by S. J. Bryant
Nova marched across the warehouse, her eyes scanning every surface and every spec of sand. She didn't find any bodies but the blood was proof enough that the lecheons had been there at some point.
"Grishnak," Nova swore, kicking the sand as she headed for the door, she was no closer to finding the coven.
"Such dirty language for such a pretty girl," Corvus said, jumping from the rafters and landing in front of Nova.
Nova's hand went straight to her gun but she was too slow. Corvus moved forward and caught her wrist in a vice-like grip.
"Oh I don't think so," he said.
"I have people with me, they'll shoot you down," Nova said.
"Really? You seem like a lone kind of hunter," Corvus said, stroking Nova's cheek with his spare hand.
"Let me go and I won't kill you."
Nova's heart ramped up. It felt like it was beating a hundred times a second. Her breath quickened and sweat burst out of her forehead. Her knees felt weak, as if she'd been running for miles.
"Sensing distress. Sending backup." Cal's alarmed voice sounded in her head but she barely heard it over the noise of her own breathing.
Agony coursed through her wrist from Corvus's powerful grip, but she kept her face immobile; she wouldn't let him see the fear which surged underneath.
"I like a girl with spirit," Corvus said and then began to laugh. It was a hysterical chuckle which echoed around the empty warehouse.
Somewhere in the distance was the growing roar of an engine. Nova would recognise it anywhere; it had to be Crusader. Hope surged in her chest.
"So my dear, what's your name?" Corvus asked.
Nova wanted to give a hot reply but there was something wrong with her face, it refused to do what she wanted. It was like there was something getting between her brain and her body.
"What are you—"
"Ah, the magic of pheromones, amazing isn't it? I guess your experts didn't tell you about that? I'm not surprised; we generally keep it as our own little secret. If it hadn't been for all that damn wood I could have made it out of the prison in five days instead of five years with this little trick."
"You're so handsome," Nova said. Her eyes went wide at her own words. Why had she said that? But then her gaze was caught back on the lecheon and it was as if nothing else existed. The pain of his hand clasped about her wrist was gone, as was the fear she had felt. It was all replaced with a soft doe-eyed infatuation.
"I never get tired of hearing that." Corvus laughed. He let go of Nova's wrist but kept his eyes firmly locked with hers.
Nova stood staring back at him. She didn't attempt to run away or escape; instead, her gun fell out of her loose hand. A tiny voice at the bottom of her skull tried to yell a warning but it was shushed by the rest of her.
"Did you tell anyone where you were going?" Corvus asked.
"Only Cal," Nova replied.
"Who is Cal?"
"My labourbot."
"Ha-ha a labourbot, how quaint. Will you be missed if you don't return straight away?"
"No, no one will notice."
"Good. Then how about you and I go for a walk?"
Nova nodded. She had barely blinked since Corvus took hold of her wrist. Her entire mind was focused on the angles of his face and his dark hair. Her heart was still racing but instead of fear it was nervousness. She felt like a girl on her first date. Her face flushed red but she couldn't look away. She was entirely enamoured.
"Let's go then," Corvus said, leading her to the back of the warehouse. He stopped next to a large crate and pushed. It slid back to reveal a dark passage leading down under the warehouse.
"In you go."
Nova obeyed his instructions like a puppet and descended down the narrow stairs into the darkness beyond.
CHAPTER EIGHT
"I'll bet she tastes bitter," a female voice purred.
Nova's eyes stung and she had to battle to pull herself out of unconsciousness. The last thing she remembered was going down the steps with Corvus. Now she was hung up in a dark room. A guttering candle cast an insubstantial light over the room. Her arms and shoulders ached from the pull of the rope which held her a foot above the ground. Her head pounded and her stomach rolled.
"Well then you won't mind if I feed second will you, Laticia?"
"That's not what I meant, Pamielle."
"Too bad, it's my turn to feed," Pamielle said.
"You're despicable. You are so low you should be feeding after Selene!" Laticia waved at a woman with hunched shoulders who huddled at the back of the group. "As Corvus's prime female it is my right to feed second."
