Pretty When She Destroys

by Rhiannon Frater

  “Don’t kill her yet!” Amaliya struggled to contain the struggling vampire in her power. “I almost have this bitch under control.”

  Swearing, Etzli fought even harder, trying to pull Amaliya’s blood from her control and into her own. Amaliya felt the leash on her power slip and cursed. Drifting closer to Etzli, Amaliya watched the vampire thrashing in the blood cloud. Etzli’s dark eyes blazed with fury. Battling against the necromantic power holding her hostage, she bared her fangs.

  Again, her power slipped. Etzli was older and more in control of her abilities than Amaliya. Most of the time Amaliya just winged it, learning as she went. This time she couldn’t depend on chance.

  “Kill the witch!” Amaliya ordered.

  Etzli’s eyes flashed with fear.

  The magical dome vanished a second later.

  The fresh death flared through Amaliya like cold fire, filling her completely, and imbuing her with the power she needed. With a cry of triumph, she sent Etzli crashing into the ground. Amaliya landed beside her, straddled the vampire, and pinned her arms to the road as the bloody vapor swirled around them. Digging her nails into Etzli’s wrists, she destroyed tendons and bone. The bone blades fell from Etzli’s hands.

  Roberto emerged from the darkness and pounded his silver blade through Etzli’s chest, impaling her heart, instantly paralyzing her.

  Samantha’s battered car pulled up next to them. The passenger side was a mess, but it was drivable. Baptiste jumped out and jerked Etzli into his arms.

  “Make sure the knife stays in her heart,” Amaliya said.

  Baptiste nodded, sliding into the backseat with her.

  Amaliya once more cast out her necromancy, snagging all the dead bodies scattered across the roadway. She willed them to rest in peace. The corpses sank through the road and into the earth. Climbing into the passenger seat, Amaliya dragged the warped door shut.

  “You’re scary,” Samantha informed her.

  Amaliya shivered, nodding. “Yeah. I am.”

  The sirens of the emergency vehicles sounded in the distance as the small car sped on toward Austin.

  Chapter 21

  Cian stroked his goatee with his long fingers while watching the array of monitors sprawled across several desks lined against the wall in his home. Slouched in an office chair, he watched the progress of Samantha’s vehicle on a map displayed on one of the screens. He was grateful that the GPS signal of the vehicle could be tracked. It was reassuring to see the car on the outskirts of Georgetown. Amaliya and Samantha were almost home.

  Checking his phone again, he saw Amaliya’s latest message. The autocorrect was having a lot of fun with her swearing and it brought a small smile to his worried face.

  Alexia sat next to him, occasionally tapping away on the keyboard. Cassandra was perched beside him on a stool she had dragged over from the bar. Elbows on her knees, she studied the banks of monitors that displayed the latest information on the battle against The Summoner.

  The basement game room looked like something out of a science fiction movie. Most of the gaming equipment Cian had bought for the room was in storage. In its place were the state of the art machines that Alexia had purchased to create an information hub. The young hunter was incredibly resourceful. Whereas the supernaturals of the cabal were dependent on their otherworldly abilities to fight The Summoner, Alexia used her intelligence and tech skills to keep track of every facet of the battle against the ancient vampire across the world. Sadly, most of the recent activity was in their area.

  “Aimee, any sign of trouble?” Cian called out.

  The true witch leaned over the old billiard table that was now covered in maps, spell materials, and crystals. “Nothing. None of the detection spells have activated.” Her long hair was drawn into a ponytail and fell over one shoulder. Clad in a sequined multi-colored skirt and lightweight blue sweater, she gave off an aura of softness and femininity. Yet, Aimee was probably one the most dangerous of all his cabal.

  Cian had been skeptical of Aimee’s detection spells at first, but after witnessing their effectiveness in alerting them to their enemies, he trusted her completely. Cassandra and Aimee had buried spells along every possible route into Austin. Aimee then activated all of the spells creating a net that activated an alarm if any supernatural creature entered the city.

  “I still can’t believe we got Etzli,” Cassandra said in awe.

