Warriors of Poseidon 02 - Atlantis Awakening

02
    Page 23 of 296
    Ven dropped him and whirled around to face the new threat, only to see another dark figure by the trees flash a sword through the air and slice the head off of the kneeling figure who held a gun in a two-handed position. The shooter immediately began to dissolve into slime.
     
    Remembering the witch, Ven shot a look at where she'd fallen, only to see she'd disappeared. He shot up into the air and scanned the area, but came up with nothing.
    Leaping back to the ground, he moved to place himself between Erin, who was still lying silent on the ground, and the new threat. The slime had almost entirely melted into the ground. "Vamp."
     
    "Yes, he was. As am I," the one with the sword called. "But better the vampire you know, isn't that the old saying?"
     
    Ven recognized the voice and felt marginally better. But only marginally. "Daniel. Or Drakos. Or whatever your name is, I think that's 'the devil you know.' And don't get me wrong, I'm glad to have the help, but what exactly are you doing here?"
     
    Daniel stepped forward. He looked the same as he had the night he'd betrayed his former master Barrabas to the Atlanteans, for whatever twisted reason he might have had.
     
    "Devils, vampires, is there really any difference, metaphorically speaking?" Daniel paused and inclined his head. "Lord Vengeance. It is… interesting… to see you here."
     
    "I kinda thought Anubisa had killed you in D.C. for what you did."
     
    Daniel's mouth twisted. "I removed myself from the battle when she appeared. Luckily her back was to me at the time, although who can tell what vision a goddess of the night may have? Perhaps I owe you a debt for her death on that day."
     
    Atlantis Awakening – Warriors of Poseidon 02
    Page 24 of 296
    "Yeah, well, consider us even, then. Where did that bloodsucker—uh, no offense—come from? And did you see a female witch get by you?"
     
    Daniel pointed to the driveway. "He drove a car and parked it just behind the tree line, then headed here to back up this one, I presume. I saw no female, nor sensed any beating hearts other than the three of yours—now two."
     
    Ven glanced down at Erin, who was finally stirring, thank Poseidon. He desperately wanted to scoop her up off the ground but he wasn't about to trust a vamp—even one who'd maybe just saved his life—any farther than he could throw him. Maybe not even that far. "What's going on, Daniel? Why were they after Erin? Why are you here?"
     
    The vampire's eyes narrowed, and he glanced down at Erin with a look that was way too interested for Ven's taste. A primitive protective instinct curled up from Ven's gut and washed through his body, his muscles tightening it its wake. "I think you'd better tell me now. I'm here to make an alliance with Erin and her coven, and I'm not about to stand for any interference with that."
     
    He took a step closer to Daniel, staring him right in the eyes. "Just so you know."
     
    "Just so you know," the vamp repeated, mocking him, clearly not the slightest damn bit intimidated, "I'm trying to protect Erin, too. He wants her, and he won't stop until he gets her."
     
    Daniel's head whipped to the side, as if listening to a sound beyond Ven's range of hearing. "I have to go. The witches are coming home. I'll clean up your trash for you."
    He bent and scooped up the dead body lying at their feet. "Take care of her, do you understand? Don't let your guard down for an instant. He is too powerful."
     
    With the preternatural speed so characteristic of the undead, Daniel shot across the ground toward the trees, lifting the dead body and rising into the air as he did so.
    Atlantis Awakening – Warriors of Poseidon 02
    Page 25 of 296
    "Who in the nine hells are you talking about, damnit?" Ven yelled after him, sick to death of vampires and their half-truths and shadowed threats.
     
    Daniel turned and stared back at Ven. "Oh, he may possibly be from some eleventh level of hell, Atlantean. I'm talking about Caligula."
     
    As the vampire vanished, Erin sat up, blinking and holding her head. Ven knelt to lift her off the ground, murmuring soothing noises against her silken hair, vowing with a fierce resolve to protect her. It was his job. It had nothing to do with the way his body tightened when he was near her.
     
    Yeah. Right.
     
    As he watched, a sleek limousine pulled up in the driveway and three women, all wearing long silk robes, piled out and pushed past the male driver to rush toward