by Sandra Kaye
“Found him. He’s in room four thirteen. Trouble is, there are two of those bird men you told me about and some woman. I think she’s a dark witch.”
Seslie called Reya to get the team mobile, and Xavier and I started putting a plan together to keep the humans from seeing what was taking place. We decided on an obfuscation spell. It was the same spell used to hide supernatural cities, just on a smaller scale. It would keep us invisible to anyone watching. If the dark witch did anything to alert them, we’d have to deal with that fallout later.
It was full daylight when the team arrived. Teddy had thought ahead, pulling the seats out of the van and piling everyone into it. If not for the spell keeping us all hidden, it would have looked like a clown act from a circus watching them all pile out. Since Reya was the only female and smallest person, I was surprised to see her riding shotgun. Who said chivalry was dead?
Our group made it to the fourth floor balcony with no problems. Just as Xavier, Seslie, and I were getting ready to blast the door open, the dark witch stepped out. Reno grabbed her, and Reya slapped magic cuffs on before she even knew we were there. She started screeching in anger when she realized what we’d done to her. That, of course, alerted the Mockers in the room, and they were on Xavier and Teddy before we knew what hit us. I blasted the one on Xavier and, when he came at me, aimed my potion gun, hitting him square in the chest. He was obviously stunned, which gave Reno time to take his head.
The one that had Teddy wasn’t giving up as easily. Seslie was still trying to hit him without hitting Teddy, since we hadn’t asked what the potion might do to us. He seemed to know it, because he was trying to fly off with Teddy in front of him. The only thing stopping him was Teddy’s death grip on the railing and a grizzly shifter holding on to Teddy’s right leg. He looked a bit like a wishbone they were trying to pull apart. I stepped up a second time with my potion gun, hoping to find an opening while the rest rushed into the room to secure the vamps. Teddy was yelling for us to just shoot the potion, but with Emon’s warning, I was sure hitting the Raven Mocker with only a small amount of the potion wouldn’t help our cause. Finally, Xavier stepped up.
“I’m going to try something, so be ready. If it works, Teddy will become too much weight and he’ll have to drop him to escape.”
“Wait, how will that help? That will just let him get away.”
“Maybe, but it will save your friend from getting torn apart and end the standoff. Just remember not to hit him if no one is close enough to take him out. We’ll only get one shot.”
I quickly relayed his plan to Ses and stepped back, potion gun in one hand and sword in the other. It wasn’t my dominant hand, but I was still above average with it. Seslie was doing the same. When we were both ready, I yelled at Xavier.
“Now!”
Things happened very fast after that. Teddy grunted as the spell hit him, Seslie and I both shot our potions and they were direct hits. She mounted the rail and swung her sword connecting with his left shoulder knocking him to the ground four floors below. Mark, the grizzly shifter, jumped the four floors, rolled, and finished what she started before he was able to do more than roll to the side. I turned to make sure the dark witch wasn’t giving Reya any trouble and found her laying on her side bleeding with a knife in her gut. The dark witch was gone. I dropped to her side checking her pulse.
“I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to let her get away. I should have known just because she didn’t have magic, she could still be a threat. She stabbed me before I realized what was happening.” Tears were streaming down her face. I wasn’t sure if they were from pain or guilt, but I did a spell to ease her pain just in case.
Seslie had dropped to her knees on Reya’s other side to examine her wound when Xavier crouched beside me.
“I can heal her now that we know the major threats are gone. It will weaken me, but I don’t mind.”
Yet again, he surprised me with the lengths he was willing to go for people he barely knew. I let Reya make the decision. She just nodded, tears still flowing down her cheeks. Seslie was holding her hand and I’d done all I could without supplies to ease her pain. So, when Xavier said to, I yanked the knife out.
