Tegan's Magic

by L.H. Cosway

There’s about twenty of them, all walking in a straight line, filling the street from one side to the other. But the most important thing? Their strides are frighteningly recognisable. Vampires. Vampires are on the north side of the city, marching down the road directly towards us.

  Unable to speak, I grab Finn and simply point.

  “Oh…fuck,” he curses loudly.

  “Vampires!” shouts one of Pamphrock’s slayers somewhere behind us. “A fuckload of them are headed this way.”

  “What the blazes!” Pamphrock exclaims, before going straight into action mode. “Men!” he calls. “Arm yourselves. We are under attack.”

  The ten or so slayers present begin grabbing for their weapons, a selection of stakes, knives and guns. Finn rushes inside his house, emerging moments later with his bow and arrow and a bunch of stakes that he throws to Gabriel, Alvie and Noreen. He must have deducted that Rita and I will be able to defend ourselves with our magic. All the same, I pull out the razor he gave me. For some reason I haven’t gone without having it on my person since he gifted it to me. Perhaps I was subconsciously expecting this moment.

  I glance behind me then and have to do a double take, because there are more vampires approaching from that side. They have us fenced in. Pamphrock orders half his men to line up facing one end of the street and the other half facing the other end. There aren’t enough of us though, especially going up against more than twenty vampires. I can hear a slayer speaking through a radio, calling for all active squadrons to get to Finn’s house ASAP.

  I should have known this was coming, especially after Eliza sent her blood donor here to scope the place out. Now I’m regretting that Rita didn’t poison the bastard when she’d had the chance.

  Perhaps Ethan’s wrong in assuming they’re here to drive him from the city. Maybe they’re here for me. Ethan did say that Eliza holds a strong grudge, so I’m guessing that if she wants me dead then she’s going to do her damnedest to kill me. Well, she’s going to have a fight on her hands.

  I hadn’t noticed Ethan, Lucas and Delilah leave us, but when I glance over at their house I see them coming back out with their own weapons. Both Lucas and Ethan have swords, but Delilah’s carrying some strange projectile that seems to be loaded up with stakes.

  Ira is with her; I hadn’t even realised he was around. He doesn’t have a weapon, but a second later I know why as his body vanishes, his clothes drop to the ground and an animal emerges. Now, I know I’ve always referred to Wolf as a dog, but he’s so much more than that. He’s a huge animal with razor sharp teeth. Perfect for sinking into vampires.

  Speaking of razors, I flick mine out effortlessly. Finn gives me a wry smile as he lifts his ultra modern steel bow and arrow to his shoulder. The vampires are close enough for me to be able to make them out now. At the head of the group in front of us are Whitfield and Eliza. Eliza’s actually wearing heels and a dress, which is disconcerting, but vampires don’t really feel the cold and perhaps they’re good at fighting no matter their attire. All I’m saying is, I’m happy to be wearing my jeans and boots right now.

  Whitfield isn’t much better in his fancy three-piece suit. He swings a sword similar to Ethan’s at his side. It seems that swords are the weapon of choice for the really old vamps, maybe because it’s what they started out fighting with. It’s what’s in Eliza’s hand that frightens me most though. A gun. A gun that if aimed at me could kill me as soon as the bullet hits.

  The fighting has already started behind us, as I hear Pamphrock shouting orders and the sound of guns firing. Bullets won’t kill vampires, but they’ll slow them down long enough for you to stick a stake in them. I think Finn might have told me that at some point over recent weeks. That man’s knowledge is really beginning to rub off on me.

  Whitfield and Eliza’s group stop a good distance away from us, with Eliza stepping to the forefront. “Hand over the girl and we can avoid any further fighting,” she calls, her caramel coloured eyes landing on me with cat-like slowness. Damn, I was right about her coming here for me rather than Ethan. Within the golden depths of her eyes I can see the many fantasies she’s had about my death. By the looks of it she’s salivating at the prospect of being the one to serve it to me on a silver platter.

  “What girl?” Finn shouts, getting ready to let loose an arrow at any second.

  “That one,” Eliza answers with a hiss, pointing a long, red fingernail in my direction.

  “You’ve got your shit in bucketfuls if you think that’s happening,” Finn answers cuttingly, while at the same time Ethan seethes, “Never.” His quiet defence of me takes me by surprise.

