A Slash of Savagery (Wiccan-Were-Bear) (11 page)

With swords drawn, Night and Shade stood on either side of her and Lorene.  A shiver of fear slipped down her spine.  Brone was an hour away.  Even if he rushed, which she knew he would, it would still take time for him to arrive.

Lorene stepped forward and opened the salt, tipping the container and speaking a protection spell as she walked quickly around the small group and laid out a salt circle.  Stepping inside the circle, Lorene put the container down and said, “Whatever comes, don’t leave the circle, Arissa.”

Darien rolled his shoulders.  “I wish I had my wings.”

In the distance, a wave of what looked like thick black smoke billowed forward as heat and power pushed outward.  The smoky wave rolled over the parking lot and paused as if waiting for something.  And then she knew what the smoke screen had been hiding — humans, dressed like soldiers, strode forward and the smoke moved away from the soldiers and toward Arissa and her people.  A gray-haired Wiccan stood at the center of the soldiers, her arms — covered with brilliant red tattoos — outstretched as she pushed the smoke like a battering ram toward their protected circle.  Arissa scanned the soldiers and gasped in alarm to see that at the back of the crowd was Restik, smiling smugly.

“Brace yourselves!”  Lorene shouted above the roaring sound of the smoke as the Wiccan’s power pushed it toward them.

Arissa screamed for Brone as the smoke rammed their protective circle.  It shuddered but stayed strong.  But how long would it last?

* * * * *

Sang sat up with a start in bed; his heart hammered in his chest.  He rubbed at the spot over his heart as fear boiled through him.  He saw nothing in his room to be afraid of.  He wasn’t in the cage anymore, under the control of the bad vampire and his people.  Taking a slow breath, he tried to calm his heart, but another bolt of fear raced through him.

His beast howled in his mind, and a flashed image of his
kore
appeared like a snapshot.  She was with other people inside a white circle and she was terrified.  Throwing back the covers, he raced into the front room, screaming his father’s name.

His father stood from the couch where he had been watching television, and he snatched Sang up into his arms with a fierce snarl.  “What’s wrong?”

“Arissa is in danger!  I have to help her!”

His father’s eyes flashed to the gold of his beast and he nodded.  “Do you know where she is?”

“A parking lot with a building behind it, the sign over the door said Mother on it.”

“I know the place.”  His father charged through their home, clutching Sang tightly to his chest, and burst out into the yard.  He set Sang down on the grass and lifted his head, releasing a shrill dragon’s war cry from his throat.  Sang felt compelled to shift and tossed his pajama shirt off and let his shift take over.

His father shifted into his form, a solid red dragon.  Sang’s own body was pale red, and he knew when he grew older that the color would slowly darken until it matched the crimson of his father’s scales.  His father roared and other serpents joined them from their nearby homes; the males shifted.  Sang’s father gripped him with one arm, tucking him close to his scaly chest as he rose into the air with furious flaps of his wings.

Sang burrowed his face into his father’s neck and prayed to whoever kept Wiccans safe that his
kore
would be protected until they got there to help.  He needed to help keep her safe from danger; his beast wouldn’t let him do any less.

* * * * *

The human soldiers lifted weapons and aimed them at the group.  Arissa was thankful for the barrier of the salt circle.

Arissa demanded, “What do you want?”

One of the soldiers yelled, “An end to vampires and their mates!  An end to the disease of vampirism and all it holds within its thrall.”

“Good grief, they’re lunatics,” Lorene said.

Darien shook his head.  “Worse than lunatics.  They’re those idiot First Church assholes.”

“And they have weapons,” Night said.

Nikko yowled in anger, his tail flicking against Arissa’s skirt.

The smoky wave rolled forward and smashed into the protection spell once more, and an array of bullets sparked against it.

Lorene gripped Arissa’s hand and said, “That Wiccan is evil to the core.  Let’s set her on her ass.”

Arissa promised herself that she would laugh later at Lorene’s cursing, but for now, she held tight to her North Corner’s hand and followed her lead.  The two Wiccans pooled their power together and thrust it into the earth.  Arissa felt the earth welcome their power as they grabbed hold of long-buried roots and shoved them to the surface.

The roots cracked the asphalt as they shot up through the earth, knocking the front line of soldiers off their feet.  The evil Wiccan cackled like a horror movie villain and shoved her hands downward.  The ground trembled, and Arissa felt their power fail.  For a brief moment, the evil Wiccan’s gaze met hers, and Arissa felt chilled to the very center of her being.  The Wiccan thrust her hands forward, and Lorene shouted for them to duck.  Arissa found herself covered by an angel and a leopard as the protective circle shattered.

