by Judy Mills
The girl frowned. "What are these for?"
Growling, I pointed at one of the ankle shackles. I made a twisting motion with my hand and wrist like I was turning a key.
Chiwa's eyes widened. "Oh!"
The chanting below us reached a terrible crescendo as she quickly dug through my clothes. The magic washed over me and a shiver of apprehension ran down my back. Something was happening below and it wasn't good.
In my fear for Cooper, I'd ignored the threat Navarro still posed. I hoped the man I loved had a chance to yell at me later for my carelessness.
I gently stroked his face with the back of my hand, barely able to feel his skin through the scales armoring mine. Turning, I dove off the balcony.
* * *
Below me, the chanting child practitioners jerked and gyrated around the vortex like garish puppets, their faces slack as if hypnotized. Above them, Navarro stood on a twelve foot high metal platform that he'd pushed into position above the vortex.
He pressed my knife to the throat of a terrified boy who, in appearance, seemed the same age as the vampire. Five more kids of various ages and genders stood behind him, clinging to each other.
I circled above the platform looking for a way to end Navarro without endangering the kids. The odds weren't promising.
Navarro looked up at me with an arrogant grin on his face. "The spell demands a sacrifice, Were-Demon. You've robbed me of the wolf prince. Now others must pay."
The knife flashed to create a red ribbon of blood across the boy's throat and Navarro pushed him off the platform. I drew back in shock, momentarily stunned. My stomach jumped and I dove for the child as he plunged into the vortex.
I was too late. As the thick darkness swallowed him, his terrified eyes met mine and then he disappeared. Growling, I spun toward Navarro.
He grabbed the girl nearest to him. "The magic hungers for blood." He lifted the knife to the child's throat. "You can save them by taking their place. The life of a dimension-walker will more than compensate for what you've cost me."
Hatred burned through my heart. I swooped down at him, mouth open, claws out. He flinched and I snatched the child out of his grip, lifting up and away before he could react. I lowered her onto the top of a stack of crates in the far corner.
Fury flashed across Navarro's pockmarked face. He grabbed another kid and pushed her off the platform. She screamed a horrible shriek of terror as she fell into the vortex and disappeared.
I dove for the platform, grabbing two boys before Navarro could seize them and delivered them to the crates. They collapsed next to the girl, sobbing.
I wheeled in midair and bulleted toward the last child. Navarro sprang from the platform, a magnificent leap that carried him nearly twenty feet into the air. I banked to avoid him, but he'd caught me by surprise. He landed on my back and locked his arm around my throat like an iron vice.
"Evil will always triumph, demon," he hissed in my ear. "Do you know why?"
I pitched and rolled, trying to shake him.
"Because it never hesitates to do what it must to win."
He stabbed me in the shoulder as I careened like a bronco, trying to knock him off. I flew backwards, colliding against the wall as he plunged the knife into my side, shoulder, back—any spot he could reach. Pain hammered into me with each strike of the knife as I bashed him against the wall again and again, until I was dizzy from it.
I felt my strength draining away. I needed a new plan.
Flying toward the ceiling to give myself more space, I thrashed at him with my tail, aiming for his head. He ducked and one of the spikes punctured his shoulder, a nasty wound but the not enough to slow him down.
I bled from a dozen places, the agony of my wounds burning into my whole body. I stuttered in midair and felt Navarro tense. I could only see one way to lose him. I plunged toward the floor.
The ground rushed at me and I wondered how much it would hurt when we slammed into it. Navarro didn't wait to find out. He jumped free.
With smug triumph, I pulled up at the last minute, though I didn't have quite enough skill and precision to avoid impact completely. I hit the floor and rolled in a practiced fighting move, coming up on my feet.
He sprinted toward the sword lying next to the broken body of the vampire guard. Grabbing the weapon, he pivoted toward me.
With a roar of fury, I sprang at him.
* * *
Cooper watched his body's chest rising and falling in shallow breaths that told him this life would soon be over. Of course, he already knew that. The fact that he was standing next to himself and the practitioner girl couldn't see him was a pretty big clue.
He watched impassively as she worked frantically to find the right key that would open the poisoned shackles clamped to his body. Suddenly aware of another presence, he glanced to his left and noticed that his father stood next to him. He hadn't been there a moment before, but that didn't seem to startle or shock him.
The last time he'd seen his father, the older man's hair had been grey and his square, chiseled face worn down by the burdens of leadership. His body had also been broken and shredded from the surprise attack of an enemy Clan.
Now he looked fresh, young and whole. Cooper studied him with interest. He hadn't realized how much Ryker looked like Dad until that moment. Their father had been well into his middle years before he'd married and started a family. Whenever they'd asked him about it, Dad had said that it took him half his life to find the perfect mate and it had been worth it.
You look pretty good for someone who's been dead for twenty years, Cooper said. Or thought. He hadn't actually moved his mouth.
A familiar smile quirked the side of Dad's mouth. It's a nice perk.
Since you're here, I'm guessing that I'm not going to make it.
In front of them, the girl gave a triumphant squeak. Aiming an ancient looking rusty key at his leg, she pounced on the left shackle.
