by C. M. Steele
He drove forward with the large blade, coming toward me, but I was too quick to be hit. The young vampire fell forward with momentum, giving me a perfect angle to strike. I swung my blade, stopping just before striking the back of his neck. I could feel his fear shake against the edge of my blade. I stepped back and let him rise. “The lesson there is to maintain your footing. Unless you can move faster than the other vampire, you will be dead. The force to plunge a blade through the body doesn’t need to be great. A simple thrust should pierce the flesh.”
The embarrassed soldier, Gideon, expressed a hint of anger toward me. He was one of the largest and youngest vampires. He still had to be around a hundred years old, but his attitude was that of someone who lived like a God in the human world. Many of them came out into the open and made money in ways that weren’t always the most honest. Then again, reading minds made it easy to make a fortune. I would have to keep my eye on him.
Training had been carrying on all morning. Many of our old comrades were still as agile as they had been. None of them had become lax about the period of perceived peace. It would seem that Draco and I were the ones to have been too distracted to see an attack on the horizon. I believe that I’d been waiting for the moment. If I wasn’t prepared, then it would happen, changing the course of our stale existence.
We were nearly done training for the morning. Charlotte sat down watching as Leonora and Mary trained. My mate was insanely tough and it made me proud to have her at my side. They weren’t using weapons because Leonora needed to rest, but there was no one else to train Mary. Dante refused to let any male approach her. He was in extreme protective mode. Mary wasn’t having it and demanded to be trained. Charlotte was the one to insist that Leonora do so. It was wise to do as she directed. I wasn’t worried Mary would hurt my Nora. She was tough enough to fight a teleporting vampire with anger directed at her.
Draco called a halt to the training, informing them that the barracks had been set up for them and that they could rest and dine. “Well done, well done, everyone. More training will be in a few hours. Go enjoy your meal,” he said, sending them on their way. Cheers erupted with the mention of food and rest. It had been grueling. There was more to come as they honed their skills and implemented the specialties they have acquired with age. Only a handful of the two hundred males who signed up and trained this morning had gained additional traits that could be utilized in battle.
Draco walked over to Charlotte covered in sweat and pulled her into his arms for a kiss as he lifted her off the ground with one arm. I turned to Leonora and my eyes were taken from her to my sister Mary. Heartbreak was written all over her face. “Draco,” I called out in a growl. He spun around, looking at me like I’d better have a good reason. I tilted my head to Mary. Tears pooled in her eyes until she caught us focusing on her.
“Oh, please don’t hide your affection. Alessio and I will be together in due time.”
“You shouldn’t think like that, mother,” Dante stated. The poor boy had no idea what a mate meant to us. Her world had been destroyed and her heart was barely beating. She had every intention of going to meet Alessio in the afterlife as soon as possible.
“Dante, when you find your mate, you will understand. Nothing will fix the burning in my chest until we’re reunited again,” she informed her son. She gave his arm a squeeze before walking past him and into the castle.
Chapter 8
Leonora
After the first day of training, Mary and I took a break from fighting. With so many things to take care of, it was a waste of valuable time. It was the end of June and the sun was too warm for me, so I was glad that we were taking a hiatus from training. The biggest issue was feeding three hundred soldiers; vampire soldiers at that, who ate just like Falcon and Draco. Food was a constant necessity around here. The cooks made large batches for the morning soldiers and the night ones. It was great for them to have to serve so many. It had been such a long time since they had the opportunity to do so. Many were the mates who decided to assist in the cause. Falcon and Draco had an endless supply of money and had a livestock ranch along with a vineyard to help supply the food demand.
Four days of watching Falcon train the army was exhilarating and terrifying all in one. I returned to our bed chambers feeling nauseated with fear. A nap would be a wonderful idea, but as I looked at the clock, I realized that it was nine in the morning in Seattle. I wanted to get a hold of Vigo, but I had to take the reins here. It was the perfect time to call him. The solid stone walls made reception here brutal, but they were working on it since Draco had added several new security systems yesterday.
