Disclaimer: I don't own the rights to Underworld or it's characters, so don't sue. The other characters and subsequent storylines are mine, so don't infringe. Many Thanks.
Author's Note: Well, here it is…finally…The End. It was so long that I chose to divide it into three chapters, plus the epilogue. I hope you all like it and I hope it's not too confusing (there's a lot of different Point-Of-View's and I wrote it all up pretty quickly…if there's a bunch of screw-ups, let me know...) I'm thankful that you all kept hitting me up with reviews/requests…if it wasn't for all of you, I probably wouldn't have ever been able to finish this. So, thanks!
Chapter Twenty - The Reckoning
The massive dog's ears twitched and he rose swiftly to his feet without making a sound. The movement alerted the sentry and the Death Dealer turned, scanning the darkness. The dog hadn't barked, but nothing was normal these days and he didn't want to take any chances. His gun lifted as a shadow separated itself from the rest and walked steadily towards him.
"Stand down, Cortez. It's only me."
The familiar cockney accent rang through the night air, causing a grin to break out on the Vampyre's face. "Kahn? Is it really you, sir?"
"Of course it's me." Kahn replied, shaking hands with the other man. "You have no idea how good it is to see you. Are the others in the barracks?"
"Yes, sir, and it's good to see you too, sir."
"Come along with me then." Kahn said, "Never mind your duties. I have a more important job for you and the others tonight."
Lucian blended seamlessly with the night, his outline broken by the winter- stripped trees surrounding him. Staring at the wrought iron fence that surrounded the mansion, he wanted to laugh. Any Lycan worth his salt could leap over the barrier with no trouble and he intended to do just that…any minute now.
Lucian didn't need to use his heightened sense's to know Olivia was near. He could feel her. It was as though an electric current surrounded him, coursed through him, making his heart beat faster and his skin pull taut over his body. She was somewhere close by and she would be in his arms soon. He would not lose another chance at happiness; another chance at having a family to call his own.
"If they've laid so much as a hand upon you…" Lucian whispered.
He wanted to storm the place now and it took all his willpower to fight back the urge. They had a plan. He had to stick to the plan or all would be lost. His Olivia would be lost. Now wasn't the time to let loose the savage beast within.
So he stood silently…and waited for the signal.
Olivia followed Magdalene in a daze. The wispy, white cloth of the dress she now wore clung to her legs like fog. Almost translucent, it barely covered her body and she'd balked at putting it on, but Magdalene had insisted. Olivia's bare feet were chilled as they traversed a seemingly endless series of twists and turns that seemed to take them far belowground. She'd thought of running for it, but the fact was, she had no idea which way to go and everywhere she looked, Vampyre's stared back, their faces emotionless masks.
She had made the wrong decision. She knew that now. Death would have been infinitely better than this…this mockery. She had thought that by sacrificing herself, she could help Lucian and his clan in some way. That maybe she would be powerful enough to influence a treaty of some sort between the two species, but having seen with her own eyes the faces of her future "subjects", she knew that it would never be possible. There was hate simmering beneath the surface here, a level of pain and terror that she had never before seen.
But, then…there was another reason for choosing this path. A selfish one, perhaps, but it had influenced her even more than her fear of death had…
Magdalene stopped in front of an open doorway, gesturing Olivia forward. The Vampyres crowded close behind as she stepped inside. Her first impression, as she caught sight of the cavernous room, was that it was old. Old and frozen in time. Celtic designs had been painstakingly carved into the stone walls, three obelisks monopolized the floor. She expected to see torches and candelabrum spread throughout the place, but instead, it was lit with subdued modern lighting that enhanced the surrealism of her predicament.
"Ah. My bride arrives." The voice was deceptively soft. A low baritone that crawled along her spine, lifting the hairs at the nape of her neck.
Olivia's eyes locked onto the sinister figure moving towards her. He was encased from head to toe in black; a silken hood obscured his features, a heavy velvet robe covered his body, leather boots gleamed. Eston stood at his side, haughty brows raised, his lips twisted into a caricature of a smile.
Olivia began to quake with fear and her hands lifted in a gesture meant to ward him off. She couldn't let this happen. She couldn't let him destroy Lucian in this way. Better that he should lose her to death than to this evil figure emulating death.
"N-n-no." She stammered, stumbling back a step.
