13
The sun was beating on my back, not helping my mood. We stood outside Dmitri’s safe house as he went over the plan for the day.
“There is no way I am staying hidden the whole time. I want to help you guys!” I complained to Dmitri when he told me about my role. I pleaded to Dax with my eyes to help me out.
“Come on, Dmitri. It kind of isn’t fair that she has to come to The Valley with us and then stay hidden the whole time. She has a point, you know.”
I smiled when Dmitri glared at Dax for taking my side.
He turned his attention back to me, eyes filled with mild annoyance. “If you don’t want to stay hidden, then convince me to let you help,” he forced out, gritting his teeth. His eyes narrowed as he waited for my response. I was prepared for this.
“Well, I can be a great distraction.” I held my hand up before he could interrupt me. He hmphed and crossed his arms. “I can enter the building Caspian is hiding out in first instead of you guys just charging in, fangs blazing.”
Dax was the only one who chuckled at my terrible joke, and I gave him a grateful smile. I thought it was pretty funny. “I can act confused, say I got lost or something, then before any of them can even breathe on me, you can appear in front of me and get to work,” I finished. It was silent for a few seconds as I watched Dmitri contemplate my terrible proposal.
“As soon as I appear in front of you, I need you to get to a safe place right away. That’s final.”
I nodded and grinned, happy I was able to contribute in some sort of way. “You got it, boss.” I saluted him and chuckled when he muttered under his breath. We all packed up everything we needed for this little mission of ours and hopped into Axel’s white jeep.
I tried to get them to pick another vehicle to ride in, but they told me Caspian would be looking for anyone that stood out, so it was better to blend in with the population. I’d never been to The Valley, so I didn’t know how far it was. Dmitri was driving, and I sat in the front seat, humming to a random song. I didn’t know the song, but I was pretty good at catching on to tunes. A few hours later, we finally made it to our destination.
“Well, that’s a pretty building,” Dax commented as we all got out of the jeep. He was right, it was indeed pretty. It stood up in the middle of the almost-empty parking lot, around thirty stories high. Tall, but not a skyscraper. A few people exited their cars and entered the building, making it seem pretty ordinary and legit. The building was a beautiful, pristine black.
“Dax.” Dmitri snapped his fingers at him, catching his attention. “How many are in the building right now?” he asked, eyes pinned on the building in front of us. Axel and Rita were both on high alert, their bodies tense, ready for anything.
Dax nodded and crouched down on the concrete, placing his palms flat on it. He closed his eyes and bent his head, concentrating. His body twitched every so often, which made me paranoid, not knowing what was going on. Was he in pain?
He suddenly gasped and looked up sharply, his eyes violet. His mouth was puckered as if he’d shoved a bunch of food in it. He groaned and opened his mouth wide, and my jaw almost dropped as I watched his canines shrink back until they were normal sized again. He stopped groaning when his teeth stopped moving and shook his head as if it was a painful process. His eyes turned back to their brown color, and he stood, wiping the dust off his pants.
“I count around fifteen young. I think I felt one more, but I couldn’t really get a true feeling. It was as if I was being blocked by something.”
“Young?” I asked.
“Newborn vampires. We call them young,” Dmitri answered before turning to the others. “It’s Caspian. He knows how to block anyone from tracking him.” He turned back to me. “Are you ready?” he asked, and I tried my best not to say aye, aye, Captain. He probably wouldn’t get it, anyway. He didn’t seem like the type to have a great sense of humor.
“Of course I’m ready. It’s going to be a piece of cake,” I answered, trying to hype myself up and not think about how I was literally leading myself to slaughter.
Axel, Rita, Dax, and Dmitri nodded at each other, and I started walking to the front doors. My heart pumped wildly.
I reached the door and grabbed the silver handle, taking in a deep breath. I glanced back at my newly acquainted peers, all of them donning serious looks except for Dax. He gave me a thumbs up along with an encouraging smile. I smiled softly and exhaled, letting my nerves settle so my hands would stop shaking. There was really nothing to worry about, as long as I pressed the distress button on my phone.
