by Judith Post
"Will you be able to sleep?" Enoch asked.
"Probably not, but you have enough to deal with. We'll let you concentrate."
They were heading to the stairs when someone knocked at the front door. Danny frowned. No one used that door. Everyone came to the kitchen. He glanced at Enoch and reached for his gun. He was keeping it close lately. He motioned for Maggie to press herself against the wall, out of sight. Enoch looked out one side of the living room window. Danny took the other. A long, silver Bentley was parked in the drive. Enoch reached through the metal grid to push the door open. When he saw his visitor, he took a quick step backward. His hands balled into fists.
Who the hell was it? Danny stepped into view and gripped the gun in both hands, taking steady aim.
"Just leave." Danny had never heard Enoch use that tone before—harsh and final.
His visitor's lips curled with amusement. "I was hoping you might be happy to see me."
“You should know better.”
Danny looked from one of them to the other. No one could be better looking than Enoch, but the man on the porch was definitely his match. With long, golden hair and sea-blue eyes, he was the blond counterpart to Enoch's dark, brooding looks. Must be an angel thing. No imperfections.
“You could invite me in,” the man said.
"Why would I want to do that?"
"My generals can't win this time. I've come to fight my own battle."
Enoch stared. So did Danny.
"May I come inside?"
Enoch lifted the grid, but didn’t move away from the door.
"Just a few inches?" The man gave a dazzling smile and pushed past him. Blinding white teeth glistened against golden skin.
Danny looked at Enoch, confused. "Is he a friend or an enemy?"
"Both."
Danny lowered his gun and glanced behind him at Maggie. She couldn't tear her gaze away from the man's sheer beauty. Danny cleared his throat. A blush rose to her cheeks.
Enoch motioned the man into the house and closed the door behind him. "Danny, Maggie, this is Caleb."
The friend Enoch had tried to rescue, the angel who’d started this whole mess and had tried to kidnap Voronika. Danny glared.
"Why now?" Enoch asked. "We lost Nula, Gunther, and Horace. Where were you then?"
"I have faith in you, brother. But I couldn't come. You knew that." When Enoch opened his lips to argue, Caleb waved it away. "You've destroyed Ragnar. Yerik and Okon won't make the same mistake. They won't get careless and let you hit them with Light."
Bart and Claudia stopped short on the stairs when they saw Caleb.
Caleb bowed his golden head toward them. His radiance was stunning. "My thanks to you both."
Eva and Amado came up behind them. "You're here?" Eva gasped.
"It's my battle. Enoch has left the best for last so we can share." He turned to Enoch. "I'll try to talk to them first, but I have no hope that will work."
"It hasn't before," Bart said.
"In that case, I want my generals to stay out of this," Caleb ordered. Voronika started down the steps, saw Caleb, and stopped. She hissed her hatred, and for once, Caleb looked away, ashamed.
"You!" she spat.
Danny had never seen her look so dangerous. Maggie began to stretch a hand toward her, then hesitated. Voronika looked ferocious.
Enoch stepped between them. "Caleb came to help me fight Okon and Yerik and whoever they bring with them."
Voronika hesitated, obviously grateful that Enoch would have help, but reluctant to forgive Caleb. Danny didn't blame her.
"You can glare and hiss," Caleb said, "but it's time I help Enoch clean up the mess I made for him."
Voronika turned her head, refusing to answer him. "Care to join me in the kitchen?" she asked Maggie.
Maggie wordlessly followed her to the other room, glancing at Danny nervously.
"You're her friend, dear girl." Caleb inhaled as she passed him and sighed. "Your scent is delicious, but she won't bite."
Maggie's flush rose all the way to her hairline. Damn. Danny wished one compliment from him had that effect on women.
Enoch raised a dark eyebrow, unamused. "I thought we’d agreed it was best if you stayed out of this.”
“Even you could use help now,” Caleb answered.
“This isn't a game. Okon and Yerik will do anything they can to rile you. Everyone knows how quick your temper is. They'll try to make you lose control. You can't do that."
Caleb gave a careless shrug. "I know their game plan. If I bite someone here, I'm in the pit. I'd be breaking my own, fricking promise."
"I wish you hadn't made it."
"I know. You tried to talk me out of it."
