by Betsy Flak
A flag of dark delight unfurled in her heart. At least Nic had hurt the thing.
The other demon turned back to her. Its tone, formerly high and jovial, transformed to low and serious. “Now watch, my young companion.”
The creature charged inhumanly fast.
So was she. She skirted its advance with ease, then flipped to fling it into a strapping oak.
The beast dodged her attack. A maniac’s grin twitched its scarlet lips.
Her cutlass darted out, a test. It skipped backward, lighter on its feet than she’d hoped.
They circled each other, both hunting for an advantage. Her blade tap-tap-tapped against her boot. Her stake was rigid at her side.
She lunged forward.
It dove beneath her sword, then swung upward, throwing her into the sky. Branches whipped against her, leaving ugly scrapes down her arms, legs, and cheeks. Her back slammed into the ground. It sprang onto her before she could take a breath.
Her feet sunk into its stomach. Her knees bent, then mighty thighs thrust the beast high into the air. She flipped upright. Fifteen feet away, the creature landed in a crouch instead of the back-breaking sprawl she’d aimed for.
This ends now. With a roar, she barreled toward it, her blade straight out in front of her. At the last second, she dropped into the lowest of squats and whirled the sword.
It hopped over her blade like they played at killer double Dutch. She rocketed up and spun her blade, now at neck-level. The cutlass severed tendon and spine alike.
The beast’s ebony eyes widened with shock and a hint of awe. Then head and body became dust before either could kiss the Earth.
A Warrior through and through, she did not celebrate for even a moment. There had been another. If it was wise, it had fled to heal its injury.
Bam!
The force of a thousand cars collided with her side, knocking the wind out of her. Her cutlass skittered along the ground and became lodged in the underbrush. The reverse of before, the wounded monster dug its knees into her thighs. It could not pin down her arms.
Summoning all her strength, she twisted around, propelling them toward her sword. Each sought purchase on the other as they tumbled.
The creature surveyed the revolving ground. Its black-as-night eyes narrowed. Then its canines snapped at her neck, her face, her shoulders, anything they could reach. Waiting for her cutlass was no longer an option. My stake—I need my stake.
She tried to throw the beast off her, but its talons only clenched her ribs harder. One arm kept those fatal fangs at bay. The other wriggled toward her hip. Her fingers closed around the rough wood.
A rock slammed into her elbow. Her arm buckled. The monster collapsed on top of her.
Twin knives stabbed into her throat. An exquisite agony shattered her nerves.
A starless chasm swallowed her whole.
Down she fell.
Her arms outstretched, Lucy sprang upright with a gasp. When the crash didn’t happen, she peeked one eye open, expecting a forest rife with evil. Instead, familiar whitewashed walls and a window with its curtains drawn greeted her. Lucy’s breath shuddered. Her fingers brushed away the blazing hot tears rolling down her cheeks. The nightmare was always the same: one death, then another and another, without a thing she could do to stop them. She’d hoped that abandoning the Clan would abandon those dreams, but still they came for her.
A hand probed the twin throbs pulsating along her carotid artery. Lucy grimaced. In case the nightmare itself weren’t enough, its effects lingered, something that appeared to be worsening over time. Plus, she could have gotten—her opposite hand flew to the phone tucked under a pillow—another two hours of sleep before the cafeteria stopped serving lunch.
Knock knock knock
Her head whipped toward the door, loose curls flaring in every direction. The nonexistent fangs drove deeper. Who would knock on her door in the middle of the day? She was the scary recluse in this dorm, the one no one visited or even left a message for, so who could this be?
Knock knock knock knock knock
Whoever it was, he or she was persistent. With a sigh, Lucy hopped off her bed, avoiding the makeshift stairs of boring textbooks. She tore the elastic band off her wrist and tied her stupid fluffball of a mane back. Then she smoothed her baggy T-shirt and boxers, a gesture that removed neither the wrinkles nor the collection of stains. Lucy opened the door with a scowl.
A perky face from years ago met her.
“G-Georgie?”
“Hello, you! Did I wake you? I would apologize, but, geez, it’s nearly noon, don’t you think you should be up already? What about your classes?” Georgie used her rapid-fire questions to steamroll her way in with an ominous basket balanced in her arms. Too-green, too-happy vines poked out of it. Stalking about the half-empty room, Georgie muttered, “Hmm, I need sun for this one and shade for the others. This window faces south, right? Yes, of course, it does.”
After nestling the basket into a vacant corner, Georgie flung the curtains open. Lucy balked at the sudden light. When would winter arrive with its melancholy gray days? Only when Georgie began to shift Lucy’s notebooks and binders from the top row of the bookcase to the bottom did her wits return.
“Georgie, what in the world are you doing?”
“Moving in, silly.”
Lucy’s heart plunged to the depths of the ocean. Her jaw attempted to follow suit. This couldn’t be happening.
With her plant settled on the top shelf of the bookcase—blocking the one and only window—Georgie turned around to face Lucy. Her sparkling smile did not falter one bit, not even when confronted by Lucy’s best Warrior glare. “Didn’t you notice that half your room was unoccupied?”
