Mab straddles her partner’s stomach and sits with enough force to make him grunt. “I guess neither of us were ready for this much responsibility. You’re struggling with this and turning into a boring jackass while I’m bugging you to go on heists. Maybe it’s time for me to grow up a bit and you to grow down, so we can meet in the middle. We were always better when we were equals. I haven’t felt like that in a long time, which is both of our faults. I should have helped you more with ruling Nytefall.”
“Don’t be stupid. It was never your responsibility.”
“I know, but we’re partners.”
“So, what do you suggest then?”
“A little more sparring will do us some good.”
“Like we aren’t sweating enough.”
“It’s a good kind of sweat though.”
With a grin, Clyde swings his legs to hook them under Mab’s arms and flings her across the room. She rolls backwards to get away from any other attacks and stops on all fours in order to launch herself into the air. The burglar swiftly tucks her knees to absorb a punch, which sends a jolt throughout her entire skeleton. Watching her partner jam his hands into the ceiling, she does the same and the pair trade kicks without bothering to block. Clyde swings away from a wide strike and comes back while releasing his hold, his legs quickly wrapping around Mab’s waist to mimic one of her earlier moves. With a violent pull, the burglar is yanked free and driven into the floor with his heels pressed against her lower back. At the same time, the female Dawn Fang delivers a punch to her partner’s chest with more strength than she intended. Both of them hear loud cracks and feel jolts of pain before they collapse in a heap.
“You shattered my spine, you bastard,” Mab growls through gritted teeth.
“My ribs and sternum are splinters, so shut up,” Clyde says, every word resulting in a spray of bone shards.
Neither Dawn Fang is able to move as their exhausted bodies heal, the sounds of the party far above drifting down to the silent room. It is not long before Clyde discovers that he can move one of his fingers, so he begins poking his partner in the side. Annoyed by the teasing, Mab flicks out her tongue to hit the man in the face. The shock causes him to push too hard and puncture one of her lungs while she pierces his eyeball.
“It’s a tie,” the pair mutter at the same time.
*****
“Was the party too much?” Bob asks as he joins Lost at the bottom of the hill. Gazing at the sky, the vampire closes his eyes and focuses on the sensation of heat on his eyelids. “You’re lucky that you were born a Dawn Fang. The rest of us can remember what it felt like to be weakened by the sun. There are days I wake up and fear that it will happen again, so my first step into the light is always scary. I wonder if there will be a day where those made by fang and blood revert to old-world vampires or mortals while the womb-born remain.”
“You talk about too many heavy things,” Lost states while she lazily spins around a thin birch tree. Digging a finger into the bark, she removes two thin curls and puts them on the pointy tips of her ears. “The party was fine. My mother didn’t really speak to me and Clyde stayed away, but everyone else was nice. Titus isn’t as scary as I thought. Mab still gives me the creeps when she moves through the shadows. I’ll get used to her if she keeps sneaking me cookies. I think Luther needs a bath. Bunny enjoyed the tomatoes. There weren’t any socks. Not sure what else you want me to say since everything happened so quickly.”
“To be honest, we’re worried that you’ll run away,” the elf admits, his eyes still clamped shut. He slides a riding crop out of his sleeve and crouches to blindly draw a picture in the dirt road. “You’re a Vengeance Hound now, but you’re also Chastity’s daughter. Even though you don’t get along with her, you’re a member of our gang by birth. That means we have to make sure you stay safe. With everything going on, I don’t think you’ll make it very far if you try to survive alone.”
Giving in to her curiosity, Lost hurries to see what the other vampire is drawing and nearly erases it as she slides to a stop. “But I was fine before. Then again, nobody knew I existed. My friends didn’t know where I was either. The scary man wasn’t so close too. Everything caught up to me and bunny, which makes me sad. I didn’t even get to meet my father. What if I wish really hard to make all of our problems disappear?”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Bob replies as he finally looks at his creation. The mess of lines makes no sense to him until he stands on his head, which the girl promptly imitates. “It’s a bull with wings, which I won’t create. Really not a fan of working with cows since everyone wants to either eat or milk them. By the way, don’t you think if you wished all your problems away then even the small ones would vanish? People you’re only mildly angry at will go away just like those you hate. Any chance of making amends and becoming friends would be gone forever. Problems are a lot like flies. You swish your tail to scare them off and they’ll keep coming back unless you take more action. Still, killing all of the flies means the good that they do will be lost as well.”
