by Dale Mayer
Then Tyson spoke again. "Of course I took care of her."
Cody gasped. Shock slammed into him. Surely his brother hadn't said that, had he? Cody had never known his mother. But to think his brother may have been the reason for her death was too much to bear.
He couldn't imagine what that news would do to his father.
There was no time to question him as Cody's mind dwelled on all the other information.
Tyson didn't have wings. Cody hadn't really considered that as an issue. So many vamps didn't. But there were some that did. Like Ian and Jewel. Although their wings were smaller and weaker than those of the ancients, they were still functional. Cody didn't think he was any better than other vamps. He was different, as they were in their own way. They had other skills that he didn't have. But he was an ancient. The blood running through both his brother's and his veins was pure. As pure as they could get.
His father only had two offspring. And they'd taken opposite sides in this war. As he tried to sort through his brother's words, Cody realized it was worse than that. Tyson hadn't just chosen a side; he was actively involved in creating and developing it.
"Are you saying all these vamps are your family?" Jewel's incredulous voice rang out clear across the room. "Why would you want to do that?"
Tyson snorted. "It's not that they are family because that would make them close to being my equal and they aren't, but I used DNA to create them. Some of my DNA. Some from other people. I tinkered with it a little." He gave a smug shrug. "After all, we needed an army, but we didn't need them to be smarter than us. So I took care of that part."
Cody shuddered. Since when had his brother been into genetic tampering?
David spoke up, anger threading his words, "You're the young upstart taking over the place."
Tyson started. Then laughed and laughed. "That's funny. I was the young upstart. But now I'm one of the bosses. But thank you for reminding me that I need to keep an eye on my partner. Still, he's very young. I should be safe for awhile yet."
Truth piled in on top of truth as Cody tried to fit all the puzzle pieces together in his head.
Easy. Tessa's voice rolled through his mind. He was damn glad to hear it. He'd never felt so alone as he had a moment ago. Then she spoke and reminded him that he would never be alone again. And that she was their ace in the hole. Although he didn't see any way out of here.
Hey. I'm still here. Don't give up yet. She tried to inject some humor into her voice, but he could sense the fear building in her. We don't know all of it yet. Don't jump to conclusions.
Hard not to. And even harder to see a light at the end of this war. We’re completely surrounded. I don't know if you can see them from up there, but there are several dozen goons down here.
I'm working on a plan. Give me a moment.
Tyson spoke up. "Hit them with the drugs and get them strapped down in the labs. I want them all dead within the half hour."
Cody stepped toward his father. "Dad? We have to do something."
His father raised his gaze to look at Cody. "Do what?" He stared lifelessly at the large group of vamps approaching them. "This is it. We did what we could. There's nothing left to do."
Shit. Shit! Tessa couldn't move. She hadn't been noticed up above, but her presence wasn't going to be enough to tip the scales in their favor. And with Tyson walking away, she desperately wanted to take him out. She doubted the others would do it. At least not Cody or Goran.
Yes, I would.
Good. Hold on to that thought.
Tyson had almost reached the door when she took her chance, both fists clenched, silver spikes protruding between her knuckles. She glided as silently as she could and sailed toward him.
And misjudged the distance.
She'd blame that part on her injury.
Shit. She was coming in too high. If she couldn't drop down fast enough, he'd have the door locked and closed in time for her to slam into it straight on.
Instead she barely skimmed underneath it, ducking her head low to clear the top of the doorway. And in typical old Tessa style – she hit Tyson in the back as he stepped through the door to the other side.
"What the f..."
And she punched him with both spiked fists.
He blew up beneath her, her nose and mouth clogging with ash. Her eyes burned from the smoke.
She coughed several times as she staggered to her feet. God, this guy was bad news. Correction. He'd been bad news. Now he was just another pile of ash.
Are you okay?
Yeah, but your brother isn't. I'm sorry, but he's dead. I killed him.
Good, it saved me from doing a nasty job. And we could use your help back here.
Shit.
Turning around, she stared at the door that had closed behind her inelegant exit. Please don't let it be locked. Taking a quick look around, she realized she was in another stupid white tunnel. But this wasn't the time for sightseeing.
She refocused on the door and opened it, surprised when the knob turned under her hand. No kicks required.
As she went through the door, a rumble sounded somewhere in the distance.
The noise was long and slow and far away but was getting closer. Then she didn't give it another thought. The room was full of bloodshed.
She jumped into the fray. Jewel was struggling with two vamps trying to drag her down past the hanging vamps. Tessa jumped overhead and landed behind the vamps, arms outstretched and silver spikes driving into both vamps. They collapsed, screaming but not dead. Jewel stumbled free. "Oh thank God. I was so afraid," she cried out.
