Chronicles of the Uprising (Trilogy 1): Trilogy 1 (32 page)

Mira grumbled. Mechanical and unfeeling, that’s how Alec sounded. He’d not even bothered to truly look at the facts. All he cared about was getting rid of the humans… and Mira.

“And that is why I made your deal, Alec… to ensure my human friends’ safety. I will take on the challenge of ending the Iron Gate’s pursuit of us and your home, but you must ensure the safety of my friends. My
human
friends.”

Alec opened his mouth as if to speak, but Mira beat him to the punch. “If you want our deal to stand, then end this open hostility.” She waved a hand at the guards surrounding the table. “Get rid of them, and let’s have a peaceful conversation.”

Alec took a breath. His lips pursed tightly with pent-up rage. No words escaped, yet at a nod of his head, the guards turned and left the room.   

“Now that the unpleasantness is over… Let’s start fresh.” Michael spoke up, since Alec remained silently seething. “We need troops if we’re going to protect ourselves against the humans and any possible retaliation from our actions against them. Mira, you mentioned the other vampires imprisoned?”

She nodded, thinking of George and her promise to him to set him free. “Yes, there are many of my kind held below ground in the Iron Gate prison. I cannot guarantee all will want to fight for your cause, but plenty will want their revenge.”

“Yes. Precisely. Their revenge aligns well with our needs. We could be valuable assets to one another. And of course we would extend the offer of sanctuary to all.” Words carefully chosen by a seasoned politician. Michael didn’t care what their motivation was as long as it met his ends, and Mira understood that clearly, especially when his contemplative eyes fixed on her. “It would be best if you could free them all.”

“Easier said than done. The prison area is heavily guarded, but with Lucian’s help” – she made it a point to emphasize his name – “I think we can manage. No one knows that place better than he.”

Michael’s brow crinkled. “But, he’ll be a liability, will he not, being human and all?”

“As a human, he is weak. Yes.” Mira glanced at Lucian speaking silently with her eyes, telling him not to disagree with her no matter what negative thing she said. She hoped he got the message. “Without his expertise, though, we will be lost. The prisons are built like a maze to keep those of us who have not learned their twists and turns inside. I’ve made many escape attempts in the past, and been thwarted by my own lack of direction.”

“She’s right.” Lucian confidently spoke up. Clearly he had missed her message of silence. “You need me. As long as my access codes have not been canceled, I can not only guide you, but also help bypass security.”

At least he was showing them his importance, though Mira had hoped he would let her do the talking.

Michael waved a dismissive hand. “Then it is settled. The human Lucian will return with you. What of these two here?” He pointed to Sarah and Curtis.

She kept her hands firmly planted on their shoulders, silently emphasizing to the room they were under her protection. “They stay behind, where they are safe.” Mira’s tone was cool with an undertone of warning. Curtis and Sarah had been through enough. They deserved some rest and recuperation, and more than that, to be safe.

“Fine, fine, they stay,” Niko spoke up before Michael could.

Mira let go a loud sigh of relief. That, she had assumed, would be the hardest thing to secure. “And I have your word on this?”

“Fine.” Neither his tone nor his expression betrayed his inner thoughts. If anything, he appeared bored by the matter.

“I need more than that.”

“What, then?” Michael was at the edge of patience, and Mira spotted it quite clearly.

“I want your oath,” she demanded. Though there was no guarantee of their safety once she was gone, she hoped their blood oath was truly as strong as had been implied.

“Fine, I said! I give my oath, they will remain safe,” Michael huffed.

“No. Not just your oath. I want everyone’s oath. These humans, the three of them, when under your protection of sanctuary, will have no harm come to them. Say it!”

Collective shock ran through the room. Even Stryker looked horrorstruck at her demand, but Mira was not about to back down.

Silent moments passed with uneasy tension. Mira did not let that waiver her resolve. She met the eyes of each council member individually and challenged them to back down from their deal.

“You have my blood oath,” Alec begrudgingly agreed.

The rest followed one by one.

“Are we done with this business?” Michael’s annoyance was plain. “The humans have taken up enough of our concern. As of now, you have two on your team… How many more will you need to return to the city and accomplish your task?”

Satisfied, Mira relaxed her grip on the two humans and let out a sigh of relief. “The smaller our group the better.  Maybe two or three others to help take down the handlers… preferably not vampires. The handlers rely on UV weapons.”

Both Michael and Natasha hissed at the sound of UV as a weapon.

“Yes, quite unpleasant. So, shifters would have the advantage here,” Mira said.

“I and my pack are at your disposal.” Stryker had already made the offer to her, but here it was made public, and that gave his statement added weight. Niko’s lip curled slightly at his offer, but he did not say anything against it.

