by F. J. Gale
His eyes were drawn to the golden throne at the far end of the room. Its frame was adorned with golden leaves. A maroon carpet covered the dozen steps that led up to it. Behind it were huge stained glass windows, depicting famous past battles, infamous knights. He could also make out a couple of tapestries that hung from the pillars near the rear of the room, a few feet from the throne itself. The rest of the room was hidden behind thick fog.
Where is she?
“I’ve been expecting you,” a velvety voice spoke from behind him.
He spun around, caught off guard that he hadn’t been able to sense her. Wearing a silky silver flowing gown, her golden hair cascading about her face, she was a vision, as always. Divine.
“The venue never changes with you, Mathias. Your subconscious always conjures the same thing. You spent your human life in this time and place so it makes sense. It brings a sense of comfort to you. Each person who enters here creates their own image—their safest place, as you are aware.”
She studied him for several minutes. And then, without saying anything, she turned from him and walked towards the throne. She took her seat and then gestured for him to approach.
He complied, stopping at the foot of the steps. He bowed his head with respect.
“It has been an age since you've come to me, Mathias.”
“It has.”
“You did not come here to discuss Guardian matters.”
“You know why I'm here,” he said, meeting her gaze.
She smiled. “Yes. I know who brings you here.”
“I want to alter the deal you made with The Hunter.”
“In what way?” she asked coyly, already knowing the answer.
“In a way that spares her life.”
“I am not in the habit of reversing my magic, Mathias.”
“Then make this an exception,” he shot back.
His bold tone was disrespectful and agitated her somewhat; however, having a vampire come to her to beg for a human’s life intrigued her. She would let it slide.
“On what grounds?”
Mathias hesitated.
“This girl, you care for her a great deal?”
“That’s beside the point.”
“It is the very essence of the point. You wouldn’t be here now otherwise.”
“She may be more than an ally, yes.”
“I do not entertain requests made on the basis of love. It makes for irrational judgment, Mathias.”
“We need more warriors. They are in short supply.”
“Silas’ death will mean one less warrior of darkness. Her death will maintain that balance.”
“There will always be another like Silas.”
She gazed at him, her eyes narrowing with intrigue as she searched for answers. “Ah, you are worried about Graven,” she realized.
“As long as he still lives, he's a threat.”
“He has remained in the shadows for centuries. Not even I have been able to locate him.”
“He's my sire. I would know if he'd perished. The connection is…powerful.”
“I am aware,” she said, leaning back against the high back of her golden throne. “You are right that she may be needed. But so are you,” she said, pointedly.
“You wish me to return?”
“Yes, that will be your price. You will return to the fold and become a Guardian of White Light once more.”
Mathias met her dark gaze and slapped his hand to his heart, “I swear it.”
“Jenna Knight’s quest is pure vengeance. She is not a warrior of light. If Silas stood on the side of good, she would still be against him for what he did to her family. She does not make those distinctions. That makes her an unstable force. She could go either way if she lived beyond Immortalia’s demise.”
“Her heart is pure.”
“The guarantee isn’t there.”
“I will guarantee it.”
“You’re asking to be her Guide?”
“I have the time,” Mathias quipped.
She considered his proposal for a few moments. “She would have to become an immortal being, more than human.”
“Vampire?”
“No. She will still be able to walk in the sun. But she will be demon, plagued by immortality. She will exist as a Guardian of White Light until the end of days. That would be her new curse to bear.”
“I understand the price, but why make her demon? There’s something I don’t know?”
“Her mortal body is degrading. It can no longer bear her powers. It’s possible she won’t last through to the end of the war. The contract of her curse allows her to maintain her powers until the day that she destroys Silas. All the terms of the contract must be met before another can be entered into. It is the supernatural law that governs all planes of existence.”
“Yes, I know.”
“It means, if her body fails her before she kills Silas, any contract we enter into right now would be null and void.”
Mathias nodded. What other choice was there?
The Sorceress closed her eyes and bowed her head. When she opened her eyes again they flashed briefly with a golden light. “It is done. Should Jenna Knight fulfill the terms of her current contract, our new contract will take immediate effect. She will become a Guardian.”
“Thank you, Sorceress.”
She nodded.
Mathias hesitated before saying, “There’s one more thing. Alna, the ivory witch, needs aid.”
The Sorceress’ eyes glowed with fire at the mention of Alna. “You dare to utter her name to me?”
“You have the power to reverse the change that she can no longer hold back,” Mathias pressed.
“She has defied the natural laws for long enough. The very fact that I have allowed her to do so is a mercy in itself.”
“But—”
She waved her hand dismissively. “There will be no further discussion. Even you cannot enlist my help to save her, Mathias. She is not worthy. She must pay the price for the boundaries she has crossed, for the laws that she has broken for so long. Vampirism will be her cross to bear. Or, death, if she prefers.”
Mathias opened his mouth to protest, to appeal Alna’s case further, but she held up her hand, willing him to remain silent. He’d known her long enough to understand that there was no more room left for bargaining. Her mind was made up. She would not help Alna.