“You say really strange things.”
“It’s fine as long as I understand.”
“Is that how conversations work?”
“They do with me.”
Satisfied with the response, Lost hurries to the nearest tree and pulls off a thin branch that she can use to make her own pictures. Two of the protective hummingbirds dive in to attack, but she takes over their minds and has them follow her instead. Drawing a collection of stick figures, she has the animals work on a detailed setting that includes the Scrumptious Siren and an arching rainbow. Wanting to add color, she sends the birds to look for flowers, but she is forced to release them when she finds that they are too small to carry the plants back. Kneeling in front of the central figure, Lost pulls out some of her hair and gently places it on the image’s oddly shaped head. Whistling for her bunny to hop onto her shoulder, the vampire takes a few steps back to examine her masterpiece. With a sigh, she imitates Chastity by waving her hand and moving the dirt to erase the picture.
“I think I did a bad thing,” Lost whispers before taking a seat on a tree stump. Spotting a fuzzy caterpillar on the ground, she moves her foot to get it on her toes and lifts it to a nearby birch. “Clyde is probably right that my tantrum made my friends act like monsters. I’m the oldest and strongest of the womb-born, so they’re my responsibility. Were you told that I started attracting them to me when I was five? I didn’t have my powers then, but I did it anyway. What if I’m like Clyde and I’m different from everyone too? He’s not like other Dawn Fangs, so I might not be like my friends. I could be a super womb-born who can destroy the world if she isn’t careful. I only want to have fun and fa . . . Do you think I’m a horrible person for abandoning my friends? The voices in my head are only singing and complaining about being too rough.”
“Not like you did it on purpose,” Bob states with a glance back to the building. He can barely make out the goblins in the windows, their hard work having created enough smoke that it has covered the hill like a morning fog. “You remind me a lot of Clyde. Not how he was long ago, but what he’s like now. Both of you are taking on more responsibility and stress than you really need to. You should really talk to him.”
“He still terrifies me,” the girl quickly blurts out.
“You’ll get over that after a few years,” the vampiric elf casually promises. Noticing that Lost is sniffing at the air, he does the same until he gets a little dizzy. “You don’t have a lot of control of your senses, so this place must be difficult. I’m surprised it took you so long to start having problems. Sorry to get off topic, but I don’t know what else I can say. Want me to lend you one of my horses and you can ride around? A good gallop along the road always helps me clear my mind. You okay, Lost?”
Waving his hand in front of the girl’s face, Bob finds that her eyes will not blink and even her breathing is shallow. Putting his fingers to her neck, he catches a faint pulse before a bu
rning sensation ripples up his arm. The pain is enough to make the entire limb useless, but he is still able to catch the incoming crossbow bolt with his other hand. Feeling a sting in his palm, the vampire opens his fist and discovers that tiny barbs along the shaft have pierced his flesh. As his other arm goes numb, he whistles for one of his horses, but the stable explodes the instant the largest of his mounts whinnies in reply. The blast sends a rain of debris over the forest and Bob tries to dive for cover only to find that his legs fail to respond. He crashes into the dirt and slowly curls into a ball before a purple smoke spewing chunk of roof lands on top of him. The fumes paralyze the Dawn Fang, who can barely twitch a finger and finds that even his thoughts are locked on the fact that he is trapped.
“As usual, my plan has gone perfectly,” Archillious proudly declares as he steps out of the forest. Skipping across the road, he puts Lost over his shoulder and stuffs her bunny into his jacket pocket. “I was saving this poison just for you, old master. Now, you will give the great Archillious and all his friends what you promised. If not then I have a long list of loved ones to kill in front of you. We’re going to have so much fun!”