A golden light flowed from his hands, and her wound stopped bleeding in seconds. I’d known there were Nats that could heal, but I’d never seen it in person. It was amazing that, within a few moments, the only evidence she had been stabbed was a bloody hole in her shirt. Xavier sagged against me for a few seconds before he allowed me to help him to his feet. He swayed a few times, but then found his balance. He was pale and shaky but able to walk without help. I stayed close just in case. In the room, Leon was free of the vines, sitting on the edge of one of the beds and drinking from a blood bag. He had three empties next to him. The other vamp was nowhere to be seen. A head shake from Reno told me we were too late. He had met his final death. The SUV we had driven was pulled as close to the building as we could get, and the body was wrapped in the blanket from one of the beds to keep him from burning in the sun. That way, he could be returned to his family. I still was unsure who he was, but we didn’t want to stick around and risk more Mockers, the dark witch, or Kalona showing up.
Leon was draped in the covers from the second bed and, since he was stronger after all six bags of blood, he flashed himself to the vehicle of his own accord. All anyone would have seen was a blanket leaving the room, then the SUV doors closing. Vamps could move very fast when they wanted to.
We returned to the first motel, rented two more rooms to keep from being crammed in the two we already had, and waited for darkness. If the dark witch was nearby, then we were taking her out once and for all.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Everyone settled into one room to listen to Leon’s story. We were all ready for some answers. He settled himself at the head of one bed, like the king he was, while everyone sat or stood in the remaining available space.
“First, I must thank you all for coming to my rescue. I was beginning to give up hope.” To that, everyone gave a nod in reply and he continued.
“I’m not sure what all you know, so I will tell you everything and then you can tell me what’s taken place in my absence.” That seemed to be aimed at Seslie and me, so we nodded again.
“Pierce arrived the day after I recruited help from you ladies. He is a high-ranking English vampire and his queen wanted him to shadow me, so to speak, as part of his training before he takes over as lord for one of her territories. We have history, so I knew he was trustworthy. I confided in him about our failed transitions. Before he was reborn as a vampire, he was a witch. He still has minor spell abilities and thought he might be able to help. We went to the site of the first death. While he was setting things up, I sat on the mausoleum steps out of his way. I joined him once I felt his power. I hadn’t seen a witch working since I was staying with you girls and your Gran. I always loved to watch.”
“My back was to the door when someone staked me in the back. If I had been a younger vampire, that would have been my final death. Since I’m not, it just immobilized me and put me in a deep sleep. When I woke some time later, I was stripped of all but my briefs and secured with vervain. I was in some warehouse or another. No clue where. Abdon, who you know as Gabe, and his sister Jaydon were there. I thought they had come to save me. I was wrong. They were behind everything. I was practically begging them for help to no avail. I tried compelling them, but with the vervain, I was too weak. I was in that condition for days. I can’t tell you how many. My world was pain and thirst. Those bird men and those two, the only breaks from the pain and hunger. When they were present, all I could feel was rage. Plotting their demise was what kept me going. They claimed they were punishing me for turning Abdon. Him and Jaydon are twins. I only changed him to repay a favor to their great-grandfather. He was involved in helping me get out of France, so I wasn’t put down. Abdon was slowly dying from a rare gene mutation. His blood was no longer perfusing his organs. He would have been dead if not for me. But he was a
ngry about leaving his sister. When a vampire is young, you know they must stay with their maker to learn discipline and control. I brought him here and changed his name, as is the practice. I thought he was happy. It took him ten years, but once he learned control, I let him reconnect with his sister. I allowed him to reinvent himself. I let him date my family, for frack’s sake. Anyway, at some point, they rushed in and moved us. They took us to where you found us. Something went down, and they got very nervous. For the most part, those bird men watched over us after that. Sometimes with Jaydon, but mostly without. I haven’t seen Abdon since the warehouse. She claimed they were destroying my nest. She told me that and my slow death were punishment for taking her brother away. Truth was, after I learned Gabe kept much of his magic after the change, I would have changed her, but their grandfather threatened to reveal my whereabouts to the French queen if I did. It wasn’t worth the risk. I believe if you had not found me when you did, I would have met my true death before the next dawn. So, I am indeed in your debt.”
