"Yes, Mom."
Chapter Three
"Get in the car." Her mother held open the passenger side door of the black town car she had arrived in—her eyes were daring Kira to refuse, to give her something to really yell about.
Kira slipped quietly under her arm, trying to keep the fight at bay for as long as possible.
Her mother slammed the door and walked quickly around to the driver's seat. When it banged shut, Kira's heart jumped. The only noise filling the car was the engine revving to life. Her palms began to sweat, and she rubbed them against her legs.
From the rearview mirror, to her mother's white knuckles, to her own twiddling thumbs, Kira didn’t know where to look. Her gaze shifted, moving more frantically the longer her mom remained quiet. It was the calm before the storm—the moment when you knew disaster was coming and there was nothing you could do to prevent it, no last minute plea.
They were on the main road, driving aimlessly through the streets of Sonnyville, moving slowly with no sense of direction. Kira realized her mother had no idea where to go. Her eyes were barely focused on the road, and Kira could see the wheels in her head spinning on overdrive. She was thinking about her lecture, about where to begin. And the fact that it was taking so long had Kira on edge—it meant she was about to yell at Kira…a lot.
Her mother's lips were white, sealed together in a tight line. Even knowing that it would open a floodgate, Kira couldn't stand to keep silent any longer. The anticipation was driving her insane. She leaned toward her mom, keeping her face open and innocent—trying to look like the wide-eyed child her mother loved and not the disreputable teenager she had become.
"Mom?" she whispered.
Her mother's hands shifted on the wheel, squeaking against the leather.
"I know you're mad—"
"Mad!" Her mother turned, taking her eyes completely off the road. "I'm furious! How could you?"
Dang, Kira thought, why did you have to ask such an open-ended question? Was she mad about Kira going to England, Tristan being a vampire, the Punishers bringing her to Sonnyville…the list could go on and on. Maybe if she stayed silent, her mother would just keep ranting…
"Well, Kira? What do you have to say for yourself?"
Kira looked around, desperately hoping something out the window would give her inspiration. At a total loss for words, she went to her classic fallback. "I love you," Kira said slowly, offering up her super wide "I'm sorry" smile.
"Oh don't give me that—that face stopped working when you hit puberty. I mean, how did you even get a passport?"
Ah, England it is, Kira thought.
"Mom, I never wanted to lie—it was just, I needed to go to see if my birth mother was alive, to see if I could save her." She wasn't listening, Kira realized as her mom continued mumbling.
"And Tristan is a vampire? How could you not tell me?"
"Well, I mean, I thought you would figure it out. You are a Punisher."
"And you've killed people?"
"Only vampires—"
"And you let them drink from you?"
"Not from me, jeez, there were other factors—"
"And you've been lying to your father and me for months, not even trying to include us."
"In what? In my life as a conduit? You didn't exactly want to be included, Mom. You could have asked me about it. You could have checked in once in a while—why is that all on me?"
Kira shifted in her seat, staring straight at her mother, trying to gather some strength. This was not all her fault.
"You didn't tell me about your powers, about how strong you are."
"All you had to do was sit in on one training session with Luke—just one and you would have known about my abilities. You're the one who asked me not to tell Dad, to leave him and Chloe out of it. You pushed me away. You edged me out of the family."
Her mom refused to look at Kira but stared straight ahead. They were on the main drive, heading out of town. In five minutes they would be at the gate. Kira recognized this tree-filled street—she had sped down this road a few too many times before.
"I didn't push you away. I wanted you to have a normal life." Her mother's voice had softened slightly.
Under any other circumstance, Kira would have been amazed at her skills. Somehow she had turned this fight around and escaped a thrashing. But victory was the last thing on her mind. The two of them had danced around this fight for a long time. Kira had been keeping these feelings in for too long—she had opened a floodgate all right, but it was within her own heart and not her mother's.
"Well, I'm not normal, Mom, and neither are you. I'm strong and powerful, and it's part of me now. And you have to accept that."
