11. Unholy

11

UNHOLY

“ Q uinn!” I seize Quinn’s face, making him look at me as he begins to go Revenant. Florian Delano’s announcement he has captured the Dark Haven of Florence pushes Quinn too far; as I come to his front, Lucca steps to Quinn’s back, wrapping strong arms around him and putting his lips by Quinn’s ear.

As crimson death devours Quinn’s eyes now, I see his form flicker. I pour my love into him then, through our bonds; Lucca takes my cue and does the same. Our brightness rushes into Quinn, countering his Revenant’s devouring as he churns in an all-consuming wrath.

His dark eyelashes blink closed. When they open, the crimson of the Revenant has died, replaced by his red and gold Dark Summer Fae fire as it blazes in his eyes.

That fire is cold, though, as a terrible, marble-like chill takes Quinn.

Death in his eyes, as he stares at me from so far away now—like he’s seeing only murder.

“I am lost to terrible things, Ariana,” Quinn states. I smooth my fingers over his austere cheeks, hollow with everything he’s been through recently. As I nod, feeling where he is right now through our bond, Quinn slowly reaches up and takes my hands down from his face. As Lucca gradually eases his iron grip as well, Quinn stares at me with that terrible look, before he kisses my fingers gently.

His deadly gaze flicking to Devina.

“The day is lost. Where is your safe house? We must retire there and spare all the people we have. Let them recover.” Quinn is like a war general now, as I see a calculating, militaristic side of him I’ve never seen before.

“It’s in the human world, like I said, on the other side of Florence,” Devina says as we come into a circle again. Lucca steps to Quinn’s side now, as Quinn finally calms. I see how Lucca keeps an arm loosely around Quinn’s waist, though.

Ready to hold him back from doing I-don’t-know-what if he dives towards his Revenant again.

“Our safe house is actually…” Alleno’s emerald gaze flicks at me as he pauses, like he’s about to drop a bomb on our conversation. “At Ariana’s parent’s house. In the country.”

“Excuse me?” I blink in a sudden astonishment at Alleno, as Lucca and Quinn do the same. It’s the last thing I expected that Devina, Alleno, Curio, and all the other Dark Fae we know would have a relationship with my parents.

“Ariana. You already know your Summer Fae adopted parents have been Dark Fae traffickers for centuries, rescuing Dark Fae from King Archivolio Bellari and the Vampire Council who would kill them.” Devina turns to me, no bullshit in her chocolate-iron gaze as she addresses this new, shocking piece of information. “They only recently moved their operations into the human world to keep you safe when you were born; I’ve been working with them for a while, and Alleno and Curio have also, though Quinn and Lucca knew nothing about it. Our operations had to keep them out of it; Quinn and Lucca were too high-profile to bring into our Dark Fae trafficking without risking everyone. Now that everyone is in the know , however, Adicus Briarwick and Illyria Amati will come clean with you, I’m sure. ”

I’m gaping at Devina, hearing all this for the first time. But I’m not staring at her as hard as Lucca is staring at Alleno, and Quinn is staring at Devi, then Curio. Devi lifts an eyebrow defiantly at Quinn as Alleno stands tall, staring his cousin down in an extremely sober standoff. Curio just smiles, slouching against the nearby tomb and crossing his arms as if he doesn’t care we’re all shocked at this revelation.

“How have you kept this hidden from my mind this entire time, Devina Scarlotti and Curio Silverfrost?” Quinn asks now, as I feel him wonder if his two top lieutenants somehow belong to some other Master.

And have this entire time.

“Dark Fae have strange abilities; you know that, Quinn.” Devi tosses her head defiantly, then examines her somehow still-perfect crimson nails. “I simply have more ability to hide my thoughts from others?—”

“And I get plenty of enigmatic Dark Fae abilities from my most heinous father,” Curio adds. “If you haven’t figured it out, I was a plant by my father in Emiliana’s Dark Haven. He had me Kiss to her, thinking she had Sired me, then spy on her every move, establishing our Dark Fae-saving operations in Florence all the while. I hated my post, and the charade, obviously. Emiliana and her sick brutality were far more than I could ever stomach. But we saved a lot of Dark Fae, setting up our operations here, right beneath King Bellari’s nose. He never suspected us using the ancient Vampire tunnels beneath the city to get people out. He thought no Vampire would ever care, of course.”

“So that’s why you hate your father so much.” It all comes together for me as I stare at Curio, understanding. “He forced you to come here and play Emiliana’s games, for centuries.”

