Blood and Stone (8 page)

CHAPTER TWELVE

Tezcahtlip was flying southeast, over the desert, only a few hundred feet up. His dragon eyes scoured the sides of hills and cliffs, looking for a very specific target. In the remote desert, he doubted anyone would see him, so he flew boldly, in his dragon form, daylight scattering off his metallic red scales.

At last, he found his prey. The dragon tucked his wings in and plummeted, angling for the large, brown eagle circling below. Opening his mouth wide, Tezcahtlip consumed the eagle in flight, whole. He crunched the startled bird between his many teeth, tasting it’s feathers, blood, bones, flesh, and heart.

In mid-flight, Tezcahtlip immediately transformed himself, his red sheen vanishing as his scales turned brown, then lengthened, forming long feathers. His reptilian claws changed as well, forming something more like that of the eagle’s, only larger. In seconds, the red-scaled dragon was replaced by a feathered, serpent-like beast of Tezcahtlip’s imagination.

Huge, brown, leathery wings tipped with feathers now beat the air, and the shapeshifter quickly gained altitude. He would soon pass over populated areas as he headed on, ever southeast. High above the ground, he would be mistaken for a bird. With nothing to gauge his size against, he would seem unremarkable.

Before long, he would reach his destination, and then he his work could begin.

***

When Mark Kenslir had spared her life and recruited her, Laura Olson had been taken to a remote desert location and placed under heavy guard. A battery of tests had been performed on her, by shamans, telepaths and scientists. Eventually, she was transferred to Alcatraz, and checked on via telephone by Kenslir every few months—for the first few years—until she’d apparently earned the government’s trust.

All these years later, she’d finally made it off Alcatraz, accompanying Kenslir and the strange stone-skinned man named Victor on a Blackhawk helicopter. They had flown directly to San Francisco’s International Airport, where they traded the helicopter for an unmarked Boeing 707 passenger plane.

The military jet had immediately lifted off and Laura found herself under guard the entire flight back to Miami. Kenslir had sat in stony silence the entire flight, watching her as he ate pastries and typed a report of some kind into a laptop. Victor had been more engaging in the conversation department.

“So, how come you can go out during the day time?” Victor had asked.

“You watch too many movies.”

“Vampires aren’t affected by the sun?”

Laura laughed. For a man with stone skin, this Victor didn’t seem to know that much. “We don’t burst into flames. Sunlight affects our optic nerves. It causes intense pain, and in some instances death.”

“But you aren’t wearing any glasses,” Victor said, surprised.

“Contacts,” Laura replied, smiling.

“What about blood?” Victor asked. “Do you really drink it?”

“Not if I can avoid it. I don’t like the taste of it and I have to drink an awful lot to get any benefit.”

Victor didn’t understand that either. “What was that blue light you... pulled from the Colonel?” He had struggled with finding an alternative to
sucked.

“Lifeforce, pure lifeforce,” Laura said, looking over at Mark and licking her lips. He was ignoring her—or at least pretending to. “It’s what vampires crave. We can’t generate our own, so we have to take it from others.”

“What if you don’t?”

Laura considered. She didn’t like to expose her weaknesses, but then again, if Mark knew, this stone soldier of his would eventually, “I’d die. A slow, horrible, agonizing death.”

“Don’t let her fool you,” Kenslir said, finally speaking up. “She’d never let it get that far. When she got hungry enough, she’d eat someone.”

Laura made her fake pout again. “Oh, Mark, don’t be so dramatic. I don’t actually
eat
people.”

“No, you just suck the life out of them—killing them. If they’re lucky.”

“How do you become a vampire?” Victor asked. It was all fascinating to him, learning that another being he had thought to be mythical actually existed.

“Well,” Laura said, leaning forward, and whispering. “I’d draw all the energy from you, then give you some back, reviving you. Being reanimated, you’d no longer be able to generate your own lifeforce and you’d die if you didn’t begin feeding yourself.”

“So you can choose whether or not to turn someone?”

