by Justin Sloan
“Seriously not the time!” Valerie shouted, pulling them apart and then pointing back up the hill. “Royland, join your men. You two can go crazy in the sheets when there are sheets to go crazy in. Seriously, what the fuck?”
He blushed like a twelve-year-old boy and wished them luck before returning to the main part of the fight. The bear was up there swatting away Forsaken, but several had managed to climb on his back with knifes, so Royland darted over to help.
“You have that out of your system?” Valerie asked Cammie when he was gone.
Cammie winked and gripped her weapons, but said, “I don’t know, you look kinda hot when you get mad.”
“Ugh!” Valerie turned and started running for the Bazaar, not even waiting to see if they were following.
“See, like right there!” Cammie called after her, and then was with her, the other two at her side. “Just, if I die right now, I at least had a chance to kiss him, right?”
“Since when do you care about Royland?” Valerie asked, slowing now as they reached the first tent, the one that led into the others. There was no guard now.
“Since the explosion, that started it. Then I got shot, and I started thinking that this could really be it. You know, Sandra has Diego, you have Jackson, and—”
“Well…” Valerie shrugged, then pushed in through the tent flaps and looked around as she said, “Let’s just admit that one’s complicated.”
They were back in a massive tented area, and it was clearing out fast. Felix and his small band of fighters were in a bit of a scuffle with some of the merchants, but some of the Weres seemed to already have taken over the table with the medical supplies.
Rumors were going to come out from tonight, stories of the UnknownWorld, but that couldn’t be helped. If they couldn’t keep the people of Old Manhattan alive and otherwise safe, what did it matter if they knew about vampires and Weres?
Valerie realized there was only one place the tall Forsaken could be—the arena. And if she had to bet, she imagined she'd find Clive and Cheryl in there too, if they had taken his side. That, or they'd likely fled.
As they approached the arena, a commotion arose and a dozen women came charging out, chasing down several Forsaken. They carried swords or wore clawed-gloves, and their steel flashed in the dim light. At first, it wasn't clear what was happening, but then Valerie saw the woman, Norma, and she realized these must be Norma's Slicers she'd heard so much about.
They were fighting back! If even the corrupt in this city stood up to the Forsaken and the CEOs, maybe they had a chance after all.
It couldn't be as black and white as she'd thought, but that didn't mean they'd get off without answering for their crimes. She'd leave that part to Wallace and Colonel Donnoly though.
For now, she and the other three charged forward and joined in the fight.
"You?" Norma said, watching Valerie cleave into the vampires. After her initial moment of shock, she nodded back to the arena building and said, "Clive's in there, and he's in trouble. Go, we can handle this."
Valerie frowned, but nodded and made her way past the main doors, where just that evening she'd passed in a totally different capacity. She was no longer looking for answers, unsure.
Now she was simply ready to kick ass.
She walked in, standing tall with the three Weres close behind.
In the dance room, the lights were still flashing, the music still playing. Several Forsaken seemed to be on their way out for the attack, but when they saw her, they smiled and retreated back through the door to the fighting pit.
"This feels..." Cammie started, looking for the right words.
"Ominous?" Valerie said.
"I was thinking more like 'fun,' but yeah, maybe a bit of ominous and fun thrown in a bowl and mixed up real good?"
"I think your head's mixed up real good," Valerie said with a chuckle. "Let's just get this over with."
"Agreed," Presley said.
As they walked up the stairs, she expected she'd hear creaking if not for the loud music.
When they stepped into the fighting room, Esmerelda gasped. Valerie just stared, not caught off guard in the least. Men with knives and guns lay dead in the bleachers, many who she had seen with Clive earlier.
Clive was still alive, but he and Cheryl were in the middle of the room, the tall Forsaken standing over them, with Anderson, the former cop, at his side.
“I told you she’d come,” Anderson said, his gray eyebrows casting a menacing shadow over his eyes. He smiled at her like they were old friends, and then held out his arms. “Come, Valerie. Join your friends here.”
“Friends?” she asked, looking Clive and Cheryl over. She didn’t want to see them dead, but calling them friends was a bit of a stretch.
“Surrender, or they die,” the Forsaken said.
“We’re already dead anyway,” Cheryl said.
Anderson hit her upside the head. “Shut up!”
“Shouldn’t have done that,” Valerie said. “Were these two my friends? No. Will I be okay with you hitting a girl while she kneels unarmed before you? Hell to the No.”
Her eyes glowed red and her fangs had grown without her even realizing it, and she charged forward, sword at the ready. Anderson backed away, but the Forsaken smiled and motioned to one of his minions. Suddenly doors were opening and Nosferatu were charging down for the attack, along with the other Forsaken.
Anderson had a pistol out now, too, and was laughing as he aimed in on her, but he didn’t have time to fire. The Nosferatu weren’t concerned with who was in their path, only that there were others than their master, and they meant to kill them all.
Shrieking as three of them converged on him, tearing him to pieces, Anderson fell.
“Get out of here!” Valerie said to Cammie as she charged forward, pushing her fear and swinging her sword, and going all out in a mad fight to reach the tall Forsaken.
