5 Darkness Falls

by Christin Lovell

  Kellan dipped out, leaving us alone. He sat down across from me at the table. “Dramo should be back soon.”

  “Okay.”

  He nibbled his bottom lip, something I hadn’t seen him do before. A frown marred his features. “Leka…” He sighed, rubbing his fingers across his forehead. “I have to know why. Why him and not me?”

  My mouth went dry, all the serum evaporating from my throat. “It’s not a mental or emotional choice. It’s not even a physical one. In fact, if I was to decide based off those things, then I would be with you. I can’t explain my soul, but that’s what it is. My spirit has this otherworldly connection with his. I can’t define it, I can’t sever it and I can’t ignore it.”

  I rubbed my thumb in circles across my palm. “I love him, but it’s not our love that keeps us together, if that even makes sense. It’s why I can so easily love you both, yet still choose him. And I’m so sorry for how awful that sounds.”

  Kai’s face became a mask. He wasn’t giving an inch. It hurt my heart to lay it out like that. But it was the truth, in words I’d never even spoke to Kellan. “I’m not mad at you for telling me the truth. How could I be, when you still said you loved me?”

  I didn’t feel any better. In fact, my gut continued to coil tighter. Every inhalation sent sand blasting into my lungs rather than air as I openly gazed at him. “I wish it wasn’t that way sometimes. I wish I could snap my fingers and regain my freedom of choice. Life isn’t that nice though. Or that easy. It likes to show you several paths, giving the illusion of options, only to force you down one due to uncontrollable circumstances.” I placed my hand over his fist on the table. “I really am sorry. Please know that I appreciate everything that you’ve done for me. I wouldn’t be where I am without you. A scary fact is that, lately, I trust you more than Kellan. You’ve been more reliable than him; better in so many ways. I’m telling the truth when I say I wish it could be us sometimes.”

  “I understand, Leka. I don’t blame you, although it doesn’t make it easier to accept. You’ve told me plenty of times to move on though. You’ve never faltered in making it clear that you would always choose him. Leave it up to a man to have selective hearing, right?” He smirked, his smile growing wistful. “I guess I was still holding onto chance, wishing that fate would intervene for me.”

  The prophecy crashed into the forefront of my mind. My heart sped up. The hard part was, I could picture myself so easily with Kai, but couldn’t fathom the amount of pain I’d bear in the beginning over the loss of Kellan. Reversely, it would be similar, but not to the same extent. I loved Kai, but our souls didn’t touch the way Kellan’s and mine did. I loved Kai, but he didn’t own every part of me the way Kellan did. I supposed this was how Bella felt. She loved Jacob, but Edward had already captured so much more than he could ever access.

  Someone rapped on the door. Kai looked up at the security screen. “It’s Dramo.”

  I let go of his hand as he got up to answer it. I listened as he updated the vamp and sent him off.

  He rounded the corner, setting the food and the milkshake on the table in front of me. “Eat up.”

  “Thanks. I probably won’t have time to stop again before everything happens.” I pulled the burger and fries from the bag, immediately shoving a stray fry into my mouth.

  His features drew down. “Make sure you rest.”

  “I’ll probably just crash on the couch in Auggy’s office for a bit.”

  Something was troubling him. “Kalel and Gabi already issued the order for all Bladang soldiers in the state to be there backing you up tomorrow. Auggy did the same as soon as he found out. You’re not in this alone, Leka. No matter what, you’ll always have back up. You’ll never be alone.”

  I swallowed the bite in my mouth. “You’ve made sure of that.”

  He nodded. “I’ll always make sure of it, whether I’m here or not, okay?”

  I didn’t like the direction of this conversation. He was hiding behind a hard façade. I couldn’t gauge him. I didn’t know if this final spurt of truth was sending him off into the sunset far away, possibly in Hawaii, or if he was speaking metaphorically. Rather than question him, I found myself simply saying, “Okay.”

  “I’ll take you over to headquarters, but after that, I have a few things I need to do.”

  My expression barely changed. “Okay.” I ate another fry.