  “The Summoner must want Amaliya really bad to send her,” Alexia agreed.

  “The Summoner is running out of time,” Cian said somberly. “He’ll get a lot more aggressive now. He wants the last of Lucifer’s rings.”

  “I’m going to have to come up with a counter-spell to make sure they don’t block Amaliya’s power again,” Aimee said, annoyance in her voice. “I should have anticipated their black witches trying something like that.”

  “You can’t think of everything, babe,” Cassandra said, giving her girlfriend an encouraging smile.

  Aimee wagged her head, disagreeing. “I should have thought of it. They could have ended up prisoners, then The Summoner would have Amaliya.”

  “Amaliya did what she always does when backed into a corner. She found a way to fight back.” The pride Cian felt in his lover helped balance the fear he felt at the thought of Amaliya not returning safely. The GPS signal was proceeding without interruption, much to his frayed nerves’ relief.

  Cian’s plan to set a trap for Etzli had been helped by The Summoner making a move of his own. Cian had known immediately when Nicole and Courtney had abruptly agreed to send emissaries to meet with Cian’s representatives after months of refusing that The Summoner had decided to take Amaliya. In the last few months it had become increasingly evident that the vampire powers of the world were not going to defy The Summoner, so the offer of a meeting had been questionable to begin with. The insistence of the two vampire masters that Amaliya be in attendance at the meeting outside of Austin had only confirmed his suspicion. For once the plotting of The Summoner had worked in Cian’s favor. If he had sent Amaliya and Samantha out of town on a random errand, The Summoner would have been suspicious. The meeting in Waco had been perfect.

  Now, they would hopefully discover where Bianca was located and rescue her while The Summoner was out of her body.

  It felt good to finally be able to win against The Summoner after months of fending him off. He could see it in the eyes of those around him that they were relieved to finally have a win in their column. They had all lost much in the last few months. Alexia and her brother Benchley had been forced to abandon their regular lives and go underground. Benchley’s gaming store had been sold to his business partner while Alexia took a leave from attending St. Edward’s University. Jeff had closed his occult bookstore, moving all his files and books home. Samantha no longer worked a regular job in one of Cian’s companies. Instead she was his human right-hand and spent all her time helping in the efforts against The Summoner. All of the members of the makeshift cabal split their time between Jeff’s Victorian and Cian’s mansion. Except for Eduardo. The coyote came and went as he pleased, but no one knew where he lived anyway. The coyote always showed up when needed, but tended to keep to himself.

  Cian’s phone buzzed again and he checked the incoming message. It was Amaliya. He grinned as he read.

  “What’d she say?” Cassandra asked, leaning over his shoulder in an attempt to take a peek.

  “In Round Rock. Almost home.” Cian answered, hiding the rest of the message. It was rather pornographic. Amaliya tended to be horny after a big fight.

  “Uh huh,” Cassandra said, obviously not believing that was the cause for his grin.

  Cian winked at her.

  Cassandra rolled her eyes. “Gross.”

  He chuckled in response.

  Cian adored his daughter. Every time he looked at her he only loved her more. She looked so much like her mother, Galina, that it was a bit startling. Yet, he could clearly see himself stamped in her features and especia
lly her attitude. Even though he hadn’t raised her, she definitely had inherited some of his personality traits. He was also very fond of her girlfriend and was glad to see his daughter in a solid relationship. In spite of the high state of anxiety they all lived with, he did find happiness in the small moments he spent with Cassandra. Their relationship was still evolving, but it was good.

  Jeff emerged from the stairwell with his brown hair a bit messy from him running his fingers through it. Cian noted the slight limp the man walked with. He knew Jeff suffered phantom pains. Yet, the hunter never let his disability slow him down. “Rachoń called. After she heard we got Etzli, she was more than a little ecstatic.” Jeff strode over to study the bank of monitors.

  Aimee face was somber as she watched the bits of magic floating across the map of Austin on the table before her. “They’re still in the clear.”

  “If we can get Etzli to tell us where The Summoner is located that will be a big plus on our side.” Jeff took a seat nearby, his phone still in his hands.

