Authors: Stacie Simpson
“Danarius was right, Travali has completely lost his mind,”
Doyle commented as he peered over the edge of the cliff. “What do you think he
plans to do with all of them?”
We were on our stomachs trying to avoid detection by the
guards or the hundreds of young vampires snarling and snapping at each other in
the stables below. “No telling, but he’s just crazy enough to unleash them on
the human world,” I replied as I began crawling backwards.
Doyle and Dragon followed and once we were far enough back
we stood and dusted off our clothing.
“That makes sense,” Dragon agreed. “Danarius would certainly
have cause to be worried if Travali planned to release his new pets on the
humans. It would also explain why Claire was sent a golden vision.”
“Do you think he’d really do that?” Doyle asked. “I know he
thinks we should stop hiding our existence, but damn, even he can’t think this
is a good idea.”
“I believe that’s the problem. He isn’t thinking,” I said,
then added, “at least not with a clear head. I don’t think he’s had a rational
thought since Dragon ended Malachi’s life.”
“Which do you think we should hit first, the keep or the
stables?” Dragon asked.
“If you want a shot at Travali we hit the keep first. If we
hit the stables first he’ll have time to disappear then we’ll be right back at
square one. I think we should have as many flying shifters as possible land
inside the compound simultaneously and open the gates for the rest of our
forces. While they’re doing that, you and I will look for Travali.”
Dragon looked to Doyle who nodded his agreement then he
turned back to me. “Make it happen.”
Once everyone was in place we moved in fast and hard.
Travali’s vampires didn’t know what hit them, but after the initial shock wore
off they put up a good fight. I hitched a ride with Dragon and we landed on top
of the keep. Moving quickly and quietly we searched room after room taking out
any vampires we came across but found no trace of Travali.
We’d worked our way down to the ground floor and were about
to enter an escape tunnel when Doyle found us. He was dripping sweat and
covered in blood but other than the rapidly healing gash on his left bicep he
was unharmed.
“You’ve got to come now,” he told us urgently.
The look of near panic in Doyle’s eyes spurred us into
motion. Doyle was a man who relished a good fight and loved the kind of epic
battle currently taking place in the courtyard and outside the castle walls.
For him to leave the fighting in search of us meant something was very wrong.
As we raced through the castle I asked, “What’s happened?”
Over his shoulder he shouted, “They opened the stables.
Those aren’t just young vampires, they’re completely lost to bloodlust, and you
were right about what Travali plans to do with them.”
We’d reached the outer doors and when we burst through them
into the pandemonium I immediately saw what the problem was. A large portal
covered almost the entire western side of the curtain wall surrounding the
courtyard.
Here in Solaria our troops were concentrated in front of the
portal. Some were swinging their swords; others had taken animal form and were
fighting with teeth and claws. There were even a couple of dragons spouting
fire here and there. All of them were doing their best to contain the hordes of
crazed young vampires whose only thoughts were of their need for blood.
Looking through the shimmering rainbow of colors to the
other side of the portal I saw humans. Humans everywhere the eye could see.
They were strolling along in the street and on the sidewalks, cheerfully
talking and laughing, carrying plastic cups filled with Hurricanes and Hand
Grenades or other alcoholic beverages. Music filled the air, living art
entertained the crowds, and strings of cheap plastic beads adorned many of the
intoxicated patrons of Bourbon Street.
With a prayer to the Goddess I rushed into the melee, my
sword slicing through the neck of one vampire after another. Dragon and Doyle
followed and we made our way towards the portal. As we fought I let instinct
take over. After hundreds of years of training my body knew what to do without
any conscious thoughts from me. Swing, duck, spin, kick... It all came
naturally. And through it all Dragon was there, right on the edge of my senses,
protecting my back as I protected his.
It felt like hours later but had probably only been minutes
when a flash of light came from the sky accompanied by a loud ear piercing
screech. It was similar to lightning, but whatever this was it split the ground
wide open at the feet of our primary defensive line. It wasn’t a wide fissure
and most of our warriors were already climbing back out of it, but it was
already too late. The wild mass of vampires surged over our fallen warriors and
rushed towards the portal and the unsuspecting humans.
“No!” Dragon and I shouted at the same time.
