Commander

by Kim Faulks

  Look at me now…

  “One, two, three…that’s the way, just a little further. Someone get the Commander a drink…”

  A glass was shoved in front of my face and the bitter tang of scotch filled my nose.

  “That wasn’t what I meant, and you know it,” Doc snapped. “But I guess if anyone needs alcohol, then it’ll be you. Have at it, Commander.”

  I reached for the sparkle of amber. I wasn’t a drinking man.

  But in this case, I’d make an exception.

  A wall of muscle towered above as I sat at the table and clutched my drink. Soft, light-hearted slaps on the shoulder made me wince more than smile…but no one seemed to notice.

  “He’s good,” Alpha leaned in close…a little too damn close. “You okay now, sir?”

  I gave a nod. “Fine…yeah, I’m fine. You were saying, Eva. Your brother?”

  I met the Vampire Queen’s gaze, and this time forced myself not to look away. She glanced to Lucas, and then at me, as though she wasn’t sure how to answer.

  Scotch splashed the sides of the glass as I shoved from the chair and stood. “For Christ’s sake, I fainted—I didn’t have a goddamn breakdown. Now. Your Vampires, we need to find out where they’re hiding, right?”

  Life sparked amongst her ivory glare. “Yes.”

  “And do we know where he’s…obtaining them?”

  She shook her head. “No, they were gone before I could find that out.”

  “The Diner in Davonport…that’s where those inside the house were from,” Lucas muttered. “I could tell by the uniform…all three. That’s strange, though, isn’t it? For all three to come from the same place.”

  “Yes,” Marcus snapped, staring at the Vampire Queen. “Which is why the blood oath was created in the first place.”

  And in an instant, I was back in the command room discussing tactics and scenarios…while all along the objective was right in front of us. “I’d be more worried about the why than about the what.”

  All heads snapped up, gazes narrowed. “You said there’s been two attacks, right? Here, and downtown Davonport. My question to you is, why? Why these specific places? What could they gain, what is the objective?”

  “It’s a diversion.”

  I cut my gaze to the warrior next to Eva and nodded. “Exactly.”

  He stepped away, moving closer to the Queen. “The Prince wants to keep us busy. While we’re battling his army, we’re not looking for him.”

  I caught the flinch in Eva’s gaze. There was a connection with these two, a sense of loyalty and comfort—a sense of ease. I glanced to the unknown female warrior left standing alone. Her gaze was focused, spine ramrod straight. There was an emptiness around her, a coldness that found its way into the marrow of my bones.

  She turned her head and met my gaze. White blended with blue in her eyes. Like a perfect white-capped wave. But there was no life there, no comfort—no love. A chill raced through my center. There was nothing but ice—nothing but what she was…a killer.

  “Then let’s get this underway so we can come up with a plan,” Marcus shifted, drawing my focus. I gave a nod and drained my glass.

  “Gabriel, you’ll be on patrols with Alpha and Ace. Annabelle, you’re with me.” Eva commanded to the female warrior.

  “Better be on your game, Vampire,” Alpha growled to Gabriel and feigned a punch to his shoulder. “Gonna have to keep up with the best now.”

  A cruel glint sparkled as Vampire whispered, “Always.”

  “We’ll discuss warriors after the ceremony,” Marcus spoke, drawing my gaze. “We’ll give you what we can, but only those who volunteer. I’ll not force Wolves to live with Vampires…not while things are volatile.”

  “I understand,” Eva murmured, holding her head high. “I’m grateful for any you can spare.”

  A spark ignited somewhere deep inside as the yip from a little Wolf rang out. All heads turned…but it was Marcus who smiled. “Looks like we’ve been summoned.”

  Some kind of new alliance was happening between the Guardians and the Vampire Queen. Why now? The question rang inside my mind as chair legs scraped across the floor, and the heavy thud of boots echoed. I took a slow step, testing my damn knees, and followed. A thirst raged, but it wasn’t for the alcohol that burned in my belly—it was for knowledge. I wanted to know more about these immortals—more about their world. I wanted to see what they saw and feel what they felt. I wanted the good, the bad—and everything in between.

