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The tunnels made Marcus feel more claustrophobic than the last time he’d been through them. The air seemed denser, a feeling of heaviness weighing him down. He pushed away the thought and focused on the task at hand. Avoiding running into any compelled that could be lurking around any corner. And taking out the nearest nest.
Easy-peasy for a Vampire with his history.
He hoped.
One of Gallaway’s scouts had found the nest near City Hall. It was the closest threat to the Dome and if they, or Adelaide’s hybrids attacked, it would most likely come from there first. If—and that ‘if’ was very big—the compelled could actually find their way through the maze of catacombs. He wasn’t sure it was possible, and yet he couldn’t deny it. There had been plenty of surprises the past few weeks. He couldn’t count this out either.
Atlanta had mapped out the quickest route to City Hall that involved more twists and turns than necessary, but was certain to provide a clear route with little threat of coming face to face with the enemy.
He’d wanted to go alone, but everyone was adamant that he go with a partner. Someone who could keep up with him. He looked over his shoulder at the slouched figure of Luther, and cursed the fact that he had agreed.
“I’m not exactly thrilled, either,” Luther said, his features hidden by his hood, his anger seeping like poison from his lips.
Marcus shook his head and kept his eyes straight ahead. The less interaction he had with his son, the better. He didn’t want to think about it. Now was not the time to deal with it. The tunnel dragged on ahead of them, and when he came to a fork he consulted the crude map in his hand.
“This way,” Luther said, turning left before lifting himself into a narrower tunnel a few feet off the floor.
Marcus folded the map and stuffed it into his pocket and followed. He needed to crouch down as well, but at least it was uncomfortable enough to keep them both from having to talk to each other.
The tunnel ended in a wider one that allowed them to stretch their limbs, and they continued down it, the path angling downward. We should be moving faster than this, Marcus thought, but he knew that rushing through the catacombs would only make them lose their way. One wrong turn, and they would be dashing back and forth trying to figure out which way to go. If that happened, then they were bound to clash with the compelled. Or get lost. Or worse—
“You think too much,” Luther mumbled from up ahead.
“Then you should stay out of my head.”
“It isn’t easy when your thoughts are so loud,” Luther snapped. “If there are any Vamps nearby, you’ll draw them towards us like sharks.”
“Ah, the wisdom of youth,” Marcus sneered. “Tell me, where did you gain your tactical expertise? Planning the destruction of all of us with the Witch?”
Luther whirled around, hood falling from his head, eyes burning. “Don’t ever assume to know what I’ve been through,” he hissed. “And don’t ever associate me with Adelaide again if you know what’s good for you, old man.”
Marcus smirked. “You don’t scare me, child,” he said. “I’ve dealt with your kind before. I’ve killed your kind before. Push me the wrong way, and I’ll make sure to bury you in these tunnels.”
Luther stepped up to Marcus; they were the same height so they were eye to eye. “You know the saying that parents want their children to be better than them?” He sneered. “Rest assured, Father, I am better than you. I’m stronger, faster, all of it. With enough of an advantage physically, mentally, and magically, to make your head spin. Keep that in mind the next time you try to act like my superior. Or threaten to kill me. Your son.”
Marcus bared his fangs. “Step back, child, or I might just test your words. Then I’ll send your head to your mother in a basket.”
Luther lashed out, his hand wrapping around Marcus’ neck in a flash, but the Vampire was just as quick and twisted Luther’s hand away. With a swift kick, Marcus flung Luther into the tunnel wall and watched the rubble rain down on him. Luther pushed away and came for Marcus, as quickly as promised and stronger than expected. Marcus barely registered the blurred movements of the hybrid as he pounded away at him, thrusting him against the wall, showering him with punches and kicks. The movements and hits were quiet, only the falling of stone around them making any noise.
Marcus fought back, clawing at Luther’s face, sinking his fangs in the hybrid’s shoulder before twisting him and slamming him against the wall again. Luther held on tight, drawing Marcus into the rubble with him, then pounding his fists into the Vampire’s head. He lifted Marcus off his feet and flung him down the tunnel, then came at him again, green fire blazing.
Marcus sidestepped the attack, grabbed Luther by the robes, and flung him away. The hybrid landed with a thud, rolled quickly to his feet, and let the fire loose. The flames engulfed Marcus, lifted him, and slammed him into the tunnel’s ceiling, then brought him back down with a force so strong it made his head spin.
“Stop!” Marcus yelled, just as Luther was about to lunge for him again.
The hybrid stood his ground, panting heavily, eyes blazing.
Marcus stared at him angrily as he pushed himself to his feet, feeling the broken bones in his body coalesce and heal themselves. “We should be saving our efforts for the nest.”
“So, you’re admitting defeat?” Luther grinned, falling to one knee. He looked momentarily fatigued but clearly wasn’t going to admit it.
“You’re a stupid child,” Marcus replied. “Fighting amongst ourselves isn’t what we came here to do.”
“You started this, old man.”
“And it is I who’s ending it.” Marcus leaned against a wall to catch his breath. “Besides, you’ve proven your point. Your attempts at besting me were admirable.”
Luther snickered. “I had you beat, old man.”
Marcus sat down, leaning against the wall as he winced against the pain of bones reassembling and wounds closing. “That arrogance will kill you one day.” He shook his head. “You truly are your father’s son.”
Luther looked at him, their eyes meeting briefly, before he turned away and pushed to his feet.
