Becoming

by Dakota Brown

  One of the objects on the shelf caught my eye. A very simple, clearly ancient dagger. Besides the obvious usefulness of a knife in my current situation, something else about the blade called to me.

  Drawing on a little magic and hoping that no one would be able to sense it, I carefully grabbed at the knife. Lavender sparkles surrounded the hilt, and far more strongly than I had ever managed before, the knife flew across the room toward me.

  I gasped, hoping I wasn't about to stab myself. I couldn't really control it. At the last minute, I managed to get the knife to spin, and instead of impaling my hand on the blade, the hilt slid into my grip.

  Supporting the knife with a bit of my power, I turned it so the blade was pointing at me once again and managed to slide it under my forearm.

  The effort of that much fine control sapped me for a moment, and I sagged against my bonds, but the knife was hidden before Alex returned a few minutes later.

  "So, what will it be? Cooperate, and your boyfriends get to live. Wait, are you actually dating all three of them? Really?" He shook his head. "If it takes three to keep you happy, I guess I wouldn't have been enough, even if I had actually been interested. I just wanted to figure out why you were so obviously using magic. You had no idea."

  I let him ramble for a minute while I thought. The guys would come after me once they realized I was missing. I just didn't know how long it would take, since they weren't expecting me until tomorrow. Victoria had probably already alerted them, but would they be able to find me?

  "What's your choice?"

  "I'm not cooperating with you, Alex." I jerked the arm that wasn't hiding a knife.

  "I thought you liked your boyfriends."

  "I think they can take care of themselves." I hoped they could. I doubted Alex would leave them alone regardless, so I didn't feel like I was changing anything by refusing to cooperate.

  "Ash, wake up," Alex ordered.

  The demon jerked awake and immediately glared at Alex. He didn't even glance at me.

  "Go kill the vampire and his pet dogs." Alex watched me while he gave Ash his orders and acted disappointed when he didn't get more of a reaction from me.

  I glared at him.

  Ash left the room without a word, though I could see the tension in his shoulders, and almost feel the anger radiating off of him.

  "Maybe I'll make you a wolf pelt rug when Ash is done with your friends. Do you think Victoria might want one as well? Won't be anything left of Cassidy when we're done with him, though. You didn't seem surprised, so I guess he told you his little secret." Alex shrugged. "So, I guess we wait for Ash to come back."

  I hoped waiting would entail him leaving. Unfortunately, he leaned back in the chair, content to sit there and watch me. I didn't dare try to cut my ropes or use magic with Alex in the room. I gritted my teeth in frustration. Every minute I was stuck here was one less that I could potentially warn Doc that Ash was much more than we had known. Or had Doc known?

  I glared at Alex and willed him to go away. He smiled back and settled in to wait.

  My worry for the boys grew the longer we sat there. "What happens when Ash gets killed instead?" I had to keep believing they'd all be fine.

  "He won't. Ash never fails when we tell him to kill someone. He's a much better killer than your vampire. Older, has more practice, and all that. He's even killed a vampire for us before. Cassidy shouldn't be an issue."

  Alex acted sure of himself. I felt sick. And yet...Doc had managed to scare them enough that they had left him and Ed and Allan alone for several years before I showed up. I was sure the werewolves were no slouches in a fight, but it was specifically Doc that they were afraid of.

  I just hoped if Ash found the guys, they were all together and could help each other fight.

  Chapter 24

  Ash

  Go kill the vampire, Ash. Go kill the dogs, Ash. Go do this, go do that. If he ever managed to slip his bonds, the first person he was going to kill would be Alex. The bastard didn't even have the decency to explicitly phrase his orders. Of course, Ash knew what Alex meant. Unfortunately, his sloppy wording left him with choices. Except… he didn't want choices. He wanted to mindlessly follow orders and not have to think. Not until he was free. Which would be exactly never if the Andersons continued to have their way.

  He rubbed at his wrist and tried to ignore the burning pain from his restraints.