"I won't accept it." Her mom pushed her foot down on the gas pedal a little more. "I won't accept you being in danger all the time and people arguing over the fate of your life. I won't accept my own people begging for your head."
"Please, your own people? You don't even know what being a conduit is. You don't understand."
"I understand that fighting for your life every second of every day is no way to live. I understand waiting at home for your family to come back from a mission, never knowing if they'll show up alive. I understand losing people. And I won't let that happen to you."
A tear rolled down her cheek and Kira realized her mom wasn't blinking. Her eyes were wide, staring straight ahead at something Kira couldn't see. Her entire body was stiff, unmoving.
Farther down the road, Kira saw the gate—a black shadow across the road growing bigger by the second. It was opening slowly, anticipating their approach.
"Mom, slow down. Where are we going?"
Her mother didn't move.
"You can't do this anymore, Kira. All the lies and all the fighting, I won't allow it." Her fingers trembled on the steering wheel.
"Okay, Mom," Kira said softly, putting a hand on her forearm. She had never seen her mother so out of control.
"I won't lose you like this, Kira. They're crazy."
"I know, Mom, vampires are out of control—"
"No." Her mom shook her head, keeping her eyes wide. Her pupils were so dilated with adrenaline that her eyes looked almost black except for a narrow sliver of yellow-green. "Not the vampires, Kira. Them. The conduits. I'm taking you away from these people. From their rules and traditions. I'm saving you."
Her eyes began to glaze over, filling with water as more tears dropped down unnoticed.
"Mom, they won't hurt me."
"They already have, Kira, don't you see. They pushed me away because I wasn't strong enough. They're the reason my brother is dead, because he didn't conform to their rules. And now you. They let you live just to change their minds years later? They're afraid of you, of anything new and different. And I won't let them have you." She shook her head back and forth.
"Mom." Kira gripped the steering wheel over her mother's hand, holding her cold fingers and trying to keep the car steady. "Mom, I'm safe. I'm right here with you. Nothing is going to happen to me."
The blood began to flow back into her mother's fingers.
"Mom, slow the car down."
She eased her foot off of the pedal. Kira shifted her weight over the gear stick, wrapping her arms around her mother's trembling torso.
"Shh, it's okay," she soothed.
The car slowed to a stop, and they rolled almost unperceptively through the gate. But the sun filled Kira's veins as they passed through the invisible UV barrier thrumming across the entrance, blocking vampires. The two of them were outside of Sonnyville, finally escaped from conduit lands, and it was enough for her mother to break. Heaving sobs filled the car and hands clutched Kira, gripping her tight and pulling her into her mom's body.
"Oh, Kira, I was so afraid," she cried.
"I'm alive, Mom. I'm not going anywhere," she said and ran her hands through her mother's hair, the same way her mother used to do for her when she was scared or upset.
"Every time I look at you, I
see your father. In the way you laugh, in your open and loving smile, in the brightness shining from your eyes. You remind me so much of him," she said quietly, speaking just loud enough for Kira to hear. "I can't lose you too."
"Mom," Kira said, leaning back to meet her gaze. "I love you, and I'm not going to let anyone hurt me, conduit or vampire, I promise."
She nodded.
"Let's go back to my grandfather's house. We can get a cup of tea, talk about everything. I'll answer any questions you have about what I've been doing."
"That would be good." Her mother nodded again, and Kira eased back into the passenger seat, still holding onto her mom's warm hand. She put the car back into drive, pressing slowly down on the pedal to turn the car around.
"I love you," Kira said.
"I love—"
Metal crunched, screeching in protest as the door was ripped free from the moving car. White hands grabbed her mother's shoulder, wrenching her from her seat before she even had time to scream. Kira gripped her hand, holding onto her fingers for as long as she could before they were tugged hard and slipped free of Kira's hold.
"Mom!" Kira screamed.
Reaching for her seatbelt, Kira unbuckled and forced her door open. Without thinking, she dove out of the car, rolling on the ground and scraping against rough asphalt. Behind her, the car screeched, swerving wildly, and smacked into a tree. But Kira's eyes were on the forest.
