Alliances (Guardians of White Light, #1)

by F. J. Gale

  Luke shook his head with disapproval. “You’re not built that way, Mathias. Your grief has set you apart from the world.”

  “Yet, I still affect it. We still affect it. Without Legion humans would already be at war with us.”

  “But now you must step from the shadows.”

  Mathias’ eyes narrowed with intrigue. “You’ve found what we’ve been searching for?”

  Luke nodded and passed Mathias a package. As Mathias moved to take it from him, Luke suddenly gripped his hand. “You need to prepare yourself for what you’re about to see,” he warned him in a haunting whisper.

  “Come on,” Mathias scoffed.

  “I’m serious. We’ve seen a lot over the centuries, things that would churn other people’s stomachs. But this…it’s different.”

  Mathias took his words in and braced himself as he opened the envelope and withdrew the documents. Inside were a wad of photos taken from an instant camera and what appeared to be blueprint sketches.

  Mathias felt a lump form in his throat as he viewed the pictures. He had to force himself not to retch as he continued to examine them. He had seen his share of disturbing things during his long existence, things that haunted and would stay with him for his entire eternal life. But Luke had been right; this was beyond that.

  They depicted an unknown vampire, a test subject, bound and naked, being force-fed a human. In what, according to the time-stamp on the photos was mere moments later, smoke, then flame engulfed him and he was burned to ashes from the inside out.

  “How is this possible?” Mathias spoke aloud as he continued to examine the package.

  “Whatever it is, it has the same effect on us as drinking a shit-load of Holy water,” Luke offered.

  Mathias set the photos down and examined the booklet of blueprints behind it. They were sketches, mirroring the photos Luke and his team had taken, documenting the vampire experiments. He skipped to the last page, wishing to avoid further disturbing imagery. And then he saw the words that horrified him more than the photos themselves: TESTS SUCCESSFUL: MASS PRODUCTION APPROVED.

  “This is worse than we thought. To mass-produce this they have one of two options. Either they’ll hit the water supply or mass-inoculate humans with whatever the hell that drug is that they’ve created,” Mathias said.

  “Mathias, I know you don’t want to hear it but Immortalia is right. War needs to occur. If the humans do this, it’ll be the end for all of us. To never feed on humans again? It’s unnatural. This cannot come to pass.”

  “It was the impetuous and arrogant actions of Immortalia that caused this in the first place. It’s what they wanted, to drive humans to this heinous action so the vampire world would have no choice but to call for war. Now, the only way to survive is to become the supreme species. Perfect manipulation.”

  Without warning he slammed his fist angrily against the abrasive soil wall. Luke remained silent, understanding the reason behind his extreme reaction. He watched as Mathias slowly approached his weapons cabinet and withdrew a broadsword. He ripped it from its sheath and spun it around in his hand with impressive expertise.

  “I will pay Silas a visit after sundown,” he announced, as he ran his hand gently along the steel blade.

  “Mathias, that’s suicide. He’s wanted you dead for years and now you plan to show up alone at his highly secure estate? Even if they don’t stake you on sight he’ll never let you out of there.”

  “Desperate times, my friend. If you don’t hear from me within forty-eight hours, you’re to move in on the research facility.”

  “If we move in we’ll be declaring war, a war that you have been trying to prevent.”

  “If Silas doesn’t listen there will be no alternative. You’re right that we can’t allow the humans to mass-produce this vampire disease of theirs. It will destroy us,” Mathias explained.

  “Understood,” Luke agreed. With his orders received he headed towards the door. His hand on the doorknob, he stopped and glanced back at his old friend. “Mathias, I’m sorry.”

  Mathias could only nod as he watched Luke leave. He exhaled deeply, contemplating the distasteful task that lay before him. The fate of he and his comrades rested upon the edge of a knife and it would be determined this night.

  CHAPTER THREE

  Silas sat comfortably in his marble high-backed chair. Golden serpent effigies snaked around its legs and it towered above all other chairs in his throne room signifying his higher station to all those who approached. Either side of him sat two vampire women. They were his favorites. His lovers. His slaves. Their sole function was to please him.

