The cleric knights sat around the long table. Each one a fighter. Each one a preacher. In the forty years since the death of the great king, Onrius Skiv, the Goblins had held the upper hand. Many of these thirty knights had seen the horrors of war with Havskel of the Deep and had looked into themselves, into the place where their soul ached to rejoin its Gnuph body in Mhalasia. Since the death of Onrius Skiv, the kingdom had divided. Skiv, ever the peace maker, had held it all together. Now it was a time of warlords, thieves and, of course, the Goblins.

 

            In the great, green hall of Elbum Cathedral, the High Cleric Adron’etz and the Warlord Pflezka took their places at the council table. Adron’etz raised his glass and blessed the cleric knights with the Rites of Olhm-Shuul. When the blessing was over they drained their ornate goblets. Adron’etz took a deep breath.

 

            “Zjon the Sword is dead. Struck down by Havskel of the Deep. Havskel is still in possession of the Skiv Killer but lacks the true stone.” All but Pflezka closed their eyes at the mention of The Stone. “The seed of Zjon have scattered to the corners of the world and have secreted the stone. Unlike my brethren in the High Council, I do not feel that hiding the Stone is sufficient. Until the Stone is returned to Elf lands, we are vulnerable to Havskel’s hoards. So you have a task. A task that may not end in your life time. A task that will one day deliver the Elves from the onslaught of The Tainted. A task that will reunite our people with our Gnuph bodies of old.”

 

            An unease spread through the cleric knights. The High Cleric’s words were frightening. It was strange that he would hand down a charge that went against the High Council of Orders. The High Cleric rose and held aloft a golden seal. “This is your crest! The Crest of Elbum. Your sole purpose is to find The Melk Stone, wherever it is in the world, and return it to the elves so that we may be victorious.  This is your mission, the mission of your children, and all your bloodline until the quest is complete.” He looked at one of the knights. “Mantah. I am placing you as leader. You are to recruit those you deem worthy and stand as high judge over those you deem guilty. As you decide, I will uphold.” He looked to the knights. “Mantah and all those whom he appoints are the law makers. They are The Mezo.”

 

            The Knights of Elbum rose and faced Mantah. They bowed. Their lives were his. His was the divine right. The driver of their souls. The keeper of the quest. He was now The Mezo.

 

- Big City -

APERTURE

by Eric Schwartz

           

            Charlie blinked. While he and the young lady had only met for a moment, the power of her eyes and the beauty of her face had stayed with him all these weeks. She had rushed out so suddenly at their last meeting, he wanted to grab her and make sure she didn’t bolt again.

 

            “Miss Danae?” Charlie said again. “What are you doing here.”

 

            Kalista was rushed. She stepped up to him and removed her ball cap. Her long hair fell around her face. “I’m sorry, Mr. Pickens.” She moved past him into his office. “The door was open.”

 

            “Miss Danae, I’m…”

 

            “My friends call me Kali, Mr. Pickens.”

 

            “Kali. I’m sorry but Smiles isn’t here.” Charlie shut the door to his office. He didn’t mean to but something inside of him made him want to be alone with her.

 

            “I know. I am here to see you, Charlie.” She stepped up to him again. “Please don’t think me forward.” She took his hand and stared up into his eyes. The moment seemed like forever to Charlie. The urge to lean forward and kiss her was strong. Her siren eyes beckoned him. Her body was close. He watched her breasts rise and fall as she breathed. In his mind, he knew that this was part of what a Siren was. He thought of Laura and broke through the spell a bit. An instant later Kali released his hand. She turned and sat gracefully in the chair. “It’s true,” she said.

 

            By this time Charlie was well aware of Kalista Danae’s gift. The young Siren could see images of person’s future through simple or, as Stack and Needless speculated, more complex touching. He felt a shiver in his spine. Something was wrong.

 

            “I read about the attacks in the paper,” she said. “At Serenity. I was as shocked as anybody. But it put some pieces together for me.”

 

            “Pieces?” Charlie sat in his chair, staring intensely at her.

 

            “Several weeks ago, when we met outside this office, just briefly, I saw things.”

 

            “Yeah. You said I wasn’t like the rest of them, I was different.”

 

            “Did I?” She chuckled. “Yours were some of the most intense images I have ever received. I understood very little. But some of those images made sense when I heard the news.”

 

            “The vampire attack?”

 

            “I knew I had to see you. I had to tell you.”

 

            “Tell me what?”

 

            “I believe you’re in danger. Or will be. Soon.”

 

*

            Needless stumbled backward, stunned. The brilliance of the flash had left him momentarily blind. He heard the shrieking of injured vampires and the sound of a thousand voices yelling. He heard fists and rocks and sticks colliding. He was sun-blind in the middle of a riot. He felt a sharp pain and was thrown to the ground. As the white-purple after-image began to fade he realized that several angry young men were bearing down on him. He pulled his shield up in time to hold them off. The half-elf rolled out from under them and gained his footing.

 

            Needless thrust forward with his shield and knocked one of the young men back. With his free hand he grabbed another and forced him to the ground, shouting “Don’t move!” He turned in time to see his fellow officers fire gas canisters into the crowd. What had happened? It had all gone to hell. As if second nature, he slipped one of several, plastic strips out of his belt, the ones they use because it’s impractical to have thirteen pairs of handcuffs, and cuffed the man on the ground. The other two had scattered into the crowd.

 

            There was no order, no battle lines. Everybody fought everybody else. The suddenness  of the violence had taken the riot squad by surprise and they had broken ranks. It was a free for all.

 

Needless looked around and saw two vampire youths on the ground, their faces splotched with severe burns. The sunshine grenade had been diffused by all the people, but where it had hit them, their skin had browned and bubbled. He rushed to them. They were both shivering from the cold and slipping into shock.

 

            Needless knelt beside them and bellowed into his radio. “This is Sgt. D’yen!” Before he could speak again, dozens of voices screaming for ambulances blasted from his radio. There was no point. He looked down at the oldest of the two.

 

            “Can you walk?” he asked. The vampire nodded. Needless looked at the other, who wasn’t doing as well. He took a deep breath.

 

            A moment later, Needless, with one of the injured vampires thrown over his shoulder, the other running beside him, fought his way through the chaos, to the street where the ambulances would arrive.

 

*

             

            Wood splintered, glass shattered and the doorframe was ripped from the wall as the Ironton police rammed through the door into the kitchen. Only a few dozen feet away, in the garage, Stack Fury and his temporary partner Callisto had discovered a fertilizer tank filled with what Stack was sure to be discovered as the blood of the Serenity victims. As the last slivers of the door jam fell, police began to roll through the kitchen door and spread into the house. 

 

            Stack and Callisto soon followed.

 

            It wasn’t a vampire home. The occupant was an elderly human, Warren Blevins. Stack feared the worst. Something in his gut told him that the owner had no idea of what was stored in his garage, or that the police were there. Callisto turned on his flashlight and the two eased down the stairs to the basement, guns at the ready for whatever they might find.

 

            The musty smell of the dank, unfinished basement hit them with a drop in temperature as they descended the stairs. Their feet finally came to rest on the cement floor and they began to look around the room. Unfinished wooden shelves lined several walls, containing the bric-a-brac of a lifetime. Winter Season decorations, old books, dust-covered board games and boxes were crammed onto shelves.  Above them, the wooden beams creaked as the Ironton police moved with all the stealth of a drunken fat man.

 

            An old workbench adorned another wall of the basement. A few tinkering projects laid unfinished on the bench. Tools ranging in age from shiny new to decades old hung in their proper place on a peg board mounted to the wall. While Stack had never been here, he knew the place. It reminded him of the basement of his father’s house, his grandfather’s house. His sense of dread grew.

 

            Light trickled through the grime and weeds covering the windows that sparsely lined the wall near the ceiling. Callisto dragged his light along the wall near the floor.

 

            “You think we’re looking for Blevins?” Callisto whispered. Stack nodded and moved his light along the opposite wall. Finally the two lights converged on a freezer in the corner. It was a large unit that opened at the top like a casket, the best friend of hunters and fishermen. Stack and Callisto looked at each other and moved toward the freezer. Stack sighed. It wasn’t large enough to hold a man. Unless…

 

            Stack’s light fell on the old man’s frozen stare. Callisto surveyed the body and jumped back with a gasp. Blevin’s frail, naked form had been snapped in half and stuffed into the freezer. His throat had been slit. As Stack leaned in an ran his gloved hand along the slit on the throat, his eyes came to rest on something else. An emblem, about the size of a foam coffee cup bottom, burned into the old man’s chest.

 

*

            Charlie stared into the girl’s eyes. Fearful and sultry. Deep, swirling pools that seemed to want and warn him. He nodded.

 

            “Kalista, what exactly did you see?” he asked.

 

            She smiled gently. “It’s not something I can put into words easily. The images started out slow but quickly grew faster.” She closed her eyes. “You are on the phone. You are seeing newspaper pictures of The Serenity and blueprints. That was the part that started making sense. You are very afraid. Mmmm,  ‘Both, please’? Then things are a little disjointed. You are cold and in the dark. Needless is there. There is a scuffle and then burning.”

 

            Charlie swallowed. “Somebody burns me?”

 

            “No. Burning. A hot green flash. Nothing you have ever known. This is where I don’t understand what follows.” She shook her head and ran her fingers through her hair. The images were too difficult to explain. Things she understood but couldn’t comprehend. Words. Numbers. Movement. She opened her eyes and looked at Charlie and shrugged. “All I can feel in the moment is Mathtalker. Does that mean anything to you?”

 

            Charlie looked at her quizzically. He shook his head. “What happens next?”

 

            Kalista looked into him. “Black. Just blackness.”

 

            “Like…”

 

            “Death.” Kalista murmured.

 

            Charlie felt his knees shudder. He had just heard the circumstances of his own death. He looked at her. “Why are you telling me this? You don’t even know me.”

 

            “I felt I owed it to you. You…” She swallowed hard. “You confirmed some of my suspicions.”

 

            “About Manzetti?” Charlie said, regaining his footing.

 

            She nodded. “Yeah. I probably have said too much already.” She caught her breath for a moment and headed toward the door. She moved out into the main waiting area. Charlie rushed after her.

 

            “Wait. Is he after you? Does he have something on you?” He yelled after her.

 

            “I don’t…I don’t know.” She stopped and turned. “I don’t even know who he is or how he fits into my life. All I know is that I feel him around me. I know he’s looking for me. I need to get out of the city for a while.”

 

            “Smiles…Stack…they can protect you. You can help them find Manzetti.”

 

            Kali shoveled her hair back into her ball cap and slipped some sunglasses over her eyes. She chuckled slightly. “They can’t even protect themselves from him right now.” She opened the door. “Please don’t look for me.” She sighed. “And watch yourself.”

 

            When the door closed Charlie could feel the quiet of the room surround him. He shuddered slightly.

