Black Moon Rising (DarkLife Saga) (15 page)

Chapter 16

M
y mother may have pulled me out of my funk, but it was Dante Dobra that kept me from falling back in again.  The precious little outcast had turned to books to ease the loneliness of the isolation his father put upon him.  The knowledge that he'd gained from the vast libraries of his family’s home was now going to help us break the hold that Meriwether had on David.  If everything went well, he would soon be ours in every way.

Irulan, my mother and I sat in the small gray walled room around David listening to Dante.  Thade and his wolves were back, albeit far from happy.  They lost her scent in McAuthor Park where she took to the water and couldn’t pick it up again.

The Manticores luck wasn't any better than the wolves.  They tracked her by the traces of magic left in her wake, as it zigzagged across the city until it disappeared.  Neither group was thrilled about coming back empty handed.

Both groups were with Tamerlane and Fazion in our make-shift command center planning our next move.  Irulan and I trusted them to make the right decisions.  All we needed them to do was tell us our roles once the time came.  Until then, we weren't leaving our son.

I leaned forward and rested my elbow on my knees.  “Hold up, so you're telling me that we can bond him to our family, like he was a Trumaine turn.”

Dante smiled and nodded his head.  “That is exactly what will happen if the procedure is performed correctly.”  Dante’s hands danced through the air, animating his every word.  “Deadborns were no better than slaves in the old days. 
Lords at times bartered in bodies, but their merchandise didn’t always like their new homes.  Some turns were constantly running back to their masters until it was discovered that blood ties could be broken.”

My mother smiled.  “Wait until Constantine hears about this.  He's going to absolutely wet his pants with excitement.”  She turned and frowned as a thought entered her mind.  “If this were common practice, then why have I never heard of it?”

Dante dropped his head and sighed.  “Because Mrs. Trumaine, the practice was outlawed by the vampire Council eight millennia ago; they feared the practice would become common and under mind the authority of lesser lords.  What was to stop stronger lords from attacking their weaker counterparts and taking their deadborns?”

After hearing Dante’s answer, my mother looked less than hopeful.  I don't know why?  Normally I would have been worried about upsetting the council, but this wasn’t one of those times.  I reached beside me for Irulan's hand.  Her strong fingers wove through my own and squeezed.  We were on the same page.

“Explain the mechanics one more time for me, Dante,” Irulan said.  “I want to make sure I didn’t miss anything.”

Dante nodded; his hands whirled to life as he began again.  “There is a smal
l window during the death of a deadborn that the body reverts to its human self, before it goes to ash.  It's similar to when a were’s body returns to normal after it dies.  It's a very, very small window, the span of a single heartbeat, maybe two.  During that time, if all the blood is drained, new blood may be introduced.”

He looked down at David and smiled before turning back to us.  “The new blood will erect new blood ties.”  It sounded too good to be true and too simple to work the way we needed it to, but it was the best shot we had at getting David back.  Hell, it was the only chance.

“Are you sure we want to do this?” I asked as I turned and took Irulan's other hand.  I gazed into her eyes hoping that she didn’t say no.  I was willing; anything was better than him being nothing more than Thomas Meriwether’s do-boy.

“Do you even have to ask,” she replied as she leaned forward and wrapped her arms around my neck.  “If this is the only way we can get him back then we need to do it.”  She pulled back and pressed her lips to mines in one of sweetest kisses I’d ever had.  Whatever lingering doubts I was holding onto, faded by the time she pulled away from me.

My mother leaned back in her chair and crossed her legs.  “There are impressionable teenagers in the room.”  There was a touch of both humor and discomfort in her voice.  She was beside herself when we came back from the FaeLands a mated pair.  We had given her no time to accept us as a couple, much less a married couple, but she was trying.

Dante smiled as his face turned three shades of red, and began tripping over his words.  “Oh.  They are fine.  They don't have to stop anything on my behalf.  Half of the males in my year would kill to be here in my shoes.”  I rolled my eyes and sighed.  They started young.

“Dante…don't get banned from my home once this is over.”

