Song of Midnight Embers

by Dana Marie Bell

  Nelson Rhodes was a man well into his forties, his short brown hair streaked with gray. His brown eyes were narrowed and furious. He was an older version of his son, but where Blake Truillo exuded warmth, this man was nothing but cold cruelty. He set the phone on the table next to him, still connected from what Greer could see. “Greer Berkley, I presume.”

  Wasn’t that special? The Van Helsings knew his name. They must have gotten it during one of their torture sessions with Iva. “The one and only.”

  An alarm began to sound. Bradley must have set it off remotely, damn it. Now Greer was going to have to fight through the minor rats scurrying about the place before he could get out. “Naughty, Mr. Rhodes. I wasn’t done yet.”

  “Too bad, asshole.” Rhodes pulled out a gun and fired a shot at Greer.

  Greer was too fast for him. He leaped out of the way, landing on top of one of the lab tables with enough force to buckle the top. He grinned at Rhodes, twirling his blades once before allowing Rhodes to fire another shot at him.

  It would do Rhodes no good. Greer wasn’t going to let the bastard touch him. No, this was Greer’s kill, not Nelson Rhodes’s. He’d see that the man never again tortured a supernatural.

  Greer danced around the lab, laughing as each bullet whizzed by him, mentally counting. The man was using a Gen4 Glock 19 with the reversible magazine. Once Rhodes went to switch the magazine over, Greer would have him.

  There. Rhodes was fumbling with the magazine, cursing as it slipped through his fingers and struck the floor. “Damn it!”

  “My turn.” Greer flew forward, his daggers at the ready, slashing at Rhodes’s stomach.

  Rhodes gasped as Greer jumped back, landing on yet another lab table. He put his hands to his stomach, trying desperately to keep his insides from falling out and failing miserably.

  “That’s for my sister, you dick.” Greer stepped off the lab table, making barely a sound as his feet hit the floor. “And this is for Mollie.” Greer stabbed Rhodes in the throat, watching as the light died in the man’s eyes. Just before it went out completely, he hissed one more thing. “And this is for your son, Blake.” Greer twisted the dagger, the flames licking across Rhodes’s skin.

  He pulled the blade out of the dead man, turning to smile sweetly at the men who came charging into the room.

  The men glanced at one another, but before they could do more than aim their guns at him, he was on the move. There were only five of them, and while front-line fighting wasn’t really his thing, it probably wouldn’t take him long to take them down.

  Greer slipped between two of them, using his agility and speed to slash and stab, leaving burning wounds behind. Two of them collapsed immediately, screams of pain coming from them.

  Welp. If the alarm hadn’t tipped security off, that would have. Greer turned on his heel, spun and kicked at the head of another gunman, knocking him back and causing him to drop his weapon. In a flash, Greer stabbed him in the throat.

  The last two gunmen were pulling back, heading for the elevator, their semi-automatic weapons pointed right at him. Greer dove for the right-hand hallway as they opened fire.

  How the hell was he supposed to get out of this one with his nuts intact?

  Instead of fighting, Greer chose another path. He raced down the corridor, ignoring the doors to obvious offices. They were just like the ones down the left-hand corridor and would do nothing except corner him like a rat in a trap.

  Instead he ran through the double doors in the middle of the hallway, entering a room that had him skidding to a halt.

  “Fuck my life.” Mollie was right. He should have brought backup.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  “I told you, didn’t I?” Mollie muttered as she fried a Van Helsing’s ass. “I told you he wouldn’t take backup.” These two were the last to chase them into the basement. The body count was now up to ten, and Mollie was certain there’d be more before they got to Greer.

  Ash’s silver sword danced as he killed another guard with ease. “And I told you he’s stubborn.”

  “Pfft. You didn’t have to tell me that.” Mollie shook her hands, her fire disappearing until only a small light remained in the darkness. “Okay. Where did my mate go?”

