by Nix, Imogene
“Where did the others come from?” she asked, as they crunched along the gravel to the car that waited for them.
“Other nests affiliated to Cressida. The word went out this morning. There are more to join us at the rendezvous point. We might just manage to outweigh the Brethren yet.” He indicated the door of the vehicle. “It’s time for us to leave.”
Hope nodded, understanding the time for pondering and planning ended now. He took her hand, grazing his lips over the knuckles.
“Stay by me. You are the one he wants.”
Together they stood quietly while she took one last deep breath, inhaling the scents of jasmine and rose, before climbing into the beast they had arrived in. The glass between them and the driver was carefully tinted and the body of the car was empty. “I wanted us to be alone and quiet before it began.” She smiled. Even in the depths of planning for battle he had taken a moment to arrange time for them.
Xavier watched her face, pale in the dim light of the vehicle, yet her eyes were clear. The car accelerated up the long drive and he sat, taking in her subtle fragrance, the one that drugged his mind. Something felt different, though. It gnawed at the edges of his consciousness, chipping away at the concern that had settled in his chest over the long weeks. The constant pressure he had felt since they had arrived here dissipated slightly, but that puzzled him more than reassured.
“Do you have a sense of…?” Xavier stopped. He wasn’t given to seeking reassurance, and the feeling was so alien, leaving him off balance.
“A sense of what? That something has changed? Perhaps… Last night…” She stopped. Her cherry red mouth opened wide as she realised the change had occurred without them even noticing. “I didn’t dream. I didn’t dream at all.” She breathed the words and smiled.
Xavier reached for the phone, pressed a button then waited. She hadn’t dreamed. The dream had been plaguing her for weeks and it was suddenly gone?
“Yes?” He could hear Cressida’s tension over the line.
“Hope didn’t dream last night.” What else was there to say? He waited, tension filling him once more, as he reached out to Hope, grasping her cold and shaking fingers.
“Put her on speaker.”
Cressida’s command spurred him into action. He depressed a button, and dropped the handset back to its cradle as a crackle sounded through the cabin.
“You’re on, Cressida.” He waited, tense and wondering what she had to say.
“Excellent. Hope? You didn’t dream last night? Nothing at all?”
“No, Cressida. I went to bed, expecting a bad night, but I slept through and woke refreshed.” Hope’s hand shook in his hold and he wrapped an arm around her.
“Nothing? There was no dreaming at all?” Cressida sounded as puzzled as he felt. “Has it ever happened like this before?”
“No… Well, one time, when this girl was threatening me at school. But it was a stupid childhood incident. I dreamed about it for weeks. I finally told Mother…” Her voice tapered off. Something had obviously come to mind.
“What? What happened, Hope?” Cressida demanded the answer. The one he was sure he already knew on an instinctive level.
Hope scrunched up her face as if remembering as much as she could. “She talked to the girl’s mother. Kat? The girl? She left the school not long after. Do you think…? Could it really be that simple?” Hope’s eyes looked into his, demanding an answer to the unspoken question. Was it possible that by sharing the information, planning for the worst, they had changed the outcome? Did the fact that Hope didn’t dream mean that they had changed what was meant to be?
“It could be. But we can’t take it at face value. Cressida? I think we go ahead with the plan.”
“I agree, Xavier. Everything is in place.” The phone disconnected, leaving the jarring signal pumping through the air. Xavier reached over, stopping the sound by punching the button, and letting the thoughts of a possible future swirl through his mind.
Since Hope had told him that he would die because that is what she had seen, he’d been consumed with ensuring she would be left protected and cared for, knowing there was little chance he would survive.
He’d worked tirelessly, ensuring that in the event of his death in battle, she would receive everything owing to him. Not that he had told her. Instinct warned him she would have refused to accept what should rightfully be hers, something he’d had no intention of letting her do, of course.
The vibrations of the car slowed as he waited, tense, with Hope beside him. They’d arrived.
