Knights of Black Swan, Books 7-9 (Knights of Black Swan Box Set Book 3)

by Victoria Danann

  “So Falcon went tearing out the door after the vamps who were running and we went tearing out the door after him, but we had to work hard at it because, man, the fucker is fast!” When Wakey realized he’d said the word ‘fucker’, he stiffened and went wide-eyed. “Um, sorry about the language, sir.” He directed the apology to Storm, but glanced over at the others.

  Storm said, “That’s okay this time, but remember you’re training to be a knight and The Order expects you to exercise befitting decorum.”

  Storm gave Ram a pointed look as he said it. Ram replied by locking his gaze and mouthing, “Fucker.” As much as he hated to do it, Storm couldn’t help a little smile. There was something charming about the way Ram remained the same. Neither marriage nor aging nor being proclaimed father of a king could make Rammel stodgy, and that indomitable spark of life and fun was oddly comforting to Storm.

  “So you were saying that Falcon here is fast on his feet.” Storm made a little circular gesture with his hand, signaling that Wakenmann should pick up the story where he stopped.

  “Like wind, sir. Even in those boots he wears because chicks like the look.”

  Rev made a huffing sound that caused Wakey to look his way. Seeing that the guy was glaring even more, and, who would have thought that possible? Wakey redoubled his intention to continue with the relevant stuff.

  “So Sin and I had to pump like devils to keep him in sight. I guess the vamps turned into this alley because when we got here Falcon was engaged with both, trying to find an in without getting bitten. And I’ve just got to say that’s a lot harder than it sounds.”

  He turned toward Falcon and Harvest who acknowledged by nodding solemnly. At the same time Ram and Kay exchanged similar nods double punctuating their younger counterpart’s declaration.

  Storm looked at Falcon. “Is this true, Mr. Falcon? You deliberately ran down and engaged two vampire in the field without authorization and without backup?”

  When it was put that way, it sounded downright shameful. There was a time when Falcon would have stared Storm down and dared him to a challenge, but that was before a deep and abiding respect for these hunters had begun to grow in his heart. He didn’t want to disappoint Sir Storm so he found himself looking down at his feet when he said, “Yes, sir.”

  Storm continued quietly, with measured words. “And did you think that was a good idea?”

  Falcon didn’t answer right away. When he did, he spoke as quietly as Storm. “I guess I wasn’t really thinking about anything except vampire running. I guess I didn’t think just sitting there eating our sandwiches was an option. In the back of my mind I was thinking that those vampire could be the end of somebody’s sister or daughter or girlfriend. And that I could stop them.” His eyes flickered and he added, “Maybe.”

  “That’s all very true. The thing is this. What about you? You’re somebody’s brother. You’re somebody’s son. You’re somebody’s friend.” That last word was punctuated with a nod toward the other two trainees. “You can’t start thinking of yourself as dispensable. Not only are you important to some other people, but The Order has invested a lot of time and money in you. And you could have easily squandered that investment tonight by being a loose cannon.”

  Falcon didn’t say anything. The other boys looked away.

  “What’s worse is that you led your friends into a situation. Once you rushed in, they had no choice but to follow you. They had to get your back. So it wasn’t just yourself that you risked. It was them, too.” Storm watched Falcon’s face carefully and was satisfied with the impact his words were evidently having on the kid. “Here’s something they don’t usually tell hunters until it’s time for field duty. Before you embark on a patrol you have to be one hundred percent certain that you’ve sorted out your feelings about your duty to your team members and Black Swan.

  “You know how hard it was to try and fight while avoiding coming in contact with a fang? Especially when the opponent is all about trying to bite you? What you haven’t been told in class is that, if one of you does get bitten, you have to be prepared to dispatch your friend, who sometimes feels like a brother to you. With the new virus it has to be done within minutes. No time for regrets, recriminations, or even goodbyes.

  “Thank the gods I’ve never had to do it, but I’ve heard stories about what happens to guys who’ve had to execute their own partner. It breaks them. For life.”

