Awaken the Highland Warrior (31 page)

Conall’s face was ashen. “Blimey!”

Faelan’s head pounded. “We’ve got a problem,” he said into his microphone. “We just killed two…” he looked at the dust again, “two vampires.”

There was total silence. “Vampires?” Duncan said. “Must be one of Druan’s tricks, like the invisible castle. Vampires don’t exist.”

“This is no trick. I’m looking at two piles of dust and a dead man with holes in his neck.” Maybe the question wasn’t whether Bree was human or halfling. Talismans wouldn’t kill a vampire. But why would a vampire have been in Druan’s bed? Vampires and demons were enemies. Then what were they doing in a demon’s castle?

“Are you sure?” Ronan asked, his voice strained.

“Dead sure.”

“I thought vampires were destroyed centuries ago,” Niall said. “Shane! Behind you.” There was a shriek. “What the… Shane’s down!”

Faelan and Conall raced up the dungeon stairs two at a time, their footsteps pounding down the corridor as they followed the yells. Faelan rounded the corner and saw Shane slumped in an arched doorway. A high-pitched wail sounded from inside the massive room, a library, as Niall extracted his sword from a halfling a second before it disappeared.

“Bastard threw the knife from across the room,” Niall said. “You’re right. There was a bloody vampire right in the middle of a punch of demons. Shane stabbed him through the chest, and he sprouted fangs and tried to run. Three of them got away.”

“We’ve got them cornered,” Duncan said. Screams echoed from down the corridor. Sorcha and Duncan arrived minutes later, faces grim.

Faelan leaned over and checked Shane’s pulse. “He’s alive. Tomas, we need you here.” He had the most knowledge of injuries. All warriors knew the basics of caring for wounds and illnesses. It was one of the things they learned in order to become a warrior, but some had special medical training. That had stayed the same. The clan still avoided outside doctors if possible.

“’Course I’m alive.” Shane opened his eyes and reached down, yanking the knife out of his chest. “He wasn’t that good.” He gave a pained smile, but his face was sallow.

Faelan pulled off his shirt and pressed it to the wound. He remembered Bree doing the same for him after the chapel battle. “You need a doctor.”

Tomas arrived and confirmed Faelan’s opinion. “It’s fairly deep. I can stitch it, but I think he’ll be better off if we get him to a hospital. Tell them he fell on a piece of metal.”

Shane protested, but Faelan wasn’t taking any chances. “Another demon could finish you off before you recover. We need to get you away from here.”

Sorcha sheathed her sword and knelt by Shane. “Cody said Druan has a chopper. I’ll fly Shane out. If we can find the key.”

Faelan’s head tipped back. “You can fly one of those things?” Was there no end to what these modern women would try?

“You’d be surprised what I can do,” she said with a suggestive wink.

Duncan scowled at her as Ronan and Declan arrived, Ronan with an arrow nocked in his bow, Declan wielding his sword.

“Tomas, go with Shane and Sorcha,” Faelan said. “Niall, you’re the strongest, get him to the helicopter. Ronan, cover them from the balcony with your bow. Cody and Anna, keep watch from out there. Cody has a gun. Use your talismans if you have to.”

“Consider it done,” Cody said.

Someone found a clean cloth and gave Faelan his bloody T-shirt back.

“Keep this tight against your wound,” Tomas said, pressing the cloth into Shane’s hand. Niall scooped him up as if he weighed nothing.

“Hey, I can walk.”

“It’s faster this way,” Niall said, without looking down or breaking stride.

Faelan left his ruined shirt on the floor, and they all took their positions, watching as the warriors crossed the castle grounds. Niall put Shane inside the helicopter and closed the door. The key must have been there, because the blades began to whirl. Three demons ran out, but Cody destroyed the first one with a bullet to the head. The body disappeared as Ronan caught the second demon with an arrow in the heart. Anna killed the last one with a well-placed knife. Niall was back before the helicopter was out of sight.

“I expected a harder fight,” Duncan said. “Either these bastards are afraid of us, or they’re somewhere else.”

“We found pieces of a body nailed to the wall in the tower where Faelan rescued Bree,” Declan said. “If that’s what he does to his own, I’m surprised he had anyone left.”

