Samantha moon phantasm, p.88
Samantha Moon Phantasm, page 88
part #9 of Vampire for Hire Series
The princess was now drifting toward me, a tiny, tethered dirigible in the sky—
And that’s when she dropped like a rock.
Luckily, my reflexes are faster than any dropping rock, and both my hands shot out and caught her before she was even halfway to the floor.
Most important, the glowing blue sleeping spell was gone. I knew this because the sweetheart opened her eyes, took one look at me... and screamed bloody murder.
Despite her wailing, I grinned and summoned the single flame.
Chapter Thirty-five
Queen Autumn screamed when I appeared, and screamed again when I handed over her wailing baby.
Next, I dashed out of the freshly blasted tunnel, splashed through puddles of what had once been solid rock, and emerged into the main tunnel system, where I saw something that would have and should have turned my bowels into water. But it didn’t. Not here, and not now.
A wingless, massive, scaled dragon, with claws the size of a Mini Cooper, was presently hovering over my witchy friend who, herself, was hovering over the fallen knight, who was bleeding profusely from a terrible head wound.
So much blood...
Allie held the knight with one arm, while her other arm was raised above her. She had created what appeared to be a very feeble, nearly invisible shield. Meanwhile, the dragon alternately blasted it with jets of fire and raked at it with claws long enough to disembowel an elephant.
Without breaking stride, I summoned the flame again—and this time, saw Talos within it. He seemed eager to come, if that was possible.
And now I was suddenly much bigger than I was before, and the roar that erupted from my mouth was deafening even to my own ears. The wingless serpent snapped its great triangular head up—and if a dragon could look startled, I was seeing it now. It took a step and cocked its head, no doubt surprised as hell at seeing me now. As I advanced, it continued stepping back.
My presence also got Allie’s attention, and now she dropped both hands around the fallen knight, summarily losing her feeble shield. She didn’t need her shield. She had me now, and, as the dragon continued retreating, I stepped carefully over my brave friend and the fallen knight.
I knew from experience that summoning fire took a little time. It wasn’t just something a dragon had, literally, at the tip of his tongue. It had to be generated from down deep, within a special furnace in his lungs. And I felt it generating now, building, building...
Hurry Talos.
Almost ready, Sam, I heard him say in my mind.
Meanwhile, the creature before me stopped its retreat altogether, reared back, and shot a super-heated jet of molten death at me. I did all I could do, and ducked behind Talos’s massive wings. I knew instinctively that his wings could only survive so many such attacks. Indeed, the burn I felt was excruciating, and I found myself apologizing profusely to the creature who’d lent me his body. And just when the dragon before us reared back to fire a second blast, an attack that might just burn Talos’s precious wings to a crisp, I heard the words I was waiting to hear:
Ready, Sam.
Breathing fire always felt a bit, well, orgasmic. And I was sure this was the case even now, except this time I didn’t notice. What I did notice was the welling of energy in my chest. What I did notice was that something magical—something alchemical—was happening inside of me. Air was turning to fire, much as the rock had turned to water.
The four elementals, I thought briefly.
Yes, Sam, I heard Talos say, and then I wasn’t listening to anyone or anything else, for now, something great was burning for release. And release I did, opening my mouth wide and thrusting my head forward: a great explosion of fire erupted out of me, searing Talos’s throat and mouth and tongue and lips. I knew that after each burst of fire, the big fellow had to recuperate and heal. Breathing fire wasn’t something he did every day—only when needed. And these days, it was mostly needed by me.
Luckily, my flying friend could also heal rather quickly. Maybe I had that effect on him. I didn’t know.
But for now, fire shot forth down the underground tunnel, roiling and twisting and lapping. The wingless dragon let loose with a blast of its own, but, I suspected, its own fire had mostly been spent, if that was possible.
It’s possible, Sam, came Talos’s thoughts.
