Candy: Book 5 of the Lord Emperor Vampire Saga

November 20, 2008

This is the end, all that is left is the wrapper and you know how those turn out…nudge nudge wink wink. I hope you enjoyed Book 5. There will be a Book 6 but I think Chimera and On Swift Wings deserve some of my time and I have no plot to start book 6. There will be an epilogue but I’m still working that out. Wow, this only took me 11 months to get done. *twitch tick, tick,*

I’ll do a big kudos in a separate chappie…so for now, enjoy! Oh, and tell me what you think!!

Kiix




Chapter 227: Bittersweet

“I’m not your Mama.”

/Skell, if a dragon calls you its Mama, you’re it’s Mama./ Sex’s voice of caution rang up over me. I dropped down to the nearest roof and flared out. I actually did a propane flare out with an accompanying pouf pop as the Healing light went out with it. The creature huddled closer to my leathers.

I watched with a mixture of horror and fascination as the little...what? The mythical beast cocked its head to one side and seemed to frown up at me. /Two Mamas?/ The voice was that genderless tone of a young child. How do you check the sex of a dragon? I sincerely doubted you lifted its tail and looked or reached between its back legs and felt around. That just seemed so wrong. Turn your head and cough?

/It heard me?/ Sex’s silent voice had dropped to a whisper which was rather oxymoronic.

/Mama?/ The little horse head tipped to the other side. I gasped as its talons ripped through the side of my fighting leathers. /MAMA!/

Immediately the hold lessened and the lizard like creature scurried up toward my face. I brought up a hand to deflect it but ended up wrapping itself around my neck like a purplish leather torque. /Fly Mama! Fly!/

Hot agony ripped through my shoulder as I got shot in the back. I dropped to one knee and flipped forward. I slammed my injured arm out to keep from smacking my face on the asphalt shingles. The granulated surface grated the surface of my palm open. The scent of cinnamon and cordite and the acrid smoke of the burning buildings filled my nose.

/SKELL!/

There was another ‘thip’ sound and a bullet whizzed above my head. Damn it. I wrenched myself flat and grimaced as I held onto my shoulder. The dragon leaped off me onto the roof as I grunted in pain. The bullet had hit bone. Damn it. It was embedded in my shoulder blade and...holy hell it burned. Those fuckers had put silver in it. A silver bullet would incapacitate a Lycan enough that a newbie could wander up and slit the fallen Alpha’s throat easily. I tried to reach around to try and pull the bullet out but it was beyond the reach of my fingertips.

“Arggghh.” My face screwed up and a hard gasp sent tears streaming down my face.

/Mama./ A little dragon head rubbed along my hair and leather as soft as butter wiped along my cheek like a squeegee drying up my tear. /Hurt?/

The temptation to hit the injury with a little bit of Healing light was strong. If I did that, I would be sealing that silver poison inside me. I tried to lift my arm and reach underneath my armpit to see if I could reach it that way. No. Gasp. That wasn’t going to work.

/Mama hurt?/ Head bump to the side of my ear.

/Mama hurts. Get Father. He’s got black hair and black wings./ Sex urged. /Father will make Mama better./

The little dragon crawled awkwardly on the roof, sort of like a bat but then tossed itself off the edge and turned into an elegant quick flyer. Well, just like a bat.

/Sex...what are you doing?/

/Don’t you remember what Liam said. Dragons are fickle and he was actually scared of it. When does Liam get scared of something especially if it’s the size of a kitten! If it bonded to you like a baby goose, latching onto the first thing it sees well it’s better than letting it roam free. How the hell did it get activated anyways?/

I vaguely remembered something going chachink when I flipped my silver wings. I must have just grazed that egg thing. Wait. I hit it and then I threw my first thunderbolt. I thought I was seeing things when I saw an after flash of purple streaking after it. Blue Line was the same color as our Phoenix flames. Until I went all fiery, that little dragon knocked me out of the sky--twice.

I tensed involuntarily as a pale hand slammed onto the roof. Wrong thing to do. Everything just started pulsing in an alternating searing agony of silver and lead. The black of Father’s wing blended in with the night. That was why I didn’t see the leading edge come up before his hand. I hadn’t expected him to climb the side of the building but then again there was a sharp shooter out there.

“Skell!”

“They’re using silver.” I groaned back to him.

“That should not kill you.”

“It’s not helping either.”

Father dissolved his wings in a faint glitter of gold then he slid over beside me and pressed me face down to the roof. “I got to get it out. You are already started to heal.”

“Do what you go to do. Who’s watching Six?”

