by Gwynn White
Beside the next table stood a vampire man about fifty years old. He had straight silver hair, trimmed with careful precision to sit on his shoulders. The fitted slate grey suit he wore told me he was uncommonly wealthy. The masterfully woven blue and green silk sash draped across his chest, ornamented with a collection of two dozen gem-studded pins and crests, told me he was an uncommonly wealthy vampire lord. And the pouch around his midsection told me he was an uncommonly wealthy vampire lord with a great appreciation for the buffet table. His shoulders were wide and bulky, a vestige of more active days.
“Who is he?” I asked.
“Lord Adrian, ruler of Greenwood,” replied Davin.
I’d heard of him. Lord Adrian ruled the richest, largest world in the entire Selpe Empire. He was the vampires’ most influential lord.
Next to him stood a younger vampire lord. He was taller than the other vampires present, almost as tall as Wrest. And he obviously shared the Phantom’s love of lifting weights that would make most mortals weep. But his movements were supple, flexible. That meant he was fast too, a well-trained man.
All vampire men served in the military for a few years when they were young. Those years were obviously nothing but a distant memory to Lord Adrian, and time had not been kind to his body—nor had all the buffets and galas he attended. His companion, who also had the regal air of a vampire lord, was younger, much closer to those military years. He hadn’t given up on physical fitness.
“Allow me to introduce my daughter Terra,” Father announced to his guests and set his hand on my shoulder.
“I’ve heard a lot about you,” Emperor Selpe said.
I tried not to squirm. He couldn’t have already heard about my run-in with the law today. The police hadn’t even charged me with anything. How could they? I’d done nothing wrong. I tried to tell myself that, but the way Lord Adrian was looking at me made me nervous. Like he knew something. Like he knew I was guilty.
I bowed my head, exchanged the usual pleasantries with our guests, then beelined for the big bowl of strawberries.
“I’m Aaron.”
I turned around to find the young vampire lord standing behind me. He couldn’t have been much older than thirty.
“Terra,” I replied.
“What an extraordinary pleasure to meet you, Terra,” he said with a graceful bow.
He looked polished, practiced. His movements were as smooth and easy as his words. This was not the first time he’d worked his magic on a perfect stranger. Nor, undoubtedly, was it merely the hundredth.
Aaron had an easy charm about him. It was impossible not to like him immediately, even though he was a vampire. He radiated allure; it was practically sweating off of him. With his cropped pale hair, intelligent blue-green eyes, and disarming smile, he was a good-looking man. And charming. I couldn’t deny that. The vampires were famous for being lovers and charmers.
“There’s a leaf in your hair.” He reached over and plucked it out, offering it to me.
I flicked it aside. “I’ve had a rough day.”
“Wrestling with werewolves never goes well.”
I tried not to show my surprise. So he knew what had happened to me.
“The wolves who wear their true faces are the easy part. It’s the wolves behind the masks who are the true threat,” I countered.
“Mages who can shift. That is not a registered ability.”
Deja vu.
“They were rogue mages,” I replied warily.
“Are there a lot of rogue mages, Princess?” He looked amused.
I narrowed my eyes at him. This was no vampire lord. He was the leader of the soldiers who’d made my day hell. Major Pall.
“You,” I growled. “It was you. You’re the reason I was locked up most of the day.”
He shrugged. “I was only doing my job.”
“You’re a Diamond Edge. And a major.” I contemplated that. “You’re no minion. You’re the leader of the Diamond Edges, aren’t you?”
“You’re smart,” he commented. “But I saw that today. Also, I’ve heard of your previous exploits.”
“Such as?”
“You tell me.”
“You must take me for a fool.”
“Quite the contrary, actually. As I said, you are very clever. Your exploits are a constant source of amusement for the Diamond Edges. Ejecting Nemesis into the Galactic Transportation Authority.” He chuckled. “Brilliant. She was stuck there all day.”
