“They said a war was coming. A war of Masters and they were building an army to fight that war. They tried bribery and fear and threats, but we were sure of our own strength, so we laughed them off and ordered them to leave our lands. They did. Then they came back with their warmages. Our history tells of them bringing wizards with magic so powerful and violent they swept across us like a wildfire burning dry brush,” Selana told him.
“Atlantean magic,” Sebastian told her.
“We have heard stories of the magic of Atlantis. They say they had mages capable of great feats beyond imagination, greater even than Masters. The stories they tell of the assault on our people are similar. What do you know of Atlantean magic?” Selena asked.
“Not much. I have pieces of memories but nothing concrete. Morgana has told us something of it but it's still not much,” Sebastian said.
“We're here. This is the hotel,” Serana told him.
“I'll stay in the lobby,” Sebastian told her.
“I would rather you not. Both clients are on the same floor and Gilded Sky hotels have common rooms on every floor. They are very extravagant. If we need you, it would be better if you were closer,” Serena told him.
“Sounds like a good idea,” he replied nervously.
#
“So what kind of fight is this?” Chelsea asked.
“Lumpy strong. Lumpy fight. Lumpy get money. Money help family,” the large ogre said.
Selena giggled. “Let me clarify for our less than verbose friend. There are amateur fights in Vegas in a few small venues. Most don't allow fey to fight but a few do. They're generally not open to the public and by invitation only. Lumpakator, Lumpy to his friends, has a well-earned reputation as the local fey champion. He's got an impressive win record and only lost a few fights out of the dozens he's fought. They're guaranteed purses, more if he wins.”
“Lumpy fight for family,” he said.
“In the beginning, we tried to discourage him from fighting, but he wouldn't have it. He was already involved in them before he joined us, and we tried to convince him that he didn't have to fight anymore but he wants to. He doesn't feel he does enough which is crap. While we don't encourage him to fight, I have to admit he's good at it,” Selena told Chelsea.
“Who is he fighting tonight?” Chelsea asked.
“Lumpy no know,” he replied.
“The fights are tournaments and held sporadically. It's not always easy to get enough fey to participate so they're often only announced at the last minute and only if you know the right people. We don't find out who's participating until the brackets are announced,” Selena told her.
Chelsea started laughing. “You know what I just thought about?”
“I have an idea. The blood bond is strong. Your lover is foremost on your mind,” Selena told her.
“Not in the way you think though. He's somewhat bashful at times and I am very extroverted. Despite that, he chose to escort your other sisters and sent me to a fight. I was just imagining him, with this temporary bond, while your sisters are having sex. I bet his face turns as red as blood,” she said laughing hard.
“If he is uncomfortable with such outward expressions of sexuality, why would he decide the way he did?” Selena asked her.
“I would suspect he feels three women are an easier target than an ogre, especially after the last time they attacked Lumpy, so he wants to be there if your sisters are attacked,” Chelsea told her.
“He is putting himself in jeopardy to save them and you,” Selena replied.
“He's the strongest of the two of us. There's no doubt of that. We don't often talk about our abilities, but he is far stronger than me. He is a hero and always puts others ahead of himself. He also takes this issue with the false or rogue Wardens personally. In one of our past lives, he was the first head of the Wardens in his life as King Arthur and helped shape them into what they became. He thinks this is a personal insult to him,” Chelsea said.
“Has he always been like that?” Selena asked her.
“He has. Even in the beginning, what memories I have of Atlantis indicate the same thing. He was the leader of the soldiers that defended Atlantis. I was one of his troops and later we married before he became king. He was born to his role and wears it well,” Chelsea said smiling.
“This pleases you. You like that about him,” Selena said.
“Very much so,” Chelsea said happily.
“You're aroused,” Selena said.
Chelsea giggled.
“There is no shame in it. You love each other. Was he really king Arthur?” Selena asked.
“He was. He was also General Adamson in the Unification War. He has always been drawn to whatever heroic cause is paramount at the time of our current life and rises quickly to command. Like now. In less than a year, he has gone from a new recruit into the Wardens to leading the Vanguard. It doesn't even make sense if you think about it logically, but no one questions his position. He gives orders, people follow. He takes command, people fall in line. He's a natural born leader. He is the one who will see us through conflict with Mordred and the drebs,” Chelsea told her.
“Morgana told us much the same. The conviction in her voice, the belief in her own words, that is a large part of the reason we agreed to serve him should he ask. When he spoke with the woman that leads the Wardens, she quickly acquiesced to his demands even though it sounded like she should not have. Bo has been our leader for as long as I have known of Haven, yet he did not question your mate's words. What little I have seen of him is impressive. You understate your own role though,” Selena told her.
“How so?” Chelsea asked.
“You say he is stronger and that may be true. I have no basis for judging the strength of Masters. However, he looks to you for guidance and support and while you may see him as the leader, he sees you as his equal. Without you, I think he would be lost. You are two halves of the same whole. You should not doubt your own strengths skills,” Selena told her.
“I'll think on your words,” Chelsea said then stopped and motioned for the others to do the same.
A wind blew in from nowhere and whispering could be heard on it. “My queen. Malka. I have returned to finish what we started,” the voice said.
