“This discussion isn’t over,” she warned.
“Of course not.” He offered her a deceptively amiable smile. “We can chat about it on and off for the next fifty-two years.”
A sharp pang pierced her heart. For Jaden, eighty years was not too far away, if he even lived that long. Her wings beat down, carrying them up to the tower.
Within moments, they arrived at her suite. Ashra released Jaden and walked to her desk. She hit the communicator. “What is it?”
“Meet me at engine one.” An undercurrent of panic laced Siri’s voice. The soft blur of static from the communicator fizzled into silence.
Ashra turned toward the door. “Come, Jaden.”
He did not move. “Do you ever ask, or do you just command?”
Her golden eyes narrowed into slits. “If you intended to come anyway, does it matter if it was a question or a command?”
His laughter rang with amused resignation.
She wrapped an arm around his waist. Her wings spread and beat down, lifting them both into the air. She carried him down the central shaft and deposited him on the lowest level, which ran the entire length of the city.
Twelve large engine rooms dominated most of the floor space, and holding cells clustered around the perimeter. Ashra led the way through the maze of corridors to engine one, which was located on the western edge.
Siri met them outside the double doors of the engine room. Her large wings flared and twitched with her quick, nervous motions. “Come in.” She ushered them into the room and then locked the door.
The vampire Xanthia peeked out from behind a large cylindrical engine. Her breath huffed out of her in a sigh of relief. “Good, it’s you two. This way.” She led the way through the room, weaving past the massive engine that spun superheated air out through rotating blades. The air gushed out of the vents in an invisible torrent, keeping the city aloft.
Xanthia stopped in front of an unmarked door. “This is where we stored our energy capacitors,” she said before pushing the door open.
“Stored?” Jaden asked, apparently picking up on the past tense.
“I came in a half hour ago to load a fresh capacitor, but—” Xanthia waved her hand at the ruined capacitors, each as large as a human torso.
Ashra’s eyes narrowed. She leaned in to examine the damage on one of them. “Are these claw marks?”
Siri nodded. “Looks like it, though I can’t tell if it’s vampire or icrathari. If it’s a vampire, it would have to be one of the older ones to have so easily ripped through steel.”
“Was the door forced? Who has access to the room?”
“The door was secure,” Xanthia responded to Ashra’s question. “And the only ones with access to the storage room are the four icrathari and me.”
Sabotage. Ashra gritted her teeth and refocused her attention on the immediate crisis. “Can anything be salvaged?”
Xanthia wrung her hands. “No, they can’t. We—”
“How much more energy do we have?” Ashra asked.
“Only what’s left in the current capacitor, and it’s running low. It won’t last the night.”
“And how far to the closest solar charging station?”
Siri cut in. “We can get within twelve miles, but it’ll be two hours to dawn—”
“That should be enough time for a team of scouts to swap out the capacitors.”
“Just barely, considering they will be weighted down by capacitors, and that’s assuming the solar charging station isn’t damaged as the previous ones have been. The slightest delay and we’ll be caught out in the sun with no cover for miles around.”
“What will happen to the city if it’s trapped in the daylight?” Jaden asked.
“I don’t know,” Siri said. “We’ve never been, and I’d rather not find out. We have charging stations set up every hundred miles, but lately, the daevas have targeted them. Last week, they destroyed the ones at markers 107 and 210. We had to stop the city to fix the stations, and then burned fuel to stay west of the sun. Our energy reserves were thinned, and now this.” She looked at Ashra. “What do we do?”
“We travel as far as we can and then send the scouts out to bring the capacitors back.”
Jaden glanced at Siri. “What do these solar charging stations look like?”
Siri walked to a console, tapped a few commands, and an image of large silver-color panels supported by a squat windmill-like structure appeared on the screen. “The panels capture the heat and light of the sun, and the transformer beneath loads the energy into capacitors that we swap out each time we pass by the charging station.”
Jaden nodded. “I’ll help. Tell me what the capacitors look like and what I need to do.”
