Blood Divine

by Greg Howard

  Changelings dropped all around him, first like walnuts shaken loose by the wind, then like a sudden, violent hailstorm pummeling the ground. Each landed with claws drawn in the air and fangs extended. They surrounded him. The first creature to advance on him tossed its head back and wailed a piercing war cry, setting off the entire horde. Cooper winced and covered his ears with his hands, shielding them from the deafening chorus. The monster licked what was left of its lips and stared him down, but it didn’t charge him. Though relatively confident that the creature wouldn’t harm him if he tried to walk past it, each monster he left standing was one more that would attack the Jericho soldiers.

  A swirl of black smoke descended from above and landed beside him, Betsy’s form emerged from the vaporous mist. She stood next to him without glancing his way. The beasts snarled at her, seemingly more agitated by her intrusion than his, which was likely her plan. Two changelings charged her at once. She reared back and head-butted one of the creatures, knocking it on its ass. The second monster’s neck met her vicious fangs. She ripped out what remained of its throat and spat the vile contents on the ground.

  Cooper shot a look back down the sandy road to Joshua and Lex. A dozen changelings circled them, and the warriors put them down one by one, Joshua with sheer strength and a dagger and Lex with barely the wave of his hand. But, the creatures’ numbers grew every second. They fell from the trees above them and poured out of the slave cabins behind them. It was a complete ambush.

  Betsy let out a guttural cry behind him, drawing his attention. A changeling almost twice her size lifted her off the ground with its claws wrapped around her throat. A dark spit of rage rumbled inside Cooper, igniting the power in his core.

  He stepped forward, savoring the darkness and welcoming its intoxicating mettle. “Put her down. Now!”

  His voice was no more than a growl and sounded foreign to his own ears. He didn’t know what the hell he was thinking, trying to talk to the creature. He wasn’t sure these former humans understood language anymore. The changeling regarded him as it dangled Betsy in the air. She wrestled for her freedom, clawing at the monsters grip around her throat. It appeared unfazed by her struggle. Cooper caught Betsy’s eye and thought he understood what she wanted to do. His fingertips sizzled, and he thrust his hands out in front of him.

  Betsy swung a leg back and brought her foot up hard into the creature’s groin. It wailed, and released its grip on her. The moment she was clear, Cooper released the dark energy surging through his veins like a bolt of lightning. He sliced his open hand through the air like a sword—just as he had in the nest—missing actual physical contact with the changeling by at least four feet. The thing froze in place and stared at him. No wound peeled open like a zipper this time. Cooper’s heart sank. He’d failed, and the monster would surely finish Betsy off.

  The changeling looked down and touched its crooked fingers to its stomach. A thin line of dark liquid seeped diagonally across its midsection as the top half of its body slid at a downward angle and splattered onto the ground. The lower half of the changeling’s severed body stood upright, blood and entrails protruding out. A wretched odor of feces and bile assaulted Cooper’s nostrils, triggering a dry heave gag.

  Betsy was on her feet, blocking the path of the oncoming horde. “Go while the way is clear!”

  Cooper took a last look down Oak Alley. Though greatly outnumbered, Joshua and Lex appeared to be holding their own. Movement at the treeline on both sides of the yard caused Cooper a moment of hesitation, fearing more changelings were on the way. Figures formed in the moonlight and a surge of hope shot through his body. Daria led a team of Jericho soldiers on one side and Marissa on the other. Relieved that reinforcements were on the way to assist Betsy and the others, and alarmed by the shrinking patch of clear road that separated him and the house, Cooper gave a last appreciative glance to Betsy.

  Growling and hissing at a cluster of approaching changelings, she charged them—creating just the window of cover he needed.

  Cooper turned and bolted toward the manor house.

  Chapter Forty-One

  If not for the piercing shrieks of the changelings outside, the house would have been completely devoid of sound—perhaps even peaceful. It looked pretty much the same inside, yet not so brightly lit as it had during his last visit. Flickering candlelight and low-flamed oil lamps muted the dazzling luster of the pristine Victorian décor. Cooper stood in the foyer, feeling naked and exposed. Thankfully, no one probed around in his head this time. Retracting his impulse to call out Randy’s name, he moved with quick and quiet steps, heartbeat pounding, fingertips still sizzling from his attack on the changelings.

