Chapter 87: This Party is Kickin'...

Taylor threw the SUV into gear. "On like Donkey Kong," she confirmed for Drew. She lifted her foot up off of the clutch, pressed down on the accelerator, kept her eyes on the driveway, and quickly shoved the sturdy tree branch beside her down where it would be jammed between the seat and the gas pedal.

It was just enough time to throw the vehicle into second, and then promptly into third.

The huge mansion rapidly became bigger and bigger in front of the windshield. Drew had the road flare out and was about to pull the cap off. "There!" he pointed. "Try to get right there!"

"Got it!" Taylor shouted back. Her adrenaline was pumping fiercely. There were only a couple of seconds to go.

Something huge, white and horrifying leapt down from the sky directly onto the hood of the SUV. It smashed one huge, clawed hand through the windshield, grabbing at Taylor. It seemed to flop and slip on the hood of the vehicle, which was covered in motor oil and gasoline. She threw herself against the door, narrowly avoiding its grip.

"Out!" Drew yelled, "Get out!" Even as he shouted, he put the AK right up to the bony, unnatural thing and pulled the trigger. Bullets sprayed out from the weapon, hitting the monster dead center and causing it to slip and falter. Its shoulder and part of one frightful wing fell into the cabin with Drew and Taylor as the bullets shook it off balance.

Taylor didn't need to be told twice. This wasn't at all part of the plan, but it was too late now. She shoved the door open and threw herself out, trying to cover herself and tumble as best she had been taught. If she had gotten anything useful out of years of ridiculously dangerous high school cheerleading acrobatics, it was the ability to take a fall. The grass was lush and the ground was still soft and moist from recent rains, and she knew how to protect her head and absorb a fall, but just the same, it was rougher than anything she'd ever been through. Taylor rolled and came to a halt sprawled out in the grass.

Drew wasn't long in getting out himself. He had one ugly, face to face look at the demon's four red eyes glaring hatefully at him before he threw the door open. In his other hand was the road flare. It was too much to do with his hands all at once; he had to drop the rifle to tear off the flare's plastic cap.

The demon roared. Part of Drew wanted nothing more than to curl up into a ball, but most of him knew just how counterproductive that would be. He tossed the sputtering road flare into the back seat and rolled out of the open door.

Harrow saw all manner of flammable products and trash stuffed into the back of the vehicle. He couldn't get control of it as it sped toward the mansion. The monster was quick-witted and powerful, but he didn't have a clue of how to drive. The notion of turning the steering wheel of the speeding SUV never occurred to him.

************

"We did not come here defenseless," Stefan said darkly. "Your numbers and power may be impressive, but the Brotherhood will never come into a den of wolves as mere sheep."

"I believe this conversation has gone far enough," Lady Anastacia replied flatly. "Courtesy demands that I allow you safe passage from this gathering, so as not to mar my loyal vassal's home with further violence. After this night, neither you nor your precious Brotherhood shall be received so cordially. No mercy shall be shown to your holdings in the mortal realm. No shelter shall be found for you and yours in my lands."

The threats implied by her statement were unmistakable. "So it's war, then?"

"It would appear so," the vampire nodded with cold grace. "I would tell you that the streets shall run red with your blood, but we will likely not be so wasteful."

Stefan inhaled, his posture stiffening. "Then as soon as Ms. Black, Mr. White and Warren have returned, we will take our leave."

"You will leave now, sir," Blackthorne demanded. "And the wards you have placed upon my home will come down immediately."

The assembled vampires and sorcerers below mirrored the tense standoff. Everyone was ready to draw a weapon or cast a spell. No one wanted to make the first move, though. Once it began, no one could be quite sure where it would end.

It was at that point that Molly spotted the headlights in the front window. "Onyx," she said. Onyx touched her hand. "Almost the right time," she said.

Molly's eyes grew wide. "Oh, it's time," she hissed. Molly gripped Onyx's hand as she lunged to one side, pulling Onyx with her in a rush that batted aside a vampire who had been angling for a position behind them.

The crash was a shock to everyone in the room besides Molly. The SUV blew through the heavy double doors, sending debris everywhere while running over or swatting aside half a dozen party guests. Most of them were vampires, but one was a member of the Brotherhood. He was struck by the right side of the bumper, which was already burning hot enough to instantly catch his robes on fire.

