Over the next few minutes, the trio exchanged stories of what had happened to them since the night of Jack and Abigail’s capture.
“When Harrison and I came to warn you like Sloan asked”—Pia shook her head—“you were gone. We were interrogated by some of the queen’s soldiers as to what Sloan told us, but we were able to fake ignorance. As far as we were concerned, we were following the orders of our captain.”
Jack let out a long breath through his mouth. Sloan was gone, so were Aareth and Edison and Oliver Livingston. They were all wanted criminals, and what had happened to Aareth, who knows what kind of condition he was in now? Would he stay that violent wolf-creature that Pia had explained him to be, forever?
“One thing’s for sure…” Harrison lowered his voice so it was barely audible above the din in the bar. “Everyone’s out looking for you. You can’t stay here in New Hope. The word has been put out to bring you back, dead or alive. The queen is supposed to formally address the army later tonight about what’s going on with Captain Sloan.”
Jack’s mind was reeling with the new information. Should they go find Sloan and the others? But then Abigail was right. They couldn’t just up and leave Elizabeth.
These thoughts were tearing through his mind like a mage-powered locomotive, when Abigail pushed through the crowd. She was followed by yet another soldier. Unbeknownst to them, it seemed like Jack and Abigail had found a bar that was a local hangout for the militia. Lieutenant Baker followed in her wake.
“Well, isn’t this lucky?” Abigail smiled at the two soldiers seated with Jack. “Exactly who we needed to talk to.”
“Jack.” The Lieutenant went over and embraced Jack’s hand with a firm grip. “You came at the perfect time. My battalion just got off duty. This is a favorite local bar we come to when we get off our rotation.”
“Well, I’m glad we ran into you and not another group of soldiers.” Jack released the Lieutenant’s hand. He looked over his shoulder at the crowded room. He could see other off-duty soldiers now, but they were too busy with their own drinks to care much about what strangers were in the bar.
“We need to make this quick.” Lieutenant Baker took a seat at the table. His head was on a swivel as he looked around for anyone eavesdropping or too interested in the gathered group. “This place isn’t safe. We need to talk, but not here.”
Jack hated himself for thinking anything but the best about the three soldiers gathered at their table, but was he one hundred percent sure they could be trusted? After all, he had already been duped by the queen, which proved his trust radar was off.
“I agree,” Sargent Harrison said, catching motion by the door. “We need to get out of here before someone spots them.”
“Hey! Hey! Stop right there!”
The blood in Jack’s veins turned ice cold. A group of soldiers had just entered the bar and were looking straight at Jack and Abigail. Already they were shoving their way through the crowded room, raising their rifles.
Lieutenant Baker rose and grabbed Jack by the collar with both hands. “Twenty-nine ninety-nine Martelle Street.” His words were calm and quiet, but his face had twisted into a sneer. “You can trust the owner there. I’ll contact you when it’s safe. Now hit me and run, because your life depends on it.”
Jack’s mind was forced to process the information in a second before his fist was sailing through the air. His right hand made contact with the Lieutenant’s left temple. Lieutenant Baker stumbled back under the weight of the blow.
Jack could see Abigail doing the same to Sergeant Harrison and Private Pia. She threw Pia into the table and shoulder-checked Harrison as she ran toward Jack and the rear door.
To their credit, the two soldiers did an amazing job of selling the act. Private Pia tumbled off the table, while Harrison grunted and doubled over.
“Someone stop them!” screamed the soldiers who had just entered the bar.
Their voices were barely audible now above the shouts from others and Jack’s own beating heart. Jack and Abigail ran as one, pushing their way to the back of the room.
Twenty-nine ninety-nine Martelle Street, Twenty-nine ninety-nine Martelle Street, Jack repeated to himself.
Jack and Abigail finally reached the rear exit and blew through the back door. It led into an alley where yet another handful of city guards stood smoking. Their surprised expressions told Jack the men had not been waiting there to ambush them. It was pure stupid luck.
