Chapter Twenty-two: Battles
(6 months later)
"The girls were attacked by rogue shifters." Midnight said softly, almost to herself. She glanced at her Inner Circle, then at her lifemate. Kai's face was expressionless, as were all the guys', but she could feel the hatred and terrifying rage underneath the calm exterior. Nobody messed with the women. It had taken the fact that Ravyn and Stacie were so very close to death to snap Devin and Enrique out of their cold, mind numbing rage. She took a tentative look at Robert Jerkin, who burst into a heated debate. "It was the Serpiente! You said so yourself, Lady Vaperio! They've joined the rogues, the evil ones! You know it's true!" "Robert, you know the Serpiente are just as prone to having rogues among them as the rest of us!" Nicolina cried angrily. "It doesn't mean Seth's betrayed us, he wouldn't do that! You know how he feels about our standing with humans. If evil Serpiente mean Seth's a traitor, than the Crowes that attacked my entourage are indicators of where your loyalties lie!" "You dare to imply-" "Shut up, you old buzzard, for Christ's sakes!" Eryka glared at the violet- haired, British shifter. Robert glared daggers, not at Eryka, but at her lifemate, Lestat, and his lazy, sardonic, amused smirk/grin. Eryka continued to shoot down the Avian prince's hateful tirade. "Seth sent his people to aid us in battles past. He's on our side. Believe me, no Shifter of any race would dare face the wrath of His Highness, Devin Black, and you know it. No citizen of the Dark World is that stupid. You know if they were our enemy, and posed a threat to Ravyn, he'd fry all Germany to protect her. Everyone knows that. Nobody in their right mind would risk it. So, can we put aside the bureaucratic meetings? Thank you. We have a more important thing to discuss, and if none of you have felt the mindless rage rolling off all the vampires present, you need to have your heads examined." Kai and the others, now that their attention was brought to it, were very much aware of the black auras surrounding the girls and the older vampires they'd come to know. Only Kai knew the reason. He'd been with Midnight when she'd received word that Sangria, the village in Vaperio Hall's shadow, had been decimated. He remembered her reaction.
(Flashback)
"Dara? Dara?!" Kai stared at the vampiress as the letter fell from her limp fingers. Anguish was pouring out of her, and her eyes were shining with unshed tears. "Dara, what is it?" She turned to Kai, conflicting emotions shimmering in her eyes. There was terror, love, sadness, horror, hatred, and rage in her eyes. There was a strange, unnatural bruised look in her eyes. He almost wanted to slap her, to get that terrifying expression off of her face, that horrible look out of her eyes. Had she gone insane? "Do you know who was in Sangria, Kai?" Her voice was deceptively calm, unfeeling. "Sangria? The village? No, who? Did something happen to the village?" "The village has been destroyed, Kai. All the mortals there were killed. Do you know who else was there?" He shook his head in confusion. Why did she sound so weird, so monotone? She was starting to scare him, badly. "Mithainde. Jaycen. Alexandre. They were all killed." Her lifemate gazed at her in horror and sympathy. Three of her brothers... "Their lifemates?" "They're coming here. Oh, my God, Kai, oh, my God...."She reached for him as he reached for her, and she fell into his arms and screamed, and screamed until her voice cracked and she couldn't speak a word, just sobbed and sobbed into Kai's chest. He kissed the top of her head and held her, mumbling soothing words in her ear, praying this was a nightmare. But he knew it wasn't. And he knew she was in danger because of that fact.
(End Flashback)
"We are all aware of what happened in Sangria, and extend our condolences to both the vampires as a race and to the Vaperio family for the loss of your brothers, Princess." Robert's tone took on a subdued note, almost pitying. Midnight hated him for that look. His pity wouldn't bring her brothers back. Wouldn't bring her twin back. Mithainde. Andy. Her dearest friend and companion, her brother. He'd always been the one to take care of her, always. And if there was ever a time he wasn't there, Jaycen and Alexandre would be. She felt their loss keenly. She needed to be away from the Council, away from everyone but Kai. She wanted to forget everything for a while. Kai could make her forget. She was also worried about Talleri, Jasmine, and Bianca, her brothers' lifemates, as well as Stacie. All four of them were pregnant, and all four of them were Shifters. Due to the intense sorrow, as well as the physiological and psychological trauma of losing a lifemate, the three women were in serious danger of miscarriages, and Stacie, due to the effects of the snake venom in her first trimester, was as well. "I, on behalf of the Vaperio royal family, give sincerest thanks, Dark Council members. But, now is the time for grieving, and we have some time before militarial decisions must be made. So I request that we take a seven day recess." Kai, looking at Dara's pain filled eyes, made this announcement softly and calmly. He wanted to be alone with her now, to help her get through this hardship, or, if she wanted, help her forget. "Of course." Nicolina murmured, and everyone swiftly left the room. Kai threw up a psychic lock on the door, as well as a psychic, physical, and aural shield. "You're a quick study." Dara murmured before rising and coming to stand in the center of the room. "I'm proud of you, my love." "Dara-" "Kai, I want to forget. Please. For tonight, let me forget everything. Love me. Love me so hard it's all I'll be able to think of. Please, Kai." The once human put his arms around her and kissed her hard, her soft lips sensual and yielding under the onslaught of his mouth. His tongue slid into her mouth, exploring her, even as his hands slid down from her shoulders to cup her full, soft breasts. His palms brushed over her breasts teasingly, making her gasp and arch into his touch. He could sense she didn't want foreplay tonight, only fast, hard loving that would leave her too hot and needy to think about anything. Her clothes swiftly found their way on the floor, as did Kai's, and this time, he didn't take her blood, not even a taste. He simply reveled in the feel of her as he slipped into her soft, welcoming body, listening to her cry out and moan, whimper and sigh as he pleasured her. "Dara, you're so soft, so sweet-" "Harder, Kai, make me forget!" "Oh, beloved...." Kai whispered. She gasped and cried out in ecstasy as he filled her with wicked fire, blocking out all rational thought until she was too exhausted to even feel bereft as he finally left the warmth of her body to lie beside her and watch her fall asleep. "Well, sweetness, that's one battle fought." She didn't respond. She'd been out before her head hit the pillow of his chest. "I made you forget. But how long will this work?"
