Ballad of Blood

by Amy Sumida

  Then I spread out my arms and sang. I released my joy in being different and my belief that everyone should revel in their uniqueness. I lifted my chin and showed all of them how unlike them I was; and why it was a good thing. I flaunted the features that would have labeled me a freak and stared at Torin with a challenge in my eyes. Be who you are, baby, and don't let anyone make you feel as if you should apologize for it. Torin smiled softly at me as the magic settled into the Shining Ones.

  I might have just stumbled upon a way to take a giant leap forward in Declan's war against racism. The Shining Ones around me were looking at each other in shock and revelation. For a civilization who functioned under the fact that certain members were better than others, it was startling to hear one of those “betters” say that everyone was amazing in their own way; that a commoner should celebrate their life as wholeheartedly as a king.

  The royals looked a little uncomfortable at first, but then they realized that this wasn't a challenge to their thrones, but to their decency. You could hold a position of power and not hold yourself higher than others. It sounded impossible to them, I'm sure, but my magic was helping them see the light. Smiles started to spread over Shining One faces.

  I caught King Cyrus' stare and encouraged him to be exactly the king he was born to be; no matter what anyone thought of him. Rejoice in your differences, and use them in your favor. There were things a farmer would know that your noble-born king might not. Cyrus had his strengths; it was just a matter of discovering them.

  King Cyrus of Copper stood and then strode down the dais. I pointed at him as he approached; shimmying my way through the chorus as I directed my challenge at him. He laughed, grabbed my hand, and started dancing with me. It was all the encouragement the Shining Ones needed. Everyone jumped up and joined us; dancing wherever they could find the space to do so.

  Told you so, I mentally said to Kyanite.

  Chapter Seven

  After I had sung, someone started to play human music over the hall's speakers. Yes; there are stereos in Tír na nÓg. The entire realm is magically charged to power any kind of electrical device wirelessly; like a Tesla coil. Fairies have been bringing over human technology for centuries, and they had to find a way to use them. One of their favorite imports was music and the equipment to play it. So, the fact that the Copper Castle had its own sound-system wasn't surprising at all.

  I gladly let the machine take over for me, and went to sit beside Torin. He pulled me in against his side and kissed me.

  “That was the oddest and yet most profound song,” Torin said. “A brilliant choice, little bird.”

  “Thank you,” I whispered.

  I was about to ask Torin if it had helped his subconscious insecurities when a horrible fear lanced through me.

  “Banning!” I shouted as the Rooster Spell—the enchantment that bound my lovers and me together—echoed my exclamation in my own voice, inside my head.

  Banning!

  My consorts were around me in moments; all of them feeling Banning's fear as I had. Extreme emotion was sometimes shared within our collective.

  “Queen Elaria?” King Cyrus asked as he slipped through the startled dancers and came up to our table. “Are you all right?”

  “My consort on Earth needs me,” I rushed through the explanation. “I'm sorry, but I must go.”

  “Of course,” Cyrus said immediately. “I hope all will be well.”

  “Hugh!” Torin roared for his knight.

  “Your Majesty!” Hugh was already there.

  “Take our people back to Kyanite,” Torin said.

  “Do you need us to go with you?” Hugh asked.

  “No; see everyone home; that includes those from Kyanite and Alexandrite as well,” Torin took out his traveling charm. “I will return as soon as I'm able.”

  “Yes, Sire!” Hugh ran off to see to our entourage.

  We all had our stones ready—except for Gage who used a piece of his birth-shell (yes; he was hatched from an egg)—and there was nothing else that needed to be said. We traveled to the Crouching Lion; not knowing what to expect, only that it would be bad.

  We stepped through the Veil and into Banning's bedroom; it was the safest place to travel to. As soon as we were fully on Earth, the sound of horrible shrieking hit my eardrums. I ran to the balcony and swung open the French doors. Although it was night, it was as bright as midday; every light on the golf course and around the clubhouse was turned on. The scene they illuminated was hard to process; it looked as if corpses were attacking Banning's gura.

