We Shall Rise (29 page)

Yasmine shuddered at the thought of being recaptured. She could not go through that again. “Good luck getting my father to follow your rules. You know how he is. Frankly, I’ve never seen him like this before. He was livid. Kind of crazed. He was determined to kill everyone involved in kidnapping me. I don’t think you have to worry too much about him. I think the guys who took me are going to have to deal with the full impact of Diamonde. I don’t envy them.”

II

They arrived by Lucian’s private planes to Vancouver. It would have been quicker for Reysa to dematerialize there, but she could not take all of them with her. It would drain her to the point of unconsciousness.

Waiting for them was Lorenzo along with ten other lycans and vampires dressed all in black fatigues. Lorenzo greeted Lucian, but stilled when he felt her presence. Corinne was here. Her blonde hair blowing so gently in the wind filling his nose with her fragrant vanilla scent. He had not seen her in weeks after he caught her with Liam. The separation was a knife in his heart, but she left him no choice. His beast was clawing him as it ached to be free to claim her. The beast craved the woman it knew to be his, but the man would not force a bond between them. Corinne would have to choose him with all of her heart or soul. Lorenzo would not—could not—settle for less.

He glanced in her direction one last time before focusing on Lucian. “We’ve been surveying the perimeter from a distance. We did not want to get too close, in case they could scent us. The spell to mask our scent had worn off by the time we arrived.”

Lucian had sought the help of a witch to cast a spell to hide their scent. The witch’s powers were limited. She warned that the spell would not last long and even shorter for lycans. The spell had worked when he and Olivia first arrived at Reysa’s but he knew it had faded for them as well.

“I can handle that kind of spell,” Diamonde said as she stepped in between Lucian and Lorenzo. She surveyed both men. “I’m the meat in between a juicy lycan and vampire sandwich. This is surely my lucky day,” she purred.

Both men stepped back. Diamonde winked and then closed her eyes as she chanted in a language unique to the Wiccans. The trees swirled in the breeze as a gust of wind appeared in this otherwise still night.

Everyone could feel the power in the air. Diamonde was no ordinary warlock.

“It is done. You boys want to thank me?” Diamonde asked. Lorenzo visibly shuddered as Lucian hid behind Olivia.

“My brave mate,” Olivia mocked.

“A wise man knows when to pick a fight or to run. When it comes to ‘Diamonde’ running in the safer bet.” He kissed Olivia’s neck as she relaxed in his arms. “Don’t take any chances,
cara
. Please be careful. I cannot lose you. Not again.” He kissed her gently on the cheek before facing the group of warriors eager for a fight. None more eager than the sirens who were slavering at the thought of violence. Their eyes a gleaming red lusting for the kill.

Lorenzo darted around Diamonde and approached Lucian. "There are numerous guards outside the perimeter. I cannot detect their species. Their faces and bodies are almost completely covered in camouflage. The little skin I could see was very pale, ghostly pale."

“They weren’t there before.” Yasmine walked over to Lucian and Lorenzo. The guards before were weaker warlocks and sages, but they don’t sound at all like what you just described.”

“That makes sense. After your escape, they probably upped their security and hired these mysterious guards. Regardless, we will stop them,” Lucian assured her.

A noise from the woods caused everyone to spin around with their weapons poised for battle. Emerging from the woods were three lions. The largest of the lions stopped a few feet in front of Yasmine and shifted. “Yanis,” Yasmine whispered.

“Ms. Yasmine. It is my pleasure to see you again. We have come to help you.” Yanis spotted Corinne and smiled brightly. “Ah, my lion whisperer has returned.” Corinne smiled back until she saw Lorenzo’s angered face. He turned away from her and stood next to Lucian.

All the women moved up front to get a closer look at Yanis, including Diamonde who almost knocked over Yasmine.

The smell of pheromones permeated the area. The other lions shifted as well. They stared hungrily at the sirens.

