by Iris Walker
“Work for them? What do they want?”
“My guess is that they want you to act as the conduit for their vampiric essence. They’ve already begun breaking down the organization of the vampires, which means they will be easy to take, one by one. Each one will be brought to you, to be channeled into an essence vial, and given to a caster as a source of near-unlimited power. With an army of supercharged casters, nobody would consider harming us ever again. We would be free to stop lending out our lesser members to the greedy vampire masters.”
“They want me to enslave the vampires,” Robin murmured, her eyes sweeping across the ground in deliberation.
“Yes. And if you fall into the hands of Xerxes Onassis or my brother, it will not matter what you do. The catalyst wand will force your powers into action against your will.”
“The catalyst wand,” Robin echoed, remembering the blazing red stick that Charlemagne had used on her. She rubbed the spot on her chest where it was sore, and then looked at her forearm. The burning, sizzling wound had stopped spreading, but hadn’t begun healing. “What is this?”
Calliope’s mouth pressed into a grim line. “That’s the beginning of cellular disincorporation. If Charlemagne hadn’t reunited us, we would have had only hours before our deaths.”
A sinking sensation rooted deep in Robin’s gut. “Even if we could escape…”
“There’s nowhere to go,” Calliope said solemnly.
Robin leaned her head back against the invisible wall and stared upward at the old stones that would be her coffin.
Chapter 14 Beneath the surface
Lucidia
It was dark when they pulled the SUV into a warehouse parking lot and cut the lights. Amidst the sea of dusty, POS leftover cars, one stood out, still shiny and boasting a lot of horsepower. Probably our rendezvous, she thought.
Darian smoothed out his pants and drew in a deep breath. “I can feel the energy in this place.”
Lucidia raised an eyebrow and looked around. “Really?”
“It’s deeply embedded in the earth. There are many energy wells throughout this plane, though most of them are in the old world.”
“Energy wells?”
“Casters use them to draw more power,” he muttered.
“Oh, joy,” Lucidia said.
Darian got out of the car and quirked his head to the side, inhaling deeply. Lucidia glanced at the kids, who’d sleep through an earthquake, and cracked the windows a hair.
She hopped out of the driver’s side and opened the trunk, just in time to feel eyes trained on her back.
Lucidia dropped the nightstick and whirled as she felt the air behind her shift, striking for the center mass. Her forearm was blocked by another, and she darted for a follow-up punch, met by an equally powerful parry. The hand-to-hand combat drill had been executed perfectly. Lucidia released the strongblood, shooting her an angry look. Deep emerald eyes and a mischievous glint meant only one thing: Hyxos. “You probably shouldn’t sneak up on me.”
The strongblood gave one sharp nod in deference but kept her crooked grin. “Ma’am.”
Lucidia looked the fighter up and down. “What’s your position?”
“Harley Hyxos, trained under Xali Lexos. Second line, home defense.”
“Lucidia Draxos, trained under Adonis Strexos. First line, strategic defense.”
Her smile widened. “I wanted to meet you. You’re a legend.”
“No doubt,” Lucidia said bleakly, turning back to the duffel of weapons.
Harley walked over, sharing the load of inventory and ammo checks, shoulder to shoulder with Lucidia.
“Master Darian put me in charge of Robin Wright’s wellbeing, you know. I’ve been guarding her non-stop until, well… I’m sure you’re aware.”
Lucidia scowled and turned to her.
“Yeah. Quite a handful, that one, but nothing I can’t handle. I’m the one that had the idea to put a tracker on her, too, so it’s a good thing or we’d be up a creek.”
Lucidia hummed in the back of her throat. “Good thinking.”
“I got the idea from a seminar you gave,” she said.
“Oh? Which one?”
“Proactive asset restraint and neutralization.”
Lucidia’s eyebrow arched. “You being groomed for first line?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Lucidia let out a long breath. “Tell you what, Harley. I doubt I have any shred of positive reputation left, but if we make it out of this alive and end up getting back to House Xander, I’ll put in a good word for you.”
