by Dawn Ibanez
Troubled brown eyes looked at her. “Madison, I don’t know what Barry did, but I think he fucked up. Big.”
Chapter 8-
Madison frowned as Dylan fixed the blankets around Barry’s unconscious form. “When he wakes up, I’m going to kill him,” she said dangerously.
Dylan shook her head. “I don’t need this right now, Madison. Why don’t you go and see if there’s anything else Thorne can tell you.”
Madison glanced at the man leaning against the wall before turning back to her sister. “I already know what happened. I can smell it,” she snapped. When Dylan looked at her she picked up Barry’s bloody hand. “Moron here tried to Raise someone. Instead he turned the poor bastard into a Zombie.”
Thorne frowned as he moved away from the wall. “He was trying to bring back three bodies,” he said looking at Madison. “He thought he was doing something wrong, and then the last one jumped up and took a bite out of him.”
With a resigned sigh, Madison turned her attention to her brother. “You’re lucky you’re the Caster,” she mumbled before moving to leave. Just as she was about to reach the door Madison looked at Thorne. “Where are the three now?” she asked.
While he knew of Madison’s reputation and had even met her on an occasion or two, the look she wore was at complete odds with the wild child everyone painted her out to be. “I shot the one that was biting him,” he answered. “I just grabbed Barry and ran. They should still be locked in the Examination room.”
Madison shook her head and barely held back a curse. “Dylan, call Eric. Tell him what’s going on with Barry.” She then turned and quickly walked out of the room. She blinked when she saw Troy leaning against the wall waiting for her.
“What are you going to do?” he asked.
“I have to go and find these things before they decide to turn DC into Raccoon City,” she said darkly.
Troy looked at her as he started to follow her down the hall. “Raccoon City?” he asked. “Is that out in Wyoming?” he asked.
Madison stopped cold and looked at her Mate. “It’s from a video game.” When he gave her a confused look, she returned it. “You know, Resident Evil? The horror survival game that started them all. Please tell me you know what I’m talking about.”
He blinked as he slowly nodded. “Yeah, sure. Whatever you say, Sweetheart,” he lied. Troy found himself smiling as Madison shook her head. “I’m sorry, I never found myself to be into video games that much,” he admitted as she walked towards the back of the house.
She looked at him over her shoulder. “It’s fine,” she said. When his arms went around her waist, she fought not to blush. “I’ve pretty much done the whole gambit. Video games, movies, anime, comics. There was a running joke that I would either be some uber-geeks dream girl, or make someone a very nice husband one day.”
Troy gently kissed her cheek as he pulled her tight against him. “While I’ve never been an uber-geek, I think it’s safe to say that you’re the woman of my dreams,” he whispered into her ear.
Again, Madison’s eyes rolled. “You don’t even know me.”
He smiled as she stepped away from him. “True. That's why I want to go with you.” He held up his hands when she opened her mouth to protest. “I’m your Mate whether you like it or not. And I can’t stand back and let you run off into a possibly dangerous situation when I could help.” Troy then reached out and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. “Besides, my mother was working today. If she’s in that building, there’s a chance she could get hurt.”
Madison frowned as she looked at him. She could tell that he was a man that was used to getting what he wanted. And in this case it would be better to have him there, even if it is to just keep Norms out of her way. “I’m taking Casper too,” she shot back. “He’s good to have in a fight, and he apologized for what he said earlier.”
“I don’t want him to say shit like that to you again.” While she could forgive the Vampire, he couldn’t. Not just yet. “The next time he does, I get to hand him his ass.”
Madison smiled at him and took his hand. “I’ll let him know,” she said just as Kayin ran over to them.
Kayin wrapped his arms around Madison’s waist. “Is Uncle Barry hurt?” he asked.
She sighed as she lifted him into her arms. “He’ll be alright,” she said as he buried his face in the crook of her neck. “Uncle Barry did something stupid that your father and I have to go fix.”
“Will you get hurt?” Kayin asked softly.