Hope waited while Xavier got out of the car. Some of the vampires were already milling around, though she noticed they weren’t all there. Preparing for the battle ahead. The lump in her throat got bigger. “Xavier? Where are the rest?”
“Not now, Hope. Just in case.” He smiled, softening his words, as he strode to the corner they had chosen for its view of the building to stand before a burly man, who bowed deeply to him. “Everyone is out now? You have set the cameras to play old footage as we agreed?” Xavier’s voice cut through the air, sharp and cold. Controlled.
“Yes, Xavier. We haven’t seen anything that would indicate that he or his rogues are nearby currently.” They drew into the shadows of the building across the way, watching in silence as Xavier fitted an earpiece, listening intently.
A truck pulled up. A delivery. Xavier cursed, moving forward, but Javed flung out a hand. “I have this under control.” He nodded to another who pulled out a remote and began working it. They could see the driver clambering out of his truck, adjusting his clothing and hat. Something seemed familiar about the human, and she watched as they loped inside, out of view. Hope knew that the package carried something that would cause the explosion that would soon take place.
Hope’s mind searched and hunted through the people she knew. The hooded jumper jangled her mind. Who would wear a jumper in summer, anyway? The driver came back out, tucking the clipboard they carried under one arm. As soon as they were clear of the doors, ostensibly out of sight, they pulled off the cap. The long golden tresses falling from where they had been confined left Hope shell-shocked.
“Oh, my God!” Hope whispered the words, unable to contain them as the identity came to her. The person making the delivery was her sister-in-law Alexa.
“Javed? Get people working on the how and then report it back to me. Heads will roll.” Hope could feel Xavier’s arms surrounding and supporting her, but right now, she stood in her own private hell. She’d never been close to Alexa, but the knowledge of the betrayal left her reeling. Her brother David… Was he also involved? Were her own parents involved? Hope closed her eyes, willing the pain away as the ground below her feet rumbled.
“Hope?” Xavier bent over her. “Hope? We can’t do this now. We’ll find a way to fix it, but not now. We don’t have time.” His urgent words snapped her out of the fog. The building rumbled and she watched as it rocked and swayed. A ripple surged through the walls then slowly, so very slowly, the building collapsed to the ground, sending up plumes of grey smoke, filling the air.
Swiping away tears, she let the anger flood her system, looking into his forever green eyes. “No. Not now, but the time will come.” Hope straightened. “Now, let’s go deal with Estersham.”
Together the small group moved forward, and just as in her dreams, the grey smoke hung in the air, choking living things in its wake. But Hope was now a vampire and consumed with anger at the depths of the betrayal experienced.
Her whip balanced on the hook at her hip, but she caressed the end, ready to use it with a second’s notice. She knew, when the time came, it would be speed, agility and her ability to hit the target dead on that would make the difference. Her vision narrowed to a pinpoint, as she waited for figures to emerge from the billowing clouds.
This time there was no sound from the innocents caught up in the battle. The silence overwhelmed her for an instant, catching her off guard, until she balanced herself. They had managed to sav
e the innocents by clearing the building. Running a fake vision reel at each window had taken some planning, but no matter. They had done whatever it took, clearing the office during the lunchtime, and carefully staggering it so it remained believably busy.
She let her hands move back and forth over the grip of her weapon. Much as Hope wanted to employ it when they moved out of the choking smoke, she waited, letting the leather bite into the soft flesh of her palms.
Xavier waited beside her, so did Javed. Both men held their favoured weapons—she noted the ultraviolet gun clipped into the holster at Xavier’s waist, his muscles locked and ready for action. They looked carefully from side to side. She felt a frisson of alarm before she controlled it. They would be here any second now.
Finally the ghostly grey dust started to dissipate and she could see the rogues, moving with an unnatural grace, making their way towards them. Cocky as they advanced, smiles on their faces. Not knowing that steps had been taken to ensure they never achieved their victory.