  I wince at the sound of bullets firing behind me, making my ears ring.

  “Have it your way,” says Eliza, raising her weapon so quickly and firing it at the slayer by my side that I hardly have time to register the move. “If you won’t hand her over then we’ll just have to take her.”

  Whitfield laughs with wicked joy, levelling his cold eyes on Ethan.

  My attention is on the wounded slayer, as I stare at him in shock. Eliza didn’t pull any punches. She shot him right in the heart. Undiluted anger spreads through me like a virus, encapsulating my every pore. Grabbing a stake out of Finn’s back pocket, I make to run at Eliza. With one hand holding his weapon Finn reaches out and grabs me back, shaking his head at my move before the vampires notice I was about to run at them in idiotic, suicidal rage.

  Surprisingly, Delilah’s the first one on our side to make an attack. She aims her stake shooting projectile directly at the vamps before pulling a lever. The thing begins spinning around, shooting out stakes like a vampire killing machine gun. The sharp pieces of wood take down several vampires at once.

  That’s when all hell breaks loose and both sides charge for one another. Finn advances at a steady pace, effortlessly shooting off arrows like it’s second nature to him. Rita spreads out both palms and releases the same light she’d thrown at Emilia earlier, only this time there’s no magic sparks to fight it off and it knocks the vampire she’d been aiming at unconscious.

  Noreen, Alvie and Gabriel join hands, chanting a spell in unison. I recognise this one from my recent studies with Rita. It’s a glamour spell. They’re making sure that the fight out here on the road remains unseen by human eyes.

  I can’t keep track of everyone else, but I’m vaguely aware of Ethan and Whitfield facing off with their swords. They don’t even seem worried about being hit with the vast array of projectiles that are currently flying all over the place.

  Amid the carnage, all I can focus on is a head of honey blond hair and a mahogany silk dress. Nails as red as blood and high heels to match. She’s coming for me and something deep inside of me – something feral – can’t wait for the fight ahead. This ends here and now. One of us isn’t walking away and I’m going to try my hardest to ensure that person is Eliza.

  Despite the weapons firing and the shouting going on around me, I can hear her loud and clear. She reaches up and runs a hand over the side of her face that I’d burned with my sparks.

  “See how I’m all healed up?” she asks, a cruel smile on her mouth. “Your little trick didn’t keep me hurt for long.” She speaks to me casually, like we’re not standing several feet apart in the middle of a virtual battle field.

  I lift my hand, letting my sparks run free. “Maybe I’ll leave a longer lasting mark this time,” I reply, doing my best to match her casual tone. She wants me to fear her, but I’m coming to learn that although I still fear vampires and what they could do to me, I myself am also something to be feared. I’m not a defenceless human. I’m the granddaughter of a sorcerer who is discovering new abilities each and every day. I can take Eliza. Good God I really hope I can take her.

  “I’m going to pull out your heart and feed it to you,” she threatens.

  “Has anyone ever told you you have issues?”

  She swipes her claw-like hand at me and I back away. Okay, I’ve got a stake in my pocket and a razor in my hand, but
which to choose? Remembering that I now possess Finn’s knife fighting skills, I decide the blade is the safer option. Quick as a flash I flick it open again. I do so with a subtlety that doesn’t belong to me, it’s all Finn. I’m so fast that Eliza doesn’t even see me do it. She thinks I’m relying solely on my magic here.

  Taking a chance, I lunge at her with the razor, slicing into her femininely muscled arm. She actually does a double take, as black blood drips down her bicep from the wound.

  “Oh you stupid brave little monkey,” she seethes. “You’re going to pay for that. You will pay for every strike.”

  Did she just call me a fucking monkey? Well now, that’s just not on. Pushing out all of the magic I can muster, I throw a lightning bolt of sparks and they burn right through her dress to singe her skin. She wails out in pain before diving at me and I jump away in surprise, falling to the ground with a painful thump. Before I know it she’s on top of me and my nostrils are filled with the scent of her lavender perfume. It’s so pungent it practically stings my sinuses.