  While Storm gave the boys a literal street education, Rev felt tremors going through his body like the old wives’ tales about somebody walking on your grave. And he wondered for the thousandth time since returning to life as Farthing just how much residual memory his body had retained.

  “You see these two guys?” Storm pointed to Ram and Kay. “I’ve been with them since I was younger than you are and I love them more than you can begin to imagine. I’d have no trouble trading my life for either one of them. Hel. It would almost be easy. But having to kill one of them? Hold him in my arms and watch the light go out of his eyes? I don’t see myself coming back from that.”

  It was silent when Storm stopped speaking, like an eerie impossible quiet had settled around them like a shroud. Not just in the alleyway, but in the city. There was no traffic noise, no music, nothing but the sounds of their own breathing and heartbeats.

  “In short, there’s a lot more to being a Black Swan knight than you know and you’re not ready for it. Are you hearing me?”

  Falcon looked more than reprimanded. He looked devastated, like he’d just walked himself through the image of having to dispatch one of his friends. He nodded his head at Storm solemnly. “Yes, sir.”

  Storm sighed. “Okay, enough lecture for now. I want to know how you identified them as vamps to begin with.”

  Falcon made a visible effort to recover himself and get his thoughts back together. “We were sitting at a table by the window. I just happened to look up when they ran by and one of them looked right at me. There’s really no mistaking those eyes.”

  Ram unconsciously nodded an affirmation.

  “Like I said, I wasn’t thinking about anything except making sure they didn’t get away. After three blocks or so they slowed down and looked behind them. I guess they saw that I was running toward them, but didn’t think I was coming for them. Or didn’t think I was much of a threat. So they stopped and turned in here.

  “I didn’t stop running. I did an airborne roundhouse thinking I’d knock one off his feet and maybe have a chance to stake the other while the one down was figuring things out.”

  At that Ram raised his hands and let them flop against his thighs to convey his own two cents’ worth of disgust.

  Storm said, “Continue.”

  “I grabbed the one still standing by the back of his collar and smashed his face into the wall. Hard. I’d hoped to stun him so I could take a good aim with my little stick. I was afraid I only had one shot because it would likely splinter and break with repeated stabs.

  “It’s just that the one on the ground didn’t stay down long enough. He grabbed me from behind and I guess he was about to chow down. Then I heard Sin. I guess he was running and making this sound like a growl. He got a fistful of the vamp’s hair and pulled him back off me.

  “That left me free to concentrate on the fu…, uh, biter in front of me. I didn’t look back, just had to trust that Sin and Wakey had the other one handled.

  “I danced around with him for a bit, him trying to bite me, me trying to get ahold of him and avoid the fangs. Which are damn ugly, by the way. I wasn’t getting anywhere fast until these two…” He stopped, motioning to his friends, a tone of unmistakable pride creeping into his retelling at that point. “They got him from behind and held him still for me. So all I had to do was jam the twig into the right spot.

  “That’s the story.”

  For a time the three members of B Team who were present stood motionless, just looking at the rookies. Undoubtedly they were seeing themselves and replaying a hundred such encounte
rs in their minds. They’d survived long careers as vampire hunters. Each one of them was secretly wondering how much of that had been luck.

  The veterans could see that the boys were trying to be cool and casual about the informal debriefing, but they could also see that the kids were jazzed, almost vibrating visibly. They knew firsthand what sort of adrenaline rush accompanies a victorious skirmish with vampire. And they hoped these kids would never find out what the other kinds of skirmish, the non-victorious sort, felt like.

  Finally Storm turned to Rev. “Got anything you want to add, Sovereign?”

  Rev didn’t take his eyes away from the boys.

  “Yes. First, who paid the bill at the deli?” The kids looked at each other, shook their heads and gave Rev a guilty look. “Next lesson. Somebody is always designated bill payer. That means he’s got his hand on enough to throw down and cover the debt. Now, go pay your bill. Tell the manager there was an emergency, that you never intended to run out on the check, and that you’re sorry if it caused an inconvenience. If there’s any trouble, call me.” He held his hand out until Falcon handed over his phone. Rev programmed his contact number in and returned it. “Do not tell a soul about this incident and be in my office tomorrow morning at 11:30.” Wakey started to say something then stopped. “Question, Mr. Wakenmann?”

