Cody flew low across the fields carrying Tessa and Beast. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the moment. It was such a pleasure to fly like this even in these circumstances. In Cody’s arms, even with Beast. Poor Cody. He was soaking up the weight of both of them.
She studied the ground ahead of them, but there wasn’t much to see. The energy had blended into a large foggy mass. Too many different people. Too many different energies. Too many different actions. And the wisps of drugs that had been visible in each person were completely overwhelmed.
“It’s chaos down there,” she murmured.
“That’s to be expected. A lot of people moved through here.”
“I know.” She studied the terrain. “Let’s land over there.” She pointed to a spot above the rise. “If we can look down, we might be able to see better.”
“I’ll fly lower so we can scan the hillside looking for an entrance first.”
“It’s such a different view from up here.”
“I love it,” he said. “I’d do this all day.”
“Understandable.” She loved the wind in her face, the fresh air in her lungs, and the weightlessness of the flight. To have her body off the ground, to feel that sense of freedom.
It was so damn special.
He flew lower until they were hovering in front of the hill. The hills hummed with energy. It was seriously fascinating. She’d never been able to see any of this from such a view. So much color. So many energies.
“There is the entrance,” Cody said. “At the bottom of the hill, there’s a large cavern opening.”
“Let’s go down.” She was eager to go inside. She wanted to find the end to this. Looking back at the distance they’d travelled already, she realized that they were likely over the top of the tunnels. If the wave of men had travelled above ground, did that mean that they didn’t know about the tunnels or that they’d sent a second wave of people through the tunnel at the same time?
They’d sent David and all the other vamps down into the lower floors and through the tunnels. Something to consider as they entered. If they were on the lookout for attacks, they needed to be watching from several directions. She took a few steps and lowered Beast to the ground. He swiped the side of her face with his wet tongue.
“Ugh, that’s enough of that.” She backed up and wiped her wet face off. Cody was laughing behind her. She didn’t mind the licking so much until she considered what he’d been chewing on lately. Now that was gross.
Trying not to think about exactly that, she walked to the edge of the cavern and studied the darkness inside. Energy flowed in a steady stream. But it was dark, sickly-looking energy. Not the wholesome energy she was hoping for. It meant that whatever was left inside was injected full of drugs. She’d known that would be the case, but the overwhelming cloying smell just added to the evidence. She couldn’t see anything but death anywhere.
Her mind centered on the job ahead and with Cody at her side, she entered the darkness.
There was complete absence of light, and with the musty, drug-filled air, she couldn’t see anything. She could hear though and it appeared to be more growls and howls than voices. In fact, she didn’t think she heard any voices, human or vamp.
“Easy, Tessa, watch out for Beast.”
She nodded. When Cody reached out to tug her to a standstill, she stopped and waited. Slowly, her vamp eyesight dominated and sharpened to a clarity that allowed the striations on the cave walls to show up. But the place was empty. Except for the herd of animals that had all been something else and were now…something else again. And in the middle of the pack were ashes…lots and lots of ashes.
“Looks like someone had an argument and lost in here,” Cody commented softly.
“Did the animals take the vamps out?” She stared at the evidence before her in shock.
“Science experiments don’t always go the way we think they should.”
“That is a lot of ash,” she said in a noncommittal voice. She didn’t want to hurt any animal, but it didn’t look like the feeling was mutual. She closed her eyes and drew on the power she’d learned through Hortran. There was no point in making another fight out of this or someone was going to get bitten, or at least scratched. As she understood from the other animals, they had silver to help with their killing spree.
Not good.
Neither did she want Beast injured.
So she had one shot.
She took a deep breath, opened up her arms, and walked casually through the pack.
The howls grew to enormous proportions then cut off like a knife. She dared not look back. There were dozens more sitting ahead and waiting for her.
Cody walked slightly behind her to the left while Beast walked slightly behind her to the right. And in a steady stream, they carried on deeper into the tunnel, her energy cutting a wide swath through the animals, dropping them where they stood. Sorrow ripped through her. These animals at one time had been glorious in their natural form. She’d have been okay with their new forms even – after all, look at Beast. Only these animals had been turned into killers, and they were in pain. The drugs running through their bloodstream were tearing at their genetics and at the very soul of who they were.
A slow painful death that hurt her to see.
Clouds of darkness weighed in on them. They didn’t ask for this. They didn’t want this. What animal wanted to be tortured from the inside out? None.
She kept walking.
