by T. S. Ryder
Carlos grinned. “Always.”
He knew he needed to leave, but it was possibly the hardest thing he had ever done. It was only by knowing that he had to drive back the fire-fae in order to protect her that he managed to make his feet move. Finley strode beside him, looking almost subdued as they went to face the battle. It was so unlike her that Carlos had to ask if she was alright.
“I was just remembering the times when it was me that you were kissing,” she replied. “When we’d ride into battle together and then ride each other in the bedroom. I miss those times.”
“You know why they ended.”
Finley nodded. “Yes. I do. And there is no getting them back . . . But I’m glad that you found her. The girl of your dreams. Yet, the question remains: how are you going to stop time from killing her?”’
Carlos growled in his throat. “I’ll cross that bridge when I get there. Right now, I have a demon to slay.”
Chapter Eight
There was no fluidity in the attack. The fire-fae threw themselves at the palace and guards in a wild frenzy. There was no organization among them, no unity except in the mass of bodies flickering together as they fought.
This isn’t a battle, Carlos thought as he charged into the midst of the fire-fae. Finley’s warriors fanned out to either side of her as she all but flew into the midst of the attackers. This is waves breaking against the shore. A puddle trying to put out the sun.
A group of the fire-fae rushed at him. He deflected a fireball with his ax, then charged into the midst of them. The heat rolling off their bodies made sweat pop out from his brow, but a quick mental adjustment of his internal temperature stopped that. He clutched the ax with both hands and swung it in an arc, forcing the fire-fae to back away from him. One of them came at him with a flaming knife, and with one quick motion, he took off its hand.
Several meters away, Finley laughed as she cut through the fire-fae. Sparks showered into the air as she danced around them, her blades flashing as she sliced through their bodies. Carlos retreated from the fight, taking a few moments to block the attacks coming at him.
Why were they doing this?
Fire-fae weren’t just a weaker fae. They were generally content simply staying in their underworld kingdoms, flowing through the rivers of lava that crisscrossed the Earth’s crust. What had Daye done or said to them to make them decide to carry out this suicidal attack?
His distraction cost him. A flaming sword slashed across his back. The golden scales of his armor spurted into the air. Another blow made him stumble. Pain flashed through his body. When he whirled, he smelled the sizzling of blood. The fae that had attacked him laughed, but that laughter was cut off by the blade of his ax.
The ground shook again. A crack opened up several meters away and more fire-fae poured from the wound in the earth. A huge man wearing a flaming crown leaped onto the surface. He held an ax in either hand and let out a bellowing howl while beating his chest. The king of the fire-fae.
“All those that locked us underground will pay for their actions!” he shouted. He beat his chest again. Carlos threw off a fae that had grabbed him and snarled under his breath. Even from this distance, he could taste Daye’s magic enchanting the fire-fae king.
“You locked yourself up, you idiot!” Finley laughed as she strode through the king’s ranks, killing any fire-fae that came near her. “It’s been a long time since I’ve had a proper bloodbath, though. I thank you for giving your life for my entertainment.”
“It’s Daye,” Carlos shouted. He smashed a fire-fae in the face with the blunt side of his ax.
Neither Finley nor the fire-fae king seemed to hear. Both of them roared and charged at one another. Carlos shouted again, but his voice was drowned out by the sounds of battle. With a roar of anger and frustration, he began to fight his way to the king and queen who were so desperate to kill each other. Finley laughed and the fire-fae king snarled as they clashed.
***
The room she was in smelled of incense. Clothing was scattered around everywhere and she didn’t dare touch the pillows, blankets, and mattresses. If it wasn’t for the sounds of battle outside, she would have raged over the fact that they had put her in the orgy room. There were no windows, so she couldn’t even see what was going on.
Three guards stood inside the room and there were another two outside of it. Belinda paced, twisting her hands. Screams, shouts and the clashing of metal on metal could be heard, even though it was dim. Energy burned through her. If she took one of the guard’s swords, would they allow her to go fight? She was trained in classical weaponry, but at the moment, she wanted a gun more than anything else.