  He peeked inside the candlelit dining room on the left. A dark walnut table stretched from one end of the room to the other and was set for twenty people with the finest china and silverware he’d ever seen. He eased down the hallway, his back pinned to the wall and hair standing at full attention on his neck. The Anakim presence in the house was as thick as tar. It needled at his Divinum nature, like the hatred between the two races was inherent and nonnegotiable. Something caught his eye at the top of the staircase.

  An ornately framed portrait hung atop the landing. He’d missed it the last time he was there. The young woman in the painting was instantly recognizable from the blood-stained photo in Lillie Mae’s Bible. Sally Parker. The princess of Warfield. Blue’s Sally. She looked so young and innocent—alabaster skin dotted with freckles, copper hair cascading down around her shoulders. Her features were so similar to what he imagined of a young Lillie Mae. The Phipps family resemblance was undeniable. He moved cautiously up the staircase, Sally’s haunting dark-brown eyes luring him every step of the way.

  At the top of the landing, Cooper looked to the right, then to his left. Identical doors stood closed at each end. A random step took him left, but he changed course when a muted cry sounded to his right. The floorboards betrayed him, creaking under his cautious steps and urging him to pick up his pace. He needed to find Randy and get him clear of the house before he dealt with Alexander. He finally reached the door, turned the knob, and peeked in.

  Cooper’s heart lurched in his chest. Randy lay sprawled on a high four-post bed—bound, gagged, and naked save for a white top sheet resting low on his hips. A jerk of his head in Cooper’s direction revealed wide eyes filled with alarm. Cooper slipped through the door and eased it closed behind him. He hurried over to the bed and removed the wadded cloth from Randy’s mouth. Gasping for air, the ripples of Randy’s sun-bronzed stomach stretched and expanded as he replenished his lungs. Blood trickled down his neck and over his heaving chest. His wrists had been tied to the bedposts behind him and his ankles bound at the bottom of the bed.

  “Fuck, am I glad to see you, Red,” Randy whispered. “Untie my ass.”

  Cooper was so happy to see him that he didn’t even know what to say. He went right to work, freeing Randy’s wrists and ankles while he untangled his tongue.

  He eyed two bloody holes in the side of Randy’s neck. “Are you all right?”

  Randy’s eyes were wild, and his short hair spiked with sweat. “Those sick sons of bitches bit me and sucked on me, like I was some kind of goddamned human buffet.”

  Cooper’s gaze drifted down and back up Randy’s body, hoping he didn’t find bloodstains or wounds below the neck, or the waist. “Did they do anything else?”

  Randy shook his head, understanding Cooper’s meaning immediately. “No. Just stripped me down and gawked at me. Fucking vamp pervs.”

  Cooper couldn’t suppress a relieved smile. He was so glad to see him alive and still so Randy. Before he could stop himself, he draped his arms over Randy’s shoulders and rested the side of his face on the hairy contours of his chest. An unexpected tear slipped out and fell onto Randy’s skin. What in hell had happened to him? Here he was acting like a sixteen-year-old girl, crying and shit, though he couldn’t make himself care. Gone were the days of one-night stands and going-now
here relationships. Randy had changed everything. That much he knew. Their lives would be different now. If they got out of there alive.

  Randy wrapped his arms around Cooper and kissed him lightly on the forehead. “I’m okay. I’m fine, Coop. I promise. You got here just in time. You saved my ass again, which is getting pretty damn annoying.”

  Cooper sat up, the urgency of their situation crashing down on him. “Get dressed. I don’t know how long the Jericho soldiers will be able to hold off the changelings.”

  Randy gripped Cooper’s arm. “You know it’s not me he wants. You shouldn’t have come here.”

  Cooper stood and glanced back at the door again. “I can handle Alexander. I just need to get you out of the house first. Come on. We don’t have much time.”