  “Elaria!” Banning shouted from below. “Stay there, sweetheart.”

  “Fuck that,” I growled as I turned to head inside.

  My consorts blocked my path.

  “Please stay here and sing safely, little bird,” Torin urged me. “I don't know what those things are, but I'll be able to handle them better with your song assisting me.”

  I sighed and nodded; this wasn't the time to argue, nor was it the first time I'd sung from a balcony. Balcony attacks were actually a smart way to go; I'd just had an automatic reaction to the combination of Banning being threatened and his telling me what to do. So, I stepped further out as the men rushed down to help Banning, and our bond came alive.

  Nasty things, the Rooster Spell—RS for short—said in my head.

  “Do you know what they are?” I asked her.

  Who cares what they are? Just fucking kill them! Kyanite shouted.

  She has to know what they are in order to be able to kill them! RS shouted back.

  “What in all the realms are they?!” I screeched over the two of them.

  “Nachzehrer!” Banning shouted up to me. “Zombie blooders!”

  “What the fuck?” I whispered. “I've never heard of zombie blooders.”

  Behead and burn, Kyanite said calmly. It works on all the undead.

  It works on all the undead, RS mocked.

  “Shut the fuck up and let me think,” I growled as I ran through songs in my head.

  Banning's gura was faltering under the onslaught of a horde of zombies. The Blooders kept hacking off heads—just as Kyanite suggested—and that did seem to work. But more of the undead just flowed up and took their place. We'd soon be overwhelmed by numbers alone. And these things were vicious; all gaping mouths and tearing nails. They seemed to feel no pain or fear; only hunger. Yep, they were definitely zombies; they were trying to eat the blooders they attacked.

  “All right,” I said as I decided on a song.

  I'm ready, Kyanite declared.

  The grating, jagged intro to “Monsters” by Ruelle filled the clearing before the clubhouse. I felt the relief of my consorts trickle through our link as my music flowed out around them. Then their resolve strengthened as the slapping beat took charge and launched me into the lyrics.

  It was a ruthless song about cold-blooded killers; the thrill of running your victim to ground with the soundtrack of a terrified heart to entertain you. Only a monster could delight in such things, but wasn't it best to fight monsters with monsters?

  The power of the music took hold of my limbs and sent me into a menacing sway. I was the hunter that waited for my prey's most vulnerable moment; the wicked evil that lurked in the dark places most were afraid to look. With the scraping drag of the music, I let my magic blast out of me and hit its mark.

  The undead shrieking shifted to new heights as my enchantment rolled over their ranks. Heads snapped from bodies like broken matchsticks; the first line of zombies wiped out in an instant. Still, the Nachzehrer came; dead brains know no fear. I lashed out over and over; my hand slashing through the air to tear apart our enemies.

  My song was just as tenacious as their mindless attack; it sank into those rotted brains and confused their undead senses. Soon, they were attacking each other instead of the Blooders. The Gura and my consorts eased back; watching in shock as the battle turned, and then the Blooders started to cheer. But their celebration was short-lived; Banning s
houted for them to spread out and search the area for whoever was controlling the Nachzehrer.

  I sang on as my consorts returned to the balcony; Banning excluded—he led one of the teams into the forest. The other three held my hands and shoulders; lending me their strength as I made sure the zombie vampires didn't change their mushy minds. It took longer than you may think; what with the amount of undead there was, and the fact that they were trying to feed on each other, not simply kill. I had to sing the song three times to exterminate them all, and when I finally finished, the lawn was covered with decomposing flesh and broken bones.

  Banning and his blooders strode back through the thick of it; grimacing at the gore as they came. It didn't look as if any of them had been successful in their search.

  “Lovely,” I whispered as I surveyed the mess.

  “Zombie blooders are much harder to dispose of than regular blooders, it seems,” Torin noted.

  “I think it's time to bring the burn,” I said with grim determination. “Kyanite?”

  “Fire Woman” in the style of The Cult, Kyanite said. As my lady commands.

