Wardbreaker: An Urban Fantasy Novel (The Lillim Callina Chronicles) (6 page)

“I told you I’d help you if you just told me what the problem really was!” I snapped. “Even though I’m running away, and it’s against the rules.”

“Sorry…” He moved forward, pulling me into a hug I didn’t understand at all. “The real problem is the Owls have claimed this city like Dimitri said earlier. Every single time we off one of their overseers, well, they kill a hundred people. We need someone like you to step in and tell them that if they don’t stop, the whole might of the Dioscuri will rain down on them like an olden days plague.” He released me and stood back, staring at me with his big brown puppy eyes.

I sighed because he was right. He was one hundred percent right. If the Owls were doing that, the Dioscuri did need to step in… only I wasn’t technically with them anymore. Still, they probably didn’t know that.

“Look,” he added, slowly leading me back to the car by one hand. “If you help, I won’t mention Dirge again. Hell, I’ll tell everyone how much more awesome you are than her.” He winked at me.

“No one cares what you think,” I replied, smiling in spite of myself. It sort of annoyed me because I was going to help him even though it was a bad idea. I sighed. I wasn’t the type of person that could leave an entire city under the yoke of some vampires. I guess in that one tiny aspect, my momma raised me right.

“I get that a lot,” Luc said, opening the door for me. “Now let’s go kill some vampires.”

I stared at him for a moment. Was I really going to help him? It wouldn’t matter much in the end. This was just one man and one city, not much in the grand scope of things, but for him, it would be something, and besides, he’d known Dirge. Maybe… maybe if I helped him, he’d stop comparing me to her? Maybe, maybe he’d think I was better than her. I tried to shove that thought away the moment it entered my brain, but it lingered anyway. Was I really going to help him just to prove I was better than Dirge? And while I hoped not, deep down, I knew it was true.

“Fine,” I grumbled, getting into the seat. “But you need to buy me lunch first. Preferably somewhere the meal doesn’t get interrupted just as I’ve gotten my food.”

“Deal,” he said, slamming my door shut and moving around to the other side of the car. “Then you can share with me why your wrist isn’t bleeding anymore.”

I glanced down at it. He was right. Well, that was neat…

“So how was your burger?” Luc asked, tossing a sidelong glance at me as I swallowed the last bite of my cheeseburger and crumpled the wrapper into a ball.

“I’m lovin’ it,” I said, tossing the wrapper at him and hitting him on the side of the head.

“I told you to stop doing that three burgers ago,” he growled, turning his eyes back toward the road. “Hang on!” he screamed, slamming on the brakes and jerking the wheel to the side. The car went into a skid as its tires squealed along the pavement. I was thrown against the seatbelt so hard, my breath whooshed out of me as a shadow filled the sky above us.

The blue Civic slammed into our hood like a metal comet. The back end of our Mercedes lifted from the street in a shriek of twisted metal as the wheels left the pavement before smacking back down. Our car fishtailed as the vampires inside the upside down vehicle punched out the windows and began crawling out of the vehicle, their fingers gouging into the metal like it was tinfoil.

Luc’s hands were a blur of motion as he slammed his foot down on the gas pedal. Our tires skidded, fighting the weight of the vehicle lying across the completely smashed front of our car, and I marveled how it still worked even as the smell of gasoline filled my nostrils. My chest hurt from where the seatbelt had stopped me with a jerk, but it probably didn’t hurt as much as it would have if we’d had, say, a head on collision.

I concentrated on letting my power fuel my strength as the monsters came closer. Luc was still trying to reverse away, but the only thing that seemed to produce was the acrid smell of burning rubber. If the vampires caught us in close confines, it’d be hard for me to fight them all off, there wasn’t enough room to dodge and maneuver. Besides, for all I knew, one of the cars was about to explode.

“We need to get out of here!” I screamed, tearing my seatbelt free and throwing my shoulder against the door. It budged, but not enough. Pain shot through my shoulder as the closest vampire reared back and put his fist through our windshield. The glass didn’t shatter so much as it spider webbed outward, radiating from the hold, but still held in place somehow.

Luc let off the gas, throwing his own seatbelt off as the creature swiped across the entirety of the windshield, sweeping away most of the safety glass. His partner reached in, grabbing Luc by his collar and hauling him out while the first one threw a look at me.

