Diamond held in front of her what looked like a flier, but the words were an advertisement for impending evil.
WE SHALL RISE
Rise my brothers and sisters
The time of reckoning has begun
The years of tyranny will come to the an end
The masses must unite
The leaches and dogs must die so we can be liberated
We can now live the way we always should have
We shall be the kings, the new world order
Freedom is in our reach
Unite my brothers and sisters and together
WE SHALL RISE
Reysa read the words out loud several times hoping the fear it evoked would lessen, but it just grew stronger.
“This isn’t the first one,” Diamonde explained. “I’ve seen several, but the message is always the same. It is a call to action. It’s a summoning to war.” Diamonde presented Reysa with another unsettling flier also entitled, “We Shall Rise.”
Our time has come
The final reckoning is upon us
The masses will unite
The tyrants will crumble
We are now the gods of the immortals
We are now the kings of this world
Join us my fallen brothers and sisters
And we shall rise together
WE SHALL RISE
“Why? I don’t understand this. A war between whom?” Reysa questioned although part of her knew the dreaded answer.
“Humans have experienced this throughout history. I think immortals were too arrogant to believe our kind would evolve the same way. The weaker minorities unite and rise to overthrow the powerful majority. This is a call to the end of the centuries, or rather millenniums, of forced submission of the lesser immortals. The pureblood vampires and lycans have dominated immortals for years. They have always controlled everything leaving the rest with just the scraps they leave behind. They have used their power to compel our obedience and I fear someone has had enough. Someone is trying to unite us and start a war. If all the weaker immortals join together, the vampires and lycans won’t stand a chance.”
“This is madness. We’ll just destroy each other. Why do this now?” Reysa asked.
“Why not now?” Diamonde countered. “It was always a matter of time before the oppressed would become the oppressors. That’s the history of the world that we are doomed to repeat. We mock humans for their stupidity yet we weren’t smart enough to learn from their mistakes. We have lived through thousands of human race wars and now we face our own.”
“Do you have any idea who’s behind this? Who would be powerful enough to start this war? Who has the ability to unite so many creatures of the night?”
Diamonde raked her hand through her platinum wig as she considered potential suspects. “There are many. Think about all the different species of immortals. There could be hundreds, thousands in each who had the intellect and ability to unite the masses. Everyone wants to be saved, they just need that spark to ignite the rallying cry and all will flock to the flame. The potential destruction is unimaginable. The vamps and wolves will not surrender easily and I have a feeling that the rabble rousers would prefer total annihilation. That is the best way to mute a threat or potential threat. This will be a total war.”
“We have to warn the Council.” Reysa jumped up, pacing the floor as she often did when stressed.
“The Council?” Diamonde asked dubiously. “The famous Council that pretends to represent all immortals, but is really just a way for the vampires and lycans to control everyone else. That Council is a mockery of fairness, equality, justice.”
“A few weeks ago, I would have agreed with you, but the Council is different now. I know the new leader, Lucian. He’s Kaden and Julian’s…well, he’s their mother’s mate. I really believe he wants to undo some of the harm the Council has done in the past. He seems to be a good vampire.”
“That’s an oxymoron.”
“Do I have to remind you that I’m part vampire?” Reysa defended. “We’re not all bad.”
“You’re a half-breed. That places you on the bottom of the food chain with the rest of us. A pureblood would never accept you as a true vampire. You are in the bowels of the immortal hierarchy just like all other half-breeds, witches, shifters, sages, ghouls, faeries and any other creature that wasn’t born 100% bloodsucker or beast.”
“Whose side are you on in this battle, Diamonde? From the way you talk, it’s hard to tell.”
“I support the side that survives ultimately,” Diamonde admitted. “I would prefer that there was no war. I detest violence and bloodshed, but I can’t pretend not to understand and empathize with this need to wage war. It’s about time all immortals whether eternals, hybrids or other be treated equally. None of us were born to be enslaved by the purebloods. They’re so corrupted that they even enslaved their own kinds.”
