Anton Strout - Dead Matter

The Inspectre noticed the lone figure standing in the doorway and peered at Aidan. “Friend of yours?”

“Something like that,” I said, gesturing for Aidan to enter. He came forward slowly. Whether it was from nerves or the effects of the protective runes of the Department, I wasn’t sure. “This is Aidan. Aidan Christos.”

The Inspectre looked at Aidan, then at Connor, his brow furrowed in disbelief. He shook his head.

“My boy,” he said, “we’ve been over this when you presented your case concerning Connor’s mental well-being the other night. Connor’s older brother has been missing for at least fifteen years by now. This fellow looks much younger than…”

The Inspectre stopped himself, taking a step back as the only logical answer hit him full-on.

“Show him,” I said to Aidan, suspecting that what I was about to unveil to the Inspectre was already forming in his own head.

Aidan looked across the desk, pulled back his lips, and, with some effort, popped his fangs.

The Inspectre, seasoned though he was, hitched in a breath of air. “I see…” he said, a bit stunned in his tracks. All things considered, he was remarkably calm.

“As you can imagine,” Connor said, “we’ve had a lot to catch up on.”

The Inspectre nodded, still entranced. “I’m sure you have.”

There was a gentle rapping on the door and all of us turned with a start. Allorah stood in the doorway, a small stack of file folders in her hand. She gave a polite smile to us all when she saw us standing there. “Am I interrupting something?”

Allorah’s smile disappeared in an instant when she saw Aidan’s fangs. Her face became a mask of fear and anger.

“Argyle!” she said, her voice sharp. “What is the meaning of this?”

“Calm down, lady,” Aidan said, rolling his eyes.

She turned to me, her face angry. “You thought it wise to invite a vampire into our ranks, Mr. Canderous?”

I nodded, trying to find the words to tell them about the prophecy, that things would be okay. But before I could speak, I was interrupted.

“This is the one safe haven we have from things like… him,” Allorah fired back. “And you, Agent Canderous, have betrayed that.”

The venom in her voice was thick, but the Inspectre held up his hand.

“Hear the boy out, Allorah,” he said, raising his hands in a calming gesture.

“No,” she said, her eyes darkening as her arms began to shake. “I’ve seen his kind. I know what they’re capable of.”

Allorah dropped her files, reaching for her necklace, but she must not have put it back on after I read off it yesterday, and her hand came away empty. She turned in the doorway, and stormed off toward her lab, leaving her files scattered on the floor. The Inspectre came around his desk, staying clear of Aidan as he went.

“Nice lady,” Aidan said, retracting his teeth so he looked human again.

“God,” I said, turning on him. “Could you be a little less flip? This is a delicate situation.”

He shrugged. “If you’re the so-called great uniter, it shouldn’t matter how I act, now, should it?”

Connor walked over to the file folders and started picking them up. “He’s got a point,” he said.

“Enough out of the two of you,” I said. I turned to the Inspectre, who was already to the door. “Sir?”

“I’ll work on Allorah,” the Inspectre said, pausing to address us. “The three of you? Get out of here while you can.”

There was disappointment in his voice. That hurt me more than anything had over the past few days. Without another word, the Inspectre shot out of the room and headed off down the stairs after Allorah.

“I could stop them,” Aidan offered. “I think. I’m not sure. I still feel… off.”

“I know your kind of stopping,” I said. “Why do I think it would end up with someone’s neck accidentally snapped?”

“It was just a suggestion.”

“Well, thanks, but no, thanks,” I said.

“So what now, kid?” Connor asked, all of the folders gathered up in his hands now.

“Let’s remain calm,” I said, more to convince myself more than anyone else.

“Calm,” Aidan said, distressed and crossing to me. He grabbed the lapels of my jacket and tried to lift me off the ground. Nothing happened. My feet stayed firm on the floor. “You want me to stay calm when I’ve been reduced to this? Powerless?” He shoved at me, and this time I felt a burst of his vampiric strength as I flew backward into the door. I hit it and started to slide down to the floor. Apparently not all systems were on the fritz with him.

“Okaay,” I said, pushing myself back to standing. My back cricked as I rolled my shoulders. “That’s not quite the kind of calm I was going for. Nice try, though.”

Connor stepped forward, standing between us. “My brother’s just a little spooked, is all.”

“I’ve lost my powers before, too,” I said, feeling a bit defensive. “Shoving people around didn’t help get them back.”

Connor turned to his brother and glared at him. “So what do we say to the nice human, Aidan?”

Aidan looked like he wanted to say something flip, but held his tongue. He let out a long, slow breath before finally speaking. “Sorry,” Aidan said.

“Good,” I said. I turned to the door, opened it, and checked the hallway. For now, it was empty. “Let’s go.”

Connor grabbed my arm to stop me, but I was already heading for the stairs, pulling him after me. “Go where, kid?”

“Out the goddamn front door,” I said. I took the stairs two at a time going down. “Allorah’s probably snatching up a complete vampire-hunting kit out of her lab or alerting the rest of the Enchancellorship, but I’m not too worried about the latter option. I doubt the Enchancellors are swift enough to be assembled together on short notice to deal with this. Just think of the paperwork… We’ll be long gone before they can get it in gear.”

I hit the bottom of the stairs, Connor and Aidan right behind me. We weren’t more than five feet off of them before I heard a commotion coming from just beyond the red curtains that separated the bull-pen area from the rest of the office proper. The curtain flew aside and a team of Shadowers was already assembled with Allorah in the lead, wearing her protective necklace and wielding with what looked like a Nerf pop gun loaded with a wooden stake. The Shadowers were armed, too, holding an assortment of crosses, holy water, and nets. One of them held a long sharpened pole. We were separated by several rows of cubicles and partial walls, but they’d be on us in no time.

“Shit,” I said. “I guess I shouldn’t underestimate an Enchancellor with a cause.”

“Looks like the locals are hunting for bear,” Connor said. “Still want to remain calm?”

“I say we abandon calm until cooler heads are prevailing on their side,” I said. I looked around to assess our options.

“Where’s the back door?” Aidan asked, for once his voice sounding a bit unsure.

“Don’t hurt anyone, Aidan,” I said, stern. “They’re only doing their jobs.”

“There isn’t a back door,” Connor said, answering his question. “Not that I’m aware of, anyway.”

Not that I was, either. Unless…

“Follow me,” I called out and dashed off in the opposite direction of the Shadower team. I heard Connor and Aidan fall into step behind me. When Connor saw where I was headed, his eyes lit up.

“The Gauntlet?”

I didn’t bother to answer. Instead, I kept on running toward the heavy old wooden door that led down to the research archives. I threw it open, and after Connor and Aidan came through, I slammed the door shut. All three of us put our weight against it.