“It will be okay, Hope. Breathe. Watch. Look for a weakness.” Xavier’s words, unknowingly the exact phrase he had used in her dreams, soothed her skittish nerves in the tense atmosphere, as much as his physical presence and the one in her mind too.
The Brethren vampires moved forward. Circled around them as the three of them turned, eying off the threat. Hissing viciously at her. She let the sounds die away, watching them and looking for an opportunity.
Javed feinted, as one tried to launch a forward assault. She held her breath. One quick movement after another from Javed was effective at holding him off, until, with a final jerk and thrust, Javed got the upper hand, finishing with a rolling head falling to the rubble-strewn ground.
One down, but many more to go, she thought. Hope watched, as the disembodied head rocked back and forth until it finally came to a stop. The body had slumped to the ground and his brothers watched in silence.
A roar filled the air, and the boiling sea of combatants moved towards the three. A sharp whistle rent the air and one of the flanks of vampires from Cressida’s personal guard appeared. Clangs and cracks met with the sound of whips and chains. Each warrior found an opponent.
One of the Brethren attempted to engage Hope. She flicked the whip, saw the opponent fall to the floor. She had little time to watch him writhing on the ground in pain. Another advanced. She flicked her whip again—leather snaked through the air, making contact with another vampire close by, but he ducked and dived, slid and slipped trying to move out of the way. She cursed loudly, trying again and again, fending off the attack she knew would keep coming. A final flick of the whip finished her opponent. A loud crack and crunch sounded as the bones and sinews of the neck tore apart. The body slumped to the ground slowly.
Hope turned seeking another opponent. The fight was ferocious, but the Brethren were weakening, although, she noted angrily, so were they. There had been numerous casualties on both sides, neither sparing the other. Exhaustion started to pull when she saw Javed fall, just as they had planned.
She cried out. “Noooo!” Her scream cut through the air, even as she continued to battle those around her. One more step, she reminded herself. One more scene and one more act. That is all it will take.
Xavier moved forward to engage another and the final scene of the battle began. This was the minute when she truly felt the danger was acute. So much could go wrong now. The Brethren stepped back, forming a circle and watching the battle of the two warriors.
The vampire moved forward, circling around Xavier while others watched, their swords and chains raised, ready to attack once more. Her stomach roiled knowing what was to come. She flicked her whip, threatening any who moved to advance on either of the men. Particularly Xavier, though. There was no way she would allow him to be ambushed by the crowd. Once more she flayed the air.
Estersham moved out of the miasmic cloud that swirled around them. Immaculate, except for the fine layer of grey dust that coated his hair and clothing, and she watched as he flicked it from his shoulders. His blond hair was fashionably short, but it was the look in his eyes that chilled her to the bone. Red eyes. The eyes of a predator. She quaked, but refused to back down, even as the queasiness in her stomach grew to a heaving churn.
“Finally, Xavier, you have come. My friend, you should have joined me. I would have preferred that, to this outcome. However, the girl… Once she joins my army, she will more than make up for the disappointment of your intractability.” He grinned, a cold smile that didn’t reach his eyes. His teeth, long and ready to rip and shred, had descended and drips of crimson ran down his chin, so obviously he had recently fed. Her stomach roiled at the fetid smell that filled the air.
“No. You will not kill him. I will not let you.” Hope moved quickly, knowing that this was the minute when she needed to be strong. “Nooooo!” The whip slashed and cracked in the air aiming for the man who entered the battle at the end. She hit the one who stepped in front of her across the neck, watching as the tail of the whip curled around. With her quick movements she jerked, tearing the ligaments and flesh. It howled, until the sound suddenly stopped.
She screamed her fury, advancing in a lope. For the first time, she noted the fear rising from the Brethren as some moved back. Estersham sucked in a breath, hissing as he exhaled.
“You are no longer human?” His anger was evident in the cold English tone of his voice.
“Just worked that out, did you?” She stalked forward, baring her own fangs at him.
