Chapter 38
Chapter Thirty-Eight
The brothers lay belly-down in the wet grass, staring at the fortified keep with double stone walls guarded by dozens of minion vampires.
Tendrils of steam came from Skarde’s mouth as he whispered, “The front door isn’t a bad option, but it’ll be messy. We’ll lose any chance for surprise.”
“We can swim the moat.”
He scrunched up his nose. “Wasn’t it VanFliet who first suggested we swim the moat and use the sewer system to invade a keep?”
“Ironic, if we pull it off. If he’s smart, the underwater entry points will be sealed. Good thing we’re stronger than the last time we considered this option. We can yank any metal grates apart.”
Skarde squinted but couldn’t make much out about what might be under the water. “There are a lot of plants. I’m suspecting they’re the nasty kind.”
“Before we do this, we have to talk about Gemma. You’re going to lose control when you see her tied up, maybe even dead.”
“I won’t. I’m tight.”
Cade chuckled. “That’s funny. I’m saying I told you so when you lose it. You’re going to panic.”
“Hey, guys. What’s going on?” Craig, the hunter, asked, throwing himself next to Skarde and peeked over the embankment. “Ooooh. Lots of minions for me to kill.”
Lees and Malory landed next to Craig.
“How the hell did you find us?” Cade whispered.
“Did you track the necromancer her?” Skarde asked.
“Sure did, and then we noticed you guys over here.” Craig lowered his voice. “Are we working with other vampires now? I thought you worked alone.”
“This is my brother, Cade.” He waved toward Cade. “Cade, these are the—”
“I know who the humans are. They’re the idiots who like to kill half-turned vamps and follow you around with stars in their eyes.”
“We do not.” Lees pushed his blond hair off his face.
“Wait. You’re Cade?” Craig asked. “As in the Directorate’s punisher? That Cade?”
Cade nodded.
“Wow. Skarde, you could’ve shared the detail that your brother was kickass,” Craig said.
Skarde grunted.
Cade’s lips twitched into a half smile.
“The moat looks like our best option. Let’s go,” Skarde said.
Minutes later, shoes above their heads, the five of them waded through thick swill that reeked of decay. He tried not to analyze the stench. A rotting human hand drifted by. No smelling. Turn your nose off. Get out of this.
The moat had been dug with steep sides. Skarde threw his shoes up over the far side where the underground tunnel system started. He clawed and pulled his way up. His wrist brushed against a plant that stung his flesh. He whispered, “Stinging nettle.”
Offering a hand, he pulled up Cade and the Hunters.
“Ouch.” Cade scratched at his own wrist.
“Warned you.” With little effort, he broke the rusted gates between the moat and the lower drainage tunnels. “That was too easy.”
Inside the tunnel, Skarde pulled on his socks while the others did the same.
“Burns like hell.” Cade rubbed at his nettle burn. “It’s breaking out in a rash. You sure those weren’t bespelled?”
“What are you? Three? Suck it up.” He rolled his eyes.
“You sound like our father.”
“He’s the voice in my head when something sucks.” He laced his boots. “It’s stinging nettle. It’d burn a human for days. I find it only lasts about a half hour since turning. They’re common in moats.”
“Do you do a lot of moat swimming these days?”
Skarde frowned at his brother. “You think this is the first heavily fortified keep I had to infiltrate to kill something that didn’t want to die?”
“I’d say we swim a moat at least every other month,” Craig said, scratching his arm.
Cade said, “That’s why you get paid the big bucks. Stinging nettles and moats filled with human body parts…”
“Why do you think no one else, other than these kids and me, want to do this? Come on.” He stood.
They proceeded down the dark tunnel in silence. When he reached the bend, he peeked around. Not so much as a cockroach twitched, which was weird. “Do you hear that?”
“What?” Cade asked.
“I don’t hear anything,” Lees said.
A low raspy noise rumbled toward them. It was the sound of nails against stone.
Skarde sniffed, processing the smell of fur and body odor. “Manticore.”
“They don’t exist. Just a legend.” Cade pressed himself tight against the side of the tunnel and patted all his weapons. “It’s probably a minotaur or werewolf.”
Skarde sighed as he prepared for a hellacious battle. “This is why it was too easy to get in. And minotaurs and werewolves don’t have the patience to walk. They pounce.”
Craig peeked up the tunnel. “Head of a man, body of a lion, wings of a dragon, and tail of a scorpion? The strike of a claw or tail kills and leaves no trace? You mean that manticore?”
“They have weaknesses like any other creature,” Mallory said. “They also can be female. This isn’t the type of place they typically inhabit, though. They prefer wooded areas in the open, which means it’s been imprisoned or befriended.”
“Befriended? This is VanFliet we’re talking about. He doesn’t trust anyone.” Cade lowered his voice. “At least it’s not a dragon coming our way. I prefer not to die in flames.”
Skarde shrugged. “When it comes to these odd creatures, you can’t rely on rumors. Manticores are cunning and have sharp teeth. I’d prefer a dragon to a manticore. More brains on one of these guys than a dragon.”