"You never listen to me!" Enoch shook off his frustration. Danny watched him visibly try to shift gears. "When they come," Enoch said, "we'll go out together. They can't harm us."
"Easy for you to say," Caleb told him. "You have the Light."
But harm wasn't always physical, Danny knew. Tension sizzled between the two men, too many past hurts, too many bad memories. When they started for the door, Danny reached for Enoch's hand and gave it a quick shake. "Good luck, pal."
"Thanks for being here with me." Enoch squeezed his hand, unthinking, and Danny winced.
"That's what friends are for."
Caleb stopped to look from one of them to the other. "Touching. Now let's go."
Chapter 59
Enoch and Caleb paused under the house's portico and stared. Paki and Petar were chained to a pole driven deep into the ground in the center of the yard.
Caleb's blue eyes flashed with temper. "I left them at my fortress. No one can get in there."
Enoch looked at Caleb in surprise. "If their creators call them, the summons is almost impossible to resist. Didn't you know that?"
"Why would I? Voronika never returned to Vlad."
"I said almost. She hated him. She hates being a vampire. She even hates herself."
Caleb frowned. "I chose three. Where's Quinlin?"
Enoch ran a hand through his hair, frustrated. "Who bit him?"
"Ragnar…." Caleb stopped. He turned to Enoch. "You killed Ragnar, didn't you?"
"He grabbed Danny."
"Then Quinlin's gone. He was alive when I boarded my private jet to come here."
"Their sires called, and they came."
Caleb's face took on a distressed look. "If I kill Yerik and Okon, I'll kill Paki and Petar."
The way he said it, Enoch realized this was the first time he'd thought of that. No surprise really. Caleb wasn't known for his deep reflection. "Then let me help you. If you distract Okon and Yerik, I’ll let Paki and Petar feed off me."
"Bite you?"
Enoch frowned at him. "It freed Voronika, didn't it? Doesn't your blood do the same?"
"I haven't tried it. Giving mine, I mean—but no, no Light.…." He hesitated.
For the first time, Enoch doubted. Had Caleb ever let anyone feed off him, or was it always the other way around? He wasn't sure that Caleb's blood could free a vampire, but he thought his friend would at least try. "Can you buy me some time?"
Caleb nodded. "Even if your blood works, they can't fight with us. One scratch from Yerik and Okon…"
"I'll try to get them to the house to safety."
Red laced Caleb's golden aura—flicks of anger. "It's time I deal with my two offspring."
"Don't lose control," Enoch reminded him. "No mortal blood, even if there are hunters. Stay focused on the battle."
Caleb brushed his words away and stalked toward the pole. Always impetuous, he'd leap first and think later. Hundreds of vampires jumped him. They completely covered him. Fangs out, they sank sharp teeth deep into his flesh, ripping and biting. Caleb roared and shook them off.
Enoch hurried past them, shooting Light at any vampires who tried to get in his way. Yerik circled above Paki and Petar, but when he saw that Enoch was the one rushing to protect them, he veered off. Hunters ste
pped from the tree line and aimed their crossbows. Enoch panicked, unsure how to protect the two vampires. He wrapped his body around them. "Feed off me," he told them. "And hurry."
Stakes flew into Enoch's back and arms. Paki and Petar stared, frightened, but the stakes worked their way out and fell to the ground.
"Bite me, damn it! Then when Yerik and Okon die, you won't."
Paki and Petar sank their fangs into Enoch's neck and shoulders. When he was sure they'd drunk enough, he said, "Stay with me. I'll get you to the house." On his way, he glanced at Caleb. Okon had landed on one side of him and Yerik on the other. Caleb let them sink their fangs into his shoulders to drink long draughts, doing his best to keep them distracted. He writhed in pain, and Enoch realized that his friend, although immortal, could suffer. When the pain became too much, Caleb's body changed. His fangs and talons sprang out. He slashed at his enemies. He tossed Okon and Yerik into the air, and when more vampires rushed him, he turned to savage them. Hunters ran forward, shooting him with stakes.
Caleb lunged at them.
"NO!" Enoch warned. Caleb could kill his enemies. He could snap their necks or rip open their throats, but he could not drink from hunters, and once he started drinking—even a fellow vampire—Enoch wasn't sure he could stop. Enoch blasted them with Light, vampires and hunters alike—a bigger blast than usual. He wasn’t sure what would happen. Dust fell. Hunters stumbled, blinded. Others' skin burned and blistered.
