by Brandon Witt
“Don’t kill him yet. I need him.”
Sonia didn’t look away from the monster, her eyes now inspecting the skin healing around the stone punctures. “Why?”
“I am part mer, remember? I am here to rescue the mers from the Vampire Cathedral.”
At this, Sonia did look his way. “Really? And why tell me? I am the vampire queen, as I think you know.”
He shrugged. Actually shrugged. “You’re Sonia.”
She didn’t bother to contradict him. Instead she looked back at the mutilated form of her nightmares. This one would end. The endless terror of his upcoming attack would cease. Only one more captor to vanquish. One stronger but less terrifying.
Tracing her fingers over the burnt flesh, occasionally puncturing to tap at the bone, Sonia relished the reaction of the body. Whether it was conscious of the pain or not, it writhed. She loved it.
“I will help you.”
Hope filled his voice. A gladness that grated her nerves. “I knew you would. I knew you were there.”
Her gaze slashed toward him, slicing through any faith her old friend had. “I walk in the sun, Brett. I now walk in the sun.”
His brow crinkled in confusion, then smoothed as the rest of his face drooped, her meaning dawning.
“I will help. I will help you free your people, if you help me.”
“How?”
“You’re part demon. That must mean something.”
He didn’t reply, only waited, his eyes brimming with new tears.
“I will help you, but only if you manage to end Gwala’s reign.”
“Sonia, I have no idea how to do that.”
“Do it, or I will devour every one of your little fish.”
She stared at him. Waiting. She thought he was going to deny her, and she steadied herself to strike him, to push past whatever innate fear her vampire blood found in his demon nature.
Then he nodded.
Relaxing, she settled back, resting on her heels as she knelt over the vampire. Ignoring Brett’s protests, she bit into the flesh at her wrist, spraying a small amount of blood. Holding it a few inches above his skin, she let the blood fall over the vampire’s face.
Before her eyes, the redhead’s face formed into something recognizable. Narrow nose growing from the hollow. Thin lips curled back over the fangs. Gray skin, only a little darker than when he’d forced himself upon her.
She waited until his lids cracked open, revealing emerald eyes, intelligent and aware.
Sonia met his gaze, let the fear pummel through her at the memory, at the monster below her.
With a solitary swing, Sonia brought her fist down onto his forehead, smashing bone and brain in an explosion against the stone underneath.
Before bringing her fist down a second time into the mush, she noticed a solitary fang gleaming out from the mass of mottled flesh. She nearly plucked it up, to save as a trophy. Afraid she might give in to such weakness, she smashed it into the stones, shards of the bone cutting her flesh.
Wiping her hand on her gown, she stood and looked over the destruction. Raising her skirt, she lifted her foot, then brought the spike heel of her shoe down into the space between his rib cage, puncturing what had begun to reform of his heart. Both shoe and bone shattered at the contact.
Pulling her foot free of the mess, she looked over at Brett.
He didn’t need any prompting as to her wishes. He closed the distance between them, knelt, and placed his hands on the destroyed skeleton.
She watched the flames flicker for an instant, and then she breathed deep. Taking the fumes into her over and over and over again.
Thirty-Eight
FINN DE MORISCO
“Finn!”
I twisted in the bed, my elbow accidentally gouging Schwint in the back. He grunted but offered no other response. It couldn’t have been more than an hour since I’d finally fallen asleep, the mers’ persistent presence making it impossible to shut off my brain.
“Finn!”
They’d never said my name before.
“Finn! Wake the fuck up!”
I sat up, suddenly fully awake, the sheets pooling at my waist. Caitlin! “I’m awake. What is it? Are you okay?”
“Yeah. I’m fine. Listen. We don’t have much time. Brett is here, and he—”
“What?” Instantly my stomach plummeted and my heart rose to my throat, trying to suffocate me.
Caitlin’s voice was unusually gentle. “Yes, Brett is here with us. I don’t have time to explain. If this is going to work we have to act now.”
