Freaky fangs, p.11
Freaky Fangs, page 11
part #9 of Mystic Caravan Mystery Series
Her reaction troubled me on several levels. “Raven ... .”
The sound of someone clearing his throat drew my attention. Max was sitting at the picnic table with Kade, Cole and Luke. I hadn’t even seen him arrive. He shot me a small head shake. His message was clear: Leave her alone.
Even though it was the last thing I wanted to do, I figured Max knew better when it came to Raven. I focused my attention on my chopping. “What will the potions do?”
“Ignite anyone who tries to cross in a sea of painful flames,” Naida replied. “It’ll be glorious.”
There were times she was bloodthirsty to the point of reminding me of a diabolical cartoon character. This was one of those times. “Does that mean we’ll ignite if we try to cross the lines?”
The look she shot me was withering. “Of course not. We know what we’re doing.”
That was a relief. “I was just making sure.”
“It’s geared toward the vampires and those with tainted blood. Strigoi have parasites in their blood. They live there ... and grow. It’s gross.” She made a face. “The potions should keep them out while we lay waste to the vampire armies.”
That sounded interesting, if a bit rash. “So ... we’re just going to fire magic at them from this side of the dreamcatcher?” I looked to Max for confirmation. He appeared equally perplexed.
“We’re not sure how things will play out,” he hedged. “If we get a chance to kill some of them we should take it. If they’re standing right there, why not end them?”
It made sense. That didn’t mean I wasn’t bothered by certain possibilities. “I don’t want to be the Debbie Downer of our group ... .”
“But you will,” Raven groused.
I ignored her. “What if they’re only sending the vampires at us as fodder? Maybe they’re trying to drain us. Wasting all our energy will leave us open to strigoi attack.”
“The strigoi can’t cross the dreamcatcher,” Naida replied. “They’ll burn up on contact. Er, well, at least they will when the potions are finished brewing. It should only be another hour or so until the last of them are finished.”
“And I’m looking forward to the potions. That doesn’t mean we won’t drain ourselves fighting ... and then what?”
“We’ll handle it,” Raven snapped.
“But ... .”
“Poet, why don’t you bring those vegetables over here and I’ll help you chop them,” Max suggested, his voice loud and clear. “There’s no reason for you to do the bulk of the work.”
My annoyance was on full display when I carried the chopping board to the table and planted it in front of him. “Go nuts.”
He held my gaze for a moment, as if searching for something that he was having difficulty finding, and then sighed. “Sit down,” he ordered, patting the spot next to him. Kade shifted over to make room, which meant I was wedged between father and son when I sat.
“You cannot push her on this,” Max said in a low voice as he picked up the paring knife and attacked the artichoke hearts. “She is having profound difficulty with this situation.”
That I understood. I was struggling with the why of it all. “But ... .”
“The amount of death and destruction Raven has seen makes your life look like a stroll in the meadow,” he offered. “I’m not saying you haven’t suffered. I am saying that she needs a little space. You must give it to her.”
I wanted to push the situation, but instead I growled and rested my head against Kade’s shoulder. He smiled and pressed a kiss to my forehead.
“It’s okay,” he whispered. “We’re in this together.”
Cole tapped his hands on the table and scanned the field. It was mostly open, except for several trees. “Have you battled the strigoi before?” he asked Max.
“Several times,” Max confirmed. “The most I’ve ever taken on is three at one time. This is ... different.”
“We don’t know how many creatures we’re dealing with,” I said. “It could be two-hundred vampires and one strigoi for all we know. Perhaps the lone strigoi convinced the others he was some sort of god. That’s possible.”
“It is,” Max agreed, “but I don’t know that it’s probable. We always figured the last remaining strigoi would have to find each other to survive after the purge. It’s impossible to completely eradicate an entire population, but I have to believe we came close.”
“And yet they’re back now,” Kade noted, resting his cheek against my forehead. He seemed desperate to offer me some sort of comfort. It was impossible, though. I was already looking forward to the fight that was barreling down on us.
“They are. I always knew this day would come.” Max stared forward for a long moment and then looked to Raven, who was going out of her way to appear busy. “I know you think that burning our magic on the vampires is a bad idea, but we can’t let them live. They have to go. We might as well take out as many of them as we can tonight.”
There was something he wasn’t saying. I had no idea what, but I knew better than to press him. He would only volunteer information if he felt like it.
“Fine.” I threw up my hands. “We’ll throw all the magic we’ve got at them and wipe out as many as we can. I don’t think that’ll solve our bigger problem, though.”
“No, but it lets us see our enemy more clearly. We must thin the fodder.”
EVERYBODY ATE BECAUSE IT WAS there. Cleanup was a quiet affair. Once we were finished, Raven and the pixie twins disappeared to collect their potions. By the time they returned, war faces in place, I knew it was time.
I stood at the boundary facing east, looking at the stand of trees I was certain hid the bigger threat the night before. The midway workers and clowns were safely tucked away while the rest of our group patrolled every side of the fairgrounds. Nothing would get by us. Not tonight.
