by A and E Kirk
Not everyone in the supernatural community cared for the queen’s public “hiding in plain sight” machinations, but few could argue with her results and the vast profits and goodwill she proliferated in the mostly legitimate global endeavor. Any who did argue were quickly squelched. Or they disappeared. She had brokered herself a most powerful position.
It took several more minutes of driving before any signs of civilization could be seen. The first section they came to housed the Institute’s labs and administration offices. The queen had everything built to the most modern standards, using sleek contemporary architecture full of sharp angles and endless planes of concrete, stainless steel, and glass. Lights illuminated the buildings and grounds. Individuals worked in offices. The loading docks bustled with activity. The Institute remained highly active around-the-clock.
“No rest for the wicked,” Kiara whispered, then kissed the werewolf puppy’s forehead. “But don’t worry. I won’t let any wicked touch you.”
Leontes gave Kiara a sideways glance as he drove on and headed for a second secluded section, which housed the residents’ living quarters. He passed many of the same modern buildings until he arrived at Kiara’s home.
Set off by itself and closer to the water, the structure resembled a beautiful French chateau, complete with the five-story tower with her room at the top and the best view of the endless ocean.
The building was reminiscent of the places of her old life. After a suggestion from Dr. Lyons that familiar surroundings would make Kiara feel more comfortable and help induce memories naturally, the queen had ordered it built to detailed specifications. She had spent a lot of money, even imported actual stone and marble and authentic furnishings from Europe. Kiara did not think her majesty was happy with the return on her investment so far.
“Almost home,” Kiara told the baby. “You’ll love it at Nightmare Mansion.”
“Kiara, you know the queen prefers you not call it by that moniker.”
“Why not? This place is full of everything nightmares are made of. Ghouls, ghosts, zombies, and vampires, of course. Plus the lunatic girl in the tower!”
“Kiara,” he said tiredly.
“It’s okay.” She smiled, feeling better. “I had a memory tonight, which means I’m improving. I can’t wait to tell Dr. Lyons!”
“Fine. But remember, I will do all the talking tonight.” He pulled into the massive underground garage, driving past the many expensive cars in his collection. “With any luck I can get you inside unseen, and you can remain in your room while I deal with this.” He turned into his assigned parking place.
Two figures loomed in the glare of the headlights.
Kiara made a face. “Busted. Again.”
CHAPTER 17
Big bad Bane, arms folded and looking all kinds of irritated, stood waiting. Beside him stood the real powerhouse. Queen Rusila, not as big as Bane, but a whole lot badder. A Viking rumored to be nearly a thousand years old, she could claim over half a millennium of dominance through deceit, cunning, intimidation, torture, violence and good old-fashioned murder.
Technically, she was but one in a league of vampire masters, each of which held court over their own lands in various parts of the world. However, with her controlling the largest territory, both North and South America and then some—plus her global reach with the Institute and her age, intelligence, and notorious ruthless nature—Rusila ruled, at least unofficially, as head of all the masters.
Neither the shifters nor the sorcerers could claim the intense level of global organization Rusila had created. And the fey pretty much kept to themselves in the fairy realm.
The queen stood with imperious disapproval, tall and voluptuous in a shimmering deep crimson ball gown, the same color as the ring on her finger. Her favorite piece of jewelry worn on the most special occasions. The center stone glittered bright, a large and very rare pigeon’s blood ruby.
There was a cruel beauty to her pointed features. Flaxen hair, cut in a short, stylish bob, matched her fair skin but contrasted with her heartless black eyes. Her signature shade of clichéd, blood-red lipstick brought prominence to otherwise thin lips. As her jaw clenched repeatedly, the perfectly round mole above the left corner of her mouth twitched.
Leontes cringed. “I do not suppose you had a brilliant plan to get yourself out of this mess.”
“When I caught Oleander, all would be forgiven.”
“So…no.” Leontes cut the engine and dropped his weary head against the steering wheel.