“We are about to go from a war to an orgy,” Lucian griped. “Reysa!” Lucian called out to her trying to muffle his frustrated voice. “You need to get your siren friends under control. The scent they are giving off is not shielded by Diamonde’s spell. The others will find out we are here before we have a chance to attack. We’ll lose our advantage.” Lucian approached Yanis blocking everyone’s view. The women groaned. “We appreciate your offer to help and we accept it, but right now, I need you and your friends to shift back into lions.”

Yanis smiled understanding the need for that request. He shifted back after ordering the others to return to their lion forms.

Everyone sighed in disappointment. Lucian caught the sound of one very familiar sigh. “
Cara
, not you too.”

“What?” Olivia asked trying to play innocent. Lucian scowled. “We should focus on the attack strategy now that everything is under control.”

Lucian nodded, but whispered in her ear, “Nice try, darling, but you will pay for that later.” Olivia smiled looking forward to Lucian making her pay.

The group approached the building that looked like an oversized barn in the middle of the woods. It was surrounded by the guards Lorenzo had described. There were at least twenty of them guarding the barn. They walked in such an orderly, robotic fashion. “They look like soldiers,” Lucian surmised as each step was in perfect unison with the other.

“Those are not soldiers,” Diamonde warned as she sat a little too close to Lucian. “Those are the living dead.”

“What?” Lucian asked.

“Those men are not among the living. I don’t mean vampire kind of dead. I mean zombie kind of dead. There must be necromancers around here. Only they could bring back the dead.”

The news was getting worse by the minute. “Can they be killed?”

"It’s easier to break the spell that’s keeping them alive, but I am not a strong enough charmer to do this. The other way is a good old-fashioned beheading. Their bodies will still twitch, but they can’t hurt you if they can’t see you.”

“The strategy is decapitation, then,” Lucian agreed.

“You won’t get close enough to do that,” Diamonde warned. “There is a spell. It’s acting as an invisible gate designed to keep intruders like us out. I am strong enough to open a small portal to get us through, but I can’t shut down the whole thing. So I suggest you pick a corner and I will create a slight opening.”

Finding a spot was difficult considering the men covered each area as they marched frequently around the building in small groups ensuring no spot was left unseen. “We need a distraction,” Kaden suggested.

“I can handle that,” Corinne offered.

“I don’t think so, Cori,” Lucian dismissed.

“You don’t boss me around, Council King. If anyone here knows how to be an annoying distraction, it’s me,” Corinne argued. She started unbuttoning her blouse and tied the ends underneath her so that her black lace bra was on full display. She broke the heel of one of her shoes and started to walk away.

Lorenzo stopped her. “What the hell are you planning to do?”

His hand scorched her flesh, but Corinne slapped it away. She didn’t want his touch right now. “No man, even a dead one, would ignore a damsel in distress, especially if she has big breasts. Fortunately for all of us, I wore my miracle bra today.”

“This is crazy. You’re going to get yourself killed,” Lorenzo gritted out barely restraining his anger.

“You’re the one that’s going to get us killed if you don’t be quiet. They may be zombies, but I doubt they’re deaf, although it looks like some of them are missing ears,” Corinne observed. “Anyhow, I know what I’m doing. I can handle a few zombies.”

“You speak zombie now as well?” Kaden taunted.

“Yup. I’ve seen
Dawn of the Dead
fifteen times.”

Corinne continued walking in the direction of the front of the gate when Lorenzo grabbed her again. “This isn’t a movie, Cori. This is not a game.”

“Stop treating me like an idiot!” Corinne demanded. “We’re wasting time we don’t have. Time those innocent kids don’t have. I may not be much of a fighter, but I know how to be a pain in the ass and that’s what you need right now. You need me to get those zombies focused on something other than that one corner so Diamonde can break through the spell. I can handle this. Now let me go.”