Harrow was still on the hood. He was fully engulfed in flames even as he took the full brunt of the crash through the doorway. When the SUV struck the stairwell directly in front of it, the force of the impact flung him upward and back. The large demon collided with Lady Anastacia in a direct hit, collapsing on top of her and sending Stefan and Lord Blackthorne both sprawling behind them. Ba'al and Lorelei were both just far enough away to avoid the impact, though they were both shaken by the impact on the stairs.

Lady Anastacia lasted just long enough to scream in agony.

Chaos erupted at the floor. The vampires, absolutely terrified by the violent appearance of a large, burning vehicle, scrambled to flee. Many of them shoved one another aside, and more than a few brought down members of the Brotherhood in their flight. Molly pulled Onyx into the shelter of a slightly recessed doorway to keep them both out of the way of the mob.

Harrow didn't linger. The burning demon heaved himself up, roared again, and leapt through the smashed remains of the entrance.

"Now?!" Molly asked.

"Yeah," Onyx coughed. "Ward's down. Go nuts."

Molly grimaced. She darted out to where she could see up onto the staircase again. Smoke and dust were everywhere already, but it hadn't spread so much that she couldn't see. Ba'al was there, yanking on Lorelei's chains as he turned to climb the rest of the way up the stairs. The young witch drew from her pocket a loose key, threw it up onto the staircase, and shouted a series of words in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin.

Lorelei's bonds all snapped undone at once. Ba'al was left tugging on loose, empty chains. He spun in alarm to see her leap upon him savagely with her fingers extended into long talons.

"Go get 'im, girl," Molly muttered. She turned to get out of the way only to find Mr. Woods there pointing his wand at her.

************

Rachel saw the brilliant flash of orange light from miles away in the sky above. It was just enough to get her attention. By the time the sound reached her, she realized she could see Alex again.

He was there, and he was in trouble.

Rachel dove toward the fire without a second thought.

************

The crash was more than enough of a distraction for Alex. It wasn't what he had expected, but all he wanted was something to grab Lydia's attention for just a moment. He pulled the .45 from his underarm holster and fired straight into Lydia's chest. She staggered back, dropping him, and before she could recover he put the whole clip into her.

She shouldn't have had a torso left. Alex knew – somehow – that the .45 could do an awful lot of damage, particularly at close range, and it wasn't like Lydia was a stocky person. But while she was clearly hurt, even to the point of staggering against the remnants of the corner that Alex had blasted to pieces with his Thompson, there was little blood. The gunfire had torn up her dress and left her looking somewhat punch drunk, but she was still standing.

Not wanting to deal with her, Alex heaved himself up, grabbed her hair, and yanked back hard into the service room. There was a window back there; Alex grunted, "This is for Antioch, bitch!" and hurled her by her hair toward it.

Lydia slammed up against the window, but did not go through it. The glass held. She slumped to the floor.

"Oh god dammit," Alex huffed. He picked her up by her hair again, got a good running start, and made a second go of it. This time she went through.

************

Ba'al let out a reflexive cry of pain as Lorelei's talons ripped across his back. He staggered away from her, wanting nothing of such a confrontation under the circumstances. A second blow from Lorelei knocked him to the ground. He spun, kicked hard enough at her to knock her back a few paces, then scrambled to his feet and hurried down the hallway.

"You know this is pointless!" Ba'al called out as Lorelei, predictably, leapt upon him again. Her legs gripped his sides and her wings created drag both from the air and against the hallway walls as he tried to move. It was ever more of a chance to shred his upper body with those frightful talons. Rather than blood, though, what puffed and poured forth from his wounds was ash.

"It causes you pain," Lorelei growled. She punched at him, too, pounding his jaw into pieces with one hand even as the other dragged savage gashes across his chest. "You'll remember this part of our meeting while you stew in that wretched castle of yours in Hell!"

Ba'al stumbled and fell. Lorelei fell with him; she was running on rage and hate, pushing past all the injuries of the evening just for the chance to inflict this harm on her former master. She had to punish him for coming after her. She had to make it as painful for him as possible, because it was the only chance she had to ward off a future attempt.

It was clear that Alex was free, somehow, or at least alive. She could feel his desires. He no longer wanted to die. He wanted Lorelei. His wants were jumbled and fraught with stress and confusion, but the desire in his heart for Lorelei was still there. After all of this, he was still alive and he still wanted her. She had to make sure he could keep her.

So focused was Lorelei on punishing Ba'al in his host body that she lost track of her surroundings. She wasn't looking as the air in the hallway beyond them began to warp and burn.