by Kristie Cook
“I think I’d like to live out there,” she said, pointing at it. “Away from all the wars and people and on an island all our own. What do you think, Andronika?”
“Are there boys on the island?” her daughter asked.
Cassandra chuckled. How has she become so interested in boys?
“No, which is another advantage of living out there,” Cassandra said.
“Mother. How am I supposed to meet a husband if we live on an island by ourselves?”
“You have several years before you should even be looking for a husband.” Cassandra sighed. “I’m just ready for some peace. The battles have been carrying on my entire life. I see all the soldiers we can’t help … ”
Andronika wrapped her arms around her mother’s shoulders. “We’ve come as far east as we can to get away from them. Unless you want to build a boat? I guess I would go to the island with you, at least until I become a woman. But we have to wait for Father.”
Cassandra blinked back the sting in her eyes. They hadn’t seen Niko for over a month. He usually returned every few weeks, helping them move and re-settle when necessary, before leaving again for war. Once or twice over the past few years, he’d been away this long, but she’d failed to convince herself he would come back this time, too. Something felt different. But the pain of thinking she’d never see him again would seize her entire body—she felt it threatening to envelop her now and she inhaled deeply, pushing it down.
“Of course we’ll wait for your father,” she said, standing up. “Come. We must gather some herbs before nightfall.”
“You’re going to the battlefield, aren’t you?”
“From the sounds of it, I don’t think the fight will last until morning.”
When Niko first left them here, they had been a safe distance away, but the war had moved closer. Cassandra had been hearing the signs of its approach as she explored the area and hunted for supplies. Today’s battle was only a short run away. Although her heart ached for peace, she knew her place—healing the wounded.
“Will you take me this time? I can help. You know I can.”
Cassandra frowned as she pulled her daughter into her arms. She’d been teaching her everything she knew about healing and Andronika was right—she could help. But Cassandra couldn’t stand the thought of the girl seeing so many mutilated bodies, hearing the moans of the dying, feeling the squish of blood-saturated grass under her feet. She was still too young and innocent.
“I know you think you’re close to becoming a woman, but you’re still a child, and a battlefield is no sight for a child’s eyes.”
“You’re just afraid you’ll find Father’s body and you don’t want me to see that.”
Cassandra inhaled deeply, the salty air stinging her nose and coating the back of her throat. “You’re right. I don’t want you to see that.”
Andronika stared at her mother with the same dark eyes they shared and tears pooled then spilled over her cheeks. She buried her face against Cassandra’s shoulder. “I don’t want to see that either, Mother. He has to come back. He will come back to us.”
Cassandra only responded by squeezing her daughter more tightly. She wished she could confirm Andronika’s plea, but she couldn’t. Something was wrong this time. The feeling had intensified over the last few days and she now felt it in her bones. Something was wrong with Niko, but she didn’t know how to find him or how to save him.
* * *
Mist hung around the trees and hovered over the grass in the pre-dawn light, turning the entire world an eerie gray as Cassandra ran for the battlefield. She headed in the direction where the sounds of yesterday’s fighting had come from, but now it was dead silent and she had to hunt for the site. The sun had risen high in the sky when she finally found it.
Her heart sank. Not a single body stirred.
No one screamed or moaned or gasped in pain. No chests rose and fell with even the slightest of breath. She hadn’t been able to sleep, worrying about waiting until morning, but she couldn’t leave Andronika alone all night long. Now she was too late to be of any use.
Tears streamed down her cheeks as she walked through the field, checking every single body, just in case she was wrong. Without realizing it at first, she even checked those who were obviously dead, rolling them over if their faces were planted in the ground. Wiping mud away to get a good look at their features. Making sure none of them were Niko. Even with all the death surrounding her, she couldn’t help breathing a sigh of relief when she didn’t find him after checking every corpse. She didn’t know what she would have done if she had. The guilt of not coming earlier, in time to save him, might have killed her.
With slumped shoulders and a slow stride, she began making her way back to the sea and to her daughter. She prayed no one had suffered through the night because she hadn’t come sooner. She prayed she’d never have to see another battlefield … so much blood … so much death ever again.
Cassandra felt the evil presence before she heard the snap of a breaking branch. Her heart jumped. She froze and held her breath to listen. Silence. Except for the racing pulse in her ears. And again she felt … evil. Pure evil sliding across her skin like this morning’s mist. Without waiting to know what it was, she broke into a sprint.
“Wait! Cassandra, wait,” bellowed a man’s voice.
Someone grabbed her from behind and she screamed and kicked. A hand clamped over her mouth.
“Little sister, it’s just me.”
Cassandra’s eyes widened. Her heart stopped. She fell still.
Then she blinked, her heart pounded again and she panted against her brother’s hand. She squirmed in his arms.
“No more screaming?” he asked. She shook her head and he let her go.
She dropped to her feet and spun on him. Her jaw dropped.
“Jordan?”
He looked nearly the same as the last time she’d seen him—he hadn’t aged a single day—but something in his blue eyes looked different, making them hard and icy. Although no lines creased his skin, his hair had lightened so much, it looked almost white. And there was something different about his face, a new sharpness to his features that made him even more attractive yet … frightening. He was the evil I just felt. She sucked in a breath at the realization.
