Working Class Vegas Vamp is a free urban fantasy serial, usually publishing on Tuesdays. It is unedited and subject to change. If published later, it may differ significantly, and will probably include additional material. Typos and English errors are likely; feel free to leave a comment or write me at am {AT} amscottwrites.com (revised as a standard email address. Pesky bots!) Available for a limited time only!

Haven’t started yet? Chapter 1: https://www.amscottwrites.com/2024/10/29/working-class-vegas-vamp-chapter-1/

Chapter 26

By the time I joined Mattias, he’d already placed his hand on the nearest, and smallest, gargoyle. Then he hugged the gargoyle’s leg. Perhaps more contact eased communication?

A grinding noise drew my attention upward. All the massive gargoyles stared at me with shiny, solid black eyes, unblinking. I almost took a step back, but stopped. If I moved, I’d run. Between their size, the alien eyes, the giant beaks and the claws, I didn’t stand a chance. They could shred me to bits before I took three steps.

“The Gargoyle Guardian Council welcomes the Unbound Queen of the Vampires.” Mattias released his grip on the gargoyle’s leg and turned toward me, but kept one hand on the giant’s leg. “They look forward to discussing a mutually beneficial way ahead. They’ve empowered me and a sub-council of Outer and Inner Shield members to discuss the details with you, and offer you training. There is no obligation connected to the training, because it benefits everyone, especially the Pool of Life. You burn bright.”

I nodded to them, then looked at Mattias. “Please thank all of them for me. I look forward to hearing any insights they have on the prophecy I carry, and any they might have on how to fulfil my duties and obligations.” Screwing up my courage, I look upward to meet their eyes again. “However, I must know how much your people take from my planet and how you balance those scales. While it is true that Earth’s inhabitants haven’t done well with the bounty given us, we are natives. You are not.”

Mattias tilted his head, then turned away to clench the Council member’s leg again. After a few moments, he completely released the gargoyle’s leg and pointed at the door. “The Council acknowledges your question is fair. They aren’t sure our expenditure can be measured. They believe that our work to protect and balance the magic more than makes up for the magic we use, because much like water on Earth, magic is recycled. When our souls leave our bodies, the magic used to sustain us returns to the Pool of Life. The Pool hasn’t significantly diminished since our arrival.” He opened the vault door, holding it for me.

I slipped through and waited until he secured the locking bars. “But it has gotten smaller.”

“It’s impossible to scale. They say it’s lost some…power. But not enough that any magic user on Earth would notice. They believe that if every gargoyle on Earth passed on to the next life, the pool would grow, because we brought energy with us from our system.” He snorted. “Not that it’s easy to kill us.”

“I imagine not. I have no desire to kill any of you, but if you were taking far more than you returned, conservation would be critical.” It would be smart for Earth inhabitants, too.

He opened the vault door, we slipped into Forger’s Rest, and he secured the door. Then he refilled my water bottle again. “As we learn more about Earth’s magic, we do our best to sustain it. We admit that when we arrived, we weren’t careful. We were trying to survive. That’s probably why the Pool of Life is somewhat diminished. But watching humans move west across America and repeating our mistakes made us more conservative. We’ve done our best to reduce our load on the Pool and on Earth’s material goods, too. For example, we supported research creating synthetic diamonds and other gemstones. They’re an important energy source for us, but we don’t want to pay for human conflict.”

I stopped. “You eat diamonds.” Why this seemed more shocking than the other revelations was a mystery.

Mattias stopped and turned towards me. “Yes. Compressed carbon is an excellent source of energy.” He continued walking, moving around the recovering forgers. “We don’t eat the way you do, but the term for absorbing energy is close enough. We need water, too, but don’t actually drink. It soaks into us. That’s why we have fountains rather than faucets.” He opened the door. “And yes, we have to get rid of waste. Your room is one of several set up for human visitors, but the waste products are recycled the same way we recycle ours.”

That answered a few questions. I had so many more, but we were nearing the forging cavern again. I’d wait until we reached the cooler tunnel at the far side. Mattias unlatched the door, let me through, and secured it again. The heat of the forges blasted me and I gave up on looking professional. I alternated sprinting and speed walking until I reached the far side. Striding steadily, Mattias had kept up with me, and he opened the door.

