Romulus and Lyra tore through the soldiers with a ferocity echoed only in each other. Lyra integrated the lessons she'd picked up from Romulus's memories flawlessly and he matched his movements to hers. Together they performed a macabre ballet of flawless movement through the soldiers and guards. The differences in the caliber of their opponents was swiftly revealed as they applied the pressure only deadly force could bring to the surface.
The guards were competent for what they were hired for. To guard a building with politicians. Not to face down the likes of the two that faced them now with young power and ancient expertise. They parted underneath the onslaught as fluidly as water, many falling before their weapons were even drawn. There was sympathy in Lyra's eyes as her blades cut them down. Romulus' eyes held none. Where she hesitated, Romulus didn't.
The soldiers themselves were more challenging and made the attempt to organize. Battle formations and barriers erected from flipped over tables served them well until Lyra used the barrier to vault into their midst. Once there, she reeked havoc. The whirlwind of momentum and blades tore through them, leaving bodies in its wake. Romulus smiled as she slammed two into the ground as she landed for a second time. So beautiful. She smiled at him when she heard his thought. Her eyes were drawn to where they had begun. The doors had been left open and the wounded were stumbling out in a mindless effort to escape their wrath.
"Rome, let them go." Lyra said when she saw him glance back, tightening his sword. He inclined his head and pushed forward towards their goal.
Romulus narrowly reached the soldier at the door before Lyra and stopped, remembering the wager they had made before they'd begun. He missed the feeling of silk and the fire his mates lit inside him. He tossed back blood-soaked hair with a twinkle in his dark eyes, spraying the wall with cast off of blood. He smiled at the man then knelt and began adjusting his boot. The bewildered soldier decided to take the opportunity and sliced down towards his neck. Lyra's blade sliced the man's head off and his sword clattered to the ground harmlessly. Romulus lifted his head with a feigned alarm, his hand falling away from his own sword. He smiled when he saw Lyra and stood.
"Ah, my hero," he said with a laugh. She hit his arm then ran her hand over the muscles appreciatively.
"Now, I know you lost on purpose." she accused. He shrugged underneath the weight of her feigned glare, unrepentant.
"What can I say? I enjoy being at the mercy of my mates."
The accusatory look dissipated as her grin broke through at his admission. "You don't have to lose a bet to get that." She glanced towards the doors they were in front of. "You know this is likely a trap, don't you?"
"Of course I do. It's the only reason why the doors stayed closed while we were out here making all kinds of noise. I smell magic as well. Focus on getting Remus and Arion out if we get separated." The unconscious command in his voice had her eyebrows raising slightly.
"I'll find you then we can get them. How do we rise or fall?" she corrected, her eyes glinting with a determined light. He smiled slightly. They suited so well. Neither was very good at taking orders.
"Together." he replied, snagging her hand to kiss then licking the blood from his lips. A twinge of heat rippled through her blood, surprising them both. His voice deepened slightly, fangs peaking past his lips. "Now that's something to think on later. My tongue licking blood off your..."
"Focus on the battle," she chided in a husky voice. He sighed, worried irritation flashing through.
"Ah, yes. My plans for a pleasure filled evening foiled once again by my brother's foolishness."
They each took a door handle and pulled the oaken doors open wide.
"Rome, no it's a trap!!" Romanus shouted as the red fog descended on them both.
The light around them faded and when it came back, Romulus recognized a familiar scent. Sex and blood. He blinked away the fog and saw that he was in an opulent Roman courtyard, much like the one he had been kept in. When he looked closer, he realized something.
It wasn't like the courtyard he'd been kept in. It was the courtyard, complete with those he'd shared it with. The air sang with birdsong and the sighs of those being pleasured. The delicate blue lotus flowers floating in the bath sent a heavy intoxication into the air. His life as he'd known it once. A calmer time. A more peaceful time. Lethargy caused by the lotus seeped into him.
