by Barb Shuler
“Who is Anna?”
Mama’s eyes darted to Mari, sadness filling them before her eyes landed on me again.
“Her mother. She’s here… she’s- we have to find her.”
Mother walked back towards the open door, looked around the hall and then back at us.
“Are you coming or not?”
She took off down the corridor, we scurried to follow after her. No one said anything until we came to the last door in the corridor. Mama mumbled something, gripped the handle and flung the door open.
“Anna!”
Mama moved to a frail looking woman in the corner, whispering something softly that I couldn’t understand. There was footsteps in the corridor. I took in a deep breath and scented the air.
“Vampires,” I snarled. They were none that I had met before. The three men came closer, slowing slightly until they saw us. One smirked.
“We were told you were here. Now we can end you all for good.”
The men moved in a blur of motion but we were faster. Mari gripped my hand and with a flick of her hand, energy shot from her hands. The men jolted, screamed, becoming nothing but ash before their bodies hit the floor.
11
Marissa
“Oh Anna.. what have they done to you this time?” Natalie’s voice was filled with concern and anger.
“This time?” I asked, my body stiffening.
“Not now.”
Natalia and I exchanged a look before she looked to where our mothers stood. My mother… I was staring at my mother. The same face that stared back at me from the photos on the walls in our house. A shiver rolled through me and my last meal was threatening a reappearance.
How was this even possible? Was I hallucinating or something?
I’d not moved from the spot at the door. There was still ash settling around me from the vampires I’d taken down, but none of that mattered. I was staring at a weak, shell of a woman, my mother.
My heart was breaking all over again. I turned at the sound of footsteps coming our way. I raised a hand, ready to blast energy through the corridor again but dropped it when I saw it was just Dem. He was cursing up a storm, wiping at his vest and leather pants. What was it with vamps and leather pants? I shook my head as he got closer.
He was covered in blood, and something that looked kind of like snot. Gross! He was the perfect picture of a pissed off vampire. I couldn’t decipher his ranting. I was able to make out one word, gobshite, but nothing else made sense when he stopped before me.
“Are ya alright, love?”
“No,” I muttered. I was far from okay. I sighed. “I’m not hurt.”
He nodded and leaned in to kiss my forehead.
“We must- What in the name of all that’s holy?” The cursing started again. The Irish flowed from him as he moved to where Natalie stood with my mother. Tears pricked at my eyes.
“Demetrius,” Natalie gave him a fond smile. “We need to move, now. Please help us out of here. We need to get to the side gate of the garden.” Her eyes glazed over. She quickly shook her head and looked back to Dem. “I will take Anna, you help the girls with the men headed this way.”
He gave Natalie a hard look then his features softened.
“Yes, Your Majesty.” He turned from her and jumped into action. “Ladies, it’s time to move. Stay behind me. If I get engrossed in a fight, ya keep moving. Take the first corridor to the right, then the third left, go to the second corridor and go left again. The door at the end leads to the gardens. You do not stop, no matter what. Ya hear me, Marissa. I mean it. You get them out. I will be right behind ya.”
Without another word he moved, pulling daggers from his belt, his eyes flaring a darker shade of black and he hauled butt through the door.
I moved to stand beside Talia and looked to Sonny.
“I’ll help with Anna. Hopefully, with a little bit of luck, I will be able to heal her new wounds as we go,” Sonny’s soft words sent warmth through me.
I gave her a quick nod. Talia and I moved out of the door after Dem.
The sound of battle before us filled the corridor. There were shouts, a cry of pain and cursing. Cursing I knew all too well. Talia and I turned the corner and came to a dead stop. Dem was in a hand to hand dance with two very large vampires. I growled and moved towards him but was stopped by Talia.
“Keep moving. He’s got this..” she sounded unsure but we had to think of our mother’s. We had to get them out. I signed, quickly looked behind us to make sure Natalie and Sonny were doing okay with Mama and hurried passed the fighting men.
