A Vampire's Battle

by Raven Steele

  “I used magic to hide my appearance,” I explained. “Masks are stifling.”

  “I want to do this next time,” Lynx whispered. “I’ve always wanted to be blond.”

  Briar looked me over. “It’s a huge improvement.” She winked then peeked over the top of the log pile. “What are we dealing with?”

  I joined her. “I don’t know much. I’ve searched the perimeter and haven’t seen any security, but I know there are at least two vampires inside. There could easily be more. Plus Zane might’ve spelled the place. He just left.”

  “I can take care of his magic,” Lynx said.

  “I hope so, because I think Korin will be coming soon. He plans on making an example of them to the Ministry, which most likely means their deaths.”

  Briar straightened. “Well we’re not going to let that happen, are we?”

  I joined her. “I’ll take the back. You give me a distraction out front.”

  She cracked her knuckles. “Playing to my talents. No one can distract like I can.”

  She motioned into the trees for the others to follow her to the front porch while I circled around back. I’d spotted a door there earlier.

  As I darted between the few trees near the cabin, I peered into the windows. The same two vampires who had driven the vehicle were sitting at a kitchen table. I saw no one else. Maybe this would be easier than I thought.

  I walked up the back steps and waited for Briar to do what she did best. I didn’t have to wait long. An explosion sounded out front, making the whole house shake.

  When I heard chairs scraping on the floor and the sounds of hurried footsteps rushing to the front door, I touched the handle to get inside only to be met with a blast of magic that tossed me backwards several yards. Briar and the others in the front yard must’ve experienced the same thing because I heard several yelp in surprise.

  I returned to the back door and pressed my hands to the magical barrier. Lynx was no doubt already working on the problem and when this fell, which I had no doubt it would, I wanted to be the first one through.

  Beyond the entrance, I could see through to the living room. There were a lot more than the two vampires I originally thought. There were at least a dozen, and two of them had weapons Oz had made. We must not have destroyed them all.

  Not wanting the others to be surprised, I darted back to the front. Just like I thought, Lynx was standing near the house, chanting words, her arms lifted.

  “Briar!” I had to yell over the roaring flames where Briar had set the porch on fire, more like exploded it. When she saw me, I shouted, “They have two blasters and there’s at least a dozen of them.”

  “Thanks for the heads up!” She stood ready to fight, along with the others.

  I returned to my spot at the door, trying to keep my breathing even. “Come on, Lynx.”

  Only a few seconds later, the barrier dropped. I darted inside just as the vampires in the living room poured onto the front lawn to fight Briar and the others. I kept to the edges of the walls as I crept around the house. I wanted to avoid fighting if at all possible to keep up the glamour protecting my identity.

  A deep rumbling shook the floor beneath me, making my stomach turn. Whatever it was, it couldn’t be good. I picked up my pace, searching for a door to the basement. So far, I hadn’t encountered any threats. All vampires had moved outside and yet, I still felt the rumbling beneath my feet.

  After a minute of searching, I found the basement door. It was wide open, and I could hear nothing beyond the deep sound of an engine running, which meant anyone down there wouldn’t hear me either.

  Slowly and stealthily, I descended the stairs and glanced to my right toward a darkened window. I caught the faint reflection of a couple of vampires standing in front of a large cage that contained some kind of moving metal contraption. The two vampires had their backs to me as they peered out the window trying to watch the fighting.

  With them distracted, I risked a quick glance into the room to get a better idea what I was looking at. In addition to the vampires at the window, three more stared into the metal cages, their faces a mixture of horror and odd curiosity. I followed their gazes and sucked in a breath.

  Mateo, Angel and Aris were all bound to a wide and flat metal table. Above them, a large spiked platform held up by chains attached to a crank slowly moving toward them. Aris and Angel both fought against their restraints, but Mateo held still, probably to maintain the magic hiding his true identity. Even with death only seconds away, he remained calm as if he knew I’d come.

