Sagittarius

by Kim Faulks

  A month…a year…forever?

  The glow brightened, shimmering steel against midnight black.

  Something brushed the ground at my feet. Long strands of hair pulled taut under my heel. I wrenched my foot upwards. His tail brushed the floor to still between his legs.

  “Sorry,” I whispered and raised my gaze. Lucas…beast…Guardian. I searched for a name.

  Archer, the growl filled my mind.

  For a second I was lost, finding the whisper…and the betrayal. I flinched and stumbled backwards, slamming against thin bones and rough skin.

  “No. Not you too. Get out of my head…Get out…I said get out!”

  The beast lowered that infernal gaze to my chest. His breath was warm against my skin, reaching underneath the torn neckline to harden my nipple. “I can’t. You put me in there.”

  An ache flared in the back of my throat, and the rancid taste of demon blood reared.

  I won’t be chained. I won’t be caged. I won’t be taken…not again…not again…not by him—not by anyone.

  His lips curled, exposing a row of razored teeth. “I won’t hurt you. I’m not him.”

  “Then let me out.” I flinched and then hissed. “Let me go.”

  Pain flared, dulling the inferno before he looked away.

  Dirt scattered as he dragged a massive hoof in the air.

  His muscles tensed, breath stilled, trapped beneath scales and flesh. Only then did he shudder as the beast drove his hoof into the ground.

  The ground shuddered, cracking the walls. The boom was deafening as he thrust upward. His head hit the fallen earth, shoulders slammed soon after. Boulders fell through the gaps between his wings. He used them, trampling the gigantic stones into the earth as he shoved his body through the mountain, carving a path by brute force alone.

  I scurried, moving with the powerful thrust. Faded light peeked overhead and the sweet, hot scent of fresh blood followed. Broken branches slipped under my grip. I speared my nails into the earth and shoved as the gaps widened above.

  Crimson brightened across my hand. The walls were smeared. Broken branches stuck out from the sides like sharpened stakes. I wrenched my gaze to the beast. Red on black glistened as he moved. He was hurt…for me.

  I swallowed the ache. “Wait. Guardian.”

  But the beast never slowed, and never looked back. I gripped the splintered branches, and lunged as a growl thundered overhead like the first rumblings of an oncoming storm.

  His hooves impaled the sides of the burrow, leaving holes bigger than my head. Faint light flooded in, but it was silver fire I followed, as the Dragon heaved himself out of the mountain and roared.

  The sound was piercing, cleaving my head and the darkening sky. His tail swept through the air, the tips brushed my face and were gone. I speared my fingers into the crumbling opening and heaved. Dirt fell, collapsing the hole behind me.

  The faded sun pierced my eyes. I blinked and shoved, finding the heavy thud of steps. Silver glinted along his spine and over his wings. I’d heard the stories…the whispers of lies, or the truth, I didn’t know.

  All I knew was they both paled in comparison to the real thing—this beast…this Guardian was dangerous. Agony flared through my chest. I glanced down to the smear of blood across my hand.

  The Archer was more than stories—he was more than anything I’d ever known. Toppled trees crunched under his weight as he heaved his body through the brush. I could feel the earth shudder and moan under my feet. A dull thud was followed by another. Pines shook with the blast as the sound came again, and again, each time the beat grew faster.

  His fierce screech ripped through the forest. The thud came faster, a great big whoop of wings that bowed the tops of the trees. In the distance his monstrous body climbed, skimming the tops of firs as he aimed for the sky.

  That ache in my chest was bitter, and a cruel tang of loneliness followed as I watched the Dragon rise in the sky. He was gone, without so much as a backwards glance. And that was what I wanted, wasn’t it?

  To hurt…alone.

  The ground underneath crumbled, soil slipped, falling into the hole, and for a second I wanted to just let go and be buried once more.

  Silver flames called me, turning my mind inward to where the memory of the Archer waited. But he wasn’t alone. Twisted metal and broken walls littered my thoughts. An echo slipped in like a fog, and something sinister spilled out.

  Did you think I was gone?

