Madison lay on her side on the cement floor and stared blankly at the blood bath taking place right in front of her. She remembered this warrior with the long black hair who’d rescued her, and knew he was from the Medici coven. She felt too weak to sit, let alone stand. She looked helplessly at Cory, as his father slaughtered the evil creature that had been feeding from her neck. The black bird flew around the warehouse, squawking loudly, and she saw the head of the enemy roll across the floor in their direction. She looked on in horror as the head rolled to stop in front of her. Her eyes widened in fear but she didn’t have the strength to move. The large black bird swooped down, landing on the severed head, his talons sunk deep into the flesh, as the bird plucked out one eye.
Raven was watching the slaughter when Max’s head landed near them, and Poe began to feast upon the severed head until Raven kicked it away, watching the head roll in a macabre unbalanced wobble. His master continued to mangle the dead vampire and showed no signs of stopping. Raven approached his master slowly and yelled, "Boss man, enough!”
Shade appeared not to hear him, as Raven shouted at him again. His master stepped back, a sword in both hands and covered in the blood of his rival as his beast retreated. Shade dropped his swords, as they clanged to the floor and went straight for Cory, picking him up in his arms. Turning to Raven, he barked out commands.
"Teleport Madison to Bel Rosso now. She is in the most danger. I will take Cory. Have the California warriors come and clean up this mess. Send someone to Rachel, have them teleport her to Bel Rosso as well. We move out now!"
Raven moved like lightning, gathering up Madison in his arms and was gone in the blink of an eye. Shade looked down at his son as his blood tears poured from his eyes. He was alive.
Cory was weak with relief, and curled into his father’s chest, his head on his shoulder. Cory knew they weren’t out of the woods yet. He’d seen how close Max came to draining Madison, and he wanted to get to her. “Hurry, Dad.”
Shade held his son tightly in his arms, whispering in his ear, "Feed from me, son, you need the blood. We are going home."
He heard Cory moan as his fangs hit his vein and he teleported them from one side of the States to the other.
***
Kate gasped and dropped forward on the floor as Luca ran to her, helping her up. "Kate!"
She whispered, "It's over."
Luca could feel the absence of his master's anger but wasn’t sure if this meant victory or defeat. His master still lived, though, as he could feel the power of him in his own veins. "What happened?" He gently lifted Kate to her feet.
Kate spoke softly, "Max is dead."
They felt the energy shift as Raven teleported into the room, carrying a barely conscious Madison, with open wounds on her neck, her face pale and colorless. Kate responded to her immediately. "Oh my god. He almost drained her!"
She started to offer herself to Madison to feed when Luca stopped her. "It can't be you. Shade may need your blood. Marcello is here, and no one feeds from him. She will have to feed from him."
Luca summoned Marcello and Lorenzo followed in his footsteps, curious about all of the sudden activity in the house. Marcello took the girl from Raven's arms and Raven supported her head. Kate talked to her in a soft voice, "Madison. You must feed. Feed from Marcello. He’s Medici. He’s a warrior. His blood will heal you."
Madison stared back at Kate in confusion, wondering where she’d come from, and heard her voice as if it came to her through a long tunnel. She started to close her eyes again. She just wanted to sleep, but Kate was insistent, shaking her awake. "Madison, you must feed."
Marcello laid the girl on the floor and bit into his own wrist, placing the bleeding wound on her lips. "Drink, mia cara. Drink so you will live."
Madison felt the blood across her tongue and grasped Marcello's wrist, sucking hard and drawing strength. She closed her eyes as Kate, Raven and Marcello all loomed over her. With each mouthful of his blood, she felt her body respond. The wounds on her neck began to heal, and her weakness faded.
Shade teleported inside the house, holding Cory in his arms. He bound up the stairs, as he heard another warrior drop in behind him with Rachael. Rachael screamed for Cory and rushed up the stairs behind Shade.
Shade followed the commotion and carried Cory inside their bedroom where Marcello was feeding Madison, and he felt Rachael enter behind him. He locked eyes with Kate. "He is alive, he has fed, but he had wounds that need tending to."
Cory groaned and lifted his head, seeing Madison on the floor with Marcello. He scrambled to be freed from his dad's arms and rushed to Madison. He dropped to his knees and pulled her into his arms. Rocking her softly, he saw the visible fang marks in her neck. "I’m here, Maddie, it’s okay. You’re okay, we’re safe. We’re safe.”
Cory looked at his dad, his face a picture of the agony he felt inside. "Is she going to be all right? Is she going to live?"
Marcello reached down and laid his hand on Cory's shoulder. "She’ll live, Cory, she fed from me. We had no choice, brother. It will take her some time, but she needs to rest, and she’ll recover. She may need more blood in a while."
Shade felt Rachael grip his arm, as she almost passed out at the sight of Cory. He steadied her as he hugged her tightly. "Rachael, it’s okay. Cory is fine, so is Madison. Just breathe. I think we all need to clean up, and these kids need some rest to heal. Marcello, you can take the camp back to yellow alert. I think we are clear. I only saw Max, and he is dead. I don’t think there were others helping him, but let’s not take any chances.”
Luca and Marcello nodded and exited the room. Rachael still clung to him as he locked eyes with bel.
Kate got up from the floor and went to him, her arms surrounding both Shade and Rachael. She looked at Shade and she spoke to him in her head, “I love you.”
She stroked Rachael’s back, and calmed her. "Come on. Let's get you in a hot bath, and then you need to lie down. Cory’s fine."
Emma instantly appeared and helped Rachael to a guest bedroom. Theresa entered to help take care of Cory and Madison.
Raven lifted Madison in his arms and turned to Cory. "Where do you want her?"
Cory led the way to his bedroom as Raven carried the girl. Theresa followed, her pockets filled with the herbal remedies and salves from the old country. Theresa took charge as they entered Cory's suite.
She spoke to Raven, "Place her in the tub, then leave."
Raven set the girl down gently in the tub, then exited the suite. Cory and Theresa worked together to remove her clothes and filled the tub with hot water. Theresa washed her wounds as Cory supported her in the tub. Once she was cleaned, Cory lifted her from the tub and Theresa dried her off and started to apply the thick salves to the wounds on her neck. She directed Cory to lay her on the bed, where Theresa pulled the covers under her chin.
“Let her sleep for now. The rest will help her body heal." Then she turned her attention to Cory. "And now you. Get out of those clothes, so I can see what you need."
Cory started to object, telling her he was fine when Theresa started to remove his shirt. “Don't argue with me, Cory."
Cory stepped out of his clothes and Theresa inspected him for injuries. “Shower now, clean these wounds, I’ll wait.” She sat on the side of the bed as Cory showered, and watched as Madison slept soundly. When Cory returned, she filled the cuts and abrasion with the pungent salve. "Now, drink some Midnight, and get to bed, yourself. Sleep will heal you."