by Ann Gimpel
“Shit! Aw, shit!” Aura staggered to her feet, her face drained of color. Ketha ran to her and gripped her arm. “Are you ill?”
Laughter with a hysterical edge burst from the other Shifter. “I wish it were that simple,” she said once she got herself under control.
“You’re talking in riddles, dearie.” Karin joined them, poking and prodding to make certain Aura didn’t have something physically amiss.
“Stop that!” Aura pulled away from Karin’s ministrations. “You’re a doctor. Ketha is a seer. What am I?”
“A historian who studies prophecies,” Ketha replied automatically. Understanding slammed home, along with an eerie, creeping sensation that made her skin crawl. “Is there some prophecy that deals with Archangels?”
Aura rolled her eyes. “I can’t believe you asked that.”
Ketha bristled. “Instead of telling me how stupid I am, could you answer my question?”
“Of course, there are prophecies that deal with Archangels. Thousands of them. The question you should have asked is if there’s one with Raphael and Raziel—and us.”
Ketha battled defensiveness. It had no place here, but she was having a hell of a hard time moving beyond it. “Look. I’m not thinking this particular Raphael has jack shit to do with the Archangel. They just happen to have the same name. He’s something like centuries old, which means he came from the old country. It was a common enough name back in the fifteen and sixteen hundreds.”
Aura narrowed her eyes. “There’s a prophecy that includes Shifters and has to do with the end of days.” She paused for effect, but Aura always did have a dramatic flair. “Those same two Archangels are part of it.” She leveled her gaze at Ketha. “You can chalk it up to coincidence, but we need every single scrap of advantage we can scare up here.”
“I’d like to hear the prophecy.” Viktor spoke slowly. “There might be some element of it I can use to convince Raziel to sign on with our side. There was never any love lost betwixt him and Raphael, and I figure his enmity will transfer to Jorge.”
“Go on.” Ketha let go of Aura. “I’m sorry. I know I can be prickly. I want to hear too.”
Aura flashed a grim smile her way. “We can all be prime bitches. Goes with the territory. Okay. Here’s that prophecy—and a smidge of background. Raziel is the keeper of secrets and the finder of what’s been lost. He has surprisingly loose lips for someone who’s supposed to keep his mouth shut, though. There’s always been friction between him and Raphael, mostly because he knows all Raphael’s secrets and has kicked the door open a time too often. In any event, they’ve lived in separate places for eons. The prophecy is when they come back together, Shifters will be fighting for their very existence. We will be forced to choose sides, one Archangel or the other. Nothing in the prophecy offers clues as to our proper choice.”
“Go on,” Ketha urged, drawn in by truth pinging off her power.
Aura looked away. “It’s pretty simple. If we choose correctly, we get to live. If we bet on the wrong horse, we’ll be swept away forever.”
“I wonder if some of that is metaphor,” Ketha murmured.
“What do you mean?” Aura asked. “All prophecy is metaphor to some extent.”
Ketha nodded, thinking. “If we break the Cataclysm, Vampirism might disappear—or be incorporated with our magic. Does swept away forever mean a significant alteration in our magic, or that we die?”
“Could be both,” Karin mumbled. “Not to be a harbinger of doom or anything.”
“What do you think?” Ketha turned to Viktor and the other Vampires.
“Hard to say,” Viktor answered. “Raphael was mad, insane. He covered it well most of the time, but when he was anxious—or angry—it leaked out around the edges. You saw some of it in his single-minded drive to capture you after you escaped.”
“Not quite my take on him,” Daide cut in. “He was paranoid and power hungry, but from the reading I did, all the older Vamps were a whole lot like him. They were all like mini-generals with their own fiefdoms. Except for here because Raphael wouldn’t let anyone else gain the slightest toehold.”
Viktor turned a sidelong glance his way. “You’ve got one over on me in the knowledge department. I never wanted to learn anything about my new calling.”
Daide shrugged, looking uncomfortable. “Knowledge is power, not that it helped me or Recco much. We’re stuck here same as you.” He focused his next words on Ketha. “What did you mean about Vamps turning into Shifters?”
