Bloody Bastards, page 1
Copyright © 2023 by Theophilus Monroe.
All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.
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This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
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Chapter 1
The portal snapped shut behind us as we stepped into chaos. Screams and the copper tang of blood saturated the air of the Providence Place Mall. I scanned the marble floors now strewn with bodies and blood.
“Talk to me, Mel,” I muttered, checking my Glock. Fully loaded with iron rounds. Mel was back at headquarters, hacked into the mall’s security feeds. She served as our eyes. Our best chance at getting ahead of Cal’s Unseelie gang.
“Redcaps on the second floor tearing through Abercrombie. More Redcaps with Cal are gathering hostages near the food court.” Mel’s voice was tinny in my earpiece.
“Let’s move,” I said. Ladinas and I took point while Muggs and Antoine fanned out, weapons drawn. Alice stalked ahead, her face an emotionless mask.
We stalked through the empty halls, following the screams and scent of blood. At the top of the escalator, we found them.
Five Redcaps in their stolen meatsuits, claws extended and hats soaked crimson. One held a woman by the hair, ready to open her throat.
My team opened fire, iron tearing through the Redcaps with wet thuds. The creatures shrieked, clawing at their wounds as their stolen bodies failed them.
Iron weakened the Redcaps, exorcising them from their human hosts, but didn’t kill them. It didn’t save their hosts, either. When the Redcaps fled their hosts, they materialized as Unseelie goblins. They didn’t “eat” in the conventional way. They derived their sustenance from the blood soaked into their caps. But they needed human hosts to “eat.” That didn’t mean the exorcized goblins weren’t a threat. They’d find more humans, effectively killing the people they possessed, and resume their murders in short order if we didn’t burn their hats. That was the only way to kill the little bastards.
I put a round through the one holding the woman. His host collapsed, but the goblin bastard tore into the woman with his claws and claimed her body as his next meatsuit before we could save her. It was a gruesome sight—the way the goblins took their hosts. More Hannibal Lecter in flesh than traditional demon-style possession.
I shot at her—but my gun didn’t fire. Before I could load another magazine of iron bullets, the bastard slipped away.
“Fall back!” I yelled, reloading. We retreated down the escalator, the remaining Redcaps in pursuit. At the bottom, Ladinas tossed a grenade filled with iron shavings.
The blast ripped through them, leaving empty husks and scrambling goblins behind. I aimed my wand. “Incendia!”
I was a crack-shot with my wand. The flames erupted on the goblin’s head, consuming his cap. The goblin’s emaciated body withered into something like a charred fifty-pound raisin. One down. Probably dozens to go. There was no way to deal with these fuckers without the loss of human life. The best we could do was take them out whenever we got a chance. We put a dent in their numbers, but it wouldn’t stop them.
Cal Rhodes—the gangster who formerly served the Unseelie Queen, Malvessa—was the new leader of what used to be the Unseelie Court. He wasn’t a Redcap. He was now possessed by an Unseelie faerie named Gan Ceanach. After I sent Malvessa back to the faerie realm, and took out the trickster who initially claimed her authority, Gan Ceanach stepped up and took charge of the Redcaps and several other Unseelie species who remained on earth.
Unlike other hosts taken by faeries, Cal remained at the helm. He did Gan’s bidding, but it was still Cal, even if the faerie was pulling his strings.
Cal didn’t feed on blood. He fed on souls. Gan was an incubus who kept a harem of human women, gradually draining their energy until they died. He had a seductive allure that made him irresistible to females. Thankfully, his powers didn’t work on vampires.
Like the Redcaps, we were pretty sure if we shot up Cal with iron, Gan Ceanach would survive but remain vulnerable without a second host. He didn’t have a hat I could burn to do him in, though. The only way to kill an incubus, according to what we’d learned from Muggs and our uncourted faerie ally, Willie, was through forced celibacy. Isolate him from human females until he starved to death.
Easier said than done.
We continued toward the food court, weapons ready. The skylights let shafts of sunlight slice through the mall’s dim interior. Our kevlar suits protected us, mostly, but with our goggles off—the damned things fogged up too much that fighting with them on was impractical—we had to avoid the light as much as possible. I hated fighting at a disadvantage, but Cal and his Redcap gang always attacked during the day. He knew it gave them the upper hand.
I signaled for my team to fan out as we approached the food court entrance. The scent of blood hung heavy in the air. Inside, overturned tables and smashed kiosks revealed signs of the earlier carnage. Bodies lay strewn about, throats slashed or heads bashed in. The Redcaps’ handiwork.
A flicker of movement caught my eye. A Redcap darted behind the Panda Express counter. I fired two shots in his direction. A howl told me I’d hit my mark.
“Got one!” I said into the comm. “In pursuit to burn his hat.”
“I see two more over by the Orange Julius,” Ladinas responded. His gun barked twice. “Make that one more.”
Ladinas carried a small blow torch he could use on their hats if he could catch them. My magic was still the best way to put down the Redcaps I fired Incendia at the goblin I’d shot before. It wasn’t remotely satisfying—mostly because I couldn’t save his former host. At least I’d taken out another bastard and saved the lives of anyone he’d claim or kill in the future.
