The Assassins of Light

by Britney Jackson

  Dr. Davidson laughed. “I told you, didn’t I?” he said to the man next to him, who also laughed. “She has such idyllic views of right and wrong. It’s funny.”

  “Is it?” Rose said sharply. “You know what I think is funny? Claiming to only care about protecting humans and then coming after my friends and family, who are,” she snarled, “humans!” The anger had risen up inside her so suddenly that she didn’t even notice that she’d taken a step forward. She didn’t notice that she’d growled at them, her fangs bared. Until she saw the guns pointed at them.

  “Take one more step,” her professor warned, “and your friends die.”

  Rose held up her hands. “Okay. I’m sorry. Just…put the guns down.”

  Dr. Davidson nodded, and the other six Assassins of Light lowered their guns. “You see, Rose,” he said with a smile, “we don’t want to hurt your friends.”

  “Oh, yeah. I can tell,” Rose said, “especially when you point guns at them.”

  He smiled at her sarcasm. He knew her well enough to expect it. “Yes, well, we’re all grown-ups here. We understand that you just can’t save everyone.”

  “That’s called giving up, not growing up,” Rose corrected. She flashed a sassy smile at her professor. “I see why you chose History, instead of English.”

  “Tell me, Rose,” Dr. Davidson said, “how is saving everyone working out for you? Did you manage to save Alana? Or Dr. Parker?” He smiled. “You looked so guilty that next morning, after we found her body, drained of blood.”

  The guilt twisted in Rose’s stomach like a dagger, the pain so intense, it took her breath. The memory of that night sickened her, and the realization that he’d known all along, that his smiles that next day were lies, only made it worse.

  “What is he talking about?” Zach asked Rose. “Who are these people?”

  “But it’s okay,” Dr. Davidson continued. “By all means, keep trying to save everyone. It makes our job easier. As a matter of fact, we’re counting on it.”

  Rose looked up at him, her brows furrowing. “What do you mean?”

  “I know all about you, Rose,” Dr. Davidson told her. “I know you’re a genius. I know you’ve already calculated the odds in your head. You’ve realized you’re not fast enough. There are seven of us and one of you. In the time it would take for you to fight all of us, we’d have time to shoot at least one of your friends. You’d never risk that. I know you have self-destructive tendencies, but you’re too wise to do anything stupid. Until someone needs you. Then, you become a martyr. I know that you care very little about yourself and very much about your friends. Which is why I also know that you will sacrifice yourself to save your friends.”

  “Wow,” Rose said, her eyebrows lifting. “I could have sworn you were the Head of the History Department, not the Head of the Psych Department.”

  “Are you disagreeing, then?” he asked. “You won’t surrender for them?”

  The other six Assassins lifted their guns and pointed them at Rose’s friends—two guns aimed at Audrey, two aimed at Owen, and two aimed at Zach.

  “No,” Rose said, holding up her hands. “I already said you can have me.”

  “What are you doing, Rose?” Zach asked, frowning worriedly at her.

  “I should warn you,” Dr. Davidson said. “If you defend yourself, we will kill them.” He offered her a polite smile that looked totally out-of-place in such a lethal situation. “There’s no point in resisting, anyway. You know you’d fail. Your power requires concentration, and you can’t concentrate, if you’re fighting.”

  “I get it,” Rose said quietly. “There’s only one way to save my friends, and this is it. Just do it. I don’t want anyone to die because of me. I surrender.”

  “I personally guarantee their safety,” he said, “as long as you don’t fight.”

  “Rose,” Audrey said, her lips trembling with fear, “you can’t do this.”

  “I have to,” Rose said without looking at her. “I have to protect you.”

  “No, you don’t,” Audrey argued, shaking her head. “Not like this.”

  “Apologies,” Dr. Davidson told Rose, smiling. “This might hurt a little.”

  All of the Assassins of Light turned, then, and shot Rose, instead of her friends. All, except for Dr. Davidson, who watched with that strange, polite smile.

