Love by Night

by Stina

  “How does it feel to be dragged by your hair?” Calum snarled.

  A shrill scream cut through the air just then and halted all the fighting. “Kesh! Help me!”

  Kesh let go of Tulum and struggled to his knees. “Dira,” he shouted, then fell down onto his chest at the sight of her. “Dira! No!” He reached out a weak hand.

  Vila and Calum had paused in their fight too. They both turned in the direction of Dira’s shrieks. Calum smiled at the sight of her. Vila was alarmed.

  “Let her go,” Kesh wheezed, barely able to get enough power behind his words. His strength was all but gone.

  Two Malum Clan members were dragging Dira away. Kesh tried to move forward, but Tulum grabbed him and easily threw him back down on the ground. Vila tried to race forward too, but Calum jumped in front of her and blocked her path. Calum slammed Vila to the ground again and pounced on top of her immediately.

  “Don’t let them take me!” Dira cried out, stretching her arms toward Kesh as she was being dragged away. “Please!”

  “You’ll never save her. I told you, I’ll never let you have a queen. Especially her,” Tulum growled. With that, he used his power and blasted Kesh in the chest. Kesh lay flat on his back, barely breathing. He had no more strength. His body was finally giving out. Tulum kicked Kesh in the ribs. Kesh wheezed and gagged. He flipped himself over and tried to get on his knees, but Tulum kicked him again.

  “Kesh!” Dira squealed.

  Kesh felt his heart crumbling. He hadn’t felt pain like that since he lost Adie. He inched forward, trying desperately to get to his love. He wouldn’t make it if he didn’t feed soon. He reached out a shaky hand toward Dira, but he was helpless. “Dira,” he rasped. It was the last thing he said. He collapsed, and the world went dark.

  * * *

  “Get off of me,” Adirah demanded, tugging her arms away from the two rival clan members who were dragging her. Tears ran down her face at the sight of Kesh, weakened and reduced to almost nothing.

  Dira, dig down deep. You have the power inside of you to defeat them. Just dig down deep. He needs you. You can win this. You have gifts. He saved you. Now it is up to you. Dig down deep.

  Adirah heard the voice, but she didn’t know what it meant.... Dig down deep? she thought. She kicked and bucked her body, but still she was no match for her captors.

  Whatever you think you can do, you will be able to do. Whatever you think you can do, you will be able to do.

  “Shut up! Just tell me what to do!” Adirah screamed at the spirit that was speaking to her. “Just tell me!”

  With her anger at the spirit welling up in her like a ripe geyser, Adirah squeezed her eyes shut and yanked her arms inward, toward her chest, with a power she didn’t know existed in her five-foot-three-inch tall body. Suddenly, she fell forward, and the pressure on her arms had disappeared. She opened her eyes and was shocked when she realized she had broken away from the two strapping Malum Clan vampires.

  “Wait? What?” Adirah looked at her hands, still amazed at herself. Then she looked at the two men, who were now trying to scramble up from the ground. “I did that?” she gasped, squeezing her hands and then relaxing them, as if she thought lightning bolts would shoot out of them. She inspected the rest of her body to see if there were any physical changes. Had she always had this strength and never knew?

  “Dira!” the spirit called to her.

  Adirah lifted her head, spurred to action once again. She didn’t have much time to contemplate her new strength, as she had to get back and help Kesh. This was no time to stand around waiting for the Malum men to regain their bearings.

  “Get her!” one of her captors barked. He and his partner had finally gotten to their feet.

  Adirah raced around both captors with a speed that she couldn’t understand. She moved so fast, both vampires got dizzy and fell back down.

  “This is like a cartoon,” she mumbled to herself. “Unreal.”

  Kesh had saved Adirah’s life, and now it was time for Adirah to repay him for that deed. The tables had turned, and Adirah wasn’t going to let her man down. Her little escape had bought her enough time to get back to Kesh without the Malum men interfering.

  Adirah came bursting through the trees in time to see Calum pummeling Vila. “Argh!” Adirah yelled as she charged forward and dragged Calum off Vila. “Queen to queen,” Adirah shouted as she punched Calum in her face.

