Blood Slave: A Realm Walker Novel (19 page)

***

The plan had been simple. One group would create a distraction at the front and the rest of them would attack from within. The getting them in part had taken the most work. They only knew one person that could open portals without regard to portal dampeners being in place. Aeron Rowentree, the dark fae god of death, and also Juliana’s father. Since Juliana wasn’t around to summon him, they’d had to find a dark fae summoner. The process was much lengthier and more involved. And there was always the possibility that he would refuse the summons. He was a god after all, not some lowly demon.

But he hadn’t refused and had been most astonished to see Thomas requesting the summoning. He’d dismissed the hired help as she’d spouted warnings about what havoc the god could wreak if she wasn’t around.

Aeron had merely snorted in derision. “As if I can’t come and go from this plane as I please.”

It hadn’t taken long to explain the situation. And now, here they were. Hamilton was outside the gates, blowing stuff up and Aeron had opened a portal somewhere on the top floor.

James and Michael had headed off in one direction to find the mages. Aeron and Thomas were slowly making their way through the halls, dispatching Morgan’s men along the way, and searching rooms for Juliana.

In the third room they came to, they found a woman laid out on the bed. It appeared she had been dead for several days. Anger flared in Thomas. If the Council had only allowed him to take care of Morgan decades ago, none of this would be happening.

“We need to find Juliana,” Aeron said, drawing Thomas’s attention.

He nodded once and followed him from the room. When they reached the stretch of hall that overlooked the foyer below, they froze, staring in awe at the sight below them. Wights filled the entryway. A quick estimate put the number around two dozen. “The bastard has built an army.”

“Yes. He has.” Aeron did not sound pleased in the least. “I’ll take care of them. You go find my daughter.”

Thomas hesitated. “Are you sure?”

He smiled. “I am a god of death. The one thing I should be able to do is put the undead to rest.”

As for Thomas, he looked for his bride. He made it the rest of the way downstairs relatively encounter free. Their distraction was apparently working.  Light spilled from one of the rooms off the downstairs hallway. Morgan’s voice drifted to him from the open doorway.

Thomas eased down the hallway, keeping his back to the wall. When he reached the door in question, he peered around the corner. A man was hurrying across the room in his direction, and Thomas jerked his head bac and the man slipped from the room, Thomas grabbed him, putting a hand over his mouth. With a twist of his arms, he broke the man’s neck and lowered him to the floor. He peered into the room again. Juliana’s back was to him as she sat in a chair in front of what could only be called Morgan’s throne. Arrogant bastard.

“Untie your ankles and come here,” he ordered

“Of course,” Juliana answered and Morgan chuckled. Anger churned in Thomas’s belly as he watched Juliana fumble with the ropes. He needed to wait until she was free before he made his move.

Slowly, she rose and made her way up the short flight of stairs at Morgan’s feet.

“Kneel,” Morgan ordered with a smirk.

Anguish spiked through Thomas when she immediately moved to comply. What had Morgan done to her? Just before the first knee touched the carpet, she lunged forward and thrust something into Morgan’s neck. She stumbled as she did so making it apparent she wasn’t up to her usual strength. Thomas moved into the room to assist her and Morgan grabbed her by the throat.

“You bitch,” he spat at her and yanked the weapon from his neck then flung it away. “And you stop right there or I’ll snap her neck.” He didn’t even look at Thomas when he spoke to him.

Thomas froze, waiting for an opening to help his bride. She grasped at Morgan’s wrist trying to get him to let her go.

“I don’t understand why you’re so difficult.” Morgan spat in her face and Thomas growled. “And you,” he snarled at Thomas. “You’ve always hunted me, wanted me removed from power. It’s because you fear me.”

“I fear no one.” He feared losing Juliana but that was all. Nothing in the world could compare with that pain and he hoped to all the gods he never had to feel it again.

“Of course you do, I’m a threat.”

“You’re an asshole, Morgan. It was the Council that limited your expansion, not I.”

“Only because you opposed it,” he yelled. He seemed to have almost forgotten he still gripped Juliana’s neck and that was fine with Thomas. The longer he could keep Morgan focused on him, the better for her.

Thomas scowled. “I don’t know who your source of information is but they are incorrect. I did not have to oppose it. The Council allows you to have this territory only because they think you might be useful someday. Otherwise they would have destroyed you long ago.”

“Be that as it may, they will soon bow to me. When you die I will claim your territory and your seat on the Council.”

“They will never allow that to happen.”

Morgan snorted. “They can try to stop me. It will do them no good.”

Thomas thought of Morgan’s wights. They could make the war bloodier than it might otherwise be, but it wouldn’t stop the Council from putting him down. Not that they’d have the chance as Thomas intended to see to it himself.

Juliana coughed, drawing Morgan’s attention back to her. “And you sent her here to spy on me. Didn’t it occur to you that I would know who she was?”

“I didn’t send her. The Agency did. Did you really think you could kill so many without any repercussion?”

“Of course I can.” Morgan sneered at him. “I own this territory in a way you could never hope to accomplish. Everyone in this town answers to me, vampire or no. Nothing happens in this town without my approval. Here, I am a god.”

“No. You’re not.” The response came from behind Thomas. “But I am.”

Aeron Rowentree stepped into the room looking every inch the god he was in his fury. With him came a portion of Morgan’s army of wights. They rushed past their new master and launched themselves at the old. The first wight that reached Morgan gnawed at his wrist, severing the hand that held Juliana captive. She was free.

***

Juliana never had reason to imagine what it would be like to watch a dozen wights swarm someone. And as she watched it happen, she was thankful for that. One was terrifying enough. In this number they resembled scarabs cleaning the flesh from a corpse. Morgan’s screams filled the air briefly until they ripped out his throat.

