Nightfall: Caulborn 5 Read online

  “And Treggen has hired her clan to hit me?” I asked. That would be just like the asshole. He couldn’t do the job himself, so send a bunch of elite vampires after me.

  “Treggen hired the clan to kill everyone in the Boston office,” the Codex replied quietly. “All of the contingency files for each agent here have been compromised.”

  Galahad’s voice was still dangerously calm. “To make sure I’m clear on this. The Caulborn, the very agency we serve, has been coming up with ways to eliminate my agents, and those records have fallen into the hands of one of our most dangerous enemies, who has passed them on to vampiric assassins?”

  “Yes,” the Codex replied. “In normal circumstances, we would deploy a team of inquisitors to intercept the upyr. However, there has been a situation in Cliffdon that required their attention. Someone broke the seals imprisoning a frenzy of weresharks, and they’ve been ravaging the coastline.”

  “Was Maxell Roberts involved with maintaining that seal?” Gears asked.

  “He was,” the Codex said.

  I rubbed my eyes. Treggen had been a thorn in our side for too long now. He’d killed a fellow agent, repeatedly attacked the Urisk, kidnapped a bunch of paranormals, and now this. “So what do we do?” I asked. “Hide here in headquarters until the inquisitors arrive?”

  “We will not hide, Vincent,” Galahad said firmly. “Annabelle, do you know when the inquisitors will be available for us?”

  She shook her head. “The weresharks are brutal, and the inquisitors have taken heavy casualties. It will be some time before they are able to help you, I’m afraid.”

  Galahad’s eyes were closed, his hands folded. I thought at first that he might be trying to hold back a tirade, but realized he was instead praying. “Annabelle,” he said after a moment. “It stands to reason that the Caulborn have documentation around this clan of upyr; who they are, how they operate. What can you tell us?”

  “This particular clan is one that has been around for a while. At least three hundred years that we’re sure of. They operated primarily in Romania and Russia, but have been seen several times across Eastern Europe. As I said, Vasylna here is their presumed leader. She does the negotiations and takes payments, but she’s never actually said she leads the clan. The clan itself is comprised of a handful of upyr; there are never more than six or eight, and we are confident that the membership doesn’t change unless they suffer losses. We suspect that they have other creatures in their employ, but haven’t been able to prove that.”

  “Gears and I just fought one of them who had a couple of rusalka sidekicks,” I said. “He claimed he served Lady Vasylna, so, consider that one proved.”

  She nodded. “I’m transferring all the documentation on Vasylna and her clan that I could gather. There are a handful of biographies and a few photographs. However—”

  “No, wait, don’t tell me,” I said, putting up a hand. “Before Treggen vanished, a bunch of files got deleted from the main Caulborn database, right?”

  She nodded. “Maxwell Roberts was very thorough. Even our backups were damaged.”

  I pinched the bridge of my nose. “Don’t you have them in paper form?” I asked. “You said that you’ve known about these guys for hundreds of years. Notes from back then must be in a book somewhere.”

  “The archives were converted to digital form about ten years ago, Vinnie,” Gears said. “I was part of the team that did it. The books were decaying, and the Care Taker wanted all information to be available to all agents at a moment’s notice, so they’d always have what they needed.”

  “Great,” I said. “So we’re flying blind.”

  “Not entirely,” Galahad said. “Think about what you’ve already seen, Vincent. They are targeting all of us. They are using both mundane and supernatural methods in their attacks, and they have access to significant resources. That tells us plenty. But it also tells me that we cannot simply wait for this to blow over, or wait for Dublin to send us additional resources. We will have to meet this threat head on. We cannot protect the city if we cower within the safety of these walls. The only way to address this situation will be to surgically remove the upyr, just as they were planning to do with us.” He turned to the Codex. “I trust there are efforts underway to recover the deleted information?” She nodded. “Excellent. Gearstripper, assist in anyway that you can. I want information about these upyr available to my agents as soon as you have restored it.”

