Warrior Rising (20 page)

If he insisted she would go, but she didn’t want to. She wanted to be a part of the fight; she wanted to save the world.

Chloe had grown up with comic books and superhero movies, always wondering at the invincibility of the heroes. She herself had been anything but invincible, and as a teen and an adult she’d been keenly aware of her vulnerability. She had been fragile… until now. She had never felt so powerful, had never imagined she could be strong. Not like this. Why waste her strength hiding away while others did the dirty work?

Luca wanted her to hide because he wasn’t sure what the others would do when they noticed her condition. If this child’s existence scared him, what would the others think? Would any of them dare to go against him? Not if they had a lick of sense, but let’s be honest. Some of them didn’t.

The baby was growing much too fast. Did that mean the child would continue to develop more quickly after birth? Would she put her infant daughter to bed and after a few hours find a toddler in the crib?

A crib! With everything going on, she hadn’t been able to give a moment’s thought to ordinary new-baby issues. Like a nursery, diapers, onesies, stuffed teddy bears…

The truth was, this baby was a bundle of unknown. Dwelling on what might happen would drive her insane. One day at a time. One
hour
at a time.

And the child inside her kicked again. Hard.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Attacks had taken place all over the world, they knew that from the bits and pieces of news they’d seen. At the same time, Marie’s recruits flooded Washington. This city was the center of it all, the initial and most important war zone. As darkness fell, there would be more battles. More humans would die.

Sorin sat in front of the television — an enormous flat screen mounted on the wall of the living room — and listened to one panicked reporter after another try to make sense of what had happened in the past week.

Several of them were still trying to find a logical explanation, but they were having a tough time of it. These reporters who dealt in facts — most of the time — found themselves smack dab in the middle of a horror story. The current news story was disjointed, the camera work sloppy and the reporter’s words not as crisp and clear as usual. Instead of looking directly at the camera, the pretty brunette kept looking around her and behind. Up and down. Unfortunately for anyone with a tendency for motion sickness, so did the cameraman.

Sorin was about to abandon the television entirely when a new face appeared on the screen. He leaned forward in his chair and shouted, “Holy shit!”

His cry brought Indikaiya in from the kitchen, where she’d been hunting (unsuccessfully) for actual food. For her
and
the mutt who was at her heels.

She pointed at the screen. “Is that…”

“Luca, yes.”

The blood born was being interviewed by an obviously nervous reporter, the young woman with a fixed waterfall of dark hair and a bright red dress that clung to her voluptuous body. Just a few moments ago, she’d said the words “mass hysteria.” She seemed not so sure about that bit of the news at the moment.

“What does he hope to accomplish?” Indikaiya asked.

“I have no idea.”

Together they watched a few minutes of Luca’s unexpected press conference. He stressed calm. He explained about the sanctuary spell, how it had fallen and been reinstated. Sorin changed channels, and found that every network was showing the same interview. Luca was being watched around the country, around the world. The privacy he had valued so very much was a thing of the past.

Even a few days ago, this news conference would have been impossible. At the very least, it would have been a waste of time. In a quick phone call, Duncan had told Sorin about the spell Nevada had cast on a ring Luca now wore. If Luca removed that ring, would his old magic return? Or was that power lost now?

It was impossible to know. Luca even told those watching how to kill a vampire, much as Sorin had been doing these past few nights. Now everyone knew. The blood born also told them that not every vampire was in favor of this war, that there were some fighting to save the human race.

Damned few.

Sorin had never thought he would be one of those vampires. He’d never expected to be here, fighting alongside an Immortal Warrior, saving humans until one of them — or one of the kindred — ended him for good.

With a frustrated click of the remote, he turned off the television.

“Don’t you want to know what else he has to say?” Indikaiya asked.

“Not really.” He’d had enough of Luca Ambrus, blood born and savior of the whole damn world.

Sorin closed his eyes and listened. He heard the mutt's quick panting, Indikaiya’s heartbeat, his own, and nothing else. Until her stomach growled.