Only, as Dragon’s exclamation was an impotent shout of
desperation, mine was an unintentional command that left the hellish scene
before me suspended in time. My mind raced, trying to come up with a way to
avert the imminent disaster. I couldn’t close the portal without Solomon and I
wouldn’t be able to kill all the vampires by myself before my powers waned and
I lost my hold on time - not even with them frozen as they were.
Then it came to me. I remembered that night at Mike’s when I
slowed time and even Angela was moving in slow motion. Normally my powers had
no effect on her, but that night I’d subconsciously wanted them to and they
had. Could I choose to release our troops and leave our enemies frozen?
There was only one way to find out.
Concentrating with everything I had I focused on Dragon,
pulling my powers back from him and anyone who shared a blood bond with him. It
was slow at first then there was a cascade of shouts as our warriors awoke to
find the hordes of vampires before them motionless.
Dragon moved to stand in front of me and I told him, “Make
it quick, I can’t hold this much longer.”
“Can you move?”
“No.” If I tried to move I would lose my hold on the
vampires.
He nodded then I heard him shouting orders. It sounded like
he was ordering everyone out of the courtyard except the dragons, but I was
getting weaker by the second and couldn’t process everything going on around
me.
A few seconds later Doyle approached me and said, “It’s time
to move, try to hold on just a little longer.”
When he threw me over his shoulder I had to close my eyes
and concentrate harder. I knew he was running, but where he was taking me I had
no idea. We seemed to go up a set of stairs then I heard Dragon roar “Now!”
When I opened my eyes the world was on fire. On both sides
of the castle walls fire poured from the mouths of dragons incinerating
everything in their paths including the frozen vampires. When they were
finished, only the stone of the royal fortress would be left standing.
My eyes fluttered shut again and I lost my hold on time.
Agonized shrieks filled the night air mingling with the scent of burning hair
and flesh just before everything went dark.
I wasn’t sure how long I was out, but we were still in
Solaria. When I sat up my head was pounding and I heard loud cheering from
somewhere below.
“Oh, hey you almost missed it,” Doyle said from where he
stood beside me, his eyes focused on whatever was taking place down in the
courtyard.
“Missed what?” I asked rubbing my head. It felt like someone
had bashed my head with a lead pipe.
“Dragon is fighting Travali,” Doyle replied and I leapt to
my feet.
Too fast. The world tilted and I would have gone back down
if Doyle hadn’t caught me.
“Easy there, you should probably sit back down,” he told me,
but helped me remain standing anyway. He knew I wouldn’t want to miss this.
Leaning forward through an opening in the battlements I
peered down at the fight below. “What happened after I passed out?”
Doyle glanced at me and grimaced. “The burning vampires
raced for the portal and our people barely got there in time to stop them. Not
that we blame you, if you hadn’t held out as long as you did, there would have
been no way for us to keep them from entering the human world. Anyway the
dragons kept up the streams of fire as long as they could then we waded in and
took out any vamps that were still standing.
Just before the battle was over Travali and his sorcerer
tried to escape through the portal. Dragon saw them and jumped Travali but the
sorcerer made it through and closed the portal behind him.”
“One of these days we’ll get our hands on that slippery
bastard too,” I promised Doyle.
Our attention turned to Dragon and Travali. Normally I would
worry about Dragon knowing my powers were drained and if he were dealt a fatal
blow, there would be no way for me to help him. But watching the two of them
fight, I knew he would be the victor. Protective scales encased his body and
every blow he struck was delivered with deadly accuracy. Anyone could see the
cold fury driving him, but his movements were controlled and calculated unlike
when he’d fought Travali on the beach a few weeks ago.
The vampire on the other hand could only be described as
desperate. He knew his time was coming to an end because even if he somehow
beat Dragon, he would never leave this place alive. For him it was only a
question of whether he went alone or not.
A few minutes later I saw the end coming. Dragon faked left
with a move we had practiced hundreds of times until he could do it in his
sleep. The vampire committed to a lunge in the wrong direction and Dragon came
around and wrenched Travali’s head clean off his body.
A fitting end considering that was exactly how Travali ended
the life of the former Dragon King all those centuries ago. Dragon had finally
avenged his father.
Dragon roared holding Travali’s head high for all to see.
