Shattered Pentacle

Lyra faced the newcomer, lowering her fingers very slowly from her magical tool. Normally she would’ve just drawn it—there was nothing a gun that small could do to a shield as powerful as hers. But the one holding it—if she moved that fast, her own punch probably hit harder than a bullet.

Ventus never moved like that. She thought longingly of Capper, or Bonnie for that matter. Either one could back her up in a fight with a vampire.

“Sorry about the delay,” Reagan said. She remained behind Lyra, sounding confident. “We’re the representatives you heard were coming. Tempest should’ve told you our names. Heartstrings and Sunset.”

Lyra remained frozen, her body as still as if a large and very dangerous wasp had landed on her arm. The stranger was so close—only a few inches from smacking into her. Close enough that she should’ve felt the heat radiating from her, should’ve seen the heartbeat in her chest and the pulse of the living world.

But this being wasn’t alive. Despite her speed, despite her incredible dexterity, and the rapid darting of her eyes, she felt nothing. She wasn’t breathing either—only where it suited her.

Yet somehow, she didn’t rot. The vampire was lean muscle, slim, pale flesh, and a rainbow of dyed hair. Not even the natural cycle of death could take its course and return her to the soil.

“Oh, we’re doing silly pretend names?” she asked. She didn’t sound rotten either, though her breath—there was something there. The slightly strange smell of a container of wrapped meat left on the counter for a little too long. “Call me ‘Rainbow’ then. Assuming it matters. Been a long, long time since ‘Tempest’ talked to my boss. Not even the same person sitting in his old chair.”

Her eyes lingered on Lyra for another moment. A little too long—her grin transformed in a rush, lips curling back to reveal a pair of too-sharp fangs. “I have seen you before.”

Lyra didn’t even dare look sideways at Reagan, for fear of what the vampire might do. Her shield would keep a bullet from killing her, but how strong was a vampire up close? What if she could rip off Lyra’s head?

“I was a ghoul once,” she whispered. “Before I Awakened.”

Instead of the knife, Lyra’s fingers coiled around the little stick in her vest, stripped of all its bark and covered in a spell she didn’t understand. Would she have to use it so early in the meeting?

“That is interesting. I’ve never known those who rejected our gifts to seem so... alive. You aren’t all old and shriveled. Almost the opposite—maybe you’d share some of that blood with me.”

Reagan cleared her throat, loudly. “That’s not why we’re here, Kindred. We’re here to meet with the one called... Seneschal?”

Rainbow laughed. She lowered the weapon, her voice so high it was almost hysterical. “That was his job, not his name! Guess the Masquerade is working. You people...” She flicked the gun up into the air, then caught it again, sliding it away into her holster. “You’re lucky his sister doesn’t like telling people no, or you wouldn’t even be having this conversation. You’d already be dead.”

Lyra tensed, preparing some sharp response. Reagan caught her wrist, squeezing hard. “We’re glad to talk to... her. The new Seneschal. Immortal or not, we won’t waste her time.”

The vampire didn’t move so much as blur—suddenly her voice came from behind them, now overflowing with annoyance. “Hold on. Didn’t say this was actually happening yet. Any weapons you’re carrying, put them on the table. Don’t think an old friendship with a dead guy is gonna mean you get to walk in and assassinate his replacement.”

Lyra spun in place, facing Rainbow. She moved slowly even so, reaching into her pocket and emerging with the magical tool. She held it up for her to see, the short obsidian knife with a hilt wrapped in leather.

“Just this. For magic, not fighting. I don’t think I could hurt a vampire with it even if I wanted to.”

Rainbow eyed it, then shrugged, letting Lyra return it to its sheath. “That’s not what I meant by weapons. What did I say about wasting time? If you brought anything dangerous to my mistress, I want to know about it. And believe me, I’ll know if you’re lying.”

She closed the distance in an eyeblink, suddenly inches away from Lyra. She bared her teeth again, white and vibrant.

“Then you’ll know we’re only here to talk. We’d like to make financial arrangements with your mistress. If she doesn’t like the sound of our offer, she can send us away.”

“Weapons on the table,” Rainbow repeated, a little louder. “I’m not gonna ask a third time.”

Lyra took a small step towards Reagan, her pulse beginning to race. We haven’t even met the vampire we’re looking for and it’s already going badly.

“We don’t have weapons you can take from us,” Reagan said, tapping two fingers against her chest. “We do magic, remember? That’s like asking for someone to check your fangs at the door. Or... drain all your blood or something. However those powers work. There’s nothing to give you. I’m not carrying firearms, Lyra isn’t. We don’t have garlic or crucifixes either if that’s what you’re checking for.”

Rainbow laughed again, her voice stretching into a high, energetic giggle. “Would be hilarious if you tried something like that. Bibles and stinky food, go! But probably not a good idea. Our new Seneschal doesn’t take as many lives as the old one. But that doesn’t mean you can expect mercy if you don’t deserve it. I’ve killed your people before. Do anything but act like polite guests of the mistress, and I’ll do it again.”

Lyra held out her hands, flat. More bullying and threats, exactly what she expected from the Kindred. And worse, at least some of them recognized her. She was probably supposed to die with her master.

