Chapter 38
CHAPTER
THIRTY-EIGHT
Mercer Island, Seattle
Had Sylvara not used her wings to slow their descent, Rolf wasn’t sure they would have survived the vast fall through realms to the hard earth beneath them. As it was, they hit hard enough to dent the ground, the shock reverberating through them both.
He sucked in a breath, having moved to take the brunt of the fall.
“Ch-change back,” she said, gasping, and gave a little scream to flood her body with lightning, sharing with him a comforting tingle instead of the furious zing he might have expected.
Rolf called on his glamour automatically.
“Much better, blondie.”
Pleased she liked the real him, though technically this was just another disguise even if it was the one he felt most at home in, Rolf wondered when the female would accept that they’d truly bonded. He looked at his hand, marked with a rune he didn’t recognize.
Then he spotted the same mark on hers. “Do you want a big fall wedding? Here or in Asgard?”
She groaned.
“What about a wedding present?”
Sylvara rolled to a sitting position. “How about an hour of not dealing with gods or falling through some freaky portal into a new hell? That sounds like a wonderful gift.”
He opened his mouth to respond with something snarky but closed it when Mormo bore down on them, dressed in dark clothes and boots, a battle staff in hand.
“Hold that thought.” Rolf pulled Syl to her feet, satisfied that she appeared frazzled from the fall but not injured.
His mate could take a beating. Her muscular arms were smudged with dirt, her long black hair snarled, and her ax had fallen a few feet away but looked no worse for wear.
“Good. You have the Bloode Stone. I can feel it.” Mormo nodded. “Let’s go.”
“Where to?” Rolf stepped closer to Syl, who pulled her hair back into a ponytail, out of the way, so he did the same to his. “Look, Syl. Twinsies.”
She sighed. “You want to give me a wedding gift? How about you stop talking?”
Mormo blinked. “A wedding gift?” Rolf didn’t trust the magician’s not-quite-banked amusement.
A shriek and screaming came from a few blocks away. Rolf met her gaze. “Once we survive this glorious battle, I’ll shower you with presents. I’d say we deserve a little time off for our honeymoon, right, Mormo?”
“Should you win, you will have earned vacation time.”
“You know I’m teasing, right?” Syl said with a frown. “We’re not really mated.”
“Or married yet, I know. But we’ll fix that, smoochie.”
Mormo interrupted before Syl could slam him with an insult, “First, we should probably get that stone to Varu.” He wove a spell in front of them, and a portal appeared.
“Not even trying to hide from nosy humans, eh?” Rolf asked him.
“Not now. We have bigger problems at hand.” He pointed to the water behind the house, where Orion bobbed.
“About time you got back,” Orion roared. “Where the fuck have you been?”
“Missed you too,” Rolf yelled back. “Guess what? I got a mate!” Rolf pointed to Syl, who slapped a hand over her face.
Orion grinned and yelled, “I hear she’s not too smart but fights well. And she’s cute.”
“Why does everyone think I’m stupid?” she muttered.
Mormo answered, “You mated Rolf. Why else?”
“Ah.” She didn’t say more.
Rolf didn’t know if he should find that concerning. “Where are you going?” he asked Orion.
“I’m swimming out to join MEC’s water unit. We’ve got some contaminated merfolk and an out-of-control kraken.”
Mormo ordered, “Orion, go already. Meet up with Kraft when you’re finished.”
Orion held a thumbs up and dove back underwater, leaving behind few ripples.
“Wow,” Syl said, staring after where he’d been. “I guess the vrykolakas really do take to water.”
“He’s also got some powerful water deities invested in his survival,” Rolf offered. “But he’s still not nearly as cool as I am.”
“Of course not.”
Mormo tapped the back of his wrist. “Time’s ticking. Let’s go.” He walked through the portal, and they followed.
Rolf didn’t know what to expect, but it wasn’t to step out onto the parapet of the castle in Romania he’d long ago visited when they’d attacked the old strigoi master, Varu’s father. Several tribes had apparently gathered at the strigoi stronghold.
The current strigoi master stood next to the nachzehrer and revenant masters, all of them chatting with Varu as if best friends.
Surrounding the castle, legions of vampires lined up in structured groupings by tribe.
No one was fighting, a true sign that Varu was extremely powerful even without the last Bloode Stone.
“Holy fuck. There have to be thousands of vampires out there.” Syl stared at the grounds, the bright moonlight over the gathering reflected in her light eyes.
Varu looked up as Rolf approached. “Finally.”
The Bloode Stone in Rolf’s pocket hummed. “I know, I know. We’re nearly there.”
Varu held out his hand, and the stone flew out of Rolf’s pocket into Varu’s fist.
“Whoa.” Syl stopped in her tracks though Mormo and Rolf kept walking.
Varu clenched his fist tight. All movement and sound ceased.
Rolf felt it deep inside, a new calling, a bond to his many brothers.
“We are one,” Varu boomed, his voice carrying over the field.
“We are one,” the gathering repeated back to him.
“And that’s not scary as fuck,” Syl muttered.
Rolf felt the Bloode Stones singing inside Varu, joyous at once again being complete. The amount of power inside his patriarch was staggering. Everyone felt it. Especially the vampires, who gazed upon Varu as if seeing the face of the Creator for the very first time.
Varu cocked his head. “The rest of our brothers are with us…but not all.” He frowned and turned to Mormo, and Rolf noticed that his eyes had turned completely black, no visible sclera to be seen.
“Freaky,” Syl murmured at the same time Rolf said, “So cool.”
“What do you mean not all?” Mormo said. “You can’t grab hold of the draugrs and vrykolakas?”
“Traitors,” the strigoi master hissed.
“It’s not that they don’t want to join us. They can’t.” Varu scowled. “The Darkness that Comes has them. And they are…no more.”
“Meaning what?” Rolf asked, some concern for his traitorous old family. He could appreciate their stance on hedging their bets with a more powerful enemy. Even respected them for going against the rest of their kind, though he didn’t agree with them.
“Meaning they are no longer vampire as we know them. They are corrupted and now make up part of the enemy’s army. And he’s got more. Some of the pishachas and sasabonsam have joined him as well.”
The pishachas in northern India and China and the sasabonsam along the western coast of Africa both had fierce warriors that would be difficult to fight.
“How strong are we, Varu?”
Varu’s expression turned fierce. “As strong as we need to be to fight and win.”
Mormo nodded. “The call has come. Hecate wants us back in the city.”
“Seattle?” Syl’s eyes lit up with lightning. “Let’s go win the war.”