Left for Undead (29 page)

Sasha’s voice rang out, “Do not kill each other—hit
demon targets only!”

“Mirror shields up!” Queen Cerridwen shouted.

Vampires hissed and sent black bolts toward the
mirrors.

“Kill no Vampires! Evasive actions only!” Sir Rodney’s
voice rang out as Dragons spiraled down to hit demon targets.

“You must use the mirrors!” Hunter shouted, tossing a
shield to Vlad. “If your legions look at them in the eyes they will go to
stone!”

Vlad watched in horror as several hundred of his local
men instantly turned to granite, but the Vampire forces from Europe were
prepared and slashed at the beasts, using their telepathic senses to guide
them.

“Use the Fae shields!” Vlad called out, and entered
the battle with his eyes closed, fighting blindly.

Wolves ripped demon appendages as fleet-footed Fae
blasted the injured Erinyes with white-light wand charges. Vampires were
merciless, ripping out throats and disemboweling creatures so that wolves could
finish the job on the ground. Gargoyles funneled up, mixing in with the
Erinyes’ flight bursts, savaging them, riding their backs, and sending them to
the ground for Dragon consumption. Sasha was liquid motion, moving in and out
of the shadows with Hunter as though doing an elaborately choreographed dance.

From the corner of her eye in the flash of a mirrored
shield, Sasha remembered the one who had breached the castle as their leader.
The screech was the same pitch, her raspy demon voice unforgettable. The moment
Sasha was sure she’d identified the one named Megaera, Sasha cut through the
battle lines on a mission.

Hunter had a demon by the throat when he saw Sasha
break formation and then saw where she was headed. Casting off the gasping
demon into the heart rip of a waiting Vampire, he took off after Sasha.

He yelled, “No!” at the same time Megaera turned.
Sasha was in mid-air lunging toward her when their eyes met. The stone
transformation was instant. Sasha dropped to the ground as granite. Megaera
threw her head back and laughed and then called for her Erinyes sister to
retreat.

But Hunter tackled Megaera from a sidelong blow and
pinned her down on her stomach as Sir Rodney and Queen Cerridwen silver-netted
her with Hunter trapped in the mesh.

“Retreat!” Alecto called out.

“Gather Fae bodies so that we shall rise again!”
Tisiphone screeched.

And just as quickly as it had begun it had ended. The
only things disturbing the stillness were the howling screeches of the demon
burning alive in the silver while being savaged by a very angry wolf.

“Get Hunter out of there!” Bear Shadow shouted.

Fae rushed in with Sir Rodney and Vampires hung back from
the silver, but Hunter’s fury wouldn’t allow anyone to get close to the mesh.

“Let him finish that bitch!” Crow Shadow said, weeping
as he crouched down beside Sasha. “She killed my sister. Let him tear her
up—eat her alive!”

“We need the testimony of the leader,” Queen Cerridwen
said, and then stunned Hunter with an icy blast from her wand.

Wolves snarled and lunged but stopped just short of an
actual attack. Fae soldiers moved quickly to drag Hunter out of the netting but
left the screeching demon who was missing an arm, her tail, and most of the
lower part of her body.

“Wake him gently,” Sir Rodney said, and then pressed
his wand to the demon’s throat. “Tell this court what you have done. Is it true
you would use the Vampires as pawns to kill the Fae and then inhabit their
bodies as though they’d been sacrificed for you?”

“Yes!” Megaera screeched. “We already have the spell.
There are sixty of you dead, if not more! We will rise again!”

“But if you betrayed the Vampires,” Elder Vlad said in
a dangerous voice, “then I rescind any sacrifice—those sixty dead Fae are not
given unto you, and any dead on this field you cannot claim because my forces
never attacked a single Fae.”

“Damn you, Vlad Tempesh!” Megaera screeched.

“Too late,” he said with a bitter smile, “and you
shall so owe me for all of this.”

“No,” the demon shouted, growing weaker as the effect
of the silver depleted her strength, “it is you who still owes me for the body
of the young girl! We still have unfinished business.”

