Page 76 of Flesh and Fury
He couldn’t stop and think about it too long. Right now, they were in a fight for their lives. When a sudden high-pitched yelp of pain drew his attention, he turned just in time to see the small, black wolf fly into the air and hit a brick wall. Ari’s first instinct was to run to the beautiful wolf’s aid, but the animal got to all fours almost immediately, shook himself, and then leapt back into the fray.
Eoghan was magnificent, shooting vamps faster and hitting them as accurately as Ari could. His man had always been a good shot but seeing him take out one vampire after another as they came at him was a sight to see. The fighting wore on for what seemed like hours when Ari knew it had only been minutes. When he finally came up for breath, and the vampires coming at them slowed to a trickle with a single gunshot here or there to take one out, he glanced around, taking stock of the carnage that lay all around them in the street.
Eoghan and the chief were still standing, filthy and covered with blood but alive, and from what he could determine, most, if not all the shifters they’d brought with them, were also alive. Joe Two Trees, Alo Uwaite, King John, and several others were standing around the town square where the majority of the fighting had taken place about a block away. Ari walked over to Eoghan and slung an arm around him.
“You okay, baby?” Eoghan asked, offering up a smile. It looked stark white through the grime and blood that caked it.
“I’m okay,” Ari said. “I’m good, love.”
The chief walked over, reloading her gun as she stepped over the body of a dead female vamp. “You two all right?”
“Yeah, we’re good. You?” Ari asked, still holding onto Eoghan.
She gave a clipped nod as Joe, Alo—shifted and naked—walked up. The king was with them. “You okay, Your Highness?” the chief asked.
“Yes,” he growled, hissing as he looked down at his bare forearm where a huge gash was knitting itself together right in front of their eyes. “But I’d really like to know who tipped Bradshaw off about our plans.”
“We need to find him and find him fast,” Two Trees said, glancing around.
“What is it?” Alo asked.
“Where’s Elora?”
Ari and Eoghan looked around. She was nowhere in sight, nor was she among the dead in the street. “She’s not here,” Ari said, grinding his teeth together as he realized she had to have been on Bradshaw’s side, probably the whole entire time.
“She’s our traitor, I’d swear it,” King John said. “I knew I should never have trusted her. She’s always been out for herself.”
“Well, wherever she is, I’d venture to say it’s the same place we’ll find Tillis Bradshaw,” Eoghan said.
“My palace,” the king said. “Let’s go.”
Ari looked around at Elora’s vampires who were listening to all of this intently. Their numbers were roughly half of what they had been. “Do we trust her vampires?”
“Look around at our fellows,” a tall, blond vampire said, holding out a hand to show that several vampires who Arirecognized from Elora’s group were among the fallen on the streets which ran with blood. “Kill us if you don’t believe me, but my brothers and sisters lay among the dead. If we had been on Bradshaw’s side, would they be dead and bleeding on the street?”
The wolf shifted and stood there naked, dripping in the blood of those very vampires the blond had been talking about. “If anyone wants to know my opinion, they’ve only to count Elora’s dead on the ground here. I agree with this vampire. I don’t think any of them knew she was a traitor or that she would betray us in order to save herself and join a murderer and his filthy minions.”
Ari looked at the chief. She glanced around, most likely doing the math and hoping the same way Ari hoped that they wouldn’t be outnumbered this way when their diminished numbers entered the palace for the final assault on Tillis Bradshaw. Could they trust these remaining vampires to bolster their own numbers.
“Fine. Yes. I agree. You couldn’t have known,” she said. “What’s your name?”
“Fiodor.”
“Fine then. You’re the new leader of Elora’s vampires, Fiodor,” she said. “Let’s go get this asshole so we can go home in one piece tonight. I need a bath.”
Ari chuckled but they all turned toward the palace for the final showdown.
As it turned out, getting to the king’s secret passageway wasn’t necessary now that it was well known that they were there on the reservation. They still made their way, checking doorways of what appeared to be abandoned buildings and empty stores, homes, and commercial businesses. It was so strange not to be attacked by vampires who lay in wait as they passed by. He and his Army Ranger team had cleaned outa lot of towns going house to house and clearing boobytraps as they went to accomplish a mission, so he’d expected the unexpected. But, as it turned out, when they finally made it to the palace, they’d walked the easiest gauntlet Ari had ever experienced.
“Welcome, John,” a deep, insolent voice said the moment they stepped into the palace.
Ari, Eoghan, and the chief were flanked on both sides as well as the rear by their friendly vampire contingent and the shifters they’d brought along. Joe and Alo had returned to their predator shifter forms where they were most comfortable fighting…and the deadliest.
Being one of only three humans in the room, made Ari feel quite vulnerable. He knew Eoghan was feeling it too, though, oddly enough, Priest didn’t seem the least bit bothered by it. He still kept close to Eoghan, needing to make sure that he was okay as he slowly swept his weapon back and forth. King John walked ahead of all of them, set on where he was going.
When they’d entered his formal throne room, Ari wasn’t the least bit surprised to see the large, ugly form of the biker he knew from pictures as Tillis Bradshaw. The man sat on a red throne, surrounded by enormous wealth, gilded furnishings, and red velvet draperies. The throne room could easily have come right off the set of Viking vampire Eric Northman’s club, Fangtasia, inTrue Blood, Ari thought. The only thing missing was the scantily clad vampires doing pole dances as music played.
He wasn’t really surprised to see Elora standing behind Bradshaw’s throne, stroking his long, silky hair. She smiled and let her eyes flare bright red as she spotted the king. At Bradshaw’s feet sat Katerina Rojas, looking just as sexy as she could possibly be. The picture of the snow leopard half-breedhadn’t done the woman justice. She was a stunning example of womanhood with her long legs stretched out before her on the steps leading up to the throne. Bradshaw stroked her hair, and she smiled sweetly at them. Ari glanced around the room, mindful that the three villains seemed to be the only ones in the room besides them.