The room was so still, I could hear my own heartbeat when he finished. That was so very much to take in. I wasn’t sure where to begin. Seslie started off the questioning, so it seemed she didn’t have the same issue.
“Why did you let us believe Gabe was a shifter-turned-vampire?”
“Because if people knew it was possible to be both a vampire and witch, that knowledge in the wrong hands could be dangerous.”
He wasn’t wrong there.
“So, was it a spell that allowed him to walk in the day?”
“It was potion, actually. A rather strong one. As you saw, he still suffered if he attempted to be out in direct sunlight. The potion required blood from both him and his twin. Something about her not being a vampire made it possible, from what I understood.”
“Who was the other vampire in the motel?”
“I thought that was obvious. It was Pierce. Didn’t I say we were together?” That had the room murmuring. Teddy explained the confusion.
“Um, boss? Pierce is back at the nest. He took it over in your absence. He’s got rid of all of us unless we agree to be feeders. Otherwise, all shifters are out.”
“You’re wrong. He suffered true death in that room while I was unable to help either of us. Whoever that is, I know for sure it’s not Pierce. He was an honorable vampire. He would never dream of setting us back like that.”
Well, fuck me running. If it wasn’t Pierce, and the English vamps weren’t trying to take over, was it possible it was Gabe/Abdon using a shapeshifting spell. Those kinds of spells took mega juice. But I’m guessing a spell allowing a vamp to walk in daylight would, too.
“No matter who it is, they are ruining everything, so we have to get to them and get you back in charge before Illinois is in major trouble.”
“I have to agree with Reno on that. Question is, which do we do first? Go after Gabe and his sister to stop the Raven Mockers, or try to take out the fake Pierce?”
“Are the bird men what you're referring to, Analese?” I forgot we hadn’t told him what they were.
“Yes. But they’re not the big problem. Them, we now know how to kill. It’s their master that’s our issue. His name’s Kalona, and he is a supreme being of some kind.”
“Some think he’s a god, while others a demon. At any rate, he can’t be killed. To take him out, we have to get rid of those who summoned him,”
Seslie finally spoke after all that time. “Does anyone besides me think it’s overkill for Gabe and his sister to summon a demon to take out Leon, but they had him and they just left him to die a slow death? Where does their need for him come into play?”
Those were very good questions, questions we weren’t likely to answer until we could find and deal with the two we believed were behind everything.
From the faces around the room, everyone else was thinking the same.
“I think those are questions for Gabe and his evil sister,” Reno finally answered.
“I agree. So, if we can’t get those answers until we find them, is that the plan?” Teddy asked.
With his question, all eyes except Leon’s were on me and Xavier. From the sour look on Leon’s face, he didn’t care for the change in leadership. Not that I wanted to be a leader, but we had been the ones to get us to our current position, so it seemed only fitting to continue. Still, we planned for Leon to resume his position as king, so I looked to him first. He nodded regally. Then, I looked to Seslie and Xavier. They both did the same.
“I think we need to secure Leon somewhere safe before we go after anyone.”
“Why don’t we take him to Pearl? The caves over the rock quarry are the last place anyone would look. Gran and Emon can check in on him, and Henry would be more than willing to deliver blood daily,” Seslie suggested.
“Why can’t I just stay with your grandmother. Amitola has never turned me away before.”
Seslie jumped to answer, “Because Gabe knows about our relationship. If he still needs you for something, it’s one of the first places he’ll look. Right after mine and Ana’s.”
She was dead-on with her thinking. It’s where I’d look. Still, we needed Leon to agree. We weren’t strong enough to make him. Well, Xavier possibly was, but we didn’t want to find out the hard way that he wasn’t. Though, if he did decline with no better option , I’d just call Gran. She’d put his ass in place, king or not.
“Can I at least have my guards back, so I can rest without putting myself at risk?” he ground out.
From the way he was clenching his jaw, he did not approve of having to ask permission.
