Battle for Blood Ch. 07

"I was called away unexpectedly," Cole said, his voice sounding harder than it needed to be. He was glaring at Landsman and Medea.

"And whom have you returned with?" Olrun asked. He didn't want to be territorial but the war room was no place for a human. Cole's lips twisted into a wry smile. He looked at Landsman.

"Would you like to tell him?" Cole asked. Once again he watched the tired, grim look overtake Landsman's features. The council head slouched slightly, another mannerism that spoke of youth and yet he managed to look all of his 800 years.

"We need some privacy," Landsman sighed. "That's it for today," he said loudly to the rest of the room's occupants. "We will meet back here in the evening." A murmur went through the room at the sudden change in atmosphere. More than a few sideways glances were shot at Shane. When they had left only Olrun, Medea, Iris and Landsman remained with Cole and Shane still holding their position on the far end of the large table.

Landsman slumped into his chair at the head of the table. Iris looked confused and Olrun looked like he was losing his patience. Medea, for her part, was still hovering behind Landsman as if trying to shield herself from something.

"Can someone explain what is going on?" Olrun was definitely losing patience. Landsman made no move to speak so Cole broke the silence.

"This is Shane. She is the one who extracted me from the prison the wolves had built in the woods. She is also the only known offspring of a vampire and a human."

At his words Iris's eyes went wide and flew to Shane. She had clearly known about Shane's existence but had never actually seen her. Olrun gave Cole a hard look.

"You are joking of course."

"I am not," Cole responded.

"He's not," Iris breathed. Her voice was low and soft, caught in a permanent whisper that spoke of some damage to her throat. The sound was almost inhuman enough to give Shane a chill. She started coming towards Cole and Shane, her eyes still wide with curiosity.

Shane did not like the look the beautiful vampire was giving her. She could almost see the woman itching to put her under a microscope. Those clear, piercing eyes were looking at her as though she was not a person but an object that required study. Shane registered the woman's elegant face, her high cheekbones and her strong nose that would have looked strange on anyone else, but not this woman. She was breathtaking. But Shane also saw the scars creeping out from under her high black collar the covered her neck. She snuck a glance at the woman's fingers, which were the only other visible skin to see the same purple scars marring her brown skin. The vampire was still coming towards her, eyes intent on her face and yet not truly looking at her. Shane gave her a look that she hoped was withering. It took a moment for the vampire to register it and she stopped her approach, though not her stare.

"The reason the council members look as though they have seen a ghost," Cole continued, "is because they sent her on a suicide mission when they ordered her to collect me, or rather, to die at my hands."

Olrun looked aghast. "What?" was all he could muster.

"I'm assuming from your reaction that this was not a matter the discussed with the council in the old world. No matter, what was done is done. Shane survived them, and me and now the wolves. She requested I not make her survival known to the council but it appears that, despite my best efforts, she is no longer safe from the wolves the plague us. My debt will be repaid to her once we have solved this menace and she will be free of our kind." He hoped his voice held the right notes of detachment and intent. The room certainly seemed to buy it.

Olrun looked at Shane dumbfounded. Cole had never seen a Viking look so confused. Landsman gave Cole a tired look. "We were desperate," he began, and stopped realizing the futility in trying to justify himself to the girl he had sent to her death. Medea, however, didn't see it that way.

"He's right," she snapped. "We were. There was no one from the old world to help us, as they were buried in the archives talking about silver net recipes from ancient times. The wolves were gaining strength and this girl could barely fight off Adriana, much less champion the fight against their army. You were our only option. As unstable and impulsive as your existence is, you are the only one who has fought for us in every major conflict we've had against the wolves."

Shane gave the old woman the same withering look but didn't respond. She had thought it would be harder to face these people who seemed intent on justifying sending her to her death. She had thought her righteous anger would be directed at these sad, tired looking vampires. Instead she felt nothing but a twinge of annoyance. Let them justify it to themselves. She didn't need to forgive them anything.

