by Kim Faulks
Catalyst! Stop!
Derelict buildings rushed toward us.
We’ll burn alive!
I tried to rush to the surface, tried to fight his control. But there was only darkness here, only the quiet rush of the sea.
Embers sparked into the sky, like a lover’s touch reaching for us as he closed his eyes. His neck buckled, chin hit his chest as his head drove through the hard asphalt.
Fire seared his nose and swept over his body as he dove down…down…down through the flames, through the heat.
But there was no burn, no pain…
There was no fiery death.
His gills opened with a sudden breath. Searing heat rushed in, engulfing his lungs in one sudden rush. Fire roared, moving through us, along our veins…inside our belly. Burning away what we’d once been—to carve a path for what we’d now become.
Scales shone and shimmered in the red glow. He opened his hand, claws and webbed fingers set through the blazing rush.
The Catalyst was made for the water, for the rivers and the sea. He was made for the rush of the current, and the stillness of a lake.
But he was changed…she changed him.
I couldn’t speak, couldn’t do anything but stare as flames leapt out of liquid fire to caress his body.
“How?” The word slipped from my lips.
But there was no answer in the dark. No light bulb moment for me to hold onto. There was only a subtle shift—one that had happened while he hid from me in the dark. One that was because of her. She gave us life, but she gave us so much more.
She gave us a reason.
The Catalyst dove deeper, under the streets, leaving the city far behind.
A Hellhound Princess will fall. Gabriel’s words filled us as my Dragon carved webbed fingers through the lava and pushed harder. He turned against the current. Tail slashed through the flow, and The Devil’s Breath filled my mind.
Hurry. The word raced as he opened his wings and heaved his body through the fire.
Don’t let her fall.
22
Amaris
My bedroom was trashed. Bedside drawers were overturned. I took a step, drawn by the broken shelving, and glass crunched under my boots.
Mom stared back at me from the ground. Her haunting dark eyes filled with flames as she smiled. My throat tightened, a hard lump wedged tight. I stared at the imprint of a boot and fought the need to pick up the shattered frame. But there was no time for the past…there was only Oryn.
There was only the end.
I shoved against the doorway. Screams from the tunnel were deafening, drowning out the thunder of my heart as I raced for the arena. Under the roar of panic I heard her…
“Get away from him!”
Darkness rushed as I lunged up the stairs. My boots slipped with numb feet. I hit the stony wall and bounced. The jar was a shotgun blast to my head. Underneath the agony…underneath the savage pain was a coldness…a bitter cruel thing that came to life as I shoved through the doorway and into the arena.
All I saw was black. Black eyes. Black hearts. Black terror as the creatures closed in. And through the wall of darkness came a flicker of fire.
Red hair danced with rage as my sister lunged, brandishing flames from the tips of her fingers. “I said, get away from him!”
Beasts scurried backwards, desperately trying to get away from the flames. Their eyes were consumed with need, consumed with killing and biting, consumed with blood.
But there were only two in here…only two to kill, only two to bleed.
Oryn's eyes were alight with panic. Blood smeared across one perfect cheek, smothering her freckles, and for a second I almost crumbled at the sight. “Oryn.”
She didn’t hear me, didn’t turn. Only jerked her gaze across the enemy as they closed in on all sides.
“I’ll burn you. I’ll burn every last one of you.”
“No,” Kane roared. “Oryn, stay with me.”
Blood trickled down his face. Bite marks covered his neck and his chest. I flinched at the sight and looked to Oryn.
It was his blood she wore, and only his blood.
He’d kept her safe and guarded, just like I commanded.
He reached for her arm and pulled her backwards. One step and he was the shield…he was the barrier between her and them.
“Your mother’s gone. Your people are gone. Your sisters are gone, Oryn. You have no one left.”
Out of the horde the Huntress slunk, jerking and shuddering like a walking corpse. One eye drooped, as did her cheek and the corner of her mouth. I wanted to punch that mouth. I wanted to tear the skin from her bones and set her on fire. “Get the fuck away from my sister.”