The animals didn’t have time to react as the wave of deadly energy sliced through their systems and put them out of their misery quietly and easily. When she reached the end of the tunnel, her footsteps slowed until she came to a stop. She turned to look behind her. The tunnel was clear of the animal experiments and was now heaped with carcasses.
The stench of death filled her nostrils and clogged her brain. Tears came to her eyes. “Please tell me that was the right thing to do,” she whispered, the enormity, the sheer number of animals she’d just killed hurting her.
“It’s what needed to be done. They weren’t going to live long, and their lives were painful. Then there’s the added fact that they were trying to kill us,” Cody added on a humorous note. “So all in all, I’d say you did the right thing.”
He slid an arm around her shoulders and turned her so she now faced the darkness ahead and not the destruction behind. “Let’s keep moving.”
She let him lead her forward. When Beast nudged her fingers, she stooped and gave him a big hug. “I’m sorry you had to see that, Beast. I don’t think any of those animals could be saved like you. I would have if I could have.”
He licked her face, maybe in reassurance. And maybe not. She no longer knew anything except she wanted to make sure no one could ever do this to all those poor animals again.
*
Cody noted Tessa’s hand on Beast’s back and realized he really was going to have to make some adjustments to his planned getaway. Beast looked to be coming with them. He was okay with that, maybe. But given what Tessa had just gone through, he knew she’d be extremely upset to think Beast was going to suffer if she went away and left him behind.
Especially after what she’d just done.
He squeezed her close and dropped a kiss on her temple. She leaned into him for a long moment as they slowly walked, then he could see her mentally pick up and gird herself for what was to come.
“Let’s get this over with. My parents are in here somewhere.”
He winced. “Goran will be here, too.”
“Let’s go find them.”
They searched the tunnels for the next half hour, using Tessa’s ability to see different energies. But there was still no sign of any energy she recognized. And no sign of the enemy. Wouldn’t it be nice if they’d wiped them out?
He didn’t think they’d be that lucky.
Suddenly Tessa raced ahead then came to a shuddering stop. “I can sense them,” she cried.
“Sense?” he asked cautiously. “Not see?”
She looked confused for a moment as if just understanding her wording, then shrugged and said, “Sense. Not sure how or who, but I can feel my parents.” She smiled. “They are close by.”
“Good. Let’s hope the whole lot of them are in one group so we don’t have to go tearing through the damn place to find them.”
“No tearing required,” she said in a teasing voice. “We just need to find the way to them.” She spun in a slow circle. “It’s like they are on the other side of this wall.”
“So we need to find a door?” he asked, studying the wall. “More hidden doors.”
She looked intrigued at that reminder. “It’s all stone, so maybe hidden passageways, but I’m thinking another hallway runs parallel beside us.”
“Then let’s find it.”
*
Goran watched Jared go into and out of the first room, then cross to check out the second door. He stood in the doorway, disheartened, then turned to look back at Goran. “Thanks for coming, but she doesn’t appear to be here.”
“Let’s keep looking,” Goran said. “You did well finding all the other humans.”
“Not well enough,” he said in frustration. “I feel like we’re still missing something.”
“What and where?” When Jared looked at him in surprise, Goran laughed. “Just because I’m a vamp doesn’t mean I can’t listen to what you have to say.”
Jared’s gaze widened. “Good to know.” He hesitated a moment then said, “Back where we found Seth, we went in through large double doors. Not very far from here, but there were double doors on the other side of the room – we didn’t check it out, and I can’t forget about those doors.” He waved his arm behind him, “This just seems to lead out to nothing, so I’d really like to check that operating room out.”
Serus stepped up behind Goran. “That’s a very good idea.” He smacked Goran on the shoulder. “We need to head back that direction anyway as we need to find and bring the army here.”
“We shouldn’t leave this group unprotected though,” Goran said. “I can take Jared and check out this set of doors he’s talking about, find the army, and bring them back here all on the same trip. Then maybe we can get our asses back to the Hall before they vote us off the Council.”
“Can they do that?” Ian asked, worried. “What about those of us rising up the ranks? I know we’re only apprentices but still, if you are voted off, does that mean the apprentices are too?”
Serus’s face darkened. “Yes, it does. We have to stop this or you and David and Cody will likely be removed as well, and they’ll really have the power to put whoever they want into place.”
Goran growled. “They’d love that. They’d be riding high once again. Well, it isn’t going to happen,” he roared. “Jared, let’s move it.”