My gun didn’t kill him. But distracting him might have.

“We can agree to that,” Lyra said. “We just talk, that’s all. Is your mistress around?”

More laughter. “In here? God no. Car’s waiting outside. Follow me and behave—unless you want to make that blood donation after all. Maybe we make that part of the price either way...”

Over my dead body. Akiko’s vault could have the cure for cancer inside—the vampires could ask for someone else’s blood. She’d already given them enough.

The car proved to be somehow unremarkable on the outside, yet ostentatious on the inside. Fine wood, rich leather, and only a faint smell of flesh and blood. It wasn’t just Rainbow who followed them out—the car had its own driver, himself a pale-skinned man with a slight shake to his fingers. Unlike Rainbow and the other guard, he had rapid breathing and a living heart.

Ghoul. Would his eyes twist her spells to paradox? Did vampires even understand that weakness?

For as weird as he looked, the driver took them across town without any sign of confusion or disorientation. The ghoul kept the limo cruising through traffic until they approached the rich side of Canterlot, and the individual estates of the wealthy with their high fences.

Tabitha had once lived out this way, before the raid. They took a different turn, fortunately. They wound through one of the largest properties Lyra had ever seen, past sentries hidden in the underbrush and dozens of watchful cameras. Unlike the other pastoral manses, this one had high walls around the whole property, high enough to obscure the wealth of the owners.

Rare that anyone this wealthy wanted to conceal what they had, instead of flaunting it beyond any rational degree. Once inside, Lyra’s attention to living things warned her about more than human bodyguards lurking in the bushes.

They drove between pastures divided by high, obstructed fences, closed buildings with lights glowing from inside, and paddocks with metal mesh rising into a huge dome at least forty feet in height. And within, she felt... life.

Strange hearts beat here—great cats from distant corners of the world, a herd of hoofed beasts from Africa, and many other things. Several buildings seemed to host nothing else, radiant only with their bizarre occupants.

“Something wrong?” Reagan whispered to her mind. The magic felt as awkward as before, but at least they had a covert way to communicate.

Even so, Lyra couldn’t help but turn towards her. Even that subtle gesture was enough for Rainbow to look up, watching them intently.

“There’s a lot of animals here. Like a zoo. Not sure if that means anything.”

“Better animals than human witnesses,” Reagan thought back. “Animals don’t cause disbelief.”

“Looks like Mistress Volita is at one of the enclosures,” Rainbow said, scooting a little closer to where they both sat. Whether or not she could sense what Reagan was doing, she could read intention well enough to see something between them. “We won’t wait for her to get back to the mansion. I’m sure whatever you want won’t take long anyway.”

“No time at all,” Reagan agreed. “Enclosures for what?”

The vampire glanced briefly down at her phone. Lyra had never seen that specific model before, far nicer than anything even Tabitha owned. But Rainbow had stuck it in a large case, covered with various faded stickers. It wasn’t a good fit. “Large predator. Ursine, mostly. There’s a little viewing building attached to each one, we’ll wait there. You don’t want to go anywhere near the animals.”

They parked in front of a large building next to a dome of tall metal mesh, then followed Rainbow inside. Lights were already on, revealing a luxurious sitting room with a huge, curved window. Various cups and glasses were arranged atop a medical-looking freezer. Rainbow removed a dark bottle from within, and poured a little into a glass, before stopping herself.

“Right. You wouldn’t... just for me, then.”

A door stood open beside the window, with a jacket hanging on a nearby seat. Someone had left that way, and in a hurry. But even squinting, Lyra saw no sign of a human figure out there.

She heard something, though. Tortured cries split the air, deep and guttural. Something was in terrible pain, something larger than any human being.

Rainbow noticed too, because she caught Lyra by the wrist a second later, tugging her away from the door. She hadn’t even seemed to move across the distance. “What did I say about going out there? Sounds like something’s dying. You know what they say about wounded animals being the most dangerous, human? Can’t protect you out there.”

The vampire wasn’t actually restraining her. Lyra pulled free another second later. “Does your mistress care about her pets?”

The bodyguard raised an eyebrow. “Not that it’s any of your business, but... yeah. More than anyone thinks she should.” She swirled the glass around in her other hand, then brought it to her lips. Even chilled, there was no mistaking the metallic scent of blood.

“Then let me help.” She rolled back her sleeves, drawing the little knife from her belt. “If it’s still alive, I can help it.”

Reagan met her eyes. Though she kept her face neutral, her thoughts were far less so. “Hope you’re sure about that, Lyra. You’ve seen how they get when there’s blood in the water.”

Rainbow shrugged. “The animals through there are wild. They have attacked people before. If you go inside, I want your word before this witness that I warned you and you went anyway. We are not getting blamed for some magician too stupid to live.”

“Agreed,” Lyra said. She lowered her head to the bodyguard. “I’m not afraid of animals.”
Maybe she should be—at least wary of the other thing lurking in that cage. But something else drove her now. Someone had to help that dying creature. It didn’t deserve to meet its end here, captive of some living dead horror. Someone had to help.