by Unknown
“But no movies,” I smiled in satisfaction as I looked over the amazing villa spread out before us.
As far as defenses went, it had none. Not even a wall. Not even a fence. As far as beauty went, it had more than enough. The house itself was made of brick in various earth hues, giving it a textured effect that seemed more natural than one straight color would have been. It had terra cotta tiles on its chimney-riddled roof, which went well with the bricks. The main house was two stories but single-story wings stretched out from it to either side. A covered patio was bordered by arches and laid before it was a wide expanse of lawn adorned with fluffy bushes and obelisk-shaped trees. At the bottom of the sloping garden, a modern swimming pool shone like a cabochon jewel set on green velvet. Behind the villa, a backdrop of hills undulated, striped with vineyards and plush with fruited forests.
“Didn't one of the Twilight films go to Italy?” Persephone mused and I shot her a nasty look.
“Those vampires are so far away from the truth as to be laughable,” Blue said without taking his eyes from the villa. “Silly skin with immense strength and magic. I think Eztli would have gladly bore the sparkles if it meant she could wield magic as they did.”
“She can't perform any magic?” I asked in surprise. “And also; you've seen the Twilight films?!”
“None beyond tracing,” Blue reluctantly tore his eyes away from the villa to look at me. He ignored my question about the films and continued. “Perhaps if she hadn't created so many others and strained the magic that stems from me, she may have been more powerful but as it lies, she's lucky she can even trace.”
“She thinned the magic,” I whispered, thinking of how the Froekn had been infertile for awhile because their magic had been thinned.
I was blessed with fire magic through my fey blood and with it I could pull the energy of any fire into myself and use it to fuel my lions. I'd actually used it to help the Froekn once, through my bond to Trevor, and now they could reproduce again... but Blue had no source of energy to replenish the magic of his vampires. At least not since he'd given up manipulating humans into war so he could take the dead as sacrifice. For the first time ever, I wondered if Blue really had been acting nobly when he took the energy from the dead.
“Yes,” Blue's lips pressed together tightly. “Some of the very young ones are barely more powerful than a human. They get immortality but that's all and it comes at a high price.”
“They must take life from others,” Horus' voice was derisive.
“Yes,” Blue said again. “My magic makes the exchange possible but that's all. It merely converts the life energy of one person into life energy for another.”
“Maybe you should tell Eztli that,” Toby said gently but still his voice startled me. I hadn't realized he was standing so close. Damn Navajo gods and their sneaky silent ways.
“And have her start slaughtering the vampires?” Blue asked in horror.
“That doesn't seem like such a bad idea,” Hekate, aka Kate, said from her spot beside Horus. “You'd be getting rid of murderers and giving your girlfriend more power. It's a win-win.”
“She's not my...” Blue made an exasperated sound and shook his head. “Never mind. Let's just get this over with. I have a feeling that I'll be forced to eliminate a lot of vampires today whether I like it or not.”
“I don't think making Eztli more powerful is such a good idea,” I said in a low voice to Kate, who gave a conciliatory nod. Then I blinked, really processing it. “Blue, does that mean that the more of her vampires you kill, the harder she'll be to defeat?”
“Yes,” he set somber eyes on me. “But I'm hoping that I won't have to defeat her.”
“I'm hoping that too,” I edged closer to him. “Blue, you can get her back. I'm certain of it. Just don't give up on her,” I glanced back at Odin. “Don't make the mistake I did.”
“Vervain,” Blue turned and angled his head down to mine. “You know something. Tell me.”
“It's better if I don't,” I bit my lip. I didn't want him to know that Eztli was capable of killing him. I held the evil undone deeds of others in my heart now and I didn't want that for him. I didn't want that circumvented future to affect him in any way. Especially not his relationship with someone he loved. Love...
“What does that mean?” There was a tremor of unease in Blue's voice.
“Just know that you two belong together. I believe it so strongly that I offer you my blessing.” I laid my hand on his chest and called upon my love magic.
