by LM DeWalt
“I ran away from home. My stepfather was a drunk and my mother a useless puppet who jumped at his every command, even when he was using me as a punching bag. She always stuck up for him, saying that if I hadn’t opened my mouth, he wouldn’t have been so angry. It was always my fault, no matter what I did. I finally got sick of it. I figured they’d be better off without me. When I met Ian, he promised to take care of me and keep me safe, only, he wouldn’t turn me. No matter how much I tried, and believe me I tried, he wouldn’t even touch me.” Well, that was one thing he’d done right. Catching my thought, she sneered at me before continuing.
“I’m originally from Oregon so I went back and searched for another vampire that would do the job,” Maia continued. “Living on the streets and being depressed because of my ordeal, I had lost a lot of weight. Kalia was easily fooled by my shaved head and the rest of my appearance. I told her I’d been sick for a long time and the treatments weren’t working anymore. The doctors had given me a year, tops, to live. When she asked where my parents were, I told her the truth. She couldn’t stand the thought of anyone hurting me.” She took a couple steps toward me. I was too stunned to move on my own so Christian forced me back.
“Feeling sorry for me, she convinced Aaron to let her turn me, and keep me, like a little lost puppy.” She looked up to the sky and sighed.
“What about your parents? Didn’t they look for you?” I asked.
“Of course they didn’t! They were worthless. I was just one less mouth to feed. So, eventually, I got rid of them.” She said as if it were nothing.
“You killed your parents?” I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.
“Like you wouldn’t have done the same thing if you were being abused.”
“Of course not. I loved my parents. I could never have taken their lives,” I shouted.
“And yet, you weren’t there when they did die, were you? You didn’t even go to their funerals.”
“That was not my choice and you know it! Ian seems to have shared my history with you so you should know.” I tried to advance again but Christian held me back.
“You could have gone. It was your choice. If you loved them like you say, then Ian should not have come first.”
“Why didn’t you just stay with Ian after you were turned? Why did you bother to keep coming back to Astoria?”
“Ian was great and all, especially in bed, but…oh right, what am I saying? I’m sure you know that. Anyway, he kept leaving and not saying where he was going or even when he was coming back. I’d get bored. Besides, Aaron and Kalia gave me everything I wanted. I wasn’t about to miss out on that opportunity.”
Anger made my blood boil and my ears ring. “You lied to Kalia and Aaron. You used them. That is completely inexcusable!” I screamed as I lunged at her with my blade aimed at her heart. Christian lost his grip on my arm and fell backward. Maia jumped away and I missed, nearly falling on my face but catching myself.
“It’s not going to be that easy to get rid me. I still have plans for you,” she announced as she looked up at the sky again, this time raising her arms.
My eyes widened as the largest condor I’d ever seen hovered above her. Maia gripped the condor’s talons and was lifted straight into the air, disappearing from sight as the condor flapped its gigantic black wings.
~ Thirty-Four ~
“A condor? Really?” Christian yelled as we ran after it. Of course, it was no use unless I took to the air, something I had not yet attempted from level ground. I realized the important thing at that moment was to find Kalia and Aaron and tell them the truth. They needed to know Maia could not be trusted. She had just led us all into a trap.
“Apparently that’s our shapeshifter. I’m not flying after it yet.” I sheathed my sword and grabbed his hand. “We need to find the others and warn them. Maia is definitely not on our side. Someone could get killed trying to protect her. I’m not about to let that happen.”
“I know you won’t. You already knew she was against us. I’m so sorry we doubted your feelings,” Christian said as we ran in the direction of the cross. We could hear voices in the distance.
“Not so fast!”
We came to an abrupt stop and spun around to face a man also dressed in all black, hood tied tightly around his neck. He held a gun pointed at me, but looked at Christian with narrowed eyes. “You are new, señor. No?”
“What difference does that make to you? It’s really none of your business,” I said. This man had no heart beat. He was definitely a vampire.
“It is my business. I was ordered to kill him,” he replied in perfect English.