Sweat broke out on Caleb's forehead.
"Fight the urge to drink," Enoch called. "Kill whoever you want to, but don't taste one drop of blood! You're no good to anyone in the pit!"
Caleb's whole body trembled with the effort, but he forced himself to change back.
Vampires rushed Enoch at the kitchen door. They knew he couldn't use the Light with Paki and Petar so close. He turned to block the way, bashing and pushing them back. Some leapt on him, wrapping their arms and legs around his body, sinking their fangs into his veins. Bart opened the grid and Enoch heard Voronika's strangled cry.
"Don't let her come out here!" He felt Light pulse beneath his skin. It entered his veins, and the vampires drinking him burst into ashes.
Bart pulled Paki and Petar inside, slammed the door shut and called, "Kill them. Kill them all!"
His vampire friend was as stressed as Voronika was. Not good. Bart wasn't known for sitting and watching. Paki and Petar were safe. Enoch let the Light flood over him. Vampires jerked away, leaping to safety.
Enoch turned and ran to Caleb. His fellow angel was on his knees in the grass with Yerik and Okon sucking huge gulps of blood from each side of his neck. Thank God, Ragnar was gone, or they might win this! The faster they drank, the faster Caleb's blood replenished, but the pain etched on Caleb's face was testimony to the agony he was in.
"Enough!" Enoch summoned the Light, then hesitated. Caleb was an angel, but a fallen one—expelled—unlike him, who was sent to do a job. And Caleb was part vampire now. How would the Light affect him?
Enoch watched his fellow angel struggle in pain. To hell with it! Time to finish this. Light burst from him in all directions. Yerik and Okon zoomed behind the shed and garage while their converts burst into dust. Caleb crumpled to the ground on all fours. Enoch rushed to him. "Are you all right?"
Caleb panted, out of breath. "I've been better." He pushed himself to his feet and patted himself, then laughed. "My enemies thought I was so far gone I wouldn't survive the Light. I was a little worried myself. Glad you had faith in me."
A loud hiss sounded behind them and Yerik launched himself into the air. Okon followed. Not gonna happen! There was no way Enoch was going to let them leave. He raised his arms and shot circles of Light around them—corralling them—the same technique he used when he fought with Ulrich. "Let's finish this," he told Caleb.
Caleb frowned, for once uncertain. "They're stronger now that they've fed on me."
"Did that weaken you? Can you defeat them?"
"Not alone, not this time, but that makes one for you, and one for me." Caleb grinned, his mood changing, ready for the challenge. "And when this is finished, remember that I don't have your tricks. I have to win my battles strength against strength."
Enoch was about to argue when the few rogues left plunged toward them—a suicide mission. They didn't have a prayer of defeating two angels, but if they didn't try and either Yerik or Okon survived, he'd kill them.
Caleb walked into them, snapping their necks as he went. Dust covered the yard. When Caleb moved, it rose and drifted in the air. Enoch took shallow breaths. He didn't want to inhale vampire ash.
Finally, Caleb looked up at Yerik and Okon. "You have a choice, you two. You can fight and die, or hide up there and get blasted with Enoch's Light."
Snarling, the two vampires hurtled to earth. Okon slammed into Enoch. The force of the blow knocked Enoch off his feet. Damn, Caleb was right. After his huge feeding, the vampire was almost as strong as his fellow angel.
The collision threw Okon to the ground too. He picked himself up and turned to hiss at Enoch. Muscles rippled across his thick, gray hide. Long, curved fangs glistened in the moonlight. His breath smelled like rancid blood.
This was ridiculous! Caleb might have to fight his Big, Gray, and Ugly in hand-to-hand combat, but Enoch had earned the Light. He called for it. Nothing came. He thought for a second. Okay, the Universe was trying to make a point. But why now? Why reduce him to Caleb's powers when he was helping his friend?
Okon's red eyes glowed. "What, no Light?" His thin lips curved in a menacing smile. "Did you finally run out? We don't have to fight. We've worked together before, side by side, fighting rogues. Why choose allegiance with a friend who doesn't value you?"
