Kaitlyn Strong Books 1-3: The Complete First Trilogy

by Art DeForest

  The sneer on Antonella’s face at Deacon’s words turned her face ugly. “What do I care about a few mangy curs. No species of Other can stand against us.”

  Several things happened at once then. Jake transformed from human form to battle form so fast he seemed to explode. Pieces of shirt flew in all directions as he instantly transformed from a large man into a massive beast. Reaching up with a clawed hand he ripped the remains of the shirt he’d been wearing and tossed it aside. A loud growl rumbled from deep inside him.

  Simultaneously the Lycans on our flanks came rushing out of concealment snarling in rage and charging the vampires on the loading platform. The vampire response was blinding in its speed as the soldiers of House Abandonados turned red-eyed glares on the advancing pack and launched themselves to defend their leader.

  Kanjee came streaking out of the night sky talons extended. They might not have been as large as those of an eagle, but they did a good impression of it as they shredded Gino’s arm, causing him to drop the knife he had at Sara’s throat. The knife fell from numb fingers as Sara’s head came slamming back to catch the scion of House Abandonados squarely in the nose. He staggered back in pain and Sara leapt high into the air, arcing towards us as we prepared to engage.

  At the apex of her jump, Sara spread her hands wide as if the shackles around her wrists were made of tissue paper. Acting on an impulse out of nowhere, I tossed her staff high in the air. She caught the staff adroitly and landed facing our enemies. The three foot steel blade hidden inside the staff immediately made its appearance.

  Antonella stood in shock at the sudden explosion of violence. It was like she couldn’t conceive of what she considered to be her lessers ever raising a hand against her. Gino’s shriek of pain as Kangee disappeared once more into the night, seemed to bring her around somewhat and her eyes flashed with fury. “Kill these pitiful creatures and bring me back the blood whore!” she shouted as she drew her sword.

  Our group in the center was immediately hard pressed as most of the vampires we faced jumped forward in attack. I barely had a chance to draw my stake and gladius before the first soldier came in range. He came in with a slashing attack with what appeared to be a machete, blurring in to take my head from its perch on my neck. I ducked the swing and lunged from my crouched position opening a large hole in his thigh. He squawked and tried to leap backwards, but the pressing crush of his fellows held him up. Taking the opportunity as he flailed around trying to regain his balance, I thrust up under his ribcage with my stake and pierced his heart. He immediately collapsed into the legs of his compatriots, giving me time to regain my defensive stance.

  With Deacon on one side and Sara on the other, we met the advancing attackers as a team. Deacon and Sara were mostly occupied with defending our flanks from assailants trying to circle around. That left me holding the center, playing defense as I kept the goons from taking any of us from the front.

  Individual battles raged across the front of the old warehouse as lycans and vampires engaged in bloody hand to hand battles. The three of us seemed to be the only ones fighting together in the maelstrom. At first this drew more concentrated attacks our way, but as the ash grew thick at our feet, the Abandonado soldiers started to avoid us.

  Suddenly a vision of Antonella, Gino, and the young vamp who’d fooled us sneaking up from behind our position was forced into my head. The view was low to the ground and moving as Fangs gave me his warning mentally and then audibly as his war cry echoed through night.

  The warning came none too soon as Gino once again tried to shoot me. This time in the back! The cowardly prick. Fortunately for me and unfortunately for the vamp in front of me, Fangs’ warning gave me enough time to duck out of the way. Gino’s bullet passed over my head and took the attacker at my front squarely in the throat.

  As the vampire in front of me fell to the ground trying to figure out how to walk with a severed spinal cord, I turned around to face the threat behind us. The shot had warned Deacon and Sara of the danger, but they were too engaged on the flanks to do much about it. Gino was lining up on me again when a black feathered missile named Kangee hit him in the head, doing his best to gouge out his eyes. Gino dropped his gun as he reached up in an attempt to defend against the attack. The new vamp turned to aid Gino as Antonella charged us. Her eyes locked on mine as she sent a viper quick strike towards my chest with her rapier.

  Her technique was flawless and she had the speed of a centuries old master vampire, so it was quite a surprise to her when my gladius swept down to slap her blade aside. She recovered from the lunge quickly however and came back in with a more measured approach.

  Reversing my stake so that it lay back against my forearm in a more defensive position I took a ready stance and waited. I knew I was going to have to get inside her guard to be able to do any damage with my shorter weapon so I was betting a counter attack would be my best bet.

  Meanwhile, the new vamp approached Gino and Kangee. She had a rapier of her own and was angling for a position where she could strike the raven without stabbing Gino. She screamed in pain and collapsed to the ground as Fangs entered the fray with his customary hamstring attack. Unlike his previous opponents the new vamp came down on her back. She poked and slashed at Fangs with her rapier, trying desperately to keep him at bay.

