Staked!

by Candace Wondrak

  “I know, but it’s true.” Gabriel’s blue eyes left me to land on Max and Raphael. “Look at them. They’re starting. Here’s hoping this’ll be a good show.”

  “Yes,” I agreed. “Here’s hoping that it’s not over in five seconds, like it was with me when I first fought Raphael.”

  As Max spread his feet shoulder-length apart, Gabriel whispered to me, “I wish I had some popcorn.”

  After letting loose a small laugh, I turned my full attention on the fight that was going to start any second before us. Max lunged at Raphael, throwing a double punch. Bad move, I thought. When I made the first move, I lost immediately. Only when Raphael countered, Max deftly dodged his blows and swung a kick to Raphael’s shoulder.

  This kid was good. He made it farther than I did my first time fighting Raphael.

  Raphael’s top half leaned forward, completely avoiding Max’s kick. He spun around, stood straight once more and landed a roundhouse kick on Max. Max flew back a few feet, falling hard on the ground. He flipped himself back to his feet and fixed his glasses, which had become somewhat crooked from the fall.

  He must be used to fixing his glasses in the thick of a fight. Why not settle for contacts?

  The two contestants collided, each trying to hit the other with various forms of punches and kicks, and each defending themselves successfully against the other. It was a deadlock. No, scratch that. It was a deadlock until Raphael feigned a kick to Max’s right side, catching him off guard with a real kick to his left.

  Max fell to the grassy ground once more as Raphael calmly said, “Very good. You lasted much longer on your first try than Gabriel and Kass combined.”

  My mouth scrunched into a frown. He had complimented Max while insulting me and Gabriel. Raphael certainly did have a way with words.

  Chapter Thirteen – Vincent

  It was a sunny day, very nice outside. The temperature was perfect, not muggy like it normally was in this blasted town. And yet was I out running and enjoying the day? No. I was laying on my uncomfortable hotel bed.

  I couldn’t force myself to get up. I didn’t know why I felt like I needed to be here. Something deep inside me told me that something was going to happen. My intuition.

  It was weird. I never laid around and did nothing. I was always up and about, either working out or planning. Right now I didn’t want to do either, though. It was definitely a first for me.

  My mind wandered to that girl I ran into. She was young, true, but there was something about her that drew my attention. Something older than her years, something maybe even older than me. I never felt it before. Something about her pulled me in the second I ran into her. It was like she was a refrigerator and I was a magnet. Terrible comparison, but you got the idea.

  A knock echoed throughout the small room and interrupted my thoughts.

  I tensed. No one knew I was here. No one who knew me back in England knew that I came to America. I hadn’t brought any women to my room, either, and I was reasonably certain that room service in this hotel didn’t exist.

  Cautiously, I stood and made my way to my dingy door. As my right hand reached for the doorknob, my left hand twitched in anticipation. A knife was ready to erupt from my skin if this knock had come from someone who would jeopardize my mission.

  I turned the knob and lifted my fist, but no one was there, oddly enough. I glanced in the hallway and saw no one. Confusion and suspicion grew inside me, for I was sure that I heard a knock. I didn’t make it up. That’s when something on the ground caught my eye. It was wrapped in a plastic bag.

  Bending down, I tentatively picked it up. I didn’t hear ticking, so it wasn’t a bomb. And it wasn’t sharp, so it wasn’t a weapon, either. But that begged the question…what was it?

  Giving another quick glance in the hallway, I closed my door and slowly walked to the bed. I sat down, placing the bag in my lap. My curiosity was screaming, so I untied the slapdash knot and found a small note. Without looking at the rest of the bag’s contents, I read the note:

  I know why you’re here. But don’t worry, I won’t tell. In fact, I want to help you. That is why I left you this. Read it and know that you are still a stranger to true power. And in order for you to accomplish your goal, you need true power. By reading this, you will know what to do, and I am willing to help you defeat the man who slaughtered your entire family. I am always here, waiting for you to unlock your true potential. I can help you.

