Kara moaned against her, pulling her closer, kissing her deeper. One kiss was never enough with Rose. It was like blood. The first taste only made her more ravenous and more desperate. It ignited a hunger that even forever couldn’t sate.
Rose pulled back, smiling shyly. “Good luck kiss,” she said breathlessly.
Kara grinned and dropped her hands, resting them on Rose’s curvy, jean-clad hips. “You really know how to turn a woman on before a battle, don’t you?”
Rose blushed. “Umm…I don’t know if that was my intention, exactly.”
“Er…Kara?” Erik called, watching as more and more Assassins flooded the beach. “Unless Rose can stop people as well as bullets, we should probably go.”
Rose glanced around, stunned by the sheer number of Assassins that had come, just for them. “I can stop people. I just don’t know if I can stop this many.”
Kara stepped back and winked at Rose. “See you after the battle, sexy.”
Rose smiled weakly at those familiar words. “Just…be careful. Please?”
“Me? Careful?” Kara said with an amused laugh. “Not possible.” Then, giving Rose no time to object, she spun around and raced toward the Assassins.
Rose pushed back her fear, replacing it with determination, focusing all of her power on keeping Kara and Erik safe, as they fought the army of Assassins.
Because…even as an army of Assassins closed in on them, even as bullets sprayed at them from every direction, Rose knew one thing for sure: the Assassins of Light weren’t going to hurt anyone else she cared about. Never again.
She wouldn’t let them.
—
In Kara’s opinion, the battle was going well. Between the two of them, she and Erik had already taken out half of their army, and the other half seemed to be running low on bullets. Not that the bullets were working for them, anyway.
A fear struck her—right in the middle of a fight with three Assassins, at once. The amount of power that Rose was using tonight, to keep them safe—she feared it’d be too much, that the overuse would cause Rose to fall unconscious.
It was a crippling fear for Kara—because if Rose fell unconscious, they’d lose the battle. And also because…an unconscious vampire was a helpless one.
Kara froze as she realized that she was surrounded by Assassins of Light, guns pointed at her from every direction. She exhaled slowly as she tried to think of an escape. It wouldn’t be the first time she survived a firing squad, after all. It would, however, be the first time she survived guns that might be able to kill her.
She ducked as a sudden, thunderous crash echoed throughout the city, so loud that pain shattered through her ears, and the ground quaked beneath her feet. She turned toward the sea, her eyes widening, as she saw the flames darting up into the night sky, escaping from the ship that was currently engulfed in flames.
The same ship that the Assassins of Light had disembarked hours before.
Yells of alarm rang out among the humans as they turned to look at their enflamed ship, as they watched the flames stretch up into the sky. They whispered amongst themselves as they tried to figure out what had caused the explosion.
Kara lifted her eyebrows. “Well, that certainly qualifies as a diversion.”
The Assassin of Light closest to the explosion spun around, suddenly, startled by the closeness of Kara’s voice. He stumbled back in shock, as he found her directly in front of him, instead of in the middle of their circle, as she’d been just a moment ago. He aimed his gun directly at her head and pulled the trigger.
Or…he tried to.
His brows furrowed as he glanced at his empty hands, which were still held out, as if they were holding a gun. But…his gun was gone. “What the hell?”
“‘Who the hell,’ is the better question,” Kara said, a cocky smirk tugging at her lips. “And here’s a hint: it was the same person who exploded your ship.”
The human glanced past Kara, then, and saw Rose, further out onto the beach, her eyes glowing as brightly as the flames behind her. He stepped back, truly afraid for the first time all night, as he noticed the guns that lay at her feet. She’d disarmed them all without ever coming near them. “Retreat!” he screamed.
Kara grabbed him with one arm, swinging him around as he tried to run, and with her other arm, she broke his neck, his screams coming to an abrupt end.
As she rushed to stop the other Assassins of Light before they could run, she noticed Erik coming to help, as well, killing as many of them as he could.
Kara killed one Assassin after another, sometimes two at once, breaking their necks, slashing their throats, stabbing them in the heart, but after the first several, she began to realize that some of them were collapsing without anyone ever touching them—just…dead with no explanation. She noticed Erik staring bewilderedly at the dead bodies as well, and when he looked at her, she shrugged.
“I just stopped their hearts,” Rose said suddenly, “with my mind.”
Kara spun around, watching as Rose approached them, that red haze still dancing within her eyes. The flames leapt up into the night sky behind her, and it made for an eerie, awe-inspiring sight—a vampire with red fire in her eyes and red fire in the sky behind her. Rose carried Elise’s thin, delicate body in her arms.
Erik stared at her in disbelief. “You scare the hell out of me sometimes.”
“I was afraid to wait any longer,” Rose said. “I’m worried about Elise.”
Kara watched as Rose lay Elise’s body in the sand. “She hasn’t healed?”
Rose shook her head, her red eyes glowing brighter. “She passed out.”
Kara dropped to her knees beside Elise, and she swept her yellow-blonde curls aside, her fingers lingering on Elise’s forehead, feeling the feverish warmth of her skin. “She should’ve healed,” she mumbled. “It’s only a stomach wound.”
Erik continued to stare at Rose. “Did you really just blow up a ship?”
“Kara asked me to create a diversion,” Rose said with a dismissive shrug.
Kara glanced up at her, a weak smile tugging at the corners of her lips. “You blew up a ship, Rose,” she laughed. “That’s a bit more than a diversion.”
Rose shrugged sheepishly. “I’m…an overachiever?”
“Right. Well, I have one question, Miss Overachiever,” Erik said. “If you can blow up a ship, disarm a hundred Assassins of Light at once, and then, stop their hearts with your mind,” he grumbled, “why didn’t you just lead with that?”
