They’d ran out of time to finish the third floor repair before Luke's planned party, so it remained untouched. As his feet pounded up the stairs, he thought he heard a board or two crack, but he couldn’t be sure as everyone thundered up, sending up a din of squeaking boards. Stopping at the top, he waited until the last person ran past. With a quick glance, he watched as vampires took the first tentative steps up the stone steps leading to the second floor.
“Luke, get in here,” Roxi ordered.
“Right.” He turned and entered the hallway.
Werewolves, their hands full of old broken and moldy furniture, waited until he passed, then started chucking everything down the stairs to foul the approach. The next round took longer, heavier pieces and blocked the top of the stairs, forming barriers they could shoot from behind.
“What’s with all the other detritus?” Luke asked.
Roxi shrugged and gave him a wicked smile. “It’s hard to climb stairs if you’re dodging crockery. As busted up as this stuff is, it’ll do yeoman’s work.”
“Good thinking. That’ll help us extend our ammo.” He looked around. “Where are the snipers?”
“They’re searching for a window they can look through, see if they can spy Sam’s approach.” Roxi unbuckled the partial ammo belt strapped around his torso and handed it to a Rhonda and another wolf. “We can only put so many people up front, so we’re going to pass empties back to reload and keep up a constant fire.”
Luke slid his hand behind Roxi’s neck and pulled her in for a quick but intense kiss. “I’m glad we’ve got you here. This is the best defense we could organize, considering the circumstances.”
“If you’re going to kiss me every time I do something smart, I’m going to have to keep up the good work,” she teased.
He chuckled. “You’re irresistible.”
“Sure. I’m sweaty, covered in blood and vampire goop. Very sexy.”
“To me, you’ll always be beautiful.” He gave her a lopsided grin.
“You’re flirting while we’re busy prepping for another fight?” Rhonda shook her head. “Y’all are weird.”
Luke squatted down by Roxi as she organized the weapons and ammo pile. “Sometimes you have to say what needs saying when you can, Rhonda. Anything I can help you with?”
“Nah, got it all wrapped up while you two were smooching. I guess I’ve got to cut you some slack since she’s been sick for so long.” Rhonda sighed. “I hope Patrice is safe.”
Luke squeezed Rhonda’s shoulder. “I’m sure she’s doing everything in her power to help Sam break us out of this mess.”
“I’d rather she stays back at casa de Luke, but I guess you’re right. I’m sure she wishes I were safe somewhere else, but alas…” She placed her hand on his, squeezing it. “Thanks for being a friend.”
“Luke, I think you need to come up here,” one of the wolves watching from the barrier called back.
Luke grabbed a shotgun and joined the pack members using the small landing at the top of the stairs as their first line of defense for the third floor.
“I think they’ve been checking out the other rooms first. A couple have been milling about down there to make sure we stay up here,” Charlie said.
“What did you need me for?” Luke asked.
Charlie moved out of the way. “Here, take my spot and see if you can look down toward the stairs down to the ballroom. The lights are doing something funny. Something that seems like it’s more your department than mine.”
Luke chuckled and squeezed into the slot where Charlie had been. The trans man was quite a bit smaller than Luke’s bulk, especially in his armor. Once he crunched down into the nook, he moved his neck around until he found the top of the stairs and followed them down.
The light pulsed. It didn’t look like a power issue; the dim bulb hanging from the hallway ceiling back behind them burned steady, shedding its light over the dusty, dingy hallway. It reminded him of the arena back in Wyoming, outside when Zalmoxis made his presence known, although not as intense or dark. Where his power had been a raging inferno, this felt like a candle in comparison, a pale copy, at least Luke hoped. It could be the soft probing before bursting to full power. He’d have to be careful.
Luke unfolded himself and let Charlie have his previous spot. “If anything changes, send someone to me. I’m going to check in with the snipers.
“I can handle that,” Charlie replied.
Luke patted him on the shoulder and headed into the hallway, finding Jung-sook laying on the dusty floor, her sniper rifle pointing out a window. She’d pulled a couple boards off the window frame and busted out the window so she could point the barrel out.
