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“Thanks, Remy.”
He turned back to hold the door open for Ash and discovered that she had disappeared. During his lifelong love of comic books, none had been as precious to him as the adventures of Batman and Catwoman. He’d followed the Caped Crusader’s exploits since he debuted and had always thought Commissioner Gordon’s annoyance at Batman’s sudden disappearances was overdone. He now understood the sentiment, which appealed to his sense of irony. “Commissioner Remy.” He liked the sound of that.
Ash appeared next to the three guards blocking entry through the gates. They jumped back, and one let out a shriek of surprise, to his cohort’s amusement. Ash ignored their teasing. “Are they aggressive or unwilling to cooperate?”
“No, Your Majesty. They are waiting patiently. Their only request was to speak to you,” one guard replied.
Ash nodded. “That tracks with what I feel from them. Cover me, but let me talk to them without interference unless they attack.”
The guards nodded. They didn’t think the king would be pleased, but they knew better than to question a royal order.
Ash stepped through the gate and smiled at the ten vampires awaiting her, covered from head to toe with multiple layers of sun protection. “I understand you want to speak to me.”
A vampire stepped forward, peeking through a small hole in her protective layers. “Yes, Your Majesty. My name is Ksenia, and the group has chosen me to speak for them. We have come to offer our fealty and dedicate ourselves to a new way of life. Everyone with me was turned by force. I was on holiday in Spain when Nadya got me two years ago. Last week, I ran into the Horsemen and started on my way here. My group only travels at night, but we’ve collected vampires from every country we passed through to get here.”
Ash was confused. “There don’t seem to be enough of you for that.”
Ksenia chuckled. “There are many more sheltering in a nearby cave system. We thought it best not to arrive in a large group without warning since we didn’t want it to seem like an attack. The rumors said we would find a safe home, and all vampires were welcome if they followed your rules. We already didn’t kill to feed, and we have several beloved humans in our ranks considered family. If they are in danger among your people, please tell me, and we will go. They are my responsibility, and we all consider their protection more important than the vampire crap Nadya dragged us into.”
Ash smiled. “You heard correctly. We are building a city to officially house Gaia Vampira, but the underground structure is already in place. We can take a portal, and after everyone signs in, we’ll get you settled in Mayak.”
She saw no reason to add that she would scan their minds before she allowed them passage. Ash believed them but couldn’t let anyone else with malicious intentions slip through their defenses.
Ksenia nodded. “Thank you, Sire. We won’t let you down. It will take a few hours to get everyone here. We don’t have enough light protection for everyone, and none of us can withstand the sun. It has been difficult to make it this far.”
The minds of those present rang true, so Ash had them sign in with the guards, who took their photos and printed temporary credentials that allowed them access to the Therian palace grounds and the tower containing the portal room. The magic in the passes only opened a small number of doors, and there was a closed path from the gate to the portal.
“Let’s get you out of the sun while I make the arrangements. I can bring one of our intake people with us and open a portal to your cave that allows everyone to transit here without being exposed to the sun if the windows are covered. It will take a couple of minutes to make the changes, but we should already have done that.”
Ash sent texts to Remy and Niletean, who responded with their customary speed and efficiency.
Remy arrived with a laptop, a camera, a badge printer, and a portable desk ten minutes later. “I have everything you requested, Your Highness. Are you ready to go?”
Ash nodded. “Thank you, Remy. Yes. We’re ready.”
Ksenia and the other new vampires were astonished when Ash opened a portal to the cave where the rest of their group waited. They hadn’t told her where it was, and no one had ever heard of a vampire wielding the kind of power their new queen tossed around so casually. Ash’s shortcut sped the process up, and five hours later, Gaia Vampira had grown by seven thousand. Ksenia said there would be more coming now that Maksim had made his blood call and delivered distressing rumors of a Therian capturing and enslaving vampires with some kind of slave collar.
Ash hadn’t been pleased when Zia informed her of Maksim’s message, but there was little she could do about it. She’d emplaced protections to monitor Nadya’s property, but she now regretted not burning the compound to the ground when she had the chance. They would handle anyone who joined him when the time came.
Until then, Ash had a country to run.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Bering Land Bridge National Preserve, Alaska, Saturday, February 9, 2013, Night
After two weeks of meticulous planning, Maksim was ready to strike. He’d worked directly with the group who came to Nadya’s home, ensuring each team leader was up to the tasks he’d set for them. Moving his people had been a nightmare, but thankfully, most of his new force was waiting when he arrived since two hundred thousand vampires had answered his call.
Things were finally in place, and his teams only waited for approval before attacking. Jules had brought another ten thousand soldiers, trained Therians who owed him their allegiance. They only had three dragons, including Maksim. Their alliance was imbalanced, but Jules was marginally useful…for now.
Taking someone Ash loved hadn’t destroyed her. The rumors told Maksim that the false queen felt she was some kind of savior, but she cared for humans, and that made her weak.
With Nadya gone, there was no one she could use against him. She was an American, so he’d selected sites in her native country to attack. The relatively short distance from Russia to Alaska made that state an ideal target, and Jules had helped him develop a devious plan.
They were going to slaughter the ten thousand humans who populated the area around Nome, Alaska, and claim the land for vampires. Jules assured him that humans had a ridiculous attachment to the town due to an old story about a dog sled race, so it would make headlines around the world.
Maksim thought the indiscriminate slaughter would be newsworthy on its own.
There were twenty-three developed areas, but several were abandoned. Those made excellent temporary homes for his night-bound soldiers, and the rugged, snow-covered landscape offered plenty of places to escape the sun. His forces would strike simultaneously, taking out communications to prevent calls for help and decimating the humans until the surviving creatures on the peninsula called him their king.
