Vanquished

by Andy Lewter

  “The second time you really smiled was recently. When I conquered your mind game by assassinating Abby.”

  Kayla held a murderous expression and stepped close to him, holding up a finger as warning. “You’re acting childish. You will never get a chance like this again. Here she is! In all her glory! Lying pathetically at your feet, waiting to be killed!” Her features softened, appearing forcefully so, and she swallowed like she’d tasted something awful. “It’ll make you stronger, son.”

  “Our family is stronger,” he confirmed.

  She glowered and shook her head like he was an idiot. “Of course it is.”

  “Mentally and physically. But emotionally?” he shook his head.

  “What is your point? This is ludicrous!”

  He flashed a cutting grin, and the clouds churned above like rapid waters. Lightning flashed, and the ground trembled from the ear-piercing thunderheads above. “My point? Is that it’s time for us to go now.”

  She stomped her foot and pointed at me, unfazed by the storm he was creating. “We are not going anywhere until this is finished!”

  The winds howled and hail fell down in a thick sheet. I tucked my head in my arms the best I could for protection.

  “You created me, and I’m now stronger than you. Your mind games don’t affect me like the others.”

  “You mean…” she stammered, deliberating his words. Her terrifying eyes fixed on me in the next second. Grasping for the piece of glass with imminent desperation, she dropped to her knees and gripped it madly in her fist. “I will do it!”

  “Abby isn’t dying tonight,” he announced with authority. Then he kicked her hand, and the glass shard disappeared instantly in the weather. He held up his arms, stirring the electricity in the sky, and the flashes answered with a flickering strobe light.

  “You’ve lost your ever-loving mind!” she howled, her hair sopping against her neck. “What is this? What are you trying to prove!”

  Nicholas’ handsome, copper eyes shifted into the terrifying black onyx I’d learned to fear. Unleashing a menacing glare, he summoned the lightning to his palms. “I will not stand by while you brainwash innocent people for power. Love isn’t weakness — it’s unyielding. And I love you enough to stop you.”

  Suddenly, warm arms scooped me up. I instinctively clung to Miles when the essence of sea and leaves filled my lungs.

  “Shhh, babe. I got you.”

  “Bring her here. Quick,” a Young Valens with terrified ice-blue eyes directed. She waved us away from the railroad ties with impatience.

  Miles’ worried eyes focused back on me. “Hold on tight.”

  “What’s going on?” I asked, glancing back at Nicholas.

  Nicholas wrapped his mother in his arms, the lightning increasing by the second. Nicholas’ eyes shifted white-hot and then brighter than the noonday sun.

  A quick rush of air pushed against my body, and I found myself perched on a rooftop in Miles’ arms, a block away from where we’d just been. The Valens girl stood in silence next to us, rolling her wrists nervously.

  The storm Nicholas created spiraled and wailed in utter horror; we could see it clearly from where we stood.

  With great effort, Kayla struggled against Nicholas as he maneuvered her inside the train tunnel. The moment they were out of our sight, a lightning rod as thick as a house shot down from the heavens, lighting up the train tunnel like an illuminated substation. The entire train tunnel imploded not a second later, collapsing into a dark cloud of rubble on top of where they were last seen.

  My breath was lost. I couldn’t believe my eyes. The humming, the magnetic pull I’d learned to ignore long ago. The connection that had consumed me in entirety, which had been the biggest hurdle I had overcome as Valens.

  It was gone.

  They were both gone.

  They were vanquished.

  30

  The Valens girl turned away to hide her tears. Miles held me in his arms, but my eyes remained on the burning fire. He’s gone…

  Turning back toward us, the Valens girl pulled a wrinkled envelope from her pocket and handed it to me. She’s in mourning. “He made me promise to give this to you.”

  I clutched the envelope in my hand and slipped it in my pocket, pushing to hold myself together. “What’s your name?” I asked in a shaky tone.

  Her light eyes held nothing but anguish. “Adele. When he got back to the island, he asked me for a favor. He had to wait for the right moment to take her down — had to wait for her to be vulnerable and for her guards to be detained. He knew you’d interfere with his plans — he knew even if he told you, you’d try to stop him.

