Retribution of Soul: Book 3 of the In-Between

by Senese, Rebecca M.

  She turned away from him and waved a hand behind her. Rustling vegetation sounded. He saw shadows move, branches shiver and start to part.

  Callum?

  “I decided death would be too fast for you,” Alexa said. “I decided on something else.”

  Leaves parted. A body fell out and sprawled on the ground at Alexa’s feet. She nudged a shoulder with her foot. Blond hair spilled over the sandal. Alexa reached down to grab the hair and yank the head up.

  Not Callum.

  A young woman, probably a student. Her eyes were sunken, half closed. Pale, gaunt skin stretched over her face, giving her a wizened look. He could see the marks on her neck. Dried blood smeared around the ragged holes.

  They’d been feeding on her for a few days, taking just enough to keep her weak but not enough to kill her or turn her or make her an In-Between.

  “Don’t you think it’s a great idea?” Alexa said.

  “What?” he said.

  She laughed. “Oh poor Sebastian. You were always a little slow. Don’t worry, I’ll train that out of you.”

  She gave a nod.

  Hands tightened on his head, holding it in a vice grip. Another hand grabbed his chin and yanked it down, opening his mouth.

  Alexa grinned. She lifted her hand to the young woman’s neck and pricked at the wounds. Blood began to flow. Warm, red, delicious blood. Through the sour stench of the vampires around him, Sebastian could smell the blood like a fragrant bouquet. It called to him as it dripped down the woman’s neck and splattered on Alexa’s fingers. She pulled her hand away and licked the blood off.

  “Hmm, seventeen, maybe eighteen years,” she said. “It was a very good year.”

  One yank dragged the girl forward like a rag doll. This close, the smell of blood filled his senses.

  “It’s easy.” Alexa’s voice purred in his ear. “All you have to do is swallow a few mouthfuls. Then we can be together like we should have been all this time.”

  Her tongue licked his cheek.

  She shoved the woman’s neck in his face.

  Wet blood coated his mouth, his lips, clogged his nose. He tried to shake his head, turn away, but the vampires held him fast. The woman’s neck pressed harder against him. He felt her blood dribbled down his chin.

  His heart pounded, the echo thundering in his ears. Drink, all he had to do was drink. Blood called to him all the time. If he just gave in, it would stop. He would be free.

  Lies! He’d never be free again. He’d be trapped forever. A monster.

  No!

  He struggled, feeling their hands tightened on him. He didn’t care if they broke his bones now. He had to get away, had to get that blood out of his mouth. It already dribbled across his lips, over his tongue.

  All he had to do was drink...

  Help!

  “Right here, buddy.”

  The chill of Charlie’s presence flooded over him. Through him. His muscles trembled, contracting with the cold. Then he felt power infuse in them, buoying them up.

  He and Charlie, together.

  “Let’s do this!” Charlie’s voice echoed in his ears.

  Sebastian jerked away.

  His arms lashed out, shoving the vampires back. His foot lifted and he surged up, knocking the girl away from him. She crumpled to the ground at his feet. He bent over, gagging, spitting her blood out into the dirt.

  Alexa sprawled to his right. She scrambled up to her feet. Her hands clenched into fists. Her face distorted with rage. Color flushed her pale cheeks.

  “You won’t turn? I’ll make you sorry you won’t,” she said.

  She darted across the clearing.

  Sebastian took a step to follow but one of the vampires grabbed his arm. He felt Charlie’s energy surge through him. He yanked his arm away and punched out, connecting with the vampire’s cheek. His head snapped back. The body flew away. It hit a tree and crumpled to the ground.

  The two other vampires crawled to their feet, hunching, hands hooked into claws. They snarled at Sebastian but didn’t approach.

  “Come on, pussies!” Charlie shouted, using Sebastian’s voice.

  Uncertainty crossed their faces. From the confusion, Sebastian could tell they felt something different about him.

  “Are you sure you want to fight me?” he said. “My ghost friend and I would love to kick your ass.”

  In an eye blink, they vanished through the trees.

  Now Alexa. He had to find her. Find Callum.

