by K. M. Shea
“Momoko,” I called. “Can you open the two side doors over there?” I pointed to the plain wooden doors just a few feet away from the crowded entryway, where people were literally trampling one another to get out.
Momoko narrowed her eyes. Her wizard mark—a stark tattoo of spikes and bold lines—stuck out on her pale skin and eased up her forehead and down her cheek, stopping just at her jawline.
Momoko was one of my best precision wizards. She was great at using small amounts of magic for delicate tasks, and since she started practicing in the evenings with me, I’d had her target marks that were smaller and farther away.
Magic buzzed, and two gusts of wind popped the side doors open.
Momoko grinned. “Got it!”
I found I could breathe a bit easier as I saw some wizards peel off from the mob to run through the doors, a few fae scuttling behind them.
“Good. Let’s go!”
Franco, Felix, and I were the last out of the chamber, backing into the hall so we could keep our eyes on the battle.
That was how I caught sight of the magic circle swirling on the ground beneath Killian and the five vampires that accompanied him.
Given its scale, I had a hunch it was the first spell we felt go off.
I shifted my eyes to Celestina, who was crouched next to Killian and shouting to Rupert.
Rupert, a sour-faced, red-haired vampire I had a bit of a history with, tried to step past the boundaries of the magic circle, and failed.
They were trapped.
A bitter taste filled my mouth, but I forced myself to step into the hall, tearing my gaze away from the fight as two Night Court fae threw crystal vials that shattered on impact and released noxious orange fumes.
In the hallway, my family had reorganized themselves into our half-circle formation, curling protectively around Elite Bellus.
“We need to travel in the opposite direction to everyone else,” I said. “It’ll be the fastest route outside.”
“This’ll be the best way.” Mr. Baree pointed down the hallway—which was audibly quieter than the other direction, where everyone was shouting and screaming.
“Wall formation—Mr. Baree and Leslie combat ready,” I ordered.
Everyone shifted around me, creating a solid wall with our shields at our backs so no one could sneak up on us.
I tugged on the magic in the air and summoned lightning to my hands. It crackled up my arms and shed sparks at my fingernails. Since I was the only one capable of using a lot of magic while keeping my shield strong, I stood in the center of the line with Leslie and Mr. Baree standing off to the sides, wielding blue fire around their fists.
“If you’ll stand behind me, Elite Bellus,” Mr. Baree mildly said.
The Elite watched us all with a curious gaze—it stressed me out that he didn’t seem more concerned about everything.
“Let’s go!” I shouted. We trotted down the hallway, turning off a few times so we spiraled away from the chamber.
We were in sight of a side door that opened up to the parking lot when someone shouted behind us.
“Sir!”
Three wizards dressed in royal purple and deep red charged down the hallways after us.
I glanced at Elite Bellus, who smiled. “They are from my House,” he confirmed.
“Let them in,” I said. “But we need to get outside.”
Mrs. Yamada and Franco shifted to the side, opening a narrow space for the three wizards to pass through, closing the gap behind them.
The wizards crowded around Elite Bellus, giving us House Medeis wizards curious looks as we prowled the distance to the side door.
Once again Leslie opened it and Mr. Baree darted through. He reappeared a moment later, fire still swirling around his hands.
“It’s clear. It seems the Night Court and Drake Family are still fighting in the chamber,” he said. “Out here it’s only everyone who escaped.”
I cautiously dropped my shield—Franco and Felix stepping closer together to block out the hole I left—and poked my head out the door.
Supernaturals were flooding out the back doors of the Cloisters, retreating into the parking lot in frenzied sprints.
It didn’t look like anyone had been seriously hurt, and no one out here was fighting—though the occasional explosion that rocked the building was a pretty solid indicator that the battle was still going strong.
“I think we’re good.” I stepped outside into the nippy night air, my breath clouding when I exhaled.