 

*

            Mayor Denizen looked out of his window at the riot as it spilled out on to the streets around center park. Behind him Smiles and Venect watched also. The Mayor’s aides and staff seemed much more content to watch it all unfold on a bank of televisions. They all groaned as one of the national cable news networks began running a feed from the local affiliate. Things were not going well. Except for the constant din of the overlapping newscasts, nobody spoke.

 

            The Mayor put his hand up on the glass. He had already been told that it would be pointless and dangerous for him to venture down into the fray. His mind raced. His city was falling apart and he felt helpless to stop it.

 

            The phone rang. One of the aides pulled himself away from the televisions and answered.

 

            “Mayor Denizen’s office. Yes sir. Yes. I understand. Thank you.” The aide hung up. Wordless, the Mayor turned. The aide sighed. “That was the Governor. He’s mobilizing the Militia.”

 

            The Mayor’s eyes lowered. Smiles and Venect looked at each other. The Mayor braced himself. “I’m going down.” Aides stood, terrified. All shouting that it was too dangerous, pleading with him not to go. “Enough! I am going down there. Tell the media that I will meet them outside the main door.” He looked at Smiles. The Mayor could feel that this man didn’t have a political bone in his body. He searched Smiles face for justification. Smiles nodded. That was all he needed. “And somebody get me a bullhorn.”

 

*

            Phendra Ilken sat in front of his television, watching the devastation unfold in the heart of the city. He frowned that so many elves were being hurt. But it was for the greater good. Everything was going according to plan. It was only a matter of time before they would find the second marker.

 

            Everything had been prepared for. It had been so long since their name had surfaced. Soon the police would find the symbol and their name would once again begin to strike terror. An announcement that they were still alive, still strong, still looking.

 

            After decades they had found the location of the first marker. The marker laid a thousand years ago. It was the first step in the path to the ultimate goal.  He just waited for the news that would mean they could begin their move. He looked down at the ring. A ring older than the city, older than nearly anything. The ring that declared him Mezo.

 

*

            Throughout the city, smaller riots were breaking out. Shop windows were being smashed and stores being looted. The television was over and over again reiterating that the free-for-all had begun and Big City was up for grabs. Racial dislike and tension began to bubble up and spill over. Bars emptied as drunken patrons began to join the fighting.

 

            In the heart of it all, Needless Action was trying to save lives. He placed the Vampire youth into the arms of a waiting EMT who quickly worked to help the boy. Needless watched for a moment, making sure that the boy was going to be all right.

 

            “Is he going to be okay?” Needless yelled over the noise of the riot.

 

            “He’s in shock. I need to get him to the hospital.”

 

            Their conversation was cut short by shattering glass. Needless’ head whipped around to see a group or rioters approaching. They were pitching rocks at the ambulance. They saw the two Vampires that Needless had helped and they began to charge. The EMTs looked up, horrified. Needless turned back to them.

 

            “Get them out of here!” Needless helped the more-mobile Vampire into the ambulance. The two EMTs pulled the other in and shut the door. Needless heard the engine roar to life.  He turned back  to see the group charging, pipes and bottles in hand. ‘Shit’ was his only thought.

 

            The rioters descended on the ambulance and Needless.

 

            Feeling his human blood erupt inside him, Needless pitched his shield into one and kicked another one back. He felt himself gripped from behind and he used his attacker as a wedge. He rolled back and brought his police issue boot up into the jaw of another rioter. He then completed the flip and found himself behind the guy who had tried to restrain him. As the surprised attacker turned, Needless drove his helmeted head into the unsuspecting face of the attacker. The thug fell to the ground. As Needless broke free of the group, he realized that the ambulance couldn’t move because of the crowd that had gathered.

 

            Without a thought, Needless clambered to the top of the ambulance. Reaching the top he found a young elf had scaled the ambulance as well and was kicking out the flashers on top. Needless grabbed him by the nape of the neck and flung him back down on to the street.

 

            Inside the ambulance the terrified driver jumped as a pair of black boots appeared out of nowhere and landed on the hood in front of him. Needless Action pulled his beloved Really Big Gun, Penny, out of its holster and slid down the hood into the crowd of people attacking the ambulance.

 

            He rocketed feet first into a pumped up guy, lost in the moment, as he was smashing the headlights. As the guy sprawled backward he jerked back, ready to smash a skull. He found himself on the business end of the Really Big Gun.

 

            “Penny for your thoughts,” Needless blurted, staring into the guy. The guy scrambled to his feet and moved back. The surrounding crowd also fell back as the crazed cop began making wide, sweeping motions with the gun.

 

            “Mother fuck! I have been dying to use this all day! Please, one of you, give me an excuse. And believe me, these ain’t rubber fuckin’ bullets! So, unless some of you want to star in a closed casket funeral, you all best go home and let this ambulance pass.” He turned to the driver. “GO!” He bellowed.

 

            The crowd gave the ambulance wide berth as it pulled forward, siren wailing, and headed off to the nearest hospital.

 

            Needless wanted to arrest all of them. They all stared at him for a moment. He knew that he couldn’t take them all out. He was a cop. He couldn’t take any of them out. He would have had longer to worry, but that was when the armored military personnel carrier hove into view.

 

            A few moments later the Governor’s Militia joined the battle.

 

*

           

            Tim Carnaby hadn’t left the lab all day. He sat eating goblin take-out with the traditional slit bottom bowl. He had learned the method from a culturally aware friend at college. Purists claimed it was the only way to eat Hot Kzeek Stew. Of course the purists had their own slit bottom bowl, a Nok bowl. Carnaby, being only a passing purist, used the cardboard one provided by the restaurant.

 

Hot Kzeek Stew was a two phase meal. The spicy stew would be poured, steaming, into the Nok bowl. The bowl would then be hoisted above the face, the head tilted back. The diner then squeezed the malleable bowl (traditionally made soft wood with a lining of a cave hog stomach) until the broth began to seep from the slit into their open mouth. The person would then slowly enjoy the broth. When the broth was done, the meats, fish and vegetables that had been steeped in the broth and strained could then be eaten from the bowl in the second phase.

 

Carnaby knew that the process wasn’t as easy as it sounded. Many a novice would squeeze too hard and get scalded by broth, or at the very least ruin their shirt. Most people gave up. Too much effort for soup. Carnaby, ever the perfectionist, made certain he was a pro. It was great soup. If nothing else, it impressed dates and gave him a reason to show off. If he ever had dates, that was.

 

He hadn’t eaten all day. He had spent the entire day analyzing evidence from Serenity, and more was due any minute. He was going to eat, dammit. He had been gorging himself on Kzeek Stew, Highland Grass noodles and Underworld Dumplings (admittedly a human concoction of blind cave fish and cabbage, but good all the same). It was the first moment’s peace he’d had in what felt like days.

 

He had just lowered the nok bowl to begin eating the stew’s fixings when his printer roared to life. He rolled his eyes. A fax. Slowly a black and white image began to emerge from the machine. The image was a close up of skin with some kind of symbol apparently burned into it.

 

He put down his food and gently lifted the picture from the tray. The phone rang.

 

“Carnaby,” he said, lifting the receiver to his mouth.

 

“Tim! It’s Stack. I’m out here in Ironton. We’ve got the truck you scoped. You were right, my man. It’s stashed at an old guy’s house here. We found the home owner folded like a wallet in a freezer with this burned into his chest. Can you find out what it is?”

 

Carnaby stared at the picture and nodded. He then realized that Stack couldn’t hear him nodding. “I’ll see what I can turn up.”

 

“I’m sure you will.” The line clicked and Tim listened to the dial tone for a moment before he hung up.

 

He reached into the bowl and popped a chunk of meat into his mouth. He sighed through bites and turned to his computer.

 

*

“It is a scene you would think came from one of the oppressive dictatorships elsewhere in the world. Tanks and soldiers patrolling the streets. Angry citizens turning on police, firemen and emergency medical workers. Innocent people being beaten, buildings burning. The frightening truth is …this is our home.

 

Early yesterday morning, an alleged vampire attack at the Serenity Club in the heart of Big City’s trendiest area claimed the lives of 178 souls and left dozens more struggling for life in area hospitals. Tonight unanswered questions, racial tension and general anger boiled over into a full blown riot which left 14 dead, hundreds wounded and a city in shock.

 

What started as a protest march from Center Park to City Hall, prompted by EVUN spokesperson, The Elfnigma, turned deadly when a live sunshine grenade was thrown into the gathering protesters. The riot began so quickly that the riot police standing by were completely unprepared and soon overwhelmed. In an unprecedented move by Governor Haljis, the Militia was soon called in to put an end to the violence.

 

The riot lasted nearly four hours before police and military were able to break up the rioters. During the four hours, Mayor Denzien and the team he has assembled to help the community in the wake of the Serenity Massacre took to the streets to help comfort the wounded and plead with ordinary citizens to stop the violence.”

 

The scene cut to Mayor Denzien standing atop a car yelling into a bullhorn.

 

“I promise you. Justice will be done. It will be swift and fair and no race will be targeted. But this fighting has to stop now!”

 

The mayor’s comments were cut off mid-sentence as the scene returned to the anchor.

 

“The Militia, local law enforcement and the mayor’s office have issued a curfew for the next 36 hours. For now Big City remains in a state of forced quiet. Fire fighters are still battling some blazes in the center of the city, but estimations of property damage during the four hours is still forthcoming. We here at BKKY will keep you up to date as…”

 

Smiles switched off the television. He leaned back against the headboard and took a long drink of whiskey. He had been put up in a hotel room for the duration of the crisis, sequestered and on call to the Mayor’s office. Outside his window, the lights of the military, police and the fires created a second daylight. He tried hard to put the events of the day out of his mind. He hadn’t slept fully in almost two days. The three or four hours of alcohol induced sleep the night before hadn’t provided any rest.

 

He stubbed out his cigarette and kicked off his shoes. He glanced at the clock. Quarter past one. He shifted and re-shifted his body until he was prone on the queen size bed. He stared at the smoke alarm light on the ceiling as it throbbed gently. He closed his eyes.

 

He thought again of his father and of Gina. He hadn’t thought about the pictures in hours. Possible proof that his sister was still alive. It raised a hope in him that didn’t sit well. He was used to being alone. His father. His mother. Gina. All gone.

 

As he exhaustion took him he thought of how proud Gina would have been of what he had done that day.  It was the sweetest thought he’d had in a very long time. An instant later, the middle-aged gumshoe let loose a snore that gave the vampire Venect, sitting in bed in the next room, reason to chuckle.

*

Stack awoke with a jolt. Callisto flashed his badge to the checkpoint guard who waved them through. The car accelerated. Stack was slumped back, nearly wedged between the door and the seat, his arms folded against his chest, sore and numb. Callisto looked over and chuckled.

 

Sunlight was beginning to stream out from the behind the mountains to the east. A wave of pain ran through Stack’s neck as he sat up in the seat.

