“So, who are these White Elephants that Romulus mentioned?” I picture a large troop of shifters with their leader as a white elephant. I don’t want to say that in case it’s wrong. Ignorance is not something I enjoy openly demonstrating to the world, but at the same time, I need to know what we might be facing. There are three vans worth of us. Twenty wolves and five from my coven. Enough for support and emergency evacuations if necessary.
“The White Elephant Organization is a band of thugs that have come together to create a private army service. The private army service that has been working for whoever would throw the most money into their pockets. Daffyd knows he can’t do much during the day, so we believe that he’s hired the White Elephants to make sure that they can still fight during the day. Another unnecessary mass of deaths caused by a war that should have ended years ago,” the same man who gave us our briefing says. I don’t know his name or how he looks. He wears a black knit balaclava, holding some machine gun. Why you would rely on human weapons in a battle where you can be a wolf I don’t understand. He obviously knows what he’s doing and so do the rest of them. They’ve been doing this for years now. Half my life, in fact…
The car falls silent for a second. We’re not far from the border breach now. When we pass it, things may get a little more exciting. Now? The butterflies just explode. The first thing we’ve actually done as a coven that means something. Striking back at our oppressors who have long ago faced multiple defeats, and now we’re working to give them their biggest one. It’s all very exciting.
“Don’t move on original course,” a message comes through a radio. “Repeat, don’t move on original course. White Elephants surrounding the perimeter en route to the tunnel.”
That’s not good news.
“Further down, breaking the barrier is clear,”
“Everyone stop!” the hidden commander says into the radio, and all the vans come to a complete stop. He takes his cell phone out his pocket and makes a phone call.
“Right. Got it. What are the coordinates?” he asks, breaking in between when the man on the other end speaks. “Stay safe out there. I’ll catch up with you later.” He kills the line and looks over his seat to us. He holds the button down on the radio in his hand so that everyone can hear what he’s about to say.
“The scouts are still unseen. That doesn’t mean we can move on the direct path. We were going to strike higher up, giving our wolves in the city a bit of a gap between where the charge is blown and they are, minimizing casualties. With the Elephants hovering over that part, we’re going to move away from their perimeter and head closer to the town. There’s a stretch of land about five hundred meters or so that will give us a good enough blow, keeping the wolves deeper in the tunnels safe as well as shattering operations for the vampires out of Torrine,” I cock a brow.
“We were never going to kill wolves?”
“That’s not what I said and not what Rom meant. There was always the possibility. We’ve lost contact with them, but we believe they would have pushed up and deeper into the city rather than toward the Torrine Castle. He wanted you to be prepared for whatever eventuality. For your own peace of mind, you know?”
I can’t help but feel a bit angered by this. Stressing about killing innocent members of my adopted troop. Atticus just chuckles beside me, shaking his head. The car begins moving again, the commander carrying on the line to give the new coordinates of where we’re hitting: a piece of land close to the city, far from the wolves, out of vampire control.
“Why didn’t we go straight there instead of risking it in the vampire territory?” I ask.
“Because risking a strike this close to the city could cause future problems in terms of the Agency. Staying out of the city is important. We don’t bother them; they don’t bother us. So, your margin of error is tiny now,” he adds.
“Got it.”
The rest of the drive goes by relatively quietly, apart from back and forth between the radio and those on each end. A bit of banter and a few fun words with no news of an attack, making it what’s to come seem a little easier. Still, when we drive off road and onto a plain, with the city out in the distance and the overwhelming force of vampire energy striking me, I can’t help but feel a little nervous.
“You’re up, gang,” the wolf commander says, hopping out the front seat. The rest of the wolves, equally dressed with guns and the like, begin to patrol the area. Nothing. No sign of any organization that isn’t part of the wolves or the witches.
Good. This gives me more motivation to strike. There won’t be any danger. Seven hundred meters out from the city limits.
“We’re in the outer city limits,” he speaks to us one last time. “Their perimeter ends about a kilometer up. Otherwise, it’s too close to town, and that could become dangerous for either party. This is going to require tact and precision. Do what you’ve gotta do.”
Atticus, myself and the three others find the precise location of the tunnel and sit around it – Atticus and I on one end, the other three opponents.
“Are you ready?” This is basic destruction magic and shouldn’t be above any of the five here. We have done this kind of magic in the past or practiced it. This is just on a grander scale.
“Ready,” They all say, just off of unison.
“Then let’s begin,” We place our hands on the ground. Our magic starting to pool between us. Only one of us can do the spell. The rest here are just a source of magic to make sure it’s enough. I lift my hands bringing them together and parting them in different fashions until a glowing orb of purple floats before us. I say nothing, forcing the orb into the ground and it extends and expands, running the length of the tunnel in opposite directions and then it is gone. The wolf commander comes and stands beside us after it is done.
“Now what?” he asks, but before he even finished the two-word phrase, the earth in front us begins to crack, shift, and move before starting to collapse into itself. Vampires from beneath can be heard shouting and screaming along the tunnel. I try not to listen in case there are any wolves that howl out. Nothing will survive this strike.
