“No one’s coming,” he purred. “I will keep you safe.” He caught my lips again and I forgot what I thought I’d heard.
When he broke away, I lost myself in his eyes. They seemed so distant, different even. I didn’t care. I didn’t care about anything accept his body against mine. He was so perfect, the way his muscles flexed over mine, the way he protect me, the way he needed me. And, God knew, I needed him, too. I lifted myself up on my elbows and kissed him with all of the fiery passion that was in my cold, monstrous heart. We lingered like that for what felt like hours. I never wanted it to end.
His lips brushed against the corner of my mouth. “I would wait for you forever, if I could.”
“Josh, I–”
He shoved me back into the pile of pillows and plunged the dagger into my stomach. “One day you’ll understand, Zoë. One day.”
–
I sat up in the bed, gasping for air. I leapt to my feet, untangling myself from the canopy. I snatched my sword where it rested against the wall, holding it up as I checked every dark corner of the room.
“Is someone there? Show yourself,” I demanded.
No answer.
I sighed, leaning up against the cool wall. I slipped my fingertips under the edge of my shirt and ran them over the smooth skin. It was just a dream. No, it wasn’t just a dream, was it?
Screams erupted from outside and I bolted for the window, looking at the ground below. People were scattering in every which direction. The beasts of the night swooped through the air, breathing fire into the land. In the distance, a dark shadow moved across the land as thousands poured into the kingdom.
“They’re here!”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Sorry it took so long,” Alec purred as he crawled back into the bed.
I sat up, looking around the room. “What?”
He furrowed his brow at me. “For taking so long to get back. William had some important business that needed taking care of. Don’t you remember?”
It hadn’t happened yet. There was still time. I pulled away from his reaching hands, hopping down from the bed. “We’re going to be under attack,” I announced, grabbing my sword from the wall and slinging it over my shoulder.
“When?”
I turned to face him, adjusting the strap over my chest. “Now.”
–
We stormed into the great hall. William was sitting in the large room, Annie seated across from him. When he saw us, he rose to his feet, taking a step in our direction. “What is it?”
“They’re coming,” Alec responded.
“Already?” Jade asked, entering the room behind us.
“It’s about time.” Ryuu said with a nod, standing to her right. He headed over to one of the large wooden chairs, spinning it around to sit down. Jade plopped down in his lap and his hand stroked her leg absently.
“I saw it happen. They will attack first by air, then by ground.”
“How many?” William asked.
“Thousands.”
Everyone grew silent, the wheels turning in their heads almost audible. I moved away from Alec, looking out onto the balcony. Blood still stained the cobblestone floor. I grimaced and turned back to the group.
We needed a plan, we needed more manpower and, above all else, we needed more time. Time was something we weren’t going to get.
“Jade, how many duplicates of yourself can you make?” I asked her, breaking the silence.
She stood from Ryuu’s lap and took a few steps across the room, playing with her short hair, trying to get it to spike out. “And still be able to function?” she asked. “Five, maybe ten. It all depends on how much energy I have at the time.”
“How many can you make and still be able to stand?” I rephrased.
The corner of her mouth turned up. “At least a hundred, maybe more.”
Ryuu was still leaning against one of the tables, a pair of dice hovering above his hand. He shuffled them, staring off into the distance.
“And how many objects can you hold up at one time?” I asked him, snatching the dice from the air and dropping them onto the table. They rolled snake eyes. It seemed fitting.
“Plenty, why?”
“And what about living creatures?” I started, ignoring his question. “Can you control those as well?”
“No. It is nearly impossible to control that which does not want to be controlled,” he explained. “I could stop a moving train before I could make you take another step.”
“That’s fine,” I said with a nod, “we’ll make do with what we have.” As if we had any other choice. “I have an idea. It might not work, but it’s worth a shot. Follow me.”
–
As we reached the courtyard, Tony ran alongside of me. “What’s going on, Fido?”
“The General, he’s coming. Where’s Josh?”
