Dawnbreaker (35 page)

I chuckled and turned my back to him, wandering back to my chair. I stood beside it, my left hand resting limply on the back. “You’ll make an excellent Elder.”

The smile instantly dropped from Stefan’s lips as he tried to figure out whether I was mocking him.

“Mira.” Danaus’s deep voice drew my thoughts back to the task at hand. I looked over at the hunter and curtly nodded. No more talk. No more stalling, hoping for a last second miracle.

“Let’s go.” I was surprised. My voice sounded firm and strong, confident even. I was a better liar than I had thought. Maybe I would make an okay Elder too.

Twenty-Six

I
t was the summer of 1468 when I first saw the white-gray stones of Machu Picchu, more than sixty years before the Incans would be nearly wiped out by the Spanish conquistadors. The Incans had just finished building their city in the sky with its more than forty rows of crops stair-stepping up the mountainside and numerous thatched buildings. The enormous stones were perfectly cut and placed together like an intricate puzzle first designed by the gods and later pieced together by man. Up among the clouds, the Incans reveled in the sweeping vistas of great mountains, worshiped the sun, and paid homage to the moon.

However, that year, the Incan emperor Pachacuti anxiously watched the strange beings that had suddenly descended upon his mountain retreat. Their brown hair, golden skin, and amazing powers quickly marked them as great children of their sun god, Viracocha. Pachacuti was more than happy to serve the needs of the sun children, even if it meant human sacrifices. But these great beings had also left him in an awkward position. They held captive a daughter of the moon. While the children of the sun lounged in comfort around Machu Picchu, the moon’s child was chained and blindfolded at all times.

During the day, I was kept deep in a dark, damp cave connected to the Temple of the Moon on the side of the mountain, hidden from sight and the far-reaching rays of the sun. And when I awoke each night, I was carried back to the funerary rock where I was tortured until dawn threatened once again.

Now, after five plus centuries, I found myself once again standing in the shadow of Machu Picchu, and I was terrified. The Sanctuary Lodge was the only hotel within walking distance of the Incan ruins. Most tourists were shuttled in from Aguas Calientes after making the long trek from Cuzco. So far the government had limited all development in the immediate area in an attempt to preserve the region and its history. But I was sure that would all change soon. It was becoming a hot spot for tourists, and the country was looking for ways to take advantage of the growing interest.

Stefan and I parted ways when we hit the road. I felt only a moment’s hesitation when my foot touched the soil outside the lodge, but there was no power waiting to steal into my frame. Cynnia had given me back a sense of balance among the various powers in the air. The earth still tingled, vibrated, and roared with energy, but it was no longer trapped within my frame. The earth energy pulsed through my body, causing my bones to ache and a pain in the back of my head to throb, but it was nowhere near the pain I had experienced earlier at the Palace of Knossos or at the flow at Ollantaytambo.

As Stefan headed south to the ancient trail, I felt a good portion of the nightwalker horde follow him, along with their human guardians. Those that remained watched tense and silent from the shadows. They were uneasy about being near Danaus or Cynnia. Much to her chagrin, Shelly had been left behind at the lodge with the instruction to head straight back to Cuzco at first light and then on to the United States without looking back. She had done a good job in watching over Cynnia while Danaus and I were otherwise occupied, but she was in no way capable of handling the coming fight. Despite her protests, my conscience simply wouldn’t allow it. And I knew Danaus wouldn’t allow it either.

As I stepped through the tourist entrance, I pulled the Browning and Glock from their resting places beneath my arms, wishing I could actually clutch the sword still strapped to my back. Their cool weight felt surprisingly good in my hands. The guns might have lacked style and finesse, but they were still a deadly force. With them, I would take back control of my life one bullet at a time.

The trail up the side of the mountain was narrow, forcing us to walk in single file. I took the lead, followed directly by Cynnia and Danaus, who held a scimitar in one hand and a short sword in the other. He was also carrying a gun holstered in the small of his back, while an assortment of blades were strapped to his body. He hummed with barely controlled energy. I wanted to snap at him to bring it back under wraps, but I bit my tongue. Usually, the warmth of his energy was soothing, but tonight it was just a reminder of how my night would end, blanketed in his powers as they tried to rip me apart.

