by R M Taylor
“Vesike, it has been a long time” Lina began first, she pulled out a chair and sat, indicating to others to do the same. Dante, Will, and the two enforcers hung back near the door. Vesike nodded to Marius, then faced Lina.
“It has, not that anyone would think it Lina, you look just a beautiful as you did 100 years ago” He smirked at Lina and then gave Dante a smug look. Seconds passed, and he brought his glass to his lips, took several leisurely slugs and placed it back on the table. He gave a look to the other vampire sat next to him and the man rose and silently handed glasses out, filling each with Macallan Whiskey as he did.
“Where are Althea and Connor?” Lucy asked, trying to sound like she was unafraid, despite her inner panic and urge to change.
“Upstairs, in your suite, you did not check out, so we utilised your room. My men are guarding them. Keeping them safe, obviously” Vesike smiled, and it made the hair stand up on Lucy’s neck. He felt malevolent, dangerous, and her dragon was circling him in her mind's eye, expecting something underhanded and deceitful. Her defences were up, and she was poised, waiting for the moment she had to react. Dragon wanted to hurt him, she would welcome a reason to change.
“Vesike, what is your endgame here, can we just be honest and put our cards on the table? We are all tired of games. I would prefer you to just give me the bottom line” Lina said, firm and calm in her speech, but the tension in the air was stifling. It was like waiting for a bomb to drop, you knew it was coming but not exactly when. All it would take was one wrong move and this was going to go to hell quickly.
“What do I want? I want vengeance, I want you and your council dead, I want your coven, your building, your money. I want the satisfaction of knowing I took everything from you. But for now, all I want is the exchange, Marius for Althea and Connor. I will settle for that for now, but this is only the beginning” He smiled “I am patient, I do not mind taking one piece at a time. I will get what I want, you can be certain of that. I either take what you have, or I destroy it, either way you will not keep what you have now, you do not deserve it” He smiled at Lina, and the air was tense and buzzing with expectation. The atmosphere was strung tight like a string, waiting to snap. The potential for violence was like a physical body, waiting to be embraced.
“Why have you carried this for so long Vesike? Why not let this go and forge ahead with your own plans? Why include us? Surely an offence a hundred years ago cannot grieve you still? It is wrong to hold onto such anger. You have your coven to think about!” Lina implored him, disbelief in her voice as she tried to process his reasoning.
“Talking about this is redundant. Do you think that the last 100 years have been spent idly? Of course, I have tried to let go, of course my coven wants more. But some things one cannot live with any more. This is one of them. You cost me money, property, businesses, our marriage would have stabilised my family. It would have brought us wealth in so many ways simply by association with the Hadley name. Instead, my family withered, we lost allies left, right and centre. My coven members left, the coven is but a quarter of what it once was. All because of you. I think I need what psychologists call closure” He chuckled.
“We can come to an agreement, I can give you money, we can co-exist. I have a large coven, many families, I do not want them to suffer. I can compensate all your losses, I will not waste time arguing about the past. We can agree to disagree about what happened. I am only concerned with protecting my people now. Can we not reach an agreement?” Lina asked.
“You are trying to placate me Lina, but I do not wish to discuss it further. Your actions so many years ago have had long lasting consequences. For a while, I let it go, but it keeps coming back to taunt me. I have decided that I need to get this out of my system and the only way I can do that is by eradicating every detail that reminds me of it. Ergo, you, your coven, and anyone who loves you. I will enjoy living in your tower, although I will make some improvements. Replacing the Hadley name with my own will be a joy I will savour” Vesike smiled cruelly and flicked his fingers to his vampire, who moved quickly to release Marius from his restraints. Before they had a chance to react, Lina was propelled backwards by Vesike, who had rounded the table and stood between her and Marius. Lucy stood to react, but the vampires moved too quickly. She was pushed back violently, and she heard the restraints keeping Marius at bay snap.
Time sped up, and everything moved and changed in seconds. Marius was free, and he had Lucy by the throat in a split second, his dragon showing in his eyes, his hands wrapped around her throat and she tugged at his hands and struggled to get free. His grip tightened and all she could hear was her heartbeat as he attempted to drag her towards the exit. They stopped abruptly as Aris grabbed Marius by the throat and forced his hands from her neck. She stumbled back as Aris flung Marius away, and even over the loud shouts and screams in the room she could hear the crunch when his nose broke under Aris’s fist. Blood erupted from his nose and within a second, she began to see the signs of his change. Aris realised at the same time and he threw Marius against the bar windows, she watched as glass and wood shattered and he disappeared from view for a second. The tension in the air snapped, and everyone froze for a second and looked at the gap where the window once was.
Aris, Lucy and Lina stared out at the street where Marius was changing. Will and Dante had Vesike pinned over the table, and the two enforcers had the shifter pinned on the floor. The second vamp had left without a trace, bolting as soon as the window shattered. Aris and Lucy jumped through the opening and attempted to restrain Marius before he fully changed, while Lina moved to help Dante and Will with Vesike, who was almost free. The shifter under the two enforcers changed in a split second, and everyone felt the change of energy in the air as the giant grizzly bear burst from the man’s skin. The smell of fur filled the room, and the bear roared so loud it made Lucy’s ears ring.
