Virgo

by Kim Faulks

  Naked bulbs buzzed overhead as I stumbled into the mouth of the cavern. The heavy throb of the generator bounced off the walls to cram my head with the deafening sound. I slapped one hand over my nose, smothering the biting stench of diesel, and hurried deeper inside.

  Silver eyes glinted through the murky shadows. Hackles stood along the beast’s spine, and a growl of warning slipped under the thunderous roar—but it wasn’t to me the beast snarled at—it was the undead at my back.

  The Vampire hissed in response, stepping to block the wolf’s path. I stumbled, skimming one hand over the rocks and kept the other to my chest as the Vamp yanked his gaze to me and snapped. “Keep moving.”

  Hate saturated the air as he turned to the beast, and then slowly stepped to the side.

  Dappled white light replaced the hard yellow hue as I followed the curve. Voices echoed, growing clearer as we made our way into the belly of the mountain.

  A bank of computers sat alongside the cavern wall as I rounded the curve. A gray-haired Vampire sat hunched over the keyboard; he whipped his gaze to me. Lips curled, fangs glistened. His tongue flicked out and skimmed his lips before disappearing. A wolf rose to its feet and neared.

  My stomach clenched in warning.

  But these monsters weren’t the ones I was afraid of.

  She stood with her back to me, dressed in black jeans and a long-sleeved black shirt—the contrast to her corn silk hair was breathtaking.

  I knew who she was before she turned.

  This was the woman who stole from me.

  The bitch who’d destroy it all, our world, our hope—I glanced behind me to the black case in the Vampire’s hand—our freedom.

  Kill her…

  My hands shook with need. I clenched my fist, squeezing as though I could end the air in her lungs.

  The blast of a two-way cut through the air. “Southeast corner, they’re doubling back. Steer clear of the up-river marker. Fucking Alpha and that wolf-bitch.”

  The radio fell silent, before a softer voice cut in with hushed tones and the rustle of trees, or branches. “I can’t find the sniper, lost him about five miles back. Jesus this guy’s good. There’s no way I can get close to the one-legged bitch. Goddamnit! Something needs to be done about them.”

  “Yes, it does,” the Huntress hissed and turned to face me.

  She fixed those green eyes on me, searching me up and down before one brow rose. “What a surprise, Doctor. I wasn’t expecting you.”

  I flinched with the lash of fire in her merciless gaze, until she found the Vampire at my back.

  A nerve twitched near her eye, before a frigid draft blew past, kicking strands of hair into my eyes. I didn’t dare move as the undead moved closer, arm outstretched, shoving the black vial case toward her hand.

  Long fingers wound around the edge as she took possession. She pried one clasp open, and then the other.

  I swallowed, and tried to wet my arid mouth, praying the vial was still intact.

  She glanced inside and then snapped the case closed. “And the sequence?”

  “She wouldn’t hand it over,” the Vampire muttered with a rush.

  I stiffened as those soulless eyes found mine. I tried to straighten my spine, tried to stand my ground as a voice inside my head whispered, You’re going to die in here, bleed out amongst the rocks and the dirt. They’ll just pack up their gear and step over your body. No one will find you—not Gabriel, not your Dragon…no one.

  “The sequence,” she demanded.

  A menacing snarl rose the hairs on my arms. I glanced behind me, to where the silver-haired vamp stopped typing to glare at the wolf over his shoulder. “Back off mutt.”

  Tension rose, slicing the air with a rusted blade.

  The wolf took one more step, bearing down the undead. Its black lips curled, drool dripped from the corner of its mouth.

  “The sequence, now.”

  Talk…say something. “It’s not as simple as I’d hoped,” I whimpered, sounding weak and turning back to her. “I had to run detailed guidelines.” I cast a look around the cramped space filled with computers and radios. There were no cryotanks, no scanners, no workspaces to run even the most basic of tests. “I…It’s complicated. I ah…I need to be the one to run it.”

  “You look at me as though I’m stupid, Doctor. You think I’d be dumb enough to take what you say for granted? I have the world’s leading geneticist ready and waiting for this, and you come to me and demand—” She stilled, and took a slow step forward, and then another.

