“You can’t capture a Dragon without consequences,” Gunnar muses. “Consequences being the last thing you do in life ‘cause they will most definitely kill you and whoever helped you or is connected to you. They are ruthless fuckers.”
Loud rumbling sounds from outside the clubhouse. It’s dry lightning but I know for damn sure it’s got nothing to do with the weather.
“Incoming,” Vike growls.
I glance over to where Nixie is and see she’s already cleared out her stuff. Good. This means everyone is protected by her spell to prevent Vapula from...shit. Who cares about him shapeshifting or popping up as anyone other than himself because he’s coming?
He knows we’re all here and he’s attacking anyway. I guess now that his cover is blown, he’s done with waiting and biding his time to perfect his goal to take all of us out. He’s either confident or knows he can handle and face anything we have. But even a suicide mission can be dangerous when someone has nothing to lose.
Turning to Vike, I’m about to say something but my breath catches. Did he just double in size? My head spins toward Dio but her eyes are focused on something and when I follow her line of sight, I see Gunnar has doubled in size too.
I swallow hard and manage to form words. “What’s happening?”
“They’re shifting.” Dio’s mouth forms into a grin. “And Vapula is about to get his ass kicked.”
Her confidence is captivating but I can’t help but feel nauseous for what’s about to happen. Maybe because I died the last time we faced Vapula or maybe I’ve turned into a weak, pathetic and useless woman when I was reborn again out of flames. Thunder crashes again but this time darkness overtakes the clubhouse.
With a flick of my hand I throw around tiny fireballs to give some light throughout the room. Everyone is bracing for a fight but Gunnar and Vike are standing shoulder to shoulder as one huge damn wall in front of the two doors where you can exit the main room of the clubhouse.
The doors burst open but it’s not Vapula or anyone else coming through, it’s water. Oh, shit. First part of the curse, I’m pretty sure this is Vapula’s plan. Wave after wave bursts inside and within a few breaths the whole room is flooded while both doors slam shut. I try to yell out for everyone not to get any of the water inside them but it’s useless.
I manage to grip Vike’s forearm in the turmoil of events. Our eyes connect and I use my magic and our connection to get my words across. “You have to kill him before he speaks the incantation.”
Vike nods, knowing very well what will happen if he doesn’t succeed in stopping Vapula before the curse has been voiced completely. Before my eyes Vike morphs to an even bigger version of himself. Struggling in the water he kicks in the doors and the force of it knocks him out of the clubhouse.
Standing near the entrance I get dragged along with him, Dio, Gunnar, and a few others as well. Vapula is standing there in his true form. I should have fear running through me like I had before but instead, I only feel hatred.
The large pitch-black beast with gaping holes in his body where bone is peeking through as black slimy goo is seeping out doesn’t impress me at all. Not even the two sets of massive curled horns and the fireballs he produces. Not when Vike and Gunnar both are slightly bigger because I know the both of them won’t shy away or stop until they’ve gotten their revenge.
One by one others tumble out of the clubhouse along with the water which seeps into the ground. The ground trembles underneath my feet and I watch how Vapula stomps, the ground underneath him splitting open. He starts to chant and as it flows through the air, black smoke appears and spreads out toward the clubhouse.
I can feel the hatred in the air and there’s something else lingering. My hands clench into fists. Death. I can feel it vibrating. The air thickens even more through the black smoke spreading all over. We need to move fast.
I take a deep breath and form an electrically charged fireball. Pulling my arm back, I take aim, and throw it in Vapula’s direction. I manage to hit his shoulder and right after another one hits at the same spot. Dio is standing right next to me, duplicating my actions.
Gunnar goes left as Vike throws himself forward, flaming up completely as his body impacts with Vapula. Shit. I can’t throw another fireball, not without the risk of hurting Vike. Behind me I hear coughing as one after the other bikers fall to their knees.
“Fight,” I bellow out of anger and step toward the bikers tumbling out of the clubhouse. “Fight it, dammit. Look at your Prez and VP. They fight!”