“Hades and William and six pretty darn big Lycan.” I heard the snap of his wrist and I knew that a long silver blade slide into his palm. There was a glow up on the roof for a moment akin to an arc wielder as Father sterilized the blade with a touch of the Blue line. “Need I say it?’

“Get it out.”

“This is going to hurt.”

I fanged my bottom lip open just like a newly birthed fledgling. Still, I didn’t need to be letting all my subjects and enemies hear me screaming my fool head off. I wish I could say that Father had the skilled hands of a surgeon. He was a Master Assassin. Assassins kill things. There is a reason for that – they have a talent for it. I knew he was trying to be so careful but we were doing the life size version of ‘Operation’ and he kept hitting the sides with his scalp. Instead of metallic scream, I was doing everything I could to stay conscious and to keep from wailing out loud.

Finally. There was a thunk sound and the offending piece of metal was laying on the shingles beside me. The burning was easing, slowly. Well as at least I wasn’t doing my impression of a searing steak on a hot, hot grill anymore.

“I believe there is more damage to the bone, my son but I do not have the eyes of a physician to ascertain that. However...” I was caught off guard as Father hit me with the Healing Light but it was more than just a surface thing. I ripped shingles right off the roof top with my good hand. He stuck his finger inside me, following the path of destruction until, I swear I could feel his fingertip as it stroked the wide blade of my scapula . That single bone flared hot as Healing Light poured into my body.

I landed in Sex’s embrace and he lowered me down to my knees onto the warm sand of our Beachfront. He looked a little startled but he had quick hands. “Skell what the hell are you doing here?”

“Father is healing us...I think I fainted.”

As usual the physical injury was left back in our real world but the lingering after effects clung to me like cat hair. “We’re not done yet. Where’s Xavier?”

“Out like a light blub. You don’t look so hot yourself. Those bastards are using silver?”

“Leave nothing behind, brother. Wipe this place off the face of the earth. Marcus is ripping up the minds of Orel Wessel generals so nothing needs to remain.” I reached out and grabbed his shoulder as he moved to try and pick me up. “Leave me here. Don’t leave Father out there alone. You don’t know what he could do if he thinks you are in danger.”

“Skell...”

“Send Endellion back. She’s fed enough. Keep everyone safe, Elder Brother.”

“You did good, Little Brother.”

“That means more than your know.”

Russian words were pouring into my ear and I was held in a warm clovy embrace from mid-thigh all the way to my head. I would have said that it was a hell of wonderful way to wake up but there was a lingering agony in my back. I opened my eyes and blinked at my Sasha. “You’re damned confident it was going to be me.”

“You were the only one who had not yet made an appearance, Fallen.”

/Mama!/ Sasha turned his shoulders and I saw the purplish dragon back flap a couple of times and land on the roof close to us. It did a creepy little shuffle forward and huddled into my lap. Eyes the color of amethyst glittered in the dark of the night. /Mama, better./

I hesitated for a moment then reached out and stroked the underside of the dragon’s chin with my forefinger. I fully expected it to get bitten off. The eyes of the creature closed and the neck extended pressing forward and up into my touch. A low rumble rang out from the little voice box and the whole of the dragon vibrated. I didn’t need to look over at Sasha to see his arched eyebrow. A dragon vibrator.

/You have a name?/

/Ripper/

/Rippa?/
The eyes opened a mere slit. /Rippa good./

“I’m S....Edward. This is Claudius.”

/Mama. Father./

There was a whine of another sniper shot and the roof shingle beside my ankle exploded. Sasha slammed me back first onto the slope and his black wings came up and over me like camouflage. It didn’t matter if it was the dark of the night, I was still the white demon of death and I stood out in the dim like a glow worm.

/Stop hurting Mama!/

I heard a scurrying and Rippa lauched itself back off the roof. I was able to shift aside some of Sasha’s feather and peered out after the little beastie. Skell was right it was just a streak of purple. I flipped over to soul’o vision and time just seemed to slow down. I could see Rippa’s wings flapping almost with the speed of a hummingbird. It dived down into the forest cover then came back up to the tree line then...ghosted? Turned transparent? I watched as the little dragon ripped right through the center of the Orel Wessel sniper and came out the other side holding a fluttering ribbon. Rippa just ripped a soul out of a human quicker than you could spread softened butter on toast.

