Black Moon Rising (DarkLife Saga)

by Ronnie Massey

  I looked up and saw the interloper, Carrie staring back at me with longing. Her lips were moving, but I couldn’t hear a word that she was saying. Shit. I was back inside Irulan’s head. OKAY. How do I fix this? I focused on Carrie’s lips. At least I could read them.

  “I knew my father was of noble blood, but I never knew he was the grandson of a Metal Mage. When Kent locked me in that cage, I thought I was going to die. I spent six days in that iron prison with my skin burning- the life being sucked out of me. Just when I thought I was going to die, the blackened skin began to flake away. Underneath I was something different.” She ran a hand down the side of her face and smiled.

  “Your uncle didn’t kill me; he gave me a new life. I escaped a week later and hid in the BadLands. I was going to come back for you, but first I had to learn how to control my new magic.” She took that same hand and cupped Irulan’s chin. I felt her lean in to the touch and snarled. She had no right. “When I was ready to come for you, I heard word that you had left the FaeLands…that you had abandoned me.”

  My heart-Ire’s heart lurched in her chest. “I didn’t know,” Ire said. “If I had known, I would have moved heaven and hell to find you.”

  Carrie caught Irulan’s face between both hands and leaned forward with a sneer. “I don't believe you. I felt you, always knew that somewhere in the realms, you were alive. If you truly loved me that way that you said, you should have felt me.”

  “Carrie you don't,” Ire started but Carrie shook her head, cutting her off.

  “I don't want to hear your half-truths and empty words. You promised to love me forever. You broke that vow and now you are forsworn. I claim your life, Irulan Delphine Nightingale.”

  Like hell. “God Damn it, Irulan! Shake the fuck out of it!” I yelled inside her head. “You’ve got to do something or we’re both dead!”

  Irulan flinched. “Val?” She turned. Together we watched the Harbinger drop my limp body to the floor. “NO!” Ire screamed. She shoved Carrie away from her and pressed a hand to her chest. “She’s dead,” Irulan whispered.

  “No, I’m right here, inside your head.” I called out. Irulan never acknowledged my presence.

  I watched the room spin by as she turned toward Carrie. “You helped do this,” she said. Her voice sounded hollow and far away. Irulan cut her eyes toward Fazion and directed her thoughts. “Shift forms,” she instructed inside his mind.

  “No need to look to your kin. You can't fight this,” Carrie said as her glamour faded, revealing the molten form underneath. “You tried to use this place as an iron prison so it shall become the instrument of your death.”

  Irulan cut her eyes toward a wall. The smooth wall looked like it was sweating. Portions of the thick walls were melting. Rather than argue or panic, Irulan directed the same order at Fazion. This time he listened. His skin began to stretch and glisten with iridescent scales. Bones popped with transformation as his body took on mass at an alarming rate. The Banshee grunted and moved past Ire to stand beside Carrie.

  “Your dragon will not suit you in this small space, Tuatha. Stand down and accept the female’s fate, lest you share it with her.” Her expression oozed confidence, but the tremble in her voice gave her away. She was wary of Irulan and Fazion. What they were capable of. They should be.

  “This is a fruitless endeavor, Fazion,” Carrie said. Her voice had the same tremor that the Banshee’s did.

  Fazion continued changing, doing as Irulan asked. Ire moved away from the terrible twosome until her back was against her cousin.

  “You should have stayed in the FaeLands, Carrie. Run while you still can.” It was the only warning that Irulan gave her. The Vault began to tremble beneath our feet as Irulan called on the lingering magic within. What the hell was she planning? The Banshee threw out her hands to steady herself. Carrie frowned and lifted an arm into the air.

  Thick rivets began to spin as they were forced out of the walls. Soon the air was filled with the small spikes. They came from everywhere, flying like tiny missiles. Irulan swiped an arm through the air, and the projectiles changed course, falling to the ground before they could reach us.

  If Carrie were surprised she didn’t show it. The Banshee, on the other hand, looked like she had just swallowed a cow. “Oh, she didn’t tell you,” Irulan laughed. “Carrie isn’t the only Metal Mage. I might not be able to melt the stuff, but I can make up for it in other departments.”

