by Jackie May
I shake with the need to do as he asks, and my siren rises up in me. I look out at the warring armies, and my darkness rejoices at the thought of claiming so many souls. I let her out to play, but instead of grabbing hold of the men who are both familiar to me and also not, I reach out for every other male vampire in the room. Because Henry told me to use my song on my enemies. It’s clear to me now that it’s the vampires who are against me. I may have loved Henry, and I may have trusted him, but he’s broken that trust. He’s stomped out that love. He tried to kill a child. He compelled me. He is a monster.
I open myself to my siren and send out a beautiful, haunting lullaby. Everyone in the room freezes, stunned by the sound. One by one, vampires fall under my spell. Their life forces call to me. I need them. They are mine, and I will have them all. I hold out my hands and pull their life forces to me. So much energy! It consumes my mind. I’ve never felt so much power. My siren and I revel in the moment. Our bloodlust is stronger than anything I’ve ever felt before.
“Nora!” Henry shouts, panicked. “Nora, stop!”
I won’t stop. Not until every last one of them is dead. And then I will take the rest of them. They are all mine. No one can stop me.
Vampire after vampire falls to the ground, clutching their chests as I suck the life away from them.
“Nora, please! You’re killing them!”
I grin at Henry. I know the action is sinister. I am consumed with darkness. “They are my enemies. You told me to kill them.”
Henry whirls me around, trapping me in a vice-like grip. His eyes lock on mine. “You will stop now!”
I cry out as the weight of the compulsion pounds in my head. My vision goes blurry, and I feel as if I’m going to pass out. I would welcome unconsciousness. It would stop the pain. I’ve never had such a migraine. But the compulsion takes hold, and my siren is once again locked away inside me. Our power is blocked, but we are still one. I hiss in frustration and glare at Henry.
Henry shakes me again. “You will not touch my vampires. You will kill those who dare hurt them.”
I scream in agony. He’s going to kill me with his commands. Yet, I must obey. Those men…those men are mine. How dare he order me to hurt them! I’m so angry at the command that my rage turns me again. My hands become claws and scales run up my arms. My teeth become razor sharp in my head. I want to kill Henry, but I can’t attack him.
Behind me, someone gasps. I whirl around to see the vampire that my heart has claimed. He’s gaping at me in awe. “You can shift!” he says.
Of course I can. I know that. I’ve partially shifted already. I lift up my arms, unable to delay the command any longer. I meet the eyes of my vampire, and we both know I’m about to sing to him.
“Shift!” he shouts desperately. “If you shift, it will break your compulsion!”
A female vampire attacks him then, and they get caught up in a battle too fast for me to see, but his words stick with me. A conversation surfaces in my memory. I can’t remember where or when I had it or even with whom, but I remember learning that shifters can break compulsions by shifting. The problem is, I don’t know how to shift.
I look down at my arms in their partially shifted form. Changing to this was instinctive. Changing completely must be as well. I close my eyes and picture Giselle. I’m not a mermaid, but I am similar, so I must look something like her.
“Nora,” Henry growls. He shakes me again, but I pinch my eyes shut. He can’t compel me again if he can’t look into my eyes.
“Nora, look at me!”
I don’t think so.
My body is screaming at me to obey Henry and sing to my men, but I stay as focused on my shift as possible. I picture Giselle, and then I imagine myself with a tail. I picture my scales running up my skin and painting my face in beautiful swirls of teal and purple. I think of my hands and the claws that are there. Of the teeth in my head that could rip a man apart. I think of a tail, beautiful and powerful pushing through the water at thrilling speeds with strong kicks.
My body starts to tingle, and a wave of power washes over me. There’s a flash of bright light, and when it’s gone, so are my legs. Henry nearly drops me, but he catches me in the last instant and lowers me to the ground. We both stare at my tail in awe.
I yearn for water to the point where I can hardly focus, but at the same time my head feels so light I could walk on air. I do nothing but breathe for a few moments, and then, when I look at Henry, it all comes back. Every memory he stole from me is back, and the pressure of his commands is gone. Relief floods me, and I choke on a sob. Tears spring up in my eyes.