  Randy hopped out of the bed, not bothering to take the sheet with him for cover. He gathered his clothes from a nearby chair. After a moment of gawking, Cooper averted his eyes, but he’d already glimpsed a heavenly blur of naked bronze skin and thick muscle. Walking over to the door, Cooper put an ear against the cool wood and listened. No sound of movement outside, but he knew Alexander was aware of his presence. He glanced over his shoulder to check Randy’s progress.

  Randy stepped into his uniform pants and pulled them on. He shoved bare feet inside his boots. “Freaks took my gun and radio.” He pulled a white cotton T-shirt over his head.

  Cooper whispered over to him. “The front yard is full of changelings. We’ll need to get you out through a back door.”

  Randy stared back at him. “Me? Don’t you mean us.”

  Cooper met him in the middle of the room and took his hands. “Rafe will meet you at the back of the house down by the canal and get you back to Phipps House. You’ll be safe there.”

  Randy’s nostrils flared, and he shook his head. “Oh, hell no, Cooper. I’m not going anywhere without you.”

  Cooper stepped back and scrubbed a hand over his face. “Dammit, Randy. We don’t have time for this.” He planted his hands on his hips. “Alexander’s never going to let me go, don’t you understand that? He’ll never stop hunting me. And when the rest of the Anakim find out what my blood can do…” Cooper shook his head and locked eyes with Randy. “I have to stop him. End him. Tonight.”

  Randy took Cooper’s face in his hands and ran his thumb over Cooper’s wind-chapped lips. A sly grin twisted his lips. “This Rambo shit is really turning me on right now.”

  Cooper pushed Randy’s hand away and ran fingers through his hair, his chest tightening. “Goddammit, this is not a joke.”

  Randy’s smile faded instantly, and he pointed over to the blood-stained sheets on the bed. “I’m well aware that it’s not a joke. Those fuckers are crazy and dangerous.”

  Cooper placed a hand on each of Randy’s bulky biceps. “Alexander can’t hurt me. He can’t keep me here or drink from me unless I allow him. Lillie Mae did something to protect me. A hedge of protection or something.”

  Randy rolled his eyes. “Unless you allow him? Why the hell would you do that?”

  Cooper shrugged. “That’s just it. I wouldn’t.”

  Randy pursed his lips and exhaled through his nose. “Listen to me, Cooper Causey. I’ve waited for you my whole life. Pined for you. Dreamed of you. Thought about you every day since you left town. When I had sex with my wife, I imagined I was with you just so I could get the job done, which is a little fucked-up if you ask me. Hell, I couldn’t even grieve for my own best friend at your brother’s funeral because I couldn’t take my eyes off you. You looked so lonely. So lost. All I wanted to do was march down that aisle in front of the whole goddamned town, take you in my arms, and hold you. Never in a million years did I think that I would finally have you, or that you would ever love me. But I do have you now. And you do love me. I know you do. I won’t let you do this alone. Understand? So, either we leave together or we go vampire hunting together. Your call.”

  Cooper had no response whatsoever, overwhelmed by Randy’s words. He pulled Randy into his arms, and they held each other tight for a silent minute, their bodies fitting together like they were born that way. After all the years of nameless tricks, he had the only man he ever truly wanted right there in his arms. The decision was easy. No way in hell he would let Randy get caught in the crosshairs of his mission. First, he would deliver Randy to Rafe, and then he’d face Alexander—alone. He would have to keep the plan to himself. Randy would never agree.

  Cooper took a step back. “Okay, then. Let’s get the hell out of here.”

  Randy smiled and nodded.

  Cooper crossed the room with Randy right behind him. He eased the door open, praying it wouldn’t creak, and slipped out onto the landing. He looked both ways. The coast was clear. Nodding for Randy to follow, he moved toward the staircase. They weren’t alone in the house, he knew that much. His mind was in a foot race with his heartbeat.

  At the bottom of the stairs, they were met with the sounds of the ongoing battle on the other side of the front door. Unearthly shrieks and bone-chilling war cries echoed through the night. Cooper couldn’t imagine the carnage, or which side had the upper hand. But he couldn’t worry about Jericho right now. He had to get Randy out the back door and safely to Rafe.

  Leading Randy away from the front door, he glanced over his shoulder and pointed down the hall toward the back of the house. He faced forward again and found Alexander standing in their path not six feet away, a smug, self-satisfied grin on his angular face.

