Never Show Fear

by Nicola Claire

  Black Witch does not mean Dark Witch. It just means something different.

  We make the rules, and tonight I have made mine with the help of two goddess-created treasures. Unseen but not unheard.

  We all heard them tonight.

  Who will these precious beings become?

  I hold Zahra close, this woman that I love. No question about it.

  But there is also a place in my heart for Alain, even if he is no longer a part of us.

  I can’t sense him. I can’t feel him down a connection that seemed unbreakable until tonight. But I can hear his thoughts.

  They are peaceful.

  He sleeps now in the room near ours. More peacefully than I have ever heard the spymaster sleep. He dreams of fighting and defending that which he’s claimed as his to defend. I have no idea how Hakan will feel about that.

  But Alain Dupont has proclaimed himself the twins’ protector.

  They could do worse than the spymaster in their corner.

  I’m not sure why Zahra felt the need to fight Alain this evening, but I can guess it had something to do with Nut. Our goddess seeks balance in all things, even in us. But she makes us work for it. Alain had to fight for his freedom. And Nut chose Zahra as the one to offer that pathway to the Light.

  Zahra’s past has not been kind to her, either, perhaps our goddess used my Entwined to help her break free of that past. Being tied to Alain in such a way as she had been through our Kindred joining was not a choice Zahra had any part of.

  Having had her choices made for her forcefully in the past, I believe this was an act of kindness on Nut’s part. Zahra’s past does not define her. She won’t let it. But repeating it in any fashion was not right. I would not have wanted that for my Entwined.

  And yet, when given the choice to save me, Zahra chose me to entwine.

  It humbles me, that trust.

  You are my Entwined, she tells me. I knew from the moment I laid eyes on you. It was not a choice I had to think about much. She cuddles in closer, giving me warmth and unconditional love. I would have accepted your Kindred in a heartbeat.

  It wouldn’t have been right, I tell her.

  It wouldn’t have been wrong, either, she says. We make the rules, aşkım — no other.

  But to have that choice taken from you. I shudder.

  It does not matter. Our goddess provides. Alain sleeps freely now, does he not? Unencumbered with the Darkness that had been consuming his soul.

  Darkness?

  You did not see it?

  I shake my head. She smiles softly at me.

  You have much to learn, Falcı, she says, not unkindly. I will teach you.

  I shake my head and laugh softly.

  Why did I run for two whole years?

  If only I’d known what was waiting.

  * * *

  Nightfall brings no attack, and strangely no awkwardness either.

  Alain whistles a tune to himself as he reads from a tablet computer in our chambers. He’s found himself in our rooms, drawn here for no other reason than we are friends. That we are brothers.

  He does not peek at my Entwined as she speaks from the partially closed bathroom door. She’s laughing at something Alain has read aloud from the news feeds.

  Goddess, I love her.

  I tell Alain that we’ll meet him in the dining hall. He gets the message, laughs openly at himself, and walks out the door. He is happy.

  And he left us. We are alone. The feeling is startling in its newness and yet so very much wanted.

  Zahra waltzes across the bathroom, wearing nothing. She kisses me soundly, her hands on my pecs, thumbs rubbing across sensitive nipples.

  We take our time in the shower. I find it erotic watching as Zahra sucks me off.

  I come in Zahra’s mouth. She comes on my fingers. I make her come again. Twice. With my cock inside her.

  Getting dressed for the evening has never been so delightful.

  I wonder if this is how it will be from now on.

  Zahra sends me an erotic image. I send one back. The room heats. Her eyes smoulder.

  I could get used to this.

  “No escape now, Entwined,” she tells me.

  I am lost. I am found. Zahra has saved me.

  She also, in a way, saved Alain. Her acceptance of him was not lost on the spymaster. Their friendship will grow as it was meant to grow without a kindred-joining forcing either of their hands.

  Zahra smiles at me and kisses me on the cheek as she passes. “Hakan has called a meeting of the war council,” she says. “Come on. They’re expecting us.”

