The scythe was wrenched from my grasp and I silently swore.
“Contact Sovereign McAllister and let her know her daughter has been procured,” one of the guards said in a deep voice.
I shuddered, remembering the last time I saw my mother. She had backhanded me for disgracing her by running away to the Red Sector to look for my brother. It made her look like she couldn’t control me, like we were anything but the perfect yet tragic political family she had made us up to be for the press.
Icy fear washed through me, thinking of what she would do to me. Aden’s face flashed through my mind. I squirmed, trying to break free.
“What do we do with the other one?” one of the guards asked, kicking Rook in the ribs. He groaned but showed no indication that he was in pain.
The first paused. “Kill him. He’s not needed.”
“No!” I choked out.
Rook’s eyes widened as the other guard lifted his scythe, angling the blade toward Rook’s neck.
The guard screamed as something slender and red poked through his chest, and he dropped the scythe. The something was jerked back, leaving a gaping hole smoldering with golden flecks as his skin literally began to disintegrate.
“What?” the first guard hissed as his comrade frantically tried to rip open the robe to get to the wound, but the hole was spreading too fast. By the time he got the robe off and had partially tugged off the bulletproof vest beneath, his entire chest had caved in, leaving a bloody gob where his heart used to be as he fell to the ground, already dead.
There was a flash of pink, and then the first guard shrieked with fury before pitching forward. I coughed violently as his boot let up and air rushed into my lungs.
Rook was already on his feet; he sprinted over and helped me sit up, rubbing my back. “Just breathe, Sloane.”
“What…happened?” I asked between coughs.
A tall boot with so many buckles I didn’t see how anyone could pull it on stepped into my line of vision. “I happened.”
My head jerked up. “Arika.”
Her hair was completely pulled back into a small knot, making her face look really thin. She gazed down at me haughtily, silent.
I clumsily found my footing and stood. Not knowing what else to say, I said, “Thank you.”
“I didn’t do it for you,” she said, her eyes burning with hatred.
I stared back at her, understanding dawning.
I blinked. “Leo.”
There was a shout behind us and then someone began shooting. Rushing forward, the three of us ran farther into the woods. A few lifeless guards lay sprawled on the ground, their throats slit or stabbed in some other part of their bodies. Even though we were tough as nails, vampires weren’t completely immune to mortal wounds.
Ahead, someone covered in blood was squaring off with a circle of guards, wildly slashing at them as they laughed and toyed with him, like a group of bloodhounds that know they have the fox cornered.
“Leo,” I breathed, picking up speed.
I tackled the first guy I saw, slamming into him with the force of a bull. We both went down, and I grabbed one of the knives tucked inside my boot and swiftly stabbed him through the heart. Rook and Arika plunged into the fray; she went straight for Leo. I watched her cup his cheek, examining him and saying something I couldn’t quite make out over the noise.
Blinking and getting my brain back into gear, I took down two more guards, adding to the body count.
Someone yanked on my hair and I cried out, a nerve in my neck pinching as I went down backward and lost my grip on the knife. The rest of the world spun away in blurs of red and silver as guards – none of which were wearing helmets – stepped out of the woods, one aiming a gun at a struggling Dezyre’s head.
My eyes froze on her, and any fight I had in me died away for a few seconds as the guard jerked me up by my hair, making me rise to my knees. I grabbed for his hands, but that only made him pull harder.
“Surrender or she dies,” one of the guards said. Rook and Arika stood by, shifting their weight as five more guards closed in on us, scythes ready. Arika had an arm looped under Leo’s shoulder, holding him up.
I found Dezyre’s eyes. Her bottom lip was trembling, but her eyes were filled with fire. Discreetly, she shook her head, her eyes darting down. My eyes dropped to the ground, in the direction of her cue.
The knife I’d dropped lay about a foot away.
My heart pounded as I hesitated, weighing our choices, which, admittedly, weren’t very many at this point.
Pa-dum. Pa-dum. Pa-dum.