Tony shrugged.
His ears must have been burning because, right then, Josh walked through the castle gates. His eyes locked with mine and heat rose inside of me. I couldn’t look away.
I tried to remind myself that Tony was still standing a foot away from me. I cleared my throat. “Tell the shifts to prepare for war. Pick the biggest, baddest, meanest things you can think of and make it happen. We will need all the help we can possibly get. Just keep out of the skies for the first twenty minutes or so. I don’t want any friendly fire.”
“Aye, aye, captain!” Tony saluted me and jogged past Josh, disappearing from sight.
Before I could speak, William stepped in front of me. “Ah, Josh. I have something for you. Come here.”
Josh obeyed, my mouth watering as he drew closer. His eyes never left mine, not even for a second. God, I wanted that vision to be real. He could kill me – I didn’t care. I’d take it all, the good and the bad, as long as it meant I could feel the touch of his lips against mine once more. William pulled something from a pack he had slung over his shoulder. He unwrapped the item with great care.
“This is for you.” William bowed his head ever so slightly, placing the large sword in Josh’s hands.
Alec stepped beside me, his jaw hanging open. “The King’s sword? But, William–”
“Silence, Alec. The man needs a weapon and this sword requires a master.”
“Then let it fall to me, William,” Alec raged, his hands balling into fists at his side. “It should be with someone who understands its power. Not with some, human,” he spat.
“Do I need to remind you that the King was human?” William snapped. “Besides, you know as well as I do, that the sword chooses its own master. It has chosen him, just as it chose the King so many years ago. I trust that he will know how to use it,” William said, as if he shouldn’t have to explain it. Alec pursed his lips, moving away from us. It seemed his jealousy hadn’t improved much over the last hour.
Josh’s eyes danced over the ancient blade, admiring every intricate detail. I wondered if he realized how much history he held in the palm of his hand. He looked up and our eyes met, maybe for the last time. There were so many unspoken words between us. I just needed one minute alone with him.
“Help them prepare,” William ordered and Josh nodded absently, heading back outside, probably to find Tony.
When William and I rejoined the others, Alec was in mid conversation. “And where did we store all of the weapons?” he asked Jade. That was going to be my next question.
“That kid, Scott, he stored them in the basement. If not, he’s a dead man,” she growled.
We stopped short of the front gate and traveled down beneath the ground level of the castle. Torches hung on the walls and the air thin. I was glad not to be alone. The basement – dungeon might have been more accurate – was an eerie place. It was dark, damp and cold, chains hanging from the muddy walls. Years of pain and agony cried out from the darkness. There were a few bones scattered over the floor, teeth marks where animals tried to find an afternoon snack. I tried not to think about if they were human or not. Of course the
y were human. I assumed that modern day tours weren’t allowed into this particular area of the castle; in fact, I wondered if they even knew it existed. On the far side of the “basement” was a pile of large boxes, each with different markings on their sides.
“Melee weapons in those, firearms in those over there, and the small batch there is for explosives. As you can see, we didn’t find too many of those,” Jade said, moving over to the large crates. She pried off the first lid and threw a machine gun over her shoulder. Annie caught it without missing a beat. She was improving.
I took the M16 out of her hands and lined up the sights. “William, will the General have weapons like these?”
“I highly doubt it. He will most likely stick with what he knows: short-range weapons, bows and arrows, possibly a few cannons. Baldric feels that modern day weaponry is weak and not worth his time.”
Ryuu picked up the bazooka from one of the crates marked ‘explosives’ and I took a step back. “This doesn’t look very weak to me,” he said.
“When the ammo runs dry, it’ll be nothing more than a hunk of metal,” Alec pointed out. “Might as well use that to our advantage while we still can. It might just make up for what we lack in numbers.”
