She was pulled from her musings by a voice yelling outside. One of the guards. Her heart lurched. What if Jack was right, and the guard meant to kill them? She ran to check the lock. What if the guard had a key? She grabbed a chair and wedged it under the doorknob.
"What are you doing?" Cook stood.
"Is the back door locked?" Lara asked.
"Yes," Cook answered. "But what-"
The doorknob rattled. "Open the door!" the guard yelled.
Lara recognized his voice. It was the head guard, the one she called Squeaky.
"Let me in!" He pounded on the door.
"Yes, master." Cook headed for the door.
"No." Lara held up a hand to stop her.
The other maidens stood.
"We can't disobey a guard," Kristy said.
Squeaky banged on the door. "I order you to open this door. The Elysian Fields are under attack!"
The maidens gasped.
"What should we do?" Vanessa whispered.
"We must open the door." Cook stepped toward the door.
Lara pulled out her knife. "Stay back."
Cook's eyes widened. "You-you're in league with Hades! You're trying to get us all taken to hell!"
"I'm trying to save you," Lara said.
"There can be no survivors," the guard yelled.
Lara gasped. Jack had been right.
"What does that mean?" Vanessa asked.
Lara pushed against the door as the guard shook it. "It means Apollo has ordered the guard to kill us."
The maidens gasped. A few stumbled back. Vanessa started to shake and whimper. Lara heard footsteps moving away from the door. What would Squeaky try next?
"No," Cook whispered. "Apollo is a god. He would never kill us."
"He's not a god," Lara said. "He's been lying to you."
"You're wrong, you're wrong," the maidens said.
"I have to stop you." Cook ran into the kitchen and grabbed a knife. "You're going to get us all dragged to hell."
"No!" Miss Forbidden shouted, and all the maidens turned to her. Her eyes filled with tears, and she rubbed her bruised arms. "She's right. They're not gods."
The kitchen window shattered. The girls squealed. Glass flew into the room.
Squeaky used the hilt of his sword to clear all the glass away. "There can be no survivors."
"He's coming in!" Vanessa cried.
"Stay back!" Lara yelled at the girls. She ran to the window with her knife, ready to stab Squeaky if he tried to climb through the window.
A howl sounded close by. Squeaky shrieked just before a huge wolf knocked him down.
The maidens screamed.
"It's one of the beasts from the woods," Kristy wailed. "He's come to drag us all to hell."
"No, he's saving us." Lara looked out the window. The wolf had pinned Squeaky to the ground. "Come and see."
The girls slowly crept forward to peek out the window.
A young black man strode into view. He was dressed all in black and carrying a sword. Lara recognized him as the Vamp she'd seen before at Syracuse.
"Oh my, look at him," Vanessa whispered. "He's as handsome as Denzel."
He jabbed his sword into the ground, then pulled handcuffs from his jacket pocket and cuffed the guard. He patted the wolf on the head, then plucked his sword from the ground.
"Wow," Vanessa breathed. "Who is he?"
"He's amazing," Kristy added. "Did you see him tame that scary wolf?"
Since the girls persisted in their belief of Greek gods, Lara decided to use that. "He's... Ares, god of war."
"Ooooh," the maidens sighed.
Miss Forbidden pulled Lara aside and whispered, "Who is he really?"
"He's a good man who's come to help us," Lara said. "He can take you to the nearest town, so you can go home."
A tear rolled down Miss Forbidden's cheek. "Thank you." She hugged Lara. "My name is Sarah."
"Will you help him get the girls to safety?" Lara asked.
"Yes." Sarah pulled the chair away from the door and unlocked it. "Come on, let's go."
The maidens filed outside.
"Where are we going?" Vanessa asked.
Lara approached the black Vamp. "Hi, I'm Lara."
He looked at all the women and grinned. "Hello, ladies. Allow me to introduce myself-"
"Oh, we know who you are," Lara interrupted. "You're Lord Ares, the god of war."
