The words, growled and cold, caused the hair on her neck to stand on end. Gideon quirked an eyebrow, a small smile of amusement flickered over his full lips. “Easy there watchdog, I mean no harm, to either of you. Like I said, we’ve been waiting for your arrival. I’m not going to ruin that now. Yes, I already figured out that there’s something going on between you two. I’m not exactly sure what, but I’m guessing that it’s far more than you’re willing to tell me right now, and that it has something to do with the return of your sight. Though, I think it will be best if this is kept from the others, at least for now.”
There was something more beneath his words. She suspected the “for now” was just to appease Braith, and that this was really something Gideon meant to keep secret for good. A part of her knew he was right, and that part terrified her.
“And you truly think things will be so different if you return now?” Aria inquired, proud her voice remained strong.
“I know they will be,” answered Gideon. The way he stared at Braith made it clear why he believed things would be different.
“Why would you even go back?” Aria gestured around the restaurant. “Everyone seems happy here, you’ve somehow managed to find a way for humans and vampires to coexist in peace.”
“Let’s be clear here, before the war we all lived in relative peace too. Most humans were oblivious to us, and we liked it that way. There were some that were a threat, some that hunted us. For the most part other humans thought those that hunted us were crazy, and there were so few of them that they weren’t all that threatening to us anyway. Some of the humans actually enjoyed our world, enjoyed sharing their blood with us. It was actually an agreeable time and place. The king forced us into the border towns and The Barrens. He ripped our world away from us and he slaughtered our families. I want revenge, I want my life back just as much as you want freedom and security.”
Aria hadn’t seen Gideon move until his hand was resting casually upon hers. She jumped slightly, as did everyone around them, when Braith’s hand slammed down upon Gideon’s. “I’ll only tell you this once, do not touch her.”
Gideon winced as Braith’s grip tightened on his wrist. “Braith,” Aria said softly.
He lifted Gideon’s arm from her and threw it back at him. Though he tried not to, Gideon finally gave into the urge to rub his brutalized wrist. Aria almost apologized to him but she remained silent as Braith smoothly moved her hand off the table. “Touchy aren’t we,” Gideon muttered.
The people around them slowly went back to eating. “I’m not saying it’s going to be easy,” Gideon continued. “It took awhile for the humans to trust us, years and a couple of generations to forge the easy coexistence we have now, but it works well for us. It will probably take even more time with your people. They’ve been even more oppressed, even more beaten and broken than the ancestors of the people here. However, their offspring, and future generations, won’t even know what it was like to be oppressed.”
Aria was breathless, her hand clenched around Braith’s as hope filled her. “The same way I don’t know what it feels like not to be oppressed,” she whispered.
Gideon offered a sympathetic smile as he nodded. “Exactly. If it wasn’t for our aversion to having children our numbers would be even stronger, but some things don’t change.”
“Your aversion?” Aria asked in surprise.
“Most vampires don’t like the thought of having children,” Braith explained.
“It’s not that we dislike them,” Gideon continued. “In fact I tolerate them well enough; I simply do not have the patience or the time to take care of them. It’s too much work and not enough play. Nor do we want a vast group of immortals running around the planet; it would only be a matter of time before we outnumbered humans. That would be a nightmare for everyone involved so we’ve always kept our numbers in check. Braith’s father is one of the few that had more children after a son was born.”
“To make it look as if he cared for my mother,” Braith told her.
“I think he was also hoping that he would have a built in, powerful unit of protection. Though he did get two junior psycho’s out of the five of you. Luckily the rest of you were born with a conscious,” Gideon continued. “Most of us accept that offspring will be required of us at some point in time, but we are also aware of the fact that if we are lucky enough to beget a son on the first try, we can consider ourselves successful.”
Aria scowled at him as she folded her arms over her chest. “I can assure you that a woman is a success too!” she snapped.
Gideon grinned at her as he raised his goblet in a salute. “I’m sure, but they do us little good for continuing our line.”
“You’re an ass.”
Gideon shrugged, not at all offended by her words. “Simply the truth, our heritage and our ways have been like this for thousands of years. Though we have adapted and changed greatly over those years, there are some things that simply don’t change. Perhaps if I cared for the woman it would be different, but I know the hag I was supposed to be saddled with despised me as much as I despised her. Believe me, a son would have been a miracle for both of us. I didn’t mourn her even a little when she was killed during the war.”
Aria seethed as she continued to glare at him. Screams erupted in the night, pulling her attention away from Gideon as she searched for the source. A chill swept down Aria’s spine as more shouts pierced the air. On the street, people began to run; their heads were barely visible through the glass as they bolted forward.
Both Braith and Gideon leapt to their feet. “Stay here,” Braith commanded.
Aria sat for a bewildered moment, disoriented by what was going on, confused by the sudden eruption of chaos into this peaceful setting. She remained still for only a moment before she jumped to her feet and followed swiftly behind the two vampires. They had to push and shove their way through the confused and frightened crowd packing the building. Being smaller, she was far more adept at moving in and out and around the people and things.
