by Madi, Skyla
“And why would you do that?”
“Because even though I no longer have a soul, it still kills me to see you cry.”
I let Hunter pass me and he knelt beside Eli. He bit into his own flesh and attempted to pour the running blood into Eli’s mouth. Eli pursed his lips, determined not to let a drop into his mouth.
“Drink, please. It will help you.”
If ingested, vampire blood can heal. Eli knew that but his pride wouldn’t let him take it.
I think he saw how desperate I was because he slowly parted his lips, taking Hunter’s blood. After two swallows his eyes closed.
“What’s wrong?”
“Relax, he’ll be fine.” Hunter walked over to the window he’d taken Lucian through.
“When he finds another Heelian and gets strong, he’s going to come for you, Ruby, and he won’t stop. I’m going to help him, not because I want to, but because I have to … He is my creator.”
“Tell Lucian we’ll be ready for him.”
“When the time comes, there won’t be a ‘we.’ He’ll kill everyone you’ve ever loved. He’ll kill everyone protecting you, starting with Eli. This has nothing to do with them, this is about you. If you want to protect the ones you love, then you need to face this on your own.”
I turned away from Hunter and returned to Eli. He slept peacefully, like he had on our drive to Mount Kuuce. Perhaps I’d made a good decision when I decided not to kill Hunter, Eli would be dead if I had. Would this situation be placing my loyalties in the wrong hands? Can I help them both? I know Hunter’s humanity is still there. I’d seen it.
Eli’s eyes fluttered open and I wrapped my arms around him. He hugged me back. I helped him to his feet.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
“Yes. Are you?”
“Yes.”
“We need to help the others.” Eli grabbed his stake off the floor and we ran down the stairs of the fire exit. It was a lot safer than the elevator. A few guardian bodies were strewn over the first floor of the warehouse as well as piles of dust. I forced myself not to look at them. I needed to help the others.
Eli tore from the warehouse and I followed closely behind. The cool air was gone. My eyes searched the surroundings as guardian angels took on vampires. It was like the time outside the abandoned dairy farm, but I refused to get caught up in memories.
A vampire grabbed at me. She was really pissed off. There was no doubt she held me responsible for all this mess. My sun power had run out, I couldn’t even make my skin glow let alone warm it slightly. However, all wasn’t lost. There were fires all around me, and it wasn’t until I saw a few of my teachers like Mr Farley and Lillian that I knew they were for the gods and goddesses. As the female vampire yanked me toward her, I grabbed her arm, using her own weight against her. Somehow I managed to flip her to the ground. She bounced back, finding her ground quickly. I raised my hand toward the fire and a large chunk of it flew over to me. I positioned the flames between us as we circled each other.
“I don’t have time to play with you!” I shouted as I pushed the flames onto her. I controlled the fire, preventing her from putting it out. Burning a vampire takes a little longer than staking or the sun, but it’s still effective. Two minutes of relentless burning was enough to turn her to dust.
I didn’t celebrate my latest kill, I still need to help the others. I found Eli by the edge of the forest. He was preventing a vampire from fleeing, they were circling each other, throwing kicks and punches every few seconds. The vampire looked nervous, almost afraid of Eli. I pulled more fire and sent it in Eli’s direction, burning the vampire. He nodded and I let the fire disappear. The vampire was dazed and Eli managed to stake him.
There were only a handful of vampires left. They saw they were outnumbered and they fled, disappearing into the forest.
Nobody relaxed until the sun poured into the harbor. I don’t know how it’s possible, but the warehouse and neglected harbor seemed more deserted and creepy during the day.
Guardian angels that weren’t cleaning up the mess were ordered to bring the cars they had abandoned down the road into the harbor. I heard Mr Aleksandrov tell another guardian we had to get out of here now if we wanted to make it back to Sage before nightfall. His robe was torn and dirty. He walked over to me. I was sitting on a not-so-comfortable rock by the edge of the forest.
“It’s good to see you again, Ruby,” he greeted.
“You too.”
He sat down beside me.
“Thank you for rescuing us.”
“I told you I wouldn’t let any harm come to you. I wish I could have helped you sooner but I needed to make sure the school was secure and the students were safe before I could do anything.”
“I understand.”
We sat in silence for a few minutes.
“Lucian said he’ll come back for me.”
“I assumed as much.”
“I can’t go back to Sage … That’ll be the first place he’ll look. He’ll hurt Mila and Eli… and you. I can’t let that happen.”
Mr Aleksandrov reached into his pocket and pulled out a small necklace. It was the ruby one Camilla got me for my birthday.
“I had a hunch you wouldn’t want to come back to Sage, so I charmed your necklace. When you wear it, vampires that know who you are won’t be able to recognize you.”
“What do you mean?”
“It works as a hallucination in a way. If you’re wearing it and Lucian happens to spot you, he won’t know it’s you because the charm projects a new image, changing your appearance. To everyone else you look the same, but to vampires you’ll look completely different.”
I took the necklace from his hand and ran my thumb over its warm surface. This was all I needed to start a new life… a life without death, vampires, and magic… without Eli.
