by Lisa Morgan
“Stay down, for the Goddess’s sake,” Autumn fired back as she released her hold on me, running toward the door. I followed behind her, dodging a revenant’s clutch. Michel cut off the hand that reached for me before sinking his blade into the eyes. With a howl, the creature turned to ash.
“You were supposed to be gone!” Michel yelled at me, grabbing my wrist. “Damn flighty witch—”
“No!” I cut him off. “There’s a werewolf in the cell! I asked her to free him!”
“Maggie!” Michel wailed in disbelief. “You need to get back to The Trust where you’re safe.” I saw Autumn emerge from the catacombs below, Davis leaning on her heavily. I ran to them, leaving Michel behind me.
“Brother!” Luc howled the warning. Michel turned, avoiding a revenant blade, and in return severing its head.
I exhaled with a sigh of relief, seeing the number of monster’s falling at the hands of a single fae and two vampires. I turned back to Autumn and the lycan.
“Davis,” I said, holding his gaze. “We’re gonna take you to a safe place.”
“I can fight,” he pronounced, trying to straighten himself. He wobbled on his feet and Autumn wrapped her arms around him tighter.
“You couldn’t lay there and nurse puppies right now in the condition you’re in,” the witch informed Davis.
She looked to me and held Davis close. With a nod, her form wavered and disappeared, taking the newly freed captive with her.
“Margaret Henning!” an evil yell rang. It was then that I realized the sounds of fighting had stopped. I spun around on my heels as the voice registered.
Luc was crouched, juggling both of his weapons in his hands. Seatha fluttered in the air, one of her wings sliced and weakened, so she was forced to hover at an angle.
Ossa stood in front of the altar; revenants on either side of him, at least as many as had been here to witness my demise and replacing the numbers that had fallen.
The revenant commander held Michel against him, skeletal fist woven mercilessly in the vampire’s hair. The knife he’d used to cut my cheek was pressed tight to the prince’s throat. Michel’s sword lay on the ground to his side, out of reach.
Ossa spoke, his voice angry and even, “You came to us, albeit foolishly, but regardless, willingly. You offered yourself to us. I kept my word and let those you care for go free. I was to show you mercy, prepared to give you a quick death.”
“Bullshit,” Michel bit out at the monster that held him.
“Perhaps not as quick as you would have wished, but quick compared to the countless years my people have withered away. The vampire so eloquently corrects my words.” The dagger pressed in closer to Michel’s neck. From the corner of my eye I saw Luc take a step closer.
“No further!” Ossa ordered and Luc obeyed.
“I wonder,” he thought aloud, “why do you think, Margaret Henning, that one vampire prince stops short from trying to save his brother? Why do you believe the fairy hesitates in rushing me and driving her little knife into my eyes?”
I looked to Seatha, seeing her not making a move to help Michel, just as Ossa had claimed.
“I don’t know,” I remarked, “maybe they’re waiting for the results of the coin toss to see who gets the honor?”
“You boast, Margaret,” the leader answered, the smirk altering his skull as he wrenched Michel’s head back. “Mayhaps the vampire can tell you? Explain it to our little firebird, would you, Prince Michel?”
Michel’s eyes meant mine. He held my gaze, but pursed his lips in defiance to Ossa’s command.
“No?” he taunted at Michel’s reluctance. “Then I shall.”
The air was heavy as I watched Ossa and Michel. I could see Seatha and Luc, still unmoving, and Luc’s body had become rigid as he seethed at his brother’s captor.
“Do you remember when I introduced you to this?” the leader asked, gesturing with the dagger.
“You left a little scratch on my face,” I answered flatly.
“I did,” Ossa continued, sounding pleased. “I cut your pretty face. But even now, your power helps you to heal faster.” Touching my cheek, I could feel a newly formed scab over the wound, already smaller than the cut had been. I was healing quicker than I would have expected, that much of Ossa’s rhetoric was true.
The revenant continued, “Vampires are endowed with so many wonderful gifts, aren’t they, Margaret? They can run and fight with accelerated speed. They can see with their eyes what other creatures need devices to witness. They heal rapidly and age slowly, living to virtual immortality. But for all of these gifts, there is one caveat, a provision set forth by their creators to maintain a balance of power.”
