Aria studied the occupants of the restaurant. They were smiling and healthy. They weren't dirty and bedraggled or too thin and sickly like some in the woods. They weren't pale and drained like the blood slaves. The most amazing thing though, was they weren't afraid. They weren't hiding and screaming, or struggling to survive; they sat in the open, surrounded by vampires, and they showed no fear.
It was amazing.
"We weren't going to let the word out until we were ready," Gideon said.
"Ready for what?" she asked.
"For a revolution," Braith informed her.
Gideon shrugged as he leaned forward. "Perhaps, but it still would have been a long time coming. Our numbers are not as strong as we would like, and to reach out to your little rebellion would have been risky."
"Little rebellion?" Aria demanded in indignation.
"Even you must admit you don't accomplish much more than being a thorn in the king's side."
Aria's jaw clenched as she leaned across the table. "At least we're not hiding in the middle of the desert!" she snapped at him. "We're fighting, and we've come to you to join our fight!"
Gideon arched a brow at her as he leaned closer. Braith rested his hand on the table and twisted so his shoulder was between them. Aria sensed no hostility from the man across from her, just a desperate need for her to understand something.
"You have no idea what the king is capable of, what humans are capable of when their livelihoods are threatened. Rushing into something, and getting ourselves killed, wouldn't do anyone any good,” Gideon stated.
"The king has a way of drawing everyone in, of making them believe things they wouldn't normally believe. It is how he wrested control, how he inflicted the damage on the world he did. By the time any of us realized what he had in mind, and the lengths he would go to, it was too late to stop him. We were outnumbered and overpowered, getting ourselves killed by rushing heedlessly back in would not help us one bit. Of course, not everyone was on board with the king at first, which is why your mother was killed, something I think you now realize as your father's doing."
"I do," Braith acknowledged.
"Vampires gobbled up the crap the king was spewing hook, line, and sinker. Even then, the king was the most powerful, the oldest, and though he didn't control everything, we looked to him for leadership and guidance. We were fools. He took everything. And when he was done with the humans, he turned on his kind. There were those of us who disagreed with what he was doing all along and those who realized too late what he intended. Though, I do enjoy my fair share of blood, killing indiscriminately was never my forte or anything I took pleasure in.
"These people, and these vampires," he gestured around the restaurant, "are the survivors and their offspring. The factions surrounding us are led by the other aristocrats who escaped, and the humans who fled the fallout of the war. Some of the humans are descendants of the early escapees from the palace."
"My great-grandfather escaped the palace when he was thirteen; he started the rebellion," Aria muttered.
"So you've always had rebel in your blood?" Braith inquired as his finger briefly rubbed the back of her hand.
She smiled as she shrugged at him. "I guess so."
Gideon shook his head as he took a sip of blood and looked at Braith. "If it hadn't been for Ashby's bomb, I think you would have come to see what your father was a lot sooner. I still can't believe you survived that thing. You were a mess; your arm was barely attached and your torso...well, we all thought you were as good as dead."
Aria didn't like the picture Gideon painted. She couldn't imagine Braith so vulnerable and broken.
"So did my father," replied Braith. "I think surviving it in the first place, even more so than mastering my blindness, was the thing that convinced him to let me live."
"Your blindness?" Gideon inquired, though his gaze focused on Aria.
"Don't play stupid, Gideon, I heard you questioning Ashby about us." Braith's body vibrated like a tuning fork as his chest pressed against her shoulder. His hand fell to her waist, and he pulled her possessively closer to him. "I think you've figured out the extremes I will go to, and that there isn't anything I won't do, anyone I won't destroy, to protect her."
The words growled, and cold caused the hair on her neck to stand on end.
Gideon quirked an eyebrow, a small smile of amusement flickered over his full lips. "Easy there, watchdog, I mean no harm, to either of you. As I said, we've been waiting for your arrival. I'm not going to ruin that now. Yes, I already figured out something is going on between you two. I'm not exactly sure what, but I'm guessing it's far more than you're willing to tell me right now, and it has something to do with the return of your sight. Though, I think it will be best if this is kept from the others, at least for now."
There was something more beneath his words. She suspected the "for now" was just to appease Braith, and this was something Gideon meant to keep secret for good. A part of her knew he was right, and that part terrified her.
"And you truly think things will be so different if you return now?" Aria inquired, proud her voice remained strong.
"I know they will be," answered Gideon. The way he stared at Braith made it clear why he believed things would be different.
"Why would you even go back?" Aria gestured around the restaurant. "Everyone seems happy here; you've somehow managed to find a way for humans and vampires to coexist in peace."
"Let's be clear here, before the war we all lived in relative peace too. Most humans were oblivious to us, and we liked it that way. There were some who were a threat and some who hunted us. For the most part, other humans thought those who hunted us were crazy, and there were so few of them they weren't all that threatening to us anyway. Some of the humans enjoyed our world and sharing their blood with us. It was an agreeable time and place. The king forced us into the border towns and The Barrens. He ripped our world away from us and slaughtered our families. I want revenge and my life back as much as you want freedom and security."
