by Casey Wyatt
I yelped. “God, Philip! Knock first before you drop in.”
“Cherry? You okay?” said Jay, voice tinny over the vid screen.
“Fine. It’s Philip.” Nearly giving me a freakin’ heart attack. Well, a proverbial one. I laughed so hard, a stitch formed in my side. I pointed an accusing finger at Philip. “Good. Using my own trick on me.”
Philip gave me an enigmatic smile. The twist of his lips reminded me of Ian’s smirk the first time we met.
I wanted to sob with grief. Instead, I asked Philip. “Any suggestions on eliminating the remaining five?”
“Five?” Philip arched an eyebrow. His scar took on a sinister grimace in the dim light. “Honey, there are more than five enemy combatants.”
He might as well have punched me in the stomach. “When did this happen?”
“Ten minutes ago another shuttle landed.”
I growled and punched the seat again. This time my fist sank into the upholstery painfully smacking into the metal below. With as much dignity as I could spare, I extracted my bloodied fist. Philip was gentleman enough not to comment.
“Oh boy,” Jay said.
“Are the colonists evacuated?” I hope to hell my mental plea had reached them. “Is the family safe, Jay?”
He moved away from the screen, reappearing seconds later. “Affirmative, the last group has arrived.”
“We need to stop any more ships from landing. Can you work with Kasia? They must have their own vessel somewhere. Tell her to ram it or something.”
“Perhaps disabling their systems with an EMP pulse would be more prudent,” Philip suggested, “less damage to our ship.”
I snapped my fingers. “Good idea, make it so, Number One. Over and out.” I cut off the transmission before Jay could tell me the idea wasn’t feasible. Negativity was the last thing I wanted to hear.
“It’s only a matter of time before they find the caves.” Philip said. “Trent ran away.”
Frustration built in me, a kettle ready to boil over. Yet another thing working against us. “He’s such a moron. Too stupid to live.”
“Agreed.”
“The important thing is keeping the colony safe. We could lead them on a merry chase. They don’t know the land like we do.”
Philip growled, “Or we could kill them. They can’t stay here.”
“You’re right. This is our home.” Unbidden, the image of Ian’s death looped through my mind. I sucked in a cry, massaging my abdomen instead.
“He will be avenged.” Deadly menace oozed off Philip.
“We take them out one by one if need be. No mercy. No survivors.”
“Before we start, you’ll need a quick course in vampire slaying.”
I swallowed the lump in my throat. In all my years as a vampire, I had never killed with deliberate intent.
My mother’s voice echoed in my head, “Turn the other cheek.”
Did I want to go down the path of vengeance?
Memories overran me, threatening to break my will. I remembered Ian’s smile, his lilting English accent, and the strength of his arms around me. I’d never feel his love again because it had been erased by cowards with a rocket launcher. Conjuring the horrific moment of his death steeled my resolve.
A cold smile curled my lips. “Bring it on.”
CHAPTER TWENTY
Armed with a quick primer on stealth attacks, Philip and I stalked our prey. He took them down, I staked them. Staking works to immobilize a vampire long enough to crack the neck and sever the head.
Philip preferred the messy way—head bashing.
Bathed in blood and brains, we dispatched six of them easily. They were traversing the outskirts, isolated, not expecting any resistance. Like I said – too stupid to live. Even then, I squashed any compassion (even if they were young vampires) and let pain drive my hand. I executed without hesitation. I didn’t enjoy it, but I wasn’t ashamed either.
For once the dust and rocks of the Martian landscape worked to our advantage. The dry ground greedily soaked up the blood. And the bodies were whisked away by the rogues who disposed of them over the side of the nearest crater.
Not so easy, the vamps inside the domes. We had no intel on which buildings they occupied. What we knew for sure, time wasn’t on our side. Soon, the fallen would be missed and our commando raid discovered.
Philip recalled the rogues, gathered the latest information, and dispatched them back into the colony. Phillip and I made our way to the greenhouse.
