Forever Night

by W. J. May

  It would have to be enough. With one last look at them, Kallie crept through the shadows of the boulders, making her way to the base of the hill. When the SUVs came to a stop, she sank down and tilted her head to listen. Doors opened, and footsteps crunched.

  “Are you sure it’s here?” The voice was unfamiliar.

  “It’s here.” James. Damn it.

  “And Kallie?” Liam’s voice. Kallie’s heart clenched and she bit her lip to keep herself from crying out.

  “She’s here.” Kallie froze. It couldn’t be. It couldn’t be… The footsteps were slow, halting. “I can feel her.”

  “Caleb?” The word escaped her before she could stop herself, and she heard all movement from the group cease. Standing, shaking, Kallie saw them in a tense standoff, cars yards apart, the Blues and the Reds separated. And Caleb—

  She was in his arms before she could think. She felt him shudder with pain, but he grabbed her against him, the heat of his body warming her. Those familiar arms, the smell of him, the way he breathed her name against her neck. She could feel him trying not to sob, and she was losing that same battle; the tears escaped her eyes no matter how she squeezed them closed.

  “Caleb.” She heard the cry in her voice. “How? How did you—”

  “Your father,” he said quietly. “He came for me. Said you were trying to save the world. So I figured I’d come along.”

  She laughed helplessly at the weak joke, rocking back and forth in his arms, and glanced up to see her father there as well. She hugged Caleb tighter. “I was afraid I’d never see you again.”

  “I’ll always come to you,” he told her softly. “Always. I will always come to help.”

  “I hate to break this up,” James’ voice cut between them, “but we’ve been followed. We don’t have much time.”

  Kallie looked over at him, narrowing her eyes. She saw Liam look away, and turned her head so she couldn’t see him. She could not bear to look at him. Not right now. “Why are you here?”

  “Because we want to end the war as well,” James said simply. “You may hate me, Kallie. But remember, I was ready to sacrifice my own for this.”

  “Right.” Kallie gave him a long look and shook her head. “Well, then…this way.”

  She led them up the hill, the two groups staying as far apart as they could. When they reached the top, Petra and James stared one another down. Kallie’s mother and father wouldn’t look at one another, Caleb and Liam were at the very edges of the group, and Kallie wanted to beat her head against one of the rocks as she stood in the middle of everyone.

  “Petra?” Her voice cut through the tension. “Would you explain the artifact to the others?”

  “Of course.” Petra sounded amused. “That, right there, is an ancient communications orb. It was meant to maintain the infrastructure around the world. It amplified messages sent from the kings in Europe, Asia, Africa… And when the war came, that technology was lost. It was never widely known to start with, and I believe that those who could use it were all killed in the clashes.”

  “And you think it can amplify the spell?” James sounded equal parts wary and interested. He crouched to peer into the cave.

  “I think it can reverse the spell,” Petra corrected. “I think this is how the spell was originally disseminated. Now, the more I look at it, I think it may no longer be connected around the world.”

  A low snarl caught their ears; one of the Blues snapping at Kallie’s father. A gesture from James, and Kallie saw another Blue haul that one away. Looking around herself, she saw the tension in all of them. They were close to breaking. Everyone could barely control standing in one spot. They needed to hurry.

  “We need to do this now.”

  Petra reached out for her. “Yes. Kallie, if you would come with me. The rest of you, get ready to defend. Unless I’m quite wrong, I sense the Huntress and her cohort.”

  Huntress? There was more evil in the world? When was it ever going to stop? With the orb. The others stepped away from the entrance and Kallie followed Petra into the cave. Kallie made a show to unlock the collar and manacles, flinching away from the silver, but she was unprepared when Petra rounded on her, red eyes flat as stone. Like garnets

  “You need to make a choice now.”

  Kallie pushed her further into the cave so the others couldn’t hear them. She didn’t like the tone of the woman’s voice. “What is it?” She forced the words out.

  “The orb is damaged, and it’s old, and I’m weak. I need blood for this.”

