Terra's Victory (Destiny's Trinities Book 7)

by Tracy Cooper-Posey

  “Except we had Blake’s blood, with the vampeen infection in it.”

  “It really is an infection?” Beth asked.

  “As much as vampirism as in infection,” Declan told her. “It’s the same principles. The invading agent reproduces in the host blood, until it can exert full control, when it can manipulate gene expression. That is why both vampires and vampeen change, physically and mentally.”

  Beth stared at him. “Then…if you use the same process, you could ‘cure’ vampirism?” She wasn’t sure if she was horrified or not.

  “Theoretically, yes, except I don’t know if any vampire would want to be cured.” Declan shrugged. “Cole was adamant that he would not, when I asked him.”

  Beth glanced at Zack. He shook his head. Many other heads were also moving negatively, around the circle.

  “Very well,” she said. “So how did you find vampeen antibodies if no one has ever been cured?”

  “Ask Sera. She is the one who managed that.”

  Sera twined her fingers together. “I used Blake’s blood. His human blood, the samples we took when he was bitten. The vampeen infection was in the samples, so I…” She looked bashful. “I held them in my hand and helped them heal.”

  Beth looked at Lindal. He was smiling, his gaze on his sister. Then he didn’t find this remarkable.

  “It took a while,” Sera admitted. “However, I’ve worked on very sick people before.” This time, her gaze cut to Lindal, before returning to the circle of faces once more. “I can’t explain it any better than that. It’s just something I can do, that I’ve always been able to do.”

  Everyone was staring at her, some with interest, others with disbelief. Perhaps Sera sensed the incredulity, because she gave a shrug that Beth recognized as the same take-it-or-leave-it motion Lindal often used. “When we use the cure on a vampeen, we will all know if I managed it properly.” She returned to her seat between Blake and Diego quickly.

  “After Sera cured the blood samples, all we had to do was separate the antibodies.” Declan looked around the circle. “And now, test it.”

  “Thank you, Declan,” Beth told him. “The testing will have to be done off site. We can’t risk bringing a vampeen here to the bunker. Declan has proposed the use of a winterized barn on his ranch in Canada. As a location, it works well, for the cold will discourage any Grimoré. Also, no full trinities are to gather there while the testing takes place, so Cole, you will need to remain here. You, too, Diego.”

  “Once we’ve caught the vampeen, I will return,” Diego assured her.

  “Very well. Once the testing is finished, we will need to talk about next steps. For tonight, though, everyone rest well and prepare for tomorrow.”

  “What if there is no incursion tomorrow?” Blake asked.

  “There is always an incursion somewhere,” Beth said tiredly.

  * * * * *

  A group of vampire rangers sent a call for help eighteen hours later.

  “Stillwater, Oklahoma,” Lindal announced, as Zack handed out strips of paper with produce and groceries listed on them, that were to be acquired before returning.

  “Ready?” Beth asked Sera, Blake and Diego.

  Blake let out a gusty breath. “Yes.” In his arms was the heavy canvas they would use to wrap up the vampeen.

  Sera nodded. She had two coils of mountaineering rope, one over each shoulder.

  Diego was brooding, a scowl on his face. He had been irritable since Georgia, fussing over Blake and worrying about Sera. Beth knew he wouldn’t relax until Blake was fully recovered and stable. She left him alone. Diego was always cool and clear-headed when it was needed.

  She glanced around the warehouse. Everyone appeared to be ready. She visualized the location the rangers had given her and passed it on to the trinities. One by one, they disappeared, jumping away. Sera, Blake and Diego would come last.

  Beth gave the three of them a smile, wrapped her arms around Lindal and Zack’s waists and jumped.

  * * * * *

  Stillwater was a university town, surrounded by bucolic farmland and grazing. The vampeen and hounds had emerged from the woodland around Lake McMurtry, to raid isolated farmhouses. The rangers, including Ronny’s new hunter cadre, had noted the rise of 911 calls regarding wild animals. Plotted on a map, the way Wyatt and Ronny had been teaching them, the rangers had quickly seen that the vampeen were heading toward the city.