When she heard the sick crunch of dying Nosferatu, she knew Cammie and the two Weres hadn’t gone, and that brought her comfort.
“Remember,” Esmerelda said as she took down a Nosferatu, “we follow Cammie’s orders, not yours.” She spun and took out another. “She didn’t say anything about leaving.”
Presley leaped past them as she transformed into a wolf, and then Cammie had transformed as well, and Valerie was glad—it would be easier to swing her sword and remove heads if her allies were shorter than neck level.
She took out Nosferatu after Nosferatu, and soon they were piling up around her. A glance to her left showed Cammie and Esmerelda exchanging blows with the tall Forsaken, but soon more Nosferatu had gotten in their way again.
There were so many of these mindless beasts, she wondered if there was ever going to be a way through them.
A loud roar sounded, and a thud on the wall. The fighting paused, then resumed. Again the thud, and then a portion of the wall gave way as the bear charged through, Royland close behind.
“I couldn’t let you have all the fun!” Royland yelled, his rallying cry a little drowned out as he and the bear charged into the fight.
Now the Nosferatu were falling left and right, at swipes from the bear, shots from Royland, or the wolf attacks and Valerie’s sword. With a final swipe, the path was clear. The tall Forsaken stood before her, sizing her up, and then charged.
Did these idiots never learn?
“I am Valerie. One time vampire princess, Now, I am the Dark Messiah’s Justice Enforcer. But most of all, I’m a woman who won’t take shit from your useless ass.”
So she braced herself, sword at her side, and then spun with a strike. He tried to dodge, but she was quick and skilled—years of training outperformed his, and the sword tore into his chest. He staggered sideways, caught himself, and changed direction, coming at her again.
This time she heaved her sword up and made a vertical line of blood to go with the horizontal. He staggered backward, prepared to attack again, wavered a moment, and then fell.
�
�There’s got to be more fight in you than that,” Valerie spat out, sword still gripped firmly. She became aware of the silence, and when she looked around, the previous dead had been joined by mounds of Nosferatu and Forsaken.
The tall one lay there, desperately trying to hold back the flow of his blood as it came out in waves, and managed to say, “You'll never stop the Black Plague. We're coming for you."
"Wait, the what? Are you serious with that name?" Valerie asked, sliding her sword in her sword belt.
"Yeah," Cammie agreed. "It's gotta change. That’s lame."
The Forsaken glared at them, then lunged—instead of meeting him half way, Valerie stepped back, kicked out his legs, and grabbed him by the back of his head. With one swift motion, she slammed his head into the floorboards so that they cracked, and then again, sending splinters shooting out around them. One final time, she lifted his head and slammed it so hard that it went right through the floorboards and smashed in the process.
Just for good measure, she grabbed one of the splintered pieces of wood, a long, pointed one, smiled at Cammie, and then turned him over and jammed the piece of wood into his left breast.
"A stake in the heart?" Cammie asked, wiping a little spot of blood that had hit her face. "Really?"
"What, you didn't think it was cute?" Valerie laughed and then stood and stomped on the piece of wood, so there'd be no question it penetrated his heart. She looked down, annoyed. "Too bad, the stories say we explode when that happens."
Cammie smirked. "Exploding vampires? No thank you, we've had enough explosions in this city lately.”
Valerie had to agree and, as they exited, she drank her last vial of blood as she looked around, putting the stopper back in and then said, "The city is yours, Cammie. Yours, Jackson's, and Royland's... if you two can keep your hands off of each other long enough to delegate, that is."
Cammie laughed, glancing over at Royland, who smiled back, wiping blood from his perfect chest. "We'll do our best."
Valerie took a moment to survey the damage, "That's all I can ask."
She turned at the movement of something in the corner, and saw that both Clive and Cheryl had survived. A part of her wanted to see them both dead, but she blamed that on her blood lust. Fighting and killing caused people to think in weird ways.
Cammie exchanged an uncertain look with Valerie, but then Valerie nodded.
“Bring them with us,” Cammie said to her Weres. “We’ll see if their knowledge of the streets comes in handy.”
They exited the bazaar and found a battlefield strewn with Forsaken. Several injured Weres and vampires were being helped up by the others, but they would recover. Their strategy of keeping the majority of the cops as marksmen had paid off with minimal casualties.
"You're staying in the shadows then?" Cammie asked.
"I'll check in on you all, come and go. But until we're sure the CEOs are out of the picture and can't pull any more strings here, I can't have Enforcer HQ acting as the lighting rod. If I'm on the move, they won't know where to expect my next strike."
Cammie nodded and turned to smile at Esmerelda and Presley. "You two did good. Now let's get this mess cleaned up. This city's our home, let's make it a great one."
“It’s done?” Diego asked, his clothes bloody.
She looked at him, debating how to answer that question, then noticed Sandra walking over, strong and intense.
“We’ve dealt a blow to the blood trade, I imagine,” she said. “But it’s more than that. This was a boulder in the path of whatever plan the CEOs have for us. We’ve been victorious in that, but they're still out there.” She turned, staring out past the city walls.