  If it were a normal evening, his prey would be at their cabin. He suspected they knew the Andersons had Sofia by now. Cassidy and his dogs weren't dumb by any means. Instead of taking a car straight to the cabin, he decided to head through the woods in the general direction of Cassidy's place.

  He didn't attempt to be overly stealthy, just enough that it wasn't completely obvious he was being noisy. Maybe they would come to him.

  "You know, I still haven't figured out why you serve them."

  Ash spun around, swearing. Where had Cassidy come from? Currently, the vampire leaned casually against a tree, arms crossed over his chest as he stared at him.

  "No choice." He shrugged as if it were of no consequence but held up his arms so that his sleeves slid up, revealing the gold cuffs that bound him.

  Cassidy winced. "That looks painful."

  He shrugged again, though he kept his senses open for the werewolves. They had to be close.

  "Unfortunately, as much as I'd love to share life stories. I have to kill you all. Nothing personal. Orders."

  "They do have her, right?"

  "Yes. She's fine for now." He knew the vampire wanted that information and had no reason not to give it to him. Annoyed with his entire life, he sighed and raised his hands, bending magic to his will and blasting a spell at the vampire. It was particularly effective against them, bending sunlight into soul penetrating stakes.

  Cassidy disappeared before the spell got anywhere close.

  A whisper of breeze warned him at the last moment, and he spun and caught Cassidy with straight energy to the chest.

  The blow shoved Cassidy backward into a pine tree, snapping his head back. He grunted, and Ash again tried the stake spell. The pine tree splintered as the force of the spell slammed into it. Cassidy had again vanished before the spell could connect.

  He hadn't expected him to recover so quickly.

  Again, the faintest of whispers alerted him to the attack. Cassidy was good. The last vampire Ash had fought was nowhere near as stealthy. The demon put his arm up, blocking the blow, and Cassidy's forearm smacked into his and shoved him backward a step. The vampire was now armed with a long knife glowing with sigils.

  He knew it would hurt him. He almost welcomed it. Almost didn't block when the vampire dropped the blade into his other hand and thrust. At the last moment, self-preservation took over and he twisted, feeling the knife edge burn along his stomach, barely snagging as it sliced through his shirt and drew a thin line of blood.

  The vampire took a breath, noticing the blood. His eyes blackened completely, and he growled. "I know you don't have a choice, really makes me not want to kill you."

  "You should, if you can," Ash replied, falling back. Cassidy was quicker, and closed in. Ash knew he would eventually lose without resorting to magic. "I can't go against them, and you're their enemy."

  Cassidy vanished again.

  Ash looked around, listening, trying to find any hint of the vampire.

  This time, he didn't have any warning. The vampire pressed against his back, the long knife held to his throat with one hand, the other pinning one of his hands to his chest.

  Ash grabbed the vampire's knife hand with his free one, but he couldn't budge Cassidy's grip. He clamped his hand around the vampire's muscular forearm and squeezed, digging his nails in until he drew blood.

  The vampire still didn't budge.

  "I really don't want to kill you," Cassidy breathed on Ash's neck. "If anyone dies, it should be your captors."

  "Trust me, I agree. Unfortunately, Alex isn't going to rescind his orde
rs, so I'll have to keep trying until one of us is dead." Ash jerked forward. While he couldn't actively try to kill himself, he could try to get away, and if the knife happened to slip...

  Unfortunately, Cassidy moved with him and only drew a tiny bit of blood. The vampire had to be loving that. Demon blood only a breath away.

  "What exactly were your orders?" Cassidy's breathing had quickened.

  "Go kill the vampire and his pet dogs," Ash replied. He could cast a spell back in Cassidy's face to get him to let go. Maybe even strike enough of a blow to disable the vampire long enough to kill him.

  "I'm not a vampire, Ash, and Ed and Allan aren't dogs. Someone is giving sloppy orders."

  He tensed. Technically, Cassidy was right. But that meant he'd have to make a choice. Damn him.

