by K. A. Last
“You won’t be able to get inside,” he said.
“That’s not what I asked. And don’t underestimate me.”
Max smiled slyly. “You hunters are always so sure of yourselves. It’s at the other end of the park. We have to cross the street into the next section.”
“Let’s go then.” I grabbed his T-shirt and shoved him in the direction he’d indicated. “No rest for the wicked.”
“Fingers crossed.” Max laughed. Once we get that bitch’s blood, we won’t need any rest.
I stiffened, but pretended I didn’t know what the thought was that had flashed through his mind. The moment Max had mentioned Lucas and Charlotte I’d been suspicious. It turned out Lucas still wanted Charlotte for the exact same reason he’d sent Mathew, Cain and Tyler to Hopetown Valley. So he could create an army of vamps that walked in the sun.
I relayed the information to Archer and he raised his eyebrows. “No surprise there.”
“What?” Max asked.
“Nothing that concerns you, bad boy.” Archer grinned, and led Max away a little.
He could probably hear me, but I needed to fill Ryan in. “Lucas is up to his old tricks,” I whispered.
“Army?” Ryan asked.
“Yep.” I linked my arm through his and we followed Archer and Max.
We left the fountain and the safety of the lighted area, entering another tree-lined pathway. There were less people in this section of the park, and I could see why. The moon had done a disappearing act again, and there were fewer lampposts to light our way. It was a good thing Archer and I had heightened eyesight. Ryan, though, wouldn’t be able to see much until it was almost on top of him.
“Let’s walk a little faster,” Archer said. “I don’t like it in here.”
“No protest from me,” Ryan said.
I fixed my stare on the street at the end of the long and gloomy tree-tunnel, the traffic noise a faraway hum. I caught up to Archer and Max and curled my fingers into the fabric of Max’s T-shirt, in case he decided now would be a good time to attempt a getaway.
We were about half way from the fountain to the street when up ahead, two people stepped onto the path. The light from the lamps illuminated them from behind, and I couldn’t see their faces. The way they stood made me stop, and I grabbed Archer’s arm.
“This doesn’t look good,” I said.
“Muggers, do you think?” Archer asked.
The two figures took a few steps forward into a pool of light created by one of the lampposts that lit the walk way.
No, I didn’t think the man and woman were muggers.
The man looked directly into my eyes, and I was shocked at what I saw. We were up against another set of hunters. A smirk turned his lips up. He wore a long, black coat that stopped at his knees, and his feet were encased in combat boots. Black jeans hugged the girl’s perfect legs. She also wore combat boots, and a black flying jacket. Her hair fell to her shoulders, the surrounding light shining off its glossy surface.
“Ryan, get behind us, please.” He did as I said, and I tightened my grip on Max’s T-shirt.
The couple walked towards us, and their rigid posture didn’t make them look friendly.
The girl stopped and I stared into her eyes. “Why are you kicking around with a vamp?” she asked. “I guess it’s not surprising, since you’re fallen.”
“What business is it of yours?” I asked.
She smiled and took a step forward. “You’re on our turf.”
“Are they about to do what I think they’re about to do?” Archer said.
A second later the girl came at me. I shoved Ryan backwards as hard as I could, hoping my angel strength didn’t hurt him too much.
Better hurt than dead.
The girl had a look of hate in her eyes. Max struggled free from my grip and I let him, preparing to take the girl out, but instead of continuing her charge, she took a sharp turn and went for Max. She jumped and grabbed the vamp, throwing him to the ground. He rolled onto his back, but before he had the chance to regain his feet, she brought her hand down towards his chest. He exploded into a cloud of dust.
“No!” I ran at the girl, tackling her to the paved pathway. We rolled a few times. She punched me in the jaw and I kicked her in the stomach. She flew off of me, landing heavily on the grass to the side of the path.
