The Nightwalkers Saga: Books 1 - 7

by Candace Wondrak

  She gripped the axe and struck him down, and all I could do was stare and think: did she just take an axe, that probably hasn’t been cleaned in ages, to Gabriel’s face?

  Now, if I had anything to say about it, there was no way that she was going to walk away without a limp.

  Before I got the chance to say a witty one-liner, Max busted through the back door, holding a metal stake and yelling, “Get back!” There was something about the glint in his eyes that I didn’t like.

  Sephira giggled and pushed the regular-sized leprechaun against the side of the house, knocking him out instantly. The metal stake slowly rolled out of his unconscious hand.

  Talk about underwhelming. Way to help out, Max. Way. To. Help. Out.

  Her dark eyes were upon me when she spoke, “You stand against me, yet you don’t seem afraid. Tell me why.”

  Gabriel would be okay. He’d heal. Max would be okay, too, because he’d wake up. I, on the other hand, was a different story. I’d most likely get beat down before I even finished saying my answer.

  “This is what I do,” I said evenly, surprising myself with my calmness, “every day. I’m sick of being afraid. Now,” I paused as I handled my rose blade, “I’m just pissed.” Aiming to strike her directly across the stomach, my arms made it only a few, short inches in the air before she dropped her axe and punched me.

  I wasn’t sure how far I sailed in the sky, but I was sure of one thing: when I landed. The grassy ground chafed my face. My eyes soon saw my rose blade lying a few feet from me. I thought about making a roll for it, but Sephira appeared between us and picked up my sword.

  Her red lips curved into a sick smile. “Where have all the excellent blacksmiths disappeared to?” A curt laugh escaped her as she effortlessly tossed my early birthday present aside.

  Leaping to my feet, I started to yell that she’d pay for insulting my awesome weapon, when I realized I had a Sephira-less view.

  Deep in the forest, Crixis was trying to evade Raphael, looking like he wanted to come to my aid, but he gave up and tackled him to the ground. Raphael staggered, which gave Crixis time to run to my side. Too bad he was still over one hundred feet away.

  No one can run as fast as Sephira can flash.

  Max was still unconscious, just where he was minutes ago, and just where he’d be until he woke. Maybe it was a good thing she knocked him out. In a way, it protected him.

  Gabriel strained to get to his feet. There was a whole lot of blood seeping from the healing wound that spread across his left cheek and right pectoral. He was scared; the look in his eyes said it all.

  But why? Why did he stare at me like...like that?

  Raphael caught Crixis on the old-fashioned grill that was situated near the opening of the forest, shattering any hopes I had that the black wolf would reach and help me. A shrill snicker came from my rear, and suddenly everything snapped into place.

  The back of the house. The grill we never used. The forest that spread for miles behind our house. There was nothing I could do. It was too late. My mother’s warnings were for nothing because I didn’t figure them out.

  Even though he was far away, my eyes locked with Gabriel’s the moment I felt two hands on my neck. Such cold, dead hands. Yet they were so very strong.

  Chapter Thirty-Nine – Gabriel

  Kass’s green eyes widened as Sephira gripped her neck. She looked at me, as if wordlessly telling me goodbye.

  No.

  I was too far from her. Even if I used my speed that came and went when the situation called for it, I wouldn’t make it. The Original was already tightening her arms and twisting. I may not have been next to her, but I could still see the light fade from Kass when her neck snapped.

  No.

  In the blink of an eye, faster than humanly possible, I made it to Kass’s side before she hit the grass. “Kass,” I whispered, moving her limp body to my lap. “Kass.” Somehow, I thought repeating her name would bring her back. My fingers shakily touched her face.

  Kass was gone. Her body didn’t move, her head gazed off to the side, her green eyes still open. Still warm, but motionless. She was dead. I lost her. I failed her.

  I would never see her smile, never hear her laugh, never watch her down an entire pizza in ten minutes. It was over, and she had no idea that I—

  Before I knew what I was doing, a single tear rolled from my eye and landed on her face. “I love you,” I muttered through blurry eyes, knowing she couldn’t hear me. Kass was the only one who could bring me to tears.