“Poor fashion sense?” I quipped.
“No,” Ossa retorted in seriousness, “Phoenix blood.”
“Phoenix blood?” I asked, confused.
The revenant held the dagger out to display his point. “The very thing I want from you, the substance that will give mine the power we deserve, is the one fatal poison to vampires, Margaret. One drop, coursing through them, is like acid, burning away all life from their bodies; eventually and painfully sending the blood drinkers to their makers.”
I looked at Michel’s eyes, seeking the truth of Ossa’s revelation and prayed there was none to be found.
“Tell her, vampire,” the creature demanded, pushing the dagger back to Michel’s jugular and jerking his head back further, fully extending his neck. The vampire strained to move so that his eyes could find me.
“Maggie,” Michel struggled under the revenants grip. “It’s … true.”
I could see the stain of my blood on the curve of the blade pressed to his throat, and the blood that was running through my veins became glacial.
The time draws near, Maggie, the female voice echoed in my head.
“Let him go,” I bartered, my breathing desperate. “You can have me! You can drain every drop of fluid from my body, just … release him. Let my friends leave here unharmed, and I’ll do what you want.”
“Innocent Maggie,” Ossa said with feigned sympathy in his words. “I do not feel inclined to honor such a demand now. They will only return, trying to avenge you as they so foolishly did tonight. No, sweet Maggie. I do not believe you have any further say in this matter.”
Breathe, Maggie, the voice warned from within. Be brave.
Even as I opened my mouth to shout at the woman’s words, to beg her to quit talking in riddles, I saw Ossa lift the knife over his head. I watched Michel’s eyes, steadfast and courageous, staring at me. He didn’t struggle against Ossa, even as the wicked leader swung his arm down, shoving the curved blade tainted with my blood deep into the prince’s chest.
Michel’s body arched backward when the handle of the knife was forced to stop its journey at his ribcage. Ossa let the prince free from his hold, lifting his arms in the air in triumph.
Time seemingly slowed around me. I heard Luc’s wail in the distance, saw him lifting his blades as he rush the revenant leader who’d plunged the dagger into his sibling’s heart. I was vaguely aware that Seatha, who had been floating under the power of her injured wings, had now sunk to her knees with her head bowed forward.
I watched in a sort of disconnect, as Michel’s body shuddered and jerked before slowly slipping to the ground at Ossa’s feet.
Now, Maggie! Her voice commanded me.
In a split second, my vision had changed. The world around me turned to a hazy blood red. My arms shot out to my sides, my shoulders rolling back as my head tipped to sky. My ankles pressed together and my feet left the ground, hovering above the earth where I’d stood.
And I combusted; red hot flames crawling over my body and taking control of my senses. It consumed the oxygen in my lungs and singed the tears from my eyes before they had a chance to freefall. I’d become a living inferno.
Willing my eyes to glare at Ossa’s, I felt the flickering of flames dancing in my pupils. I thrust my arms before me, willing a stream of li
quid fire from my hands and rushing it toward Michel’s murderer. Ossa ducked, narrowly avoiding the lava and falling to the ground.
I spun seamlessly in the air, facing the revenants that had so foolishly chosen to rush me, my brimstone consuming them and leaving nothing except ash drifting in the breeze. Another contingent of armed monsters came at me from behind, and without hesitation, the flaming hell that was now under my power disintegrated them.
My eyes searched through the crimson tint to find where Ossa lay on the ground. A sword jutted from his stomach, Michel’s weakened hand still holding the hilt as he struggled to kneel above the villain. Luc stood behind the monster, his katanas poised over his head and coming down for the killing blow.
Ossa’s twisted smile peeked at me as he disappeared in a flash of light before Luc’s blades could fulfill their task.
Screaming out viciously, my fire connected with the trees surrounding us, cutting down all revenants that had not transported fast enough like a hot knife through butter.
