Born Into Flames

by Justin Sloan

  “The man your hubby is trouncing?”

  She nodded, cocking her head. “Since when did this become a husband and wife situation?”

  “What?”

  “It’s just… Nothing.” She shook it off, wondering if Diego had started referring to her as his wife or something. “We need to talk.”

  The two strolled back down toward the troops, a new group of them running past, as she told him about Garcia and why he was there. She was looking out across the troops, all Weres and normal humans now, because the vampires had to retreat to their barracks during the day. They’d set up two defensive positions, one up here, and another on the southwest edge of the city.

  Brad had tried to convince her to force them to train during the day as well, with their protective gear on, but both she and Colonel Donnoly agreed that was a bad idea. One mistake could end with the death of one of their most powerful soldiers, if the clothing moved with friction or fighting, exposing them to the sun.

  Still, he had a point, so she had told him to practice carefully for the first hour each evening with the sunset.

  “I don’t know if I like it,” Donnoly said after she had finished explaining Garcia’s role here, and their potential partnership with TH and the FDG. “You all might have met this TH, but I haven’t.”

  “Shouldn’t my say so be enough?”

  “Yes, it probably should… But it’s not.” He glanced back at the sergeant, who was shaking hands with Diego now, having been beaten. He might be a badass, but Diego was her man. Her Were man.

  “I’ll take him under my wing, vouch for him.”

  “You?” Donnoly’s eyes automatically dropped to her belly, but she scoffed.

  “Excuse me. This baby won’t be coming for a few months still. By then, everything will be in place. At least you’ll know then if you can trust him or not.”

  A group of Weres ran by, led by one of the large ones who had come with the group from the Golden City, and she nodded at his salute. Taking up the rear, two Weres were glaring at her. She did a double take, but they weren’t looking anymore, and she wondered if she’d imagined it.

  “Get it done,” Donnoly said.

  She nodded as he returned to his ladies, and she returned to Diego and Garcia. This was going to be fun. At least they were at peace for now, and she was safe. She hoped the same could be said for Valerie.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  On the Air Ships

  Valerie had done her best to ignore the rocking of the other blimp as they rode along, but the constant course corrections as their autopilot setup failed them was harder to ignore. More than once, Captain Bronson had to steer clear of the other blimp, cursing.

  They sat in his cabin, while the kids were cleaning up outside. Valerie had found an outfit of black with a gold corset and hat to match, and Robin had on a violet pirate dress, though she still had to wear her mask and assassin clothes, too, during the sunlight hours.

  “You’re sure about bringing kids into a pirate city?” Valerie asked.

  Bronson shook his head. “Not at all, but the only other option is to turn around and head back to Old Manhattan. Something tells me you wouldn’t like that.”

  “We need you,” she said. “You, and the blimp will help us get to Toro. We’ll need you to fly.”

  He scoffed, but then seemed to think about it and said, “Keep us safe, here and when we go back to the city, right?”

  He wouldn’t need her help, not if he was arriving with a family, but decided she didn’t need to know that right now. “Deal.”

  “The kids have fended for themselves up to now, but, never again, if I can help it.”

  Valerie shared a look of understanding with him, then turned back to watch the other blimp start to turn toward them again.

  “Come on! Will someone go over there and steer it for them?” Bronson shouted. “For the love of…” He paused at what sounded like screams, turned back with a frightened look, and then frowned. “Dammit!”

  “You hear a scream nowadays, you immediately leap to thoughts of death and destruction.” Valerie nodded, staring out the window at the other blimp as it once again jerked to the right. The sun was passing its zenith in the sky now, making the other blimp gleam and casting a blinding light from the window. “I get that, but when you’re in the same vicinity as Cammie, that’s not always the case.”

  Bronson smiled, but had a far-off look in his eyes. “That’s a scream I haven’t heard for some time.”

  “Wife was hard to please?” Robin asked, sitting in the corner and picking her nails with one of her swords.