  Carrie screamed, and melted cords of metal began to twist and writhe as if they were alive. Not to be outdone, the Banshee’s mouth slip open and she began to wail. Irulan and Fazion’s response was so automatic it made the whole scene looked rehearsed. Ire threw both of her hands behind her head, ripping part of the floor free, while Fazion pulled back his massive lips and blew a stream of fire toward the women.

  The thick sheet of metal curled in front of us, blocking the attacking cords, while Fazion’s fire distracted them both. The wail changed pitch, shifting from offensive to defensive. None of us could see either woman past the piece of flooring, but Carrie’s growl was clear as a bell. The sound of metal shearing came from behind. Ire turned and saw another part of the floor rising toward us.

  She threw out a hand and pushed it back into place. Carrie snarled, and sections of the walls began to peel away as if they were made of paper instead of solid iron. Irulan dropped to her knees and pressed her palms to the floor. I felt the wave of power wash over me as she tried to force the metal to bend to her will. I have no doubts that if she were at full strength she could have done so, but as it stood now, Ire was lucky to be having any effect at all.

  Around us, sheets of metal were ripping themselves free from their mooring. The metal screeched and swayed back and forth as it tried to come together, Carrie pushing and Irulan shoving back. Fazion clamped his mouth closed, shutting down his fire and began to shrink. Flames weren't going to keep us from getting crushed.

  Once he was in his natural form, he threw out his hands and formed a shield around us. “I’ll help push as much as I can, but I’m sorely in need of a recharge,” he called out.

  Ire nodded and cast a quick look at my body. “I’m not going to hold out much longer, and I’m running out of ideas. I don't know if we’re going to make it out of this.”

  Fazion looked worried, but his nonchalant laugh didn’t show it. He looked down at Ire and smiled. “This is nothing, Irulan. We got ourselves out of tougher scrapes as younglings.”

  I highly doubt it, but he was trying. The iron cocoon screeched and moved another inch closer. Damn this. I had to help and that meant getting back inside of my own body. I didn’t have time to fumble my way through trying to figure out how to accomplish the feat, and Ire was not in a position to help me. The best I could do was cross my proverbial fingers, throw my awareness toward my body, and hope for the best.

  Chapter 21

  I opened my eyes with a gasp and reached up to feel my face…dried blood everywhere thanks to almost getting my brain fried-check. My hands and arms worked. That was definitely a plus. I was back. Now what to do about getting us out of the current mess that we were in? I was fresh out of Fae juice. I needed to feed so-wait a sec. That's it. I had been relying so heavily on my other abilities that I’d forgotten one of my best weapons. Me. Valeria Trumaine, not the long lost granddaughter of a Fae king, but a member of the Fourth Great Vampire House.

  "Fazion, drop your shield,” I said inside his mind. If he was surprised at my awakening, he didn’t show it. He looked back at me, smirked, and lowered his arm. The metal screeched, and the sections got closer. Irulan grunted and pushed harder. The small bit of ground that it gained was taken away.

  I flashed to my feet and slipped through the crack before there was no opening left. Carrie was standing on the opposite side of the barrier. A thin sheen of sweat covered her face as she concentrated on delivering us to an early demise. Sorry chick. I wasn’t up for getting squished today.

  I moved as fast I could. When eithe
r woman saw that I was not only alive, but outside of Carrie’s trap, it was too late for them to stop me. I was on Carrie and had my fangs deep inside of her neck before the Banshee could open her mouth to blast me. Carrie screamed, and the Banshee took a small step toward us, but I pulled Carrie in front of me.

  “Go ahead. I’ll snap her neck before you take another step,” I warned. The Banshee stepped back but kept a hand wrapped around the hilt of her sword.

  “Hands away from the blade,” I ordered as I jerked Carrie’s neck into an awkward angle; making room for me to settle in and get comfortable. For all the trouble that the two of them had caused my family, I planned on draining the bitch dry. Too bad my other half didn’t feel the same.

  Without Carrie’s powers holding the metal sheets in place, Irulan had no problem pushing them away from her. When the last sheet clanged to the floor, a second later I felt her cool fingers dig into my shoulder. “Val, this isn’t the way,” she said.

