Bruiser grabbed the pieces of the icon off the table, slapped the crucifix pieces into my hand, and pushed me into the main room, the one where the blood duels with MacLaughlinn and his clan had taken place. He shoved some of the others in behind me. Quint slithered in through the closing door. I had a moment to realize that Long-Knife had gotten word off to my enemies before he had been caught.
The living room had no furniture, just a dueling mat, still set up for the Sangre Duello. The floor no longer stank of old blood and death, though there were still traces of bloodstains in the grain of the floor all around, a great deal of it Eli’s. I had been so desperate to keep Eli alive. Keep him with me.
That night I had found and used my power.CallingLeo with my own will, my own need. Demanding that he save Eli, who was now bound to me in some previously unknown form of sharing of... bodies? Brains? Souls? And Leo, able to fight his master now, because of that night.
“Stay in here, safe,” Bruiser ordered.
The memory eased. I could breathe. I shoved the cross and the Jesus focal into different pockets again.
I nodded and Bruiser left me there, staring at the bloodstains. My Consort closed the door, shutting out thesounds of preparations for battle. I realized I had my full hearing back. I adjusted the headgear and tapped the sound back on, so I could hear the commands and comments and know what was happening.
Soledad put Angie on her feet and said to her, “This is the third one.”
“Third one what?” Quint asked.
Neither of them replied.
But I knew. Third attack tonight.
Angie moved to the far wall, where the elaborate carved staircase came down from the second story. She sat on the floor and touched it with her left index finger. She held out her right hand to Soledad, who took it and sat beside her. I caught two quick flashes of opposing visions. The crucifix was inside the circle with Angie and Soledad. They were both alive. The crucifix was in my hand and Angie was gone, taken, leaving behind bodies in a sea of blood. I dropped the gold cross and the Jesus into Angie’s lap.
Soledad said to me, “It is always a child, or a young woman, with the greatest power. This is why men fear us so.” She opened her mouth, unhinging her jaw. Huge fangs snapped down as her eyes bled slowly scarlet and black. “There are nights when even angels tremble with fear. On the new moon, when the world is dark and the spirits roam the night, if the proper sacrifices have been found, then both the called and the trapped will be bound. I do not think they have been found. Yet. Not where Joses hid them. But a bargain will be struck.”
“What bargain?”
“There is always a bargain. An exchange. A contest. A life for a life. The dark one will provide to the summoner, the sacrificer, a power-for-power, in exchange for the angel.”
“Sooo... the ultimate goal isn’t to bind and use the angel, but to exchange him for something else?”
“Perhaps. There are layers upon layers of strategies and schemes. Plans that are calledcontingencies. You must act.”
“What am I supposed to do?”
A boom hit thehedgearound the house. I lurched, falling to one knee, catching myself on my palms. The outerhedgehadn’t fallen, but it was taking a beating.
Around Soledad and herself, Angie closed ahedge of thorns. The ward was bright silver blue in my Beast vision, shining with power, raw energy shaped by Angie’s hands and will. “Take care of my mama, Ant Jane. Please. Keep her safe.”
I remembered Molly and Big Evan heading through the doors to meet the attack.
I smelled burned things. Smoke and rot like a garbage pile on fire. I drew my weapons. Quint raced up the stairs to the landing. She had excellent lines of fire from there, up the stairs and down, through the main rooms, and out the windows to the lawn. Her face was badly bruised and her left hand was purple from the attack of the demon death energies at the prison. Or me landing on her. But she moved well. Edmund had healed her.
The door opened and Quint nearly blew off Koun’s head before she recognized him and pulled up the weapon. Koun, Grégoire, and Edmund entered, Koun dragging Leo’s body by one arm, a longsword in the other hand.
Ed closed the door behind them and found me with his eyes. When he reached my side he said simply, “My Queen.”
“Eddie the Great,” I said back.
He laughed. I figured that was enough for the moment.
Koun propped Leo against the wall. The former master of the city had a stake in his belly to keep him from having to fight the compulsion that bound him.
A second boom sounded. This time the chandelier overhead tinkled with the vibration.
“You always plan such delightful entertainments, My Queen,” Grégoire said, sweeping me a flourishing bow before presenting me with his back. His golden hair was swept into a tail with a complicated knot. He drew two longswords. The waistband of his bloody-crusted icy-toned armor bristled with smaller blades. I noted that there had been delicate lace at the neck and shoulders of his modern armor, and at the pockets and sleeves. It was all encrusted with filth now. He reeked of death.
My chief strategist and the Blood Master of Clan Arceneau and all of France scanned the room and adjusted his position based on Quint’s high-ground. Their positions now allowed them to cover two entrances, which left Quint to cover the stairs and window. Grégoire gave her a serene nod. Even though unspoken, it was high praise from my official warlord, one of my highest-ranking vamps.
I glanced at my lady-in-waiting. Her eyes were bright as she took in Grégoire, Edmund, and Koun. It was clear the men were pure eye candy to her.
