Date: Thu, 18 Apr 2024 00:20:49 -0500 From: Fang Saito Subject: Welcome to Avernus - Chapter 23 This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to any real people or places is purely coincidental. This story is the property of the author and is protected under copyright laws. The author retains all rights. No reproduction is allowed without the author's consent. Conversations and feedback are appreciated to Greyson B. via email at hokkaidohotel86it@gmail.com. I love hearing from readers. As always, special thanks to Johnny Kape for the excellent editing assistance he always provides me. If you enjoy this story, please support the Nifty archives today with a thoughtful donation by visiting https://donate.nifty.org/. This didn't turn out to be the final chapter after all. It went way longer than I expected, so instead of dropping 8K words on you, I decided to give you this now. The last should not take long. If you can find an opportunity to help out a favored author, it would be appreciated. https://www.buymeacoffee.com/GreysonB. You can find my other Nifty stories at: https://www.nifty.org/nifty/gay/adult-youth/cadence/ https://www.nifty.org/nifty/gay/highschool/a-ghost-finds-a-body/ Welcome to Avernus Chapter 23 As we crept down the glaringly bright corridor, I whispered my guilt to Wren. "I hurt him bad, didn't I." It wasn't a question. "Marcus didn't seem too upset about the other guy." "He's Vampyre. He'll heal," said Wren quietly. "Oh, damn, okay. Wait, I thought Dom's guards were human. Aren't they like, the daytime help or something?" Wren chuckled softly. "He's got both. Don't worry, babe. You haven't crippled anyone. Yet. Besides, why the super strength if you don't want to hurt mortals?" "I didn't really think about it in the moment," I muttered, half to myself. That wasn't true. I'd deliberately psyched myself up, and I'd gone down that hall full strength and full speed. I realized now that if they had been human, I probably would have cut them in half, the way I went at them. Maybe I shouldn't be trusted with this shit. In no time, we came to a more sedate section, with an atmosphere I hadn't experienced down here. The lighting was more subdued, all table lamps and wall sconces, no garish overhead fluorescents. It was a large room, that seemed half rec hall, half library. Pools of light centered around leather couches and overstuffed armchairs. The ceiling here was tall and dark, while the floor was a tan carpet so deep, it looked like you could roll around in it like grass. Perhaps a dozen people, Vampyre, I'm sure, lounged around the room, singly or in pairs. Heads poked around chair backs, or swiveled on stiff necks, from all corners of the room. As Wren glanced around, seemingly taking in the scene, all of the room's occupants stood at once. I was reminded of that first time I had seen the Vampyre teens enter the game store, how they had seemed to move in sync, like a flock of birds in flight. The way everyone stood at once, staring at us, as if following some unheard cue, I was reminded distinctly of their inhumanity. They were a mix of ages and genders, yet their clothing was identical, as was the intensity of their gazes. I looked over at Wren, trying to get a cue as to how much trouble we were in. But he was scanning the room, almost casually. In the back, someone stood, and like a bird folding its wings, all the Vampyre heads disappeared back behind their chairs as one. Fucking creepy. Almost as creepy, Wren started walking forward and to the side, and it appeared the far wall was mirrored, because his double matched his movements over on the other side. Then I had a "duh" moment and realized it was Erin walking towards us. There was no mirror, just Wren's twin. It didn't really lower the creep factor though, with a dozen sets of eyes still staring unblinking at us, like we were a fascinating TV program. The twins hugged as soon as we reached one another. Wren looked around questioningly and Erin answered his unspoken question. "Ezekiel has declared their intent to stay out of any fight, but has reluctantly agreed to act as lookout at least," she said. "Come on, Garrett's this way." Then she turned, acknowledging me. "Glad to see you're still alive. Good on you." Erin let go of Wren long enough to give me a quick, loose hug, then used the closeness of the hug to snatch the gun out of my hand. Before I could object, or even figure out whether I should, she had already turned and was threading her way through the room. I followed, trying to both keep up, and still keep an eye on the people in the room. None of them spoke, and they all kept their heads down as we passed through their midst. All except one. One of