Walking through the tunnel, the temperature dropped, and even though it was still quite warm, a shiver ran down my spine. The entire experience was unsettling; particularly realizing that someone I’d considered a colleague was far more alien than I’d realized.

However, even if he’d been a purple, tentacled monster, he was a sentient, which meant he was a person. He’d proven reliable and clever in the years he’d worked for me. I suspected he’d hidden some of his intelligence to stay in his position as Fantastique’s security manager. “When I left the casino, why did you say you needed the job? Weren’t you there to watch me?”

“I couldn’t tell you that, could I?” He shrugged. “Besides, we were watching Theoden more than you. He was the bigger threat. Staying at the casino let me keep a closer eye on him. Except he abandoned his responsibilities to go after you, and then he took his people and hid.” Mattias opened the next door and we entered Inner Shield. “Take your time crossing. Explore the public areas, or return to your room if you want. I’ll collect a few people, then we’ll meet in Outer Shield. It will probably take me half an hour or so. I won’t have everyone the Council specified, but you’ll meet most of them tonight and the rest tomorrow.” He tilted his head. “Sound good?”

I nodded. “Yes, thanks.” Wanting to see as much as possible, I crossed to the path on the opposite side of the cavern. It followed the same rainbow pattern, using entirely different but equally beautiful patterns. I knew mosaic tile took a very long time for humans, but perhaps gargoyles were faster? Or maybe their lives were so long that they thought nothing of spending months or years creating something beautiful. Mattias had implied that he’d been young when he arrived from their original home, and gargoyles had appeared on churches in the fifteen hundreds, so he could easily be a thousand years old or more. They may have moved to the Americas long before Europeans did, or maybe they came across the ocean at the same time.

However long it had been, the caverns were gorgeous and bright, despite being deep below the surface. I stopped to watch each different game. The sports had human patterns, like baseball and soccer, but they moved slower and used much larger balls. The tile games were played standing—I hadn’t seen a chair anywhere but the human house. Gargoyles stood, crouched, or reclined, but they didn’t seem to sit, even in human form. I guessed there was no need for physical rest when you were made of rock. Or a rock-like substance made of carbon.

I meandered along the gentle curves of the walkway, enjoying the tinkle of fountains and scents of the flowers and herbs. Despite what I assumed were lounge areas at the front of each house, I didn’t see any gargoyles there. Perhaps they preferred the common areas when they were awake. If they even slept. These structures implied they needed time separate from the larger community, but that might be a poor assumption, too.

I reached the far end of the cavern and passed through the sliding doors, sauntering along the connecting tunnel and through the next set of doors. Since I still had time to kill, I wandered through the market kiosks and booths. Most offered clothing in a variety of styles, along with hats, shoes, sunglasses and accessories like messenger bags. Two booths displayed men’s suits in dark shades—no flashy plaids or pastels for these guys. Gargoyles worked at sewing machines in the back. Finding suits off the rack for such massive shapes would be challenging, so having tailors made sense. I reached the sparkling kiosks offering precious metals and gems.

Mattias caught up with me. “Come. We’re meeting at the fountain near the front door to Outer Shield.” He pointed towards the hanger doors. “You have the prophecy, right?” He walked away.

I caught up with him, wondering why he didn’t want me near their food merchants. “Yes, I have the prophecy.”

“Good. Along with council representatives, we have experts in many written languages. If you can’t read the prophecy, it’s likely we have someone who can.”

I stopped. “I haven’t had time to even crack it open.” I’d been so busy surviving and then the prophecy seemed to talk to me, so there was no reason to try reading it. But no matter what, I wasn’t handing it over to anyone else.

Mattias kept moving. “That’s okay. You can take a look before the meeting starts.”

But there was no time like now. The walkway was wide and mostly empty, so I took the book out of my jacket pocket and opened it up. The first page contained beautiful script—the kind you’d see in old Bibles, with pictures and all—but I couldn’t read a word of it. Flipping through the book, the writing style changed, but I still couldn’t understand any of it. The pictures disappeared, and the script became plain, and then on the very last pages, I finally found some in English. Old style English, with the odd letter substitutions, but readable.

