Force of Fire

by Ali Vali

  “Stop fighting me,” he said as he placed his palm out and the snake rested its head on it. “You know this has to be, and you’ll be the first of your kind who’ll serve me until we’re able to wake the beasts.”

  “Don’t do this,” she begged, shaking her head as much as she could.

  He let her go, and the snake started to sway to the incantations Javier read from the oldest book they possessed. Javier’s voice grew louder, and he made his way around the table, handing Alejandro the ancient blade they’d uncovered in the highlands of Mexico, and he made the necessary cut in Pauline’s abdomen. It was the only invitation the serpent needed, entering the incision and slithering inside as Pauline screamed as if in horrific pain, which he imagined must have been real.

  Pauline convulsed as the last of the snake disappeared inside her, and she rattled the table enough to move it toward the back of the altar. She stopped only when Javier poured the elixir they’d mixed into her mouth, and she swallowed only when he covered her mouth and nose. He’d seen the transformation before, but he still stood back and watched as her skin started to change and take on the distinctive markings of the python and the head momentarily came out of her mouth.

  One of the handlers entered with a prod as she started to fight her bonds, and he and Javier moved behind him. An awful-sounding howl came out of her as she started to change, and after her bones broke and her features melted away, a child of the gods stood before them on the table, larger than any of the others they’d created.

  “This is what they were supposed to look like,” he told Javier, moving forward with his hand out. Pauline hissed louder, but she didn’t move from the table because the handler was prodding her until he pointed to the floor. She got down and moved toward him on the small four legs that held up the thick serpent body that appeared more lizard-like than snake. “You will do my bidding, but first we’ll see if you’re truly one of the chosen.”

  He led her to the bottom of the altar and studied her strength before nodding to the handler, who shot her with another drug that made her drop. When she became slack, he placed the large serpent head on his lap and stroked it. A few minutes later the transformation happened again, and she opened her eyes, naked and clearly confused.

  “What did you do?” she asked, making no move to cover herself.

  “Set you free.”

  * * *

  Kendal took only Morgaine when they returned from the dig site to visit Franco Rodriguez’s home, but they found every member of the staff and family slaughtered throughout the house. Someone had found a way to keep any more information from them, but they searched anyway, finding very little.

  “What do you think they sent in here?” Morgaine asked as she looked down at Franco’s wife and daughter lying close to each other, each with horrific-appearing wounds. The pools of blood made an almost unholy halo around them, and it looked like they’d tried to reach each other but had only gotten within an arm’s length before they died.

  “You saw those things. If it was Garza and he can control whatever those creatures are, then they’ll kill for him.” She opened a cabinet and found some journals that Franco’s family had kept, so she went in search of something to put them in.

  She ran into Lowe in the kitchen, or who she thought was Lowe, sniffing the ground. For such a petite woman she was a substantially sized wolf, and she raised her head and growled when Kendal stopped at the door. “Okay. Let’s not do anything stupid,” she said with her hands up and out in front of her. “You’re supposed to be the reasonable one.”

  “Who are you talking to?” Morgaine asked as she moved closer, stopping when she saw the wolf. “How’d they get here?”

  Kendal shook her head and went in search of Convel, finding her in the master bedroom. Unlike her lover, Convel actually appeared amused as she moved to lie on the bed. She used that spot to transform to her human form.

  “Don’t get pissed right away, but we can find things you can’t, no matter how talented you are, so we decided to crash your party. There are five dead in the yard and another six in the house. It looks like they tried to outrun those things we saw close to that fucker’s house, but plenty of them were here.” Convel stood and walked to the closet to find something to wear. “At least five of those things were here, from what I could tell, but I haven’t been on the other side of the house yet, so there might’ve been even more.” She stepped out in a T-shirt and jeans.

  “Anything else?” she asked, pissed that Convel hadn’t listened to her, but she couldn’t complain after she’d done what they’d asked of her. No werewolf wanted to be seen simply as a bloodhound.