A sickening hiss filled the room, dark eyes turned to me as I made it down the stairs.
“You?” She snarled. “You’re dead. I killed you!”
“Amaris!” My name cracked through the massive room. Oryn lunged toward me before the Cursed grabbed her arm.
“Easy,” Kane growled, and glanced from me to the Huntress. “Can’t trust, Oryn. Not anyone.”
The flare of pain in her gaze was a knife to my chest. She shook her head and yanked against his hold. “She’s my sister. Kane, let me go, she’s my sister.”
But as I neared the Hellhound I could see the wariness in his eyes. Nostrils flared, drawing in my scent. I didn’t smell like me, didn’t feel like me…
“He’s right to keep you away.”
“You died,” the Huntress snarled, and lifted a hand. A fingernail slipped from her finger and fluttered to the ground.
I swallowed hard and stepped close. “You failed. In every way you failed. You can’t take away my family. You can’t kill me. You can’t invade my home without there being repercussions. You don’t know my blood…you don’t know my line.”
That wilted eye twitched as the dark power from the cavern hummed across my skin.
“Kill her.” A male shoved through the wall of Vampires behind the Huntress.
He moved cautiously, limping on one side. Black spidered veins ran across one side of his face. The Vampire Prince, Austine. He glanced from Oryn to me and stepped again. “Now.”
I glanced across the bloodsuckers, counting ten…twelve, no more than fifteen. I clenched an empty fist and felt a pang of remorse. Fifteen I could kill. Fifteen I had to kill.
As long as they were away from her, that was all that mattered. I opened my arms and moved backwards. “Come on then.”
Infernal eyes fixed on me. They scurried like the fucking vermin they were, clamoring over each other as they split up. Four came from my right as another five came for my left.
I glanced toward the Cursed. It was all I could give them…all I had left.
“Amaris!” Oryn screamed. “Amaris no!”
All I ever wanted was to keep her safe…keep her protected, do the things I should’ve done for Kalliste and kill the sonofabitch Blaze Trigg. There was still time. Those old words still haunted me…there was always time.
“Run, Oryn. Get out of here and run!” I cocked my fist as they moved closer. Rage moved like fire in my belly, and as the first Vampire lunged, I felt my world shift.
“Amaris!”
My Hound roared to the surface. I was hit, knocked to the ground as the others descended. White fangs glinted from the madness until flames leapt from my fingers. I gripped what I could, finding cold flesh under my fingers, and then rolled.
The beast was forced underneath. Once a young male, now it was nothing more than a walking corpse…a lifeless imitation of the human it’d once been.
It hissed and spat, wrenched its head from the ground to gnash long fangs. But midnight fire was made for dead things…it was made for many things. Ebony flames raced from my grip. Flesh sizzled and hissed, filling the air with the sickening stench.
Agony sliced deep in my shoulder. Claws impaled and fists followed. But the burned flesh traveled. Hungry flames leapt from one creature to another. I swung my fist,
connected to something soft and slimy.
“Get the fuck away from her!” Kane roared. I could hear the hound in his voice, throaty and guttural…and savage. “Get behind me. Oryn, get behind me!”
Flames and screaming closed in. They were creatures, mindless filthy creatures…but they knew pain and they knew hunger.
I lifted my hand, and dark flames danced. Two of the beasts scurried backwards, eyes wide. Kane lunged, taking a swipe at one of the Vampires as the Huntress lifted her hand.
“You are a pain in the ass,” she growled.
Kane’s eyes widened, he clutched his head and stumbled backwards. The bitch’s lips were moving with whispers I couldn’t hear. A bloodsucker lunged through the air hitting the Hellhound in the shoulder.
Fangs found my leg. The sting was cruel, tearing flesh. I wrenched my gaze from the Cursed’s fingers speared toward the bloodsucker. “Get off me!”
Claws raked my shoulder and my spine. I lifted my gaze as the beast swung its fist. The blow cracked through my head, sending me sprawling. Through my tears I watched Kane stumble and then fall.
