by Alicia Rades
Lumberjack swung his weapon at her again, and she ducked out of the way, somersaulting until she was on the other side of him. She placed her second arrow on the string, then drew back a second time. I held my breath for her.
She let go of the string just as the ball connected with her head. Everything happened so fast that it was hard to process it all. The girl fell to the side the same time the arrow struck the guy in the shoulder. Blood began pouring out of his wound and onto his white t-shirt.
While he was momentarily distracted by the pain, the girl shot to her feet again.
Definitely a shifter, I concluded. There was no other way she could’ve survived that blow.
Using her bow, she swung it at Lumberjack’s head. It connected with such a hard thwack that I heard it above the cheers. The crowd screamed even louder at that. The guy stumbled backward, disoriented, and landed on his elbows.
The girl rushed forward to grab the weapon that had flown from his hands. She swung it high above her head, then brought it down straight on his face. I flinched and turned my face away from the scene, but I wasn’t fast enough. The image of blood squirting everywhere would forever be seared in my memory.
The crowd went wild. I slowly peeled my eyes back open to see that vampires were on their feet now, cheering for the shifter girl’s victory. Meanwhile, she stood in the center of the ring, staring down at the man’s mangled features. Her whole body shook.
Valkas stood and made his way over to her. The crowd didn’t quiet long enough for him to announce her as champion, but he clapped her on the back and whispered something in her ear. Whatever he’d said didn’t seem to soothe her as her shaking legs carried her back toward Anton at the entrance to the trail.
Valkas whirled back around and took his seat on his throne again, then said something to Rogers. Rogers mumbled an incantation, then Lumberjack’s body lifted from the ground as if it were attached to strings. Rogers guided it over to a group of vamps in the front row, who all were happy to drape the body across themselves and dig in like it was a Thanksgiving smorgasbord.
What the hell was wrong with them? Couldn’t they at least show some respect?
Of course not. They were vampires.
Moments later, another figure stepped out of the trees and into the ring. He was as big as the last guy with the same look and muscular build. It was the second lumberjack twin, the one named Jackson. His eyebrows were tight, and his lips pressed together in a thin line. His eyes fell upon his brother, and I noticed his grip tightened on his sword.
He’d just watched his brother die, and they wanted to see how he’d handle it. I was beyond disgusted.
Jackson glanced around frantically, as if calculating how he might be able to escape. Before he could take in his surroundings, Anton grabbed another recruit and threw him into the ring. My stomach sank when I saw it was Venn. I didn’t want him fighting anyone, let alone a guy who wasn’t even in the same weight class.
Venn took a defensive stance, holding a dagger out like he was ready to strike if Jackson came too close.
I didn’t know if I could watch this. What if the strategy to knock his opponent out backfired? What if Jackson gained the upper hand? Sure, Venn had killed vampires before, but never another human being. I didn’t think he’d do it just to save himself.
Survive, Venn. That’s all I ask.
I held my breath as the fight began. Jackson swung his sword out, aiming it straight for the side of Venn’s neck like he was going to decapitate him. Venn ducked out of the way and jabbed his dagger toward Jackson’s arm, where it would do the least damage. It barely nicked him, just enough that I could see a spot of blood, but not enough that Jackson reacted. Jackson spun toward Venn, looking like he was about to shoot fire out of his nose.
Come on, Venn. You can do this.
Jackson took another swing at him, this time at his legs. Venn jumped, just barely making it over the top of the blade. Jackson quickly tried another method. He jabbed the sword toward him like he was going to impale him. I flinched, but when I opened my eyes, Venn had dodged out of the way and spun toward the guy. He grabbed on to Jackson’s wrist and yanked him forward, then sliced his dagger across the back of his hand.
The crowd cheered, and Jackson dropped his sword. Venn quickly bent to retrieve it, then tossed both weapons toward the edge of the cliff. The dagger flew into the darkness, while the sword teetered on the edge, then slipped off into the water.
