Rising Darkness

by Shannon Mayer

  I gulped in a breath to call to Frank again and ended up with a piece of zombie flesh in my mouth. I heaved and puked, spewing my stomach contents down the front of my shirt. “Frank!” I tried again. Fear made me useless, and if I didn’t do something, the zombie was going to crush me like a peanut.

  I went limp in the creature’s arms and it stopped trying to squash me. Breathing easier, I looked around. The field was full of zombies, three of them were bending over Frank. What if they were trying to eat him?

  “Frank, WAKE UP!” I yelled, and then started to cry. This was all my fault. If I hadn’t lost my temper, Frank wouldn’t have gotten hurt and I wouldn’t be stuck in the stinking zombie’s embrace.

  “Pam, I’m okay.”

  My head snapped up and Frank limped toward me, his hair all messed up, and a bump on his head, Peta in his arms. But he was awake. He flicked a hand toward me and the zombie let go. I dropped to the ground and scrambled away. Frank took my hand and I wanted so badly to kiss him, to show him I was sorry. But I had vomit on the front of my shirt, and zombie gore on my back. Not really something I thought would add to the atmosphere.

  “I’m sorry.”

  “I know it was an accident. Maybe it is a good thing you’re going for more training. You tossed me harder than you thought, right? And you can’t freeze like that when you get scared. It’s not safe.”

  I nodded, then realized what he was saying. “You mean, you think I should go?”

  “I do. But I’m still coming with you, to make sure everything is legit.” He waved his left hand in a quick circle and the zombies all melted into the ground, as if they never were.

  I wanted to ask him why they woke up when he was unconscious, I wanted to ask him if I really meant that much to him, and if he really thought Milly was good now or if he was just humoring me. All of those things and so much more.

  But our ride showed up.

  A whoosh of leathery wings back drafting as the dragon landed was the only warning we got. Purple and dark gray scales glittered in the early morning light. On its back was a leather strap system not unlike the one we had on Blaz. I waved, excited. “We’re here.”

  The dragon’s head swiveled toward us and for a split second, I was sure we were dead. Red eyes glittered, like watermelon-sized rubies. A demon’s eyes. My feet froze and the dragon snaked her head until it was right over us, and her voice whispered inside my skull.

  My master beckons you. Get on, puny witch.

  I lifted my chin, but my voice trembled. “Frank is coming with us. Right, Frank?”

  His fingers tightened on mine. “I’m coming with you.”

  The dragon–who did not look pleased by this announcement—snapped her jaws.

  Fine by me. When the master kills him, I will snap his bones and shit out his innards.

  I froze. “What did you just say?”

  She ducked her head away from me. Nothing. Forget I spoke.

  Slowly, reluctantly, we climbed onto the dragon, and buckled in, Peta curling up between us despite the zombie gore. Frank put his arms around me and I clung to him as the dragon leapt into the air. Milly wouldn’t hurt us. She was going to help me. I had to hang on to that no matter what the stupid dragon said. I closed my eyes and leaned into Frank, the long night taking its toll. Despite the zombie stench, and bits of vomit on my shirt, I was exhausted. My last thought as I fell asleep was that Rylee wouldn’t miss me. She would be glad I was gone.

  A tear slipped from my eye, swept away by the wind rushing around us.

  CHAPTER 6

  Rylee

  I stared at the spot I thought I’d seen Pamela duck behind a car. “Pam?” I knew she was there, but there was no movement. Damn, the kid was going to be tough to reach. I put a hand to the back of my neck. Tracking her would give me an idea of her emotional status, but I’d Tracked a lot already and was pushing my luck.

  Later. I would talk to Pamela in the morning.

  That was the plan, anyway. Alex sniffed the air beside me and wrinkled his nose. “Stinks like dead people.”

  Frank caught my eye and I motioned him over to me. “Have you and Pam been getting along?”

  He blushed and I had to bite the inside of my cheek to keep from smiling. So that’s how it was. He cleared his throat. “Yeah, we get along most days.”

  “Go check on her, make sure she’s all right.” I patted him on the back as he went by me.

  He stopped and looked back. “And if she’s not?”

