Mortal Defiance

Page 23

Her father stood up and pulled Ree’s mother with him. He was still gripping the kitchen knife, his knuckles white. Susan was watching the door into the kitchen, where you occasionally caught glimpses of the fighting that was going on in the other rooms.
“Why me?” Susan turned her blue eyes back to Ree.
“I think I get my gift from your side of the family.” Frowning, Ree looked at her mother. She didn’t want to have to tell her what she suspected Tristan wanted with their mother.
“But I can’t do whatever it is that you do.”
Ree exchanged a glance with Paden and wondered how much she should tell her mother. Maybe if she knew the truth it would make it easier for her to accept that Tristan really was a monster and not fall for any of his tricks. Paden seemed to understand what Ree was struggling with and just nodded his head.
“Mom, you can’t touch the power, but you have something extra in your blood. Something that would make Tristan more powerful.” Taking a deep breath, Ree plowed on. “He wants to drink from you so he can take that power in for himself.”
“Drink from me?”
“Dark Ones are vampires. They drink the blood of their victims and take in the energy of that person.” Ree jerked at the sound of someone trying to enter through the garage but looked back at her mother. “Trust me, Mom. He isn’t your son anymore. He’s something else entirely.”
“A demon wearing a mask.” Paden’s eyes were dark with pain and anger.
“Tristan really is dead?” There was a slight tremble to the words and it broke Ree’s heart. Nodding her head, she grabbed her mother into a large hug. “He really is, and he is counting on his face weakening your defenses. So you have to be strong, Mama. Okay?”
Susan looked at Ree and nodded her head. “Don’t worry about me, Ree. Worry about yourself. And worry about the person that did this to my son, because if I can find a way to kill them, I’ll do it.”
Ree felt her eyebrows rise and a startled laugh escaped her mouth as the door from the garage collapsed. Whirling around, she gathered the power, but realized she wouldn’t be able to use it against the Dark Ones as long as she had a shield in place. Of course, the constant pressure that was being exerted on her warding meant she wouldn’t be able to keep it up much longer, anyway.
“Jules, Bryce!” Paden called for the two Guardians that were closest to the kitchen. They came quickly. Juliette met the first Dark One that came through the door. She moved with a casual grace. Spinning, dropping, and striking as if it was choreographed. With an almost lazy stroke, she removed the head of the Dark One. As it spun from the shoulders of the body, it disintegrated into a fine dust that hit Ree’s shield. Bryce plowed through the dust and out into the garage. From the sounds of metal on metal, Ree could only assume there were more Dark Ones trying to get in from there.
“Is that Juliette? Did Juliette just cut that man’s head off?” Paden’s father jerked away from the shield and cursed loudly.
“Hi, Mr. O’Reilly. Nice to see you, too!” Juliette turned to look at the people near the island and caught a nasty clout on the side of her head from another Dark One. Something small and glittery flew away from her head to land somewhere on the tiled floor. “Oh, hell no. That was one of my favorite earrings.” A bright light seemed to glow from under Juliette’s skin and the Dark One backed away. Holding a hand up as if to shield his eyes, he didn’t see the shortsword that drove into his chest until it was too late.
A loud thump made Ree jerk back around, only to find Roland sliding through the window. There was blood on the side of his face and there was a tear along the top of his black T-shirt.
“Godling, you’re losing this wager.” Roland smiled at Paden before winking at Ree.
“I thought I’d let you get a head start.” Paden leaned against the counter as if he had nothing to worry about.
Roland threw his head back and laughed. There was a light in his eyes that suggested he was enjoying himself. After a moment he hopped down from the counter and looked at Ree with a more serious expression. “How much longer do you have?”
“Not long. Someone really wants my shield down.”
Roland nodded his head and wiped his metal stake on the edge of his shirt. “We’ve killed almost all of the Dark Ones that were originally around the house, but more are taking their place. We’re going to have to make a run for it eventually.”
“Where’s Tristan?” Ree felt the quick flash of anger and fear from Roland.
“Fighting Sophie.” His attention moved quickly to a Dark One coming down the hallway from where the bedrooms were located.
“What? No!” Ree’s anger almost made her drop the shield. “That’s supposed to be me.”
