Crimson Dawn (31 page)

All I could do was lay there helplessly and listen to the sounds of their fight, and pray that Irulan came out on top. I winced at each grunt and yell until I finally heard the hard thud of a body hitting the ground. Tears filled my eyes, out of pain and intense worry. I tried to call out for Irulan, but the only sounds I could make were moans of pain.

My body was trying to rip itself apart and rearrange itself. I managed to hold up a hand and saw that it was almost invisible. I screamed as another pain took hold of me. Warm arms slid under me, and I looked up into Irulan's face as she cradled me to her chest. "Don't worry baby, we're not far from Mag Mell. I'll have you there in less than ten minutes."

Irulan hoisted me up into the saddle and settled in behind me. I sagged against her as the horse shot off through the narrow street. Each pound of the horse’s hooves against the ground sent a new ache though my already tormented body.

Somewhere along the way, I lost consciousness and came to when someone shook me like a rag doll. I coughed and yet another pain took me in its grip. "Hurts...hurts so bad."

Irulan shushed me, and pulling me tighter against her, crooned, “I know it hurts, baby, but we're almost there.” She pulled the sleeve on her jacket back and offered me her arm. "Here, baby, feed from me. It should be enough to hold you together until we reach the palace.” She jammed her wrist into my mouth and urged Blaze to move even faster.

After a few more minutes of hard riding, we began to slow down. I dropped Irulan's wrist and sighed in relief. I was still hurting like a son of a bitch, but at least I didn't feel as if I were fading anymore. "Are we there yet?" I asked softly.

Irulan uncovered her face. "Yeah baby, we're here alright," she said as she slowly drew Bas from the saddle and eased it to the ground. She clutched me tighter and quickly raised her free hand high into the air above her head.

I managed to hold my head up and look around. We were at the foot of a massive staircase that led to the largest set of doors I had ever seen. Doors that were currently open and pouring a couple of dozen armed soldiers out of them.

"Help me down," I said with as much force as I could muster. Instead of doing what I asked, she tried to pull me even closer. "Jesus! If you hold me any tighter, I'll be in danger of suffocating."

Irulan released me long enough to cuff me on the back of my head. "Please just let me handle this, Val. Those men are the personal guards of your great-grandfather. To ensure the King's safety, they act first and ask questions later. We don't need to provoke them."

This time I did as she asked. I figured I could give her that much - make her feel as if she were in charge of the situation. But hurting or not, if they laid as much as one finger on her, I could guarantee an explosion.

One guard stepped forward to address us. "I see the crown, but I don't recognize you, female. State your name and house."

When Irulan spoke, her voice had that powerful lilt to it that I was beginning to love. "I am Princess Irulan Delphine Nightingale of the Tuatha De Danann. I am the sole daughter of Jesob Bloodglove Nightingale and Niece of High King Kent. I request an audience with High King FaeVar."

The guard laughed and pointed at me. "Well, my lady, I don't give a rat’s ass who you are. You've got nerve, waltzing in here with our injured sister and making demands.” He came down a few steps and began tapping the flat of his blade against his leg. "How do we know you aren't the one who injured her in the first place?"

"Because I'm telling you myself that she didn't hurt me...ah...I didn't catch your name.” I awkwardly struggled to sit upright in the crowded saddle and not push Irulan off at the same time.

The guard considered me for a moment before answering. "My name is Garrison. I am head of the King’s Chimeras."

OK, whatever. "Listen, Garrison, since everyone here seems so comfy cozy with calling me sister, how about doing me a brotherly favor, and do as the lady asks."

The pain was getting stronger and it caused me to wobble a little. Irulan's arm snaked around my waist to steady me. I damn sure didn't want to let these clowns see me sweat. I slipped inside Irulan's head.
"We need to hurry this process along, Irulan. The pain is coming back faster and stronger with every breath I take."

Irulan slid off the horse and took his reins. "Gentlemen, I understand your caution. My cousin's own Manticores would be just as vigilant if Valeria showed up on his doorstep. But as you noticed, she is injured and needs immediate attention. Attention only FaeVar can give her."

A line of guards moved forward as one, with swords drawn and murderous looks in their eyes. Garrison hopped down a few more steps and leveled his sword at Irulan. "I'll be the judge of that. Move no closer or you risk losing life or limb."

My temper spiked, and I was off the horse in a flash. Hunched over, but standing protectively in front of Irulan. "You're messing up, boys. Point that sword away from my girlfriend or we're going to have issues."

The guards looked puzzled, and I slipped inside Irulan's mind for an explanation.
"Do I have spinach in my teeth or something? They're looking at me like they don't understand a word I'm saying."

Irulan giggled in spite of the situation
. "Baby, they don't understand the concept of girlfriend and boyfriend. Here, you're either pledged, married or a consort."

While we were carrying on our little inside conversation, the guards had moved closer. I held up my hand and surprisingly enough they stopped. "If I didn't want you to point swords at my..."

My mind went blank. What was she? I mean, we'd just started this new phase in our relationship, but it wasn't as if we were strangers or anything. Shit! What the hell were we? In the end, I called her the only thing that felt right to me. "...My mate, then what makes you think I want you moving any closer to her? Back the hell up and give us some space."

Irulan's voice floated into my head.
“Val, let's not antagonize them. We are outnumbered."

My anger overcame me, and I snapped at her. “We left my mother at home. I don't need you to tell me how to act!" As soon as the words flew out of my mouth, I regretted them, but I felt powerless completely unable to control my emotions. I turned towards the guards and let my face shift. "I'm asking one last time. Lower your weapons, and take us to FaeVar."

