Rise of the Fae

by Rebekah R. Ganiere

  Just inside, everyone stopped. Electricity charged the air.

  “What the hell are you doing here?” Danika yelled.

  “Easy,” said Sherman.

  Neeman stepped into the room. At the other end of the conference table sat Chase, the Russians, Lord Garon, and the other two kings, Vinton and Melton.

  “Good Evening, Lord Danika. Sherman, Neeman,” said Melton. “Would you be so kind as to join us?”

  Neeman’s muscles twitched with the need to wring Chase’s neck for what he’d done to Danika, as well as her parents and everyone else.

  “I asked what the hell he is doing here,” said Danika, pointing to Chase.

  “He’s here at our behest,” said Vinton. “We’ve come to negotiate.”

  Neeman’s gut tightened. Something wasn’t right. Where was the High Council?

  “You lied to me,” Danika yelled at Sherman.

  “I didn’t know, I swear.” He held up his hands in defense.

  “Nika, if you’d just have a seat—”

  Mason rushed Chase and lifted him off the floor by the throat. Danika raced to Mason’s side. Neeman reached down and undid the buckle on his holster.

  “Stop,” she ordered.

  “He tried to kill you. I promised I’d make him pay for it.”

  “If you kill him then they have reason to go to war,” Danika pressed. “It’s what they want.”

  “Let them come.” Mason’s deep voice resonated in the bass tones that belonged to his demon half, Maelstrom.

  Neeman moved to Mason’s side. “She’s right. You have to let him go. If we start war with the other covens it will be like the outbreak all over again.”

  Mason continued to squeeze Chase, whose color had drained completely as he stared at Mason, impassive. Up close Chase didn’t seem to be doing very well. He appeared to have aged dramatically in the past six months. His suit wasn’t as designer as Neeman was used to seeing, and his skin had a milky pallor accentuated by deep purple circles under his eyes.

  Mason threw Chase to the ground.

  “I think you’d better explain what’s going on here.” Sherman looked from Melton to Vinton.

  “Let’s do try to be civil,” said Melton. “Have a seat.”

  Chase got to his feet and then sat in his chair. Neeman, Mason, and Danika retreated to the other end of the conference table with Sherman.

  “There. Now, the reason we are here”—Vinton gestured to everyone on his end—“is that we knew you weren’t exactly on board with our feelings, Sherman, about the slaves and having Lord Danika removed, so we decided to take matters into our own hands.”

  “What have you done?” asked Sherman. “Aligning yourself with Garon and Chase? After what they did? They enslaved the humans, tried to kill Lord Danika. They’ll turn on you in a heartbeat.”

  Melton shrugged. “She left us no choice. It’s obvious that we weren’t going to get through to her about what to do with the new humans.”

  “We’re creating a scenario that will ensure Danika’s removed and someone more fitting is put in her place,” said Vinton.

  “What are you talking about,” asked Danika. “Where’s the High Council?”

  “Back in their palace, I’m afraid,” said Vinton. “They heard the word ‘demons’ and refused to get on a plane. But don’t worry. We’re going to give them a reason to come.”

  “What do you want?” asked Neeman. He tracked the group at the end of the table and noticed Lord Garon and the Russians stayed conspicuously silent.

  “Well, we can do this easy, where Danika steps down and is allowed to own her blood company while Chase runs it—”

  “Never going to happen,” said Mason.

  “Or, we can do it the ugly way, where we enforce a hostile takeover,” said Vinton.

  “We tried to unite with you, cousin,” said Alexi. “But your stubborn streak goes beyond what we Russians are capable of.”

  “You are not my cousins,” said Danika. “My family sits on this side of the table.”

  Chase’s expression saddened, making Neeman think it was possible he was now just a pawn in someone else’s game.

  “I think you underestimate our ability to protect our own,” said Mason.

  “Oh no,” said Melton. “We don’t. Which is why we brought help.”

  As if on cue, an explosion sounded from down below and the rumble shook the building. Neeman raced to the window. A horde of demons stormed the building. Mason roared and his form enlarged.

