Page 11
11
DIANA
I was all for being a sex-positive, empowered baddie who got hers. You had to be when you had five men in your life with paranormal level sex drives. But I girl-bossed way too close to the sun between last night and this morning. My pussy was so sore and angry at me, I had to link Desmond to make me a hot compress with his fire magic. We laid in bed, cuddled together while I received my treatment.
Could I have done a compress for myself? Yes . But I knew my men liked to feel needed. He got a lot of Demon-Daddy-joy from taking care of me, and I wouldn’t deny him that, especially when he was working so hard to run this resistance. The Morningstars may be the public face of the movement, but my men were the heart and soul of it, and their hard work had to be recognized, even if it was in little ways like this.
“I should apologize for being so rough with you…” he said in the soft, gentle voice he only used with me. “But I know you love it.” He kissed my cheek as the warmth from his hand did its magic on my lady bits.
“I do. No apology needed. You and Ares made my night, and Bash ambushed me in the shower this morning for a quickie. This is part of the Penis Parade lifestyle,” I quipped.
Desmond’s deep rumbling laughter made me smile. It was rare, and I treasured it.
“I prefer Man-torage. The way your dad says it with his dry disdain is hilarious.”
Zaz faded into the room, his brows furrowing when he saw us. “They got ya, huh?”
“Yes, I’m so sore,” I pouted, giving him my saddest eyes. I was a shameless, spoiled woman, and I wanted all the cuddles before we moved today.
He scooted in on my other side, his arm wrapping around me so his hand rested over Desmond’s. His angel positivity flowed through it, mingling with the heat to heal me. It felt so good, like a balloon of happiness uplifting me. Domestic moments like this gave me hope that after this war was over, we could lead a normal life. Well, as normal a life as six paranormal beings could.
After five minutes, they made me get dressed so we wouldn’t be late for breakfast. Everyone was already there, laughing and enjoying their meal. It did my heart good to see Mom and Oisín laughing at whatever ridiculous thing Judas said. My guys howled at one of Ares and Apollo’s stories. Even Bain looked like he took the cranky stick out of his ass, and he was only half glaring at Angie this morning…who was sitting next to my PA, hanging off his every word.
Hmmm, interesting…
Lucifer seemed somewhat relaxed, given what happened with Michael last night. Azazel told me that Quelier already had him resting in Pit-13. I’d have breakfast with him as soon as he was up for a visitor.
I tore into my breakfast. Sex made me hungry, and this veggie omelet and bacon had my name on them. I reached for my glass of iced coffee, when I felt a tremor…
Everything shook. The room quaked, the ground beneath us vibrating. The table shook, rattling our plates and cutlery until they fell off. The chandelier above us clinked and its crystals shattered on the hardwood floors. Desmond’s shadows burst from his hands, weaving their way around the room and out the door. I heard their soft whispering and felt their cold presence.
“Something isn’t right…” he said.
A piercing alarm blared through the mess hall, and everyone jumped from their seats.
One of Ares’ top soldiers faded in, and shouted, “We’re being besieged!”
Ares growled, grabbing my hand and dragging me through the tables of soldiers running to their predetermined posts. Desmond, Bash, and Lucifer filed behind us, and the five of us faded to the training facility.
Ares waved his hand in front of his throat. His voice sounded like it was coming out of an invisible speaker. “ALL SOLDIERS REPORT TO YOUR BATTLE STATIONS. ACTIVE ATTACK. CODE RED.”
Mal, Judas, and Zaz faded in next to us, their faces a mix of shock and worry. We should have been organizing groups for transfers to the new compound, not fighting off a siege attack.
“The rat told them we were moving today,” Zaz said. “They’re trying to catch us off guard.”
“Well they can fucking try, but they won’t succeed,” Ares growled. “Diana, can you call Quelier? I want him to do the thing with the 3-D model.”
Before I could, the faerie in question popped into the room, a smirk on his face. “Fae PA to save the day. You called?”
“Yes, Fae menace. Can you please bring up a real-time 3-D model of the whole compound?” Ares asked, somewhat politely.
Q waved his hands, and the sparkling neon blue magic that came out weaved a model before our very eyes. All the compound’s floors were present. We could see Red’s forces invading in real time and how our soldiers were holding the line.
“Holy shit, they’re on every floor, even the residential areas…” Bash breathed. This wasn’t like the skirmishes before where Red sent a group of troops as a distraction. We were being overrun.
Ares was in the zone, examining the map from all angles with a critical expression on his face. The crazy, fun-loving brute was replaced by the cunning, destructive General.
