Control

by James D. Horton

  PREDATOR & PREY

  book three

  Control

  James D Horton

  Copyrighted Material

  Control (Predator & Prey, #3)

  Copyright © 2014 by James D Horton. All Rights Reserved.

  This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the author except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual or imagined persons, living or dead, or actual or imagined events is purely coincidental.

  For information about this title or to order other books and/or electronic media, contact the author:

  www.jamesdhorton.com

  Cover and interior design by Miranda Horton at www.bookdesignandediting.com

  More Books by James D Horton

  Fiction

  Predator & Prey

  Beast (Predator & Prey, #2)

  Non-Fiction

  Be Happy: The Foundation of a Happy Relationship – 12 Principles for Leading a Happy Life

  A Coffee Lover’s Guide to Love: How to Make Your Relationship Better and Keys to a Successful Marriage

  CONTROL

  Table of Contents

  CAST OF CHARACTERS

  PROLOGUE

  APPEARANCES

  KEEPING THE SILENCE

  INTO THE LION’S MOUTH

  LOSING IT

  LUNA RISES

  AFTERMATH

  DOMINANCE

  GRIOGAR’S WAY PART ONE

  STALK THE NIGHT

  GRIOGAR’S WAY PART TWO

  GRABBING POWER

  THROUGH THE DARK

  GRIOGAR’S WAY PART THREE

  GRIOGAR’S WAY PART FOUR

  THROUGH THE DARK PART TWO

  DIVING IN

  SEEING LOVE

  COMING TO TERMS

  DECISIONS

  TRIBE

  INTO THE FIRE

  MEMORIES

  FIREFIGHT

  SISTERS

  ENDINGS & BEGINNINGS

  About the Author

  CAST OF CHARACTERS

  Lily is a human who was pulled into the world of vampires, politics, violence and death because she attracted the attention of a vampire named Wolf. Wolf listened to a radio show that she hosts, Overnight with Lily. As a lone voice in the dark nights, she gives advice and moral support to the inhabitants of the City. Her life has been in a state of chaos since the night he saved her from an attack.

  Wolf is also known as Dallas. He dresses like a cowboy and acts like an outlaw, prone to hit first and ask questions later. He seems to despise vampire Society and all it stands for, he flaunts their rules but at times is forced to bend to their whims. Wolf is a man of few words, speaking in short fragments which can be very infuriating for those around him. He saved Lily, but after the events of Predator & Prey 2: Beast he left her side and she hasn’t seen him since.

  Athene has a classic beauty marred only by the left side of her face which is scarred with three equal gashes. Athene appears happy and light, others say she is crazy. In her own words, sometimes a cracked mirror is the only way to find the truth. She is known to have visions of the future and is actively working against what she sees. She is the maker of Lily.

  Regent Albert Angelopolous is the vampire ruler of the City. His word is Law, but sometimes he seems more a puppet in the role than a true leader. He has had confrontations in the past with Wolf and Lily.

  Katherine Codman is known as the Keeper in vampire Society. She is the one who knows the scores and the favors promised between vampires are recorded with her. If anyone tries to not pay a favor, Katherine will make sure everyone in Society knows about it. She also seems to have the most control of the mortal world and it is through her that the vampires cover up things that would otherwise bring unwanted attention to their nightly activities.

  Griogar MacGregor is a vampire with a notable appearance; he is a pure albino. He is also a man with an agenda, though no one is really sure what that agenda is. He seems mostly to do things for personal amusement. There have been altercations between Griogar and Wolf at various points including one involving Lily.

  Aiver is the vampire who decided it would be a good idea to use Lily to get to Wolf. Vampire Society Law prevented Wolf from dealing with him directly.

  Balthazar is a Gargoyle. He appears human on first glance, but at times he also looks carved of stone. He can sprout bat-like wings and fly. He is a servant to the vampires and cannot disobey those he owes loyalty to, but it is not clear who exactly that is. He has helped Lily and Wolf in the past.

  Gregory Stones was a young vampire who led the gang that tried to rape and kill Lily. He was beaten by Wolf and then killed by Lily.

  William is Lily’s younger brother; she doesn’t talk about him and tries not to think about him, either.

  Billy was a vampire that Wolf had taken under his wing for tutelage. Billy lost himself to his beast and in the end Wolf had to destroy him.

  The City is a dark and nasty version of our world. Corruption runs rampant, gangs roam the streets, there is trash in the gutters and nightly you will hear or see murder and worse. It is filled with desperate people living desperate lives trying to survive night to night.

  PROLOGUE

  THE TRIBE OF WOMEN GATHERED around the outside of the birthing hut waiting for the first cries. A low humming came from inside the hut and those gathered knew that it would not be long. A large fire burned in the center of the circle and a goat waited next to that fire, ready to be sacrificed at the moment the Queen’s child was born. The goddess must be appeased to garner her blessing on the new addition to the tribe.

