Thomas had found his bolos. With an expert twist of his wrist, they sang above his head as he took aim.
“Thomas,” I tried again. I had to get his attention. “Thomas, she’s pregnant.” The bolos kept spinning, faster than before. He was seconds from releasing them and I knew where he aimed. From that distance, if they struck the Vamp in the neck, it would likely kill him.
My mouth was open to scream when beside Thomas a slim hand reached up and grabbed his calf and squeezed. Distracted, he looked down into Sirris white face, the left side swollen and already turning colors.
“Please Thomas. I’m alright.” His eyes stayed on Sirris as the bolos slowed.
The Vamps took their cue, and Nick and I watched as they disappeared into the forest as fast as they’d appeared. We’d won the battle, but I was afraid we’d started a war.
THE ENTIRE LEFT SIDE of Sirris face was purple. Against her pale complexion and blond hair, it stood out like a beacon to anyone who saw her. Thomas’ face turned down in a permanent scowl wherever we went, just waiting for someone; anyone to say something about it. He might not care about what other people thought of him, but it wouldn’t be pretty if they said something sideways to Sirris.
I had to admit we were all feeling protective though, which was why we chose a booth at Smaug’s in Bitterroot where we went for ice cream that Sunday. We buried Sirris on the inside with her wounded cheek to the wall. She was on my right. Across from us Nick and Thomas shoveled up triple dips of butter pecan and Mackinac Island fudge. Sirris and I worked on double waffle cones of strawberry cheesecake.
Thomas stared hard at me. The place was mostly deserted, but we still leaned in to whisper. What we had to say was not for curious ears. “I’m telling you. I could have taken the older one out, caught one. I wasn’t going to hit her. I’m not a monster.”
I rolled my eyes. “You were aiming for his head. There wouldn’t have been enough left to take back.”
Thomas shrugged and reddened slightly. “He’d have probably been okay. I...”
“Save it. I know you were just upset about Sirris...” I started.
Thomas’ face faded to a dull, ruddy color. “Was not. I knew she was fine.” It was Nick’s turn to snort into his ice-cream.
“Whatever. I’m only glad you didn’t kill him. Besides, something about that entire thing bothers me. Did you notice their skin?”
Sirris nodded. “Yeah, pasty white, like they never visit the tanner? Kinda like me?”
I gave her a small sympathetic smile. She looked rough.
“Yeah, that. I mean, of course they are pale. Duh, vampires? But I think it was more than that. You are light-skinned Sirris. But you look healthy. They... didn’t.”
She frowned. “I know very little about vampires. But aren’t they supposed to be supernaturally strong? She wasn’t. We were pretty evenly matched... and her eyes.”
Thomas, who’d been ignoring our conversation with a pinched expression of disapproval, spoke up. “Yeah, give me your throat kinda eyes.” Sirris reached over and slapped his hand.
“Stop it. Oh, they were hungry all right. But it was more than that. She was desperate. I think she was starving to death.”
Nick piped up, scraping the bottom of his dish. “Sick. I think she looked sick and if she’s pregnant, well.” He shrugged, dropping his spoon in and looking at us all. “I think they were all sick. I don’t know how; they’re going through enough victims. Vampires don’t normally need to feed every day.”
“Oh, so now you know all about them?” Thomas ground out.
“Know more than you do, I bet.” Nick murmured, slanting Thomas an irritated glance.
“I just think it’s weird. I mean, what are they doing here? They aren’t from Drae Hallow, so where did they come from?” Sirris added.
I nodded and speaking my thoughts aloud. “And how do they tie in with the demon wolves on the other side of the mountain, miles from here? I was hoping there was a connection. Maybe something to tie them in and get us closer to finding your brother, Thomas, and the others.”
He looked away, expression stony.
“Just because we want there to be a connection, doesn’t mean there is. Could be we’re just looking at two unrelated incidents.” Nick finished, eying my ice cream. I gave him the don’t touch it look and he sat back, disgruntled.
“Only, we’re not,” said a whisper soft voice beside us.
