by Maggie Walsh
“I don’t know, Raphael,” Ryland answered.
“Because they don’t have penises to put them in.” Everyone just stared at him wide eyed. Suddenly the room erupted with laughter.
“Don’t you hate when you’re about to hug someone really sexy and your face hits the mirror?” Ash asked and gained a few chuckles.
“Not bad, little diva. Not bad. Stick with us and we’ll give you your diva crown in no time,” Taylor said and everyone groaned.
“I sometimes wonder if I was a bird, who would I shit on?” Ryland joined in. Everyone looked to him in disbelief.
Phenex took his mate's hand, brought it to his lips, and kissed the back of it as he laughed, giving Ryland a big smile. “That was very good, dearheart.”
“What do a nearsighted gynecologist and a puppy have in common?” Micah asked and waited for everyone's attention. “A wet nose.” Laughs and chuckles filled the room as all the tension from earlier was now gone.
A loud explosion blasted through the house, rocking its foundation. Everyone froze and looked around at each other. “I guess the time has come,” Micah said in a cold, menacing voice, his face a mask of stone as he stood up slowly.
Chapter 12
Minos stood in the tunnel, watching as his giant Nephilim dug through the last few feet of soil. At the same time, word came to him through the communication device in his ear that the other tunnels were breaking through as well. Minos smiled to himself as he thought about what was about to happen. Once his Nephilim broke through all the tunnels, they would fill the hole with explosives and simultaneously set them off, causing explosions around the Prime’s house and making entrances in multiple locations throughout the house, big enough for his Nephilim to enter. His rogues filled the tunnels by the hundreds, waiting for their cue to enter the dwelling and defeat the wolves so the Nephilim could get Minos his prizes.
“What of my son, Shelby?” Vladimir asked.
“My Nephilim will grab all the mates and your son. You and your family wait in the tunnels until my rogues go in and overpower the wolves. Then you may go in and retrieve him, but once you have him, I want him brought to my quarters. He will learn that helping me will be better for his health than not helping me.”
“The last tunnel is open, Master,” the voice came through his ear device.
“Set the explosives and wait for my command,” Minos ordered.
The Nephilim worked quickly setting the blocks of C-4 into the holes. Minos stood watching, his body thrumming in anticipation of catching the wolves off guard. It was New Year’s Eve and they were all celebrating. He was the furthest thing from their minds. The element of surprise was his friend, and this time he would be victorious.
After he defeated the Prime, he would take his mate and keep the Heart as his own personal slave. He had already picked out a beautiful, man-sized birdcage of gold that was protected with a trapping spell. Once the Heart was placed inside the cage, there would be no way out except when he allowed it. He was told the Heart had an angelic voice and he couldn’t wait until he had his own personal nightly show. If the Heart was really good, maybe he would let his other acquisitions visit him on occasion.
Once the explosives were ready, each of the Nephilim reported to him. “On my count. One...two...three!” Minos called out with excitement, and the tunnel shook as the air filled with debris from the blast. His ears rang from the sound, but it was a small price to pay. Before the dust settled, Minos called for his Nephilim to enter and attack.
Twenty giant Nephilim entered the Prime’s house from each of the six tunnels. They made their way up to the ground floor and began to spread out through the house. Fifty banded together and climbed the stairs to the second floor. They partnered up and went to the doors of each bedchamber. As one, they all burst through the doors and hurried into the rooms.
The basement filled with hundreds of rogues as they poured from the tunnels. They clambered their way up into the main floor of the house, ready for a fight. Their numbers filled the house. A few of the giant Nephilim entered the kitchen with confused looks on their faces. “There’s no one here,” one of them said in a rough, gravelly voice.
“They must have hidden in their safe rooms. Find them!” Minos ordered through the com device.
Minos paced the tunnel waiting for word from his Nephilim. The damn wolves were faster than he gave them credit for. The explosions alerted them and they were able to get to safety inside their safe rooms before the Nephilim got to them, but their safe rooms were no match for his Nephilim. They were huge, demonic creatures with powers of their own.