  One hand grips my throat, her nails digging into me and breaking the skin. I sense that I’m bleeding before I feel the pain, mostly because of the glazed look that comes over her eyes. It’s almost like my blood has her hypnotised. I take advantage of her momentary distraction to slice a gash down the exposed, burnt skin at her ribcage.

  Her eyes widen at the attack and then they aren’t caramel anymore, all I can see is red, red, red. Her fangs jut out and she hisses at me like a python. I need to get the stake out of my pocket, but her entire body is pinning me down and it feels like she’s made from pure steel. I struggle beneath her, trying to get at my pocket, but it’s no use. One second her red eyes are eating me up and the next her fangs are slicing into my throat and all I can do is lie there as she ravages me – and not in a sexy way.

  If I might explain. I used to think that vampires consumed blood in mouthfuls. But now that it’s happening to me I know that they can practically suck out litres within seconds. And right now each second feels like an eternity. I never knew blood loss could be so painful. Each and every part of me aches.

  In the next moment she pulls away, and now her eyes aren’t red or caramel, they’re silver. In fact, her skin is turning silver too. Her body shakes and I can almost see her skin tightening –transforming. This is it. She’s taken my blood into her body and now she’s going to turn into a stronger vampire. An indestructible one. Just as she’s about to sink her fangs into me again, her shaking body is yanked away from me.

  I look up to see Ethan standing above me, one hand clutching Eliza’s throat and the other pulling down hard on her hair. She’s weak because she’s still transforming, and Ethan keeps a hold of her easily. I feel helpless and weak too, unable to think. It’s only when Ethan locks his eyes with mine and commands, “Stake her,” that I realise what I need to do. Struggling to my feet, I reach inside my pocket and pull out the piece of wood.

  Eliza tries to wriggle out of his grip, but he only yanks down harder on her hair and she cries out in agony. I hold Ethan’s eyes as my magic swirls inside my body, healing my blood loss. My strength resurges and I pounce on Eliza like an animal. I feel outraged that she drank from me. I’ve never felt more violently angry in my entire life. I’ve never felt more unlike myself, as though I’m some other scary person who is capable of killing so easily.

  My voice doesn’t even sound like my own, when I say to her, “You did this. You dug your own grave. You could have walked away, but you didn’t and now it all ends here.”

  I lock eyes with Ethan one last time, and he’s watching me with an all-consuming passion. With a force I didn’t know I was capable of wielding, I plunge the stake right into Eliza’s heart. Her silver eyes flash back to her their original colour and the silver that had started to tinge her skin vanishes. Her body slumps. I’m still holding the stake in my hand and I can feel the moment when her inhuman heart stops beating. Her body slips from Ethan’s grip and disintegrates.

  We’ve all but forgotten about her now as we stare at one another. I’ve never killed before. I’ve thought about what it would feel like and the emotion I’d always associated it with was guilt. In this moment I don’t feel any guilt. I feel righteous. I feel indestructible. Our heated gaze is broken when we hear Whitfield letting out an almighty roar.

  “Eliza!” he cries, speeding to the puddle of blackness at Ethan’s feet and swiping his hands through it as though that might bring her back. His red eyes lacerate me. “You killed her. Her blood is all over you.”

  His words are quiet, but I have never heard two more gut curdling sentences in all my life. Having a vampire who is hundreds of years old focusing all of his rage on you will do that.

  Ethan grabs my arm and pulls me several feet away from Whitfield, before placing himself in front of me.

  Whitfield stares at him like he’s an idiot. “You defend the one who betrayed you? Have you no self-respect?”

  “I have plenty. You’ve lost this round, Jeremy. Walk away,” Ethan tells him in a sharp voice.

  “I will do nothing of the sort,” Whitfield retorts, swinging his sword at Ethan and we back away further.

  It’s only now that I have a chance to look around and see the carnage. During the time that I’d been fighting Eliza, so many vampires and slayers got killed. The evidence of their deaths coats the ground in a sea of blood and lifeless bodies. As quickly as I can, I scan those still standing, ticking off each person I lay my eyes on. Seeing that Whitfield is gunning for us, Rita gallops over, flashing her white light on him. He notices her coming too soon and she misses him as he glides out of the way.