The sudden motion around them broke through the silence. “Estersham. You should have stayed dead. Now, you and yours will pay the price.” Cressida. Hope remained tense, waiting to see what would happen next as Estersham shot out a hand. “Not before I destroy your prize.”
Xavier roared his anger. “You will not harm her!” Hope twisted and turned in his cruel grasp, the bite of fingers steely on her leather-covered flesh. She looked over towards Xavier and saw the fury on his face, but he was held back by three of Estersham’s own.
His movements were wild and uncontrolled as he fought to break free, but Hope had prepared for this moment.
Hope dipped one hand into the pocket of her jacket, finding the small stiletto knife Xavier had given her. Cold and solid in her grasp. She moved again, hiding her intentions and whipped the hand free of the pocket and whirled back towards the one who held her, while depressing the lever, letting the copper spike shoot forward.
She only had one chance to free herself. The arc was quick and true. The spike found Estersham’s chest. He shuddered wildly while he shrieked in pain, then she pulled back quickly, taking the small stiletto knife with her.
Hope moved quickly away, hearing a whine then thud, looking back to spy the remains of Estersham on the ground. The smell of burning flesh filled the air, and she turned back to see Xavier waiting, gun in hand, watching her. Estersham’s guards stood still. Obviously stunned to see the end of their leader, they dropped their weapons.
For Hope, the battle was now over. Xavier stepped forward to grasp her in his arms, winding them closely around her trembling body. “Tell me it’s all over now.” Her gentle demand was made against his leather-clad shoulder.
“Not yet. We need to round up the Brethren here, but Catriona has done an excellent job of keeping our men apprised of their location.”
Hope shuddered as he led her back towards the car. Cries of anger filled the air, but the sounds of battle had now quieted. They watched the others rounding up the Brethren vampires.
* * * *
The journey back to Cressida’s house was silent. Cressida opting to join them in the vehicle, sitting primly across from them, looking out of the window at the passing buildings. Hope waited quietly, twining her fingers firmly in Xavier’s as they made the trip in silence. The vehicle sped through the night, before finally turning into the sweeping drive. The glow of dawn was a distant hint of colour on the horizon as they entered the house.
In the hours that ha
d passed since the battle, the human government had become involved, overseeing the transportation of the prisoners to the carefully reinforced cells. Each of the vampires they had captured was now fitted with a collar, copper on the inside and silver on the outside. Each now fitted with a tracking system, which would keep tabs on them until they were to be brought before the Council.
“What will happen to them?” Hope’s question was met with a sad smile.
“How about we discuss this inside?” The car stopped, the door opened. They carefully climbed out of the car and swiftly made their way up the shallow stairs. Others cars stopped at the steps to disgorge their passengers. All were weary, and many limped carrying their injuries. Each face bore testament to the long and hard-fought battle. Those who required extra help were given support towards the doors and beyond into the cool interior.
Within the safety of the house, they watched the doors sealing and the shutters slowly dropping, as Cressida led them to a room Hope hadn’t entered before.
The room was comfortably furnished with deep lounges and chairs in blue. Hope dropped down next to Xavier. Those who could do so dropped ruined coats and shirts at the door, others disappearing briefly only to return moments later wearing clean attire. Hope felt dirty in her battle-stained clothing, but took the lead from Cressida taking a comfortable position. She sighed as she relaxed in the deep cushions.
Even as she watched, the humans of the household once more entered bearing goblets, and she grinned to see Javed limping into the room, his arms around a blonde woman, her mouth going and him nodding furiously. Something in his eyes told Hope this was more than a passing acquaintance.
Emily, bearing scratches and scrapes, and Catriona also entered, hand in hand. Once everyone had settled in, Cressida held her goblet up, taking a sip before declaring, “We have won this battle, but it’s not the end of the war. This war will continue through the ages, just as it always has and always will. Tonight we have lost good men and women. To those who gave their lives in the sacrificial defence of the innocents we salute them.” Her quiet words met with weary nods.