“He knew what was happening, and everything she was,” Curio says with venom now as his pale blue eyes flash. “Yet he did nothing. Only told me I had to endure , for the sake of our people. He stood by as a demon used his only son, figuring out no other plan for us to help our Dark Fae here in Florence. Letting me rot in her abusive enclave until there were days, weeks, years that I wished she would just get it over with and kill me. The only thing that kept me going were my secret outings, to save all the Dark Fae I could. That, and Quinn’s stalwart friendship, and the love he had for all of us even back then when things were darkest. Until Quinn killed her, of course.”

“All this time,” Quinn’s voice is soft now as he looks at Curio, then Devina, in a new light. “You both hid this from me all this time.”

“Don’t look at us like that, Quinn.” Devina snaps now as her eyes challenge him with heat. “Curio and I are your most loyal warriors. And if you doubt it, I will gut you in the night.”

This last finally makes Quinn smile. A genuine smile, as he shakes his head at Devi. “You will never cease to amaze me, Devina Scarlotti.”

“And we will never cease to be yours.” Devi lifts a stern eyebrow at Quinn now. “So let’s not waste time with bullshit. We need to get going to the safe house. Florian’s forces can and will use whatever resources the Vampire Council has given them to break all your wards down here and find us. Adesso .”

“You have a way through Bello’s pizzeria to the human world? An escape portal for Dark Fae, right to the safe house?” Lucca is still watching Alleno. Though he’s said nothing in front of Quinn’s people, I feel through our bond how much Lucca and Alleno are going to have words later.

“We do, but there are no direct underground tunnels from this location.” Alleno nods at the secret stairwell at the back of the tomb, that goes up to an old Fae cemetery in the center of Florence. “From the cemetery, it’s just six short blocks to Bello’s. He’s got a portal to the human world, right to our safe house from the back of the pizzeria.”

“I know how far it is to Bello’s shop from the cemetery.” Lucca snaps at his cousin, though he closes his eyes, gathering himself from losing his infamous temper right now. He opens his eyes again. “Six blocks is a long way with so many injured, and sentries from the Vampire Council, or Quinn’s nemesis crawling all over Florence. They may not have taken the city yet, but I’m sure they’ve got people here already, watching the streets. ”

“Everyone here has obscuration talismans.” Devi holds up a small golden amulet on a thin chain around her neck now, a tiny ruby in the center glinting dark like blood. “Dark Fae made. They hide our Mentale Dark Fae signature from foes during battle; it’s how so many of us lasted this long, with everything the Council threw at us in the halls. Here.” Reaching into a zipper pocket of her tactical wear, Devi pulls out a spare amulet, handing it to Quinn.

“What about Ariana and Lucca?” Quinn puts the amulet on without a fuss, tucking it in behind his silk and fur jacket from Novakitsk.

“I can take you both under my power,” Alleno says now. “Just stay within five feet of me as we walk. I’ll get us there smoothly.”

“Fine.” Lucca is still terse with Alleno, though just like Quinn with Devi, he doesn’t give his cousin any guff. I feel the hard demeanors of generals in battle from Quinn and Lucca both now, as they understand the day is lost. We need to use all the talent we’ve got now to escape.

I feel a sudden shiver in the air.

And hear a sound like wind chimes breaking, far off in the catacombs.

“They’ve broken through the ninth ward.” Quinn’s head snaps around as he squints far off down the underground corridor, on vicious alert. I can’t see anything in the gloom, nor feel anything with my Dark Fae senses. But Quinn was the one who placed those wards down here long ago. A terrible, pleased look comes into his eyes as he says, “Wait for the eighth…”

As a sudden sound like an enormous bug zapper crackles down the hall, I hear a dozen screams. They’re horrible; writhing in agony, they end in tormented shrieks that go on and on, before they suddenly stop. I don’t know what Quinn’s ward just did to the Vampires who were after us. I don’t want to know, as he turns back to our group.

Nodding quickly to the injured as he goes to hustle them up.

“Let’s move.”

We do. All of us with strength head to someone injured now, hauling them to their feet and getting their arm around our shoulders. About ten of those in the tomb are hale enough to help a comrade up who is worse. Levitating up the last five who are in the most critical condition with his watery aura, the Vampire-Siren Arturos has said nothing this entire time, but responds immediately to Quinn’s command.

I see their gazes connect.

Before Quinn turns his back on his once-friend—dismissing him as he gathers one of his wounded Dark Fae up.

“Alleno, lead the way with Lucca and Ariana. I’m right behind you. Devi, Curio—hold our rear with all our fighters who are in the best shape. Arturos, take the middle with the worst of the injured. Lose no one.”