“I have over a hundred and fifty human hostages
scattered around lairs in this state—pick a body, any body,” Vlad said,
laughing.

“No. ,” Elder Kozlov said calmly as he stepped
out of the shadows and summarily beheaded Elder Vlad with a black death charge
from his fingers. “Consider this Vampire head your debt paid in full. It was
the best I could do on such short notice.” He looked at the legions of Vampires
as Elder Vlad’s head rolled to his feet. “I have read disturbing testimony from
Caleb that was entered in the court dockets just before dawn. Know that the
last thing anyone ever wants to do is lie to me.”

Elder Kozlov drew himself up and then looked down at
Megaera. “Lucifer and I are on a first-name basis.   care to wager
what he might think about your squandering
Vampire
resources for your
own personal gain.   his elite fighting forces of the darkness?”

“You wouldn’t,” the demon whispered, now seeming to
feel every injury she’d sustained.

“But you know that I would,” Elder Kozlov said with a
tight, fanged smile. “You have forgotten your place,
demon.
”

“What do I have to do to make this right, Your
Eminence?”

“The first bargain is void, because you
double-bargained over it.”

“Yes, yes, of course.”

“This deal is null, because it was based on fraud.”
Elder Kozlov looked at the crone. “Enter this into the record.”

The crone bowed as the demon nodded.

“You have cost us viceroys..   Oh, you will
so pay me for that offense, plus however many Fae lives that my misguided Vlad
ordered executed.”

“Yes,” Megaera hissed.

“And you will return the she-wolf to her human form,
all of her unharmed, as the wolves have shown restraint throughout and were
peacekeepers to the end.   thus avoiding us having additional
casualties.”

Megaera lifted her one talon and sent a dark energy
charge to Sasha that the Fae quickly rinsed with silver and white light before
it entered Sasha’s stone body. Crow Shadow clutched his sister to his chest as
her wolf form gave way to a limp, warm, unconscious woman.

“Go to Hell,” Elder Kozlov said with a sneer, and then
watched Megaera vanish. “We are much more discreet than this. Release the
humans so that it does not become a media issue for our region..  
Leave it to the Fae to spin the story and bespell those poor cattle. We don’t
play with our food.” He nodded and Caleb slipped out of the shadows of the
courthouse. Elder Kozlov crooked his finger, and Caleb smiled and then
descended the steps to follow him.

Vampires stepped back and within a slow blink of an
eye they were mist, swirling away on the night air with a funnel cloud of
gargoyles.

“Awake Hunter gently,’ Sir Rodney said, and then went
to Cerridwen to hug her as a unified Fae and wolf cheer rang out.

Two Days Later

Doc stood beside Sasha and then extended his elbow.
“You ready?” He turned to her and gave her a smile when she didn’t answer. “Me
neither, baby..   You look beautiful.”

She couldn’t make her hands stop shaking or get her
flowers to stop bouncing. “Thanks, Dad, but I think I’m gonna hurl.”

He kissed her through her short white veil. “Just a
little morning sickness, it should pass in a couple of months.”

“What!” she wheezed, now holding on to his arm for
support.

“The Fae give a nice party,” Doc said, seeming
thoroughly amused as he began the promenade. “Great cake all done up with flowers
and such—as the father of the bride, I know this has got to be a
hundred-thousand-dollar affair. I never expected to have the luxury to walk my
daughter down the aisle, so on my Army salary from years ago I never put away
for anything. Things worked out, huh? Smile at the Chens, sweetie,” he added.
“They’re still clueless. Look ahead; smile at Hunter; the poor man is faint.”

“You’re sure; you’re absolutely sure,” she whispered,
beginning to hyperventilate.

“It’s not just because I’m a doctor and did your blood
work, but don’t you recall Hunter acting really weird? I mean more protective
than usual?”

Sasha swallowed hard and kept her eyes straight ahead
so she didn’t pass out while the Pixies and Fairies flung flower petals in her
path. Her bone-hued silk gown felt like it was second skin as perspiration
suddenly leaked into the delicate gossamer fabric the Fae had spun. But Queen
Cerridwen just gave Sasha a nod as she passed, and the next thing she knew a
cool breeze had dried everything.