I didn’t think it was possible for his face to get any redder, but it did.  As I stood and moved
toward the bed, he hurriedly shook his head.  “Yes, Ms. Val.”

I dropped down to my knees near David’s side and kissed his cheek.  “I’m going to make everything all better, just like I promised.”  I motioned for my mother to join me as my face shifted and fangs dropped.  “Mama, I need you to help me drain him.  It'll go quicker if the two of us do it together.”

My mother stood up, but Dante stepped in front of her.  “What are you doing?”  He asked as he turned to face me.

“I’m going to break the Meriwether hold on my son and give him my blood.”

Dante shook his head and gently pulled me away from David’s side.  “You can't.  I’m sorry, I thought you understood.”

I frowned and shook my head.  “I listened to everything, you said Dante.  I know what I have to do.”

“No, that’s just it.  You can't do it; you might kill him.”

“Come again.”  I was well on my way to being pissed again, not with Dante, but with everything period.

“Ms. Valeria, I know the peculiarities of your heritage are not displayed to outsiders, but I have been a friend to David for months, and a guest in your home.  I know that you are more than vampire.  You may do more damage than good.”

He looked past me and smiled sadly at my mother.  “The two of you are eager to do something, but it would be better if someone else performed the task.  Someone elder than Meriwether will also be better.  They will need strength to break the bond.”

I slumped back against Irulan and let my face slip back to normal.  No matter how bad I wanted to move forward, there was no way I was going to put him in any further danger.  My mother retracted her fangs and came to stand in front of me.  “I’d do it if I could, honey.  The best thing we can do right now is wait for your father.”

The
re was no telling how long he would be gone.  The butterflies in my stomach morphed into knots.  I was going to go crazy if something didn’t happen soon.  “I can't sit here and do nothing while we wait.”  My stomach lurched again, my face twisting in discomfort as I wrapped an arm around my midriff.  I reached back and took one of Irulan’s hands with my free hand.

My mother leaned forward and kissed me on the cheek.  “When was the last time you ate?”

I shrugged my shoulders.  “I don't know, Mama. I’m not exactly on the 'I-want-food' page.”  My mother hissed and jerked her head toward Irulan.  The small flash of anger that was in her eyes faded when she saw the blackened clouds that filled Ire’s eyes and the dark circles underneath.

She took a step closer to Irulan and cupped her chin.  “Irulan, my God.  Have you seen yourself?  You look almost as bad as Val.”  My mother cast a quick glance back at David’s seemingly sleeping form.  She was torn.  My mother’s love for David was evident in every move she made.  She leaned
toward us as if she wanted to follow us out of the door, but her feet were glued to the floor.  She didn’t want to leave his side any more than we did.

“It’s okay
, Mama, Ire and I are big girls.  We can take care of ourselves.”  She didn’t look convinced, but her posture relaxed all the same.

“Both of you need to eat something and get some rest.”

I smiled as we eased by her to the bedside.  We each gingerly kissed David on the forehead and turned to leave.  “Call me if anything changes.  Dante…thank you.”

“You know I will.”  Mama replied as she threw her arm across Dante’s shoulder.

Irulan and I reluctantly walked out the door.  I didn’t want to leave, but I had to immerse myself in something I felt like I could actually make a difference in.  The first thing I saw was Rowan sitting in a corner alone.  Her back was to us, but judging from the soft shaking of her back, she was in tears.

I kissed Irulan on the cheek and pressed my hand to the small of her back, directing her toward a group of bodies that were getting off of the elevator.  “My grandma Catherine should be with them.  How about taking her to Mama, I need to talk with Rowan.”

A small furrow creased Irulan’s head as she frowned.  “Baby, she's just a kid.  She has no control over what her father does.”

If I weren't so bone weary, I would have been offended, but I just didn’t have it in me.  I simply nodded and shooed her away.  On my way over to the teenager, I snagged a chair and drug it behind me.  I got within a foot of her and set the chair right so I could sit next to her.

