The mayor grinned sheepishly. “Seems I’m aquilan,” he said. “I try not to mention that in polite company.”
Yasmin chuckled.
“Being able to fly, though?” Lionel said with relish. “That makes me feel like a kid again.”
Yasmin held Lionel’s gaze for a moment, absolutely understanding the sentiment.
“A spirit creature is an opportunity,” she said at length. “A chance to escape the past.”
The mayor nodded his understanding. “Roger that,” he said. “A message to be spread across the world right now, I think.”
Once Lionel had gone, Yasmin resumed her vigil. The time alone with Jack gave her time to think, to plan.
The Flux Fellowship had come together almost by accident, but now that it was a “thing”, it was taking on momentum all on its own. The naturebound and arachne folk had moved into the old lycan chapter house and were now training under the supervision of their various leaders.
Yasmin was happy to learn that her surviving troops were being looked after in the chapter house also. She had a slowly building need to take her people back to Romania, where she could further develop her own sanctuary.
Yasmin’s mind was a tumble of such thoughts when Jack stirred.
“Welcome back, love,” she said softly, planting a kiss on his lips.
“If only I could wake like that every day,” he quipped, taking a moment to adjust to his new surroundings. “So I’m still alive, then.”
“Don’t make a habit of crashing helicopters into Flux titans,” Yasmin said with a smile. “Follow that advice and you should be fine.”
Jack was keen to be discharged from the hospital. Yasmin took care of the necessary paperwork and they disappeared into the night. The Manhattan streets were eerily quiet for a Sunday night. The people would be laying low, recovering after such a huge shock. Luckily, engineers had succeeded in locating almost all the explosives the Berlin Club had laid. One charge had gone off as a engineer was working on it, killing him and his colleague instantly, but there had been no other loss of life from the explosives.
The death count in the streets, however, was a different matter. It was estimated that 982 civilians and 212 police troopers had lost their lives in the ghoul attack. The thought of the state funeral the following day saddened Yasmin. Perhaps sensing her grief, Jack laid an arm around her as they walked through the ocean tunnel to the chapter house.
Amazingly, there was a long line of folks waiting to enter the chapter house and “volunteer” their services to the fledgling Fellowship. Some even held placards with their spirit creatures written in large letters. Others had gone to the desperate length of shifting into their beasts, a reckless act that caused no end of commotion in the crowd.
A huge black spider manned the door and, recognizing Jack and Yasmin, let them in immediately.
“Like one of my regular nightclubs,” Jack said dryly as they headed through.
Florence was engaged with a flock of reporters in the main hall.
“It’s called a Fellowship because I guess every member is a willing volunteer, equal among his brothers and sisters,” Florence was saying. She threw a look at the newly arrived pair and her eyes widened.
“I’m sorry, can we talk another time?” she said. “It’s getting quite late.”
Florence certainly looked tired if the bags under her eyes were any indication. She showed no sign of it when she wrapped Jack in a suffocating bear hug.
“You’re such a douchebag,” she said as she held him at arm’s length. “But you’re a lycan douchebag.”
“I love you too,” Jack laughed.
The look in Florence’s eyes said everything. It said that Florence and Jack, as the only two survivors of the Lycan Society, would always share a special bond. There was deep affection there, but also a need. Jack was Florence’s only link to the past and she would need that link if she was going to build a future.
Yasmin smiled, tears welling in her eyes.
“What is it, Yas?” Florence asked, looking over Jack’s shoulder.
“Nothing,” Yasmin said quickly, wiping her face. “Was just musing on how important you both are to me.”
“We could group hug but everyone else here might think it was kinda lame,” Jack said. “Having said that - ditto.”
The three of them were silent for a moment, enjoying the realization.
“Florence,” Yasmin said gently. “What’s the situation here? Are the troops up for a quick assembly?”
“Everyone’s tired, still finding their feet,” Florence said. “Is there something urgent?”
“I think so,” Yasmin said, already ushering Jack and Florence to the upper mezzanine level. From there they looked out over the great hall, which was a bustle of activity. Both the naturebound and arachne were transferring personal items to this dank, cold warren under New York City. Yasmin calmly pressed an orange button on the wall. That was a call to general assembly. The red one was for immediate evacuation. Florence had installed the system only the day before, looking to upgrade the outdated setup the Lycan Society had employed.
