26. Blaze

26

BLAZE

S omething terrible surges through Ariana’s and my connection to Quinn as Florian Delano stares into Quinn’s eyes. Rage sears through me; I was sitting on the bed, but I stand as I feel that odious invasion. My bright Fae wings shoot out, shattering a mirror as they roar through the room. Ariana’s dark rainbows seethe from her as well, flaring with sliver and gold light. Our power banishes whatever accosted us through our connection to Quinn, but I feel that connection shut down, then.

As I hear the faintest scream from Quinn in my mind.

“Quinn!” I’m rushing to the balcony to leap onto Altenni, fluffed down upon the railing, when Arturos waylays me. He grips my shoulder, hauling me back from busting out and flying straight to the Red Letter Hotel Florence in my sudden need to help Quinn.

As Arturos’ Siren power surges deep inside me, Alleno feels my distress also, dashing in from the balcony and gripping me, as well. Alleno adds his magic to Arturos’, giving me a deep rush of his Dark Fae power.

Telling me to stay put.

I breathe hard, my fury arrested as Arturos gazes deep into my eyes now, mesmerizing me lightly to settle me. I let him, because everything inside me wants to rush to Quinn, thanks to whatever Florian just did. What we’ve experienced through our bond to Quinn so far has been terrible, ever since he let himself be caught by Florian. This is worse, as I feel nothing now through our connection.

Like static on a dead phone line.

But I let our allies hold me back, because deep inside, I know me rushing off to play the white knight and rescue Quinn is the one thing that will break his gambit and ruin all our plans. We have to trust him, though that’s the hardest thing for me to do right now, knowing he’s in the lion’s den.

And the lion has somehow cut him off from the only weapon he has—us.

“Florian. He’s shut off our connection to Quinn, somehow, though he couldn’t destroy it.” Ariana comes to me now, taking my hand as I rage. As she confirms my suspicions, I growl, and she lets me go.

I head over to a small bar in one alcove of our guest suite, pouring myself yet another drink. I don’t even care what it is, as I down it. What Quinn’s done is unthinkable, going in there alone, while we’re all here.

But this was his plan; though this is one of the worst midnights I’ve ever had to experience, Quinn told me this night would be living hell as we felt everything Florian Delano was probably going to do to him.

I never expected this, however.

“We need to go. We need to get him out,” I say now, furious, as I rake a hand through my hair.

“We need to stay,” Arturos says soberly as he watches me, to make sure I’m back from my inundating rage. “Even if our connection to Quinn is tempered right now, we can’t barrel in there. He needs the support from the returned Revenants, pledging fealty to him. Once he gets that, he’ll be able to throw off whatever Florian’s done to mask him from us, and vice versa.”

“Hopefully,” Ariana says with a tense frown, even as she watches me. She says nothing, just stands by me now, sipping a wine.

Even her aura is dark now as it flows around the room. All of us are worried about Quinn; because what we experienced earlier through our bond to him was bad.

Even Devi and Curio stew, as they both growl now that Quinn has somehow been cut off from us by Florian. As Devi and Curio play an intense game of chess in the living area nearby, Devi’s power flares like a corona of scarlet blades all around her. Curios soothes it with a flash of his winter winds.

Though even those are churning, restless as they blow a chill air through the room.

I’m orders of magnitude more tense than Quinn’s top lieutenants, but I’m grateful for Arturos’ Siren magic and Alleno’s dark quietude bolstering me. Both have calmed me at least a dozen times already tonight, though the night is still relatively young.

And we have no clue how much longer this is going to last.

“Gods. How much more do we have to wait?” Ariana echoes my thought as she heaves a sigh and drains her wine, moving to the small bar and pouring another. “I don’t trust this recent development with Florian, and am inclined to agree with Lucca; that we scrap this plan and do everything we can to get Quinn out. Now.”

“Florian will not leave Quinn alone to meet with the returned Revenants until he is thoroughly satisfied with their new arrangement.” Devi snarls as she waves a hand, her gaze fixed on the chess match. “It could be hours, or it could be days—like Quinn, Florian is a daywalker, and can make this madness last as long as he wants to, day and night.”

