Calling All Heroes Read online

  I’d never heard her curse before.

  “This is impossible.” She kicked at the rock and it cracked in half.

  “What the fuck?” Alexander had the most astonished expression on his face. “How the hell … shit!” He tugged on one half and it tumbled over, rocking twice before rolling onto its side. She broke the boulder in half without even trying. “Remind me never to piss you off.” He grabbed his balls and took a step away.

  I didn’t blame him, but I don’t think Aneen heard him.

  She stared at the rock as if it were a new creature that she wanted to make her pet. Aneen knelt onto the ground, placed her fingertips on the rock and the thing exploded! Alexander jumped onto her, rolling so the rock pieces pelted his back. “Are you okay?” He pushed to his knees.

  “I did it.” She was smiling. Aneen fumbled in her peasant dress to the other half of the rock. She hovered her hand over it and after a moment the thing floated up. She flung her hand and the rock went flying into the thin gathering of trees. We heard it land with a hard thump. “I did it!”

  “That’s a good start.” Alexander hugged her.

  Something nicked my toe and I reached down to grab it. The fish was slow and fat. I threw it on the shore and rushed out of the chilled water with my dick slapping against my thigh. “I’ll start a fire.”

  “Let me try!” Aneen said excitedly. She balled her fingers into a fist and then released them. The light shot out, uneven, bright, and hot. It struck the fish instead of the large piece of wood on the ground. Poor fish was nothing but dust and now we had no lunch to eat.

  “Oh! I’m so sorry.”

  “It’s fine. I’ll get another one,” I grumbled—or rather my stomach did. I dropped my pants which I’d only just picked up and waded back into the stream.

  “You did that on purpose, didn’t you? To get him naked again.” Alexander whispered, but I heard it clearly enough.

  “I did no such thing.” Aneen’s voice was forced and I swear I heard the laughter just under the surface. “Maybe.” She giggled. “I didn’t know the fish would turn into dust, though. I really am hungry.”

  I heard Alexander kiss her. The smack of lips on flesh.

  Sneaky bastards, the pair of them.

  Eventually I caught another fish and we used a real fire to cook it. There wasn’t much to go around, but since Alexander already fed on my blood, it was enough for the two of us. From there, we smothered the fire with dirt and continued on our journey to see Alexander’s old friend.

  The guy that may or may not help us.

  The guy that may or may not kill us.

  Just before night fell, we found a nice little spot just off the main trail we were walking. It was a rock formation with trees on either side of it. Sort of like a large rock bed. Aneen and I snuggled up together while Alexander took the first watch. She felt so perfect in my arms. Warm and soft. With her beside me, I found myself sleeping soundly with the most fantastic dream I’d ever had. One with her and Alexander and a cozy cottage on the beach.

  ****

  We all woke with the cresting of the sun, mainly because it was shining right in our eyes. We ate some ripe berries from a bush nearby, but it wasn’t nearly enough to fill us up. Alexander decided to carry Aneen using some of his vampire speed while I jogged. Yeah, that went over well. I thought she was going to fry him with her new powers. It took a full thirty minutes to convince her. I lagged behind and he didn’t use much speed, but we closed the distance faster. Our best hope was to start marching an army toward the queen before she was too well organized. Of course, we had no army. I rounded a bend and started up a slope with sweat beading on my forehead and back. I got to the top to find Aneen and Alexander sitting beside a bush of more berries. “Thanks for waiting.” I huffed and collapsed onto the ground. Lack of food and all this jogging made me unusually grouchy.

  “Word of advice.” Alexander said. “Always be nice to the one that sucks your dick.”

  I snorted and leaned against the rough bark of a tree. Aneen handed me some purple berries. They were less ripe than the ones we had this morning. “Any idea how much further we have?” If he spun me around with my eyes closed, I’d be totally lost.

  “One more night should do it.” Alexander moved to the tree beside mine on the edge of the slope. Aneen and I watched as he tugged on his pants, eased his cock out and started to urinate down the hill.

  “Lovely.” I rolled my eyes.