Aria hadn't seen Gideon move until his palm rested casually on hers. She jumped slightly as did everyone around them when Braith's hand slammed down on Gideon's wrist.
"I'll only tell you this once, do not touch her," Braith growled.
Gideon winced as Braith's grip tightened on his wrist.
"Braith," Aria said softly.
He lifted Gideon's arm from her and threw it back at him. Though he tried not to, Gideon finally gave into the urge to rub his brutalized wrist. Aria almost apologized to him, but she remained silent as Braith smoothly moved her hand off the table.
"Touchy, aren't we?" Gideon muttered.
The people around them gradually returned to eating.
"I'm not saying it's going to be easy," Gideon continued. "It took a while for the humans to trust us; years and a couple of generations to forge the easy coexistence we have now, but it works well for us. It will probably take more time with your people. They've been more oppressed and beaten than the ancestors of the people here. However, their offspring and future generations won't know what it was like to be oppressed."
Aria was breathless; her hand clenched around Braith's as hope filled her. "The same way I don't know what it feels like not to be oppressed," she whispered.
Gideon offered a sympathetic smile as he nodded. "Exactly. If it weren't for our aversion to having children, our numbers would be stronger, but some things don't change."
"Your aversion?" Aria asked in surprise.
"Most vampires don't like the thought of having children," Braith explained.
"It's not that we dislike them," Gideon continued. "In fact, I tolerate them well enough; I simply do not have the patience or the time to take care of them. It's too much work and not enough play. Nor do we want a vast group of immortals running around the planet; it would only be a matter of time before we outnumbered humans. That would be a nightmare for everyone involved, so we've always kept our numbers in check. Braith's father is
one of the few who had more children after a son was born."
"To make it look as if he cared for my mother," Braith told her.
"I think he was also hoping he would have a built-in, powerful unit of protection in his offspring. Though, he did get two junior psychos out of the five of you. Luckily, the rest of you were born with a conscience," Gideon continued. "Most of us accept offspring are required at some point, but we are also aware if we are lucky enough to beget a son on the first try, we can consider ourselves successful."
Aria scowled at him as she folded her arms over her chest. "I can assure you a woman is a success too!" she snapped.
Gideon grinned at her as he raised his goblet in a salute. "I'm sure, but they do us little good for continuing our line."
"You're an ass."
Gideon shrugged, not at all offended by her words. "It’s simply the truth; our heritage and our ways have been like this for thousands of years. Though we have adapted and changed greatly over those years, some things simply don't change. Perhaps if I cared for the woman, it would be different, but I know the hag I was supposed to be saddled with despised me as much as I despised her. Believe me, a son would have been a miracle for us. I didn't mourn her when she died during the war."
Aria seethed as she continued to glare at him. Screams erupted in the night, pulling her attention away from Gideon as she searched for the source. A chill swept down Aria's spine when more shouts pierced the air. On the street, people began to run; their heads were barely visible through the glass as they bolted forward.
Both Braith and Gideon leapt to their feet.
"Stay here," Braith commanded her.
Aria sat for a bewildered moment before she jumped to her feet and followed the two vampires. They had to push their way through the frightened crowd packing the building. Being smaller, she was far more adept at darting around the people and things.
Braith and Gideon were stepping onto the street when she arrived at the door. Standing behind the glass, she watched as more people fled past; some were bleeding, others were carrying their children, and still more stumbled around, disoriented. Aria was nearly taken out when two people slammed into the door; they shoved it open as they tumbled inside in a breathless heap.
She grasped a man's arm and helped him to his feet. "What's going on?" she demanded.
His eyes were wild when they rolled in his head. Blood trickled from his forehead and into one of his eyes. "The Forsaken Ones," he gasped.
Dread trickled down her back as one ran past the building. It appeared more grub-like than man with its nearly translucent skin, hairless body, and nondescript features. It was in much worse condition than the ones they encountered in the desert.
Is this what happened to the vampires after years of banishment and starvation?
When more of the creatures appeared, their heads swiveled sluggishly back and forth, and their nostrils flared as they scented blood in the air. They were demented in a way that not even Caleb was. And they were heading straight toward Braith.
Her breath exploded out of her. She released the young man as she leapt over some broken dishes and shoved through the door. The chilly air hit her, but it didn't rob her of her breath anymore.
"Get back inside, Aria!" Braith shouted at her.
"You need my help!"
"You don't even have your bow, get back inside! We'll be fine!"
"I'll get it!"
"What?"
Lifting the hem of her dress, she tucked the ends of it into the attached belt. Braith, seeming to sense her intent, started for her. She didn't have much time before he reached her.
Running, she bolted up a set of stairs next to the building, jumped onto the railing, and leapt at the top of the wall. Her fingers scrambled and nearly lost purchase. By sheer luck and pure determination, she kept her hold and pulled herself up. Panting for breath, she knelt on the roof and peered over the side.