Marcus watched him sit down on the opposite wall, equally spent. For the first time since they met, Marcus really took him in. He hadn’t expected to see his son a grown man. It was still too much for him.
“She said you were dead,” Marcus said, finally breaking the silence.
Luther looked up, scoffed, and shook his head. “Since when is anything she says the truth?”
“There was a time I believed her.”
“You were an idiot, then.”
Marcus didn’t argue. I really was, wasn’t I?
Luther leaned his head back and stared up at the dark ceiling of the catacombs. “She hid me away. Lied to me as well. Then, when I was old enough to understand what I was, what she intended to do with me, I ran away.
“Your mother’s persistent. I’m surprised she didn’t look for you.”
“Oh, she did. And I’ve been running ever since the day I took off.” Luther smiled cockily. “Sent scouts for me. Compelled after me. Hybrids after me. I killed them all.” He looked at Marcus for a long moment. “There are benefits to being the offspring of Marcus the elder Vampire and Adelaide the Witch.”
Marcus winced. Saying it out loud reminded him of too many things he’d tried to forget; a history he didn’t want brought up. It was a part of his past he’d fought hard to bury, to keep secret. No one knew. Not even James. No one knew—until now. The others would ask questions, either before or once this war was over, and he had no idea how they’d react to the knowledge of Luther’s heritage. Luther would be doomed, as much as the Coven Master—
“They’re already wondering,” Luther interrupted. Marcus frowned at him. “I told you, you think too loud.”
Marcus sighed and stretched his neck, the final broken bones finally in their place. “It’s of no consequence, anyway. It’s all in the past. There’s nothing to benefit from bringing it up.”
“A Vampire procreating?” Luther scoffed. “You think the elders won’t start wondering how that happened?”
“They know how it happened,” Marcus replied. “Logic dictates it.”
“Of course,” Luther said, shaking his head. “Always blame it on the magic.”
“Adelaide’s a strong Witch. A dangerous one. The most dangerous.” He stared at his son, saw his resemblance to the man before him. He lowered his voice. “I never knew what she was doing. I never really thought she would go to such lengths to—” He hesitated.
“To what?” Luther looked at him sharply. “Create the monster that I am?”
“To mess with the balance of nature,” Marcus corrected. “It’s unnatural for a Vampire to have children.”
“Yet she still managed to create an army just like me.”
“No.” Marcus scoffed and shook his head. “Definitely not like you. You’re stronger than her hybrids. And you have magic they don’t possess.”
“That’s comforting,” Luther said, sarcasm dripping from his tongue. “Maybe I could convince the others to follow me, become their leader, you know? Luther the Great?”
Marcus gazed at him seriously. He couldn’t tell if the boy was joking, or actually considering what he was saying. Still, if there was one thing he was sure of it was that his son held a grudge, and he would see to that first before thinking of anything more ambitious. In that way, he was a lot like Adelaide.
“So, what happened? Back then? That created...” Luther motioned to himself. “...me? Fell in love with a Witch, she wanted children but you were too old to have any?”
“Your sarcasm is amusing.” He did not want to talk about his.
“I’m here all week, Dad. But, seriously, I deserve to know what happened.”
Marcus hesitated, then sighed and closed his eyes. “We did love each other once. We respected each other. She was among the forces fighting the first Coven Master so we stayed quiet, kept our secret and pretended not to know each other. After the war was over, we saw each other again. It shouldn’t have amounted to anything more than what it was, but eventually it became something we couldn’t hide anymore. Obviously, both of us received a lot of harsh words from our own kinds.”
“No love between Vampire and Witch?”
“No,” Marcus replied, ignoring Luther’s tone. “No, there shouldn’t have been. Nothing good could ever come of it. She was stubborn, though, believed we could carve out our own little world and live away from the rest of it. Obviously, I couldn’t do that.” Marcus tried to read the look in his son’s eyes. “I’m the leader of the Vampires on this side of the world. We’d just had a war. Leaving them would have resulted in anarchy. We reigned supreme here, until the Druids came at least, but at the time walking out meant mutiny. They’d have killed us both.”
“So, she got you to knock her up.”
Marcus gave him a warning look. “She decrypted a spell in one of the Lunar Books,” he said. “All she needed was my seed.”
“That’s disgusting,” Luther commented.
“Better than knocking her up?” he teased, then turned serious again. “When I found out about you, I confronted her. But she said you’d died, that the spell had failed. She was banished by all, shunned for her attempts at upsetting the balance.” He sighed and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “And we both know your mother... she didn’t respond well to that.”
Luther stared at his father, his eyebrows raised. “Are you trying to tell me that everything she’s done, everything she’s doing now, is because you dumped her?”
Marcus shook his head and smiled. “She has ambition. She’s always had it. She wants power. That’s not because she’d ticked off at me. The destruction of anything and anyone that might come between her and her ambition is her goal. I was just another prize.” He gave Luther a serious look. “Believe me, Adelaide has no love for anyone. Only usefulness. And once you’re not useful anymore she’ll get rid of you, without thought or remorse. Including you.”
Luther stood up and dusted off his hands before tying his robe that now reminded Marcus of a tunic and partly of a cape. It suited the boy. “Well, I’ll be sure to keep that in mind when I see her,” Luther said. “We need to keep moving. We’ve got a nest to destroy.”
Marcus nodded and began to stand up, when Luther stuck his hand out to help him. Marcus looked at it, then at Luther.
“I may hate you,” Luther said, “but it doesn’t mean we’re not on the same side.”
Marcus grabbed his hand and let his son pull him to his feet.