“I see them,” he whispered.
“We can’t use the front entrance. They’ll spot us.”
Philip scooped me into his arms, launched us upright, and hovered over behind tall corn stalks.
“Here, use this.” He handed me a ballpoint pen shaped device. “It’ll cut a hole in the dome’s force field. Click it like a flashlight.”
I depressed the little knob on the base and a faint blue line trailed out. I ran it along the side of the dome, creating a hole large enough for us to float through.
He took the device aimed it at the hole and clicked. The opening vanished.
Neat trick. Later, I’d worry about what other technology the rogues had ferreted away.
We surveyed the area from behind the corn. Plant laden trays rotated. Sprayers misted the root balls, the noise masking our presence. We headed toward the vampires' last location—the office.
Philip and I each took a side by the doorway. He poked his head in and out lightning quick. After a double check, he relaxed his stance.
“Stand down,” he said, motioning me into the office.
Two headless vampire torsos lay in a slick pool of blood. Their limbs twisted and broken like matchsticks. I scanned the room, locating the heads discarded in the corner.
Philip studied the handiwork. He commented, while pointing the torn skin around the neck. “Popped the head clean off. Spine cracked like a chicken wing. Whoever did this has a lot of rage. I like their style.”
Massaging my neck, I swallowed the lump lodged in my throat. For a moment, the vampire’s wild eyed stare and fearful grimace elicited sympathy.
Disgusted, I shook my head. What was I thinking? He was culpable in Ian’s death.
Philip searched the soldier’s pockets, frown on his face. After a thorough search he located their communicators and handed me one. “Maybe we can trick them during check in.”
A voice squawked loudly, startling me. I fumbled it but it didn’t fall.
“Team 7 report.”
“Team 7 here,” Philip said.
The voice on the other end hesitated. “Password?”
Philip cursed, then depressed the talk button. “Thalia is a fucking bitch.”
“Who is this?” demanded the voice.
Philip crushed the device in his massive palm. We ran toward the front entrance.
“It was worth a try,” I said as we exited the building.
Hell broke loose in the main dome. Bursts of gunfire broke the silence. The rata-tat-tat of automatic weapons pierced the newly repaired dome walls.
“Fuckers,” Philip said.
“Yup, each and every one of them. Now what?” We raced behind an empty shipping bin, out of the line of fire. A henchman ran outside, his back to us, gun pointed at the door. The rogues must have had him on the run. Thalia’s gun-toting vampire sprayed bullets indiscriminately at anything that moved inside the doorway.
“Pathetic,” Philip muttered. “She sends a cub to battle lions.”
Two of the rogues stalked the scared vamp, deftly avoiding the gunfire. They circled him like sharks scenting blood. One feinted left. The other feinted right. Together they charged him and tore his head off like paper.
A burp of acid rose up my throat. I swallowed. It burned all the way back down.
“We need to end this,” I said.
“Agreed.”
We swept through the rest of the colony, eliminating the remainder of Thalia’s men. We re-assembled near the crater t
o dispose of the rest of the bodies.
Something didn’t feel right. “This whole operation was way too easy. And Thalia’s men were as ineffectual as Keystone Cops.” I searched through the corpses. I had only seen one of Thalia’s men and he was notably absent from the pile.
“Where’s Joel? The Australian Vamp,” I pushed aside the last body.
Philip’s head whipped around. “He’s here?”
“Yes. He was there when…” my voice cracked.
Unlike my family, the rogues knew what had happened to Ian.
“Bad news.” He rubbed his chin.
We returned to the hovercraft. I collapsed onto the nearest seat, body tired and achy. Fatigue threatened to flatten me out. Pregnancy and killing do not make a good combination. I hoped I hadn’t scarred the baby for life.
“Go to the base, wait for my orders.” Philip motioned for the rogues to go skyward and climbed into the hovercraft.
“You have a secret base?” I gaped at him. The vehicle sped away from the colony, heading back to the caves.