The cold air seemed to knock some sense into people. No one was screaming out here—or jostling one another. A few fae had even formed a circle on the sidewalk to talk.
One by one, my family dropped their shields as they left the building, relaxing once it became obvious we weren’t in danger.
“It was a deliberate attack, then.” Elite Bellus scuffed his dress shoe on the sidewalk as Franco and Felix—the last of us—slipped out the door. “I wonder if the Night Court knows just what they’ve done.”
“What do you mean, Sir?” one of the wizards from House Bellus asked.
“The Curia Cloisters are a neutral territory.” Elite Bellus’s mild look slipped into a cold expression with narrowed eyes. “By attacking the Drakes they’ve broken a treaty that’s been held since the Cloisters were established.” He glanced back at the building. “They’re going to regret it—that’s if the Drakes don’t tear them to shreds.”
“Hopefully no one got injured in the crossfire.” Leslie bit her lip.
“I think the crowd was the biggest threat to itself.” Franco dropped his arm over his wife’s shoulders. “They were acting like a bunch of idiots.”
“People tend to lose their sense of logic when frightened like that.” I tapped my fingers on my thigh as I stared at the glass door we’d come through.
Elite Bellus glanced at his wizards. “Did you notify my wife?”
One of the wizards bowed. “She’s on her way with a force of Bellus wizards. We also touched base with Pre-Dominant Harka. A werewolf force is roughly twenty minutes out.
Twenty minutes.
That was a long time during a fight.
“Thank you for your help, Adept Medeis and wizards of House Medeis,” Elite Bellus said. “Seeing you work together was eye-opening, and I am thankful for the protection you provided.”
“It was our honor,” I said automatically.
Elite Bellus smoothed his goatee. “I may have to call upon you on a future date for some collaboration, but for now I think it’s safe to assume the meeting is over. I’d head home if I were you.”
“Of course. Goodnight, Elite Bellus,” I said.
“Goodnight.” He waved to us as he stalked off, his three wizards swirling around him, answering questions and swiping at their cellphones.
Once he was gone, I turned around to face my family. “I think that was a pretty smooth exit, great job everyone.”
“It was awesome!” Franco affectionately ruffled my hair. “I finally get why you make us memorize and practice so many formations, Adept!”
“It was very effective,” Mrs. Yamada agreed.
“Yeah,” Felix said. “But maybe we need to get our Adept a whistle? Everyone was so panicked it was pretty hard to hear orders.”
“I think when Elite Bellus whistled he was signaling his people,” Leslie said. “Maybe we should come up with a similar code?”
“Not just for formations, but locations, plans—it’ll take work, but I think after today we know it will be worth it.” Momoko rubbed her hands together, rapidly warming to the idea.
“Should Felix and I go pull up the cars, Adept?” Mr. Baree asked.
I looked back at the glass door, my stomach in knots.
Whatever spell held the Drake Family in the chambers, it had to be a powerful one. Normally I’d think the Night Court were idiots for trying to pen up vampires—they’re more lethal in close combat than ranged—but it looked as if the trap was just around the D
rakes. None of the fae had entered the trap. Which meant the only way the vampires had to fight back were their guns.
Don’t get me wrong—they were dead shots, so the Night Court were in for a load of trouble. But over the summer the fae had given Mason a particularly old and powerful spell that I suspected was so ancient it was originally made by the elves.
If they tossed that to Mason—a lowly ally—it was pretty likely they had more spells like that in their arsenal. And if they dared to break Curia Cloisters laws to attack Killian, I was pretty sure they were going to make it worth the consequences and throw everything they had at them.
Celestina was with him, as were Rupert, Julianne, Josh, and Gavino. They’ll be fine.
Something in my chest twisted.
It was Killian and his five against Ira and all the fae he’d brought. When I’d been leaving it looked like they had at least fifteen.
That wasn’t a fair fight. And help would be a long time in coming.
It wasn’t right.
