“The witches are the only group that has maintained a similar population level over the same period of time. Their problem, like ours, is also a genetic one. That little witch girl we met yesterday, the odds that her mother’s human mate is the real father are about ten thousand to one. She either cheated or he agreed for her to have artificial insemination with a male witch donor. Even with two witches the odds of having a child that is a witch are only about one in one hundred. The odds that there would be a male child that is a witch from two witches are even greater, around one in five thousand. Male witches from the union of witch and non witch are virtually impossible. Any male witches, like your FBI agent, are encouraged very strongly to sleep around with as many female witches as possible. The Witch Council encourages this, a lot of their efforts are also in genetic research. The witches are not isolated in groups like the rest of the supernatural community, they are encouraged to blend in with the human population. They also realized early on what was happening and used every means at their disposal to limit human regulation. They are only required to wear a token of identification in public when they reach the age of sixteen, like the pentagram.”
“Leading us to focus on the second ‘P’ here, one of politics and this is also, in my opinion, the reason we are here tonight, fighting for the survival of our respective groups.”
“There has never been a supe on any of the three territory Leadership Councils,” she continued. “All the active mayors have campaigned that they not be allowed to vote or to run for political office but they normally come up short with the required votes. This is the land of opportunity, after all. A few years back a witch named Roger Simpson came up with a potion that would eradicate certain cancers if detected in the early stages. His potion has saved thousands of lives and he became hugely popular, appearing on TV in interviews and on talk shows. He put every penny of profit back into hospitals and research for cures to other illnesses, leading to several promising breakthroughs that have the potential to extend the lives of almost every human on the planet. It was a huge PR win for the witches. Last year he announced that he would be running for mayor of the Southern territory in next year’s election. My sources tell me he actually has a chance.”
She paused, “My gut is telling me that the so called vamp crime wave, the kidnapping and killing of humans, is a set up intended to turn public opinion against all supernaturals and keep our current mayor in power. And speaking of power, he has recruited not only humans but enough supes to make this set up seem real. Most likely with promises of power and influence in return for cooperation. My traitor would be a perfect candidate for recruitment. All he cares about is power. The only group not having a betrayer is the Pack and it is very difficult to turn a pack member, someone whose instinct is to protect the pack at all cost.”
“Then we come to the last ‘P’,” she added. “The press. The Mayor is using his contacts in the press to wage a hate campaign and other than the Witch Council, few supe leaders have many friends among the press to fight such a campaign. We are going to need someone in the press on our side if we are going to succeed. If we kill everybody, it will just be as gasoline to the flames of hatred. Our goal is to capture the fae alive and get him to talk. We have to get the story out there and keep him out of the hands of the authorities while we are doing so. Let’s hope they don’t deal with him the same way they did that vamp in jail, otherwise we will need documented proof of the conspiracy. He’s smart and talented. My bet is he is holding the Mayor to any promises made and staying out of harms way in the meantime. He won’t be easy to get to and we need to take him alive.”
“He has what he calls a little ranch near a portal to Faerie not far from here. I would call it a fortress. I have people guarding the other side so if he is in there, he is not escaping through Faerie. There is only one road in and his place sits well back from it with a guarded gate at the entrance. He’s got a ten-foot-high fence surrounding the place, no trees near the fence and the grounds are patrolled by hellhounds.”
Hellhounds are not really from Hell, but they surely belong there, I thought. One of the creatures from Faerie, used by the fae in their wars, they’re vicious and strong, afraid of nothing. Huge black dogs, with sharp fangs and trained to attack anything their master has not cleared. They would not stop attacking until their target was dead or they were.
“Sounds like fun,” Jane said.
“Yeah,” I agreed. “A good time to be had for everyone.”
