Philodox, page 15
part #1 of The Delaney Jones Chronicles Series
“I am not a prince, I am The Prince.” She stared at me. “The only way to become The Prince is to remove the current Prince from office. Forcibly.”
“Oh,” I said, my voice small. “Whoops.” I sat back in my chair. “Um, I didn't mean to make things super awkward or anything, I was just asking a question. I was thinking less let's kill you and take over the city, and more hey, if Damon is a prince too, does that mean we get to live in a castle. Don't worry, nobody's killing anybody, at least not on our end. Unless you count the Black Walker, because I'm totally planning on kicking his ass, but you and me? We're totally cool.” I grabbed Damon's wrist and checked his watch. “In fact, speaking of the Black Walker, we should probably get going. We're supposed to meet them in an hour.” I stood up. “Again, real sorry about that whole making you think we were planning on killing you thing.”
“Go ahead and wait for me at the car, Delaney, okay? Damon said. “I'll be out in just a minute.”
“Sounds good. See you guys later.” I gave a quick wave, then practically ran out of there. Talk about putting my foot in my mouth. As if Damon would want to take over the city! He hadn't even been turned for a month yet, and they thought the first thing he was going to do was kill the Prince and become the new leader? Vampires were so weird.
There weren't any new cars in the parking lot, so I assumed Damon ran here. He was still getting used to his powers and liked to practice, so I wasn't surprised. I climbed into the car I'd borrowed from Jeanette and rolled down the window to wait for Damon to finish his conversation and join me. I stuck the key in the ignition and turned it just enough for the radio to turn on. Queen's “We Will Rock You” was playing, and I turned that volume knob as far as it could go and started singing along at the top of my lungs – which was my excuse when I didn't notice the vampire appear suddenly at my car window and I jumped so high that I hit my head on the ceiling of the car.
To his credit, Ray Traylor did not laugh at me. He did smirk, though, and I have no idea if it was because he was amused by how high I jumped or by how red my face was, and I wasn't going to ask. Instead, I turned the volume down and started yelling. “Jeez, I think it's high time we create some sort of city ordinance that forces you vampires to wear a bell around your neck or something! Don't you guys know how to do anything that doesn't involve sneaking up on people and giving them heart attacks? Announce yourself once in awhile!”
“And miss hearing your rendition of such a good song? Besides, aren't you supposed to have excellent hearing?” He leaned against the door and stared at me with that unblinking gaze that some of the vampires liked to use. I often wondered if they didn't realize how creepy it was when they did that, or if they did it on purpose to try to be more intimidating. Judging from what I knew about them, I was willing to bet that the vampires did it on purpose.
“I do have excellent hearing,” I muttered. “I also should have smelled the stink of your cologne from about a hundred miles away.”
“Ooooh, testy. Someone is in a mood this evening. Maybe I won't help you out, after all.”
I frowned up at him. “Help me with what?”
“Well I heard tell of some sort of complications with a certain plan you might have put together in order to rid yourself of a problem tonight. So, of course I had to immediately drop everything to hunt you down and warn you, and this is the thanks I get.” He shook his head and sighed. “A pretty little thing like you, and all your little friends, too. No idea what you're getting into. Such a shame.”
I put on my biggest smile and fluttered my eyelashes at him. In a voice so syrupy sweet I could have given myself a toothache, I tried not to inject too much sarcasm. “I didn't mean it. I actually think your cologne stinks real pretty. Now, won't you please tell me your big news?”
“Well, since you asked so nicely, I'll tell you. It looks like the Order of the Roman is back in town.”
The passenger door of the car opened up and I jumped again as Damon sat down. I was pretty sure I was the worst werewolf in existence at this point. I muttered under my breath about bells, and Damon gave me a puzzled look. He nodded a greeting at Ray, then asked, “What's the Order of the Roman?”
Ray tilted his head at Damon, looking momentarily confused. “Jeanette didn't tell you?”