Xanthia nudged Siri away from the console. Her fingertips traced lines on the screen as she spoke. “You’ll need to check for external damage before you unscrew and open the panel. The last thing you want is to deal with leaking stabilizer fluid.”
For a few moments, Ashra observed their quiet exchange, and then drew Siri away to a corner of the room. She stared at Siri—Siri who wore her hair cut short in an elegant bob that framed her face.
The icrathari Ashra had caught a glimpse of at the cave was short-haired.
Siri, Ashra’s Hand…she controls much of Aeternae Noctis. Could she have betrayed me and betrayed the city?
Yet lack of evidence held back the accusations on the tip of Ashra’s tongue. What she needed was a test and confirmation of Siri’s loyalty. “I want you to make sure there’s enough energy in the remaining capacitor to maintain the city’s shields and keep the city aloft while I’m out.”
Siri nodded. “Yes, of course. We’ll have full sensors, full defenses.”
“You’re in charge while I’m out. I’ll make sure Tera and Elsker understand. I want you to seal the city. No one goes in or out.”
Siri shook her head. “I don’t think you should go. Tera and her warriors—”
“No. The city’s too vulnerable. You need Tera here, just in case. I’ll take Jaden, Dana, and Harrod.”
“But Jaden’s human.”
“I’ve noticed.”
“He can’t keep up.”
Ashra threw a glance over her shoulder at the man who could have been so much more, but wanted to stay human. “He’ll try, regardless. How long do we have before we stop? Two hours?”
“About that.”
Ashra nodded, almost certain that the deep coil of panic nestled in her stomach did not show on her face. “We’ll be ready.”
Chapter Fifteen
Ashra leaned down to tug on a pair of leather boots, before turning to examine her reflection in the mirror. Tera’s dark brown leather armor fit Ashra perfectly, leaving only her face and hands uncovered. The thin steel plates built into the high neckline and the chest piece, though uncomfortable, provided a measure of protection and a constant reminder that even the immortal could die.
She gathered her long hair into a tight knot, inserting narrow pins to hold the silky strands in place. The woman in the mirror who stared at her was not one she recognized. Ashra was the queen of Aeternae Noctis, who flitted through the city in flimsy white gowns and sandals, not this stern-faced creature dressed for war. She looked like Tera.
However, times were desperate, and their needs were great.
There was no greater evidence of it than when a fragile human was tasked to do what vampires would typically have done.
She glanced across her suite at Jaden, who stood with his back to her staring out of the window at the sleeping city. Tera had found a set of leather armor to fit him, and he cut a dashing figure in it, though his bronzed skin betrayed his humanity. His twin blades were sheathed in scabbards that crossed on his back.
Apparently sensing her gaze, he turned to her, a faint smile of appreciation curving his lips. “You look amazing.”
“Is Tera more your type?” she asked, her voice tart.
He grinned. “I like women in leather
and in silk.” He strode over to her, tipped her chin up, and leaned down. His warm breath teased her skin before his mouth sought hers. She closed her eyes, sinking into the kiss and the sensation of his arms tight around her. Desire coiled in the pit of her stomach, rippling through her spine and ruffling her wings.
He chuckled low in his throat. “Beautiful women inspire men, but what inspires you?”
The answer came instantly. Rohkeus. She pulled away from him, but he caught her wrist before she could turn her back on him. Her gaze flicked up to meet his green eyes.
The expression seemed sad, somehow. “I’m here now,” he murmured.
He must have sensed her wavering between him and her former lover, between present and the past. It was galling to be so transparent.
“Is there a problem here?” Elsker’s voice asked from the door.
She tugged her hand out of Jaden’s grip. “No, we’re fine. What is it, Elsker?”
He wore a deep furrow between his eyes. “I hope to talk you out of this insanity.”
“It has to be done.”
“Yes, of course, but not by you.”
“Siri has to run the city; Tera has to defend it.”
Elsker spread his hands. “You’re our queen. You shouldn’t put yourself at risk. I can go instead.”
