by Ava Benton
“A good idea.”
She pointed to the television. “I heard it playing next door. I suppose you’ve already explored.” She had it tuned to a news program.
“You heard that, eh?” I sat on the corner of the bed with a sigh. “What else did you hear?”
“Nothing discretion prevented me from hearing,” she assured me with a gentle smile which told me she’d heard every sound we’d tried to silence. “But I heard your argument. These walls are so thin.”
“Yes, they are.”
“She wants me to let you go.”
“She does.”
“Because her team will kill you if you meet them.”
“That’s right.”
“Then, I release you.” Like it was that simple.
Like all it took was three little words and I was free.
I blinked once, twice, not saying a word. Studying her face for any sign of a lie. I wanted to believe her, but I didn’t at the same time. What excuse would I have to protect either of them if she no longer wanted me to act as Nightwarden?
“You can’t mean that.”
“I mean it very seriously. I’ve given it a lot of thought. I wouldn’t hold you to our arrangement if it meant knowing I was risking your life. I’m not so obsessed with my mission that I would behave that recklessly.”
She had already been reckless in waking me from my sleep, but it wasn’t worth mentioning when she was behaving so generously and thinking clearly for once.
“I… appreciate you being willing to make that sacrifice,” I said, looking at the floor, trying to make sense of what was going on inside.
I should’ve been happy to be released. I’d never heard of a Nightwarden being released prematurely before.
“Why don’t you sound happy that I’m letting you go? I thought it would be the right thing to do,” she mourned.
“Under any other circumstances, I suppose it would be. But now…”
“Now, you’re in love, and you don’t want to leave her.”
My eyes met hers and my mouth opened, ready to protest,.
She stopped me. “You’re in love. Don’t bother denying it. I see it all over your face. You look like a different man.”
“I’ve never understood this need to romanticize things which shouldn’t be romanticized,” I grumbled, turning away. “There is nothing romantic in this. It’s like I’m burning inside, the way I feel when I’m thirsty. Like the fire is ripping me in two and I can’t reach it to put it out.”
“And what do you think love feels like?” she chuckled.
I shook my head, determined to shut her out.
No. No love. No room for love.
She gave up trying to change my mind, at least. “I think I’ll get some sleep. I’m so tired, and just sitting in this bed is lulling me into closing my eyes.”
“I think I’ll get some air.” I stood and went to the door, glad for the excuse to pay a visit downstairs. I turned to look at her once more before turning the doorknob. “Do something for me.”
“Anything you want.”
“Don’t tell her you released me. I don’t want her to know.”
Her smile was sad, understanding, resigned. “It will be our secret.”
15
Alexander
The bathroom sat at the back of the room, with a large, frosted window which opened onto a trash-littered alley.
He would be watching for me at the front window, looking out at the cars, waiting for a glimpse of me. Thinking I wouldn’t already be on my guard.
I wondered if he had any idea who he was looking for. If he did, he wouldn’t be waiting at the window. He would’ve barricaded himself inside with the windows covered and a gun in both hands. Not that any of it could’ve stopped me.
I could see him sitting there, and sure enough, he was watching. The curtains were drawn, and he peered through the crack between them. Such a fool. All humans were in one way or another, but creatures such as him covered many levels of stupidity.
What did he think he would do when he found me? Probably pummel me to regain his manhood.
I tapped at the window.
He barely registered the sound. He was hardly paying attention to what was behind him, the fool.
I tapped louder still—when he glanced over his shoulder, I stepped aside. And tapped again.
His footsteps came closer.
Closer.
He was at the window.
He opened it, leaned out.
We locked eyes in the millisecond before I pulled him out by his shirt collar.
All three-hundred pounds of him flew through the air across the alleyway. He hit the ground with a thud like the one I’d heard in the diner after knocking him off his feet.
“Y—you!” he groaned, rolling onto his side and curling into a ball.
What a pathetic excuse for a man, instantly turning into a whimpering pile of jelly.
“You’re a man of many words,” I hissed, circling him as I did.
He covered his head with his arms—from the interesting angle at which one of them sat, I guessed it was broken in the fall from the window.
“I heard you, you know. Threatening me for what I did to you. And what did I do? Break a handful of ribs?”
“Yeah, you did,” he whimpered.
“Wasn’t that better than what you’re going through now?” I asked, crouching at his side, looking him up and down. The stained flannel shirt, the jeans with new holes in the knees and a spreading wet patch at the crotch. “It wasn’t about the pain, was it? Not really. It wasn’t even about the inconvenience. It was about everybody in that diner seeing somebody knock you down. That was all. The witnesses. You had to make me pay for making you look like less of a man.” I looked him over again with a wry smile. “What would they think if they saw you now?”
“Fuck you!”
“A witty rejoinder.” I stood, shaking my head in mock sorrow. “And you wanted to make her pay for rejecting you, too. Your fragile ego can’t process the concept of a woman not falling to her knees in front of you, begging to take you into her mouth. You were going to hurt her, weren’t you, after you finished hurting me?”
