Crimson Moon - Never Cry Werewolf Part 19

"Do not make promises to the girl you cannot keep." Elder Vlad said with a sneer.

"This girl is a virgin. If I strike her blood, Vlad, and she's telling the truth, you know what will happen to your testimony, right?" the crone said with a shrug.

"There must be corroboration, because human testimony does not count. . . they are easily manipulated, paid off, tempted, and glamoured," Elder Vlad said, sweeping around the group, his black robes billowing thick, angry plumes of sulfur. "This is why they've been barred from our courts." He spun on the crone. "It was always thought that we, Vampires, would be the ones to manipulate humans to our advantage ... but the Fae have glamour skills that match our mind-bends!"

"Then how about testimony taken by cell phone?" Sasha said, coming on the other side of the silver mail divider. She held it out to the crone. "I'm a Shadow Wolf and I can testify that there were no Fae present when I went after this kida"and if for some strange reason this doesn't play, I've got a copy back at NORAD, all right?"

The crone held up her stick before Elder Vlad could speak. "Enter this into the record. Play the human contraption."

Sasha found the video and complied, allowing every-one to see and hear Lawrence DeWitt's confession. "They s.n.a.t.c.hed the girl," she said, pointing back toward Amy Chen, "for the sole purpose of giving her Lady Jung Suk's bodya"which is a felonious offense. It's treason, because Lady Jung Suk was wanted for other high crimes against the Fae, therefore the Vampires have mitigated any claim to justice. Plus, they killed the witness, Lawrence DeWitt. It is not a crime, per se, to kill a human in this courta"but it is a crime to snuff a witness to keep him from testifying, even if he is human."

"Prove it!" Elder Vlad said through his teeth amid hisses.

Sir Rodney tossed a small gla.s.s vial to the crone, who caught it without effort. "Sniff it. That is Vampire messenger demon, something we cannot get unless they left it behind somewhere. They left it all over the human's apartment, Lawrence DeWitt'sa"and left him all over it as well. That young man was killed by Vampires, which is proof positive."

"Let it so be entered into the record," the crone called out as Sasha turned her wrist over to allow the pen to slash it, then write the entry in blood.

"DeWitt was killed because he opened Ariel Beau-champ's tomb to daylight!" Elder Vlad shouted, spittle flying past his fangs. "It had nothing to do with the obstruction of UCE justice!"

Amy Chen shook her head as she kept her face buried against Shogun's chest. "Not true, not true, the evil one said the cold lady did it . . . that is why the one who inhabited me, Lady Jung Suk, joined a coven."

The entire bayou became silent.

"What did Lady Jung Suk say?" Elder Vlad hissed as he walked dangerously near the silver divider.

Wolves and archers put their bodies between Vlad and the young woman, and Shogun shoved her behind him.

"Tell him, Amy," Shogun said, glaring at the ancient Vampire. "Make us all know what happened."

"Lady Jung Suk, while inside my body, made me join a coven and partic.i.p.ate in the rituals ... she was angry .. . jealous that a cold ladya"that's what she called her, it was not a nice name ... she said the cold blue b.i.t.c.h wasn't loyal and yet she was given more respect by the Vampires than she. The queen of the Unseelie, she also called her. The evil one who took my body said the covens were beneath her when she talked to the demons in her magic room, but she needed the witches to begin to get enough power to go against the blue Faery. I don't understanda"there are so many things I don't understand. She said the blue one didn't even trust the Vampires because she killed some of thema"the one who brought me out to the bayou, Ariel and his mates ... she said the cold one did that to be sure the lower Vampire wouldn't one day try to blackmail her. Lady Jung Suk said the queen did not trust the old Vampire and would never fully share power with him, because she knew he'd already betrayed her. The queen didn't make people sick, the old Vampire did in her name, but he'd blamed the queen and she hates him for that."

Amy wrapped her arms around her waist. "I pray that one day this all goes away from my mind."

Sasha shook her head and chuckled. "Now we have conspiracy, Vlad . . . you stupid, old b.a.s.t.a.r.d ..."

"I could've told you that Cerridwen has trust issues and doesn't like loose ends," Sir Rodney said with a cold smile. "Beautiful though she is."

