by Stone, Ciana
Constantine looked at her and she shook her head. “The sea will not be a viable means of escape. They will have the coastline guarded, depending on us to try to make an escape by water. However, if we create a diversion and appear to be attempting to escape to the west, they will draw the bulk of their troops from the shore.”
“That would be foolish,” Leonidas argued.
“Not if they believe your people and Constantine’s are trying to get you to safety. You are of far more value than the rest of your people combined. The Alliance knows if they can capture you, your people will capitulate to any demand they make to ensure your continued existence.”
Leonidas shook his head. “No, we stand and fight.”
“I didn’t say not fight. Just make it appear as if you are fleeing. Divert their attention and split their forces.”
He glared at her for a long time then nodded. “Very well. I will have my—”
He never got a chance to finish. The window on the outside wall of the library exploded in a storm of glass. At the same moment an explosion rocked the estate from the direction of the front entrance.
Resa snatched her sword from its sheath and tossed it to Constantine. Leonidas’ people were flooding into the room, amassing around him. He bellowed, snatched an enormous battle axe from its mount on the wall, and made for the door.
Before he reached it the Alliance was upon them. Resa had no time to think. The attack from the door was matched by warriors pouring in from the shattered window. She backed up against Constantine, both blades from her arm harness in hand, slashing every opponent who got close, as Constantine fought behind her.
Leonidas was like a killing machine, cutting a path through the attackers with his axe. Screams and grunts mixed with the clang of steel on steel and the thuds of bodies and body parts hitting the floor and all the while the sound of explosions and gunfire came from outside the manor and from within.
Resa had no time for fear until the Alliance sent a new wave. Their numbers were too many. Many of Constantine’s and Leonidas’ men had fallen. It was time to get Constantine to safety.
“Protect the Prince!” she screamed, drawing the attention of the V’Karians loyal to Constantine. Within a moment a ring of protection had formed around him, leaving Resa on the outside of the circle.
“To the tower,” she hissed to Madron who fought behind her.
She did not wait for a reply but fought her way to the door. Constantine and his men followed. It took them nearly half an hour to reach the tower, but once there they barricaded themselves inside.
Resa turned to Constantine. “From here you can fly to safety. Go now.”
“You’ll come with me.”
“I can’t.”
“You must.”
“Constantine, listen to me. Everyone in this room is expendable but you. You must leave. But we must stay. It has to be seen that your people fought with and for Leonidas. He can’t transform, but he can fool people into believing he’s someone else. If we can get him away from that mob, he can walk out of here making them think he’s one of them.”
“No.”
“Yes. You know I’m right. We have to save him. For V’Kar’s sake. For your sake. If you save him you gain politically. And you make him indebted to you. That’s in your favor and can be used for the advantage of your people. But you have to go.”
“I will not leave you.”
Resa looked at Madron who stepped forward. “Sire, she is right.”
“I will not leave her behind.”
The moment his attention turned to Madron, she acted. Raising her right hand she nicked him on the wrist with her blade. His head whipped around, shock clear in his eyes.
“I’m sorry. You left me no choice. I love you and will not let you die.” She turned to Madron. “Have you the strength to transport him to safety?”
“I do.”
“Then take wing. Now. There is time to save him.”
Madron asked no questions and offered no argument. In moments he had transformed into an enormous hawk. Resa turned her attention to Constantine. Already the iridium was working on him. His face was pale and covered in sheen of sweat.
“Resa, no.”
“Go,” she whispered and kissed him.
His eyes fluttered and closed and his body went limp. His men strapped him to Madron’s back then knocked the glass out of the massive tower window. Madron stepped up on the ledge and lifted off.
Resa turned to look around at the men. “Now we save the Nurians.”
* * * * *
It was a scene from a nightmare. The dead and dying littered the stairway, the corridors and the foyer of the manor. Resa and the D’Harahn fought their way to the study where Leonidas still battled the seemingly endless horde.
Resa had never seen so many battalions of the Alliance forces dispatched at one time. They must have thought they would corner the leaders of V’Kar in one location and either eliminate them all or take them captive. Either way, one thing was clear. There was a traitor among the V’Kar.
Resa fought her way to Leonidas. “We have a plan,” she panted as she dispatched an opponent with both blades to his gut and an upward cut. “We need to talk.”
“Talk later. Fight now!”
She admired his endurance, strength and warrior spirit. Even after all the time that had elapsed since the battle began, he and his followers fought like Berserkers, those Norse warriors of legend who were thought to have battled in an uncontrolled trance of fury, lusting for the thrill of battle.
Seeing that she would get nowhere arguing with him, she made her way across the room to where two of his men were slicing and hacking at the wave of enemy fighters still pouring in from the window.
“We must save Leonidas,” she said as she assisted their efforts, slicing through the neck of an enemy then delivering a kick to his chest that sent him flailing backwards through the window. “The D’Harahn fight for his survival.”
“Then fight,” one of them shouted.
“The numbers are too many. We must get Leonidas to a more secure location.”
