Pisces

by Kim Faulks

  “You can’t save her,” the bitch slurred. “You can’t even save yourself.”

  She stumbled forward, grasped Austine’s arm, and then scurried backwards, until they disappeared into the shadows.

  23

  Bastian

  “Give her back to me!”

  Amaris lunged toward the rear of the cavern. Screams and howls filled the room, but all the Catalyst saw was Amaris. Her pain…her rage. Movement drew my gaze as Vampires closed in…

  Black blood, foul blood. The taint seeped into my nose and welled in my belly. I curled my shoulders and lowered my head. Still the cavern walls were wedged tight. Rocks broke away from the edges to clatter down my back.

  If we could only reach her…only protect her…only save her.

  My Dragon lifted his head. A cry of torment ripped free. Let me in…desperation filled me. I can save her.

  Rage was a tremor along scales. He inhaled hard and then exhaled. There was a gathering now, like the ebb of a wave as the water drew away from the shoreline and raced across the sand.

  Bones shuddered, bowing and bending. His wings drew upward and flattened against his body as the Lowest Kynd closed in.

  Amaris, hands raised, fingers curled like claws, swung as the deafening blast of a gunshot rang out.

  Parry moved as a snap shattered my hips. I collapsed to the ground as he fired again. The cavern was filled with the deafening sound of shots and screams as midnight flames leapt from Amaris’s fingers.

  I speared claws into the hard stony ground and crawled forward. Scales shimmered, flattening and smoothing to skin. My spine bowed as spines withdrew. All I cared about was Amaris…and all I saw was them…three Vampires scurried along the stony steps toward her.

  Parry lifted his weapon as one lunged, but the shot went wide, and she was too slow. The creature hit her from the side, crushing her hand against her body.

  “Amaris!” I shoved forward on webbed feet as the Lowest Kynd attacked.

  But she was shifting, morphing into her Hound with lightning speed. I shoved to my feet as the other Vampires lunged. All I could see were infernal black eyes as I vaulted down the stairs and hit the creature head on.

  The crunch was brutal, tearing through my body as the beast bounced and stumbled backwards. I lunged forward, knocking him to the ground. He was going to kill her, going to bite her…I couldn’t stand his fingers on her skin, couldn’t stand her death in his mind.

  I drove my fist into his face, again and again. The back of his head smashed against the rock. Black blood flowed, blending with obsidian shine. I hit him again and again, until bones crunched under my fist and there was no more.

  No more life in his eyes. No more movement in his veins.

  No more of anything.

  “Guardian.”

  I jerked my gaze up at the sound. Parry took a step, and then glanced at the mess on the ground. “It’s dead, son. It’s gone.”

  Amaris…

  I scanned the room, taking in the terror and the blood until I found her.

  Black flames still danced on the burning bodies at her feet. She stood in the middle, like the eye of this infernal storm, and for me she was just that…the center of everything…

  Footsteps echoed, moving closer. “They’re old, but they’ll fit,” the old man muttered and shoved a pair of faded blue jeans into my view.

  I glanced upward as he jerked his gaze toward the clothing. “You’re kneeling there naked as the day you were born, Guardian.”

  “Created,” I murmured and grasped the denim. “The day I was created.”

  I yanked on the jeans and fastened the button as Amaris shoved herself to stand.

  Black drops of blood ran down her face and into her eyes. Still she never moved to wipe them away, only turned and scanned the room with a blood-sickened gaze. “Come to my home…kill my people!” Her voice broke as she stumbled. “Try to take my sister…try to take from me…I’ll kill them…I’ll kill them all!”

  “It’s okay Amaris.” Parry lifted a hand and took a slow step.

  Fear and pain raged in his eyes. “You killed them…you killed them all. She’s safe now…look, Oryn’s safe.”

  Her shell-shocked gaze swept the room and settled on Oryn. There was a moment where I thought she’d crumble, until she swallowed the dark flames that covered her skin. “I’m going to give you one last command, Parry. One last command as my second.”

  “Amaris.” Pain bled into his whisper as he shook his head. “Don’t…”

  Her voice turned soft and small. “From now on I’ll ask…I’ll ask you as my father.”

