As his son completed his report, Stanton considered finally making a comment on the excellent way Fallon had handled the issues he’d been assigned to. A simple “well done” would suffice. It would convey what Stanton wanted, without falling into overemotional bullshit. But would his son understand it, or would he question it?
For a few moments, they stared at each other in silence. It occurred to Stanton that Raul would probably think he was an absolute idiot for doubting something so simple. Of course, he’d also understand the reason behind Stanton’s vacillation and smile fondly in that way that always made Stanton’s heart melt.
“Fallon,” Stanton started to say, “I—”
His words were interrupted when a loud explosion rocked the club. The music came to a screeching halt, and the sound of screams replaced its tones. The windows of Stanton’s office shattered, turning into a rain of glass that fell on the unfortunate dancers.
The time for words was over. Both Stanton and Fallon rushed out of the office, already in battle mode. They might not have engaged the draechen in combat in quite a while, but that didn’t mean they weren’t ready for it.
In truth, it was unsettling that the draechen had decided to attack now, and it didn’t make any sense. However, Stanton couldn’t imagine who else would do such a thing. Either way, they had to do some damage control, fast.
“We need to evacuate the club at once,” he told his son as they burst into the corridor. “Take the second floor. I’ll deal with things here, then go down to the first level.”
Fallon nodded and gave him a knowing look. He said nothing, and Stanton was thankful for it. Whatever Fallon thought about Stanton’s romantic choices, he’d never commented it. Fallon’s mother had died a long time ago, and while Stanton had cared about her in his own way, the only thing that had truly brought them together was Stanton’s desire for an heir and her agreement to it. But now, Stanton had found someone he cared about, someone who made his heart race and his rational brain short-circuit. And right now, that man was missing in the club.
As a rule, Raul didn’t attend Stanton’s meetings with Fallon. It wasn’t because Stanton didn’t trust the fae. Rather, he was already hyperaware of the fae’s presence at all times. If he heard Raul’s seductive voice or felt him close, he wouldn’t have been able to focus at all.
Sadly, Stanton’s own inability to keep himself in check around Raul meant that the fae hadn’t been with him at the time of the attack. He was vulnerable and alone, facing Gods only knew how many foes.
Fallon went down the stairs, presumably to begin the process of evacuation. Meanwhile, Stanton ran through the corridors, following his instincts, remembering a different time and a different attack. Ironically, it hadn’t been draechen who’d killed Fallon’s mother, but humans, and Stanton could still remember finding her, motionless, a stake in her heart.
It wasn’t the same thing now, but the possibility of Raul getting hurt seemed high. As he continued on his path, Stanton found a few of his employees and directed them to the fire escape. He was nearly floored with relief when, upon guiding them there, he found Raul nearby, tending to a woman who appeared to have been injured.
Healing light flowed from him into his patient, mending torn tissue and stopping the flow of blood. It was a good thing, because having vampires smell blood in the midst of all this chaos wouldn’t help. Not all of these people were vampires, some being shifters from the eighth caste or even, on rarer occasions, magical creatures. If this attack was directed at Stanton’s coven, he didn’t want anyone outside of it to pay the price.
At the same time, Stanton had the urge to embrace and kiss Raul, to touch him all over and make sure he wasn’t hurt. However, when it came to Raul, he rarely followed his more amorous impulses. Now was no different.
“Move along,” he told the staff of the club. “Hurry up. There’s no time to waste.”
As the non-vampires obeyed, Stanton’s people, those who’d been assigned to guarding this level, gathered around him. Raul finally finished the healing process and got up. “What’s going on, Your Grace?” he asked.
“I’m not sure just yet,” Stanton admitted. “But we’ll find out soon enough.”
He turned on his heel and hastened toward the staircase. Raul was right by his side, just like Stanton had known he would be. As much as he’d have preferred to force Raul to go with the others to safety, their relationship didn’t work like that. Ever since they’d met, Raul had offered his assistance for anything Stanton would need. As a king, Stanton couldn’t exactly refuse him, even if that made him feel like he was using Raul.
