“And we need to figure out how to break that dominance, rather than just fight it.” Reginald spoke quietly but fiercely now as he gazed around the group, his icy blue eyes on fire with gold. “Rhennic is a cunning strategist and we have strong allies, but we saw just now how all of that fails when our opponent has more unity than we do. Hunter’s strength is dominance, and he wields it so cruelly that it creates unity for him – though we know how that kind of unity is fractured deep inside, when people are dominated and they don’t wish to be. So our question is nothow do we fight Hunter?Our question becomes,how do we break Hunter’s dominance– and thus break his seeming unity – as we go through this battle?”
Silence took the group as they pondered Reginald’s words. But before anyone could reply, they heard a knock on the door and Dusk rose to get it. The Hotel’s little busy-bee Head Clothier Amalia DuFane stood upon the other side with a royal blue suit in a crystal case for Rhennic. Handing it over, Amalia exchanged a peck on the cheeks with Dusk. With a wave to everyone, she was gone; and Dusk closed the door, hanging Rhennic’s new suit up on an ornate peg just outside the bathroom.
Returning, Dusk sat and took up his bourbon once more; gazing around at each other, Layla and the rest shared a pensive silence, thinking about how they might break Hunter’s dominance in the upcoming fight. But no one had any immediate answers to the question Reginald had posed, and as if Rhennic heard their churning thoughts, the shower water in the bathroom finally shut off.
Creating an empty silence in the room.
CHAPTER 4 – PLAN
As the Bind sat in Layla’s rooms, debating how they might break their enemy Hunter’s dominion over his forces, Layla suddenly felt her cell phone buzz in a pocket of her lace dress. Pulling it out, her eyebrows rose as she swiped it open quickly while the rest looked on, then breathed on it to unlock the security encryption.
“Heathren!” She spoke with astonishment as she held the phone to her ear, speaking with her Fallen Ephilohim contact Heathren Merkami at the Intercessoria. Turning, she glanced at Adrian and Dusk; Layla hadn’t been able to get through to Heathren all week, not since the rout on the Intercessoria’s forces at Petra by Hunter, and they had begun to worry deeply about him.
“Layla.” Heathren Merkami spoke briskly, though he sounded terrible on the other end of the line, a deep rasp in his usually cuttingly elegant voice. “I need to speak with you at once.”
“Of course.” Layla blinked, astounded not only that the Fallen Archangel sounded awful, but that he’d called in a such a dire moment. As the entire Bind watched, astonishment flowing through them all now that they knew who had called, Layla’s heart dropped through her stomach, worrying that Heathren might be calling with more bad news about Chambord. Hitting the speaker icon, she held the phone up. “Heathren, everyone else in the Bind is in on the call now, too. Except Rhennic, he’s in the shower.”
“I’m here, actually.” Layla turned to see Rhennic wrapping a towel around his ultra-fit waist as he moved out of the bathroom, taking his new suit down from the peg and padding barefoot to the living area. He was still mostly wet, as if he hadn’t bothered to towel off when he’d felt Heathren’s call through the Bind. “Talk, Heathren, what’s going on? Did your agents report back to you about Chambord?”
“They did.” Heathren spoke succinctly on speakerphone. “That’s primarily why I’m calling – to let you all know that Hunter’s strikes have begun in earnest this afternoon.”
“Strikes, plural?” Layla spoke into the phone as her gut curdled in terror, her Bind-mates stilling around her with dark looks as they listened. Deep inside, her fire-bright drakaina roared, gnashing her fangs as a burnt-orange scent cascaded from Layla’s skin – and her Dragon wasn’t the only one rioting as she glanced quickly around, feeling all her Bound mates churning internally. “Heathren, who else got hit today?”
“Hunter made a strike on the Red Letter Hotel Antigua, in addition to his efforts at Chambord this afternoon.” Heathren continued in a level tone, though he was also gentle as he relayed the news. “The Antigua Hotel has been leveled, on both the human and Twilight side. Thankfully like the Storm Dragons, all guests and non-essential staff had already been evacuated. Merea DeVray managed to escape through Mermaid sea-portals with the last of the staff, but Florian DeVray remained behind to ensure everyone’s evacuation. His body was discovered in the aftermath with a few others. I’m sorry.”
“Florian.” Dusk whispered, as Layla felt his heart twist in pain and rage. A massive tremor shook the entire room as Dusk lost control of his magics in agony – that Florian had been a dear friend, and the Red Letter Hotel Antigua had been a beloved getaway. Taking a stiff drink of bourbon, Dusk blinked back tears, wrangling his tremors as Heathren continued.
“Layla. We also had a report from Seattle.” Heathren spoke more quietly now, succinct. “Luke Murphy’s hospital in the Twilight Realm, Mercy General, was hit at the same time as Chambord and Antigua, also with a coordinated strike by Hunter’s Royal Dragon Binds. There were numerous casualties, though the strike seemed intended to cause suffering rather than wipe the hospital out. Hunter had his Binds target the sick before he targeted doctors and nurses. But your former house on Capitol Hill in Seattle was also bombed. By magic.”