  He spun. He could still smell her sourness, leading a trail out across the clearing. With Charlie, his senses were even more attuned. Her scent practically glowed in the air.

  He took a step forward.

  He heard rustling. Footsteps in the distance. Recognized Jessica’s tread. She and Gareth racing forward. Of course, they would have been listening and were trying to come to his aid.

  He didn’t need them.

  He knew what to do.

  CHAPTER 19

  Follow Alexa. He had to stop her, had to get to her.

  Two steps across the clearing and she stepped out from the trees again.

  But not alone.

  She dragged Callum.

  Her hand tightened on the boy’s upper arm. From the paleness of his skin, Sebastian could tell she’d fed on him. Fed on his brother. He could feel his heart shrivel. He took a step back, almost doubling over.

  Callum... I’m so sorry.

  The boy’s black hair hung limp and lifeless across his forehead. Dullness shrouded his brown eyes. His mouth hung open, slack. His shoulders drooped, his muscles loose.

  Even from here, Sebastian could feel how the boy was in her thrall. Alexa tugged on his arm and the boy moved to cross in front of her, shielding her from Sebastian.

  “Are you coming after me, Sebastian?” she said. “Come on then. What are you waiting for? Maybe you don’t want me to kill your little brother?” Her hand stroked Callum’s head, brushing his hair off his forehead, exposing more pale skin.

  “He was quite delicious,” she said. “The blood of children is the sweetest.”

  He clenched his hands into fists. With Charlie, he could feel his rage surge through him, ready to lash out. He could strike her down from here, one big PUSH would finish her. He wouldn’t even need to hold her down until morning. He could kill her right now.

  He knew it.

  And it would kill Callum.

  He knew that too.

  Just like he’d killed Brent when he’d killed Bianca.

  He couldn’t do that to Callum. He’d promised Mom, he’d promised to save his brother.

  And he couldn’t even do that.

  He took a step back. Alexa laughed. She knew, of course she knew he couldn’t risk it. Couldn’t kill her without killing Callum.

  She’d planned it all along this way.

  If he wouldn’t turn…

  Oh god, she would turn Callum!

  Her lips parted in a wide smile. Her hand pushed Callum’s head to the side. Without even seeing him, Callum’s gaze slid past Sebastian, unfocused. Pale light glinted on Alexa’s fangs as she opened her mouth.

  No! He couldn’t let her!

  He pushed.

  Alexa snarled. Her hands tightened on Callum, nails piercing his thin t-shirt. Her body shuddered.

  But her mouth stopped just above Callum’s neck. Her lips quivered over her teeth. She lifted her face and stared across at Sebastian.

  Stop. Just stop and close your mouth.

  He could feel power surging inside him, as if behind him, pressing against the narrow band of his self control. It wanted to lash out and engulf everything but if he let it, it would kill her and then kill Callum.

  He couldn’t let it. He had to stay in control.

  He stared across the clearing at the vampire that gripped his brother. Stared at her.

  At her eyes.

  Her eyes.

  Alexa?

  Was that…? Something in her eyes?

  Look ca
refully, Sebastian, make sure you look carefully.

  Hadn’t Joan told him that? Was this what she was trying to tell him? To look carefully at Alexa?

  At all vampires?

  Was there still a little piece of their own selves in every one of them?

  Could he reach that in her?

  “Alexa?”

  Her eyes widened. He could feel himself drawn forward, falling, falling. He tried to put out his hands to stop himself. But he fell faster and faster…

  Bright light blinded him.

  He tried to close his eyes but it didn’t matter. The light burned all around him, all through him. He tried to turn away but couldn’t feel his body. Couldn’t feel anything.

  What? What?

  “Easy pal, take it easy. It’s okay.”

  Charlie.

  As soon as he thought the word, Charlie appeared before him, hands tucked into his jeans pockets, wearing a familiar black t-shirt. Blond hair in waves around his head. He smirked at Sebastian.

  Where…?

  “In your head, I think,” Charlie said. “Or maybe her head. I can’t really tell. It’s kind of fuzzy in here.”