The bones and ashes of our enemies scattered across the scorched ground a
gruesome backdrop to his triumphant moment.
“About damn time,” Doyle remarked beside me.
I grinned. “Yeah, about damn time.”
From below us fire streamed into the night sky as an
enormous black and red dragon replaced the human form of the Dragon King. All
the shifters followed suit including Doyle whose wolf’s howl joined the sounds
of jubilant animal celebration filling the night. The Great War may have ended
centuries ago, but it wasn’t until this moment that it was truly over for those
who survived, for those who would never forget the loved ones they lost.
...walls start shaking, earth was quaking. My mind was
aching, we were making it. And you shook me all night long...
It took me a minute to understand what I was hearing. When
we returned from Solaria I asked Solomon if he’d had any luck with the locator
spell but he said it was being blocked. I went to clean up and planned to go
out looking for Angela but I’d passed out cold. Now as ACDC continued singing
You
Shook Me All Night Long
I shot out of bed and reached for my phone. It
would only ring with that tone if the incoming call came from Angela’s cell
phone.
“Angela?”
“Is this Mr. Delaney?”
My heart skipped a beat. Who the hell had Angela’s phone?
“Yes, this is Mr. Delaney.
“My name is Stephanie and I’m a nurse. I think you should
get down here right away.”
While I threw on some clothes Stephanie continued to tell me
that Angela requested someone call me when she was first brought to the
hospital, but then she fell unconscious. They hadn’t even gotten her name
before she passed out. Stephanie refused to give me any specific information
about Angela’s current status, but she said her injuries required them to
contact the police. Once the police showed up they identified Angela as another
police officer and claimed she had no family to make decisions on her behalf.
I informed Stephanie that Angela had an adult daughter and I
was a close friend of the family. She told me which hospital they were in and
said I should bring Angela’s daughter quickly.
Once I was completely dressed I checked the time and was
thankful to realize it would be dark outside. It didn’t take me long to find
Dragon who was in his apartment with Claire and Solomon. We decided that Claire
would go with me to the hospital and impersonate Rachel. Solomon made a minor
adjusted to the ring so that when Claire slipped it on she appeared to be
Rachel, but she was dressed in jeans and a T-shirt instead of high heels and my
jacket. We took Niko and Doyle with us for backup and Lucien came along to
erase any records of Angela’s care from the hospital computer systems.
When we arrived at the hospital Claire presented herself as
Rachel and we were taken to the ICU waiting area. Doyle and Niko waited outside
and Lucien was already hard at work erasing Angela’s records. Once Claire and I
stepped inside, I understood why Stephanie had been concerned. Just as the
young woman who accompanied us from downstairs left to get Angela’s doctor,
Quen glanced our way from across the room. Shock registered on his face briefly
then his usual arrogant smile slid back in place.
He sauntered over and looking at Claire said, “I hadn’t
expected to see you here.”
“My mother is in the ICU, why wouldn’t I be here, and why
didn’t you call to tell me she was here?” Claire was playing her part
perfectly. She sounded just like a teenager on the verge of hysterics.
Quen opened his mouth but the young woman returned with the
doctor before he could say anything. The doctor took in the obvious tension
then addressed Quen, “I thought you said Detective Ruby had no living relatives
in the area.”
“I was told Rachel had left town and not even Angela knew
where she’d gone or how to reach her,” he replied smoothly.
“Get real Quen, I know you get around but I’m sure you remember
fucking me last Friday night.”
I stifled a laugh. Dragon must have told Claire about
whatever he discovered in Quen’s mind. I’d have to ask him about that the first
chance I got. He’d obviously seen something very disturbing but hadn’t wanted
Angela to know what it was.
The doctor’s lips thinned to a straight line as Quen’s eyes
nearly popped out of their sockets and he sputtered, “Rachel...”
“Enough,” the doctor ordered. “Miss Ruby, your Mother’s
condition is very serious and we need to discuss possible treatment options.”
“I have already informed you of my partner’s wishes,” Quen
said making me see red.
“You are not her partner Quen. You know it, I know it, and
if we need to prove it we can call down to the station and have Detective
Vaccaro verify it,” I told Quen, then continued, “She dropped you because you
were sexually harassing her and you’re lucky she didn’t file any charges.”
“And you are?” the doctor asked.