Her eyes were wide with shock as she watched Morgan get devoured until there was nothing left of him but a pile of bones. Hands wrapped around her upper arms and pulled her back against a warm chest. Thomas.

She relaxed against him and let him wrap his arms around her. A shudder ran through her when the wights started turning on each other.

“Enough,” her father said, his voice ringing with authority. They all immediately stopped and turned their heads to look at him. “Rest.”

One by one the light of animation left the wights’ eyes and they slumped to the floor released from their servitude. It was over.

“Daughter.” He came to stand in front of her. “Lovely to see you again as always.” He looked past her to Thomas. “James has taken the mages into custody. Your Wardens are rounding up the guard. They collapsed quickly once I took control of the wights.”

“Thank you,” Thomas said and her father merely nodded in return then walked out of the room.

She and Thomas stood like that a moment longer, just taking in the destruction around them. “Let’s get you home,” he finally said and led her from the room. She didn’t protest. There was much to be said, but this wasn’t the place.

When they stepped outside she saw James, Hamilton, Deke and Rebel arguing with the police. Nathaniel and Jeremiah stood to one side, weapons trained on several men that were on their knees with their hands behind their heads.

“Charles Morgan is dead,” Thomas yelled over all of them and everyone fell silent and turned to look at him. “This is now my territory. You’ll find I expect the police to enforce the law, no matter who the culprits are.” With that the arguing was done and they began to take Morgan’s men into custody.

“Wait,” she said as one of them pulled Bobby to his feet. “Not him. He stays. So does that one.” She pointed to the vampire next to him.

***

“
Joya
?” Thomas asked in confusion.

Juliana tuned and looked up at him. Her eyes had a cold quality in them that he did not care for. “I’m wearing their bite.”

“Leave them,” Thomas snapped out and looked at Hamilton to take them into his custody. “Did they…” he trailed off, needing the answer but dreading it at the same time.

She shook her head and relief flooded him. “No. They fed me Morgan’s blood. And they fed from me. He was trying to turn me into the complacent slave. Obviously that didn’t work out for him.”

Thomas pressed his forehead to hers and closed his eyes. They were both incredibly lucky that was all that happened. Still, the fact that the men had helped Morgan torment his mate was enough for Thomas to see to their care personally.

Thomas pulled away from her and scanned the crowd for Michael, finally spotting him standing near James. The wolf suddenly appeared in front of them.

“Go, do what you need to do,” he said to Thomas. “I’ve got her.”

“Thank you, Nathaniel,” he said and directed Juliana into the other man’s arms. She was right, it was time he started calling the wolf by name.

He made his way to Michael and James. “Have Hamilton help you secure those two at the estate. Find out what they know about Morgan’s business dealings then kill them.”

“For following orders?” Michael asked, his voice tight.

“No. For helping Morgan torture my mate.”

His second hesitated then glanced up at Juliana. “Yeah. I’ll take care of it.”

“I’m taking these two with me,” James said indicating the two mages now bound with anti-magic artifacts. They were also gagged as an extra precaution. “What happened to the wights?”

“Aeron put them down. They aren’t a threat.”

And they were finally at peace.

***

Juliana leaned against Nathaniel and watched Hamilton Clayton move across the yard in her direction. She gave him a weak smile when he stood in front of her. “You okay?”

She nodded once, afraid if she spoke, she’d start crying and not stop for days.

“No. You’re not. But you will be.” He placed a comforting hand on her arm then stepped back. “Keep that badge, Walker. I intend to make it permanent one day.” With that, he gave Nathaniel a nod then turned and walked away leaving Juliana blinking after him.

It wasn’t long before Thomas came and collected her. “They can finish squaring this away. I’m taking you home.”

“My…” she started and had to stop to clear her throat. “My boots are in there. See if they can find them would you?”

Thomas gave the instruction to one of the men standing around then swept her up in his arms and headed toward a waiting portal.

He didn’t speak when they stepped through the portal. Or as he carried her through the lobby of the Roma. Or as they rode the elevator to their apartment. He headed straight for their room and carried her into the bathroom.

He sat her on the counter then shut and locked the door. Slowly, he began to undress her, tugging her shirt over her head and setting her back on her feet to slide her jeans off. When she was nude he stood in front of her and ran his fingers over every bite they’d left on her. His throat moved as he swallowed. “We’ll have them fixed.”

She shrugged one shoulder and started unbuttoning Thomas’s shirt. “I thought I might just cover them up. I know a guy that does tattoos you know.”

He grasped her wrist that held his symbol and lifted it to his mouth, pressing a kiss against the purple ink. “So I’ve heard.”

He pulled her against him and held her there for a long moment. “I shouldn’t have let you have more time. I should have made you leave.”

“And then Charles Morgan would still be alive and more women would die. It was a small sacrifice.”

He put his hands on her shoulder and held her away from him. “It does not always have to be you,
Joya
. It does not always have to be your sacrifice. It’s someone else’s turn.”

She didn’t know what to say to him, how to comfort him. Instead, she stretched up on her toes and kissed him. “I want to taste you, Thomas. I want you back inside me, instead of him. I want you back in my head.” He was still for a second as if resisting her, then he picked her up and carried her to the shower. Setting her inside, he stepped back and finished stripping out of his clothes before he joined her. He washed her hair and scrubbed her body. After, he made love to her with her legs wrapped around his waist and her back pressed to the wall. Then he took her to the bed and did it again. Somewhere in the midst of that she drank from him and he drank from her and their connection flared back to full strength. He whispered endearments in her head while she drifted to sleep.