Pretty When She Destroys (25 page)

The phasmagus, elemagus, ghost and vampire-necromancer gathered in the center of the interstate in front of Samantha’s car. Shielded from human eyes by the spell, they knew no one would be coming into the battle arena.

“We have at least one witch, two vampires, and Etzli,” Baptiste said, rubbing his hands together. His multi-colored magicks swirled around them. With a clean-shaven head, trimmed goatee, and maroon-colored eyes, he was both handsome and imposing.

Roberto reached out to touch Samantha, drawing more energy from her. “I’ll find them.” The ghost dashed into the gloom.

“I know where Etzli is,” Amaliya said in a grim tone. “Just follow the blood. Stay here. Cover me.”

Samantha gave a curt nod.

Baptiste hurled balls of fire into the darkness, attempting to illuminate the hiding vampires. Dark magic filled the air with an impenetrable gloom. The fiery orbs simply vanished into the blackness.

Stalking forward, Amaliya summoned her zombies to follow. The massive werewolf walked just in front of her. Smearing her blood over the zombies, she imbued them with more power. The blood from her wound slithered through the air, leading deeper into the darkness. She followed the trail more by smell than by sight. The dome of magic shimmered overhead, but the preternatural darkness made it nearly impossible to see.

Roberto flickered in and out of view as he searched the edges of the magical dome. The zombies were the freshest she’d ever controlled. It felt odd having so much life left in them. Little sparks of who they were remained. Amaliya picked up tiny flashes of their memories. The werewolf had been from Mexico. The woman had been afraid of Bianca. One of the two men had wanted to run away. The last had been in love with Etzli. Even as she grasped those remnants of the people they had been, those aspects of the zombies were already slipping away beneath the cloak of death.

“You can’t win,” Etzli’s voice taunted.

“Wanna bet?” Amaliya answered.

Though Etzli was pulling her blood, Amaliya wasn’t weakening. The deaths of the werewolf and humans had filled her with necromantic power.

The Aztec whirled through Amaliya’s zombies, slashing, hacking, and ripping with her bone knives. Body parts fell to the ground, then the vampire was gone.

“Fuck!” Amaliya exclaimed as the head of the werewolf landed at her feet.

The remaining vampires rushed Baptiste and Samantha. Etzli appeared above Amaliya, grabbed her by the hair, and tossed her into the air. Limbs flailing, Amaliya sent her death magic into the broken bodies of her zombies. It was difficult to control her necromancy and her vampire abilities at the same time, but Amaliya managed to catch herself in the wind. Hovering, she spun about, ready for Etzli’s next attack. The werewolf rose, pieces held together by the tendrils of her magic, and charged after the attacking vampires.

Floating, Amaliya traced the blood trail into the night sky. Etzli liked to fight in the air. It allowed her to sweep in and out of the battle. The vampire was still drawing Amaliya’s blood. Amaliya felt her vampire abilities diminishing, but her necromancy was still strong. Her long black hair whipping about her face, Amaliya gave up depending on her vampire nature. She released the zombies to true death, reclaiming her power. Despite recalling her necromancy, she still felt a long tendril of her power spiraling into the night. It took her a few seconds to realize the source of the pull on her magic. The blood Etzli was stealing was Amaliya’s and it was dead just like her. With a triumph smile, Amaliya summoned it back to her. The blood returned to her in a gush.

Etzli spiraled out of the night, caught in the aura of blood. Wailing in surprise, she slashed her bone knives uselessly through the air. Like most of her abilities, Amaliya had to learn them by trial and error. Concentrating on the writhing tentacle of her blood that effectively wove a net around Etzli, she raised her hands in an attempt to keep the other vampire trapped. Etzli writhed in the mass of blood, her knives continuing the rip at it. Bobbing in the air a few feet from the Aztec princess, Amaliya unleashed more of her power. It spread out around her like great wings.

“I found the witch!” Roberto’s voice called out from below. Once the witch died the spell hiding the supernatural battle would collapse, revealing them to the humans.

“Don’t kill her yet!” Amaliya struggled to contain the struggling vampire in her power. “I almost have this bitch under control.”

Swearing, Etzli fought even harder, trying to pull Amaliya’s blood from her control and into her own. Amaliya felt the leash on her power slip and cursed. Drifting closer to Etzli, Amaliya watched the vampire thrashing in the blood cloud. Etzli’s dark eyes blazed with fury. Battling against the necromantic power holding her hostage, she bared her fangs.

