Kaylee grabbed her hand and pulled, not answering the question. The three of them stumbled for the lodge, but a pair of the monster hounds darted in between them and the dubious safety of the building. Just as one was lunging for them, a reddish-grey wolf landed on its back and knocked it rolling into its partner.
With a quick bark in their direction, the wolf turned back to its fight and Faith decided the enforcer was telling them to run. She was more than happy to comply, but as they turned, they were confronted by a tall, broad vampire that was fully shifted and hissing at them, his eyes a bright, glowing crimson.
A wave of the same oppressive, violent power Aldric had unleashed at the Goldfang wolf earlier was sweeping over them again, though this man’s felt weaker than Aldric’s. Faith recognized it for what it was now, a clear display of dominance and brute strength meant to cow a weaker or less determined opponent. This guy wasn’t expecting Faith to be unimpressed by his little display.
“The boss said get the humans with the kid. Guess he got the numbers backwards. Two kids and one human bitch.” The vamp grinned at them and struck only to bounce off Faith's magic. "What the–"
"Kids, we're going to walk backwards, okay?" Faith said, trying to keep her voice steady as the vampire stalked towards them, squinting.
"What the hell? He said he suspected you had some kind of magic, but what the fuck is this?"
Faith held one arm in front of her, sending power to the shield and the other spread out, trying to keep the kids behind her. Jake was growling fiercely, but was also staying where she wanted him as they moved. He had his fingers tangled firmly around her belt loop and Kaylee was likewise hanging onto her other side.
She tried to steer them back towards the door, and hopefully Rod was still inside to help them when they got there. Assuming they got there.
"What do you want, because whatever it is you can't have it," she said, hoping that she sounded braver than she felt.
The vampire sneered at her, trying to see a way to get around her invisible shield. She could sense him trying to find the edge or a weak spot by sending his own power against it. Behind her, Jake whimpered for a moment before taking a deep breath and returning to his growls. She felt Jake pushing his own young power out in an effort to counteract the vampire.
"Jake..." she hissed in warning.
"Faith? Maybe... maybe I can help you? I don't know how human magic works though..." he whimpered.
"Me too, Aunt Faith! I'll help. I don't know how you're doing this force field thing, but I'll help!" Kaylee said from her other side.
Surprisingly, she felt a surge in her power from two small but strong sparks. It felt fresh and familiar and strange and was distinctly young and wolf and pack in a way that Faith wasn’t about to analyze. She just sent a bit more power to her shield and hoped someone noticed their situation soon.
Faith didn't want to take her eyes off the vampire who was matching them step for step until the kids stopped abruptly.
"Guys? Why'd you stop?" Faith didn't take her eyes off the vampire.
"We hit a bush. And there's monsters between us and the door," Kaylee said. She was trying to keep her voice strong and calm, but Faith could hear the fear in it.
"Nowhere left to run, now, Magaestra," the vampire sneered. "And as long as that... protection is up you seem to be stuck. Caught just as neatly as if I had my hands on you. Which I will anyway, as soon as you run out of energy. Oh, he'll be thrilled to have you at last!"
"Who the hell are you talking about? What do you mean?" Faith snarled.
A yelp nearby stopped his answer and before he could carry on again, another, more horrible noise answered the yelp, then suddenly Aldric was there between Faith and the attacking vampire, a trail of dead hounds and vampires behind him. He was breathing heavily and was absolutely slick with blood, but Faith wasn't sure how much was his, and how much came from their attackers.
Aldric tossed what remained of one of the blighthounds to the side and hissed a warning.
"I've heard of you," the strange vamp sneered. “The Donnellys. So idealistic and high-minded, playing with your flea-ridden mutts in the middle of nowhere. I will enjoy reporting your death to my master almost as much as I will enjoy bringing him the witches."
Aldric didn't answer, and Faith couldn't see his face– and frankly at the moment she was somewhat glad of it, since she felt that same surge of power and rage that she had felt inside the lodge just ten minutes earlier. The stranger's sneer vanished the second before he lunged at Aldric.