  My insides trembled as she neared.

  There was a sickness around her, a cold, pitiless black cloud that kissed my skin and whispered of dead things. She stepped close, moving in to brush my back and whisper. “What is it you want?”

  My mind raced, searching for the right words to say. I had one chance here—or everything would all be for nothing. “Fire him.”

  Her breath caught—the air seemed to tremble. “What did you say?”

  I turned my head, seizing her focus with my own and demanded. “Your leading geneticist…fire him.”

  The corner of her lips curled. There was a glint of amusement in her eyes. “Why?”

  I tried to still the tremble in my voice and answered. “Because if he was that good, you would’ve gone to him in the first place, and not me. Your man is Gordon Powell, I take it.” Hate filled me. Hate I could use. Hate I could bargain with. “He always seems to worm his way into my accomplishments to take all the credit.”

  She stepped backwards, moving farther into view. “He said you might react like this, if you knew it was him—said you two had a past. By your venom it wasn't a good one.”

  “Only if you call being as dull in the lab as he was in bed, a past.”

  I could see her mind racing, fitting all the pieces together. Teeth gnashed in the cramped space as the Vampire and the wolf clashed.

  The Huntress seemed oblivious to the escalating fight, instead she mulled over my words. “Dull in bed, you say? I’ve not found that myself.”

  Jesus. I swallowed and tried to tear myself from the raising hackles and fists. How had this turned into a pissing contest—and with sex of all things? “Maybe it was me who was the dull one, then. I’m sure you’re more his type anyway. It’s been so long since I…” I flinched and forced a smile. “Well, I barely remember.”

  She whipped her gaze behind me. “Will you stop fucking fighting.”

  The snarls grew louder, and the scrape of a chair followed.

  “Fucking Vampires and wolves,” she spat, her face turning a deep shade of red.

  The hard thump of a blow made me turn to catch the blur of a swing, as the Vampire’s fist connected with the wolf’s jaw.

  The beast reared backwards and then lunged, slamming headfirst into the Vampire.

  The undead stumbled and slammed against the desk. He slapped the air to break his fall and hit the keyboard with a crack. A blast tore through the speakers. The feedback was sudden, shredding the air with a vicious squeal. I slammed my good hand to my ear, until the muted whimper slipped though.

  I froze with the sound.

  A small, feeble cry that I knew.

  A call that haunted me—filled with torment and pain.

  A call for a mother.

  My pulse raced as the world seemed to slow. I couldn’t catch my breath, couldn’t think—couldn’t do anything but turn to the Huntress as she lifted her gaze to mine.

  There were no lies. No pretense. She closed her eyes with a sigh, as though the weight of the world had finally worn her down. I risked a glance behind me to the screen. The tiny midnight form sat motionless. A central line ran from her neck to somewhere out of frame. But it was the thick tubes, sewn into her little body that plunged an unseen knife into my heart.

  Thorn cracked open her eyes to stare into the camera. There was no spark—no surge of life. Once black irises were now cloudy and white, thick with mucus. Midnight scales around her eyes, and her lip
s were crusted with blood.

  So many tubes, so many wounds.

  They stabbed holes inside her, stabbed and stabbed.

  “She kept biting them.” The Huntress’s blunt tone carved into my chest, as though Thorn’s fight for life was a fucking inconvenience. “So we stitched them in tight.”

  Tears blurred the sight.

  I couldn’t swallow, couldn’t breathe.

  My baby…

  “So,” the Huntress murmured. “Now you see.”

  My hands shook as I tore my gaze from the screen. Hate filled me with a hollow ache. I could feel myself—my body, my soul.

  I was nothing in this moment—nothing but a feeling—nothing but rage.

