Warrior Rising

by Linda Winstead Jones

  Rurik placed the tray on a small desk near the window and left the room — reluctantly, it seemed — and Nevada sat to eat as if she had not consumed solid food in days.

  Before she finished, the vampire Sorin walked into the room. He did not knock, but then Rurik had left the door open. So he could peer in now and then? Perhaps.

  “I have found your family,” he said, directing his words to Nevada. “They are all well.”

  The witch dropped the piece of bacon she’d been carrying toward her mouth, sprang to her feet with a girlish squeal, and ran to the vampire to hug him. The hug did not last, and the girl moved back and away as quickly and sharply as she had moved in. “Sorry,” she said. “I’m just excited. First the sanctuary spell and now this. Where are they? Are they safe? Did you talk to them?”

  Sorin looked taken aback. By the hug or by all the questions? “I located them shortly before sunrise. I didn’t drop in for tea.”

  “You didn’t even…” Nevada began.

  Sorin’s words were sharp. “I kidnapped them, in case you have forgotten. I suspect they have not. Not one of them would be so foolish as to throw their arms around me.”

  The girl blushed. “You’ve changed,” she said softly.

  “You put a spell on me,” he said, accusation in his voice.

  Nevada glanced to the side, as if she had been caught doing something she should not. “Maybe a little one, but you had begun to change before that.”

  He waved an impatient hand, ending the conversation. “I have much to do. Vampires have finally made the news. For days our existence has been dismissed as rumor or mass hysteria, but the truth has come out. One of our human fighters, a conduit I believe, strapped on a small camera and recorded his kill of one of Marie’s soldiers. The fool went to dust before many witnesses, live on television. We can no longer be denied.” Was that a sigh? “There will be no real hiding for the kindred, probably not ever again.”

  Indikaiya watched and listened. Sorin seemed truly distressed. Wasn’t this what his kind wanted? What he wanted? No matter what side of the fight they found themselves on, an endless existence in the shadows was not desirable.

  “Vampires on the news?” Nevada repeated.

  “There’s been nothing else on television and radio all day,” Sorin said. “We have been well and truly outed.”

  The petite girl, young and without doubt the weakest being in this household — physically speaking — stood tall and began to issue directives. “Rurik!” She caught his eye beyond the doorway. “Coffee. I will need lots of it.” She looked then to Sorin. “As soon as it’s dark and safe for you to be out, I want you to tell my parents that I’m okay. I know they’ll be worried, and I don’t want them venturing out to try to find me. They will only place themselves in danger.” Her eyes shifted. “Take Indie with you.”

  “What?”

  The response was in discordant harmony, Sorin’s deep voice and Indikaiya’s echoing.

  “There’s still work for me to do here. I want to leave, I do, I want to join my family and hide until this is over, but I can’t.” She steeled her spine. “I trust the two of you. I don’t trust anyone else.”

  “What of me?” Rurik asked from his post just beyond the doorway. There was a touch of humor in his voice, so no one believed that he was truly offended.

  “Sorry,” Nevada said, sounding not at all apologetic. “Of course I trust you, as well.” She continued with her instructions to Sorin. “Tell my family I’m fine, make sure they know to stay inside, especially at night. They should get out of D.C., they should go as far away as they can. This area will be the most active, I expect. A place in the country, maybe? Make sure they have enough food to get by for a while.” She sighed. “I don’t know how long they’ll need to hide.” She lifted her head and caught Indikaiya’s eye.

  “God help us,” she whispered, her fear showing. “What if this never ends?”

  * * *

  “I can’t believe I’m allowing myself to be commanded by a human, a witch who has not yet seen her twenty-fifth year. Is she even twenty?”

  Sorin smiled, as they left the mansion and walked into darkness. No, Indikaiya had probably not taken orders from anyone other than a general in… hundreds of years? Thousands? “Nevada is twenty-three years of age. You’re welcome to go back inside and argue with her, if you’d like.”

  The gentle huff that followed that suggestion was low and unexpectedly feminine in nature. Yes, Indikaiya was a Warrior, but she was also a woman.

  “She has work to do,” Indikaiya argued. “Work I want finished as soon as possible.”

  “What kind of work?” It sounded as if the sexy Warrior had been giving orders as well as taking them.

  “The humans among us must be able to remember Luca after he walks away. His gift, if it can be called such, is beyond frustrating.”

  She refused to fly in his arms again, and to be honest his abilities in that arena were not powerful enough to carry the two of them a long distance, so he headed for the vehicle which was parked at the curb. He could’ve taken any of the cars or trucks that were parked around the mansion and up and down the street, and a wise man probably would’ve chosen a more nondescript ride. But Sorin had never been nondescript, and he saw no reason to start now.

  The shiny black Mustang was sleek and it would be fast. He didn’t know which of the Warriors — or conduits — had been driving it when they’d arrived, but for tonight it was his. The army, such as it was, had taken to leaving the keys to all vehicles under the driver’s seat, so that whoever among them had need of transportation would have it without delay.

  Sorin opened the driver’s side door and reached down for the keys, which were precisely where they should be. Indikaiya hesitated. Maybe she hadn’t visited this world for a while, but surely she recognized a car when she saw one. She’d been watching from the other side. They all had.

