Chapter Five

A Game of Shadow

Heather waited in front of a boarded up liquor store as the chill November winds whipped about her. She hoped Shin would be here soon. His dojo in Chinatown was just blocks from here. She thrust her hands in her pockets and waited.

The night had been a complete failure. She had tracked a local clan of vampires to the rave clubs, but hadn’t turned up anything. She had to start all over. Now she stood in the cold night, still in her vampire disguise, waiting for Shin to back her up because she felt something.

She could feel it hiding in the shadows, some demon spawn that ought not to be among humans. She felt certain it could sense her too. It was watching her from the alley across the street.

Shin, in his warrior togs, landed lightly behind her. She’d never get used to how he jumped rooftop to rooftop in silence.

“Trying to scare me to death?” she queried.

“No, pointless activities are not my way. You said it was a demon... .”

Heather winced wondering if he meant the comment as a joke, but Shin seemed focused as always. “Yes, a small one hiding over there.”

The shadow took that as a cue to move. It withdrew rapidly into the alley.

The hunters pursued.

     The dark shape, a living shadow cast against the city grime, flitted against the crumbling facade of an abandoned building. It slithered in through a crack in a window as Shin and Heather stalked in from an alley way. They stood just out of reach of the streetlamp’s glow.

     Shin wore a saffron silk tunic with wide sleeves. He looked the building up and down as if trying to see something that wasn’t there. “It came this way. I saw it,” he said with a thick Japanese accent. “Foul creature show yourself,” he muttered angrily. “It hides in the darkness. Please, shed some light, Heather.”

“Yes, Master Shin,” the girl’s low murmurs produced a pinpoint of light that floated in her hand and dimly illuminated the area around them. All shadows in the alley dispersed as the pale glow expanded to fill every corner with its light.

The huge black cockatoo departed his perch on her shoulder to make a recon pass of the building. While the bird was flying his mistress closed her eyes and concentrated. She could see all the bird saw.

Suddenly, a black tendril reached out of the topmost window and struck the bird senseless causing the avian to tumble to the ground.

“Caesar!”  Heather cried, worry welling up in her throat. She rushed to her fallen familiar and found him groggy but alive.

Shin drew his katana while Heather cradled the stunned creature. “It’s on the top floor. I’m jumping up there. Please meet me from the inside. Remember, be careful not to shoot through the demon and hit me.” Heather knew he wanted to be clear. Although he had trained her for several years, he still preferred to work alone.

Shin was master of the Eastern ways. Heather was always amazed at the prowess his training had produced.

Shin held his sword in one hand as he leapt up ten stories to the fire escape. His leap was fluid motion more like flying than jumping. He landed feather light on the railing-- balanced on the point of his right sandal with his sword raised, ready.

Heather cradled her companion in the folds of her trench coat. She drew her snub nose .38 special and ran into the building, leaving her glowing orb in the alley.

As much as she trusted her magic, there were occasions when it failed her. Her pistol was a precaution against being caught defenseless. A few well placed rounds could sometimes purchase her the extra time she needed to cast her spell.

     Heather’s black leather trench coat brushed the stairs as she ran up them. She quickly checked around the corner of each landing before she barreled up the next flight. Hopefully the thing would be too busy fighting Shin to notice her, but she slowed to a quiet pace as she neared the top floor anyway. She was familiar with Master Shin’s power. She had to consider the possibility it would flee back toward her rather than fight.

     She tucked her fallen bird into her coat next to her heart, and then drew her silver dagger. Gun pointed forward, she continued her climb.

     Really, Heather, I could watch Caesar for you, came an annoyingly familiar voice in her mind. She glanced down to see a short-haired, black cat, who wore a ruby studded collar, at her feet.

     “Simon, you are following me again; get out of here! You are nothing but trouble, you silly cat. If you are a cat. And, besides, yesterday you tried to eat poor Caesar.” Heather side-stepped the feline.

Very well. The cat vanished in a shimmer as the clatter of wooden sandals came from down the hall.

Master Shin usually moved quietly but now he sounded like a herd of elephants. He broke through the stairwell door above and rolled down the staircase to Heather’s feet. He looked severely beaten. “The shadow is immune,” he coughed, “to my attacks.” Blood stained her teacher’s garments.

“Sensei, are you hurt?” Heather was worried.

“Not badly, young one. It’s your turn.”

Heather didn’t know which of her spells to try against something that moved as fast as this shadow. She doubted she could hit the thing.

