Fight For Me

by K. A. Last

  “Something tells me you’re not in the best position to be asking questions,” Archer said.

  I raised my eyebrows, stared down at the incredibly handsome vampire, and smiled. He struggled again, but I pushed harder on his shoulders and he stopped.

  “You’re strong for someone so tiny,” he said.

  “This is nothing,” I said. “You should see me on a good day. Now tell me: Joshua Chase, do you know him?” The vamp stared at me with a vacant expression, and after I tried to listen in on his thoughts I came up with nothing. “What about Lucas? What can you tell me about him?”

  The vampire’s face darkened and he squirmed beneath me. “Lucas owns this city. You don’t want to cross him.”

  Now we were getting somewhere.

  “We can tell you about Lucas,” Justice said. He stood off to the side with Hope next to him.

  “Oh, hey guys,” the vamp said. “Don’t suppose you could help me?”

  “Nope,” Hope said.

  I glanced over my shoulder to see Ryan and Michael standing where I’d left them.

  “You really shouldn’t play with them so much,” Archer said. “Put him out of his misery.”

  “All right then.” I released one of the vamp’s arms and reached behind my back to pull a stake from my belt.

  “Hey! What are you going to do with that?” The vamp tried to snatch the stake from my grasp.

  “Um, I’m thinking I’ll stake you with it.”

  “Won’t you at least let me plead my case?”

  “What case?” Archer scoffed. “You’re a vampire.”

  “Would you believe me if I told you I was nice?” he asked. “And I’ll tell you everything you want to know.”

  “No.” I brought the stake down into his chest. My butt hit the ground and sent dust pluming into the air. I waved it away with my hand and coughed as I got to my feet.

  Are you finished? Michael asked in my mind.

  Hey, a dead vampire is a good one. Just doing my job.

  We headed back towards Michael and Ryan. Michael walked to the end of the Pool of Reflection, and I stood at his side, knowing he had something to say. The others stayed silent, watching the city lights dance across the glassy surface of the pool.

  “Angelica wants Charlotte,” Michael said. “She still won’t let what happened in Hopetown Valley rest.”

  “I knew she wouldn’t,” I said. “She’s demented.”

  “She’s only doing what she’s told. Unlike some.”

  “Don’t throw that in my face,” I said.

  “Grace, I agree with what you did, remember? She came to me afterwards, asking what she should do. She also wants Annie back, and on that part I have to agree with her.”

  “She can have her. All she has to do is ask.”

  “Again, not that simple.” Michael sighed. “She needs to get Seth to unlock Annie.”

  “That shouldn’t be too hard. She took Seth,” I said, my voice so low I wasn’t sure he heard.

  Michael reached over and took my hand. “I know. And everything is way more complicated than it should be.”

  “I still haven’t forgiven you.”

  “You will.” Michael turned to look at me. “Angelica has taken Josh’s memory.”

  “What? Why?”

  “To hurt you. To take away from you the one thing she has always wanted. Love.”

  I didn’t understand. Every single angel in Heaven loved Angelica. It was like a prerequisite for being an angel. Love was what angels were all about.

  “Why does she hate me so much?”

  “I think Seth has something to do with that,” Michael said.

  Was he serious? What did he have to do with it? Angelica and Seth had never seen eye-to-eye, even before his fall.

  “She’s jealous?” I asked. Michael raised his eyebrows and I groaned. “You have got to be kidding me.”

  “She has watched him follow you from the very beginning, and when the opportunity came for someone to go to earth to right a wrong that a particular angel refused to, she jumped at the chance.”

  “She’s doing all of this because she’s jealous?” I couldn’t believe it.

  “If it’s any consolation, she’s got nothing on you.” Michael turned to face me and his smile warmed my heart. “You’re pretty much perfect. I get what Seth sees in you.”

  “You forget that I’m fallen.”

  “For a good reason.”

