by Lexi Ander
"Do not move. Deny me again and I will snap his neck then take you anyway."
Randy stared at me, true terror reflected in his gaze. "I'll go with you."
I attempted to shake my head, the agony of my broken leg causing my gut to roll with nausea. She moved her grasp to my throat, squeezing until I could barely breathe. "You try my patience, little Magi."
Holding tight to my neck, she stretched out her free hand to Randy. When she had him in her grasp, she launched into the air. I was sure I'd be dead within seconds because she completely constricted my airway. As spots danced before my eyes and my lungs burned, I realized I hadn't given Juan a kiss today, and I mourned I might not get another chance.
Chapter Thirty-One
"If the Lycan king regains the Seat of Zeev, chaos will be unleashed." —True Blood Prophecy
Tristan Janick
"I need you to stay calm and listen to me." Corey cupped my face between his palms, his sable gaze steady on mine. His light grasp along with the absolute trust I had in him was all that held me in place.
Bixx and Jory spoke in low urgent tones with Ushna and Brian. Whatever was being said kept the two of them from tearing off to the King's Tomb as well.
"I'm listening. Someone betrayed me and let Daniel onto the ranch. He took my—" my voice cracked, a low rumble slipping from between my teeth, "—son and Justus. You want me to sit on my hands and—"
"No." Corey's voice was sharp, filled with angry command. The hum of his alpha power tickled over my skin. "You have to be ready for Inanna. Stan was positive when he spoke of her coming. You need to trust the Ophidians to shield and retrieve the pups."
Like they had safeguarded my biological mother and father? Corey read me well. "Trust Stan. He'd give his life to protect your family, you know this. There is a Vikrum with them as well. No one gets in the way of an Ophidian assassin and his mark. Even before we knew who they were, the Ophidians claimed the individual with the Vikrum was the target. The children wore the white of an innocent."
When the runners had come for Bixx with tales of one of their most elite members sighted here in Sanctuary, I'd been both anxious and worried. In the months since coming to know Bixx, I'd learned many of the rules and guidelines governing the order. My main worry had been that innocent bystanders would be caught in the crossfire, but the Ophidians had quietly evacuated the area before I could command them to do so.
"Tristan." I returned my attention to Corey. "You must prepare for Inanna's arrival. Do not allow yourself to be distracted. Let Stan do his job. Otherwise, she will have already won. I promise, you'll have your pups back." The zip of living magic belonging to vows spun around us, sealing Corey to his oath. "You have to do your duty now. You know what will happen if she wins."
If I failed, my children would die and the vow the God Shamash made to Gilgamesh and Enkidu would be broken. Lycans would be no more, ceasing to exist as the next generations were born without their wolf, completely human. But if we were wrong and Inanna didn't come, then I'd be standing around twiddling my thumbs while my son was in danger. I couldn't run off every time an emergency emerged. Eventually someone would get smart and set a trap. I'd fallen into one before. Daniel could be laying one right now. Why else would he be here? Unless he found a way into the tomb. Only Nathan could reveal how, and if they had Little Brian then…
"Corey. My brother, Nathan." I couldn't put into words the questions. Was Nathan here, too? Had he shared information regarding the King's Tomb? Why had Corey only said Justus, Little Brian, and Daniel were accompanied by an assassin if Nathan was helping them? Unless… unless…
His warm hand tightened on my nape, his grin lacked any warmth. "We'll discuss Nathan later. I wish I could take this burden from you, but I can't. You need to decide what to do. No matter your choice, I'll follow."
I'd thought I hated Daniel and Inanna before, but that emotion didn't compare to the burning malevolence coursing through my veins knowing they not only had my pups but my brother as well. Something indefinable eased in me as I considered that Nathan hadn't betrayed me at all. As much as I wanted answers, I understood this wasn't the time to delve for them.
The true question was: did I trust Stan? The memory of him flying backwards through the Anunnaki Gates because he'd attempted to catch Brian as he fell from the sky told me, yes. Stan would make sure my pups were safe.
I placed my hand over Corey's. "We prepare for war." My declaration was loud enough Bixx, Jory, Ushna, and Brian glanced to me. By their expressions, Ushna and Brian were as conflicted as I was. I prayed I hadn't made the wrong decision, and waited for their expressions to turn into ones of condemnation.