  I closed my eyes, as his voice filled my mind. The twilight sky stretched overhead, I searched the faint stars for the darkened blur and found him.

  Did you think I’d give up?

  “Archer…” His name burned. “Come back…please, just come back…”

  You shouldn’t have opened that pretty mouth of yours, Princess.

  You shouldn't have said a word.

  My knees locked and trembled as I dropped to the ground and scurried forward. Twigs and branches caught on my dress, slow steps came faster. I whipped my gaze through the forest as panic built. He was out here…he was coming.

  Agony stabbed my chest and silver flames descended. I stumbled, slipped. The cold earth opened welcoming arms as I hit the ground. Screams burned, spilling into the fallen leaves. I kicked and bucked, drawing my knees to my chest as the Archer’s power raged.

  A flare of heat was met with cold. I shoved against the ground and pushed, fighting to stand. The darkening forest seemed to sway. I blinked icy tears and stared at the trees. Darkness crowded in as I shoved forward.

  My knee buckled, and a whimper wrenched free. I clawed the gnarled bark on a pine and stumbled forward. Darkness blurred, east and west blended into one.

  I knew the darkness. I lived in the darkness, and yet in this moment I was lost.

  The rattle of chains echoed from my right. I raced left, until the sound came once more. In the darkness came the flickering of a flame…silver shone with the radiant glow of the moon.

  I stumbled for the fire, desperate for warmth. My boots skimmed fallen trees and scurried over asphalt. I ran until I couldn’t feel, and I couldn’t think. I ran until the world was a blur.

  Run, run, run…Princess…

  Still the darkness taunted me. Seconds slipped. I blinked and found myself tumbling. The ground was a blur as I slid. Pain flared in the small of my back, a crunch sounded, somewhere low in my side. Stars collided as I dragged my knee underneath. My heel pressed into the dirt, I searched for balance as the ground swam at my feet.

  The bitter tang of blood bloomed, tearing a cough free. Black flecks flew through the air. I swiped my mouth and I blinked again. Gone was the forest, and the pines. I stood in the midst of bushes, staring at what looked like a house.

  I took a step, drawn to the fluorescent lights inside. Pretty flowers crammed the bushes outside. I climbed the stairs, and stared inside the glass doors. The brass plaque outside the door drew my gaze.

  Angel Home - Research and Pediatric Center.

  Solemn brown eyes filled my mind. I could help you. Tell me how to help you, the Doctor’s voice bloomed. Do you need blood? Do you need someone to talk to? I can be that person.

  I tried to shove the mortal from my mind, still she held on. Desperation took flight, a tendril of need. I swallowed hard, shoving the rancid blood down my throat. I didn’t need anything, not from her. What could a human give me? Weakness. That was all.

  I clenched my fist, piercing nails into my palm, and then turned. I blinked, and trees whipped past. Gone were the pretty flowers, and the smothering scent of love.

  I wanted nothing but silence, black woods, and the scent of decay carried on a bitter wind, and yet all I had was him. His sick, twisted words that chained me like a prisoner.

  Do you understand now, Princess? Do you see what I can do?

  I closed my eyes and lunged forward. Cold kissed my lips and stung my face. I inhaled the pain and felt nothing, for I was just as cold inside.

  I tried to hold onto this
moment, to the ground under my feet, and the moon above, but he pushed in, searching my mind for a way into my memories. “Get the fuck out of my head.”

  I will break you. And I will make you whole once more. I’ll find everything you hide from me.

  You will be mine, Eva. One way or another.

  My face was numb, throat was numb. I blinked and found myself outside a barn. I sucked in hard breaths and stared inside the cracked open door. The stench of blood and terror seeped from the building and stained the land.

  Empty pigpens sat at my left, and a small, empty cabin at my back. The musty stench of wolf smothered me, but under the feral smell, the rancid horror of demon. But it was the barn that called me. Darkness reached for me through the open door.

  “I’ll build another wall.” Desperation spilled free. “I’ll hold onto what humanity I have left and I’ll fight.”

