sitting at that desk.

“Dorian? You coming?” Lyle asked impatiently.

“Sorry, yeah,” I apologized, but could feel a smile on my face.

A creaking from the floor above stopped me. I stood there, letting my curiosity get the best of me again as I watched the ceiling bow. I took a step back right in time for the tiles above to collapse. One of the Carpathians crashed down from the hole, smashing the desk in half under its feet.

My focus stayed on the demolished piece of furniture. It made my heart race and my hands tremble. The smile from the happy memories it brought disappeared. Lyle was shouting something behind me, but it was drowned out by the girl’s screams and the alarm in the hallway. All the noises mixed together until it was a single piercing tone in my head.

My attention shifted to the winged monster before me and an uncontrollable feeling of rage burst forth. I wasn’t entirely sure I was the one in control as the Carpathian floated there. The anger boiled over to such a point that I began feeling nothing at all. Its body thrashed in the air, slamming into the walls and ceiling like a helpless ragdoll as I watched.

I couldn’t hear that piercing tone in my head anymore. There was only silence now. The Carpathian continued to tumble through the room until a wall finally gave way sending it into the next office.

It wasn’t Noah who took my family from me
, I thought.
It wasn’t Rozalin or Vance. It was you. All of you.

I must have blacked out. I was suddenly in the next room over watching the murderer’s lifeless body still being tossed against the walls, but I didn’t remember moving there. Everything was hazy like I was in a dream. The creature started turning to ash in front of me. Time lurched forward and the black outs became more frequent as the scene continued.

You ruined everything. I hate you. All of you.

A heavy odor of sulfur followed by my own body beginning to shake brought the piercing noise back. As I started to regain my senses I saw the Carpathian was no more. All that was left were piles of ash scattered about the room.

“Dorian! Dorian!” Lyle was shoving me. “What is wrong with you?”

His gun was out and I could smell the residue from it having just been fired.

“It was wrecking my dad’s office, so I stopped it,” I told him and lowered myself to the ground. I couldn’t remember at what point I started flying.

“What are you talking about? You never told me your father worked in New York.” He sounded angry, but I didn’t understand why.

“He doesn’t. He works here in Boston.”

“Dorian, we’re in New York. What is going on? First you go overboard killing that thing, now you think we’re in Boston? You’re losing it, man.”

He picked up Emilia, who was crying in the doorway, and headed down the hall. I followed them, trying to remember what I had done, but the scene was already fading from my memory.

“Uh, Lyle,” I said keeping up with him this time.

“What?”

“The girl is infected.”

Emilia’s left arm, which she had been hiding under the desk, was covered in black veins. “I told you that back in the office,” he said as he stopped and turned to me. “I said she isn’t bitten so she might still have a chance.”

“Then why didn’t my parents? It didn’t take you long to put them down.”

“Oh no, don’t even think about putting that on me. They had already turned by the time you were in your room. I did what I had to so you wouldn’t have to.” He started walking away again with Emilia. “I’m taking her to the police.”

“She’ll infect everyone. You heard what Vivi said.”

“What do you want me to do, Dorian? Kill a little kid?” he yelled. “I’m taking her, so unless you’re going to kill me too just stay here in case the others show up.”

“So you’re just leaving me here to die instead? I’ve already lost everything once and you have no idea what that feels like!” I shouted after him. “You’re going to walk away from me and all of this when it’s over, smelling like a rose, and never having to look back!”

“It’s pretty clear you can take care of yourself. I don’t know what's gotten into you since we came here, but you’re falling apart when we need you most.”

Lyle left me standing in the reception area and carried the child with him. He wouldn’t be coming back for me.

A banging sound was coming from upstairs. We never got to the security office, but what did it really matter? I was used to surprises and wasn’t in the mood to be rational.

The stairs had a trail of blood that ended abruptly on the bottom step. People must have been trying to escape and were dragged back up before they reached the reception area.

The path split off in three directions from the top of the stairs. According to the visitor’s map, the hospital was one big square with a hallway down the middle that had elevators.