by Clare Daly
‘She attacked me Michael. Lincoln was only protecting me.’
He touched her face. ‘Go back to where you came from,’ he said, his voice a monotone. ‘I’m not going anywhere with you.’
Behind them, a large fire blazed in the ground floor of the house and the Boudreaux’s who ran out were set upon by the mob as they took their revenge.
‘Evelyn needs you.’
‘Really? Then, where is she?’ he said. ‘You have taken everything from me. Why don’t you just kill me already?’
‘Honestly? Because she wouldn’t want me to. Your sister is very important. She needs you with her. You’re in danger out here.’
Michael laughed.
‘Danger follows me, wherever I go. And I’m not going with you. Not now. Not with any of you.’ He glanced at Wade.
‘Then you leave us no choice but you know that fighting us is futile?’
‘Fighting is all I’ve ever done,’ Michael said.
He swung for Sasha, a punch landing squarely on the vampire’s jaw. He didn’t react and when Michael went to hit him again, Lincoln was ready.
‘No,’ said Sasha putting up his hand.
Michael rubbed his aching fist.
‘You should have left us alone. Why couldn’t you just leave us out of it?’ he said.
‘I won’t fight you Michael,’ Sasha said.
‘You’re fucking animals – that’s all you are.’
‘Does that include me?’
Michael spun around. Evelyn’s feet touched the ground as she made her descent, her cloak catching the wind. She took a step towards him and he backed away. The glass panes of the first-floor windows exploded behind them, flames screaming out of every window.
‘We have to leave,’ she said. ‘Please Michael. I’ll explain everything when we’re home.’
‘Home? This is not our home. It’s dead and gone in the grave with our father. We should have crawled in there with him and never come to this place,’ he said, the tears coming at last to break him. ‘Now I will bury her and I will crawl in with her where I belong.’
‘No you won’t, because we didn’t come this far, fight the fight we’ve had to get here, to give up,’ Evelyn said. ‘We can be part of something Michael, something that matters. Something we never could have understood before but now it has found me, found us and we can do something with our lives.’
She looked at Salome.
‘I’m sorry for your loss, I am and we have suffered too much of it but like it or not, I need you now and I need you to come back with me. I can’t do it if you’re not safe, and I don’t want to.’
‘What about them? You’re staying with them?’ he said, flinching as something hit his hand, his fingers catching it. It was warm, nestling against his skin and he ran his thumb down the glowing fissure of the stone as it rested happily back in its owner’s palm.
‘We’re a family now,’ said Sasha.
‘You’re not my family,’ Michael said. He lunged at him, and Lincoln’s arm caught him, pulling him backwards. Michael swerved and punched him in the jaw. Pain sung in his fingers but he brought his other hand up, ramming the sun stone into his mouth. Lincoln fell to his knees, his human reaction one of panic as the stone slipped to the back of his throat. More than that he realised it was no ordinary object but one of magic, burying itself deep, revelling the darkness, the heat, the moisture. When it ignited, it was sudden – a white flame that burst through him, throwing his head back before it consumed him totally, his body falling asunder as it hit the ground. They all watched, horrified.
‘What did you do?’ Evelyn cried.
Michael didn’t answer, awestruck by the stone’s power. It had proven useful after all. He doubted he could kill them all but Lincoln’s life for Salome’s was a start, and the loss for Sasha was a handsome reward for the taking of his sister. He saw Sasha move almost at the same time he felt his teeth tear the flesh on his neck. Now they burrowed deep, severing the artery before he was pulled back. Evelyn had flung him into the trees, with a warning to stay where he was. Sasha just licked the blood from his lips. Michael knew himself it was over. He held his hand to the wound but he couldn’t stem the flow. He stumbled back to Salome.
‘We can’t leave him here to die,’ Wade said.
‘Absolutely not. Don’t you even consider it,’ Sasha said. ‘Not after what he’s done.’
‘Lincoln killed his girl. He was never gonna take it well.’
‘She put a knife in me.’
‘Shame it missed,’ Michael said. He slumped down next to her body. ‘Just go…all of you.’
