“This indeed gives us leverage,” Queen Cerridwen said,
making a tent in front of her mouth with her fingers. “They will rue the day
they started this war. and by us entering the charges that involve
Amy into the record, the Vampire Council of Old would be well advised not to have
all of the Unseelie, all of the Seelie, and both factions of wolves hunting
their lairs by day.”
Sasha smiled and gave Queen Cerridwen a wink. “It
would truly be a foolish move on their part to persist. But, more importantly,
this will hopefully give Amy and her family a little respite from being
constantly hunted by Vampires who need to make a deal right with some demons.”
“Yes,” Sir Rodney said, landing a firm hand on
Hunter’s shoulder. “Your brother needs to know that his new bride will be
protected going forward. That is precisely why I also want to call the bluff of
old Vlad by asking that the crone of the UCE court call up the demon Erinyes as
witness of his debt to them.. This way, none of us have to call a
demon or owe a demon, the crone is certainly used to all of the machinations
that go along with that, and I’m sure the Erinyes would be more than willing to
share their displeasure with any and all who would listen.”
“Brilliant,” Sasha said through a mouthful of steak.
She swallowed it quickly, feeling much improved, and then wiped her mouth on
her linen napkin. “But those gargoyles aren’t local. I’d like to tag one of the
little bastards with a message to send it running back home to wherever
worldwide Vampire headquarters is. How much do you want to bet that Elder Vlad
didn’t tell The Most Scary that he literally bombed an Unseelie outpost for no
reason?”
“And now has a dragon squadron on his ass,” Hunter
said, biting into a huge hunk of his steak.
“We could capture a gargoyle,” Garth said slowly. “And
we could tag it with an ice missive.” He stared at Sasha. “That is sheer
genius.”
Sasha smiled. “All right, then. we’ve got
a wedding to do tonight, an ice missive to get over to old Vlad, a silver Fae
missive to enter into the UCE court docs, some kinda message to get to Shogun’s
people, courtesy of our queen, and a gargoyle to tag, all before sunrise. Piece
of cake.”
“Why the rush?” Amy’s father asked as he stared at his
wife.
“You ask too many questions, old man,” she said,
fixing the bow tie of his tux. “Look around at all of this expense the U.S.
government is paying in this witness protection program—and not a penny to be
paid by the father of the bride. Our daughter made herself a good bargain.”
“But you were the one who said that our daughter
shouldn’t marry into these people who are strange and dangerous!”
“Shush,” she hissed. “This Shogun is wealthy—we saw
that from the wedding gifts he sent,
and
he is of royalty but
chooses
to do the honorable work of fighting bad men. Our friends will die of envy.”
“Our friends could die of mobster bullets and so could
we.”
Mrs. Chen pinched her husband. “Not another word to
ruin this night.”
“Ow!” He shrugged away from her and whispered hotly in
her ear, “The fortune-teller said that they should marry on a full moon next
month! And why can’t they have a good Chinese monk do the ceremony? Who is this
Indian
shaman? Does he know our ways? Is he licensed to perform legal
ceremonies? This is all very rushed and very strange.”
“Next month, this month, it is a full moon and look at
your daughter’s face.” Mrs. Chen dabbed her eyes and turned away from her
husband. “Look at her beneath the veil; she is so beautiful.. I
have waited all my life for this day. And the groom, so handsome. You be quiet
about Silver Hawk. This is the groom’s grandfather and cleric, so he will be
good enough for us.”
Sasha gave Hunter the eye and Hunter smiled. The man
always looked good in a tux. Wolf hearing had helped her decipher the tense
exchange between Mr. and Mrs. Chen, and Sasha knew Hunter had heard the loud
whispering, too, even though it had occurred all the way across the large
formal dining room. She watched as a huge red paper Dragon came to life with the
drumming. Lyrical flutes and Chinese strings blended in as tiny Elves
maneuvered the Dragon along the aisle. It had taken every bit of negotiating
skill she owned to get the Fae to do some of the ceremony with regular labor,
lest they send Amy’s parents into apoplexy.