Before I could psych myself out and take Dmitri’s advice of hiding the whole time, I opened the door and walked in. Cool air grazed my skin. The atmosphere was relaxing, despite who worked in the building. It was friendly and open, the ceilings high, and an actual escalator sat in the area’s middle. There was a tall reception desk to my right, with a big sign that read Lights.
A lightbulb replaced the dot of the ‘i’ in the word. Nice. A dirty-blond-haired woman sat at the desk, tapping away at her computer. Small tables littered the area, and a few people were seated at a bunch of them, making conversation with each other. Everyone here seemed pretty normal.
“May I help you?” the woman asked in a high-pitched voice. She had bright purple lipstick on, a contrast to her pearly white teeth. She seemed normal enough to me.
“Hi, yes.” I walked over to the desk, placing my hands on it, drumming my fingers as I still looked around. I was trying to take some time to think quickly because I didn’t really prepare for the conversation. I didn’t expect this place and the people in here to be so…normal.
“Um, do you guys sell lightbulbs?” I mentally slapped myself for asking that dumb question. Duh, they sold light bulbs. The woman smiled politely despite my question. My eyes flickered to her teeth.
They weren’t as sharp as I thought they would be, but they were definitely sharper than the average canine. Her eyes followed mine as they went back up to her face, and I smiled a bit to distract her. Hopefully, she didn’t suspect anything.
“Yes, we do sell lightbulbs. Have you visited our website to see which one you would like to order?” she asked professionally.
“Um.” I glanced at the front entrance, wondering when they were going to come in. Turning back to the woman, I chuckled nervously as she narrowed her eyes slightly, glancing at the front doors herself.
“Are you okay, honey? Expecting anyone?” she asked, and I shook my head quickly.
“No, I’m not. My husband is the one who knows which lightbulb it is, let me jus—”
“No, no, it’s okay,” she interrupted me when I pulled out my temporary phone. She waved her hand at someone behind me, and I turned, the phone still in hand as two men in black suits across the room started walking my way. “These guys can show you some pictures, and you can see if they look familiar.” When she finished, I got a chill up my spine as the men got closer.
Something didn’t feel right.
One of them narrowed their eyes and glanced behind me, nodding.
I was caught.
I pressed the side of the phone, activating the distress signal Axel programmed for me. It was a silent signal to let them know I was in trouble and to charge in here, guns blazing. I thought it would be silent, but it turns out it wasn’t that silent because the men whipped their heads to the front door as soon as I pressed the button, then looked at me, eyes glaring at the device in my hand.
“It’s the device in her hand! Grab it!” The woman yelled at the men, and my body went into flight mode. Looking around frantically for an escape, my eyes landed on the moving escalators. I ran in that direction as fast as I could, dodging my attackers. Why I thought I would actually be faster than vampires, I have no idea, but I found out quickly that I wasn’t. I skidded to a stop when the men chasing me were suddenly in front of me. My heart was beating fast, and I tried to think of ways to defend myself.
“Hey now, I’m just here f
or the lightbulbs, and this is my cell phone.” I pointed to my phone, giving them my lame excuse. They glanced at each other and then looked back at me, glaring. They opened their mouths, and I watched as their canines started protruding. Both of them groaned slightly. I backed up and kept smashing the button on my phone. Maybe I could throw my phone at one, punch the other, and make a dash for the escalator again. That was a terrible idea. I frantically looked for an escape, but there was no way I was running faster than them.
“Meadow, duck!”
I barely registered what Dmitri yelled, but my body reacted for me, ducking quickly. Something flew over my head, and a loud scream that sounded like nails dragging down a chalkboard ignited in the air. One of the men in black clutched a dagger buried in his chest, his hands wrapped around it as he screamed.
Cringing at the uncomfortable sound, I covered my ears, not moving from my position. The weird thing about the dagger in the man was that there was no blood flow. Around the area where the dagger was located, it started turning blue, spreading across his chest. Dmitri appeared in front of me.