The very thought set my blood boiling.
“I wasn’t!”
“You were going to—how did you put it?” I growled. “You were going to do her until you split her in two. Wasn’t that the plan?”
“Who the hell are you, man?” He tried to get to his feet, but there was a lot of him, and he only had one working arm to prop himself up on.
I decided to make it easier and hauled him to his feet by grasping his neck and squeezing.
His eyes bulged—then bulged further when he realized I held him well above the ground. He looked down, then back at me.
I felt the change take place, the way my eyes went red, the extension of my fangs and the claws which dug into the man’s fleshy neck.
It only took a second, but in that split second, a hint of understanding touched his eyes, and his chin quivered like he was about to weep.
He knew the end was drawing near, that he had made a deadly mistake in challenging me.
The full power of who I was and what I could do flowed through me and I welcomed it. I delighted in it. This was strength, this was might, this was me taking my proper place in the world. The way it should have always been.
He gurgled and choked, and his feet skittered around—he was coming close to the end, and as much as I wanted to tear him to pieces, I didn’t want to leave bits of him around outside the motel when I had two witches asleep upstairs.
The woman at the desk had seemed kind enough, too, and I didn’t want to cause trouble for her. Killing was much easier when there was nobody else involved.
It was more satisfying to watch him die slowly, anyway.
Watching the life drain out of him, knowing he was terrified throughout the process. I wondered if his sins ran through his head, whether he wished he’d done things differently. Lik
e not harassing young women who only wanted to be left in peace. Like leaving well enough alone, rather than looking for trouble.
The skittering of his feet slowed, then stopped, and he went still.
I held him a while longer, watching as his eyes lost focus.
It was fascinating.
When I loosened my grip, my fangs slid from inside his throat, making blood ooze from the wounds. Dark blood, slow-moving.
He was dead.
I picked up the body and ran into the woods with it, making sure I was a safe distance away before dropping it behind a cluster of rocks and covering it with fallen branches. He’d stay hidden until at least the following day, when we’d be gone.
I walked back to the motel with a satisfied smile.
It felt good, setting things right.
Being what I was meant to be.
16
Daniela
His body was so tight and firm against mine. Surprisingly warm, seeing as how he wasn’t alive. Not in the conventional sense. But he was most definitely alive in other ways.
I stretched languidly before curling up against him, the inside spoon to his outside spoon.
His arm tightened around me, pulling me even closer.
“Have you given any thought to what we talked about earlier?” I whispered.
“We talked about a lot of things earlier.”
“You know what I mean.” I ran a hand over his arm, crossing my arm over my body until my hand touched his shoulder.
He pressed his lips to the back of my fingers.
“Will you consider Claudia releasing you? You’ve had a little time to think about it now. How do you feel?”
“How do you think I feel? No. I don’t accept it. You have a duty, and so do I.” He kissed my hand again. “What about you and your sister?”
“What about us?”
“Now it’s time for you to avoid the question,” he murmured with a soft chuckle, and his breath was warm on my skin. Comforting. Maybe that was why it was so easy for me to open up to him.
“Things have never exactly been easy between Gwyneth and me,” I admitted. “We’re at odds most of the time, mostly because I was always the favored one. I might even have been a High Sorceress one day if I were part of a coven. At least, that was what Mom always said.”
“Why did she say that? Because of your mental powers?”
“You noticed those, huh?”
“I noticed the way you got into my head for a minute, earlier today. Outside the diner. That’s how you found us in the woods, isn’t it? You can read minds.”
“To a point. I can sense things very clearly. I can feel the presence of other witches when they’re nearby. I can sense vampires, too. And yes, when I try, I can get inside the head of another being.”
“Which makes you an excellent Tracker,” he observed wryly.
“Yes. You might say I’m a born Tracker.”
“I suppose that wasn’t easy for your sister. You were the favorite.”
“I guess that’s where so much of the tension comes from. She wants to prove herself, even though Mom handed the Trackers over to me. She wants to be the leader, even though it’s not her job.”
“What if you step down?”
“I don’t think I’m going to have much of a choice when this is over. None of them will want me there. They won’t trust me anymore. The hardest part is, I don’t blame them.”
“What will you do?”
“I have no idea. I might have to go into hiding, depending on how Gwyn chooses to move forward. I might have painted a target on my back.”
His arm tightened even more, until he was nearly crushing me against him. “I’ll never let anything happen to you.”
“You won’t have a choice, remember? I don’t want you anywhere near this. Please, tell me you’ll do the right thing when the time comes.” I knew I couldn’t force him into anything, but I could at least hope for the right decision.
I slid my leg against his, relishing the touch of his skin. I had to commit as much of him to memory as possible.
When he ran his hand down the side of my body, making me arch against him and purr like a cat, I thought he might be trying to do the same thing.