  I must have read the note three times before I realized that looking it over more wouldn’t help me discover who it was that wrote it. Then I remembered the bag in my lap. My hands reached inside it, retrieving a journal. All that suspense built up only to be broken down, because it was just a book.

  I studied it, frowning. It may have been just a book, but I had to admit there was an uncanny air about it. The binding was huge. The cover’s corners were torn. The brown leather was aged, almost charred. My fingers traced the sides of it. Feeling something, I turned it over and saw a golden lock.

  This thing was locked shut.

  Honestly, I couldn’t say that I’d ever seen a more ominous book.

  I searched the bag for the key, but it wasn’t there. A small smile formed on my lips as I remembered what my body could do.

  Gently, I placed my index finger on the lock. I exhaled and felt my skin tingling and changing to form to the clasp. I twisted my finger and felt the book unlock. Before opening the book fully, I brought my finger to my face, taking in the fact that I could now break in to his house without leaving a trace.

  What a nice trick to have. Too bad I didn’t realize I could do this sooner. It would have come in handy in many situations.

  The key disappeared into my skin and I rubbed the leather cover in curiosity before opening it.

  Chapter Fourteen – Kass

  My eyes stared at the bandages on my hands. When Gabriel was done fighting with Raphael, it was going to be my turn. The only problem was that I never wanted it to be my turn. I was afraid that either me or Raphael would snap and try to kill the other person. For real.

  I don’t even know which one of us would snap first. Lately, I’d been pissy with him, so it might be me. But then again, Raphael had been getting pissy with me too, so it might be him. Or, maybe we’ll both snap at the exact same time and both of us will kill each other simultaneously. That’d be a sight to see.

  Gabriel body-slammed the ground next to me. I watched his back rise and fall with his breath. He turned his face to me and said, “That…was…exhausting…”

  Max perked up. “Personally, I didn’t think it was that bad.”

  A smirk spread across Gabriel’s face. “Yeah, well, personally you only fought him once. I fought him a lot more than that.”

  As Max sighed and said “True,” I flexed my knuckles and got on my feet.

  Raphael waited for me with an intolerant look on his face. Which was great, because when he gave me looks like that, I wanted to wipe them right off his arrogant face by punching him with all of my might. And right now was the only time I could do that with no consequences. That made me smile wickedly.

  “Get ready,” Raphael snapped at me.

  I held up my tensed fists. “I am ready.”

  For moments we stood there and waited for the other person to make a move. I could wait here all day. Raphael’s eyes slowly met mine as he decided to swing a foot by my face. I bent backwards and narrowly missed it.

  I fell to the ground on purpose and lifted my legs up to his stomach. In a split-second, I was pushing Raphael back with a swift double kick. I kept my legs going, and in the same motion, rolled back onto my feet.

  Raphael threw a punch at my stomach, and it was too late for me to avoid it. A sharp pain erupted in my chest. The wind had been knocked out of me with a single blow. He was good, strong.

  Instantly, I felt another jolt of pain in my head, but he hadn’t hit me there…which left me to ponder just what was going on with me lately.

  I
clutched my head and was too preoccupied with this sudden pain to avoid Raphael’s second punch that sent me soaring through the air and landing on the ground, facedown.

  I spit out sand as I wearily stood up. Wait a second. Sand? I glanced around and saw that I was back in the desert, in the village where all were dead because of someone named Crixis. I couldn’t help but wonder if I was finally going to see his face.

  I noticed a woman and child running. The child had the orange amulet around his neck, giving me the indicative sign that they were the wife and son of the black armored man. The man was long dead by now. I didn’t even know these people and I felt terrible for them. There wasn’t a doubt in my mind that Crixis was going to come and kill them both.

  If only I could get my hands on him. If only I was really here. If I was, then I could stop all this from happening.

  They were running to the horses. The wife hastily helped her son onto a tan mare and was in the process of climbing onto it herself when a gust of wind brushed by and the horse collapsed, dead with a vast gash through its head. She and her son ran to another horse, but soon they were all falling on the desert ground, as dead as the first one.