Once they started moving, they were a blur that Faith couldn't follow. To their left, the reddish wolf limped away from the remains of the hounds that had blocked their path, then stumbled and almost fell, blood matting their fur and dying it a new, darker shade.
"Over here!" Faith shouted, but the wolf didn't hear her over the noise of the battle and she didn't know who it was, to call out to them by name.
Jake's small voice joined hers. "Ori! Come over here!"
Ori's head swung around to look at them, and he saw the two vampires clashing nearby. With a snarl he started toward them, and Faith encouraged the kids to move as well, to meet him partway. When he got close enough, Faith reached over with her free hand and dropped the shield just long enough to pull the wolf through by his scruff. Ori yelped in surprise when she did, and then flung the barrier back up.
"I have got to stop getting attacked like this,” Faith muttered. "This is such a bad habit."
She was fairly sure that Ori was laughing as he sunk to the ground, panting. Jake let go of her belt loop and pulled off his own shirt to try to clean his friend's fur.
"Jake, sweetie, do your best, but stay ready to move, okay?" Faith said. Using the moment to look around, she saw dead blighthounds scattered everywhere across the lawn. Most of the Goldfang wolves had either escaped, or were fighting alongside her own clanmates, because they weren't on the ground anymore.
She saw Marc, on the other side of the yard facing off against another vampire. Four more wolves were scattered around, taking on the seemingly endless flood of attackers while the wolves she thought were Kenya and Rod were facing off against a vampire each, as well. Faith was pretty sure that meant at least some of the Goldfang wolves were helping them since that math didn't make sense.
She turned her attention back to where her vampire was fighting. Aldric was slowing down, she was sure of it. Mostly because he had been wounded before jumping into this fight and as bloody as the other guy was now, they were moving slow enough that Faith could mostly track them back and forth. Aldric seemed to be losing ground.
Kaylee and Jake were mostly quiet behind her, only small whimpers occasionally underscoring the snarling, thumping battle noise. Some distant, disconnected part of Faith's brain thought it was weird how the pitched supernatural brawl she was surrounded by was both louder and quieter than she had thought it would be.
Shaking her head she tried to focus. They were pinned down now, with Ori mostly immobile. Jake had wrapped his tiny t-shirt around Ori's leg, and crouched, snuggled against the enforcer's side. Kaylee was copying her friend and hugged Ori's other side, somewhat less carefully, and Ori twisted to lick at both the kids' faces. It would have been sweet if it weren't for the life-and-death thing.
A grunt snapped her focus back to Aldric. The stranger seemed to have the upper hand now, and as badly wounded as Aldric was when he jumped into the fight, it wasn't a surprise. When the vampire twisted and did... something that Faith couldn't see clearly and Aldric went flying to slam into the side of the lodge and slide down to the ground, her heart clenched.
It really was like time slowed down at that moment. Aldric rolled slowly to lever himself up on his elbow, shaking his head to clear it. The other man stalked toward him like a predator who knew his prey was almost down and just needed one last blow to finish his kill. Aldric was too far away to get him behind the shield, and with Ori so badly injured they couldn't get the shield to him in time.
It was the most helpless Faith had ever felt. What the hell use was her magic if she couldn't help at times like this? What she really needed now was a gun or something. A crossbow. Throwing stars? She'd take anything like that.
One of the blighthounds stumbled into her shield and she screamed in surprise, before it slid to the ground and twitched a few times before stilling, its throat a nasty mess. She blinked at where the corpse rested against the solid wall of her magic and whirled back to see the Aldric staggering to his feet again, a completely insane idea forming.
The stranger grinned, knowing that he was a moment from victory. "I'm beginning to think that all the stories of the power of human magic is just so much mythology. I mean, look at you. There's no way you've gotten any kind of boost after feeding from her. Weak and pathetic."
Aldric just hissed in reply. The stranger smirked again and stepped forward to finish his kill, and Faith reached out with her half-formed magic and threw it as hard as she could.