I flinched and threw my arms up dramatically to block Damon's access to Ray's throat. “He didn't mean it! Don't hurt him!” I yelled.
I couldn't see the expression on Ray's face, since I was facing Damon, but it must have been a good one, because Damon started laughing. “It's okay, she's just trying to be funny.”
I gasped, and put a hand over my heart, wounded to the very core of my being. “Trying?!”
Damon grinned at me and rolled his eyes, then turned his attention back to Ray. “Seriously, though, what's the Order of the Roman?”
I sat back in the seat and also looked at Ray. “Yeah, what's the Order of the Roman, and why did you have to drop everything and come tell me about them?”
Sometime during our exchange, Ray had moved away from the car door. He was now about three arm lengths away from the window, and was no longer wearing his easy smile. Instead, he was on high alert, eyeing Damon and me like we were dangerous animals. It took him a few seconds, but he did eventually relax and move back to his previous spot by my window. I gave him a puzzled look, which he ignored. “In a nutshell, the Order of the Roman is a group of humans that pop up every now and again in various parts of the world to annoy us. They hate all things supernatural, and believe it's their duty to rid the world of any creature that isn't human. They think we're all evil.” He grinned in such a way that gave no doubt what he thought about that. “They've been in town for a while now, and even attacked a couple of vampires already. I came to tell you, once I heard you were planning on bringing some of your friends along to your fight.”
I turned to Damon. “Can you guys read each other's minds or something? Is there some sort of vampire hotline that all vampires have access to 24/7? How does every vampire in this city know what I'm going to do before I know what I'm going to do? I only just asked the Prince if it was okay. Like, I literally just left the building and he appeared, apparently knowing everything. How is that possible?”
Damon shrugged at me. “We are vampires, Delaney. We know all and we see all.”
“Oh yeah?” I gave him the finger. “Did you know I was going to do that?”
I swear I heard Ray laugh, but when I whipped my head back around to glare at him, he was staring at me, straight faced and innocent. “Okay,” I said. “This order?”
“Well, they're all human, obviously, but don't let that fool you into thinking they're harmless. The members are pretty much trained from birth to do nothing but kill, and they are so fanatical about it that they aren't afraid to use methods that hurt themselves or others, like explosives. They once blew up an entire section of a mall during a busy weekend, just to get one vampire.” He shook his head. “They hate us, and they're nuts, so it's not a great combination. Plus, they're humans, so there's about a million of them.”
“They hate werewolves, too?”
Ray nodded. “Everything. They even hate humans that associate with the supernatural, though they don't seem to go out of their way to kill them. Anyway, they're usually just this annoying nuisance that we have to deal with every once in awhile, but when I heard they were hanging around, I thought you should know.” He gave me another one of his wicked grins. “And, since me and a couple of my guys aren't really doing anything this evening, I thought we'd help you out a little bit and keep an eye on things. You know, make sure that you don't have any extra problems to deal with.”
“Aww, Ray, you know you're my favorite vampire, right?” Damon cleared his throat. “Aww, Ray, you know you're my second favorite vampire, right?” I glanced down at the clock on the dashboard. “We better get a move on, the wolves will be here any minute now.” I turned the key in the ignition and the vehicle purred to life. “I'll see you at the plant, then?”
Ray chuckled. “Well, Delaney Jones, I'm pretty good at what I do, so you probably won't see me at all. But I'll be there, don't you worry.” Then I blinked, and he was gone.
I turned to Damon. “You really need to learn how to do that.”
“I can already do that!”
“Well, you should do it more often. It would make you look much cooler.” I put the car in drive and we headed for the plant.
We parked at the agreed upon meeting place, which was the bottom floor of a parking garage about three blocks from the plant. Its close vicinity to the river was the main reason it was chosen – that, and the fact that this building was the last building on the road that led straight to the plant. Rast wanted to be sure we reduced the amount of casualties, just in case things got out of hand, but also wanted the river nearby so all the wolves would have easy access upon arrival, and an escape route in case of retreat. Rast and Leif were already there waiting when Damon and I pulled up, so we climbed out of the car and headed over.