But now was not the time to dwell on his own mistakes in that regard. He shut down his emotions and focused on the upcoming battle. As he stepped onto the first floor, he suddenly knew that his foe wasn’t the draechen, at least not at an organized level, like he’d thought.
Tendrils of darkness seemed to emanate from the floor, engulfing the dancers. Where they touched someone, the unfortunate victim fell, writhed as if struggling with some unseen force, then finally went still.
Thankfully, a lot of the people seemed to have made it out. Silence had fallen over the previously busy dance floor, an eerie quiet that didn’t bode well for any of them. Fallon arrived just as Stanton and his men stated to explore the area. Stanton signaled for his son to remain calm. He didn’t like it, but he realized all too well that all the people now fallen on the dance floor were vampires. Few things could affect vampires like this, and the only true explanation that Stanton could find was that Shtamakarein Tersain had grown weary of hunting werewolves and had decided on making a change.
As it turned out, he was wrong. The shadows stirred somewhere in front of them and a silhouette emerged, stepping within Stanton’s line of sight. But no, stepping wasn’t the right word. The creature almost appeared to float, and Stanton couldn’t distinguish anything about his or her features, facial or otherwise.
“Well, well,” the stranger said, clucking his tongue in obvious amusement. “It looks like I’m certainly on a rich diet today. I can’t wait to snack on you. I’m betting you’ll be delicious.”
Stanton bared his fangs at the creature. “We’ll just have to see who’s snacking on who, right?”
With that, Stanton lunged at his foe. The stranger didn’t even try to move out of his path. Too late did Stanton realize how much he’d underestimated his opponent. His claws went straight through the shadowy figure, and he fell on the other side. His momentum was such that he nearly knocked himself out in the process.
He was on his feet in seconds, but he still didn’t move quickly enough. He turned just in time to see the shadow consuming his men, tearing screams from the throats of the people he’d known for centuries. At the last moment, Raul pulled Fallon aside, preventing Stanton’s son from being a victim of it as well.
“Father, get out of here,” Fallon shouted at him. “We’ll hold it off so you can escape.”
Just the idea of running while the people he cared about most stood behind and fought was repugnant to Stanton. Shaking his head, Stanton joined Raul and Fallon. “We’ll face this foe together,” he said decisively.
His voice didn’t tremble, and he didn’t hesitate for a single second. However, even as he attacked once again, he knew without a doubt that, if he and his loved ones lived through this day, he’d consider himself lucky.
* * * *
“We fought as long as we could, to buy everyone some time to retreat. In the end, it was Raul’s shields that managed to keep the thing in check long enough for us to regroup and run. Many people died that day, too many. We were completely unprepared.”
The vampire’s voice was heavy with regret and sorrow. Hareem didn’t know what to believe anymore. Oddly enough, he couldn’t question the man. The story he’d told was too painful and incredible to be a deception. And to think this man, Stanton Hanover, was the king of the vampires. Hareem hadn’t even known the bats had such organization in place.
/> But that wasn’t important right now. “All right,” he said. “Assuming I believe you, you still haven’t explained exactly why you attacked the naga in the first place. How did you even figure out who the creature was?”
“I assure you, it wasn’t easy,” Stanton answered.
“I admit it was mostly because of me,” Raul added. “I came up with the idea to use naga blood. The rest just kind of fell into place.”
“Fell into place?” Kael repeated, obviously unconvinced. “You just realized that you were facing the first black dragon in existence. Because that’s what you automatically think of when you face a strange shadowy figure.”
“No, I didn’t figure it out like that,” Raul replied bitingly. “I hold you responsible for that, Prince Kaelezrin. You walked through my door, asking questions about your supposed dead mate, and I knew. After all, if you’d returned from the dead, so could other black dragons from the past. Researching past records revealed that the Ancient Horror perished somewhere around what today is Montpelier. When I found out that it was also the place where you’d found your mate again, everything began to make sense.”
