Wyvern and Company (19 page)

Smoke poured from wide nostrils as the demon studied the
kapirus before burning it to cinders in his grip. While I'd been busy watching
that, Darzi had bitten the second kapirus, which was now sagging into the swamp
as it died.

I did fall, then, blinking up at the monster to end all
monsters. Black wings unfurled as the scent of burning kapirus stung my
nostrils. Eyes as black as obsidian blinked back at me while stars fell through
their depths. Fleetingly, I wondered if I were next to die.

A low, growling
hmmph
escaped the demon as more smoke
poured from his nostrils. Turning his head, he nodded to the lion snake that
swam in my direction. Darzi appeared unconcerned that a giant, curved-horn,
black-scaled creature stood over him as he wriggled through the water.

"All right?" Darzi asked, becoming human once he
reached my side. I did the same, finding myself sitting in two feet of water. I
struggled to my feet.

"Mack?" I croaked, my throat dry and blood soaking
the wet shirt I wore. "Merrill?"

"Behind. Need help. Still live," Darzi nodded as he
took my elbow to steady me.

"What?" I jerked my head as inconspicuously as
possible toward the demon standing over both of us.

"High Demon, that all. You need—he help. Come. Shield
gone. Send mindspeech now."

I almost didn't get the mental words out as I turned to survey
the damage and the condition of the others. Mack and Teddy Williams were
bleeding. I could see that Mack's right arm was broken, too, but spawn dust
swirled in the water around him—he'd kept fighting and protecting my back while
I faced the bigger monsters. I just wish I'd had as much success with them as
he'd had with spawn.

Every vampire's clothing, with the exception of Merrill's, was
shredded where spawn had gotten their hits in. They were injured too, and all of
us needed attention.

Dad?
My mental voice quavered as shock began to set in.
Before Dad could answer, I turned to see that the High Demon had disappeared.

Son?
Dad replied.

We've had some trouble here
, I sent.
I think everybody
is hurt. I tried to contact you before, but something kept that from happening.

We'll be right there
, Dad returned. If Darzi hadn't
held me up, I'd have fallen again.

* * *

Adam's Journal

Lion stayed with Gina and Marie Allen, to see to them while
the fire department worked to extinguish the fire.

Dragon and I brought our small army home.

We were lucky we hadn't lost any of them. All of them, with
the exception of Merrill and the lion snake shapeshifter, Darzi, needed medical
assistance. Joey and Bearcat arrived to assist Karzac.

Mack had a broken arm, while the bite on Justin's neck bled
profusely, soaking an already wet and dirty shirt with fresh blood. The kapirus
had attempted to make a meal of my child.

Teddy Williams was covered in slashes and claw marks, but no
spawn had gotten close enough to bite. I was grateful—if they had, he'd be dead
already. Instead, he sat at the kitchen island, answering questions while
Bearcat worked to heal the worst of his wounds.

Karzac handled Mack's injuries while Joey dealt with Justin's
problems. Marlianna arrived to do what she could for the vampires. Mostly that
involved cleaning wounds with power so their skin wouldn't heal over debris,
trapping it inside. Daniel had the least number of wounds compared to the other
two werewolves—he had the most experience fighting spawn.

Merrill still didn't know about Franklin. He was exhausted but
refusing to show it as he watched Marli heal Radomir's cuts and slices.

That's when Kiarra arrived in the kitchen. I knew she wanted
to fuss over Mack and Justin. Instead, she took Merrill's hand and led him
toward the stairs. No matter how gently he was told, Merrill would be
devastated by the news.

So many things had happened, I was numb with the thought of
it. I did know who set the fire at Gina's house, however.

Randall Pierce and two of his friends had done it. The scent
of gasoline was everywhere outside the home when Lion and I arrived to help. I'm
sure the investigation would reveal the accelerant used to set the fire, but
Gina and her mother now had no place to stay.

We're done here
, Lion sent mindspeech, as if reading my
mind to begin with.
Do you mind if I take the Allens to your old house on
Hornet?

Not at all
, I returned.
That's the best idea I've
heard all night
, I added.
We can let them live there while they wait for
the insurance company to settle up
.

