by C. Gockel
Spence grinned. “Congrats for the future then, but yes I’ve often been cheated out of a good argument. It usually means they’re up to something sneaky.”
That’s what he’d been thinking.
“Angelina?” Gavin said. “Your van?”
“It’s on the way. My boys are bringing my stuff.”
Gavin surveyed his guests. “Everyone is to remember that we are visiting an ally. Nothing has been proven against House Fabron. You will not attack without provocation. Am I clear?”
Everyone nodded.
“Good. We go.”
Michael Fabron had chosen to make his home not within the city as the other vampire Houses had done, but had instead chosen the prestige of the Hollywood Hills. He was unusual in that his territory was divided into two distinct zones. He controlled the mansion and grounds of his estate in the Holmby Hills as his well-guarded residence, while at the same time he administered the greater portion of his territory in the city through proxies and allies. That didn’t mean he had chosen a hermit-like existence, as Gavin seemed to prefer; far from it. His huge estate in the Holmby Hills was well known for its lavish parties. Michael revelled in providing extravagant hospitality for his guests to enjoy, and he made them welcome often. There were famous celebrities numbered among his friends, many of them human holovid stars of both large and small screen. A neat trick when non-humans were considered lesser and treated more like sub-human animals than people. Everything about Michael attracted. His manner of speaking, of dress, his sense of self and humour... all of it drew others to him like moths to flame. It was his own personal brand of glamour of course, and it wasn’t restricted only to humans. Many an unwary vampire had succumbed to his wiles, and left again a few short days later longing to stay. Neither sex was safe from his attentions, and no race could deny him; not human, not vampire, not shifter, or even elf. All loved him, and he loved all equally.
Only demons could truly be incubi, and despite AML propaganda to the contrary, vampires were not descended from that ancient race. Vampires were descended of humans, but Michael came as close to being an incubus as any could come without having demon blood running through their veins. A more flamboyant vampire in existence was hard to imagine.
Gavin’s doubts were completely understandable to David, who didn’t know Michael at all. He only knew him through Stephen’s explanations on the journey from Lost Souls to Gavin’s home. If the reality was only half close to Stephen’s stories about Michael, he found himself siding with Gavin. Why would such a hedonist risk everything to turn a serial killer loose on the city? If O’Neal had been an accident, why hadn’t he asked for help if he felt unable to deal with the problem? It really didn’t make a lot of sense.
He didn’t know anything about necromancy and didn’t want to, but Stephen and Rachelle did. They were putting a lot of faith in the necromance and the damning evidence she had revealed. The witch was sure that O’Neal was descended of Michael, meaning Michael’s blood had turned him—not even the final death was enough to sever the blood bond between a maker and his child completely. Her rituals and questioning in Rachelle’s presence—and the thought of such questioning of a decapitated corpse boggled David’s mind—had only strengthened her belief in Michael’s guilt.
He turned to look out of the limousine’s rear window. The cop was in her own car following them closely, and behind her bringing up the rear was Angel’s gang in their van. The girl had chosen to ride with her people, while the three vampires had elected to stay together in the comfort of the limo. Stephen had invited him and Spence to join them. David wouldn’t have minded keeping the cop company if she’d asked, but he could tell that she’d been relieved when the arrangements left her on her own. He had felt that very clearly, so he hadn’t offered to join her.
“I’m surprised you allowed the cop into this,” Spence said. “Why did you?”
“You heard her. I owed a debt,” Gavin said and smiled briefly at Spence’s snort of disbelief. “You don’t sound convinced.”
“You pay the debts you want to pay, and that’s not always to the creditor’s benefit. She seems to think that vamps are frozen in the past and that you somehow don’t experience all the years you’ve been alive or the changes that have occurred in the world. She probably thinks you don’t know how to drive and would jump on a horse as soon as look at it!”
“Probably. I do look back with fondness at some of what I’ve seen. I won’t deny that. Would I go back to when I first arrived upon this world if I could? On the whole, no I would not. Would I go home to Lochlain on my own world? Yes, upon the instant, but that cannot be. As to your question regarding the detective; I want her under my eye. It is better she see what we want her to see and only that, than have her sneaking around in the shadows. Better she be controlled than force me to take permanent steps to prevent her interfering.”
Permanent steps, right, it meant Gavin preferred not to kill her. David had to agree there. This was his world now, and making these kinds of decisions was something he would have to get used to himself. He was learning a lot by watching how the vampires handled things. Stephen was less direct than Gavin in the main, preferring alliances and compromises over precipitant action; that was strength not a weakness as far as David was concerned, and he liked that about the vampire. Stephen never took action without carefully thinking his options through, but that didn’t make him indecisive; far from it. Once decided upon his course, he doggedly pursued it with ruthless efficiency.
The limo turned onto Carolwood Drive and abruptly slowed. The partition separating them from the driver slid down as the car stopped, and Charles looked back from his place behind the wheel.
“There’s trouble,” Charles said.
David peered through the windscreen and found Lawrence and Darrin in the road approaching the car at a run. “It’s Lawrence,” he said opening his door and climbing out.
“We’ve got trouble!” Lawrence yelled as he slowed. “Someone beat us to the punch. Michael is under attack.”