“Thank you, Stryker.” Mira smiled at the amber-eyed wolf. His support meant more than she could really say. It was an honor and a privilege for her to go into this unknown with him. “That’s all I need.”

“As for the other two humans…” Alec finally broke his silence. “What use will they be to us while they are our wards?”

His tone bothered Mira, but she had his blood oath and would make damn sure he paid it if any harm came to them. “Curtis is a skilled electrician. He can help around here in the city while we’re gone.”

Curtis stood up. “I’m pretty handy with more than just electrical things. I’m what you might call a bit of a tinkerer. I can do a little of everything. Just tell me what of yours needs fixin’, and I can take care of it.”

“And the girl?” Alec narrowed his eyes on Sarah. Mira had to repress a sneer. Where the others were indifferent to her human friends, Alec, it seemed, had a singularly hateful interest in them.

Sarah cleared her throat and spoke up. “I have some first aid training. I can help with the wounded. And I can cook.”

“Oh, yeah.” The mention of cooking had Curtis practically salivating. “She can whip up meals to make your mouth water!”

“Fine.” Alec sighed, unimpressed. “We will put their skills to use somehow, so they do not burden us.”

A snide comment rested on the tip of Mira’s tongue. Alec might have been a Council member and older than dirt, but his petty hatred was testing her last nerve. It wouldn’t take much for her to snap his little neck. She had to push down the homicidal thoughts. Arrogant, annoying, and pompous as he was, he was technically on her side. “Burden or not… they are to be protected.”

“I keep to my deals. You have already been given my blood oath. Let that be enough.” Alec’s tone bordered on angry, but that did not worry Mira.

“I’ll hold you to that. And I’ll have your blood… all of it… should any harm come to them.” She wasn’t taking any chances where the humans were concerned.

“Threats are not necessary.” Michael’s voice too carried undertones of anger, but he kept his face neutral. “The deal has been struck.”

“Fine.” It was anything but. However, her point had been made, and they did have more to arrange before she could be off.  “Moving on. What equipment and weapons can you offer us?” They’d need more than their bare hands to fight into the human city. “We need to travel light and quick. It’s at least two days by vehicle back to the city.”

Michael’s brow furrowed. “What vehicles we have are ones collected and rebuilt from the human patrols that have come through these parts over the last century. You’ll have to leave the city to get to where they are stored. None have ever made it to our gates.”

“But you do have some form of transport?” Mira asked, suddenly worried about how they were going to attempt this city siege.

Shrugging his shoulders, Michael responded, “We don’t need them here in Caldera.”

That wasn’t an answer. She hoped for their sake a salvageable vehicle could be located. “Curtis, I might need you to come look at the vehicles before we go.”

His chest puffed with sudden importance. “Not a problem, Mira. I’ll make something work for you.”

Natasha met Mira’s concerned eyes and finally spoke. “Stryker can take you to the weapons hall. Use whatever you need. I’m sure something in there will make you happy. A new blade, perhaps?” 

The idea of fresh steel in her hands brought a smile to Mira’s worried face. A good weapon in hand did wonders for confidence. “Yes, please. A new sword would be lovely.”

“You truly have a warriors spirit.” Natasha smiled; though warm, it wasn’t a genuine smile. There was something else behind her eyes. Mira couldn’t quite place it, but she felt as if she were just a tool to meet their needs. That was probably the truth. She’d never really assumed she’d be welcomed in as kin. Her skills singled her out as a pawn in a bigger man’s game, but rather than let that thought get her down, she shrugged it off. She had her own desires to realize too. Imagining the look on George’s face when she opened his cell was enough to make her ready to go back to that hell hole.

“Okay, transportation is iffy. What about communication?” Mira asked.

“We still do that the old fashion way.” Alec whistled.

Mira crinkled her brow in confusion. 

The door opened and a small brown bird flew in from another room. It landed softly in the middle of the table in front of Alec. As soon as its little feet hit the polished wood, the bird transformed into a naked female, small enough to fit in the palm of Mira’s hand, with bright red hair. The little woman smiled and hopped up into Alec’s palm. He raised her to his ear and listened as she whispered a message. After she was finished, he nodded and returned her to the table.

“This is Jay,” Alec said. “She and a few of her flock will act as messengers between us. When you have secured your troops, just whistle for her. She’ll be following close behind you, and the humans will never suspect. Send word of your next move, and we will then join you and take on the humans from both sides!”

Jay winked at Mira and transformed back into her bird form. She flew up and perched on Mira’s shoulder and whispered in her ear, “At your service!”