 

“Good morning.” The pudgy detective laughed.

 

Stack peeled his tongue from the roof of his mouth and nodded slowly. “How long was I out?” He looked at his watch, which told him nothing.

 

“You went back out to the car about four to get something and I found you passed out there. You’ve been out for a couple of hours.”

 

Stack smiled. “Thanks.”

 

“No problem. I got kids. I know it’s best to let them sleep. We wrapped everything up in Ironton. They’ll be transporting the fertilizer truck to Big City in a couple of hours. Blevins’ body is already in the hands of the Ironton M.E.”

 

Stack nodded. The streets were strangely quiet. It was the weekend now, but traffic still seemed to start up about now. Then Stack began to vaguely remember getting news of the curfew. He felt hung over.  He wanted a Java Jalopy Double Shot in the worst way. He prayed she’d be out tooling the empty streets, looking for him.

 

He ran his fingers through his matted mess of hair. He needed a shower, badly. “Any word from Carnaby yet? On the symbol?”

 

Callisto shook his head. “Nothing yet.”

 

Stack could feel his gut again. That nagging itch that told him that this wasn’t a vampire attack. Something else was at work. But what? Why make it look like vampire? He knew the symbol was the key. He half closed his eyes from the glare and tried to send all his thought energies to Carnaby.

 

*

 Laura sat propped up against her headboard. Something wasn’t right, she could feel it. She couldn’t put her finger on it, but something was in the air. An unease was floating in this nearly perfect moment. Outside, the Big City dawn held the promise of a new day. She could smell the coffee brewing in the automatic coffee maker two rooms away. Charlie breathed gently, his head resting on her stomach. She ran her fingers through his hair and watched his head gently rise and fall with every breath she took. 

 

It was a perfect morning but there was a smudge. In the back of her mind she was uncertain. Like one of Stack’s absent-minded sculptures, on the verge of collapse for no known reason. She knew it wasn’t the Serenity Massacre. While horrible, she was fairly immune to that type of news. She had to be, it was her job.  No, there was a second shoe hanging in the air and waiting to drop.

 

She and Charlie were quickly approaching their second anniversary. Charlie had fit into all the spaces in her life that she had been unable to fill. The excitement that he and all the people this relationship had brought to her seemed to fulfill her. Her life before Charlie and Smiles and Stack and Needless had been fairly uneventful. He brought with him an energy that seemed to overtake the jaded righteousness that seemed to fill her days before. She was now a woman of action. A strikingly un-journalistic thing for a journalist to be.

 

It had almost cost her her life on several occasions. The car accident while chasing down the lake monster. The crooked cop who almost killed her and T’lea. Countless other dangers she’d started facing. She had almost lost him, too. But she found, in her heart, that she wouldn’t trade it for anything. She had a new found zest for life. All because of Charlie.

 

She wondered for a moment if she was in love with Charlie…or the life she now found herself in.

 

Laura had arrived late home. The rioters were starting to disperse. Nothing more seemed to be coming from City Hall. She called the night editor and said she was going to get some sleep. Her hands hurt from the writing she had done all day. When she had arrived home, Charlie was already there. He’d been drinking, didn’t seem to want to talk. He just wanted to be with her, to hold and kiss her. To make love. Maybe, she wondered, that was what was making her uneasy. Something was bothering Charlie and he didn’t want to tell her.

 

Charlie quivered in his sleep. Laura looked down and smiled. Then she let her head roll back onto the headboard. She closed her eyes and let herself enjoy the morning. She drifted back to sleep.

 

*

Needless sat alone in the booth at the Gobblin’ Goblin, watching as the Big City streets began to come to life. Life goes on, he told himself.  His coffee seemed to help maintain the adrenaline buzz from the past 24 hours. The club, the riot. He swallowed hard. Even without the riot, sleeping was not on his agenda. His gut hurt too much. He had lost the first woman he’d ever loved.

 

He looked into the gently swirling black of his coffee and thought of Sioux.

 

He had been taken off of riot duty sometime after midnight. His thoughts were filled with nothing but Sioux and the desire to make it right with her. He returned to the station, showered and rushed to Sioux’s apartment. After several knocks he had used the key she gave him.

 

The furniture was still there, but all her personal stuff was gone. Clothes, pictures, toiletries, all gone. He found a letter to him on the counter.

 

“John,  I am leaving. I know you didn’t mean for the things you said this afternoon to affect me as deeply as they did. I know you would never hurt me intentionally. The problem is, John, I have been denying who and what I am for a very long time. I didn’t want to face the fact that I am a vampire. I have struggled for a very long time to assimilate myself. To sleep in a bed rather than a box. To deny my heritage. The events of the past day have thrown that all back in my face.

 

So I am leaving. I am going to stay with family in my ancestral home. Please don’t come after me. I know you and I know your passion. I need this. I need to find who I am. Thank you for your love. “

 

Needless looked up from his coffee. His head spun from the swiftness of the end. A clean break. No chance to defend himself. No real goodbye. He thought of her tenderness after the ordeal at the clinic. The two weeks they’d spent at sea. The love they’d made. His gut twisted again. He shook it off and realized that he had bent the spoon absent-mindedly.

 

It was going to be a long day. He finished up his cup of coffee.

 

He had to find Stack.

 

*

Stack pulled the towel around his waist as he stepped from the shower. He never favored bathing at the station, but there wasn’t much else to be done. There was too much to do for him to go home. He thought of Arrow and realized that he hadn’t fed him in two days. He tried to remind himself to run home later and feed him. He stepped to his locker and began extracting a fresh set of clothes. As he slipped into his spare jeans, Breen entered and sat on the bench near him.

 

“Hey Cap,” Stack said, toweling his head again.

 

“Long couple of days?”

 

Stack chuckled. “Yeah.”

 

“So what’d you find out in Ironton?”

 

Stack sat on the bench and buttoned his shirt. “It’s a mess. If it was a vampire sect, why would they drain the blood and truck it down to Ironton? Why would they slit Blevins’ throat? And the sheer size of the attack. It’s not adding up. “

 

Breen sighed. “Well, it’s about to get a whole lot more confusing.” He held out a manila folder. Stack opened it to find crime scene photos. “These are the vamps you took a look at in the warehouse yesterday. Riddled with bullets and blasted with a sunshine grenade. We thought it was a retaliation killing for the Serenity but the M.E. said it happened before the news really started to break.”

 

Stack looked confused at the twisted bodies in the picture. “So? Drug deal? Purist blood market?”

 

Breen shook his head. “Their teeth match bites on the Serenity victims.”

 

“What?!”

 

“I had the lab boys run them just to be sure.” Breen leaned in. “But check this out.” He pulled out a close up of a tattoo. “Each one of them had this.” Stack recognized the body art.

 

“They were Viss Kvazan?”

 

“What do you know about them?”

 

“Purists, blood market hoods. We pick them up for hate crimes, vamp supremacy stuff. But it’s all penny ante shit. Vandalism. Assault. They’re on the watch list but…nothing like I saw yesterday. It’s too big. They’re small time hoods, really. Last night took planning, took money. Viss don’t have the resources.” Stack sucked a mouthful of air. “Oh…man.”

 

Breen knew the brain was on it. “What?”

 

“What if the Viss were brought in as goons?” Stack was shuffling the photos.

 

“By a larger group?”

 

“Even non-vamps. Opposite but equal motives. Another group.”

 

Breen wanted to stick his hands into Stack’s skull and massage the brain. “How would that benefit them?”

 

“Driving a wedge between vamps and everybody else always suits the Viss. They’re anarchists. Anti-vampire retaliation would feed their cause. Make them the heroes.”

 

“So what happened? Why’d they get whacked?”

 

“Double cross? They’d served their purpose and were cut loose.” He looked at Breen. “We’re dealing with some ruthless people. They’ll kill anybody. They have no regard for any kind of life. But what do they want? A political statement? Revenge? What? This was a planned, strategic attack. This wasn’t a random act of violence. This was stealthy and deliberate.”

 

Breen stood. “I need you to find out who this group is and what they want. I got a call from Bledsoe an hour ago. If we don’t have some answers in the next few hours…the Bureau is taking over.”

 

“Oh shit.”

 

“Exactly. I need some more answers by noon.” He patted Stack on the arm.

 

Stack breathed deep.

 

*

Carnaby looked at his watch. Too early. All of this…too early. His coffee steamed gently in the morning breeze. He looked again at the address. He refolded the paper and shoved it into his pocket. He bounded up the steps to the brownstone and turned the antique doorbell knob. He waited a moment, looked at his watch, reaffirmed the address and rang the bell again.

 

A moment later he was shocked by the sound of a window above him slamming violently open.

 

“What the bloody hell do you want?!?!” Came the haughty, foreign voice. Tim backed out from under the porch roof and looked up. Three stories above him a man of late middle age, salt and pepper hair tossed about on top of his head, and hand-holding a ratty terry cloth bathrobe around himself, was sticking his head out the window. He was comical looking, but furious. “So?! What do you want?”

 

“Dr. Elrich Chandler? I’m…uh…here about your web site.”

 

“Oh shit. Another role-playing idiot. Go away!”

 

“Actually. I’m a sci-fi dork. But I know a lot of gamers. My name is Tim Carnaby. I’m a forensic detective with the Police Department. I discovered your web site while investigating a piece of evidence.” The old man seemed unconvinced, but more open. Tim reached into his bag and extracted the photo that Stack had sent him. “It seems to be a brand of some sort. We discovered it burned into the chest of a murder victim. One connected with the Serenity Massacre. I found the same symbol on your web site.” He extended the picture above his head.

 

Dr. Chandler adjusted his glasses and seemed to stop breathing for a moment. He ducked back inside and the window slammed shut. Carnaby sighed. A moment later the front door opened and Tim Carnaby was invited into the first solid lead in the case so far.

 

*

Smiles took a long drag and leaned back against the marble column. Here he was, helping to save some lives at the behest of politicians, and they wouldn’t even let him smoke inside the building. Over the last few hours the militia guards had gotten to know Smiles rather well. The first couple of smokes he came down for, he was frisked and his ID checked. Now he just made the international symbol for cigarette, a two fingered “V” moved back and forth in front of pursed lips. The guards just chuckled and waved him through now.

 

“Do you have a light?” Smiles was surprised by the female voice that seemed to come out of no where. He turned. His eyes met a pair of pale green elf eyes. They twinkled. She smiled. “Sorry. I gave this up a week ago.” She chuckled. Her black hair, flecked with the blue, was cut into a bob that swayed with a fluidity as she stepped toward him. Her pant suit gave nothing away but still teased Smiles into imagining, if only for a moment.  She stopped close to him. “So, sorry, I don’t have a lighter.”