He grinned, his pale face distorted by his extended fangs. As he reached for me, I grabbed his arm and tugged him forward. My spell-enhanced strength was enough to pull him bodily into the car. He shrieked as I drove my elbow into his chest hard enough to snap his ribs. The sound was so loud it rang in my ears even after it faded. He clutched at his chest as I got my feet under me on the seat and launched myself out of the windshield.

The vampire holding Luc tossed him to a couple other vampires. They were sitting by one of those vans used to move prisoners. Only this one was filled with heavy bars instead of screen. I was guessing it was made to house incredibly strong people, which I supposed made sense if the vampires were using it. Maybe they used it on each other? The vampire standing on the flattened remains of our hood turned just as my front kick caught him full on, launching him off the car and onto the pavement below. His back collided with enough force to make the others turn toward me and take notice.

I jerked my wakazashi free from its sheath and glared at the creatures before a screech of steel made me go cold and afraid in the core of my being. The Civic that had landed on our hood lifted into the air.

An enormous vampire with muscles that would make the Hulk jealous hefted the vehicle like it was as light as a kitten. His red eyes glinted as he reared back and hurled it straight at me. I flung myself to the side as the vehicle hit the Mercedes with a sound that made me think horrible car accident. Which, I guess it sort of was.

My shoulder smashed into the concrete, but even as agony electrified my senses, I rolled to my feet. I whirled, pointing my sword at the vampire and muttering under my breath. Red lightning flashed through the air, striking the musclebound behemoth in the center of his black Gold’s Gym tank top and tossing him backward into the street.

I spun, looking for Jean Luc as two vampires struggled to wrestle him into the back of the van. Well, that wasn’t going to happen. I ran toward them, gathering my power up inside me. Normally when I called upon my power, it was in controlled burst to make it last longer, but this time I threw the spigot wide open for extra oomph because I didn’t want him getting back up afterward.

As I reached the closer of the two vampires, I smacked him in the side with my free hand. He tossed a confused look at me and reached toward me. I released everything I had in one titanic burst of energy, crying the name of the spell I used most often in training. “White sparrow!”

A white cylinder of light exploded from the sky, slamming down around the creature. Flames roiled inside the death tube, charring the vampire into ash in the space of a heartbeat, but I was already moving past the spell I’d unleashed.

The remaining vampire dropped Luc and came at me, hands twisted into horrific claws. He hit me with all his weight, knocking me from my feet, but as we fell, I used our momentum to fling him behind myself. It was a good thing too because he hit the muscled vampire with a heavy thwack.

I scrambled to my feet, but I barely made it two steps before 'Muscles' tossed his friend at me, which I guess wasn’t that surprising since he’d thrown a car at me. I took a step forward, planting my feet as I swung my wakazashi in an upward arc with all the strength I could muster. The razor sharp edge of Set caught the flying vampire dead center and sliced through his thrashing body with ease. Blood splattered across my face and clothing as the creature hit the ground behind me in two distinct pieces.

“Don’t see that every day, do you?” I called as the blood on my face turned to crimson smoke.

The vampire shrugged at me. “You obviously have not seen my founder in a fight.” He cracked his neck. “Every single time he swings his famous blades, someone dies.” I barely had time to contemplate what he’d said when the vampire charged at me, bringing his head down in a way that reminded me of a bull. I tried to sidestep, but he was surprisingly fast for a big man. His arm broadsided me. My breath whooshed from my body as I hit the ground hard and little stars flashed across my eyes.

Thankfully, he kept going, moving past me in a rush like a locomotive, and I was glad for the moment to recover. I got slowly to my feet, wishing I hadn’t hidden my katana because it’d been too large to keep on my person. If I had the weapon, I’d have access to even more power. My wakazashi was strong, but what’s that saying, two is better than one?

The big vampire skidded to a halt, his boots throwing up a spray of gravel as I held my sword in front of me with both hands. The symbols along its edge flared, shrouding me in crimson light as he spun and took an angry step toward me, cracking his knuckles in one big hand.

