Unhuman Acts

by Candace Blevins

  I really wished I’d flashed an empty barge somewhere, just to be sure I could, but I hadn’t, so now I had to do it with people packed onto it like cattle. These two barges made up most of our fighting force.

  But no pressure.

  “You’ve taken control of all brains who can see us?” I asked Abbott.

  “I have.”

  I looked at Cora, who assured me, “All cameras here and in the landing area are out of service. It’s safe to move us.”

  I nodded. “I’ve been to the park a lot. I’ll put us down near the boat ramp. When I take the second barge, it’ll go down near the trailhead pavilion, about a half mile away.” We had mostly vampires and their people and allies on this barge, and people not closely associated with them on the other.

  I raised my voice a little. “Everyone needs to close their eyes and hold their breath. I’ll count down from three.”

  I heard Abbott broadcasting telepathically to tell everyone the same thing, and I could sense everyone listening for my count.

  I squeezed my arms around the base of the mast, said, “Three, two, one,” and stepped us from Midgard to the reality I’d made, and then back into the human realm at the planned spot.

  I hadn’t been prepared for there to be so damned many bad guys on land. I’d assumed maybe a few hundred people, but there had to be thousands.

  I blew out a breath and hoped the bird shifters showed up sooner rather than later.

  I met Cora’s gaze. “Don’t get killed.”

  She nodded. “Right back at you.”

  I flashed to the other barge, levitated up, and told the assembled group, “I’ll count down from three before I take you. Hold your breath and close your eyes. It’s loud there. You’ll know when we’ve landed.”

  I was assured that each leader knew their part in the strategy, and I only needed to get them there. So I pulled energy from the river, wrapped my arms around the base of this mast, and once again transported tons of steel and live beings a few miles upriver in a few seconds.

  Chapter 16

  The metallic, coppery scent of blood hit me like punch to the gut, and I stopped breathing. At first, I thought I heard evil bells ringing, but then realized that was the sound of steel on steel. Sword fights.

  I didn’t understand how the rules of battle had been negotiated, but gunfire would’ve drawn attention and both sides seemed determined to fight this battle without drawing humans into it.

  I’d depleted my reserves to practically nothing, but I found enough energy to flash home. I stared at my cedar, desperately needing help, but I didn’t dare wrap my arms around it. I was beyond drained and I worried I’d take too much.

  I spun to the right because I felt a presence, and then shook my head and tried to still my heart. Xaephan looked relaxed, sitting on my meditation bench. I crossed my arms, leaned backwards against my cedar, and asked it for help.

  Energy streamed into my back, and I breathed it in. I wouldn’t take too much from her this way.

  “What do you want?” I managed to ask it as a casual question instead of biting his head off. Go me.

  “Mostly, I wanted to see if the rumors were true, Goblin Queen.”

  “Harlequin.”

  He shrugged. “Tomato. Tomahto.”

  “You’ve verified the rumors. Feel free to leave.”

  “Why do you think my brother is choosing to stay out of this while Apollo is helping?”

  I’d wondered if Apollonius might be Apollo, but it’d seemed too easy. However, Xaephan doesn’t always tell the truth, so I couldn’t take his statement as fact.

  “You aren’t going to volunteer any information, and I’m not in a mood to pay for it. You should go.”

  “Your side is going to lose. I don’t know if I’ll be able to save your life, when it comes to it.”

  “I don’t understand why you think it’s your job to save my life.”

  “Because I told my brother that if he’d bow out of the battle, I’d do my best to keep you alive. There are things happening you don’t know about. He’s forbidden from telling you, and I’d rather you not know.”

  “So, he isn’t restricted because he’s a god, but because of his deal with you?”

  “Oh, the god thing comes with restrictions, but they’re all breaking them. However, I may be the only person capable of saving you, Chère.”

  “You didn’t save me from the demon bite. You wanted to own me in exchange for helping!” That hadn’t come out casual at all. I took a breath and tried to find my center. I couldn’t afford to let my emotions rule.