 

“Not a good week to quit.” He lit his lighter. The woman rested her wrist on his and cupped her hand to protect the flame. As she pulled gently on the cigarette with her lips, and the cherry flared, her eyes rose to meet Smiles’. His face suddenly felt to him like weather beaten leather. Like he should apologize; ‘sorry, my good face is at the cleaners, I had to throw this on.’ The woman stood up and joined him in leaning against the column. After her first drag, the woman pinched a tobacco leaf off her tongue with her thumb and pinky and flung it to the brickwork walkway. Smiles could only think one thing…’Holy shit! She’s smoking straights.’

 

“What a horrible couple of days.” She said, looking at him. He nodded. “I have barely been home in 18 hours.” She looked over and extended a hand. “Sue Bley’na. I work for the Department of Diversity.” She looked over and smiled at a passing militia guard.

 

“Robert Johnson. My friends call me Smiles.”

 

“I know who you are. Your father nearly built our department from the ground up.” She looked at him with a wry smile. “We have a conference room named after him.”

 

“He would have been proud,” Smiles chuckled.

 

“You smoke filtered?”

 

Smiles looked down at his smoke. “Yeah. I haven’t smoked straights since…I was at the academy.”

 

She turned and held out her pack. “Here take one.”

 

Smiles chuckled. “Oh! No thanks. I’m good.”

 

Her reply was slightly more emphatic than Smiles expected. “I really think you should take one. It’s going to be a long day.” The twinkle left her eye for just a moment. Smiles glanced down at the pack. There, sticking out of the pack like an offered cigarette, was a note.

 

Another guard moved past them both. Sue winked at the guard, who smiled.

 

The twinkle returned to Sue’s eyes. Smiles slipped the note out and dropped it into his own pack. “Ah! What the hell. It’s like riding a bike.” They both chuckled.

 

“Well, catch ya later.” Sue said, dropping her cigarette to the ground and crushing it under foot. Smiles watched her walk away. She was still beautiful, but now there was something else. Something dangerous. Smiles hated the fact that a hint of danger made him want her even more.

 

A couple of minutes later, Smiles stepped into the elevator, the door slid shut. He quickly unrolled the note:

 

“4^th floor ladies room. 10 minutes.”

 

Smiles returned the note to his cigarette pack.

 

*

             Charlie pulled up into the 15 minute parking outside The Herald. Laura rifled through a few things in her bag. She stopped and looked over at him.

 

            “Thanks for the ride. Will I see you tonight?” She smiled.

 

            Charlie nodded. He took a deep breath. “Kalista Danae came to see me last night.” Laura looked at him, stunned. “It shook me up a bit. That’s why I haven’t been…myself.”

 

            Laura felt a lump in her throat. “What…happened?” She feared the worst.

 

            Charlie smiled weakly. “No…I didn’t sleep with her.” Laura’s shoulders visibly eased. “She told me that she had visions that I was in danger and might…die.”

 

            The pit of Laura’s stomach dropped. It was worse than worse. “How did she…”

 

            “It has something to do with Serenity. She didn’t know what.”

 

            A panic gripped the journalist. “You have to leave town. Go get away until the whole thing blows over. That’s the deal right? She tells you because you can change things.” She caught herself. “Did you believe her?”

 

            “She believed herself. Which was enough to convince me. I just…”

 

            “Just what?”

 

            “Look I can’t hide out. Smiles needs me. Stack and Needless might need me. If I can help solve these murders…I have to try. I’ve been in danger before. I just have to be extra careful.”

 

            Laura nodded. She wished he would get out of town. Go up to the Skion valley for a week. But she knew that he was right. She felt the responsibility too. She leaned in and kissed him, hard. She wanted the kiss to go on forever. When it ended, her eyes fluttered open and Charlie’s face was out of focus through tears.

 

            “Please,” She said. “Go home and just try to stay out of trouble as best you can.”

            Charlie nodded and smiled. “I will.”

 

            Laura stepped from the car. The pit of her stomach never rose again. That was never a good sign.

 

*

            Smiles eased into the ladies room. As he stepped through the door the only sound he could hear was the echo of the hinges. He scanned for signs of life, nothing. He stepped into the room.

 

            “There’s nobody on this floor today.” Came her voice. She stepped out of the stall at the far end of the room.

 

            “No?”

 

            Sue ran her fingers through her hair and looked in the mirror. “No. This is a public floor. Marriage licenses, stuff like that. With the building shut down, this is a dead floor. “

 

            “I assume this isn’t a romantic rendezvous.” Smiles smirked.

 

            Sue looked away from her reflection, to him. She smiled wryly. “No. You seem to be the only person in this entire building that I can trust. And if not trust, at the very least, rely on.” She moved to him.

 

            Smiles’ brow furrowed. “What do you mean?”

 

            “I am privy to a lot of information from a lot of sources. Something is about to happen and I can’t let it go on. “

 

            “How do I know I can believe you?”

 

            Sue held up a small shoebox. “Open it. I think this will let you know that I’m not full of shit.”

 

            Smiles put the box down on the edge of the sink. He looked back at her and then down at the box. He lifted the lid. His breath caught in his throat.

 

*

            Needless crashed into the seat across from Stack. Stack looked up from photos of Serenity. The two looked at each other for a moment.

 

            “Any headway?” Needless monotoned?

 

            “No. I’m waiting to hear from Carnaby. He’s out on something and his phone is turned off. Any sleep?”

 

            “No. Where’s Callisto?”

 

“Gone home for a bit. Checking on his kids. This is all hitting him kind of hard.”

 

There was a pause. Needless looked at his hands. “Sioux is gone.”

 

            “Gone…like…”

 

            “Gone, gone. Left town. She packed up her stuff and left. I didn’t even get a chance to say good bye.”

 

            A quiet settled over the two desks. Both men deep in thought. The moment was shattered by Stack’s phone. The detective’s hand rocketed out and snatched the receiver from the hook.

 

            “Forray.”

 

            “Stack! It’s Tim. I’ve got something. It’s huge and you’re not going to believe it. I have Dr. Elrich Chandler with me. He’s an iconologist and historian from BCU. He knows what the symbol is.”

 

            “Bring him in. We need to talk to him. Time is wasting. If we don’t have something to the commissioner in the next hour, the Bureau is taking over the case.”

 

            “Well that’s the problem. He doesn’t want to come in. Once he saw the symbol he freaked out. You have to meet us.”

 

            “Dammit!” Stack looked at his watch. “Okay. Downtown. Near City Hall. Clarence’s! That pub at the corner of Whedon and Carter. That way, if this is the information we need we can take it straight to Bledsoe.”  The two hung up. Stack bolted out of his seat. “Let’s roll.”

 

*

            Smiles Johnson had seen a lot of things in his nearly fifty years, both as a cop and in the private sector. But the shock of this took the cake. The image was unmistakable. He new the mask like the back of his hand. Artist renderings. Pirated television images. He looked up at Sue.

 

            “You…you’re The Elfnigma.”

 

            Sue nodded. “So I am. I thought that showing you that might be a sign of good faith between us. Also that I am very serious in what I say.”

 

            Smiles placed the top back on the box and handed it back to Sue. “Believe me. I am all ears.”

 

            “Let me start by saying that I don’t know who committed the murders at Serenity. I have no idea of their motive. I can tell you that it was an Elf action, using hired Vampires as grunts.”

 

            “How do you know?”

 

“Three years ago EVUN was contacted by an elf saying that he was an agent with the Bureau and he would like to become a member. He said that he has compiled a series of scenarios based on Bureau protocol. He told us they would help us plan operations. When I asked him what kind of scenarios, he said they were pro Elf. He wanted to exchange the information in return for membership. I told him I would take a look at the information. A few days later I get a copy of this “dossier”. These are straight terrorist scenarios, pointing out the Bureau’s weaknesses and every planned movement after a terrorist attack.”

 

            “So what happened?”

 

            “I turned down his membership. EVUN isn’t a terrorist organization. We may be anarchists but killing people isn’t our cup of tea. He got pissed off, of course…but I kept the file. The Serenity massacre is in there. Bureau protocols for a massive Vampire attack. How to frame the Vamps…it’s all in there. This guy plotted this attack.”

 

            “You think this guy fell in with another group? A group who would pull off something like this.”

 

            “I do. But here’s the worst part. This guy is Gray P’yan, the Field Director for the Bureau’s Big City office.”

 

            “What?!”

 

            “Yep. In less than an hour the Elf who designed this attack will be the lead investigator.”

 

            Smiles slapped his hands to his head. “This is crazy! What do they want?!”

 

            “I don’t know. But I know what will happen next. They’re going to sweep the caves.”

 

            “What?”

 

            “The planned next step in the Bureau scenario for investigating a massive Vampire attack in Big City is to sweep the caves. Clear every last Vampire out, house them temporarily in the Sportsdome, and conduct a security sweep. This has to be the ultimate goal for some reason. The only reason to frame the Vampires in the first place seems to be to get into the caves.”

 

            “But  anybody can go in and out of the caves. People go down there all the time. To the bazaar…to the “dark market”…I don’t understand how that could be a motivating factor.”

 

            “I’m just telling you what is going to happen next. Within the next 6 hours the Bureau will be flushing cave-dwelling Vampires out and conducting a security sweep. The man who is going to make this happen is the one who planned the Serenity attack. That’s all I know. Filling in the rest of it is your department, Smiles.”  Sue looked at her watch. “Look, if anybody in this building can do something about it, it’s you. But we need to get back before we’re missed.” Sue, The Elfnigma, leaned in and kissed Smiles on the cheek. “We never had this conversation,” she whispered in his ear. He suddenly felt a thick file slide up between his arm and his ribs.

 

            A moment later, The Elfnigma…one of the most sought-after figures of the modern day, left, leaving only a slight hint of lipstick on Smiles’ cheek.

 

*

            Stack and Needless moved through the pub to the back table. The high wooden booths made excellent cover for Carnaby and the large older man that sat with him. The two detectives sat across from them.

 

            “Dr. Chandler, my name is Sgt. Adam Forray, this is my partner Sgt. D’yen. Tim here tells us you know what the symbol means.” Stack slapped another picture of Blevins’ branded chest on the table. Chandler nodded and took a drink of water. “So what is it?”

 

            “It means “good kill” or “righteous kill”. The Elbum have three kill levels; righteous, protection and survival. Each kill is branded with one of three insignias.”

 

            Needless put up a hand and shook his head. “Back up. The who?”

 

            “The Elbum. The Order of the Knights of Elbum…” Chandler said it as though they should recognize it. When no recognition came, he sighed. “You have all read your history, I hope, religious or otherwise?” The three shrugged and nodded. “During the Third Goblin Crusade the Elf King Onrius Skiv was struck down in battle by the Goblin King Havskel of the Deep.” Stack and Needless exchanged glances. “In the years that followed, the Elf kingdom broke down. It became an in-fighting land of warlords and cleric knights who tried to hold fast to the traditions of Elf religion.  At a place called Elbum Castle, a group of Cleric knights, half elf of the sword, half elf of the cloth, were charged by a rogue warlord with the quest to return the Melk Stone to the land of Elves, ensuring victory over the Goblin hoards.”