“Florian hasn’t had Quinn in a very long time,” Curio says quietly now, even as he watches the game. “I also had a personal history of being his plaything when Quinn and I were in Emiliana’s Dark Haven. It’s likely he’ll make Quinn’s torment last a while, until Quinn’s thoroughly hating himself for going against all his righteous principles and morals, succumbing to his body and the ecstasy Florian can produce.”

“Even Florian tires of his games, eventually. He will leave Quinn at some point, to ruin another until he feels like torturing our dark Master again.” Arturos glances at me, then Ariana.

“At which point,” Curio chimes in again, “Quinn shall be alone, to speak with the other returned Revenants inside the Hotel, as we recently heard from that Pict Vampire who visited him. Florian’s deepest weakness is hubris; he doesn’t believe those Kissed to him will tempt his ire and torment by helping Quinn, and most don’t. But all of us felt how much Quinn still has his own mind through Florian’s sways, bolstered through our bonds. Those bonds are still there, even if Quinn and we can’t consciously feel them right now.”

“Not feeling what’s happening is going to drive me mad.” Ariana echoes my sentiment as she heads back to the bed with her wine, where she was before my outburst.

“Too mad.” I growl as I scrub a hand through my hair in tense agreement.

“Be grateful for that.” Devi looks up from her chess match now, wrath in her scarlet-chocolate gaze—but also trust for Quinn. “If we were to feel what Quinn’s about to go through with Florian, all of us might rush in there and get captured, or worse. If Quinn were less clear-headed right now from Florian’s power, all our plans might be lost. As it is, we have a chance of him doing what we let him go in there for, even if we can’t feel what’s happening. Because he will find the returned Revenants—and connect with them. Giving us what we need to attack that place from within.”

“I just don’t know how you can all be so calm about this,” I growl hard now as I rake my hands through my hair yet again, plopping to a hard seat on the bed beside Ariana.

“You love him,” Arturos says quietly, even as Ariana scoots to me and wraps her arm around my waist, cuddling me. “No one wants to watch someone they love get tortured, even if they volunteered for it. Or feel it, for that matter.”

Just then, a knock comes at the door. As Arturos goes to open it, I rise from the bed, Ariana behind me. We all stand as Adicus Briarwick enters, Bello Bellissimo right behind him. A curious look is on Adicus’ face as he gazes around, though Bello beams like something amazing just happened.

“There’s a group at the front door; or in the entire front drive, rather. I think you should come speak with them. At once,” Adicus says as he gestures for us all to come down.

“A group?” Ariana lifts her eyebrows at her father, but in his Darkwatch way, Adicus says nothing, only gestures mysteriously for us all to follow him and Bello.

We do, heading down the stairs with me and Ariana behind them, everyone else right behind us. As we make it to the front door of the manor, then head outside to the sprawling porch, I see a massive group has swallowed the entire gravel drive out front.

A group of towering Giants.

Blond-haired and brown-eyed, though they have a deep crimson ring around their irises, they look mostly human except for their incredible stature and towering bulk.

I know at once they’re German Rock Giants, the most normal looking of all Giants, despite their astonishing eyes. But though their massive energy feels like Giants—like boulders smashing down a mountain, with a sound like cannons in battle—their power swirls dark in a way I’ve never seen before.

I realize then that what I’m looking at is a small army of Vampire-Giants, as I inhale in astonishment. Dressed in gargantuan battle leathers and silver plate, one steps forward from the rest. A massive man with shaggy white Yeti-fur adorning the shoulders of his gear, he steps up the lowermost porch stair, towering over all of us as our small group moves forward to receive him .

“You. And you.” He points at me, then Ariana. “Our Master told us to find you, his allies’ mates. So here we are.”

“Your Master?” Ariana steps forward now, because I’m too shocked as I stare at this impressive cadre of what must be three hundred Vampire-Giant warriors standing before us. Ariana looks their leader over, as I feel comprehension fill her. “Is your Master the Vampire-Giant Gunter Spielmann, Master of Bavaria?”

“The same.” The enormous Giant nods, as he places a fist to his heart. “Our Master has been tied up with the Vampire Council attacking our Dark Haven recently. He killed them, then sent us here to find you. He honors an alliance with Quindici DaPonti, Master of Florence. And has a message for Master DaPonti’s ears.”

“Quinn isn’t available right now,” I say tightly, finding my voice. “We can hear your message, and through us, he will hear it. Hopefully soon.”