“Barracks don’t matter, we’re leaving anyway,” he said while examining our current floor. “The soldier’s luggage is already at Pit-13 and the entry portal can be opened anywhere. So our goal is to clear where we are now for the troops to transfer, hold the line, and make sure everyone gets out. Then, I suggest we implode the compound and take down as many of his forces as possible. Permission to blow this place sky-fucking-high, Judas?”
“Yes, but The Bank of Morningstar is replacing it. I’ll let the hive mind know,” he replied.
“I’m linking my section leaders, so they can inform the troops that we should be holding the line and evacuating within the next hour,” Ares said.
“Everyone get into position,” Lucifer ordered. “See you all in Pit 13.”
The guys faded out, one by one. I stayed with my father, because I didn’t have an assignment.
“You’re on my special unit with Oisín. He’s on his way,” he said, giving me a stern expression. “The three of us are going to take out the larger units, then we’re going to help Ares plant the explosives.”
My brother faded into the room, shirtless with jean shorts on. Blood soaked his hair and face. His grin was so wicked it pushed his ears back. “Sorry I’m late. I had to get a plastic bag so I could harvest some art supplies.”
I fake-gagged. I knew his art was…unique. The guys told me about it and even showed me a couple of pieces they had when we lived in New York. But I didn’t want to see him harvest body parts for it.
“Hey, don’t judge me sis. This is cost effective. Upcycling. Authentic .” He said the last word while giggling.
“If you two are done being ridiculous, let’s go fuck the enemy up,” Lucifer growled. With a last glance at the map, he took our hands, fading us to the dining floor.
Our soldiers here were outnumbered at least five to one, swarmed by Red’s forces. The main dining room was trashed, and the smoke billowed through the air from the kitchen.
This would be a good place for the explosives, I linked my father. The kitchens were already on fire, so why not?
My thoughts exactly, let’s clear this place out.
“FALL BACK!” my father called. Those who could fade left immediately, and the others ran through the front double doors.
O conjured a bright blue flame, shaping it into a whip. He winded it up and struck an enemy soldier. Then he slit his throat, tilting his body so the blood poured into a jar he pulled out of his pocket.
“Imagine the Hell landscapes I can paint with this shade of red,” he roared, high off the gore and chaos of battle.
He set the corpse on fire, then threw it into some Moon soldiers. They were the only faction of Red’s army that didn’t wear the bright red uniform, sticking to their black tactical suits that covered them from head to foot. The fire spread, burning them down within a few seconds.
I was so distracted watching my brother fight that I didn’t see the three werewolves approach me from my left. One of them swung at me with blood soaked claws, but I ducked at the last minute. I drew from my deepest magic and weaved it with my anger. With the worry I had about my men fighting for their lives and the crippling stress of defending the entire world. I manifested an opaque, black fog, but instead of rolling it in like Q had taught me, I unleashed it into the room. It stampeded like a band of wild horses, slithering into the noses and mouths of my enemies and suffocating them instantly. Their bodies dropped to the floor.
My brother jumped for joy as he approached a snake shifter. He plucked out its eyes and speckled tongue, throwing them into a baggie. My father conjured a swirling ball of black flames, placing it in the corner of the room. He put similar balls in the rest of the corners, then did the same in the kitchen.
“When Ares gives the word, I’ll detonate them. That was impressive, downright frightening. Your training is paying off,” Lucifer said.
We moved from floor to floor, clearing out our soldiers for evacuation and placing explosives. When we made it back to the training facility floor, we were blocked from entering. Red’s soldiers had barricaded us out, forcing our soldiers to fight their way in. We slightly outnumbered them.
I don’t want to lose any more lives. We need to find a way to strike them down, Lucifer linked.
LG, activate dragon mode! Ares replied.
I didn’t feel as if I had enough room to morph, but it didn’t matter. The longer we took to breach the door, the more lives we’d lose. As I ran into the fray, I felt my bones crack and remold. My skin and ligaments lengthened, until I quadrupled my size. This was the smallest dragon form I could manage. I forwent the red fur, opting for sleek red scales. Ares climbed up my arm, onto my back, holding his spear in his mouth.
Ready to burn these fuckers? I linked him.
BBQ with my B-B-Q, he shouted. Let’s go!
I took flight, keeping tight to the ceiling above me. Our new vantage point allowed me to use targeted flames to burn Red’s soldiers to a crisp. Ares shaped his flames into spears that he used to take out their commanders. A group of pale, strawberry blond haired soldiers charged our way from the other end of the hallway, and I almost laughed.