Kai and Dara awoke in each other's arms, warm and lazy and sated. Even as her bright eyes dimmed at the memory of everything that had happened, she touched Kai's lips with gentle fingers, tracing them lovingly. "It hurts." "I know, baby, I know." "Last night felt so good, Kai. Can't we do it again?" He had her on her back, eagerly awaiting his invasion, when a psychic call just brushed their minds and retreated a respectful distance. Someone needed them. "Damn." The vampire snarled under his breath. Midnight sent a thought on a distaff line- I'm busy. Is it important? The response she got took her breath away. Pain, all too familiar, laced with terror, both feminine and infantile. The pain carried a familiar psychic scent... Stacie. "Oh, my dear God! Kai, get dressed, now! Stacie's in trouble!" Dara was fully dressed in jeans, white tank shirt, and denim jacket, in her favorite pair of moccasins, and Kai wasn't too far behind as she rushed from the room. "Dara, what's wrong?" The only thing he felt was an uprising of female terror, utter terror, and all from the women in the Scarletti palazzo. No men, none, nothing from them, but every female, from the modern house cat to the toddler girls to the eldest Dark woman, was totally petrified. "What is it?" He wasn't prepared for the surge of knowledge she sent like the slam of a stone wall his way. Poison. That's what had them all in an uproar. Stacie had started going into labor two months early, due to the fact that someone here in the palazzo had been feeding her poison all through her pregnancy. He understood why the women were suddenly so upset. Stacie had been pregnant twelve times. She only had four children. Miscarriages were far too common among the Shifters. She couldn't bear to lose another baby. He didn't think Enrique could, either. "Kai, go find the boys. Find the slut-faced bitch who did this." "It was a woman?" "Oh, yes, it was. You know what? Bring Toni with you. The girl has a sixth sense for deceptively benevolent evil. I'll be with Stacie."
Kai watched with the others as Enrique snapped the neck of the traitorous woman who'd been poisoning his lifemate. Then Enrique froze. In his mind, he felt Stacie, his sweet, darling Stacie, reach for him, almost desperately, through the pain and fear. He immediately sent waves of love and reassurance, both to her and the baby. At a command from Gregori, the other men did, too. Kai sensed the dark energy from the child, and realized it was a girl. An almost completely healthy baby girl. She was just, as Enrique's thoughts read, "a little small for her age." The Italian prince bolted to his and Stacie's room, and the others chuckled at his eagerness. "So is Stacie alright?" Kai asked. Devin murmured, "She'll be fine." The Dragon King looked thoughtful, though, and the younger immortal sensed he was thinking hard, troubled. "What's up?" Hazel eyes glanced at him in surprise. "I'm just wondering what Enrique's going through. I mean, that's his fifth kid, sixth if you count Fernando. He and Stacie adopted that one. So, you know, how does that... how does that make him feel, do you think?" "Well, don't you and Ravyn have any kids?" "Oh, we haven't... I mean, we're not... um...." The young monarch blushed furiously. Kai chuckled. "I mean, it has been a long time, almost a millennium, but... I don't know." "So," Tyson snickered, "you two haven't spawned an army of baby dragonets- Ow!!!" Tyson landed from his spot hovering six feet off the floor, onto the floor, eyes swirling and a large bump on his head. "Keep your nose out of my love life, you odiously fat toad." Ravyn's eyes were glowing green with annoyance, but serenity swiftly took its place as Devin's arm went around her shoulders. "Hi, Devin." "You're certainly in good spirits." "Stacie's new baby. All the girls are happy now, even the widows." "What'd she name it?" "Margarita." Devin looked down at Ravyn in shock. "Stacy loves 'em, and you all know it. And it's Italian... or Spanish. Actually, though, honestly, she didn't. Name it that. She named it Francesca." He looked pathetically relieved, crying, "Good." "What's wrong with Margarita, my lad, may I ask?" Devin eyed his lifemate worriedly, afraid of possibly being thumped. "Nothing at all." "That's what I thought." She sighed dreamily, murmuring, "Hey, do you remember Stacie and Enrique's wedding?" "I remember Dracula's appearance." "Hahahaha! Oh, oh, that was funny." Kai and the other Blade Breakers crowded around the Shifter couple, crying, "Tell, tell!" Kai merely smirked, feigning disinterest. "Well, for one thing, my uncle, Dracula, has this privilege as the most famous vampire alive." Dara said. "He is, on the day of the wedding, allowed to kiss a vampire bride before she is pronounced a wife. So Stacie, on the morning of her wedding, right when the priest said, 'I now pronounce you,' she cried out. 'Wait,' she said, 'Dracula has not come to kiss me.' It is Vampiric custom, you see, and Stacie was made into one of us before she and Enrique married. So my uncle, looking quite grand in black velvet, swung Stacie around and planted a rather large kiss on her. When he let her up, Stacie looked at Enrique and told him he better kiss better than Dracula. My uncle looked crushed. Stacie had basically dissed his kissing abilities, and if the great Dracula is not a good kisser, who is?" "Dracula's your uncle?" Kenny cried. "He was a childhood friend of my father's, and so is considered my uncle, though there is no blood between us. Because he is not of my kind, he is not considered the oldest vampire, though he is older than me by about four hundred years." "Is it true he has three wives?" Kenny asked, inputting data into his computer. "No." "Oh, but... the three vampire women mentioned in the book, Dracula?" "Uncle Dracula has, last I counted, eighteen wives. Their names are Marishka, Dolorea, and Sarantha, the Three Sisters; Carmilla, Elizabeth, and Lucretzia, the Bloody Countesses; Lachesis, Clotho, and Atropos, the Three Fates; Alecto, Megara, and Tisiphon, the Furies; Lucinda and Wilhemina, the London Twins; Eros and Celeste, the Dark Goddesses; Desdemona, the Human; and Miyu, the Fire Witch." "Damn!" "Yes, I know. He also has thirteen children by them, twelve daughters and a son." "Their names?" "Diana, Selene, Luna, Camille, Artemis, Cynthia, Caliope, Phoebe, Alexandria, Nemesis, Luna, his son, D, and a final daughter, Chisato. And, Eryka deLupe was sired by him." "Speaking of which, where is Eryka?" Lestat drawled. He was leaning against the doorframe to the room, staring at the corpse of Stacie's antagonist. "I sent her on a mission." Midnight said. "With Erynh, Josh, and Tyler. Stay out of it." "Of course."