  The woman cradled her son behind her back and frenetically scanned the surrounding area. A man wearing golden armor appeared holding a golden sword. Even though I was ten feet away, I could still see Crixis’s chest muscles rippling under the desert sun.

  Oh, my God. I frowned with distaste at Crixis. He wore a black helmet, the same black helmet that her husband had on. What a sicko. He must have taken it off the husband’s corpse and put it on, figuring…what? That it would bother the wife and son? What a psychopath.

  I could only see his unsettling smile and his bright green eyes.

  Those eyes.

  I’d seen those eyes before. But on who? Why couldn’t I think? His defined chin, the way he walked… God, I’d seen it all and I couldn’t think of who he was. If only he would just take off his helmet.

  “Why…” the wife sniveled. “Why are you doing this?” Hot, wet tears streamed down her dirt-caked face.

  “Because she asked me to,” Crixis answered back. “Why else?”

  “You don’t have to…” she pleaded with him. “Please let us go. We’ve done nothing!”

  “Yes.” Crixis handled his long, slender, magnificent sword. “You have. You chose the wrong man. Did he even tell you what he really was? A Shifter. Not a man. Your child is just like him.”

  “That meant nothing to me. I loved him.” A rebellious look crossed her face. “I will always love him. Don’t you know anything of love?”

  A grin appeared on his face. “Are you going to lecture me on it? Do no such thing. Love is not real. All it truly is…is lust. Love is simply dignified lust. And you pathetic humans live for it. Love cannot conquer all. Love cannot stop me.”

  “Love can change you,” the wife said as she gripped her son harder, “if you allow it.”

  “This talk bores me. Let us finish this so I can be off.” Crixis swung his sword through the air before dropping it on the sand. In a flash he vanished from their sight.

  The woman held her son, unmoving. The next instant Crixis was behind her, tossing the son out of the way and grabbing her violently. With a snarl, I saw his teeth grow. His Vampire teeth. His Daywalker teeth. He furiously brought his head down to her neck and ripped her throat out.

  Soon she was dead and he dropped the body. His face dripped mass amounts of blood as he searched the barren landscape for the boy. Within seconds, he found the child. He flashed in front of the boy, making him stop and clumsily fall to the ground. The boy’s eyes were filled with fear as he tried to get back on his feet. But he couldn’t. All he could do was stare at Crixis, the man who killed his father. The man who massacred this whole town in a matter of minutes. The Daywalker whose mouth dripped his mother’s blood.

  Crixis’s greedy green eyes settled on the orange amulet that was tied around the boy’s neck. “Before you, boy,” he spoke heartlessly, “there was only one Shifter left. Your father. I should know. She sent me to wipe them out years ago. Your father was a result of me failing her. She used him up until she no longer needed him, and now he’s dead.”

  Crixis kneeled down so he was at the boy’s level, staring into his wide, teary, orange gaze. “But now there’s you.” He touched the amulet, glinting it in the sun. But instead of tearing it off, he let it go and stared into the boy’s damp eyes. “She wants you dead.” A sly smile came on his bloody lips. “But I’m not going to kill you. Never know when a Shifter might be useful. Run. Run and always wear that amulet.”

  Crixis grabbed the boy’s face, forcing him to look him in the eyes. “Tell them what happened here. Tell them it was her. Do you understand?”

  The boy nodded, stood up and ran into the desert, alone. Whether the boy survived or perished in the desert, I hadn’t a clue.

  I watched as Crixis sighed and rose to his feet. His tanned arm reached to the black helmet. In moments it was spiraling toward the sandy ground. He shook his head, getting his black hair out of his vivid emerald eyes. Even though I wasn’t really here, I felt his intense gaze go through me.

  Oh…crap.

  I knew who Crixis was.

  Reality came crashing down upon me like a ton of bricks. Raphael’s foot was coming down on my face. It was like I didn’t miss a thing, even though I had a long vision. At the last possible second, I came to my senses and rolled out of his foot’s way.