"Who said you're Corvus's prime? Haven't you heard he prefers younger women?"
Nova forced her eyes open just a slit so she could see the scene beyond. Many women were gathered not far from her. Two were facing each other with their fists clasped at their sides. A pile of furniture was piled against the wall. Standing at the edge of the dim room were a few young men who watched the argument with mild disinterest. Corvus sat as still as a statue. His eyes glazed over as he glared into the distance.
There were at least twenty lecheons, although it was difficult to tell in the semi-darkness and with her head pounding in agony.
Nova's stomach fluttered when she looked at Corvus but it soon passed, a left-over of Corvus's pheromones, which at least at that moment were not in action. Her stomach dropped as she remembered how easily he had held her in his sway. She would have done anything he had asked of her; there was no way that she could let him do that again.
"How dare you!" Laticia said. She lifted her hand and slapped Pamielle across her face.
"You struck me!" Pamielle raised her balled fist and went to smash it into Laticia's nose.
"Stop!" Corvus's voice echoed through the small room and everyone stopped what they were doing.
Pamielle's fist froze mid-air and Laticia's mouth was left half open.
Nova used the distraction to work a small knife up her sleeve and cut at the ropes tying her wrist. Her head pounded harder. Every movement of her arms as she sawed through the rope sent another wave of pain through her. Her stomach rolled with nausea and a seed of panic was beginning to bloom deep down in her gut. Her eyes refused to do what she wanted; they kept sliding from side to side or moving to look at Corvus. Her lids were especially heavy and she had to struggle to stay awake even in the midst of mortal danger.
"Nova, what's going on? You've been blacked out for ages and now I'm getting abnormal brain activity," Cal murmured in her mind. Nova didn't pay him any attention. His voice faded into nothing as she focused on the lecheons.
"What have you become? Animals?" Corvus asked. "Five years I have been gone and you're squabbling like children."
"She needs to learn—"
"No, Laticia! You need to learn. I lead this coven and you will eat in the order I allow." Corvus stood and gazed out over his people. He cast an imposing figure and his fellow lecheons drew back.
"Your behaviour is disgraceful, both of you," Corvus said. He took a step closer to the two women. They dropped their hands to their sides and their eyes to the ground. Both of them kneeled in front of Corvus.
"Laticia, I expected more from you. As my prime female everything you do reflects on me. You dishonour me."
"I'm sorry, my lord," Laticia whispered.
"And you. You should know your place," he spat at Pamielle. "Did this whole coven go to a cosmic craphole without me? Does respect mean nothing now?"
The two women stared at the ground, their faces flushing.
Corvus reached the two women and placed a hand on each of their shoulders. "Apologise to each other. As punishment for your behaviour neither of you will feed."
Laticia and Pamielle's eyes flew open but they said nothing.
"Good. I believe our snack is awake, so it's time for another feast!"
Corvus swung around to face Nova and a grin spread across his face. Nova's heart raced so hard she could hear her own heartbe
at. The lecheons formed a circle behind Corvus; a few licking their lips.
Nova smiled back at them and in that instant the ropes holding her to the rafters broke and she dropped to the floor. As she fell she threw a small sphere at the ground. It exploded in a bright flash of light which filled every corner of the dim room.
The lecheons screamed and drew back. They covered their faces with their hands and cowered away from her. She didn't wait a second before rolling to her feet and sprinting as hard as she could to a wooden chair leaning against the far wall.
Her arms ached and her head pounded as she ran but she ignored them. The worst thing was her vision. Why did her eyes refuse to stay open? It was as if fatigue had caught up with her whole body. She was sure that if she stopped running for even a second that she would fall asleep instantly.
The vampires stumbled, half-blind. They blinked furiously before locking their eyes on her. It took a few seconds but eventually they shook themselves free of their surprise and chased her. They were far faster than Nova and gained on her as every second passed. Corvus was in front; his long black coat trailing out behind him as he sprinted towards Nova. The rest of his coven was right behind.
