by F. J. Gale
“Sure, sure,” she murmured against his chest, sleepily.
He drew the covers up over them and held her tighter. “I care for you a great deal,” he confessed.
She looked up from his chest and gazed at him, smiling. “You mean; you love me.”
What? She wasn’t asking. She was telling him as though it was a statement of fact. How did she—? Why is she so sure? He studied her for a few moments. She wasn’t joking in the least. She was serious. And that was when he realized he needed to be as well.
“Yes,” he admitted.
She rested her head on his chest. “I love you too” she said, snuggling close to him.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Silas leaned against the granite balcony and looked out at the dark night. The forest surrounding his estate was blanketed in thick fog. Even with his vampiric vision he couldn’t see past a couple of feet. All was quiet. It was the time of excitement and possibility for his kind. The time when their world came alive, when they ruled as humans slept.
“He’s here, my Lord,” one of his soldiers called from the balcony doors.
“Bring him to me,” he ordered, turning around.
The soldier nodded and seconds later he reappeared. “Leave us!” Silas ordered his underling.
Both Silas and his guest waited until the soldier had departed.
“Orion,” Silas greeted.
Orion floated towards him, his knee-high black leather boots barely touching the ground. They covered the calves of his leather pants. A white silky shirt that was unbuttoned enough to expose the start of his chiseled abs flapped violently in the wind. Such a playboy showman. He hadn’t changed one bit. He still even sported the same black spiky hair.
“Been a while, Silas.”
“I appreciate your time.”
“I appreciate you knowing better than to try to summon me forcefully.”
Silas nodded.
“I am not interested in the war you are raging. I quite enjoy humans. They are so easily influenced by the slightest touch of magic. It makes things interesting,” Orion told him.
“When my kind rules them there will be a great many at your disposal to do with as you wish.”
“There will be no challenge in that,” Orion said, running his hand leisurely along the wall of the balcony.
“I have no doubt that you will take on the mission I have for you.”
Orion smiled to himself. Silas’ arrogance rivaled his own. It was what he liked about him, the only thing he liked about him. He didn’t care for his political agenda or his supremacist sentiments.
“I need you to subdue the ivory witch.”
Orion stopped short. “You have my attention.”
“She has openly allied herself with my enemies. She murdered dozens of my men to protect them. I know it was she who brought the darkness today. I need her gone.”
“You know where she is?” he asked, incredulous. She was impossible to locate with magic thanks to the powerful field of protection that she enveloped around herself.
“I know where she’s going to be thanks to a defector from their inner circle.”
Orion grinned. “Point me in the right direction and I’ll take it from there.”
CHAPTER TWENTY
“Here,” Jenna said, holding out a stake for the General. “Just in case. We're at war with Silas. He could be tracking us and one may not be enough to get the job done.” She pointed at the single stake holstered at his hip.
“Thanks,” he said, taking the stake from her. He returned his attention to watching Alna and Mathias up ahead. They stood in the shadow of the night talking. Alna had both hands held before her, seemingly feeling something that was invisible to the rest of them. It was the supernatural barrier that protected the facility from vampires.
“How long is this gonna take? We’re exposed out here.”
“Our tactical gear blends into the night,” Jenna assured him as she flexed her glove-covered fingers and proceeded to crack her knuckles. “These are better than my usual gloves.”
“Kevlar,” the General said. He studied her, watching as she did a quick weapons check while they waited for Alna to break the barrier. “You’re bleeding,” he told her, pointing to her neck.
Jenna reached for the choker wrapped around her throat. She felt the stickiness of blood around it. Her neck felt tender. The leather had chafed it, causing the wounds to reopen. She removed the choker and reached into a pocket of her cargo pants for some gauze.
“Bite marks!” the General commented with disdain.
Jenna ignored him and concentrated on taping the gauze over the wounds. She reattached the choker, using it to hold the bandage in place.
“Looks like a fresh bite to me. A day old, if not less,” the General said, eyeing her with suspicion.
“It’s just a graze,” she said, dismissively.
The General stepped towards her, his hulking figure the essence of intimidation. “Vampires don’t graze. They rip flesh apart and devour every drop of blood in your body until you’re just a dry corpse.” His voice had become a haunting whisper.
But Jenna wasn’t intimidated. Imminent death hanging over her head had that effect. “They’re not all like Silas.”
The General scoffed. “They’re demons. I can’t believe I’m having this conversation with a slayer—The Hunter—of all people.” He saw her glance unintentionally fall on Mathias. He watched as Mathias seemed to sense her eyes on him; then his gaze snapped to hers and he smiled at her. Indisputable evidence! He’d suspected as much before, but now he had no doubt. Mathias has taken her.
“When he became involved with my daughter, I looked into him, pulled everything on him. He has a predilection for human women, Jenna,” he whispered. “And every one of them has perished. You think you'll be any different?”
“I am not merely human.”
“You’re mortal.”
“I'm a warrior. Death is my destiny.”
“It will be if you involve yourself with him.”
“It already is! I’m dying!” she blurted out, raising her voice.