As the rapid urgency that had gripped him in the battle faded, he struggled to remember. What had he been doing? He glanced down then took a drink from the cup in his hand. The harem was given only the finest wine and blood but this tasted bland. As if he was accustomed to better. He tossed the cup aside. The sweet smoke from the pipes and burning coals in their silver trays made his head start to swim. He knew that smell. A part of him craved that flowery smell. That terrible bliss the nectar would bring him. Terrifying and wonderful memories swam through his mind as someone tossed more lotus petals on the coals. As the familiar craving rose, so did the fear. Romulus looked around.
Antares. Lyra. Where were they? He paused for a moment, confused as his memory wavered. Who were they? Whoever they were, he had to find them. It would be alright then. He swallowed hard when the desire rose inside him as one of the other occupants slid against him. It would be alright then. They would make everything alright.
Alarm began surging through him as he pushed through what seemed an ever growing multitude of writhing bodies. The overheated musk clung to his skin and his senses yet he remained focused. He had to find them. He had to get to them. They needed him. He needed them. A low growl went through him as one of the men ran hands over his stomach. Romulus shoved him away. When the man returned, Romulus snapped his neck. He then turned blood red eyes to the soldier on guard.
"Where are they?" he snarled. A whisper went through his mind as his rage began to grow unchecked. Rise or fall.....
Lyra walked through the doors and stepped back into her apartment. It was silent and vibrant with the grief she felt. It was a punch to the chest that had tears welling up in her eyes. Where was the life? The sound? Where was his voice singing? Raspy laughter and blue eyes floated through her mind only to be swallowed by the fog in her mind.
She remembered then. It was gone. She was alone. She would always be alone.
No.
That wasn't right. She didn't feel alone. She put a hand over her heart. When she was alone, her heart ached with a numbing fear. It pulsed strong underneath her hand, reminding her that she was alive. But she was alone. Alone because her sister didn't care enough. Had left her. Everyone had left her.
Lyra shook her head again. Her sister had died in her lover's arms. Why would Lyra think she didn't care? Where had that come from?
Did it matter? Did anything matter? Lyra blinked disoriented as the kitchen melted and spun around her. She was in the bedroom with the note apologizing for the mess in her hand. She tossed it down onto the bed and walked towards the bathroom haltingly.
Oh yeah. It was that night. The night she'd promised herself. She walked over to the medicine cabinet and pulled out the razors, tears welling up in her eyes. She had come alone to an empty apartment after the night out. The last night out. Her last night.
You're not alone.... A melodic male voice whispered through her memory. She looked around. Yes, she was.
Antares shook his head to clear it as he walked down the street. He went with long strides and a fast pace, unease building. A strange fog was creeping through the bond. He had flashes of a campfire and a cave. It reminded him of when he had been helping Rome pull out of his addiction...
Erick put a hand on his shoulder, jolting him out of it for a moment. "You ok?" That's when he realized he had stopped. Tav and a few of the others were ranged around him. Antares smiled a little shakily and nodded. Resuming his former pace, he swallowed hard. That day had been one he never wanted to repeat. The day he'd had to use every bit of his magic and limited healing skill to save the man he loved. His worst memory. The fog. The bond. It clicked in his mind and a low growl rumbled in his chest, causing the men with him to pause cautiously.
"They need us, now." he said with a snarl and started running. Tav and Erick struggled to keep up but soon fell behind as the full power of the unbound incubus surged through him. His voice broke free as soldiers started taking shots at him. His bright blue magic whipped around him as balls of lightning, bringing all those he passed to their knees with orgasmic cries. Tav and Erick slowed as they saw the effect not differentiating between people.
"I get it now." Erick said softly. Tav glanced at him questioningly. "Why all those outside his family fear him. I get it. He said he was the most effective defense his home had and he's right."
"And if we don't stop him, he'll spiral out of control before he reaches them." Tav said harshly.
"They'll bring him back regardless of how far gone he is." Erick returned, beginning to jog now that Antares was far enough ahead of them. Tav followed suit but shot him a doubtful look. "You haven't been there to see how they function together. They could rule the world if they wanted to. And the world would adore them for it."