“That’s not important right now.”
“I beg to differ. I’m supposed to know about this. I’m—”
“Cherry! Listen. Thalia is here. On Mars.”
My mouth went dry and my throat closed. “Here?” I choked out.
“Joel is her personal bodyguard. And lover.”
“We’ve been tricked.” I stared numbly at the stars. Phobos had risen in the sky. I hated the stupid squashed moon.
“Hate her instead,” Philip noted my surprised reaction. “Your emotions are strong enough I can feel them.”
“I do hate her.” She had single handedly taken away nearly everything in my vampire life. My job, my house, my sire and Ian. I yelled out in frustration. “The bitch has to die!”
“She will.”
The communication panel beeped . I touched the screen, “Go. Jay you’d better have—”
My throat closed up at the sight of Thalia’s pinched visage.
“Hello, Cherry Cordial. Lovely family you have here,” Thalia sneered. Jay’s battered face was locked under her armpit.
He moaned, “Save yourself.”
Thalia punched him in the mouth. Flecks of blood splattered the view screen, “Quiet. You do not have permission to speak.” Thalia dropped Jay and gave me her full attention. “Come to me right now. Or I will behead one member of your family every hour you make me wait.”
A female from my family cried out in pain. Thalia’s smile was ugly. “Oh, Cherry, do be late. I like to have my fun.”
The screen went dark.
Oh yeah. That bitch was gonna die.
~ * * * ~
“I’ll enjoy killing her.” I snapped off another fragrant mint leaf and chewed it. Before leaving the colony, I had grabbed a fistful from the greenhouse. The bitter taste of mint calmed my stomach and reminded me of Ian.
A black hole appeared in my mind whenever I thought of him.
“Save some for the rest of us,” Philip said.
“Can’t promise that,” I said, knowing he meant Thalia and not the mint.
“Are you sure there isn’t another entrance to the caverns? We need a stealthy way in there.”
“No, I’m not sure,” I retorted “We don’t have the time to figure it out either.” A half hour had elapsed since Thalia’s demand. I wished the hovercraft moved faster. If we didn’t need to transport the supplies to carry out our plan, we could have flown.
“Think about it, why would she give you an hour? She has to know it takes about an hour to reach the caves.”
To make me run around like a chicken with my head cut off. I smacked my forehead. “I’m an idiot.” I uncovered the cuff and tapped it. “Kasia? Are you there?”
“Yes, Cherry.”
First things first. “Did you disable the other ship?”
“Of course. I fucked their shit up.”
I cringed, silently blaming Jay.
Philip barked out a laugh.
Kasia added, “They’ll be busy for a while, fixing their electronic systems.”
“Great. You can tell me the gory details after. Is there another way into the caverns?”
The bracelet hummed. “I don’t know. Did you ask my sister?”
“Lake Lady is your sister?” Seemed kind of obvious when I thought about it.
“Kyrene can help you better than I can.”
“We can’t reach her right now. The bad guys have invaded the caverns. They’re holding my family hostage. Can you contact her and patch us in?”
“Yes.” The cuff’s surface displayed Lake Lady – Kyrene’s – distraught face.
“Cherry, who are the others in the caves? They have hurt Jay. They have defaced the murals attempting to remove the gold and jewels.”
“They’re here to take me away and kill the family.”
“Not acceptable.”
No kidding. “Is there an alternate way in? A back door?”
“There are several.” Locations appeared on the cuff.
We decided to use the entrance closest to the colony.
“This entire time there was a doorway here.” I groused as we approached a large boulder in the middle of the rock studded plain.
One by one, rogues dropped from the sky. Grim faced with steel in their eyes, they each nodded to me, ready for battle. They shared one noticeable thing in common – besides killer attitude.
“Philip, hand me your knife.” The sleek handle slapped into my waiting palm. I clutched a hank of my long red hair. Memories of Ian’s hands stroking the silken locks assaulted me. For a brief moment, his voice whispered in my ear, I love you.
