by L. A. Banks
Instantly the Vampires disappeared and took up a position outside the windows, staring up, waiting. Fire roared into the room and soldiers, airmen, base staff, and commanding officers moved at a frenetic pace outside, yelling at the Vampires to get out of the way while desperately trying to extinguish the supernatural blaze that was impervious to human efforts.
“We’ve gotta bail out, Doc,” Woods yelled over the din coughing, “or we’re gonna burn alive!”
Bradley pulled Winters and Clarissa from beneath the lab table and headed toward the windows. Smiling Vampires waited patiently, their toothy smirks a promise of cruelty.
“If you jump,” Fisher said, coughing, “I’ll cover you. I’ll try to scatter ’em so maybe you can get through that vamp front line to the guys on the base working the hoses.”
“Then what?” Doc yelled, shielding his face from the heat with his arm. “They’ll kill every man that tries to keep them away from us.”
“Fish, put the rifle down before a sniper thinks you’re their biggest problem!” Woods yelled, and then grabbed Clarissa’s hand to pull her closer to the fresh air.
The trapped team looked up as the fire roared across the tiled ceiling.
“We’ve gotta go, now!” Woods said, pulling Clarissa by the waist as she doubled over, gagging from the billowing smoke.
Woods hoisted Clarissa over the window’s edge with Bradley as Fisher helped Winters hang and then prepare to drop. Vampires leered up, making gestures with their hands to let Clarissa and Winters go. Several brave servicemen ran over, only to get murdered outright for their trouble. Base personnel stopped dead in their tracks for a moment. Colonel Madison leveled a revolver at the Vampire line.
“PCU! Those are supernatural hostiles! Cover those civilians with silver shells now!”
Several Vampires turned back toward the direction of Colonel Madison as Clarissa fell to the ground with Winters. Bradley bailed over the edge of the window to try to put his body between hers and certain danger as Doc came down with a thud right behind him.
Vampires rushed in, but a black blur leaped out of the shadows, savaging the Vampires that moved toward members of the team. Doc flung out a burning spray of holy water as Bradley blinded a Vamp with a fistful of hallowed earth.
“Do not shoot that wolf!” Colonel Madison yelled. “Those two men in the building are mine!”
Fisher picked up his M16 and went over the wall with Woods, shooting at airborne Vamps. The two soldiers hit the ground, and watched in horror as Vampires turned on Colonel Madison’s men. The team was trapped against the wall of the burning building; Madison and his men wouldn’t be able to hold off the onslaught for long. Then suddenly the moon went dark.
“Hold your fire!” Bradley called out.
Vampires scattered as white lightning bolts exploded asphalt behind them. The team flattened their bodies to the ground. Military personnel took cover, watching in awe and not sure what to fire on as huge Dragons dive-bombed out of the sky. It was as though a supernatural cavalry had arrived with what seemed like knights in medieval armor riding them and casting white light charges from the tips of strange blades.
M16s, rocket-propelled grenade launchers, Humvees, and tanks sat poised, still, while servicemen looked up and gaped. A huge fire-breathing Dragon touched down in front of the civilian team, pawing the earth and snorting, daring a Vampire to come near its protected charges.
Then just as quickly a funnel cloud opened in the center of the base yard, spewing up concrete, gravel, and asphalt with what seemed like a thousand gargoyles. Two more wolves leaped out of the shadows, one massive black beast and a slightly smaller one of exquisite silver.
“Trudeau, Hunter, over here!” Woods cried out.
The Dragon guard looked up, snorted fire, and then scorched several gargoyles as it lunged into the air. Sasha and Hunter immediately went on the offensive, attacking a downed gargoyle that was still alive before it could rejoin its funnel cloud. They gave the team a glance. Crow Shadow exited a shadow and joined them, and then the three wolves fanned out to take a protective stance in front of their family members.
Above their heads the skies were filled with an aerial dogfight that left the humans on the ground gaping. Gargoyles dive-bombed Dragon riders, attacking each Dragon ten at a time, grasping onto the massive beasts’ backs, legs, and tails in an attempt to scurry up close enough to kill the Fae riders. But the Dragons scorched the incoming danger as though burning locust swarms while swatting away some with slices from their deadly tails.
