Warrior Rising (10 page)

“We must protect the baby, while we can,” Luca said softly. “For now, we protect him with our silence.”

She leaned back in and rested her head against his shoulder.
Him
was better than the earlier
it
, and still, it was wrong. “Her,” she whispered.

He did not question how she knew. Her single word was enough.

“Will I carry the child for nine months, as if I were still human?”

Luca spoke words she suspected had not often passed his lips. “I don’t know.”

“Will the baby survive the change in my body?” According to him, if she were still human she’d lose the baby. Could a vampire nourish a fetus? Obviously the answer to that was yes, since Luca had been born to a vampire mother. But his father was also a vampire, and both parents had been vampires when he’d been conceived.

Her daughter had been conceived when she’d been human, and still grew beneath her heart.

Their time alone together had been rare these past few days, and this day was no different. A solid knock sounded on the door next to this one. A moment later, that same sharp knock sounded on the door to this small room. Luca snapped, “Enter,” and the Warrior Rurik did. Only then did Luca release her.

“Nevada requests your presence immediately.”

Luca looked annoyed. He had much to do, and he was not accustomed to being summoned by anyone. “The witch? Why? And how would she even remember enough to ask for me?”

The Warrior smiled, a wide, real grin. “She needed a bit of help, I’ll admit. There were many scribbled notes before her.”

The three of them left the room and climbed to the first floor, then to the second. There was much activity as Warriors, humans, and vampires prepared to move their headquarters elsewhere. As their forces spread out, effectively setting up stations all around the city, the number in this large mansion continued to decrease. The battle that had taken place here had left the once-fine house more than a bit of a mess, but they had managed for several days. They would not stay much longer, though.

Two Warriors guarded Nevada’s door. As Chloe walked down the hall, following in Rurik and Luca’s footsteps, the scent of human blood grew stronger and sweeter and more tempting. Heaven above, she was hungry!

“No,” Luca said softly. “I will see that you’re fed later.”

It wasn’t easy, but she trusted him. Besides, Nevada was on their side, and Chloe was far too new to have the kind of control that would allow her to stop before draining a human past the point of death. But oh, the witch smelled good.

The two Warriors parted to allow the threesome to enter. Nevada stood at a worktable that literally glimmered with remnants of magic. Chloe wondered if everyone could see it, or if that glimmer was for her eyes only.

“This is him?” Nevada asked, her eyes on Luca, her question directed to Rurik.

“Yes. This is Luca. Shall we test your latest spell?”

Nevada lifted her hand and impatiently instructed Luca to step forward. He did so, and — eyes on him the entire time — the witch offered a ring on her outstretched hand. Chloe’s eyes were drawn to the blue veins on the witch’s pale wrist, to the heartbeat, to the scent of blood. She stopped well short of the table, as Luca continued on.

“Put it on,” Nevada said as Luca plucked the ring from her hand. At his expression — raised eyebrows, hardened eyes, thinned lips — she added, “Please, sir.”

Luca looked to Rurik, who nodded once. Only then did he slip the ring onto the middle finger of his right hand.

When it was done, Nevada turned about, presenting her back to them all. A moment later, she completed the circle.

She would not remember Luca now. He had been out of her sight. The witch smiled widely and even did a little happy dance that included clapping her hands twice. “Luca, nice to see you again.”

“Clever.” Indikaiya said as the conveyance Sorin had been guiding stopped in front of a small building. The front of the business was constructed almost entirely of glass. They had passed pockets of complete darkness on their way here, but electricity was still being supplied to this area.

A neon sun shone brightly in the front window, along with the bright flashing words, “24-Hour Tanning.”

“Yeah, clever. It’s not sunlight, exactly, but even the artificial stuff hurts like hell. It’ll kill most kindred if they’re exposed long enough, and incapacitate even the strongest for an undetermined period of time. Especially if the light hits the eyes.”

“Have you been burned or blinded by this artificial sunlight?”

Sorin shook his head. “Not yet.”

