Forever Here

by Harold Wall

My instincts went wild. Attack it before it can attack you! They screamed, and before I had time to think about what I was going, I gracefully sprung from my hiding spot and closed

  the distance between us, throwing my body against his so that we both went sprawling to the ground. He—it was indeed a he—cried out in surprise and fury as it struggled to get my off of him. I had his face pined to the forest floor, and my hand grabbed his hair and pulled up. "Alec obviously hasn't learned to keep out of my way, has he?" I snarled, leaning

  in close so that it was whispered into his ear.

  I pulled myself out of the large metal tin that served as a temporary bath, grabbing an impossibly soft, fluffy towel and wrapping it around myself before crossing to the other side of the large tent and picking up the pile of clothes the girl named Rashel gad left for me. "We didn't really know for sure if you were

  actually here," Rashel insisted, an apologetic and embarrassed expression on her face, "Actually, I must admit that even I doubted your chances for survival after seeing the wreck

  of the car…"

  "I didn't survive," I'd reminded her bleakly, indicating that I had, in fact, died in a way. Rashel seemed to understand.

  "In any case, you need clothes," she wrinkled her nose, "Clean ones. Jeanne seems to be about Rogue's size, so I'm sure she has an extra pair—I'll inform her immediately. And

  you're about my size, so I'll just give you the clothes I was wearing before."

  Although she'd worn these clothes recently, I could smell that they were still relatively clean—at least cleaner than the ones I'd been wearing before. I quickly changed and found to my satisfaction that they fit like a glove. I pulled my wet hair from out of my shirt and let it fall wildly over my shoulders before I sighed and whirled around to look at the mirror.

  And froze.

  I'd seen myself in the mirror plenty of times since I'd been changed and I'd acknowledged the fact the differences in my body. But I suppose the tunic had taken away from the

  effect—in the tunic, I'd looked more like a sassy princess.

  But now I looked dangerous.

  I wore faded black jeans that overlapped a pair of worn converse with a black tank top that had lace lining the edges. Over the black tank top, I wore a button up black shirt that I'd

  buttoned up only half way, the sleeves of it ending in rolled up cuffs at the elbows. My auburn hair, though wet, lined my face and fell across my shoulders in wild tangles and my

  face had the light of a hunter in it.

  I looked not only dangerous, I thought, but I looked good. I no longer looked like the headstrong yet good Maggie; I looked like a wild, dangerous, untamable and yet stunning

  Maggie, capable of anything I put my mind to. And I liked it.

  I wondered absently what Delos would think when he saw the new me—would he like it? He might, since he initially wanted to change me. But maybe his opinion on the matter had

  changed since then…

  "Jeanne don't go in there! Maggie's…" I whirled around at the sound of my brother's voice just in time to see Jeanne storm into the tent flap, her eyes wide and face pale.

  We stared at one another silently—I'd met Rashel shortly after coming to camp and she'd shoved me towards the bath before I could greet those I knew. The sight of Jeanne was a

  relief to sore eyes—her red hair reflected the soft glow of the sunlight that filtered through the tent flaps, her lips slightly parted and her breathing irregular. After a moment of just

  staring at each other, Jeanne melted, tears falling down her face as she launched herself at me.

  I caught her and held her just as tight as she did, letting her cry into my shoulder. "I…I thought…I thought I'd never see you again!" She wailed.

  "That's my line," I chuckled, rubbing her back soothingly.

  "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have made you give up you seat…"

  "The accident would have happened anyway," I just might have stayed human, that's all, I added silently but Jeanne seemed to have gotten the message nevertheless.

  She pulled away, giving me another good look over. My fangs and claws had been retracted, but I knew now that I still looked wild and untamable—almost nothing like the old

  Maggie. "But I could have spared you this," she started to wail, but I held a hand up to stop her.

  "What's done is done," I told her firmly, "It's not your fault—it's not anyone's fault but Alec's."

  "Delos was saying something about that," We both turned in surprise at the sound of my brother's voice. He stood at the tent flap, his face as serious as I'd ever seen it.