The wind was knocked out of Arissa as the guards shoved her against the asphalt, but she was thankful for their protection.  Wind whipped around them, scattering the salt from the protective circle, and Arissa couldn’t hear anything over the roar of wind, causing her to worry for Lorene and the twins.  The wind died down, and she heard the sound of guns firing and bullets bouncing off something.  She peeked over Nikko’s back and saw Lorene had lifted another protective barrier in front of them with a spell.

“Let me up!  She can’t hold it long!” Arissa shouted.  The two males eased off her, and Darien helped her stand.  She added her power to Lorene’s shield and watched as the soldiers continued to shoot at them.

“We have to stop her,” Lorene shouted as the winds — a product of the evil Wiccan — whipped up again.

“How?”

Lorene grimaced.  Arissa had never seen one Wiccan be able to stop two powerful Wiccans’ power the way that the evil one had done.  She was clearly more than she appeared to be.

Arissa’s heart began to race and her body trembled as fear rose inside her. Despair rushed down on her as she faced her own mortality and helplessness.  They couldn’t defeat the evil Wiccan.  She and Lorene were powerful, but not powerful enough.  Eventually, Lorene would tire and the shield would lapse.  Arissa couldn’t bear for her guards or her corner to be hurt because of her, but she didn’t know what else to do.  Frantically searching her memory for a spell that could help them, she became aware of the sound of engines racing toward them.  She grinned in spite of the fear that coursed through her.  It was Brone, she knew it.

Two oversize SUVs screeched to a halt between them and the soldiers.  The bullets bounced off the SUVs, and Arissa wondered, only for a moment, if they were bulletproof.  Lorene and Arissa dropped their protective shield as Brone opened the passenger door and ducked out.  He raced to Arissa and picked her up in his arms.  He turned so his back was to the advancing soldiers and looked down at her.

“Get in the store.  We’ll deal with them.”

“There’s a powerful Wiccan in their midst.  You need our help,” Lorene said.

“And Restik is in the crowd.”

“What?”  Brone’s eyes flashed as he bared his fangs.

“I’m certain I saw him.  In the back, hiding like a coward, but there.”

“Why would the church accept his help?” Brone snarled the question.

At that moment, a loud roar echoed and the bullets stopped.  Another roar, like the sound of a massive bird screeching in rage, sounded and Arissa pressed her hands over her ears to dull it.  Her tattoo throbbed, and she looked up at the darkening sky and saw gigantic creatures circling overhead.  And then a huge dragon swooped down and laid a wall of fire between Arissa’s people and the soldiers.

The soldiers screamed in fear as more dragons swooped down, some breathing fire and some picking up the soldiers in their massive claws and lifting them into the air, only to drop them to the ground, lifeless, moments later.  A small, pale red dragon landed next to Arissa, and she knew it was Sang.  He screeched angrily, his whole body trembling with rage.

Brone looked down and said, “Keep her safe, Sang.”   Then he turned away from Arissa.  He leapt onto the hood of the first SUV and drew a long sword from a sheath on his back.  He bellowed a war cry and leapt into the fray.  Other vampires from the coven joined in, racing from the SUVs with swords drawn as the soldiers fired their weapons at both the dragons and the vampires.

To Shade she said, “Go get Bitty.  We need her.”

He darted into the store.  Sang curled his tail around her ankle and put his body in front of hers, his wings spread like shields.

“Friend of yours?” Lorene asked.

“You bet.  And he brought his friends with him.”

Bitty appeared, out of breath from running. “I left Lulu in the break room with a ward to keep her safe, but they don’t seem to be interested in attacking the store.”

“I think they only want to kill me, but they sure came prepared,” Arissa said and grimaced.  She looked for Brone and saw him slashing his way through the soldiers.  His sword glinted in the firelight, dripping with blood. 

The three Wiccans joined hands and focused on the evil Wiccan in the center of the battling humans.  Darkness had fallen, but thanks to the dragons’ fire, they were able to see her quite clearly.  No one was touching the evil Wiccan, and Arissa sensed that she had a powerful protection spell around her.  With two of her corners by her side, Arissa felt like she could do anything, and the first order of business was putting that Wiccan out of commission.

They focused their energies on her, sending their combined powers toward her like a battering ram.  She had been watching them, smiling smugly as she used her power to lash out at the vampires and the dragons.  Their power struck her protective wall, and her smile faltered as they pushed forward with their power again and again.  She screeched in anger, throwing her hands out toward them to stop their power.  But she wasn’t strong enough to defeat all three of them.