“No. No. No!” Chelsea said. “You're dead. I killed you!”
“A simple illusion and in your weakened state, one you were easily fooled by,” the voice continued.
“I was weak and not ready to face you. I am strong now. I have been waiting for the chance to finish what we started so long ago. You are stronger too. Now I will feast not only on the blood of royalty but on the blood of a Master as it should have been in the beginning,” the voice of Tepes said.
“Who is it?” Selena asked.
“A vampire. A very old, very strong vampire. I thought I killed him nearly a year ago,” Chelsea said.
She then reached out to Sebastian. “Tepes is back. Somehow, he tricked us into thinking he was dead. He's here.”
“I'll be right there,” came Sebastian's reply.
“No. Protect the sisters. We can handle this. I have a bad feeling though about the vampire issue in Reno that was closed out. I think the Wardens that Alicia is sending are our rogues. I didn't get the impression she was lying. She'll dispatch local Wardens, probably the ones who supposedly dispatched the vampire. She probably doesn't know they turned on the Wardens but be ready for them,” she told him.
“I will. Keep me informed and if you need me, just call and I'll be there in an instant,” he said.
“My queen. Malka. I have chosen our battleground. There is a hotel. It is called the Splendid Illusion. Fitting considering a splendid illusion is what made you think I was dead. I will be waiting for you on the roof at midnight. Finish your little escort. Enjoy your last hours of life. If you do not show up, I will sweep through this city like a plague and every death will be on you. I will turn everyone and create an army of undead. I know you have spoken with the king. He is
not welcome. This is our fight. Your death will save countless lives. The decision is yours,” the voice said, and the wind abated.
“You can't seriously be considering this,” Selena told her.
“He will make good on his threat. I have to go,” Chelsea told her.
She again reached out to Sebastian and told him about the conversation.
“You can't fight him alone. We don't know how strong he is,” he told her.
“I have to. I can't let people die because I was afraid of a fight,” she replied.
“I don't want you to do this but you're right. I will be ready though. I can be by your side in the blink of an eye. What do we do until then?” he asked her.
“We have about four hours and we both have jobs to do. Let's focus on that,” she said.
#
Sebastian sat in the common room doing his best to keep his mind clear of the sensations he was feeling from the sisters. They were not lying about enjoying sex. He had briefly met each of their clients, playing the role of a pimp to make sure they weren't a setup for an attack. The men seemed like normal businessmen and showed no sign of ill intent, so he left them to do their thing while he waited.
He got a communique from Alicia detailing the contingent she was sending to Vegas. Their ETA was approximately 11:30 PM local time. Considering Chelsea's suspicion, they were working with the vampire it was likely not a coincidence it was so close to her rendezvous with Tepes. It was circumstantial evidence at best, but he had learned to trust her instincts, so he reviewed the personnel roster. They were all highly trained and any one of them would have been a candidate for Facility 14 or maybe even the Vanguard. They all had a high aptitude for magic as well. If this was a strike force, it was a good one.
He contacted Chelsea telepathically. “How is the fight going?”
“So far so good. They had eight entries. Lumpy is really good. He's not just big and strong like regular ogres. He's had some professional training in martial arts. It's a scary combination to see someone that big and strong with that degree of speed and skill. His next fight is with a bugbear. I've seen his competition. Should be an easy fight,” she said.
“How is Selena doing?” he asked.
“She's enjoying herself. Her empathic abilities are feeding off the crowd and she's really getting into this. She's Lumpy's biggest fan right now,” Chelsea said laughing. “I really wish we had brought the dragon's ore blades with us. An Excalibur would be nice to have right now.”
“Yea. I know what you mean. At least we geared up before we left. You have your armor and Warden blade. It's not dragon's ore but...” he said then stopped.
“What is it?” she asked.
“Dragon's ore. Do you remember what Tepes said when he was first in the cells? Dragon's ore is dragon's breath on iron. Why didn't I think of it before? We can channel Asala's breath. Maybe we can turn your blade into dragon's ore,” he told her.
“It's worth a try but we need to be together to do that,” she replied.
“I'll teleport to your location as soon as they're done here,” he replied.
“We'll need someplace safe. I can't very well loose a blast of dragon's breath inside this arena. Once the fights are over, we'll find an empty alley and we'll give it a shot. I will take any advantage I can get against him,” she replied.
#
The fights were over and Lumpy won. He had some serious bruises and a few cuts, but ogres healed fast and would be back to normal in a couple of days. Chelsea, Selena, and Lumpy left and walked down the street. It was just after 11PM.
“How far is the hotel I have to go to?” Chelsea asked Selena.
“About twenty minutes if you walk. Head straight north It's hard to miss. Are you sure you want to go alone? I'll be happy to help you,” she replied.
“No. If anyone else shows up he'll make good on the threat,” Sebastian said as he teleported next to them with the other three sisters.
“We need to find someplace quiet and empty,” Chelsea said.
“Lumpy know place. Dark and quiet. Old shuttle place. No longer fly,” he said and started walking with the rest following him.
