by Lissa Kasey
No one spoke of it, but I knew. Jamie watched him sometimes like he was worried. I got that. I sort of liked Kelly too and didn’t want him to swim off into the sunset never to be seen again. But that didn’t stop me from wondering what it was like. I was some sort of witch, right? I had weird powers that amplified everyone else’s. I borrowed abilities from others sometimes, and with Sei’s help in the past few weeks had learned how to cast a few very basic defensive spells. The Dominion was against my training, which made sort of sad sense. I mean if I could fuck with the power of a Pillar, did they really want me to be fully trained out there somewhere strong enough to take over the world? I laughed to myself. Dictator Sam—how stupid. I’d have made a horrible ruler since I hated people. Kill them all! Sei and Kelly were better at that. But the ability to change, even just a few nights a month, I’d like that.
I let the dreams of flying take me for a while. I soared over open fields covered in snow and forests of trees, riding on thermals, relaxing into the flow. I lost another chunk of awareness. My body felt light as a feather. I thought I heard Luca’s voice, Con’s calm tones floated through quite often, urging me to come back. Come back from where? Flying?
I thought maybe I heard Sei’s voice too. But it was too far away. I focused instead on the flight—found myself as a raven with thick black wings. The feathers were soft and warm.
I dozed in and out, finding myself back in the dirt, but waking up as a bird. The last time, I sat on the ledge next to an air vent inside the top cathedral-like ceiling of the tomb. Another dream I was sure, since I looked down to find Luca sitting on the concrete lip by the door. He was just in jeans and a T-shirt, jacket behind his back to cushion him from the wall. He had a deck of cards set out in a game of solitaire. He was talking, but I couldn’t understand the words. That was often the way of dreams. He looked good at least, not angry. I wondered if we could work it out. Or if I was just asking for more trouble like I had every time I’d gone back to Matthew.
The thought made me turn away and tuck my head under my wing for a while. It was a tiny nap. The next time I roused it was Con sitting on the lip, bare feet buried in the dirt. He wasn’t playing solitaire. Instead he seemed to have laid a gash in his arm and was sprinkling the blood around the dirt.
The droplets felt like ice. Stinging needles that awoke my senses. Jarring in the cold absence of physical sensation. It no longer felt like a dream, but something more real, yet still blurry at the edges.
I swayed slightly and let the fresh air from the vent soothe me. Cold wind breezed through, taunting from the outside. The slats were small and edged to keep out the light while letting air inside. A few strands of dried brown grass near the edge meant there’d been a nest there at one time, or an attempt to make one that had been removed. I squeezed though the tiny opening wondering where this new dream would take me.
Outside I stood on the edge looking down at the giant rocks all around me and in the distance even larger rocks. I’d have preferred to have flown over a forest or even an icy lake, but I would take to the sky anyway. The cold wind blew through the stone village. I could see thermals circling upward. If I could catch one of those maybe I could cruise all the way to some nice trees.
I spread my wings, flapping them like I’d done it all my life, but didn’t get any height. Was I doing it wrong? In the rest of the dreams I’d already been in the air. Maybe I just had to catch the wind. I stilled my wings and studied the ledge. A small thermal swirled near the edge. I wandered down and felt the warmth blow at me and began to move my wings again. I stepped off the ledge and was flying, well hovering, but hot damn, close enough!
The thermal kept me up until I found the steady beat of wings that would move me around. I figured I could ride it up to the next one and do a lot of gliding which I seemed to be good at. Not that it mattered if I fell since I was dreaming and all.
I left the stone village and rose up above several much larger stones—mountains perhaps—riding the heat waves like I was a master surfer. I watched a few other birds navigate, and fly together in synchronization. I wondered if I could find that—my own flock. I got so caught up in watching them that I ran into the long branch of a tree, clipped my wing and sent myself into a spiral. A moment of utter panic consumed me as I twirled—free falling, feet over head in a maddening swirl. My stomach lurched and screamed, and my head and wing throbbed in time. I had to stop the descent. The ground was approaching fast.