Again, her power slipped. Etzli was older and more in control of her abilities than Amaliya. Most of the time Amaliya just winged it, learning as she went. This time she couldn’t depend on chance.

“Kill the witch!” Amaliya ordered.

Etzli’s eyes flashed with fear.

The magical dome vanished a second later.

The fresh death flared through Amaliya like cold fire, filling her completely, and imbuing her with the power she needed. With a cry of triumph, she sent Etzli crashing into the ground. Amaliya landed beside her, straddled the vampire, and pinned her arms to the road as the bloody vapor swirled around them. Digging her nails into Etzli’s wrists, she destroyed tendons and bone. The bone blades fell from Etzli’s hands.

Roberto emerged from the darkness and pounded his silver blade through Etzli’s chest, impaling her heart, instantly paralyzing her.

Samantha’s battered car pulled up next to them. The passenger side was a mess, but it was drivable. Baptiste jumped out and jerked Etzli into his arms.

“Make sure the knife stays in her heart,” Amaliya said.

Baptiste nodded, sliding into the backseat with her.

Amaliya once more cast out her necromancy, snagging all the dead bodies scattered across the roadway. She willed them to rest in peace. The corpses sank through the road and into the earth. Climbing into the passenger seat, Amaliya dragged the warped door shut.

“You’re scary,” Samantha informed her.

Amaliya shivered, nodding. “Yeah. I am.”

The sirens of the emergency vehicles sounded in the distance as the small
car sped on toward Austin.

Chapter 21

Cian stroked his goatee with his long fingers while watching the array of monitors sprawled across several desks lined against the wall in his home. Slouched in an office chair, he watched the progress of Samantha’s vehicle on a map displayed on one of the screens. He was grateful that the GPS signal of the vehicle could be tracked. It was reassuring to see the car on the outskirts of Georgetown. Amaliya and Samantha were almost home.

Checking his phone again, he saw Amaliya’s latest message. The autocorrect was having a lot of fun with her swearing and it brought a small smile to his worried face.

Alexia sat next to him, occasionally tapping away on the keyboard. Cassandra was perched beside him on a stool she had dragged over from the bar. Elbows on her knees, she studied the banks of monitors that displayed the latest information on the battle against The Summoner.

The basement game room looked like something out of a science fiction movie. Most of the gaming equipment Cian had bought for the room was in storage. In its place were the state of the art machines that Alexia had purchased to create an information hub. The young hunter was incredibly resourceful. Whereas the supernaturals of the cabal were dependent on their otherworldly abilities to fight The Summoner, Alexia used her intelligence and tech skills to keep track of every facet of the battle against the ancient vampire across the world. Sadly, most of the recent activity was in their area.

“Aimee, any sign of trouble?” Cian called out.

The true witch leaned over the old billiard table that was now covered in maps, spell materials, and crystals. “Nothing. None of the detection spells have activated.” Her long hair was drawn into a ponytail and fell over one shoulder. Clad in a sequined multi-colored skirt and lightweight blue sweater, she gave off an aura of softness and femininity. Yet, Aimee was probably
one the most dangerous of all his cabal.

Cian had been skeptical of Aimee’s detection spells at first, but after witnessing their effectiveness in alerting them to their enemies, he trusted her completely. Cassandra and Aimee had buried spells along every possible route into Austin. Aimee then activated all of the spells creating a net that activated an alarm if any supernatural creature entered the city.

“I still can’t believe we got Etzli,” Cassandra said in awe.

“The Summoner must want Amaliya really bad to send her,” Alexia agreed.

“The Summoner is running out of time,” Cian said somberly. “He’ll get a lot more aggressive now. He wants the last of Lucifer’s rings.”

“I’m going to have to come up with a counter-spell to make sure they don’t block Amaliya’s power again,” Aimee said, annoyance in her voice. “I should have anticipated their black witches trying something like that.”

“You can’t think of everything, babe,” Cassandra said, giving her girlfriend an encouraging smile.

Aimee wagged her head, disagreeing. “I should have thought of it. They could have ended up prisoners, then The Summoner would have Amaliya.”

“Amaliya did what she always does when backed into a corner. She found a way to fight back.” The pride Cian felt in his lover helped balance the fear he felt at the thought of Amaliya not returning safely. The GPS signal was proceeding without interruption, much to his frayed nerves’ relief.