  Zack had argued against sending every last trinity available, when three or four of them would easily deal with the pack.

  “It’s overkill, yes,” Beth agreed with him. “I want to minimize any chance of anything going wrong. I want Sera and Blake and Diego protected as much as possible. So everyone goes.”

  They found themselves in a farmer’s field, the rich soil raked into runnels and damp from recent rain. Soon, planting season would begin. For now, the trail the vampeen had left was clear for them to follow.

  Beth jumped ahead, as far as she could see. The vampeen were only a quarter mile ahead of her, lopping steadily over the open ground. She jumped again and crouched low, as the main pack headed toward her. Then she called the others.

  It was a rout. The appearance of the first trinity panicked the vampeen and the few hounds among them. Their forward progress halted as they turned inward, bunching together for protection.

  As more and more trinities appeared, surrounding them, the panic built. Clearly, they were not under Grimoré control right now, or they would have launched an attack to clear a path through the trinities. There was no leadership among the vampeen, no sense of strategy. They were blindly following their instincts to find food.

  “Defense only,” Beth called, relaying the order with a mental command. “Keep them penned and shepherd them back to the forest.”

  “They’ve been killing humans!” someone shouted.

  Beth didn’t bother responding.

  The task of shepherding terrified vampeen was harder than she thought it might be. The hounds in particular were prone to try a running attack, their jaws snapping, to try to break the line that was herding them backward.

  We have the captive. Sera’s cool voice in her mind was very clear. Jumping now.

  Beth picked out Zoe in the line. Take Cole back to the bunker, then on to the barn.

  Zoe, Cole and Declan winked out.

  Beth continued to direct the trinities. The assignments had been decided in her head since last night. Now it was simply a matter of execution. She kept enough people in the line to push the vampeen back. She stayed with them until the parkland around the lake was in sight.

  The vampeen seemed to sense, finally, where the trinities wanted them to go. At the back of the pack, a dozen or more turned and lopped at full speed toward the trees. When the trinities did not try to stop them, more followed suit. Abruptly, the pack turned into a thick file of vampeen racing for the trees.

  “Let them go,” Beth said, returning her knife to the sheath. It was unbloodied.

  Zack straightened up. “They seemed to understand, at the end, there.”

  “It really was like herding cattle,” Cairo observed. “If they were human to begin, you’d think they’d have more ability to think.”

  “They probably do,” Beth said. “They’ve just been controlled for so long, they’ve forgotten how.”

  “Or the price for trying to think for themselves is too high,” Alexander said. “Did you notice the sores and scratches on a lot of them?”

  “I figured that was from living out in the open, among trees,” Wyatt said.

  “Everyone back to the bunker,” Beth said. “Before our assembly draws the Grimoré to us. Those who are going on to the barn, I will see you there.” She gathered Zack and Lindal to her and jumped.

  * * * * *

  A winterized barn was not the same as a centrally heated apartment. There was warmth of a sort—enough to stop their breath from fogging the air. It was still cold enough for those who had metabolisms and were affected
by cold to keep their coats on.

  The cattle were penned at the far end of the barn and the aroma drifted the length of it. Beth wrinkled her nose and tried not to breathe too deeply. After a while, she didn’t notice the stench anymore.

  There was a rickety work bench set up in the middle of the open space, with a light hanging over it. The light was low wattage, yet there was enough illumination to see the rolled and tied canvas parcel lying on it. The vampeen was kicking and struggling inside the canvas. The growling was muffled. Beth’s spine prickled, anyway.

  Everyone stood around the table, staring at the moving mound with dread and fascination.

  “I’m going to need it tied down,” Declan shouted, pulling their attention away from the table. “I’ll be doing a series of injections, to see how much is needed to hit critical mass and reverse the infection.” He was standing at a more permanent bench against the wall, filling syringes and recapping them. The liquid in them was a pale yellow.

  Blake was the first to reach for the ends of the rope tying the canvas down. “Help me,” he directed.