the strangers was staring unblinkingly at me, but never the same one. Every few seconds, a new person would look up to lock on their gaze, and the first would lower their head. The best I could figure was that it tended to be whoever had the closest view. Again, very creepy. Erin led us through a few more twisting and turning corridors, into something reminiscent of a hotel or apartment building hallway. We were met by two teenage looking Vampyre with guns pointed in our faces. As soon as they saw who we were, the guns were lowered and we were ushered past them down the hall. A door midway down opened, and Garrett stuck his head out. "Oh, thank God. You made it." "Less problems than I expected," said Wren. "Everybody seems to be watching what's going on, but not many seem to be taking sides. Ran into a couple of Dom's guys, but Jason here straightened them out, and they should be keeping out of our way from here." The others both gave me an odd look, but neither commented. Garrett ushered us through the door, closing it behind him. We were standing in a well furnished living room with sofa and chairs, an open kitchen, small dining set, and Bai, in all his floating-head glory. Accompanying him was another Jianshi, another head trailing a spinal column. But this one was a woman, also ancient beyond belief, her lack of beard made up for by her long, stringy black hair, streaked with ashy grey. Behind them stood two Asian men of indeterminate age, their hulking shoulders hidden by matching black suits. These two screamed "bodyguards", and I couldn't help but wonder if they were humans or Vampyre. "What do we know?' asked Wren. He seemed to direct the question at Garrett, but I caught his eyes flicking to the two Jainshi as well. Garrett leaned forward and grabbed Wren in a hug. As he pulled back, he answered. "We know where the Mortals are being kept. And it's not just Jason's friend. They grabbed the Donovans and Everett's priest contact as well. It seems that Beishang de Wenyi has pretty much committed to using hostages to get what he wants." "Where's Dom in all this?" asked Wren. "We ran into Marcus and Ryan. They weren't acting like Dom was out of the picture or anything." "Holed up in his fucking ivory tower." Garrett shook his head in frustration. "Sixty seconds of his time, and this wouldn't even be a thing. Instead, he's putting all of Avernus in danger." "Sixty seconds?" I asked. "What do you mean? You mean this could all be avoided?" Erin leaned her head in my direction. "If Dominic would just let the Jianshi go, like he promised, we wouldn't be in this mess. He's the one holding them here with this barrier." I nodded over across the room while leaning back in toward Erin. "Speaking of, who's the other Jianshi. That's Bai, right?" "Yes," she whispered back while the other two continued their discussion. "The woman is Zhou Hua. She is on Si Jing Fu, and she was the woman that stood witness back when you became Dom's Assecla." "Oh, cool. And since she's here, I guess she's on our side?" "Most of the Jianshi are, actually. They don't like being lumped in with Plague, but they agree that Dom needs to drop the Jiéjiè." "Wren said something about one of Bai's friends getting killed. Was it a Jianshi? Or was it some other kind of Vampyre?" A look of sadness crossed her face for a moment, before being replaced with a look of grim determination. "They were Jianshi, yes. Cheng Wei was a good man." "Or a good head, at least?" My attempt at a joke fell flat. "Sorry. So same question I asked your bro. How do you kill a Jianshi? Or if we don't kill Plague, how do we stop him, or lock him up, or whatever we end up trying?" "No better people to ask, I suppose." We waited for Wren and Garrett to get to a break in their conversation, then Erin caught her twin's attention. I expected her to say something, but instead I felt her hand in the small of my back, pushing me forward. "Oh, I guess I'm asking," I muttered reluctantly. I gathered my courage and stepped forward, addressing Bai and his companion. "I'm, uh, really sorry for the loss of your friend. And I know the timing of this question sucks, but since we have to deal with Plague, how do you kill a Jianshi? Or at least stop him? Contain him? Something?" Bai stepped forward. Floated forward? The trickle of red mist coming from his spine poured out thicker momentarily, like a locomotive building up a head of steam, as he moved closer. I watched in morbid fascination as the tail of his spinal cord ran into the arm of a chair, draping up and over, unnoticed by Bai. "The courtesy... of your sympathy... is appreciated. A stake... made of the peach tree... will cause a form... of suspended animation. However... a