Ground Zero

by Melony Paradise

  “The Martis clan has been hunted. Those same hunters attacked a neutral territory, killing our dear Queen Xandrie. Under her rule, we embraced each other, lived in a tentative peace. The other territories had followed her lead because we know our kind is ever at risk of discovery under the eyes of technology.” David began pacing in front of the crowd as Malcolm and Karina stepped back.

  “And, unfortunately, someone has discovered us. These hunters… they are hired guns for a cosmetics corporation seeking to capture vampires. They want to cage us, experiment on us, find within our cells the fountain of youth… All in the name of vanity.”

  “Now.” He stuck a finger in the air. “We can only assume that since the raid on Bull’s nightclub, the hunters know about more than just the vampires. Imagine what they would do if they knew the strength of a werewolf. If they could capture just one shifter, they would have their hands on a weapon. The militaries would be chomping at the bit to study supernatural DNA.”

  Feet shuffled in nervousness and the energy of the barn became nearly suffocating. I looked at Mandy and saw her shivering against Benjamin with her eyes squeezed shut. With a tap on his arm, I tipped my head toward the back door, and we pushed our way out slowly as to not draw any attention to us.

  “The dangers are aplenty,” Edgar huffed. “But we must deal with one threat at a time. Cassandra’s greed will only serve to draw more attention to us. I think we can all agree that her threat is more immediate, and should be dealt with swiftly…”

  His voice trailed off as the three of us slipped outside, and I slid the barn door shut. Benjamin practically carried Mandy as he lead her up the grass lane leading to the grazing pasture on the backside of the house.

  With the tension of the impending confrontation weighing us down, the three of us spent the rest of the evening trying to discern Mandy’s powers. Either she was still too weak from turning, or she was going to take longer to acquire them, so Benjamin and I entertained her with our own powers until it was obvious she needed to get some rest. The two of them went to lay down, and I became a fly on the wall next to Nick in the formal dining room turned war room.

  Chapter 12

  In the days it took for the vamps and weres to decide on a solid plan of attack, Mandy grew in strength and health. She’d called her parents twice, giving them updates, and swearing the ‘treatment’ and the doctors were doing her so much good. I think her strength came through in her voice that no longer shook with exhaustion and weakness, and her parents seemed to take that as a good sign.

  “Without Xandrie, there’s just no way to reach all the clans, Edgar,” Kat grumbled the day before the attack. “I’ve contacted all the Kin numbers that everyone here has provided me, but Cassandra’s threat has sent everyone to their rabbit holes.” She paced the dining/war room after we’d fed. The donors were looking thin and frail after so much use and not enough time between feedings.

  “We have enough Kin here.” Edgar stood in the way of her pacing, gripping her arms so she couldn’t turn away. “Ninety percent of Chima’s pack is here, and our four clans are full of powerful vampires. With the Bellingham Coven on our side, we will easily outmatch whatever remains of Cassandra’s people after what our Mercy did.”

  I blushed, wishing I had the power of invisibility. They’d made it clear to me that I would be an invaluable weapon against our enemies, but that didn’t mean I was happy about it. The idea of killing more people made my stomach turn. The fact that Mandy insisted on joining the fight only ramped up my anxiety, something I’d thought long gone with my humanity.

  Tuning out my sire and grandsire, I turned to my best friend who was just finishing with her donor while Benjamin hovered beside her.

  “How are you feeling?”

  Her face split in a huge, toothy grin, traces of blood coloring her lips. “Fantastic! I haven’t felt this good… ever.”

  “She is adapting quite well.” Benjamin bent to kiss the top of her head before sitting in the chair beside her and turning to chat with Julius.

  “After seeing you and… well, how things are for you, I’m so thankful you asked Benjamin to be my sire.”

  I glanced up to see Kat give Mandy a quick frown, then return to her conversation with Edgar that now included David and Malcolm. Karina had grudgingly attended all the planning meetings but spent most of her time sulking in one of the guest houses with her clan.