  Ash looked down at the bodies, scowling. “No dust, no footprints. And no plants, either. The mold in the walls is long dead.”

  Mollie sighed. “Great.” She looked around, ready to bust Greer’s balls when she saw him again. How dare he promise to bring someone with him and then leave without telling anyone, damn it? She’d known it was all a lie when he walked out of her hospital room, so the first thing she’d done was call Ash. He’d advised her to let Greer go in first, and them to follow. Hell, he’d come along, not willing to allow her into the compound alone.

  And, damn it, she wasn’t even sure she was all that mad at him. She knew exactly why he’d lied to her, to protect her from worrying over his sorry ass while she recovered. Too bad she was going to kick it when she saw him again.

  They weren’t stealthy like Greer was, so they hadn’t even bothered to try. What neither of them expected was that he’d left the upper floor guards alive, so when they’d entered they’d had to fight their way to the basement.

  “Over here.” Ash tugged her toward a giant rusty boiler. “Listen.”

  When he put his ear to the boiler, she did the same. “Is that electronics?”

  Ash nodded and began checking out the boiler. “Got something.” He pointed out a single clean streak on the side of the boiler, right next to what looked like a giant porthole. “Think we can open it?”

  “We can try.” Mollie put her fingers around the edges of the porthole and pulled with all her might. She was panting when she gave up. “Either I’m Super Grover, or it’s not going anywhere.”

  “Hmm.” Ash looked as frustrated as she felt. “Maybe...” He glared at the porthole, his expression easing into a slow, wicked smile. “Gotcha.”

  He pressed one of the rivets, and the damn thing lit the fuck up.

  “It’s an elevator? A secret elevator?” Mollie whistled. “These guys are sneaky.”

  Ash shook his head as the door swung open, revealing a small elevator that could easily hold four people. He stepped into it and whistled, looking up at the ceiling with an amused expression. “Your mate was here and left his calling card.”

  Mollie stepped in and glanced up as well, shaking her head too when she saw the demolished roof. “Damn, Greer. Way to be subtle.”

  The door swung shut, and Ash pressed the down button. The elevator descended, taking longer than she’d expected, but finally came to a halt to the sound of rapid gunfire.

  Mollie lit up. She suspected who the gunfire was aimed at, and she wasn’t about to allow her mate to get Swiss-cheesed.

  The door swung open, revealing two guards kneeling in front of them, their guns trained on a corridor to Mollie’s right. She let loose, setting the first gunman on fire while Ash dealt with the second. A swing of his blade left the man’s head rolling away from his body.

  Mollie stepped out of the elevator, her blood high, her inner fire doing a vicious dance. She was ready to defend her mate from any and all attackers.

  “Oh, hey. You’re here.” Greer’s voice sounded off somewhere to her right. “Come on, I could use the help.”

  Mollie rolled her eyes and headed toward her mate’s voice. “How did you know we were coming?”

  Greer popped his head out of a doorway about halfway down the corridor. “Because I know you. You were thinking, ‘Well, someone has to go save his dumb ass, might as well be me.’ Am I right?”

  “Close enough.” Ash laughed as he headed toward Greer. “You don’t want to know what your mate was thinking, though.”

  “I can guess.” Greer popped his head back behind the do
or. Greer was waiting for them just behind the big double doors, and he wasn’t smiling. “I can explain later, but first y’all need to see this.”

  Row upon row of cages, filled with people just staring at them.

  “Um. Hello.” Mollie waved her hand.

  Nothing. Just a lot of staring.

  “We’re here to rescue you.” Still nothing. Okay, now that was fucking creepy. She leaned toward Greer and whispered, “What the hell?”

  “I have no idea. It’s like the light’s on but nobody’s home.” Greer held out one of his daggers, and each and every one of the occupants flinched back, hissing at them.

  “That is so weird,” Ash muttered. “All right. Let’s get the zombies out of their graves.”