Jagger steps up to me, Alastair and my sisters close behind him. “They are lower level Demons, Tria. Leave ‘em fighting for their own life. We need to focus on the fight with Vapula we need to win so we can save them along with it.”
Fucking hell, he’s right. And it’s not something I can ask my half-sisters to risk their lives for. Not to mention the last time Eliana zapped Vapula somewhere else and we don’t need a repeat; he needs to die.
I glance at Dio, hoping she understands when I say, “I need a hand, speed up, sis.”
She immediately nods, holds out her hand and braces herself. I grab her wrist as she grabs mine. I start to run around her and pick up the speed I need. Dio locks her feet on the ground and bends her knees to give me a boost. I jump off the ground, onto Dio’s thigh, and into the air heading straight for the enemy.
Vapula throws Vike to the ground where he hits hard and slides on but I have to brace while my feet hit Vapula straight in the chest. I do a backflip and land on my feet but have to bend my knees and place a hand on the ground to balance.
There’s no pain. None. Only hate and flames. I launch myself at Vapula and he’s expecting me to fight head on except I’m not aiming for his body. I’m aiming for his wrist which I take and flip back to have his arm locked at an odd angle.
Electrical balls of fire hit his chest and I know Dio is fighting him. A large Hellhound crashes against his body, teeth sinking in. Jagger crashes against his gut and tries to bring him to the ground along with him but Vapula roars loud enough for the ground to shake. All of us fall back from the mere force of his actions.
Scrambling up, I see Vapula’s hands twist and turn. Electricity hangs in the air, thick enough to taste as lightning strikes from above and dances around Vapula. The ball in the center of his hands gets bigger and bigger. There’s some kind of electrical field surrounding him that prevents the Hellhound and Vampire from entering.
Dio and I have similar powers, fire, electricity, shields we can produce to ward off fireballs. Vike and Gunnar have them too. My breathing picks up. I can’t let him hurt my family. I glance back at the lower level Demons who are fighting for their lives.
Vapula doesn’t care about anything. His foot stomps again and the earth underneath him cracks open enough to slice through the ground for miles on each side of him. If all of us are fighting him...as Vike has been trying to fight him for years... and all the while he’s still breathing and going strong...stronger. It’s a scary thought.
An idea comes to mind. My twin and I have trained and fought alongside each other a million times. The element of surprise is a welcoming feature if you know and trust a person enough to act when needed.
“Dio,” I snap. “Lock hands, power up and be ready.”
From the corner of my eye I see her do just that; finding our half-sisters and locking hands to channel their power through Dio.
“Vike.” His eyes find mine. “Follow me.”
He gives me a wicked grin, jogs over to me and states, “To the end of the world, and back.”
“And back.” I nod in agreement.
I need him to know this isn’t a suicide mission, though it appears to be one as I rush forward while embracing my magic making the flames dance around me, cracking with electricity as I head for the power ball Vapula is building in his hands.
Chapter Thirteen
***Vike***
Fuck. Nothing hurts a soul more than knowing what’s about to happen; the
other half of your soul is about to sacrifice itself for the greater good. But I’ll be damned if I’m going to let it happen. I push my feet harder against the ground and gain enough speed to jump forward and embrace Tria.
The both of us are now surrounded by flames and electricity as we head straight for Vapula. He grins and even moves his hands forward, allowing us to hit the ball of electricity he was making big enough to take out the clubhouse with one throw, thinking he can end the two of us before he throws the ball to end the lives of the others.
Bright light surrounds me and Tria along with a loud crack of thunder. The flames are excruciating but the burning pain is the one in my heart because my arms are now empty. I was holding Tria, the two of us powering up to full extent, forming ammunition forceful enough to fire at Vapula from the inside out and make the ball he was creating backfire to create enough electricity to stun him enough for the others to kill him or hopefully Tria and I take him out.
Along. With. Us.
I knew what Tria meant when she called my name and asked me to follow her. I knew. And like I said to her, I’d follow her to the end of the world. She’s fierce, she’s powerful, she’s all mine. Yet she sacrificed herself for the greater good. Not to mention she asked me along for the ride. As screwed up as it sounds, that’s a fucking unity in the most perfect of ways.