“Yes, but that has nothing to do with you.” When Georgie’s grin collapsed, a rush of guilt flooded Lucy’s veins. “No, not like that, Georgie. I just mean…”
“You wanted to be alone?”
“Yes!”
Without hesitation, Georgie approached Lucy. Her hands stretched toward Lucy’s own as if the last four years had never happened. “Lucy, you had to know they would never let you go. Not completely.”
Lucy flopped onto her bed, an arm landing over her eyes to block out Georgie’s annoying sunshine. “I’d hoped that if I rejected them, they would.”
“Lucy, that’s not how it works and you know it. You’re now a Detacher, and that comes with certain responsibilities, even for a Warrior.”
“I just…I didn’t join a Cell. I want nothing to do with their fight.”
“I know. And all you have to do is pay attention to things around here and let them know of anything unusual. Super easy.” The mattress depressed as the voluptuous Georgie hoisted herself onto Lucy’s bed.
Around her forearm, Lucy squinted an eye open to meet her friend’s hazel gaze. “I’m guessing that’s why you’re here, then. To make sure I do it?”
Fidgeting fingers stole Georgie’s attention. When her brows furrowed and her lips pressed into a thin line, Lucy propped herself up on bent elbows. Suspicion rocketed through her body.
“Not exactly.”
“Not exactly?”
“I’m supposed to convince you to come back.” Georgie’s voice contained none of its usual vim and vigor; instead, it was thin and weak.
Lucy’s temper hit the ceiling. “Come back? Come back! Georgie, you know what happened to my parents, to my grandfather! I’m not letting that happen to me.”
“I know, Lucy. I know. But how can you deny your destiny?”
Lucy rolled her eyes. She’d heard that line practically since she was born. “Quite easily, actually. See, all you do is tell them you’re done, then get a scholarship to college and l-e-a-v-e, leave. The end. Until your former best friend pops up out of nowhere to tell you to go back, that is.”
Georgie’s lips bent down as if she’d tasted something bitter. “Former?”
“Ugh, I didn’t mean
that, Georgie. All I mean is that we’ve barely spoken for the last four years, and now you show up out of no—”
“It’s not out of nowhere. You had to know they’d send someone to check up on you after a few months, especially after the way you left during the ceremony and all. And you’d have to know they’d send a weak Diviner, one they had no other use for. Preferably one from your past, i.e. me. And, as for the last four years, you know I would have chosen for us to go to the same boarding school if I could. And, yes, I didn’t do the best at calling or texting or even emailing, but you didn’t either, Lucy.”
Lucy’s fingers rubbed at her eyes. Just a few minutes ago, that nightmare had been the worst of her problems. Now the stupid Clan with its stupid rules and its stupid war wanted her back. Of course it did.
“I know, Georgie, I know. None of this is your fault. But I am not going back to them, not under any circumstance. Their battles are not mine; not anymore.”
“I know. And I told them as much when they selected me.” Georgie’s plump shoulder tapped against Lucy’s lean mean one. “I know you, Luce. Once you make up your mind, that’s it. No one can change it. But, I have to admit, as my destiny never included a Cell, I can’t say that I was…displeased they sent me to you, even if my assignment is impossible. Especially after the last four years forced us apart.”
Lucy sighed. It wasn’t the worst thing, having Georgie back in her life as her new roommate. It was certainly better than some random stranger like there’d been earlier this semester. Although, she had enjoyed the extra space after said random stranger—whose name Lucy hadn’t bothered to memorize—dropped out of Krendley.
“You’re right, Georgie. I should just be happy that you’re here and ignore all the Clan stupidity that accompanies it.”
“My thoughts exactly.” Georgie glanced about the dingy room. Her gaze snagged on the piles of dirty clothes out in plain sight. “Of course, we will have to spruce this up a bit before my things arrive, including plenty of plants to keep us company, whether you like it or not. By the way, when’s your next class?”
“Not till seven.”
“Perfect! I’ll run back to my supremely overcrowded triple-double in Graves, get my cleaning supplies, and we’ll be off!” Georgie picked her way down the textbook stairs, then skipped out the door, all bubbly energy at the prospect of cleaning.
Lucy rolled off the bed with a groan. Her feet dragged across the wooden floor toward her closet. Although she accepted this particular destiny, that didn’t mean she wouldn’t grumble about it.
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Lex Explains It All by Betsy Flak
The Clan-Vampire Clash: Insider’s Guide
Find out all you ever wanted to know about vampires, vampire hunters, their history, Warriors and their superhuman abilities, Diviners and their magic, and more. All your questions about the world of The Clan-Vampire Clash are answered by Lex Wilmer, a character introduced in A Brush with Vampires (The Clan-Vampire Clash: Book One).
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Lex Explains It All
The Clan-Vampire Clash: Insider’s Guide
Sneak peek edition
Chapter 3: Boring-But-Brief History
Let’s start at the very beginning—“a very good place to start,” according to Julie Andrews.
The Beginning: A Vampire Origins Folktale
Centuries and centuries ago—back when magic ruled the planet—a girl and a boy fell in love. It’s always comes down to that, doesn’t it?