  Nothing but pain…

  The savage thump of fists on fur echoed behind me as the Huntress spilled her secrets. “I was supposed to take them both, you know. They demanded it when I had the vision of Joslyn giving birth to the wolf. But when I saw her… Oh, when I saw those black scales and tiny wings, I just knew.” She opened her eyes and held me with a laser stare. “I knew she was made for me. I had another vision, you know. One I never told them. It’s this right here, right now. But you won’t have her—you can’t save her…she’s not just a Dragon anymore.” Her eyes were alight, bloodless lips curled in a sneer. “She’s a Demon Dragon,” she hissed. “And she’s all mine!”

  The Huntress lunged, driving her fist through the air. A sickening crack ripped through my head as her fist connected. I stumbled, hit something hard, and a crash filled the room.

  That feeble cry through the speakers grew louder as the wolf and the Vampire fought at my back.

  “You can’t have her!” The Huntress screamed and lunged.

  The undead and the wolf were a blur, slamming into the blonde bitch and sending her flying.

  Run! The voice in my head howled. A blast of warmth flooded my chest. I stumbled, turned toward the darkened entrance and drove my heels into the ground.

  I could save her…I could save my girl.

  Hold on Thorn. I’m coming for you!

  22

  Michael

  The city fell away beneath me. Lights sparkled like the ground was dressed with a midnight blanket of stars. But it was the mountains I searched for. Those rolling black hills where the pull in my chest led me, higher…and higher…

  I craned my head and slapped the air with mammoth wings. An unseen blade hacked into my chest, spilling light into the midnight air.

  And agony followed, carving tender flesh.

  My heart wept—thick, bloody tears.

  I opened my mouth and screamed into the Heavens.

  And deep in the blackness of this infernal night, it answered the call.

  Lightning gutted the sky with a savage snarl of thunder.

  It was the light of the Saint, the storm of Wretched, the clarity of Harbinger, and the sinister call of Bloodletter. It was all my Dragon kin rolled into one.

  Find me! I roared this call to arms.

  Dark clouds gathered to hold the power. But my wrath would not be contained. I owned this damned night—I owned the line where mortals and men did not dare to walk. A shriek ripped from my lips, calling the power to me and in that moment, the doc’s pain savaged my chest.

  Ozone drenched the night as the slash of light crept closer. I could feel her now, running, screaming—fighting for her life.

  Hold on Angel.

  Hold on. I am coming for you.

  23

  Doc Angel

  Savage screams echoed behind me as I scrambled along the wall. The tangled cords from the generator stuck in my mind. Thorn was out there, and there was only one logical place. In the other cavern and surrounded by wolves.

  The forked path reared inside my mind. Maybe these two tunnels were connected? My mind raced, weighing up my options. I could take my chances out there in the dark—No. I wouldn’t make it.

  Then, my only hope was pray the other passage led me to the other cavern, and to Thorn.

  The heavy thud of paws filled the air. I speared myself forward, slamming my feet into the ground. My breaths lashed like fire in my lungs, burning all the way into my throat.

  A shadow reared beside me like a gigantic shadowed wolf. I risked a glance as the mouth of the other tunnel came into view. I could make it—the wolf lunged, driving padded feet into the ground.

  The hard brunt slammed me into the wall. Sharp rocks clawed my face, something sharp went for my eye. I slid to the ground and turned, staring into the silver eyes of a monster. The wolf stepped closer. I shoved my spine into the dirt, and turned my head.

  Fetid breath washed over me. The inhale filled my ears. There was nothing more I could do. No more tunnels to find.

  I closed my eyes, waiting for the last bite—the only bite that really mattered. Michael’s face filled my mind, and he morphed into the white Dragon.

  If only…

  A cry slipped from my lips at the sickening crunch. I waited for the pain, waited for death as the heavy thud vibrated the air. Rocks clanged like marbles. I opened my eyes as the blur cut across the floor to hit the opposite wall.

  Vampire and wolf ripped, and clawed each other to pieces. I shoved a trembling hand against the wall and pushed to my feet. Guttural growls mingled with a whimper. Fists flew faster than I could track. These immortals were a blur. In this moment they hated each other more than they hated me.

  My heart hammered as I found the darkened mouth to the tunnel and turned to battle. The gnash of teeth tore through the space. The Vampire reared backwards, missing the bite by an inch.