Standing, and held to the Dragon by the sheer force of magick, gallant Fae riders hacked at interloping gargoyles that tormented the Foe’s mounts with demon teeth and vicious claw slashes. Soon the military ground forces were able to make out sides and, with Colonel Madison’s commands, sent mortar fire into clouds of gargoyles to help the dragons even the score.
But not to be outdone, the Vampires made another run at the human soldiers on the ground to stop their assists. Torn, Hunter peeled off with Woods, leaving Fisher, Sasha, and Crow Shadow to protect the team. A Vampire blur that was headed toward Madison was knocked out of the air. Both Hunter and the Vampire hit the ground with a thud. Madison’s men leveled weapons, but Madison shouted, “Wait!” Hunter stood up with the Vampire’s esophagus in his jaws and then leaped into a base shadow to return to Sasha’s side.
Dragons roared as gargoyles screeched a retreat and headed toward the wide cavern in the middle of the base yard. Sasha looked at Hunter, and as the last gargoyle tried to dive into the pit they both jumped at it in unison, tackling the screeching, fighting-mad creature to the ground. Dragons landed. Several Fae riders dismounted and ran over to the captured demon.
“Let it go and we’ll fry this bastard back to livin’ hell,” a Fae air commander said, pointing his sword toward it as his men shouted a collective, “Aye!”
Hunter transformed, using all the strength within him to hold the creature down and then getting help from Crow Shadow. “No,” Hunter panted. “Sir Rodney wants to send one back to Transylvania with a message tagged on it.”
Colonel Madison came over with his men, gingerly passing snapping dragons. “What the fuck.. ”
“Aye,” the Fae commander said, and then spit. “Oh, we’ll tag the little bastard all right. Anybody need a lift back to the sidhe?”
CHAPTER 18
Total fatigue liquefied Sasha’s bones. Every battle injury she’d sustained in the last twenty-four hours cried out as her body slid down into bubbles on the opposite end of the huge claw-foot tub that she and Hunter shared. Sure, Silver Hawk had sealed up gargoyle gashes, fractures, cuts, bruises, and scrapes. But her muscles and newly healed and extremely tender soft tissue whined for regenerative sleep.
She could tell Hunter felt it, too, because the poor man just laid his head back with a wince and remained very, very still in the hot herbal water.
“You okay?” she finally asked.
“Yeah,” Hunter croaked, and then took in a deep breath through his nose.
“Some ride, huh?”
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
“I’m still a little queasy.. I wouldn’t care if I never saw another dragon again.”
“Nausea is not my issue,” Hunter said with another labored breath. “The knights have special leather-reinforced gear designed for their profession. We don’t.”
Sasha lifted her head and stared at Hunter slack jawed. “Oh, baby. did you tell Silver Hawk?”
“I didn’t have to.”
“Did it help?”
“I suppose he healed any nerve damage or internal injuries, but it’s all soft tissue down there. Need I say more?”
Sasha squinted and then sat up carefully, allowing the hot water to swish around her back. “Aw. man. I promise to kiss your boo-boo and make it feel better later.”
“Yeah,” Hunter said on a heavy exhale. “But right now, just let me quietly die a thousand deaths in the tub, alone, for a while, ok
ay.”
“ ’K’.” Sasha slipped out of the water and then walked around to his end of the tub and placed a gentle kiss on his forehead. “I am so sorry that happened to you.”
He kept his eyes closed and nodded. “I love you, too.” But then he captured her arm as she moved away from him. “Are you sure you’re all right?” He stared up at her and searched her face for the truth.
“Yeah, I’m okay.”
He pulled her close to him and nuzzled her belly. “Promise me you’ll tell me if you don’t feel well.”
“Yeah, sure,” she said, and frowned and then bent to kiss the crown of his head. “I’m fine. I’m more worried about you, truth be told.”
“The worst of it is over.. Dry off and get in bed. I’ll join you in a bit.”
“All right,” she whispered, and brushed his mouth with a soft kiss.
Sasha grabbed a large, fluffy white terry cloth towel and slipped to the other side of the privacy screen. As usual, Fae hospitality knew no bounds. The bath was infused with Fae herbal healing, and just soaking in the water made her feel like she’d taken a sleeping pill. She pressed her face into the fragrant towel and was almost lulled to sleep by its warmth while still standing up.