“I’m glad I’m so amusing,” I said drily. “Tell me. Is that why you locked me and my friend up for no reason today? So we could amuse you in person?”
“No.” He smiled at me.
I did not return the gesture. “What is the leader of the Diamond Edges, the elite division of the Selpe military, doing hunting stray wolves?”
“Protecting the Veil of Secrecy and the sacred soils of Earth,” he said with perfect conviction.
“And that took the leader of the Diamond Edges?”
“They were big wolves.”
A sexy smile twisted his lips. It was the smile of a heartbreaker and body breaker, of a lover and a soldier, of a man trained in the art of war—and seduction.
“There’s something you’re not telling me.”
“I am the leader of the Diamond Edges,” he replied smoothly. “There are a lot of things I’m not telling you, Princess. Nor am I required to.” His voice dipped lower. “But withholding information from the galactic police is a crime.”
“Is that why you’re here? You couldn’t find something to hold me in that station, so you come to my home to harass me?” I turned to leave, but he caught my hand. “Let me go,” I ground out through clenched teeth.
“We’re not done here.”
“Yes. We are.” I pulled against him, but he held on. I took a deep, calming breath, then said, “Remove your hand, Major, or I will remove it for you.”
He didn’t move. Instead, he smirked at me.
Fine. I shifted position, throwing him over my shoulder. His back smacked against the ground, and I planted my foot on his chest. Everyone turned to look.
“The Princess was just demonstrating the martial skill of female mages,” Aaron told them in a relaxed voice. “Fascinating.”
All eyes were on us—including my father’s disapproving ones—so I reached down to help Aaron to his feet. This meeting was important to Father. I didn’t want to create a galactic incident.
“Fascinating,” Aaron repeated as he followed me to the dessert table.
I was going to take out my aggression on the chocolate cheesecake, magic consequences be damned.
“You are a very unusual princess,” he told me.
“Why? Because I’m not wearing a ballgown and slippers while waiting in the tallest tower of a haunted castle for a knight in shining armor to come rescue me?”
“I have armor,” he pointed out.
“Pity you’re not wearing it now, or you might have stood a chance against me.”
He chuckled. “I like you.”
I cut myself a double slice of cheesecake. “Lucky me.”
I wanted to get out of here, but he stopped me with his words this time. “I know what you and your friend are planning. And it won’t work. Not without my help.”
“You’re grasping at straws now, Major.”
“You’re going after the rogue scientist Vib, who has fled into the witches’ territory. You are going to access the portal with illegal portal keys.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Don’t you?”
This was a trap. He was trying to get me to admit to something illegal so that he had something on me, leverage to use against me.
“This is undoubtedly the point where you demand with indignation that I prove it. Save your indignation for this.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out the portal key I’d had just hours ago. Or was it the same pass?
I tried to figure out a discreet way to search my pocket
s for the portal key Jason had given me.
“I’ll save you the trouble,” Aaron said. “My men took it with your jacket and weapons when we held you for questioning.”
I patted down my jacket. Sure enough, the portal key was gone.
I blinked at him. I didn’t know what to say. He’d caught me with contraband: a portal key with access to a restricted zone. That was a criminal offense. He had enough to charge me. This could destroy my father’s alliance hopes.
“What do you want?” I bit out. Because he wasn’t putting on this show for no reason.
“Glad we’re finally on the same page. Are you meeting your friend tomorrow morning?”
“Yes,” I said cautiously. “In the woods outside Pacific Sunrise.”
“Good. I’m going with you. Then all three of us are taking a trip into Avan territory to find your rogue scientist and his band of shapeshifting mages.”
“You know something, something about the mages. That’s why you were there, right when we fought them.” I narrowed my eyes at him. “How are they shifting? What has Vib done to them? And how do the witches tie into this?”
“I do not discuss classified missions with outsiders,” he said coolly.
