"Have you heard about the barbarian hordes?"
"Like Genghis Khan and Attila the Hun?" Beth's eyes widened with interest. Although a science nerd, history had always fascinated her, especially tales of ancient conquests and fallen empires.
"Yes, exactly." Tyr nodded, the blue of his eyes reflecting the twinkling lights strung overhead. "Though I'm not certain which particular horde it was...there were any number of them, throughout the middle ages." A shadow crossed his expression. "Antonio would know - he's our clan's historian. He remembers more of those dark times than the rest of us care to."
"You have to understand the sheer scale of our isolation. Six hundred miles of stark desert stretched between Al Khair and the nearest civilization, east or west. These weren't gentle rolling dunes - this was harsh, unforgiving terrain."
Beth shivered despite her cozy robe, imagining the vast emptiness. The bustling New York streets below felt very far away.
"No one simply stumbled across Al Khair," Tyr continued. "You had to know exactly where the watering holes were, how to navigate the desert. One wrong turn meant death by dehydration or exposure."
He paused, taking a slow sip of his hot toddy. "That natural barrier had protected the city for centuries. In all its history, no army had ever attempted to breach that desert wasteland. The logistics alone made it impossible."
"But the horde was coming anyway?"
"Yes." Tyr's eyes darkened to indigo at the distant memory. "When word reached us, the entire city mobilized. For the first time in history, vampires stood openly beside humans and Others, preparing to defend Al Khair together."
The image formed in Beth's mind - the vampire clan joining forces with the city's inhabitants, setting aside their differences to face a common threat. She was struck by the parallel - just as they were doing now, vampires choosing alliance over isolation when it mattered most.
Completely caught up in Tyr's tale, Beth's hot chocolate sat forgotten as she pictured the scene he described.
"We sent out advance scouts," Tyr continued, his voice dropping lower. "When the army was about… well, I forget exactly, but perhaps two days' march from the city , we found the perfect spot for an ambush. The desert cliffs created a natural funnel on one side, with the mountain range forming the other wall. A series of high dunes rose up before their army, giving us the advantage of height."
He paused, the set of his mouth stern. "I'll never forget that sight. Their army spread across the desert floor like a living carpet - tens of thousands strong. The moonlight caught their tents and supply wagons, while their beasts of burden created dark shadows between the countless campfires. It was like watching a river of light and darkness flowing across the sand, stretching as far as even vampire eyes could see."
Beth shivered, though not from the cold. Her imagination painted the scene vividly - the vast desert night, the massive army spread below, and the defenders of Al Khair preparing their trap. The glittering New York skyline seemed to fade away as she pictured the moonlit dunes and the endless sea of enemy campfires.
"How many defenders did Al Khair have?" she whispered, not wanting to break the spell of his storytelling.
Tyr breathed out a puff of air. "Almost none. The city had guards, of course, but there were no soldiers. No one had ever considered invasion possible."
"But..." Beth frowned. "How did you defend against such a huge army?"
"The vampires and a local jackal clan had plans." A hint of pride crept into Tyr's voice. "We positioned ourselves perfectly, waiting until they were exactly where we wanted them."
"Then what happened?"
"That's when Alyssa's father arrived - one of the elder Djinn, much like Kieran. His power rivaled anything I'd ever seen." Tyr's eyes gleamed with the memory. "But even more incredible was what came next."
He leaned forward, his voice dropping. "From the east, a streak of fire lit the night, racing like a bolt through the sky. Moonlight glinted off golden scales, and Alyssa cried out that it was Kaylee. She was… amazing. She swooped in, flaming those bastards."
"A real dragon," Beth whispered, eyes wide.
Tyr gazed off into the distance, eyes unfocused. "It was something to behold. The Djinn's magic created walls of white-hot flame that trapped the soldiers, while Kaylee's flames drove them into killing zones. Those who tried running found vampires and jackals waiting in the darkness. Quick, efficient - no one escaped to warn others about Al Khair's true defenders."
Tyr's expression shifted, a mix of pride and something deeper, more primal crossing his features. His smile turned razor-sharp, and for an instant Beth saw not her charming companion but something far older and infinitely more dangerous. The vampire who had helped orchestrate the annihilation of an entire army without a flicker of remorse. Thenhe blinked, and her Tyr was back, but Beth had seen what lay beneath.
"We could have taken that army on ourselves... the vampires and shifters." His voice held absolute certainty. "It would have taken a couple of days because of their numbers, but we had them. But seeing what an ancient, enraged Djinn can do..." He shook his head, and Beth caught a flicker of something like awe in his eyes. "A whole army, gone in a matter of minutes. Not days, not hours, but minutes. It was unreal."
"What happened to the rest of their caravan?" Beth asked. "The supplies, the animals..."
"We ran off the horses and camels before the battle began… that was easy enough in the dark while the soldiers were around their campfires. The rest… the wagons, armaments… they were melted into the sand." Tyr's expression darkened. "But there was one wagon we had to save. The scouts had reported the army was transporting slaves - males for the labor, women for the men."
Beth hugged her robe closer, a chill running down her spine. "How terrible."
His voice softened as he continued. "What with the chaos from the Djinn's fire, they never even noticed when Kaylee swooped down through the flames. Her claws closed around that wagon like it was nothing more than a child's toy. She carried them far from the battle, setting them down gently behind some dunes, where we could retrieve them after the battle was over, and get them safely to Al Khair where they'd be freed and assimilated."
"That's amazing." Beth wrapped her hands tighter around her cooling mug. "She saved them all in the middle of fighting an entire army."