  There was no doubt Karina and her clan would help smack down Cassandra and Bull, but when it came time to vote, I knew she’d do everything in her power to prevent an Otherkin from ruling. Even if it meant she had to nominate herself.

  “You two seem to be getting along…” I winked at her with a cheesy grin on my face.

  “Hmm,” she said, her finger on her chin as her eyes rolled up and her lips puckered in amusement. “About as well as you and Nick, I think…”

  I sucked in a gasping breath and feigned hitting her on the arm. “Nick and I haven’t been sharing a bed, you hussy!”

  Benjamin’s shoulders bounced as he chuckled without looking at us. Mandy gaped in mock horror.

  “You’re just jealous.” She stuck her tongue out at me. “At least you don’t have to sleep next to your sire. I’m pretty sure you’d be sleeping on the floor if that were the case.”

  Kat cleared her throat, tossed a glare our way, and huffed out of the room with Edgar on her tail. He glanced at us with eyes full of mirth.

  “Three’s a crowd with those two,” I muttered and rolled my eyes.

  “But maybe not with your guards, eh?” Mandy smirked, looking over my shoulder to where Nick and Elena were stationed by the window.

  I peeked at my guards and found Nick silently laughing while Elena gazed intensely at me with one eyebrow raised. Her bronze skin caught my attention as it glowed under the lights and her brown eyes shined with barely hidden lust. My breath caught in my throat and I couldn’t look away.

  There has got to be something—some connection doing this. I admire beautiful woman, but I’ve never felt like this before. She is so damn hot!

  “Mercy?” Mandy’s hand on my arm jolted me out of my reverie.

  I spun around in my seat, catching the amused look on Nick’s face. “Huh?”

  “Uh, you got it bad, girl.” She patted my hand.

  “Yeah,” I whispered, “apparently, I do.” I shook my head to clear it. “Anyways, I’m so happy you are doing so well. You look so good. Filled out in all the right places, and your skin is glowing. In all the years I’ve known you, I have never seen you in such good shape.”

  “Right? I’m so happy you talked me into this.” She leaned forward to hug me, and I hugged her back, feeling the flesh on her bones that hadn’t been there ever. Her ribs no longer stuck out and her hair had thickened, gaining a lustrous shine with lots of volume.

  “Well, don’t thank me yet. We still have a battle to win and hunters on our tails. This is a dangerous world I’ve brought you into.”

  “With you and Benjamin by my side, I think we could take on the world. If only my powers would kick in.”

  “Famous last words, girl. And, ‘your talents will emerge in time.’”

  “Okay, Sally Owens.” She smirked and shook her head at the Practical Magic quote, but she missed my subtle reference to my favorite My Chemical Romance song.

  Oh well. We have eternity for me to annoy her with alternative rock music and supernatural movies.

  Chapter 13

  We’d left in shifts, so as not to draw attention to ourselves. Cassandra’s scouts were still spying on us, and our hope was they’d think we were relocating. The Bellingham Coven had lined the ranch with ward stones that would protect it, hopefully, until we returned. If we returned.

  The campground was hidden in a ridge of the mountains south of Mandy’s ranch. We would be spreading out around the site from a fair distance surrounding it and approaching on foot in two waves. Our clan was in the second wave. The hope was to whittle down the opposit
ion in the first wave, and we would sweep in with the second wave and wipe out any who remained.

  Before we’d began our exodus, we had a big meet and greet, so everyone knew who was on our side to prevent accidental ‘friendly fire.’ Thankfully, my memory had improved tremendously since becoming a vampire. I just hoped I wouldn’t have to go nuclear on their asses.

  As we crept up the mountain, near where I’d gone running with Kat and Benjamin, my insides tensed, and my energy ramped up in anticipation of the fight to come. I kept glancing at my hands to make sure I wasn’t glowing.

  Nick and Elena ran on either side of me with Kat and Edgar beyond Nick and Benjamin and Mandy on the other side of Elena. I’d made Mandy promise to stay behind Benjamin, since he had enough power to protect her. Although excited by the whole endeavor, she wasn’t really a fighter, so she’d agreed to being his backup.