“No need to look up, Jung-Sook. It’s just me. How’s it looking out there?” Luke asked.
“Not much going on. I can see some occasional movement deep in the woods, but nothing worth shooting at.”
“If you want to shoot, you can see down into the stairwell up to the second floor from our little barrier on the landing.”
Jung-sook looked up, a wicked smile on her face. “That sounds more useful than staring off into the woods.”
“Who has our other rifle?” Luke asked.
“Connor had it the last time I saw him.” Jung-sook got up and grabbed her sniper rifle. “Am I free to shoot?”
“Yeah, take anything out that you can put your scope on. Make them wary of coming any further.” Luke stepped out of the way.
“With pleasure.”
Luke followed Jung-sook out into the hall and explored around, seeing how his people had set up while he held the first floor. The first room he peeked into contained the wounded. Most looked in OK shape, their werewolf healing going a long way to heal their wounds. Some of them might be available if they were truly needed. The small room next to the wounded contained a sadder sight—three bodies covered in blood with flesh desecrated by the grenade that had gone off in the kitchen. He knew there were other bodies that should be in the room that they’d not recovered yet, including those who’d been on door duty before Le Mousquetaire crashed his party.
In the largest room, he found most of the pack, resting and getting ready to fight when next called upon. Someone had grabbed blankets from downstairs for the wolves who’d gone bipedal, leaving their clothes elsewhere. Now that they were taking a break in their human forms, the breezy third floor wasn’t the most comfortable option.
“Who removed the boards and broke out that window?” Luke asked.
“Connor. He climbed out onto the roof so he could see all around,” Joe said.
Nodding, Luke looked over his brave crew, giving them a smile, and hoped he looked like a calm and confident leader who’d get them out of this mess and out of here alive. He thought about finding a mirror to see if he could even convince himself. “That’s not actually a bad idea, but can someone slide out and make sure he’s careful? Sam is supposed to be coming anytime now, and I don’t think she’d appreciate it if we shot at her and the people she’s bringing to spring us. And if he sees our people out there, let me know,” Luke said.
A few people chuckled. A slim woman with a pixie cut got up and headed to the window, ducking out quickly.
Someone Luke didn’t immediately recognize said, “That’d be a rude welcome.”
The sound of the Steyr SSG 69 cracked to life, drawing Luke’s attention back toward the landing. He assumed some vamp or one of their pet wolves had been dumb enough to poke their head out so Jung-sook could remind them to be cautious, but when a second, third, and fourth shot rang out in quick succession, Luke turned around and jogged back to their font line, halting just before stepping onto the landing. Jung-sook opened fire, emptying the ten-round magazine in quick order, and grabbed another.
“They’re making a break up the stairs.” James handed Luke a shotgun.
Rhonda stood up from her well organized arsenal and handed Luke a couple of leather holsters. “I found something for you.”
“My 311s!” Luke set down the Winchester M12 and strapped his two Stephens 311 sawed-off shotguns on, one to each hip.
Roxi stepped up and looked him over. “You’re looking very martial.”
Rhonda chuckled. “He kind of looks like some Roman cowboy. He shoots pretty well from horseback too, if you can consider a dirt bike a modern horse.”
Luke laughed. “I guess so. I’m a decent shot from horseback with a gun. Never could get the knack of horseback archery, no matter how much my first wife tried.” He shrugged. “I was a better shock troop than archer, anyway.”
“Luke!” Charlie called.
Sighing, Luke slid up to the entrance of the hallway, staying off the landing and out of Jung-sook’s way. “What’s happening?”
“They’re coming up the stairs hard, running fast. I think I saw a couple grappling hooks fly over the banister, too.”
“Fuck. I’ll get everyone on standby up here.” Luke stuck his head out, twitching each time the Steyr went off. There were no shortage of targets for Jung-sook. “Anyone got those compact machine guns?”
Charlie held up one, grinning evilly. Agatha held up another.
“Feel free to open up. It’ll be like fish in a barrel now that they’re rushing up. Has anyone attempted our barriers?” The angle wasn’t right for Luke to see the bottom of the staircase up to the third floor.
“Not yet,” Charlie replied.