I watched Eli as he strolled toward us.
“Everyone is ready. We should probably leave now, we can’t waste any more time. Even if we leave now we still might not make by nightfall.”
“Yes, well, I’ll round everybody up. Let me know when you’re ready, Ruby.” Aleksandrov rose to his feet and walked away.
I knew I had to talk to Eli about my decision to leave but I couldn’t find the words. If I left him now, I’d lose him forever. Is being miserable worth his safety? What a silly question. I’d rather be depressed and alone than have his death on my conscience. When Lucian discovered I wasn’t at Sage, then he’d leave them alone. Hunter’s words rang in my mind, ‘this has nothing to do with them, this is about you. If you want to protect the ones you love, then you need to face this on your own.’
If I stay away from Lucian and keep him away from Eli, Mila, and Mr Aleksandrov, then that’s all I could ask for. That’s all I want.
I wasn’t oblivious to Eli’s presence but I pretended I was.
“You did well.”
“Thanks.”
He crouched down and briefly my eyes fell onto the dry blood stain on the front of his shirt. Eli was as good as dead, I knew it and he knew it, but Hunter saved him. Hunter gave me a chance to say goodbye.
“Eli, there’s something I need to say to you.”
I glanced at him, his green eyes were watching me intently. There was a sadness on his face, as if he knew what I was going to say. There was no easy way to say it. I needed to get it over with.
“I’m leaving.” I forced down the lump that formed in my throat. “I’m going to live my life away from all of this. It’s best for everyone involved.”
“It’s best for everyone involved? Do you think it’s best for me?”
I bit the inside of my lip. I was so heartbroken. His brow furrowed but he kept his eyes on me.
“It’s not safe,” he added.
“I think by now I’ve proved I’m more than capable of taking care of myself.”
“Ruby, why are you doing this?” He took my hand in his, caressing it gently with his thumb. “Once we get back to the school, you’ll be safe.”
“No, I won’t be.” A single tear rolled down my cheek. “Lucian won’t stop and I’m not going to be the one preventing everyone from living their lives in peace and happiness.”
“We’ll be fine, let’s sort out the details tomo —”
“Eli, you were as good as dead and it was my fault!” My voice got the attention of a few nearby guardians but it didn’t matter to me anymore. “I saw your life draining from you drop by drop… I can’t go through that again.”
“What about us?” he asked, his voice was low and urgent.
“The way you said that says it all. If we go back to Sage, we go back to our old semi-professional relationship of brief discussions and longing stares from across the dining hall. After all we’ve been through, I can’t go back to that.
“Let’s go!” Aaron, the guardian with the scar down his face, called to us.
Eli and I didn’t budge. Instead, we stared into each other’s eyes, waiting for the other to make the first move. It was obvious he wasn’t going anywhere, he was too stubborn, so I rose to my feet and trotted off toward Mr Aleksandrov.
Without a glance behind me, I climbed into the back seat of Mr Aleksandrov’s car. It was a lot like Eli’s, only the insides were dark grey instead of white. Mr Aleksandrov got into the passenger seat and Aaron was driving. All the doors were shut and the car roared to life.
Slowly the car rolled forward, my teary gaze fell on Eli, watching me drive away. His face had returned to its usual hard stare, a stare that watched nothing but everything at the same time.
“You’re doing the right thing,” Mr Aleksandrov said over his shoulder.
“Then why doesn’t it feel like it?” I mumbled.
“Someday you’ll be able to return … and maybe you can be with the person you want to be with. There’s a change coming, Ruby, and it’ll help people in your situation and Mila’s.”
His words hit me. He knew about Mila’s and Gabriel’s love … perhaps he could change things. If he did, Eli and I could be together freely, but until then there was no happy ending. I could feel it. The love that Eli and I have was great, but when has any great love in history ended well? Romeo and Juliet, Cleopatra and Mark Antony, or Tristan and Isolde? Each and every one ended in tragedy, be it death or banishment.
Once again I was leaving everything behind and starting a new life, and yet somehow it seems harder this time around. The thick forest whipped past me and the car picked up speed as it rolled onto the smooth highway. The harbor was disappearing rapidly behind me and I couldn’t help but let the tears fall. Letting Eli go was the biggest regret I have made in this life.
“It’s all for the greater good,” Mr Aleksandrov mumbled.
I guess only time will tell.
About the Author
Skyla Madi was born in the small town of Port Maquarie, New South Wales in 1993. She spent half her life growing up in Wauchope, a thriving rural town at the heart of the Hastings River Valley before making the leap to the busy city of Brisbane.
Whenever this young Australian writer isn’t changing diapers, watching cartoons, cooking for her husband or doing other motherly-wife things, she is actively working on her writing and improving her writing skills.
Skyla loves to read just as much as she loves to write and since discovering that YA/paranormal romance/urban fantasy/ are her favorite genres, she has embarked on her own writing journey and is currently working on a YA series titled ‘The Guardian Angel’ series.’
Twitter: @Skyla_Madi
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