“Wouldn’t mind one from the redhead,” someone called out, and had more laughter rolling.
Glenna fluttered her lashes, added a coy smile. Then drew her dagger from its sheath and shot a line of fire from it.
Men scrambled back, en masse.
“My husband’s is bigger,” she said sweetly.
“Aye.” Hoyt swept forward. “Perhaps one of you would like a demonstration from me instead of my lovely wife. Sword? Lance?” He turned up his palms, let the fire dance above them. “Bare hands? For I don’t stand behind these women, but I’m proud and honored to stand with them.”
“Down boy,” Blair murmured. “Fire’s a weapon against them. Powerful weapon, as is wood, if used right. Steel will hurt them, slow them down, but it won’t kill them unless you cut off the head. They’ll just keep coming until they rip out your throat.”
She tossed her fencing pole to Niall. “It won’t be quick and clean like this little bout,” she told them. “It will be bloody, and vicious, and cruel beyond the telling of it. Many of them, maybe most, will be stronger and faster than you. But you’ll stop them. Because if you don’t, they won’t just kill you, the soldiers who meet them in combat. They’ll kill your children, your mothers. Those they don’t kill they’ll change, they’ll turn into what they are, or enslave them for food, for sport. So you’ll stop them, because there’s no choice.”
She paused because now there was silence, now every eye there was on her. “We’re going to show you how.”
Chapter 14
Blair debated between the river and the tub. The river was very likely freezing, and that would be a bitch. But she just couldn’t resign herself to having some servant haul up steaming buckets of water, to pour them into what essentially would be a bigger bucket. Then after she’d bathed, they’d have to repeat the whole deal in reverse.
It was just too weird.
Still, after several hours working with a bunch of men, she needed soap and water.
Was that too much to ask?
“You did very well.” Moira fell into step beside her. “I know this must be frustrating for you, like starting over. And with men who feel, in some ways, they already know as much—if not more—than you. But you did very well. You’ve made a fine start.”
“Most of those guys are in good to excellent shape, and that’s a plus. But the bulk of them still think it’s
a game, for the most part. Just don’t believe. That’s a big strike in the minus column.”
“Because they haven’t seen. They know of my mother, but many still believe—need to believe—it was some sort of wild dog. It might be if I hadn’t seen myself what killed her, I could refuse to believe it.”
“It’s easier to refuse. Refusing is one of the reasons Jeremy’s dead now.”
“Aye. That’s why I think people need to see, need to believe. We need to hunt down the ones that killed the queen, the ones that have killed others since that night. We need to bring at least one of them back here.”
“You want to take one alive?”
“I do.” Moira remembered how Cian had once pulled a vampire into the training room, then stood back so the rest of them would have to fight it. And understand it. “It will make a point.”
“Not impossible to refuse what’s in front of your face, but harder.” Blair thought it through quickly. “Okay. I’ll go out tonight.”
“Not alone. Don’t, don’t,” Moira said wearily when Blair started to argue. “You’re used to hunting alone, capable of hunting alone. But you don’t know the land here. They will by now. I’ll go with you.”
“You’ve got a point, and a strong one. But no, you’re not the one for this hunt. I’m not saying you’re not capable either. But you’re not the best when it comes to close-in fighting. It’ll have to be Larkin, and I’ll need Cian.”
In a gesture of annoyance, Moira tugged a blossom from a bush. “Now you have the strong point. I feel I’ve done nothing but matters of state since I’ve come home.”
“You’ve got my sympathy. But I think that kind of thing has to be important, too. Statesmen—women—people—they raise armies. You’ve already taken steps to move people out of what’s going to be a war zone. That’s saving lives, Moira.”
“I know it. I do. But…”
“Who’s going to stir up the general population, fire them up into putting their lives on the line? We’ll train them, Moira. But you’ve got to get them to us.”
“You’re right, I know.”
“I’ll get you a vampire—two if I can manage it. You get me people I can teach to kill one. But right now, I’ve got to wash up. A vamp could smell me a half a mile away.”