Which was a good thing in this case, too, for Talos’s own blast overcame the dungeon dragon’s effort, and soon the fire—fire that was still erupting from my now-burning lips—encompassed the creature completely.
As its own flame sputtered out, the creature twisted its now-glowing head this way and that. It clawed the air, screeching. The ungodly, hideous, ear-piercing screech wasn’t of this earth. Literally. Most important, it retreated. And by retreating, it did something that seemed to defy physics: it turned in place, contorting its fluid, apparently boneless body. My last image was of its still-smoking tail as it dashed away.
Did I just have an honest-to-god dragon fight? I asked.
You did, Sam.
With the dragon gone, I thanked Talos and returned to my human form—and was as naked as the day I was born. I saw the queen running toward us. She had missed the show, I think, which was probably for the best. What couldn’t be missed was that I was now butt-naked. Luckily, the injured Rory occupied most of her attention.
Once we were together again, I took hold of the baby’s little hand in my own and placed another on Rory’s bent back. I told the others to grab one of my shoulders. The queen did, looking confused as hell. I didn’t blame her one bit.
Especially when we all reappeared in the forgotten little room with the magical wardrobe.
***
Sir Rory had met the business end of one of the dragon’s claws.
Allie had used a bit of her magic to cauterize the wound enough to keep it from bleeding out. But there was more going on here than just the open wound and resulting internal damage. The skin had turned a bit green and looked, if anything, rotten. Although the bleeding had stopped, the poison seemed to be spreading. Myself, I was covered in a sheet that now formed a shawl. I was going to miss those Asics.
With Sir Rory still propped in Allison’s lap—and her own clothing covered in blood and the queen nearby clutching her baby—I found the closest sentry and compelled him to fetch a healer, a number of whom, according to the queen, resided within the castle.
A short time later, I led the portly man back into the queen’s private chamber. Once there, the man’s eyes nearly bugged out of his head when he spotted the kidnapped princess returned once again to her mother. He nearly asked about the babe, until he saw the realm’s greatest knight lying injured in Allison’s arms.
The physician magician asked for a pillow, which I fetched, and soon the big knight was lying on the stone floor, just a few feet in front of the wardrobe. The healer asked for some space, and we all gave it to him, including the queen. I next watched a series of potions being produced from the folds of the man’s robe. Many of them bubbled and steamed. He mixed a number of them together into a smaller vial, stopped it with a cork, shook the hell out of it, then uncorked it and poured the contents over the knight’s wounded head. Steam hissed. Green steam, and Sir Rory spasmed and roared, and then fell silent.
Later, the physician came to us and took the queen aside. I saw him look at us as he spoke, and she shook her head sternly and he nodded. After that, a number of solemn knights appeared and took their fallen leader away, off to the castle infirmary. Word was, the big guy would probably make it, although the poison might have lasting effects. Rory, I suspected, was tough enough and big enough—and in love enough with the queen—to power through and still be damned near the greatest knight the realm had ever seen. Earlier, there had been a brief, quiet moment when the physician had stepped out to fetch the knights, when the queen found herself mostly alone with Sir Rory. Mostly, because Allie and I were standing off to the side. The queen had leaned over him and patted his great chest and kissed him softly on the cheek. The knight had smiled.
Now, we were alone with the queen and her babe, which she had, up to this point, refused to let go of. I didn’t blame her. In her world, the babe had been gone for two weeks. Far, far too long. How she hadn’t gone insane with worry, I didn’t know.
“I am forever grateful to the two of you,” said the queen, although she didn’t take her eyes off the cooing babe, which was now wide-eyed and eager. She should be; after all, she had taken a helluva long nap.
I nearly said: All in a day’s work for dark angels, Your Highness. That is, until I heard how lame it sounded in my own head.
Allie said, “All in a day’s work for dark angels, Your Highness.”
Well, I think it sounds cute. She smirked.
Oh, brother.