It was before dawn when Alexander unwound my arms from around him and slid out of bed.
I didn’t open my eyes at first, but I did when I heard the way he hurried to dress.
“What is it?” I whispered, pushing myself up one elbow and rubbing my eyes.
“I thought I heard a noise next door. I’m going to check on Claudia.”
From the tone of his voice, it wasn’t any ordinary sound he was going to investigate.
I sat up, ready to go with him.
“No! Stay.” He was already at the door, ready to open it.
“But—”
“Just stay until I know everything’s all right.”
I hurried to put my clothes on anyway and waited by the door. It didn’t take long before he came back.
“She’s gone. And I don’t think she left on her own.” He handed me a folded slip of paper which I didn’t want to unfold.
I didn’t want to know what happened. If I didn’t read the note, it wasn’t real.
“Daniela. Hurry. We have to go.”
I nodded as I unfolded the paper with shaking hands.
Gwyneth’s familiar scrawl covered it.
Meet where we discussed, with the Nightwarden, or the Sire dies.
I should’ve seen it coming. She was just that desperate to complete the mission. “Did you read this?” I asked.
“It didn’t have your name on it.” He zipped my backpack and tossed it to me. “She seems determined.”
“That’s one word for it. Hey.” I stood in front of the door, blocking him. “I need you to know that I didn’t know she would go this far. I honestly didn’t.”
“I believe you.” Only he wouldn’t meet my eyes.
“Look at me. Please.” I reached for him. I needed to touch him one more time, just him and me, alone. “Don’t shut me out. We have to be together on this.”
“We never should’ve brought Trackers into this. We should’ve known it would end like this. I should’ve known. It’s the ultimate win for your team: killing every Nightwarden in one stroke, ending the curse.”
“I wasn’t thinking clearly. I just wanted…”
“You just wanted to keep me with you. You wanted a plan Claudia would agree to.” He sounded like his old self, the one who hated me and all witches.
The one I had never slept with, or kissed or touched or arched my body against in the darkness.
“You know things were different!” I touched his arm.
He pulled it away.
“That was only two days ago—barely that long,” he spat. “Not a lot of time for things to have really changed.”
We looked at each other for a long, silent moment.
Silent in spite of the fact that my heart was breaking and that didn’t feel very silent at all.
It felt like something shattering inside me, tearing me up, making me want to curl up in a ball and stay that way. Maybe forever.
“Come on. We have to meet your sister before she kills everyone in The Fold.”
He left the room and was already halfway to the stairs before I found the strength to follow.
Yes. We had to meet up with her before she did anything crazy.
Funny how I saw it as crazy. I wouldn’t have thought it was crazy before. I would’ve thought she was a hero for finding Ralf, however she managed it, and getting in to kill him. For ending the suffering of dozens of vampires, freeing them for once and for all.
She would become a legend if she pulled off something like that.
It would’ve been easier if I had never met him. I could’ve called her a hero, too.
Life was simpler when everything was black-and-white.
We were good, Ralf was bad for enslaving his progeny. The end.
No sh
ades of gray, no special circumstances. Only what we learned from the time we were old enough to hold a thought in our heads.
We crossed the parking lot. It was dark, silent as a graveyard. Even the road was empty. Only the neon sign for the motel lit the blacktop.
“I suppose your sister will walk there, correct?”
“She doesn’t have your speed, if that’s what you’re asking.” I glared at his back, wishing my eyes could cut holes in him.
He refused to understand, to even try to understand.
“We could easily beat her there.”
“I’m sure we could—but the rest of the team might be waiting for us, guarding the mine.”
“I’m counting on it.” His voice was a cold, bitter snarl.
“What do you plan to do?”
My words fell on deaf ears.
“I asked what you’re planning to do, damn it.”
“What do you think?”
“That’s murder for the rest of your family, too! Just as much as it would be if Gwyneth killed Ralf!” I caught up and stood in front of him. “Don’t you remember? You kill a witch, the High Council kills Ralf. That’s how it works. That’s always been the rule.”
“If I kill one or a dozen in defense of my Sire, that has to be different. And when I do, and the High Council shows up to wave their arms and act almighty, I’ll explain why I had to do it. They’ll have to understand.”
“Why do you insist on being so stubborn?” I wanted to slap him.
I wanted to use my powers to stun him, disable him. Maybe knock some sense into him.
“Why do you Trackers insist on being so stubborn?” he asked, and some of the fight drained from his voice when he did.
“I can’t let you do it when I don’t know what the Council will do to you.”
“Or you can’t let me kill your Trackers. Why don’t you give up the pretense, once and for all? It’ll be a lot easier on both of us.” He shoved his way past me and kept walking until he was beyond the line of trees separating the motel from the woods.
A pretense. That was what he thought, that I was lying to him.
“You think I made it all up? So I could use you? Alexander, please!”