As the two prisoners finished the story, everyone succumbed to silence. Words weren’t necessary at this point, because they were all well aware of the implications of what the couple had said.
“That still doesn’t explain why you hate Rachen so much,” Alwyn spoke out, crossing his arms over his chest. So far he hadn’t gotten involved in the conversation, but he seemed protective of Rachen, something that pleased Hareem. “It wasn’t his fault for any of this.”
“Of course it isn’t,” Hareem said with a frown. He truly didn’t appreciate Stanton and Raul’s attitude toward Rachen, and he had every intention to address it again. But first, he needed to understand this whole thing a little better. “Stop trying to draw attention from yourselves and explain. I’d be interested in what the creature even wants with you and what its actual abilities are. How does it choose its allies? We have yet to understand the full extent of the involvement of his naga accomplice in this entire matter.”
“The Ancient Horror doesn’t have accomplices,” Stanton answered. “It has hosts.”
“Which brings us to what you asked, Lord Cyraltin,” Raul told the sprite. “The man you call Prince Rachen is nothing more than a vessel ready for the Ancient Horror. It’s only a matter of time until the two creatures become one.”
Hareem just stared at the two, now well and truly gobsmacked. He wondered if the couple truly believed that of Rachen. Granted, Rachen didn’t have the best history, but that didn’t make him an automatic candidate to be a host of some sort of ancient ghost.
“That’s quite an accusation,” he said with a frown. “For all we know, you’re just as likely to be corrupted by an outside force too.”
“To be fair,” Rachen drawled, “I understand why you’d see me as particularly vulnerable.” He leaned close to the vampire and smirked. “However, I already have the memories of two other people in my head. I can’t imagine my mind would be comfortable for anyone, including your Ancient Horror.”
“In fact,” Karein added slowly, “it occurs to me that what he’d want when starting anew is a blank slate, someone he could exploit with ease.”
It didn’t take a genius to understand what Karein meant. Hareem’s vision went white as he understood exactly what and who their opponent was targeting. “The children,” he said, not even bothering to disguise his distress. “He’s after the children.”
Without saying another word, Prince Kaelezrin turned on his heel and stalked out of the room. Karein followed after him, leaving Hareem, Rachen, and Alwyn alone with the two prisoners.
Hareem wanted to follow their example and find a way to make sure his own family wouldn’t be affected by this. But his mate was far away, so very far, and he felt more helpless than ever.
“It’s all right,” Taryn whispered in his mind. “I’ll speak to Monroe and explain. We’ll keep moving, and we won’t share this secret with anyone else. I’ll be fine.”
Hareem wanted to believe that, but relying on the skill of others to protect his mate wasn’t in his makeup. Just the concept and the realization that he likely wouldn’t have much choice hurt like hell. He was paying a steep price for his impossibility to leave the throne.
“Just be careful, sweeting,” he sent to his mate. “You carry my heart and soul with you.”
“I will,” Taryn replied. “I promise you I’ll protect our son.”
Hareem closed his eyes and tried to center himself. It wouldn’t do to lose it and show to his people just how close he was to breaking down. His dragon might have been in agony over his separation from Taryn, but he trusted his mate. He trusted Taryn’s abilities and his love for their baby. They could do this.
When he opened his eyes again, he found the two prisoners staring right at him. “Congratulations, gentlemen. I do believe that all this time, you’ve been playing right into the hands of the creature you hate so much. But know this. I won’t allow your stupidity to hurt my family.”
“I don’t care what you’ll do, Emperor Hareematek,” Stanton said. “I just want you to let me and my people go. I can’t imagine the Ancient Horror will be impressed by your heartfelt declarations. Meanwhile, my people are still hunted down and killed in their covens.”
“You never did say why he got a taste for vampire blood in the first place,” Rachen pointed out. “And what about your mate?” He walked to Raul’s side and brushed his finger over the fae’s cheek. “Aren’t you interested in him?”