They ran after Nova like predators, springing from foot to foot with incredible speed. Their teeth were bared and they howled at Nova as they ran.
The light grenade flickered behind her, casting just enough light for her to see by.
Nova's head-start was just enough, she made it to the chair and as she got close she swung her foot down onto one of the legs. The leg shattered away from the rest of the chair. If it hadn't been for the light grenade she would never have made it. The lecheons were still recovering and every few steps they stumbled or jostled into each other.
Nova bent down, picked up the leg and turned. She hurled the sharpened piece of wood at the lecheon coven. It soared through the air like a javelin and pierced straight through Laticia's chest. Nova didn't stop to admire her work; she just kept running.
The sound of pursuit slowed behind her as she reached the stairs. She bounded up two at a time and made it to the door at the top. She barged through with her shoulder and the door swung open into the sunlight. The streaming light shone back down the staircase and elicited cries of pain from the lecheons below.
Nova ran as fast as she could down the street, away from dark staircase and the creatures at its base.
CHAPTER NINE
"Laticia!" Corvus knelt by the fallen body.
He grabbed hold of Laticia's hand and squeezed. There was no response. Laticia's body had collapsed and yet still maintained its regal dignity. Protruding out from her chest was the sharpened chair leg. It had pierced through her internal organs and blood seeped out around its edges.
She never stood a chance. The bright light from the grenade was too much, even Corvus hadn't seen the stake until it was too late. All of their eyes were blinded by the sudden flash. The stake had approached like death through the darkness.
"Don't touch it!" Pamielle said, snatching at Corvus's extended hand.
Corvus pushed Pamielle out of the way. He clasped hold of the wooden stake and ripped it out of Laticia's stomach. He hurled the wood away from the coven with a cry of pain. Corvus turned his hand over to reveal his blistered palm.
"Why is there a wooden chair in our home?" Corvus ground out. Even kneeling on the floor with his hands covered in blisters and tears streaming down his face he was an imposing figure.
"I- I- don't know my lord. We didn't think—" Pamielle said, stepping smoothly into Laticia's role.
"No, you didn't think. I want that thing out of here now!" Corvus yelled. Two of the younger men leapt into action. They gathered pieces of material and approached the deadly chair.
"My poor Laticia," Corvus said, leaning over her body, holding her close.
The pain in his hand faded in light of the pain in his chest. There was a ball of agony in his throat. He ached to hear Laticia's voice; it was always calm, dignified. She was a lady in the old sense of the word, classy. They had been together as leaders of their coven for decades. She'd been his childhood sweetheart and together they'd grown up. They were so much more together than they were apart. They had a love far more powerful than any most people experienced over their whole lives. So much history, so many stories together. Now there was only a corpse.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you or be rude to you in those last moments. My dear, sweet Laticia; please come back," Corvus sobbed.
His only reply was silence.
The rest of the coven stood back from their commander.
"I will avenge your death," Corvus whispered into Laticia's cold ear. "That bitch will pay for what she's done."
Corvus drew in a ragged breath and laid Laticia on the floor.
"Did you get her scent?" Corvus asked, turning to his coven. His eyes were dark and his expression grim.
"Yes my lord, of course," Pamielle said, stepping forward.
"I want her hunted down and killed. I want her to suffer so much pain that she begs for death. And then I want to kill every man, woman, and child in this city. It's time the human cattle learnt their place!"
"Of course my lord," Pamielle said, stepping closer. "If there is anything I can do for you, I'm right here, for whatever you need."
Pamielle looked down at Corvus with wide eyes and pouted lips.
"Don't you dare try to take her place!" Corvus whirled to his feet and towered over Pamielle.
"My lord. I would never, I wasn't—"
"You aren't even half the woman she was. If you hadn't been arguing with her we would have noticed the prisoner escaping." Corvus's eyes grew wilder with each sentence. "It's your fault she's dead!"