The Fellowship had been drilled once in these new alarms already, and now dutifully reported to the great hall. Within two minutes there were close to two hundred Fellows piled in the Hall.
“You have me intrigued,” Florence said with a knowing look at Jack. “Something tells me I’m not gonna like this. You in on this too, Jack?”
“That’s a negative,” Jack said. “No idea what this crazy vampire is gonna do next.”
Yasmin cleared her throat and approached the rail.
“I’ll keep this short,” she said. “I know many of you are probably itching for some sleep.”
Yasmin paused, glancing over her shoulder at Florence. “We’ve all been through a lot in the last few days. We’ve lost loved ones. Seen those closest to us die.”
Silence in the great hall. What Yasmin spoke of was still agonizingly fresh for many of these people.
“Without wanting to dwell on painful events, I’d like to shine a light on the harsh reality of our situation. You see, there’s a reason so many of us died in that last battle. The simple truth is there are so many of the enemy. So few of us. The Fellowship is a flickering flame at the mercy of a hurricane of evil intent. As we strive to become bigger and stronger, we must also work to be more cohesive. More inclusive. We need a leader who demands the best. One who inspires us. A champion.”
Yasmin dare not meet Florence’s eye - the tawny werewolf was bound to know what was about to happen and probably hadn’t been expecting it. There wasn’t a power-hungry bone in Florence’s body. That was what made her the best choice.
“Brave Fellows,” Yasmin said with conviction, “I give you Florence Underwood, Champion of the Fellowship.”
And with that, the vampire queen took a step back, her heart hammering in her throat. What she had just done was very risky indeed. She had effectively hand-picked a leader of the Fellowship without consultation with anyone else. Did Gustav or Nate have designs on the position? Had Yasmin risked the Fellowship just so she could put Florence’s name forward?
As it turned out, she needn’t have worried. The assembled Fellows began chanting Florence’s name immediately. Yasmin’s instinct had been right after all. Florence was a champion. Everyone here had seen her plunge a golden sword into the black heart of a hydra. That was the definition of heroic.
Yasmin breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Gustav and Nate clapping and cheering enthusiastically. It seemed Florence would make a popular leader indeed.
Her job done, Yasmin grabbed Jack’s hand and retreated into the shadows.
“Sorry, my love,” she whispered. “I considered nominating you but I kinda want you around me for a while. Is that selfish?”
Jack stepped into Yasmin and kissed her passionately. His hands started to roam but she slapped them away.
“Someone might see us!” she said playfully.
; “I don’t care,” Jack murmured. “There’s something about pregnant women…”
Yasmin couldn’t wait any longer, taking Jack to her old room. All the while the great hall resounded with Florence’s name.
“Do you have to leave so soon?” Florence asked as Jack and Yasmin prepared to say their goodbyes. Their flight to Paris left JFK Airport in an hour.
“As soon as Yasmin is able to travel we’ll return,” Jack reassured her. “Romania is my new home but this is where I plan to work.”
Florence grinned, standing at the famous red door that granted access to the ocean tunnel. There was still a long line of prospective Fellows out there. Not all of them would be accepted, of course, but a good number of them would go on to become fine operatives. Yasmin almost envied them - Florence was one of the best mentors she’d ever had. She shed a tear as she embraced the tawny werewolf.
“You’re a shining star,” she said into Florence’s ear. “And I promise to have Jack back at work as soon as I’m done.”
“Can’t wait to see the baby,” Florence cooed, dancing with excitement. “Hopefully it takes after you.”
Jack swatted at Florence playfully. “See you soon, Underwood,” he said more seriously. “If you need anything at all, I’ll come running. You know that.”
“I do,” Florence said. “And I’ll miss you guys like crazy. Please be careful.”
The trans-Atlantic flight was a reasonably tolerable ordeal. A little turbulence high over the ocean made Yasmin nauseous, but it passed fairly quickly. She was vaguely uneasy about leaving Florence to build the Fellowship in New York, but to say that she was ‘alone’ was stretching the truth. Gustav and Nate were both on hand to provide expert guidance. Yasmin was deliciously happy when the Odessa siblings proposed to settle in New York and act as vampire ‘ambassadors’ across the Atlantic. Yasmin thought it was a splendid idea, seeing the Odessa family settling in very well indeed.
So Florence had some serious intellect and muscle around her. More than enough to see her through the next few months.
