Storm

by Wylder, Jasmine

  “You’d better come back to me after you rescue those prisoners,” she hissed. “Or else.”

  “You’d better be waiting for me.” He kissed her. “Or else.”

  “I will be,” Gracie sighed, and then neither of them spoke, as their mouths were busy doing other things.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Gracie

  It had been an hour since Daniel left with the others to rescue the vampires’ prisoners. Gracie wrapped bandages, trying to keep her hands busy as she stoutly refused to imagine what might be going on with the fighting. It was a rather hurried plan, after all, although Shadow had found several things Lem and the others hadn’t known about.

  Lem himself sat next to her, rearranging the medical supplies, putting them in proper order. He glanced at the clock and shook his head with a soft growl. “If I was a younger man, I’d have gone out with them. If I had known that vampires were going to start taking over the world, I never would have let myself get so soft.”

  Gracie glanced at him, with his white hair and lined face, and wondered how he had planned to stop himself from getting old. She shook her head as she set aside the bandages she was working on and started on the next bunch.

  “I’ve never been much of a fighter,” she told him. “I never thought I’d end up living in what’s essentially a war zone. If I had known… I’d probably have had a mental breakdown.”

  Lem snorted, rolled his eyes and handed her another box of bandages. “You know, the reason I stopped going into the field was because I got too old to watch my friends die. It never gets easier… I never thought I’d have to sit around and wait for the kids I saw grow up die. It should be me out there… not some kid with a mate and children waiting for him to come home.”

  A pang hit Gracie in the stomach. She reached over to put a comforting hand on his shoulder. He tensed, and she flinched. Of course. She was a vampire. He was a shifter. He didn’t want her touching him, even if he was kind enough to spend this time with her.

  She withdrew, feeling her cheeks heating, and cleared her throat. “Sorry. But you’re doing a good job here. Even if you’re not in the fighting. I mean, I couldn’t do all this by myself.”

  Especially since the others are all convinced that I’m going to go for their throats, she thought as she glanced around. A good dozen of the others looked away from their glares. She ducked her head and sighed.

  “I didn’t ask to be a vampire,” she mumbled.

  Lem didn’t respond.

  A chill stole over Gracie’s skin, goosebumps forming on her arms. She shuddered and glanced up, her eyes seeking the doorways at once. Her heart, which barely had a beat now that she was a vampire, started to pound and her hands shook. Something was wrong… Something was coming.

  She jumped to her feet and shouted a warning even as the windows shattered. Doors bust open and vampires poured into the building. The shifters leapt to meet them, shifting into a variety of forms as they did so. Gracie grabbed the nearest thing she could use as a weapon and smashed a vampire across the face as he went after Lem.

  Did this mean that those who had gone to rescue the prisoners had been stopped? Daniel’s face flashed through her mind and terror welled in her. If he’d been hurt… if he’d been killed…

  Lem grabbed her arm and threw her back as a vampire lunged at her. She shook herself, sliding into a fighting position that Daniel had taught her. A vampire struck at her and she blocked the blow, then threw a clumsy punch which was easily dodged. As she fought, a well of frustration rose in her. Why? Why did it have to be this way?

  She thought of Daniel again and a hatred for all the blood spilled choked her lungs.

  She shouted before she had even realized the word was forming in her brain. “Stop!”

  Howls, grunts, and then silence. The vampires had all frozen, and the shifters stared in confusion. A couple of the vampires tried to keep fighting, but it was as though their arms had turned into noodles; they couldn’t seem to control themselves. Slowly, every gaze turned to her. Gracie stared around in shock, then swallowed hard.

  “Go sit down over there,” she pointed as she whispered, her throat dry.

  Automatically, marching like tin soldiers, the vampires obeyed. Gracie pressed a hand to her mouth. What the hell…? How was this possible? Was that why Apep had said he would turn her into his goddess? Did he know…? Because she was a child of Ra, did that mean she could control the vampires just as much as him?

  “No wonder he was so determined to get me,” she breathed.