Quelier used the same magic he had in Pit 13 to multiply himself into a whole unit. Some of Red’s soldiers were so shocked by his entrance that we were able to pick them off. Others retreated, running and fading away like cowards. Slowly but surely, we turned the tide of the battle, until we were able to open the training facility doors.
Judas, Mal, and a small unit of Costa coven soldiers were inside, fighting a group of vampires who wore bright red uniforms. Red had converted a few of the aristocratic covens to his side, and the sight of Judas fighting his own kind was almost like watching a ballet. Vampires were quick, agile creatures, their movements swift and graceful. Their superior strength made them lethal.
Judas leapt into the air, landing on another vampire’s back in one fluid motion. Within a few seconds, Judas had tackled him to the ground and ripped his head clean off his body. The corpse disintegrated into dust.
Two of Red’s vampires stood beneath me, eyeing me up. I flew around them, trying to think of ideas to take them out.
Your fire will weaken them, but it may not kill them outright, Mal warned me. These are old vampires, with crazy power signatures. You need to find ways to decapitate them.
Ares nudged the ridge near my wings, leaning forward and pouring a bright white flame onto them. Their movements slowed, making it easier to see them. Mal levitated two of them in the air.
Kill shot! Ares bellowed as I banked left, swooping down so he could pluck one right out of the air. I heard a crack, then saw a headless corpse fall. It turned into black dust when it hit the floor. He threw the head to Lucifer, who rolled his eyes before throwing it at Oisín for his art bag. We turned around, going in for the second vampire. She screamed as she thrashed in the air, desperately trying to escape.
Her power signature doesn’t feel like Judas’, I linked Mal and Ares. Fire may work on her.
I torched the bitch with a bright blue flame and Ares added his white flame to the mix. Her skin ripped and bubbled before our eyes, melting off like candle wax. Her entire body crumbled into dust mid-air.
A shriek ripped through the room, and I almost fell out of the sky. The fighting came to a screeching halt as two vampires in bright red uniforms dragged Angela into the facility. She kicked, screamed, and cursed herself hoarse, but they held on tight. I landed, morphing back into my human form as soon as Ares dismounted. The short one on the left pulled Angie to him and put a knife to her throat.
My magic crackled under my skin, begging me to unleash it as it built to a harmful level. I wanted to rip these two morons to shreds and feed their parts to my dino-pets, but I had to play this cool if I wanted her to live.
“Let her go,” I ordered as I formed a dagger from pure, unfiltered magic. It pulsated with my own rage.
“Stand down, or I’ll slit her throat wide open,” the taller one shouted.
Diana, keep them distracted and their eyes on you. Judas, do you have a clear shot to rush him? Ares directed through the mindlink. I made sure to keep my eyes on Angie and her captors, to not give us away.
Yes, but I wish I were closer. I’m going to rip these pieces of shit to shreds and leave them out for the sun to finish off. His voice was anxious and clipped through the link. I had never heard Judas so off kilter.
“We will not stand down. You’re going to let her go and leave this compound, or I’ll destroy you. There are no other options,” I lied. Whether they let go of my aunt or not, they would cease to exist today.
The rest of my men, Bain, Quelier, and Apollo faded in, magically sealing the door behind them. Their uniforms were soaked in blood, and they all looked downright murderous. The vampires’ faces dropped, their premature smirks of victory wiped clean off their faces.
“Five vampires versus the most powerful paranormal beings this millennia,” Desmond taunted them. “Don’t be foolish…let her go and we’ll let you live.”
“Yeah, until you torture us to death!” The short one squealed. “I’ve heard stories about Red’s hitmen…the thing you’ve done…”
“Then you know that you made a huge fucking mistake touching a member of the Morningstar family. Let her go, or I swear you’ll be in pain long after you die,” Bain snarled.
Angie didn’t cry, or tremble in fear. She stood tall with a stone cold, fierce expression on her face. The face of a warrior who wasn’t afraid of death.
But I was…
I was scared shitless of losing the woman who had been like a sister to me my entire life. Who taught me how to ride a bike, gave me her old books to read, and mourned my mother’s death with me. She believed in me and supported my dreams of becoming a lawyer. Angie kept me together during the worst time of my life, inspiring me to be my best self despite it all.
The vampires holding her hostage locked eyes with each other in a silent conversation.
“See you in Hell, bitch,” the one holding the knife said as he slit her throat.