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The clouds dispersed, turning night into day. The thunder quieted. The lightning ceased. In the surrounding hills, tornadoes stopped their destructive dance.
Rein flicked his tongue across the razor-sharp points of his fangs, willing them to recede. This fight with Cerberus was not one for the savage vampire within. No. The Aeternal warrior who had fallen into the abyss of the bludfrenzy in his youth and crawled out to become a Firebrand and to mate Braelyn would win this battle with icy, calm resolve. He drew a deep breath, his chest expanding. He settled his shoulders. He cleared his mind.
Breathe. Breathe. Control.
Rein tested the heft of the sword in his grasp. It fit. It was balanced. The weight was perfect.
He tilted the weapon until it was vertical to the ground, point down. The sun glanced off the honed steel, cutting a radiant path to Cerberus.
Regardless of their loyalties, fighters stopped mid-battle, moving to either side of the light to watch the developing spectacle.
****
With the garrison at his back, Cerberus drew his mouth into a grim line, his nostrils quivering while he inhaled the scent of destiny. It lay before him. Because of superior numbers and powers, his forces would overcome the Firebrands with their weak coalition. He had no doubt.
His mother’s lessons had been harsh. But he would be master of the world. Subjects would worship at his feet. He would reward his followers by allowing them to feed from humans. Echidna, daughter of Seraphine and Garvin and granddaughter of Niviane and the Cambion, would be proud. At last Aeternals would regain their rightful position as Gahya’s superior beings on Earth. Though his misguided great-grandfather had ripped their due from them by imprisoning them on Scath, Niviane had made it possible for him to right the wrong of the Cambion.
Cerberus jerked his head up, momentarily ignoring the near-dead victim in his grasp. He sensed atmospheric changes, seeking the mage who dared negate his power. His gaze traveled a lighted path. At the end was Rein, a sword in his fist. The vampire-mix Firebrand, though a male of many gifts, could not stop him. A gloat crept into Cerberus’s smile, his eyes sparkling with life, perhaps for the first time.
He stood on the road to his destiny. The pain of his youth, his sacrifices, his deceptive career as a caring justice, his celibacy until recent days, his carefully constructed plans. All led him to this moment. He was the greatest leader the Aeternals had ever witnessed. Just as the prophecy foretold. Victory was in his grasp.
He took one step onto the lighted path. Drawing his own blade, he sliced through the neck of a weak incubus fighter who had thought to challenge him on the journey. Cerberus kicked the body aside before striding forth to meet a worthier foe.
Before him waited Rein. He was a cocky, irreverent obstacle, standing with thighs spread, a hand fisting the hilt of his sword, a snarling grin curled on his arrogant lips. Cerberus planned to wipe the expression from the Firebrand’s face when he severed his head from his shoulders. Perhaps at that last moment, the vampire mix would realize his mistake. How could an impure breed mongrel think to best him?
A red glint caught Cerberus’s eye. He took note of the rubies encrusting the shaft of his opponent’s blade. When his gaze tangled with the ice-blue controlled stare of the Firebrand, he realized the weapon was Blood’s Kiss. The warlock destined to rule the world shuddered, recalling the prophecy. He stiffened his spine. This was no time for doubt. He brushed aside the moment of uncertainty, cursing Roark, who had not followed his orders. No matter. The prophecy was more complicated than simply the kiss of blade.
Cerberus flicked a strand of hair over his shoulder, tilted his chin up in confidence, and continued on the lighted path until he neared Rein. He felt every bit the conqueror with a proud stride, straight back, and disdainful expression. “How do you wish this fight, mixling?” The slur rolled off his tongue. “Weapon to weapon or mage to mage. You choose. Either way, your defeat is inevitable.”
“Fuck, you’re an asshole. You know what they say about pride goeth before the fall or some shit like that. To keep things fun, though, let’s start with a little magic. Then we can top it off with blade-to-blade action.” Rein slammed Blood’s Kiss into its sheath.
All eyes followed the two combatants, Arisen Dawn and the Coalition alike.
“We shall see, my misguided Firebrand.” Cerberus opened the fight by creating a gap in the earth beneath Rein’s feet. When his arrogant opponent lost traction, the mage laughed, victory bubbling from his chest like the laughter.
****
Rein almost fell for the move. Literally. When the wide chasm opened, he was left feet dangling, hands gripping the edge. His fingertips were the only things between him and a long fall. Before his hold slipped, he sprouted claws for a better grasp. With flinching biceps, he pulled himself up inch by inch. His arms quivered as his boots found leverage. With a groan, he heaved himself onto solid ground.
Instead of Cerberus taking advantage of the situation, the A-hole gave Rein time to recover.
Stupid. Never give an opponent a break.
Rein raised a hand and connected with his stored power. Casting a simple spell, he grasped a blade of lightning in his fist. Releasing it, he sent it toward Cerberus.
It glanced off the flesh of the Arisen Dawn leader’s shoulder. Cerberus’s disbelieving eyes shot to the wound. The mage was not distracted for long, though. With incredible speed, he flung hundreds of shards of glass at the Firebrand.
Rein thrust out a shield barely in time to deflect the assault. When they crashed into the barrier protecting him, he flicked his wrist. To Cerberus’s surprise, he returned the projectiles to their creator.
Without a sweat, the warlock smashed them to the ground.
Before Cerberus recovered, Rein launched another bolt of lightning at his chest. The asshole redirected it into the earth with ease.
Rein struck out with arrows made of biting wind. Cerberus stumbled backward, pummeled with the barbs. In an instant, he righted himself, brushing the gusts aside like inconvenient pests.
Using a fancy-ass motion, Cerberus waved a hand through the air while Rein prepared his own attack. The mage was an insufferable dickwad. Nonetheless, he was a fast, skilled warlock. Rein had never met his equal, and it crossed his mind that Cerberus could best him.
Nah. Not possible.
