by Stina
“She’s a monster now too. Because of you. Whether it is I or somebody else who kills her, her blood will be on your hands.”
“And your blood will be on mine.”
It wasn’t until the words were out of his mouth that Lina realized her mistake. Nobody spoke about his queen in such a way; Kesh wouldn’t stand for it. He could have easily killed her right then and there, but he wanted her to feel pain. He gripped her by the hair and flung her high into the air. He went on to play a game of volleyball with himself and her body, beating her to a bloody pulp. He would not let her body touch the ground, so all she felt was the continuous pain coming from his power punches. When he was finally done with her, he let her drop ten feet to the ground. She was barely breathing and could not move a single muscle. Her eyes were swollen, and her jaw was cracked and at an odd angle.
“I should finish you off, but I want you to feel your death coming.”
Kesh glared down at her for a second, but the sound of cheering through the gunfire in the front caught his attention. He could hear the battle still going on, and he suddenly was nervous. Maybe the hunters sent in another fleet. He ran to the front to see what was going on, and relief washed over him.
“The Malum are here!”
“They’ve come to help us!”
It was not the hunters he had heard cheering; it was the Sefu. And, sure enough, there was Talum, leading a group of Malum into battle on the huge front lawn. The hunters, who had had an advantage at first, were no match for both the Sefu and the Malum.
Kesh skimmed the crowd until he found who he was looking for. Adirah was in the middle of fighting two hunters at once. Calum was close by, and from the looks of it, they were handling themselves well. Kesh was about to take off in their direction when a voice stopped him.
“Kesh! King of Sefu!”
The voice was deep and gruff, but it got Kesh’s attention. Whipping around, Kesh found the owner of the voice standing a yard away from him aiming a firearm at his chest. Kesh had never seen him before, but that moment the hunter’s face was being etched into his memory forever.
“How does it feel to see your people dying around you, and you can’t do anything about it but sit and watch?”
“People?” Kesh hissed. “I thought we were monsters to you.”
“Such a smart-ass, aren’t you?” The hunter chuckled.
“What is your name, hunter?”
“Ramel. Commander Ramel.”
“Commander? So you are the one in charge here?”
“Obviously. However, I don’t see how any of that matters now.”
“It doesn’t. I just wanted to know who you were before I ripped your throat out.”
“You kill me? Funny, because I’m the one with the gun.”
Boom!
The shot rang out before Kesh could react. There was a blur in the corner of Kesh’s eye and right when the bullet should have connected with his chest, it didn’t. But it hit something.
“No,” Kesh said in disbelief. His eyes were wide, and he caught Cera as she clutched her chest. “Cera!”
“You were right. I have gotten faster,” she said weakly, smiling sadly up at him.
“Why would you do that?”
“Because you are my king,” she said as he cradled her. “You are the reason for everything. We need you, and for that, I give you my life.”
“Cera,” Kesh whispered, but it was too late. She had already begun to dissolve into ashes.
“Take care of our people. . . .”
Her voice lingered until Kesh was left holding nothing but air. There were tears in the corners of his eyes, and his body trembled from rage. He understood that, to many, they were monsters. But, in all actuality, there was no bigger monster than humankind. He clenched his eyes shut and gritted his teeth.
“Why do you torment my people? What is it that you want?”
“For you all to die.”
“So that humans can become the superior race?”
“So that humans can be the only race!”
“That’s never going to happen.”
Kesh felt something inside of him awaken that he’d never felt before. It was like a door opened and released a force that had been locked away for so long. When he opened his eyes, they were no longer the same color brown; they glowed an electrifying blue. His fangs slowly grew longer, and his muscles grew so large that the robes he was wearing ripped. When he got back to his feet, he did not stand; the wind around him picked him up.
Ramel, not knowing what else to do, lifted his gun and began shooting at the new monster. Kesh looked nothing like any vampire he’d ever seen before. Not only were his eyes a shocking blue, but his skin seemed to glow more vibrant. Although the bullets were calculated and aimed directly at Kesh’s body, the vampire dodged each one. Ramel reloaded and went to shoot again.
“Stop!”
Ramel froze, not because he wanted to, but because he didn’t have a choice. He heard the word in his head and instantly his body was paralyzed. The only thing he had control over still was his eyes, and they watched Kesh move closer and closer to him. Once directly in front of him, Kesh grabbed Ramel by his neck and lifted him so that his feet dangled in the air.
What’s happening? Ramel thought as he gasped for breath.
He was inside of his own head, but he didn’t feel alone. Someone was going through his mind like they were flipping the pages of the most interesting book. He didn’t understand. The concoction, it shouldn’t have worn off yet.
“Ahhh. So that’s what gives you hunters the strength and speed of our kind.”
Get out of my head, Ramel demanded.
“But it’s so fun in here!” Kesh’s laugh echoed in Ramel’s mind. “I’m learning so much about the ways of you hunters. It’s just ironic, isn’t it? That your sole purpose is to remove the world of supernatural beings, but yet here you are using the potions of witches to do it. Tsk tsk tsk. But I guess, these days, everyone is a hypocrite.”