We were handling the Redcaps one-by-one, but there was still no sign of Cal. Where was he?
A deep laugh echoed from another floor, overlooking the food court. All we could see was a crowd of scantily dressed women—Cal was gathering women for his harem, a temporary human shield.
“That’s him. I know it is,” Alice said. Before I could stop her, she took off running.
“Alice, wait!” I shouted, but she ignored me. Ever since Ladinas told her he’d chosen to be with me, she’d been a bit of a loose cannon. She said it didn’t bother her, that she didn’t care, but I knew better. I could see it in her eyes. This wasn’t the first time she’d ignored my orders.
Ladinas glanced at me, concerned. “Want me to go after her?”
I shook my head. “No, stick to the plan. We need to clean up here, then we’ll get Alice. Watch my six.”
He nodded, lips pressed in a grim line. I didn’t like it either, but we had no choice. I just hoped Alice could handle herself until we got there.
I took aim at another Redcap, but before I could pull the trigger, Mel’s panicked voice sounded in my ear. “Police! They’re gathering outside. Full SWAT. Dozens of them!”
I swore under my breath. The last thing we needed was human law enforcement complicating matters—but it was inevitable. They showed up everywhere the Redcap gang attacked. The only way we made any progress at all was by beating the human authorities to the scene via Muggs’ portals and taking down as many as we could before they showed. We had maybe a minute before they stormed the building.
The cops didn’t stand a chance against the Redcaps. They didn’t know how to kill them. Their rounds weren’t iron. They didn’t know about burning their hats. But the Redcaps never attacked them—mostly because they knew the cops gave them an easy escape, complicating my team’s pursuit.
“New plan, let’s move!” I barked. “Alice, I know you can hear me. We have to get out of here!”
She didn’t respond. I’d known Alice as long as I’d been a vampire. Our history was complicated—but she’d never been reckless. Not like this.
“Damn it!” I shouted. Alice was either ignoring me or had removed her earpiece. Either way, we were going to have words when we got back to HQ. “I don’t know if you can hear me, Alice, but we’re coming for you. We won’t leave without you.”
Again, no response. Usually, once Mel warned us that the cops were en route, Muggs portaled us back to HQ.
We took off running, heading up to where Alice ran in pursuit of Cal, two floors above. My mind raced as I tried to figure a way out of this mess. But a SWAT team, armed up and guns drawn, intercepted us.
“Freeze!” one shouted. “Hands in the air!”
Slowly, we all raised our hands. I caught Ladinas’s eye and gave a slight shake of my head. We couldn’t afford a confrontation here. But we couldn’t leave, either. Not with Alice still missing.
“Officers, I know how this looks, but we’re not the bad guys here,” I said evenly. “If you give me a chance to explain— “
“Shut up!” the cop snapped. “Drop your weapons on the ground!”
I glanced at Muggs and clicked my tongue. He couldn’t see me. All he could see was magic through his spirit gaze. He heard me, though. A signal to get us th
I dropped my gun and kicked it across the floor. Ladinas and Antoine did the same. Only Muggs remained unarmed. My wand was tucked in a sleeve on my thigh.
“Keep your hands where I can see them! On the ground! Now!”
“Okay, okay, just don’t shoot,” I said. I kneeled down, signaling for the others to do the same.
I glanced around the mall, looking for any sign of Alice while also trying to figure out how we were going to get out of this mess. The cops were closing in while customers screamed and ran for the exits. I caught a flash of red out of the corner of my eye—a decorative poinsettia near the railing on the second level was moving unnaturally.
“On your stomachs! Hands behind your heads!” the cop shouted.
I complied, pressing my cheek against the cold tile floor. The poinsettia stretched and reached over the railing, extending down toward us like a vine. Muggs’ doing, no doubt.
Just then, two more cops came around the corner, guns drawn.
“Where’s the fifth?” one asked.
“No sign of her yet,” the first cop replied.
So they knew about Alice. Damn it, we were running out of time. I tensed, ready to grab my wand and start throwing spells if it came to that.
A long, thorny tendril curled down, almost touching the floor in front of me. I looked at Muggs and he gave a slight nod.
“Now!” I yelled.
I grabbed the vine as Ladinas and Antoine leapt up. Muggs’ eyes glowed green and the giant poinsettia surged towards us, wrapping us in a cocoon of leaves and whisking us upwards through a shimmering portal just as the cops opened fire.
We tumbled out the other side onto the cold stone floor of the Underground. I slammed my fist down in frustration.
“Dammit! We left Alice!”
I paced back and forth, fuming. Ladinas watched me carefully.
“We had no choice,” he said gently. “The police were closing in. We’d all be in custody if we stayed.”
“Since when do we run from the cops?” I snapped. “It’s not like they could take us.”
Ladinas frowned. “Mercy...”
“Forget it,” I said, waving him off. I wasn’t in the mood for a lecture. I knew why we weren’t engaging the police. They weren’t the enemy—even if they thought we were.
Alice was out there alone, chasing that psychotic faerie, Cal.