  "Delos," I whispered, stepping around Jeanne to go to my brother's side. "Miles, where is he? Where's Delos? Is he here or is he back at the castle? When can I talk to him? Has

  anyone informed him…"

  "He's been captured," I stopped, my eyes wide, the air catching in my throat. I could hardly believe the words he'd just told me. How could Delos have been captured? Never in my

  life had I ever thought that was possible. Miles, obviously seeing that I didn't believe him, shrugged, "Or he's dead—think what you'd like to think."

  "How, why?" I demanded, my voice rising in panic.

  "He claimed that you'd reached him, told him that Alec set up the accident…is that true?" I nodded and heard Jeanne gasp furiously behind me before letting out a string of dirty

  words which I ignored. "Anyways, he called me while he was on the way down here, explained his theory, and then ordered me to call Circle Daybreak if I didn't hear word from

  him in two days. But according to Rashel and Quinn, they took him here and he went in alone, confident that Alec would be diplomatic about this, two days ago. When he hadn't

  come back by nightfall, they called in for back up." Delos was here. Captured or maybe even dead, but he was here. And I'd missed him. A sinking feeling of irony sank into the pit

  of my stomach. If I'd waited for him for just a little longer…

  But if you'd waited any longer, a voice in my dead reminded me, you would have become Alec's plaything.

  I shuddered at the memory and tried to push the worry and panic that had risen within me back. I was much closer to him now than I thought I was—if I panicked now, I knew that

  it would only cause more unnecessary trouble. So instead I asked, "How many people do we have?" I remembered seeing a bunch of large roomy tents when I walked into the large

  grassy field at the edge of the forest, and I wondered how many people we truly had.

  Miles shrugged, "Thierry sent at least a fourth of the infantry—some of the best fighters in the entire Night World, Quinn says."

  I stared at him disbelievingly. "If you have a fourth of Circle Daybreak's infantry," I slowly said, irritation starting to spark within me, "Why haven't you stormed the castle? Pardon my pun,"

  "It's not that simple Maggie," Jeanne interrupted, her voice still rough from her crying fit a few moments before. "We don't have any idea of where the castle is in the forest—Miles

  had been scouting ahead when you two found each other—and even if we did, we don't have any idea where things are in the castle, or which points could work to our advantage…"

  I listened carefully and deliberately, my mind working through thee things she was saying. It was true—they'd never been to Alec's castle, nor had they really spent much time

  trekking through the woods that surrounded his castle.

  But I had.

  "I don't know exactly where the castle is, but I can help you with the layout of the land around the castle and the floor plans of it." I interrupted, my voice holding no emotion.

  Jeanne stopped blabbering and both she and Miles gave me a look that clearly said they thought I'd gone nuts again.

  "No way," Miles replied, his voice hard with his decision, "We just got you back—I'm not prepared to lose you again."

  "And I'm not prepared to just sit around and wait for you to bring Delos to me!" I snappe
d back, "I'm sick of playing the role of trapped princess here! I want to help you guys—in

  fact, I'm the only one who not only knows the place like the back of her hand, but I'm also the one who can make it back—Rogue needs to go home." Miles hesitated—he'd seen the

  condition that Rogue had been in; he knew just as well as I did there was no way she could make another trip back through that forest on foot again without losing her mind. I

  sighed and took a step towards my brother—I half expected him to flinch away like some of the castle servants did, but he didn't even indicate that my presence bothered him in

  the slightest—and put a hand on his arm. "Things have…changed, Miles—I'm not some helpless human girl who can't protect herself. I can do this Miles—besides, I want a chance to

  get back at Alec."

  Miles hesitated, torn by the logic of my words and his older brother over protectiveness. I could tell that part of him wanted to lock me up somewhere where no one could get to me, while the other half of him was telling to let it go. Finally he sighed and nodded. "Alright—but please, whatever you do, don't get yourself killed; not when I just got you back."