“Victor,” Colonel Kenslir said, closing his laptop. “Go forward and check on our flight progress.

Victor was surprised by the Colonel’s interruption, but obediently obeyed, rising from his seat and leaving the passenger cabin.

Kenslir, seated almost on the other end of the small cabin, watched Laura from his plush leather chair. The cabin had six rows of the seats, with two seats on either side of the aisle. The chairs could all swivel around in a complete circle, which Kenslir had done after take off, to keep an eye on Laura.

“Don’t get too friendly with my men,” Kenslir said.

“Jealous?”

“I still haven’t decided if we should trust you.”

Laura started to get out of her seat. “You trusted me forty years ago...”

“Sit,” Kenslir said, pointing a finger at the vampire. “I took a gamble, and it worked out. I’m still trying to decide if I should do that again.”

“So what—after I find your giant, I go back to prison? That’s not very sporting of you, Mark. You know, in some cultures, when you save someone’s life, they belong to you.”

“You never saved my life—it was the other way around.”

Laura smiled coyly. “I know.”

CHAPTER
THIRTEEN

Tezcahtlip was genuinely impressed. For the primitives they were, the humans of over a thousand years ago had done surprisingly well building great structures. The stepped pyramid he now stood before was almost as magnificent as those built by the giants of his own time.

The humans milling around him, taking pictures of the crumbling structures would truly have been impressed with those pyramids of the past. But most of those remaining in the modern era were buried or submerged below the waves, wiped out by the Flood of an angry Creator. The closest structure remaining to resemble those of his youth was far away, in the heart of this land now called Mexico.

Tezcahtlip had briefly considered selecting that ancient site as his new capital. But it was too close to the humans and their modern cities. He wanted a remote location—both for its security and its mystery. After much consideration, he had decided upon what the humans called Chichen Itza.

Now wearing the body of a normal human, Tezcahtlip wandered around the ruins, watching the hundreds of tourists carefully. Most were in awe of the structures. Some felt the structures to be decayed remnants worthy of nothing more than a laugh. He knew this from reading their minds—using the power of telepathy he had gained from his brother.

It was ironic—his brother Ketzkahtel had lain in a tomb for hundreds of years before the Flood, inspiring legends that spread all throughout this region of the world. The tale of the great dragon had been carved in stone by human hands—their way of boasting of the day they had overthrown their so-called god.

After the Flood wiped them all out, some of their writing remained. New generations found these, and caught glimpses of the past through mystic visions. The stories lived on, albeit with slightly different pronunciation and details.

Tezcahtlip smiled to himself. Even today, thousands of years after his brother’s initial defeat, the humans of this region still knew of the serpent god. But instead of reviling the eater of hearts as they had when they overthrew him, they worshiped him, just as their pagan ancestors had. The ancestors who built Chichen Itza.

Tezcahtlip had wished his awakening in the modern era had taken place closer to a solstice. The Temple of Kukulcan had been built to show a dramatic optical illusion on those two days of the year. Perfect for the appearance he was planning. But he did not wish to wait. His plan to reveal himself to the modern humans needed to unfold quickly.

Fortunately, the humans had duplicated the effect of the shadow serpent scrolling down the steps of the temple by using their modern electric lights. It was not as ominous as a true solstice, but the evening light show would suffice.

***

It was nearly sunset when their plane finally landed in Miami. Laura was ushered to a Bell Jet Ranger helicopter, painted in civilian colors. She sat in the back of the aircraft, Kenslir beside her, Victor up front with the pilot. They lifted off from Homestead Air Force Base and flew directly to Argon Tower.

Laura was surprised again. She could understand Miami as a staging area for Mark’s anti-paranormal operations, but an office building? The black glass, twenty-something story building simply wasn’t a structure she imagined for a secret military unit.

Once they landed on the roof, Kenslir insisted on shackling the vampire’s wrists and feet. The steel restraints seemed strong, but Laura was sure she could break them if she had too.

Not that she was going to even try. She was exactly where she wanted to be. Off the accursed island prison, and with a fresh, handsome new food source. A never ending food source, thanks to his own curses.