Instantly, the butterflies surged up inside me, delighted to finally be called on again. I guess I'd been neglecting them a bit lately. I sent them fluttering into Blue and watched as they burst into a pink shimmer which settled over his entire body. Well that was new.
“I feel stronger,” Blue laid his hand over mine. “What did you do?”
“I'm not sure,” I lifted my brows. “I think I may have just used Love as a form of protection.”
“Well, whatever it was, it feels wonderful,” he bent and kissed my cheek. “Thank you, little witch, you've settled my chaotic heart.”
“You're welcome,” I pulled away from him gently and looked over our large gathering. We were currently hidden in a copse of trees but if Eztli had any kind of sentry posted, we'd probably be sighted soon. “Torrent,” I looked over to him. “Can you unmake her wards?”
“Done already,” he grinned at me. “While you were blessing Blue.”
“Thanks, Torr, you're the best,” I glanced at the eager faces around me and realized that they loved this. All of them. Battle made the monotony of an immortal existence more exciting. As much as they all wanted peace, the chance to fight was a balm on their restless souls. Even my Intare, who were worried sick about their brothers, looked hungry for action.
“Intare!” Kirill called out as he stepped forward, surprising me a little. “In position!”
The werelions broke into groups, each one with a designated leader, and then looked to me, waiting for my signal. I lifted a brow at Kirill and his lips twitched in the barest of smiles.
“Everyone know what to do?” I asked the gods, who were looking as impressed with my lions as I was.
“We're good, V,” Morph nodded. “Lead on.”
“Eztli is not to be harmed,” Blue said vehemently, shifting his gaze to include everyone.
“We will defend ourselves if attacked, Blue,” I warned him, “but we won't kill her.”
“Acceptable,” he nodded.
“You heard him; Eztli is the only one we spare. The rest, I leave to your discretion.” Then I looked to my lions, “Intare, I've often asked you to stand beside me. To fight in wars you had no stake in. But this time I didn't ask. I didn't have to. Because this time, it's our brothers whose lives are at risk. Today is the day the gods stand beside us. Today it's our fight and together we will show our enemies what it means to be a pride. Attack us and we will hunt you down. The lions within shall be set loose and by claw and tooth, death will come for you!”
“Death!” The Intare roared and raced down the hill, shifting into lions as they went.
What a beautiful, humbling sight they were; clothes shredding and falling away as magnificent beasts burst free of their human homes. Shades of gold and even pale cream gleamed bright under the Italian sun but it was the blue glints off midnight fur that caught my eye. My black lion; Kirill.
I smiled as I ran forward with the gods, shifting into my dragon half-form. It was the form I preferred for battle. It gave me claws and wings, talons on my feet, and a very useful tail, while I retained the ability to maneuver in tight spaces and cast magic. A very powerful combination.
I took to the air with Azrael and Morpheus flanking me, and circled over the villa, searching for anything that might get in our way. There was already activity below, vampires bustling about anxiously, and I realized that the witch who had cast the wards must have felt it when they fell. Even if she hadn't, the cry of Death! coming from the throats
of seventy werelions might have given us away. Lions weren't known for their subtlety.
I circled lower as our little army reached the villa and a few vampires came out to fend them off. It was less than I'd expected and I wondered how many of Eztli's vampires were still restricted by the sun. I watched my lions plow through those few bloodsuckers like a scythe through hay, and smiled as I prepared to land.
Then the sky went dark.
It was sudden, like someone had pulled a veil down over the world, and I reeled back in shock. My wings beat the air wildly as I tumbled and then righted. I found myself utterly alone. There wasn't a single person in sight; no gods, no Intare, and no vampires. Even the landscape had changed. I realized that night hadn't fallen, I had fallen into night. I had been pulled into another location and possibly another realm. I hovered, my uneasy eyes darting around me as my heart pounded in my throat.
After the last battle I'd fought, I'd learned to push back the confidence of my dragon. Self-confidence was good and all but the ego of a dragon was such that the thought of failure never even occurred to her and that could be a fatal flaw. So I let some of my human fear penetrate my dragon scales as I stared around me with wary intensity.
