Vampires Don't Sparkle: Deathless Book 3 (40 page)

She lunged forward, ramming the weapon between the plates around Wepwawet’s elbow. He roared in pain, blurring. She never even saw the backhand that smashed her away from her quarry. Her jawbone shattered and her head rang from the blow. Liz shook her head to clear it, willing her face to mend and fighting desperately to retain her grip on her weapon.

Through the heart, Ka-Ken. It is the only way.

Through the heart. How the hell was she going to land a blow like that? Doing so would open her up to a vicious counterattack, and once those armored hands wrapped around her she knew she’d never escape. But maybe she didn’t have to.

Liz gave a tight smile, launching a frontal assault. She batted one arm out of the way, then buried her sword right through the armored chest. Wepwawet might have been able to stop the blow, but as she’d expected he was more focused on catching her. Impossibly strong arms wrapped around her chest, crushing the air from her lungs as he drew her up against his metallic body.

Black spots danced across Liz’s vision.

Chapter 79- Final Deception

Isis fled, but she could feel Set gaining ground on her. Every step he took thundered in her ears, and no matter how quickly she blurred he was still narrowing the gap. It seemed he’d abandoned his quest to save his wife, and was now focused to the exclusion of all else on killing Isis.

She leapt over a small knoll, barreling toward the entrance of the Ark. If she was going to die, she had to do it as close to the Ark as possible. Gods willing, she could lure Set inside.

“Isis,” Set roared, so close she could feel his hot breath. “I will eat your heart. I will make Osiris watch as I visit the same fate upon you that he visited upon Nephthys.”

It occurred to her that Set must be linked to his wife. Perhaps that was the reason he still gave chase. He already knew Nephthys was dead, so there was no point in going after Osiris.
 

“Will you now?” came Osiris’s strong voice. He appeared ahead of her.

Her husband swept forward in a combat stance, golden blade held high. Isis ducked under it, skidding to a halt behind him. She scanned the shadows, but saw no sign of Sekhmet yet.

“At last,” Set roared, extending his left hand. A massive ebony claymore flowed into his hand, painful to look upon. It behaved like sunsteel, but was corrupted somehow, just like the armor. “It’s time to die, brother. But before I kill you I
will
make good on my threat. I will force you to watch me consume Isis’s essence. I will do the same with—”

“Sekhmet?” came a feminine voice from behind Set. A golden spear erupted from his chest. “Was that what you were going to say, Set? This isn’t the first time my spear has found your flesh, but I promise it will be the last. Your wife is dead. You will not survive the day.”

The words were brave, but Isis knew the truth. Set was beyond any of them, and there was no way they could overcome the titanic strength he’d displayed. Still, Sekhmet’s words had the desired effect. Set roared in rage. He brought his sword down in a one-handed sweep.

His blade sheered through Sekhmet’s sunsteel spear, lopping the end off. The gold fell to the ground, melting into a shapeless mass. Set was already moving, spinning faster than thought to ram his weapon through Sekhmet’s face. She gave a choked cry, dropping the remains of her weapon and tumbling back in a spray of blood.

Set pressed the attack, and Isis knew Sekhmet was doomed if she didn’t do something. So she charged, barreling into Set from behind. The blow knocked him to the dirt, and she continued forward, scooping Sekhmet up in both arms. She gathered the shadows close about them both, cradling her friend’s limp body.

“It will be okay, Sekhmet. Rest. Heal,” she whispered, terrified at the hideous blow Set had inflicted.

“Take the staff into the Ark, Isis,” Osiris roared, striding forward to meet Set. “I will deal with my brother. Take control of the Ark, and lock him out, just as he did to me all those centuries ago.”

She could have kissed him. Set roared in rage, clearly buying into the deception.

Chapter 80- The Fate of Captain Douchey
 

Blair leapt from the railing, time slowing to a crawl as he gained altitude. Steve was blurring as well, tracking Blair’s movements with those heavy brown eyes. They shifted at precisely the same instant, Steve into a midnight-furred werewolf, and Blair into silver.

Steve no doubt expected Blair to grapple—to claw, and snap, and rend like the beasts they resembled. But while they might possess a beast, a second consciousness, they were men. Blair decided to fight like one. Smart, and lethal.

