Chapter 15- Alliance
At dusk, it was time to move. I was armed with two glocks full of ultraviolet bullets, two swords sheathed over my back, and a dagger hidden under my pants- strapped around my calf. The entire time Lucian had been speaking, the one female vampire, Selene, who was among the crowd, apparently on our side, had not taken her eyes off of me, curiosity burning in her eyes, and neither had the Hybrid, Michael. Now, as we traveled toward the mansion, the two of them stole sidelong glances at me now and then. Selene leaned her head towards Michael, and he nodded, and with her eyes on me, she advanced toward me amidst the crowd.
"I didn't have a chance to introduce myself back at the Lycans' hideout. I'm Selene."
"Hi, I'm Maya," I said.
"I need to speak with you about something," she said, and her face was intense and full of unspoken questions. "Last night, I had a visitation from the spirit of Alexander Corvinus; I'm sure by now Lucian has told you who he is."
At once, my body went rigid, and my eyes went wide. She seemed to understand what was going on in an instant with my body language and my facial expression, which was full of shock.
"I see he visited you, too."
"Yes," I nodded. "So you must be the prophesized vampire."
"And you must be the prophesized Lycan."
I froze for a moment as our troops marched forward. "W-what?"
"You're the prophesized Lycan Corvinus spoke of."
"No, I'm a human," I said, confused.
"I saw in a dream last night a female Lycan who in her human form looked just like you. Long, brown hair, brown eyes. You're the one who will ally with me to speak to the vampires and Lycans."
"That's impossible, I'm most definitely not a Lycan," I assured you.
"Lucian will have to turn you, but you are most certainly Corvinus' prophesized. My guess is that this will take place tonight during battle."
I was too stunned, too afraid, to say anything. Would Lucian really turn me? I didn't mind, but if he did I would hope he wouldn't just do it without warning out of his own private agenda. He wouldn't just use me to do his bidding, would he? But that was impossible. I was the one who had seen the vision. Lucian had seen the vision too, but it had been intended for me, and Lucian was not the type to use anyone. He wouldn't have planned on using me anyway if he had been completely surprised by the apparition. He'd spent a good few decades of his life being used and fighting against that. So that left pretty much one answer, then. I was to be mortally wounded. This would not be an easy transformation. I barely even had the capacity to comprehend what becoming a Lycan entailed for me; I was too busy concentrating on the pain I'd surely endure. But what if the prophecy was broken? What if wherever and how ever I was wounded, Lucian couldn't get to me on time? Or what if it weren't even going to be Lucian at all who would transform me? Not that there could be anything gentle about biting a mortal to change them, but I figured he'd be the gentlest with me out of all of the Lycans, given their cold reception of me earlier. And I was hardly a warrior princess. That was the part I had the most trouble fathoming that Corvinus had spoken of.
"Are you sure?"
"I'm almost completely positive," Selene assured me. "We were ordained for this. You and I will stop the war."
I was terrified of how things would happen, but an overwhelming sense of purpose washed over me at this notion. I felt honored that by the forces of… I didn't even know what; I had been chosen to bring peace to two warring peoples.
"And you are with us one hundred percent?" I inquired hesitantly.
"Yes. You don't have to worry. My loyalties are not easily swayed. I left the vampires because of the deceit that had been handed me all of my life until I discovered the truth. All this time I had been lead to believe that Lycans had killed my family, and that it was the sort of thing they did all the time. I have come now to learn the truth from Michael's genetic memories of Lucian's past, and Viktor's admission of the same. My loyalties, and Michael's, lie with who is right, and who is good. Lucian helped me save Michael's life. I had thought Lucian to be dead, twice now, and now that he is indeed alive I intend to fight by his side. He wanted a union of both sides all along."
"That's right," I said. "You know he almost fathered a Hybrid, like Michael, too," I added.
"That's what Michael has seen. Killed by his or her own grandfather along with Sonja. Viktor never did have much pity for those he considered family," she said flatly, flinching at her own words, but only slightly in the corners of her eyes. She was a hardass, to the very core. She barely let her emotions show at all. In a way I admired her for that. I nodded, not wanting to bring up her painful memories any further. She was trustworthy, and that was all that mattered.