As if by design, fifteen minutes after full darkness we detected movement beyond the barriers. This time Nixie and Cole worked together to illuminate the area, throwing up dust on every side so there would be no surprises. If locals tried to make their way past the fairgrounds they were in for quite the sight. Of course, this was the circus. We could make up any number of fantastical alibis should the need arise.
This time when they approached, the vampires gave us a wide berth. They circled around, growling as they lifted their noses to the air and scented for ... well ... us. They didn’t get too close, though, and none of our group was stupid enough to cross the line.
Then she was there. The redhead appeared out of the mist. She was all smiles as she approached, as if out for an evening stroll and stumbling across old friends. She searched faces, lingering on Raven and Max, but ultimately settled on me. I didn’t know whether to be flattered or annoyed that she pegged me as the leader.
“I see you’re still here,” she said, speaking for the first time. Her accent was odd, a hodgepodge of different places. “That’s not very smart.”
“Romania,” Raven muttered. “There’s some French buried in there, too.”
The woman snorted. “Are you trying to place me? Whatever for? It won’t help your predicament.”
“We simply like knowing as much as we can about an enemy,” I replied, keeping my eyes on her even though I sensed movement at the periphery. Raven, Naida and Nixie would blast back anyone who got too close. I wasn’t worried about that. “Why are you here?”
“Can’t I want to pay our neighbors a visit?”
“Actually, I wasn’t talking about this field,” I replied. “I wasn’t talking about right now. I was talking about in general. What brought you here?”
“You mean Kentucky?” The woman’s laugh was light and bright, yet it sent chills down my spine. “It’s a lovely state ... and I love horses. Who doesn’t love horses?”
“They’re delicious,” intoned one of the nearby vampires, a male with long hair and a hooked nose. He looked like a villain from The Walking Dead ... although with even fewer bathing opportunities.
“That’s pretty gross,” I supplied. “Eating horses is ... all kinds of terrible. You know what’s worse? Eating people. I’m pretty sure that’s what you did with that family on the road the other day.”
“I told you,” a female voice hissed from somewhere behind the redhead. “That’s what tipped them off. You never should’ve gone after that family.”
“I was hungry,” another voice complained, petulant. “These rations are going to be the death of me.”
The redheaded woman’s gaze was dark as she turned to look over her shoulder, pinning a small female vampire with a quelling look. “The rations are a necessity. If you have a problem with that we can discuss it later. Now is not the time.”
The vampire lowered her gaze. When the redhead turned back to me, she was back in control ... at least that’s the way it appeared.
“I think we got off on the wrong foot,” she said, her lips curving. “My name is Zurie. This is my domain. You’re trespassing on my property. I would like you to leave.”
Zurie. White and lovely. That was the meaning of the name. This woman might’ve been lovely at one time, back when she was human, but she most definitely wasn’t bathed in white light. “These are public lands,” I countered. “They belong to the county. We were invited here, paid to be here. We’re not leaving.”
“Is money worth your lives?”
“Are you saying you’re going to kill us?”
“That is what I’m saying.” She nodded. “This is our land. We won’t allow invaders to take it from us. Not again.”
“Invaders?” I folded my arms over my chest. This conversation felt as if it was part of a television show or movie, but I couldn’t help believing there were answers buried beneath the words. I simply had to look ... and hard.
“That’s what I said.” Zurie’s smile was back. “You would be examples of invaders.”
“I think it’s more accurate to say we’re visitors,” I corrected. “We’re just passing through. We have no intention of staying.”
“Then you should leave now.”
“We also have no intention of going and allowing you to continue to expand,” I added. “I know you’ve already gotten a foothold here — and it was smart to hide what you were doing during our previous visits — but we know now and we’re not going to allow you to continue in this manner.”
“No?” Zurie almost looked amused. “How do you plan to stop us?”
“We have a number of ways,” I replied, inclining my head toward Raven as the lamia lifted her hands and let loose a barrage of magic. It smacked into five of the nearest vampires, white flames shooting high as the creatures were trapped in invisible prisms and burned alive. They screamed, their heads snapping back, and they were gone before the noise dissipated.
I watched Zurie closely for a reaction and wasn’t disappointed. The fury that rolled across her face was a thing to behold. It made me want to crow ... but I tempered my reaction.
“Do you want us to give you a showing of our power?” Zurie snapped, her eyes on fire. “Do you want to make a competition out of this?”
I didn’t answer, instead sending a mental prod to Naida. The pixie didn’t need to be told twice. She whipped out her hands, a series of tiny tornados escaping across the dreamcatcher line. They barreled toward various vampires — all of whom had the good sense to run — but it was already too late. The second they were captured it was over. The vampires screamed as the tornadoes ripped them limb from limb ... and still I stood calmly holding Zurie’s gaze.
“Stop it!” There was fury lining her face. “Stop it now.”
“Make us stop,” Nellie shot back. He’d appeared at my right, his ax gripped firmly in his hands, ready for a fight.
“You want me to make you stop? Your wish is my command.” She jerked down her hand, obviously a command of some sort, and three vampires raced toward us. The others, who had been edging back when we started unleashing our magic, remained rooted to their spots, clearly uncertain. “Attack!” Zurie ordered on a scream.
