18
ON THE EDGE OF THE ABYSS
KASHMIR, PENSI LA MOUNTAIN PASS
Blue rock, weathered and cracked, jutted out from under the ice. Nikola slipped, landing with a muffled thud in another drift of snow curled around a wandering boulder. Their immense, cockled forms dotted the ice like sentries keeping a watch over the frozen world.
"God dammit..." Tesla muttered, arms sinking into the freezing wet as he tried to push himself up. Helen backtracked, grabbed hold of his arm and tugged him free.
The hum of their helicopter faded as its tiny dot picked its way between a forest of mountain peaks, returning to base leaving them stranded on the narrow pass. Above, the skies were clear blue, arching in a perfect dome. Nikola tilted his gaze, watching the black dot move beyond his range.
Ahead, the full-blood vampire swept over the snow. He was tall, close to seven feet and slender. The creature barely made a dent in the rough terrain as he headed up the icy slope toward towering facades of cliff with their narrow pass nestled in the middle.
"This isn't what I had in mind, Helen," Nikola lingered for a moment, letting the vampire gain ground so they could talk privately.
"What else could I do? At least if he's out here, his murderous brother won't be drawn to my Sanctuary."
"True but if he is right, his brother and accompanying vampire fanboys have already reached these mountains – we could be walking into an army of invisible sand rats."
"He's closer," Helen agreed. "I can feel him. Nikola, I'm not sure how much longer I can go on like this – before I kill a vampire."
"...and I'd rather that wasn't me," he said quickly. "I know you've shot me several times, stabbed me once or twice but Helen – you've never truly wanted me dead. Not really..."
"That's what you think..." Their eyes locked. Nikola's lashes were full of snow and half his face hidden under a scarf. Helen's cheeks were wind-burned, flushing pink.
They were disturbed by Kavanaugh, who slid on the same icy patch as Nikola, stumbled and landed on Helen.
"Sorry," he mumbled, regaining his feet. "Chopper's clear, they didn't see anything on the ground. That's not saying much. Those creatures are probably camouflaged."
"No, in these conditions even sand creatures will need to be clothed. They're probably working their way through the fissures in the glacier," she replied.
Joe frowned at Helen, then glanced nervously at his feet. The thought of sand creatures crawling underfoot made his stomach lurch. "Yeah, that doesn't make me feel any better."
"We should catch up," Nikola nodded, the vampire was getting too far ahead of them again.
The Drang Drung glacier coiled behind them. They were heading away from it into deeper snow toward the next bank of cliffs. Half the time they fell to their hands and knees, skidding down steep slopes only to climb to the other side with ice picks – except for the vampire, who used his claws.
Nikola struggled the most with the cold, shivering so hard he lost grip on his ice pick several times before hauling himself onto the flat of a particularly sharp rise.
"You okay?" Joe asked, dusting snow off Nikola's ski gear.
"It's just the cold," he replied, sitting up and flexing his gloved hands. They were numb and sluggish.
"As the officially least genetically blessed member of this expedition, I'm the only one allowed to pass out in the snow," Joe insisted lightly, even managing to break a smile from the mongrel vampire. "Come on, your Magnus is looking this way."
"She's not my anything," he mumbled back, letting the detective haul him to his feet. "Please tell me it's not looking up at that cliff with intention of climbing it."
Joe kept in step with Nikola. The ancient vampire was eyeing the rock face with interest, pacing around in front of it – kneeling down and digging with his claws where its black rock vanished into the snow.
"Think he left his keys under the door?" Nikola quipped.
He wasn't far off. The vampire soon found what he was looking for. There was a flicker of brass against the black rock beneath the vampire's hand. He dug deeper, revealing an intricate spiral of inlaid metal that resembled a Pharaoh's seal.
"We're not idly wandering in search of your brother, are we?" Helen narrowed her eyes, using the same tone often used to scorn Nikola – except it didn't work on this vampire. He was focused on inserting his claws into a series of tiny holes, sinking them in until he heard a soft click. "What are you doing?" she insisted.