Jack skidded to a halt as recognition crossed the men’s faces. It was too late to try to go the other way down the alley. The guards chasing them had piled out of the bar and now blocked their escape.
“We’re ordered to bring you in, dead or alive,” huffed the soldier leading the charge through the bar. “You have three seconds to decide.”
Chapter Thirty
Sloan
“They’re not going to take you alive, and if they do, you’ll wish you were dead.”
Despite the number gathered, the room was as silent as a tomb.
Sloan understood she wasn’t doing anyone any favors by sugarcoating the truth. They needed to know what they were up against. At the very least, they needed to be informed of what was about to descend upon them.
Sloan’s eyes made contact with every town representative in Kimberly’s office. There were business owners, heads of family, and even a few elected officials. These people weren’t fighters, and in Sloan’s opinion, they needed to run. But this wasn’t something she could come out and tell them; they had to decide for themselves.
“And you know all of this because you were in the queen’s army up until a few days ago?” The voice came from a tall, thin man who reminded Sloan of Elijah Ahab. He had a bad comb-over and suspenders that held up his pants.
“That’s right.” Sloan met the man’s stare head-on. “I was a captain in her army until I found out what her true purpose was for laying her locomotive tracks. She wants to invade the Outland and bring every city under her rule from Term to Azra. But that’s not the most pressing thing right now. If Kimberly’s intel is right, then the queen knows what happened to her men here. She’ll unleash a new kind of super soldier on you. With their enhanced speed, they’ll be here tomorrow night.”
A ripple of murmurs passed through those gathered. Kimberly’s office used as a meeting room held the gathered occupants, but it was standing room only. Those who did murmur were close enough for Sloan to hear their words of doubt.
“Can we trust her?”
“How is she so sure of when they will come?”
“Enhanced soldiers?”
“Listen.” Sloan’s voice filled the room again. “I have no reason to lie to you. Frankly, I don’t even have a personal tie to Term, besides that I was fooled by the queen for far too long and now I owe her a taste of her own medicine. I’m going to be here when she sends in her first wave of super soldiers, and I strongly advise you to leave Term. We may be able to hold off the first wave, but trying to wage a war against New Hope at this point wouldn’t be smart.”
“What she’s saying is true.” Kimberly stood next to Sloan. A full foot taller than anyone else in the room, she dwarfed her guests. “The queen does have these advanced fighters. I’ve gotten reports of them, and I was able to fight one in the ring last night before we were interrupted by the rest of queen’s soldiers.”
There it was. If the people gathered hadn’t put two and two together yet, they sure knew what was going on now. All eyes in the room immediately fixated on Sloan. Everyone judged her based on their own predisposed assumptions.
Sloan hated the idea of having to stand there while others made the decision. She was used to leading and being obeyed, but a lot had changed. Now, she was at the mercy of strangers as they debated amongst themselves.
“If you don’t mind”—Kimberly leaned down to whisper into Sloan’s ear—“I think the final decision should be made by the people of Term.”
“I can take a hint.” Sloan crossed the room
and left through the large wooden door.
She had done her part. Whether the citizens of Term decided to leave or stay was on them. Sloan was reminded of the redundant saying she had heard years before and since then had taken to heart. She could only control those things she could control.
What she needed to focus on now was finding her mage sword taken from her by Kimberly’s men the night before. After that, she needed to scout the outskirts of Term. She understood New Hope’s battle strategy; heck, she had written half the book on it herself. She would need every advantage she could get.
“How did it go?”
Sloan was making her way down the stairs when she was caught off guard by Ashley Brookhaven’s question. Was she still going by Ashley, or was it Brenda now?
The woman sat on one of the long couches. Her favored weapon, the two-handed mage sword, was out in front of her. She was staring into the steel’s shiny, mirror-like surface.
“We’re asking a lot of them, whether they decide to stay or go.” Sloan landed on the bottom step. “The last thing I want to see is them getting slaughtered by the force the queen will send.”