A hail of burning arrows lit the sky. I dove and spun, rolling when I hit the earth. I covered my body with my wings, curling in around my belly as the arrows fell. There seemed to be no refuge from them, not a single rock or tree in the barren landscape. I shook my wings, lifting them as the arrows struck, and was able to deflect all but one, which tore through my leathery skin.
I growled and cautiously sat back, inspecting my injury briefly before scanning the night once more. The ground was littered with burning arrows, lighting up the dark and casting eerie shadows across the cold, hard ground. I glanced at the burning sticks and the blackened grass beneath them before reaching out to the fire magically. What kind of an idiot attacked a dragon with fire? All they had done was provide me with the energy I needed to heal myself.
Except there was nothing there.
No energy, no substance, no fire. I stretched out a hand and grasped the nearest shaft, yanking the arrow free. Clods of dirt erupted around it, leaving an open wound in the ground. The arrow was solid in my hand and I could feel the heat of fire against my skin but still, I couldn't find its energy. Then the ground began to shake. The arrow fell from my hand as I stood hastily. Something big was coming.
Barely illuminated by the tiny, dancing flames, a large foot came into sight, and then another followed. A giant of some sort, the likes of which I'd never seen before, not even in Faerie. What was this? It wasn't even possible. Where could I be that a giant of this magnitude existed? Was I in one of those other realms I'd glimpsed? Had I fallen through some random wormhole? I hadn't felt the rush that always accompanied tracing, nor the reforming of my physical body.
I backed away, my legs brushing against the burning arrows. It didn't matter. The fire wouldn't hurt me. Not even this strange, incorporeal fire. No, it wasn't the flames that concerned me, it was the thing approaching through them.
I stared up in horror as thick thighs were revealed, clad in leather pants pieced together from several full animal hides. I gaped as clenched fists swung into sight, one surrounding the end of a massive sword. The weapon was as big as a city bus. One hit would be all it would need to obliterate me. It couldn't be real, even the Norse giants weren't as big as this. Nothing like this existed. Not in the realms I'd been to.
Boom! The earth shook under a footfall. Boom! I fell from the quake. Boom! A male chest came into view. Boom! Shoulders wider than the trees of Faerie. Boom! A fierce face sneering to reveal sharp teeth. Evil intent glinted in his ebony eyes and smug malice lined his face. He was nearly upon me and I knew the only way to fight him would be as a full dragon. In the sky.
I started to shift but the sun abruptly returned and banished the giant back to the abyss of its birth. I blinked in the bright light and found Morpheus and Azrael both with a hand upon my arms and anxious expressions upon their faces. My eyes shot from one of them to the other and then I looked around me in shock.
“What the hell just happened?!” I nearly screeched.
“My mother,” Morpheus swallowed hard and glanced over his shoulder.
“Your what?” I frowned and followed his gaze to find Pasithea, Morpheus' mother and the Goddess of Hallucination. She was sprawled out on the verdant grass like she was taking a midday nap. “What's Pasithea doing here?”
“Using her magic on you,” Azrael growled. “I saw you fall but Morpheus was the one who spotted his mother hiding in the bushes like a Peeping Tom as she tormented you.”
“Is she dead?” I glanced back at her still form.
“No,” Morph whispered. “I couldn't, V. She's my mother.”
“Of course,” I hugged him quickly. “I'm glad she's alive but can you make sure she's restrained, just in case she wakes up?”
“I'll handle it,” he nodded.
“What about the rest of your family?” I asked as the sound of battle alerted me to the fact that the day hadn't been won just yet.
“They're all here I think,” Morpheus sighed.
“And we also think they're using Net,” Azrael added.
“What? How?” I frowned. “They don't have access to the Underworld anymore.”
“We don't know,” Az shook his head, “but somehow Pasithea got her hands on some Underworld poppies because several lions, as well as Blue, Pan, and Finn are down for the count.”
“They got Blue?” My jaw dropped.