A cold draft lifted the filmy silk of her gown as he moved with lightening speed. Olivia gasped as Markus caught her arm in a viselike grip. The feel of his gloved hand on her body made her skin crawl and she struggled against his unnatural strength.
"You don't have a choice. Not now, anyway." Markus was unyielding as he began to drag her towards an altar that she had not previously spotted. Eston stood next to it, eagerly awaiting his Master's soon-to-be bride.
When Olivia saw the chains, she began to scream.
Selene took a deep breath to steady her nerves. There were too many entrances to this place, this mausoleum that she'd once called home, and they didn't have nearly enough people to cover them all. Though she'd taken her time in choosing the points of entry for each team, she still wondered if she'd placed them in the best spots. She found herself going over and over the plan, wondering if it would work, second guessing herself. That was something she'd never done before and it bothered her more than she wanted to admit.
Shaking her head ruefully, Selene waited for the pre-arranged sign from Kahn. If all had gone according to plan, he would be inside now with what was left of the Death Dealers. Kahn was to knock out the security cameras while the others set themselves up in strategic spots throughout the mansion, so when Selene made her move and drew the Vampyres towards herself, the Death Dealers could converge, effectively trapping the Vampyres. The last thing they needed was for Lucian to storm the front door and find himself face to face with every last Vampyre left in Ordoghaz. He was strong, but still…that was a complication they didn't need. So it would be up to her and the other's to keep the majority of the Vampyre's busy.
Finally, a voice sounded in her headset.
"Team Three is in place."
"Alright then." Selene answered, signaling to the Lycan's behind her. She felt a momentary twinge, knowing her back was being covered by those that had recently been her enemy, but she shrugged it off. Times had changed.
"On my count. Three, two, one…fire."
The door ahead of her exploded in a hail of flames and shattered wood. She drew her weapons and ran through the acrid smoke, keeping low, her eyes searching for potential threats. Hoping against all hope that the plan worked.
Olivia's life depended on it.
Lucian heard the blast and his breathing quickened. He allowed a small sliver of his inner self to come to life, relishing the feel of the ancient blood that pumped through his veins as his fangs elongated and his eyesight sharpened. He forced himself to wait a full two minutes before charging from the woods on silent feet and soaring over the fence. His boots crunched on the gravel drive as he ran full-out towards the front door where he let loose with a flying kick. The door burst inward, splintered shards flying in all directions. Lucian allowed the momentum to propel him forward into the grandiose residence. He unleashed his daggers and in one smooth stroke, decapitated two Vampyres that rushed at him. The few others that were in the front room ran away from the sightless stares of their now-dead comrades.
Lucian used the moment of solitude to search for Olivia with his preternatural senses. Selene had drawn him a diagram of the mansion, outlining the most probable places for where Olivia was being held. He'd memorized the map, but his wolf's ears picked up a familiar cry and he quickly realized he wouldn't need Selene's directions. Olivia was calling out to him.
With a low growl issuing from his throat, he loped off towards his love.
Olivia's eyes had roved frantically over the numerous faces that now crowded the chamber, desperate for someone's help as Markus dragged her towards a fate she couldn't accept. Despite her frenzied struggles, Markus had tossed her onto the stone altar and held her down as Eston moved in with the chains. Her eyes locked with Magdalene's sorrowful ones and all hope flew from her breast. All was lost.
The shackles were ice-cold and heavy against her delicate wrists, the sounds of the locking mechanism severely loud in the silence that hung over the room. When Eston moved to secure her legs, Olivia kicked out. Her bare foot caught him in the jaw, knocking him off balance, yet he regained his grip on her and moved to place a shackle around her slim ankle.
At that moment, an explosion rocked the mansion. Dust rained down from the vaulted ceiling and a confused panic broke out amongst the Vampyres. Some ran from the room, others ran towards Markus, hoping his strength could save them from whatever calamity was occurring. Eston dropped the shackle he was holding and it hit the altar with an obnoxious clang. He was torn away from Olivia by the seething mob and she tried to sit up, but the chains around her wrists wouldn't allow her upper body to move more than a few inches away from the cold slab beneath her. Nevertheless, adrenaline flooded her system.
The explosion could mean only one thing.
Lucian was here.
Olivia took a deep breath and screamed. The name of her lover echoing back to her from the stone walls. She kept repeating it, over and over, until Markus slapped a hand over her mouth.