  “Listen to your bride, vampire,” the Harbinger called out.

  “I think Val is spot on,” Fazion grunted at them both, and moved to stand in front of me. I cut my eyes toward him and saw that he had both arms extended. My threats must have not been enough to keep the Banshee at bay if he needed to erect a shield.

  “Not helping,” Irulan spat. She dropped to her knees and pressed a hand to the side of my face. Wife or no, I wasn’t going to let her stop me from doing this. I snarled around Carrie’s neck and began to take longer draws of blood.

  “Damn it, Val, stop. This isn’t who you are.” Irulan tried again.

  Fazion stomped his foot and frowned at her. “This is exactly who she is, and it’s working, in case you haven’t noticed.”

  Irulan dropped her head and took a deep breath. I glanced at her and saw tears in her eyes. The question hung in the air between us. It was as palpable as the nose on my face. Against my better judgment, I drew my fangs out of Carrie’s skin. I opened my arms, and her unconscious body rolled to the floor.

  “There,” I said as I stood up and backed away from both of them. “That’s the same person that wants you dead and set fire to my grandmother’s home. You wanted her spared, you’ve got her, but you're going to be the one to explain to my parents why she's still alive.”

  Irulan flinched but nodded. She looked Carrie over before standing to face me. “What we had is my past. I love you, but it’s because of me that she turned into this person. I can't see her dead. I owe her that much.”

  Hello, she tried to kill you. As far as I was concerned that wiped the slate clean, but Irulan had made it painfully obvious that my opinion didn’t count for much. Not where Carrie was concerned.

  The Banshee, silent up until that moment, hissed at us and began pacing back and forth. “I can see why your bloodline is a dying one, Princess. You should have listened to your bride. Unlike you and I; my friend does not need to return to the FaeLands to restore her abilities.”

  Crap. I didn’t need to look to know that Carrie was gone. Fazion fell back, knocked on his ass as she shoved her way past. Irulan grabbed for him, catching her cousin before he hit the floor. I was not ready for round two; we barely survived round one. I slid a foot back and settled into a defensive stance, preparing myself for anything.

  Fazion and Ire formed their shields. Together we waited for them to attack. It never came; at least not directly. Carrie and the Banshee turned and in unison, aimed their volley at the door. Carrie, concentrating her attacks on the welded hinges, caused the metal to crack and darken, making it look rusted far beyond its years. The Banshee used her wail to destroy the weakened metal.

  They were doing a bang up job at getting the Vault opened. I’ll give them that, but iron and hundreds of thousands of pounds of concrete and earth were two…well, three different things. Once she got the Vault opened there was still the possibility of getting buried alive. If karma were a real person, I would be awfully tempted to track her down and ask her what the hell I had done to piss her off. I swallowed the knot in my throat and threw up a finger.

  “If I may make an observation,” I called out. Ire and Fazion both frowned at me. I ignored them and took a few steps forward. “Maybe I should have said hello first. Either way I need you to stop what you're doing, and listen to me for a moment.”

  The Banshee clamped her mouth closed and turned to face me. “Do you ever shut up?”

  “Every once and awhile, but now isn’t one of those times.” I pointed to the door. “There’s a few tons of dirt and rock resting against that door. What are you going to do with it once you get the door opened? Carrie can turn all gooey and slither through the cracks, but I don't think you can displace that much earth, fast enough to dig your way out.”

  Carrie twisted her head to look her partner, and the Banshee cocked an eyebrow. “What do you propose we do?” She asked in her dead, hollow voice.

  “Work together,” I said before I came to my senses and decided that dying a slow agonizing death would be preferable to partnering with them.

  “Have the both of lost your minds,” Fazion howled. “They need to die, and they need to do it now! My father-”

  “Isn’t here, Faze,” Irulan interrupted. “I have a son that needs me and his mother to come back to him. If working with the two of them will get me back to David, then that’s what we’re going to do.”

  “Now that that’s settled,” Carrie sneered, “What how do you suppose we handle the predicament that we’ve found ourselves in?”