“We seriously don’t have time for this. Christian, disarm him!” I commanded never taking my eyes off the vampire.
“As you wish,” Christian replied. He narrowed his eyes, concentrating briefly on the weapon. The man just stared at his eyes, wondering what was happening, not attempting to move. The gun shook and then floated in other air, out of the man’s reach. He backed away a few paces as Christian smiled widely, beaming with pride.
“Get out of here,” I said as I took the man’s gun and slipped it in the waistband of my jeans. “I don’t want to kill you if I don’t have to. Our fight is not with you.”
He shook his head and made the mistake of lunging at me, not noticing the blade I held in my left hand. He gasped and crumpled to the ground like a sack of potatoes.
“Let’s go,” I said taking Christian’s hand again.
“Won’t he just get back up?” he asked, looking behind him as the vampire lay still on the ground.
“Probably, but it will be a while. He’ll be too weak to fight. He’ll need to feed and then find a place to hide until he recovers his strength. I didn’t kill him but I did take him out of commission for a while, thanks to you.”
“It would be nice if they were all that easy,” Christian said.
“Yeah, that was way too easy.”
“I’m pretty sure that was just a warm up. I don’t think the rest will be like this. Wait.” He stopped walking. “Can we get the blade back?”
“Oh, I guess I will need that,” I laughed. I was feeling a little too self-assured but I knew that couldn’t last. Nothing I ever did was easy.
“How did you get your blade out so fast? I didn’t even see you do it,” Christian said as he pulled my blade out of the man’s stomach, wiped the blood off with his shirt, and handed it back to me. The vampire rolled to his side moaning.
“Instinct, I guess. I knew he wouldn’t give up that quickly though he had the chance to save himself. He had orders to follow. Thanks for your help, by the way. That was impressive.”
“Glad I can finally do something useful,” he said as we started walking again. I squeezed his hand and was about to say something when a commotion came to sight and brought us to a halt.
Bodies flew every which way and from where we stood, I couldn’t discern who was who. I looked at Christian and leaned in for a kiss, needing to feel his warmth before joining in the melee. I’m ready when you are…he thought as we parted. I nodded and grabbed my blade in one hand, the gun in the other. As we stepped closer, I noticed a few bodies already lay lifeless on the ground, their shapes twisted and broken. I stepped over one when something to my right caught my attention.
Kalia grabbed the man she was fighting with and, in one smooth, quick move, snapped his neck and released him. He crumpled to the ground and she wiped her hands on her jeans, heading toward another. I guess I really didn’t have to worry about her. Though I saw her as a warm, caring mother, it was just her exterior. She could be a vicious fighter.
Someone grabbed my braid and pulled me to the ground. A woman threw herself on top me and landed a fist to my jaw. I roared from the pain. I heard a loud pop and felt her full weight on me. Shoving her off me, I looked up to see Christian still aiming his gun at her. The blood on the back of her shirt was already showing signs of stopping, making it clear she was not human. I got to my feet and shoved h
er onto her back with the tip of my boot. “Shoot her in the heart. She’s a vampire,” I told Christian. With a shaky hand, he aimed at her chest, took a deep breath, and pulled the trigger. Her body jerked as her eyes flew open and never closed again.
“Great shot,” I complimented as I looked for either Maia or Jose Luis. I saw neither. “I have to find an opening to talk to Kalia or Aaron.”
“Aaron’s over there,” Christian pointed to a group of four that were fighting each other. Among that group was Riley. She grabbed a woman by the arm and I watched as the woman’s eyes bulged and her hair stood on end. She fell to her knees before falling face first to the ground. Riley disposed of her by sending electricity through her body. Turning back to Christian, I saw a man running toward us, sword drawn. “Go! I got this,” Christian said and turned to face the man, his own sword drawn.
I hesitated a moment but realized I did trust him to take care of himself. I ran to Aaron’s side, kicking away a man aiming a gun at him. “Aaron, Maia is on their side,” I yelled through the commotion. “She’s not a captive at all.”