The Wiccan’s power felt slick and oily, corrupted by evil, and they caused her power to fail.  Just touching her power made Arissa want to retch, but she focused on stopping the Wiccan from harming others.  As Lorene cast a binding spell, Arissa used the earth to bind the Wiccan physically, bringing roots from below the asphalt to wrap around her body as Bitty used the power of the air to buffet her face so she was blinded temporarily.

Arissa felt the Wiccan’s power cease suddenly as Lorene’s binding spell took hold, not allowing the Wiccan to use her power against anyone.  The roots around her body held her tightly.  Bitty ceased the wind directed at her and pushed a few bursts toward soldiers, knocking them off their feet.

“Restik!” Arissa shouted, seeing the vampire slink up behind the bound Wiccan.  The Wiccan’s eyes widened and she struggled in her bonds, but she was captive as Restik lifted a blade and sliced her throat.  He disappeared as quickly as he had appeared, and the Wiccan slumped in the bonds as her life slipped away.  Arissa scanned the area, using the dragons’ fire to help her see as she looked for Restik.

Arissa let go of her hold on the roots, and the Wiccan’s body fell to the ground.  Restik had faded into the darkness again, and unease settled over her as she added her power to Lorene’s and Bitty’s as they helped to defeat the soldiers.

Sang screeched in anger suddenly, his tail gripping her leg and tugging hard.  She felt the dark presence behind her a heartbeat before the sword slashed into her.  The sudden pain blinded her as the cold steel pierced her flesh.  The rough ground met her as she fell and darkness enveloped her.

Then there was nothing.

Chapter 15

Brone ran his sword through a soldier and then kicked the lifeless male away with a grunt of disgust.  The soldiers were losing, thanks in part to the dragons who seemed to take joy in frying them alive and dropping them from great heights to the unforgiving asphalt.  It was gruesomely poetic.

He watched for Arissa as he battled with the soldiers.  The guards were with her, along with the two Wiccans and the baby dragon.  But he still wanted to be closer to her.  He trusted the males to keep her safe, but he trusted no one more than himself.

The sword that he’d had for a hundred years cut through the enemy swiftly, the cries of pain mixing together with the scent of blood.  Arissa called out Restik’s name, and Brone’s head snapped to the side to watch the male kill the Wiccan who had been wreaking havoc on his mate’s power, and then he seemed to disappear into the shadows.

Dread settled over him, and he raced toward his mate.

The twin wolves at her back fell to the side as Restik slashed at them with a sword and then rose behind Brone’s mate.  The firelight glinted on the blade as he drove it into Arissa’s back.

Brone roared in rage as the connection between he and his mate began to fade.  She slumped to the ground.

His vision turned red as his mate lay on the ground, her life’s blood pooling around her in a glossy, crimson wave.  Restik met Brone’s eyes a moment before Brone leapt into the air, sword drawn, a war cry belting from his throat.

* * * * *

Out of the corner of her eye, Lorene saw something fall behind her, and she turned to see a vampire she didn’t recognize pull a bloody sword out of Arissa’s back.  She heard Brone’s pain and rage-filled roar, and she snapped her wrists and caged the unknown vampire with a spell.  She held him captive with her power until Brone was mid-air, sword drawn.  Releasing her hold on the male, she smiled inwardly as Brone’s sword slashed through the center of the vampire’s body, nearly cutting him in half.  Brone lifted the sword, slashing it savagely through the male’s body again and again.  Running the sword through his heart, Brone gripped the male’s neck as blood frothed from his mouth, and with a fast movement, Brone jerked the sword up and out and brought it down once more, separating his head from his body.

The body burst into flames, and Lorene turned her head away, dropping to her knees.

“Oh sweet girl,” she murmured, turning Arissa onto her side.  The front of her blouse gaped where the sword had pierced through her body.  Bitty dropped down on her knees next to Lorene and placed her hands on Arissa.  Lorene let her power flow into Arissa’s body and closed her eyes, seeing the damage.

The sword had cut through her with savage intent.  In one thrust of the blade, it had sliced through her organs, shredding the inside of her body.  Her Wiccan nature had tried to heal the wounds, but it was too much.  She was nearing the end of her life.

The little dragon let out a mournful cry.  Brone dropped to the ground on Arissa’s other side and bowed his head over her.  He was covered in blood and ash.  “Will my blood save her?”  His voice was rough with emotion.