  Rose thought she heard a scream, but she couldn’t tell whether it came from her own mouth or from one of her friends, as the pain disoriented her, blurring her senses. She heard more gunshots, her ears aching from the loudness, and she felt warm blood spilling out over her hands, as she clasped them over her stomach. She fell to her knees, her strength fading quickly. The grass was wet—with her own blood, she realized—and it soaked through her jeans. Time seemed to stretch on and on, each second an eternity, as pain exploded inside her body.

  She couldn’t remember why she was fighting to stay conscious. It seemed easier to just let the sleep overtake her. At least then, it wouldn’t hurt so badly. She collapsed. The ground felt cold and hard beneath her back, and as the blood poured from the many wounds in her body, the coldness began to take her, too.

  Dr. Davidson stepped forward, the leaves crunching beneath his boots. “The bullets in your heart will probably kill you, if you’re not allowed to feed,” he said. He pulled out his own gun and pointed it at her. “But I prefer certainty.”

  Strange noises broke through the sleepy disorientation washing over her. She thought she heard screams, grunts, and yells, but then, she figured that she must have been hallucinating. As the blood washed over her body, she stared up at the black sky and the bright, sparkling stars scattered across it, and thought about how much she always loved the darkness, how it had always felt like home.

  One of the Assassins of Light stood over her now, pointing his gun at her head, his blurred form obscuring her view of the beautiful, star-speckled sky.

  Somehow, she knew that this bullet would kill her.

  There was no reason for her to think that. She couldn’t even think clearly enough to figure out which Assassin stood over her. Yet, somehow, she knew it. This was the Assassin of Light who held the gun with the poisoned-blood bullets.

  As that one moment stretched on for an impossible amount of time, the realization that she was about to die—permanently, this time—washed over her.

  “Rose!” Zach yelled as he stumbled out into the darkness, trying, against all odds, to reach her in time. His eyes adjusted to the moonlight, just enough that he could see the guns pointed at them and Rose’s motionless body on the ground.

  Audrey clasped her hand over her mouth to the stifle her fearful screams.

  Owen fumbled with his phone, trying to turn on the flashlight, so that he could see. He looked up, suddenly, as he heard leaves rustling in the woods.

  Zach froze when he heard one of the Assassins suddenly yell out.

  One-by-one, the Assassins of Light turned to look at the one who had yelled out, their eyes widening in horror, as they saw the blade buried in his chest. They squinted, trying to see the thing that moved fluidly in the shadows, its form blurring before their eyes, but it moved faster than the human eye could follow.

  “Vampire!” one of the Assassins of Light screamed.

  But it was too late.

  Owen finally managed to turn on the flashlight, but he could do nothing but watch as the dark form twisted and blurred through the Assassins of Light, killing each one of them, one after another. One-by-one, they collapsed on the ground. Dead. Some of them had daggers buried in their chest. Some of them had knives in their head. Some of them appeared to have no injuries whatsoever.

  Zach stumbled backward, his eyes widening. “What the hell is that?”

  Finally, the dark form stopped in front of her last victim—Dr. Davidson.

  The vampire smiled slowly, her lips curling into a smug, decadent smile.

  The Assassin pointed his gun at this new vampire, instead, and pulled the trigger. But
as he did, the vampire caught his arm. She twisted it back and then up, breaking his arm…and also causing the bullet to shoot directly into his face.

  Rose blinked slowly, her consciousness fading in and out, as she watched the shadows twist and fall. Or, at least, she thought that was what she’d seen, but her vision was so blurry, and her mind was so disoriented, that she wasn’t quite sure what she was seeing. She heard a muffled sound—a thud—as the blurred form of the Assassin seemed to disappear, and another silhouette took its place.

  A tall, beautiful silhouette with eyes that pierced through the darkness.

  And despite her blurred vision and hazy, barely-conscious mind, Rose knew that silhouette. Those gorgeous angles and curves. Those lean muscles. That soft, silky hair that hung around her face. And then, of course, those icy blue eyes.

  Rose felt her lips curl into a relieved smile. “Kara,” she breathed.

  Kara tilted her head to the side and flashed a flirty smirk. “Miss me?”

  “Yes,” Rose said, and then, she promptly passed out.

  The Rescue

  Kara stared down at Rose, her eyes wide, stunned by how sincere that yes had sounded. The sound of footsteps startled her out of her thoughts, though, and she turned, watching as the others finally caught up with her. She watched as they took in the sight before them: the dead bodies scattered across the lawn.