She turned her hands palms up. “It’s one of several possible outcomes—if we survive.”
“Better than being a Vampire,” Recco growled.
“No kidding,” Juan seconded and grinned. “Do we get to pick our animals?”
“Doesn’t work that way,” Aura informed him. “They pick you.”
Ketha focused on Aura again. “Most prophecies have conclusions.”
“Not this one. It’s one of seven unfinished prophecies. My mentor believed they were left that way on purpose because their stories have yet to unfold.”
Ketha wondered what the other six were and then understood her mind was wandering. Maybe gathering most of them in position for the casting was accomplishment enough for today.
“We need a few pieces yet before we take on the Cataclysm.” Ketha let her gaze travel around the group.
“We’ll cast several tarot spreads,” one of the younger Shifters volunteered. “To hone in on the most auspicious time to move forward.”
“I’ll do my best to locate Raziel,” Viktor said.
“While you’re at it, maybe you can see if Jorge survived feasting on Raph’s blood,” Juan muttered.
“You’re joking, right?” Viktor raked his hands through his hair. “Jorge may well be Raphael’s puppet, but there’s no way Raph would’ve killed his next chance at hanging around.”
“Oh, yeah. Huh. I wasn’t thinking,” Juan replied and then added, “Would you like me to come with you?”
“I can move faster alone. Less chance of discovery. I bet all the Vamps are in an uproar.”
“Do you think they’ll come back this way?” Ketha’s stomach twisted into a hard, painful knot.
“Don’t know why they would.” Zoe broke in. “I didn’t follow the first group of Shifters up the hill right away. When it looked as if those four Vamps were about to break and run, I erased their memories of anything they’d heard and seen in the last hour.” She dusted her palms together.
Ketha could’ve hugged her. “Quick thinking on your part. Thanks.”
“Don’t mention it.” Zoe looked pleased with herself. “Everyone else was knee-deep in either fightin’ or arguin’. Least I could do.”
“I’m going to get moving,” Viktor said, and flowed to his feet before heading for the cave’s entrance.
“We need to go with him,” her wolf spoke up.
Ketha agreed. She tucked her worksheets into the book and dropped it into her backpack. “Wait for me.” She strode across the cave.
Viktor crossed his arms over his chest. “Not a good idea. I can’t shield you from discovery, and you don’t move fast enough.”
“I can do a fair job shielding myself. Half an army of Vamps marched right by me three times—or maybe it was four.” She avoided his second point about her being much slower than he was.
“Why don’t you stay here and rest so your magic recharges?” He quirked a brow her way.
She ground her teeth together, struggling to craft a reasonable reply. “If Aura’s prophecy is afoot, I’ll feel the magic. I want to know if it’s one of the elements we have to take into consideration.” She paused, gathering her thoughts. “I believed we had to work together. If her prophecy is correct, we’ll all be working together except for Raphael. He’ll be odd man out, and we’ll have to deploy our power to overcome him as well as the Cataclysm. The last group made a fatal mistake ten years ago in Siberia. Whoever was leading the charge assumed they were all on the same side
, when they weren’t.”
She inhaled raggedly. It made sense, but left them short of manpower for the plan she’d laid out. Not much she could do but throw herself on the goddess’s mercy. Surely Gaia wanted the Cataclysm gone. It was choking the very essence out of Her creations.
Viktor apparently wasn’t convinced since he blocked the cave’s entrance with his body. “It’s almost full dark. Vampire strength will be at its zenith—”
“Either we go together, or I’ll follow you.” Ketha drew herself up tall, shoulders squared. “We’re wasting time.”
A muscle twitched beneath one eye, and he snapped his jaws together. “Fine. You want to come? Douse that light, and you have to keep up. I won’t use my full speed, but I won’t wait for you, either. With Raphael gone and Jorge an unknown quantity, Vampires will be on the rampage tonight. Nothing will be off-limits. Still want to ride along?”
