27. Asher
Twenty-Seven
Asher
Kian points to the map on the kitchen table. “Dav got lucky as fuck. He caught one of Nikolaos’s coven going in and out of a neighborhood one too many times.”
“Where?” I demand.
“About two miles from where Dav said we should focus.” Kian moves his finger to the corner of Wabash and Grover. “Right there at Lickety Split Lanes.”
“The fuck?” Caden asks. “They’re hiding out in a bowling alley?”
“Yep.” Kian says. “One of Dav’s guys has been keeping tabs on the place since this morning, and they’re moving some bodies in and out pretty quickly. Not many kills… more like thralls getting fed on then booted out.”
So they’re staying fed, but trying to keep a low profile so the surrounding neighbors don’t pay too much attention to it. A bowling alley is just about perfect for that. I gotta give them credit… But that won’t stop me from wiping out every single fucking pile of shit there.
Using thralls instead of killing humans is smart. Keeps the blood supply high and the body count low.
Thralls are one step above ghouls. They’re humans that have been permanently glamoured. It’s harder to accomplish but has better results. Less bodies equals less evidence to deal with.
I wonder whose talent that is… Enthralling a human is no easy feat. Perhaps Nikolaos? It wouldn’t surprise me. It would explain why he doesn’t give a shit about blood banks. Not when he can personally enthrall half the city if need be.
Tension flows through the room as each of my children begin to subtly shift from waiting to action.
I can feel the hot fury building inside Raphael when he starts to loosen the reins on his inner monster.
Andrei stands beside Raphael, his body fading slowly into the background of life. Soon he’ll be stalking his prey and striking from the shadows.
My own rage begins to pump through my muscles.
I long to hear the screams coming from my enemies. I want to tear the flesh from their bones as I sink my teeth into their arteries.
I want death and carnage.
“Kian, you’re with Isaac.” Before he can protest, I say, “Get us an exit plan set up. We can’t wait for more information. Things are too precarious as it is. If anything happens to Raphael’s soulmarked it will be because we failed to act in time.”
Scowling, Kian nods his head. He doesn’t like being left on the back burner for this one.
But he’ll do as he’s told.
“Dav give us any idea how many to expect?” Caden asks.
“He thinks around ten to twelve, but that could be a high estimate. Nikolaos is quickly losing support. Only his children have stuck by him,” Kian says.
“Won’t it be dangerous for us to attack them like this?” Chloe asks.
My eyes look at her with a fear I’ve never felt before.
Yes, it is extremely dangerous to do this…. but it’s the only way.
We could sit here for days trying to plan it out, but we don’t have that kind of time right now. We need to act. We need to move.
We need to save and protect.
Chloe has flat-out refused to stay behind. Even my orders bearing down on the bond have done nothing to dissuade her.
She wants to be there for the girl they’re holding captive. She wants to be there to whisk her away to a safer place.
“Yes, but we have the surprise,” I say, “and we have Dav’s pack closing the net around the neighborhood as we speak.”
Dav will be coming into the bowling alley shortly after us to deal with the pack siding with Nikolaos.
Chloe trembles a little but keeps her eyes focused on the map. “I don’t know the area around bowling alley, but if I can get ahold of her, I’ll try blinking away as fast as I can. If I can’t vanish with her like we’re hoping, I’ll just start running.”
“If you get to her first,” Raphael says. “I’ll try to contain myself for as long as possible…”
This is the hardest part of this… Raphael is going to be an unknown. He won’t hurt us, but he might not be able to control himself long enough to help. If he heads straight for his soulmarked without providing support, it’s going to be an issue.
“You’ll be able to control it.” Andrei rests his hand on Raphael’s shoulder. “We just need you to take out two vamps then you can go get your girl.”
Nodding his head, Raphael looks to me. “I’ll be good.”
He only needs to kill two vampires to contribute to the mission. Each of us will hopefully be able to take out two. Effectively destroying Nikolaos’s coven.
Closing my eyes, I lean my head back and slowly trail the bond that flows between Chloe and me. My mind is clouded with the lust for blood and destruction, but I can find peace as I sense her soul completing my own.
I love you, my angel. If only I didn’t have to put us through this so soon…
No words come back. Only her acceptance of my love and the absolute certainty of hers for me. She knows the stakes, and what we must do to make certain no more of our soulmarked are taken from us.