“I don’t think so, Alastriana.” Roland threw the Dark One against the shield, where he used his stake to pin the man. “He sought out Sophie. I don’t think he intends for this to be the final battle.”
“How can this not be it?” Ree looked around the kitchen at the damage and at her friends fighting. “Why go through all of this trouble?”
“He must need something very badly.” Roland’s eyes jerked toward Ree’s mother before quickly looking away.
“Where are the cops?” Ree’s father shook his head. “They should be out here. There’s no way the neighbors are not hearing any of this!”
“Trust me, Mr. McKenna. You don’t want more innocent people involved. The cops would only give the Dark Ones more fuel and cause us to divide our attention. As for why they haven’t been called?” Roland shrugged and frowned. “Why is it dark at three in the afternoon? How can these Dark Ones cross the boundaries that your daughter and Sophie carefully put in place? Nothing is natural, or right. And that suggests a god that likes to mix things up.”
“Which god?” Susan leaned forward, her eyes pinning Roland with a parental stare.
“I dare not say his name right now. Not while his attention is on us.” Roland rubbed a hand across the back of his neck, reminding Ree that he was uncomfortable with the idea of parents.
“Who are you, young man?” Mr. O’Reilly was looking at Roland as if he was a delinquent who had spray-painted his house.
“Mr.O’Reilly, Roland isn’t trying to be vague on purpose. It really would be a bad idea to say the name right now.” Looking at Paden’s father, she wondered if the man could sense that there was more to Roland.
“And he isn’t a young man. Not by a thousand years or so.” Paden narrowed his eyes at Roland. “But you can trust him. He wouldn’t let anything happen to you if it was in his power. And he would die to keep Ree safe.”
Roland looked at Paden for a moment before nodding. Something passed between the two guys that Ree couldn’t understand, but she really didn’t think she needed to. A large push on her shield made her stagger against the counter.
“Ree?” Paden wrapped an arm around her waist and helped her regain her feet.
“Whoever it is trying to get me to drop my shield is becoming impatient.” Ree put her hands on the counter and looked from Paden to Roland. “We need a plan.”
“The shop is the closest safe place, but we need cover to get everyone there.” Roland looked around the room for a moment as if he might find an answer.
“Um, guys? I think I have something that is going to help.” Jules leaned against the counter and rubbed her temple. “Apparently my patron is not very happy with having someone else usurp her power.” Ree could feel the power of Amaterasu as she spoke to Juliette.
“’Bout time someone decided to help.” Weylin was thrown through the doorway to the foyer and bumped into Roland. “Maybe we can call for backup?” Righting himself, he ran back for the Dark One walking into the kitchen.
“That’s not a bad idea, but you guys will have to do it. The gods don’t listen to me. I don’t have the required network.” Crooked smile in place, Roland turned away from their group and headed down the hallway to the bedrooms. “I’m going to check on Mel and Teagan.”
“What does he mean, call for backup?” Paden’s mother frowned. She jerked at a sound outside and her breathing sped up.
“When we need something, sometimes the gods will intervene. But I don’t know if they can in something like this. If they’re following the rules, their hands might be tied.” Ree shook her head. “I don’t even know who to call.”
“Amaterasu suggests calling her Greek equivalent. If we can get rid of the dark, it will make our lives much easier.” Jules closed her eyes for a moment as if listening to something. “If the natural order of things has been tampered with, it’s the god’s responsibility to right the problem. They can’t interfere with the fight, but they can make sure the weather is behaving.”
Weylin was thrown back into the room, this time skidding on his back. “Then get on it!”
“I can’t! She said it has to come from someone of that nationality.” Swinging her hand back, Jules left a dent in the fridge door. “Or from the Alastriana. She’s of all the gods.”
“Hedge our bets. Everyone try.” Paden looked at everyone in the room. “Um, pray, I guess.”
“Oh, good Lord, please bring the sun back out.” Paden’s mother was touching the cross around her neck and Ree figured it couldn’t hurt. She focused on her own thoughts, though. Apollo, hear me. Someone has usurped your right and hidden the light. Please, Apollo, help us see the day as it was meant to be. Please hear me. Please, Apollo. She looked around the kitchen to see the others mumbling or wearing intense expressions. Even Weylin looked to be holding a one-way conversation.