  We pick up Alain in the grand hall. He’s chatting to a Mhachkay woman. Her cheeks are flushed. His eyes sparkle.

  “Meeting,” Zahra says as she glides past. “Come on!”

  “Me too?” Alain asks.

  Zahra turns and looks at him. “Of course, mon ami.” Her French is perfect. “You are one of us now.”

  I’m not sure if Alain expected that. He knew my life lay with the Mhachkay; with Zahra. And as my Kindred, he would have known he’d be having dealings with them at times, too; that was to be expected. But he’s not my Kindred now and his position with the twins is as yet undecided. But he is my friend. My brother by choice. And I can see Zahra feels the same way as I.

  We follow behind Zahra, who practically skips across the open space. Her happiness reaches out and wraps around me. Alain smiles softly because he sees how happy she makes me.

  He no longer feels it, but seeing is believing and trust me, it’s enough.

  “Will you tell Papa?” I ask him as we walk.

  “About staying here?”

  “And about the kindred-joining being broken,” I say. My father will no doubt ask him if he makes contact.

  “I already have.”

  “When?” I demand, stopping and facing him. Zahra waits for us up by the exit to the grand hall, tapping her foot on the floor impatiently. I can tell she doesn’t feel impatient at all. She teases us.

  I love her even more.

  “Earlier,” Alain says. “I handed in my resignation.”

  “Your resignation,” I huff, and start walking toward Zahra again. “Like you can sever ties with a ‘To Whom it may Concern’ letter.”

  He shrugs, that Gallic shrug of his. “It’s surprisingly similar.”

  We cross to the hallway and approach Hakan’s offices. I can hear raised voices.

  “Are you no longer under his line?” I ask.

  “I am master of my own line now,” he says, looking across to me. “I seek vampires to join it. Maybe I shall find some here.” He passes me and enters Hakan’s office.

  I’m frozen for a moment, but only a moment. I can hear his thoughts. He’s greeting Ellie. It’s friendly. Familial. He loved her once; he still does. But it’s not the same as before.

  The hole that existed where Ellie existed in his head and heart has been filled. Or is filling by his friendship with Zahra and me, and by the connection he now shares with the twins.

  I’m happy for him. I’m ecstatic he is free. A freedom he has wanted for some time now, but he has not been of sound heart and mind to seek.

  Papa had to keep him close, to ensure he wasn’t a threat. That’s why he promised him Ellie, I think. Papa hadn’t been certain just which way Alain would go, so he kept him contained with false promises. And it was a close call if Zahra is to be believed. Hell, it was definitely a close call; we were so Dark when we first joined.

  And, now, it seems he was turning Dark again with his heartache over Ellie.

  But I see only Light in Alain now. The twins’ Light. It protects. It wards. It holds him dearly.

  Alain has got his freedom and Papa has saved face. His spymaster has spread his wings in a manner in which the Champion can’t be challenged on. Guarding his grandchildren. Alain’s line will be dedicated to their protection. How could Papa refuse such a thing?

  I take my place between Alain and Zahra, and the meeting begins
.

  It doesn’t surprise me. I’ve been raised by vampires.

  We’re storming the mosque in one hour.

  I can’t help but wonder, though, if this is what Ekram has been waiting for.

  The Mhachkay castle was too good a trap.

  Now we walk into the thrall’s.

  * * *

  It’s a full moon. Which is good because it makes our Erbörü stronger. It’s also bad because it means Ekram’s familiars are equally as strong tonight.

  Vampires aren’t affected by the light of the moon, but no one could say Hakan’s Mhachkay aren’t at their strongest. The two years since they awoke and Hakan became Kral have been good for them. They are fit and healthy; strong of heart and body and mind.

  Some have changed into their Mhachkay forms. I’ve seen Zahra’s in her mind, but she’s still in vampire form tonight. Still, I can’t wait to meet her white stork. From what she’s shown me, it’s beautiful.

  And big.

  Everything about Zahra is bigger than life. She fills me with such longing. Longing for her and longing for life.

  I’ve never felt so alive before, and I know I have her to thank for it.