We all jumped. We’d been so engrossed in our own private conversation we hadn’t noticed the arrival of a fifth person. Fern Mason pulled up a chair. All four of us stared at her. She couldn’t have surprised us more if she’d suddenly sprouted two wings and a beak.
I recovered first. “I’m sorry, what did you say, and why are you here?”
She sat down and picked up my spoon and took a bite of my ice cream and made a face. “Cheesecake, are you mad?” When we continued to stare, she sighed and put the spoon back down.
“We’re not looking at two distinct things. You need to pay attention.”
Thomas opened his mouth to interrupt and I kicked him under the table. He grunted and gave me a dirty look. I didn’t care. I wanted to hear what my crazy roommate had to say. Something told me it was important.
“I think the two are very definitely connected. The Demon wolves don’t belong on Shephard’s Mountain any more than those vampires belong inside Drae Hallow. I think you’re right, Sirris. I think they are feeding on the joggers, but I don’t think it’s the diet they’re used to.”
Thomas speared her with a look that questioned her intelligence. “What a shame that the menu isn’t more to their liking,” he sneered.
Fern glared at him, her eyes darkening. “You need to get your ego out of the equation and look at what’s important if you want to see your brother alive again.”
Thomas sat back, but his mouth snapped shut. I think she’d shocked him into silence.
Fern went on. “I don’t think their systems can break down what they’ve been feeding on because it isn’t what they are used to.” She paused and looked at us all, waiting for our minds to catch up with what was obvious to her. When we continued to stare at her she rolled her eyes and finished.
“Think about it. Where were the demon wolves from? The vampires are from the same place.” I nodded. It made a crazy kind of sense, but it left more questions unanswered than I was comfortable with.
“So, if that’s the case, why didn’t they come out when the Macu and Demon wolves did?” I wondered.
“I don’t know. But it’s sealed now, so they couldn’t come in that way anyhow, right?” I remembered, I just wondered how she knew about it when she hadn’t been there.
“So, why come? I mean, if the food supply doesn’t agree and the wife is pregnant, why come. That’s just stupid.” I finished.
“Yup. It would be, wouldn’t it? But just like the Demon wolves? I don’t think they wanted to come here at all. I think they were forced.”
Nick jumped in. “But why? What purpose could forcing them through Wyndoor into Drae Hallow serve?”
Thomas spoke into the silence. He couldn’t contain himself any longer. “A diversion. The entire of Drae Hallow is in an uproar over the recent attacks. The question is, a diversion for what?” Fern gave him an approving nod and he scowled at her. He wasn’t ready to forgive her earlier slight on his intelligence just yet.
“That is the question isn’t? The other question is who is behind it?”
“We sent Bennett back through that portal when we closed it. He’s not here anymore.” Sirris reminded us.
But I was connecting the dots in my mind. I didn’t like the answers I was coming up with. “What if...” I paused, tapping my fingers on the side of my empty bowl, “What if he isn’t out of the picture, he’s just on the other side of it. Just because he isn’t here doesn’t mean he’s not cooking something up in another dimension. Who knows what he’s doing there. We assumed that sending him across took care of the problem. I
assumed at least that he was probably dead.” Several nods. “But what if he’s doing fine? Maybe more than fine. He’s a powerful sorcerer, a lot stronger than any of us gave him credit for. Is it possible that the Demon wolves weren’t responsible for what happened to the Tuttles? Maybe it was Will Bennett all along, and like Fern says, the vampires are a diversion.”
“But a diversion for what?” Thomas persisted.
“That’s the significant question, isn’t it? But whatever the answer, my instincts tell me we’d better figure it out soon. Will Bennett has always been a wild card. He wants the shield down for all the wrong reasons. For him, everything is about power and control. I think he has plans to come back. I’m not sure I want to see what he brings with him when he comes.” Fern finished. With a last nod, she got up and with the smallest of smiles, left without a backward glance before any of us could respond. I shook my head.
Yup, Fern was one strange duck.