Madison shook her head and kissed his forehead. For all of his stubbornness, she knew Kayin was more sensitive to people’s pain than anyone in the house. His magic centered on the lighter side of Life and Death. “I’m going to be fine. I promise.”
Kayin looked over to Troy and slowly reached for him. When his father took him into his arms, Kayin leaned over into his ear. “Mommy doesn’t like to be careful. Watch her,” he ordered.
Troy could only blink as Kayin hugged him and easily shimmied out of his arms.
Madison shook her head as she walked over to where Victor and Crispin were talking. “I’m going down to the morgue. If these things Barry tried to Raise got out there’s no telling what havoc is going to be caused.”
Victor frowned. He remembered the hell she caused last time she went into that office to work. “Madison, are you sure you’ll be alright?” he asked.
She knew what he was concerned about. “I’ll be fine, Father,” she assured him. “Troy is coming with me and I’m sure Casper won’t mind tagging along either.”
Crispin started to stand. “Why don’t Dylan and I come with you,” he suggested.
Madison read his intentions and smiled. “That’s sweet, really. But I’m a big girl and can handle these two.”
Troy looked at his new friend. “I won’t start anything with your brother.” As Crispin nodded at him, Troy knelt opened his arms for Aiden. “Come on Squirt,” he said with a smile.
Aiden ran to Troy and jumped into his arms. “Come back soon.”
Madison leaned over and kissed his forehead. “We will. But you stay down stairs and leave your uncle alone.” As Aiden nodded, she touched Troy’s shoulder. “Let’s get going.”
“You can take the limo,” Victor suggested.
Madison cringed at the thought. She never did like the long sleek vehicles. They resembled hearses too much for her liking. “I’ll take the ‘Cuda. Casper can fit in the back seat.”
Crispin mused. “As well as the trunk,” he said as he motioned for Madison to walk towards the garage. “Just to cut time, I’ve explained what’s going on to Casper and he’s already at the car putting down the top.” He then gave Madison a serious look. “If you need us, don’t be stupid. Just call.”
Madison rolled her eyes before looking at Victor. “You’re still King, can’t you do something about him?” she asked before walking down the hall.
“I gave up my title, Dearest,” Victor reminded her. “He can do whatever he wishes.”
“Unless you veto it,” Madison mumbled. She opened the door to her garage and saw Troy was trying not to laugh. She also saw Casper climbing into the driver’s seat of her candy apple red ‘74 Plymouth Barracuda. “You’re all blood sucking bastards!” she called out loud enough for the entire house to hear.
Troy felt his mouth watering at the collection of cars in the garage. “Are all of these yours?” he asked. He may not know video games the way Madison did, but damn it he knew muscle cars. The collection he was currently looking at would make any collector’s head spin. “Please tell me these are yours.” He then looked at the amusement in Madison’s eyes. “Wait, don’t tell me. Because if they are, then I would have to marry you.”
Madison shook her head as they walked to where Casper was waiting. “What if I wanted to drive?” she asked the Vampire.
“I’d have to remind you that I taught you how to drive and barely lived to tell the tale. No thanks.” He then looked past Madison and saw Tro
y. “If you’re smart, you’ll never let her drive you anywhere either.”
Madison smiled at Casper. At least he was trying to extend an olive branch. “I’m not that bad,” she said lowly.
Troy opened the passenger’s side door and hopped into the back seat. He knew from experience with his own sisters, never argue about a woman’s driving skills. He looked at Casper. “I’ll take my chances,” he said. After Madison was seated and her seat belt on, he nodded to the Vampire. “But thanks for the warning.”
Madison shook her head. “I’m telling you, I’m not that bad.”
Casper smirked as he started the car and put it in gear. “Pixie,” he is smirk turned into a full blown smile as Troy grinned, “it’s called an “Oh-Shit bar” for a reason.”