"We need to hurry; we've fallen behind the group."
She nodded, and we both picked up our paces.
"Selene!" Lucian called. She turned her head in his direction. "Do you know the code to the mansion?"
"I did, but I'm sure they've changed up all of their security codes and devices by now. I'm not welcome anymore," she said flatly, her stare fixed straight ahead and intense.
He nodded. "Then we will drive a car straight into the door after we've knocked over the gate. Alright men, whatever cars you can hijack, do it now. Get ready to attack. When we show up at the mansion and take it by storm, the vampires will immediately hear the commotion of our vehicles."
With that, the Lycans, Selene and Michael all scattered through the streets, breaking into cars, equipped to get them to open and to start. Lucian and I ran in search of the nearest vehicle we could find, and I found myself giddily mounting a silver Vespa parked in the street. I had never ridden one, or any motorcycle before, and I felt a surge of joy despite my fear. The adrenaline pumping through me was more anticipatory now, rather than dread. I was ready. I had never been more ready in my life for a fight, but this war had crept into my veins and my entire consciousness before I'd had a chance to even decide if I wanted it to, and I could see my destiny being shaped before me. Sometime tonight, I would become immortal. I would become a Lycan. I could not tell Lucian, for he would probably try to put a stop to it if he knew I was the destined female Lycan, so though we could have used a higher number of enforcements, I allowed some of the Lycans to go in search of the female Lycan that they did not realize was standing right there before their eyes all along. Sure, I wasn't transformed yet, but I was their answer. The Vespa was not a closed in vehicle, but it didn't matter. It was all we could find. As it sped through the night behind all of the other cars, I was prepared to possibly have to jump off of it while it was still in motion to attack.
Lucian directed me through the city until we arrived at the mansion. One of the Lycans at the head of the procession of cars rammed right through the wrought iron gate, and a squeal of tires alerted the vampires within seconds that we were there. We didn't have to have anyone drive through the door to the mansion; they came storming out, bullets flying, just as the others were getting out of their cars and Lucian and I dismounted the Vespa. He ran with a ferocious, guttural scream from his throat towards the first vampire he saw, a rage taking over him that I had indeed never seen. I headed through the melee of fighting without much time to think but rather only to react, swords unsheathed, stabbing and slashing at any vampire I could find and preventing them from cocking their guns, and, with the express intent of infiltrating the mansion and locating where the council convened, I blasted forward without looking back. Wherever they were, they were surely being kept in hiding for the sake of the coven. My ears alerted me to a vampire coming at me from behind as I made it halfway up the drive. I spun around and ducked just as he aimed his gun towards me, then jumped up and knocked the gun out of his right hand with my left foot, spinning to my left to get more pivot in my turn. From there I launched my back into his body with my elbows pointed behind me to jab him, knocking him to the ground, and then I flipped onto my knees onto his stomach before he could grab me and impaled his throat with both swords in two places, blood spilling to the ground. I was immediately back on my feet as I saw two more running after me. I sheathed my swords and grabbed my guns as quickly as I could and unlocked the safety locks, aiming for their chests and firing a few rounds towards each. Their bodies hit the ground immediately with a thud, their eyes still open. I took a swift look with my eyes, and listened hard with my ears over the screams of pain and firing of guns and the swish of swords, roaming the front grounds of the mansion for any more immediate threats to my life, and saw none. I stormed through the open doors and began to turn around corridors at full speed, my guns back in their holsters and my swords unsheathed, ready to impale and slash any guards I came upon on my way to the heart of the mansion. My instincts told me I'd be able to tell who the council members were by the way they were dressed and by the simple fact that they probably would be concealed in the heart of the mansion, but I was prepared to take out anyone on my way in.
As my eyes roamed the empty hallways for my adversaries, I remembered Lucian's words to move slowly, and I realized that through my rush to get in, I had made a lot of swishing and rustling noises. I kept my feet silent, listening for any sound penetrating the silence other than my own footsteps. I gazed above as often as I did side to side, unaware of how their ventilation system was set up, and not knowing if there were entry points through the ceiling or not. My heart was thudding in my chest as I heard groans of agony outside, and I realized that I had no idea where Lucian was anymore or how he was doing. I hadn't even seen him at all in my line of sight since I'd been attacked by the three vampires.
