by J F Rogers
After a small drink, Declan released me and replaced the bandage. He touched my face.
Something should be happening. “Did you drink enough?”
“I—” Pain contorted his eyes. He fell back and twisted on the floor.
Please, please, please let him live.
Declan stopped flailing. As with those who’d been saved before, he sucked in air and breathed heavily until his breathing returned to normal.
Thank You, God!
Like the other guy, Declan inspected his body, then let out a sharp laugh. “I can’t believe it.”
“Neither can I.” Na’Rycha clapped as he closed in on us. “Thank you, Be’Thorr, for playing into my hands. But then, I guess you’ll lose your fasgadair name and return to being Declan. For a little while anyway—however long you last in this feeble form. My plan couldn’t have gone better. Well…other than losing three of my men first.” Anger flashed in his eyes. Then, as if he realized those losses were inconsequential compared to his gain, the evil twinkle returned.
Fear seized my heart. But no. Na’Rycha planned this? He counted on Declan’s rescue and my refusal to go with him unless he changed? No way. For what purpose?
Wait. This was God’s plan too. Perhaps Na’Rycha was playing into His hands. Please, God. Please don’t let me have been wrong.
Declan rose from the floor and stood between Na’Rycha and me, his chest puffed out as if he could protect me.
“You were right, Declan. You can’t save her in this form.” He waved his hand up and down as if showing the frailty of his new form. “What were you thinking listening to her ravings? Can’t you see she’s out of her mind?”
Declan didn’t speak. He also didn’t back down.
“It occurred to me that this is our first—and last—family reunion.” Na’Rycha sneered. “Too bad dear ol’ mum couldn’t join us.”
Did Declan know we were his siblings? He didn’t seem surprised.
Na’Rycha’s gaze switched back and forth between us. Was he hoping for a reaction? I struggled to keep my eyes open, and Declan was probably doing all he could just to stand strong.
Na’Rycha’s shoulders relaxed. “Well, dear brother. Now that you’re disconnected from Morrigan, no longer a fasgadair, I can eliminate you. Are you ready to meet our father?”
“All this time you planned to kill me?” Declan spoke through clenched teeth. “Why?”
“Why do you think Morrigan kept me around as a child? She knew about us all along. She desired Aodan for his power and each of us for ours. But I won’t share it. Once you two are eliminated, I’ll kill Morrigan too. I alone will rule Ariboslia.” Na’Rycha licked his fangs. “After I have a little fun with my sister’s abilities.”
“Arrrrrgh!” Declan charged Na’Rycha.
Our evil little brother snatched Declan as if he was a doll, leaned in, and bit his neck.
No! God! How could You allow this to happen? This wasn’t part of the plan!
I couldn’t move to rescue him.
Declan’s eyes bulged. He faltered backward as Na’Rycha drank.
Na’Rycha held him upright until he had his fill, then let go. Declan fell. Na’Rycha stepped back, his eyes bugging. “What’s this?” He fell to the ground and thrashed. He screamed, then stilled.
Declan stretched his shirt collar up over the bite marks and held it there. He turned to me, brows raised, then returned to our brother on the floor.
Na’Rycha stilled. Pink fleshed in his pale skin. Like Declan and the other fasgadair, he sucked in air as his life returned. He lay there, breathing heavy, then shimmied across the floor to the couch and dragged himself to a sitting position. “What happened?” He clutched his body, inspecting it as the others had. “How did this happen?”
Declan appeared to be as shocked as Na’Rycha and I were.
Joy filled my heart. This was far better than anything I could have planned. But this wasn’t my plan. It was God’s. Must remember that.
Thank You, God.
Chapter Forty-Seven
◊◊◊
ALASTAR SCRAMBLED TO STAND. He slipped on the couch a few times before rising. “What have I—This is bad.” He paced, head down, chewing on one finger. “How could this happen?”
I shrugged. At least it felt like I shrugged. My head, still foggy and heavy, threatened to shut down again. I had to force myself to stay alert.