“It can never be simple.” Ashley drummed her fingers across the flat side of her blade. “I just came out of a meeting with Edison and that little gnome of his. I think they took enough blood to fill a pitcher.”
“No results yet?” Sloan guessed.
“Nothing I don’t already know. I don’t have a heartbeat. Whatever was used to resurrect me wasn’t science-based. I doubt Edison will find anything helpful despite how much Aareth wants him to.”
Sloan waited for Ashley to say more, but she didn’t. The woman’s shoulder-length brown hair fell over her face, obscuring her expression.
“Do you ever feel like you should want one thing or another, but you just don’t, maybe can’t?” Ashley asked, still looking down at her sword rather than at Sloan. “Aareth says we had this amazing life together, and part of me wants to believe it. There’s an itch in the back of my mind that can even almost remember, but every time I try to grab onto it, it escapes through my grasp. I might as well be trying to catch the morning mist in my palm.”
Sloan took a seat next to Ashley on the couch. The woman still didn’t look up. It was as if she were mesmerized by her own reflection in the sword, or maybe she just wasn’t used to talking about the way she felt.
That was fine for Sloan. Among the many things she hated discussing were the weather, politics, and her own feelings. But right now, the moment just felt right.
“I don’t know if I can say I know exactly how you feel,” Sloan started, finding her own gaze on the far wall, where a stack of weapons lay piled. A pile of weapons that including her own sword. “But tonight, I knew what I should do. I know what I want to do, but it’s just not in my nature. I hurt someone tonight and I don’t even know how it happened. Things were moving so quickly, I don’t even want to feel responsible for it but I know I should.”
“Look at us.” Ashley finally raised her gaze from her sword, an empty smile on her lips. “A heartless woman and a super soldier sharing their innermost thoughts. Is this what normal women do?”
Sloan shrugged. She stood up from her seat and made her way to the pile of weapons. Her own sword was on top, the slightly curved blade with the pommel that guarded her hand. Her saber that she had killed dozens of men and women with. “I don’t know what normal women do. I’ve never been one. I’m going to go take a look at the town’s perimeter, though if you want to come, I—”
The barely audible chatter that could be heard from the upstairs meeting, died. A door opened somewhere above. Heavy footfalls could be heard pounding down the steps. Kimberly’s strong grey frame appeared a moment later.
“They’ve voted.” The gargoyle looked seriously at both women. “They’re going to leave Term. The exodus is going to take some time. They’ll need volunteers to hold off the vampire soldiers when they get here.”
Sloan exchanged knowing glances with Ashley. Both women stood ready with their blades.
Chapter Thirty-One
Leah
“Your Captain was misguided, fooled by those she wishes to protect. I know how popular Captain Sloan was to all of you. You all know how much I respected her, as well. That is why I am ordering you to bring her back alive, if at all possible.”
Leah stood back inside the palace room just outside of eye range. Her sister, the queen, gave her speech to the gathered soldiers on the balcony. Her ears were taking in every word her sister spoke, while her eyes roamed around the room. Her sister was everything she wasn’t, maybe that’s why they got along so well.
The room she sat in now was simple but ornate. There were golden chandeliers, gaudy tapestries, and thick rugs, and this was only one of the many side rooms in the palace. Leah allowed her eyes to wander to the scene outside. The queen was going on in eloquent speech to the one hundred vampire soldiers that stood below soaking in her words like thirsty sponges.
On one side of the queen stood Fenrick Trillion. The idiot, weasel of a man that was the queen’s treasurer. He was a spy for The Order. Both the queen and Leah had known it for years now, but it was helpful to feed him what they wanted him to know, and likewise, it was nice knowing in advance what your enemies had planned.