The commander watches as it runs along, “Right, you can stop now,” he says when it’s moved about three quarters the length of the city.
“It doesn’t work like that,” I reply. “It goes as far as the initial orb did.”
“And where’s that?” he shouts.
“I don’t know.”
And sadly, I didn’t. We watch as the earth crumbles all along the line devised. Further and further, nearing the city limits. My heart beings to break. The line hits the city and stops. Everything is okay for a second and then not. Buildings and roads begin crumbling down. I hear screaming from beneath the earth and now across from me.
“What have I done?”
Chapter Twenty-Four: Brooke
With Daffyd believing that he and Mason are on good terms again, the same for myself and him, he’s removed the ban on Mason coming and going from the Veil. Not that he tried to stop Mason when he did come around but it was more just one of those things to make himself seem more powerful. Now? I find it quite sad. He’s put in a lot of effort to become the man he once was. A great and powerful man. How sad it is that he had to lose himself. This is a man that I could have loved forever. A man, that now, I’ve lost respect for. He’s rebuilding the empire he once ruled so perfectly, where he was in charge with the Council only interfering in the bigger matters.
Just because he’s removed the ban doesn’t mean I would speak with Mason within the Veil walls. That would be foolish. He may be returning to his old ways but even those were untrusting. More than now, I would assume. He would have eyes and ears on us the entire time. So, like before, I pick him up in the suburban areas where his Forsaken friend lives. He gets in and we drive off.
Before I speak, we get onto a highway.
“Mason’s support is starting to get out of hand,” I admit. “I’m worried that this will all fall to pieces if we don�
��t do something soon. The Council is under my command, but for now, they can’t do anything until Daffyd is gone. We need to plan our strike soon,” I get straight into business. No time to waste.
“Sure,” Mason’s reply doesn’t strike me as odd. A man of few words, he’s always been.
“When do you think we should do it?”
“I have been preoccupied with other things, Brooke. I haven’t had time to consider these actions or the reactions that will follow them just yet. Give me time to deliberate. It will be within the week. I know your war continues. It will be over as soon as I deliver Daffyd to Romulus,” Mason doesn’t look at anything but the road ahead of him. His hands resting on his lap. Eyes focused dead ahead.
“What’s on your mind?” I can tell something is burning inside him. Maybe not to share, but sometimes just bouncing ideas off another person helps. So, this is my intention on what Mason is facing.
“A man named Victor. The one who gave Romulus the tactical advantage on the battle of Torrine,” I suppose the last bit of information was given to fill me in, “he killed Zeus and now he’s gone missing. I’m finding it difficult to understand how this has come to be. Everyone who goes missing is somewhere, this man is an enigma in his own. That is what is on my mind.”
I don’t know how to react to this information. I knew there was a new party in the war that helped the wolves, but I didn’t know he had the potential to kill a Forsaken. This changes the dynamic.
“Don’t worry, Brooke,” Mason unlocks the door on his side of the car, “Daffyd will face his death soon. You will find yourself as queen. Do not stress. Nothing has changed,” He opens the door and jumps out. I look in the rearview mirror, but he’s gone. He didn’t even touch the ground.
Interesting. I should try that sometime.
Chapter Twenty-Five: Romulus
“Do you know what you’ve done?” I keep my temper on a leash. Atticus is already gearing up for a fight and has been since before we even begun including the witches in this fight. If anything comes of it, that would exclude a big part of our future warring force to nothing.
“I do,” Verona replies. “I did what you asked.”
It’s small comments like that that would make the temper I’m trying to contain shatter. Up to this point, the war has had no need to bring the human faction in. They had no part in the war in the first place and until they discovered supernaturals existed, there was no threat from anyone but the Agency. There was a need for their inclusion because they had nothing to offer. The Agency doesn’t choose sides in these battles and has to deal with their own issues regarding more important issues among the people. With this, they have a reason to head a huge assault on us to bring the war to the ground and leave us no closer to Daffyd than we were before.
“No. I did not say destroy half a city in the process of bringing down a tunnel,” Atticus snickers behind his sister.
“You may not have asked us to bring down the city, but you did lie to us. You made my sister panic, and because of this, she acted hastily. Your wolves were safe and fine deeper in the tunnels. You just wanted us to kill as many vampires as we could that were trying to bring support to their kind.”
Atticus is right. They weren’t meant to know about this either. There was always the possibility there would be wolves where they tore down, but that would have been a tiny few. With bringing the tunnel down closer to the town, there was a greater chance, but still one that could have been done without tearing down buildings.
“Had we been placed where we originally meant to be, nothing would have come from the destruction apart from the vampires. Your men moved us, and I did as planned,” Verona chimes in. I know that she’s only doing this as a coping mechanism. She ended many innocent lives because of where I, and my commander, asked her to tear down a tunnel. So why wouldn’t she be upset? Why wouldn’t she have the need to cope? Shift blame to where it is due and not keep it on her head.