“Get back to your positions and work toward the south tower. It’s the only place we haven’t checked. Niall and Conall, take the passageways. Cody, I need you inside. Meet us at the south tower. Anna can handle things out there.” If Faelan needed help with Druan, Cody was probably the only one who stood a chance. “I’ll take Ronan and Declan and head over to the tower.” Faelan looked at Ronan, who seemed preoccupied. “Everyone keep an eye out for the virus…” He pressed his lips together, only slightly swollen now. “And for Bree. I think you’re right and Druan’s playing a twisted game.”

There were nods and relieved smiles.

Ronan hung his bow over his shoulder. “About time you got your head out of your ass. Let’s find your woman,” he said, sounding a tad more like himself.

He was the only one Faelan had told about the mate mark on his neck, although Faelan was sure Sorcha had seen it earlier. Odd that she hadn’t mentioned it.

“Hold up, Faelan. There’s something you’ll want to see.” Niall led Faelan to a glass case inside the massive library. A broadsword lay inside. His sword.

Faelan handed Ronan the blade he’d borrowed and shattered the glass with his boot. He lifted out the sword, closing his fingers around the hilt, relishing the familiar weight. He held it out and gave it a swing. It felt good. Looked good, too. Faelan’s heart felt lighter. A sword was like a woman. There was only one for him, and he would find her if he had to tear this castle down stone by stone.

Niall joined Conall by the fireplace. They opened the secret passageway and disappeared inside. Faelan followed Ronan and Declan down the empty corridor, testing his sword. Near the stairs to the second floor, they surprised two men. “It’s him,” one of them said, staring at Faelan, and they turned to run.

“After them,” Faelan yelled. “Take their heads!” Too late, Ronan’s arrow zinged past Faelan, lodging in the chest of the tallest one, pinning him to the wall. The man opened his mouth and hissed, exposing inch-long sharp fangs as he tried to pull free. Declan roared past the vampire, cutting his head clean from his body without pausing as he chased the second man to the top of the stairs. Another vampire. Ronan stared at his arrow lying in the pile of dust. He muttered a name Faelan didn’t catch, but he knew the look on Ronan’s face. Guilt.

“Where did these things come from?” Declan asked. “And what are they doing in a demon’s castle? Demons and vampires are like oil and water.”

Faelan rubbed at the headache building behind his temples. Was Druan forming some kind of alliance? If demons and vampires were unleashed on the world at the same time, humans wouldn’t stand a chance. Vampires were nasty creatures, as bad as demons. They lived for their thirst. The legend was that they’d appeared a few thousand years earlier. From the stories he’d heard, humans had been as oblivious to vampires’ existence as they were to the demons. It’d taken a special force of Michael’s army to wipe them out. Faelan wished they had one of the warriors now.

A hiss sounded from the top of the stairs. A short, squat demon started toward them, followed by several more. The lead demon stopped when he saw the pile of dust. His face convulsed, his body vibrating.

The warriors leapt up the stairs and struck hard. Faelan drove his sword into the squat demon, piercing another standing behind him. The first one disappeared into nothing before Faelan could even withdraw his sword. The second was wounded, but not dead. Faelan swung his sword without remorse. The head vanished before it hit the floor. He went for the next one, but a dirk lodged in the demon’s chest before Faelan could swing. Cody ran past him and grabbed his weapon off the floor.

“There’s something over here worth protecting,” Faelan said into his microphone when the demons were dead, and for a moment he forgot about the virus, hoping it was Bree. When his sense of duty returned, he reminded himself that Bree’s life depended on his stopping the virus, too.

When the group reached the final set of steps leading to the tower, more guards appeared. Some looked human, but most of them were huge, their faces and bodies hideous. These would be Druan’s best. The virus must be up there. The demons positioned themselves along the stairs, dwarfing the space, swords drawn, ready to die for their master.

Ronan drew his bow and Declan readied his sword. “There are too many,” Faelan said, pulling out his talisman. “Stand back and close your eyes.”

Ronan grabbed Faelan’s arm. “No. Save your strength for Druan.”

Ronan was right. If Faelan wasn’t strong enough, the talisman wouldn’t work, and they’d all die, and if his suspicion was correct, his talisman was already weakened. With Cody’s strength and experience added to Faelan’s, it might be enough, but Faelan wasn’t sure he wanted Cody to take that risk. They turned away as Ronan began to chant. The air grew thick; the vibration resonated through Faelan’s legs. He saw the faint flash, even though he protected his eyes. When the screams were silenced, the stairs were empty except for two men looking for escape.