"Mom!" she yelled, listening for any scream to tell her where to run. Bringing a flame to her palm, Kira sent her power out into the woods, hoping to hear a vampire squeal.
Silence.
The car door was still on the ground, left like a mangled toy. Kira rushed to the spot, looking for any sign of life. Under the ripped wires and torn metal was a spot of blood—fresh, red, and most definitely human.
Toward her left, Kira spotted another dark shadow in the grass, just beyond the edge of the road. More blood.
"Mom!"
Still no sound of life.
Kira pushed past the branches, walking off the road and into the trees, trying to spot another hint. Every leaf was green, every branch brown—the only red she saw was the berries on a few low bushes. Spinning in circles, Kira inspected every surface she could find, almost wishing for vampire-like scent.
"Kira!"
The scream tore through the woods, ringing in Kira's ear like a loud siren. In an instant, she was sprinting toward the sound.
"Kira!"
The shout was slightly quieter this time, as though a little bit of her mom's spirit had been taken away, a little bit of fight had been lost.
But it was enough of a sound for Kira to follow, and she kept running, pounding her feet through soft mud, pushing branches aside, letting sharp leaves scratch her cheeks. Until finally, Kira saw a little flicker of life through the darkness, a tiny spark shimmering through the leaves.
Her mother's flames.
They were small—a barely roaring fire, enough to warm but not to burn. Even from afar, Kira saw the mocking face of the vampire opposite her mother. Those flames wouldn't be enough—they already weren't enough. A trickle of blood streamed down her mom's neck, flowing slowly but fast enough to drain the life and strength from her body.
"Hold on, Mom!"
Kira threw her fire out, shooting it as far as it could travel, barely licking the vampire's face. But Kira's fire wasn't like her mother's, and the smallest touch was enough to send the vamp to its knees. The closer she ran, the more it burned, until finally he exploded, turning to ash under the torrent of her strength.
Without pausing, Kira fell to her knees next to her mom.
"Are you all right?" she asked, cradling her mother's head in her lap and shooting her powers into the two little holes puncturing her neck.
"Kira—"
Hands grabbed Kira's throat, pulling hard on her spine and throwing her fragile body against the base of a tree. Hearing a crunch, Kira cried out in pain. Her body fell limp. Her fingers were lazy, unmoving, and her legs were like stone, unbendable and far too heavy to move. Like a doll dropped carelessly on the ground, she was contorted at inhuman angles.
Her mother's eyes widened and a scream curled on her lips. But before a sound could escape, another vampire jumped out, biting down on her throat and swallowing the yell along with her blood.
Kira tried to throw her flames, but her body needed to be healed and she turned her fire inward, searching along her spine for the fracture that culled her movement.
Sensing her shifted focus, the vampire looked up. Its blue eyes bored into Kira, searing her with their freeze.
"A note from Aldrich," he said, his voice low and his teeth stained with blood. "I took one mother from you, and I can easily take the second, along with any other person you love. Be warned."
He smiled and sank back down, reaching for the blood again. But Kira found the spot—the broken bone, the severed nerves—and sent her powers there. Sensation slowly extended back to her body, her nerves thrummed to life again sending tingles down her limbs.
Her mother was growing paler. Her eyes sealed shut and her head started to slip farther into the ground, growing heavy.
She's not going to make it, Kira thought. Her fingers twitched, gaining strength once more, but her arm was still too heavy to lift, too weak to let her aim her flames.
"Mom!" Kira yelled, knowing it was useless but needing to do something. Her memories flashed back to the same image—a blond woman still on the ground while vampires swarmed over her. All the sudden, Kira was the baby hiding under a bush, watching helplessly while her parents were stolen from her.
But now she could fight, and Kira refused to lose another mother the same way. She wouldn't.
Her mother's body went limp, but before Kira could respond, a white blur streaked across the trees, slamming into the feeding vampire. He flew back, rolling over in the dirt, and without a moment of hesitation, the white blur reached through the vampire's chest and tore the heart from his body.
