Dhampir

by J. H. Hutchins

  “Let’s go home,” Mallory cried.

  “Now that’s what I want to hear,” said Lincoln. He gently caressed his lover’s curly hair. “I’m sorry your first journey was a failure, but this is the way life goes sometimes. Do you understand?”

  Mallory nodded reluctantly.

  “You are the reason I live,” he continued. “You must understand that I despise hurting you. But all you’ve done for the past year is lie, cheat, and run away from me. All. The. Time.”

  “I’m lost,” Mallory admitted. “I hoped a Dhampir would bring new meaning to my life.”

  “And yet it may, my love,” Lincoln assured her. “I sense that my anger for that child will linger for many years, but someday our love will conquer my hatred. I will take the child under my wing as if I were its true father.” Lincoln glared at Jayce and then turned back to Mallory. He laid a kiss on her forehead. “Never lose hope.”

  “But we need the book,” Mallory reminded Lincoln. “They took the Valkyrie pin my mother gave Rebecca, too.”

  “There’s no use. I’m drained, you’re drained, and my brothers are tired of flying around this shithole. The only reason I tackled The Enterprise when we arrived was that they admitted to holding you hostage.”

  “The Timberwolves did, too,” Mallory admitted. She kept her head down and played with her thumbs nervously. “They mocked me. They made me sleep with dogs. They hung me from a barn. They even chased me into a forest and beat me black and blue.”

  Both Lincoln and Jayce were livid. Although their feelings for the princess were hard to pin down at certain points, they clearly hated hearing that she got hurt. And even though Jayce had been lied to many times by the princess, his previous encounter with Vicky and her team of scumbags made him believe her story.

  “I’m getting dressed,” Jayce announced. When he stormed upstairs, Lincoln raised Mallory’s chin. He inspected her big, brown eyes.

  “Are you sure you want to do this?” he asked. “I don’t want to hear you crying if another one of your friends dies.”

  “Meet us at the elementary school down the street,” said Mallory. “I’ll handle the Timberwolves.”

  “And leave you alone with that boy? Nonsense.”

  “Please. We need to solve our differences.”

  Mallory felt Lincoln’s hand grab her wrist.

  “I refuse to play second fiddle, Mallory.”

  “I need to talk with him,” the princess whispered. “I must win over his heart one last time. I want to clear up any mixed messages before we depart.”

  Lincoln’s grip tightened.

  “Every plan you make kicks me to the curb. You’re prancing around like a foolish little slut — and I’m beginning to believe it.”

  “They’ll kill him if we leave him with that wand. You know it. If that happens I’ll never forgive myself for helping him open that box.”

  “That’s your stupidity — not mine. We’ll head out together, tame these mutts, seal your Minotaur, and portal our way back home with your cloak.”

  “I won’t be able to perform the spell with this on my mind — and if I mess up, things will get sloppy. You could be teleported to Galicia or the Terran Islands for all we know. Would you like to wind up awakening amidst a pack of Lycans? Shifters? How about Sawyerwolves? I know I wouldn’t.”

  Lincoln sighed.

  “And how do you two expect to face a full pack of Werewolves as a stubborn princess and a scuffed wizard?”

  “Easy,” she guessed. “I’ll bring Despy and work my magic. They’ll be in big trouble if they don’t accept to give my belongings back.”

  “He’s corrupted — all you’ll do is attract that bastardized Minotaur of yours.”

  Mallory rose her finger and smiled.

  “And that’s when we run to the park. With your help, we can seal him.”

  “Risk,” Jett interjected. “Too risk.”

  “It can work,” Lincoln scowled at Jett. “You need to learn how to complete a proper sentence before you utter another sedated opinion of yours.”

  “Don’t worry, Jett,” said Mallory. “I need you to round up the others anyway. Leave the sealing to us.”

  Without hesitation, Jett walked over to Mallory and hugged her. She didn’t know why — as he was supposed to hate her — but she felt that he was being genuine. He left shortly afterward.

  “Ready?” Jayce asked the others as he returned.