"Say what?"
"You're Ares, the god of war," Lara repeated with a pointed look. "And you've come to rescue all these fair maidens."
"Oh yeah. That's me, baby. I'm the god of war."
Lara smiled. "And you're going to lead all these women down the road to the SUVs."
"Sure." He motioned to the gate. "Come on, ladies."
"Oh Lord Ares." Vanessa fluttered her eyelashes at him. "You're so brave."
"I love the way you tamed that horrible wolf," Kristy added.
The wolf grunted.
The black Vamp grinned at the wolf. "Oh yeah, he's bad. He's big and bad. But don't worry, ladies. I'll protect you with my mighty sword."
The girls followed the black Vamp to the gate. He opened it, and they all walked down the road. Sarah glanced back at Lara and waved.
Lara waved back. The girls were safe. Squeaky was on the ground with his hands cuffed behind his back.
"There can be no survivors," he whispered over and over.
Lara shuddered. Apollo had intended them all to die.
With a jolt, she realized Jack could be fighting Apollo right now. She grabbed Squeaky's sword and started running to the temple.
The wolf dashed in front of her and stopped with a growl. Lara moved to the right, but the wolf moved, too. She ran to the left, but the wolf blocked her again.
"Oh come on," she yelled. This had to be the werewolf Jack had told her about. Did he understand English?
"Are you the delivery man who left the box of Cracker Jack?"
The wolf grunted and dipped his head.
"I need to get to the temple."
The wolf growled low in his throat.
"We can't just stand here all night, glaring at each other."
The wolf sat on his haunches and regarded her with his pale blue eyes.
"Look. I want to help Jack. He might need us. What if something happens to him while we're standing here? How could we live with ourselves?"
The wolf cocked his head. Then he turned and loped toward the temple.
"Thank you." Lara ran after him.
Where the hell was Robby? Jack asked himself for the tenth time. Apollo was a surprisingly good swordsman. Still, Jack could have defeated him five minutes ago if Athena hadn't arrived.
First the female vampire had shrieked at him, calling him a dozen foul names. Then she'd tried to free the two guards in handcuffs. When that failed, she'd picked up the sword from the first guard. She was obviously ignorant about fencing, didn't even know how to hold the sword properly. But she was able to be a dangerous nuisance.
While he parried with Apollo, she dashed behind him to try to stab him in the back. He spun, knocking the sword from her hand, then continued his fight with Apollo.
Where the hell was Robby? He was supposed to teleport the mortal Chosen One to Wolf Ridge, then come right back.
Jack lunged at Apollo, forcing him to retreat. Then suddenly, in his peripheral vision, he saw something flying at him. He ducked as a knife flew over his head. That damned Athena.
The doors opened, and Jack saw Phil slip inside. Good. Maybe he could take care of Athena.
Then Jack did a double take when Lara came in, carrying a sword. Merda. She was supposed to be safe with the other girls, not putting herself into danger here.
Athena spotted her. "You bitch! Kneel before your gods!"
"Go to hell." Lara moved toward her, holding her sword in both hands.
Athena flung her knife at Lara. Jack froze a second in fear, then jumped to the side as Apollo took a swing at him. He glanced back. Lara had ducked in time. Thank God.
With a ferocious growl, Phil charged at Athena, but she dashed with vampire speed to pick up her sword. She retreated around a column, swinging the sword wildly to keep the wolf from pouncing on her.
Athena squealed as Phil chased her around another column. She passed by one of the tripods holding a lit brazier. Lara kicked the tripod over, and the brazier crashed onto the floor next to Athena.
Athena screamed as the fire leaped onto her long purple toga. The flames spread quickly. She fell on the floor, rolling and screeching. Her body writhed, then went still.
"Athena!" Apollo roared with rage. He charged at Jack, abandoning all form in a wild quest for revenge.
This was exactly the opportunity Jack had been waiting for. He knocked Apollo's sword aside and skewered him in the chest. Apollo's eyes widened just before his body disintegrated into a pile of dust.