  “So my favor to him was to get you out safely so this could be done. We knew it would be tricky since you have supremacy, so we thought if someone carried you…” Her eyes flicked quickly at Miles. “I was to collect him, find the storm, and get you out. That was my favor. Now I’m no longer in his debt.”

  Hot tears rolled down my cheeks. He wasn’t a hypocrite — I am. “You can teleport?”

  Adele’s expression was hard. “My parents are in the building next to the fire. I’m going to go to them now,” she said, turning away. “Oh and Abby? I hate you. He was my only friend.” With that, she disappeared.

  “Miles…” I cried, my emotions consuming me as I crumpled to my knees. “I was wrong. I was so wrong.”

  He sat down next to me and pulled me gingerly onto his lap. “We all were,” he said, smoothing his hands through my hair.

  “Remember when he wanted to speak with me back at the bunker?” he asked after several moments passed.

  “Right before he shot me with lightning?”

  “Er… yeah.” He cleared his throat before going on. “He told me he wanted to be the one to execute her. That’s why I pushed you to spend time with him. But… after his assault on you?” He shook his head. “I had no idea what was going on.”

  I gazed up into Miles’ concerned face as a tear-soaked smile spread across my cheeks. “You’re amazing.”

  Smiling down at me with perfect adoration, he placed a gentle kiss on my forehead. “I know.”

  Sighing hard, my mind drifted back to current events. “We lost Ray,” I whispered.

  Miles sighed sadly and cupped his face with grief. “We’ve lost Nathan, too.”

  We rested in silence, grieving in the comfort of each other’s arms when our thoughts shifted to the obnoxious yelling and bangs coming from downtown.

  Standing up, I peered over the rooftop to get a better view.

  “Babe, you’re really banged up,” Miles said after reading my thoughts.

  I shook my head, my eyes fixated on the disturbance. “So are they.”

  He stood behind me, his bare chest grazing my back. “Alright,” he agreed after a minute. “Ready?”

  Beaming up at him with exhausted eyes, I clasped his hand and let him guide me off the roof. Jogging up the street hand-in-hand, we made it downtown and stopped in our tracks.

  To the side, we watched Nora grapple with the Valens with lava hot skin and razor sharp teeth. As they fought, Nora’s skin matched the Valens’ lava red temperature with every stroke.

  Valens I’d never seen before fought with animosity in the streets, torching businesses and using their gifts in lethal manners against one another.

  A Valens who could fly was attacking Bridger. Tara was grappling with a Valens that could bounce high on everything his feet touched. Humans fought Valens; teenagers combatted adults.

  The Russian Valens that deafens and agonizes his victims stepped to the middle of the street. A twisted smile curled up his evil features as his eyes were enveloped in solid black. Everyone in a close proximity cried and cowered from pain, dropping to the ground like flies at his feet.

  We’re losing — and we’re losing badly. At this rate, there’d be hardly any of us left when the battle was over.

  Just as I was thinking of a way to call our soldiers to retreat, helicopters thunder
ed from nearby. Miles pulled me close to him as we turned toward the incoming sounds.

  American soldiers with headlamps on their helmets ran up the streets, wielding shields and wearing thick armor. Soldiers dropped from the helicopters, and we heard muffled orders being given.

  “Miss Everett!” a soldier yelled, jogging up to me with a rifle strapped loosely around his shoulder. “We need orders.”

  I furrowed my brows and took a step back. “Orders?”

  “Yes, ma’am. We have orders from C.I.A. Jacob Sweeny to find you and receive orders. Tell us what to do.”

  I laughed without humor. “Every one of my soldiers wearing the colors on my uniform are free to go. If you see a Valens attacking my people, you detain them. Understood?”

  He nodded curtly. “Yes, ma’am!” Turning on his heel, he picked up his walkie-talkie and relayed my words through the device.