He took his hand from his neck and let the blood flow. He would be with her soon. But Evelyn wouldn’t go. Instead she fell to her knees, lifting his head onto the folds of her gown.
‘You should leave,’ she said to the others. ‘Gabriel needs you.’
She wouldn’t look at Sasha. He looked eager to go anyway as he paced back and forth. What would his sister make of him now?
‘Come,’ he said.
He disappeared first. Velle took Wade’s arm and soon they were gone too. Evelyn brushed her hand through his hair.
‘Oh, Michael, I’m so sorry.’
‘I was coming back to save you,’ he said. ‘We’d decided. This is probably how it would have gone, but I would have kept her safe. And she would have lived. I would have got her out of here.’
‘There is so much to tell you and now there’s no time. But I don’t want you to go. I can’t do this on my own. Please stay with me. Ask me and I’ll make it so.’
‘To be one of… them?’
‘One like me. The strongest you have ever been. Never sick. Never hungry again. There is so much at stake, battles we have yet to fight, ones we can win. And we can help this world, be the good in it, despite the bad. Please, Michael don’t leave me.’
He watched the ash as it swirled in the air, the last remnants of Salome’s killer drifting away.
‘Fire,’ he said, ‘…destroys them?’
‘A powerful one, yes’ she said, ‘but they are our friends, despite what’s happened here tonight. We need them and Wade is your friend, Michael. There are others far more dangerous to us. You have no idea.’
He was close to death, and suddenly scared to face it. What if there was nothing beyond it? What if she wasn’t waiting for him? That they couldn’t be together. That these precious weeks were all they had. His sister had found a way to cheat not only death but also time.
‘Do it,’ he whispered.
He felt her skin on his lips and then her blood. It dripped into his mouth but he felt nothing. Was she too late? Death had dug its nails in, dragging him onto a long, dark and lonely road. But it couldn’t have him. He would fight it, with everything he had. He gripped his sister’s arm and the flow increased. He was drinking now, the blood flowing inside him. Changing him. When it was enough, Evelyn pulled herself away. His head fell back across her arm, and he smiled as the sun stone flew back into his palm.
47
Ashleigh ran through the azalea bushes, keeping her head low. She heard glass breaking and a scream from the upstairs balcony and she stopped, peering out through the leaves at the mob laying waste to her home. They were severely outnumbered, lambs to the slaughter, and with Foster and Harley killed by those creatures, escape was her only option.
She looked to her left down the side of the house and made a run for the stables. She was pretty good on a horse. She knew how to get the best out of them, just like the slaves and she knew if she rode hard she could reach Oak Hill and sound the alarm. Maybe catch some of them. Imagine if she was the only Boudreaux left? She let that thought propel her as she ran, the wind catching her skirts, pushing her legs to move as fast as she could.
When she reached the stable door, she stopped to catch her breath. She was not alone.
Inside Bailey stood fixing saddles to the horses. He jumped as he heard her voice.
‘Bailey, fix that horse for me,’ she said.
He almost agreed, used to her commands.
‘No, Miss Ashleigh. I won’t. Now you get yourself outta here ‘cos I don’t want to have to hurt you. I’m leaving.’
She laughed, mocking him.
‘Give me that saddle. I’ll do it myself. You always were worthless,’ she said.
She leaned in to pull the leather straps tight, when something sharp hit the back of her head. An inky blackness invaded, tiny silver stars spiking through it, as she tried to grasp what had happened. Pain rang in her ears. Her hand went to her head, meeting a slick of blood oozing from her scalp. Her palm was covered in it and she felt a sharp sting in her brain as she fell amongst the hay, the stars swimming now back and forth. Through them, she saw the spade in Thomas’ hands. She felt nothing after that. By the third strike she was dead and Bailey and Thomas made their escape into the night.
48
A bright moon hung low in the Manhattan sky, it’s reflection rippling on the surface of the water as Sasha, Wade and Velle shot across it. No-one had said a word since they left, each feeling the loss of Lincoln. When he had joined them, they knew that their family was complete. Sasha knew even then, that he had a friend for life. He may not have ‘needed a pack’ but Lincoln found a peace with them and they felt it even then, that having him with them made sense, that they could navigate this world better together. Now their family was broken, a hole left in all of them that would never be filled.