Cian’s plan to set a trap for Etzli had been helped by The Summoner making a move of his own. Cian had known immediately when Nicole and Courtney had abruptly agreed to send emissaries to meet with Cian’s representatives after months of refusing that The Summoner had decided to take Amaliya. In the last few months it had become increasingly evident that the vampire powers of the world were not going to defy The Summoner, so the offer of a meeting had been questionable to begin with. The insistence of the two vampire masters that Amaliya be in attendance at the meeting outside of Austin had only confirmed his suspicion. For once the plotting of The Summoner had worked in Cian’s favor. If he had sent Amaliya and Samantha out of town on a random errand, The Summoner would have been suspicious. The meeting in Waco had been perfect.

Now, they would hopefully discover where Bianca was located and rescue her while The Summoner was out of her body.

It felt good to finally be able to win against The Summoner after months of fending him off. He could see it in the eyes of those around him that they were relieved to finally have a win in their column. They had all lost much in the last few months. Alexia and her brother Benchley had been forced to abandon their regular lives and go underground. Benchley’s gaming store had been sold to his business partner while Alexia took a leave from attending St. Edward’s University. Jeff had closed his occult bookstore, moving all his files and books home. Samantha no longer worked a regular job in one of Cian’s companies. Instead she was his human right-hand and spent all her time helping in the efforts against The Summoner. All of the members of the makeshift cabal split their time between Jeff’s Victorian and Cian’s mansion. Except for Eduardo. The coyote came and went as he pleased, but no one knew where he lived anyway. The coyote always showed up when needed, but tended to keep to himself.

Cian’s phone buzzed again and he checked the incoming message. It was Amaliya. He grinned as he read.

“What’d she say?” Cassandra asked, leaning over his shoulder in an attempt to take a peek.

“In Round Rock. Almost home.” Cian answered, hiding the rest of the message. It was rather pornographic. Amaliya tended to be horny after a big fight.

“Uh huh,” Cassandra said, obviously not believing that was the cause for his grin.

Cian winked at her.

Cassandra rolled her eyes. “Gross.”

He chuckled in response.

Cian adored his daughter. Every time he looked at her he only loved her more. She looked so much like her mother, Galina, that it was a bit startling. Yet, he could clearly see himself stamped in her features and especially her attitude. Even though he hadn’t raised her, she definitely had inherited some of his personality traits. He was also very fond of her girlfriend and was glad to see his daughter in a solid relationship. In spite of the high state of anxiety they all lived with, he did find happiness in the small moments he spent with Cassandra. Their relationship was still evolving, but it was good.

Jeff emerged from the stairwell with his brown hair a bit messy from him running his fingers through it. Cian noted the slight limp the man walked with. He knew Jeff suffered phantom pains. Yet, the hunter never let his disability slow him down. “Rachoń called. After she heard we got Etzli, she was more than a little ecstatic.” Jeff strode over to study the bank of monitors.

Aimee face was somber as she watched the bits of magic floating
across the map of Austin on the table before her. “They’re still in the clear.”

“If we can get Etzli to tell us where The Summoner is located that will be a big plus on our side.” Jeff took a seat nearby, his phone still in his hands.

“If The Summoner doesn’t immediately relocate once he...or is it she?...realizes we have Etzli,” Aimee pointed out.

“It sucks that we can’t go to the government to help us.” Alexia swiveled her chair back and forth while typing on her keyboard.

“We all know how that worked out for the Washington group that tried to get help,” Cassandra said sadly.

“Guantanamo.” Jeff sighed. “I can’t believe they got pegged as terrorists. Or maybe the government knows. Maybe they don’t care. Maybe they’re in on it. Maybe they want The Summoner to win. Who knows?” Jeff ran his hands through his hair again, exhaling loudly.

“What does it matter? We’re on our own. We already know that. When it comes to dealing with The Summoner directly, we’re it. There’s no point lamenting that fact anymore.” Aimee folded her arms over her breasts.

“The hot witch has a point,” Cassandra agreed.

“We’ll deal with Etzli, get the information we need, and go from there,” Cian said in a firm voice.

There was a long beat of silence, then Jeff said, “Holy shit, we got
Etzli
! Does that blow anyone else’s mind?”

“I won’t believe it until I see it,” Cassandra admitted.

Cian checked his phone again when he felt it buzz. “They’ll be here soon. We do have the cell prepped, right?”

“Benchley is putting the finishing touches on it,” Jeff answered.