Jackson’s eyes went wide as he realized his weapon had vanished. Venn didn’t waste any time. He immediately threw a punch at the guy’s jaw. He stumbled backward a bit, and Venn took aim again. Jackson regained his composure a moment later and lunged for Venn.
I gasped when Venn slammed into the ground, over two-hundred pounds of muscle squashing him. Jackson drew back his fist and shoved his other hand into the collar of Venn’s shirt. He hesitated, then his eyes flickered to his dead brother’s body. A moment later, his fist pummeled Venn’s face.
My hands shot over my mouth, and my knees shook beneath me.
No! My mind screamed. Fight back, Venn! I need you. You have to survive.
I wanted to rush in and help him, but I knew the vampires wouldn’t allow it. I’d die right there with him.
That’s how it should be, I thought.
My feet moved beneath me before I gave them the command. I was just about to run into the ring, but I stopped myself when I saw Venn’s face morph into a black wolf’s. Half the crowd shot to their feet in excitement. Meanwhile, Jackson paused as he realized he was no longer holding on to Venn’s clothes but on to his fur. Venn’s powerful jaws snapped at the guy’s hand, and a pained scream broke out above the noise of the crowd.
Jackson scurried off of Venn, distancing himself from him. Venn rolled onto his feet and curled his lips back over his teeth, growling at him.
“Venn, don’t,” I whispered to myself.
Of course, he couldn’t hear me. He lunged forward, and his paws slammed into his opponent’s chest. I thought for sure he would rip his throat out, but he only stood on top of him, growling. Jackson’s eyes darted around the arena—to the vampires on either side, to his brother’s body, and finally to Venn’s eyes. His lips moved, but I couldn’t tell what he said.
Without ceremony, he shoved Venn off of himself, scurried to his feet, and sprinted to the edge of the cliff. The whole crowd gasped, including me, as Jackson hurled himself into the rocky water below.
Several vamps at the edge of the bleachers rushed over to the edge of the cliff and peeked over. They must’ve liked whatever they saw, because they turned back to the crowd and began cheering.
Venn had gone as still as a statue, staring out into the dark water like he couldn’t believe what had just happened. Relief flooded through me. It was horrible, considering Jackson was as good as dead. If the rocks below hadn’t killed him, the water would. No way could he swim back to the mainland without drowning, even if he was a shifter with super endurance. But I was so happy Venn was alive.
Valkas hesitated for a moment, then stood and made his way out into the middle of the ring. “Ladies and gentlemen… our second champion of the night!”
At the sound of the crowd cheering, Venn blinked and seemed to come back to reality. His lips curled back over his teeth, like he wasn’t at all pleased by the outcome. He looked two seconds away from ripping Valkas’s head off, but we all knew how that would go.
Still in wolf form, Venn’s shoulders dropped, and he slumped back toward the other recruits in the trees, appearing more worn out than I’d ever seen him before. Looking at him made it feel like someone had punched a hole straight through my gut. I just wanted to hold him and tell him everything would be all right, even if it was a lie.
I quickly abandoned my hideout in the shadows of the bleachers and raced into the forest after him.
16
“Venn!” I cried, rushing through the trees toward him.
I saw his silhouette shift from
wolf to human form. He reached out and steadied himself against a nearby tree. I was almost to him when an arm swung out of the darkness and swooped me out of the air.
I instinctively swung my elbow backward, but my assailant ducked out of the way. My elbow met nothing but air.
“Where do you think you’re going?” a deep voice asked in my ear. Anton.
I relaxed until he set me back on my feet, but he didn’t let go of me. I looked up into his silver eyes behind me. “He’s the champion of his round, and he needs medical attention. I would hope the vampire he’s assigned to would want him in top shape for his first feeding.”
Anton finally released his hold on me. Venn’s gaze flickered to mine through swollen eyes. Blood dripped from a large gash on his cheek. His eyes pleaded with me, like he thought it was best if I let him be instead of fighting with the vamps.
I turned back to Anton and spoke through gritted teeth. “May I take him back to his quarters?”