Their feet touched down in the alleyway and Sasha felt a sudden swoon of nausea. He steadied himself against the narrow walls, the memory of human bile rising in his throat as surely as if it were there. A rush of horrific memories flooded back to him. The rise and fall of the hammer as they drove the nails into his palms. The pounding feet. Woltact’s torn mouth. The feel of him on his skin. He could smell the innards of his cloak. Feel the fabric touch his face.
‘You okay?’ Wade said.
‘We need to get to Gabriel now,’ he said.
Woltacht was close. He had to be. When they approached the entrance, the door was slightly ajar, with no sign of the green eyed old man who kept its watch.
‘I don’t like this,’ said Wade as they made their way inside.
The tunnels felt all the deeper under the surface such was the silence, maddening without the usual music and revelry to keep the claustrophobia at bay. The walls seemed to loom closer, the ceilings lower, smothering the sound of their footsteps as they made their way along. The large cavern was lit by torch and candle light but empty, a theatre without its nightly audience. Behind it, lay Gabriel’s private retreat and they knocked on the thick wood as they entered, but he was nowhere to be seen. Piles of old books and papers lay scattered over every surface, the floor a sea of them, and there in the corner behind a large tomb he sat, frantically flicking through page after page.
‘Come in, come in,’ he said, waving his hand.
‘What are you doing?’ Sasha asked.
‘I’m looking for an old manuscript. One that will help me summon the assistance we may need should things get critical.’ Mafdet padded over to him, nuzzling into his shoulder and he stopped his search for a moment, rubbing her under her ears.
‘Evelyn’s not with you?’ he said. ‘I haven’t been able to see any of you. I was worried.’
‘Things didn’t exactly go to plan down in Georgia,’ Sasha said. ‘But she’ll be here soon.’
‘And Michael?’
Wade shook his head as Gabriel realized that Lincoln was not among them.
‘There were losses?’ he asked, softly.
‘On both sides,’ said Sasha.
‘Well there may be more yet my friends.’
He recounted to them his visit to the town of Olivia with Evelyn, of the dogs sent to purge them and the astounding power of Evelyn’s gift in destroying the sleeping horde.
‘They will come for us. Perhaps this very night. By now they will know what she did. Sasha, find Evelyn and take her to your brother’s house. We will find the manuscript and meet you there. We are like flies trapped in a bottle here. It’s not safe.’
Sasha left them, hurrying through the tunnels. When he reached the surface, the feeling hit him again, crowding his senses. He retched, as he was overpowered by the scent of his maker.
49
Far below, Wade and Velle began sifting through the yellowing scrolls.
‘Where is everyone?’ Wade said.
‘I have been deserted it seems and with my abilities compromised, I am blinded. When I couldn’t see you in Georgia, Evelyn insisted on going herself and well I couldn’t very well stop her. Perhaps my disciples got wind of what was happening and deserted me. It wouldn’t be the first time.’
A deep rumble sounded overhead and the three of them looked to the ceiling. ‘Maybe that’s Sasha with Evelyn?’ Velle said rising.
‘No, not them,’ Gabriel said, listening as many footsteps could be heard echoing through the passageways. Moving quickly to the edge of the tomb, he freed a jewel encrusted scabbard hidden underneath.
‘Ready yourselves….’
‘Got any more of those?’ Wade said.
‘There’s a trunk over there.’
Velle looked on enviously as Wade took up a silver dagger. He threw it to her at whizzing speed and she caught it in one hand. Wade reached back into the box and pulled out the only pistol, its handle beautifully engraved with flames.
‘That’s Desdemona, the Wolf Killer,’ Gabriel said as Wade checked it for ammunition. Six silver bullets gleamed in the half light. Mafdet stretched her bones on the rug and snarled.
‘Be careful, pretty one,’ he said, readying his sabre. ‘We need to flank them. Wade, you go right, Velle left. Mafdet you come with me and get out the far side if you can.’