* * * *
“I wish we knew if Minos himself was inside,” Jesse fretted using the mating link.
“I know, baby, but whether he’s in there or not, we can’t pass up this opportunity,” Micah answered.
“Is everyone ready?” Taylor asked using the pack link.
“Is everyone in place?” Micah asked and received a chorus of yes’s. “Everyone is ready on our end, baby. Check with Ryland and Phenex.”
Jesse closed his eyes and zeroed in on Ryland’s consciousness. “Are the fae ready, Ada?”
“Yes, son. Your father and the Legion are ready as well,” Ryland answered.
“Everyone is ready, Micah. How about Dante, Dare, and Dale?”
“We’re all good, Jesse. Storm and his cats just arrived. Everyone is waiting for your signal.”
“Okay,” Jesse said with sadness. “I hate that we have to do this to our own home.”
“I know, baby, but look at all of them in there. We need to do this.”
“Okay,” Jesse conceded and closed his eyes. He opened his arms wide and a blue light engulfed his body. Two ropes of light came from his fingertips and reached out to either side of him. They traveled through the air a hundred feet until they reached their destination.
Micah held his arms out wide and his body jolted slightly when the blue light entered him, then ran out his other hand, stretching into the air toward its next destination.
Taylor took the blue light in from Jesse and cycled it through him, then released it out through his other hand toward the next in line.
The ropes continued on from Jesse, through Micah and Taylor, who each stood a hundred feet to either side of him. The rope passed through them and continued on going through each of the members standing there. Every hundred feet stood a wolf, a mate, a fae, a vampire, or a Legion Warrior. The rope didn’t stop until it completely entered all of them, circling the house.
Jesse’s eyes snapped open and stared directly at the house. He could see the Nephilim and rogues moving about inside, searching for them. Anger boiled up inside him and he thrust his power out through the rope connecting him to the rest of his family. They all flinched when the jolt of power hit them and Jesse screamed out. “Now!”
Everyone could hear his order through their connection and as planned, they each forced their powers from within them out into the ropes. A whirlwind of sparks grew above their heads and swirled around. It grew and moved toward the house. As the wall of lightning surrounded the house, Jesse could see some of the rogues take notice and begin to panic, but it was too late. The wall overtook the house and it began to glow with a blue light.
The rogues grabbed their heads as they dropped to the floor and writhed around in pain. The giant Nephilim started to shake. They dropped to the floor, joining the rogues in their torment. Their bodies shook uncontrollably. The house rocked and large cracks appeared in the foundation.
* * * *
Minos heard the cries of agony coming from within the house. He smiled as he thought about the Prime and all his men dying.
“My Lord. Something's wrong,” Vladimir said.
“My Nephilim and rogues combined will end all of them.”
“No, My Lord, look,” Vladimir exclaimed with fear in his voice.
Minos’s gaze followed where Vladimir was pointing and he saw a bright blue light engulf the basement on the o
ther side of the tunnel opening. His brows furrowed with confusion. “What is this?”
A deafening crack rang out through the tunnel, causing Vladimir to grab his ears in pain. The ground above them began to tremble and shake. Dirt started to rain down on them and Vladimir’s eyes went wide in fear. “We’re about to be buried alive!” he yelled over the thunderous noise.
“We’re powerful creatures, you imbecile. We can use our powers to protect us.” Minos growled.
“What of my sons in the other tunnels?”
“If they can’t figure out what to do to save their hides then they deserve to perish. You can’t beat my Nephilim, Heart! Try with all your will, but they will defeat you!”
The blue light intensified and the basement beyond the hole flew up into the air. Minos took a step back as his brows raised in surprise.
* * * *
“Now, Taylor!” Jesse screamed above the noise. Taylor’s eyes changed to white and he threw his head back. The white light shot out of his body through his hands and out into the circle. Everyone joined in the circle cried out as they were gripped by the power. The white light thrust out from Taylor’s chest and then each in the circle followed a second later. All the beams of white hit the house at once and Ryland and his fae began to chant.
