by Aliya DalRae
“Kythryn?” Merlin asked.
Mason nodded. “She wouldn’t be left behind. I tried to change her mind, to get her to stay with the women, to protect them, but she insisted she’d be more help out here. She and Harrier make a pretty fierce team, but I’m a little worried about how the lights-out situation will affect her.”
“She can probably scent her prey better than we can,” Merlin said. “And hopefully, Viper will have things under control.”
“We’ll see,” Mason said. “He’s never let us down before. Plus, with Sasha’s help, we’ve got a leg up on the competition.”
Merlin hoped he was right. The only way to make this a semblance of a fair fight was to get the lights back on ASAP. Aside from Martin, very few of the Soldiers got the hang of fighting in the dark. Odds were they’d have as many injuries from friendlies as they would from the Dark Warriors.
“Seriously, dude. The armor’s bitching.”
Merlin nodded at Raven’s compliment, but his mind was suddenly consumed by an overwhelming sense of foreboding. He’d left the cuffs at home, no need to hide anymore, so reaching for the Shade was a simple matter. When he opened himself up to the power, just a tiny crack that barely dimmed the light over the manse’s front door, he got the full effect of what they were up against.
Harrier and Kythryn joined the rest of them as Merlin tore his eyes from the sky and focused on his friends, the people he fought for. The people willing to die for him. He’d hoped this moment would never come, but now that it had, he was ready to embrace the power bestowed upon him as a child and protect the world he’d come to love.
He locked eyes with each of the Warriors, lastly turning his gaze to Martin. The male sensed the tension in him, grabbed the hilt of his sword, and nodded.
With another glance at the stars blanketing the clear night sky, Merlin turned to his Warlord and said, “They’re here.”
Two seconds later, the stars blinked out.
Chapter Fifty-Four
T he Kurai Senshi surged through the forest on silent feet, brushing aside tree limbs and foliage with stealth and ease. Takeshi led the way, his armor gleaming in the intermittent moonbeams that shone through the canopy of branches overhead.
When they reached the edge of the clearing, Yuuma and twenty Dark Warriors spread out and moved into the Compound, taking position on rooftops and in shadows. The remaining Senshi followed Takeshi. He held a tight rein on the Shade, letting it fill him without giving it the control it sought. Not yet. Through the thrumming of the Shade’s power he felt Katsuro’s presence, a familiar pulse that called to him, as strong this night as it was the first time he laid eyes on the boy. He was damaged, wrong, and he should have been destroyed before things got so far out of hand. Would have been, had Takeshi had his way.
Unfortunately, Master Masaru had stayed his hand, the old Senshi convinced that Katsuro was meant for greater things. He was wrong, of course, and now the day of reckoning had arrived. In a matter of moments, Takeshi’s life’s work would be complete.
He led the remaining Kurai Senshi to the east side of the clearing, keeping to the shadows as he searched. With each step, Katsuro’s presence in the Shade grew stronger, until…
Takeshi threw up his hands to halt the others. There, in the courtyard before an immense mansion, a small group of males gathered. They were armed to the teeth and appeared to be on high alert, but no level of vigilance would save them. When the lights went out, they would be helpless as babes on his Dark Warriors’ swords.
As for Takeshi, only one male concerned him: the one in Kurai Senshi armor.
The traitor had the gall to wear the honor of the Clan he’d disgraced? Takeshi swallowed back the urge to scream, to rush from the cover of the trees and attack Katsuro, kill him like the dog he was. Only centuries of training kept these urges in check. He sent two of his Dark Warriors to scale the mansion, to attack the Legion males from above. Two more he sent into the house’s shadows to await his command.
Takeshi watched as Katsuro interacted with the others. One stood out among them, a young male with blond hair who appeared to have a particular interest in the fallen Kurai Senshi. While the others wore long coats and lots of leather, this one dressed in midnight camouflage. He was the odd male out, and yet at one point he stood between Katsuro and a rather large male with a fatal air. When the larger Vampire backed down, Katsuro pulled the younger male to his side.
