My breath catches. “And?”
“It wasn’t Morgan,” he says. “It was those creatures. Somehow, Riyu picked up on them flooding out from under the earth. None of us could sense them.”
“I know,” I say. “I cannot, either.”
Geordam nods. He has a stark determination about him. “Of course. But Riyu did, somehow, and told us all to come underground. He said the wards around the chamber would protect us from the screams.”
“It seems he wasn’t mistaken,” I note. Relief pours through me. “So, then, everything is all right?”
“Same as you left us,” Geordam confirms. “A stampede of the creatures sped by here, but they did not harm us. I suspect they did not even know we were here.”
Just like that, my mood turns. My gut clenches. “There was a stampede?” I ask softly.
“Hundreds. Maybe even a thousand. It was impossible for us to get a proper count.”
“All the screechers that attacked us, that I destroyed, came out from underground.” I glance quickly at Felix. “You were right. We have not yet met the horde.”
“And here we have no strategic advantage!” he explodes. “The terrain is against us. We can be attacked from all sides. All we’re relying on—is you.”
I stare him head-on. “Are you suggesting that isn’t enough?”
“You’ve seen what they can do!” Felix exclaims, exasperated. “You saw how they rendered the vampires absolutely helpless. Yes, you can take them out when they come—but your power is not limitless. We don’t know how many there are. They can easily overwhelm us. And I do not have the strength to restore our vampires another time!”
“I will not leave Morgan on her own,” I say firmly. “While she still breathes, she is the greatest threat. Maybe not immediate—but I will not leave anything about her to chance.”
“Riyu is down there,” Felix says angrily. “You left him there, alone with the guards, because you trusted that they were enough. Now, you want to leave all of us vulnerable—”
“ENOUGH!” I snap. I pull on the currents running through the air and make a show of shooting a stream of white fire straight up. The torrent illuminates the night sky.
All the vampires watch, cautious, unsure of what is going on.
When it hits its peak I split it into dozens of streams that arch down and land in a perfect circle encircling the vampires. That was just theatrics. Next, quickly, I put up walls of Air between each of the fallen points, so that now we are all enclosed by a large, invisible fence.
“There,” I announce. “The points marked by fire on the ground represent the edges of the barrier I cast around us. It blocks all soundwaves from reaching inside. So long as you stay within the perimeter, you are all safe.”
Murmurs of appreciation sound amongst the vampires. That only lasts a moment before it’s replaced by that strange prickled vampire pride from having to hide.
I feel the shift in the atmosphere. It’s subtle, but I know the vampires do not like being closed in and herded like goats.
“Geordam,” I motion to my new Captain Commander. “Tell your guards to position themselves around the posts. Nobody is to step outside the sphere.” I tie the weaves off, wait a few moments to ensure they’re stable without my input, and nod in satisfaction.
“The rest of you—” I raise my voice to address the vampires, “—have to be on guard. The Tentoria can appear at any moment. Their shrieks won’t hurt you as long as they are outside the barrier. But if they break through…”
I shrug, almost casually. “Well, you’ve seen what they can do.”
Sounds of dissent and discomfort emanate from the vampires.
“But I also know what you can do. If any break through the barrier, you will use your superior speed and deadly grace to kill them! Only with their screams do they stand a chance, and now I’ve rendered that one raw advantage untenable! They will come at you in short bursts, and you will destroy them the moment they step foot past the barrier. The screechers are weak, fragile, pathetic things! Only their screams give them power over us, but you can destroy them all, one by one, as they come through the barrier!”
Finishing the little speech, I turn to Geordam. “You will collect your ten best guards,” I tell him. “And I will lead a hunting party, with them, to go out and destroy the Tentoria. The Haven vampires will not be made prisoners in their own coven!”
Hoots and shouts from the vampires come in a sudden blast as they cheer in proclamation.
Chapter Six
James
The Crusader’s Facility.
As Paul leads the way through the ancient, abandoned, underground tunnels, I stay back with Smithson and Victoria.
The smaller blonde vampire keeps shooting me dirty looks. She hasn’t said anything since it was revealed that Melvin was the one member of the Crusaders who had any knowledge about male wielders of magic—and that with him dead, the knowledge is gone.
Smithson, for what it’s worth, is back to his usual self. Victoria’s extraction of the last bit of poison Cierra had bestowed upon him has revitalized him and cleared his mind. No longer is he the trembling, cowardly caricature of a once-great leader.
“The minute we make it to the outside command post,” he tells me. “I will make the call to the generals in the Order. They will all do as I say, the moment I say it. Of that, there is no doubt.”
“Fantastic,” I mutter, distracted.
My thoughts are consumed with the ticking time bomb I’ve set. I promised Cierra a vampire cure within thirty days. My only hope is that some manipulation of the devices the Crusaders developed will be sufficient to fool her that a cure for vampirism exists—otherwise, my life is forfeit.
Idiot! I curse myself. The final hope is taking Cierra head-on, my magic against hers. But I bloody well don’t know how to channel it, and apparently nobody else on this blue earth does, either.
“Together the Order and the Crusaders will form an alliance the strength of which this world has never known!” Smithson continues. “Think about it, James, think! You saw the awesome military might in the complex. Couple it with all the knowledge the Order possesses, couple it with our vast resources, and together, we will be unstoppable! This is so much greater than what any new coven could be. You’ve gotten everything that you’ve wanted, even more, without the need to find, convert, and feed thousands upon thousands of new vampires! We have the army, the discipline, the knowledge, the strength! We have it all, James, thanks to you!”
“Will you shut up?” I snap. “We don’t have anything if Cierra comes and destroys us all. The clock is ticking on my death!”
Smithson hesitates. “James…” he says slowly. “I may not have been totally honest before.”
“What?” I spin on him. “Tell me what you mean. Now!”
“Melvin may not be the last link to male magic on this Earth,” he says carefully. “Long, long ago, a man made himself known to us. He claimed to have visions, and he said that these visions were sent to him from beings in the stars.” He shakes his head. “We dismissed it all as lunacy and took no further note of him. But, over the years, somehow, his name kept popping up in the Order’s field reports. Since the reports always get handed to me, and come from disparate sources, I may have been the only one to make the connection.”
I narrow my eyes.
“Dealings with the supernatural. People seeing spooks. Crop circles. Unidentified flying objects. Streaming lights in the sky, houses disappearing overnight without a single sign of demolition. Hauntings and possessions, that sort of thing. The usual unverifiable trash.”
“What does this have to do with me?”
“I do not think it coincidental that some of these reports were followed by mention of a tall, slender figure in a top hat, always watching on. In all of these independent reports, he made an appearance, and he was always described the same way.”