“It is enough.” The big man nods, as he looks me over with curiosity but also with respect. “My Master says, Fuck the Council, Quinn. Fight their asses and take them down. I will be there fucking them, right alongside you. My Master would have come himself, but he was gravely injured in the battle. He is recovering, and will join us as soon as he is able, with more of our brethren from the Dark Haven of Bavaria. Until then, you have us.”

“Saints and sinners amaze us.” Curio whistles now as his brisk, pepperminty winds freshen us all beneath the night stars. “Well, I guess Quinn has an army, when the time comes to retake the red Letter Hotel Florence.”

“Let’s hope it’s enough,” Arturos says now as he regards the Giant host.

“It’s far more than we have now.” Devi snips at Arturos before she faces the big Vampire-Giant. “As Quinn’s Second-in-Command of the Dark Haven of Florence, we welcome your Master’s most valuable gift, and your presence here. Our Dark Fae army could use your fighters right about now.”

“The Dark Haven of Bavaria fights to the death. We are far stronger than any Fae,” the big leader says now, before he pins Arturos with his steely gaze. “You are doubtful, Siren; I feel it corrupting your living blood. Do you gainsay the might of the Dark Haven of Bavaria, alive one?”

“Not at all.” Arturos shakes his head, though I don’t miss his small smile that the Vampire-Giant picked up on just how very much alive he is now, after last night. “I am simply aware of how many resources from the Council Florian Delano still has inside the Dark Haven of Florence right now. Many hundreds of their Societas Sanguinis , their most elite warriors, helped him secure that place; they are most likely still in-residence inside the building. In addition to Florian’s own people, of which his guards and fighters are mighty.”

“We care not. We will smash them, just as we did at our own Dark Haven,” the big Vampire-Giant says as he lifts his chin, his eyes like black holes in the night. “Until then, we will make ourselves comfortable here.”

“In the yard?” Adicus steps forward now, his eyebrows lifting. “Surely, you would like a place to sleep, perhaps inside somewhere when the sun rises?”

“The rocks along your drive will do.” The big Giant nods at the rocky ditch beside the gravel driveway, flanked by a row of cypress trees. “We shall dig in and wait out the sun until it is time to fight.”

“As you wish.” Adicus motions them in that general direction now, as I realize these Vampire-Giants are going to dig themselves down beneath the rocks and earth, burying themselves away from the sun until we receive the signal from Quinn to move out.

It’s incredible, and intimidating, as the ones at the rear of the small army dig enormous rocks the size of cars out of the ditch now, hurling them aside and making a trench. As others join in, the big leader gives me and Ariana one last nod, then goes to join his fellows.

The sounds of rocks smash and thud as they’re hurled aside, filling the quiet night .

“Well, there’s something you don’t see every day.” Curio chuckles, as we all watch the ditch lengthen and deepen in a matter of minutes.

But before we can comment further on the arrival of a small army of Vampire-Giants in Adicus and Illyria’s driveway, hurled drives of terrible black magic are coming at us.

I cover Ariana fast as one hits me, searing across my shoulder and making me roar as my Fae wings shoot from my back in a hurricane. The Giants are already in action, as someone attacks us in the night, just after their arrival. Dozens of somebodies surround us now—hundreds.

As a sudden battle breaks out in the dark yard.

“Lucca! Ariana! Alleno!” A fierce battle-cry pierces the night; someone is tossing us Fae-spears, curling with terrible sigils for maiming and destruction as I throw a hand up and snatch one out of the air.

With a quick glance, I see it’s Illyria, rushing down the steps of the villa in a blue night robe as her own Fae spear lengthens to its fullest. That spear burns with a terrible rose-gold fire in the night as her Summer Fae wings sear wide. Adicus is right on her heels, seething with a silver, forest green darkness; they form a blazing duo as they fight back-to-back now with wings and spears.

And I see who is hemming us in from the forest.

Hundreds of Vampires in arcane black armor are clashing with the Giants, and those few of us Fae who were at the main house tonight. Their terrible violet-black spears, ornate armor, and seething drives of magic devour the night as Gunter’s Vampire-Giants fight back, hammering them with fists or barreling in, seizing the smaller Vampires and knocking their heads together to crush skulls.

“ To me!! ” I roar now, my time in battle coming back in a rush as I write terrible Faeanic sigils in the air with my spear for incapacitation and death.

