looked him over.
“You need to make up with the vampires.”
“What?” he said as he looked up at her and took another bite of his bread.
“The vampires, in fact any creature topside, we need all of them.”
He shook his head as he chewed. “She is right,” Ari added and Gunner stopped and looked at him.
“You would have me align us with sworn enemies.”
“There is only one true enemy,” Tercia said as they all looked towards the door. She stepped in, now dressed in her old gear, the black leather vest she had always worn in battle along with the black leather pants that hugged her small but tight body. She had pulled her hair back into a ponytail and her bangs were just slightly shorter so you could see her bright blue eyes. She truly was a beautiful woman, her skin flawless, lips full and her bone structure matching that of Gunners. You could see the resemblance now, more so than before when she first crawled from the hole in the earth.
“I know who the enemies are. We have many. We always have,” Gunner replied.
“No brother. Lucifer is our one true enemy now and we cannot fight him alone, not him and his legion of demons. We need help and Finna and Ari are right. We need everyone topside to help if we stand a chance of winning.” Gunner dropped his bread and stood up, bringing his axe with him.
“Since when do we need the damned creatures of earth to help us?”
Tercia stopped walking and looked around the atrium.
“Since he birthed a creature far more powerful than anything we have ever faced before.”
Gunner sighed and looked down as the thought of it angered him so much he could barely contain it.
“Lucifer has obtained a weapon we cannot defeat alone Gunner. You need to set your pride and emotions for her aside and be what you have always been, a great leader and warrior. The best the world has ever known.”
Ari cleared his throat and raised his hand. “I dare say I was not too bad in my day.” Finna hit him and he fell over as she laughed at him. “Shut up,” she said as he backed up and took another drink of wine.
Tercia looked all around her. “Why is this garden brown and dying?”
Finna stood up and burped as Ari joined her. “I never had a way with growing things, that was you Tercia.”
She smiled at her and Tercia nodded to both of them. Finna took Ari’s hand and pulled him along as Gunner stood his ground. Tercia watched them go and then turned back to him.
“They are as barbaric as ever, I see.”
“They have softened, as have I.” he said as she looked him over.
“You are in love.”
He looked up at her and she half grinned as she pulled her blade. She held it up and stared at the steel.
“Do you remember when you had this made for me?” she asked him and he looked at it and watched the light play off of the sword.
“That I do, I wanted something to protect you, something strong and unbreakable.”
She lowered it and stared into his eyes.
“I already had that, I had that in you, Marcus.”
He sighed and held his axe up and ran his thumb along the blade. It cut into his flesh and he ignored the small burning pain that came along with it.
“You have always felt a heavy responsibility for those around you.”
He interrupted her. “No, I have not. There was a time that it was all about me and my place in Rome.”
“That time has long since passed. You cannot think that you are still that man. You were not even that man when you eventually fell.”
He lowered the axe and sucked the blood on his finger, the salty taste of it mingling on his tongue.
“Is this your way of telling me that I should not harbor any guilt?”
She smiled and held her sword up again. “You should feel badly that you allowed my garden to wither and die in here.”
He looked around and then back to her. “I have been busy slaying demons.”
“Always an excuse with you,” she said as she slowly swung her sword and he grinned, feeling her challenging him.
“If anyone is to blame it should be Cassius,” she added as he stopped and looked her over.
“Sister, Cassius was my friend and my conspirator against Caesar. He stood by my side in the battle of Pharsalia. We were able to get Pompey to join