“Brett is here?”
Impatience brought the real Caitlin back. “Not the point, Finn. At least not the way you’re thinking. He and Sonia killed the redheaded vampire, and she’s leading us into the Cathedral as we speak. You need to meet us.”
“Sonia is with you too?”
“For fuck’s sake, Finn! Focus! Sonia said to tell you to take the tunnels like you would to go to the pool where Gwala keeps the mers. At the fork in the tunnel, go right instead of how you normally would.”
I stared around the dark room, my emotions torn in so many directions I couldn’t feel anything.
“Finn! Did you understand that?”
I nodded, then realized she couldn’t see me. “Yeah. Yeah. I know what she means.”
Sonia brushed past, not slowing down to swerve around us, much less say anything. As it was, both Schwint and I had to flatten ourselves against the wall of the stone staircase to avoid being trampled.
We turned, watching the back of her blood-soaked dress disappear up the twisting staircase. It was real. This was actually happening.
I increased my speed, nearly taking two steps at a time, letting both arms hover out by my sides, fingertips grazing the sides, trying to keep me balanced.
“Finn. Slow down. You falling and breaking something isn’t going to help. The queen will make sure Gwala stays occupied. From the looks of her, she’ll definitely be able to keep him busy coming up with a reason for the way she got in such a condition.”
Several more steps and my right foot caught on the tip of the stair. Luckily, with my hands out, I was able to steady myself on the wall. Missing only a beat, I tore off down the steps again.
A sparkle of bluish-silver light darted past my eyes and halted in front of me. I managed to stop before I ran into it. “Damn it, Schwint, move.”
He returned to his full height before I could blink, blocking the path, two steps down from me. He held up his hands in supplication. “Hold on, babe. Just slow down for a bit.”
“Come on, Schwint. We’ve been waiting for a chance like this since we got to Costa Rica months ago. I’d say we need to hurry.”
His hands dropped to his sides, and his gaze slid away momentarily before returning to hold steady on my own. “Are you sure that’s the reason you’re rushing?”
Irritation spiked. “Seriously? Now? You’re going to do this now? Mr. Fairies-Aren’t-Monogamous chooses now to get jealous?”
He reddened slightly but didn’t respond. He didn’t move either.
“Are you really going to suggest that I’m rushing so I can see Brett? Have you forgotten that my sister is trapped upstairs?”
Yellow eyes darted toward mine, then down at the floor. Schwint stepped over, allowing enough space for me to pass. “I didn’t mean it like that. I know you’re concerned about Cynthia. We all are.”
I started to push past him, then paused. “You don’t have to come if you don’t want—if it is going to bother you too much. It might be best.”
His head jerked up as he looked at me, hurt in his gaze.
“I didn’t mean it like that. I’m just saying if it’s going to hurt to meet him, then stay in the main part of the Cathedral. It would make it even safer if Gwala saw you out and about.”
“There’s been many times he hasn’t seen us. We’ve been off the grounds together a couple of times.”
I started to argue, then remembered Brett was
only a few steps away, as well as the best chance we might ever have to get Cynthia out of Gwala’s control. “Do we have to do this now?”
“No. Of course not. Sorry. I just—” He broke off. I couldn’t tell if he got choked up or simply didn’t finish.
I waited for a moment longer.
He motioned down the dark staircase. “Let’s go.”
Without waiting or any more prompting, I tore off down the steps, almost falling again.
If I was being honest, part of my rush was indeed to see Brett—although if I really let myself think about that, I probably would have started running in the other direction.
Actually, if it all hadn’t been so sudden, I probably would have slipped into a complete panic. As it was, there’d been no other choice but to simply throw myself out of bed, explain it as quick as I could to Schwint, and move.
No matter how dire the situation, each step I took brought the realization that I was about to see Brett again a little further into actuality. Even so, all I had to do was think of Cynthia stuck in her gilded room and of Gwala’s wrath if we were caught, and all else faded into the back of my mind. Almost.
