7. Infiltrate
Infiltrate
It was lucky that Khos was the first one to go through the gate.
Ryder had thought the Dire Wolf wouldn’t be keen to travel that way, but Khoshad bounded ahead of them.
So Khos alerted them with a sudden growl that they were not alone.
Charlie managed to glamourize them the moment that they stepped out of the gate, because of this audible warning.
Ryder knew this only because when he looked at Grayson he saw a platinum-haired woman with high-cheekbones and softly parted lips instead of his beloved’s familiar visage.
There were two Kaly Vampires walking up the path to the gate. One man and one woman dressed in what appeared to him to be proto-Confessor garments.
Kaly is already putting together the Order. Did they always have this planned even before they struck the first blow?
Both Kaly Vampires froze at their unexpected appearance as did their party.
The hope had been that no one would be monitoring the Destiny gate as Eyros was clearly hunkered down and not coming out was dashed.
Yet even as Ryder thought on this, he realized what a tactical error that would have been.
Eyros could have come through as this gate was unlocked.
Maybe purposefully unlocked to tempt him or unlocked, because it was jammed open by Seeyr.
Either way, guards were necessary and they’d run smack into them.
Still, everyone was surprised to see the other there.
Khos’ lips writhed back from his teeth, growling softly, eyes narrowed.
“Artemis?!” The woman gasped and dropped to her knees. “Master, what are you–I thought you were back at the Spire!”
Artemis?!
Ryder’s head snapped to Charlie, except, of course, he didn’t look like Charlie anymore, but Artemis Alucius.
Ryder fought the smile followed by a grimace that wanted to cross his likely own unfamiliar features.
Transforming himself to look like the Kaly’s glorious leader had its benefits, but if either of the Kaly Vampires really thought about it they’d realize Artemis couldn’t be in the Spire and coming out of the Destiny gate at the same time.
“How did you get into Destiny?” The one to the right–a bald man of undetermined age and ebony skin asked–who didn’t drop to his knees.
“Rakash!” the woman hissed and gestured for him to kneel, evidently assuming they’d both be sucked into soul gems simply for asking the question. Knowing Artemis, that likely would be true.
Charlie adopted a bored expression that was all Artemis and in a voice that said butter wouldn’t melt in his mouth responded, “And who are you to question me?”
Charlie plucked the soul gem that actually held Artemis out of his pocket and allowed it to play over his fingers. The unsaid threat was made however.
The Kaly Vampire flinched but held his ground. “You did not alert us that you were going through the gate. Or that you anticipated it being open, Master Alucius.”
Some more good points.
“Rakash, the Master does not tell us everything!” the female Vampire practically wailed.
Such was the power and fear that Artemis elicited in his followers was causing her to not think clearly and making the other Kaly Vampire hesitate. Both were mistakes.
“Cirillen, when did you see Master Alucius at the Spire?” Rakash asked.
Cirillen, the female Kaly Vampire, answered with uncertainty, “I’m not sure. It was before my shift.”
“So only twenty minutes ago?” Rakash got up onto the balls of his feet. “And we have not seen him pass by in that time so he cannot be who he–”
SNAP!
Fiona had teleported behind Rakash, grasped the Kaly Vampire’s head between both of her hands and snapped his neck. It would not give Rakash his Second Death, but only incapacitate him for a short time before his bones knitted themselves together.
Cirillen had jumped to her feet. Her fangs were bared and her fingers were curled into claws.
Ryder commanded the Dire Wolf to attack.
Khos leaped on Cirillen who opened her mouth to shout.
The two of them went down with a whump. Cirillen’s scream was cut off just as it began as the Dire Wolf ripped out her throat.
Blood–rich and dark red–fountained into the sky.
Ryder closed his eyes as its heady metallic tang filled the air.
The urge to fight, to kill, licked at him.
He could taste the hot blood and flesh on Khos’ tongue.
Feel the give of skin, tissue and bone give way beneath Khos’ powerful jaws.
It was only a slight sense of wildness emanating from Grayson that snapped him back to himself.
His beloved and fledgling was staring at that blood and gore with wide, unblinking eyes. Grayson’s fangs were extended. He trembled with desire, with need, for blood. Ryder put a hand on Grayson’s shoulder just as he was about to bound over to the Kaly Vampire.