"Come on, mutt." Eryka tried to run, but the pain in her side was impeding her. She'd been shot, the bullets filled with Blood Ruby poison. Her sister was pumped full of silver, and the bullet holes were steaming as her bleeding flesh burned. "Mutt...." "Go without me, Leach." "No, we gotta find Tyler and Josh. Come on, stand up straight, you flea- bitten bitch!" "Blood-sucking dominatrix whore!" "Whoring bitch for a slut-bag hound dog!" "At least my guy can lick his own balls." At this point, both Dark women were sufficiently pissed off to walk on their own, ignoring the pain as they strove to outdo each other with mental insults. "At least my guy can actually eat people." "At least mine doesn't do it indiscriminately!" "At least mine can actually fuck worth a damn!" "I just realized, Louis can't lick his own balls, Erynh." "You don't know that, leach!" "Sure she does." Josh came out of the shadows by the car, him and Tyler catching the twins as they collapsed, exhausted. "Tyler, let's get them outta here, okay?" "Yeah. We gotta report back to Dara. She's gotta know!" "Know what, Joshua Valin?" The two brothers turned slowly to see Aricha Bakyr, the blond Romulese werewolf, grinning madly. Behind her were about half-a-dozen werewolves, mostly Romulese, a few scattered Fenrians and Lycans. They all grinned, saliva dripping from their serrated canine teeth. "What does the blood bitch have to know?" She had to know that the castle, the castle, would soon be under attack, and the rogue wolves were in alliance. "It's a pity, really, because your precious blood whore will never know whatever you were going to tell her. All she'll have the pleasure of knowing is that I enjoyed feasting on your guts. Attack them!" Josh and Tyler dragged the unconscious twins into the car, revved the motor, and tore off down the street. Eryka awoke at a none to gentle slap from Josh, who told her to take the wheel. Josh and Tyler exchanged a glance, transformed their eyes to see better, and loaded their guns.
"Ravyn, what is that?" Stacie's voice was tremulous. There was a blood chilling howl going up around the palazzo, and Stacie held Francesca tighter as the baby began to cry. "Ravyn?" "Don't worry. Jacob and Leviathan are right outside, they'll protect you. I have to go to him now. Alright?" "Be careful, Ravyn, okay?" Ravyn kissed Stacie's cheek and left quickly. As she glided down the hallway, she felt her fangs slide over her eyeteeth, felt her long, manicured nails transform into ripping talons, and felt her wings sprout from her back. This pair was leathery and scaled, like bat wings, or gargoyle wings, not like her usual fairy-like wings. Her tongue, now a foot-long, snake-like appendage, flicked out to taste the air. The bastards were close. So was Devin. Hello, beloved. Devin. She murmured his voice warmly, a caress against the sensitive barriers of his mind. Devin. Ravyn, be careful, be aware. The enemy is coming upon you. As am I. Devin glided through the thick, filmy darkness, aware of how the shadows parted for him. He was a master of the night, powerful, unstoppable. And he was coming to his lifemate, to find and protect her. Even though, he thought wryly, she really didn't need him to. But it was instinct. He went on, his powerful senses telling him of the dangers. "Well, well, well, the Lord of the House of Black. Prince Devin." He looked up, and suddenly the room flared with brightness. He winced as his eyes flashed with pain at the sudden change in lighting. As his eyes adjusted, he cursed himself for not paying attention. He was surrounded by drakshini, cannibalistic dragons. Evil, turncoat, rogue dragons. Enemies. "Don't mess with me." "Oh, if you're looking for the little dragoon whore, you won't find her. At least, not before the boys do." A familiar scream shattered the oppressive silence. Devin froze. "She's either being raped or eaten. What do you think? She's very fuckable, but she looks so yummy... which one, which one, do you think?" "If I find you've hurt her-" "Oh, young love. So enchanting. The young buck, strutting his stuff for the hottest girl. So tell me, is she a virgin? Is she innocent? Hmmm?" The drakshini speaking, a woman with long black hair and sick, glittering eyes, grinned, showing rotting teeth. Another scream pierced the silence. Devin's eyes were murderous with hate. "You're dead when I find you again." He whispered, and turned on his heel to find Ravyn. "Oh, no, Prince." The drakshini whispered savagely, as it's rapier hit home, sliding into Devin's body and piercing his heart. He turned his head to look out of the corner of his eye. The cannibal grinned and licked his cheek. "Sweet, sweet Prince. What will your soultwin say when she finds your body?" A dagger slid between his ribs once, twice, a third time. Devin could not move, could not fight as he felt the life draining from his body. He felt a strange tickling in the back of his throat. When he coughed, blood stained his lips. He fell to the floor, struggling to rise. "Naughty, naughty Prince, so good for eating." A knife cut into his chest, peeling a strip of skin from his body. His eyes went wide as the woman swallowed it whole. "Delicious, truly." Ravyn, he called desperately, Ravyn, for the love of God, where are you? Tell me you're safe at least. Devin? Hang on! Ravyn rushed to where she sensed her soultwin's ebbing life force. She saw him on the ground, saw the drakshini, and went still. Deep in her heart, a tiny spark of hatred and livid rage fanned into a destructive, blazing flame. Her wings vanished along with the last dregs of her humanity, and her eyes were hard, cold, burning with a terrifying fury. There was blood all over Devin, and by the smell, most of it was his. "Damn you." Ravyn murmured in a little girl voice. She approached the rogue, her fingers curling around the woman's neck. "You hurt my soultwin." She squeezed, felt as the larynx was crushed under the pressure. "You'll pay." When Ravyn had finished exacting her revenge, the drakshini was still alive, but her eyes were blank and glassy, her breathing shallow, and drool hung from her lips. "Devin!" She went to his side. Already the bleeding had stopped, but the wound wouldn't heal without outside mental healing. She instead bound the wound with strips from her white jacket, and then helped him slip into a sweater she materialized from his room. When he tried to rise, he put a hand to his chest, grimacing in pain. Ravyn put her arms around him and looked up at him, worried. "It's alright, my love." His eyes held a strange light when he looked at her. His gaze drifted down to her lips, her soft, inviting lips, suddenly urgent to memorize every gentle curve of them. Her lips could be so very generous, he thought. He realized that, if he had died, he would never have been able to kiss those lips again. "Let's go." She whispered. Anything above a whisper would shatter whatever was happening between them now. What felt like electricity almost crackled between them. "Yes." Devin didn't move, though. He bent his head and captured her lips in a tender kiss.