  “It’s not like there’s a bathing room nearby.” Alexander grumbled. “I’m not as high class as you two.” He shook his dick, dislodging a few drops before turning around. “Anybody want to give me a good cleaning?”

  Aneen turned beat red.

  I had to think about it. “We don’t have time.” The goal was getting closer.

  Alexander moved over to me and tugged me to my feet. “Ain’t that a shame.” He reached into my pants.

  “What are you doing?” I pushed his hand away, but he grabbed hold of my shaft and made me yelp. “Stop that.” I admit, there was no force in my voice. He shimmied my pants down just enough so he could ease my cock out.

  “We’re not going to stop for a while.”

  He wanted to play dirty, did he? Damn it, he was so much better at that than me. I stared at him as he aimed my dick for the base of the tree. For a moment nothing happened, then I pissed. He shook me clean, but it was way too much like a stroke. When Alexander tucked me away, I was growing hard and silently cursing him. All the while Aneen watched us, with berries abandoned in her hand.

  “Your turn princess.” Alexander helped her to her feet. The berries dropped soundlessly to the ground.

  “I can’t exactly wiggle it off.”

  Alexander leaned close enough for his breath to brush across her lips. He grabbed her dress, tugging it up so slowly.

  This wasn’t helping my erection.

  Aneen’s creamy calves and pale thighs were revealed. Then her beautiful pussy was exposed and I swear all the blood rushed between my legs. “Alexander, we don’t have time.” But I’d wanted to forget about duty and go over there to love them both.

  “I’m just helping.” He feigned innocence.

  Aneen blushed hard as she squatted, sending the dress up to reveal her flat stomach and the underside of those gorgeous breasts. When she was done she gave her hips a bit of a wiggle which nearly threw her off balance. She stood and Alexander just as slowly lowered her dress. She would have looked like an even match for Alexander’s antics if it wasn’t for the deep blush in her cheeks.

  Alexander growled. “Let’s keep moving.”

  And so we did, with much more sexual tension in the air than when we started.

  Chapter Three

  It was nearly nightfall when the slopes and hills flattened to a grassy field. The mountains were behind us and the edge of Breen Swamp before us. I stared to our left at the stunning beauty of sunset over the ocean. It reminded me of home, the days before we became foes with the queen of Otherworld. Colors floated along the surface of the water and the occasional wave made them shimmer. It almost looked like the bright reds and dull yellows were dancing on the ocean.

  “That’s Kierce’s place,” Alexander whispered as he stared around.

  I eased my sword free. The sand here had a pink hew to it that I found eerie. Sunrays made it look almost red in some spots. It took me a moment as we walked to actually find Kierce’s house. Mainly because it wasn’t really a house. “This is the guy that’s going to help us win the war against the queen?” He had to be kidding. It was a hovel, a poor man’s lodgings. There were three walls around a raised platform and what looked like a roof made of giant leaves woven together. The closer we walked the more convinced I became that Alexander had lost his mind. There was some smoldering wood in a circle of rocks in the sand.

  “Hello, Kierce.” Alexander said.

  To who? I had no idea. I edged Aneen behind me despite her protests and gave Alexander a bit of a lead. The va
mpire had a better chance at kicking ass than I did as a simple human. I glanced around, still not seeing anything.

  “You going to play nice or peck our eyes out?” Alexander asked. He was staring at the roof of the hut where a huge bird sat watching us. It was the biggest flying creature I’d ever seen with feathers that were almost a white blond.

  “Alexander, you’re talking to a bird.” Aneen whispered from behind me.

  He scoffed.

  The bird ruffled its beautiful feathers and then swooped down to the ground. I had to blink as the bird began to grow and change shape, its feather replaced with skin. The huge bird turned into a huge man curled on his knees. Both Aneen and I jumped as Kierce lifted his head. Those white-blond feathers turned into hair, bushy on his head. He had to be an inch or so over Alexander with pale skin that covered thick muscles. Kierce was a bird shifter. “Dullahan’s dick.” The whisper just came out. I didn’t even know his kind existed. “…And he’s naked.” I lifted my eyes to his face to keep from staring at his dick.

