The Assassins of Light

by Britney Jackson

  “Of course,” Rose said easily. “I’ll always be here for you.”

  “Speaking of…surviving,” Audrey began. “Is it true that Owen’s a vampire now?” When Rose blinked in surprise, Audrey explained, “Erik told me.”

  Rose sighed, “Jared shot him, and…there was no other way to save him.”

  Audrey nodded. “Do me a favor, and if that ever happens to me, don’t take my immortality into your own hands. I might be scared as hell right now, but I do want to grow old and have kids. I’d rather die than become…what you are.”

  “Blunt as ever, I see,” Rose muttered, her stomach twisting with shame.

  “Ugh. I have to pee. Again,” Audrey whined, bouncing on her feet. “Tell your…whatever he is now…that he needs to put more bathrooms in this house.”

  Rose blinked as Audrey abruptly spun around and ran down the hallway.

  “You know,” Kara said playfully, her voice low and lilting, “there is one way to make her think twice before she says something that might hurt you.”

  Rose turned around and narrowed her eyes at Kara. “You’re not scaring my pregnant best friend to death,” she told her. “So, don’t even think about it.”

  Kara smiled guiltily. “If she weren’t pregnant, though…then, could I…”

  “No,” Rose said, before she even finished. “Absolutely not. Never.”

  “All right, all right,” Kara laughed, “but honestly, I don’t know why you put up with it. I can tell she cares about you and all, but she’s a bitch sometimes.”

  Rose raised an eyebrow. “Why did you put up with Alana?”

  “Point taken,” Kara chuckled. “Come on. We need to get our weapons.”

  Rose raised the left pants leg of her jeans, showing Kara the silver dagger that she’d strapped to her ankle. “This is the only weapon I have,” she told her.

  Kara lifted her eyebrows. “It won’t be when I’m done with you.”

  —

  “Kara,” Aaron said, his voice no louder than a harsh whisper. He tilted his head toward the two men that stood in front of the building. “Don’t miss.”

  Kara reached under her shirt, the thin fabric rolling up, revealing the fair skin of her stomach, as she retrieved two small, throwing knives. She stepped past him, peering around the corner at the humans. Then, her piercing, blue gaze shifted toward him, and a smirk curved at the edges of her lips. “I never miss,” she said as she lifted her hand, holding the throwing knives between her fingers.

  Then, she flung the knives at the Assassins of Light. The sharp blades spiraled through the air and landed precisely in the center of their heads. The two humans collapsed almost instantly, unmoving, their blood staining the pavement.

  Kara turned toward Aaron. “There are more Assassins of Light inside.”

  Aaron looked at Elise. “Do you remember what you’re supposed to do?”

  Elise smiled. “I am going to the police station, where I’m going to charm the socks off of some human police officers and keep them distracted, in case an alarm goes off,” she provided, “and if that doesn’t work, I’ll incapacitate them.”

  Rose lifted her eyebrows. “Oh. That…doesn’t sound ominous at all.”

  Kara chuckled. “Don’t worry. The charming will be more than enough,” she told Rose. She smiled slyly at Elise. “I mean, just look at her. She’s gorgeous.”

  “Thank you,” Elise said as she scooped her long, curly hair into her hands and swept it back behind her shoulders, off of the thin, red dress that she wore.

  Rose nodded. Because of course Elise was gorgeous. Rose couldn’t think of a time when Elise hadn’t looked like a supermodel. “Plus, she has the allure.”

  “Exactly. Most humans can’t even think clearly around a vampire,” Elise said, “and when I’m actually trying, no one can think clearly around me. But if they do happen to put up a fight, I can handle that, too.” She lifted her chin, her blue-gray eyes sparkling, as an excited smile curved at her lips. “I’m not helpless.”

  Kara held up her finger. “Just…don’t use a battle-axe this time.”

  Elise rolled her eyes. “Oh. Believe me. I will never touch your battle-axe again,” she assured her. She cringed at the memory. “That thing freaking hurts.”

  “I’m aware,” Kara said, tapping her side, where she had her own battle-axe scar. She flashed a mischievous smirk. “But that’s also why I like to use it.”

