A Plague of Shadows

CHAPTER ONE MINA WAS ON THE HUNT for a creature of myth and legend. A nightmare made real. A beast that could rend her flesh from limb, leaving nothing but unidentifiable gore behind. She was searching for a gargoyle. And she wasn't happy about it. As she sighed into the indigo night, her breath misted the air. She'd already dealt with the gargoyles, or at least de-fanged them when she'd killed Luca, their maker...and hers. Mina's lips tightened as she pushed the memory of Luca's blood seeping over her forearm back into the dark recesses of her mind. Dropping her hand from the handle of her holstered gun to her thigh, her fingers tapped out a syncopated rhythm. Ahead of her, Bee led the way, stopping at every intersection of alley and laneway to look both ways before crossing. Mina dutifully followed her so-called mentor, though she hadn't been subject to any training sessions lately. "There's been no sign of them since Luca died," she whispered. Since I killed him, she added to herself, and something in her gut twisted, a memory trying to surface, maybe. She kept the thought to herself, keenly aware how the others had been standoffish the past days. Bee looked back at her, the whites of her eyes flashing against her deep brown skin as she put a finger to her lips with her free hand, requesting silence. Then she turned to inspect each path that led out from the intersection, still overly cautious, before leading them straight across as she'd done at all the others. Mina glanced upwards, as much out of boredom as anything else, though she told herself the gargoyles crept along rooftops as easily as cobblestones. As did vampires such as the Necrophagos, the wicked counterpart to the Athanatos that'd taken her in. They were as much a threat as any gargoyle. But there was no sign of anything, except the impending rain that was forecast. As Bee halted yet again, Mina tapped her toe on the asphalt until the woman gave her a harsh glance. Stopping her foot, she gazed at the pavement instead, letting her sixth sense creep out along the maze of side streets – her blood sense as she'd come to think of it. The sense that made her different from the others, according to Jack, allowing her to hear the music imbued in the creatures that surrounded her. But there was still nothing. There was no music in her blood but Bee's metallic percussion unlaid with a deep twang. There's been no sign of the gargoyles since I took out their maker, Mina repeated to herself as Bee started moving again. Since I killed Luca, she reminded herself. Again, something convulsed in her gut, and again she kept the thought to herself, recalling the looks the others had given her when they'd found out she killed her sire. And the sly looks they'd given her since, sideways glances when they thought she wasn't looking. But vampires kill each other all the time, and I'm a vampire. Mina's jaw clenched. She didn't see why there was such a taboo about her killing Luca, maker or no – after all, she stopped the gargoyles. There've been no gargoyle attacks since I killed Luca, she repeated, making it a mantra while ignoring the writhing in her intestines, as Bee paused yet again. "What's the hold up?" Mina asked, her hushed voice sounding sibilant in the silence of the alley. Nonetheless, Bee turned to glare at her, eyes narrowed as they homed in on Mina. The woman pressed a finger to her lips. "Ssht!" She peered down the shadowed passage to her left for a long second, then returned her gaze to Mina. "I thought I heard something," she said, her voice so low Mina had to strain to pick out the words. "I don't —" Mina stopped herself from saying 'feel', recalling Jack's exhortations that her blood sense was unnatural, even for vampires, even for the dracul she now was. She had to remind herself of that – she was twice-bitten, no longer dhamphir. She shook her head to pull herself out of her navel-gazing. "I don't hear anything," she continued, keeping her voice pitched low to match Bee's. "You know, this would be more efficient if we split up." "You heard Dar," Bee whispered. "We stay together." She turned away and crossed the intersection. Mina spared a thought for her warm – and, more importantly, dry – bed as she sighed and followed. Then she stopped in the middle of the small crossroads, canting her head to the side, her ears twitching. Slowly she shifted it to the other, trying to tease out what had raised the goosebumps on her arms, as her hand crept to the handle of her gun. Ahead, realizing Mina was