Tempered (Et Lapis Sanguis Book 1)

by Dawn Ibanez

  “Down!” Mel’s voice screamed.

  Gus didn’t even think about it. She collapsed to the ground and man that tried to hold onto her was thrown back by a bullet. She glanced around the crowded lobby and saw many members of the Glaive swinging their weapons at air. Gus slashed at the back of one cloaked figure that was choking one soldier. She turned, and before she could pull another off someone, they fell to the side with a bullet to the side of the head. Gus looked over towards the elevators and saw Mel standing with a rifle in her hands.

  “Ten and two!” Mel called.

  Gus swung behind her and caught a man just to her left in the stomach with her sword. Another shot rang out and the man next to him fell clutching his throat. “Take the outside!” Gus ordered her sister.

  She didn’t have to check to see if Mel would listen to her. A lifetime of having to depend on each other taught them when to listen and when to follow their own drum. This time, Mel would listen to Gus. There were too many attackers, and the Glaive couldn’t see them.

  Gus looked over in time to see the scythe coming at her again. She jumped out of the way and snarled when she looked at the woman who started this. Gus rushed forward and the pair exchanged blows. Gus knocked the blade to the side and threw a small knife at the woman. She caught the blade between two fingers and threw it back. Gus dodged the blade but was struck by the blunt handle of the scythe. She stumbled forward and turned to swing her sword at her opponent. Her eyes widened as her sword was blocked by yet another attacker. As that person was thrown back with a bullet between their eyes, the scythe came at her.

  Gus fell to the floor and rolled. She felt the vibrations of the scythe crash to the floor. As she looked up, she saw the blade turn to face her.

  She was about to jump to her feet when one of the vampires she fought in the training ring appeared in front of her. Gus’s eyes were wide as the whip wielding woman, Mary, looked at her and smirked. The scythe blade erupted from her chest. She fell to the side cried out when the scythe was removed from her.

  Gus crawled to her body and pulled her away from the crazed woman. “What the hell did you do that for?” she snarled.

  “So, you’ll owe me,” was the whispered answer.

  The vampire’s body grew heavier. Gus looked at her and gasped. Her cream-colored skin took on a grey cast. The fangs in her mouth elongated as she started to shift from vampire into gargoyle.

  Gus reached forward and grabbed the whip and sword from her waist. As she stood, she locked eyes with the scythe wielder. “Mel, here!” she said coldly.

  The vampire/gargoyle’s head exploded. Gus would mourn for her once this madness was over. She swallowed as she looked at the weapons at her feet.

  “What do you think you can do against me?” the scythe wielder taunted.

  Gus reached down and picked up the two swords at her feet. “I can do enough,” she said as checked the weight of both blades in her hands.

  Gus looked at the body at her feet. This woman’s cult had done enough harm. Gus ran forward and clashed against the scythe again. She snarled as she blocked the scythe with one blade and swung at her opponent with the other. They moved around the lobby in a flurry of movements. Gus turned in a pivot on one foot and slipped. She fell to the floor and crossed her swords in front of her. The scythe came crashing down above her. She kicked the woman off and jumped to her feet.

  Before she could straighten fully, someone was thrown into her side. As she fell, she saw a mop of hair that matched Gabriel’s. Gus turned and wrapped her body around the young driver that everyone said had such promise.

  Gus felt a scratch along her back. She brought herself up to her knees and looked at the person she saved.

  Gabriel looked at her with horrified eyes. “Gus,” he whispered.

  She pressed the hilt of one of her swords into his hands. “Find my sister. Don’t leave her side,” she ordered as she came up to her knees.

  Gus looked around the room. There were more cloaked figures than she expected. She shook her head to try and clear her vision, but it didn’t work. The air around her felt thinner as the temperature rose. She forced herself to stand. Gunfire continued to ring in her ears, but no one went down. Gus stumbled forward and caught herself with the sword she still held. She looked up and locked eyes with the woman that held the bloody scythe.

  “We aren’t finished yet,” she snarled.