  Kierce jerked his head to me so much like a bird it was eerie. “I don’t like humans.” Even his voice was raspy and gruff. His eyes shifted to Aneen and I noticed the long white eyelashes. “I like her even less.”

  As interesting as he looked, no one threatened my princess. I stepped in front of her. “Then you best look elsewhere.”

  His head lowered. His gaze felt like a predator’s. “This is my home, human. You leave or you die.”

  “Kierce, it’s always a fucking pleasure to see you.” Alexander strolled up to him and gave the bird-man a pat on the shoulder. “You got anything to eat?”

  “No.” He growled the word.

  “How about a bed?”

  “No.”

  “A roof over our heads for a few hours?”

  “No.”

  Alexander sighed. “We’ve sort of started a war with the queen and we’re going to take her down. You in?”

  Kierce glanced at Alexander and then back at us. “Yes.”

  “Ah, there’s my angry, ugly bird.” Alexander held out his hand. “These are mine. Stefen and Princess Aneen.”

  Kierce didn’t say anything. He glanced at us and then walked away with his butt on display. He grabbed some kind of white fleece from the floor of the house as he passed and wrapped it around his hips.

  I wasn’t too sure if I wanted to follow. I kept my sword out and clasped Aneen’s arm. “I had no idea bird shifters existed.”

  “Neither did I,” she whispered back.

  Kierce did that odd bird move with his head again, sharp, jerky movements. He sat on a log near the fire and poked it with a stick. The flames leaped up sending a warmth on the soft breeze. “Talk.”

  Alexander sat beside Kierce. Aneen and I took the opposite log. I glanced out at the darkening water and shivered. The memory of those hungry mermen would haunt me for a while. They nearly killed me. Alexander had showed just how resilient and tough a half vampire could be that night.

  “Basically, Aneen’s ready to fight back. The queen showed her true soul.”

  What the hell did that mean?

  “I will help.” Kierce said, dropping the stick into the fire. “But only if I get to kill her.”

  “No!” Aneen instantly stood.

  Kierce growled.

  I leapt to my feet, lifting my sword so the bird shifter could see we’re not as helpless as an average human.

  “Calm down.” Alexander said to us, “He’s always fucking like this.”

  “They do not know the pain that bitch has caused.” Kierce said with more than a hint of anger in his voice. “She is evil.”

  “She’s dark and she needs to be stopped.” Aneen countered. “But she will not die by your hands.”

  Kierce scoffed. “Dark?” He stood, towering over Aneen like she was a dwarf from the old fairytales. “I am the last bird shifter in Otherworld. Do you know why?”

  Aneen swallowed hard and shook her head, but she stood her ground. I was proud of her.

  “She had us hunted. Men. Women. Children. The queen of Otherworld sat on the throne for only a year before she discovered our existence. Instead of letting us live in peace, she had us hunted. She used us to do her spying, forcing us to comply or she’d kill our family.” He growled. “That woman killed my little brother, my mother, my father, every one of us as we refused to obey her. We were a proud people and now there is only me.” He glanced away. “Your mother has a crueler heart than your father.”

  Aneen flung her hand out, rage written all over her face.

  Alexander threw himself at Kierce and bellowed when the white light hit him. They fell into the fire, but rolled free before they could catch. “Fuck! Fuck!” Alexander grabbed at his shoulder, the skin burnt and peeling. The bone shinning in the moonlight.

  Aneen clasped her hands over her mouth. “I’m so sorry.”

  Kierce was instantly on his feet, facing her with those birdlike movements that gave me the creeps. I faced him. I may just be a human, but I was no coward.

  “Enough!” Alexander shouted. “Kierce, sit the fuck down. Aneen, sit the fuck down. Stefen, help me the fuck up.”

  Surprisingly we all obeyed. Alexander just had this authority to his voice. I reached down and eased him to his feet.

