“What do you mean too late, what’s happening?” I croaked.
“This isn’t right, Sire. I feel home,” a Manticore called out from the trees behind us. The air began to stir, lifting my hair around my face and the temperature continued to drop. It was so cold that our breaths hung in wisps.
“It’s working,” Irulan whispered. The first words that she’d uttered since David’s arrival. That was the last thing that I wanted to hear, not with David and his friends here.
Tamerlane rushed forward and hauled David to his feet. “Come on, nephew, time for you to leave.”
“Get off of me!” David screamed. “Something is wrong with her! Can’t you see that?!”
“What to do-what to do,” Dante muttered to himself as he watched Irulan begin to rock back and forth.
“If you know so much, speak, child,” Fazion yelled.
I grabbed Dante’s shoulders and saw the tears pooled in his eyes. “Dante, some really bad women are going to be here in a few seconds. We need to know what we’re dealing with before they get here.”
Dante nodded, shaking off the momentary stupor that he was in. “The spell that she used-the books- there was another part to the spell, found in a third book.”
“What are you talking about? There was no third book!” Fazion screamed.
“There was a third,” Dante boomed, “I have books of my own…fae tomes.”
Dante pointed a finger at the darkened moon and frowned. “The spell that she needed should have only been cast under the rising of a black moon. Miss. Valeria, this is bad.”
“How bad?” Valerian asked.
“I don’t know. Miss Irulan changed the original spell. I just don’t know.” As Dante talked one of the mysterious flashes of light appeared behind him, it was the closest one yet. It hung in the middle of nowhere for a few seconds before disappearing. Long enough for me to see that they weren’t just flashes of light, but doorways. The FaeLands lie on the other side.
Another light blinked into existence beside me. This one was accompanied with movement. I spun around but whatever it was; it was moving damn fast. “They’re doorways, Tam!” I yelled, as I jerked Dante and Rowan behind me. “Something came through. Get the kids out of here!”
“Ballistic, you’re with me!” my brother yelled. “Come on you two.”
“I can help,” Dante grunted, and tried to push by me but Tam appeared and grabbed him by the collar.
“I’m not fond of repeating myself,” he growled. David tried to protest also, but couldn’t get out much past the headlock that Tamerlane had him in.
Dante looked at my son and shivered. “On my way,” he said and fell in place beside my brother. Rowan nodded at me and followed Dante. I spared a few moments to watch Tamerlane lead them away. They were barely a few hundred feet away, when a dark shape shot by them. They slid to a stop, Tamerlane shielding them from whatever was waiting in the darkness.
“Tam!” I ran toward them, but another blur shot by me, stopping me in my tracks. I raised my films and shifted to infrared vision. Another shape passed by, but it was moving so fast that I could only make out that whatever it was, it moved on all fours.
“How good are your fighting skills, Meriwether?” Tam asked.
“I’m a better fighter than all of my brothers. My father can’t stand it,” Rowan answered.
“Impressive,” Tam grunted. “Looks like you’re going to get a chance to show off your skills. Whatever is out there doesn’t want us going anywhere.”
This is not happening, sprang to mind, but unfortunately it was, in running, full-color, 3D ultra-vision. My son, his girlfriend, and best friend were trapped with us, about to do battle with god knows what, while an uber Banshee and freaky Metal-Fae were more than likely, heading our way.
“It’s gonna be okay, kids,” I reassured them. “We’re not going to let anything hurt you, okay. Stay as close to us as you can.”
“We can help,” the threesome echoed together. Rowan and David growled as their faces transformed. Both teens flexed their claw tipped hands and slipped into defensive crouches. The movements so fluid that they looked like seasoned naturals.
“We’re not helpless, Ms. Valeria,” Dante said with a slight smirk. I watched as his eyes turned purple and began to glow. The young vampire flexed his fingers, and purple sparks began to dance between the digits. The magic a perk of his Roma heritage.
“No, you’re not, are you,” I mumbled. Whether I wanted them here or not, the kids were staying. “Tam,” I started, but my brother cut me off.