“It’s been a while since I’ve had the opportunity to suck the blood from a Dioscuri,” he said, gesturing at my weapon. The knowing grin that split across his face made my blood run cold. Had this vampire killed Dioscuri before? From his strength and speed, it sort of didn’t surprise me, but still, he seemed too young… unless… no, it couldn’t be.

My eyes widened in shock as I noticed the tattoo of a bear on his right forearm. He saw me looking at it and nodded like it explained everything. Because it did. That meant… that meant when he talked about his founder, he was talking about Bob, the founder of the Bear caste. That wasn’t the millennia old vampire’s actual name, but that’s what my teacher had called him because no one knew his real name. He was that old. Besides, Bob was his name in the song we’d learned about him.

“Bob the Bear

With strength like a beast

The swords Frost and Melt glinting in his fists,

Gifts from the dragons he defeated in contest.

When he steps onto the field all must run,

For this vampire’s strength can blot out the sun.”

“You’re a Bear?” I asked, trying to stop the fear from making my voice squeak. I almost succeeded.

“Yeah,” he said, grinning and revealing a mouth of shark-like teeth. “Didn’t the muscles tip you off? You think this is natural?”

“To be honest, you’re a little small,” I replied, gripping my wakazashi harder as I tried to keep the fear inside me from rising up. Even the weakest vampires in the Bear caste were strong enough to punch a hole in me. If I’d realized what he was earlier, I’d have pressed my advantage and killed him before he could ready himself for a fight. By aligning himself with Bob the Bear, this vampire had gained a small fraction of the founder’s strength. It was why vampires joined castes after all. “And you guys usually don’t leave Europe, what gives?”

“The Owls offered some of us lucrative contracts as enforcers.” He shrugged his shoulder as if to say, “Everyone has to get paid.” Which, I supposed, was a fair point. “Besides, the vampires run this city. Why would I want to leave? More of us show up by the day, Dioscuri. In another couple years, we’ll
own
the humans.”

“And it doesn’t scare you that the Dioscuri are here?” I asked, stalling for time as I tried to gather more power. Unfortunately, I’d used so much during the fight already what with the fire and super strength, I didn’t have much left. If I over exerted myself, I’d run the risk of fainting or worse. It probably goes without saying, but things tend to get really bad when you fall unconscious fighting a vampire.

“I’ll tell you what I told the last guy before I broke him over my knee and sucked out his juices.” The vampire’s grin widened obscenely. “For a vampire, Dioscuri blood is like the breakfast of champions.”

“The last guy?” I asked, worry filling me as I tried to think back to who this guy could have killed. Then it hit me. We’d lost a Dioscuri named Calvin in Bakersfield a few weeks ago. Had it been to this guy?

“Yeah. Asian fellow, about this high?” he said, putting his hand at about the five foot six mark.

That was Calvin alright. This bastard had killed Calvin. Well, I’d make him pay for that! Without thinking, I charged, calling on everything in me as I crossed the distance between us. My sword flashed through the air, and the vampire blocked it with his wrist. The force of it reverberated down my arm. It felt like I’d just struck solid iron. His flesh had been split open and where there should have been bone, there was a metal rod. Had he replaced his bones with steel somehow? The thought made my blood run cold. The amount of pain involved for something like that would be insane. If this guy had done that, he would probably just keep coming at me until one of us was dead.

Before I got the chance to ask him about his steel bones, Muscles grabbed me by the throat. He exhaled even though he didn’t need to breathe, and the smell of decay nearly made me gag as he hauled me up into the air and flung me into the side of the Mercedes. I hit the car so hard I was pretty sure everything inside me broke. That was the problem with the vampires of the Bear caste. Even the babies were ridiculously strong. This guy seemed to be no exception.

My body slumped to the ground as the vampire laughed and took a step forward. My world went hazy and dark around the edges as I forced myself to stand. The taste of blood filled my mouth as I tried to grip my wakazashi, but I found I could barely make a fist. That seemed bad. Very bad. So what did I do? I lied.

“Come on,” I snapped, raising my empty hand and curling my fingers toward my body. “I’ve had pixies hit me harder than that.”

The vampire smirked at me and took a step forward. His boots crunched on the gravel as he moved toward me. It’d take him a moment to get here, which bought me time. To do what? I wasn’t sure. Then, from the corner of my vision, I saw a halo of blue light.