  “Be her friend. I’ll talk to her tomorrow and see if I can get through to her.”

  A quick nod, and then he was off and running. Literally.

  I slipped back into the tent in time to see the troll standing, its skin free of pustules. Shit.

  “Tracker, you healed me. You saved me!” He roared the words as he scooped me up into his arms, faster than anyone else could react. His breath was a mixture of rotten teeth and garlic. Not pretty. I turned my head to the side. “Put me down.”

  The troll continued to jump with me in my arms, breathing heavily on me and making me desperate enough to pull one of my short blades from my hip.

  Deanna let out a gasp and I would have shrugged if I could have moved my upper body. “Put me down or I’m going to run you through.”

  He dropped me, his voice booming. “Your blood saved me, SAVED ME!” and then the big bastard ran from the tent, shouting to the world that I had saved him, a vial of my blood had saved him.

  My eyes met Faris’s. Those baby blues were tight with worry. Then I looked at Doran, who wasn’t really looking at me. He was looking between me and Faris.

  Oh, fuck, I did not need a pissing contest. “Deanna, your troll friend is making my life rather difficult at the moment.”

  The tent around the bottom edge shifted and Alex let out a low growl. “Vampires coming.”

  Yeah, that was what I was thinking might happen. Faris reached me first, grabbed my arm, and started dragging me out. “Time to leave.”

  I didn’t disagree. “Everyone, let’s go. This party is over.” I jerked my arm from his hand and strode ahead of him, Alex on my right. Berget behind me. “Don’t get separated” was the last thing I said before everything around us went to hell.

  The vampires hit us first, tackling Deanna and Will to the ground, Berget was swept from me, and Alex let out a yelp as he was yanked from my side. Faris picked me up before I could do anything. I don’t know how many vampires attacked us, I only knew there were more than I could have handled on my own. “Put me down, Faris!”

  “You can’t fight them all!”

  I struggled to pull my blades, but Doran stopped us all with a single word.

  “Cease!” His voice was imbued with a power even I felt through my immunity to spells and magic. My hands stilled and around us the vampires trembled under his control. Shit, it was one thing to know he led them; it was another to see it in action.

  The vampire closest to me and Faris crawled toward us. “Just a taste, to keep us safe, your Highness.”

  “There will be no drinking of Rylee’s blood. None,” Doran barked, and the vampires cringed. Faris didn’t put me down, though, despite the fact that Doran seemed to have control of things. Which made me nervous.

  “A taste,” several vampires whispered, one over top of the other so the whisper grew and quivered in my ears. Fuck that was creepy. I couldn’t help the tremor that ran through me.

  Faris’s hands tightened on me, but it wasn’t his voice who spoke with his lips.

  “Hang on, Adamson.”

  The shiver that ran through me the second time didn’t have anything to do with fear. “Liam?”

  “Boss?” Alex barked and the hands on me tightened further.

  The vampire at Faris’s feet, a red-headed woman in a shimmering black top, grabbed at his boot. “Just a taste, baby, and then—” She leapt up, fangs extended. Faris spun giving her his back, protecting me with his body.

  There was a scuffle, and when F
aris turned back around, still holding me, the woman’s head was no longer attached to her body. Doran stood over her. “I said leave her be. Anyone else want to try?”

  The vampires melted into the darkness. Doran dropped the woman’s head, the look on her face slowly going from surprised to the slack jaw of the newly dead.

  “Put me down, Faris.” I knew I couldn’t force him, he was too strong.

  He slowly let me slide down his body and I glanced at his face. A tinge of gold rimmed those blue eyes. Damn it, what was Liam doing?

  I patted his shoulder, feeling awkward. “Thanks.”

  Maybe more would have been said, but there were bigger problems than Doran’s vamps going rogue.

  The shouting troll has caused a bit of a stir. Every supernatural able to move is headed your way. We have to get you out of here, Rylee. Now. Blaz’s voice held no room for argument.

  “Alex, take Berget and go to Blaz. Faris, I don’t suppose you’ll go with them?”

