Raising Hell

by Sharon Hannaford

  Gabi spun to look at her with open-mouthed surprise. “You badass,” she said with a wide grin. “I guess I’d better go and see if she’s still there. You guys get moving. Breanna and the hellpup will be waiting for you.” The sunlight streamed across the open farmland, bathing them in orange as they all turned to leave.

  “Ouch,” Gabi suddenly yelped, and Trish spun to see what had happened. Gabi was holding the side of her face, a frown of consternation across her forehead. “Holy Lord and Lady,” she cursed as the skin on her hand began to redden and blister.

  “Gabi.” Kyle rushed from the driver’s side of the van while Flora spun in a quick circle, as though searching for something magical. Could the Vodun really have laid yet another kind of trap?

  “It’s the sun.” Julius’s voice was aghast as he moved to put his body between Gabi and the early morning rays. “The sun is burning her. Get her into the car.” Between Kyle and Julius, they formed a protective wall around her and escorted a stunned Gabi to the UV-protected van before gently forcing her into it and shutting the door firmly.

  “I’ll get her back to the estate,” Julius told Kyle. “Hopefully it’s just a reaction, a short-term one.” He raised one hand to shield the rays of the sun from his own face, his skin was beginning to redden, as he rounded the vehicle and folded himself inside. The car took off, leaving behind a small cloud of dust.

  Trish watched them go with worry settling on her shoulders.

  “She’s Hellcat, she’ll be fine,” Kyle assured her, but Trish knew he also had to be worried. Then he wrapped an arm around Trish’s waist, using his other hand on Flora’s shoulder to draw them both towards the van. “They’re right, you know. You were absolutely amazing tonight, but right now my wolf and I both want to take you home, shut you in a secure room and never let you out again.”

  “I think my wolf and I might have something to say about that last part,” Trish smiled with genuine happiness for the first time in days, “but yes, let’s go home.”

  CHAPTER 24

  The entertainment room, otherwise known as the bar lounge, in Julius’s house was a stunning space that could easily have featured in Garden and Home’s men’s edition with its modern lines, double-height ceiling and edgy, masculine design. White, accented by black, grey and stainless steel, dominated the colour scheme, the only splashes of colour were the three large abstract paintings on the walls, in dominant colours of emerald green and russet red.

  Mac and Fergus prowled opposite sides of the room with folded arms and alert gazes, the eternal bodyguards. Patrick and Tabari were standing to one side of the extra-length marble hearth flanked by extra seating. Tabari looked as though he’d fully recovered from his burns; just his hair was a little shorter than normal. The balmy evening didn’t require a fire, but one burned anyway. Alexander was inside the walk-in wine cellar, while Athena sat on a black leather stool at the dark granite bar counter. Alexander’s skin was back to its usual pale perfection, but his ultra-short hair and stubby eyebrows were stark reminders of how close he’d come to true death. Gabi had been lounging on the ten-seater sofa in front of the fireplace, but she jumped up when the four-strong contingent of Werewolves arrived. She gave Trish a hug, punched Kyle in the arm, and saluted Derek and Butch, who had tagged along to the meeting. Julius joined them, two glasses of red wine in his hands. Gabi quickly relieved him of one of them, inhaling the plummy bouquet deeply before taking a generous sip.

  The simple act of Gabi drinking wine brought Trish an immediate sense of relief. She had fretted for most of the afternoon that Gabi would by now be suffering more serious vampiric side effects.

  “How are you?” Trish caught her friend’s arm as they angled towards the sofa, leaving the men to get drinks. “And don’t brush me off with I’m fine,” Trish warned.

  Gabi smiled ruefully. “I am fine,” she assured Trish. “We still don’t know exactly what’s happening to me. I’m sure Jonathon will be running bloods and every other test he can think of over the next few days, but there haven’t been any new…developments…at least. I still feel the same, no signs I’m Turning, no bloodlust or anything. I’m sure it’s just the abundance of Vampire blood in my veins, and normal service will resume shortly.”

  Trish released a breath she didn’t know she’d been holding. Gabi pulled her down on the sofa; Razor was already curled up in the centre, forcing Gabi and Trish to sit either side of him. “How is Flora? And Breanna?”