But even I can see we’re outnumbered, as hundreds more Societas Sanguinis Vampires from the Council come flooding in, everywhere. They’ve surrounded us in the night; it’s just like what happened at Novakitsk, though this force is far smaller. We heard earlier this same evening that Lady Eiseth Pendragon’s Dark Haven had been attacked also, up in Britain, and now the same from the Bavarian Vampire-Giants who were also Quinn’s allies.

Clearly, the Council found us, and know this place holds allies of Quinn’s; as Adicus and Illyria blast their way through the onslaught with masterful sigil work now, not one bit rusty for all their time away from fighting, Ariana holds her own beside me. She doesn’t need me or Alleno to protect her anymore, as we all maneuver to Adicus and Illyria, Ariana writing sigils to repel as Alleno uses his favorite sigil in battle— kill .

Devi and Curio don’t need Faeanic spears, as Curio wields his powerful drives of winter-chill terror and Devi thrusts dozens of crimson blades made of her magic into our enemies. Bello Bellissimo fights with them, making enormous discs of magic in the air that rush into our enemies, chopping off heads.

We form a group now, Summer Fae and Dark Fae, fighting as one. Arturos is with us, sending incredible waves of pure blue-ocean vastness hammering into our foes, over and over. Like he did in Florence, he thrusts our foes back so we have a breath, or swamps them, holding them in cocoons of ever-crashing ocean waves as he tames the onslaught so we have a chance at recovery.

Still, these Vampires are the Council’s most elite fighters. Masterful with their Bloodsign work, they write dark curses into the air to ensnare, poison, and drain us of our blood as they fight like banshees with their black-violet devil spears.

Gunter’s Vampire-Giants pull in now, with us; they’re powerful fighters, but they’ve suffered the most losses being on the leading edge of the fray near the trees and barreling into the Council’s Vampires with brute force, without hardly any Bloodsign work whatsoever.

I feel us become hemmed in, though I can only see it through the terrible blazes of magic going off everywhere, all around us in the night. As Arturos clears a wave from before us yet again, I see my tawny owl Altenni dive in, ripping the heart of one Vampire assailant right out of his chest with her long talons as she bites off the head of another with her hooked beak.

Her wings pummel my rainbow-light aura out over our attackers, blistering them with Light and hammering them back. I don’t know when it happened, but as I raised her, Altenni gained the ability to use my magic in battle.

I’m grateful for it now, as she works with Arturos to keep the worst of this onslaught back from us.

Ariana’s parents are a hurricane of power and Light as they blaze and skewer Vampires, searing them with sigils and their Summer Fae magic. Ariana, Alleno, and I do no less, Light rising between us all now in a wave so bright it flares like the dawn all around us.

The rest of Quinn’s people have been alerted about what’s going on through our bond. As the remaining Dark Fae who are in any shape to fight—plus Luliana Ouros, who was healing them tonight so Arturos could have a break—come barreling into our attackers, new hope blazes inside our group.

As Ariana and I and the rest of our allies fight for our lives, I feel it as the Music suddenly rises—not just between Ariana and myself now, but between all of us.

Now that the entire Dark Haven has been rejoined by Quinn’s power, even though Quinn’s not with us right now, we’re all resonating with the same magic. It flows through us in a vast wave now; because everyone here is fighting not just for ourselves, but because we believe in something greater—something that could save us all.

Now, it’s not just me and Ariana, but everyone who is bonded to us that generates the Music, as it blares like war horns and sings like choirs of angels between us. As our synergy hits its peak, that Music tunes into an enormous sound, clear as the ancient voices of the Ascendants themselves.

The Ascendant Sigil blaze writes itself in midair all around us, then; as it does, a corona of Light engulfs us. Not just us, but the entire battle, devouring those who fight against us, though it spares our Vampire allies.

As a Light bright as the sun sears my eyes, hundreds of times brighter than anything a Fae or Dark Fae could ever create, all my senses are overcome by light and heat like a searing midsummer day. But this is hundreds of times that, as that intense sigil and light sear even me now.

I throw up an arm to protect my eyes, as I suddenly feel like I’m standing ten feet from the sun. The Council Vampires fighting us don’t even have a moment to scream, the light blazes them that fast.

All at once, the light leaves.

And the Council’s attack is no more.