  The soldiers scoured the streets, and I watched in amazement as humans and Valens on our side worked in unison. Some of Kayla’s Valens were shot with tranquilizer darts, some were detained as a Valens-soldier team wore them down. I jumped excitedly in Miles’ arms. “We did it! We convinced them, Miles!”

  He squeezed me gently, careful not to hurt me, and set me down to take in the sight before him. “We did.”

  “Abby! Abby!” a voice yelled, bringing me to instant tears.

  “Mom?” A sobbed broke free before I turned around.

  I tried not to wince as she plowed into me, and her secure embrace made up for the pain I was feeling. “It’s me! I’m myself now,” she cried as happy tears rolled down her cheeks. “We all are. Every one of us she held captive, we’re all ourselves again.”

  Holding her for as long as I could, I reluctantly released her hug and looked around my surroundings. As the soldiers cleared the attackers off the street, I noticed Valens hugging and rejoicing with happy tears.

  Then my eyes landed on Tara. She sobbed and laughed while she hugged the man I recognized as her father. Hailey, Bridger, Nora, Brooks, and Brittney joined them soon after, creating a massive bear hug on the street.

  I chuckled and placed my fingers over my lips as I relished in everyone’s newfound happiness. Not a moment later, a crying Olivia barreled into Sandra like a rocket.

  Damian, Edmund, Dara, Athena, and Moui appeared with smiling, exhausted faces soon after, and the sunrise started to cast brilliant colors across the morning sky.

  Not like Nicholas’ sky, though. Nothing could compare to the magnificence he wielded with his gift. His courage outshone his darkness, his selflessness remained unseen.

  Like a true hero.

  Pulling in a deep sigh, my features fell with conviction as I realized what needed to be done.

  Jogging to the middle of the street where most of the Valens were, I jumped on a toppled over car and stood tall. “Valens, humans — mankind! Please, hear me speak for a moment.” I watched and waited patiently for them to draw near and silenced their boisterous chatter with a smile.

  “Today has been groundbreaking — thank you for believing in my ancestor’s legacy during this trying time. What a time to be tested. Resistance will always be tougher than assistance. We’ve suffered some hard losses tonight. Losses that will take us a lifetime to adjust to. But we’ve gained an unprecedented amount. We’ve gained our confidence; we’ve gained our freedom. Some of us have gained a family member who had been sorely missed since Kayla’s barbaric training was amped up.

  “I have a confession for you — you all have been right about me. I’m just a girl. I’m ordinary, a bit quirky, and I’m terrible at trigonometry.”

  Quiet laughs and small chatter picked up around us then quieted back down so I could continue on.

  “That’s just the thing, isn’t it? Just because I’ve inherited this title as leader from my father doesn’t mean I should be granted the throne. I didn’t even know a world like this existed. It isn’t fair to you that I’m your leader.”

  A few protested in the crowd, others started mumbling among themselves.

  “Which is why,” I said a little too loudly, trying to get the attention back on me. “If you still want me as your leader, I’ll try my best to fulfill the task. But there’s someone else I’d like to recommend tonight. I think we should have an election, just as it should be. No queens or kings — a choice. A true leader.”

  All eyes were on me, and it became stone quiet. “This person is brave. This person is calm. This person sees everything clearly, exactly as they are. He never pushes. He never pries. And this person is the most patient being I’ve ever met. This person will listen. He will care. This person will put your needs before his own on any given day, just to make sure you’re safe. He bears the gift of a lie detector so he knows when a lie is underway.

  “This person is my best friend, and I’ve trusted him with my life since before I knew I was under his protection. And I know in my heart you can trust him to protect yours. As your leader.

  “This person is Miles Kavin, and I vote for him.” I waved toward him and raised my hand.

  Miles’ expression was confused and a bit shocked, but he managed to maintain himself in front of prying eyes. Even though he’s still shirtless.

  Peering into the gathering, I watched as they talked with each other. After a few minutes passed, I cleared my throat and raised my voice above the chatter. “All in favor for Miles Kavin as your new leader?”

  Slowly, other hands popped up in the crowd. A few minutes passed before majority ruled and Miles had been officially deemed the new Valens leader.