no longer following, Bee turned back to her. Mina flicked her gaze to Bee as the woman opened her mouth to speak. Mina held up a finger. Bee scowled but was silent. Mina's eyebrows drew together, then she shook her head and joined Bee. "What was that about?" "I thought I heard something. But it was just the wind." Mina indicated for Bee to lead the way again. But as soon as they reached the next corner, Mina realized that it hadn't been the wind. "Huh," Bee said, as they stared at the body covered in cuts while at the same time being as desiccated as an Egyptian mummy. "I don't think it was gargoyles." –––––––– "NOPE, NOT GARGOYLES," Jack said as he crouched next to the dried-out corpse, turning it gently with a piece of rebar he'd found nearby. Mina squatted beside him, while Bee and Dar stood back, Dar leaning against the far wall, Bee peering over their shoulders. "Disease?" Mina asked. "But he's a vampire." She pointed her finger towards the fangs that were exposed by the taut lips while trying not to look at the ravaged face. Jack swatted her hand away. "We heal. Doesn't mean we don't get sick. There are things that can infect us. Heck, for all we know, we're created by something tainting our blood us." "Very few things can infect us." Dar shifted away from the wall. "All of them evil." Jack stood up. "Well, I don't think it's disease, anyway, cut up like that." Mina glanced back at the body. It was as if the rain itself had become shards of glass, leaving a web of fine lacerations over his skin. Except it was clear the cuts continued under the vampire's clothes. Quickly looking away again, she stepped over to join the others. "Is he someone you know?" Bee and Jack started to shake their heads until Dar gave a sharp nod. "A revenant. One we couldn't save. He refused to even live by the minimal rules of the Necrophagos." "A revenant?" The space between Jack's eyebrows crinkled as he glanced over his shoulder before returning his attention to Dar. "Like Lin." "Not quite like Lin. A little more wild. A lot more raving." Jack arched an eyebrow though Mina could understand Dar's point – Lin was mad but Mina wouldn't call her riddled speech raving exactly. "What's he doing here?" she said out loud. "I thought they lived in the woods and wild places." Dar shrugged. "Something he shouldn't have been doing, it looks like." His head swivelled to peer at the end of the alley. Shortly Mina heard what he had: a rumble of metal and mumbling. A form appeared in the opening, one she recognized. Mike. "Speaking of raving," Bee said. "Time to go before we're conscripted to be an audience?" Mina snapped her head around to scowl at Bee while Jack nodded towards the dead form. "What about him?" he said. Dar's gaze slid sideways. "He's already dissolving into dust." Surprised, Mina looked at the corpse. Sure enough, the body was disappearing, turning into a puddle of mud. "Ashes to ashes, dust to dust." Mike's voice tumbled along the cement walls. Mina turned back to him as his sharp gaze flicked from the disintegrating corpse to her. "And death to death." "Too late," Bee said, her tone waspish. "Raving's here." Mina started to say something but let it out in a sigh instead. He was batty, and there was nothing she could do or say to help. "Have a good night, Mike," she said, keeping her voice quiet. "There is no good night anymore. The angel of darkness comes to pave the way." He stepped closer despite the cat weaving between his ankles, and his voice became hushed as he glanced around. "Right hand of Night, the Herald comes, a whisper on the wind." The hair on Mina's neck stood on end, and she edged away. He leaned forward as the cat jumped up on the cart, reaching its front leg up to paw his chin. "But the whisper becomes a shrieking chorus, a howl of wolves. It says the Herald seeks the blade that will slice the vault of Hell." He reached to stroke the cat, and the cat responded by pressing its head into his palm. He scritched it under its chin. "Look out for old friends," he said, still looking at the cat. Mina gave a lopsided smile. "I'm trying," she said as much to herself as anyone. But Mike looked up , his eyes actually focusing on her. "Old friends become new enemies when Night comes." Mina tried to come up with a response to that, but nothing came to her. "Time to go?" Jack's hand was on her elbow, and he lifted an eyebrow in question. Mina nodded and turned to follow him. Glancing back as she reached the alley the others had gone down, she saw the cat watching her with its golden eyes.