Chronicles of the Uprising (Trilogy 1): Trilogy 1 (39 page)

“No, you don’t.” The male was confident, and he met Mira’s eyes with no sign of apprehension.

She wasn’t falling for that again.

“Your tricks don’t work on me, but mine will certainly work on you.” Mira cracked her knuckles and simultaneously licked her fangs.

A silent battle was being fought behind the Otherkin’s eyes. He quickly glanced to his partner, as if looking for help.

“Do you know how many I’ve fought and killed bare-handed in the arenas? I don’t want to, but if you don’t let me, I will kill you to get inside that tent.”

The soldier’s shoulders slumped. “We were given orders…” She could tell he didn’t want to fight but couldn’t disobey his masters either. She wondered if their mental tricks went as far as complete compulsion.

“I’m sorry,” she said with a sigh, and then threw a lightning-quick right cross, connecting with the guard’s jaw.”

His head snapped to the side and he dropped without so much as a groan. He’d be down for the count for a while, but she could still hear his heartbeat. He’d survive this.

Blinding light flashed in her face. She’d hardly heard the click of the UV torch being turned on, nor expected such a thing from her own kind. Hissing in pain, she swatted blindly at the light. “What the hell?”

“You are not authorized,” he said with far less conviction than someone in his position should have.

The light seared her skin and burned her eyes. No matter how many times she’d been punished with this in the past, she still had not developed an immunity to its sting. Hurt brought rage. Rage made her even more deadly. Squeezing her eyes shut against the pain, she tried to lunge forward, but before she could get far, something hard and heavy came down on the back of her head.

She dropped to the ground and instinctively rolled to the side to avoid another hit from whatever it was that had clubbed her. Ears ringing and a massive headache developing did not improve her mood. She hadn’t wanted to kill the guards before, but now this one was just asking for it. She’d enjoy his healing blood when this fight was over.

“Come no closer, vampire. You are not authorized.”

“You, sir, are a dead man,” Mira promised, pain urging her on.

She moved with lightning speed, diving at his ankles and knocking him off balance before he could aim another hit at her. The UV torch fell from his grasp and rolled away. He scrambled to get it, but she was already on him. Not even giving him a chance to say his last words, she dove at his neck. Hot, fresh blood soothed the aches and pains of her fresh wounds. Her ears stopped ringing almost immediately, but the headache would take a little longer to subside. Though she’d promised death, she left the soldier alive, though too weak to move. They all might want to paint her as a killer, but she was far from it.

Lucian sat just inside the tent, tied to a chair, next to the Magistrate. She’d expected as much for that pompous overfed Elite, but not for Lucian. He’d been promised sanctuary! She wondered about the fate of Curtis and Sarah. She hadn’t seen them since they’d parted ways in Caldera.

Before she could step further into the tent, another blast of searing light stole her vision.

“I had a feeling I’d see you in here sooner or later.” She couldn’t see him, but she knew the voice. Alec.

“You made a promise.” Mira’s rasped, pain stealing her voice.

“Yes, I did give my blood oath. But the thing is, you’re not a resident of Caldera. You are not one of my people, so… I’m afraid the promise is actually worthless.”

Her eyes twitched, struggling to stay open and still avoid the bright light.

“You see, I need assurances that you and your people will fight.”

“What do you think we’re doing, you bastard?”

“But you are here… go out now and fight. No harm will come to your human if you do.”

Every word out of his mouth was a lie. There was no way she was leaving her friend here with him now. “No harm will come to him no matter what I do.”

“That’s not entirely true. I have a blade at his throat right now. If you turn around and leave, I’ll not use it to slice open his throat. However, if you so much as take a step in the wrong direction, I will not hesitate to end him.”

“Then you’ll have broken your blood oath.”

“And I’ll have to kill you as well, so no one will know of my transgression.”

“Empty threat.”

“You think I can’t kill you?”

“Oh, I’m quite sure you can’t. But I’d love to see you try. Put down the weapons and let’s fight as nature intended, hand to hand and fang to… Well, whatever you have.”

Alec chuckled. “You assume I would fight fair. How sweet.”

Her first instinct was to use all of her supernatural speed and hope she could get to Alec before he sliced through Lucian’s throat, but doubt held her back. He’d anticipate something like that for sure.

It took all the strength she had inside to keep herself calm as she addressed the Otherkin leader. “Kill him, then.”

“What did you say?” The shock in his voice amused her. She only wished she could see the look on his face. If not for that damn light… 

“Do it. He’s your guarantee that I’ll get my vampires to perform… so kill him. We’re done fighting other’s battles. And then I can have the pleasure of killing you.”

Alec lowered the UV torch, allowing Mira to see his hand clutching the knife at Lucian’s throat. “I think you’re bluffing. I know how much this one means to you. You’ll do anything to ensure his survival.”

“He’s human… for him, death is inevitable.”

“You love him. You’d turn him eventually.”