  “Ready,” Mallory assured him. “It’ll be just you and I.”

  “Whatever,” Jayce said confidently under his black hoodie. “I just want to kill those bastards.”

  “Do you even know where they reside?” Lincoln asked Mallory.

  “Not far from here,” she said. “About half a mile down the road, take a left, and then a right into the dead-end — their den should be on the left-hand side. I pieced together the routes from the trips they took me on.”

  “I’ll watch over you with my friends.”

  “No. That would hurt our chances of getting my stuff back. They’re too scared of you, and your vultures signal your arrival. We’ll do this alone.”

  “And if you’re directions are wrong?”

  “Then we’ll just go home empty-handed.”

  Despite his disdain for her lies, the wizard was joining the princess on one last quest to rain terror down upon his enemies. The climax was approaching.

  31

  The Finale

  Jayce was silent the moment he left the house. He had nothing good to say to Mallory so he kept his mouth shut. However, the princess was looking for a reason to converse with Jayce. Their time together had a lasting effect on her. Humming and kicking rocks at Jayce’s heels was doing much, so the princess resorted to actual words.

  “That punch hurt so bad,” she grinned. “It felt like a brick. Look—” The princess opened her mouth and pulled back her cheek. Two of her bottom teeth were missing. “I swallowed my teeth!”

  “That’s your fault for letting him treat you that way. Anybody else would’ve left a long time ago.”

  “No matter where I run he finds me. He’s too powerful to avoid at this point.”

  “Abort it,” Jayce interjected.

  “Huh?”

  “I never gave you consent to make a baby,” he said. “Abort it.”

  “That’s not how this works, dear,” Mallory informed him.

  “Yes, it is,” Jayce insisted. “Just do it.”

  “No. We had a deal.”

  “Power for friendship. That was the deal.”

  “That’s not what I had in mind.”

  “Who cares what you ‘had in mind’? That’s the deal you offered and that’s the deal we accepted. I don’t even know why this is a discussion. You know we’re not ready to be parents.”

  “How do you know unless we try?”

  Jayce stopped talking. He was done explaining himself. Mallory ran in front of him. She was forced to walk backward as he refused to stop pushing forward.

  “Hey.”

  “I’m done.”

  “Come on, we can—”

  “Mallory, stop.”

  “Let me explain—”

  “Stop! Just shut up!”

  Mallory gritted her teeth and stormed toward Jayce. She grabbed him by his chest and held on tight. Her fangs were extended and her eyes were watery.

  “NO!” she snarled. The sudden action shocked Jayce. He held The Death’s Dawn just underneath Mallory’s chin — ready to strike at a moment’s notice.

  “I’m sorry,” she continued. “I’m depressed. I’m weak. But most of all, I’m lonely. I wanted a Dhampir because I wanted a big family. A family where all we need is one another. I thought you’d come to understand when you saw your child, but Lincoln had to open his big mouth.”

  “It’s the only thing he’s done that I approve of,” Jayce remarked.

  “And I get it. I promised myself I wouldn’t lie to you and I still did. I feel terrible. But I don’t know a
ny other way of expressing myself. Everybody I’ve told the truth to have used me for their own desires.

  “But the truth is — I am smitten with you. You are the first person I’ve connected with who didn’t want to eat me. The kiss we shared was out of pure love, not hunger. Our tarot card even predicted a remarkable future for us.

  “Please, forgive me. I don’t want to be with Lincoln. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I’ll teach you how to become the perfect wizard, and you can teach me how to become the perfect wife.”

  Jayce shook his head in disbelief.

  Am I really falling for this? Again!?

  “I like you,” Jayce admitted. “But I need time to think about all of this.”

  “Deal.” Mallory let go of her grip and patted down the wrinkled spots of his hoodie. “I’ll give you time, but I’d like a favor in exchange.”

  “What?”

  “Show me that you love me.”

  “I just said I liked you.”

  “‘Like,’ not love.”

  “It’s the same thing.”

  “No, it’s not. Liking someone is like winning the battle. Loving someone is like winning the war.”