  Feeling a wave of relief wash over me, I hopped down off the car. A couple soldiers approached us with two Valens in tow. I shook my head at both their haughty expressions. Cade Sanchez and Benjamin Bose — Head Valens. Well, not anymore.

  “Miss Everett, what are your orders? For the leaders,” the soldier said, referring to the captured Valens.

  “I’m not the leader anymore but…” I glanced at Miles, seeking approval to address. He waved me ahead with an attractive grin.

  I pinched my mouth to the side as I analyzed their now nervous features. “I say the humans and Valens afflicted from their training tactics choose what their future holds. Don’t you agree?” I asked, casting Miles a cunning side-eye.

  Miles nodded with approval, his eyes bouncing between the two Valens. “Hey Brittney…” he called with humor in his tone. “I’m sure you and your husband have some plans for these two?”

  Brittney stepped close with a severe glare. “Oh, yes. Please, follow me,” she said to the soldiers, waving them to follow her.

  Moui approached me and clasped my hands with her cool, aged fingers. “You did it!” She giggled, sporting a purple shiner on her eye.

  “Not without help,” I said with a forced smile.

  “Yo, hog tier?” Athena hollered.

  I squeezed Moui’s hands one last time before I turned toward Athena.

  “Hey…” she said lowly, moistening her lips and glancing around. “I just wanted to tell you I think what you did back there was pretty awesome,” she said low enough where no one would hear.

  “Yeah? Which part?”

  Her lavender eyes turned sober and she met mine with honor. “All of it.”

  I smiled at her and pulled her into a hug. “I love you, too.” For the first time ever, she hugged me back.

  “Abbs,” Miles breathed, sneaking up behind me. He placed his hands around my waist and pulled me from Athena.

  “Dude! I was lovin’ on my woman!” Athena chided with faux frustration. We all laughed.

  Miles nuzzled my neck and pulled my attention solely on him. He’d found a shirt from someone, and I smiled as I thought about where it could’ve come from. “I wasn’t expecting that…” he trailed off.

  “I’ve pictured you as a leader since before I knew about the Valens world. It makes the most sense to me.”

  He shook his head and pressed his nose against mine. “I have big shoes to fill
, apparently.”

  I cupped the back of his neck and let my lips hover just above his. “I’m a mentor, you didn’t know that?” I teased. “I had a good one at one point…” I trailed off, molding my lips sweetly to his.

  He hummed against my mouth and pulled my hips close. “What happened to him?”

  Smiling, I pulled back and peered into his gorgeous features. “I fell in love with him.”

  31

  Home. Such an odd thing to say. Here I was, in my old bed. In my old house. Under the same roof as my mother and sister. Something sinister rippled inside me day after day. I chalked it up to the events that took place, but it unnerved me all the same.

  Once changed, you can never go back.

  Pulling open my dresser drawer, I brushed my fingers over Nicholas’ letter. I couldn’t bring myself to open it knowing they’d be the last words he’d ever speak to me. After how unforgiving I’d been to him…

  I shook my head. No. I can’t do it.

  Well, maybe I can.

  Ripping it open before I changed my mind, I read:

  * * *

  My Dearest Abby,

  First of all, I don’t want you to blame yourself. Not for one single thing. I’d hate me too, if I were you. And as much as I hate to admit this, I think Miles will treat you the way you deserve. I may not be able to understand your choice, but I can’t deny it’s right.

  I started doing some soul searching after you asked me which side I supported. I’d become quite jealous of your family. Even though most of them weren’t blood, they adored you nonetheless. It made me homesick. Homesick for the family I never had. The only thing that would make my mother proud is to defeat you, and I’m not going to let that happen. Not on my watch. After I’d rescued Olivia from the fissure, I grew fond of her company. I was finally able to understand the bond between human and Valens. Thank you for making that possible. Your mother should also be returned to you as I promised.

  So whatever has happened to me, know this is what I wanted. Kayla needed to be stopped, and I was the one to do it. You were created for the job, but so was I.