We proceeded slowly up the trail. The only sound in the cool night air was the crunch of gravel beneath our feet. I glanced up at the black sky and frowned. No moon shone above me. I never realized how lonely the night became without her there, throwing down her sweet, silvery light. The region was pitch-black except for a faint glow of firelight coming from the top of the mountain. There was a stir of magic tingling in the air, but not enough to indicate that the naturi had begun the spell.

Danaus suddenly grabbed my shoulder, halting me. He stood very still, his brow furrowed in concentration. Gazing behind him, I found the other nightwalkers watching him intently as well.

“Naturi?” I asked, my eyes slowly sweeping around us. We had just entered the lower agricultural sectors. There were a series of plateaus that had once been used for planting corn and other vegetables for the inhabitants of Machu Picchu. Little vegetation grew there now, just deep, thick shadows.

“No, but—”

“I know,” I said. I could feel them too. They were coming.

As if on cue, the first wolf lifted its voice in song, baying at the moonless sky. The werewolf was soon joined by a chorus of his brothers and sisters, their forlorn cries filling the air. I didn’t allow myself the luxury of scanning to see if Alex was among them. If she was there, I knew I’d sense it a second before I killed her.

Quickly returning my guns to their holsters, I drew my sword. The bullets weren’t coated in silver. Without it, being shot would only piss them off. At the same time, the shadows lunged, converging on my little army.

“Mira?” Cynnia nervously said, staying close to my back as I continued to turn, searching for my approaching attackers.

“Can you control them? Can you stop them?” I demanded.

“I’m wind naturi,” she snapped at me, grabbing ahold of my shirt as a shadow shifted close to my right. “I can’t control animals.”

“Not even a little?”

“Not at all.”

“I’m not going to protect you up this entire mountain if you can’t show a little resourcefulness!”

Low growls from both sides rumbled in the silence and then it began. A shadow jumped at me, but I sidestepped it, swinging my sword as I moved. I clipped its side, earning a sharp cry as it hit the ground hard. As it tried to regain its four paws, I slashed downward, removing its head.

I spun, slicing at a Mexican wolf with ruddy gray and red fur. Its sharp fangs and strong jaws were aimed at my throat. Dropping to my knees, I grabbed Cynnia’s shirt and pulled her to the dirt as well. The wolf overshot me, landing on the other side of the trail in a spray of dust and gravel. He was quick to turn and make another run at me. I tried to dodge him again, but my foot caught on the body of the wolf I had killed moments ago, trapping me. The creature clamped down on my left arm with its teeth and nearly pulled me to the ground. Twisting, I plunged my sword through its ribs and into its lungs. With a yelp, it released me, pulling a chunk of flesh with its teeth. It tried to back off so it could heal from the wound I inflicted, but I was already there, removing its head.

The cut in my arm still throbbed, but it was healing. The flow of blood down it was stopping and would soon dry. I had nothing to worry about. I couldn’t contract lycanthropy. Vampires were immune to the disease. Unfortunately, the scent of my blood on the air would attract more werewolves. I walked a little way up to the path, pulling Cynnia along as I went, trying to put a little distance between Danaus and me. The path was too narrow to allow the wolves to encircle us, but it also kept the nightwalkers trapped. Our fighting was hindered as we struggled to not hurt our allies.

Screams and gunfire filled the air. Most of the humans had been equipped with night vision goggles and automatic weapons. The spray of bullets was slowing down the werewolves a bit, forcing them to heal. The extra second allowed the vampires to pick the lycans off more easily, but in the end the humans were being torn to shreds. They should have never been brought. Like the lycans, they were only a distraction.

With a grunt, I eviscerated a wolf that lunged for my throat, its bowels spilling onto the ground. It howled once in pain before I took its head off. Behind me there was a brush of energy. Dropping to the ground suddenly, I rolled up the path a couple of feet, dragging a stunned Cynnia with me as best I could. Keeping her safely behind me, I stood with sword at the ready. The wolf that had launched itself at my back landed in the spot where I’d stood moments ago. It snarled and was about to lunge when Danaus drove his short sword through the creature’s neck, severing its spine and piercing its throat.