To business. She did not care if Sorin had been burned or not, so she wasn’t sure why she’d asked. “Is Nevada’s family still here?”

“Yes. The smell is too strong to be a lingering one. They are here.”

He sat, his attractive face lit by bright colored flashing lights from the window before them. For a moment, she wondered where he’d come from, when he’d been turned. Viking she would guess, given his build and coloring, but it was impossible to be sure. She was tall and blond herself, and she was not Viking.

And again, she
did not care
.

“Are you going inside?” she asked, as she tried to figure out how to open the door. Her eyes went to his hands. When he opened his door, she’d know how to open her own. She would not ask; she would not admit that she was effectively stuck in this vehicle.

“I’m thinking about how I might speak to them without getting burned.”

“Considering what you’ve told me, that might be impossible.”

“I’m aware,” he said in a lowered voice.

“Come,” she said in a strong voice. “If I must, I will protect you.”

He evidently found her offer funny. His laugh was harsh, as he reached for a recessed handle all but hidden in the door and pulled upon it. She did the same, then reached into the back seat for her sword. She probably would not need it, but she would not trust her life, or the life of the humans here, to a
probably
.

Sorin did not collect his weapon from the rear seat of the vehicle, even though the long black leather coat he wore would’ve concealed it well enough. Why did he continue to wear the leather? He did not need to be warmed, and it wasn’t as if many others weren’t carrying weapons at this stage of the game. He slammed the car door, and she copied his action, hefting the sword in her right hand as she took long steps toward the glass doors straight ahead.

He looked at her weapon and held up a hand to stop her. “I’m grateful for the offer of protection, I truly am, but don’t hurt anyone in there. Odds are I’ll survive any injuries I sustain. If I’m lucky, I can deliver Nevada’s message before they hit me with a dose of that light.”

Sorin could leave without speaking to Nevada’s family; he could toss a note tied to a rock through the glass window. He showed no indication of doing either of those cowardly things. She asked, “Why do you care so much about delivering the witch’s message?”

The question annoyed him. “I have a debt to pay. Can we leave it at that?”

“Of course.” She tried to see inside the building. Even with all the glass, it was difficult. Bright lights shone in the windows, but beyond all was dark. “Your conveyance is quite loud. I suspect the humans inside realize we are here.”

“Yes, I suspect so.”

“They are likely terrified of you.”

“Likely.”

“Trust me, and do not move.” She swung her sword around so fast it was a blur. Surprisingly, Sorin did as she’d instructed and remained in place. The blade of her sword rested against his throat.

“Family of the witch,” she called in a voice loud enough to carry. “We come to you with a message from Nevada. This vampire has sworn not to harm you, but for your peace of mind I will keep my sword at the ready.”

A man came to the glass door, turned a key in the lock, and opened the door. “Is Nevada all right?”

“Yes,” Sorin said. “May we come inside and talk?”

The man — Nevada’s father, almost certainly — looked at Indikaiya. “As if I would invite two vampires into what has become my home.”

Indikaiya was insulted, and that insult was evident in her voice as she responded. “I am not a vampire.”

The man looked her up and down. “What the hell are you, then?”

She glanced toward Sorin. “Why does he not think me human?”

“The clothes. The sword. Maybe he has some magic like his daughter and can see that you are not like him.”

He looked to the man in the doorway. “She is not a vampire. She’s a Warrior here to fight for humans. For you. We do not need to come inside. Nevada wants you to know that she’s all right, and she wants you to be aware of what’s going on.”

“We’ve been watching the news.”

“The news,” Sorin said lightly, “where half of what you hear is true and half is not and it’s impossible to know which is which.”

“I’ve seen enough to know what you’re trying to do.”

Sorin shifted his weight. He clenched and unclenched his fists. It was obvious he was impatient to have this chore done. “A lot’s happening, and D.C. is going to be one of the world’s hot spots. Get out while you can. Travel by daylight and stay in the sun. Take the tanning lights with you, if that is possible. When you get to where you’re going and have power, they will make fine weapons. Get out of the city, and find an isolated place to lay low until this is over.”

