Staked!

by Candace Wondrak

  With a sickening tug, the sword drew back and my mother’s lifeless body fell to the ground. Just as I suspected, Crixis stood behind her. He shot a glare at me before bringing the dripping golden blade up to his mouth. His tongue met with it, taking in the blood. My mother’s blood.

  Dream/vision or not, this was not okay with me.

  I started towards him as his eyes flared red and his teeth grew. If I could, I would strangle the life out of that Daywalker. But someone stood between us, giving Crixis time to flash away. I looked up. “Michael?” My voice shook.

  My Guardian didn’t respond. He took an aggressive step to me, backing me up and forcing me to trip on something behind me. I glanced over and saw that I tripped over Claire. What was Claire doing here? A gust of wind hit my face and Michael was gone.

  I crawled over to Claire, who was hunched by her uncle. Taking in the sight of the giant pool of blood that seeped from Steven, I extended a faltering hand to her shoulder. I gulped as I asked, “Claire?”

  An otherworldly shriek escaped her mouth. Facing me, Claire revealed herself, a vile sight. A short breath came from my mouth as I slipped back. The bottom half of her jawbone was gone. All that remained was her top row of teeth and her tongue, which just hung there, useless. Her gross fingernails gripped the maroon dagger that was drenched in her uncle’s blood.

  That was definitely not Claire.

  Taking action, I stood and began running in the opposite direction, away from the zombie-ish Claire. It was a great plan, at least I thought so…until I ran smack dab into someone. Which was wonderful. So far, all the people here have been very nice.

  Please note the sarcasm there.

  Observing the leather and the belts, I immediately thought it was John. But this outfit was darker and different. Gradually I brought my eyes up to the bleached-blonde, blue-eyed boy who stood in front of me.

  Gabriel.

  His light blue eyes met mine before falling to his hand, which held a dagger. He rose it, lingering it by my neck. I couldn’t speak. All I could do was watch him and think: what is he doing?

  Then I got my answer.

  He lifted it to his face, or more exactly, his eye, and dug in. Gasping and covering my mouth, I staggered back. In a few ghastly seconds, he dropped the dagger and fell on his knees. His face oozed blood from both eye sockets. It trickled down his cheeks, into his mouth and on his neck. His chin languidly rose and I was shocked still in horror.

  Black veins surged in his skin, coming from his eyes. Gabriel winced in pain, letting me see his teeth. His sharp teeth. They were not Daywalker sharp…just sharp.

  Blackness traveled from his fingertips, up his arms, up his neck and engulfed his face. His light hair became dark. His fingernails grew. The darkness took him. It took Gabriel. Black bubbles erupted below and swallowed him up, leaving me alone to stare at the dagger that he used to cut his eyes.

  But was I truly alone? I didn’t think so, especially after hearing a carnivorous rumble. Great. Who could it possibly be now?

  The person (or, more likely, thing) behind me shoved me to the dirt ground and before I could get up, rested its muscular body on my back. Clawing at the floor, I tried to maneuver myself out from underneath it, but it didn’t work.

  I felt two hands slowly make their way up my back and heard another animalistic snarl. A drop of blood fell to the floor next to me. I had to get away from him/it now…otherwise I knew something bad would happen.

  Turned out, I didn’t have to worry, because the two hands grabbed my waist and threw me with unearthly strength. I landed hard on the dirt fifty feet away. I jerked, looking up to see the attacker.

  It was a man. Well…let me be more specific: a shirtless man with a very nice body, tight leather pants, black hair, and a mask that covered the area from his forehead to his nose. It was a metal mask. A simple one. And yet it was scarier than I ever thought a mask could be.

  He was covered in blood.

  His entirely blackened eyes glared at me as he flashed over my frozen body. His mouth opened slightly, letting me see that this man was a Daywalker. His two front teeth dripped venom.

  I watched, helpless, as he positioned himself over my stomach. Kneeling down, he cocked his head and grabbed my throat, choking the breath out of me. Feeling like I had almost no time left, I took my hand and tore off the mask.

