My swallow gets stuck in my throat, and I cough. Tyra slashes toward Mercy, who snaps her jaws and forces the vampire back a step. There's no opening for me to intervene.
No matter. I’ll just have to create one.
My human body feels so very vulnerable as I race toward them. The blood is even more slippery than I thought, and I almost trip and fall. My hands grip onto Tyra, and I try to force her back. Instead, her elbow nearly hits me square in the nose.
“Back off, you coward!” she yells.
“Fighting doesn’t make you brave,” I say desperately.
“You’re not even man enough to fight for her. How can you dare to claim that you love her? You’re a disgrace.”
“Me? You’re the one fighting in her name, but I bet she doesn’t know you’re here, does she?” I counter.
Tyra stiffens, which is answer enough. She sidesteps a massive paw swipe from Mercy, ducks the backswing, and lunges forward toward Mercy’s exposed tender flank.
I grab the vampire around the waist and drag her backward.
“You would gang up on me!” she shrieks. “You’re cheating! Have werewolves no honor? Your challenges are supposed to be—”
“Among werewolves, for one thing,” I say bitterly. “For another, there aren’t to be substitutions either. You want your challenge with me? Go ahead. Strike me down. I won’t fight you.”
I release her and step back, holding out my arms. I’m perfectly defenseless, and I stare the vampire down.
She hesitates.
I can see it in Tyra’s eyes. She’s thinking and considering it, striking me, going to kill me.
It’s not that I want to die. Of course I don’t. I want my happily ever after with Romelia.
But maybe that’s not meant to be. A vampire and a werewolf. How can they find love? It’s improbable, long believed impossible.
Only it’s not. It happened, and it’s real. It’s true. It’s all I want out of life.
But I also want the fighting between vampires and werewolves to end, and while I doubt my dying at the hands of a vampire will accomplish that, I also don’t want my friend to die for my sake either.
Before Tyra can react to my plead, Mercy leaps into the air.
Tyra’s lips curl into a terrible smile, the demonic one that I can’t stand.
The vampire looks as if she’s going to strike me.
Mercy is about to plow on top of Tyra.
The vampire whirls around at the last possible moment, and she racks her claws deep into the belly, her fangs burying deep into Mercy’s neck.
“No!” I shout.
Furious that Tyra killed her.
Appalled that Mercy would try to attack someone from her blind side.
Disgusted that Mercy had to continue fighting, that she had to go and ruin everything because Tyra was going to focus on me.
Hating myself for feeling disgusted and appalled.
The breath whooshes out of me as Tyra steps back from Mercy.
The light-colored wolf falls to the ground. Her eyes flutter shut, and I stare at her for a moment, another, another…
Her chest rises and falls, not with regularity, her body hardly moving with the motion.
Mercy isn’t dead yet, but she is seriously wounded.
She’s dying.
My jaw sets, and I go to rush around the vampire, but Tyra places a hand on my chest.
“Let me go to her.”
“She’s dying, almost dead,” Tyra remarks without an ounce of remorse. “It’s your turn now. Unless you want to consider me the winner of the challenge? Which would mean that you can never see Romelia again. Never call her. I’m willing to let you live if you never see or speak to Romelia ever again.”
“You might as well rip out my heart and eat it,” I snap. “Why did you attack her? You were supposed to go after me!”
“A ragtag team effort for you two to take me down,” she says bitterly. “You think I didn’t see that plead for the farce it was?”
“It wasn’t a farce! I meant for you to kill me if that’s what you have to do. I wanted the fighting to end!”
“She didn’t. She has more of a spine than you do. Maybe she loves you. Do you think that’s why she took me on? Because she wants you for herself? Err, I suppose I should say wanted. Because she wanted you for herself.”
My nostrils flare, and my hands curl into tight, angry fists. My vision is turning a slight reddish hue. My wolf is begging to be unleashed, and it’s almost impossible for me to keep him under control.
