I freeze. His words loop in my mind over and over again. Jasik is impassive, so I almost trick myself into believing I misheard or misunderstood his words. Have I had a sudden stroke? Am I too hungry to think clearly? This can’t possibly be good.
“Does that mean what I think it means?” I ask. I need clarification before I lose my mind.
“That depends on what you think you just heard,” Jasik says. He’s not often sarcastic, but when he is, he chooses the worst possible moments for comedic relief. He smiles. I don’t.
“Are you saying the rogues will attack the witches again?” I ask.
He nods. “This is just how it works, Ava. Losing a sire to our greatest enemy is a big deal. Sires are thought to be formidable opponents, and when one dies, the nest is in a frenzy. Rogues need leadership.”
“But they won’t be expecting another attack—not this soon! We have to warn them,” I say.
“Ava, I know this is hard for you to accept, but they want you out of their lives. You have to stop going there. They don’t want your help.”
His words sting, but I don’t show him how much pain they inflict. I might have accepted that I am destined to live a different life from Mamá, but that doesn’t mean it didn’t hurt when she turned her back on me…again.
“I don’t care about that. Warning them is the right thing to do. They don’t deserve to be slaughtered just because they hate what I am,” I argue. “We protect this town from rogue vampires—that doesn’t just mean humans.”
I don’t wait for Jasik to respond. I’m running through the forest, feet smacking the cold, hard ground as I push through the brush. The familiar crunch of frost beneath my soles sends shivers up my spine, but I press on. I’m not far from Mamá’s house. I pray I make it before the rogues attack—if they haven’t already.
I come to a sudden halt. Already I can hear their screams. Before I can take another step toward them, Jasik grabs on to my arm. His grip is too tight, and it makes my arm ache. His eyes are hard, emotionless.
“Stop, Ava,” he says.
I try to pull free, but I can’t. He’s holding my arm so firmly, his own fingers are turning white.
“Just think,” Jasik continues.
“There’s nothing to think about! The rogues have attacked. The witches need my help!” I’m shouting, and I don’t care who hears me.
“They don’t want your help!” Jasik growls. This is the first time I’ve heard him scream, seen him be this angry with me. “When will you accept that? They don’t care about you anymore, Ava. Stop risking your life for someone who would burn you at the stake given the chance.”
His words rock me to my core. He’s right. If I’d refused to leave the night I transitioned, they would have killed me. They wouldn’t have given it a second thought, yet here I am, constantly risking my life, and the lives of those who truly care about me—namely, the vampires—in the name of righteousness.
“You’re right,” I whisper. His grip on my arm loosens, but he is too smart to fully release me. “I’m sorry.”
“I know you want to help them, but we need to be smart about this,” Jasik says. “We can’t just rush into battle without a plan or backup.”
I nod. As much as it kills me to turn away, I must. I barely survived the last fight. If the others hadn’t been there, I know I wouldn’t have. I need the vampires as much as the witches need me right now.
“But we’ll come back with the others?” I ask. “This will be the last time. I swear.”
Jasik sighs. “If that’s what you really want to do.”
“I do. If not for the witches, then to finish this once and for all. No one escapes this time. Tonight, we end this.”
I knew it wasn’t going to be easy convincing the others to help the witches. After all, every time we’ve reached out to them, we’ve risked our own necks. I’m used to the witches’ ungratefulness, but the vampires are not. I try to remain empathetic to that while reminding myself they have no emotional attachment to those dying at this very second.
“There’s no way you can convince me to go,” Hikari says. She speaks firmly, and I know it will take a miracle to convince her.
“Please,” I say. It’s not much, but it’s all I have. I can’t force her to go, and I’m pretty sure no one will go if one stays behind. I need all four hunters to agree to help me tonight.
“I’m sorry, Ava, but this is just messed up. After what happened last time… I mean, they didn’t even care that we almost died trying to protect them! You could have died, Ava. We all could have!” Hikari is shouting now, but I wish she wouldn’t.
