Blood Battles (Fallen Angels Book 2)

by Judith Post

  So, when the others went to their nests for the day, Enoch went shopping. He wanted objects not easily found—objects that he had to call in favors to get. It took a little arm wrestling to get Tony to help him with the basics, but when he told Danny his next item, his friend gave a surprised laugh. "We can’t help you with that. Do they even make rapid-fire crossbows?"

  "I'm looking at one right now on the internet."

  “And you think you can get it?”

  “I’ve worked with a few people who might be able to.”

  “No names. I don't want to know."

  "I'm shutting off my cell phone after this. Don't try to get in touch with me. The vamps might try to monitor my calls."

  "I'll keep my distance," Danny promised. "There's something about being carried off by a vampire that made me feel like a sparrow caught by a hawk."

  Enoch sighed. "I hope this is over soon."

  "Good luck, buddy. Maggie wants you guys to make it to our wedding."

  "So do we." But the date was getting closer and closer.

  Chapter 49

  Bart tried to slip out of bed without waking Claudia. She lay on her side with her back to him, but the minute he moved, she was alert. “Trouble?” she asked.

  “Not yet, but I’m expecting it. I want an early start tonight.” He bent to kiss her bare shoulder. Her back rippled with muscles. He loved how strong she was, and still so sensuous.

  She turned onto her back and smiled up at him, her dark, wavy hair rumpled from sleep. “Go down ahead of me. I’ll be there in a minute. If I’m lucky, you’ll have assigned everyone jobs by then, and I can supervise.”

  Like she could sit on the sidelines. He laughed. “I’ll whip them into shape, and we’ll have everything finished before you take your first sip of wine.”

  He pulled on his clothes and hurried down the stairs. Leam’s soldiers were already moving around in the basement, he could hear them. Enoch was waiting in the kitchen. His friend looked too smug. “What did you think of now?” Bart asked.

  Enoch motioned to his car. “I went shopping. New toys. They're in the trunk and backseat.”

  Bart sniffed. “And the strange smell?” It was familiar. He should know it.

  “Mutton. Leam and his troops are mostly Scottish. I thought they might like it. It takes hours to get tender, so I started it ahead.”

  Bart shook his head. “The perfect host.”

  Ulrich walked into the kitchen and wrinkled his nose. "What stinks?"

  "Enoch's cooking sheep," Nula said, going to the refrigerator for tomato juice.

  Ulrich tossed a raw piece of the meat into the air and swallowed it. He hissed in distaste. "No thanks, it tastes like it smells. Gamey."

  "And raccoon's better?" Leam asked, coming to join them.

  Claudia stepped into the room, dressed in her tight jeans and a black T-shirt. “Better than what?” she asked.

  Bart had to drag his gaze away from her. “Mutton.”

  "There's something for everyone," Enoch said, interrupting them. "Come see what I bought. I paid extra to have them flown in. They're still in the Jag's trunk."

  Bart was instantly curious. He and the others followed Enoch and circled his car. When the lid of the trunk popped, Bart stared in disbelief. "Bullet-proof vests? What made you think of them?"

  "Stakes can't penetrate them. Neither can bullets. I could only order a dozen, though, no matter who I pestered."

  "Then we'll form a loose circle. Generals will take the outer perimeter and wear vests."

  Eva blinked. "With those on, no one can stake us through the heart?"

  "No, but if they aim for your heads, you’re still in trouble." Enoch pointed to the back seat. "I ordered fifty shepherd crooks like Nula's. We can whittle the ends into points like she did."

  Ulrich bent closer to look at the vests. "I say we put them under our shirts. That would throw the hunters. They stake us, and we don't die."

  Bart liked that idea. "It will keep them guessing."

  Enoch showed them a catalogue. He'd circled a picture. "I ordered this for me. My new toy. I could only buy one."

  Bart gaped. “I’m surprised they let you buy any at all.”

  “I have connections, but only one was available."

  Not through any regular resources, Bart guessed, but that didn't matter. His friend had worked with a lot of people, and none of them would have survived without him.

  Leam frowned. "How does it work?"

  "When I pull the trigger, it rapid fires steel stakes."

