Revolution (Risen Series Bk2)

If anyone gets the sabotage reference, you win epic bragging rights!

There looked to be hundreds of us lingering like shadows amongst the trees. The occasional flash of white fangs in the moonlight, voices nothing but whispers out in the open, the creepy scale went from seven to ten. The forest was our only cover and it wasn’t enough. My back tingled as if someone was standing right behind me but when I turned to look, nothing was there.

Titus parted ways to speak to the vampire’s he’d brought with him, his brow furrowed in thought. Padraig went with him, slapping his friend on the shoulder. Titus didn't look happy that his warriors would now be thrown into battle.

Atanas reached out behind him to pull me to his side. "Don't look so worried, my love. We still have the element of surprise, and extra forces thanks to Titus, which Airell definitely won’t be expecting.”

“Or you underestimate Airell.”

Jaw clenching, he said nothing else as we crept closer to the edge of the trees than I was uncomfortable with. Nadia and Kincaid stood shoulder to shoulder wth their backs to us, eyes locked on the grey building I could just about make out in the distance. They both turned when a misplaced step had a stuck snapping beneath my boot.

Atanas glanced at me from the corner of his eye and I gave him a sheepish look. It wasn’t my fault I wasn’t being as quiet as I could when I was being dragged along by Atanas with his achingly long stride.

“Tell me what you’ve found,” Atanas demanded in a sharp whisper.

Kincaid cleared his throat. “There’s only ten vampires on guard outside. About an hour ago, we counted thirty-four heading inside.” Sympathetic honey eyes met mine. “Airell amongst them.”

The beginnings of a growl built in Atanas’ chest and my hand whacked his arm to remind him to be quiet. Narrowed blues drifted to me before focussing back on his commanders.

“Any sign of Gideon or Ihrin?”

Nadia shook her head grimly. “I sent Bett as close as she’d dare go, she managed to get a look through a few windows but she didn’t see any prisoners. They’ve barricaded all but one door, a few are weak enough it’s nothing a good kick won’t get through. Most of them stay gathered in the storage room. She thought she glimpsed a set of stairs going down before the door shut. If there’s a basement, that’s where I’d keep someone likely to flee.”

The fact Airell didn’t have Gideon or Ihrin’s head rotting on a spike by the front door was good news in itself.

“What’s our priority here, My King,” Kincaid asked. “Is this a rescue mission or is our target Airell?”

“Why can’t it be both?” Folding my arms, I lifted my chin and hoped my gaze was as piercing as our King’s often was.

“Split targets means split resources.”

“So don’t split your resources. I’ll look for Gideon myself. You can all focus on Airell.” I didn’t want to be anywhere near him. Didn’t want to so much as see him because with a look, he could test just how badly I blocked out the maker’s bond.

Atanas squeezed my hand. “You’re not going anywhere alone, this could all be a trap, remember? One set up specifically for you.” Looking to Kincaid, my suggestion was dismissed as he asked, “Any sign they know we’re here?”

“Hard to say. I find it odd the bulk of their forces was pulled inside, but the ones left on guard don’t look too bothered. Either they’re lazy or they don’t know to look out for an army.”

“Lets hope it’s the second,” Nadia added.

“How do you feel about blowing something up?”

Realising Atanas was talking to me, my eyes widened but he must have seen the sudden excitement in my gaze. “I can’t manage an entire building...”

He chuckled and shook his head. “I was thinking something smaller, a door. A wall maybe.”

“A distraction?” My eyebrow quirked up. “Won’t that make me a target?”

“If I command you to stay here and lay low, or to let others take the lead, will you?”

Kincaid snorted and Nadia smirked. I didn’t need to answer.

“Xiaodan will stay by your side, if she agrees,” he emphasised, aware of how I felt. “Padraig will stay back, he isn’t a fighter, so choose someone else you trust to stay with you too.”

My gaze flicked to Kincaid immediately and honey eyes flicked skyward as if he was silently praying to some god for me to change my mind. Chuckling, I offered, “If you think everyone will realise how bad you are in a fight next to my epic self, I’d be happy to have some girl power time with Nadia.”

The vampiress smirked up at Kincaid who glared unamused, his ego warring with the knowledge I wouldn’t stop teasing him even if we were about to face death.

“I have too much respect for our Queen, if she ordered me to join her in searching for prisoners, I’d obey.” Nadia nudged his shoulder. “You’ll be better at keeping her in line.”