"You heard him!" Corey moved to the door of the hut. "Bixx, gather your Ophidians, Jory the Warriors. We've already practiced this. Everyone to their stations. Be sure they know this is not a drill.
Outside, a chorus of shrill shrieks broke the quiet of the mid-morn. We all hurried outside to see nearly thirty Shirdal, with more and more arriving until the sky was clouded with them. If I'd had any doubts, Corleone landed nearby, announcing he was ready to trounce the enemy by my side.
"I delivered the Snake's Eye to the tomb. My people stand ready to wipe our foes from the face of the Earth." Corleone assured me before returning to the air.
Corey hurried off with Bixx and Jory, promising to return soon, leaving me alone with Brian and Ushna.
Before I could apologize for… everything, Ushna wrapped me in a strong embrace. Brian's warmth pressed against my back, his hands gripping my hips.
"Don't say a word," Brian's lips brushed the back of my neck. "This is what it means to be king. You can't do everything yourself, be everywhere at once. You have to free those you trust to do what you cannot. You made the right decision."
"We share your pain," Ushna added, touching his knuckles to my cheek. "We, too, want to rush out and find Little Brian and Justus. The three of us hate relying on others when it comes to our young. But hundreds of thousands are relying on us to do our duty. We have to trust our captains and chosen to do their jobs, have faith that our lives and that of our family are in capable hands." He brushed his lips against mine before pulling Brian in by the nape to kiss him deeply.
The longer I delayed, the more I felt like I'd jump out of my skin. "We need to go." I mumbled, attempting to push down the high emotions. If I wasn't careful, they would dictate my actions. That, I refused to allow.
"When you're ready," Brian leaned in, taking my mouth with passion, silently promising a nice reward if we survived the day.
"Don't tell me you're making out when that evil harpy is on her way here." Neesie and Lonnie dropped the iron-bound cases they carried.
"Hey! Be careful! The elders will tan my hide if that's returned broken." I crossed the room to my sister.
Her brown hair was tightly braided and wrapped around her crown, and she and Lonnie both wore the dragon scale armor I'd insisted upon. I gathered her to me. "Are you sure you won't reconsider?"
Neesie's glare was menacing. "I'll stand with you on this and every day afterwards. That bitch needs to know she's fucked with the wrong family."
I glanced over her shoulder at my brother-in-law to be, hoping against hope the moron would be on my side and talk Neesie out of fighting. But he was giving her the biggest moon-eyes I'd ever witnessed, and I wondered why I'd stopped peeing in his loafers.
"Fine," I growled. "But when you run out of ammo, you and Lonnie are to leave. I don't care what is going on. We suspect the majority of people Inanna and Marduk are bringing will be Tiamat's children, in addition to the goodly number of Servants of the Glorious One. But even they are highly trained assassins and not to be taken lightly just because they don't have God's blood."
As her king, her sovereign, I could command her to stay behind, to flee the fighting and find a safe location to wait out the battle. She was now possibly my only tie to the people who'd raised me, loved me as their own, and did everything in their power to
protect me. They gave me a normal carefree childhood, made sure I could be a pup and not weighed down by the worries of the Tribe or our people. Nathan's withdrawal, his… I felt as if I'd lost my brother. The ache of his abandonment had begun after I'd returned from Stasis. I'd been so caught up with everything else, I hadn't paid attention to him. Perhaps if I'd been more observant, really saw him and asked more questions—did something more. Perhaps Nathan would be here with Neesie and me. Possibly my insistence on placing my family on the sidelines, not letting them participate was what led to Nathan running away, going rogue. The fact was, whatever decision I made, I could lose Neesie, too, either physically in battle or emotionally in the aftermath.
She squeaked when I suddenly pulled her into a hard hug, but within moments she embraced me just as fiercely. "I need you to…" My throat closed over the words, but she seemed to know what I couldn't say.
"Lonnie and I will be careful. You kick that bitch's ass." When she pulled back, she was at the same height to look me in the eye. I'd learned in the last couple of months how formidable Neesie, and even Lonnie, were. But we would be facing a Goddess. I prayed to Tiamat she'd keep my sister safe.
