by L.H. Cosway
I pulled Rebecca close while continuing to spark magic from my hand, raising it in front of me. “Stand away from the door,” I demanded. “Let us leave or I swear I’ll do a lot worse than what you just saw.”
My eyes locked with Ethan’s, who appeared fascinated and furious all at once. Whitfield glared at me while Eliza continued wailing about her burned face. I didn’t feel too bad about it since vampires healed fast. Also, she’d tried to kill me, so she had it coming to her. They moved out of the way, and I hurried to the door with Rebecca.
“Don’t follow us. If you do, you’ll regret it,” I threatened and flicked several sparks in their direction as a final warning.
Sweat trickled down my spine as I ushered Rebecca down the stairwell, silently praying that Whitfield didn’t decide to take his chances and come after us. I was still drowning in guilt over Ethan, especially with how betrayed he looked and how he refused to kill me when Whitfield ordered him to. He hadn’t seemed to know what Rebecca was, and it made sense that Whitfield would want to keep it a secret. If other vampires found out they’d surely want her blood for themselves.
“Did any of them ever bite you?” I asked Rebecca as we dashed down an empty corridor.
She shook her head. “No, but the scary man back there said he was going to.”
I nodded, and we continued our flight. It was a relief that none of the vampires had drunk from her yet. But why hadn’t they? In no time at all, we reached the ground floor, but when we got to the end of the corridor just before the ballroom we stopped in our tracks. Delilah was just leaving the bathroom. She clocked us immediately, her eyes widening as they wandered from Rebecca to me.
“Is that who I think it is?” she whispered.
All I could do was nod. I didn’t have time to explain everything to her right then, but luckily, I didn’t have to. With a look of defiance, she stepped out of the way to let us pass.
“Thank you,” I uttered gratefully as we moved by her.
“Wait!” she said.
I stopped and shot her a questioning look. Delilah visibly swallowed, then begged, “Take me with you.”
I didn’t spend too much time thinking about it. All I knew was that with Whitfield in power, Delilah getting away from the vampires was probably a good idea.
“Okay,” I answered. “Come on.” She sagged with relief before joining us as we scurried to get out of the building. I’d completely forgotten about Pamphrock and the slayers, and about Finn and the others waiting outside. I realised they must’ve gotten impatient waiting for my text because the foyer was a warzone. They’d decided to invade the mansion blind. Slayers and vampires battled it out amongst Whitfield’s art and sculpture collection. It oddly brought some life to the cold, sterile room.
I spotted Finn amid the fighting, his bow and arrow stretched out in front of him. It was a striking looking weapon, all black and silver metal. He shot an arrow, and it pierced the heart of the vampire who had been advancing on him.
Pamphrock was fighting, too. He looked like death warmed over wearing a torn white shirt covered in blood. There was also a gaping wound on his forehead. Still, he fought with everything he had. I remembered Ethan speaking of the dhampirs being the best at killing vampires because they possessed all of their strengths and none of their weaknesses, such as the sensitivity to sunlight. Pamphrock displayed vampire speed as he latched onto an assailant, and quick as lightning, he plunged a stake into him before tossing his lifeless body to the floor.
“Daddy!” Rebecca yelled and tried to run to him, but I held her back.
“You can’t go to him yet. It’s too dangerous.”
The entire foyer was a battlefield. I recognised the young slayer, Danny, who’d been at Finn’s house the night he was shot in the leg. He was fighting with Lucas, who punched him in the face before moving in for the kill. No! I barely knew Danny, but I couldn’t let Lucas kill him. He was far too young to die. I shoved Rebecca into Delilah’s arms and ran towards them.
My hands moved of their own accord, gesturing manically all around me. The movements were new but somehow familiar, like long-forgotten muscle memory. I finished with a flourish in Lucas’s direction. An invisible force pushed him away from Danny. Lucas flew across the room like he’d been swept up in a gust of wind.
He looked around, trying to figure out what just happened. Then his eyes landed on me. “What do you think you’re playing at, Tegan?” he asked furiously.
