by K.N. Lee
“Where are you, you bastard?” She almost didn’t recognize her own voice. It came out weak, like a child’s.
Such cold and darkness left her feeling exposed. Koa had never seen a real ghost, but she was certain that if they did exist, that this would be the kind of place to encounter one. Still, not even a ghost frightened her more than a demon.
As Koa crept through the catacombs, she prayed. One of her greatest fears was of demonic possession. Would Bund do such a thing? He wanted her. But she wasn’t sure why. She held her heart with her free hand and turned her blade diagonally across her body, as if shielding herself from him.
She walked rapidly through the stone corridor, rushing for the door to Jax even though she knew he would not be in this nightmare to help her. She had never felt fear such as she did then. She ran and whimpered when the sound of footsteps followed her.
Koa swirled around, eyes wide, and searched her surroundings with her eyes, they strained in the dim light and her ears struggled to listen in the death-like stillness. All she could hear was the sound of her own quick breaths, as her heart beat faster and her body began to tremble.
“Stop it, Koa. Everything is fine. You just need to wake up.” She tried to convince her mind of something that she knew wasn’t true. Everything inside of her issued warning. That cold feeling that filled her veins reminded her of what Bund had done to her.
The darkness was maddening. The presence she felt, but couldn’t see, tormented her. She heard the slightest sound and as she turned, a terrified gasp escaped her lips. Before her, eyes glaring, mouth in a wicked, arrogant grin, was the grim face of Bund.
She stumbled back as he was suddenly so close to her they could kiss.
“Ah, I see you’ve been waiting for me, little princess.” He walked towards her as she backed away from him. Koa shivered as the air grew colder and colder. She tried to look brave by glaring at him, but the violent trembles of her flesh betrayed her courage.
“I’ve been waiting for you, my dear.” Bund’s dark blue eyes never left Koa’s.
Koa cried out as he reappeared behind her. His arms held her immobile in a tight embrace.
He nuzzled her ear, closed his eyes, and smelled her hair. “You still smell like home,” he whispered.
Koa closed her eyes, grimacing.
“Did you really think bringing that prophet here would change anything, Koa? You all are goin’ to lose. Your friends, your family, will all die, and then, it will be just the two of us.”
“What do you want from me?” Koa was too afraid to move.
“I just want to enjoy this night.” His breath was warm on her neck, yet it sent chills up her spine. “I just want to taste you. Your screams will please me. Your struggles will arouse me. Come love, let me have just a bite.”
She stomped on his foot, with all of her might, and sent her arm up to jab him in the jaw with her fist. She spun out of his grasp, and with an angered grunt, she swung her sword at him. He chuckled as it went through his body.
Koa put her sword away, sliding it into its scabbard. The Lyrinian blade would not work. Bund only smiled and caught her off guard with a forceful kick into her side. She yelped and swung at him, catching his ear with a closed fist.
Bund’s laugh resonated throughout the catacombs. “Weak little girl. You’ll take all the fun out of it, if ya can’t do better than that.”
Koa growled, and in a blink of an eye, elbowed him in his jaw. Something snapped in his face and his eyes widened with anger and shock as blood began to drip. She watched as the bone in his jaw healed itself.
Bund smiled. An ear-shattering scream escaped her mouth as he lunged into her with full force, crashing through the railing and sending them both airborne. They fell forever, finally, onto the landing of one of the staircases, beside her sword.
Her eyes shut tightly in pain. She cried out as her head hit the thick-carpeted floor with the strong impact and he remained atop her, holding her down with his weight. His eyes were full of hate and he was relishing her agony.
She tried to move under him and he began to laugh. Its resonance was low and deep in his throat, as she reached for her sword, not two feet away. He slammed her reaching arm down and pulled it close to her body.
“Come on, Koa,” Bund hissed. “Where’s that scream? Let me hear it, won’t you?”
She squirmed under him as he used his own powers to lift her sword from the ground and he caught it with his hand. He lifted it over her, directly above her heart, and rested the tip under her breast. A tear rolled off the side of her cheek. She had failed so soon. What would everyone do if she was dead?