“But you bring outsiders on classified missions?” I demanded. “Seriously, why do you even need us? You have the authority of the Galactic Assembly. You could just go to the witches’ territory and search for whatever you think they’re doing.”
“It’s not that easy. I need a warrant, and for that I need to bring evidence before the Assembly.”
He was right about that. The vampires and witches were caught in a kind of cold war. The two empires didn’t like or trust each other. The vampires would need hard evidence to convince the Galactic Assembly this wasn’t just an excuse to annoy their enemies—or, worse yet, to steal their secrets.
“You help me, and I’ll make sure you stay out of prison,” Aaron said.
Wow, what a generous offer.
“You’re threatening me.” I shot him a look laden with threat.
“Sweetheart, if I were threatening you, we wouldn’t be having this conversation at a garden party.”
He left the second part of his statement unsaid. We’d be having it in some secret facility after he abducted me and tortured me for information. That’s what the Diamond Edges did. I couldn’t afford to forget that, no matter how charming this vampire was.
He extended his hand to me. “Do we have a deal?”
I shook it. “Fine.” It wasn’t like I had a choice.
12
Hellhounds
The next morning, Aaron and I trekked through the woods outside Pacific Sunrise, California like two galactic hikers. He wore his full body battle armor; I wore my black tank top and boots over skintight combat pants. I was also wearing a jacket this time because Jason said Temporia, the witch world we were traveling to, could get a bit chilly.
As always, I carried two swords on my back. Aaron had a gun. No, ‘gun’ wasn’t sufficient to describe it. It was a big block made of unknown materials. It looked like it was heavier than I was, but the vampire carried it like it weighed nothing.
Inconspicuous we were not. We were trusting in Aaron’s tech to keep us incognito. As soon as we’d stepped through the portal into the woods outside Pacific Sunrise, he’d tossed up one of those reality distortion devices.
Jason was waiting a few paces from the spot where Vib had escaped through a portal a few days ago.
“What is he doing here?” he demanded when he saw Aaron in his armor.
“I didn’t have a choice, Jason. He knows about the falsified portal keys. I said we’d help him in exchange for his silence.”
“I didn’t agree to this.”
“We can have this discussion in a cell if you prefer,” Aaron said.
Jason’s eyes darted between me and Aaron. “Fine. But if any harm comes to her, I will kill you.”
Aaron was still, calm. “We can’t use the falsified portal keys you bought. The Diamond Edges know about them.” He held out his hand.
Jason handed over his portal key, and Aaron crushed it inside his armored hand. Then he gave us each a new key.
“These are skeleton keys, untraceable,” he told us. “But they are only good for twenty-four hours. We need to get in and out of the witches’ territory before the time elapses.”
He tapped his hand to the portal key on his chest armor, and a rush of silver energy blossomed in front of him.
Jason looked at the vampire. “You first,” he told Aaron. He obviously didn’t want the vampire at his back.
Aaron didn’t seem to care about having Jason at his back. I had to admire his courage. The vampire’s armor was impressive—but so was Jason’s magic. I wondered which of them would win in a fight. I shook the thought from my head. If it came to a fight between them, this mission had gone very, very wrong.
Aaron walked through the portal. Jason and I activated our portal keys, then followed him.
The portal spat us out on a high plateau enclosed by a ring of pine trees. Frost kissed the ground beneath my boots. A cold breeze cut at my face.
“What are we looking for?” Jason asked Aaron.
“Let’s start with your rogue scientist, and go from there. Pretend I’m not even here,” replied Aaron.
Fat chance of that. Not as long as he was dressed in that big suit of armor, looming over us.
I looked across the vast forest that spread out below us like a green carpet. We could probably lose Aaron in there if we wanted to, but what would that accomplish? If we failed to help him, he’d turn us in. That was, if the witches didn’t find us first and kill us all.
Far away, on the other end of the forest, two lakes sparkled in the sunlight. A building was wedged between them. It looked tiny from here, but it must have been massive up close.
