by Rachael Byrd
There was a bit of nervous laughter and Intrigue continued.
"You don't have to stick around to make sure that you've killed them. Drive them in toward the center of The City. We'll all stake as many as we can. When the sun comes up, that should take care of any survivors. The fire will take all the buildings; there'll be nowhere to hide, which is exactly the way we want it. If any of us are still alive at the end of this ... we should probably try to be, just to make sure that everything turns out right, but anyway, if we're still alive, we'll have to commit suicide at the end.” The others shifted about nervously, and Intrigue's stomach tightened with fearful anticipation.
Adrienne and Aurelius stood hip to hip, their hands clasped. They looked horribly vulnerable and somehow tragic. She hoped that they would die peacefully. Jonathon looked fierce and angry, ready to do or die. Kshatriya was as calm as always, accepting everything as it came his way, and Intrigue wondered at his self control. Caligula and Hadrian were both pale and jittery, shifting weight from foot to foot every few seconds. Carmine stood a few feet away from the group looking woefully alone in the absence of both Belle and Tyrhennia. Hawk pulled Talon into his arms for one last kiss and she did not seem willing to let him go.
Intrigue looked around the circle, feeling completely at peace. The others were quiet as well, until, at last, Jonathon pulled the top off one of his bright red gasoline jugs and threw a handful on the ground.
"Let's get this fire started, hm?” He gathered up his gasoline and sprinted into the night. Laughing triumphantly, Intrigue picked up hers and ran in the opposite direction. She heard the others’ footsteps behind her. A few seconds later, she heard the whoosh of flame, and knew that Talon had thrown the first match. Still grinning, she stretched out her legs and pushed herself to outrun the fire.
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"No!"
A Nosferatu darted outside the circle of flame, snatching up Talon. She screamed, beating on his chest, and he snapped her neck back, burying his fangs in her throat. Hawk screamed and launched himself at the offender. The Nosferatu tossed Talon over his shoulder just before Hawk landed, and he ran back into the circle, heading toward the center of The City.
"Not Talon! She was safe, she was supposed to get out! No!” Hawk collapsed on the ground, staring at the wall of flame that rose in front of him. He could go after them, he knew, but for what purpose? Talon had been bitten, there was no real chance for her to recover, and there was no way for him to find her in the chaos. Even should he somehow manage to find her, she was now as damned as he, and would have to die at the end of the fire.
Numb, Hawk snapped a small limb off a tree and peeled back the bark. He pushed the sharper end against his chest, dimpling the soft skin. He leaned forward, pressing the rounded end securely into the slightly damp earth, then shoved himself downward. The branch ran through him, piercing his heart. He lay on the ground, writhing and twitching.
"Talon..."
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Intrigue ran the stake Angel had given her through the heart of a young female Nosferatu, then stopped, taking a deep breath. The ring of fire was moving closer and burning hotter than ever. She had not realized it before tonight, but Angel's Den lay at the center of The City, and nearly all of the Nosferatu had holed up in there. She wasn't going to bother going in after them; she had doused the building with gasoline and they would all burn.
The other Chaotics were finishing up and she felt no need to see them again before she died. Their unity had played its purpose.
The sun licked at the horizon already, and she knew that it was time. She slipped Angel's ring onto her finger, then pressed his stake against her chest. She could smell the odor of his blood rising from the stake and felt justified at last. Everything was the way it should be. She had won.
Intrigue shoved the stake into her chest. Pain twisted through her, accompanying the sick crunch as she broke through her ribs. Her heart burst in a final gasp of heat. She pulled the stake out, stared at it for a moment, and then collapsed onto the ground.
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Crow's job was done. He had staked vampire after vampire, and they had fled from him toward the center of The City as if they believed him to be a real Chaotic. He hadn't seen any of the others since they had started, but he could see the sky beginning to lighten in the east. The fire had almost reached Angel's Den, and he knew that the fight was over.
His eyes widened when he saw the girl lying on the ground, perhaps a hundred yards from Den 902. There was something familiar about her...
"Intrigue!"
The girl pushed herself up off the ground, a stake in her hand, and he wondered how he could have thought for even a moment that it might be Intrigue.
She was taller than Intrigue, perhaps as much as six inches, and thinner. Her hair was long and dark, almost black. Her skin was dreadfully pale, and her eyes were black and direct. There was something about the way she carried herself that made Hawk stop and stare.
The claws were slung over her shoulder. Hawk ran toward her, hopeful. She met his gaze, her smile wide and radiant, and she allowed him to embrace her, to hold onto her for a moment.
"Intrigue?"
She laughed. “You know that I'm not. I don't even look like Intrigue. Do you wish that I was her, Crow?"
He stared into those too-dark eyes. “No, War-Child. I don't."
"I didn't think that you did."
"I love you, Gem."
She bent to kiss Crow and he accepted it. Her lips were soft, warm, and pliant. She broke away a moment later, looking quietly at the wall of fire that was advancing on them.
"Gem, why didn't everything work out? We were supposed to be returned to normality. Why were there vampires? Why were you ... gone?"
"I wasn't gone. You knew where I was."
"She wouldn't let me close to you. Gem, please tell me why."
"I don't know. I don't think that the River swept everything away. Someone must have stayed behind, and that messed up the rebirth. We weren't returned to normality ... but we can keep trying."
"Can we?"
"Of course.” Gem raised a stake and shoved it into her chest. She stood there, swaying on her feet, and allowed Hawk to lift her weightless body into his arms as the sun rose over the horizon.
"Why?"
Gem's eyes fluttered closed and she rested her head against his chest. “Some of them escaped. This would happen again. This whole thing. But it doesn't have to. We are the catalysts, Crow. The River only rises for us.” Gem smiled. Her eyes opened once more, and she looked out toward the wall of fire. “There it is. Don't fight it. I'll see you on the other side."
Gem closed her eyes and died. Crow stood there for a moment, tears running down his face. He looked up into the brilliant white-gold heat walked toward the fire. There was a moment of warmth, then he felt cool waters swirling around his body. He thought about swimming, then remembered how peacefully Gem had gone, and allowed the River to sweep him under.
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