“Then maybe that’s what you should have done.”
“Look, I understand you’re really upset right now.” Landon stepped backward as Ryker gave him a slight push. “You don’t want to do this. Annelise wouldn’t want you to do this. We have to stay together. I lost someone, too—my unborn child. When LillyAnna shifted, she miscarried.”
Landon watched Ryker draw back, the vampire’s body signaling that he was about to make a move, when he suddenly felt himself thrown back several yards. He raised his head up to see that Ryker was in the same position, farther down field.
Standing there between the two, arms outstretched in both directions, was Alessandro.
“When darkness falls,” began the Venitian, “you two shall be the beacons that push the evil back. All light will be extinguished, however, if you are not united.
Alessandro does not want this to happen again.” He lowered his arms, walked over to Ryker, and extended a hand. “Alessandro will help you get your wife back, my friend.
Blood shall rain upon them.”
Hours later, everyone on the island gathered below the shadow of the clock tower.
Landon and Ryker, the Consuls, presided over the gathering.
“Ryker and I have spoken in private. We believe that Louisville was just the edge of the storm front. And,” he paused, looking at Ryker, “given the abduction of Annelise, we feel that it is imperative that we form a party for her rescue.” Ryker stood silently.
“Looking around, at our decreased numbers, it would also be to our benefit to request help. Ryker and I are going to send word out to all those werewolves and vampires that would oppose Nicholas, asking for assistance. We need help.
“Each of us has lost far too much—friends, leaders, wives, children. But, I believe the worst is yet to come. Given the recent event in Louisville, I don’t know people will believe the teens that we saved, those that were rescued by werewolves and vampires, or if the seed of our exposure has been planted. I do know, however, that the enemy have already attacked us on our turf; once we discover their location, we will take the fight to theirs.”
“Oh my God,” Jacinda said, out of the blue. Everyone turned in her direction as she jumped up, running toward the docked gondolas. There, stepping off a boat, looking exhausted, was Bianca. She collapsed as Jacinda raced to her side.
Chapter 36
Waking on one of many makeshift beds on the island, Bianca looked around, and saw Jacinda sitting by her side, sleeping. Bianca laid her hand on her friend’s. Jacinda stirred.
“How long have I been lying here?” asked Bianca.
Jacinda looked at her watch. “Almost two days. No one’s left the island since you got here. Everybody’s worried about you.”
“Go tell them I’m awake. Tell them I’m okay. Please tell Landon and Ryker to come in. And thanks, Jacinda.”
“Definitely.” Jacinda raced out of the room quarantined for Bianca, sending the Consuls in seconds later.
“I’m glad to see you’re awake,” said Landon. “Feeling okay?”
“Yeah, I think so. I need to talk to you guys.”
“You should wait,” said Ryker. “You really need to eat first. What would you like?”
“Thanks, but I’ve gone this long without eating, I can wait a few more minutes.”
“How long has it been since you’ve eaten?” Landon asked. “Any idea why you passed out?”
“It’s been days since I’ve eaten. It was a long journey. I guess it’s just exhaustion.
Do you know where I was? Who I was with?”
“We know,” said Ryker. “We know how you feel about Jamie.”
“And I appreciate that,” Landon said. “He needs to know there are those who care about him.”
Bianca frowned, and looked out the window. “He knows. But he doesn’t care. At least not about how I feel. He loves Serinda.”
“I’m sorry. My son is confused about a lot of things.”
“That doesn’t matter,” she said. “What does matter is that I know where they are.
And I know what happened to the Senators that left here.”
“Where are they?” asked Ryker, moving closer to her bed, his eyes focused.
“They’re in Scotland. A place called Kilchurn Castle. It’s by Loch Awe. Why are you looking at me like that? Is something wrong?” Landon looked over at Ryker, whose eyes turned blue as he headed out of the room. “They have Annelise. Do you know what their plan is?”
“No, I don’t. Landon, Nicholas is bad. He’s the most evil person I’ve ever met.
He killed all the Senators that showed up in Scotland. Killed them all. The only one he let live is Tsukiko.”
“I know he’s evil. Believe me, he’s much worse than you think. Now listen, you’ve done great. You really helped us a lot. Now, I’m going to send someone in with some food, and you eat. You need to get your strength back up. We’re gonna need you.”
“Could you send Catalina in with the food?”
“Sure. You want Jacinda back in, too? And I know Connor would love to talk to you.”
“No. Just Catalina. We need to talk.”
Landon gave a half smile, nodded, and left the room. Several minutes passed and Catalina entered with exactly what Bianca expected—Italian.
“Landon said you wanted me to bring you food. Normally, I only wait on paying customers, but I’ll make an exception for you.” Catalina smiled, embracing hard her close friend.
“I wanted to talk to you,” began Bianca. “I was there when—“
“So we got all kinds of food here. What would you like?”