  There were seven others around the table, including Sera, Lindal, Alex, Ángel and Octavia, Cairo and Noemi. Mia stood off to one side, as did Aria.

  Beth moved over to Aria. “More light and more warmth would help this go quickly,” she said. “Would it be possible for you…?”

  Aria looked around, frowning. “I can bring the glow of the sun, but this place will not contain it for long. Winter steals inside through too many portals.”

  “Whatever you can do would be an improvement,” Beth assured her.

  The change in light level was almost immediate. Daylight seemed to rise just as it did at dawn. The cold lingered, though.

  The trinities unrolled the canvas, until the vampeen was revealed. Many hands gripped its legs and arms, as it tried to leap at them with bared teeth. They held it down while Alex and Noemi began to rope it down.

  Alex looked down at the creature. “It’s just a kid!” He sounded appalled.

  Blake looked at him steadily. “The vampeen turn children, too.”

  Alex swallowed. He nodded and got on with tying it down. It took both lengths of rope to bring the vampeen to complete stillness.

  “Perhaps we could try anesthesia?” Sera said, looking down at the small form held on the table. It was still growling and trying to snap at anything that came within reach of the serried and crooked teeth.

  Declan brought the first syringe over. “Anesthesia might not work on vampeen and it could affect the inoculation. We’ll have to ride this out the hard way.” He administered the shot and stepped back.

  Everyone watched the struggling vampeen. Nothing happened. They stirred uneasily.

  Declan shook his head. “We’re using tiny doses. I’m trying to find the bare minimum necessary to start the reversal. It could take a few shots for anything to happen.”

  “How long between shots?” someone asked.

  “I would prefer to wait a few hours at least.”

  “A few hours?” the same voice questioned. Beth thought it was Cairo.

  “I don’t know a thing about vampeen metabolism,” Declan said. “The next couple of hours will provide a lot of answers.” Calmly, as if he was doing it to a placid human patient, Declan pressed two fingers against the vampeen’s neck, checking the pulse. The vampeen began growling again, throwing its weight against the ropes. Declan didn’t react. He was monitoring the thing’s pulse.

  Beth watched, fascinated. Doctors really were dedicated.

  “Very fast, but steady,” he decided.

  Interest in the project faded after that. Beth let those who wanted to return to the bunker go back. She kept a guard of four people around the workbench at all times. People came and went, checking in for news and to see for themselves the child vampeen that had been captured. They abided by Beth’s restriction and no full trinity was ever present at one time, which provided some logistic challenges. She did not insist anyone stay away, though. They all had as much at stake as she did. They were entitled to stop by.

  Beth didn’t leave. Lindal didn’t ask to be taken back, either.

  Blake remained at the workbench, almost completely still and silent, his gaze on the vampeen.

  When Beth pulled off her coat, because she was too warm to keep it on, she realized that Aria had raised the temperature in the barn, after all. Everyone else was down to shirtsleeves, too.

  Each hour, Declan took vital signs and Sera recorded them on an iPad, then they would stand with heads together, discussing the findings.

  On the third hour, Beth joined their huddled conference. “Any sign of success?” she asked, trying to keep the hope out of her voice.

  Declan was frowning heavily.

  “Heart rate has increased dramatically,” Sera said. She glanced at the board. “Body temperature, too.”

  “Fever,” Beth said. “That’s good, isn’t it?”

  “Or maybe the vampeen have cyclic body temperature fluctuations, as humans do and this is a phase in a typical cycle,” Declan said. “There’s no diagnostic equipment here, I can’t even get a white blood cell count. Even if I could, the reading would be useless, because I wouldn’t know if the count was normal or not.”

  “You can’t make assumptions based on human standards?” Beth asked. “The vampeen start off human.”

  “So do vampires. Yet vampires refute every human status quo. They don’t even have a heartbeat most of the time,” Declan pointed out. “So I’m guessing madly. If I still had a medical license, this would have it cancelled. We need fast answers, though.” He shrugged.