“I take the responsibility of what happened for myself. Because of what happened, many wolves were able to break free and get home safely. The rumble in the tunnel was enough to give them a break and have them escape through tunnels that led into sewer pipes and underground railroads. For this, you deserve thanks, but my plans are in tatters now. I will have the Agency breathing down my neck. I will have to deal with the human faction trying to show their teeth and scare us off from the fight. I will have them asking me to give up on my redemption and salvation.”
I bare my soul. Not because I don’t think they understand. I am trying to win them back. A loss like this…
If I don’t play my cards right, why would they want to stay a part of a war that has nothing to do with them directly? The witches are an essential part of the rest of this battle. The vampires won’t see it coming. They won’t know that behind this attack was not just one converted witch or warlock to our cause; it’s an army of coven members that are ready to strike, fight, and kill any vampire that thinks themselves the wiser.
“That sounds like a you problem.” Atticus steps in front of his sister. She’s half in my view and half behind him. He’s showing his protective nature over her.
“Things don’t have to change. I just need to know what happened,” I say. Again, the reason this happened was because of us. A strike that was far too big on their part. I should have known it would happen. It was the safest measure we could take, though. There was nothing we could do on the perimeter because Daffyd had too many men guarding him. The strike would have ended up in unnecessary deaths on our part, and I don’t see him stopping the attacks any time soon. So, we have to prepare for the worst in these situations.
“You know what happened. We used too much power to destroy the tunnel. It went too far and people died. What else do you want to know?” Maybe I should have been more clear, now that I think about it. They destroyed as much of the tunnel as they could. They didn’t stop. They just had to breach it and tear it down at a certain key point, destroying transport. I wanted to wipe out their forces in those tunnels and may have misled them.
The temper that was housed on its short leash for the witches has turned its tide back to me. I can’t believe that I was so foolish that I dropped everything to kill a few vampires. Blind rage is not something that filters into my actions, so the fact that it did now? That just makes me even more upset on this matter.
“I’m sorry that I made you do that, Verona. You were not prepared for the outcome,” I know it’s eating her up from the inside. She hides behind the strong shell but she is not. She’s nothing more than a child. Innocence lost.
“I will take care of what happens, and neither of you will be a part of my reports. I am sorry.”
This cleared nothing up, but that’s fine. In my own brazen anger, I was quick to point fingers. There was no place for that. I offered them and their coven reparations for what the vampires had done to their kind over the years, but how do I pay for what I have made them face?
Chapter Twenty-Five: Madison
“Everything by the book.”
The last line in my mission briefing. I can understand why Jack threw it in. I’m new. A loose cannon. Untested and untrusted. That’s why he gave me Vicky to help in this case, though, isn’t it? So, I’m not sure if I should find it a snarky remark or just a warning of good faith. Why am I looking so deeply into this? It’s only a sentence, after all. I’m debating whether Jack has any trust over four little words.
How sad is that?
That being said, I don’t know how to do any of this by the book. So, that doesn’t help my own cause here.
“So, boss,” Vicky starts. I can get used to being called ‘boss.’ It has a nice ring to it. “What’s the first order of business?”
She knows exactly what the first order should be. She’s testing me. Trying to prod me and guide me, but I definitely don’t want to be the one to show weakness. I need to at least seem like I know what I’m doing.
“I guess we probably need to fin
d the witch.” I guess? Probably? Did I actually use those words when I know I’m supposed to be showing the confidence of a leader? Well, that’s already a fail.
“Good start,” she chuckles. “But not all of us have been briefed on the intel. That’s where you need to start,” She nudges me in the right direction. We’re in her office. I don’t have one yet due to me not quite being on the books but at the same time being an agent. So, for now, we’re working out of here.
Vicky’s been very welcoming of it. She’s been helpful in it all. A good trainer and someone I could see becoming my friend.
“Right.” She leans against her desk on the left side. For the duration of the mission, she’s given me control over certain aspects of the desk. Letting me take the main seat, closest to documents on the computer I would have or need access to and the respect of someone in the position of authority a case leader would have. Because I’m new, I thought she would grow increasingly irritated with everything I’ve been gifted through Jack. However, this is not the case. She’s only been supportive.
“Well, intel suggests that the witch, Rebecca Sanchez, targets major corporations mainly dealing in government secrets or military-esque hardware. The developments are meant to be beneficial and give the U.S a leg up in various war zones and fights, but Sanchez, for a fee, leaks the information to competitors for a massive profit. Such items include a weaponized mech suit, powered by a nuclear fusion core. Though currently unstable, it has the potential to take great damage and inflict even more. Cryo grenades that put the victim into an icy coma. Thus far, testing has failed and only resulted in death, but they are constantly being worked on. Self-driving vehicles, EMP guns, and so on and so forth. Many of these items were stolen and sourced from the same company – a company specializing in advanced technological warfare for the troops. When caught and cornered, Sanchez showed first signs of her supernatural roots, striking down the force sent to apprehend her with magic. This is where we come in.” Vicky takes it all in, going over the intel, returning to me when she has finished.
The Vampire Touch 3: A New Dawn Page 8