  Ace and the Vampire warrior, Gabriel, slipped away amongst the convergence of men, women, and children. They came from the house, from the trees…they came from everywhere, filling the space. Wolves, humans…others, and more.

  Higher on the rise, and just under the first towering pine stood Abrial and Joslyn, with X on one side, and Doc Angel on the other. But it was Abrial the Wolves focused on…and it was Abrial who commanded the space.

  I’d not noticed it before—her presence, her power. In the few moments I’d spent with her, she’d seemed quiet, fading into the background of the Kane family. But not here, not now.

  A breeze picked up, but there was no frigid touch, no warm caress…this was a different kind of wind—a summoning. And the more Wolves who gathered, the stronger I felt the call.

  “Names…they mean something to us,” Abrial started, holding every gaze. “They have the ability to give, and they have the ability to take. They have the blessings of the God and Goddess,” she glanced at X and turned to the crowd, “and they have the ability to bind a person’s soul. That’s why today marks a very special day—one that’s been needed—one that, until now, has been denied to all of us.”

  Heads nodded in agreement.

  “The day these two came into our world will be a day we’ll all remember. I know I will, for as long as I live. A Wolf, and a Dragon…” She opened her arms and reached for the baby Dragon.

  The doctor stepped close, handing Abrial the Dragon child.

  The sun shone against inky wings that rose high in the air. The shrill sound from the child’s mouth ripped through my head like a damn buzzsaw.

  “Thorn came into this world like her name implies, with lots of blood and her fair share of pain…” Abrial glanced at Joslyn and waited until the young mother gave a small nod. “So it’s Thorn she’ll stay.”

  She lifted the child into the air to a chorus of howls and cheers. I scanned the punched fists, finding Zadoc to the side. He was a man in love, that was plain to see, his dark gaze firmly fixed on the Dragon child in Abrial’s arms.

  The smile on my lips wavered…the cruel sting of loss followed.

  Tiny faces echoed from a distant memory…. eyes bright, smiling, reaching out for me…calling Daddy…but that was so long ago—I wouldn’t even know them now.

  My own children—strangers to a man dressed in khaki.

  “A son is more than an extension of a father—he is a piece of his own soul—a diamond created from the heavens of one’s own heart. Blood calls to blood, soul calls to soul. I’ve seen no stronger claim than the Guardian Zadoc to this little man.”

  Abrial handed Thorn back to the waiting arms of the Doc and reached for the young Wolf. “I know we’ve been waiting to hear the name of this very special Wolf. It took me a second to grasp the connection. But once you see how special this little one is, then you’ll understand the significance of the name.”

  Abrial looked to Joslyn, and then to X. My breath caught…barely a whisper moved through the crowd. The bundle of black and white wriggled. His back arched, stretching his body. A tiny howl came from his mouth, and died before it took flight. One hard kick and he tried again. I watched his little belly bow in, muscles tightened, neck stretched.

  “I give you Helaku…full of the sun.”

  The howl came again, only this time with substance…this time with…fire.

  I stilled, barely able to breathe as tiny yellow flames lapped the edges of his mouth. The tips barely big enough to lap
the air—but they were there—burning bright…just like the sun.

  The crowd gasped. Shell-shocked faces turned to stare at each other, and then returned to the little Wolf. I was witnessing something miraculous, something filled with wonder—something sacred.

  Energy sparked inside me and raced through my veins. A primal power leaked into the air. I could feel the tendrils dance on my skin. My body trembled, my heart raced. I felt myself searching for the connection, to something far greater…one I knew was there.

  I turned my head. I could see it in their eyes, like a drug.

  But one I couldn’t quite touch.

  Abrial looked down at the little fire-breather in her hands. “When the Doc told me there was some cross-over between him and his sister, I honestly wasn’t sure what to expect. I sure wasn’t expecting this.”

  The little howl ended and the flames died away.

  “Helaku,” Abrial cried and punched the child into the air.

  “Helaku!” I answered, clenching my fist and punching the air. My roar mingled, blended…became one with the pack. And, as the cry died away, we were greeted by a piercing howl in the distance.