Pain closed my eyes. Deep inside, a bit of my soul blackened and died.
With a sharp tug of the blade, I sliced upward, severing the hair. I sawed and cut until the hair was shorn close to my skull. A pile of red tufts blanketed my boots. In turn, each rogue took a few strands.
Philip raised his fist in the air. “For Ian.”
“For Ian!” We shouted in unison. Wind gusts scattered the clippings, blowing them across the Martian landscape.
No one commented. They waited on me. I approached the rock. As with the ship, a portal appeared in the rock’s side. Stone steps led downward.
There would be death tonight. I prayed it was only the enemy who perished.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
We padded silently down a rough-hewn tunnel. Phosphorescent walls brightened the passage, the eerie radiance providing enough light to see a few yards ahead and no more. Flashlights clicked on, enhancing visibility.
The dry and musty air dried my throat and burned my eyes. Puffs of dust lifted with each of our footsteps until a haze obscured our view.
Someone sneezed, followed by an insistent shush. The tightness of the space failed to register. Claustrophobia paled in comparison to the grief engulfing me. An occasional tingle from the baby honed my focus. Survive, save the family.
“Drop straight ahead,” Philip warned, extending an arm, stopping our advance.
“How far?” I scooted to the drop off and gazed into the endless black.
“Kyrene, what is this canyon?”
“An extinct magma chamber. You must cross to the other side.” Nerves gutted my belly. Time was slipping by.
I thrust forward in flight and the others followed. Strong updrafts reeled me out of control, flipping me on my back. After a bit of trial and error, I stabilized my position and made it to the other side. Last. Several of the rogues flashed me admiring smiles as if I had passed a secret test.
Safely across, we proceeded down another tunnel and emerged into more familiar territory – an antechamber Ian and I had visited before. Piles of equipment were strewn across the floor. Smashed components and mangled machines smoldered in the room’s center.
The hall of murals lay on the other side of the door. The rogues moved into position, including two hovering by the ceiling. Philip’s muscled arms strained as he slid the hea
vy door open an inch at a time.
We snaked down the hall. One group split off in the opposite direction.
I stifled angry curses when I saw the murals. Scrapes and gouges marred many of the pictures. Assholes.
Following Kyrene’s map, we avoided the main chamber where the blue walkway resided. Instead, we approached a plain alcove tucked into a far corner. The bracelet pulsed and an opening appeared. We traveled through several connecting rooms. Kyrene’s map pointed us to another path leading to the lake. If I spent a million years in the caves, it wouldn’t be enough time to learn every secret.
Philip signaled all stop. Each rogue around me tensed. Two moved forward with blurring speed. There was a muffled grunt, then a figure was tossed at my feet.
“Sire, please,” he wailed and touched my boots. Trent’s arrogant face twisted. “Please, help me. I’ve been running around avoiding Thalia. She’s captured my men. And Pearl.
His men? “Shut up, Trent,” I pressed my fingers down on my eyelids, stemming the urge to slap him. I glanced at him again. Why did he care about Pearl?
Philip hoisted Trent onto his feet. His massive hand around locked around Trent’s throat. “Do not speak again.”
Philip turned to face me, “Your orders?”
“He’s coming along. We can’t leave him here.” As much as I’d love to abandon him, I couldn’t risk him squealing if he was captured. Besides, I was his sire and head of the family, he owed me his obedience.
We continued forward until we were one door away from the lake. “Kyrene, what’s happening?” I asked. Better to be informed than enter the situation blind.
Kyrene transmitted images from her viewpoint. My blood boiled and my heart ached. Each member of the family was bound and gagged. They had been roughed up.
Jay had received the worst punishment. In addition to the beating, Thalia had him collared and naked at her feet, his hands and feet trussed like a Christmas goose. Acrid smoke drifted across the lake. Kyrene’s head panned to the right. My house! Burning. Again.
I snarled.
We readied ourselves to open the door. With a glance from Philip, the rogues faded into the darkness.