“Preventing you from taking an innocent life,” I spat.
“How … did you do that?”
He didn’t get the chance to wait for my answer because two slayers came at him at once, and he jumped to his feet to fight them off. I went to Danny, whose nose was bloodied and broken, and slid my arm around his waist to help him up. I brought him to where Delilah still stood holding tightly onto Rebecca’s hand.
Shouts and cries of pain filled the room as the fighting continued. We had to get out of here now before it was too late. There was too much fighting going on near the main doorway of the mansion, so we couldn’t leave that way. Then my eyes locked on a side exit, nestled over on the far side of the room. I glanced at Delilah, and she seemed to have the same idea because she nodded at me, and we began our hurried journey over to the exit.
We only got about halfway across the room when a young female vampire grabbed onto Delilah, effectively pulling her away from us.
“Finally,” the vampire seethed. “I get the chance to kill Cristescu’s pet half-breed sister.”
Delilah paled at the threat. This was clearly one of the many vamps who’d been giving her a hard time.
“Keep your hands off me, Samantha,” Delilah warned. “Or my brother will not be happy.”
Samantha laughed cruelly. “Look around you, honey. Cristescu will never find out if I kill you. He’ll simply think one of the slayers got to you first.”
The woman seemed to have played on Delilah’s last nerve because she violently pushed her to the ground before leaping on top of her. Delilah reached under her ethereal white dress and pulled a long, sharp blade from a concealed thigh strap. Quick as a flash, she held the knife to Samantha’s throat.
“I might not be a vampire,” Delilah said, her voice low and threatening. “But I know how to kill, and I am far older than you. However, I’m not heartless like you are, and I will not sully my conscience with your death. I will hurt you though.”
Samantha struggled to push Delilah off her to no avail. Dhampirs really were strong. I covered Rebecca’s eyes because, with a swift and precise slash, Delilah slit the vampire’s throat, then stabbed her in the stomach for good measure. The sickening, wet sound of the blade slicing into flesh filled my ears and my stomach churned. If Samantha had been a human, she’d be dead by now. But no, she’d heal from her injuries. Her incapacitation simply provided us with enough time to get away and gave Delilah an outlet for her rage.
Delilah wiped the blade on her pale dress, making a stark red stain against the fabric. Then she slid it back into its holster before re-joining our little group. I sighed in relief as we made it to the exit. Unfortunately, that relief was short-lived.
The door opened and in walked Whitfield, Eliza, Ethan, and several heavily armed vampire guards. In unison, the four of us backed way the hell up.
19.
Ethan immediately recognised that Delilah and I had joined forces because his powerful voice boomed at her, “Come here this instant.”
Delilah didn’t budge. Instead, her grip on Rebecca’s hand tightened as she retorted, “I’ve had enough of this life, brother. I have had enough of him.” She gestured to Whitfield. “And I will not allow him to hurt this little girl.”
Whitfield laughed and stepped forward. “And what exactly do you plan to do to stop me?”
“She doesn’t need to do anything,” I interjected. “If you want to get to Rebecca, you’ll have to go through me first.”
Whitfield’s eyes cut to me. He turned his nose up l
ike he’d caught a bad smell. “Yes, there is that. Tell me, dear, what exactly are you?”
“Someone who will burn your fucking face off if you don’t get out of our way.” I glanced at Eliza, whose cheek was currently healing from the burn I gave her. I smiled at her smugly, hoping it hurt.
“Why are you doing this, Tegan?” Ethan asked, garnering my attention. “Do you hate us that much?” There was pain in his eyes, but he quickly masked it when Whitfield looked at him.
“I don’t hate you,” I whispered, a wobble in my throat.
The fighting in the room ceased as the vampires began to gather around their governor. The smell of blood and death filled my nose, making it hard to breathe. I glanced over my shoulder and found Finn, Pamphrock, and about forty slayers standing behind us.
Rebecca ran to her dad. He hugged her tightly before lifting her into his arms. At that moment, I didn’t see him as a dhampir or the leader of the DOH. He was simply a father who was so unbelievably happy to be seeing his daughter again. He mouthed “thank you” at me, and I nodded quietly in return.