“Oh, that’s my Mom’s fiancé, Devin Delaney,” Claire answered
for me.
The doctor raised an eyebrow then nodded his head. “I’m Dr.
Matthews. If you’d like to join us, I’m sure Miss Ruby would appreciate your
support during this difficult time.”
We asked that Quen be removed from the premises and with a
little mental push from Claire it was done.
After listening to the doctor list Angela’s injuries we
determined that since she had already been given a blood transfusion, vampire
blood could be used to help her without any risk of her becoming a vampire.
With the likelihood of her waking up without vampire blood next to nil, I made
the decision to proceed. I wasn’t sure how she would feel about my decision
later, but at least she’d be alive to complain about it.
Claire slit her wrist and brought it to Angela’s lips while
I held her mouth open. At first Angela wasn’t drinking and I began to worry,
then Claire went into Angela’s mind and convinced her she was dying of thirst
and needed to drink. A few minutes later Claire pulled her arm back and we
waited. I wanted to take her back to the resort, but it was better to wait
until she regained consciousness before we moved her. Usually visitors weren’t
allowed to stay very long in the ICU but Claire convinced the hospital staff
and the other unfortunate patients and their families that we weren’t even
there.
While we waited I watched as the bruises slowly faded and
eventually vanished from Angela’s face and arms. I didn’t lift the sheet but I
could imagine what her lower body looked like. Dr. Matthews told us Angela’s
hips and pelvic bones had been shattered. Combine that with a punctured spleen,
severe blood loss, head trauma and numerous other problems, it was a miracle
she was still alive.
I thanked the Goddess again for the phenomenal healing
properties of vampire blood.
The hours ticked by and Claire had the nurses remove various
tubes and wires from Angela’s body as they were no longer needed. By the time
she finally awoke three hours and fifty-six minutes after we arrived at her
bedside, the physical evidence of the abuse she endured was nonexistent.
I worried about the emotional damage that couldn’t be so
easily wiped away.
Angela came awake screaming and thrashing on the bed like
she was fighting for her life even as she begged her imaginary attacker to
stop.
“No...not again...please...please God, no...not again.”
Leaping from the chair I tried to restrain her so she wouldn’t
hurt herself but that only made her struggle harder. I tried to tell her she
was safe, that everything would be okay now, but nothing seemed to get through
to her.
Suddenly Claire was beside the bed and the instant she
wrapped her fingers around Angela’s wrist everything was quiet.
Looking down at Angela’s tear streaked face I promised, “Adan
will pay for this with his life.”
“Would you leave her unprotected?” Claire asked in that calm
reasonable tone she used when someone else was behaving irrationally.
My lip curled as I snarled, “You know what he did to her.”
“I do,” Claire said so calmly. “But I also know it is
against your laws to take the life of another time demon unless that demon has
been condemned to die by your Elders. Do you think the Elders will condemn
Adan?”
Turning, I paced away from the bed and ran my hands through
my hair. No matter what I wanted, Claire was right. The Elders would never
condemn Adan for this. Angela was nothing more than a human to them, weak and
insignificant.
“She will sleep for now, but we should return to the resort
before she wakes again,” Claire said from behind me.
Scrubbing my hands over my face I strode out the door to
where Doyle and Niko were waiting. “Niko, find Lucien and let him know we’re
finished here then stay with him and watch his back until he’s ready to go.
Doyle bring the car to the main entrance, we’ll meet you there in five minutes.”
When I went back to Angela’s bed I lifted her into my arms
and followed Claire as she made sure no one in the ICU would remember us ever
being there. Lucien would delete the security footage once we were gone and
make sure any electronic or hard copy records of Angela’s care were destroyed.
We couldn’t risk anyone asking how Angela was miraculously healed when her
injuries likely would have resulted in death under normal circumstances.
Doyle met us at the front door and we road back to the
resort in silence. As we drove across town I held Angela in my lap and wondered
if this would be the last time I ever held her. Would she hate me for what
happened to her, for what happened to her daughter? Would she ever be able to
forgive me? How could she possibly forgive me when I couldn’t forgive myself?
Once we were back at the resort I took Angela to my
apartment. I wasn’t sure how she would feel about waking up in my bed, but at
least there I would know she was safe.
* * * * *