Shadows moved as the creatures leapt. They were on top of him in an instant, driving him to the ground. The sickening sound of tearing flesh invaded the roar inside my head.
“Kane…Kane no!” Oryn screamed.
Her terror ripped through me. My hound lunged, driving me upward, but she wouldn’t take control…forcing me to fight with tooth and claw—anyway I could.
An ache flared through my jaw. It was a good ache. An ache of hunger and hate, and as the undead dragged its fist through the air to deliver one more blow I opened my mouth.
Fangs replaced canines, thickening and lengthening, grinding against incisors. The creature squealed and thrashed as I struck. Points carved dead flesh as well as any other. The foul taste of rot filled my mouth. Black blood splashed, filling my nose, and slipped down my throat.
Acid rose, I gagged, swallowed, and bit again. Howls of agony turned into a sickening squelch as I savaged and tore free. Drops of black blood splattered against the creature’s chest as I straightened.
The skin around the bite shriveled and died. Midnight eyes shimmered for a second before they dulled. I shoved against the ground and rose to my feet. The room swayed, blurring for a second before her face sharpened.
An undead yanked Oryn from Kane’s still body on the ground.
And from that darkness inside me came a call of the wild. A call that ripped from my lips to pierce the air.
And somewhere far above the call was answered.
A cry rocked the cavern like a sonic boom.
Walls trembled, fragments of obsidian dust rained down into my eyes. The cry was followed with another and another. Power rippled outward—power, fire, and fury—and behind me the thick stony wall crumbled.
Violet flames engulfed the arena. I spun to stare at the biggest beast I’d ever seen.
No, not a beast…a Dragon.
Muscles rippled, sending a shudder through the thick talon that came from his shoulder. The tremor raced through the rough transparent skin to the next bony spear. I watched that shudder all the way along each spike to the next, and the next before it ended at the base of his tail.
Red lava trickled from his scales to pool at his feet. He was fire and power—and retribution—all rolled into one. He drove his body forward, pushing harder until he stood half inside the massive room.
Violet flames were alive in his eyes. He scanned the room and then stilled…at me.
A shudder tore through my belly…not one born of fear, but of knowing. A knowing so deep it ran under my blood and through my bones. “You hid from me…thought you hated me for saving you…”
Thick ebony lips curled in warning. My stomach clenched, fear coursed through my veins before he turned his head and exposed razored teeth.
“Amaris!”
I wrenched my gaze toward my sister.
Power rippled from Austine as he gripped Oryn’s neck. “You…you fucking beasts just don’t know when to give up, do you?”
The Dragon’s snarl reverberated in the room. I shook my head as the ground beneath my boots blurred. There was no stopping now, no salvation from the pain or the grief. All I saw was Oryn…and all I felt was Kalliste as I took a step and then another.
“Did you know she was the one who killed him?”
My steps stuttered. The Vampire Prince’s dark eyes sparkled with hate.
“Your father, Heron, I mean. Did you know she gutted him like a fish and left him to die on the side of the road?”
“Amaris!” Desperation scarred my name as Parry’s voice rang out behind me. I wanted to stop and turn. I wanted to take salvation in those familiar eyes, in his voice, in his guidance.
But this wasn’t one of those times. This was the end of the lies, the end of running, and of hiding who I’d become.
Red hair lashed his hand as Oryn struggled. “You’re lying.”
He wrenched her neck, bowing her spine to stare into her eyes. “Am I? Ask her…”
Tears slipped from the corner of her eyes as he shoved her upright. “Amaris…tell me. Tell me the truth.”
My knees shook as I descended one more step toward her. For a second I couldn’t meet her eyes, couldn’t bear her to see me for the monster I’d become. The Huntress curled her lips as I glanced around the room. But there was no lying…not anymore. “Yes, it’s true.”
But…
That word died on my lips as I met her gaze. “And I would again. I’d kill that sonofabitch a thousand times over if it meant I’d get Kalliste back. He was the one who sold Kalliste to that piece of shit. He was the one.”
