Battle of Forces: Sera Toujours Read online

  “Sometimes it’s best when you don’t get what you’re asking for, because she’s in no way ready for what’s coming.”

  The male voice seemed to send a chill up Lenore’s spine, because she stiffened, then shivered. She appreciated that Lenore subtly placed herself between her and their unexpected visitor. How he had gotten past both Kendal and Morgaine baffled her, but it didn’t matter now.

  “You don’t look surprised to see me, Lenore.” The man was tall, but not as tall as Kendal, and wore robes that looked like the ones she’d seen in pictures of ancient Romans. He was handsome but seemed overwhelmingly cruel. “And you’ve brought the mighty Bruik with you. Thank you for saving me the trouble of digging him out of that mausoleum in Egypt that Rolla loves so much.”

  “What are you doing, and who helped you escape?” Lenore asked.

  “Those who’ll share in my rise to power released me, and only they will be safe once I conquer the world. All your planning and scheming against me will come to nothing. Asra has only Morgaine and you, since her beloved Charlie lies in darkness. She taught him well, and he showed promise, but he refused to join us, so he was eliminated. But he won’t be alone long.”

  “Answer my question. What do you want?”

  “We don’t have enough time right now for me to list all the things I want, but I’ll be happy to start while the ruffians finish their childish games outside.” Julius sat in the middle of the couch and crossed his legs. “Sit down, I insist.”

  Julius picked up the journal of Bruik’s writings and flipped through the pages. “In my time, I memorized all of your writings and held my tongue about the numerous insults you put in here about me.” He laughed and snapped the book closed. “I’m willing to let you live, since your sight of the future will come in handy.”

  “You’ve been asleep so long you might not realize Asra has become the type of warrior you can’t beat,” Bruik said. “I’ve seen nothing but her survival, no matter what or who you brought with you. This is a battle you can’t and won’t win.”

  “Don’t lie, Bruik. It’s unbecoming in someone who’s sworn to tell the truth in all things.” He glared at Bruik and showed no interest in Piper yet. “You saw it long ago.” The clang of metal hitting metal came from outside, but he didn’t seem interested in that either. “Your vision spoke of a sword fired by a god that would give its owner the world, and he’d be unstoppable.”

  “No such vision exists,” Lenore said with heat. “I’ve read them all, so don’t try to rewrite our history.”

  “Bruik was as eloquent as ever in his endless quest to impress Rolla, but that scroll never made it to his desk. Since Bruik assumed every one of his hallucinations made it to Rolla, no one ever missed it.” He threw the journal close to the fire as if disgusted by it. “I memorized every line, then burned it, but it added to my knowledge of the sword that no one believed existed. My quest led me to Attila, and just as I thought all was lost, there it was. I don’t know how Asra got it, but once the time was right I knew exactly where to look for it.”

  “There’s no sword,” Piper said, and his eyes whipped in her direction.

  She’d never seen his face, but his hands were the ones from her vision. That part had always been clear to her. Julius’s hands had held the sword when the eyes glowed red right before the evil thing was unleashed on the world, and he welcomed it. These were the same slender fingers, almost delicate in their appearance, and his laugh was the same as well.

  “I’ll find out in time if you’re a good bed warmer, but you’re a terrible liar. The sword can’t be destroyed by any mortal. Asra might think it’s safely hidden, but she’ll give it up soon enough.”

  “She can’t give you what she doesn’t have.” She moved closer to Lenore’s back.

  “It exists and I want it now,” he screamed as he slapped Lenore viciously across the face.

  “Piper, run,” Lenore said as she held her hands up to her cheek, and it sounded like a balloon was losing air slowly when the knife Julius threw pierced her chest. “Please, Piper, go.”

  She started for the door, knowing Lenore would be fine as soon as the sun came up, but she couldn’t abandon her. The elixir would save her life, but not from the torture she figured Julius had in store for her to make her tell him where the sword was.

  “No,” Lenore gasped, but it was too late. Piper had fallen into Julius’s trap and he had her around the neck.

  “Release me or Asra will cut you into pieces this time.”

