by Wendi Wilson
I didn’t blink as I watched for movement, but the magical bubble must’ve really stunned him. He didn’t get up.
I stopped chanting and waited with baited breath, praying for some sign of life, but it never came. My tears returned full-force as I watched his skin begin to turn to ash and float away on the wind. He was gone, and there was nothing I could do about it.
A cry ripped from my throat. No. Not the dean!
True jiggled my hand, encouraging me to pick the chant back up, but I shook my head and brushed away my tears with my gloved hand. She obviously hadn’t seen what happened, and I wasn’t going to tell her. Not right now. He couldn’t really be gone, could he?
“The spell isn’t enough,” I said to both of them, my voice strangled and weak. “The Society vampires are taken care of, but we need something else. Something to weaken the rest of them.”
The pain from watching the dean die was ripping my chest to shreds as I spoke. Taking a deep breath, I channeled my grief, turning it into a rage that would fuel my vengeance against Warren and his acolytes.
Zelda and True seemed to agree with my assessment because they released hands and started frantically flipping through the grimoire for something else. While they did that, I searched the field below us for our people, looking for other casualties.
It seemed that, despite our lesser numbers, we were holding our own. I noticed a few mountain vampires on the ground, but all the camp vamps were still fighting in the battle. I glanced back at Imogen, then crowded in close to Zelda and True.
“She’s casting a protective bubble around herself, Warren, and Jackson. Is there anything we can use to bring it down and expose them to our forces?”
Zelda’s eyes darted to her sister while True nodded and kept flipping pages. A myriad of emotions crossed the older witch’s face, from fear to disappointment to grief to resolved determination. Looking back at me, she nodded and then joined True in the hunt for the right spell.
I turned back to watch the battle, and my heart stopped in my chest as I watched the group of counselors break some sort of huddle they’d been in and charge across the field—right toward Warren and his bubble of instant death.
“No!” I screamed, leaping to the ground and charging forward without a thought.
I heard True yell at me to come back, but ignored her plea as fear drove my muscles to work faster and faster. Levi had pulled into the lead, which meant he would hit the invisible bubble first. Behind him were Analise, Ian, Rose, and finally, Amelia, who trailed behind the group by several feet.
I didn’t know if it was love, or fear, or some combination of the two, but I somehow managed to cut them off, leaping into their path and yelling at them to stop. They pulled up short, staring at me with gaping mouths as I heaved a sigh of relief.
“Piper? What are you doing down here? It’s too dangerous,” Levi said, his eyes darting between me and the rooftop of the mess hall—where I was supposed to be safely tucked away, casting spells.
“You can’t get to him, Levi,” I said quickly as the others crowded around me, cocooning me in a protective circle. “Imogen is casting some kind of protective shield. If you touch it, you’ll die.”
Against my will, my eyes moved to the pile of ash that used to be Dean Purty. Levi followed my line of sight with a wrinkled brow that smoothed out as he recognized the clothes left behind. His expression turned to anguish before morphing into rage, and I had to grasp his wrist to stop him from charging headfirst into death, himself.
“No,” Levi whispered, his eyes meeting mine.
Silent tears gathered anew as I nodded once.
“How are we going to kill the bastard if we can’t get to him?” Rose asked, cracking her knuckles.
“Zelda and True are working on a spell to bring down the shield,” I said. “Once it’s done, I’ll send you a signal, and you can tear them to shreds… all three of them.”
The eerie sound of several growls echoed around us, and I realized that while we’d been talking, five enemy vampires had silently converged on our group. Ordering me to stay in the center, Levi turned to send a fist into one vamp’s face while the other sprang into action, as well.
I watched in awe as they fought on all sides of me, the choreography of their movements almost mesmerizing. When I snapped myself out of it, I started to get angry.
Levi was still treating me like a human. Like I was some weak, frail person who needed to be protected at all costs. A responsibility. A liability.
“Screw that,” I mumbled, tensing my body as I called on my witchy power.