  “Where you go, I go,” he said, and I did my best to ignore the reverberations of his words. Words Liam had said to me. “I’m going to grab Pamela, Peta, and Frank. Doran, you think we can go to Jack’s?” I didn’t want anyone to get sick, but now that we knew my blood would heal them I was betting we could get away with heading there. Doran nodded, his lips tight and I chose to ignore the look he gave Faris and me. “Rylee, don’t kill any of them if you can avoid it,” Doran called, stopping me. “Subdue them. There have been too many deaths. We need every possible supernatural alive.”

  “Seriously?”

  He nodded, and then looked at Faris.

  Not going there.

  I bolted for Pamela’s tent, dodging vehicles and cots, humans and bodies laid out on the ground. What a fucking mess this was. Her tent was just ahead when I was slammed to the ground, the scent of wet dog hitting me hard. I rolled and came up with my whip in my left hand, and a sword in my right. The werewolf’s eyes were tinged with yellow all the way around the gold iris. Jaundiced along with the pustules littering its body, the thing was out of its mind with the fever and pain. That much was obvious. I didn’t wait to ask what it wanted. A flick of my wrist and my whip sailed through the air, wrapping its neck. Snarling, it leapt at me, fangs and claws extended, ignoring the sizzle of its flesh under the silver threads woven through the leather whip.

  “Fuck!” I twisted hard, barely avoiding the snap of teeth. I yanked a sword from my back as I got my feet under me.

  Behind me, Faris fought off two other supernaturals. I didn’t see what they were, didn’t need to.

  Doran’s words rang clearly in my head. How the hell was I supposed to get through this without killing the werewolf?

  I spun my blade to hold the handle a little higher. What the hell was he thinking? What did it matter if any supernaturals were left if I were dead? Teeth sunk into my calf from behind, and I grunted as I went to one knee. Forget this. I swung my sword back and sliced into the body of a leopard. I managed to catch it just behind the ears, slicing the top of its head through on an angle.

  All around were shouts and screams. Humans were caught in the crossfire of this madness. The werewolf still stared at me, drooling and slathering as it growled. “Come on then, bitch,” I beckoned as I stood.

  The thing swayed, coughed, and fell flat on its face. Chest unmoving, there was nothing left for me to do. I limped past it and into Pamela’s tent, Faris keeping watch. The space was empty except for a note on the table. I picked it up, read it twice before I understood what I was seeing.

  Pamela’s running away. I’ll go with her and try to get her to come back.

  Frank

  I stuffed the note into my pocket, but I wasn’t fast enough. Something large hit the tent, taking it down in a billowing heap around me. I pulled my second sword and with the two of them, cut through the material to see a very pissed, very sick ogre. Not Mer, but the skin looked green. Maybe that was the sickness tinting it. Faris was at my back. “Even sick, they’re fast.”

  “No shit.” I put one sword away, in a show of good faith. “I really don’t want to kill you,” I said.

  The ogre coughed, and hefted a war axe covered in gore. “Then give me a bit of your blood, baby doll.”

  “I’ve only got so much, you realize that?”

  He shrugged. “Long as I don’t die, I don’t give a batty rat’s teeth.” He was blocking us from the hospital, and going around the long way would put us in the open.

  Time to go. Everyone else is here except you, Faris, and the kids. Get your ass up to the roof.

  “Kind of in a pickle here.” I set myself into a stance and slid to the left, hoping the ogre would follow. Faris grunted. “Let’s just kill him and be done with it.”

  “Can’t, Doran asked me not to.”

  The ogre grinned, blood and pus dripping from his mouth. “You won’t fight me?”

  This was not going as planned. I stepped to the left again, but the ogre held his ground. Fuck, he was going to make us go through him.

  So much for the humanitarian approach. Faris stepped around me. “Enough of this.”

  He leapt and the ogre caught him in mid-air. What happened next, I struggled to understand. The ogre’s arm broke, and he let out a high-pitched scream. Faris moved like a kid climbing a tree and was on the ogre’s neck in a flash.

  “No, you’ll get infected!” I yelled, but it was too late. Faris latched his teeth into the ogre and the big green dude went down.

  I ran forward and grabbed the back of Faris’s shirt, jerking him off the ogre. “Come on.”