And he grabbed Jared by the back of his jacket and flew up into the air and down the hallway.
Jared squawked in surprise then laughed as they hit the end in seconds, not minutes. “Cool.”
*
“Sian, what are you looking for?” David stood in Sian’s office. They both wore gas masks to protect themselves as they’d returned to the top floor to make sure it was safe for everyone else.
“Deanna left a lot of paperwork behind when she went into hibernation,” Sian said. “So did Hortran for that matter. But recently I remember seeing her here and wondered if she’d changed something.”
“Change what?”
“As a Council member, she’s entitled to suggest her replacement. Although it is technically a suggestion, we always honor it if possible and as long as the replacement is a suitable candidate.”
“You’re thinking she might have, and that would give the Council a new member?”
“Ratifications only require four members. I think we could pull that off. That would give us one more for the Council then. But I have to find the paperwork.” Her voice tapered off as she opened up the big wall cupboard and saw the stacks and stacks of files ahead of her. Some on such old paper it appeared to be written on old animal hides.
David stared, open-mouthed. “I had no idea all this existed,” he whispered. “This is seriously cool.”
“And it’s a serious headache,” she muttered. “This is so very valuable, but we’re overrun with important documents. I’ve been asking for a better system, but so far the Council has denied that request.”
Jewel walked into the small room. She took one look, and a look of complete rapture washed over her face. “Oh my! Can I help? This is beautiful. I just want to read them all.”
“And how do you feel about organizing this mess,” Sian snapped. “Because good Lord, it needs to be done. And I need to put my hands on the right documents now.”
“Yes,” Jewel squealed. “I love this stuff. I’d have been a historian or an archivist if I could.”
“Well, we don’t have one and someone is needed to take this over. If you’re serious, we’ll discuss it when this nightmare comes to an end. In the meantime, all of you give me a hand looking for documents that Deanna left behind. It’s mandatory when a Councilman retires to leave a writ regarding their position.”
The group immediately surged forward. “Any idea what the material would look like so that we can rule out some of these?”
“It’s Deanna, and she has little patience with anything modern, but I doubt she’d go so far as to use hide.” Sian tilted her head. “Then again, all her original documents were written on those, so not sure.”
“Is there any other places the documents could be?” David asked. “You have filing cabinets all around the room.”
“And we have another storeroom full, but these are all the recently modified documents that haven’t been filed yet.”
She gave a heavy sigh, her hands rubbing her rounded tummy. “There doesn’t seem to be enough time in a day to do everything. And of course it’s been weeks since I even tried.”
“I’ll start here,” Jewel said, reaching up to the top of the shelf. “It looks like there are some possibles in this lot.”
“Ha, this whole cupboard is possible,” Sian said in a dark voice, “But we need to get at it, so pick a stack and take a look. You’re looking for anything that Deanna and Hortran could have written.”
“Will do.” Jewel reached for the largest stack and took them to the closest table. “If we all get at it, we should sort through this cupboard fast enough.”
David grabbed the highest stack and dropped it to the floor, then kneeled beside the pile and started going through the documents. He couldn’t believe the names and types of documents he was looking at. “Wills, property transfers, decrees, there’s a little bit of everything.”
“Yes, but there’s no time to decipher most of it. Normally I’d have a pile half this size.”
“We’ll worry about all the work later, Sian,” Jewel muttered from behind her stack. “I’ll help.”
“And I’ll hold you to that.”
“So this looks like something possible,” Jewel said, holding up an ancient papyrus type of paper. “It’s old, and I think I can read her name on the bottom of this decree, but the language isn’t something I know.”
Sian walked over and lifted the manuscript to see it under better lighting. “It’s something… I’m just not sure. Give me a moment to read some of this.”
David studied the documents in front of him. This was a vast treasure trove of his heritage. It needed to be preserved. He felt something deep inside stir. Maybe it was pride, a sense of connectedness. He didn’t know what it was but he felt…part of something so much bigger. During this war, he’d been fighting to save Jared, then the other humans, then his friends, but he hadn’t realized how deeply he felt about his own heritage. His own species. As he sat there, his resolve firmed.
This war needed to end so that their way could continue. They had evolved. They were no longer animals taking what they wanted. They were at the top of the food chain, but that didn’t meant they had to destroy all beneath them. The skill to being good rulers was to value and honor those they stood above. Not destroy them.
What good was it to be at the top of the species if there was nothing of value below?