Velle nodded and blew Wade a kiss. He winked at her and opened the door to the chamber just as an arrow whizzed by his ear. He slammed it shut as two more pierced the door with such force, they almost broke through the wood.
‘Jesus,’ Wade cried. ‘Get behind me.’ He opened the door enough to get his fingers through and grasped the wood, pulling the door off its hinges.
‘Go for the archer,’ he said to Velle, her dagger poised.
‘You bet.’
Wade pushed out. Two more arrows hit the wood from the right and Velle leant sideways, throwing her dagger into the air. It whistled across the room and struck the archer, a woman, in the shoulder. She gave a grunt as she removed the blade, blood running down her bare arm. She was dressed for battle, her breastplate polished brightly, her green eyes ablaze with fury. She hurled the dagger back into the door and waited for Velle to take for it. When she did, she shot an arrow into her hand, pinning her, as she readied another. She didn’t see Mafdet until she was upon her. The lynx leapt from the shadows, knocking the bow from her hands.
Velle pulled the arrow from her broken flesh, and kissed it, before hurling it with all her might back to its host. Not even the archer had time to register it before it struck. It tore through the metal of her breastplate, into her leather vest, her skin and her heart. She collapsed to the ground, her eyes turning a milky sea green, their power diminished.
Without the cover of her arrows, the other vampires moved to attack. Velle counted nine of them, their eyes brimming with the same hate as the woman. They closed in, forming a semi-circle around them.
Wade flung the door outwards, as Gabriel swung out his sword. He was an accomplished swordsman. He’d had to learn. He would not survive Earth on his wits alone. Because of his position, he was rarely questioned but if it led to a fight, he had to be ready. He couldn’t always rely on his disciples to do it for him. He tore his sabre across the body of one of the vampires, tearing him in tw
o. As he fell, he finished him, the tip of the sword sinking into the vampire’s heart. Another came at him and he took it down with his mighty blade.
Wade aimed Desdemona and fired. The assassin’s heart exploded on impact into a cloud of dust and the others scarpered for cover. Velle ran out to grab one, and landed a ferocious blow to the creature’s face. His jaw moved to the left, swinging from his skull but he managed to smack her with the back of his hand, sending her flying over a row of tombs. She leapt up as Wade shot at him, the bullet hitting the wall behind him as the vampire moved towards her.
‘He’s mine, Wade,’ she screamed. She flew at him and delivered a punch to his gut, the two of them falling back to the floor beside the dead woman. She drew up her dagger and plunged it into his heart. A shot echoed off the walls as Wade took down another.
‘You killed my dogs,’ a voice boomed from the back. His Russian accent chopped through each word. Gabriel eyed their master, walking slowly towards him. The man looked like a wolf. He snarled, his lips drawing back to reveal his long sharp teeth.
‘Hound killer. I will feed you piece by piece to their mother,’ he said.
Gabriel readjusted his grasp and swiped his sword through the air. But the wolfman came at him, his movements a dark distortion, quick and swift to avoid every blow. He was in Gabriel’s face before he knew it. A bullet flew by him from Wade’s gun and he avoided that too, moving to allow it to pass him. Wade turned as one of the vampires sprang at him and he fired Desdemona with precision, every bullet counting as it hit its target mid-air, the vampire disintegrating.
Gabriel struggled as the wolf man held him. He was no match for his physical strength as he drew his jaws closer. But he did not attack, instead bringing his fingernails into his back, just behind his shoulder blades. There he ground them into two old but deep scars that resided there. Gabriel let out a cry, the wolf grinning as he tore into the flesh. For a moment, the image of the bare-chested man disappeared, replaced by something else. For his truest form was not that of a soft-skinned human but a blackened thing, its limbs like branches of a dead tree, deprived of light and water, hard ridges running all over his body. His face was a mass of knots and lumps as if badly beaten and never healed and his long hair was a bunch of featherless quills, only their spikey stems remaining. Gabriel tried to beat his wings but remembered they were gone, ripped from him, the wolf’s hands now set deep in their place.