Kaden listened to Reysa and Diamonde debate the merits of the emerging immortal war. His own mother had been a pureblood vampire slave just because she did not have the status to compete with the vampire elite. How she suffered because of her class. Vampires were cruel and somewhat monstrous when it came to their own species so they definitely had little regard for lesser immortals. Lucian had helped change some of that, but there were still many vampires who cherished their role as the superior race, along with the lycans who were the greatest threat to vampires. Lycans could be equally prejudicial and often violated weaker immortals using them for their own gain.
It was not difficult to understand this call to war even though he was a pureblood vampire likely to be targeted for destruction. Pureblood vampires and lycans were generally assholes. He was guilty of bullying others just because he could. He never thought about the consequences of those actions. He never cared, until now. This threat was real and credible. He knew he was just as much to blame as the others of his kind who used their greater strength to dominate the other races.
“The war has already begun,” Kaden acknowledged, silencing Reysa and Diamonde. “The mescah was just the beginning. It was the first test to see if the mighty vampires and lycans could fall and it worked.”
Mescah was the deadly combination of coca leaf, opium poppy, khat and mescaline. Typically, these drugs would not complement each other, but in the case of mescah, they meshed together to form the perfect potent drug cocktail. The effects of which were strong enough to destroy immortals and inhibit their ability to heal themselves. Vampires and lycans were the primary victims, including Kaden’s mother Olivia who barely survived her mescah addiction. Her body was still recovering from the toxic effects of that poison. Olivia was among the fortunate. She was the only known survivor.
“Lucian believes that a sage with skills in alchemy along with the spell binding power of a witch created this drug. Sages were among the most reviled creatures of the night and often the targets of abuse.” Kaden had regrettably abused a few in the past.
“I’ve heard of this mescah,” Diamonde admitted. “I’ve studied it. It’s wrapped in a very well-constructed spell that I cannot counter. I may be a strong warlock, but like most of my kind, my charmer abilities are very limited. Unfortunately, the only real charmer I know of is your daughter, Reysa, but Tatiana’s powers are not strong enough to break the bonds of mescah. At least not yet, but we don’t have time to wait.”
Nothing could stop mescah they feared. The top alchemists were working to counter the effects of this drug, but so far very few answers were revealed. Olivia’s survival was believed to be attributed to her mating bond with Lucian. His strength, along with Reysa’s healing blood, seemed to dull the addiction. For the other victims, no such solution had spared their lives. In the last three weeks, there were thirty-six new mescah deaths. The drug that had progressed slowly was quickly making its way through the vampire and lycan communities. A few shifters had succumbed to the drug as well, but they were probably just incidental victims. Mescah was the first battle of the emergin
g race war.
Julian left the room to call Lucian and alert him to this latest information while Kaden and Reysa remained with Diamonde. Diamonde turned on the television to watch a preseason Cowboys game. It was a much needed distraction after the frightening realization of the emerging war.
Reysa was a surprisingly knowledgeable football fan. Kaden watched in amusement as she yelled out penalties before the official made the call.
“Are you two sleeping together yet?” Diamonde blurted out nearly causing Reysa to choke on what was left of her O negative.
“No!” Reysa gasped.
The negative response a little too quick for Kaden’s liking. It may have been the truth, but it was not the truth he wanted. “Not yet,” Kaden corrected as Reysa’s cheeks turned a lovely shade of scarlet.
“What are you waiting for?” Diamonde questioned. “You should always seek your pleasure. I live by that motto. As soon as you guys leave, I’m going to find a nice warm body to occupy my bed tonight.”
“Male or female?” Kaden asked causing Reysa’s flush to redden even more. He loved tormenting her and Diamonde made it so damn easy.
“It depends on what I see downtown. I’m not picky. Whatever attracts my eye. Are you offering by any chance?” Diamonde batted her unnaturally long eyelashes.
Kaden played along, as if not fazed by Diamonde’s flirting. “I slept with Maddie. It wouldn’t feel right to entertain other members of her family.”
“Tis true,” Diamonde conceded. “That would be weird, even for me.”