Kenslir led Laura to a large freight elevator, which only the two of them took down.

“Just the two of us,” Laura said, and pressed up against the Colonel. “Whatever will we do?”

Kenslir gave the vampire one of his stern looks. “I’m taking you to your new quarters.”

“Do I get a nice view?” Laura asked. She made a pouting face again when Kenslir ignored the question. Then she noticed the elevator wasn’t slowing. It kept descending.

“Don’t I rate one of the better rooms?”

Kenslir remained silent, and the elevator eventually passed the ground floor, finally stopping at Sub Level 2. The rear doors of the freight elevator opened up and a long hallway stretched out in front of them, lined with many doors.

“Below ground? Seriously?”

Kenslir grabbed the vampire by the arm and led her out of the elevator. He walked her to the first door on the right—a heavy steel blast door.

“We aren’t even in your fancy building anymore, are we?” the Vampire asked as Kenslir pressed a palm against a glass plate beside the door.

The scanner pulsed, light cycling as it read his palm print. Then the heavy door began to cycle slowly open.

A smaller hallway extended on, some forty feet. On either side of the hallway were four doors—also made of heavy steel.

“This isn’t looking very first-class,” Laura said, frowning.

Kenslir led her to the first door, and opened it. She noticed the thickness of the door, and the vault-like locking pins retracted into the wall around the frame.

Beyond the door was a room, nearly twenty feet wide by twenty feet long. It was decorated like an apartment, with a small bathroom in one corner, and a kitchenette in the other. It reminded her of the dorm rooms she’d lived in at college.

“Once you’ve checked out we’ll discuss different accommodations,” Kenslir said, moving Laura into the room.

“I’m a prisoner?” the vampire said, genuinely shocked.

Kenslir unlocked her ankle and wrist restraints. “For tonight.”

“Do I at least get dinner?” Laura asked, putting her hands around Kenslir’s neck and trying to pull herself in close.

The Colonel reached up and removed her hands, overcoming her vampire strength with little apparent effort. “There’s food in the fridge.”

He then turned and exited the room, locking the heavy steel door behind him.

CHAPTER
FOURTEEN

Major Campbell was getting nervous, and checked his watch again. Sunset was rapidly approaching.

Over the Fountain, on the metal platform, Smith, Phillips and Kane were locked in place, shackled to three of the four stainless steel operating tables. Two female technicians stood on the platform, also nervously watching a clock on the wall. They wore tall wading boots with their slacks and labcoats.

“What happens if he misses the deadline?” Phillips asked. Even in his young, rejuvenated body, the table felt uncomfortable. And he was freezing. The jogging shorts he wore didn’t offer any thermal protection. Between the shorts and his freshly shaved head, his body had almost no protection against the cold.

“We’ll turn to dust,” Smith said calmly. He was on one side of Phillips, Jimmy Kane on the other.

“What?” Josie asked beside Major Campbell. She wore a horrified expression on her face. She also had on wading boots.

“The Fountain takes back more than it gives,” the Major explained.

Josie began to chew her lip nervously.

The blast door leading out of the Chamber finally cycled open and Colonel Kenslir hurried in. He was still wearing his urban camouflage combat uniform from Alcatraz, as well as his sidearms.

“Sorry, I’m late,” he said, scooping up three syringes from a table on the platform. He quickly drew out some of his blood with each syringe, then handed a syringe to each technician.

“Josie, come on up,” the Colonel said, holding up the last syringe.

Josie nodded, and moved onto the platform, a little worried. “Why am I doing this again?”

“We haven’t replaced our staff yet from last month’s intrusion,” Kenslir said.

Washington was still furious over the loss of so many scientists. Talk from the Joint Chiefs indicated some were calling for the program to be shut down.

Josie took her syringe and moved beside Jimmy. She carefully picked up a scalpel from the table beside him, then squeezed out some of the blood onto the edge of the cutting tool.

“Why not just inject us?” Phillips asked as Kenslir watched.

