Living Dead Girl
ANGELO
The declaration that our ‘orc experience’ was a planned event makes my blood boil.
It was dangerous and stupid to unleash that kind of ruthless being on unsuspecting, random folks.
Luckily for the Fae in the marketplace and the royal contingents, there were two groups capable of handling the situation, but if there hadn’t been?
I have no idea how bad it would have been.
The Prince and his caliphate are more than capable of dealing with something that powerful and they had help from a Fae prince—who is likely going to be forced to report the sighting, eventually.
These are the fools Luca is in bed with, and this is only the first idiot to speak—what terrible crap is coming after Goldendash?
“All queries about our new capabilities will run through our distinguished hosts for now. Once your loyalty is proven, you will negotiate with myself and my other colleagues’ teams.”
The whispers grow to a low hum as Goldendash steps back, giving the podium to Baulaur Flǎc?re.
He’s a brute, and I’d lay a fat dime that this guy is a dragon or some sort of hybrid with lizard in the mix.
Silence falls as he stares at us all with one eye—the other is covered by a patch—until every single supe shuts their mouth.
Once it’s dead quiet, a deadly-looking scorpion tail sprouts from behind him, hanging over his shoulder with venom dripping from the end.
“I am Flǎc?re of l’Augere.” His booming voice echoes around us and I look over at Rebel as if to ask if he’s ever seen a goddamn manticore in person.
My friend shakes his head and we both scowl as we turn back to the man up front.
“We are hunters. Our business is tracking, retrieval, capture, and elimination of targets. No other supernatural service has a one hundred percent success rate.”
“Bit full of himself, isn’t he?” Rogue mutters in a very low tone. “I didn’t even know these people existed, so their rep can’t be that good.”
Damon winces, rubbing the back of his neck as he replies, “That’s because they are so skilled that the good guys don’t even know they’re operating Sparkles.”
Her eyes widen and I’m about to add my two cents when the squeaking of wheels draws us back to the stage.
A minion dressed all in black has something chained to a dolly, head bagged, and completely prone as they wheel them out to the proscenium.
Whoever this is, I doubt it’s a random supe who skimmed from the wrong fucking mob boss.
No, this is a big deal, and Luca looks delighted to be part of unveiling the surprise.
“Proof of concept for those who might doubt the expertise of l’Augere.” Baulaur nods at the minion, who whips the bag off of the bound person. A collective gasp ripples through the arena, followed by stunned silence.
The supe in chains doesn’t look like someone who should be an issue at first glance—unless you know who the asshole really is.
Not everyone in this place is old enough to recognize him of course, but those who do, know that this vampire ran rampant through the human world for centuries.
He’s worn many faces and been called a multitude of apt monikers as he spent his long lifespan killing them under the guise of serial killers.
“The Society and all the Councils have been after this mother fucker since the Dark Ages,” Reb hisses.
“Every couple of decades he pops up, generating a new legend from the humans under another name… but it’s always him.
We all know it’s always him.” The Unseelie tugs at his hair, gritting his teeth to fight off the ingrained urge of Guardians to complete missions they know are open—even if they aren’t assigned to them.
Rogue grabs my hand, squeezing hard enough to break my fingers, but I don’t pull away.
“I’ve always wondered how he stayed under the radar for so long.
I mean, now that we’re in the surveillance century, gadding about continents and creating famous killer personas is harder, right?
He’s had so many names over the centuries.
I get why he eludes the humans, but… how has he been eluding the entire supernatural law enforcement community worldwide? ”
“And how the actual fuck did these guys find him?” Javier says.
Archie hasn’t said a word; he’s just staring at the stage in shock. I reach over and poke his bicep as I say, “You okay there, buddy?”
He doesn’t respond, just continues blinking at the unmasked predator.
After a few nerve-wracking moments, he shakes his head as if trying to clear it.
“No. I mean, I’m not okay. This guy… Somewhere in the family lines of one of my dads is a victim.
I grew up hearing stories about my grandpa trying to decipher even one of his personas so he could locate him.
I can’t fucking believe this son of a bitch caught Vlad. ”
Rogue lets go, moving to our friend quickly. “I didn’t know that, Arch.”
“No need to mention it. The victim was way back in like… the 70s. It’s a half century ago, Wheels. I sure as fuck didn’t know them, so I can’t be mad about it. Seeing him chained is like your family ghost stories come to life, you know? Bizarre as hell.”
“I get it, buddy,” Rebel says. “I’d be shocked in your place, too.”
Damon and I look at one another, and I sigh. “Well, we both remember most of his lifespan and his crimes. This is a very effective marketing tool, much like the orc was. I wonder what—”
The hunter stomps his foot on the stage, and the force of it echoes through the arena.
“Now that you have seen what we are capable of… I will sting this miserable fool. He has been approached by many groups, many times throughout his life, and he has denied their requests to stop bringing attention that could reveal our kind to the humans. Both the light and the dark have tried to mediate his madness without success. This is his penance and his final judgement day.”
They’re going to kill him? On stage?!