Max was in dire straits. He was surrounded by werewolves, and the exit was blocked. He was screwed. At least, he thought he was, until a roar sounded from outside. The stained glass window to his right shattered under the impact of ten hundred pounds of feline muscle and temper as a terrifyingly huge white tiger leapt into the room. The beast was at least twice as tall at the shoulder as Max was, and three times as long, counting its furiously swishing tail. Its eyes were ice blue, and its fangs were bared in a snarl of rage. Attack! Suddenly, the entire room was full of shrieking werewolves that fought with unseen assailants before being shredded by invisible claws and teeth. The first tiger began to shift, its body contorting to fit the form of a small girl, maybe four foot something tall. And then, before him, was Nicolina Tygre, the Arcerian princess. She grinned at Max. "Pretty impressive. Thanks for rescuing me." "No problem- aah!" Max shoved her out of the way as a Romulese leapt at the two of them. It crashed into him, sending him to the floor, unconscious, before looking at the princess who was back into a small corner, teeth bared. "Not so brave now, are we, princess?" The small shifter glanced at Max, saw the rending tears in his body from the impact of the claws. She thought of how he'd saved her, how'd he'd been so kind to her since they'd met, how he treated her like a normal girl. She thought of how much she cared about him, and suddenly her heart was brimming with rage. "I'm a lot braver than you'd think, you son of a bitch!"
Tyson was back to back with Kayla, both of them brimming with power and anger. These sons of bitches were attacking the palazzo, and so soon after young Francesca was born. The two teenage-looking vampires bared their fangs in a snarled challenge. "You two are so dead. Well, maybe not you, Miss Bertwell. You've been a thorn in my side for centuries, and I'll enjoy breaking you." That had been the wrong thing to say. Tyson's eyes were glowing red, his fury obvious, as the enemy came at them.
Dara and Kai were the last to be seen, rescuing those who needed rescuing, aiding the ones who were battling the enemy with ease. They found the still not quite calm Ravyn and the injured Devin, the beautiful, petite Nicolina and the blood soaked, slightly wounded Max, the awe struck Kayla and the red drenched Tyson. Devin checked with Jake and Levi, his right and left hand men, and they said all was well with Stacie, though the baby was fussing a little. "Where's Nicole and Kenny? And Ray?" Even as the question was voiced, the three familiar faces came out of the shadows, followed by a new face. This face was slender, elfin, aristocratic, with eyes that shifted from warm brown to cat gold to warm brown again. This was a cat shifter of some kind, and due to the dark tone of her smooth skin, one of the large, African cats. Ray turned to her as she faltered in her step, and he put an arm around her, supporting her. "Monet." He was worried, concerned, as she straightened and gave him a smile, revealing tiny cat fangs. Her eyes were a hard yellow, making her pain obvious. She smiled at her old friend and nodded in reassurance. "Nicole, are you and the guys okay?" Midnight turned to the other three and Ray nodded. Kenny and Nicole glanced at each other and blushed hard. "Do I wanna know?" "No, you don't." Monet murmured, grinning with Cheshire cat-like mania. "Come on, they're all gone." Devin whispered. "At least, I think-" He was cut off by two grief stricken wails, screams of anguish and loss, rage and pain, as Devin cried out in shock. Two familiar, almost constant entities in his outer mind vanished instantly. Another scream, of terror and rage, reverberated through the palazzo, and everyone was rushing to Stacie's room. Ravyn, Monet, Kayla, Nicole, and Nicolina got there first, the two cat shifters shifting completely, Kayla and Nicole allowing their rage to bring forth their demonic looking forms. Ravyn merely brought all her dark power to bear, feeling it pulsing through her body. She didn't have much time, because too much exposure to the deep Darkness of a creature like herself could burn her body alive. She brought it forth, channeled it, and felt as the minds of her enemies shattered under her mental assault. Nicole and the others were attacking those she spared, and Ravyn, with Devin went to Leviathan and Jacob. Both half-angels were wounded, bleeding heavily from severe cuts to the chest, belly, and back. They had been doing their job, what their best friend and leader had asked them to do: protect Donna Scarletti and her cubs. All six Jaguar kittens were huddled up in a corner of the room, all except Enrique Jr., who was standing in front of his mother, claws unsheathed and sharp, little teeth bared. The enemy laughed. The little prince still had his milk teeth! When the wolves stalked closer, Natasha came and growled, teeth bared. She would protect her mother. "Out of the way, kittens! We might spare you if you behave!" One wolf, a male, snarled at them. The male wolves kept coming closer. The females were sick. They had a strange, dawning respect of the cubs as all but Antonietta, holding young Francesca, came to stand in front of the wounded, bleeding Donna. Antonietta was protecting her baby sister as the second youngest of the kittens. "Come and get us, flea bags!" Tasha cried, glaring. As the males stepped forward to attack, an ear-splitting shriek of rage and grief stopped them dead. It was followed by a cacophony of vengeful howls. Eryka and Erynh deLupe, glaring hatefully, entered the room, followed by Midnight, Kayla, Nicole, Monet, Nicolina, Ravyn, Jeshika, Enrique, Talleri, Bianca, Jasmine, and Tara. Jeshika and Tara were the soultwins of Levi and Jake, and they were hateful. The three widows were vengeful on behalf of the children. Enrique saw his lifemate and attacked the enemy, followed by the women. Stacie herded the four cubs behind her, but the battle was over in seconds, and the corpses removed. Enrique rushed to Stacie and his cubs. Levi, Devin, and Jacob, wounded but standing, grabbed their soultwins and held them close. Nicole flung her arms around Kenny and hugged him hard, laughing because he was blushing. Ray and Monet grinned at each other. The widows were fussing over the children. Kayla high-fived Tyson. The only ones not celebrating were Kai, Dara, Eryka, Erynh, Josh, and Tyler. They were telling the Vampire Queen and King the plans of the enemy. "They'll beat us for sure this time, if they succeed at that fucker." Tyler whispered. Midnight nodded, and looked up at Kai. His face was hard, emotionless. "We'll stop them. This campaign won't succeed. None of us will let it. We're going to Transylvania. They'd better pray to their gods we don't get there in a foul mood." Kai said grimly. Everyone in the room heard him, and they knew what was coming. A new campaign, a new set of battles. The board was set, the objectives obvious. It was time to fight. It was time to win.
The End
To see Kai and Midnight's next adventure, wait for "Halloween Romance: the Dracula Saga." See ya soon, next time, on Beyblade!
