Marked by Courage

by W. J. May

  When she clutched the glowing amethyst in her hand, she felt the power drench her, running through her veins, and she heard her father’s hastily indrawn breath. Liam gave a muttered oath, and Caleb’s voice whispered into her mind: Do you have any idea how beautiful you are when you’re glowing?

  Kallie shot him a smile and stepped onto the street, checking to make sure that the coast was clear before she approached the bouncers. Her steps were sure as she made her way quickly to the younger one. He might be unsure of himself, but that made him unpredictable in her book. He was just turning to look at her, his eyes widening as he saw the power glowing in her eyes and streaming from her fingertips, when her foot lashed up and out. He went flying, landing on the other bouncer and bowling him over. When the other man struggled to his feet, the younger bouncer lay still.

  Kallie did not have time to see if he was still alive. She blocked as the other bouncer ran to tackle her, and drove her knee up into his chest. He grunted in pain, his fist swinging slowly—so slowly. Time seemed to have turned liquid, thick as molasses. She watched her opponent struggling through the air, as if he could hardly move for exhaustion. It was child’s play to sidestep his punch, and easy as pie to take him out with an elbow strike to the head. He went skidding away on the pavement and Kallie straightened her coat and turned.

  The others were staring at her, open-mouthed. Caleb’s eyebrows were nearly disappearing into his hairline, Kallie’s father looked like he couldn’t decide whether to be proud or horrified, and Liam was beginning to look like a fish. For a moment, they had entirely forgotten about one another. Kallie grinned. The sight was just too amusing not to. She shrugged her shoulders and jerked her thumb at the door.

  “Shall we?”

  “Kallie…” Caleb swallowed. “I’ve never seen anyone move that fast.”

  “That’s probably how the other Hybrids took out legions.” Kallie couldn’t stop herself from grinning, but the thought of her friends sobered her. “Come on.”

  “I’ll go in first.” Liam held up a hand to stop her protest. “If anyone in there is sensitive to smell or anything, they know you’re here. But if I go in…maybe they’ll think it’s all me. I think we can all agree that it’s best if they don’t know about you for as long as possible.”

  Kallie nodded reluctantly. “Will you be…?”

  “I’ll be fine,” he promised. He gave the rakish grin that she so loved, and slipped inside.

  The moments crawled by like hours. Kallie paced, worried that he had been outnumbered and overpowered immediately and that she should go in. But in truth, they didn’t have to wait long. A scant couple of minutes later, Liam tumbled back out the door with a few bruises beginning to bloom on his pale, well-muscled arms, and three rogue Reds in hot pursuit. Kallie’s father bowled into one immediately with such pure, predatory intent that she could only assume he was at the monthly beatings, and another turned on the two with a snarl, only to get Kallie’s fist on his jaw.

  The last, however, froze at the sight of Caleb.

  “Day-walker?” He frowned.

  “Sam.” Caleb pulled him into a hug.

  “They said you were dead.”

  “Who did?” Caleb asked him urgently, waving Liam back.

  “Petra said it.” The man named Sam shook his head. He looked as if he might be Korean, with blue-black hair cut short and his skin honey-gold. He shook his head, seeing the dark look on Caleb’s face. “I don’t know who told her you were dead, though.”

  “That’s the question, isn’t it?” Caleb’s voice came out as a growl.

  “Day-walker? You came here with the Blue?”

  “He’s…” Caleb searched for the words. “He’s one of us, standing up against what’s going on. He’s here for Kallie, and for her father.” He gestured to Kallie, who held up a hand in an awkward wave.

  “Well run me over and call me roadkill,” Sam said. “There really is a Hybrid.”

  “Don’t tell me everyone already knows?”

  “Well, everyone heard, but everyone kind of thought John had gone crazy.” Sam looked over to where the older bouncer still lay sprawled on the pavement. “I guess we owe him an apology.”