  A howl that had no end.

  A howl that turned tormented—like a call to battle…a cry for arms.

  Abrial pulled the child to her chest. She wrenched her head to the side, and sniffed the air. My heart thundered as I waited. I scanned the others, finding Marcus, and then Lucas…

  “Warriors,” Abrial growled as she stared into the trees. “To the children—now!”

  I was shoved from the side, and then punched in the shoulder. The rush was a blur, black, red, green…all fighting, all jostling for the one purpose—to save those they loved.

  “Commander!” Alpha growled.

  Hard breaths left me stranded, caught between elation and fear as Alpha barked the command. “Inside, now!”

  The first scream cut through the trees.

  “Get inside…now!” roared Abrial, clutching the Wolf child to her chest.

  Zadoc lunged, grabbing Doc Angel and Joslyn in one sudden move and turned from the Alpha.

  “My son!” Joslyn’s cry pierced the air. “Give me my son now!”

  Abrial scurried after them, shoving Helaku into his mother’s arms before she turned to the terror. Wolves howled. Shadows moved, scampering between the trees as the first wave of those things hit the crowd.

  I’d seen war…I’d seen atrocities. I’d seen the remnants of my men embedded with nails and bits of concrete from exploded IED mines.

  But I’d never seen anything like this.

  Human…my mind was caught on the word, until I took in the torn, bloodied clothes, and the madness in their eyes.

  The more I saw, the less human they were. Pale skin, bloodless lips…eyes that stared right through me. Pointed teeth that wanted to bite and tear.

  One of the pack’s warriors stilled as a Vampire broke through the brush behind him. He turned as bones snapped, and features lengthened. Skin gave way to fur as the shifter hunkered and faced the enemy.

  But there was no slowing, and no stopping. Ears lengthened, tail thickened…his amber coat glistened in the sun as the Wolf warrior shuddered, and tensed.

  Both beasts leapt, meeting midair with a sickening thud. Bones snapped, screams and howls mingled into a chorus I’d remember for the rest of my life.

  They hit the ground and rolled. Legs and paws, and the flash of white fangs, a blur. While more of them came. They consumed the forest, they consumed the house, and the two in the midst of fighting—and this horde of cold-blooded, frenzied vermin killed everything in their path.

  Silver flames singed branches and carved through the trees—and in the distance, the sound of thunder and rage followed. The ground trembled under my feet…I gripped the wall and felt the tremor.

  Hard fingers grazed my neck, yanked, and then pulled my collar. “Commander!”

  I searched the sea of blood-smeared faces and terrified gazes and turned back to Alpha. But he was gone, swallowed by the rush of the crowd.

  I reached for my waist and gripped my gun.

  Hands grabbed me, spun, mouth opened, yelling…screaming. Marcus’s voice boomed in my ears. “What the Hell are you doing out here? You’re mortal, for fuck’s sake. Get inside with the others!”

  He shoved me toward the busted makeshift door. But there were too many, men, women…children—too many to get through—too many to save. They reached for me, pushed and pulled. The sound of tearing cloth filled my ears. Cruel hands gripped, squeezing tight. I was lifted, yanked, faint flames flickered in bloodshot eyes.

  “I need…” The Guardian growled. Bloodless lips curled, exposing sunken gray gums. “I need…”

  Bastian. His name echoed inside my head as the Guardian winced. His knee buckled, shoulders slammed into my chest, shoving me into the thin sheeting of the door.

  Dark patches of blood bloomed in a circle along his side…like a bite…a big bite. He wrenched his head upwards and stared into my eyes as he clutched his wound.

  His shirt’s not torn…

  I glanced to the others, to the shredded clothing and ripped flesh, and then to the Guardian.

  His fingers unfurled, hands dropped from his side. Need shone in his eyes amongst the burst veins. His shirt’s not torn.

  I took a step, following as he shuffled backwards. “What is it? What do you need?”

  He shook his head, swallowed hard, and slipped away.

  I dropped my shoulder and barged through the growing crowd. “What is it you need?”

