by D. R. Rosier
I nodded to Anise, and she took all of us to the council chamber.
It didn’t take long, maybe ten minutes to make a plan. My turning of his troops became the center of the plan, so Amy and Kim, along with most of the witches, vampires, and werewolves would cover me, doing as little damage as possible while I took over the enemy one by one. I was glad to see no one wanted to slaughter sixty beings just to stop one psychopath.
Anise was taking Willa, Lisa, Leanne, Stacy, along with five other witches and a few vampires and werewolves.
Her team would try and contain the warlock and demons to a limited area, while she took them out. I didn’t like that plan all that much as it had her fighting pretty much on her own, but Amy elbowed me hard when I tried to question it.
She said in my mind, “Trust my grandmother, she knows her limits, and would not throw away her life with all this help surrounding her. She only requests the witches help so the enemy can’t run away.”
I had no choice but to acquiesce. I could feel Amy’s absolute confidence and that did make me feel a bit better.
After checking on Silas’s location, we determined we had barely enough time to meet them right outside the city. We didn’t have enough power to transport all of them, so the vampires and the faster werewolves started running. Anise and I took all the witches, and what werewolves we could, and transported to right outside the city.
I felt nervous waiting, but we had left enough of a buffer that our vampires and werewolves arrived a few minutes before Silas and his army. It was still dark out, but the witches were ready to handle that at the right moment.
I felt a strange calm descend on me as I sensed the first vampires come into range of my magic. I was glad the spell worked just as good in a stressful situation as it had in bed with Anise. She had told me I’d eventually learn to do this on my own, with just my will, but how important it was to keep a calm mind while in battle. It would be deadly to worry about my companions at this time, I could deal with it after, right now all that mattered was neutralizing the enemy.
I sent out a shaft of power at the first vampire I saw, it didn’t penetrate and I ramped up my power until it broke through. After a moment, he had new orders and jumped the vampire next to him, holding him still until I could get to him. I was surrounded and protected by vampires, werewolves and witches alike so I could concentrate on my task.
The irony that this community was now relying on and supporting a necromancer was not lost on me. For the first time in my life I felt truly welcomed, it was not just me standing alone, or even in a small exclusive group. I was resolved not to let them down and started transforming as quickly as I could, but some were getting close enough now and I heard the fighting surround me…
*** - Anise
I watched, trusting in others to protect Vince as I extended my powers, scanning. I could feel them in the distance, the magic from the demons was similar in type, but the flavor was different, full of bitter rage, hatred, it felt so discordant against my aura.
I took a deep breath and hoped this would work. I had thrown the plan together on the spot after hearing about the warlock, and the witches had been dubious, but supported me. It would take perfect timing, the witches couldn’t hold the demons without a circle, and that meant a circle needed to be inscribed into the ground.
Having found them, I didn’t waste any time, we needed to attack first, if we waited and they split up we would have no chance at containment. I wrapped the witches up with power and we teleported. Even for me it was difficult, I landed almost amidst the enemy, scant yards away, and I placed the nine witches in a circle around them at the same time.
I quickly used earth magic before anyone could react, immediately a circle of containment rose up out of the ground surrounding us. The symbols and the unbroken line of the circle were perfect. Of course, I could only do the preparations. I heard the witches chant a single word in unison and the power of the circle coming up around us washed across my senses.
I grinned, it had worked. Demons were very fast, but the shock of us appearing out of nowhere had momentarily frozen them. There were three demons now, and the warlock. One of the demons growled and jumped at the closest witch, but rebounded off the ward.
I raised my power, making it manifest, and surrounded myself with solid armor, and a gleaming white sword in each hand. I had no doubt the demons could resist the light of my power, it would take the concentrated manifested form of swords to cut them down. Especially when it was three against one. Still, I chose to speak once their predicament sunk in.
“Warlock, you have violated the ancient laws. Explain yourself and withdraw, or pay the penalty.”
Warlocks are few and far between, because most of them were eradicated, their blood lines few and scattered. There was a time in the distant past when warlocks had conquered their neighbors and practiced human sacrifice with their almost unstoppable demon slaves.
When they were thinned enough, they had enough sense to back down and accept limitations and codes of behavior. One of those was to not conquer other cities. Really, what it came down to, is they were to use their power to guard the world from demons, not to use them to conquer.
He snorted, “You seem to be all alone, against three demons and me?”
His voice became commanding, “I will deal with the circle, kill the angel.”
*** - Vincent
I had about twenty done, but despite my feelings still being suppressed, the sight of the torn up bodies around my protection detail concerned me. I also hadn’t seen Silas, although through the vamps I’d taken I knew that he was here, somewhere behind his lines. I sent my ghosts to find him, all of them. I swore to myself he would not escape to try again.
I needed a way to be faster, it was taking too long. That’s when I remembered Krista’s paralyzing spell. It hadn’t stood up to my demon magic at all. The amulets blocked my necromancer magic forcing me to use raw power to overwhelm them, but what if I used both in concert?
I sent a pulse of shadow at the next vampire, followed by my necromantic power. Less than a second later, the vampire was mine. My pulse had worked, my demonic magic shattering the ward on the amulets using minimal power. I started to take them three times faster, and even started to have lulls in the attacks. This wouldn’t take much longer…
*** - Anise
I moved forward before he finished speaking his last word. Slashing into the closest demon. My sword was deflected by the demon’s claw surrounded in hardened shadow and I had to parry his return attack, spinning away to deflect his greater strength. The three demons jumped for me at the same time, but luckily mostly did nothing but get in each other’s way. Demons didn’t really fight as a team, they’d much rather kill each other. Usually they were split up and sent out by the warlock, and that’s probably why I was still alive.