  The scream from the new vamp distracted Antonella for a fraction of a second and I took the opportunity to attack. Realizing her mistake she jerked her eyes around just in time to see my gladius come crashing down on her rapier and snapping it about six inches from her hand. She, of course, performed the quintessential bad guy move and screamed before hurling what remained of the weapon at my head before launching herself backwards and out of the fray.

  Gino finally managed to throw Kangee away from himself. The big bird flared his wings and landed on the ground. He hopped backwards to get out of Gino’s reach and with a short run, was able to launch his large body back into the air. Gino staggered to his feet, trying to wipe the blood from his shredded face. The first thing he saw when he cleared his vision of blood was me. His look of shock was immediately replaced with a look of agony as my stake slipped under his ribcage and into his heart.

  There was no monologuing, there was no witty last words. The was just my sword, hissing through the air and Gino’s head toppling from his shoulders. I finally cut off an appendage he couldn’t grow back.

  An anguished scream ripped through the air as Gino turned to dust. Antonella started to charge my direction, but raising the point of my sword in her direction brought her move up short. I glanced over at Fangs to see him still trying to get past the new vamps guard as she flailed and slapped at him. “Fangs, back” I said shortly. I accompanied the command with a mental image of Fangs sitting by my side and he instantly backed off to comply.

  “You are going to die in unimaginable pain for what you have done this day.” Hissed Antonella around her fangs. So much hatred poured out of her blood red eyes that I felt it almost physically.

  Deacon and Sara quickly dispatched their final foes and turned to stand beside me, facing Antonella as the sounds of battle began to fade from the dirty old parking lot. Fangs came to sit at my heel and started using his tongue and paw to clean the blood from his muzzle.

  “It is you and your entire house who will regret this day ‘Nella” Said Deacon with a look of sadness and resignation on his face. “You will be removed from the Council when they find out about your actions. Your entire house may be banished.”

  “You’re a fool if you think that Deacon.” She said with venom. “Removing us would dissolve the Council. Those doddering fools are too weak to risk starting a war.”

  Jake, the lycan alpha walked up at that point. He was back in human form. There was dried blood on his head and chest, but his transformation had healed any wounds he had. “You are already in a war.” He said drawing himself up to his full height. “By my authority as Lycan Alpha, you and your entire clan are deemed Persona non Grata. You
have eight hours to leave lycan territory. After that, you and any vampire proved to be in your family will be killed on sight.”

  Antonella hissed in fury. “You filthy animal. You are nothing compared to the power of the vampires.” She said in haughty derision. “The blood from your corpses will make my people fat as they feast.”

  A throaty chuckle sounded beside me. “You might want to rethink that Antonella. Take a look around you.” Said Sara, stepping forward. Kangee was back in his rightful place on her shoulder. “I don’t see any vampires left except you and the little one here.” She said, gesturing to the new vamp who was limping over to Antonella’s side.

  The head of house Abandonados did actually look around then. Here and there was the body of a fallen lycan, but most were still standing. Even though all of them seem wounded to a greater or lesser degree. There were no vampires visible however. Just piles of dust, stirring in the early morning breeze.

  Seeing how precarious her current position was, Antonella straightened her shoulders as her fangs pulled back and the crimson faded from her gaze. “We will leave as you have decreed.” She said as she put an arm protectively around the new vamp’s shoulders. “But know this. You are all kill on sight to every member of house Abandonados. Future generations will wail in the night at the decisions you have made this night. Come Nina, let us leave this place.”

  Slowly, to accommodate the limping Nina, Antonella walked with as much dignity as possible through the crowd of surviving lycans. From the looks on the various lycan faces surrounding her, I wondered if she was going to make it through them and to the vehicles on the other side of the building. Jakes order of eight hours to leave held though and she and her young charge disappeared around the side of the building.

  After she was out of sight, Sara immediately started checking her people and treating those that needed her. The thought ‘her people’ got me to turn around a look inquiringly at Jake. “How did Sara come to be with the lycans?” I asked.

  Jake shrugged his shoulders. “She’s always been with us. Not always here in Denver, but she’s always helped the lycans. I can’t get a straight answer from her as to why. Maybe you’ll have better luck.” he said with a lopsided grin.

  His face turned serious as he faced Deacon. “What’s the council going to do?” he asked.

  Deacon sighed. “I am uncertain.” He said, staring off into the distance. “The Council sits on a razor’s edge and there are enough unallied members to tip the balance either way.”

  “However they vote, I’m not done with House Abandonados. They and those like them are a stain on vampire culture and it's time for a little bleach to be applied.”

  Jake smiled viciously at that. “Well me and mine will be here to help you scrub out the stain if you need us.”

  “Thank you” I said, putting a grateful hand on his arm. “I think Sara has a lot to teach me and if it's alright with you, I think I might stick around for awhile.”

  “Stay as long as you wish.” he said as a smile. “It would be very nice to have another blood shaman around.”

  “I’m not a blood shaman. I’m just a vampire.” I said with an uncertain smile.

  Turning to go check on his troops, he looked back over his shoulder and winked at me. “Are you sure about that?” He said as he moved off into the dark.