  Before him stood his son, Arthur. He was providing his report on his activities of the last few nights.

  “Why have some of my warriors failed to return?” Silas asked him suddenly, sensing his son’s unusual nervous disposition. He was concealing something.

  Arthur shifted his weight uncomfortably as he uttered, shakily, “It was Mathias. He interfered.”

  Silas was taken aback at hearing that name. But he managed to compose himself, refusing to display weakness such as any sort of reaction in front of his subordinates.

  “Hmm. It’s been a long while since I’ve heard that name,” was his mellowed response.

  “He has forbidden all vampires in his town to feed off humans. He believes the humans will not target us if we keep it clean, so to speak. Instead, they feed off animals and vermin and blood from the butchers. It’s disgusting,” Arthur reported.

  “He’s trying to prevent war. Hmm, he’s changed since….since that day. Since her,” Silas spoke aloud.

  Time was, the Mathias he had known would not have hesitated to go to war, or to fight for a worthy cause on behalf of his species. But now he cowered? He protected them? Humankind? He had dismissed his own kind in favor of them. It was an irredeemable act.

  “He needs to be assassinated, my Lord,” Arthur pressed.

  “All in good time. We don’t have resources to spare right now. We must not split our focus. Mathias is but a footnote in our greater scheme. He is not the great warrior he once was. He cowers in the shadows. His threat is minimal, albeit his actions greatly misguided.”

  Arthur heaved a heavy sigh. “As you wish.”

  ***

  Two females giggled as they delved under the covers. Silas closed his eyes and moaned with pleasure as his vampire vixens attended to him. He’d called them to his chambers to relax him. All the talk of Mathias had unsettled him. It weighed heavily on his mind. He needed a distraction.

  He reached under the covers and gripped the hair of each girl. He tugged roughly and they both let out a muffled cry. Their pain heightened his pleasure.

  He was about to join them when he felt a sudden chill. He froze and eyed the window.

  He almost jumped out of his skin when he saw the silhouetted figure of his old enemy standing in the corner, leaning against the heavy crimson drapes.

  “Out!” he roared to the two women.

  He pushed them both out of bed and they scrambled away, wrapping their arms around themselves to conceal their nakedness. They both squealed when they caught sight of the figure in the corner. They hesitated.

  “Leave! Now!” Silas roared.

  They jumped at his command and hurried out of the room. Mathias locked the door behind them and stepped out of the shadows. He waited calmly for Silas to cover himself with a robe.

  “Still foolishly arrogant, I see,” Silas said, shrugging his robe on and tying it around his waist. “You think you can just walk in here with no consequences?”

  “Apparently,” Mathias shot back with a sly smile.

  “How did you? I have guards everywhere.”

  Mathias scoffed. “Come on.”

  “It’s only a matter of time before they raise the alarm. You’re a dead man.”

  “I’m already dead.”

  Silas smiled. “So, you do recognize that you’re not one of them. Your alliance with humanity is disgustin
g.”

  “According to you.”

  Silas slammed his fist down on the bed. “They will never accept you, Mathias! You will never be one of them!” he bellowed furiously.

  “Your hatred for them is misplaced. You fear them, Silas.”

  “Wrong. Humans are weak. Fragile. It’s a pity you couldn’t accept that. I would never have had to kill Liana if you’d listened to me.”

  “Don’t you dare speak her name!”

  “I let it go when you married her. Because you were my comrade, my brother in arms. I gave you a pass. But you chose to test my patience. And that abomination happened! You mixed the bloodlines!”

  “That was my child!”

  “We do not mix bloodlines! It’s a line we never cross! I warned you.”

  “It wasn’t your business. I had left this life behind.”

