“Yes,”the Great Luna answered.
A bright, white sword appeared in Jen’s hand. Her eyes widened, but she didn’t second-guess it. She slammed the shining blade down across the vampire’s throat and severed his head. Did her lips turn up into a deranged smile? Probably, but she just kept going. They’d brought this on themselves. One after another, the Great Luna pointed out who Jen was allowed to dispatch and who she was to spare.
Jen had no idea how many lives she’d taken by the time she reached the main floor of the huge building. She stood in the middle of the room, white light filling the space and bursting through the dark windows. There were supernaturals all around her, stumbling about or writhing in pain. This was what happened when you messed with the Great Luna’s people.
Jen felt something bump into her, and she turned to find a vampire staring straight at her. He seemed to be significantly less bothered by the light. Though he was squinting a bit, he could still see. She turned around, backed up a couple of steps, and raised her sword, bending her knees and settling into a fighting stance.
“You think you can fight the king of the vampires?” he asked.
Jen smirked. “I think you’re a fool if you believe you stand a chance against a she-wolf who’s pup you kidnapped. Not to mention the wrath of a goddess.”
“Little girl,” he cooed, “you have no idea who you are challenging.”
“Bet you’re gonna tell me.” Jen sighed. “Because that’s what the bad guys always do. They yap endlessly about themselves and their evil credentials as if their opponent gives a flying pixie’s butt.”
He seemed completely unbothered by her insult. “I am Sincaro, the oldest vampire in history, and I control every vampire in the world. You are nothing to me. A cockroach beneath my feet that I can simply crush with my shoe.”
“Then shut up and do it,” Jen snarled. “I’m hungry, my mate is going to be pissed at me, and my daughter needs a bath. I don’t have time to listen to your narcissistic chatter.”
The vampire lunged, but Jen was ready. She turned as she swiped the blade down and caught him across the chest. It wasn’t a killing blow. It didn’t pierce his heart, but it must have burned like fire because he hissed like a cat that had been thrown in a tank of water. Sincaro glanced down at the cut that went diagonally from shoulder to waist. The sword in her hand apparently wasn’t just a kickass, white glowing blade. It must hold special power.Duh, it was made by a goddess. It’s not like it’s going to be a dud.
Sincaro hissed again.
Jen couldn’t help but smile. Guess that would teach him not to flap his old-as-dirt gums so much.
He ran straight for her again because old vampires can’t learn new tricks, and just before he reached her, she jumped straight up and then flipped, twisted in the air, and landed facing his back. Again, she brought her sword down, hoping to behead him. But he turned and ducked at the same time, causing her blade to whoosh over his head. He came up swinging and caught her in the face. The blow felt like she’d been hit with a wrecking ball, knocking her back several feet.
“If you lose this fight, I am going to drag you back from the dead and beat the ever-loving crap out of you,” Peri’s voice came from behind her.
Jen grinned. “I’ve missed you, too.”
“Never said I missed you. Now shut up and focus.”
Sincaro tried to take advantage of Jen’s lost balance, but when he jumped at her, she rolled, ducking straight under his raised legs. Her blade came up and sliced him right through his crotch.
“OH, daaaamn,” Peri hissed. “That had to hurt. Okay, maybe I missed you a little.”
“Knew it!” Jen aughed.
The vampire roared. Jen didn’t take any time to enjoy the sweet victory. She jumped to her feet and then attacked with all the fury she had in her.
“This one has killed thousands of children over the course of his existence.”Jen heard the Great Luna’s words in her mind.“The evil in him permeates everything he touches. The world needs to be cleansed of him. If you kill him, you will kill every vampire he has ever directly sired.”
Jen’s rage grew inside of her as she remembered the children killed not long ago. Vasile had not wanted them to know about it, but when they’d found out, she’d been furious.
Her sword slashed through the air, moving at a speed that made it look as if she was wielding only a beam of light. Cut after cut she sliced at him, listening to his hissing and reveling in the pain that the cuts inflicted. He kept backing away from her, and so she ran, dropped to her knees, and slid, bringing her blade across his knees. It sliced completely through, and he hit the ground on the stumps that were once his thighs. Then she jumped to her feet, turned, and brought her sword around in an arc, the blade meeting his neck and cutting clean through. His head rolled off his body and hit the floor with a thud.
Jen was breathing hard as she looked around the room and watched vampire after vampire simply fall to the ground like the lifeless bodies they were. She had no idea how many were destroyed because of Sincaro’s death, but it looked to be a lot.
She couldn’t enjoy her victory long because the light was fading, and the enemy seemed to be regaining their faculties. Peri was at her side in an instant. “Well done, hellion.” A second later, Alston ran into the main room, his eyes ablaze with rage.
Call it a moment of insanity or an adrenaline rush or just typical Jen being Jen, but whatever it was, something made her lean down and grab Sincaro’s head. She held it by the hair and lifted it into the air. She didn’t care that it was dripping blood all over her or that it was freaking disgusting to be holding a severed head. She was inBraveheartmode, or was it,Gladiator? She couldn’t remember, but it was one of those awesome-as-hell battle movies, and she was going to revel in her enemies’ defeat. She’d dealt the Order a huge blow. She roared as she shook Sincaro’s head. “You’re next, traitor. I will mount your head on my wall and use it as a target to teach my daughter how to throw knives! Mark my words, Alston, traitor of the fae. I so name you an enemy of the Great Luna, an enemy of the Romania pack, an enemy of every supernatural that stands on the side of goodness, and I will have your head.”
“You already said that.” Peri grabbed Jen’s arm. “I think he got the point.” Then she flashed them from the compound.
They reappeared in a huge hall filled with hundreds of people, maybe even a thousand. Jen knew this because she and Peri were standing at the front of the room on a raised platform that allowed them to see out over the crowd. Her arm was still in the air with Sincaro’s head hanging from her hand by his hair. The room went completely silent, and all eyes were on her.
“Hell, Mama!” She heard Thia’s voice and the little girl’s tiny hands clapping. Jen turned her head until she saw her daughter, who was sporting a huge grin. Of course, this was the moment her daughter would choose to actually say “Mama” and not “Dada.” Thia was in her mate’s arms, and he was walking toward Jen with a determined stride. Unlike his daughter, he didn’t have a smile on his face.