The first page in English held the prophecy; the version Karski had shown me.

The Prophecy of the Unbound Queen

When the dusk bleeds into an endless bright,
And battles rage over control of the night,
One shall rise—a queen of shadow’s creed,
By choice alone, not by chains decreed.

In mortal flesh, her fierce heart was concealed,
Yet by her will, service for all is now revealed.
With fangs unsheathed, she claims her boundless might,
A sovereign born to rule the endless night.

None who stand in her path shall be redeemed,
For her command reigns supreme.
A tempest fierce, she leads her kin with grace,
The unchained dawn none can hope to replace.

She brings no peace, no mercy to the fray,
Yet freedom fierce as stars keep threat at bay.
The world shall know her rule, unbent, serene,
When black night turns bright and towers turn the desert green.

Behold the rise of the queen freely turned,
Her power flows where hearts and heavens burn.

Still the same ridiculous proclamation that could apply to anyone. Hoping for enlightenment, I turned the page. It was English, but seemed to be an introduction, rather than a continuation of the prophecy.

In this year of 1852, by the sacrifice of our Dear Leader, Ivan Sereda, we have relocated to safety in the Americas. At the order of our new Dear Leader, Klaus Theoden, and with the agreement of our High Priestess, I, Trinity, assume duties as keeper of the sacred records.

We await the Unbound Queen’s arrival, knowing our patience will be rewarded. Under her gracious rule, our fetters will fall away, and all shall offer their life’s blood to us under the tamed sun. We shall revel in the day and the night, bathing in the blood of our enemies and drinking their children down.

Dropping the book with a splat, I choked, trying to hold my revulsion back. No wonder Karski wanted Trinity dead—what a revolting ideology. I gripped my thighs, leaning over, trying not to throw up.

A shadow fell over me. “Char, are you okay?” Mattias asked.

I picked up the prophecy and straightened, even though I wanted to curl into a ball and avoid the entire world. “Yeah, I’m…well, not okay, but I will be.” I shuddered. “I can read the last part of the prophecy, but it might take me a while, because it’s disgusting.”

“I’m sorry. If you want, we can read it for you and find the relevant parts.” He held out his hand.

“No.” I hugged the book to my chest. “This is my responsibility. After I read the English parts, I’ll let your experts take pictures and translate, but I’m not giving anyone the prophecy. It’s mine.” I met Mattias’s gaze and kept it, even when his eyes changed into the solid black the Council members displayed.

“Are you sure it’s responsibility, or is the book compelling you?” Leaving his hand outstretched, he raised both brows. “We can shield you from it and then you’ll know.”

Rage blasted from the prophecy, but I blocked it. “I’m more than capable of doing that myself. Why are you so determined to take it from me?”

His arm dropped and he leaned over me. “Because it’s influencing you. You changed when you picked it up. You’re a different person than you were before.”

I raised my chin and rather than backing away, leaned towards him. He could undoubtedly crush me like a bug, but I wasn’t backing down. “Oh, so you want the nice girl back? The one who negotiates and placates everyone because she has no power? The one who is easily manipulated? The one who goes along to get along?” I poked his chest with my forefinger. “No. Back off.”

He took a half-step back, then rumbled.

“I don’t speak gargoyle. If you’re insulting me, I’d prefer to understand it.” I turned and strode for the room they’d assigned me. The sun rose soon, but I wasn’t staying with people who threatened me because I’d gained a bit of leverage. I’d find hole in the desert. Wanting to sprint, I held myself to a steady stride, because I might need my speed later. Tucking the book into my inner pocket, I stopped before I entered my assigned quarters. While they were light-safe, without an emergency escape, they could be a prison. I spun on my toe—while I’d be more comfortable with all my stuff, I didn’t need it.

“Char, wait.” Mattias blocked me. “I’m not insulting or threatening you. We offered you safety and we meant it.”

I stared him down. “Safety or captivity? Or maybe your version of safety means treating me like a child? I don’t have your years, but I’m not immature or stupid.”