Gavin snarled.
The cop pulled up and climbed out of her car to join them, spoiling for a fight. “What are you trying to pull now?”
Stephen’s eyes flashed silver. “You know as much as we.” He turned to question Lawrence. “Who is attacking, and why?”
“Humans, that’s all we know for sure, but my guess? AML.”
“We have to give aid,” Gavin said. “Michael is our ally.”
Stephen nodded.
Rachelle hesitated, but finally nodded. “For now he is.”
Angel arrived in her van and parked nearby. Her gang spilled out of the doors around her as she attached herself to Gavin, stationing herself to guard him on the right. Spence had already claimed his left shoulder. Angel’s gang consisted of two hard-eyed women and six men including Flex. All were well armed and looked ready for mayhem. David caught sight of a wide variety of blades and guns. The women carried machetes, and he was careful to stay well clear of them. He could heal bullet wounds he was certain, even wounds inflicted by silver, but those blades could take his head off. He was pretty sure it would be game over if that happened.
Angel was wearing some kind of vest under her trench coat, bulletproof maybe, with a myriad of blades slipped into loops attached to it. He would bet they had a high quality silver coating. The machetes looked electroplated too, now that he thought about it. They were very bright and shiny in the moonlight. Angel’s knives looked designed for throwing and she had plenty of them to use, but she hadn’t neglected to bring other weapons. There were two lethal looking sub-machine guns hanging low near her hips. It would take only an instant to grab them and spray her targets. They were certainly loaded with silver ammo.
David shrugged out of his jacket and began undressing. “You stick to Stephen like your life depends on it, because it does. Protect him.”
Darrin nodded and moved to stand at Stephen’s back.
Stephen glanced back at him and raised
an eyebrow at David. “Do I suddenly give you the impression that I cannot defend myself?”
“Accidents happen. Why risk it?” He turned to Lawrence. “You’re with me, but I want you in alpha form not human or wolf. Who did you bring with you, any other alphas?”
“Er, well... everyone wanted to come so I let them.”
David stared at him a moment in disbelief, and then continued his undressing. “Who is looking after the club?”
“Yes,” Stephen said wryly. “Who is looking after my club?”
“Edward said it would be okay,” Lawrence said shuffling his feet under Stephen’s regard. “I left him enough people from the day shift for security.”
“Hmmm.”
“So you didn’t bring everyone,” David said.
“Most then, and yes all the alphas and most of the strongest betas.”
“That’s fine. You take your half around the back. I’m taking mine in the front. Do whatever it takes to keep our people safe—”
“And find Michael,” Gavin interjected. “I want him safe.”
David ignored the interruption. “—and we’ll clean up the bodies afterwards. Don’t risk lives to avoid making them. I want us all going home safe. If you can save Michael or his people then do it, but don’t kill any of ours trying.”
Gavin didn’t like that.
David turned to him letting his eyes subtly change to make them glow faintly. “If you don’t like how I run my pack, may I suggest using yours to find and protect your friend?” He nodded to Angel and her people arrayed at the vampire’s back.
Now it was Gavin’s turn to hesitate. He was very fond of the girl and did not relish sending her into danger. Before he could answer, she did it for him by giving her orders.
“Kill them all,” Angel said. “They’re AML fanatics and will attack us the moment they see us anyway. If Michael is alive, we get him out to safety. Right?”
Her gang mumbled or nodded agreement.
“I should call for backup,” Chris said uneasily.
“No,” all the vampires said together.
“But they’re AML terrorists!”
Angel smirked. “Welcome to my world, de-tec-tive. Welcome to the real world of the monsters. They won’t be AML terrorists for much longer. They’ll be dead, and LA will be free of some of the worst scum living in it. AML will need a few weeks to replace them, and that’s a bonus.”
The vampires nodded.
The cop wanted to argue, but the geas would not let her call or tell anyone what was going down. David recognised the moment she finally understood that, and give into the binding. She pulled her boomer from the waistband of her jeans and checked it.
Ready?
Yes.
Can you make a fast change straight to our alpha shape as you did at the club?
Yes, but it will hurt. We are not angry.
Never mind that. We need to be fast.
I come!
Before David could change his mind, Mist surged up into his thoughts and exploded out of their body. His shriek of agony was still echoing on the night air when Mist appeared, a fully formed eight-foot tall humanoid monster where he’d been standing. Stephen stared up at him in surprise, as did Gavin. The cop stumbled back, aiming her gun at him fearfully, but thankfully, she didn’t shoot despite her horror and shock. Angel whistled in appreciation, and the two women with her laughed. Their eyes were fixated below his waist. Mist ignored them all.
Good?
Yes. It hurt, but faster is better. Let’s get this done before AML kills Michael... if they haven’t already.
Mist glared down at Lawrence. “Change.”
“One thing before I do. Ronnie came with me. She wouldn’t stay behind. She’s guarding the gates.”
Mist snarled.
I thought you liked her independence? You said you did.
She tests her boundaries, and that is good, but this is not a good time for such games. We will show her this.
This should be interesting.
“Let us kill these humans and go home,” Mist said.
