Nightside

by Holly Hook

  Addie pounces on Riley from behind, like a predatory cat, and both go down to the ground. Riley grunts as I shove the Trueblood man into a tree, making his head whack against the trunk. A stunned look comes over his features. I turn to Riley as the rest of the fight seems to vanish. He's on his back. Addie's pressing her long fingernails into his eyes. A laugh teases her lips.

  I'm going to have to hurt her, maybe even kill.

  I charge, letting the world take an extra luster. Addie looks up at me as I close the few feet between us. She takes her hands from Riley's eyes and her jaw drops as I raise my foot and swipe it across her face. Anger pumps through me like lava. This is my prey. I'm on the hunt, even if it's not to feed.

  A horrific crack sounds through the air, and Addie falls back, limp, leaving Riley to rise from the forest floor. He reaches for my hand, but I'm out of control. Though Addie's down, I kick her again, drawing dark, scentless blood from her nose.

  "Olivia!" Riley shouts, snapping me out of it.

  I blink. Addie lies there, eyes unfocused, near the body of her Trueblood brother. Shouts and shots fill the surrounding forest. The other fighters have fanned out to attack the mansion from different angles.

  "Everyone! Come on!" Dad shouts from nearby.

  He's seen me attack Addie without mercy.

  Ice fills my veins.

  "Lily," Riley says, looking sideways. "They'll kill her now that we're attacking."

  The forest and the fence ahead are clear, leaving just the brick walls of the house and the dark windows. Lily's in there. And now we have the chance to reach that cellar door that I see nestled in the bushes for the first time.

  As the fighting continues to the right and the left, Dad rushes the fence, climbing over in no time, and Riley grasps my hand as we do the same. We jump down on the inside. Dad opens the cellar door after pulling at it so hard that the lock breaks. We descend into darkness and away from the noise. It's my hope that we'll sneak in, grab Lily, and get out while the other fighters have the Truebloods distracted. There can't be too many of them, right?

  "Olivia, you fought well back there," Riley said.

  "I almost killed her."

  "If anyone deserves that, it's Addie," Riley said.

  "Sometimes you have to," Dad says, closing the cellar door behind us. His words are dry. Like it's not Dad but a stranger.

  Outside, someone whoops. Another cries out.

  "I hear others in the house. Bottom floor," Dad says, obviously focusing. I can't see him in the dark, but I hear him shuffling forward. His feet tap against creaking wooden stairs and my eyes adjust without the help of my hunter senses. The outline of a door comes into view. Dad gently pushes it open and then walks into the dining room I almost died in. It's empty.

  "Come on," I whisper to Riley. The faster we get out, the more likely I can avoid killing. And becoming like some of the Nightsides I saw last night.

  “I'll search the dungeons,” Dad says. “Come with me.”

  He still wants to protect me. “They'll expect us to go there."

  “Follow me,” Dad orders.

  He has no right to boss me around after what he's done. Outside, more bolts crack and things crash. The fight's getting closer to the manor. The hunters and the Nightsides are closing in.

  And then the front doors, which are close to the dining room, burst open. A bolt flies into the entryway and strikes a wall. People—Truebloods—curse as they back into the house, holding end tables in front of them as shields. Two Trueblood women back into the dining room as a pair of hunters advance, aiming.

  Dad jumps into action, grabbing the first Trueblood from behind and twisting her neck. I turn away, stomach churning, and follow Riley out of the dining room, taking the doorway that the human cook once used. We enter a large, spotless kitchen, and Riley seizes a large cutting knife from a board. “Won't do much good, but it beats nothing.”

  “Lily must be in the dungeons,” I shout.

  “They'll expect us to look there,” Riley says beside me, waving me out of the kitchen. We leave the sounds of fighting and death behind. I fear for Dad. I fear for Lily and I fear for myself. But I breathe, holding the panic at bay. We leave the kitchen and enter a huge den with glass sliding doors.

  A body crashes through them. Two bodies. One of the female Nightsides and a Trueblood. They claw at one another, rolling on the floor, and shouts echo in from outside.

  Riley seizes my arm. “Not that way. Upstairs!”