“Thank you, ma’am,” Harley said, her eyes widening.
“Sure thing. But for now, let’s just focus on the ‘alive’ part.”
Harley turned back to the weapons and loaded herself up, taking the obvious lesser choices and leaving the real goodies for Lucidia.
Once they were armed to the teeth, Lucidia shut the trunk and walked over to the spot where Darian was standing with another vampire. As they approached, both vampires turned to greet them.
“Ezra Abernathy Xander,” the first one said, giving Lucidia a deep nod.
“Lucidia Draxos, first line,” she replied, taking in the pale, posh, aristocratic dude. “Wait, are you…?”
He smiled softly and nodded. “Yes, that unfortunate endeavor was me.”
Lucidia’s eyes widened when she realized she was talking to the vampire who’d sealed himself into a rebelling house for a fortnight and come out with a dozen criminal vampires, begging for forgiveness and a quick, clean death.
“Don’t ask him about it, ‘cause he’ll never shut up if you do,” Harley said, bumping the vampire’s shoulder.
Lucidia laughed softly and looked past them, towards a squat building with external floodlights. “Is that our aim?”
“Yes,” Darian hummed. “There are only a few people inside, but magic resonates out of the walls. We must be careful.”
“And we didn’t bring a caster, either,” Lucidia muttered bleakly.
“No,” Ezra said with the same disappointment.
A few more minutes passed, discussing strategic entry and possible weak points in defense. The moon was high and clear now, when the vampires stiffened and looked to the right side of the large open lot surrounding the caster’s fortress.
“People approaching,” Ezra whispered, trained on their location like a wolf, tense and ready for the kill.
“Three of them,” Darian said with a frown.
Lucidia pulled out her high-tech binoculars, flipping on the night vision and pressing up against the chain link fence. She quickly located the three intruders, moving fast and low to the ground, in tight formation. As she got a closer look, a spark of recognition shot across her mind. “Holy shit…” Lucidia muttered, whistling at the sight.
“What?” Harley asked.
Lucidia put the binoculars back in her belt and shook her head. “That’s Reykon freaking Thraxos.”
Robin
Charlemagne had changed into his best caster robes, coming down the stairs like he was the king of the world. He’d slicked his hair back, and cleaned up, his dark eyes sparkling under the malicious, dim light.
Robin winced as she dragged herself up to her feet and faced the caster, the ache in her neck still radiating out.
Charlemagne smiled widely, a patronizing curve across his arrogant face. “In a few minutes, I’ll be the one calling Xerxes Onassis to tell him that I’ve secured our most valuable asset. In a few more minutes, Zenecai himself will be here with half of the Legion to safely transport us back to the Hollow… I apologize,” he said with a breathy laugh, taking his glasses off and polishing them in a smooth, rehearsed movement. “I don’t mean to brag, I would just like to savor this for a moment longer.”
Calliope glared at him, rising with more effort than it took Robin, clutching her abdomen and leaning against the back of her prison cell. “You think this will bring you success, but Xerxes is a dangerous, dangerous man. The more pow
er he gets, the more dangerous he becomes. Do this, brother, and you’re sending all of caster-kind on a path to destruction.”
“We’ve been on a path to destruction. With the other races mocking us and expecting that we loan out members of our establishment to perform paltry tricks and clean up after them. That is the only destruction I fear.”
“You’re so, so mistaken, Charlemagne.”
“Enough!” he snapped. “No more stalling. We have a big night ahead of us.” Charlemagne unhooked the vial from its leather cord around his neck, pulling it out from the thick robes. Golden light immediately suffused into the room, shining like a magical lamp. He gripped it, admiring its beauty for a moment longer before striding over to Robin. She pressed against the back of the cell, finding cold, electrical magic running across her skin and making her teeth itch.