They were stepping onto the street when she arrived at the door. Standing behind the glass, she watched as more people fled past, some were bleeding, others were carrying their children and still more were stumbling around and disoriented. Aria was nearly taken out as two people slammed into the door, shoving it open as they tumbled inside in a breathless heap.
She grasped hold of the man’s arm and helped him to his feet. “What’s going on?” she demanded.
His eyes were wild, rolling in his head. Blood trickled from his forehead and into one of his eyes. “The Forsaken Ones,” he gasped.
Dread trickled down her back as one ran past the building. It appeared more grub-like than man-like with its nearly translucent skin, hairless body, and nondescript features. It was in much worse condition than the ones they had encountered in the desert. Is this what happened to the vampires after years of banishment and starvation? A shudder rippled through her, nausea twisted in her stomach at the thought.
More of the creatures appeared, their heads swiveled slowly back and forth, their nostrils flared as they scented blood in the air. They were twisted and demented in a way that not even Caleb had been. And they were heading straight toward Braith.
Her breath exploded out of her. She released the young man as she leapt over some broken dishes on the floor and shoved through the door. The chilly air hit her but it didn’t rob her of her breath anymore. Braith was about fifty feet away, his head swiveled toward her, and his jaw clenched as he came back at her.
“Get back inside Aria!” he shouted.
“You need my help!”
“You don’t even have your bow, get back inside! We’ll be fine!”
“I’ll get it!”
“What?”
Lifting the hem of her dress, she tucked the ends of it into the attached belt. Braith, seeming to sense her intent, started for her. She didn’t have much time. Running, she bolted up a set of stairs next to the building, jumped onto the rai
ling and leapt at the top of the wall. Her fingers scrambled, and nearly lost purchase. By sheer luck and pure determination, she was able to keep her hold and pull herself up. Panting for breath, she knelt on the roof and peered over the side.
Braith was standing on the street below, fury radiated from him as he stared up at her with clenched fists. She was going to get an earful later, but she didn’t care. “I’ll be right back!” she called to him as she rose to her feet and raced across the roof of the building. She jumped onto the wall and leapt across the space between the buildings. They weren’t the same as her trees, but she was able to navigate them with relative ease as she raced back to Gideon’s house.
Some of the creatures started to follow her, but the others continued to filter through the streets hunting for prey. The screams of the maimed and frightened increased as she moved deeper into the fray.
CHAPTER 6
“What the hell was that?” Gideon’s amazed whisper was close by his ear.
Braith was seething, his hands fisted as he watched Aria leap from one building to another. “I’m going to kill her myself.”
“Well let’s worry about getting to her, in order to kill her first,” Gideon muttered.
Braith’s attention was brought back to the street and the creature’s filtering down it. He would have to get through them in order to reach her, and he had no problem doing just that. They were the sickliest looking vampires he’d ever seen, but their desperation made them far more volatile than many things he had encountered.
The streets echoed with screams, the scent of blood hung heavily in the air as the creatures stalked through the town, looking for more victims. Most people had already fled to safety, taking shelter in the buildings. Some still scrambled to get out of the way, others had not been fortunate enough to escape. Some of the creatures were trying to drag their victims behind them.
Their eyes were a glowing red. Braith assumed it was a permanent condition, one caused by their desperate need for sustenance. Two charged at him, one broke away, squealing as it raced down an alley after some unknown quarry. The other one was so pale that it was nearly transparent. These creatures seemed to no longer move about in the day, but remained hidden until nightfall when they searched out whatever kill they could find in these desolate lands.
It launched itself at Braith with an eager screech; its overgrown fingernails were hooked into lethal claws. Braith managed to catch its arm and pull it swiftly down. It bounced off the roadway with a sickening crack of bone. He found no pleasure in the mewl of pain it released; in fact he was hesitant to kill the thing. He didn’t know what it had done to merit banishment, knowing Gideon the punishment had been deserved, but this thing was pitiful.
And it was deadly.
Bracing himself, he knelt to drive his fist through the creature’s chest for the final blow. Its ribs gave way far too easily. He didn’t know that it had been a woman until he felt the clammy fleshiness of her breasts against his wrist. Disgust curled his upper lip as he ripped the heart from her chest.
He rose slowly, standing over the remains of the unfortunate creature. He didn’t have time to process the fact that this was what they could all become as more were already emerging. They ran down the streets in a savage frenzy, clawing over top of one another in their enthusiasm for blood. Panic tore through him as he threw himself into the madness, fighting his way toward where Aria had disappeared.
Gideon stayed close by his side as they grappled to control the melee around them. Braith caught glimpses of other vampires in the crowd, Gideon’s vampires, trying to control the chaos, but the creatures kept coming. It was a never ending wave of pale, almost slimy bodies with vivid red eyes. Aria was fast, she was resourceful and a fighter in more ways than most humans, but she was also just that, human. And there were so many of these things.