  Oryn jerked her head upward. Fresh tears glistened against her cheeks. She tried to swallow, again and again before the word slipped free. “What?” The young Hellhound slowly turned her gaze to the old man. “What is she saying, Parry?”

  There was the hint of a smile. It looked so sad, so pathetic as he looked to the ground. “I dreamed of this day for so long you know. Never imagined it’d be like this. Never imaged this at all…” He jerked his head up and met her gaze. “You think I’d be ready, right? Think I’d have it all planned out…goddamn…”

  He stilled, gave a tiny shake of his head and found his voice. “All I know is I loved your mother. Loved her like I never loved anyone…until Kalliste came along that is, and then Amaris, and finally you, Oryn. The day I held you was the proudest damn day in my life. I looked at you…looked at all of you and I saw your Mom in your eyes, in your faces. That day I swore to her I’d protect you…swore I’d keep you safe for as long as I could. But most of all, I swore I’d keep you together…and this is me keeping that promise.”

  Tears carved the familiar path down Oryn’s cheek to linger at the edge of her jaw. She looked like a kid now, so vulnerable and fragile. “Thank you for telling me.”

  There was a cough, and then a wheeze. Oryn wrenched her gaze toward the stage and shot forward as Kane rolled onto his side and moaned.

  “I’ve got you.” She stumbled up the stairs to fall to her knees at his side.

  She cradled his head on her lap as he opened his eyes.

  “Are you okay? Did he…did he hurt you?”

  “No…no, he didn’t hurt me.” A sob wrenched from her lips as he reached for her.

  “I’m asking you to stay here…both of you,” Amaris murmured. “I’ll leave men to protect you. You can hide somewhere. No one will even know you’re here.”

  “Haven’t you learned anything at all?” Parry growled, and then looked to Oryn. “We stay together. This isn’t just a battle. It’s a war…for those we love.”

  He turned toward Amaris and took a step. “You need people to stand alongside you, people who will protect you, and who better than us?”

  “I’m going up to that mountain,” Amaris whispered, desperation filled her words. “And I’m not coming back…not without my sister. Not without our Queen.”

  Kane shoved against the ground, climbed to his knees, and then to his feet. “Then let’s go.”

  Kane, Oryn, and Parry faced her, waiting…hoping.

  But it was me she turned to.

  There was no barrier in this moment. No one to kill. Nowhere to run. There was her holding her heart, ripped raw, open and bleeding. “I never wanted this…never wanted to feel this way about anyone. You make me weak, Guardian—and you also make me strong. When this is over…if I survive, I’d like to spend some time with you…just you…no guns, no fire. Just you and me.”

  I knew then, knew how it was going to be with her. She was always going to be the blazing inferno…or the deadly bomb. She was going to set the world on fire, and she needed someone to not dampen her blaze.

  I wasn’t like Marcus or Lucas. I wasn’t bloodthirsty and bestial. I didn’t possess the strength and the power like my family. But I would protect her. I’d have her back. I’d keep watch and keep her safe. I’d love her, all of her…even the part that terrified me.

  “When we get through this, I’d
like that,” I murmured and took a step closer. Sparks ignited in her eyes. I could taste her fear, feel her excitement and the hint of all the desire to come. “Very much.”

  24

  Amaris

  The tunnel was destroyed, my power shattered. I stared at what was left of my people and home, and felt the earth sink under my feet.

  Screams pierced the air. I turned my head to the young woman who thrashed and wailed. A man held her head. He brushed her face and whispered words of love. Bites savaged her neck. The fang marks gaped, red blood still flowed…for now.

  “It’s okay, my love. You can do this…you’re strong, Breanne. You’re so strong. You can fight this…come on baby, fight this.”

  She whipped her head left and right. Her fists were clenched, toes curled, digging into the stony ground. I stared at the flesh around the bite as the flames in her eyes raged.

  “They’re creating an army, aren’t they? Using the weakest of my people to add to their numbers?”

  “Yes.”