  He jerked forward again, and Cassidy dropped the knife. For a moment, Ash thought he had surprised the vampire. Seconds later, Cassidy's strong hand gripped his throat and jerked his head back and to the side. He'd been bitten by a vampire once, years ago. It had been one of the more painful experiences in his life up to that point. He tried to wrench free. Two points of ice slid into his neck as Cassidy bit down. He cried out, expecting pain. It took a moment for his brain to process as pleasure coursed through him, burning through his core and weakening his knees.

  The vampire followed him as he collapsed to the ground, doing whatever it was vampires did to control their victims until Ash wasn't capable of fighting back any longer. Cassidy twisted him around and met his gaze. He lay there gasping, half supported by the vampire, partially propped up with one arm. It had been so long since he'd felt even a kind touch, let alone this level of pleasure, it was painful in its own way.

  "What did you do to me?"

  Cassidy licked his lips, his eyes glinting in the low light. "You're going to leave us alone unless you get more specifically worded orders."

  He wasn't sure if the vampire was using mind control on him or not, and he didn't care. He nodded agreement.

  "And you're not going to tell any of the Andersons how badly those orders were worded, right?"

  "No."

  "If I can find a way, I'll free you. No promises, though."

  He could tell that the vampire meant it, but he didn't know why. He had no real reason to care about Ash one way or the other.

  Cassidy leaned back. Ash, desperate to be touched again, and not in anger, grabbed the vampire's shirt and jerked him forward.

  Cassidy hadn't been prepared for that and fell forward. If Ash had changed his mind, he would have gotten Cassidy just then. Murder was the last thing on his mind as he pressed his lips to the vampire's.

  Cassidy didn't pull away, though he didn't exactly kiss him back. He tasted his blood on the vampire's mouth and bit down on Cassidy's lip. That got the vampire to return his kiss. Ash groaned as the vampire slid his hand up the demon's arm.

  "Wait, we're kissing the enemy now?" one of the werewolves said.

  Cassidy pulled back, eyes wide, looking startled.

  Ash continued to stare at him, waiting to see what he would do.

  "Submission tactic," Cassidy muttered, getting quickly to his feet. He picked up his knife and pushed it in a back sheath under his shirt.

  He returned his attention to the fallen demon. "We have an understanding then?"

  Ash nodded. "As much as I'm able. You can't trust me." He shrugged, "I'll do what I can, and tonight, I must continue to search for a vampire and his dogs. Know any?"

  Cassidy smiled, though the demon could still see murder in the vampire's eyes. It just wasn't directed at him.

  "No."

  "Then I'll keep looking." He watched as Cassidy joined one of his wolves, Ed, and they headed toward the Andersons' house.

  "Are you sure it's safe to leave him alive?" Ed asked as they walked away.

  "Yeah, it'll be fine for now."

  "Damn, Roy, I didn't think you were into guys."

  It was the first time Ash had ever heard one of the wolves refer to Cassidy by his first name. The vampire ran his hand through his hair in a nervous gesture.

  "Not sure that was actually what it looked like." Cassidy sounded embarrassed.

  "I don't know, looked like you were making out with Ash instead of trying to kill him."

  Cassidy actually laughed, though whatever he replied was lost to distance.

  Only the hope that Cassidy would fulfil his promise to free him kept the demon from racing after the two and begging them to kill him. The emptiness he always felt was amplified a hundred times after a brief taste of connection. He licked blood from his lips and stood. He needed to get away from here in case the Andersons realized he was evading his orders, sloppy as they were. As he headed deeper into the pine forest, he hoped Cassidy wouldn't take too long to figure out a way to free him. That was one thing he knew about the vampire–half vampire–he kept his promises.

  Chapter 25

  Sofia

  I stared at Alex. He stared back at me. We didn't say anything for a good hour, both barely moving. Finally, Alex pulled out his phone and frowned. "What is taking him so long?"

  He got up and stalked out of the room. I didn't move for another few minutes, but Alex didn't come back. Tense, all my senses alert for sounds he might be returning, I twisted my hand until I was again holding the knife.

  The blade whispered across my arm, and I winced, pretty sure I had just nicked myself. Fuck, it was sharp. Magic surged, and I panicked, hoping no one could sense it.