Takeshi’s soul burned with fury at seeing Katsuro had not given up his treacherous ways. No matter. Just confirmation that his quest was just. When the young male ran his hand over Katsuro’s back plate, a new plan formulated in Takeshi’s mind.
He blew out a long breath and opened himself up, let the Shade consume him as he pulled the light from the lamps throughout the Compound, from the stars and moon themselves. This signaled the others to do the same, casting everything within a two-mile radius into utter darkness. The beauty of this? Even if one Kurai Senshi went down, there would still be others to keep their enemies in the dark.
Takeshi ran a swift hand over the scabbard in his obi as excitement filled his heart.
Tonight, at long last, his quest would be fulfilled.
~~~~~
“T o me, Martin,” Merlin cried as the blackness consumed the Compound. Kurai Senshi materialized out of the forest, from the rooftops and from the shadows that he alone of the Legion fighters could fully see.
Martin fought beside him, his instincts giving him as much of an advantage as the charmed contact lenses. Even so, as Merlin clashed swords with the black-clad Kurai Senshi, he kept one eye on his lover, determined not to let him out of his sight.
As he battled a large Dark Warrior, two others joined the fray, harrying him with jabs and thrusts. One of them struck his left shoulder, and beneath the armor his arm went numb. He forced the limb to cooperate, gripped the hilt of his katana, and battled on as strikes came from all sides. He sidestepped, barely avoiding a slice to his middle, then ducked the jab aimed toward the vulnerable spot at his neck.
Somewhere in the fracas, he heard Kythryn’s mighty roar, smelled the larger than usual amount of blood that could only mean she’d found her target. Good for her.
He threw himself to the ground as one of his attackers came at him with a heavy broadsword. An unusual weapon for Kurai Senshi, but then again, Merlin was used to fighting in Japan. This was America. He wouldn’t be surprised to see them pull out an AK47 or some other fully automatic rifle designed for maximum impact. There would be no honor in it, but he wouldn’t be surprised.
For now, the sounds of battle were as he would expect, though the Senshi he fought were nowhere near the quality he experienced back home. He’d taken out the two in town with little to no effort, and these three, while annoying, weren’t doing a lot of damage.
Cries from the Soldiers’ area told a different story as the scent of Vampire blood overrode that of the Kurai Senshi Kythryn continued to rip apart.
Were they toying with him?
The thought shouldn’t have come as a surprise. Takeshi was here, he could sense the male through the tendrils of Shade reaching through him, but his former sensei had yet to join the fight.
Merlin struck the Senshi in front of him with a solid side kick, then threw a roundhouse to the next one’s jaw, putting them both on the ground. He glanced around looking for Martin. Raven and Mason fought back to back against two Dark Warriors while Harrier and Kythryn dodged a Tasmanian devil of a male fighting with swords in both hands. The liger was bleeding, but her movements indicated the wounds were superficial.
Merlin swung his sword in a wide sweep, taking out his third assailant as the other two regained their feet. Where the hell was Martin?
A smaller Kurai Senshi stepped in too close, and Merlin’s strike hit true. The male’s body fell to the left as his head flew in the opposite direction. When his skull landed, the mask he wore came loose, and Merlin had to quell the gorge that rose at the site of the male’s swe
et young face. Thoughts of Kioshi would not save them tonight.
“Martin,” he yelled again. “Where the hell are you?”
~~~~~
W ith a cry of righteous anger, Takeshi ordered the rest of the Kurai Senshi onto what was now the field of battle. Forcing himself to hold back, he watched his Dark Warriors attack from all sides, and from above. The group in front of the manse had to be Legion Warriors, for they fought as though they could actually see the Kurai Senshi. Swords parried swords instead of meeting out mortal wounds.
One of his Dark Warriors attacked the largest male in the group and Takeshi’s eyes widened when a humongous cat leapt upon his male and tore his sword arm from his body. The Warrior regrouped, or made the attempt, but the cat was relentless. The Legion male left the creature to do its evil work, and in seconds Takeshi felt the Dark Warrior’s life force disappear from within the Shade.