  The woman looked at her with cold eyes. “I’m not finished,” the woman agreed. “But you are.” She threw her scythe in Gus’s direction and as vanished.

  Gus tried to raise her sword, but her arms didn’t want to work. She gasped as the weapon came at her at an accelerated speed. Her body trembled as she watched her death speed towards her.

  A body collided with hers and brought her to the ground. At the same time, Tati appeared between her and the scythe. With her hand in the air, the scythe froze. Gus looked up with dazed eyes and saw Elijah covered in blood holding her. She reached up and touched his face. “Protect Gabriel,” she whispered.

  A coughing fit seized her. Gus felt blood rushing up her throat and held on to Elijah’s arms. She looked to the side and saw Tati again. This time, she wasn’t dressed in the familiar clothing of jeans, tee and EMT jacket. Now she stood in a silver and white gown. Her eyes nearly glowed as she turned and looked at Gus. “You’ve fought well, Augustina. Now rest. When you wake, you’ll be home,” she said softly.

  Gus turned her eyes back to Elijah. He held her close as he glared at Tati. She leaned her head against his chest as his mouth moved to say something to Tati. Gus wanted to know what he was saying, but she was too tired to figure it out. Everything would be fine once she got some rest.

  *****

  Elijah’s breath left him when Augustina went limp in his arms. He looked at her and brushed her hair away from her face. “Augustina,” he said shaking her gently. A chill went through him when she didn’t respond. He looked between Gabriel and Tati, whoever the hell she was. The boy’s eyes were wide with tears and terror. The redhead’s eyes were sad, but he couldn’t tell what she was thinking. He didn’t even know who he was dealing with.

  A scream echoed through the lobby of Sector Central. Elijah looked up and saw Mel fighting Edmund to get to her sister’s side. Elijah saw her elbow his second in his jaw before she jumped from the rafter she climbed up to. If he hadn’t seen her climb up there, he would that thought she had assistance from either Edmund or Dominic.

  She slipped and lost her grip on one of the pipes. Before she could fall more than two feet, Dominic was under her. He caught her and flew across the lobby with her in his arms.

  Elijah laid Augustina down and brushed her sweat covered hair away from her face. “Augustina,” he called again.

  “Gus!” Mel cried. She jumped from Dominic’s arms and nearly slid across the floor to get to her sister’s side. She took the weapon from Gus’s hand and clutched it. “No, not like this.”

  Dominic knelt next to Mel and touched her shoulder. “It’s a warrior’s death,” he said gravely.

  Mel jumped to her feet and slapped the gargoyle. “My sister is not dead!” she screamed into his face. She collapsed next to Augustina again and put their foreheads together. “She can’t be. We survived too much.”

  Tati knelt next to Elijah and touched Gus’s hair. “There is a way to save her. But I don’t know if she would appreciate it.”

  Elijah and Mel didn’t hesitate. “Do it,” they said in unison.

  Dominic frowned at the redhead. “I thought you were a myth.”

  She shook her head. “Not a myth, but the stories are incorrect.”

  Elijah frowned. “Who are you, really?”

  Tati kept her focus on Gus. “My name pronounced in the common tongue is Titania. I am the current queen of the Fae.”

  Mel clutched at the coat Gus wore. “You said you could save her. How?”

  Tati touched Augustina’s forehead. “I can make her full-blooded Fae. Since yo
u and she are half-Fae, I can change you both.”

  Elijah kept his hand on Augustina’s arm. “What does that mean for her?”

  “She’ll be alive, but she could be altered. She might not remember you or her life here. She may want to live on the other side with the other Fae.”

  “What is the other side?” Mel asked.

  “The world of the Seelie and Unseelie Fae. There are veils and pockets for each,” Dominic said lowly. “If you save her, you may lose her anyway.”

  Mel shook her head and took Gus’s hand again. “She’ll be alive. That’s all I need to know,” Mel said. She leaned forward and kissed Gus’s forehead. “She’s been through enough.”