Chapter 9-
Belle Davenport could barely hold back a sigh as she walked to the main medical examination room. She was supposed to meet Leslie Barnes and work out the details on her latest case. This was the part of her job she hated most. Even after all of these years, cases with children were still hard. Unfortunately, the body she would have to view was a child that had been attacked. As she approached the room, she heard something crash. Belle quickly walked to the double doors and pushed on them. She nearly choked at the sight of a creature huddled over eating part of a person’s neck. From what she could tell, the person that was currently being turned into a meal was Leslie. The woman’s long brown hair and small stature went limp under the leathered husks of the things over her.
Just as Belle gathered enough breath to scream, she noticed another of the creatures in the far corner with one of Leslie’s new assistants. She tightened her grip on her briefcase and slowly tried to back out of the room. Belle was going to stay calm. She stepped back and allowed a shiver of fear run down her back. Something grabbed onto her ankle. She turned her pale blue eyes down to see one of her subordinates. “Marie,” she whispered about to kneel next to the injured woman.
“Don’t touch,” a rough voice said from behind her.
Belle screamed that as she was grabbed by her shoulders and hauled out of the medical room. She looked into the eyes of one of her most trusted assistants. “Spence,” she gasped before hugging him. “What are you doing here?”
Spencer James looked her over as he quickly moved her away from the door. “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you. Are you hurt?”
She took a shaky breath as she stumbled back and hit the wall. “I lost a shoe,” she said before reaching down and pulling the other off her foot.
Spencer frowned. “You don’t know how close you just came to losing more than a shoe, Belle.” He wrapped an arm around her and easily swept her up into his arms. “How the hell did zombies get here?” he asked as he started to run to the stairwell.
Belle returned his frown. “Those things were eating Marie and Leslie,” she said in the same dark tone. “You mean to tell me that they’re brain eating minions of Hell?”
Spencer opened the stairway door and gingerly put Belle on her feet. “They’re more like the flesh eating minions of a Necromancer,” he said in a reasonable tone. When she blinked at him, he held onto the doorknob. “Go to my office. Take Carla with you and tell her to call Dennis. She’ll know who you’re talking about.”
Belle’s frown deepened. “You’re not staying here,” she said about to pull him into the stairwell with her. “Those things will kill you too.”
The sound of a door opening made Spencer turn. He paled when he saw a crowd of interns walking towards the room. “Go back!” he shouted.
Before anyone could respond, the Medical Examination room doors crashed open and at least eight zombies charged out into the hall. Spencer’s eyes widened as he saw the two women he used to work with stumble out of the room and visually lock on him and Belle.
Belle gripped Spencer’s suit jacket and tried to pull him to her. “Come with me.”
Spencer removed her hands. “Dennis Wolfe,” he said clearly. As Belle started to shake her head, he gripped her shoulder. “I need you to find him. He’ll protect you and explain everything.”
Belle screamed as Spencer pushed her through another set of doors. As he slammed the door closed, Leslie jumped onto his back. She gripped her remaining Gucci stiletto ready to wield it as a weapon and charge back into the hallway. “Spencer!”
“Mom!” Troy shouted.
Belle turned around and saw her son jumping down the stairs. “Troy,” she gasped before running to him. As he swept her up into a tight embrace she saw a tall man with short blonde hair carrying a sword followed by a woman she hadn’t thought she would see in this building again. “Madison?”
Madison painted a smile on her face. “Hey, Belle,” she greeted. When something slammed into the door, her expression hardened.
Belle paled as she thought of Spencer. “Oh God, they’re killing him,” she whispered.
The blonde man looked at Madison. “There’s a Wolf in there,” he said. “And if they’re attacking, you’ll need something more than your dagger and magic.”
“Magic?” Belle asked. First zombies and now magic? She wasn’t sure if she would be able to handle too much more.
Troy tightened his hold on his mother. “I’ll explain later.” As she nodded he reached a hand out to Madison’s arm. “Be careful,” he told her.
