Chapter 23
Chapter Twenty-Three
Laurie didn’t like leaving Meadow in the care of others. However, she didn’t have anything to protect against magical powers, like him and Joseph. Plus, this was the fae witch territory, and their guards would better know how to fight against magic, if it came to it.
Even though Laurie didn’t have magic, his advantages were strength and weapons. If a fae witch couldn’t use their magic against him, they became vulnerable. And he hoped it would be enough to survive.
No, it had to be enough. Not just to ensure Meadow’s safety, but his brother was also out there somewhere in this chaos. While he wanted to save his brother because he loved him, he also had no desire to step up and lead the vampires of London, which his family had done for centuries.
As if reading his thoughts, Joseph leaned close and said, “Our first task is finding Leo and Khan. If something happens to either of them, it’ll ignite a war. One that’ll be far more dangerous to Emmy and all those we care about.”
“If we find Nora, I’m helping her, no matter if we haven’t found Khan or Leo, though.”
“Of course. But as hard as it’ll be, we can’t save them all right now, Laurie. Please tell me you understand that.”
“I don’t like it, but I know. And I’m definitely going to have a word with Khan later. So much for protecting his territory.”
“We’ll think about that later, once we discover who is responsible. For now, we need to watch each other’s backs and look for the leaders, your sister, and River.”
He nodded, and just like they’d done during their days on the streets, they each kept an eye on one side, ready to alert the other of any oncoming threat.
The previously happy and magical dance floor was gone, replaced by people running around or lying unconscious on the ground. As much as he wanted to check on them all, more would get hurt, or worse, if they couldn’t find the bastards who’d attacked and stop the threat.
So he forced himself to ignore the injured, trusting the others to take care of them, and tightened his grip on the pistol in one hand and the blade in the other. Since he and Joseph wore magical protection rings, their biggest threat was a physical ambush.
A sound of grunting garnered his attention, and he made out some shapes on the stage. He focused until he could see Leo and River trying to take down a fae witch with glowing hands. Nora was huddled as far back on the platform as she could go, her hands crossed protectively over her pregnant belly.
The sight snapped something inside Laurie. This time, he would help Nora. Never again would he allow her to be hurt.
After motioning to Joseph, he rushed the stage and jumped up. The fae witch with the glowing hands reached for him, but Laurie thrust his knife into the male’s chest, and he stumbled backward. The glow faded as the fae witch crumbled to the ground.
Leo breathed heavily as River went to Nora. Leo said, “Thanks, Laurie.”
Laurie retrieved his knife—the fae witch was dead—and nodded. “Maybe now you’ll listen to me about wearing a magic protection ring and ignore anyone who thinks it makes you look weak. But where’s Yesenia?”
“She was a few stalls ahead with Khan when the fighting broke out. Nora was in trouble, and Yesenia knows how to handle herself with her time-travel magic. She probably has them all in nets or something by now, and Khan probably has them clawing their eyes out to stop the nightmares.”
River nodded at Laurie and Joseph as he asked, “Where’s Meadow?”
Joseph replied, “She’s in the great hall, along with the children, the elderly, and quite a few guards. It’s probably the safest place right now, until all of this dies down.”
River tightened his hold on Nora as he said, “We’ll head there, then. I can help heal the injured and better look after Nora.”
The sight of his sister, pale and leaning heavily against River, set off warning bells. “Are you okay, Nora? And the baby?”
River spoke first. “I already did a quick check while we were talking, but everything seems fine.” He hugged Nora a little tighter. “I might need to borrow a gun from you two, though, to be able to make it to the great hall safely.”
Laurie gestured toward Leo. “You should go with them, Leo. Joseph and I will find Yesenia.”
Leo growled. “No fucking way. One of you go with River and Nora. I’m going to find my wife.” Leo wiped his brow, took the pistol offered by Joseph, and then motioned with his head. “She should be that way.”
Laurie shared a look with Joseph, who clearly didn’t want to leave him alone. He leaned over to Joseph’s ear and whispered, “Look after my sister and Meadow. There’s no one I trust more.”
He kissed him, and Joseph sighed. “Fine. But if you fucking die, I’m going to bring you back to life so I can strangle you myself.”
Laurie winked. “Deal.”