  A white light shone, blinding me instantly and not letting me see the Daywalker’s face. Within a second, another person threw the man off me. The shirtless man disappeared, leaving me alone with my savior. And I used the word savior loosely, because Crixis was no savior.

  No. He was a monster.

  I tried getting up, but Crixis took the place of the shirtless man and pushed me back down. He wore his golden armor, the one that revealed the majority of his top half. His bright green eyes glanced down to his one-plated chest piece. With a skilled swipe of his hand and roll of his arm, the chest piece was off.

  And now Crixis was on top of me, half naked. Oh, God…he wasn’t going to do what I thought he was going to do, was he?

  His legs intertwined with mine.

  Yep. He was.

  My arms flailed about, thrashing and trying to get myself free. But Crixis was too strong. He easily held my arms at bay. A devilish chuckle was released from his lungs.

  His eyelids closed for a moment, and when they opened, his eyes were blood red. Crixis brought his lips down to mine. I couldn’t move. Even though I didn’t want to admit it, he had me. I was totally pinned back and could do nothing to fend him off.

  His teeth bit my lip, extracting blood right away. Soon his lips were off mine and he took his bloody mouth to my ear, whispering, “I had no idea you liked it this dark…but, luckily for you,” his lips brushed my neck, “I’m as dark as they come.” Crixis growled and sank his teeth into my neck.

  Sitting straight up, I held a trembling hand to my neck and felt no bite mark. A sigh of relief flowed from my mouth as I glanced around the living room as my heartbeat began to slow to a normal pace.

  When did I make it back to the living room?

  Glancing at the clock, I realized it was four in the morning. That nightmare lasted for a long time. I hoped it was a nightmare. If it wasn’t, and it turned out to be a vision…then everyone’s pretty much screwed.

  The lamplight was still on, letting me study the man on the floor. Three large gashes spread across his chest. They were now stitched up, but I knew they would leave ugly scars. I didn’t think that three scars would take away from this man’s attractiveness, though. Even though he was sleeping/unconscious, he was gorgeous.

  No adjective that I knew could justify his looks, that’s for sure.

  I stood and walked over to the lamp. Before I flicked the switch, I gave another look to the man. Now that I was thinking about him…this man was like an older version of Gabriel. He looked to be in his early twenties. When Gabriel reached that age, I was sure he’d be considered one of the sexiest men alive. No joke. Except his personality would be the same: that of a five-year-old boy. That’s one thing that would never change about him.

  I watched him breath slowly. That’s when I noticed the marking on him. A black, swirling tattoo that was centered on his chest. The memory of the hot, desert sun came whirling back. The orange amulet had the exact same design.

  Did this man have something to do with Crixis and the massacred village? Or the husband and wife who were murdered in their smoky home?

  “Sexiest man alive?” Gabriel appeared in the dimly lit room, eating toast. “I had no idea you found me so good-looking.” He smiled, shoved the rest of the morning snack into his mouth and walked over to me.

  I was silent. How was I going to get out of this one?

  “Ooh,” Gabriel rose a hand, as if he was volunteering to answer a teacher’s question. He sat down on the couch, where I was sleeping, and said, “I can tell you how you’re going to get out of this one.”

  Ignoring him completely, I turned t
he lamplight off and started to walk out of the room. But he jumped in my way. “I don’t think so,” he told me, “you can’t get away that easily.”

  “What are you even doing down here?”

  “I was down here watching you. Not to be creepy, just to make sure that if that guy woke up he wouldn’t go insane and kill you in your sleep. But,” Gabriel changed the subject back to what I really didn’t want to talk about, “the sexiest man alive?”

  “If you were listening to my thoughts, then you should remember that I didn’t call you the sexiest man alive,” I corrected him, trying to walk around him. He put his arm up, blocking my path entirely. “I thought that when you’re older, you might be considered one of the sexiest men alive. Maybe. Those two things are totally different.”

  “Ah, I see. So, tell me, what would I be considered now?” He asked me, cocking his blonde head, making his undone hair fall into his blue eyes. Normally he gelled it. I told him it’s lame…but when he did it, his hair did look freaking awesome. “The sexiest boy alive?”

