Even though Charlie exceeded the speed limit all the way through Belgium, to Luke, it felt like they were crawling. Selene maintained contact with his mind throughout the trip, though she didn’t say anything, only leaving a faint touch relaying her own anxiety. The team left him alone, letting him stew in his fears, though he wished they would have tried to engage him. Pablo and Sam would never let him sink too deeply into his fixations. He knew Ahmed and Jung-sook let him be out of respect, but that wasn’t what he needed even if he himself couldn’t reach out.
The steady messages from Sam coordinating their approach and their plan kept him from spiraling too deeply into the land of “what if.” In a few hours, he might see Roxi for the first time since she’d fled Portland, if she could survive that long. But she’d managed to stay alive for this long. He had to hope and trust in her skills and what protections Selene could provide.
Once they crossed the border into Germany and turned south, Luke tried to prepare his mind and body for whatever they might find in Saarbrücken. But no matter how much he concentrated, he couldn’t find that sense of calm readiness that always descended over him when he was about to dive into action. Instead, he only felt the churning uncertainty of anxiety.
“We’re almost there,” Jung-sook said, patting his knee. “We’ll get you to her.”
Luke nodded along to “The Calendar Hung Itself…” by Bright Eyes as he stared out the windshield, watching the bright lines of the road fly by. “Let’s get geared up.”
Jung-sook unbuckled and reached into the back, pulling three bulletproof vests out. Luke took the one fitted for him and pulled it on over his T-shirt. Next, Luke strapped on the sawed-off shotguns. Jung-sook helped him fix the rudis onto his back in the tight confines. Luke settled in as they passed the downtown core of Saarbrücken and approached a hill known as Halberg in the southeastern part of the small German city.
“Um, Luke, that’s a lot of flashing lights,” Charlie said.
“Isn’t that where we’re going?” Ahmed asked.
“Yeah,” Luke bit out. He pulled his phone from his pocket and dialed Sam. “Are you in place?”
“Yes. Do you see all the cops? It’s up at that building complex at the top of the hill, but it looks like the shrine is clear. Do you want us to go in now?”
“No, wait until we’re on the ground, and we’ll sweep in together,” Luke replied.
“I think we should go in light. Too many people might attract attention,” Sam said.
“Understood. We’ll leave Charlie in the car in case we need to move out fast. It’ll be me, Jung-sook, and Ahmed.”
“Right. See you in a few.” Sam hung up.
Luke set the phone to vibrate and shoved it into his pocket. “We’re going to need to be extra quiet. Cops are swarming the top of the hill, but the shrine looks clear for now. Charlie, you stay behind the wheel.”
Charlie stopped long enough to drop them off at a path on the southwest side of the hill. Luke grabbed the nondescript short sword he’d been using in place of his stolen gladius and attached it to his belt.
Ahmed touched Luke’s shoulder to get his attention. “Luke, you still have your fancy face on.”
“Thanks.” Luke reached into his shirt and touched Selene’s medallion, shifting to the backup face he used to protect the comte’s identity.
The late night air was cold enough for their breath to fog, but at least the late fall rains had stopped. On silent feet, they disappeared into the dark trees. Leaves covered the dirt trail. As they talked deeper into the wood, the thick trees blocked the light of the small city. The wind creaked through the naked trees, the occasional sound of the activity on the hill drifting down.
Luke held his fist up, drawing their little party to a halt. The unmistakable presence of vampire seeped into his awareness. He exchanged a knowing look with his friends, nodding when he saw that they understood.
Jung-sook mouthed, “How many?”
Luke shrugged, replying in kind. “Not many.”
They continued up the path, being sure to watch their step, though there was little they could do about the dead leaves littering the trail. At least the rains had turned them soft.
The shrine wasn’t that deep into the woods so Luke slowed their advance. Tipping his ear toward the trail ahead, he thought he heard something. He crept further, laying each step with care. Scraping and heavy, rough breathing.
He slipped his rudis from his back and pulled the sword from his hip. He left the shotguns in their holsters to avoid attracting the attention of the police on top of the hill. Jung-sook and Ahmed pulled their weapons as well. Ducking behind a tree on the side of the trail, Luke and his team hopscotched from tree to tree until they arrived at a small clearing near a rock face. Luke poked his head out, keeping to the more shadowed side of the tree.