12
Placing Lost on the ground, Archillious checks to make sure the poison-filled helmet is secured around her head. He tightens two of the screws before slipping a ring onto her finger, the red and blue of the fitted gemstone swirling like a slow eddy. Satisfied that his prisoner is incapacitated, the man whistles and goes about placing purple orbs around the canopied willow grove. He stops when he feels something rub against his leg, which turns out to be the bunny as it falls out of his pocket. Checking to make sure the animal is still limp, he scoops it up by the ears and goes to lash the pet to its unconscious master. A sound from the upper branches gives him pause, but it is nothing more than a flock of bats that are leaving for the night. Fearing that he is still too close to the Scrumptious Siren, Archillious pokes his head outside of the trees to see if there is anyone lurking nearby. The sun is still high enough to give him some light, but it is steadily being consumed by clouds. Nerves on edge, he draws a small crossbow from the inside of his jacket and fires at three shadows that catch his attention. None of them fall or come out into the open, so he assumes they are trees and goes back inside to relax. It is not long after he sits down to eat a sandwich that is starting to smell bad that his vampiric companions arrive, each one with a metal bolt in their heads. The man grins as they remove the projectiles and toss them into his lap.
“The great Archillious always makes the headshots,” he declares with his mouth full. He wipes his chin on his sleeve and moves closer to Lost, who he pats on the foot. “I told you I would get her when the opportunity presented itself. Sure, we could have gone in swinging and taken her in the chaos, but that isn’t my style. More of a chance of getting hurt or killed when you don’t make your own advantage, especially with this Clyde guy around. If he’s as strong and vicious as you say then you should be thanking me for defeating him with cunning.”
“I find it hard to believe you actually beat him,” Decker mutters while crouching in front of the girl. Reaching for her hand, he growls when his fingers are slapped and he is rudely waved away. “We got her and now we can bring her back to Nyte. With any luck, her army will follow and we can convince them to join us. That is still the plan, right?”
“I lost contact with Lord Tempest and Lady Sylvan a long time ago,” Kai reminds the soldier. Taking off his night cloak, the vampire rubs at the hole between his eyes and sniffs at the blood on his fingers. “Very interesting that you laced your bolts with some kind of anti-clotting liquid. Not that it does a lot to our kind except for slowing our healing by a few seconds. I assume it’s similar to what you’re using on her. That helmet and ring better keep her under control because it is a long trip back to Nyte.”
“Through Duragian territory too,” Archillious adds with a chuckle. Hurrying over to Stephanie, he offers to help her with her cloak, but she only puts down the cowl. “The noble overtures of Archillious are so rarely appreciated. To put your minds at ease, I’ve made sure that helmet is screwed into her neck. The paralytic poison inside will last for a day, which gives me plenty of time to put more in through the plug. I only added the psychic blocking ring in case my numbers are off, which never happens. Those Dawn Fangs should still be out cold too, especially since their two strongest weren’t there.”
Fearing that the mortal has made a mistake, Stephanie slashes a cut down her entire arm and waves her hand through the dripping blood. “I assume you are talking about Clyde and Mab, who are the ones you need to fear most. I can sense her inside the shadows already. They were too deep in Chastity’s home to be affected by the poison. Clyde is staying behind, which is a small favor. The only reason I know this is because I’m scrying objects that could be near them, so everything is fuzzy. That’s the norm with those two. Let me concentrate and I can redirect Mab to a place where she’ll be too busy saving her own hide to track us. You mentioned Duragians, which should work. Maybe they’ll kill her and I can return to my mistress with news of such a victory.”
The ritualist holds out her blood-covered hand and lets the drops fall to the grass to create a sigil. Her other arm continues spewing gore, which turns into a shadow that she moves over the symbol. Once Stephanie is sure that Mab is paying attention to them, she sends the decoy flying out of the grove and into the sky. She does her best to direct the spell, but finds that she has been weakened by the severe blood loss. Through her creation’s energy, the calico watches the landscape flash by and guides it to a beacon of blinding light that can be nothing short of a holy site for the Sun God. As soon as the false shadow passes through a wall, Stephanie is struck by a pulse of magic that breaks her connection and causes steam to waft from her body. Falling to her knees, she licks at her wounds until they have begun to heal. It is not until Decker hands his friend a pouch of blood that she gives in to her quivering limbs and lies down to bite into the leather container.
“Would it really have been that bad if one enemy showed up?” Archillious asks with a yawn. Walking to the trees, he makes a circle with his finger to get the others to turn away from him. “Unlike you, I still have natural urges that stem from my love of water. Such a simple, yet delicious drink. As I was saying, this Mab would have shown up and gotten herself killed. One less threat to deal with, right?”
