by Zara Novak
A vision of sprawling snow-covered stone swept his mind. A chill wind blasted his bones. Looking around he saw he was high up in the mountains, looking down upon a vast labyrinth of stone. Cloud filled the air, cloaking everything in a white haze. The sharp wind pulled the cloud to one side, temporarily revealing the mountain tops on the distant horizon. His eyes caught on the silhouette of crisp white against piercing blue sky. There was the unusual outline of a mountain with two peaks. Sharp and jagged, jutting up through the air alongside each other like two swords.
“Jack? Jack?”
Garret snapped his fingers across Jack’s vision, stirring him from his reverie.
“Huh? What?”
“You’re a hard worker and all lad, but you keep drifting off more and more. What do you say we get back to it and finish up with work? Only an hour before sunrise. Not much left to do with this order.”
Nodding, Jack rose to his feet just as a deep rumble shook the building. He and Garret both held their arms out, looking around at the shaking room.
“What the hell was that?” Garret asked.
“Do you get earthquakes around here?”
Garret shook his head. “No, we don’t. And that didn’t feel like no earthquake.”
Another rumble came, feeling much closer this time. Dust sprinkled from the ceiling. Jack turned and looked toward the front of the shop. Realization swept over him. He turned back to Garret. “It’s the Order.”
Garret’s face grew cold with stark realization. His jaw clench, his brow furrowed. “How can you know?”
“The rumbling. It was the same when they attacked the northern gate. They must be using explosives again.”
Garret picked up a hammer from beside him and clasped it in his hand. “If those motherfuckers think they can attack my town then they’ve got another thing coming.”
“I’ve got to make sure Ellie is okay,” Jack said. If anyone from the Order spotted Ellie, then their cover might be blown.
“Grab this,” Garret said and threw a silver sword through the air. “I’ll lock up the shop. You go and find your girl. Stay safe out there, Jack. I can’t risk losing another assistant so early.”
Jack bolted for the door, instantly searching for any sign of Ellie’s scent. Would she still be out in the woods? Would they have got back from the hunt yet? Before he even reached the door, a voice entered his mind, causing him to pause momentarily. It was the elder Kara.
You need to get here at once. We’re in the Oak. That idiot soulmate of yours just owned up to being a vampire hunter in a room full of vampires. Best hurry here and save her ass. If the Order doesn’t kill her then they will. I’m holding them off, but I can only do so much!
He didn’t know how to answer the elder back, but her message was motivation enough to move as fast as possible. He had to be fast. Losing Ellie simply wasn’t an option.
24
Ellie didn’t know what she expected when she stopped speaking. A few moments of silence followed her admission before chaos erupted in the room. Monica, as always, was at its forefront.
“I knew there was something different about her!” the female vampire screamed while jumping forward to grab Ellie. She was halfway through the air before Rourke grabbed hold of his sister and flung her back across the room. Ellie didn’t know which way to look. Just as Monica crashed into the wall another vampire made a jump for her. Malachi was the one to step to her defense this time, throwing his body in front of the attacking vampire and knocking them back with a well-timed kick to the chest.
“That’s enough!” Kara roared over the din and commotion. Rourke, Natalie and Malachi circled around Ellie quickly, making an impromptu barrier against the rest of the vampires in the room. There were a lot of unhappy faces, and there was no way of telling who would strike next. Ellie spun on her feet, looking at the wall of vampires all around her. Natalie glanced back.
“You got a death wish girl?”
Ellie opened her mouth to answer back but Kara spoke once more. “The next vampire to make an attack against this girl will personally be turned to ash by my own hand. I guarantee it.”
The aggression and fear in the crowd simmered back a little with Kara’s threat. Her voice carried the conviction of grave seriousness. “Now stand back! Stand back and give the girl some room!” The crowd did as Kara said, allowing Ellie’s three defenders to step forward and spread out a little. She took a much-needed breath.