  Being an angel didn’t make me completely perfect, especially since I’d spent so much time on earth. Falling in love was one of the things that had gotten me into trouble in the first place. That, and my loyalty to people I’d thought were my friends. I had my beliefs, and I stuck to them. But it seemed I wasn’t the only angel who wanted happiness with someone else. The thought of Angelica and Seth together made me want to laugh hysterically. He would never love Angelica that way. He’d barely tolerated her when we were in Heaven.

  I’d learned a lot of things the hard way, and I couldn’t wait for Angelica to learn them the hard way, too.

  “Are any of you angels actually good?” Archer asked. “Or do you all go around doing whatever the hell you like for your own selfish reasons?”

  “Just because we’re angels doesn’t mean we can’t have a bit of fun,” Michael said.

  “Yeah, this is a real party.” Archer rolled his eyes.

  Justice grabbed my arm. “Um, hey—”

  “So much fun, in fact,” Archer said, “that I can’t wait to see what happens in the next episode of—”

  “Archer! Would you stop and look around.”

  I pulled free of Justice’s grip and followed his line of sight. Ryan stood on the grass to the left of the Pool of Reflection, away from the rest of our small group. The trees cast his face half in shadow. Hope was in front of him. A vampire launched at her and she staked it in the chest. The ash fell at her feet. Ryan slowly backed towards us until he stood next to Justice. I’d given Michael my undivided attention, but I should have known that where there was one vampire, there were usually many more.

  Archer was right: I was lost in my own dramas for my own selfish reasons.

  Vampires surrounded us.

  “Great hunters we are,” I said, scolding myself as well as the others. “Where did they come from?”

  “We’re on top of the biggest vampire lair in Wide Island.” Justice pulled two stakes from his belt. “It was only a matter of time before they showed up. But this is nothing we can’t handle.”

  There were more than thirty vamps closing in on us, and probably a lot more on their way. Archer and I could take five between us easily, but even at that ratio our group was outnumbered. Still, it would be good to get some dust on my boots.

  “I guess we’re fighting.” Archer pulled out his own stake.

  “Ryan,” I said.

  “I know, Grace. Stay out of trouble.”

  I looked at Michael. “You ready to get your hands dirty?”

  “Sorry, Grace. This is all you. I’ll be back when you need me later.”

  My mouth hung open, but there was no time to protest. Michael orbed before I could give him a mouthful. He was going to cop it big time when I saw him next.

  Justice ran towards the wall of vampires lined up on the war memorial steps. The vamps filed down the stairs and onto the grass. Hope, Archer, and I followed Justice’s example, and in a few minutes we’d downed one vamp apiece. Ryan got into the fray as well. He kept behind us and finished off anyone we didn’t dust on the first attempt. I admired his bravery—but so much for staying out of trouble. From the moment he’d found out about my world, I knew he’d be able to handle it.

  “Grace, duck,” Archer yelled. His stake flew over my head and impaled a vamp in the chest. The creature fell backwards over the Pool of Reflection, but exploded into a cloud of dust before he hit the water.

  I sprang back to my full height and fought hand to hand with a blonde vampire chick. She was pretty scary in the looks depa
rtment, all mean and tough. Good thing I didn’t scare easily. I floored her with a low kick and she landed on her back. She opened her mouth, but I didn’t give her the chance to speak before I put my stake in her chest. I wouldn’t lose any sleep over wondering what she’d had to say.

  Hope orbed past me and took out another vamp headed my way. With our combined efforts we’d reduced the field to half in less than five minutes.

  “Bravo!” A voice carried over the pool from the war memorial steps. “You lot put on a pretty good show.”

  The vamps that were left fell back and disappeared into the shadows.

  Archer came to my side. “Who’s he?”

  “That’s Lucas,” Hope said. “He doesn’t come out in the open much. This must be a special occasion.”

  Lucas made it to the bottom of the steps before he stopped clapping. He stood at the head of the pool as if he had all the time in the world. Technically he did, since he was immortal, but I was hoping to end that pretty soon.

  I walked towards Lucas and the few vampires who had assembled behind him. He locked his gaze on mine, and a smile crept slowly onto his face.

  “Ah, new hunters,” he said. “To what do we owe the pleasure?”