"Adriana is the one who suggested it," Medea continued, pushing off the blame. "She was in charge of the girl from the beginning. If you have a problem with what she did then take it up with her."

"I did not come here to put you on trial. Shane also does not expect justice. She is here now only so that I can keep her safe until we have destroyed the wolves." Cole cast a glance over the mess on the tables. "Which I had hoped would be soon. Though from the looks of things, not much has changed since I was here last night."

Olrun snapped out of his reverie. This was a topic he was more comfortable with. "We are at an impasse. The wolves seem to have used the same type of defenses on this compound to keep out vampires as they did on your prison. Landsman's scouts have garnered all the information they can but we may not be able to penetrate the compound at all."

"Which leaves engaging them on open ground," Cole finished the thought. "That would be suicide if the wolves are truly there in those numbers."

Olrun nodded. So they were no closer to an answer of how to deal with the wolves. Cole looked back at Landsman who was refusing the meet his eyes. Medea had faded away from the table, seemingly trying to disappear. Iris alone stood near them, here eyes still fixed on Shane.

"She got past the defenses," Iris said quietly. Landsman looked up, frowning and then looked over at Shane. Fury exploded in Cole's chest as he saw the plan fall into place in the council chief's mind. They were going to ask her to fight for them? Impossible. Even they didn't have the gall to ask her that. He was about to let his anger boil over, expose them to the rage he felt on Shane's behalf when the sound of Shane's clear laughter rang out from over his left shoulder.

Cole turned to look at her. She was beautiful, her eyes dancing wickedly from Iris to Landsman and Medea. The smile on her face was wry but genuine, her laughter short but the incredulity behind it was real.

"You got a lot of nerve, lady," Shane said. Cole looked at Iris, who didn't seem to care about Shane's obvious distaste for her.

"Do you drink blood?" Iris asked. Cole recognized the look on her face. Iris was in full-fledged research mode. Shane had caught her attention the same way an ancient scroll might have and Iris was known to have an unwavering focus when it came to her work.

"This is not an interview," Shane snapped at her. "I'm not here to have you prod me, woman. Stop looking at me like I'm a piece of meat."

Iris's eyes flew back to Shane's face, and for the first time Shane felt like she was actually making eye contact. "Sorry," the woman breathed again in that soft whisper of a voice. She opened her mouth again and closed it, choosing against saying whatever had been on her lips. Cole was impressed despite himself. He had never seen Iris be deterred so quickly; he could see her considering Shane with different eyes now.

"You admitted the wolves were a threat to her," Olrun said, clearly picking up on the plan taking form in their minds. "If she can get us in, then we are still in this fight."

"He's not wrong," Landsman offered. "We are hopelessly out of options."

Shane laughed again, this time it rang false, full of anger. "You want me to fight for you after you killed my father, threw my in a hole for a year, drugged me into oblivion and then sent me to my death? You vampires must have grown some real balls in your lifetime." Cole couldn't help but notice that she hadn't yet denied them their request. A sinking feeling began in his chest. He had to keep her out of this fight.

Landsman sat up in his seat. "What do you mean 'drugged me into oblivion'?" Cole had missed it. Shane was better at this than he had realized.

"I mean," Shane replied, her voice icy as she stepped closer to the table, coming up next to Cole, "that you forced me to drink vampire blood for the better part of a year so you could pump me up and send me out like some sort of meal delivery. I guess you never thought I'd live to see withdrawal but I guess I have that to thank you for too."

Landsman's frown deepened. "We never agreed to give you vampire blood."

"So just to die then," Shane snapped back at him. "Aren't you splitting hairs here?" But Landsman had stopped listening to her. Cole could see the wheels turning in his head. Landsman suddenly slammed a fist into the table.

"Fucking Adriana," he cursed. He threw a furious look at Medea. "This is why she got rid of Ricardo. Those are the holes in the human's memory. Ricardo knew about the blood. Adriana was covering her tracks."

"What are you talking about?" Cole said, deadpan.