“It is true that this girl used to be a member of the White Order. But she is not like them. She was a captive to their kind. She never had a say. Miss Thorn is an extremely special guest, and no harm will be brought to her. You all agree to follow my rules by living here, so this is the latest one! No vampire harms this girl!”
“Some vampire you are lady!” Monica shouted as she dusted herself off on the other side of the room. “And as for you brother… you disgust me. Defending a vampire hunter like that.”
“I’m not sure if you were listening sister,” Rourke said back through gritted teeth. “But Ellie here might be the only way out of this current predicament.” Another rattle shook the building, and everyone grew momentarily quiet, reminded of the larger threat outside.
“So girl,” Kara said. “Is it true? Can you stop them?”
Ellie looked around at the crowd of enquiring faces and found the strength to speak. “Yes. The radios the Order use are the exact same as the one Malachi uses with the hunting team. I know the frequency they program explosives on. If a frequency is jammed with a strong signal it disrupts everything else on the network. It was a problem when the Order started using remote explosives until they switched to a more discrete channel. I know that frequency.”
“And I can overload that frequency if you give it to me,” Malachi said. “If the Order can’t activate the explosives then we can free the hostages and save our village!”
“That sounds like a plan to me,” Rourke said. He turned to the elder Kara for approval. “What do you think old lady? Do you want to give this a shot?”
Before Kara could speak Monica was shouting across the room again. “She was in the Order! We can’t trust her! What if this is all a trick?! We could be walking into a death trap. For all we know she helped them get in here!”
Kara turned on Monica with eyes like fire, her small body shaking with rage. “It was your team from Radst that was supposed to be keeping watch over the woods, was it not? This attack is a failure of your own. If you have nothing constructive to say, then I suggest you keep your mouth shut. My guards will not hesitate to throw you out onto the street like the dog you are.”
Malachi raised his hand at this point as if to ask permission to speak. Kara looked over at him and gave an unsure nod. “Yes, Mac?”
“I’ll admit that Ellie’s background comes as a surprise to me, but there is nothing in her character that suggests she wishes us any harm. That is why I stand here now, protecting her.”
“Me too,” Rourke said. “She is the servant of a Super for god’s sake. That has to count for something.”
“Jack…” Ellie whispered to herself, becoming conscious of the drama outside once more. Was he okay? Could she get to him? What if he was one of the hostages outside? Her stomach turned to ice at the prospect. She pushed her way out of her protective triangle of guards and addressed the room. Now was the time to take action. Waiting any longer could mean that more people got hurt. “I apologize for not being more honest about my past, but as you might understand I had some reservations. There is not much I can say to reinstate your faith me, but there is one thing I can do.”
Without pausing Ellie hopped up onto the bar so everyone in the room could see her. Kara’s eyes rounded in fear at once as she realized what Ellie was about to do. The old woman clamored forward. “No girl! No! You mustn’t tell them! You—”
“I am one of the lost daughters,” Ellie announced proudly to the room. As soon as the words left her mouth the room was stunned yet again with silence
. As she spoke them she felt as if a weight had instantly been lifted from her shoulders. It felt good. It felt light.
A black blur streaked across the room, accompanied by the approaching sound of a hoarse scream. As Ellie turned to see the attack time slowed down to a blur. Monica leapt through the air with a knife held in her hand, heading straight for Ellie. Fury drove her forward. “Liar!”
Ellie didn’t close her eyes or turn from the attack. She stood to face it with acceptance. There was no way she could move in time to dodge the vampire’s blow, and Monica’s surprise attack had taken everyone else by surprise. Everyone but Jack of course.
The front doors of the Oak burst open on their hinges, shattering as they flung back against the walls. Another blur of black flung through the air and over the heads of the perplexed crowd. It caught Monica in her path and sent her crashing into the bar behind Ellie, obliterating the wall in a chorus of smashing glass and broken shelves. A second later Jack had the woman up against the wall by her throat.