When Rowan looked up, fear flashed through her brown eyes, before she got control of herself.  She reached up to wipe red tears from her cheeks, but the tracks were still there.  She had to have been crying for an awfully long time to leave such deep stains.  “I’m so sorry, Ms. Trumaine.  I didn’t mean for any of this to happen.”  She shook her head back and forth as her voice began to crack.  “If I had known…I never thought…”  Her head dropped, and she slid as far away from me as she could.

I wasn’t angry at the child, not in the least.  I was actually quite in awe of the girl.  Never in a million years would I have stood up to my father at her age, especially for a boy.  I’m not sure if she realized it or not, but she loved my son.  I couldn’t be mad at her.

“Rowan,” I said softly, leaning forward to brush the soft curtain of black hair back from her face.  “Child, it’s okay.  I’m not angry with you.  I’m worried about you, but not angry.”

Rowan dug her teeth into her bottom lip as she shook her head.  “Why would you worry about me?  I’m fine.  It's David you need to be worried about.”  She looked
toward the door that led to David, and fresh tears began building in her eyes.  “I’ll be o.k,” she sighed as she rubbed a small gold band that was on her thumb.

“When was the last time you ate?”  I asked, sounding like my mother.

Rowan hiccupped and slowly shrugged her shoulders.  “I couldn’t even tell you, Ms. Trumaine.”

I threw an arm around her shoulder and pulled the both of us to our feet.  “We’ve got a plan to keep David away from your father, so there’s no need for you to sit out here by yourself crying, still believing the worst.  Come on, we’re going to get something to eat.”

Chapter 17

W
ith Rowan fed and the sun approaching the horizon, it was time for us to come up with an absolute game plan.  Tamerlane was ready to bomb half the city if that's what it was going to take to destroy the Banshee.  He even went so far as to pull weapons from the Vault’s safes that were being developed for the company’s military contracts.  He also called every Trumaine turn within a fifty mile radius to add to our numbers.  Thirty seven vampires were now on their way to join us.

Constantine sat quietly in a corner wrestling with his conscious.  My brother wasn’t always a teacher.  He was born in a time where all sons were expected to serve the vampire Council in some capacity.  He'd fought his share of battles and taken more lives than he was willing to admit, but that wasn’t the person that he wanted to be.

When the bloodshed became too much for him to stomach, he reinvented himself; choosing an occupation that was almost guaranteed to involve no fighting whatsoever.  The fight before us was unlike anything he's come up against in his past, but it wasn't the challenge that was weighing so heavy on his heart.  Constantine’s eyes burned with anticipation.  Part of him was eagerly awaiting the chance to kill; the opportunity to lose control, and it scared him.  I know.  I’ve been where he is.

Valerian was getting a refresher course from Thade on the weapons at our disposal.  His eyes pored over the wide assortment of ordnance as he committed every word from Thade’s mouth to memory.  He was determined to learn years’ worth of weapons training in just a few hours.  At the rate he was going, I wouldn’t be surprised if he succeeded.

“Where’s your cousin?” I asked Irulan when she walked into the room.

She sat down the box of food that she was carrying and called over the Faeries.  “Come and get it boys.  I guarantee you’ve never tasted anything like this.”  She laid out pizza after pizza until her box was empty before she came and sat beside me on the cushioned bench.

“Fazion is resting in one of the bunks.  He likes to pretend that he's got everything under control, but has no idea how to stop the Harbinger.”  She shrugged her shoulders and sighed.  “I’m worried about him, Val.  My cousin is many things, but he’s not equipped to handle a situation like this.”

I’d come to that conclusion that moment he admitted that he needed our help.  Fazion is an arrogant prick who would sooner cut off his own nose to spite his face.  If he were asking for assistance with catching the Banshee, he didn’t have the first clue as to how to capture her.

“You need to be there when I tell him that he and his Manticores are no longer in charge of the hunt for the Banshee.”  There, I said it.  I didn’t question his authority or insult his capabilities.  I just told it the way it was.

Irulan lifted my hand to her lips.  “I was hoping you were going to say that,” she whispered before kissing me.

“I was trying not to step on Fazion’s toes and cause a Fae political disaster, but we don't have the time to chase his guards all over a city, they know nothing about.”