  “Let’s see what is stronger in her, love for you or hatred of me.”

  *

  Kendal and Morgaine were close to disarming Travis and two others fighting with him, and Bailey was bleeding from the wound she’d given him in the leg. He was still crying when the front door opened and Piper stumbled out. Kendal took her eyes off Travis and lowered her sword when she saw the large hunting knife pressed to Piper’s throat.

  “Remember he can’t kill her,” Morgaine said as she stood next to her. “Remember that and keep your wits about you.”

  “Asra, your turn to be judged has come,” Julius said as he pressed hard enough on Piper’s neck to break the skin and draw blood. “In my time with Attila he came to appreciate my talent for strategy.”

  “I always thought he appreciated your sick mind, since the Hun was a psychopath like you.”

  “Don’t tempt me,” he said, and pressed again, making Piper gasp in pain. “I told Travis from the beginning that you and the bitch who taught you had to be destroyed.”

  Since Kendal was riveted on Piper, she couldn’t stop Travis in time when he sliced through Morgaine’s spine, dropping her instantly. She brought her sword up, but the other two men were behind her, and she didn’t see which one of them drove his sword all the way through her. It was as if they’d taken the lesson of what Henri and Ora had done and improved on it.

  The wound hurt, but as she started to get up again, Travis and Bailey stabbed her as well. She was too weak, and against all hope it seemed Piper’s vision of doom was in this case one she couldn’t change. By the time the sun rose, Julius would have won.

  “Where is it?” Julius yelled down at her as she tried her best to stay on her knees. “Tell me or I’ll gut her right here.”

  “You can’t kill me,” Piper said, and Kendal grimaced for more than her wounds. Julius took the knife away and whipped Piper around to look at her face, or, more precisely, her eyes, if Kendal had to guess. “By the gods, this is better than I thought. Bruik saw you too, lovely girl.”

  “Let her go,” Kendal gasped. “She’ll be of no use to you.”

  “I may not be able to kill her, but I’ll return the favor you bestowed on me when Rolla asked it of you. Only I’ll have a bit of fun before I show her any mercy.” The clock inside the house chimed once, announcing they had thirty minutes before it would strike twelve. “Where is it?”

  “Let her go and I’ll tell you.”

  “Kendal, no,” Piper said, but Julius let her go immediately.

  “Inside the house.” Kendal fought to get the words out, feeling the strength slip slowly out of her. When she finished telling him where he could find the sword, he grabbed Piper by the hair and pulled her with him.

  “Why does he want this sword so badly?” Travis asked her.

  “I don’t know, but whatever it is, he used you to get to it. He and his friend Bailey won’t need you for anything once he has it, though. You’ve been played.”

  Travis and Bailey stared at each other before they ran up the stairs into the house.

  “Do you have any idea what we should do next, since I can’t feel anything below the neck?” Morgaine asked.

  Kendal was about to answer when someone came into her line of sight. Vadoma’s red hair was down and loose, and she wore an outfit that made her look like she was trying out for a new Catwoman movie. It was a seductively attractive shell that hid the ugliness inside.

  “Trick or treat,” Vadoma said as she
helped her back to her knees.

  “Oh, fuck me,” Morgaine said with a groan. “This day keeps the surprises coming, don’t you think?”

  “Is the fuck offer one of my choices?” Vadoma said as she ran her finger down Kendal’s chest and licked it clean. “Yummy, this is a rare vintage definitely worth coming out for.”

  “It’s nice to see you again,” Kendal said with effort.

  “Your greeting is warm, warrior, but don’t show such enthusiasm yet. The night’s young and I have yet to feed.” She snapped her fingers and some of her followers picked up Kendal and Morgaine and followed her toward the house.

  “This is the deal you made?” Morgaine said with a tear-stained face as one of Vadoma’s followers carried her over his shoulder.

  “Sometimes the road to light can only be found through the darkness.”