  Cooper froze. Randy did not. He pulled Cooper by the arm in the opposite direction. Stephen Parker glided out of the dining room and blocked their path to the front door. Randy looked back and forth between Alexander and Stephen, likely wondering which one he had a better chance against. Cooper took a deep breath and put a hand on Randy’s arm to settle him. If they resisted, it would get ugly fast, and he couldn’t risk Randy getting hurt.

  Cooper faced Alexander, who had closed the distance between them and stood only a couple feet away. His form-fitting black leather pants and a tight black T-shirt indicated that he’d dressed for battle. Cooper glanced up into his shimmering green eyes and fought their alluring pull on his dark side.

  Alexander’s lips tightened into a thin line. “We’ve been waiting for you, Cooper. Your friend here kept us aptly entertained.” With a not so subtle taunt, he wiped the corner of his mouth with his thumb and leered at Randy’s crotch.

  Randy rushed forward, roaring with the fury of a caged lion. Cooper turned and held him back, which was no small feat.

  Alexander sneered at Cooper. “Settle your man, Divinum, before I snap his neck.”

  Randy seethed through gritted teeth. “Do it now, Red! Zap the motherfucker!”

  Alexander chuckled at Randy’s outburst and stared Cooper down. “What’ll it be, Cooper? A polite negotiation between two gentlemen, or this one’s beautiful head separated from that delicious body?”

  The darkness inside Cooper stirred. Hatred oozed from every pore. He was so enraged he felt he could destroy Alexander even without Blue’s help. But something checked his spirit, disrupting his rage. A spasm of pain cut through him, and a light went out somewhere deep inside. Cold and empty, he froze and processed the internal revelation, insulating his mind so the Anakim would not discover it.

  Lillie Mae was dead. And gone with her, the veil of protection around him.

  Chapter Forty-Two

  Cooper sat on the edge of the sofa in the same room where he’d first encountered Alexander Montgomery. Building an impenetrable wall around his brain brick by silent brick, he kept all thoughts of Lillie Mae locked away in a deep dark corner of his mind. He would use that later to fuel his revenge when he ended the Anakim for good. For the moment, he had to be careful. Randy could get hurt.

  Alexander stood in front of the empty fireplace, leaning on the mantel with thumbs lodged in his pants pockets. He stared at Cooper with his signature condescending smirk etched into his granite face. With his relaxed yet seductive
posture, he looked like he was posing for GQ—some bizarre article like Stylish and Sexy: Maniacal Monsters of the Deep South.

  “I assume the traitor, Joshua, has been filling your head with all manner of malicious lies about me.”

  Cooper cleared his throat. “I don’t know what you are talking about. I came here alone.” Stephen had Randy pinned to the wall with a pit bull-like grip around his throat. His body stiff and rigid, Randy was uncharacteristically silent at the moment, likely realizing any masculine bravado would only stoke Alexander’s wrath. He looked around the room, no doubt preoccupied with finding any and all options for escape, biding their time as well.

  Alexander chuckled. “Come now, Cooper. No need for lies. I can feel you pushing me out of your head as we speak. I know what’s going on outside. Once I sifted through your ridiculously alluring aroma, I sensed their presence. Especially Joshua’s. I’d know that traitorous mongrel’s stench anywhere. He and my father go way back, you know.”

  No. Cooper didn’t know. A tinge of suspicion gnawed at his insides. He’d sensed earlier that Joshua held something back. Apparently, he had a personal connection to Alexander. What else could the Manheeg be hiding from him?

  Cooper forced his facial features to soften and tempered his voice with contriteness. “Please. Just let Randy go. I’m the one you want. He’s got nothing to do with this. He can’t help you.”

  “Oh, I beg to differ,” Alexander said, walking over to Randy and Stephen. He touched Randy’s chin. “It might be fun to have him around.”

  Randy spat and glared at him like he wanted to rip the guy’s head off. The discharge hit Alexander just under his right eye. Stephen grabbed a handful of Randy’s hair and yanked his head back. He hissed, his open mouth hovering only an inch over Randy’s neck.