strong force of will... can sometimes break through. Otherwise fire will destroy... or sunlight... but only if you separate... the head from the tail... and destroy each... on opposite sides... of moving water. Last the head... may be pierced... with a sword made... of melted coins." "Well shit," I said before I could catch myself. "I don't suppose we can just throw him in jail?" "Beishang de Wenyi has tormented... killed... and kidnapped. A prison... would not hold... one of our kind." "Speaking of kidnapping," I said, looking between Bai and Garrett, "Erin said you know where my friend is being kept?" Bai nodded to Garrett, who spoke. "Yeah, we got it. He and a few of his allies are holed up in the basement of a warehouse south of here." "The Tombs?" asked Wren. "Afraid so." "So right in Dom's back yard, and he is doing nothing." Wren's frustration seemed to be felt by everyone else in the room. I had to ask, although I thought I knew the answer already. "Can we do this without Dom?" Everyone looked around, seeming to debate the answer. Then Erin answered, "We might, but people will die. We can let Si Jing Fu vote this away, but there's no telling what it will cost, or how long it will take." "And she means years," interjected Garrett, "not hours." I winced, then asked, "And if Dom got involved?" Erin said, "Setting aside Dominic simply dropping the barrier, he also has the power and resources to handle any opposition Plague's allies can put up." I didn't like where this was looking. Every person in this room has had the opportunity, and probably already has made the attempt, to ask Dom, to beg Dom, to do his damn job and intervene. Well, everybody except one. I didn't want to do it. I was a little bit in awe of Dom, and a lot bit intimidated by him. But I didn't put up with bullies very well, and watching someone have the power to deal with something and not use it, usually pissed me off just as bad. So fuck it, I'd do what I always did. "Fine," I said to the group at large. "Somebody get me to Dom's hotel without getting killed by some hidden ally of Plague, and I'll talk to the bastard." It took twenty long minutes until people were finally ready to move. Wren and Erin escorted me, looking impressively badass with their matching outfits, matching attitudes, and matching machine guns. Of course, if I was being honest, I also felt like we looked a little ridiculous, being a bunch of teenager-looking people stalking down a bunch of underground tunnels with guns. Yes, I had one, too. Garrett had given me a pistol before we left. While not as heavy as the machine gun I had earlier, Xbox still doesn't prepare you for how heavy one of these things are. We got to the elevator at the bottom of the hotel, and Erin swiped a card to open it up. When they gave the pass phrase to the voice inside, we were met with a harsh female voice spouting off something in Cantonese. "We don't have time for Dominic's bullshit," yelled Wren into the open elevator. "We have his Assecla here to see him, and it needs to be NOW!" There was a pause. Silence. Then in answer, the elevator door closed, and it began moving up. We didn't talk as it rose up to the third floor that had made me so curious in that first week, so long ago. The doors slid open, and sitting at her desk with the one and only, lemon-sucking Ms. Flanagan. I'm pretty sure that she had been the voice on the other end of the password check in the elevator. She was flanked by four of Dom's armed goons. All of them were carrying the same kind of machine guns that my twins had. It made sense, since we had take them from two of his other goons. "Mr. Tsui will see you now," she said in the most sickeningly sweet voice she could manage without an actual smile to go with it. We started toward the door that led down the usual hallway, when she called out, "No, not you two. Just the Assecla." We all stopped and looked at each other. Erin shook her head no. She clearly wasn't having me going in alone. Wren sighed in frustration, but locked eyes with me. He was clearly putting this in my court. "I gotta do this, guys. It sucks if you can't come in, but I've gotta talk to him." There really wasn't anything else to be said. Erin looked pissed. Wren looked worried. But there was really no other options, short of shooting the place up, which would be stupid, considering we were here to get help. I nodded to them, then squared my shoulders and headed toward the door alone. One of the goons coughed, and when I looked over, he nodded down at the pistol hanging in my grip. I shrugged and handed it over to Wren. "Fuck. Now can I go?" I muttered to the room in general. Wren gave a chuckle, and Erin even managed a wry