"Did Bat decide to redecorate?" I whispered to Vince.
He shook his head. "This was none of Bat's doing." He strode over to the askew door and pulled it partly shut to show the back. Across the door was a long claw mark.
I gasped. "Werewolves?"
"Undoubtedly," Vince agreed. He opened the door and the entrance toppled off its hinges and clattered to the floor.
We stepped into the lab and I cringed when I saw the same destruction as in the garage. The tables were overturned, and the vials and beakers lay shattered on the ground. Papers, some half-burnt, lay in scattered piles and there were long claw marks across the outer walls of the small white room. The door of the room was broken in half and lay in pieces just inside the entrance.
Vince strode forward to the white room and I quickly followed. I listened for any sounds of danger, but heard nothing. "You don't think they're still here, do you?" I whispered to him.
"No. The attack took place a few days ago," he told me.
"How can you tell?"
"By the canine scent of the werewolves."
I lifted my nose into the air and wrinkled it. "They do smell like dogs," I commented. Vince went directly for the blood refrigerator and opened the door. "I know you're a vampire, but is this really the time?" I scolded him. Vince ignored me and grabbed the panel on the door. He wrenched the two parts of the door apart to reveal a small, square secret compartment. I blinked at the hidden space as he snatched a slip of yellowed paper from its walls. "I've heard of strange diets, but hiding a piece of paper for eating later is a little ridiculous," I muttered.
"If anything was to happen to him he would leave a note here," Vince explained as he unfolded the aged, wrinkled paper. His frown deepened as his eyes brushed over the contents.
I strode over to stand by his side. "What is it? He's not in trouble, is he?"
"I'm not sure. I can't read the message," Vince admitted.
I glanced at the paper and raised an eyebrow. On the parchment was a bunch of squiggly lines and exclamation points. "Uh, what language is this? Gibberish?"
"As far as I can surmise, yes," he replied.
My eyes flickered up to his serious face. "Seriously? You've known each other for how long and you still can't read his handwriting?"
"This is Bat's handwriting, but the language is not any I know of him using," Vince informed me.
"So we don't really know if this is a secret message from him or if we found his lost grocery list," I commented.
Vince stiffened and his head whipped up. He stuffed the paper into his jacket and pursed his lips. "We should leave."
I stiffened. His voice was stern and had a quick march to his words. "What is it?"
"We are not alone."
I looked around the room. Nothing stirred except for a few slips of paper on the ground. "Well, if you call the broken furniture company, sure, but-" It was 'but nothing' for the shadows as many of them warped into dark, humanoid figures with glowing yellow eyes. They were like the twisted shadows of dwarves in that their arms and legs were impossibly long compared to their thin, short bodies. I gasped and stumbled back against Vince. He grasped my upper arms and held me still. "What the hell are those?" I asked him.
"Doppelgangers employed by Ruthven. They are his most powerful creations aside from Field," Vince told me.
The creatures stretched their shadowy legs toward us and I cringed when I noticed their hands were curved like the talons of eagles. "So why hasn't he used them before?" I pointed out.
"They will only deign to be summoned in the matters of the arcane," he explained.
"And that means what exactly?"
"They have been summoned to steal Bat away for some purpose."
"Uh-huh, and how do we un-summon them?"
"There is no way but to defeat them with like magic," Vince told me.
The creatures drew closer and more slid from the wall behind the refrigerator door. They forced us into the center of the room and stretched out their taloned hands toward us. "Um, you don't happen to have any in your coat, do you?" I squeaked.
"Not in my coat," he replied. Vince held up his ring hand and a brilliant light poured from the center crystal.
The creatures threw their arms over their faces to block the light, and strangled, cat-like screeches erupted from their throats. Vince swept me into his arms and shoved us through the doppelgangers that blocked the door. Literally through them. They were like the shadows they poured from, and when we swept through their bodies it was like being dunked in cold water.