"Enough!" He shouted over the panicked crowd. His command was loud and tyrannical enough to cause more than a few of the Vampyres to fall cowering to the floor.
"What has become of this coven? Am I now a leader of sniveling, whining cowards?" When no answer was forthcoming, he pointed towards the door. "Go now and fight! And hear this, if a single Lycan enters this holiest of rooms, I will burn this place down with all of you in it!"
His words caused an immediate exodus. Olivia caught Magdalene's eye once more and silently pleaded with the Vampyress, hoping against all hope that the woman would help her. It was with great relief that, after a split-second pause, Magdalene nodded decidedly and began to shove her way through the crowd.
Magdalene would find Lucian and lead him to Olivia.
Michael didn't know when it had happened, only that it had. At some point during the fight, he had morphed into his Hybrid self. The bones of his enemies cracked beneath his clawed grip like toothpicks as he grabbed the Vampyres, tossing them through the air like rag dolls. All around him, Lycans in their own natural forms were ripping into the Vamps, tearing them into pieces. Blood and gore splattered the hall where they fought. If the Vamps had had weapons full of silver nitrate, the tables would have been tragically turned, but during the past few months, the Vampyres had been busy with more important matters…like trying to stay under the radar of their lunatic Elder. Now, they were reduced to fighting with whatever weapons they could lay hand to; ancient swords, daggers and pikes. One had a mace, but found out too late that there wasn't enough room in the hallway to swing it properly.
Michael had not been expecting this slaughter. He supposed he should have, but he'd been naïve, thinking that the Vamps would run, rather than stand and fight against the odds.
Then Selene was there, her eyes lit with scorching blue flame as she fired her guns into the next wave of charging Vampyres. The bullets wouldn't kill them, but it did manage to slow them down. Michael was relieved to see Selene alive and well. The Lycans hadn't turned and attacked her, as he'd feared they would while caught up in a raving bloodlust.
But even more surprising was the fact that he didn't feel himself losing control like he normally did when he was fighting as the Hybrid. It was exhilarating and frightening at the same time. He didn't know what to make of it, but was thankful nonetheless. The last thing Michael wanted was to be tranq'd into unconsciousness while Olivia was still at the mercy of the Vampyres.
Selene dragged an injured Vamp into the nearest room, signaling Michael to follow. She threw her once-brethren against the wall, ignoring the man's shriek of agony.
"Where is she?" Selene asked in cold tones.
He had the audacity to spit into her face. "The inner workings of the coven are none of your concern, you traitorous bitch!"
"What have you done with my cousin?" Michael roared, twisting both of the Blood's arms behind his back, grinding the bones into dust.
"You're too late!" The Blood screamed, "She is Markus' bride now!"
The Vampyre's answer was not one any of them had considered. Michael snapped the man's neck with a flick of his wrist and turned to Selene.
"Any ideas?" Michael asked helplessly.
"Maybe." She answered simply, turning towards the door.
Lucian encountered very few Vampyres as he descended beneath the ground in search of Olivia and those few he did meet came to a quick end. He was consumed with a blinding fury. He could smell Olivia now; her fear and uncertainty, sadness and shame. But her scent was everywhere down here, it seemed to reach him from every crack in every stone and the longer he searched, the more desperate he became.
"Lucian!"
The urgent whisper penetrated the red haze of anger that engulfed him. Lucian crouched, spinning with his daggers held out before him.
A startled shriek tore from the plump Vampyress as she stumbled back. "You've learned some new moves, I see."
Lucian tilted his head, perusing the woman. Memories assaulted him; ghosts of the past flitted through his mind. "Magdalene?"
Sonja's nursemaid inclined her head towards the ferocious Lycan. "You're going the wrong way, Lucian. Olivia is this way." Magdalene turned, "We must hurry, Lucian. There isn't much time."
Lucian had no reason to doubt the woman and more than enough reasons to trust her. She had been the only one that had known of his and Sonja's marriage. She had covered for them on numerous occasions…until the disastrous night when they had been caught…
Lucian shook his head clear of the images. He could not think of Sonja, not now. Sonja was dead, there was nothing he could do for her, but Olivia was still alive and she needed him. He would save her, if it was the last thing he did.
Magdalene made a series of turns, leading him away from the tumult he knew was taking place upstairs. Even before she stopped walking and gestured towards the open doorway, he could hear voices…one in particular ringing loud and clear.
Markus.
Lucian stepped towards the open doorway.