We followed Dem’s directions and made it to the door quickly. The sounds coming through the walls had my heart rate increasing.
“Girls, when we get into the garden we must move as one. Do not stop, no matter what. We have to get to the stone garden. Outside that door turn right, take the first left, and then it’s a straight shot to the back.”
“Ready?” I asked no one in particular. At the murmured yeses, I held my hand up, said a soft prayer and pushed electricity into the door. It sparked, the handle falling away which pushed the door open.
We hurried through the garden. The clanking of swords, the cries of wounded men, it was all drowned out by my mother’s keening whine.
“We are almost there, Anna, hold on. I will make it better, I swear this to you.”
When we made it to the rocks, Talia and I stopped, spinning to push our mothers and Sonny behind us. No one had seen us, yet, but I wanted to be prepared if they did. From this elevated spot in the castle yard you could see the chaos erupting all around us. Guards fought wolves, other vampires, and… well, I wasn’t sure what the other things were. Creatures of this realm maybe.
I heard Natalie’s soft murmurings behind me. There was a light glow from her hand as she held Sonny’s. My mother lay against a small pillar, her color ashen. I turned away quickly at the sound of approaching footfalls. Dem came barreling towards us. He was once again covered in a disgusting amount of blood and other icky things.
“We have a few minutes before they discover your location. Can ya move it a wee bit faster, Your Majesty?”
“You just worry about guarding and fighting alongside the girls, you leave the rest to me. Marissa, Natalia, Sonny, I will need something from each of you. You must give it willingly but, I promise you, this is the only way to keep us all safe. We can banish the darkness, the evil that runs through them all - I just need to do the spell, here, where the energy is the strongest.”
“Name it, it’s yours,” Talia said. Her face a hard mask.
“I need some of your blood. The combined blood of the Triune.”
We all held out our left hands. There was no reason to not trust her. I mean, she is Talia’s mother. Nothing seemed even the slightest bit fishy. She took a dagger from Dem, his eyes hard on hers for a moment.
“With the blood of the three, I call to the Mother Goddess.”
Natalie smiled softly as she laid her hand under ours one by one. She slid the dagger across each offered palm as she continued to speak in Latin.
“Earth, Wind and Spirit, I call to you.”
Droplets of our blood weld up on our palms. We each made a tight fist and let the blood escape the wound. It fell upon the rocks at our feet and I watched as our blood magically joined together into one pool. Natalie started to speak again, Latin rolling across us all as the power and her words pulled us all in closer.
“Mother, I pray to you and ask for your guidance.
Hear my call.
Hear our cries of pain.
Let your blessings flow through our blood,
Let our bodies be your vessels,
Protect those that follow your goodness,
Help us defeat the evil we face,
Make the weak stronger,
Lessen the darkness that is upon us,
Balance your children with your light.”
Her words rolled across us. The ground shook, the skies opened up and rai
n cascaded down upon us. A warmth grew inside of me. I glanced to Talia and Sonny and they too wore the same look I was sure I had on my face - amazement.
“Take each others hands, repeat after me. Hurry, girls.”
As one, we spoke the chant she had just spoken, just as she had recited it. With each word the energy surging through us grew. Our words became louder as the rain and wind swirled around us. Lightning crackled and filled the sky with light. The earth beneath our feet rumbled as the tempo of our words increased.
“Earth. Wind. Spirit.”
With each spoken word she placed a small stone in our hands.
“Take these, keep them against your skin. Repeat after me.”
A quick prayer was said and the stones were dropped to the ground where we stood.
“May the goddess be with us.” Natalie gave a quick glance around then looked back at us. “Lets go kick some ass. Demetrius, you guard Anna. Do not let anyone, and I mean no one, near her until I come back.”
“Aye, on my honor.”
“It will be on your life if you disobey me.”
With that she moved passed us, heading down to where the fighting was. The grouping of fighters had gotten smaller. My eyes scanned the area and I saw Uncle Trenton fighting a man on one of the balconies. Natalie growled out a curse and moved faster.