Two more vampires joined the fray, but the rest remained frozen. Zurie was clearly in charge, but she had very little power over the others. I found that interesting.
The moment the first of the vampires tried to cross the line it burst into flames. The other two were so close they couldn’t stop their forward momentum and suffered the same fate. The final two, those who were delayed at the start, stopped in their tracks and sniffed for the invisible barrier.
“You did that on purpose,” Zurie hissed. Her rage was palpable. It felt like a descending cloud of hate as she paced across from me. “You wanted to show off your power.”
“I wanted to make you aware that your reign here has ended,” I corrected, doing my best to appear calm. “We’re not going to allow you to stay. What’s happening here ... well ... it’s over. It’s not going to continue. We won’t allow you to turn this place into a wasteland.”
“You won’t allow it?” Zurie’s eyebrows practically shot off her forehead. “Did you just say that you won’t allow it?”
“That’s exactly what I said.” I refused to be ruffled in the face of her anger. “It’s done. You can either run and live or stay and die. Those are your only two options.”
“Or perhaps you will stay and die,” she shot back. “Perhaps you think you’re unbeatable.”
I decided to play a hunch. “Is that what the strigoi have been telling you?”
Zurie’s eyes went wide. Her mouth worked but no sound would come out. She stood there, dazed, without responding.
“I think that’s the answer we’ve been looking for,” Cole noted as he moved to stand on my left. His hands were already lit with red flames. “I think now would be a good time to do what we discussed. The meek ones are already slipping back into the woods.”
I nodded, adding my own magic to the mix as the Mystic Caravan mob began throwing power bolts at the vampires. Some realized what was happening right away and tore into the woods. Others merely stopped where they were, covered their heads, and tried to wait out the firestorm.
It was a wasted effort.
Within a few seconds, Zurie snapped out of whatever reverie she’d been trapped in. The look she shot me was of pure malice, but she was nothing if not practical. She knew she had to flee to survive, and that’s exactly what she did.
Naida lifted her hand again. I could tell Zurie was her target, but I grabbed her wrist to keep her from throwing out another death wave.
“Let her go,” I instructed.
Naida was incredulous. “No survivors. That was the agreement.”
“Let her go,” I ordered. “Just her.”
“But ... .”
“Poet is right,” Max said, his gaze heavy as it locked with mine. “We need someone to spread the message of what happened here. Who better than the leader who will look like a coward for fleeing when the rest of her army was decimated?”
Naida didn’t look convinced. “I had something special in mind for her. I’ve been working on a mini-volcano.”
That was a frightening thought. “Save it for next time.”
“I guess. It’s still kind of a bummer.”
12
Twelve
The vampires didn’t return after being scattered. It was possible they were regrouping beyond the trees, but when I sent out a mental search I found a void. Vampires weren’t always easy to recognize in a din of nothingness, but we were dealing with so many that there was no way they all could hide.
We waited until almost midnight before retiring. The stretch of constant vigilance had tasked me mentally and I was grateful when it came time to crawl into bed.
“Are you okay?” Kade held up my chin and stared into my eyes as he slid in next to me.
I nodded and smiled. “I’m fine. Don’t worry.”
“I love you. I’m pretty sure worry comes with the job.”
“I’m just tired.” I snuggled down, resting my head on his shoulder. “You did good tonight.”
“I followed orders again.”
“It’s okay to follow orders.” My eyes felt heavy.
“We killed a lot of them,” he noted. “Do you think they’ll be too afraid to come back?”
Unfortunately, that would be far too easy. “They’ll be back ... and they’ll be ticked off.”
“Did you see her face when you mentioned the strigoi? She thought she was pulling one over on us.”
“Yeah.” Something about her reaction still bothered me, but I was too tired to dwell on it. Perhaps, in my dreams, I would be able to sort it out. “This isn’t over. It was only the first battle. I think we made a mistake attacking the way we did. I guess we’ll have to wait and see.”
“I think they’re afraid.”
“There’s nothing more dangerous than fear of losing everything you hold most dear.”
He tightened his arms around me. “I get that, but I don’t see where we had another choice.”
I drifted off quickly, letting the dreams claim me. When I opened my eyes again, I found myself in a dreamscape littered with cement dinosaurs.
“Oh, no,” I whined. “Why am I back here?”
“That’s a good question,” a female voice said, causing me to jerk my eyes to the left. There, Zurie sat on a bench between two rampaging velociraptors. It was daylight in the dream, yet she was out and about. Sometimes there’s no logic to be discovered in one’s subconscious. “Why am I here?”
The question caught me off guard. “How should I know? I’m guessing I created you because of the fight.”
“Uh-huh.” She glanced around. “Why would I dream of this place? I hate this place.”
I snickered. “Wow. We have something in common.” I ran my hand over a dinosaur I didn’t recognize and sighed. “I’m guessing my mind won’t let me rest. Not truly, I mean. It wants me to solve the strigoi conundrum.”
Zurie’s eyes were keen when they met mine. “How do you even know about the strigoi?”