I flapped my wings, trying to slow myself down. Pain seared the left one, but they finally caught the wind so I could straighten myself out and slow my fall. I landed a little bruised on the icy pavement, glaring at the tree in the distance. Stupid tree. Stupid birds for distracting me.
I hadn’t been hurt in the dream before. Maybe it was a sign of waking up. Gabe hadn’t mentioned anything about waking being painful, but he’d been lacking in the training department lately.
Someone called me. I paused cocking my head to listen. It was a bit like a melody I could barely remember, a haunting tune that made me spread my wings—despite the pain—and reach skyward. My ascent was awkward as the wing was injured, but I followed the sound like it was some sort of siren song. The thermals helped ease some of the pain in my wing as they were warm and would let me glide long distances until I reached the window where the sound came from. The music played sweetly from here—loud, clear and soothing.
A strong breeze swept past me, seeming to wrap me up in its embrace and heal my wing in an instant. I stretched the wounded appendage and marveled at the lack of pain. Maybe I could nap here, rest a bit then take to the sky again. The song was peaceful and the flight had made me tired. There was a whole world to explore after all and dreams were endless, right?
The pinpricks of stars spanning into the distance spoke sweetly of adventure. I’d be sure to explore them all once I’d let my wings rest a bit. The heat from inside the window drew me in closer. I walked through the open frame onto a flat sort of tree and enjoyed the warmth of the room. I hadn’t realized it was a mistake until the window closed behind me. I turned to peck at the clear wall, irritated that I’d not be able to return to explore the stars.
“Welcome, Sam. I’ve been waiting for you.”
I turned my feathered head, shifting it around a few times until the words came into focus. Though the vision made little sense. Someone knew me? Well of course someone knew me, this was my dream wasn’t it? Only I couldn’t imagine why Max Hart would be in my dreams. He was hot and all, but I didn’t have daddy fantasies. He had some odd aura, like two people splayed across one another. How was that possible?
“Won’t you change for me so we can talk?”
Change? Oh right, because I was a bird. I laughed to myself thinking it so silly. I was a bird because I wanted to fly and in dreams we could be anything, right? So all I had to do was want to be human again. That was easy enough. The change poured over me, knocking me off the dresser—that was the word for the flat tree—and onto the floor. Pain ripped through my back and arm. It was a bone-breaking shift that left me gasping for breath and panting to keep consciousness. I didn’t understand how this could hurt so much in a dream.
The weight of my limbs returned, throbbing with needles like they’d been asleep for days. A long gash on my left arm dripped blood, and I could feel the hotness of liquid on my back.
“With a little blood you’ll be able to finish healing both of those fairly quickly. Going to ground often suspends our healing skills since we’re in a comatose state. Not sure of all the science behind it, as I don’t subscribe to that religion, but I’m sure there’s some proper justification,” the fake Max said.
“This isn’t a dream?” I asked realizing that everything was just a little too real to possibly be a dream. Did that mean I’d really changed? I’d been a bird? Holy fuck the Dominion was really going to want me dead now.
“Your long nap began to awaken the rest of your power. You’ve only begun to tap your potential, Sam
. Your raven was lovely. Do you realize you’re the first vampire in all of history to ever be powerful enough to change on a non-new moon night? I’m very impressed.”
I sighed and grabbed a blanket from the bed to wrap it around myself. Whoever this guy was didn’t need more of a show than he’d already had. I was pretty shaky on my feet and wondered how I’d get home and explain all this to Gabe and Sei. “Take the mask off. The illusion or whatever the fuck it is you’re wearing. You’re giving me a headache. I know you’re not Max.”
“See. So much more powerful.” The illusion faded and the man who stood before me was the blond man I’d met in the alley right before I’d gone to ground. “You’re a treasure, Sam. Can I call you Sam or do you prefer the name your parents gave you?”