(6 months later)
"The girls were attacked by rogue shifters." Midnight said softly, almost to herself. She glanced at her Inner Circle, then at her lifemate. Kai's face was expressionless, as were all the guys', but she could feel the hatred and terrifying rage underneath the calm exterior. Nobody messed with the women. It had taken the fact that Ravyn and Stacie were so very close to death to snap Devin and Enrique out of their cold, mind numbing rage. She took a tentative look at Robert Jerkin, who burst into a heated debate. "It was the Serpiente! You said so yourself, Lady Vaperio! They've joined the rogues, the evil ones! You know it's true!" "Robert, you know the Serpiente are just as prone to having rogues among them as the rest of us!" Nicolina cried angrily. "It doesn't mean Seth's betrayed us, he wouldn't do that! You know how he feels about our standing with humans. If evil Serpiente mean Seth's a traitor, than the Crowes that attacked my entourage are indicators of where your loyalties lie!" "You dare to imply-" "Shut up, you old buzzard, for Christ's sakes!" Eryka glared at the violet- haired, British shifter. Robert glared daggers, not at Eryka, but at her lifemate, Lestat, and his lazy, sardonic, amused smirk/grin. Eryka continued to shoot down the Avian prince's hateful tirade. "Seth sent his people to aid us in battles past. He's on our side. Believe me, no Shifter of any race would dare face the wrath of His Highness, Devin Black, and you know it. No citizen of the Dark World is that stupid. You know if they were our enemy, and posed a threat to Ravyn, he'd fry all Germany to protect her. Everyone knows that. Nobody in their right mind would risk it. So, can we put aside the bureaucratic meetings? Thank you. We have a more important thing to discuss, and if none of you have felt the mindless rage rolling off all the vampires present, you need to have your heads examined." Kai and the others, now that their attention was brought to it, were very much aware of the black auras surrounding the girls and the older vampires they'd come to know. Only Kai knew the reason. He'd been with Midnight when she'd received word that Sangria, the village in Vaperio Hall's shadow, had been decimated. He remembered her reaction.
(Flashback)
"Dara? Dara?!" Kai stared at the vampiress as the letter fell from her limp fingers. Anguish was pouring out of her, and her eyes were shining with unshed tears. "Dara, what is it?" She turned to Kai, conflicting emotions shimmering in her eyes. There was terror, love, sadness, horror, hatred, and rage in her eyes. There was a strange, unnatural bruised look in her eyes. He almost wanted to slap her, to get that terrifying expression off of her face, that horrible look out of her eyes. Had she gone insane? "Do you know who was in Sangria, Kai?" Her voice was deceptively calm, unfeeling. "Sangria? The village? No, who? Did something happen to the village?" "The village has been destroyed, Kai. All the mortals there were killed. Do you know who else was there?" He shook his head in confusion. Why did she sound so weird, so monotone? She was starting to scare him, badly. "Mithainde. Jaycen. Alexandre. They were all killed." Her lifemate gazed at her in horror and sympathy. Three of her brothers... "Their lifemates?" "They're coming here. Oh, my God, Kai, oh, my God...."She reached for him as he reached for her, and she fell into his arms and screamed, and screamed until her voice cracked and she couldn't speak a word, just sobbed and sobbed into Kai's chest. He kissed the top of her head and held her, mumbling soothing words in her ear, praying this was a nightmare. But he knew it wasn't. And he knew she was in danger because of that fact.
(End Flashback)
"We are all aware of what happened in Sangria, and extend our condolences to both the vampires as a race and to the Vaperio family for the loss of your brothers, Princess." Robert's tone took on a subdued note, almost pitying. Midnight hated him for that look. His pity wouldn't bring her brothers back. Wouldn't bring her twin back. Mithainde. Andy. Her dearest friend and companion, her brother. He'd always been the one to take care of her, always. And if there was ever a time he wasn't there, Jaycen and Alexandre would be. She felt their loss keenly. She needed to be away from the Council, away from everyone but Kai. She wanted to forget everything for a while. Kai could make her forget. She was also worried about Talleri, Jasmine, and Bianca, her brothers' lifemates, as well as Stacie. All four of them were pregnant, and all four of them were Shifters. Due to the intense sorrow, as well as the physiological and psychological trauma of losing a lifemate, the three women were in serious danger of miscarriages, and Stacie, due to the effects of the snake venom in her first trimester, was as well. "I, on behalf of the Vaperio royal family, give sincerest thanks, Dark Council members. But, now is the time for grieving, and we have some time before militarial decisions must be made. So I request that we take a seven day recess." Kai, looking at Dara's pain filled eyes, made this announcement softly and calmly. He wanted to be alone with her now, to help her get through this hardship, or, if she wanted, help her forget. "Of course." Nicolina murmured, and everyone swiftly left the room. Kai threw up a psychic lock on the door, as well as a psychic, physical, and aural shield. "You're a quick study." Dara murmured before rising and coming to stand in the center of the room. "I'm proud of you, my love." "Dara-" "Kai, I want to forget. Please. For tonight, let me forget everything. Love me. Love me so hard it's all I'll be able to think of. Please, Kai." The once human put his arms around her and kissed her hard, her soft lips sensual and yielding under the onslaught of his mouth. His tongue slid into her mouth, exploring her, even as his hands slid down from her shoulders to cup her full, soft breasts. His palms brushed over her breasts teasingly, making her gasp and arch into his touch. He could sense she didn't want foreplay tonight, only fast, hard loving that would leave her too hot and needy to think about anything. Her clothes swiftly found their way on the floor, as did Kai's, and this time, he didn't take her blood, not even a taste. He simply reveled in the feel of her as he slipped into her soft, welcoming body, listening to her cry out and moan, whimper and sigh as he pleasured her. "Dara, you're so soft, so sweet-" "Harder, Kai, make me forget!" "Oh, beloved...." Kai whispered. She gasped and cried out in ecstasy as he filled her with wicked fire, blocking out all rational thought until she was too exhausted to even feel bereft as he finally left the warmth of her body to lie beside her and watch her fall asleep. "Well, sweetness, that's one battle fought." She didn't respond. She'd been out before her head hit the pillow of his chest. "I made you forget. But how long will this work?"