  He gestured around him and as he did so, the light dimmed or maybe the clearing took shape. Trees took form around them. Branches and leaves coalescing into shape. He felt the ground under his feet again.

  He followed the line of Charlie’s gesture, turning.

  Alexa stood behind him.

  Just Alexa.

  She looked even smaller than normal, almost shrunken. Her shoulders drooped. Her head dropped to the side as if it was too heavy for her neck. Dark shadows gave her eyes a hooded look. He could almost feel fatigue coming off her in waves.

  She was tired. So tired of fighting.

  “Alexa?”

  Her head tilted up. For a moment, her eyes lit up. The shadow of a smile crossed her face.

  “Sebastian?”

  Her right foot slid forward an inch. Her shoulders drooped even lower, as if that small action exhausted her. Her head dropped back down.

  Sebastian wanted to move toward her but he wasn’t sure how. Was he real? Was any of this? Or was he in his own head, or hers? He didn’t know the rules here.

  “Just try,” Charlie said.

  Okay, try.

  He thought about lifting his foot. It moved and he stepped forward. Another step. He lurched like a Frankenstein monster. This wasn’t very productive. Across from him, Alexa looked even more worn. How long would she stay like this? Would she disappear?

  He had to move faster. He had to reach her.

  And he was in front of her. Just like that.

  Oh.

  Behind her, he saw darkness, spreading out and inching forward. It blocked out the trees and ground and sky. Not shadow or nighttime, he could feel a coldness, an evil inside that darkness. It smelled sour and rotting. It pressed forward with a relentlessness, a heaviness that he could feel pressing on his soul, trying to squish him down. Devour him. Erase him.

  “Sebastian, I’m sorry.”

  Her voice sounded small. Weak. Hopeless.

  She seemed to grow even smaller.

  This was the only part of her left, he realized. A tiny spark inside the evil of a vampire. Was it a monster? A demon? Was this the creature Grellock had called forth for every vampire, the price of immortality?

  Behind her, the darkness deepened. He could feel the coldness wafting over him. Moving closer. Getting ready to drown the last of her completely.

  “Alexa.”

  He reached for her. So close but he couldn’t quite reach her. He had to think of something else, some way to draw her to him.

  “I’m the one who’s sorry, Alexa,” he said. “I should have protected you from this. I should have been honest with you right from the beginning. I let my fear take over and it started all of this. I’m so sorry.”

  She straightened. The shadow of a smile curled her lips. She reached out to him. He felt her fingers touch his. It felt insubstantial, like smoke, but behind it, he felt emotion, the spark of her.

  He tightened his hand to hold onto her.

  The smile on her face faded. “I can’t hang on for much longer, Sebastian,” she said. “It’s too strong. I’m afraid I’ll hurt you, hurt your brother. I can’t stop myself.”

  “It’s okay,” he said. “I won’t let it happen. You don’t have to worry anymore. You don’t have to keep fighting.”

  Tears shimmered in her eyes. “Sebastian...”

  “It’s okay really,” he said. “Let it go. Let it all go.”

  Tears spilled down her cheeks. For a moment, he felt the warmth of her hand in his, the softness of her skin and instead of the sourness, he smelled the sweetness of her perfume. A rush of emotion moved through him, sorrow, longing, regret, and joy. Were they his emotions or hers? He couldn’t tell. Then her image in front of him began to fade, leaving a glowing whiteness behind.

  Her soul? Her essence? He didn’t know for sure but he could still feel her there on an even more basic level. He pulled his arms toward himself, drawing the glow forward.

  All he had to do was hold onto her while he pushed.

  But the darkness had other plans.

  It surged toward him. He felt Alexa scream in his mind. The glow vanished in front of him, swallowed by a wave of black that roared toward him.

  It was coming for him and he didn’t know if he could beat it.

  He tried to pull back, tried to turn toward Charlie, reach for help but the blackness crashed over him. He was cut off, alone. He couldn’t see anything, couldn’t hear anything, couldn’t feel anything but the darkness.