Whitfield looked like he was about to say something, but a familiar voice echoed through the room. It bounced off the high ceilings and flowed like the rhythmic beat of a drum. Rita stood at the top of the marble staircase. I had no clue how she got up there, but she was reciting Latin which told me she was casting some kind of spell. Alvie and Gabriel stood on either side of her. All of their hands were joined, and they began repeating one word over and over: diluvium, diluvium, diluvium, diluvium.
“What is that witch doing?” Eliza screeched before looking to Whitfield and shouting. “For God’s sake, stop them, Father!”
Whitfield didn’t respond to her outburst. Instead, he stood tall and addressed his people. “Kill the witch.”
The vampires looked like they were about to stampede when I swept my arm up and over my body. I held it directly in front of me, my magical sparks flying out in warning. “Don’t even think about it,” I shouted, maintaining steady eye contact with Whitfield.
The vampires hissed and gasped. I just needed to hold them at bay until Rita could finish her spell. I had no clue what she was trying to accomplish, but surely it was something that would allow us to get out of Whitfield’s mansion with our lives still intact.
Suddenly, Rita’s chanting ceased, and a deathly silence followed. Nobody even dared breathe as we waited to see what would happen. A sharp, acrid scent hit my nose, like the air before a heavy downpour of rain. Then I heard something far away, an odd distant gushing noise that slowly grew louder.
The windows that lined the foyer burst inward, glass shattering as water flooded in so fast I barely had time to react. It was up to my waist within seconds. Delilah grabbed my hand and started pulling me toward the exit. We waded desperately through the rapidly rising torrents. It felt like being caught in the middle of a tsunami. There were too many people trying to escape. Delilah swiftly pushed her way forward, both of us swimming now.
Suddenly, we coasted on the crest of a gigantic wave as it spilled out of the mansion. Bodies tangled and knocked against each other. Delilah and I landed on the manicured lawn outside, and a moment later Finn was at my side, pulling me to my feet. He didn’t comment on Delilah’s presence as he ushered us away and down the street where his van was parked.
I glanced back as I climbed into the van and almost fainted at what I saw. A huge, swirling body of water hovered above the roof of the mansion, flooding inside through every available entrance. Rita had put it there, and I was in awe of the power she wielded.
Finn’s arms closed around my waist as he dragged me in next to him, shutting the door and starting the engine. Delilah sat in the back next to Pamphrock and Rebecca.
“What about Rita and the others?” I asked Finn as he tore out of the parking spot.
“Gabriel has a vehicle,” he replied before Pamphrock reached out to squeeze my shoulder.
“I can’t thank you enough for what you did,” he said, his voice laced with gratitude as he held his daughter in his lap.
“I’m just glad we got Rebecca out of there,” I replied, unable to rid the image of Ethan’s hurt and disappointed face from my head. The connection we shared was broken now. There was no going back to that place.
I turned in my seat, looking from Rebecca to Pamphrock, worry for the girl pooling in my stomach. She had no clue of the tough road ahead of her. “Do you know what she is?” I whispered.
Pamphrock’s brow furrowed in momentary confusion before his eyes widened in realisation. “How do you know ...” he trailed off, unable to finish his sentence. Delilah sat back, watching our exchange. Pamphrock eyed her warily.
“I know because I’m the same,” I told him meaningfully.
He stared at me for a long moment. “No, that can’t be. You don’t smell like her.”
“My mother was a powerful witch. She cast a spell to hide it,” I explained, and hope lit up his face.
“She did? Do you think she could do the same for my girl?”
I shook my head. “No, she passed away when I was little.”
“Well, could you do it? You obviously know something of magic from what I saw you do in front of the vampires tonight, and I can’t involve anyone from the magical families for obvious reasons.” I suddenly understood why he’d come to me to help rescue his daughter in the first place. Pamphrock couldn’t ask a witch or a warlock to cast a locating spell, because then they might discover that she had True Power blood. It was a highly potent magical ingredient. Rita already told me how the magical families hunted women with blood like mine and Rebecca’s, the same as the vampires did.