  “I’m not the type of person to throw around the ‘love’ word as easily as you.”

  “But I gave you power! I stopped Lincoln and, frankly, myself from eating you alive! I even helped you — a human — wield the strongest wand to ever exist!”

  “Doesn’t feel like it . . .” Jayce admitted.

  “Fine,” Mallory pouted. “Have it your way.”

  Mallory tried to turn away. Jayce stopped her. He grabbed her forearm and turned the princess around.

  The wizard shared a passionate kiss with the princess. When it was over, Jayce wiped the blood dripping from her nose with the sleeve of his hoodie.

  “There,” he said. “It would be a lie if I said that I loved you. But I like you. A lot. In the short time that I’ve known you, you’ve proven to be the most interesting person I’ve ever met. You have a ton of flaws, but you’re not afraid to wear them on your sleeve.” He looked down at his wand. “I felt terrible for leaving you behind. For some reason, I thought it was a fluke and you’d take it away from me. It doesn’t make any sense why someone would give me something this powerful, but you barely ever make any sense with the life choices you make. But yeah — that’s it. I don’t know what to do about Lincoln, but I really want to explore where this thing takes us.”

  Jayce placed his forehead on Mallory’s. They waited a few moments before saying anything.

  “Okay,” said Mallory. She tried to play down how happy she was by not pouncing on him. “You win. Piggy-back ride?”

  The princess had already jumped on his back before he answered.

  “The whole way?” he grunted, holding her legs.

  “Until you drop,” she giggled. The princess placed her nose on his shoulder. Blood soaked the sweater.

  Jayce sighed. Whether this strange girl would turn out to be the love of his life or his very own demise was a mystery. All he knew is that the universe had granted him magic. Why not take a chance on an Angelic Vampire princess? Her scuffed connections could come in handy too if she got her life together. Soon enough, the dream of being a superhero could become a reality. Having a Wonder Woman by his side wouldn’t hurt either.

  The Gothic storm had arrived. The moon was weak but the stars were bright. Mallory jumped from Jayce’s back and stretched her limbs.

  “What a ride!” she exclaimed.

  “Here comes another,” Jayce warned.

  A few Timberwolves walked barefoot down the stony path that led into the compound. When they were closer, one of them placed their hand out.

  “Wand,” he asked of Jayce.

  “Hell no.”

  Mallory tapped Jayce. She nodded. Jayce sighed and handed the man his wand. He placed it in a bowl.

  “And cloak,” the man continued. Mallory released Despy from her shoulders and bundled him up.

  “This won’t be long,” Mallory whispered to him before handing him off.

  The Timberwolves led the pair into the compound. Mallory gently linked her fingers with Jayce’s. She held his hand the entire trip to Vicky’s office on the second floor of the biggest house the compound held. The princess felt safe this way. The memories of her torture were beginning to boil to the surface.

  Vicky was scrolling through her smartphone with her dirty soles on an even messier table. She looked pleased to see the pair without an enchanted object, or Lincoln, to protect them. The pair took a seat in two chairs facing Vicky. Mallory was furious seeing Vicky wearing the same pin that belonged to Rebecca.

  “We meet again,” she began.

  “You shouldn’t be surprised,” said Jayce.

  “Oh — I’m very surprised. For some reason, I thought you’d come here with a lot more than two people. We got ready for war and everything. When I heard that you guys left without Lincoln I couldn’t believe it.”

  “He promised to show up if we have any problems,” said Mallory, sending Vicky a sinister smile. “You don’t want that. He’ll do more than bash your head in for what you did to me.”

  Jayce wasn’t paying much attention to Vicky. He was staring at the bowl the man beside her was holding. He stared intently at the tip of his wand that peeked out from the side of the bowl. He hoped to attract the legendary weapon to his hand like a Jedi. That way, he could blow the hair off the cocky bitch sitting across from him. One wiggle proved that it could be done.

  “Did you hear about the shooting?” Vicky asked the pair.

  “No,” answered Mallory. “Tell us more.”

  “What can I say?” she began. “There’s not much left to tell.”