  *

  Julius had finally broken into the sword room and was obviously tearing the walls apart to find the Sea Serpent Sword. That’s what it sounded like to Piper as two men held her in place. As Julius walked out with the sword in his hand, Piper noticed the dragon’s eyes were starting to change. The center of the green stones glowed red, and if not stopped, the change would forever alter the essence of the weapon.

  “What are you doing here?” Julius said when he saw Vadoma standing close to Piper, and Morgaine and Kendal lying on the floor at her feet.

  “Collecting on your promises,” Vadoma said, her incisors drawn as she moved closer to Piper.

  “Anyone but her,” he said. “I don’t know how she fits into this, but I can’t afford to lose her yet. And before you think to ask, stay away from her too.” He pointed to Kendal.

  From her vantage point Piper could see that the stones held more red than green, which meant the sword was close to awakening the dragon that would serve Ares. Kendal seemed better off than Morgaine, but in no shape to stop Julius and the men with him.

  “Tsk,” Vadoma said to Julius. “I want to have as much fun as you do.” Vadoma glanced to Kendal and Kendal nodded slightly. The grandfather clock in the corner read one minute to midnight, and Vadoma moved until she was standing right next to Julius. With a motion so fast he was powerless to stop her, she grabbed him as her face contorted to its most hideous form.

  Quicker than anything on earth, Vadoma drained Julius until he looked like a gaunt ghost of himself. Piper gagged when Vadoma used her fangs to open the vein at own her wrist with a savagery that made no sense at first, but like a mother with her baby, she thrust her wrist to Julius’s mouth and pressed it to his lips.

  “Drink,” she commanded him. The clock had started to chime and had already rung four times when he seemed to have gotten his fill.

  “I thought the elixir held the answers to the universe, but it’s nothing like this,” Julius said as he got to his feet and lifted the sword over his head and claimed it as his. “Ares, show yourself. Give me what’s rightfully mine.”

  Piper looked on as the dragon at the end of the pommel came to life and started to coil itself around Julius’s arm. They’d lost, and, alone, she was helpless to stop what was happening. The clock was at its sixth chime, and they were running out of time. Once midnight passed, the sword would forever serve only one master, and Julius must’ve felt that truth, since he was laughing as the dragon started to become a part of him. He looked up again and called to Ares, his and the other two men’s total attention focused on the ceiling.

  They didn’t see Kendal struggle to pick up the katana Vadoma had brought and left close to her. With what looked like the last of her strength Kendal threw it like a javelin.

  The moment it pierced Julius’s heart he exploded into dust and the dragon returned to the sword hilt. As soon as it did, Bailey and Travis made a run for it as the clock struck the tenth chime. Vadoma kicked it to Piper before they reached it, and once she had it in hand she ran to Kendal, knowing she was the only one there with the right to claim it.

  As the clock struck twelve, she picked up Kendal’s limp hand and wrapped it around the hilt. Everyone in the room closed their eyes from the bright light as the dragon uncoiled again and floated over them, its wings unfurled as if in protection. Piper opened her eyes in time to see it open its jaws and let out a stream of fire that encircled not only Kendal and her, but Lenore and Morgaine as well.

  The heat didn’t burn, but healed the wounds Kendal, Morgaine, and Lenore had suffered. Piper felt Kendal grow stronger beside her. They all stood and faced the dragon.

  The heat intensified on Piper’s chest, and Kendal had to have felt the same thing, since her hand went to her thigh. In a flash both dragons flew from their spots on the women’s bodies and met above them. The one from Kendal reared back and shot a ball of fire to the one that had come from Piper. Piper’s held up the orb in its claw, as if accepting the gift of fire. The orb started to glow, then split in two so her dragon now had an orb in each claw.

  When they were the brightest thing in the room, the dragon threw them toward the ceiling, where they disappeared. After that both of the dragons returned to their owners.

  As quickly as the ritual began, it ended. No one said anything, as if not having words for what had happened. Kendal picked up the Sea Serpent Sword, now very plain because the dragon decorating its handle had been released.

  After one strike, Travis’s head bloodied the floor, and then she turned to Bailey. “Tell me what he did with Charlie or you’ll beg for me to do that to you.”