  Lem stared at her with something like aw and horror. The rest of the shifters all glared at her, looking as confused as she felt. Gracie wiped her hands on her jeans and inched her way forward, keeping her gaze on the vampires sitting on the floor. The harder she stared at them, the more she saw. Faces lined with wariness. A resignation in some, defiance in others. All of them confused.

  One of them finally spoke. “You’re her.”

  Gracie turned to him.

  “You’re the one the Master wants. The daughter of Ra. The one that will make him unstoppable.”

  “Or the one to stop him,” Gracie responded.

  As she stared at the vampire, she saw something shimmering around him. Something that looked like red chains, wrapping around his throat, his chest, his hands. She reached out and was able to take them in her hands. As she did so, the burning need for blood that she had felt when she first was being turned flashed in her throat.

  With a cry, she jerked away—the chains broke in her hands and the vampire gasped, eyes widening.

  “What?” he breathed, reaching a trembling hand to his throat. He stared at her in confusion and wonder. “It’s gone.”

  “What is?” she asked.

  His jaw worked for a moment. “The… the bloodlust. It’s gone.”

  Suddenly she understood. Looking at the others, she saw those same chains wrapped around them. It was the bloodlust of the vampire’s curse. Moving quickly, she moved to each of them and broke the chains. All of them cried out as she did so; once freed, they looked at her in amazement. Several started to cry even.

  “I can’t hear his voice in my head anymore,” one of them said with a laugh. She jumped to her feet and stretched her arms. “You have saved us!”

  “What the fuck?” Lem hissed.

  Gracie turned to him and shook her head. “I don’t know. I guess… I guess I’m special after all. This must be why Apep was so determined to keep me at his side. Because I take their bloodlust away… and the bloodlust,” she dug her hands into her hair, understanding. “It’s how he controls them!”

  The vampires stood, murmuring to each other as they looked at their own hands and each other in amazement. When Gracie turned back to them, several fell to their knees. The other shifters looked on in confusion and disgust, a few glaring at her distrustfully. One of the kneeling vampires took her hand and kissed it.

  “Bless you, Lady. Bless you.”

  “Don’t,” Gracie said, flushing and uncomfortable with the attention when it was just coincidence she had managed to figure this all out. But they didn’t stop, all moving forward to murmur their thanks and praise her. It wasn’t until one of the shifters snarled that the tension increased once more.

  Lem stepped up beside Gracie’s shoulder. “If the bloodlust was what enabled Apep to control them, then I would suggest it was also what enabled you to control them. A child of Ra, huh?” He shook his head. “I should read up on all this crap. But we can’t just let them hang out like this is a social occasion.”

  The first vampire who had kissed her hand shook his head. “We have no love of Apep. He’s made us do things that we hated… and we hate him. Take us as your prisoners if you must, but allow us to stay. Please. We can help you in this fight. We want to see him dead as much as you.”

  Lem glared but nodded slowly. A few of the shifters cried out in protest, but Lem silenced them with a snarl. “Go lock them in the cellar. We’ll wait for Storm
to return to tell us what to do with them… if what we think is happening here has happened… then we have got a weapon to use against Apep. For the first time since this bloody war started.”

  ***

  Gracie worried and fretted for another few hours until Daniel and the others came back. She immediately flew into his arms, trying to blurt out the story in between kisses. Daniel wrapped his arms around her waist and silenced her with a hard kiss to her mouth. When he pulled back, she was so breathless that he was able to get his words in.

  “Typhoon and Mom were there,” he said, his eyes bright. “And after we freed the vampires’ prisoners…”

  He gestured behind him. Tornado, Josef, and Thunder dragged two unconscious forms between them. Typhoon and Guinevere.

  Gracie squealed, her eyes brightening as she gazed at them. Those same chains that had wrapped around the other vampires were around them, too… but not around Daniel. He had told her that he didn’t have the burning desire to drink blood that both his mother and Typhoon had warned him about… born without bloodlust, then?

  She grinned as she strode forward and took hold of the chains wrapped tightly around Typhoon. “And this is something that I discovered while you were gone.”