The mystical glow surrounding her body brightened. The blood in her was powerful. In its own way, almost as strong as his own had been.
She possesses an ancient heritage, Dad communicated as if he knew what Cooper was thinking. Which he probably did. She too has magic this world hasn't seen in ten thousand years. Her destiny is yet before her. As is yours.
My time here is finished.
You don't want to go back? his father asked.
I like this better. Nothing hurts.
Dad's expression sobered. Bad things are coming. Worse than the vampire. You'll be needed.
The girl unlocked the shackles with quick efficiency. Grimacing, she grabbed hold of the stake in his side and pulled.
It was interesting watching the metal slide from his body and feeling nothing, not even emotional regret. Strange, too.
Pulling out the other stake in his leg, she jumped to his head and patted one cheek and then the other. The head lolled limply with each gently strike.
"Come on, come on, come on. Scary monster lady would not like it if you bite the big one," the girl said, an edge of desperation in her voice.
He was sorry to make her feel that way, but not enough to return.
You should go back, Dad communicated.
The battered, broken body sprawling at Cooper's feet stopped breathing.
"Oh, my god," the girl cried, frantic now.
I don't think you can make me.
Dad looked sad for a moment. No. You have to want it.
The child hit the body's face harder. "No dying! I'm too young for you to die!"
What about Addison? Dad asked. How can she live without you?
Addison...
An explosion of love raced into Cooper, strong and pure and unexpected. He knew he couldn't leave her.
Vibrant energy rushed through him and the world went dark
Something hit him hard across the cheek, the sudden sting of the blow shocking him. His chest spasmed and yanked in a sharp slice of air and then another. Cooper's eyes snapped open. Terrible, terr
ible pain flooded his awareness.
The witch girl had her hand raised for another strike. He grabbed her wrist on the down stroke, stopping her palm inches from his aching, swollen face.
"Ouch," he croaked.
He was back.
* * *
Victory was moments away, I could taste it. Aches and pains forgotten, I fought like the demon Navarro claimed I was, driving him mercilessly before me. His clothes were soaked with blood, his right arm dangled broken and useless at his side, forcing him to wield the sword with clumsy defensive swings as I hammered him ferociously.
His eyes burned with a dark hatred as he backed toward the circle of children. I moved to the side to herd him away from them. With a sudden surge of energy, he executed a series of diagonal cuts, forcing me to dance back or get my stomach sliced open.
He dashed toward the children. Stopping a few yards from them, he turned, his face cruelly triumphant. "Athosay 'tor!" he screeched.
The children stopped chanting like a switch had been thrown, the sudden silence deafening and eerie. A chill ran over me as they turned as one to face him.
He raised his sword and pointed it at me. "Athosay 'tor isek!"
They turned away from him toward me, staring with dead eyes. Terror frayed the edges of my confidence. I took a step back.
Silently, they rushed me. Swarming over me, they bit and clawed, digging out chunks of skin and flesh. I frantically dodged away, pulling them off as fast as I could without damaging them. I tried to run, but they kept coming. Unwilling to hurt them, I quickly lost ground.
As I battled, Navarro limped up the ladder to the top of the platform where the last sacrifice, a girl no more than ten, lay curled up, crying. He grabbed her by the back of the neck and hauled her to her feet. Tears streaked her round cheeks. The whites of her eyes stood out around the blue, terror and despair drenching her gaze. She knew he was about to kill her.
Desperation clawed at my stomach.
With a violent shake, I dislodged the children like a large dog would a pack of insane kittens. I bounded clumsily into the air, streaming blood, and went airborne.
My torn wing gave out and I listed to one side, quickly losing altitude. I landed several yards from the children and they swarmed after me, ravenous, mindless nightmares.
Fear pounded through me and I took off again. If I could make it to the upper level walkway, I could push off and dive for the platform, grabbing the girl. Pain pierced into my wing as the tear lengthened and I tumbled to the ground. It was no use. I'd never make it.
I looked up at the platform. The vampire shoved the child to the edge. His gaze met mine and he laughed.
As the mindless practitioners came at me again, I gathered the last of my strength and pushed off the floor, heading directly for the platform. I had to stop him.
My powerful legs buckled as I landed and collapsed to the floor of the platform with a crash. My strength had finally abandoned me.
Navarro had won and he knew it. He smiled at me magnanimously. "Your blood for the girl's."
The child whimpered.
What did it matter? We'd lost. Cooper was dead. Marc probably, too. Stillman would keep Falcon safe. She'd promised before I'd left.
I crawled to the edge of the platform where I collapsed again. The black vortex swirled below me and hope touched my soul. I could still do it. I could take him down with me.
When Navarro moved to kill me, I'd grab him and dive for the vortex. The kids would be safe. We would beat him.
Navarro shoved the girl away and strode across the platform to loom over me. I could smell his excitement mixed with the metallic scent of my blood. I pulled the last shreds of my strength together as he raised the knife.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
There was a blur of movement above me. As Navarro raised the knife, Cooper plunged from the walkway above the platform and hit him full force.
