«Matt? How is Cam coming with that countermeasure?»
«Almost there.»
«Tell him to hurry, Matt. Sebastian is awake and out in the open. He's fighting it, but he's very vulnerable right now.»
«Dammit!» Matt broadened his communication to include Sebastian. «Stay put, man, until Cam frees us completely.»
«Sorry, Matt. No can do. My lady needs me.» Sebastian sounded as if every word were a struggle as he fought against the magic trying to hold him in place.
«She needs you to stay alive, you idiot. Stay put! Cam says he'll punch through any second now.»
Christy kept her focus on Mario. The man was still standing, mouthing words under his breath in some foreign language, and Christy feared what he might be calling.
«Oh, no you don't.» She ran forward and launched herself in a flying kick, meant to knock him out, but ran into a kind of invisible wall that sent her flying backwards. Only the animal grace imparted by Matt's blood allowed her to land without breaking bones. As it was, she knew she'd be sore for days from her jarring contact with the ground.
But her distraction served its purpose. She saw the sixth line of Mario's tattoo stop pulsing and fade to match the other lines. That strange phenomenon was followed by a little pop of magic in the air and then Sebastian was moving normally. Well, normally for him. He was across the distance from the shipping container to Mario in a blurring display of speed.
His hands had morphed into razor-sharp talons the likes of which didn't exist in nature. With them, he neatly sliced the mage's neck from behind, before the other man even knew what hit him.
Sebastian threw him down hard, discarded like an old rag doll, and morphed his talons back to hands as he came to her, picking her up off the ground and tugging her into his arms.
He rocked her as she clung to him, touching his blood-stained face and inspecting what she could see of the damage. He'd been hit hard in the temple, which is undoubtedly what had knocked him out.
«Oh, my love,» he whispered, kissing her hair and clutching her close, «I was so worried.»
«Me too.» She hiccupped, remembered fear clogging her throat.
Sebastian held her with his back to the man on the ground, but she could see Mario's body, twitching. He wasn't dead!
Things happened quickly then. A streak of tawny fur tore across the yard and tackled Mario as he rose to his knees, muttering dark words of magic. The glow of his facial tattoo increased and the cougar slowed, but refused to be stopped.
Matt had the mage by the throat, but Mario refused to fall. Then Cameron stepped out into the open and for a moment, Christy saw his whole body glow with otherworldly light. In the blink of an eye, Cam was dressed in ethereal armor as he strode forward to face Mario. His hands moved in intricate patterns and one by one the marks on Mario's face diminished and then popped out of existence. The glowing tattoo unraveled as it died, the intricate knot work of twining vines of energy retracting and winking out of sight.
Then the light of life itself left his eyes as Matt's strong, cougar jaws ripped out his throat. Mario fell, finally, lifeless to the ground while Christy hid her eyes against Sebastian's shoulder. She'd seen and done enough for one night. Never before had she witnessed or committed such acts and just thinking of it made her feel queasy.
«Courage, my love.» Sebastian was there, with her, knowing her thoughts and ready to help her recover. If not for him, she could never have done any of this. If not for him, she'd already be dead. He was her life, her world, her universe, and she would be strong for him.
They stood together and faced what would come next.
CHAPTER 14
Mario Gonzalez lay dead on the ground, his lifeblood pooling around him, returning to the Earth from which he came, so many years before. Christy clung to Sebastian, holding on to her lover as if for dear life.
Others came out of the darkness to check on them. Matt met his fellow were, moving in from the perimeter. He spoke short words with Hastings and learned that every were who'd been placed on the perimeter of the grounds had been incapacitated by whatever spell Mario had woven.
Hiro and Ian reported the same had happened to them inside the warehouse, though Ian had been able to move a little more than his younger colleague, Hiro. That the human mage had been able to so easily disable so many beings of power over such a large area was troubling, to say the least.
Matt went to Christy and Sebastian, knowing from his connection to them that the storm was past for now. They pulled apart as Matt walked up. Cameron flanked them as they stood around Mario's lifeless body.
«This one's outstayed his welcome in the mortal realm.» Cameron looked with satisfaction at the dead mage. «I sense the balance returning, and that's a good thing, but we'll need to do something with this.» He gestured to the body.
Sebastian stepped forward. «Marc and I discussed this before he left.» He nodded to Ian and Hiro, who also stepped forward. «We want to be sure he can't come back.» A significant look passed between the men and Matt knew the vampires meant to sever the man's head and remove his heart, then burn him and scatter his ashes to the four winds. Matt personally thought it was a bit of overkill, but he didn't want to see this evil asshole resurrected any more than they did.
Hastings moved closer. «We can help.»
«Ian and I can carry him aloft in shifted form,» Sebastian said. «If some of your winged brethren would follow, we could use their help to scatter the remains as far and wide as possible.»
«Done.» Hastings moved off to organize his people.
«And you'll want to be doing this in a sacred space,» Cameron added thoughtfully.
Sebastian nodded. «There's a stone circle in the foothills we can get to quick enough by air.»
«I see you've thought it all through.» Cam bowed his head, though his gaze never left Sebastian's. «Your leader has my compliments. He's a thorough man. I look forward to fighting at his side one day, should it prove necessary.»
«I'll pass that along,» Sebastian said. «For now, we'd better get to work. Matt, will you see Christy home? And please let the were know they are welcome to stay at our place. I think we should stick together after such traumatic events. At least for a while.»
Matt stepped up. «I'll tell them.» He gave Sebastian a brotherly hug, pounding him on the back. «I'm glad you're okay.»
«Same here, friend. Thanks for sticking by us and helping my lady when I was unable.» Matt was a little shocked to see the vampire's eyes fill with emotion. When Sebastian would have said more, Matt stopped him.
«We can talk later. For now, I'll take care of your woman. You take care of the bad guy, and do a thorough job of it. I shudder to think of any of us having to face that bastard again.»
«Amen to that.» Sebastian left Christy with a quick kiss and went to work with Ian, both vampires shifting quickly to bird form. They were huge California condors in shape, but in strength they were mightier than ten men. They each took hold of an arm and a leg with oversized talons and flapped great wings that lifted them into the air. They were awkward, but got the job done.
Matt marveled at the vampires' ability to shift into just about any form they wished and selectively alter parts of their anatomies for whatever task they needed to do. That wasn't something were could do, but then, for all their power, the vampires paid dearly.
Matt couldn't imagine never eating his favorite foods, or feeling the sun on his skin…or his fur. It was the vampires' greatest weakness.
Matt watched as the vampires flew out of sight, followed by a flight of various kinds of flying were. Most were raptors, with Hastings in the lead. Cameron spoke in quiet tones with Christy, then turned to Matt.