Alpha Rising

by Quinn Loftis

  The other vamp ran at her. His hands sported long claws, and he hissed like a cat. Did that really scare people? As soon as he was on her, Myanin ducked down under his reaching arm, turned, and stabbed the short sword in her right hand directly into his spine. Apparently, taking out two of their little group was code for everyone to attack because the battle cry rang out, and they all ran for her.

  She noticed the head vampire didn’t move from his position. He simply stood, watching with his creepy grin. Myanin ignored him and focused on the vampires rushing her. She swung her blades with practiced ease. Killing wasn’t something she was unfamiliar with. She was diligent in her battle training, despite the fact that it had been a very long time since the djinn had fought in a battle.

  Warm blood splashed onto her face as her weapons hit their mark. One vamp after another fell at her feet. When the only one left standing was the leader, Myanin stepped over the bodies, heading straight for him. Blood covered almost every inch of her. She gave him a sardonic grin. “Your turn.”

  “I don’t want to fight you,” he said calmly, as if a djinn warrior covered in the blood of his comrades wasn’t marching straight for him with fire in her eyes.

  “Really?” Myanin asked sarcastically. “Because siccing your dogs on me kind of makes it seem like you do.”

  He shrugged. “I wanted to see what you can do. How powerful you are.”

  Myanin could still feel the power of elder Lyra pulsing through her. She had no idea if that power was permanent. She spread her arms wide. “And what do you think?” she asked, curious about what he wanted with her.

  “I think that you are exactly what our leader is looking for. You will be a more than adequate substitute for the one we originally came for.”

  Myanin couldn’t help but laugh. “You thought you and your little baby vamps were going to take on the djinn that lives in this house?” She motioned to the structure behind her. “That makes me question your intelligence, and I don’t work with idiots, so…” She drew out the last word.

  The vampire pulled out a card from the back pocket of his bloody jeans. When he held it out to her, Myanin noticed it was crisp and white, bloodstain free. How on earth did someone as filthy as him keep a piece of paper so white?

  After several heartbeats, she put her swords back in their place and took the card.

  “Call the number when you’re ready to join the right team.”

  “Team?” Myanin raised her eyebrows.

  He nodded. “Both sides are preparing for war. After this is over, one team will win, and the other will be destroyed. I suggest you call that number if you want to be on the winning side.”

  The vamp walked past her to where the other vampires lay bloody on the ground. They weren’t dead and wouldn’t be unless their hearts or heads were removed. They’d heal eventually.

  The vampire pulled a matchbox from his pocket and struck a match. He threw it onto the group of bodies, and they went up like a field of dry grass. It was a good thing Thadrick’s home was surrounded by nothing but old, deserted buildings. She’d just slaughtered a bunch of vampires, and now they were blazing like a bonfire. Those things tend to attract attention from humans.

  “Why did you kill them?”

  “They lost,” he said simply. “We don’t accept losers on our team.”

  Without another word, he turned and headed for the street. He didn’t look back to see if she followed. She didn’t. There was something inside of her that balked at the idea of working with vampires. “You killed an elder, and now all of a sudden you have morals?” she asked herself out loud.

  Myanin looked down at herself and shook her head. “Dammit,” she growled. She might not know a lot about the human realm, but she was pretty sure she couldn’t just walk down the street covered in blood and not draw attention.

  She turned and went back into Thadrick’s house. She’d shower and find something to wear. She loathed the idea of wearing anything of his, but she didn’t have a lot of options. Twenty minutes later, she was clean and dressed in one of Thadrick’s shirts, tied at the waist so that it didn’t hang to her thighs. She’d just put her own pants back on. They were dark brown, so the blood wasn’t quite as noticeable as it had been on her shirt, and she was trying to convince herself that it looked like paint. Once again, her swords were strapped to her back and stowed out of sight.

  When Myanin was presentable, she again headed out Thadrick’s front door. She paused this time, waiting to see if anymore supernaturals would show up. When no one did, she sighed. Not that she didn’t relish another battle, but she wasn’t here to play.

  She pulled from her back pocket the card the vampire had given her. There was one name on it and a number.

  Ludcarab 602-666-6666

  She snorted at the phone number. She was well aware of the human belief of the devil and the number related to him. It seemed a little much to her, but then if she remembered correctly, the king of the elves did have a flare for dramatics.

  The fact that the vamp would give her the elf king’s number just solidified the information she’d learned from Lyra’s mind. Ludcarab was one of the leaders of the Order. She hadn’t known that the Order was even still functioning. Apparently, they were suddenly thriving … and using vamps as their henchmen.

  According to the archived information in the elder’s head, Ludcarab and his merry band of mad supernaturals were in the human realm, operating in the United States, somewhere in Arizona. Considering Myanin had only been in the human realm a few times, finding Arizona was going to take some figuring out. She didn’t even know the name of the human city where Thadrick’s house was located. She had no clue how far she was from this Arizona. She could move at a supernatural speed, faster than any other supernatural other than the fae’s ability to flash, but she’d have to acquire a map or one of those phones humans used with GPS. She strode purposefully down the cracked walkway, flattening the weeds growing up through the cracks. She had no idea what direction to go, so she just walked and assumed she’d eventually come upon a human. Fifteen minutes later, three turns, and finally leaving the dilapidated area of town where Thad lived, she saw a human male walking toward her. He’d probably know where she could get a map or phone. Moving faster than the human eye could track, she appeared in front of him an instant later. The man nearly fell backward, likely surprised by her sudden appearance.

