by Aya Walksfar
All levity drained from her face. “When Serena began acting strange, he sent a Warrior and a Guardian to one of the Clans to build up security that could repel any vampires, including Serena. Don’t ask me which Clan; that’s as much as I know about that mission and I wouldn’t have known that if I hadn’t been polishing my sneak skills. Then recently he dispatched me and Hot Rod to assist Ri. ”
Fingers tapping, I turned to Ri, “That still doesn’t explain how they became your bodyguards.”
Ri gave a one-shouldered shrug. “After Sven committed suicide, I decided I really needed bodyguards who had no stake in who became werepanther queen, or any of the other political intrigues.”
“So they were at the meeting?” When Ri nodded, I turned to Doreena. “How’d you escape notice by Gregory’s tattle tale shadow?”
Doreena grinned. “Those are trade secrets, Captain. Sorry.”
I aimed the next question at Ri. “How do your people feel about outsiders being your bodyguards?”
“Serena once told me that vampire society was not a democracy. Neither is Were society.” A ferocious grin stretched across her lips. “I kinda like this queen-gig sometimes.”
Chapter 25
Serena Longer
I paced back and forth in front of Gregory then whirled to face him and waved at the chains that bound him to the wall. “This is your fault, Gregory. I warned you not to anger me again. Now confess to me, exactly, what you were trying to tell those...those animals.” I shoved my face so close that my spittle marked his cheek.
“At your command, First Councilwoman, I warned the werepanther queen not to help the runaways or the traitor.”
As I stepped back, my hand shot up. The riding crop with its steel tip slashed across his face. A gash opened from his ear to his chin, unable to heal. His blood oozed in a sluggish stream from the cut instead of ashing out. “Don’t lie to me, Gregory.”
Defiantly, he met my gaze. His eyes flashed to hot amber. “I would never lie to the First Councilwoman. I respected her too much.”
His subtle insult infused me with fury. My rage screamed out as I threw the riding crop to the floor and lunged toward him. My hands clapped to the sides of his head.
Chained to the wall of the basement, he couldn’t evade my grasp, just as he couldn’t evade the many injuries that I had inflicted upon him. His eyes squeezed shut. Red lines of pain shot through his brain, but that was all I could see. Damn him! I will See his mind!
Words of the chant that would open, or destroy, him flowed out on my breath. An unnatural blankness covered his mind, no matter how deeply my chant carved into his brain.
I barely heard his screams.
****
Alexis Night Runner
I stepped into the Cold-Between as I did every night. It felt almost familiar now. Somewhere in the dark, someone cried out in agony. My heart quickened. Serena! Legs running, I felt as if the Cold-Between absorbed my footfalls. Was I even moving?
Off in the distance, a golden light flared and faded. Serena! Desperately, I threw my head back and ran harder. My thighs burned. The calves of my legs curled into painful knots. I pushed through it.
Again the golden light flared. Closer this time. I ignored the stabbing lance in my side; how the breath rasped my throat and scraped at my lungs.
Screams of incredible agony ripped through the Cold-Between.
My heart lurched in fear with each cry. Tears ran down my cheeks, but I couldn’t spare the energy to wipe them away.
It wasn’t there and then all of a sudden it was there--a circle of golden light. Chained to a gray boulder in the middle of the circle, Gregory bled from ears and eyes and mouth. Open wounds on his face and body wept more blood. Trails of blood ran down the rock and trickled to the hungry ground.
I rushed to him and fell to my knees. “Gregory!” When he didn’t respond, I stood and tore at the greasy black chains. They slithered through my fingers. I wrapped them around my fists and wrenched as hard as I could. The icy links sliced my hands.
A light hand landed on my shoulder. I dropped the chains and spun around. Mouth agape, I gasped, “Gregory.”
“I knew you would come. I felt your presence here in the Cold-Between.” A gentle smile touched his lips.