  I ducked behind the wall and clutched my chest, my heart thundering beneath my palm. Stay calm. Breathe. I decided in that moment that my new gift could help me.

  Closing my eyes, I willed myself to ghost. I pictured it in my mind, and imagined my body becoming non-corporeal. I used all my mental strength to make the transition happen quickly. A rush of intense heat ran through my entire body, making me gasp in pain. The burn went so deep it touched my most critical organs.

  I opened my eyes and held up my hand. It wasn’t there, but my clothes were. I tore them off and darted into the room, heading straight for the camera first to shut it off. I then returned to grab my swords.

  One of the vampires walked to the bottom of the stairs, talking about the fighting outside, but his words were cut off when my blade sliced through his neck. His head exploded to ash before it could fall. The rest of his body followed suit, which meant he was a new vampire, probably created in the last month.

  Blades raised, I rushed the vampires.

  “What the hell?” one of them said. His head exploded too.

  With them not being able to see me, I made quick work of killing what turned out to be all newbie vampires. This worried me, but I didn’t have time to ponder the implications. And not just because I had three people I cared about to save. The heat inside me was reaching a new level that was starting to affect my strength and vision. But it wasn’t just that. I was beginning to feel a pressure tugging on what I can only describe as my soul. It felt like I was being pulled apart.

  The swords fell from my hands and clambered against the concrete floor.

  With all five vampires dead and the camera no longer running, I focused on my corporeal body as I bolted to the cranking machine to figure out how to shut it off. There were only inches left between the sharp spikes and the men’s bodies. Aris was no longer struggling but was craning his head, trying to figure out what was going on outside the cage.

  I pressed a red button bringing the engine to a stop. My arm fell limp at my side as I grew weaker. Closing my eyes, I willed my body back into existence but nothing happened. Panic overrode me, and the burning inside me intensified. I fought to ignore it, and instead focused on finding the keys to free the men.

  “What just happened?” Angel asked.

  I stumbled around the room, trying to stay conscious and in this plane of existence. I found the keys in a pile of ash and carried them inside the cage, too weak to even speak.

  Aris’s eyes widened. “Does anyone else see that?”

  Mateo, his face calm, said, “I think we’re being rescued.”

  Angel turned his face toward him just as I found the right key and turned the lock. The door opened. “By what?”

  “If my senses are right, it’s Samira. Don’t ask me how that’s possible.”

  I pushed against the door to open it, gasping for air. My body was a raging inferno, but even worse was the pulling on my soul to go to the other side. It was a cold, dark place, and I mentally fought against it.

  Nearly falling on top of Mateo, my eyes closed, but I ran my hand down the length of his leg to get at his boot where I knew he kept a hidden dagger.

  “Definitely Samira,” I heard Mateo say as he sucked in a breath. “I can feel her.”

  “Where?” Aris asked, his voice excited.

  Mateo barely whispered. “I think I can see her. On me.”

  I found the handle of the blade and, with
the last of my strength, cut through the thick bindings on his chest. When I felt my consciousness fade, I shoved the blade into his hand.

  My body slid to the floor, and my head smacked the concrete. The last thing I heard before darkness consumed me was Mateo calling my name.

  Chapter 23

  Samira.

  Warmth infused me, covering once raw and frozen extremities with heat. That voice. I knew it from somewhere.

  Someone said it again. The sound soothed me in this empty void of darkness and bitter cold.

  Other words were spoken, but I ignored their warbled tones. They didn’t make sense nor provided any comfort. Not like hearing my name had.

  I stalked through the dark, dense fog, feeling a strange lightness. My feet weren’t touching the ground and it was too dark, even for my vampire eyes, to see what lay in front of me. Anxiety rose, like a strong pulse in my throat. I pressed my hand to my face, needing the surety of its touch. The hair on the back of my neck prickled; there was someone nearby. Someone so close, their breath caressed my cheek. I swirled around, reaching for my swords, but they weren’t there. Panic choked my breaths as I stumbled forward, the cold beginning to seep into my body. Where was I?