"Judgment has fallen. They must be dealt with."
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
EPILOGUE
Sandra’s Café
It was the first café in Old Manhattan, and it was Sandra’s. Everything was set up right for the big opening, except Valerie was late. Jackson sat in the corner with a few of his people, while Royland sipped on a glass of the newest import of wine while chatting with Esmerelda and Presley.
Sandra prepared a plate of cheeses, and couldn’t resist taking a bite. The way it crumbled in her mouth made her want to just sit back with a glass of wine, stare out at the countryside, and maybe take a nap.
But right now she had a restaurant opening to see to.
Finally, Valerie and Cammie appeared in the doorway. Sandra set down her cheese platter and glared at Valerie.
“Told you,” Valerie said to Cammie, hitting her arm playfully.
“Hey, I’m not mad you’re late, really,” Sandra said but Diego nodded with wide eyes, and she caught him. “I’m not. Ugh, whatever. All I ask is for a little order!” Sandra ushered her toward the back room. “I have some chef outfits, you two can get washed up back there and changed, and then you get your asses back out here to help me open this damn restaurant.”
Valerie and Cammie turned to her, confused, and Cammie said, “If there’s another attack, we need to be out there defending the city against it.”
“Screw that,” Sandra said. “Delegate. Let them deal with it while you two help a friend.”
Cammie chuckled. “Deal.”
“I’m proud of you,” Valerie said, stepping in for a hug.
“Nu-uh,” Sandra said with both hands up to ward her off. “Get to work. Hugging later.”
Valerie laughed and nodded, then headed back to get ready for the big day. It was nice, knowing that Sandra was living her dream of seeing some of their world brought over here. Sure, they had to worry about pirates on the trade lanes and the CEOs were still out there, waiting to be dealt with or planning their next big hit.
But for now, Valerie was just going to enjoy some well-earned time with her friends.
FINIS
Author Notes - Justin Sloan
Written February 13th, 2017
Here it is - the TEST! Some people read book one to see what it is, some read book two to give me a second chance, and of course there were the fans who loved them.
Thank you! I say thank you to you, specifically, because I have to assume that if you've made it through book three, then you must be enjoying these books, right?
So if book three comes out and there are no sales... then I go and cry in the shower. However, based on some of the emails I've received and reviews I've read, I am confident that a good number of readers have faith in me.
You know what? That means the world.
This whole writing thing is a blast, but it can be quite nerve-racking. Are they going to like it? Are they going to leave a bunch of one-star reviews saying they not only hate the book, but hope I die a slow, painful death? (I've seen those reviews, though not for my books, I'm happy to say... Please don't!)
What's not to like in these books though, right? I'm there with you, but some reasons I might be concerned include the fact that (a) I'm not Michael, and (b) that I'm not simply trying to copy Michael's voice. Yes, he writes these with me, but you know what I mean.
To address those:
A) I'm not Michael. There's just not getting around this. As much as I might try, I can't look as good as that guy! Also, we have different tastes. I'm obsessed with Game of Thrones (Yes he is - Michael) and Harry Potter. I've watched The Princess Bride so many times that I'm surprised every story I write isn't just an exact copy of that movie. Braveheart too... Back to the Future too.
Haha. I bet if you got his list, it would look pretty different.
B) I have my own voice and style. We're not trying to get a ghostwriting gig here, where I pretend I'm writing as Michael and everything is the same as his other books. Because of this, some readers move on and leave reviews of two stars that say "This isn't Michael," and not much else. I have to laugh at that - Nope, I'm not Michael, and I do have my own tastes and writing style.
Both of those said, he is involved in the books. He helps come up with the concept, provide input throughout, and then does some writing an
d editing at the end. So if you like Michael and hate me, there still MIGHT be enough here to keep you somewhat engaged.
Let's look at my other writing and see why it might be different.
I tend to write either straight up Disney or Harry Potter style stories (Teddy Bears in Monsterland and Allie Strom and the Ring of Solomon, respectively), or massive epic fantasies where there are gods and mythology and a dragon shifter (my Falls of Redemption trilogy, which starts with Land of Gods).
Do those sound similar to the Kurtherian Gambit stuff? Haha - no way! Though with all the directions Michael is taking the series, who knows, right?
So I'll have some readers check out my kids' stuff and then move onto my fantasy or urban fantasy, and be like "Whoa, these are kind of dark!"
Yes, dark things happen, there are coming of age themes, and sometimes lots of grief before the heroes come streaming out of the darkness with light blasting from their fingertips, just in time to defeat the bad guy and save the world.
I feel that's a bit different from what we have with Valerie - a woman who is going to kick butt, and more butt, and more butt.
Right?
So yes, getting back to the point, I am VERY curious to see how readers accept this book. You all probably fall into one of three categories. We have some readers who start in the Reclaiming Honor series and have never read my other books or Michael's other books. We have the readers who read ALL my other books, and then came here. And we have Michael's readers who have read his and given me a shot. All are equally amazing, but all come with, I think, wildly different expectations.
I look forward to hearing from you all what you think!