The guards let out a collective gasp and took fighting stances. Garrison shook his head in disbelief. "It's not possible," he said. "You are our own, I can feel it within you, but you're Vampire. It's not..."

"Anything's possible, big boy. I'm proof. Now, about FaeVar.” I quickly counted the number of guards that were poised and waiting for the signal to begin an assault. If they decided to attack, we were outnumbered twelve to one. Odds were not looking so good for us.

Garrison raised the tip of his sword and the group sprang into action. Irulan snatched Bas from the ground and flipped it towards me. I grabbed it out of the air, mid-spin and brought it up in front of me just in time to block an oncoming strike. "Gotta be a little bit faster than that, fella," I said with a smirk on my face. To my utter surprise, he nodded and spun around me in a move so quick, I'd swear he teleported. I mean totally 'beam me up, Scotty'.

Before I knew it, he had landed a hard kick to the small of my back that careened me into the staircase. The cold stone bit into my skin and tore it apart as my head bounced against it. That was so going to leave a mark. I barely had time to flip over before he was on me. I made it onto my back just in time to parry the first of a set of powerful blows aimed directly at my head. I was at a total disadvantage, unable to do anything but defend.

One of these days, my mouth was going to write a check that my ass couldn't cash. If the Fates were at work, then today just might be that day. The monster sized guard looked down at me and smiled. "Was that fast enough Kaeo'le?" He asked in guttural, broken English as he brought the sword down again. If I weren't mistaken, he'd just called me a bitch in Fae.

As fast as the strikes were coming at me, you'd think they would lose some power, but no. Every strike had just as much power in it as the one before. If I didn't know any better, I would have sworn the bastard was hitting me harder with every swing. He didn't give me any time to counter or do anything other than block. He was trying to wear me down, and if I hadn't heard Irulan cry out my name, it might have worked.

All that pain and anger that was building inside of me boiled over, and I mean literally. My body shifted faster than it ever had in my life. Those few seconds were enough to stun the guard, and gave me the break I needed to go on the offensive. I whipped my wings forward and enveloped him inside them. His sword slipped from his grasp as he yelled in surprise at the quick turn of events. I held Bas up in front of me and used my wings to pull him towards me, until the upturned blade impaled him through the stomach.

I stared at the sword where it entered his body, and my stomach rolled with hunger. The strong Sidhe blood ran down the blade and coated my hands. Right now, I wanted nothing more than to reach into his chest, pull out his heart, and eat it like the juiciest of peaches. What was wrong with me? Trying to clear my thoughts so I could focus, I shook my head, but while I was in this form, the blood filled body held too much interest for me. Something wild and primitive within me wanted to take time and enjoy the fruits of the kill.

Greater than the instinct to kill, was the one to protect my mate. Irulan screamed my name again and jerked me out of my daze. I tossed the body aside and jumped up to find Irulan surrounded by no less than ten guards. Apparently, every single Chimera, except for the one that I killed, saw her as the threat that needed neutralizing. Irulan could hold her own in a fight. I'd seen it for myself. There were bodies all around her. She'd decreased their numbers by at least twelve, but the ones still standing were blasting her all at once. The only thing that kept her from being fried was her shield, and from the decibel of her screams, it wasn't going to hold that much longer.

I propelled myself towards Irulan without a moment's thought and passed right through her shield. I phased back and snatched her into my arms. She shook from the effort it was talking to maintain her shields under the heavy magical assault. I took a quick assessment of her, found she was bleeding, and began bellowing at the guards who hurt her.

"You're dead! Do you hear me?" I yelled at the top of my lungs. "All of your lives are over!” My heart pumped harder with every word. The fury I felt over Irulan being hurt drowned out all the pain I was in, and left nothing but an all-encompassing rage that pushed me to protect my mate at any cost.

She whimpered, and I came apart at the seams. My world ended in a white-hot explosion that blinded me briefly. It was reborn in blood and screams. When my vision cleared, one very pissed-off looking Sidhe was holding me up in the air by my throat. I grabbed the fist around my throat and tried to pry his fingers loose, but they felt like corded steel.

"You have finally gone too far, Bright One," he said as he looked at Irulan. "An open assault on my home won't be overlooked.” The Sidhe reached down with his free hand and picked Bas up. "I'm going to send you back to your king, skewered like a roast pig on your own blade right after I kill this traitor.” He drew back to land the kill strike when Irulan shouted at the top of her lungs.

"No, FaeVar! Please, this is all a misunderstanding!” Irulan scrambled to her feet and rushed to my side.

FaeVar looked down at Irulan as if she were nothing more than an annoying pest. "A misunderstanding, Princess? Not many misunderstandings leave my entire guard dead in a matter of seconds.” I cut my eyes to the ground and saw that was accurate. Surrounding us was a sea of bodies, and most of them looked as if they had been roasted, apparent victims of Soul Fire.

FaeVar's grip tightened around my throat as he continued. "A misunderstanding doesn't leave my entire court unconscious and bleeding from every orifice on their body. Even the pores of their skin weep blood. They were all leveled by a blast that originated here, and you two are the only ones left standing, so, by default..."

I looked down and saw light glint off the sword as it moved forward. I was almost unconscious from lack of air anyway so the most I could do was close my eyes and wait for the strike to land. The blow never came. I inched one eye open, saw the blade frozen in air, millimeters from my skin, and knew that one of Irulan's shields was holding it at bay.

FaeVar looked down with a scowl on his face and his feature morphed from those of a face in anger, to those of shock. He threw the sword and me to the ground and grabbed at Irulan. I would have put myself between them if I could have, but another pain slammed into me, tearing me apart.