  “Just passing by,” Archer said. “Thought we’d dust a few vamps along the way.”

  “They’re the ones I told you about,” a vampire said from behind Lucas.

  I knew the voice, and before I could place it, Cain stepped out and stood next to his leader.

  “Hello Cain,” I said. “I was wondering how you’ve been.”

  He scowled. “You ruined everything, and I’m going to make you pay.”

  “Seriously, is this guy for real?” Archer said. “If I remember correctly, we wiped out about twenty of your mates last time we met. And now we’ve downed about twenty more. What makes you think that’s going to change?”

  Lucas stepped forward. “You don’t want to fight me.”

  “Actually, I do.” I tightened my grip on the stake in my hand.

  Arch, Hope; keep the other vermin off me.

  When I hit Lucas, the other hunters scattered in all directions. I couldn’t be sure if they killed any of the remaining vamps, but the sounds of hand-to-hand combat surrounded me.

  Lucas was stronger than I’d expected, and he hit me like a battering ram. I hadn’t met a vampire I couldn’t overpower, yet he gained the upper hand, grabbing my shoulders and hurling me up the sandstone steps. I landed with a heavy thud, and something cracked. The edge of a step cut into my side, and when I tried to move it felt like someone had dropped a lump of concrete on my ribs. It made it hard to breathe.

  “I’m not going to let you ruin everything,” Lucas said.

  Justice took a swing at Lucas’s back, a stake firmly in his grip, but he missed his mark, stabbing Lucas in the shoulder instead.

  Justice crashed to the ground with Cain on top of him. Lucas fell to his knees in agony, screaming for his troops to fall back. Cain grabbed his leader and hauled him to his feet. They disappeared from sight and I wondered why no one was chasing them.

  I pushed myself up on my elbows, grimacing through the pain in my ribs. “You won’t win. We won’t stop until you’re dead.”

  Then I looked at my friends.

  Ryan lay sprawled on the ground, one leg dangling into the pool. Archer was by his side, blood dripping from a cut over his eye. Justice was still beside me, and Hope pressed her hands to his chest, and the cuts and scrapes on his arms and face disappeared as her light flowed into him.

  Hope came to my side and I pushed her away. “Ryan and Archer.” She tended to the boys while I got to my feet. We stood in a tight circle at the bottom of the steps, surrounded by bloodstains and piles of ash.

  “Lucas is waiting for Josh and Charlotte to show up,” I said.

  “Yeah, I got that much from him, too,” Hope said.

  “What now?” Ryan rubbed the back of his head and winced.

  I laughed, but the sound was empty and humourless. “Now we fight a war I didn’t want to fight. But we need rest, first. You guys copped a hiding.”

  “I’ll be fine,” Ryan said, but he couldn’t hide the pain behind his eyes.

  Lightning flashed and lit up the sky in the distance. More rain clouds rolled in. I led the way along the path beside the pool.

  “We can orb and mist back to the terrace once we reach the shadows,” I said.

  “Can’t we go now?” Archer asked.

  “Shadows are best,” Hope said.

  “But there’s no one to see us.”

  “Walk, Arch.” I grabbed his arm.

  When we neared the exit to Dhye Park, my skin prickled and I stopped. The last time I’d felt that way, Josh and I were … no, I didn’t want to remember, but I could sense him. I spun around and searched the shadows, the feeling getting stronger the more steps I took towards the street.

  Then I saw him, and everything else fell away.

  My feet took on a mind of their own, and I ran towards the one person I’d been waiting to see since Mr Chase had dropped the bundle of flyers at my feet.

  Josh was alive, and I’d found him.

  NINETEEN

  Josh

  Lilith wrung her hands and searched the darkness amongst the trees. I’d seen her more nervous in the past twenty-four hours than I’d ever seen her before.

  “What do we do now?” she asked. “If Charlotte doesn’t get to Lucas, we’re dead.”

  “We’re as good as dead anyway.”