  “My hands were tied. The person who bit you is still paying for it, and will for another five thousand years.”

  Which would at least keep more demons from biting me, but it felt like I’d be immune now that I’d overcome it once. Maybe. Then again, maybe not. “Thank you.”

  He lifted an eyebrow. “You’re welcome.”

  The lifted eyebrow sent heat straight to my groin, and I closed my eyes to keep from embarrassing myself. I suddenly wanted him worse than I could ever remember wanting anyone. I stood straighter and crossed my arms, but didn’t lose contact with my cedar tree. “Cut it out. I’m not having sex with you.”

  His half smile was the sexiest thing ever. I wanted to lick it.

  “But you want to.”

  “Of course I do — you’re the Lord of Lust and you just turned your mojo on. If there’s nothing else, I’m going to go inside and see if there’s anything I can do to help.”

  He stood and walked towards me, and my necklace was suddenly hot on my chest. I flashed myself up to sit on a tree branch. If he touched me, I wouldn’t be able to say no.

  He touched his ring and gave me an odd look. “The metal and the stone recognize each other.”

  Did they want back together? If they did, shouldn’t we let them? There were too many questions, and I wasn’t going to just hand my necklace over to him without understanding the ramifications. My guess was that he wasn’t offering his ring to me. On the off chance he was, I decided it couldn’t hurt to ask. “Leave the ring on the table by the bench, and I’ll get it once you’re gone. I’m sure they’ll be happy to be together again.”

  He gave me another sexy grin. “Chère.”

  One word said everything. He liked the fact I tried and wasn’t cowed, but no way was he handing it over.

  “I’m going to count down from ten in my head. If you have something important we need to talk about it, you should convince me before I get to zero.”

  “Your side is going to lose. If you won’t change sides, at least let me take you somewhere safe.”

  I shook my head and stepped into the underground castle. No one spoke to me while I walked to our control room. I sat, put headphones on, and logged into the Drake control room, currently still underground in Trezevant.

  It was a little after eleven o’clock. We still had two hours until I needed to go to the container. “What can I do?”

  Chance shook his head at me. “Eat. Meditate.”

  “Xaephan was outside when I went to my cedar tree.”

  “I’ll let Aaron and Nathan know when they’re ready for intel. They’re fighting for their lives at the moment. I feel so helpless.”

  “You’re exactly where they need you. Can I show up flaming somewhere, to give our guys an advantage?”

  “I don’t think so. We have another two hundred people — bird shifters who flew in. They don’t have weapons, but the extra soldiers helped.” He sighed. “It’s bad, Kirsten, but we need you to hold the portal open and then transport the others who are managing portals to the battlefield afterwards. They’ll be fresh. Just having Isaac and Harrison may be enough to turn the tide.”

  “I can take them there now, and then take them back in time to do the portals.”

  “Aaron didn’t like that idea.”

  “Are you hearing from them at all?”

  “Just heavy breathing and a little conversation with whoever
they’re fighting. I have myself muted so I don’t interfere.

  “If someone’s hurt, I can flash to them and get them out, at least.”

  He didn’t respond, so I stayed quiet. Being on the line wasn’t helpful, but it was a little bit of a connection. Or, it felt that way.

  But then, I could hear Chance’s underlying need to speak slowly and enunciate his words. They’re trained to do it, but I can usually tell when they want to talk faster.

  “Go to Cora. You’ll be transporting Kieran to the backyard of the coterie house. He’s gravely injured.”

  “Copy that. On my way.”

  I flashed to Cora, and she was fighting off seven people to her one, protecting Kieran’s lifeless body. Most of his head had been hacked off, but not all of it. I fell to the ground, wrapped my arms around his body, and flashed to the back parking area of coterie house. Two vampires were waiting for me. One of them took him and was gone so fast, I didn’t even see the blur.

  “Thank you.” I didn’t know the female vampire, but she didn’t feel very powerful. “We know Abbott is using a lot of our combined resources for this fight. Do you have news?”