“Father, they can’t be certain that I’m with you,” Ambrose says with sudden clarity. “I believe I shall be entering the building ahead of you. Say, perhaps, a minute or two beforehand? I will be a useful distraction.”
Chloe’s eyes widen at the suggestion. “That would be suicide. They’ll question how you found them.”
“She’s got a point,” I agree. “Those bastards would eat you in a heartbeat.”
“Not true,” Ambrose says. “I will simply dance inside and tell them I smell the girl.”
“What about their lookouts?” I ask, looking to the others. “Could we make a hole big enough for him to fit through without getting noticed?”
Frowning thoughtfully, Matthias says, “He would actually be providing us the hole we need to slip in.”
There’s a long silence as we all think about that. If we could slip Ambrose in there without getting noticed, it could be a huge boon for us. But how do we do it?
Chloe must be thinking along the same wavelength as me because she looks at me the second I look at her.
No fucking way.
“I could blink in with Ambrose then vanish right back out,” she says, her voice only slightly quivering. “I could even search around a little for Raphael’s soulmarked…”
“No,” I say, even though I know it’s futile.
Chloe has already made her mind up.
Fuck.
This is not how I pictured our honeymoon.
“How many can you shift with at a time?” Raphael asks quickly.
“I… I don’t know,” she stammers. “I’ve only done it with another person once... I don’t really know.”
Ambrose walks over to Chloe and says, “Let us try then, Mother. There’s only one way to find out.”
* * *
“Asher,” Andrei murmurs quietly, being careful not to alert any of the lookouts that could be in position around us. “Calm yourself, she’s going to be okay.”
With the way my rage is boiling inside my gut, I doubt I’d be able to keep myself from tearing out his throat if I turn to look at him.
Nodding my head slowly, I watch as Chloe and Ambrose make their way slowly through the backyard of a house situated away from the bowling alley.
Chloe looks back at me, and I can see the brave look she’s putting on her face.
But in the bond, I can feel the tremor of self-doubt and fear that’s threatening to overcome her.
What a fucking curse this city has become. It’s been nothing but fucking problems. What should have been a simple in and out, a simple taking my mate and running back home to consummate our joining, has turned into an invasion.
The night skies above us will be brightening within the hour. The perfect time for us to strike. Nikolaos and his coven will feel safe this close to dawn. When the sun comes out to keep them safe from us.
Only fools would attack this close to the sun rising.
Fortune favors the stupid, I suppose, and that’s what we are at this point. We’re wagering everything on this. But I can’t let Raphael lose the chance to take his soulmarked any more than I can stop loving Chloe.
I know what it’s like to be incomplete , and the pain it causes.
Ambrose willfully surrendering his life to this mad plan so that Raphael can find his bride is a bitter reminder of what it means to lose a soulmarked.
Sacrifice.
Am I sacrificing my broken son?
Am I sacrificing my Chloe for Raphael?
My only wish is that my beloved could vanish with more than one person. But no matter how many times we tried, she couldn’t. She’s still young, and her powers have yet to reach their full strength.
I tried to argue my way into going with her, but it would be suicide. I cannot provide the distraction Ambrose will provide. He is a true oddity, and familiar with Nikolaos’s coven.
His strangeness will be his protection.
Watching Ambrose and Chloe reach the chosen spot, I want to close my eyes, but I don’t dare.
I drink in the sight of Chloe standing in front of Ambrose, staring at him, before she finally offers her hand. I burn the image of her into my very retinas, needing her visage to keep me grounded in the present.
Ambrose seems to hesitate, unwilling to take Chloe’s hand at first, and words are spoken.
A low growl slips past my lips in irritation. What are they saying?
About to take a step closer, as if that would help me hear from this distance, I stop when Ambrose finally takes Chloe’s hand.
Not long after the two disappear.
To any human watching, they’d probably see the two of them simply vanishing into nothing, but my eyes note a dark mist surrounding them before dissipating.
Caden sends off a text.
It’s almost time to move, we just need to wait for the signal from Dav.
An explosion about two miles east of the bowling sends a rippling wave of power towards us.
That would be the gas station we wired to blow. Explosions like that will keep the humans busy and distracted.
“Let’s move,” I hiss from my position, and motion for the rest of my children to follow me.