  Elijah looked at the peaceful expression on Augustina’s face. She hadn’t looked that peaceful when she slept next to him. He shook his head. “She is the Lady Consort of the North. She needs to live here.”

  Tati looked at him. “That is not your decision to make,” she said. All traces of the happy-go-lucky medical technician were gone. Now he faced off with a woman no one had seen in centuries. “Augustina is a child of the Fae. If Esmeralda wished it, she could come as well. But something tells me she wants to finish this.”

  Mel nodded. “This needs to be brought to an end.” She looked at Tati. “Bring my sister back to me. Gus will remember, and she’ll want to finish this too.”

  Tati turned to Elijah. “I will not decree that she return to you. Like I said, she may not remember you.”

  “She’ll remember,” Elijah swore.

  Tati lowered her head. “I wanted her to finally find happiness,” she confessed. Violet eyes looked at the people gathered around them. “I’m sorry this had to happen. I truly am.”

  She placed her hands on Augustina’s shoulders, and in a flash of light, they were gone.

  Elijah snarled as he stood. He couldn’t see any trace of his consort or the queen. When he turned to move away from the group, he saw Gabriel, still with the sword Augustina gave him.

  “What the hell did you think you were doing?” he asked.

  He stalked over to the boy he helped raise and snatched the sword from his hands. “You said you want to be a bodyguard, but that is the second time she saved you. You say you want to become a member of a Glaive? You say you want to become a vampire? Start by learning to defend yourself.”

  Edmund appeared at his side. “Don’t blame Gabriel for this,” he said.

  Elijah looked at his second. His temper flared and for once, he didn’t care who was there to witness it. “Yes, Gabriel shouldn’t be saddled with all the blame here, should he?”

  “Elijah, stop,” Mel said softly.

  He stepped closer to Edmund. “You’ve hated her since the moment we met her. You never gave her a chance to prove that she could be trusted by you.”

  “I asked that she come on as an instructor,” Edmund argued. “I saw more in her potential than you did. All you saw was a hot piece of ass.”

  Elijah didn’t remember swinging the sword in his hand at his second. Before it could connect, Dominic was there between them. With one hand he pushed Edmund back and the other held Elijah’s sword in an unbreakable grip.

  “Edmund, please take Lady Mel to my quarters in the Tower. The boy too. As of now, I am placing them both under my direct protection,” he growled. He kept his gaze focused on Elijah’s as Edmund moved around the lobby. Once all three melted into the shadows, Dominic stepped closer to Elijah. “This is not the way to vent your anger, old friend.”

  Elijah’s chest heaved as he tried to breathe. He could yell and accuse everyone of having a hand in Augustina’s… death?

  No. She was not dead. Tati said she could be brought back because of her Fae blood. He would not bury her. Not like this.

  But the memory of her back being ripped open by that scythe would haunt him. And when he realized she didn’t move because she shielded Gabriel, his heart shattered. He never told her the full importance the boy held for him.

  Dominic disarmed him and let the sword drop to the floor. “Glaive,” he shouted. Elijah kept his head down as various members of the Glaive picked themselves up off the floor. “Lady Gus has fallen at the hands of this cult that dared to attack us in our own home. While Lord Elijah takes time to gather himself, I will assume command of the North.”

  Elijah closed his eyes as he clenched his fists. He had a face to go with the woman that attacked him in the Tower. There was no way he would let her go. Not after what she did to his consort.

  “My first order is simple. Hunt any member of this cult down like a dog. If you find the leader, bring her head to Lord Elijah.”

  Cheers went up in the lobby. Elijah was numb as he stepped away from Dominic and went to the lobby entrance. As he stepped out into the night air, Elijah didn’t feel the cold.

  Not when his chest ached so much.

  Before he could fully leave the building, Dominic appeared in front of him again. “You cannot be let loose. Not when you’re like this.”

  Elijah’s world tilted on its axis as a stone-like fist slammed into his jaw.

  He was unconscious by the time he hit the ground.

  Chapter 18

  She felt like she was floating. There were no worries in her life. She was light and free, and she could do and be anything she wanted.