Rusila’s voice trembled with barely controlled rage. “Leontes, Kiara, get out of the car. Now!”
Leontes put a hand on Kiara’s arm. “No, you stay in the car with the child.” Then he threw open the door and stood, offering a slight bow to Rusila. “Before you say anything, let me explain.”
“What did you do?” Rusila demanded, then did a double take. “Why are you not wearing a shirt?” She glanced worriedly at Kiara and saw her tattered face. “She’s bleeding? How injured?”
“She is fine, I assure you,” Leontes said.
“Let us hope so,” Rusila fumed. “What havoc have you wrought? How dare you not answer your phone. As we speak, the werewolves and all of their shifters gather for an attack upon us. They claim Kiara murdered all the guards in their safe house and stole their infant.”
Bane sneered. “We told them we had no idea what they were talking about because nobody, brain damaged or not, would steal their mini-mutt.”
“No, no, no!” Kiara hopped out of the car and held up the baby. “I didn’t steal her. I saved her!”
Rusila visibly flinched and fluttered a hand to her chest.
“Oh, just perfect,” Bane muttered.
Leontes jabbed a finger at him. “You are the fool who let her escape!”
“It was your lousy security that let her get out of her room in the first place!” Bane shot back. “So much for protecting her, you useless prick!”
“If you had shown even a minuscule level of competence and caught the intruder, she would never have left to go after him!”
“There was no intruder!” Bane shouted. “She’s hallucinating again, or did she fail to mention that? Maybe she doesn’t trust you as much as you think she does!”
“Shut up! Both of you,” Rusila ordered, working to regain her composure. “This is a nightmare.”
“What did I tell you,” Kiara muttered under her breath. “Nightmare Mansion.”
“Not now,” Leontes said through clenched teeth.
“Fine,” Kiara said. “Look, dear queen, I didn’t kill anyone. It was Oleander. Who is a multi-shifter, by the way. Nobody knew that, did they? One night out, and I’ve already got more intel than all of you put together. No offense, Leontes, I know you’ve been working hard, but seriously, Queeny, seems clear that you should send me out to investigate more often.”
Rusila blinked. “Does she actually believe this nonsense?”
Bane lifted his massive shoulders. “I told you she was getting worse. If you’d just let me handle things.”
“Of course, Bane,” Leontes ground out. “Because you handled her so well tonight, be my guest. She is all yours!”
“Really?” Kiara said, wide-eyed.
Leontes shot Kiara a quelling look. “Quiet! What about me doing all the talking did you not comprehend?” He turned to the queen. “She is not getting worse. I can vouch for the validity of the shifter.”
Rusila frowned. “Multi-shifter? As in—”
“Can shift between more than two forms. You got it.” Kiara nodded. “I kept him from the baby, and then Mr. Snowball—”
“Who is Mr. Snowball?” Rusila demanded.
“The werewolf I fought for the baby.”
Rusila’s fingers pinched the bridge of her thin nose. “This is why we have rules, Kiara. You cannot leave the mansion. Now, get back in the car, get to the shifters’ headquarters, and fix this mess!”
“Awesome!” Kiara squealed with excitement and nuz
zled the baby’s nose with her own.
Leontes choked. “Are you insane? You just said she cannot leave, and now you are sending her on a suicide mission?”
Rusila’s eyes snapped black fury. “They are calling for all our heads, especially hers. We have already lost three masters. The werewolves could see weakness in our ranks, a chance to take their shot at becoming top dog.” When Bane started to smile at the pun, she shot him a glare that shut it down. “We cannot afford to give them any excuse. If we send an army, we provoke them, but if we send Kiara, it is a show of good faith and a clear message that this was all a very unfortunate misunderstanding.” She smoothed her hands over her dress. “Now, give the child to me and be on your way at once.”
Kiara stepped back and hugged the baby tightly. “Shouldn’t we bring her with us?”
Most considered the ancient queen the type to set you on fire just so she could roast marshmallows. Motherly? Not in the slightest.