In the middle of the clearing, a soft lump was the only thing out of place. He startled when an arm unfolded from the shadows and pulled the lump forward. He waited until the armed lump pulled itself into a spot of moonlight. Someone had cut off the vamp’s legs and one of its arms. It was trying to reach one of its legs.
As close as they were to dawn, even if it managed to reach its leg and reattach it, it wouldn’t be healed enough to get the vamp out of there before the sun could turn it to cinders. Luke didn’t see anything else in the woods nearby nor along the rock face. The only other unusual thing was the fence that protected the shrine from the public. Someone had tripped it out of the ground. He doubted Roxi could manage that in her current condition. If the vamps knew who they were hunting, it would have been a logical place to lay an ambush. Waving the team after him, he stepped out into the clearing.
Once the vampire detected them, it turned to face them, hissing at them. Stopping just out of its reach, Luke squatted down.
“Looks like you’re having a rough night.” Luke started in English since it was the linga franca of much of the world.
The vamp replied in German. “Why don’t you come a bit closer, and I’ll show you what kind of night I’m having?”
Luke chuckled, switching to German. “Your night’s about to get a little rougher, I’m afraid. But I’ll make you an offer. I can leave you here but take your legs with me. Have you ever seen a vampire die by sun exposure?”
The fanger’s eyes grew wide and his mouth opened, releasing a terrified gasp.
“I’ll take that as a yes. Your other option is I can stake you cleanly and quickly. It’ll only hurt for a moment, then it’ll all be over.” He looked into the canopy then around them. “With the tree cover and the rock face, the sun will trickle in, and it’ll be slow and agonizing. You’ll feel your skin start to dry then smoke. Little flames will burst out where the sun directly touches you, but where it doesn’t, it’ll spread slowly. You’ll last for a long time before you finally die.”
“Or I can rip your throat out and drain you.”
Luke shook his head. “You’ve got spirit at least.” Hearing footfalls coming from the opposite side of the clearing, Luke looked up and spotted the other squad. He held up his hand to stop Delilah, Pablo, Sam, and Simone. Brutus, on a leash, stopped at Simone’s side. “I see seven hardened vampire hunters here and half of a raggedy-ass vampire.”
The vampire took a minute to think over the offer, deflating when he made his decision. “Make it fast.”
“Oh, it’s going to cost you first. Nothing too arduous. Just some information.”
The vamp nodded. “What do you want?”
Luke tapped his upper lip with his finger, his eyes narrowing. “What were you doing out here? I don’t recall vampires being particularity devoted to Mithras or to sightseeing.”
The vampire paused for a moment. “We were chasing down a dangerous vampire murderer. Me and my nest have been chasing her since Vienna.”
“I didn't think your accent was German. Who were you hunting?”
“I don’t know what she was called, but she is known across the Middle East and Central Asia as the Terror of Tehran. Or the Mumbai Murderer.”
That was Roxi. He tried to keep his poker face in place. “What happened? Did you kill her?”
The fanger made a disgusted noise. “No. She lived up to her moniker. She was a terror.”
“Where did she go?”
“She ran off that way.” He gestured toward the trail where Delilah and company stood. A vicious grin split his face. “She had a horde of vampires chasing after her. If there is any justice in the world, she’s dinner.”
“Now we’ve come to end of your usefulness.” He stood up and gestured with his head. Jung-sook ran over, pulling a stake from her pocket. “I suggest you tuck your arm in, fanger. I’m going to flip you over. It’ll be quicker and less painful through the front.”
The vampire tucked its arm into its side. Luke slid his foot under its ribs on the armless side and flipped the vampire over then leapt backward. The vampire tried one last act of vengeance and swiped at Luke’s legs, but only found air where he’d been standing a moment before. Jung-sook plunged the stake down into the vampire’s heart. Disintegrating into dust, the vampire blew away on the breeze.
“What now, Luke?” Delilah called.
“Give me a moment.” He strode through the ripped down fence.
In antiquity, the cave in the rock face had been enlarged to make room for the shrine. He’d been here not long after it had been dedicated, invited by the local pater when he’d heard the Centurio Immortalis was bringing his legion up the Rhenus River to deal with some raids by the local German tribes. Luke had suspected the attacks were being instigated by vampires. A few decades later, he’d been banished from the empire by Constantine the Great. At the time, it had been a crushing blow, but it had led to him meeting Marpesia and one of the best periods of his life.