Good idea. I'll let them know. How's everybody? Marli isn't
overdoing it, is she?

She's tending the vamps—their injuries are the lightest.
Karzac, Bearcat and Joey are doing the heavy lifting this time
.

What the hell happened?
he asked.

I don't know the whole story yet
, I said.
I'll let
you know when I do
.

Good. At least we didn't lose any. Except Franklin.

Yeah. Kiarra is telling Merrill now. This will devastate
him.

I know
.

* * *

Justin's Journal

Somehow, Joey and Karzac cleaned Mack and me with power,
because we were too exhausted and shaky to take a shower after they did their
healing magic. Both of us sat side by side at the kitchen island, shirtless and
shivering in the air-conditioned air after our fight in a hot, humid swamp.

"I thought they'd never stop coming," Mack's voice
cracked as he explained the fight with spawn. "Will there be a cast?"
he asked as Karzac worked on his right arm.

"No, young one. The bones are knitted together. No heavy
lifting for a day or two, and things will be just as they were."

"You, on the other hand, had a close call," Joey
informed me. "A kapirus spreads infection with a bite if it doesn't kill
you. You had a good infection going already when we got you back here. That's
neutralized, now. If you'd been Saa Thalarr, your blood would have killed
anything attempting to drink it. Immediately."

"Huh?"

"Don't worry about it—I'll explain later. I know this isn't
the best time or ideal circumstances, but it's after midnight. Happy Birthday."

"Fuck," I said. As my first official word upon
hearing I was eighteen, I guess it was appropriate.

* * *

Adam's Journal

"Justin, Mack, Teddy and Merrill, all in a healing sleep,"
Joey sighed as he settled on the sofa beside me. He held a glass filled with
bourbon and Coke and sipped it while the leather creaked softly beneath him.

"What about the shifter?" I asked.

"Seems to be fine—Bearcat took him to his bedroom and
told him we'd find clothes and anything else he needed in the morning. He was
okay with that."

"We'll have to wait until then to get the full story out
of them," I nodded, lifting my glass of straight Scotch and emptying it. "What
a fucked up night," I sighed.

"Lion says Gina and Marie Allen were more than grateful
for a place to sleep. It's a good thing you left most of the old furniture
there."

"That house is shielded. I'd like to see that filthy brat
try to burn it down."

"Randall Pierce, right?"

"Right. He and two friends who have fewer brain cells
than he does. He leads, they follow."

"I can place compulsion," Joey offered.

"I think we're past that. I hope the local authorities do
their jobs. This was in retaliation against Justin and Mack," I said. "There
was no reason for this."

"How is Martin Walters' lawsuit coming along?" Joey
changed tactics.

"Very well, but any proceeds will come from the city,
instead of Raymond Pierce."

"Getting arrested for assault won't be good for the
lawsuit—it'll just make it look like the vendetta it is," Joey muttered
and drank more of his concoction. He seldom drank, so this was and wasn't a
surprise—we'd all been hit in one way or another, and he needed to relax after
our multiple scares and Franklin's passing.

"Did Merrill say anything before Karzac placed a healing
sleep?"

"He asked Karzac for verification that Franklin was in a
better place."

"Fuck."

"I feel the same."

I let my arm drape around Joey's shoulders—he sighed and
sagged against me. While Merrill had made him vampire, I still felt as if he
were mine in some way. Franklin's death hit him hard, too, because he'd lived
with Franklin and Merrill for a few years before going to work for the Council.
He'd had healing to do, however, so he'd shoved his grief aside to deal with
that.

He'd come to me for comfort now. I was willing to give it. "You
know we love you," I leaned in to kiss his forehead.

"Yeah. I know," he mumbled and closed his eyes.

* * *

Justin's Journal

I'll never forget my eighteenth birthday, for all the wrong
reasons. Not only had Mack and I come close to getting creamed, Grampa Franklin
died while I was facing monsters in a swamp and Gina's house was burned down by
stupid asshole Randall Pierce.