  Breanna’s name made Trish tense a little, the girl’s reaction had been so strange for a child her age, yet not strange for Breanna at all.

  She drew in a breath. “You know Breanna, Casey said she knew everything was alright even before we called to update them. She was waiting for us at the door, and her expression…” Trish broke off, shaking her head. “Do you remember what she was like as a baby? So aware and calm, and when she looked at you, it felt like she could read your soul?”

  Gabi nodded vigorously.

  “She was like that again. She wasn’t overjoyed or bouncing with excitement like I expected, she was just…sombre, as though she understood what Flora had gone through, the choice she’d made, and it meant everything to her. Flora just went to her and hugged her, and they didn’t speak, but Flora was crying. Then we put her to bed, but when we woke at lunch time, she was snuggled up in Flora’s bed, the three of them, Bear…hellpup…included, all fast asleep.”

  Gabi had a thoughtful frown when Kyle came to join them, perching on the arm of the sofa as the others gathered closer, taking seats where they could find them, except in Mac and Fergus’s case; those two just paced a little closer.

  “Have you heard anything back from Benedict?” Kyle twisted the top off a beer bottle as he folded himself onto the sofa next to Trish. Kyle had told Trish what had happened after she’d succumbed to the poisoned knife, but the standout event was the inexplicable disappearance of Klara, the Vampire Princep.

  “Yes,” Julius said. “The Lucis had some suspicions regarding Eliasz, Klara’s mate, but they hadn’t actually suspected that Klara was the brains behind it all. There is no formal record of Klara having a strong power, but it was considered strange that she had achieved her level of success without one. Benedict suspects she is a Chameleon, a Vampire who can blend into the background so well they appear to disappear. She may also have a touch of Alex’s gift for super speed, as she only had a matter of moments to make her escape, and once we knew she’d fled, she was already so far away that Gabi couldn’t even sense her. Either way she will not be able to return to her position on the Princep Council. Not if we testify to what she was trying to do here; interfering with the stability of a Master’s City is a serious offense, one even a Princep cannot get away with. She won’t risk being apprehended and put on trial. It remains to be seen what they will do with Eliasz. It is possible he will be able to shed more light on her moonlighting for the Decuria.”

  “And do the Lucis know anything about this Dark Prophesy? Anything useful?” Derek had taken a single-seat sofa and was unconsciously rubbing his leg where the prosthesis joined his flesh.

  “Only as much as we do, but they are taking this seriously now and will be pouring more effort into uncovering everything about it.” Julius clearly wasn’t impressed with their lack of information.

  “I assume you haven’t forgotten that Klara has people in the City feeding her information on our whereabouts and activities?” Kyle noted, with a look at Julius. “You heard her tell the Vodun that Trish had come to the cave.”

  “And the Vodun had something of Gabi’s in order to make that effigy spell work,” Athena added, with a delicate shudder, “which means they’ve managed to get very close to us somehow.”

  “I haven’t forgotten,” Julius said darkly. “They will be found and dealt with, make no mistake. And they will tell me everything they know.” No one doubted his words, though Trish suspected all of those connected to the Princep would already be as far away from the City as they could ge
t.

  “Well, the good news is that there have been no reports of anything resembling a Zonbi all day,” Kyle reported. “We will never account for all the missing bodies, but I’m sure the human authorities will move on fairly quickly now that there will be no more disappearances.”

  “The two female Vodun practitioners are being moved to a holding facility in Europe,” Athena informed them. “We thought it safer if they were well away from both the Source and the Patrium. And Flora.”

  “Is Flora alright?” A voice from the entrance had Trish turning in surprise. Sicarius hovered near the doorway as though unsure whether to come any closer. He looked well, a little paler than before, though his colour would fade more over the coming months. His hair had been brushed, but he sported a heavy five o’clock shadow, and his eyes were bloodshot. His expression was hooded, his fists clenched at his sides, as though he was expecting some kind of rebuke.

  “Come in, Sicarius,” Julius said, his voice cool and emotionless. “Gabi and Athena are the closest thing to human in the room, and Gabi has too much Vampire blood in her to smell appealing to you right now. Just steer clear of the Magus.”

  The man relaxed a fraction, his shoulders straightening, the white disappearing from his knuckles, and he moved farther into the room, nodding a general greeting to everyone.