Agatha opened fire, spraying bullets down onto the second floor in controlled bursts. Charlie turned and joined her. When he turned around, several people who’d been resting were arming themselves.
“I went back and got them moving when you mentioned it,” Roxi said.
He smiled at her warmly, though he could feel the weariness as his lips and cheeks struggled with the gesture. “Thanks, Roxi.”
Waning tinnitus kicked back up with the constant crack of the sniper rifle and the rat-tat-tat of the APC9K compact machine guns. He worked his jaw, trying to get his ears to pop.
“Ears?” Roxi asked, raising her voice to carry over the noise of the guns and the whining in Luke’s ears.
“Yeah. I fucking hate guns.”
The APC9Ks went quiet.
“Luke, we’re out.” Charlie slid the APC9K down the hall, picking up his shotgun.
Agatha followed suit. Ammo wasn’t as easy to come by in Europe, especially for things like machine guns. Owen hadn’t secured a reliable source yet, though he said he was close to making a deal with some shady arms dealer. If he ever got to the other side of this, he’d be perfectly happy to never touch another gun ever again.
Rhonda grabbed the APC9Ks off the floor and stashed them out of the way in a bag so they’d be easy to tote out later. Backing away, Luke made room for a couple people whose job it was to hand reload shotguns to Charlie and Agatha. They had enough shotguns that they could keep a loaded one ready for the shooters while someone else did the reloading.
Jung-sook poked her head into the hallway. “Luke, I’m down to my last magazine. Want me to save it?”
“Five or ten?” Luke asked, not that it really mattered.
“It’s a tenner,” she replied.
“Let’s save it.”
“Want to hand me a shotgun?” Jung-sook asked.
“No, stay with the gun. We can have someone else pull a shotgun trigger.” Luke hit the floor as shots thudded into the wall near his head.
“Um, they’re shooting back now,” Charlie said.
“No shit,” Luke mumbled, sitting up. “They hitting your barrier?”
“Not yet. Gun,” Charlie handed back an empty M12, its barrel smoking.
He didn’t like how thin the pieces of wood they’d used were. “I need some wolf muscle.”
Luke stepped into the infirmary. He’d remembered seeing them using a slab of a table to fix up wounds. Now, it was empty as everyone currently wounded was treated and out of the way.
“I hate to do this, but we need the table,” Luke said.
“What if we have more wounded?” Brielle, one of Maggie’s newer trained medics, asked.
“If I don’t take the table, we’ll definitely have more wounded. It’s solid oak and thick. It’ll protect our shooters from shots.”
Brielle nodded, clearing off her medical supplies. With the help of James, Luke flipped the table onto its side. Spreading his arms wide, he figured there was enough room on the landing. Together, he and James jimmied it out of the room and down the hall.
“Alright, on my mark, I need you all to move and get out of the way so we can get this table down,” Luke commanded, his voice straining under the weight of the thick table.
“Understood,” they replied.
“Ready,” Luke warned them. “Mark.”
Charlie, Agatha, and Rebecca scrambled out and flatted themselves against the wall of the hall. As soon as they were out of the way, Luke and James slid onto the landing and slammed the table down, shoving it forward against their existing barrier. Then, crouching low so as not to attract unwanted bullets, they crawled out of the way, allowing their shooters to set up in their new and improved shooters’ nest.
“Rhonda, how we looking on shotgun shells?” Luke asked.
She held up her hand and wobbled it side-to-side. “Not great, not if we’re going to be here for a while.”
Luke turned and crouched near the landing, keeping his head down. “Let’s go light on our shots. We’re getting low.”
“Understood,” Charlie replied.
Slinking back out of the way, Luke looked from person to person, seeing tension and worry on every face. All they needed was time and ammunition; they had very little of either. And now they were running out of space to defend. Up to the roof or over the sides would soon be their only options, but the house was surrounded. The vampires had committed considerable resources to this assault, and if they didn’t find relief soon, it might just pay off for the vampires. He felt his breath growing shallow as his muscles tightened up.
Roxi stepped up next to him and took his hand in hers. “Luke, we’ll get out of this.”
He wished he was as confident as she sounded. “How do you know?”