Clearly the Chens were not ready to witness real
magick, so a real red Dragon was out of the question, just like a magically
floating chair was. No. Regular palace guards would just have to hoist the
petite bride up and carry her to Shogun the old-fashioned way while Hunter
waited beside him as his good-luck man.
But Mrs. Chen was right. Her daughter was exquisite in
her red silk traditional Chinese wedding gown. The handiwork of Fairies was
evident to Sasha, because preparing the hall and getting Amy’s hair twisted up
into an elaborate basket weave pattern, replete with Chinese bridal crown,
would have taken a normal salon six hours. Fairies were known for their
attention to detail, and they’d spared no magick in transforming Amy’s makeup,
doing her manicure, bathing her in a sweet oil–infused bath, and dusting her
with the most sumptuous of fragrances. They’d literally transformed the hall
into a red silk paradise, and the tables behind the ceremony were laden with
aromatic traditional Chinese dishes kept piping hot by Fae sleight of hand.
However, the young woman’s glow was authentic and all
her own. Through the red mesh veil, tears sparkled in Amy’s gorgeous eyes. Her
fragile beauty was breathtaking as her lotus blossom bouquet gently trembled
the closer she got to Shogun. Sasha blinked quickly and looked up, fighting the
moisture in her eyes. She pressed a palm to her heart for a moment and then
allowed her palm to fall away from her deep crimson sheath. No two people
deserved love and peace more than Amy and Shogun, and to be chosen as Amy’s
good-luck woman was definitely an honor. Sasha just hoped she could live up to
the title.
“Are you ready, Brother?” Hunter said quietly,
glancing at Shogun. Hunter smiled as Shogun simply nodded but never took his
eyes off his approaching bride.
Sasha swallowed hard, wishing that she’d had the
forethought to take her engagement ring off the silver chain that held her
amulet to slip it onto her finger. She’d never attended a wedding in her life
and hadn’t expected to be so affected by this beautiful midnight ceremony under
the moon.
With deep reverence she watched the couple come
together and then go to Amy’s parents to kneel before them and pour tea as
Silver Hawk’s deep rumble of words spilled out blessings upon the couple,
blessings upon the ancestors, reminding all in attendance of the need for, and
strength of, family. Even Queen Cerridwen moved closer to Sir Rodney as Rupert
hugged himself and bit his trembling bottom lip.
Unconsciously Sasha’s hand went to her ring as her
gaze slid to Hunter. His steady gaze had never left her, and a silent
understanding passed between them. Silver Hawk’s words flowed through her soul,
breaking down the last of her barriers, the last of her reservations, until suddenly
she wished that Doc had been there, wished that her entire team could have seen
this. wished that she had not wasted so much time fighting
everything and everyone around her, yet there was still more fighting to do.
But not for this lovely couple, she told herself. Not
for her brother. Not for her sister. Not for the honorable Chens.
“You are now husband and wife,” Silver Hawk said. “Let
the mate seal never be broken. Shogun, you may lift Amy’s veil and kiss your
bride.”
With unsteady hands, Shogun lifted Amy’s veil. But
before he could lean down to kiss her, the dungeon doors blew off. Screeching
Erinyes nightmares billowed up from the depths of the castle, dropping dead Fae
dungeon guards like bloody refuse from high above the ceremony.
“Look away!” Garth shouted. “Lest ye turn to stone.”
He spun around and blinded the Chens and then wielding his wand yelled out,
“Mirrors!”
Erinyes flew upward and closed their eyes, screaming
to avoid their own images. Mrs. Chen fainted into her blind husband’s arms, and
he quickly covered her body, huddled against the ground, calling out for his
daughter in sheer panic. Wand blasts exploded furniture as Fae castle staff
screamed and took cover while palace guards stormed the room.
“Battle stations!” Sir Rodney shouted, leaping over a
table and calling a wand into his hand.
Queen Cerridwen materialized a mirrored shield in her
fist for Sir Rodney to look at and then tossed it to him. “Fight with this,
milord!”
Archers instantly broke through the windows, aiming at
the Erinyes who circled above the chandeliers in the vaulted ceiling. Every
wolf shed their human form and Amy was now a deadly feline force.