I nodded. The General wouldn’t expect it. If we were going to beat Baldric, we needed to use the element of surprise; otherwise, we’d all be dead within an hour. “Hand out the firearms to the humans, make sure they have all of the ammo available to us,” I instructed. “The melee weapons will go to the vampires. They stand the best chance at close range attacks, aside from us, that is.”
“And the explosives?” Ryuu asked, juggling a handful of grenades in the air without the use of his hands.
“That, my friend, is where you come in.”
“What are you thinking, Zoë?” William asked.
I searched the ground for a stick, settling on a long piece of bone. It would have to do. I carved out a map of the castle grounds into the dirt, drawing out my plans.
“Knowing Baldric, his men will surround us, giving him the initial upper hand. What we need to do is to manipulate him into coming where we want him. We need to confuse his army. The only way we stand a chance of survival is to catch them off guard.” I turned my attention to William. “Do your illusions actually cause structural damage?”
“No,” he replied. “They are nothing more than a mirage.”
I nodded. “Alright, here’s what we do. All of the humans and shifts will gather in front of the castle”
“The humans are our weakest people,” Annie protested. “They won’t stand a chance out there alone.”
“They won’t be alone,” I said. “They will have Jade and the shifts to protect them. Jade will duplicate herself, making their numbers seem greater than they actually are. Baldric’s army should head straight for them. The rest of us, along with the vampires, will remain along the outskirts of the kingdom. We will need a distraction for the General’s men to keep them from stampeding into Jade and the others. This is where you come in, William. I need you to create the illusion of fire around our people. It might just hold them off long enough for us to attack from all sides.”
“How do you propose we go about that?” Jade asked. “Baldric will see us coming a mile away.”
“No,” Alec started, “he won’t.” We were on the same page. He smiled down at me, a fire in his eyes. He nodded his approval.
“Alec is right,” I continued. “Baldric won’t see us coming, no one will. Alec will hide the rest of us from sight. When the time is right, we will attack. They literally won’t see us coming – they won’t know what hit them.”
“I won’t be able to keep everyone invisible for long once they begin moving,” Alec explained. “There will be too many for me to keep track of.”
“Do the best you can,” I said. “You will be staying with Ryuu up in the watch tower. That should give you a good view of the rest of us. Ryuu, I want you to take all of the grenades you can find here and scatter them through the air. When the time is right, blow Baldric’s precious pets out of the sky.”
Ryuu nodded, a huge grin stretching across his face. I couldn’t lie. Seeing Sythen body parts scattered across our land would bring me nothing but pure joy.
“We will do our best to take out as many of the General’s men as we can from the start. The more we kill, the better our chances will be. This is nothing more than a numbers game. Take out Baldric’s army – take out him.”
–
The sky came alive with thunder and lighting, the snow turning back into rain. It started with a drizzle and then the heavens opened up and showered down upon us. We were practically swimming. The snow turned to slush under our feet and the humans began slipping around the castle grounds, scrambling to gather their weapons from Jade.
“We’re all going to die, you know,” Markus said, coming up from behind me. I watched him from the corner of my eye. He kept his hands tucked behind his back. “But, maybe, just maybe, if the six of you can survive this world will stand a fighting chance.”
“And you?” I asked. “Will you survive?”
“Like I said, everyone will die. Don’t pretend to worry about me. I never considered myself to be a Godly man, but He has shown me mercy and freedom. Soon, I will get to see my little girl’s face again.”
I turned to face the ex-military man. There was no fear written on his tired face, no sign of worry or doubt. He’d already accept his death as I’d accepted mine. I guessed we weren’t so different, him and I.
A hand slipped around my waist and I melted into the man’s strong arms. “Don’t let him get to you. We will be fine,” Alec assured me. He lifted my chin up, losing himself in my eyes. “I will protect you with my life, Zoë. I won’t let anything happen to you, not ever.”
“Annie,” William called, “just like we planned before. I want you to take the children to the basement. Lock them up in the cells, hide them behind boxes – do whatever it takes to keep them safe. Bring whatever medical supplies you think you might need. We will be sending the injured to you. Find that nurse, she is assigned to your post. Keep her alive. We will need her.”