  I shook my head. “I was only there a second and it was hell. We’re vastly outnumbered.” I put together what I’d heard Chance telling people through our connection, and I realized what was happening. The bad guys had filled the park, and as they were killed, more came through the portals to take their place.

  Xaephan said we weren’t going to win. He fucking knew.

  I shook my head, manifested a light sword and then a staff of light, and flashed back to Cora. I handed her the light sword and helped her take out the five people she was fighting — she’d taken out two while I was gone.

  They weren’t terribly skilled, but they wielded heavy, sharp swords, so you couldn’t relax even a tiny bit while they were attacking, no matter their skill level.

  She pointed down the hill. “Ranger’s in trouble, can you flash us to him?”

  I nodded, grabbed her arm, and took us to him. Her longsword was back in the scabbard, and she was carrying the light sword.

  When we arrived, a Celrau vampire was on the ground, his mouth around Ranger’s leg, biting him, while Ranger fought two more off with a sword. While being bitten, they should’ve been able to control him, but I sensed Cora giving him the energy and willpower to keep them out.

  I hacked through the one on the ground, Cora took care of one of the standing ones, and Ranger took the head off the one in front of him.

  “Fuck, that hurts. Thank you.”

  “Are you okay to keep fighting?”

  More vampires showed up and the three of us engaged with them, and he telepathed, I’m fine. The bastard just pissed me off.

  We made quick work of them, and Cora telepathed. You need to go back. I appreciate the assist, but we’ve got this. Aaron thinks things will get easier once we’ve done the portal thing again. All we’re doing now is holding them off until the time comes to kick their ass. We’ve got this.

  Lightning lit up the dark sky in the distance. I sensed pain from a wolf that wasn’t ours, and looked in the direction the feeling came from. Gavin and Queenie were fighting at least eight demons, and one of the demons was biting Queenie.

  I flashed to them, grabbed Gavin and Queen, and stepped into my personal little realm. As soon as we got there, I killed the demon and then flashed myself twenty yards away from the pissed off vampire and injured wolf.

  Gavin didn’t even look at me, he just bent his head and bit the same spot the demon had. Not even a minute later, I’m pretty sure he pulled Queenie’s wolf from her instead of ordering her to change. He took her from human to wolf and back a half-dozen times before he sniffed her and seemed satisfied.

  “Thank you,” he told me. “If you can take her somewhere and feed her, I’m good to get back to the battle.”

  No way was I going to let her know about our personal saferooms. “I can take her to the coterie house. I assume they can feed her.”

  “Can you take us to the back parking lot of the downtown Billiard Club? I’ll get her settled and then, if you can bring me back to the fighting I’d appreciate it.”

  “You sucked the demon venom out?”

  “It’s impossible to get it all. I got enough.”

  “It doesn’t bother you?”

  “He wasn’t a hi-powered demon, and I’m strong. None of us can do that for an upper-echelon demon. She needs food.”

  I walked to them, grabbed each by the arm, and flashed them to the back lot of TBC. Three vampires were outside before I’d drawn a breath. I’m certain Gavin was telepathing with them so I couldn’t hear the conversation. Two of them carried Queenie inside, the third stood guard, as if watching to make sure I didn’t cause problems.

  “I’ll focus on Abbott and take you to him,” I told Gavin.

  He nodded, and I flashed us back to the battle.

  Chapter 17

  Abbott looked a little like an avenging God, with two swords moving so fast they were a blur, and heads flying off his opponents left and right. He clearly didn’t need help, and I began to understand more of why the enemy had felt they needed so many bodies in order to have a chance.

  I flashed back to Homewood, just outside a bathroom, and walked into it. I washed my hands and face before I disrobed enough to relieve myself. Body armor is a bitch to pee in when you’re a woman.

  We were due to hold the portals open in fourteen minutes, and I was going to be there by myself this time. It should be fine. I’d be underground in a container with no physical way in or out. Well, unless someone came at me from Alfheim, but my guard unit there was top notch.