  “I love you, Leka.” His voice was soft, reverent. He was standing a good seven feet away, yet I’d never felt so enraptured by him, so wrapped up in him.

  “I love you too, Kai.”

  He glanced down at my food. “Eat. I’m going to make sure everything is locked up around here.”

  I watched as he moved into the study. My heart was bouncing around in my chest, foreboding rising in me. I didn’t know which man it was for, but I knew without a shadow of doubt that I was about lose one of the men I loved.

  Chapter 26

  “That evil witch is not laying a finger on either of my babies,” Beth growled, rubbing a hand on my belly. “We’re going to fight like hell, sweetie.”

  “I second that, honey. Nothing is going to happen to you, Kellan or that baby on our watch,” Aunt Claire declared. She and Beth were dressed in the vamp army issued black uniform.

  “Thanks. I really appreciate your support, but please, don’t get hurt out there.”

  Mel laughed. “So says the disabled pregnant woman.”

  “I am not disabled,” I snarled.

  That only sent her laughing harder.

  Gabi elbowed her for me. “We’re here. We’re ready, and we’re going to kick some ass.”

  “Damn dittle, love.” Craig draped an arm around my shoulders. “For the upple pup too.” He touched my baby bump.

  “We’re ready, boss.” Jarrod nodded at me.

  “Perfect. Load up and I’ll meet you two miles from the location.”

  “See you there.” He walked away.

  “Hell yeah! They gave me grenades this time, bro.” Anthony juggled a duffle bag that I assumed was full of explosives.

  “Be careful you don’t set those off, itchy fingers.”

  He looked at me and winked. “This is my forte, baby.”

  “Why do I get the feeling he’s going to set those off before they ever reach our destination?” Mel shook her head in dismay.

  “Dear heavens. He works for you, honey?” Aunt Claire seemed squeamish to say the least at the prospect. She placed a hand on her chest, frowning as Anthony walked out with the rest of my special op squad. They were the best at combat. I hadn’t had the chance to gauge my other employee’s skill yet and didn’t want to risk them.

  “Yes. He’s a lot more competent than he looks.”

  “I’d hope so,” she said.

  “We’re going, Jackson,” Auggy called. “I’ve got more men heading up.”

  “Alright. I’ll see you there.”

  “You ready for this?” Kellan asked, coming up behind me. He wrapped his arms around my waist, holding me against his warmth.

  I took a deep breath. I’d had time to consider the possible outcomes. I was prepared for none of them, but I would control the controllable: my reaction to it, whatever it happened to be. Or, at least, I hoped I could.

  “Let’s get rolling, primo,” Derek stepped into our circle. Kellan had called him and he’d been eager for a second chance at Cecilia, and also to back his new family. I still didn’t know much about him. From the Face Time chats I knew he wasn’t an open book, but with time, maybe he’d allow me access to a few pages.

  I frowned as I looked around the office. Kalel had been there earlier with Francesca, but went out to grab more weapons. It was Kai who had been absent most of the day.

  “You ready, sweetie?” Beth’s voice cut through my worry.

  “Um, yeah.” I tugged down on my tank top. I was still in my VS Capri sweats and a tank. With tennis shoes though, it made the perfect workout outfit, or in my case, combat outfit.

>   ***

  Kellan

  I’d consulted with Will earlier. He wouldn’t budge. He refused to give me the tiniest hint into what we were facing. I tried studying the prophecy myself, but it was too cryptic. Half of it really was left up to interpretation. I’d have to keep after Will to help me.

  I hated the idea of Lexi being anywhere near Cecilia. The only reason I wasn’t fighting her on this was because of the amount of back up we had. The connections we’d forged had proved invaluable. I couldn’t look around at all these vamps willing to fight for us and ever think that we were in this alone, and as long as I had her, I knew I wasn’t in anything alone.

  I’d lost sight of that recently. I’d take her distraction and turned it into a dismissal. I hadn’t taken into account her circumstances.

  “Dismal donger on the stock, mate. We’re gonna stook her.” Craig spoke with conviction. His eyes affirmed his words.