smile. Another goon inside the hallway escorted me down to the sitting room I had once been locked in the day I confronted Dom about my father's death. And here I was, throwing my life to the wolves to confront him again. I opened the door, and was shown that disconcerting image from that same day. There sat Dominic Tsui in one of the arm chairs, but in the wall to wall window that reflected back the room against the darkness of night, his image was conspicuously absent. "Come in, my Assecla. Come and join me," he said in a pleasant voice. I half expected to be served refreshments, as relaxed as he seemed. I took the seat on the couch, but I couldn't match his mood. "Respectfully, we need to talk about Plague and the Jianshi. Why aren't you doing anything?" "Good evening, Jason. How are you? Are you well? How is school?" "Huh?" "It is called manners, Jason. I'm sure you are familiar with conversation. Politeness, and all that." "Do you really think we have time for all this?" I slammed my fists against my thighs, trying to keep from shaking in frustration. "People have been kidnapped and held hostage, including my best friend! More have been killed! And you are sitting up here doing nothing?" "You forget yourself, young Jason. You are my Assecla. I tolerate a limited amount of brashness from you because of the use of your bloodline. Do not mistake me for someone who tolerates disrespect." "Look, I'm more than just a Coppertop, Dom." "Dominic," he corrected. "And what is the point you are attempting to make?" "You're stuck with me, Dominic." I dragged out his name, just to vent my frustration. "And instead of thinking of me like a mindless puppy that happens to be your battery, you need to start treating me like a partner." "A partner?" Dom smirked, looking down at me. "I think you overestimate your position." "Yeah?" I snapped back. "Then you underestimate my stubbornness." He pondered me for a minute, as emotionally invested as if browsing a Netflix menu. As last he answered, in a cold voice, "Should you prove too problematic, there are other ways of obtaining my power from you, boy." "Ask Solomon how that worked out the first time you tried that." "You would threaten me?" There wasn't fear in his voice, and surprisingly there wasn't anger, either. I wasn't sure what he was trying to project. Still, my mouth was making this get out of hand. Time to reign it back in. "What I'm trying to say is that I've been getting used to this place and what we have together. But I'm a person. I've got feelings, and opinions. And you've seen how stubborn I am when people try to treat me like an idiot and keep shit from me. I've worked with you, I've done anything you've asked. But for real, you're being stubborn and for no other reason I can see except your own pride. "Dude! Plague's attacked you at least once that I know of. He's threatened me, trying to get to you. Now he's got Boots! He's a fucking serial killer version of people that feed on people! He's turned your current second in command away from you now, when four hundred years ago, he got you kicked out of America so that you lost your Assecla. Do you really want to risk that happening again?" "You believe he should die?" The question made me pause. Did I want him dead? Really, I wanted him gone. But thinking he could just disappear out of our lives was wishful thinking. Still, I had to be realistic and admit it wasn't in me. "Send him back to China," I said. "The original ban happened because of him, right? So put him back in time out. Let him be someone else's problem." "Interesting," Dom mused. "We shall see." "But the point is, you need to act. This 'sitting on the side lines' bullshit is getting people hurt." "There is a time to act, and a time to plan. The skills of a long lived Vampyre come from patience, planning, and subtlety." "But you said it yourself when you were trying to convince me to tie myself to you as your Assecla, that all this could be too many years too late. You've been planning. You've been subtle. Now you need to shut this shit down." Dismissively I added, "Or not. The fuck do I know? I'm just curious how much more you are willing to put up with, while you are planning and being patient and shit." "I... see." Dom paused, as if momentarily lost in thought. I studied him, trying to figure out what he was thinking. Trying to figure out what might motivate him to act. I wanted to get angry, but that definitely wouldn't help. "Well then!" I jumped as Dom's voice rang out in apparent excitement, his palms slapping down on the arms of his chair. "It seems you will not rest until I have defended my honor in your eyes!" He stood just as suddenly as he had spoken, and I leaped to my