“It’s too late, Brone,” Lorene said as she drew her power away from Arissa and placed her hand on his shoulder.  “The damage overwhelmed her ability to heal.  I’m truly sorry.”

* * * * *

Brone felt his heart shatter as his connection to Arissa swiftly faded.  He lifted her into his arms and cradled her close.  “Beloved, don’t go.  Don’t leave me.  Please.”

He wasn’t sure he ever stopped pleading for her to live.  He’d never once begged for anything, but he begged now.  He knew he would die without her.  Their lives were tied forever.  The vampire could live without his beloved, but Brone didn’t wish for a life where she wasn’t part of it.

Something tugged on his pants leg and he looked down to find the little dragon in his human form.  Sang pointed behind him, and Brone saw an adult red dragon waiting.

“Papa will make her well.”

“It’s too late, Little One.”

Sang shook his head.  “Papa is special.  Give her to him.”

Brone didn’t dare allow hope to bloom inside him.  Lorene said it was too late.  Already Brone felt his connection to Arissa stuttering with the final beatings of her heart, but something compelled him to carry his mate toward the dragon.  Tendrils of smoke poured from the dragon’s snout as Brone stopped in front of him.  He laid Arissa’s limp body in the dragon’s arms, and a growl rumbled from the creature’s chest as he leapt into the air with a mighty flap of his wings.

Sang’s small hand slid into Brone’s.  “He won’t let my
kore
die.  She’s our family.”

Brone lifted his eyes to the air as the dragon carrying his mate was swallowed by the night sky.

People surrounded him.  His men.  The guards.  The dragons.  But his only thoughts were of his mate and his failure.

“The twins are okay,” Temple said quietly.  “Restik didn’t strike them hard.”

Vex said, “One of the surviving church members said that the Wiccan approached them, offering to help them ferret out the vampire mates.  They weren’t aware of Restik using her.  The good news is that about forty church members were killed here tonight, including one of the leaders.”

He didn’t care.  The only thing he had ever cared about was up in the sky with a dragon.  Something sparked in the darkness, like red fireworks.  He searched for his connection to his mate but felt nothing.  Lowering his head, he let the grief take over.

* * * * *

Something sharp sliced through Arissa’s body and she gasped, trying to wiggle away from the pain.  She opened her eyes and found herself staring into darkness.  Tiny lights winked below her and she realized she was in the air.

The sharp pain eased as warmth flowed through her.  There was a snorting breath and then red sparks showered over her as she felt her body healing.  Her skin itched as the wounds knit rapidly back together and she pressed her hand over her heart, feeling the thrum under her palm.

She looked over her shoulder but could see nothing in the darkness.  She wasn’t afraid, though, because her tattoo throbbed and she knew she was in the tight grip of a dragon from Sang’s nest.

“Thank you,” she said.

The dragon exhaled deeply and his warm breath cascaded over her, smelling of smoke and sulfur.  He brought her to his chest with a trilling purr, and she gasped as he dove down, his wings flapping furiously, his breath bellowing in his chest.

Her eyes had closed involuntarily during their descent, but she opened them as he slowed, circling lazily above the store and the place where she’d almost died.  Shit, she’d almost died.

“Brone!”

* * * * *

Brone felt the connection to Arissa snap back into place as the sound of flapping wings filled the air.  And then the sweetest voice he ever heard was calling his name.

“Is it possible?” Lorene asked.

Sang giggled.  “I told you Papa wouldn’t let her die.”

The dragon landed before Brone, cradling Arissa in his scaled arms.  The dragon put her down, and she gripped the torn pieces of her top together and raced to Brone.  He gathered her close and sank to his knees.

“If I’m dreaming, I never want to wake,” he whispered into her neck.

“You’re not dreaming.  He saved me.”  She gripped him tightly.

Brone lifted his head to look at the dragon, who had shifted into his human form.  “Thank you.”

Dae nodded.  “She is truly one of our nest now, not only part of my family, but also part of all of us.”

“I didn’t know dragons could bring people back from the brink,” Lorene said.

“She is a special circumstance.  It took all of my power to heal her wounds, but if she were not a beloved mate to a powerful vampire, even my healing wouldn’t have saved her.  It was their bond as beloveds that allowed her life to continue.”

“Thank you, Dae,” Arissa said.  Sang ran forward, and Arissa hugged him close.  Brone laid his hand on the boy’s head and gave his thanks to him.

“You came for me, Little One,” she said with a sniffle, and Brone scented her tears.

