Wake of Darkness (37 page)

As she and Alexander placed large
platters of omelets, bacon, and pancakes on the table, the other members of
their family gathered around, taking their seats.

No one spoke as they ate.

The tension in the air was nearly
palatable, making it difficult for all to bear. Sophie silently reached for
Laney’s hand where it rested on the table to her left. She grasped it and gave
her a steady smile.

Zoey laid her fork down on the
plate, her food largely untouched. She sat back in her chair and absentmindedly
twirled her ring around her finger. Catherina kept her head bowed through the
whole meal, although Sophie occasionally looked in her direction, and surely
Catherina must have felt the younger woman’s eyes on her.

Jim stood up abruptly, making the
chair scrape the floor tiles with a squeal. “I’m gonna go make sure
everything’s good to go.” He stomped out of the kitchen.

The rest of the family fell apart. Laney
silently rose and walked into the other room. She sat at the piano; her fingers
lightly brushed the keys, the melody was melancholy.

Dante and Catherina drifted off
next to find distraction elsewhere. Zoey suddenly disappeared.

Sophie looked down and studied her
hands, sure and still on the tabletop in spite of her uneasy thoughts. She
narrowed her eyes and then with a little gasp, she looked up at Alexander,
holding his eyes in her gaze.

She suddenly looked away and over
her shoulder. “Jim’s gone for a drive,” she said softly.

She rested her chin on her hand and
gazed out the window. Alexander reached for her other hand, absentmindedly stroking
it with one finger, just to touch her. Her eyes closed slowly as she listened
to the others’ thoughts, but she couldn’t sit still for long.

“Come on,” she said suddenly, her
eyes popping open.

She rose so quickly that she nearly
knocked the chair over in the process. She caught it without looking and strode
in the direction of the basement, where they kept their weapons. He followed
her silently.

Typing the code in with lightening
fast speed, the door was suddenly unlocked and they entered together. She went
to the shelves where their weapons were lined up, waiting for the battle that
would come that night. She tried to distract herself with checking magazines,
examining the sharp ends of the wooden and silver stakes, all to no avail. She
turned on a heel to face Alexander from across the room, frantic fear in her
eyes. She couldn’t hide her fear any longer. It knocked the breath out of him. He
leaned against one of the steel tables for support.

“Sophie,” he breathed.

“Alex, what…what if we don’t…,” she
would not allow herself to finish and turned from him.

He rushed to her in three quick
strides and placed his hands on her shoulders. “We
will
make it home
tonight.”

She turned around. “But, what about
everyone else?” She asked; her face inches from his, her eyes probing his in
uncertainty.

“With you protecting Laney, she has
nothing to fear. Jim and Zoey are strong and will prevail.”

She nodded. “What about Dante?”

He sighed. “Dante is the master of
his own fate. He will survive if he wishes to.”

 “I think this’ll be the longest
day of my life.”

“I know.”

*

The sun filtered into the windows
at a steep angle, and the light had that golden, late afternoon quality to it
as dust motes danced and whirled with every subtle breeze that swept their way.
It was as if all was well in the world. The house was inhabited, but deathly
calm.

Alexander sat across from Dante;
the others had decided to rest in preparation for what awaited them. There was
nothing—and everything—to say as he sat with his brother.

“Dante,” Alexander said, “please
tell me what Catherina expects to do tonight.”

Dante simply looked at him, regret
in his eyes. He had made his decision already, chosen his alliance long ago. He
would not tell Alexander what he knew or the choices he had made.

“Brother,” said Dante, “it has been
a very long time.”

“Centuries,” Alexander said under his
breath, waiting for the blow to be delivered.

“I thank you for what you have
chosen to do for me. I do not pretend that it is motivated by any personal
affection for Catherina,” said Dante. “I have long known your sentiments toward
one another.”

Alexander thought to interrupt him,
but it would have been useless; he couldn't deny that Dante was right.

“You have stood by me through many
challenges, and over the years have proven yourself a brother to me. For that,
I shall be eternally grateful,” continued Dante. “I apologize for anything that
may happen tonight.”

“What exactly do you mean by that?”
Alexander asked, straightening in his seat.

Dante had never spoken this way
before. He shook his head. “I shan’t say, but know brother, that I am indebted
to you in ways that I cannot accurately express.”

“Dante, is something going to
happen tonight that I should be aware of?”

He would not look Alexander in the
eye.

“What’s going to happen?”

Dante stood and placed his hand on Alexander’s
shoulder, looking down on him with a regretful expression.

“My brother,” he simply said once
more before looking up quickly.

“What is
this
?” the sharp
voice of Catherina interrupted. “Saying your goodbyes already?” The tension
rolled off of her.

Alexander strangled a growl in his
throat. She glared at him with fire in her eyes. Before she could say anything
else, Sophie had suddenly appeared beside Alexander, who rose to his feet. Sophie
tensed beside him and met Catherina’s glare. A low growl vibrated in her chest
before she could stop herself.

“A moment between brothers only,”
replied Alexander in a guarded voice, stepping between the two women. He met Catherina’s
accusatory glare with one of his own and stood his ground as Sophie’s eyes bore
into her over his shoulder.

“What’s going on?” Zoey asked,
suddenly appearing.

“Nothing,” growled Sophie, holding
Catherina’s glare.

Dante sighed and looked toward the
grandfather clock. “It is time,” he quietly said.

He reached for Catherina. Grasping
her hand, the two of them jumped to the basement get ready to leave, not
bothering to wait for the remainder of the family.

Sophie exhaled in frustration.

“Everything okay?” Jim asked
warily, looking around the room.