My eyes darted between the battered figure still chained to the boulder and the figure of the man in front of me. I reached out and ran a hand down his arm. Solid. As solid as I was.
Sadly, he shook his head as if he read my thoughts; and perhaps he did. He had always been remarkably accurate at reading the thoughts that scrawled across my face. He had teased me endlessly about being an open book and then he taught me how a Warrior hides her thoughts. “No, Alexis, here in the Cold-Between the physical seems real, but my Soul has already begun its Journey. Only Spirit remains.”
I slanted a sideways glance at the body on the boulder. “Gregory, what happened? What can I do?” Tears gathered then poured down my cheeks. It hurt like the fires of Caine’s Hells to see his destroyed body sprawled across the boulder.
A smile I knew so well, the smile that had frequently reassured me that I had done the right thing, settled on his lips. “You have already done it, Alexis. I called and you came.” He ran a hand down my cheek. I pressed my face against the callused palm.
I swallowed hard and moved into his embrace. My cheek pressed against his chest and I listened to the phantom heartbeat.
He let me remain there for a time that felt far too short before he placed his hands on my shoulders and held me away. He stared down into my eyes. “Don’t give up on Serena, Alexis. Even a tainted Soul can find redemption and be healed. Remember that. Promise me?”
Unable to speak, I gave a jerky nod.
“You have to tell the werepanthers to leave their compound. Tonight. Grab what they can carry and leave. They are in great danger. It helps that no one knows exactly where their village is located. Knowing that I teleported to the village, Serena tried to access my memories tonight.” Sorrow filled his eyes. “Fortunately a few weeks ago, I had a friendly witch place a shield across my mind to thwart any who tried such a thing. Serena won’t let that stop her, though. Adele knows how to find the clearing where Ri met with me. Serena will send our best Trackers to that clearing. Tell Ri that I’m sorry I was unable to keep Adele from attending that meeting.”
“What about the witches? Are they safe?”
“Don’t worry about them. Their spells protect them and their land. Patrice and several of the others are extremely powerful. It will be a long time, if ever, before Serena can break through the witches’ shields.”
“I...I haven’t been able to find a way to break the spell on Serena. I don’t know if I ever will.”
He pulled me against his chest and wrapped me in his strong arms. I recalled the first time he had done that. On a walk in the forest, I had found a half-grown puppy--shot, dehydrated and starved. Carrying the poor thing five miles back to the estate, I had nursed it for two months. I never named the pup--just called it Pup--afraid that if I named it, it would die.
Pup recovered her strength and followed me everywhere. The only person it loved nearly as much as it loved me had been Hauk Morningstar.
As the months stretched on, Hauk and I would sometimes meet outside and play search games where one would hold the pup while the other person hid. Once the runner had a chance to hide, the holder would tell Pup to ‘seek’.
The night of Hauk Morningstar’s murder, Pup had paced and whined in my apartment. Finally, convinced the dog needed to potty, I opened the door and let it out. Sure enough, Pup shot into the dark. Closing the door, I returned to my computer. One of the estate’s accounts needed to be updated.
When daylight seeped into my window, I realized Pup had not returned.
That morning, Guardians found Hauk Morningstar’s drained body flung into the brush outside of the estate’s gate. Pup’s body, beaten nearly beyond recognition, lay in a crumpled heap next to Hauk. A piece of cl
oth had been trapped in her jaws. She had tried to protect her friend.
I had stumbled back to the apartment, but the walls closed in and I had to get out. Late that afternoon, Gregory found me staring across the ravine. He hadn’t said one word; he had simply tugged me around and wrapped me in his arms, close to his chest and let me cry.
Now he stroked my hair gently, just like he had on that long ago day. “Don’t ever give up, Alexis. Even when the burden feels too great to carry, don’t lay it down and walk away. Serena needs you. You are her only hope.”
I leaned back against his warm embrace and looked up into his amber eyes. “I love you, Gregory. You are the father I never had.”