  “I was just wondering if that means we’re excused from class?”

  Rev sighed. “Yes. It does. Go straight to the midtown Whister pad. Your night out is over.”

  All three boys mumbled, “Yes, sir,” and began walking away.

  “Hey,” Ram’s voice stopped them. “E’en with all the fuckups and the maybes and the chances, you still did good tonight. Maybe saved somebody from bein’ eaten. Maybe saved somebody else from turnin’ vamp. Does no’ mean ‘twas wise, mind you.”

  The kids smiled as they turned around and kept walking.

  “Rammel,” Storm said. “nobody was ever soft on us.”

  “Tellin’ kids their instincts are good. ‘Tis no’ the same thin’ as bein’ soft.”

  “I had just been thinking that fatherhood hadn’t changed you. I was wrong.” Storm looked at Rev. “So what now, Sovereign?”

  “Let’s call it in to clean up.” He looked over to see the boys turning out of the end of the alley. “Seems like Elora’s been relieved of the responsibility of picking three trainees. Looks like they picked themselves.”

  When Kay had finished the call for clean up, Rev said, “Let’s wait for the truck. Then maybe I’ll buy you three another drink. To celebrate my engagement.”

  Storm narrowed his eyes. “Did you tell her?”

  “Couldn’t do that. Against the rules. She put it together herself and warned me that, if she could do it, other people – like you – might do the same.”

  Storm whistled low. “You’re a lucky son-of-a-bitch, boss.”

  “Watch that language.”

  “I could use a whiskey,” said Ram.

  “See? Nothing changes,” said Kay.

  Elora turned over and looked at the clock. The red digital display was either wrong or time was moving very, very slowly. It wasn’t long after she’d fallen into Jefferson Unit before she realized that she’d gotten herself mixed up with a rough crowd. She’d known since before she’d admitted to being Rammel Hawking’s mate that the one thing she could not do was wait at home and hope B Team survived the night.

  For cripes’ sake, that was how she ended up maneuvering her way onto B Team to begin with – so she could watch out for guys who looked a lot bigger, stronger, faster, but were in fact, far more vulnerable physically.

  Ram was supposed to be on patrol from eight to two. She’d had time to get right with the thing and get a grip on being a big girl about it and thought she had. So she kissed her husband goodbye, gave Helm a bath, put him to bed, and spent a couple of hours catching up on the baby book. Future generations were going to want to know that the king could blow bubbles with mashed carrots.

  A good night’s sleep wasn’t an option. She had a baby who’d be demanding attention, a change of clothes, and breakfast – in that order – in just a few hours. If that wasn’t enough of a motivation, there was a sharp group of trainees housed in the dormitory downstairs who’d be showing up for fight school, as they liked to call it, bright eyed, rested and ready. Fitful, sleepless nights were just out of the question, but the more she stared at the ceiling talking to herself about why she needed to go to sleep, the more wide awake she became.

  By midnight she was up and pacing back and forth trying not to see images of roaring vampire with long sharp fangs or the long jagged, freshly stitched path of the knife wound that cut Ram from stem to stern. If he was a normal husband with a normal job, she could just call to make sure he was okay, but Black Swan had phone silence rules for good reason. A knight couldn’t be distracted by a phone call in the middle of a vampire encounter. The results could be disastrous. For that reason, only the Sovereign could be reached by phone in the field and then, only for emergency reasons.

  By the time she heard movement at the front door she had worked herself into a frenzy bordering on hysterics. Ram hadn’t even closed the door before she had grabbed him into an embrace that was punishing to a native of Loti Dimension.

  “Hey, now. Ease up just a bit. I’ll no’ be able to fuck you senseless if most of my bones are pulverized.”

  “Oh, sorry, sorry, sorry.” She relaxed her hold and covered his face and neck in kisses.

  Ram chuckled. “Do no’ take this the wrong way, but what is this about?”