“You’re my
kore,
” Sang answered simply.

Arissa kissed Sang’s forehead, and he slipped from her embrace and walked to his father.

Dae said, “Sang and I will escort you to the Wiccan gatherings as well as the nights that you work here, as part of your personal guards.”

“Thank you,” Arissa and Brone spoke the words at the same time.

As a vampire, he was tied to the darkness in a way that she was not.  That she would need to leave before sunset from time to time, especially now in the wake of her near-death, was a cross that he would have to bear.  Knowing she was protected by a fierce dragon like Dae and her personal protector, Sang, eased his mind.  Somewhat.

Dae and Sang shifted into their forms, and Dae picked up Sang in his arms and, with a smoke-filled snort, rose into the sky with the other dragons.

There was silence for a long moment as everyone watched the dragons ascend, and then Brone was aware that the four guards were standing in front of them.  All four went to their knees, and the scent of sorrow and guilt flowed heavily from them.

“We will find fit replacements,” Night said.

“Replacements for what?” Arissa asked.

Shade didn’t look up as he spoke.  “For us.  You deserve guards that won’t fail.”

She looked at Brone with a frown.  “I don’t want different guards.”

Darien gave a snort of disgust.  “You almost died, Arissa, and that means we fucked up.”

She tried to wiggle out of Brone’s hold, but that was not happening.  After a few times of trying to get out of his arms, she let out a long sigh and said, “I don’t want new guards.  You guys almost died protecting me.  What more could I ask for?”

Nikko raised his head.  “We failed.  If the dragons hadn’t come for you, if Dae wasn’t possessed with some scary-ass healing powers, you’d be in the great beyond.”

“But I’m not.  I want you guys to keep guarding me, along with Dae and Sang.  I’m not asking for new guards because I already have the ones I want.  If you want to quit, I’m going to cast spells on you until you change your minds.”

“I certainly don’t want any spells cast on me,” Darien said, lifting his head with a chuckle.  His eyes were shining with unshed tears, and Brone realized then how important his mate had become to the males.  Maybe because she’d nearly died under their watch, or maybe because she was just that special.  Either way, he knew that he couldn’t ask for more dedicated males than them.

“I wish for you to stay as her guards as well,” Brone said.

The four males looked at him, surprise coloring their features.  Before he’d met Arissa, if people had failed to do their duties, he would have, at the very least, beaten them soundly and kicked their asses out of town.  He nuzzled Arissa’s throat and inhaled her sweet scent.  She’d changed him inside and out in a short span of time.  He wouldn’t take away the males she trusted to keep her safe, because he had chosen them and he trusted them, too.

Lorene cleared her throat.  “We have plenty of wards to give to the guards.  It will help keep them attuned to threats.”

Arissa snuggled into Brone’s arms. “Take me home, Brone.”

He stood swiftly and turned to Lorene.  “You’ll understand if I keep my mate home from work tomorrow evening.”

She smiled and nodded.  “Of course.”

Brone sent Nikko to gather Arissa’s belongings from her locker.  The SUVs that the coven had arrived in were not drivable.  Although the vehicles themselves were fine, all of the tires had been destroyed by gunfire.  Brone carried her through the store to the SUV parked in back that the guards had driven.  Temple, Vex, and the other vampires stayed behind to help clean up the destruction.  Lorene was going to handle the situation with the police since so many humans had lost their lives.  Even the ones who had survived long enough to be interrogated met their end.  Brone felt no remorse for the humans.  They were vampire-hating lunatics and came to the store to kill Arissa, just because she was his mate.  He had no tolerance for males who attacked females.

Once they were back at the club, Mishka wanted a report on the events of the evening.  His phone had been ringing constantly since news of the attack.  “I need to tend to my mate first.”

Mishka let out an aggravated sigh and then his features softened as he looked at Arissa in Brone’s arms.  “I’m glad that you’re alive and well, Arissa.  Rest and we’ll speak tomorrow.”

She smiled at Mishka briefly and then laid her head on Brone’s shoulder and that was all the encouragement he needed to get her to their chamber.  He set her on the bed carefully, not entirely sure how she was feeling physically.  To his surprise, she began to strip.

“Beloved?”

She hopped off the bed and almost fell, her knees still apparently weak, and he grabbed her elbow.  She smiled at him, extracted her arm from his grip, and walked into the bathroom.  He heard the light click on and saw the amber glow from the low watt bulb.  She hadn’t asked him to join her in the bathroom, and he wondered if she was ashamed to be his mate now.