Snarls filled the air as Dmitri grabbed the dagger’s handle, shoving it more into the man’s chest. Before his partner could do anything, Dmitri pulled out the other dagger and stabbed the second man as well, igniting the chalkboard screams. He shoved it deeper like the first one, but I heard a cracking sound, like bone breaking.
I wanted to throw up. Maybe I should have chosen to stay hidden.
The cracking continued, and I stared in shock as the blue substance spread over both employees’ chests, a white color following quickly behind. The process was quick and continued until both of them were covered entirely…in ice?
Two ice sculptures stood in place of the men that stood there a second ago. Dmitri yanked both daggers out of their chests, then turned and stared above me.
Countless footsteps indicated more people coming down, probably to see what happened. There was a yell, and Rita was by my side, an object that looked like a key fob in her hand. She swung her arm to the other side of her body and back down to her hip. The key fob turned into a double-bladed sword, both blades emulating fire. It flickered and moved just like a flame, one blade an orange-red color while the other blade was a mixture of light and dark blue.
It was the most beautiful weapon I had ever seen. Rita yelled and raised her sword over her head, bringing it down to slice the frozen vamps. It was quick and smooth, the two ice sculptures breaking into pieces, scattering on the floor. My jaw dropped.
“Get ready, more are coming now,” Axel commented as he joined Rita and Dmitri. I looked over at the receptionist’s desk to see the dirty blonde lying unconscious over the desk. Axel grabbed a dagger from Dmitri and quickly jogged over to her, shoving the dagger into her back. I jumped as her body flopped from the force. The blue and white substance fought as it covered her body until she was an ice sculpture, just like her co-workers.
Axel yanked the dagger out and pulled out a gun to shoot the sculpture. I covered my ears as the once woman, now ice sculpture, blasted into many pieces, just like the men before her. Actual goosebumps dotted my skin and my breathing quickened.
“Meadow, get behind the desk!” Dmitri yelled as the footsteps got closer.
Dax reached out and pulled me up with no problem, but I hesitated. “Go!” Dax shoved me away, and I ran to the desk, wiping the ice out of my way as I slid over it. I got on my knees and slowly peeked over, not wanting to miss the fight. The sound of footsteps running filled the room until the owners of the steps appeared.
They were all in purple suits. All of them had straight looks on their faces, each with a furrowed brow. Their eyes glowed the signature violet color, and I had to squint to see if I saw correctly. Their hands looked…odd. I couldn’t see exactly what it was, but there was some discoloration. Hisses filled the room as the employees watched my team closely, both parties waiting for the other to make the first move.
One of the females darted her eyes around, taking in the ice scattered across the ground, not melting. Her eyes widened in realization and turned back to my team, a shrill scream filling the air. “They killed our brothers and sister!”
As soon as the words came out of her mouth, the rest of them tensed, then lunged. I gasped, slapping a hand over my mouth. Everything started blurring, I couldn’t see what was going on. I only heard the crunching and screeches. An uncomfortable pressure started building up behind my eyes, so I closed them, squeezing them instinctively before reopening them. The pressure was gone, and nothing was blurred anymore. I saw everything clearly.
Rita was screaming as loud as the employees, her double-bladed sword slicing through the air. Bodies were sliced cleanly in half by her sword, blood spraying as she swung. One employee came after her, and she charged at him, passing right through him, and shoved her sword backward. The blue blade exited through the other side of his body. She could phase—now I understood what Dax was talking about.
Dax came into view, and I wish I could’ve seen my face when I saw what he was doing. Three men were running toward him, and I was anxious for him, hoping he could hold his own. Boy, did he prove me right. He jumped up in the air, lifting his arms as he went, and shoved an arm out in front of him. Sharp sticks flew in that direction, stabbing all three men multiple times.
He landed gracefully on his feet and threw his arm out behind him, green vines wrapping around the legs and arms of the woman who was creeping up. He twisted his arm in the air and lifted the woman as she tried to escape the vines. Then he threw his arms down, slamming her onto the ground. I heard a snap when she connected, and I shuddered, blocking my eyes with my hand.