  Chapter Eight

  The clean-up had left Banning's lawn with black patches, but it was better than a field of rotting corpses. I'd rather deal with charred grass than decomposing remains any day.

  Banning set a crew to the task of replanting the damaged turf while the rest of us had a grim meeting. Nothing had been found in the forest; no trace of scent or sight. We had no proof of who was behind the attack, but we didn't need any. There was only one explanation.

  “Longchamp warned us that something was coming,” I said.

  “Yeah, but I never thought Sorin would stoop to black magic,” Banning said tiredly. “Frankly, I'm shocked that he'd even know how to do this.”

  “Okay; someone needs to run me through exactly how a blooder becomes a zombie,” I said. “Don't they turn to dust when they die?”

  “That's what makes the magic especially dark,” Gage said. “The blooder must be changed while alive.”

  “How do you know about them?” I asked Gage.

  “I know monsters,” Gage said with a grin.

  “I'm not following.” Declan frowned. “Aren't Blooders already dead?”

  “No; we're not dead,” Banning growled. “Look at me; I'm alive. It's just a new type of life; a different one.”

  “All right; don't get your blood in a curdle.” Declan held up his hands defensively.

  “He'd need to find a necromancer to do it,” Banning went on; ignoring Declan. “No blooder can control the dead.”

  “Hold on,” Torin said. “Those... zombies last night; they didn't come after Declan, Gage, or me. They only seemed to want Blooders.”

  “Nachzehrer go after their own kind,” Gage said. “If they're made from a human, they will attack other humans; usually starting with the people they loved in life. It's a cannibalistic magic that forces its victim to crave flesh similar to their own, with the exception that it must be living.”

  “Fuck me,” Torin whispered. “That's evil.”

  “It's lucky that my song worked,” I mused. “Making them crave their own, dead flesh was going against the very magic that animated them.”

  “Your magic has grown in strength,” Torin pointed out with a thoughtful look. “Significantly.”

  “She has our power boosting her now,” Declan said.

  “I don't think that accounts for all of it,” Torin murmured, but the other men ignored him.

  “We're unstoppable,” Gage exclaimed.

  “Why the hell did you say that?” I whined. “You can't go tempting Fate like that.”

  “Is there a Fate?” Gage cocked his head at me.

  “Yeah; and they're hot,” Axel—one of the blooders—said.

  “Which group?” Bryce—another blooder—countered. “There are several.”

  “No shit?” Axel asked. “I was talking about the Greeks.”

  “Oh, yeah; those girls are fine,” Bryce agreed. “The Norns are Jotun, however.”

  Everyone went quiet.

  “Well, the good news is that if the Norse Fates were at Primeval, we don't have to worry about tempting them,” Banning said.

  “And the bad news is that if they weren't, they'll be more inclined to fuck with us,” I added.

  “I believe their magic is limited to humans,” Torin put us all at ease. “It's human belief that allows them to be influenced, after all.”

  “So, I can crow all I want.” Gage crossed his arms over his chest smugly.

  “No one likes a braggart, babe,” I said to him.

  Gage uncrossed his arms with a grimace and a deep huff.

  “The question we need to be answered is; do we go after Sorin or not?” Torin looked at Banning.

  The meeting room went quiet again as every eye turned to Banning. He looked at his gura; blooders who had been through hell numerous times because of him. But this time it was about them; their safety. There was no choice.

  “We're going to Romania,” Banning said.

  “How many soldiers should Declan and I bring?” Torin asked.

  Banning gaped at him.

  “You're bringing Shining Ones to fight for us?” Arnold asked; just as surprised as his leader.

  “Of course,” Declan said. “You came to our aid.”

  “And paid for it in blood,” Torin said grimly. “Shining Ones don't forget that kind of debt.”

  “Thank you,” Banning said. “We could use a few soldiers to fill out our depleted ranks. How about twenty; ten from each of you?”

  “Ahem,” I said. “I have soldiers too.”

  “I meant to say thirty.” Banning shot me a grin.

  “We can meet you there. Where and when?” Declan asked as he pulled out his traveling stone.

