Eclipsed by Midnight (12 page)

Her brow rises in subtle question before continuing. “My Lord, they are near thirty years of age and have trained tirelessly with me since they were strong enough to hold a sword. They will be fine.” She drops the issue as she wordlessly probes me further.

“We will discuss more later, but for now, I am very glad to see you all. We have no time to spare. Twenty minutes ago, Sasha went on her own vigilante mission due north, right into the trap the priests are undoubtedly laying. Our bond is being distorted somehow by what I am assuming is a new little trick of hers.”

“Clever girl,” Emile mumbles as I continue.

“Vlad, with the disturbance she is throwing, my ability is handicapped. Would you mind?”

Vlad bows before me, ready to be of service.

“Very well, Molly will send someone to gather your belongings. Let us go.”

With that, Vlad throws out his power as a sounding board and I project my own gifts upon it as we move like the wind through the dusk. Through our combined effort, while still a bit patchy, I am able to somewhat confidently lead us through the rough terrain toward the weak beacon she is emitting. As we pass the Colorado border, I bring us to a sudden halt, something is off.

“Sir, if I may offer a suggestion in combining all three of our gifts?” Hakeem offers as I rack my powers and mind, trying to understand. Before Hakeem can link into Vlad and clarify the picture, Sasha becomes very clear to me, lying on a rock, writhing in pain. Hakeem links into Vlad by touch as he cannot project his power and soon, the image becomes all too clear to the three of us.

A visceral roar of pure power emanates through me as I will myself to her as fast as I possibly can. Her pain is now becoming corporeal, that intimate picture now ingrained in my head as well as two of my brothers, torturing the darkest parts of me aching to be free, to rectify—no, torture—whatever could be ailing her. The battle cries of my fellow warriors echo behind me as they struggle to keep up under the barrage of images now battering us. Should too much distance come between us, Vlad’s power will be of no use to me. But it doesn’t matter. I’ve tasted her pain and her suffering, and I need no more. My essence locks in on her in that very moment, and nothing else is needed.

Clarity and resolve fill my chest with each calculated breath I draw, each footfall rapidly bringing me closure. The earth moves by me at lightning speed and the evening chill attempting to blanket the earth rapidly approaches. My eren are a mere few hundred feet behind me, yet close enough to ease any concern for their well-being. My power trembles again as Sasha’s beacon dims, and she is once again on the move. Channeling our connection, I search her for any signs of injury. There doesn’t seem to be any and no direct threat is detected. Powering forward, the earth seems to respond to my drive as the path frosts over each imprint of my boot.

Despite the speed in which we travel, time ticks by impossibly slowly. A giant, piercing surge of electrical power rips through the air, slamming into us, causing my heart to speed in urgency and my determination to sharpen even further. My fangs tingle as I prepare to battle a war that remains quite a ways in the distance. Scents of the forest shift into different foliage and mineral composites as the terrain changes. As we near the beacon honing us in, something urges me to stop at the forest’s edge.

Barely visible through the thicket I am poised behind, a clearing not far off draws my attention, along with the circling, low-level figures. My eren come to a stop just behind as I prowl, searching for answers. Sasha is near, but I can’t decipher where. More alarmingly, however, is the threat at hand. Figures cloaked in black magic loom, focused on the meadow, advancing forward, blind to our presence. Searching for my blood connection to my other eren, I sense them circled around the meadow as well. Stalking forward just behind the robed figures, I wordlessly signal to the others to follow suite. The meadow comes into clearer view as the night sky thickens around us. A giant bonfire roars in the middle of the clearing, and a large cloud that is odd in color hangs unnaturally low just over the raging flames. Seated with crossed legs before the fire is an elder unfamiliar to me. The figure is human but powerful. A witch perhaps? No, his traditional Native American garb rules that out. The hovering figures suddenly attempt to charge the elder once more, but they slam into something invisible a few yards from the seated man. Sadistic hisses and screeches pierce the air in a bone-chilling threat, yet the elder remains peacefully in place, holding guard.