Something shifted outside of the house at the same time that Ree’s shield collapsed. She fell to the ground as if a giant hand was pushing her shoulders. Paden hollered something Ree couldn’t hear over the crashing of the remaining windows. Dark ones poured into the house from the yard and Ree could see enough to understand why. It was as bright as a summer day.. Apparently the sun gods had come out with a vengeance.
The Dark Ones weren’t busting into the house as part of a tactical decision. They were simply trying to preserve their own hides. Ree’s parents were scrambling behind her on the floor, trying to find their feet. Ree was trying to scramble back up when something slammed into her. She stumbled against the counter and felt herself being lifted from the ground. Cold, stale breath ran across her neck and she cringed. Raising a hand, she placed it on the large Dark One’s chest and used a short, direct punch of power. His lip curled back in a snarl of pain that continued to recede as he crumbled to dust. Ree fell back against the counter and looked around the room wildly for her parents. Her mother was being pulled by her arms along the ground by a dark-haired female. She was hissing at Susan as if she was mad that the human was putting up a fight. Drake was holding her father up, but was trying to get him to support himself on the counter. Once he was free of Ree’s father’s weight, Drake practically disappeared.
Seeming to materialize in front of the Dark One, Drake smiled at her and she paused. Ree couldn’t blame her. When Drake smiled at you, it was as if you were the only person in the world. Unfortunately for her, it meant she didn’t see the blade before it was sliding through her ribs. Bending over, Drake lifted Susan in his arms and turned to look at Ree’s father. He was using the counter to support himself and Ree could feel the pain he was experiencing on the left side of his abdomen.
“Paden!” He was next to her in an instant, his parents already moving toward the front door. Throwing Steven’s arm over his shoulder, Paden placed a hand along Ree’s father’s ribs as they moved. Seemingly coming from nowhere, Roland grabbed Ree’s upper arm and pulled her along with him. His worry only heightened Ree’s as they moved through the house. Near the front door, a Dark One descended on them and Roland was forced to divide his attention. He pushed Ree toward the door, but she didn’t want to leave him without help. Hands grabbed Ree and yanked her outside. Paden looked her over quickly before he let her go and ran back into the house to help.
Weylin leapt from the living room window and did a taunting little dance. A small throwing star flew out of the window and just past his shoulder. Sneering, Weylin looked at the Dark One still in the house and said, “And you call yourself a threat. Maybe I should paint myself red and stand real still. Think you could hit a barn? Geez.” Another star flew out of the window, this time aimed right for Weylin’s nose. Raising his hand, he grabbed the star inches from his face and flung it back at the house. A loud curse came from inside and Weylin chuckled before joining Ree.
“Are you okay?” He looked her over with shrewd eyes. Ree never would have thought of Weylin as a big brother, but in that moment he was everything Tristan should have been.
“Yeah. How about you?” Ree looked Weylin over quickly and didn’t notice anything wrong.
“Well, I still have my other ear, so I guess better than last time.” He winked at her so she would know he was joking.
“Where are the others?”
“Well, Paden and Roland are in there trying to kill as many Dark Ones as possible. Something is going on between them, but I don’t know what it’s about. Paden seems hell-bent to take out all of them on his own.” Shrugging, Weylin turned around and looked over his shoulder. “Juliette and Bryce went out the back, I’m sure they’re somewhere around here.” A loud crash came from Ree’s parents’ room as a Dark One was thrown from the window. His scream was terrible as he thrashed in the sunlight. The sounds died after a moment and Melanie hopped out the window, the ashes of the dead Dark One swirling around her feet.
Paden and Roland were back in the living room and making their way out of the house. Paden’s shirt was covered in back dust and blood. He was looking at Ree he closed to distance to her side. His fingers closed around her hand and pulled it up to his mouth. Worry clouded Paden’s eyes, which was completely contrary to the smugness in Roland’s.
“Are you okay?” Paden didn’t let go of her hand, and Ree had the weird feeling he was worried he was going to lose her.
“I’m fine.” She squeezed his fingers so he would know she meant it. “We just need to regroup. Make sure everyone is okay and get back to the shop. It’s still daylight, but night is going to come soon.”