“It’s a curse, not an infection. The curse calls for your blood to be shed by a werewolf,” Kenslir said.

Josie grimaced, hesitating with the scalpel just inches over Jimmy’s chest.

“It’s okay, Josie,” Jimmy said, smiling.

Josie chewed her lip again and gently pressed the scalpel down against Jimmy’s skin. She dragged it slowly, making a two inch-long cut. The blood from the wound seeped out, mixing with the blood coating the scalpel’s blade.

Josie looked up and noticed Phillips and Smith had received their cuts as well.

Kenslir moved in, a bottle of eye drops in his hand. “Look up,” he directed Jimmy.

The Colonel quickly applied the drops to Jimmy’s eyes then moved on to Phillips and Smith.

“Wow, that stings a little,” Phillips said. “What the hell is in it?”

“Something to make you see better,” Kenslir said, picking up a large syringe. He inserted the needle into Jimmy’s upper arm and pumped its contents in. The techs by Phillips and Smith did the same.

“I thought it was drops, shots, then scalpel,” Jimmy said, remembering the first time he’d been petrified.

“Doesn’t really matter,” Kenslir said, pulling the needle from Jimmy’s arm and putting the empty syringe down.

“So we’re vaccinated against rabies now?” Phillips asked, grinning at his own joke.

“Smile while you can—it’s almost sunset, smartass.”

“You have a crappy bedside manner,” Phillips said. He noticed Josie lean over and give Jimmy Kane a kiss on the cheek, then step back. Quickly. The two technicians had stepped back as well.

“Is it really that ba-?” Phillips started to ask. He gritted his teeth together as intense pain radiated over him. His whole body was suddenly on fire.

Phillips didn’t need to see a clock to know the sun had just set. This had to be the transformation Captain Smith and Jimmy Kane had warned him about. Every muscle in his body was throbbing. They felt as if they were being pulled apart. He wanted to scream and jump off the cold steel table. The shackles on his wrists and ankles kept him from getting up though, and his teeth were clamped together so tight he couldn’t do anything but hyperventilate.

A sound began to fill Phillips’ ears—a creaking, crunching sound, like bones breaking. He realized it must be his own bones, transforming into the new configuration of the were creature he was turning into.

He felt a quick tilting motion—his table was being adjusted, pivoted so his head was raised and his feet were down. Then the entire platform began to move.

Cool water wrapped around Phillips’ feet. Even though his muscles were burning from within, the water seemed to extinguish the pain. A feeling of comfort spread up from his feet, through his legs, his torso and his whole body. The pain of the transformation had stopped.

Phillips opened his eyes.

Mark had stepped off the platform and was watching from the edge of the pool. The technician to Phillips’ right was lowering a robotic-looking arm from the array of equipment hanging over the partially-submerged platform. The end of the arm terminated in a shoebox-sized block that reminded Phillips of nightvision goggles from the 1980s.

The box was lowered over Smith’s face, and he opened his eyes. Yellow light poured from the box, reflecting off Smith’s eyes for only a split second. Then his eyes turned gray. The gray color rapidly spread from his eyes, expanding over his whole body in just a second. He had been turned to stone.

The technician raised the viewing piece up from Smith’s face. Electric motors took over and the arm swung over to Phillips and his tech—a young, Asian girl with pretty eyes and a wide smile. She reminded him of the nurses at the retirement home.

“Close your eyes,” the girl said softly. Phillips obeyed, squeezing his eyes tightly shut. He felt the viewing box pressed down over his face.

“Remember, both eyes must open at the same time... now.”

Phillips opened his eyes. On the left, a human-looking eye with a yellow iris stared back at him. On the right, a reptilian eye, also with a yellow iris. He could just barely focus on them they were so close. Then his vision swirled as bright yellow light flared from the mismatched eyes.

A cold chill swept over Phillips, as his skin stiffened and felt heavier. It briefly reminded him of the sensation of being covered in mud. But only for a moment, then the sensation was gone. All the sensation in his body. He was numb, like when a limb’s circulation was cut off.