“Bombed?” Layla grit her teeth, holding a hand to her heart as tears blinked down her cheeks. “Is Luke—?”
“Mr. Murphy is alive.” Heathren continued quickly. “He was at the hospital and survived, using hisnullaxto wipe out as much magic coming at them as possible. I think it was why the attack left off there, Layla. As soon as Hunter’s forces departed, Mr. Murphy used the teleportation cube I gave him and came straight to me; he’s with me now. Your human friends are already in Intercessoria custody, safe. But your former house… I’m sorry. There’s nothing left. We’re spinning it as a gas line explosion to the Seattle human world media.”
Holding her hand to her heart, Layla tried to not break down in front of her men as she digested the awful news. Roaring and coiling in pain deep inside, a flood of scorched bourbon-orange scent cascaded from her skin now as she lost control of her Dragon’s heat. A rush of white-gold fire sloughed from her as Layla inhaled deep breaths, trying to keep her shit together. Her internal roar heaved through the Bind with a searing flash – terrified, furious, and protective all at once. But her human friends were safe, Luke and Rhennic were both safe, and things could have gone a lot worse from Hunter’s first true strikes on places and people they all cared about. Reaching up and brushing away her tears quickly as she wrangled her drakaina’s fierce energy, Layla listened as Heathren spoke again.
“Layla.” He spoke shortly on the other line. “I didn’t just call to relay bad news, I also called because in the wake of today’s events, I have had a possible idea for decreasing the coordination of Hunter’s attacks for solstice.”
“Something that could decrease Hunter’s coordination? Like, break his dominance over his Binds, you mean?” Layla glanced around to all her men and saw their astonished looks – recognizing with her that this was precisely what they had been discussing earlier. Wariness filled Layla as her drakaina became very alert inside her, wondering if this call from Heathren was yet another manifestation of the Bind being able to do the impossible now from Hunter’s influence. But whether their intention had summoned Heathren’s discovery, or whether it was simply blind luck, Layla wasn’t going to turn it away, as she listened intently to the Archangel’s explanation.
“Yes, essentially. If my idea works, it could break some of Hunter’s dominance over his Binds.” Heathren spoke efficiently, though with an edge of intrigue in his voice now. “My idea concerns what Mr. Murphy was able to do at the hospital in Seattle, and why Hunter’s Bind-forces abandoned that particular battle rather than let it run its course like the other two. But my plan involves both you and Mr. Murphy, and we’ll need to test our theory before we can speculate further. Use your Intercessoria cube and teleport to me as soon as you can, and we’ll run the test.”
“I’m coming.” Layla spoke with a quick nod as a fierce hope rose inside her now, before she stopped to assess the situation. “Wait. Where are you? Why haven’t we heard anything from you since before the battle at Petra? Were you injured there?”
“No, I wasn’t at the battle of Petra. I’m… not well.” Heathren spoke with hesitation now, as if trying to decide how much Layla needed to know about his current situation. “I’m on leave from the Intercessoria at the moment, and because of my situation, couldn’t command the forces at Petra. I’ll fill you in when you arrive. For now, I give permission for you to use your Intercessoria teleportation cube to come see me at my private apartment.”
Glancing at Adrian, Layla saw him nod. “If Heathren has something that could break Hunter’s dominance, you should go see him, Layla. Now.” Adrian murmured, supportive of her decision as everyone else nodded also. “We’ll stay here and keep brainstorming, but if he thinks he has something that could disrupt Hunter’s Bind-unity, then we need to take it.”
“Thanks.” Layla spoke to Adrian, then held up the phone again. “Heathren. How does now sound for me to come to you?”
“Now is optimal.” Heathren answered briskly. “I’ll see you when you arrive.”
As Layla nodded, Heathren hung up. Drawing a deep breath, she put her phone back in her dress pocket as Adrian reached out, caressing her behind the neck. “Are you alright?”
“No, I’m not.” Layla murmured as she glanced around her Bound mates. Dressed now, Rhennic watched her as he and Layla shared a screaming inside their hearts, from losing things precious to them both today. With a rumbling growl that rolled through the floor, Dusk joined their mourning, having lost his longtime friend Florian DeVray at the Antigua Hotel. But even as Layla, Rhennic, and Dusk wailed inside, she could feel Adrian, Reginald, and Fury pour a war-ready ferocity through their Bind, steadying them. It came with a deep warmth as Adrian’s winds wrapped around Layla, his fire-bright red and turquoise Dragon scales smoothing over her in the ether and pushing back her woes.
His blue-green eyes fierce with love, as a searing cinnamon-jasmine scent boiled from him.
“Steady, Layla.” Adrian spoke as he watched her. “Remember that we have hope right now, even amidst our woes. You need to get to Heathren and find out what he’s working on. Get us something we can use to break Hunter’s dominance.”