  “I need a map of this realm,” she said, her voice a command. “Or a phone so I can use the GPS thing.”

  “R-r-realm?” The male stuttered.

  She could sense his fear, and she smiled inwardly. Stupid humans. “Yes. The human realm. This place.” She waved her hands around her. Oh, yes, country. That’s what the land was called here. A country. “This country,” she corrected herself.

  “You mean the United States?”

  “Sure, sure. Whatever. Where do I get either of these items?”

  “There’s a d-d-department store just down the street.” His teeth were chattering now, and Myanin thought it was a miracle he hadn’t lost his bowels.

  “What is a d-d-department store?” Geez, where did they come up with these ridiculous names?

  “It’s a store?” His answer sounded more like a question than an explanation.

  “Are you not sure? Have you ever been to this d-d-department store place?”

  “No, it’s called a department store. Of course I’ve been there. Who hasn’t?” the male responded, a hint of indignation creeping into his voice. So, he wasn’t as completely ball-less as he first seemed.

  “Considering I’m asking you about it, obviously I have not. Are all humans this dense?” Before he could respond with more than the shocked look he gave her, she walked past him and headed in the direction he’d indicated.

  Several blocks later, she came upon a large brown structure sporting huge, white glowing letters announcing the store’s name. The human was right. Who wouldn’t have been to a store like this when you could probably
see it from another realm? Structurally, it was hideous, but then most human buildings were. It was like they had no imagination or creativity when it came to their architecture. Everything was square or rectangular. When she walked inside, Myanin discovered that the interior was even worse. Bright lights reflected a polished pale floor. Useless junk was everywhere, overwhelming her senses. Why on earth would anyone willingly come into a place like this?

  An elderly woman in a blue shirt and bright yellow vest suddenly popped up in her line of sight, much too close. Myanin forced herself not to punch the old lady in the face simply from surprise.

  “Welcome,” the woman said with a huge grin. “Do you need any help finding anything?”

  She scoffed. “Obviously. How in the gods' names does anyone actually locate what they seek in this chaos?”

  The woman laughed, her eyes alight with joy as if she had the most wonderful job in the world, rather than laboring in a concrete box filled with noise, bright lights, and all manner of trinkets shoved and stacked into every available empty space. “It can be overwhelming. But I bet we can manage to get you in the right place. What are you looking for?”

  “I need one of those phones.”

  “A mobile phone?”

  “Is that one that has the global position system?”

  “Oh yes, and tons more. Though I’m not exactly savvy with them. Apparently, there’s all sorts of nifty gadgets on them these days.” The woman motioned for Myanin to follow her. “I could call someone from the electronics department, but I’m about to go on my break so I’ll just walk you back there myself.”

  Goody.

  “You don’t look like you’re from around here and your accent is quite distinct. Are you from another country?”

  “You could say that,” she replied in a bored tone of voice.

  “Is it someplace really small?”

  Did this woman ever stop talking? “Not really. It’s quite large, but you’ve probably never heard of it.”

  “You’re probably right. Geography was never really my thing,” she said with a little laugh.

  Was that supposed to be funny? “Mobile phones aren’t your thing, and geography isn’t your thing. What is your thing?” Myanin asked the strangely happy woman.

  “Oh, I love to garden. I love plants and trees and nature in general.” Her smile grew even bigger as she talked about her obvious passion.

  Maybe she wasn’t so horrible after all. Myanin appreciated a person, even a human, who understood how amazing nature was. She, herself, had loved guarding the veil because it allowed her to be in constant connection with nature.

  “Well, here we are,” the woman said and pointed toward a counter where a skinny male stood staring down at a phone in his hand. “Stuart will be glad to help you.”

  Stuart looked up and started to look down but did a double take as his eyes roved over Myanin. She was tall, at least compared to most human females. She couldn’t have looked very attractive considering she was wearing Thadrick’s giant stolen shirt. But there must have been something about her that Stuart found appealing because his eyes were devouring her.

  “Sure, I can help her,” Stuart said in a voice that made it clear he wasn’t talking about phones.

  As if. Myanin smirked. “You couldn’t handle me, boy,” she said as she stepped closer to the counter.

  “It was nice talking to you,” the elderly woman said.

  She glanced over her shoulder and smiled at the woman. “Thank you for your help, female. You were not unpleasant.”

  The woman giggled as if what Myanin had said had been a joke. Not unpleasant but definitely strange.

  She turned back to Stuart, who had his gaze glued to her chest. She rolled her eyes. “My face is up here, Stuart.” She sighed. “Unless you plan on selling my breasts a phone.”

  His face turned a deep crimson red. “S-s-so you need a cell phone?”