Finding the strands of all five vampires’ auras, I latched onto each of them in turn, then sent a shock to each of their brains, rendering them all unconscious. Simultaneously.
It was very satisfying in a dramatic sort of way, watching those bodies drop like rocks as my friends turned to stare at me in wonder. I shrugged, then cast a glare Levi’s way.
“I will not be sidelined, Levi,” I growled. “You need me.”
He nodded in agreement. “Sorry. Force of habit.”
“Forgiven,” I said. “Just don’t let it happen again. I want to kick some vampire ass just as much as the rest of you.”
As they turned to fight, I readied myself as well. Levi, Ian, and Analise charged at a trio of vamps who ran up to attack. I went to help them, but a slight tug at the waistband of my pants turned my veins to ice as my hand slapped to the spot, finding an empty sheath. My knife!
I spun around, my eyes widening in horror as I watched someone I trusted studying my vampire dagger with a devilish smile.
Amelia. What the hell?
“I’m surprised you’d try to fight with a weapon that could destroy you just as quickly and easily as it would your opponent.”
Twirling the knife, she admired its edges. I wondered for a second how she managed to grip it without flinching before realizing she, herself, was wearing a glove. Like she knew she’d need it. Like she’d prepared for this moment.
Rose, the only one remaining beside me, gave a snort. “Amelia, what are you doing?”
“Give it back.” I cringed at the panic in my voice.
“I don’t think so. But if you want it so bad, why don’t you come and get it?”
If my heart still had the ability to beat, it would’ve been pounding out a staccato rhythm in my chest. Tears stung my eyes as several facts occurred to me at once—my confidence in my ability to read people had been shattered, we’d found our spy, and it was most definitely not Coco.
“Amelia, why?” I asked, my eyes trying to probe her vintage beauty to see the monster underneath.
“Because vampires are not meant to survive on animal blood. We drink from humans. It is our nature, and we’ve solidified our place at the top of the food chain. Warren Thornberry knows that.” Then, as if talking about the weather, she shrugged. “And, he’s one of my lovers.”
Ew. My eyes darted around the battlefield, looking for some back up. Levi and Desmond were busy fighting two savage looking vampires, as were everyone else who might come to our aid. They were all so focused on their opponents, it didn’t appear as if they’d even heard any of our conversation. Rose and I were on our own.
“Amelia—” Rose started, but Amelia whirled on her, cutting her off.
“Oh, shut up, you annoying bitch,” she growled, jabbing the dagger into Rose’s stomach.
A cry escaped my lips as Rose fell to the ground. Oh God, Rose! Not her too.
Amelia watched her body quickly disintegrate with a cold, calculating smile, which she then turned on me.
“You’re welcome, Piper,” she said. “I know you couldn’t stand her either, so this is my gift to you.”
My cow’s-blood-lunch rushed from my stomach into my esophagus, but I somehow managed to swallow it back down before I spewed it all over the place. Amelia was freaking crazy. And that made her even scarier.
My eyes focused on a spot over her shoulder where Warren stood watching us
with an overly-pleased smile on his face. He’d been waiting for this. His ultimate victory—infiltrating our camp and planting his slut to spy on us right under our noses. We never even suspected Amelia for a second, because she was so nice.
“That should’ve been my first clue,” I mumbled, turning my attention back to the threat at hand. “So, what is the plan now, Amelia? Are you going to kill me, too?”
“Exactly,” she said holding the knife at the ready.
I growled, daring her to come at me. I didn’t know where that bravado came from, and whether it was actual bravery or just plain stupidity, I couldn’t stop the words from spewing from my lips. I was getting pissed, and I could feel my power reacting to the emotion.
I harnessed that power, and focusing on the vampire dagger, I struck my palm out with a scream. Every bit of my emotion flowed out through my palm—the pain, the grief, the betrayal, the fear—a stream of energy that heated the metal of the dagger until it glowed red.