The men spared a moment to glance at one another, then the larger of the two nodded. “We are with you.”
Leaving a trail of carnage in their wake, they sliced and hacked their way to Leonidas, gaining more to their number as they fought.
“We must gain a superior position to slay our enemy,” one of the Nurians shouted to Leonidas. “The Dhampir woman and the D’Harahn are with us.”
Leonidas cut a hard look at Resa then nodded. She yelled to the D’Harahn, and as a unit they banded with the Nurians and bullied their way out of the room. The corridor was no less dangerous. Inch by inch they pushed their way through the enemy’s ranks to the rear of the manor.
The enormous kitchen was littered with bodies and dying warriors, but there was no fighting. Resa yelled to the men to barricade the door and focused her attention on Leonidas.
“I know you can’t transform, but you can fool the Alliance. You and your men must make them believe you’re part of the Alliance forces and escape.”
“We will not run!”
“Then you lose!”
“Never!”
“Leonidas, listen to me. If you die, your people here on earth are without a leader and your world without a successor to power. If you die here today you die for nothing. Your world holds no hope of regaining its former greatness and no hope to right wrongs of the past. Would you throw the future of your people away for one battle that will gain you no glory or advantage?”
“Woman, do not council me on my position!”
“Then stop acting like a fool!
Resa heard more than one murmur or intake of breath at her words and knew she trod a dangerous path. Leonidas was not a man to be challenged. His temper was hair-trigger and his rage a force that knew no limits. But she had to get through to him.
He stepped up close to her, glaring down at her with enough malice that her skin pr
ickled. She could not show fear. Only strength would win his cooperation. So she matched his glare, refusing to retreat even when his body was an inch away and he towered over her like an angry god.
“You dare to call me a fool?”
“I’d dare to call you a jackass if I thought it’d get through to you. Think. Just think about it, Leonidas. The Alliance has launched an attack unlike any in your long history of contention. They are throwing the bulk of their forces against us. Have you asked yourself why?”
His glared diminished fractionally and she saw she’d hit her mark so she pressed forward. “There is a traitor among the V’Kar.”
A collective murmur arose from those assembled, the D’Harahn and the Nurian eyeing one another suspiciously.
“None of my people would dare to betray me.”
“Maybe. Maybe not. All I know is that there is a traitor. It’s the only explanation. There’s no other way the Alliance could have known about this summit. That all three leaders of the races of V’Kar would be present. Someone leaked the information and location to the Alliance. And in time for them to mount an all-out assault with the bulk of their army. It’s no small feat to move that many troops in so short an amount of time. Therefore it follows that they received the news at the same time Constantine and Octavian were informed.
“You can stay and fight and yes, you can kill a great many of their warriors. But the heads of the hydra remain hidden, and until you can deal with those of power in the Alliance, you cannot win.”
She played her final card, hoping it would be the nail that struck home. “A warrior’s death must count for something. Do not risk dying without cause. It dishonors your family name and your race.”
He stared at her for a long time and she started to think she’d missed her target. But then he nodded and looked over her head at his men. “We will appear as Alliance warriors and make our way to the nearest safe house. Spread the word among our people. I want to know the name of the man…or woman,” he added and cut a look at Resa, “who betrayed us.”
With that he turned to face the door, issuing an order for the barricade to be removed. Resa turned her attention to one of the D’Harahn. “Can you establish mental contact with the rest of your people?”
“Yes.”
“Then do so. They are to retreat now, in whatever form will take them to safety.”
“Stay by my side. I will transport you.”
She nodded and they all turned their attention to the door. The moment the barricade was lifted, the enemy poured in.
Resa had no more time to think. Now it was a matter of surviving and hoping they could discover who had betrayed them.
“Die, you bitch!”
The snarl behind her had her whirling, blades coming together in a crossed position to stop the blade that sliced at her heart. “Stephan!”
The eyes that stared into hers were no longer those of the boy she’d grown up with, loved like a brother, helped train and enjoyed getting into trouble with as a child. There was no love or compassion in the eyes of the man who faced her. Only hatred.
“Look around you, bitch, at what you’ve done. These are your brothers and sisters. Your family. Your betrayal has killed them and for that you must die.”
Resa fought against the push he gave, trying to slide his sword past her defense. “You’re a fool, Stephen. The Alliance has lied to us. All of us.”
“Liar!” he screamed in rage and lunged.
Resa raised her blades enough to keep the sword from piercing her heart. But not high enough to prevent it from slicing into the deltoid muscle on her left arm. An intense burning preceded a feeling of numbness that worked down her arm.
She didn’t have much time before the arm would be useless. Before she would be useless. But she wasn’t going to go down without a fight.
She let her left arm drop and saw Stephen’s grin of victory as he pushed in closer, trying to angle his blade against her throat. Just as she saw the shock that came on his face when the blade in her left hand plunged into his diaphragm and angled up into his heart.