  And she was gone. She was never coming back.

  “How utterly maddening.” The woman turned and walked away, toward Crixis and Raphael, as if she had already forgotten what she did to Kass. “That’s enough,” she spoke to Raphael, “it’s my turn with the pup.”

  Rage overtook me, causing me to stand and glare at the Vampire after carefully setting Kass down.

  Now that he was no longer being compelled, Raphael flashed beside Kass. His hands reached out as he whispered her name.

  “Don’t touch her!” I yelled to him. The fury blinded me, and I wholeheartedly let it take hold. I lifted my hand and pushed the nearby air, sending Raphael rocketing through the sky until he landed hard against a tree.

  He blinked in confusion, not bothering to move. He knew if he made another move for Kass, I’d kill him.

  My undivided attention was on Sephira, who was busy ignoring me and sauntering to the wolf Crixis. My raised hand moved in her direction, fingers outstretched, and I commanded, “Stop.” Her legs impulsively froze. “Come.”

  The wolf’s head tilted when she involuntarily spun and started walking to me.

  “How—” Sephira clenched her teeth as she neared my extended hand. “—are you doing this? Magic?” A sharp yelp left her throat when I grabbed it. I squeezed her unfeasibly small neck and lifted her in the air. “Put me down.”

  Full-blown wrath boiled inside me, and I had hardly any control over what I was doing and saying. “You,” I snarled, “took her from me, and for that you will pay.” A brutal crack came from her neck as I broke it, just as she did to Kass.

  Sephira’s body slumped to the ground, but she was up in an instant, snapping her neck back into place. “You cannot defeat me, boy.”

  “I am no boy.” My voice was low and unwavering. I did not recognize my own voice. The back of my hand met with her face, and I watched her helplessly roll to stand with disinterest. “And it is you who cannot defeat me.” A mental shove heaved her spine upon the grass. In less than a blink of an eye, I was ramming my foot into her throat.

  The blood red veins in her eyes darkened as rain began to pelt us both. “Come to me, my child.” A burst of strength threw me off her. “I will enjoy ending you.” Sephira tried to use her Vampiric speed to her advantage, lobbing punch after punch and kick after kick to me.

  I effortlessly evaded all of her attacks and spun a returning roundhouse kick to her side. A low growl erupted from my stomach as I deliberately took my time to walk closer to the recovering Original. “You do not yet comprehend the magnitude of your actions.”

  I had no clue what I was saying. It was all instinct. Killer instinct.

  Sephira returned a roar, but was immediately silenced by me, continuing, “But you soon will.” A thin, straight gash coursed down her face. Blood flowed freely from the wound that would never heal. “Original, you believe you are unstoppable. You think you know darkness.”

  Another slash appeared, this time on her chest, initiating a pain-induced grimace. “You will die by my hand—” Her threat stopped as I touched her face with the tips of my fingers. Sephira’s lips bonded together with the help of a red, vein-like string that grew from my hand.

  When her mouth was entirely sewed closed, I continued, “You do not. In the eyes of true darkness, you are a weak, pathetic, unworthy Demon. You don’t know true darkness.” My voice became quiet and unsettling and I leaned in closer to her, whispering, “But I’ll show you.”
<
br />   She had no clue what she was in for, did she?

  Perfect. That made it all the more satisfying.

  Chapter Forty – Liz

  There was no time to weep for the loss of Taiton. Though I did feel contrite about his untimely death, I found that my thoughts were dominated by Michael, who was not only injured, but also caught in a fight with the deceased Council Agent.

  Most would have called him assassin, but I refused to do so, because the Council didn’t train assassins. They trained Agents.

  That was all hogwash now.

  “Michael,” I screamed to the man who was busy rolling to dodge a wide right swing, “perhaps we should run.” After all, we had no sense of what was happening at the house. For all we knew, everyone was dead or fighting for their life.