Landsman gave him a look. "Before you mysteriously disappeared yesterday a murder was committed by one of Adriana's attendants. Her mind had been pretty terrifically wiped and we couldn't understand why. It seems Adriana, possibly worried because of your return, was trying to cover her tracks and arranged the human to kill him."

Cole let the silence stretch out after he was done, giving the impression he was thinking over what Landsman had said. "That seems like a terribly foolish thing to do on her part."

"No one ever accused Adriana of being a tactical genius," Medea snapped from her position further and further from the others.

"Did he smoke?" Shane asked suddenly. Cole tried not to stiffen. What was she asking?

"Did who smoke?" Landsman still couldn't look at her.

"Ricardo."

"Yes."

"Cloves?"

"Yes."

Shane nodded slightly. Landsman waited for her to say something. Cole also held his breath, trying to understand what she was getting at. She didn't seem in a rush to enlighten them.

"Why?" Landsman asked finally.

Shane shrugged. "It was his blood," she said simply. Cole ground his teeth together. She hadn't mentioned this before. She must have just realized it. He felt a twinge of panic and reached out to her. She let her block slip a little and sent him a reassuring feeling that helped bring his focus back to the room.

Landsman began muttering to himself in what Cole could only assume was his native tongue, some strange southern Spanish dialect, long forgotten. Iris looked like she was bursting with questions, but she managed to keep her mouth closed. Olrun was exasperated.

"Can we stop focusing on political murders of vampires and get back to this war? If what they say is true and this girl is capable of overcoming the defenses then we need to figure out how to proceed." Cole pushed back his anger. He did not want to see Shane fight but he certainly couldn't come out with it without seeming too protective. He was also very aware that she must be uncomfortable with the fact that they had not actually spoken directly to her about this but rather only addressed Cole.

"I'm afraid I can't help you," Cole said. "Shane is not in this fight and I can't change that."

Olrun looked over at Shane. "Well then? Are you willing to fight?"

Cole was impressed once again with Shane's ability to withstand Olrun's intimidating presence. She gave the Viking a hard, appraising look. "Fuck you," she said finally.

Relief washed over Cole. He could keep her out of it. He hoped.

Olrun turned to Cole. "Can't you do something about this?" Cole knew the man was not used to dealing with humans or females. He was out of his depth and he knew it. Cole simply shook his head. There was a long pause. No one quite knew where to go from here.

"I'll consider it," Shane said. Cole felt as if someone had poured freezing water over his head. It took every bit of his control not to lose it. He turned stiffly towards her.

"That is not wise," He said in a low voice.

"It looks like it's the only option," she replied, her voice equally low. She managed to raise her eyes to his for a second, both of them painfully aware of the scrutiny they were under by the others.

Olrun let out a relieved sigh. "You have no idea how right you are." Cole could have killed them all where they stood. His fury was rising, pouring through his veins. He would not put her in harm's way again. Shane's eyes widened as she felt the power ripple off of him. She had underestimated his response to her decision.

"Don't get too cocky just yet," Shane said to Olrun. "I haven't said yes." Cole struggled to retain control. He needed to get out of this room. He needed to get her alone and talk some sense into her before any more damage was done.

"No, she hasn't," his voice was more threatening than he would have liked it to be but he was barely holding onto his power as it stands. "How can it possibly be that there is no other way in?"

Olrun tossed a thick report at Cole. "That's everything they could discover about the compound. We also have the blueprints of the place but that wont help at all unless we can get past their shields. See for yourself. If you can find another way, then by all means. I don't relish the idea of taking a mortal to war."

Cole took the report without looking at it. "We will take the day."

Landsman looked relieved. It seemed the promise of any kind of hope meant more than Cole had anticipated.

"I'll arrange for Shane's rooms," he said, moving towards the phone at his right.

"I'll be staying with Cole," she said firmly. Cole gave her a sideways look. He tried to trust her not to give them away. Landsman raised his eyebrows at her. She continued, "I'm not fool enough to think that you won't take measures to convince me otherwise if you don't like my answer. Hell if I'll be caught in one of your holes again."