The time for reflection or awe or horror was cut short as the whole building we were on shook and began to list to the left. Sasha dragged me up to him and lifted us both off the roof as the building continued to collapse in on itself. Few Orel Wessel were left. They made up the numbers of dead and dying. Good. I looped my good arm around the back of Sasha’s neck. He hiked my knees up with his other arm and lightly landed on the ground close to the other Ancients.

We had done what we set out to do. The Hellcats and the remaining Lycan were escorting the released Bloods to safety. Baojia and Sang Kyu came up and glanced at Father but he made no move to set me back on my feet. Our objective stood between Hades and Liam. Kind of tall and far too skinny for a growing boy. His white hair was in a blunt cut around his face but his skin was tanned. That uneasy feeling X had picked up before hit me strongly. Eyes the colour of the palest jade looked up at me. What’s that expression? The lights are one and no one is home. What had those fuckers done to my boy?

“I can stand.”

“You are not heavy. Let me hold you.” Sasha gave me a kiss to my temple but kept his attention forward at the battle.

There was a feminine scream of absolute frustration that drew all eyes to the last fight. What was left of Sara Monahan was nothing like the sketch Marcus had drawn. Her face was guant and hallowed. The blonde hair hung in straggly hanks as if all the vitality, even the shine in her hair had been used in her magical vendetta. The side of the building collapsed because of Ripley’s and Serephina’s magical mystery battle. Again, it just looked like they were posing to the naked eye by the air was crackling with energy. Father’s wings were rustling with the breeze that was swirling around the two combatants.

Ripley looked a little haggard but nothing like he did when he showed up with Rippa’s egg. I frowned and looked up into the air. There it was. It was circling lazily in the air above us. My shoulder was healed but my whole arm was weak. I lifted it upwards and the little dragon streaked down towards us like a falcon coming to land on a gloved hand, only I didn’t have a glove. I changed my position to offer up my leather clad forearm. Rippa back flapped slowly down to almost a hover. The air from the leathery wings blew both Sasha’s hair that had slipped out of his braid around our face then the little dragon settled on my forearm. I dragged my arm in to my body and its passenger jumped onto my chest then Rippa scampered off to nuzzle against the cradle of my thighs and chest. She...why was I calling her a she? It just felt right. She settled against my warm leathers and then the little the fingered talons curled into my waist like she was hugging me.

It was sort of like a cartoon as everyone unobtrusively shifted sideways in a shuffle stage left mode. That movement caught Serephina’s attention. Pure hate flared up in her face as she saw me cradled in my Lover’s arms. Ripley slapped her with something. Her head snapped sideways and she staggered to trip and land on her knees. She countered with a flourish of her hand. Ripley stood stock still and just lifted his hand, palm open then snapped his fingers closed and slammed her counter into the ground behind him. Dirt exploded and left a six foot furrow.

Considering I couldn’t see any magic happening, the effects that I could see were devastating.

“It’s done. You’ve got nothing left. Give it up, woman!” Ripley commanded in a regal tone of voice. He was still pulsing with dark energy.

Serephina had been a lovely heiress. Her features were deformed with hatred, frustration and knowledge of her impending doom. She glared at me with her mouth hanging open in a pant. She was now on her knees in the dirt. The Orel Wessel grey of her uniform was dark with stains. You didn’t need to be a vampire to know that she was bleeding in multiple areas. She sold her soul for vengeance. What had Ripley told X? “You always hear about the fight between good and evil. That is a complete human morality tale. In the real world, good gets eaten by evil. You fight evil with evil. Dark against Dark and it’s usually the darkest who is the winner.”
If Ripley had considered himself a piece of darkness before the dark power spike Skell had given him had just ramped him up on the Dark side of the force.

Her shoulders shook and she turned her head toward the ground. Ripley pulled back whatever he was going to thump her with again. Her hair hung to the ground around her face and her whole body shook. Rippa growled and tightened her claws into my leather.

“Do you admit defeat?”

“I have nothing left.”

“DO YOU ADMIT DEFEAT?”

If this was a movie, the music would be reaching for a crescendo as we reached the climax. If it were a movie the heroes would pack it up and head home the victors. If it were a movie...

Good triumphs over evil.

The guy gets the girl

The Death Star gets destroyed.

But, I was evil. I was death. Ripley was darkness personified. Father was a killer unparalleled, maybe except by Hades. I ran with demons. I commanded Lycan. I dispatched Hellcats to oblivion. Those that stood with me were stained with blood. So why did the only one innocent among us pay for my sins? For our sins?