 

            Needless laid his head on the table. “The Melk Stone. Crap, Stack, not again.”

 

            “So these Elbum…they’re long gone…right?” Tim injected.

 

            Chandler drank more water. “That’s the thing. No one knows, except the Elbum. The story goes that the second Elf Messiah, Zjon, sent his children into the wilderness with the Stone, hiding it from all who sought it. While in the wilderness, they founded their own order, who protect the Stone to this day. According to legend, the Elbum search to this day. They live and work among us, but they meet and communicate in secret. Their eventual goal, is the ethnic cleansing of our world, through the Stone. They believe the stone holds that kind of power.”

 

            Needless slammed his hand down on the table. “Look! I’m sick of this! Carnaby! We asked you to bring us a lead and you bring us a FANTASY WRITER!!”

 

            Stack looked at him. “Needless! Of all people, you should be a little more open to this.” Needless looked at him. He thought again of the Lake Monster incident. Of poor Wyshok Meen and the Skiv…and what Wyshok had asked of him. Needless thought of his little secret.

 

            Chandler coughed. “I’m not asking you to believe. I’m asking you to understand that THEY believe.”

 

            Stack pointed again at Blevins’ chest. “This was found on the body of a man, whose garage was storing the blood of the Serenity victims. How does this all fall in line with the Melk Stone or the search for it?”

 

            “You see, the Elbum aren’t hotheaded, zealous terrorists. They aren’t impetuous. The last reported Elbum surfacing was over a hundred years ago. If the Elbum are indeed behind the slaughter the other night, there was a reason. Somehow killing all those people was necessary. It took them one step closer to the Stone.”

 

            Carnaby looked confused. “But you said the stone was hidden forever.”

 

            “According to lore, in which some truth always lies, the path to the Stone is found through a series of markers. Hidden clues. A puzzle, laid by the Children of Zjon, to pass on the knowledge of where the Stone resides to future generations.”

 

            Needless shrugged. “So killing all those people was simply a step to something else. It was not the goal.” He looked at Stack. “I can’t wait to get my hands on these fuckers.”

 

            “Sgt. D’yen, this isn’t a street gang. This isn’t a group of drug pushers that you can go round up. This is the secret society to end all secret societies. The Elbum can be anywhere, anyone. They are lawyers, bankers, butchers, crossing guards. They live and work among us. Most Elbum rarely, if ever, take part in a mass ritual. They have money, power, clout…and they use it. They use it to protect themselves and to push forward their agenda. IF you find them, they will not hesitate to kill you. To them their cause is big enough that no life is enough, not even their own.”

 

            “Look,” Stack interjected. “Let’s pretend for a moment that this is all true. For this to have occurred, the murders, The Elbum would have to have taken a giant leap. But why Serenity? Why make it look like a Vampire attack?”

 

            “How would they benefit from framing the Vampires? You have to think like a chess match. With each move you need to think 3 moves ahead. Why Vampires? I’m certain we shall soon find out. The Elbum don’t wait long.”

 

            Stack’s phone rang. “Forray.” He answered.

 

            Breen’s voice came back at him. “They’re early.”

 

            Stack looked at Needless. “Who?”

 

            At the police station Breen watched Bureau agents move through the office toward his door.

 

*

            Charlie’s phone rang. It seemed strange, but Charlie felt an urgency in the ring.

 

            This was the call.

 

            “Hello?” He answered, reticently.

 

            “Charlie, it’s Smiles. I need you to do something. I need you to go down to the Vampire caves. Try to get to Hardin Row. See if you can get some information. The Bureau is going to sweep the caves. There is something down there that the people behind the Serenity Massacre want. But it would need to be something that the Vampires would need to be out for.”

 

            Charlie smiled sadly to himself. “Then why would the Bureau…”

 

            “Exactly. We have a much larger problem than anticipated. Just see if you can get in and out fast. The cave sweeps will not take long. I don’t know that I can get away from here.”

 

            The two said their good-byes. Charlie turned the car around and headed toward the nearest street level cave entrance. He leaned over and reached under the passenger seat for a second gun. He was taking no chances.

 

*

            The elf was impeccably dressed. A little salt and pepper colored his short cropped hair at the temples. He stepped up to the podium as the City Hall press took their seats.

 

            “For those of you who don’t know me, I am Bureau Director Gray P’yan. As of 11:30 this morning, the Bureau is taking over investigations into the Serenity Incident. We will consult the local authorities and with the investigators who have taken the case this far. Any leads or tips that come to us via our web site or our 866 Hotline, are anonymous and will be followed up on. We are going in to this investigation with nearly fifteen hundred agents in the field. We also have the Governor and Mayor’s blessing to use the Militia at our discretion.” Gray coughed. It only provided a moment of relief.

 

            Laura sat recording every word being said. Something was wrong. Something in Gray’s tone seemed to indicate that there was bad news coming. Laura wasn’t wrong.

 

            Gray took a sip of water. “Our first major operation in this investigation, is a full security sweep of the Vampire Cave.” A commotion went up. Gray held up his hands. “We have received credible information that a Vampire terrorist cell is using sections of the Caves as a base of operations. We know this is inconvenient for law-abiding vampire citizens. However, this will not be a military operation to begin with. We ask that all Vampire families, residing in the Caves, report to the Sportsdome between now and 6:30 tonight. After that, the Militia will move in for the security sweep.” The commotion seemed to grow. “This is not an internment!! We are simply providing accommodations until the security sweep is over. When the sweep is over, citizens are welcome to return to their homes.”

 

            “How long will the sweep take?” Came a voice.

 

            “No more than 36 hours.” Flashbulbs blew. Journalists mumbled.

 

            The pit of Laura’s stomach turned. There would be more riots. There would be more unrest. This was outrageous, even for the Bureau, who she had long distrusted.

 

            At the back of the room Stack, Needless, Carnaby and Chandler looked on. Stack and Needless exchanged glances. Neither of them fancied working with the Bureau. They silently agreed to maintain radio silence for a while.

 

            On the far side of the room, Smiles Johnson had broken a sweat. It was word for word as The Elfnigma predicted. The voice directing the sweep, and trying to calm the fears of the city and the Vampire population was attached to the hands that typed the files and plans tucked into the back of Smiles’ pants, under his coat. He had to do something. He suddenly realized that The Elfnigma was right. He was the best suited for this.

 

            It was time to play P.I. again. Enough of this peace talker bullshit. 

 

            It was time to make the swamphog squeal.

 

*

            Charlie hit Hardin Row not long after news of the Cave “purge” as some were calling it broke. He noticed homes and apartments, built into the dark rock face, beginning to empty. There was no panic, just angry vampires, grumbling and carrying overnight bags.

 

            Charlie knew that this had all happened before. 50 years ago the vampire caves were not sovereign territory. Often the police, the then “Service”, the militia, they would often trample in, take suspects up top. Routine evacuations of areas were often done. It was some of the darker moments in Big City’s past.

 

            The vampires, it seemed, hadn’t forgotten those days and were fully expecting something like this. Charlie cringed at the thought of living with that uncertainty in your mind all time. Knowing that at any moment now your rights could be taken away. If this was a set up as Smiles suggested, someone needed to pay for what they were putting these poor people through.

 

            Hardin Row was a quarter mile long stretch of cave that had become something of a cultural center. Pubs, buskers, shops all lined the illuminated cave. Big City had pumped money into the “gentrification” of the area. It was the face that Vampires wanted to put forward: progressive, accepting and pretty hip. While the businesses had changed over the years, some of the old dive bars still stood. When Smiles told Charlie to go to Hardin Row…it wasn’t to go to the fragrant candle shop. Charlie was looking for the darker element that still existed on the Row.

 

            Charlie stepped into a dingy dozen-seater bar, The Worm Hole. He eased himself down on to the seat. He pulled some petty cash, which came from the “bribe box” back at the office, and laid it on the bar in front of him. A few less than savory looking characters sat at the far end of the bar.  The bartender was loading some cardboard boxes. He noticed the money on the table. His eyes slid up to meet Charlie’s gaze. He chuckled.

 

            “Sorry, son, we’re closed. Or haven’t you heard?”

 

            “Actually, I’m not thirsty. I was actually looking for some information.”

 

            The bartender looked at the money. “Boy did you come on a bad day.”

 

            “I’m hoping to find out about any strange goings on recently, here in the caves.”

 

            The bartender put down the box. “What, aside from the verbal assaults and vandalism by non-Vamps? Maybe you’re referring to the government’s current trampling of our rights. Any other strange…’goings-on’ and you’ve come to the wrong place.” The bartender turned back to the box angrily.

 

            Charlie turned off his detective mode. “Look. I’m working with Robert Johnson.”

 

            “The guy on TV?”

 

            “That’s right. The one working with your Ambassador and the mayor. He’s received some information about the Serenity killings.”

 

            The bartender again put down the box and leaned in. “What do you need to know?”

 

            “We believe that the whole cave sweep is part of a larger plan. I need to know if there are any locations in the caves that are generally off limits to outsiders. Any location that a sweep would clear the path to?”

 

            The bartender thought. “There’s a few. Let me see. One of the four temples would be off limits, but they all have visitor centers. The Gash. The Walk of Relics. Those are all religious sites. There’s probably a few governmental facilities that nobody is allowed in. “ The bartender snapped his fingers. “You know what, “ he exclaimed, writing quickly on a bar napkin, “go to this address. There’s a guy who lives there. A non-Vamp who lives down here. He’s a historian. He’s one of the few non-Vamps who has been to some of the deep cave sites. He comes in here every once and a while.”

 

            Charlie slipped a few bucks to the bartender and glanced down at the napkin; Dr. Barnell Jhah - 1344 Apt C Skaro Court.

 

*

            Callisto hung up his phone and opened the door in shock.

 

            “Stack!” He said as Stack stepped into his kitchen, followed by Needless, Carnaby and some crazy looking older man that Callisto had never seen. “Everything okay?”

 

            Stack turned and began piling change in his pocket. “Sorry Callisto. This was the only place I could think of. The Bureau has taken over the investigation and we’re flying under the sights right now. We do, however, think we know who is behind all this.”

 

            Callisto took a sip of coffee. “Who?”

 

            Needless held out his hand, giving Chandler the floor. Chandler shrugged. “The Elbum…the KNIGHTS of Elbum.”

 

            Callisto blinked. “The Elbum? THE Elbum? The Melk Stone and all that?” The others just stared. “What? There was a Mysteries of History about it two weeks ago.”

 

            Needless looked at Stack. “We’re wasting time. We need to figure out what our next step is.”

 

            Chandler raised a finger. “If I might…”

 

            “What?!” Needless snapped.

 

            “Well,” Chandler coughed, “it occurred to me that perhaps the Bureau has already given us our answer.”

 

            “What do you mean?” Stack leaned on a chair.