I know what happened. I understand the depravity of the witches better than anyone in this house, but their innate nature doesn’t mean they should die. Deep down, they’re just afraid of something they don’t understand. They can be good people.
“Everyone needs to calm down,” Amicia says.
“But this is insane!” Hikari says.
Amicia holds up her hand, immediately silencing the room. The vampires of the house have gathered to witness my inevitable downfall as a member of this nest. They don’t speak, but I can feel their eyes boring holes into my body. I wish Amicia had forced them away. I’d feel better if this were more of a one-on-one conversation between the hunters and me.
“Don’t think of this as a favor to the witches,” I say. My argument is weak, but my intentions are true. I’m not just asking for their help to save the witches. So much more is going on here. If only the hunters would stop and think, they would see this too. This is our fight.
“And how should we think of it?” Malik asks. His eyes are emotionless, his tone hard. It pains me to watch him look at me this way. I know he’s disappointed in me.
“We need to eliminate the rogues,” I say. “Who’s to say they stop at the witches? We were all part of the fight that killed their sire. They will come for us next.”
“Ava may have a point. She is the one who killed him,” Jasik says.
I flash him a smile to thank him for his support.
“Yeah, and you can be objective here, right?” Jeremiah says. “Let’s face it… Anytime the decision revolves around Ava, you side with her. We can’t trust you anymore.”
All at once, the hunters quarrel. So many different voices are shouting and defending their choices, it’s impossible to hear anyone clearly. It’s a jumbled mess and a complete waste of time. My frustration is gnawing away at the pit of my gut and threatening to boil over.
We don’t have time for this!
“Everyone stop!” I yell. “This is insane. We are wasting time!”
“Ava, when it comes to these witches, you can’t think clearly,” Malik says. “Far too many times, you have put their well-being before ours, and it must end now.”
For once, he does not hide the emotion in his tone. He is not simply angry. He is hurt. It takes me several seconds to process this before I can speak.
“Malik is right, Ava. You are not one of them anymore, and if you want to remain a vampire in this house, then you need to choose. Them or us,” Amicia says, giving me the ultimate ultimatum.
Shocked, I glance around the room. I’m staring into the eyes of a dozen vampires who rely on the hunters for protection. They are cold, hard, void of emotion. The hunters stare at me with the same disdain. This time, no one will come to my aid. No one will fight to keep me here. I’ve run out of second chances, and I need to make a choice.
But I can’t.
I can’t make the choice to stay here if it means condemning innocents to death. The rogues attacked the witches as a trap for me. The witches were never part of this. I started it all, and I must end it.
I shake my head and whisper, “Please, don’t make me choose.” I can feel tears burn behind my eyes, and I pray they won’t fall. The last thing I need right now is to prove I am an emotional wreck.
“You must,” Amicia says.
“But this isn’t about them,” I argue.
“And this isn’t only about the rogues,” Jasik counters. “Eventually you’ll see that you are blinded by your devotion to the witches.”
Knowing my sire is siding with the others is like a knife to the heart. It hurts more than I care to admit. I never realized how much he supported me in the past—and how much I really needed that support.
I sniffle and clear my throat before answering. “I know the rogues will come for me, and if that means I must fight beside the witches now to save myself later, then that’s what I choose.” It kills me on the inside to say this aloud. The last thing I want to do is turn my back on my new family, but they’re not giving me another option that I can live with. An eternity is a long time to live with guilt. I just won’t do that.
“Ava, don’t do this,” Jasik says. His voice is a whisper. I can sense how much my choice to leave hurts him, but I can’t ignore what’s in my heart.
The house is silent as I turn to leave, and just before I walk out the front door, I say, “Maybe instead of judging me for aiding the very people who gave me my life’s blood, you should ask yourselves why it’s so easy for you to ignore a fellow supernatural in need. You all talk about ending this feud and living in peace, but in times when you can prove that we are more than monsters, you shy away and leave the witches to be slaughtered. If that is what I must do to live under this roof, then I want no part of it.”