Kai and Dara awoke in each other's arms, warm and lazy and sated. Even as her bright eyes dimmed at the memory of everything that had happened, she touched Kai's lips with gentle fingers, tracing them lovingly. "It hurts." "I know, baby, I know." "Last night felt so good, Kai. Can't we do it again?" He had her on her back, eagerly awaiting his invasion, when a psychic call just brushed their minds and retreated a respectful distance. Someone needed them. "Damn." The vampire snarled under his breath. Midnight sent a thought on a distaff line- I'm busy. Is it important? The response she got took her breath away. Pain, all too familiar, laced with terror, both feminine and infantile. The pain carried a familiar psychic scent... Stacie. "Oh, my dear God! Kai, get dressed, now! Stacie's in trouble!" Dara was fully dressed in jeans, white tank shirt, and denim jacket, in her favorite pair of moccasins, and Kai wasn't too far behind as she rushed from the room. "Dara, what's wrong?" The only thing he felt was an uprising of female terror, utter terror, and all from the women in the Scarletti palazzo. No men, none, nothing from them, but every female, from the modern house cat to the toddler girls to the eldest Dark woman, was totally petrified. "What is it?" He wasn't prepared for the surge of knowledge she sent like the slam of a stone wall his way. Poison. That's what had them all in an uproar. Stacie had started going into labor two months early, due to the fact that someone here in the palazzo had been feeding her poison all through her pregnancy. He understood why the women were suddenly so upset. Stacie had been pregnant twelve times. She only had four children. Miscarriages were far too common among the Shifters. She couldn't bear to lose another baby. He didn't think Enrique could, either. "Kai, go find the boys. Find the slut-faced bitch who did this." "It was a woman?" "Oh, yes, it was. You know what? Bring Toni with you. The girl has a sixth sense for deceptively benevolent evil. I'll be with Stacie."
Kai watched with the others as Enrique snapped the neck of the traitorous woman who'd been poisoning his lifemate. Then Enrique froze. In his mind, he felt Stacie, his sweet, darling Stacie, reach for him, almost desperately, through the pain and fear. He immediately sent waves of love and reassurance, both to her and the baby. At a command from Gregori, the other men did, too. Kai sensed the dark energy from the child, and realized it was a girl. An almost completely healthy baby girl. She was just, as Enrique's thoughts read, "a little small for her age." The Italian prince bolted to his and Stacie's room, and the others chuckled at his eagerness. "So is Stacie alright?" Kai asked. Devin murmured, "She'll be fine." The Dragon King looked thoughtful, though, and the younger immortal sensed he was thinking hard, troubled. "What's up?" Hazel eyes glanced at him in surprise. "I'm just wondering what Enrique's going through. I mean, that's his fifth kid, sixth if you count Fernando. He and Stacie adopted that one. So, you know, how does that... how does that make him feel, do you think?" "Well, don't you and Ravyn have any kids?" "Oh, we haven't... I mean, we're not... um...." The young monarch blushed furiously. Kai chuckled. "I mean, it has been a long time, almost a millennium, but... I don't know." "So," Tyson snickered, "you two haven't spawned an army of baby dragonets- Ow!!!" Tyson landed from his spot hovering six feet off the floor, onto the floor, eyes swirling and a large bump on his head. "Keep your nose out of my love life, you odiously fat toad." Ravyn's eyes were glowing green with annoyance, but serenity swiftly took its place as Devin's arm went around her shoulders. "Hi, Devin." "You're certainly in good spirits." "Stacie's new baby. All the girls are happy now, even the widows." "What'd she name it?" "Margarita." Devin looked down at Ravyn in shock. "Stacy loves 'em, and you all know it. And it's Italian... or Spanish. Actually, though, honestly, she didn't. Name it that. She named it Francesca." He looked pathetically relieved, crying, "Good." "What's wrong with Margarita, my lad, may I ask?" Devin eyed his lifemate worriedly, afraid of possibly being thumped. "Nothing at all." "That's what I thought." She sighed dreamily, murmuring, "Hey, do you remember Stacie and Enrique's wedding?" "I remember Dracula's appearance." "Hahahaha! Oh, oh, that was funny." Kai and the other Blade Breakers crowded around the Shifter couple, crying, "Tell, tell!" Kai merely smirked, feigning disinterest. "Well, for one thing, my uncle, Dracula, has this privilege as the most famous vampire alive." Dara said. "He is, on the day of the wedding, allowed to kiss a vampire bride before she is pronounced a wife. So Stacie, on the morning of her wedding, right when the priest said, 'I now pronounce you,' she cried out. 'Wait,' she said, 'Dracula has not come to kiss me.' It is Vampiric custom, you see, and Stacie was made into one of us before she and Enrique married. So my uncle, looking quite grand in black velvet, swung Stacie around and planted a rather large kiss on her. When he let her up, Stacie looked at Enrique and told him he better kiss better than Dracula. My uncle looked crushed. Stacie had basically dissed his kissing abilities, and if the great Dracula is not a good kisser, who is?" "Dracula's your uncle?" Kenny cried. "He was a childhood friend of my father's, and so is considered my uncle, though there is no blood between us. Because he is not of my kind, he is not considered the oldest vampire, though he is older than me by about four hundred years." "Is it true he has three wives?" Kenny asked, inputting data into his computer. "No." "Oh, but... the three vampire women mentioned in the book, Dracula?" "Uncle Dracula has, last I counted, eighteen wives. Their names are Marishka, Dolorea, and Sarantha, the Three Sisters; Carmilla, Elizabeth, and Lucretzia, the Bloody Countesses; Lachesis, Clotho, and Atropos, the Three Fates; Alecto, Megara, and Tisiphon, the Furies; Lucinda and Wilhemina, the London Twins; Eros and Celeste, the Dark Goddesses; Desdemona, the Human; and Miyu, the Fire Witch." "Damn!" "Yes, I know. He also has thirteen children by them, twelve daughters and a son." "Their names?" "Diana, Selene, Luna, Camille, Artemis, Cynthia, Caliope, Phoebe, Alexandria, Nemesis, Luna, his son, D, and a final daughter, Chisato. And, Eryka deLupe was sired by him." "Speaking of which, where is Eryka?" Lestat drawled. He was leaning against the doorframe to the room, staring at the corpse of Stacie's antagonist. "I sent her on a mission." Midnight said. "With Erynh, Josh, and Tyler. Stay out of it." "Of course."