“Because I have to believe.” She looked up into his eyes, caressing his cheek. “I have to believe there’s a light at the end of the tunnel. I can see it, and it’s you. If I have to, I’ll kill every last one of them and pull this house down in the process to save you.”
Her voice sounded soft and gentle, but the words rang true. Roxi really would destroy everything to protect Luke, to save the potential future of being with each other. He drew in a deep breath, her words stiffening his spine. For Roxi, he could give no less. To get back to Maggie, he would ignite the kindling Roxi had made of the house. To see Gwen grow up safely, he’d gut every vampire—and the gods who’d made them.
“Luke,” Charlie called. “They’re using those grappling hooks to pull the junk off the stairs.”
“Rhonda, do we have some of those bayonet stakes?” Luke asked.
“Yeah. Why? Luke, what are you thinking?” Rhonda asked, her voice strained.
Luke lifted his head and looked down the hall at everyone staring back at him. “We can either wait until we run out of ammo so they can corner us up here like rats and tear us apart, or we can remind them of who we are and what we can do to them. We can remind them why they fear us. Together, our deeds can spread terror across the world’s vampires, forever making them tremble at the mere whisper of our names.”
The fire of Luke’s words spread down the hall, igniting the resolve of his friends and packmates as they looked at each other, nodding at their friends and loved ones, the collective strength of will and character psyching everyone up.
“It’s time to bring the pain,” Luke said. “Rhonda, load up every gun we can, but leave an ammo belt for three shooters. Charlie, you three are going to hold that barrier if they get past us and protect the wounded. Understood?”
“Yes, sir!” Charlie responded.
“I will not order you to accompany me, but I am taking volunteers.”
As one, hands rose down the hallway.
“OK. Shooters, grab a gun and make your plan for when ammo runs out. Everyone else, pick your wolf form of choice and get ready to rumble.”
Everybody started stripping their clothes, shooters and non-shooters, to save themselves the effort later. Some started their transformation, most of them going with the hulking bipedal form, though a few chose to go with the full wolf form. As soon as Rhonda divvied out the ammo to the three staying and the rest of the guns to those going, she stripped her clothes and changed into a bipedal wolf that practically dwarfed most of the others.
“So that’s why they call you ‘Big Rhonda.’” Luke chuckled.
She chuffed and winked at him, her tongue lolling out.
Roxi picked up a shotgun and stepped up next to Luke. “Once again, we fight together, dōšagīh.”
Luke nodded and kissed her quickly, then turned to everyone. “We don’t have any reload. We need to leave it here to protect the wounded. Empty your gun, then step back so the next shooters can take the lead. Once we’ve spent our ammunition, drop your gun and make our enemies pay. Try not to get separated from each other.”
“Luke… They’re getting close,” Charlie called.
“Ready, Roxi?” Luke asked.
She nodded and pumped a shell into the firing chamber. Luke joined her.
“Let’s go. Charlie, take three shots each to clear the stair, then move aside. We’re coming through.”
Nine shots fired out in quick succession, then stopped. Luke leapt over the barrier and landed on the top of the stairs, the wood groaning under foot as Roxi’s weight joined his. Taking aim, he fired. Roxi squeezed the trigger, blasting a vampire running away. With each step, they fired, hitting something with every shot, killing most, but wounding many. As soon as they fired their last shells, they stepped to one side, letting the next couple take their place.
In pairs, they advanced down the stairs, then spread out on the balcony overlooking the ballroom. As soon as Luke was clear, he darted into a room and used the bayonet to stake half a dozen vampires before it broke. Hastily, he slung it around his back and pulled his gladius.
The sound of steel on steel drew Luke’s attention as Roxi parried a thrust from a vampire before beheading it.
He pulled her rudis from its scabbard and handed it to her. “Top up. You’re going to need it.”
Nodding, she took it and hunched over the downed vampire. He stood watch over Roxi while she spoke the incantation. When the gentle white light flared, he stepped back out into the hallway to rejoin the fight now that they’d cleared the nearest room. A last few shots popped off and then were silenced as Luke’s wolves dropped their guns and shifted. An automatic flared briefly before it was halted as the user was ripped in two by a furious werewolf.