On the eve of their wedding, the girl walked along moss-covered cliffs like she did most every night.
But this night was different. Normally sure-footed, she slipped. Her feet slid over the cliff’s edge, her legs and torso following close behind. The earth tugged at her hanging body. She scrambled to find a handhold, but her fingers skipped over the slick rocks.
Down the girl tumbled. She smashed into black sand closer to a field of pebbles than powder. Beneath a night sky speckled with happy twinkling stars, the girl lay broken. Waves tickled her toes, but she felt nothing. Beneath her, the volcano smoldered. The wind whipped her hair off her bloody face.
The girl’s heart faltered. Her breaths became labored. In one step, she’d ruined their future.
Somehow, the girl’s love found her moments before she died. He cradled her in his arms. Tears rolled down his cheeks. There was no way to save her.
And maybe if she’d been anywhere else with anyone else, that would have been true. Maybe she would have found her peace.
In a desperate plea, the boy begged the earth around him to save his one true love. He begged the animals and the flora of the sea, the sand and the rocks below them. He begged the rushing wind, the raging waters. He begged the fire burning below. He begged anyone and anything out there to save her, to keep her from dying.
He thought no one and nothing listened.
He thought she would die.
He was wrong.
When the ground trembled beneath them, he shifted her body onto his lap, protecting her. When the wind ripped at his bare skin, he curled around her, shielding her. When the sea rose to claim them both, he gripped her harder and squeezed his eyes shut. If she couldn’t live, neither of them would. The waves collected the couple into its watery embrace.
A rumble—great and terrible—roared over the island. Lava spewed into the starry sky. It rushed into the waiting ocean.
It met the drowning boy and dying girl.
It swirled around them.
It caressed the girl’s face, her arms, her legs.
She breathed it in.
It scorched her throat.
It saved her.
With more strength than she’d ever known, the girl dragged herself and her unconscious love out of that angry ocean. Where once she delighted in the black sand scraping against her toes and heels, there was nothing. Where once she gazed at the millions of shining stars in wonder, there was nothing. Where once she longed for her next adventure, there was nothing.
Nothing.
Nothing.
Nothing.
Except the blood humming in her lover’s veins, the sweetest of serenades. He was still alive!
The girl crouched over him, her hands resting on his bare chest. It hitched during each inhale and exhale, like every breath pained him. The scent of her love’s blood wafted up her nostrils.
The girl’s incisors lengthened. Her throat burned. A thirst unlike any she’d ever known overtook her every sense, her every thought. Mesmerized, she dipped her face to his neck. Her cold cheek tingled where it brushed against his warm skin. Her fangs throbbed with need.
The girl kissed her love on the lips.
On the cheek.
In the hollow behind his earlobe.
On the neck.
Again, she kissed him on the neck. Her teeth scraped against skin as fragile as cracked parchment.
He shuddered beneath her.
Her canines dug deeper. A drop of blood hit her tongue.
Both sweet and tart, it tasted like a cherry on the verge of being ripe. A breath later, it morphed to buttery with a hint of caramel.
The girl’s body shivered. She needed this. Her fangs cut deeper.
Her love’s blood filled her mouth. It was thick like molasses, yet smooth.
The girl’s every nerve sparked. A gleeful excitement raced through her veins. Her entire life she’d waited for this.
Her hands tightened around his shoulders. Talons sprang from her nails. They bored into his flesh.
As did her teeth.
Blood poured into the girl’s mouth faster
than she could swallow. It spilled over her lips, her throat, her chest. With every gulp, she grew stronger and faster. With every gulp, she lost her humanity.
The first vampire was born.
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Character List
Adara
One of Duncan’s lieutenants; used to be an extremely strong Fire Diviner that killed vampires left and right until her flames consumed her and her entire Cell; now it’s unclear what she is, but she still has her magic
Adela Lazare
Retired Cypher living in the Juniper Troupe; Gabe and Marina’s mom
Alex Wong
Freshman Warrior in the Eversfield Cell; Eli’s roommate in Pasteur
Angelo Alfonsi
Civilian; one of Marina’s friends, along with Mickey, Yuki, and Kylie; Mickey’s roommate in Douglass; member of Engaging Eversfield, Eversfield’s newspaper; sophomore at Eversfield
Brock
Vampire; one of Duncan’s best fighters; sent to Eversfield along with Kane, Fang, Toulouse, and Ramrod
Cat Calderon
Civilian; Lizzard but not part of Heidi’s clique; Blackwell’s secretary; senior at Eversfield
Cheri Malik
Civilian; popular and part of Heidi’s clique which includes Sara, Val, Drey, and Rudi; Heidi’s little sister; lives in Mistral; on Eversfield’s dance team; junior at Eversfield
Clara Wilmer
Lead Augur and Lex’s mom
Cosmina Harris
Senior Warrior in the Eversfield Cell; Emilia’s roommate in Tubman
Darius Hernandez
Senior Warrior in the Eversfield Cell; one of Gabe’s closest friends and his roommate in Pasteur