  “Julius put him in a box and sank him in the lake out back.” When she pressed him to the wall with the tip of the sword, he started crying. “I swear it. He had Travis and me throw it in.”

  “Morgaine, would you see to his comfort while I thank our savior,” Kendal said.

  Vadoma cocked her head to the side and smiled when Kendal moved close enough to take her hand. Her smile widened when Kendal bowed over it and kissed it. “Thank you for keeping your promises, and I hope you know I intend to keep mine. If you so choose, we’ll see each other in a hundred years.”

  “I think we’ll see each other before that, Asra. Tonight has shown us there’s a place in this world for both of us. Don’t you agree?”

  “Why didn’t you keep the sword for yourself when you saw the potential it held?” Piper asked as she moved to Kendal’s side.

  “Because, Lady Richoux,” Vadoma said, “in life, even a life like mine, there must be balance. If power like we saw tonight is to be released, it’s better with you than with someone like Julius. The only thing I want from life is the same thing you do—to simply live it.” She snapped her fingers and her fledglings moved behind her. “I am not your enemy, Piper. Nor yours, Asra, so may you enjoy whatever you have gained tonight, and may our fragile truce hold for longer than a hundred years. Neither of you has anything to fear from me.”

  “Is it over?” Piper asked when they were alone with just Lenore.

  Kendal picked her up and held her close before answering. “I find that because of who we are and what we do, it’s never completely over. But for tonight, and as far as Julius is concerned, it’s over.” Kendal kissed her forehead and touched where Julius had cut her, but like Kendal’s wounds, it had been healed by the dragon’s fire. “Are you all right?”

  “I’m fine, honey. Now would be a good time to promise me, though, that you’ll stop getting stabbed in the heart on these grounds. I realize it can’t kill you, but it’s a little disconcerting to watch.” Slowly she ran her hand over the place on Kendal’s chest that was still stained with blood, reassuring herself that Kendal was fine.

  “I’ll try my best to make it the last.”

  “What happened to the sword?” Piper looked to the weapon lying on the floor, expecting it to do something else. “When Julius held it I could see the power going into him. Now it looks drained.”

  “That can wait until tomorrow. Since I don’t feel any different, I think we defused whatever it was supposed to do. Right now we need to get Charlie out of the la
ke.” Kendal put her down and kissed her again. “Do you feel any different?”

  “Not really, but we’ll do what you said and talk about it later.”

  “Let me go help Morgaine.” Kendal headed to the back of the house, but stopped at the parlor door. “I almost forgot about you,” Kendal said to Travis.

  “You bitch.” His head was a good four feet from his body, but it was still functioning, like some incredible magician’s trick. “The sun will be up before long and I’ll have my revenge.”

  “The sun is something you’ll never have to worry about again, no-neck. If anyone bothers to look for you they’ll be looking for a very long time, trying to put the very small pieces together.” She grabbed him by the hair and by the front of his shirt and dragged both pieces out.

  “Do you agree with that assessment?” Piper asked as she took Bruik’s and Lenore’s hands in hers.

  Lenore shook her head. “I feel very different, but I can’t really explain it. How do you feel?”

  “I don’t think different begins to cover it, but you’re right. It’s hard to explain.” She glanced toward Bruik, and he only smiled as he led them back to the couch. “I saw you, and I saw the end of this tale, but I was forbidden to say anything.”

  “Who stopped you from telling us? Knowing the outcome would’ve saved us a lot of worry.”

  “For this part of my vision I had a guide, and I gave her my word to not share it with anyone or risk the outcome.”

  As Bruik spoke, Lenore’s book about the sword floated from the coffee table to the chair across from them. Piper rubbed her eyes, hoping to clear the image, but opened them wide when the woman from her vision on the plane materialized in the chair. She opened the book and flipped to the end, where, magically, more pages appeared. They filled with writing when the woman ran her finger down each one.

  “I see that I’ve chosen my champions well.” The woman looked at her and laughed at what she assumed to be her shocked expression. “Your love is as ingenious as I believed her to be, so I think her trick to win deserves a treat.”