  I needed to spend more time with them. There was probably some rule against the queen going out with her main guard unit for a drink, but we’d figure something out. I needed to get to know them as people.

  I put myself back together, flashed to my cedar tree, and was dismayed to discover the storm had arrived. I took three cleansing, calming breaths, and then took myself to the container and out of the weather. Would the storm help or hinder our efforts? Lighting and rain cleaned the air, and yet, trying to be positive while a storm raged around you might not be the easiest. At least I’d be dry, and the few people in caves would be, but everyone else would be in the elements.

  My heart stalled in my chest when I realized someone was already in the container. Waiting for me.

  He was taller than six feet, and burly. Muscled. I immediately knew he was Celrau and demon. Or rather, half-demon and all Celrau.

  “Killian, I presume?”

  “They told me you’re a smart cookie. I can’t let you hold the portal open, love.”

  “And I’m afraid I can’t let you stop me, cutiepie.”

  He chuckled. “So you think we have a quandary? Tell me you have a better line than that.”

  I formed a lightstaff the instant I picked up on movement, and he practically ran into it. He’d thought to grab me before I knew what was happening, and he’d misjudged. He fell backwards with his arm dangling. Too bad it didn’t get him in the chest.

  “I’m going to do this,” I told him. “You can either leave the same way you came or you can stay and die.”

  He breathed in and stood taller, his arm still dangling. Vampires don’t have to breathe, so that was a coping mechanism. It hurt, even if he wasn’t showing the pain.

  “If I flash you to Apollonius, they’ll put you in a cage and study you, right? A half-demon Celrau has to break all kinds of rules.”

  He rushed me, clearly pissed, and I hardened my aura into a shell around me. It meant I couldn’t move until I dissipated it, but it also meant he couldn’t grab me.

  Except he tried to grab me. He wrapped his arm around me and tried to bite, all in less than a second. It happened fast, and it burned a huge portion of his body. He fell backwards onto the ground, screaming in pain. I dissipated the shell, formed a knife, and was moving forward to take his head off when
Xaephan appeared between us.

  He grabbed my arm without encountering the knife, and neatly held me so I couldn’t move forward. I took a few steps back, and he let me.

  “I can’t let you kill him, Chère.”

  “Why is that?”

  “He’s my son.”

  I let the knife dissolve back inside me and crossed my arms. “He wants me dead.”

  “And I’m sorry about that.” He looked down at his son, still screaming in apparent agony. “Oh, grow some balls and shut up. I’ll get you some blood soon enough so you can heal.”

  “This doesn’t work for me,” I told Xaephan. “He was trying to kill me.”

  “You can’t kill him. Your daughter’s off limits, and so is my son.”

  “My daughter isn’t actively trying to drink your blood and kill you!”

  “True, but I still won’t let you kill him.”

  I was down to not a lot of time before I needed to hold the portal open.

  “I need your guarantee that he’ll never come after me again—” I shook my head. “No, I need a guarantee that he’ll never cause problems for me again, or for this realm.”

  He sighed. “And if I don’t give it?”

  “I’ll fight you.”

  “And you’ll die.”

  “Maybe.” Probably. “But you’re honor-bound to try to save my life, so killing me would probably cause some complications.”

  He rubbed his eyes with his thumb and forefinger. I was clearly being a pain in his ass. Or, perhaps he was seeing if I’d attack when I thought his guard was down, but he wasn’t fooling me. I wasn’t going to fight him unless I had no other choice.

  He took his time thinking it over, but I waited him out. Finally, he said, “Okay. You have my promise. Breaking it means I’ll owe you nine favors — two more than the number required for you to own me as a slave. If you die, Lauren will own me. I’ll take him back to Hell with me and keep him there.”

  Lauren didn’t need that in her life. “Not Lauren. Cora. If Cora’s dead, then Aaron, then Nathan, and then Apollonius.” When he didn’t argue. I considered what I’d agreed to and told him, “With that said, throw in two more favors you owe me now just because I’m giving you a chance to make your case before I blow his head to smithereens.”