  The Timberwolves burst into laughter. Mallory could feel the situation getting out of hand. Their laughs reminded her of the insincere acts they put her through before commencing their full-on torture.

  “You know a thing or two about school shootings, don’t you?”

  Vicky wasn’t pleased with Jayce ignoring her to stare at the bowl. She ordered her grunt to hide it behind his back and slammed the heel of her foot on the table.

  “You know a thing or two about school shootings, right!?” she repeated herself.

  “Fuck you,” he responded.

  “Excuse me?”

  Jayce stood from his seat. He shot his arm toward the grunt standing beside Vicky as confidently as his body could muster. The Death’s Dawn danced around the man and found its way into Jayce’s hand. Guns were pulled immediately. The strangest part about the scare was that Vicky fell over in her seat and hid.

  “Put it down!” her muffled voice yelled from underneath the table.

  “You first,” Jayce yelled to the group of men and women holding weapons over his shoulder.

  “Give me my stuff back!” Mallory stood to yell.

  “Put the weapons down and we’ll go do business,” Vicky ordered. “All of you!”

  Although the Timberwolves followed orders, Jayce refused.

  “Remember,” Vicky continued, “we’re still Gothic Werewolves. At the end of the day, we can wipe out this room in a second — even if we do take a few casualties. So think twice before shooting that thing.”

  “I’ll keep it in my pocket,” Jayce told the Timberwolves. “I don’t trust a single one of you dirtbags.”

  Vicky peeked to see if Jayce kept his word. She rose from the desk when he pocketed the wand.

  “Follow me.”

  The Timberwolves rushed the pair. As soon as Jayce turned around, Bali had knocked him in the face. They used his disarray to hold him down as they took the wand. It went back in the bowl.

  The leader of the Timberwolves led the group to the barn. It had begun to rain again, but the Timberwolves didn’t mind sloshing their way through the mud to get their next job done. Mallory and Jayce struggled but weren’t able to release themselves or get help from Despy or The Death’s Dawn. They were on their ow
n.

  As soon as they reached their destination, Vicky shoved Mallory away from Jayce. Trent and a few others placed his neck within the noose hanging down in the center of the barn.

  “No!” Mallory yelled. “Don’t kill him!”

  “We won’t,” Vicky smirked. The leader nodded to Trent. He grabbed Mallory with a few others and placed her beside Bali. He was holding the other end of the rope tight. If he let go, Jayce’s lungs would collapse. “We’re not allowed to kill you. But who says you can’t kill each other?”

  “Never!” Mallory swore. Bali bumped into the princess.

  “Here,” he barked.

  “No!”

  He stuck his bald forehead to hers.

  “Take it or I’ll take you!”

  Mallory turned to Jayce. It was hard for him to hold on. His shoes barely reached the box underneath them.

  “If you don’t,” Vicky yelled, taking off the Valkyrie pin, “I’ll break this.”

  “Please,” Mallory cried. Vicky called over another grunt. He was holding the Book of Souls.

  “I’ll give you one last chance. Cut the rope and walk out of here with your stuff — or let a human decide your fate.”

  Mallory sobbed. She knew how serious the Timberwolves were about their threats. And that’s exactly why she chose Jayce over the Valkyrie pin. She wouldn’t kill the love of her life for anything in the world.

  “Have it your way.”

  Vicky extended her wolf fangs and placed the lapel pin in her mouth. She gave the princess a moment to consider changing her mind.

  Mallory refused.

  Vicky bit down on the Valkyrie pin, crunching it in her mouth. She spat it out into many pieces, causing Mallory to scream out in misery. New visitors arrived to drown out the sound.

  Rawk! Rawk!

  “Vick!” one of the Timberwolves yelled from outside. “Vultures!”

  As if on cue, Lincoln La Croix burst through the top of the barn. He landed on the ground below and knocked the life out of one of the Timberwolves holding Jayce. Bali pulled the rope as hard as he could. Jayce began rising into the air. The princess swung her legs out enough to kick Bali, but it wasn’t effective. Thankfully, Lincoln saw Jayce swinging his legs.