  Elise blew them a kiss. “Good luck,” she called as she turned and left.

  When she turned the corner onto the next street, Aaron turned toward Tom and Isaac. “Tom, you’re entering through the front door. Kill the first guard. You’re not exactly stealthy, so I figure the next two Assassins of Light will hear and come to check on things. Kill them, too. But watch out for their weapons. For now, we only know of the bullets that can kill us, but there could be more. Do not let them shoot you.” He turned to Isaac. “I know you don’t like Tom—for whatever reason—but if you let something happen to him, you’ll regret it.”

  Isaac’s lip curled with disgust. “You know exactly why I don’t like him.”

  Aaron narrowed his eyes at him. “Perhaps, but I refuse to acknowledge that as an actual reason…since it’s fucking not. I am way too old and way too homicidal to deal with your ignorance, so for your own sake, stop annoying me.”

  Isaac said nothing, but seething anger burned in his greenish-brown eyes.

  Aaron continued, “Once the two of you have killed those three guards, grab any files you see in the front offices. If there are weapons, take them as well.”

  “Isolde is already picking off the guards along the perimeter,” Kara told Cassius and Bradley, “and you two will take out the guards near the side exits.”

  The two vampires nodded and began double-checking their weapons.

  “And while all of you are drawing all of their attention toward the front,” Kara said to all of them, “I’ll sneak in through the backdoor, like I always do.”

  “Kara’s spies said that most of the useful information is kept in the back office,” Aaron added, “so she’s going to sift through all of that, and then, before we leave, Kara is going to use their computers to shut down the entire base.”

  “According to my spies, it has to be done from the inside,” Kara said.

  “What about me?” Rose asked curiously. “What did you want me to do?”

  “You’re going with Kara,” Aaron explained. “When Osiris attacked Kara at the Tomb of Blood, it seemed to draw out your power. You melted his insides, after all. That obviously requires a lot of power. So, I want to keep you near Kara, in case the plan goes awry. If this goes badly, it will be your job to save all of us.”

  Rose nodded. “Okay. So, no pressure, then,” she muttered sarcastically.

  Kara stepped past her. “Come on, hero. It’s time to follow the bad girl.”

  Rose followed Kara as she crept around the parking lot, toward the back side of the building. Above ground, the building looked like an abandoned mall, but according to Kara, the base itself was underground. “Are you mocking me?”

  Kara glanced back at her. “Never,” she whispered with a smile. She held out her hand, and when Rose took it, she pulled Rose closer, until they were both hidden behind a faded sign. “You’ve saved my life several times, haven’t you?”

  Rose blushed as she felt Kara’s breath on her ear. She’d assumed, if she ever gave in to her feelings for Kara, that some of the overwhelming tension between them would ease. Just a little. Surely. But apparently, her feelings for Kara were as insatiable as a vampire’s hunger. “You’ve saved my life a few times, too.”

  Kara smiled at her. “Yeah, don’t go spreading that around. I worked hard for my bad girl reputation,” she teased. She closed her eyes and listened to the sounds inside the building. “Come. It sounds like they’ve gotten most of them.”

  The warm breeze gently rustled the leaves of the hedges that surrounded the building and sent a loos
e sheet of paper flying across the parking lot. “At least the weather’s nice,” Rose whispered as they neared the back door of the building.

  “It’s the calm before the storm,” Kara told her quietly. “You can smell the electricity in the air. You can practically feel it. It’s exciting, don’t you think?”

  Rose raised an eyebrow. “As someone from a place with hurricanes? No.”

  Kara laughed and stepped closer. “It reminds me of when I’m with you.”

  “Being with me reminds you of an impending storm?” Rose said slowly. She nodded and flashed a sassy smile. “Wow. That is just the sweetest compliment.”

  Kara smiled at her sarcasm. “You know what I mean,” she whispered, leaning closer, her breath dancing across Rose’s lips. “The sexual electricity. The way the air around us gets so hot and charged. The promise of pleasure in the air.”

  Rose’s eyes widened. “Nope,” she squeaked. “No clue.”

  Kara stepped back, a slow smile curving at her lips. “Liar,” she mouthed.