I was still furious with Killian, and I really wanted to rip Celestina and Josh each a new one. But no matter how angry I was, I couldn’t abandon anyone to an ambush like this.
“Get the cars,” I confirmed. “I want all of you to go back. Call someone at the House, and as soon as you arrive put it on lockdown.”
“Why are you talking like this? You’re coming with us,” Felix said.
I started walking backwards to the door. “I can’t leave things like this. But go home and prepare the House. Depending how nasty the Night Court is feeling, they might decide to come bother us.”
“Hazel!” Momoko shouted.
I could feel the extra tinge of fear in her voice, and I felt like a jerk for what I was about to do.
We had invisible wounds in House Medeis. If I was extra protective of them because of my baggage, they had become rabidly protective of me.
But I can’t leave Killian and the Drakes like this.
“Be careful!” I spun around and yanked the glass door, slipping back into the building, which positively reeked of fae magic.
And so into battle I went. For a vampire I currently hated, to a fight I wasn’t at all involved in.
And it felt so, so right.
Chapter Five
Killian
I tossed a table on its side and crouched behind it, Celestina doing the same to my right. “How many down?” I asked as I checked my handgun’s magazine. It was empty.
“We’ve taken down four of sixteen, Your Eminence,” Celestina reported.
I exhaled a curse—that was too few.
The table I was braced against cracked ominously when a forest green ball of magic smashed into it.
Shooting them was our only option. We were trapped in this magic circle they’d erected under our feet, which swirled and rotated so it looked like a vine-like pattern grew around us. We couldn’t escape, and we couldn’t get any closer.
I exhaled a second curse.
“How are we doing on ammo?” I asked.
“We each still have two to three loaded magazines,” Celestina said. “Unfortunately, they raised a ward, and it seems like our bullets cannot pass through it.”
“Josh?” I shouted for my Second Knight.
Josh slunk around the barricade of chairs he’d created and slid to a stop next to me. “Your Eminence.”
“How’s Gavino?”
Josh bowed his head. “His injury is grievous. They hit him in the belly. He’ll survive if we can get out.”
If.
It wasn’t necessarily a given.
I’d been such a fool. Though I usually armed my people with great paranoia, I hadn’t learned from the occasion with Hazel’s degenerate cousin and the elf spell he’d dropped on us.
I should have realized what that spell meant and started carrying items to break wards.
How could I fail like this? How could I fail them? If Hazel…
No. I didn’t regret sending her away. Hazel could have busted us out of this—possibly—but I didn’t want to involve her, didn’t want to risk her…
My gaze wandered from Josh to Celestina as another glass vial sailed over our heads and hit Josh’s barricade, spattering a red liquid that slowly ate through the wood.
“We have to hold out,” I said. “Pre-Dominant Harka and Elite Bellus were in attendance. They’ll send forces, and our people will learn of it.”
Celestina and Josh nodded, and the table groaned before its left side shattered into splinters.
“Get back to Gavino,” I said.
“Yes, Your Eminence.”
Even in the middle of a battle my First and Second Knights kept up with a title which—at the moment—I felt like I didn’t deserve.
Josh crouched as he ran back to his barricade, ducking out of sight.
I reloaded my handgun’s magazine, then propped my hand on the table for stabilization and shot twice, carefully spacing the bullets. If we could keep them wary, maybe they’d stop slinging so many spells—
Pink tinted magic rippled underneath Celestina. She barely rolled away in time before the magic clamped around her table like the jaws of a creature and swallowed it, pulverizing it into dust and slivers of wood.
I shot off a few more bullets, attempting to cover for my First Knight while she dove for new shelter. She barely made it behind a desk, tucking her feet in just before purple magic punched through it.
Celestina was thrown into the invisible wall of the spell that encased us, her face muscles grimacing in pain.
My table creaked ominously, and I edged out from behind it before it collapsed entirely.
We were losing, terribly. And things were about to get painful.