“Cian, how are we going to keep her from pulling her slick assassin moves?” Cassandra tilted her head, curiosity in her eyes.

“Silver chains. And if that doesn’t work, I’ll chop off her arms and legs,” Cian answered simply.

“For real?” Cassandra’s eyes widened.

“Of course.” Cian stood, stretched and lightly stroked his daughter’s hair with one hand. “If she attempts to break free, I’ll do it.”

Cassandra opened her mouth, then shut it abruptly.

“This is a war, Cass,” Cian reminded her.

“No mercy,” Aimee agreed. “Etzli would never show it to us.”

“And when we get the information we need?” Alexia asked.

“We kill her,” Jeff said, also standing.

The thought of destroying a woman he had once cared
about should have bothered him, Cian thought, but it didn’t. Etzli would kill all of them and take Amaliya to The Summoner if she could.

Cian and Jeff exited the room together, walking down the narrow hallway to another room. It was actually another one of Cian’s resting places, but they had altered it to hold whomever they managed to snatch. That it was Etzli made Cian especially nervous.

“Do you think she’ll talk?” Jeff asked in a lowered voice.

“Honestly, no. But we’ll find a way to get the information out of her. We have to.”

Jeff stopped in mid-stride and turned to face Cian. Arms folded, the human looked dour. “If we find out where The Summoner is from Etzli, we’ll have to attack soon.”

Cian nodded. “As soon as possible.”

“Which means we should get the information out of her tonight. If we don’t, there’s a chance The Summoner will move locations.” Jeff fidgeted a little. “Do you think we can do it?”

“We don’t have a choice, Jeff. This is our best break so far.”

“Is Amaliya sure she can actually carry out her plan?”

“She’s certain of it. If we can rescue Bianca, we will have The Summoner at a great disadvantage. If she can untether The Summoner from Bianca’s body, he’ll be a ghost again, and Samantha thinks she can possibly banish him.” Cian knew it was all conjecture, but it was all they had. There was really no way to plan in certainties. They’d have to wing it. He didn’t like it any more than Jeff did, but didn’t see where they had a choice.

“I hate this,” Jeff sighed, rubbing his face with his hands. “If The Assembly hadn’t fallen apart they might have been able to figure out how to eliminate him.”

“I know you trusted your vampire hunting buddies, but they were ill-prepared for all of this in the end. How many groups have simply gone quiet?”

“Too many. They’re out of the game now. We’re it.”

Resting his hand on Jeff’s shoulder, Cian looked him in the eye. “The best people to deal with what is happening are already here in Austin. I do believe that.”

“I still wish we could get help from the government, the military, the cops.” Jeff leaned against the wall, appearing exhausted. “I didn’t tell the others, but one of the groups in England also tried to raise the alarm with the government. No one has heard from them since. After what happened to the group in Washington and now the English one, I’m really starting to wonder if the vampires have some of the governments in their back pockets.”

Cian knew it was a distinct possibility. “So if the veil falls...?”

“Some of the people in power will end up vampires and continue to be in power. That’s what I’m guessing. Or am I just paranoid?”

“You might be right. We’ve been a bit naive about things since the beginning. Remember when we thought it was a fluke that The Summoner had made Amaliya? Now we know better. When he set her free after she rose, it was all a test. To see if he had accomplished what he set out to do.” Cian mirrored Jeff’s posture by leaning against the opposite wall. “Maybe he’s had this planned much longer than we think. Consider the abduction of Etzli over a hundred years ago. The rings of Lucifer are worn by his followers. His exclusion of me
and Rachoń, the most ‘human’ of his offspring.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Jeff let out a harsh exhalation. “It’s just he’s had how long to prepare compared to our measly four months?”

“You think we’re going to fail, don’t you?” Cian wasn’t surprised. Jeff was pragmatic and intelligent. It didn’t take much thought to come to that conclusion. Yet, Cian believed they would somehow beat The Summoner. So much had changed since Amaliya had come into his life. She was a catalyst for so much that he believed she would continue to play a valuable part of what would happen next.

“I won’t lie. I wish I could take Sam and run. But there is nowhere to go, is there? The veil falls and hell comes to earth. I just wish my dad was here. I feel like he’d figure all this out. He’d know what we need to do.”

“Did you ask Sam if he’s around?”

“Yeah. No sign of him or Innocente.” Jeff’s thick brows drew into a hard line over his eyes. “I sometimes feel like we’re abandoned by the whole damn world.”