He jumped from the couch and took her hand, leading her to the door. Not the balcony door, by which they’d entered the apartment, but the other, one he rarely used. He unlocked and opened that door. Beyond, the hallway was empty. Judging by the sounds and smells — or rather the lack of them — this entire floor was deserted. His neighbors had wisely fled.

He had seen — or heard — the woman across the hall carrying in groceries on several occasions. He’d smelled her cooking. She baked a lot. He’d enjoyed the smell, sometimes, but such aromas no longer had the power to make him hungry. Indikaiya, on the other hand, needed real food. She had fed him. The least he could do was return the favor.

His neighbor had also had a cat. Maybe the mutt would lower herself to eat cat food.

With the sanctuary spell in place, he couldn’t enter the apartment. He couldn’t even kick in the door. Instead he indicated the door with a wave of his hand. “No one is at home, but there will be food.”

Indikaiya tried to turn the doorknob. Naturally, it was locked. She glanced at Sorin, then said, “My apologies to whoever lives here, but I have to eat.”

She kicked the door and it flew open.

Sorin stood in the hall, just beyond the doorway, as Indikaiya walked toward the kitchen, which in this apartment was not a separate room but was a part of the large, open main area. The mutt followed, close on her heels. It was not his imagination that the demon dog glanced back and wagged a ragged tail as if to flaunt her ability to enter the apartment he could not.

There was no cat present, but there was a small bowl of dry food on the kitchen floor. Cupcake abandoned Indikaiya for that bowl.

“I have heard of these,” Indikaiya called out as she rummaged through the cabinets. “Pop-Tarts. Rurik has a fondness for the frosted strawberry.”

“Of course he does,” Sorin muttered.

He watched and listened as she ransacked the kitchen. The refrigerator opened and closed, as did several cabinets. He wondered what had happened to the woman who lived here — or used to live here. Had she made her escape with her cat or had she become food for a vampire on her way out of town?

It annoyed Sorin that he couldn’t walk into the apartment and help Indikaiya collect provisions. Something so simple, and he was incapable. That was one of the reasons why he had been so intent on Nevada taking out the original sanctuary spell, why he had fallen for Marie’s prettily painted picture of freedom.

He was tired of standing on the outside looking in. He was tired of being forever separated from so many normal parts of life.

Of course, he had left normal behind seven hundred years ago.

His cell phone was charging in his apartment. He really should call Jimmy or Duncan — those two had kept him informed of the plans and progress until now — and see what the plan was for tonight. But all he wanted to do was fight. He didn’t want to take orders from Luca Ambrus, didn’t want to be assigned to a particular battlefield.

Indikaiya left the apartment with an armload of food and a rare smile. Again, the mutt was close behind. At least this time the dog didn't try to take a chunk out of his leg.

Sorin didn't care about the damn dog. All he wanted to do was fuck and feed and fight. With Indikaiya.

Marie put her frustration behind her and focused on the days to come. She’d expected the first phase of this war to be finished by now. The traitorous vampires and the damned Immortal Warriors had not entirely ruined her plans, but they had definitely interfered.

Still, she was nothing if not adaptable.

The long black limousine with the dark tinted windows had left Atlanta before full dark had fallen. Marie reclined on the rear seat. On the bench seat directly across from her, Chloe’s mother slept. Of course she slept. Marie had drunk from the annoying woman almost until death. Almost.

Yet another part of her plan had hit a snag. Amelia Fallon had tried to call her daughter and had gotten no answer. Apparently she’d been calling for days without success. It was impossible to blackmail someone without making contact.

There was no need to be hasty. She needed to solidify her plan before moving forward.

Without Luca and Sorin in the mix, the war would certainly proceed more smoothly. Luca was a leader. Sorin, a fearsome soldier — and a betrayer. When they were punished and out of the picture, the war would take another turn. In her favor. As for the human Ahron insisted had to be eliminated… he would be easy enough to kill. She barely gave him a second thought.

The other two would not be easy, she knew that well. She would not underestimate either of them again.

By taking Amelia Fallon, she had a way to get to Luca through his woman. Perhaps it was just as well that Chloe hadn’t died, after all. Beyond the annoying woman, Luca had no weaknesses. None.