  I smiled and threw my arms around him. "Thanks Miles—did I tell you how much I missed you?"

  Miles hugged me back, his embrace tight around me. "You have no idea…" He whispered so quietly, it was hard for even me to catch it. We held each other quietly for a moment

  before Miles pulled away just enough to look down at me. "Are you thirsty?"

  The question surprised me—of course I was. I didn't dare try to take any blood from Rogue in her condition, so I hadn't actually had any blood that day. "Well no, but I'm really

  quite fine…" But as I was speaking, Miles pulled away and started to roll back his sleeve from his wrist. "What are you doing?" I slowly demanded, my eyes narrowing.

  "Giving you some of my blood," Miles answered as though he were merely stating that the sky was blue.

  I blinked at him. Was he insane? Had my brother gone up the wall in the six months that I'd been gone? "No thank you," I managed to tell him, backing away towards the opening in

  the tent. Miles rolled his eyes and looked at me as though I were some stubborn little child refusing to eat her veggies.

  "You know you won't survive without it," he insisted, holding out his wrist to me, "I'm cool with it—what are brothers for?" Um, not for eating, that's for sure, I thought sarcastically,

  and yet the sight of the veins in his wrist was appealing to my inner animal.

  "I'm not cool with it," I told him, but my eyes stayed glued to his wrist. If I looked close enough I could see the pulse thumping softly there…

  "Maggie," I reluctantly tore my eyes away from his wrist to look up into his serious eyes, "If you don't get blood, you might not be able to help save Delos." I winced—he was right

  and he knew that I knew it now. Without blood, I wouldn't be able to make it through the forest either.

  And more than anything I wanted to help save Delos and bring down Alec's little operation.

  So very reluctantly I stepped back forward, my eyes fixed on the ground, refusing to look at my brother or Jeanne in the eye. "I'm sorry," I whispered as I gently took his hand,

  pulling it up so that his wrist was cradled against my lips. And then I bit.

  I've never felt so dirty before—or embarrassed. Of anyone, I didn't want to take blood from my brother. And in front of Jeanne, who had probably, like Rogue, been drawn from

  unwillingly many times. Never in my life had I been so humiliated.

  As soon as I'd gotten the blood I needed, I released my fangs from his wrist and wiped my mouth of blood. "Thanks," I mumbled, turning away to hide the angry blush that had

  risen up on my cheeks. "I…I need to go check on Rogue." I whirled around, now concentrated on leaving the gaze of my brother and Jeanne, but just as I reached the door, my

  brother's voice stopped me.

  "Do you want to talk about it?" I knew what he was referring to—he knew that I was upset about this whole situation. But I didn't want to talk to him or, really, anyone about my

  feelings on becoming a vampire. Because I knew that if I did I'd lose all control I had over myself.

  "No," I answered before opening up the tent flap and walking out.

  The sun was setting over the ocean horizon and a cool salty breeze was blowing through the camp, causing the tent flaps to make loud smacking noises. I walked briskly; my hair

  blowing around my face and drying as I cut through the main area of camp were many Night People were sitting around a fire, laughing about some joke that had just been told. A

  few of them stared as I went by, but I ignored them and continued to my new tent which I shared with Rogue.

  I pushed myself in and sighed, my muscles relaxing. Rogue lay there staring up at the ceiling. "Can't sleep?" I asked quietly. Rogue's eyes snapped to mine and a smile spread over

  her face.

  "No, I can—I was just waiting for you." She replied, rolling onto her side. "You look hot," She added, taking a good look over me.

  I shook my head, "I look like a dangerous assassin."

  "Who knows—maybe you'll scare off the bad guys without a fight?" I laughed and sat down at the edge of her cot.

  "How does it feel to lay down on something other than dirt and rocks?" I teased.

  "Wonderful," She sighed in contempt before frowning, "So why is there a giant camp of Night People outside of Alec's woods?" I winced—somehow I knew that was the main reason

  she'd waited up for me. I slowly told her the story, not looking at her face.