  She raised an eyebrow as Aaron met her gaze. “Nice timing,” she scoffed.

  His dark eyes narrowed. He knelt to pick up the gun at her feet, prying it from the corpse’s hand. “Are these the poisoned-blood bullets?” he asked her.

  “Don’t know. Don’t care,” she said. “It’s in his face, if you want to look.”

  Kara could practically feel the glare he shot her way, but she didn’t even bother to look. She had a more immediate matter to attend to. She kicked the Assassin’s corpse out of the way, and then, she crouched down in front of Rose. She gently scooped Rose’s unconscious body into her arms, cradling Rose as easily as a human might cradle a baby. She carried Rose toward the stone house.

  One of the humans stepped in front of her. Kara instantly recognized his eyes. They were the exact same color as Rose’s eyes: a bright, azure blue. He held out his tattooed arms. “Give her to me,” he demanded. “I’ll take it from here.”

  “No offense,” Kara laughed, “but I’m much stronger than you are.”

  Zach frowned, clearly offended. “Uh, I doubt that,” he scoffed. But then, he looked at Rose and saw the blood that soaked her clothes. He sucked in a sharp breath. “I heard them. They called you a vampire. Before you…killed them.”

  “Brilliant observation,” Kara said dryly. She flashed a wide smile at him, revealing the two, gleaming, razor-sharp fangs in her mouth. “Now, step aside.”

  He stepped back, his eyes widening. “How… That’s…not possible.”

  “I need to get your sister inside,” Kara told him, “so I can save her life.”

  His brows furrowed. “Wait. How did you know that she’s my sister?”

  She lifted her eyebrows. “She’s been shot fourteen times. Three of the bullets are in her heart, which was already in bad shape, by the way. Do you really want to discuss how I know what I know, right now, while your sister is dying?”

  Zach nodded. “Point taken,” he mumbled. He stepped out of her way.

  As Kara carried Rose toward the front door, passing Owen and Audrey on her way, Audrey darted toward Zach, her eyes wide. “You’re not going to just let her take Rose, are you?!” she hissed. “We just watched her murder people!”

  “Of course he is,” Kara said from the door, turning to look at Audrey, “because he wants his sister to survive. Now, can someone open the door, please?”

  Owen stumbled forward and opened the door. “Which one are you?”

  “You don’t recognize me? Didn’t your boyfriend’s family brainwash you well enough?” Kara asked. She leaned toward him and whispered, “In that book of theirs, I have blonde hair, and I’m wearing armor. Page eighteen. After Alana.”

  He stepped back, the color draining from his face. “Kara Unnarsdóttir.”

  “Ah, look at that. They did train you well,” Kara said bitterly. She stepped into the house. “Come along, humans! I don’t want any of you getting eaten!”

  Audrey exchanged a horrified look with Owen, and then, they followed Kara into the house…with a very confused Zach trailing closely behind. “I don’t like this woman,” she whispered to Owen, “she’s weird, scary, and leather-clad.”

  “And oddly attractive,” Zach mumbled, “like that other weird woman.”

  “I think her name was Emma,” Owen said to Zach, “and that attraction you’re feeling toward them is called the allure. It’s because they’re vampires. You need to ignore it, if you can.” He glanced back at Zach. “Are you following this?”

  “Not at all,” Zach admitted. “I’m still trying to process the vampire part.”

  They passed the stairwell, following as Kara carried Rose into the living room. She navigated the house easily, almost as if she’d been there before.

  “It’s also,” Owen added, “a little weird to gawk at your sister’s girlfriend.”

  Zach spun toward him, his jaw dropping. “Rose is dating a vampire?!”

  Owen laughed nervously. “Uh, yeah,” he mumbled, “about that…”

  But at the same time, Audrey said, “Rose is dating a woman in leather?”

  Kara snorted. “This conversation is amusing and all,” she said, startling them, “but I’m going to need you to step out of the room so that I can do this.”

  “What?” Zach snarled. “I’m not leaving a vampire alone with my sister.”

  Kara chuckled, “Boy, are you in the dark.” She shifted Rose’s body in her arms, preparing to lay her on the sofa. “Listen, Rose needs something before she can wake up. Something that I need to give her. But I need you to leave first.”