“What have you done to yourself?” she asked.
He grinned and it was both familiar and terrifying. “I’m improved. Even better than I was.”
“Better?” Cassandra echoed.
“Nearly perfect! I brought you something.” He held out his hand, palm up, to reveal two beautiful, gold brooches decorated with blue stones. Jewelry only the wealthiest women would wear.
“How … ?”
“Money is nothing to me. I have all the riches I want. All the power I want. And you can, too, little sister.” He pushed his hand toward her.
She lifted her brows, ignoring the gifts. “Is this what you came for? Have you been hunting me down, just to give me gifts I don’t need and to tell me how great you are?”
“Every woman needs brooches for her peplos. And to tell you how great you can be, too.”
Cassandra blew out a breath of frustration. “Why can’t you ever come see me just to see me, Jordan? It’s been … I don’t know … before my daughter was born so thirteen years? You left me to become someone’s slave, after promising to protect me. And here you are, still saying the same thing you said way back then. You’re still stuck on that stupid argument that you won’t win because I want nothing to do with you and your friends. I don’t care how great you are, I don’t want to be like you! Why can’t you just come and have a normal conversation between a brother and his sister?”
Jordan blinked at her and then his face fell and his shoulders sagged. With a forlorn look, he tucked the jewels into the pouch at his hip. She’d gone too far with him once again. What was it about Jordan that made her snap every time she saw him? She opened her mouth to apologize, but he spoke first.
“B
ecause we’re not a normal brother and sister,” he said.
Cassandra groaned.
“I am normal,” she said. “As normal as I can possibly be and that’s how I like it, so leave me alone if that’s all you’re here to harass me about.”
She spun on her heel and began running toward home. Jordan suddenly appeared in front of her, just far enough away that she could stop before colliding into him.
“I’m sorry, Cassandra. You’re right.”
She momentarily forgot what he should be apologizing for, overcome with surprise. “How … ? How did you do that?”
His mouth turned up in a slight grin. “It’s one of those things I wanted to show you. But not now. You’re right. Let’s talk.”
She crossed her arms over her chest. “About what?”
He shrugged. “About life. How has yours been? It’s been a long time since we last saw each other.”
She stared at him for a long moment, again in shock. Was he really asking about her? Did he really care? She knew she shouldn’t trust him, not after what he did to her last time, but unlike him, she couldn’t turn her back on family. She began again for home, but this time walking slowly, Jordan by her side. She told him all about her life and about Andronika, her chest filling with pride for her daughter.
“What about you?” she asked when she finally finished, but then she felt the need to clarify. She didn’t want to hear anything about demons. “I mean, do you have a wife? Any children?”
“I have a son, not too much older than your Andronika. He was born the day I last saw you, actually.” Jordan told her about his life, including the demons and the Ancients and despite herself, she couldn’t help but listen with curiosity. Interest in his life, though, not about them specifically and certainly not about joining them. But when he did start talking about them, she still couldn’t bring herself to stop him. Vampyres? Were-animals? Mages?
“I’ve been gaining some of their powers,” Jordan said, startling her once again.
“What do you mean?”
“Like what I did earlier, when I appeared in front of you. We call it flashing. Other things … magickal things.”
“Oh, Jordan, why are you doing this?” she demanded, grabbing his wrist. Ice-cold pain shot into her hand, forcing her to let go. “You’ll lose yourself to them. You’ll lose your soul!”
He shook his hand, as if her touch had hurt him, too. “My soul is already theirs. And I’m doing it because I believe in them. I believe in Our Lord. He is a better god than your God.”
Cassandra gasped. “You mean … Satan?”
“Yes. He would—”
“How can you even say that? What are you thinking, Jordan? You need to get out now. I can help—”
“I don’t want to get out. It’s where I belong. I’m leading them all now, all but the Ancients. And you can’t do anything. It’s too late. It was too late the day we were born. We are demons.”
Cassandra shook her head. “Even if you believe you have bad blood, you could choose, Jordan. You could choose to live the rest of your life righteously. God would still forgive you.”
Jordan laughed. “Why would I do that? Look at all that I can do!”
He flicked his hand and fire exploded out of it, hitting a nearby log. Then he lifted his finger and the log rose into the air. He made it spin and then sent it flying into a large rock, where it smashed into splinters. He flicked his other hand and doused the fire with a stream of water that flowed from his palm.
“And there’s more, so much more. And you can have all this power, too, little sister.”
Cassandra stared at him wide-eyed, her heart pounding. Evil waves pulsed off of Jordan’s body and when he turned toward her, his eyes were red instead of their normal blue. Her breath caught. She shook her head.
“No,” she whispered. “Never. You’ve gone too far, Jordan.”
She broke into a run. Jordan appeared in front of her. She darted to the right. There he was again. She switched to the left but she couldn’t get away from him. He just laughed, a maniacal sound she’d never heard from him before. A frightening sound she didn’t ever want to hear again.