We sped into the main portion of the warehouse to find the entire building was covered in the creatures. They hissed and slithered towards us on their long limbs. Vince raced us into the garage, but that, too, swarmed with the arcane creatures. The exit was blocked by the fiends. Their lithe bodies swayed to and fro as they walked toward us. Their numbers were a dozen deep as more poured from the shadows.
Vince set me down and raised his ring above his head. The bright light shone across the room. The creatures the light touched disintegrated into tiny floating ashes. The light destroyed many of our foes, but not all of them. The doppelgangers at the front protected their brethren at the rear, and the lines continued to sway toward us.
Vince turned to me. "Get on my shoulders and use your ring," he ordered me.
"But my life!" I reminded him. If I used the ring my humanity would be sucked from me.
"That is what is at stake!" he argued.
He knelt down and I reluctantly climbed onto his shoulders. The action forced his ring hand lower, and the extent of the light dimmed. The doppelgangers rushed forward. Vince stood, and I was well above where his hand could reach. I lifted my ring as he did the same, and our combined lights burst forth and swept over the room. The creatures hissed and retreated into the shadows from whence they came. In less than half a minute the room was empty except for us.
Vince knelt down so I could climb off him. I stepped down, but a sudden wave of exhaustion swept over me. My legs buckled and I fell forward. Vince caught me in his strong arms and pulled me against him. His worried face looked down at me, but I managed to smile back at him.
"Remind me not to do that again any time soon," I quipped.
He didn't smile. "It may not be avoidable. If Ruthven is desperate enough to call forth so many doppelgangers then he will use everything at his disposal to find Bat and ourselves."
I rubbed my woozy head. "What'd he want Bat for, anyway? I mean, he's just a crazy old coot, isn't he?"
"Bat holds a great deal of alchemist secrets that Ruthven would be very pleased to acquire," he told me.
I pushed away from him and raised an eyebrow. "Like what kind of secrets?"
Vince held up one hand and the ring on his finger glistened even in the dim light of the garage. "The secret to these."
Chapter 2
I blinked at him. "What does Bat know about these things? That is, other than what you told him?" I wondered.
"Bat has the knowledge to create them," Vince revealed.
I furrowed my brow. "Wait, so you gave him that knowledge, or did he learn that from the first guy who had the ring and made it?"
"He learned it himself," Vince corrected me.
I tilted my head to one side and frowned. "I know my head's a little loopy right now, but didn't that alchemist guy who made the rings live a really long time ago?"
"A thousand years," Vince confirmed.
"And that guy was-"
"He is Bat."
I held up my hands. "Wait, so you're telling me that Bat is not only the thousand-year-old alchemist who created these cursed rings, but that he kicked your ass enough to get you stuck to one?" The image of Bat duking it out with Vince and winning was too much. I burst out laughing.
Vince scowled at me. "I see nothing humorous in your statement. Bat was a formidable foe in his youth, and still retains enough ability to keep the rings in existence."
I froze and whipped my hea
d up to him. "'In existence?'" I shoved my ring into Vince's face. "Are you telling me he's the only thing keeping this damn thing on my finger and killing me?"
"It isn't killing you. You are changing into-"
"Damn it, Vince, you know what I mean!" I growled.
Vince pursed his lips, but there was some pity in his eyes. "It is only speculation, but the rings may cease to exist after his death," he guessed.
I shut my eyes and clasped my hands around the ring. "So if Bat dies, we're both free. . ." I muttered.
"Don't travel down that path, Liz. There is only regret there," Vince advised.
I opened my eyes and frowned at Vince. "Why shouldn't I think about this? You both know I'm dying-"
"Becoming a vampire," he corrected me.
I straightened and glared at my partner. "You both know my life is draining from me and neither of you are doing much to stop it, so why shouldn't I think about him dying?"
"We warned you about using the ring," he reminded me.
I turned away from him and paced the floor in front of him with my hands in fists at my sides. "And you think that was enough when Bat could have just said 'oops, my bad. It's because of me you're in this mess'?" I shot back.
"Wish him dead if you will, but do not kill him yourself," Vince ordered me.
