Fall to Grace Page 3

  “You’ve lost your way, praetor,” Gabriella said in a surprisingly sympathetic tone. “I want to help you back on the path. And to keep Adriana on hers.”

  Makeda smiled. “That gives us common ground to start on.” She looked at her watch. “Do you think we’ve given Adriana enough time to defeat the Knights your superiors sent to subdue her?”

  Attempting to strangle Adriana was an impractical move.

  As a vampire, she had no need to breathe. All the male attacker could hope to do was restrain her long enough for his partner to recover and attack.

  Adriana would not allow him that time.

  From her crouch, she rolled backward. She wrapped one leg around the chain, drawing it closer. She did it again with her other leg. The rapid shortening of the chain pulled the man off balance. He fell forward as Adriana flipped to her feet.

  As the man steadied himself, Adriana uncoiled herself from the chain. By the time he sat up, Adriana was ready and drove a punch into his solar plexus. Stunned by a shortness of breath, the man lost his grip on his chain. Adriana finished him with a blow to the back of his head. The man crashed down, unconscious.

  She didn’t get time to enjoy her victory.

  A crossbow bolt pierced her back.

  To Adriana’s dismay, this bolt was a blessed weapon, damaging even her resilient vampire hide. Thankfully, the bolt missed her atrophied heart. Had it struck its mark, Adriana would be at her attacker’s mercy as she fell into a catatonic state.

  While the vampire lamented the wound, the female attacker moved closer. She withdrew the bolt. Adriana gasped. She then felt the female attacker grab her shoulder and spin her around. The attacker held the bolt, ready to stab Adriana again.

  As the bolt thrust toward her, the vampire parried the arm wielding the bolt. In nearly the same instant, she brought her other fist around. She smashed it into her attacker’s nose. The woman jerked back, releasing her grip on the bolt. Adriana brought her other fist crashing against the side of the female attacker’s head.

  The attacker fought back with a fist of her own. It struck Adriana’s face with enough force to spin her. Adriana used the momentum of the spin to bring another strong punch back around at the woman.

  This one sent her attacker down.

  Adriana immediately looked about the area.

  There were no witnesses to the attack.

  Adriana closed her eyes, focusing her senses on the wound from the bolt. It was painful but not debilitating. Since the damage came from a blessed weapon, she couldn’t immediately use her blood magic to heal it; it would take time.

  Looking to St. Mary’s, Adriana wondered if someone had also attacked Makeda. She might need her assistance; but how could the vampire enter such a holy site?

  Adriana would have to try.

  “Really, Gabriella?” Makeda asked, having to yell to be heard across the vast cathedral space. “Is this what you want?”

  Makeda stood yards away from the cathedral’s exit.

  Two men in civilian clothes blocked her path. They wore light jackets, unnecessary in this weather but perfect to hide a weapon. White ethereal flames covered their bodies like a sheath, a signature power of Knights of Vyntari.

  Gabriella remained by the altar, looking back to Makeda and the other Knights. “No, it’s not,” she replied. “But if you won’t come willingly, you leave the Concilium no choice.”

  “You have a choice,” Makeda shot back, looking over her shoulder at Gabriella. “You could have these men stand down.”

  “That is not my decision. There is a chain of command, a chain you disrupted when you fled with Adriana.”

  And there it was.

  This was a power play by the Concilium to re-establish their dominance, with Gabriella caught in the middle.

  Makeda should have expected it. Admittedly, she had inadvertently set up the scenario by thumbing them in the face with her actions. She’d hoped they’d see the positive from the ordeal and allow her to finish this.

  Frowning, she turned to the two Knights at the entrance and said, “If you’re going to make a move, now is the time.”

  The two Knights looked to one another. They turned their steely gazes toward Makeda.

  Suddenly, the cathedral doors opened. The Knights turned to see Adriana at the entrance, barely able to stand. The vampire shook violently.

  “Makeda,” she muttered. “Trap.”

  The former praetor allowed herself a smile.