But I also fucking said; and back. Though sometimes a plan fails because there’s nothing left. There’s only light. Bright light and serenity. My eyes hurt while the high-pitched tone is making me half deaf but I realize it’s the silence that’s deafening.
Tiny sparks start to dance over my skin while it feels as if fire is starting to eat me from the inside out. My head tips back and I roar out my excruciating pain. I’ve been in my share of fights and have suffered more than enough pain but this doesn’t compare to anything when I gasp for my next breath as I start to materialize out of flames.
My head swings wildly to find the one person who can take all my pain away but I come up empty. She’s not here. I’m here. Vapula is on the ground, his head is detached from his body but it all means nothing because Tria isn’t here.
My knees buckle and they hit the dirt. I can’t get air into my lungs and I gasp. Clawing at my chest, I roar out her name, “Triaaaaaaaaa.”
Dio is staring at me with tearstained eyes, pain carved onto her face. Jagger. Alaistar. Eliana. Gunnar...everyone around me stares at me and it’s yet again the silence that suffocates me; she isn’t answering me back. She’s not here.
I take my head in my hands and try to grasp what just happened. We saved everyone. We fucking won and yet I’ve lost everything. In a second attempt I roar out her name again. A plea. A demand. I need her.
“You fucking owe me,” I bellow up into the sky in an effort to get heard by The Orderly. “I’ve faced and endured enough on my own. Why? Just...why? She’s mine. She’s...everything. Take me, dammit. Why bring me back if I can’t be with her? Fuck!”
Tears carve their way over my cheeks but it’s useless. Nothing means shit in a world where she’s missing. Fire starts to crackle on the ground in front of me. There’s a burst of flames before Tria’s body appears.
“Motherfucker,” she growls, brushing off the dirt on her jumpsuit. “I’ve said it before, and I’m sayin’ it again and this time I mean it. I. Am. Not. Doing. This. Again.”
“Thank fuck,” I whisper.
I want to go to her so damn bad but I’m frozen to the ground. They gave her back. Or did she bring herself back? Wait. How the hell am I alive?
Her eyes land on mine and she squeals just as hard as she launches herself at me, making the both of us fall back onto the ground. Her lips find mine and I get lost in her. Nothing else matters except the emotions I pour from my body into hers.
“Could you maybe not grab my twin’s ass in front of my face?” I hear Dio groan.
“What she said,” my twin states and finally I find the air to laugh.
I keep Tria close by putting a hand on the back of her head while I drag her face against my chest. “Stop complaining. The both of us just got reborn out of fucking flames because we sacrificed ourselves for all of you. Be fucking grateful. Even more because I didn’t even have the damn ability to regenerate out of fucking flames, so I can damn well grab the ass who saved my fucking ass, allowing her to grab my ass...”
“Enough ass talk,” Alastair groans.
“Yeah,” Gunnar quips. “Let’s talk heads since I’m the one who saved the day,” he says and points at Vapula’s head.
“Need I remind you of the fact you couldn’t have done this without our help?” Tria growls. “We were the ones who blasted him with enough electricity to take him out.”
“For fuck’s sake.” Jagger shakes his head. “Could we just light the fucker on fire and be done with this discussion? I’d like to sit my tired ass down and enjoy the rest of the day, seeing all of us saved it by working together we actually get to enjoy the rest of the day...get me?”
“I get you,” Tess beams and plasters herself against Jagger. He pulls her even closer and kisses her temple.
Dio waves her fingers in the air. Tria comes to stand next to her and helps her with the boost of fire overtaking Vapula’s body. Nixie strolls over where his head landed and clenches her fists, closes her eyes and when she opens them, she only points one finger in the head’s direction before it bursts out in flames. Nice cleanup action.
I could say it takes another hour or two to settle my nerves somewhat, except I would be lying. My nerves don’t settle. How could they when I was reborn out of flames due to my eternal mate? Neither of us knew this part of her ability that was shared through our mating. Not to mention we both willingly sacrificed ourselves not knowing if we’d live to tell about it.