"Very well. I'll order another bed brought it," Landsman said patiently, as if trying to soothe her into forgetting that they were perfectly willing to do just that. "Unless you don't need it."

Shane gave him a sneer that even Cole believed. "Don't add pervert to the long list of stellar attributes you already seem intent on accumulating." Cole was impressed despite himself. If he didn't know better it would seem that Shane had little interest in him beyond his protection. With that he turned to leave the room, Shane following behind him.

Iris caught up to them at the end of the hall, "May I please come to call early this evening after you've rested? I need to speak with you both."

Cole looked at Shane, who shrugged. He nodded at Iris and quickly guided Shane back to his rooms, closing the outer door firmly behind him and drawing her away from any prying ears.

"Are you insane?" he hissed, trying to keep his voice low. "What are you thinking? You can't go up against an army of werewolves single handedly."

Shane gave him a patient look. "It looks like there aren't many other options. How are you supposed to end this war if I don't help? And if you don't how are we ever going to be really safe?"

"That is not the issue. We will find another way. I'll find another way." Cole fumed. He was not going to let her do this. Shane felt her temper rising and opened her mouth to snap at him when a knock sounded at the door. Cole stomped over and let in the attendants who brought in a smaller bed, dumped it in the corner of the sitting room and fled. Cole's anger rippled around him making the air waver.

Shane turned her back to him, letting her emotions settle down. She wanted to tell him to stop patronizing her, and telling her what to do but that wasn't the source of all this turmoil inside her. She dug further, trying to examine why she felt this need to do this, to do what she could. She didn't owe anyone anything. She didn't need to protect these vampires. She had come back to help Elise and so she had. Maybe Cole had been right about running, making a break for the hills. But he had also told her about how strong this movement was, how much they had to lose if they didn't stop them. She felt her heart twist at the thought. She couldn't lose him.

She turned back to him, facing his rage and lowering the shield she had put up between them. She felt his pain and panic, his anger and frustration like a tide pool, swirling around her. In return she tried to convey to him her heartbreak at the thought of losing him. Cole looked into her eyes, his violent emotions began to pull back from her. He swore and closed the distance between them, wrapping her in his arms and holding her against his chest. She buried her face in his chest, reaching her arms around him and holding there for a moment.

"I can't lose you," she said into his shirt.

"You won't," he said back.

"You can't promise that. What happens if you go out there without being able to get past their security? You even said it would be suicide. Then what would happen to me?" Shane pulled back and looked him squarely in the eyes. She took a deep breath. Part of her warred with what she was about to say, not wanting to open up that far, to let him see how deep her anguish went. But now was not the time to hold back. "You are the only thing I have in this world. If anything were to happen to you there would be nothing left. Don't keep me from fighting. You have to let me help."

Cole held her gaze. She felt the same heartbreaking thought run through his body. "And if something happens to you? How am I supposed to keep on living?" Shane ran her fingers through his hair.

"You can't just choose a new person to become? One without me?" Shane said it before she realized how painful the answer might be.

Cole's eyes bore into hers. She could feel the truth pulse through his chest to hers when he said, "No, never again."

For a moment they held there, clasped in each other's arms like two condemned souls searching for some last bit of salvation in each other's eyes.

"You'll just have to come up with a really good plan," Shane said finally.

Cole sighed, bringing his lips to her forehead. "Get some sleep okay?" Shane nodded and made her way to the smaller bed that now stood at the far end of the sitting room.

"What about you?" she yawned as she stripped to her t-shirt and crawled into bed.

"I don't need nearly as much sleep as I've been getting thanks to you," he said, making his way to the couches where the reports lay, waiting for him. "Besides, no time like the present and all that." He paused, listening as she snuggled into the bed and her breathing slowed down. He tried not to look too long at her peaceful face; it would do her no good if he gave in and went to join her.

***

Thanks for reading! Again, comments and criticisms welcome. I hope to get at least one more chapter up as September barrels towards me.