Vojalie called to her. “We need your help or the net will be burned to nothing. Both you and Devyn.”
Emily quickly moved close to the net. She wasn’t sure what she could do, but she had to try.
Devyn remained behind her, supporting her with his hands on her arms. His mastyr power, now enhanced by the blood rose bond, sent a frequency up to her shoulders then in a sudden wave through her entire body.
She reached out with her free hand and let her vibration flow toward the fire on the net. She closed her eyes and her fae vibration began to hum in a cool wave that began to lessen the flames. Mitrana began to shriek and cry out, raging against her captors.
Slowly, Mitrana’s power receded until the fire was extinguished. The dark fae had burns on her body from her own power. She screamed one last time, then fell unconscious on the alley cobbles. The net sparked with fae power and held.
The smell was horrific. Emily backed away, covering her nose and mouth.
Even some of the vampires holding Leonus in check, groaned at the stench.
But the Sidhe Council fae were a powerful group. Vojalie directed two of them to do their best. They approached the net and using their fae abilities slowly began to mitigate the terrible odor.
Vojalie drew close to Emily and took her hand. “Well done, dearest student of mine.” She then took Devyn’s as well. “We rise to the power the Nine Realms requires of us. May you each serve, from this moment forward, in unity, purpose and love.”
Her words carried a fae blessing that touched Emily deeply. It let her know her life had become so much more than she could have ever thought possible.
Vojalie released their hands, turned and scowled at Mitrana. The dark fae was completely surrounded and bound by the net now and still unconscious. “What an utter waste of life and ability.” She shook her head then gestured to her sister-fae. “And now, we need to get this bitch to prison.” As clear as any military signal Emily had ever seen among the Guardsmen, Vojalie lifted her arm upright then waved it in a circle. The four women each took a corner of the net, levitated then vanished as one.
~ ~ ~
In-air movement up the alley caught Devyn’s eye. His thigh-muscles tensed, ready to battle again if he had to. Instead, he watched Stone and several guardsmen fly in.
Emily leaned close. “Mastyr Stone is here.”
“I see him.”
Stone and several on-duty Guardsmen landed not far from Leonus and his crew. Stone inclined his head to Devyn.
But as he turned to stare down at the prisoner, his lips hardened into a grim line. “You’re going to prison for a long time, Leonus. And you know I’m going to want some answers.”
Leonus’s fangs made an appearance and he growled. “Fuck you.”
Stone turned away from him, his jaw working. He directed his men to bind him with additional restraints for the trip to the prison island off the southern coast of Tannisford. “I want him in fae-protected solitary confinement and watched on monitors around the clock. We clear?”
“Yes, Mastyr.” The solemn, united response from his crew didn’t surprise Devyn.
With that, the prison detail levitated. Two of them carried Leonus between them as the small force took off. They disappeared into the night as they headed south.
Stone asked for a report. Devyn gave his followed by the mastyrs who had dealt exclusively with Leonus.
Stone glanced around the group. “You’ve done well tonight. In the next few days, we’ll take a hard look at what happened here. Hopefully by then, we’ll also have some insight into exactly what Leonus and Mitrana have been up to. Their creation of a powerful Invictus pair has made me uneasy. But we’ll figure this out. For now, I want to thank each of you for doing your part in apprehending this criminal pair.” His lips quirked. “And any of you scheduled for Guard duty tonight, take the rest of the night off. And have a beer on me. The rest of you men, join them.”
The vampires shouted their approval of Stone’s plan, levitated almost as one, then swept above the alley heading back to the Wild Boar. Taking a few minutes to share some beers and talk over the night’s events was a good way to ease down after a difficult encounter. Devyn hadn’t seen much of what happened to Leonus, except in the end the vampires had tied him up.
Some good-natured shifter shouting sounded behind Devyn. Stone glanced past him in the direction of the main thoroughfare. “There’s a cluster of Brigade wolves and bar-dressed women at the end of the alley. What gives?”
Devyn turned to look at the crew that had assisted in staging their ruse. “They helped us out by acting as if it was business-as-usual at the Wild Boar.” He explained their role as well as how the operation had worked.
Stone nodded his approval. “I’ll be right back.”
Devyn watched Stone levitate to greet the small crowd some forty feet away. He smiled, hearing the shifters’ boisterous laughter as Stone clapped a few of them on the shoulder.
Emily drew close. “He’s a great man, isn’t he?”
“Yes, he is.” He slid his arm around her waist and pulled her tight.