Jack turned to Lara. "Are you all right?"
"Yes." She looked at the floor and grimaced. "Is that what happens when you-"
"Look out!" Jack ran toward her.
She spun around. Athena was charging at her, her body blackened and burned. She lifted a sword with her charred arm and bellowed with rage.
Lara held her sword steady. With a growl, Phil leaped on Athena from behind. The force pushed her right onto Lara's sword. Athena crumbled into a pile of burnt ash.
Lara dropped her sword and stepped back. Jack grabbed her in his arms. Her body was trembling.
"It's all right." He tossed his sword down and held her tight. "It's all right. It's all over."
She wrapped her arms around his neck. "I was so scared for you."
"I was scared for you, too." Jack rubbed her back. "You should never try to fight a vampire. It's too dangerous."
"I had help from the wolf. What's his name again?"
"Phil Jones." Jack looked around the temple. Phil had crossed the room to check on the guards. "Thank you, Phil."
"Yes, thank you!" Lara added.
Phil looked back at them with a wolfish grin.
"Are the girls safe? What happened?" Jack asked.
"They're fine. They're with the black vampire."
"He's Phineas McKinney, also known as Dr. Phang."
Lara laughed. "I have a whole new world to get used to."
The door opened and Robby rushed inside, holding his claymore ready.
"And that one is Robby MacKay," Jack drawled. "Also known as mud."
Robby looked around and grimaced. "I guess I'm a wee bit late."
"About ten minutes late!" Jack yelled. "Where the hell were you?"
"Bugger." Robby slid his claymore into the sheath on his back. "I did as ye asked and found the mortal woman in the back behind the red door."
"The Chosen One Aquila," Lara said. "Was she all right?"
"Nay. The guard had already stabbed her in the chest. She was near death, so I teleported her straight to Romatech." Robby sighed. "Roman tried to save her life, but she had too many internal injuries. I wiped her memory and took her to a hospital. I doona know if she'll survive."
"That poor girl," Lara whispered.
"You did all you could," Jack said quietly.
Robby crossed his arms, frowning. "So is everything done here?"
"Just about." Jack motioned to the guards. "They have to be teleported to town."
"And there's another guard by the kitchen," Lara said.
"I'll get him." Robby strode from the temple. Phil trotted alongside him.
"Where's the wolf going?" Lara whispered.
"He's probably going to his clothes so he can shift back. Lara, we're the only ones who know that Phil can shift when the moon isn't full. Don't tell any of the people in Wolf Ridge. I'm not sure why, but Phil wants to keep it secret."
She nodded. "Okay. I guess I'll have a lot of secrets to keep from now on."
He touched her cheek. "It's no secret that I love you and adore you and want to spend my entire life with you. You can shout that from the mountaintops."
She grinned. "I'll just shout it from the top of a certain bell tower I know in Venice."
Jack laughed. "It's a date."
Lara sighed as hot water sluiced down her body. She hadn't wanted to spend one more minute in that white gown. While Jack stayed in the temple, watching the guards, she'd gathered her old clothes from the trunk in the side room. Then, she'd run back to the dormitory to shower and change.
It was all over, she thought, as the last of the soap and shampoo spiraled down the drain. No, it was actually just beginning. Her life would be an exciting adventure with Jack. He'd assured her that he just wanted her to be happy. She could return to her job as a police officer on the night patrol. She could continue to work toward her detective badge. Or she could start as a detective right away, working for MacKay Security and Investigation.
It was tempting. Very tempting. She already knew about Vamps and Malcontents and shape shifters. How could she go back to her regular job when she knew about this strange new world? She would have to find a way to explain it all to LaToya. She turned off the water and stepped out of the shower stall.
"Hello, bellissima."
She gasped. "Jack." He was standing across the bathroom, leaning against the vanity with his arms folded. His reflection didn't appear in the mirror behind him. "How long have you been here?"