I should never have brought her on this mission. She’d been too reckless lately, too quick to ignore orders. Ever since Ladinas chose me over her, there’d been a coldness between us. I didn’t fully trust her anymore.
Ladinas moved closer, lowering his voice. “You know how she feels about me. About us. She’s hurting.”
I whirled on him. “So you’re taking her side now?”
He held up his hands defensively. “I didn’t say that. But we need to—“
A sudden noise at the entrance cut him off. We turned to see Alice stumble through, clutching her side, her leather jacket ripped and soaked with blood.
“What happened?” Ladinas asked, rushing over to help her.
She waved him off angrily. “I’m fine.”
I crossed my arms. “You directly disobeyed orders. Again.”
Alice glared at me. “While you were busy running away, I was doing our job. Tracking Cal.”
“Did you eliminate him at least?” I asked coldly.
She looked away. “No. But I know where he’s keeping his new harem. We can hit him there, finish this.”
I shook my head in disgust. “We’re done here. You’re off this mission.”
“The hell I am!” Alice shouted, stepping towards me. “I’m following this lead now, with or without you.”
Ladinas moved between us, holding up his hands. “Enough! We’re on the same side here.” He looked at me pleadingly. “She risked her life for this information. We should use it.”
I held his gaze for a moment, then sighed. As much as I hated to admit it, he had a point. And right now, we needed unity, not more divisions within our ranks.
“Fine,” I said through gritted teeth. “Patch yourself up, Alice. Everyone else, reload your weapons. We leave in ten.”
Chapter 2
Our new sunlight-resistant suits were supposed to give us an edge, let us take the fight to the enemy during the day. Instead, they just let us run ourselves into the ground without a moment’s rest. Before, we’d been forced to stand down when the sun rose, to reload, feed, and recover before the next round. Now it was just an endless loop of hunting Cal’s gang, tracking Ramon and his family, or trying to interfere with one of Oberon’s latest abductions—his Seelie faeries were still off the grid, we didn’t know where they were, but they were taking human slaves. For what purpose? Didn’t know. Willie was busy trying to figure that out. He spent most of his time buzzing around the city and the forests trying to gather information, but even with his advantages as a faerie, now “uncourted,” we hadn’t had a good lead on Oberon in weeks.
My team shuffled out into the warehouse where our SUVs were parked, some of them bleary-eyed and bruised beneath their goggles and suits. Muggs leaned heavily on his staff, for once looking his age. I wasn’t sure exactly how old he was—and he didn’t remember, either. He’d crossed through so many dimensions, skipped through time so many times, that he’d lost track of his birthdays.
Muggs wasn’t technically immortal before I turned him into a vampire. By his appearance, though, he wasn’t a day younger than eighty. Younger than me, technically, but that didn’t make me wiser.
Alice’s eyes were wide with manic energy. This mission was her idea. She’d followed Cal and his gang back to their current base. Given how elusive they were, as much as I hated to justify her actions on our last mission, the information she brought back was actionable. I didn’t know how long that would be the case.
Alice ran her fingers across the hilt of her katana, sheathed at her waist. She was good with a blade, not a great shot with anything ranged, especially firearms. When it came to close combat, though, she was vicious. Her usual blades were made of refined steel, but the ones she carried now to face off against the Unseelie were forged of pure iron.
We’d been dealing with faeries for a few months now since I’d dispatched both Malvessa and Reynard, courtesy of Oblivion. Oblivion was the dragon-gatekeeper spirit whose blade I took, whose spirit now lingered somewhere within me. Subdued, quiet... too quiet. I could speak his name, “Oblivion,” and I’d feel a stir, but little more. He’d come to my aid when the time was right, when all was ready. Until then, he was little more than an insurance policy, a powerful and ancient being who’d hitched a ride in me. But lately, he’d been more like a stowaway than a first-class passenger. I barely noticed he was there.
“The factory is just off the shipyard. It looks like it’s been abandoned for years, but it’s got good sightlines and multiple exits. Mel’s got eyes on it now via satellite. The imagery is a few months old, but it gives us a solid lay of the land.”
“Any barriers to entry?” I asked. “It’ll be heavily guarded.”
Alice nodded. “There’s a chain-link fence with some barbed wire around the perimeter. Main entrances are padlocked, but it looks like they jimmied open a side door facing the water. That’s how Cal’s gang is going in and out. By the looks of it, they haven’t been there for long, and if our experience means anything, we can’t count on them staying there for much longer, either. If we wait until sunset, we might be too late.”
I nodded, picturing the layout. “How many hostiles are we looking at?”
“At least a dozen Redcaps patrolling the outside. Windows are blacked out, so there’s no telling how many faeries or humans are inside.”
“And Cal?” I asked.
Alice’s lip curled. “Oh, he’s in there. I caught a glimpse of his ugly mug through a window on the second floor. I saw little more. That’s when one of those damned Redcaps snuck up behind me and caught me in the ribs. I’m betting he has several women captive inside, all seduced by his power. If we’re going to take him down, we’ll have to be careful about collateral damage..”