He came down with a leg extended, kicking Steve in the chest. The blow caught Steve off guard, flinging him back into the glittering wall. It didn’t do any real damage, and from the comically confused expression on Steve’s face, he thought it made absolutely no sense. All the better.

The move put distance between Blair and Steve, just enough that Steve couldn’t close the gap. Blair raised the access key and leveled it at Steve like a rifle. He willed it to fire, and a trio of azure pulses lanced into Steve’s furry face.

Steve collapsed into a heap, screeching through his hands as he raised them to cover the terrible wound. Blair fired again, but apparently Steve was less injured than he’d pretended. He leapt straight up, narrowly dodging the pulses fired by the staff. Steve landed on the railing, glaring at Blair through that ruined face.

“Are you a fucking coward, Blair?” Steve growled, barring his fangs. “Too weak to face me in combat? I watched Bridget die, and I laughed. I robbed Isis of her memories while she slept, and betrayed her to Ra. Now I’ve given everything to Set. Doesn’t that infuriate you?”

Blair smiled. A younger version of himself would have fallen for Steve’s very transparent ploy. Hell, even an older version of him had made mistakes. Had trusted Steve and gone running back to Bridget within days of being separated from Liz. He’d made mistake after mistake in combat, all because he was fighting with his heart, and not his head.

“Yeah, it kind of pisses me off,” he replied, keeping the staff leveled on Steve’s chest. He was ready, hovering at the edge of a blur.

“Then put down the staff, and let’s end this,” Steve said, a light of triumph entering his gaze.

“Or I could gun you down with this handy Builder weapon,” Blair said, blurring as fast as he could. Time slowed, but Steve matched his movements perfectly.
 

As expected, Steve leapt from the railing, aiming straight for Blair. Blair fired two blasts, each with a very specific target. The first was aimed at the clawed hand coming for his face. Not because he feared the blow, but because of the golden bracelet wrapped around the wrist. The blast incinerated bone and flesh, melting everything between his elbow and hand.

The hand spun away in slow motion, no longer blurring. The second blast caught Steve in the crotch, incinerating everything that made him a man. Childish, maybe. But the fucker deserved it.

Steve crashed to the walkway, dropping his blur. He stared up in pain, and horror, mouth already opening to form some sort of plea. Blair didn’t give him that chance. He rammed the scarab end of the staff into Steve’s neck, choking off whatever the bastard had been about to say.

Are you going to kill me?
Steve asked, the thought echoing hatefully in Blair’s mind.

“Nah,” Blair said, grinning wickedly. “I’ve never been very good at cruelty, and I want your death to be as painful as possible.”

Steve looked confused, which only made Blair smile wider. “Hey Irakesh, guess what? You’re free.”

Steve suddenly understood. He struggled into a sitting position and stared in horror. Blair turned to face Irakesh, who was pinned against a wall.
 

Jordan turned, sized up the situation, and gave a wolfish grin. He released Irakesh, nodding in Steve’s direction. Irakesh’s face twisted in fury, and he blurred to Steve. Irakesh flew into a flurry of blows, punching, kicking, and clawing as Steve desperately sought to ward off the blows.

Then Irakesh finally picked Steve up, drawing his face close. “You are an honorless cur. A stain upon both your kind and mine. I have long considered Isis and her bestial get enemies, but the Ka-Dun Blair has my respect. He is a worthy foe. You? You are nothing. Contemplate that as you die.”

Irakesh tossed Steve high into the air, the arc carrying him over the railing. Before he could plummet to his death, Irakesh fired a thick pulse of green energy, melting Steve’s legs. Blair added a trio of blasts from the staff, unraveling Steve’s torso. Just like that Steve dissolved, his scream abruptly cut off. Blair began to laugh.

“Man, I hated that fucker,” Jordan said, glancing over the railing as all that remained of Steve splattered to the ground below. Blair felt something stir there, a familiar energy that resonated with the key within his chest.

A streak of silver shot from Steve’s remains, crashing into Jordan’s chest. Every last strand of blonde fur stood on end for a few moments, leaving Jordan looking like he’d just been through the dryer. Then the Commander heaved a deep sigh, blinking in wonder. Blair knew what he was experiencing, the sudden link to an Ark.

Blair turned to Irakesh. “You have a choice, now. Help us end this, end Set. Or meet your own end here. You know you can’t take us all. Jordan, Trevor and I are all Ark Lords. Choose, and choose quickly.”