Tessa stabbed the men again, this time aiming for the heart. These men had been created with some kind of resistance to silver. Like what the hell? They were obviously a new generation. But they weren't completely immune. At her second stab, they seemed to smoke around the edges as something happened internally. She remembered the guy out in the sunshine. These models were a step ahead of him, and although an attempt had been made at silver immunity, they hadn't succeeded yet. She stabbed them a third time for good measure and watched as they started to burn.
"About damn time. But it took three tries." Only she was speaking to empty air. Jewel had gone to help David.
Tessa turned, her gaze catching sight of the hanging vamps. Vamps that could be the new version.
Cody, it took three stabs with the silver spikes to make them burn.
Got it.
Diving into the fight, Tessa slashed and cut her way through the crowd. She figured that the touch of silver was crippling enough to stop the force of their attack. She waded through the tumbling and burning bodies. Two men on Ian got a slice each, then she reversed her double-armed motion and took them both out permanently. Her father was doing some major damage, but she didn't understand what was going on behind him. It's as if Goran stood immobile in the center of the room. Cody was fighting protectively in front of him. And Serus was doing the same on his other side.
Goran wasn't fighting. He'd given up. Or had given in.
Cody, what's wrong with your father?
Finding out about Tyson.
Shit. Yeah, that might do it. But they needed him on their side. She sliced and diced and ducked behind the others to stand in front of Goran. His tortuous gaze locked on her. Damn. She hated to do this, but...
She transferred the silver spike from her right hand to her left, then spun around in a huge wind up and let her open hand fly.
And smacked Goran full on in the face.
He bellowed and stumbled back, shock filling his eyes. His face turned red. From her slap or his temper, she didn't know, but it looked better than the living dead imitation he was doing.
"What was that for?" he growled. His hand reached up to cover the bright red mark on his cheek.
"Getting you back in the game," she snarled back into his face. "We need you."
He blinked and looked around at the carnage going on. His face
twisted, his gaze narrowed, and a hatred she couldn't have imagined took over his face. He roared at the top of his lungs and took off in a nasty whirlwind of wings and claws and roars. David and Ian ducked as vamp after vamp was tossed into a heap at their feet, compliments of Goran. After their initial shock, the two quickly stabbed and slashed until the vamps were nothing but a growing pile of ash in front of them.
And just like that...it was over.
Tessa stood shaking in place, her body barely recovering from the demands she placed on it when Cody wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a tight embrace. "I thought we were done," he whispered into her hair. "Then you came along."
She could feel tremors making her legs quake. She needed to know that everyone had survived, but she was scared to look around.
Whispering back, she said, "I was afraid we all were. Please tell me everyone is okay."
He twisted to look around and cried out exultantly, "Yes, everyone is alive."
Tessa lifted her head to smile at those around her. She caught David's grin and smiled back, Jewel almost hidden in his arms. Checking out the other side, she found Serus standing in front of a glowering Goran. "Where's Ian?"
"Behind you."
She turned to find Ian leaning against the wall. He raised a hand in acknowledgement, an exhausted smile on his face. "I'm here, but I don't think I can keep doing this much longer."
David groaned. "Neither can I. Like what the hell? I never thought I'd be happy to go back to the routine I had before. Even university is sounding pretty damn fine at the moment."
Tessa giggled. Cody lifted her off her feet and twirled her around in a big circle while her brother scolded her, "School is hardly a laughing matter!" But his grin said he was teasing. "Besides, what do you care? You're still in high school. Talk about easy."
Held tight within Cody's embrace, she had to wonder. Cody was in university too. Would their ages matter? She still had a year to go. Although if she wanted to, she could finish it in half the time. She actually dumbed down her work because she always had top marks to begin with. She didn't know if her vampire genes gave her an edge over humans or if she were naturally smarter.
After what I've seen from you these last few days, I'm going to go with naturally smarter. And while at the moment our age difference might cause our peers to laugh at us, in a few years we'll actually look odd again because we'll be so close in age.
She laughed. So true. She hesitated a moment, hating to change the atmosphere, but it needed to be said. She whispered painfully, I killed your brother.
*.*.*
She didn't apologize. She just stated the facts. And she was right. It had to be faced. She couldn't even begin to understand the conflicting emotions he felt right now.
And your father, I'm so sorry for what he's going through. I hurt for what I did, she whispered painfully. I don't know what to say to him.
And that is what makes you so different. You have so much heart. He answered quietly, soberly. My brother was not the man I thought I knew. I don't blame you. You didn't do this. In fact, once again, you saved us all. And as much as I thank you, it would be nice to save you for a change. Try as he might, he couldn't keep the aggrieved tone out of his voice.
She wanted to giggle again. He could feel it. Almost as if he were the one feeling that way.
Then he could hear her thinking, He had no reason to feel that way. He did his share and so much more.
Thank you. She hadn't been speaking to him, but as he could hear her thoughts anyway...
She flushed. Wow.
True. And his warm caring laugher eased her embarrassment. It will also keep us honest.
So true. Still, I'm sorry. Not for killing Tyson as that was a man in dire need of dying. But that he was your brother and Goran's son.
