The Council Ch. 15

He didn't wait for Daniel to respond; instead he turned his gaze to the vampire army in front of him. His eyes ran slowly over the assembled group, recognising a few of them. "This Council is declared void," he said in the same deadly tone. "Stand with them and you will die here this day. Leave now and I will forget all who stand before me. The choice is yours."

"You don't have the power or the authority to declare anything void, Caleb," Roberto snarled softly his body quivering in fury. "We are the Council. We are the ruling body of the vampires."

Caleb snorted loudly, a feint smile tugging at his lips. "No, you are cowards hiding behind your own people for your own petty ends," he retorted acidly. "The remaining Council members stand before you, three against two. They side against you. Their vote defeats yours and they stand with me. It is you who should back down if you truly follow our ways. Instead you will incite a civil war among our people."

Daniel's face flushed red with fury. "Andrei mates with a wolf, a stinking dog! He is no longer a Council member. He has broken all our laws. His vote counts for nothing. Is he even a vampire anymore? What has this mating turned him into?" There was a low murmur among the assembled vampires at his words.

Caleb ran his eyes slowly around the room. Some of the vampires shifted uncomfortably under his gaze, some wore hardened expressions as he and Daniel used a war of words to claim their allegiance. It was unfortunate that the Elder had guessed about the matings. It would have made his task a little easier if he hadn't thrown that fact out there.

"The time for change is here, Daniel," Caleb said quietly. "You can either try to stop it or you can embrace it. Think about what you do here this day. Vampire against vampire when it isn't required if we come together as a people. It's time to re-join the rest of the world and stop holding ourselves apart as if we're somehow superior."

A few of the vampires peeled away from the group as Caleb spoke, moving to sit on the benches surrounding the main audience chamber, declaring themselves as spectators from that moment on. Daniel was hissing with fury at their defection while Caleb was trying not to show his relief. A full dozen had declared themselves neutral, strengthening the odds in the Ancient's favour.

"Mating with Weres is an abomination," Daniel declared loudly, his tone dripping with disgust. "Andrei Romanov is no longer a vampire, he's been infected by the dogs. Nors Eriksson has a dog too in his home. Most probably he has mated with her. The Ancients have betrayed our people. We must cleanse our ranks of this infection and ensure it never happens again."

There was a loud roar of support from the vampires standing with him, fangs bearing, talons clicking together loudly.

Demetri turned to look at Caleb and rolled his eyes. "Can we get this over and done with?" he asked in a loud mock whisper. "He's really starting to piss me off and I've got better things to do with my time." He let his glacial green eyes travel over the line of vampires before him, settling on the largest and most belligerent vampire he could find.

"He's mine," he smiled softly, his eyes flashing with barely concealed excitement. It had been a long time since he had been able to let his more feral side loose and he was looking forward to putting the vampires in their place.

Caleb met Daniel's gaze for a moment longer and then sighed in resignation. "So be it, Daniel. Anyone who wishes to change their mind need only remove themselves from the fight. Be clear on this though, if you stand with Daniel you will die here today."

There was a moment's hushed silence as both sides faced each other off.

"Just in case anyone's interested, I'm 'infected' too," Alexei growled softly, an unrepentant smile on his face. "So anyone who wants to 'cleanse' me can go right ahead and give it a try."

He turned to grin at his brother who had stayed remarkably silent throughout the entire conversation between Caleb and Daniel. Their gaze met and they nodded silently at each other.

Andrei had held his peace through the war of words. He had let the insults and baiting wash over him. Any other day he would have been furious, incited to kill whoever was disrespecting him. Today he put aside his own feelings as he concentrated on what his Loretta was going through. Her pain and anguish was a thousand times worse than any insult he could take at the petty words being banded about the room.

He had only two goals in mind. Kill Daniel and Roberto and then go get his mate. He would have preferred to get his mate and take her home but there was work that was required to be done first, bloody, murderous work.

The twins moved first, quickly, deadly and in perfect synchronisation. They both leapt high into the air, flying across the heads of the assembled vampires, directing themselves straight at Daniel and Roberto. Their bodies sailed gracefully through the air, talons out, eyes as black as death, hair flowing wildly at the speed of their movement.