The house lifted from the ground. Dirt and rock swirled around below it. Slabs of concrete from the basement joined the debris as the house lifted higher. Jesse closed his eyes and took a deep breath. His eyes flew open and where now pure white. He pushed out all his power toward the house and the structure exploded. Glass, sheetrock, and furniture rained down from the sky along with the bodies of rogues and Nephilim.
The light from Taylor and the others brightened and everything burst into flames. The ground pushed back and opened up into a massive cavern. Dirt rose up into the sky, reaching for the stars. The cavern glowed a light orange and heat escaped from the top of the cone. All the burning pieces rained down into the opening. Once the last burning chunk entered the chasm, the wall of earth moved in and collapsed over it, sealing the hole.
Darkness encompassed the now-empty lot and the cold of winter pressed back in. All the figures in the circle dropped to the ground, unconscious. A line of tigers, lions, bobcats, cheetahs, panthers, and leopards crept from the surrounding tree line. They went to the still forms on the ground and sat beside each. Three large black dragons flew overhead and circled the area.
“Do you think they’re all okay, Dante?” Dale asked through their mating link.
“Yes, bello. I can hear all their heartbeats. They just used too much power and now they need to rest. The felines will guard them until they awake.”
“How long will we stay?” Dale asked.
“I will stay until sunrise, then shift, and disseminate home to our sons. You and Dare stay with them. Take turns resting when you need it. We’re not sure how long they’ll be out.”
* * * *
Vladimir crawled from the tunnel, coming out deep in the woods. He stood and dusted himself off as he coughed out some of the dirt and dust that filled his mouth. He looked around, searching for any signs of life, but found no one. He started to walk through the trees in the direction of the next tunnel.
Vladimir walked the five miles to the next tunnel entrance and found the lifeless forms of two of his sons. He shook his head in disgust at the loss. “Minos was right. If you couldn’t figure out on your own that there was danger and you needed to escape, then you don’t deserve to live, you Zadrotas.”
Vladimir continued to walk, trying to find the opening of the other tunnels to see if any of his sons escaped. He walked for hours, but couldn’t find any of them. He also never saw Lord Minos leave the tunnel they had been in. He was alone out here and needed to get home before sunrise. He tried to disseminate, but nothing happened. He tried to use his power of flight, but that too wasn’t working. Something from the explosion must have knocked out his powers, but what? And what caused the explosion to begin with? Were they all dead? Was the council, along with his disgusting son, dead?
A smile spread across his lips as he thought about Vasily’s end and the death of King Dante. If they were gone, then he could walk in and take the throne. He was the oldest vampire, after all. The throne belonged to him and the rest of the vampires would follow. Then he would change their laws. The rest of the paranormal world would become prey. When the other vampires heard that the wolves killed their beloved king, they would join Vladimir and destroy the shifters first.
Vladimir continued on when suddenly he felt a surge of power go through him and a tingling up his spine. Were his powers returning? The closer he walked toward the power source, the more the vibration ran through his body. He heard the flapping of large wings and looked up, but saw nothing. Vladimir could see the edge of the tree line and made his way there. He came upon a large clearing.
Just as he was about to step from the trees, a large shadow passed above. He looked up and was shocked to find three dragons flying overhead. He stepped back behind a tree and peeked around its trunk. His eyes wandered around the clearing and he could see felines of many breeds just sitting around in a massive circle. What were they doing? And why weren’t the dragons swooping down to eat them?
His eyes focused on the nearest cat, a mountain lion, and saw that there was a lifeless form beside it. The mountain lion leaned down and licked the side of the man's face as he made a purring sound. Then the lion lay down next to the man and cuddled close. Vladimir found the lion’s behavior very odd. He looked to the other felines and the bodies lying beside them.