  Calum stumbled backward, holding her mouth. She was surprised by Adirah’s attack. Calum looked at Adirah, wiped her mouth, and smiled. She might have underestimated the mortal. Adirah had escaped from the Malum men, so perhaps she would be a formidable foe. But not for long. Calum lifted her head, squinted her eyes into dashes, and ran straight for Adirah.

  Adirah took off straight for Calum. They were on a collision course. They both jumped at the same time and slammed into each other. The impact shook the surrounding trees. The queens crashed into the earth with a violent thud. Both women lay on the ground, stunned. Adirah slowly rolled over and crawled toward Calum. When she got to Calum’s side, Calum was moaning in agony. Adirah held her fist in the air, ready to unleash her full strength into Calum’s face, but an unknown force stopped her.

  “I got this now. Go look for Kesh,” Vila shouted from a few feet away. She was holding out her hand in the direction of Adirah’s fist. When Vila dropped her hand, Adirah felt a release of the tension surrounding her fist.

  It took Adirah a few seconds to react. She couldn’t believe that Vila wanted to work with her. The women made eye contact, and there was a moment of recognition by both women. A truce had been offered. The tiniest grin spread over Vila’s lips.

  “Go help our king! He’s very weak!” Vila demanded, her voice high pitched and frantic. Adirah wasted no more time. She took off running. She quickly found her man. Tulum had a hold on Kesh’s head and was dragging him across the dirt clearing in the woods. His body looked lifeless, like a stuffed doll. She swallowed hard at Kesh’s bloodied face.

  “Let him go,” Adirah said through clenched teeth.

  Tulum turned around and flashed an evil smile at her. “Or what, mortal girl?” he snarled. “You think you are more powerful than me?” He laughed at her.

  “Or you’ll be sorry,” Adirah retorted, her chest heaving. The sight of Kesh in such bad condition had turned her into someone she didn’t recognize.

  Tulum started slowly advancing toward her. He laughed and flashed his fangs. He was taunting Adirah and was absolutely enjoying it.

  He’s not more powerful than you, Dira. You are the one with the gifts. You are the one they fear. They know you are more powerful than all of them.

  Adirah took a deep breath, squeezed her eyes, and ran straight for Tulum. Tulum’s jaw dropped and his head jerked up as Adirah sailed over his head. He clearly didn’t expect her to have the same powers as vampires. Had she been turned? No matter. He would still destroy her.

  “Impressive,” Tulum said, raising his eyebrows. “Let’s see what else you can do.” He thrust his hands toward Adirah and sent her flying backward. She crashed into the ground. As she scurried to her feet, Tulum calmly advanced toward her. She rushed Tulum and launched herself at his throat. He easily swatted her aside. The instant she landed on the ground, he was at her side, kicking her in the ribs.

  “Tulum! Enough!” Tiev yelled out.

  Tulum whirled around so fast, his coat swung and slapped his legs. His eyes were wide at the sight of Tiev and an army of the Sefu Clan behind him. “Ah, finally a real challenge.” Tulum smiled, then let out a roar. Within seconds the trees started to rustle and branches were cracking all around them. Then it became apparent that Tulum’s roar had summoned the Malum army.

  As the Malum appeared from the depths of the forest, Tiev yelled, “Sefu!” The two armies raced toward one another, and a ferocious battle ensued.

  Adirah rushed over to Kesh and threw herself down at his side. He was barely conscious. “No . . . Kesh. Wake up.” Ad
irah took his head in her hands and shook him gently. “Wake up.” The fighting raging all around them.

  Kesh groaned and tried to speak, but he was too weak. There was no glow left to his skin. In fact, Adirah swore she could see wrinkles cropping up on his face with every passing minute. Her heart pounded against her sternum.

  “Tell me what to do, Kesh,” she cried helplessly.

  Adirah looked out at the bloody battle happening between the Sefu and Malum Clans. There was no one else left to help her king. It was up to her and her alone.

  Dira, you can do it. You can save him. You have to believe you can do it.

  “How?” Adirah whispered through her tears. “Tell me how?”

  It’s within you, Dira. You have the power.

  “Kesh.” Adirah shook him. “Tell me what you need. Tell me what to do to help you get your strength back. I’ll do anything for you . . . anything,” she pleaded, tears running down her cheeks.

  Kesh’s eyes closed, and his head lulled to the side.