  “My gura and I will head to Kyanite with Elaria, and then I'll contact you with the coordinates and time,” Banning said.

  “I say we go at sunrise when all those fuckers will be settling into their beds,” Arnold snarled.

  “Remember that Sorin has a gura of ghearas now,” Banning said. “Most will be able to stand sunlight.”

  “Being able to tolerate the sun and actually being immune to it are two different things, Gheara,” Arnold said smugly. “I still think it gives us the edge.”

  Banning looked at my consorts and me; we all nodded.

  “As much as it reeks of dishonor, we might as well use every advantage available to us,” Torin said. “Let's plan on tomorrow at dawn.”

  “Whenever dawn is in Romania, you mean,” I said with a wink at Torin.

  “Ah; yes. I hadn't thought of that,” Torin admitted. “Can you do that giggle thing, Elaria?”

  The Gura snorted and snickered.

  “What?” Torin scowled at them.

  “Google, sweetheart,” I said softly. “It's called Google.”

  “Whatever ridiculous name it has, can you find the information we need with it?” Torin shook his head as he rolled his eyes.

  “Yes; I can definitely Giggle what time the sun rises in Romania,” I said sweetly.

  Everyone actually giggled at that. I think we all needed a good laugh after learning that we'd be fighting another battle; this time against ghearas.

  Chapter Nine

  Armed with the time of sunrise in Romania and watches synced with each other, we all headed to Tír na nÓg. Thirty Shining One soldiers don't sound like a lot as far as armies go, but Shining Ones were considered to be the most powerful magic-users in the Beneath. When you took them to fight Blooders—the least powerful in the Beneath—you didn't need so many; even against elite blooders. In addition to that, we'd have Banning's sun-walking gura of thirty-nine blooders; forty including him. We should be fine.

  Nonetheless, we armed ourselves and prepared for a hard fight. I even got a playlist ready; songs that would be good for multiple scenarios. When the time came, Banning and I traveled through the Veil to Suceava, Romania with his gura
and my knights; the latter helping the former across the Veil.

  The last time I'd gone to the Suceava Gura with Banning, we'd traveled into the human city first and waited for a car to pick us up. This time, we weren't worried about following Sorin's rules. So, we all stepped through the Veil directly onto the Original Gura's front lawn.

  We were primed for battle; blood pumping full of adrenaline. All of us stepped forward determinedly and with deadly intent; striding across a dew-soaked meadow toward the front door of a Gothic mansion. The sun was rising behind it; sending it deeper into shadows while giving the sharp architecture an autumnal crown. It was a glorious picture, and we all stumbled to a stop when we realized what was wrong with it.

  There were rotting corpses everywhere.

  For a second, I thought that I was having a flashback. It looked like the Crouching Lion after our latest fiasco, except with fewer bodies. There were also several piles of dust that were starting to blow away—the remains of blooders. The front doors were thrown wide open, and blood and flesh littered the porch. Then the muffled sounds of shrieks and fighting reached us.

  “They're in the house,” Banning said and ran forward.

  “Hold on!” I ran after him. “We're saving them?”

  Banning looked over his shoulder at me as if I'd lost my mind. “You'd just stand out here and let them die?”

  “No; I...” I looked at the other men while Banning disappeared into the house with his gura.

  Banning's blooders didn't question him; they followed where he led immediately. I, however, was responsible for my own people; I hesitated, and so did Torin and Declan.

  “Seriously? Gage huffed at us before he ran after Banning. “Banning and his people just went in there; it doesn't matter anymore. I'm not letting them fight alone.”

  He had a point.

  Our little army surged into the house and tracked the sounds of battle to the dining hall. The remnants of Sorin's gura stood around him on the dais; all of them fighting for their lives. A horde of Nachzehrer blocked all avenues of escape and severely outnumbered them. The Blooders knew they were going to die, but none of them showed any indication that they were weakening or any hint of fear for the inevitable. Even Sorin—with his ridiculous Count Dracula mustache and curls—looked as if he were intent on dying like a warrior.