Across the room a gleaming oval table was set in the far corner with two dome-covered silver serving trays. All she or Hunter had to do was speak the requested menu item of their wildest dreams and then lift the dome—Fae room service had no competitors in the human world. Same deal with the cleaning service. All she and Hunter had to do was drop their soiled clothes in the hamper provided and freshly laundered clothes would be there in the morning. That is, if one wanted their old clothes back, because the handcrafted armoires and bureau drawers offered the finest array of choices made out of the best cottons, linens, silks, and leathers one could ever hope for. Muddy boots went outside the door, and sometime in the bewitching hour of the night fresh-polished shoes would return, courtesy of the castle Elves.
The suite that Rupert now dubbed “their castle suite” was furnished with royalty in mind. Exquisite chaise lounges tastefully dotted the room, along with overstuffed Queen Anne chairs, a thick hooked rug, and pretty silk-covered settees near the fire. A four-posted rice bed sat alone with polished step stools beside it, the bed loaded with insanely soft pillows, a hand-embroidered goose down duvet, and sheets so soft that they felt like they were petting her.
The warm earth and moss tones of the forest that surrounded her calmed her weary mind while the call of the soft bed drew her across the room as though she were in a trance. All of her good intentions to wait up for Hunter and to check on him slowly evaporated as her body sank into the pre-heated warmth of the bed. Her thoughts drifted lazily between semi-conscious awareness and her knowing that her family was safe. Even Crow Shadow’s new wife and Bear Shadow were collected by the Fae and brought in by Dragon escort. Just for a few hours, everyone and everything was all right. Sasha smiled as she drifted off to sleep stroking the place on her belly where Hunter had left a kiss.
The old crone screeched and held the Fae missive aloft. “Book! Fetch thee here and take a memo!” She waited until the dusty black tome hovered in the air before her and opened itself to a blank page, its mate pen poised just inches above the ancient living parchment. “There has been mischief and malfeasance afoot!” she exclaimed. “Involving all of the usual suspects. Enter this Fae missive into the official record.”
Elder Kozlov snarled as his henchmen held down the screeching gargoyle and skinned it alive for his council.
“They have tortured a creature of this council, burning a declaration of war into its very body,” a red-eyed Vampire hissed, extending the bloody skin out for Elder Kozlov to inspect.
“It appears the Fae wanted to get your attention, Your Eminence,” one of the Council Elders said in a low, lethal tone. “They certainly have mine. This is highly unusual, even for the Fae.”
Elder Kozlov flung the dripping, scaly gargoyle skin on the table and then summarily sent a black bolt toward the squealing creature to silence it. “If these charges are true. then, gentlemen, we have a very disturbing problem in New Orleans.”
“Where is Caleb?” Elder Vlad bellowed, snatching the closest mercenary to him with a fistful of his leather coat.
“He did not come back with us, Your Grace. He said that he would search for the girl into the very dawn.”
“Which is only one hour from now!” Elder Vlad flung the mercenary against the stone wall, causing the others around him to carefully back away.
“The Fae have brought in Scot Dragon riders,” the crumpled soldier said.
“And Brits, and Welsh, some Irish, it seems,” another amended.
“Then if we cannot find the Chen girl, take all of New Orleans’ human population hostage, if that will bring her to me!”
“Yes, Your Grace,” the fallen Vampire said as he slowly stood.
Elder Vlad smoothed a palm over his bald scalp. “Leave me!”
He waited until the room was cleared and then walked over to the large fireplace mantle near his throne and closed his eyes. In his mind he could see Elder Kozlov deep within the subterranean lair in Transylvania that never knew sunlight. Elder Kozlov looked up from his council throne and made a tent with his spindly fingers before his mouth, his expression unreadable.
They have beset us with Dragon riders from Scotland to England and all small provinces in between, Your Eminence, and have decimated your gargoyle reinforcements. We may need more support.
Elder Kozlov closed his eyes. Request denied. on the grounds of possible treason. The ancient Vampire took a shuddering breath. Explain to me about the Erinyes, Vlad.