We ditched the car about a half mile away and approached the ranch on foot, keeping to the woods and staying out of sight. Alexis had every tree and plant around and within his place cut down. Ten-foot brick walls with only one thick metal gate just as tall, which I could sense was iron, three human guards armed with assault weapons at the gate house. You could see a couple of the hellhounds lounging around the grounds through the bars of the gate just looking for an excuse to tear something to shreds. A large Spanish-style ranch, two more guards with automatic weapons stood at the front door. To the left of the house was what used to be a barn, that was now a guard house of some kind, the roof had been flattened out and on top of it were two mounted machine guns facing front towards the entrance and two more facing the rear. To the right of the house was a six-stall carport. Several military style jeeps and a few dune buggys with mounted weapons, a couple of these could be heard driving around the property. The house set back at least seventy yards form the walls. That was a long stretch to cross, exposed as we would be. And this we could all see just through the bars of the gate, there could be more defenses inside as well. The place was lit up like a Christmas tree, darkness would not be an advantage for us. The guards all had that ex-military look, alert and well trained. Alexis had poured a fortune into his private security.
I looked at Jane, she shrugged and we both looked at Jill. She was the Winter Queen and had fought wars before. I didn’t have a clue.
“I go through the gate in front, you two over the walls in the back corners. I will put a little winter magic to use on my car, a solid block of ice covering the front of it and if I can get it going fast enough it should be enough to crash through those gates. As soon as you hear the crash, you go over the walls. If the car is still moving, I will continue on to crash through the door of the house. I will use some more ice shields on the top and the sides of the car, so I won’t get shot up by the guns. I can probably hold these shields for a minute or two tops, it will be up to you guys to take out the small army in there. The hounds will react to the crash, rushing to the front. I have seen both of you run, and you are faster than they are. By the time they realize the property has been breached from the back corners, Jade you can scale the barn and take out the gunners up there, the ones in the back will probably turn around at the crash even as trained as they may be. You should have a least a few seconds before they turn back around to monitor their side. You simply man the machine guns and kill the guards and hellhounds on the ground. Jane you rip of the bars off one of the windows in the back and go after Alexis. I will hold the front door against the guards, I might be lucky there as I don’t know they will be shooting indiscriminately with their boss in the house.”
Jane looked at me this time, and this time I shrugged. We both looked at Jill.
“Look,” she said. “The key to a plan like this is confidence. Jane, you are the most powerful vamp in the territory, maybe even the country and Jade, from what I hear you might be one of the most powerful of whatever you are. You’re certainly not going to let a few humans and a puppy or two slow you down.”
“Sure,” I said. “I’m all over this thing.”
“Piece of cake,” Jane agreed.
Jill gave me her second dagger, she had two taped under her sweatshirt. “No fae lady goes into battle without a dagger,” she said. “For this that we do together you are fae.”
Chapter Twenty
Jill went back for the car. Jane and I stood there together for a moment, shoulders touc
hing. Then she squeezed my hand and was gone, heading for the right back corner of the property.
I was really impressed with Jill. She was used to this, making plans and giving orders. Her confidence was infectious. She had a reputation and I had no doubt it was deserved. Now, just to execute the plan.
I had moved to my assigned spot and was ready. Reaching the ledge of a ten foot wall for a powerful vamp or shifter was really not difficult at all. I was more concerned with the leap to the ledge of the barn, it had to be at least seventeen feet to the top where the guards were located. I just didn’t have the experience to know for sure if I could pull it off. I was muttering, “Piece of cake,” over and over to myself when the crash came.
Three quick steps, a leap and my feet were on top of the wall then over and I was streaking for the barn, a blur, as fast as I could move. I saw that a few of the hounds had started towards the front already and one must have heard me because he was in the process of turning around. No matter, I thought, as I made my leap up to the back corner of the barn. I had to grab the ledge and flip myself up and over with my arms. No problem, I had made it with at least an inch to spare. By this time, the guards in the front corners were firing their guns and none of the guards heard me. The one closest to me started to turn around and I broke his neck with a swipe of my left hand, pivoting and quick stepping to the other guard putting my dagger under his chin through the brain with the tip showing through the top of his skull. Nice dagger, very sharp, one of the Queen’s own.