“Yes,” Alexander replied quietly. “Thank
you.”

Sophie looked at them all. “Let’s
go.”

Chapter 31

Dusk had come on quicker than
they’d expected as they gathered together in the basement. They checked
firearms, counted stakes and throwing stars, and shoved daggers into their
boots or waistbands.

            Sophie checked to make sure she had her cell
phone with her and they all walked out of the basement towards the garage. Most
of them were armed to the teeth with whatever they could get their hands on. And
despite everything, everyone seemed eerily calm.

            That crazy calmness reminded Laney of a movie
she’d once seen, with a queen who climbed to the chopping block and her death. The
queen had been peaceful beyond reason. Both scenes had an inevitable, resigned
feeling to them. She shuddered at the similarity and rubbed her neck.

Without saying a word, Sophie
tossed her bag into the backseat of her Mercedes and left the top down. Laney
silently slid into the passenger seat and watched her with wary eyes.

Sophie looked at Alexander, but
they didn’t say anything to each other. He squeezed her hand and kissed her on
the forehead in parting. She turned away from him abruptly, hiding a tear, and
got into the car. She didn’t see the desperation marking his face. It was too
much for Laney to watch; she looked away to avoid Alexander’s anguished eyes.

He slid into his car where Jim,
Dante, and Catherina were already waiting. Zoey pulled her helmet on and
straddled the Ducati. She nodded to the other drivers. Sophie looked at Alexander
once more, and waited for his move. He smiled at her and pulled out of the
garage first. Sophie turned the key in the ignition, and with a resigned but
hopeful sigh, Laney felt her sister’s mood instantly change.

A small smile crept across Sophie’s
face and her spirits were suddenly lighter. Her infectious optimism immediately
gave Laney some hope. It was like Sophie had suddenly had a revelation, but
Laney couldn’t tell what caused the change. Whatever it was, Laney was grateful
for it—she began to hope.

“Here we go,” Sophie said to no
one, slid her sunglasses on, and cranked the music up.

Zoey revved the engine on her bike
and was inches off the back bumper of Sophie’s car as they pulled out of the
garage. Laney felt safer knowing she was there.

They sped through the streets, racing
the setting sun. Laney looked around and tried to keep her mind open for
anything that could help them.

Sophie sighed and patted Laney’s
hand where it lay on the armrest between them.

Laney tried to visualize the coven’s
hideout and what they would probably find there, but none of the pictures made
any sense whatsoever. She couldn’t put the flashing images together into
anything that she could easily comprehend. It
seemed
like there were
going to be a lot more vampires than they were anticipating. But she was
nervous, so instead of thinking about it, she sang a nonsense song in her head
to try and distract their thoughts. She tried not to think about what they were
doing. She didn’t have any faith in it actually working.

It ultimately didn’t matter,
though, because they made it to the warehouse district literally before Laney realized
where they were. Sophie parallel-parked the car behind Alexander’s and leapt
from the seat over her closed door. Her long leather coat floated back down to
her sides as she grasped the bag of weapons that had hovered near her hand at
some silent mental command. Alexander looked at her, his head tilted to the
side and there was a strange, amused smile on his face, finding a change there
that he hadn’t expected.

She smiled back at him, and Laney
realized immediately what a difference the drive had made. Sophie was ready for
this, even if Laney wasn’t so sure about it herself.

They came together as a group
before falling naturally into a casually arranged formation. Alexander stood at
the point of their small triangle and was flanked by Sophie on his left, and
Jim on his right. Laney stood behind Sophie, next to Zoey, and Dante stood
behind Jim’s right. Catherina was guarded in the center, behind Alexander and
within arms’ reach of both Sophie and Jim. Alexander didn’t give the fact that
Catherina had placed him between herself and the enemy a second thought; he
practically expected it.

Jim cocked his handgun and touched
the shoulder strap on his crossbow in anticipation as his lips slowly turned
into a grin, feeling a change in the air. He glanced over at Sophie and winked.
He was ready too, and probably just as crazy as Sophie...or maybe on further
examination, it wasn’t insanity at all.

Maybe they’re fighting for the
only thing worth fighting for: family
, thought Laney.

Like the other two, Alexander
rested a hand on the grip of his revolver and almost arrogantly twirled a stake
in the fingers of the other. Laney watched them uncertainly. The confidence of
those three was astounding for her. But maybe unbridled confidence and a touch
of arrogance was what was needed in that kind of situation.

She glanced over at Dante. He
prepared for what was coming with a stake in each hand. He kept glancing
sidewise at Catherina, who didn’t hold anything. As always, Zoey looked eerily Zen
about what was going on.

Laney was caught up in her own thoughts
and worries as something from the shadows started to move. She jumped at the
movement and slid to stand just a step closer to Sophie. But just as quickly,
she was stepping back from her sister.

Sophie opened the bag she’d thrown
across her chest. Six throwing stars began floating out of the bag and slowly
began to orbit around her, gaining speed as they continued on their invisible
paths. Laney took another step back at the sight of her sister. Sophie pulled
her gun from the holster, pulled the slide back and cocked it, ready to go. She
wasn’t even paying attention to the weapons that spun around her. She looked
over to Catherina and then to Alexander. He nodded to Catherina.

“JACQUES!” she called.

Laney jumped again; she wasn’t
expecting her to call him out like that. A door suddenly burst open and several
dark figures began slinking out of the building, a hushed hissing coming from
the group. It gave Laney cold chills as she fought to focus on the scene
playing out in front of her. She seemed to be the only scared one of the group
and she struggled to remain calm.