  Zach’s demeanor deflated a little bit, a hint of fear flashing in his bright blue eyes. “I don’t understand how she could survive at all,” he said quietly, “after they shot her that many times. You said they shot her in the heart, too. Why isn’t she dead?” He shook his head, apparently deciding that he didn’t need that answer at the moment. “Regardless, I’m not leaving you alone with her. I’ll stay in here.”

  “Uh,” Owen said awkwardly, his eyes wide, “you don’t want to do that.”

  Kara lifted her eyebrows. “Yeah. I mean, I’m not shy or anything,” she said with a playful grin, “but her brother? Even I would be creeped out by that.”

  “What she’s trying to say,” Audrey added, “is…it’s going to get weird.”

  “What will get weird? Do you know what she’s going to do?” Zach asked.

  “Yes,” Audrey said. “I’ve…umm…seen it before.” Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Kara raise an eyebrow at that. “Trust me. We need to leave.”

  After Kara lay Rose’s blood-soaked body on the sofa, she straightened, watching them impatiently. She didn’t have time to dance around the subject all night. “Your sister is a vampire. She needs my blood to heal. And blood-sharing is sexual,” she said tiredly. “Now, go to the kitchen while you process all of that.”

  Zach was still gaping as Owen and Audrey dragged him out of the room.

  Once she was alone, Kara finally allowed herself to look at Rose—to really look at her—and see the broken state of her body. “If I’d been one minute later,” she said with a pained sigh, “holy hell, Rose.” She crawled onto the sofa and straddled Rose’s hips. She sank her fangs into her own wrist, and then, she held her bleeding wrist close to Rose’s mouth, waiting for the instincts to kick in.

  The scent of Kara’s blood called out to Rose in a way that no one else’s blood did. Perhaps it was the blood bond. Or perhaps it was something else. But a connection existed between them—deep, powerful, and compelling—and that connection pulled at Rose now, tugging her out of her
sleep, urging her to feed.

  Kara waited, her brows creased with concern, as the blood brought Rose into a state of semi-consciousness—the state where her animalistic instincts ruled. Rose’s hands suddenly came up and closed around Kara’s wrist, clutching Kara’s wrist close to her face, as she drank the warm, sweet drops of blood that poured from it. Kara’s eyes fluttered closed at the sensation. “Oh, Rose,” she murmured, so softly that no one else could hear her. “You’ll never know how worried I was.”

  Rose, of course, didn’t react. The sentient part of her still slept. Only the instincts—the dark animal inside of her—had awoken. She groaned at the taste of Kara’s blood, at the way it soothed her hunger, at the way it made every cell of her body come alive. She opened her eyes, the red haze flickering within them.

  Kara’s body tilted forward a little, as if she couldn’t quite hold herself up, as the endorphins rushed through her, overwhelming her with euphoric pleasure and potent, aching desire. She reached out with her free hand and braced it against the back of the couch, and she tightened her leather-clad thighs around Rose’s hips, in an attempt to keep herself sitting upright. But the sensation of Rose’s hips between her legs only intensified the already overwhelming desire that she felt.

  Even though Rose was still mostly unconscious, the instinctual part of her seemed to recognize Kara somehow, and the blood-red haze within her eyes burned brighter, becoming their own source of light in the dimly-lit living room.

  Rose dropped Kara’s wrist, her face coated with blood. Her head tilted to the side as she watched Kara, and then, she sat up suddenly, her face only inches from Kara’s. Kara stared at her curiously, wondering how she’d managed to regain control of her hunger before her injuries had healed. But then, Rose reached out and slid her fingers into Kara’s hair. She tilted Kara’s head to the side and nuzzled her face in the curve of Kara’s neck, inhaling the warm, sweet scent.

  Kara let out a soft cry of pleasure when Rose sank her fangs into Kara’s neck. She ran her fingers up Rose’s back, grasping at Rose’s drenched hoodie, holding desperately to Rose, holding her in the way that a drowning person would hold a lifesaver. And then, as she watched Rose become more feral, more reckless, more animalistic in her feeding, the desire began to burn hotter, more painfully.