A Shade of Vampire 89: A Sanctuary of Foes

by Bella Forrest

  Gently setting me down, Jericho picked a few leaves from my hair. He noticed my hesitation to reply, but he didn’t push it. “I think we need to head back,” he said. “If I was hungry earlier, I’m starving now.”

  Part of me would’ve liked for us to stay like this a while longer, but I couldn’t. I briefly leaned into him, unsure of my body’s message, then pulled away, allowing the ice walls to come back up and keep me safe. I couldn’t risk any kind of weakness in the midst of this nightmare. Besides, being out on our own for too long wasn’t healthy, especially since dark creatures walked these woods, thirsting for our blood and hungering for our flesh. “You’re right, we should get going,” I murmured. “Let me just gather some of this stuff. I’d hate to go back with a half-empty bag…”

  Jericho nodded slowly and proceeded to crouch down and help me. We recovered most of the peaches and nuts that had fallen with me, though we barely spoke for the better part of a minute. I didn’t have much to say anyway, as I was still adjusting to the sensation this new inner fire had caused.

  “You’re actually cold,” Jericho said as he reached for a peach to my left. “Like, literally cold. Not ice cold, but definitely colder than most people. Colder than vampires, for sure.”

  I chuckled. “Kind of comes with the territory of being an ice dragon, Sparky. Remember?”

  “No. Yeah, I know. I was just saying. You’ve been in my arms before, just for a few seconds during combat or trouble mostly, but I’m only now noticing.”

  “Shush,” I hissed, the hairs on the back of my neck rising in an instant. Something was moving through the woods, not far from where we were.

  Jericho frowned slightly. “I didn’t mean it as a criticism, just—”

  “Shut up, someone’s out there,” I replied, my muscles tightening as I went into attack mode almost instantly. Carefully surveying the forest around us, I spotted faint movement in the distance. Blackness rippling and wisps dancing between the trees. “Haldor…”

  “Crap.” Jericho stilled, already down on the ground. We waited in absolute silence as we listened to the rush of whispers and rumbles that made the redwoods tremble. The canopy above murmured slowly as the shadow monsters bolted toward the cabin. Within minutes, they would be swarming our safe spot.

  Jericho and I were still far enough away from the monsters that they didn’t immediately sense us, but I knew it would do no good to stay there. Soon they would come across the cabin, and I’d hear Soph’s whistling meant to warn us that something was coming. Unfortunately, we already knew what that something was, and it made my stomach twist painfully.

  “We have to warn them,” I said, as the last of the shadows vanished beyond the vine wall about two hundred yards to our right. Beyond it, the cabin waited, vulnerable and theirs for the taking.

  “Well, there go my dinner plans,” Jericho said, getting up and out of his tattered hospital robe. I turned away before I ended up staring at his gorgeous naked body. I’d seen him before, and I knew that if I didn’t look away, I’d be distracted, even under these tense circumstances. The memory of his taut abs and broad shoulders still haunted me. Not to mention his smooth, tanned skin… My body and my mind were at war. The former yearned for fire, while the latter demanded the familiar comfort of ice.

  “Are we going full dragon?” I asked, my voice trembling. “Is that a good idea?”

  “We’re far enough from populated areas to get away with it, considering we’re both smaller in size,” Jericho said. “My dragon fire is more powerful. It’ll keep the shadow beasts away for a while.”

  Exhaling sharply, I slipped out of my jacket and shifted, bones cracking as I stretched my arms and legs, then spread my wings and huffed. Jericho was superb in dragon form as well, with black scales and glistening amber on his belly, reptilian ocean eyes peering at me. His fangs and claws were impressive, as strong and sharp as steel swords. Leaving behind the food we’d gathered, we climbed up two of the redwoods, our wings tucked to our backs. We had to be smart about this.

  By the time we reached the top, the night sky had cleared, but still there were no stars, no moon. Just a faint white light that seemed to be coming from nowhere. Below, a storm was about to descend on the cabin. Thayen, Astra, and Soph were there. We had to do something.

  Bracing ourselves for another fight, Jericho and I took flight. It would be short, and it would end in fire and ice. Haldor wasn’t going to win this. No way.

  Astra

  I’d gotten the fountain to work, and the satisfaction I was feeling was almost as delicious as a banana split on a hot summer day. Wearing a huge grin, I let the bucket go down, using the rope to lower it into the water. I could almost taste its sweetness on my tongue as I pulled. Crickets chirped all around the cabin, along with other tiny creatures that had made homes in the giant redwoods.

  “Thayen, I got the water going,” I said, loud enough for him to hear from inside the cabin. “And there was little to no magic involved,” I muttered in addition. Mom had taught me to rely on my own strengths and knowledge of things, not just my Daughter powers or my sentry abilities. There would be times when my supernatural traits might not help, and I’d have to make do.