  “Not yet. He’s one of them.” Caleb looked around. “Look. It’s going to get ugly in there. If you want to go—”

  “No way.” Sam cut him off with a shake of his head. “You always played it straight, and there’s something ugly already going on. It’s like anyone might get stabbed in the back these days, and sometimes I think Petra’s in on all of it. If you’re going in there to figure out what’s going on, then I’m coming with you.” He gave a reckless grin. “If nothing else, I’ve got to see what happens when you come strolling back in with a Hybrid and a Blue.”

  Kallie giggled. It sounded childish instead of like a tough, stealthy woman. She was going to have to work on that.

  “Wait.” Liam’s voice was soft. “Do you know where two young human girls might be in the club?”

  “No.” Sam looked over, frowning. Caleb’s hand was clamped around his arm to keep him from leaping at the Blue, and he was clearly trying to take the restraint to heart. His eyes had narrowed, but he answered the question. “I didn’t see anything. They’d have been brought in the back way, probably.”

  “Thank you.” Liam looked at them. “You go for Petra. I’ll wait until they know you’re talk to her, and go for Lisa and Jeanna.”

  “Thank you.” There was a lump in Kallie’s throat. “Thank you so much.”

  “Be safe,” he whispered. The look in his eyes said that he wanted to kiss her, but he knew just how unwelcome that show of affection would be in front of Caleb and Kallie’s father. He nodded to them all and gestured them toward the club. They went, Kallie trailing a look over her shoulder.

  “This way.” Caleb led them along a side hallway and down a flight of steps. “It’s roundabout, but there shouldn’t be anyone in these hallways. We’ll come around at Petra’s spot from the other way.”

  Kallie felt her breath coming short and tried not to think how many rogue Reds they’d need to hold away when they finally got there. She told herself that she was an enigma, and a powerful one that Petra would be both cautious of and intrigued by. Still, nothing prepared her for the jaws dropping open as their party emerged onto the dais. Kallie pushed her way to the front and let them all take in her eyes. Then, with courage she hadn’t known she had, she strolled over, shooing one of Petra’s compatriots out of his chair, and sat herself down, leaning back and crossing one ankle negligently over her leg.

  “Hello, again.”

  “Hello.” Petra raised one eyebrow, torn between amusement and wariness. “What brings you here in such esteemed company?”

  “Funny you should ask.” Kallie dropped her ankle and leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees. She had agonized on the car ride about how she should approach this, wondering what she could say to ask questions that wouldn’t antagonize Petra if she were an ally. But seeing Petra’s total lack of surprise after declaring Caleb dead, after seeing the woman’s cool, assessing look at Kallie’s father, Kallie found she had no sympathy at all.

  “Oh?” The woman took a sip of something that looked remarkably like blood.

  “Yes. You see, my protector was attacked by Reds and brought here, into this building, where he was almost sucked dry. There were rumors you were going to use him to create a Hunter.”

  She waited, but Petra said nothing. Her face was a mask, giving nothing away.

  “In the meantime, several Reds—including one who supposedly owes her allegiance to you—engaged in their monthly event of draining my father of his blood. My father, the man you supposedly joined the Reds to protect. You haven’t been doing a very good job of that, have you? And my mother was attacked outside our house. So I’m coming to you now to ask whether you’ve lost control of the Reds, or whether you’ve decided that it’s time to make more powerful allies and throw the people you used to care about t
o the dogs.”

  Her voice was shaking with rage by the time she finished, and her anger only burned hotter as she heard Petra laugh. It was a delighted sound, musical, and she threw her head back to show the perfect line of her pale neck. When she looked back, she was smiling.

  “Oh, you are a wonder,” she said. “Truly a daughter worthy of my legacy.” When Kallie’s expression didn’t even flicker, Petra gave a look at her father. He inclined his head, his face stony. “Ah, I see you already knew. And you haven’t tried to trade on my power at all, have you? Even more interesting. So you’re here now to ask about my plans. A very brave course of action, but of course, I expected nothing less from a woman who would choose to be changed.” Her eyes sharpened. “And what an interesting color your eyes are now.”

  “I think it’s pretty.” Kallie gave a humorless smile.