“I’m not sure anyone can keep her in line,” he muttered.

A swat to my read and my cheeks flamed bright red. Atanas grinned. “I have a few ways but you’re not allowed to use such methods with my mate. You do however have permission to remove her from the battlefield should she decide to do something stupid. . .” The laughter left his face as he stepped forward to grip his friend’s forearm. “Stick to her like glue, Kincaid.”

“I will, My King. She’ll be safe with me.”

Atanas nodded, and for some reason the seriousness of our situation hit me then. All the fear I felt roiling through me, I pushed away. Once the first scent of blood was in the air, it would be easy to fall back into the place where I thought only about the kill. Hopefully I’d be able to keep enough of my senses to tell friend from foe. It would be easier to ignore the need to search for my friend until we’d won.

When all of us were gathered apart from those keeping watch who would remain here with Padraig, the vampiress known as Bett filled us in on every detail she’d uncovered and our plan began to form. It was odd listening to such a young sounding voice talking about battle, but I imagined how she appeared was part of the reason she was Nadia’s preferred spy. Because Bett, the sweet faced, curly haired warrior, had been turned at the tender age of thirteen. Her story, as well as so many other horrific stories of people being turned against their will and tortured by power mad sire's, reminded me of our reason for being here. Who we were fighting this war for.

We drew closer together as the finer details were discussed, the most trusted of our allies put in charge of groups of vampires; each with their own part to play. And every one seemed eager. We might have wanted a better world, but we couldn’t deny who we were. Creatures of the night would always enjoy the dark side of life, the bloodthirsty part of us born the day we were turned. Denying that, I’d realised, was futile and sure to drive one mad.

“If Padraig and his group stay to the West, they can pick up on any that make it to the trees,” Atanas said. “But we need to make sure the rest of us are all inside when the sun comes up. We won’t have the chance to run to the cars and trucks for cover.”

“We’re cutting it close as it is,” I added unhappily.

Titus hummed his agreement, eyeing the sky even though it showed no sign of getting lighter yet. “Maybe you should leave the wall alone, join me and Ren.”

“The point of me and Xiaodan bringing down the wall is so they don’t have a place to hide from the sun as you all push them back.”

“If we are going to do this, we need to do it now.” Nadia huffed, her hand on the deadly curved blade that hung from her hip. “Michael and the others are still on there way but I’d love to shove it in his face that we didn’t need him for our victory.”

I snorted in amusement, wondering what Michael had done for Nadia to dislike the American Princeps so much.

Atanas nodded, his gaze moving to me. Jerking my head to show I was ready, he straightened up and looked out at our warriors. They’re gazes were all locked on him and I was happy to let him take all the attention. Armed with his sword, his usual button shirt replaced with a tunic similar to those Titus wore under tough brown leather armour, I could almost see him as Leyla might have when he was human.

Dark hair tied back with a strip of cloth, his blue eyes were as dark as the star-studded sky above us, and steely with determination.

“There’s no time for a grand speech,” he called out as loud as he dared with the enemy were so close. My muttered 'thank fuck' went mostly unnoticed too. “We all know why we’re here, we all know what will happen if Airell and his followers win. Remember that when the blood starts to flow. We will create a world where we can truly thrive in without having to prey on the weak, and if some should fall, nobody’s sacrifice will go forgotten.”

A murmur of agreement went round, a quiet cheer when we couldn’t drum ourselves up with noise to prepare for battle. I couldn’t help but roll my eyes. That sounded very much like a grand speech to me. Padraig caught my expression with a grin, shrugging as if to ask what else I expected. Which was fair enough. Atanas was a King. It was, I guessed, in the job description.

The groups moved out swiftly, friends gripping arms in farewell till after the battle. I rocked on my feet, smiling at the paternal makers who weren’t eager to let their fledglings stray far from their side. That was how it was meant to be.

Kincaid stood by my side with strong arms folded and honey eyes staring off into the distance. A swathe of tartan, vibrant colours darkened by age, was draped over his shoulder, pinned in place by an equally old looking Plaid brooch. The brooding warrior didn’t help my nerves and I wanted to make a joke about us not being about to march into Culloden but the joke felt flat even to me.

“We should go,” I finally said, shaking my arms in answer to the surge of adrenaline spiking my veins.