When I looked back up, Arika was staring at the knife. Her gaze snapped back to mine, and her lips pressed into a thin line, determination filling her expression.
That settled it.
Putting the bulk of my weight in my feet, I shot straight up, slamming my skull into the guard’s chin. He choked out a yell before my arm flew back, elbowing him in the nose.
Arika dove for the knife. Instead of firing for Dezyre, the guard holding her hostage aimed for Arika as her fingers wrapped around the hilt and she rolled, coming up on her feet as the bullet shot into the ground where she’d been a few seconds before.
Flipping the knife so the blade was in her hand, she hurled it toward Dezyre, at the man’s arm wrapped around her shoulders. The blade embedded deep in his forearm, and he yowled, releasing her. Dezyre shimmied away from him, kicking him hard in the groin. He went down on one knee, groaning as he dropped the gun, and Arika jammed her sai in the skin above his collarbone, crossing them so the tips would pierce his heart.
Blood sputtered from the man’s mouth. His body jerked as Arika removed her sai and kicked him backward, where he fell and lay still.
Dezyre grabbed the gun, her hand shaking so much that I wasn’t sure if she could get a clean shot.
Another guard came out of nowhere, going for Arika. Dezyre fired sloppy shots, her bullets digging into a few trees before she landed some shots in the guard. It didn’t do any good; he also must have been wearing a bulletproof vest because it didn’t even faze him.
Arika turned and blocked his first assault, but he backhanded her hard, for which she was not prepared. Blinking as if she was seeing stars, she stumbled over a tree root and lost her footing, banging her head hard on a rock as she went down.
“Arika!” I shouted as her eyes fluttered shut.
With my attention focused in front of me, I was unaware that another guard was closing in until I caught the edge of the scythe from the corner of my eye.
I gasped, the gesture sounding incredibly loud in the stillness that followed my imminent death. There was no way I could dodge, not without facing a nasty – if not lethal – cut.
I’m going to die.
I always thought I’d see my life flash before my eyes, like they say what happens in the movies and in books. But there were no angels or pearly gates or dark tunnels.
In my mind, I saw only one man.
“Aden,” I whispered, bracing myself as I took my last breath.
I barely registered someone shoving me out of the way and then hearing one of the most horrible, animalistic wails I’ve ever heard in my life.
I wondered if the Scarlet Guard employed dogs when I realized where the sound was coming from.
No. No, no, no.
The word reverberated in my head as I watched Leo fall to the side, his mouth frozen in shock as blood poured out the open wound running clear from his shoulder to his waist. I could see the pink of his intestines; the scythe had cut clear through him.
He fell in a slow, graceful arc, the smell of his blood – his life – filling the air. I watched, wide-eyed, as he hit the ground and stayed there, his eyes clenched in agony.
I didn’t hear anything else after that. I don’t even remember seeing anything or registering what I was doing. I felt it deep inside, a rising fury to rival the fire of the sun. My vision turned completely scarlet, and I lost myself to my rage.
I don’t kn
ow how long I was locked in that state. Only a few minutes later, when Rook had his arms hooked under my shoulders, holding me back while I screamed and snapped and kicked like a wild animal, did I snap out of the craze and realize I was soaking wet.
“Sloane!” Rook yelled over my snarls. “Sloane, that’s enough! You’ve killed them! They’re gone!”
I blinked, feeling like a bucket of ice-cold water had been dumped on top of me. “What?” I rasped.
A bizarre energy filled my body. I was burning up, though my skin felt slick and cool through my now sopping clothes. I glanced down. I was covered in sweat.
And blood.
Rook’s muscles gradually began to relax as I looked around, blinking several times to clear my vision of the remnants of the crimson haze.
My head felt stuffy, like I had an impending sinus infection, and it hurt like hell. My heart rate was strangely normal, whereas a few seconds ago, I could have sworn my heart had been about to beat out of my chest.
Dezyre was standing a few feet away, her face washed pale with fear. Her eyes held me at a distance, and her finger flexed over the trigger of the gun.