“You’ve fought a manticore before?”
“No. I discussed them with Serish years ago. They come from his homeland. Supposedly, they’re much easier to contend with than a sphinx or chimera.”
Cade gazed up the dark hole of the tunnel. “How can you be sure that’s what is approaching? What are you basing your guess on? Smell?”
Skarde compressed his lips. “The longer I do this job, the more I seem to simply know about these creatures. The information comes to me—including how to defeat them. I’ve figured over time my nature has adapted as I’ve killed, and now I sometimes absorb the knowledge or essence of the things I eliminate. ”
“That’s not possible.”
“It doesn’t sound possible that a medicinal would live in an alternate world and then fall through a portal to this realm only to discover she’s part of a long-feared prophecy.
Even less so that she would turn into a vampire when there’s been a scourge on the species preventing humans from being fully turned for over a century. ”
“Right. Totally possible for the approaching enemy to be a legendary creature no one I know has ever seen,” Cade muttered.
“Wait a second. You found the girl from your prophecy?” Mallory asked. “Did you, well…you know, make her vampire?”
“He fully turned her. She’s quite something.” Cade chuckled. “She’s got Skarde twisted into all kinds of knots. Now that Petra captured her… I’m betting on him losing his motherfucking mind when we get inside.” Cade drew his sword and stepped off the wall. “Let’s kick some manticore ass.”
“Damn, I like your brother,” Craig said, following Cade’s lead.
Skarde grabbed Cade’s sword arm and slammed Craig back against the wall. “Hold.”
“The best offensive is a decisive start,” Cade said.
“Another gem from good old Dad.” He sniffed the air. “Cigar smoke?”
“It’s already celebrating its kill.” Cade wiggled to get his arm free. His body tensed to attack.
A monstrous, furry animal rounded the corner.
Two cape buffalo style horns spiraled off the top of its half-lion, half-human head.
The scariest part wasn’t the two dragon wings or the fact the manticore probably weighed a thousand pounds, but its scorpion tail.
The poison in that might not kill them, but it would stun them, probably for days.
The manticore sat on its haunches and used its front paw like a hand to remove the cigar from its mouth. In a low, rumbly tone it said, “You guys stink.”
“A small swim in your moat wasn’t as refreshing as we thought it’d be.” Skarde chinned in the direction they’d come.
It screwed up its nose. “He said that’s how you’d come in. I thought he was nuts. It’s disgusting out there. It’s worse since Petra’s guards started disposing of the witch’s leftovers.”
“VanFliet predicted we’d come in that way?” Skarde asked.
“He expected one vampire, though. Who are you?”
“I’m Skarde.” He did a half bow, careful not to lose eye contact with the creature. He waved toward his brother. “That’s Cade.”
“Two is better than one, I suppose. But those humans with you are going to die.” The manticore returned the cigar to its mouth and took a long inhale before blowing out smoke.
“I think he wished you’d have arrived sooner, before the witch got the ceremony in full swing.
But…” It sighed. “You’re here. Take four rights and go up the ladder.
You’ll be outside the building you’re looking for. ”
“Why are you helping us? Aren’t you supposed to kill us for entering his domain?” Cade held up his sword.
The manticore cast him an agitated glower. “All is not what it seems. VanFliet said to tell you ‘blood brothers to the end.’”
“He said that?” Skarde glanced at Cade, confused.
When they had fought together as humans, their side never lost. VanFliet had been the strategist of their mercenary band, a brilliant tactician, crafty and efficient.
“It’s a trick,” Cade whispered. “VanFliet has gone insane and wants both of us dead.”
“There was something off when VanFliet threw me over the cliff. If he’d wanted me dead, he would’ve cut off my head after poisoning me.”
“VanFliet is definitely not on the right side of anything,” Lees said.
“Petra must be controlling him.” Skarde asked the manticore, “How?”
The manticore tapped a paw over its chest.
Skarde smacked his forehead. “Why didn’t I think of that? That’s why he’s been behaving so weird.”
“The only way you’ll win is if you help him get free first.” The manticore took a huge inhale of the cigar.
Great. Another person needing Skarde to come to the rescue.
“That sounds like something the VanFliet I know would’ve said,” Skarde muttered. “If we don’t die, I’ll be sure he gets back what he lost. Stupid of him to trust a witch to begin with.”
“She misled him. Gemma, though…she said she can help him. He believes her.”
Skarde smiled and shook his head. She’d done her thing again. Soothed the beast by helping him. She was brilliant. “If she says she can, then it’s true. What’s wrong?”
The manticore grimaced, but it might have been a sort of smile. “His eyes. She gave him hope he might be able to see again.”
Nothing more powerful than hope. “If there’s anyone who could figure out how to help him, it’s her.” Skarde eyed the tunnel, wondering if there were more creatures lurking. “We could use your help.”
“Petra ordered him to keep me away from her. So long as she controls him, I cannot help. Once you free him…eh.” It shrugged. “Maybe I will. Maybe I won’t. I’m not big on crowds.” It tilted its head. “You’ve got a few minutes.”