“Dark angels, indeed.” She looked at Allie. “I saw what you did in the tunnel. And I saw how you protected Rory. And you.” She turned to me. “You disappeared before my eyes, and reappeared holding my baby, wrapped in your shirt and, oddly, your shoe.”
I said, “Long story.”
“You needed to stay clear of the sleeping spell,” said the queen. “And use both articles of clothing as a noose.”
“Maybe not so long, after all.”
“Very ingenious, Lady Tam Tam.” She kept her eyes on me. “When I emerged out of the tunnel, I next watched something incredible.”
I waited, wondering if I should remove this memory from her mind, but decided to let it play out a little further. She said, “I watched a woman turn into a winged dragon.”
“Any chance you imagined that?” I asked.
She smiled at me warmly, which was odd. Surely, she should have been alarmed, or terrified. Then again, she did live in a magical realm, complete with dungeon dragons, wizards, ice trolls, you name it! I could only imagine the other wonders that awaited beyond the castle walls... and in Charlie’s extensive notes.
“No, Lady Tam Tam. I saw it with mine own eyes.”
I said, “We did what we had to do to save your daughter.”
She kept her gaze on me. “Will I see you again?”
“Mayhap you will,” I said.
“We’re just a prayer away,” piped in Allie.
Geez, Allie. Could you sound any lamer?
Sorry. I couldn’t help myself. But she didn’t sound sorry, even in my head. I didn’t have to be telepathic to know she liked being considered a dark angel. And that we had been grouped together as a sort of team.
Admit it, you like it too.
No, I don’t.
You could even say we’re Charlie’s Dark Angels.
Good God, I thought. You went there.
I did. And I will do it again.
The queen looked at both of us, a small smile on her face, seemingly aware of our telepathic tit-for-tat. She adjusted her hold on her mewling babe, whose little hands were reaching up through the fabric to play with the queen’s curly locks. I next did the only thing I could think of: I bowed.
Now who looks lame, thought a giggling Allison, as she bowed along with me.
Oh, shut up.
The queen hugged both of us with her free hand and didn’t try to stop the tears from flowing. I gave the little booger in her arms a kiss as well, and then led the way into the wardrobe.
Once there, Allie took my hand, and, together, we stepped back through the wardrobe.
Chapter Thirty-six
Allie stumbled into me, and I stumbled into her.
“Is that how it feels when you teleport?” she asked, holding me.
“A bit,” I said. “Except I usually don’t have a big fat foot standing on mine.”
“Oops, sorry.”
“Welcome back you two,” said Charlie Reed, coming from around his desk, an exuberant look in his wild eyes.
I didn’t have to read his mind to know what the man had been up to. “Let me guess: your writer’s block is gone?”
“Gone, obliterated, and replaced with even more wild ideas. I can’t stop them. All thanks to you.”
“Er, how long have we been gone?” asked Allie.
“A couple hours. Maybe more. Speaking of which, how did it go in there?”
“I think you know how it went in there,” I said. “You’ve been writing ever since.”
“Yes. The moment you two disappeared. And I mean exactly that: you two literally disappeared in a blink.”
“And what happened while we were gone?” I pressed.
“The ideas flowed. And flowed and flowed. It was all I could do to keep up with them.”
“And what did you write about?”
“Of the appearance of two dark angels who rescue the kidnapped princess.”
“And did one of these dark angels turn into a dragon?” pressed Allie.
“And did Sir Rory suffer a near-fatal injury?” I added.
He looked at, then ran his fingers through his hair and stared at us. He looked, I suspected, a bit like Dr. Lichtenstein had looked when he had created his first successful monsters. “Why, yes. Is that... is that what happened in... there?” He pointed toward the hallway we had just stepped out of. Or stumbled out of.
“It was,” I said.
“But... but I had one such dark angel be, in fact, a vampire. And the other, a witch.”
This is freaking me out, Sam, thought Allison.
Me, too.