  It burned with a coldness around him that made him want to curl in on himself. It was hunger and pain and anger all raging around him. And deep inside himself, he felt the tiny part of him that had been infected, that made him an In-Between, stir and rise up, as if to join the darkness. Oh the havoc he could cause. He could usher in a new age, an age of his choosing. He would be the new prince, the new emperor, presiding over the other vampires. No one would oppose him, not with the power he wielded. No one would deny him anything anymore. He no longer had to be gawky and afraid and a freak. He could remake the world in his image.

  In His image…

  From the darkness, a clawed hand beckoned him on. All he had to do was take one step, just a small one.

  Open your mouth. Bite down. Keep biting even when you feel the warm, soft flesh against your teeth. Bite down hard. Pierce the flesh. And drink. Just one little drink…

  Something pressed against his mouth, something soft, warm. A familiar scent, one he’d smelled for years, young, boyish…

  Just one little drink…

  …Sebastian…

  What was that? A voice? Something calling him? It sounded far away, like from the bottom of a well. No, he was at the bottom of a well and someone was calling down to him. Someone reaching out to him…

  Just one little drink…

  No, that wasn’t it, was it? What was that?

  No smell now. Nothing against his mouth. Roaring sounded in his ears, drowning everything out. A wild, howling scream raged on. Angry, something angry. What?

  Then something against his hand. Warmth through fabric. And beneath it, he felt a pulsing. A regular rhythm.

  A heart beat.

  A heart beat that he knew. A heart beat he had listened to many times in the night, lying in bed beside her, watching her breath deepen into sleep and listening, always listening to the gentle drum beat of her heart.

  Jessica…

  Howling fury roared at him but he latched onto the thought of her, and it brought everything back. The vampires, the In-Between, Alexa, Charlie, his parents, even Callum.

  Jessica…

  A lifeline. He clung to the memory, the essence of her.

  Now he remembered.

  And he knew what to do.

  He turned back to the darkness and caught the tiniest glimmer inside.

  Good t
ry to make him forget, to make him give in, but he wouldn’t.

  Not ever.

  And he wouldn’t give her up either.

  He surged forward to engulf the glimmer. He felt the weakest flicker of Alexa inside. He wrapped himself around her, still holding on to the trace of Jessica in his mind. All woven together. Protected.

  Now he could get to work.

  He faced the darkness.

  And PUSHED!

  Power roared through him, exploding outward in a flash of white that blinded him. He felt the darkness howl, shrieking rage and fear. Then nothing as the whoosh of white engulfed it. Covering everything. Covering him. Leaving him sightless and deaf but with a vague feeling of pain inside as if something had broken inside him, as if this final big push had snapped a circuit in his head.

  The stench of iron plugged his nostrils. The smell of blood. He felt it on his lips. His tongue wanted to lick out and taste it but he couldn’t. Oh god, had he bitten someone? Had he bitten Callum?

  Had he screwed everything up after all?

  Something soft touched his cheek. Skin. The palm of a hand. He recognized it now, recognized the feeling of something against his cheek. A moment later, he started to feel the rest of his body and realized he was lying on the ground.

  His eyes fluttered open.

  “Sebastian!” Jessica bent over him. Her hand left his face and tightened on his arm. She helped him sit up.

  His head pounded. Spikes of pain throbbed in his temples, making him wince. Darkness surrounded him. For a moment, he panicked. It hadn’t worked, he hadn’t stopped it. He struggled against the hand gripping his arm.

  “Sebastian, stop! It’s okay! It’s okay!”

  Her voice again. Jessica.

  And he realized it wasn’t the darkness in his head he was seeing, it was nighttime. He focused, seeing the dark trunk shapes around him, the leaves swaying just a little in the evening breeze. The earthy scent of the grass and dirt filled his nostril, cutting through the smell of blood.

  Blood...

  “Did I... Callum...,” he said.

  “He’s okay,” Jessica said.

  He followed the line of her hand as she pointed. Just to the side of the clearing, Gareth stood with Callum, holding the boy back. Callum leaned forward, tugging to get away.