Cimmerian Shade: A Limited Edition Paranormal Romance & Urban Fantasy Collection

by Kiki Howell

  “All the more reason we should’ve stepped in when the vampires were taking the witches’ only protection. They are humans too, Constantine.”

  “True, but Were-shifters have a human soul too. Where were you eons ago, when the witches had the upper hand and nearly annihilated them?”

  “That isn’t fair.”

  “No, it isn’t. Like I said. Balance. We can’t continue to nose into their wars, Zoë. Sometimes it can serve as a natural scale to reset the dominance between everyone. We’re not gods, Zoë. We just get the busy work. I know you think we’re chickenshit and aren’t willing to go the extra mile to help, but we’re not angels, Zoë.”

  “We just get their busy work,” Zoë replied softly. “The Three will topple the scales in their favor. They are hungry and want they want is to be the apex predator. If you keep me here and do nothing, countless humans would be ripped away by them. It’ll be like the Dark Ages again. Humans fighting for survival and fearing the night. Do we really want that?”

  Constantine straightened his body and looked at her chains, then at Zoë. He wished he could tell her that her brave tenacity would fade just like his did long ago, but why crush a spirit that reminded him so much of himself? He stood up. “No. We don’t.”

  “I will face whatever punishment you have for my disobedience. I know how much you hate to set a bad precedent, but please. I will come back and face it all if you give me a chance to make this right. Send me back and let me replace the vampire leadership.”

  “Replace?”

  “If we end The Three, the vampires will need time to regroup and build new leadership. Give the Were-shifters and witches time for peace. Maybe it can all end.”

  Constantine raised a curious eyebrow. “Peace?” Now he knew she was dreaming. “You’re asking for a lot, Zoë.”

  “That wasn’t a far cry before The Three tore it down. Ivana, Remelia and maybe even Otto were going down that road. It could happen again.” She held up her bound wrists. “Please. Let me go to work.”

  Constantine deeply sighed. He reached over to grab her wrists. “Destroy the Order, and everything will crumble with you. Save it, and you save yourself.”

  With a clink, Constantine broke the chains and freed her. Zoë felt her energy pulse within her, eager to pull through the portal back to the mortal realm.

  Coming back did her some good, as her kind always gained more strength back on their plane. She looked him in the eyes and nodded. He turned and stared at the symbol on the floor glowing orange behind him. The black hole in the center began to grow, pulling against them.

  “Now go, before I change my mind.”

  Zoë didn’t hesitate. Running past Constantine, her body turned jet black as she dove into the portal.

  JAVEN STOOD LEANING over the balcony, watching the droves of vampires making their way inside the hall. The scent of burning rosemary oil and fresh lilies filled the room and were a darker reminder of death than Ivana’s coffin. Turning away, he heard the doors behind him open and Dashiell walked in.

  “Are you here with good news?”

  “I’m here with great news.” He slowly moved next to Javen. “Found one of Remelia’s covens and made an example. Also, we found Christophe.”

  Javen raised an eyebrow. “Really?”

  “And Tristan.”

  Javen smiled, crossing his arms. “You’ve been busy.”

  “Damn right, I have. I’m doing the work of three guards, so remember that when you divide the assets acquired from the Were-shifters and Green Girls.”

  “Where are they?”

  Dashiell looked to the crowd, admiring the view. “Takeshi has them. You wanna say goodbye?”

  Javen nodded. “Yes, I do.”

  Chapter Nineteen: Blood-Dipped Wings

  TRISTAN SLOWLY CAME to as his eyes opened to darkness. The stench of old blood and burned flesh sobered him only to realize the silver chains around his wrist and mouth were the culprit.

  His arms pulled above his head, he didn't have strength to pull himself up. Moving his head, he groaned as the barbs hooked deeper into his flesh.

  "Ah, you're awake," a male voice spoke across the darkness. "Good."

  Suddenly, the darkness became intense light as someone pulled the hood off his face. His eyes adjusted to see Takeshi, Dashiell, and Javen standing in front of him. Javen, dressed in scarlet was in funeral attire while Takeshi wore a butcher's apron over his suit. They were waiting for him.