The three of us followed her out to the field where men in battle gear were fighting against the shifters and some creatures I hadn’t seen before. I raised my hand as men approached us. The tingling in my palms started. Natalia shifted mid-stride, her panther leaping on one of the sword wielding men. There was a ripping sound, a piercing scream and then no more sound from the body as it fell.
I moved to the man before me, his sneer met my gaze and I grinned.
“Bring it on, asshole.”
He moved closer, my hand went out and gripped his belt. The dagger at his side was now in my hand. He shifted on his feet, his arm coming out to strike me. One thing Dem had taught me long ago was how to fight with daggers. This fucker was going down.
We both moved as if in a choreographed dance, dodging strikes. His mistake however was his lack of change. He kept making the exact same strikes. He shifted on his feet, lunged to my right. I dodged left, threw my foot out into his side, knocking the wind from him. I spun, my dagger slamming into his side, just under the ribcage. I used every bit of strength I had in me to jerk the dagger up.
His body slumped to the ground, sliding off the dagger. The clanging of swords around me had me turning. The fighting around us had ended. I looked up towards the open balcony. I could see Daddy and Uncle Trenton fighting against that same man. Both of them working in tandem to drive the man back towards the small wall on the riser he stood upon.
Talia moved to me, I looked her over and she too was bleeding from a cut along her side. Joshua, in his wolf form and panting hard, moved towards us. I felt Demetrius move up behind me and I leaned back against him, just enough to make contact. Sonny lumbered to where we were and slowly shifted back to her two legs. Sebastian, who was right behind her stayed in his Kodiak form.
We watched as they continued fighting. The swords hit, slipped and with a final thrust, Uncle Trenton’s sword made purchase. The man, the so called king gripped the sword, and I could see from here that his eyes flared when Natalie ran out onto the open balcony.
“What the….”
My words failed me when I heard a primal scream come from Natalie. She raised her hands and flung her arms open. The king, his hand on his gut was thrown from the spot he stood. He came crashing to the ground. The fall, which was about a thirty foot drop didn’t seem to harm him any more than the sword to his gut had.
I moved forward as did Talia and Sonny. Words were falling from our lips before we even knew what was happening. They each gripped one of my arms and the lightning bolts of energy tickled my palms. Talia’s voice rose above ours for a moment. Words that had her eyes flaring with her anger. I felt mine flaring as well, the heat of my inner power was pushing through me.
The king snarled in our direction, “you three were supposed to be dead!”
“Aww, and we were hoping for a family reunion, maybe even a group hug, ” I said sarcastically just before I threw my hands out. I felt the power rip through me and, with a surge of anger, the energy slammed into him. He screamed in pain, which I admit I enjoyed. Talia, Sonny and I spoke the words that would end his life.
The Latin fell from our lips as smooth as water pouring from a spigot. His body jerked, then it simply exploded into a pile of ash.
We each fell to our knees, the power leaving our bodies exhausted and limp. I was panting like a dog in heat. This thought made me grin. Ironically, as the only non-shifter, I was the one referencing a panting dog… great.
“It’s over…” Natalia said, moving to stand. Joshua’s big wolf was at her side in an instant. Sonny and I, with our mates help, made it to our feet.
“Remind me not to piss them off any time soon, would you brother?” Uncle Trenton said as he, Daddy and Aunt Natalie emerged from a nearby doorway. Daddy looked at him and grinned.
“As you wish, Your Majesty.”
He even bowed slightly. As they came closer, everyone around us began to bow. We were in pain and our bodies were stiff, but we each felt the need to show our respect.
“Where is Daddy?” Sonny asked. We looked around. Uncle Bart was nowhere to be seen.
“Dammit! I’ve not seen him since this started.”
“I’ve not seen him either,” Daddy said.
“We must find him. What if he’s hurt or…” Sonny paled and shook her head.
“He’s not dead, kid, trust me on that,” Daddy said moving away from us.