Lorenzo reluctantly let her go. She needed him to trust her, but his wolf only wanted to protect her. He had to show more faith in her despite the warring desire to shield her from this danger. His body trembled from anger and fear. His beast was too close to the surface, but he fought it back. He would play this Corinne’s way even if his beast clawed him to death.

“I will follow her,” Yanis offered.

Lorenzo growled ferociously at him, leaving no doubt that one step by the lion in Corinne’s direction and he would end up decapitated like those zombies would soon be. “I will follow her. She is mine to protect.” Lorenzo’s tone underscoring that he had claimed Corinne as his even if she had yet to claim him. Yanis nodded in understanding as he shifted back into his lion form.

Corinne hobbled towards the front of the barn. It would have been easier to break both heels, she thought as she stumbled and landed flat on her stomach. She looked up to see five pair of cold black eyes staring at her. She managed to get to her feet, brushing off the dirt that had smudged her suede navy skirt.

Having a plan would have been helpful, Corinne thought, but she didn’t have time to prepare. She needed to do something to prove she could help in his mission. She wasn’t useless, despite what everyone thought.

Hopefully, a little friendly conversation could break the ice. “I’m so glad to see you,” she cried a little overenthusiastically. “I had a bit of an accident down the road and I’ve been walking and walking looking for help. Then I broke the heel of my shoe. It’s kind of scary out there, but then I found you handsome guys and I knew I was safe.”

The man in front of her removed his hood. Not so handsome after all, she thought as she stared at his tattered skin. She could see his actual cheekbones. A piece of his cheek fell off, landing on his boot. He didn’t seem to notice the missing flesh.

“You dropped something,” Corinne motioned to the rotting flesh on his boot. “You might want to get a band aid or a plastic surgeon.”

He snarled at her.

“Oh, you must be a zombie. Well, Mr. Zombieman, I was wondering if you had a phone I could use and call for help.” The zombie did not respond and snarled even more. This wasn’t going well. She didn’t want to fail, especially since everyone expected her to fail. That was the story of her life. For once, she would prove them wrong although she had no idea how. “Please, can you help me?” she begged jumping up in down in a desperate attempt to get his attention. The motion caused her breasts to bounce and that seemed to get a reaction out of the zombie as well as four of his other friends, who stood their transfixed by her breasts.

Corinne smiled brightly. Even dead men were boob men, she thought. She continued to bounce up and down as she spoke. No doubt the zombies did not hear a word she uttered, but they were mesmerized by the movement of her breasts. A few others had moved closer to take a look. All she needed was to distract a few more and that would give Diamonde a chance to create the portal.

Nothing she said seemed to get through to them, so she would have to take a more drastic measure. She took a few steps back and looked over to Lucian giving him the signal to get ready.

Corinne unsnapped the front closure of her bra allowing her breasts to spill out. The zombies started going crazy trying to claw free of the spell that locked them in. Corinne ignored Lorenzo’s growl and continued to prance in front of the zombies who were starting to fight each other in an attempt to get closer to her.

Diamonde used that opportunity to create a portal through the back entrance way. Julian unleashed a flurry of ice and froze the security cameras, completely disabling them.

Corinne watched as everyone slipped inside. She refastened her bra as the zombies screamed. “Thanks for helping me live out my stripper fantasy, guys.” She blew them a kiss as she walked away.

They continued to scream for her, trying to reach through the enchanted barrier. They were too distracted to notice the sirens standing behind them until it was too late. In only a matter of minutes, the front yard was filled with zombie heads rolling aimlessly across the yard.

Alarms blared as a voice on the loudspeaker shouted, “Vampire attack!” This time, the vampire attack was real, but they were not alone in this battle to take down ELM.

III

The sirens, who were playing soccer with the zombie heads, remained outside with the lions, while the others split up in the compound. The primary mission was to save the children, but capturing Adam and Eve was necessary to quell the vengeance of the vampires and lycans. Yasmine led Julian to the barracks where the witches and sages had been held.