“Do you think Vib is there?” I asked Jason.
“Yes.” He looked across the woods. “It will take us several hours to get there.”
We descended the frosted forest hill, running across a thick carpet of fallen pine needles. Jason led the way, following Vib’s resonance. No one could track magic like Jason could. That was probably why Aaron wanted his help. But why did the vampire want me here too?
We traveled through the dense forest, moving at a brisk jog. Aaron was surprisingly fast, especially for someone wearing that much armor. I commented on that when we stopped for a break.
“My armor is high-tech, designed to be light,” he replied. He clicked out of his helmet and handed it to me.
It weighed a ton. And that was just the helmet, not even counting the rest of the armor.
“Light?” I repeated.
“The previous generation was twenty-two percent heavier.”
I balanced the helmet in my hands. It was only ‘light’ for vampires who bench-pressed trucks for fun. Or for a Phantom like Jason. They were both so much stronger than I was. This break was obviously for my benefit. Neither Jason nor Aaron looked like he needed it. I was the one slowing us down. I was the weak link.
I looked at Aaron. With his helmet off, he seemed less scary. Less alien. Which was maybe why I felt bold.
“Do vampires really drink blood?” I asked him.
He flashed me a devious smile. “How badly do you want to find out?”
I didn’t see any fangs in his mouth, but they could be retractable.
“Not that badly.” I tossed him his helmet and rose, backing up.
He shot me an amused smirk, then put his helmet back on.
The break was over. We continued moving at the inhuman pace Jason had set for us.
An eerie chorus of howls, a wretched song that promised death, pierced the trees. We stopped, looking around. I couldn’t see the dark creature that had made the noise, but I had a pretty good idea what it was.
Another howl tore through the forest, this time closer. Jason held a throwing knife in each hand. Aaron lifted his gun. And I drew my swords, twin
Versatile blades.
Three black-haired beasts jumped through the trees, their eyes fire-red. The wolves glared at us, their mouths hanging open. Saliva dangled from their hungry lips. Two more beasts emerged behind the first three. The air stank of burning metal and flesh.
“Hellhounds,” Jason said as the wolves’ numbers continued to grow. There were eight of them now.
Hellhounds were the witches’ beasts. Bigger and scarier than Vib’s werewolf mages, these monsters were the real deal. The hellhounds and shapeshifting mages only looked the same at a distance. Up close, they were a whole other beast altogether.
“Weaknesses?” I asked, swinging my swords to warm up my arms.
“They’re tough animals. Decapitation is your best bet,” Aaron advised. “And don’t let them touch you. They’ll burn your skin right off.”
He nodded toward the nearest beast. As it approached, the fallen leaves and grass beneath its paws crumbled to ash. It was starting to get really crowded on this narrow path. The hellhounds’ numbers were up to eleven, and they were shifting around, trying to surround their prey—us.
Fantastic. Just peachy.
Jason looked at me, and I nodded. I knew that look. It was time for me to get the beasts to chase me while he circled around them. I took off running.
The hellhounds sang out in unison, an ear-splitting howl. Then they charged after me. Beasts couldn’t help it; they chased anything that ran away. That was the predator’s way.
Promises of a painful death tore through the trees, buzzing against the leaves. I could hear the rasp of their synchronized panting, high on the hunt.
Three hellhounds hopped up onto a cluster of overhanging trees and took a running dive at me. I dodged, but the trees simultaneously combusted behind me.
Jason stood on the other side of the pack, his arms extended. Two of the hellhounds lay motionless on the ground at the foot of the toppled trees. The rest of the pack was facing Jason, snarling, pacing around him. His eyes flashed black, and two of the monsters rose from the ground, their legs wheeling with furious kicks, struggling against the invisible force holding them. Jason’s Phantom magic catapulted them over his head, and they smashed headfirst into a tree behind him. The other hellhounds closed in, pushing him back.