If they got their hands on her…
He shuddered, breaking the thought off. It wasn’t possible; he would not allow it to happen. He shut down all his pity for these creatures and turned to deal with the commotion at hand. Braith heard Gideon grunt loudly, he realized that they had been separated and Gideon seemed to be the main focus of the creature’s attention. Gideon had been the one to banish them, the one that had forsaken them and now they required payback.
Gideon was being pushed back, swamped by their weight as they piled on top of him. Braith grabbed hold of the shoulder of one and pulled it back. Animalistic sounds ripped out of its throat as it fought to get back at Gideon. He drove his fist through its back, and crushed its heart within his grasp. Gideon was fighting to get out from beneath the crush upon him. Though as one fell, another one swiftly took its place.
He heard the whistle of the arrow seconds before it shot a hairs width past his ear. Gideon let out a gurgled shout of surprise as it pierced through the skull of the creature that had just sprung up to grab hold of him. The thing squealed; horrible sounds of distress tore from its throat as it reeled back. Able to get in a better shot, the second arrow pierced through its heart, effectively putting the thing out of its misery.
Braith turned slowly; relief filled him as he spotted Aria. She was standing on the roof of a bar, her bow raised as she released another arrow that soared past Braith’s shoulder with a sharp whistle and dull thud that indicated it had hit its target. He was given only a brief moment to savor in the sight of her though as another creature came at him and he had to destroy it.
Ashby was shoving his way toward them; he had never been much of a fighter and he’d been doing more of it than he liked recently, that was made obvious by the grim set of his shoulders and the clench of his jaw. The remaining creatures began to scatter, sensing a shift in the tide as more of Gideon’s vampires emerged. Braith and Gideon managed to grab hold of a few more, but the rest were fleeing, escaping beyond the town. Gideon gestured to some of his men, pointing down the road as he ordered them to follow and bring back any survivors.
Another arrow knocked a straggling creature over as it jumped toward him. Gideon had worked his way free of the group surrounding him, he was bloody and his clothes were torn, but otherwise unscathed. The whistle of another arrow pierced a creature that had been lurching awkwardly at Gideon. Gideon didn’t flinch at the sound again, but his head fell back as he looked toward where Aria stood. Surprise and amazement filtered over his features.
“Let’s hope she never aims that thing at you,” Gideon muttered.
“She already has,” Braith admitted.
Gideon’s eyes widened and then he burst into laughter. “Ah, it is amazing what life throws your way, is it not?”
Braith pondered the truth of those words. Life had been so different just a few months ago, he had been blind, alone and content to simply go through the motions of what he now realized was an empty life. Then he’d seen her standing on that stage, filthy and proud, and forcing him to see in more ways than one. “It is.”
Braith took in the destruction littering the street, the mess of bodies surrounding them. Not all were those of the strange creatures, nor were they all human, some vampires had fallen here too.
He turned bracing himself as he looked up at Aria. Her bow was at her side, she had tucked the long ends of her hair into the collar of her dress. The hem of her dress was still tucked within her belt, revealing her legs to her knees. She looked wild, almost savage, but beneath it all he sensed her sadness as she stared at the carnage of the streets.
His remaining annoyance with her faded as her eyes met his. He had said once that he would not chase her into the trees she moved through with the ease of a monkey, he had assumed that would extend to rooftops as well, he’d been wrong.
He grabbed hold of a ladder, pulling it down with a clatter of metal. She was standing at the edge of the roof when he arrived at the top. He clutched her against him as he sought to ease her sorrow.
***
“Is she sleeping?”
“Finally,” Braith answered in response to William’s questio
n.
William nodded slowly as he ran a hand through his disheveled hair. “She’s been through so much that I sometimes forget she’s not as tough as she acts.” His eyes were so similar to his sisters, but they were also harsher. “She’s always hated to kill things, she’d do it, but she hated it. I should have been there.”
Braith bit back on the retort that William was right, he should have been there. Hell he could smell the alcohol, and the woman on him, but this hadn’t been William’s fault. None of them had expected the events of this night.
“How often does this happen?” Braith inquired as he accepted a glass of whiskey from Gideon.
Gideon shook his head, he was still bruised and bleeding from his split lip, but he was healing quickly and the marks would fade within the hour. “It used to happen once every couple of years, but this is the third raid in the past eight months.”
“What caused such an increase?” William asked.
Gideon was thoughtful. “In the beginning there weren’t many of them, but over time more have been banished. They’ve grouped together, they’re angry, and they’re taking that anger out on the one’s that put them in this situation. The other factions are experiencing the same problems with The Forsaken Ones.”
“How many are out there?” Braith asked.
“I don’t know for sure, like I said there are other towns that work under the same rules. We’ve banished six out of here over the years. Some towns are rigid in their rules, others are less strict, but after the ones destroyed tonight I would guess that there are approximately twenty five to thirty of those creatures left.”
“Why didn’t you just kill them?” Ashby inquired.
“No one here wanted the king’s rules, at all. We thought we would give them a fair shot at survival.”
Ashby quirked an eyebrow, he downed his drink in one long swallow. “I’d rather be dead.”