To Reysa’s delight, Julian walked back into the room, signaling it was time to leave. Reysa was beyond ready to go. She embraced Diamonde and Kaden and Julian did the same as they proceeded to leave. Grotaon was waiting by the door still scowling at Kaden with that same mangy Chihuahua that seemed to have followed Kaden wherever he went in the house. That mutt gave him the creeps. He snarled at it with his fangs and the dog snarled back unleashing its own full set of sharp canines.
“Grotaon, it was so enjoyable meeting you. Thank you for the entertainment.” Kaden’s false sincerity readily apparent to a very annoyed Grotaon.
“You dare mock me, bloodsucker?”
“Well, it’s just too easy to do so.”
Reysa grabbed Kaden and ushered him out the door hoping to avoid another dumb comment from slipping through those troublesome, but delectable, lips. Before they could leave, one of the Chihuahuas ran up Kaden, raised its leg and relieved itself all over Kaden’s black leather boot. The dog looked up to Kaden with a proud look on its face as its ears twitched in delight. Grotaon’s laughter mocking him from behind.
Reysa muffled her laugh as she pulled Kaden’s arm. “Let’s just go. We’ll take care of your boot when we get back to my house.”
Kaden just stood there staring intently at the dog that was now looking quite afraid as it whimpered in pure terror. Smoke started to emanate from its fur. Julian quickly grabbed the pup cooling it while Reysa pleaded with Kaden to stop. “I was in the mood for a hot dog,” he joked.
“Not funny,” Reysa reprimanded.
“I wasn’t going to kill it,” he explained. Julian put the dog down who ran away in fear as it bellowed. Kaden heard an ear piercing growl behind him as he whipped around in time to see the crazed looking Chihuahua launch at him sinking his enormous sharp fangs in Kaden’s right hand. Kaden tried to pull the rabid mutt off of him but the dog refused to let go. He vaguely heard Diamonde’s voice demand that Fi-Fi let go. Finally the dog shuddered and dropped to the ground running for cover as Diamonde used her power to control her pet. Kaden’s hand was a mangled mess that burned like acid.
“I’m going to kill that little shit,” Kaden threatened as the pain intensified. His hand was turning an eerie shade of blue. He collapsed on the ground as Reysa reached for his hand.
“Don’t touch it,” Diamonde warned. “The bite is poisonous and highly infectious. We must remove his hand before the toxin spreads.”
“You’re not removing any part of my body,” Kaden roared. “Don’t touch me or I will kill every last one of you.”
Diamonde dismissed his threats. “Stop being a baby. The hand has to go otherwise you will die. You’re a pureblood vampire, the hand will regenerate within a day or two. The pain will just get worse as long as we waste time debating the inevitable.”
“Kaden please,” Reysa urged. “Diamonde wouldn’t lie about this. This is the only way.”
“A goddamn Chihuahua,” Kaden muttered bitterly. “Fine, cut it off.”
“Reysa, would you like to do the honors?” Diamonde offered. “You are the knife expert.”
Reysa looked at the Kaden’s mangled hand through watery eyes. “I-I can’t do this to him.”
“I would be happy to,” Grotaon volunteered as he grabbed his miniature axe. “Aye. It would give me great pleasure to be of service.”
“Not with that toy axe,” Kaden threatened. “You’re not going to torture me with that pathetic excuse for a weapon.”
“No problem.” Grotaon held out the axe which began to grow larger until it reached the size of a normal axe. It was nearly as big as Grotaon, but he twirled it with ease. “This will only hurt--well quite a bit actually--but only for a few agonizingly slow moments. You know lad, there’s an Irish Gaelic proverb, ‘Is minic a bhris béal duine a shorn’ which translates to ‘many a time a man's mouth broke his nose.’ Such a fitting expression to sum up this moment and probably most of your life.”
And Kaden thought his day couldn’t get any worse. He had been pissed on by one Chihuahua and attacked by a rabid one named Fi-Fi and now his hand was about to get chopped off by a diminutive, but deadly axe yielding elf who wanted to lecture him with Irish proverbs.