Ashra glanced over her shoulder at Jaden. She opened her mouth, on the verge of accepting Elsker’s offer, and then caught herself. If something happened to Jaden, she would blame Elsker forever. She shook her head. “It’ll be fine.”
Elsker pressed his lips together and shook his head, but did not argue further. He embraced her stiffly, and then stepped back. “Good luck.”
“We’ll be back in two hours.”
Together, Ashra and Jaden took the elevator down to the lowest level and stepped off to find Dana and Harrod waiting, each holding two empty capacitors. Ashra led the way to the eastern curve of the city and into the room dominated by steel panels set in the floor.
Tera, accompanied by two warriors, entered the room. “I’m here to bid you farewell and good luck,” she said. She leaned in to hug Ashra. “Be safe.”
“We will. When I return, we’ll discuss expanding our army to include humans.”
Tera’s eyes widened. “What?” Her single question sounded like a curse.
The low hum of the city’s engines fell silent. The city had stopped. Ashra smiled thinly. “Let’s go.” She peered into the glowing biometric scanner. After a moment, the red light flashed to green, and the heavy lock clicked. The floor panels slid apart. A hot breath of air wafted through the opening, a reminder—as if she needed one—of the inhospitable climate outside the dome.
Ashra threw a final glance over her shoulder. “Keep the city safe.”
Tera nodded in acknowledgment, but her eyes were troubled.
Ashra swooped out. The vampires and Jaden leapt from the city and landed on the baked ground. Ashra’s only reaction was an arch of the eyebrow. Jaden’s landing had been as graceful and as silent as the vampires'. His reflexes were as much from his training as a warrior as from the gift of her blood. In spite of Lucas’s dire predictions, Jaden’s back had healed from the daevas’ vicious attack. His muscles were restored, his skin unblemished.
Did Jaden realize he was no longer entirely human?
If he did, he gave no indication of it. He stared at the underside of the now-still city, his expression one of awe.
Two miles from end-to-end, protected beneath a dome, Aeternae Noctis was an engineering feat, one never to be replicated. The plans had existed only in Rohkeus’s mind and had perished with him.
“Jaden,” Dana recalled her son with a quiet word. “Take this.” She handed him one of the empty capacitors, glanced down at the tracking device she held, and then looked up at the featureless landscape. “Follow me.”
The scout leader set a brisk pace, sprinting to the west. Ashra soared overhead, searching the horizon for daevas while keeping an eye on the small team of vampires and one human who ran across the dry terrain. On her own, she could have reached the solar charging station in a fraction of the time, but it was too risky without ground support. Anxious, she watched the horizon lighten as time raced against them.
The squat frame of the solar charging station appeared in the distance, its six large panels angled to the east, in anticipation of the rising sun. Her breath shuddered; a quiet, relieved sigh escaped from her. She circled the station and allowed herself to hope.
She had completed another tight loop of the area when the vampires reached the solar charging station. She landed lightly beside them as Jaden pushed to the front. He was breathing hard, sweat glistening on his skin. His green eyes were cool and focused as he pulled tools out of his small pack. He set the screwdriver against the first of the six screws that secured the panel.
“Do you know what to do?” she asked.
“Xanthia explained it.”
Tiny flashes of light pulsed from the screwdriver in a precise sequence that matched the security code embedded in the screw. Tiny prongs emerged from the head of the screw, locking the screw onto the screwdriver. Jaden spun the screwdriver, and the screw came loose.
Minutes later, he dropped all six screws into Dana’s waiting hand, put the screwdriver away, and tugged the panel off. A grin flashed across his face. “It doesn’t look damaged.” He reached in, maneuvered one of the capacitors out of its charging dock, and handed it to Harrod, trading the full capacitor for an empty one, which he inserted in its place.
The whisper of shifting sand breathed through the canyon. Ashra glanced around sharply.
“I sense it too,” Jaden said, his voice terse. He handed the second capacitor to Dana, and then a third.