“Anything. Listen, I was there when Celeste arrived, and—“
“Oh, I forgot your drink. Let me go get that.”
“No. I don’t want anything to drink. I need to tell you that I’m sorry. I didn’t know what they were going to do. She told me—“
“Stop.”
“Catalina. She told me she loved you. She knew you wouldn’t let her come there.
Celeste tried to save Jamie. She tried to save everyone.” Bianca rose out bed, and shuffled over to Catalina who stood there crying, not even attempting to hold back the tears. The werewolf put her arms around the vampire.
“I’m so sorry. We all loved her. We—“ Bianca suddenly went quiet as she began sliding down Catalina, dropping to the floor. The vampire picked her up, putting her back on the bed. Bianca recovered quickly.
“I did it again? I don’t know what’s wrong with me. The trip must have taken more out of me than I thought.”
“I think you need to see a doctor,” Catalina said, placing her hand on Bianca’s stomach. “I know your physiology’s a little different, but—.” She suddenly stopped, her eyes widening.
“What? What’s wrong?”
Catalina slowly felt around the werewolf’s abdomen then, still wide-eyed, glanced up at her face. “Oh my God,” she whispered. “Whatever you do, don’t shift. You’re pregnant.”
Chapter 37
After searching the land surrounding Loch Awe for Jamie, Nicholas concluded the body of water itself prevented him from picking up the rest of the trail. The elder werewolf found an old boat and made his way across the lake to a small island. There, in the ruins of the Old Parish Church on the island of Inishail, was Jamie.
“Why are you here?” Nicholas asked.
“No reason.”
“I see. Could it be that, since you heard about how I came to be, you are questioning a great many things?”
“Maybe. I don’t really know what I’m doing. Here or anywhere else.”
“Now is the time to remain resolute, my son.” Nicholas, staring straight ahead at an old cross, saw with his peripheral vision Jamie turn, look at him, then look away again.
“What was the point of the battle in Kentucky?” asked Jamie. “We lost a lot of vamps and wolves.”
“Veni, vidi, vici.” Nicholas noticed the confusion on Jamie’s face. “On your lighter, the one you gave to the vampire
in Savannah. I read that, and you asked what it meant. I’m telling you now. It means, ‘I came, I saw, I conquered.’ It’s from Julius Caesar.”
“So? Why tell me now?”
“Because you think we lost the battle, but you are mistaken. We won, we conquered. It was all about strategy. You see, the Consuls are given extra powers, and I knew what they were, but no one has ever seen them used because no Consul had ever been in a fight. Now we have seen what they can do. We tested the defenses, if you will.
“Yes, we lost a few, but those are the sacrifices that come with war. I, of course, did not tell the wolves, and Serinda told no vampire, that they were merely pawns, being used to gain information that could be put to our advantage. This is what it means to lead, being able to sacrifice those for the cause. Besides, we have many, many more where they came from. Plus, we got a bonus.”
“You know they’ll come for her. Especially since Bianca left, knowing where we are.”
“Yes, I know all of this.”
“I don’t think Annelise will talk,” said Jamie.
“Who said I wanted her to talk?” He watched the teen squirm in his seat.
“I’ll be glad when Landon is dead and all of this is over.”
“Much will end when the final battle commences. But not all of it will be over.”
“I don’t understand. Landon will be dead, Ryker defeated or dead. What else could there be?”
“Much work will need to be done after. Plus, there will still be one more enemy to…kill.” Nicholas, still smiling at the cross, quietly says, “Go ahead. Take your best shot. I’m coming.”
Chapter 38
Landon sat at the little bar in Venice, playing with the Marlboro lighter used to kill Allen in Savannah, trying to tune out all the Italian being spoken around him. The bar had no Jameson or Guinness, but plenty of good wine. Great wine. Even the cheap wine in Venice was better than the most expensive wine in the US.
The Italian bartender, not knowing English, pointed at Landon when his wine glass was empty. The redhead nodded.
“Thank you,” he said, as the bartender walked away after pouring Landon’s eleventh glass of wine.
“American?”
Landon heard the interrogative and turned around to see a dark haired man, in his thirties, smiling at him.
“What?” asked Landon.
“You’re American, right?”
“Yeah. I’m American—and drunk.” His speech was beginning to slur.
“I’m Gar,” the stranger said, sitting beside the werewolf. “It’s my first time in Venice.”
“Landon.” He shook Gar’s hand and motioned for the bartender to pour his new friend a glass.
“Thanks. You look like a man with a lot on his mind.”
“I’m setting a new personal drink record tonight.” He thought about whether he should continue with the conversation, but before he realized he should stop, the wine kept going. “I lost my father recently. And a close friend. And my unborn child. Plus, I don’t think we can win.”