“I don’t know,” I finally replied. “I’m still learning my abilities.” I paused, glancing at Rebecca, still feeling that hum of sameness. I couldn’t just abandon her. I needed to at least try to help, so that she could live some semblance of a normal life. “I could try though,” I said, and Pamphrock beamed at me. “Thank you! Thank you so much! I’ll pay you generously for your efforts.”
“I can’t make any promises,” I reminded him.
“Of course. I understand, but I’m still grateful to you for agreeing to try.”
“Whitfield didn’t try to drink from her yet. Why do you think that is?”
Pamphrock’s expression sobered. “It’s likely because nobody yet knows how much of the substance it takes to …” he paused, eyeing Delilah once more before finishing cryptically, “To achieve the desired outcome. If too much is consumed, it can be poisonous and the vampire will die within a matter of weeks. Whitfield has been keeping my girl alive for this long because he’s still trying to figure out the perfect quantity.”
“So, he didn’t just kidnap her because he wanted to blackmail you into stepping down as governor?”
Pamphrock stared at me solemnly. “Whitfield had been trying to get his hands on my daughter since before this war even began.”
“Is that why he started it?”
Pamphrock nodded. “He simply used our allegiance with Theodore and the deaths of the Herringtons as an excuse to get what he wanted.”
I was still reeling from that when Pamphrock levelled his gaze on Delilah again. “You are Ethan Cristescu’s dhampir sister. Have you decided to change sides?”
Delilah swallowed down what appeared to be a lump in her throat. “I can no longer abide by my brother’s loyalty to Whitfield. The man is a monster, and I will not live under his tyranny anymore.”
A thick silence ensued. Then Delilah surprised both me and Finn when she knelt in front of Pamphrock, her head lowered deferentially. “I hereby pledge my allegiance to you, Governor Pamphrock.”
Pamphrock laid a hand on her shoulder. “Rise child, I accept your allegiance with gratitude.”
“Thank you,” Delilah said quietly, returning to her seat. I couldn’t believe that just happened. Ethan was going to be furious.
Finn parked the van outside the DOH training compound where I first met Pamph
rock. There were other vehicles crowded around the entrance, and injured slayers were being carried out on stretchers. We exited, and the crowd parted to allow Pamphrock entrance. Finn, Delilah, and I followed in behind him, and I spotted Rita, Alvie, and Gabriel sitting quietly in a secluded corner of the lobby. Their clothing was soaking wet, but other than that they didn’t seem to have sustained any injuries.
I rushed over to them and pulled Rita into a hug. She hugged me back, though she did seem a little out of it.
“What you did back there was amazing,” I whispered.
Gabriel had his arm around Alvie, who looked exhausted. He was like a small, sleepy bird resting his head against Gabriel’s chest, whose gaze was fixed questioningly on Delilah.
“Hello, brother,” she said softly.
“Why are you here?”
“I’ve changed sides,” she explained.
“I don’t believe you. Ethan would never allow you to do that.”
“I’m my own person,” Delilah snapped. “I’m fully capable of making my own decisions. There’s no trickery at play.”
Gabriel studied her for a long moment, then seemed to decide she was being honest when he replied simply, “Very well then.”
Somebody took my hand and pulled me away from the group. I turned and found myself staring into Finn’s bright blue eyes. He smiled down at me before lifting me into his arms, swallowing me in his embrace. “I’m so glad you’re okay. When we didn’t hear from you, I thought the worst had happened. That’s why we went in early.”
“Yeah, I’m sorry about that. I got caught sneaking into Rebecca’s room by Whitfield’s daughter, Eliza. She tried to attack me and—”
Finn hushed me with a finger on my lips. “You don’t need to explain. You’re alive. That’s all that matters.”
“What about you?” I asked, stepping out of his hug to survey him. “Are you hurt?”
“A few scrapes and bruises. Nothing serious,” Finn said, and I nodded, feeling relieved. What could I say? He was my friend now, and I worried about him.