  Adriana had proved more formidable than even she had anticipated. Now she just had to get her out of here before the faith-based energies assailing the demon within her turned the vampire into a vegetable.

  Makeda threw up her hands, aiming at the two Knights. Dual waves of invisible force slammed into the men, propelling them backward. They hit the walls on either side of the double doors leading into the cathedral. The men slumped to the ground, groggy but not out thanks to their magical shields.

  Gabriella stalked down the center aisle toward Makeda’s position. The vampire stood with both hands pressed to the cathedral door as if it was the only thing holding her up. Makeda also saw the wound just below Adriana’s heart.

  She wouldn’t be any help in a fight.

  Moving to Adriana’s side, Makeda caught the girl just as she lost her footing. “Think it’s time we left,” she said.

  Adriana was in no position to argue.

  “We can still fix this!” Gabriella called out, now halfway to Makeda and Adriana’s position. “Just come with me, praetor!”

  “After such warming hospitality?” Makeda asked.

  The two male Knights slowly got to their feet. They’d be a factor again in a few moments. Makeda steadied Adriana and headed out of the cathedral.

  Gabriella watched Makeda leave with Adriana. Her fellow Knights were up; they looked to her for orders.

  Instead of giving them, Gabriella slumped into the pew nearest her, cradling her face in her hands.

  “Pursue them.”

  This came not from Gabriella, but an authoritarian male voice with a Southern drawl.

  The two Knights at the door exited the cathedral.

  “We tried this your way,” the man said as he approached the remaining troubled Knight.

  Not looking at the newcomer, Gabriella asked, “She’s defeated the Order, salvaged Adriana. Can we not let Makeda finish her play?”

  “The Order may have lost their leader and a few lackeys, but they retain the shards. As for the blood bag, we can’t afford the chance she’ll revert to evil when she regains herself.”

  Gabriella felt the man’s hand on her shoulder.

  “I understand your regret, Doran,” he said, calling Gabriella by her last name, as he did all the Knights under his charge. He’d attempted to soften his tone, but it still played as condescending.

  “Makeda operates outside of the Word. It falls to us who still believe the Word to bring her to heel.”

  Gabriella looked at the man. He was tall, older, with hair dyed black but still gray at the temples. He wore a ponytail as a further attempt at a youthful visage. He kept himself in peak shape, muscles pressing against the sleeves of his maroon shirt.

  Despite his attempt to sound sympathetic, his green eyes remained cold and uninviting. Gabriella had known no other way with Praetor Morton Shealey.

  “Is there a chance, however slim, that Makeda is operating by the Word?” she dared ask.

  Shealey smiled. “Come now, Doran. You know the procedure.”

  “Yes, but if the Goddess spoke to her, gave her —”

  “All Knight actions go through the Concilium. No exceptions.”

  Shealey’s tone ended any hope of further conversation. He frowned, removing his hand from Gabriella’s shoulder. “I think your praetor’s influence on you may be too great.”

  Gabriella shrugged. Reading her reaction, Shealey added, “Or perhaps it’s that Freeman character. I would never have admitted him into the Knights. He was an Order
initiate, for the Goddess’s sake!”

  Shealey’s comment set fire to Gabriella’s sullen mood. She’d served with Freeman going on seven years. She had trained with the man, shed blood with him. She would not let Shealey speak ill of him, no matter his rank. “They tried to kill him when he challenged their beliefs.” Gabriella turned fully to Shealey. “That’s the difference between the Order and us, isn’t it? We don’t kill those who challenge our beliefs?”

  Shealey’s angered expression told Gabriella all she needed to know.

  He suddenly grabbed her bicep and pulled her to her feet.

  “I do believe we have a rogue Knight that needs disciplining,” he said while dragging Gabriella toward the cathedral exit.

  Passing Archibald Fountain, Makeda noticed the two bodies lying unconscious under the canopy of trees. She guessed they were Adriana’s handiwork, two other Knights of Vyntari who had underestimated the vampire’s superior combat skills despite her proximity to the cathedral.