  She pulled back so that she could search his face for evidence of injury. When she was satisfied there was none, she ripped his Ramones shirt right down the middle.

  “Hold on! Great Paddy, woman! That shirt was a classic! Have you gone barkin’ mad?”

  She stared into his eyes until he stopped speaking, then her gaze jerked down to the buttons of his jeans. Her inspection of his chest and torso had revealed nothing but beautifully whole skin. No new wounds. But she had to be sure his entire body was unmolested.

  When Ram saw where her train of thought was going, he said, “Stop! I ne’er thought the day would come when I’d be sayin’ do no’ e’en think about takin’ my pants off, but do no’ e’en think about takin’ my pants off.” She reached for his waistband. He backed up a step. “Do no’ make me do somethin’ you will regret.”

  She stopped. “Like what?”

  “Like rubbin’ your eyebrows the wrong way.”

  “You wouldn’t. I hate that.”

  “Aye, I know and I would despise takin’ advantage of intimate knowledge, but I will use the tools at my disposal if you persist in this most unbecomin’ behavior.”

  Her shoulders sagged. “Are you okay?”

  “Indeed. Good as Irish gold.”

  “If you’re lying, I will find out.”

  “Aye, but findin’ out is best when ‘tis consensual.”

  “Okay. You have a point.” She bit into her lower lip and tears sprang to her eyes. “I was going crazy.”

  “Aye. I can see that.”

  “I can’t do it, Ram. I couldn’t do it before we were us and I really can’t do it now.”

  “Why do we no’ step away from the door? Perhaps we might share an inch of wine and discuss the matter.”

  He sat her down on the living room sofa, poured two glasses of wine a little deeper than the inch that was mentioned and returned to sit next to her.

  “Are you beginnin’ to feel more like yourself?”

  “Yes. Do you want to tell me about your night?”

  “Aye. But first I’d like to know what has your feathers flyin’ all over the house.”

  Elora had been set to tell Ram exactly how worried she’d been, but seeing that he was cavalier, she quickly got her wits about her and hatched a plan. Two nights hence she would be the one going out without him. She strongly suspected that when she returned after her patrol, he would be in a much better fra
me of mind to understand what her problem was and why she was distraught.

  “Nothing. It was silly. Probably PMS. Now that you’re here, it’s all good. So tell me everything.”

  And that is what he did.

  Up to a point.

  He told her all about losing the pair of vamps only to learn that they’d been found by three of her trainees. At one point in the story he had to give her a minute to slow her heart rate and catch her breath. There clearly was a good reason why the kids called her “mother”.

  When he reached the part of the story where Rev had proclaimed that the three trainees were bound to skip two years and go into rotation, Elora started shaking her head violently.

  “No,” she said. “He can’t have them.”

  Ram said nothing. He took a long drink of wine, licked his lips, set the glass down and slid closer to Elora. Softly trailing his knuckles along her jaw line he said, “You know I’m sensin’ a pattern here. Seem you do no’ like the idea of your peeps or your chickadees in situations that could prove hazardous to health.”

  “I don’t,” she said in a matter-of-fact tone as she looked at her wine glass and took another drink.

  “Well, ‘tis no’ a thin’ either strange or unusual about that. ‘Tis only natural.”

  “Exactly.”

  “Except that your peeps and chickadees are no’ automobile salesmen. There’s a good reason why the job comes with a big life insurance policy. ‘Tis dangerous. You know that. Our business is savin’ the world. Lots of perks, but there’s a downside, too.”

  “Are you patronizing me, Rammel?”

  “No’ at all.”

  “I need to go to bed.”

  “Music to my elfin ears.”

  CHAPTER 17

  Sozopol, Bulgaria

  Mercy descended the grand staircase, reminiscent of another day in hotel pageantry. When she and her two shadows reached the elevators, she had kept walking. Glen and Gun looked at each other and followed without asking questions. After all, they were there to escort and protect. Not direct. She kept walking until she reached the staircase, which was open and not at the end of the hall behind a closed door.