  "But steel won't kill vampires unless you hit them in their heads," Voronika said.

  "No, but it kills hunters." Enoch looked pleased with himself, and Bart now understood why. "I can use Light to kill vampires."

  They tossed ideas around. Even the new recruits joined in. Everyone knew that Vixtra was building up for a bigger battle, had probably sent for reinforcements. How many? It was anyone’s guess.

  Claudia watched him rake his hand through his hair. “Relax. We’ve done everything we can. No battles are guaranteed victories. You know that. If we die, we die.”

  Bart sighed. He didn’t mind dying, but he hated causing someone else’s death.

  As if she read his thoughts, Claudia said, “Soldiers choose their vocation, or it chooses them. We know the risks.”

  "Give it a rest," Ulrich told him. "Most of us fought before we were turned."

  True. That made Bart feel better. He wasn't asking them to do anything they hadn't done before they were bitten. As for the novices, they chose to be soldiers. Bart didn't recruit.

  They settled around the living room table and whittled shepherd's crooks to make weapons. Then Enoch nodded toward Bart and Leam. "Try the vests on to see if they work."

  Leam studied his, turning it skeptically.

  Bart slid his on and then morphed into his vampire state. His leathery wings pushed through the fabric in back. One less worry.

  Everyone was whittling and preparing when a deer darted from the treeline and ran across the yard. Something had frightened it. Then blazing arrows arched in the sky and imbedded themselves in the roofs of the house, garage, and shed. Bart and the others started for the doors.

  Enoch blocked their way. "No. That's what she wants. Let me handle this. Voronika, keep track of things from the balcony. Tell me what you see."

  She raced up the stairs while he stalked outside and turned on the hoses and the power washer he'd bought. He quickly put out the flames on the garage and house and was beginning to deal with the shed when a burning arrow sank into his back. Busy, he didn't notice it at first.

  "Your back!" Bart sent the message in a hurry.

  Enoch backed up into the lawn's sprinkler system to put it out, then reached back and brushed the shaft out as if it were an irritating thorn.

  Another barrage of arrows slammed into the house's windows. They fell to the ground. A lone arrow lodged itself in Enoch's chest. He yanked it out. Scowling, he shot a blast of Light across his backyard and into the nearby trees. Bart knew he was usually careful with the Light, never using it indiscriminately, but there were no mortals who lived nearby and every friendly vampire was in the house.

  A scream of fury followed the blasts. "I hate you!" Vixtra screeched.

  That's all it took. Bart turned to stop Nula, but she shot from the house with the other generals behind her. They were too late. Vixtra and her rogues retreated before they could reach them.

  "What was the point?" Nula grumbled when she stomped back into the kitchen.

  Ulrich shook his head at her. "If she burned down the house, shed, and garage, we wouldn't have a headquarters, would we? It seems like a decent idea to me."

  Bart nodded agreement. "Sometimes, strategy wins a war. Other times, hard fighting. Vixtra can use both."

  Nula grabbed her shepherd's crook and headed for the stairs, in a foul mood. Bart was in no hurry to follow her. No one was. They stayed in the kitchen longer than usual, readying t
heir gear and giving their friend plenty of time to cool down.

  Chapter 50

  Two nights passed and nothing happened. Voronika looked at the calendar. Danny and Maggie's wedding was getting closer all the time. She wanted to be there, to watch them get married, and to party at their reception. In the beginning, she'd worried that sun light was going to be her enemy. Now, she worried that the vampire war would never end.

  "She's waiting for more men to come," Bart told them at the kitchen table.

  "How many do you think the big three will send?" Leam asked.

  "As many as they can spare." Bart shook his head. "They can't afford to lose now."

  "And they can't afford to send everyone they've got either." Claudia broke off a wedge of cheese and bit into it. "Some of their converts are watching and waiting. If they see a chance to rebel, they'll take it."

  "Or to attack." Keb nodded agreement. "They've put themselves in a tricky position. They've gone up against Caleb's troops and generals openly. They've declared war on their maker. They've opened the door. The same could happen to them."

  "It's all or nothing," Bart agreed.