"Case dismissed," the crone said with a grunt, slamming the book shut and crooking her finger for it and the pen to follow her. "Next time you bring a charge, Vlad, come with clean hands or do not wake me up in the middle of the night!"

"Wrap him in the mail," Sasha said, glancing at Hunter as the angry Vampire contingent disappeared into a swirling black mist.

"This isn't over and the night is still young," Sir Rodney said to his men. "Bring everybody back to the sidhe, especially the girl. Put guards around her parents, and get them to go to hallowed ground until daybreak. It would be just like Vamps to seek revenge against her family for her testimony. Send advance warning to Gartha"right now, we've got a badly injured man to heal."

CHAPTER 22.

With Hunter in critical condition, sending the Vampires temporarily packing was such a hollow win. Who cared if the Vampires almost got them kicked out of the UCEa"her man was in a silver-mesh, makeshift gurney, bleeding to death as they hurried him through the bayou. The three men on each side, holding the silver mail as steadily as possible while they ran, seemed too much like pallbearers running under a full moon.

"Lower the drawbridge," the captain of the guards shouted.

Archers flanked the men carrying Hunter, with still more ushering Shogun and the young woman to safety. The golden pathway to the sidhe revealed itself in a flash; the moment the last footfall hit it, the garrison vanished again into the night.

Garth and the other magic advisors met them on the other side of the bridge. "Get this man to our chambers. We must work quickly. It is not his body, it is his spirit. We have watched the battle from the seeing crystals."

Silver Hawk nodded and kept his hand on Hunter's chest as they rushed through the town to the castle, archers shouting "Make way," until they reached their destination.

"I've seen him busted up worse than this," Sasha said, rounding the long table as they laid Hunter on it. "But he still maintained consciousness."

"I have sealed up most of the tears to his flesh and muscle," Silver Hawk said. "But this thing that he held closely wanted in to his spirit. She knew what we were going to do to her.. . but his amulet kept her from fully entering him to escape her fate."

"Aye," Garth said. "That is what we must draw out... but his spirit could forever be damaged from this lesion that tried to adhere to it."

"Tell me what I can do as his brother?" Shogun said, going to the table side but having to back off because of the silver mail. "If he needs a transfusion, anything . . ."

"Hold the wholeness of his recovery in your mind. Be still," Silver Hawk said, adjusting the amulet over Hunter's heart again. "All wolves and all healers, focus on the oneness of our alpha's safe return from the dark shadows that hold him. I can fix his body, I have closed any open veins and begun to mend the flesh ... but his spirit, that is a fight that every man and woman must fight alone."

Garth parted the bodies that had lined the side of his worktable, but Sasha climbed up on it to kneel by Hunter's face. She gently cradled his head in her hands, and then closed her eyes, resting her forehead against his.

"Hunter's spirit is the most beautiful thing about him," she murmured, finally allowing the tears to roll down the bridge of her nose without censure. "This man is kind, and wise, and gentle, and good. He is honest to a flaw, but never mean-spirited. I would give my spirit to him, if I coulda"rather than to see his diminished by even a fraction of the silver it contains." She kissed his forehead and took off her amulet to lay it next to the one his grandfather had placed on his chest. "Baby . . . heal .. .," she whispered and kissed him again and then laid her cheek softly against his forehead to stare sideways at Garth. "Between you, me, and Silver Hawk, we have to fix this."

Garth reached out to her and clasped her hand within his. Silver Hawk rounded the table and took up Sasha's other hand as he reached across Hunter's body to hold Garth's gnarled grip.

"Stand at your brother's feet as closely as you can. Beware of the silver," Garth said to Shogun. Then he nodded to Crow Shadow and Bear Shadow. "Take his hands and mirror our stance. We must create sacred geometry around this man."

An advisor stood on each side of the table between the groups at Hunter's head and feet. Slowly leaning over his body until their hands were in reach to touch, they extracted stones from their brown robes.

"Rose quartz, malachite, black agate, and green tourmaline," Garth murmured. "Do your task . . . heal the heart of this man and remove the darkness, seal the legions, ignite the silver."

