by K. M. Scott
“Then let’s get those fucking Archons and their allies so we can come back to the ones we love,” Vasilije said as they started down the stairs to meet the dragons.
May they all come back to the ones they loved.
Chapter Seven
Dante scanned the growing group of clytens arriving at the Order’s training center and nodded with satisfaction. The call had gone out for his kind to join in the fight against the Archons, but he didn’t know how many would actually come. Clytens weren’t exactly common, and their unique nature made them very independent. Nobody knew that better than he did.
But so far, they’d heeded the call and turned up. Nobody knew exactly how many clytens existed in the world. Actually, the Archons were supposed to know since they were the ones running the vampire bureaucracy that would be involved in those kinds of things, but they’d long ago abdicated that responsibility in favor of their plans for tyranny. As a result, a proper census of all vampires hadn’t taken place in hundreds of years, so the clyten population remained mostly a mystery.
For his part, Dante had only run into a handful in his relatively short time as a vampire since the 1980s. They viewed the world differently because of their gift. There was a freedom and a real sense of superiority that came from not having to fear sunlight and yet still getting to enjoy all the other benefits of being a vampire. They felt as if they’d conquered nature in some way, and it never failed to be reflected in their attitude toward life.
“I didn’t realize there were so many of you,” Sion said as he watched with Dante the continual stream of clytens enter the training center building.
Dante turned to look at him and smiled with pride. “I don’t think I knew there were so many either, but the more we have of us, the better off we’ll be in the fight. We bring a special level of ability to any battle against the Archons since we don’t have to run for cover when the sun comes up.”
His friend rolled his eyes. “So I’ve heard a few million times.”
“Nothing wrong with being proud of who you are, dude. Nobody has a problem when you go around building an entire fleet of drones. They act like you’ve created a new life, like you’re fucking Frankenstein. The clytens get a sideways glance, like we’re some kind of redheaded stepchildren in the vampire world, but wait until you see how they fight.”
Sion gave him a pat on the shoulder Dante knew was meant to let him know he hadn’t intended to offend. “It’s Doctor Frankenstein, but I get your point. Clytens do have an edge regular vampires don’t, and I think we’re going to need it against those damn witches.”
Immediately, he apologized. “I didn’t mean anything by that, Dante. Sorry.”
The clyten laughed off the comment. “No worries. I know you didn’t mean Scarlett and her coven. Man, do you hear me? A few months ago, I wasn’t even sure I knew what a coven was and I certainly didn’t like witches. Now I’m like their PR guy.”
“You went and grew up on us,” Sion said with a chuckle. “Settled down with one woman, and she’s a human and a witch. Leave it to you to buck the system.”
“Well, since you took the woman I was looking at, I had to move on, dude. How is Kali doing, by the way?”
He sighed and rolled his eyes. “Hard at work, as usual. She seems to think there’s more to find out about Theron.”
Surprised to hear that, Dante took his focus off the growing crowd of clyten in front of him and looked at Sion. “More? Like what? Is he getting more powers than the ones he already has?”
“I don’t know. She can’t say. All she keeps telling me is she’s looking for more about Theron, and then she buries her nose back in those books of hers. I don’t think she’s left the apartment in three nights. When I go to sleep, she’s still working, and when I wake up, there she is at the table reading page after page looking for whatever she thinks she’s supposed to find.”
Dante didn’t say anything, but he heard the frustration clinging to every word. Kali did tend to be an intellectual, much like Sion, so it didn’t surprise him that the two of them together resulted in issues. He’d always thought they were too much alike. That’s why he’d been so sure he and Kali would have gone well together. He could bring out her lighter side, which Sion had a hard time doing. Even though he’d found a mate, he was still very much the Ice Man.
Oh well. They’d figure it out. Or maybe they’d just read a book about what they were going through. For Dante, that sounded incredibly sterile, but then again, no one had ever accused him of being an intellectual.
He turned his attention back to the crowd of clytens in front of him when suddenly he sensed Scarlett was in danger. He heard her faint call for help, and she sounded terrified. His witch didn’t sound like that normally.
“Sion, I have to go for a while. Do me a favor and keep an eye on things here for a few. I’ll be back as soon as I can, okay?”
“Okay. Anything wrong?”
“Scarlett just called out for my help. That’s not like her, so I’m worried something’s happening. I just want to check, and then I’ll be right back. If the group starts to get antsy, show them your drones. Everybody loves those things.”
Sion laughed and nodded. “Okay. Hope she’s fine.”
“Me too.”
The problem was he knew she wasn’t. He felt her fear in every cell of his body.
*
Dante rushed into Scarlett’s house and began searching for her. Her calls had stopped, and he worried the worst had happened to her. Storming from room to room, he reminded himself that he shouldn’t think the worst. She may be just fine.
“Scarlett! I’m here! Where are you?” he called out once he checked the living room and kitchen on the main floor.
“Dante, we’re up here,” she said just barely loud enough for him to hear.
She definitely wasn’t fine if she sounded like that.