"Now, let's get you dressed." She manhandled me to the bound chests.
Inside one sat the Lycan crown, Enki's Horned Crown of Divinity, the very one he used to wear before it was stolen by Inanna and brought to Uruk, no less. There, in her temple, she kept her stolen mes, the items that were the foundation of civilization. After Enkidu's death, Gilgamesh had her temple emptied and burned. The first born Lycan, my ancestor Zircon, and every Lycan king thereafter had worn the crown. Until Bahram's death three hundred years ago, when the Lycan royals went underground. Since then, it had sat in a case on the wall of the Hall of Shamash… until now.
The crown was simple. The copper band was inscribed with ancient symbols and the goat's horns were made of lapis lazuli. Even before I touched it, energy hummed and tickled my fingertips.
"Here, let me." Brian stepped forward and gingerly took the head piece out of the box.
I remembered how nervous I'd felt when Hakim placed the circlet of the prince on my brow months ago. I'd known then my life would change, and it had. Once again, I was faced with the physical embodiment of another change. I'd be insane if I wasn't scared, and I wasn't insane. The hopes and dreams of the Lycans rested on my shoulders. By the end of the battle, I'd have a new people, the Children of Tiamat whose welfare I'd also be responsible for. Ushna and Brian were essential to me. Thanks to them, I'd never need to bear the burden alone.
Brian's warm, tri-colored eyes held mine as he settled the band on my brow. His slight smirk told me I wasn't getting out of the room without another selfie. His levity eased the rising tension and made me smile, if only faintly.
Next, Ushna opened the second chest. The burst of power staggered Neesie and Lonnie, whereas Brian, Ushna, and I sensed only a warm push; the advantage of a God's blood being mixed with our own.
Ushna lifted out the Tablets of Destiny, the very same ones Corey had taken from the Heaven of the Gods and hidden in the King's Tomb.
"I'd feel better if one of you wore that." We'd already discussed this, but suddenly I worried I was the only one girded properly for the fight with Marduk and Inanna.
"You know we can't," Ushna replied, stepping closer. "These are only to be worn by the person who leads the forces."
I did, but I also knew they afforded the bearer a certain power over all the Gods and Goddesses. The Tablets of Destiny were usually worn by the ruler of the Gods. At one time, Tiamat had held them, but at the beginning of the Igigi war she'd passed the tablets to her general, the God Kingu. He'd no idea how to wield the power within them which led to his defeat at Marduk's hands. Elder Luis had given me a crash course on how to correctly wield the tablets, and I hoped the knowledge would be enough.
Brian and Ushna worked in tandem to strap the ancient breastplate on. The secret to the clay tablets was that they were removable cylinders. When they were placed on the rod of the royal scepter… well, they'd answer any questions the bearer asked when they were spun. I had been skeptical because they weren't electronic; they were crafted from clay, for Pete's sake. But I'd forgotten they hadn't been created on Earth by humans. They belonged to a race who came from one of the forgotten gateways. And yes, they'd answered the question I'd posed to them, being just as cryptic as any living sage.
The circular tablets were in line on the breastplate from top to bottom, smallest to largest. The metal underneath was hammered copper, inscribed with cuneiform and tooled with depictions of Shirdal in flight.
Once secure, Neesie brought over a black robe. Instead of pinning it closed at the top, I opted to leave it open, allowing me to shrug it off to fight. The rest of the girding went quickly. Brian, Ushna, and I donned our sword belts and other weapons. Ushna strapped on the Green Bastard since we now knew it had the ability to injure a God. Brian declined to wear much more than a belt knife. He planned to do his fighting in his dragon form.
Before we stepped from the hut, Brian made us all gather together for a selfie. None of us smiled, but Brian didn't seem to care, and all I could do was shake my head, not quite understanding his motivation, but indulging him anyway.
Outside, Corey stood waiting with Captain Juan Ybarra and the True Blood Ace Cimarron. They too would be sticking close to me.
"Where is Gregori?" He knew I needed him by my side. My plan wouldn't work without him.
"He went to secure Randy," Corey replied.