Kincaid looked down at me then towards where Atanas was giving last minute orders to Padraig and those who would be hard-pressed to watch out for the rising sun. Atanas and I had already said everything we needed to, and I was scared if he caught me before I left he might try and convince me to stay behind.

Nodding over to Xiaodan hovering a few feet away, I started forward. The crunch of Kincaid’s steps followed a few seconds after but he muttered unhappily at leaving without telling me mate. Titus bowed his head as we passed by, reaching out to take my arm before thinking better of it.

“Take care of my witch.”

“I will. Watch my mate’s back.”

He gave me a charming smile and bowed with a hand over his heart. “Of course, Your Majesty.”

Once we’d made it out of our base camp, I hurried onto a jog, or the human speed of a jog. With Xiaodan, we were stuck going as fast as she could and it was painfully slow circling around the warehouse until we reached the back delivery entrance.

Hidden from view by thick bushes with spindly branches that caught in our clothes and hair, our job now was to wait. Dark figures moved in the shadows close to the wall, weapons glinting in the occasional flash of torchlight. Atanas was right, they didn’t look particularly bothered about keeping watch, their laughter and at ease chatter reaching us. I looked over at Kincaid curiosity and he offered me a shrug. It was strange to him to that Airell wouldn’t have told them to be on guard even if he wasn’t aware we were close. Which he maybe didn’t but it seemed to unlikely.

A sharp whistle cut through the air and even that didn’t gain so much as a second glance from the guards. They had no idea what hit them when childlike Bett ran round the corner, moving with ballerina grace as she spun and skipped out of the way of blades and fists, taking her enemy out before they had the chance to make a sound.

An eyebrow flew up in awe of her quick work and she was saluting in our direction with a grin before darting round the other corner. My fingers tightened on the blade strapped to my thigh, whole body rocking forward in anticipation. It was my turn, with Xiaodan’s help, to go through with the next part of the plan.

“You’re looking forward to this,” Kincaid whispered, crouching next to me.

“I’m a simple lass with simple pleasures,” I said with as sweet a smile as I could muster, drawing on my power as I breathed in. My hands began to glow in the dark, my whole-body tingling. “I’ve never tried anything like this before.”

Kincaid grunted warily, eyes locked on what would have been the delivery entrance to the warehouse. The weakest point of the whole building, Bett assured us. The doors were thin crinkled steel, shut by being pulled down which meant it would be near impossible to barricade completely.

It was a strange sensation as my magic mixed with that of Xiaodan’s, almost intimate as warmth filled my veins. Her dark eyes met mine, waiting for my signal.

“Say sabotage,” I whispered, lifting my hands in preparation.

Kincaid gave me a strange look, stuttering. “What?”

“Just say it!”

“Sabotage. . .”

I grinned, letting go of the writhing ball of energy that crackled like lightening in the air as we pushed it towards our intended target.

“Boom!” I murmured at the same time the pressure hit the wall, causing an explosion far bigger than either of us had been expecting. The shockwave blasted back against us, nearly knocking us all back into the mud. A cloud of thick brown dust billowed into the air as the crumble of bricks echoed next to the groan of metal.

“Sounded like you blew up the entire building!” Kincaid hissed.

Xiaodan gave me a sheepish look but shrugged. “That was all you, I just helped you guide it.”

Maybe I was getting better with my magic after all. And Kincaid was right...I was only supposed to blow the bloody doors off...

The three of us sprang into action, weapons at the ready as we sprinted across the open grass. Airell was sure to send warriors thundering our way at such an announcement of our presence, and that would give Atanas and the other a chance to slip in the opposite side.

Debris shifted dangerously beneath my boots as I climbed over what was left of the red brick wall. Covering my face with my arm, I coughed and spluttered as dust filled my lungs, grit crunching between my teeth. Thankfully, Xiaodan was on hand to clear the air with a wave of her hand.

We all faltered in confusion when only three wide eyed vampires, all with the telltale newborn flush about their cheeks, stood on the other side. They pointed their swords at us, shiny blades probably as fresh as they were.

“Drop them,” I hissed, giving them the chance to surrender. “Your makers and your leader do not care for your lives.”

The dark haired one grinned. “He told us you would say that.”

Kincaid rushed forward, his huge claymore whooshing through the air. He knocked the blade from the dark haired one's hand with swift ease. Xiaodan darted for the second while the third, a young male who looked barely of age, set his sights on me.

It didn’t look like he expected any backup. Did Airell change his mind about where to send everyone once Atanas and the others pushed in?