He tore up the stairs and ran to her room. As he threw open the door, for a split second he hesitated, unsure if he wanted to see what awaited him. Stepping into the room, he stopped dead at the sight in front of him.
Scarlett and her sister lay bleeding from their necks. Someone had attacked them with a knife and slit their throats. One glance at Ivy and he knew he couldn’t help her.
Crouching down beside Scarlett, he quickly assessed the situation. If he didn’t do something immediately, she’d end up like her sister.
“Help Ivy first. She’s worse, Dante,” she pleaded with tears in her eyes.
He shook his head, unable to say the words he knew would break her heart.
“No! Ivy, no!” she cried.
His eyes scanned her wound. Whoever had done this to them had cut Ivy nearly clear to the bone, practically taking her head off, but Scarlett’s laceration was far shallower. She wouldn’t live if he didn’t do something soon, though.
Pushing her hair off her face, he leaned down and kissed her on the lips. “Scarlett, I can save you, but only if I make you vampire.”
“Vampires did this to us. They attacked us. Why would I want to become one of them after that?” she said softly in a voice that told him he was running out of time.
“I can’t lose you. I won’t. Let me turn you and everything will be okay.”
Scarlett turned her head to look at her dead sister just inches away. “Nothing will be okay,” she said sadly. “I’ve lost my sister. I don’t want to lose you too.”
He kissed her again and whispered against her lips, “Then let me do this. We can be together if I do.”
She didn’t answer for a few seconds but then closed her eyes and turned her head away from him. “Do it then.”
His fangs snapped into his mouth with a click, and he sank them into her neck, drinking her blood. They’d fooled around with this a few times, but now he truly took her into himself before slicing his wrist and holding it out for her to drink from.
“Take my blood. You have to in order for me to turn you. Take it and drink as much as you can.”
Slowly, she began to suck the blood from his wrist, but Dante worried it wouldn’t be fast enough to stop her from dying. She needed to have more and soon before he lost her.
Releasing her head, he reached up and slid his fingernail over the spot in his neck where she could get blood and enough of it. It began to pour out of his body, so he ripped his wrist away from her mouth and pulled her up to him.
“Drink! If you don’t, you’re going to die!”
He held her head fast to his neck and felt her begin to draw from his wound. His heart raced at the thought that he not have worked fast enough to save her. All she needed was enough of his blood to change her and she’d be fine.
But was it too late?
Slowly, she stirred in his arms as she became strong again, and finally, he pulled away from her to see Scarlett gazing dreamily at him. Had it worked? He closed the hole in his neck and hoped it had.
“How do you feel?” he asked as he carefully lay her back down on the floor.
She took a deep breath and sighed. “I can’t explain it. I’ve never felt like this before. I feel strong even though I feel weak. I’m tired, but all I want to do is run outside. I feel like one huge contradiction.”
Touching her neck, she felt her injury as it healed itself, the slash across her throat closing against her fingers. “It’s like I was never cut. I can’t believe it.”
Then she looked over at her sister lying on the floor near her. As she began to cry, she reached out to take her hand in hers. “You couldn’t do that for her? Isn’t there some way? I give you permission, if that’s what it takes. Anything to save her, Dante.”
“She was gone by the time I got here. I’m sorry. I would do anything to help, but I can’t. It’s not a matter of permission. The window to turn her had closed already when I found you two.”
“I can’t leave her here like this. We have to bury her properly. She deserves a proper Wiccan burial.”
Dante hung his head. “Whatever you want me to do, I’ll do it. Just tell me.”
“We need to take her to the woods. I’ll do the rest,” she answered sadly.
Scarlett sat up and wrapped her arms around his neck. “Thank you for saving me. I know you would have done the same for Ivy if you could.”
He gently ran his hand over her back and sighed. Already, this war had taken too much, and it had barely begun.
“Let’s get you cleaned up and then do what’s right for your sister. We can take all the time we need.”
She leaned back and studied his face for a moment. “The war has started, Dante. Those Archons didn’t attack us just by chance. I don’t know how the rest of the coven has fared, but we don’t have a lot of time. They could come back.”
“And they’ll be dealing with two vampires instead of two witches this go round. We’ll take as much time as we need to for Ivy. She deserves it.”
Overcome by sadness, all Scarlett could do was nod. She looked over at her sister, the two of them still joined at their hands, and she began to cry as she released her hold on her.
Chapter Eight
After saying their final goodbyes to Ivy, the clyten and his new vampire headed to the only place Dante believed they could get answers as to why Scarlett and her sister had been attacked. He’d had a good meeting with the Archon of New York before, so he hoped this time would be just as helpful.
They arrived at Salvatore Nero’s office to find the front door open and the receptionist area empty. Not a good sign.
“Where is everybody?” Scarlett asked as he took her hand and held it tightly. “Who’s supposed to be at this place?”
He scanned the room as they walked through and down the hallway to Nero’s office. “The Archon of New York.”
At hearing that, she stopped dead and shook her head defiantly. “I’m not going to talk to the son of a bitch who probably ordered my sister and me killed. I’d sooner kill him myself.”