A cluster of shadows around a distant pile of rocks shifted into the shape of bat wings.
“Daevas!” Ashra took to the air.
Jaden pulled the fourth capacitor from the charging station and tossed it to Harrod. He spun around, drawing his twin blades. “Run!” he ordered Dana and Harrod, who held the fully charged capacitors. “I’ll hold them off.”
Daevas, eyes gleaming yellow and fangs bared, launched themselves at the retreating vampires in a flurry of wings and claws, but Jaden threw himself between them. He slashed out, the edges of his blades slicing through skin and flesh. Twice, he collapsed under the heavy onslaught, but reappeared beneath the tangle of limbs, his swords flashing like living weapons. Blood flowed—golden, not crimson.
Ashra tore through the daevas’ ranks, ripping wings and grounding some of them, leaving them vulnerable to Jaden’s attack. She spared a brief glance at the two vampires, already tiny in the distance. She tore the head off a daeva’s shoulders. With a malicious grin, her pale golden eyes gleaming, she hurled it at another daeva, larger than the others.
A silver ring glittered on its finger. The daeva hissed, its massive wings beating down. It must have sounded a retreat. The daevas that could still fly clustered around it, and together, they vanished into the dark night sky.
Ashra landed beside Jaden and helped him finish off the injured daevas. “Hurry. We have to catch up with the vampires.”
Jaden nodded. “Go ahead.” He leaned down and wiped clean his swords on a daeva’s rags. “I have to put the panel back.”
“Leave it.”
He grabbed the panel and searched the ground for the screws Dana had dropped. “We can’t let them access our technology. It’ll take two minutes. Go on. I’ll catch up.”
She rolled her eyes. “I fly faster than you run.”
He grinned, flashing white teeth. “I’ll make a heroic attempt to keep up.” He worked as he spoke, his fingers spinning the screws into place.
The screech of a daeva cut the silence of the night. Jaden glanced in the direction of the sound. “They’re going after Dana and Harrod. Go.”
She obeyed instinctively, but caught herself, halting after two wing flaps. How could she leave him unprotected?
He did not look
at her. His brow was furrowed, his attention focused on securing the open panel in the solar charging system. “Go, Ashra.”
She turned. Her large wings beat down, and she took off after Dana. Her breath caught when she saw the cluster of daevas attacking the vampires. Harrod ran out front, crouched low over his canisters. Dana brought up the rear and was the first to take on the daevas. She dropped the canisters behind a rock pile and reached for her sword.
“Run!” Ashra ordered as she dove into the cluster of daevas hovering over the scorched landscape.
Dana picked up the canisters and scrambled away.
The daevas scattered from Ashra like sparrows fleeing a hawk. They spun, freewheeling through the air in a panicked rush to stay out of the range of her claws. She was faster, stronger, and did not have to hesitate for fear of cutting down an aerial ally. Their only defense was in the organized chaos of a flock. For every one she tore from the sky, their leather wings savagely ripped, two escaped to hound Dana and Harrod.
The two vampires did not stop to attack the daevas. Their only focus was speed, their true enemy the sun. Ashra glanced up. In the distance, Aeternae Noctis shimmered against the glow of the eastern horizon.
At least seven miles—
She ground her teeth.
Dawn was less than a half hour away.
A large daeva twisted away from Ashra’s claws. Its wings beat down, carrying it away from her, and it shrieked. At its command, the remaining daevas retreated, flying south.
Ashra stamped out her predator’s instinct to pursue fleeing prey; she had to find Jaden.
The howl of an outraged daeva rent the night. Ashra spun around in midair. Her jaw dropped.
A daeva wobbled through the air toward her, bucking like a maddened horse. Jaden, gripping its bony shoulders, rode the daeva hundreds of feet in the air. Like a marionette on strings, he swayed and jerked with each jolting motion, but managed to stay on the daeva’s back until it somersaulted through the air.
Legends of the Damned: A Collection of Edgy Urban Fantasy and Paranormal Romance Novels Page 160