  The day’s earlier activities come to mind, making me hunger.

  Her eyes meet mine; so beautiful, so full of promise, so powerful; more than just my Entwined.

  This feeling is heady. It’s sexy. It’s a power with no end in sight.

  Is this what Zahra meant when she said our power would be unstoppable?

  I never want this feeling to stop.

  This is only the beginning, my Entwined tells me.

  It’s more than enough, I reply, feeling full of Light and love and lust.

  She only laughs. It draws attention. But none of those Mhachkay males present thinks lascivious thoughts of my Entwined. It’s as if they know now that she’s off-limits. It’s as if they sense her contentment.

  Two hearts. Two souls. And they have chosen, she tells me.

  What does that mean?

  It means they stand no chance and they know it.

  She’s chosen me. A choice all her own. I am humbled.

  Kan Büyülü, she says. Blood Enchanted. It’s reverent. It’s a prayer.

  Kan Büyülü, I repeat, feeling it to my bones.

  I couldn’t be happier.

  And then I see Ellie.

  She’s dressed in fighting leathers. Her Svante sword down her back, her Kilij hanging at her side. She wears two silver stakes in thigh holsters. Her white-blonde dreads are tied back, ready for fighting.

  The swell of her stomach is obvious in the tight-fitting clothing.

  Hakan steps out from his circle of lieutenants and scowls at his Entwined.

  “We discussed this,” the Kral says, his voice deep and unyielding.

  “You discussed it,” Ellie shoots back. “I didn’t get a word in edgewise.”

  Hakan glides toward her; completely vampire. There is no red in his eyes, but the silver and ice-blue are chilling. His muscles bulge, his lids are heavy. Every single being in the grand hall stills for fear of catching the predator’s eye.

  Ellie snorts, crosses her arms over her chest, cocks out a hip, and smiles.

  It only emphasises her rounded tummy.

  Her fragility.

  She would gut me if she could hear my thoughts.

  Zahra snorts inside my mind.

  Hakan reaches Ellie’s side. His face gives nothing of his turmoil away. But I can read his thoughts. He’s shouting them inside. Perhaps at Ellie.

  Perhaps he doesn’t realise.

  But my twin hears them. She sighs.

  “OK,” she says, reluctantly. “I’ll stay home like the good little wife.”

  “Hayatim,” he murmurs, reaching for her hands, placing his forehead against hers, and closing his eyes. He’s not afraid to show his love of Ellie in front of his men.

  I admire him all the more for that.

  “Éliane,” he says. “Kan Büyülü.”

  “Kan Büyülü,” my sister says back.

  She can’t die as long as he lives. But they’re not so sure about the twins. Keeping her and the babies safe is all that’s important to them. It’s all that’s important to Alain, too. He fights tonight to ensure they live.

  I agree wholeheartedly with my friend.

  Ellie and Hakan part, and then we’re going. Sweeping out of the Mhachkay stronghold and into the night.

  An Erbörü howls the start of the hunt. There’s no point hiding.

  Ekram and his thralls can feel us coming.

  I can feel them, too.

  And they’re so Dark.

  I palm a stake. The vampires nearest to me shudder.

  Red glints in the night. Ice-blue and silver join it.

  Then smoke swirls around them all, hiding them from sight.

  My Black Witch hunts tonight.

  I join my power with hers.

  Muska is on the air. Kara Büyü all around us.

  * * *

  The lights blaze through the arched windows of the mosque. They’re waiting for us inside. From what I’ve seen at the Mhachkay stronghold, there will be booby traps and lots of nasty surprises.

  Hakan doesn’t hesitate. Ekram is a threat to his rule. A Dark mark on his territory. I can’t sense any other Nosferatin in the vicinity, save for my sister back at the castle, but Ekram’s thralls are close to the edge, and should there have been other hunters in Edirne, they would be readying for a fight.

  I roll my stake in my palm, flexing my fingers; staying nimble and ready to strike.

  He is mine, Zahra tells me.

  I know from her memories that Ekram was complicit in the former Kral’s abuse of my Entwined. I know he watched and did nothing. Sometimes he even participated.