And so we stood like that for a few more seconds, each wondering who had influenced whom. Truth was, I really didn’t want to know.
Charlie motioned toward our phones on the nightstand. “Both have been buzzing non-stop for the past twenty minutes. I hope everything is okay.”
I really, really hated when my phone buzzed non-stop. A non-stop buzzing phone only meant one thing: bad news.
I approached it carefully, working out mentally where my kids were, and knowing they were safe with Kingsley. They had to be safe, right? It was Kingsley for crissakes.
I picked it up and saw that I had missed nine calls from Kingsley.
He had texted me no less than twenty times, too, most of which said the exact same thing: “Tammy’s gone.”
Chapter Thirty-seven
I didn’t live far from Charlie Reed’s house, and I was home in minutes. Had Kingsley known where I was, he might have come to find me himself, although he’d also thought it best to stay home with Anthony. Not a bad idea.
Of course, I had done all I could not to panic. After all, this wasn’t a brazen, midday kidnapping, as had been the case with my son. No, this was just a moody teenager ditching her babysitter. A babysitter with perfect hearing, mind you. A babysitter who would never, ever let her out of his sight without my permission. I could call Sherbet. And tell him what? That my daughter was missing for an hour? I couldn’t pull him away from real police work for just that.
Kingsley met me at the door. His thick mane of hair was askew. The look in his amber eyes was particularly wild. “She put me to sleep, Sam.”
“But how?”
Despite all my best efforts, I heard the panic in my voice. Hearing the panic made me panic more.
While I ran through the house, searching her room, her closet, Anthony’s room, Anthony’s closet—my office, the garage, the backyard, Kingsley followed me and explained: “I was watching TV, and then I heard... something. A whispering. A soft whispering. It was... suggesting that I sleep.”
“And did you?”
“I must have, Sam. When I opened my eyes again, she was gone.” He produced a familiar phone. “Strangely, she left her cell phone.”
I scrolled through it quickly, bypassing her password, which I had created for her. “No calls,” I said. “No texts.”
“Unless she deleted them,” said Allison.
We were all standing in the living room. My son watched us from the hallway.
“Did she say anything to you, Anthony?”
“No, Mom.”
“Did you see her leave?”
“I was sleeping, too.”
I stood there in the living room as my world threatened to spin out of control, especially when I realized my sixteen-year-old freak of a daughter had somehow taught herself a brand-new trick. Or worse, someone had taught her mind control. And I damn well knew who that someone was.
Allie, who had been picking up my thoughts, said, “You can’t be serious, Sam.”
“Serious about what?” asked Kingsley, not privy to our mindspeak.
But I was serious, and I knew I wasn’t wrong. I took in some worthless fucking air and discovered my fists were clenched.
“He has her,” I said to no one in particular.
“Who has her?” asked Kingsley.
“The devil,” I said. “And we’re going to get her back.”
The End
The Devil’s Triangle trilogy concludes in:
Moon Angel
Return to the Table of Contents
MOON ANGEL
Vampire for Hire #14
by
J.R. RAIN
(Third in the Devil’s Triangle Trilogy)
Moon Angel
Published by Rain Press
Copyright © 2017 by J.R. Rain
All rights reserved.
Dedication
To Mr. Hogue.
Moon Angel
Chapter One
“But how are we going to find her, Sam?” asked Allison.
“They’re connected, somehow,” I said. “She let him in.”
My words hung in the air. I saw my friends look at each other.
“Possession?” asked Kingsley.
Both of my friends knew the devil had been here yesterday—the devil and his three-headed dog. They also knew my son, who was presently standing in the hallway and holding his sister’s cell phone, which had been left behind, had shifted into what we lovingly, teasingly and admiringly called the Fire Warrior—a giant, fiery, interdimensional being. My son had, of course, taken care of one of the devil dog’s heads by lopping it right off. The devil, who had apparently come for my son, had, instead, turned his sights to my daughter; at least, that was what I had pieced together.