  “I…I just wanted to thank everyone involved in saving me,” he said. “I know it wouldn’t have been the easiest decision.” His eyes found Gabi, as though he somehow knew it had been her who had made the ultimate call. “I would also like to introduce myself. Sicarius is a title; I can no longer be Sicarius, as my loyalty now lies with the Clan and those it protects. My name is Dylan St James.” The way he said his name made Trish’s heart ache; she wondered how long it had been since he’d used it.

  “Flora is fine, Dylan.” Trish spoke into the ensuing silence. “Thank you for what you did trying to keep her safe. She has Acquired her powers, she is a full Vodun priestess, and she proved them all wrong.” Tears pricked Trish’s eyes as she spoke, she was just so proud of the young woman. “She proved that being a master of Dark powers doesn’t make a person’s soul dark.” She watched Sicarius’s…no…Dylan’s face and saw the relief wash through him, the spark of his own pride in his reddened eyes. “The ordeal has left some scars; she will never be quite the same, but she is amazingly strong, and she is ours.”

  A single pink-tinged tear rolled down Dylan’s cheek, and he quickly brushed it aside, dropping his head and looking away as he nodded.

  “I have some news too.” Athena spoke up. Alexander was on a barstool beside her. Trish knew he would be in front of her before anyone blinked if Dylan made any kind of move in her direction. “Melinda and I presented the events of the night to the Council this afternoon. I am pleased to say that it doesn’t look as though I will need to lead that rebellion after all. The old coots have decided to pull their heads out of the Dark Ages.”

  An unladylike snort of amusement erupted from Gabi, making Trish bite her own lip to hold back a giggle.

  Athena actually smiled before continuing. “If Flora is still interested, she will be welcome to come and study at the Magus Campus. I will personally take charge of any further training she feels she needs, and we are hoping to collaborate with and learn from her as well.”

  Trish smiled. “I will tell her and let her decide what she would like to do. And thank you.”

  Athena nodded. “I just wish it hadn’t taken something as awful as last night for them to realise their mistakes.”

  Trish suppressed a tiny shudder; the night had truly been awful. She still couldn’t believe they had ultimately escaped without losing anyone. The wolves who’d been affected by the silver-sickness didn’t appear to have any lingering side effects, and any other injuries were already healed. Everyone was tired, especially the Magi and Murphy, but that was nothing a few days off wouldn’t cure. And Trish had every intention of making sure that, as soon as the clean-up operations were finished, everyone got some time to recoup. For Trish herself, she intended on spending enormous amounts of time with two very special girls.

  The discussions went on long into the night, food appeared at regular intervals, brought in by silent Vampires, but eventually just the Werewolves, Alexander, Gabi and Julius remained. Silence had fallen as they sat in the cheerful flickering of the fire. Trish got the sense that Gabi had something to say.

  “You know, Mac did find that secret stashed copy of Riley’s uncle’s work,” Gabi said at last. “We can give it to Jonathon to look at. To see if he would be able to replicate the work and ultimately develop that treatment.”

  Kyle tensed beside Trish; she wasn’t sure if it was in excitement or anxiety.

  “There’s no need to make a decision now,” she added quickly. “The research is safe for now, and only Mac and those of us in this room know it exists. If you want it destroyed, we’ll see to it.”

  “This needs a lot of consideration,” Kyle said after a long pause. “And we would need to discuss it with Riley. She has made a formal request to join the Pack. We know she’s an Alpha, and this may just be temporary, but she has nothing to return home to now that her uncle is gone. I think she is growing to enjoy Pack life and what it offers.”

  “Especially now that she is hanging with the most powerful Alphas in the City,” Gabi said, lowering her voice in a conspiratorial whisper. No one had gone anywhere near that particular elephant that had been hovering in the room. Trish and Kyle hadn’t even discussed it yet; it seemed too big to even look at right now. Trust Gabi to bring up the elephant.

  “Things are changing,” Alexander commented without looking at anyone in particular, when none of the Werewolves seemed keen to talk. “We need to change with them, or at least keep up. I know we just won the fight, but, at the risk of sounding like a Marvel comic, I think the war has only just begun.”

  In the very back of her mind, Trish’s wolf huffed in weary agreement.

  <<<<>>>>

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