  “What? No,” he laughed. “God, no. She was a squealer though, never a screamer.”

  “TMI, for sure,” Valerie said, shooting a glare in Robin’s direction.

  “What?” Robin smiled and raised an eyebrow. “A girl can be curious. This whole thing… it’s out of my area of expertise.”

  Valerie bit her lip at the images that statement put through her mind, but shook it off.

  “I meant,” Bronson continued, “it has been a while since, you know, with my wife. Now that she’s passed… who knows.”

  “Luckily, your kids are occupied,” Valerie said, turning to see out through the doorway that the kids had finished scrubbing the deck. “Good way to build character, I guess. Having kids mop up blood.”

  “In this world?” Bronson laughed a mirthless laugh. “They’ll be doing much worse than that if they hope to survive.”

  “Not in the Manhattan we’re establishing,” Valerie said. “They used to call it New York, right? Well, it’ll be new again, soon enough.” She chuckled. “New York… if the city truly understands all that went into that name now.”

  “It won’t last,” Bronson said. “It never does.”

  “You don’t know that.”

  “America… what used to be America, it’s too big. Too spread out. There’s no army that could keep peace, and too many crazies out there to allow it.”

  “We met someone,” Valerie argued, “A man who I think will make all the difference.”

  “He’s got a charming smile they’ll all flock to?” Bronson scoffed. “A golden cock? I wanna know how he bewitched you into believing this was possible.”

  Valerie snapped her fingers, and he turned to look at her. For a moment, she let her eyes flash red. “You talk like that around your children, fine. But insinuate bullshit like that about me again, your kids will be orphans.”

  “I didn’t mean…”

  “Yes. You did.” She held his gaze a moment longer, letting him know she wouldn’t take disrespect. “For your information, this guy and I never did anything like that. His woman, Char, certainly wouldn’t have been too keen on that.”

  “The Were?” Robin asked. “Ah, this Terry Henry Walton character, yeah.”

  “And he is?” Bronson asked.

  “He’s set up an army, out of Chicago. The Force De Guerre, or FDG, he calls them. If we pull together, join forces… it might be possible.”

  Bronson frowned. “Yeah, I’ve heard that name. He or his guys, I don’t know, they were associated with bringing a certain amount of order to Old Manhattan, a while back. But… I thought he was super old. He can’t still be alive.”

  “He is.”

  “A vampire?” Bronson frowned. “I don’t believe it. That would’ve gotten out… right?”

  “Not a vampire. He’s been modified, but, no, I don’t think you would say he’s a vampire.”

  Robin cocked her head. “Can you… speak English?”

  Valerie laughed. “Modified, like, the way I understand it anyway, me and you were. Our blood has something in it, and that’s what makes us who we are. Similar with Weres, and there’s some other form of this out there—modified humans who wouldn’t really fall under either category.” She shrugged. “I guess, I mean, it’s not like I quizzed him about it much. I was too busy loving that steak dinner they gave us before we left.”

  Robin smiled and licke
d her lips. “I could eat like that every night and never get bored of it.”

  “True, but the world would run out of cows,” Valerie replied. “I’ll see what I can do, for you.”

  Bronson noticed the smile and the look between the two. “So… not experienced in that area, huh?” he asked Robin.

  She frowned, not getting it, then frowned more when she did. “None of your business.”

  He turned his smile to Valerie, but when he saw her eyes flash red, he quickly turned back to the controls, staring out the window.

  “Dad!” his daughter said, running in through the door. “The island, I see it.”

  Valerie ran outside with her, Robin following while throwing her mask back on. They stood at the rail, looking out over the glittering ocean to the blimp’s right, where they could see a large island not too far off ahead.

  The girl leaned on the rail, lifting herself up on her tippy-toes. She relaxed and glanced up at Robin, and then at Valerie.

  “It’s not… some evil curse?”

  Valerie crunched her nose and asked, “What?”