“No,” Ryder put a note of command in his voice.
He didn’t wish to do this, but he realized he must at this moment. Grayson’s head snapped towards him, silver eyes shining, fangs bared, but then the haze of blood lust left them and Grayson blinked. He put a hand to his forehead and shook himself.
“Damnit, I hoped I wouldn’t have this problem,” Grayson muttered.
“You’re hungry. It’s not a problem,” Ryder insisted. “I should feed you–”
“Here? Now? No,” Grayson shook his head fiercely. “You fed me before we left. That should be enough.”
“Some fledglings need more blood than others. You’re hosting three gifts. And you were just turned. You shouldn’t even be out in the world,” Ryder reminded him.
Grayson grimaced. “There are many things not as they should be. But we must deal with them. I must deal with this.” He shot Ryder a grateful look. “Thank you. For stopping me.”
Ryder nodded. “Anytime. Just perhaps stand upwind of the bodies. I need to end the other one before he comes back. There will be more blood.”
Grayson reluctantly nodded as well. He moved about a dozen feet from them.
Ryder approached the male Kaly Vampire, Rakash, and stared down at him with an almost clinical precision.
He was fully in control of his own bloodlust, too.
He reached down and ripped Rakash’s head off.
Blood sprayed everywhere, but he managed to side step it.
Dark red lakes formed around both bodies.
They didn’t have time to bury them. He only hoped that this was far enough away that no one would notice the smell of blood wafting down from here.
“Khos, finish her,” Ryder commanded. “Give her a Second Death. We can’t have them coming back and telling people what they’ve seen.”
Khos happily chomped through Cirillen’s neck, licking his bloody muzzle afterwards to clean it.
“Should have known they’d be watching the Destiny gate,” Grayson said as he slowly approached the bodies. He was careful not to look too long or too carefully at the blood pools. He turned to look at Charlie. “Good job in glamourizing us so quickly, Charlie.”
“You’re not the only one who should have guessed we’d need disguising coming through the gate.
Should have changed us all before we left,” Charlie answered in Artemis’ voice, but then it changed as his whole form changed to mirror Cirillen’s.
“Thought we’d have a moment. But only a fool trusts Eyros. Have to keep an eye on his way in.”
Eyros had truly given Ryder the most trouble in the War. Despite the other Immortal not being martially-minded, Eyros was intensely intelligent and strategic. He had adapted himself to what he needed to be to survive. He’d have to remind Balthazar of that when they saw him next.
“You appearing to be Artemis gave us the moment we needed,” Ryder said. He saw his own skin become the color of ebony as Charlie glamourized him to look like the other fallen Kaly Vampire, Rakash.
“I’ll tweak the rest of you as soon as we see some more of the inhabitants here,” Charlie explained. “We don’t want to add stranger to everything else we’re facing. Expect me to glamourize you multiple times, in fact, as we make our way through Solace to get to the Spire.”
Grayson nodded. “We need to blend in as best as we possibly can. We’ll need to do some recon on who is allowed in and out of the Spire.”
Charlie petted Khos–who allowed the touch as he continued to lick his chops–and Ryder saw that glorious coat change from thick fur to bone and gristle.
“Ah, now Khos looks like a Kaly pet,” Charlie said.
Ryder reached down to touch the Dire Wolf who looked up at him with adoration out of glowing blue eyes set in a skull mostly denuded of flesh. But his fingers felt fur despite his eyes telling him none was there. Ryder smiled and scratched Khos between the ears again.
“Good Khos,” he murmured and sent a psychic wave of approval. Khos’ tongue lolled out.
“There look to be quite a few people at the Spire. It’s definitely Kaly’s headquarters,” Grayson said.
He was standing on the edge of the cliff that held the Destiny gate.
The path the Kaly Vampires had been climbing up towards them on switchbacked down the cliff towards Solace.
Ryder joined him. He could see the wide, pale plaza filled with people moving back and forth across it.
Hundreds of Vampires. Maybe a few thousand.
His stomach tightened. If they were discovered, it would be very, very bad.
The four of them couldn’t fight so many.
They didn’t yet have all of their powers back yet and Grayson was just turned.
No, they had to keep out of sight and out of mind.
“There aren’t just Kaly Vampires here,” Grayson murmured as his silver eyes narrowed when he tracked the ant-like figures.