by T. S. Ryder
"Go."
They ripped open the doors and jumped out of the van. Aaron wanted to lead the charge but forced himself to stay still as he watched the others stream out. Right now he'd only slow them down. As soon as they were out, however, he jumped from the van. Flashes of light burned through the dark swamp, and he ordered his men towards it.
Aaron watched for a moment, waiting with the two guards who stayed with him, but he soon realized he couldn't just stand here and do nothing. He started after the others. A smell of ozone soon filled the air, making him gag. The flashes of light grew brighter. Within minutes, he found himself in the middle of a battle zone. Sofia and her friend hid behind a tree while all around them witches sent spells at them. His guards chased at the witches, dodging spells.
The king grabbed his wife around the waist and pulled her back towards the edge of the swamp. "Drive them off," he ordered the guards. "Get rid of them!"
The vampires broke their tight formation around him and charged the witches, agilely dodging spells that flew at them. The witches fled into the forest. Sofia fought against him as he tried to pull her away. Soon the only sound in the dark swamp was that of her cursing.
"Let go of me," she spat, clawing at his arms. "I'm not going to let you die, Aaron!"
"Stop struggling." Sweat broke over Aaron's forehead. "I can't hold you."
Gloria stood still, watching them with wide eyes. She cleared her throat. "I'm pretty sure that's the point. Not being able to hold her, I mean."
Aaron sent her a glare, but at that moment Sofia jabbed her elbow into his sternum. An unexpected pain blossomed from the point of impact, making Aaron stumble. He released Sofia and fell to one knee, pressing a hand to his chest. There was a strange thudding pain in it, something clawing at him that made him gasp for breath. Blinding pain shot through his chest. Sofia pressed in against him but he fended her off, trying to catch a breath.
"What's wrong? Aaron, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hit you that hard."
The king closed his eyes as the pain started to ease. A strange tingling filled his body out to his fingertips. He swallowed down the bile that rose in his throat. The thudding in his chest was still there, bringing up half-forgotten memories.
"It's not you," he managed to say to Sofia. "It's my heart. It's started beating again."
Sofia's eyes rounded. She put her hand on his chest and shook her head. "We don't have much time. Gloria, we have to get to the toadstools now!"
"No," Aaron said. He straightened. "No. We are going back to the palace. You were already attacked."
"The vampires have driven them off."
"And there could be more. No, Sofia. You can't put our child at risk."
Sofia swallowed hard. Her hands drifted to her stomach and tears filled her eyes. "And if we don't do this? I want our baby, I want to protect it, but I need you. I can't let you die. How am I supposed to be a mother that a child can rely on if I don't do everything I can to save you?"
"The toadstools aren't far," Gloria added. Her eyes were locked on Aaron with a strange gleam in them. Her hands twitched. "But I agree with him. We shouldn't do this, Sofia. You're being selfish. What kind of mother can you be when you will kill your own child for the off chance that you can stop this transformation?"
Aaron growled at the witch, fury building in his belly at her words. How dare she say such awful things about his queen? He'd never liked Gloria, hating the way she spoke to Sofia, but this was extreme even for her. He stepped forward and opened his mouth, but Sofia beat him to it.
"I don't care what you say, Gloria. I am doing this. Now show me where the toadstools are, or I am cutting you off. I will not be your friend. I will not give you more gifts, and I'll start charging you rent for the house I bought for you."
Gloria's jaw dropped. "Sofia!"
"I mean it." Sofia crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes. "Now show us the way!"
Gloria glanced at Aaron again. A brief flash of regret shone in her eyes before she turned and pointed. "It's this way. And I'm sorry. I didn't mean it. I just don't want you to get hurt, Sofia."
Sofia ignored her as she headed in the direction the witch pointed. Aaron ground his teeth and pulled a gun from his belt as he followed. There was no changing Sofia's mind, it seemed. And he might be useless as a vampire right now, but magic couldn't stop a witch from dying when a bullet was in her head. He could still offer some protection to his wife.
