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Sensing the danger to her people, Ash pulled magic from within, then pushed it out, conjuring a brilliant shield of golden light, willing it to protect those in her care. It blocked the black flames and absorbed them.
“We don’t have to fight,” Ash’s tone and expression were confident, but her insides quaked with relief that it had worked. She’d pulled that magic out of her ass or wherever it came from. “If you choose to do so, you cannot win.”
Murderer! How dare you speak of peace! Maksim flung into her mind.
I didn’t start this war, she countered calmly. But I sure as fuck can end it.
The black dragon shot spines at Ash and her soldiers, but they didn’t make it past the barrier. Ash waved her hands, and tendrils of golden light snaked up from the ground and wound around the dragon’s feet. Maksim didn’t notice initially, but he started thrashing when the ropes crept over his wings, binding them to his sides. He crashed into the lawn.
The hostile vampires backed away when it looked like the enemy had captured their new king, but Ash reached out with her newly expanded mental willpower. Stay where you are! she ordered, sending the command into their minds. I’ll deal with you later.
Several tried to keep moving but were unable to.
Let me go! Maksim shouted telepathically. I will kill you!
That’s not a very cooperative attitude, Maksim. I’m trying to stop the deaths and end this pointless fucking war.
The dragon struggled against his bindings, writhing and thrashing to no avail. Ash realized they might not know what Maksim could do, but he didn’t either. He must not know much about his powers if she could bind him this easily.
There will never be peace while you live!
Ash felt Maksim’s fury and frustration boil over, and she braced herself, pouring her energy into the shield. She felt the mental explosion before any visible sign of the magic appeared. Power radiated from Maksim in a wave of darkness that blasted Ash’s golden ropes into dust.
The black dragon glared at Ash. This isn’t over. I will eat your heart before we’re done. It flew in the opposite direction.
“You’re just going to abandon all your children?” Ash shouted at the retreating dragon, ensuring everyone could hear.
I’ll make more, you traitorous bitch.
Ash shook her head. How could Maksim hope to lead vampires when he considered them disposable?
The dark dragon fled, resolved to establish a stronger position and learn how to use his powers before he went head-to-head with Ash again. He hated the cowardice it showed to flee the fight, but it was crucial to defeat her. He would likely only get one chance, and he didn’t want to waste it when he wasn’t at full strength. Until then, there was only one other place he knew to go. Home.
Eiko-sensei, can you put a tracking spell on him?
Yes, Ash-sama. It’s already done.
She watched Maksim’s outline disappear and let him go. He was alone, and Eiko could track where he went. Ash’s main concern was the vampires, and she spoke to them.
“There is a better way to live, and we can end this war. I killed Nadya and have taken the title of vampire queen, so you work for me now. I will give you one chance to make this choice. Join me and work in cooperation with the Therians and humans, or die. Nadya is gone. Don’t die with her.”
She urged Niletean to land so she could face them directly. Ash turned to a group of five vampires frozen in place nearby, walked over to them, and released her hold on the first one. When he tried to attack her, Niletean bit his prey in two. Without missing a beat, Ash moved to the next in line.
“How about you? Feel like dying today?” she asked.
The vampire stayed still, making no moves. “I didn’t want this. Please don’t kill me!”
Ash pointed at the black and silver dragon who’d just landed. “Go over to her and wait for further instructions.”
Most of the hundred vampires on the lawn died, but ten chose to side with Ash. When they went into the mansion, they found several dozen more who were unable to move. It felt like a dirty trick, but Ash wouldn’t give up the advantage. The fewer she had to kill, the better.
Ash didn’t have the bloodthirsty nature so many of her kind shared. She could and would kill if the situation called for it, but ending a life wasn’t her first resort. She hated the need for this brutal alternative, but she’d given them a choice.
They got another ten vampires in the mansion, and in the three bunkers, they hit the jackpot. Ash was relieved after all the senseless deaths. The first bunker contained a hundred and thirty-three daywalking vampires, all turned in the past few months, and every one wanted to join Ash.
The second contained two hundred and ten nightwalkers. They mainly had been turned a year ago when Nadya began her frenzy of creation, and half of them had chosen to become vampires and didn’t want to adapt to a way of life that limited their brutality. They were swiftly dispatched and taken to the funeral pyres. Those who chose to join Ash were sent to Viktorija to be introduced to the new vampire order. In the final bunker, of one hundred and fifty-six night-bound vampires, seventy-two chose to follow Ash’s way.
When they’d cleared the compound, Ash was weary of killing. While her people lit the pyres, searched the mansion, and interrogated the surviving vampires about Nadya’s holdings and plans, she wandered off, desperate for a moment of solitude so she could process her emotions without an audience.