  I spun at the unfamiliar voice and the stench of Vampire invaded my senses. A growl spilled from my lips. My hound rose to the surface. Blue eyes glistened like ice as he took a step forward. The tips of his white hair brushed his shoulders as he moved.

  “Forgive my manners,” he murmured and expended a hand. “My name is Gabriel. I am second in command to Queen Eva of the Shadistin Clan.”

  “Amaris.” Bastian lifted a hand. “He’s here to help.”

  “We both are.” The Vampire nodded, and beside him a woman bowed her head.

  She was almost the same—long white hair, icy blue eyes. The corner of her lips curled and my stomach clenched. She wore a smile like a loaded gun, and for the first time I was afraid.

  Afraid for my sisters.

  Afraid for my people.

  Afraid for me.

  “I’m Annabelle, and we’re the good guys,” she murmured. “I promise.”

  “Is there enough?” I turned to the only one who knew…the only one who could answer.

  “Maybe.” Bastian shook his head. “But others are coming.”

  “Guardians, my Queen and soldiers. If you can wait…” Gabriel looked to me.

  But there was no waiting, not now…not when my people were dying, and my sisters were in danger. “Parry, load the trucks with all the weapons and the men we have.”

  “Maybe we could wait, Amaris? You know what happened last time.”

  I flinched and lifted my gaze. “You think she’s still safe after what happened here?”

  I bit him…I bit the sonofabitch, and poured everything I had into the damn wound. They came for me, they came for Oryn…and yet we still survived.

  There was no more waiting.

  Whimpers turned to savage snarls. I glanced to the Hellhound who cradled his wife in his arms. The bite wound was blackened and shriveled. Black veins pulsed under her skin, spearing the venom along her face.

  But it was her eyes that held me. Empty, void of life…and love.

  Her lips curled as long needlelike fangs grew.

  “It’s okay,” her husband whispered as he slowly lifted the gun. “I love you.”

  I wanted to cry wait…there’s still time. But there wasn’t time, not for him, and not for me. I wrenched my gaze from the couple and took a step, climbing over the shattered table, and broken chairs.

  Parry’s growl filled the air behind me as the gunshot rang out.

  I couldn’t stop, couldn’t look back, couldn’t see what was left of my home.

  Oryn stood with Kane at the end of the tunnel. She clutched his waist, and he leaned on her. He gave a nod and straightened as I neared, and I knew the embrace was more of comfort than need.

  “We’re with you,” the Cursed muttered.

  “Every step of the way,” Bastian growled beside me.

  I turned my head, catching violet flames flicker in his eyes, and a second it felt like forever.

  Forever since we’d known each other, forever since he carried my blood…forever since I loved him. I swallowed hard. Love had never come easy, not with any man…not with my family.

  A caress of my shoulder turned my head. Parry gave a soft smile and nodded, as those of my men who were left made for the trucks. Doors were opened, guns loaded inside. Orders were given, and then changed.

  I dropped my hand and felt the brush of the Guardian’s hand. Fingers entwined, holding fast to what we had. His breath was warm against my cheek as he leaned close. “I won’t let anyone hurt you.”

  I closed my eyes. He was worried…they all were. Their fear was a whirlpool, taking me under, drawing me deeper into the middle. I could feel the water rushing, smothering my mouth, lapping my nose. My pulse sped, thundering inside my head, and under the roar of panic came a snarl…

  My hound stood in the shadows, but she wasn’t afraid of the darkness…she was part of it. Midnight flames filled her eyes and as I opened mine, I caught the reflection in the battered truck’s window.

  Obsidian glinted, hard and cruel.

  She was worried…she had no fear.

  She knew who she was.

  The truck came to life with a roar. I headed for the front of the line to the old battle-scared Jeep, and yanked open the door. Bastian piled into the rear, as did Oryn and Kane.

  I leaned forward catching sight of the pale-haired Vampires. “Your friends aren’t coming?”

  “Oh they’ll come, don’t you worry about that. If there’s a chance to put Austine in the ground, they’ll take it.”

  “Not before I get my sister. Not until Kalliste is safe.”