Serephina wasn’t crying. She brought out her concealed guns and opened fire into our assembly. As soon as the light cast by the inferno that was consuming the compound glinted on the muzzles in her hands, Sasha tossed me sideways out of harms way. Rippa clung to me as I hit the ground and rolled. By that time five shots had been taken. Manic laughter ran out as Sara Monahan played her last hand. Sasha and threw a blade. I blinked as she dodged it, or used what was left of her power to deflect it. I snapped my own blade into my hand as she lifted the muzzle towards my Sasha. The silver blade that had passed harmlessly past her hung in the air for a moment then began travelling back toward her from behind? Ripley? Marcus stepped toward and wrenched her head backwards. The next shots were high and wide. The silver of Sasha’s blade flashed for a moment then was covered in black was Marcus dragged that honed knife across her exposed throat.
Ripley flashed his hands and a dark pulsing ball began to form in his hands. Marcus shoved the dying human forward and Ripley engulfed her in that energy.

“SEX!” I snapped my attention back to Sasha and found him kneeling beside the small fragile body was the sprawled backwards on the grass. A stain as dark as night was growing from his chest. Rippa clung to my leathers and crawled up to my shoulder as I hoofed it over to my youngest son. Sasha’s hands were glowing with Healing Light but the stain was getting bigger.
“Why is this not working?”

I centered my hand over my boy’s chest. Silver bullets again. Concentrate....I took a deep breath and began to call the pieces of that deadly projectile back up through the entry wound. It had fragmented on his sternum and ribs. The bitch shot him in the heart. A hard throb of emotion tightened on my throat but I continued to concentrate as Sasha kept fighting the damage. Glints of silver slid out of the wound. They shone silvery blue from the Healing light. Piece after piece came out. Finally, I couldn’t find any more pieces. Why wasn’t the Healing Light working? It didn’t work that great on Lycan but it did work. Why wasn’t it working?

/Empty./ Rippa crawled up off my shoulder and sat on the ground beside Six. /Not better. Empty./

“What do you mean?”

I was horrified as the little dragon turned transparent and stuck its snout into the chest cavity of my dying son. Rippa lifted her head back out and looked at me with those glittering amethyst gemstone eyes. /Empty./

“He’s soul has left already?’

Rippa shook her head. /Always empty./

“What do you mean?’

Sasha looked up at me with actual distress in his arctic blue eyes “Sex?”

“I can’t lose him.” Hades and William walked up. Hades had a bullet in his shoulder. William had blood on him but it was Hades sweet honey essence. /If he wasn’t empty, would he get better?/

Rippa sat up and looked at me then gave me a slow blink. /Yes. Mama?/

I looked down at the shallow breathing of my boy. I had sins to bear, but they were my burden and I was more than able to carry them. Six was an innocent. It didn’t matter how he came into the world, he was my son. /There are two souls in that one over there. Can you put the stronger soul in the empty one?/

/Mama?/

/Can you do it, Rippa?/

/It will hurt them./

/Do it, please./

Rippa jumped up from the ground and flapped taking flight. Everyone sort of ducked as the little purple leather moved skyward. “Sex?”

“Whatever happens do not stop with the healing light.”

“What did you just do?”

I caught his gaze. “I made a hard choice. Back me up, Sasha.” He never hesitated or paused. He gave a quick nod.

I heard a whoosh of wings and then William was physically slammed forward hard. Hades staggered sideways as the taller pale man dropped to his knees. His face contorted and a scream broke out of his throat. Instinctively his hands clawed at his chest. I saw the little dragon emerge from William’s chest a fluttering chrome plated ribbon in her mouth. She flapped backwards with her wings and wrenched her head from left to right pulling on that soul. She spun in the air and flapped toward the sky as a longer length of soul was wrenched out of Williams’ body.

Hades threw himself on Williams convulsing form. To the assembly, William was having a grand mal seizure. To me...I heard footsteps come to a stop beside me, and Ripley, we watched as Rippa wrestled with Liam’s soul.

“Do you know what you are doing?”

“What needs to be done.”

/MAMA!/ The ribbon retracted a bit back into William’s body.
I gritted my teeth then reached out and grabbed a length under Rippa’s struggling body. I yanked on it. It was like trying to pull a cinder block with a length of string. Hands reached under my arms and Ripley added his combined strength with ours. Williams’ chest actually levitated off the ground as we pulled on Liam’s soul.