“Okay. I think we have all we need. Let’s get going, then.” Mira stood and motioned for her group to follow. “Soon as I have a look at the vehicle situation, we’re out of here.”

Chapter 4

Her beautiful stars twinkled above as she, Stryker, and Curtis hiked down the rocky path away from Caldera to the cave where old salvage transports were kept. She wondered if she’d ever tire of the serenity their light brought. No one else seemed to care. Taking them for granted. She supposed she had too once, before Theo had turned her. How many human years had she lived without truly appreciating them? And how many more had she been shut away from their silvery light? No, she’d not take them for granted ever again. And neither, she assumed, would her vampire brethren back in New Haven. Once she made it there to release them, they too would appreciate the beauty of freedom and the welcoming glow of a clear night sky.

That, of course, hinged on her actually getting back to New Haven quickly. Based on what she’d been told, getting her hopes up was only going to lead to disappointment. Still, they had to see if any of the old transports could be made to work long enough to get them back to New Haven. Given the distance between them and the Iron Gate, it could be as long as a week before she and her group could begin their mission if forced to do it on foot. And for her, almost double that, since she’d be forced to wait out the daylight in some kind of cave.

“Just over here.” Stryker bounded over a large boulder and disappeared from view. “I’ve parked many a transport vehicle over the years. We don’t like leaving things out in the forest. Makes the humans think they’re getting close.”

Curtis stumbled over the rocks, tripping a few times, but he made no complaints. Much to his credit, for a human he was very agile.

Mira followed Stryker’s voice as she scrambled over the large rocks in the trail. “Smart.” Her hopes were renewed noticing that he had said “parked” rather than “pushed.”

“Most of our transports are solar powered,” Curtis added. “Going to need a bit of light to get them going.”

That complicated things a little. “So if they’ve been parked and its night time, how will we know they’re going to run?”

If Curtis was worried, his voice didn’t betray it. “I’ll check under the hood. Make sure the wiring is all as it should be. Mechanics are pretty simple beasts, really.”

Stryker stopped short and turned back towards Mira. Even in the dark she could see the amber of his eyes. “You’ll just have to give it a little hope.”

Was he mocking her? “Hope?” That wasn’t a word she liked to use.

“Don’t start with the negativity.” Stryker chuckled at her angry pout. “You’ve done so many impossible things in this last week: fighting off the humans, escaping their city, getting your three human friends into Caldera. Luck, or something like it, is on your side. Be positive for a change.”

Mira crossed her arms, wondering how many more times she’d have to hear that same speech. She was a realist in a world filled with dreamers, it seemed. “Positivity doesn’t get you anything. Action does.”

“Ray of sunshine, this one.” Stryker elbowed Curtis as if they were old friends.

Despite the animosity Mira had encountered from the others, Stryker held no prejudices between them. Quite an endearing quality. Not unlike her friend Lucian, who had given up on many of his own prejudices after encountering Mira. If two enemies could become unlikely friends, maybe there was hope for some form of peace somewhere down the road. 

Curtis chuckled. “Yeah, but she gets results.”

His comment amused her, but Mira didn’t want to let them know that. “
She
is right here. You don’t need to speak of me as if I’m not.”

Ignoring her haughty tone, Stryker continued, leading them down towards a small cave entrance. Nothing blocked the entry, no stones nor manmade doors, but the mouth of the cave was nearly invisible under the shadows created by moonlight. Stryker, however, knew exactly where to go. He walked them straight to the mouth of the cave without so much as a stumbling misstep.

No light found its way into the depths of the cave, but that did not stop Mira’s vampire eyes from seeing outlines of what lay inside.

Stryker gathered items to make a torch while Mira ventured in for a closer look. Inside the cave was a musty cloying smell of old grease and mold. It turned her nose, and at the same time brought back memories of the prison level where she’d spent so much time. Not for the greasy smell, but mold and dust were two constants in the prison. Poor ventilation and dirty, sweaty mattresses were staples. Add a hint of blood in the air and she might have sworn she was back in her cell. Suddenly, she felt the walls closing in and wanted out of the cave.

Turning to leave, she saw Stryker with the torch. As quickly as the feeling had come, seeing her new friend and the orangey glowing light washed it away.

“You okay, Mira?” He asked.

“Fine,” she lied. “Just not sure what to look for.”

Stryker walked around the cave, lighting wall-mounted torches to illuminate the walls.

While the mouth of the cave had been smallish – no bigger than the size of a transport vehicle – inside seemed cavernous. Although spacious, it was crammed with all manner of vehicles. Small two-wheeled ones, large ones on tracks, small speeders with seating space for four, and even one that looked as if it might fly.