  When we arrived on the scene, the camp was in chaos. The first wave had been made up mostly of shifter guards with only Malcolm’s vampires in the mix since he had some ancient Viking types in his clan.

  The lights had been cut, so the only illumination came from small fires created by energy balls. Kat rushed in sending a flame at a wolf that looked like it came out of a flamethrower. The wolf yelped and felled to the ground rolling in agony.

  A noise at my side caught my attention and I turned in time to see Nick’s body and clothes rip to shreds as his black wolf form appeared in seconds. He shook, then launched himself at a yellow wolf nearby.

  Benjamin sent out sizzling bolts of electricity at his nearest enemy while Mandy cowered behind him with huge eyes and her jaw dropped in shock at the sight before her.

  I scanned the battlefield, searching for a target, but the sides weren’t as clear-cut as they had been when we left. Wolves, leopards, jackals, hyenas, and one great lion clawed and bit each other, slicing through thick fur, and snapping sharp teeth. Overhead, various birds of prey swooped down to gouge eyes, chomp on ears or tails, and rip into skin with hooked claws.

  A giant gray wolf leapt at Nick as he grappled with the yellow wolf. My hands shot out almost of their own volition and sent an air-spear through the belly of the gray wolf, spinning it through the air to land several feet away in an unmoving lump.

  An echoing roar made me spin on my toes ready to defend myself, but that enormous wolf wasn’t coming for me. I remembered that tawny brown wolf. That was Bull. I hadn’t been sure he’d survived the last battle.

  Bull dodged forward, gathering his legs under him to leap at his target. Edgar. No! I reached out grabbed Bull in midair, holding him up high. He whined and growled with his legs peddling under him, searching for purchase. His head lunged but he couldn’t break my hold.

  Edgar thrust his hands toward the floating animal. Smoke wisped from Bull’s fur, and a misty glow edged his flailing body. His spirit tried to answer Edgar’s call, but Bull held tight. The effect appeared like a glitching TV channel, the glow jumping along his profile in technicolor.

  His will to live was too strong. I hated what I had to do, but I knew I had no choice. With a muttered “I’m sorry,” I raised him up high, then yanked him to the ground with a sickening thud. In the fraction of a second it took for him to die, Edgar wrenched his spirit from his body, directing the glowing blue outline of Bull’s wolf at a nearby witch with energy balls in both his hands.

  Tuning out the agony of the death I had caused, I faced the melee. Unwilling to risk hitting a shifter from our side because I couldn’t recognize which animal was friend and which was foe, I went after the witches. I knew our witches. They were the easiest to find.

  Cassandra’s witches all had the same burned-out, strung-out, gaunt appearance of the ones she’d picked up while we’d had our little shopping trip. The Bellingham Coven was healthy and well-fed, and had all worn the same forest-green cloak. Cassandra’s witches wore dingy street clothes.

  Spotting a witch in mid-cast, I grabbed her up and tossed her to the other end of the campground. The next I impaled with two air-spears before he could send his energy ball at Chima. The werelion reared up on his hind legs and dropped his giant paws on the shoulders of a horse—Seriously? Werehorses?—and buried his teeth in the horse’s crest. With a sharp twist, he snapped its neck.

  Beyond Chima, I saw a lioness roll with a leopard and wondered if that might be Isabel. I’d never seen her other form before.

  A spinning ball of red light flew at my head. I threw up my arms and blocked it with an air-shield. I screamed my rage and snatched all the air in the witch’s lungs, pulling it through her ribcage.

  Elena cried out a few feet to my right, her brown fur singed from a purple energy ball that crept over her body in tiny, jolting sparks. I dashed toward her, thrust my palm at the growing energy ball in the witch’s hand and shoved it into her body. She dropped to the ground in a fatal seizure.

  As I landed on my knees, I felt the air around us quiver, weighing on my body. Claws shredded my shoulder, knocking me to my back. A pale wolf flew backwards with Nick riding it to the ground, ripping at its throat.