  My knees trembled as I stepped inside. The musty scent of old straw smothered my breath. I raised a hand as the bitter tang of urine followed from an open stable. Soft moon rays poured in from a window high up, glinting on metal amongst the straw.

  Chains rattled as I took a step. The sound carried to a bolt on the wall, and suddenly everything made sense. “This was where you held her, wasn’t it?”

  Her fear stained the walls, and the sharp bite of urine lingered, blending with the horrors of my past. He kept her caged like an animal…like he kept me.

  I took a step inside and my past reared. My hold was slipping, flesh and blood were no longer mine. I belonged to him…mind…body…and soul.

  A whimper slipped from my lips as the chilling sound of laughter filled my head.

  Sooner or later your human side will lose, Eva, he whispered.

  It has to.

  14

  Lucas

  Dark storm clouds circled in from the west. Instead of fat drops of rain, the billowing sight carried something far more sinister.

  Hate surged around my family’s home like a rage-filled tornado.

  I swept my wings downward, and rode the current lower. My hooves hit the tops of pine trees, carving branches, crushing trunks until I hit the ground with a deafening boom. Jagged flashes of lightning ripped open the sky above me, turning the trees ashen in the faltering light.

  I pierced my wing’s claw into the ground, and heaved the long bones forward, one after another as I carved a path through the brush. The white mansion glinted through the thin tree line. I scanned brightly lit windows, catching movement before it was gone.

  They were in there…breathing words of murder I felt like an echo in my soul. I wanted to breathe their fire, I wanted to be their rage. I wanted to let them see me.

  The real me—darkness, death—I wanted them to see it all.

  A growl echoed from my chest with a warning. I dropped my gaze and scanned the forest to my left. Silver eyes glinted in the darkness, and a whimper tore free. Wolves surrounded the mansion…

  Friends, urged the man inside. They’re our friends…don’t hurt them.

  Still the growl served its purpose as the mutts slunk away. Friends…our pack. The man flooded my mind with memories, fighting, defending—friendship.

  But the man was not in control now. The ice wall was shattered, the beast now free.

  Bright lights splashed across the pebbles outside the white mansion, and the sound of an engine drew near.

  What are you doing? Panic stained his tone. I craned my head as the boom shuddered the earth. Silver flames reached higher, lashing the hollow of my chest as the beams brightened.

  Archer…the man was scared…

  He should be.

  The pickup drew closer, rounding the end of the driveway and braked behind the long row of trucks. Headlights died along with the engine. I took a step as the driver’s door cracked open and a man stepped out.

  The fragile scent of human flooded me conjuring memories of long ago…

  Please, the past begged, I have a family…a wife. I didn’t know it was your sister…

  The earth trembled as I drove my wings forward to tower over the human. Lightning severed the sky with a crack so loud it shook my soul.

  The mortal stilled, and then slowly turned. I caught the outline of his face in the glare until he looked up and met my face. His eyes widened, the whites all I could see.

  Archer! Lucas roared. No! The deputy is our friend.

  But he was no longer in control.

  The blast of neon white overhead turned the human’s color ashen. Gravel crunched under his boots as he stumbled backwards and hit the driver’s door. He bowed his spine until his head hit the glass. His fingers trembled, dancing in the air as he raised his hand. “Please…d-don’t k-kill me.”

  I lowered my head, lips curled in warning. Don’t move. Don’t flinch. Don’t even make a sound. “Xael, bring her to me.”

  The whites of his eyes disappeared, his lips smashed flat. There was a bulge in his jaw, as though for a second he found the steel in that backbone, until he looked into the abyss of my gaze. One slow nod was all he gave.

  I lifted my head and heaved my foot backwards. Heavy raindrops fell into my eyes as I sank into the darkness, waiting for the only one who understood.

  The human moved fast, skirting the end of his truck, and headed for the house.

  I looked to the sky, to the clouds and the storm, searching for answers, as the front door opened and then closed. The heavy thud of my heart shuddered; warm flesh searched for cold stone and I found it…found the tiny piece that was missing in the distance, and in the storm.