Caleb stumbled through the brambles, sloshing through the marshy bayou bog. Tears stung his eyes as he dropped to his knees and called out into the night, “Crone! Sanctuary, old woman!”
Slowly the UCE council building lifted out of the swamp and Caleb glanced at the dawning sky.
“Sanctuary for a testimony, I beg you!”
The doors opened and the old crone took her time to walk down the long, flat marble steps.
“What do you know of this unfinished business with the Erinyes?”
“Enough to have me tortured for a hundred years under Vlad Tempesh,” Caleb said, swallowing hard.
“It will be daylight in less than an hour.”
“Rather to burn and end it all than to be locked in a tomb, starving to death, going insane for a century,” Caleb said quietly.
“They will surely kill you for your blood oath in the book.”
Caleb shook his head sadly. “No, they won’t. Death is a release, and my kind is so much more creative than that.”
“Erinyes, hear me!” Megaera shouted to the numberless throngs of demons that perched on the hot crags and cliff ledges. She sent her withering gaze into the darkness, breathing in the sulfuric fumes that issued up from the bubbling lava pits. “We have bargained well and victory is at hand!”
A collective screeching cheer went up as Erinyes bumped and resettled themselves amongst the rocky inferno.
“Soon, we shall have the bodies we need to travel freely. The Dark Lord wants our legions to roam the earth, unencumbered by the demon incarceration rules set down eons ago to contain us in servitude!”
Again jubilant chaos broke out amongst the Erinyes, and Megaera turned away from the raucous crowd to tend to her fallen sister.
“Our plan worked beautifully, did it not?” Alecto stroked their injured sister’s serpent-twisted hair and then gazed at Megaera.
Megaera nodded and hissed. “The Dark Lord feeds on all compromised human souls himself, as was struck in the great bargain at the dawn of time. But he has graciously given us any wills that we might claim from the supernatural world. That is a bargain indeed. We have found our carriers.”
“Truly,” Alecto croaked, and came nearer to the rocky ledge where their fallen sister, Tisiphone, lay. “I wish it could be the Vampires, though. Such p
ower. ”
“The Vampires are of no use to us, as their souls are already given over to our Master the moment they take a human life to feed.”
“And their bodies go to ash and embers when killed in battle,” Alecto said with a cackling laugh. “Ah, but the Fae. ”
“Yes, the Fae are another matter entirely. Mother Nature holds their souls in her orbs of light—”
“Unless they strike a poor deal and bargain it away from her, like Kiagehul did.”
Megaera nodded. “Yes. like Kiagehul.”
“And of the wolves?”
Megaera shook her head. “Too close to human, they are not immortals but simply have longevity. Unless one turns to us, like Lady Jung Suk did, the battle for their souls falls into the realm of the great bargain. The Light and the Darkness must fight to sway it and claim it.”
“But she came to us.. We cannot be blamed for her barter.”
“Calm yourself, Alecto,” Megaera crooned. “She was already dark when she came to us. The Dark Lord already had her in his records, so that upon her death he owned her. But she was wise and struck an accord for self-preservation to extend her life, even if her body was destroyed. She seduced Kiagehul and got him to call upon us to strike such a deal. and got him to implicate a foolish Vampire.”
Alecto released a screeching laugh. “Fools. Now the Unseelie and the Vampires owe us, because they never delivered the Chen girl as a sacrifice.”
Megaera smiled and wagged her gnarled talon at Alecto. “What the Vampires remain ignorant of is, the debt can easily be settled by the Vampires giving us any young virgin for Lady Jung Suk to occupy, although why she would want a virgin is beyond my comprehension.”
“Or the ice queen could end it all by doing so. true?”
“Ah, but, Alecto. our ice queen has found a warm heart within her frozen chest, and her summer king will never allow the butchering of an innocent human girl. Thus, as long as the Vampires remain ignorant, they will not fulfill the sacrifice. Kiagehul was very shrewd not to tell Baron Montague of his conjurings. just as Lady Jung Suk did well to leave a back door open for herself in case she was betrayed by the Unseelie or the Vampire. However, we must now act quickly to put pressure on the parties to go to war, lest the Vampires learn that all we need is a sacrifice to replace Amy Chen.”