  Adriana could barely stand on her own now; Makeda didn’t want to know what horrors besieged the girl as her soul fought the desire of the demon within her to get away from the holy place. She also didn’t want to know how the demon would flail at the world should Adriana lose her battle to control it.

  With Adriana in this condition, there was no way Makeda could outrun the two other Knights who now pursued her. They got as far as the edge of the canopy before the two Knights from the cathedral got close enough to use their ethereal chains. The praetor set the vampire down, then turned to confront their pursuers.

  To her surprise, the Knights hadn’t drawn their chains. She surmised her earlier rebuff had angered them. They wanted to make this personal. That would require proximity.

  Reaching within the folds of their jackets, the men withdrew daggers. Makeda knew them to be blessed weapons. That the Knights drew lethal weaponry on her showed they were willing to take Makeda back in pieces.

  “Sorry about that back in the cathedral,” Makeda said. “We can prevent any further embarrassment if you simply let us go on our way.”

  The men answered by moving to attack.

  Makeda lashed out with a kick that instantly knocked the first man unconscious. The second man lunged in for a slash. Makeda raised her arm to parry. The man sliced through the flesh of her forearm but struck nothing vital.

  That didn’t make the wound any less painful.

  Makeda retaliated with another kick. It knocked her attacker back far enough to put him out of striking range.

  The man gritted his teeth. Moving back in, he slashed at Makeda. She deftly parried his blade arm aside with her uninjured arm. She then kicked the side of his leg. The man went down hard and stayed there, conscious but immobile.

  And in great pain.

  Makeda looked at the wound on her arm. It wouldn’t kill her but needed attention. Normally she would simply have Gabriella use her healing powers. Now, that wasn’t an option.

  The Knight moved to Adriana. The vampire had steadied herself, distance from the holy site allowing her better control of the demon. Makeda offered her a hand to help her up. Adriana accepted it.

  Glancing at the downed men, Adriana said, “I see you handled things.”

  “Not quite,” came a male voice with a Southern accent.

  Makeda and Adriana looked in the direction of the voice and saw a tall man in his early fifties. Despite his age, he was in peak physical shape. More pressingly, he stood over Gabriella, who was on her knees.

  The man held a Knight’s dagger to Gabriella’s throat.

  Adriana moved toward the man. Makeda grabbed the vampire’s arm, holding her back. Adriana glared at her. Makeda shook her head.

  “I know this man,” she said.

  Adriana lowered her eyes but stood her ground next to the Knight of Vyntari.

  “Makeda Arsi,” the man began. “You and the vampire will stand down and come with me immediately.”

  “Or what, Shealey?” Makeda replied.

  “I believe you know what I’m willing to do to further Her Word.”

  “You do not know what I would do to protect my friends,” Adriana said.

  Shealey laughed. “You kill your enemies, blood bag. I killed my blood!”

  Adriana raised an eyebrow and looked to Makeda. Without taking her eyes from Shealey, Makeda answered the unasked question.

  “His brother was possessed by a demon. When it looked impossible to free him… Shealey murdered him.”

  Adriana turned back to Shealey. “I search for blood I lost. And you murdered yours?”

  Shealey’s grip tightened on the dagger.

  “Gabriella has no demon within her,” Makeda said. She took a casual stance, crossing her arms as she added, “You’re bluffing.”

  Makeda’s mind flashed back to Grunewald Forest. A month ago, she’d been there with Adriana and her fellow Knights. Makeda had made a challenge to the vampire now at her side after Adriana threatened Freeman in a similar manner. Things had not gone so well then. She prayed to the One Goddess they’d go better now.

  Shealey drew back on Gabriella’s hair, further exposing her throat. Gabriella’s hands shot up and grabbed the arm holding the dagger. Before she could do anything further, Shealey kneed her in the back, knocking her off balance. She instinctively released his arm to save herself from falling.

  Shealey’s hold on her hair kept her upright. Her arms flailed the air. He moved the dagger back to her throat.

  Adriana used her speed to cross to Shealey. He met her with a burst of ethereal white flame from his eyes. The demon within Adriana recoiled. She lost her footing, falling to the ground near Shealey and Gabriella.