  “I need to get to Lowe before I can answer,” she said, moving to the kitchen. “We’re about to get visitors, and I don’t want her to freak out.”

  “Care to tell us who that’s going to be?” Morgaine asked, following her.

  “You invited her, so don’t act surprised that she showed up,” Convel said, glancing back and smirking.

  Lowe moved toward Convel when she saw her, but she couldn’t play twenty questions when the front door opened. If it was the police they’d have to go out the back before they finished searching the house, but she doubted they knew anything about this yet. Convel held on to Lowe when Vadoma stepped inside and kissed Kendal on the mouth.

  “Did you miss me?”

  “Terribly,” she said, trying to keep her sarcasm to a minimum. That she had to include all these people she didn’t really care for wasn’t going to make this any easier.

  “I would’ve waited for an invitation, but the smell of blood made this place irresistible.” Vadoma glanced around, her face twitching. “What in the world happened here? Did you let your pets loose?” Vadoma asked, and Convel had to really hang on to Lowe when she growled louder and moved closer, making Vadoma’s true self manifest itself.

  “Okay. Let’s all calm down and take some deep breaths,” Kendal said, putting her hands up. “We’ll go over everything when we get back to the house, but for now we need to finish in here before the scary lizard people come back and we have to add to the body count.”

  “Scary lizard people?” Vadoma said with a smile. “I know you’re immortal, but did you get into some bad peyote or something?”

  “Trust me. You won’t believe it when you see it, but a lot’s happening here that’s hard to explain.” Morgaine cocked her head toward the bedroom so Convel would lead Lowe out.

  “Anything you want me to do while we wait for you to finish?” Vadoma said, and Kendal could hear movement outside but figured the queen of the vampires very seldom traveled alone.

  “Sit and try to keep your urges under wraps,” she said, smiling. “We shouldn’t be much longer, so try to think teamwork.”

  “I’ll do that as long as you keep the mutts on a leash,” she said, pointing in the direction Convel and Lowe had disappeared in.

  “Let’s all keep our fangs in check, and this will go as smoothly as we can manage.”

  Chapter Twenty-three

  Lenore and Molly went through the journals Kendal had found while Morgaine made plans to leave as soon as they could manage to travel with the eclectic group they’d amassed. Vadoma and the weres had managed somewhat of a truce when the sun came up and the vampires retired to the guesthouse farther down the slope. Neither party, though, appeared thrilled that they’d be working with a usually sworn enemy.

  “Find anything?” Piper asked as she entered with Hali strapped to her chest.

  “It seems like the Rodriguez family visited the site as often as they could manage in search of any treasure that might’ve been left behind,” Molly said, going through Lenore’s translations. “They found a few things but didn’t disturb the slabs you all opened while you were there. The generations before this one seemed to abide by the agreement with the clan and searched only in the places that were readily accessible.”

  “Did they catalog their finds?” she asked, bouncing the baby to keep her calm. />
  “Kendal and Morgaine must’ve walked right by them,” Lenore said as she showed her the sketches the journals contained. “Up to now they’ve discovered mostly pottery and small statuary, but Franco and his son found a stash of scrolls in a niche toward the top of one of the smaller pyramids.”

  “That they would’ve noticed,” Piper said, flipping through the book to see if Franco had mentioned what was in them.

  “He didn’t put anything in there,” Lenore said, looking at her as if Piper should be able to read her mind. “If he didn’t hand them over to Garza, then we need to go back and search. Whatever’s in them might be something we’ll need, so we need to go and find them.”

  “We as in you and me?” she said, laughing. “I’m sure our spouses will love that idea.”

  “Hey, we can be adventurous too,” Lenore said, and Molly nodded.

  “Planning something?” Kendal asked, joining them with Lowe.

  Piper explained what they’d found in the journals, and Kendal seemed to agree with Lenore, which surprised her a little. “We need to go back to the Rodriguez house,” she said, telling Kendal what they’d found. “If it came from the site, we need it back.”