"I sent him a message letting him know where to meet us," Juan added when I scowled. His reassurance did nothing to dissipate the sense that things had already gone sideways.
Unease skittered through me, but there was nothing I could do. As we walked across Sanctuary, my gaze kept straying to the towering ziggurat. The red sandstone glinted in the sun. Guilt swelled, knowing my sons, biological and adopted, were somewhere in there. Had Stan found them? Were they safe? Oddly, I felt no jealousy that a Vikrum would be the one to snuff out Daniel's life. For so long, I had hungered to be the one to kill him, to make him pay for all the misery he'd caused. But now, there was only anticipation with a sense of relief if the assassin was successful.
The amphitheater was, I guessed, about four times the size of the Roman coliseum. I'd wondered why Sanctuary needed such a feature since this was a place of healing. But when we'd planned the coronation, the structure was perfect. Now it would be where I'd confront my enemies.
If all had gone according to plan, Bixx would have the Ophidians in place. The warriors had been split into thirds. I'd sent two thirds to Shiloh and Susa on the off chance the tri-cities were attacked. Corey's captains would be hidden with their contingent of warriors. And the Magi…
We entered the grounds surrounded by the multi-tiered horseshoe-shaped stadium. The Magi were scattered throughout the seating area. The governing Magi Triad, Jynx Roth, Nacht Stone, and Devlin Nix waited at the far end of the green for me.
"Siamak!" Jynx called, using our ancient word for great emperor. He bowed deep. "The Magi are ready to serve."
I returned his bow. "You have my authorization to use magic as a weapon in this battle."
Jynx raised his fist in the air and swung it once over his head, the signal of my permission to those looking on.
"We heard about your pups," Nacht said, his dark eyes holding mine.
"When this is done, and if Stan hasn't returned with them, I'll track them down," Devlin said.
My heart swelled with relief to have a plan for the unspoken what if. "We would be eternally grateful."
I pushed aside formality to embrace the three of them. I'd never forget their unwavering support. Overhead, the Shirdal circled, alighting on the topmost tier of the amphitheater. Their tawny lion's bodies and feathered hawk's heads radiating a powerful confidence and pride that bordered on arrogant. I'd never imagined so many of them existed. I wondered briefly where they'd been hiding, not that the answer
mattered.
Corleone landed several yards away. I immediately went to him.
"My friend," I sent through the Earth.
"We have come to share the glory of battle." Corleone ruffled his feathers, then settled his wings. "The one who seeks your death is here."
An eerie chorus of howls filled the air when the Shirdals turned silent. Cocking my head to the side, I heard no Lycan note to the sound. Natural wolves then? I glanced to Jory, recalling our conversation about the Nameless. He nodded his head, indicating he'd handle the situation, and I dismissed the issue, looking to where Corleone stared.
The person who wanted me dead could be either Daniel or Inanna. My heart skipped a beat in anticipation. Overhead, on the middle tier of the King's Tomb, stood a figure with gray wings, their dark hair blowing in the wind like a flag. I didn't immediately recognize them, but from the distance, I saw they held both Gregori and Randy. I only needed one guess who the interloper was and under my breath I called for the Gods Ashur and Mithra. I'd been promised help from them and I held them to that vow now.
Without breaking my stride toward the center of the risers, I barked out orders to Jynx and Corey, relying on them to communicate with their teams. "Neesie, Lonnie, I want you at least five seats up. Don't shoot until Brian gives the signal. Juan, Ace, remain close."
Turning to face the huge expanse of green, I released a long breath, putting my disjointed thoughts to bed. This battle wouldn't be the conventional army against army. The amphitheater's tall outer wall would ensure nothing on the ground would sneak up behind me. Corey manned the single entrance. Brian and the Shirdal would protect us from threats coming from the sky.
The potbellied dragonet, Ladon, popped out of nowhere and climbed Ushna's leg, chirping excitedly.
"He says there are many invaders entering Sanctuary. The caretakers will ensure those who retreat cannot cross the border to get away," Ushna relayed as Ladon rubbed against Ushna's chin.
I gave a dark chuckle. People were going to get a surprise when the dragonets and serpents confronted them.