  “Yes, you rebuffed your own kind and you became a despicable Guardian, one of the Sorceress’ pets. Her peacekeepers guarding the supernatural and human world alike. How did she take it when you walked away from that? She doesn’t usually let her pets take leave from their so-called duty. But I guess, after Liana you were nothing but a sniveling wretch. Useless to everyone. Tell me, can you even wield your sword now?”

  Mathias shot out his hand and gripped Silas’ neck. He forced him towards him and pressed his stake to his heart. And then he hesitated.

  Silas choked out a laugh. “You’ve waited a decade to do this and now you can’t?”

  Mathias growled fiercely and pushed him away. He knew that even if he killed Silas it wouldn’t stop Immortalia’s agenda. Not with Arthur so vehemently determined to bring forth the war as well. It would take more than that.

  “Living among them has made you weak!” Silas hissed.

  Mathias eyed him soberly. “Other things matter more.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “You need to stop this war.”

  “You’re serious? You think I’m going to surrender because you command it?”

  “It will bring forth Armageddon. Both species will be destroyed.”

  “Wrong. Victory is certain. We are the stronger species.”

  “There are things you don’t know, things that are already in motion because of what you’ve done. You can broker peace now. They will stop hunting us. I can help you.”

  “We don’t need their permission to feed.”

  “To coexist we do.”

  A wicked smile crept across Silas’ wrinkled lips. “That’s not what I’m trying to achieve.”

  “Silas, without them we will die. There will be no food, no blood.”

  Silas chuckled. “You fool. Don’t you see? We will enslave them. We will finally take our place as the dominant species.”

  Mathias felt his blood run cold—colder than it already was. Silas had just revealed Immortalia’s end game. It was madness! That was when he knew he had to tell him about the drug.

  “You have to call it off. There’s something you don’t know.”

  As soon as the words had left his mouth, the door behind him crashed open. Arthur rushed in flanked by four guards armed with their demon face and a stake in each hand. In seconds they had Mathias surrounded.

  Mathias glared at Silas, a glare that fought to reach some sense and reason in the deepest depths of his enemy’s mind. “You need to listen to me.”

  They locked eyes. Silas rubbed his beard as he considered Mathias’ warnings.

  “No,” he finally responded.

  “Silas!” Mathias roared.

  Silas waved his hand at his men. “Take him to the dungeons.”

  “We should kill him,” Arthur protested as the soldiers moved in.

  “My son, why? There are so many things worse than death.”

  Arthur nodded and watched happily as his men closed in on Mathias. “He’ll beg to die.”

  Mathias sighed at what Silas was forcing him to do. He let the demon within rise to the surface. His face morphed and he withdrew two stakes concealed in the sleeves of his leather jacket.

  As the four men approached, he hurtled a stake at the one behind him and the one directly in front of him. He was so fast that they didn’t even have the chance to react to defend themselves before the stakes pierced their hearts.

  He heard Arthur bellowing orders as the dust from the two dead soldiers obstructed the vision in the room. But his words were faint, distanced, as Mathias let his instincts wash over him. The fight was all.

  The two remaining soldiers rushed him from his left and right. The soldier to his right reached him first. Mathias jabbed his elbow into his ribs. His fist smashed into his face. The soldier was disorientated and wavered on his feet. But before Mathias could finish it, his senses screamed at him. The soldier to his left! He shot out his foot behind him, forcing his opponent back.

  He ripped his broadsword from its sheath at his belt and spun it around in his hands with the fluidity of a well-seasoned expert swordsman. He smiled as the two remaining soldiers attempted their approach.

  He swung. Once. Twice.

  Their decapitated bodies exploded into dust before they hit the ground.

  He heard the sounds of footsteps coming down the hall. He had to leave. There was no telling how many more soldiers were on their way. He bolted for the door.

  As his hand gripped the door frame, he felt a disturbance in the air around him. Something was cutting through the air towards him! He failed to turn around in time. He felt a white hot pain shoot through his upper arm. He eyed his right arm. A dagger had penetrated all the way through, pinning him to the wood of the door frame.

  “That’s gotta hurt,” he heard Arthur say to Silas behind him.