After staring at each other for another second, they parted ways. Laurie kept up with Leo, and only when they were about five feet away from Yesenia and Khan could he see them.
“Fuck,” Laurie muttered.
Yesenia was alone, objects falling and hitting those around her, standing over an unconscious Khan on the ground.
He said to Leo, “I’ll go left and you go right. We need to get them both out of here, and fast.”
And so he and Leo went into the fray, fighting to get to Yesenia and Khan’s side. There were a hell of a lot of people to defeat, and Laurie wondered why so many fae witches had turned against their own kind, given the reports of them being content with Khan’s leadership.
Then something sliced his arm, and he focused, drawing on his remaining strength. The sooner he took care of these threats, the sooner he could go back to Meadow and Joseph.
Meadow had learned from Helena that something was blocking her tracking powers. Well, for whoever had attacked. Helena could still locate and identify every person in the hall, or even the attendees outside.
And since there was only one way to avoid a powerful tracker’s abilities—magical hexes that used forbidden arts and cost a small fortune—it meant that some of Khan’s fae witches had turned traitor.
However, for the moment, Meadow focused on helping those in the great hall and taking care of minor injuries. No one inside the meeting hall had strong healing powers, so they were relying on the old methods of cleaning and dressing and stitching wounds.
Even if she didn’t enjoy the sight of blood, she pushed through. It was the least she could do, considering Laurie and Joseph were outside fighting against who knew how many enemies.
A new wave of refugees was allowed inside by the guards, and as soon as Meadow saw River and Nora, along with Joseph, a mixture of relief and fear rushed through her.
Where was Laurie?
She murmured her excuses and rushed over into Joseph’s arms. “Where’s Laurie?”
He rubbed her back. “He’s helping Leo find and rescue Yesenia and Khan.”
“Will he be okay?”
Joseph said, “Yes. Remember, Yesenia is strong in her own right, as is Khan. And whilst Leo might be a Dark Lord now, he spent twenty years in the army. Not to mention Laurie spent years on the streets with me, and I taught him everything he knows. You need to trust him, love.”
Trust Laurie. That’s all you can do right now. So even though a million questions raced through her head, she forced herself to focus on River and Nora. “Are you two all right?”
Nora looked paler than normal, but she still nodded. “Just a bit rattled. However, River already confirmed that both me and the baby are fine.” She gestured around the room. “Joseph said there are a lot of injured people, and we want to help. So tell us what you need.”
Leave it to Nora to think of others when she’d just gone through something traumatic herself.
Meadow replied, “Well, there are lots of minor injuries and a few broken bones, but no one here has any strong healing magic, and they could definitely use River’s powers.
However, if you two need a few moments to gather yourselves, I think everyone would understand. ”
River shook his head. “No need. As long as Nora sits near me while I heal and doesn’t overdo it, I can help whoever needs it.”
Meadow reached out and gripped River’s hand. “You’re amazing, brother.”
A faint glimmer of his charm came through as he said, “I know it. Now, tell me what’s been done so far for the worst cases.”
She released his hand and replied, “Helena used her power of persuasion to calm and help those with the worst pain. But while no one has become hysterical yet, they’re mostly still in shock, and I worry about what’ll happen when it fades.
” She lowered her voice. “The most worrying thing, though, is that Helena can’t tell who attacked.
” She explained about the dark arts and something hiding them from her powers before adding, “If there are any details you can share with her as you heal people, that would be extremely helpful.”
River replied, “Of course. Now, show me those with the worst injuries first.”
Meadow reluctantly let go of Joseph. “Sure. But first—you should go help Laurie, Joseph.”
“He’s with Leo. And as much as I want to be the hero, going back out there alone is a death sentence. Plus, I promised Laurie to look after you.”
He caressed her cheek, and she leaned into the touch. “Is Leo that good of a fighter, then?”
Joseph nodded. “He led the team that rescued his nephew, Ambrose, after all.”
Meadow had heard the story, although she rarely saw Ambrose himself. If they all survived this, she needed to get to know her future nephew.
Not if. No, when they survived this. “Then I’ll trust him.”
Joseph stroked her cheek. “Good. Whilst you help your brother, I’ll work with the guards to protect the doors.” He patted his jacket. “I still have a few tricks of my own, and I can’t wait to use them.”