“Yes, Quinn,” Devi snaps as she moves into a tail position with Curio and a few of Quinn’s best fighters, only moderately injured. Quinn waves a hand as we get everyone together, and the hidden stairwell at the rear of the tomb appears, spiraling up to the cemetery above.

A Dark Fae woman I don’t know is on my arm, her beautiful silky black hair a complement to her pale features. I stay close to Alleno as we ascend. We emerge in the small, shadowed space of the mausoleum above; as Alleno leads the way, pushing out through the ornate iron grate into the night, I feel the blessed midnight summer breeze of Florence at last. After so many days at the ice citadel of Novakitsk, my skin drinks in the warm, balmy night eagerly. Crickets chirrup through the starlit darkness as the cemetery’s trees sway in the wind.

I heave a deep sigh of solace—though my tension remains for our escape tonight.

It seems like it takes hours for us to get all the injured aboveground. Though I know it’s only been a few minutes, every second seems like an eternity, as I hear another of Quinn’s wards blare through the underground. Our pursuers hit another one after that; something horrible that makes more Vampires shriek. But the Council and Florian’s forces are still hot on our trail; it’s clear they’re not giving up as we get the last of Devi’s warriors up the stairs and out into the night.

As she nods to Quinn, then Alleno, Alleno turns to go .

But not before tapping my shoulder and Lucca’s—warning us both to stay close.

It’s difficult, as both Lucca and I manage an injured Dark Fae as we head out through the midnight cemetery, and Alleno does as well. We keep within a five-foot radius of Alleno, however, as I feel a smooth, bright wind from him ease around us as we walk.

I see how that auric breeze actually shifts the surrounding shadows in the night; as I realize Alleno has the power to bend both light and shadows around himself, something strikes me about him. We leave the cemetery through an enormous, ornately carved arch, heading out into Florence’s nighttime streets, as I move closer to him now and speak low.

“You can bend both light and shadows with your Dark Fae power. That’s why you’ve always had such skill in the Darkwatch, and can stay hidden in plain sight when you follow Lucca,” I say, as Lucca falls behind us with his charge, Quinn behind that as we stay on Florence’s narrow sidewalks.

“So?” Alleno glances at me. He nods his chin at a turn, and we head around the corner.

“So you’re not a Courante Dark Fae, like Lucca.” My deepest intuition rings true inside me now. “You’re an Animante Dark Fae. Like me.”

I feel Lucca perk behind me as I say this to Alleno. Though he’s still tailing us, scanning for threats, Quinn goes into an immaculate stillness behind that.

As we all wait for Alleno’s answer.

“Can’t keep anything from you, can I?” Alleno gives a dark chuckle now, nodding for us to turn down a tight alley, deep in the heart of the city. As we’re hemmed in by towering buildings with cascading balconies dripping with potted plants, I know we’re in the Ilanti Rustico section of Florence where Bello Bellissimo’s pizzeria is. The tight alley gives me no comfort; like Quinn and Lucca, I scan both the alley ahead and the balconies all around us for threats now.

Like Vampires might just surge down, right on top of us .

“That’s why you’ve fought so hard for me. Why you’ve protected me for Lucca, like you have…” I breathe now as only part of me remains in my conversation with Alleno, the rest of me alert for threats the closer we get to Bello’s shop.

“Couldn’t let one of only ten Animante I know get offed.” Alleno chuckles as I feel Lucca listen to our conversation. “Besides. You’re nice. I like you.”

Before Alleno or I can say more, however, there’s movement in the night. Just as we feared, the wrought-iron balconies above us and all around are suddenly pouring down Vampires, as a cloaking spell gets lifted.

With a terrible roar, Quinn’s dark aura floods up like a hurricane around us, as he keeps his injured comrade close and gets ready to fight one-handed. The rest of us are similarly hindered as I feel Dark Fae auras thunder up throughout our group, me raising my balanced power along with Quinn’s dark and Lucca’s bright magic.

But Quinn, Lucca, and I are at far less than our usual power from everything we’ve gone through at the ice citadel. As terrible, death-dark auras thunder up from the Vampires in black tactical gear all around us, nasty black knives lengthening into rune-scalding Vampire spears, I feel how our group is not at our best. Even Devina’s indomitable Dark Scarlet Fae magic flickers far less than usual; only Arturos’ watery bonds seem to have no limit.

As his immense, sea-dark power expands—all around us.

“Run! Quinn, run!” I hear Arturos roar as he uses his power to surround our group—lifting us all up above the heads of the Council’s Vampires as we clash.