They reached a small clearing soon enough. Sofia put the flashlight between her teeth as she pulled the spell book and a thermos from the backpack she wore. She started working at once, slicing up the mushrooms into the thermos while consulting the book regularly.
"Hurry," Aaron urged.
"I'm going as quickly as I can," Sofia said. "If I get anything wrong, the potion could kill you."
A flash of blue caught his eye. Aaron turned just in time to see a ball of the lightning fly at him. He threw himself to the ground, grunting on impact, and rolled back to his knees. A woman strode through the trees, stretching the crackling blue energy between her fingertips. Aaron rose the gun and let off a few rounds.
A cry of pain. The lightning blinked out and the woman fell. Aaron got to his feet unsteadily. Sofia stared at him for a moment before shaking her head and bending over the potion again. Gloria, however, backed away from him, her gaze locked on the gun in his hand.
"Why did you bring that? Vampires don't use guns!"
"We don't have to," Aaron grunted. He scanned the trees, but there didn't seem to be any more witches around. "But I'm not a vampire anymore. I might not be able to fight like I used to, but that doesn't mean I'm completely helpless."
Gloria shuddered, making Aaron frown, but she turned to Sofia before he could question her on it. He turned back to the forest, gun up and ready to fire at anybody who dared approach. The swamp was still around them, not even the sound of crickets or frogs breaking the silence.
"Here, let me help you," Gloria said, reaching for the potion.
Sofia grabbed it and pulled back, shaking her head. "No! If anybody else touches it besides me, it will transform into poison. You know that as well as I do. Just help Aaron keep watch."
The king's nerves tingled. Maybe it was just his ongoing transformation, but there was something that felt wrong. Too silent, maybe. Too dark. With the full moon in the sky, why were the shadows so deep around them? He stepped a little closer to Sofia.
"Why would a potion require one specific person to make it?" Gloria said. "Come on, Sofia. I'm better at this than you. You can't even read the full recipe. It's smudged! For all you know, you could be making a poison that will kill him the moment you drink it."
"I drink it?" Sofia's voice rang higher pitched than normal. "It doesn't say anything about me drinking it."
"You had to drink the other one, it only makes sense for you to drink this one. Sofia, please. If you do this, you're going to die too. You can't save him. But you can save yourself."
Aaron turned from the trees to look down at Gloria. In contrast the darkness around them, she seemed to glow. A chill ran down the king's spine as the witch shook her head, a strange blue light coming from her eyes. Something niggled at the back of his mind. This wasn't ordinary magic…
"I didn't want it to end like this, Sofia. You could have had a happy, human life. But I guess now I have to kill you both."
Chapter Eight – Sofia
Sofia gasped, her heart plummeting. This couldn't be happening. Her friend must just be trying to be funny like she did sometimes. She couldn’t really be saying she was going to kill the two of them… could she?
"Gloria, what are you talking about?"
But her old friend wasn't looking at her. Her gaze was fixed on Aaron. The king pointed his gun at her, expression blank. Sofia wanted to be sick. He could her friend, somebody she had always trusted, turn on her like this? Both Gloria and Aaron ignored her as they faced off. Bright yellow sparks began dancing at Gloria's fingertips.
"Gloria, you can't do this," Sofia said. "You can't—"
"I will do what I have to. Witches have been persecuted for far too long, and this so-called king only perpetuates our continued silence."
"I don't know what you think I'm doing, but you're wrong," Aaron said calmly. "I have made sure that witches have protected spaces—"
A flash of light cut Aaron off. He yelped and dodged the spell that Gloria threw at him. He fired the gun once, but the shot went wide and Gloria was on him. The weakness that seeped into his bones from turning human was painfully apparent as the witch slapped the gun from the king's hand. She thrust her hand into his chest, sending a spark through his body.
"Aaron!" Sofia lurched forward, reaching for him as he fell.
His eyes rolled into the back of his head and he went still.
"No!" Sofia scrambled over to him, cupping his face in her hands, tears blurring her vision. "No! No!"