She flinched as though I hit her…as though I hurt her. “No…not Daddy. You’re lying.”
“But did you get her back?” Austine snarled as I took one more step to still at the edge of the stage. “Did you do anything other than tear apart your family?”
A knife plunged into my chest. I couldn’t look down, couldn’t see the blade or the blood, but I was sure metal was wedged under my ribs and deep into flesh.
He tightened his grip as I took one step. Bite marks on her neck oozed with fresh blood. I stared at the flesh, watching the Vampire venom turn her flesh black. I fought to keep the tremble from my words, fought to keep myself from falling apart.
“I did this.” I took another. “I did it all. I killed him. I failed to get Kalliste back. I was the one who left us open to attack…who left us vulnerable—who left you vulnerable.”
Austine’s sneer trembled as the guttural snarl of the Dragon deepened.
“It’s all my fault. I’m the one they wanted to kill. I’m the one who stood in their way.” I stared at her thighs and stepped again. “I’m the problem…the one who burned, who killed…who stood in their way.” One more step…
I reached out and skimmed my fingers against her thigh. She cowered from my touch, and that unseen knife in my chest drove deeper. “I’m the one they want to kill…”
Dead flesh spread out along her neck. Black blood pulsed through her veins, driving higher along her beautiful cheek. Her fingers curled into fists, spine straightened as pain etched deep in her gaze.
My foot wouldn’t move…wouldn’t take that last step. I clenched my fist, driving nails deep into flesh. Pain lanced my palm, anchoring me and my foot rose. “I’m here, right here.” I tore my gaze from Oryn to stare at Austine. “Kill me…that’s what you want, isn’t it?”
His pale lips curled. Blood filled the cracks between his teeth. He glanced from Oryn to me as I ascended. There was no flinch now as I brushed her hand, no hate or hurt—if there was I couldn’t see.
All I saw was him. All I felt was her. I dragged her from his side and pushed in, wedging myself between him and her.
It was simple, just a switch of a hold. His grip released from around her neck. Nails gouged my throat as his hand tightened around mine. The scuff of her boots echoed behind me.
“Oryn, co
me to me,” Parry commanded.
Her sob cut through the air. Her steps raced, moving farther away and that ache in my chest eased…just a little.
“You are a stupid bitch, aren’t you?” Austine muttered. His nails carved my flesh, pressing against my vein.
The heavy thud echoed in my head. I tried to think as that dark power inside me swelled. My hound neared barbarous and bloodthirsty. I knew what she wanted now. Knew what she craved.
And the words were whispered from the walls. “You killed my people…you bit them…infected them.”
His chest rose with a sudden breath. There was a sickness in his eyes, one that ran deeper than the vile undead blood in his veins. It was a sickness of the soul…a rot that could never be healed. “You chose the weakest to turn them into those things. The strong fight but they can’t win.”
The corner of his lips twitched.
“But you’ve never met your match, have you?” Danger spilled from my hound, it rumbled in my chest, spilling from my heart. “If a bite from my Father can kill a Guardian, I wonder what happens, Vampire, when you’re bitten by me?”
Midnight flames came to life along my arms, dark and brutal…and deadly. I lunged, grasped his shoulders and wrenched the Vampire close.
The brutal attack was instant. Fangs carved flesh and this blood, and this infernal fucking filth I swallowed. His hand slipped from around my throat. Nails pierced my cheek, stabbing, clawing as a piercing squeal tore free.
I closed my eyes to the sting as that sound tore through his throat and spilled into mine. Hellhound venom pumped into his body. I dropped my walls, the walls between me and my Hound…but there was another.
Fire and flames and power…so much power.
His Heartsblood and mine swirled like tempest storm, and as the Dragon’s cry pierced the air I dragged my fangs free.
“Get off him!” the Huntress screamed. She raised her hand and swept the air.
My head snapped to the side from the unseen blow. I was hit…and hit again. The ceiling crumbled, stones fell to smash against the floor. Austine stumbled backwards. Black blood oozed between his fingers as he clutched his throat.