CHAPTER SIX
“That brings the count to four.” Carol Shamon bit out bitterly. “Something has to be done. Inexcusable, letting something like that inside Drae Hallow.” She finished.
Lucas Seul rose one fine eyebrow, lips a flat line. An emergency meeting in the middle of the afternoon was not how he wanted to spend his day, even if it was necessary. He rubbed the bridge of his nose. “And how did they get in here, Carol? Pray tell us all.”
But Carol was not to be outdone. “I don’t know. That’s not my job, is it? It’s yours. Figure it out.” Several gasps around the table and she sat back in alarm, realizing how what she’d said must sound.
“You need to watch how you go forward Ms. Shamon, lest you forget that I hold this position because I’m good at it. Are you questioning my authority?”
Carol sank into her seat under the heat of his gaze. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to imply...” she mumbled.
The mayor cut her off. “Only you did, Carol. And it stops here if you wish to remain on this council. We are a committee, a group of like-minded people, entrusted to work together for the betterment of Drae Hallow and the Magical community. If you aren’t with us...” He left the last part unfinished. But she got the message, her lips pursed and her eyes cast down.
“Now, as for the rest of it. Let’s address the problem at hand. We do have four victims in the infirmary. They are running out of beds to house them and equipment to maintain their vitals and keep them alive. There are vampires in Drae hallow when there weren’t before. Other cells around the country have vampires that exist simply fine and live in peace among them. They eat synthetic blood, attend the same schools and churches, and don’t snack on the neighbors!
“Whoever they are, they need to be stopped!” His fist came down on the table and several coffee cups jumped along with many of the council members, unused to such outbursts from their calm leader.
On the white wall behind the mayor's head there was a flutter of soft wings. The moth, small and the lightest of cream, clung there. Its antennae moved about, forwards and back, picking up the cadence of the voices, storing the words without understanding them. It had entered with the council members as they came in from outside and found a perch on the wall as instructed where it blended in to be nearly invisible. There it rested and listened.
“We don’t know a lot about vampires, not really. The race keeps to themselves. But it’s like you said. Most of the time they are no threat. Unless they’ve gone rogue, as these have. We all know what the mandates on that are.” Spoken by a soft voice on the other end of the table. Feather Hodges nibbled her bottom lip and twisted her fingers. “I don’t want to think it may come to that. But we have to protect our citizens. They depend on us. It’s our job.”
Lucas nodded. “Agreed Ms. Hodges and thank you. But regardless of the severity, what I don’t want this to turn into is a witch hunt.” Every council member at the table shuddered. The pun had most certainly been intended. Nobody needed reminding of the near massacre that had resulted from the false accusations of two adolescent girls in Salem, Massachusetts, over 300 years ago. Memory ran deep in the Magical community.
“What I want to do is bring whoever is doing this into custody. If they are Rogue Magicals, they’ll get a trial just like anyone else. Maybe they belong to another Magical cell. We should check into that as well and find out if there have been complaints elsewhere of Rogue vampires on the loose and attacking civilians.
Feather spoke up once more. “What I don’t understand is why? I mean, vampires haven’t fed in the old way in centuries. It’s all synthetic now. And before that there were... other... ways of getting what they needed.” Every Magical there knew she referred to what amounted to vigilante attacks. At one time, vampires had turned to preying on the worst of society’s criminals, the murderers and rapists and those who preyed on the weak. It had been a win-win for everyone. Vampires didn’t starve and the prisons weren’t overpopulated. But even that had ended well over fifty years ago.
Marcus Tannon spoke up, drumming his pencil in front of him as he did. “Who knows what drives any criminal to perform the heinous acts of crime they do. Maybe it’s just in their nature. We may never know. But for certain, we have to stop them before more of Bitterroot’s innocents pay the price. There are four victims in that infirmary that may never wake up and go home to their families. That’s what the guard is for. To serve and protect. We’re ready to do our duty.” Several nods down the length of the table showed approval.