  “You aligned yourself with demons, so did we,” said Garon.

  Chase stepped forward. “I warned you, Danika. I told you there’d be repercussions.”

  Mason’s frame touched the ceiling and his wings ripped from his back. Melton and Vinton shied away from the table as flames engulfed Mason.

  They needed to keep Danika safe. That was the job.

  Neeman pulled his gun and shot one of the twins straight through the head. He gasped and fell to the ground. His brother cried out and dropped down beside him and Neeman just missed his head, hitting the glass window instead.

  Mason grabbed Chase by the throat and threw him into the window. Chase fell to the ground in a heap by the twins. Mason picked him up again and this time hurled himself through the window. Out in the night sky, he dropped Chase to the cement below.

  Garon ran at Danika, but she got to him first and punched him in the face before tackling him to the ground.

  Melton made a run for the door, but Neeman brought him to the floor as Sherman battled Vinton.

  “I’ll see you hanged for this,” Melton screamed.

  “You can sure try.” Neeman punched him in the face.

  There were several popping noises and Neeman looked up to see four tall, thin men in flowing robes standing in the doorway. Who the hell were they?

  One of the men spotted Danika and pointed. A pit grew in Neeman’s gut.

  Melton locked a leg over Neeman and flipped him to the floor, planting his heel in Neeman’s chest.

  Winded, Neeman sputtered and landed an elbow to Melton’s windpipe.

  Danika screamed as one of the new men grabbed her around the waist. Another one took her place battling with Garon. The two mysterious men dragged the screaming Danika into the front office.

  Neeman sprung up and chased after them. Melton ran for the elevator but Neeman followed the men in the opposite direction toward the stairs. Before they could get to the stairwell, the door flew open and a group of demons poured in from the top floor. In front of the group stood Seraphine. Her skin was a darker shade of gray and a thin tail swished back and forth near her feet. Her eyes twinkled like amethysts and her fingers glowed with light.

  “Hello, loverboy.” She smiled.

  * * * *

  “Get him,” yelled Melton.

  Seraphine stared past the Vampire to the two fae holding Danika. They took one look at her and ran the other direction toward the conference room.

  Neeman stepped closer to her. She needed to get him out of the way. “He’s mine,” she yelled. “Fan out, kill the rest.”

  She ran at Neeman, taking him to the floor. The other three demons took off into the conference room as the fat Vampire lord headed toward the elevator.

  “You can’t do this,” Neeman said, rolling her underneath him and pinning her to the ground. “I won’t let you ruin Selene.”

  She struggled with Neeman. She didn’t want to hurt him, but she had a job to do.

  “It’s me. It’s Selene,” she lied.

  He pressed her into the carpet and dropped his weight on top of her. “It’s not possible. You don’t even look human.”

  Seraphine hooked her legs around his waist and flipped him on his side. Twisting his arm with her hand, she pinned it behind him. He struggled against her hold, but she was able to keep him down.

  “Stop. I don’t want to hurt you.”

  “Trust me, y
ou won’t.” He flipped onto his back and yanked his arm from her grasp. He wrapped his arm around her waist and pitched her sideways. Suddenly they were rolling across the floor, locked in a battle of arms and legs.

  “Convince him to let us go. You have to pretend to be me,” Selene said.

  “I had to look like Seraphine to get in with the demons,” she whispered to Neeman. “They found me and I didn’t have a choice. If I hadn’t, they would’ve taken me back to my plane or killed me.”

  His gaze met hers and he searched her face. He stopped struggling, but his body was still wound tight.

  “So what are you going to do?” he asked.

  She relaxed and so did he. She leaned in close and kissed him.

  “Save your life.” Seraphine punched him in the jaw, knocking him out.

  “Hey!” Selene fumed. “That wasn’t part of the plan.”

  “I had to improvise.”

  Seraphine hopped to her feet and dragged him to the corner of the office, hiding him under a desk. She stared at him for a split second. “Forgive me,” she whispered.