Archer came to help me, and the guy punched him. Archer hit him back. Ryan circled, looking for a way to stop them fighting. Blood dripped from Archer’s mouth and a cut above his eye. That wasn’t good. I’d lost my ability to heal others when I’d fallen. If he got hurt I wouldn’t be able to help him.
Archer ducked another punch and headed for the girl.
“Arch.” I grabbed his arm. “You don’t want to pick a fight with her.”
“Why?” He spun to face me, clenching his fists. “She dusted our informant.”
“He was your informant?” The guy came and stood next to his sister. They had to be related, because they were hunters. Even though I’d never met another hunting team, one thing I was sure of was how they worked.
“You’re fallen,” the girl said, as if saying it out loud again would change it.
“And you’re an ass,” Archer said.
“Okay, everyone, stop.” I turned to the girl. “I’m Grace. This is my annoying brother, Archer, and that’s Ryan. You are …?”
The girl eyed me, and I probed her mind for any information I could find. She had a pretty good wall in place and it made me smile. As soon as I’d realised they were hunters, I’d thrown up my own defences.
“I don’t tell anyone who’s fallen anything.” The girl sneered.
“Not even your name?” Archer grinned. “Surely that can’t hurt. And, trust me. Grace would have you on your ass in a second if you tried anything. She may be tiny, but she’s mean.”
I smirked. Thanks Arch, you are officially an idiot.
Yeah, but I’m your idiot.
“I won’t tell you anything until you tell me why you’re fallen.” She stared at me, probing the wall I’d built in my mind.
“That’s a really long story,” Ryan said. “I’m thinking we don’t have the next decade, and then some, to explain it.”
“And you have a human with you,” the guy said.
“Okay, can we maybe talk about the really important stuff like, I don’t know, how we’re trying to stop Lucas from creating a sun-walking army of vampires who want to take over Wide Island, and probably the world.”
The girl raised her eyebrows. “You know about that?”
“I know a lot more than anyone ever gives me credit for.”
“I’m Hope,” she finally said. “This is my brother, Justice.”
“Dude …” Archer stared at Justice. “I’d say pleased to meet you, but you punched me, so …” He shrugged.
“How do you know about Lucas and his plans?” Hope asked.
“We have insider information,” I said. “And that vamp was going to lead us to him.”
Hope laughed. “You mean the war memorial. You won’t get in. If we haven’t figured out how … you won’t.”
“Maybe we could help each other,” Ryan said.
“Not until I know why and how you know about what’s going on in my city.”
Her city? Great, an angel on a power trip—just what I needed.
I stared at Archer. What should we tell her?
I don’t know. I’m still getting over the fact her brother’s name is Justice.
I’ve blocked her, I thought. But she can probably hear you.
Hope frowned. Archer raised his eyebrows and smiled at her. Then if she knows Charlotte, and she knows about Lucas’s plan, she’d probably know how he intends to execute it.
Ryan sighed, looking between us. The silent talking was getting to him, but I wasn’t about to force him to hear me. Being able to talk to someone in your head wasn’t all it was cracked up to be.
“You know they’re talking to each other?” Justice asked Rya
n.
“Yeah, they do it all the time,” he said.
“Not only are you fallen, but you’ve shared your secrets with a human?” Hope asked.
“Hey, don’t judge me. You don’t know what I’ve been through,” I said.
Michael had told me if I needed him, to call. I didn’t think he’d meant by phone. I glanced around, searching the shadows.
Now would be a really good time to show yourself, I thought.
“Okay, we aren’t getting anywhere here,” Archer said. “Can we walk towards the war memorial and maybe discuss this along the way?”
“No,” Hope said. “We’re not going anywhere until we find out what you’re doing here.”
“You can trust them.” The voice came from behind me, and I’d have known it anywhere. If we’d been in Heaven, it would’ve followed exploding cloud dust. I turned around and stared into Michael’s chocolate eyes.
“Hey, Grace,” he said.