  “Then you all should go and look, but so far no one’s claimed the bodies or reported them, so how about we let Rueben’s guys go in there and clean up? Once they’ve cleared the place, you can look as long as you need.” Kendal bent and kissed Hali’s head as she slumped sleeping against her chest.

  “Where are you going to be exactly?”

  “We need to search someone else’s house, and now that I have reinforcements, it’s time to visit Señor Garza. I’ll send our other backup with you, so both of us should be fine.”

  “Would you like to repeat all that so I understand what you’re talking about?” She held Kendal’s head eye level with hers and kissed her.

  “Convel and Lowe will keep an eye out while you and the others look around, and I’ll take Vadoma and her group of misfits with me. If there’s any trouble, I’m sure I can ring the dinner bell and have them deal with any problems,” Kendal said, smiling.

  “Tell her if she decides to kiss you again, I’m going to introduce her to a wooden spike with her name carved into it,” she said, and she wasn’t joking.

  “I’ll be sure to mention it.” Kendal kissed her as if no one else was in the room, and she pinched her side to cool her down before her grandmother got a glimpse of the part of their relationship that should remain private. “Do you think Franco might’ve turned it over to Garza?”

  “From what we read, it sounds like he kept everything he found,” Molly said. “If I had to guess, he wanted some insurance so in case things got tight, he’d have something to sell.”

  “Wait for nightfall, and don’t lose the big dogs going with you,” Kendal said, taking Piper’s hand and leading her out. “That’s about an hour away, so promise me you’ll be careful.”

  “You know I will, but where I’m going isn’t the dangerous place.” She placed the baby in her crib and slumped against Kendal. “This man Garza reminds me of Kenny Delaney when he tried to steal the company from us. He’ll do anything to get what he wants.”

  “Garza’s a lot worse, since he has some interesting hobbies if he had anything to do with those things we saw. So I need you to be careful. Granted, nothing can happen to you, but I’ll go nuts if someone takes you from me.” Kendal tightened her hold and pressed her cheek to the top of Piper’s head.

  “Concentrate on what you’ll be doing, baby, and I’ll be fine. Once we get what we’re after, we can move on. Which is where exactly?” she asked, enjoying the warmth of Kendal’s body.

  “Do you remember the way the snakes all clustered together?”

  “Considering they give me the shivers, yes.”

  “It’s a golden temple that holds the dragon’s heart. That could be anywhere in the world, but the snakes narrowed it down for us. A serpent with multiple heads is well known in Buddhism and is known as the god Naga, so we’ll start in Cambodia. I have a feeling the temple isn’t golden any longer, but it was at one time.”

  “After we’re done here, maybe we can sit and think for a little while.”

  “Or fool around, whichever comes first.”

  * * *

  Kendal stepped from the trees after watching the house and grounds for over an hour and seeing no movement. The lights were on, but the place was eerily quiet, as were the surroundings. Next to her, Vadoma glanced around and shut her eyes as if trying to sense anything close by.

  “There’s no one here,” Vadoma said before moving toward the house. “Not human anyway.”

  “Pay attention, then. Whatever those things are, I’m sure they pack a painful bite.” She followed her to the back and tried one of the doors.

  “Want me to try to pick it?”

  Kendal drew her sword, smashed the glass in, and stepped inside. “I want him to know we were here and that I know it’s him we’re up against. I just can’t figure out why he left.”

  They checked every room, with Morgaine starting on the other side of the house, until they met in the office at the door to a rather large safe. “If we’re going to find anything, I’m guessing it’s in here,” Morgaine said, placing her hand on the metal.

  “True, and if I ask nicely, would you open it?” she asked Vadoma, knowing her hearing was a hundred times better than that of anyone else in the house.

  “Tell me what this is all about first, and I’ll be glad to.”