  He held on before talking, “Yes, the queen is a bitch. A crazy bitch. She hurt a lot of people. Aneen sees that now and she’s got some odd new powers to help her take the throne. So, stop fucking poking her, Kierce.”

  The bird shifter bared his white teeth.

  “Aneen, he’s pissed. Your mother killed off his whole species. You’ve got to cut him some slack and watch how you use those fucking hands! If that had hit Kierce, he’d heal, but if you hit Stefen…” Alexander hissed out a breath in pain. “You could have truly hurt him, maybe even killed him.”

  “You’re right.” Aneen was still covering her face with her hands. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry!”

  “Shit happens, princess. You just have to muck through it to the other side.”

  “I haven’t heard that one before.” I mumbled and helped Alexander onto the nearest log. His face was scrunched up in pain.

  “Just thought of it.”

  How could he joke when his skin was burnt down to the bone? Dullahan’s dick, that looked so painful. His fangs popped out and I tilted my head to the side. I’d never fed him in front of anyone besides our princess and it was oddly thrilling. I knew the blood was to heal him, but that didn’t stop my dick from waking up. His lips touched my skin first, almost playfully, before he stabbed me with his fangs. It was a quick sting and then he was sucking my blood.

  “Kierce…” Aneen lowered her hands. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to … attack you. I’m still learning how to deal with this.” She looked at her hands. “And I’m sorry about what happened to your family. I had no idea.”

  “You were a child.” Kierce muttered the words like he didn’t want to admit that. “I do not blame you.”

  “I blame me. I should have opened my eyes. I should have questioned things.” She wrapped her arms around her body. “Will you still help me stop her? I know you’re hurt but I’m afraid leaving her on the throne will just cause more pain in this world.”

  “How do I know you’ll be any better?” Kierce asked.

  “You don’t.” She took a deep breath. “I’d rather die than go through this world causing pain and suffering as she has. I know they’re just words. Just a promise, but I mean them with all my heart.”

  Alexander loosened his grip and lifted his head. The skin on his arm was already beginning to heal.

  I had new marks on the right side of my neck to match the fading ones on the left. The blood stopped flowing, but I was busy looking at Aneen. With her chaotic childhood, how had she turned into such a beautiful woman? It amazed me. She amazed me. Then again, she always had.

  Kierce scoffed and kept frowning, but eventually he spoke. “I will see … about gathering the oth
ers to help.”

  Aneen’s head jerked up. “You will?”

  “Yes.” Kierce added, “If you get on that throne and turn into a crazy bitch I’m going to rip your heart out of your chest.”

  “Kierce.” Alexander’s voice was low and threatening.

  He seemed to ignore the vampire’s threat and kept talking. “There are many who believe she is evil, many who have suffered at her hands. I will gather as many as I can and meet you at the Crimson Pass.” Kierce stood and removed his feathered clothing.

  Aneen instantly glanced at the ground, blushing.

  Alexander and I stared at him in appreciation. Kierce lowered to all fours. His body shifted and bent at the most incredible angles. His hair grew longer, thinner and then into feathers. A giant bird now stood where Kierce had been. It watched us with a predatory gaze before giving a nod and then surging up into the sky. Those white wings looked stunning in the nearly black sky. Stars were beginning to form for our sight as the very last glimpses of the sun winked out beneath the horizon.

  “And that’s how you start an army.” Alexander sounded cocky. “Or … get your eyes pecked out as you’re trying to sleep. Kierce is unpredictable like that.”

  “How did you two meet?” I asked, curious as I leaned over the fire. Such warmth on my skin made me shiver. It was getting cold without the sun. I added a few more pieces of wood from the ground and then sat beside Aneen on the log. My legs were aching from all the walking and jogging we did today.

  Alexander sat on the ground just as the new wood caught fire. He stared at it for a moment and his expression took on a completely serious look. “We happened to pick the same cave to die in.”

  This sounded terrible.

  He blinked a few times and glanced up at us. “Long story short…”

  “No.” I got on all fours and crawled over to him. “Don’t do that. You always do that. It’s like you don’t want us to know anything about you.”