  “Ah, is this the witch who caused so much damage to my lovely home?” Whitfield asks. I’m surprised at how quickly he manages to pull himself together after discovering I killed his daughter. Maybe he’s used to loss, given his age. A tiny sliver of guilt tries to force its way into me but I push it back. There’ll be time for that later, I’m sure.

  Rita stands before him, all cocky. “Yeah, what of it?” she asks with a slanted grin.

  Whitfield’s eyes pass over her, travelling to Noreen, Gabriel and Alvie and then back to Rita. In the moment when his eyes locked on Noreen, I saw them light up in recognition, like he somehow sensed she was Rita’s mother.

  “What of it?” he repeats back at her with a bite to his words. “Well now let me see. I do believe I have torn men limb from limb for lesser crimes.”

  Rita’s cocky stance turns a little wary. She levels her palms in front of her, preparing for an attack. “Just try it and see what happens,” she goads him, unable to help herself.

  Whitfield looks her up and down. “Perhaps I’ll spare your limbs and simply obliterate your heart.”

  Rita stares at him in confusion, but before she can react Whitfield uses his vampire speed to vanish. When he reappears he’s standing directly behind Noreen. In a flash of movement he raises his sword and then plunges it right through her body. She falls to the ground with a throaty gasp, blood seeping quickly from the wound, as Whitfield pulls his sword out of her and thrusts it back in a second time. Gabriel and Alvie stare at Noreen’s prone body in confusion. Whitfield approached them so fast that they barely even registered his presence and now Noreen is lying on the ground bleeding.

  Nobody moves a muscle, all of us in shock. Whitfield’s cold stare meets mine as he says, “She destroyed my house so I killed her mother. Wait and see what I’ll do to you for murdering my daughter.”

  Then in one fell swoop he and the vampires left standing are gone from the scene.

  “Mum…” the one word tumbles brokenly from Rita’s mouth. I feel the grief of it in my gut. She rushes to Noreen’s side, taking her into her arms, blood going everywhere. Whitfield stabbed her right through the heart. Tears spill from my eyes, because I know that there’s no saving her now.

  I run to Rita, throwing myself to the ground beside her. Noreen’s death comes fast. I can practically see the life leav
e her body between one second and the next. There’s no time for Rita to save her like she saved Finn in the church. Her eyes are still open, but they’re unmoving, and moments later I know she’s truly gone. Rita clutches her desperately. I can tell that she’s crying but she barely makes a sound. Alvie, on the other hand, is holding onto Noreen and loudly bawling his eyes out. She’d been just as much of a mother to him as she’d been to Rita.

  Gabriel throws his arms around him and tries to calm him, but Alvie pushes him away, lost to his anguish. Suddenly, I feel Rita’s body begin to shake. Her gaze cuts to the people around her and my heart stops when I see her eyes. They’ve gone completely black, with a swirl of purple in the centre.

  Her voice comes out low at first, when she whispers, “Get away from her.”

  I’m the only who seems to have heard her. Fury seeps from her every pore. “Get away from her, all of you!” she wails, her voice reverberating throughout the entire street.

  I still haven’t moved, but Rita’s sudden anger gets me going. I start to feel hot, like my skin is burning from the inside out.

  “I said MOVE!!” Rita yells, and we finally get the message.

  As we scramble away, a wall of magical fire begins to rise up around her as she clutches tightly onto Noreen’s lifeless body. The flames are all purple, just like the swirls in her eyes.

  Ethan grips my shoulders and pulls me further away from the fire.

  “What’s wrong with her?” I cry out helplessly.

  “She is grieving,” Ethan answers. “The grief of a witch can be a powerful thing. It makes itself known in unimaginable ways.”

  Everybody else stands around, staring in awe at the cocoon of fire that Rita has constructed around herself.

  “She’s going to burn if she stays in there,” I say in panic.

  “She won’t,” says Gabriel. “The fire belongs to her. It will only burn the people who try to get past it. We need to leave her to her grief. She’ll drop the flames eventually.”

  All around me, Pamphrock and his remaining slayers are tending to one another’s injuries. It’s only at this moment that I remember the wound on my neck from where Eliza bit me, and the fact that not only am I covered in vampire blood, but I’m also covered in my own blood. Ethan is still standing behind me; I can sense his gaze on my neck almost as soon as he notices the blood.