"He's not dead yet," Gloria said. "He will die, but I wanted to give you one last chance to come out of this alive, Sofia. We used to be such good friends. All you have to do is walk away, and I can convince the others not to kill you or your child."
But Sofia didn't trust a single word coming from her former friend's mouth. She snatched up the gun that Aaron had dropped and pointed it at Gloria. Her hands shook, but her mouth tightened in determination. She wasn't going to walk away, letting Aaron die, and she certainly wasn't going to let this witch stab her in the back again!
"You are going to leave right now or I'll shoot you!" Sofia hissed.
Gloria held up her hands and backed away a step. "You're risking yourself and your child for nothing."
"Once Aaron is fully vampire again—"
"He can only become a vampire again if he drinks the potion through your blood. You have to drink it first, and then he drinks from you. Just like before. But if you drink that, it will kill your child."
As if hearing the words, there was a soft movement inside of Sofia's belly. She gasped, fighting the instinct to put a hand on her stomach. The movement was gone as fast as it had come. But it was enough for Sofia to waver. Could she really risk this child growing inside of her? What would Aaron want her to do?
Well, that was obvious. He'd want her to protect herself and their unborn child above all else. She lowered the gun, tears streaming down her face.
"Good choice," Gloria said softly. "Now just put down the gun and walk away. You won't hear anything, I promise."
Sofia hesitated. When was the last time Gloria had kept a promise? Hell, when was the last time she did anything for Sofia that didn't have layers on layers of self-interest in it? The book hadn't said that she needed to drink the potion first–there was something about blood, but it was too smudged to read, and two short for complicated instructions.
"Sofia, I'm telling you he's not worth it," Gloria said. "Come on, all you have to do is drop a few pounds, and every man in the country will be drooling for you."
A hiss escaped Sofia's clenched teeth. She leveled the gun again, pointing it at Gloria. Her eyes were narrowed as the witch backed up a step. Her heart continued to pound, but she was determined.
"You have always lied to me. Why should I believe you this time? I can't believe I ever called you my friend."
"Sofia—"
"Even if I walk away, my child, Aaron's child, wouldn't be safe. If you are after the king, then you want to destabilize the vampire government. Aaron having a child and heir—"
"Don't be an idiot," Gloria growled. "Just walk away! How is a vampire's spawn worth your life?"
Gloria stepped towards her. Sofia's fingers seemed to move on their own accord. The gunshot rang through the swamp, echoed back at her from all angles. A jolt reverberated up her arms. Gloria screamed and fell.
"Gloria!" Sofia gasped, dropping the gun. She started forward before stopping.
The witch clung to her hip, screaming and writhing in pain. In the bright moonlight, Sofia saw a well of blood coming through her fingers. Bile rose in her throat, but she grabbed the gun again and turned away from Gloria. She had to finish this potion!
She hurried back to the thermos and knife, cutting off the last of the toadstools she needed. Once she added it to the potion, she stirred it with her knife. The brew bubbled, changing from a sickly green-yellow to something far darker. Sofia couldn't tell if it was blue or black–but she couldn't waste time hesitating. With the thermos in hand, she returned to Aaron.
"Drink this, darling," she whispered, pouring a little into his mouth. "Drink."
Aaron moaned, licking his lips. His eyes fluttered open, but rather than the clear gaze Sofia expected, he looked dazed and confused. He licked his lips again. "Thirsty."
The book did call for blood. Sofia's heart sank. What if Gloria was telling the truth? That the only way to save Aaron was to drink this foul brew? It would poison her child, she had no doubt about that. She felt sick, staring down at her husband as he continued to lick his lips, eyes not focused on anything.
"Like I said, he needs to drink it when it's imbued in your blood," Gloria gasped. Her face shone with slick sweat in the moonlight, but a grin lit her face and she laughed. It looked maniacal. "So? What's it going to be, Sofia? Are you going to let your vampire continue to be human, or are you going to kill your child?"
Sofia bit back bile. "There has to be another way."