  “At least this set isn’t peeing and pooping on each other.” Mollie shuddered, remembering the cages some of her friends had been held in. They’d been stacked on top of each other, nothing between the occupants but air and bars. The Van Helsings hadn’t bothered providing the prisoners with even a bed pan, and the resulting disgusting mess had several of the rescuers gagging as they’d led the kidnap victims to freedom.

  These cages were side by side, the occupants well within reach of each other. There were bedpans and a slot at the bottom of the cage the size of a dinner plate.

  “Rhodes is dead.” Greer glanced over at her as he freed the first victim.

  “Dead?” The victim looked up at Greer and blinked. “Dead.” The woman collapsed in Greer’s arms, sobbing.

  “Are you sure?” One of the men, his hair streaked with gray, his face filthy, leaned forward with an eager expression.

  “I killed him myself.” Greer held up his daggers. “Trust me, he’s not getting back up.”

  “What about Peter Bradley?” The man was beginning to look hopeful as the rest of the people began speaking and crying, some at the same time.

  There were fewer people here, and the smell wasn’t nearly as bad, but these people were just like the ones at the Maryland facility. It broke Mollie’s heart to know that innocent lives were being destroyed for nothing but hatred and fear.

  “Who’s Peter Bradley?” Mollie finally got one of the cages open and let a woman down. The woman could barely walk on her own, her feet raw and bleeding and possibly infected. Mollie wasn’t a doctor, but they weren’t looking good. “Ash?”

  Ash picked the woman up and carried her over to the double doors, setting her gently down.

  “Thank you.” The woman held on to Ash’s hand for a moment before letting go with a weary sigh.

  “You’re welcome.” Ash stood, the grim expression on his face matching Mollie’s. These people needed food, water, baths and medical attention, and not necessarily in that order.

  “What do we do with them? We didn’t exactly bring the minivan.” Mollie stared at the people, wondering what mingling of species they were. She thought she could detect one of her own in the group, but that was about it.

  “There’s a loading dock not too far from here. If they have a truck or a van, we can steal that.” Greer helped another victim out of a cage. “We need to know if there are any more victims.”

  The man who’d first spoken up held up his hand. “Some of us were taken away and never came back.” He pointed to one of the cages near the back, by the wall. “Those people arrived a few days ago.”

  “Where are you all from?” Mollie continued down the row, helping people escape their torture.

  “I’m from Ohio, originally,” the first man said.

  “California,” said another.

  A woman near the back, sitting patiently, cried out, “Montana.”

  All thirty of them came from different places, most of them from out west, like California or Washington, while others came from the Midwest. None of them came from the northeast.

  “Interesting,” Greer muttered as he freed the last of them. “All right. Can someone tell me who Peter Bradley is?”

  “I can.” A tall, blond man with damn near perfect features stepped in the doorway, looking sleek and powerful. He exuded a dark power that drew all eyes to him. He was made to command people, and it showed in the arrogant way he moved, as if he expected every single one of the half-collapsed people to get out of his way or be stepped on. He stopped when he was about ten feet from Greer and gave the coldest smile Mollie had ever seen. It filtered through her, dampening her fires, making her shiver. “You are messing up my plans, little dryad.”

  Greer smiled, and before she could blink, was in front of the man. The man grunted, his eyes widening in surprise as Greer’s dagger slid between his ribs.

  The man grabbed Greer’s wrist and snapped it.

  Greer cried out but didn’t remove his dagger from the man’s flesh. Instead, he somehow twisted it.

  The man grimaced but didn’t back away. “I don’t die that easily.” He pushed Greer away, sending him flying into the cages with a flick of his wrist. Mollie watched in horror as her lover sagged, then struggled to get back on his feet. “I’ll give you one warning. Stay out of my business from now on.” Blood-red eyes turned to Mollie, familiar eyes. The same eyes as the shadow-man, the creature that had taunted Selena and almost killed Mina. “Do you really think you stopped me?” He tsk’d, shaking his head. “Your little stunt, burning up my blood? That did nothing but cost me a few days’ extra work.”