“My name is Sam,” I growled at him. Any other name belonged to a life I no longer had. The facts began to fall into place. The man was a vampire with illusion skills. Some pretty powerful illusion skills if he’d been in town a while and no one knew he was here. There was only one vampire that I knew existed with those powers. “Galloway, right? Nathaniel Galloway. The Tri-Mega is looking for you.”
He smiled and sat in a chair beside the door, crossed his legs and leaned back. Was he going to stop me from leaving? “There’s no such thing as the Tri-Mega anymore. I was part of it, Himdale is dead, and Tresler knows where to find me. He’s just not ready to play that game yet. He may not survive it, and then his little coup will fail.”
“Whatever. Am I free to go? I’d like to go home.”
Galloway got out of the chair and went to a table where a chess game was set up. The pieces were laid out as though he stopped in the middle of a game. He moved a single piece. “Don’t you wish to know of the danger to your friends? Perhaps you don’t care about them as they do about you. They’ve been visiting you often as you slept.”
“I’d like to go home and tell them I’m awake.”
“And if you’ve returned to chaos?”
“I have powerful friends. I’m sure they can handle whatever is coming their way.”
“What if it’s Santini that breaks? Did you know he’s one of the oldest vampires alive? He and Maxwell Hart. Both older than Tresler and I combined. Santini is very quiet about his power. He reins it in and hides it from the world as he has no wish to be king. What better mate could there be for Father Earth? Hmm?” He moved the black knight. “He plays the role, stays under the radar. Not because he’s not powerful enough. No vampire could be more powerful. But Santini has always been a simple man. Always focused on love.”
And that was a bad thing? Didn’t everyone want someone to love them? To care about?
“It will be love that breaks him. It always is. And not even the first time it will break him.” Galloway pointed to the black king on the board. “That is Tresler controlling the powerful through fear. He pretends to offer order and protection while building chaos and panic.” He picked up the black queen. “This is your friend Seiran. As much as Tresler hates humans he wants the Pillar so he can have control. He fears Gabe but has been moving in the background to take Gabe out of the picture.”
“But you just said that Gabe is stronger than any of you, and Sei would slaughter anyone who hurt Gabe.”
“Not death, child. A Focus flounders without his master. The oldest of us forget that. Which means Tresler thinks he’s strong enough to keep your friend from falling to madness once Gabe is gone.” Galloway glanced at me. “Out of the picture. Much as you have been for almost two months.”
I blinked at him. Two months? I’d been in the ground for two months? It felt like a few hours at most. “I thought they were supposed to wake me if I was out more than a week. Fuck. I gotta go.”
Galloway shrugged. “Your cibo has just arrived. I will send him up as you’ll need to eat. I look forward to spending more time with you in the future, Sam.” He swept out of the room closing the door behind him. Luca? He knew Luca? Well fuck, didn’t I just have to be right about everyone?
I opened the drawers to find them all empty. That was just great. When the door opened again it really was Luca standing in the doorway. Was he working with Galloway? He stripped off his shirt and threw it in the chair. Chest and defined arms looking as mouthwatering as ever. Fuck him.
“It’s good to see you. Eat.” He reached for me and bared his neck. I let him pull me into his arms and took his invitation to bite into the sweet pulsing vein in his neck. The taste of him was even better than before, likely because I hadn’t fed in two months. I took long gulps of him, waiting for him to pull away or tell me to stop. But he did neither. I wanted to drink him dry for betraying us. To hurt him as I felt in my gut he planned to hurt me. But I couldn’t. Even if I wanted to. I finally stopped when I could hold no more, licked his wound, which healed perfectly, instantly. Fuck!
Apparently going to ground had fine-tuned my power. What else would work better?
Luca tugged his shirt back on and handed me a bag of clothes. “Let’s get you home.”
“Are you working with him?” I pointed toward the door. “Galloway? You know his Focus tried to kill Sei and Gabe.”
