Dark Song

Julija timed her response so that when Cornel slammed his next attack onto that weave of protection in order to penetrate it, her spell countered his. A blue ring whirled around the tip for one brief flash and then rushed up the jagged electrical bolt, seeking the sender.

The strikes abruptly broke off and black smoke trailed through the sky. A thick, noxious vapor poured into the air, smelling of rotting and decomposing flesh.

“Cornel,” Elisabeta said, a little shocked. “Julija, you not only incapacitated him for the moment, but you brought him out into the open.”

“As I meant to do.” Julija spread her arms wide to encompass the sky, taking in as much of the dark, spinning clouds as possible. “I reversed his intentions. It won’t last long but it should give you enough time to find his heart.”

Elisabeta closed her eyes and sent her mind seeking Cornel’s while Julija began to move her hands gracefully, murmuring her powerful spell as she did so. Cornel was stunned almost beyond comprehension. He had no idea what had happened to him and he was incapable of protecting himself. His heart, a black, withered organ he protected by moving it continually around his body, was still for the first time in many centuries while he was awake. She found it near his belly, a shriveled lump. Immediately she directed Julija to the target.

Lorraine held the whip of lightning, ready for Julija’s magic to penetrate the inevitable shields the master vampire would have around him while Elisabeta pinpointed the target with absolute precision. Julija struck at the shields and Lorraine simultaneously sent the bolt of lightning straight at the master vampire’s heart.

The white-hot sword hit an impenetrable shimmering barrier, sending a tower of sparks high into the air, thunder crashing, roaring so loud it threw all three women to the ground. Fireballs rained from the sky, a meteor shower of bright, hot spinning orbs pounding down on the roof, aimed directly at the heads of the three women. A dark shadow swept back and forth over them, wings spread wide, mouth open wide spouting a long, steady stream of fire at them.

“Dorin,” Elisabeta said, trying to get her hands under her to get to her feet. The building kept rocking, as if an earthquake had seized the ground and was desperate to split it in two. “He threw that shield up to protect Cornel at the last second.”

She subsided onto the roof, letting her exhausted body have a reprieve. They weren’t going to get a second chance at Cornel and all three women knew it. He was too intelligent to stay around when his servants had been attacked, the nightclub was protected and he had been injured. He could leave, regroup and fight another day.

Cornel is injured and is near the trees just north of the parking garage. She passed the information on to the hunters. He is trying to escape. Dorin is protecting him along with their combined servants. They have called to Sergey and Ambrus and the other master vampires to leave with them.

The three women sat together, heads back, looking up at the dark, malevolent clouds, linking their minds together, using the pathway through Elisabeta to follow the various battles.

* * *

“Ambrus, I see that you desire to dance with the devil this rising,” Ferro greeted as he strode up the intricate paved walkway leading to the door the master vampire was attempting to open. “I must confess, I thought you had a liking for the forest, as I do. This city is too closed in for my taste, and these buildings feel as if they are nothing but heavy weights hanging over my head where I cannot breathe.” He kept his voice friendly.

Ferro had removed all traces of Elisabeta’s scent from his body. He kept her from his mind on the off-chance that Ambrus had found a way to read Carpathian hunters. He ignored the two servants who pressed close, inhaling deeply, drawing the scent of rich, ancient blood into their lungs as he passed them by. It was very necessary to keep Ambrus and his servants’ attention completely centered on him. He wanted the master vampire confident that he could take him at any time. The vampire had three more servants in hiding, waiting to spring his trap. He would want to kill Ferro before he joined Cornel in what he saw as defeat.

“Ferro,” Ambrus greeted in return. “It is good that it is you. Someone worthy at last. So many with no skills have challenged me in the last half of the century that I thought maybe there were none left.”

Ferro shrugged. “A few. We were in the monastery, but the call came upon us and we had to answer. You know how it is.”