Amelia hung on as long as she could, her wide brown eyes staring at the red knife in horror. But as the metal blade started to melt, a drop hit the top of her sandaled foot, making her yelp in pain. She dropped the useless weapon to the ground and hopped on one foot for a couple of seconds.
Then, she froze, her eyes focusing back on the rest of us as if she’d just realized her predicament. The rest of the group had heard her shrieks and noticed her treachery, reforming the circle behind me. She turned to run, but Ian and Analise were on her before she even managed to take one step. Working together, they ripped her limb from limb, tossing the body parts in different directions.
I flinched as arms closed around me, but Levi’s soothing voice instantly calmed me. “She’s gone.”
“The dagger is gone, too,” I whispered.
“You don’t need it anymore, Piper,” he said, his voice filled with urgency. “I may forget it sometimes, but you are a force to be reckoned with, all on your own.”
He kissed me then, right there in the middle of the violent, bloody battle that raged around us. The kiss centered me, helping me regain my focus. I knew what I needed to do.
Pulling out of Levi’s arms, I said, “I have to get back to True and Zelda. Be careful, and stay away from that shield until I send you a signal. Go help my dad and the others.”
He nodded firmly before zipping away, not at all opposed to taking orders from me. It felt… good. Really good.
I wasn’t some weak, clueless human anymore. I’d grown and evolved so much in the last few months, I didn’t even recognize myself. And that wasn’t a bad thing.
I was a powerful witch-vampire hybrid with a complete family and a man who loved me enough to trust me without question. I had friends and comrades, a community. A home.
But they were still in jeopardy. And I needed to protect all of it.
I turned and ran for the mess hall, taking a flying leap to land on its roof. No more distractions. This was it.
Time to end this thing, once and for all.
Chapter Twenty-Six
“True, we have to bring the bubble down. And we have to do it now!”
“Piper, what the hell is going on?” True asked, her face paled by the light of the full moon as she took me in. I must’ve looked pretty crazy, jumping onto the mess hall roof and tearing toward her as I was. “Is the dean really dead?”
I nodded. “No time to talk about it now. We have to stop Imogen.” I ripped the glove off my hand before I stuck it out to her and the other to Zelda, who had hobbled to the edge of the roof where we stood.
Where True was pale, Zelda was ruddy cheeked and out of breath. Both looked spent. Exhausted. But I had plenty of energy.
“What’s the spell?” I shouted, gripping both their hands.
“We have an incantation, but our power’s wanin’,” Zelda said, breathing heavily. With one ringed hand, she pushed the cloud of red curls out of her face.
“I’ve got power. Start the spell.” My gaze cast about, landing on the camp vamps in an all-out battle with Warren’s mercenaries. They numbered two to our one, and things were not looking good for our side. Dad was still fighting, but his energy was flagging, and Levi and the crew were surrounded by half a dozen vamps who were viciously growling and swiping their claws. I knew it was only a matter of time before I lost someone else, and I could not let that happen.
True and Zelda exchanged a glance, then began a chant in voices that merged until they sounded as one.
I let their words wash over me as I closed my eyes and focused on finding the energy around me. It was the same process as finding people’s auras, something I’d become pretty good at. Soon, I could feel power coursing up from my feet, through my body, and down my arms before pumping out into True and Zelda.
“Tabhair anuas é. Tabhair anuas é!”
Their words came forth stronger. Their voices intensified as I joined them. The roof shook, and the air picked up, a mournful shriek that buffeted my clothes and tugged at my hair.
When I opened my eyes, giant waves of light were now pouring from their bodies heading straight for Imogen’s protective bubble. In the distance, the three of them, Warren, Jackson Carter and Imogen, stared up at us with alarm. My gaze locked on my enemies, and I dug down deeper for more power. I could feel it pumping through me like electricity in my veins.
“Tabhair anuas é. Tabhair anuas é!”
The bubble popped, blasting out a sonic wave that shook the ground and sent vampires tumbling. Trees toppled, and birds blew out of the branches to drop dead on the ground. When the shockwave got to us, True, Zelda and I stumbled and fell, our backs skidding against the roof shingles, but I was on my feet in an instant and tearing toward the edge of the roof again.