I called Vigo before I fell asleep standing. “Hello, Leonora,” he answered cheerfully. “When are you coming back?”
“I don’t know yet. I want to come back already, but Falcon needs me here. I’m sorry I abandoned you with all the lab set up.”
“That was nothing, although, I am quite annoyed with the transfer of everything. Things got muddled and some of the vials broke and landed on the slides.”
“Are they no good now?”
“The broken vials were tossed, but I can’t toss the slides. There’s so much information that may have potential.”
“Did you see something in them?”
“No, I haven’t been able to examine them yet. Their container had been destroyed during your fight with Nero. I had to find a replacement.” He blew out a frustrated breath. I understood his annoyance. We had to wait on humans and their delivery services. Some of the best equipment had been on back order.
“Oh my, did any of the samples become too degraded?” I asked, tossing off my shoes and climbing into bed. I didn’t care that I was still dressed. I was exhausted. My body was worn out for someone who was now a vampire. I think it was the stress of everything.
“No, I was able to store them in your fridge until I got the replacement. I’ll be looking at them in the next few days.” That was a smart idea.
“Okay, great, hopefully we’ll be there then. We still need to go back to the lab and open it up for the staff next week. I’m glad I have more strength now because I would have been worn out days ago if I was normal.”
“If you were normal, our lives wouldn’t affect you. But I’m glad you’re not.” I could hear Charlotte singing as she approached my door. Then came the knock I was expecting. My hearing wasn’t that strong yet, but it was better than before. And smells were starting to overwhelm me. I wondered if there was a way to control the senses. Everyone but Falcon smelled different to me. Even Charlotte’s scent was coming off different and strong.
“Thanks, Vigo. I’ve got to let you go. Charlotte’s knocking on my door,” I said to Vigo.
“Tell Falcon to let you come back. I need your intuition and genius.” If I didn’t know better, I would say Vigo was flirting with me. He’s overly eager for me to be around, but I know it was because he wishes to free his wife and son from the darkness.
“Thank you, take care and give your wife my regards.”
“I shall.” I hung up, then hopped off the bed. I walked to the door and opened it to a pale looking Charlotte. She was off a lot lately. I wondered what was haunting her now. I arched my brow. “Am I going to be axed off tonight?”
“No, Nora. I’ve got to talk to you, though,” she said, closing the bedroom door stealthily, like someone was going to listen in.
“What’s up, Charlotte? You’re starting to worry me,” I asked, giving her a side eye.
“Come, let’s sit down,” she muttered, trying to hold her breath.
“What’s wrong? You’re holding your breath.”
“Excuse me,” she mumbled before she rushed into our bathroom and retched. Shit, I wanted to go help her, but I couldn’t. The overwhelming need to vomit was building in my throat.
“Oh shit,” I exclaimed before running to the wastebasket. My body heaved as I lost the contents of my dinner. This wasn’t good. I wondered if something was wrong with the castle. Could something be toxic? Thi
s place was old as fuck.
Charlotte came out of the restroom with a wet towel for me. “Sorry about that, Nora. I don’t know how long it’s going to last,” she said.
“Last? Do we have a virus? I thought I was still feeling terrible from my injuries.”
“Nora, it’s not a virus or from your injuries. We’re expecting,” she blurted out like it wasn’t a big deal. I gasped, immediately running through the gauntlet of emotions. This wasn’t what we needed at the moment. War was about to begin, and I know that Falcon will lose his mind to do everything to keep me safe.
“Did you just say we?” I asked, my head trying to grasp the truth. It lingered in my thoughts, but I’d been too scared to confront it. Normal mates didn’t have babies immediately. I pressed the wet towel to my mouth.
“Yes, but keep it down. I don’t know who may try to listen in,” she muttered, sitting close to me on the bed.