  “We can ride or I can carry you,” he said, knowing which method of transport Indikaiya would choose. He tossed the keys into the air. As they landed in his palm she opened the door, placed her sword into the tiny back, and slipped into the passenger seat.

  His sword joined hers, then he settled in and started the engine, which roared and purred. Out of the corner of his eye he saw his passenger grip the door handle. Tight.

  “You’ve never been in a car before, have you?”

  “No, why would I have been?”

  “No cars back home in Warrior world?”

  “We have no need.”

  “Pity.” He took off, made a squealing u-turn in the road, and floored it.

  “Have you no horses?” Indikaiya raised her voice to be heard above the magnificently roaring engine.

  “I have no need,” he said, throwing her words back at her. “I actually prefer a motorcycle, but since I’m not sure how long this will take and the windows of the car are darkly tinted, this is a better choice.”

  She relaxed a little as she became accustomed to the motion and speed of the car. They left the quiet neighborhood and pulled onto a main road. That road was straight and wide and deserted. Perfect for this fine vehicle.

  Sorin turned on the radio, searched, and finally found a station that wasn’t talking about vampires. The rock and roll station seemed appropriate enough for the state of the world, at the moment. Indikaiya didn’t pay the music much attention — though she did seem to be relieved that she didn’t have to talk to him — until a particular song came on. Her reaction was instantaneous and electric. She even leaned toward the speaker and listened closely.

  “Who is that?” she asked about halfway through the song.

  This was a question he could answer. “Janis Joplin.” He could even provide the name of this one. “Cry Baby.”

  She leaned back in her seat. “I find that I am intrigued by much of the music from this time.”

  “Janis Joplin isn’t exactly current,” he said. “She died years ago.”

  “Yet her music s
urvives,” Indikaiya said in a lowered voice that was almost reverent.

  “Yes, it does.” They drove on, Indikaiya paying closer attention to the music as one old song followed another. Of course, old was relative.

  A song came on that she didn’t like, and her response was to immediately turn the radio off. The woman liked what she liked, and she also knew what she didn’t like.

  Did she like him? A little, he could tell. Would she admit it?

  Never.

  After a while, she said, “You mentioned avoiding the sun. Some vampires can withstand a little sunlight, yes?”

  “I can withstand some, but it isn’t pleasant.”

  To be honest, that was what he missed most about being human. Sunlight. The warmth of it on his face, the shadows created by a late afternoon sun, the blaze of an orange and red and pink sunset. He had never admitted that to anyone, and saw no reason to start now.

  “You have truly located Nevada’s family?”

  It was an unnecessary question to fill the silence between them, he supposed. Maybe she thought if he was carrying on a conversation he would give less attention to his driving and slow down. He did not. “I know where they were last night. Whether or not they’re still in the same place… we’ll find out soon enough.”

  “How did you find them?”

  Another unnecessary question.

  It was the overwhelming stench of them. The mother and the little sister smell like Nevada. They all smell like Diera. Will that damned odor never abate? “I know their scent, and I suspected they would not go far from the mansion. Well, not far from Nevada. Locating them was not difficult.”

  “Why would you know their scent so well?”

  There was so much Indikaiya didn’t know. There was so much he would never tell her. At the same time, he would not lie to make himself out to be more or less than he was. He was not noble. Sacrifice was not in his blood. “I’m the one who kidnapped them. I’m the one who used them to force Nevada to break the sanctuary spell.”

  He could feel her eyes on him. “And yet now you fight with us. The witch trusts you.” She shook her head. “So much gray in this battle that should be black and white. You are a vampire.”

  “Do I need to worry about you trying to take my head or my heart?” His tone was light, teasing.

  Hers was not. “I have not decided.”

  CHAPTER FIVE

  “Impossible,” Luca said.

  Chloe reached out and touched him, laying her fingers against his cheek. She’d never seen him look truly surprised, but the expression on his face… yes, that was definitely surprise.

  “Not impossible at all.”

  “But…”

  “Listen.”

  It had been a while since they’d been alone, but at the moment they had this small basement room to themselves. The room was directly next door to the larger space they’d been using as a war room, of sorts. It wasn’t much better than a large closet, but here they could be alone. Wonderfully alone.

  Like the other rooms on this level there were plain concrete walls and floors, and no windows. Thank goodness. There was a single folding chair that had been pushed into one corner. The lopsided thing had seen better days. Chloe didn’t want to think about what this room had been used for when Marie had run the place. Food storage, she imagined. People, not rice and beans.

  Luca did as she instructed and listened, and very soon he heard what she’d heard earlier.

  A third heartbeat. The faint, fast heartbeat of their child.

  “Tell no one,” he said as he took her into his arms and held her close, his hand cradling her head, his heart beating close to hers.

  “Why?”

  He paused a moment, stroking her hair. “This is unprecedented, a child conceived when the mother was human yet nourished after the change. There are those among the kindred who would not be pleased to see such a child come into the world.”

  “That’s rather short-sighted,” Chloe argued. “The baby might be like you. Strong, powerful, the best of the best. Hasn’t this sort of thing happened before?”