Compassion filled his gaze. “I love you, too, Young One. Your presence gave me the one gift I never believed would be given to me--the gift of a daughter. I am proud of you. I love you, Alexis Night Runner, and remember that I am never truly gone. I am as close as your heart.”
From behind me the circle of golden light flared brighter still. It lit up the Cold-Between and poured over Gregory and me. Reluctantly, he released me. Our hands still touched. I hated to let his fingers to slip away. But as the golden light began to fade, he said, “I have to go. I love you, my daughter. Take care of Ariel. Help Serena. You are the only one who can.”
The last glow of the golden light winked out and the dark of the Cold-Between closed around me.
****
I palmed tears from my cheek then rolled from bed. Silently, I picked my way down the barrack’s aisle and out into the night. Head bent back, I stared up at the velvety sky. A joyful scattering of stars had been flung across the heavens with a generous hand.
What a beautiful welcome home for Gregory’s Soul.
Chapter 26
Alexis Night Runner
With short jerky steps, I paced back and forth in the werepanthers’ spacious living room.
Ri sat on the edge of her chair, hunched over clasped hands. “My people are going to want proof, especially since we routed the encampment of rogues and vampires. They are going to need more than just some dream that General Trueson is dead by the First Councilwoman’s hand and that we are in some sort of unspecified danger. You’re telling me that we have to all disappear, leave our village,” she waved a hand at the large window that framed the lingering night, “before it is even dawn, yet you can’t tell me for how long.”
I swung around to face Ri and jammed my hands in my jeans pockets. “His Spirit said he couldn’t explain; that I had to trust him.”
“Okay,” Ri lifted her face and locked eyes with me. “Okay, say I take the Dream Vision at face value--how do we know it wasn’t induced by magic to mislead us? Maybe the general is alive, but held captive somewhere?”
“I would like to....” I began before a young werepanther--barely out of his teens--raced into the room.
“Queen Rianna, I have news.” The boy bent over and propped his hands on his knees, struggling to catch his breath. Face pale, he pushed upright. “Werecoyote Elder Kiv Isloo sends a warning. A few hours ago, his scouts found a vampire with both hands and both legs hacked off.”
The boy sucked in another deep breath and his next words came out a bit more steadily. “He said his name was Tracker Johansen. First Councilwoman cut off his hands and his legs when she realized he was doing things to mess up the trail to our village. She had him wrapped in gold-coated barbed wire and left him to suffer in the woods as a warning to others who might try to defy her. Tracker Johansen says she means to hunt the panthers and he fears she will drink them down.”
“I know--knew--Tracker Johansen. It’s difficult to imagine him defying Serena.” I studied the boy’s face for any indication of subterfuge.
The boy looked to his queen for permission to speak. Ri nodded and he said, “Tracker Johansen told Elder Isloo that he had been Changed by General Trueson and that their bond had grown stronger over the years. Some weeks ago, the general had confided to him that First Councilwoman was draining people; and that he feared she had begun to seek out magical people to drink down. He had been helping the general to get some of the huvams and humans away from the estate without the First Councilwoman’s knowledge.” The boy’s face tightened with fear as he continued. “He said General Trueson went missing last night. He didn’t believe the general would do that willingly without speaking first to him.”
I felt the blood drain from my face as the boy spoke. A knot of dread coiled in my stomach. “We have to hurry, Ri. They’ll be coming soon.”
Ri bolted to her feet. “Eli, go to the kitchen and eat.” The werepanther whirled for the door. Grabbing the sword that hung on a peg by the entryway, she raced outside.
I followed close behind. There was no time to waste; and every pair of willing hands would be essential.
By the time the sun stood at mid-point in the sky, the werepanther village lay abandoned. Farther along the country road, farm equipment stood in the fields and livestock had been turned out to range free. Not a single voice rode the hot, still air.
****
That evening, Ri kept pace with me as we left the witch’s mansion. “I really didn’t expect Patrice to offer my people asylum.”