Anton glanced between me and the latest fight in the ring. He huffed. “Fine, but do not make it habit, Raven Girl.”
“Yes, sir.” I rushed over to Venn and draped his arm over my shoulder, helping support him on our way down the trail. He barely let me help him, but he seemed a little disoriented. “That was quite a beating.”
Venn blinked a couple of times, as though he was still trying to process it. “It… it all happened so fast.”
“How’s your face?” I asked. The blood had reached the bottom of his chin now.
Venn shrugged. “He had quite a punch.”
“Yeah, I can see that. He might’ve given you a concussion, too.”
Venn shook his head, still looking dazed. “No, I just…” He pressed his fingers to the raw skin on his cheek and came away with blood-soaked fingertips.
“We’ll talk about it once we get you to the bathhouse,” I said.
Venn didn’t say anything the rest of the way there. I led him inside the bathroom and instructed him to get into the tub. I handed him a wash cloth to wipe his face, then took a towel and headed to the kitchen, where I wrapped ice from one of the coolers in it. When I returned to the bathroom, Venn was lying in the tub with his head leaned back and his eyes closed.
“You okay?” I asked.
His eyes sprang open, and he started. “Yeah, I’ll be fine. A healing spell might help, though.”
I frowned. “My magic isn’t working lately.”
“Ice is fine, then.” He took the ice pack from me while I turned and lit the lamp in the corner. I rounded the tub and placed the plug in the bottom, then began pumping the water for him.
“What the vampires do to initiate their prisoners is horrible,” I snarled in disgust.
Venn shivered as cool water rushed over him. “When they told us what we were going to do—that we had to choose a weapon and fight—most of us thought they were joking. I might’ve too if I didn’t already know how ruthless vamps were. I mean, why would they bring us here if they were just going to kill us?”
“It’s their form of entertainment around here.”
Venn sighed. “I know. I was being rhetorical.”
“It’s sick, if you ask me.”
Venn scoffed. “Yeah, it’s sick you if you ask me, too.”
Several quiet moments passed. The only sound came from the water rushing out of the tap. I dared to break the silence.
“What did Jackson say to you, right before…?” I couldn’t finish my sentence.
Venn slowly pulled the ice away from his face until his eyes met mine. “That’s the crazy part. He sacrificed himself so I could win.”
“Sacrificed himself?”
“Yeah. He said, ‘I won’t become a killer for them.’”
“He didn’t want either of you giving up who you are,” I whispered. It reminded me of what Jenna had said to me, how she couldn’t choose what the Soulless did to her, but she could choose how she reacted to it. Jackson chose not to play their game. “He wasn’t willing to sacrifice his character.”
Venn nodded solemnly. “I don’t know if I could’ve done it. Killed him, I mean.”
I stopped pumping the water and sat on the floor beside the tub. Reaching out, I took Venn’s hand in mine. “I'm so sorry.”
After a beat of silence, Venn spoke so softly I barely heard him. “I don’t know if I can do it again, Rae.”
“Do what?”
“Be a blood slave.”
“Venn…” I wished I could find the words to reassure him, but there was nothing I could say to make this better.
“When you’ve been a blood slave long enough, feeding becomes a drug. That high you get from it… it screws you up, Rae. I’ve spent a long time trying to heal after what Maliya did to me.”
My stomach twisted at the mention of the horrible woman.
“But…” Venn stared at me with such sorrow in his eyes that my heart tore in two. Tears welled in my eyes for him.
“But what?” I squeezed his hand tighter.
“I’m scared I’ll forget all it if another vamp feeds on me.”
The bathhouse went eerily silent as his words hung in the air. A lump rose to my throat as I thought about him going through all of that again.
“It’s not going to happen,” I heard myself say.
Venn eyed me curiously, as if to ask what I meant by that.
“Tomorrow night is the Awakening Ball,” I reminded him. “If everything goes as planned, there won’t be any vampires left to feed on you.”