“We’ll help look for him. He has to be close,” Talia said, walking off with Joshua at her side.
We all went opposite directions, our mates at our sides - we’d find him. I was positive of that.
12
Bartholomew
My head was spinning. I’d broken concentration once and somehow became snared in a druids trap. If I moved I’d be shocked, that I knew from experience. The dome that surrounded me was shimmering slightly, the power rolling across it just waiting to sear my skin, again. My beast was not happy. I’d shifted to fight, my claws digging into the vampires and angel warriors around me. The dark angels, well, they deserved death just for being a part of this whole fiasco.
I’d left my brothers to deal with the so-called king. My claws were better suited for the battle on the grounds. My mistake was getting cocky. I’d had everything under control, until I didn’t.
I wasn’t expecting the Druids to show up, though, and I’d left my back exposed. In my defense, I was trying to keep these twisted people from swarming the castle and adding to the forces the king had. I knew both Trenton and Alexander could deal with anyone that slipped through our ground forces but I wanted to keep that to a minimum. My focus had been on the killing… this was where I’d yell at a cub for not protecting themselves. Never lose your focus, never lose track of your surroundings, and never let your bloodlust make you vulnerable. That’s exactly what I’d done.
“There is no need to fight it, Bartholomew. Don’t hurt yourself on the barrier, save the fireworks for when the others show up. I want to watch them morn you, watch you fry as I cage them too.”
The cackle the she beast let out had my hackles rising. I snarled, my lips pulling back to expose my sharp, saliva-covered teeth. Her eyes glazed over, the look of pure malice pulling at her features.
“Ah, they’re coming.”
There were two men standing back from where she was, her robe billowing as she turned to look towards the castle then back to them.
“They’ll be… unpredictable. You will take them down quickly and we can have some fun before collecting the bounty.”
A low growl escaped me at her words. I pushed myself against the barrier. Pain shot through me, but I ignored it. She would not harm my family.
“Daddy!” I heard my daughter’s pained voice coming over the hill. A roar of warning left me but I was too late.
Spells flew at my daughter and my nieces. I was helpless to stop any of it. But the spells never made purchase. They were batted away and a woman, tall with dark hair and eyes blazing stepped out before the girls. A smaller woman of medium height with wavy brown locks at her side. My eyes widened.
I shifted back to my human self as their names left my lips. Natalie and Anna had been lost to us, just as my sweet Roslyn had. How were they here, now, both in one piece. Trenton had said Natalie was alive but, I’ll be honest, I hadn’t believed him.
However, the proof was standing before me now.
“She is not alone!” I warned as both women, mates to my brothers, moved forward, speaking in tandem as they flung spells back at the she-beast before me.
“NO! This can’t be!” Jesophine shouted.
Natalie said something to the girls and they each spread out around Natalie and Anna. Each placed a hand in the others and started a chant.
The ground under my feet rumbled, the sky lit with lightning and the air around us whirled with power.
A battle of magical power was taking place before my eyes. A type of fight I had not witnessed in many years. Words were shouted from both sides, power growing as the tempers rose around them.
“You tried to turn my daughter, and when that didn’t work, you tried to have my daughter killed! You evil bitch! You’ve turned good people to the darkness that grows inside of you.”
“They know great power is with me. They had no choice. Join me, or die! I gave you that same choice and you scoffed at me!”
“You do not have great power. You have nothing more than cute, childish parlour tricks. You should be torn limb from limb and left to die a slow death. Spelled so the agony lasts for years.”
Natalie spat the words back at her sister. Irises flared at the challenge from her. The druid, Jesophine, was the adopted sister of Natalie and her brother, Rixon, and from what I’d gathered, the reason all of this had started. War was not her goal, though it was helping her to achieve what she had always wanted, to kill off the other great lines and become the only great power others could call on. She was insane. Insane enough to align herself with an equally insane vampire who thought they’d both be able to take over the power sources around them.
