15. Capable Of Change
Capable Of Change
Could anything else go wrong? This was what Ryder was asking himself as he was face-first in the dirt while Dani, Legion, Lawson, Natasha and whoever the Hell else might recognize him and Grayson were tangling with the Mers.
Nothing, absolutely nothing, other than getting to Grayson in time and turning him had gone even somewhat according to the plan.
Except, of course, turning Grayson in the way he had was not supposed to happen.
But things weren’t only going wrong for him and Grayson. The Mers had something up their sleeves for the Vampires. But, unlike when Grayson held somebody firm, evidently Dani and the other Ashyr Vampires–five of them altogether–couldn’t do that against the Mers.
Marinus swiped the strange weapon that looked like a silver, hollow rocket launcher off the ground just as he was lifted into the air.
Before Dani or the other Ashyr had a chance to freeze his fingers, he had fired off one of the blasts in the general direction of the Vampires.
Many of them scattered. Some did not. Those hit full on with the blast simply evaporated.
Ryder felt his heart clench–not for the loss of lives, though perhaps those Vampires had simply been misled–but at the thought of what could have happened to himself and Khos.
Perhaps it was his greater strength, perhaps the Mers had put the weapon on some kind of stun setting before, or perhaps it had just been luck, but he had merely been hit with the force of a freight train going at full speed.
Arms and legs broken. Rib cage crushed. Neck at a very odd angle.
Organs were very bloody. He was not fully recovered, but seeing what it could have been had him very anxious to get the hell away from the Mers and their secret weapon.
Dying was not something any Vampire wanted to do.
As an Immortal, death was an anathema for him.
But the truth was, he was more worried about Grayson.
He had just turned his beloved. Grayson needed his blood to become as strong as he could be as fast as he could become.
Maybe Caemorn could also feed him, but that was uncertain.
Grayson needed him. He had to live for his beloved to keep him fed, if for nothing else.
The blast also had the effect of breaking Dani and the remaining Ashyr Vampires’ concentration on the Mers who dropped down to the ground like stones.
Though not as graceful and quick as they were in the water, the Mers recovered their feet more quickly than he was sure the Vampires would have liked.
With eyes full of black hate, Marinus laid down more blasts from the weapon, causing the Vampires to leap out of the line of fire. He half crouched as he fired it again and again.
Dani screamed, “Rip him apart!”
Ryder’s heart clenched. While he was angry at Natasha’s betrayal and lies, what would Grayson’s reaction to Dani being here be?
She had never said that she was in the Order, let alone that she had worked with Legion in any capacity.
Did that mean she was part of the Sect? Or like Tanis, had she been swept up in the Order’s lies?
Still. Why hadn’t she said anything?
Shame.
Fear.
Regret.
Betrayal.
It was all bad and complicated.
And he had no time to think about it now. Because he needed to get out of here. His body ached in ways he hadn’t experienced in who knew how long. Khos was making soft growling sounds as it was muzzled.
It’s okay, Khos. One moment, he soothed the Dire Wolf.
In the confusion and chaos, he hoped that no one was looking at him at that moment.
The bindings were meant to hold a humanoid form.
There was some magic to them, but he was an Immortal and stronger than most. Even now when he was hurting and battered, he was able to reach for his animal forms. He shifted into a snake.
Not one of the gigantic pythons that could crush even something as large and unwieldy as Legion.
No, just a slender cobra that easily slithered out from the bonds that fell uselessly around them.
“I’ve got him!” Someone shouted.
“So do I!” Another called with a wild laugh.
For a moment, Ryder thought they meant him and his long, sinuous form coiled tightly.
But then there was a scream of agony. His snake’s head whipped towards the sound.
Marinus was a foot off the ground. The weapon had fallen from his hands.
His arms and legs were unnaturally stretched out to either side.
With a feeling of helpless horror, he watched as Marinus was literally ripped apart.
Blood rained down onto the ground as the last agonized shriek left the Mer. The power of the Ashyr Bloodline. Ryder felt his stomach nearly revolt, but his snake form seemed incapable of vomiting so that was something.
“We got him!” Someone let out a triumphant hoot.
“Get the rest!” Dani commanded.