  “I hope so.”

  We all moved out and loaded into the cars. We were headed northwest towards the mountains. We had five hours until fate would come to pass.

  ***

  Kai

  “Are you certain?” Will pursed his lips, twining his hands on the desk.

  “After studying the prophecy, I’m certain that it’s me.”

  “Well, then, best of luck to Lexi. She’s going to need it.” His eyes twinkled with respect.

  He stuck his hand across the desk between the piles. I firmly shook it. “Thanks.”

  Chapter 27

  My heart pounded in my chest as we arrived at the meet-up location. I was surprised as I scanned the area, noting the amount of vehicles parked. At least two hundred vehicles were scattered along the forest wall. All of these people were here to help us?

  Kellan grabbed my hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. “Let’s go.”

  “Let’s go kick some vampy butt,” Mel declared.

  While she was excited, I was nervous. The baby had been unnervingly quiet the entire drive. Its heartbeat was steady, but the lack of movement still concerned me.

  I slipped out of the car, immediately spotting my team. I made my way towards them. “You all ready?”

  “Hell yeah!” Anthony lifted the bag of grenades.

  “They made it here safely, I see.”

  “Barely.” Germia cut her eyes at Anthony.

  “We want to be on the front lines with you. We were bread for this,” Rodney said.

  They watched as I contemplated. I didn’t want anyone on the front lines with me. I wanted them all tucked away, in the back. I hated that I needed numbers in order to fight this battle.

  “You’ve done a lot for us. It’s the least we can do.” Jarrod met my gaze, imploring me.

  “Please be careful. And one of you take the launchers from hot hands.”

  “Gladly.” Germia made a grab for the bag in Anthony’s hands.

  “I’ll see you guys out there.”

  They all nodded in unison, a mutual agreement.

  Kalel, Auggy, Gabi, Jack, Kellan, Al and I met in the center of the crowd. There were a lot more than two hundred vamps here. By my estimate there were at least nine hundred. It was overwhelming to look out at them all. It was hard not to get choked up at the scene. The one nagging part was, despite all these vamps, Kai wasn’t here.

  “We’re going to move in units so we can surprise them on the other side.” Kalel handed me the camera earrings.

  I put them on. “I take it you’ll be watching through these, gauging when to send in the next team?”

  Auggy nodded. “We figured we’d send you in with your nine ops first, since they’re already familiar with their faces. Drex, Sanders and Derek are supervising Kalia. They’ll be moving in with the next team. They’ll be bringing her then.”

  “We’re still going to use her as leverage?” I checked.

  “We’ll try,” Kalel said.

  “You have any of those burners I can use?” Kellan looked at Kalel.

  “In the black van. Christian will be beside it standing guard.”

  Kellan chuckled. “Vamps with weapons. You would think they were going after blood.”

  “Alright, I’m going to grab my team, Mel and Craig and start moving.”

  “And me.”

  We all turned. William stood there in disheveled attire. His hair was a mess, and his tie was hanging loose around his neck.

  I swallowed hard. “What are you doing here?”

  His eyes softened. There was sadness, regret, in their depths.

  “Oh,” I choked. My gaze zoomed to Kellan.

  He sucked in a breath, exhaling resolve. “You can’t change fate, babe.” He caressed my cheek.

  “We can assign some vamps to watch you. We can have you sit this one out, no problem. We can…” Tears sprang forth.

  “Stop.” He gently kissed me. It was a kiss of peace. How could he be okay with this? “If I’m going to go, I’m going to go out fighting to the death. At least let me go with honor.”

  “It won’t happen,” Al growled. The hard glint in his eyes said he was going to be watching out for his son, that he would take the bullet for him if he had to.

  There was silence all around us. Somehow the chatter had died away in the moment. It was like a quiet omen – silent and looming.

  “I love you.” He kissed my forehead, dragging me into a tight embrace.

  I wrapped my arms around him. “I love you too. That’s why you can’t leave me.”

  “I haven’t gone anywhere yet, babe.”

