"There's one place where the sun is shining," Ashe muttered, his voice stern. "I have to go there, anyway."
"What do you need?" Trajan asked.
"Will you carry Wildrif's body for me?"
"Sure."
Trajan stepped through blood and gore to reach the newly turned vampire, who slept the sleep of his new race, curled up in a corner.
* * *
"What the hell is that?" Winkler stared at the dome of light in the meadow where Ashe had taken him and the others.
"Armageddon," Ashe replied, his eyes going dark. "The crowns have gone to war. Place Wildrif's body here," he gestured with his hands at the grassy clearing surrounding him. "I have Wildrif shielded for the moment."
"I've never seen a vampire die in sunlight," Trajan said, dropping Wildrif's body on the grass.
"You'll see it now. Back away, I'm about to remove the shield."
"Ashe?" Sali reached out to touch Ashe's arm.
"Back away, Sal."
Trace pulled Sali backward, until he stood twenty feet away from Wildrif's body. Ashe raised his arm. Wildrif's body jerked in the bright sunlight and he screamed.
* * *
"Ace, I'm afraid." Wynn buried herself in Ace's arms.
"I know, baby. I don't know what to do about any of this."
* * *
"Do you think it's the end of the world?" Dori asked. She cringed as the hailstones falling on the roof became louder, hammering the shingles and denting any vehicles left outside. The wind had picked up as well, blowing lawn furniture, trash carts and debris down the flooded street.
"I don't know," Lavonna said. "I wish your father were awake. Right now, I want to crawl into his shelter with him."
"Mom, we can't take any chances with Daddy. We can't expose him to any sunlight," Cori said.
"Mrs. Anderson, we'll ride this out," Marco said, pulling Cori against him and wrapping his arms around her waist.
"I know."
* * *
"That's it? That's all there is? Man." Sali shook his head. Wildrif's screaming had been brief, thankfully, and only a dusting of ash remained.
"Responsible for many deaths," Ashe said, his voice a rumble. His eyes were still dark as stars shot through their depths. "I must deal with the rest of it now." He began walking purposely toward the dome of light.
"Ashe?" Winkler called softly, knowing he would hear.
Stay where you are, Ashe's mental voice carried a command.
"Stay here," Winkler directed as Trace and Trajan attempted to follow Ashe.
"What's he doing?" Sali asked softly. Ashe's image became smaller as he walked farther away from them.
"Winkler?" Trajan turned to his Packmaster. "I could have sworn we were only half a mile away from that," Trajan pointed to the dome of light. It now appeared to be more than a mile from where he stood.
"What's happening?" Trace rasped, as the distance seemed even further than it had seconds earlier.
"I don't know," Winkler said. "Wait—where's Ashe?"
"I can't see him," Sali howled.
* * *
Baltis couldn't blink. Couldn't move. He had no care for Friesianna, although he vaguely realized that the same must be true for her. Light bathed them, covered them, pulsed through them. He was barely aware that the members of both races, Bright and Dark, now surrounded them. All of them, willingly or not, had come. The gate, lying tantalizingly nearby, stayed shut. In some way, the crowns had seized it, just as they'd seized him and the Bright Queen. Inexorably, the crowns drew closer together, bringing Friesianna nearer and a terrible doom with her.
* * *
Rabis wanted to weep, but like the others surrounding him, he was held spellbound. Had he imagined that it might be this frightening? Struggling against the pull of the crowns, he attempted mindspeech. It echoed back to him, unsent. Not only were the crowns pulling Baltis and Friesianna closer together, the Elemaiya, Bright and Dark, were now being drawn in, too. Rabis took a step against his will. And then another. His moan was plucked away in a strand of light.
* * *
Still furious at the events that had brought her and Baltis together, Friesianna was unwillingly pulled forward. Only a few feet separated her from the Dark King, and that space was shrinking rapidly. The H'Morr hadn't described this—still she had no understanding of the crowns and why they seemed to be locked together. Wanting to curse, the force that held her prevented it. She wanted to blink at the blinding light gathered about her like a shroud and couldn't. Would she die? She cursed mentally at that thought and was forced forward another step.
* * *
A tear coursed down Rabis' cheek as Ashe brushed past him. He was getting a first glimpse of his grandchild, and grieved for the circumstances that brought them together. Another tear fell, and another. Ashe, somehow, had neutralized some of the effects of the crowns, but that was fleeting. When the boy disappeared outside Rabis' vision, he could no longer blink, weep or call out. The power of the crowns pulled him forward again.
* * *
Ashe felt as he were buffeted by the winds of a hurricane, which became stronger the closer he strode toward the Bright Queen and Dark King, and threatened to knock him down. There was no power to siphon away and add to his own; here, all of it was dangerous and tainted. The ones who separated the crowns had used a forbidden energy, and it affected everything around it. Loss of life had fed it in the beginning, and it had turned darker and more evil through the years. Ashe only had the power he carried and that of the medallions circling his arm to combat the strength of the dark god and those who'd died to force one crown to become two.
* * *
"Boss, what's going on?" Trajan felt his words fall flat, as if they were suddenly too heavy to travel the short distance between him and Winkler. Everything had gone silent and still. Trajan was afraid to speak again. Winkler blinked in confusion at his Second before shaking his head. The small gesture took a mighty effort and left Winkler nearly exhausted afterward.
* * *
Power and fury radiated from the crowns, as Ashe slowly made his way forward. Could he open the gates and get the Elemaiya away before dealing with the crowns? It would take a toll on the power he held, he realized. If he didn't, it was possible that all might die—the crowns wanted no part of him, and even now drew Baltis and Friesianna closer together. Once the crowns touched, everything would explode in a cataclysmic event he couldn't stop.
* * *
"The Vice President is safe, Mr. President. It's time to come to the bunker."