  I had yet to encounter such a horrifying scenario, but I didn’t mind practicing just in case. The fountain had been there for years, though no one had used it for at least a decade. Fortunately, it had been covered at the bottom with a thick metallic disk, which had stopped most of the leaves and dirt from falling through and contaminating the water. About twenty feet below, there was an underground stream of water still flowing, and that was what the fountain had tapped into. After removing the metallic disk with a smidge of telekinetic magic, I cleared the few leaves that had snuck through between the cover’s edges and the round walls.

  This was the first bucket of water I’d retrieved, and as I hauled it up I could see the clear, crystalline water. I dipped my finger and tasted it first. Just to be safe, I dipped it again, this time glowing pink, allowing my energy to purify the water, making it perfect for drinking.

  I whirled around at the sound of rustling leaves, thinking I’d see Jericho and Dafne coming back, only to find a sea of black spilling through the vine wall that surrounded our cabin. “Haldor,” I breathed, realizing what was happening. “Thayen!” I screamed. “Thayen, the shadow monsters!”

  Dropping the bucket, I extended my arms, fury taking over. The tenebrous creatures slipped past the vines and trees, returning to their original freakish forms as they approached the cabin. Thayen’s footsteps thudded on the porch as he emerged. There were dozens of shadow monsters, their slim eyes burning blue with hunger.

  “Why didn’t Soph give us the signal?” Thayen croaked, fear imprinted on his face as he took in the view. His answer came quickly with Soph’s scream as one of the shadow monsters dragged her by the hair into the clearing. It snarled as it threw her at us, as if she were nothing more than a ragdoll.

  I stopped her from hurting herself in the fall using my telekinetic energies, hands glowing pink. Thayen joined me, and Soph scrambled back to her feet. “Bastards took me by surprise. I didn’t even see them coming,” she spat. “Sneaking around in the dark, only three of them to ambush me while the others formed their horde. I was just about to give the signal when one of the freaks yanked me by the ankles.”

  “It’s okay. I’m just glad you’re alive,” Thayen replied.

  The creatures were eager to attack, tightening the circle around us. Some of them climbed atop the cabin, claws piercing and fracturing the wood planks on the roof, splinters flying out while the ceiling crumbled and collapsed inside. So much for our safe spot.

  “Why aren’t they pouncing?” Soph asked, nervously looking around.

  “They’re waiting,” Thayen muttered, his lips twisted in disgust. The giant emerged from the woods with heavy steps, whip dangling in one hand and blue eyes shining like sapphires in the moonlight. “For him…”

  Haldor had come to play, and
I wished Myst were there. There was no one else in sight, however. We were on our own, and two teammates short. But that was no excuse for failure. We had to fight back. Releasing the energy from within, I allowed my anger to take hold because it made the light brighter. I shone brightly against the darkness of the shadow monsters, forcing the first line to pull back as they covered their eyes and hissed from the obvious discomfort.

  It wasn’t enough to hold them back forever. Besides, Haldor was not playing this time. He raised the whip over his head and lashed it toward me. It grew impossibly long, its sharp tip flickering as it shot straight for my throat. Thayen got in front of me and raised his hand. The whip licked at his forearm and wrapped itself around it.

  For a second, nothing happened.

  “Astra, we need more light,” Thayen grunted. A moment later, he was violently pulled away from me as Haldor jerked back his whip. He glided in the air, a victim of the laws of physics for a short while, before he landed hard on the ground and the shadow monsters pounced on him.

  Soph was tackled by those coming down from the cabin roof, and it all rested on my shoulders. I had to do something. I had to do more. Fueled by rage and the desperate need to survive, I unleashed the full fury of a Daughter of Eritopia. My fingertips buzzed and pricked as the light intensified, the entire clearing turning bright pink.

  I closed my eyes for a moment as Thayen snarled and kicked and punched at the retreating monsters. Soph growled and went completely quiet before she landed with a startling thump behind me. I couldn’t stop. I poured more of myself into the pink light, forcing my eyes to open so I could understand what was happening. Finally, the shadow beasts were retreating, but Haldor’s blue eyes were dead set on me. Shivers traveled down my spine.

  I certainly didn’t like having his full attention.

  He raised the whip over his head again, and the fear of it tasting my flesh distracted me, lessening the intensity of my light. There was something about this place that confounded me. There was something about these creatures and Haldor, in particular, that sent tremors through my whole being—tremors I couldn’t control or push back. I was scared beyond my wits, fearing I wasn’t strong enough to keep the evil at bay long enough for us to survive.