“She couldn’t bear the thought of you dying at my fangs, and now, she paid the price for you. Tragic, don’t you think? That Mercy would die so that you can live, only for you to die anyhow because I won’t lose. You will die, Julian. I will free Romelia from whatever you poisoned her with.”
“Love isn’t a poison!”
"Tell that to Mercy," Tyra snaps. "You can't tell me that love is good and kind and all of that when you allowed your friend here to die because you weren't willing to fight for your supposed love for Romelia. You're nothing but a coward, Julian. You aren't worthy of being in Romelia's presence."
“You don’t even know her,” I fume.
“Who? Mercy? I might not know her, but that doesn’t mean I’m wrong. She loved you.”
“As a friend, nothing more.”
“Her love for you, friend or something more, is stronger than your love for Romelia. How does that sound? How is that right? You married her, and you won’t even fight me to stay alive, to try to be with her.” Tyra shakes her head.
I go to step around her again, but she blocks me once more.
“Romelia deserves more out of life than to be stuck with you, always looking over her shoulder, wondering and worrying every second of her life. You’re going to force her to live in the shadows. What kind of life is that for her? She might be a vampire and a demon, but she loves the sunlight, and you’ll hide her away from the rest of the world! She deserves so much more than you.”
“You need to leave now,” I tell her in a low growl.
"Why? Am I hitting a nerve? Do you realize how selfish you're being by preventing Romelia from living her best life? You aren't what she needs, who she needs."
“And you know precisely what she needs, don’t you? If that’s the case, why did you sneak here without telling her about it first? Because you know this isn’t what she wants. This isn’t the way. Tyra, I’m not going to tell you again.”
“You can talk until you’re blue in the face, but eventually, your face will be pale and cold as your body turns stiff with death.”
“How are you even related to her?” I mutter.
“Just because I’ve accepted every part of myself—”
“Don’t. Don’t blame this on having a demon for a dad. Romelia has proven that it’s possible—”
“She hasn’t proven anything. Until she can accept every part of herself—”
“You have no right to judge her.”
“Isn’t that what you’re doing?” Tyra counters.
“How?” I ask, shocked.
Before Tyra can say anything, I realize something.
Mercy’s breathing.
I don’t hear it anymore.
Tyra’s lips curl into that demonic smile again. She hears it too, or, rather, we both no longer hear Mercy breathing.
Grief-stricken, I lunge at the vampire, somehow managing to catch her off guard. The vampire doesn’t remain shocked for long, and I can’t get her to fall down. She’s strong, and she backhands me. My lip splits, and blood enters my mouth.
Tyra grins and makes a show of taking in a deep breath through her nose. “Ah, the fresh smell of blood,” she teases.
“How do you think Romelia will take it when she learns that you attacked me, that you killed me?” I ask.
“Ah, accepting the inevitable truth that I will kill you?” She grins as she crouches. “Romelia might be upset at first. She might cry and hate me for a time, bu
t she’ll come around. She’ll see and understand that this is for the best. All she has to do is be free of you. Then, she can see the truth.”
“And just what is that truth?” I ask.
But Tyra doesn’t answer. She lunges for me, and I narrowly dodge out of her grasp. Her arm moved so fast that it created a decent gust of wind.
“You really are a coward, aren’t you?” she asks, clucking with her tongue. “It’s amazing to think that Romelia fell for someone so… pedestrian.”
“You can think what you want about me, but don’t you dare think less of her because of her feelings for me.”
“Ah, did I hurt your little heart?” she mocks.
“At least I have a heart. You have a black lump of coal where your heart should be.”
“Is that so?” she crows. She roars with laugher, feigning to my left and then my right. I don’t bite either time, and she doesn’t follow through with an attack. “Do you think vampires are incapable of love?”
“Of course not.”
“But we drink blood. We kill.” She licks her lips. “Once I kill you, I’m going to drain your body and Mercy’s of blood. I’m going to enjoy every last drop.”