Which was pointed right at me.
I blinked. “What are you doing?” I asked, wriggling out of Rook’s arms.
He glanced at Dezyre. “You mean you don’t remember?”
“No, I don’t.” I felt the first tendrils of panic begin to set in as I started backing up. “What happened? Why did I just black –”
Something caught my heel and I went down backward, landing hard on my side. The ground was soaking wet too, like it had just rained. “The hell?” I muttered, lifting my palm.
It was covered in what appeared to be smeared red syrup. I stared at my hand, slow realization sinking in with the feeling of a lead weight pitching to the bottom of my stomach. Slowly, my gaze lifted and I scanned the clearing.
It was a massacre. Bits and pieces of human-like stuff littered the ground, glistening in the smoky moonlight. I knew it was human-like because I saw a finger here, a foot there. The grass was covered in so much blood it looked like someone had spilled a bucket of paint. All around me were the remainder of the very dead Scarlet Guard.
Scrambling to my feet, I said, “Who did this?”
Rook awkwardly cleared his throat, looking away.
Dezyre stepped forward, bracing herself. “You did, Sloane.”
I stared at her. “No, I didn’t. I couldn’t have. I’m not strong enough to take on a legion of Scarlet Guard all by myself.”
“Something inside you is,” Dezyre said, shuddering. “It was like you just snapped. It was all Rook could do to subdue you.”
My brain digested what she said. “Snapped? But why would I –” I gasped. “Leo!”
I whirled around, spotting him in an instant. “Leo!” I screamed again, running forward and falling to my knees in the growing pool of blood surrounding his body. I was afraid to touch him; his shredded skin looked like hamburger meat. I fought back a surge of vomit, forcing my gaze away from the gaping hole splitting his body open.
He was barely breathing. Hot tears ran down my cheeks, spilling onto his face as I leaned over him and tenderly brushed back some of his blood-soaked curls. There were so many things I wanted to say, but my throat was so tight with trying to suppress my sobs that I didn’t think I could find enough of a voice to speak.
Leo’s eyes cracked open and he looked at me, smiling slightly. “Hey, gorgeous.” His voice was thin as paper and barely audible.
“Shh,” I said, mustering a teary smile back. “You shouldn’t talk. I have a friend and she’s going to heal you.”
“I can’t.”
My gaze snapped around to Dezyre as my jaw dropped. “Why not? You healed Rook when he had a freaking bullet hole through his heart!”
I realized I’d spilled the beans too late. Dezyre froze, shooting me an infuriated glare.
“She did what?” Rook looked from me to Dezyre. “What does she mean you healed me? All you did was remove the bullet and let my vampire healing do the rest, right?”
Dezyre’s eyes turned to him. She looked frightened. “We should talk, when this is over,” she said in a small voice.
“You guys!” I screamed. “You can sort out your drama later. Leo needs help now!”
I must have been subconsciously paying extra close attention to Leo’s actions because if I hadn’t, I’m not sure I would have heard him release his last breath. It left him in a sigh, his head lolling to the side as his eyes turned blank.
The world literally stopped turning. “DEZYRE!” I screeched.
She dropped to the ground beside me, examining him with her gaze. “I can’t heal this,” she said at last, finally lifting her teary eyes to my face. “I’m sorry.”
I grabbed a fistful of her shirt collar and yanked her toward me. “What do you mean you can’t? You’re a damn miracle worker!”
“Not when they’re dead!” she screamed back, bringing her arms down and jerking free. “I can’t resurrect the dead, and believe me, he is dead.”
That last word was like a slap in the face, and she winced. “I’m sorry,” she said softer, sighing. “Rook’s damage wasn’t this extensive. And once they’re gone, they’re, well, gone.”
My whole body began shaking uncontrollably. “No,” I said, shaking my head. “No, he can’t be gone. Leo can’t be dead.”
Dezyre pressed her lips together, as if weighing something. “There is a way to bring him back,” she said softly, her gaze turning thoughtful.