  Nevertheless, I discovered that, while I was concerned with everyone else, I was more troubled by Michael. Sephira bit him, let him go almost instantly and whispered about blood. There was no inkling in me to what that meant.

  Michael himself, however, didn’t seem as confused by it as me.

  I couldn’t help but wonder why that was. He must know what she meant by tainted blood.

  Taiton ripped the sword out of Michael’s hands, throwing it in my direction. I had to duck in order to evade the ever-sharp point of Gabriel’s dragon sword. Crawling for it, I only thought of Michael and how he needed that sword to defend himself.

  I tried forcing a steady toss, but my hands wouldn’t listen. I flung the sword in the air, sending it straight to Taiton. Curse my trembling limbs.

  To my surprise, Michael quickly intercepted the sword’s trajectory, catching it midair and twirling it to Taiton’s abdomen. I blinked back astonishment.

  That was the other thing I was having trouble with. Michael was injured, and yet he was fighting another colossal man who was animated by ancient magic as if he had no difficulties.

  It was astonishing. He truly was a capable Guardian.

  Taiton was beginning to lunge in for a blow, but he hastily stopped. His white eyes turned to face the window before he made a hasty dash to it.

  Michael and I watched in shock as he used his upper body strength to break the glass. In a few, short seconds, the Council Agent was gone, leaving us in incredulous silence. We met eyes.

  Hoping my instincts weren’t correct, I ventured to ask the question, “Where do you think he’s going?” My gaze leveled with the sizeable amount of blood oozing from Michael’s neck. It was definitely a good thing I didn’t become queasy at the sight of blood, otherwise I’d be out of a job.

  Gripping the silver sword so tight his knuckles turned white, Michael answered, “I’m going to take a wild guess and say home.” He saw where my eyes were resting, so he responded by setting a hand over his leaking neck to cover the teeth marks.

  I could certainly see where Gabriel got his witty personality from.

  “Come on,” Michael said, running out of the room. “Maybe we can make it before he does.”

  “Maybe,” I agreed to hope.

  We had a car, which was more than I could say for Taiton. He did have a head start, though, so he did have a leg up on us already. Since the power was still out, we were forced to walk down fifteen flights of stairs, while he was able to get out of the building immediately by jumping out of the window.

  Unlike Taiton, we were capable of running to the car and speeding home.

  I hoped with a desperate heart that would be enough.

  Chapter Forty-One – Gabriel

  The fear in her eyes was empowering. Sephira might not realize it, because she had never felt anything like it before, but she was afraid. She was terrified.

  She endeavored to hide her fright by lashing out at me, her nails attempting to reach my face. A sad thing I imagined it looked like. I clasped her in a choke hold at arm’s length. Too bad an arm’s length for me meant an arm and a half for her.

  A chuckle shook me. I couldn’t control myself anymore. I had no clue what I was doing, or how I did it. My muscles felt stronger. My vision was keener, even in the darkness of the storm. My anger was absolute.

  Kass was gone.

  I felt furious, vindictive…dead. I felt dead.

  With a mighty heave, Sephira landed hard on a nearby tree. She was slow to get to her bare feet, giving me a death glare that only increased my rage.

  Kass’s death glares were so much better.

  Tilting my head, I took a single step closer as the rain thoroughly drenched us both.

  The paint on her arms smeared. She took one look to her arm before shaking with frenzied laughter that she could not let out, due to her sown mouth. Sephira spread her legs to a fighting position. Her fingers tensed, as did her toes, when the nails grew to be two inches long and sharp as a knife.

  The blood mingled with the rain, sliding down from her grazes, down her torso, down her legs and onto the wet ground.

  I decided to stop and watch, humor her so that she thought she had a chance to defeat me. What a ridiculous idea that was. If only she knew how pointless this whole transformation was for her.

  A shrill screech came from her mouth as she strained to pull her lips apart. After a lot more blood, she succeeded, even though the string was still in her torn lips.

  Sephira’s grossly disfigured lips curved into a gory smile, showing me her new teeth. They were much sharper than a normal Daywalker’s, and much longer.