  “Help me!” Adirah screamed. “Help me save him.” There was so much death and destruction swirling around her, no one paid any attention. Adirah hadn’t felt this helpless since she’d watched her brother die at her feet. Her head spun with a tornado’s eye of thoughts. She couldn’t let another person she loved die like that. Her soul couldn’t handle the burden of another preventable death.

  “Please,” she sobbed. “You can’t leave me like this.”

  Vila approached her from behind. “He needs to feed,” Vila huffed, kneeling down next to Adirah. The blood on her face was a reminder of the fierce battle raging. “He needs to feed now. If he doesn’t, he will become too weak to feed at all, and that will be the end of him. That would be the end of all of us,” Vila announced gravely.

  “Wh-what? How?” Adirah stuttered. She couldn’t even think. “Tell me how to feed him. What can we do? Get a bird? A small animal? Help me to understand,” Adirah begged. She held Kesh’s head like it was a piece of precious crystal.

  “You have to let him drink from you, or he will perish,” Vila said. “You’re the only one here with human blood. With him being this weak, an animal’s blood won’t work. Human blood is the only thing that will suffice. He will have to turn you. . . .”

  Vila’s words sounded like they were coming out in slow motion. Adirah looked up at her desperately. She was hoping that she had heard Vila wrong. Hoping that there was some other way that Vila wasn’t remembering.

  “Do it! If you really love him, you will do it!” Vila barked. “You claim you love him as much as I do, so then do it!”

  Adirah looked down into Kesh’s face. “I . . . I . . . How?”

  Vila scooped Kesh out of Adirah’s arms, got behind him, and put him into a sitting position. Kesh’s head fell forward, and his arms fell limply over Vila’s.

  “Kesh, c’mon. You need to feed.” Vila shook him. “His heart is barely pumping anymore. Get down here. Hurry up. The clan won’t be able to keep the Malum away much longer,” Vila yelled at Adirah. They both looked over at the fierce battle still raging between the clans. Bodies were flying, limbs were snapping, and corpses lay on the ground.

  “You can show your allegiance to our king right now. A real queen would do it. A real queen needs to be of the same kind as her king. Prove that you are his queen,” Vila said, pressing, shooting Adirah an evil glare.

  Something hitched in Adirah’s mind, and she got a sense that something was off with Vila. She couldn’t decipher Vila’s intentions at that moment.

  “Are you going to save him or wait for the Malum to kill us all?” Vila said.

  Adirah shook off her suspicious thoughts. She couldn’t worry anymore about whether Vila was trying to walk her into a trap or not. She had to save Kesh’s life.

  “I’m going to save him. I’m going to save our king,” Adirah proclaimed. With that, she moved closer to Kesh’s face. Tears streamed her cheeks. She was about to leave the life she knew, and there was no way to return, but she refused to let him die.

  Vila made her body move in a way Adirah couldn’t understand, but it jolted Kesh awake. He sucked in his breath, his eyes popped open, and his canines extended. He reached out and grabbed Adirah roughly. He wasn’t himself. In that moment, he was a monster possessed. He held on to her roughly and drew her to his mouth. He breathed like a huge beast lived inside of him.

  “Ah!” Adirah screamed, instinctively trying to pull away.

  “Stay still! He’s in an animal state right now, and he needs to bite you,” Vila barked. “You said you would save him. . . . Now save him.”

  Adirah shook all over, but she closed her eyes and finally went as still as she could given the circumstances. Kesh sunk his teeth into the soft flesh of her neck and sucked and sucked and sucked. Adirah felt a hot, searing pain engulf her entire body. Her chest felt like it would explode. Her arms and legs went stiff, and her eyes rolled into the back of her head. The sound of her own heart thumped in her ears so loudly, she couldn’t hear anything else. Not even Kesh’s animal noises. Her body bucked, and white foam spilled from the sides of her mouth.

  There’s no turning back now. You’re one of them now. Your gifts are at stake. You can’t turn back. You can’t change back. Life eternal. Hell eternal. You’re one of them now. Dira. Dira. Dira.

  The spirit voices swirled in her head, and Kesh’s howling screams filled her ears.