“I never thought I’d be the woman left waiting in the palace while her man marches to battle.” She dug her hands into her hair and turned to the guard. “Shouldn’t I be busy wrapping bandages or something? Filling canteens for the page-boys to run out to the battle? Sharpening swords? Not just sitting here useless!”
The guard shook his head. “You are human and vulnerable. You have to stay here.”
“Vulnerable my ass! I’ve snuck into fae palaces before. I’ve taken down fae. If you think that humans are vulnerable, then—”
The doors burst open. The muted sound of a gun muffled by a silencer pierced through the air. Three shots. The bullets punched through the guards’ armor and they dropped as though they were puppets with their strings cut. Belinda threw herself to the floor, but there was nothing to hide behind or shield herself with. Her eyes widened in horror as half a dozen humans trailed into the room. All of them held guns.
“You,” she breathed, looking at them. “The White Witch.”
The Guild’s best assassins. Her mission had been a test to see if she could join them. And now they were here to kill her.
One of them stepped forward. She opened her mouth, but Belinda didn’t give her time to speak. She rolled herself over, going straight for the assassin. The heel of her foot, protected by nothing but a soft palace slipper, struck the assassin firmly in the gut. The assassin stumbled back, letting out a grunt of pain. Belinda continued her roll, getting to her feet quickly.
She grabbed the assassin, slammed her palm into her nose to break it, and then, clinging to the assassin around the waist, threw them both at the others. She quickly found herself the center of the group, too close for them to use the guns. One of them reached for her and she elbowed him in the throat. She threw the one she’d dragged with her into another one and they both stumbled backward. Belinda struck at another, but this one ducked.
“A true fighter,” one of them chuckled. “Even outnumbered. She would have been a good asset.”
She kneed one of them between the legs and cracked her forehead into the nose of another.
“She was a good asset for many years,” another of them said. “The Guild should never have tried to turn her into an assassin. Look. Even now she doesn’t have the stomach for it.”
Belinda snarled. She threw herself to one side. A gun pressed into her side and she grabbed the wrist holding it. With a sharp twist, she snapped the bone and took the gun, then spun behind the woman who had held it. She pressed the gun to the assassin’s chin. Sweat trickled down her back as she backed away from them, panting. Even though three had bleeding noses, none of them looked overly ruffled. A couple of them – the ones that had been talking, no doubt – actually smiled. They retrieved their own weapons and pointed them at her. How many could she kill before they cut her down?
“I can pay off the bounty on me,” she said, panting. “I’ll put a higher one on my head demanding my safety. Carlos has done more for humans than any other fae. If he was to be killed it could ruin—”
“He’s no longer the target,” one of them, a woman, said. She shook her head. “The buyer wants you now, Miss Greene. We were sent to collect you alive. Any idea who this might be or why they want you? We have a little bet.”
Belinda’s mind was slow to catch up. Her breath caught in her throa
t as her gaze flickered among the White Guard. They had been sent to get her alive? Why send The Guild’s best assassins for that?
Because they had to break into a fae palace guarded by hundreds of fae guards and retrieve me. I’m the best bounty hunter The Guild had ever seen. They knew I’d be hard to take down.
And as for the person who paid for this bounty? It was clear. “Daye,” she choked out. “A demon. She’s the one who’s after me. She wants to sacrifice me to resurrect her children and destroy the planet.”
The assassin scoffed. “That’s impossible, even for the fae.”
Before Belinda could argue, the assassin she had a hold on suddenly twisted. Pain shot up Belinda’s arm. She fired the gun but the shot went wide. Something smashed into the back of her head and everything went black.
***
“Stop!”
Carlos threw himself in between Finley and the fire-fae king. He grabbed Finley’s spatha, ignoring the pain as the blade cut into his hand and shoved her back. Twisting sharply, he blocked a blow from the king’s sword, then smashed his face in with the butt of his ax. The king stumbled back, growled, and charged again.