Stanton’s nostrils flared, and Hareem had to say he admired his brother for his ability to get on everyone’s nerves. Hareem was known for having a bad temper, but in some respects, Rachen put him to shame. Half the time, it was quite disconcerting, because it reminded Hareem of different days, when Karein had been far more violent than now. That part of Karein had transformed into Rachen now, and Hareem wondered how a man like Alwyn would be able to handle it.
In the end, it was a matter that, for the moment, didn’t concern Hareem. Rachen had a point. The vampire hadn’t explained why the Ancient Horror was targeting his community, and that effectively pumped his story full of holes.
“Other than draechen and a handful of rare shifters, vampires are the only shape-changers who have magical abilities,” Stanton finally said with a sigh. “Our research tells us that our magical signature is unique, in that it’s directed toward the psyche, not the body.”
Hareem glanced at Stanton, then at Rachen, musing over what that meant. Why was that special? What did that tell them about the Ancient Horror?
“I think you know, Hareem,” Taryn said softly in his mind. “If this creature absorbs psychic magic to feed, he likely won’t ever have a physical form you can defeat. Because if the vampire is right, the Ancient Horror is a creature of pure energy. I might not know much about all, but I do realize what that means.”
Hareem did, too, but he also remembered that Sagenamadeen Zager had somehow managed to take out one of the creature’s hosts. He had to hope that they would manage to find a way to defeat the Ancient Horror in all its forms. No, hope wasn’t enough. Hareem forced himself to be certain and believe. He would find the answer to their predicament, and when he did, he would finally be able to hold his mate in his arms again. In the meantime, he’d just have to help his brothers through their own problems. He might not be much of a matchmaker, but they deserved his support.
Chapter Eight
Taryn paced in the small forest, his lover’s concern reaching out to him and making him restless. His brother nudged him with his snout, growling slightly. “What is it, Taryn?” he asked. “What’s the matter?”
They’d left New York earlier that day, shortly after Hareem’s departure. Rationally, Taryn was still convinced that he’d done the right thing, but the knowledge of what his mate now faced unsettled him.
He shifted into his human form and turned toward his brother. Mo
nroe had to be told about what Hareem had found out. However, a part of Taryn feared what it would mean for his pack. Monroe meant well, and Taryn believed in him, but if the Ancient Horror truly was after them, Taryn’s presence might draw its anger onto his fellow wolves.
Of course, right now, Taryn’s priority was his child. He had no scruples when that was concerned. Nevertheless, Monroe needed to know, to be ready for what came their way.
“I need a word with you,” he told his brother.
Monroe gestured him away from the other wolves. He could speak to Taryn even in his wolf form, but he changed shapes regardless, probably to make Taryn feel a little more comfortable.
“Tell me,” he said simply.
They sat together in the shade of a nearby tree. Taryn gathered his knees to his chest, instinctively shielding his swollen abdomen from sight. It wasn’t his brother he felt wary of, but everyone else.
He felt the gazes of his pack members on him, but he ignored them. He knew what they were thinking. He’d heard it already, ever since he’d rejoined the pack. From the very beginning, it had been more than obvious that he was pregnant. Those wolves who’d been there during the exchange with Hareem had immediately spread the rumor of the child’s other parent. Taryn could have bet money that they’d already been anxious just at the idea of a male pregnancy, but no one would like to have a draechen half-breed in their midst.
Well, they could go fuck themselves, because Taryn was proud of his child and he’d do whatever it took to keep him safe. Granted, it wouldn’t be easy for get accustomed to life in the pack, but they were still better off here, in an environment Taryn understood. Shrugging off the knowledge of the other werewolves’ scrutiny, he directed his attention toward his brother.
“Hareem found out some information on the reasons behind all this mess,” he explained. “The vampire confessed that his people are under attack by a creature he believes to be the Ancient Horror.”
Emperor's Consort [Chronicles of the Shifter Directive 5] (Siren Publishing Epic Romance, ManLove) Page 14