“It’s one of the documents we need,” Sian said with a catch in her voice. “It’s Hortran’s decree. Deanna signed as a witness.”
“So what else are we looking for then?”
“Now we need Deanna’s decree.”
“And yet you appear to be very surprised by whatever you are reading?” David asked.
“I am,” she whispered. “But in a good way. This is huge, but I can’t share it right now. This must go to the Council.”
With more energy than she’d shown since he’d arrived, she added, “Now let’s find the other document. I must have Deanna’s before the Council calls an early meeting.”
“They can’t call one. They know the ancients are in the field and on their way home.”
“Yes, they can, and that’s exactly why they’d do it.”
“We have to stop them.”
“Then keep digging.”
*
Serus studied his wife, his soul mate – the other half of his heart. She looked exhausted. And from what he’d heard on the quiet from Ian, she had good reason to be. She’d been running both sides for days and fighting off the drugs.
“Have you eaten?”
She nodded. “A little.”
Ian snorted. “Meaning no.” He walked to the far side and rummaged in the big coolers. Serus watched him, appreciating the privacy. It was the first he’d had with Rhia in a long time.
“Have you heard from David,” Rhia asked. “Tessa?”
Serus nodded. “Both were fine last I heard from them. David is staying at the Hall, helping Sian keep Jewel close. And Tessa,” he laughed, “well, she’s someone that I barely recognized. She saved my life, you know.”
Rhia gasped in shock. “What?”
“Yeah, I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for her. Not only that, I was stabbed with silver…”
The color faded from Rhia’s skin as she grabbed for Serus. “Silver,” she whispered, her voice so faint it was almost impossible to hear her. “How is that possible?”
“I don’t know,” he admitted, “But she grabbed the spike from my side and poured her healing energy inside. And it worked. I was sick for a little bit, but not that long.”
Her eyes were huge. “What has happened to our little girl?”
He studied her, realizing how much she’d missed in the last few weeks. On her own pathway, still aligned with the vampire values he honored but chasing to save their son, she’d missed so much of their daughter’s magnificent growth. But he hadn’t. And he was so damn glad.
“I’m not sure I’d believe it if I hadn’t been there myself,” he said. “But it’s true. She can do so much.”
“Yes, but why? How? Is it that Deanna bitch?”
“No, she was doing so much before that already.”
Rhia shook her head. “It makes no sense.”
“She apparently has a pet now as well,” he said with a smile. “Although I haven’t seen it.”
“That’s not good.” Rhia shook her head. “She didn’t ask.”
“You weren’t here to ask,” Serus pointed out. “And from what I heard, it seems to be that the animal chose her.”
Rhia stepped back. “We’ll discuss this when we get home.”
Serus agreed, but he didn’t think the homecoming was going to be quite what she had in mind. “You need to get real about Tessa right now.”
She spun, that laser gaze on his face. She’d always been quick to pick up on the nuances. “What do I need to get real about?”
“She’s not a little girl anymore. She’s a leader, the people respect her. They look to her for answers. They follow her. Not because of you or me, but because of who she has become.”
“That’s good. That’s great,” Rhia said in delight. “I could see some of it happening. That she could see energy and move energy, help people who are injured…” She reached up and stroked his cheek. “That’s wonderful that our little girl has finally come into herself.”
“She can do so much more than that now.” Serus didn’t know how much he should say. He was feeling protective of Tessa and knew that mother and daughter had a cavern between them at the moment. Tessa was not the Tessa Rhia knew, and this new one was a strong, independent woman all her own. But she was young. And leaving home right now wasn’t an option, but living at home might not be either. His breath gusted out. Maybe he and Goran should take a holiday and leave the women to work it out.
He kinda liked that idea.
“And you’re warning me to give her room?” Rhia asked. “Is that it?”
“Yes, and so much more. She’s a woman now. There’s no way you’re going to be able to fit her back into the little girl mold. While you were out looking for Seth, she grew even more. And you missed many of those steps.”
“You’re really worried about this, aren’t you?”
“Yes,” he admitted. “I am.”
“Noted.” She seemed to pull herself back slightly. “But she’s still my daughter.”
“And is now more confident and in control than either of your sisters.”
She frowned. “That’s not necessarily a bad thing.”
“No, it’s a good thing. I’m really proud of her. But when you see her again, you need to treat her as an adult, a woman.”
“Agreed.”
She might be hearing the words, but somehow Serus didn’t think she was getting the message.