The taste of Daye’s magic was thick on Carlos’ tongue.
With a shout, the vampire king swept the fire-fae king’s feet out from under him. The fire-fae fell hard. Carlos had to block Finley’s blade, then stepped on the fire-fae’s throat and pinned him down.
“He’s under a spell,” Carlos said, blocking Finley again.
She snarled. “He won’t be when I sever his head from his neck!”
“Daye put him under a spell!” Carlos pushed her back. “She wants us to be distracted by this. You can break the spell on him, Finley. You don’t have to kill him.”
The fae queen glared at him, both of her weapons raised. “Don’t have to. Want to. I want to drink his blood. I want to bathe in it and—”
Carlos dropped his ax and grasped her shoulders. Rage burned in her eyes. He didn’t speak, just stared at her. Finley snarled but after a few moments, the rage ebbed away. She closed her eyes, braced herself, and nodded. As she backed away, the fire-fae king groaned. The taste of Daye’s magic eased a little and he put a hand to his head.
“I need to get back to Belinda,” Carlos said. “This was a distraction. Don’t kill him.”
Finley scowled, kicked the king in the stomach, then nodded. “Go.”
***
Belinda was gone. When Carlos returned to the palace to find guards dead and the smell of humans burning strongly in the rooms, he didn’t need to think. He just went after them. In the end, though, he was too late, and the taillights of whatever vehicles the kidnappers took had already disappeared by the time he followed their trail to the road.
Finley returned shortly after with the fire-fae king. He had confirmed that Daye had come to him, trying to incite him against Finley’s kingdom. When he refused, Daye had put a spell on him. A spell that had served as a distraction from Daye’s real plan. A spell that cost many faes their lives and had left Carlos on his knees in his room, arms feeling empty without Belinda in them.
He wasn’t sure how long he was there, trying desperately to know what to do when the door opened. He looked up, then jumped to his feet as Pan dragged a human into the room. His old friend’s face was twisted with determination as he threw the human to Carlos’ feet.
“What’s going on?” Carlos didn’t know how he managed to keep his voice so calm.
Pan’s lip curled back as he glared down at the human. “The Guild. They sent their highest assassins after Belinda. I found out about it too late, but this is one of them.”
Carlos stared down at the man. There was no fear on his face as he got to his feet. Belinda’s scent clung to him, along with the scent of fae blood and gunpowder. Rage crept into his chest, tightening it and his vision seemed to narrow in. It took all his strength not to rip the man’s head off. But they needed information. This was a war, and he was well-versed in war.
“What did you want with her?” He kept his voice even. “Why not just kill her here? She was assigned to kill me and she didn’t. Doesn’t the guild then transfer the bounty to her? Why take her alive? Do you plan to torture her, make her an example to the rest of your people?”
The man was silent.
Pan stepped closer to Carlos. “Carlos. It’s worse than that. Daye’s reach was far wider than we realized. She is the one who put the bounty on you to begin with. I don’t know what she was hoping for other than just to have you dead, but Belinda’s pregnancy changed her plans.”
“Pregnancy?” the assassin spoke for the first time. His eyes widened as he looked at them. “She’s pregnant?”
Carlos glared at him before turning his attention back to Pan. “Daye put the bounty on me. And what of Belinda?”
“She changed the terms of her bounty. She knew that humans would be able to sneak into Finley’s palace better than any demon she sent. She paid for them to bring Belinda to her alive. She’s gotten everything she wants. I’m sorry.” Pan’s hands clenched. “I’m so sorry, Carlos. I failed you.”
“You brought me this slime.” Carlos refused to allow himself to feel. It would only cause him to panic, to lose control. He inhaled deeply as he stared into the assassin’s eye. “Where did the bounty say for you to bring Belinda?”
The man was silent.