  Instead of acting like a thrilled, soon-to-be father, Luca seemed determined to focus on the facts. His voice was distant, emotionless as he said, “There is no documented evidence of a surviving half-breed. If there is a human pregnancy, which is rare enough in itself, there will be a miscarriage.”

  “That’s sad.”

  “Would any human female want a half-vampire child?”

  She moved away and looked up. “Don’t snap. And the answer is… maybe. If it was the child of a man she loved.”

  Luca sighed. He never sighed. “I have heard the story of one half-breed that came into the world. It lived only a few hours. The mother did not survive.” His voice, his expression, was no longer emotionless. He was afraid. For her.

  Chloe was washed in a new fear. “Will I… will this baby…”

  “There is no way to know,” Luca said. “If the child survives will it be a vampire with human tendencies or a human with the occasional thirst for blood? Will it be one of us, or will it be more, or will it be less? The kindred don’t normally embrace the unknown.”

  Again, shortsighted! “These days everything is unknown,” Chloe grumbled. She wasn’t pleased to find out that her pregnancy was a history making event among the vamps. She would much rather have had Luca assure her that this kind of thing happened all the time, that she and the baby would both be just fine.

  “We must protect the baby, while we can,” Luca said softly. “For now, we protect him with our silence.”

  She leaned back in and rested her head against his shoulder. Him was better than the earlier it, and still, it was wrong. “Her,” she whispered.

  He did not question how she knew. Her single word was enough.

  “Will I carry the child for nine months, as if I were still human?”

  Luca spoke words she suspected had not often passed his lips. “I don’t know.”

  “Will the baby survive the change in my body?” According to him, if she were still human she’d lose the baby. Could a vampire nourish a fetus? Obviously the answer to that was yes, since Luca had been born to a vampire mother. But his father was also a vampire, and both parents had been vampires when he’d been conceived.

  Her daughter had been conceived when she’d been human, and still grew beneath her heart.

  Their time alone together had been rare these past few days, and this day was no different. A solid knock sounded on the door next to this one. A moment later, that same sharp knock sounded on the door to this small room. Luca snapped, “Enter,” and the Warrior Rurik did. Only then did Luca release her.

  “Nevada requests your presence immediately.”

  Luca looked annoyed. He had much to do, and he was not accustomed to being summoned by anyone. “The witch? Why? And how would she even remember enough to ask for me?”

  The Warrior smiled, a wide, real grin. “She needed a bit of help, I’ll admit. There were many scribbled notes before her.”

  The three of them left the room and climbed to the first floor, then to the second. There was much activity as Warriors, humans, and vampires prepared to move their headquarters elsewhere. As their forces spread out, effectively setting up stations all around the city, the number in this large mansion continued to decrease. The battle that had taken place here had left the once-fine house more than a bit of a mess, but they had managed for several days. They would not stay much longer, though.

  Two Warriors guarded Nevada’s door. As Chloe walked down the hall, following in Rurik and Luca’s footsteps, the scent of human blood grew stronger and sweeter and more tempting. Heaven above, she was hungry!

  “No,” Luca said softly. “I will see that you’re fed later.”

  It wasn’t easy, but she trusted him. Besides, Nevada was on their side, and Chloe was far too new to have the kind of control that would allow her to stop before draining a human past the point of death. But oh, the witch smell
ed good.

  The two Warriors parted to allow the threesome to enter. Nevada stood at a worktable that literally glimmered with remnants of magic. Chloe wondered if everyone could see it, or if that glimmer was for her eyes only.

  “This is him?” Nevada asked, her eyes on Luca, her question directed to Rurik.

  “Yes. This is Luca. Shall we test your latest spell?”

  Nevada lifted her hand and impatiently instructed Luca to step forward. He did so, and — eyes on him the entire time — the witch offered a ring on her outstretched hand. Chloe’s eyes were drawn to the blue veins on the witch’s pale wrist, to the heartbeat, to the scent of blood. She stopped well short of the table, as Luca continued on.

  “Put it on,” Nevada said as Luca plucked the ring from her hand. At his expression — raised eyebrows, hardened eyes, thinned lips — she added, “Please, sir.”

  Luca looked to Rurik, who nodded once. Only then did he slip the ring onto the middle finger of his right hand.

  When it was done, Nevada turned about, presenting her back to them all. A moment later, she completed the circle.

  She would not remember Luca now. He had been out of her sight. The witch smiled widely and even did a little happy dance that included clapping her hands twice. “Luca, nice to see you again.”

  * * *

  “Clever.” Indikaiya said as the conveyance Sorin had been guiding stopped in front of a small building. The front of the business was constructed almost entirely of glass. They had passed pockets of complete darkness on their way here, but electricity was still being supplied to this area.

  A neon sun shone brightly in the front window, along with the bright flashing words, “24-Hour Tanning.”

  “Yeah, clever. It’s not sunlight, exactly, but even the artificial stuff hurts like hell. It’ll kill most kindred if they’re exposed long enough, and incapacitate even the strongest for an undetermined period of time. Especially if the light hits the eyes.”