  “This werewolf stuff… When we found out mom had dealt with it, I thought I was supposed to hate her. I even did.” She lowered herself so that her face was resting on her folded hands on the railing. “Then Allen was bitten, sealing the deal, and… she was dead. I couldn’t hate her anymore, and realized I was a horrible person for ever having those thoughts to begin with. The doubts never went away, though.”

  Valerie stared at her, uneasy with this comforting role. Finally she put a hand on the young girl’s shoulder. “There’s nothing evil about it, and I’m sure your mom forgives you, wherever she is.”

  “But you think she’s out there still, somewhere?” The girl perked up, hopeful. “My dad says so.”

  “I honestly have no idea,” Valerie replied. “But if it helps you sleep, then I say believe whatever you want to believe. It’s not like believing one way or another will hurt you, right? When you’re dead, it’s either true or not, and nothing else matters.”

  The girl smiled. “My name’s Em.”

  “We’re—”

  “Valerie and Robin,” Em said. “Yeah, I know. My brother, Allen, is the werewolf. The other one, Leo, is always looking out for us, even though I’m older than him.”

  “Sometimes the most powerful ones need the most looking after,” Robin said, her voice dry through her mask.

  “Who’ll tell them?” Bronson asked, and they turned to see him walking out to the railing. He smiled at his daughter and then said. “Someone needs to land that blimp, and I have a feeling they don’t know how.”

  “She does?” Valerie asked.

  “Yes, I do,” Em said. “But… I don’t really want to be the one to interrupt whatever’s going on over there.”

  “As if you don’t know,” Robin said with a scoff.

  “When we’re around my dad, I don’t,” Em said with a wink.

  “Okay, okay,” Bronson said. “Covering my ears.”

  “It’s okay, I’ll go over there with Em,” Valerie offered. “That way… we’re sure you won’t sell us out or otherwise betray us.”

  Em frowned in confusion. “What? How so?”

  “She means you’ll be like a hostage,” Robin said, bluntly, earning a red flush in Bronson’s cheeks.

  “No,” Valerie said, “we know each other too well for that, right?”

  Bronson nodded. “We’re bonded. There’d be no need.”

  “Exactly.”

  Em just shook her head, lost in all this, and said, “Whatever. Let’s get in there and stop those two from fucking—er, I mean, whatever they’re doing.”

  Bronson just shook his head and walked off. “I’ll be landing and working to get some images out of my head. When it’s time, follow my lead.”

  “You sure you’ve got this?” Valerie asked Em.

  The girl smiled and nodded, but looked out at the ship. “Um, how are we getting over there, exactly?”

  “Ever played that ‘swing me’ game, where your parents would swing you by the arms?”

  “You can’t be serious,” the girl said, going visibly pale. “I’ll break my legs when I land.”

  “Trust us,” Robin said, and then together they took her arms, and swung her, releasing her into the air so that she went flying into the other blimp.

  “See you over there,” Valerie said, and then she ran to the edge and pushed off with a thrust, so that while Em went up in an arc, Valerie almost went straight. She landed on the other deck with a roll, stopped herself with a kick against the deck that put a dent in the wood, and then held out her arms to catch Em.

  “DON’T EVER DO THAT TO ME AGAIN!” Em screamed, but when Valerie set her down, she started laughing.

  Robin landed at the railing with a thud, held on, and then pulled herself over the side to join them. “What’s up with laughie-the-clown?”

  “That was… fun,” Em said between laughs. “Holy shit.”

  “Something tells me you aren’t the good girl your dad probably wishes you were,” Valerie said, chuckling.

  “No, but I don’t think he really cares.” Em wiped a tear from her eye and stopped laughing finally. “Goody-gals don’t stand as much of a chance of surviving these days.”

  “True enough,” Robin said. “So… who gets the job?”

  “I’ll do it,” Em said.

  “Thought you didn’t want to… Oh, an act in front of your dad?”

  Em just shrugged.