I got up, pulling Irulan with me toward my brother.  “Did you hear that?”

“Every word,” Tamerlane answered.  “I was wondering how long we were going to let the rookie run the show.”

“Diplomacy first, B
rother, now that it’s failed, the professionals can take over.”  I gave my brother a quick hug and headed for the makeshift command center.  “Ire, wake Fazion and meet me in the office. Tam, Vedo, Tino; come with me.  I have an idea.”

A few moments later we once again convened in our makeshift command center but this time things were different.  I had the perfect bait to lure the Harbinger with, but I could almost guarantee that my brothers and wife were going to flip when I told them my plan.  Better to say it once in front of everyone and just get it over with.

Fazion leaned forward and sighed before he started talking.  “My sister tells me that you’ve come up with an idea to solve our Harbinger problem.  I’d very much like to hear this insane notion of yours.”

I gritted my teeth and smiled.  I was not going to let his attitude throw me off my game; especially when I know it’s a front.  Fazion isn’t thriving in the Mortal Realm the way that he should be, and he was scared.

“My notion isn’t as insane as you might think, Fazion.  We have something that you and your Manticores don't.”

“And what pray tell is that, besides warriors that are nowhere near as superior as my own,” he smirked.

I might have understood his situation and all, but that was the last jab I was going to take.  I leaned forward and folded my hands across my chest.  “Well you mentioned using bait earlier.  You didn’t have me before, now you do.  We’ll use me to draw them out.”

A collection of yells and snarls erupted from my brothers and Irulan; Fazion, on the other hand, was smiling.

“That might actually work,” he mused and turned to his guards, “We’ll have the tactical advantage if we can corral the Harbinger into an area of our choosing.”

“The hell you say,” Irulan damn near screamed.  “There’s no way I’m letting Val do something so dangerous.”

I spun around and glared at her a little harsher than I should have.  “I don't recall asking your permission.”

“I don't give a damn if you asked her or not, you're not using yourself to draw this thing out.  Father would kill us if we let you place yourself in harm’s way like that,” Tamerlane spat.

“Daddy isn’t here.  By the time he gets back we could have this situation under control, but it’s not going to happen if the objects of her hunt, i.e. us, are all locked away here.  We're not going to catch her if we don't take a risk, Tam.”

“What you're proposing isn’t a risk, Sis, it’s a suicide mission,” my twin interjected.

“One life for the survival of an entire family is a small price to pay,” I said, with unwavering conviction, despite the harsh glares that bore down on me.  I knew exactly what I was proposing, and it was a price I was willing to pay, to make sure my family was safe.

“Screw that, wooly
booger,” Constantine, spat.  “I’m not losing anyone else that I care about to this thing.  We'll find another way.”

Fazion, who had been quiet while my brothers and I argued back and forth, stood up and slapped his palm against the table.  “If you're done arguing like a group of children, I’d like to say something.”

Tam turned with his meaty arms folded across his chest.  “You’re welcomed to talk as long as it has nothing to do with using my sister as bait.”

“Why not?  I think what your sister said is an excellent idea,” Fazion countered.

Irulan lost it and leaned across the table to grab her cousin by the collar.  “The Harbinger is the perfect solution to your problems isn’t it, Fazion.  You’d love to see her dead and out of my life, wouldn’t you,” Irulan yelled.

While I struggled to pull her away from Fazion before she did something she'd regret, my brothers began to spread out, blocking the only exit.  From the looks of it, if Irulan didn’t do him in, the Trumaine brothers would.

“Don’t be foolish,” Fazion warned.  “My guards will make short work of you before you get close enough to hurt me.”

Thade pushed his way through the crowd of bodies and helped me pull Irulan back.  After that deed was done he pushed each one of my brothers back a few paces
, and turned to face Fazion.

“With all due respect monarch, your guards wouldn’t scare a newborn pup in the condition they're in.  You can't afford to throw around threats that you can't back up.”  He took a deep breath before turning to face me and my brothers.

“As for the three of you, you're looking at the situation as her older brothers.  You need to pull back and look at it from a tactical standpoint.  If you did, you’d realize that Valeria is right.”

