Wildfire Gospel (Habitat) (10 page)

Lanore

I’m starting to get tired of dirt walls and battered brick stones.

Traveling through the compound’s hallways had to be a claustrophobic’s nightmare. Even with everyone walking with me, the sensation of isolation blanketed my skin and suffocated my lungs.
Take deep breaths. Relax.
We had five more hours until we went above ground to confront Mother Earth. All my life I complained about the caged ceiling over the sky, wishing I could see the clouds without bars for once in my life. As I trekked through the Vampire’s caved in world, I no longer pitied my view in Santeria.

“We don’t have much time.” Dante got in front of us. The ends of his ivory robe trailed behind him, like a freaking wedding dress. I did my best to not laughed as I reeled that he probably didn’t wear anything underneath it. His bare feet left a path of footprints.

Of course. He has pretty toes. I wouldn’t expect anything less from the narcissistic leader.

By the time Zulu and I dressed, Dante notified us that Angel left to see the Palero. I hoped she was getting her teeth back and whatever else was taken.

Zulu hooked his arm around mine. We kept a few feet behind Dante. I felt over dressed in my horrid green sleeveless gown. Dante swore there were no purple dresses to be found. I declared him a liar. He ignored me, not seeing the importance of my color preference. Either way his stupidity couldn’t stop me from wearing green on my body. A black suit formed around Zulu, bringing out the tan color of his skin. He continued to be weird and not want to discuss him leaving the pool in an abrupt manner. We passed more dirt, brick, and stones.

An iron door was the end of the hall. Lit buttons outlined it.

“Don’t look any of the Sisters in their eyes. It hurts my kind to do it. I’m not sure what looking into their eyes would do to the both of you.” Dante pressed several buttons on the wall.

The iron door slid open. The scent of blood hit me first. Then the glow of warm light. The massive sitting room I’d seen on the screen earlier came into view. Tan paint coated the walls and ceiling. Chandeliers hung in weird molds of crystal and ruby patterns that were as wide as three feet and longer than five. There must have been at least five chandeliers spread throughout the room. Almond colored couches outlined the walls. The letter B was embroidered on pillows and the head rests of couches in what looked like crimson and gold thread.

Tiny tables holding wine glasses rested on the ends of each couch. Pitchers of what looked like blood sat next to those glasses. Jazz played in the background from an unseen music system.

I didn’t figure the Bottelli family as jazz enthusiasts.

Every Vamp glittered with jewelry and formal wear. Ball gowns littered the area. If not high-end attire then costumes from the masquerade ball adorned them. Yet, their facial expressions screamed confusion and anger. Discarded serving trays sat on the carpeted floor. Empty pillows lay near shocked Vamps with blood still dripping from their fangs as if they’d been interrupted in feeding on a Mixbreed and couldn’t get over the fact that the slave had gone. Piles of silver collars with letter B’s dangling from the center were scattered all over the place.

He really did get rid of the Vamp-owned. But how long will that last?

We hadn’t won with Dante. I didn’t know how or why, but somehow we would lose with the Vamp-owned leaving. I’d made the mistake long ago thinking we could beat him at the game of deception to only be on the losing end every time.

Not this time. I’ll keep my eyes open and mind alert.

“This is the Bottelli sitting area.” Dante stayed in the doorway. “We’re in an alliance of course, but from here on out, for every member of my family that you both kill, I drain a Mixbreed child above ground. Are we clear?”

Zulu didn’t look his way, yet his face hardened to a stiff mask. “Are you sure you want to make ultimatums with me?”

“I think we’ve killed enough Vampires for tonight.” I nudged Zulu with my arm, not needing dead babies on my list of people who’d died because of my actions. “We’re clear on this arrangement, Dante. However, if someone attacks us, we will defend ourselves. Other than that we won’t murder anyone down here today.”

“Do you understand what I said about the Sisters?” Dante headed into the luxurious space.

“Yes. Don’t look the Sisters in their eyes.” I lifted the ends of my silk green gown and entered. “Are you worried about us? I didn’t know you cared so much.”

“You both possess a very important ability. I can’t have either of you die on me yet.”

Maybe it’s a good thing Zulu told him we could touch the wall.

A woman with wavy blond hair jumped up from a couch, got on Dante’s side, and screamed, “Listen up!”

All of them jumped to a standing position. Chatter halted in seconds. Movement stiffened. Every face centered on Dante.

“We’ve lost many tonight. I understand everyone has questions, but we don’t have time for answers right now.” Dante headed forward. The few in front of him separated and made a clear path for him to walk through. Zulu and I continued behind him, unsure of what else to do.

“I understand that many crave revenge,” Dante continued. Each set of Vampires that we passed tossed us enraged looks. All bared their fangs. “But hear this and hear me with clear certainty. No one touches these two, but me. And if you think someone else will attempt to kill them, stop the person immediately.”

Snarls sounded in the distance. Dante paused. “Does someone have something to say to me?”

A tall man with shaggy dark hair stepped out five feet in front of him with his head tilted down. “Sir, we understand that you know best, but we’ve lost friends and family tonight as well as all of our servers and blood slaves. I don’t—”

In seconds, Dante moved in a blur of black and pale light, jumped high into the air, landed on the guy’s shoulders in a crouching position, tore his head off, and kicked the headless body to the side. Blood sprayed out of the guy’s neck. His body slumped over and slammed into the ground.
Dante is faster than I thought.
Zulu and I exchanged glances. It seemed we would learn a lot down here just from standing back and observing.

Landing on the ground, Dante dangled the guy’s head in his hand. “Okay. This is an open forum. Anyone else has an opinion?”

People backed away. Red dots sprinkled his robe. “Christine, get me a new robe. Now.”