“You made a grave mistake trying to kill my mate today,” he said with cold indifference. Monica gasped as his hand tightened around her throat, kicking and flailing in effort to free herself.
“That’s enough Jack,” Kara said calmly behind him. “Put her down.”
Jack shot a look of thunder over to the old woman but acquiesced at seeing the seriousness in her eyes. He turned back to look at Monica and gave her one final warning. “Trust me. Try that again and you’ll find yourself on the wrong end of a stake. I assure you.” He let the vampire drop to the floor in a breathless heap and jumped up onto the bar to circle his arms around Ellie. She trembled with adrenaline.
“Hell of a way to make an entrance Jack,” she half laughed while dropping her head against his chest. Another rumble shook the building, and everyone in the room turned to hear the explosions outside.
“It’s chaos out there,” Jack said to Kara. “We have to fight back, but they have hostages.”
“Lucky for us we have smarts,” Kara said and nodded to Ellie. “Your girl thinks she can disable their radio explosives. After that it’s just a matter of taking those bastards out.”
Jack nodded, tightening his grip on Ellie. Deep in the recess of his mind a voice was whispering. It was the voice of Wraith. It wanted out. “Leave that bit to me. I can take care of the Order.”
Rourke scoffed. “Jack, that’s lunacy, we can all take them when the explosives are disabled.”
Jack smiled and shook his head. “No. There’s no point in risking any more casualties. You haven’t been out there yet. You haven’t seen it. I have. I can handle this alone.”
“Kara, talk some sense into the man,” Malachi pleaded. “He’s crazy if he thinks we’ll wait here.”
Kara considered the plea for a moment and nodded to herself. “He can do it. The rest of you need to stay here and make sure Ellie is safe. Ellie’s safety is of utmost importance.” Kara turned and looked up at Jack. “You know what the risks are Jack. Are you sure you want to do this?”
Jack looked over at Kara. “You know why the Order are here. I can’t help but feel slightly responsible. Your village has accommodated us more than enough. Let me repay the favor.”
Ellie squeezed Jack’s arm. She fully knew what he intended to do, and it frightened her. What if his mind didn’t come back this time? Kara had already warned Jack about using his powers. “Jack, I don’t know about this, what if—”
“I’ll be fine as long as you’re here,” he said. “I’ve been given this gift. I need to use it to help protect my people.”
Rourke reared his head back at this. “Your people? What the hell does that—”
Another blast shook the world and Kara clapped her hands to get everyone’s attention. “Enough talk! The time to act is now! Malachi, get the frequency from Ellie and start jamming that signal. Everyone else stays in here and makes sure that no harm comes to this girl!” Kara pointed a bony finger over in Ellie’s direction. “You know her real truth now, so you guard it with your life. Order or not, she is one of us, and her survival is our survival.”
The room sprang to life with hustle and bustle as people made their preparations to fight back. Jack looked at Ellie in confusion, searching into her crisp blue eyes. “You… you told them about the prophecy?”
She nodded. “I lost them when they found out about the Order. I felt like it was the only way to get them back.”
Jack squeezed her tight, kissed her and looked around the room. He’d expected a reception of fists and fighting, but instead the vampires were now rallying around Ellie to protect her. A minute later Malachi shouted over to Kara.
“Signal is jammed! They can’t activate the explosives!”
Kara nodded and looked back over to Jack. “Then it looks like we’re ready to free our hostages. Are you sure you want to do this Jack?”
Jack took one last look at Ellie. “Stay safe. I’ll be back. I promise.” They kissed, and with that Jack jumped down from the bar and walked across the room to the door. The crowd parted as he did so, stepping back in apprehension, staring at him in curiosity, wondering what was going to happen next. Jack stepped back outside into the early dawn air and walked across the square. There at the center were the dozen hostages, surrounded on all sides by the men and women in white.