  Seraphine stood, her eyes trained on the conference room. Inside two demons fought with Vampires and fae alike. Danika had managed to get out of the fae’s arms, but she fought them off alongside a demon.

  Stupid Vampires hadn’t realized, they couldn’t make deals with demons. Demons were never out for anyone but themselves.

  “All right,” she said. “Time to get some payback.”

  She raced into the room at a speed faster than she’d moved before. She located the first fae and pressed her palms onto his back. Light shot from her fingertips up his spine and over his shoulders. He turned, his mouth hung open and his eyes wide. He tried to breathe but smoke poured out of his mouth instead. His body glowed from under the skin, then he darkened and fell to the ground, gasping for air, his body burning from the inside out.

  “Nice,” Seraphine purred. “Who’s next?”

  Two fae battled with the Russian and another Vampire as well as a demon. The fae caught the demon with a death spell and the demon crumpled to the ground.

  Her gaze locked on the handsome surfer-looking Vampire who had Sherman on the floor and was slashing at him left and right. Seraphine tackled the younger Vampire lord, catching him by surprise.

  “Let’s see how you like it.” She struck out with her nails and ripped into his throat. The younger Vampire’s eyes widened in surprise as dark, thick blood seeped from the wound into the carpet. She planted her palm in the middle of his chest and again glowing veins snaked out from under her finger, up his face and down his chest. His eyes bulged and then his skin turned to the color of ash and he stopped moving.

  Jumping from the dead Vampire, she headed for Sherman.

  “No!” Selene yelled. “Not him!”

  Seraphine growled and surveyed the scene. The dark-haired Vampire now fought a locar demon. The Russian fought a pince demon and Danika was fending off a quaser.

  “Danika. We need Danika to save Neeman,” said Selene.

  “Going somewhere, Selene?”

  Seraphine spun to find a fae behind her.

  “Did you really think Lorcan wouldn’t send backup? From the looks of you, I’d say he was right. He’ll be more than pleased when I tell him I killed your demon half for good, in battle.”

  “I wouldn’t be so sure about that,” said Seraphine. “Your precious High Elder and I used to have plenty of fun between the sheets. Not that you’d know what that was like. I’m sure you’ve never even been with a woman before.”

  The fae’s eyes flashed. Before he could pronounce a spell, Seraphine kicked him in the chest and sent him flying across the room. He crashed into the wall and fell in a heap. He leapt to his feet and Seraphine ran at him, planting her hand in his chest.

  He stumbled and his eyes widened.

  “Guess you won’t get the chance to be with a woman now,” she said. Leaving the fae to die, she surveyed the scene.

  Seraphine jumped the conference table, knocking a pyramid of Savor bottles to the floor, and ran at the quaser. His long tentacles swung wildly, knocked a large portrait from the wall, and wrapped around Danika. Seraphine thrust her hands forward and her long nails slid easily into the quaser’s spine. His limbs shook and he gasped for breath.

  “Sorry,” Seraphine said. “That one’s mine.”

  The quaser locked eyes on her. “Traitor.” Blood bubbled out of his mouth.

  “Yup.” She smiled.

  The quaser’s eyes went blank and he fell to the ground. Seraphine reached out and grabbed Danika by the arm.

  “Come on. I’ll get you out of here.”

  Danika pulled away. “I need to get to Mason.”

  “He’s outside.” Seraphine grabbed her arm again.

  “Gentle,” said Selene. “She doesn’t trust us.”

  Seraphine tried to smile. “You can stay here if you wish, but I don’t recommend it. Either way, I’m outta here.”

  “All right,” said Danika.

  Together the women ran from the room to the elevator. The door opened and they took it down to the lobby.

  “Where’s Neeman,” asked Danika.

  “I…I don’t know.” Seraphine refused to look her in the eye.

  Where they were going, Neeman couldn’t follow. If he did, Lorcan would kill him for sure. This was the only way to keep loverboy safe.

  The doors opened and Seraphine stepped out and looked around. “Come on.”

