Even The Vampires Get The Blues

were blinding, causing me to stumble over a rock and hit the ground a second time.

'Cool, reenactors,' a black silhouette with an American voice said from behind the huge arc lights.

Around us, the battle raged, the noise of it almost deafening.

'What are those ugly brown things they're fighting?' another voice asked.

A red wave of pain and nausea rolled over me as my bad arm smashed against a rock. I retched up my last meal, gasping for air, desperately trying to stay conscious as my body rid itself of everything in my stomach.

'Who cares?' the first voice answered. 'Just film it, it's great footage. Watch your step, there's a woman puking right here.'

'That's my cousin, if you don't mind,' Clare said indignantly as she bent over me, pausing to ask in a much more civil tone, 'Are you movie people?'

'Dude, check out the babe,' the second man said, nudging the first with his elbow.

'I'm a model, not a babe,' Clare answered, and despite her frivolous nature, ignored them to help me to my feet.

'Get the statue,' I gasped, the world spinning around me as I tried to fight down another wave of nausea.

'What? Oh.' Clare pointed at where Beppo was leaping from rock to rock, dodging the flying bodies and spinning swords to reach his master. 'Too late.'

'No, it bloody well isn't,' I answered, staggering forward as best I could.

Sam! Stay where you're safe! Paen was next to a huge boulder, swinging a sword black with demon blood, one demon clinging to his side while two others rushed toward him. Behind him, Finn was fighting with a battle-axe, the two men protecting each other's backs. They used their weapons with such skill, and moved with such coordination—one swinging left while the other went right—I wondered if it was due to skill or experience.

That damned monkey has the statue. I'm OK, just take care of yourself. Above you!

Paen snarled an obscenity in my head as a demon threw itself down on him. I knew I would be helpless in battle with a broken arm, so I plunged forward, through the fringes of ghosts battling demons.

'That's mine,' I yelled to Pilar as Beppo leaped up his arm, the Jilin statue in the monkey's furry little hands.

Pilar smiled as he took the statue from Beppo, turning to raise it triumphantly over his head. 'Behold, Yan Luowang! The statue which you created in my image! It has returned to me at last.'

'Nooooooo!' screamed Caspar from where he perched on a rock. His body twisted in anguish—or so I thought for a moment. As it continued to twist it grew, lengthening, folding up on itself, his features becoming misshapen parodies of a human face. I realized then that he was changing out of his human form, his true demon lord body being revealed. It was a horrible sight, so foul my eyes instinctively skittered away from looking at him. 'Revenge… will… be mine!'

'Into this vessel you poured all your hatred, all your knowledge of the Old Ways. With its destruction, so shall you be returned to your origins. Return to the fifth hell, Yan Luowang! Return and leave this world in peace!'

'No!' I screamed, Caspar's anguished howl a horrible echo. I snatched up a palm-sized rock, took aim, and hurled it directly at Pilar's head. The piece fell harmlessly at his feet as he turned to look at me. 'I brought it back! It's mine! You are not going to destroy it!'

'You will not win this time!' the horrible monstrosity that was Caspar screamed, and leaped toward us. Finn, Paen, and the ghosts all moved as one to stop him.

'Man, what's with ugly guy's costume? Someone's been playing way too much Dungeons and Dragons,' one of the film people said.

'Dude,' the other one said in acknowledgement, and turned the camera on the sight of the demon lord version of Caspar going down under a swarm of Scottish ghosts.

Pilar grabbed me by the throat and hauled me upward, until I was dangling a good six feet off the ground. 'You dare intervene in a sacred duty?'

'It's my statue,' I croaked, unable to breathe with the hold he had on my neck. 'I found it first.'

Sam! Paen shouted, evidently having just seen my predicament. I knew without looking he was hacking and slashing his way through the demons that were trying to free their master.

'It must be destroyed,' Pilar told me, unmindful that I was turning blue. 'It contains the source of his powers. Without it, he will be confined to hell, where he belongs.'

'Can't… breathe…' I gasped.

'It was given to you by mistake,' Pilar continued, just as if I wasn't slowly asphyxiating in front of him. 'It was taken by Paymon, a rival demon lord, several hundred years ago. I knew Paymon would not allow Yan Luowang to have it, so I was content to wait. But Yan Luowang is clever. He has gathered power over the centuries, waiting for the moment when he could steal the statue back. I bartered for it from Paymon before he could do so.'

'I… can't… breathe…' My lungs ached to draw in a breath, but Pilar's grip on my neck prohibited any air from passing.

'Here come the Marines,' one of the Americans called out as behind him, film extras ran to join the battle, yelling enthusiastically as they had been coached to do. I wanted to shout at them, to warn them that they could be killed, but there was no way I could do anything but dangle helplessly in front of Pilar. I clawed at his hand with my one arm, but he didn't seem to have any trouble at all holding me up for an extended period of time.

'As the servant of Yan Luowang, I was able to monitor his quest for the statue. It would be just a matter of time before the Dark One he charged with finding it would come to you, so I attempted to remove you from the scene by giving you another task, but you, foolish one, would not leave.'

The screams of several men tore through the night as a veritable volcano of Scottish ghosts erupted off of Caspar, their bodies cartwheeling as they were flung high before plummeting back to the ground.

'Now, that is some quality battle choreography,' one of the Americans commented. 'No wires, yet. Impressive.'

'You… Owen… Race?' Red spots started appearing before my eyes. My legs kicked madly as I tried to break the hold Pilar had on me.

'Instead, you intercepted the minion Paymon had sent to bring me the statue, completely mucking up my carefully laid plans. Yes, I am Owen Race. I am also known as Samaria Magnus.' Pilar stopped for a moment to narrow his eyes at me. 'You are not a very good investigator. You should find some other form of employment.'

'Sun Wukong, I will be—' Caspar went down again as a herd of movie extras flung themselves on him.

'Tried to… kill us?'

Pilar gave me another of his disappointed looks. 'You do not know what will happen if Yan Luowang were to regain power. He would not be content to rule in Abaddon—he would lay claim to the mortal world as well. I would do anything to stop him, even if it meant killing innocents.'

The red spots merged into puddles and formed interesting shapes as they danced before me. 'Why… tell me?'

Between them, Pilar looked moderately surprised at my question. 'It is traditional, I believe, for the villain to explain all his plans just before he kills off the pesky heroine.'

'Not… pesky… determined …' I gave up fighting him, and hung limp from his grip, the burn in my lungs so great I just wanted the red blobby things to ease my suffering.

'You're not watching enough movies, demon. The audience always wants to see the hero win,' a deep, masculine, angry Scottish voice said behind him.

'Dude, catch the guy on the rock with the bodacious sword!' a voice called out over the roar of the battle.

'Can't, filming the D and D guy. Look at him go! He's picking them off like they were fleas.'

'Paen, no!' I managed to choke out, blinking madly to clear my vision. Paen had managed to get on the rock behind Pilar, and was in the middle of a downswing that, judging by the size of the sword he carried, likely would divide the monkey god.