Carlos stepped forward. “I have no doubt that you’ve been tortured before, boy. I see it in your eyes that you’re unused to feeling fear. But believe me when I say that you will tell us everything we want to know. Have you ever had your mind peeled open? It’s not a pleasant experience.”
The man rose his chin. “My loyalty is to the guild. No matter what you do to me, I will not betray them.”
Pan grabbed the man’s arm. “Your majesty, please leave.”
Carlos touched his shoulder. “I’m sorry.”
He walked out of the room without another word. Moments later, screams filled the air.
Chapter Nine
Carlos wasn’t sure how long he waited. He paid no mind to time, instead settling himself in a cross-legged position and meditating. It helped to block out the screams, which cut off after some time. Sometime after that, Pan returned from the room. Blood splattered his clothing and his eyes were blank and hollow. Carlos scrambled to his feet, hating that look in his old friend’s eyes. He hadn’t seen it in a very long time.
He had thought that he’d never have to see it again.
“I found out what we needed to know.” Pan didn’t look at him as he stripped off his blood-soaked shirt. “The human is still alive; he’ll survive and recover fully. Physically, at least.”
Guilt weighed heavily on Carlos. Torture had never sat right with him. He knew many faes could do that and worse without blinking an eye, but it always left him feeling like the evil being that humans often thought vampires were. He knew Pan felt similarly. It was wrong – he’d learned that long ago. But here, in such a desperate situation . . .
Carlos gently put a hand on Pan’s shoulder. “I’m sorry that you had to do that.”
Pan shook his head. “You didn’t ask me to.”
“I would have.”
“And I would have done it even if you had forbidden me, Carlos.” He finally looked up and met his king’s eye. “I would do anything for you and your child. I swore myself to you long, long ago, and I have no intention of breaking that promise. Especially not when someone like Daye is on the loose.”
The weight of Pan’s loyalty was heavy on Carlos’ shoulders. After all these years, he still looked at Carlos with that fierce determination. That look that had drawn Carlos to him in the first place.
“Thank you,” the king murmured. “But you know that I can’t love you again. Not the way it once was.”
“I’m not asking you too.” It was Pan’s turn to grip his shoulder. “To be truthful, I can’t love you that away again, either. I haven’t for a long time. We both know it. I am happy for
you, that you found Belinda. And now we have to focus on getting her back. From the first time the two of you looked at each other over that poisoned tea, I knew that she was the one who would give your life back to you.”
“He was never dead,” Finley spoke from behind them.
Carlos turned to find her with her arms wrapped around her middle, an uncertain look on her face. It was so unlike her that he almost asked her what had happened. He didn’t need to, though, when her gaze trailed over Pan’s form. A look of grief etched into her features and she shook her head.
“It’s been so long since the battle-lust has taken me. If you weren’t here, I would have killed the fire-fae king without a second thought. Daye is luring you away, Carlos. The girl is probably already dead. She wants your life. If you go, she’ll kill you. I won’t leave the palace for another battle. I can’t control myself when I have a blade in my hand. But you can stay.”
“Finley—”
“You and Pan and whoever else you wish to keep. You can stay inside my palace and be safe from everyone who wishes you harm. Daye will break herself against my walls. We can play and make love and forget about everything outside. We can ensure that our fun is never bothered again. The three of us. I’ll give up all the rest of my lovers, Carlos. Just stay here.”
Carlos shook his head slowly.
Finley’s head dropped. “Because of the human.”
“Even without her, you know that I could never take you up on that offer. It’s not me. You know it’s not. And right now, my love is out there being handed over to my greatest enemy. My child is in danger. I will not sacrifice either of them.”
“She’ll die. You know she will. Whether today or fifty years—”
“Even the stars grow cold. And perhaps she won’t. Perhaps she has enough fae blood in her that we can trigger it and she can live forever.”
“But that chances of that . . . ”
Carlos’ expression hardened. He had wasted enough time in this conversation already. He turned to Pan. “Where do I need to go?”