  The presence disappeared but was only replaced with a crowding, crushing sensation. There were others here; they were lost, like me. I rushed forward, aching to feel the comfort of cold steel in my hands, trying to find my way through the crowd. I couldn’t see them, but felt them. I darted through the throng, needing air, needing to breathe, needing openness and space.

  I needed to get out of here!

  The cold grew stronger, until my arms were stiff, my legs so heavy I could barely lift them, and I slowed my pace. My bones began to ache, and even moving became difficult. I pushed forward, slower now.

  I needed to discover a way out of here. But how? There was something I needed to find.

  I needed to hear that word again.

  What was it? There was something about that word, that voice, that I should recognize.

  Time went by as I stumbled in the darkness, lethargic and desperate, my only hope attaching to the warmth I’d felt that one time. An eternity passed, and then another, and the darkness never let up. I grew despondent but I didn’t give up. There was something out there for me. I just knew it.

  And then, my wish was granted. Samira. I stopped. That was it, the word. I faced an endless black, focusing on the only word I recognized. Samira, wake up. I sighed at how warm that voice made me feel.

  “I’m here,” I responded to no one.

  Samira. Samira. Samira.

  “I’m here!”

  The next words that came finally made sense. “Open your eyes, my anima gemella.”

  That voice! More than anything I wanted to be where that voice was. My heart ached to be with it. To touch it. Kiss it.

  I redirected my focus from finding the unknown lost item, to concentrating on the sound of the voice. It was strong, warm, inviting. The ice in my body began to thaw, heat filled my arms, my legs, my chest. “Where are you?”

  “Samira,” the voice came again, this time a low growl. “Open your eyes.”

  An invisible bond grew and become so strong, it snapped, yanking me forward.

  My eyelids jerked open. It took my vision a moment to focus, but when I did, I saw Mateo, staring down at me with worry.

  “Oh my God!” I choked on tears as relief filled my body. “You found me.”

  “Of course, mio amore.” Mateo scooped me into his arms, cradling me like a baby. I clung to him, remembering the cold, the darkness. My fingers pressed into his skin, afraid if I let go he would disappear.

  “My love, you are safe with me. I will always find you.” Worry infused our bond and I tried to calm my nerves, but my whole body was shaking. He lay down, leaning me against his chest. His hands began to move, rubbing my back, my arms, my side. They were warm and calming, and he murmured softly in my ear, reminding me of the first time we visited Paris together. How the lanterns glowed like fireflies and the women sang from their homes, filling the air with magic.

  Just being with him was enough back then.

  Then he began to hum, the song my mother used to sing to me. I closed my eyes, my body slowly relaxing into his. Complete and utter contentment poured into me. I never wanted to go to that place again.

  His song ended and silence descended, but it was comfortable. We needed no words between us.

  I finally spoke, my voice a croak. “How long was I there?”

  “A few hours.”

  I shivered. “That’s all? It felt like an eternity.”

  His hands moved again, warming me. “You are here now. I will not let anything bad happen to you.”

  I glanced around, realizing we were in a spare bedroom on the main floor at Lynx’s house.

  He stroked my hair in a calming motion. “I’ve been so worried.”

  I attempted to sit up but a wave of nausea forced me down. “Briar? Lynx?”

  “They’re all fine. No one was injured.” He swallowed, his throat bobbing up and down. “You saved us. How?” He searched my eyes. “You were invisible.”

  I gripped his hand, my pulse racing. “Something happened that night in the church when Cassandra saved us.”

  He furrowed his brow. “What?”

  There was no easy way to say it. “I died.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “Cassandra brought me back with magic.” I continued to tell him everything Cassandra had told me. With each word, he clasped me tighter to him, curling his fingers into fists.

  “I just need to be careful,” I finished, “lest the other side latch onto me.”