I stopped and towered before Vince in all my short height. "How many times did you wish Tim was dead, or that I was dead? It's no different! I bet you even thought about killing Bat!" I argued.
"Yes, I did, but he still lives," Vince countered.
I started back and furrowed my brow. My voice refused to go above a whisper as I wondered aloud the question that begged to be asked. "Then why didn't you? Why didn't you sneak up on him and drain all his blood? You could've been free."
"Bat was a worthy opponent, and-" Vince clenched his teeth and partially turned away from me.
I stepped up to him and clasped his chin between my fingers. I pulled him toward me, but his glasses blocked my view. I reached up and pulled them off so his beautiful red eyes looked into mine. Vince looked aged and tired. "And what?" I persisted.
"He was the only constant. Yes, I could have killed him when he passed the ring on to Tim, but we both knew we needed each other to keep our sanity against the changing world around us," Vince explained.
I slid my fingers from Vince's chin, but didn't release his eyes from my firm gaze. "So you would've missed him, and vice versa?" I guessed.
Vince gave a nod. "Yes, we were. . .we were as two children afraid to blow out the candle of life of the other. Bat, too, had every opportunity to destroy me, but he refused." Vince chuckled, but there was no mirth in the sound. "He compared killing me to destroying his last bit of humanity. The last bit of soul that remained before he immersed himself in alchemy."
Now I felt like an ass. "Vince, I. . .I'm sorry. I didn't know he was that important to you. Sure, you guys bantered, but I just thought he was an old friend like Tim."
Vince straightened and gathered his emotions. "Yes, well, now you know the full truth between Bat and myself. What choice will you make? Will you help me find him, or will you-" I whacked his arm as hard as I could, and he flinched.
I folded my arms across my chest and glared at him. "After hearing that story do you really think I'm going to stand around here and see if Ruthven kills Bat?" He opened his mouth, but I held up a finger. "The answer is 'hell no,' so where do we start figuring out this note puzzle so Bat can tell us about Tim's note puzzle?"
Vince smiled and pulled out the yellowed sheet. "He wrote the note on an ancient piece of parchment. There may be something important in the words, the ink, or even the paper itself."
"Like something to do with alchemy?" I asked him.
"That may be."
"So you know anything about alchemy? Because I sure don't. Heck, I couldn't even pass chemistry," I quipped.
Vince pocketed the note and shook his head. "No. Bat didn't wish to kill me, but he didn't trust me enough to reveal his alchemy secrets to me, or anyone else. However, he isn't the only alchemist in the city."
"So we go to an alchemist place like Vera set up for witches and pick a name off the list?" I suggested.
"Alchemists are more suspicious of one another, and refuse to create guilds or groups. They are also very skilled at hiding their occupation and only boast when they have reached a great discovery, so they are not easy to find. However, we may find some information from Mitch," he told me.
I snorted. "I just hope we have enough money to pay him. We barely got him to help us last time, and that was because we paid him back with his life," I reminded him.
"We could always offer to deprive him of the same if he refuses to cooperate," Vince mused.
"Let's try the money first, and see where we go from there," I advised. I glanced around the dark, ruined building and sighed. "I just hope we get to Bat before those doppelgangers do."
Vince led me through the mess and back to our car. "Bat has survived this long. He would not allow himself to be taken by shadow fiends," he told me.
"So if alchemists are all secretive then how does Ruthven know about Bat being this all-powerful alchemist, anyway?" I asked him as I followed his long strides.
"Ruthven himself is an old alchemist, and regretfully he is well-read on their lore and hierarchy," Vince explained. "He learned about Bat and the rings from ancient texts and has searched for Bat for several centuries."
"Why? I mean, he's lived that long without anybody's help, why does he want Bat?" I wondered.
We reached the car and Vince took the wheel while I slid into my usual seat. "Bat has performed countless experiments with alchemy, and the side-effect has been to infuse his blood with pure magic. It has extended his life, and even a drop of such blood would give the drinker magical powers beyond compare, though the effect would only last for a limited time. Bat always feared he would be captured and his blood drained from him and replenished, only to be drained again."