My emotions are all over the place. As much as I don’t want to fight Tyra for Romelia’s sake, the vampire did kill Mercy. She killed my friend, all because Mercy stood up for me when I tried to use words to reach a compromise. My desire for peace… it’s a fantasy. It won’t ever happen. Tyra’s right. Romelia and I will have to live far away from everyone else, or else we’ll run the risk of someone else challenging us, fighting us, killing us. If we have children, they’ll be in constant danger. Our lives will never have peace, and how can love thrive under such chaos? Such strain?
Tyra darts around me and crouches over Mercy. She’s going to start to guzzle Mercy’s blood now.
Blind rage takes control over me, and I dash toward her. My step, I shift to my werewolf, and I blow into Tyra’s side. Grief and rage and anger and hurt control me as I sink my teeth into her side. I somehow have the presence of mind not to rip her flesh, to not bite as if she’s food, to not whip my head back and forth. I bite, but then I release her and back away.
Tyra gapes at me. Her hand falls to her wound. It’s not especially serious, but it’s deep enough that she glowers at me with hatred swimming in the stormy fires burning in her red eyes, and then she’s off, running away, fleeing the scene of despair and heartache.
Chapter 27
Romelia
My eyes don’t want to open, but something isn’t right. For some reason, there’s a deep heaviness in my chest, and I feel like I can’t breathe. Despair. Pain.
Grief.
Why am I feeling all of this? I don’t understand.
My eyelids won’t pry open, but then I smell something.
Blood.
I force my eyes open, and I sit up as my bedroom door opens. Tyra staggers in. Her clothes are torn, and she's walking a bit funny. She's carrying two goblets, and she drains one and then the other. Briefly, her eyes close, and then she straightens, looking much better.
“What happened to you?” I ask, gaping at her as I rush out of bed to stand beside her, rubbing her back.
“I had a run-in with a werewolf.”
My stomach twists into knots. A werewolf.
“Which werewolf?” I ask, the words coming out hardly a whisper.
“You don’t need to worry. Everything’s fine now.” She sits on the edge of my bed.
The grief that I feel… It’s not my own grief.
It’s someone else’s.
Julian’s?
“A werewolf,” I repeat. “Any old werewolf? Did the werewolf hurt you?”
"Clearly, I didn't hurt myself."
“The werewolf is…”
“Tyra eyes me, and a flicker of doubt crosses over her features.
“Did you hurt one of Julian’s friends?” I ask.
Tyra blinks a few times. “What makes you say that?”
“Did you hurt one of Julian’s friends?” I repeat louder this time as I stalk over to her.
“Why would you think that?” Tyra asks, but I can see it in her eyes. I’m right.
“Tyra, what did you do?” I murmur. My chest aches and not just because of Julian’s feelings. I feel numb as I sit beside her.
“I… Romelia, you have to understand. I love you, and I want what’s best for you.”
“I know what’s best for me,” I say slowly. “Not you. Not my father.”
Tyra winces and sits up straighter. “You must believe me that I did what I did because I want you to—”
“You want me to what, Tyra? Not be with Julian anymore? You can’t come between us. Nothing and no one can.”
“You did marry him,” she murmurs. “You drank his blood. He drank yours.”
“Our wedding was the first time we drank our blood mixed, but we’ve both drank each other’s blood before.” I pause, and my heart skips a beat. “He told you we’re married? You didn’t hurt him, though.”
“You married a coward. I challenged him, but he refused to fight, and his friend Mercy, who I think might actually love him, well, she—”
“You hurt Mercy.” There’s no doubt in my mind.
"Yes," Tyra admits. "She… She's hurt bad. I thought she was dead, but before I left, I heard her heartbeat again."
“She’s dying. You tried to kill her because Julian wouldn’t fight you, and you—”
“He did fight me but only after he thought I killed Mercy. I’m telling you, the two of them—”
“He wounded you because he thought you killed his friend. Mercy is one of his best friends. Of course they love each other. She’s not a threat to me!” I jump to my feet.