Could I die in this nightmare? Koa’s mind was a torrent of fear and agonized screams, but she would not let him have the satisfaction of hearing her scream. She started to wonder if this was real, because the pain sure felt real.
Her eyes squeezed closed as he grinned over her, his expression ghastly and evil, as he began to slowly sink the blade through her shirt and into her chest.
Her heart skipped a beat as she felt cold water lapping onto her pinned body. Her eyes darted about. She realized with acute terror that she was no longer in the church. Gray empty faces were surrounding her and Bund.
It was like being in a cold dark cave. She heard wails and weeping of little girls in the distance. She felt she had gone mad when she noticed a familiar face amongst the quiet, pasty faces of the beings surrounding her. There in the crowd was Lindley.
Koa screamed. She reached out. “No! Lindley,” she cried. “No!”
She heard a deep rumbling laugh coming from above her, her eyes meeting those of Bund’s. She didn’t want to die.
Am I dead? Koa wondered. Then she felt such a pain as she’d never felt before as he leaned down over her and began to slide the sword deeper within.
Her eyes widened and she gasped at the intense pain. Dark blood began to gush out of her mouth, choking her.
“Just once, lass, and I’ll stop,” he promised licking the blood from her mouth.
Koa couldn’t breathe. She began to suffocate. Blind fear entered her eyes. It took everything within her not to scream.
28
Raven wept over her daughter’s body.
Evina held onto Koa’s head with both hands as Koa screamed and thrashed. She looked up at her brother with panic in her eyes. “I can’t wake her. Something’s wrong. It’s as if there is a wall, blocking me from entering her mind.”
Jax held Koa’s hand. His features were twisted in worry. He leaned over her face and whispered to her. “Koa. Wake up, please. I’m sorry.” He kissed her forehead.
Raven wondered what he was sorry for. She was prepared to claw his face to shreds if he had something to do with Koa’s present state.
Raven heard Jax whisper to Koa. “Please don’t leave me, Koa. I’ll never stop loving you.”
Evina put a gentle hand on Jax’s shoulder and urged him to move aside. “Move back, Jax. Give me some space to work.” She closed her dark blue eyes and focused.
Raven had never seen a temptress at work. The black Netherworld tattoos on Evina’s arms seemed to crawl along her white skin as she channeled power from her mind to Koa’s. She spoke to Koa, softly.
“Fight it, Koa. Come back to us.”
Koa kept screaming. Her eyes were squeezed shut in a pained expression. She was drenched in sweat.
Raven joined Koa in screaming when blood seeped out of the corners of Koa’s mouth.
Jax shot to his feet and turned to Alice. “What is happening?” He ran his fingers through his red hair and looked down at Koa. “Is she dying?”
“He has her,” Alice said from the doorway.
“Who has her?” Jax asked with furrowed brows.
Alice looked at Koa with concern in her eyes as she leaned against the doorframe. “Bund.” She folded her arms.
Everyone sat up and stared down at Koa. Their faces paled and the room fell silent, except for Koa’s whimpers.
“
There’s nothing you can do.” Alice shook her head. “A demon’s grip is almost unbreakable.”
Evina shook her head. Red hair cascaded over her shoulder and brushed Koa’s face. “I can do this!”
Jax held her hair back. “Go on, Evina. Try again!”
Evina squeezed her eyes shut and focused. She squealed and was thrown against the wall by an unseen force. She crashed and slid to the floor. She opened her eyes in horror. She looked as if she’d seen a ghost. She held her hands up. They were shaking.
Raven wished she could hold her child.
“What happened?” Jax asked.
Evina turned to him slowly, a haunted look in her eyes. “I’ve never seen anything like this before. My power isn’t helping.”
“Mama!” Koa shouted so loudly and full of agony that Raven couldn’t bear it.
She nuzzled Koa’s neck. “Baby. Please wake up for mama. Please,” she begged. “Fight him, Koa!”
Koa went still.