He was dead before he hit the floor. Resa staggered. Two more fighters were coming at her. She was running out of strength. Weakly she lifted her arms in defense. Constantine, I love you, she thought as she saw two swords raised in unison.
She felt a coolness waft across her sweat-drenched body, saw a distortion in the air around her, air that swam with light and color. Thinking that at last death had found her, she closed her eyes and let the light take her.
Chapter Ten
Warm hands moved up his torso and across his chest, soft and gentle, moving ever upward until they cupped his face. The feel of full lips brushing his and the smell of her scent accompanied the whisper in his ear. “I love you. Always.”
Constantine’s eyes flew open. His hands moved to his chest, almost surprised to meet with the fabric of his shirt. Was it a dream? He closed his eyes, concentrating on establishing a connection but there was no one to connect with.
Was she gone from his life? Had he lost her before their lives together could begin?
Claws dug into his mind and heart, threatening to choke him with grief and longing. Days had passed since the Alliance attack and still there was no word of Resa. Her body had not been found and despite the combined efforts of all three factions of the V’Kar, no information could be uncovered to let him know what had happened to her after she’d convinced Leonidas and his people, as well as the D’Harahn, to flee the battle with the Alliance. After she’d risked her own to save them. And him.
It was too much, this pain. He wanted to cast it away like an unwanted suitor, be done with it and escape its power. But escape was not possible. He was bound to her. In life or death and nothing could release him from the pain her loss brought.
Rising from the chair at his desk, he walked over to the window and stared blindly through the panes. How did one move forward when that which mattered the most had been ripped from them?
No one had that answer. Azarth had tried to counsel him, speaking of how her sacrifice had worked to form a bond between the three factions that had not existed in a millennium. A tenuous bond, but a bond nonetheless.
Constantine knew he should take heart in that. She had accomplished much. But that could not outweigh his grief. It was too deep, too dark. For the first time in his long life he had no control over his emotions, could not shove them into a dark corner in his mind and cover them from his consciousness.
He had to know. If she no longer lived then he wanted to see her body. Wanted to know how she’d died and by whose hands so that he could exact vengeance upon them.
* * * * *
The dream began to fade, leaving behind an ache of aloneness. She struggled to rise up through the fog that shrouded her mind. After some time her eyes opened. Her vision swam, making it impossible to determine her surroundings. Closing her eyes she sought to stem the panic rising inside her, breathing deeply and slowly. When she opened her eyes next, her vision was still distorted, but with time it began to normalize.
Where was she? She turned her head to look around. She was in a white room, with gauzy curtains that swayed, filtering the light that came from the window. Two women sat across the room from her, talking too softly to be understood. Resa tried to sit. That’s when she realized she couldn’t move. Her wrists and ankles were restrained. She was shackled to a bed.
“Hey!” Fear had her jerking her arms and kicking her legs, trying to break free. “Release me! Hey! Did you hear me? I said get this shit off me!”
One of the women hurried from the room as the other crossed to the bedside. “Please remain calm. There is nothing to fear. You are safe.”
“Well you’re not gonna be. Let me out of this shit!”
“I’m sorry, I do not have the authority—”
“Then get someone who does!” Resa continued to thrash around, making the bed shake and bang against the wall with a rapid thud.
“Pleas
e,” the woman pleaded. “I assure you that you are in no danger here. If you would only—”
“Let. Me. Go.” Resa yelled loud enough that the woman winced at the volume. She increased her efforts to break free.
Suddenly the woman moved away, bowing her head. It was an odd enough gesture to have Resa stilling to see what was going on. Pandora approached her bed and looked down at her. “My, you are loud.”
“Let me go,” Resa snarled.
“Of course,” Pandora gestured and the woman attending Resa quickly unfastened the restraints.
Resa bounded out of the bed to face Pandora. “Where am I? Is Constantine safe? What happened? Did Leonidas and his people escape?”
Pandora raised her hand and Resa fell silent, looking at the other woman in the room who had her eyes downcast. “You may go,” Pandora said quietly.
The woman immediately left the room and Pandora gestured to the chairs across the room. “Come, let us sit.”
Resa wasn’t much inclined to do anything Pandora suggested after being restrained, but she needed answers so she complied.
“Well?” she asked as soon as Pandora had taken a seat.
“Constantine is safe. As is Leonidas.”
“Where am I? How did I get here? I remember—” She jerked back the neck of the soft tunic she wore and looked at her shoulder. “I was cut.”
“You are quite healed.”
Resa breathed a sigh of relief that was short-lived when Pandora spoke her next words. “And pregnant.”
“Pregnant?”
“Yes.”
“I’m…I’m pregnant? With— It’s Constantine’s! I’m carrying his child.”
“Yes.”
“And this means?”
“Hope,” Pandora said. “The Vox Narr within you reproduced. Whether it survives in the fetus only time will tell.”
“And if it does?”
“Then our race is saved.”
Resa nodded. She understood the enormity of it for the V’Kar. And for Constantine. For herself she could only feel a sense of wonder that was becoming increasingly decorated with excitement.