"Another way. That's so like you. You can never accept truths. Always looking for another way, another explanation. You're a weak, simpering woman. The only reason the vampire chose you was because he knew he could mold you to think what he wanted."
Sofia tried to block her out, closing her eyes to think more clearly. Why did the potion have to be made by her? Probably because there was still something inside of her from the first potion, and this one counteracted it in her blood before taking those same properties to Aaron. And if that was the case, then he had to drink the potion from her blood.
And if Aaron had to drink blood imbued with the potion, then the only way was to drink it and have him drink from her.
Except there were plenty of ways to add the potion to blood without cycling it through a human body first. Sofia's hands clenched. She could add her blood to the potion. But without knowing the right dosage, that could end up as dangerous as straight poison.
I've already risked giving him part of the potion without blood, I have to do everything I can.
Steeling herself, Sofia wiped the remnants of toadstool off her knife. It was a toxic planet, but that didn't matter–it wasn't so poisonous that the little bit of juice transfer from it into her system would have any serious effects. She hesitated as she put the knife against her wrist.
"Going to kill yourself now?" Gloria panted. She dragged herself up, though she kept her weight from her still-bleeding hip. "Even I didn't think you were that weak."
Sofia closed her eyes and slashed herself. White-hot pain flared through her and she screamed, dropping the knife. Hot blood poured over her skin. Tears blinded her, but Sofia found the thermos again and drained the rest into Aaron's mouth before she pressed her wrist to his lips, her blood pumping down his throat.
Please let this work.
The dark potion and her slick blood spilled over Aaron's face. His eyes snapped open. She felt his tongue run along the cut in her wrist, then the scrape of his fangs.
A screech made Sofia jump. She whirled around to find Gloria glowing in the night. Her eyes glared a brilliant blue, her skin paling to a ghostly white shade. The sheer hatred on the witch's face made Sofia shrink back.
"I warned you," Gloria growled, the sound guttural. "I offered you a chance to escape. Now you will suffer the consequences!"
A flash of light blinded Sofia. She cried out, shielding her eyes. When the light was gone, so was Gloria. In her place was a monstrous beast.
Skin white as a corpse glowed in the moonlight, her body long and sinuous. Arms and legs multiplied, claws instead of hands and feet. Hug
e, black, multifaceted eyes shone from the deathly pale face. A mouth full of layer upon layer of razor-sharp teeth opened wide. What looked like armor made from knives burst out along the creature's back. A low hissing filled the air. To Sofia's horror, dozens of snakes pushed their way out of the creature's head, blood-red red gleaming against green scales. Sofia drew back, heedless of her still-bleeding wrist as she stared at the creature that had once been her friend.
"What are you?" she cried.
"Your death." The voice was not Gloria's. It was guttural, hissing, the voice of a snake.
The creature lunged for her, emitting a high-pitched rattling noise that shook Sofia's bones. She threw herself out of the way, screaming. The creature laughed. Pain erupted from her legs. Claws dug into her calves, pulling her closer.
"Gloria, please," Sofia begged. "I thought you were my friend!"
"Gloria is no longer here," the creature said.
It lunged for Sofia's throat, mouth open wide. Sofia swung her knife blindly. It bit across the creature's face. But even as it swung back, screaming, the snakes protruding from its head struck. Sofia screamed as their mouth latched onto her wrist. A fiery, burning pain shot through her. Everything swirled.
"Gloria wanted to save you," the creature hissed. "But it seems that she underestimated just how stupid you are."
Chapter Nine – Aaron
There was something bitter on his tongue. Aaron licked his lips, trying to get rid of the taste. It was like the skin of a grapefruit. Nasty flavor. But there was also a slightly pleasant taste beyond the bitterness. Something sweet. It reminded him of running through a garden in bare feet with the sprinklers on, feeling the warmth of the sun on the top of her head and cool earth between his toes. The taste was like holding Sofia in his arms, as they made love, a swell of love the only thing between them…
Sofia.
Aaron licked his lips again. That was Sofia's blood. What was her blood doing in his mouth with that bitter taste?