Instead of the roar of protest I was expecting, all I heard was stunned silence.  Valerian shook his head and looked back and forth between Thade and me before he found the words he was looking for.

“But she's your best friend.  You can't stand there and tell me that you agree with what amounts to sending her to her death.”

“We must do what it takes,” Fazion threw in with a smirk plastered to his face.

Thade cut his eyes toward him and growled.  “I don't want to hear a word from you.  I can smell the anticipation that began rolling off of you the minute Ire mention Val getting hurt.  She's right.  You wouldn’t be fazed if Val died trying to kill this thing.”

“That’s what we’re saying,” Constantine interjected.

Thade threw up a finger and shook his head.  “But if we do this right, plan for any possible fuck up or oops, then Val won't have so much as a hair knocked out of place.”

“The answer is still no,” Tamerlane said with an air of certainty as if I were still a little girl that needed her big brother's protection.

“I’m a grown woman, Tam and I’m doing this,” I said my voice a few steps up from a whisper.  I’d found my calm and was certain that using myself as bait was not only the right thing to do, but probably the only way we were going to capture the Harbinger.

My calm was short lived.  Tired of standing in the sidelines, Stryfe pushed away from the wall and began putting his two cents in.  S
tryfe’s tirade about my brothers’ inexperience led to the threesome jumping to the defensive.  Soon the room was filled with enough noise to make the crowds at a football stadium look tame.

The wolves and shifters had their hands pressed over their ears as they yelled.  Each person in the room was screaming louder and louder every second, striving to be the one voice heard over the crowd, but it didn’t do any of the males any good.  Irulan’s voice was paramount; that is, it was until my mother threw open the door and stalked into the room.

Anya Trumaine waltzed into the room like she was Queen of Sheba, sporting a scowl deep enough to make Fazion frown and shake his head.  My brothers turned, saw it was our mother, and immediately got quiet.  Thade dropped his head and back-peddled until he was lost to the crowd.  Irulan sighed and threw her hands in the air.  Her voice died down until it was only the Manticores yelling, and that didn’t last for long.  Once they realized they were arguing amongst themselves, Stryfe’s voice trailed off and he turned around to face my mother.  The others followed suit and soon the room was quiet.

My mother narrowed her eyes at Fazion before taking the few steps to situate herself between me and Irulan.  “I don't know how you do things in the FaeLands, but this is my husband’s building, and in his absence my children are in charge.”  She made eye contact with every Fae in the room as she talked before turning to my brothers.  “You will be quiet and hear what your sister has to say.”

“But, Mother,” Tamerlane began, but a click of her teeth and her eyes fading to black, stopped his protest.

She squeezed my hand and nodded her head.  “Go ahead and say what you have to, Val.”

I silently thanked my mother before taking a breath and began.  “First things first, I need to ask you a few questions, Fazion.”  He nodded his head, and I continued.  “I know that you and Irulan have an immunity of sorts to iron.  Does the Harbinger?”

“She can travel in this realm, but it is costing her.  We've been chasing her back and forth between the realms as she goes home to renew.  We believe that is why she hasn’t come after you sooner.  The last time she spent three days in the FaeLands before returning.”

“So that means we can use her weakness to our advantage; like maybe trapping her in an iron prison.”

Fazion’s brows came together as he thought my statement.  “It could possibly work, if your prison has walls thick enough and she's already weakened.  She's already shown you that her cries can obliterate certain metals.”

“Eh,” I huffed, waving a hand through the air.  “So correct me if I’m wrong, but you're saying that, with enough numbers, we can possibly take out this bitch or that if we have a strong enough prison, we could possibly contain her in iron.”

Irulan flinched beside me and thoughts of Carrie popped into my head but I pushed them aside.

“You’re correct,” Fazion said.  “Either option has a high possibility of success, but only if we can find her.”

“And using me as bait is the solution to that problem.”

“Unacceptable,” Irulan spat.

“Let’s hear her plan before we make any decisions,” my mother countered.  “From this line of questioning I assume you have a plan Valeria.”