“Okay. So have you told Draco?” I asked.
“Yes, he knows, but we’ve decided that it was something that must be kept a secret until we had time to tell. Soon we will show, and as mates to the two of them, we are in the greatest danger.”
“Oh no. I…I’m going to have to tell Falcon tonight before we retire.”
“I think that’s best.” Her face changed and she looked at me with concern. “We need to get to Falcon and Draco immediately. Call to Falcon,” she said.
Falcon, come to the bedroom, hurry.
Before I could open my eyes, I heard and felt them in the room.
“What’s going on?” Falcon and Draco asked at the same time.
Charlotte addressed them, “There will be an attack after the sun sets tonight. There will be around fifty of them.”
“We need to keep you two safe,” Falcon snarled. Draco had his hands on Charlotte with one resting on her belly.
“We must prepare the castle and get the army ready for battle. It’s much sooner than we anticipated,” Draco replied.
“They were waiting for us to rally all of the soldiers here without proper training,” Falcon remarked. The two smiled at each other before Falcon added, “Many of our soldiers have battled with us in the past and are still just as sharp as they were back then. It is the young ones we must hold back. They will not be prepared.”
“This shall be excellent practice,” Draco replied with a smile on his face. It was a sinister look, but that only meant he was sure that they were more than capable of handling it.
“Is there anything else we must know, Charlotte?” Falcon asked, holding me tighter than before.
“They will strike from every angle around the castle. We will remain in here until needed.”
“Do you need us to suit up?” I asked Falcon.
“Leonora, you will not be doing any fighting if I can prevent it,” he growled, looking down at me with those hard, blue eyes and his jaw clenched. “I cannot lose you.” He crushed his mouth down on mine, kissing me as though it was our last. It couldn’t be; I knew that in my soul.
“Please be safe, my love,” I said as I pulled myself from his embrace. Tears were held back as I remembered that he needed my strength.
“Always,” he whispered, pulling me back in for a one more fierce kiss before storming out of the room with Draco in tow.
“Charlotte, I should have told him about the baby,” I replied.
“No, he needs his head clear. Many lives are in their hands. They are the best. We must calm ourselves down and think of other things.”
“Well, I was speaking to Vigo, and he’s annoyed that Draco messed up some of the lab things.”
“Yes, I figured he would be. I’ll have to remember to carry the baby all the time. He got distracted and stumbled with the large box. He didn’t drop it, but when glass crashes into each other, well, you know.”
“Yes, having dropped vials, beakers, test tubes, graduated cylinders, and the rest, yes, I know. It’s easy to break them. We hadn’t made any great feats in the lab anyway. He has to read through his notes. Vigo wants to add the data into a non-internet accessed computer for computations. He doesn’t want any chance of a hack of sorts.”
“I get that. Is our genetic makeup very different?”
“Ours? No. Theirs? A little more,” I answered. It seemed to be the individual markers on the alleles that made the difference. That got my mind wondering how different some of the vampires were on the Lamian side. Could they be somehow genetically enhanced? Could they be stronger than Falcon or Draco?
“What’s on your mind? Our men?”
“Yes, I’m trying to stay strong and remember that I’m his other half. I just keep thinking about Mary, and that’s got me all fucked up in the head.”
“Don’t let that get to you. You have to think about the positive side. Remember Draco and Falcon were protected by his mother for a reason.”
“I know, but after what happened with Nero, I’m afraid he’d do anything to protect me, risking his own life.”
“I’m sure they all would and so would we. Just breathe. We need to learn more about these babies growing in us. Like how long are we going to be knocked up? Like human or elephant, cause that two-year shit won’t work for me.”
“Biologically, I would say a shorter period. Their regeneration…well, our regeneration rate is fast.” Their biological makeup fascinated me. It was partially mine, too, but I didn’t take a sample of my blood for testing. I would have to do that one day. I’d been so busy learning in the lab or in the gym that I’d forgotten to take my own sample. And they never asked for mine. It could be that I hadn’t been a vampire very long at all.