Standing on the street below, fury radiated from Braith as he stared up at her with clenched fists. She was going to get an earful later, but she didn't care.
"I'll be right back!" she called to him as she rose to her feet and raced across the roof of the building.
She jumped onto the wall and leapt across the space between the buildings. The buildings weren't the same as her trees, but she navigated them with relative ease as she raced toward Gideon's house.
Some of the creatures started to follow her, but the others continued to filter through the streets, hunting for prey. The screams of the maimed and frightened increased as she moved deeper into the fray.
Chapter Six
"What was that?" Gideon's amazed whisper was close to his ear.
Braith seethed as he watched Aria leap from one building to another. "I'm going to kill her myself."
"Well let's worry about getting to her to kill her," Gideon muttered.
Braith's attention returned to the street and the creatures filtering down it. He would have to get through them to reach her, and he had no problem doing so. They were the sickliest looking vampires he'd ever seen, but their desperation made them more volatile than many things he’d encountered.
The streets echoed with screams; the scent of blood hung heavily in the air as the creatures stalked through the town, prowling for more victims. Most people had already taken shelter in the buildings. Some still scrambled to get out of the way, but others hadn’t been fortunate enough to escape. Some of the creatures were trying to drag their victims behind them.
Their eyes glowed red. Braith assumed it was a permanent condition, one caused by their desperate need for sustenance. Two charged at him, but one broke away, squealing as it raced down an alley after some unknown quarry. The other one was so pale it was nearly transparent.
It launched itself at Braith with an eager screech; its overgrown fingernails hooked into lethal claws. Braith managed to catch its arm and pull it down. It bounced off the roadway with a sickening crack of bone. He found no pleasure in the mewl of pain it released; in fact, he was hesitant to kill the thing. He didn't know what it had done to merit banishment; knowing Gideon the punishment was deserved, but this thing was pitiful.
And it was deadly.
Bracing himself, he knelt to drive his fist through the creature's chest for the final blow. Its ribs gave way too easily. He didn't know it was a woman until he felt the clammy fleshiness of her breasts against his wrist. Disgust curled his upper lip as he ripped the heart from her chest.
He rose slowly and stood standing over the remains of the unfortunate creature. He didn't have time to process this was what they could all become as more were already emerging. The creatures ran down the streets in a savage frenzy; they clawed over top of one another in their enthusiasm for blood. Panic tore through him as he threw himself into the madness and fought his way toward where Aria had disappeared.
Gideon stayed close by his side as they grappled to control the melee around them. Braith caught glimpses of Gideon’s vampires in the crowd trying to control the chaos, but the creatures kept coming in a never-ending wave of pale, almost slimy bodies with vivid red eyes.
Aria was fast; she was resourceful and a fighter in more ways than most humans, but she was also just human. And there were so many of these things.
If they got their hands on her...
He shuddered and broke off the thought. It wasn't possible; he would not allow it to happen. He shut down all his pity for these creatures and turned to deal with the commotion at hand.
When Braith heard Gideon grunt loudly, he realized they’d been separated, and Gideon seemed to be the focus of the creatures’ attention. Gideon was the one to banish them; the one who had forsaken them and now they required payback.
Gideon was being pushed back by their weight as they piled on top of him. Braith grabbed the shoulder of one and pulled it back. Animalistic sounds ripped out of its throat as it fought to get back to Gideon.
Braith drove his fist through its back and crushed its heart with
in his grasp. Gideon struggled to get out from beneath the crush on him. Though as one fell, another one swiftly took its place.
He heard the whistle of an arrow seconds before it shot a hair’s width past his ear. Gideon let out a gurgled shout of surprise as it pierced through the skull of the creature that sprung up to grab him.
Horrible sounds of distress tore from the thing’s throat as it reeled back. Able to get a better shot, the second arrow pierced its heart; efficiently putting the creature out of its misery.
Relief filled Braith when he spotted Aria standing on the roof of a bar. She released another arrow; it soared past Braith's shoulder with a sharp whistle and dull thud that indicated it hit its target. He was given only a second to savor the sight of her as another creature came at him, and he destroyed it.
Through the crowd, Braith spotted Ashby shoving his way toward them. Ashby had never been much of a fighter, that was obvious by the grim set of his shoulders, but he still ruthlessly cut down any creatures in his way.
Sensing a shift in the tide as more of Gideon’s vampires emerged, the remaining creatures began to scatter. Braith and Gideon managed to grab a few more, but the rest were escaping the town. Gideon gestured to some of his men and pointed down the road as he ordered them to follow the creatures and bring back any survivors.
Another arrow knocked a straggling creature over when it jumped toward him. Gideon walked over to stand beside Braith; his clothes were torn, and blood streaked him, but he didn’t have any significant injuries.
The whistle of another arrow pierced a creature lurching awkwardly at Gideon. Gideon didn't flinch at the sound again, but his head fell back, and he looked at where Aria stood. Surprise and amazement filtered over his features.
"Let's hope she never aims that thing at you," Gideon muttered.
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