  “Yes,” she said and then grabbed his chin and forced him to look in her eyes. She wasn’t supposed to use her persuasion on humans, but she’d already defied the council. There was really no point in attempting to stick to their damn rules any longer. “Give me a phone, show me how to use the GPS, and then forget you met me.”

  Fifteen minutes later, she walked out of the loud, bright store with a phone in hand and the app, as Stuart had called it, showing a map. She’d put in the state of Arizona and hit the go button. According to the map, it would take about twenty-five hours to get there in one of the human’s automobiles. Myanin would run instead, though she could still get there quicker if she wanted.

  Now that she had a phone, she needed to decide if she should use it to call the elf king or simply show up at his front door. Myanin had no doubt she would be able to find where the Order was hiding. Her kind could sense magic. It was very hard to hide it from a djinn.

  After thinking about it, she slipped the phone into her back pocket, adjusted the pack on her back, and began whistling as she walked down the sidewalk. Killing the vamps had mellowed her out a bit, and Myanin felt more confident than she first had when she’d left the djinn realm. “I got this,” she said, which had been the same thing she’d said before the vampires had surrounded her. Perhaps she should use a different saying. As she came upon a woman, she held up her hand. “You,” she said to the woman.

  The human pointed to herself as she glanced around. “Me?”

  Myanin blew out a breath. This one was as dense as the man who’d told her about the d-d-department store. “I’m pointing at you. See.” She motioned to her finger. “There’s nobody else around. Who else would I be speaking to?”

  The woman’s eyes widened.

  “What is a human saying that means ‘I got this’?”

  The woman frowned, the fear leaving her eyes for a moment. “A human saying?”

  “Yes, yes,” Myanin said, motioning for the woman to hurry up. “You know, like I’m going to do this, or I’m going to conquer something. But in the human way.” It made perfect sense, but the woman still seemed confused. Finally, Myanin said, “What would I say if I was going to express that I was going to take care of something and do it with amazing ability and finesse?”

  The woman pursed her lips and then her eyes lit up. “Whatever it is that you are going to take care of, you could say, ‘I’m going to make this my bitch.’”

  Myanin knew that the word was used both to describe a female dog and as an insult. It was one of the things Thadrick had shared with her about human language and their ability to turn a word used for an innocent purpose into something sinister. She supposed the woman was using it in this context as an insult and not as a female dog. After all, it didn’t seem very confident to say “I’m going to make the elf king my female dog” … or maybe it did, actually.

  Eventually, Myanin nodded to the woman. “I like that. I’m going to make the elf king my bitch.”

  The woman’s eyes once again widened, and her lips formed an O.

  “You may go.” She waived the human away. “I don’t need to kill you.”

  The human female bolted, which made the djinn laugh.

  Myanin started walking again, purpose filling her steps, and she smiled. “I’m going to make the elf king my bitch … and anyone else who gets in my way. They will all be my bitches,” she said with an echoing laugh.

  Chapter 5

  “We might have had a victory today, but I am not a fool. The leaders we face are cunning. They have each maintained their roles over the centuries because they are strong in might and mind. I will not let my guard down, though I’m sure that is what they will expect.” ~Alston

  * * *

  “Where the hell did you get a draheim?” Alston barked as he glared at Ludcarab. He’d been just as surprised as Vasile’s people when he’d seen the elf king riding on the back of one of the bloody beasts that humans would call a dragon.

  “It’s not your concern,” Ludcarab said, his voice smug and his chin held a little higher than Alston care
d for. The elf king had been the leader of the Order since its beginning, but Alston believed it was time for a change in management. Acquiring and bringing a beast like the draheim to the human realm was a prime example that the elf king was not behaving like a rational leader.

  “It is my concern,” Alston bit out through clenched teeth. “Draheim are not pets. They don't do what they’re told. They are temperamental, and that one” —he motioned to a wall that blocked their view of the creature— “is young, which means he’s going to be even more unpredictable. And they have their own magic. You can’t rely on yours to keep them concealed.”

  “He isn’t going to be a problem,” Ludcarab sighed as he straightened his non-wrinkled sleeves and then adjusted the sword at his side. “Need I remind you who is in charge of this operation?”

  “Times have changed, king,” Alston said. “The Order has been in hiding for a very long time, not operating as anything more than an idea. We live in a modern era now, and the Order needs leadership that understands the world as it is, not as it was.”

  “And you think you’re the one to lead?” Sincaro, the king of the vampires, said as he entered the large, dusty warehouse that had become their headquarters. There were other warehouses clustered nearby that had been remodeled into apartments for the other members of the Order.

  “Surely you aren’t thinking of simply placing yourself in that role,” Cain, the leader of a large group of vampires that had lived in Canada, said as he strolled in.

  Both vampires were dressed in slacks, button-up shirts, and suit jackets, appearing as wealthy men. Wealthy they were, but men they were not. It was so cliché that Alston nearly laughed.

  “I think the strong should rise to the top. It's the natural order of things.”

  “I am not weak,” Ludcarab growled. “Should we do this as my people did in the old days? A fight to the death. The one still breathing rules. I’m ready to go when you are.”

  “I would be willing to agree to that,” Sincaro said. “I haven’t ruled thousands of vampires for centuries because of my good looks.”