Mathias turned his head at the sound of the commotion. He and Alna made their way back to them.
The General grabbed Jenna’s hands urgently and lowered his voice to a whisper. “Vampires—especially ones as old as Mathias—have extremely powerful seductive powers over humans.”
Jenna met his concerned eyes. “I'm immune to it,” she whispered.
The General released her, shocked. “If you continue this relationship, I cannot protect you.”
“That’s right, you can’t. I protect you. I am stronger. We are allies. Your mistrust is unfounded. Take my word for it. He will not betray you. But you must not betray him either.”
The General took her words in, searching her eyes for any indication of insincerity. But there was none.
“Is everything okay here?” Mathias asked as he and Alna reached them.
Jenna and the General exchanged a glance.
“Fine,” the General responded.
“My patience is waning. What’s the deal with the barrier?” Jenna asked.
“It’s different,” Alna reported.
“Different?” the General asked.
“I’ve breached it before, but there seems to be an additional layer of magic fused to it now. It’s black.”
“You can’t breach it?” Jenna asked, worried.
“I can breach anything. It’s just—”
“Someone knew that we were coming here,” Mathias cut in.
“If I breach it, it will alert them that we've arrived.”
“There’s no record of Silas having witches on his payroll. Generally, witches detest vamps,” the General said.
“In essence that's true,” Alna agreed. “But the magic I felt was beyond the abilities of any normal witch. They also know me very well. They know my issues with black magic. This is pure black.”
“What issues?” the General asked with c
oncern.
“It’s becoming more and more difficult for me to control it,” she said, lifting up her tactical vest a little to reveal her stomach.
“Holy shit!” the General exclaimed as he took in the sight of the hundreds of black veins running through her body.
“Death,” Alna said.
Mathias looked away and rubbed the stubble on his chin. “Outside of the four of us, only Legion, Jax and Valta knew of the lab’s existence.”
“Tanya,” Jenna exclaimed.
“Yes, she’s betrayed us to Silas,” Mathias realized.
“Great. So, now Silas knows all about the lab and Liquid Death,” the General realized aloud.
There was a pause as they all took in the situation before them.
A familiar voice cut through the night. “In a few hours, everyone will know.”
A few feet away from them stood Arthur with two dozen Immortalia soldiers flanking him. He made a gesture behind him for someone to come forward. Fiery red hair lit up the darkness of the two dozen ebony-cloaked soldiers. Tanya. Arthur snaked his arm around her waist and pulled her close. His mouth devoured hers. When they pulled back their faces had taken their demon form and there was blood on both their lips. They smiled viciously.
“Mathias, quite an asset you’ve lost here. Have you tasted her?”
“No,” Mathias seethed, “but she will taste death for her betrayal.”
Arthur snickered. “Of course, you favor the company of human women. Isn’t that right, General?”
The General’s insides burned with a rage that he could barely suppress.
Arthur paused in his attack as his vamp senses were drawn to something else. He scrutinized Jenna for a few seconds. Her blood wasn’t the same. It had lost some of its potency. It could only be the result of one thing. Dammit! That bastard had taken what he’d coveted for so long. Enraged, he took a step forward, yelling, “Or do you just fuck slayers now? Do you know how twisted that is? You’re drawn to the people who hunt us, whose job it is to murder us?”
He turned his vicious tongue on Jenna. “Don’t kid yourself, it’s just your blood that gets him off.”
“You seem a little emotional,” Jenna mocked.
“Let me rip her throat out,” Tanya said, breaking from the pack of soldiers.
Arthur gripped her arm and yanked her backwards, causing her to stumble into the soldiers. “You wait for my orders!” he reprimanded.
“Your father has paid someone to boost the barrier’s strength?” Alna asked.
Arthur nodded but didn’t elaborate. He had his own agenda to concentrate on. Enough playing.
“There are videos of the Liquid Death experiments in this very lab. By tomorrow, they will be made public to the entire vampire community. They will all know the extent of the human threat and they will join our cause.”
Mathias ripped his broadsword from its sheath. “They will never know, because you won’t live past this night.”
Jenna and the General readied their stakes.
Arthur grinned and in a fraction of a second his men encircled them.
“Together!” Mathias yelled.
The four of them hurried together, standing back to back so, between all four of them, they could see Arthur’s entire army.
“Rules of engagement?” the General asked Mathias.
“Don’t fire until fired upon.”
The General nodded. Despite being a vamp, Mathias knew how to speak his language.
“Attack!” Arthur bellowed.
Immortalia's soldiers charged. Mathias, Jenna and the General braced themselves.
Alna threw out her right arm and a split second later a shimmering blue dome appeared, encasing the four within.
“A force-field?” the General asked, looking to Alna.
“To sci-fi fans, yes,” she answered with amusement.
“How long can you hold it?” Mathias asked.
“Indefinitely of course!”
“Silas thought you might interfere, ivory witch,” Arthur called. “We brought a friend along to keep you busy.”