A hole opened in the stranger's chest, and his eyes widened in shock. Blood gushed from the new wound and Faith gave her new magical stake another shove and a twist for spite, and the stranger grunted and choked on the blood spilling from his mouth now also. Aldric set his feet and squared his shoulders and wordlessly ripped the man's throat out.
22
Aldric sank to the ground himself, now assured that the other vampire was no longer a threat to anyone. He had no idea what had happened to give him the upper hand so suddenly and completely, but he was not going to argue with his good fortune. He also was not going to seek another fight. Hopefully Marc and the rest of his enforcers could finish the battle.
A warm tingle washed over him, then. He blinked his eyes open– when had he closed them? Ori sniffed at his side then, apparently deciding that the area wasn't too badly wounded, lay down and pressed himself against Aldric, resting his big head on Aldric's thigh. It was the way of werewolves. When they were injured they huddled together, partly for defense and partly for comfort. Folklore said it helped them heal faster, but Aldric wasn't sure it would work for him.
Still, it was good to know he wasn't alone in his pain. Jake and Kaylee joined the pile and even Faith crouched down onto her knees to carefully lift Aldric's head and rest it in her lap, carefully cleaning the filth of battle off his face. He sighed deeply and let his eyes slide closed again.
When he next opened his eyes, Marc and Rod were working together to lift him to his feet.
"Come on, Aldric. You'd better wake up and talk to us or Faith might have a meltdown," Marc was saying. “She’s been really patient, and hasn’t started screaming yet, but it’d be a huge help if you could reassure all of us that you’re on the mend, man.” There was an odd note in his voice, and Aldric was struck with the sudden fear that they hadn't all made it through the battle.
He squinted and rolled his head to peer around the clearing. There were dead blighthounds everywhere he looked. Dozens of them. One of the Goldfang wolves was dragging them into a pile to one side of the clearing. He was covered in blood and dirt, and looked like hell, but since Marc seemed unconcerned, Aldric decided that he wasn't in any shape to object.
He turned slightly as they nudged him to start moving, and he saw Faith disappearing into the lodge, ushering the kids ahead of her. There was no sign of Ori or Kenya.
"Ori?" because where her husband was, that's where he'd find her as well.
"Kenya took him inside to get cleaned up. You're the worst off of us, but he took a nasty bite to his shoulder and his foreleg is kind of a mess,” Rod said. He sounded unhappy as well, though if they won the day...
"What are you not saying to me?"
Marc's silence was telling.
“Marc, what happened?”
”We don’t know where the vamps came from, but they took Crissy when they retreated. Actually, they took her right when they got here, but there was so much going on that nobody saw it but Kaylee and we don’t want to push that right now. I’ll ask for more details later, but all she’s said so far is that when she was pulling Crissy along toward the cabin door, Crissy’s hand yanked out of her own, and by the time she had turned around, her mom wasn’t there anymore. We just know that she is gone, and the place she had been was covered in the scent of vampire and fear," he sighed heavily and they stopped before stepping into the lodge doors. "One of the Goldfangs offered to follow the trail and I figured it was better than any of our other options right at this moment. He and one of our sentries took off about ten minutes ago."
Aldric frowned but nodded. “What else.”
Marc wasn’t meeting his eyes and Rod’s shoulders were drooping.
“Mia didn’t make it. One of the vamps…” Marc finally answered with a deep sigh. Aldric snarled and several of the nearby wolves whimpered in sympathy. None of them felt much like celebrating their victory.
After a moment, Marc cleared his throat. "Kenya has called your cousin and between Madeline and Leo we will have vehicles brought up here to take you and Ori and the rest of our wounded to the clinic for treatment. Tamika can take over your duties until you've rested and healed. At least a week, Aldric, unless Madeline says otherwise."
They lowered him carefully onto the sofa in the lodge, on which a sheet had been spread. He could hear Kenya scolding Ori in another room, and Ori's teasing whines answering her. Faith's voice drifted to him, talking to the children and keeping them calm as well. And Kaylee's quiet sobs, no doubt frightened for her mother.