“Wow. I’m sorry for all of your losses. But I’m confused about something—what can’t you win?”
Landon leaned in closer to Gar’s ear. “Don’t tell anyone. I don’t want to start a panic. But there’s a war coming involving werewolves and vampires.”
“How do you know this?”
Landon looked around. “Because I’m a werewolf,” he whispered.
The man leaned back in his chair, smiling. “You don’t say. A war involving werewolves and vampires, huh? Well, don’t worry, I won’t tell. I’d like to keep drinking, though. And your glass is empty. Here, let me buy you another.”
“Thanks, man. I appreciate that. I gotta pee first, though. I’ll be right back.” Landon lumbered out of his seat and stumbled to the back.
Returning ten minutes later, he found a fresh glass of red wine sitting on the bar.
Gar smiled. Landon sat down, almost falling, and drank.
“Thanks, again. I’m glad there’s still some nice people left in the world. Just not enough.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’ve seen terrible things,” said Landon. “Horrible things done to kids, adults, animals. Hunger, poverty, war.” Landon shook his head. “There are some nice people left, but not enough to stem the tide of evil that laps at our feet every day. The world is full of evil, and when there’s that much, we can’t win.”
“Hmm. You sound like a man whose given up, a man whose lost his fight.
Sometimes we still fight when the fight itself is all we have left. Are you a man that’s given up or do you still have some fight left in you?”
“Right now, the only thing in me is wine.” Landon sat at the bar, ordered more wine, and kept drinking with Gar.
An hour later, Landon rose from his seat. “I need to go. I think I’m gonna be sick.”
“Sure,” said Gar. “Let me help you.” He put his arm through Landon’s, steadying the werewolf as he walked.
Gar led Landon out the door and around the corner of the building, walking toward Poveglia Island. Then they turned another corner, into a small, shadowed alley.
“Yep, I’m gonna be sick,” said Landon, stopping and vomiting.
“That’s okay. This is where we were stopping, anyway.” Landon, through his blurred vision, watched Gar pull a large black coffin, larger than most, out from the shadows and open it. He positioned Landon in front and let him fall backwards into it, coming to rest on a raised platform inside the casket.
“What the hell is going on? Do you know who you’re messing with?” Landon performed a small sit-up, only to fall back, lying down again.
“Yeah. You’re Landon. A werewolf. Guess what? So am I. And you’re not only drunk, you’re drugged. Don’t worry, I’m going to tell you what the hell is going on.
Nicholas sends his regards. He said I’d find you at a bar. Apparently, the bottle is your biggest weakness. Anyway, the drug running through your system doesn’t keep you from changing.”
Landon’s claws began to extend, then retracted.
“See, the drug only enhances further what you’re feeling from the alcohol. That’s all. You know how most people lose any inhibitions when drinking? Well, you’re so intoxicated that you are inhibited from shifting. You can’t focus. What a pity. I heard you were the best; next to Nicholas, of course. I was hoping you’d put up more of a fight. But, as I learned, you have no fight left. Oh, well.” The coffin lid slammed shut. Landon heard the sealing of the lid.
“This isn’t going to hold me,” he said loudly. “I’ll sober up and break out of here.”
Then a stabbing pain ran through his body as a sharpened pipe pierced through the coffin, into his abdomen, and out his back. He heard it run through the wooden platform on which he lay. He felt the cold metal, sensing that multiple holes dotted the instrument.
Landon felt the head of the coffin rise as it was dragged along the street, then land with a thud as it wobbled from side to side. Landon knew he was now in a gondola.
Gar sang Andrea Bocelli’s Time to Say Goodbye as he navigated the gondola through the watery streets of Venice.
“What’s happening now,” said Gar, his voice muffled by the coffin and Landon’s inebriated ears, “is that I’ve inserted a pipe through the lid, into you, and it’s stopped on the bottom of your coffin by pins preventing you from pulling it out. There’s a hole in each end. In a moment, I’m going to push the coffin into the canal, where you will sink.
As you do, water will enter the pipe as it travels through you, and out the multiple holes.
Eventually, it will fill the coffin. What do you think, Landon? Ingenious, no? It was actually Nicholas’s idea. He said he wanted to make sure you enjoyed the pipe as much as he did. Whatever that means.”
“I’m going to kill you,” said Landon. He heard Gar laugh as he felt the coffin go overboard. Moments later, the box drifted slowly down under the canal as water began trickling in through th
e pipe and into the casket.
Drunk and drugged, Landon tried to remove the pipe. He tried to open the lid. He tried to change, but the instrument that ran through him prevented it.
Within moments, the coffin containing Landon Murphy came to rest at the bottom of one of the many Venice canals. There he lay, in pain, unable to shift, using precious oxygen and gaining water at an alarming rate. There Landon lay, in his watery grave.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
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