The technician moved the box away from Phillips face and its electric motors swung it over to Josie.

“Good luck,” Josie whispered, and pressed the box down on Jimmy’s face.

Phillips watched as the young man’s skin turned gray. He realized for the first time Jimmy was no longer the skinny, sickly-looking teenager he had been when he laid down. Now he had large muscles, made of gray stone.

The technician undid the steel shackles over Phillips’ wrists and ankles.

Phillips sat up slowly. The sensation was so odd. His body could move, and there was some feeling, but it was muted—oddly like when he’d had far too much to drink.

He flexed his hands in front of him, watching the stone bend and move, despite appearing solid. He tapped his fingers together, listening to the sound the stone appendages made when they touched.

He noticed that while the pores of his skin had been replaced by the cement-like texture of his new stone body, small gray hairs still covered his arms. He touched some with a finger and they flaked off, like dust.

“C’mon, we haven’t got all day,” Kenslir said. “Up and at ‘em.”

Phillips opened his mouth to speak but nothing came out. His tongue felt weird in his mouth—thick, rough and very dry.

“You have to learn how to breathe,” Kenslir said. “Your autonomic systems are all stopped.”

Phillips nodded, then put his bare, stone feet down. He stood slowly, marveling at the sensation.

Captain Smith extended a hand. “Need a hand?”

Phillips took the hand. The sensation was strange—and not just because of his reduced sense of feeling.

“Does this mean I have to do training all over again?” Jimmy asked from behind Phillips.

Kenslir frowned. “Maybe you’ll get it right this time.”

***

The show was only minutes away. The assembled tourists were lined up, a crowd of over a hundred, watching the Temple of Kukulcan, or
El Castillo
as the Spanish had named it. The pyramid was at the southeast corner of the complex. A plaza extended, northwest, ringed with several other structures.

Tezcahtlip had melted into the crowd, moving to the rear of the assembled tourists gathered by the towering, stepped pyramid. When he was in the final row, sure no one was looking at him, he faded from sight, now invisible. It was a very useful power he had taken from an Alcatraz inmate. A form of telekinesis that allowed him to bend light around his person.

The shapeshifter moved swiftly now, circling the huge pyramid, so that it was between him and the assembled tourists. He shed his human form, his clothes ripping and tearing as he swelled to his natural, giant form.

The giant then began to climb. Hand over hand, he easily scaled the nearly nine foot-tall terraces, ascending at the southern-most corner of two sides of the pyramid. He climbed the nine levels quickly, reaching the crumbling structure at the top. A quick leap carried him onto the roof of the structure.

Almost a hundred feet below, the crowd grew silent. The light show was starting.

Colored lights played across the pyramid, sequencing in different colors as music blared from speakers. At the finale, bright lights west of the pyramid began to cycle, casting shadows on the north face—shadows that seemed to flow, serpent-like, down the pyramid’s face.

Just as the shadows reached the ground, a bright light flared from atop the pyramid. The light was golden, like the rays of sunrise. They shone with an intensity that illuminated the entire area as though the sun had risen.

The crowd gasped, many shielding their eyes, but still trying to see the source of the light.

Screams of terror echoed across the plaza as the assembled visitors saw Tezcahtlip’s feathered, dragon-eagle form, perched atop the structure. The giant spread his wings, causing the bright gold light radiating from his body to glow even brighter. He reared up on his hind legs, and threw his head back and roared.

The tourists were in a panic—most of them. Many had dropped to their knees, bowing their heads, making religious signs and muttering to themselves.

Tezcahtlip curled his wings in close, then shed his dragon form. His body shrank in on itself, resuming his giant-form once more. The light glowing from his skin prevented his nakedness from being revealed, and the giant made his mystic gestures and again sheathed himself in clothes—this time a tailored, white, three-piece suit with matching size 20, white leather dress shoes.

He then faded the light from his body, and raised his arms to either side of his body.

I have returned!
the giant projected with his telepathy, filling the minds of every human within a thousand feet with the message