  It was easy to break these chains, and they faded away to nothingness as she stepped back and told Daniel everything that had transpired. He stared at her as though she had told him that she was pregnant—shocked, excited, with a bit of disbelief thrown in there for good measure. It took a good while to explain everything to his satisfaction. And by that time, Typhoon and Guinevere had regained consciousness.

  Guinevere sobbed as she wrapped her arms around Daniel, asking about Andy. Daniel reassured her, then explained what they had discovered. Typhoon stood by, his expression grim as he glanced around at the people who once called him a leader. He cleared his throat and stepped forward.

  “Thank you,” he said to Gracie. “I knew he feared you as much as he wanted you at his side. I never dreamt…” He let out a shaky breath as his chin dropped to his chest. “I have never felt so… Free…” He swallowed and turned to Daniel. “Apep fears you, too.”

  “You said,” Daniel murmured dryly. “Care to tell me why?”

  “Because only a vampire-shifter hybrid can kill him. That was why he kept me so close, he didn’t want me breaking from his control… and when he found he couldn’t control you at all, it terrified him.”

  Daniel nodded, his brow furrowing. Then a grin crossed his face and he held out his hand to Typhoon. “Well, then. Let’s show him what happens when he messes with the alphas of the Savage Brotherhood, shall we?”

  Typhoon stared doubtfully for a moment before grinning back. “Yeah. Let’s show that bastard what we’re made of.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Storm

  There were far more survivors than Daniel expected. He had called for them all to gather together; with Typhoon recovered, they came flocking back. A few of them yelled at the former alpha for keeping his true heritage a secret, but all it took was a few snarls and glares from him to get those people to shut the hell up.

  Now, he and Typhoon ran side-by-side, with Gracie between them as they dashed through the darkened hallways of Apep’s center of power. If Apep thought that they’d be hindered by the darkness, he had another thing coming. The three of them could see as well in pitch black as the brightest day, and they’d equipped the rest of the Brotherhood with night vision goggles. That was all it took for them to run their raid.

  Daniel’s blood surged with adrenaline as he, Gracie and Typhoon ran through a horde of vampires, held back by a plethora of shifters who had opened the way for them. Snarls and screams filled the air, the taste of blood heavy and the scent of fear trickling down the walls. Gracie slowed, and Typhoon snarled a warning, but then she stopped altogether.

  “The chains,” she murmured, more to herself than them. “They’re all connected here. He’s woven them so tightly in his grasp...”

  Typhoon snarled again, but Daniel let out a short bark; yes, the plan was for them to take down Apep which would hopefully stop all the vampires from being forced to follow out his control—but wouldn’t it be better if they had more fighters on their side? The vampires Gracie had freed already were fighting alongside the shifters, just as fierce as any of the Brotherhood in opening the passage for the three of them to get to Apep.

  Gracie didn’t waste time trying to convince Typhoon as he cricked his tail in annoyance. Her hands reached out, a sort of golden glow haloing her as her face twisted in concentration.

  She yanked hard, and then it was as though something yanked her back; her feet slipped out from under her as a roar rushed down the hallway. An invisible force dragged her along. Daniel yelped and leapt after her, Typhoon on their heels. It wasn’t long before she slipped into the crowd of vampires. Daniel didn’t let himself stop and doubt; he threw himself over the heads of the shifters, crashing through the vampires as he followed Gracie’s scent.

  Typhoon snarled as he plunged in after them. Claws and fangs tore at them from all sides, but together the two fought hard, working their way through the horde until they caught sight of Apep, standing much taller than everyone else. He had Gracie by the throat with one hand, his face twisted in anger and hatred.

  He let out a bark just before shifting to human form; Typhoon seized him in his jaws and hurled him over the heads of the vampires. Several of them reached out to grab him, shouting.