"Come on, mutt." Eryka tried to run, but the pain in her side was impeding her. She'd been shot, the bullets filled with Blood Ruby poison. Her sister was pumped full of silver, and the bullet holes were steaming as her bleeding flesh burned. "Mutt...." "Go without me, Leach." "No, we gotta find Tyler and Josh. Come on, stand up straight, you flea- bitten bitch!" "Blood-sucking dominatrix whore!" "Whoring bitch for a slut-bag hound dog!" "At least my guy can lick his own balls." At this point, both Dark women were sufficiently pissed off to walk on their own, ignoring the pain as they strove to outdo each other with mental insults. "At least my guy can actually eat people." "At least mine doesn't do it indiscriminately!" "At least mine can actually fuck worth a damn!" "I just realized, Louis can't lick his own balls, Erynh." "You don't know that, leach!" "Sure she does." Josh came out of the shadows by the car, him and Tyler catching the twins as they collapsed, exhausted. "Tyler, let's get them outta here, okay?" "Yeah. We gotta report back to Dara. She's gotta know!" "Know what, Joshua Valin?" The two brothers turned slowly to see Aricha Bakyr, the blond Romulese werewolf, grinning madly. Behind her were about half-a-dozen werewolves, mostly Romulese, a few scattered Fenrians and Lycans. They all grinned, saliva dripping from their serrated canine teeth. "What does the blood bitch have to know?" She had to know that the castle, the castle, would soon be under attack, and the rogue wolves were in alliance. "It's a pity, really, because your precious blood whore will never know whatever you were going to tell her. All she'll have the pleasure of knowing is that I enjoyed feasting on your guts. Attack them!" Josh and Tyler dragged the unconscious twins into the car, revved the motor, and tore off down the street. Eryka awoke at a none to gentle slap from Josh, who told her to take the wheel. Josh and Tyler exchanged a glance, transformed their eyes to see better, and loaded their guns.
"Ravyn, what is that?" Stacie's voice was tremulous. There was a blood chilling howl going up around the palazzo, and Stacie held Francesca tighter as the baby began to cry. "Ravyn?" "Don't worry. Jacob and Leviathan are right outside, they'll protect you. I have to go to him now. Alright?" "Be careful, Ravyn, okay?" Ravyn kissed Stacie's cheek and left quickly. As she glided down the hallway, she felt her fangs slide over her eyeteeth, felt her long, manicured nails transform into ripping talons, and felt her wings sprout from her back. This pair was leathery and scaled, like bat wings, or gargoyle wings, not like her usual fairy-like wings. Her tongue, now a foot-long, snake-like appendage, flicked out to taste the air. The bastards were close. So was Devin. Hello, beloved. Devin. She murmured his voice warmly, a caress against the sensitive barriers of his mind. Devin. Ravyn, be careful, be aware. The enemy is coming upon you. As am I. Devin glided through the thick, filmy darkness, aware of how the shadows parted for him. He was a master of the night, powerful, unstoppable. And he was coming to his lifemate, to find and protect her. Even though, he thought wryly, she really didn't need him to. But it was instinct. He went on, his powerful senses telling him of the dangers. "Well, well, well, the Lord of the House of Black. Prince Devin." He looked up, and suddenly the room flared with brightness. He winced as his eyes flashed with pain at the sudden change in lighting. As his eyes adjusted, he cursed himself for not paying attention. He was surrounded by drakshini, cannibalistic dragons. Evil, turncoat, rogue dragons. Enemies. "Don't mess with me." "Oh, if you're looking for the little dragoon whore, you won't find her. At least, not before the boys do." A familiar scream shattered the oppressive silence. Devin froze. "She's either being raped or eaten. What do you think? She's very fuckable, but she looks so yummy... which one, which one, do you think?" "If I find you've hurt her-" "Oh, young love. So enchanting. The young buck, strutting his stuff for the hottest girl. So tell me, is she a virgin? Is she innocent? Hmmm?" The drakshini speaking, a woman with long black hair and sick, glittering eyes, grinned, showing rotting teeth. Another scream pierced the silence. Devin's eyes were murderous with hate. "You're dead when I find you again." He whispered, and turned on his heel to find Ravyn. "Oh, no, Prince." The drakshini whispered savagely, as it's rapier hit home, sliding into Devin's body and piercing his heart. He turned his head to look out of the corner of his eye. The cannibal grinned and licked his cheek. "Sweet, sweet Prince. What will your soultwin say when she finds your body?" A dagger slid between his ribs once, twice, a third time. Devin could not move, could not fight as he felt the life draining from his body. He felt a strange tickling in the back of his throat. When he coughed, blood stained his lips. He fell to the floor, struggling to rise. "Naughty, naughty Prince, so good for eating." A knife cut into his chest, peeling a strip of skin from his body. His eyes went wide as the woman swallowed it whole. "Delicious, truly." Ravyn, he called desperately, Ravyn, for the love of God, where are you? Tell me you're safe at least. Devin? Hang on! Ravyn rushed to where she sensed her soultwin's ebbing life force. She saw him on the ground, saw the drakshini, and went still. Deep in her heart, a tiny spark of hatred and livid rage fanned into a destructive, blazing flame. Her wings vanished along with the last dregs of her humanity, and her eyes were hard, cold, burning with a terrifying fury. There was blood all over Devin, and by the smell, most of it was his. "Damn you." Ravyn murmured in a little girl voice. She approached the rogue, her fingers curling around the woman's neck. "You hurt my soultwin." She squeezed, felt as the larynx was crushed under the pressure. "You'll pay." When Ravyn had finished exacting her revenge, the drakshini was still alive, but her eyes were blank and glassy, her breathing shallow, and drool hung from her lips. "Devin!" She went to his side. Already the bleeding had stopped, but the wound wouldn't heal without outside mental healing. She instead bound the wound with strips from her white jacket, and then helped him slip into a sweater she materialized from his room. When he tried to rise, he put a hand to his chest, grimacing in pain. Ravyn put her arms around him and looked up at him, worried. "It's alright, my love." His eyes held a strange light when he looked at her. His gaze drifted down to her lips, her soft, inviting lips, suddenly urgent to memorize every gentle curve of them. Her lips could be so very generous, he thought. He realized that, if he had died, he would never have been able to kiss those lips again. "Let's go." She whispered. Anything above a whisper would shatter whatever was happening between them now. What felt like electricity almost crackled between them. "Yes." Devin didn't move, though. He bent his head and captured her lips in a tender kiss.