  “What?” Kallie froze. “No.”

  “You have to choose. It has to be someone. So who?”

  “No,” Kallie insisted. When Petra opened her mouth, Kallie leaned close to hiss at her. “I said no. You want to know why you got away before? James wanted me to stab you in the back and use your blood, not telling you, for their spell. I said no. We were arguing when the Reds got you. I got you out, twice, so that you could do this. I followed you up here because I thought you had a better plan than this. I did all of this so no one would have to sacrifice anybody.”

  “Blood is power, Kallie. It is. There’s no getting around that. The best minds of the empire made this war, with a network of power you can’t even imagine. We have to unmake it ourselves, now, rushed. There isn’t time for you to moralize.”

  “What, you want me to—”

  “I warned you, Kallie! I warned you that you weren’t going to like this, and you didn’t listen. I need power. I don’t have the strength.”

  There was a pause, and Kallie heard the roaring in her ears. All of the struggle, the strife, the hatred…and she was back to this. She let her eyes drift closed. There was one answer. She would never be able to live with herself if she did anything else, but still…

  She would have liked to say goodbye. She bit back a sob, swallowing the lump in her throat, and let their faces drift through her mind: her mother, her father, Caleb…Liam.

  “Kallie.” Petra’s voice was sharp. “It has to be someone.

  “Me,” Kallie said simply.

  “What?”

  “Me. Use me.”

  “Kallie, I’m not going to—”

  “I’m a hybrid. I was made by a day-walker. You can’t argue that there’s anyone better.” When Petra stared at her, jaw clenched, Kallie gritted the words out. “Get it over with. And tell my…tell my…”

  “No.” Petra was shaking her head. “No. I’m not going to use you. Choose someone else.”

  “I’m not going to offer one of them up to you on a silver platter!” Kallie felt the words explode out of her, and she clenched her hands, looking away.

  “You’re saving the world. Any one of them would be happy to—”

  “Can you tell me there’s anyone better?” Kallie interrupted. “Can you tell me, honestly, that there is a single other person here with more power in their blood?”

  There was a long pause and Petra bowed her head. And then:

  “Yes,” Petra said quietly. She pulled out the knife and pressed it to her own skin, sadly. She looked over her shoulder at Kallie as she turned away. Kallie heard the knife break flesh and cringed as the smell filled the cave. “Tell my sister…” Her voice trailed off.

  “Wait…” Kallie shook her head and reached around Petra’s shoulder to grab at the knife. “This isn’t what I meant.” She wrapped her hand around the blade, the sharp edge cutting into her hand. She ignored the pain and the feel of warm blood running down her fingers. Petra jerked away and the knife cut deeper as she pulled the knife out of Kallie’s grasp. “No! Not—”

  “I wasn’t your mother for most of your life.” Petra bit the words off, not looking back as her blood mixed with Kallie’s dripped onto the ground. She knelt to begin scratching a diagram in the earth. “But I will be now, so help me. You’re not dying here today. Tell Helen—tell her to make better choices than I did.”

  “Petra—”

  The woman’s eyes met hers, blazing. “I’d have
liked to teach you magic,” Petra said simply. She nodded her head. “Now, go. I’ll need as much time as you can give me. Stall them for as long as you can and hold off the Huntress. Don’t you dare die out there!”

  “I’m not leaving. How am I supposed to trust you on this?” Kallie set her shoulders and crossed her arms, the cut healing slowly and the pain numb. “You have to have more power than you realize. This can’t kill you.” Yet deep down, she knew that this was going to take all Petra’s strength. Witch or vampire stood little chance against ancient powers. Somehow she knew understood that.

  “Please, Kallie. Just go. I can’t do this with you here.”

  The pleading in her mother’s voice stopped her. Kallie had never intentionally thought of Petra as her mother. She spun around suddenly and raced back to the entrance of the cave.