  “I’m tired. I want to go to bed.” I ducked under his arm and started running up the stairs. It was on the second set of steps that Gabriel reached me. I made it farther than I thought I would. I felt his strong arms seize me and was then picked up into the air. I kicked my legs, even though it was a pointless tactic, since Gabriel was behind me. I ended up only kicking air.

  His arms pinned mine down, making me helpless. Fantastic. “I said you can’t get away that easily, and I meant it.”

  “I’ll scream,” I informed him. Letting him know that I would scream probably wasn’t the best thing to do, but it was hard to concentrate with him being right there.

  “No, you wouldn’t,” Gabriel told me. And he was right. I wouldn’t scream. It wasn’t like he was a Demon that was attacking me, so screaming would accomplish nothing except wake Michael and possibly the man downstairs up.

  “Let me go,” I whined, turning my neck awkwardly and shooting a glare at his face.

  “Now, why would I do that?” He pretended to think. “I like this position, don’t you?”

  “No,” I said quickly, “I don’t.”

  “Why bother lying to someone who can read your mind? Hmm?” Gabriel poked and prodded me with his words, making me feel really uncomfortable. Because he did have a point there.

  “I just want to go to bed,” I begged him. “I’m really tired. Can we do this later?”

  I felt his body shake with laughter. “Fine. But sooner or later…” He placed me down, freeing me from his grasp.

  But I didn’t run up the stairs at first. I stood there and stared. Sooner or later what?

  Gabriel smiled, said “I’m not telling,” and went back downstairs, leaving me to wonder just what he meant by that.

  That boy was ridiculous.

  “How is he?” I asked, wiping my fatigued eyes. Getting sleep after what happened with Gabriel had proved more difficult than I thought it would.

  Michael sighed and sipped his tea. “He is still sleeping. I am not clear as to when he might wake up, if that’s what you’re asking.”

  I poured myself a glass of water and sat at the kitchen table. “When’s Koath coming over?” For once, I wasn’t looking forward to talking with him. A talk about Crixis and what happened last night was one that I wanted to avoid at all costs. But could I? Nope.

  “Any time now.”

  “Why so early?” Gabriel ran a hand through his wet hair and sat down next to me.

  “He needs to speak with both of you and the man…” Michael glanced in the living room. “If he ever wakes up, that is. And then he is taking you both and Max to Claire’s father’s burial.”

  “What?” I yelled, standing. “He’s…”

  “Yes. Koath told me what Max relayed to him.” Pausing, Michael fixed his glasses, and continued, “Apparently after Claire and you left the hospital last night, which you understand I need to tell Raphael about, he flat-lined. The hospital’s response was quick, they called Claire’s uncle and he set up an immediate service. Today at three.”

  “That’s terrible.” I sank back into my chair and my face fell onto the table. This was all my fault. Gabriel placed a hand on my back, trying to console me. But it wasn’t working.

  “Yes. It is.” A knock interrupted Michael’s speech that was surely about to come out of his mouth. He went to answer the door. It was the one person I didn’t want to see. Beside Crixis, that was. But Crixis wasn’t a person, he was a Demon, so it really was the one person I didn’t want to see.

  Michael came back into the kitchen and told me, “Go upstairs in the sparing room. Raphael wishes to speak with you alone. And please, Kass, behave.”

  Grinding my teeth, I noiselessly ran up the stairs, taking two at a time. I stormed into the sparing room and waited. Raphael wished to speak with me alone. Oh, I’d speak to him, alright. With my fist. That good for nothing, lying, son of a—

  Raphael slammed the door behind him and glared at me. For a while he said nothing and just maintained his glare. His light hair had been gently ruffled by the wind, creating a windswept look. His green eyes came closer, but I held my ground.

  “You…” His voice spoke with contempt.

  A sneer entered my face. “What about me?”

  “You have no responsibility. I credited it to the circumstances of John and the ritual, but now I see that it was not because of that. You will always act like this. You will always shirk your duties, no matter what.”

  “Your point is?”