Marius struggled fiercely and rolled over as his bones snapped and reformed. Lucy realised if he changed directly in front of the hotel he would wreck the whole front facade, and probably the floors above. People would get hurt, even die. She had to stop him, so she dragged Marius as quickly as possible towards the centre of the road, shrieking at Aris to help her get him there before he was too heavy to move. They heaved the rapidly changing Marius and threw him as hard as possible. His change seemed almost complete by the time he landed and with a sudden jolt of panic Lucy realised she alone had to protect everyone. Who else could? She was the only one who had a chance. Lucy began her change as she stared aghast at Marius’s growing dragon. Her clothes ripping and body reforming violently, she felt her muscles tear and reshape, her change a split second instead of the 3 or 4 seconds Marius took. Aris bolted out of the way of the two dragons now facing off in the street. Screams and shouts from people all around rang out as everyone scattered and took cover. None of her friends were hurt yet, and they had better stay that way. She had to stop Marius, this wouldn’t end until he was dead. She had to fight him and win, and at that moment that was fine with her. Her dragon self was far more confident than her human self in this situation. She was pissed, frustrated and absolutely gagging for a good fight. This fucker had it coming, she was going to bleed him properly. The only problem was, his dragon was still growing, while hers was fully there. He was several head and shoulders taller than her, and far more muscled.
Marius’s dragon was huge, larger than hers by quite some way, jet black back and wings, dark grey belly. His dragon looked like the embodiment of evil, almost shark like and devoid of humanity. He was huge but not quick, and it was easy for her to move out of his way and dodge his claws. His jaws snapped next to her throat as she pulled back out of his way repeatedly. Dragons fire could injure a dragon, but it took a lot to burn the scales on their back, it took prolonged exposure to kill a dragon from dragon's fire. But she was going to give it a good go. The best way was to aim for his belly, which was not covered with thick armoured scales like his back.
She pinned his
wing to the building and rained down as much fire and magma as possible while he raked his claws down her back. It hurt but her scales held, while holes began forming in his wing she increased her grip, dragging her claws down his neck to gain further purchase. His roar increased in pitch as her talon pierced in between scales and as she pulled down hard it morphed into a primal scream as his flesh opened. Sensing she was getting the upper hand, Marius twisted and forced his damaged wing up and in front of her face, pushing her off his neck and away from him. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Lina, Dante, Will and Aris at the window watching wide eyed, Vesike under Dante and Will, restrained with the cuffs that were used on Marius earlier. Conscious that this was dangerous to play out in front of people, she launched herself up to get airborne.
She had cleared the buildings by the time she felt Marius at her tail. His fire travelled up her spine, and she felt the scales crack and break, felt her blood begin to flow out of the wounds. Her enhanced healing kicked in immediately, but there was a lot of damage, if she survived this she would likely scar. He caught up with her, his claws pierced her wings as he grabbed them from above her. She felt the vice grip tighten and her wing bones beginning to crack. This was going to end very quickly if she didn’t do something. A good blast to the back of her head and it would be all over. She dipped and turned, trying to escape his hold, each time causing the holes in her wings from his claws to get bigger. She tried turning the other way and suddenly he released her, and she began plummeting before she righted herself.
Looking up she could see Susie and the dozen other flight shifters, dodging his fire, his left eye shut and gushing blood where they had attacked. While he was disoriented she pushed up hard, giving everything, and sent her fire directly into his face, and didn’t stop until she had to take a breath. She ran her razor sharp front talons from the gash she made in his throat to his abdomen and using her rear talons she kept him from retaliating by blocking his frantic movements. As best she could as she repeated the motion, spilling blood and finally ripping his gut open fully. His claws scrambled for purchase and scratched down her own chest and belly as they fell rapidly, but his strength was weakening. She kept with him, continuing the onslaught of fire right into his face. With her teeth she tore open his other eye, and as the ground rushed up to meet them, she grabbed his wings with her talons and his throat in her mouth to steer him away from the buildings and people.
As the park at the end of her street came into view, she tried desperately to push her wings hard enough to get them on target for the lake, but her wings still had plenty of holes from the damage he inflicted minutes earlier. They were rapidly losing altitude as he lost consciousness and became a dead weight, and her wings burned with the effort of carrying him. Her talons gave out at the end of her street, and he landed over the road and trees at the park entrance, levelling them and scraping up the tarmac as he skidded to a stop. She flailed and landed herself right into the lake, where she sat for a minute, her eyes on his form, expecting him to get up and continue fighting. His form was still, and she stared at his chest, trying to see if his rib cage showed signs of breathing. She could see no movement at all, and she crawled closer to make sure he was dead. His innards were visible, blood gushed from the wound and painted the road scarlet. She heard a breath leave him, and at the same time she could see his form start to shrink down, losing shape and deflating. Everything hurt her, and as she reached the grass where the trees lay felled she felt her body run out of energy and within seconds she was back into her human. Her knees hit the grass, and she collapsed on her front, her cheek on the cool and soothing mud. Seconds later she gave up her consciousness and her vision and awareness blacked out.