 

            “Remember, we said that if The Elbum were behind this, there would be a reason why they would involve Vampires and kill all those people.”

 

            “Right. The killings themselves were not the goal.”

 

            “Exactly. What if, and this is purely speculation, of course,  the Elbum knew that the caves would get cleared out and that was their goal.”

 

            Carnaby jolted to life, as though he had suddenly jacked into the conversation. “What if the Melk Stone is in the caves!”

 

            Chandler nodded. “Or at the very least, a marker.”

 

            Needless shook his head. It made some sort of sense. “Okay. Just to recap this, for those of us just joining…The Elbum, an ancient, secret society, in search of a mythical stone, receive information that their next “marker” is in the Vampire caves. For WHATEVER reason they need the vamps out…so they hire a bunch of mindless pro-Vamps, the Viss,  to help them pull off a massacre, implicating Vampires, the whole time making the Viss believe that they are simply anarchists. The Elbum double cross the Viss, whack them,  kill an old guy, take his garage, and stash a lawn-care truck full of the drained blood of 150 or so nightclub patrons there and wait for the Bureau to sweep the caves, so they can go down there and retrieve whatever it is they need?”  They all repeated it in their head and nodded. “So presumably our next move is to head down to the caves.”

 

            Stack shook his head. “But where? There’s a hundred miles of tunnels and cave systems along the coast and under the City.”

 

            Callisto sipped his coffee again. “Obviously it would have to be a place that they normally wouldn’t have access to. Otherwise they wouldn’t need the Vampires out.”

 

            “Religious site?” Chandler offered.

 

            Stack’s phone rang. “Forray.”

 

            “Stack! It’s Smiles. Where are you on the case?”

 

            Stack smiled. “Oh, man, you know that the Bureau is on the case. We’re kicking back watching the results on the news.”

 

            Smiles chuckled. “Bullshit. Have you made any headway? I literally have had a huge lead fall into my lap.”

 

            “We think we know what group is behind this. But, right now we’re not sure where to start. We’re figuring that they are going down to the caves, now that the Bureau is clearing them out.”

 

            “You’d be right. I have Charlie down there making inquiries. Look, Stack I can’t go into a lot of details right now…but don’t trust the Bureau. Members of the Bureau are involved. I can’t say who. Do you have a name yet on the group?”

 

            “Yeah, some group called the Elbum. Some secret society. They’re pro-Elf and …look it’s gonna take too long. We’ve got some expert with us. So Charlie is down there snooping around? We’re off radar right now, so we can’t do much. “

 

            “Yeah, I hear ya. Look, I’m going to take care of things at my end. I might end up in prison, but do what you can on this. Stay close to the phone, I may need your expert.”

 

            Stack hung up his phone and turned back to the group.

 

*

            Smiles closed his phone and rounded the corner, nearly walking straight into two Bureau agents, who blocked his path. One of them shook his head and held out his hand.

 

            “Sir, please hand over the phone.”

 

            Smiles looked down at his phone and looked at the two agents. “You need to make a call? Rates are good but I’m dying on minutes this month.”

 

            “Sir. All communications to and from City Hall need to come through us until further notice.”

 

            Smiles grinned. “Even to my stock broker?”

 

            “Sir, the phone and come with us.”

 

            Smiles dropped the phone into the agents hand. “Take me to the Mayor’s office. I need to talk with Director P’yan.”

 

*

            Charlie checked the address again. Apartment C seemed to be the building’s rear, garden level apartment. Charlie descended the short flight of stairs and knocked on the door. After a moment, he heard some movement inside.

 

            “Yes?” Came a voice through the frosted glass.

 

            “Dr. Jhah? My name is Charlie Pickens. I was told by the bartender at the Worm Hole that you could answer a few of my questions.”

 

            The door opened to reveal a pale, dark haired elf of late middle age.  “Well, he would know. I am always winning at bar trivia night,” Dr. Jhah laughed. “Come in.”

 

            Charlie stepped through the door. The cramped halls of the apartment were lined with books. Charlie couldn’t figure out exactly where the Doctor slept, as every piece of furniture seemed to be covered with books and papers.

 

            “So, Dr. Jhah, you’re a local historian?”

 

            Dr. Jhah stepped into the kitchen, leaving Charlie in the living room. “That’s right. Can I get you something? A cup of coffee? A whiskey?”

 

            “No thank you. I actually am here representing Robert Johnson, who is working with the mayor’s office, regarding the murders at The Serenity the other night. He seems to believe that the Vampires have been framed in order to have the caves abandoned.”

 

            Dr. Jhah continued to putter in the kitchen. “That’s so horrible, what they’re doing. I won’t go without a fight.”

 

            Charlie continued to nose around in the room and he talked. Dozens of notebooks, parchments, open books rested in every available. Spot.  “Good for you. I’m just wondering, why it would be necessary for…whoever is doing this…to have the caves free. Are there any areas that you know of that are off limits to non-vampire visitors?” The last few words Charlie said came out slowly because his eye caught a small stack of papers. Newspaper clippings from The Serenity. Schematics of the club. Meeting times…They were all half under a larger, Elven, leather-bound book.  Charlie’s spine began to tingle with fear.  “ACTUALLY!! Now that you mention it, some coffee would be great.”

 

            “Cream and sugar?”

 

            “Both please.” Charlie’s mind raced. Mostly with the words ‘oh crap oh crap oh crap’. He was in the lion’s den. His eyes searched for some way of alerting the outside world. He was terrified, but he was the only one who could tell anybody where to go. His cell would be no good here. Kalista’s words came back to him. ‘oh crap oh crap oh crap’ . Finally he spied the phone. He lifted the receiver and quickly dialed the only number he could think of. Even if he was wrong, and he prayed he was, it was for the best.

 

            “I hope instant is all right.” Came the voice again.

 

            “Hi, you’ve reached the desk of Laura Medrano. I am on the phone or away from my desk right now. Please leave a message…”

 

            Charlie casually laid the receiver down so it could pick up all the ambient noise of the room. He turned and smiled just as Dr. Jhah returned to the room…

 

*

            “Mr. Mayor, I’m truly sorry.” Director P’yan said. “A security sweep of the caves is necessary and Bureau protocol.”

 

            “It is trampling on the rights of Vampire citizens!” Venect barked, losing his cool.

 

            “Mr. Venect, at this time, we have no further use for you or your entourage. I would ask that you return to your hotel room for the time being.”

 

            “The hell I will. I am going down to the Sportsdome to help comfort those you have displaced.”

 

            “I would ask that you don’t do that at this juncture.”

 

            “Director, what would it hurt?” The Mayor asked.

 

            “At this time it would send a bad image. We need the Vampire population to believe that their leaders are with us on this. I’m sure you understand.”

           

            The door opened and Smiles walked in, lead by the agent. He winked at Bledsoe who stood in the corner. Bledsoe’s mouth dropped open. The Mayor rose to his feet.

 

            “What is the meaning of this?” The Mayor barked.

 

            The Agent looked at P’yan. “We caught him leaking information on his phone. We aren’t sure to who.”

 

            P’yan nodded. “Mr. Johnson, right? Who were you giving information to?”

 

            Smiles smirked. “Some friends.”

 

            The Mayor looked confused. “ Mr. Johnson?”

 

            “Mr. Mayor, I have come into the possession of some information. Information about the Serenity attacks that the Bureau doesn’t have. I was talking with one of my sources so that I could have some information locked up before I brought it to you.” Smiles stepped forward.

 

            “If you have information, Johnson, you are obligated to share it with the Bureau.” P’yan smiled in the most forced, unpleasant way Smiles could think of.

 

            “I’m afraid I can’t do that, Director P’yan. I will give the information directly to The Mayor or Commissioner Bledsoe and no one else.”

 

            Janet Bledsoe stepped forward. “Dammit Smiles! I don’t know what you think you’re doing, but we are trying to prevent a repeat of what happened last night.”

 

            “I understand that Commissioner Bledsoe. I also understand the importance of the documents I have.”

 

            “What documents?!” P’yan said cautiously.

 

            Smiles reached inside his coat, to the back of his pants. P’yan and the other agent drew their weapons. Smiles produced a dog-eared, manila folder thick with papers. He held it aloft. “This file, which was given to me only a few short hours ago by a secret source, points a nasty finger at who one of the plotters of the Serenity attack could be.”

 

            “Hand over the documents, Johnson.” P’yan warned.

 

            “Not yet.” Smiles took a slip of paper out of his pocket and slid it across the desk. “Mr. Mayor, if you would be so kind as to call that phone number and put it on speaker phone.”

 

            The Mayor looked at Bledsoe. Bledsoe shrugged, it pained her to say it. “Mr. Mayor. I have known Robert Johnson for years. I don’t like him. He’s got a rogue streak. He has a problem with authority…but he was a good cop and he is still a good investigator.”

 

            The Mayor nodded and dialed the telephone. Smiles smirked at P’yan. The speaker phone came to life and rang. A moment later an impatient voice answered.

           

            “Forray.”

 

            “Stack! It’s Smiles. I’m here with the Mayor, Commissioner Bledsoe and Bureau Field Director P’yan. Could you possibly tell them what you have found so far?”

 

            “Uh…sure.” Stack recounted the last 36 hours to the room. The truck, the blood, the garage, the body, the symbol…finally capping with Dr. Chandler’s theory. “I guess that’s it.”

 

            The Mayor nodded. “Thank you Sergeant. Could we speak to this Dr. Chandler?”

 

            “Sure. One second.”

 

            A moment later an accented voice blasted from the speaker. “Mr. Mayor. This is Dr. Elrich Chandler, professor of Iconology and Symbology at Big City University.”

 

            The Mayor sat at his desk. “These Elbum. In your professional opinion, they are the ones behind the attack.”

 

            Chandler chuckled nervously. “I do sir. At the very least, people trying to be The Elbum. I guess my gut feeling is…YES…it’s them.”

 

            “And you believe that sweeping the caves is helping them?”

 

            “I do sir.”

 

            The group thanked Chandler and hung up. The Mayor looked at P’yan. “Call it off.”

 

            P’yan chuckled. “I’m sorry Mr. Mayor, you have no authority in this matter. My orders come directly from the Justice Department.”

 

            “WHICH…” Smiles interjected, “leads me to my next bit of business.” He shook the folder as a reminder. “The Elbum, as you heard are patient, meticulous, and yet they chose a bloody, violent attack…staged to be Vampires. Why?”

 

            “To sweep the caves.” Bledsoe blasted. “We got that.”

 

            “Did you know that sweeping the caves was the Bureau’s protocol here?” He looked at Bledsoe, then to the Mayor. “You, sir?” they both shook their heads. “There are very strict provisions in a scenario like this, I have come to find. The Elbum followed them to the letter! From the number of dead, to the use of a noxious gas…Bureau policy is quite clear on several points. And still, The Elbum played this as straight as an arrow.”

 

            P’yan burst. “All right! Enough of your P.I. crap! You’re under arrest for obstructing a federal investigation!”