  Gabriel raised his gaze and in the chipped mirror I caught a nod. And with a blur they were gone, speeding past the trucks to disappear into the night. I didn’t know these Vampires, didn’t know these Guardians—Parry yanked open the driver’s door and climbed into the Jeep—but I knew us…I knew Bastian.

  And I knew today there was no walking away.

  Not for me. Not again.

  I failed her once, storming the compound when we weren’t ready.

  The engine snarled, gears crunched. We shot forward out of the tunnel and into the night. In the side mirrors of the truck I stared at the gaping hole of the tunnel. There was no magic to hide us now, and no sigil to keep us safe.

  We were open to the predators of Hell’s Gate, and now they weren’t safe from us.

  25

  Bastian

  A savage snarl slipped from the front seat as we climbed the mountain, and the sound was echoed by the old Hellhound at the wheel.

  She was her father’s daughter—that was plain to see. But I’d heard the stories of her mother…the Hellhound Queen with a vicious streak of anger. And Amaris was just the same. Her rage burned like a chemical fire—brief, devastating, and utterly unstoppable.

  I closed my eyes, breathing in her scent, taking in her fury. I’d hold it…use it. I’d fight for her…die for her if need be.

  Death refused me once…maybe it would again.

  “Stop here, we go the rest of the way on foot,” she commanded and the Jeep swung to the shoulder of the road.

  Headlights bathed the thick clump of trees. I followed the tree line as Amaris climbed out, four more cars pulled up behind us and her men piled out.

  But there wasn’t enough—I yanked the handle and shoved—it wasn’t anywhere near enough. “They’re waiting for us.”

  She jerked her gaze toward me, stilled, and then tilted her head. Perfect nostrils flared, drawing the night deep into her bones. I could almost feel her heartbeat, almost taste her need. She opened her eyes to stare into the trees. “There’s a lot of them…”

  “Yes.”

  Dark eyes met mine. “Too many.”

  It wasn’t a question. I stepped closer and reached for her hand. “I meant what I said. I won’t let anyone hurt you.”

  She scanned the others, and stilled on Parry. The old man was talking to the rest of the men. He pointed to the trail, and then the tr
ees. I knew the words, knew the heartache. Careful out there, he was saying, whatever happens…do…not…fall.

  I winced into the glare of white headlights as a car came over the rise and slowed. The sleek machine pulled over to the shoulder and parked.

  I knew the growl of the engine, knew the sharp masculine scent as the door opened and dark figures climbed out. Oryn, Kane, and RyKor were first from the rear seats, and then Stone followed with Ezre.

  The Cursed walked with a slight limp, but that was all the weakness he allowed. He carried a shirt, and combat boots in one hand, lifted his gaze to find me in the dark. His crisp white shirt shone in the dark. I glanced at the rolled up sleeves and raised a brow. “Gonna get those nice clean clothes dirty…again.”

  White fangs shone in the dark as he smiled and handed me the pile. “Gotta look my best when I mow those cocksuckers into the ground.”

  I stifled a chuckle and placed the boots on the ground. I was starting to like the Hellhound, starting to feel a sense of kinship as I yanked on the shirt and then stepped into the boots.

  “With your permission, I’d like to go in first.”

  I wrenched my head toward the shadows as Gabriel and Annabelle stepped from the trees. The warrior never looked away, holding Amaris’s gaze. “If there’s an opportunity to get in there and out with your sister, we’ll find it. No harm will come to her, I promise you. But with all due respect, we know Austine…and we know our kind. The newborns may not even detect us…not until it’s too late.”

  Amaris glanced to the trees. Her brows pinched, eyes glinted. “And if they do, what then? Then we have three to rescue instead of one.”

  Gabriel’s eyes widened. Annabelle stilled…she jerked her gaze to me, and then to the woman at my side.

  Amaris didn’t understand, and how could she? To others of the Vampire kind, Gabriel and Annabelle were nothing more than a weapon, a machine to kill…or be killed. They were the first ones in, and the last ones out, and if they made it, then they lived to kill again. No one sacrificed for them…no one placed their lives at risk for them.