The living shadow coalesced on the stairs above them.

Use silver against a shade. I figured you knew that. Simon had appeared behind the shade. Really, you are an annoying thing, Simon thought to the shade.

The shade flowed like liquid night extending and retracting a multitude of pseudopods as it needed. Its tentacles entwined to spear the cat, but suddenly the cat was gone in a glimmer.

Heather threw her knife and pinned the thing to the wall. It was held fast by the knife but otherwise unharmed. Heather began the spell to destroy the demon. Muttering the words, she pointed at the shadow, forming the sign of an upright triangle with her thumbs and forefingers. A blinding beam like a laser of sunlight shot from her fingers and struck the thing. Where the beam touched the shadow faded to nothing. Heather’s strength began to fade after a few seconds of exertion.

Simon added his own beam of light, and Heather tried to contain her surprise. It took some time, but the demon was erased by the pair.

“I want tuna when we get home,” Simon said.

“I think I can provide that.”

Heather immediately tended to her sensei’s wounds. Lucky for all of them, this was an easy day.

***

It had not been an easy day for Acea. She had spent most of it cautiously negotiating the streets and alleyways in her armored cloak of invisibility and featureless, silvered face mask which was the mark of a Blue Pentagram adept. She was just running a routine equipment check, but being invisible, as it turned out, was a real bother. She had to keep on her toes to avoid being bumped into or jostled by those who couldn’t see her. Even for someone like her, at the top of her class, it was a painstaking and tedious day.

Four of the five girls under her command had been disqualified during the exercise because they had been run into by passersby too many times while the fifth had to be taken immediately to the infirmary with a broken femur because she had been rammed by a taxi.

At sundown the test was over and Acea alone had passed with flying colors, but it was not with congratulations that the Headmistress greeted her. “Acea, you have had ample time to properly train those girls. What’s your excuse this time?”

     “I don’t have one. I know they should be use to the invisibility cloaks by now. They are skilled girls, but I think they are still being thrown off by the new technomancy gear. Maybe...maybe if you gave us a little more time.”

     Headmistress Ken’s fingernails grew into long claws as she caressed the young girl’s face. The demoness wanted to make sure her words left the right impression. “Time is not on our side. Darius has established a base here on Terra without the local council of wizards finding out about it. He has also established this school. We have gone unnoticed so far, but that will end if our covert operations teams move about like herds of cattle. Your performance is a reflection on me. Never forget that fact.” The headmistress smiled as she let go of Acea’s face.

     “Yes, Ma’am.” Acea stiffened to attention.

     “Alright, I’ll grant you one more week.”

     Acea doubted that would be enough time to bring the other girls up to speed. She was saddled with the worst team in the whole group, and she was responsible for them. She didn’t think it was very fair for the headmistress to put her in this kind of situation, but she had to abide it, and hopefully she could survive it. It was just a matter of getting her klutzy team members to pay attention to their surroundings. She had her week to get Hibiscia, Rhia, Rosa, Smilax and Pyria into some form of cohesive team. No, she thought, this task wasn’t very fair at all.

“Remember: one week. If you can’t avoid ordinary people, how in the world do you expect to sneak among mages? That will be your primary mission from here on out: surveillance of wizards and the like.”

“One week.” She’d manage somehow.

***

Justinian sat on the duvet across from his grandchildren and drank his coffee with a frown. He was speaking with them in the family dialect of Italian which he reserved for occasions such as this. “I am very displeased with you two. The Wizard’s Council is quite upset as well. They grow tired of your pranks and will not remain silent much longer.”

Lorenzo smirked, “So, what did they decide to do this time.”

“The usual. They voted to remain neutral for the time being, but requested I come and speak harshly to you about your crimes.”

“Oh, oh. They wouldn’t raise a finger against us and we all know it.”

Monet chimed in. “Grandsire, you stick your nose into our affairs every seventy-five years or so. Isn’t that enough? Let us have fun with our toy.”

Justinian shook his grey haired head in shame. “Opening the Dragon’s Gate was no joke. Unseal another and the council will not remain neutral. I can guarantee it. As for your toy, she is under my protection now. She is my apprentice.”

Monet sighed. “Why do you feel the need to protect her? We have made other servants without your complaint. Jacob, was a good one, but he didn’t last long. Pity.”

“Jacob The Mad, killed twenty-six people in a wild rage before eating his own feet. There was nothing I could do for him. Heather has recovered nicely, luckily for her. She is off limits to the two of you. Capish?”