He raised both hands, palm out. “If I gave you that impression, I’m sorry. Look, rather than meeting the rest of us tonight, why don’t you read the book, alone. You can meet with us tomorrow night and tell us what you need and want. I promise that you are not trapped here. We promised protection, and we meant it. Besides, it’s too close to sunrise for you to leave safely.”

“That’s my decision, not yours.” I wasn’t going down without a fight.

“Agreed, and I understand your reluctance to remain. My words were rash.” He stepped towards the house. “I’ll get your pack and show you to a safe room in the parking area beyond Outer Shield. It has an emergency escape, and rock doors that lock from the inside. While we could collapse the escape tunnel, you could get out. I’m sure the book could teach you several techniques to blast your way free. We want an ally, not an enemy.”

I put my hands on my hips in a power pose. “I want allies, not owners. You cannot force me to do anything.” I wasn’t a pawn or a plaything for anyone.

“Understood. I’d appreciate it if you’d wait.” Mattias strode into the house.

I might have a better chance to escape with him gone, but five or six gargoyles stood in a tight group near the closest exit. They might be under orders to stop me. Or they might not. The sliding doors were at least seventy-five feet away, maybe farther. The mosaic patterns threw off my sense of distance. If I sprinted at my full vampire speed, I could probably make it there before the gargoyles, but I’d need blood after that. My blood boxes were in my pack, and finding a large enough animal to feed from in the desert was difficult.

I’d trapped myself, an hour and half before sunrise.

But if I could reach my motorcycle, I could find shelter. I put my leathers back on and waited, counting the seconds. Before I reached a minute, Mattias emerged, holding out my pack and carrying a large bag in his other hand.

I grabbed my pack and pulled out a blood box, sucking down the fuel. After the first few pulls, I slid the backpack on, and walked towards the sliding door, drinking and walking.

Mattias walked alongside, grinding out something in gargoyle as we passed the group. “I’m telling them I’ll explain when I get back.”

At least he didn’t make me ask. The doors slid apart, and we traversed the plain rock tunnel to the exit in silence. The lack of pattern and color was somewhat of a relief; while beautiful, the mosaics were overwhelming. That was kind of a metaphor for gargoyles, period.

We slogged up the long tunnel out. On the way in, the slope seemed almost undetectable, but leaving, the uphill effort almost made me pant. Exiting the tunnel, Mattias led me towards my motorcycle, but before we reached it, he stopped in front of a door I hadn’t noticed. It blended into the surrounding stone, and the handle looked like a small fissure in the rock.

He opened the door, and led me down a short hallway to another door. “This is an earthquake shelter.” He opened the second door, and tapped the wall just inside, turning on a light and revealing an empty room that was about ten feet long and tall, and only five feet wide—a roomy tomb. A wheel with locking bars stuck out from the small door on the far end. “The tunnel emerges into the desert about just beyond the entrance to the parking area. I can bring your motorcycle in here, but the fuel fumes might be excessive, because the ventilation is passive, not active.” He spun and pointed above the door we’d just entered. The door to the parking garage also had a locking wheel and bars, and above it was a rock screen that was less than a foot square. A lever stood out on the right side. “You can close the vent using that.”

Except I couldn’t reach it. I wasn’t sure I could open the rock doors, either.

Mattias dropped the bag on the ground. “This is a blow-up mattress. You’re free to stay and use it, or leave. It’s up to you.” He bowed slightly. “We hope you stay so we can discuss a way ahead tomorrow evening.” He left, leaving the door to the room open, but closing the door to the parking area. It also had bars on my side.

Stay, or go? We’d burned more time, so staying was the smarter thing to do. I spun the wheel on the exterior door, which moved surprisingly easily, then blew up the camping mattress. After that, I secured used a couple of zip ties to warn me if anyone attempted to spin either locking wheel.

Putting my weapons in each reach—not that they’d do me much good against gargoyles—I sat on the mattress, and leaned against my pack. Then I retrieved the prophecy.

Before I could think about it too much, I opened it wide.

***To be continued***

Working Class Vegas Vamp Copyright © 2024 by AM Scott. All Rights Reserved.

Cover by Achlys Book Cover Designs