What have you done, Dani? Marinus wasn’t just some ordinary Mer. What have you done?
The other Mers did not run away at the loss of their leader.
They let out howls of unspeakable rage and grief.
One of them leaped upon a Vampire with a bone knife and slit the Vampire’s throat clean down to the vertebrae before snapping it back.
There was a hideous ripping sound as the head came clean off and rich, hot blood poured out onto the ground.
“Michela!” Dani cried.
A lioness leaped and took down the triumphant Mer. Natasha bit into the Mer’s throat. A geyser of blood exploded, covering her and filling her mouth. There was a terrible cracking of bones as the Mer shuddered and then went still.
I have to get out of here!
Khos was whining piteously as the smell of blood and sounds of death were all around him and he was unable to fight or flee.
He immediately shifted back into a humanoid form as he wrapped his arms around Khos and rolled them both away from the Mers and the fighting Vampires.
Once he had them semi-hidden behind a boulder, he went to work on Khos’ bonds.
They burned his hands and he hissed as he wrenched hard to release the Dire Wolf’s paws.
This isn’t working! I need to shift and get out of here!
He wasn’t sure where Grayson was. His attempt at touching his beloved’s mind was fractured from the pain and the violence.
But Grayson was not some newbie to fighting or gore.
He would keep his head. What he feared was that Grayson would act in such a way as to reveal himself to protect Ryder and Khos. He had to ensure that didn’t happen.
As the wires began to snap in his hands, he took a quick glance up above the boulder to see what was happening. Two more of the Ashyr Vampires had gone down, but even more of the Mer had. There were only half a dozen Mer left. His eyes landed upon Marinus’ corpse.
The Mer royal was staring up sightlessly into the night sky.
There were rumors that the Mer had come from someplace out there.
Someplace impossibly dark and deep where monsters dwelt.
A particular monster was their maker and their god who was said to reside in the depths of every ocean at the same time.
Would it have heard the death cries of this favored son of the ocean?
Dani, what have you done?
He told himself that Dani was strong, but not as strong as Grayson and not even as strong now as she would be in the future.
The Mers, too, had a certain resistance to Vampire gifts.
They were stronger, faster, and many other things than humans, for example, that gave them a greater ability to fight against Vampires.
But still, Dani could have found a way to do this that wouldn’t have led to bloodshed, to death, to this.
There will be consequences for all of us for this.
He reminded himself that all of this had already happened and the future didn’t seem especially marred by the Mers’ revenge.
But the Mers, like Vampires, lived forever.
Time did not have the same meaning to immortal beings as it did to mortals.
They could simply be waiting to strike. Maybe they were waiting until Daemon returned to have their revenge on him.
Yet another thing that we have to deal with because of this blasted War!
Lawson roared as he leaped onto another Mer, rending the screaming, helpless wretch to pieces under his claws and teeth.
His Master stuffed his face into the Mer’s throat and ripped out a huge chunk of flesh.
He lifted his bloody maw, still chewing.
The sheer over-the-top violence of this had Ryder’s heart going icy in his chest.
Something has happened to all of these people. This was not how we were! The War changed everyone.
Vampires were predators. They were killers. They hunted and enjoyed taking down prey. But for food. For protection. This was just sheer bloodlust. There was no need to do what they were doing to these Mer.
It’s a slaughter. Did we teach you this? Is this what we made of you?
But there was also personal responsibility.
For all the mistakes the Immortals had made, the Vampires beneath them–especially those not turned as soldiers or meat for the grinder–had a choice.
They knew right from wrong. They knew what Vampire society could and should be.
Not this. How could Dani or anyone that participated in this behavior judge anyone else for their crimes in the War? The hypocrisy was stunning.
It’s not just us that has to heal and make amends, he realized.
As if hearing his words and perhaps finally seeing what was happening, he heard Dani call out, “Enough! That’s enough! They’re running!”
“We can’t let them get away! They’ll tell what happened here!” Another voice cried.
“We protected our kind. We have their weapon. It’s enough!” Dani shouted.
“You don’t give the orders here,” Lawson growled.
His old Master had shifted at some point. His lips, cheeks and chin were stained red. His hands, too, were covered in gore. Lawson was licking it off of his fingers.