Hades realized that we were causing this seizure just as the ribbon slipped free. As soon as the tail left the body the agony William was experiencing stopped. Ripley and I fell backwards but I never let go of the ribbon. Rippa disappeared into Six’s chest and then the ribbon began to coil almost like a measuring tape that was retracting. As soon as the ribbon entered the boy’s body the Healing Light my muzh was pouring into him began to heal the wounds. The small bloody chest gave a huge gasp and he began to move and thrash. I jumped forward straddling his waist and held his arms as Sasha concentrated on healing all the damage – knitting fractures, mending tears, sealing bleeding arteries. I grunted as I got a knee to the kidneys. Ripley jumped on Six’s legs but it turned out this little guy was a vampire. Baojia and Sang Kyu leapt forward and helped the Fey. There was one final heave and Six laid still.

Sasha called off the Healing Light. The whole of the place sat in silence until there was a big sigh and a small groan. Eyes blinked. I reached up and brushed white strands out of the young boy’s face. He blinked again and focused on me. The sharp stab of joy ripped through me for a moment then I realized that those jade green eyes were replaced with buttery soft grey. I turned and looked over at Hades and William. Hades had the Billy Idol clone in a one armed embrace as he held him upright. William’s eyes were brown.

“Hello...what’s your name?”

“Seth. Why? Why are you sitting on me? Where am I? Why are you holding me down?” There was a rising panic in his tone. I slipped off his body and motioned the Lycan and Fey back. The boy raised a hand to his chest and grimaced as he sat up. He looked around him then at the flames burning in the night but his eyes snapped to me. “Father?”

“Yes, Seth. I’m your father.”

“I don’t remember everything. It’s...fuzzy.”

“That’s alright, Seth. This was a bad place. If you don’t remember things, it’s probably for the best.” I looked over at Hades. He was staring at the white haired boy with a mixture of sadness and joy. His arm tightened around William who was slumped as if he had drunk too much. A slight snore rose up from his mouth. “Hades?”

He just looked at the boy.
“Hades?”

“Liam’s been reincarnated. I don’t know how to you did it but...he shouldn’t remember anything about who he truly is until he gets his wings.” Tears began to stream down the Master Assassin’s face.

“Hades, I’m sorry. I...”

Hades shook his golden curls. “He told me how he wanted to come back to me as your son. He wanted you to be his father. He thought that wasn’t going to happen.” He sniffed. “Well I guess he got his wish.”

“He will not remember anything about being the progenitor?” Sasha reached out and steadied Seth as he swayed. Rippa crawl walked up right to Seth and then jumped up into his lap.

Hades just shook his head. “That’s William all right. Dragons are just drawn to him.”

Riot came up looking none the worse for wear and handed me a note. He offered a quick smile to the white haired boy who discovered the little dragon’s rumble zone. I flipped it open and scanned the contents. Any good feelings as I had just evaporated. Riot looked down at me and his smile faded. “My Lord?”

I turned my eyes and scanned the battlefield. I climbed to my feet and headed to the last place I saw Sara Monahan. I picked up Sasha’s blade from the ground. Marcus had been thoughtful enough to wipe it clean before he left.

“Fallen?” I tried to relax as Sasha wrapped his arms around my shoulders.

“He’s gone.”

“Who’s gone?”

“Both of them.” I handed back the note and stared out into the darkness of the valley. Marcus asked for a year’s sabbatical. Armor needed time to grow. Marcus needed that time to search and destroy the various Orel Wessel cells through North America. I couldn’t deny them the time. This was part of the Empress’ edict. Still...this was a win, wasn’t it? Seth was free. William wasn’t going dormant. Liam had wanted to be my son. The Sorceress was dead and another major Orel Wessel compound was annihilated. This was a win.

So why the hell did it feel so bad?
Sasha kissed my temple. “Marcus will keep Armor safe.”

I frowned. “You knew he was going to do this?”

“Marcus raked me over the coals for my callous treatment of Armor over the years. I had nothing to say in my defence. So he demanded my silence in this matter for all the brotherhood.”

“He never said goodbye to Azrael.”

“I do not worry about Azrael and Marcus. They will survive. Xavier will need you, Fallen. Be there for him. As I will be there for you.” He extended his forearm and I reset the blade back in the sheath. “Let us take your new yet old son home and introduce him back to the madhouse.”

I bumped him with my hip. “Madhouse. You get to heal Hades.”

I cast one more look out into the darkness that had swallowed the six foot four vampire with hair the colour of rich sable and eyes that could warm the coldest heart. He walked away from Xavier without a second look. Sasha had found out the fury of a lover scorned. Armor would too. Out of the brotherhood, I was the most forgiving. Armor had made his bed...he was going to have to hide in it.

I understood Lanny’s prediction now. There were many sorts of winning. This one was bittersweet.

-30-