Vampire a Go-Go

FORTY-FIVE

Ten seconds after Allen left with the priests, a wooden monster emerged from the smoking doorway of Zabel’s home. The golem carried Zabel like a hurt child.

Once they cleared the doorway, Zabel coughed and wiped his sweaty, ash-smudged eyes on a sleeve. “Let me down, Lars. I can walk now.”

The golem set him on the ground. Zabel leaned over, put his hands on his knees, gulped clean air. He stood straight and looked back at his home, flames in the windows and doorway. In the distance, the sirens grew louder.

So many of his tools and materials, valuable items he’d collected over a lifetime. All up in smoke. Damn them.

He replayed recent events in his mind. It had happened so fast.

The wolf had burst in and attacked him, would have likely savaged him to death if Lars hadn’t pulled it off of him. Then Zabel had unleashed his most deadly spell, but the wolf had darted behind his desk, and the sturdy piece of furniture had absorbed the brunt of the firestorm. A second spell had blasted the beast back out the window, but not before half his office had been aflame. The smoke had overwhelmed him. He would surely have suffocated if Lars hadn’t carried him out.

He motioned the golem to follow him, and they ducked down an alley. Lars was not exactly inconspicuous, but Zabel had some quality ingredients stashed in his car. He could put together a few spells, form a plan to make them pay.

One thing was for sure. Sooner or later they’d show up at the Vysehrad cemetery.

A particularly large raven perched atop a rusty weathervane across the street from Zabel’s burning home. Everything it heard was heard by its master, Jackson Fay. Everything the raven saw, Fay saw. Everything it tasted, Fay tasted. This included a caterpillar and two especially sour black beetles.

Fay didn’t enjoy that.

The raven watched as Zabel emerged from the smoking doorway, then led his wooden behemoth down a back alley. He wondered why Zabel had used wood. Maybe that was all that had been handy. Cheap material. Economical.

When Pascal had not returned from Prague, Fay had strongly suspected he would need to pay Zabel a visit. Probably the man knew something of the stone as well. Whatever Zabel knew, Fay would know soon enough.

Fay watched as Zabel instructed the golem to lie down in the back of an older model Mercedes. He threw a blanket over the golem, then climbed into the driver’s seat, started the car, and began to drive.

Fay commanded the raven to follow.

Zabel would be a good test of Fay’s strength. Zabel was a decent enough wizard, but Fay felt confident he had the edge in talent and experience.

He’d make damn well sure he had the element of surprise.

Margaret floated through the gray void. She regretted the spell that had put her in this predicament. Her motivations were good-to warn her fellow Society members they might be in harm’s way. Fay was a dangerous rogue.

Only one last task kept her tethered to the real world. She had to find Amy. But really, what did she care anymore? The balance of magic. Evil wizards.

Such worries were for the living.