 

            Smiles, turned and faced the Mayor. His jaw clenched in anger. His hand shot out and grabbed a marble paperweight from the desk. In one fluid motion, Smiles pivoted and pitched the stone at P’yan. The paperweight slammed into the elf’s chest, winding him and knocking him backward. Smiles leapt forth and snatched the gun, spinning and training the sight on the young agent who brought him there.

 

            “Junior, I really would put your sidearm on the ground. I’m not going to shoot anybody here. I just want to finish talking. That, and I’ve had a really bad couple of days.”   The agent slowly placed the gun down and stepped back. Smiles turned and shoved P’yan into a chair.

 

            “Smiles! What are you doing?!? That’s the Bureau Field Director. And, you are now holding the Mayor and the rest of us hostage.” Bledsoe shrieked.

 

            Smiles shook his head and tossed her the gun. He held the folder up. “As I was saying. The Elbum have somebody on the inside. Someone inside the Bureau told them EXACTLY how to pull this off and get the Bureau to sweep the caves. This folder has the plan and the name of the individual.” He turned and looked at P’yan. The Elf fought for breath and glared at him. “Gray P’yan, the lead investigator…is a member of the Elbum society, is an Elf Supremacist and planned the Serenity attack from start to finish.”

 

            “Wait a minute! WHAT?!” Bledsoe was in over her head.

 

            The Mayor stood up. “Mr. Johnson, where did you get that information?”

 

            “Believe it or not, I got this from the Elfnigma. It’s a peace offering. See, our Director P’yan here tried to get into EVUN several years ago. He tried to bribe his way in with his position and a series of planned scenarios that would undermine any Bureau investigation. The Elfnigma turned him down. He was too radical. They are an anarchist group who likes to shake up the ant jar. EVUN is looking for all creatures to have an equal voice. P’yan…he’s a full on supremacist with an eye toward genocide. Once he got turned down, he fell in to the Elbum who took his plans and used them for their own purpose.”

 

            P’yan smiled. “When the stone is found, you…or your Children will die. The Final Messiah shall put his hands into the stone and unlock Melk’s pain with his worthy touch. He will wield the stone to slay the tainted who have kept us from Mhalasia! The gate will open and all elves will join their Gnuph bodies of old.” His rant done he looked at Smiles. “And I will wait until then.”  He smiled. There was a snap of tiny glass as P’yan bit down.

 

            Smiles leapt to him. “No! P’yan! Where are the Elbum going?!” He grabbed P’yan’s jacket as the swift poison took the Bureau director. 

 

            Bledsoe, finally coming up to speed, shrieked. “Holy shit, it’s true!”

 

            The Mayor picked up the phone. “We need to get this cave sweep stopped.”

 

            Smiles stared down, furious at the cooling body of P’yan. Then he turned to the Mayor. “No. The Elbum need to believe it’s business as usual. Once they go into the caves, we can get them. But if we call off the sweep, they’ll know something is up and slide back into the scenery. You heard Stack. These guys can be anywhere. The only way to bring this group to justice is to let the sweeps continue.” He turned to Venect who had watched all of this unfold silently. “Venect. Please trust me. It’s the only way.”

 

            Venect looked at the Mayor. He nodded. “But where in the caves are they going?”

 

            Smiles looked back down at the Director. He didn’t have a clue, but he hoped Charlie did.

 

*

            The bleeding had stopped. Charlie was starting to build a picture of what was around him. He was bound in the back end of a motorized cart some of the Vampires used in the caves. He was aware that they were moving through some tunnels that he wasn’t familiar with. The tunnels were dimly lit but heavily decorated. He felt the cart slowing down. He heard voices after a moment.

 

            “Mezo, my apologies, he showed up asking questions. ”

 

            “As long as he’s alive and can complete the final puzzle, I don’t care.”

 

            Charlie passed out again. His last thought echoed inside him…”It’s true. I’m going to die.”

 

*

            Tears were blurring Laura’s vision. She drove erratically through Big City’s late afternoon traffic. The message still played over and over in her brain.

 

            The strange sounds of a room. Charlie’s voice.

 

            “Thank you, Dr. Jhah. I see you have been following the Serenity story.”

 

            Another voice joined Charlie.

 

            “Oh…the papers. As you can see I am a collector of history. These horrible attacks are history. Or will be someday.”

 

            “You also collect schematics and blue prints? These look like you’ve had them for a while. All this writing. You have things marked on here that haven’t been announced by the police yet.”

 

            “Mr. Pickens, I think it’s best if you leave.”

 

            There was a momentary scuffle. Laura can only assume that Charlie pulled out his gun.

 

            Charlie’s voice returned. “Best for who? You or me? So tell me Jhah, what are you looking for? Where are you going that you need the Vampires out?”

 

            “Pahnasia’s Gash, Mr. Pickens. That is our target. Even I can’t get close to it with those Sucker Clerics around it. We have important business there tonight.”

 

            “Had. You HAD important…”

 

            There was a loud crash and Charlie yelped.  Jhah’s voice came back, over the sound of Charlie groaning. “You dare come into my home and threaten me?! You tainted animal! If the Mezo didn’t need a piece of filth for tonight, I would kill you where you lay!”

 

            There was then a loud beep as the voice mail system cut off the message.

            Crying, speeding and dialing frantically, Laura tried to find Stack and Needless. The phone finally rang.

 

            “Forray.”

 

            “Stack!! Where are you!”

 

            “Laura?!”

 

            “It’s Charlie! He’s going to die. Kalista Danae told him. He’s down in the caves.”

 

            “Laura. Calm down. What are you talking about?! Kalista Danae skipped town weeks ago.”

 

            “Shut up and listen to me!! She showed up at Charlie’s office yesterday and told him that he was in danger. That he might die today in the caves. That it had to do with Serenity. He’s down there, isn’t he?! Smiles asked him to go!”

 

            “Yeah.”

 

            Laura gritted her teeth. “He went. I told him not to go. Whoever he was looking for, they have him. They’ve taken him. He’s in trouble. He’s still alive, they need him for something. We have to get to him.”

 

            “Laura…I…we don’t even know where they’re going…”

 

            “Someplace called Pahnasia’s Gash. Someplace in the caves. I’m going, with or without you.”

 

            “Now hold on. Look.” There was a pause. “You know the Palace Avenue street level cave entrance? Meet Needless and I there in… half and hour. How did you…”

 

            “I’ll tell you later. Get there as soon as you can.”

 

            Laura, terrified and furious, tossed the cell phone into the passenger seat and rounded a corner with a squeal.

 

*

            Stack closed his phone. “They’re going to Pahnasia’s Gash. That’s the old tourist spot, I know where it is.” He looked at Needless. “They have Charlie. He’s alive. We’ve got to get him out of there.”

 

            Chandler balked. “You can’t take on the Elbum by yourself.”

 

            Needless shook his head. “We don’t have to. We just need to get him out before backup gets there. We just need to buy some time. Something to bargain with.”

            Stack looked at Carnaby and Callisto. “You guys get to Breen, fast. He’s got to get Special Weapons to Pahnasia’s Gash right away. Tell him what’s going on. But Chandler, keep it short. We won’t have a lot of time.”

 

            “There will be no bargaining. They want one thing and one thing only. They are totally ruthless.” Chandler said, begging them to believe him.

 

            Needless smiled. He thought of a promise he made. “I think I have something that will give them a pause. We just need to swing by my place to get it.”

 

            “Fine. But it’s the Mezo you want. The leader. He’s the top of pyramid. He’ll be calling the shots. He’s the one you will have to get to.” Chandler coughed.

 

            Needless patted him on the shoulder as he made his way to the door. “Thanks for the tip, Doc.”

 

*

            The man with green eyes, Charlie’s secret protector, was in a panic. He had lost Charlie in the caves. The woman, Kalista, has said something. The old man had heard it through his surveillance equipment. One word that sent a wave of shock down his spine. A word he had neither heard nor uttered since Charlie was an infant.

 

            He had to find the boy. So many things depended on it. But there was something else. Concern. Love. He feared for Charlie. The old man slipped from building to building avoiding the military as they cleared out the Vampires.

 

            The word again echoed in his mind…MathTalker.

 

*

            Pahnasia’s Gash was a 7 story high wall of stone, split millions of years before in a turbulent earthquake. One of the great landmarks of the Vampire caves, it was once a spot frequented by tourists and school field trips. All that changed within the last decade. When ownership of the caves and natural subterranean features returned to native Vampire hands, The Gash was closed to the public and held in spiritual esteem by the vampire population, visited only on high holy days. To native Vampire believers, Pahnasia’s Gash was the resting place of their Mother God, Teselna. The Gash, the grave marker.

 

            To the Mezo…the Gash was nothing more than an indicator. An answer to a riddle.

 

            To Charlie…Pahnasia’s Gash was the last thing he was ever going to see. The fulfillment of a hooker’s prediction.

 

            To Stack, Needless and Laura, it was a hiding place. They crouched on one of the high catwalks that surrounded the giant cave, a remnant of the tourist days.

 

            “If we’re going to do anything, we have to do it soon. Tim and Callisto will have made it to Breen by now. When Special Weapons gets here, Charlie is a goner.” Stack felt Laura tighten next to him. He looked at her. A strange concern came over him. “I promise you, Laura, nothing will happen to Charlie.”

 

            “No it won’t. I have a plan. I just need to get Charlie away from them and stall until back up gets here. There’s no way we can take out a small army. But I think we might have an ace up our sleeve.” Needless patted his pocket.

 

            “What did you need to get?” Stack looked at him confused.

 

            Needless put a finger to his lips and made his way to steps descending down to the cave floor.

 

            Not far away, hope had left Charlie. The Mezo looked down at the young man.

 

            “It will all be over soon, boy.” He said. “You have a great purpose.”

 

            Charlie chuckled a hollow chuckle. “Do tell. Isn’t that what you villains do? Get your victims on the ropes and then divulge their diabolical plan. One trick pony. Tell me or don’t. I don’t care.”

 

            “Actually, boy, it’s nothing of the sort. Tonight we will find the second marker. The next step. The next key in the puzzle, with the final goal being the Melk Stone. But you see, our enemies are cunning. Each marker itself is a puzzle. Each one booby-trapped. That’s where you come in. Part of the marker’s combination is certainly a taken life. I would rather toss yours in there than a pure elf soul. You understand.”

 

            Charlie sighed. “Fuck you.”

 

            As the three descended the iron stairs into certain madness, Laura felt something metal in her hand. She looked down to realize that she was holding a gun. Her eyes met Stack’s gaze.

 

            “It’s real simple. Point it in the direction of the person you want to shoot. The reaction  may shock you.”

 

            “I have shot a gun before.”

 

            “I know. But you’ve never killed anyone before.”

 

            Laura said nothing else. Stack was right.