He led them down a few side streets and into an otherwise vacant area. It looked to be an old-style shuttle fueling station. With the modern ports in Vegas, these were obsolete and not used anymore. Most had been scrapped but major cities kept a few for emergencies.
Sebastian and Chelsea took out their swords and put them on one of the concrete pads.
“Does anyone else have any weapons on them?” he asked.
The sisters pulled out batons and extended them. Lumpy was carrying a large pair of spiked brass knuckles. They laid all the weapons together on the pad.
“Stand behind us. We're usually able to control this so the fire only hurts if we want it to, but our powers are in flux at times and we don't want to take any chances,” Chelsea said.
The two of them joined hands and minds. They focused on Asala and for a minute nothing happened. They felt warmer like their body temperature was rising and their eyes turned yellow. They changed their focus to the pile of weapons and a blast of blue flame flowed from them and into the various implements. They held it for as long as they could, about twenty seconds, and the flame subsided. The concrete was pitted and scorched. Everyone ran to the pile of weapons and they had all turned a reddish color anywhere there was iron or steel.
“What is it?” asked Serena.
“Dragon's ore. Dragon's breath has a peculiar effect on some metals. It changes them into a magical alloy capable of hurting nearly anything so near as we can tell,” Sebastian told them.
Serena carefully picked up a baton. “I can feel magic radiating from it. It doesn't hurt to touch but I bet if I were to be hit hard with this, it would be very bad. I can feel the power in it.”
“At least it worked,” Chelsea said as she picked up her blade.
She walked over to Sebastian and held him. “I love you.” A tear fell from her eye.
“I love you too. Always and forever. Now handle this undead thing and get back to Haven. That's an order,” he said.
“Yes, my king,” she said, and they kissed for a long time.
Their kiss was interrupted by a comm. “This is the Warden investigation unit. What is your position, Lord Marshall?”
He relayed their coordinates. “It's an old shuttle pad. It should be safe to touch down here.”
“Roger, sir. We'll be there in five minutes,” the voice replied.
“You go to your fight, mine comes to me,” he said.
“We'll both be okay. I feel it. Now go. Show him what it means to fuck with the Queen of Atlantis.”
She didn't say another word and ran off in the direction of the hotel.
He turned to the naga and Lumpy. “I can teleport you to Haven and get back here before they land. Are you ready?”
“Lumpy stay. You fight. Me fight. Bad Wardens hurt Lumpy. Lumpy hurt bad Wardens,” the ogre said as he put on the brass knuckles.
“The same goes for us. We told you we would fight with you and I see no reason it can't start tonight. Chelsea told me she thinks these Wardens coming to help us are the rogues we seek. If she's right, it's going to be twelve on one. Twelve on six is better odds. If they're not our enemies, then you could use our help in the hunt for the ones who are,” Selena told him.
He smiled. “Your help is very much appreciated. Thank you, my friends.”
A couple of minutes later, the shuttle circled the landing pad and touched down.
#
Chelsea maintained a full run and got to the hotel in no time. She ran up to the desk clerk. “I'm Vice Marshall Chelsea of the Vanguard. You have a very dangerous fey on the roof of your building. You need to begin evacuations, now.”
“I'm going to need some proof of that,” the clerk replied.
She held up her wrists. “Scan me.”
The clerk ran a scanner over her eyes and looked at the display. “Yes, ma'
am.”
“Start with the top floor and work downwards. Get this hotel empty,” she told him. “I'm heading up to the roof.”
She walked to the elevator. It wasn't normally the protocol for safety reasons, but she didn't think Tepes would attack her yet, so she didn't take the stairs. He was savoring this and would wait for her on the roof.
#
“Baldric, you understand what you face?” King Garos asked him.
“I do. He has given himself over to the dark arts and crossed the threshold into undeath,” Baldric replied as he and the Vanguard stood before the king.
“He is more than that. This is no simple feeder of life. This man was a court mage before he was lured by the easy power of black magic. Find him and kill him. He is a perversion of everything we believe in,” King Garos told him.
“What do we know of him?” Baldric asked his liege.
“His name is Toth. You met him at your wedding. He was one of my trusted wizards and was invaluable in my service. He was by all indications a man of good will but then a servant not known for exaggeration or flights of fancy observed him practicing what they thought was a dark ritual. The servant spoke to me about it and I agreed to keep our conversation secret and observe the mage, quietly. The servant was found dead later, an apparent accident.”
“I took the castle guard with me and we searched his quarters. Numerous items were found, including fetishes and components for evil magic. I confronted him with the evidence. He denied it and tried to blame the servant, saying he had caught him practicing dark arts and was planning on telling me once he had proof. He said after the servant's death, he saw no reason to pursue it. I told him of the conversation I had with the servant and he panicked. He attacked me, and the guard and I wounded him, but he was able to flee.”
“My staff is a powerful weapon and his wound was mortal. I suspect he performed the rites to convert into a drinker to avoid death. His skill in magic is strong and now he has the added powers of the undead. Like all his kind, he must feed to live. Our diviners say he is feeding to the north on the mainland. There is a small village there. They suggest you start your search at that location,” King Garos told him.
The Vanguard Page 37