  “I’m sorry, Galahad,” the Codex said.

  The boss nodded. “I understand. This looks grim, but our office is made up of some talented and resourceful individuals,” Galahad said. “These upyr will regret taking this contract.” With that, he and the Codex signed off.

  “We may be talented and resourceful, boss,” I said, “but a bunch of us are down right now.”

  “Then let us see if Mrs. Rita is here, and what we can do to get back on our feet.”

  We were back in Medical a few minutes later, Mrs. Rita bustling back and forth between the rooms. Galahad and I fell into step alongside her as she updated us. “Megan was given a very potent sleeping medicine. She’s awake now, but will need some time to recover fully. Kristin lost a lot of blood, and there were traces of poison in her system. I’ve purged those, but she needs at least a day of rest.”

  “What about Dr. Ryan?” Galahad asked.

  Mrs. Rita sighed as she took us to the room where we’d left Doc. She waved her hand over a series of runes drawn in grease pencil on the window, and we heard the screams. The kind of screams a person might utter if their skin was slowly being peeled off their body, one layer at a time. Mrs. Rita waved her hand again, and her silencing enchantment went back into effect. “Joseph should be dead. However, there is a healing energy emanating from him. I cannot interfere with that; I am uncertain about what is happening to him, so anything I do, any attempt to dull his pain receptors or any medication I could administer could make the situation worse. I have a theory on what’s happened, but I need to speak with Vincent about that.”

  “Is there anything you can do to speed up Megan’s or Kristin’s recovery?” Galahad asked.

  Mrs. Rita shook her head. “Even I have limits, Galahad.”

  “What about the girl we brought back from the river?” I asked.

  “She is awake, and very interested in talking to you,” Mrs. Rita replied.

  “Who is she?” Galahad asked. “Is she an upyr?”

  “I do not think so,” Mrs. Rita replied. “Though she does exhibit some undead traits, she is not sensitive to UV light. I shined some on her when I did my initial examination. My suspicion is she is a dhampir. Galahad, I have some things I need to discuss with you. Can you meet me in my office in a moment?”

  “Of course,” the boss replied, and ducked out of the room.

  I’d only read about dhampir before. Sometimes, when people are kept as snack food for a vampire for an extended period of time, they begin taking on vampiric traits; enhanced strength, speed, and durability. They lose the near catatonic state like what I’d seen in the vampire cattle earlier tonight, but the downside is that when the bloodlust kicks in, they wind up starving, because the human body can’t subsist on blood.

  “Come.” Mrs. Rita beckoned me to follow her. We walked past another exam room, and I saw Kristin sitting up in bed.

  “Hang on, Mrs. Rita,” I said, ducking into Kristin’s room. “How are you feeling?” I asked once the door shut behind me.

  “I’ve been better, but I’ll live,” Kristin said. “Thanks.”

  “Don’t mention it. Listen, can I borrow Mist for a minute?”

  Kristin raised her eyebrows at me. “What for?”

  “You said she could smell lies. I’m going to talk to our new guest, and figured she’d be good to have along.”

  Kristin smiled
at me. “You’re still thinking. Excellent. Yes, Mist will go with you.” Something nuzzled against my leg and snuffled affectionately.

  “Thanks,” I said. “Right this way, Mist.”

  With Mist in tow, I caught up with Mrs. Rita in the exam room next door.

  The girl I’d rescued was sitting up in bed, her hands clasped tightly together. She was dressed in a hospital gown, her stringy black hair pushed away from her face. “Marcilla,” Mrs. Rita said. “This is Vincent, the man who found you on the boat.”

  Marcilla’s huge brown eyes filled with tears. “Thank you for saving me,” she said, her voice tinged with the same eastern European accent as that vamp I’d fought. “I don’t know what would have happened if you had not come along.”