On the other side of the queen was The Scar, the mercenary who had been introduced to the military as an undercover operative. He was going by the name Logan Steel now. Commander Steel to his men. He would have been the one leading the charge on Term, but he was in need of some upgrades. Instead, a lower-ranking officer would lead the soldiers against Term. One was not expected to put their more powerful pieces on the board first. The pawns would go and assess the strength of Term first, and if they managed to succeed, all the better.
The vampires that would go on the attack were second-generation experiments, after all. Commander Steel was a first-generation experiment, and was now to be Leah’s first third-generation test subject.
“You are the first to go out and spearhead what will be a major movement in the Outland,” Queen Eleanor went on. “We will bring unity and prosperity to our neighbors. Of course, there will be those who need to be reassured. In this case, there are criminals who met our acts of kindness with violence. You have all been briefed on the slaughtering of our brothers and sisters in Term. To these we will act with swift justice. Good luck, be safe, your queen and your city thanks you for your service.”
There was a familiar sound of a crowd moving at once as the queen was saluted. She waved as the soldiers turned and made their way from the city. Their path would take them through a city cheering them on and to Term. They would reach the Outland city the following night, when their powers would be unhampered by the sun. They would be at full strength when they attacked.
The queen entered the room, nodding to her sister. Fenrick was once more in her ear, talking about positioning and movements for the future. Commander Steel bowed his way from the two and approached Leah.
“I hate that guy. Even when he thought I was working for The Order, I’ve hated him. Why the queen won’t let me tear his limbs off, I’ll never understand.” Commander Steel was dressed in the normal city uniform of black-and-grey, a symbol of a black bat in front of two crossed swords emblazoned on his shoulders. “Are you sure I can’t go to Term? I feel like I could use some bloodshed in my life.”
Leah’s eyes rolled over the commander’s sharp features. Aside from the scar that ran down the side of his face, he wasn’t hard on the eyes. One thing was for certain, despite his name change, he was still the same cold-hearted killer.
“If we’re going to expect you to lead in the army, you’re going to have to curb that tongue of yours.” Leah stood and motioned for Commander Steel to follow. “More killing will come in time. So much, I promise, you’ll get your fill.”
“About my name change. What was wrong with The Scar, anyway? I thought it was fitting. I could have been Commander Scar.”
&nbs
p; “Unlikely.” Leah led as the two maneuvered through the palace to one of the many stairwells leading down to the lower levels. “I’ve been working on a potion that will give you the upper hand in turning others to your will.”
“That sounds a bit cryptic,” Commander Steel said, following close behind. “What exactly does that mean?”
“It means Charlotte Sloan wiped the floor with you last time you two met. This will make you as strong and as fast as she is, but not only that, with a single bite, you’ll be able to turn others into vampires.”
“Interesting, and you plan on testing this theory, how?”
“The Legion has many enemies both within and outside of the New Hope walls. But let’s deal with one thing at a time, shall we?”
Leah led the former mercenary down the flight of steps and to a narrow hall. This portion of the palace’s underbelly Leah had reserved for her own experiments. It had thicker walls and was located under the palace’s kitchen and washroom. There was enough noise up there to drown out any stray screams or moans that might penetrate the thick stone.
Leah produced a key from within her dark robe. She went to a door set inside the long hall. It was like any other and would not have stood out at all, except when she placed her hand on this door and mumbled a certain phrase, intricate lines of purple magic crossed over the thick wood and metal. Ancient ruins it had taken her a lifetime to learn allowed the door to be unlocked by the key she now inserted.
“Impressive.” Commander Steel followed Leah into her laboratory.
“Oh, you haven’t seen anything yet.” Leah motioned with an outstretched hand, sending mage light dancing around the room. The power illuminated her laboratory, giving Commander Steel his first glimpse of her work area.
The room was gigantic, with steel holding cells to the right, and a large workspace that boasted a variety of tools and tables supporting even more tools. To the left were a dozen cylinder-like holding tubes filled with amber liquid and test subjects floating inside.
House of Spells: (A Paranormal Urban Fantasy) (The Vampire Project Book 3) Page 12