  Then let me out, the Vampire Princess snarled in my head. Let me go.

  She looked at me as though I were the one who’d hurt her.

  As though I were not just a beast…

  But also a monster.

  “Archer?”

  The darkness blurred. Slow steps neared. Raven hair shone under the bolt of white. I lowered my head as she stepped through the brush.

  The scent of human haunted her…the male moved close, casting one panicked gaze to me. “Xael, wait, is he…”

  “My brother,” she finished and the night moved close.

  I wrenched my gaze to the house, and back to her. Lightning glinted off dark eyes as she gently shook her head. “No, they don’t know you’re here. We have a lead on the name Gabriel gave them. They think it’s her…the Huntress.”

  My stomach clenched, heart squeezed tight. The Vampire sank her claws into my mind—and refused to let go. The Huntress will never stop coming. Never stop doing what he wants, she whispered.

  “I’ve never forgotten.” Xael mirrored the voice and moved close. Her hand skimmed my chest and over my shoulder. Soft hair skimmed hard scales, the warmth of her cheek blurred the trees. “I’ll always remember what you did for me.”

  “Xael,” the male whimpered, still he never moved.

  I saw him then, saw him for what he was…small, too scrawny. The makings of muscles bulged under his shirt, but he was far too soft and brittle. He was human, fragile…too damn fragile to survive. “Do they forgive?” The words echoed far too deep. “Do they forgive at all?”

  My sister lifted her head, pain was etched deep. “Our brothers? No.” She turned her head to look over her shoulder to our home. “I don’t think they ever will. They aren’t like us, Archer. They don’t like the darkness. They don’t battle the beast.”

  Her touch trembled as her words hardened. “Which is why they can’t see you, not now…maybe not forever.”

  Deep down this was the truth I’d always known.

  “I’ll never forget what you did that day, and what you would’ve done… But the others won’t understand, they could never understand.”

  The old hurt. The old longing came rushing to the surface.

  A beast…a monster. That’s all they saw. I dropped my head to meet her eyes. “I’m sorry I didn’t protect you.”

  Her midnight eyes were haunting…one second the Princess, the other Xael. Muscles turned
and twisted. Long tines from my mane lashed the air. I speared my claws into the earth and splayed my hooves wide. Half Dragon. Half horse. All beast…

  A cry ripped from my chest. A heart cry, brutal and painful, filled with sacrifice and betrayal—just like my family’s love. The crunch in my hips was sickening. I fell, hit the warm earth and raised my head.

  My spine snapped, agony tore. I clenched my jaw, riding the razored edge of agony.

  The Princess’s words consumed the pain. You’ll have to kill, Guardian. You’ll have to kill them all…

  Fire danced, lashing the inside of my throat as Eva whispered…But kill that bitch for me.

  Muscles twisted, body torn. I crumpled to the ground as scales turned to skin. My bones crunched, pain swelled, twisting, tormenting, until there was nothing but the pain.

  The spark of obsidian glinted in my mind. The man pushed to the surface, riding bone. “Archer,” the warped sound slipped from my mouth. “Don’t hurt them.”

  My family was afraid. Lucas was afraid…the Princess was afraid. Bright lights shone through the trees. The heavy sound of footsteps echoed. I held on while the ground beneath me blurred. I needed to stay in this skin for just a second longer, just to smell the storm and feel the rain.

  “Jesus fuck…is that?”

  A sickening crack ripped through my spine. I shuddered, bowed, until I lost myself, and in the blur of the night Marcus neared. Dark eyes made darker by the flash of lightning.

  His words mingled with the growl of thunder. “Did he…kill anyone?”

  The streak of lightning cleaved the sky. I knew then, knew while my hold on this existence slipped that the unmerciful storm wasn’t my family—it was me.

  I was the eye, the heart, the center.

  I followed the neon white spear as it cut across the sky, and in the distance a spark of pain raged. The Princess. She came to me as clear and loud as the thunder above.

  Her pain was my pain…her hate my own.

  I would kill…but it wouldn’t be for my family. Not anymore.

  It would be for her.