  Did she think the sight of her extra sharp teeth would scare me?

  “I will tear you apart.” Her shredded lips butchered the threat. If I was in a better mood, and Kass wasn’t dead, I would have thought about making a joke about her sounding like a female Sylvester Stallone.

  But Kass was dead, and here we were.

  Numerous cracks came from her, and I recognized her internal structure changing. Her feet grew longer while her ankles didn’t move, making her legs both normal jointed and reverse-jointed. Her arms were growing out, becoming thin and spider-like.

  And I thought she was ugly before.

  In seconds her fingers grew into the nails, developing in the same way as her arms and legs. Snaps came from her back as her spine shifted up and forward, sticking out of her skin.

  If I wanted to, I could count her vertebrae. Then again, I could count them as easily after ripping her entire spine out.

  Snarling, Sephira took her hands to her head. In one, fluid motion, her nails dug into her scalp and wrenched the dripping black hair out of her head, taking the top layer of skin with it. What lay underneath was not what I expected to see.

  Instead of a bloody skull, there was another layer of skin, one that belonged to something sickly. Someone who hadn’t seen the light of day in their whole life.

  I cocked my head at her pointy ears.

  “You will die!” Sephira spat. Whether the spitting was intentional or not, I wasn’t sure. I was too disgusted by her flat, pig nose and stretched eyes. If I was something lesser, I might be frightened.

  But I wasn’t. I knew one thing and one thing only: she was going to die, and I was going to enjoy it to no end.

  Chapter Forty-Two – Liz

  I was out of the car before Michael had a chance to turn off the ignition. If something happened to these kids, I knew I’d never be able to forgive myself.

  The front door was locked, and Michael had the only key.

  I turned to yell his name, but he was beside me in an instant, saying, “I got it.” After inserting the key, Michael spun the knob and walked into the house. He made it only three steps before stating, “Something’s not right.”

  Hearing voices, I hurried into the living room to discover that the voices belonged to a movie that was left playing on the television. Something definitely wasn’t right. Frantically glimpsing all around, I spied the back windows. While Michael searched the rest of the house, I ran to look outside.

  And I did not like what I saw.

  “Michael,” I screamed, running to the back door. The sight that g
reeted me was my Purifier lying on the porch. I ran out. “Max,” I said, falling to my knees. Checking his pulse, I was relieved to find that he wasn’t dead, simply unconscious.

  I heard his voice before he reached me, “Did you find—” Michael froze when he was out of the house. Except his eyes weren’t on Max.

  Strange, I decided prior to following his gaze. A mental wince entered my mind when I saw Kass resting on the grass, surrounded by a vexed Raphael and a nude Crixis. They were kneeling and standing, respectively, but neither helped her up.

  I had pegged Raphael as a gentleman, but perhaps I was wrong.

  The back of her head was facing me, so I could imagine the intense look she was giving the men. The only problem with that was…she wasn’t moving.

  “Is Max all right?” Michael asked, not tearing his eyes from the unmoving Kass.

  “Yes.” I nodded.

  He said not another word as he took off running to Kass’s side. I was mere seconds behind him, saying, “What happened?”

  “Is she—” Michael stopped the moment he walked around to her face. His already low spirits sank to an all-time low when he saw her glazed over expression. Even someone who had never seen a corpse before would know that this girl wasn’t alive.

  Kass was dead.

  We lost Kass and Taiton.

  “Kass,” he breathed, falling to his knees beside Raphael. He lifted a hand to her pale face but was impeded by Raphael.

  “I wouldn’t do that,” he warned.

  Michael was taken aback, as was I. “What? Why?”

  “Gabriel…” Raphael trailed off. There was a glint of something in his eyes that I could not place. It wasn’t trepidation, was it? And if it was, why would he become this way when speaking about Gabriel?

  Since Raphael could not finish his sentence, Crixis spoke up, “Something snapped in the boy when Kass died. Raphael went to her, and he…” He swore. “I don’t know how to describe it.”

  Michael’s response was straightening his posture, and mine was, “What do you mean?”