The stairs that descended the passageway were at least three times longer than the ones I’d grown so familiar with on the way to the mers. The deeper we descended, the cooler it got. We’d been rushing so quickly that at the beginning, I’d been dripping with sweat. Before long, the dampness on my skin left me freezing, despite the effort.
Without warning, we rounded one last curve and reached the destination. Caitlin hadn’t said where the passage led, I wasn’t even sure if Sonia had told her, but once there, I didn’t require any other explanation.
We halted in the entrance to a massive room. For a moment, I thought we were about to run into the ocean, then realized the steps curved once more down toward the right and smoothed out to a narrow stone walkway. The space was several hundred yards wide and across. The opposite end opened up to the night sky and the calm sea. Beside the walkway, the entire space was filled with ships and boats of all sizes. From small rowboats, to speedboats, to a large yacht that looked like it was part spaceship. Along the walkway were little life rafts. It seemed like they were the only way to reach the other ships that were anchored out in the deeper part of the open cave.
I’d wondered how the vampires got the mers to the spherical room. I’d decided they simply must have carried them through the forest and into the Cathedral, though I wasn’t sure how they would have been able to pull that off without the non-Royals noticing. I also wasn’t clear how long the mers could live without being in water. Now it all made sense. With a fleet the size of a small navy, it would have been a simple process of bringing their captives into the cave, up the stairs, and then down the adjoining flight. I’d noticed the other passage but had never thought anything about it.
“Wow.”
Schwint’s whisper startled me, and I flinched. “Explains a lot, huh?”
“No kidding.”
A spark zoomed up from one of the closer speedboats secured to the walkway. Its gold light flashed toward us, stopping as Newton materialized at the base of the stairway.
Schwint and I closed the distance and rushed down to him. “Where’s everybody else?”
Newton looked behind me, ignoring my question.
“We weren’t followed.”
Newton glanced at Schwint before craning his neck further to see more of the dark staircase. “Are you certain?”
“I haven’t lost my mind, Newton, or my abilities. Sonia was the last living thing in there besides us, so to speak.”
Satisfied, though grudgingly, the fairy turned and motioned for us to follow, his voice low as he spoke over his shoulder. “The queen said to tell you to rush, to waste no time.”
“Again, Pewlet, I didn’t think we were on a guided tour.”
Newton paused and turned back to us, scowling at Schwint. “Actually, I wasn’t speaking to you. She said to tell the warlock.”
“I don’t think Finn is under any illusions either. He knows that—” The implied message behind Sonia’s warning must have dawned on him. Schwint’s face fell as he looked over at me. “Oh. Right.”
I flushed. “I got it. Every extra second we take is more time that Cynthia stays prisoner. I don’t need any reminders. From either you or Sonia.”
Newton shrugged and turned back around.
I kept my eyes trained on his ornate wings as he hovered a few inches above ground. I could feel Schwint’s gaze. His worry and jealousy over me seeing my ex-boyfriend at a time like this was irritating. My increasing heart rate as each step brought me closer to Brett made me even angrier.
Newton paused at the edge of the speedboat. “Okay, guys. Hurry up.”
Caitlin was the first to slip out from underneath the vinyl covering protecting the boat’s surface. She allowed Newton to take her hand as she stepped onto the stone walkway.
Immediately after her, a huge man pulled the covering farther back and followed Caitlin off the boat.
He had werewolf written all over him. “Caitlin!”
She rolled her eyes as she hissed at me. “Shut up, Finn. You think I didn’t notice a werewolf was hiding in the damned boat with me?”
Schwint stepped up beside me. “Why are you all hiding, anyway? It’s not like the vampires couldn’t smell you in there. Especially if you brought a wolf with you.”
My heart clenched, and maybe broke, at the next voice. A sound I’d dreamed of for months, then gave up hope of ever hearing again.