They began passing people with dazed expressions. Tav went for his sword when they saw the soldiers stumbling out of the building. Erick stopped him.
"Don't make him party to their death."
Tav hesitated then nodded. Then knocked them out.
As they kept jogging, a shadow passed over them.
**
Antares reached the hall and slowed his pace as he mounted the steps. The building rose up in front of him. Before the Awakening it had been a grand courthouse. The largest in the country with stained glass windows of a blindfolded woman holding a sword that would cast a golden glow as the light struck it. Large columns towered over them all, holding up a white marbled roof. It was an architectural marvel but now it was the scene of a battleground. The groaning of the wounded echoed throughout the building. Bystanders were starting to come out of their houses to gawk at the bodies that his mates had left in their wake. He looked at one glassy eyed wounded soldier and spoke a greeting softly. The man's head jerked around instantly and he stumbled towards Antares like a moth to flame.
"Where are they?" The soldier pointed towards the thrown open doors of the main chamber at the far end of the entry way.
"How did you do that?" the man stammered out as Antares passed by him. He grabbed at Antares. "How did you make the screaming stop?"
Antares stroked a hand over his arm as he pulled away. "They were never there." he replied. Stepping over and around the bodies, Antares kept walking until he stood in the doorway where the carnage ended. His electric blue eyes swept over the scene before any of them noticed him standing in the large doorway. Large chandeliers lit the center of the room with the rest of the room remaining in shadow. First, where were they?
Lyra and Romulus were separated and standing on opposite sides of the open center where those who were granted an audience would have stood. His blood boiled hot when he sensed the sparkling strands of smoky red magic twined about the both of them, holding them in place. Magic heavy with illusion if he remembered his training. He recognized that glazed look in his lover's eyes. And the heartache in Lyra's. The illusion of their life without him. That's what his heart told him.
His mind couldn't reach them, but he pushed his love towards them anyway. "We rise and fall together, my loves. You are not alone. I am here."
He turned his focus to the others in the room. Garnet and Lucille sat on a dais by the grand fireplace, talking quietly. There were no guards or soldiers here. Just a man in long black robes that crackled with the same magic that ensnared Romulus and Lyra. A magic wielder of great skill would make guards or soldiers superfluous.
Antares knew that such a man would have wards against his kind of magic. He could ensnare him but it would take more time than his mates had. So, the women would be the key to freeing Lyra and Rome. They had no such protections. His eyes fell on a furiously struggling Romanus, whose eyes were locked on his brother. Arion was the calmer of the two, for a change. He was braced to soften whatever blow hit Romanus. Antares knew that look well.
"Rome, don't take it! It's all a trick!" Romanus shouted. Antares' eyes shot back to Romulus, who was in front of a table filled with sickeningly familiar paraphernalia. Rome sipped something then tossed it to the side. He looked towards Lyra and the table in front of her that had blades and pills. Her hands hovered over the blades.
He stepped forward, causing all eyes to go towards him. "I've come for my mates and their family. Whom should I speak to about this? I understand that this was once a council. I wish to address them."
Romanus looked over, relieved. "They dismissed the council." he called. "Too much infighting. And no one wanted to stand against Rome except for...." Magic lashed out from Garnet, briefly silencing the vampire.
She stood furiously and looked towards the man in robes. "That was supposed to ensnare him as well, Captain!" she snapped. Antares laughed as the man's face stiffened.
"Don't hold that against him, darling girl. He did try. Illusions run through an incubus' blood."
Her eyes narrowed. "So you're saying..."
"I'm saying that I used illusions for toys as a child. If he had the finest ingredients, most powerful wards, and a full coven of pure royal blooded witches the most he could do is make me a bit drowsy. If I had already had a long night." He turned suddenly steely eyes towards the man. "Release them, Captain. Or find your dear Lieutenant Commander and the mistress she controls on their knees in front of me begging me to just look at them again."