  “You are an awful Purifier.”

  My mouth dropped somewhat and I was speechless. It felt like the lowest possible blow he could make, and he made it. What an arrogant, haughty jerk.

  He carried on, “I am very surprised that you are not dead in a ditch. You have shown nothing but disrespect, unreliability and inanity. You—”

  But I had enough. Taking a belligerent stance, I shouted, “You are unbelievable.”

  It was his turn to be stunned. “What?”

  I lifted a finger to him. “You are a liar.”

  His jaw set. “I am no such thing.”

  “See? Another lie. We both know that you’re a liar. And I don’t respect liars.” I was very proud of myself for saying that. It’s been on my mind for the longest time, and now it was spoken. I wondered what he was going to do with that piece of information.

  Raphael took a hostile step towards me, saying, “I am not a liar.”

  “Just own up to it!”

  I saw his fists clench as he muttered, “You know nothing.”

  “I know more than you think,” I spat. My head motioned to his hands, which were being clenched so hard that they were turning white. “Getting a little angry, are we?”

  “It’s certainly not a new feeling with you, is it? You always agitate me. To the extreme, in some cases,” Raphael said, glaring down at me with disgust.

  “Then why don’t you do something about it? Leave.”

  He got closer to me. “Whether you like it or not, Kassandra, I am here in your life. Nothing will ever change that. You have to live with it, no matter what your foolish opinions are of me. You are weak, whiney, and annoying.”

  Something inside me snapped. I hit him, a punch with all my might behind it, right in the jaw, so fast and so hard that he couldn’t avoid it and stumbled back, catching himself on an end table. My breath was ragged, my rage bubbling. By God, I wanted to hit him again.

  Raphael gradually turned his face back to me. And, big shocker, he was pissed. If someone punched me I’d be pissed too, but he asked for it. His shoulders lifted and fell with his furious breathing. He was so going kick my butt.

  I stepped back as he came forward. “You are going to regret that, believe me.” His fist was coming at my face, so I quickly ducked and swung a leg out, tripping him and making him fall to the floor.

  He wasn’t very observant when he was pissed.

  Using forces I didn’t even knew existed,
he jumped up and shoved me down with one arm. He was strong. I stayed down as Raphael stood over me. Soon he knelt down and grabbed my neck, causing me to intake a sharp breath.

  My mind flashed back to the nightmare I had last night. This position was a little too familiar. I struggled, but ended up doing absolutely nothing. His grip constricted, and I grasped his hand, trying to get away.

  I looked into his bright green eyes and was swept away.

  I was in a green field. Just an ordinary, grassy field. Thank God, because if this field would have had flowers, I think I would have gone insane. I sat up and frantically glimpsed all around, holding my neck.

  Raphael had a firm grip on it, that’s for sure.

  My eyes spotted a man kneeling down in the unkempt grass a good distance away. His light hair reached his shoulders. I watched him tear off his ruffled shirt and lift up a sword that rested in the grass.

  Who was this man? I wondered. If I could have, I would’ve gotten up and walked around him, just to see who he was and what exactly he was going to do with that sword.

  Then I knew.

  The man flipped the sword so the tip faced him. One of the most nauseating sounds entered my ears as I watched him push the sword through his chest. It took me a moment, but I discerned the fact that the sword was pushed through his heart. He should have died instantly. Alas, he didn’t.

  With an abrupt tug, he tore the blade out and stuck himself with it again and again, creating a bloody scene. I fell down to the ground and felt a hand on my neck once more.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight – Raphael

  She hit me. I did deserve it I supposed, but I couldn’t hold in my anger any longer. I was a liar, I knew she knew it. Denying it was pointless, but deny it was precisely what I did. Perhaps we could have avoided this if I hadn’t done so.

  Or perhaps not.

  As she brought her hand down I tried to calm myself. It was an unsuccessful endeavor, just as I suspected it would be. I could feel my shoulders moving with my violent breathing. I could hold back no longer. She stared at me so intensely, so angrily…something inside of me snapped, bringing me back to a time in my life I thought was long behind me.