“Fuckin-A,” Angel said with feeling.
Lawrence took longer to shift to his hybrid form, but a minute or so later, they all advanced on the gates of Michael’s estate. Ronnie met them with the rest of the pack. Lawrence took half and ran off into the night, intending to circle around. Ronnie stayed behind to admire Mist and fight by his side, but he had other ideas.
“You and Darrin will protect Stephen. If he dies, we lose everything.”
Ronnie frowned.
“You will obey me!” Mist growled, and lashed out with his power, enough to smart. Ronnie snarled and pushed back with her own power just as he had wanted. He lashed out again, this time with enough strength to overwhelm her easily. Her eyes widened in shock. “Obey me.”
She nodded mutely, dumbfounded.
Hmmm, that was too easy.
She will test us again, Mist agreed, but he was pleased. She will convince herself that we can’t be this strong. She will convince herself that it was luck. A few more challenges with us barely winning will make her try harder, and then we will prove to her why we are worthy to be her mate.
Good, because I don’t want to wait years.
Weeks. It will be weeks.
“We go now,” Mist growled.
“About damn time,” Chris said.
“Enough of this!” Gavin said, and dashed for the broken gates.
Stephen and Rachelle gave chase using that almost magical speed that all vamps had. It wasn’t teleportation, no matter how much it seemed like it when they flashed from one place to another without seeming to cross the intervening space. Ronnie and Darrin sprinted to catch up mere moments later. Shifters were fast too, but not vampire fast; they had to push themselves.
Angel cursed. “Mister Gavin, wait for me dammit!” She ran for the open gate with her gang in pursuit, but no human had a hope of keeping up with vampires and shifters.
The cop muttered something about madness and stupid amateur vigilantes before she too ran for the gate.
Mist looked around at his half of the pack. “Kill everything not us or allied with us,” he said, and received barks and growls of joyous agreement, as everyone threw themselves eagerly into the change.
Was that necessary?
Yes.
29
Aml
Michael’s estate consisted of over four acres of manicured lawns and professionally maintained formal gardens with a huge house at its centre built over three sprawling levels. The house was brightly lit; all the windows blazed with cheerful welcoming light. Mist sprinted toward it across lush lawn with super-sized wolves spilling around him, threatening to trip him in their eagerness to be first to reach the fight.
Gunfire.
Single shots rang out, shattering the quiet. It didn’t slow them. It was distant. More shots, this time rapid fire from some kind of assault rifle by the sound. Mist knew what the manthing was through David, but he had no fear of it. It sounded far away, as did the other shots, and he wondered if Farris had found a fight already. Some of his wolves peeled away from the group, having found interesting scents to pursue. More ran into the night howling for blood, and they would find it. The AML humans would not leave the grounds. Not alive.
He reached the house but did not slow his charge. The front door had been broken down, and he entered through it to find bodies sprawled over marble floors illuminated by harsh white light supplied by a magnificent chandelier hanging overhead. He waved his wolves up the twin curving staircases, and they dashed away, howling their excitement.
He inspected the oval shaped lobby looking for a clue where Stephen and the others were. The bodies lying sprawled upon the shiny floor in lakes of blood were no indication. They were both vampires or had been. Their scents gave them away for what they were, as did the form of execution AML had used. Both had been decapitated after being disabled by stakes or bullets. Either they had belonged to Michael’s Ho
use or were guests of his.
He crouched to sniff for clues and caught what he was looking for. The human killers had left their spoor. He growled and ran in pursuit, hoping to catch at least one before Stephen and the others killed them all.
Are you so eager to kill?
No, but we must protect what is ours. These AML are like lone wolves gone mad. Worse. They’re like a rogue pack and should be destroyed.
They’re not a pack of any kind. They’re human, but I agree they are mad men.
They must die for our pack to be safe.
Yes, David said sadly. You’re right. Kill them, kill them all and let us go home. I don’t want to think about this anymore. I just wanted to work with Alex and help people. I’m a healer. I don’t want this life of killing. Do what you must and let us go home.
Mist felt David withdraw, pulling away and submerging himself so deeply that he was barely there. It was the first time his bond mate had left him so alone, and he felt the loss keenly. Suddenly the manthings surrounding him felt alien. He knew that only moments before he had understood what these things were called and what they were for, but now they had names and uses that he couldn’t quite grasp. They were like a name on the tip of his tongue that refused to come to him.
He ran through the house following the spoor he had picked out. Every room he entered contained bodies. He didn’t know if they were Michael’s friends or the enemy, but he suspected the former, as most were not human. He wasn’t sure because David was far away and hadn’t explained, but he thought AML were all humans and some of these were shifters. The dead humans among them might be thrill seekers like those who came to the club.
More gunfire had him spinning toward the sound and running that way. Shouts and screams added urgency. Perhaps he could make David less sad by saving them.
He found the source of the screaming in one of the rooms Michael must use for his parties. The humans cowering against the walls and in the corners had other things on their minds than partying. The scent of fresh blood hit him the moment he entered the room and made him hungry. That was his first thought. Hungry. His second was that the humans menacing the guests with guns while two of their friends finished decapitating their non-human victims, were about to die.