I grabbed her by the arm, turning her so she was looking at me. “Tell me what it is,” I said. “I’ll do anything.”
She paused.
“Turn him.”
I stopped breathing, my mind hung up on that. It wasn’t what I was expecting her to say. “But he’s dead. It won’t work.”
Will it?
“Humans can be turned if they are fed the blood of a vampire within four to six minutes after death, similar to how it’s important to administer CPR quickly because the brain can’t survive without oxygen for long. Or at least, I’ve heard that a few vamps were able to do it.”
I looked at Leo, so lifeless and cold.
I had no idea what to do. If I turned him, would he hate me for it? Would he lament the loss of his humanity like I had and resent me? Would he ever be able to forgive me?
Rook stood a polite distance away, jaw clenched and silent.
I delayed, looking everywhere as my mind tried to arrive at a decision, though my gaze kept wandering back to Leo.
Dezyre grew impatient. “If you’re going to make your move, you need to do it soon. We’ve already wasted a few minutes. If you wait any longer, you could risk losing him forever.”
Lose him forever.
I did it; I lifted my wrist to my mouth and bit. The bittersweet tang of my blood flooded my tongue, and I pushed my bleeding wrist to Leo’s mouth, prying his lips open so it would drain into his mouth and down his throat.
Dezyre leaned forward, watching intently. “That’s it,” she murmured. “Now you have to bite him.”
“Bite him?” I squeaked.
She looked at me, as if to say, “Really?” “How did you think this worked? You’d feed him some of your blood, and he’d magically spring back to life? You have to drain what’s left in him before the virus in your blood can work.”
Her voice lifted on the end, as if to say, “If it works.”
“This will work, right?” I said, eyeing his neck.
The way Dezyre pressed her lips together was all the answer I needed. I thought I was going to hyperventilate.
Saying a silent prayer, I bent over Leo and gently bit his neck. At first, the thought of what I was doing – drinking from a corpse – made me a little sick, but then I reminded myself of the reason I was doing it, and it became more bearable.
Something strange happened as I drank what was left of Leo’s blood and mine filled him. It was like our minds were linked;
I saw every memory he had since he was little, a reel of his life stuck on fast-forward. Aden told me he had seen some of my memories when he turned me, and I had berated him for invading my privacy. Now I knew he couldn’t help it, that it was just part of the process.
Each memory came with an attached emotion. I was on sensory overload, swinging violently from being on the verge of falling apart with sorrow when his dad died, to burning with passion while he kissed me. An overwhelming sense of euphoria eclipsed every other emotion, drowning it in happiness. This, I knew, was his favorite memory.
It was our first kiss.
Something softened inside me, warming my soul.
Dezyre gently touched my shoulder. “That should do,” she said softly.
I let up, wiping my mouth with the sleeve of my hoodie and pulling my hand back from his mouth. For a few terrifying seconds, nobody blinked or moved as I stared at him, waiting, praying, hoping for the impossible.
“Please,” I whispered, shaking. “Please, please, let this work.”
Dezyre hesitantly reached over and grabbed my hand, squeezing.
I clutched hers back, surprised by the gesture but thankful because I desperately needed something or someone to hold on to.
For the longest time Leo never moved. My heart sank deeper and deeper as despair tightened its grip on me.
He was gone. I waited too long, and now he was never coming –
Leo’s breath hitched as he took a lungful of air.
I nearly pounced on him, my heart beating frantically with hope.
Peering into his face, I gently turned his head toward me. “Leo?” I said, my voice hoarse. “It’s me, Sloane. Can you hear me?”
Slowly, he opened his eyes and gazed up at me.
That’s when I noticed it, the hint of red dying his irises, along with the telekinetic signature.
For better or for worse, Leo was one of us now.
CHAPTER 22
Arika was still unconscious when we found shelter. Figuring the park would soon be crawling with every Scarlet Guard in the sector, we opted to move as far away as we could manage. A few blocks north, we found what used to be a grocery store.
Dark Horizons (The Red Sector Chronicles) Page 23