“You have her ability?” Alastar waved his pointer finger in my direction. “To–to—change fasgadair?”
Declan rushed Alastar and latched onto his collar. “You tried to kill me!” he screamed in Alastar’s face. Declan faltered backward, pulling Alastar with him. They fought to remain upright as if drunk.
Alastar tried peeling Declan’s fingers from his collar. “You were a threat to my rule.”
“Your rule?” Declan scoffed. “You’re Morrigan’s lapdog. You were never going to rule…and neither was I. I never wanted to.” He pushed Alastar onto the couch.
“Look what you did to Fallon.” Declan touched my forehead. “Are you all right?”
I tried to speak, but only a groan leaked out. Any fear I should have was drowned out by Declan’s eyes. His old, comforting eyes full of concern. He was back.
“Declan. I—”
Declan cut Alastar off. “As much as I want to resolve our family dysfunction, now’s not the time. Is there a way past your army? We have to get her to safety.”
Shaking his head, Alastar resumed pacing. “We’re weak; they’re strong. We’re slow; they’re fast. And we’re outnumbered.” He stopped and grabbed Declan’s shoulders. “If they figure out what happened, we’re dead.” He raced to the window and peeked behind the blinds. “Night has fallen. This is bad.”
“Are there any weapons in here?” Declan planted his hands on his hips.
“No,” Alastar said. “I made sure of that.”
“Wait.” Declan’s hands slipped off, both lifting toward our brother. “What is your totem?”
“Owl.”
“We’re all birds. Let’s change into our totems and fly out the window.”
“The windows don’t open. I had them checked when we secured this place, this room. The moment we smash it, my soldiers will be on us.”
“But there’s a chance we could get out first. We have to try.”
“There’s no way.” Alastar motioned toward me. “Look at her. She can’t possibly fly.” He leaned down, his face before mine. His eyes, like Declan’s, but purple like mine. “Can you start a fire?”
“I don…” I mumbled.
“Try.” He pointed toward a table. “Try to set that on fire.”
I tried to pull myself up. My head spun, and I flopped back. I fought to open my eyes and stare at the table. It moved around, then duplicated. Then split into four. And none of the images sparked. I didn’t have it in me. “I can…can’t.”
Alastar swiveled to Declan. “Do you have Aodan’s and Cataleen’s gift? Can you start fires?”
Declan shook his head. “You?”
“No.”
“How can we get her out of here like this?”
“I don’t know.”
“Think! Aren’t you the leader of an entire fasgadair army? Thousands upon thousands? Did your military strategy die with your fasgadair blood?”
“I knew what to do when I was powerful and heartless. But I’m weak now.” He flopped his arms as if to prove his point. “How did you do it? I thought only her blood was special. Is it all of us?” He grasped chunks of hair on either side of his head and resumed pacing. “No. That’s not it. The fasgadair who turned you would have died or changed. But there must be another reason.” He grasped his head in his hands. “I can’t get sidetracked with this now.” He paused. “Fasgadair are stationed outside this room at both doors. They’re surrounding this castle. And unfortunately, I left my invisibility cloak at home.”
“You have those?” I a
sked.
Declan and Alastar stared at me, then laughed.
Either I was way too out of it or Ariboslian humor was lost on me.
Three sharp knocks rattled on the door. Alastar and Declan jumped. “Master, we have urgent news.” The voice came from the other side.
Alastar froze. Then he took a deep breath and steeled himself. “I am not to be disturbed.”
All was quiet. Then urgent, hushed voices sounded. “Master, there is movement from the southwest woods. Hundreds are armed and headed this way. We must act. What are your orders?”
“Send our forces outside the castle. Prepare for defensive maneuvers.”
Hushed voices heightened from the other side of the door. Then it burst open. Four fasgadair appeared. They surveyed the room and closed in on us.
“What’s this? Master?” The one in front sniffed the air like a dog. “You’re all gachen.”
Their eyes narrowed as they circled. Declan scooped me into his arms, and Alastar stood between us and the approaching vampires.