Before Alna could respond, a deafening thunderous crackle ripped through the sky. Seconds later a fusillade of shimmering black lightning bolts sped towards the barrier. She braced herself as they hit, one after the other, each impact more brutal. Just as her hand started to shake, the assault stopped. She felt his energy before she saw him materialize on the other side of the barrier.
“Orion,” she breathed.
“It’s taken me a century to find you, ivory witch. Silas told me about your black veins of death, but don’t worry. All that pain will end tonight, my sweet.” He blew her a kiss and eyed her lewdly.
It was no secret that Orion had always wanted her ever since their indiscretion years ago, despite her making it clear that it had been nothing but a mistake. “How did you escape the hell dimension I banished you to?”
“It appears the strength of my rage yielded a power stronger than the binds of that place.”
“You internalized black magic, let it consume you?”
“Precisely. And, now, my sweet, I have come for you.”
“This is not your fight,” Mathias said.
“Mathias. It’s been a while. Oh—are you two—?”
“No,” Mathias interjected quickly. He eyed Jenna and shook his head dismissively. Ignore him.
“You are a fool to think you could defeat me,” Alna hissed.
“I don’t plan on defeating you. I don’t need to. Your magic is unstable. You will destroy yourself. I’m just here to help it along.”
Mathias’ eyes widened in horror. “You'll destroy us all. Walk away, Orion.”
“Old scores must be settled. You know that better than anyone, Guardian,” he said, gesturing to Arthur and his soldiers.
“Not this night.”
“She's fading. This is my last opportunity. Besides, Silas has promised me a bonus—her,” he said, gesturing to Jenna. “A human that poses quite a challenge if it's true that she's immune to the seductive powers of vampires. I'm bored. No challenge from any of the humans I've ever come into contact with. What's existence without a challenge?”
“He promised what?” Arthur murmured angrily.
“She is not for bargaining,” Mathias told him. “She's with me.”
“I see. Then, I'll go through you after I've finished with Alna.”
“Alna?” Mathias whispered, “…can you hold this barrier against him?”
“I don’t know.” She eyed him worriedly.
Before anything further could be said, Orion’s hands touched the barrier, causing Alna to scream in agony.
“How do you like my power now, Alna?” he said, relishing her pain.
His hands emanated red fire that quickly spread over the entire barrier, making it appear as though it were engulfed in flames.
Alna gritted her teeth and flipped her left palm up, mumbling something incoherent to everyone else. A clear shimmering orb materialized. She lobbed it at the barrier. It passed through with ease and struck Orion in the chest, exploding into a zillion fragments of light. Its power blew him backwards and ripped his magic from the barrier. He lost his balance and hit the sodden ground hard.
Hurriedly, Alna addressed the group. “General, I cannot breach the barrier to the lab while Immortalia is here. It will allow them passage as well. When Luke enlisted my help to breach it last time, I got a good look at the blueprints of the facility. I can plant you in the control room where you’ll be able to destroy the electronic records of the drug. But you must give me your complete trust or it could upset the magic.”
The General nodded.
“I’ve never done it to someone so human before. It could cause some momentary disorientation and nausea,” she warned.
“If you’re gonna do it, do it now,” Jenna said, gesturing to Orion who was already recovering and climbing to his feet.
The General approached her. She took his hands in hers and closed her
eyes.
Her hands sparkled with what looked like countless diamonds. They spread to the General’s hands, snaking around his arms, his chest, his legs, until his entire body was covered. The brilliance hummed around him, hugging him tightly. The sparkling flickered for a few seconds, and then he was gone.
Alna’s eyes snapped open. “He’s there,” she reported with a relieved smile.
“Alna, we’re in a completely defensive position here,” Mathias warned.
“Mathias, if I release my magic, they’ll overrun the two of you!”
“If you don’t, Orion will kill you. He’s trying to force you to summon the blackest of magic. It will destroy you.”
“Going out in a battle is a better way to die than having the man you used to love with all your heart behead you in a dark dank alley.”
Jenna looked away uncomfortably.
“You know I wouldn’t do it like that. Give me some credit, Alna,” Mathias responded.
She reached for his cheek and stroked it gently. “I’m sorry. Your heart loves so much, despite what you are. You know you're not like the others. Have you ever wondered why? I'll give you this last gift and tell you. The white light within you is too strong for the demon to extinguish. That's why you're caught between the two worlds of vampire and human. It's why your conscience weighs so heavy on you for the things that you did when you were first turned and had no ability to control your vampiric instincts. I don’t want my death to add to that weight. I cannot let you be the one to do it, Mathias. Tonight has presented the perfect opportunity.”
“Alna, please!”
She wrapped her arms around him tightly. He stooped down to meet her and he took her in his arms. She could feel his tears against her cheek. “I need you to let me go. Please, Mathias.”
The barrier shook suddenly and he felt her body’s pain from the attack. The attack on the barrier mirrored the effect it was having on her. They were one in the same. He pulled her to him.
“Goodbye, my everything,” she breathed in his ear.
She pulled back and Mathias released her. He watched her shake as the barrier took another hefty hit. Both her hands shone with blue light.