Andrei targeted Daniel, Alexei went for Roberto. A split second later they were both blocked by others throwing themselves between them and the Council members. Bodies intersected them, talons flashing towards them as they started their downward arc like angels of death.

Andrei instantly decapitated the first vampire within his reach, blood spraying high into the air as the body fell lifeless to the floor. He was immediately knocked off balance by two other Elders crashing into him, sending him straight down into the heaving mass of vampires beneath him.

Alexei spun to see his brother go down, kicking out at the Elder that was almost on top of him. His kick increased his momentum and he shot up higher, his keen gaze quickly searching the area below him until he spotted Andrei. With a feral snarl, he angled his body towards his twin and dived into the swell of vampires trying to contain Andrei.

The room erupted in sound as the two side clashed together in a flurry of speed and feral snarls. Demetri found his target, talons slashing viciously to rake down the Elder's face. He spun to the left, his foot lashing out to catch the vampire in the stomach even as he moved behind the disorientated man.

The vampire was only momentarily stunned though and quickly turned to face him, his talons raking down Demetri's chest. The Ancient hissed in surprise more than pain. He really must be slowing down if he allowed an Elder to get the better of him.

Still, this Elder was the largest vampire in the room bar Nors. That was the reason Demetri had singled him out. He wanted a challenge. He flew at the Elder, catching him squarely around the chest and pushing him backwards with the speed of his attack.

They crashed into some unoccupied benches, the wood splintering easily and sending lethal shards around the room. One larger piece pierced straight through the neck of one of Daniel's vampires and he dropped to the ground in agony.

Demetri wasn't paying much attention though; he was too busy with the Elder he was fighting. He could feel his temper rising, he could feel himself dancing the fine line between his feral side and his humanity. A sharp stab of pain in his stomach alerted him to the fact he had underestimated his opponent.

He raked his talons down the Elder's face again, slicing through the side of his mouth. The other man shrieked loudly and hurled Demetri away from him. The move was unexpected and the Ancient connected painfully with the wall, tiles and plaster raining down all around him.

"Fuck!" Demetri roared, his temper snapping completely. He heard an anguished cry and saw Stephan go down under a pile of vampires. Cristoph was wading in to help him; the twins were surrounded by half of Daniel's army. Caleb and the rest of their crew were tearing vampires limb from limb to the sound of agonised cries and the scent of hot dripping blood on the air.

The scene was carnage and he'd had enough! Demetri crossed over to the dark side. A chill ran through his body, his eyes black, and his talons longer and sharper. His gaze trapped the huge Elder he had been fighting with and he pointed one long talon at him and smiled a slow, dead smile. "Time to die," he hissed quietly.

The Elder tried to defend himself but he was stunned at the death that slowly walked towards him. He'd never see anything like it before in his long life. A hum seemed to go through the room, a hum of unchecked dark power. It was the last thought he had. The Ancient moved so impossibly fast that not even the Elder saw him move.

Demetri smiled slowly, holding his prize in his hand as he watched the body before him crash to the bloody tiles beneath them. He opened his fist and let the head land on top of the body. "Yours I believe," he whispered softly, his black eyes flashing wildly as his black hair swayed as he turned to find his next target.

Caleb felt the hum of dark power, turned his head to see Demetri had transformed. The darkness pulled at him and he let it overtake him, let his humanity fade away to be replaced by the monster that lived within him. He turned to see Nors transform too, his friend appearing more wild and manic than he'd ever seen him.

Nors too was trying to reach the Council members. He wanted them just as badly as Andrei did but he had a wall of other vampires to get through. Not that they were going to stop him from reaching his target. He had barely any control left though he tried to hold onto his sanity. He had changed to the dark side but the wolf gene within him was interfering with his feral nature. He couldn't fully cross over because the wolf part wanted control too.

It sparked a wildness within him that he didn't know how to contain. His age and enhanced speed and strength gave him an advantage. His fury at his mate being taking from him turned that advantage into an almost homicidal rage.