“Actually, Sonia says a vampire’s sense of smell is like a shark’s. They smell blood. If there’s no fresh blood, not much to smell.”
He straightened as he exited the boat. He was unchanged, except for some new scars across his chest, and suddenly the past year hadn’t happened, and he’d just exited my truck and left me sobbing in the driveway.
His blue eyes met mine. “Hey, Finn.”
I opened my mouth to speak, but my voice caught.
The next second lasted an eternity. The silence deafening. My emotions on display for everyone to the point they might as well have been projected over the smooth walls of the cave.
For once, I was almost thankful for Caitlin’s cutting tone. “Oh for fuck sake. We don’t have time for this.”
Newton stepped closer to me, momentarily blocking my view of Brett. “This is what I was talking about. You’ve gotta get him to the mers. Now, and we’ve got to go. Quickly.”
Again, I couldn’t force out any sound.
Schwint cleared his throat, his own voice sounding strained. “You guys are just leaving? I thought you were going to come in and get ready to take on Gwala.”
“It’s what we should be doing.”
Newton glared at Caitlin before turning back to Schwint. “We’re not having this debate again. Brett needs time to figure out things with the mers. We are to rescue Cynthia and the mers. Both. That was part of the queen’s deal. In order to help, we had to get the mers out of the Cathedral.”
“Why would she want that?”
Newton sighed in exasperation. “I didn’t ask her, Schwint. Nor does it matter. With her help, we actually have a chance. And it was what we were wanting anyway.”
Caitlin snorted behind him, but Newton ignored her.
I glanced past Newton and found Brett’s gaze still trained on me. I looked away, instead coming to focus on the werewolf. He was gorgeous. I hated myself both for noticing and for the surge of jealousy. At least it helped me find my voice. “Then why did you all risk coming, if you’re only going to leave again?”
“We needed to know the way for when the time comes. It will be soon. When we hear from either of you, this is the way we’ll come in. We won’t be staying at the cave. It’s too risky. Sonia showed us another hiding place nearby.”
I glanced at Caitlin, my priorities starting to return. “That’s too dangerous. The vampires will know where you are. We all know they’ve been watching y
ou.”
“Actually, Sonia said it was only the redhead. I guess he was the low man on the totem pole. Go figure. The one that tries to destroy our family is nothing more than an errand boy.” She gave me a genuine smile, or at least half of one. “We’ll be fine. You gotta go. No more explaining. Quick.”
I moved forward to give her a hug, suddenly overcome with the sensation I wasn’t going to see her again.
She waved me off. “Get a grip. Hurry up.”
“Finn.”
I looked over, and Brett was still staring at me.
“It’ll be fine. Between my powers, Shane’s”—he motioned toward the wolf—“Sonia, the fairies, and you and Caitlin, we’re gonna get out of here. Cynthia too. I promise.”
Another interminable pause.
Caitlin broke in again. “For fuck sake, go!”
We did. Schwint, Brett, and I rushed toward the stairs, and the other three ran along the edge of the water to reach the mouth of the cave.
At the split in the stairs, Schwint continued upward, saying he would make an appearance in case Gwala grew suspicious. I doubted he really felt concerned about that, but I was relieved to have him gone.
Actually, it only traded one stress for another. Instead of having to balance my worries over Brett and Schwint, now I only had Brett to focus on. It was nearly enough to make me want to rush after Schwint, leaving Brett to find his own way down.
I’d pictured finally seeing Brett again a thousand times. I knew exactly what I would say. What I would ask. What I would yell.
However, none of those scenarios had ever included my sisters’ lives in the balance, a boyfriend in a nearby vicinity, or getting ready to take on the Vampire Cathedral.
I led Brett down the other stairwell, the journey seeming to take mere seconds compared to the longer trip to the cavernous harbor.
We were in front of the huge boulder. Then, before I was even aware I’d used my power, it moved, and we stepped inside the sphere.
Thirty-Nine
BRETT WRIGHT