“They’ll be fine, woolybooger. I promise.”
Stryfe rushed to Fazion’s side with his sword at the ready. “I feel stronger, Sire. The Darkling is right. There are doorways to the FaeLands all around us, but they shouldn’t be. Doorways are found, not made. The veil between the realms is being ripped.”
“Unstable, wild magic,” Fazion whispered to himself. “Lower fae are drawn to it.”
Another light flashed not three feet away, leaving a doorway. Instead of the darken woods of the park, a rolling field stood in front of me…not to mention the ugliest dog that I had ever seen.
“Barghest!” Stryfe yelled. “Look alive, people! We’ve got barghest!”
“What the fuck is a barghest?” Constantine grunted, as he slid to a stop by my side.
“Apparently that,” I pointed, “and it’s got company.”
“Doesn’t matter, it’s not going to make it through that doorway before it disappears,” Constantine said. He sounded confident enough, but I still heard his sword slide free of its scabbard.
I counted off the seconds in my head as I watched them get closer to the opening. There were seven in all. The yellow-eyed creatures had fangs that extended past their lower jaw and were covered with matted, shaggy fur that almost hung to the ground. Come on, I thought as I drew my own sword. A few more feet and they would be on this side of the veil. I lifted my katana, preparing to swing at the first one that reached us, when the light blinked away.
I exhaled and looked at the line of people on either side of me. “Looks like we dodged a bullet,” I said. No sooner than the words left my lips, another door flickered to life behind Gridlock. I screamed a warning, but the barghest was already on him.
The massive creature leap through the doorway with its claws extended. It hit Gridlock in the back with enough force to sending them both crashing to the ground. “I’ve got this,” said Constantine, as he rushed to help.
“Not alone, you don’t,” Valerian yelled and took off after him.
“Vedo!” David yelled, and started after him, but Tamerlane blocked his path.
“Valerian is a big boy. You stay here where I can keep an eye on you.”
With two of my brothers gone, I tensed, ready for a fight, but the doorway disappeared before another could follow.
“There will be more,” Stryfe warned. “I think it would be better if we-”
He didn’t get to finish his statement because a blood curling scream filled the air, along with the sounds of flesh being ripped and multiple growls. Thade howled and bounded off into the darkness, followed by three other weres. A moment later I heard the gnashing of teeth join the growls, as Thade’s wolves attacked.
“Constantine. Vedo,” I called out, when I couldn’t feel my twin through our link.
“I’m good. Valerian went to help the wolves. Gridlock’s claws didn’t do much damage, but the thing fell to my sword,” my brother said as he limped to my side. “Looks like steel works as well as cold iron.”
“That’s nice, but I can’t feel, Vedo,” I responded. I looked down at his leg and saw a deep gash that had already started to heal.
“I’m going to find him,” Tino said before I could question him. He slipped into a flash and disappeared into the forest.
“I think the spell has run its course,” Fazion said. I looked over and saw him pointing toward the sky.
I tilted my head and saw the last o
f the darkness that covered the moon had begun to fade. The returning light seemed to be chasing away most of the blinking doorways, so that was a plus. When the last of the darkness disappeared, the moon returned to her sliver glory. We had light...and we were surrounded.
Most of the doorways may have closed, but two were left open. The ones that disappeared left behind at least twenty barghest and something that I had no idea what in the hell it was. “What the fuck is that thing?” David croaked. I would have called him out about his language, if I wasn’t thinking the same thing myself.
The thing in question was at least twenty feet tall, had marbled dark blue skin, a face covered in so many warts that I couldn’t tell where its eyes and nose began, and was armed with a wooden club that had two large boulders strapped to it.
“A foawr,” Fazion whispered. “Don’t attack and it will leave us be…I hope.” The giant opened its large mouth and yawned, revealing jagged, rotted-teeth that screamed gangrene. Can you get gangrene from a bite? Wasn’t sure, and wasn’t sticking around to find out. Irulan was in the center of the clearing, alone in all this mess. I had to get to her before Carrie showed up, if she showed up.
