Out of the Black - Lee Doty [77]
She used her tablet to zoom in, leaving only Anne's neck filling the window. There was the deep red hickey with small dark tendrils extending away from it under the skin. "What was that mark Anne? You don't have it now."
Anne's hand went to her neck. These guys were definitely not Keystone Cops. She felt empty, desolate, exposed- not unlike a sea cucumber after its big panic move.
"I think a Vampire made out with me." she said.
***
Dek stared at Ping earnestly. "I insist."
He was not taking 'no' for an answer. Of course, Ping didn't want him to. Still, he hesitated.
"The Samurai believed that the blade was the vessel of a warrior's soul. I don't give this lightly." Dek's face softened, "I expect you to honor his memory with its use."
Ping closed his hand around the hilt. He bowed his head in acceptance.
"It'll tear apart anything the Loom can build. Very handy for dealing with guys like our pal Garvey- if you're quick enough to use it."
His eyes shifted to the doorway leading deeper into the house. "Take care of them." Somewhere in there, Alex and Rae were still sleeping. "They're like adopted second cousins once removed, but they're about all that's left of my family." His tone belied tears, but after an instant, his smile returned. "We'll all probably be dead by tomorrow anyway." He gave Ping a too-hard smack on the shoulder and walked out the door into the dim evening sunlight. Charming.
Descending the steps, Dek paused; he looked back over his shoulder. "Whether I find Issak or not, tell Alex to start looking for me in a few days. Remember, the locator won't work if I'm dead." He smiled brightly. "Oh yeah, look under Roy's bed. 2-0-1-9-pound. Got that?"
"Got what?" Ping said, but Dek was gone.
***
Issak Kaspari floated in cold blackness. Was he dead? He hoped not, because this sucked. Then an explosion: blinding light and intense pain that drove him inward. The strobe ended, and he cringed again in the darkness. This better not be death.
Though he tried to steel himself, the next burst caught him by surprise, left his shredded nerves echoing with the experience. The next several bursts of light came faster, each following the last with increasing frequency until he was in a shimmering brightness, then a steady white light.
As the light became the norm, he began to acclimate. By the time the light was flickering, he could think again, by the time the darkness had completely departed, he could think in polysyllabic words.
Alone in an unbroken field of light, Issak began to remember. Had it worked? Could he get back? This better not be death... if so, there were billions of the devout who were in for the Big Letdown.
Not dead. The Loom was still accessible here, though it was more like remote control. He felt the immense power of the cast that had driven him here. He was at the tip of the spear that he had thrust outside the known universe, down through the Underworld, and into... what?
His thoughts were disrupted by a dry voice that seemed to come from everywhere. "Bix osu, bin shuga prada."
At first they were just sounds- deep, resonant sounds. But then he realized this was the old language. "Little alone creature, I need I play" was his best guess at translation. The old language- the implications were staggering.
"Who are you?" Issak thought he asked. Though upon further reflection it was more likely that he'd asked 'what were those'. He needed to clear his head. It had been centuries since he'd used this tongue, and then only to keep Roy in the dark about the birthday party he and Ivo were planning.
"You speak. Think you? Power you have?" The voice crashed over him like a ping-pong avalanche. Issak was pretty sure his translation was getting better.
"I'm a traveler." Issak might have said. No, he'd just said 'I wiggle'. Close enough.
"I am Outsider." The thing said over about five seconds, seeming to relish most of the syllables, holding them