“Wow!” Curtis exclaimed. Eyes wide like a child who’d just walked into a toyshop, he practically stuttered with excitement. “A VT2?” He ambled over to a particularly large propeller vehicle and patted its metallic body like an old family pet.

“A what?” Mira asked, wondering what language he’d just spoken.

“Vertical Transport!” Curtis’s eyes lit up as he ran his hand along the length of the vehicle’s body. “I haven’t seen one of these babies in years.”

That piqued her interest. “Vertical, as in flying?”

 “Shot it down a few years ago. Doesn’t work, I’m afraid,” Stryker added. He stood in the center of the room, arms crossed, letting Curtis and Mira have room to explore.

“You shot it down? With what weapons?” She shot a quizzical look to her shifter friend. Not that she’d had much experience with the Otherkin, but she hadn’t noticed any weapons other than the ones the humans brought. Swords and daggers seemed to be the choice weapons for the citizens of Caldera.

Stryker returned her questioning gaze with an impish grin. “This one got as far as this cave. Pulled out that old tank and emptied a few shells into the big beast’s belly. Leaked something awful and then” – he mimed shooting at the big vehicle then smashed his fist into his palm – “it practically fell from the sky.”

Curtis nodded thoughtfully, eyes still locked onto the big metal beast of a transport. “That don’t surprise me. The VT2s had engine issues. The propellers took too much energy to run, and solar cells couldn’t provide the right oomph. These guys here,” he continued, patting the vehicle lovingly, “they’re a hybrid model. Second edition. Added fuel engines to help get the needed push.” Curtis ducked down and fingered a few holes along the bottom of the body. “Course, if you hit that fuel line and drained it… no more propeller. Bet this one made a nice loud little boom when it crashed.”

She could only imagine seeing that hulking metal beast flying through the air. The mental image of it falling out the sky was hard to fathom. “But you said you hadn’t seen them in years. They aren’t used anymore?”

Curtis shook his head. “Problem with them is they’re too costly to run, and they have horrible maintenance issues. A few newer models are still in limited use. Magistrate uses them to travel between the eight cities, but other than that, no… not common. And this baby here… will never kiss the sky again.”

“Well, there goes the idea of flying in.” Her shoulders slumped. Flying would have been a novel treat. But it was probably better they stick to the ground anyway. “Let’s locate something armored… and large enough to take the whole group in.” Mira wandered through the available vehicles, keeping an eye out for anything that resembled the one in which she’d arrived. Roof mounted guns would be a plus, along with sun blocking armor. She could safely sleep the day away while others took shifts.

Most were broken or badly damaged. Some looked as if they’d been through a war, but after a half hour of weeding through, Mira found one. Smaller than she’d hoped for, but still with room for five people. And the only windows were in the front. She could make do with covering up in the back of the vehicle if need be. “Curtis. Here. Check this one out.”

He rushed over excitedly. “Oh, yes, this will do nicely. Light and fast. They don’t make them like this anymore either.” He looked like he’d hit the jackpot, eyeballing the vehicle in front of them. “See how aerodynamic the design is? No bulky weaponry sticking out. Yes. This will get you there quick.”

“What if we encounter trouble on the road?” Stryker asked.

“You’ll have to outrun them.” Curtis could hardly take his eyes off the vehicle. He ran a hand along the line of the roof and then down toward the door handle. “This one was built for speed.”

With the push of the handle the door opened, swinging upwards rather than out to the side. Mira jumped back.

“I’ll check it out and disable any tracking devices that may still be inside.”

Happy they’d found something, Mira let herself get cautiously hopeful. “How long before you’ll know if it works?”

“It’ll have to charge up a bit before I can know anything for sure, but I’d say, if the solar cells are still good, you’ll be ready to leave tomorrow night. We’ll let her charge up during the day while you sleep.”

“Let’s get her outside then.” Stryker walked around the vehicle. “You steer, I’ll push.” He shot a wink in Mira’s direction and she wasn’t too sure why.

“I’ll help you push too.” Mira followed Stryker around the back of the transport.

Their combined strength made quick work of moving it beyond the mouth of the cave. Out in the open, it could bathe in the sun all day long and with any luck fill its solar cells for the journey.

 Hopeful that they’d have transportation, Mira took a step back and dusted her hands. “I’ll head back and pack our things. We’ll meet here tomorrow night and be off.”

Stryker nodded. “I’ll stay here with Curtis and get things running. Do you remember the way back?”

“I think I can manage.” She had plenty of fresh footprints to follow and Curtis’s lingering smell to help guide her back up the mountain. Feeling a little more confident about their journey now, Mira was almost eager to get on the way.