“Will it be over?” the man asked, almost wistfully.

“Eventually.”

Nevada’s father did not relax. Behind him, Indikaiya saw three other figures in the shadows. “Why are you here?” the man snapped. “You did this. You were working for the other side a few days ago. You threatened us, and you threatened my daughter. Why should I believe you now?”

“Believe me or don’t,” Sorin said, and then he moved. He shifted — a blur and nothing more — away from her sword so quickly, Indikaiya had no chance to follow. He could have removed himself from the threat of her blade at any time. The man in the doorway had never truly been safe.

Sorin returned to the car. He started the annoyingly loud engine.

“I cannot answer your questions,” Indikaiya said to the human who looked as surprised as she felt. “I cannot tell you why, but I do know that Nevada trusts him. The message he has delivered is a true one, it comes from your daughter’s lips. You have my word.”

She saw such pain on his face, such longing and distress. “When will she join us? If we go far away, if we find a secluded place to hide out until this is over, if it ever is over, how will she find us?”

“That is a problem for another time,” Indikaiya answered pragmatically.

With that, she returned to the blasted car and opened the door. She slid into the seat, then carefully placed her sword in the rear seating area.

“Now what?” she asked as the conveyance got underway. “We have many hours still until dawn.” And Sorin’s dreaded daylight.

“I don’t know about you, but I feel like killing some vampires.”

She caressed the smooth grip of the knife at her right hip. “That is a fine idea.”

Sorin drove toward the center of town. He knew D.C. well. He had walked, driven, and flown into all corners.

“Have we a plan?” the Warrior asked from the passenger seat.

“Council headquarters, in Georgetown,” he answered simply. “Even if the Council members themselves have fled the city, as I expect they might’ve, others might flock there.” Maybe even Marie, who’d been a Council member herself and would know the place well. With the sanctuary spell back in place, her options were limited. Not that he didn’t think she had her own hideouts in this town she’d called home for so long. Still, she might be back at headquarters. If he could kill her, if he could remove the leader of this revolution…

Unfortunately, she would not be easy to kill. Blood-born power hungry psycho that she was.

If he could get some of her followers, if he could kill more of her soldiers — old and new, strong and weak — he
could
hurt her.

“We need to get you some new clothes,” he said as he turned down a deserted street. There were too many deserted streets for this hour of the night in this city. People were fleeing, or staying in what they believed to be safe places.

“Why? My tunic is comfortable and offers freedom of movement.”

“You don’t blend in.”

“Why should I wish to blend in?”

She was stubborn, and full of questions. He didn’t need her beside him as he fought, didn’t need the distraction. And yet, he did not once think of putting her out of the car and going on alone. “Humans will be on alert for anyone different. I’d hate for you to be mistaken for a vampire who never moved on, fashion wise, by a frantic human with a gun or a sword or a grenade.” He looked to the woman who rode beside him. “What happens if you die?”

For a long minute or two, he thought she would not answer. Then she said, “I would return to my world, my home.”

“Handy. Could you come back?”

“Only if I’m called by a blood descendant.” She turned her head and looked at the city flying past. “Chloe can no longer call, as she is no longer human. I could not locate another receptive blood relative when I was speaking to her, so I would likely have to wait until called for the next battle. That can only happen if the human race survives, and a descendant has the gift of hearing.”

“Do you have a lot of descendants?”

“Quite a number, but not many with the ability to serve as conduit.”

He tried to imagine Indikaiya as human. Obviously she had been a soldier in her time, but also obviously she’d had children. Otherwise, there would be no descendants to hear her call. She had not always been a woman who knew nothing but the sword.

“Where were you, when you lived in this world?” Like it or not, he wanted to know. He wanted to be able to imagine her as a human, in her place, her time.

“Why does that matter?”

“It doesn’t. I’m just curious.”

“Where were you, when you were human?” she asked.

“Romania.” He didn’t often talk about that place. It was so long ago, that time seemed almost like a dream. “I was a farmer and a soldier. A husband and a father.” That had been a simple time, and he had been a different person.