“And he had nothing to do with it. He’d gone to ground himself. Spent almost five centuries asleep which is likely why Jonahs went mad. He’d like to prevent the same thing from happening to Seiran and ending the world. Now get dressed. I have to sneak you home before someone sees we’re out after curfew. Con will be ecstatic to see you.”
Curfews? I’d never had a curfew in my life. My bleeding stopped at some point and Luca retrieved a damp towel from the bathroom to wash my skin clean. There was no sign of any former wound. Not from hitting the tree or the claw wound on my back. Did Luca know I had changed? Would I be able to do it again on command or was it just a fluke? I so needed to talk to Seiran.
I dug through the clothes, glad to see they were mine, but when I put them on they were all a little loose. The socks were warm and fuzzy and my shoes felt right. I zipped up the coat and started for the door.
“Don’t you have more questions?” Luca asked.
“Oh, you’re planning to be forthcoming now? Did you know the last time some guy introduced me to a strange and powerful vampire I was used to fuel a death spell?”
“That’s not fair. I’m not Matthew and Galloway is not Andrew Roman.”
“Then explain it to me. Tell me you didn’t volunteer to be my cibo so you could get close to me for this guy.”
Luca looked away, which was answer enough.
“Wow. I really do pick the winners, don’t I? Later.” I walked out the door and found myself in the hallway of some weird loft very similar to Luca’s. At least it meant I could find the main door and get the hell out. Galloway had vanished completely.
“Sam! Dammit. You can’t just walk out onto the streets. There’s a vampire curfew in place. No one is allowed on the streets. Anyone they suspect of being a vampire will be shot on sight.” Luca followed me out of the apartment and down the stairs. “Let me drive you home. You can be angry with me all you want. I’m okay with that. But shit, let me get you home safe.”
“My home. Not yours or Gabe’s. Assuming I still have a fucking home.” Two months!
“Gabe is your registered sire. I have to take you to him. Anything else will get us both killed. The guards at the grave should have notified him of your departure. I don’t know how you got all the way out here for Galloway to find you first.”
I sighed and followed him to a car that was parked in a lot below the building. At least we didn’t have to wait for it to get warm. Though I felt okay now, not cold, or really all that tired. More irritated and curious than anything, but I needed answers from someone I could trust first. And there were only two people on that very short list.
Chapter 12
The drive through the city was like traveling through a movie set. Storefronts were boarded up, graffiti scrawled over newer buildings, and the flashing lights of police cars lit up every corner. No one tr
ied to stop us, but even heading to the suburbs didn’t improve the scenery. The snow had melted to wet slush and mud, but there were endless homes standing like burnt out shells. Cars flipped over and charred. Lawns were brown and looking like fresh graves.
The highway digital boards said the city was on lockdown. Any and all vampires needed to be registered with the government and monitored. The curfew was military enforced and police had been authorized to use “lethal prejudice” when finding a vampire out after curfew. “What the fuck happened?” I said out loud while Luca drove. The world had turned into some dystopian nightmare. Was this contained just to the Twin Cities? Or was everywhere like this now?
“The vampires have lost it. Tresler’s war. Half of congress is telling the president to bomb the Twin Cities to kill all the vampires,” Luca said.
“There aren’t even that many vampires here.” I could think of a little more than a dozen that lived in the area and were in Gabe’s nest.
“They’ve been coming in droves. Nate thinks there are probably hundreds of them now. Maybe even over a thousand.”
“Yeah, Galloway seems a stand-up guy. No reason to disbelieve him.”
Luca sighed, but didn’t reply.
“If they are coming to fuck with Gabe they’re messing with the wrong guy. Seiran will fuck them up.” The car pulled up to the door of Gabe’s condo. I was surprised to find armed guards around the place. There had always been security but never like this. I wondered if they’d shoot me.
“Gabe isn’t…right. Max is fine, but Gabe is not. Something’s off. The government thinks Gabe is part of the problem.” Luca frowned at me. “He might be, even if it’s not his fault.”