Chapter 44
There were people everywhere, and between the High Court enforcers and the emergency services Lina had her hands full. The vampires had done their best to clean up the street, the rubble and glass were neatly piled next to the gaping hole of the bar window. The humans working for the hotel were completely confused and had no memory of the last few hours. Vesike had done an excellent job veiling their memories. The crowds that were surrounding the hotel were dwindling now that the police had cordoned off the area and the fire service was doing their part as well as the paramedics. No bystanders were seriously hurt which was Lina’s saving grace, the High Court enforcers seemed fully aware of Marius’s involvement and the blame was falling on his shoulders for the damage to the building and road. Vesike was in custody and would be dealt with by the High Court. Lina had already spoken with the hotel manager and agreed to pay for all damage, so they were squared away with the hotel. The coven members who had hotels and restaurants had stepped up and offered the guests staying at The Mark hotel accommodation and food since The Mark was going to be out of commission for a brief time. All practicalities had been taken care of. Unfortunately, the two vampires guarding Althea and Connor and the one who ran when the fight began were not found, thankfully Vesike was light on back up since so many had left his coven. Althea and Connor were fine but were still being closely looked after by paramedics, Althea had been demanding to speak to Lucy, and was so distraught when told that Lucy had flown off fighting Marius that she had fainted. The paramedics were keeping her on the stretcher for now, and he suspected she would be going to hospital. Connor was doing a piss poor job of keeping her calm, and Aris wondered what the hell Lucy had seen in him.
Aris was about to punch someone if they didn’t let him leave soon. He had given his statement to both the police and the High Court enforcers, there was no reason to be kept here and, yet they insisted they all stay until they finalised things. Aris wasn’t sure what there was left to finalise, but Susana, the ravens and the eagle shifters had reported back in detail what happened to Lucy and Marius, she was moved back to the Hadley Building by some of the coven members who had been on hand to help with the fall out. Since Marius had shifted back to human on his last breath he was dealt with by the emergency services, who were transporting him to a morgue. Considering his size when in his dragon form, the damage caused by their fight had been minimal. Lucy had tried her best to get him away from the built-up areas, no-one was hurt by his or her crash landing.
He needed to get back to her, he was never one to be anxious usually, but his stomach was churning. He needed to see Isla, he had spoken to her on the phone, but he needed to hug his daughter, so many things could have happened, the last few days had proven in many ways how quickly life could change. Any one of his friends and family could have died, he could have, and how would Isla cope without him when her mother was in custody for crimes against the coven? She was almost an adult, yes, but everyone needs their loved ones.
Lina signalled it was time to go finally, and he joined Will and Dante in the only coven car left that survived the fight. The other one was crushed to a flat metal mess by Marius. The rest of their coven brothers and sisters were making their way home by taxi, which suited everyone fine since several had to check in on their businesses en-route. Life still went on, even when the drama happens. The flight shifters were back at the coven also, and it occurred to Aris that they had gained a lot from this whole situation. Their friendships with the flight shifters had been cemented, in the past it had been one sided, the vampires always the ones to offer help. The eagles and ravens had been essential to their success today, and for the first time had stayed to spend time with the coven members after everything was over. Lina, Dante, Will and himself were the last ones to return home. Lucy was recovering well, Isla was helping, but he couldn’t relax until he saw for himself. Marius was dead, Vesike was in the High Court custody, but what did they do with Isobel?
“What about Isobel?” He asked quietly.
“The High Court enforcers wanted to take her with them, but I asked for permission to deal with her myself. They agreed, but punishment must be delivered after they judge Vesike. They want all the facts ascertained first before Vesike and Isobel get their punishment. For them, they nee
d to dot the i’s and cross the t’s, once they have we can do whatever we see fit. We need the coven to decide. I want to rip her throat out and watch as she bleeds out, but everyone needs a vote. One of the best and worst parts of a democracy, everyone has a say in matters that affect them, it slows everything down. She is a coven sister, punishment will affect us all. If she dies, people grieve, if she is banished, people miss her and will grieve her absence. If she stays imprisoned, that will make everyone uncomfortable in one way or another” Lina sighed and closed her eyes, her head leaned back against her head rest.
“Perhaps we can delay until the coven has had time to recover. Some time may make the decision easier” Will said.
“Good idea, we have to wait anyway, some down time will be best for now. I do not know about all of you, but I need to feed, I am starving. A meal, a shower and a long sleep, then we can talk about Isobel” Dante said.
“Lina, the cost of the damage today I can cover, it shouldn’t come out of coven funds, Lucy will want to pay anyway, I am happy to pay for now and sort the details later” Aris explained.
“It is fine Aris, it is easier if I arrange everything since the authorities have my details, and then Lucy can negotiate with me later. I do not care right now, it is only money, everyone we love is safe, that is most important” Lina said with a smile. The car pulled up to the building and entered the underground parking lot.