The fasgadair in front laughed. “I wanted a promotion.”
“And what do you think Morrigan would do to you should she learn you killed me, Da’Het? Or Fallon? Morrigan wants her alive.” Alastar stared Da’Het down.
“Why would we return to Morrigan?” Another fasgadair held his arms out as if putting the room on display.
“We have a nice lair here.” Da’Het closed in on Declan and Alastar. “We’ll start our own coven on these virgin lands.”
“You think she won’t find you? You actually think you’d survive this?” Alastar stepped back, his arms splayed, blocking us.
“Aye.” The other fasgadair smiled. “I do.” He lunged.
I reached out and gripped Alastar’s shoulder. A jolt of electricity shot through my arm, and a circle of fire erupted around us. The flame engulfed the fasgadair. He screeched. His cry cut short. His flesh melted, charred, then crumbled in one fluid motion within seconds.
Get out.
Where had those words come from? And what were these flames? They surrounded us, starting at our feet, from nothing, and shot straight up over our heads. The steady fire neither consumed us nor the furniture, only the fasgadair who’d had the misfortune of touching it. I couldn’t even feel the heat inches from me.
The other fasgadair stared, slack-jawed.
Alastar strode toward the door. My hand slipped from his shoulder, and the flame disappeared.
“Get them!” Da’Het shouted.
Alastar spun toward us. Just as another fasgadair neared, Alastar wrapped his arms around us to protect us. The fire roared to life. The fasgadair caught in the flame screeched and died as the first had.
Alastar opened his eyes. We each stared at one another in turn, eyes bulging. Without losing contact, Alastar slid his hand down my arm, held my hand, and turned around. He kept a firm grip on my hand over his shoulder. “Don’t let go.” He shuffled toward the door with me and Declan in tow.
The circle of fire came with us.
Da’Het and the remaining fasgadair bumped into one another as they scrambled out the door before us, keeping their freakish eyes glued on the circle of fire. Once free of the doorjamb, they rushed aside, giving us ample room to pass by.
We continued, surrounded, but not swallowed by, the pillar of flames, through the halls, down the stairs, into the entryway. Da’Het and the other fasgadair followed.
Another vampire at the bottom of the stairs looked at the trailing fasgadair. “What are you doing? Fire won’t kill us.” He lunged. The moment he touched the flames, he melted, charred, and crumbled. A lesson to those who hadn’t seen the others. The witnesses kept their distance.
Alastar pulled the front doors open. The doors erupted in flames.
“Oops,” Declan said.
How did that happen?
Two fasgadair attacked from either side. They singed and fizzled to dust. A breeze swept away their remains but didn’t disturb the fire. The flames continued straight up, unaffected by the wind.
Mobbing fasgadair circled the flames. They crouched, with their hands up. Like fighters sizing up their opponent before the bell.
We continued forward, and the sea of fasgadair parted.
“Open the gate,” Alastar ordered.
The gate squealed and clanged as it rose. On the other side, Sully stood, surrounded by pech and a ragtag group of gachen and selkie armed with swords. They stood there as if they knew the gate would rise. The fasgadairs’ gaze jumped between us and the army at the gate as if calculating which threat to eliminate first.
Sully raised his staff, and his army waited like racers at the starting line. Arrows rained from above. I traced their path to our allies in the trees, shooting. Many fasgadair fell.
Sully roared and pitched his staff forward. His army hollered in response and charged under the gate, keeping a safe distance from me and my brothers. They slashed fasgadair with their weapons, pushing them back so others could rush in and behead the felled fasgadair before they removed the arrows and regenerated.
Kai ran up to us, sword drawn, blood splattered across his face and chest. “Fallon! Are you okay?”
“Yes.” I tried to sound convincing.
A fasgadair with a readied sword rushed Kai.
“Behind you!” I yelled.
He swung as if hitting a baseball, slicing the fasgadair through the middle. Alastar led us to the body as it fell. It ignited before reaching the ground.
“Be careful,” I warned Kai.