  The moon cast its silvery light on the clearing where the women waited and at some agreed upon signal they began dancing around the fire. They danced to welcome their new member, to prepare the way so that the birth would be easy and the child would be strong. They danced and sang, their song mixed with the sounds coming from the birthing hut where their Queen, Thalestris, labored. They brandished their bows and their spears as they danced. Stomp, brandish, stomp, brandish went the rhythm of their movements.

  A bird called from the jungle and as one they stopped and positioned themselves in a ring around the birthing hut. The dancers stood at the ready and it was only moments until their bows were loosed and the thwang of arrows flew into the night; the sharp eyes of the archers spotted the enemy before there was a sound. The spear wielders shifted to form a protective ring that encompassed their bow wielding sisters.

  The first man broke from the forest’s cover into the light with a scream and a gleam of rage in his eyes; moonlight reflected off the rough iron of his sword. Two arrows appeared as if by magic in his throat, soundlessly dropping him, but dozens of his fellows followed. The attackers already wore the blood of the scouts they had killed on their way to the birthplace.

  “Protect the Queen!” Andromeda yelled while stepping forward, “Don’t let these Greeks at her!” With those words the battle was begun. The Amazons fought bravely but they were outnumbered four to one and the Greeks continued pouring out of the woods, two men replaced every one that was felled until at last only a few handfuls of the women remained.

  It was then that he chose to walk out from the trees. “I want the child,” Herakles’s voice was soft, yet every living woman heard it with fear in her heart.

  Andromeda wiped blood from her eyes, she had suffered a long cut across her forehead and it streamed down her face, impairing her vision. She maintained her bravery and smiled at Herakles, spitting in his direction.

  “She i
s not yours.” Andromeda stepped forward from the circle of her sisters. “I will best you alone.”

  Herakles smiled at her and his wicked grin showed several missing teeth. He stretched, muscles rippling across his exposed chest, his arms bulged in comparison to the lithe Andromeda. He was wearing the pelt of a lion, its head rested on his, which he pushed back to hang from his broad shoulders.

  “You will take me on? Do you know who I am? I am invincible!” There was scorn and mockery in his voice and the men around him joined him in his amusement, laughing.

  “So the legends say but I, Andromeda, am a killer of legends.” She twirled her spear and dropped with it into a defensive position, challenging him with thrusts of the spear point.

  Herakles laughed and raised his club and sword, rushing towards Andromeda to engage one-on-one. Her sisters stood aside, not interfering, but watching the Greeks to make sure they did not interfere either. Andromeda landed a blow with her spear, scoring first blood across Herakles’s chest. He howled in pain and she smiled as he renewed the attack like an enraged bull. His assault was furious, he ignored the cuts she inflicted on him and he slammed into her bodily, pounding at her with his club in one hand and swinging in low with his sword in the other. Andromeda held her own for a minute, then two, but the wildness of the attack began to wear her down and she showed signs of fatigue. Her blocks slowed, coming just in the nick of time, barely deflecting his thrusts and strokes.

  The spectators watched silently, no one moving lest they stain the honor of the combatants by intruding. Andromeda persevered in her attempt to stop Herakles, but he could not be slowed. His blows continued to rain down on her until she missed blocking one and the sound of bone shattering echoed through the night as one final cry came from inside the birthing hut.

  Andromeda’s left arm hung shattered and she stepped back, cradling her wound. Blood and tears streamed down her face, but she did not surrender. Andromeda clenched her jaw and took up her spear with her uninjured arm, lowering it to the ready once more. The rest of the women dropped their spears to the ready as well but the Greeks with Herakles didn’t step forward.

  Herakles himself, blood running down his massive chest, paused in his attack, stepping back and holding his club and sword defensively in front of him.

  “Stand aside,” he commanded.

  Andromeda smiled at him. Blood colored her teeth and bones poked out of the skin on her arm like white splinters reaching for the air, making a horrible travesty of her beauty. The tip of her spear wavered only a moment as she gathered herself, inhaled deeply and raised it back to ready.

  “Never. You bleed like any man.” Andromeda attacked with renewed vigor. She drove Herakles back under her relentless assault, her spear flying faster than before, desperation overcoming the injury to her arm.

  Herakles stumbled back, blocking with his club and sword but missing as often as he blocked, small cuts one after the other scored on his chest and arms. Then he swung in and caught her on the broken arm again, the sound of breaking bones was painful to hear when his club smashed through her arm to slam in her ribs with enough force to lift her off her feet.

  Andromeda landed hard, her breath exhaled in a whoosh. She stumbled, unable to steady herself with her shattered arm but somehow she managed to stay upright. A cough seized her and blood filled her mouth, she used her good arm to wipe her lips smearing red across her face as she did. Andromeda stared at her opponent, inhaled once and then lowered her spear to the ready again. The Greek men began to mumble, admiration showing in their stern faces. Herakles shook his head, raised his club and advanced to begin again.

  “ENOUGH!” a new voice boomed out into the night. Thalestris emerged from the hut; her newborn cradled in one arm and latched to her breast, her sword in her other hand. “You will not take this child from me.”

  The remaining Amazons closed around their Queen as Herakles lowered his head and looked at the ground. “I have no choice Thalestris,” he apologized. “The geas is cast, I must obey.”