  Rose’s face reddened as she followed the seductive vampire to the door.

  Kara placed her hand on the doorknob and whispered, “Are you ready?”

  Rose nodded nervously, and Kara jerked the door open, the lock clicking as it broke under the force of her hand. The back door opened into a large, mostly empty room with a few tables and shelves and plenty of long forgotten cleaning supplies. Rose couldn’t tell whether it had been a break room or a storage room.

  Kara eased the door closed behind them and then moved quietly through the room, toward a large, gray rug in the far right corner of the room. She pulled the rug out of the way, revealing a small, wooden door in the floor. The door was held closed with a combination lock, but Kara stepped on the lock with her boot and pressed down, easily crushing the metal beneath her boot. She knelt on one knee and lifted the door, revealing a metal ladder that led down into a cleaner, brighter room. Kara looked up at Rose. “Do you have your weapons ready?”

  Rose was still staring at the pile of crushed metal—all that was left of the lock—when Kara spoke, but now, her bright blue eyes shifted toward Kara, and she nodded. She pulled out her silver dagger and said, “I’m ready, if you are.”

  A cocky smirk pulled at one corner of Kara’s lips. “I’m always ready.”

  Rose went first, carefully climbing down the ladder, listening closely for any suspicious sounds below. When she felt the solid, tile floor beneath her tennis shoes, she stepped away from the ladder and swept her gaze around the room.

  The first thing she noticed was the brightness. She winced as the harsh light burned her eyes. She’d gotten used to the pain of electric lights in her weeks since becoming a vampire, but these stung a little worse than most lights did.

  “Fluorescent,” Kara said as soon as she reached the bottom of the ladder. She stepped away from it and turned toward Rose. “I hate fluorescent lights.”

  “I wonder if that’s why they use them,” Rose mumbled thoughtfully.

  The room appeared to be some kind of kitchen or snack room, complete with a refrigerator in the corner and a stove beside it. Five round tables filled the room, four chairs around each one. Rose frowned at the small door above them.

  “How did they even get this stuff down here?” Rose asked curiously.

  “The other entrances are larger,” Kara said distractedly, as she examined one of the cameras to make sure it was turned off. “According to my spies, there are hundreds of Assassins of Light that work in this one facility, during the day.”

  Rose turned toward her, blinking in shock. “Hundreds?” she breathed.

  Kara nodded. “It’s one of their largest bases,” she sighed. “But most of them went home after sunset. All that were left were the overnight guards. Our team should’ve killed most of them by now, but there might be one or two left.”

  Rose held up her silver dagger. “That’s what this is for, right?”

  Kara smiled and stepped toward her. She took Rose’s hand into hers and began to move Rose’s fingers, adjusting Rose’s grip on the dagger. Her dark, silky hair fell forward, tickling Rose’s wrist, as she continued to adjust Rose’s fingers. “Grip it just tight enough that you have control over it, but not so tight that you have no flexibility,” she said softly. She looked up at Rose. “Tight but not rigid.”

  Rose stared at her, unable to speak for a moment, too distracted by the warmth of Kara’s fingers against hers, too distracted by the intense, blue eyes that stared back at her. “You, umm…” she stammered. “You think I’m rigid?”

  Kara smiled at her. “I think you’re nervous.”

  Rose nodded anxiously. “A little bit. Yeah.”

  “Don’t be,” Kara said. “You always underestimate yourself, Rose.”

  Rose felt a grateful smile tugging at the edges of her lips. “Any advice?”

  “They’re humans,” Kara told her. “So, it’s easy to incapacitate them. You don’t need to slice off their heads or rip out their hearts. You can stab them in the heart or in the head. You can break their neck. Or you could just knock them out. But they’re also Assassins of Light. So, they do have guns that can kill us.”

  Rose offered her a sheepish smile. “It’s a good thing I can stop bullets.”

  Kara stepped back and tilted her head to the side. “You’re becoming more confident,” she murmured, a proud smile curving at her lips, “aren’t you?”

  Rose blinked in surprise. “Oh,” she mumbled, blushing. “Umm, sorry.”

  “It’s a good thing,” Kara said, her smile deepening. “A very good thing.”