“That can’t be true,” he yelled back as he slashed the throat of the man he held by the hair. I gasped at seeing my sweet, gentle Aaron doing something so brutal.
“It is true. I talked to her before coming here,” I yelled. Aaron stopped moving but wasn’t looking at me. His face was turned to the side and I followed his gaze. Surrounding Kalia and Raul, the sand and soil was starting to lift off the ground, creating swirling tornadoes. The shouting was replaced by what sounded like a freight train as tornadoes picked up dirt, dropped weapons, and a few bodies. “What the hell is this?” I shouted to Aaron.
“I don’t know,” he shouted back over the rumbling noise. “Look! Up there!”
I followed his pointing finger to where a woman stood on the outskirts of the battle, her arms and face raised to the sky. She chanted in a language I didn’t recognize. “What is she saying?”
“I’m not sure. It’s been a long time since I’ve heard Quechua. It’s gotta be a spell of some sort,” he said as he watched the woman.
“So what do we do?” I yelled over the roar.
“I’ll try to counter her spell,” Pierce yelled from behind me. I turned to see his face raised and his arms open to the sky. He began his own chanting.
“Up there!” Christian screamed as he ran to my side, bloody sword in hand.
My eyes scanned where he pointed. It was hard to see with all the debris but, at the top of the cross, a body hung from the rafters. From this distance, I couldn’t tell who it was, only that it was male. “Jose Luis!” I screamed as my knees weakened. The condor landed above him, its wings spread to their full width. It was impressive. “Aloysius!”
“Right here,” he answered as he ran to my side, his bow already drawn and loaded, aiming at the massive bird. He released the arrow but it missed by inches, hitting a steel beam instead, and bouncing in the opposite direction. He shot another that I hadn’t even seen him draw. This one embedded in the condor’s left wing and its screams rang over the rumbling of the tornadoes. Pierce seemed to be having no luck stopping the witch creating them. He stood in concentration, looking toward the sky, arms raised, completely vulnerable.
As we watched the condor fold its right wing close to its body, it started changing shape. Its taloned feet changed to human legs, its feathers to skin. Humans and vampires alike gasped in awe as everyone momentarily froze to watch, leaving Pierce to his work. Before our eyes, balanced on a beam in the wind, stood a totally naked Melinda, a vampire with one arm and one wounded wing. Her hair no longer blond but brown, blew in the wind. Her eyes narrowed as she looked down on us. “You cannot kill me!” She screamed. Still, no one moved. All we could hear was the roar of the whirlwinds and the two witches chanting against each other. Untying the boy from his metal prison, she cradled him in her arms before setting him on a crossbeam. She held his shoulders, steadying him. He looked at her face for a moment before looking to the ground. His eyes grew wide before he turned back to face her, shaking his head.
Still no one on the ground moved as everyone concentrated on the odd scene about forty feet in the air. Jose Luis stood with his arms relaxed at his sides, his expression completely blank, and his feet planted dangerously close to the edge. Melinda’s lips moved, but because of the tornadoes on the ground, I couldn’t hear what she was saying. Christian came to stand at my side since no one was bothering to fight while fixated on the couple above. Finally, Jose Luis made some movement. He shook his head again and turned away from her.
“What are they doing?”
“I don’t know but I don’t like it one bit,” I yelled into Christian’s ear. I could barely even hear myself.
Melinda smiled and nodded. He continued to shake his head without looking at her.
“Can’t you get up there?”
“I wish I could but I don’t know how. I would have to climb,” I admitted.
“No!” Jose Luis finally screamed over the deafening wind.
“Oh, God! What is she saying to him?” I stepped closer to the base of the cross, alarming one of the hunters. I knocked him to the ground with my fist.
Jose Luis looked at Melinda one more time before he stepped off the beam, plunging to the ground. Raul ran toward me in a blur of movement, pushing me to the side as he raised his hands. Words in Spanish came so fast from his mouth that I caught none of them. Several gasps surrounded me as Jose Luis lay suspended in the air about twenty feet from the ground.