  “Then let us have at it,” she declared raising her sword.

  Chaos erupted as the Greeks rushed forward led by the mighty Herakles. The battle raged for what seemed hours, each side giving as good as they took but the Greeks far outnumbered the Amazons and at last only three women remained standing, surrounded by the Greeks none of whom were free of wounds themselves. Herakles landed a blow to Thalestris’s head with his club knocking her to one side as the other two women also fell under the Greek onslaught.

  As Thalestris’s consciousness dimmed, the last thing she saw was Herakles standing over her, his blood seeping out from innumerable cuts. He reached down for her child where she was still clutched to her breast and then the world went dark.

  * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

  The sun warmed Thalestris’s skin as she stirred; the events of the last night were a bad dream surely. When she opened her eyes she realized she was staring into the sky, not the roof of her hut. She raised her pounding head and the final image of Herakles’s massive hand reaching down to her child beat into her in time with the pain. She forced herself to her feet and looked around to see her sisters’s bodies lying around her, most of them were dead.

  She couldn’t see her baby anywhere. Her skull throbbed, her vision spun, her breasts were hard as rocks and hurt, her pelvis was numb, and a cramp grabbed her stomach as if she was again in labor. Thalestris stumbled, pushing past the pain, frantic to find her child. Her body hurt to the point of collapse but she pushed past it all, fighting back the dizziness and the contractions, until she came to a tree where she found her baby. Her heart went numb and cold in her chest as she looked down on the lifeless body that she had just given birth. The proud Queen of the Amazons crumpled to the dirt and cradled the tiny body close to her breast. She screamed in rage and loss, like a mindless animal before the wracking sobs took control of her body. Inside, she cursed the Greeks and all the gods above.

  All she had wanted, all her hopes, had been placed on this child. She had been thought barren and had given up, so when at last life had quickened inside of her she had sang the praises of Athena. Now it had been stolen from her.

  Twilight shrouded the land before Thalestris could bring herself to move from the ground and her lost baby. She numbly moved through the tasks of building a pyre for the child first, and then worked the same for her fallen sisters. When she found Andromeda, the woman was still alive though barely breathing.

  “My Queen . . .” Andromeda wheezed, blood flecking her lips with each breath. “The child?”

  Thalestris couldn’t speak so she just shook her head while tears fell from her eyes.

  Andromeda’s breath caught, stopped and then started again. “I’m sorry I failed you . . .” She said as her final breath escaped her body.

  Thalestris’s tears flowed harder; the Queen was overwhelmed by so much loss.

  Full night fell before she finished tending to the fallen. Only a handful had survived the attack, none of them without severe wounds. The Amazons had given as much as they had taken. The bodies of the Greeks she had drug into the woods to be taken by the carnivores of the forest in the hope that Hades would not accept them as they tried to cross, trapping them forever on this plane.

  Done with her somber task, she walked into the woods until she reached the clearing where the shrine to Athena stood. She approached the shrine slowly, her body still aching, her heart a lead weight in her chest. When she reached the shrine, she stood for a moment and then she lashed out at it with her foot. She poured out all her rage and all her pain as she destroyed the shrine.

  “Damn you!” she screamed. “We were your faithful, your chosen ones! Where were you!” She stood in the wreckage of the shrine, railing at her gods.

  “I do not control all things.”

  The voice came from behind her and she spun to face it. Athena stood there, bathed in moonlight and white saffron wearing a thin belt of gold around her waist and her long bow slung
over her shoulder. She had raven black hair that hung in loose curls, ruby red lips, and her deep brown eyes were filled with sadness. “Some things have to be, to make us what we must become.”

  “NOT THIS! NOT HER!” Thalestris screamed. “She was MINE!”

  Athena nodded and walked towards the Queen, her arms held out in open appeal. “I know,” she said simply. “I’m so sorry I could not be there to prevent this.” She took Thalestris in her arms. “I’m going to tell you of a future time, of the role you will play in times to come, but you must embrace your fate. This will be fuel for you, it was not Alexander that betrayed you, it was another. I can help you find him.”

  Thalestris pushed Athena away. “If not him then who? ‘Alexander the Great’ they name him, I name him Baby Killer! I will kill him,” she said with hate in her voice. “I will kill him and whoever else is responsible for this tragedy! I will make them suffer as she suffered, entering this world in blood and pain only to be taken out of it within hours. Their suffering will be for hours and days just as hers was!”

  “Embrace that,” Athena said. “It will warm you in the years to come.” She caught Thalestris in her arms again as the Queen slumped and cried tears of rage and pain. She stroked the other woman’s hair as she spoke, “I have seen a great destiny for you, greater even than when you were called to lead my Tribe. The years will be heavy on you but you are strong enough for this. You have proven your worth. Will you welcome your destiny?”

  “Will it grant me the power to take my revenge?” Thalestris lifted her head to look at her goddess, squinting her eyes against the pounding in her head.

  “Yes, yes it will. You will become the moon, you will be as Luna in the sky and no one in the night will be able to hide from you. You will be cold fury brought to life, you will be vengeance incarnate.”