This time her smile was natural. “Don’t worry.” She gripped the ruby necklace she wore and allowed some of her more dormant magic to flare. When the stone finished changing shape from a simple necklace to a scythe almost as tall as she was, she winked at Troy. “I live for shit like this,” she said before glancing at Casper. “I’ll save who I can but if they’re eating, they have to be cut down.”
Belle looked at her long time coworker. There was no such thing as magic. Zombies weren’t supposed to exist outside of movies. And there was no way a small ruby could instantly change into an instrument of death. “What the hell?”
Troy moved his mother over to the stairs and sat her down on one of them. “There’s no time to explain Mom,” he said calmly. He knew why Madison had showed off her magic. There was no other way for her to get to her weapon before she was in danger, but if he had a choice he would have taken his mother to a different floor. “I’m going to need you to stay here with me.”
Madison looked at Belle for a moment. It was going to be interesting telling her the truth. “Casper, I want you to cover this door. Make sure nothing gets in here,” she ordered.
Casper looked at Troy and the shell shocked woman. “On three,” he said gripping the door handle.
Madison blew Troy a kiss as she moved over to the door. She would leave him with Belle. It really was for the best. After all of his pretty words he still had no clue to what she was capable of doing. During the ride over all she could think of was the blood and magic that she would have to pull. It wasn’t going to be pleasant for anyone around her. “One.” She adjusted her hold on her weapon. “Two,” she continued.
Casper silently turned the latch and nodded to Madison. “Three,” he said before ripping open the door. He stepped aside as Madison swung her scythe up and cut across the chest of a charging zombie. Casper quickly saw Spencer doing his best to stay away from the teeth of the dead women attacking him. “I have him,” he said as Madison went down the hall. With skilled ease he lunged forward and severed the head off of the small blonde that was currently stabbing the poor mutt with a Gucci shoe. As she fell to the floor, Casper turned to see Madison’s scythe easily cut through a brunette that was wearing a lab coat. “Oh hell,” he whispered as he felt the amount of wild magic that was in the air.
Madison’s small frame was glowing in a red light. Her hair was a nimbus around her shoulders as she went down the hall taking any and every head that she could. This was why she always warned Barry to leave Death Magic alone. While he could control massive amounts of power, Death was like a live wire. Her glowing eyes focused on a nude form that was currently huddled over a young man’s
body. Madison could tell it had once been a woman but it appeared that it was dehydrated and shriveled. “One of the originals,” she said in a sibilant voice. Her eyes glowed brightly as she quickly brought down her blade and took its head.
Casper watched her. Madison’s magic was one of the few things that ever scared him. She was still completely in control, but he wasn’t sure how long that would last. “Do you see the other one?” he asked.
Red eyes looked around the corridor and spotted blood on the other set of doors. A growl escaped her as she gripped her scythe. The weapon then changed into the shape of a sword. “It’s in the building,” she answered.
“Whatever you’re thinking, don’t do it,” Casper said approaching her. He saw the way she continued to the door and ran after her. “Madison.” He grabbed her arms and forced her to turn to him.
Madison pulled her arm away from Casper’s grasp and glared at him. “I have to get this under control,” she told him. The sibilant quality of her voice only grew worse as she stared at her friend. “If I don’t, the Council can kill him for this.”
Casper frowned as Madison turned to follow the trails of blood. He should have known that she wouldn’t allow her brother’s fuck up to endanger anyone else. It was bad enough that they were going to have to explain how so many people died. There was no telling how the Council would to handle this. As a rule it was entirely possible that Barry would be executed for this.
When the door Madison went through closed, Casper pulled out his cell phone and dialed his brother. “I hope you’re on your way,” he said making his way to where he left Troy and Belle.
The low hum of an engine echoed through the phone. Finally a sigh came across the line. “How bad is it?” Crispin asked.
Casper looked around the hallway. “It’s a blood bath. And it doesn’t help that her magic is about to start pulling on everyone in the building.” He heard Crispin’s low curse and nodded to himself. “That about sums it up. Get here ASAP.” Casper snapped his phone shut and glanced back at the door Madison went through moments ago.