And then the anger hits me. My siren is there, and now there is nothing stopping her. Henry looks into my eyes and sees the truth in them. The truth that says I am free of his reign of terror, and that I am going to kill him. He leaps to his feet, but he will not escape me. “Henry!” I sing. Henry stops running and turns to face me. “Come to me.”
Henry kneels before me, completely enthralled, and the sight has all of my bloodlust returning in an instant. This man has caused me so much trouble. He will never hurt me again. I place my hand on his chest, and he sighs as if my touch is soothing his soul. He covers my hand with his. I lightly run one of my claws down the side of his face. He shivers at the contact. I lean in so close to him that our lips are nearly touching. Then I brush my lips over his ear. “I promised you once that someday I would kill you.”
“Anything for you, my love.”
I sit back to look him in the eyes. “Good-bye, Henry.” I move my hand directly over his heart. Then I pull.
Satisfaction is the main feeling I have as I suck the life out of Henry. He’s been nothing but trouble since I met him, and the darker part of me has always craved this moment. His soul is delicious. He’s an ancient vampire and a master. His life force is particularly strong. As I take it from him, I feel vitalized in a way I never have before. I’ve never felt so powerful.
When there’s nothing left, not a single drop of life, I let him go, and he crumbles to the floor beside me. His eyes, glassed over and vacant, will never compel me again. Gasps go off around the room and are followed by agonized cries and rage-filled screams. His vampires feel the loss of their master. It makes me laugh. I know they will all come for me now, and that excites me. With Henry’s energy in me and my darkness controlling my mind, I’m ready for the fight. I crave it. I will kill them all.
The mood in the room changes. Desperation and anguish fill the air as the vampires turn their attention to me. Those who’ve not been destroyed by my men fight their way toward me. My smile grows from ear to ear. Let them come.
“Nora, look out!”
I’m not sure who called to me, but a large vampire jumps at me with his clawed hands ready to rip my head off. “Stop,” I say.
I shiver as his pupils swell, and I waste no time sucking the life out of him. When he’s dead, he falls to the floor on top of Henry. I can’t wait to add more to the pile. My thirst for death and vengeance escalates with every kill.
A small circle has been formed around me as my men protect me from vampires. The numbers are dwindling, but I can take those down by half. I release my song and ensnare the will of every last one of Henry’s male vampires. I lick my lips as I begin to pull their energy from them.
I cry out in ecstasy as power fills me. My body begins to tremble, and I release a crazed laugh. I thought I was invincible before, but now I am truly unstoppable. I will take these men, and then I will take every man in this room, and I will not stop there. I will never stop.
Bodies drop all around me, and for a moment there is nothing but stunned silence. The remaining female vampires start to lose their minds. In their grief, they attack, but their numbers are so few they are easily eradicated. Wolves and fey stop and look around the room, chests heaving and weapons still drawn. There is no one left to oppose them. They are bloodied and exhausted, and slowly they look around. The bodies of the largest vampire clan in Michigan l
itter the floor.
I practically purr with elation. All of the devastation thrills me.
“Nora!”
A man with the most striking violet eyes, covered in sweat, dirt, and blood, drops to his knees and takes my face in his. When he smashes his mouth on mine, my body ignites with a new energy. His thoughts flood me, and one thing becomes very clear. This man adores me. Worships me. He is mine, and I will take him. I will take them all.
As I kiss him back, I slide my hand up his chest. I hum with desire and place my hand over his heart. “Mine,” I whisper against his lips.
He growls in response and plunges his tongue deep in my mouth. I take his offering, and then I start to take his life force. He gasps and falls back. He clutches his chest, and an agonized cry rips from his lungs.
Men around me all jump to action trying to separate me from my fey. I hiss at all of them and scoop my fey possessively to me. He is mine. They will not take him from me.