Kiara’s eyes narrowed. “We are giving her back, right?”
“That mutt is our only leverage,” Bane scowled. “It stays with us until we can calm down Alpha and his merry band of shapeshifting freaks.”
“I’m a shapeshifting freak,” Kiara said.
“No,” Leontes said quickly, shooting Kiara a fierce look. “Not anymore. You lost so many abilities since you remerged. Rusila, I beg of you. Reconsider. I will make this right. You know it is too dangerous for her to go.”
“What I know is that your silver tongue can get Alpha to see reason. You will convince him to trust you and work with us as allies. While we retain possession of the baby, you both should be safe.”
“Should be?” Leontes battled to contain his fury. “The entire pack will be there gearing up for battle. And it is only days away from a full moon! Even the oldest will be on edge, but the youngest will be rabid, out of control.”
“Then you had better take control. Quickly.” Rusila snatched the werewolf baby from Kiara and struggled to hold the infant as she began to squirm and cry. “Leave now, before the shifters call the sorcerers for backup. Or worse, the fey. That is an order.” She unwrapped Leontes’ shirt from around the baby and tossed it to him, then shoved the wriggling child at Bane.
He recoiled. “I don’t want the thing.”
“Take it to Dr. Frankenstein,” Rusila said.
Bane reluctantly took the baby, holding her at arm’s length as he walked away. “If it pees on me, I swear—”
“The lab, now,” Rusila snapped. “And keep it safe. Your life depends upon it.”
At hearing the reassuring news that Frankie would care for the infant, Kiara slipped into the car and patted the driver’s seat. “Come on, Leontes. We’re going on a street trip.”
Leontes ducked his head in. “It is a road trip and you are not going. Get out.”
“You can’t defy the queen.”
“I can to keep you safe.”
“I’ll be fine.” Kiara crawled over the stick-shift and into the driver’s seat. She revved the engine and flashed fiery green eyes. “We can’t have the baby eaten—or worse, raised in this nightmare of a coven. Let’s get her back to her family.”
Rusila gasped in mock outrage. “My mothering skills are legendary. Ask Leontes.”
Leontes sliced a lethal look at Rusila. After yanking on his shirt, not bothering to button it, he slipped his arms underneath Kiara, dumped her unceremoniously into the passenger seat, and slid behind the wheel.
“So we are committing suicide together this time,” he said with a snarl, then slammed the car into gear and squealed out. “Smashing bloody night.”
CHAPTER 18
They drove for hours, racing through mountain switchbacks at exhilarating speeds, and reached the werewolves’ lair amid frigid altitudes in the moonlit forest.
Kiara shivered as they stood in front of the entrance to the shifter’s estate. Gravestone-colored mist crawled through the trees, air so dense it left her skin damp. She inhaled the heavy scent of pine, oak, and earth.
And wet dog.
She lifted her chin and howled, joining the frenzy of wolves echoing from somewhere within the twenty-foot-high stone wall surrounding the estate. It earned her another scowl from Leontes.
“Kiara, for the last time, we are in enough danger without you riling them up further. Get back in the car before someone sees you.”
“I already took out the cameras.” She nodded to the surveillance monitors high on the walls. They hung from a twisted mess of shredded wires. “They’re blind. And you don’t want me hiding in your trunk. I’m way too dirty.”
“Kiara, we are on perilous ground as it is and I need you focused. The nearness of the full moon can…undo you. Even when you are at your best.”
She gripped the iron scrollwork and pressed her face against the icy metal of the massive gates. She searched for the wolves. A pack she could join. Each howl erupted goosebumps on her skin. Even Leontes could sense their hunger, their craving for release, to give in to their primal needs.
“You cannot shift,” he warned.
Kiara reached out and pressed the buzzer, avoiding his eyes.
Leontes stood behind her and put a hand on her shoulder. “You will be in even more danger if they have any indication that you can do so. They already fear our race’s immortality. An immortal that shares their power will terrify them. And everyone else.”