Love? Did she love him? That was such a foreign word to her. She cared for him. She could not imagine him not being part of her life, but was that love? Maybe. Again with those messy feelings. She didn’t have time for them to cloud her thoughts. “I’m not going to debate with you. Kill him or don’t, that’s your choice. I will not be commanded by the likes of you or anyone else anymore.”

He hesitated for the briefest of seconds, but it was enough for Mira to spring into action. She was on Alec before he could take the deadly swipe with his blade. Grabbing him at the wrists, she snapped his arm back, crushing it in her hand. With the grace of a dancer, she spun the little man around, still keeping his knife hand in check, and drew it right up to his own carotid artery. “I never trusted you for one second.” She bent down close to his ear. “For the record… my people were already out fighting your war. You’d have known that if you were in the battle too, instead of cowering behind others.” She slit his throat cleanly and dropped the blade to the ground.

The once-proud Otherkin leader gurgled and groaned as the life drained from his body. All the while those hate-filled eyes stared up at her, condemning her for her actions, until the light finally left them.

When his body went still, she left him on the floor and used the knife to cut the ties around Lucian’s arms and legs.

“You didn’t have to do that,” Lucian said.

“Actually, I did. He would have never let there be peace. The others, maybe; but this one never showed any sympathy for outsiders… even my kind.”

“Thank you.”

She turned on him, rage coloring her words, angry for all the blood on her hands. “Don’t ever thank me for killing someone.”

Chapter 15

From one fight to the next, Mira rejoined her brothers in arms on the battlefield, a seemingly endless stream of displaced hanger and hatred ending only with the swing of her sword.

The battle raged all night. Not a single soul had escaped the fight. Signs of it were everywhere. Mira looked down at her hands. Blood and gore coated her sword, and her fingernails caked with dirt and grime. It was the arena all over again, just on a larger scale. Faces of all the humans she’d had to destroy added to the others already haunting her dreams.

“When will it end?” she screamed

As the sun began to lift over the horizon, Mira saw more than just her own horror: the utter devastation that is war.

The Otherkin were claiming it as a victory, but how could anyone celebrate such utterly pointless slaughter?

“Regroup,” she called out to her people. The sun’s early rays were already stinging her eyes. She waved them on and headed back to the camp and the safety of their tent.

Alec’s blood stained the ground, bleeding out of the tent where she’d left him. Mira’s nostrils flared as she walked past, inhaling the intensity of his scent. She’d intended to take refuge in her own tent, but she bumped into Michael on the way.

“Who did this?” Michael eyes went wide as saucers as he took in the sight of all the blood caking the ground.

“I did.” Mira didn’t hesitate to answer, looking Michael straight in his eyes.

He moved in a flash and had her by the throat. “Give me one reason…”

She stared directly into his angry eyes. “He gave a blood oath. He lied. I made him pay.”

“You have proof of this? Or just your word?”

“I have nothing to prove to you or anyone else here,” she hissed. “Drop me now before I make you pay the same debt your friend did.”

She couldn’t see them, but she knew other vampires – her kin – were closing in, surrounding Michael and her.

He dropped her and grumbled under his breath, “Casualty of war.” His eyes darted every which way, stopping for moments on each face around him before moving to the next. She wasn’t sure if it was their presence that had stopped him from a futile attempt to punish her, or the fact that he had an oath to honor as well.

“We’ve fought your war. We’ve done everything asked of us. As of now, I release my people from any service to the Otherkin.” Mira was done as well, although she knew the war wasn’t truly over.

The rage in Michael’s eyes subsided.  “We need to take shelter now from the sun. Please, step inside.” He ushered her as well as the vampires who’d come to her aid inside the command tent.

Somehow now, with only Michael there to represent the Council, the place felt less formal. The cushions had been piled in the center of the room, and Mira took one and collapsed on it, thankful to be off her feet.

“I guess we’re stuck here for the day. That gives you plenty of time to talk.” She directed her comment right at Michael.

Wearily, the others filtered in to the room and carved out spaces where they could sit. The whole lot of them were dirty and coated in a fine layer of blood. George in particular looked positively monstrous, his bald head sporting a huge gash that had scabbed over. It was healing, but he looked terrible with it. The entire group of vampires looked like the savages they’d been accused of being all those years in prison. And for the first time, Mira felt the title was right.

“What happened last night was a travesty. Needless deaths.” She didn’t know how many humans and Otherkin had died; the number really wasn’t important, the fact that it should have been avoided was.

“What happened last night was necessary to break the humans’ forces. We had to clear away the cancer, so that now we can go in and repair the damage.”

“There is no repair for slaughter.”

“You and I see things differently. I can appreciate that. Yours is the viewpoint from the sword. One I hope you will not have to use again.” His words sounded nice, but she knew better than to believe them.