  The wall of bodies slammed into me. They pushed, reached, desperate to climb through the makeshift door.

  If they kept pushing, there’d be no wall left.

  “Wait,” I grasped the first Wolf, a young woman, eyes brimming with tears. “One at a time, or no one will survive. Stop…stop!” I shoved my palm in a male’s face and held his gaze. “One at a time, you’ll all get through.”

  He stilled at the command. It was all the time the young female needed. She slipped inside, and I gripped his shirt and pulled. I scanned the bodies for the injured Guardian, but he was gone, lost to the panic and the fear.

  A deafening roar pierced the air…the sound so savage and raw I felt the burn in my own chest.

  And from the corner of my eye, a midnight beast came…bigger than any man—bigger than any Guardian, and its obsidian armored body glistened in the sun.

  The monster scurried on eight legs. Blood dripped from its pincers, but rivers of crimson ran down its back. The creature reared and curled its tail high into the air—its stinger at the ready before it unleashed.

  The brutal thwack made my heart clench. The echo of Xael’s warning rang clear…You know, one day, I’m going to re-introduce you to that stinger.

  I wrenched my head to the beast and the world around me slipped.

  That thing…Jesus…that was her.

  Panic rose inside me like a storm, building and swirling. The tips of my fingers slipped against the wall as I stumbled. Don’t go down…don’t fall, not now…not when they need you.

  “Ander!” The piercing cry of a child's voice broke through.

  I knew that voice.

  I knew that child.

  I wrenched my gaze over my shoulder as one of the pack pushed through.

  She was a beacon in the eye of a maelstrom of terror. Tiny curls bounced against her bright red face. More pushed inside, stealing my view. I caught flashes of her panic, moments of her pain…but her call pierced the roar in my head, growing in crescendo until it was all I could hear.

  “Ander!” Tears shone against perfect plump cheeks.

  “Ander!” She clenched her fists, and raised her gaze to the ceiling and screamed. “Ander!”

  The ground seemed to tremble under my boots.

  And in the distance came an unmerciful roar.

  I lifted my gaze as a dark blur burst through the trees.

  The Guardian’s chest heaved with
sawing breaths. Blood splatter covered his face. His clothes were shredded, shirt mangled, hanging from his chest in strips of bloodied cloth. Dark eyes flickered as he scanned the chaos and then settled on the wall at my back.

  A sickening hiss came from my right. The sound mingled with another, and then another, like a nest of snakes. The hair on the nape of my neck stood on end. Terror breathed new life into the ache in my chest.

  “Ander!”

  The child’s cries cut through the air behind me. But it wasn’t just the Guardian who answered the call. These things lunged toward us, scurrying over bodies in a wave of undead.

  “ANDER!”

  The Guardian answered, cleaving the air with a deafening roar. I winced at the sound as the male stumbled forward, his gaze fixed on the makeshift door behind me.

  Pink skin darkened to black and hardened like armor. He swallowed the air, and stumbled. Fingers merged, turning hands to thick pincers. Flat tines carved through flesh, hardening to weapons as the first of the Vampire hoard neared. The Guardian lunged, his body twisting and contorting, merging the man with the beast, and slammed into the wave of undead.

  I knew what he was now…as the heavy scent of the ocean cut through the stench of blood and piss. I knew what they all were…

  They were everything I was terrified of…and more.

  I followed the carnage, lifting my gaze higher and higher as he grew. Towering pines melted into the background as he raised one massive claw and sliced the air.

  Pieces…that’s all he left behind…pieces and blood.

  The child’s cry was drowned out by the howls of the dying.

  Gone was the man I’d seen only hours before. Orange flames danced in midnight eyes, and spilled from his lips. He was a Dragon…a clawed, armor-shelled Dragon.

  His fire seared undead flesh, still these Lowest Kynd covered the ground in droves. But undead flesh was no match for razored edges and searing flames. He carved through the torso of a creature and hurled the body through the air.

  Arms and legs flailed before the Vampire was pierced with the thick, wicked point of a stinger and driven to the ground. They worked together in one terrifying duo, burning, carving—leaving nothing more than limbs in their wake.