"The mines run deep in these mountains," the vampire's silken voice replied. He stood back, motioning for the rest of the group to do the same as a large section of the cliff started to shift. "They've not been opened for many aeons but if my brother is making passage, it will be through here."
"God, what is it with vampires and caves?" Helen hung her head. Just when she thought she'd seen the last of tunnels...
Nikola didn't look too pleased either, gawking at the vast oblivion where the rock had opened. It was only a crack six feet wide but the fissure ran nearly eighty above their heads.
Joe clicked on his helmet light. "What are we waiting for?" he asked. "Let's go caving."
The cave door crashed shut behind them. Joe's headlight revealed the way ahead to be a rough-cut supply route with dangerous cleaves of rock hanging from the roof, looming above them like Damocles' swords.
Nikola and Helen clicked on their torches, shedding more light on the uninviting terrain of cracked, ice-damaged pavers placed there by the vampires. There were chariot markings in the stone but it was impassable except on foot.
"Where do these lead?" Nikola asked.
The vampire turned, his long fangs glinting in the torchlight. His eyes were blacker, his bony frame suddenly imposing. "Manly places – the ground beneath your feet is hollow. There are thousands of networks like this and only some of them are vampire in origin." The next part was in an ancient vampire language which only Nikola seemed to understand.
"You think this is how your brother is passing through the modern world undetected?" Helen whispered, when it was clear Nikola would not offer a translation.
"It is his natural way to travel. All young princes lean the trade route – he will not have forgotten."
It was just as cold down here and after several hours delving deeper into the caves, the group had to stop for a rest. They were in a severely damaged area with the track broken by large pieces of rock and ice that had bled down through fissures above and frozen into eerie claws of blue ice.
Joe staked out the vampire, hovering around him asking questions despite his ever-increasing probability of ending up a snack. Helen and Nikola sat opposite each other, sipping water.
"Helen, seriously – what are our chances of actually pulling this off – if and I stress if – we are able to find this vampire?"
She threw her backpack at him. It landed against his chest, making Nikola groan and frown, rustling through it for the blood-packs Helen kept in there. He took two before handing everything back to her.
"Bit worried, Ms Magnus?"
"Nikola... your complexion has been competing with the snow for some time now. You have to eat."
"It's the cold," he replied softly, flexing his fingers inside the gloves. "It doesn't agree with me at all."
"It used to. You have a beautiful home in the snow-covered mountains."
"Had..." a long time ago. He pulled his knees up to his chest, fending off the cold air. "Maybe I'm finally getting old."
She whacked him. "And what does that make me?"
"Ancient..."
Helen glared at him but her eyes were shining. "Have a thing for older women, do you?" she teased in her very best English accent.
Nikola laughed softly – a slight curl of his lip into a smile as he lowered his gaze, dragging his over Helen. She was only four years older than him. "Next time you bring home a dangerous pet, Helen – can you try to make it something from a tropical island?"
"If this is part of your long standing plot to see me in a bikini..."
"Always, my dear – Detective Kavanaugh... Still alive?"
The detective wandered over to them, kneeling down onto the rock. "I don't think this vampire's on the level," he warned. The three of them all glanced over, watching the vampire rest against a boulder on the far side of the passage. "What did you promise him?"
"A life in the modern world, work as an advisor to the sanctuary network and the ability to continue his work studying abnormal species."
"Not enough," Nikola purred.
Joe observed them. "Any intention of letting me into whatever this plan of yours is? No... Well, give me a heads up, will ya if my head's in danger."
"Maybe," Nikola grinned. He paused and turned suddenly, looking down into the depths of the passage, listening intently. The other vampire was doing the same, rigid and focused. Helen put her hand on her chest, feeling her heart stop for a moment – then start with a rush.
"He's here..." Helen whispered.
John Druitt lowered his large frame into the chair. Opposite, his daughter lingered by the window, keeping guard over her mother's sanctuary. Her blond hair was dirty, pulled back into a half-arsed pony tail. This was the other side of Ashley Magnus – the business side which was slowly starting to emerge.