Silver Hawk began his low, steady healing chant as the stones lit from within. The four Gnomes standing parallel to Hunter's midsection slowly moved them up and down his body, touching one another's hands as they exchanged stones and hummed softly with their eyes shut. The low frequency of their voices sounded like bees buzzing beneath Silver Hawk's chant. Then, ever so subtly, Sasha could see the amulets on Hunter's chest begin to spark inside, until the amber glowed.

Soon the outline of his body began to pick up a thin line of light, widening as his life force aura strengthened. Sweat formed on her brow and beaded on Hunter's. Fatigue pulled at her limbs, at her body, weighting her eyes.

"Catch her before she falls," Garth said quietly, giving Sir Rodney a nod. "We are almost done. She has given much ... she shared a part of her human soul."

She didn't remember exactly how she got to the suite, but seeing Hunter resting peacefully, breathing, albeit bandaged, made her look up from the chaise lounge and weep. He wore both amulets, and his color was good. Once he was strong enough to eat raw game, he'd be on a solid road to recovery. Even though her limbs felt like noodles, she dragged herself up and across the room to stare down at him for a while, and then brushed his lips with a tender kiss.

"I love you, Max Hunter. Don't you know that by now?"

"Please don't go," Amy whispered and grabbed both of Shogun's hands when Rupert stopped in front of her door.

"You're safe here in the sidhe ... no Vampires or demonsa""

"Just. . ." Words caught in her throat and tears seemed frozen in her stricken expression before she barreled into Shogun's arms.

"Okay, okay," he said and nodded to Rupert.

Rupert raised an eyebrow and nodded, but turned on his heel with a dignified bow. "All that you require is in your suite. As you have been our guest before, milord, please let the lady know that there are gowns for her sleeping comfort, as well as inform her of how she might order food, should she need refreshment."

"I don't want anything, just to be safe," Amy said quietly against Shogun's chest.

"Then good night, all," Rupert said and strode down the corridor with a straight spine.

"I don't think he approves because you're twenty and I'm a wolf," Shogun said, opening the door for her.

"After all that I have seen," she said, shaking her head. "Seeming as though I've lost my honor is the last thing that concerns me."

"That won't happen on my watch," he said, cradling her cheek. "I will protect you .. . will sit up all night and watch the moon until the dawna"but nothing will enter this room to harm you while I'm here."

She covered his hand with hers and openly gazed at him. "I thought I was lost. I thought I would never live to see life again .. . how will I remove this terror from my mind?"

His heart shattered as he looked into her beautiful innocent eyes. Something so horrible had tried to steal that precious gift from her and had tried to pollute her bright mind. He let his fingers touch the silky edges of her hair, trying to fathom a way to answer her very real question.

"I don't know," he finally admitted. "Once you've seen some things ... I just don't know how to unsee them. But you were spared for a reason."

"I was spared because you cared to find me. It would have been easier to just trap my body and kill me to kill her. But you and your brother almost died, so did all those people . . . and why? I am a n.o.body to youa"I ama""

"A person. A being," he said quietly. "For that reason alone, you matter." He took her by the hand, brought her to the privacy screen, and motioned toward the tub with his chin. "You bathe, feel comfortable. I will sit on the other side and talk to you, all right?"

She timidly peered around the small enclosure, questioning the bubble bath that was already waiting for her. He entered the room and bent over, reaching his hand down in the water.

"Safe," he said, but did not smile to belittle her fears. Stooping quickly, he looked beneath the claw-footed porcelain tub and popped back up. "Safe." He moved to the commode and lifted the lid. "Safe." Then he walked over to the hamper and looked in. "Safe. You put your clothing in and ita""

"I don't want to wear her traditional silk ever again." Amy closed her eyes.

"Give them to me and I will have Rupert burn them. Come, let's look in the armoire and select a gown that you can wear to sleep. In the morning, we can ask the Faeries to bring you jeans or whatever you want. In fact, I think we should look under all the furniture together, in the armoires and drawers, and then I'll so outside the screen so we can talk, yes?"

She nodded and gifted him with a shy but lovely smile.

It was a horrible fact, but she had to leave. Colonel Madison was waiting on an outcome report and ready to deploy a special forces unit to take a demon down. Her men were at NAS in a holding pattern. Her commanding officer was poised for a press conference that would be next to impossible to stop. Yet as she stared down at Hunter, all that dissolved. She needed to be at two places at oncea"here and there.