The wolves advanced down the wide balcony three wide, tearing apart any vampire or enemy werewolf. A few of the wolves, bored with waiting, leapt over the banister to the ballroom below. As Luke advanced to the front, he peered over the edge to make sure they were OK. They’d formed a half circle with the wall backing them. A beachhead.
When one of the wolves fell to the ground, taken down by several vampires, Luke darted in to clean the vamps off his friend. After he finally eliminated the last vamp, the wolf was covered in goo and dust and a healthy dose of their own blood. As they stood, they stumbled, unable to hold much weight on one of their legs.
“Go to the infirmary. Now!” Luke pointed and turned around to keep up with the advance.
One of the other wolves had stepped into the downed wolf’s spot, taking its turn paying back the fanged vermin that had invaded their party. While he waited for his next opportunity to engage, he took another look to ensure the wolves who’d gone over the side were still good.
“Luke!” Roxi yelled.
Luke turned as several vamps jumped out of a room that hadn’t been cleared. One of them opened fire, blasting Roxi back and onto her ass as she slid across the stone floor.
“No!” Luke screamed, the corners of his vision tinging red.
Unleashing all his speed, he slammed into the gun-wielding vamp before it could turn the barrel on him, smashing him into the wall. When he’d gone in, he’d lowered his sword and skewered the vampire. He yanked it out with a nasty twist and cut a backhand slice to the nearest fanger, taking its head. Taking the gut-stabbed vamp, he shoved it into the last vamp, crashing them both back through the door. He fell on them, ending their undead existence with two stabs through the heart.
He turned to run to Roxi, but saw her on her hands and knees, wheezing and crawling toward the headless vamp.
She pulled out her rudis, and gasped out, “I know…”
Below, he heard a piteous yelp followed by a second from a different werewolf. His body went rigid. If two had gone down, the rest were vulnerable as outnumbered as they were. He ran to the banister, placed his hand on it, and vaulted over the edge, landing in the shrinking shadow of the safe space the wolves had created. Springing up, he kicked a vampire in the face, knocking them off the downed wolf, and used a second to unsheathe his rudis.
With two swipes, he decapitated two vamps on the pair of downed wolves. They could handle the remaining vamps with the odds evened. Luke stepped up into their place and unleashed a storm of blades. Luke’s only care was creating carnage. Arms, heads, legs—all belonged to him as he collected them on the edge of his swords. As the crowd of vamps tried to make space, he squatted down and eliminated two fangers, then stood back up and closed on the nearest vampires.
They’d tried to shove too many vampires in the ballroom to get to Luke and his friends. It didn’t help that their assault off the stairs and onto the balcony had packed them in tighter. Now, their attempt to overwhelm Luke and his friend had backfired. With no shortage of targets, Luke allowed his anger to boil over, the fear of his glance nearly as potent a weapon as his ancient swords.
With a quick glance to his left, he saw his friends working their way down the wide stairs, ripping apart anything in their way. The sheer ferocity of their counterattack broke the momentum of the vampires who’d been attempting to take the last floor of the house.
Luke had to keep the intensity up, keep the momentum on their side. They were still drastically outnumbered, and if the vampires regained control of their forces, they could press Luke and his friends against the walls and pick them apart one at a time. The occasional gun still went off, but even the vamps must have been running low on ammo after the amount expended on their initial probing attacks and then their huge assault. Occasionally, a shot was followed by a yelp of pain from one of his wolves.
As the pain of his wolves soaked his brain, he found new levels of aggression to apply to his enemies. It wasn’t until a gun went off and slammed into his chest that he slowed, staggering backward, his lungs struggling to find air. A second shot rang out, hitting the other side of his chest and doubling his breathing problem. As everything went into slow motion and he tipped over backwards, a silver streak jumped over him, accompanied by the furious, high-pitched scream of a woman.
It seemed like forever before he got the first taste of air into his lungs, but the wellspring of its beneficence encouraged more air until the spots cleared from his vision enough for him to see Roxi take up his spot, raining death with her swords. Each strike of her blades she punctuated with a curse, driving her enemies before her with word and weapon.