“You have done all that has been asked of you.” Michael addressed the weary warriors like a proud general. It was then that Mira noticed that, unlike anyone in her group, Michael was clean; he hardly had a speck of dirt on him. “Today we rest, tomorrow we take the city.”

How dare he act as if he were one of them, fighting with them, patting them on the back for helping his cause, when he hadn’t had the balls to face the battle himself? She gritted her teeth, hundreds of nasty thoughts and words swarming around her brain.

“You warriors have earned a place of honor in our city. When you return with us to Caldera, you will be treated as heroes.”

She wanted to say the harsh things she felt at that moment, but her brothers in arms needed this kudos. They’d fought hard for a cause that was not their own. Granted, most of them were taking revenge, but they shouldn’t have had to fight in the first place.

Michael continued his platitudes. “You, though, Mira, I honor most of all. You shall be made a general. And with that, I ask to stay at our side and lead your people as we take the city tomorrow.”

“Why?” Her eyes narrowed suspiciously on Michael. “We were supposed to be free to go to live in peace. Why are you changing the deal now?”

Michael knelt down before Mira. “You’re a figurehead. The people know you. Know of your strength and cunning. To see you lead former slaves back into the city will send a strong message. We’ll use that to avoid further altercations during our occupation of the city.”

It was never-ending. She’d never be free. Never see the end of the fighting. Never be her own person. Slave to the humans or slave to the Otherkin, she could never be her own master.  “And if I refuse?”

“You won’t.” Michael stood and paced the room, arms crossed behind his back, looking at the other vampires as he passed them. “You know as well as I that your presence among these people will work towards non-violent resolutions to our differences. They will be too afraid to rise up with you and the rest of your warriors there as enforcers.”

No use complaining about it; she’d just have to make the best of her situation. If the Otherkin wanted to play games with her, she’d play them right back. “Then I demand a place among the Council. I hear you have an opening.”

“Cute,” Michael’s tone said anything but that. “I cannot, however, offer that position to you. You do not speak for any sect of people.”

“I speak for my people. Those vampires of the Iron Gate.” Mira stood and waved a hand towards her comrades. “These are not your pathetic and weak city-dwellers. These are hardened warriors who do not pander to leaders they could crush under their sandals.”

That got Michael’s attention. Anger flashed in his eyes, but he did not let his face betray the emotion.

“Think I’m wrong? Try me. Try any of my people.” She sidestepped, giving Michael a full view of the vampires behind her. “Go ahead and try to take on any one of us. That’s how a warrior earns their place in the pecking order. Or allow me to take a spot on the Council and represent them.”

The heat of Michael’s gaze could be felt by all, but he remained silent, seething while he again looked at the surrounding group of vampires. He might have the strength of a vampire, but he was not battle-worn like she and her kind were. Of that she was certain, and she was ready to test it if he didn’t give in to her demands.

“You agree to accompany me into the city?”

“I will. But I will not force my people to do so.”

Michael’s eyes flitted to each vampire in the room before returning to Mira. “I will propose and offer my backing to elect you a member of the Council.”

He’d given in faster than she’d expected, but that was still no guarantee.

Mira turned her back on Michael to address her people. “I will not ask any more from you all. You’ve served well and earned more than a rest. You all are free to leave. Make a home for yourselves in Caldera Grove.”

George stood from his spot in the corner of the tent. “I’d follow you into the jaws of hell if you asked. I’ll join your campaign back into the city.”

“But I didn’t ask—”

“You didn’t have to. I’m not letting you go back into that city alone.”

A true friend and ally. The thought of George by her side warmed her heart. “Thank you.”

A few other vampires stepped forward as well, willing to act as a sort of entourage for her.

Surprisingly, Tegan too stepped forward. “I’m not saying I’ll be your lackey or anything like that, but if I get the chance to put a few more humans in their place, I’m all for it.”

Mira turned back to Michael, feeling more confident in her position. “I will return to the city with my crew. As long as I have your blood oath that you’ll help install me on the Council.”

“I’ll do what I can, but no promises…”

“You’ll do exactly what you promise, or I’ll have your blood, just as I did Alec’s.”

She could see it in Michael’s eyes and the way he chewed his tongue. Men hated to be backed into a corner with no way out, and it was obvious he desperately wanted to squash her like a bug. She knew she was probably overplaying her hand, but there was no other way around it. These Otherkin were not as trustworthy as she’d originally thought. Sanctuary, as perfect as it seemed, was not a true paradise, and if she wanted even some semblance of peace after all was said and done, she had to be in a position to push for it herself.

She narrowed her eyes at him. He’d waited too long to respond. “Do we have a deal?”

“Fine. You have my … blood oath.”

“We don’t have to be enemies, you and I… remember that.” Mira held her hand out to shake.

“We are not enemies.” Michael took her outstretched hand in his and gave a quick pump before pulling back quickly.

She felt more his enemy now than she had been before. At least she had her people’s support. She didn’t know when it would happen, but she knew she’d already made it onto Michael’s hit list.