The entire garrison had come out and the wedding was
being held in the gardens just so Sir Rodney could go nuts and show off what a
true summer Fae monarch could do. Rupert wept uncontrollably, and even old
Garth blinked back moisture from his eyes. But she couldn’t think beyond the
buzzing in her ears. Pregnant. Pregnant? She was a warrior and pregnant. “How
did that happen?” she murmured, not realizing her mouth had engaged what was
rattling around in her head.

“None of my business how it happened,” Doc said with a
quiet chuckle. “And you’re too old for me to discuss the birds and the bees
with you, baby. Ask your husband later today; I’m sure he’ll show you how.”

Her father patted her arm, but his wry comment made
her smile. Yes.   now it all made so much sense. She stared at Hunter
and watched his Adam’s apple bob above his crisply starched tux collar. Cherry
blossoms littered the lawn out of season as Sir Rodney waved at the flora like
a mad orchestra conductor, changing the flowers upon her every footfall,
turning the outer palace gardens into a veritable Fourth of July flower show.

Still, nothing was as handsome as the quiet warrior
who waited for her at the end of the garden beneath a natural canopy of
interlocked blooming trees. He was her friend. He was her guide. He was her
lover. He was her dream partner. He was her rock. He was her champion. He was
her breath. He was her spirit. He was now the father of her child. Tears rose
in Sasha’s eyes. She’d been so blessed, and at different times; both of them
had almost never lived to see this day. And that they’d made it this far
together was one thing, but that everyone they so dearly loved had made it,
caused her to bite her lip to hold back a sob.

Shogun blotted Hunter’s forehead with a white cotton
handkerchief and then his own. Her brother-in-law had made it. For the close
call, after a few days of rest and lots of good Fae fare, Shogun just looked
like he had a bad case of sunburn and was peeling. Amy beamed at her and
Clarissa dabbed her eyes as both women clutched their bouquets and waited for
Sasha to arrive at the front of the garden to stand beside Hunter.

“She’s all yours,” Doc said quietly as Shogun and Bear
Shadow parted.

“I still haven’t had a chance to kiss your boo-boo,”
Sasha whispered as she stepped in closely to Hunter.

He gave her a sidelong glance and a sly half smile,
chuckling, and then simply turned to her, lifted her veil, and kissed her hard.

The Fae went nuts. The crowd was on their feet with a
rowdy cheer. Jennifer began bawling the moment Hunter moved into place, and
Mrs. Chen put a supportive arm over her shoulder.

Silver Hawk just smiled and closed his eyes. “You two
will have to give me a moment alone with the Great Spirit before I begin the
formal ceremony.   because witnessing this day, for this old wolf, is
truly a miracle.”

The End

LEFT FOR UNDEAD

This is a work of fiction. All of the characters,
organizations and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the
author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

Copyright © 2010 by Leslie Esdaile Banks.

Cover photograph © Barry Marcus

All rights reserved.

For information address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth
Avenue, New York, NY 10010.

ISBN: 978-0-312-94302-8

Printed in the United States of America

St. Martin’s Paperbacks edition / October 2010

St. Martin’s Paperbacks are published by St. Martin’s
Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010.

Many thanks to all of you who have joined me on this
adventure and have followed this series, as well as followed my Vampire
Huntress Legends series. You all made it so worthwhile and it has been an
awesome journey into the realm of imagination and fantasy with wolves and pack
alliances, lovers and Fae, vampires and witches, and good ultimately triumphing
over evil. Thank you for the wild and wonderful ride!

Special acknowledgment goes to: My agent, Sara Crowe
(an awesome lady!), my editor Rose Hilliard, and the St. Martin’s team. Of
course, I can never fail to mention my dedicated Street Team, the backbone!
Plus special thanks to Police Officer Jerry Patterson of Grand Prairie, Texas,
for your wonderful expert assistance in helping me understand weapons and
ballistics—couldn’t have done it without you, Jerry!