 

            The thought had barely finished when a shot rang out in the cave. Sparks flew as a bullet struck the metal stairs near where the three were moving. Needless bellowed something. Stack grabbed Laura’s hand and began charging down the stairs. Needless stood and returned fire, covering the other two as they ran. His Elven ears could hear more and more feet running their direction. He gave up his post and ran.

 

            As shots began to volley in the dark, the three reached the cave floor.

 

            “How the hell can they see us?” Cried Laura.

 

            “They’re elves. They can see anything in the dark! We’re dead!” Stack shot back.

 

            Needless finally stopped running. “Fuck this.” He stood up. “MEZO!!!”

 

            The shots stopped. The three stood still for a moment. From the far side of the Gash a voice answered;  “Come forward. Who are you?”

 

            “My name is Police Sgt. John D’Yen. I have come for Charlie Pickens!” Needless bellowed to the darkness.

 

            “Oh! The boy. He’s alive. But not for long.”

 

            “We want to cut a deal.”

 

            A few moments later the three were led into a small, lit circle of robed elves. Needless was led a few paces forward to the Mezo. Soon he could see Charlie, kneeling on the ground. He’d been roughed up but no major damage.

 

            “There are no deals.” The Mezo said matter-of-factly. He looked deep at Needless, his eyes scanning every feature. “You are not pure. I can smell human in you. Tainted. No better than this boy. It is now understandable why you wish to stop us. Because you know you will die in the great cleansing…with all the others.”

           

            Needless could smell his breath. He could feel the warmth of his body. It was like the senses of two elves reaching out and greeting each other. Needless realized that he was in the presence of the purest pureblood he had ever encountered.

 

            “I understand why you are doing this. I know what you are looking for. I don’t care about any of that. All I care about is the lives of Charlie and my friends.”

 

“You have no idea of purpose. Your lives mean nothing. The second Marker that shows the path to the true stone, the Melk Stone, is here, within these caves. Tonight, after hundreds of years, we will be closer than we have ever been. You are nothing. 4 lives?  I am talking about a search that commenced millennia ago! We are too close to let it slip away.” The Mezo glared at Needless. “There is no deal!”

 

            Needless smirked. “Oh, I think you will probably want this.” He held out a small, dark stone. Laura looked at Stack, who shrugged. The Mezo looked at the stone, equally confused. ”Don’t let this fool you. This is a diffusing stone. It keeps me safe…from this…” Needless pried the stone open. Lying on the crystals within, pulsing gently with amber light…the Skiv.

 

            Stack lunged forward. “Needless!! You can’t!” Needless shot him a look.

 

            The Mezo’s eyes grew wide. “You…are the keeper of the Skiv? You knowingly walked in here with the Skiv?”

 

            “Here’s the deal. The 4 of us walk out of here alive and you and your posse get the rock. If you don’t like that deal, I pop this bad boy into my mouth and toss a little Elbum salad.” He shut the stone with a loud SNAP.

 

            “The Skiv will eat you alive. Your human blood can’t contain that power.”

 

            “Maybe not. But I figure, I got nothing to lose. If you’re already going to take us out, at least this thing will let me take a couple dozen of you out first.” Needless swallowed hard. He only needed to hold off the bloodshed a few minutes until back up arrived. He begged the universe to let this stand off last.

 

            The universe had other plans.

 

            The Mezo felt a zeal grow in him. An uncontrollable rage,  always his weakness. One of the tainted was holding a piece of the stone, The Skiv, the Second Messiah’s legacy. Unable to control the rage he lunged for the diffusing stone and half the room moved with him. Needless and Charlie found themselves in a sea of Elbum, scrambling to save the Skiv from the attackers.    

The Mezo grabbed Needless’ wrist.

 

            “Stupid half breed. You’ve brought us the means of our deliverance, gift-wrapped. You shall not touch the stone!!”

 

            Needless struggled to bring Penny level with the Mezo’s head, but his arm was held by another assailant. Behind him he could hear Stack and Laura fighting to get through to him and Charlie. There were too many. He could feel the Mezo reaching for the diffusing stone.

 

            Charlie struggled against his attackers. He drove his head into the bridge of a nose. He kicked as they swarmed him. He could sense them on him. He knew it was nearing the end. He knew that they would never get out of here alive. He knew that Laura, Stack and Needless had risked everything for him. Now they would die too. He silently begged the universe to help him make it right.

 

            The universe obliged.

 

In the scuffle, the diffusing stone snapped open and the Skiv flew through the air, its magic like feelers, expanding out into the cave. Searching. A primordial act of survival. The Skiv, the chip of the true Melk Stone, found its protector.  It fell into the space between Charlie’s foot and his shoe.

 

Charlie felt the rock…a subtle irritation in his shoe. Then he felt the heat of the Skiv’s magic. Then the universe exploded.

 

            Charlie’s body jerked and threw his attackers in all directions. The swarm fell away. Needless and the Mezo both looked at the open diffusing stone and then at Charlie. In the moment when blood seemed to leave the Mezo, Needless brought Penny up and brought her crashing down again across the Mezo’s face.

 

            The expanse…shifting images of a thousand years…whispers of trinity…every conceivable hue of every possible color reached into his mind…keeper of the hope…the dream of the countless…MathTalker…

 

            “Charlie NO!” Laura screamed.

 

            Needless fell backward at the feet of Stack and Laura and watched it all unfold. He watched in disbelief as Charlie turned and began to decimate the Elbum that were about to kill them.

 

            The Watcher with green eyes rounded the corner, led by the sound. He stopped in his tracks, paralyzed as he watched it unfold before him.

 

            His body illuminated the cave as Charlie howled at the burning in his mind. The moment stood still to him. The force, velocity, power of every movement anticipated, prepared for, countered. He was a machine. Every Elbum attack thwarted. Cloaked elves pitched like bags of groceries.  His hand shot out and gripped the throat of The Mezo.

 

            The Mezo stared in horror at the expanse in Charlie’s eyes. Fury glowed in the boy’s gaze as he flipped the Elbum leader, yanking back on the neck at the last moment like a wet towel, snapping his spine in two. The Mezo collapsed dead to the cave floor.

 

            The images shifted faster. Words he didn’t understand. Flashes of things that couldn’t have been real. Countless understandings. It all began to swirl in his mind until he could no longer keep up. Something had broken. Something was fighting to fix itself. His mind was burning out. A cry went up from Charlie, the young man’s arms flailing wildly in the darkness.

 

            “Help him!” Laura pleaded with Stack.

 

            Stack could only stare. Disbelief had finally overcome him.

 

            Charlie glowed brighter, his flailing body now hovering several feet off the ground. As the power began to take Charlie one last cry for help escaped his mouth, “NEEDLESS!”

 

            Needless’ heart sank. He knew what he had to do. He raised his gun. Laura shrieked her protest. Needless held his breath and fired.

 

            Charlie watched the bullet explode from the barrel. He watched it move toward him as his surroundings slowed down. He watched it sink in. He felt the pain.

 

            With a single convulsion Charlie dropped and the Skiv fell free and scuttled across the cave floor. Needless slid across the floor and picked up the tiny rock with the diffusing stone. He slipped the stone into his pocket and stood up. The guilt was humbling. His mind was filled with concern for the kid who had, through a series of miscalculations on Needless’ part, managed to save them all.

 

            As Stack and Laura moved forward to help Charlie, wounded Elbum scattered in all directions, running from the man who had savaged them all. Laura knelt down and pulled Charlie close. In the distance, gunshots and police radios could be heard echoing off cave walls.

 

            “Laura?” Charlie said looking into her face. Laura began to cry. Blood gushed from the young man’s shoulder.  “Laura…it’s so dark in here.”

 

            Stack and Needless looked at each other.

 

            As Charlie began to black out he mumbled, “Honey, I can’t see anything.”

 

            The Watcher fought the urge to run to the boy. He stepped back into the shadows, his deep green eyes slowly filling with tears.

 

            Moments later, BCPD Special Weapons Force lights fell on Adam Forray, Laura Medrano and Sgt. John D’Yen, who carried the gently breathing form of Charlie Pickens.

 

*

            Laura sat in the waiting room watching history unfold on television. Standing at the podium were the Mayor, the masked Elfnigma (from a hidden location), Goblin community leaders, Venect and Smiles. It was a photo op for the newly announced Bridge Action Group. The past 24 hours had been a litany of calls for peace, announcements about the Serenity Massacre and, finally, this goodwill moment.  Laura chuckled to think of Smiles in that group. She knew he was hating every moment of it. She became aware that the doctor had come in.

 

            “How is he doctor?”

 

            “He’s resting now. It was a clean shot. Straight through his shoulder. He should fully recover in a matter of weeks.”

 

            “Has he started getting his vision back?”

 

            The doctor sighed. “No. It seems he has lost his vision completely. We can’t find any retinal or nerve damage. It’s just…not working. We’re going to keep him under observation for a few days.”

 

            Laura nodded. “Well we’ll hope for the best.”

 

            “That’s good. But you need to help him cope with the fact that he may never see again. You will both need to think about how his life will change. I can provide you with the names of some counselors who can help in these situations…”

 

            The doctor continued to talk but Laura wasn’t listening anymore. Her mind was with Charlie.

 

            Across the room, an older man with green eyes listened to every word and sighed. If only they understood how terrible this was. Not just for Charlie. He wondered, had it all been for nothing?

 

*

            On the other side of the country, in an east coast high rise, Rena Telios dropped her briefcase on the bed. She sipped the glass of wine she had poured and unbuttoned her blazer. She breathed a sigh as she sat on the edge of the bed and ran her fingers through her salt and pepper hair. She stared out the window at the lights of the city, her eyes scanning the skyline as they did every night, searching for the signal.

 

            She hadn’t received a communication in nearly a decade. But her oath kept her here. It kept her searching the skyline nightly. She sipped her wine but the sight stopped her swallow. She stood and stepped toward the window. The image in the distance was undeniable.

 

            The signal for communication.

 

            An hour later, dressed and  wet from the east coast rain, Rena reached the roof of the building. She pulled an old key out of her purse. A key that she was given years before and had only been used twice. She unlocked the steel door and stepped out into the drizzly air of the city. She moved forward and found it the makeshift fire pit where the signal had gone up.

 

            An ancient mixture of herbs had caused the fire to change colors in a deliberate succession. A signal centuries old. Near the fire she found an envelope wrapped in plastic. She opened the envelope. Rain drops began to collect on the words as she read them.

 

                        “The enemy have reached the second marker

                        but went no further. Many dead. It will take

                        some time for them to reorganize and make

                        another attempt. Presence may soon be

                        requested in BC.”

 

            Rena sighed. As she was taught, she folded the message and lit it and dropped it on the fire pit. The oils and herbs that had soaked the paper blazed purple for a moment, signaling to the watcher that the message had been received and understood.

 

            Rena turned and left the rooftop, her mind three thousand miles away in Big City.

 

THE END

Go To Episode 10 - Ageless

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