“They went for him first,” Morpheus nodded. “They knew he could kill them all. It was a smart move.”
“Ironically, they can't kill him,” Azrael added. “It would mean killing themselves. So he's not in any danger. Just not in any condition to help us either.”
“And the others who are under Net?” I narrowed my eyes on them.
“They're fine,” Morph answered quickly. “Your lions are fast, they immediately pulled away the victims.”
“Good,” I sighed as a moan came from Pasithea. “Go,” I said sharply to Morpheus and he ran over to his mother. I watched him grip her arm and pull her up before he traced them away. I don't know where he took her but I was glad she was out of the fight. Pasithea's magic was dangerous.
“Beware of the arrows,” Azrael said and for a brief moment, I thought he was referring to the burning ones from my hallucination. But as we rushed forward into the villa, I had to dodge a real arrow. I glanced up at Az and he added, “They're dipped in Net.”
“Of course they are,” I sighed and fought my way into the fray.
It was chaos within the villa. Lions tore vampires to pieces as lightning struck several others. Vines burst up through the worn wood floors and fire rained down from the ceiling. The sound of rushing water melded with the rumble of thunder as Toby captured Hypnos in a column of water. I gave Hypnos a passing glance but that was all. I had already allowed Pasithea to be saved, her husband was on his own.
Bursts of sunlight burned vampires to ash and I gave a start as one disintegrated right before me. I looked up to see Naye's smirking face and spared a second to smirk back. He was probably the best equipped out of all of us to handle the vampires. All of us except Blue but the Vampire God was currently napping in the arms of Net, dang it.
The hollering moan of an angry bear caught my attention and I ran into a room to find the furniture smashed to splinters. There was a large bear in the center of it all, surrounded by crouching lions. The lions snapped their powerful jaws at the bear as it stood on its hind legs and swiped at any who got too close.
“Phobetor,” I snarled and the bear stopped to stare at me with angry, coal-black eyes.
Azrael slid into the room behind me, his wings closing briefly to get through the doorway. The Intare fell back, sensing my intentions immediately. I had unfinished business with Morpheus' brothers and this was the perfect opportunity to find some closure. Which reminded
me; Phobetor was fierce but Pasithea had passed down her powers of illusion to Phantasus, the last brother in the Greek dream team. I turned sharply to Azrael.
“Find Phantasus,” I said to him. “He could be using illusion to kill our people.”
“Right,” Az nodded and hurried off, never thinking for one moment that I couldn't handle Phobetor on my own. Damn but I loved that beautiful angel.
“So, cub,” I smiled at Phobetor. “You have a choice here. You can trace away now and I won't pursue you out of respect for Morpheus. Or you can die.”
The bear dropped to his feet and rushed towards me. I stood my ground, my wings flaring open behind me. I was prepared and perhaps a little eager for the attack but at the last second, Phobetor snapped his jaws shut and traced, disappearing between one step and another. I could still feel the heat of his breath on my face. And in case you're wondering; bear breath is foul.
“Phobetor was always the smarter one,” I shook my head. “A cunning beast.”
I left the room with my lions and we prowled through the villa, dispatching every vampire we came across. I stepped across Hypnos' wet, beheaded corpse and spared a moment to mourn for Morpheus. Morph hadn't even suspected that his family might be there. Fighting them unprepared was bad enough but to lose his father like this was going to be a rough blow.
Then I heard her. Eztli was shouting and there was a note of panic in her tone. I headed straight for the sound, noticing that the fight was winding down around me. The remaining vampires had surrendered and were being herded together. I felt a small measure of relief but I'd yet to find my missing lions and that didn't bode well.
I tracked Eztli's voice into a room at the back of the villa. It was already crowded with lions and gods but they made space for me to slide through. Eztli was backed against a wall, one arm pressing Troy to her while another held a wicked looking blade to his throat. Troy, one of the missing Intare. Eztli's eyes fell on me and widened, presumably due to my half-form.
“Stop right there, monster,” she snarled. “Come any closer and he's dead.”