The mayor nodded, his eyes grim. “So, I agree with all that. What do we know about them at this point? Does anyone have any information they might want to share through the Drae Hallow grape vine, hmm?” The last was said with droll humor as his eyes traveled the length of the table, pausing here and there. The gossip mill in the valley was alive and well. It was a closely knit, small community after all, and word spread. Not all of it was discounted as idle chitchat.
Feather once more sat forward. “Well, yes. I’ve heard, through a little bird, that there are three of them.” Her eyelids fluttered and landed on the tiny insect; its tiny antennae tuned her way. Lips firming, she went on. “Yes, two males and a female. I believe the female is pregnant.”
“Does that matter. They’re only vampires. It’s not like they’re one of us.” Interjected Carol, who had finally recovered from her admonishment by the mayor.
She received several ominous glares for her efforts. “Just like we’re only Magicals to the humans? Or they are only humans to us? Which is it, Carol?” Feather stared her down until she looked away.
The mayor cleared his throat and it broke the tension. “Yes, well. That’s more information than we had. Better than finding out there’s an entire army out there. I will add to that statement myself.” His voice was as dry as dust. “I’ve been told by a certain someone that they are ill, for whatever reason they aren’t doing well. For that reason, as well as the fact that you have a very pregnant woman running around out there, I’m going to strongly caution the Guard to use the minimal force necessary to bring them in alive for trial. Am I clear?” He spoke to the room, but his eyes were hard on Marcus Tannon, who commanded the Guard.
Marcus nodded readily. He was in no hurry to gun down any pregnant ladies, regardless of what fork they used to eat their dinner.
“I’ll get the Guard together tonight and brief them on everything so we can get supplies together. From what I’ve heard? They move around at night, and tuck in during the day. If we’re going to find them, our best chances might be at night.” Marcus finished.
“You are probably right, but also keep in mind, that’s when they are at their most lethal. Under the cover of darkness is when they hunt best.” Lucas finished. Marcus Tannon nodded. He understood.
The meeting over, the members of Drae Council got up and filed out. It had been an interminable day and the decisions difficult above and beyond the classes most of them taught. Feather Hodges pulled her knit poncho tight around her slight frame and hung back, the last to leave. As she pas
sed the small cream-colored spot on the wall, her eyes narrowed on the tiny insect.
Out of the corner of her mouth, far too low for any of Drae Council to hear, she whispered. “You are so dead!” The powdery wings rose and beat the air under her nose, then as light as a bit of dandelion fluff, the moth fluttered through the doorway and was gone.
IT WAS A BEAUTIFUL spring day in mid-April, exactly right to enjoy the sun on a bench in the middle of campus. Fern turned the page in the novel she was reading, though if asked she couldn’t have said what it was about. From time to time she gave surreptitious glances at her surroundings. She enjoyed the peek of daffodils and Hyacinth that lined the sidewalk, poking through last year’s leaves and shooting towards the sunlight. The breeze that teased her cheeks caused her to breathe deep, inhaling the raw scent of new birth and fading decay. Mother earth was coming alive and Fern was very much aware of her many moods. She could be abundant in her generosity; or devastating when in a temper. But today, Fern Mason wasn’t interested in the vagrancies of nature—she waited for something else.
When it arrived with a flutter of soft wings, she smiled. A rarity because Fern wasn’t amused by much lately. The powdered wings brushed her nose and she controlled a sneeze with difficulty, not wanting to send her small friend tumbling through space and risk injury. She reached up and extended one small finger in front of her face. The barest brush of tiny insect legs landed on the tip, small feet clinging and solid there as the tiny antennae faced her way and wiggled.
“Dear beauty, tell me your secrets,” she whispered.
Fern, who had been taking in her outward surroundings; now instead looked in. She took a deep breath, opening up her inner self and let her senses expand. The silky brush of a simpler mind wiggled against the barrier she used to keep out the roar of others’ thoughts. Fern Mason opened the door.
The feeling was immediate, a shock to her body that had her sucking in a quick breath. Her eyes closed and fluttered behind her lids. Tell me what I need to know.
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