  “You’re safe,” I said. “Don’t worry about that now.” I relaxed my eyes, allowing my caul to filter out any illusions that Marcilla might be casting. Vampires typically project a stylish, suave illusion, but beneath that is a fetid, rotting corpse. Marcilla’s features didn’t change. She wasn’t wearing an illusion. I relaxed a little and returned my full focus to the girl.

  “They wanted to kill you,” she said, her eyes going distant. “All of you.”

  “Let’s start at the beginning,” I said. “Who wants to kill us?”

  “Vasylna and her upyr. They were given a contract on you, sent to kill you by a man named Treggen.”

  Wow, that was direct. “And how do you know this?”

  She sat back in the bed, pulling the covers up a bit. “I was taken by the upyr when I was eleven. They kept me locked in a barrel, letting me out only when they needed to feed on me. I tried to escape at first, but they are so fast. They can see in the dark; they can smell the life energy of nature’s creatures. And so every time I ran, they caught me. Back in the barrel. They injected me with drugs to keep me docile.” She turned one pale arm, revealing a series of needle marks running along one of her veins, just above a tattoo of a character I didn’t recognize. “Just enough drugs to slow me down.” She affected a male voice. “‘Too much and she tastes bad.’ I was let out only to be bitten, only in the night. I rarely saw the sun, unless it was peeking through the cracks in the barrel’s wood. Vasylna liked the way my blood tasted, so she kept me in her chambers. After a time, she let me live outside the barrel, chained to the frame of her bed like an animal. I heard all her plans, heard everything she did, every man she drained of life, everything.”

  “So why were you in the cage over the river?”

  The girl shuddered. “Two reasons. I tried to escape when they came to America. I thought that while Vasylna and her crew were busy with you, I might be able to sneak away.” She looked at her clenched hands. “I was wrong. They caught me and put me in the cage.” She looked so small in the bed, and was trying to pull in on herself even further. “But there was more than just that. Treggen gave Vasylna a file containing all the Caulborn’s weaknesses. They said you were powerful, something like a god.” She looked directly at me, with a sad expression, then continued. “But Treggen was confident that your caring for others was your greatest weakness. He said that if you were forced to make a decision between saving your partner and another innocent, that you would hesitate, and there would be time to kill you.” Her eyes were distant again, her voice faint. “I told myself, perhaps, this good man will find a way to save me. But if not, death would be preferable to living as Vasylna’s zackuska.”

  “Zackuska?”

  She licked her lips, searching for the word. “Snack?”

  “Snack,” I said. “That works. Well, Marcilla, the good news is you’re free of Vasylna. The Caulborn will arrange to get you back with your family.”

  The girl lowered her head and looked at her hands. “I have no family. They are all dead. Have been for years. I have no one.”

  “Well, you’re safe here.”

  “Vincent Corinthos, I am grateful for your bravery. But I am not safe here. You are not safe. None of the Caulborn here are. Vasylna means to kill all of you. I heard her plans, and in the time I have been with her, I have never heard of one of her targets getting away.”

  “You said you heard her plans. What’s she have in mind?”

  “The upyr mean to lure you all into a trap. They are planning to stage an event in someplace called the Undercity. They will incite a riot between the vampire clans here, forcing the Caulborn to intervene and negotiate to calm the vampires. This was to bring Galahad Eleven into the open. Vasylna made mention of a magical sword; she said when he drew it, that was the cue for snipers she will have posted to open fire. From what she was told, this Galahad is a man of strong faith, but possesses no other paranormal powers. A shot to the head or heart would be fatal for him. Then they would move on to you. And so on. I think they believe starting a riot could also increase the chances that the native vampires would take advantage of the chaos and perhaps kill some of the Caulborn agents that may have been a thorn in their sides.”

  “Do you know where in the Undercity this was supposed to take place? And when?”

  “Preparations were happening tonight. Vasylna was sending out her upyr soldiers to set traps and establish sniper nests while she mentally prepared for the battle. It’s her custom: she sends out the troops and then takes her time with me.” She shuddered and pulled the blanket up even higher. “Please, Vincent Corinthos, I don’t want to go back to being her zackuska.”

