by Marian Tee
Master…
If you trust me, follow my voice and I will take you out of your vision.
****
Katarina breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Zari Baltimore’s eyes blink open. Vampires didn’t really have heart attacks, but if they did, then it would probably be similar to what she had felt at seeing Alexandru’s pet scream herself into a faint.
The young girl was disoriented at first, looking at Katarina as if unable to even remember who she was.
This girl was everything that stood in her way, but at that moment, she forgot all about it. At that moment, Zari Baltimore was a patient, and it was Katarina’s duty as her doctor to make sure she was all right.
“Lady Zari.” She kept her voice soft and soothing, seeing how the young girl was still trembling with shock. “It’s all right. You’re safe now.”
Consciousness started to return, the cloud of confusion gradually clearing from the girl’s gray eyes.
“Relax. Don’t speak just yet. You’re still in shock.” Katarina checked the girl’s pulse and placed a stethoscope on the girl’s chest, listening. What she heard confirmed her thoughts, and she said quietly, “Lady Zari, it’s really all right now. You’re fine. You’re safe. You’re no longer trapped in your vision.”
The girl’s eyes widened.
“Yes. I know what you are.” The question in the human’s gaze was easy to read, and Katarina said, “Your Master told me.” She knew, the moment she had said the words, it was the wrong thing to do. It was petty, the way she had this uncontrollable urge to prove to the girl that she was still in contact with Alexandru even after all these years. Even if Alexandru was her Master and Zari his pet.
But just looking at Zari made the urge stronger, more irresistible, and Katarina heard herself saying, “He talks to me every time he finishes a hunt. It’s to let me know he’s safe.”
The girl turned her face away.
“Please don’t think I will tell anyone about you. Your secret is safe with me.” She said the words even though she knew it wasn’t why Zari was desperately trying to hide her crying face, and she had the same reason for not telling the girl that in the past few weeks, all Alexandru had been able to talk about was her. His human pet.
Her Master had been talking to Katarina all this time. It felt like betrayal even though Zari knew she had no right to feel that way. She may be Alexandru’s most cherished pet, but at the end of the day, she was still just his pet.
Did they talk about her, too, Zari wondered painfully. And if they did, what did her Master say about her? Perhaps everything – including the fact that she was so clearly crazy in love with him, the same way he was crazy in love with this woman?
It was so tempting to cry, to lose herself in her pain, but Zari knew she couldn’t afford it. Lives were at stake – and not just hers.
She forced herself up, taking silly satisfaction in the way her actions had so obviously surprised the doctor.
Katarina frowned. “Lady Zari, I don’t think—”
“Thank you for taking care of me, Doctor,” Zari said, taking childish pleasure in cutting the doctor off. “But I have someplace to go.” She didn’t bother saying goodbye, yet another thing she took foolish pleasure from.
When Zari reached the school’s gates, she hesitated. As the doctor was the one to trigger the vision, it was very likely she had been to a place that the demon frequented. The question was – where?
If Katarina had only just arrived, then there could only be one possible place she had been to before this. The more she thought about it, the more certain she was that she had the right place. But…would she really go there alone? Wasn’t it be better to tell her Master—
A shudder of distaste ran through Zari. The thought of telling her Master anything felt repulsive. She imagined her Master telling everything she said to Katarina, and it made her want to gag.
Zari squared her shoulders. She could do this herself. It was time she stopped acting like her only role in life was being her Master’s pet. It was time for her to learn how to be a soul seer. Soon, it may be all she had left.
****
Key Sanguis was one of the largest keys in Florida, a place that otherworlders had turned into a nest of haunted legends to discourage humans from visiting. Every place in the island was foggy, but none more so than Key Sanguis’ port. Since this was the first thing humans would see, it had been deliberately built to dissuade and repel. The boardwalk was old and creaking, the alleys surrounding it dark, twisting, and narrow. The water was empty of boats, for everyone who lived in the island knew that Key Sanguis had another port at the back, a beautiful secret that only locals were privy to.
Here, Key Sanguis appeared to be dying, and the only sounds one could hear was the whistle of winds that blew nonstop and turbulent waves that were just as relentless as they rose and crashed.
As Zari made her way to the port, she was slowly able to piece together a plan. It should work perfectly as long as she didn’t panic.
Once she saw Miranda, she would do Step 1, which was to send a text to Rhapsody to get the enforcers to come here.
Step 2 would be to call Erou and set the phone to loudspeaker. He would be her witness to their conversation, and he would be able to prove that Rhapsody wasn’t the killer.
Step 3 was if Erou didn’t answer. That was the only time she would call…him.
Now, she only had to wait for—
There.
From the opposite side of the road, Miranda was walking alone. Zari hid herself behind one of the trees as she watched the other student suddenly stop moving. She was visibly shaking, but her face was determined – it was the first time Zari saw the other girl without her Madonna-like smile.
A second later, thunder began to clap above Zari. She waited for it to rain, but none came, and yet thunder still roared above her. When she looked up, Zari realized in horror that what she had been hearing was actually a demon’s wings. They were dark and veined, vast and seemingly with sharp edges. The demon’s wings flapped over her, and then it was swooping towards Miranda. Caught between its vicious-looking jaws was a man, whom the demon held by his collar.