As fascinating as that creature was, Takeshi naturally found himself drawn to the battle Katsuro fought. He’d ordered the Kurai Senshi not to kill him. That honor belonged to Takeshi and Takeshi alone. The male fought as he always had, with reckless abandon, putting it all out there, holding nothing back. Even so, he could sense the traitor’s distraction, and it wasn’t difficult to pin down the source.
As Takeshi predicted, the further away his Senshi pushed the young Soldier, the more distressed Katsuro became. He’d commanded them to push the male his way, and when the group hit the edge of the forest, Takeshi stepped out of the trees. With the swiftness gained from over a millennium of experience, he grabbed the Soldier from behind, resting his sword against his strong neck before the young male could react.
“Don’t move,” he whispered. “Yours is not the death I seek.”
The Soldier froze beneath his blade, and Takeshi felt a thrill radiate through him. He forced the male to his knees, relishing the moment, remembering the last time he held Katsuro’s lover in this position. With the serendipitous presence of this young Soldier, Katsuro was about to meet a poetic end.
~~~~~
I t was a darkness so complete, Sasha couldn’t see her hand in front of her face. “Viper,” she said, unable to keep the quaver from her voice. She hated to sound weak in front of this male, but she’d never experienced anything so disturbing.
“Right here,” he said at her elbow.
“Can you see anything at all?” she asked, hoping one of them would be able to carry out their plan. As things were, she wouldn’t be able to find the on switch to save her life. She tried not to consider how that could very well be the case.
“Enough,” he grunted. “Mason, you good?” he said into his com link.
She couldn’t hear the Warlord, but Viper responded with, “I’ll wait for your go.”
“Can you see them?” Sasha whispered, wishing Viper would stop moving around. She needed something to steady herself, and he seemed the most solid option.
“No, but they’re close. I can feel them,” he said from across the room.
“Really?”
Sasha heard the strike of a match but saw no corresponding flame.
“Fuck all,” Viper said. “Can’t even light a damn cigarette. These assholes need to die.”
A nervous giggle bubbled up in Sasha’s throat. She tried to push it down but wasn’t very successful.
Viper growled. “You think this is funny?”
“No,” she said. “It’s just, I can’t see a blasted thing, and you’re upset about a cigarette.”
They were hidden in a small shed centrally located on the property, but out of the way enough that the Kurai Senshi would hopefully think it not worth investigating. Outside, the grounds were eerily quiet, the Soldiers silent as they waited for the world to end.
“You got your sunglasses?” Viper asked. They’d tried Oz’s contact lenses on her, but unfortunately, they didn’t work. Her eyes were considerably different from the Vampires’ and there wasn’t time to reconfigure a pair for her Sorceress’ eyes before the Kurai Senshi attacked.
“Yes,” she said, though now it seemed ludicrous that she would ever need them again.
“Put ‘em on.”
As she dug them out of her pocket, all hell broke loose outside the shed. Blades clashed, Soldiers screamed, and the unmistakable sound of the Aussie Warrior shouting, “Go! Go! Go!” as he ran past their hiding spot, all of it assaulted her at once. She fumbled the glasses and dropped to the floor, patting the rough boards in search of the protection she would soon need.
“Sasha! Get those glasses on, now!”
Her fingers brushed the heavy plastic, and as she slipped the darkened lenses on, the room exploded in glaring light. She tried to stand, but fell back to floor, now blinded for a different reason. The stark contrast between zero light and this magically enhanced level of luminescence was staggering.
She found her feet and lurched toward the single window in the shed. Even through the dark glasses, through the filth on the window panes, she could see, and what she saw was devastating.
Viper grabbed her arm and said, “Let’s go. Stay close and to my left. Blast anybody dressed like a ninja and try not to get in my way.”