“Piper,” True called. “Wait!”
“Keep casting!” I said.
Then I threw myself off the roof.
My vampire body knew exactly what to do. I landed like a superhero in a movie, crouching as my feet hit the ground, landing like it was nothing to jump from twenty feet in the air. Everything in me felt alive and crackling with power from the spell. Springing to my feet, I took off toward Warren.
“Get her!” he said, his voice booming as he waved his remaining vampires in my direction.
I heard the fear in his voice, and it fueled my rage. I thought of the dean. I thought of Rose. I thought of everyone he’d tortured and hurt as his vampire minions tore towards me, snarling and clawing like rabid dogs.
I closed my eyes.
In my mind’s eye, I found their auras, the blues, greens and reds swirling toward me like dancing stickmen. I grabbed onto them with my thoughts, pinched them into one strand, and cut right through them like scissors through a thread.
Around me, five vampires fell to the ground like rag dolls and didn’t get up.
From his spot on the hill, Warren’s eyes bugged.
“Face me!” I yelled, tearing toward him.
Instead, Warren muttered something to Jackson Carter and Imogen. They stepped up, forming a line in front of him.
“Och, girl, ya think you’ve got power? Think again,” the witch said before her hands shot out toward me.
Blue light hit me like a lightning bolt. Pain rocketed through my body, lighting up every nerve like I was a Christmas tree. The world tilted, and I crashed into it, convulsing as the power of Imogen’s spell zapped through me again and again. I writhed like I was on fire, rolling in the grass but nothing would quell the burning as the spell tried to consume my flesh. She was frying me from the inside out.
A roar echoed around me, ripping me from my pain-induced stupor. Prying open my eyes, I saw a blur of movement crash into Imogen and take her down. Several more blurs rushed in to help, wrestling with her as she zapped spells at them.
Levi, Analise, and Ian were attacking the witch, hitting her over and over as fast as they could so she couldn’t get a spell off before zipping around, regrouping and doing it again.
And it was working. The spe
ll was broken. The pain was gone, and I found I could rise.
“Not so fast, darlin’.”
Hands fisted in my hair, yanking me up. I was dragged to my feet and pinned to a body with arms like iron.
“Hello, sweet cheeks. I thought we’d meet again.”
Jackson Carter’s demented twang echoed in my ear as he kept my body immobile. I started to fight, but then a blade pressed against my ribs.
“You’re not the only one with a knife, darlin’. One false move, and you’ll join your dearly departed.” Then, he spoke to the group still fighting Imogen. “Everybody freeze, or she dies!”
Levi stuttered to a stop, his eyes going wide. “Piper!”
He started to dash forward, but Jackson Carter yanked me back. “Watch out, lover boy, or I’ll shish kabob her.” Jackson made sure Levi could see the knife slowly digging into my shirt.
“Let her go,” Levi growled, his rage barely controlled. I could see he was seconds from attempting to tear Jackson to pieces, but the southern vamp was quick and wily. I doubted I would survive if Levi took a step in my direction.
“Levi, I’m okay,” I said, trying to calm him even as, behind him, Imogen rose up and readied her hands for another spell.
If she began casting, we were all done, but what could I do? I couldn’t find Jackson’s aura or compel him. Same for Imogen. And, pinned as I was, I couldn’t fight.
My eyes found Levi’s as I tried to convey in one glance how much I loved him. How hard I’d tried for a different outcome. How I wanted that bed in Paris more than anything, but it seemed like that dream was coming to an end.
Suddenly, two things happened almost at once.
A flying shape flew in, zapping a spell that caught Imogen off-guard and blasted her back, while someone attacked Jackson from behind. My attention went to the second attack as we lurched forward. I rolled in the grass a few times before springing up, ready to fight, only to find a figure poised over Jackson.
He lay on his stomach with a small female on top of him. And, when she pulled back, revealing the stake she was about to plow into his back, I saw her face.