Lorenzo looked more bored than usual. “We hear you. We’ll leave her alone for the time being, but we all know she will come seek us out again someday.”

“Do not hasten that day, grandson.”

“As you wish,” acquiesced Lorenzo, “but she will come.”

“Now, Grandsire, leave us be and go play with your Wizard’s Council whose neutrality we are all expected to fear and awe. We know increasing the mana flow into this world actually benefits all wizards. I’m certain they’ll just send us a nasty letter should we open another mana gate or two, but as it stands we are unable to do so.” Monet smiled her gat-toothed smile.

“Do not tempt the Council because they are slow to act. They have punishments from which I would be unable to save you. They are particularly upset about that dragon you freed last time.”

“Heather freed it. She opened the gate at our request. It’s her that the Council should be worried about.” Lorenzo looked more bored than ever.

“They have left the matter of her to me. Now, I must take my leave, grandchildren. Try to stay out of any further trouble with the Council at least for the next decade or so. Wizard’s have long memories.”

“Good to see you again. Pleasant journeys, Grandsire.” They kissed him on both cheeks and saw him to the door. After he had left, they kissed each other. “Nothing quite like having family visit is there, sis?”

***

Two weeks had passed since Jazzman had lead the other two vampires in a headlong flight from home for murderous charges of which they knew they were blameless. The down and out section of Manhattan had become their refuge from their own kind as they were now hunted by those they had once called family. Hunted by friend and foe alike. Hunted by vampires and by humans.

     They were keeping a low profile: feeding from people and animals only enough to avoid starvation, while hiding in the subway tunnels during the day and roaming the parks at night.

Dana was getting bored again. “I wish we could do something else.”

Jazz snorted. “We are running for our bleeding lives, girl, the humans think we are common murderers while our family thinks we broke our bloodoaths. Best thing we can do is lie low so our ‘daddy’ can sort things out for us.”

     “Daddy may have made us vampires, but he has very little pull with the rest of our clan. The paterfamilias of Suffolk County wants him out of the way. Getting rid of us was just the beginning.” Liz chimed in.

     “Don’t say things like that. Daddy won’t desert us. We shouldn’t give up on him either.” Dana whined some more.

Jazz reproached them both. “Our ‘daddy’ will come to our aid if and when it benefits him so we may have quite a wait.”

“Jazz, look down there. Two humans with dogs.”

“Bloodhounds. Vampire mutts. Those two are hunters. We better move quickly. Cross the street and climb up the nearest building then go rooftop to rooftop. I’ll lay them a false trail and hook up with you later.”

“But, Jazz!”

“No buts, just get moving!”

“We love you, Jazzman.” Liz hugged his skinny frame.

“Nice, now love me from afar.” Jazz took off into the shadows of the night and left the park trail.

Dana gave Liz a distraught look as the two hurried out of the park and scaled the nearest tall building. They looked first in the direction Jazz had left, then they looked in the direction the hunters were coming from, but they could see nothing. Liz took Dana by the hand and led her over the rooftops just as Jazz had ordered.

*.*.*

Heather had been searching for vampires at the local clubs for nearly two weeks without result. All she had found for her troubles was some humans strung out on ecstasy and special K. The weirder humans were into drinking each other’s blood from cuts in their skin, but they weren’t vampires. Her detection spells proved that.

While she was walking to a taxi stop from downtown Manhattan, she noticed three figures running through the park. Two were leading vicious looking dogs, and those dogs and the figure they were pursing glowed red when she conjured her detection magick. They were vampires.

Finally, she had been able to locate some vampires. She prepared a lightning spell as she ran into the park. With her mana gathered she released a bolt to stun the two humans leading the dogs. There was a loud clap of thunder that followed the blue white bolt, and the two men fell to the ground. The fierce dogs turned to face Heather growling and foaming at the mouth. Their mouths were full of sharp fangs.

Heather drew her .38 special from her purse holster and put a bullet through the right eye of each dog. The silver bullets stunned the beasts and they went down. Heather pulled out a pint of Holy Water and splashed it on the dogs that began to dissolve. Now, she went after the third vampire who had run away.

“Stop right where you are foul demon!”

“You don’t understand. You hunters never understand. We didn’t do anything wrong. We were framed by some other of our kind.”

“Your kind is murderous and evil. I can’t let you live.”

“No. We never killed anyone. I swear it. Someone in our clan pinned those murders on us.”

Heather was confused. “Vampires drain the blood of the living to feed. That makes you evil in my book.”