Declan leapt the steps three at a time, catching the closest one off guard, taking the vampire’s head. The second one, a pale blond with icy-blue eyes, whirled and ran. Ronan nocked an arrow and let it fly. It hit the vampire’s shoulder, and he vanished into the wall, arrow and all. Ronan bounded up the steps with Cody and Faelan on his heels and stared at the spot where the vampire had disappeared. “God forgive me,” he whispered.

Faelan didn’t have time to ponder why Ronan needed forgiveness. “We think the virus is in the south tower,” Faelan said into his microphone. “It’s heavily guarded. We’ve destroyed two dozen. Clear your areas and move over here.”

Declan inspected the wall where the vampire had vanished, while Cody and Faelan tried to open the iron door. It was locked. Faelan could hear sounds within. “Let’s kick it in,” Faelan said. He and Cody got into position, and Ronan stood behind them with his bow raised, guarding their backs. With a quick nod, Faelan and Cody kicked the door.

“Damnation.”

“What’s that thing made of?” Cody rubbed his thigh.

“Niall, we need more muscle in the south tower,” Declan said behind them.

“Almost there,” came Niall’s reply. “Bloody passages. Made for bairns.”

They tried again, with Declan’s help, but the door wouldn’t budge. Faelan listened again to the scrambling sounds inside the locked room. “Bree,” he called, trying to keep the desperation out of his voice. There was no answer. “We can’t wait. Ronan, can you open it?”

“I’ll try, but this one looks tricky. I think we’re gonna need Niall.” Ronan slung his bow behind his back, pulled the metal piece from his pocket, and knelt in front of the door. Faelan felt his sweat beading as he ticked off the seconds, imagining the horrors that could be taking place inside the room.

Niall burst out of a hidden door at the foot of the stairs, brushing cobwebs from his face. “Have you found it?”

“We think so,” Cody said. “Door’s locked.”

“It’s locked from the inside,” Ronan said, rising. He stood guard while the others kicked the door on the count of three. It flew open, revealing a stark white room with tubes and machines and metal surfaces.

“Looks like a laboratory,” Niall said.

“Same as the room in the other tower, except for the window,” Ronan said.

They heard a gasp, and the white-haired man Faelan had seen when he came for Bree began frantically lowering something out the window, the thing so heavy it was about to take the old man with it.

“Stop,” Faelan yelled. He ran toward the man, shoved him out of the way, and caught the rope. A large metal box dangled two feet from the bottom of the window ledge.

“He’ll kill me,” the old man said, struggling with Faelan, eyes wild. Declan grabbed the man around the chest, holding him back, as Faelan gripped the rope. Cody and Niall helped him pull the box up to the ledge and move it inside.

“I’ve found minions and a bunch of halflings hiding on the third floor, north side,” Brodie called over the microphone. “I need help.” In the background they heard screams.

“Go,” Faelan told the others. “I have to do this myself.”

“I’m on the way,” Niall told Brodie. He and Declan took off at a run.

“I’ll stay,” Cody said. He had a look that said he didn’t fear death, might even welcome it, but Faelan decided he couldn’t have that on his conscience. He’d failed too many already. If he had to die to get this done, he wouldn’t take anyone else with him.

“No, Brodie needs help. There could be others hiding. I’ll destroy the virus—it’s probably in that box—and meet you on the third floor. We can’t let anyone escape.”

“Are you sure?” Cody asked. “I’m willing to… stay.”

And to die. “I’m sure.”

Cody clasped Faelan’s arm, his gaze somber, and then nodded.

Ronan held back. “Be careful, Faelan. It’s not over.”

But it was close. Ronan and Cody left. Faelan turned to the white-haired man. “What’s in here?” he demanded, pointing at the box. It was heavy, solid. “Speak, old man.”

“He’ll kill me if I talk.” He glanced from the box to the door with terror-filled eyes.

“He’ll kill you anyway. That’s what he does.”

“He promised to take care of me after it’s released. He’s created a special place for those he wants to keep, like me.” He raised a hand, rubbing at a nervous tic in his left eye.

“You’re his sorcerer?”

“I didn’t want to do it but I had no choice.”

“There’s always a choice. Are you human?”

“Half. I was born in 1720. I was an alchemist and a sorcerer when Druan came to me after his first sorcerer was killed.”

“Why does he want me?”

“For revenge, and he needed to test the time vault, to see if it worked. He planned to wake you in time to witness his victory. He didn’t realize it would take so long to create this new virus. He doesn’t understand these things,” he whispered, as if Druan could hear him. “Just like the mirror. I told him no one uses that spell anymore.” He glanced at the door again.