My back arched, and the shriek of my pained voice sounded more like an enraged eagle than human. In a powerful vacuum, the flames burning so formidably were sucked back inside my body, quelling the fury as I fell to my knees. I bent my head forward, struggling to catch both my breath and bearings.
The environs had grown silent; not even a crackling of the burning trees rent the air. The cacophony of moments ago, deadened. So it was like a scream when I heard my name whispered.
Struggling through the exhausted confusion that plagued me, I lifted my head to the sound. Luc stared to me as he sat on his knees, carefully cradling his sibling’s head in his lap.
Thirty Eight
I didn’t waste time trying to find the energy to stand. Instead, I scurried on my knees through the ashes and blood that littered the muted clearing, clawing my way with my hands to Michel’s fallen body.
“Michel!” I begged, willing him to open his eyes.
I saw his lids flutter as he fought against the poison, finally finding the strength to open his eyes. Darkness had grown across his expression. His pale skin had mottled, and his once brilliant green eyes had dulled when he looked at me. With effort, the vampire lifted his hand to mine. His grip was weak.
“Did you see that, brother?” Michel whispered to Luc, while continuing to gaze at me. “My girlfriend is hotter than yours.” I struggled to attempt a smile at Michel’s boast.
“I saw, brother,” Luc offered tenderly. “You are indeed blessed.”
I glanced at Luc, and when his eyes found mine, I saw the moisture in them. I turned my eyes away, knowing I couldn’t look at this vampire who I knew was so full of strength, as he suffered. His emotions made the scene too real.
“You’re healing,” Michel managed, reaching toward the mark on my face. I held his hand away; not wanting him to touch the one thing I knew could end his life. “My lovely Phoenix, stop worrying about me. I should be apologizing to you.”
“For what,” I choked, swallowing my grief. “I’m fine. You’re fine.” I dared looking to Luc again, praying he’d offer me reassurance that the words I was speaking were true. He held eye contact for a moment before dropping his eyes, unable to give me the answer I wanted.
“I was supposed to keep you safe,” Michel whispered to me.
“You did,” I argued softly, tasting the salt on my lips as the tears I desperately tried to hide broke free.
The air behind us shifted, but I didn’t turn from Michel. I didn’t care if Ossa or some other manner of killer was there ready to take me. I wasn’t leaving Michel’s side.
I sensed them moving close, and I spared a glance at the intruder. Liam squatted beside me, his hand delicate on my shoulder. Seatha stood a few paces behind him, looking down at us with soundless tears spilling over her cheeks.
Michel gasped then coughed, his eyes bulging as he fought for air even as inky blood sprayed from his mouth. His chest rattled when he drew the waning breaths and his grip on my hand, momentarily tightened. He gasped again and a few drops of blood slipped from the corners of his lips as his eyes rolled backward.
“Michel?” I prayed aloud, the two syllables cracking as I tried to speak. He blinked a few times and then found me again.
“Luc?” he asked, a smile on his paling lips as he looked up at me while struggling to speak to his brother.
“I’m here,” Luc offered gently, reaching to take his brother’s free hand in his own. “I’ve always been right here.”
“See …” Michel began again as he turned his face to his brother, but was forced to pause as another coughing fit stole away his air, the gasps that followed, more strangled than before. In a voice that left no room to debate his request, Michel finished, “See that I get home?”
“Michel—,” Luc’s voice choked. He looked away, not wishing his brother to see his grief stricken tears. He took a deep breath before answering in a measured vow, “I will.”
Michel turned back and whispered to me, the black fluid now escaping from his nostrils and mouth as he weakly reached to touch my chin, “I would give anything for you.”
“You don’t have to give anything. I’m here. I’m with you, Michel.” My pain stammered my words as I tried to plead with him over something out of our control. “Please, don’t leave me.”
The vampire’s murky eyes flitted between mine, studying my face as I’d seen him do so many times before.
“I want your eyes to be the memory I take with me,” he requested breathlessly. My shoulders shuddered as I wept. Michel was slipping away from me even as he lay here, and I couldn’t stop it.
I don’t want you to go, I pleaded with my thoughts. I’m sorry, Michel. Please, I’ll do anything, just please, stay.