Fuck you!
“It looks like our good friend Lina already handled that for you.”
Kesh brought forward the memory of Ramel and Lina having sex. It was still so fresh in Ramel’s mind that every detail played. He had never felt more violated in his life, and his hatred for Kesh grew by the second. Little did he know, that same hatred was feeding Kesh’s thirst.
Just kill me already!
“I will, eventually. Call your dogs off.”
I—
“You can, and you will. Or else once you all are dead, what is left of us will go to where the Legion for Darkness resides and pluck them limb from limb.” Kesh pulled the location of the hunter’s camp to the front of Ramel’s mind, letting him know that the secret place wasn’t so secret anymore. “Call them off, and leave.”
The last statement was a command and Ramel couldn’t fight it. When Kesh dropped him to the ground, his hand instantly shot to his neck as he coughed violently. Once he caught his breath, he pulled the walkie-talkie from his pants pocket and put it to his mouth.
“Retreat! There are too many of them. Retreat!”
“Good dog,” Kesh said. “Now go!”
He kicked Ramel in the face so forcefully that he drew blood and Ramel flew back. He watched as hunters ran to his aid and helped him to his feet. From behind the frat house, Kesh saw a big man with a scar on his face carrying Lina’s lifeless body as they all retreated.
The vampires were confused by the random retreat but were relieved nonetheless. Their eyes locked on their king and they noticed the difference in his appearance. His eyes . . . his eyes were like the ones they’d seen in the books about—
“Ancients,” he heard someone in the crowd mutter.
Even Talum looked on in awe at Kesh. He was tired and panting, but he couldn’t have been prouder of the way the Sefu and the Malum fought together. He walked fifty feet to stand in front of Kesh. Once there, he slowly took a knee and bowed his head.
“Kesh, king
of all vampirekind.”
Behind him, the two clans did the same thing. “Kesh, king of all vampires!” they shouted in unison.
Kesh’s electrifying eyes found Adirah standing next to a kneeling Calum. She nodded once at him and placed a hand over her heart. He had done it, something that a year ago would not have been possible. He had united the Sefu and the Malum as one.
Chapter 23
“How badly is she hurt?”
“Pretty bad, Commander.”
Ramel stood, looking at Lina’s lifeless body through a glass window. She was on a table in the infirmary, unresponsive. Since they’d returned, he’d come to check on her every hour, but still, nothing changed.
“Will she survive?”
Doctor Ameel was doing everything in his power to keep Lina alive, but her heart rate kept dropping, and they kept having to resuscitate her. At the pace she was going, she wouldn’t make it to the next sunrise, but that was the last thing that he wanted to tell Ramel.
He didn’t have to say it, though. Ramel could tell by the grim look on the doctor’s face. He banged his fist on the glass of the window before leaning his head on it with his eyes clenched shut. Lina’s smile flashed in his head, and that was followed by the sound of her laughter. If only he hadn’t been so pushy for her to be a hunter. Maybe she wasn’t as ready as he thought she was.
“Don’t give up on her,” he whispered over his shoulder. “She isn’t gone yet.”
“Sir, I’m sorry. We have done everything that we are able to do. If she does not come back on her own, then I’m afraid there will be no bringing her back.”
“That’s not true. You haven’t tried everything.”
“I’m sorry? I’m not sure I quite understand what you are saying.”
“You haven’t tried everything. You know exactly what I’m saying.”
“I do apologize, sir, but I am not at liberty to discuss that with someone of your rank.”
“Then who is?”
“Commander.” Dr. Ameel placed his hands in his white jacket and shook his head. “Even if you were to speak with them, or even get the okay to go forward with the procedure, there is no telling if it would work. Every other test patient has died.”
“Has it ever been tested on a human?” When Dr. Ameel didn’t say anything, Ramel faced him. “I didn’t think so. Who do I need to talk to?”
“Commander, you don’t know what you’re asking. She is not awake. You would have to make the decision for her. Is this something that she would want?”
“She would want to live.”
“She wouldn’t be human anymore.”
“And she wouldn’t be one of them, either.”
“Commander,” Dr. Ameel said, sighing, “the studies we have run on vampire blood are still under much scrutiny. We don’t exactly know what the outcome would be. We don’t know how they heal, or if they too will be immortal.”
“All I keep hearing you say is what you don’t know. How about you tell me what you do know?”
“I know that the animals we injected with the vampire blood grew very savage, at first. They, however, did not exhibit the thirst for blood the way vampires do. It was obvious, though, that we had awakened a different kind of beast in every creature. They were stronger, smarter, faster. And—”
“And what?”
“Uncontrollable.”
“What are you saying?” Ramel’s brow furrowed. “That the vampire blood wasn’t what killed them?”
“Precisely. The last animal we tested was a gorilla to start with. Her name was Ella, very shy and timid. Once she was injected with the vampire blood, she became a remarkable subject. She had the most promise of them all but, after a while, it became almost impossible to contain her. She killed three scientists in a brutal rage. We had no choice but to put her down.”