“Ah, Delaney! Good, you have arrived.” Rast gestured to the man standing next to him. “This is...”
“Leif.” I interrupted. “We've met, actually.” I gave him a smile, and he stepped forward to envelop me in a hug so tight my feet left the ground. “Oh! Okay. Yes, hello. Good to meet you in person.” I patted his back and he set me down.
Rast looked amused. “You have already met? This is good. I hope you will count on Leif to help you in the future. He is really very skilled.” He glanced back at the river. “Ah, here we go. Just in time. The others are arriving.” He took my arm. “Come with me, please.”
A short hop over the cement barricade, and we were on the bank of the river, from which people were just starting to appear. I recognized quite a few of them from the Caern: Farrah, Raven, her brother Jakob, and the Baxter twins were the first to appear. I was expecting them, and happy they were willing to help take care of the beast. However, as I watched, more and more wolves started to appear. I thought there couldn't possibly be any more room on the bank of the river for a single other person, but still they came.
Rast smiled at my expression and patted my arm. “It is fairly difficult to keep a werewolf from a fight. We actually had to insist that some stay behind to protect the Caern and the cubs that are too small to join us.”
“You mean this isn't everyone?” There had to be over a hundred people milling around in various states of preparation. Some were stretching and flexing, others were checking arrows and bowstrings, and there were even a few who were testing instruments and checking bags filled with some sort of powder. Everyone was chatting happily, though. We wolves were a noisy bunch. “How do you decide who gets to come and who has to stay behind?”
Farrah joined us at that moment. “It involves quite a bit of rock, paper, and scissors.” She gave me a huge hug, then held me out at arm's length and gave me a once over. “You don't look too bad for someone who hangs out with vampires.”
“Hey!” Damon gave her his best offended look.
“Oh, hi Damon! I didn't see you there!” She grinned at him and gave him a hug, too, for good measure. “You know when I say vampires, I don't mean you.”
“Farrah, good. Is everyone here?” Rast asked her.
“Yes,” Farrah nodded. “Alex and Marie ran up ahead to scout things out and...” She pointed into the distance. “There they are now.”
We waited for them to arrive. Alex wasn't quite as short as I was, but it was close. He had dark hair, dark skin, and a kind smile which he offered as he and Marie (and yes, it was the same Marie that had brought me the message while I was at Jeanette's house) jogged up to where we were standing. “A few vampires, lots of beasts, and some humans,” Alex stated as a greeting.
“Humans?” Rast sounded surprised. “I thought we were certain this was a time when there would be no human workers present?”
“I don't think they're workers,” Alex shook his head. “Unless all the workers wear heavy armor, wield guns and are having some sort of rooftop party, because that's where they all are.”
“They could be members of the Order of the Roman,” Damon suggested. “Apparently, they’re a group of humans that despise all things supernatural and go out of their way to kill them whenever they find them. We were told earlier tonight that they might make an appearance.” Damon explained to the group what Ray had told us earlier.
When Damon finished, Rast frowned. “That is quite unfortunate. I had hoped to get through this evening without any casualties.” He stood silent for a moment, deep in thought. “This changes nothing,” he said after a minute. “Unfortunately, we cannot allow this opportunity to slip between our fingers. We will do our best to cause no harm to the misguided humans, but we have to do what we must to end the threat of the Black Walker.”
As everyone gathered around to receive their orders, I glanced down at Marie. When she caught me gazing at her, she frowned up at me. “You’re not going to say anything stupid, like what’s this little girl doing fighting in this battle, are you?”
I raised my eyebrows and smirked. “You’re standing next to me. Where on Earth could you possibly be safer?”
Farrah, standing on my other side, laughed. “Well, considering the Black Walker is here because of you, and is chasing you specifically, I would say she is simultaneously in the safest and yet most dangerous place she could be. Not that it matters, though, because she won’t be going into the heart of the battle.” She reached around me to ruffle Marie’s hair, laughing again when Marie tried to bite her. “Marie is more of a runner. She’ll relay messages when necessary, and she’ll also be of some help during the final banishing ritual.”
