Cursed To Death

Bradley held his head in his hands as Winters hugged himself and rocked in a chair across the room. Bear Shadow and Crow Shadow just hung their heads, thoroughly dejected.

“I should have never, ever, ever have suggested that she go into that level of darkness… I intellectually understood this stuff… but never had direct combat contact with it. I was always your researcher-the man with his stupid nose in dusty books. I put her on the front line, let the one person who truly believed in me down,” Bradley said, looking up at everyone with bloodshot eyes. “I promised to keep her safe, and I didn’t.”

“You did everything you could,” Sasha said, encircling Bradley with her arms and hugging him hard from behind. “You saved an entire team and the Seelie Fae nation… Now let us go to the UCE and see what help we can get for her, all right?” She walked around Bradley and held on to his upper arms, squatting down to face him. “We are not going to just roll over and allow her to die. I promise you, that is not the way of the wolf.”

“No, it definitely is not,” Hunter said, landing a strong hand on Bradley’s shoulder. “We will bring your mate back to wholeness.” His open, wolf gaze held no guile as the two men stared at each other. “I saw my Sasha, my grandfather, and my men all demon corrupted… I know the pain of witnessing such a tragedy. You have given me my family back… I will fight to the death to restore yours.”

A nurse came through the door and hailed Doc, making everyone look toward her. “Sir, there’s a Lieutenant Woods on the phone who says it’s an emergency and that he needs to speak to a Captain Trudeau.”

Doc headed to the door with Sasha and Hunter. “My cell was off in the ICU… pray to God nothing else terrible has happened. The general already wants a meeting with the White House, specifically the president.”

Sasha gave Doc a look but didn’t comment. She couldn’t even begin to process that issue right now.

“Bear, Crow, you stay with Silver Hawk to guard the patient. Three strong Shadows… Doc will be here with a man who knows the dark arts and one who is adept in human technology.” Hunter followed Sasha out of the door, his instincts twitching as they dashed down the hall to Dr. Williams’s office.

By the time Sasha got to the telephone, she was out of breath. “Yo, Woods, talk to me.”

“Major evac going down,” Woods said. “Unseelie Fae spotted in the area; Vampires are pissed-as we knew they would be. We’ve got to get a prisoner to court under hostile circumstances, but also have to get Seelie civvies behind garrison walls before sundown. We’re in position down in the French Quarter as we speak.”

“Roger that,” Sasha said, circling the desk as she spoke. “Have any humans been attacked since that last attempt on Winters?”

“That’s a negative, Captain.”

“All right, hold your position. We’ll meet you down there. But that’s a tightrope walk in that area, because the blood clubs share turf and will be opening up within the hour.”

“Affirmative. That’s why we’re moving like greased lightning, Cap. We’re at Aurelia’s Ale Alley down on Bourbon; it’s an underground little Fae pub, and that’s where we’ve been able to get the word out. Most of these folks already know the way to Sir Rodney’s camp and are gone, but for the slower-moving ones or the seriously frightened, we need to give them an escort.”

“Are Sir Rodney’s troops in the area already?” Sasha rubbed the nape of her neck, her eyes on Hunter and Doc.

“Affirmative.”

CHAPTER 24

It was great to be able to shadow jump again and get where she needed to go without delay or discovery. She held the returned amulet in her fist and said a quiet prayer of thanks as she jogged alongside Hunter and emerged in the pub. Nervous Fae archers were milling about. Woods and Fisher stood the moment they saw her.

“Damn, you guys are a sight for sore eyes,” she said, just having killed their demon spirits with rapid machine-gun fire.

“Missed you, too, Cap,” Woods said in a confused but good-natured tone. “How’s everybody back at Tulane?”

Hunter shook his head as Fisher stepped closer. “What happened?” Fisher glanced around their small group.

“Clarissa is in critical condition,” she said in a tight voice. “I need to talk to Sir Rodney’s advisors to see how to break the dark spell.”

“Son of a bitch,” Fisher said, spitting out the wad of gum he’d been chewing. “I knew we should have smoked that little weasel the moment we saw him-right between the eyes.”

Hunter nodded as Sasha rubbed Fisher’s shoulder. “Have you seen Shogun? It’s getting dark; there’s trouble brewing… The hair is standing up on my neck.”

“He’s cool. He’s on patrol outside with his men,” Woods said. “He’s-”

A huge crash shattered the plate-glass window, as a body fell through it. Everyone stopped, ducked, and took cover as patrons screamed and ran. Tables overturned, and patrons bailed over the bar. Wolf howls rent the air. Sasha and Hunter were a blur.

The body was human; she could smell the blood as she passed it. Sulfur hung thick in the air, but oddly it wasn’t a typical Vampire signature. whatever it was had used a human as bait, trying to draw the wolves out since they would never be able to find them behind Sir Rodney’s fortress walls. Cowards! This would only add to the heat from the NOPD.

Sirens immediately sounded; the local law enforcement agencies were on high alert. Sasha ran like the wind, her hair lifting off her shoulders as she and Hunter closed in on the scent. Fae archers were on lampposts and telephone wires, fleet-footed agility keeping them aloft as they went after their invisible prey.

Hunter ducked out of the way of a fireball that hit a tavern and set it ablaze. In an instant he was inside the inferno, ushering out humans that would have been trapped. Then a Fae archer turned to put out the fire and paid for the service to mankind with his life. A blue ice bolt came out of nowhere and speared the gallant archer in the chest.

Seelie archers yelled a war cry; arrows were cast down; wands came out; the battle had clearly changed to Fae against Fae.

I

White lightning and colorful sparks streaked the sky, hit rooftops like fireworks, and turned eaves into tinder. New Orleans was burning. Sheets of ice covered rooftops, making it difficult for Seelie Fae archers to stay aloft. But they zapped the roofs dry, put out flames, and went in hot pursuit of the aggressors.

On the ground, wolves become a single pack, following the undead scent. A blue-lipped Fae crashed to the ground right at Sasha’s feet, stopping traffic as he clutched his narrow chest, holding on to an arrow lodged in it. But something invisible and deadly whirred past her that had an animal scent that she’d never encountered.

Human pedestrians gaped and screamed; one woman got blown off the corner by a swirling gust of snow as Unseelie fighters raged past her. Hail came down like bullets, crashing through windows, damaging roofs, and bringing downtown traffic to a complete standstill.

Police vehicles couldn’t get through. SWAT choppers beat overhead. Three Unseelie warriors materialized in the middle of the street; Shogun leaped, becoming wolf before the viewing public to collide midair and rip out a throat.

Humans shrieked, not knowing which way to run first. Cars drove into buildings, disoriented drivers slammed into other motorists. A blue Gnome dropped down behind Sasha and she spun, kicked him in the face, and sent him into Hunter’s powerful grip.

Machine-gun reports echoed in the distance. Aurelia’s had to be under siege, and that meant her men were, along with all others in the establishment. Her men would be trapped. Police helicopters took stationary positions so that the NOPD could take aim at the only thing they could, wolves attacking what they clearly thought were people on the ground, not realizing the wolves were savaging Unseelies.