  "But you're going home—Miles knows that you need to go home." I assured her when I was done telling her the story.

  "But what about you?" her voice was filled with worry.

  I was silent, staring at the floor of the tent before I looked up and met her eyes. "I need to stay here and fight for Delos—he came to my rescue, so now it's my turn to come to

  his." Rogue and I held our gazes for a long moment before she slowly nodded her head.

  "Will I ever see you again?" She whispered. I winced and shrugged.

  "It depends if we live through this—Thierry sent his best warriors, but…I'm not sure how steady Alec's kingdom is."

  "He was asking for an alliance with Delos," Rogue pointed out, "Usually when a country tries to ally with another, it's because the other is stronger."

  "True," I agreed, "But he could have just been giving us the illusion that things were failing in his country."

  "I doubt it," Rogue sighed, "Will you promise me something?"

  I eyed her warily. "It depends," I answered slowly.

  Rogue smiled softly, "If you live through this, I want to know—and I want to meet Delos. So promise me, when this is all over, that you'll drop by." I relaxed—I'd been afraid she'd

  try to get me to promise something that I wasn't sure I could keep. But this was one I knew that I could keep…if I lived.

  "I promise," I assured her, patting her leg gently. "Now you need to get some sleep—I plan for you to leave first thing in the morning." Rogue smiled and shifted to a more

  comfortable position before closing her eyes.

  I sat there for a moment, giving her a chance to drift away into a deep sleep before I stood up.

  Just as I was about to leave the tent, Rogue's soft voice reached my ears. "I never told you but—thank you for this—for everything." I paused and looked back at her. Her eyes

  were still closed but there was a smile on her lips.

  I smiled back, even though she couldn't see it. "Good night Rogue,"

  I woke to the sounds of yelling from outside the tent and the feeling of someone pushing my shoulder wildly. "Maggie, wake up!" Rogue's voice was frightened and soft, as though

  she were trying to keep from drawing attention to our tent. I opened my eyes, staring up at Rogue's frightened expression. What was going on? I wondere
d sleepily, trying to

  concentrate on the yelling outside.

  "Hold your ground!" That sounded like Rashel.

  "Look out!" That sounded like Quinn.

  Oh please let this all be a dream, I thought in dismay as I sat up. But as the world became more and more clear, so was the knowledge that this was real. Instantly my instincts

  kicked in and I sprang out of bed, "Stay here!" I ordered, "Don't move from here no matter what happens! And stay quiet!" I didn't wait for her to reply—instead I snatched the

  converse that I'd pulled off the night before and ran out of the tent, pulling them over my feet as I went.

  The world outside the tent was full of chaos. Vampires faced one another with stakes and wooden swords; shapeshifters were in their forms, crouched circling one another if they

  weren't already at each other's throats. There was even a grey werewolf taking down a shapeshifted bear. Blood was soaking on the ground, filling the air with a dizzy sweet smell

  that made me feel a little light headed.

  "Maggie, get back in the tent!" I whirled around to find my brother facing off with another shapeshifter. Instead of doing as he ordered however, I rushed at the shapeshifter, my

  fangs and claws lengthening as I ran. "What are you DOING?" Miles shouted as I slammed into the shapeshifter, sending both of us sprawling over the sand.

  "Shut up Miles," I snapped as I pinned the struggling animal down with my vampire strength and grabbed its throat with my fingers. I sunk my claws into its throat, feeling the

  warm blood well up around my fingertips. The shapeshifter tried to scream, but all that came out was sickening choking. "You might want to look away," I said to Miles who I could

  feel standing beside me, but even I didn't want to have to do this. I tightened my grip and yanked, ripping out a good chunk of the shapeshifters throat. Blood splattered all over my

  hands in fountains as I dropped the chunk and stood, shaking my hands of the blood.

  "Maggie…" Miles voice was disbelieving and I turned to him, my expression fierce.

  "I'm not proud of this Miles," I told him, "But I'm not about to sit around and let you get killed when I can do something about it." With that said I whirled around and crouched,