Several of the buildings in the town had been largely affected by the explosions. The rest of the square was mostly deserted. One of the white soldiers saw Jack approaching and pointed a gun in his direction. “You there! Stop! Didn’t you hear our orders?! All vampires are to evacuate the town immediately!”
The rest of the men and women turned their guns on Jack. A man stepped forward from the group, holding his rifle out in front of him. “Take another step and you’re dust vampire. Leave now or we start killing hostages. They will be freed as soon as the village is empty.”
Jack stopped as the man asked but couldn’t help but smile. There was almost something about this that felt familiar to him. There was faint flash of that night on the castle Belmont roof.
Why do we always get this deal? Wraith’s voice echoed in his mind. I’m sick of rescuing hostages. Jack chuckled to himself.
“What’s funny?!” the man spat. “Turn around now or we start killing vampires!”
Dark grey clouds rolled overhead, drowning out the light and drawing the square in darkness. A cold breeze flustered across the square and cold rain started to sprinkle down. The Order members looked up at the sudden storm clouds with concern on their faces. Hadn’t it been clear just a few minutes before?
“I think you might find there are some technical issues with your equipment,” Jack said with a raw smile. “I suspect your superiors will be very upset. Failing to capture a vampire settlement. That will probably draw a lot of anger. Not to worry though, you will never see the repercussion of your failure.”
The man in white clenched his jaw, his brow furrowing with fire. He held his gun up and put Jack in his sights. “That does it. I’ve had enough of this.” A plume of bright yellow fire erupted from the end of his gun and the shot echoed across the square. Jack threw his hand up with a flash of movement and held his fingers splayed in the air. The bullet hung suspended before him and dropped to the ground a second later.
The Order members looked from one to another with fear on their faces. The rain fell harder. The wind picked. The man who fired looked down at his gun and back at Jack in terror. “It’s the feral! He’s the feral! Everyone, shoot!” The rest of the soldiers raised their guns to fire at Jack, but their attack was already too late.
Jack lifted his palms up to the darkening sky and felt the charge of static building up through the air.
Power exploded down through the sky and channeled through Jack as a bolt of white hot fury. The dark clouds overhead erupted in a shower of neon lightning, forking down through the sky and hammering into the bodies of the men and women in white. Vampires across the square stood and watched in awe as the myster
ious vampire at the center seemed to bring the storm down upon the earth.
The crack of thunder exploded across the night, echoing all around with deafening force. Jack struggled to contain the power, screaming through the force as it ripped through his body and mind. The last fork struck the earth and dropped the last remaining member of the Order.
Static receded immediately as Jack let his hands lower back to his side. His body trembled from the power. He looked out and saw the dozen hostages all stood in a row at the square’s center, unharmed and very much alive. Around them on the floor were the smoking bodies of the Order, all dead from the blasts that had emanated from the sky.
Jack gave a slight nod at the sight and fell to the floor, his knees crashing against the wet stone. Rain hammered down upon him, wind bit against his skin. He fell forward onto his chest and felt the cold stone crash against his face.
He had won.
25
“What’s the report?” the Vistor said to the vampire keeping guard outside Glamora’s cell.
“Three hours and no break sir. She’s convinced it’s the real thing.”
A twisted smile turned the Vistor’s lips upward and he motioned for the guard to let him inside. The small concrete room was hot with the stench of sweat. There on the bed the young witch lay on top of her faux lover, lost in an endless blaze of passion.
“That’s enough Kaleb,” the Vistor said with dry amusement. “Back to your normal self.” The dreadlocked black man knocked the young witch off the bed and onto the floor, stood and shifted back into his default image. Panicked breaths raced from the young witch as she clambered back to her feet, wrapping the bedsheet around her.
“No! No! Where is he! Where is my love?!”
“I’m afraid he is dead,” the Vistor taunted. “Just like you will be soon. I understand you have been enjoying Kaleb here.”
The witch stared over at the tall white man that had been her lover only moments before. Confusion and hurt brimmed in her eyes. “But he was… he was right here.”