  Apep looked up just in time from Daniel’s feet to collide with his face. He yelled, his grip loosening enough on Gracie for her to break free. She pressed herself against the wall, coughing as Daniel bounced back to his feet and shifted, going for Apep’s throat. Apep sidestepped, only to come into Typhoon’s path. The alpha seized him by the leg and yanked his head hard to one side. Daniel darted in, seizing Apep around the middle. They yanked in opposite directions. Apep’s fists flew out; one slammed into Daniel’s face, sending him backward. Several vampires surrounded Gracie, and she tore her hands through the air, glowing brighter and brighter like the sun.

  With a howl, Apep whipped around and bit into Typhoon’s shoulder. Daniel lunged forward, having to trust Gracie would be able to handle her vampires; several of them were falling to their knees already, gasping as though drawing breath for the first time. He concentrated on Apep, darting in and tearing off strips of flesh. Rotten blood filled his mouth and Apep howled with pain.

  Typhoon tore off one of Apep’s legs; it grew back, like some sick thing being born out of the blood pouring from his arm. He howled as he punched Typhoon in the ribs, sending him skittering back several steps. A good two dozen vampires swarmed in, separating him from Apep. He fought, but there was no way he was getting through them any time soon.

  So, it’s all up to me. Daniel took a moment to catch his breath, waiting to see if Apep was going to send vampires after him, too. None of them moved toward him, satisfying themselves with trying to get to Gracie now; she was still tearing through those invisible chains. The vampires she had already freed turned against Apep’s forces, defending her while shouting their hatred at Apep.

  The god snarled as he lunged for her, as though Daniel was utterly unimportant. Daniel threw himself forward, intercepting them. He caught Apep by the shoulder and yanked him backward, bones snapping in his jaws as he did so. Apep’s clawed hand swiped at his face and he jumped to one side, then rushed in and grabbed his wrist. He shook and jerked, snapping the arm and yanking it out of the shoulder socket. Apep howled with pain; Daniel’s hope rang true as the broken bone healed at an awkward angle that made it next to useless.

  With a snarl, he whipped around and punched Daniel in the face. As Daniel tried to dodge it, he kicked him full in the ribs. Daniel heard something snap as he was thrown into the stone wall. Darkness washed over his head and every breath he drew hurt, but he stumbled back to his feet, shaking himself as he panted, glaring at Apep.

  Apep wrenched his arm, snapping it
back, and shoved it back into place. He wiped his mouth and, ignoring Daniel once more, went straight for Gracie. A large group of vampires turned to attack Daniel, and Gracie let out a shout. A burst of light flooded out from her, and all the vampires in the vicinity shouted, covering their eyes and cringed away from her. Even Apep.

  Daniel didn’t waste time. He leapt onto Apep’s back, tearing at the back of his neck. Apep let out a howl, slamming himself and Daniel both against the wall. Something else cracked and Daniel clawed at Apep, trying to free himself.

  The light around Gracie increased until Daniel could see thin beams of red, surrounding Apep and reaching out to ensnare other vampires. Gracie’s hands wrapped around them, snapping the beams as Apep howled once more. He elbowed Daniel in the gut and went for Gracie again. Daniel’s leg wasn’t working properly, making him stumble as he tried to chase after Apep.

  A dozen of the vampires who had been attacking Typhoon turned and leapt at Apep. He punched his way through them, then waded through Gracie’s protectors and seized her about the shoulders. Daniel howled, throwing himself forward. Once more, Gracie was pulled from Apep’s grip. Daniel tore into Apep’s neck as the red bands around him grew thinner and thinner until they all snapped.

  Apep collapsed to his knees as Typhoon darted in, grabbing him by the arm and holding him in place for Daniel to tear into his abdomen. Apep roared, lashing out with his free hand. Teeth tore into Daniel’s flank even as the scent of death filled the air. Darkness washed in and out of his vision. The screams seemed to echo in his skull, but he didn’t stop, digging and tearing.

  Typhoon’s jaws clenched over Apep’s head and Daniel was able to get a good grip on Apep’s throat. They tore together as Apep’s arms crushed around his chest. Spurts of blood splashed in his eyes as he and Typhoon tore together, ripping Apep’s head clean from his body. The headless corpse thrashed; they didn’t stop, continuing to tear and rip until Apep was scattered in a hundred pieces.