Now still, Kira recognized their savior. The vampire's hair rolled down her back in long ebony waves, her skin had an olive glow, and her eyes were just slanted enough to be interesting. More than anything, her hip was cocked, giving off an air of defiance that Kira remembered very well.
"Pavia!" Her voice ringed with relief and excitement, something no vampire other than Tristan had ever been able to elicit from Kira.
"Sorry to crash the party, but I thought you could use a hand." She shrugged and kicked the dead vampire crumpled on the ground. "Aldrich's cronies," Pavia said with a note of disgust. She spat on the body by her feet.
Kira sat up slowly, stretching her strengthening limbs. "Thanks."
"Least I could do." Pavia walked over to her mom, inspecting the wound. "I technically killed your other mom, thought I could at least save this one. Talk about timing though. I can feel her life is almost gone, her blood is…" She sniffed the air, kneeling down a little. "Well, you don't understand, but her blood just smells like death."
"Can you bring me closer?" Kira asked. She tried to stand, but fell back down on rubbery legs. Pavia grabbed her under the arms, dragging her a few feet across the ground so Kira could rest a hand on her mother's chest. Her flames flowed out, sinking deep into her mother's chest, and expanding effortlessly through the conduit body that welcomed her power.
A conduit. Kira had never really thought of her mom that way, but the sun flickered deep inside her mother's heart.
"So what's wrong with you?" Pavia nudged her foot, pointing out Kira's depleted strength.
"The vamp broke my back," Kira said, sending a shiver down the very spine she had just healed. It sounded worse when she said it out loud. Pavia winced.
"I've been there, definitely not pleasant."
"I'll be fine in a few minutes," Kira said, taking note of her mom's returning color. Her skin darkened to its natural bronze. Her heartbeat strengthened.
"Good, because there are more on the way. Maybe five?"
Her mom blinked.
"Kira?" she said, woozy and confused.
"It's okay, Mom, you're safe." Kira put a hand to her cheek, relieved with the warmth she found there.
Kira stood, finally feeling strong enough, and pulled her mother to her feet as well.
"Mom, I know you don't understand, but this is Pavia and she won't hurt you, okay?" Her mother nodded, still too out of it to really comprehend Kira's words. "Pavia," Kira said, switching her attention, "I need you to take my mom back to the gate. You won't be able to cross, but put her as close to the UV barrier as you can. I'll take care of these vampires, and I'll meet you soon."
Pavia nodded and scooped her mother up into her arms. "We have to talk later," she said. "Just you and me. I have a promise to fulfill."
"Just keep her safe," Kira said, showing her agreement. The promise was to show Kira more of her birth mother's memories—Kira hadn't forgotten about it, and she was relieved that Pavia hadn't either.
"They're almost here," Pavia said and then left, disappearing through the trees, leaving Kira to face the vampires alone. And she was ready for it. Feeling helpless was not her style, and already her flames danced down her wrists, flickering over the grass and sparking with excitement.
When the first vampire broke into the clearing, he burned within seconds. Her fire was spewing lava—no one could escape it.
The second fell just like the first, without any hesitation, without any real use of strength on Kira's part. They went down easy, like squishing a bug on the ground. She almost wanted more of a fight—it was too effortless to be satisfying, too effortless to be rewarding. As her flames grew stronger, so did her conviction, and Kira wanted it to hurt. After watching her mother come so close to death, someone had to pay.
A third vampire came in from the left side and a fourth from the right, trying to corner Kira by dividing her attention. She stretched her arms to the side, flinging her power in both directions, trapping each vampire inside of swirling flames.
Her fire licked their skin, teasing them with the heat, searing their flesh and then retreating again. One yelled out, growling a deep sound mixed with fear and anger. It was a caged animal, and Kira squeezed her fingers, letting the fire close in and slowly suffocate it. The vampire fell, bursting into dust, imploding from the inside out.
The Complete Midnight Fire Series Page 62