  Dashiell turned to Takeshi. "Take those off him, his burning flesh is singing my nose."

  Takeshi moved toward him and with rubber gloves, grabbed the bolt cutters. His eyes held a small delight as he put the cutter near his mouth and clipped the chain that wrapped around his face. A sigh of relief echoed as Tristan adjusted to his jaw being free to move. The silver wore him down, and at that moment, he didn't know how much danger he was in. The pain in his mouth started to subside, but that was the extent of recovery. He looked around.

  "Where's Christophe?"

  Dashiell scoffed. "Don't worry about him. You have your own problems."

  Indeed he did. He’d never been in this room before, but he knew a torture chamber when he saw one. "Where's Remelia? I know you fuckers have her."

  Javen stood there with his hands behind his back casually. "She's alive. For now."

  Tristan gritted his teeth in disdain. "Javen, why am I not surprised?"

  He shook his head. "I think you like to pride yourself in knowing everything about me and the others. After all, you've spent many years protecting us."

  "And what a shit task that was." Tristan frowned. "Can't believe I wasted myself looking after a regime that finds it necessary to kill their own kind to bring everyone to the brink of chaos."

  "I don't think you understand the work we're doing, Tristan. It was the reason why I ultimately couldn't trust you to do the harder tasks to make this opportunity work."

  "You mean, murder your companion and pin the blame on your enemies?"

  Javen sneered. "Yes. I loved Ivana. But she was too tenacious and wanted peace. She didn't understand that peace will always be a temporary thing and what we needed was to gain vampire presence. With Were-shifters or even witches at the helm, our way of life and food supply could be compromised. They would combine forces and overpower us."

  "What are you talking about? We aren't baby vamps. We know the score, and that has always been a risk."

  "How long do you expect for us to last if that happens? Hmm? You think anyone gives a shit about our people? Huh? Vampires are hated, everywhere. If we didn't make a move to keep us ahead, who would've helped us?"

  "So instead of peace, you wanted to drum up loyalty within the vampire ranks to turn up the heat on your rivals."

  Javen nodded. "First, we needed to take the wind out of the sails of our enemies. We knew that Ivana and Remelia were negotiating terms of a new truce. We didn't want her to take it that far, but like I said, she was tenacious. Constance saw this as an opportunity to take Remelia and render the Green Girls helpless. So we had Dashiell retrieve her and bring her back here. Of course, that wasn't enough. I knew her grimoire was just as powerful and we couldn't risk another witch having the ability to use it against us."

  "So you sent me and Greg to collect it."

  Javen smiled. "And that you did. This scattered them and made it totally plausable for them to get hostile. The green girls after all, naturally are aggressive towards vampires. Ivana by that time was starting to suspect we were up to something, but she couldn't tell what. She kept harping on bringing the supernaturals together and all the work she was doing."

  "You killed her and set up the witches."

  Dashiell smiled and raised his hand. "Actually, that was me. After I handled Christophe, I was supposed to make sure the attack was fruitful. I warned The Three that putting you on detail meant they needed someone to make sure Ivana died. After all, you're the best protector The Three ever had. I took the high ground and watc
hed the attack, and sure enough, there you were being all badass, and already getting her to safety."

  He shook his head, chiding. "So I had to think fast and slip into the church. Her death still had to appear as if a Were-shifter or witch killed her. Heads versus tails, the witches won the toss."

  Tristan growled as he pulled against the chains. "She was unarmed. Helpless."

  Dashiell shrugged. "The moment she laid eyes on me, she knew her fate and accepted it. If it was any consolation, your name was the last words on her lips before slitting her throat."

  Tristan hissed.

  Javen turned to Dashiell. "That is enough. It's almost time for the funeral. Get rid of them and make it look like an animal got them. It's time to throw Otto deeper in the mix. But first, I want to know if they talked with Otto and his men. Do what you have to do." He checked his pocketwatch and turned to the door.

  "Javen!" Tristan cried out as he paused to face him.

  "Yes?"

  "We're not done. Before Master Darkness comes for me, I'll send you to him first."

  Javen scoffed. "Bold words, former commander. Bold words." With that he walked out.