He smiled, using the last of his failing strength to wipe at my damp cheeks.
I love you, Michel.
“And I; you,” he managed to say.
Michel’s smile twisted in pain. His eyes widened as his head jerked backward and his body trembled fitfully. I grabbed him, pulling him closer to me as his body appeared to seize. I heard Seatha’s sharp intake of breath as his back arched in my arms and blood sputtered out of his mouth as he gagged. I felt my grandfather squeeze my shoulder tighter, and I struggled to keep myself together.
“Maggie?” Michel exhaled painfully as the shaking subsided.
I cradled him as the rattle beneath his ribs faded, as his skin grew translucent. I closed my eyes and bent closer, putting my forehead against his.
“I’m right here,” I whispered.
I felt his hand take the nape of my neck in its grip, pulling my face back slightly to look at him. The light had gone out of his eyes, the silver reflections that had swam in his irises were missing, and the green had become swampy.
Almost to the point of pain, he held me. Michel’s near lifeless eyes stared as his voice bit out, “I love … you …”
Michel’s grip went limp as his eyes closed. I felt his muscles slacken and I watched as his head fell to the side. Through my sobs, and despite my imploring to whatever gods were out there, I watched Michel’s life leave his body.
I couldn’t move; numbness and denial took their hold over me. The words I heard people around me saying were distorted, twisted and warped whispers speaking and calling from someplace a million miles away in the dark. They wanted me, I knew they wanted me, but I couldn’t reach through the black water I was drowning in to find them.
Maggie, I heard the female voice whisper to me softly.
“Maggie,” Liam’s voice broke through the cloud, his hand on my back, drawing my attention. “Granddaughter.” He eased next to me, soft words making a request I didn’t comprehend.
“Wh−what?” My vision was blurry. I must have something in my eyes. I made to wipe whatever it was away, but a heavy weight held my hand down.
Michel’s limp hand still clutched in mine.
“Maggie,” Liam coaxed gently. “You have to let go of him.”
I loo
ked from Michel’s peaceful face, back to Liam’s, finally understanding what my grandfather was asking of me.
“No,” I begged quietly, shaking my head. “Don’t make me. Please?”
Luc had adjusted his position on the other side of his fallen sibling. He held Michel’s body, though I didn’t know when that had happened, when Luc had taken him for me. I watched as he raised his eyes, though the image was blurred and out of focus.
Tears, I realized. My vision was distorted by tears.
“Maggie,” Luc choked out, his voice barely a whisper as he leaned forward and touched my chin. “Please, let go.”
My heart broke for him.
He didn’t wait for my agreement. Luc carefully slid his hand under his brother’s knees. I watched through hazy eyesight, unable to move, as the vampire moved his other arm to cradle Michel’s neck.
My grip on Michel’s hand eased as Luc lifted his brother’s lifeless frame into his arms. He stood as he embraced Michel to his chest, as if his sibling were a sleeping child. Luc’s eyes, wracked with pain, looked from Michel to me.
“Maggie,” Luc whispered. “I’m sorry.”
I watched, unable to move, as Luc’s form shimmered, his brother braced to his chest, and quietly faded away.
Michel was gone.
“Maggie?” Liam urged gently as his palm rubbed my back. “Come, it’s time we go home.”
I felt the pull of the transporting with my grandfather, but I knew it wouldn’t make me ill this time. I was already sick.
When we came back to ourselves, Liam was kneeling next to me. I was still on my knees, but now on the hardwood floor in the library of The Trust. Autumn and Davis sat watching on the settee, and I saw the tear she tried to hold in escape her eye. Seatha’s back was to me as she stared out of the window to the garden.
Unable to keep it bottled, my head fell into my hands and I began sobbing. The air I needed to breathe wouldn’t come, so I gasped and choked. My body shook ferociously as grief consumed me.
Liam stayed with me, his hand on my back, but he didn’t try to help calm me down. He didn’t attempt to offer words of comfort or lies that everything would be all right. Instead, he pulled against him and clung to me tightly, rocking me back and forth as I made no effort at containing myself.