The men shout more and more, so much so that I can feel the panic in the air. I ignore them all and continue to take what I want from my faerie. He’s so old, so powerful. And he will be with me for eternity once I absorb his life force.
A large wolf tackles me, knocking me away from my faerie and breaking my connection to him. With a hiss, my fingers become claws and scratch at the man as I reach for the wolf’s conscience. “Stop,” I sing.
The wolf stops. He makes a whiny noise that, for some reason, calls to my heart. My chest aches for this wolf, as if my soul calls to his. Something flashes in my mind, images of me with a man, biting one another, fusing ourselves together to make us one soul. I shake my head, confused by the thought, and in my moment of hesitation, two females tackle me and pin me to the ground. One is more beautiful than any woman I’ve ever seen. The other has red-orange hair and eyes that dance like flames.
“Nora!” the redhead shouts.
I hiss again and try to claw at the woman, but she’s too strong for me and I get a slap across my face for my efforts. “Fight it!” she shouts. I get slapped again, and I can hear growls behind me. “Relax, boys,” the woman grumbles, glaring at whoever is behind me. She looks down at me again. “You are not your darkness. Snap out of it!” I get slapped a third time, and this time it jars my concentration. I shake my head, trying to clear it as I stare at the women holding me down. I recognize both their faces. I know these women. They’re my…friends. Again, I flinch with another moment of clarity. Cecile. Kat. I don’t want to hurt them.
In a flash of light, my tail is replaced with legs—naked legs. My scales and claws disappear, and my skin returns to its normal shade. I’ve shifted back to my human form.
My siren rages inside my head, and for the first time in I don’t know how long, she feels separate from me. With my mind cleared of the darkness, everything clicks into place. Henry’s compulsions are gone, and my memory is fully restored.
Illren is lying on the ground, passed out beside me, and dread fills me. “Illren!” I shout, panicked. Pushing Cecile and Kat out of the way, I crawl over to him and shake his shoulders. When his only response is a weak moan, I start sobbing. I wrap my arms around him, crying harder than I’ve ever cried before. “Illren, I’m so sorry! So, so sorry! Please be okay!”
Hands come down on my shoulders and back, but I don’t look up to see who’s trying to comfort me. I don’t want the comfort. I deserve the devastation and guilt that is currently drowning me. I’m horrible. I nearly killed one of the men I love.
Love? I pause, stunned by the thought. I sniffle and hiccup as I realize that yes, Illren terrifies me, but I love him. I love them all.
“Nora,” a soft voice murmurs. “Let go so I can have a look at him.”
I glance up at Enzo through watery eyes. He’s kneeling across Illren’s body from me. His hands are settled over the fey’s chest. He gives me a reassuring smile, then turns his attention to Illren. He closes his eyes in concentration and runs his hands over Illren’s body. After a few moments, he sits back and shakes his head. I explode with panic. “Why are you shaking your head? What does that mean? Can’t you fix him?”
Enzo’s face falls, and his shoulders droop. “I am sorry. I can’t do anything for him. He is not physically injured. His essence has been drained. I cannot replace it.”
“He’s going to die?” I screech. My tears come back with a vengeance, and I start sobbing hysterically. I throw myself over Illren, kissing his mouth and face and running my hands through his hair. “Illren. No. You can’t.”
“I don’t believe he will die,” Enzo says. “I believe his essence will replenish itself. It will just take a little time.”
I bark out a sob of relief, but I can’t rid myself of the guilt. I did this to him. At the time, I wanted to do this to him. I wanted to kill him. I wanted to kill them all.
I rest my forehead on Illren’s chest and cling to him. I can’t stop crying.
“Nora,” another voice says. The hands on my shoulders pull me back and turn me around.
I struggle, needing to feel Illren, but I’m scooped off my feet into the arms of the largest man I’ve ever known. “He will be all right,” Terrance says. He shifts me in his arms and squeezes me in the best hug of my life while my feet dangle at least a foot off the ground. “We will all be all right.”