Baulaur’s tail moves like lightning, striking the chained vamp in the shoulder.
A loud moan escapes the elder supe’s mouth as pain and the venom from the manticore sink in.
“I will let him wither while my colleagues take their places for their own demonstrations. You have been warned about what traitors may face—and that there is nowhere you can hide from l’Augere. ”
“Anyone know what the hell that is doing to him?” Archie asks as he continues to watch the vampire.
“Draining him very slowly and painfully until he’s at his weakest point… then someone will, like, take his head and stake his heart,” Javier murmurs. “The venom wouldn’t kill a vampire outright, but it will make him regret his choices until someone does.”
“Mythicals are fucking vicious,” Damon adds. “Especially those who operate outside of the law. I’m not surprised by this display, other than their ability to locate one of the most famous fugitives ten times over. Honestly, if he’d kept one name or close to it, he might have become a storybook.”
“True,” I reply. “Most of his aliases are modern legends. He fucked up ascending to actual immortality by being too interested in scaring the fuck out of humans.”
“Guys… shhh,” Rogue says as she turns away from our leonine friend. “Look.”
The stage darkens a bit as Baulaur sits down, and two females rise from their chairs.
I squint at the one they called ‘Lady Volkov’ as she follows the revenant introduced as Vissi Delice.
I’ve met no one from the Astral realm—and I can’t say I know anyone else who has, either.
Luca always said they keep to themselves and handle their business without interacting with the masses.
That meant demons, shifters, and all the supes who roam the more traveled realms, of course, but I figured they were just weirdo introverts or snobs.
I was definitely wrong.
“Good evening, ne'er-do-wells of Bay City. My name is Lady Volkov and I represent a faction from this realm that rarely deals with non-humans. My organization has always had strong ties to the supernatural community through our beloved leader, but he has become…short sighted. My like-minded peers and I will take over the organization eventually, and when that happens, the service we provide to your world and the human world will merge into something much bigger.”
Frowning, I look over at Rebel, who shrugs. He’s not aware of their shit, either. It’s like Luca and Lola assembled every under the radar villain in existence, then built a flying lair in the swamp to house them. “She’s human. This is so many levels of illegal…”
“No shit,” Rogue grits out as she stares at the woman who resembles an old school Russian honey-trap from a spy movie. “The urge to deal with her is as strong as it was with Goldenash. I didn’t feel it with the manticore because… Vlad deserves to die for his crimes.”
“Agreed.” The other Fae stares at the stage before he flicks his gaze back to us. “The Astral woman interests me. We’re taught very little about the less connected realms like hers. No wonder no one has seen this shit coming—it’s tapping resources no one would even consider possible.”
“I am Visssiiiii Deeeellllliiiicccce.” A collective chill falls over us as the skeletal woman points herself at the crowd.
Bony fingers grasp the podium and the wind kicks up, swirling that icy breeze around until I shiver.
“The powers of the Icy Fingers are not as tangible as my predecessors. But we are legion, and we can raise things that should not be raised. Your enemies will go mad and armies will be formed should you choose to explore our services.”
I’ve never seen a skull smirk, but there’s a first time for everything.
Vissi points a single finger at the vampire struggling in his bonds, and his skin wrinkles, pulling tight on his bones.
The agonized cries fade as he ages—something his kind should not be able to do—so quickly that he’s nothing more than an empty husk.
The revenant dips her head, then moves away from the microphone to her seat without another word.
“Holy—”
“There was nothing holy about that.” Rogue cuts me off and I nod in agreement. “That shit is fucked up. Can you imagine her just… reverse Dorian Grey’ing people all over for money? This is a goddamn disaster.”
“I’m more worried about the armies comment,” Rebel admits. “I don’t know if she’s talking about World War Z or just… hell, I don’t know. But zombie armies are never good.”
“If any of you assholes get bitten, you’d better tell someone,” Archie warns. “Because I will absolutely set you all on fire if I have to.”
I squint at him, my lips curving up. “Arch… are you afraid of zombies? You’re a fucking lion, man.”
He socks me in the arm, his expression firm. “I do not. like. things. that are. dead. moving. Leave it at that.”
“Okay, but—”
“Angelo, don’t bully him,” our girl says as she gives everyone but the big scaredy cat an evil glare. “The rest of you be nice, too. Remember how badly Gui creeps us out, even though he’s pretty cool? Everyone has fears.”
“Giant spiders are real, zombies are not,” Javier says, as he chuckles. “That’s irrational.”
“Uh, all fears are irrational, and according to Bone Lady, zombie armies are a thing.” Rogue leans in to stick her tongue out at the phoenix and I sigh.
“At least we’re all still having fun as the world flips upside down.”
Damon laughs, bumping my shoulder with his.
“Bro, if we’re only halfway through this nonsense and it’s this bad?
Laughter is probably the best we can do, so we don’t cry.
We’ve always said the worst thing that could happen is Luca getting more power in Hell.
It’s pretty clear Hell isn’t his end game anymore. ”
My twin is right—and that’s much more terrifying than theoretical zombie armies.