I was halfway to the guard mounting the gun on that front corner when the guard on the other side noticed me. They had stopped firing and the guard had been turning to other guard to say something. I hoped this meant that Jill had made the front door and that Jane had achieved her entry as well. Two more strides and I had reached the guard on my side. He had just started to stand up, realizing there was something behind him. I grabbed his neck and twisted, hearing a satisfying crack. Unfortunately, the other guard had drawn his hand gun and started firing at me, shooting through his buddy, who I was holding in front of me as a shield. I had hoped he was wearing body armor but no such luck as one of the bullets got through to my upper right chest. More silver, I could tell, stuck inside one of my lungs. I was so tired of getting shot. My dagger throw took that guard between the eyes, tip emerging on the other side of his head. Perfect balance, I was so not leaving this dagger behind.
I took another bullet, this time in my thigh, almost lost my footing from that one, it had to have hit my thigh bone, leaving splinters of bone spread out inside me, but at least this bullet passed on through me. Another took off part of my right ear as I begin firing downward with the machine gun, switching to the gun on the other side as I finished the clip, not taking the time to look for another. The open area worked against the guards as the Winter Queen intended. A couple had tried for the front door and I saw one fall back, breaking into pieces of ice and flesh as he fell back in the yard. None of the others tried the door in the few seconds they had remaining. The guards were dead by the time I finished the clip on that one, walking back to one of the others on the back side, ripping it off it’s mounting and firing holding it in my arms as I picked off the hounds. I had to use the last machine gun to finish them off, most required several shots to put them down, even with silver bullets. My arm was not moving quite right and my aim was starting to be off, somewhere in the exchange of bullets I had taken another hit, this time to my collar bone. That one really started hurting as I moved.
Jill came out of the house followed by Jane, with the traitorous fae draped over her shoulder. The car must have seen it’s last usefulness because they were heading for the jeeps under the carport. There was not a mark on either one of them. Somehow I think I had gotten the raw end of this one. The jump down was painful. I made it then collapsed on my butt, holding the Queen’s dagger in my left hand.
“I am so glad I am getting my dagger back,” Jill said, pulling the Jeep up beside me.
“Piece of cake,” I said.
Chapter Twenty-One
I woke up at dawn. Jane was next to me, nude, a natural redhead for sure, and the freckles were everywhere I noticed, admiringly. I was naked as well, and feeling no pain whatsoever. I felt a little tipsy actually, now remembering that I didn’t really remember much after Jill picked me up at that place with guns and dead bodies. I had felt Death, the new primary aspect of Death, swoop in as I left the building so to speak. That was about the only thing I remembered, although I did remember a dream of drinking blood and doing a few other things. Jane was dead to the world, the sun was up, and she was sleeping soundly. I knew it would be hard to wake her from such a sleep. She had a now-fading bite mark on her neck and one on her left breast.
My clothes were in a corner of the bedroom at Tanglewood. They were a bloody, holy, smelly mess. I didn’t have anything else to wear and I was so not going to swipe Jane’s clothes. I should not be hung up on nudity, I told myself, I was a shifter, I just loved wearing things. I tried to remember how the shifter girls at Emily’s change had handled this no clothes thing in front of people and did my best to copy that attitude.
Jill was in the living room, watching the news. There were several empty bottles of wine here and there in the room and I could smell the coffee brewing. She must have heard me get up and made a pot.
“Good morning, Jade,” she said. “You look lovely, and completely healed. And that without even a shift change, very impressive.”
“You got any clothes?” I asked.
“No, but Diocletus is bringing some. I managed to contact your Queen last night and she is sending Diocletus over with a few items she thinks we may need, along with a change or two of clothes for all of us. Jane spoke to her crew last night too, they anticipate getting here with the RVs this afternoon sometime. They are bringing supplies, bottled blood, weapons and clothes as well.”
“Did we have a party?” I asked, indicating the wine bottles, now unfortunately empty.