Corvus's hand whipped out and grabbed hold of Pamielle's neck. The blisters on his palm burst and the open wounds stuck to Pamielle's throat, but he didn't feel the pain. His entire being swelled with rage and he glared at Pamielle. He saw in her all of the betrayal and hatred he'd felt during his years of captivity. It would be so easy to snap her neck, so easy to just squeeze and be done with her. He couldn't, he needed his entire coven if he was going to wreak his vengeance on the human scourge.
"I will never take you as my female, you are nothing. From this moment on you are the lowest member of this coven. You will feed last, and you will pay for what you've done," Corvus whispered into Pamielle's ear loud enough so that the rest of the coven would hear.
"No, my lord!"
"I'm done with you." Corvus tossed Pamielle to the side. She fell to the ground in a crumpled heap, sobbing softly, but Corvus had no time for the pathetic creature.
"Selene."
"Yes, my lord?"
"You will be second in command," Corvus said. "For now."
"Thank you my lord," Selene said, astonished. Her eyes were wide open. Until that moment she had been far down the ranks in Corvus's coven. Perhaps that will teach them to fight like animals, Corvus thought.
"Whoever brings me the killer's bloody corpse will be rewarded beyond any of your imaginings," Corvus said. "Stop at nothing. Leave no stone unturned. Kill whoever you have to. It's nearly nightfall."
"Yes my lord," said Selene, echoed by the rest of the coven. They ran in different directions from the underground basement and into the tunnels which wound under the city. They would scan the entire planet if they had to.
Corvus remained behind with Laticia's body. He knelt beside her and stared at her face. Even in death she managed to look aloof. He patted down her rumpled shirt. While his coven was out he would bury her. But first there was something else he had to do.
Decades ago, before they'd come to Boullion Five they'd made a promise to each other. They would leave something for the other in case they died. Anything that had gone unsaid or undone; a tell-all. Now was Laticia's time for confession.
Corvus grabbed hold of the locket at Laticia's neck. It was shaped like a heart, a human symbol which Laticia had chosen because of the irony. After all, she
did enjoy human hearts; they pumped delicious blood around their owner's bodies.
He wrapped his fingers around it and pulled. The delicate chain snapped and came away in his hand. He pulled the locket close to his chest and with trembling hands he clicked it open. The two halves popped apart.
On one side was a picture of him and Laticia, it was taken not long after they first started their own coven. They were smiling at the camera, wrapped in each other's arms. The picture brought new tears to Corvus's eyes. He wiped them away with the back of his hand.
The other half contained a tiny data chip. Corvus delicately pressed it with the tip of his index finger. He felt a jab of pain and then the locket jumped out of his hand. It fell to the floor still open and out of the centre extended a holographic image of Laticia. She looked gorgeous, as always.
"Laticia," Corvus breathed. His heart ached to see this version of her, alive and smiling, when her corpse lay not one metre away.
"Corvus," the holographic Laticia said. "If you're watching this, then I can only assume that the inevitable has come to pass and that I'm dead."
Corvus sniffed. He couldn't tear his eyes away from the apparition. She looked just as she had earlier that day, full of strength and arrogance. The hologram's hair was seamlessly arranged and her clothes hung perfectly from her body.
"We have done so much together," Laticia said. "And I've loved you for every day of it. When we first made this pact I wanted to fill this message with love poems and stories of how much I adore you. You might still find those buried in the data. But my love, something else happened and you have to know."
Corvus's eyes went wide as he stared up at the hologram. What was she talking about? The tone in her voice was serious and the hologram stared straight at him. He felt a lump in his throat and his stomach plunged towards his feet.
"The night you were captured. We knew what was going to happen, someone betrayed you, Corvus. Selwyn started a coven on Boullion Five. It was all very secret, he didn't want you to find out, but he got hold of us. He brought so many with him. He said that if we didn't cooperate that he'd kill us all. He gave us the option of joining his coven and helping to destroy you, or death. I had no choice. There were so many of them, fifty at least, and they took us by surprise. I would never have expected Selwyn to control such a powerful coven, but he did. If there was anything that I could have done to save you, I would have."