“Showoff,” I called, my bloody hands still tightly gripping my sword.

“They’re coming,” he said. With a jerk, he pulled his blade free, and the body of the wolf collapsed in a lifeless heap on the ground. By morning the mountain would be covered in naked human bodies. A part of me wished I would live to see the next day just so I could hear how our massive public relations group would spin this one.

“Let’s get going!” I shouted. My group was finishing up the last couple of wolves. A dozen lycans were sent and all had died. I lost several humans as well. Several of the survivors would also grow fur at the next full moon. I was beginning to believe that this mountain carried some kind of curse with it. There was a price extracted each time someone set foot on her hallowed soil.

“Where’s the other group?” Danaus asked, stepping over a dead wolf as he climbed the hill.

I started walking again, while my mind stretched out to find Stefan. His anger hit me first, causing me to stumble. His group was in the middle of a battle. Stefan felt my presence and sent back one word before pushing me from his thoughts:
Guardhouse.
I skimmed over his people. Most of the humans were dead and I felt only a light scattering of lycans, but there was still something wrong.

“Hurry!” I cried, jogging up the path while it was still clear. “Stefan’s group is not far from the guardhouse. Something strange is going on. The nightwalkers keep thinking about rocks and the mountain eating them,” I called over my shoulder at Danaus.

“It’s the earth clan,” Cynnia volunteered. She ran close to my side, staying on my left so it was easier for me to protect her. “They have the ability to move great boulders, or split the earth open and then close it again around their victim.

We had to hurry. While Stefan was encountering some interesting problems, he was farther up the mountain than I was. He was going to reach the Main Gate before I was in position to meet him. If the naturi were going to conduct the spell at the Temple of the Condor, Stefan needed more help if he wanted to survive.

I was about to ask what they were going to send at us when I felt something stir in the air. Not questioning it, I grabbed Cynnia’s arm and pulled her to the ground with me. It was the same feeling I had moments before seeing the harpies at Crete. A shifting in the air, the feeling that something was about to land on your head from above. With a growl, I released Cynnia and rolled over onto my back. I reached for the Browning with my right hand and was about to raise it when I paused. They weren’t harpies. It was worse.

Overhead, with a set of massive gray wings, was a creature that resembled a gorilla more than a man. Its face was large and flat, with a wide nose and fangs that protruded out from beneath its fat lower lip. In its arms it held a dainty woman with blue flowing hair. Her small, fragile hands rested against the pebbled skin of its arms and chest.

“Cynnia, what the hell is that thing?” I demanded, my aim adjusting to take in both the flying creature and its little treasure.

“In your language? An air guardian,” she replied, seeming to back slowly away from me.

“Anything in particular I should know?”

“They’re killers.”

Keeping my back pressed to the ground, I fired at the air guardian as it swooped through the air. For something so large, it was amazingly fast, but I still managed to clip its wings. It roared in pain, wobbling in the air as it tried to lighten the strain on its wounded wing.

I tried to sit up to get a better angle on my next shot when a tree root erupted from the ground and wrapped around my chest, slamming me back down to the earth. I blinked against the stars exploding before my eyes. The root tightened around me, nearly crushing my ribs. I pushed against my earthy bindings, but these roots were controlled by magic, making them stronger. Another root near my foot sprung from the earth and grabbed my ankle, pinning me down. The earth clan naturi laughed from the cradled embrace of the air guardian as they hovered a few feet above my head. I struggled to cut through my bindings with my sword, but the progress was slow. In a moment my arms would break under the pressure and I’d be helpless.

“Come, little sister,” crooned the earth clan naturi with a wave of her hand toward Cynnia. “You belong with us.”

“Why? So you can kill me like the others tried to?” Cynnia snapped, crawling away from where I lay tied to the ground with a bunch of roots.

“You’d rather side with the nightwalkers?” the naturi gasped. She gritted her teeth and waved her hand toward the mountain trail. “Well then, I guess I’ll leave you with no other choice but to side with us.”