Chapter 38 Death.

Chapter 38: 38 Death.

The drive to single Pine Mall felt like heading off to war, except we were about two hours late to the battle.

Emergency lights flashed into the dark sky in alternating red and blue, creating a disco effect that meshed awkwardly with the rock music coming out of my speakers.

"Human warriors have deployed in force," Ayra observed from the backseat with her nose pressed against the window like a kid at an aquarium. "Their carriages bear colored lights atop them. Is this a display of dominance, perhaps?"

"More like a display meant to convey the gentle message of ’get the fuck out of the way’," I explained as I continued weaving through traffic as civilian cars pulled aside for emergency vehicles. "The lights mean they’re responding to an emergency, and anything else on the road has to let them pass."

Elsa sat rigid in the passenger seat. Her little hand gripped the door handle with enough force to leave indentations. "Your realm’s defenders seem... scattered. Are monster incursions truly so rare that they require such external mobilization?"

"Well, we’re right next to Wapa Lake, so it’s not like this kind of thing is totally unheard of, but they’re not exactly trained for portal hopping threats," I said. "This is probably the first time this small town has dealt with anything like—holy shit."

We’d just crested the hill overlooking the mall parking lot, and the scene below made me gawk in shock.

The place was swarming, but not with the kind of activity I’d expected. Sure, there were police cars and military vehicles, even a few news vans with satellite dishes extended...

But what really caught my attention were the skeletons.

Hundreds of them, moving with purpose through the parking lot like the world’s most macabre cleaning crew.

They wore matching black uniforms with silver trim, carrying push brooms and dustpans as they swept up what appeared to be glowing purple residue.

Some operated industrial cleaning equipment, power-washing the asphalt while others directed traffic with reflective vests and hardhats on.

"Are those... animated corpses?" Elsa asked, leaning forward for a better look.

"Skeleton soldiers," I confirmed, pulling into a spot near the perimeter. "Countess Beaumont’s personal army. It didn’t occur to me that she’d get involved."

Ayra’s ears perked up so fast they nearly launched her beret. "Countess Beaumont? You have nobility of the undead in this realm?"

I killed the engine and took a deep breath. Time for a local history lesson.

"Not exactly recognized nobility. More like... a really powerful neighbor who doesn’t like to be told no."

We climbed out of the truck but kept our distance from the main activity.

The cops had set up a perimeter, but they seemed more interested in keeping civilians back than interfering with the skeleton crew.

I spotted Miller, the sheriff from these parts, chatting with what appeared to be a skeleton in a supervisor’s vest, complete with clipboard.

"Okay, crash course on local politics," I said, gesturing for my companions to huddle close. "See that lake?" I pointed toward the dark expanse visible beyond the mall, where moonlight glinted off black water. "That’s Wapa Lake. Close to two decades ago, the town on the other side of it got new management."

"Management?" Ayra repeated, cocking her head like the confused pup she was.

"Vladimira Tepes, also known as Countess Dracula, moved in and basically... claimed it. Not through violence or war. She just showed up one day with enough magical power to make the sun optional, and gradually took over."

Elsa grinned smugly. "I learned this already."

"Most of it," I said, beaming at her.

Ayra tilted her head the other way. "The sun? She controls celestial bodies?"

"Just their local impact," I clarified. "Wapa Lake is dark about sixteen to eighteen hours a day now. Perfect for vampires, werewolves, and whatever else goes bump in the night. The whole town became a monster sanctuary, for all intents and purposes, but it’s been peaceful for the most part. The original Countess is gone now—"

"And her daughter rules in her stead!" Elsa exclaimed, pounding her fist into the opposite palm. I smirked at how proud she was to already know this.

"And the humans simply... accepted all this?" Ayra asked, understandably shocked as she watched a skeleton carefully sweep purple goo into a hazmat container.

"Not much choice. That family is basically a force of nature. The military tried to intervene once." I gestured at the efficient cleanup operation. "Beaumont teleported a tank battalion a thousand miles away without even showing up personally. After that, they decided containment was the better option."

"But we’re not in this Wapa Lake," Ayra observed, sniffing the air. "The darkness here is natural, not magical."

"Right. Millfield’s technically outside her territory, separated by the lake." I nodded toward the skeleton crew. "Usually she keeps her people and, uh, minions on her side of the bridge, but when shit spills over, I guess she handles it. It makes sense, I suppose. It helps keep goodwill with the government, maybe, and keeps trouble out of her territory."

Elsa narrowed her eyes at a skeleton directing traffic with glow sticks. "The vampire countess aids the humans? Why?"

"Half-vampire, and yeah. Best guess as to why? She likes her privacy. If monster incidents became common outside her territory, it’d draw federal attention. Better to clean up quietly. She might even assume our monster was her mess, maybe," I shrugged. "She’s just a kid, basically. Like, sixteen, maybe?"

"Sixteen?!" Both women chorused incredulously.

"She’s practically fresh out of the womb!" Elsa gasped.

Ayra tossed her some dubious side-eye at that for a moment, but then focused back on me.

I continued my exposition. "Yep. She’s the teenage daughter of a legendary European monster hunter and the most powerful vampire and sorceress to ever live. The story is they fell in love and... moved to bumfuck Minnesota, I guess. It sounds like a real Romeo and Juliet situation."

They stared at me blankly.

"Star-crossed lovers?" I tried. "Forbidden romance? Two households, both alike in dignity?"

More blank stares.

"Never mind. Point is, Countess Beaumont is essentially a kid. I think her uncle, Death, still walks her to school on Fridays. I got a buddy who lives in town who tells me all the gossip."

"Her Uncle is Death?!"