I smiled so wide my cheeks ached. I never thought I’d be so glad to see an angel who was technically my enemy.
SEVENTEEN
Josh
Charlotte stood on the steps of the terrace and turned her face into the night breeze. She stilled. Every muscle in her body went rigid. I did the same and attempted to tap into whatever it was she was looking for.
Lilith growled beside me, her gaze following a couple walking down the other side of the street. My nostrils flared and I clenched my fists. I hadn’t fed for twenty-four hours, and as much as I hated feeding, my body screamed for it. I blocked the urge and concentrated on the faint scent of summer rain that lingered in the air.
“Do you think you can control your urges for one night?” Charlotte asked.
“I’m a vampire. I can’t control anything,” Lilith said.
“I’m a vampire, and I can.”
“Lilith, we’ll feed later,” I said. “Can we concentrate on following Grace and the others?”
“This way.” Charlotte stepped onto the footpath and headed towards the iron bridge in the distance.
Every human we walked past made Lilith’s mouth water. I told her to keep thinking about what Wide Island would be like if the entire vampire population could walk around during the day. If her theory were correct, there’d be no one left to salivate over in the first place.
There were a lot of people on the streets, making the most of the Saturday nightlife. I wondered how many of them wouldn’t make it home tonight. Guilt filled my stomach with lead because it was the vampires—like me—who would stop some of them from going home to their loved ones. No matter what night it was, there was always someone who died in Wide Island. Only the ones who were found made the news.
We walked for a while until Charlotte stopped at the bottom of a set of stone steps. They led into a park, the walkway lined with lampposts that created shadows amongst the trees.
“I can’t smell any of them,” I said. “There’s too much fresh blood around.”
Lilith looked as if she were about to explode, and I admired her restraint. She’d never held out this long before. Usually she took what she wanted when the urge struck her.
“I’ve still got Ryan’s trail.” Charlotte climbed the steps. “Stay close. If we find them I’m not sure how Grace will react.”
“What do you mean? I thought she was in love with me.”
“She is, but I’m not her favourite person at the moment, and we are consorting with a vampire.”
Lilith snorted. “I’m really looking forward to meeting this girl.”
All sorts of people milled around the park, from those crossing through to wherever they were going, to those who were homeless and had settled in for the night.
Charlotte led us past a huge, Greek god-inspired fountain, and into another tree-lined walkway. Cars sped past at the far end, the noise falling away into the trees, unable to penetrate the relative silence of the park. She stopped about half way from the fountain to the road, and cocked her head to one side.
“Something happened here.” Charlotte turned in a slow circle. “They came through this way, but I’m not sure where they went.”
“Have you lost the trail?” I asked.
Charlotte sniffed the air. “No, I don’t think so.”
Lilith scoffed, hands on her hips. “I can’t smell anything other than dinner every time it walks past.”
A guy ambled down the path. As he got closer he smiled at Lilith. She sneered and the smile fell from his face. He quickened his pace and didn’t look back.
Charlotte sighed. “Hunters have been here, along with another angel.”
“How can you tell?” I asked.
“Because I know the hunters of Wide Island. Trust me, they’ve been here.” She walked a few steps and toed something on the ground. “See? Fresh ash.”
I’d never get used to knowing that the little piles of dust we came across on a regular basis had once been people—or vampires. Some of them you could hardly regard as people.
“What now?” Lilith planted her hands on her hips. She was really putting out the attitude poses tonight.
Charlotte shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe we need to try and work out the reason Grace is here. We know she’s looking for Josh because she called him, and she’s been to the terrace, but we don’t know why she’s looking for him.”
“It better not be to tell you she loves you.” Lilith scowled. “If it is, I’ll …”
I stared at the girl who was all I’d known since she’d found me. Lilith may have been a vampire, but she was the one who had saved me. She could have left me where I was. Sure, I probably would have found my own way eventually, but as much as I hated the way we were, and what we had to do to survive, she was still my Lilith.