“I didn’t know I could do it until I felt the power coursing through me,” Rose said, her gaze shifting toward Kara and Elise, as she sensed Kara’s distress.
Erik scowled at her. “I don’t even know what you’re saying right now.”
Kara’s gaze shifted up toward Rose, sadness and fear burning within their intense, blue depths. “I can smell it,” she said, her voice full of pain, “the poison.”
Erik froze, as he seemed to suddenly understand what was going on. He turned toward Kara. “Oh, shit,” he breathed. “That’s why I feel so cold, isn’t it?”
Kara nodded. “It’s the fever. You can feel it because of the blood bond.”
Rose shook her head. “No,” she said, her eyes burning brighter. The red haze danced faster, more chaotically, like a fire doused with gasoline. “We have to save her.” Her voice broke. Tears leaked from her eyes. “There must be a way.”
Kara shook her head, her eyes glistening with unshed tears, as she, too, struggled to control her emotions. “If there is a way, we haven’t found it yet.”
“Then, you’ll be grateful to know that we have,” someone said suddenly.
It was such a strange-sounding voice. It was a low, womanly voice. With a thick accent that reminded Rose of…Greek. But not quite. It was like Erastos’s voice, she realized, suddenly. Old and otherworldly. Undiluted by modern dialect.
Rose turned slowly, her brows furrowing, as she stared at the vampire that stood next to them, the vampire
that she was certain had not been there just a moment before. Even though the vampire stood right next to her, she couldn’t make out any of her features, except for the shape of the vampire’s body—small and feminine, delicate, even—because the vampire wore a long, black cloak, with a black hood drawn up around her face. Her cloak swept the sand as she walked.
“Umm…so…who are you,” Rose asked, “and when did you get there?”
Kara straightened and stepped closer to Rose. Her intense, cornflower-blue eyes narrowed suspiciously, as she stared at the strange, cloaked vampire.
The vampire moved closer to them. When the moonlight hit her face, Rose could almost make out the soft curves of her face and the round, pale blue eyes that stared back at her. Those pale blue eyes shifted toward Kara. “You must be the one they call the Wolf,” the vampire murmured. “So protective of her.”
“Yeah,” Kara said darkly, “and if you hurt her, I’ll rip your throat out.”
“Kara,” Rose said, meeting her gaze. “She said that she could help Elise.”
Kara nodded, her shoulders relaxing. “But where did she come from?”
“I assure you that I will explain all later,” the vampire said. Each word she spoke seemed to have age—its pronunciation so unusual and otherworldly. She spoke perfect English, and yet, Rose had never heard anyone speak like that. The vampire stepped back. “For now, you all must follow me. I can help you.”
“That’s what he told us,” Rose whispered to Kara, reminding her of their earlier conversation with Erastos. “He told us to accept the help that’s given.”
Kara turned toward the vampire. “Can we at least see who you are, first?”
The cloaked vampire watched Rose. “If that is the will of the Eklektos?”
Kara and Erik both turned toward Rose with expectant looks.
“Umm,” Rose stammered, confusion twisting at her face, “yes? Please?”
The vampire lowered the hood of her black cloak, revealing her beautiful, regal appearance. Her long, white-blonde hair was bound around her head in tight, elegant braids, and on top of those braids, she wore a small, white-gold crown. An actual crown. The kind of crown that a princess or queen might wear. Dark, red stones glistened in the crown. Stones that looked strikingly similar to the one that Rose wore around her neck—the Stone of the Eklektos. The woman offered them a friendly smile, and her pale blue eyes seemed to glow in the night.
She lifted her hand and curled it into a fist, revealing an eerily familiar symbol on the back of her hand. Then, she fell down before them, bowing as low as possible, with her hand over her chest. “It is an honor to finally meet you, my Eklektos,” she murmured. “I have waited many, many millennia for this honor.”
“Uhhh…why is she doing that?” Rose sputtered. She turned, her eyes widening with alarm, as she looked at Erik and then at Kara. “Why is a tiara-wearing woman bowing to me? And for that matter, why is anyone bowing to me?”
“Usually, people only bow that low to royalty,” Kara commented.
“Or gods,” Erik added, frowning. “Also, did she just say many millennia?”
The woman stood gracefully, her posture once again perfect and regal, as if she’d never lowered herself to the ground. “Please. You must follow me, my Eklektos,” she told Rose. “We do not have much time. And your people await.”
Rose blinked in shock. “My…what?”
TO BE CONTINUED…
TO BE CONTINUED
in
THE REIGN OF
DARKNESS
CREATURES OF DARKNESS: BOOK FOUR
BY BRITNEY JACKSON
Find updates at:
www.britneyjackson.com
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
BRITNEY JACKSON
Britney Jackson is a fiction author who especially enjoys writing fantasy, dark fantasy, and horror stories. She is the mother of two beautiful, little boys that she loves with all of her heart. She resides in Tuscumbia, Alabama. She has a Bachelor of Science degree in Fine Arts and Religion, and she is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in English. Britney has been passionate about writing for as long as she can remember. Art, such as literature and music, helped her endure some of the darkest periods of her life, and she hopes that her books will be there for others who need a literary escape. When she is not writing, she can be found drinking massive cups of coffee, playing music, obsessing over some awesome fictional characters, or embarking on the wild and dangerous adventure known as motherhood.
Or…in Britney’s words, “Basically, I’m weird, and I write.”
You can learn more about Britney Jackson and her books on www.britneyjackson.com.
You can also connect with Britney Jackson by becoming her friend on Facebook at www.facebook.com/britneymjackson.
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