“Then you know nothing about her,” Decker replies, his eyes searching the shadows for signs of his former friend. He walks backwards in order to reach Stephanie and kneels to check on her injuries. “We need to rest and feed before we move out. All of us are tired from searching nonstop. Thank you for telling your men to go somewhere else because not having an army allowed us to cover more ground in less time. Still, some of us have our limits since they aren’t used to such journeys.”
“I have to disagree,” Kai declares before turning around. He scowls at the sight of Archillious looming over Lost, who has fallen onto her side. “Stephanie and Lost can be carried, which I would prefer. Clyde probably won’t be coming after us on his own, but it won’t be long before he rallies his gang. Even if it’s just him and Mab, we should get moving. The last thing we want is to be ambushed on the road.”
“That would be terrible,” the grinning mortal whispers. Sliding his foot beneath Lost, he flips her into his arms and puts her over his shoulders like a living yoke. “Here is where things get awkward. From what you’re saying, I get the feeling that Lord Tempest has plans for this girl that don’t include my wishes. Archillious is a man of his word, but I need to settle my business with her first. Hope you understand . . . Not that it matters.”
Sensing a betrayal, Decker makes a move towards the mortal, but finds that his body is resisting his commands. “Let’s not do anything rash. If you want to go through with your business, then you can do so after we get to Nyte. Lord Tempest is a man of his word too, but he demands loyalty even from mortals who help him. What in all of Windemere have you
done to us?”
“I set up poison gas orbs before you arrived.”
“These shouldn’t affect us.”
“Normally, I would agree, but I tuned these specifically to you three.”
“You planned to turn on us all along?”
“No, but I wanted a plan in case you stood in my way.”
“I still don’t understand.”
“Had a feeling you were as dumb as the rocks your people live within,” Archillious says into the dwarf’s ear. He leaps away when the soldier tries to grab him and delivers a kick to the head that causes his foot to throb. “That thing has to be made out of iron, which explains why you’re still standing. Look, I may have had a second job as an assassin who specialized in poisons. It isn’t like people suspect jesters, which is strange since so many are killers. Anyway, my genius allows me to craft poisons that will affect only my targets. I will admit that I underestimated you, General Decker, since you should be out like your friends.”
The vampire can only growl through gritted teeth when he tries to pounce on Archillious, who happily dances away. Instead of using his own body to fight back, he wields Lost like a club to hit Decker with her bare feet. Realizing he would do better by flipping the girl around, he tosses her into the air and sidesteps the next charge. Catching the Dawn Fang by the ankles, the humming mortal swings her helmeted head into the dwarf’s groin. The only response is a cough and a primal snarl, but the poison orbs explode in time to fill the grove with purple fog. Seeing his chance to escape, Archillious sprints out of the cloud and begins firing over his shoulder when he hears thudding footsteps far behind him.
“It isn’t like this is personal!” the man shouts with an echoing cackle.
*****
Holding his breath, Clyde lifts the chunk of debris off Bob and hurls it as far away as possible. Putting the paralyzed vampire over his shoulder, he hurries back into the Scrumptious Siren and places his friend on a bench. He checks the others who are laid out on the floor, which is covered by the purple smoke. Feeling dizzy and stiff, Clyde unleashes enough of his Lord’s Rage to purge the poison from his body. The goblins screech in terror at the surge of bloodlust and scamper under the tables, their yellow eyes locked on the Dawn Fang. He ignores their outburst and tries to find a way to expel the lingering fog from the building. With it staying on the ground, the ceiling vent and open windows are useless, which causes him to growl in frustration. Waves of his hand and powerful claps shift the vapor, but it repeatedly flows back to fill the spots. Clyde is about to punch a hole in the floor to let the poison seep into the lower floors, but stops and mutters a curse at his own foolishness. One by one, he dumps his paralyzed friends into the holes that lead to the private rooms. He is gentler with Chastity, who he puts on his back before sliding down the pole and stopping at where the Vengeance Hounds have landed in a pile. Seeing that they are still paralyzed, he gouges a hole in his palm to put a few drops of glowing blood into their open mouths. All four of the other vampires begin to stir and groan while Clyde gets an idea about cleaning the top floor. Jumping up to the tavern instead of sliding, his body spews more crimson mist and his fangs become a glistening silver.
Lost (War of Nytefall Book 2) Page 21