Slowly, I walked over to her and she turned her face away.
“Don’t.” I put my finger under her chin and made her look at me. “I don’t remember this girl. How could I feel anything for her?”
“What if you do remember? What then?” Lilith wrapped her arms around herself.
“I won’t let my past affect my future.”
Lilith pressed her lips to mine and I pulled her close. I hoped what I’d told her was the truth. If Grace had never said she loved me after I’d apparently bared my soul to her, then she wasn’t worth worrying about. I needed to worry about the present, and what I had right in front of me.
Charlotte cleared her throat, but we ignored her. It felt like an eternity since Lilith had kissed me so passionately. It made me feel alive, even though I wasn’t.
Light penetrated the darkness, and something whooshed past my ear. Before I had time to register what it was, and heed Charlotte’s cry of “run,” Lilith and I were weightless, flying through the air. With my arms wrapped tightly around her waist, we landed heavily on a park bench, splitting it in half and sending a loud crack through the park. I copped most of the brunt as Lilith came down on top of me, and I screamed in pain when a piece of wood pierced my left shoulder. Its tip poked through the skin next to my collarbone.
Lilith’s eyes widened and she stared at the bloodied piece of wood sticking out of me.
“Missed my heart,” I said, grimacing.
Lilith scrambled off me and helped me sit up. Blood stained the ends of her fingers when she touched the piece of wood. She went to stand but I grabbed her arm, mouthing angels. Lilith’s eyes sparked with understanding and she held still.
“You have to pull this out of me.” I pointed to the piece of wood. “I can’t reach it.”
“It’s going to hurt,” she said.
“Do it.” I couldn’t walk around like a shish kebab.
Lilith searched my face. “Ready?” She wrapped her hand around the section sticking out of my back.
I nodded and clenched my teeth.
White-hot pain seared through my shoulder as the wood ripped out of my flesh. It may not have been a death blow, but having something inside me that would have killed me if it landed in the right place d
idn’t tickle.
Lilith pressed her hand to the hole in my back. “It should close over pretty quickly, but the less blood you lose the better.” She glanced over her shoulder before staring back at me. “Angels,” she whispered.
“We need to help Charlotte.” I looked into Lilith’s wild eyes. “We get up slowly, okay?”
Lilith wasn’t used to being the one who was down. Without a word she nodded, then kissed me quickly before helping me to my feet. The pain shot from my shoulder and spread down my side in a steady pulse.
An angel I’d never seen before had Charlotte in a vice grip, and a wicked smile split her face. It looked out of place on someone who was supposed to represent the epitome of goodness, although maybe she saved her nice face for nice people. I’m pretty sure Lilith and I didn’t fall into that category. Two more angels I’d had the unfortunate pleasure of meeting before flanked us.
“Are you love birds finished?”
I scowled. The angel who had mocked us was Zachary. We’d shared a couple of battles since I’d made a home in Wide Island, and his presence was beginning to feel like an eyelash sticking into my eye, very annoying. Charlotte grimaced as the angel holding her tightened her grip.
The hunters and angels always seemed to know our next move. If Charlotte was right and angels could read minds, then it explained a lot of things, but it also meant our only option was to face them.
Running would get us killed.
I turned my body towards Lilith, ready to protect her, and I wondered if it came down to it, whether she’d protect me as well. Would she die for me? I couldn’t say yes for certain, but I hoped so.
“Hello Zachary,” I said.
He flicked his head and his jet-coloured hair framed his perfect face.
Lilith stiffened beside me.
To anyone else Zachary would have looked normal in his faded and ripped Levis and white button-up shirt. Light or white clothing seemed to be their uniform, which made us a cliché when it came to good versus evil, since Lilith and I were dressed entirely in black. Charlotte also wore black, but I don’t think it was because she wanted to fit with a particular side. She didn’t seem to fit anywhere.