  Shealey pulled Gabriella up in front of his body, wrapping his arm around her throat, he pinned her to him. Adriana would have to go through her to get to Shealey.

  “Thanks to you, Makeda, Doran doubts her mission for the One Goddess,” Shealey said. Pointing his dagger at the senior Knight, he said, “You are a cancer among us. You will yield, or I will end Doran’s doubt. Then, I will end you and the blood bag!”

  Makeda saw the anguish on her Gabriella’s face. She was a true believer. She also believed in the good of all, particularly those who followed the One Goddess. To see that trust betrayed by a high-ranking Knight destroyed Gabriella.

  And there was nothing Makeda could do without forcing Shealey’s hand.

  Under an hour later, Adriana found herself in the bathroom of an apartment in Sydney’s World Tower building. Shealey and his recovering Knights had brought her and Makeda here, then separated the pair. She had no idea where Makeda was. She also knew she wouldn’t find out languishing in here.

  Adriana tried the door, confirming that it was locked. Investigating further, she realized her captors had reversed the doorknob—the lock was now on the outside of the door.

  At least her prison had facilities. Not that a vampire needed anything more than the occasional shower.

  Adriana beat against the door.

  “Keep it down!” a man’s voice shouted. “Trying to watch the telly!”

  Adriana listened for a few more moments. She heard no other voice.

  One guard. That made things simpler.

  “I would be much more comfortable out there with you,” Adriana said.

  Silence.

  Then footsteps moved across a hardwood floor.

  “Look, sister,” the guard said, his voice closer. “They told me about your reputation. No way am I letting you out of there. Especially after how you handled the other Knights.”

  Adriana frowned. Turning, she looked about the bathroom. The bathroom was as large as the tiny bedroom in the apartment she had shared with Makeda. The fixtures were all contemporary and new, the marble countertops clean enough to cast reflections.

  The one thing it did not have was a window.

  She went to the sink and closed the drain. She then turned both hot and cold water on full blast. She did the same with the shower.


  “Weird time for a shower,” the guard said, “but you’ve got the time.”

  “Will you have the time to clean up the flood damage?” Adriana asked.

  She then kicked the commode, knocking it from the toilet bowl. It smashed on the ground. Water shot up from the intake tube.

  “What the hell are you doing?” the guard asked, desperation in his voice.

  “Eventually there will be enough water to soak through the floor,” Adriana explained. “I do not think the neighbors will be happy. They will send someone to investigate.”

  “Turn everything off!” the guard demanded.

  Adriana moved to a position near the door. She looked back to the sink. It was full, more water coming in than the overflow hole could handle. Water poured over the counter edge and onto the floor. The tub also was filling. Water from the broken toilet covered the floor, creeping toward the bathroom door and escaping underneath.

  “Dammit, woman!” the guard said. “Turn it off!”

  Adriana remained silent, waiting.

  “Okay, I’m coming in there! Get against the back wall!”

  She heard the click of the lock. The knob turned. The door flew open, sloshing against the flow of water on the floor.

  The guard was young, in his early twenties. He had a surfer look, something Adriana had seen a lot around Sydney. She couldn’t be sure if he were a Knight of Vyntari or just some college kid the Knights had left to babysit.

  Either way, his handgun made him a threat.

  He wisely stood just outside the bathroom in the hallway, said handgun pointed at Adriana’s head. “I said get back!” he demanded.

  Adriana was on the man before he could finish his demand. She snatched the gun from his hands and pointed it at his head.

  “Turn it off yourself,” Adriana said.

  Then her hand started to burn.

  Seeing the steam coming off her palm, the guard smiled. “Blessed gun, bitch,” he said.

  Adriana fired the gun, shattering something back in the main room. With the gun going off so close to his head, the guard recoiled, grabbing his ears in pain. The vampire took advantage of the moment and grabbed the guard’s shirt. She spun him around, throwing him into the shower. He fell into the water, causing the tub to overflow.