  I stood staring at his back in consternation at the thought for a moment. Me? A blood shaman? No, that took rituals and stuff. The vision of Sara chanting over me drifted back through my thoughts.

  Shaking my head a little to clear it, I absently looked up at Deacon to see him staring at me with a troubled expression. “What?” I asked.

  “I...I have to go back to New York. Are you truly staying here?” He said with sadness in his eyes.

  I move in close to him and wrapping my arms around his waist, I layed my head on his chest. “Not forever.” I said. “There are just some things I need to learn that only Sara can teach me.”

  I felt him nod at that. “I suppose there is. You will be safer here as well. Troubled times are coming.”

  “I’m not staying here to be safe.” I said with some asperity. “I’m staying here to become more dangerous.”

  He looked down at me and smiled gently. “Heaven help the Abandonados” he said.

  “Heaven won’t help them and I’m sending them to hell.” We stood holding each other for a while as the clear grey light of a new day crept up on us.

  Savage Shadows

  By

  Art DeForest

  1

  We jerked to a stop as the sudden scent of vampire hit our noses. There weren’t supposed to be any vampires in Denver. Other than me of course. Sara and I exchanged glances as ten of them blended out of the shadows across the street and spread out in a semicircle around us.

  It was pretty obvious that they’d set up the ambush to drive us into a nearby alley. The problem was, for them anyway, that we just didn’t feel like going into that alley. Sara and I angled ourselves so we could keep an eye on all of our would be attackers as the apparent leader of the group came to a stop in front of us.

  “Evening ladies” he said with a greasy smile on his face. “We were sent to kill you, but I think me and the boys are going to have some fun first.” He said, leering at us.

  Sara and I glanced sidelong at each other, and smiled. “Sweetie” I said with a wink. “We’re the ones who are going to have fun.”

  Twin daggers slipped from from Sara’s jacket and into her hands with a flick of her wrists. She whirled into action like a dust devil, attacking the assailants farthest from the center.

  Reaching up between my shoulder blades, I pulled my kukri from the specially designed sheath attached to my new custom made leather jacket. The heavy inward curving blade of the Kukri whistled through the air with blurring speed. Greasy leader guy’s barely started to widen in surprise as his head parted company from his shoulders.

  Sara and I were back to back then. I drew my favorite stake from the breast pocket of the jacket as I came into a fighting stance.

  It was pretty obvious that these guys thought we were normal vampires from the surprised looks on their faces. Sure, I’d been a normal vampire for most of my life, but things had changed for me recently thanks to the lady at my back. Sara Nightwind was a blood shaman. Basically a native american vampire with a few added enhancements. She’s been kicking ass for centuries. Tonight she looked like a business casual twentysomething, out for a walk with her BFF. With her help, I had a few enhancements of my own now.

  I put my improved speed, courtesy of the bond with my feline familiar, Fangs, to the test as the thugs looking to end our existence recovered from the shock of greasy guy’s death. They charged as one, seeking to overwhelm us, but for the most part, they just got in each other’s way.

  One of the goons was just a little faster than his buddies. As a reward, he received a silver cored hawthorn stake thrust up under his ribcage and into his heart. It’s much easier doing it that way than trying to go through the sternum or ribs.

  A backhand slash of the kukri got goon number two to jump back out of the way. That gave me the opening I needed to pull my stake out of goon one’s chest and bring my blade slashing in to take his head. I let momentum of the slash carry me around in a spin. I torqued my hips to add power and sent a spinning kick into the jaw of goon three. I heard a crack as his jaw broke.

  Finishing my spin, I came down in a balanced stance as goon four swung a powerful blow at my head with a short sword or machete. It was moving too fast to see details. I managed to duck the blow, but I think I may have lost a little hair off the top of my head in the process. He overextended himself with the force of his swing and a quick kick to the side of his knee sent him screaming to the ground with his lower leg at a funny angle.

  That left goon two as the only one left standing. Being slightly smarter than his buddies, he took a stumbling step back before turning and running as fast as he could the opposite di
rection.

  I took a brief moment to finish off goons three and four as they lay on the ground before turning to help Sara. She stood there, surrounded by five piles of dust, smiling at me. “You let one get away. That means you’re buying.” She said she said in a singsong voice. She accompanied the statement with a little victory dance. Just to rub it in.

  “Fine, fine, you win Obi-Wan.” I said in resignation.

  Putting our weapons away, we continued on our way down the street. “ I guess the Abandonados are holding a grudge.” I said as we continued on our walk to Lycan Headquarters. Sara just shrugged and nodded in agreement.

  2

  The rest of the walk to Lycan Headquarters, which looked like an ordinary neighborhood bar, was uneventful. The sound of music and conversation enfolded us as we entered the room and headed toward the bar. A few shouts of welcome and a few more waves greeted us as Jake, the bartender and Pack Alpha for the Denver Pack met us with a smile. He was already pouring our favorite libations without having to ask. It almost felt like I was in an episode of Cheers.