A shudder tracked down her spine. The smartest thing would be for her to remain here in the relative safety of the mesa and caves, but she had to know if the prophecy had them in its clutches. Viktor didn’t have the magic to sort that out. She did.
“Yes. I don’t exactly want to, but I don’t have a choice.”
He ducked through the cave’s entrance and took off across the mesa without a backward glance. If she’d thought he was bluffing, his actions quashed that hope. Ketha killed her mage light and ran lightly after him, deploying magic to keep from twisting an ankle.
Viktor might not have bought into the whole Vampire mystique, but his physical ability was far superior to hers, at least in her human form, and now wasn’t the time to shift. Ketha moved faster, determined not to hold them back.
Chapter Fifteen: Prophecy
Despite his words to the contrary, Viktor would’ve waited for Ketha at the top of the ridge, but he didn’t have to. She was making far better time than he’d anticipated, given that she was traveling in the dark. He’d been harsh on purpose to discourage her. He’d sensed her fear and ambivalence and tried to capitalize on it by giving her a good, hard push to stay put.
She hadn’t taken the bait, though, and he was proud of her courage on the one hand, but worried sick about her on the other.
“What are you waiting for?” She chugged up next to him, surrounding him with her wonderful wildflower scent. She smelled like the world before the Cataclysm choked the life out of it.
“I wasn’t waiting.” He kept his voice gruff. Everything he’d said about how dangerous it was to be out and about tonight was true. Softening his demeanor might make her less vigilant, and he needed her to be at the very top of her game.
“Get behind me and keep your hands on my waist,” he instructed. “Better yet, grab handfuls of my jacket. We’ll be descending fast. Enough of this rock is loose, we need to stay together.”
Ketha didn’t argue. She fell in behind him, and he felt the tug as she wound her hands into ragged llama pelts that had once been a thick, warm coat.
“Ready,” she said. Grim determination lay beneath that one word.
Viktor dialed in his precise Vampire vision. It was like looking through night vision goggles, and the slope turned greenish, but every rock, boulder, indentation, and dicey patch was outlined in bas-relief. He started at a moderate pace, but when she didn’t stumble, he moved faster.
They reached the bottom quickly. She untangled her hands from his jacket and followed him as he loped down the trail. At least she wasn’t chiding him for being heavy-handed with her. Meant she fully understood what they were up against. She hesitated briefly at the turnoff to the cells. He wanted to say something soothing, like she’d never see the inside of them again, but he didn’t want to lie to her.
If she was captured tonight, the Vampires would either kill her or imprison her, but, this time, they’d leave her shackled so she couldn’t leverage magic to free herself. They’d post a guard too.
He shrugged and ran faster. No matter what his Vampire kinsmen did, he could free Ketha. Unless they killed her on the spot. Savage protectiveness raked through him. He considered escorting her back to the mesa and leaving her with Juan, Recco, and Daide to make certain she remained there.
“Big mistake,” blasted into his mind.
A wry grin split his lips. “Helping yourself to my thoughts again?”
“Of course. You didn’t want to bring me. I need to stay on top of things.”
“It wasn’t that I didn’t want you with me. I need you to be safe.” Viktor grappled with the mind speech mechanism. Using it was far from second nature.
“You can’t keep me safe.” Her words came slowly, one at a time. “Hell, I can’t even keep any of my Shifters safe. I have an integral role to play in what unfolds over the next few days. I’m prepared to sacrifice myself, if it means ending the Cataclysm.”
He stopped so precipitously, she pitched into his back. “Oomph. Why—?”
Spinning in place, he crushed her against him and buried his hands in her thick hair. He wanted to say so many things, tell her how important she was to him and how he’d take on the Cataclysm single-handed if it meant she could live. He tried to infuse the depth of his emotion into his touch. Because he couldn’t resist her full lips, he fastened his mouth over hers in a quick, hard kiss. She clung to him, kissing him back.
Before he forgot why they’d left the mesa, Viktor released her. Speed was their friend tonight. Survival was everything. He ached to make love with Ketha, bind her to him, make her his for now and always, but they were out here for a reason—and sex wasn’t part of the equation.