  I managed to twist the blade enough that it sawed against the inside of the ropes binding me to the chair. The angle of my wrist hurt, but the ropes parted easily, and soon, I had an arm free.

  Tears sprang to my eyes. I didn't have time to freak out any more than I already was. I quickly sawed at the rest of the ropes holding me to the chair and sprang to my feet. The door opened just as I reached for the handle. Alex's surprised expression registered only long enough for me to lunge forward with the knife. I felt almost no resistance at all as it slid into Alex's stomach. His eyes widened, and he folded over the knife, crying out.

  "Shit!" I jerked the knife back and ran. I was in a hallway and headed toward a T-junction. I didn't know where to go, but I had to keep moving. The hair tingled on the back of my neck, and I flattened myself to the floor just as green tinted magic streamed over my head. It slammed into the painting covering the wall ahead of me. Wood and pieces of glass splintered. I had just a moment to throw up a shield like I had seen Doc do. It kept me safe from the worst of the glass shards, though I couldn't hold it for long. I scrambled to my feet and sprinted for the corner.

  I thought I heard shouts down one hallway at the junction, so I took off down the other, hoping I wasn't heading for a dead end.

  This hallway ended in a window. I held out my hand, blasted the glass panes with magic so they shattered outward and leapt, before realizing I probably should have looked before I jumped.

  I somehow managed to wrap myself in my magic as I sailed out a second story window. I still hit the ground hard, but I didn't break anything as I rolled and scrambled to my feet. Angry shouts from the house chased me as I sprinted toward the shelter of the nearby forest.

  Magic blasted the ground in front of me, and I fell back, throwing up my hands to shelter my eyes from the dirt clods that pelted me. I tried to run. The mages chasing me blasted the ground every way I turned.

  My neck tingled. That seemed to be a warning I was about to get hit with a spell, and I dove to the side.

  It sizzled through the air, just missing me, though the energy left burns along my arm as I sheltered my head.

  "Stop fighting, or we might get tired and just kill you," someone shouted.

  Somehow, I still had the knife clutched in my hand, and though my hands shook, I held it in front of me as I got to my knees.

  "No."

  The lights at the house blazed and made it hard to see much. I could barely make out several people walking toward me. Two of them had
their hands up, ready to cast spells.

  I took a step back, trying to judge when I should run. If I should run. I didn't want to be killed, but I wasn't going to let them keep me, either.

  Light sparkled around the two people who held their hands up. One's spell was tinged magenta as it built around his hands, the other tinted light blue. I thought they would probably still try to incapacitate me instead of kill me. The forest was too far to reach before they blasted me, and I had nowhere to hide.

  I tried to make another shield. I couldn't focus enough to make the energy cooperate. I was so dead.

  The mages came to the same conclusion that I had. I couldn't fight back with magic. The one with the magenta colored magic cast his spell, and it streamed toward me.

  I blocked with the knife. It went red hot in an instant, and I dropped it, shrieking as my hand burned, though it deflected the spell.

  The other mage threw his spell at me. I screamed.

  "Sofia!" I heard one of my guys shout. I didn't turn. Wasn't going to make it. Wished I'd had a bit more time. Tears blurred my vision.

  The spell splashed against an invisible shield in front of me.

  That got the other mages' attention. They yelled in anger and then lit up the night trying to blast the shield in front of me.

  A moment's search let me find the knife I'd dropped. It was still warm, though not burning, and I clutched it as I turned and sprinted for the trees.

  "Sofia!"

  I ran toward Ed's voice. He and Allan crouched next to Doc at the tree line. He and Allan were both armed with wicked looking knives, and they protected Doc while he held the shield spell. I really wanted to know how he was managing something so powerful, especially since I didn't think he had touched the magic in the bracelets he wore. Amber light sparkled around his hands. I thought I'd seen that magic signature before, but I couldn't place it. It certainly wasn't mine.

  "Go," Doc ordered. "I'll hold them."

  "We're not going to leave you," I refused.