  The atmosphere felt thick and the sounds of battle were muted. Elena pushed herself up at the same time I did, and we turned to look at a figure glowing with sparkling white light.

  Cassandra stood in the center of battle, the lighted area around her clear of all creatures. A wolf stumbled into that light and yelped as it bounced off as if there were an electrified barrier. I couldn’t hear anything, but I could see her chanting with her eyes closed.

  All those nearby stopped fighting to stare at her. Cassandra’s witches fell to their knees with their heads down and arms raised to her.

  Someone behind me yelled, “‘Call to arms.’ She’s casting ‘Call to Arms.’ Be ready for more witches!” I turned to see Anaria and Arnon gathering their witches to them. “Behind us now!”

  They began to back up towards the big cabin we’d stayed in. Elena nudged me with her nose, and I pushed to my feet to follow her. My shoulder screamed at me, and I almost fell back down. I pressed my hand to the angry wound, and felt the skin slowly knitting itself back together.

  Thank you, supernatural healing!

  Chapter 14

  Cassandra’s spell confused the shifters on her side. Her witches sat unmoving, feeding their energy to her while injured weres licked their wounds or paced the barrier around her.

  Our people moved as fast as they could, getting behind the Bellingham Coven who had formed a line with their clasped hands. It looked a little like a game of ‘Red Rover,” but bloodier.

  I searched and found Mandy with Benjamin at the very back of the group. Chima ordered all the guards to form a barrier behind the witches. Tabi squeezed in beside me and I pulled her close, my arms locked with my best friend’s arms on each side. Kat pushed her way in front of me with Edgar just in front and to the side of her. Julius held Danielle behind him, his arms stretched back protectively around her waist.

  Screams and animal whines filled the air in front of us. Mandy, Tabi, and I gasped.

  “Anaria’s witches are protecting us from whatever Cassandra is doing to her people.” Danielle peeked over Julius’s shoulder. “I think she’s draining them, using their energy to power the spell. I didn’t think anyone knew that spell anymore.”

  “Why?” I whispered.

  “It’s a summoning spell. No one likes being forced to answer a call. The witch’s council banned its use centuries ago, forcing all covens to remove it from their books.”

  “Books?” I asked, awed. “You mean, like Book of Shadows?”

  “Right.” She nodded her green eyes glinting in the light of Cassandra’s spell.

  “Who is she summoning?” Mandy asked meekly.

  “I’m not sure. I thought she had all of her coven here, which is who would normally answer the call.”

  I stood up on my toes to try and see over everyone in front of me. Through a gap the width of my hand, I had a direct view of Cassandra and her circle of li
ght. Shadows of figures flickered in and out around the inside edge of her magical barrier, slowly solidifying.

  “Sisters!” Cassandra’s voice rang out, amplified by her magic.

  “Oh shit,” I muttered and knew those around me heard. “She’s called the cavalry, and they look pissed!”

  Chapter 15

  “Oh shit!” I said again as Bull’s naked body appeared at Cassandra’s feet. “She pulled Bull’s body into her spell circle.”

  “She’s brimming with the energy she stole from all her people,” Kat said, scoffing.

  “See!” Cassandra levitated, her arms out as she gloried in her wealth of power. “See what I have done! My sisters of the witch’s council have answered my call. With their help, I will avenge my love—” she cast a mournful glance at the body beneath her “—and take what is rightfully mine! Vampires will never again rule us with their unyielding will and oppressive ways. Witches and Otherkin will make this world our own. We will no longer fear the humans—”

  “Silence!” Several deep, rich female voices reverberated in the dome of Cassandra’s spell. “You have used forbidden magic. You have drained your own people to feed this spell. We will not condone this abuse, nor will we aid you in your greedy bid to rule our people. You are unfit to run a coven, much less an entire region.”

  The weight of those voices pressed down on us, even through our protective wall of witches. Everyone on our side listened and waited, barely a breath could be heard. Mandy and Tabi shivered at my sides as I watched with my heart pounding in my chest.

  “But,” Cassandra said in a small voice, “I called, and you came…”