“Ire,” I reached out for her mind, keeping my eyes on the foawr as I backed away. “Baby, did it work? Can you feel her?”
“Val, she’s here,” she answered.
“Where?” I turned into the blow; didn’t even hear the truck coming. The fucker smacked into me so hard it felt like a Mac Truck instead of a small Chevy. I think I saw Carrie standing near the statue as I sailed through the air, but I wasn’t certain. Who the hell can be sure of anything when you’re flying through the air at a gillion miles an hour?
It took me a second to get my bearings and shift. My wings ripped from my back, slowing me down before I slammed into something or someone. For a moment, all I could do was hover in the air watching worse come to worst. In a manner of seconds, my small piece of the world had become entrenched in chaos.
Thade, Marcus, and the wolves were going at the barghest and were woefully outnumbered. Constantine, Gridlock and my family’s vampires rushed into the fray. David and Rowan stood back to back, swiping their claws at a barghest that was trying to make them its next meal. My heart jumped into my throat. I started toward them, but one well-placed jab from Rowan dropped it to its knees.
Dante stepped in front of her, his hands twirling through the air. I looked on as a thick mist began to form, erupting from his fingertips. The thick fog enveloped the beast, and when it dissipated, the creature was gone. There was nothing but a tuft of fur, floating toward the ground. Another barghest charged, and David flashed out of its path, vaulting behind the beast and landing on its back.
Rowan drew back her hand, waiting for the ideal moment to strike. My son gave her the opportunity by forcing the animal to the ground and grabbing it by the muzzle. He pulled back, bearing the throat. Rowan quickly put the animal out of its misery. I was more than impressed. The three worked well together.
Satisfied that the kids could handle themselves to a certain degree, I turned my attention to the fae. Fazion and Stryfe were leading the Manticores. They moved in a tight-unified formation through the trees, searching for signs of the Banshee’s arrival.
That left my wife. I found Ire dodging a punch from Carrie. My pulse quickened as my apprehension spiked, but Irulan quickly squelched my fears. “Don’t worry about me,” I heard her say inside my mind. “Carrie isn’t going to hurt me, not really. I’ll keep her busy while you help the others.” I took a small breath and saw that Ire was holding her own against Carrie. Duh, she was a total bad-ass.
As if to prove that point, Irulan landed a solid uppercut to the fae’s chin, snapping her head back. That’s my baby. Now there was the small matter of the truck. I cut my eyes to the left and groaned. The damn truck didn’t stop when it hit me, but kept rolling, right toward the trunk-like leg of the foawr.
Fazion yelled my name, but I was already on it. I threw open the floodgates and slammed my palms together. A streak of black energy exploded from my hands, but it was too much. I couldn’t control it. The massive bolt overshot the truck and hit the foawr dead in the center of its chest.
As powerful as the blast was, I only managed to make the foawr stumbled a few hundred feet. His thick hide deflected the blow, sending it careening back at me. I dropped to the ground, avoiding the blast as the giant corrected itself. It stretched its eyelids, revealing light grey eyes that looked out of place on its misshapen face. It squinted at me before throwing its Volkswagen-sized head back and roaring.
“Oh shit,” I squeaked and whipped my wings behind me, intent on taking to the air. I didn’t get far. The ground shook as the foawr began to run, throwing me and everyone else off balance. I fell to my knees and couldn’t get up because every step it took sent me sprawling back to the ground.
Three shorts steps were all it took for the giant to reach me. Constantine came at me from behind, jerking me to my feet. “Up and at ‘em, Val,” he grunted, as the foawr lifted his huge club into the air. We barely missed getting squished as it whizzed by us and crashed into the dirt.
“That was too damn close,” Constantine said.
“Agreed,” I nodded. “I take the high road, and you take the low?”
“Together,” he answered.