  Kara turned and headed toward the door at the back of the room, and Rose followed her. “So, where exactly are we headed?” she asked curiously.

  Kara glanced back at her. “Each base has a leader called the Commander. It’s the highest-ranking Assassin of Light at that particular base. The Commander would be the one with access to the most sensitive information. He’s also the one who gives the commands. The one who could, for example, shut down a base.”

  “Ah,” Rose said. “Then, we’re looking for the Commander’s office?”

  “Looking implies that we don’t already know where it is,” Kara said as she placed her hand on the doorknob, “and I happen to know exactly where it is.”

  “Of course you do,” Rose said as she followed Kara out of the room.

  The kitchen door opened into a short hallway with bright, buzzing lights, bare, white walls, and impeccably clean, white floors. None of which were easy on their sensitive eyesight. Rose winced as she closed the door behind them, and then, she followed Kara down the hallway, toward the sharp left turn at the end. Before they reached it, however, Kara froze. It took Rose a moment to realize why she’d stopped, but then, she heard it, too. Footsteps. Moving toward them.

  Kara turned toward Rose and pressed her finger over her lips, and Rose nodded. They stood as still and quiet as possible, until the human turned the corner, and then, Kara grabbed him and slammed him against the wall with a loud crash. The Assassin of Light grasped blindly for his weapon, but before he could get his hand on a gun or dagger, Kara shoved her own dagger into his chest.

  At that moment, another Assassin of Light rounded the corner, his gun already in his hand. “What the hell?” he breathed when he saw Kara and Rose.

  He pulled the trigger, but Rose stopped the bullet with her mind. Then, before he could shoot again, Rose used her telekinetic abilities to send the gun flying out of his hand, straight into hers. She caught the gun and pointed it at him.

  He tried to punch Kara—who stood closest to him—but she caught his wrist in her hand and twisted, a sickening crack echoing through the hallway. He squeezed his eyes shut, grimacing in pain, as she shoved him against the wall.

  Kara tossed her dagger with her free hand, catching it at a different angle, as she grabbed his head with her other hand. “Head, heart,” she said to Rose, a smirk tilting at her lips, “or if you want to make thi
ngs really messy…” She slashed her dagger across his throat and stepped back as blood poured from his neck.

  The Assassin of Light fell forward, collapsing beside the other corpse.

  Rose lowered the gun. “And why would I want to make things messy?”

  Kara dragged the bodies toward the wall, leaving a trail of blood behind each of them, as she moved them out of their way. She straightened and flashed a mischievous smirk at Rose. “To make things harder on the janitors, of course.”

  “Yeah,” Rose said dryly. “We wouldn’t want them getting off too easily.”

  Kara laughed and started walking down the hall, away from the Assassins of Light that she’d just killed—the ones that Rose couldn’t help but glance back at. Kara stopped and turned toward Rose, her brows furrowing. “What’s wrong?”

  Rose looked at her. “I’m just,” she sighed, “not used to killing humans.”

  Kara nodded. “I know,” she said softly. “That’s why I didn’t let you.”

  Rose glanced down at the gun in her hand—the one she’d never had to shoot—her eyebrows lifting as she understood. Her gaze shifted up toward Kara.

  “Come on,” Kara sighed, tilting her head. “That should be all of them.”

  Rose nodded and followed Kara around the corner, down another hall with bright, buzzing lights. They’d nearly reached the next hall when Kara froze.

  Rose gasped as Kara pushed her up against the wall, but Kara covered her mouth so that no noise escaped. The warm, muscular length of Kara’s body pressed against her, and Kara’s wild, sweet scent invaded her senses, enticing her.

  Kara’s light blue gaze shifted back toward Rose, and a seductive smile twitched at the edges of her lips as she noticed that flash of hunger in Rose’s eyes. “There’s a camera in the next hall,” she explained, “and it’s still on.” As she pulled her hand away from Rose’s mouth, she deliberately brushed her fingers along the soft, delicate curve of Rose’s neck. Her smile deepened as Rose shuddered at her touch. “My spies were supposed to turn them off. They must’ve missed one.”

  “Your spies—they hacked into the computer system?” Rose whispered.