  “Do it,” Robin said, and Valerie could tell by her voice that she was smiling under that mask.

  “Robin!” Valerie shook her head.

  “It’ll be funny, and the girl’s probably never seen a grown man’s… you know.”

  Valerie was about to protest further, but then she just laughed and motioned toward the door. “Whatever.”

  Em cleared her throat, adjusted the buttoned-down vest she wore under her purple jacket—one very similar to the one Valerie had found on her trip over to America—and then made for the door.

  “This is wrong,” Valerie said to Robin.

  “So wrong,” Robin replied with a chuckle. “I like this look on you, by the way.”

  Valerie glanced down at her pirate outfit, then at the violet dress Robin had on, and smiled. “You too, though, probably better when we can get that mask off of you.”

  A moment of silence followed, until they heard a yelp, Royland shouting, “Get out!” and Cammie laughing.

  Em came running out, her eyes wide, and she mouthed, “Holy shit,” just before a totally nude Cammie came running out after her.

  “What gives?” Cammie asked, seeing Valerie and Robin.

  “We’re there. Put on your clothes,” Valerie replied.

  Cammie pointed at Em, mouth open as if she was going to say something, and then just chuckled.

  “Whatever,” she said as she went back inside.

  For a minute, nobody said a thing, and then Robin and Valerie started cracking up.

  “So?” Valerie finally asked.

  Em just nodded, eyes still wide, and then said, “Cammie’s a lucky gal. Damn lucky.”

  They all laughed again, and then went inside to get ready to land the blimp.

  CHAPTER NINE

  Isle of the Prince

  The island seemed to grow larger as the blimps drifted in their descent, and Valerie was reminded of her first time arriving in Old Manhattan. She had just found out about people there hunting vampires for blood, so had been quite uneasy about the whole situation.

  Here it was slightly different, in that now she knew her powers and knew that nobody stood a chance against her. Otherwise, it was the same, though—she was riding into the open mouth of a sleeping dragon.

  Sure, she was practically unstoppable, but the people around her weren’t. The people she cared about could easily be hurt or killed if she got careless or was simply looking the other way. The anxiety was still present, even if she hid it b
ehind a wall of confidence.

  The sound of music carried up from the town. Valerie was glad to see the orange hue setting across the city, and when she looked up to the blowing wind, she paused to stare at the endless stretches of land bathed in orange, blanketed by thick, red and yellow clouds. The bright spot of sun shone through faintly, hovering at the edge of the horizon.

  A man below was waving his arms and pointing to a field, where the other blimp was already landing.

  “Better hold onto something,” Em shouted from the control center.

  Valerie scoffed, but then thought better of trying to look tough. The last thing she needed was for her first act as a pirate to be flopping around on a blimp or even going over the side. Great strength and speed didn’t always mean perfect balance, though they did help.

  Cammie joined her, while Royland and Robin stayed inside. The two of them held onto the railing and watched the shadow as it grew larger, and then they landed with a jolt.

  “We have to take out this whole place,” Cammie said. “You realize that, don’t you? If Old Manhattan is going to survive, we can’t allow this piracy to continue.”

  “New York,” Valerie said. “We’re calling it that again. But… take it slow. We need information on them first. They have other camps, and a headquarters out west.”

  “West is land… why are pirates based inland?”

  Valerie gestured to the blimp they were in. “It’s not like ships are limited to the sea.”

  “True… and I guess they could be better defended away from the water.”

  Then a man jogged over, but Bronson intercepted him along the way and, while they were shouting at each other, Valerie and Cammie walked back into the control room to find Robin there, smirking.

  “What?” Valerie asked, then saw where she nodded to. Em was leaning back, her eyes on Royland’s crotch.

  Cammie laughed. “Didn’t get enough of a view earlier?”

  Em looked up, her cheeks went bright red, and she made a bee-line for the door.

  “You ladies are mean,” Royland said, adjusting his pants in a self-conscious kind of way.