  I nodded my head at the door and looked to Irulan. “You missed the Captain Planet show that Irulan did earlier. With her powers over the elements, loud mouth’s wail, your metal mojo and the two of us backing you up by pushing with our shields, we just may get out of here alive.”

  “That sounds like a wretched idea,” Fazion mumbled.

  “No one asked you,” I spat. “I don't need you to agree with what we’re doing, just your shield.”

  My watched buzzed, and every eye in the room settled on my wrist. “What,” I said and pulled my arm to my chest. “It’s time for Lost Girl. How was I supposed to know that my day was going to go to hell in a hand basket?” I shook my head, brushing off their looks. “Roll with it, Ire,” I projected.

  "I was hoping you were going to say something like that. I don't have anything else to pull out of my hat,” she sent back.

  Since my watch didn’t appear to be a threat, Carrie and the Banshee went back to work on the door. Fazion looked as lost as they did, but lifted his arms to form his shield anyway. I did the same while Ire rolled her eyes and dropped to her knees to lower her hands to the ground, “Only you, Val.”

  Yup, only I would have a back-up plan for getting stuck in an underground Vault with her wife, her cousin, and two arch-nemeses. It was the only way I’d managed to keep my cool while I was getting my ass kicked. And that plan needed the Banshee and the bitch as close to that door as possible in five-four-three-two. Boom baby!

  Compared to the first explosion that buried the Vault, this one was ten times worse. Just what the doctor ordered. With the hinges already weakened thanks to Carrie’s metal mojo, the door was blown backward. I made sure my get-along gang was prepared; can't say the same for Carrie and the Banshee.

  The large disk collided with both women and knocked them backward. The Banshee was sent crashing through the glass walls of an office behind us. It was a little harder to see which direction Carrie went sailing in. There was a thick cloud of dust and debris floating in the air. Visibility was zilch, even for my eyes. I squinted through the haze, looking for any signs of my brothers.

  At first there was nothing but then the green laser of a sight cut through the muck. Valerian’s voice came next. “Val!” His voice was muffled but it was him, and it was music to my blood caked ears. I wanted to run through the shield and jump into his arms, but the last time I checked even vampires (well purebloods anyway) needed to breathe. I waited none too patiently, for him to make his way through th
e cloud.

  When my twin stepped through the haze and pressed a gloved covered hand to the field, I wanted to cry. Even though I could barely see his face past the gas mask he wore, I knew he had tears in his eyes also. “You are never doing anything like this again,” he barked, trying to sound tough.

  “Whatever you say, Vedo,” I agreed. When I didn’t put up an argument, Vedo turned toward the entrance and begin to yell.

  “It’s worse than we thought, Tam!

  “Ass-phat.”

  “Never mind!” Vedo yelled. “You had me worried, Val. The psi dampeners that were built into this place worked a little too well. Once the door was closed I couldn’t feel you at all. I didn’t know if you were alive or what was going on.”

  “I’m here but it’s, not for lack of trying on the Banshee’s part,” I sighed. “Speaking of which, she's here with her partner. Be careful.”

  “We’re already on it,” Tam grunted from somewhere in the muck. I looked past Valerian and saw at the green lasers of at least twenty other guns, zooming back and forth through the room. “Where are they?”

  “If I knew that don't you think I would have told you already?” I barked.

  “They flew that way,” Fazion offered with a wave of his hand.

  “Stay inside your shield.” Tam ordered when he finally appeared. He had an assault rifle, complete with its own grenade launcher, cradled in his hands. “I’m going to put a few rounds down her throat and see how loud she wails after that.”

  “Good luck, big brother.”

  “I don't need luck; I’ve got this,” he smiled and patted the top of his launcher.

  “Which isn’t much,” I offered. “She made minced meat out of the launchers at the edge of the grounds. What do you think she's going to do with those?”

  “She wasn’t weakened by an iron cage then, was she?”

  He had a point, but I wasn’t ready to count her out just yet. She was too resourceful to be taken out that easily. It took them the better part of an hour to scour every inch of the Vault and another twenty for the air to clear enough for us to lower the shield. The instant it came down, Vedo jerked me into his arms. I threw my arms around his neck and stood there for a few moments. Obsession had never smelled so good. I felt the brush of bodies go by and pulled away from him.