feet to join me. As he opened the door, Richard, the goon from the New York City trip, was already holding out Dom's shiny black trench coat and a sheathed fucking sword! Dom took the sword and strapped it across his back, then took the coat to put on over it. He popped the collar and straightened out his hair around the hood, before looking back at me. "Come along, Assecla. Don't hold us up." For all the world as if I was the one stalling. We headed down the hallway and as we approached the door to the foyer, Dom turned with a bit of a mock bow, gesturing for me to go out first. I opened the door and froze in my tracks. Two of Dom's goons had pistols against the backs of Wren's and Erin's heads, while the other two were relieving them of their guns. The bitch of a secretary just sat there at her desk, smirking. I didn't even have time to react before I felt Dom's hand in the small of my back, pushing me out into the lobby. "The fuck is going on here?" I managed to get out. Wren looked at least as pissed as I was, and I couldn't see Erin's face. I tensed as I felt Dom's hand on my shoulder."Well, friends," said Dom. "It seems that my Assecla here has declared that my honor is at stake, and that my fellow Vampyre will no longer respect me if I do not act, to bring Beishang de Wenyi to an end. It seems I have no choice in the matter. "That being said, I stand by my decision to only go into the lion's den armed with loyal allies. While I do not question your loyalty to Si Jing Fu, I do question your opinions of me. Since I intend to deal with anyone standing against me, the only way I can ensure your safety is to ensure you are not armed." "You're mad, Dominic," said Erin. "We're allies, and you strip us of a means of helping you?" "I stripped you of any means of shooting me in the back." Dom smiled. "I know, child, that you have long distrusted me, nearly since your arrival." "What the fuck, Dom," I muttered at him in anger. Dom twisted and grabbed my shoulder, practically lifting me off my feet as he yanked me forward in front of him. Then addressing the room, he said, "Young Jason has declared himself to me to be my equal. As he says, my partner. Therefore, we will handle Beishang de Wenyi together." Robert stepped forward, roughly thrusting a pistol back into my hand in such a way that I reflexively grabbed it. "Sorry, kid," he whispered before stepping back. Eight of us were crammed into the elevator like sardines, Wren and Erin, me, plus Robert and the other four goons. Dominic made some grand announcement that he needed to get something, and then would meet us at the Tombs. Ignoring the damned goons, I asked the twins, "How did they manage to completely get the drop on you guys?" Erin clamped his mouth shut and Wren scowled, but before either could form an answer, one of the other guys said, "Don't blame them. We didn't give them any warning. Mr. Tsui gave us our orders. Telepathy will always trump electronics for any chance of being intercepted." I'm sure we made quite a sight as we exited through the lobby of the Avernus Inn & Suites. Fortunately or planned, there weren't any customers around, but Mina was at the desk with her jaw dropped, and August's creepy ass was standing at the front door, literally bowing us out. I had quite a bit of deja vu as we walked across the parking lot, then turning and walking down the road. It was like I had come full circle, coming back to the area behind the hotel where I had been skating those first few nights when we first arrived in Avernus. A figure was standing under a street light, his fine black coat billowing in the cold air, his back to us. Seeing the coat flapping around reminded me that I was the only one out here in the freezing ass night without a coat. Of course it was Dominic, being a dramatic ass. As we approached him, we began to better see what he was looking at, a seemingly abandoned warehouse across an unkempt stretch of grass, separated from us by a beat up chain link fence. "There it is," said Dom as we approached. It didn't look like anything more than an old-ass building to me. But then, this was Avernus, so I wouldn't be surprised if it was a nuclear launch facility. "Are you sure you don't want us backing you, armed?" said Wren. "It will be unnecessary." "Then you don't need us," Wren replied. "I need one of you two to witness what happens here, and report their observations back independently to Si Jing Fu. I do not necessarily need both of you." Dom cocked his head back in our direction. "However, I would enjoy your company regardless. It is unfortunate your compatriot, Garrett, is not here as well. It would seem I will have an opening for a Vampiric lieutenant quite soon."