  It's our only way to go. A spiral stairway leads to the second story, and we pass old oil lamps as the fighting continues below. Upstairs it's quiet. We're retreating. Doors are shut in rows. I've explored them all before, and as I stand at the landing I let my senses sharpen.

  But then I hear a muffled groan. A pained groan. And an equally pained breath.

  Lily's still alive. None of the Truebloods would breathe. After we got to the dungeons, they've changed the location of their prisoners.

  I bolt in front of Riley, leaving him with the knife, and towards the end of the hall, a closed set of double doors. I throw them open to a large, octagonal room with a closet door on each side. Lily lies propped against a cot, seated and hands bound with ugly yellow rope, but other than a black eye and dig marks around her wrists, she seems unhurt.

  My stomach turns over as my legs carry me into the room.

  Lily's gaze meets me. “It's a--”

  “Trap,” Riley finishes, grasping my shoulder.

  The door to the strange room closes behind us and I understand.

  Every closet door in the room, all seven of them, open at once. Dominic Beaumont walks out of the first, hands together like he's some movie villain, and other Truebloods, all older Truebloods, including Valia, step out of the closets. Panic explodes in my chest. She joins Dominic and walks by his side. These are older Truebloods. Powerful. I slowly whirl as they close in from all sides. Three more men. Two more women. All have that young-old look, with copper-ringed eyes that betray their true age.

  I should have known. They drove us up here. This is where the Truebloods want us.

  And older Truebloods can resist my magic. I feel the mental walls going up already. Dominic has gathered his best warriors.

  Riley presses close to me. He's shaking.

  And so am I. I feel every ounce of hope drain from my body, leaving me with gray numbness. This is what death feels like. It's oddly peaceful.

  “You know, I knew your father. You're just like him,” Dominic says, narrowing his eyes at me. Why does he have to stall? Why won't he just kill us already? “He was a mistake, but you won't be.”

  Lily's frozen. Once they kill us, they're going to kill her, too. Even if it's just to get to Lily's parents in the end. I listen for the fighting, but all the crashes and shots sound distant. Below us.

  And then Dominic swings at the side of Riley's head in a lightning fast motion.

  Riley raises the knife, but it's too late. Dominic hits him over the head with a sickening crack, and my boyfriend goes limp, swaying on his feet and falling to the floor. A trickle of dark, scentless blood runs from his temple and onto the carpet.

  I scream as Riley crashes. He can't be dead. Not this easily. But Riley groans and tries to roll. He's still alive. Just stunned. Dominic frowns as he looks down at the boy he brought into his ranks, a boy who never asked for any of this.

  Lily whimpers.

  “What did you do?” I ask. Maybe if I raise my voice, someone will come. I can't kill all these vampires at once.

  Slowly, they shuffle closer, as if enjoying my growing terror. The gray numbness flees. I meet the eyes of Valia, which deepen from copper to almost scarlet. She's in a killing mode. And her smile tells me she won't make it quick or painless. None of them will. My skin tightens. Dominic shakes his head sadly as he leans down. Wraps his hands around Riley's neck. We're both going to die but not before I have to watch--

  “No!”

  If I have to kill, so be it.
<
br />   A sense of power surges into my chest. Dominic flinches as I put my full focus on him, reaching out, feeling the lifeless blood that inhabits his veins. I wrap my mind around black greed, old power, and a refusal to let go, and I squeeze as Dominic dares to look up at me. His mouth falls open, and I take his arms, his legs, and force him to backpedal from Riley. He strikes the wall and I increase the pressure, holding him there. I should not be doing this. I could never touch him before.

  And then all hell breaks loose.

  I crouch as all six of the remaining Truebloods close in. The world kicks into life. Every carpet fiber stands out. Time slows. I jump out of the way as the Trueblodos leap, some hissing, some growling, and others clawing. They crash together and I whirl, still aware of Dominic against the wall. My awareness splits. I'm still holding Dominic. And I'm also the Truebloods crashing together.

  They claw one another, grabbing at each other's necks, turning into a Trueblood tangle. I rise to my feet as they struggle just feet from Riley and Lily, turning to a series of kicking limbs and snapping necks. Bodies go limp. A man. Then a woman.