  Dashiell started to whistle and pop his gum. "Tristan, this would go a lot easier if you just told me what you know about Otto's plans."

  "What makes you think I know anything? If memory serves me, they ambushed us in that bar."

  Takeshi walked past Dashiell and grabbed one of the various silver brands.

  Dashiell watched the Yakuza vampire move behind Tristan and sighed. "True, but I did have a few vampires ducking for cover there mention you guys leaving the same time the Were-shifters fled. Coincidence?" He shrugged. "Maybe? Give me something so we don't have to do it the hard way."

  Tristan spit his blood on the floor and looked up at Dashiell. "Don't have the stomach for it?"

  He shook his head. "I'm not a monster, Tristan. I'm just a soldier. I took no joy in killing Ivana. Hell, I took no joy in killing those witches." He paused. "Well, a little, cause let's face it, those bitches are killers too. But you are different." He pointed behind Tristan. "But Takeshi, here... there's a reason Constance likes him so much."

  Tristan yelled as Takeshi pressed the silver brand against his back and dragged it down his spine. It was going to be a long night.

  REMELIA HEARD THE SOUND of footsteps getting closer and slowly opened her eyes. "Please... don't."

  A cackle escaped Constance's lips as she watched the Supreme groveling at her feet. "Don't what, Green Girl? You know, I'm sure you feel a sort of emptiness by now, right? Can you feel it?"

  Tears welled up in her eyes. She knew that emptiness and what it meant. "You killed them, didn't you? I feel their loss. Why?"

  "Oh, come now. You had to know they were roadkill. It's quite pathetic how they can't make it without you. And now that the vampires feel victorious over the Green Girls, it will only grow. Then we'll have no use for you."

  She looked over to Christophe who was bound in the corner. From her angle, she couldn't tell if he was alive or dead. "Or you." A sinister smirk graced her demure face as she turned and walked towards the guards. "Make sure Takeshi leaves nothing of them recognizable. To our knowledge, Remelia disappeared off the face of the fucking planet."

  "Yes ma'am," one of the guards replied as he stepped aside for her to leave. Constance stopped and turned to face Remelia once more. "Scratch that. Save me her head. I could use a souvenir from the war." Blowing a kiss, she walked out, and Remelia watched the door slam shut.

  Remelia closed her eyes as tears rolled down her face. This wasn't supposed to happen. Not like this.

  Zoë, where are you?

  No sooner than the thought entered her mind, a crash from above as the ceiling crumbled and a figure landed in a crouching position on the floor. Remelia opened her eyes wide as the guards appeared rattled by the intrusion.

  Standing to full height, Zoë's black feather wings tucked in and disappeared as she drew her sword and charged towards the guards. They both pulled their baton to defend against the strikes and met her hit for hit until she swept one and beheaded the other. The guard laid still as her blade stopped at his throat.

  "Please! I'm just doing my job," he pleaded. He looked to Remelia. "I didn't lay a finger on her! I swear."

  Zoë glared at him. "Smart move. Where's the vampire Tristan?"

  He swallowed. "He's downstairs. Takeshi has him in the torture chamber."

  Her breath caught in her throat. "Thank you for that information."

  "Wait—"

  His voice was silenced by the swing of her blade. Shaking the blood off her sword, she sheathed it and ran to Remelia. Sliding onto the salt floor, she gently smoothed the hair from the Supreme's face.

  "Zoë...," she said with a soft smile on her face.

  "I'm here, Remelia. Hold on, I'm setting you free." Moving to the wall, she searched for a control for the drain. Finally locating it, she turned the wheel to release the salt. She turned to see Remelia sigh as she felt the pressure at her legs and sides slowly ease and the salt became less compact.

  Her eyes scanned the room and saw a body dangling in the corner tied in chains. Running across the room, she recognized Christophe and picked up his head. There were no signs of life in him and the chains hooked into his mouth and gagged him. The silver no longer burned into his skin. The reaction had stopped. Disgust on her face, she pulled at the chains. "Christophe? Hey!" She shook him. "Christophe!"

  He was gone. Anger rose within her as she stared at his body. His own had let him die like a dog in some filthy chamber. He was a decent vampire, and he died horribly for nothing. None of it made any sense.