It was all over the news the next day—that Randall had been arrested
after one of Gina's neighbors reported a suspicious car driving slowly through
the neighborhood before the fire started.

Randall was found; his car still had gas cans in the trunk and
his friends confessed to everything. I had a feeling they were angling for
deals with the DA in exchange for lighter sentences, but Randall, the
ringleader, might spend a few years in jail. He was already eighteen and
considered an adult, so there wouldn't be any juvenile court in his future.

I didn't get up until nearly noon, discovering that I was up
before Mack. Feeling numb at best, I shuffled into the kitchen and poured juice
into a glass, downing the whole thing and refilling it before noticing my
surroundings.

Sacks and boxes filled the floor space between the island and
the back door, which was quite a large area. "That's stuff for Gina and
her mother," Joey yawned as he walked up and patted my shoulder. "How
are you feeling?"

"Neck's a little stiff, that's all," I shrugged. "Not
too bad, considering."

"Considering," Joey nodded agreement. "I was
hoping you'd feel up to helping me haul this to your old house. That's where
Gina and her mother are—your parents said they could stay there until the
insurance company settled on their house. It's a total loss."

"It makes sense, and our old house was just sitting there
empty, anyway. Where did all the stuff come from?" I nodded toward the boxes
on the floor.

"Marlianna called local churches and charities and asked
for donations. She only kept what they could use and sent the rest back, so
there's clothing, dishes and a few small appliances, that sort of thing."

"They don't have anything right now, do they?" I
asked.

"Nope. Their car was in the garage, so it's toast, too.
Your dad had to pull Mrs. Allen out—she was trapped inside."

"That's terrible. I'll bet she's heartbroken that she
didn't get the picture of Gina's dad out—it was in the living room on an end
table."

"This is just tragedy on top of tragedy," Joey
squared his shoulders. "We'll have to plan a funeral for Franklin, too—Merrill
has all the information on what he requested."

"This is so sad," I mumbled. "I'll never forget
this birthday, that's for sure. I hope the party is canceled. I don't feel like
celebrating today."

"Maybe next week?" Joey asked.

"Maybe."

"I doubt that Gina will have to work tonight, considering
the circumstances," Joey pointed out. "She might need your company,
instead."

"Yeah. We can be walking wounded together."

"True. What happened last night? Mack says he didn't see
you take down the kapirus."

"I didn't. I only managed to blind one of the three. Darzi
got two, and the High Demon killed the one I blinded. That's all I could
do—blow fire in his eyes."

"Did you say High Demon?" Dad appeared beside Joey
and both now stared at me.

"That's what Darzi said. I thought he was something
bigger and badder that wanted to have me for dinner. That turned out to be
wrong."

"Son, sit down," Dad instructed, pointing me toward
a barstool at the island. "Then, tell me what happened last night. From
your point of view."

"The first kapirus was the one that bit me," I said,
sliding onto a barstool and preparing myself for the inquisition. "When Darzi
bit him and he died, I hoped that was the end of it. Two more, just as big,
came out of the swamp."

Before the questioning was over, I had a glass of milk, eggs
and bacon in front of me. People stood all around me, including Darzi, who'd
somehow managed to find jeans and a shirt that fit.

"That right—he tell truth," Darzi nodded when I
described the High Demon. "Not in Full Thifilathi. Smaller one."

"What?" I didn't understand what Darzi meant.

"They have two sizes, depending on the situation,"
Dragon explained. "It's not common knowledge. Be thankful you only saw the
smaller one last night. The large one would be terrifying."

"Hey, he was big enough that I'd have messed up my
underwear if that was possible," I huffed.

It wasn't—I'd never had to use the bathroom. I sort of knew
why now, but that was beside the point.

"Others not see," Darzi explained. "They keep
fighting grz-gitch spawn. Have to."

"Honey, thank you for saving Justin's life," Mom
hugged Darzi. He blinked in surprise for a moment before giving her a shy
smile.

"It nothing," he shrugged. "How Merrill? He
lose child."

"He's trying to make arrangements. It hasn't been easy,"
Mom said. I knew she'd spent most of the morning with him, after he'd gotten
out of bed.