Five columns still stood, two to his left and three to the right. As he passed each column, silvery light burst to life from the top of each pillar, illuminating the back of the shallow cave. The wall had been flattened with a recess carved into it. A square stone with a carving depicting Mithras and the bull stood at eye level, sunk into the stone wall.
Luke sank to his knees in front of the carving. “Father of fathers. Your servant Roxiustana Surena came to you. Did you aid her?” He felt his master’s presence but only distantly, as if he’d drawn Mithras’s ear but not his attention. “We are the last of your weapons, and we are closer to completing your mission than in any time before. I need her to do this, Master. I need you to heal her. She deserves it for the services rendered.”
He waited but never fully felt Mithras turn his attention on Luke. He could no longer contain his growing anger. “Master, we have served you for nearly two thousand years each. You owe us the right to finish this in dignity.”
Instead, Luke felt Mithras turn his back on him—on Roxi. He stood up angry, a silent snarl on his face. Looking at Mithras’s shrine, he spat onto the ground in front of it, turned his back, and stalked out, his rage pouring out unmasked.
Jung-sook and Ahmed, seeing the expression on Luke’s face, stepped out of his way as he marched toward Delilah, Pablo, Sam, and Simone.
“Dude. Who pissed in your cereal?” Pablo asked.
Luke snorted, the question carving a bit of the edge off his anger. “A reckoning is coming with my master, and if he doesn’t get right, it’s not going to end the way he thinks it will.” He stopped and closed his eyes, drawing in a deep breath and holding it as it stretched the muscles of his ribs. He let the air pass explosively through his lips.
Kneeling in front of Brutus, he scratched under the giant dog’s collar while he looked the intelligent beast in his eyes. “Brutus, can you track the vampires that chased Roxi from here?”
Brutus barked, low and breathy, his tail wagging steadily.
“I’ll take that as a yes.” He stood up and took the offered leash from Simone. “Someone communicate with Charlie and the rest of the teams to let them know what’s going on. We’re going on foot for as long as the trail leads us.”
Luke trusted his friends to fall in behind him as they strode down the trail, Brutus leading the way as he snuffled the ground. The dog pulled on the leash and tried to take off.
“Not so hard, Brutus,” Luke said.
The dog slowed down, allowing a bit of slack in the leash.
“Luke, what did the vampire say?” Sam asked.
“His nest had been tracking Roxi since Vienna. They laid an ambush here, but she destroyed them. The rest of the nest or some other vamps chased her down this trail, so we’re only a few hours behind her. She’s got to be exhausted, but she won’t slow down until she kills all the vamps trailing her or the sun drives them off.”
“She can do that even in the poor condition you said she’s in?” Delilah asked.
Luke nodded. “The compulsion is brutal. When vampires attack, you become a true terror. She’ll be completely drained after.” He tugged gently on the leash to stop Brutus and turned to his friends. “If we get close to her, you have to let me approach her. She probably won’t recognize you as friends. She might attack and I doubt you’d survive the onslaught unharmed. Trust me on this. For your own safety, let me go first when it comes to Roxi.”
They nodded.
“Good. Thank you.” He turned and let Brutus pull them along the trail.
Luke dragged a hand across his eyes. He should have been in bed hours ago, but he’d follow Roxi’s trail until he dropped. After they made it off Halberg, the path led down to the Saar River. Occasionally, they’d find a puddle of sludge marking another dead vamp. As they worked their way down the streets of Saarbrücken, the trail kept them between the rail tracks and the river, periodically taking weird turns. As the sun crept over the eastern horizon, they made a turn toward the river until Brutus stopped.
Luke nearly bumped into the back of the dog. After the giant beast lifted his head to look at Luke, he returned his nose to the ground and snuffled around, zigging back and forth until once again he found the trail he wanted and pulled Luke along toward the river.
Sam finally broke the silence. “Luke, do you sense any more vampires?”
“No.”
“How long are we going to follow the trail?” Delilah asked.
“Until the end,” he replied.
“Can we send the backup teams home?” Sam asked.
“The sun is up, there won’t be any vamp attacks. Send them home.”