“So be it,” Irakesh snarled. “There is peace between us, until Set is dealt with.”

Chapter 81- Broken

“You can set me down,” Sekhmet said, though her gaze was a little unfocused. Isis did as Sekhmet asked, placing her friend next to the central obelisk. It was the first time Isis had returned to the First Ark in over twenty millennia, and she couldn’t help but shudder as she saw what had been done to the place.

Set’s demons had defaced the walls, destroying both the glyphs she and Osiris had carved, as well as those left by the much older Builders. The place reeked of feces and worse things, a foul miasma that seemed strongest in the central chamber. That, more than anything else, showed her they’d made the right decision. Sacrificing everything to stop Set was the only possible course.

“Listen,” Sekhmet said, nodding at the doorway.

Heavy booted steps approached. Isis had expected the battle between Set and Osiris to last longer. It seemed they’d underestimated their foe. Just how powerful had Set grown? Would even an explosion such as the First Ark might make be enough to kill him?
 

“Iiiiiiississs,” Set taunted. A moment later, his armored form strode imperiously down the ramp into the central chamber. All damage to his armor had been healed, and the black metal looked as if it had been forged that morning. “Ahh, there you are. I’ve brought you a gift.”

Set reached back into the shadows, dragging forth a limp body. He tossed Osiris on the ramp ahead of him, grinning manically as her husband rolled to a stop near the base of the ramp. Then Set tossed something golden and metallic. It flashed through the air, landing next to Osiris.

Osiris’s mighty blade had been shattered. The piece Set discarded was nothing more than the hilt and the first foot of the blade. The rest was gone, cut off cleanly just as Sekhmet’s spear had been.
 

“Oh, don’t worry, little sister,” Set said, all mock sympathy. “I haven’t killed him, not like last time. There’s no need for you to craft a virus to bring him back. I want him alive, just as I want you alive. Your torment will last millennia. I will make you kill everyone and everything you have ever loved. You will not only watch this world burn, you will participate. And when at last nothing of our species remains, I will sacrifice you to our new masters.”

Isis licked her chops, rising to her feet. She was a terrifying beast, yet it was she who quailed. She glanced at Sekhmet, who’d risen as well. Sekhmet looked exhausted, but she drew a small golden dagger from her belt. Isis gave her a quick nod, and the two turned to face Set.

“Is that your plan?” Set asked, clearly amused. “Make me kill you? It won’t work. I’ll thrash you as I have your husband, but you won’t die. Not yet. Come, let us dance one last time.”

Isis winked at Sekhmet, and her sister shot her a quick smile. They were all about to die.

Chapter 82- Detonation

Blair looked up from Steve’s remains on the valley floor with a grim smile of satisfaction. In so many ways, killing Steve represented atonement for Blair’s monumental fuck-ups in Panama and San Francisco. The job wasn’t done yet, though.

He took a moment to survey the rest of the combat. The last active fight was between Liz and Wepwawet. Blair’s hackles rose and he began sprinting along the railing when he saw Wepwawet crush Liz to his chest. He blurred, crossing the space between them in a couple heartbeats. Blair was fully prepared to tear Wepwawet’s armored form apart, but slowed to a halt when he got close enough to see what had happened.

Liz had been crushed to the black-armored chest, and it looked like several ribs and both her arms had broken in the process. However, she’d rammed the sword Blair had given her through Wepwawet’s heart. As he watched, bright pulses of sickly green energy flowed up the blade, just the way they’d done when Liz had mercifully ended Cyntia back in San Francisco.
 

Wepwawet twitched weakly, then lay still. Liz pushed his body off her, the armor tumbling to the walkway with a clatter as she rose to her feet. Blood matted her auburn fur, but her bones were already popping back into place. If anything she looked stronger than she had at the start of the fight, strengthened by consuming the essence of an elder god.

“Oww,” she said, rolling her shoulder as it popped back into place. She turned to look back up the walkway. “So we won?”

“Looks that way,” Blair said, shifting back to human form. Liz did the same, her black t-shirt and camo pants replacing thick auburn fur.
 

Jordan shoved Irakesh up the walkway toward Blair. Irakesh looked like he might say something, but apparently seeing both Jordan and Trevor ready for a fight gave him pause. His shoulders slumped, and he marched up the walkway until he stood just a few feet away.