He tried to focus on Reysa’s tear stained face, but he couldn’t help but watch as a gloating Grotaon levied his axe. Kaden roared as his world went black.
Chapter 4
Kaden opened his eyes and inhaled the enticing scents of jasmine and gardenia. For a moment, he thought he had just awoken from the most bizarre dream, but then he looked at his bandaged right arm and realized—Fi-Fi was real and he was one hand short. As he tried to sit up, he felt her soft hands gently lifting him.
“Are you in any pain?” Reysa asked as she ran her fingers through his hair. The slightest touch and he was hard for her again.
How could he possibly be in pain with those heavenly fingers stroking him? Pain would come if she stopped no doubt, but nothing could defeat the bliss of her touch except for that furry thing touching his left arm. Kaden stiffened. A brief moment of panic as a small part of him feared it was another killer dog with an unnatural overbite preparing to use him as a chew toy.
Reysa sensed his discomfort and reached for the brown teddy bear. A harmless stuffed teddy bear with a bright pink bow. Great. Now he just embarrassed himself in front of the one woman he wanted to impress.
“Tatiana left this for you. It’s her good luck bear. She thought it might help you heal. She never sleeps without it, but she did for the first time last night. She figured you needed it more.”
Kaden took the rumpled bear from Reysa. He was touched by Tatiana’s sweet gesture. “Thank her for me.”
“Actually, she’s waiting outside to see you. She begged not to go to school today. She wanted to be here in case you woke up. She’s quite fond of you. I can’t imagine why,” Reysa teased.
“She has bad taste in men.”
Reysa stood up and walked to the door. Looking over her shoulder, she added, “Apparently so does her mother. I’ve been told this repeatedly over the last few weeks.”
A moment later she returned with Savannah and Tatiana who slipped through her mother’s legs and jumped into the bed. She hugged a startled Kaden who didn’t know how to respond to the child. He awkwardly patted her back with his left hand and she released him snuggling into this left side.
“Sugar, I heard you were in need of a hand,” Savannah taunted as she waved all fo
ur of hers at Kaden. “Fortunately for you, I’ve got one to spare.”
“Grotaon called to check on you,” Christian strolled into the room adding to Kaden’s misery. “He wanted to make sure we called him if the infection spread just in case he needed to remove any more of your body parts. I think he should just chop you into bits to be safe.”
“Behave, Christian,” Reysa reprimanded. He quieted, but kept that smirk on his face. “Savannah, can you check his bandages to make sure he’s ok?”
“I’m fine,” Kaden grumbled. “I would feel better if the dog stench was out of this room. Then I could breathe fresh air.”
“I think it’s the puppy smell in your blood that’s bothering you,” Christian retorted.
“Enough!” Reysa yelled. “Kaden needs his rest. We should go.” Kaden really wanted her to stay but wouldn’t ask with the others in the room, especially Christian. He would not show any weakness in front of the vampire-wolf. Reysa sat next to Kaden on the bed. “Christian, Savannah and I are going to The Lore. I’m sorry to leave you, but I am so behind in my work and I can’t keep dumping my responsibilities on my friends. I’m just a phone call away if you need anything. I can pop in at a moment’s notice. I have left you fresh blood in the refrigerator and Tatiana has been baking all afternoon for you. She will take care of you if you need anything.”
It took a moment for her words to register then he realized she was planning to leave him alone with her kid. “Wait a minute! I don’t babysit.”
“Actually, she’s babysitting you.” Christian clarified. “We wouldn’t want you to be left totally unprotected. You never know what could happen. Tati’s pet piranha might decide to take off your other hand.”
Kaden wanted to squeeze the life out of Christian with his one good hand. He took a very deep breath and focused his attention on a worried Reysa. She squeezed his shoulder trying to reassure him everything would be ok. He looked at Tatiana’s bright, hopeful silver eyes. She wanted to spend the day with him and as uncomfortable as he was at the prospect, he could not deny this child anything. There was something about her innocent eyes that could make the hardest of hearts melt.
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