They followed the trail for another hour with Sam relaying instructions to the couple of cars following along. Every now and then, Brutus would have trouble with the trail until he found whatever it was he was looking for and took off in a new direction—until the last time, by the banks of the Saar.
No matter where the dog sniffed, he couldn’t find a trail until he huffed and sat down, staring across the river. Sam called the cars in and they loaded in, driving over the nearest bridge. They backtracked until they found the side they were looking for on the opposite side of the river and started over.
Though this time, they could find no trail no matter how far up or down the banks of the Saar they traveled. With each step they took, Luke become increasingly frustrated, his teeth grinding and tears burning in his eyes. Finally, Brutus sat down and refused to get up. No matter how Luke tried to coax the dog, the animal ignored him, lying down as he panted heavily.
Sam stopped by his side and set her hand on his forearm. “Luke, the trail’s gone. Brutus is exhausted. He still hasn’t recovered from that hell you found him in. Neither have you. I’m sorry.”
Luke’s knees trembled until he flopped onto the ground next to Brutus. He pulled his knees up and wrapped his arms around them, resting his forehead on his knees. Sam sat next to him. Pablo joined them, sitting across from Luke. Soon the rest of the gang joined them, surrounding him.
“I thought we were going to find her finally. I wanted to see her again.” He pressed his head into his knees, letting the dull pressure focus him.
Sam leaned into him, resting her head against his shoulder and wrapping an arm around his back. “I’m so sorry, Luke. You did everything you could.”
Pablo tussled his hair. “Yeah, buddy, we’ll get another shot. She’s getting close. We’ll find her.”
“Is the moon up still?” Luke asked.
A moment later, Simone answered in the affirmative.
“My mistress, what happened?” Luke cast to the sky.
“I don’t know. After I called to you, the vampires ambushed her, and she went berserk. She shut me out entirely. I tried to watch her but lost her and couldn’t pick up her trail. She is cunning, even in her current state. I’m so sorry, Lucius. I’m waning for the day. I’ll attempt to reach out when I’m stronger. I know you hurt, my brave soldier. I am sorry.” Selene’s presence disappeared.
“Roxi even managed to evade a goddess,” Luke mumbled.
“Bring up the cars. We’re heading home.” Sam hung up her phone. “Luke, we need to get up. The ground is cold, and we’re all exhausted.”
Luke nodded. Pablo offered a hand and helped Luke up. Before they made their way to the parked cars, Luke bent over and scratched behind Brutus’s ears.
“You did your best, Brutus. Thank you.”
The dog gave a couple of weak wags then joined the trudge away from the river. When they arrived at the cars, Luke helped Brutus into the back of Delilah’s vehicle.
“Poor fella, I think all the pavement and concrete were hard on his pads,” Luke said as he shut the hatch. “Once he heals up a little, we’ll have to see about getting him boots or get him some training to build up his pads.”
“He’s a good boy,” Pablo said. “I’m sorry, buddy. We’ll get her home.”
Luke pulled his best friend in for a hug. “Thank you, Pablo, for being there.”
“You know we’re all here for you.”
“I know. Thank you, everyone. Your support means the world to me.” He made eye contact with everyone and nodded. “Let’s go home.”
He loaded up in the back of the BMW and loaded up his current favorite play list. The heartrending sound of “River of Sorrow” by Antony and the Johnsons filled the cabin of his BMW while they drove away from the Saar River. As they made their way across the border into France, he watched the hilly countryside roll by, wondering where Roxi was, if she was hurt. If she’d found a safe place to rest.
At some point, he dozed off. He didn’t wake until they pulled onto the road leading to his property. When they descended the ramp, he was pleased to see the surveillance van safely parked out of the way. He slid out of his seat and headed into the house, letting those who’d managed to get some rest unpack the vehicles.
When he saw Maggie at the bottom of the stairs, he picked up his pace, pulling her into a fierce hug. Sensing his distress, Maggie stroked his hair and rubbed his back.
“Let me take you upstairs, Luke.”
He let her lead him up to his room. She helped him undress and slip into some pajama pants, then tucked him in.
“Would you lie with me for a while?” Luke asked.
“Of course.” She slid under the covers and wrapped her arms around him. “Sleep well, Luke. I love you.”
“I love you, too,” Luke mumbled before falling asleep.