  The last time she felt like that, her mother had taught her how to do a summersault.

  Gus fought to open her eyes and inhaled. Everything was too bright. She brough her hands up to cover her face and the sound of gushing water deafened her. Gus failed out and she sank down under the surface. Water entered her mouth and she started to fight. She didn’t know where she was, but she would be damned if she would drown.

  Gentle hands lifted her out of the water. “Take it easy,” the soft voice said. “It’s disconcerting at first, but you’ll adjust.”

  Gus opened one eye partially and grimaced at the bright lights around her. “Where am I?” she asked. She curled in on herself as her voice grated in her ears.

  “Beyond the Veil,” the gentle voice said. The hands helped her stand and wrapped a rough cloth around her body. “Queen Titania brought you to the waters to heal you.”

  “Queen… you mean Tati?”

  The person helping her stopped. “The children used to call her that. But not for some time.”

  Gus tried opening her eyes again and inhaled. The light wasn’t as harsh as before. Everything was still bright, but now she was in the middle of a large bathing room. The cloth wrapped around her scratched at her skin. She frowned as she looked at the person that tied the cloth around her shoulder into an intricate knot.

  “What’s going on?” she asked. “I’m supposed to be dead.”

  “You were brought here because the Queen commanded it.”

  Gus raised a hand to her brow and frowned when she saw the bandages wrapping her arms. “What’s this for?”

  “You were heavily injured. We had to heal you.”

  She pulled at the bandages and unraveled them. Gus dropped the last of the bandages to the ground and looked at the perfect skin of her arms. “Where are my scars?” she asked quietly.

  “They were unbecoming of a noble daughter,” a woman said from the entrance of the bathhouse.

  Gus turned to her and swallowed. She remembered that voice. The woman walking to her held her shoulders back as regal and proud as the day she left. “You’re alive,” Gus said in a whisper.

  A dark head nodded. “Yes. But I couldn’t make it to the other side to find you and your sister. Not after my transgressions.”

  Gus felt her anger leave her as quickly as it started to gather. She shook her head and frowned. “You broke Papi’s heart,” she said. “He died thinking he was going to join you in some sort of afterlife, Mom.”

  The person that had been helping Gus gasped. Their wide blue eyes moved from one woman to the other. “Lady Rhiannon, I didn’t know she was your daughter.”

  Her mother shook her head.
“It’s fine Chi. She is here at the Queen’s command.”

  Gus walked over to a bench and sat heavily on it. The more she tried to gather her thoughts, the more they would simply fade into obscurity. “What’s happening to me?” she asked. “I can’t think right.”

  Rhiannon walked over to her and knelt at her feet. “Give it time. The waters are healing your heart and mind.”

  “What does that mean?” She lifted her hand up to slam it on the bench and frowned as she became distracted by some of the needlework in the cloth around her body. “I needed my body healed. That’s it.”

  Rhiannon took Gus’s hands into hers. “You needed to become fully Fae to reach your utmost potential.”

  “You mean magic?”

  Rhiannon nodded. “Among other things.”

  Gus closed her eyes and sighed. “Why now?” she asked. “If I had any latent magic, why is it manifesting now? It should have come out when I was in the South fighting in the pits.”

  Rhiannon stood and held out her hand. “Come with me,” she said. “We can figure this out at home.”

  Gus moved away from her. “I’m not going anywhere with you.” She had a home. It was on the other side with a man who treasured her.

  “Don’t be obstinate. As my daughter, it is expected that you live in my home. All the others live with their parents.”

  Gus’s head tilted to the side. “All the others?” she asked. “So, you were just going to leave me and Mel to our own devices?”

  “Mine is a special case.” Rhiannon held out her hand. “Come, I will tell you about it.”

  Gus rubbed her forehead. The headache started to form wasn’t going to be pleasant. “I need to speak to Tati.”

  “We don’t need to disturb the Queen.”

  “I think we do,” Gus said before rubbing her temples. “I need to figure out what’s going on. I need to go back.”

  “Why? What is so important that you would even try to leave this side of the Veil?”