Annie nodded. She stood on her tiptoes and kissed William’s cheek. A spark of life flashed over his eyes and he smiled at her, running a hand along her shoulder. With that, she was gone.
William caught my eye and hung his head. “You were right, Zoë. I was failing her by protecting her the way I did. It is too late now. She is nowhere near ready for battle. If she fights alongside of us, she will surely die. She stands the best chance in the castle. I could not bear to lose her because of my own selfishness.”
“Next time,” I said, trying to smile.
“Next time,” he echoed.
I wasn’t really sure there’d be a next time. I was going to get my wish. I was going to die in this land. I wouldn’t hurt anyone else ever again. And my vision of Josh would never come to pass.
Next stop, Hell.
–
Twenty minutes later the Earth shook beneath our feet. Drums sounded in the distance as the General’s army marched toward the kingdom. I scanned the trees. Hundreds of arrows pointed out through leaves, rain dripping from their sharp points. Forest nymphs. They hid within the treetops, waiting to attack. On the ground beneath them, William and I, along with our vampire and shift comrades, lined the outskirts of the kingdom. We waited, eager to strike.
I saw Alec and Ryuu standing atop the castle tower. It was time. Alec waved a hand over the land and William and the others disappeared around me. We were as ready as we’d ever be.
“They are coming!”
And so it began.
The beating of wings circled overhead and the sky came to life with the screams and shrieks of Baldric’s serpent beasts. They were coming from all angles, swooping through the air with gnashing teeth.
“Now, Ryuu!” Alec shouted.
I covered my ears and turned away from the explosion. The tiny grenade pins rained
down across the land and more explosions rang out. Serpent body parts plummeted to the ground. It brought a smile to my face. A handful of our people threw up. Humans. That was nothing. There would be plenty more bloodshed to come – hopefully not on our end. Wishful thinking, of course.
“Jade,” I shouted. “Get ready!”
Jade weaved her way through the humans and shifts around her. Then two Jade’s, then three, then ten, then thirty, until I lost count. They stood around the shifts and humans, creating a protective barrier.
Bones cracked and popped as the shifters took new form. As they emerged from the crowd, I spotted Tony from a mile away. Bleached blond mane flowing over his massive shoulders. The enormous lion tilted its head and roared, kneading the Earth with its razor-sharp claws.
Thousands upon thousands or the General’s men marched through the trees and into the clearing, passing right by me. Their heavy steps sent tremors up my legs and into the pit of my stomach. I tried to remain silent, pressing my back against one of the tall trees. There wouldn’t be a graveyard big enough in all the land to bury the amount of people that would soon die.
An all too familiar laugh erupted from the blackened sky as a massive shadow swept through the dark clouds. Its wings expanded, jagged teeth glistening in the torchlight. The enormous serpent beast touched down, sending shockwaves throughout the land. A number of humans stumbled to their knees. Someone screamed and the beast reared back its head and laughed again, finding pleasure in others’ misery.
My fingers tightened around my sword’s hilt. That was it. That was the one, the beast whose blood pumped through my veins. It took everything I within me to stay put. I couldn’t jump the gun. Not yet. We had to stick to the plan.
“Stand your ground, soldiers!” Markus bellowed.
A man ran to the front of the line, or he was pushed, I wasn’t really sure. It was Scott’s brother, Rick. He looked up at the Sythen and tried to swing the large gun around from his hip. He wasn’t fast enough, not by a long shot. The beast’s forty-foot long tail whipped forward, knocking Rick clear off his feet.
“Weak human,” the Sythen hissed. It lunged for him as he tried to scramble to his feet. With one quick movement, the man was gone and blood oozed from the beast’s jagged teeth, staining what was left of the snow on the ground. The serpent beast opened its wings and took to the skies once more. It all happened in a matter of seconds.
Until Dawn: Last Light Page 22