The Devil's Wolf
Chapter 45

"Oh wow," Ashlynn pointed as they winged over the rooftops and the view below was revealed.

The police barricades had fallen back an entire block to the next intersection. They were not having an easy time of it. Rioters pushed against the police cars and armored and shielded officers. Some spray-painted graffiti on vehicles, buildings, and plastic shields alike, whilst others hurled bricks, bottles and any other projectiles they could replace.

Amongst the rioters were many Others, the streetlights reflecting off un-glamoured eyes, their Other natures on full display, whether it be furred, scaled, winged, or otherwise. Many minor hexes and spells were amongst the objects thrown at the police officers and military forces that held them back.

The gargoyles began to circle overhead, dropping spell-bags. Ashlynn saw one spell bag explode, and where its components touched, a garden sprung forth, covering street, cars, army tanks, and the military forces who stood their ground against the angry civilians.

"Hair-hair everywhere," Cael crowed as other officers grew an abundance of hair. "I like that one," he said with his enjoyment evident in his tone.

Another spell bag exploded into oozing green foam, that expanded rapidly and then set, trapping anything it touched within its clutches. "I think Alatar was inspired by his renovations with that one," Ashlynn observed. "But it sure looks uncomfortable."

Elior's investment purchase was a well-preserved older style building on the corner of its block. Its frontage was mostly obscured by scaffolding and its bottom level boarded up. She could see where the grime of centuries was being pressure- sprayed away from the stone, and the grout holding it solid was being repointed.

They landed on the roof and took a shaky fire escape down to the top floor, where a narrow balcony with fragile, sagging, half rotten floorboards gave access to six narrow windows and a door. Elior opened the door with a savage twist of the handle and a shove.

"It will be basic," he said as they entered the interior dulled by lack of daylight access to the hallway. He flicked a light switch and nodded, satisfied, when the lights turned on revealing an austere hallway. "This property is being refitted as accommodation for lower-level employees, volunteer blood donors, and the like. We replace creating a community atmosphere encourages loyalty."

The walls had been painted in muted blue, which matched the industrial style carpeting. Lighting came from tasteful but dull wall sconces set between the doors. The art on the wall was a generic reproduction that could have hung in any hotel or office in the city. Landscapes and still lifes with none of the vividness of those that hung in the gargoyles' home.

Elior opened the first door into a generous sized room, with windows on two sides. It had been modestly and simply decorated, in grey tones, outfitted with cupboards, a small kitchenette, and a queen-sized bed. A small bathroom was behind a second door. It looked un-used but finished.

"It is not much, but at least it is not rigged with explosives," the vampire said.

Cael walked over to the window and looked out at the chaos down the street. "I would prefer to be out there," he complained pressing his face against the glass in an effort to improve the view. He tried to open the window, but the sash was stuck, as were the others he tried.

"Safety feature," Elior observed watching his struggles. "The opening of these windows has been disabled."

"They haven't exploded the building yet," Ashlynn tried to peer through the mesh that covered the scaffolding with advertising for the company in charge of the renovations - a werewolf company that her father had shares in, she noted. "That has to be a good sign, right?"

"Not really," Elior joined Cael at the window. "I want them to explode - ah," he sighed it out, as a dull boom caused the window glass to shake in the frames. "There we go."

There was a second boom, and then echoes of the same sound in rapid fire. Ashlynn ran to join them at the window, but the scaffolding hid any view of the building's collapse. She could, however, see the reaction of the rioters - they went still, many pointing, their faces appalled.

There was a roar of sound, and then a cloud of smoke and debris whipped the netting around the scaffolding and sweeping over the rioters, stealing them from sight as the cloud rose in a chest-choking thickness, and then fell as a heavy dust, frosting the street in its powder.

Ashlynn felt Elior put his hand on her waist, drawing her closer to him, offering comfort. "We can only hope that they believe they have killed our supporters," he continued undisturbed by the destruction.

The smoke was settling on the street, and the military and rioters alike were white with dust particles, their panic evident as they scattered, seeking shelter in the surrounding buildings, out of the fall of that toxic powder, until the barricades remained unmanned, and the streets empty of enemies and supporters alike, both forces united in fear of what the white smoke held.

Elior released her waist and moved into the room. "I need to make another social media post. It might be a good image to have the two of you with me," he positioned his mobile phone and stepped back into the frame. "That should do it. Even better," he added as the door opened and his children entered.