“Has it ever crossed your mind that the reason why the testing has not worked is because you are injecting animals that have no sense of humanity? You can’t base what might happen to Lina off of what those animals have done. Tell me something: without the procedure, how much time do you think she has left?”
“Maybe—”
“Maybe what, Doc?”
“Maybe a day or two. Give or take.”
“Then I don’t really have another choice, do I? And I’m not going through anyone higher than me to save her. You are going to get me what I need and bring it back here.”
“I could be fired.”
“Or you could be dead.” Ramel touched the gun on his waist. “You take your pick.”
Dr. Ameel pressed his teeth together hard until a vein popped from his temple. He glanced from Lina’s emotionless figure and back to Ramel’s undaunted face. There was something underneath his hard expression that Dr. Ameel knew all too well.
“Do you love this woman?”
“What?”
“Do you love her?”
“Why does that matter?”
“Because once she is changed, it is going to take a special kind of person to remind her of who she is. It is going to take something strong to bring her back from the monstrous virus we are injecting into her system. It will take love for her to get over the curse you are placing on her. Do you understand that?”
“Yes. But there is no other way. I can’t . . . I can’t lose her. She’s special.”
“Then meet me here at three a.m. That is when the last scientist leaves the lab, and I will be able to get what we need. Oh”—Dr. Ameel had started to walk away, but he paused to turn back to him—“you might want to bring that special serum of yours. Because when she wakes up, trust me when I say she will be wide awake.”
“Just make sure you’re here right after.”
“I will. And, Commander?”
“Yeah, Doc?”
“Good luck.”
Chapter 24
Snarls and saliva became the air as two Lykans dueled in a large cage. Mezza looked down from his seat and watched them lay into each other like their lives depended on it, which they did. They were all in a building separate from his gigantic mansion; they were in the war chamber. That was where, since his beginning, Lykans trained. Mezza wanted only the strongest of the strong in his army. The crowd of hundreds around the cage were loud, and many of them were standing in their seats, rooting for who they wanted to win. Mezza, on the other hand, was quiet. The two large beasts were both adamant about winning, that was for sure. Mezza could tell that those two beasts had been around for a while. No matter what damage was caused, they would not give up or bow down.
When, finally, he tired of the vicious fight, he put his hand up and motioned for the guard in the cage to separate the two monsters. As they were pulled away from each other, they transformed back into their human bodies and collapsed in the corners, gasping for air.
“Your chests heave like that of someone who has just fought a victorious battle. I am pleased by the way you fight.” Mezza nodded at the cage. At the sound of his voice, everyone grew quiet and turned their heads to face him. “You are relentless, and you don’t give up. We will need that, for I sense that the vampires are growing stronger.”
He stood and stepped into the aisle of stairs so that he could come down them. As he passed, each of the surrounding Lykans felt his powerful aura. He was growing stronger by the day.
“Ahhh, yes.” He smiled evilly. “You feel it, don’t you? That, my children, is the strength that comes with the nearing of the full moon. This time around, you will be faster.”
The Lykans cheered loudly.
“Stronger!”
More cheering.
“And smarter! On the night that we attack our enemies, our oppressors, you will all take a drop of my blood.”
He had reached the ground, and he spun to face them with his arms up. They were all on their feet by then, baring their sharp human teeth and flexing their abnormally large muscles. Mezza had empowered them and given them meaning they never knew they had. Before coming to his home, they were
all miscreants. But, with the upcoming war, Mezza had given them purpose, informed them about the truth of their nature, and embedded entitlement in their minds.
“The world calls us beasts! Are we beasts?”
“No!” The shout that came back to him was deafening, and Mezza loved it.
“That’s right! We do the same thing as every other living being on this planet: we survive! If they want to kill us, then we will slaughter them first! We will slaughter them until they are no more! We will pick away at the races that have shunned us since the beginning of time and show them that we are and have always been more than rabid dogs! What are we?”
“Superior!”
“Superior!” Mezza repeated in a shout. “And we will show the world!”
He turned his back on them and made his way to the exit of the building. Even when he was out of the building and walking on the trail that led to the mansion, he could still hear them cheering behind him. He gritted his teeth as he thought about his brother, still in slumber. He did not know where he lay resting; he also didn’t know why he hadn’t awoken yet. There was only one way to find out that answer, because there was only one person who knew.
“Dena.” He growled her name under his breath.
She was the one who battled and weakened Tidas. It was she who finally bound him down long enough to use the witches’ powerful magic on him. Wherever his brother was, she would know.
Since he’d been awakened, he had searched for the Ancient vampires’ secret fortress. He figured that the place was heavily warded by witches’ magic, but he never thought it would be impossible to find. The Lykans were so worked up about the upcoming war, but if Mezza did not locate the fortress in one week’s time, all of their training would be for nothing. Although strong, Mezza was no match for the Ancient vampires alone if he did not have the power of the full moon.