  I've killed multiple in one motion.

  The pile slowly stills and I take a breath as the whole world tilts.

  I have to maintain focus.

  One more neck snaps and a stunned Trueblood man rises from the pile. The silver-haired, old vampire faces me, pupils widening with horror as he surveys the dead bodies.

  Riley groans.

  I have to kill one more.

  “No,” Dominic gasps.

  But as I direct the silver-haired Trueblood over to Dominic, the double doors burst open.

  And a bolt flies through the heart of my puppet, breaking my sense of power. I blink and shake my head. The incredible power flees. And now I'm just Olivia again.

  “Lily!” Mr. Rivera shouts, running to his daughter and ignoring the bodies that now take up the middle of the room. Meanwhile, the silver-haired vampire falls, gagging and grasping uselessly at the bolt. Riley pushes himself up and focuses on me. Dad also runs into the room, followed by his Nightsides, and they swarm Dominic Beaumont, pulling him from the wall.

  I let my guard down.

  I've killed. I've killed almost all of them with one mental command, and all because I had to save Riley's life. He looks at me over all the chaos as Dad confronts his former master, raising his fist and decking Dominic across the face. But that's far away. I embrace Riley as all the other activity in the room fades away, and his lips never tasted sweeter on mine.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Of course, Riley and I can't keep making out among all these bodies and fighters just starting to cool down after the battle. But it's satisfying to do in front of Riley's father, who goes silent and gives up in the grasp of all the Nightsides and hunters swarming him.

  Dominic Beaumont doesn't even look at us as the Nightsides drag him out of the room and Dad watches. Mike Rivera finishes untying Lily as she stands. They collapse into each other's arms, but Lily steals a glance at me. Her pupils are wide.

  Though Riley's got his arm around me, I bury my face in his chest. I don't want to look at the bodies or how Lily's freaking out while looking at me. It's all too much.

  "Olivia. Thanks," Lily says, but her words sound strained. Like she's far away. "I've never heard of a Nightside taking out six Truebloods before. Has anybody?"

  "It was no problem?" Wow, that sounds great. I've just killed like six people at once, all old vampires, and probably left Addie dead, too. Riley tightens his embrace around me and pulls me towards the door, where Dad is trying to follow the hunters and Nightsides who have taken Dominic prisoner.

  I dare to lift my face from Riley's chest.

  "No," a male Nightside says. "I've never heard of such a thing. Olivia must have some special genes." The guy nods at Dad.

  "What now?" Riley asks. "Don't...don't kill him. Please." He's shaking.

  "Dungeons," Dad shouts to them, all business. "We'll keep him there in case the other Truebloods want to try anything. Serves him right."

  "No kidding," Riley breathes, relieved.

  "I have to get out of here," I whisper. Trueblood bodies don't turn to dust or embers like vampires do in the movies. There's no blood, but somehow that makes the scene so much worse. Like they're just a pile of rubber mannequins on the floor. I'm dizzy.

  "This is our mansion now," Dad shouts to the hall from the doorway. "Our base. We'll meet in the downstairs dining room once these bodies are burned. We can't leave any evidence. Oh, and I'll be placing a call to the local police. They need to know the deal."

  "Dad," I rasp, hoping he has answers. How did I do something so horrific?

  "You need to get out of here," Riley whispers, running his hand through my hair. So far, he's the only one acting as if I'm not a monster. And I need that. But I also hear the guilt in his words.

  "No shit," I say.

  Dad lingers in the doorway. He looks at me and works his jaw like he wants to say something, but he just nods at me and vanishes, following the other Nightsides and the hunters.

  Pain erupts in my chest, but Riley leads me out of the room as Lily and her father follow. Her father hugged her. Mine just looked at me like he doesn't have the time. And maybe he doesn't anymore.

  I can breathe once I leave the octagon room. A pair of Nightsides, both women, are marching upstairs with heavy kitchen gloves on. The cleanup crew. I feel as if I should be the one helping, but both have hardened gazes like death is nothing new to them. It's the same look I saw in the field last night.