The corner of Charlemagne’s lip turned up as he drove his hand through the magical cell and stuck the spike into her arm. Burning heat washed over her in waves, that same fire that she’d grown accustomed to, that felt more normal than abnormal to her. A rush of relief dissolved her fears, her worries, as she craved more of that power, that heat. But it was over just as soon as it had started. The cold came rushing back in, and her eyes took a moment to adjust, as she saw Charlemagne press the vial to Calliope’s skin.
Light shot out from the caster’s silver body, cutting through the dim room like a nuclear reactor. It seemed to multiply within her, to surge upward and out, and Robin shielded her eyes against it, bracing for a shockwave, or something.
Nothing happened.
She opened her eyes and was faced with the same caster she’d met in Magnus’s private quarters. Brilliant, deep red hair billowing in waves, piercing dark eyes that held knowledge and power all amassed in one. Her skin radiated strength and beauty, pale and creamy like she’d been airbrushed. She stood tall now, anger burning on her face as she turned those eyes to her brother.
Talk about a makeover.
Robin inspected her own arms, her neck, and found no trace of the sizzling, bubbling wound on her arm or the surprise punctures in her shoulder. Her eyes searched for that golden light, seeing it clutched in Charlemagne’s hand, not even a dent made in the supply after completely healing both of them.
A deep pit of angst hung in her belly, cold fear racing through her veins as her heart quickened. She felt the magical draw, the same surge of crackling, invisible energy being channeled through the caster’s hands and swirling in the air around them. Yes, Robin knew she would die if someone didn’t dissolve the link between her and Calliope. She knew that and she was still terrified of it, because she also knew that every time someone had attempted to do it, the process had ended in that whole spontaneous disincorporation thing.
Charlemagne snapped his fingers and a wall of red magic consumed her, wrapping around her like a spacesuit, sharp and shimmering. She tried to see through it, but it was like looking underwater, and she could barely make out Calliope from across the room. Her heart thudded in her ears, deep and panicked, and the claustrophobia brought on by the magical bodysuit certainly wasn’t helping matters.
Calliope had been given an identical suit, and it wasn’t until Charlemagne waved his hand that Robin knew what it was for. She began walking towards Calliope; or rather, the red outline around her began walking and she was forced to follow. They met each other in the center of the room, and grasped each other’s hands, each one of them unwillingly so.
Robin heard the smooth, unnerving chant of magic, and her breath quickened, chest heaving. Calliope’s own body trembled, but she gripped Robin’s hand harder. “It’s going to be okay, Robin,” Calliope called, barely audible above the wind hissing through the room and creating a vortex around them.
The chanting grew louder, snaking its way into her ears and filling her mind with a haunting echo, amplified as each second passed. The lights in the room dimmed further, flickering, and leaving them in a sinister red glow, fought by the surging turquoise circle inscribed into the floor around them.
Charlemagne stood tall now, both hands outstretched like the Rio Jesus statue, eyes rolling back. Robin lost feeling in her hands, and if it weren’t for the red shell holding her in place, she had no doubts that she would have collapsed. It was pure lightning, shooting into her and flaying her alive, every cell zapped and twitching.
Just as her eyes shut, a scream ripping through her lungs, she felt a shock wave thunder against the room, and the lights returned. Charlemagne let out a grunt of pain and crashed into a stainless-steel table, sending its contents flying across the stone room.
Robin and Calliope both crashed to the ground, her eyes catching the fading turquoise circle and immediately scanning the room for the source of the disruption. It was another caster, hands outstretched, dark curly hair flying behind her like some sort of badass fighter-woman. She had a determined look on her face, and an angry scowl that sent a shiver up Robin’s spine as her fingertips unleashed another bolt of magical fury onto Charlemagne.
Reykon
Thank God they’d brought both casters with them.
Noomi and Chadwick were quick to disable or counteract every magical trap that Charlemagne had put in place, clearing the way, quite literally, for their trio of rogues to blaze through.