  In that moment, Adirah saw her brother Adolphis. He was smiling and waving her on. Her parents were there too. They were running in a field of flowers. They were also waving her on. Adirah giggled and turned. Addis was behind her, laughing and playing. She waved to him. He started following her, she followed her parents, and her parents followed Adolphis.

  “Dira, we are all together again. You brought us all back together again,” Adolphis said, turning and reaching for her. She finally grabbed his hand. The power inside of him jolted through her, and he laughed. His laugh turned from happy to sinister all within a few seconds. “I finally got you to follow me,” Adolphis said, but he sounded just like her father.

  “Dira! Dira! Dira!”

  She heard her name being called from different directions. Then she fell into darkness. Adirah knew at that moment she was dead.

  Chapter 13

  “Lay her down,” Kesh demanded, his voice high pitched and frantic. The Sefu Clan members who were carrying Dira rushed past him and into his room in a flurry. They gently placed her down on Kesh’s bed. “Everybody out,” Kesh demanded, pushing his way through his people. “I want to be alone with her.”

  “Kesh, let me—” Vila began, but Kesh threw his hand up in her face, halting her words.

  “I don’t know what was more important to you, Vila, saving me or making sure Dira turned. You know I love her and I didn’t want to turn her. You were dying for the opportunity to make it so that I had to turn her. You let your own jealousy rule you, and I hate you for that. Now leave,” Kesh spat cruelly.

  A pin-drop silence fell over the room. Time seemed to stand still. Vila’s head jerked back, as if Kesh had thrown holy water in her face.

  “I saved you, King. I needed to—”

  “Leave!” Kesh boomed, the vein at his temple visibly throbbing. Everyone in the room seemed shocked, and they stared at Kesh and Vila with wide eyes and agape mouths. “I said, leave!” Kesh bellowed, his upper lip raised and his fangs showing.

  Vila’s face reddened, and tears sprang to her eyes. She stumbled backward, with her hands up in surrender. “You don’t know what you’ve done, King,” she rasped. Black blood tears streaked down her cheeks. She turned swiftly and ran from the room, her cries trailing her.

  “Everyone out, I said,” Kesh mumbled, massaging his aching temples. He heard the disapproving grumbles and hushed murmurs from his clan, but he didn’t care. Everything he wanted was lying on the bed behind him. He’d seen decades and decades of living fade away when he finally saw Dira lying on the ground, lifeless. Kesh d
idn’t know what was worse—being on the brink of death or watching his greatest love fight for her life now.

  Kesh knew better than anyone the pain of transitioning. It was another realm of being. The body fought the process as hard as it could. The vampire code was relentless in its attack on the mortal form. The converting of DNA from mortal to vampire was an agonizing process that caused physical as well as mental transformation. The person’s instincts went from human to animalistic. The organs in the body needed to adjust to the new blood being pumped through the body. The red blood cells became black.

  When the room was finally empty, Kesh went to the side of the bed. He looked down at Dira’s stiff, pale body. Kesh’s lips trembled, and a hard knot lodged in his throat. He kneeled at her side, took her limp hand into his, and pressed it against his forehead.

  “God, why?” A sob bubbled to his lips as he felt the rigidity settling into her cold fingers. “Dira, my queen. Submit, please,” Kesh cried. “I need you.” He couldn’t stand to see her blue lips and pale skin. It had been more than three hours, and there still hadn’t been any change, no sign of the transition. Her mortal side was putting up a valiant fight. If the fight went on without a resolution, there would be a point of no return and the outcome was death.

  “C’mon,” he whispered, moving her hand to his lips and planting a kiss on top of it, like he had when they first met.

  Kesh felt the dam of his resolve cracking with each passing minute. He moved up on the bed and laid his head on Dira’s chest. He listened for any sign of life. Silence. Just like her hands, her chest was stiff.

  “Agh!” The screams burst from Kesh like lava out of a volcano. For the first time in centuries, he wept openly, without regard for what anyone would think or say about him as a man or about his display of weakness. His shoulders vibrated with wracking sobs, and tears drenched his face. “Dira! I need you!”

  Kesh had been through this type of grief centuries ago, when he lost Adie, and still he wasn’t prepared to deal with it again. Kesh knew now why it had taken him so long to fall in love again. He hated to experience the pain of loss over and over. He felt like someone had stuck their hand into his chest and snatched his heart out . . . for good this time.