  I picked up the faint scent trail of the human we’d been following before Angelica so rudely interrupted us, but without Charlotte I couldn’t get a hold on Grace, or the hunters. They had a knack for being able to go around undetected, and I wondered how Charlotte had been able to smell them in the first place.

  “Why do you think Angelica wants this Grace girl?” Lilith asked.

  “Beats me. I can’t remember anything to do with either of them. She said Grace has something she wants.”

  “Well, now Angelica has something we want.”

  “I think we should go and tell Lucas what’s happened,” I said.

  Lilith stared at me, her mouth gaping. “You do have a death wish.”

  “Like I said, already dead.”

  “We can’t turn up without Charlotte.”

  “Do you have a better idea?” I asked.

  “No.” Lilith pouted. She pressed herself against me and ran a long finger up my chest. “But I can think of other things we can do.”

  I sighed and pushed her off me. “Now is not the time.”

  “Let’s go and feed then. I’m starving.” Lilith licked her lips.

  A couple of cars buzzed along the quiet street as we emerged onto the footpath to cross into the other side of the park. The hour was late, and I didn’t like our chances of finding someone to eat. We’d have to hope someone was passing through.

  When we reached the top of the steps we fell back into the shadows, away from the light of the park’s many lampposts. Lilith led me to the edge of the grass lawn that lay in front of the war memorial.

  “What the hell happened here?” she asked.

  The scene before us was nothing short of a massacre.

  To a normal person nothing would look out of the ordinary, but to a vampire … we were looking at piles of our own dead.

  A group headed in our direction, and I immediately recognised Wide Island’s hunting, duo, Hope and Justice. I’d come across the hunters a few times. They were not the people to mess with in this city, so I’d made sure I stayed away as much as I could.

  The girl at the head of the group caught my eye, and I moved from the edge of the shadows into the glow of the lamp. She turned towards us, and the sight of her face pierced my heart. I took a few steps forward, and Lilith grabbed my arm to hold me back, but I shook her free.

  The girl on the grass ran towards me, closing the distance between us quicker than I could have. She disappeared for a second in a c
loud of black mist, reappearing a few metres away. She stopped and stared.

  I could have stared at her for an eternity.

  Grace looked even more beautiful in real life. She was angelic. I had no words to describe her beauty.

  And I couldn’t remember anything about her.

  She broke the spell and moved towards me again. Lilith launched past and tackled Grace to the ground before she could get any closer. A guttural growl tore from Lilith’s throat.

  “Don’t touch him,” Lilith said, as they rolled along the grass.

  Grace came out on top and punched Lilith in the face. Her head snapped sideways and blood sprayed from her mouth.

  “Who the hell are you?” Grace punched her again.

  Lilith returned the blow, but she missed and caught Grace on the shoulder. “I’m his girlfriend.”

  Grace stopped and jumped up, letting Lilith go. She scrambled to her feet and the girls faced each other.

  “What did you say?”

  Lilith smirked. “That’s right. I’m his girlfriend. You’ve been replaced.” She pulled up her sleeve. The limbs of the crossbow clicked into position, and the arrow automatically loaded. She aimed it at Grace.

  Grace frowned and kicked Lilith in the gut. Lilith flew backwards and slammed into a tree before falling to the ground. She fired the crossbow, but Grace turned to mist and the arrow passed through her.

  She came back behind me. “You’re dating a vampire?”

  Lilith growled again, and I stared at the girl who I had a more memorable history with than anyone else I knew.

  “You shouldn’t have done that.” I turned to Grace. “Now you’ve made her mad.”

  Lilith was up and on Grace again, the two of them punching and kicking each other anywhere they could.

  A guy ran across the grass, followed by Hope and Justice. “Josh!” He stared at me, his mouth hanging open.

  Someone else who knew who I was. But I didn’t know him.

  Lilith cried out when Grace stomped on her leg, cracking the bone. Lilith fell to her knees and Grace wrapped her arm around her neck from behind. She held a stake over Lilith’s heart.

  I ran at the girls and grabbed the arm Grace had around Lilith’s neck, freeing her and yanking Grace to the ground. She held onto me and we rolled, before stopping with her on top.