  Beth was beginning to see the scope of the problem. “So you’re waiting and watching just as we are.”

  Declan gave her a hard smile. “There is empirical evidence that something is happening. The vampeen has stopped struggling and the growling has tapered off, which may just mean it is exhausted. However, put together with the rise in body temperature and heart rate, that’s a good sign. If it starts to sweat, I’ll be very happy.”

  After that, Beth settled into a pile of hay and tried to rest and relax. This was going to be a long process.

  Barely twenty minutes later, they had visitors.

  The elves arrived en masse, a dozen of them cloaked and hooded, sprouting like sudden weeds among the trinities spread out around the barn.

  Beth sat up, her heart leaping.

  Sera, who was standing at the workbench with a stethoscope to her ears, froze with her hand hovering over the vampeen. Her eyes widened as the elf closest to her lowered his hood.

  Who is it? Beth asked her silently.

  “Kiirian,” Sera said aloud, acknowledging the elf. “My father sent you?”

  My father’s brother, Beth heard in her head. Another disgrace to the family.

  It took Beth a moment to realize Sera was referring to herself and Lindal as the other disgraces. She pushed aside the indignation that wanted to rise inside her. There wasn’t time.

  Beth had started to learn how to judge the age of an elf, as they didn’t really show signs of aging the way humans did. However, there were markers that spoke of the passage of time, including an air of wisdom and superiority that seemed to intensify, the older an elf was. Kiirian had none of them, although if he was Sera’s uncle, he would be near the king’s age, which was great.

  Kiirian was looking around the barn, frowning. “The stink here is astounding,” he said. “How do you stand it? Very aromatic.” His tone was dry.

  Beth stared at him, astonished. This was a real elf? One of the royal family, brother to the king?

  “You get used to it,” Sera told him.

  “Your father thought I might be able to talk you out of this insane coercion you and Lindal are perpetrating.” Kiirian wrinkled his nose. “That’s your father’s description, by the way.”

  Lindal moved around the worktable to stand by Sera’s side. “Did he also send guards to help you persuade us?” He nodded
toward the motionless, hooded elves.

  Beth’s heart squeezed. Lindal’s hand was floating very near the hilt of his knife.

  She eased up onto her feet and tried to move closer to the worktable without drawing any attention, one small step at a time. The problem was, the elven guards were scattered throughout the barn, including three of them standing behind Lindal and Sera.

  Kiirian glanced around at the silent guards. None of them had lowered their hoods. “I’m not entirely sure if they’re here to take you back, or to make sure I do what I’m supposed to.”

  Beth blinked, absorbing that.

  Kiirian was looking around the barn again, this time up into the air and at the wood-slat walls. “This is odd. The conditions here are not…right.” He pulled the cloak aside, folding it back over his shoulders. “It’s far too warm and it isn’t that artificial heat the humans learned to generate.”

  Beneath the cloak, he wore what Beth would have described as pale white cotton pants and a simple tunic, except that cotton didn’t exist on Lindal’s world. The appearance was the same, though. The garments were rumpled and frayed on the edges.

  And he was barefoot.

  Is your uncle a…hippy? Beth asked Sera, hesitating over the description. She wasn’t sure Sera would even understand it.

  Kiirian spotted Aria, where she stood straight and tall by the corner of the table. Beth had not seen her move there. Aria had a way of being where she wanted to be without the silly intermediate process of actually moving there. It wasn’t jumping, because there was no apparent effort involved. She just arrived.

  Kiirian’s eyes narrowed. “I see….” He turned to face her and bowed low. “Maiden of the air. You have my admiration.”

  Aria nodded to him, in a way that seemed to indicate she out-ranked Kiirian, which was ridiculous. Kiirian was a royal prince.

  Or was it as ridiculous as Beth thought? Kiirian was behaving like a man in front of a queen, or someone who had met a personal hero.

  “There is some stupid-ass family business I must dispense with in order to obey my king,” he told Aria. “Afterward, I would be most honored to speak with you, if you would be so kind as to spare a few small moments?”