Beyond that, it was a huge unknown. Sex had dealt a death blow to that ten-years-ago spell in Siberia. Who the hell knew what impact sex between a Shifter and a Vampire would have now? If their current effort came to naught, he’d be damned if it would be his fault.
He ran toward the city, his long strides eating up the trail. When he reached the bottom, he drew into the shadows of a crumbling building.
Ketha joined him, her breath streaming white in the cold night air. “Should we take the tunnels?” she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
“It’s why I stopped. They might be safer for you, but it will take us longer to locate Raziel.”
“I thought you all had underground lairs.” She focused her golden eyes on him.
“Before the Cataclysm, yeah. The sun’s not much of a problem anymore, and as you already saw, what’s left of it has very little effect on us.”
“Wasn’t Raziel here before the Cataclysm?”
Viktor nodded. “So was Raphael. He abandoned his cellar in favor of fancy digs on the upper floors of what was once an upscale condo.”
She closed her teeth over her lower lip. “I should shut up. I know less than nothing about how Vampires operate. I’ll cloak myself so no one can sense me—including you. I’ll be right behind you, though.”
He wasn’t certain he liked not having constant feedback regarding where she was, but she couldn’t very well walk openly by his side. “Do it,” he muttered. Viktor smothered astonishment. One minute, her warm glow pulsed. The next, it vanished. He couldn’t see or sense her but was certain if he extended a hand, he could touch her.
Warm laughter bloomed in his mind. “Even if you touched me, your brain wouldn’t process it as me. It would tell you that you’d run up against a building or a tree or whatever object you just passed. Let’s get moving. This spell is a real energy hog.”
Worry filled him. “How long can you maintain it?”
“Long enough to do what we need to, but I’ll require rest once we return to the mesa.”
Viktor turned and picked the fastest route leading into the center of the city. He planned to ask a few key questions that might make his search easier, assuming he crossed paths with other Vamps. It was night, so running into someone was a decent bet. He hadn’t laid eyes on Raziel for years. For all he knew, Raphael’s paranoia had gotten the better of him, and he’d killed the other Vampire and hidden his remains.
Viktor wended his way around the piles of bones littering Ushuaia’s streets, passing the odd Vampire. He hailed one or two, but they ignored him and kept moving, which seemed unusual.
“Dude!” Someone ran at him from a side street and punched his arm. “Where have you been?”
Viktor twisted to face the other Vampire. “Not much of anywhere. What’s shaking, Glenn?”
He made a rude snorting noise. “Can’t believe Raph let Jorge get the better of him. Jorge of all people.” Glenn lowered his voice to a stage whisper. “That pathetic piece of dung. If I’d known what a weak suck Raphael was, I’d have killed him myself years ago.”
“Any idea where Jorge is?” Viktor kept his tone casual.
“Yup. One of the humans was misguided enough to pick today to make a run for something he needed. Jorge nabbed him and drained him, trying to make his first minion.”
“Yeah? Did it work?”
“Hell no. When the guy wouldn’t feed from him, Jorge began bashing him against a concrete wall. Jesus. What an unholy mess. For all I know, he’s still there, beating the guy’s lifeless body against that wall.”
Breath hissed through Viktor’s teeth. “Shit! Raphael always was unhinged.”
“Yeah well, it’s worse now that he’s having to wade through whatever Jorge has left for brains.” Glenn shook his head. “Gotta run, man. Lying low till this blows over.”
“Hey!” Viktor called after him. “Any idea where Raziel is?”
Glenn screeched to a halt and spun to face Viktor. He narrowed his eyes to slits. “Why?” The single word oozed suspicion.
Viktor did his best to exude innocent curiosity. “He’s the only one here who was older than Raph. I thought maybe he could settle things down.”
“Mmph. Didn’t even consider that. My memories of him are that he was even nuttier than Raphael.”
“Mine too, now that you mention it. Have you seen him around?”
“Not for years, dude. See ya.” Glenn melted into the night.