He nodded, seeming satisfied I was in good hands, then ran toward another fasgadair.
God, protect him.
I tried following Kai’s movements but lost him in the mayhem.
Swords slashed, metal clanged, and cries rang out all. Bloodied faces I recognized were locked in battle. Wolf sliced a fasgadair’s neck as Pepin hamstrung it from behind. Cahal brought his battle-axe down on a felled fasgadair. Maili and the other archers had left the trees and lined the wall, sinking arrows into any fasgadair in their line of sight. Sully stood in the middle of the skirmish with his staff in both hands over his head. Not one fasgadair neared him.
Alastar stooped to pick up an abandoned sword. His shoulder slipped from my grasp and the fire vanished. He attacked an oncoming fasgadair.
Declan and I remained unprotected. A fasgadair bulldozed through the throng toward us.
“Alastar!” I cried.
He ran his blade across a fasgadair’s neck, grabbed my hand with his left, and swung at the oncoming fasgadair with his right. The fire circle reignited and kindled the fasgadair.
Alastar led us throughout the war zone to unsuspecting fasgadair engaged in combat. The second the fire touched them, they melted. We continued like that, moving from one to the next and the next, catching as many fasgadair as we could, careful not to come near our own.
A fasgadair knocked the sword out of Pepin’s hand and pushed him to the ground. As the fasgadair picked up the sword, we ran up behind him. In one swift movement, the fasgadair sidestepped and shoved Pepin into the fire.
I sucked in my breath. “No!”
Pepin froze as if waiting to melt. But he didn’t. The fire didn’t harm him. Alastar and Declan took advantage of the fasgadair’s shock and ran him through. Dust.
The fasgadairs’ numbers thinned, and those who remained knew to keep a safe distance. They dodged our approach. We distracted them, allowing our allies to maim them so we could come up behind and melt them.
We were clumsy but effective. And resulted in a somewhat clean battlefield. Other than our fallen friends.
The clanging metal and shuffling feet slowed. Sully remained in the center of the courtyard with his staff raised. A fasgadair charged him. Valter stepped between them. The fasgadair sliced his sword through Valter’s midsection, and he fell. Declan and Alastar rushed to them and caught the fasgadair in the fire.
I dropped from De
clan’s arms and released Alastar, extinguishing the flames as I knelt by Valter. “You’re alive?” I pulled his head onto my lap.
“I won’t be…much longer.” Blood spurted from his mouth. “I’m sorry. I only want—I only wanted—”
“Shhh…it’s okay.” I swept his hair from his eyes.
“To–to save us.”
“I know, Valter. I forgive you.”
“Do–does God?”
“You want God to forgive you?” I asked.
Coughing up more blood, he nodded.
“Then, yes. He forgives you.” I choked back tears, grateful Valter believed and sought forgiveness.
Thank You, God, for saving him…even in this final hour.
Tears pooled in the corner of Valter’s eye. “Tha–thank you.” He coughed, and his body convulsed.
“I’ll see you in heaven.”
“You are loved.”
He smiled, revealing bloodstained teeth, and gargled on blood as he sucked in a breath, then stilled. The life left his eyes. I pushed his eyelids down and sobbed.
The fighting had ceased. A bedraggled group collected around us. People sniffed and wiped away tears, I assumed from witnessing a salvation and death within seconds.
Kai helped me stand. I leaned on him. Many rushed about aiding fallen fighters. Others stood with chests heaving, searching in every direction as if waiting for another attack. But nothing came. Only gachen, selkie, or pech remained standing. Not a fasgadair in sight and no electric smell.
Groans rose from maimed bodies. The able-bodied carried them into the castle.
Kai scooped me up.
“I think I can walk now.”
“Don’t take this moment away from me.” His dimples melted my soul.
Kai followed Declan and Alastar to the room we occupied before. Alastar dropped onto the chair he’d tied me to.
Kai placed me on a couch, then sat beside me and snugged an arm around me. “How are you feeling?”
“I’m okay. Just a little dizzy.” I coughed.