I whirred around just as I heard footsteps increasing in volume behind me, and almost let out a scream until I saw it was Lucian.
"Lucian, oh my God, you scared the shit out of me!" I whispered hoarsely.
"I'm sorry, my love. I saw you headed for the mansion and I could not let you enter alone. I've been here before, and I know my way around. You must let me help you. I'm also aware of who the council members are."
"Okay. So I guess the plans fell through to take them out first."
"Yes, I should have known better, I suppose it only stands to reason that they would protect their strongest leaders when under attack. Our men will just have to keep the mob outside distracted so that there are less of them watching over the council members, weakening their protection. I thought their bloodlust would rule over cowering in fear, but they are most likely convening as we speak to elect their succeeding elders with Viktor, Markus and Amelia all dead. I didn't think they would be holding such a meeting at a time like this under siege, and it leaves them prone, much to our advantage. Now follow me, love. And be prepared to fight hard and concentrate like you've never had to. There are twelve council members and only two of us."
I nodded, already trying to envision how such a battle might ensue, and what I would have to do to both protect myself and Lucian, and take down six of them or so. When we arrived at a large arch in the middle of an open room with a high ceiling, we paused around the doorway so that Lucian could assess the situation, and give a possible last minute strategy to taking out the council. His face dropped though, as he looked wild-eyed into the room and realized there was no one there.
"I don't understand. Where is the council if they're not here or outside?" he hissed. His eyes were wild and ferocious with anger and confusion.
I didn't have time to react or respond though, because someone had come up from behind me and clamped their hand over my mouth. I let out a piecing shriek just as his hand descended over my mouth, trying to send a hard blow to his leg. His voice rang out into the mansion's walls in a low and menacing growl.
"Lucian. And here I thought you were dead for good this time."
"Viktor," Lucian hissed through his teeth, and my eyes grew wide and my heart began to beat fast. Viktor was supposed to be dead! "So did I," he growled fiercely.
"It wasn't enough that you helped me give the gift of mortality to men and turn them into uncivilized beasts, but now you have to defile yet another woman?" He paced about slowly, forcing me to move in numbed fear with him.
"Release her!" he growled. "She is of no concern to you, and she is not a Lycan."
"So you fell for a mortal? Defiling the civilized was always your strong suit now, wasn't it? But you are quite wrong, Lucian. She is on the side of the beasts, and she is the reason you're still alive, I imagine. It would give me great pleasure to dispatch your last shred of hope, and you," he drawled the last word. "So yes, she is of high concern to me." I let out a muffled scream behind his hand as he held a knife up to my throat "Stay back, Lucian, unless you wish me to dispatch of you immediately as well," he shouted over his shoulder, and with that he swished around and began to drag me off.
"NO!" Lucian yelled, and echoing off of the walls reverberated a low, guttural growl, and I saw with relief and terror his shadow grow and morph ahead of my captor. We were in greater danger than we'd thought, I realized, as Lucian's large tendons knocked me out of Viktor's iron grasp, grazing my cheek, and I yelped in surprise from the scratches, and as my head hit the ground, touching my hand to the back of my head. Viktor lunged forward at Lucian, and two men who I guessed to be council members descended upon me. As I removed my hand from my head to remove my UV guns, blood flowed from my sodden scalp to my palm, and down my wrist and my arm. My vision went blurry and I struggled to hold consciousness as Lucian and Viktor's snarls filled the night.
A/N: I'm sorry, this is my first action sequence that I've ever written, and I hope it was done well enough. I decided just to do a few short fights first to test the waters and see how I do; first in front of the mansion with the one vampire and then the two, and then Viktor knocking Maya to the ground to attack Lucian, so I apologize if any of it was anti-climactic with my abrupt ending to the first fight scene. I promise to work hard at the chapters to come to make them exciting, so don't be surprised if you don't see my story updated for more days than usual, but rest assured that I'm working on this story as faithfully as ever. I don't mean to keep asking for reviews, but especially now, please let me know how I'm doing with the action and violence. Rating subject to change to M, and probably will within the next couple of chapters. There's already been one impaling, so I doubt this will stay T for long.