Luca was all but hers. And she knew exactly how to draw Sorin out.

Nevada rolled over and into Rurik. A solid, warm, naked Rurik. The Warriors didn’t sleep much, but they did sleep. Sometimes a couple hours a day, sometimes as much as four. The couch she normally slept on was far too small for Rurik, much less for both of them, so they’d spent the last few hours on the floor. It was hard, but there were pillows and blankets to make the area tolerable.

Rurik had been dozing, but as soon as she touched him he was wide awake. Not startled, just instantly awake and aware. She smiled. He smiled. Life was good.

That was a thought she hadn’t had for a very long time.

Very early this morning, after coming in from the fight covered in blood and dust, Rurik had made love to her in a way that convinced her that even though she hadn’t been a virgin when she’d been kidnapped, she might as well have been. No encounter had ever been like that one. Nothing and no one had ever touched her as he had. It was more than the deep affection she felt for him, more than his skill in the bedroom. It was both of those things, and more.

Love, maybe. No, Rurik simply knew what he was doing. No — both. More. No, not love. That would complicate things far too much. Given the state of the world, what did it matter
why
?

She curled into him, soaked up his heat, wallowed in the feel of his skin against hers.

“I know it sounds silly, given what’s happened in the past few weeks, but in the past twenty-four hours everything has changed,” she said.

“Because we shared this hard bed?”

“That’s one thing, but there’s more. Luca, a vampire, held a press conference.” She rolled over and on top of Rurik, resting there comfortably. “He put himself out there for the whole world to see. I never thought that would happen. Chloe is carrying a… I don’t even know what to call her. A miracle, certainly. Will that baby girl save humankind or destroy it? I see her as a savior, I think she’s important, but what do I know?”

“You know much,” he said, his hand — so solid and warm and right — settling on her back.

“I don’t know near everything,” she said.

“No one is meant to know everything.”

She leaned in and kissed Rurik. He was a good kisser. “I suppose there are some advantages to living in such close quarters,” she said, taking her lips from his just long enough to whisper.

“Yes.” He pulled her closer, tighter.

It was amazing how an orgasm could make her forget all the bad stuff in the world. For a while, anyway. It was awesome, it really was, but as Rurik rolled her over and spread her legs Nevada reminded herself that she’d have to be very careful not to fall in love with him. Tempting as it was, easy as it would be. When the war was over, he’d return to his own world. If her protection spell wasn’t good enough, if his fighting skills faltered, he could be snatched back there in an instant. Tonight, tomorrow, any day any time. Maybe Jimmy could call him back, if that happened. Maybe not. Once Rurik was home for good, it wasn’t like they could visit. Talk about a long distance relationship!

If the war had taught her anything, it was to live in the moment. She didn’t know if she’d be around to see tomorrow. She didn’t know what the world would look like if Marie won. She didn’t even know what the world would look like if the good guys won! Not the same, that’s for sure.

She had been working to find and develop more spells to aid the good guys or hurt Marie and her psychos. Preferably both. But she couldn’t work all the time. Her brain and her body needed a rest. No matter what tomorrow might bring, she was going to push everything aside, for now. Everything but Rurik.

She could and would take pleasure when and where she found it. She would embrace joy, in small doses or large. She would learn to live in the moment.

Thanks to Rurik, this moment was fine.

Whatever peace this city had once known was gone. Only the most bullheaded of humans could believe that their opponent wasn’t what they claimed to be. Vampires. Bloodsuckers. Creatures long believed to be demons.

Indikaiya kept her eyes trained straight ahead, trying to dismiss the fact that she had lain with one. She had not only laid down with Sorin in his bed, she had enjoyed it. She had enjoyed it so much she knew that if they survived this night she would lie with him again.

She was no stranger to pleasure given and taken. Indikaiya had had three husbands during her life in Atlantis. One of them she’d truly loved. He’d died far too young of an illness that would’ve been easily cured in this new world. The other two had been husbands of political convenience. They had both been pleasant men she liked; she would not have married them otherwise, but there had been no real love as there had been with Nileas. She’d also taken lovers in the world she now called home, but… it had been a long while.