That was all the encouragement I needed. We attacked as one; Tino dancing away from another blow while I drew a katana and jumped into the air. Tino swung his sword at the fae’s leg, the claymore neatly slicing through the giant’s leathery skin. Just as fast as he landed the first blow, Tino swung again, cutting another furrow into the creature’s leg. The beast bellowed and swatted at him, but Constantine was too quick. He darted away from the meaty hand, as I dropped, swinging my katana. I managed to remove a finger before the foawr swatted me away with his good hand.
I hit the ground and rolled to a stop at Constantine’s legs. “That was a little sloppy,” he said and held out a hand.
I wrapped my fingers around his wrist and jerked him on top of me. The foawr’s fist swung through the air, inches away from where his head was. “You’re welcomed,” I grunted, looking up at him.
“I’m not thanking you yet,” my brother frowned. “The foawr has buddies.”
I lifted my head to look past him, and saw three barghest staring at us like we were lunch. “For the love of Mike,” I spat and rolled Tino off me.
“Not Mike, blood,” Constantine muttered as he landed on his stomach. He tilted his head toward the foawr. It was cradling its injured hand to its chest and slowly backing away from the barghest. “Those things think it’s dinnertime.”
“Then we’ll leave them to it,” I grunted as I climbed to my feet and held out a hand for my brother.
“I don’t think it’s gonna be that easy, woolybooger,” Constantine whispered. “There’s something else in the woods behind the foawr. I can’t get a feel for its aura, but I know it’s out there.”
Whatever it was the barghest sensed it also. The beasts turned and looked into the darkness. What they saw was enough to send them whimpering in the other direction. “Maybe we should follow them,” I whispered.
“I’m going to infrared vision,” Constantine whispered in return. “Whatever is out there can’t hide from that.” Maybe, I thought but kept my opinion to myself for the moment.
I relaxed my concentration, raising the films covering my eyes and stared at the trees, searching for heat images. There was nothing humanoid out there, only the warm red heat-signatures of the wolves and barghest.
“I don’t like this, Val,” Constantine said inside my mind. “I feel like we’re about to get caught in our own trap.”
“Been there done that,” I projected to my brother. “That’s a road I’m not eager to go down again.” I scanned the tree line, again finding nothing. Constantine’s apprehension wasn’t unwarranted, nor was he alone. The lack of a heat signature was familiar. I’d experienced it before outside of the Den. T
he Banshee was out there. How she masked her aura and heat signature was beyond me, but I knew of one way to confirm her presence.
I turned into the wind, drew a quick stream of air through my nose and it hit me. Fae glamour may change outward appearance, but it did nothing for scent, and the Banshee’s was all around us, masked by the wind carrying it away. “She’s here,” I projected to everyone. “Tam, get the kids out of here. I don't care what it takes, I'll act as a distraction if I need to, but you get them out of here. David, this isn’t up for discussion!”
To my complete and utter surprise, David and company fell in place and followed Tamerlane without argument. Dante covering the group in a protection spell was supposed to ease my mind, but it didn't. She was out there and the people that I love most were in harm’s way. I watched them leave, waiting for an attack that never came. She let them leave.
I scanned the woods, searching but still coming up short, even though I knew in my gut that she was close. The Banshee was here, and we weren’t ready to face her. Not after fighting the barghest and foawr. We needed to regroup and try our best to keep her away from us. “We can’t take her, not like this!” I called out to their minds. “Everyone else gather around the statue. Ire get rid of your baggage! Fae form a shield. ”
The vampires came without question, flashing to my side and taking position around us. The werewolves howled their displeasure at being called away from their fight with the remaining barghest, but one growl from Marcus was all it took to get them in line. They loped out of the trees and filled in spots between the vampires. Valerian flashed in behind them, his face covered with gore and a grim smile. “Seven down,” he grunted.
With my twin accounted for I jerked my head at Ire, and saw her leg flying through the air in a spinning roundhouse that would have made Yosh proud. The strike hit Carrie square in the chest, knocking her into the air. Irulan threw out her hand and waved, using her shield send her even farther.
Black Moon Rising (DarkLife Saga) Page 24