A small pride of werepanther children raced past us while clashing their wooden swords. We dodged them and I swung toward the woods. “She’s a good woman and a great leader.” A few hundred yards inside the tree line, the start of a rough camp had sprung up within hours after the panthers arrived. Tents sprouted between trees; people gathered rocks for fire pit rings. The smell of coffee perking over an open fire wafted to me on a stray breeze.
When we reached a larger tent on the outskirts of the new encampment, I pulled the flap aside and entered with Ri close behind. “Gregory said the vampires wouldn’t be able to break through Patrice’s protection spells and locate this estate. And Patrice said her coven is strong enough to maintain estate wide spells for an indefinite period of time.”
“Yeah,” Ri flopped bonelessly down on a camp chair, legs sprawled out in front of her. “We can’t hide here forever, though. Sooner or later, we have to emerge. Serena might even capture a witch and torture the location out of them or simply follow them back here. Then all she has to do is stake this place out and wait for us to step outside the ring of protection.”
“Not all witches know the location; but, yeah, I hate to think of her catching and torturing them for any reason.” I collapsed wearily on the chair and stretched my legs out. “That’s why we aren’t going to remain here. I’ve been thinking....”
Ri grimaced. “Every time you think, I get into trouble.”
I ignored the teasing jab. “I’ve been thinking that with this place secure, we could leave the kids here and the rest of us could stay on the move.”
Shooting a sour look my way, Ri said, “In case you’ve missed the memo--large groups of people skulking in the woods attracts a lot of attention, sooner or later.”
“That’s why we won’t be in large groups. We’ll travel in smaller groups. The only people who will have information on all of the groups, will be those who have a need to know--Patrice, Ariel, Nikki, you and me. Ariel will travel with me and Lieutenant Howitter with a small mixed group of witches, werepanthers, and Warriors. You’ll travel with Doreena, Hot Rod and another group with the same type of composition. We’ll leave a mixed group here to help with and to protect the children.”
Ri had started shaking her head before I finished. “Even split into two traveling groups, they will still be too large to go unnoticed for very long.”
“That’s the beauty of this plan. The leader of the two groups that will be moving around--that is you and me--will further split our groups into smaller units with specific objectives.”
Ri had begun to slowly nod. “Only a select few would need to know where those smaller units are headed and what their objectives are.” She narrowed her eyes. “I know you still love her, so what are your objectives?”
I gazed down at the
dusty toes of my boots. “I need to continue trying to find a way to free Serena’s Soul.” Pain filled my heart as I looked at Ri. “Meanwhile, we need to continue trying to unite the Supernaturals so we can stop the European vampires bid to takeover.”
“What if the only way to stop a hostile vampire takeover involves eliminating Serena?”
“I can’t let myself think that right now, Ri. I may not be able to answer that question until I am face-to-face with Serena.”
****
By the third week of May, the fighting units were formed. Meanwhile, news of slaughtered werepanthers, dead werewolves, and witches found drained and discarded continued to trickle in--not enough to cause a full blown panic among the Supernaturals, but enough to make everyone edgy. Elder Mendea quietly joined the Alliance and sent a unit of werewolves to join the fighters.
Ri’s unit left the witches’ compound at nightfall the third week of their exile.
The next morning as the sun peeked over the pink and orange horizon, I led a convoy of vehicles out of the compound. We drove into the parking lot of the Northgate Shopping Mall in Seattle as the sun painted the western sky red. The vehicles scattered among the cars populating the busy lot. The leader in each vehicle elected one person to enter the main part of the shopping mall.
Backpack shouldered, I meandered in and out of stores. One by one those elected followed me and picked up the manila envelopes I left behind at fifteen minute intervals.
When I secreted the last envelope in the baby changing table in the women’s restroom, I ambled away. In the parking lot, I hurried over to the van I’d chosen. I swung in behind the wheel and twisted around. “Hey, Ariel, can you grab that thermos and three cups?”