I had been counting on this, as I weaved in and out of them, keeping them bunched up as I weaved my swords together, striking when the opportunity presented itself. The first two were down, killed, within twenty seconds. Ironically I was in more danger now than at the beginning, this last demon had a clear field and no more comrades to trip over.
He approached me cautiously and we exchanged a quick flurry of strikes that moved so quickly they would be outside human perceptions. He was good, but he had never faced anyone like me before. He was used to the quick and easy slaughter of humans. Still, I wasn’t overconfident, I fought him patiently, as if I had all the time in the world, and studied his style.
He was getting angrier, and angry fighting led to mistakes. I led him into a new exchange and he repeated his last attack. Instead of a parry I dodged the overhand slash I knew was coming and spun my other sword, taking his arm off at the elbow. His head followed quickly after.
The warlock looked up as the silence alerted him the fight was over. His haughty visage changed to disbelief as he saw me standing there alone. There was no reason to talk, his life was forfeit by law. He had powerfu
l wards, maybe even powerful enough to block my sorcery. I didn’t bother to find out, moving at him with speed I took his head before he could blink…
*** - Vincent
The fight was pretty much over. I had taken over at least forty vampires, plus the thirty we started with, so we outnumbered the remaining by a great amount, they were all subdued on the ground, safely contained until I could get to them. It would take some time to sort out the bad apples, but once the compulsions were removed I imagined Chicago would have a fairly large vampire population.
Silas was moving rather quickly north, trying to escape again. What he didn’t know is he was bracketed by just over a hundred ghosts. I considered chasing him for a moment, but then I realized something. Without my emotions, a need for revenge, he just wasn’t important enough to make the effort. Instead, I drew power from all of my ghosts, except three, to which I fed all that power.
In the end, Silas was torn apart by three empowered ghosts he couldn’t even touch. A fitting end for the self important psychopath. I blew out a breath and released my spell. There were a number of werewolves dying, and some torn up vampires. I could sense Anise approaching and I smiled, knowing she was successful in her battle, and would shortly be healing our injured.
I needed to get to work too, I had vampires to fix up, and some to question, either to release or kill.
I felt a hard nudge at my leg, and smiled down at Kim. This is the first I had seen her as a wolf not attacking me for more than a moment, and I found her wolf form exquisitely beautiful. My life had changed so much in so short a time, but I felt really good about the future and thankful I had many good people to spend it with…
Epilogue – Anise
“Purpose for your visit miss Clark?” Brandt asked.
“Call me Violet please. I’m a sorceress and want to relocate here, I missed this place while I was gone, but… you know,” she trailed off, obviously not wanting to bring up Silas or James.
He nodded, “In that case welcome back to Chicago Violet, I urge you to contact councilor Anise if you need any help settling down.”
The last year had been interesting, after that battle north of Chicago, things seemed to settle down. Violet would be the sixth returning sorceress since then, and there were five new sorcerers as well. Sixteen was still a small number, but my community was slowly growing to a respectable amount.
I frowned at the next person, who was in town for a week. Apparently word was out and there had been an unfortunate influx of supernatural gawkers. I had silly visions of supernatural travel agents saying in an announcer’s voice to visit Chicago, meet the council that hosts both a Nephilim and half demon. Ugh.
I felt a kick and reached down and rubbed my stomach, whispering soothingly. I heard a chuff of laughter and looked over at Brandt apologetically but he was smiling indulgently. Vince and I were having twins, fraternal boy and girl. Although the council sessions were only a few hours, twice a week, they always got impatient when I sat in one place for too long.
I looked back to the seating area and saw Kim looking at me knowingly, rubbing her own belly. All of us had been shocked when it happened. Even the alpha was at a loss, only a true werewolf mate should have been able to impregnate Kim. Somehow, Vince fit that bill. It was an amazing blessing, but I couldn’t help think it was also a harbinger of grief.
Vince loved her to distraction. I guess some pains in life can’t be avoided. At least he would have Amy, Lisa and I to help him when the time came. He would never have to wander alone in pain like I had, like I would never have to again. I put it out of my mind, it was at least a century and a half away, if not more, and I wouldn’t let the future poison my present. Werewolves lived for a long time.
Willa, Leanne, and Stacy still lived with us, but I wondered for how long. They loved Vince, Amy, Kim, Lisa and I, and I was pretty sure they always will. I would remember our time together and cherish every moment, but I was sure at some point they would want to start families of their own.
The three of them loved Vince of course, and he them, but it was more as intimate friends and lovers than a love of their lives thing. Lately they had come to look at my baby bump wistfully, and I knew they were feeling the turn of time.
I felt another kick and smiled despite myself. Despite any reservations, I was sure this would be the most amazing lifetime I had ever lived, and for the first time over the millennia of my life, I couldn’t see the end of it…
Afterword :
This story will continue in book two. I truly hope you enjoyed it…
About the Author : If you have any comments or suggestions you can send me an email at [email protected]. I started out posting short stories online and at readers’ requests started to publish them. If you like my work, or even if you don’t, please consider leaving a review of this book.
Description
Vincent is a necromancer and has an even darker secret. Feared by the rest of the supernatural community he lives on his own, often struggling with his powers, and how to use them. But change is coming, and he will soon find himself dragged into the middle of a suspicious and untrusting community.
Anise is a sorceress, but she has secrets of her own. She is an ancient being, who has walked the earth for time immemorial. She lives in a never ending cycle of life, forever watching those she dares to care about age and die. But she is about to find something new that will offer her hope, if she can live long enough to find it.
This book is told in the first person view, from both the perspective of Vincent and Anise.
WARNING: This book is an erotic novel. If you are offended by explicit sex, do not buy this book. There is MF, FF, and group scenes of an explicit nature.