  Hearing my words out loud, made my situation sound more dire than I’d thought. “Please don’t tell the others. Not yet. We have so much going on, I don’t want them to worry about me. Plus I’m still not sure who Ivona could be posing as. She could be much closer than any of us think.”

  He opened his closed fists and rubbed his hands on my arms, as if to ease my tension. “What will we tell Angel and Aris? They know you were invisible.”

  “The truth—or at least part of it. Tell them it was a spell and to keep it a secret. No other explanation should be needed.”

  His eyes lifted to the darkened window. “Cassandra should not have played with your life.”

  “She saved me.”

  His gaze returned to mine, his eyes full of sadness. “Which I will be eternally grateful for, but at what cost? How do I know you won’t slip away from me at any given moment? She played with dangerous magic.”

  A knock at the door silenced us. Briar stuck her head in. Her hair was disheveled and eyes red. “Sorry to interrupt, but I had to check on my girl.” She shifted her gaze to me. “Are you okay? They said you passed out.”

  “It’s nothing. I’m fine now.” To prove my point, I forced myself into an upright position. “How’s Oz?”

  She moved into the room. “He seems in good spirits. He’s insisting he return to Blutel Estate tonight to make more weapons.” She rubbed at her arms. “I think he’s still in shock.”

  “Returning to Blutel Estate will be good for him,” I said, knowing how important it was to stay busy after something traumatic.

  “There’s one more thing,” Briar said. “Oz overheard a conversation between some vamp named Michael and Korin. Things between Korin and the Phoenix aren’t cool.”

  “No surprises there,” I said.

  “Yeah, except, Korin’s meeting up with some dude named Dude-o-lock Tror Az.” Scowling, she glanced at Mateo. “What’s his name again?”

  “Dunolak Tror'gaz,” Mateo corrected her.

  “Yeah, that,” she confirmed.

  I gasped, gripping his hand. “The demon the warlocks set loose in Nzara? The one who released Ebola into Africa?”

  “Yes,” he answered, his eyes dark.

  “Is he aware Dunolak ate the warlocks who tried to control him?”

  �
��I think so.” Briar smacked her gum. “Although dude thinks he’s strong enough to control Trianus. Or, at least, will try to make a deal with him.”

  I shook my head, knowing we couldn’t let this happen.

  “Korin set up a meeting with him in two weeks,” Mateo continued. His hand gripped mine, his voice anguished. “Samira, if he comes to an agreement, Dunolak will give Korin more power, in exchange for the serum that creates Hydes.” His throat bobbed. “My serum.”

  Guilt raged in his eyes and I leaned into him, giving him a fierce stare. “Then we have two weeks to kill him, and I swear to you, Mateo, we will kill Korin this time.”

  Mateo opened his mouth to say something, but his phone blinked a message. He pursed his lips. “I have to go. I told Oz I’d take him to Blutel Estate. He’s waiting in my car.”

  “I’d like to see him.” I started to stand, but Mateo held my arm.

  “Rest. You’ve been through a lot. I’ll tell Oz you asked about him.” He stood and bent down to trail his lips across my forehead. “I’ll be back before sunrise.”

  I stared after him, frowning. I hoped Oz was going to be okay. He’d been through a lot, too. Mateo?”

  He paused at the door and looked back.

  My gaze shifted between him and Briar. “We need to go back to Winter’s Cove. There are others who need to be freed.”

  Briar nodded. “Korin seems to have lost his powers. This may be the perfect time before he gets them back, if that’s even possible. And once he’s out of the picture, we can make our move on the Phoenix and end this nightmare once and for all.”

  “If that’s what you want,” Mateo said, yet he looked doubtful. “I’ll see you soon.”

  As soon as he left, Briar collapsed backwards across the bed, her arms flopping past her head. I moved my feet away just before she hit them.

  “Angel almost died tonight.” Her voice was soft, thoughtful.

  “But he didn’t.”

  “Thanks to you. When I went into the basement, he was just getting free. He came within seconds of dying. You saved him.”

  “I only did what you would’ve done.”