When the demon was flying right above Miranda, it dropped its burden.
The man screamed, first in fright at the thirty-foot drop, but soon the sound turned into one of agonizing pain, Zari hearing the bones on his back snapping as he hit the boardwalk.
You know what to do.
Zari quickly covered her mouth at the sound of the demon’s voice, not wanting to risk accidentally making a sound. Terror rose inside her because she knew that voice. It was the exact same voice she had heard in her vision.
The demon flew away, but Zari remained crouched behind the tree, fear making her extra vigilant and cautious.
Soon, the darkness had swallowed the sight of the demon, and even the thunderous sound of his flapping wings had faded. But even so, Zari couldn’t make herself move, was no longer sure if she really had it in her to face the demon again, if that was what it would come to.
From a distance, she heard something stir, and when she looked back at Miranda, she saw that the other girl was reaching for the man’s neck—
Oh my God, this was not part of the plan!
Zari panicked. Her mind skipped the first steps and went directly to #3. She called her Master, set her phone to loudspeaker, and hurried to Miranda. “Wait!”
The other girl’s head jerked up.
Zari “accidentally” dropped her phone midway, not wanting the other girl to notice it and realize what she was planning.
“Step back!” Miranda screamed. The man on the ground didn’t stir, his injuries having rendered him unconscious.
Zari forced herself to a halt just a few feet away from the other girl. “Why are you even doing this?”
“Someone like you would never understand,” Miranda spat. “You don’t even know how lucky you are!” The girl’s eyes were crazed with despair and fear. “Ever
yone knows your Master will never replace you—”
“I-is that what this is about?” Zari stammered. “Your Master?”
Miranda let out a wild laugh. “You idiot! You really don’t understand anything about being a pet, do you? Everything is about our Master. As it should be!”
“Make me understand then. Because I just don’t see why you’d ruin your life by killing someone—”
“Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!” Hatred blazed in Miranda’s eyes. “You really are an idiot. A perfect life?” Her tone was harsh with irony. “My Master is being forced by his parents to replace me. I’ve tried so hard to be the perfect pet, but no matter what I do—” She shook her head. “This is the only way.”
“How can killing someone be the answer?”
“Because I’ll be a demon. I’ll be the only demon pet in the world, an immortal. Someone who can feed my Master and make him powerful forever.”
Miranda’s plan actually made sense, Zari realized in dismay, but only in the most heinous, inhumane kind of way.
A cold light entered the other girl’s eyes. “And now you know too much.” Her voice was calm. “You have to die.”
Zari slowly took a step back. There was something menacing about the way Miranda sounded so calm and rational. Weren’t the craziest people like this? The calmer they were, the more dangerous they were because they were utterly convinced that they were sane and that everything they did was right?
“Miranda, stop.” But she could only back away more and more as the other girl moved towards her without stopping.
“Don’t do this—” But even as she tried to reason with Miranda, Zari’s mind was already considering the alternative. Of fighting for her life. The girl was smaller, but there was no telling how strong she was. What if she lost? The thought had her speaking again, loudly, hopefully enough for Alexandru to hear her.
If he had cared to pick up the phone.
Right now, she wasn’t even sure if he was willing to do that for her.
“Killing isn’t right, Miranda.”
But the girl didn’t answer. She only continued to walk towards Zari and look at her with impassioned and calculating eyes, as if she was already trying to figure out how to hide Zari’s corpse when it was all over.
The thought had her babbling. “This isn’t like you. This isn’t you.”
But Miranda still didn’t answer.
Turning desperate, Zari blurted out, “Do you really think this is what your Master wants from you?”
Something in the other girl’s eyes flickered, something that seemed the only remnant of humanity left in Miranda. It wasn’t much, but Zari clung to it, the only piece of hope that she could use to believe that she would get out of this alive.
“I’m not talking about his parents. I’m talking about the baron – because I know about him. I’ve r-read about him. He seems like a good man, someone w-who would really appreciate—”
Zari lost her footing and fell on her back. When she opened her eyes, she almost screamed, because Miranda was right in her face. A moment later, and the girl’s hands were around Zari’s neck, and slowly, Miranda started to squeeze. Hard.
Her vision started to blur. She tried to push Miranda away, but the other girl was too strong.
“Miranda.” She looked at the other girl desperately. “Think…”
“You have to die.” Calm. Cold. Every emotion suppressed. “I’m sorry. It’s nothing personal.”
Zari still tried to struggle. “Please.”
“I need to do this—”
“Miranda.” She fought for breath even as the world became blurrier with each second. “Baron. You really think…he will be…happy…you became like this…for him?”
Miranda didn’t speak.
But slowly, her fingers answered for her, easing around Zari’s neck. She choked and coughed, gasping for breath, unable to believe that she had managed to get through the other girl. When she opened her eyes, Miranda was crying.
“Miranda—”
The other girl shook her head. “Run.”
It was the last word Miranda said before her face morphed into a demon, the parasite on her soul completely taking over.