There wasn’t enough time to ponder.

I darted towards my opponent with dagger in hand, though I expected I wouldn’t need it against one so young and obviously inexperienced. He swung his blade haphazardly at my approach, the scar on his face pinched in concentration. I avoided his attacks, swinging my shoulder round. His sword clanked against my dagger and he grunted at the unexpected force. My lips twitched. He held his ground well, parrying quickly while refusing to step back.

In the end however, all it took was a well timed sweep of my foot and a sly switch of hands. I spun around and whipped my arm out. The sensation of my dagger sliding past skin and sinew sent a sickening shudder up my spine. Blood sprayed out in every direction, the sword falling from the dying vampire’s hands that now clawed at his throat while he choked on his own blood. He dropped to his knees as I tugged the blade back out.

Unable to look at him, I twisted to make sure more hadn’t come through the door. Why the fuck would Airell have such inexperienced youths on guard?

Kincaid had made quick work of his opponent who lay near cleaved in half. The scent of copper lingered heavy in the air, leaving a metallic tang on my tongue. Honey eyes took in the twitching vampire by my feet with disapproval. It would take more than that a wound to the throat to kill him.

My voice sounded far away and foreign to my ears as I explained, “By the time his body heals, the victor will be clear and it won’t matter whether he’s dead or alive. He’s a baby. At least if we are the winners, we might convince him to change his tune.”

I wouldn’t be like Airell and kill any and everyone in my path if there was a chance to swing them our way. I couldn’t be.

Kincaid nodded once, gaze flicking to Xiaodan who lingered stricken faced by the wall, shrouded in a cloud of dust. I guessed she hadn’t seen death before, or at least not like this. Hand covering her mouth, I was sure if we weren’t here, she would be throwing her guts up.

“Let’s push on,” I muttered, wiping blood from my face with my sleeve but from the grimace on Kincaid’s face, I’d only succeeded in smearing it further. Without waiting for his agreement, I ran for the door.

It was best to move forward and not allow yourself time to think when dealing with death.

The sounds of battle echoed through the wide hallway, ringing clashes of blades and dying screams. But it wasn’t as loud as I’d expected; which only put me edge. Were we close to winning already? Were we losing? Where was everyone?

Kincaid ran right behind me as we trekked down darkened hallway after hallway, occasionally slowing down to climb over fallen shelves and metal trollies. Dim rooms with no windows had blankets and sleepingbags strewn across the floor beside empty food cartons and the occasional microwave plugged in. Someone had even left a whole photo album half hidden by a blood-ruined pillow.

It was clear they’d been here for a few days at least, but not once did we run into another vampire.

The tension grew between us, nervous eyes searching every corner as we continued with our weapons drawn. Then, the sound of fighting came to an eerie halt. We paused in front of a thick red metal door and shared a worried glance.

Kincaid leaned against the wall, raising his claymore over his shoulder while I gripped the handle. Xiaodan lifted her hands, already drawing on her magic in case we had to blast our way through. Huffing as the door scraped across the ground, it swung open more easily after the hinge creaked at a pitch that hurt.

Kincaid darted in with me hot on his heels and I yelped when a blurred shape whipped around to point a curved blade directly at my throat.

“Nadia! It’s me!”

Her eyes widened and she dropped her sword immediately. “Shylah?”

“Our distraction didn’t seem to go quite to plan,” Kincaid grumbled, sheathing his blade.

Looking around the huge storage room, I noted it was mostly our side who took up the space. Bodies littered the ground, groans filling the air as the wounded were tended to. A row of vampires on their knees with bright glaring eyes and fangs bared, some dripping with blood, at least made it clear who the winner was.

“Shylah.” Atanas swooped over, his fingers brushing over the blood splattered across my face but one sniff told him it wasn’t mine. “You haven’t got a scratch on you, I don’t understand.”

“There were only three vampires to get past.”

“This doesn’t make sense,” Nadia murmured, circling the room again as if to make sure no enemy remained hidden. “There should be more of them. Way more.”

“There isn’t.” Rubbing my forehead wearily, I motioned to Kincaid. “We checked every room we passed on the way here. There’s clothes, TVs, and leftover food, but not a soul to be seen. This place is deserted, and they left quick by the looks of it. My guess is not long after Kincaid saw Airell call everyone inside.”

“That snake has managed to slide away. Again!”