Venn’s lips lifted at the corners. “I hope you’re right.”
“Hey,” I teased. “Don’t ever underestimate the Ravenite.”
Venn chuckled, but it sounded pained. “Never.”
17
Breathe in… and out. In… and out.
The night of the Awakening Ball had arrived, and I was practicing deep breathing exercises like Sondra had suggested to me weeks ago. I’d been working on calming myself and preparing for tonight since I woke several hours ago.
I can do this, I told myself. Tonight, Valkas will die. Tonight, the vampires shall perish with him.
Unless he’s not carrying the dagger, a little voice in the back of my head replied.
And let me tell you, I squashed that little sucker with my mental hammer faster than you can say screw yourself.
“I am strong,” I whispered to the walls of my cabin. “I am powerful. I believe in myself.”
On the exhale, I pictured all the negative energy leaving my body. I slowly peeled my eyes open and held my palm up.
“Ardet ignis.” Flames erupted from my palm, shooting a foot into the air. They were gone as soon as they came, but the test proved to me that the meditation exercise was working. My powers still weren’t as strong as usual, but I felt more in tune with Synchrony than I had since I’d arrived on the island.
The cabin door creaked open, and I looked up to see Jenna arriving back from the kitchens carrying a handful of snacks.
“Hey, Jenna Bean,” I said, smiling up at her.
“You hungry?” She held out a granola bar.
“Not really,” I replied.
She rolled her eyes. “Eat, Rachel. Nightfall is in less than half an hour. You need to keep up your strength.”
I took the granola bar from her, but I didn’t open it. Instead, my eyes roamed her features—the angle of her dark bangs across her face, the shape of her straight nose, the paleness of her cheeks. For so many months, I’d dreamed about what it’d be like to see her again. Nothing had gone like I’d hoped, but I was still glad she was here with me right now.
Jenna furrowed her brow, like I was creeping her out. “What?”
“Nothing.” I shook my head. “I just can’t get over how much I missed you. You’re so different than I remember, but the same. You know?”
She smirked and sat beside me on the bed. She wrapped an arm around me and laid her head on mine. My heart warmed beneath her touch. “I know exactly what you mean. You used to be so sw
eet, and now you… kill vampires for a living.”
“Kill first, ask questions later,” I teased, stealing Teagan’s motto. God, I missed Teagan—and Fiona and the rest of them. I hoped they were figuring things out on their end.
“See?” Jenna teased. “Old Rachel never would’ve said stuff like that.”
“Yeah, well, old Jenna would’ve laughed more and would’ve played pranks on her cabin roommates.”
Jenna shot me a glance, like she couldn’t believe I was bringing that up. “This isn’t summer camp, Rachel. Are you saying I’m too serious for you now?”
“No, just more… grown up, I guess.”
Jenna snorted. “I’m not grown up, Rachel. I’m… I don’t know the word for it.”
I wrapped my arms around her. “Strong, Jenna. The word you’re looking for is strong. You’ve been through so much here, and you’ve learned how to deal with it.”
“Yeah, because I had to in order to survive.”
I drew away to look her in the eyes. “Don’t downplay this. You deserve credit for everything you’ve been through. Everyone on this island does. After tonight, it will all be over and you’re going to get the chance to take your strength out into the world and make a difference.”
Jenna’s eyes brimmed with tears. For a moment, I saw a glimpse of the sensitive sister I used to know. “No one has ever called me strong before.”
“They didn’t have to. Because you already know it’s true.”
She smiled, but I could tell she was holding back.
“You don’t have to be afraid to show your emotions, Jenna Bean,” I assured her. “It doesn’t make you weak.”
She pulled me into a hug so hard it knocked the wind out of me. Her voice cracked when she spoke. “I know. It’s just been so long since I’ve been around someone I felt I could share my emotions with.”
I rubbed her back. “Well, I’m here. Always, from now on.”
Jenna pulled away from me and wiped her eyes. “It’s just about time for me to head up to the chateau.”