  Mathias gritted his teeth. The pain was searing. He was just glad that he wasn’t human. If he had been, the wound would have caused him to bleed to death in a matter of seconds. The blade had severed an artery. For him, it was just the crippling pain that he had to worry about.

  He could hear the footsteps outside getting louder. He could feel Arthur and Silas approaching him cautiously. He had to do something now!

  His hand grasped the handle of the dagger. He braced himself. And then he ripped it out in one swift motion. Growling and cursing he forced himself to focus on the situation around him and force back the pain. Focus! Focus!

  He eyed Arthur and Silas over his shoulder and saw that Arthur’s hand was still in throwing position.

  “You’re both fools,” he rasped.

  Before either of them could respond he was gone.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Mathias growled against the searing pain in his arm as he slid the concrete slab back into place above his head. He staggered forward towards his office.

  And that was when he felt a presence. Gabriella.

  “What are you doing here?” he demanded as he heaved the heavy door aside and headed to the back of the office where all his medical supplies resided.

  He felt her behind him before he saw her. And it incensed him. He didn’t want company right now. He needed to tend to his wound. And his ire. He wasn’t sure which bore more intensity—the crippling pain or his rage.

  “What happened to you?” she asked, as she watched him remove his balled up leather jacket from his right arm and throw it across the room.

  He grabbed a roll of gauze and emitted a low growl as he avoided her glance and stumbled to his desk. He gritted his teeth from the pain as he lifted his t-shirt over his head and tossed it on the dirtied ground. “Go home,” he ordered as he slumped into his leather desk chair and snatched up the gauze with a trembling hand.

  “You’re drenched in blood,” she said.

  Really? I hadn’t noticed. “Yes,” he seethed. He glanced down at himself. He’d managed to ebb the spurting blood from his right arm with his leather jacket, but it had soaked through his black tee onto his hands, his chest, the waistband of his jeans. He was a mess.

  “Are you gonna die?” she asked, her eyes wide with curiosity mor
e than concern.

  What? “We’re vampires, Gabriella,” he reminded her. Shit, she’s even denser than I realized.

  She drew closer. “Who did this to you?”

  “It doesn’t matter,” was his clipped response as he started to dress his wound. He could feel her watching him. It was distracting and he couldn’t summon any sliver of patience in his current state of mind to let it slide. “What?” he snapped.

  “You’re upset,” she murmured.

  He felt a sudden rush of cold air. He looked up to see her standing before him. She reached out her hand to touch him. Both his hands were otherwise engaged so he had to allow it. Her fingers danced over his naked chest. Roughly. He flinched as her manicured nails dug into his flesh. “Stop!” he said, adjusting his weight in the chair to escape her.

  “Do you want to talk about it?” she asked.

  Having finished dressing his wound, he eased himself out of his chair with a disgruntled groan. Was he not being clear enough? Didn’t she understand that he was doing everything in his power not to lose his temper with her? “We don’t talk. We fuck. That’s it. Okay?”

  “Then take me to bed, Mathias,” she purred, wrapping her hands around his neck. She wasn’t the least bit fazed by his brusque statement.

  He gripped her wrists tightly and glared at her heatedly. “I told you no. Go home, Gabriella. This is my final friendly warning. I’m wounded and I have a lot on my mind.”

  “But Mathias—”

  “Go! Now!” he bellowed, pushing her back and summoning every ounce of restraint he had at his disposal to hold back.

  She stumbled and just managed to maintain her footing. “That hurt,” she whined.

  “It was just a tap. Now get out before I lose my temper. You don’t want to be around when that happens. Trust me. I’m trying to protect you.”

  “From what?”

  “From me,” he said, his eyes darkening.

  “Fine,” she cried, pouting her lips.

  “You need to stay away from me from now on. Something is happening. It’s not safe for you to be associated with me. And stay away from the mansion. I know you’ve been there recently despite my warnings. I picked up your scent. People will come looking for me and I don’t want you in their path.”