Chapter Eleven
I arrive at Mamá’s house in a blaze of glory. At least, I think I do. In reality, the fire magic lighting the night sky isn’t mine.
Fireballs are carelessly slung through the air, and I dodge one that probably wasn’t even aimed for me. At least, I hope it wasn’t. It would really suck to be killed tonight by the very people I came to help. The last thing I need is to eat crow.
I search the crowd for Mamá, who stops suddenly when she sees me. She’s surprised, and her hesitation is exactly what the rogues need. She winces upon impact. The vampire she is fighting strikes her with such ferocity, she is flung backward. Her frail frame lands carelessly atop another few witches who are also fighting to save their lives.
“Mamá!” I scream. I catch the attention of several rogue vampires, who seem just as shocked by my arrival as the witches.
I rush toward her, side-stepping a rogue who lunges at me. I make a mental note to return for him later as I reach Mamá’s side.
I help her up, and she leans against me until she stands. This is the closest we’ve been since my transition. The warmth of her body radiates against my own. It’s a scorching heat that burns my skin. I try to ignore the rapid beats of her heart as I aid her, but as each second passes, it gets more and more difficult to separate Mamá from food.
I meet her gaze. Eyes wide with fear, she bleeds from her lip. Instinctively, I glance at her wound, and she sucks in a sharp breath. She pushes me away, and I lose my grip on her. She stumbles into the arms of another witch—someone I don’t know.
I don’t ask if Mamá is okay—not because I don’t care or because this isn’t the time. But because if I did ask, she would lie. She wouldn’t want to look weak in front of a vampire, even if said vampire is her only child. Her strength used to inspire me. I was awestruck by how easily she handled Papá’s death. I was a hellion as a child and even worse as a teenager. It couldn’t have been easy to raise me alone.
She winces as the witch supporting her stumbles backward. Instinctively, I reach out to grab Mamá’s arm to help steady her, but she whips away from my touch as if I could actually use my magic to burn her. I may unleash agony on rogues, but I would never do that to someone innocent. Her fear stings at my heart. Can’t she look into my eyes and see that I’m not evil?
I know Mamá doesn’t want me here, and honestly, I don’t want to be here. I thought we ended this when I killed their sire, but no, I must fight another day. I wonder if I’ll ever retire my stake.
The vampires were right. I can’t keep coming here. After tonight, the witches are on their own. With my eyes, I tell Mamá that this is the last time. She doesn’t falter. She doesn’t care, so I try not to either. After tonight, she’ll get her wish. She’ll be rid of me forever.
I turn to face the massacre. There are only about a half dozen rogue vampires remaining. Either the rest are dead, or they fled when I arrived. I’m hoping the former. If another rogue from this nest materializes from the shadows, I may actually lose my mind.
“Six rogues,” I whisper to myself. “I can handle that. I can do this.” I try to mentally prepare myself for fighting on my own. I doubt I can count on the witches to have my back, so I must be smart. No reckless attacks. I don’t have the vampires as backup anymore.
I haven’t totally processed what that means. I left so abruptly, abandoning my few life treasures to aid the witches and kill more rogues. I must go back for my things, especially for my cross. That’s all I have left in the world.
I exhale slowly, calming my nerves and clearing my mind. The rogues are all around me. Some fight with witches; others wait for my attack. I stare into several sets of hungry red irises, and I think I must be a fool to believe I can take on so many rogues at once. Tonight, I need a miracle. I suppose my existence is a phenomenon, so it shouldn’t be too much to ask for another.
The grass is stained red with blood. It teases my senses and makes it hard to concentrate. I try to coach myself internally, ignoring my rumbling stomach. There wasn’t time for a quick pick-me-up before leaving the manor, and now I’m fighting the urge to lick the ground clean. Fighting alongside mortals is so much harder than it should be. If only they would stop getting injured, I could actually do my job and protect Darkhaven from these fiends.