"You wanted to see me," he announced his presence when she did not acknowledge it.
Ashley walked towards him, carrying a small, leather journal in her hand that had once belonged to her grandfather. It was laid on the desk with a soft, accusing thud. John's gaze settled on it and he knew why he'd been called.
"My grandfather died more than a hundred years ago – but for me, it was a month ago... I found this." Ashley showed him a slender oak box. She opened it to reveal the pistol which had killed her grandfather. "Mum kept it."
He didn't say anything.
"Why did you take me there?" she hissed darkly, all the pain and darkness in her eyes. "I ruined mum's life and for what – this journal? Tesla knew where the Sanctuary of the Moon was anyway. I didn't need this!"
"It wasn't - about - you," John replied. "It was about your mother. She needed to be set free."
"You're even more twisted than she described," Ashley spat, sitting back against her chair, eyeing the person she shared half her DNA with. "What's in it for you?"
"Do not attempt to understand me," he replied, soft and slow. "I thought you had a Magoi to babysit?"
"It's secure, although I was thinking perhaps I should have left you in the SHU."
He chuckled. "My second home."
"Tempt me – and I might just tell mum what happened."
"Tell her," he replied, unafraid. "You won't... because you know she'll look at you as she looks at me. It's our little secret."
Henry stood in front of the large tank in the creature enclosure. It was an enormous wall of glass that towered three stories to the roof. It had pebbles at the bottom and twisted clusters of seaweed nearly as long as the tank was high.
"Afternoon precious," Henry whispered, placing his hand on the glass as the silvery form of the mermaid shimmered closer. "Miss me, eh? Knew you had a soft heart underneath all that cold scale."
She didn't seem offended, tilting her head curiously at him as she always did. The mermaid cast her eyes down to the floor, indicating the Magoi locked up several floors beneath. She was a telepathic creature and its presence, even sleeping, was of grave concern.
"Yeah, I know – not much I can do about that."
The mermaid swam down further so that she was level with Henry. She twisted some of the seaweed in her bony fingers, clearly upset.
"I'm sorry," he insisted, as she grew more distressed. "I'll go check on it soon – promise. Hey," he looked at her more brightly, "I should change that water filter for you. Fancy a swim?"
"How many?" Joe breathed.
Tesla listened again. "Many..." he whispered. "I can hear them scratching over the rock but they're a lot deeper."
"Several levels beneath."
"Jesus!" Joe jumped, when the ancient vampire appeared behind his shoulder without a sound.
"Come on," it continued, beckoning them with a sharp claw. "Let's go welcome them to the new age."
They reached a vertical shaft. Like a well it ran deep into the mountain allowing air in to all the levels. Looking up, they could see the tiny prick of light where it was open to the world at the uppermost point of the peak. Tiny flurries of snow drifted through the air, falling away into the abyss.
Even Joe's human ears could hear the sound of claws in the darkness.
They didn't speak, taking the side track through treacherous black ice and loose rock less than a foot wide. Joe and Helen kept their hands on the wall, clinging onto jagged outcrops when their feet failed to find solid ground. The vampires fared better with even Nikola resorting to claws.
Louder... The scratching had its own echo now.
There was a soft, white glow coming off the rocks where a fluorescent moss followed fresh water fissures. It was enough that they could turn off their torches for a while.
A wave of the vampire's hand brought everyone to a stop. Something moved in the corridor ahead, shuffling out of sight around a corner. The vampire went first, undetectable as he crept up to a large boulder blocking the way. Helen, Nikola and Joe were not far behind, each with a gun loaded and drawn in wait.
They didn't need them.
The vampire returned with a small cave mouse, dangling by its tale. It squeaked angrily until it was dropped and allowed to scurry off.
Deeper again... but soon they were far enough inside the caves that neither ice nor life bothered to linger. It was just cold rock and they were forced to turn their torches on.
"They'll see us coming a mile off," Joe whispered to Helen.