  One nods to me as they pass.

  I return it, but I'm far away.

  "The surviving Beaumonts are on the run!" Ella Rivera shouts from downstairs. "They're fleeing through the woods. I shot two of them."

  The house turns into a flurry of activity and Riley deposits me on one of the leather couches. Dad floats in and out of the house. He nods at me a few times. It's clear he's caught up in organizing everything, and people slowly gather in the dining room for a meeting after about an hour. Some of the Nightsides look at me and whisper to each other as they pass. The hunters, too. Yeah, that's not unnerving. The reek of smoke drifts into the house. Bodies are burning somewhere outside.

  "Want to listen to the meeting?" Riley asks.

  It's been good, just sitting here with him in silence, even though this house carries far too many bad memories now. "Sure." I'm on autopilot, but maybe now Dad will acknowledge that I'm here.

  I find him seated at the end of the long dining room table, where Dominic Beaumont sat before, and with the dozen Nightsides on one side and about the same number of hunters on the other. I smell the workings of a deal, but also loads of tension. The hunters, including Lily's parents, keep their hands near their belts and sit on the edges of their seats, just as I had during that terrifying dinner. The Nightsides do the same. Only Dad has his hands folded on the table, keeping his full composure. And I don't know which side scares me more.

  Dad flicks his gaze to me and Riley. Lily also stands beside the doorway, as if she's not even part of the meeting. Her father nods at her, silently ordering her to stay in place. Yeah, she's in trouble. I want to defend her.

  "This mansion is hereby the property of us Nightsides, and we are now in command here," Dad begins without a hitch. He fixes both sides of the table with his suddenly stony gaze. I've never seen Dad so commanding before. This is someone tasting power for the first time and getting drunk off it. I shrink back into Riley as he continues. "We will follow the tradition of attacking no locals as the Truebloods did and we will provide a place for rogue Nightsides to stay and feel safe. This will reduce our need to travel and kill humans along the way, which is a goal of mine."

  I look to Riley. Reduce?

  Riley's eyes widen.

  Some of the Nightsides, including the creepy guy with the gray eyes, shift. Yeah. I'm among killers, and not just killers of Truebloods. A shudder runs down my spine. What if I graduate to murdering h
umans one day? If Dad's talking about it this way, then it seems possible. I killed six Truebloods. I could do much worse.

  "Therefore, I'd like to call for a truce," Dad says.

  There's been no election. But slowly, the other Nightsides raise their hands in agreement. He's already put himself on top and no one wants to challenge him now that the battle is over.

  "Then it is done. Truce?" Dad asks the hunters.

  "We'll see how long it lasts," Ella says. Clearly she's the one in charge of the hunters right now.

  Mutters roll up and down the seated hunters. Tension rises. Riley tilts leg to leg beside me and Lily dares to meet my eyes. But Ella looks at her daughter and shakes her head. "Lily. You are not to associate with Olivia anymore. Do you understand?"

  Lily's jaw drops, but she gains her composure. I feel as if I've been punched in the gut.

  "Yes, Mom," she forces, turning away.

  "Then it is done," Ella says.

  I watch as Ella and Mike rise, escorting Lily out of the house. The air's left heavy and sad. The other Nightsides rise and scatter through the house.

  And I turn to Dad, but he's vanished. Already.

  Why won't he even stop and talk to me? Maybe he knows why my powers exploded the way they did and the explanation is too horrible, or maybe he's just too busy with his new life to bother.

  "I've got to get out of here," I say to Riley.

  He kisses me on the cheek. "Your wish is granted. So do I."

  * * * * *

  As always happens here in Moon's Peak, clouds have rolled over the brief sun and chased the piercing light away. It's not hard for me and Riley to slip out of the mansion while the hunters leave and the Nightsides shuffle through it, trying to find their own spaces. The air outside is fresh as Riley leads me down a narrow trail to the beach, one I sense he's used many times before. We arrive at a gravel-marked stretch of sand and a gray ocean that's gentle today. Hand in hand, we stroll down the expanse, with nothing but trees and cackling seagulls for company.

  We're free to be together. At least one thing is going right.