  "So why are they still following Caleb's rules?" Ulrich wrestled a leg off the smoked turkey. "Why not come here, grab people off the street, and drink them? Use them as pawns? Do as they please?"

  "They're not ready to battle him head to head," Nula said. "If they come, he comes. Caleb doesn't like waiting in the wings, cooling his heels. This has to be hard for him."

  Eva snorted. "Yeah, right! When has he ever cared if we fight his battles?"

  Nula pushed a stray strand of red hair behind her ear. "You know his temper, his ego. He'd rather rush here and smash whoever gets in his way.”

  Voronika grimaced. Caleb and Nula had a lot in common. The idea of seeing him again made her sick. She knew all about the angel’s temper and ego. Even more about his weaknesses. The big three had to be worse, but she couldn't see how.

  "Trouble is, the big three aren't so sure they'll win," Bart said. "The best they can hope for right now is some kind of compromise, a deal, to end this mess."

  The best Voronika could hope for was that all four of them would battle to the death. To hell with all of them. All right, impossible, since Caleb was immortal, but he could spend eternity thumbing his nose at the heavens from a pit.

  Leam scowled. "You don't think we should ask Caleb for more troops?"

  "We're always outnumbered, and we always win." Ulrich glanced at Voronika. "And this time, we have Voronika as our secret weapon on the balcony. We have an advantage."

  It was meant as a compliment, a way to include her, but she wasn't part of their world, their battles and strategy, and she knew it.

  Leam still looked worried. "Maybe it would be better if Caleb did come."

  Bart's face grew serious. "We can't help him fight the big three. None of us would survive. They're too old and too evil. They're toxic."

  "Toxic?" Voronika frowned.

  "One scratch, and their poison will kill us," Bart said.

  "But Caleb can defeat them, right?" When no one answered, Leam looked at Enoch. "Well?"

  "Caleb shouldn't come here. He can't break his promise, and he'll be tempted."

  "We all know how well Caleb resists temptation," Nula said dryly.

  Voronika tried to swallow a lump of hatred, but coughed on it instead. The others thought of Caleb as a necessary evil, but for her, it was too soon since he'd broken into Enoch's penthouse and kidnapped her, all because he couldn't get enough of Vlad. She bit her bottom lip. She had no respect for Caleb. None.

  Enoch read her thoughts, as he so often did, and put an arm around her. She took a deep breath. For his sake, she hoped his fellow angel survived this mess. For her part, she'd celebrate it if the earth split open and Caleb disappeared into its depths.

  Still, she went to bed restless that day. Things were building to a climax, and she worried who'd survive and who wouldn't. Sleep was sporadic, tortured with strange dreams.

  When she woke at sunset, it was almost a relief when Vixtra arrived with her army a short time later. The waiting was over. Vixtra brought masses of soldiers. Voronika rushed to the balcony. Bart and his generals flew out, each with a clump of Leam's men. Not enough against so many. How could they possibly survive?

  Bart’s troops took positions and hovered back to back in tight units. Voronika held her breath to watch how everything played out. She scanned the ground for Enoch. Where was he? Nowhere in sight. She spotted his new weapon and leaned closer to the glass to see better, but one of Leam’s Scots was manning it.

  That stopped her for a minute, but once she thought about it, she smiled. Just like Enoch. A clever tactic. That left him free to use the Light.

  "They're waiting for Vixtra's signal," Voronika told them from her vantage point. "Keep Vixtra's men at a distance from you so that it's easier for Enoch."

  First, the hunters fired their crossbows, this time, while hiding behind trees. The stakes flew at the vampires on the outer edges of the circles and bounced off. The hunters fired again, and a few stakes stuck for a moment before the vampires pulled them out and threw them to the ground. The combat vests, beneath their clothing, couldn't be seen. And Vixtra's vampires stirred fearfully.

  Bart smiled. His mind said, "That should make her worry what tricks we learned from Enoch."

  A scream of rage ripped the night air and vampires dove toward each group. Leam’s Scot fired his weapon, keeping hunters at bay. Bart's men jabbed and parried with their crooks, keeping their enemies at a distance.