Zari scrambled to her feet and ran. Her feet padded hard and loud against the road, but no matter how fast she tried to run, it seemed like she couldn’t get away fast enough, the sound of her attacker’s furious and hungry snarls always sounding like it was just an inch away from her.
As she veered towards the boardwalk, heart thumping hard against her chest, Zari couldn’t help but look back—
It was her biggest mistake, the action slowing her down. It was all the demon-possessed girl needed, and Zari screamed as Miranda’s arms wrapped around her, chaining Zari to her just before she tossed Zari and herself into the water.
It was her vision all over again.
Zari kicked and shoved, trying desperately to get away from Miranda. But still the girl clung to her, the demon making Miranda’s lips stretch into a ghastly grin even as Miranda’s own body was dying with Zari’s.
She held her breath as long as she could underwater, but she could feel herself weakening, the constant struggle to break free causing her to consume even more oxygen under water.
Each second made her dizzier, and her lungs felt like they were about to burst into fire any second. Was this really how she was going to die?
Above her, a streak of white flashed, something – someone – diving in and causing the water to ripple.
It was Katarina.
The vampire swam towards them, a knife in her hands. Miranda’s eyes, made red by possession, widened at the sight of it.
Katarina reached them and Miranda fought wildly even as she kept Zari to her, never letting go.
The presence of Zari in the arms of the possessed made it difficult for Katarina to attack, the female vampire fearful of accidentally hurting Zari. But even so, she didn’t stop going into the offensive and finally, when Miranda started to weaken, her own lungs failing her, Katarina dove forward, and this time she managed to slice the girl’s arm, drawing blood.
Behind her, Zari felt Miranda stiffen as the girl’s blood slowly turned the water around them into pink.
And then she heard Miranda whisper.
Please don’t tell my Master.
The arms around her fell away.
When Zari flipped around, she saw Miranda’s mouth parting open. Katarina’s wound had allowed the girl to reclaim her body from the demon, and this time Miranda had decided to keep permanent ownership the only way she knew possible.
In death.
****
It hurt Zari’s pride to let the female vampire swim her back to the surface, and it hurt even more that Katarina had to carry her up because she no longer had any strength left. Even when she was lying on the boardwalk, right next to the still-unconscious man that the demon had chosen to be Miranda’s next victim, she still couldn’t stop choking. Couldn’t stop crying.
“Doctor?”
Still on her knees, her body shaking because of the fight, Katarina turned to the girl.
“Miranda asked…” Zari swallowed. “She asked me not to tell her Master.”
Slowly, Katarina nodded.
“She loved him…” Zari whispered. “—very much, you see.”
Katarina said quietly, “I promise. I will keep her secret.”
“T-thank you.” Zari closed her eyes. “H-how did you find me?”
“I knew enough about the case and your abilities to figure out that your vision may have made you decide to hunt down the killer yourself.” A pause. “Alexandru’s been trying to talk to you through your bond, but I told him you’re too weak.”
Unlike her, Zari thought dully.
Zari heard Katarina get up. Forcing her eyes to open, she saw the female vampire walking away. When Katarina came back, what she held in her hand made Zari’s lips part in a silent gasp. How did Katarina know?
Katarina’s eyes were on
her as she spoke. “Alexandru?”
There was a moment of silence before Alexandru spoke. “Is my pet okay?”
“Yes. She is.”
Another pause. “Good. I’d like the chance to kill her when I reach her.”
“I don’t think I’ll bother to tell her that.”
A chuckle, one that made Zari’s heart break.
And then Alexandru asked, quietly, so quietly, Zari almost couldn’t make the words out. “Why are you there, Kat?”
Looking at Zari, Katarina said, “Because I want to be with you.”
Chapter Eight
He had chased her to the ends of the earth, and finally they met again.
“Alexandru.”
It made him furious that she sounded so surprised. “You really think my love can be killed just like that, Kat?” He gripped her arm, hauling her close to him. “If you disappear, I’ll just hunt you down. If you marry another man, I’ll just kill him. That’s how much I love you.”
“But I’m not your heartkeeper,” Katarina said brokenly.
“It doesn’t matter,” he hissed. “Do you understand me? It will never matter. I don’t give a fuck if you’re not my heartkeeper. It’s MY heart. MY heart. Do you understand? It’s MY heart, and I decide who keeps it for me.”
“I cannot be with you. My honor will not allow me.”
Alexandru looked sick at her words. “You will truly choose honor over me?”
“Don’t look at it like that,” she pleaded.
“Sometimes, I wonder if you truly love me.” Alexandru’s voice was bitter. “I’ve turned my back on my inheritance for you. I’ve chosen to give up ever having a soul for you. But still you choose not to be with me.” He shook his head. “What more, Kat? What more do I have to do to make you choose me?”
Somewhere deep inside her, Katarina knew he was right. She loved him, but she loved her honor equally. Perhaps, like he said, she loved it even more. The right thing would be to finish everything between them now, once and for all, but she couldn’t do it. She wanted it all. She wanted her honor and she wanted Alexandru to keep loving her.