A connecting flight from Paris to Bucharest saw the couple touch down at dusk local time. A helicopter awaited them in a private section of the airfield. Such things were relatively cheap in Romania, and since the Odessa family was now supporting Yasmin’s dark army, the vampire queen had money to burn. Of course, there was also Tomas’s life savings. Yasmin had received legal counsel just before she left New York - she had inherited all of Tomas’s wealth. It wasn’t much, especially in the face of the Odessa fortune, but Yasmin resolved to do something meaningful with it. She had a crazy notion simmering in her mind - a Flux research facility. A place where scientists could apply their logical minds to the Flux phenomenon. Such a place could yield dynamic discoveries and go a long way to saving thousands of lives. There was plenty of room at the castle for a state-of-the-art laboratory. The closer Yasmin got to Frica the more detailed her plans became.
Jack was bone tired by the time they landed on the snow-blasted ridge south of Frica. The pair walked arm-in-arm through swirling snow devils, the belfry ablaze with the purple light of the vampire beacon.
The Maramurians had been forewarned of their queen’s arrival. The hall was clean and scented with rose oil. Yasmin led Jack to her chamber and shut the door behind them. She unbuttoned her great coat slowly, gazing at Jack the whole time. Next came her scarlet dress, then her lingerie. She lay back on the bed and beckoned for Jack to come over. She couldn’t help but smile at the goofy grin on his face as he fumbled with his own clothes.
Yasmin spent most of the next day sleeping soundly in her tomb-like bed. Jack took to the forests in the lower valleys, relishing the opportunity to catch dinner with his bare hands. That night the pair enjoyed fresh venison roasted over the fire and a few goblets of rose frecia. The Maramurians had been working diligently on stocking the kitchen from the various villages in the region. The castle now had a full time chef, something Jack could not get his head around.
“Yas, you’re like a rock star,” he said in amazement. “This place is luxury. Kinda depressing, but luxury.”
A week had passed before Yasmin dug up the courage to do something about the small urn sitting on her mantelpiece. Late one night she took Jack to the top of Mount Brasev and hurled Tomas’s ashes to the frigid Carpathian winds. Jack held her as she broke down like she knew she would. Like she knew she had to. This was the end of a long, slow goodbye and Yasmin promised herself to look forward from that moment on.
Spring slowly suggested that summer was a real possibility. Yasmin eased into a gentle rhythm of clifftop walks, long fireside chats with Jack and the gradual development of Frica.
She had the best architect in Romania draft a plan for the research facility, choosing a flat patch of ground abutting the east castle wall. The high bluestone wall would need to be adjusted, but that was nothing the Maramurians couldn’t handle.
Yasmin would never dare admit it, but the early signs at Frica were favorable. She had her home, she had her man, she would soon have her child. Florence was building something wonderful in New York.
Life was good. For now. But the world was now in the grip of the Flux.
Which meant that life was more beautiful than it had ever been.
It also meant that death was less patient.
On the 17th of July Yasmin gave birth to a girl with jet black hair. Jack stood at the foot of the bed, a hazy mirage through her intense labor pains.
She couldn’t tell for sure, but his face might have clouded over into a frown.
“Is she OK?” she heard him ask the doctor.
“I don’t know,” came the dreaded answer. “I’ve never seen eyes like that before.”
Coming soon - the FLUX WAR series.
Visit my website for quick and easy links to my catalog!
I also invite you to join the mailing list for a heads-up on new releases.
AEGIS COLONY:
The Sands of Osiris (Book 1)
http://www.amazon.com/Sands-Osiris-Aegis-Colony-ebook/dp/B00SRGECZS
The Jungles of Verdano (Book 2)
http://www.amazon.com/The-Jungles-Verdano-Aegis-Colony-ebook/dp/B0158SLBEC
The Ice of Solitude (Book 3)
http://www.amazon.com/The-Ice-Solitude-Aegis-Colony-ebook/dp/B0179O73ZO
THE FLUX AGE:
The Lycan Society (Book 1)
http://www.amazon.com/Lycan-Society-Flux-Age-Book-ebook/dp/B0129QVD4E
The Lycan Collapse (Book 2)
http://www.amazon.com/Lycan-Collapse-Flux-Age-Book-ebook/dp/B01BK1B5XS
The Lycan Rebirth (Book 3)
http://www.amazon.com/Lycan-Rebirth-Flux-Age-Book-ebook/dp/B01CVYFUWU
The Lycan Rebirth (The Flux Age Book 3) Page 13