  Chapter 15

  Kallie couldn’t hold back the tears as she climbed out of the cave. Salted droplets streamed down her face, and she tried desperately to wipe them away. It took all she had not to look back at Petra, the mother she’d never known and then denied, the woman she’d pushed away as cruelly as she could. The woman who, when it came down to the end, was going to sacrifice herself so her sister could have a chance at love with the man she’d once married.

  A rock shifted and Kallie froze, looking around herself, jolted out of her pain. She realized she was alone.

  “Hello?”

  There was no answer.

  “Where is everybody?” She turned, sniffing at the air, but she couldn’t sense any Reds, Blues, or any foreign scents like the Huntress. After a moment, she realized they’d moved down to the base of the mountain. She stumbled her way down, trying to wipe the tears from her face and regain her composure.

  The rest were ranged in two loose groups at the base of the mountain. Kallie crouched by where Caleb was resting on one of the boulders. Someone—she was willing to bet it was her mother—had gone to get him blood, and he was already looking better. The bruises were fading, and some of the cuts were already gone.

  “Will you be able to fight?” she asked him. She laid her hand over his and felt the jolt between them, swallowing as she saw his eyes darken with desire.

  “I can fight,” he told her, but the words were meaningless. His eyes were fixed on hers, their thoughts tangling beyond words. How had she lived without her maker?

  He caught the thought and she flushed, looking away. His fingers caught hers and pulled her close for a moment.

  I would never die before I could get back to you. He met her eyes before he released her, his smile warming her through. I love you and I’ll protect you forever.

  She stared at him, unsure of how to respond. She glanced at Liam across the way, and realized he was watching her closely. The anger burning in his eyes was evident as he glared at Caleb.

  Her father cleared his throat and turned away, perhaps trying to give her the illusion of privacy, and Kallie touched his shoulder, sliding into a hug before drawing away.

  “You be safe.” They spoke at the same time, and her father laughed sadly.

  “I’m supposed to tell you that because you’re going out on a date or taking a road trip. Kallie, when this is over…”

  “Yes?”

  “Promise me one thing: you’ll try to have a normal life.”

  “What?”

  “You know. A husband, a house? Something normal. Something that isn’t…fighting. Promise me.”

  Her heart twisted. “I’ll try.” Somehow it didn’t seem like that would ever be an option for her. She glanced at Caleb and he smiled. He looked exhausted but his eyes were burning bright red. He was healing.

  “Go.” Her father pushed her gently. “Go talk to your mother. She’s worried.”

  “Okay.” Smiling at the normalcy of that, Kallie hiked over to the Blue camp, exchanging only a curt nod with James. Liam, at the edge of the group, was looking profoundly troubled, and she didn’t dare risk approaching him. This seemed like the time for making things clear, but she was not sure she could bear fighting with the knowledge that he still believed her to be a false friend. He looked devastated, like she had chosen Caleb and Petra over him. She hadn’t chosen either of them and yet, had she? She didn’t know. But his betrayal of her trust hurt deeper than she had realized.

  “Is there anything we should know?” Her mother’s voice was clear and light. As a nurse, she was not swayed by the approaching catastrophe. She wanted facts, and she would make a plan once she had them.

  “Petra needs time,” Kallie said. “As much as we can give her. She started the spell…right away.” Her throat closed on the words. She could still see blood seeping into the dark earth, and she wanted to cry.

  “Love, are you all right?”

  “I’m…I’m fine.” Kallie nodded jerkily. She squeezed her mother’s hands. “I don’t suppose you’d consider hanging around in the back and not fighting?”

  “While you’re fighting? Not a chance.”

  And then her mother’s head swiveled. All of the Blues had gone on alert in an instant, and Kallie was powerfully reminded of just how predatory vampires were. Every sense was on alert, the Blues ready to fight, and she knew that the Rogue Reds were close.

  A moment later, even she and the Reds could sense it. The Rogue Reds had the same scent, the same hint of darkness and decay. She could smell the things they had done; the things they would do if they were not stopped here tonight. They had no interest in a world without war.

  “Any last advice?” James asked. His eyes met Kallie’s for a moment.

  “Stop them.” She swallowed hard. “That’s all.”