She jabbed the button again. “Is that why you keep the extent of my abilities from the queen?”
“Yes. Until you are stronger, the less of a threat she believes you to be, the better. If they cannot control power, they will destroy it. Destroy you. Do you understand?”
Kiara’s hand shot out to hold down the buzzer on the gate keypad, letting the annoying buzz drone.
“Stop pressing buttons.” Leontes swatted her hand away, but she evaded and kept pushing it in bursts and fits of giggles.
When he snatched her wrist and held it against her side, she closed her eyes and leaned against him. She had already enjoyed one hug tonight and would love another, but Leontes was not one for physical affection. She envied how Sir Edward had touched Daf-knuckle so naturally. Kiara wiggled closer against the vampire.
Leontes tensed, then stepped away and jammed his finger on the buzzer.
Kiara’s brow furrowed. “I thought you said to stop pushing it.”
“We cannot wait here all night,” he snapped.
A voice grumbled from the speakers, “What!”
“Ambassador Rittenhause requesting an emergency assembly with Alpha.”
“Leo!” the speaker squawked. “What the hell are you doing here?”
Kiara said, “Requesting an emergency assembly. Duh. Are you deaf or just stup—?”
Leontes slapped a hand over her mouth.
“Who’s that? Did you take out our cameras?”
“I have one associate accompanying me. I feared you might kill us on sight.”
“Safe bet, given that we’re getting ready to annihilate the bloodsucking undead. Call the home coffin and check.” The voice chuckled at his joke. “Your kind declared war. You need to run and hide.”
“I have come to explain the misunderstanding to Alpha.”
“No way he okays inviting in a leech. If I tell him you’re here, they’ll just kill you out there in the open. So am-scray, my undead, dead man walking.”
“I do not need Alpha’s approval. Your invitation would be sufficient. Getting your leader to listen would be my burden.”
Through the speaker came a harsh laugh. “You want me to betray my pack?”
“I would suggest it is a means of saving your pack from death against an immortal army.”
Silence.
“Even if I let you in, there’s a compound full of soldiers, patrols in the woods. You’ll be torn apart before you even get close to Alpha.”
Now it was Leontes’ turn to laugh. “That is assuming you are the only friend I have on the inside.”
“All right, your funeral, pal. Leontes Rittenhause is invited in.”
The gates swung open.
“Woo-hoo!” Kiara jumped on the car and slid on her hip across the hood. “I’ll ride shotgun. Is there one in the trunk? ”
“Get in,” Leontes ordered.
“I’ll take that as a no.”
“What’s the name of your associate? I’ll invite them in, too.”
“They are not hindered by such limitations.” Leontes slammed his door shut.
“Not hindered by…Who the hell are you with?”
“Gratitude for your assistance.” Leontes gunned the engine.
“Dammit, Leo, don’t pull this crap! Who’s with you?!”
The gates began to close. Leontes floored it. The tires squealed, churning smoke into the night. He turned off the lights, relying on his superior vision to navigate the road through the dark forest.
Kiara grinned and squirmed in her seat. “I’ve never seen you out in the field! Or even break a rule! It’s kinda cool. How many friends do you have on the inside that will help us?”
“None.”
“Uh, none that would help or none, as in you were bluffing and we’re on our own?”
Leontes did not answer.
Kiara shrugged and turned to the window. She let her breath fog the glass, then used her index finger to draw a crude cat into the mist and meowed in between giggles. Leontes sighed.
Streetlamps along the road barely broke through the gloom, shadows darted on either side. Kiara scanned the surrounding landscape. As they drove along, the wolves became bolder, no longer shadowy silhouettes, but large, furry figures trotting alongside or dashing in and out of the misty forest. More than once Leontes was forced to slam on the breaks.
“They’re amazing,” Kiara breathed as a pack crossed through their headlights.
The werewolves’ enclave contrasted drastically with the Institute. Acres of dense forest dotted with huge timber lodges and smaller cabins. She found the shifters’ den cozy, despite the howling.