  They ran toward the exit. Behind the receptionist desk, a slurping sound emanated. Seraphine bounded over the desk to find a quaser demon hunched over a dead female vamp on the floor. Without a sound, Seraphine planted her palm on the demon’s back and then hopped over the desk and continued out the door with Danika.

  They hadn’t been outside for a split second before a giant fireball hurled over their heads and bowled into a demon running toward them. The demon caught fire and fell to the ground, bursting into flames.

  Danika stopped short and looked down at the broken body of a dead Vampire on the ground. The old Vampire with long white hair stared off, his eyes blank. Danika walked up to him, kicked him, and spit in his face. “See you in hell, you murdering bastard.”

  Maelstrom swooped around to the front of the building and landed on the cement. The sight of him in his true form made Seraphine quake with joy. It had been a century or more since she’d seen him. The idea of taking this plane and making it their domain ran through her mind.

  “Danika!” Maelstrom scooped Danika into his arms.

  Seraphine’s heart broke at the sight. Danika was his life now. Not even Maelstrom would hurt her. This was his home and he’d do anything to protect it. Loneliness caught her in the chest and sent its icy agony through her heart.

  She had no home.

  His gaze lit on Seraphine. “Sister.”

  She wanted to smile, to run to him and… And what? They were no longer children. The world she’d been praying for was really gone. There was only one thing left for her to do.

  “Get her to safety,” commanded Maelstrom.

  Seraphine nodded. “I know a place.”

  A slasher demon jumped on Maelstrom’s back and bit into his neck. He stumbled and set Danika down, then grabbed the slasher by the arm and flung him through the window into the lobby.

  “Go!” he yelled.

  Two more demons were headed right for them.

  “Come on.” Seraphine grabbed Danika’s arm and propelled her toward the awaiting SUV.

  Danika stumbled out of her heels, hitched up her skirt, and ran at the vehicle. Seraphine rounded the driver’s side and jumped in. No key.

  “My turn,” said Selene.

  “No, I’m stronger,” said Seraphine.

  “What?” asked Danika.

  “If Lorcan sees you, he’ll kill us all on sight,” Selene pleaded.

  “Not if I kill him first.”

/>   “Who are you talking to?” asked Danika.

  “I have a plan. You have to trust me,” said Selene. “Don’t make me take the body by force again.”

  Seraphine wavered but then relented. Selene took a deep breath and cried out as her body morphed back into its human form. Her horns and tail retracted, as did her teeth. She gripped the steering wheel until her knuckles grew bloodless. She held her breath and tried to stave off the agony of the change. After a moment, she took in a deep breath.

  “Man, I haven’t done that in a long time.” She panted and set her hand on the ignition. “Ignis”.

  “What the hell was that?” asked Danika.

  Selene smiled. “Just me arguing with myself.”

  The vehicle roared to life.

  “Where are we going?” Danika asked.

  Selene threw the SUV in reverse and peeled out of the area. She sped down the deserted streets toward the area she knew all too well.

  Pain trickled through her limbs like a waterfall. Seraphine still hovered close to the surface, refusing to sleep. For once Selene didn’t mind.

  “You said you knew a safe place,” said Danika.

  “I’m taking you to my old apartment.”

  “How do you know it’s still there?”

  “I’ve been there. The wards on the building held just fine in our absence.”

  They rounded a corner too fast and Danika grabbed the door to hang on.

  “Do you have a phone?” Danika asked.

  “No.”

  “I need to get word out.”

  They rounded another corner.

  “Word to who? The kings? I think they already know.” Selene snorted.

  She sped down the road, came to an intersection, and shot through it. At the end of the block, she slowed and rolled into an underground parking structure. She pulled the SUV into a spot and shut it off.

  “Come on.” She hopped out of the driver’s seat.

  “We should go back,” Danika said.

  “Maelstrom told me to take you somewhere safe, so that’s what I’m doing.”

  They hurried to the elevator. Once inside Selene closed her eyes and took a deep breath.