“I have granted your request for The Hunter. We are done here.”
Mathias bowed respectfully and turned to go.
“Mathias,” she called out, halting him in his tracks.
He stopped, surprised, his back to her.
“The white magic in you is strong. You are more than vampire. Her heart will see that sooner than you think.”
“Thank you.”
Before he could say anything further, he was once again blinded by golden light. A fraction of a second later he again found himself standing between the two identical trees deep in the forest. He looked up to the sky. How long was I in there? Daylight would be upon him in minutes.
He turned towards the route back out of the forest. And that was when a fist came at his face. It connected painfully with his cheek. The power behind it almost knocked him off his feet. He only just managed to maintain his balance.
“You son of a bitch!” Jenna screamed at him.
He cupped his face and eyed her with surprise, “Listen, I—”
“What have you done?”
“I may have just saved your life.”
“I told you not to interfere in this. It's my life to worry about, not yours. It's not your place. I don’t need your protection. I don’t need anything from you. I am not a helpless damsel in distress. In fact, I am stronger than you. Do you understand?”
“I need you to calm down for a moment,” he said, holding up his hands in surrender and approaching her cautiously.
“Why?”
“Because, otherwise I’m gonna fry.”
Jenna looked up at th
e sky. Shit. “There’s not enough time to make it back to the house. What’s nearby? Any shelter?”
Mathias tried to recall the area. It had been a decade since he’d been in this neck of the woods. He looked up at the sky. The sun was already rising. There wasn’t enough time to get anywhere.
“The town center is too far. That’s all there is.”
Jenna scanned the forest and listened. “I hear water. An ocean?”
Of course! “Yes, there are caves along the coast, carved into the cliffs.”
“Let’s go!”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Mathias hurried into the cave and clung to the far corner that offered the most shadow. Jenna followed close behind. She examined the area. The dark gray walls were slick with moisture. It smelled damp and a little like seaweed. She saw some blankets, cigarette butts, beer bottles and remnants of a fire in the center of the cave.
“Kids,” she mused. She knelt down to investigate the burned out fire to see if there was anything left to work with.
“Why didn’t you tell me that you’re dying?” Mathias asked, his voice echoing hauntingly off the walls of the cave.
“Because, it didn’t matter.” She withdrew her lighter from the pocket of her cargo pants and started to work on the fire.
“How many vampires have you killed since you became The Hunter?”
“Not nearly as many as the number of humans you’ve killed, I’m sure.”
“Were they all soldiers of darkness?”
“They all got in my way.”
“Like Eternus?”
“Yes.”
“They aren’t evil; they are soldiers of good.”
Jenna halted her task of lighting the fire. She stood up and approached him where he sat in the darkest corner of the cave.
“You think I don’t care about good or evil.”
“Well, do you?”
She knelt before him and took a breath before revealing, “As a human intent on eradicating the most notorious vampire organization on the planet, I am a high-profile target for everyone. Silas and his band of psycho vamps. Groups like Legion and Eternus for crossing them inadvertently because our mission is the same. Regular vamps and demons, just because I am human. And then there are humans. I’m wanted by the Supernatural Threat Response Unit and the cops. And, let’s not forget the plain old misogynistic Joes who hate me because I can kick their asses. I would love to have the luxury of being so black and white and only killing evildoers. But I don’t. You wanna know how I operate?”
“Yes.”
“If they attack me, they die. Kill or be killed.”
“That’s lone-wolf mentality.”
She nodded.
“You’re not operating alone anymore. We are allies. You don’t need to kill indiscriminately now, because I have your back.”
“Mathias, why do you care about who I kill and how I operate?”
“The Sorceress has appointed me as your Guide.”
She shook her head with utter disbelief. How dare he? “You mean my babysitter?”
“I guaranteed that you would stand with the good guys. I am charged with ensuring that happens. That was the price of saving your life. When you kill Silas, you will become more than human; a Guardian. Immortal.”
Jenna jumped up and stormed to the center of the cave, where the powerful rays of sunlight shone through. Where he could not follow.
“Fuck you, Mathias,” she seethed.
He approached, cautiously staying within the shadows. He stopped at the edge where darkness turned to light. “You’re young, you need guidance.”
“I’ve been doing pretty well on my own.”
“So well that Arthur has almost killed you twice. So well that the organization you’ve sworn to destroy is stronger than ever.”
Her eyes bore fiercely into his. But he didn’t look away. He held her gaze steady.
“Silas and Arthur are always surrounded by their armies. I can’t get close enough,” she reluctantly admitted.
Mathias smiled. She was finally giving some ground.
“Sometimes it takes an army, Jenna. Alone can only get you so far.” He shook off his jacket and threw it in the corner. He pulled off his black t-shirt, leaving him shirtless, and pointed to the hideous scar etched into his right shoulder. “Here’s proof.” He gestured to another; a star-shaped two-inch scar just above his heart.
“You were staked?” she asked, incredulous.
“That night when I tried to take on Silas alone.”
Jenna was taken aback that he had come so close to death. “I’ve never come face to face with him.”