At his words, I gasp, realizing that my entire clan plus what seems like half the underworld just fought a huge group of mercenaries and then a small army of vampires. I do a quick headcount and breathe a sigh of relief. They’re dirty, bloody, and a complete mess, but all of my clan are present and accounted for. Even Nick is on his feet. Enzo must have cleansed the gold dust from his and Kat’s systems before helping Illren. The only one unconscious is the man I made that way.
My eyes well up again, and I push myself out of Terrance’s arms. I back up, not wanting any of them to come near me.
“Nora, what’s wrong?” Rook asks, hesitantly stepping forward.
I back up even more, staying out of his reach. Hurt streaks across his face, but I can’t let him get close. “Don’t come near me. Stay away.”
I meet Nick’s eyes because he’s the most levelheaded of the bunch, and he might be the only one who will understand the request I’m about to ask of him. “You have to kill me.”
As I suspected, my clan explodes with protests, but I keep my watery eyes locked on Nick. “Please. You saw it. I can’t control myself. I nearly killed Illren. I’m cursed. You have to kill me before I hurt all the people I love.”
My men all argue, but Nick’s face softens with understanding. “You know I won’t do that,” he says.
Tears stream down my cheeks, and I cross the crowd to him, pushing several men out of my way until I can stand right in front of him. I clasp his hands in mine. “Please, Nick. You know the spell didn’t work, even with the power of four mythics. There’s no other way to protect my clan from me. To protect the entire city from me. You have to kill me.”
In his thoughts, Nick is torn. He’s not going to kill me, he could never do it, but he knows I’m right. The spell didn’t work, and he can’t see another way to break my curse.
“Nick,” I plead.
He shakes his head, his face tortured. “No, Nora. Forget it. The spell didn’t work, but we’ll figure something else out. We’ll find another way.”
“I’m dark! I am a danger to anyone around me! There is no other way!”
Aziel clears his throat and steps forward. “Actually, there might be another way.”
Everyone in the room freezes. I hold my breath as I meet the gryphon’s eyes. I don’t want to feel hope just to have my heart crushed.
“I had not heard of the spell the sorcerer spoke of. I’m not sure where he found it, but his theory was correct. When a being consumes too much dark magic, it eventually takes over them. They themselves become dark. It stands to reason that the opposite is possible. If you take in enough light magic, you yourself should be changed.”
I
want to believe him, but the truth is lying unconscious beside me. I shake my head and wipe at my tear-stained face. “But the spell didn’t work. It had no effect on me.”
The gryphon gives me a soft smile that a teacher might give to their pupil. Looking at him closely, I can see the ancientness and the wisdom. This being might just be one of the oldest and wisest creatures in the world. “Mythics are born of magic, not physical parents,” he says. “Our power is not in our blood. It is in our very beings, in our essence. I believe if we each give up a piece of our essence to you, we may just fill you with so much light that you can be turned.”
My eyes drift back to Illren. I took some of his essence, and look what happened. I could never take essence from Aziel, or the others, for that matter. Especially not Sapphire. She’s still a child. “I couldn’t,” I say, shaking my head. “I don’t want to take anything from you. Especially not if it would hurt you or make you weak.”
Aziel steps up to me, and with that soft smile still in place, clasps my hands in his. “I will give it to you freely. You helped rescue us. You are so strong that, even compelled, you stood up to the vampire when he threatened to kill the child.” He waves his hand around the church at all of the people still standing there watching us. “You have saved lives and helped so many people that an entire city of underworlders came to help you in your time of need.”
I follow his gaze around the room, and many of the underworlders smile. Some of them even bow. In the front of the crowd, Alpha Peter Toth and Alpha Evan Fuller stand among the wolves. Laagh, head of the brownies, Vesryn, a representative of the sidhe that once asked me to be the new fey queen, and even the trolls of Terrance’s home clan all stand around me, battle-bloodied and on my side. It warms my heart that they all showed up to help my clan when we needed it.
Nick slings his arm over my shoulder. “Aziel is right. You deserve such a gift, and I will freely give it.”
My tears start up again, and I shake my head. “Nick, no.”