Struggling to get up, he forced himself over onto his knees and pushed up, still fighting to take in air. His eyes went wide as he saw vamps break from the group and streak toward Roxi. He launched himself forward, propelling himself on all fours as if he were one of the wolves he led. As he collided with the vamp, tangling in its legs, he groaned at the impact on his delicate ribs. As claw and teeth slashed at him, he struggled to keep the vampire from his neck.
Seeing his predicament, Roxi moved to assist, dispatching the vamp with a quick spin that brought her sword down through the creature’s neck. With the struggle suddenly gone, Luke heaved the body off and rolled back, grabbing his swords.
Weariness dragged his body back as he tried to reengage. When he heard more shouting and gunfire coming toward him, it nearly brought him to his knees. Taking a deep breath, he rotated his shoulders and stepped toward Roxi. If he was going to be dragged down by his enemies as a new wave flooded over them, he was going to do it next to her and die alongside a woman he loved.
He didn’t have it in him to shout or make bellicose sounds at this late hour; he had no energy to spare. With each swing, his arms burned, but the pain brought with it separation. He could feel the pain of his fatigue but it became diffused, as if there was a second Luke to feel the pain, allowing the main Luke to swing his arms. There was a tether between the two Lukes; he couldn’t quite escape the pain, but it allowed him to turn himself into a machine, hacking and stabbing, slicing and punching, kicking and blocking.
Screams of pain washed over him as his swords made contact with his victims. The occasional punctuating grunt of exertion from Roxi accompanied the screams until the general din washed over his ears as one indistinguishable pummeling to his damaged eardrums.
When bipedal werewolves poured into several of the entrances, he nearly gave up until he recognized Pablo’s form, ripping the head off a vampire. Off to the other side, he saw Simone in her bipedal form, tearing through vampires and the remaining few enemy werewolves with a bulky blade and her claws. At her side, Delilah and her jian carved bloody swaths through the crowd. Behind Pablo, a naginata poked through the door. Somewhere at its end was Sam. Their friends had arrived.
“Roxi…” Luke gasped out. “They’re here. Reinforcements.”
As the new arrivals met in the middle, they ensured at least one avenue of escape was open to the vampires, letting them choose to flee instead of a vengeful last gasp against the wolves.
“Do you feel it?” Roxi gasped out.
As he tried to control his breath, he couldn’t make sense of her words. “What?”
“That low level presence… It’s gone.”
He took several deep breaths, hoping it would steady him, but as he pushed out his thoughts, she was right. He didn’t know if it had been caused by the reinforcements, but the sense of wrongness hanging over him and the manor since early in the vampires’ assault had disappeared. Though it should have reassured him, its absence inspired a question: what next? What other darkness would replace it? Shaking his head, he pushed it out of his mind for the moment. He’d cross that bridge when he got there.
Luke pulled Roxi toward the wall and into a pocket of quiet. They kept their swords ready and their eyes sharp as they leaned against each other, gasping for air. After all this time and work, his condition still hadn’t returned to his pre-capture levels. He couldn’t imagine how unfathomably tired Roxi must be after wasting away to next to nothing as the compulsion destroyed her slowly. Even after being restored, getting a few weeks of good food and exercise, and topping up on a couple vampires, she was still a shell of her former glory, but she’d given everything she had.
The last of the vampires had been torn down or fled. His legs trembling, he coaxed Roxi toward the antique wooden bench against the wall.
“Let’s sit down.” Luke sat on one side, the bench groaning under him.
Roxi finally let her legs go and sagged onto the other side. With their armor on, they barely fit, but it was enough until the legs and joints of the bench groaned and snapped, spilling them into a heap. Roxi let out a raspy sound that drew Luke’s attention, thinking she was hurt until he realized it was the laugh of a woman pushed beyond her current capacity.
Despite his own lungs struggling to catch up, he couldn’t help but join Roxi in her laughter at the ridiculousness of the two of them breaking the antique bench and their current disposition. A few nearby werewolves chuffed their wolfy laughs. As good as laughing felt, Luke couldn’t keep it going as his body struggled. He prayed nothing else went wrong.
He didn’t have enough in him to handle it.