  I stood unenthusiastically. That was a close one, and yet I didn’t care. I was done with this fight. I was done. Why? Because my vision was very troubling.

  I stood still as I rose my hand while Raphael was charging at me. He stopped, his eyebrows went together. He blinked his confusion off and asked me, “What is it? We barely just begun.”

  “I know, but…” I searched for the right words to say. “…I can’t do this right now.”

  “Do what? Spar with me?” Raphael was taken aback. And I didn’t blame him. I was always one for a fight.

  I nodded and started walking away, unrolling the bandages that I tied a little too tightly around my hands. I felt Gabriel’s and Max’s eyes on me, but that didn’t stop me. I kept going. I couldn’t stop. I needed to go home and lock myself in my room.

  Raphael was beside me in seconds, saying, “What’s wrong, Kassandra?”

  “I have to go home,” I replied without stopping to look at him.

  He moved in front of me. I didn’t plan on stopping, but hands on my shoulders forced me to stop and stare into his light gaze. “What is going on with you?”

  I pursed my lips, studying his expression. “Does the name Crixis mean anything to you?”

  Instead of saying no, like I hoped he would, he glimpsed back to the two boys, saying, “Go home. Kassandra and I need to talk.”

  Gabriel skipped over to us in a flash. “What do you need to talk about? You’re not going to have a hot and steamy affair, are you? Because, if so—”

  Raphael’s eyes narrowed. “I believe I said to go.”

  “Oh,” Gabriel was taken aback at the irritation our tutor showed. “Okay. Then we’ll see you at home, Kass. Come on, Max.” He put an arm around the small boy. “I’ll show you what you can do with that hair of yours.”

  I stayed silent as Raphael took my arm and led me back inside the church. I sat in a random pew as he made sure all the doors were closed. Raphael knew about Crixis. I hoped not. I wanted my instincts to be wrong.

  But maybe this was a good thing, because I could find out what he knew about him.

  Raphael sat uneasily beside me, a good foot away. Fine with me. He didn’t need to be any closer. Just because I had the teeniest crush on him when we first met him and thought he looked attractive in his priest’s clothes didn’t mean I wanted him any closer. It didn’t mean that I trusted him.

  He finally spoke, staring me straight in the eye, “Where did you hear that name?”

  My eyes squinte
d. “Where have you heard it?”

  “Kassandra, don’t play these games with me,” he told me abrasively. “Now is not the time.”

  I chuckled. “When is the right time to play games with you?” I said without realizing how weird that sounded. “Pretend I didn’t say that.”

  Raphael’s face was like stone when he said, “Happily.” He got quiet.

  He was probably waiting for me to say where I heard that name. But I didn’t want to say. Telling him would also involve telling him about my visions and dreams, and that was something I didn’t want to elaborate on. He didn’t know about them, and as far as I was concerned, he could stay in the dark.

  “What do you know about him?” I asked, finally breaking the awkward silence that had spread through the entire church.

  “I will tell you everything, if you do the same for me,” Raphael said, tilting his head, causing a lock of his hair to fall into his face.

  “Okay,” I said. “What do you want to know?” My curiosity about Crixis was killing me, and to alleviate it…there was one thing I had to do—the one thing I never, ever wanted to do.

  Raphael didn’t miss a beat. “Where did you hear that name?”

  If he didn’t miss a beat, then I must have jumped a beat, because I started to answer before he even finished the question. “My vision.”

  At least the cat was out of the bag with someone other than Gabriel.

  “What,” he spoke, “do you mean by that?” Raphael’s eyes were full of confusion and bewilderment, which might have actually been a first. He kind of looked cute like that, with that quizzical expression on his face.

  I shook off my mental anguish and replied, “I see things. Sometimes when I’m dreaming. Other times when I’m awake. Sometimes I see the past and sometimes…I see the possible future.”

  He loosened his neck piece and said, “When did this start?”

  “About three years ago. When Gabriel first met that one girl. The one who had twenty Nightwalker pets and planned on feeding him to them. She almost killed us both.”