The fortress was set up like a bare-bones art gallery or something, all modern architecture and floor-length windows, white walls and long corridors that you got lost in. It probably would have been cool during the day, except that it was eerily empty. Noomi had called out that they were hiding in the basement, which made sense, though in his opinion, the ground floor was deterrent enough to keep someone out. Halfway around the sprawling floorplan, Reykon felt a prickle of alert race across his shoulder blades. He halted, mid-stride. “Someone’s following us,” he said, peering into the darkness behind him.
A moment of tense, suspenseful silence slipped in like fog, until four figures emerged out of the shadows.
“Reykon,” Lucidia called.
He nearly blew a gasket when he saw her standing next to the vampire master, Darian Xander, in the flesh. The same one that had wanted Robin dead, and then imprisoned her. How could she be working with him? Anger rolled through him like a tempest. “Lucidia,” Reykon growled, his fists clenching at his sides. “What are you doing here?”
“Same as you, I suspect.”
“You’re not taking her,” Reykon asserted, his eyes narrowing in vicious anger. He’d come too far and been through too much to be deterred now.
“We don’t want to hurt her, Reykon,” Lucidia said, holding a hand out. “That’s the last thing we want. But the casters are trying to get her, and there’s a big storm on the horizon. They’re going to use her to take us down.”
“Us?” he jabbed.
“You know what I mean,” Lucidia seethed.
“My ties are broken, Draxos. My master’s gone, and now the only allegiance I hold is to myself, and Robin. Over my dead body will you and yours get her.”
“That can be arranged,” a steely British vampire said, stepping forward.
Noomi let out a frustrated huff of air and charged forward. “We don’t have time for this!” she growled, thrusting her hands out and shooting a dizzying meteor shower of magical darts into the darkness.
Their attackers scattered like ants, giving Reykon and the other two casters just enough time to run to the end of the passageway. Noomi pointed at the door coming up on their left, and Reykon felt sharp magic stinging his nostrils. “There!” she called. She ran her hands down the surface, and the magic dissolved. Noomi threw the door open.
Reykon felt the approach before he heard it. Air rushed past him, and he knew it was a vampire. His counterattack was automatic, born of muscle memory, as he turned and stretched his hand out in a single blow to the vampire’s center mass.
He called on his power instantly, bringing up the magic imbued within him as a reflex, and found the red glow to be nearly blinding as its magnitu
de shocked him. The force wasn’t coming from symbols, either, but glowing from the veins underneath his skin.
With a single strike, he stopped the vampire, nearly crushing every bone in the poor chap’s torso. The blood sucker absorbed the blow for a brief moment, shock and anger snarling his face, before the impact launched him through the wall and halfway across the field.
Reykon froze, watching the dust and rubble stream around the massive hole in the wall, his eyes widening in shock. He looked at his hand, the burning red veins fading, just as his symbols had before. As Reykon turned back, both casters were staring at him, wide-eyed and surprised. Chadwick was the first to respond, his smile spreading to a wide grin. “I told you I knew what I was doing.”
Reykon nodded in shock and took another glimpse back at the crumbling wall before following the two casters deeper into the belly of the beast, each step taking him closer to Robin.
Lucidia
Lucidia watched Ezra slink back into the passageway, a look of pure, ragged rage on his face. Her eyes widened slightly, and she took a step back, watching him open the door with such force that it splintered into a hundred pieces as it rattled against the wall.
“What the hell happened?” she asked, eyeing the gaping hole to their right.
Ezra turned slightly, his red eyes blazing. “Reykon Thraxos. He has garnered some power that is unbeknownst to me.”
“He did that to you?” Lucidia whispered in awe. “Alone?”
“I intend to return it in kind,” the vampire seethed, his voice grave.
Lucidia gave Harley a side glance, who was equally as confused, and palmed her weapon, following the vampires down the stone staircase. As they made their way down the corridor, sounds of magical combat grew louder and louder, shaking the walls. Lucidia pressed her ear to the door, hearing magical forces collide with each other and shake the foundation. Just as she was about to enter, Darian gripped her arm, his head turning to the direction that they’d come from.