  “If The Summoner doesn’t immediately relocate once he...or is it she?...realizes we have Etzli,” Aimee pointed out.

  “It sucks that we can’t go to the government to help us.” Alexia swiveled her chair back and forth while typing on her keyboard.

  “We all know how that worked out for the Washington group that tried to get help,” Cassandra said sadly.

  “Guantanamo.” Jeff sighed. “I can’t believe they got pegged as terrorists. Or maybe the government knows. Maybe they don’t care. Maybe they’re in on it. Maybe they want The Summoner to win. Who knows?” Jeff ran his hands through his hair again, exhaling loudly.

  “What does it matter? We’re on our own. We already know that. When it comes to dealing with The Summoner directly, we’re it. There’s no point lamenting that fact anymore.” Aimee folded her arms over her breasts.

  “The hot witch has a point,” Cassandra agreed.

  “We’ll deal with Etzli, get the information we need, and go from there,” Cian said in a firm voice.

  There was a long beat of silence, then Jeff said, “Holy shit, we got Etzli! Does that blow anyone else’s mind?”

  “I won’t believe it until I see it,” Cassandra admitted.

  Cian checked his phone again when he felt it buzz. “They’ll be here soon. We do have the cell prepped, right?”

  “Benchley is putting the finishing touches on it,” Jeff answered.

  “Cian, how are we going to keep her from pulling her slick assassin moves?” Cassandra tilted her head, curiosity in her eyes.

  “Silver chains. And if that doesn’t work, I’ll chop off her arms and legs,” Cian answered simply.

  “For real?” Cassandra’s eyes widened.

  “Of course.” Cian stood, stretched and lightly stroked his daughter’s hair with one hand. “If she attempts to break free, I’ll do it.”

  Cassandra opened her mouth, then shut it abruptly.

  “This is a war, Cass,” Cian reminded her.

  “No mercy,” Aimee agreed. “Etzli would never show it to us.”

  “And when we get the information we need?” Alexia asked.

  “We kill her,” Jeff said, also standing.

  The thought of destroying a woman he had once cared about should have bothered him, Cian thought, but it didn’t. Etzli would kill all of them and take Amaliya to The Summoner if she could.

  Cian and Jeff exited the room together, walking down the narrow hallway to another room. It was actually another one of Cian’s resting places, but they had altered it to hold whomever they managed to snatch. That it was Etzli made Cian especially nervous.

  “Do you think she’ll talk?” Jeff asked in a lowered voice.

  “Honestly, no. But we’ll find a way to get the information out of her. We have to.”

  Jeff stopped in mid-stride and turned to face Cian. Arms folded, the human looked dour. “If we find out where The Summoner is from Etzli, we’ll have to attack soon.”

  Cian nodded. “As soon as possible.”

  “Which means we should get the information out of her tonight. If we don’t, there’s a chance The Summoner will move locations.” Jeff fidgeted a little. “Do you think we can do it?”

  “We don’t have a choice, Jeff. This is our best break so far.”

  “Is Amaliya sure she can actually carry out her plan?”

  “She’s certain of it. If we can rescue Bianca, we will have The Summoner at a great disadvantage. If she can untether The Summoner from Bianca’s body, he’ll be a ghost again, and Samantha thinks she can possibly banish him.” Cian knew it was all conjecture, but it was all they had. There was really no way to plan in certainties. They’d have to wing it. He didn’t like it any more than Jeff did, but didn’t see where they had a choice.

  “I hate this,” Jeff sighed, rubbing his face with his hands. “If The Assembly hadn’t fallen apart they might have been able to figure out how to eliminate him.”

  “I know you trusted your vampire hunting buddies, but they were ill-prepared for all of this in the end. How many groups have simply gone quiet?”

  “Too many. They’re out of the game now. We’re it.”

  Resting his hand on Jeff’s shoulder, Cian looked him in the eye. “The best people to deal with what is happening are already here in Austin. I do believe that.”