Max was in dire straits. He was surrounded by werewolves, and the exit was blocked. He was screwed. At least, he thought he was, until a roar sounded from outside. The stained glass window to his right shattered under the impact of ten hundred pounds of feline muscle and temper as a terrifyingly huge white tiger leapt into the room. The beast was at least twice as tall at the shoulder as Max was, and three times as long, counting its furiously swishing tail. Its eyes were ice blue, and its fangs were bared in a snarl of rage. Attack! Suddenly, the entire room was full of shrieking werewolves that fought with unseen assailants before being shredded by invisible claws and teeth. The first tiger began to shift, its body contorting to fit the form of a small girl, maybe four foot something tall. And then, before him, was Nicolina Tygre, the Arcerian princess. She grinned at Max. "Pretty impressive. Thanks for rescuing me." "No problem- aah!" Max shoved her out of the way as a Romulese leapt at the two of them. It crashed into him, sending him to the floor, unconscious, before looking at the princess who was back into a small corner, teeth bared. "Not so brave now, are we, princess?" The small shifter glanced at Max, saw the rending tears in his body from the impact of the claws. She thought of how he'd saved her, how'd he'd been so kind to her since they'd met, how he treated her like a normal girl. She thought of how much she cared about him, and suddenly her heart was brimming with rage. "I'm a lot braver than you'd think, you son of a bitch!"
Tyson was back to back with Kayla, both of them brimming with power and anger. These sons of bitches were attacking the palazzo, and so soon after young Francesca was born. The two teenage-looking vampires bared their fangs in a snarled challenge. "You two are so dead. Well, maybe not you, Miss Bertwell. You've been a thorn in my side for centuries, and I'll enjoy breaking you." That had been the wrong thing to say. Tyson's eyes were glowing red, his fury obvious, as the enemy came at them.
Dara and Kai were the last to be seen, rescuing those who needed rescuing, aiding the ones who were battling the enemy with ease. They found the still not quite calm Ravyn and the injured Devin, the beautiful, petite Nicolina and the blood soaked, slightly wounded Max, the awe struck Kayla and the red drenched Tyson. Devin checked with Jake and Levi, his right and left hand men, and they said all was well with Stacie, though the baby was fussing a little. "Where's Nicole and Kenny? And Ray?" Even as the question was voiced, the three familiar faces came out of the shadows, followed by a new face. This face was slender, elfin, aristocratic, with eyes that shifted from warm brown to cat gold to warm brown again. This was a cat shifter of some kind, and due to the dark tone of her smooth skin, one of the large, African cats. Ray turned to her as she faltered in her step, and he put an arm around her, supporting her. "Monet." He was worried, concerned, as she straightened and gave him a smile, revealing tiny cat fangs. Her eyes were a hard yellow, making her pain obvious. She smiled at her old friend and nodded in reassurance. "Nicole, are you and the guys okay?" Midnight turned to the other three and Ray nodded. Kenny and Nicole glanced at each other and blushed hard. "Do I wanna know?" "No, you don't." Monet murmured, grinning with Cheshire cat-like mania. "Come on, they're all gone." Devin whispered. "At least, I think-" He was cut off by two grief stricken wails, screams of anguish and loss, rage and pain, as Devin cried out in shock. Two familiar, almost constant entities in his outer mind vanished instantly. Another scream, of terror and rage, reverberated through the palazzo, and everyone was rushing to Stacie's room. Ravyn, Monet, Kayla, Nicole, and Nicolina got there first, the two cat shifters shifting completely, Kayla and Nicole allowing their rage to bring forth their demonic looking forms. Ravyn merely brought all her dark power to bear, feeling it pulsing through her body. She didn't have much time, because too much exposure to the deep Darkness of a creature like herself could burn her body alive. She brought it forth, channeled it, and felt as the minds of her enemies shattered under her mental assault. Nicole and the others were attacking those she spared, and Ravyn, with Devin went to Leviathan and Jacob. Both half-angels were wounded, bleeding heavily from severe cuts to the chest, belly, and back. They had been doing their job, what their best friend and leader had asked them to do: protect Donna Scarletti and her cubs. All six Jaguar kittens were huddled up in a corner of the room, all except Enrique Jr., who was standing in front of his mother, claws unsheathed and sharp, little teeth bared. The enemy laughed. The little prince still had his milk teeth! When the wolves stalked closer, Natasha came and growled, teeth bared. She would protect her mother. "Out of the way, kittens! We might spare you if you behave!" One wolf, a male, snarled at them. The male wolves kept coming closer. The females were sick. They had a strange, dawning respect of the cubs as all but Antonietta, holding young Francesca, came to stand in front of the wounded, bleeding Donna. Antonietta was protecting her baby sister as the second youngest of the kittens. "Come and get us, flea bags!" Tasha cried, glaring. As the males stepped forward to attack, an ear-splitting shriek of rage and grief stopped them dead. It was followed by a cacophony of vengeful howls. Eryka and Erynh deLupe, glaring hatefully, entered the room, followed by Midnight, Kayla, Nicole, Monet, Nicolina, Ravyn, Jeshika, Enrique, Talleri, Bianca, Jasmine, and Tara. Jeshika and Tara were the soultwins of Levi and Jake, and they were hateful. The three widows were vengeful on behalf of the children. Enrique saw his lifemate and attacked the enemy, followed by the women. Stacie herded the four cubs behind her, but the battle was over in seconds, and the corpses removed. Enrique rushed to Stacie and his cubs. Levi, Devin, and Jacob, wounded but standing, grabbed their soultwins and held them close. Nicole flung her arms around Kenny and hugged him hard, laughing because he was blushing. Ray and Monet grinned at each other. The widows were fussing over the children. Kayla high-fived Tyson. The only ones not celebrating were Kai, Dara, Eryka, Erynh, Josh, and Tyler. They were telling the Vampire Queen and King the plans of the enemy. "They'll beat us for sure this time, if they succeed at that fucker." Tyler whispered. Midnight nodded, and looked up at Kai. His face was hard, emotionless. "We'll stop them. This campaign won't succeed. None of us will let it. We're going to Transylvania. They'd better pray to their gods we don't get there in a foul mood." Kai said grimly. Everyone in the room heard him, and they knew what was coming. A new campaign, a new set of battles. The board was set, the objectives obvious. It was time to fight. It was time to win.
The End
To see Kai and Midnight's next adventure, wait for "Halloween Romance: the Dracula Saga." See ya soon, next time, on Beyblade!