"This isn't about friendship. It's about generals' deaths.”
"They can join us too. We can rule the world together."
"Caleb offered me that a long time ago. Not interested."
Okon slashed a sharp talon across Enoch's arm. "Then fester and die."
Enoch watched the wound heal itself and close. He gave a grim smile. "Not your best move."
Okon leapt forward, and Enoch met him midway. They grabbed each others' arms, wrestled, and rolled. Muscles ached. Punches fell. Sweat dripped down Enoch's face, burned his eyes, and made grips slippery.
Bruises came and went. Cuts opened and shut. Each fighter struggled for a stronghold, something the other couldn't break. Finally, Enoch wrapped an arm around the vampire's head, twisted until it snapped from his shoulders, and held on tight until Okon burst into dust. Then, filthy and tired, he pushed to his feet to see how Caleb fared.
Yerik and Caleb were growing weary, too. Yerik wrapped leathery wings around his fellow angel and sank foot-long fangs into Caleb's neck. Caleb threw back his head and growled. He morphed with a suddenness that surprised Enoch. Leathery and hideous, he snapped his head forward and tore at Yerik's throat. Grimacing, he spat out flesh and blood. Yerik sputtered. Strangled noises filled the air. Gurgling followed. Yerik disintegrated into ashes and fell in a heap on the ground.
Caleb returned to his usual form, sagging with exhaustion. He looked at the dust at Enoch's feet and the ashes in front of his own. "Not much of a victory," he rasped. "I had to kill those I sired and all of their progeny."
Enoch sagged against a tree trunk. "Better than defeat."
Caleb shrugged philosophically. "Nothing to brag about. Wish I had your Light. Maybe none of this would have happened."
"So get it back." Enoch started toward the house.
"Has yours returned?"
Enoch held up a finger, and a laser of Light beamed skyward. "It was a test. I hate those."
Caleb gave a tired laugh. "You're still His favorite. Don't you think He probably hates me by now?"
"He doesn't hate anyone. Not even you."
Caleb took a deep breath, not following Enoch. "Thank you, brother. You probably saved me from a pit…again."
Enoch looked over his shoulder, studyi
ng him. "Someday, I'm taking you Home."
"Maybe. You do realize, though, you might learn to like it here."
Their usual debate, but this time, Enoch didn't protest as much as usual. Voronika was here. He couldn't imagine life without her.
Caleb caught the silence. "Aaah, I see. Earth has some pleasures Home doesn't offer."
Enoch ran a hand through his dark hair. He was too tired to debate. "As long as I have Voronika, I'm happy."
"Then may you two live in bliss for eternity." A sardonic smile tilted his lips, and Caleb turned to leave. "You caused this victory, not me. I'll return to my fortress. The others can reach me there." He walked toward his Bentley, started the engine, and drove away.
Chapter 60
Enoch entered the house alone. When he walked into the kitchen, everyone was waiting for him. Even Danny and Maggie had come down for the final battle. "It's done," he told them. "The big three are gone."
"And Caleb?" Voronika asked.
"Is on his way home. He wants Bart and Claudia to escort Paki and Petar to his fortress when they leave here."
"Of course, we're all here to serve him." Voronika bit back her anger and went to Enoch. "Look at you. You saved him…again…and he'll return to his casino and sins."
"He made progress tonight, a big step for him."
Bart shook his head. "Don't fool yourself, friend. Caleb had to come to show his power. He had to be part of the victory. He needed you, just like he needs us. If he didn't, we wouldn't cross his mind."
Danny and Maggie listened in silence. Maggie searched Enoch's face, then stepped forward to swipe dirt off his arm. "I don't care about Caleb. I care about you. You were magnificent, and I'm proud to call you friend."
Enoch smiled at her, grateful for the kind words. "Thank you."
"Oh, to hell with it!" Ulrich nodded toward the basement door. "We won! Life's good! Let's get the keg and celebrate!"
Bart gave a curt nod. "Tonight, we party. Tomorrow, we go home."
"So soon?" Ulrich glanced around the house stocked with food and drink.
"We leave at sunset," Bart told them. "Be ready. Young vampires will be flexing their muscles. They'll know the big three are gone and they'll feel frisky. We need to assign new generals to new places. There's work to do."