Dante shook his head, wishing he didn’t have to deal with this right now. “This one’s not a bad guy. I promise. At least he wasn’t the last time I spoke with him. I know you want your revenge for Ivy, and I swear to you with all that I am that you’ll get it, but right now we need to talk to him.”
Scarlett’s mouth shrunk to a thin line as she shook her head no. “You can’t make me go in there to see him. I’ll wait out here.”
“Actually, I can. You see, I’m your sire since I’m the one who made you vampire. I can control whatever I want in your life. It’s how the whole sire thing goes.”
Her eyes opened wide and flashed with anger. “Forget it. I don’t give a damn what you vampires think you can do to others. I won’t be ordered around by any man, including you.”
Dante had fantasized about making Scarlett a vampire so many times, and none of those dreams had included anything like the scene he was stuck playing out with her at that moment. He needed to get answers from this Archon, and he didn’t have time to be fucking around with explaining how the rules of the vampire world were structured.
“First of all, you can’t say you vampires anymore because you’re one of us now. And second, I’m not a man. I’m a vampire. So I will be ordering you to come with me into this Archon’s office because I can’t let you stay out here alone. It’s too dangerous. Now take my hand and walk with me down this hallway.”
For a long moment, Scarlett fought her sire’s orders, clenching her teeth and glaring at him. But it was no use. Angry or not, she had no choice. As his vampire, she must do what he demanded.
He had a feeling he’d regret that demand in the near future, though.
No matter. He needed to speak to Nero and he wanted Scarlett with him when he did, so with him she’d be.
She said nothing as they walked toward the back office, but Dante could feel the rage coming off her in waves. She’d been angry with him before, but never to this extent. Not exactly what he’d planned in all those fantasies of the night he would turn her into one of his own. Those dreams had been full of sexy times, not angry glares.
They reached Nero’s office and found him sitting alone in his office chair behind his desk. The room looked as opulent as it had the last time Dante visited him, but now it felt abandoned since the Archon was the only soul left in the building.
“Nero, where is everyone?” he asked as they walked in.
“Dante, how nice to see you. I didn’t think we’d have the chance to enjoy that glass of wine I promised you. Would you like it now?” Nero asked as he turned in his chair to reach for a decanter on the bookshelf behind him.
“No, thanks. Another time. Right now, I need some answers. First, where is your entire staff?” he asked as he offered Scarlett a seat in one of the leather chairs in front of the desk.
Of course, she refused, shaking her head and glaring at him again, so he forced her to sit down and directed his attention back to the Archon.
“You seem to be having a hard time with your vampire tonight, Dante,” Nero said with a smile as he nudged the glass of red wine toward the front of his desk. “Maybe a drink will settle her down.”
“I’ll settle down when I have reason to settle down,” she snapped.
“Enough! Scarlett, I have to talk with him. Sit there silently until I tell you to speak again,” Dante barked.
Her shock at being yelled at stopped her glaring for just a moment, and then she opened her mouth to tell him exactly what she thought of his order. The problem was she couldn’t speak. He had control of her, so she found her ability to say even a single word gone.
She stared up at him with a look of betrayed shock that made his chest hurt, but he had no choice.
“I promise you can say whatever you want to me after he and I get finished here.”
Not that saying those words would make his future with her any better. He’d have to deal with that later
, though. For now, he had to get some damn answers.
Turning his attention back to Nero, he sighed. “Maybe I will take that glass of wine now. I feel like I need something to take the edge off this night. So once again, where is the rest of your staff?”
“Gone,” he answered before taking a sip of wine. “Gone, gone, gone. And I suspect that I’ll be gone, albeit in a different fashion, any moment now. If I were you, I’d leave as soon as I could.”
“Why are they gone? What happened?”
The Archon smiled and shrugged like any of this was amusing. “I told you I wasn’t following orders when it comes to that Bliss garbage. Well, I disobeyed orders again on a different directive that came down from the very top, and once my staff found out, they abandoned me. Not that I blame them. They’d probably be punished for my behavior too, so why would they stay?”
“What was the order?” Dante asked, almost afraid to find out. He had a feeling he already knew.
“We American Archons were given orders to exterminate every witch we could find in our regions,” he answered flatly before lifting his glass to his lips to take another drink.
In a flash, Scarlett leapt from her chair and rushed around the desk to lunge at Nero. With her hands around his throat, she shook him as tears rolled down her cheeks. She couldn’t speak a word, but she didn’t have to. Dante knew exactly what she felt at hearing Nero’s news.
He pulled her off him, and she fought him every inch of the way as he forced her back to her seat. Looking up at him with pure hurt in her eyes, she opened her mouth to speak once more. But nothing could come out until he let her speak.
Dante leaned down and wiped her tears from her cheeks as she silently sobbed. “Just let me get this over with, Scarlett. I have to ask him some questions.”
Rarely before in his life as a human or vampire had he felt like such a piece of shit. Stuffing his emotions down deep inside, he turned his attention back to Nero.
“I’m sorry for that, but my vampire was a witch as a human, and you just admitted you all set out to exterminate her kind. One of you succeeded and killed her sister tonight.”