Marc crouched by Aldric's shoulder with a wet cloth and a bowl of water and started wiping away blood and dirt and sweat.
"Whoever those vamps were, where ever they took Crissy, we'll find them. And they will regret every decision they made that led to them coming against the Frostwalker Clan," Marc promised him. "We will not abandon our own."
Aldric just nodded and closed his eyes again. Healing was hard work and he was so tired.
The next time he opened his eyes, his cousin was hovering over his face wearing her scrubs and a raised eyebrow. "May I suggest that next time you duck?"
"Certainly. Although I hope to work toward there not being a next time," he answered with a sigh. "How are we?"
Madeline smirked and shook her head before answering. "We are going to be fine after a few days. Although you actually lost a fair amount of blood so you're going to stay here until tomorrow and you will rest when I send you home. And I’m not ruling out some fancy new scars, cousin. I've given you a transfusion already, and I'll bring you some to drink in a few minutes now that you’re awake. You have forty-seven stitches in fourteen wounds, two cracked ribs and I am not going to ask how you wrenched your wrist like that, but somehow it's not broken."
She pressed a button and the bed started to move, letting him sit up.
"And Ori? Kenya? Faith and the children? Marc?"
Madeline chuckled. “Marc is fine. Three stitches and a mess of bandages, but he's shockingly fine. Kenya as well, though she escaped without seeing my needle. Ori got stitches as well, and is going to be here for a day or two until I can really evaluate how well he's healing. That damn thing took a chunk out of him. I'm afraid he's on the injured reserve for a bit, but he’ll be okay.”
Aldric raised his eyebrow. He didn't miss what she left out, and she knew it. Her smirk didn't move.
"And?" he prompted.
"And?" she parroted back. She held his gaze for another moment before snorting a laugh. "Well, you can ask her yourself. She just ran out to grab coffee while I checked you over. You've only been here a few hours, but I put you under for most of it. It’s just after 9 am, in case you wondered. The kids went home with Marc, Rod, and four other enforcers last night after I checked them over. Tamika has, apparently, declared the kids to require two bodyguards each at all times when outside the Clan House.
“I believe Marc has also handled Detective Lincoln who showed up here extremely insistent that you all go to the sheriff's office to give statements. Ho
w he thought you could do that while unconscious, I’m not sure, but that concludes my news bulletin.“
Aldric was about to ask for more information when the door to the small room swung open. Faith trudged in carrying a huge takeaway cup of coffee and a bone-tired expression which brightened slightly when she saw Aldric was awake.
"Hey! How're you feeling, big guy?" She hurried over to the chair beside the bed and pulled it close before sitting down.
"Tired and sore. Are you okay? Uninjured? The children?"
"You'll do," Madeline patted his knee and grinned as she walked out. "I’ll bring you a drink in a few minutes, but there's water over on the counter if you can't wait. Don't even think about getting up before I get back!" she called as she pulled the door closed behind her.
"I like your cousin. She's cool," Faith smiled. It didn't quite reach her eyes, but he wasn't sure what to attribute that to.
"She is quite likeable. Funny and smart and she seems to tolerate me and her brother quite well," he agreed in place of knowing what else to say.
Faith reached out and took hold of his hand, and he immediately wrapped his own fingers around hers.
"Thank you," she said. "You saved us again. I don't even know how to thank you."
"I am sorry that we did not also keep your sister safe, as well. I feel like we failed you rather than helped." It was true. He was tired and ached everywhere, and he could feel his body working to heal his wounds, but the reason they had been there to begin with– half the reason at least– had been to rescue Crissy Latham, and while Aldric knew it wasn't his fault, he still felt responsible.
Faith was shaking her head. "You got all three of them out of that damn lodge safely. We should have gone straight to the truck, all of us, but we waited just a minute or two too long. I should have made sure that all four of us stayed together, safely behind my shield. It wasn't your fault in the least, any more than it was mine."
Magaestra: Found: An urban fantasy series Page 16