  “Oh, it most assuredly is that.” Petra lifted the cup to her lips again and sipped. “The question, of course, is always the question with our kind—how did it happen, my dear? And have you acquired any interesting powers from it?”

  “No one knows how it happened.” Kallie lifted a shoulder. She wasn’t going to implicate Liam in this. “And I was hoping you might know what I should expect in terms of powers.” She hoped it wasn’t unbelievable to have her asking for information now, but she didn’t want to betray how much she knew. What would Petra do if she thought Kallie was ignorant of her true powers?

  “I’ve never heard of such a thing,” the woman lied promptly. “But you can be most assured that I will check the historical records.”

  “Mmm.” Kallie rubbed her palms together and considered. “So.”

  “So.”

  “You haven’t answered my question.”

  “Oh, about my plans? My dear, did you really think I would?” Her smile was at once intimate and cold as winter. “The truth is that the world is a complex place. We are but tiny players in a great game, and those who do not understand that are destined to remain insignificant. I…was not content with that. And though you may not agree with me yet, I think you are the same. You are truly my daughter, you know.”

  “I still believe in kindness,” Kallie said tightly.

  “And tell me, what is kindness? The greater course of history may be shifted to the good at the cost of lives. Cruelty may be done to assure kindness in the future.”

  “I think you believe that,” Kallie said softly, “because you wanted power, and you told yourself that you could be kind later, after you were done being cruel and taking power for yourself. But I don’t think you can go back now. I think you’ve gone too far. I think there’s nothing of you left. The woman you were, the woman who tried to protect her husband and her daughter, that woman was already going when you got turned. And she’s slipped away entirely now.”

  Petra’s face was white as she stared at Kallie, and she was just opening her mouth to speak when a commotion started at the entrance to the club. In the tumult of voices, Kallie made out one thing:

  “A Blue!”

  Crap. She was turning, anguished, expecting to see Liam held captive and her friends helpless. When she saw what was there, however, her mouth dropped open.

  Her mother stood on the floor of the Red Dragon. She was indisputably Kallie’s mother, from the tilt of her nose to the way her hair brushed against her cheekbone. Her jaw was set stubbornly, just as it had been when Kallie refused to do her homework. Her hands were clenched, and every ounce of strength that she used in her job as a nurse was vibrating through her. She was the woman Kallie had known all her life.

  And her eyes shone a clear, unmistakable blue.

  “Oh, shit,” Kallie whispered. Things were falling into place with a terrible certainty. “She…”

  “Helen?” Kallie’s father stepped forward, his voice breaking. “What is this?”

  Kallie dropped her hand from her mouth, meeting her mother’s eyes as the woman gave a tiny nod in her direction. At last, too late, she understood Liam’s words: the good thing isn’t always easy to do.

  “She had Liam turn her,” she whispered.

  “What?” Her father’s head whipped around, his expression so betrayed that Kallie felt it like a blow to her gut. Her father thought that Helen was here to hurt him. Because Blues and Reds could not control their antagonism, could they?

  And that put the final pieces of the puzzle into place. Kallie looked over at Petra, understanding at last. It was not Kallie’s father that Helen had wanted to fight. It was Petra. She had remembered Petra at last, and she had wanted to make sure that nothing stood in the way of their reckoning.

  “Helen,” Petra said, her voice like ice. “What an unfortunate choice you’ve made.”

  “You think so?” Helen stared up at her, a bitter smile on her face. “I would say the same of you. You gave me a child, Petra. I raised her. I love her. You gave me a husband. I love him, too. And now you’re trying to hurt them both. And that I won’t allow.” She walked into the empty space, her chin raised. “So let’s end this. Now.”

  Chapter 18

  Petra moved so fast that even Kallie could hardly see it. She was on the floor of the Red Dragon within an instant, circling, her eyes fixed on her sister. She was beautiful, elegant, queenly, and cunning. She waited for her sister to take the first swing, and when Kallie realized what was happening and called out a warning, it came a second too late. Helen had already swung her fist, the awkward punch of someone who had never been in a fight before. The way Kallie had fought until a few days ago.