“Look, Hunter. We drink blood but we don’t have to kill anybody or anything. Most of us abide by the rule of our clan that says killing just draws unwanted attention to us. We don’t harm anyone when we feed. If we did the whole world would know about us. We were setup.”

“Like I should believe any word you say. I’ll give you eleven seconds to make me believe you then I waste you.” Caesar, her great cockatoo familiar, came to rest on her shoulder.

“Okay, one of our clan is violating the code of the clan by murdering his victims. He’s blamed it on us. I’ve never killed anyone in my unnaturally long life. None of us have, that is, none of the three of us anyway. I can’t state it any plainer than that.”

Heather had raised a veracity spell while the vampire spoke. Her magick detected no lies in what he said. She was puzzled on how to proceed. She trusted her spell; however, she wasn’t sure she should trust a vampire in any case. Caesar cocked his head to the side as if to show agreement with her confusion.

“Okay, if I wanted to believe you, I suppose I’d have to let you go. But, since you are a vampire I can’t let you off the hook so lightly. I want to know who is doing the killing so I can find him and stop him.”

Jazzman relaxed a tiny bit. “I wish I knew. It’s one of the Suffolk clan of vampires. I don’t know which one, but he or she must be fairly high in our hierarchy to be able to pull this off. If you could figure out who it is, you could clear our names. I would be in your debt.”

Heather waived her hand. “I don’t need any vampires indebted to me, thank you. I just want the murders to stop.”

“Then do some research. Our clan operates out of an old mansion on the north side of town.”

“How do I get in?”

“They have parties every Friday night. All the clan is there, and so are their human guests. Just be careful you don’t end up on the menu.”

Heather had covered her vampire disguise with the illusion of her normal self for the walk home. She switched one illusion for the other so she appeared to be a vampire again. “I think I have that covered.”

“Good idea, except we vampires have our own natural brand of magick. Be careful, witch. It won’t be easy to fool all of them.”

“Anything you can think of to help me?”

“Yeah. Introduce yourself as a new member of the Chicago clan. There shouldn’t be anyone at the party who could say different.”

“I can’t believe I’m going to let you go, but I trust your words. I’ll have to investigate this further.” She handed the vampire her business card. “Call me if you hear anything.”

“Good luck, hunter. My life hangs in the balance.” Jazzman melted into the dark shadows.

Things in Heather’s life had just become more complex than usual. She had been prepared to hunt down a small handful of vampires and slay them all. Now she had to sort through God knows how many vampires to find a single culprit. She hoped it was a single culprit anyway.

Heather went home, cleaned off her makeup, and went to bed. She didn’t sleep well at all that night.

***

Good Morning, sunshine. Did nightmares about vampires keep you up all night? Simon was perched on the edge of the bed purring to himself and wearing that self same satisfied grin he always wore. She threw a pillow at him and he vanished before rematerializing at the head of her bed. Feeling a little grumpy, Are we?

“No, I am not. Isn’t it enough that I lay awake half the night figuring my next move without having to wake up to your snide remarks? Who said you could come in here anyway?”

I go wherever I please! Remember? I’m a cat, and a cat does whatever he wants without asking for permission.

“Great. Well don’t wait for my permission to leave then. Just do it.”

Simon padded closer to her face and sniffed. Heather sneezed. “Not so close. You know how allergic I am to fur.”

They have pills for that now. I take it from the light taint of fear on your skin that you are actually considering to do what that vampire said.

“Yes. At best I can find the murderer and at worst I can scope out the rest of the vampires. Sounds, like deal to me.”

Simon looked at her intently. Well, I wouldn’t trust a vampire under any circumstances under any spell. Anyway, you are going to have to do better than that gothic rave slut disguise of yours. It is fine for the night clubs, but not a posh party like you will be trying to crash. High class vampires are the essence of posh. You’ll need a formal disguise.

 “I’m taking wardrobe advice from a fur person now?”

Simon licked his bib. Yes, and you believed a vampire. It’s turning out to be quite a week, isn’t it?

“Well if I can trust a vampire. I can trust a cynical old magickal cat.”

Glad you see it that way… Hey, wait a minute, I may be cynical but I’m not old. My best years lie ahead of me.

“Not if you keep waking me up. Now get out!” She suddenly grabbed Simon by the scruff of his neck and carried him to her room door. “Now, stay out while I’m changing. My eyes are beginning to water.” She tossed him gently outside and closed the door.  “Looks like I have some shopping to do before Friday.”