The blonde rushed off in a smear of distorted vision. A breeze blew by and rustled my hair.

“Tonight we celebrate our family gaining great power.” Dante threw the head to the side. “If you have questions and/or concerns, write them down on a piece of paper, and then burn it. Too much has occurred and will continue to come down on us. I won’t be addressing anybody’s issues, but I will be clawing more heads off if the desire comes to me.”

Christine returned. A gust of wind trailed behind her. A new robe rested in her hands.

“Thank you.” Men formed around Dante as he changed. “Let’s go as a united family.”

Everyone flanked our sides. No one bared their fangs again, but I felt the tension and hatred anyway. Zulu leaned my way. “Are you okay?”

“Yes.”

It was more than we’d said since sex. When everything was all over, he’d have to sit down and talk to me about whatever was bothering him.

“Take off your shoes,” was all Dante said to us as the doors opened. A sweet fragrance blew in.

I gasped at the sight before me and froze right in my spot.

It was a city inside of a huge cave, a massive one with a dirt sky that swirled into different layers of rocky earth. Scarlet soil that people tended to make clay with looped along ginger craters of rock and russet brown sheets of crust that stacked in Mother Nature’s odd design. Lit torches decorated walls. I mentally reached out for the flames. They didn’t lean my way.

Not real fire. How did they get the fire spells down here?

“Shoes.” Dante pointed at Zulu and me. We slipped them off. Cold black stone smoothed against my feet. My face reflected back in the polished surface.

I tilted my head. “What is that sweet smell?”

Twenty feet in front of me, Vamps biked on a white graveled path that circled a huge statute around fifty feet high. The statue resembled the costume Dante had worn to the masquerade ball earlier. He’d said that he went as the god of all Vampires, Ambi. That must have been a depiction of Ambi in the center. Onyx horns stuck out of the god’s head and curled back with sharp points at the end. Hooves served as his feet. Glass claws decorated each hand. His mouth formed into a scream. Glass tusks shot out of his open lips. Muscle bulged on his arms, waist, and thighs. The god’s erect penis hung past his knees and pointed toward us. I almost shielded my face with my arms in fear that something would shoot out from the phallic and spray us.

Dante dropped to his knees and placed his forehead on the ground. “All praises.”

Everyone followed, but Zulu and I. “All praises.”

They remained on the ground. Whispers in a foreign language left their lips. The only thing I could tell was that they all said the same words in unison. Zulu tightened his grip on my hand. Every other sentence they whispered, they raised their head to the statue and then lowered it back down to the ground.

More Vamps biked past us, circling the statue and then veering off to less traveled paths that went far off into the distance.
Vamps on bicycles? That has to be the silliest thing I’ve seen tonight.
Others walked by on a gray sidewalk done in tiles with weird black symbols engraved in the center.
Good God how big is this place?
Like Dante’s family members, everyone whether on bikes or strolling by, all dressed in their best—sequin gowns, silk suits, crushed velvet capes rich in colors and patterns, massive hats where gems dangled from the edges and clinked against each other, smoke colored glasses rimmed in gold, silver shoes with large glass heels full of colored water that twisted and turned with each step, forming into new shades. They all headed into the same direction, in hoards of decadence.

A growl left Zulu’s throat.

“What?” I whispered.

He pointed to the ground among the crowds of Vamps. Naked Mixbreeds crawled on the sidewalk like dogs. Chains linked to their collars as their owners pulled them forward. Zulu’s suit sleeve glowed in red and blue. The cords in his arms must’ve been lit up with his rage.

“Remember. No killing.” I gritted my teeth. “At least not until we know how to get out of here and take them with us.”

Bells rang. I scanned the area to see where the sound came from and couldn’t find it. Dante and his family stood in one swift movement. The marching people decked in glamour paused. The crawling Mixbreeds collapsed to the ground and probably took the opportunity to rest.

What the hell is going on now?

Cackling soared over us. Several of the Vamps next to me inched back. My nose itched. My throat constricted, making it difficult to swallow. I rubbed my eyes as they watered.

“Are you okay?” Zulu asked in a low voice.

“There must be some brimstone or frankincense in the area.” I could take it in small doses without a serious allergic reaction. Lower Demons possessed the stench. I had no problem being around them. Higher level Demons like my dad reeked of the stuff and made my allergies unbearable, which was why dad usually shielded his scent from me. The scent of rotting eggs drifted my way. Zulu covered his nose and scrunched his face up.

“Brimstone.” I searched around the area.

Two more bells chimed again. Everyone remained still. Cackling increased. The more I heard the noise the more I inhaled the allergy inducing aroma.

The noise must be with the brimstone.

Zulu raised his head and stared toward the soiled sky. “I don’t like this.”

Four pale women flew above us with brown massive bat wings that stretched out of their backs and slapped against the air. They were huge, the height of two people and the size of mythical giants that I’d seen in story books when I was a kid. Goosebumps spread across my skin. Even though I heated my core, I still couldn’t get rid of the nervous chills.

Those terrifying things are the Sisters?

Sheer gowns draped their bodies. The lush fabric wavered in the wind. The women’s long crimson hair swayed from side to side in thick groups of strands like a family of snakes dancing to their own song. The Sisters soared over us and moved slowly, not even close to the speed Zulu gained when he flew. With each flap of their wings, they progressed a foot or two forward. Ear splitting cackling fled from their lips. Their legs hung limp. Their feet dangled. They moved their heads around monitoring all of us below like vultures hungry for a battered carcass left out in the sun.

Dante glanced over his shoulder. “Don’t look at their eyes.”

“Those are the Sisters?” Zulu raised his blond eyebrows.

With no further answer, Dante turned back around. I tried to make out their faces without staring into their eyes. It was almost impossible.