“Raul, move!” I screamed as a whirlwind came barreling toward him. He dove through the air, landing on his stomach just out of reach. Jose Luis wasn’t as lucky; his body was thrown by the wind, disappearing from sight, blocked by the darkened building just behind the cross.
Reacting without thinking, I ran in that direction only to hit the side of the tornado. It threw me away from itself, hurling me onto my back at Christian’s feet. He bent down to help me up and then his full weight was on me as he slumped on top of me. In that same instant, I saw Maia’s face as she watched Jose Luis’s body fly about ten yards away as he was picked up by another funnel. She had no weapon in her hands as she ran to Melinda’s side.
Arrows flew from Aloysius’s bow as the tornadoes slowed, and finally dissipated. He had hit the witch creating them. Pierce fell to his knees, panting and exhausted. I lifted Christian’s weight off me and set him down on the side. A scream tore from my throat as I stared at the stake protruding from his back, blood soaking his shirt and being swallowed by the earth around him.
~ Thirty-Five ~
The witch casting the storm on the weather lay on the ground, her open eyes staring at the sky. Maia stood next to Melinda. On Melinda’s other side, Arturo, who I presumed was the leader of the hunters, held a gun aimed at Kalia. No one else moved or even spoke, except me, of course.
“Maia!” I screamed as I watched for the rise and fall of Christian’s chest. My heart leapt as I saw him breathing, but it was labored and shallow. Jose Luis still lay untouched and I couldn’t tell if it was his heart I heard or all the other humans. “What did you do?” I screamed as I scrambled to my feet.
Melinda threw her head back and laughed, the arrow still protruding from her injured and bloody wing. My eyes settled on her bare hip, where a tiny condor was tattooed. “Nothing she shouldn’t have done. You deserve to lose him. It’s only fair, after all. Don’t you think so, Lily?”
I looked to the other vampires in my group and they stood with mouths open, eyes wide. Was no one going to do anything?
“Ian did love me!” Maia screamed as she took a step toward me. Kalia took a step toward her and reached for her arm. Maia pushed her away with such force that she landed yards away, a hurt expression on her face. Aaron ran toward her as everyone turned to look. I took that opportunity to advance, my sword held to the side. Ryanne came from behind Melinda, a wooden stake clutched in her hands. I swung the sword and slashed her side. She dropped the
stake and clutched her bloody side.
“You killed my Fergus,” she muttered weakly. “I loved him.” She fell to her knees as a shot rang through the air.
“He was killed in battle while he was trying to kill someone I love,” I countered. I turned to check on Christian and saw him drop his gun as he laid his head back on the ground.
“Kill Melinda!” I screamed.
“I don’t think so,” she said. Her body shifted back into the condor and she took to the air, flapping one wing wildly while the other still had the arrow lodged in it. Shots rang out again as guns trained on her but missed.
“Melinda!” Maia screamed. “What about me? You can’t leave me here!” Her arms stretched in the air, waiting for a rescue that didn’t come.
The condor squawked but stayed in the air.
“I did everything you said! You can’t just leave me, please…” she pleaded, staring above her.
“How long have you been doing everything she said?” I screamed.
Maia lowered her glare to me. “What difference does that make? You deserve everything that happened to you. You deserve to lose and suffer. You deserve to be stuck with a weak man like him.” She motioned toward Christian with her head.
“He is not weak!” I screamed. “You’re the weak one. You’re the one who can’t even think for herself. You follow orders, and not very well obviously since we’re both still alive.”
“Then why is he laying there bleeding to death and I’m not? He’s going to die and leave you with nothing! He wasn’t even smart enough to hang on to his money!” She laughed but continued to scan the sky, her arms raised, waiting for rescue.
“It was you! You’re the one who stole his money!”
“No, dear sister, it was not me. I just helped. Ian and I went to his apartment and took what we needed. It wasn’t my fault the idiot kept his checkbook in his night stand drawer. I even got his social security card and his birth certificate from there. Why would someone be so stupid as to keep them all together where anyone could find them?”