  In my mind I could hear Deanna’s words. Six hours was a decent survival time of those supernaturals infected by the pox. And Faris had just drunk deeply of a seriously sick ogre. “You’re an idiot!” I snapped as we wove through the tents. The hospital reared up in front of us, the doors barred shut.

  “Of course,” I grunted, skidding to a stop at the doors. The hospital staff would want to protect those left alive. Faris yanked me to the right as something thudded into the wall where I’d been standing. I reached over and jerked the crossbow bolt out of the wall.

  Behind us a small phalanx of supernaturals were approaching, a tiny man leading them. He was holding a crossbow almost as big as he was and for just a moment I thought he was a brownie. And then I saw the shamrock tattooed on his cheek like a teardrop. Leprechaun.

  “Sun is coming up, Rylee, we have to get out of here.” Faris spoke, but I couldn’t take my eyes off the coming crowd. There was no rhyme or reason. The mob was every supernatural I’d ever faced. And they were all dying. I was their only hope, only not the way they thought. I couldn’t blame them. Not really.

  “I said it’s time to go, woman!” Faris grabbed me around the waist and threw me over his shoulder.

  “Put me down, damn it!”

  He leapt up the side of the building, using the windows ledges as if they were ladder rungs. I slipped down his back, hanging from his belt. He stopped and pulled me up so I could wrap my legs around his waist.

  “You want me to put you down now?” he asked when we were half way up the building.

  I snorted. “Smart ass.”

  Below, the mob hit the doors of the hospital like they were nothing, and the little asshole leprechaun fired another bolt at us. This time he hit his mark. Faris grunted as the bolt went into his right leg. Damn, he was taking the brunt of this fight. Was it so bad of me to take a bit of pleasure that Faris was finally getting his comeuppance? Probably, but I didn’t care at the moment.

  The last window ledge was ten feet below the roof, and he shifted me around so we were face to face. “I can feel the sickness coming on fast, Rylee.”

  “Already?”

  Son of a bitch, it really did move like lightning. He nodded, a slight sheen of sweat making his face catch the light. His eyes were dull, and his hold on me slipped. Oh, that was not good. I reached up and clung to the edge of the roof, taking most of my weight off him.


  “Berget, little help here,” I shouted. Faris clung to me, tucking his face against my neck, his lips parting against my skin. “Not yet, if you bite me here I’ll run you through!”

  “Rylee?”

  I looked up. Berget hung over the edge of the roof her hair floating down, making me think of Rapunzel. “Faris is sick, and I can’t lift his ass the rest of the way up.”

  Her body jerked away and then Doran was staring down at me.

  “Hurry,” Faris mumbled against my skin, his lips hot. Hot. Fuck, he was already running a temperature. A vampire with a fever . . . I never would have believed it if he hadn’t been heating up in my arms.

  He slumped farther and I couldn’t stop the squawk that escaped my mouth. We were tangled around each other, barely hanging on. “Doran, you either find a way to get us up or we’re both toast.”

  “I don’t have a problem with losing him,” Doran bit out, and then he was on the ledge with us. He took Faris and threw him with one hand up and onto the roof. Faris was limp, like a broken doll, and I just stared at the trajectory of his body. “Please don’t throw me like that.”

  Doran snorted and wrapped his arm around my waist. “I would never hurt you, Rylee. He will.” Those green eyes stared into mine and for a moment, I was frozen. Damn, so we were going to do this now, were we? So be it.

  “Do you remember when you Read me, and you said I would love another?”

  He frowned and I knew he thought I was going to say Faris had filled that spot. “So, you have found where you heart lies?”

  “Why would you tell me that, you knew it wasn’t going to be another man? You knew it was the child I carried, even then.”

  Doran shrugged, but his lips turned up and that sparkle I knew so well returned to his eyes. He tightened his grip on me and started to climb the last ten feet. “I didn’t know it was your child, but I knew it would be a child. I thought, maybe Milly’s. And perhaps I hoped that if you thought it was to be another man, you would look my way.”

  I put one hand on his cheek. “Doran, she is my center now. More so than even Liam ever was. But if”—I ran my finger over the side of his face and through his silky soft hair, letting the honesty flow through me—“if there was ever someone I would look to, it would be you.”