That was…intense.
Someone yelled, and I looked up in time to see Axel shoot two guys right in the middle of their foreheads. Both of them dropped to the ground, lifeless. He ran to another employee and raised his leg, kicking her right in the chest. She flew backward from the force, crashing into the wall. She screamed and got up, prepared to charge at Axel, but Axel whipped out two different guns and fired at her. Two bullets pierced her forehead. He was really skilled with those guns.
I turned my attention to Dmitri. He was graceful with his fighting, as if he was used to it, so it was nothing to him. The employees couldn’t even reach him because when they ran at him, he shot his arms out, lifted them into the air, and clapped his hands together, slamming them into each other. A loud cracking sound filled the air.
I gritted my teeth, trying my best not to flinch. Every time I heard a snap or a crack, I almost felt what was happening to them. I was so caught up with the fighting, I almost forgot about my own personal agenda—to go find Caspian and persuade him to stop all of this nonsense.
Dmitri’s back was facing me, so it was a perfect time to bolt. Getting up to a crouched position, I grabbed on to the desk’s side and scouted the area one last time. Once I was totally sure that the coast was clear, I ran to the escalator.
I ducked when one of the employees crashed into the wall beside me and continued running, not wanting to get caught by my team. I reached the escalator and paused, glancing behind me to make sure I was still in the clear. No one was looking my way, so I hurried and jumped onto the moving steps.
“Meadow!” Dmitri shouted, and I glanced back at him. The anger on his face almost made me want to go back down to safety. Almost. Another employee attacked him, distracting him. I made it to the top and ran to the elevator, smashing the button to go up. The doors opened and I threw myself inside, rapidly pressing the top floor button. That was the only place Caspian would be.
The elevator jolted to a stop, and the doors opened, revealing a spacious office with long, clear windows surrounding it. The room held a small desk with a comfy looking black chair behind it, and a laptop sitting in its middle.
I stepped out of the elevator slowly and spotted a purple lip-shaped couch in the corner. Interesting. There was nothing else in the office besides a flatscreen tv hanging on the wall to
my left. And Caspian. He stood with his back to me, his hands clasped behind him. There was another door to his right, with an exit sign above it.
He was wearing a purple cloak with a hood that I’d seen him in, back when I didn’t know it was him. I cleared my throat so my voice wouldn’t come across with fear in it. His head moved, the only sign I saw that he actually heard me.
“Caspian,” I whispered. My voice already betrayed me.
His shoulders tensed, and he slowly turned around, his blue eyes wide. Was it shock?
“Meadow, how did you get in here?” He seemed surprised. For some reason, I didn’t believe his tone. I could hear behind the facade that he’d probably always used on me.
I crossed my arms and narrowed my eyes at him. “Why are you trying to kill me?” I asked, getting straight to the point.
His face morphed into a…sinister one? “Who said I was trying to kill you?” he asked sweetly.
I almost gagged from how fake he sounded. “Dmitri,” I answered, his name making Caspian halt his steps.
He tilted his head to the side and narrowed his eyes into slits. “I am not trying to ki—”
“Meadow!” Dmitri shouted, interrupting Caspian, and appeared next to me, eyes wild and searching. Once he saw that I wasn’t harmed in any way, he slowly turned, facing Caspian.
I moved and stood next to Dmitri, tired of him always standing in my way like a shield. I wasn’t looking at Dmitri, but I could tell he was probably glaring, based on the smug look on Caspian’s face.
“Caspian,” Dmitri growled as his body tensed.
Caspian’s smirk turned into a huge smile. “You seem stressed, Dmitri. Are you okay?” Caspian taunted, pacing in small circles with his hands clasped in front of him.
Dmitri took a small step forward, fists clenched. “Stay away from her. She knows nothing anymore, therefore she’s not a threat. So why are you doing this?” Dmitri asked, his breathing getting deeper as he got angrier.
Souls Page 9