“You had lost quite a bit of blood by the time we made it back,” she said. “ I carried Alexis and Jane carried you. I am afraid I slowed her down a good bit. She broke into the winery and swiped five bottles, she thought it would help you recover but you really wanted blood, even after four bottles of red wine. She said it meant something that she gave you back the blood you had given her on the same night, some kind of vamp thing. I did offer but you only had eyes for Jane.”
“It’s starting to come back to me,” I said. It was but I was going to avoid thinking about it for now.”So, there is a fifth bottle of wine still here?”
“I had a few sips, but most of it is still in the fridge,” she responded.
It took me about half a second to cross the room to the kitchen area and pull out the bottle of wine. “Yummy,” I said as I plopped down into one of the leather recliners and started drinking it down, no glass required. I was trying to time it so the wine would last me until the coffee finished brewing. It almost hurt my head to think about it.
“Where’s the little traitor fae?” I asked.
“Trussed up in the other bedroom,” Jill replied. “I think he peed his pants this morning, no way am I taking him to the bathroom. I slept on the couch, a little small but not a problem.”
“If he does something else, I’ll just dump him in the Yadkin river to clean him off” I answered. “Or maybe Diocletus can take care of him when he gets here.” I had heard him coming, and the smell was definitely him. There was a knock on the door just as I said “here,” and I giggled. For some reason I thought that was pretty damn funny. “Don’t get up,” I insisted. “I’ve got this. Piece of cake.”
Fae are not as open with nudity as shifters or witches are, they are quite prudish in some respects. The look on Diocletus’ face when I threw the door open and dragged him inside was priceless. Two teenage boys were walking by on the trail in front of our cabin, stopped, staring. I took a moment to step outside and wave before going back in, still giggling
. I had made somebody’s day, yet again.
“I hope you brought some clothes for Jade,” the Winter Queen said. Diocletus was in mid bow, it had taken him a moment to decide which one of us was Jill. He probably decided she wouldn’t be walking around naked and waving at teenagers.
“Ooops,” I said, remembering the large antiquated-looking suitcase Diocletus must have set down beside the door before knocking.
“I’ve still got this,” I said, opening the door again and grabbing the suitcase. The two boys were still standing there, looking stunned.
Jill led me back to the bedroom to put some clothes on, leaving Diocletus where he was.
“Watch the news for any updates on our adventure last night,” she told him, closing the bedroom door.
A hot shower and a change of clothes felt great. Jill had a matching set, we were continuing with the twins theme as students at the local college. Faded jeans, ones with holes premade here and there. White Nikes, and a ‘Get Your Eyes Checked, You’re Seeing Double’ pair of T-shirts. Jill was continuing with the ‘avoid-suspicion-by-drawing-attention’ strategy.
The coffee helped clear my head. I was learning that a loss of blood vamped me out and four bottles of wine followed by some blood got my system pretty much tipsy. Some of the events of the night still weren’t real clear to me but I did remember enough to know that Jane and I had gotten up close and personal. I was still avoiding thinking about that too much. I had never had a lover before. I simply didn’t know what I was supposed to do or how I was supposed to act. The shifters have a saying, ‘play it by nose instead of ear, depending on which way the wind is blowing.’ I was going to do that.
The news was full of spin and misinformation. It was being played as a combined vamp and shifter attack on a prominent businessman at his horse ranch. Pictures were shown of the crashed in gate at the entrance to the compound, pictures of several dead horses with their throats ripped out, and a picture of the man I had seen falling back out of the front door of the house, frozen and breaking into chunks. He had melted, it seems. It looked like he had been torn apart limb by limb. It was shocking and gruesome. The cops evidently had a witness, supposedly a cook that had hidden in the pantry. She indicated that a large group of vamps working together with huge wolves had attacked the ranch, killing all the farm hands and the owner. The police released a taped interview with her—her description of the carnage was convincing. No mention was made that the owner was fae. The interviews and pictures were shown on all the national news channels and most of the local ones.
Jade Page 11