  Enoch stepped into the center of the yard. He fired Light at the fringes of one circle after another. Dust showered the ground.

  A movement caught Voronika’s attention. More vampires were rushing from the west. “Enoch, look to your left!"

  Enoch blasted a wall of Light and a battalion of dust rained from the heavens.

  Hunters rushed from the ditch across the street. Leam's men swooped off the rooftops, grabbed the screaming mortals, and carried them away.

  Nula's message came to Voronika sharp and curt. "Where's Vixtra?"

  Voronika scanned the tree line, the open fields. "I don't see her."

  A shrill whistle blasted and Vixtra's soldiers turned and ran. A few of Leam's troops, caught in the passion of battle, raced after them. Vixtra's men whirled to meet them. The young vampires made sharp u-turns and hurried back to Bart and safety.

  The battle over, Voronika watched Enoch race toward the house. Was something wrong? She looked up at the skies, raked the area with her gaze. His footsteps pounded up the stairs. He ran toward her, yanking her off her feet and into his arms. "You were brilliant!"

  She laughed with relief. "I take it you were worried?"

  He crushed her against his strong chest. She could hear the thumping of his heart. "Not about the job you'd do. About this battle. I didn't know what to expect."

  She tipped her head back to study his face. Such a handsome face. She ran a finger along his cheek. How had she found such a wonderful man? "Everything's all right. We survived."

  "This time." He nuzzled his head against her shoulder. "I need you, Voronika."

  A bubble of happiness expanded inside her chest. It pressed against her rib cage and made her breath catch. He didn't say, "I want you." He said, "I need you." And Enoch didn't say things he didn't mean. "You have the Light," she reminded him. "It nourishes you."

  He gently released her. "I need you for other reasons…important ones."

  She put out a hand to steady herself. She’d never been giddy, but this was close. "Come on." Her voice sounded husky with emotion, even to her own ears. She felt too much for mere words. "Let's join the others."

  Chapter 51

  Enoch kept Voronika close while the others milled around the kitchen. Usually, she'd get tired of his neediness and push away from him, but tonight, she was being patient with him. He knew he'd better enjoy it while he could.

  Bar
t poured himself a glass of red wine. "What else?" he asked. "What else can she come up with? If we can think of it first, we'll be ready."

  They crowded around the table and tossed ideas back and forth.

  "Maybe," Keb said, "it's time to negotiate with the big three. Maybe now they'll be ready."

  Nula gave a quick shake of her head. "Let me get to Vixtra first. Then you can deal with them."

  "They might be desperate enough to bargain," Bart said. "It's worth a try." He pushed himself to his feet and went to the balcony to send messages to them.

  Frustrated, Nula reached for her crook. "We can't let Vixtra off this time."

  "Quit fretting." With his teeth, Ulrich pulled the cork from a bottle of cabernet and tipped it back to chug. "You'll get to kill your Vixtra. The big three won't deal. They're too full of themselves. We'll be fighting again tomorrow night."

  Enoch nodded agreement. "I'm with Ulrich."

  Bart returned a short while later, a grim look on his face.

  "What did they say?" Claudia asked.

  "They told me to rot in hell."

  Nula and Ulrich grinned at each other and clinked wine bottles together in a toast.

  "Pride goeth…" Elijah began.

  "..before the big three get their asses kicked," Ulrich finished.

  There was more drinking than usual that night, enough that some of the vampires stumbled on their way to their beds at sunrise. Voronika tried to stay up to keep Enoch company, but she couldn't quit yawning.

  "You're tired. Go to bed." He gave her a slap on the fanny and headed her toward the stairs.

  She turned to press her lips gently against his cheek. "You worry too much. Relax today. Meditate. You won't do anyone any good if you're tired and grumpy."

  She was right, he knew. When everyone was settled, he went to work in the yard, picking up stakes and arrows and cleaning up. He piled the weapons under the roof's overhang to be used again. Then he locked himself indoors and sank, cross-legged, onto the Oriental rug in the living room. It took him a minute to blank flitting thoughts from his mind, but then his subconscious joined with the peace of Home, and he could feel the Light flow through his veins. It was almost dark when he roused himself back to his surroundings, completely restored.