  I want to allow her this kill; she deserves it. It should be her hunt.

  But I also want nothing more than to tear this vampire, limb from limb; to feast on his blood until he is dry.

  He is mine, Zahra repeats.

  It takes a long time for me to acquiesce.

  We breach the outer wards. They are pitiful against Zahra’s magic. Even I would have been able to break them. Ekram doesn’t have a Black Witch in his thralls. Not for want of trying.

  As Zahra is the only Mhachkay witch alive, his attempts to subvert one all fell on her.

  He failed. I’m looking forward to reminding him of that tonight.

  The first wave of Erbörü is nothing more than slavering beasts. It’s heartbreaking to realise their only release is to die. Mhachkay make short work of it. It’s as if Ekram is testing the waters. Seeing how strong we are. How well we work together.

  He must know Zahra and I are here. He must know he doesn’t stand a chance.

  The Erbörü dealt with, their bodies left in our wake, we move forward. Through the doorway to the mosque itself. Magic flares and the doors slam closed behind us. No matter how those Mhachkay and their familiars at our backs try to open them, they remain firmly locked.

  Zahra and I don’t even attempt to break the enchantment. There are vampires ahead, all dressed in ancient Mhachkay warrior garb, ready for a fight.

  Metal rings in the night; hissing and claws scratching accompany it. Swords glint in the low light. Red glows and fangs flash. And smoke swirls all around it. Bodies slam into each other. Teeth break skin; blood flows down gullets. Sanguis Vitam rises on the air and Muska climbs ever higher.

  Zahra and I are nothing but smoke as we walk amongst the battling vampires. The shifters snarl and snap and hiss all around us. I can hear Alain’s blood lust-filled thoughts. I hear the rage of battle focus him. I do not fear for my friend; the Mhachkay are no match for the battle-hardened spymaster.

  And Ekram has underestimated the vampire I now call my brother.

  Alain cuts a swath through the thralls that has even the Mhachkay on our side in awe. He holds nothing of his Sanguis Vitam back. The power he has hidden from my father for years, he lets us al
l see tonight.

  It’s magnificent. I’m proud of the vampire he has become. I’m proud to call him brother.

  Zahra reaches out and wraps Alain in smoke without my asking, making him more lethal. A ghost of unimaginable power, stalking through the mass of people. He strikes. I strike. Zahra couches my power, always making sure I don’t draw too much.

  She keeps me grounded.

  Together we’re unstoppable.

  This is what Zahra meant.

  We clean up the mosque in short order. Hakan’s vampires hardly having to add their weight to ours. In the aftermath, they all stare around the now silent and empty-of-thralls structure, a slight humming of Sanguis Vitam the only indication of their surprise.

  The battle was a rout. Nothing like the battle Alain and I had with Ekram in Kolomna.

  There, I didn’t have Zahra.

  If I stopped to think about it, perhaps it would frighten me. But I have no desire to claim the world. To rule over anyone, much less vampires. And neither does Zahra. I see into her mind, her hearts, her souls.

  And they are pure.

  We make our own rules. Maybe that’s for the best. This type of power would not answer well to restrictions set by someone who didn’t know us best. This power is malleable, shifting. It is not an entity to chain.

  It is a living and breathing being.

  Now you understand, Zahra says.

  I do.

  It’s not Dark, but it could be.

  You won’t let it, she says as if that’s that.

  And I suppose it is. I was born from a vampire and vampire-hunter coupling. But not just any vampire and vampire-hunter. And not just any coupling. My father is powerful, the Champion of the Iunctio. But also, he’s full of Light. And my mother is the Sanguis Vitam Cupitor, the Prohibitum Bibere, the Lux Lucis Tribuo. The Prophesied. She is Light.

  And then there’s Nut. She made Ellie and me happen.

  We are blessed with our goddess’s Light. Just like the twins and now Alain.

  And even if I lost that Light somewhere along the way, it was always there, waiting for me to find it again. And the battles I’ve fought, to get back to where I am now, have made me who I am today.