As we’re all hefted up on Arturos’ watery waves, our foes drowning now in his dark oceans as they struggle to fight through it, Quinn, Alleno, Lucca, and I lead the charge. Taking up our injured, we run upon the surface of those waves; like skating on a living pond, Arturos’ sea-deep power pushes us along, swamping our enemies even as it lends us the speed for flight.

We’re two blocks from Bello’s pizzeria now; one. When Arturos’ power gives out, the Vampire-Siren giving a short cry and passing out in a dead faint as his power crashes us all to the midnight street, I see how he’s deposited us right in front of Bello’s place.

The pizzeria is dark with no fires lit in the ovens—though Bello stands in the doorway, ushering us in with an anxious look. Alleno takes the lead while Quinn, Lucca, and I allow others to take our injured.

We usher our people in fast now through Bello’s pizzeria doors. As we stand sentinel, the Council’s Vampires rushing towards us from where they’ve been released by Arturos’ watery bonds, we get everyone inside. As Devi hands off the last injured fighter to a comrade, everyone inside the pizzeria is headed for the portal. It leaves only Quinn, Devi, Curio, Lucca, Alleno, and me outside in the street.

As the Council’s warrior-Vampires fly towards us from far down the block, seething with smoke-dark intent, Lucca glances at Bello.

“Your people?” Lucca asks fast.

“Already through the portal,” Bello answers, as he waves a hand quickly. “Everyone who has helped the safe house is now there. Come, masters. Let the pizzeria be taken. I will start another place.”

As Lucca nods fast, Quinn sets his hand to his heart for Bello. But the Vampires are nearly on us; glancing quickly to the street, Quinn’s gaze lands on Arturos.

Crumpled on the cobblestones—unconscious.

“Let him burn, Quinn. Let the Council have him.” Devi nods her chin at the unconscious Arturos. “Though he aided our fight at the Hotel, it’s not enough for what he did to you.”

“It’s not enough,” Quinn says, as he stares at Arturos. But I feel decision take him then; sweeping forward, he hefts Arturos up from the cobbles, rushing back with his fallen once-friend in his arms .

“Through the portal. Now,” Quinn says, even as Devi opens her lips to protest.

Quinn’s look silences her.

As Vampires sweep to our position like a hurricane in the night, we’re inside. Bello’s locked the doors with some kind of Dark Fae rune-spell; none of us even have a moment to look, however, as an unholy wind of Night slams against those doors, shuddering their solid wood.

I know it won’t hold, as we rush through the dark pizzeria to the rear kitchens. A utility closet has been thrown open; in the far back, I see a blurry portal, leading somewhere in the midnight Florentine countryside.

A place in the human world, where no Twilight nimbus graces the sky.

“Go!” Heaving Arturos into Lucca’s arms, Quinn nods for all of us to head through the portal. Not even Lucca protests now, as we rush through the gateway to the other side. A high whine devours my ears, as a twisting sensation takes me and a blaze of white blasts my eyes. And then we’re clear, stumbling out into a dark pasture on a farm in the human world, the smell of the Florentine countryside all around.

Turning back to the portal, I know Quinn is about to do something heinous. As I see him through the portal, still on the Twilight side, I feel how he raises his power like a leviathan in the night. As his dark aura burns red and gold entirely now, black twisting through it only marginally, I feel how he’s summoned the very last of his old Summer Fae fire.

Flames blaze through his aura, alive with wrath, as everything around Quinn seems to burn. And then it is burning, as I see Bello’s pizzeria go up in flames from Quinn’s wrathful, diabolical power. I see his shove; I feel his terrible fire sweep through the pizzeria at the precise moment the Vampires break through the doors.

Devouring them with hellfire—as they scream and are silenced in the night.

Heaving hard breaths, Quinn stumbles on the other side of the portal. Surrounded by his unholy fire, he falls to one knee from the power he’s expended. I don’t even think twice; I rush back through the portal as Lucca comes with me, each of us getting Quinn’s arms up over our shoulders, hauling him up.

We’re running; we’re stumbling back through the portal as fire rains down, crumbling the pizzeria as enormous beams thunder down all around us. The portal wavers; we dash to it. We’re through, even as a terrible wrenching sound roars in my ears, my body feeling like I’ve been torn apart from diving through a breaking portal like that.

But we’ve made it; all around, the non-Twilight sky glimmers through dark trees.

As I realize we’ve fallen to our backs on the ground.

Quinn, Lucca, and I together—our people saved from certain death tonight.