“Return what is ours by right, Cerridwen of Hecate!”
one of the Erinyes yelled, and then dove toward Amy, avoiding the queen’s icy
wand blast.
But the Erinyes obviously didn’t expect to have to
drag a Were Snow Leopard to Hell with a pack of wolves on their heels. The
demon chasing Amy reached out and received a brutal rake to her face as Amy
gracefully leaped behind an overturned table. Shogun caught the beast’s spaded
tail in his massive jaws, flipped her over, and tackled her to the ground just
in time for Amy to slash in and disembowel the creature. Hunter jumped up from
behind another table and ripped off the wing of another attacker coming in on
an assist as Sasha scored the throat of one who made the mistake of looking
over her shoulder when Silver Shadow leaped onto her back. Sir Rodney worked in
tandem with Garth, blowing Erinyes away from Amy and shielding castle staff.
Both Amy and Shogun flipped out of the way of the
first maimed beast’s talons, and before she could get up Queen Cerridwen flash
froze the Erinyes in a permafrost tomb.
“I owe you nothing!” Queen Cerridwen yelled. “You made
a deal with a member of my court who was executed for treason! I gained nothing
from his unsanctioned bargain with you and was none the wiser of the deal he
cast!”
“Liar!” another of the Erinyes screeched, going to her
dead sister in fury. She stood and pointed toward the queen. “So says the
Vampire Vlad! He claims you and he had a deal and you reneged upon him. You
killed your own man in open court after he killed his own in an act of loyalty
to you!”
“Then let Elder Vlad bring proof of his duplicitous
claims!” Queen Cerridwen shouted back, looking into a mirror as Hunter, Sasha,
and Silver Hawk—now the wolf Silver Shadow—held a line around the queen,
snarling.
“Be gone from my castle, demons!” Sir Rodney shouted.
“You dare breach a Fae sidhe on spurious charges, your next attempt will be
your last!”
“We had right to follow the trail of the Unseelie whom
we bargained with into your dungeon!” the lead she-demon screeched. “We can
enter anywhere there has been a bargain made between us and the damned!”
Sir Rodney and Garth gave each other a look.
“But you cannot enter again once barred by the
righteous—and Kiagehul was executed by my own hand! I have joined forces with
the Seelie!” Queen Cerridwen shielded her sight with her forearm as she lowered
her wand toward the she-demon. “Look around, Erinyes. The proof is before your
very eyes. The Unseelie and Seelie houses stand united. The wolves stand with
us. If I wanted that bargain that was struck by Kiagehul with Vampire Vlad, why
am I not in his lair plotting to give you the girl you seek?”
The Erinyes passed uncertain glances between them,
their red eyes blazing in the mirrors with unbridled rage.
“You best pray, ice queen, that my sister thaws out in
Hell,” the demon crouching above the fallen one hissed.
“Take the virgin and only give her back if this lie
bears out as truth, Megaera!” another called out as the leader lifted off
holding her frozen sister. “We must give the master his due!”
“There is no virgin in this room,” the one identified
as Megaera replied, glaring at the snow leopard. “Our payment is not only late,
but the package is damaged. We will seek recompense. Know that, Unseelie!”
Just as quickly as they’d flooded the main dining
hall, the Erinyes took flight in a massive dark flock of screeching anger and
disappeared down the dungeon steps.
Garth immediately sealed the dungeon door. Fae staff
began quickly collecting the dead. The castle became a frantic hotbed of guards
and wizards rushing about. Amy transformed into her human body, grabbed up her
human gown, and raced over to kneel by her distraught, blind parents. The
wolves came back into their human forms and dressed slowly and silently, numbed
by fury.
“How the hell did they breach my dungeon?” Sir Rodney
bellowed, going over to the now-sealed door and lobbing a punch at it. “Tell me
whot in ’eaven’s name must we do to seal the sidhe from demon invasions, man!”
“You held Kiagehul the traitor there,” Queen Cerridwen
said in a dangerously low tone. “We were lucky, this time. But the demon spoke
the truth—they had barrier rights to come search the location of where the last
deal was obviously made. and it was in your dungeon, Rodney.”