Jacinta and Rebecca carried between them a great many bags, which they deposited on the bed, and Jacinta brushed white powder off her shoulders with dismay. "It is unpleasant, outside," she observed mildly as if it were not the first time she had encountered the sort of dust cloud that resulted from the collapse of a skyscraper building.

Rebecca took up the phone. "Are you ready?" She asked Elior.

"One moment." He positioned Cael and Ashlynn where he wanted them and stood back, eyeing them off. "Not right," he observed.

Jacinta stepped froward ran her fingers through Cael's hair, fixed Elior's lapel, and rubbed a smear off of Ashlynn's cheek before applying some lipstick, and then stood back behind Rebecca, who nodded to Elior. "It is right now," she told him.

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He took a moment to position and focus, before lifting his eyes to the camera and nodding his head.

"As many of you will be aware, tonight has seen an act of violence against the vampires of this city," he said, his voice sorrowful. "We have tried to negotiate to reach a peaceful settlement with the humans. They have forced our hand and we now have no choice but to defend ourselves.

"We ask you, our friends and allies, to seek safety. To support and care for each other over the coming days. Help your neighbors. Aid your community. Share what resources you have. Check on your elderly and ensure their needs are met. Check on strangers. Reach out to the homeless and offer them shelter. Donate your blood and your time. Help your local hospitals to keep functioning.

"This war is far from lost. We are just beginning our fight. Each and every person is vital as to how this war progresses. We make the decision with our every act as to whether this war shows us at our worst, or our best. We have every confidence that together, we can show the humans who wage war against us, who fear us, that we are not their enemy.

"We will not let fear and intolerance best us. I thank those who have stood for us, who have shed their glamour and offered us their strength and bravery. Those who have helped vampires in need, offering shelter or blood. Those who have spoken out against what is being done to us on social media, adding their voice to the call for tolerance and equality.

"As you can see, my mates and myself are in a safe place. We will continue to fight. We will continue to fight for you all. Until next time, stay strong, be brave, and we are with you." He waited until Rebecca lowered the phone. "All good?" He asked her.

She nodded, watching the playback on the screen. Jacinta leaned against her, her arm around her waist. "It is posting," she announced, and watched the bar fill, before nodding. "And it is done. What next?"

"There is little we can do for now," a muscle worked in the corner of Elior's jaw as he returned to the window. "The riot is breaking up below. Our military forces will begin reporting in soon. Now we wait." "Very well," Rebecca slid her phone into her pocket. "We will feed, and rest. You should do the same."

Elior looked over his shoulder with a small smile. "Thank you, Rebecca. I will."

Jacinta walked up to him and touched his hand, a small gesture of affection, before drifting back across the room and leaving with Rebecca. Nate remained behind, waiting for Elior's attention to come to him. Elior nodded.

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The male vampire's lip curled, and he left.

"What did he want?" Ashlynn began searching the bags on the bed. Elior's children had brought them clothes, toiletries, food, and water. She sorted them into piles - Elior, Cael and herself. It was not hard to determine whose was whose. Elior's clothing had a definite style, suits compared to the sweatpants that Cael preferred.

If either man chose to cross into each other's wardrobe choices, they were of similar enough size to do so, and, she suspected, would not object to the other borrowing their clothing.

There was an element of kinkiness to her two men sharing wardrobes that det Ashlynn's heart to racing. Her two men. Her two mates. Her vampire and her devil.

"He wants to hunt Caleb Roth," Elior replied, and her thoughts had travelled so far from her question that she stared at him blankly for a moment before they caught up.

"Oh," she said inanely.

"You have a telepathic connection with them," Cael observed, setting his sword on top of the small table pushed against one wall before shoving the bags out of the way and throwing himself face down upon the bed, his wings stirring the air idly. "Your abomination of children."

"Yes," Elior watched Ashlynn put the clothing away in the cupboards and ignored the insult in Cael's tone. "It is something some of us can do between parent and made children. Not all, by any means, but it does, occasionally, manifest." "Is that so?" Ashlynn paused, intrigued. "I have never heard of that."

"It is not in the records about slaves," Cael agreed.

"It appears that we have evolved, then," Elior was amused. He moved over to the bed and began to sort through the items with Ashlynn, selecting items that she might have attributed to Cael otherwise, a singlet top, a loose-fitting pair of pants... Small secret insights to the intriguing man beneath the suits.