“Just leave me alone,” she yelled.
“Come with me, little sister. Join us and live the life you’re supposed to.”
“You’re mad. You are evil, but not because of Father. Because of your own doing!”
He took a step toward her, his eyes filled with malice. Her heart hammered painfully against her ribs. She’d never felt so scared of him before. But this wasn’t her brother. Not the Jordan she grew up with.
She lifted a large stone over her head and threw it toward him, not to hurt him but to distract him. He stopped it in mid-air. Not waiting to see if he threw it back at her, she ran again.
The shelter by the cliff came into view and she realized she couldn’t bring Jordan to her daughter. He couldn’t know where they stayed. So she veered right, ran another two-hundred paces and then stopped dead in her tracks. Jordan appeared right in front of her. They stood in a stand-off, but he didn’t move to hurt her.
“Please, Jordan,” she begged. “Please just leave me alone. You’ve done this to yourself, but don’t do it to me. Please.”
“But why? I don’t understand you. Why wouldn’t you want all this?” He sounded genuinely perplexed, as if the idea of rejecting all he had was absurd. But Cassandra couldn’t fathom having those powers, using them to hurt other people … being evil. She had always embraced the goodness and she always would.
“I’ve told you. I like my life. This is what I want. Not that,” she said flipping her hands toward him.
“But I can give you everything! The world!”
Cassandra pressed the palms of her hands against her temples. She inhaled deeply and blew it out slowly. “I’ve told you, Jordan. I don’t want it. You have it. You do what you want with your life and I will pray for you. But please just leave me alone.”
“You really want to live like this?” Jordan asked, throwing his arm out in a sweeping motion, indicating life in the wilderness. “You really do?”
“Yes. This is my life and I want it. I have a daughter I love … and a husband … ”
Something flickered in Jordan’s eyes. “When was the last time you saw your husband?”
“He’s been at war.”
“And you’ve heard nothing?”
Cassandra shook her head, studying her brother, hearing something new in his voice. His eyes softened and his whole face seemed to sag with an inexplicable sadness. He averted his eyes and bowed his head. Cassandra’s heart stopped.
“What is it?” she whispered.
Jordan didn’t answer her, just stared at the ground.
“What?” she yelled. “What is it? What do you know?”
“Cassandra.” He stopped, as if unable to continue.
A lump bigger than an olive lodged in her throat. Tears sprang to her eyes.
“Tell me,” she shouted. “Tell me, Jordan! What do you know?”
“I’m sorry, little sister,” he whispered. “I saw him on the battlefield just the other day.”
Her heart jumped then began racing with panic. “Where? If I can get to him, I can save—”
Jordan shook his head. “I mean his body. I saw his body. They were burn—”
“No,” she yelled, throwing herself at him and pounding her fists against his chest. “You’re lying! You just want me to go with you.”
He grabbed her shoulders and held her back. “I wish I were. I saw him myself. Here.”
He dug in his pouch and handed her a small metal disc with a leather strap laced through a hole in it. She recognized it. She’d found the disc in the dirt their first day out on their own. The leather strap had come from her sandal at the time. She’d made this necklace. She’d given it to Niko.
She stared at the dirt-encrusted disc in her hand and shook her head. Jordan placed his hand on her shoulder, as if to console her. Like she believed he had
any grief for her.
“Go away,” she said through clenched teeth. “Just leave me alone.”
“Cassandra—”
“I mean it, Jordan.” Her voice rose higher and louder. “Just leave me alone once and for all. GET OUT OF MY LIFE!”
Jordan watched her for another long moment and then disappeared. Finally alone, she gripped the necklace and held her fist against her chest as her heart shattered into a million pieces.
Chapter 12
Jordan held the cup to his mouth and gagged. Eris’s potions always smelled as if she’d mixed feces with decomposing body parts, but the blood of the original vampyre must have made this one worse.
“This won’t change me, will it?” he asked her. “I don’t want to be a vampyre.”
The idea of actually becoming a blood-sucker—the vilest creatures of them all—disgusted him.
Eris blew out an exasperated breath. “As I’ve said countless times, no. There are just a few drops from Zardok. And the blood and venom of the Weres and some of my blood and my magick. Mixed with your own nature, you will have the best qualities of all of us but be none of us.”
“Perfect. Just what I need and exactly what Zardok wants.”
“Which is the only reason he gave his blood in the first place. He wasn’t happy at first about what you tried to pull on him. At least, not until he saw the devastation you caused for your sister.”
“He likes his new child.”
“Yes, he does. That was very risky, Jordan.”
“Risky, yes. But also clever because it obviously worked,” he said with a grin. “Will I have that mind connection vampyres have with their victims?”
“He didn’t drink your blood and I just said, he’s not siring you. You might see brief glimpses of his mind, but it shouldn’t last.”
Jordan shuddered with that thought. “I should hope not. I wouldn’t want to know what goes on in that demon’s head. Then again … ” He tapped his finger against the cup’s rim. “ … knowing what he’s thinking could be a valuable gift. I suppose it is time to find out.”