As much as I want to track Sasha down and insure her safety, this takes precedence. These garbed vampires are channeling a dark magic that should not be. Ever. They must be after the relic. The cloaked figures retreat back as if to regroup, yet they still don’t sense us as their focus remains on breaking through to the elder. Signaling Emile to my side, I wordlessly communicate the plan and he takes off around the perimeter, setting our eren in place for attack. We’ve done this a hundred times over the decades and need only a few gestures to manifest intricate tactics. As he circles back around, the dark ones lurch forward again to attack but don’t get far. In the blink of an eye, we are on the move, using the element of surprise as we round from behind.

The one I advanced on barely had time to turn as I whipped out my dagger and plunged it into his heart. His hood falls back as blood flows from his mouth and his face twists in agony. Surprise fades from my victim’s eyes as recognition sparks between us and the amulet around his neck bursts into flames, quickly consuming the body and all traces of proof along with it. Poof, gone. To my left, one of Inessa’s nieces quickly falls after a brutal hand-to-hand combat, and I race to finish off her attacker just before a ceremonial dagger is plunged into her neck.

Using my teeth to rip open my prey’s neck, I aim my own weapon into this one’s heart before flipping them around to meet their eyes. As the light fades from them, the same strange amulet begins to heat. Using my blade, I quickly cut it from the neck and toss it off into the grass. While the amulet manages to burst into flames, the body does not as it slumps to the ground. The battle cries of my eren ring out once more, marking the end of their own personal dangers.

Light flashes at the head of the clearing, momentarily blinding. As our vision recovers, we catch a few robed figures escaping into a portal of some sort, running from the fight and leaving behind their dead without second thought. How honorable. The battle was quick and gruesome, as these last few rogue ran into the night with their tails between their legs. I lick my lips, steadying my breathing as I attempt to quell the need for more blood draw. That was too easy.

Shaking off the low-level vibrations of darkness attempting to bait me in my mate’s absence, we collectively regroup. The peacefully poised elder remains near, holding vigil over the sacred spot as if he noticed nothing of what just happened.

“Did any of you hold witness to the faces of those you slaughtered?” They all nod yes.

“Mine was a Mastagia member we had been tracking.” The rest, with the exception of Inessa, voice the same.

“Mine was a priest from my own house,” Inessa spits vehemently once the other had finished.

“One of mine was as well, from my father’s house. The other a female I suspect to be Mastagia as well. Did all of yours have an amulet?” The priest had always given me the chills as a child. I’d like to say that I am shocked, but that would be a lie.

“You mean like this?” Maurizio held one up with the blade of his knife, careful not to touch the bloody thing.

“How did it not catch fire?” Roman asks in wonder.

“I cut if from the bastard’s neck before I killed him.” He probably did more than just cut the necklace off before delivering certain death.

“So we have a few bodies then?” Maurizio nods yes while the others no.

“Well, two bodies are better than none. We need to find Sasha; she is near. Perhaps she ran into the veil. Hakeem?” Sensing her whole and close by was the only damn thing that calmed me enough to take care of business.

Hakeem’s eyes illuminate as he zeros in, searching the area before he shakes his head. Vlad moves closer in silent offering of his services. Hakeem’s hand comes to rest on Vlad’s shoulder as he attempts once more. The magic reverberates around as he searches for any clue of my beloved. I do all that I can to quell the rising panic now trembling through my desperate soul. I do not even care at this point that she ran off—all thoughts are directly associated with finding my mate whole and well. Nothing else matters. Hakeem’s attention finally comes to rest on the fire and he nods in that direction, allowing me to finally partake in a gasp of air.

“The elder will guide you should you prove you are worthy,” Hakeem warns as I prepare to move.