“You wouldn't stand a chance.”
Jenna gritted her teeth. “What?”
“He’s nothing like his son when it comes to battle. But you are. Reckless and arrogant.” Before she could argue, he added, “I can teach you.”
“You want to teach me how to kill the most powerful vampire in existence?”
Mathias cleared his throat. “Excuse me?”
She cracked a smile. “Sorry. Figure of speech. I didn’t realize vamps were so egotistical. I thought that was just a human thing.”
“There’s a lot you don’t know about my kind, considering I’m the first you’ve ever had a non-violent encounter with.”
“Like what?”
He could see the intrigue in her eyes.
“We feel the same wealth of emotions as humans, but some on a much deeper level.”
He held her gaze as she stepped a little closer. “We can feel sensations—vibrations we call them—that humans can’t even begin to imagine.”
He reached for her hand, passing through the darkness into the rays of light that bathed her. She started with the contact. His skin began to burn instantly, the odor of cooking flesh filling her nostrils. He showed no sign of pain.
“The attraction that we feel to another can be as intense as this. It takes experience to control it.”
“I thought a vampire’s flesh ignited instantly in sunlight.”
“It does. Normally. I’m channeling the white light in me.”
“Alna told me that you used to practice magic. You still can, then?”
“The demon in me blocks most of it, but I still have some abilities.”
“Is that what makes you different from most of your kind?”
He smirked, knowing what she meant. But he wanted her to say it. “Different?”
“Tolerable,” she answered, defensively.
He held her gaze, willing her to speak the truth.
“Tempting,” she reluctantly admitted.
He felt her hand tremble. Fear of where this was leading. He could feel her stark vulnerability, her weakening determination to maintain the walls she always held steady when around others.
He let go of her and his arm fell into the darkness. “You don’t need to stay in this hole today.”
“If Immortalia sends their Day Walkers out to search for us and they discover us here, I will be the only defense you’ll have against them forcing you into the daylight.”
The Day Walkers were Silas’ daytime henchmen, demons with living, rotting flesh. They were as disgusting as they were lethal. Mathias knew that Silas sent them on urgent, high-priority operations that his main vampiric army couldn’t carry out. And he also knew that amassing an army against Immortalia was one of those situations. Mathias had little doubt that they would be out there today looking for him.
He nodded and started to withdraw further into the darkness. Time to sleep.
“I don’t know if I will make it through this war.”
He stopped short and turned back to face her.
“Every day my strength wanes more and more,” she revealed, studying her fists as she clenched and unclenched them. “No one can know.”
“They won’t.”
His eyes met hers and he saw a fire in them that he hadn’t seen from her before. He couldn’t look away. The passion in her eyes wouldn’t let him.<
br />
“Jenna?”
She ran her fingers through her hair anxiously and broke their connection. But that did little to ease the charged atmosphere. It had reached a point of no return. She watched Mathias approaching her slowly, cautiously.
“I need…”
“You need what?” he pressed gently. Say it. Say it, Jenna. He could barely think from the thundering of her heartbeat. The force of it reverberated through the cave, echoing hauntingly off the walls. It kicked his other senses into overdrive. He could feel her heat. Everywhere. The adrenaline pumping through her veins. Her scent was so overpowering that he could almost taste her from where he stood.
“...to feel,” she choked out.
As soon as the words had left her lips, she looked away. She felt her cheeks burning, her hands trembling. She exhaled deeply, but it did little to slow her rapid heartbeat. As she watched Mathias’ gaze darken she realized he could feel it too, feel her. Before she could think, he stood before her, standing as close as possible without crossing the barrier between dark and light.
“What are you asking me?” he uttered hoarsely. He already knew, but he needed to hear her say it.
Her nervous eyes met his gaze, answering his question instantly. She summoned her courage and slowly slid her jacket off her shoulders, letting it fall to the floor.
“Say it, Jenna,” he willed her.
“I don’t want to die without knowing what it's like,” she said, her innocent emerald-green eyes searching his.
He smiled. “Come here.”
She did.
The second she stepped into the dark he grabbed her waist and pulled her to him, pressing her tightly against his naked chest. His mouth devoured hers hungrily. She responded eagerly, kissing him back as her fingertips delved into his hair, caressing him with a wild passion.
“Take me,” she moaned into his mouth.
Grunting with an urgent fervor, he grasped her tank with both hands and frantically pulled it over her head. Tossing it aside, his hands gripped her back, forcing her nakedness tightly to him. The heat from her skin burned his ice-cold body. He wrapped one arm around her and lifted her off the floor. Snatching up his leather jacket with the other, he carried her to the back of the cave, his lips never leaving hers, tasting her, exploring her. He threw the jacket down and kicked it into position then laid her down on it. Sinking to his knees, he knelt in front of her. He wrapped his arms around her, skimming his fingers over her back, before finally settling on her bra clasp. He released it and eased himself back, gazing into her eyes as he slid it down her arms until her breasts revealed themselves. He couldn’t suppress a low guttural growl at the sight of them. She smiled, amused by his innate vampiric reaction.