~~~~~
W hen the lights came on, Merlin took advantage of his new opponents’ disorientation, dispatching the first with a swift sword through his neck. The other two adapted quickly, forcing him to draw his wakizashi and fight with both swords. He threw himself into the battle, drawing upon everything inside him, every reason he had to win. His home, his family, and his future were all on the line, and it wasn’t just the Kurai Senshi battling him that threatened to destroy his world. It was his ability to bring himself into the light, so to speak, to bare his soul to the world, to defeat the evils that sought to destroy him. Takeshi, yes, but his own misgivings as well. Tonight, he fought for honor, his own and Martin’s. Tonight, he would bring his enemies to their knees or die trying.
Another Dark Warrior fell to his blade, and Merlin was left facing a fierce opponent. The male drew the black cloth from his face and sneered at him as their battle pushed further away from the manse and the others, and closer to the edge of the forest.
As they battled on, Merlin knew the other male as a worthy adversary, one whose training and skill matched his own. He drew his mask and helmet from his head and threw them to the side, exposing himself, yes, but also providing a clearer line of sight.
The Dark Warrior jabbed at him, forcing him back, that wicked smile never leaving his face. Merlin dodged and parried but was at the disadvantage as retreat remained his only option against this skilled foe.
Then, as if it had all been in fun, the Warrior smirked at Merlin and disappeared into the trees.
Merlin found himself alone on the field. Mason and the rest of the Legion Warriors still battled several Kurai Senshi in front of the house, and the sounds of blades and the odd explosion floated on the air to him from the direction of the Soldiers’ barracks. For one brief moment he let himself relax, his subconsciousness searching before his brain could catch up.
“Katsuro!”
His name echoed through the clearing, and Merlin’s heart fell to his stomach in a never-ending descent that left him breathless and sick. His hands fell to his sides and his swords dragged the ground as he made the slow motion turn to the sound of that voice. It was a voice forever etched into his mind, one he would never forget, and the repugnant glee that resonated in that one word filled him with dread.
Images of Kioshi covered in blood, his dead eyes throwing blatant accusations, blurred over the scene that met him, confusing past and present with flashes of then and now.
Martin, his beloved Martin, knelt on the ground, a horrendous reproduction of Kioshi all those years ago. Behind him, Takeshi held his short sword to Martin’s lovely neck.
Merlin took a step forward, his swords somehow raised now in preparation for this new battle. The scent of blood, Martin’s blood, stopped him cold.
“Not another step, traitor.”
Takeshi had pressed the sword against Martin’s throat, causing a thin stream of blood to trickle down his pale skin.
Merlin stopped, his breath coming in furious blows. His knuckles whitened beneath his gauntlets as his grip on the sword hilts tightened, and he shook with rage at his inability, once again, to do anything to save his lover.
“Drop them,” Takeshi said. “Better yet, throw them to me.”
Merlin growled but did as the Dark Warrior commanded. He then reached for the dagger in his belt.
“No,” Takeshi said, as Merlin’s hand hovered over the tantou. “You’ll need that one.”
~~~~~
S asha let Viper lead her out into the Compound where hundreds of Soldiers battled the Kurai Senshi. She saw easily enough that the Legion had superior numbers, but the Dark Warriors made up for that discrepancy with incredible skill. They were everywhere, swords slashing, taking on a dozen Soldiers to one Dark Warrior, and winning.
The confusion caused by eliminating their one true weapon, the darkness, lasted a minute only. But Sasha could see that the Soldiers used that moment to their advantage, and several of the enemy now lay dead on the dusty ground. Unfortunately, as many or more of the Legion fighters lay fallen, dead or dying beside the enemy.
The contact lenses the Soldiers wore seemed to be working perfectly. In the darkness, they’d been able to locate the Kurai Senshi, to fight them as best they could. And now they protected their eyes from the bright lights that shone through the Shade-induced blackness. She looked up and saw that the moon and stars had disappeared, but there was a globe of light enveloping the Compound, just as they’d hoped. The Soldiers were still outmatched in skill, and too many had fallen already, but at least they’d been given a fighting chance.
As Viper slipped into the fray, Sasha stayed as close as she could without hampering his ability to fight. He was magnificent with the sword, swinging broad strokes against his enemies, his skills a near match for the superior foes the Legion faced.