Kissing him gently as not to wake him, she slipped out of the room and headed for Silver Hawk's suite. She had to let him know where she was going and what was going on, but there was no way she'd allow Hunter to wake up alone.

The elderly shaman opened the door before she knocked. She smiled and hugged him. He was already dressed.

"Thank you," she murmured.

He patted her cheek. "My daughter-warrior, hunt well. . . and be safe .. . come back to us whole." He turned and collected a small bag of supplies. "We are forever indebted to the Fae."

She nodded and kissed his cheek. "Will you tell Sir Rodney thank you for me? You rest, let Shogun rest... Bear and Crowa"they don't need to be out there with me. I don't know if the men I'm going with will be able to hold their fire if they shift. I can't even think about losing any of our family right now."

"And we cannot bear the thought of losing you, daughter. Please stay close to the shadows and leave the hunt if your safety is in question. I am an old man; I look forward to grandchildren, not burying my children."

"I love you, too," she said and hugged him hard. "I'll be back later tonight. Let the sun warm your face."

She rushed away from Silver Hawk before her heart broke in two. Leaving Hunter and the rest of her family there was like pulling her canine teeth sans Novocain. But as she got to the bottom of the broad stone staircase, her brother was bounding up them. He stopped and stared at her; she came close to him studying his expression.

"Can we talk before you head out?" he said.

"Yeah .. . what's wrong?"

"I need to leave and I was trying to find some staff that knew the way outa"or could get word to that Rupert dude or Sir Rodney. I didn't wanna get shot trying to leave and then I didn't know how to find my way out of this magic kingdom place to get to the real world on the other side of it."

"Okay, I know how to get out, but why do you want to be out of here, Crow? I don't like the sound of this at all." She dropped the bag she was carrying and folded her arms.

He let out a hard breath. "Let's take this out in the garden, all right?"

She picked up her knapsack and flung it over her shoulder. "Follow me."

They walked until she found a small cement bench surrounded by a profusion of wildflowers. She listened closely for eavesdropping Pixies and glanced around until she was sure there was no evidence of nosy Wood Sprites.

"Okay, what's all this about?"

"I need to go into New Orleans to find somebody ... given all this possession s.h.i.t and Vampire retaliation that's been going on."

Sasha's expression mellowed. "Oh, man ... what's her name?"

Crow Shadow looked away. "I don't exactly remember."

"Are you serious?" Sasha said and then let out an exasperated breath.

But Crow Shadow jumped up and exploded. "Don't judge me! I didn't know about humans or I would have used something, all right! Bear didn't tell me ahead of time! I thought they had seasons like she-Shadows, but they don'ta"and, anda"I could have a kid out there. I might be just like my old mana"our old man."

"Whoa, whoa," Sasha said, standing slowly to touch her brother's shoulders. "Hey, I'm sorry .. . Let's take this from the topa"no judgment."

After a moment he nodded, and that was when she saw how upset he really was. Sunlight caught in his eyes and shone in the excess moisture that made them glisten.

"I swear I didn't know," he said and then flopped down on the bench. "I would have been more responsible, used precautions. I don't wanna end up like Doc one day . . . going my whole life not knowing I made a kid, missing everything about that, missing family, just because maybe the kid could come out a hybrid, ya know." He looked into her eyes with a pained expression etched in his gaze. "And how he made you ... but couoldn't claim you because of the law, because if he did they'd take you from him and hurt him. Like, I don't even know how to talk to him, Sasha. Part of me was so mad at him when I found out, then the other part was so sorrya"because he didn't know about me. Mom lied. My mother lieda"there, I said it. You didn't even get to know your mom, which, to me, is f.u.c.ked up, so what am I complaining about."

She didn't immediately respond with words, just pulled him into a hug and rested her head on his shoulder. "It's gonna be all right. The main thing is that you've got Doc now . . . and you should talk to him. He's a pretty cool old dude."

Her brother nodded and swallowed hard, hugging her back lightly.

"Sasha," he whispered, "I don't even know this girl's name."