  Marcilla’s emotions seemed genuine, but I wanted proof. She might not be an undead, but she could be a very gifted young actress, planted here to lead us into a trap. Or maybe she was being compelled to tell us this information. I tried to trigger my Glimpse, look into her past and confirm her story, and was rewarded with nothing but static. I chewed on that for a moment, then put my hand on Marcilla’s shoulder. “Don’t you worry, Marcilla. Can I call you Marci?”

  She nodded. “I think I like that.”

  “Well, let me tell you, Marci, that the Caulborn in Boston don’t scare easily, and we don’t back down from a fight. Do you know where Vasylna is now?”

  Marci nodded. “The upyr have a lair at the New England Aquarium.”

  I was surprised they’d pick such a touristy spot. Then again, maybe that was the idea, go someplace we’d readily overlook. “Thanks, Marci. We’ll deal with Vasylna, and when all is said and done, we’ll find a new home for you. Count on it.”

  For the first time, the girl smiled. I got her a cup of water and told her to get some rest. Then I went back to Kristin’s room.

  “Okay,” I said. “I got quite the story from our guest. Can you ask Mist if what she said was true?”

  Kristin paused while she had a telepathic conversation with Mist. “Yes. It’s true.”

  I blinked.

  “Surprised?” Kristin asked.

  “A little. A story like that just sounded too contrived. Has Mist’s nose ever been wrong?”

  There was a snuffling sound from my right, as if Mist had just huffed at the idea. Kristin smiled at me. “She’s never been wrong before.”

  I put up my hands. “No offense intended, Mist.” To Kristin, I said, “We have to inform Galahad of what’s going on. Maybe we can get the Undercity PD to round up the upyr, or maybe we can influence the Midnight Clan or the Blood Runners to intercept them on our behalf. And, if the leader of the whole outfit is alone, maybe we can get the jump on her.”

  Kristin smiled at me. “You’re thinking again. Keep that up.”

  I caught Mrs. Rita before I left Medical. “Hey, are there any wards or anything on Marcilla?”

  She nodded. “You are becoming more perceptive, Vincent. There is a divination blocking rune tattooed on her arm. Vampires often put them on their”—she made a face—“cattle, so that they cannot be located by anyone who might be searching for them.” I relaxed a little more. That’s why
my Glimpse hadn’t worked. And that fit with the story Marci had told me. “Thanks, Mrs. Rita.”

  I went upstairs and found Galahad walking out of his office. “Got a sec?”

  He gestured me inside the office, and I took a seat a circular wooden table. The boss’s office was simply furnished. He’d recently added a small painting of Da Vinci’s Last Supper on the wall opposite the charcoal drawing of Christ looking up at Heaven. The shining silver sword driven into a block of red marble was behind his desk, somehow managing to look humble despite sticking out like a sore thumb.

  “What did you wish to speak with me about, Vincent?” Galahad asked as he sat down across from me.

  I told him about my conversation with Marci. “Mist says she’s telling the truth. Boss, if most of the upyr are laying a trap for us right now, then this is the perfect time to catch them.”

  “I would agree with that, Vincent, and your plan to use the Midnight Clan or the Blood Runners to intervene is quite clever. However, Megan’s latest report said that the native clans are afraid of the upyr. That they were doing everything they could to avoid them.”

  “That doesn’t seem right,” I said. “Vamps are super territorial. I remember when the Blood Runners first moved into the city, it was nearly all out war for a while there while we tried to get the two sides to negotiate. Plus, there aren’t that many upyr, right? The other clans have dozens of members, these upyr don’t number any more than eight.”

  “Then that tells me they are even more dangerous than we know.” He sighed. “That said, we may be able to borrow a detail from Ashgate. After the fiasco earlier this week, I think that they owe us that much.”