  “I still wish we could get help from the government, the military, the cops.” Jeff leaned against the wall, appearing exhausted. “I didn’t tell the others, but one of the groups in England also tried to raise the alarm with the government. No one has heard from them since. After what happened to the group in Washington and now the English one, I’m really starting to wonder if the vampires have some of the governments in their back pockets.”

  Cian knew it was a distinct possibility. “So if the veil falls...?”

  “Some of the people in power will end up vampires and continue to be in power. That’s what I’m guessing. Or am I just paranoid?”

  “You might be right. We’ve been a bit naive about things since the beginning. Remember when we thought it was a fluke that The Summoner had made Amaliya? Now we know better. When he set her free after she rose, it was all a test. To see if he had accomplished what he set out to do.” Cian mirrored Jeff’s posture by leaning against the opposite wall. “Maybe he’s had this planned much longer than we think. Consider the abduction of Etzli over a hundred years ago. The rings of Lucifer are worn by his followers. His exclusion of me and Rachoń, the most ‘human’ of his offspring.”

  “Yeah, yeah.” Jeff let out a harsh exhalation. “It’s just he’s had how long to prepare compared to our measly four months?”

  “You think we’re going to fail, don’t you?” Cian wasn’t surprised. Jeff was pragmatic and intelligent. It didn’t take much thought to come to that conclusion. Yet, Cian believed they would somehow beat The Summoner. So much had changed since Amaliya had come into his life. She was a catalyst for so much that he believed she would continue to play a valuable part of what would happen next.

  “I won’t lie. I wish I could take Sam and run. But there is nowhere to go, is there? The veil falls and hell comes to earth. I just wish my dad was here. I feel like he’d figure all this out. He’d know what we need to do.”

  “Did you ask Sam if he’s around?”

  “Yeah. No sign of him or Innocente.” Jeff’s thick brows drew into a hard line over his eyes. “I sometimes feel like we’re abandoned by the whole damn world.”

  Cian grinned. “But we’ll save it anyway, right?

  “Because we’re the good guys?”

  “Because we love two amazing women that we want to have futures with.”

  Jeff chuckled. “So you’re saying we’re being selfish bastards and not actually noble.”

  Cian shrugged. “I have Amaliya and Cass to think about. I don’t want to see them altered by the veil falling.”

  “I’d like to have a family with Sam,” Jeff confessed. “Be a dad. H
ave a regular life.”

  “Sometimes people do the right thing for selfish reasons,” Cian said.

  Jeff was silent for a beat, then said, “No, no. I want to save the world and all the people in it. I want them to be safe from the monsters in the abyss. I don’t want to just stop The Summoner for me and Sam, but for everyone.”

  Cian wished he could say the same, but he really couldn’t. A world filled with darkness would actually benefit him in many ways, but he feared what the veil falling would do to Amaliya and Cassandra. A world ruled by The Summoner would be an incredibly dangerous place for them.

  “You’re a better man than me, Jeff,” Cian said at last.

  That brought a smile to Jeff’s face.

  “Will you two hurry up and kiss?” Benchley poked his head out of the room. “Seriously. Gay. Sam and Frodo gay.”

  “You do realize Sam wanted to go home and marry a girl,” Jeff responded, smirking. “The girl with ribbons in her hair.”

  “Whatever. I got the silver coated shackles secured in here. Are you sure it will hold her?”

  “If she tries to escape, she’s not going to have arms and legs,” Jeff replied.

  Benchley looked at Cian, frowning. “Seriously?”

  “I’ll chop them off,” Cian answered.

  “Fuck, dude. Okay, well, I can rig a harness if I need to. Very Boxing Helena, Cian.” Benchley disappeared back into the room. “You guys aren’t playing around.”

  “Actually,” Cian responded, “we’re playing to win.”

  Chapter 22

  Keeping close to Baptiste as he carried Etzli into Cian’s modern multi-level house through the door exiting the garage, Amaliya didn’t dare remove her eyes from the paralyzed vampire. She knew their prisoner was unable to move as long as she was impaled by silver, but it didn’t keep Amaliya from experiencing the irrational fear that the Aztec vampire might somehow escape.

  “I keep waiting for her to twitch,” Samantha muttered behind Amaliya.