Over the din of chairs pushing back, Grandfather shouted, “How can they be gone?” The nurse stood frozen, her hands gripped the back of the chair that Grandfather had just shoved out of the way. Her eyes rolled back and her face seemed to contort. A deep growl started in her chest and erupted from her sneering lips as a man’s voice spoke. “I told you nothing would come between me and my mate. Did you think this puny nurse was enough to keep me away?” The laugh that followed sent shivers down Katalea’s spine. The nurse’s eyes, now black as coal, surveyed the room. “My mate and I will raise an army and defeat you. All the embryos are growing and need a mother. We will come back and destroy all of you and your pathetic Pride.” With that, the nurse fell bonelessly to the floor. The others stared at each other, not knowing which way to turn first. Grandfather stooped to pick up the nurse, while Grandmother ran to prepare a place on the nearest couch to lay her down. “Kata
They rose as a group and walked quickly to the book. The same intense blue eyes stared out at them. Eerie, as they seemed to look right through all of them at once. Inside her head Katalea heard the craggy voice whisper, “So you’ve made it back, well done.” Without thinking, Katalea blurted out, “Who are you?” Everyone except Zinnia turned and glared at her. Obviously, they didn’t feel her tone was respectful. Katalea was contemplating an apology when the voice inside her head chuckled. The others must have heard it too, for suddenly smiles replaced their frowns. Katalea, encouraged now, smirked. “Ah, the young werecat, always so impatient. It is a good question. I am surprised it took you this long to ask it.” Katalea noticed that the voice never actually answered the question. “I have received the first stone, the sunstone. A rare one at that. You were clever and wily to find it, but more important you learned to rely on one another. You bonded and now approach me a
They rushed after him, Dakari leading the charge. He wasn’t hard to find as the outer door to their little den had been sealed, magically, by Grandfather. “And thank the goddesses,” Katalea thought as she watched the big man pull and tug, trying to get the door open, “Can you imagine the local police getting a whiff of vampire in the middle of a homicide investigation?” “Luca, what is it?” Zinnia soothed. “We are all family now, whatever it is, we can help.”Luca finally gave up his worthless mission and turned to face the rest. His face looked weathered, somehow older, and far more sinister.“You guys don’t understand, you can’t.” He rubbed at his smooth scalp and lifted his chin as if praying for calm. With his eyes closed, he inhaled and held his breath. Opening his eyes, he released the air. His whole body seemed to slump as the breath left his body. “Let’s sit down then, I have a story to tell you,” he said, and made his way to the nearest little sofa. The bulk of him
“How could I be back here?” Luca thought as he watched the menacing shapes circle him. Strangely, when the hissing woman spoke he already knew what she was going to say. “This is the one I told you about. He thinks he is better than you, better than me. I want you to teach him that we are one and the same,” she snarled. The crowd of men surged closer but no one grabbed at him. He felt the words form in his mind and remembered the chain of events that he was about to spark. “I don’t want to be like you. Just kill me and put me out of my misery.” he spat, but got no reaction. He tried another tactic, leering at her. “Fine, I am better than you, what are you going to do about it?” He looked her up and down and purposely wrinkled his nose in disgust. Fury erupted and she lashed out, using long nails to scrape at his cheeks and down across his throat. “Was that supposed to hurt?” Luca antagonized. She reached for her sword, ready to remove his head and silence him forever.
Katalea choked on the sip of water she had just attempted to swallow. “You have visions too?” He looked at her quizzically, “I don’t know if it was a vision or what, but he came to me as a warrior. Young, bold, larger than life. He announced himself, and even in my sleep I knew enough to take a knee.”“What did he say?” Aquinas spoke in a whisper, totally caught up in the story.“I don’t have the puppy’s perfect recall,” Luca said, reaching across to slap Beecher on the knee, “But he let me know that I had been one of his chosen. Hearing him say that, just knowing it, had me reeling. Instead of feeling proud that he, a god no less, had noticed me, I just felt bitter and angry all over again. Even in my dream I raged and tore at my clothes.” Luca sighed and turned his head. His eyes filled, his emotions still raw. He took a calming breath, closed his eyes, and let the air flow out of him. “Funny,” he thought, “I don’t need to breathe, but a deep sigh still calms me. Nearly
“What do you mean go back, like, as in time?” Beecher asked, angling his head with interest.“No, he can’t mean that….” Dakari said quickly, too quickly. He stopped and thought for a moment, turned his head to Luca, “Please tell me you mean back to where Vikings come from, what Scandinavia?”“Yes, No, I mean, I have no idea how to time travel. I am from an area that is now called Norway. Most people in this area look a lot different from me.” He laughed, a deep dark laugh that sounded jaded. “After a Viking raid in Africa, apparently Odin found comfort in the arms of the warrior princess Zuri…generations later, I was born. “I guess I always pictured Vikings to be of fairer complexion,” Katalea offered, “and wearing the helmets with the two horns.” “Ah, yes, I have seen those. They were not worn by my comrades, but seemed to add to the lore of the Nomadic Vikings.” He turned to Katalea, noticed the teasing grin on her face, “In truth, the Vikings often took women wherever the
As Luca clawed at his eyes writhing on the floor, Beecher stopped, stupified, and looked down at his nemesis. All thoughts of food gone, he ran back to help in any way he could. Zinnia approached just as quickly, more than concern showing on her face. But as she stood over him, she tilted her head to the side in confusion. “I feel no pain, Luca. How can I help if I can’t feel it?” she cried, panicked. She had never come across an ache she couldn’t soothe. “Help me get him out of the sun,” Beecher spoke softly as if his mere words would cause more pain. As he reached down to move him, Luca’s hand shot out and grabbed Beecher by the forearm. Shocked, repulsed, Beecher jumped and recoiled. His face showed the fear of someone who knew they were about to be attacked by a vampire. Luca lay there grinning, all signs of pain gone. Madness lay in his eyes, but not a feral desire for canine blood. He pulled Beecher to the floor where he rolled and landed flat on his back. He loo
Luca chuckled at the speed of Beecher’s thoughts. “I was thinking about the prophecy on the drive over. Last time we were looking for where the sun met the earth. It sounded crazy to us at the time, but after discovering Salar de Uyuni, it all made sense. This time we are to hunt down the Hall of the Slain.” “But that’s a mythical place,” Aquina reasoned, “How do you go about finding that?” “That was my first thought,” Luca agreed, winking at Katalea as she picked up her phone. “But everything is on Google.” Katalea was busy swiping and tapping at her phone.Katalea was again surprised at what she found. There were numerous tourist destinations by that name. One could find t-shirts and other trinkets, and Katalea vowed to get Luca his own two-horned helmet at her first chance. The place that struck her as a viable option was a museum, supposedly on the ancient burial grounds of thousands of slain warriors, many of who had reportedly gone on to Valhalla. “There is a shrine, if yo