A face caught his attention and he did a double-take. No, it couldn’t be. A smile crossed his lips as he realized that the man he was looking at was Vasily. He was only about a hundred feet from him, but it was definitely Vasily. He closed his eyes and concentrated. Using his vampire hearing, he listened for the heartbeats. Yes, they were all alive, just unconscious. He needed to find a way to get Vasily away from the tiger that guarded him.
Slowly and quietly, he backed up and made his way through the trees. He came upon the spot he needed, right where Vasily lay. He watched as the tiger circled Vasily and then sat. The feline’s head shifted back and forth as he watched for danger. Vladimir needed a plan. He had to find a way to get to his son. He moved back behind the cover of the tree and thought about his options. Then a thought hit him. If he could use his powers to hear their heartbeats, then that must mean his powers were back.
He tried to disseminate a few yards to a boulder before him and it worked. He smiled to himself as he realized what he would do. Vladimir turned back and looked to where his son lay. He waited for the feline to turn its head to the left and then disseminated to Shelby’s side. He quickly laid his hand on Vasily’s arm and the tiger sprang around to face him. Vladimir smiled at the feline and disseminated with Vasily.
* * * *
The plan had worked perfectly, except for one detail. They hadn’t realized that Vladimir was actually working with Minos and he would be out in the woods watching.
Micah had called a family meeting a few days before Christmas. They were joined by Dante, his mates, Viktor, and Nicco, as well as a few dozen of Dante’s best soldiers. Phenex and all his Legion were there, as well as Ryland and all his fae, and Storm, Bastian, and Storm’s elite guard.
Once everyone was gathered, Micah began to explain his suspicions. He had a nervous Raffy step forward and explain to everyone the dream he had. Jesse and Cass also spoke of feeling tremors through the house that they thought were earthquakes at the time. When Shelby, Zane, and the others who were in the safe room during the rogue attack confirmed that they too had felt tremors shake the house when they were hiding in there, and thought they were earthquakes, that’s when Micah became suspicious.
Micah went to Papa Angel and asked him if he had had any visions of Minos and described him to Papa Angel. He confirmed that he did have a vision of a man fitting that description. After telling Micah about the vision,
Micah asked him to describe Minos’s surroundings. When Papa Angel told him that Minos looked as if he were standing in a dirt cave or tunnel, it confirmed Micah’s suspicions for him, but he needed more proof.
So Micah grabbed Raith and the two shifted, heading off into the woods to search for anything that would help them. After a few hours, they came upon a cave opening and went in to investigate. They were astounded at the size of the tunnel and how far it was going. Then they came upon a group of giant Nephilim and found them digging into the end of the tunnel. The Nephilim would fill large buckets with the soil and other Nephilim would drag the buckets outside and dump them in the woods. Micah and Raith hightailed it out of there before the Nephilim spotted them when they were bringing the dirt out.
They hid in the woods and watched the tunnel from behind a boulder. They overheard two of the Nephilim talking about picking up the pace to match the depth of the other tunnels. Micah and Raith took off in search of these other tunnels. It took them all day, but they found six in all and they realized the tunnels all went in one direction, and their home sat in the middle.
Then Micah remembered the mumblings of the changed Nephilim in his cells, and the words the creature was trying to tell them suddenly became clear. He was saying Minos was coming soon. “Al dee” meant “all die,” and “undgownd” meant “underground.” The Nephilim was trying to warn them.
Micah and Raith returned home and called an emergency council meeting, along with each of the council members’ seconds, and told them what they had learned. A plan was formed and the family meeting was called.
Using their powers, the fae had built an exact replica of their home on a piece of land five miles to the east of their original home. It was amazing how quickly their magic worked. The Christmas party was the last hurrah of their pack house. A new house was ready by Christmas morning. It was sad and most of them cried when they had to leave the home they loved. The day after Christmas was moving day. With the fae’s help, they were able to open portals and go room by room, until all of their belongings were moved. Sure, the house looked the same, but it wasn’t their beloved pack house yet. They would need to create new memories within its walls before it felt like home.