Charlotte sat down on the settee in our room, tugging on my arm to get me to sit with her. “Good, I’ll go with that theory. I already feel so different and it’s not cool at all. Is this the first time you’ve gotten sick?”
“No, I’ve been sick since Nero. I haven’t told Falcon about it because he’s still worried that I’m not healed from the attack.”
“And we’re about to have another one. It’ll be well.” I had a feeling she knew more than she was letting on. Her eyes held that secret look that she’s had since the day I met her.
“I know. I just need to breathe and focus on finding a cure,” I stated, my resolve was back.
“That a girl,” she replied, hugging me close.
Chapter 9
Draco
We stood long and wide. Those fools had no idea that we had set up a large surveillance system just yesterday. Only a few of us were aware and helped with the set up. I had it set up on my phone. If anyone crossed the perimeter, we would know. They were foolish if they thought they would outsmart us again. The light blinked in two areas, and I lifted my hand. Within seconds, our soldiers were at the posts led by Placido and Pietro. Ready for battle, I turned to Falcon and a smile spread over my face and I felt the desire to tear their heads off with my hands. I would move mountains to protect Charlotte and my baby. Falcon’s face hardened with a look that could instill fear into his enemies. He’d already faced losing Leonora. Rage and pain motivated his passion for blood. Nothing could chase his demons away until he had sliced Stavros’ head clean off. The wind caught just as the next beacon went off in our area. Game on, Lamia.
The horde appeared out of the tree line and were unpleasantly surprised. They rushed toward us, but we had experience on our side. We waited until they were feet away before we moved. I lowered my arm and my men drove into their small army. Fifty of them to our two hundred would be too easy. Falcon and I teleported and reappeared behind them, taking off four heads in the back of their line and piercing their hearts with the next thrust. Then we attacked the next row as they turned to see what happened. Our moves were swift as we switched from the back to the front, moving through the soldiers. Several of our soldiers were doing well on their own, so Falcon and I split up to check on the other side. Most of the enemy had been dispatched by the time we arrived, so I returned to our side of the battle.
Jus
t as I reappeared, I saw three vampires surround Dante. Like a beast, he worked his blade perfectly, slicing at them, taking one head off. Gideon rushed in and thrust his blade into the headless one, turning him to dust. Together they attacked the other two. Their agility and movements were seamless. As one pierced the heart, the other swiftly took off the head. A vampire was approaching Gideon from the behind, so Falcon appeared behind him and slid his blade, scoring his back down the spine. The Lamian soldier arched his back as he howled from the pain, causing Gideon to spin around and strike his heart. Falcon finished the poor soul off with a slice to the head. They had been no match for us, even with the rookies still learning.
The battle was short and victorious. Ash muddied the ground as rain came pouring down. It was like the sky opened up with tears. We all gathered in the courtyard to discuss the battle. “Have we lost any of our own?” Falcon asked Pietro and Placido as they led the teams from the other side.
“No one, my Lord,” Pietro uttered. “All of our men have been accounted for.”
“Huzzah,” Falcon roared, cheering loudly. The men shouted, “Huzzah,” raising their blades in the air.
Once they calmed down Falcon addressed them again. “You have all made us proud. Even if you did not get to engage in battle, you observed. They believed to catch us unawares, but they failed pitifully. They will find additional ways to attack, so please do not be complacent. I’m truly honored to have you all serve with us.”
I added, “Are there injuries of concern?” Everyone looked like their cuts were fading already. “If so, please come forward.” No one approached.
“My Lord, we were not aware that you had such abilities to disappear and reappear,” Pietro said, giving us a quizzical brow.
“Yes, we have used it to our advantage, but since I knew not a soul would survive on their end, we revealed it. May I ask, if any of you possess this gift?”
Heads shook vigorously. “No,” several soldiers called out.