Raven sat up and looked at her daughter’s face. Koa’s eyes were wide open and terror-stricken. Unsure of what to do, they all watched her. Koa’s face was white as snow. Her lips covered in blood. Her eyes were bloody as well. She’d been ripping at her eyelids with her nails, as she tried to awaken herself.
“Koa,” Raven breathed.
Raven gasped as Koa shot into the air. She hit her head on the stone ceiling and fell back onto the bed in a crumpled ball.
Jax ran to her. He took her into his arms. “Koa? Are you all right?”
Koa turned to him with a look in her eyes that sent shivers through Raven. She’d never seen such fear in a person’s eyes. She could only imagine what horrors her daughter had faced in her demonic nightmare.
Koa looked at Jax as if she didn’t know him. She stared at his face. She touched his cheeks and mouth. Koa’s lips trembled and she fell into tears. She pressed her face into Jax’s chest and wept. Then, she abruptly stopped crying and grabbed Jax’s face.
Her mouth turned into a snarl.
“Change my mother back,” Koa hissed. “Change her back now! I want that demon sent back to Hell!”
Jax’s brows furrowed as he looked at Koa. She squeezed his jaw in with her hand. She looked lethal.
“Koa, I already told you. I cannot reverse the curse. Maybe the Alchemist can, but I’m fairly certain that this is permanent.”
Raven put a paw on Koa’s leg. “Koa, sweetheart. Let him go. It’s not his fault.”
Koa looked down at her mother. Her bangs were in her eyes, but she didn’t care. Her face was full of torment. She released Jax and fell to her knees. Her head hung and she sat there in complete silence.
“What happened in your dream with Bund, Koa?” Alice asked.
Koa glanced at her from under her brows. In silence, she grabbed her Lyrinian sword. She wiped her mouth of blood and stared at the wall. For a moment, Raven wasn’t sure if Koa was going to respond.
She simply stared at the wall with an intense look on her face. She sighed. “He showed me things.”
Alice lifted a brow. “Like what?”
Koa narrowed her eyes at the angel. “He showed me how you’re all going to die,” she said and pushed past Alice to leave the room. She flew then, through the corridor.
Alice held onto the door frame and looked after Koa. “Where are you going?”
Koa’s echo reached Raven’s ears.
“To the Oracle.”
29
“Micka,” Halston said. He dialed a few codes on the faceplate on the dashboard of his car. He ran his hand across the leather dashboard.
This was his favorite car. A Maybach Landaulet. He had it stocked with weaponry and all of the necessary electronic machinery that he needed to go from street to sky. He turned on the stealth mode and the car vanished from sight.
The car lifted into the air. Halston never flew on airplanes. He didn’t trust… human error.
Micka’s face came up. She smiled at him. He glanced at her image and went back to dialing the other agents he needed to send orders to.
Micka was pretty and unique. She had creamy almond-colored skin, high cheekbones, and full lips. Her soft brown hair was always wild and springy, and she had dark brown eyes that always seemed to hold a secret.
You’d never guess that she was an angel as well. Not an ancient angel like himself that had witnessed the beginning of life and the creation of the Earth, but one from Heaven nonetheless.
“You’re all right,” she breathed with relief. She covered her head with her hands. “Thank God.”
Halston smiled back at her. “Thank you, Micka. I didn’t know you cared so much.”
Micka raised a thin brow. “Oh, no sir. Don’t let it go to your head. I just don’t want to have to train a new boss.”
Halston chuckled. “And I thought I was the one who does the training.”
Micka leaned in closer to the camera. She lowered her voice. “That’s what we women allow you men to think.”
Halston chuckled again. He entered a tunnel and the surroundings darkened. It would be a long journey to the headquarters. Egypt. The others needed his guidance.
“I see,” he said. “Or is it the other way around?”
Micka shook her head. “No. It’s pretty much just the way I said it.” She folded her arms across her chest. “Now, what is it that I can do for you?”
Halston set his car for automatic flight and let the computer take him to his destination. He climbed into the back seat and lengthened the space between the front seat and the back seats. “Get Rohan to set up surveillance on Wryn Castle. I have a feeling that Greggan will soon contact his sires.”