As I take a purposeful step in that direction to cross the field, a gentle breeze envelopes me, and Hakeem raises a hand to stop the others from following. My shoulder-length waves blow about my face as my muscular build stalks like a jaguar toward the seated figure. My eyes dart about, my ears open far and my nose draws in deep, all functionalities that feed into my brain. Approaching the man, my grace fades to that of a bull. Wiping the blood and dirt from my face while seating my dagger back in its sling, I come to a halt in front of the wise, weathered man. His eyes for the first time move and lift to mine. Dropping to a knee before him, I fist my hand over my heart and bow my head in a show of respect. Instinctively, I knew him worthy.

“Oki,” the elder greets in Blackfoot; his face impassive and emotions completely barricaded from me, making me nervous.

“Oki. Nii Ta Nik Ko, Etienne. Kii Ta Nik Ko?” I return in his native tongue and kindly ask his name in a respectful attempt to meet on the same level. Storming up and demanding information would get me nowhere fast and thrown back on the other side of that barrier he held up against the attacking Mastagia.

“I am RedTail.” He gives his name pointblank in English, still assessing me with ancient eyes that see more than I’d like.

“Greetings. I am searching for my mate.” I simply state my business, understanding that pleasantries have no place on this sacred warrior’s ground. My body stays poised as sweat beads down every inch of my skin, the fire and magical thickness of this space suffocating me.

“Al Yoh Ka.” RedTail flips back into his native tongue. Lifting my chin to the sky to catch a bit of the breeze drifting through on a pocket of air, I push my senses out and find that she is, in fact, sleeping, as he says.

“When will she wake?” I ask, the desperation seeping through my façade. Many questions race through my mind at a deadly speed, and it takes everything that I am to pull back on the reins.

“When the fire dies.”

“That could be a long time, and she needs my blood.” That could take well into tomorrow at the size and rate the flames blaze.

“She receives all that she needs from the great mother.”

“I understand. I—” My voice cracks at the thought of being so far from her, yet so close; the need to wrap myself around her and comfort her proving to be all too great. I am a selfish bastard after all.

“Young one, she is safe and well. It is our duty to guard her as she will do for us.” The pulse of an ancient magic reverberates around, sending shivers down my erect spine, making me uneasy.

“She found the relic then,” I say more to myself then to anyone in particular.

“She has embraced the warrior’s call in the face of darkness. A darkness that can never be allowed.” His words are my previous thoughts spoken allowed.

“May my eren join us by the fire while we wait?” The fire being extremely sacred, no one will be allowed to approach without a direct invite from him.

“And these are the ones you trust to protect them?” His gaze narrows and the lines in his face deepen as he reads every wavelength surrounding me.

“Them? You mean my mate? Of course.” RedTail closes his eyes and begins to chant in his native tongue, searching for answers of some sort. As he continues, I sit on the ground and cross my legs, mirroring his stance as I attempt to channel the patience of my grandmother, one of the few and profound beings I hold in a place of respect.

“Do you understand your duty once she chooses to rise?” His dark eyes are searching mine once more, and they begin to soften.

“To protect and love her.”

“No.”

Damn it. What does he mean?

“Listen.” His leathered hand sifts out from the blanket draped around his shoulders and lifts toward the flames.

Staring off into the heart of the fire, I concentrate hard to find what he wants to be seen. As fire draws me into a meditative state, its deadly beauty captivating me entirely, Sasha’s heartbeat begins to echo in my ears. It is strong, stronger than ever. From the moment we met I’ve know that sound better than my own. As the melody sings to me, calming my fears, another drumming catches my attention in the distance. It is faster, sweeter, and more delicate. My complexion pales, and the world drops out from under me in a split second.

“What is your duty, young warrior?” RedTail’s voice booms with surprising strength through my stereo hearing as my heft begins to tremble under the waves of foreign emotion. The past and present all collide in one explosion, making me question everything in life. “If you cannot tell me, then she shall continue to rest long after you have gone.”