  “We went over this already,” she said, longing for the days she’d worked alone.

  Vadoma shook her head and crossed her arms over her chest. “And knowing you, what you said wasn’t all of it.”

  “There’s a place that everyone thought was a Mayan ruin not that far from here, but it’s actually the resting place of Aphrodite’s dragons. The guy who owns the house wants to bring them back as part of some order his family rules, and the goddess asked us not to let that happen.” She shrugged when she finished, knowing her explanation sounded incredibly far-fetched, but the truth wasn’t always exactly normal. “Might sound crazy, but that’s all of it.”

  “Everyone be quiet, and I’ll try my best to get this open.”

  “So you believe me?” Kendal asked, not thinking it would be this easy.

  Vadoma simply locked eyes with her and smiled. “You’re more of a soldier than a storyteller, so I doubt you have the imagination to come up with something like that.”

  The safe seemed impenetrable, but Vadoma slowly twirled the dial and in about ten minutes pulled the lever that would open the thing if she’d been successful. Before she could fully open the door, it swung out viciously and knocked Vadoma to the ground as two of Garza’s creatures immediately pounced on her and went for her throat.

  “What in the hell is that?” Vadoma asked an instant later, covered in the creatures’ blood, both heads still moving close to her. Both Kendal and Morgaine had drawn their swords quickly and pulled up in time not to slice through Vadoma as well.

  “Give it a minute and you’ll see something interesting,” Morgaine said. “But since you’re about as old as Asra, have you ever seen anything like it?”

  “No one’s ever seen anything like it,” Vadoma said, wiping her face, the sudden expression of realization shaping her features. “The blood’s human, but it’s mixed with venom.”

  “They change back to their original form, but it takes time,” Kendal said, entering the vault. “Whatever they are, they’re made by something Garza did, I think, and they’re a type of were.”

  “That’s fucked up,” Vadoma said as the young girl started to take shape before them, her head several feet away from her body.

  “Do you think your people will help us carry all this out of here,” she said of all the books and other things still in the vault. “I guess he thought the alarm system was enough to deter any thieves.”

  “We’ll get it all, but we need to check out the rest o
f this place. No one sends something like that after me without paying a price.”

  Vadoma appeared angry and somewhat embarrassed, so Kendal pointed to the bathroom. “This should be everything important in the house, but I saw some buildings outside, so wipe all that off and meet me out there.”

  One building looked like barracks for guards or staff with pens that had hay strewn on the ground, but the other one was a good replica of the pyramid at the dig site. The table on the top had leather restraints that were broken through and a layer of what appeared to be a shed snakeskin. Morgaine touched it and held it up, and both of them were amazed at the size. It was shaped like the snake weres, but this one was much larger than any they’d seen so far.

  “He’s perfecting his craft,” Kendal said, not able to take her eyes off the skin in Morgaine’s raised hands. “But I don’t get why.”

  “Sometimes the why of something is as stupid as seeing if you can do it simply to do it,” Vadoma said. “You find something like a book or a distant relative, you unleash something that can’t be undone, and you end up with what attacked me.”

  “I can’t answer that question, but from what we’ve seen, the only way to undo this is through death. The first one I killed had a handler who turned out to be her father, so maybe whatever this is, it has to be a female for it to work.”

  “Or they’re willing to sacrifice their daughters but not their sons,” Vadoma said with what sounded like compassion when she joined them at the top. “My body might be technically dead, slayer, but I do still have a bit of heart left.”

  She placed her hand on Vadoma’s shoulder and squeezed gently. “I knew that. If not, I would’ve killed you the night you came into my house,” she said, smiling.

  “That’s what my cousin Ora never understood about you, and what you don’t understand about this man. No everyone should have power, so if we don’t find him, he’ll kill at will until he gets what he wants. Not everyone fights on the side of right for no reward, so start thinking like him before he leaves you behind like he did tonight. You need to find everyone working for him, like those people who were supposed to be working for you.”