  One minute the wolf stood upright, the next it was on the ground. The beast slowly climbed to its feet with a dazed look and shook its head. There were no insults, no words of any kind. Fists and fangs spoke for these enemies.

  I couldn’t tear myself away as the wolf hunkered. Thick muscles rolled, standing the bristled hair on its neck, until with a growl the wolf lunged, carving the air with one massive swipe of its paw.

  The sound of tearing flesh dragged a cry from my lips. I stiffened as claws sank into the Vampire’s side, opening his torso, from the underside of his ribs and across.

  Can’t survive…not that…the doctor in me whispered. In my head I was already moving on to the next patient, calling time of death…

  But a mortal death didn’t belong here—not with these creatures, and I prayed the true death didn’t touch the ones I loved. Not this night, not when I had more I could give.

  She kept biting them…So we stitched them in tight, the Huntress whispered inside my head.

  I swallowed those words, pushing them deep into my mind. Getting to Thorn was all I cared about. I could make her better…I could give her…everything I had left to give—all my training—all my skills…all my love.

  The Vampire stumbled backwards and dropped his gaze to the wound. Gray intestines bulged through the slash. I stifled the urge to whimper and looked to the darkened cave. His wound closed together, skin knit tight, right under my eyes. He was healing, as though the fatal blow had never happened at all.

  The undead’s lips curled into a sinister smile. He took a step, cutting across to give his back to me. But I was no threat, not to something like him. The wolf moved with him, brown ears flattened, black lips curled, revealing the smaller row of front teeth and then monstrous fangs.

  With a scream the Vampire lunged, meeting the wolf mid-air with a brutal clash of bones. They hit the ground and rolled, slamming into the wall to my right, peppering my face with clumps of dirt.

  I lunged, throwing myself head long into the opposite side of the tunnel and then scurried toward the overshadowed tunnel.

  Silence trailed after me. The final death had come and the fight was over—for one of them…

  But more would come. A boom shuddered the mountain. I ducked my head, waiting for rocks to fall, as the deep rumble came again—sounding like thunder? I skimmed my hands across the walls, moving as fast as I dared in the dark.
>
  A rock kicked across the walkway and hit the wall. I wrenched my head left, searching for the sound.

  “Run, run, run, little mouse,” the Vampire murmured.

  I knew the victor now—somewhere behind me lay the broken body of the wolf.

  My boot kicked the jutting edge of a rock. I sprawled forward, hitting the ground with a jarring brunt. The low murmur of thunder came again, only this time the walls of the mountain trembled with fear.

  “Stand still,” the undead bellowed. “Let it be done.”

  Do you want to pass?

  “Fuck you.” The breathless word burned along my throat.

  I shoved against the wall and stumbled into the darkness—meeting my enemy head on. “Fuck. You. You gutless piece of shit.”

  His heavy breaths echoed around me, drawing closer. I had no claws, no fangs. Love was my weapon—hope my salvation.

  The cavern shuddered. Dirt blanketed my head and fell into my eyes. An outline moved in the dark, slinking to the side.

  “You’re nothing,” the Vampire murmured. “Nothing but a mortal.”

  I clenched a fist. “And you're nothing but a walking corpse.”

  Terror filled me as the scuff of his shoe came closer. This was the end of the road—a long, lonely road paved with pain. I’d tried my best…dirt and grit showered down.

  The whole mountain shuddered as my heart boomed. The faint flickering of light throbbed into the air.

  Close your eyes to the darkness, and the false. Close your eyes to the misguided and the lost, the old woman whispered in my mind.

  Hope beat all around me—even when I had none left.

  I closed my eyes, giving into something bigger than my own soul.

  I gave into love.

  A cry of rage plunged through the rocks and the dirt to find me as the throb in my chest boomed.

  “You ready to meet your maker mortal?”

  I tried to shut out his words. There was something bigger calling me, urging me up…up…up.

  In my mind I flapped monstrous wings—in my chest I called his name—the only name that mattered. “Saint.”