“If he hasn’t already,” Micka added. “Any news on Lexi or any of the other Wryn clan leaders?”
Halston shook his head. He feared that Greggan had Lexi, which meant that he had important intelligence on various VRS locations. He pulled out a case from under the seat. Once he opened it, he pulled out a small device and a case of glowing Netherworld pens.
“We have bigger things to worry about. Let’s just focus on one thing at a time.”
“Got it. Anything else?”
“Yes,” Halston said. “I want you to be ready to go into the field.”
Micka’s face brightened. “Are you serious, sir?”
Halston clicked a glowing pen. “Yes. I think you’re ready to be set loose again.”
Micka’s smile widened. She clasped her hands before her face and squealed with delight. “I won’t let you down.”
“I never thought you would.” Halston sat back in the seat and started writing on the air. “Just promise me that you won’t overdo it. Keep it clean. Keep it discreet. And above all, don’t let Koa know that I sent you.”
Micka winked. “Don’t worry. I’ve got it.”
Halston nodded. “All right. I need you to pick an agent and wipe out the Yeltin Colony. They’ve sided with Greggan, and I want them all dead.”
Micka’s smile faded. Her shoulders slumped. “Is it that bad, Halston? So bad that we have to kill innocent vampires?”
Halston raised a brow. He grimaced. “They aren’t innocent. They’re enemies, and I want them wiped out.” Halston could not tell her what he’d learned. He now knew what Bund had planned. No one was safe. “And collect the souls.”
Micka nodded. “I understand.”
Halston looked down at his hands. They were only going to get dirtier. No one ever said fighting evil would be easy. He’d been around since the Earth’s birth. He knew what needed to be done. That’s why he was the boss.
He sighed. He needed to do all that he could before he met with Viktor. Halston didn’t regret his night with Koa, but knew that Viktor would never forgive him. He needed leverage if he was going to keep his place as a general in the Netherworld Division. He needed a miracle to win back God’s favor now.
His head throbbed. God saw all. His father knew what he had done, and there was no turning back now.
Halsto
n rubbed his temples and tried to focus on the matters at hand. “Oh, and give me an update on Rohan’s research of ways to bring the Alchemist into this world.”
“Done,” Micka said. “We’re on it!”
Halston reached over to cut the connection. “Good luck.”
“And good luck to you too, sir.”
30
Awkward silences weren’t Koa’s favorite way to pass the time. So, she cranked up the volume in Halston’s jeep and pretended not to notice how amazed Jax was at the strange musical device.
They didn’t speak a word to each other as they drove from the countryside where the church was located to the National Rail towards Brighton.
Rain poured onto Koa and Jax as they emerged from the station. It was night and they had arrived on the last train of the evening. Koa was glad that there wasn’t a crowd. They nearly had the station to themselves.
The gusty winds reached them from the sea, and Koa zipped up her black hoodie. Jax stood there watching her as the rain made his short red hair turn slick and flat against his head. He didn’t seem to mind. His face was serious, darkened by worry.
She’d heard his words while she was in her nightmare, and she was touched by them. But right now, there wasn’t time to talk about such things.
Koa shuddered as she looked away from Jax. She was still shaken up by the horror of her nightmare with Bund. She couldn’t shake the feeling that he was still with her. Her eyes darted around to each shadowy corner, searching for his gangly form hiding in the dark.
But more than any of the emotions she felt, rage surfaced above them all.
Koa pulled her hood over her head and started up the stone sidewalk that stretched up the steep hill. Jax followed her in silence.
The wind and rain was starting to annoy Koa.
What did you expect? Koa thought to herself. This is England.
They walked straight up for about half an hour and Koa’s legs burned from the workout.
She nodded towards the row houses on the left. The last time Koa had seen the Oracle, her house had been in a heavily impoverished area. She noticed the neat gardens in front of the brightly-colored houses that Brighton was famous for, and the bikes left outside. This was a much safer area, a definite improvement from the Oracle’s last home.