He scythed through the vampires before him as if they were nothing. He didn't even stop to see if he had killed them. He just wanted them out of his way so he could reach the Council members. They had taken his mate from him. Had they hurt her? Had they laid their hands on his Ashleigh? He couldn't call to Freya. He couldn't asked the question of his sister. If she told him Ashleigh was hurt then he would lose the tenuous hold on what was left of his sanity.

He needed to stay lucid. He needed to kill Daniel and Roberto. Only then could go to Ashleigh. He couldn't go to her until he could devote all of himself to taking care of her. He couldn't be divided in his goal right now and it broke his heart to have to wait to save his wolf. His only consolation was Freya was with her and would look after her as she had promised him.

The wolf inside him raged at not going to their mate. It howled in fury but the vampire within him was so much stronger and easier to contain. Nors swallowed down the cold, hard rage inside himself. He would achieve his goal and then he would recover his wolf and God help anyone if even a hair was harmed on her head.

Caleb took the head of another Elder, quickly running his eyes over the room. Nors was unstoppable, pressing closer and closer to the two Council members. Andrei and Alexei were paired up with at least five other Elders surrounding them. He was about to go to their aid when he saw Demetri drop down beside them.

All around them there was the scent of blood, the screams of the wounded and the dying, body parts littering the once white marble floor. He turned to face two Elders as they approached, prepared to kill them even though he didn't really want to. They paused, staring impassively at him for a long moment, and then they peeled away and removed themselves from the fight by joining the other spectators.

The fighting was ferocious, bloody and very brutal. It was plain that it wouldn't last long either. Already a significant part of The Council's army was either dead or had declared themselves out of the fight. The sight of the Ancients in full vampiric mode, as well as Andrei and Alexei joining them, seemed to halt most of the surviving army before them.

Shocked, stunned faces watched as the Ancients danced a macabre dance of death almost effortlessly through the remaining fighting vampires. The power coming off them was tangible, the ease with which they took each life frightening.

Daniel was screaming orders at his army, fighting back some of Caleb's crew as his army disintegrated around him. They were boxed into a corner almost, Nors coming from one side, the Romanovs and Demetri from the other. The sheer power exuding from them was like nothing he had ever witnessed before.

"Sweet Jesus!" Roberto hissed at his side, his voice both awed and terrified as they watched death creep ever closer. "What the fuck are they, Daniel?"

"We are the Ancients," Caleb answered from just in front of them. He included Andrei and Alexei in his words. They were so close to Ancient status that it didn't really matter anymore to define them as Elders. They were as powerful as any of the Ancients in the room.

"You seriously should have listened to me, Daniel," Caleb continued though he didn't approach the Council members any closer. "Your death would have been quick and painless and others would have been spared. You were always destined to lose. You were just to stupid to see it."

Demetri reached Caleb's side and inclined his head slightly towards his friend. "You're not going to intercede?" he asked, his voice cold and lifeless.

Caleb's cold gaze swept over Andrei and Alexei as they finished despatching the last stragglers who refused to concede defeat. "Andrei deserves justice," he answered quietly.

Demetri snorted, letting go of the dark side and reverting back to his normal state. "Justice or vengeance?" he laughed softly, his green eyes hard as he regarded the Council members before them.

"Sometimes they're the same thing, Demetri," Caleb sighed, letting go of his feral side too. "I will not take away from him what he needs to do. He and Loretta have been wounded gravely by these two, as have our people. They made their decision. Now they get to deal with the consequences of it."

He turned away just as Nors stiffened and dropped the vampire he was holding. Agony blazed across his face as his head turned wildly, searching anxiously around the room. Caleb blurred over to his friend immediately.

***** Loretta stroked Ashleigh's hair gently as Freya continued to feed her blood to her. It was painfully obvious that with each passing moment the little blonde was fading further and further away. The blood wasn't working anymore. Whatever damage was done inside was just too severe to be healed by merely ingesting vampire blood.

"Can't you do anything else?" she asked the vampire, fighting back more tears. She'd never been one to cry but she found herself unable to stop as she gazed down at Ashleigh. Her friend had sacrificed herself to save her baby. She was so young and had been through a world of hurt already. She didn't deserve to die like this. She had so much living to do.