I cringed. "That's really sick."
"Ruthven is such a creature."
I furrowed my brow as my mind brought forth a memory. "Wait a sec, didn't I take some of Bat's blood? You know, the second time we were here?"
Vince shook his head. "No. Bat has always been careful about his blood, and has created a shell around his body that is made of false blood. It was that which you tapped into in your feeding."
"That sounds like some serious alchemy. So Ruthven wants Bat's blood because it's all magical and stuff? What's the magic do?" I asked him.
Vince nodded at my ring. "That magic Ruthven seeks, a sort of immortality with unlimited power, is the same that powers our rings because one-half of the blood inside the rings is Bat's. The other half of the blood fusion is mine which he used to strengthen our bond."
I looked down at my ring and cringed. "You' mean I've been carrying around your guys' blood all this time? That's kind of nasty."
Vince smiled as he backed us out and drove down the road. "Through all of our adventures you find that idea detestable?"
I waved the ring at him. "Yeah, because this thing's kind of stuck to me. At least with anything else I could always wash it off."
Vince's smile faltered and he punched the gas peddle. "That problem may well be solved if Bat dies," he mused.
I cringed. "And if it doesn't? If these rings don't die with him?"
"Then you remain in the same fate as you are now."
I slumped in my seat as we barreled down the road. "So I have to hope Bat dies, but I don't want him to die, but then I'll be a vampire which is kind of cool except for the whole blood-sucking thing." I ran a hand down my face and sighed. "Man, this really sucks, and not the vampire kind of suck."
"The night isn't over yet," he reminded me.
I snorted. "Thanks, I needed that pick-me-up."
"You're welcome."
"I-well, I think you're annoying."
"I will take that as a compliment."
"You would, now let's get this visit to Mitch over with. The eyeball in that place gives me the creeps."
Chapter 3
We arrived at our regular sewer hole and dropped into the darkness of the dank, smelly sewers. Vince held his arm out in front of me so I wouldn't pass him. He himself stood still and his eyes swept over the area. "What? Something wrong?" I asked him.
"With Ruthven desperate to capture Bat and us, we must be vigilant," he told me.
"So watch out for shadows that aren't ours?" I guessed.
Vince nodded. "Yes. He will continue to loose his doppelgangers on us."
"Just as long as he doesn't loose them too often, or I'm going to be a vampire before sunrise," I quipped.
"Would that be so bad?" Vince mused.
I looked up at him, but he had his face turned away from me. "I'm kind of trying to avoid that fate right now, at least until we're not having people trying to kill us."
Vince dropped his arm and strode forward. "The way is safe. I neither smell nor hear anything amiss."
I hurried after him and scrutinized his face. His lips were pursed together and his dark glasses partially hid his eyes. "So you're kind of stuck on this whole me-becoming-a-vampire thing. Are you wanting me to become one?"
"No."
"You ever thought about having a vampire partner?"
"Yes."
"With me?"
"No."
"With Tim?"
"Perhaps."
I rolled my eyes. "Come on, it had to be Tim. I mean, who else has had the ring besides me, Bat and Tim?" I paused and frowned. "Actually, who has had the ring?"
"Merely you three, and myself with my own," he told me.
"So Bat gave the ring to Tim. Why?" I wondered.
"Only Bat knows the answer to your question. He would not divulge that information to me, and the exchange took place while I was asleep," Vince replied.
"So you were Tim's partner for what? Two hundred years? How come in all that time he didn't become a vampire and I've got one foot in the grave after a couple of months?" I asked him.
"You have used your ring excessively-"
"To survive," I argued as we walked through the tunnel of torches.
Vince shook his head. "The reasons are unimportant. My changing into a human also assisted in your hurried depletion of humanity. When you used the ring on Field you worsened the situation greatly."
I glared at him. "Maybe I shouldn't have saved a certain vampire from certain doom."