The thing about vampire healing was it could keep you alive even under constant injury for a long time.
I’d be able to survive just about anything the fae threw at me. My underlings, however…
“Gavino!” Julianne screamed, her voice high-pitched with terror.
A fireball consumed the barricade Josh had built. While he shot off his handgun, Julianne dragged an unconscious Gavino toward two tables Rupert had tipped on their sides.
As she pulled him along, a fae shot an arrow made of black-hued magic at the inert vampire.
Julianne swiveled him so she took the bolt to the side, rather than let it hit Gavino. She cried in pain and fell to her knees as the bolt disintegrated and magic racked up and down her body.
They weren’t going to make it.
And I was powerless to stop this.
Snarling, I tried to slam my hand through the wall of the invisible barrier that held us captive.
The resistant magic burned my skin and made my whole arm numb, but I gritted my teeth and pushed harder. The wall didn’t give, but I could start to see strains in the magic, hairline fractures that spread through the barrier.
Keep pushing…
I clenched my jaw as I pushed, agony radiating from my hand up and down my body.
One of the fae turned their attention from blasting my cornered underlings to me, hitting me in the shoulder with purple magic that had a slick, oily feeling to it and burned like fire.
It burned my suit, but with my powers, my body quickly repaired the damage, producing an uncomfortable, bone deep ache.
I leaned into the spell, but although it was still cracking, the area I was affecting wasn’t much bigger than my upper torso. But if I could just push through…
Rupert’s shout broke through the angry hum of magic.
I swiveled, freezing when I saw Rupert collapse, holding his right shoulder. Dark, angry magic crawled up his throat and clawed its way across his face. The whites of his eyes were wide as he gazed at me, fear and pain filling his expression.
For a moment, the constant bombardment paused. I streaked across our limited fighting area and carefully scooped Rupert up and set him down behind the last remaining bit of cover with Julianne and Gavino.
Gavino was out, and Julianne whi
mpered as she hung her head, her hands clamped to her bleeding side.
I took her handgun from her thigh holster and stood upright, adding my fire to Celestina’s and Josh’s as we shot at the cowardly fae.
As Celestina had said, our bullets were stopped by whatever shielding spell they used.
“Hold your fire,” I ordered as I jogged past a bruised Josh and bloodied Celestina.
When I reached the spot of our circle that was closest to the fae, I stopped.
Three fae were standing by a sword. This far away I didn’t recognize it, but between all the gold and the glittering gems encrusted on it, it had to be a magic sword. Possibly even one of the holy swords the elves used to revere. How had Queen Nyte and her foolish consort gotten their hands on that?
If they used it, Celestina, Josh, Rupert, Gavino, and Julianne would die.
I raised my gun and wasted three bullets, trying to prevent the inevitable.
The shots hit their shield and fell to the ground with an audible clink as the sword started to glow.
Desperate, I turned around.
Josh had retreated back to the tables where Rupert, Gavino, and Julianne were. When he saw my face, he bowed his head, then loaded his handgun with another loaded magazine.
He knew what was about to happen.
I shifted my gaze to Celestina, who offered me a smile, her red eyes warm and proud. “I know you will avenge us, Your Eminence.”
I wanted to say something, to tell her they all were going to survive. I wanted to roar. It couldn’t end this way!
The magic in the sword throbbed in a wave even I, a magic-less vampire, could feel. The humming noise increased, broken by crackles of raw power.
I backed up a few feet and shook my head. “No,” I said.
“Get back behind the tables, Your Eminence. Please.” Josh stood with Celestina, his expression calm.
Celestina rolled her shoulders. “The tables might shield you a little longer and spare you a bit of pain.”
I set my shoulders. “I can survive a blast, even from a holy sword. You go.”
Celestina’s smile turned amused. “You know very well, Your Eminence, there’s no table thick enough in the world to save vampires of our caliber from that.” She nodded at the sword.