Well, for Tria it was a ninety-nine percent chance but I didn’t even think twice to follow her. Truth be told and no fucking pun intended; I’d follow her to the end of the world. And back. Realization yet again settles in my gut.
“What’s bugging you? I mean, you came back and all...shouldn’t you have nothing bugging you? With the flames evaporating all of it?” Alastair chuckles and smacks my shoulder.
I drag my gaze away from Tria. “I was reborn, fucker, my brain didn’t reset.”
“Meh, semantics. My point is, stop overthinking and start living. Second chance and all,” Alastair states, his words carrying a rough demand.
“You reckon she knew part Phoenix was transferred through our bond?” I mutter the question flowing through my head.
“Really? That’s what’s on your mind?” Alastair shakes his head in disapproval. “What the hell, man? I’m gonna say this once and then you’ll leave this issue.” He waits for me to nod in acknowledgement. “All of us had only one goal in mind. Actions speak. And who the fuck knows if it was the bond or The Orderly? Does it matter? Results, it’s what everything thrives on. Now give me a fucking beer ‘cause all this talking is making my throat dry.”
I smack my hand on the counter and catch the attention of a prospect. I give him two fingers and the guy moves his ass to bring me two cold beers.
“Is it true?” I ask Alastair. “They have another half-sister?”
“That we know of.” Alastair puts down his beer and wipes his mouth with the back of his hand. “Their father was one very screwed up fucker.”
I nod in agreement. “Part Dragon, huh? You guys manage to touch that subject?”
The man shoots me a horrified look. “Just reborn and so eager to die again?”
I can’t help but glare at the fucker, annoyed by his words yet they hold truth, ‘cause, “Knowing my woman, she won’t let this slide.”
“Yeah, don’t remind me since it runs in the family,” Alastair groans. “Especially since this life or death situation with Vapula is handled...I’m afraid they’ll have their hands and brains free to tackle this one.”
“Fuck,” I mutter.
“What’s up?” Jagger takes a seat next
to me.
“Free hands, brains and all...missing sister,” Alastair supplies and gulps down his beer.
“Fuck,” Jagger growls.
“That’s what I said,” I sigh. “That’s what I said.”
I glance around the room and notice the siblings all taking care of those who are still recovering from the curse. Though Vapula is dead—and with it the curse fell apart—the after effects for some hit hard.
Nixie is busy with working on some kind of vitamin boost so they bounce back quicker. Tria is the one giving orders in the midst of it all.
“I thought mine was bossy,” Alastair grumbles.
Jagger snorts. “Don’t start. I think it’s a crucial part in their DNA or something.”
“I like it, and I’m pretty sure deep down your complaints melt away like snow on a summer’s day. They wouldn’t be our counterparts if they weren’t the fierce and strong women who have our backs while standing right beside us, shoulder to fucking shoulder.” I smile when their heads bounce in agreement.
“Shoulder to shoulder, eh?” Gunnar quips from behind me. “Pretty sure your woman was leading the death strike while you were the one following. Allowing me to behead the fucker and end him once and for all.”
“Great,” I sigh. “You’re gonna throw it in my face every chance you get.”
“Between all of us? We have a lot of birthdays coming up so I can tell the story how I was the one who killed the fucker over and over again.” The asshole smiles bright, all teeth on fucking show.
Chapter Fourteen
~ Two Months Later ~
***Tria***
Heat. Comfort. Safe. These three words are linked with the feelings flowing through me when I woke up every day for the last two months. I slip out from underneath Vike’s massive body and dive into the bathroom to do my business.
I throw on a simple black jumpsuit and head for the kitchen. Also, something else that slipped into one of my routines; making breakfast for everyone. It’s not that I have to but it’s more a feeling of being useful and giving back. Bonus points? I don’t have to do the dishes. If I make breakfast; they clean. And since cooking relaxes me...perfect solution.
Demons (Death by Reaper MC, #3) Page 9