  They began to move as one, Caleb and her father launching into motion as the Blues did. Kallie ran between them, pushing herself to the limit as she sprinted across the moonlit ground. The Rogue Reds spread as well, the white hair of the Huntress gleaming, and Kallie called a warning to James.

  They met in a clash, Kallie dodging desperately as one of the Rogue Reds came right for her. He stumbled off balance and she was on him in a moment, fingers at his throat, knees and elbows and fists striking between the two of them. His hand caught her in the eye and she cried out, trying not to flinch away. Her vision showed spots, but she couldn’t let go. He might be a vampire, but he still needed to breathe. He could feel pain.

  His eyes bugged out of his head as he struggled, and he wrestled her to the ground. She was strong, but he was stronger, well-fed, older. He had been in more fights than she had. He might even have acted on Petra’s orders once, exterminating the Blues; she could believe it from the look in his eyes. That gave her a burst of strength, and her fist shot out to knock his head back against the ground. He slumped, unconscious, and she was up and moving.

  A shout caught her attention. Her mother was trying to take on two of the Rogue Reds herself, and though she was holding her ground, she was fading quickly. Kallie started to sprint, desperate to get to her side. She screamed as a punch sent her mother stumbling sideways.

  The movement was so quick that even Kallie’s vampire senses could not track it. Her father was a blur, smashing into one of the Reds with a roar of rage. His fists hit with sickening impact, and he lashed out at the ones who would have taken Kallie’s mother down. As one of them pulled out a knife, now distracted, Kallie’s mother kicked as hard as she could. Grabbing his arm, she twisted until the knife came free—and kept twisting. With a sickening crack and a scream, his arm broke, and Kallie’s mother delivered one last punch to knock him out.

  They stood swaying, looking at each other for a moment, but Kallie could feel the battle-scent between them, the rage that built as they fought, that could too easily spill out in a fight with each other. With a nod, they turned away from one another, seeking other opponents.

  A flash of white caught the edge of Kallie’s vision and she turned to run after the Huntress.

  “Dad!” She threw the shout over her shoulder, hoping he would come with her. The Huntress was making her
way up the hill, perhaps drawn to Petra’s presence, and Kallie knew she could kill Petra.

  “Huntress!” Her voice carried on the wind.

  To her surprise, the woman stopped. She turned, baring bloodstained teeth in a terrible grin. “Have you come to beg for mercy?”

  A punch was Kallie’s only answer, lashing out to catch the woman’s face. She’d raced toward her as the woman had turned to yell at her.

  The Huntress dodged, preternaturally fast and laughing that hollow, hissing laugh of hers. Her fingers clamped around Kallie’s throat, and she pulled Kallie close, her breath smelling of blood. “I could rip your throat out right now.”

  Why don’t you? It wasn’t the best question, but Kallie had never known when to back down. She was saved from her own impertinence now only by virtue of the breath wheezing in her throat.

  “I never knew what Petra saw in you.” The woman’s face twisted. “Weak, mewling. A pitiful child from the start, and no true heir of hers—not that she ever made good use of her power. She gave you to humans to keep you safe. Ha! A true witch would never have feared that, and an heir would have withstood the danger.”

  “It’s you she made a Huntress,” Kallie gasped out as the woman’s fingers eased fractionally.

  “I wasn’t her first choice.” There was an old rage there, and the terrifying smile was back. “And I’ll make her pay for that.”

  “Over. My. Dead. Body.”

  The Huntress went rigid, a scream bursting for her lips as her fingers came away from Kallie’s throat. She pawed at her chest, trying desperately to dislodge the stake there, but there was no escaping it. She sank to her knees, disbelieving, the vile scent of blood running from her mouth as she tried desperately to pull the stake out. Kallie saw her mother standing behind her. She twisted the stake before she let go of it, her face warped with a fury as deep as the Huntress’ own. “No one hurts my daughter,” she hissed.

  Kallie stood shuddering, staring at the body, when the boom caught them all. The Huntress lay writhing on the ground, her body dying its final death.