  Except Petra didn’t just want to win. If she wanted Helen dead, Kallie was sure she could have had the woman staked within a moment. No, she wanted to humiliate Helen. There was no conflict in her face, and no kindness left there.

  Kallie launched herself at the floor, screaming for her mother. She was so focused on her mother’s prone form that she didn’t see the bouncer lying in wait. His tackle slammed her sideways, her father’s yell coming too late, and she was pinned to the ground as four other rogue Reds leaped to hold Kallie down.

  “Come on,” she whispered. She could feel their hands at her arms, her neck, but she couldn’t even bring herself to care. Her eyes were locked on her mother. “Come on, get up. Get up.”

  When Helen coughed, Kallie felt tears come to her eyes. Her lips moved, repeating the words over and over as her mother rolled and pushed herself up to her hands and knees. She looked over at Petra, her expression flat and determined. It clearly took all her willpower to stand, and she stumbled and swayed. But her head came up, and then her fists. There was a challenge in her eyes.

  “Oh, give up,” Petra said, her sweet voice carrying perfectly, as she no doubt meant it to. She was perfectly in her element, strolling elegantly around the circle. “You can’t possibly win, you know.”

  “You don’t understand.” Helen shook her head, tears trembling in her eyes. “You’ll never be able to understand.”

  “But you can understand facts, yes? Dearest sister, I am one of the most powerful of our kind.” There was a hiss entering Petra’s voice, violence that was primal and dark, beyond the self-control she was trying to exhibit. She was drawn to attack Helen, and Kallie knew that only a bone-deep fear of Petra kept the other Reds from attacking the woman themselves. “I’m a witch,” Petra continued. “You cannot win. Give up now, and I’ll have you killed quickly. Fight…and you will beg for the end.”

  “Of course you would want to end it.” Helen’s mouth twisted as she circled. “You’ve always preferred to kill the things that didn’t agree with you.”

  “It appears to have worked.” Petra’s lips curved. “I’m still alive, after all.”

  “And still as much of a monster as you were when you were five years old.” Helen lunged at her.

  Petra’s fist slammed out, connecting with Helen’s head, and Kallie cried out. The Reds were there to hold her, she knew, but they would fight if she provoked them. She needed to pick her moment to break free and wreak havoc
on them. In her mind’s eye, she drew her power close. She would not give away her secret just yet, but she would do what she could to make sure it was close when she needed it.

  Helen was holding her own. As Petra darted in for another blow, Helen’s fist shot into an uppercut and Petra doubled over. A few blows to the face, and Helen darted out of range again. Kallie winced, grimacing at the woman’s mistake. She should have fought as long as she had Petra at her mercy, not run away again. But it was a boxer’s move, and Kallie remembered now that Helen had spoken of her father doing boxing. Hopefully some of his tricks would come in useful.

  Petra’s attack came fast and dirty, a feint to one side and then driving forward to grab Helen by the throat and throw her down onto the floor. There was a sickening thud and Kallie’s father cried out, but Helen lashed her foot up to meet Petra’s head. There was a cold light in those blue eyes, fury and something more—

  It didn’t matter. Petra had her up and thrown across the floor again, skidding. The woman hit the back wall and lay prone. As several Reds advanced on her, Kallie grabbed desperately for her Hybrid powers, only to freeze at Petra’s screaming hiss.

  “Mine.” The single word stopped everyone in the club, and Petra’s footsteps carried her closer. She was halfway there when Helen picked herself up. Petra stopped, eyebrows rising as she beheld the sight before. “Are you still going to fight?” she asked incredulously.

  “I told you that you didn’t understand.” Blood was running from the corner of Helen’s mouth, but she was laughing. “It must kill you.”

  “What must?”

  “Envy.” Helen smiled at her. “You were always jealous, Petra. You wanted anything anyone else had. You kept grabbing for power, always more and more. And when you got tired of your toys, you took my life and gave me the things you were tired of.”