I didn’t want to say what I was thinking; that Airell had planned this all too well. He knew making it appear that all his warriors were inside would be too good a bait for us to ignore. Like a fisherman giving some line before drawing the fish in even closer, until it was exactly where he wanted it. . .

“Search every inch of this place for how they got out without being seen!” Several vampires scampered off at Atanas’ barked command.

It didn’t really matter how they got out though, if we knew where they were going.

A throat-tearing scream rattled up from beneath our feet, my eyes widened and the hair on my arms standing on end. The sound was a familiar cadence, full of pain and despair

“Gideon,” I breathed, darting towards a door next to where our prisoners were lined up.

Ignoring the shouts for me to stop, that there could be danger lurking, I swung my way down the concrete steps. The stench of rot and damp was thick enough to make me choke, my hand flying to cover my mouth. There was definitely no escape route down here if the smell was anything to go by. This place hadn’t felt fresh air in gods knew how long.

Flickering yellow lights buzzed overhead, illuminating the cellar in flashes too quick for vampire eyes to properly adjust to. All I could make out were two cages sat side by side, shadowed masses hunched in each one. Two heart beats, both pounding so fast and reeking of fear that I couldn’t tell if they were vampire or human.

“Gideon? Ihrin?” I whispered tentatively, taking slow steps closer.

No reply.

There was utter silence until the slap of shoes against the wet floor rang down the steps and Atanas came barrelling in with others on his heal. Their presence sent the creature in the larger cage raving. Metal rattled and groaned in protest as something threw its bulk furiously against it.

I jumped back, nearly sliding in a patch of slime.

“Someone fix the lights!” Atanas bellowed, as infuriated by the flickering as I was.

Muffled voices at the top of the stair, a loud bang, and suddenly the lights steadied and brightened. And I wish they hadn’t.

Airell had kept Gideon alive, if what I saw before me could count as so. Prowling the edges of his cage, fingers hooked into claws, the crazed vampire with wild green eyes didn’t look anything like my friend. His hair was matted with dark gore that smeared his skin, caked so thick in some places I couldn’t even see his skin. Clothes were bloodied and torn, hanging from his skeletal frame in ragged tatters.

Bile burned the back of my throat and I had to turn around, hands braced against the wall with my head hanging down. Memories tried to break free of the boxes I locked them in, the smell and sounds of the room drowning me in my past.

“The area is secured, you can step outside,” Atanas murmured, his voice barely breaking past the sound of a woman’s laboured breathing and the growls of a deranged vampire.

I shook my head and forced myself to recover, straightening up from the wall. A clatter at the top of the stairs and a lanky vampire skipped off the last step, bowing awkwardly.

“We’ve rounded up the rest of the survivors in the storage room, Your Majesties.” The vampire’s voice was muffled by his hand covering his nose and mouth, his other gripping his bloody spear so tight his knuckles went white. Startled hazel eyes swept over the room, widening at the sight of Gideon.

What a sheltered upbringing as a vampire he must have had if he’d never seen anything like this before. His aura was young, but he at least was older than the vampires Airell had sacrificed to keep us occupied.

“Thank you, Iain. Keep them there. Tell them their King and Queen will be with them soon to decide their fates, and those who wish to talk about how Airell and a whole contingent of vampires disappeared without a trace may be rewarded with their life.”

Iain bowed swiftly and all but fled back up the stairs to relay his message. If I wasn’t so focussed on not being sick, I would have argued with Atanas about his plans for those who surrendered.

Looking to Nadia he murmured more quietly, “Set up a watch to make sure no human wanders too close while we’re sleeping. We’re trapped here until the sun sets. Send for Padraig and those waiting in the forest too, no need for them to spend the day trapped in the cars. It’s still dark enough for them to make it.”

Braver than I, Atanas crept over to the cages, staying clear out of reach of Gideon to crouch by the unmoving mass in the other cage. “Ihrin, can you hear me.”

As if awoken by his voice, the old witch sat boltright up. Dark mahogany eyes pierced right through me and she lifted a bony finger, pointing it right at me. She bagn to shake, muttering to herself hoarsely over and over again.

Icy fingers brushed over my skin as I asked, “What is she saying”

Grim faced, Atanas couldn’t lift his head to look at me. “She keeps repeating the same word over and over.”

“What word,” I whispered, a pit forming in my stomach as blue eyes met mine.

“Cursed.”