  With a grunt, she pulled her sword and slashed the shackle that suspended him. His body fell against her as she lowered him gently to the ground. She turned to see Remelia climb out of the tank, a soft glow surrounding her as she was finally freed from her salt prison. She walked over to Zoë and placed a hand on her shoulder.

  "This is why I chose you, Zoë. You see beyond your nature, beyond what you were taught. You, a Black Blood, should not mourn a vampire, but you do. You shouldn't care for a vampire."

  Zoë looked up at Remelia.

  "But you do."

  "You took a gamble when you bound us together." Zoë stood up and faced her.

  "More like an educated guess."

  Zoë nodded. Pulling a dagger from behind her jeans, she handed it to Remelia. "Here."

  Remelia tightened her grip around the blade. "Thanks. Go help Tristan." She turned to walk out when Zoë stopped her.

  "Wait, where are you going?"

  The Supreme's eyes glowed blue. "Retribution."

  TRISTAN COULDN'T FOCUS anymore on any one object in the room. It always was his trick when enduring torture, but he was tired. The strength in his legs had already given out. Even Takeshi needed to take a break.

  "You are quite resilient, Commander Castillion," Takeshi complimented as he pulled off his gloves. "Most vampires would not be able to take such pain."

  A tired but dark laugh escaped Tristan's lips. "Glad I surprise you."

  Takeshi walked past him and felt a presence close by. Spotting his katana braced upon the counter a few feet away, he got quiet and scanned the room for anything suspicious. Despite nothing apparent, the feeling didn't go away. Something was close and ready to strike.

  With superspeed, Takeshi flipped over the counter, narrowly missing Zoë's blow and rolled onto the floor where he grabbed his katana. Drawing his weapon, he established his fighting stance as he watched Zoë move in on him.

  "Who are you?" Takeshi asked. He moved cautiously, side-stepping to keep his distance.

  Zoë shook her head. "You worry yourself with details." Moving in, their blades collided and clinked as they engaged in fierce battle. Takeshi moved with speed, dodging blows until she kicked a chair at him, throwing his balance where she slashed across his side.

  Hissing in pain, he gripped the wound and staggered bac
k. With fury in her eyes, she circled him. Her sight cut to Tristan's motionless body and the hate only escalated. "You like to torture, do you?"

  "Only in the face of the broken, can one truly see the soul of a man."

  Zoë sneered. "How poetic." She felt the heat in her hand. "I'll remember to use that one day." Her eyes glowed violet as enthrallment seized him and pulled him closer.

  Trying to fight it, he drew fangs and hissed, but the force was too strong. Her whispers tempted and haunted him. even convinced him to drop his sword.

  Zoë smiled as he released it, watching it stick into the floor. Pulling him into her grasp, she growled as the promise of blood called to her. Grabbing his face, she tilted him and bit into his throat.

  Sucking the blood into her, she continued to feel her strength multiplying. Takeshi struggled against her as he felt himself weakening. She was draining the life out of him. Just when he felt an inch from death, she pulled away and glared at him. His blood dripping from her mouth and jaw.

  "Pity, I'm not that interested in seeing your soul." Her hand gripped his throat and picked him up a foot off the ground.

  Roaring, she squeezed and crushed his neck, feeling his bones crumble like dust in her hand. She discarded him by tossing him across the room before running over to Tristan.

  He hung against silver chains and didn't move. His body was beaten, bleeding and scarred as silver torture tools stayed embedded in his skin. Pulling them out, her heart dropped into her stomach.

  "Tristan? Wake up."

  She gently patted his cheek to rouse him. "Tristan? Come on." She froze as he slowly opened his eyes.

  Tristan looked at her as if she was a mirage. Her beautiful, bloody face was a sight for sore eyes. But he had enough hallucinations for one torture session."Get outta here."

  Zoë shook her head. "You're coming with me."

  She pulled her sword and stuck the shackle that held his hands above him, sending him leaning against her. Lowering him to the floor, she leaned him back and pulled all the chains off him.

  "Save yourself, Zoë. The vampires are lost. You were right to hate us. You were right to hate me. Leave us."