With a powerful swipe of his arm, he knocked the knife out of the vampire's hand as they crashed down on top of me. I grunted from the impact and fought to stay conscious.
"Shift back!" Cooper shouted.
Navarro struggled like a mad man and Cooper fought to hold him against me.
"Now, Addie!"
With sudden clarity, I understood.
I closed my eyes and focused inward on the pure light at my center that contained all I was—the energetic force that made me more than just a monster. The part that made me human.
I opened my eyes. Cooper's and my body each glowed with a soft, gentle light. Maybe we weren't so different after all.
Desperation saturated Navarro's eyes and he fought wildly to get away. Cooper strained to contain him as I let go and let the shift sweep over me.
With a final frenzied effort, Navarro broke free as twin orbs of light burst out from Cooper and me and wrapped around us. Navarro made a run for it as the edges of the orbs snapped together, entrapping him. The vampire screamed in terror.
A blinding flash of light and a sharp clap of sound slammed into my mind as if a giant door had slammed shut.
I heard an explosion of glass as if from far away and then we were gone.
* * *
I stood in world of light and color. A single tone of sound like the note of a flute filled the air. I glanced down at my human body and admired the beautiful shimmering silver gown covering it. A huge brindled wolf stood at my side.
Navarro staggered away from us, his expression twisted with abject horror. He held his hands up as if to ward us off and his fingers dissolved into flakes of light. His palms and wrists followed, the sparkling limbs quickly breaking up and flowing away like fairy dust.
He screamed and screamed as arms broke apart, a high, desperate sound that faded into nothing as his face dissolved. Then his body, his legs... In a matter of seconds, his molecules had disintegrated and drifted away.
He was gone. Forever.
I rested my hand on the back of the wolf. "Why am I dressed like this?"
The wolf smirked at me and Cooper's voice came out its mouth. "Sexy. I like it."
"And how are you talking?"
"We're in the fourth dimension. Anything is possible." He looked out over the landscape. "You've been here before."
"It was nothing but light then. I thought I was dead. Then I was back and you were gone. Then I thought you were dead."
"So did I."
"Do people come here when they die?"
"This dimension only bridges the physical and spiritual. Your parents aren't here."
I looked around at the swirling, dancing colors. "It's nice. I like it."
"As Demon-Were, there's a part of you that recognizes this realm as home."
"So peaceful. Colors I've never seen before and light and music."
Cooper huffed, a very wolf-like sound. "I see a blackened wasteland reeking from millions of years of human despair and greed."
No, it was beautiful. "I wouldn't mind staying."
"We have to go. Before the things inhabiting this realm realize we've arrived."
"Angels?"
"Suir aosar. Devourer of Souls. Our life force is like nectar to them. Every time we enter this place, we risk being attacked. We have to shift back."
He moved closer to me, pressing his shoulder against my thigh, making me feel safe and protected. I thought about home and begin to glow. "Too bad about the dress."
* * *
A cracking boom shattered around me, the world stuttered. I found myself back in the mansion beneath the platform, naked. Cooper stood next to me in a matching outfit. My wounds were fully healed.
Above us, there was a hole in the floor of the platform. The shape looked like two eight-foot wide bubbles had cut through the metal, which probably was about right.
Around us stood a ring of vampire assassins with their rifles trained on our heads. Huddled into a corner behind the vampires, the group of children clung to each other.
Chiwa stood between them and the vamps, her expressi
on fierce, her hands raised as if ready to cast a death spell on the first vamp to so much as twitch in the kids' direction. In front of her, Marc, shirtless and looking about the same only with guns.
Opposite the children, the assassin circle parted and Bellmonte strolled through. Cooper stepped between me and vamp lord.
Bellmonte hardly seemed to notice he looked so pleased with himself. Lovely.
"According to our law, murdering an Archon is punishable by death. Death by torture, to be precise." He smiled without showing his teeth. "What a sad ending to an otherwise successful evening, wouldn't you say?"
He took in the au natural state of Cooper and me and gave the vampire behind him a hard look.
The assassin stared back, confused.
"Your clothes, man. Must I spell it out for you?"
The assassin's eyes widened in surprise and Bellmonte impatiently gestured in our direction. Reluctantly, the vampire passed his gun to the guy next to him and stripped out of his shirt. He tossed it to me. Ick.
"And?" Bellmonte said.
The assassin looked shocked.
"Any night now."
With slow, unwilling movements, the assassin shed his pants and threw them to Cooper. Reclaiming his gun, he pointed it at us and did his level best to look professional and serious in his underwear. When the guy next to him snickered, he rammed him in the ribs with the butt of his rifle.
Beggars can't be choosers, so we quickly pulled on the clothes as Bellmonte stalked toward us. "I don't suppose you can produce a body?" he asked.
Cooper scowled at him. "You know we can't."
"Pity. That does make things more complicated. Happily, two cases of VR survived your animal rampage along with an office full of spells, receipts, and lists of distributors. Though I cannot provide Lord Navarro for the Emperor's entertainment, I am exonerated. I feel so giddy with relief that I've decided to keep your involvement out of my report."