"I'm doing all I can," Freya ground out through clenched teeth. She could feel herself becoming weaker by giving up so much of her blood. What more did the stupid dog want her to do? She couldn't heal Ashleigh internally. Only Nors could do that. They would never be together if she intervened and that would wound her brother so much.

Ashleigh pulled her mouth weakly away from the vampire's wrist. She knew she had all but run out of time. The pain was starting to abate now. Her body was going numb and beginning to shut down.

"Freya," she whispered weakly trying to raise her hand to touch the vampire but being too weak to do so. "Keep him safe. Keep him alive." Her voice trailed off as her breath caught in her throat. She struggled to take the next breath. It was painful and almost impossible but she managed to drag more air through her lungs.

The vampire stared down at the fragile wolf in her arms. Even now as she struggled for breath, Ashleigh's first thought was for Nors. The love for her brother was etched on the dying wolf's face. Her heart softened a little bit more for the brave little wolf she cradled close.

"Nors, get down here now!" she called urgently with her mind. "Hurry! There is no time left. I can't save her, Nors. Only you can!"

"Ashleigh!"

Nors' terrified cry sounded loudly in Freya's head. His pain and anguish ripped through her and she had to hunch over as it pierced her so strongly. Tears gathered in her eyes as she pressed her wrist back to the wolf's mouth, forcing more blood into her. She would keep the wolf alive somehow until he could get here. She couldn't let him down. There would be no saving him if Ashleigh died.

"Nors comes," she crooned softly to the wolf. "You have been so strong and brave, Ashleigh. Stay with us a little longer. Hold on for him. He needs you so much!"

"Stay with us, Ash," Loretta sobbed brokenly. "Please, little one. Don't leave us." She brushed at her tears whispering words of hope to her friend, urging her not to give up her fight for life. She prayed to God that Nors got there soon. If he arrived too late...it was just unthinkable.

Nors eyes clouded with anguish as he dropped the vampire he was holding and spun around wildly. The vampire who was just about to attack him from behind was stopped by Caleb as he appeared from nowhere. He despatched the vampire quickly and turned to his friend.

"Ashleigh," Nors whispered in a haunted voice. "She's dying."

"Go to her," Caleb said brusquely. "Save her!" He was particularly fond of the little blonde wolf and didn't want anything to happen to her. It would kill Nors and it would hurt his Annie too as she had adopted the wolf into her family.

Nors needed no second urging. He was gone streaking from the room at supernatural speed, down into the basement rooms. He ignored the dead vampires, ignored everything but the sight before him.

Ashleigh had no colour in her face at all. Her heart barely beat; her lips were covered in blood as Freya tried to keep her alive. A loud feral cry of anguish ripped from his lips as he dropped to his knees beside his precious woman.

"No, no, no, no!" he groaned over and over, pulling her from Freya's embrace and cradling her close. "Ashleigh," he whispered brokenly. "Don't leave me. Please don't leave me." He was crying and he didn't care. His wolf was dying, barely breathing anymore. He was losing his beautiful Ashleigh and the pain was unbearable.

Ashleigh smiled softly, feeling Nors' strong arms around her. He'd come! He always came when she needed him. Her beautiful vampire. She felt wetness on her face and slowly opened her eyes to see his face above hers, tears streaming unchecked down his cheeks. He looked so frantic, so anguished.

"Don't cry, Nors," she whispered softly, taking a deep shuddering breath. "I was strong and brave for you. I didn't tell them anything and I saved the baby." Her voice trailed off again as she fought for her next breath.

"You were always strong and brave, my Ashleigh," he whispered through his tears. "You just didn't know it. I'm so proud of you my wolf, so very, very proud of you. Now you have to be stronger and braver than any other time you've ever been. Forgive me for this but I can't let you go, love. You have to stay with me."

She stared up at him in confusion, not understanding his words or the sudden steely determination in his beautiful green eyes.

"Freya," he said quietly, flicking his eyes towards Loretta. His sister nodded imperceptively and rose to stand behind the other wolf.

Nors kissed Ashleigh gently, his hands roaming quickly over her broken body, searching for the site that he needed to reach inside her. "I love you, Ashleigh," he breathed against her lips a split second before he lengthened his talons and dug ruthlessly into her abdomen.