  “I feel like you’re going to though.” The tears formed a wet trail down my face. I pressed my nose into his shirt, trying hard to breathe his scent, some essence of him - aside from his cologne. Alas, I didn’t smell him like I did Kai.

  Kai, the one who said he would always be there for me, yet hadn’t bothered to show up.

  I sighed. I couldn’t be too angry with him. It really wasn’t his battle.

  I pulled back, brushing aside the last of my tears. I glanced at Will. He’d slid behind a veil, hiding the truth from my all-too-knowing eyes. I looked up at Kellan again. “Let’s go fight.”

  He smiled. “That’s the feisty girl I love.”

  “Here.” Auggy passed me what looked like a copper turtle shell with straps. “Put it on over your stomach. It’ll protect the baby.”

  I nodded. “Alright.”

  Kellan helped me fasten it over my shirt; it was a perfect fit.

  “Bye, guys.” I met their gazes one by one, lifting the window to reveal my feelings.

  They all stood, hands tucked into their pockets, the same hard expression on their faces. They’d all read the prophecy. They knew what I feared.

  Gabi yanked me into a last-minute hug. “We’ll be there.” She’d been eerily quiet.

  “See you soon,” I said as I retreated.

  “Come on.” Kellan wrapped an arm around my waist and led me towards my team. “I’ll round up Mel and Craig. You get your men ready, and we’ll meet you just beyond the tree line.”

  “Are you really ready for this, Kellan?”

  “I’m always ready to fight for you and for our baby now. I may not be the most stable vamp, and I may not think clearly all the time, but the one thing I am always ready to do is defend the ones I love.”

  I couldn’t argue there. “Please be careful. Look everywhere. We know what it says.”

  In a second of victory, all shall be lost, for a lone stray shall have his way. A shot shall echo through the forest floor, an impact so strong he shant steal a chance. The question is not can he survive, for he surely does not; the question is who shall carry on holding her up in her despair, for her anger shall cause her enemies to weep; her own grief shall slowly consume her shall a new prince not resuscitate her. It ought to be known that no one shall love her the way he did; no one will fight with the heart he possessed. But alas, he shall pass her on to the finest suitor with nothing left but his final breath.

  “I could never forge
t.” He delicately stroked his thumb across my cheek.

  ***

  Al

  I wrapped my arm around my wife as we watched our son disappear into the woods with his new family. He was our only child. The loss of a child is an unfathomable despair.

  When your children come into this world, they become your world. Everything turns on its end. Your world revolves around them, and them alone, from that point forward, regardless of how many you have. You love them more than you could ever love yourself. You cherish them more than anything on Earth. They are the one irreplaceable item in your life you never want to lose.

  Sadly, a wife can be replaced, but a child never can.

  Beth trembled in my arms. Without looking, I knew tears were falling down her cheeks.

  The moment we discovered the truth about Lexi and Kellan, and their destiny, we dove into the prophecy. We studied it backwards and forwards, reading every line and even reading between the lines. There was no way around it. We’d known that we’d just read our son’s death.

  How did you cope with the present when you knew the future? I would take a bullet for my son in an instant. I would take a dart, a torture chamber, an electric shock, hell blazing death by fire…no questions asked. I would do anything for my son. I didn’t want to picture a world without him. I didn’t want to imagine the pain we’d suffer in his absence. A part of me would die with him; a vital part.

  From early on, children are a part of you. They are the best of you, regardless of whether they are on their best behavior. I’d never get over his death. I’d die a lonely bitter man before I accepted fate without rebellion.

  “We’ll be watching over him.” I assured Beth the best I could, hugging her tighter.

  “Always.” Her voice cracked.

  ***

  Lexi

  My gut twisted as we approached the meeting location. Initially, I noticed that our first team was grossly out numbered. The second thing I noticed was that they’d set up hours ahead of schedule. Vampires were in trees, looming over us as we made our way towards the front line.

  Kellan squeezed my hand.

  A shiver ran down my spine as my pulse raced at alarming speeds. “We’ll definitely need back up.”