Yes. I will deal with it later. Much later. Especially Tyson's comment about my mother.
I heard that. I'm hoping he didn't mean it.
I don't know. I'll have to talk to Dad.
And about your father...
Cody stared over at his father, who stood shoulders bent, head down, deep in conversation with Serus. I'm hoping your father can make him understand.
Yes, she murmured. But I have to say something to him.
And while Cody was still puzzling over what she meant by that, she pulled out of his embrace and strode toward the ancients.
He hurried after her. Ah Tessa, that might not be such a good idea right now. Maybe pick a better time?
There is no better time. In fact, there won't ever be a good time. I killed his son. How can there be a good time to face that?
*.*.*
Jared pointed up the mountain. They were still driving in the big truck, but he could see the dark mouth of the mine opening up ahead. "We're almost there."
The truck slowed down and the man on his right leaned out the window and stared up the hillside. "I see something black up there."
"Yeah, that’s it. It's an old mine entrance."
The truck slowed down. The driver shifted gears and the truck lurched hard before smoothing out and turning at that last corner. Jared couldn't help but feel excited and nervous at the same time. Was it a coincidence that he was here with a second rescue party? Or was it another trap? Nah. It couldn't be. These were the good guys. These were his people. They were here to help their people in the blood farm. And to take out the assholes who started this.
While he was busy worrying about that problem, the truck slowed down and came to a dead stop. The man beside him nudged him. "Does this look right?"
Startled, Jared looked at the black mouth of the cave and nodded. He swallowed. Damn, he was really going back in. "This is it."
The two men hopped out. One of them pounded on the side of the truck to notify the men in the back. At least that's what Jared thought was in the back. And as a dozen men hopped out and joined him, dwarfing Jared in their fatigues and sidearms, he realized they'd come for war.
That should make him feel better, but...
"You guys do know that not all the vampires in there are the bad guys, right?"
The leader snorted and said, "All vamps are dead vamps as far as I'm concerned."
"Dead right." One man behind him did something to his gun, making a hard clicking sound. "After what they've done to our people – all vamps should be dead vamps."
Jared stared at them in shock. "Whoa. That is so not true. My friends are inside. The family that came and saved me, they are here. Some of the techs that were helping Taz on the medical side, they are all good vamps."
The men gave a hard laugh. "There are no good vamps. They might pretend to be that way, but inside...no way. And any vamps we see will be dead vamps."
The men started to march forward.
"Wait!" Jared raced behind them. "You can't just go in there and kill everyone off. What about my friends?"
The leader stopped and turned to face Jared. "They aren't your friends, son," said the leader. "You need to understand that. Vampires are liars and cheaters and they will stab you in the back the first chance they get."
Another vamp cocked his gun and let out a harsh laugh. "So we'll get them first."
And the men strode forward. The leader stayed behind a moment longer. "Jared, I want you to go sit in the truck and stay there until we come back."
"No. No." Jared shook his head as his heart quaked. What had he done? He'd come to rescue his father but had somehow gotten involved in annihilating the vamps. And if Tessa or her family – like Seth – were still here, they'd be shot at first sight.
It would be carnage.
And he'd be partly responsible. Oh dear God. What had he done? And what could he do to stop it?
The leader shook his head. "You will stay here. That is an order. Do not go back inside that mountain. Do you hear me?"
Jared stared numbly at him. Then nodded. "I hear you."
"Good. Now get inside that
truck and stay there. Do not come out under any circumstances. "
The leader glared down at Jared until he nodded. Then he turned and strode after his men.
Jared watched them stride deeper into the mine. Good thing he'd never been any good at following orders.
*.*.*
Rhia stood outside the garage entrance. She stared into the yawning mouth her family had descended into. Was she doing the right thing? Did she have a choice? There were trucks everywhere. Human trucks. And that should be a good thing, but it also gave her a chill to realize how many more humans there were in there than vamps. Not an easy thought. Still, there were no people milling outside. And she wondered about that.
Had they all gone down below? Was that wise?
At least it meant it was safe to go down.
She took a few steps back to stare up at the mountain. If she were a flier, she'd choose to find out how her daughter had escaped up in the snow line. Get in that way and work her way down. But she couldn't get up there. Wendy was a glider, but she was not the same caliber as Serus and she couldn't go alone. And they'd have to wait for night to fall.
No. She turned her focus to the garage in front of her. It would have to be here and now.
"Rhia?"
"Yes. I'm just thinking that I'd feel better if we had more vamps with us." She tried to be reassuring, but it wasn't easy. "There is a heavy human population in there and they are angry at us. We had nothing to do with the mess, but they don't know that, and I doubt they care. They need someone to blame."
Wendy said in a small voice, "Someone like us?"
"Maybe." Rhia realized another truth. "I shouldn't have let you come up here. You need to go back. If you glide, you'll be able to make it home much faster."