  No matter how frightened she was, she would never submit. So Mollie did the only thing she could think of. She gave him a flaming middle finger.

  He laughed, actually laughed, and the sound was horrific, reminding her of nights spent cuddled under her blanket, hiding from the monster under her bed. The creak of the floorboard in her hallway was a hungry ghost coming to eat her; the cold breeze across her cheek the touch of a banshee. The look on Greer’s face as he’d nearly died saving Dragos, the sound of his heartbeats fading away to nothing, to silence. All of that, her worst nightmares, was in its laugh.

  “Well, now that we have that out of the way—” the demon masquerading as Peter Bradley straightened its tie, “—why don’t you all burn in hell?”

  A flash, a scorching heat, and they were surrounded by flames.

  “Greer!” Mollie began to pull, desperately trying to get the flames out before her beloved dryad burned to death among the cages.

  “I’ve got the people!” Ash hollered over the crackling in her ears. “Mollie! Do what you can, slow the fire down until we’re out!”

  Mollie nodded, concentrating with all her might on the flames. She barely cleared them a pathway to the door when she felt an arm go around her waist.

  Greer. It had to be. Only his touch could get through to her when she was this deep into the fire.

  He began walking her along the path, slowly so as not to break her grip on the heat. They made it to the double doors just as the roof began to cave, the flames lapping their way up the walls with uncanny speed.

  “Go!” Greer tossed her over his shoulder and ran, easily catching up to the rest of the group. Ash was leading them toward the elevator, but Greer continued on. “This way.”

  Ash turned course and, with the rest of the refugees, tried to outrun the demonic flames quickly catching up to them.

  The first refugee fell as they darted through the doors to the loading dock.

  The second, as they searched desperately for an escape from the building.

  The third fell as Ash and Greer managed to get the huge garage door open. Greer had to burst through it, kicking it until it gave way.

  By the time they got outside the building, only twenty of the kidnap victims made it out. They staggered to a small pier, where boats were tied up on the Delaware River, probably meant for the transport of the victims to new locations. As they pulled away, drooping with relief, the entire building collapsed in on itself. The greenish f
lames quickly became a more natural color, the demon’s work done now that the evidence of its crimes was covered up.

  “There will be nothing left, nothing to identify Rhodes or any of the others.” None of the families of the lost victims would find closure. She didn’t know what was worse, the fact that they’d lost them or that she didn’t even know their names.

  She’d have to talk to Mina and possibly Amara. Perhaps something, some kind of memorial, could be put up. If the world tried to forget them, then Mollie would have to make sure that someone, somewhere remembered.

  Greer sighed wearily. “And the data is still out there.”

  Ash cursed. “Did you get anything?”

  “I killed Rhodes and managed to copy a file called CHAMELEON.” Greer rubbed his sternum, where the demon had hit him. “But that’s it.”

  “And now we know who’s really running the Van Helsings.” Mollie watched the flames, entranced by their beauty even as she was put off by their origins. She’d sucked some of that heat into herself. She’d have to cleanse it, assimilate it, make it her own before she could use her fires again. It would hurt, but it was better than giving the demon a way into her soul.

  “And we saved some people.” Greer put his head in Mollie’s lap. “We did that, at least.”

  “Yes, we did.” Mollie stroked his hair, his eyes closing as he curled up against her. “And we’ll make sure they’re okay before we send them home.”

  “Home,” Greer whispered. “Let’s go home.”

  * * *

  “So, this is a lot more embarrassing than I remember it being.” Greer helped Ash rearrange the pillow he’d placed under his birch, making sure it was in the perfect place for Mollie to take him without getting splinters.

  “To be honest, the thought of touching your naked ass never even occurred to me before.” Ash tapped Greer’s hip, telling him to shift over slightly. “You’re connected, right?”

  Greer grinned as his tree’s branches swayed slightly, acknowledging Ash by dropping a leaf onto his hair. “Yup.”