“I am not going to apologize for what I did. I honestly thought—”
“You thought wrong. You… Did you come here with the blood sangria purposely to try to distract me? Is that why you came? Why didn’t you tell me what you were planning? I’ll tell you why. Because you knew I wouldn’t—”
“I had no nefarious plans when I came over. From the way you were talking, I thought… I thought he asked you to marry him, and I didn’t… When I went to go see him, to talk to him, to maybe scare him off, I don’t know… That’s when I learned that you two got married. You married a werewolf, Romelia! How could you! You aren’t in your right mind, and if your father knew—”
“You aren’t going to tell my father anything,” I fume. “You aren’t going to do anything at all. Just… Mercy, do you think she’s going to die?”
“Werewolves can heal, yes, but she’s badly off.”
I think furiously. Julian has some vials of my blood. He’ll no doubt give one or more to Mercy, but if she’s that far along, that might not be enough. Even all of my blood might not be enough if she’s that close to death’s door.
What she needs is something even more potent than vampire blood. A magical panacea, yes, that should do the trick.
I don't look at Tyra. I can't right now. My heart's in my throat as I open my window. I haven't taken Transformation, the class to help us master shapeshifting into bats, rats, or smoke, but I picture myself changing, shrinking, growing feathers, shifting into a bird. It's a bit of a struggle and a much longer and more painful process than I anticipated, but then, I have wings, and I'm flapping and flying away. As far as I know, vampires aren't able to shift into a bird like this, but bats and birds aren't all that different. Then again, maybe demons have more control over shapeshifting than vampires do. The thought that this might be a demonic ability makes me pause, which causes me to pause flapping my wings, and I start to sink like a falling stone.
It takes me a bit to be able to learn how much I have to flap in order to fly, and soon enough, I realize that birds more glide than fly, flapping only when it's necessary. That helps to preserve some of my energy, not that I need to conserve it because of wanting to battle someone. I am engaged in a fight, but it's a fight to save a lif
e, not to end it.
It doesn’t take me too long to leave the campus behind, and I turn northward, flying harder now. The quicker I can reach Jade Umbra, the better.
Jade is a witch who my father has had dealings with in the past. Jade has to be at least two hundred years old, but honestly, she’s always looked to be about seventeen years old. Her nose and features are all soft and girly, and she looks innocent, but she’s powerful and a bit manipulative. Then again, you have to be if you’re going to deal with demons, or else you run the risk of them eating you alive.
My stomach feels like it’s going to drop out of me. This is what happens with you accept demons, when you accept the darkness. Tyra thought she was helping me, but she had to know deep down that she wasn’t, that she was allowing her prejudice and hatred to control her actions. She used me as an excuse to go after werewolves. No, she used me as an excuse to go after werewolves again. How many times had Tyra sneaked away to the forest to try to bait a werewolf into fighting her?
Mercy… I can’t blame her for standing up and stepping in to accept the challenge. From what Julian told me, she’s not one to back down from a fight. Tyra dishonored Julian, and Julian’s reluctance to fight probably looked cowardly to Mercy, just like it did to Tyra.
And Julian. He fought Tyra, but he didn't seriously injure her. He held back. I can't exactly fight him for defending his friend.
Mercy. I wanted to meet her.
No. I still want to, and I will. I’ll do whatever it takes to get my hands on a magical panacea, the most potent kind of healing potion in the world capable of healing any ill, and then I’ll save Mercy. From there… Well, first things first. I have to acquire the magical panacea.
Finally, Jade’s shop comes into view. She works out of her home, a cozy-looking cottage in a clearing of a forest. Transforming back to myself is a bit smoother of a process, quicker too, than becoming the bird, but I find myself holding my arms out as I walk up to her door.
I knock three times in quick succession, pause, then knock once more, pause again, and knock two more times as soft as can be.
The door opens, and Jade eyes me.
“You’re Magmar’s brat, aren’t you?”
Blood Haven: Year Two: A Mayhem of Magic World Story Page 17