Marie scowled. “I could totally fight if I wanted to.”
“I believe you, Marie.” When she gave me a sharp look to see if I was serious, I made sure to convey that I wasn’t teasing. I must have been successful, because she seemed mollified. “I’m glad you’re here to help.” That got me a small smile, and when Rast made the signal to get started, she even gave me a little wave as she moved away.
Farrah grinned at me. “Well, it looks like you have a little diplomacy in you, after all.”
“I’ve got diplomacy coming out of my ears, girl. I’m the most diplomatic wolf you’ll ever meet.”
Damon snorted and I swatted at his arm. He didn’t even bother to move out of the way. “Shall we go solve your little problem now? Diplomatically?”
I frowned. “Screw diplomacy. Let’s go chop this thing into a bunch of little pieces and then light it on fire.”
Damon grinned and pulled his twin blades out of their sheaths, brandishing them with a little flourish. “I thought you’d never ask.”
The water treatment facility was completely fenced in, with a main gate that blocked the long driveway leading up to the front. The driveway was surrounded on both sides by large boulders that were tall enough that it made it feel a little bit like a tunnel. The gate was locked, but it didn’t take any effort to break the padlock and remove the chains. Damon pried open the gate wide enough for all of us to get through, then shut it behind him. As he was moving to join us, he suddenly froze. He tilted his head to the side, and then suddenly yelled, “Stop!”
Many of the wolves had already started to charge in, and at Damon’s sudden outburst, did their best to skid to a stop. The expressions on their faces were comical as they tried to avoid falling down or into each other. It would have been humorous, and I might have even laughed, if Damon hadn’t looked so serious. A few of them looked like they were about to give Damon a piece of their mind, but before anyone could say anything, Damon picked up a boulder nearly larger than me and tossed it onto the driveway a few yards in front of the first group of werewolves.
There was a loud explosion, and suddenly a very large crater appeared where the rock had landed. We all just kind of gaped at it stupidly for a second. Then I got really pissed off. “What the hell? Who are these Order of the Roman people that they’re booby trapping this place with bombs? Are they working with the Black Walker, or is this just an opportunity they’ve decided to take advantage of? And how did they know we were going to be here, anyway?” Before anyone could attempt to answer any of my questions, bullets started raining down on us. “Oh! Now they’re shooting at us? Do they know who they’re messing with?”
Even Rast looked annoyed, which surprised me enough that I stopped talking. “We don’t have time for this,” he muttered, making some sort of hand signal.
“I’ll take care of it,” Damon said, before completely disappearing. We were both right: he really could disappear like that, and it really was cool as hell.
Alex looked concerned as he squinted up at the rooftops. “There are at least ten of them up there, he might need…” He paused, his head tilting to the side and eyes widening slightly. “Never mind.”
A moment later, Damon was back. He appeared in nearly the same spot he had left, sheathing his swords behind his back, and trying to look modest. “All set,” he said, his voice betraying his excitement only a little bit. “Got some bugs incoming, though.” Rast nodded, made a hand signal, and the wolves charged in. I gave Damon a discrete high five, then we followed.
About half the wolves surrounded the building, while the other half went inside, searching for the Black Walker. By the time we got there, the door was blasted wide open and there were corpses everywhere. They looked similar to the bugs I fought in the spirit world, but they were just slightly larger and shaped a bit differently. These ones looked more like beetles, with a hard carapace and a soft underbelly, but they had more legs, and I could see some of them had antennae and even a few had wings. They were all dead, though, and judging from the sounds we could hear as we followed the trail of blood and guts and dead bodies, even more were dying. It was a little creepy, actually, because the wolves’ movements were silent, so while I couldn’t hear their steps on the stairs, or in the hallways, I could hear the growls and the grunts and the snapping of bones.