“You can have two of the shifters currently here. We can’t take the chance of Gabe being tipped off by anyone outside our circle. Teddy only chose people loyal to you and us.”
Seslie spoke before he could. “Not Teddy. He and I have our own bones to pick with Gabe when we track him down.”
Leon seemed fine with that. He chose Mark and Berry. Neither I knew well, though I did know their animals were a grizzly and mountain lion. Both large and fierce, before and after they shifted.
“That works. So, we need to split up. Mark and Berry can take the SUV with Leon to Pearl. Are any of you still able to get into the tombs?” Four of Teddy’s guys raised their hands. I pointed at two of them.
“You and you, we need you to be our eyes on the inside while we track Gabe and his sister. We need to know what’s happening there. Mainly, if the fake Pierce is present, so we can rule out Gabe or her as the impersonator.” They both nodded. “The rest of us will stick together, so when we locate them, we’re ready. Any objections? Any other issues I’m forgetting?” No one spoke up, so that was that.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Back at home, I was amazed to see how much room there was with our group down to just twelve people. Reya helped Ses and I gather supplies for our tracking spell, while Xavier gave the remaining shifters the four-one-one on walking the Gray Fields. Reya’s family already knew what to expect, since it was magic they could use. Reya knew the general principles, but since she was a hybrid, it wasn’t something she could do on her own. The plan was to go in as two separate groups, leaving one person from each group on the Earthly plane to guard our bodies. That way, we could defend against Mockers in either place.
A couple of the shifters we’d been working with owned wooded land south of the capitol area, so it was decided that would be where we took our stand. We were unsure if Jaydon had made it back to her brother or not. At the very least, she would have notified him of our attack and Leon’s liberation.
For that reason, one group would track her and the other him. My group was stronger on the magic side since Gabe was likely to be behind the same type of blocking spell they had hidden Seslie and Teddy behind. Therefore, that group consisted of Xavier, me, Reya, Teddy, Bert and Reno. While Seslie wanted a piece of him, she knew none of us would take that chance away from her if it could be avoided. Plus, she knew the second group would need her power to get thin
gs done. Group two would be led by Seslie, the two fae, and four remaining shifters. Xavier had imbued some of his power into an amulet that Seslie was wearing to boost her power and allow her to break through any barriers Jaydon may have put in place. Though, with her injuries, the hope was that Jaydon would be too weak. Again, the plan was to capture her. We needed one of them alive to answer questions if possible. Jaydon seemed to be against that, but we still needed to try. Otherwise, we may never know the extent of those involved, leaving us vulnerable to another attack.
I helped Seslie and Chastine, Reya’s uncle, set their circle while Reya helped Xavier set ours.
I offered again to change places with her since I knew she hated the Gray fields.
“I don’t need you to protect me, Ana. I love that you want to, but I’m a big girl. I got this.”
“I know you are, Ses. It has nothing to do with your ability and everything to do with my fear of losing you. I know I can be overbearing, but you mean everything to me.”
“And you to me. But I got this. The Gray Fields may not be my favorite place, but I can handle it to take this evil witch down. She crossed the wrong sisters.”
I had to smile at that. She was right. She’d handle this, and she deserved to take both of them out for all they put her and Teddy through. Once we got our answers, I’d let her do just that.
“Okay, sis. I believe you.” I smirked. “You just remember to get her back here, and we can deal with them both together.”
We embraced, and I went back to my circle while the rest of her team stepped inside theirs.
“Ready?” Xavier asked, looking around at each of us.
Everyone nodded. I looked to Seslie as she did the same. “See you all on the other side. May the Goddess guide you and keep you safe.”
“Muah,” Seslie said as I was just about to step over to the Fields.
“Muah.”
After stepping over, I noted that we were all present. Xavier waited a moment to ensure Seslie’s group crossed without problems. When they did, I closed my eyes and concentrated on finding Gabe-slash-Abdon. The tug to him was swift now that we knew his true identity.