In the center of the backyard, there is a large tree stump with relics positioned strategically atop. I’m very familiar with this altar and the magical artifacts used to decorate it. Some have fallen to the ground. Others are broken, with shards of glass sticking into the earth like daggers in the gut. The iridescent sphere Mamá uses to represent the moon is still at the center. The full moon is still a couple of weeks away, so I don’t understand its purpose in tonight’s ritual. What are the witches up to?
Someone screams, distracting me. A rogue vampire is crouched over a witch. She cries out as he pounces atop her, straddling her small frame. I can’t see her face, but I sense her fear. She waves her arms frantically before her, scratching at the vampire, desperately trying to free herself. He pins her arms to her side, and her hands spark but the flames quickly extinguish. Her emotions are getting the best of her. Without help, she will die.
This is my chance to prove I came here to help. I must show the witches not all vampires are evil. We do not fight on the side of the rogues. If there will be peace, there must first be war, and I’m okay with that.
It takes less than a second for me to decide to make a spectacle of this kill. The witches must see what vampires are willing to do to bring this feud to an end. We could be powerful allies or formidable opponents. Truly, it is their decision.
I dash to the coven’s altar and grasp the small sphere in my hand. I know Mamá has many more just like it, so I can sacrifice one. I also want her to know I noticed the altar and that I know moonstone is used for specific rituals only. My dream warned me someone is coming, and I’d bet everything I own the witches know something about that.
In my hand, the orb glows brightly. The crystal vibrates at my touch, sending shock waves radiating down my arms and straight to my soul. Never before has moonstone affected me so deeply. I gasp as the sensation spreads, setting my entire body aflame. I shake my head and hold it tightly. I don’t have time to think about this. Not when I’m surrounded by rogues, and witches are dying.
I toss the shimmery globe in the air, catching it on its downfall, and wait for the perfect moment. I whistle loudly, catching the rogue’s attention, and throw the sphere directly at him. He sits upright, jerking his head to the side. The whistle is an ear-piercing screech that even bothers me.
&nb
sp; The rogue turns at the perfect moment, and the orb shatters against his head with such brutality, his skull shatters. He bursts into ash, and the witch sits upright. She’s shivering, arms wrapped around her torso as she frantically searches for her savior. We make eye contact in seconds.
Liv.
Her eyes are wide when she sees me. Tears stream down her cheeks, and her mouth opens in a soft gasp. I hear it even across the yard. I stand straighter, stronger, and defiantly look her straight in her eyes.
Yes, it’s me, the girl you used to be best friends with. I may look different, but I’m the same girl who’s saved your life countless times, the same girl you told you never wanted to see for the rest of your life. Maybe if I listened, you’d be dead right now. Think about that!
I turn back toward the rogues and withdraw my stake.
One down. Five to go.
My weapon is far too light in my grasp. My palms are slick from the moisture in the air. I squeeze my hand tighter, careful not to snap my stake into pieces. The last thing I need right now is to be outnumbered and completely weaponless.
Witches are battling rogues, but some have already retreated toward the house. I don’t worry about them. I’ve done all I can to prove I’m here to help, and if they’re smart, they’ll work with me. Now or never, they need to trust me.
Fire witches are gathering together, holding hands to strengthen their control over the element. The sudden heatwave is melting the frost that coats the ground and making the air so muggy, it’s difficult to breathe. They should use their combined strength to take out a few rogues, but they don’t. Instead, they let me do the dirty work. I don’t understand why they’ve suddenly retreated, and there’s no time to question their efforts or give orders.
Trying to remain optimistic, I consider the haze advantageous. This will allow me to sneak up on unsuspecting rogues.
It takes no time at all to find one. He’s too busy searching the yard for another witch—or for me. I’ll never know, because I sink my stake into his back, shoving it so deep I can hear bone snap. He turns to ash before he even knows he’s dead.
Dark Magic (Darkhaven Saga Book 2) Page 13