  Haldor launched his whip, and I slipped to the side. It missed me by inches, yet I felt its cold breath as it swished past, then pulled back. Thayen and Soph scrambled away from the retreating shadow monsters. It was only a matter of time before they would attack again. They’d covered my friends with deep, bleeding gashes, and I knew they would tear them to shreds the second time around. There were just too many of them and barely a handful of us. Haldor’s whip shot out again. It caught Thayen’s left arm, and the vampire cried out in pain.

  A heady roar pulsed through the clearing, followed by a familiar frosted clinking. I looked up and saw the fire and ice dragons perched atop thick redwood branches, spewing their flames and frost over the fiends. Dafne had apparently developed a new skill—blue fire came from her slender throat, but it turned to crippling ice once it touched a surface. The shadow monsters were caught in it, some instantly reduced to frightening ice sculptures, briefly paralyzed by her glaze. I found it strange, since this place was better at wearing us out, but I welcomed the upgrade. We all had to push ourselves in the midst of adversity in order to prevail and evolve. Maybe it was Dafne’s turn.

  Jericho, on the other hand, set everything alight. Trees and shrubs and fallen trunks. Fire spread through the clearing, pushing the beasts farther away, while the frozen ones desperately wiggled against their restraints, struggling to escape the bright light. I wasn’t alone anymore, and a renewed sense of strength amplified my own glow. I needed to do something to get my friend out of Haldor’s grip. He’d dropped to his knees, poor thing, hurting from the whip. There was something about that weapon… I had a feeling the damage it did wasn’t just physical.

  But Haldor was more resilient than the creatures. “They still have Thayen,” Soph gasped, having grabbed a couple of bags she’d previously filled from inside the cabin. Earlier, she’d gathered whatever we might find useful from upstairs. Since we could no longer stay here, Soph had brought the stuff out, knowing we’d need it down the line.

  Jericho and Dafne descended from the trees, determined to rip Haldor’s head off, but the giant wiggled the fingers on his free hand, and black mist emerged from the ground. It seeped through the dragons’ scales and brought them to a sudden halt. They both looked at me, utterly confused and frightened, unable to move. Jericho’s fire faded. He coughed smoke and sparks, while Dafne’s grayish eyes drooped, ice covering her fangs and reptilian tongue. Whatever that black mist was, it reminded me of the spray the clones had used on us.

  It didn’t take long to make the connection. They were obviously related. The canisters had come from Haldor, though he hadn’t been as quick to use the black mist as the doppelgangers before him. “Oh, no,” I murmured. “It hit them right in the soul…”

  My light wasn’t enough anymore. I tried launching a few barriers at the bastard, but the black mist dissolved them before they even touched him. The dragon fires faded slowly, and the shadow monsters returned, sliding through the charred vines. Haldor now had Thayen in the hold of his whip, and he’d brought Jericho and Dafne to their knees, his fiery blue eyes practically smiling. I couldn’t see any other facial feature, just those blasted eyes.

  “Surrender now, and I’ll kill you quickly,” Haldor said, his voice gruff and scratchy.

  I brought my hands together, focusing a pulse of pure pink light into my hands. It would take its toll on my energy levels, but it would certainly cause some damage for the giant. “Sorry. We’ve got other plans,” I replied, then launched the light ball. He yanked on the whip and forced Thayen up between us. “No!” I cried out, throwing up a barrier to knock the light ball from its trajectory.

  It worked, and the light ball slammed into a swath of shadow monsters instead, reducing them to ashy wisps as it blew a hole through that entire flank. Haldor laughed, while Thayen continued to struggle against his grip. “Who the hell are you?” Thayen asked, nervously eyeing him. Sweat dripped down his face as he fought against the pain.

  “Oh, it doesn’t matter,” Haldor said. “What matters is that this is the end of the line for you. Say your prayers. Make your peace. You will die now.”

  “Or you could just go screw yourself,” a man’s voice shot across the clearing. It was low but sharp, bursting with a vibrant energy I had never sensed before. Everything came to a halt, and I doubted Haldor liked it. Even his shadow monsters seemed to soften, if only for a moment, at the sight of this dark figure stepping through the burnt vine wall.

  I held my breath, realizing I had seen him before. Not once but twice. First, when he’d guided us to the cave. Second, when he’d brought us here. Finally, I was meeting our strange and mysterious helper, but my excitement quickly turned to raw fear as I realized he was made of the same shadows as the monsters and Haldor himself.

  His eyes were that same peculiar fiery blue, though his frame was significantly smaller than the giant’s. This guy was tall with broad shoulders and narrow hips, and shadows wisped off him like black fires, obscuring his form. There had to be more beneath that darkness. I knew, deep in my bones, that there was more to him.

  “Brandon. I thought I told you to comply,” Haldor hissed, clearly displeased with his presence.

  “And I thought I told you there was a fat chance of me falling in line with the rest of you traitors,” Brandon replied dryly. “You may have Hammer, but you still don’t have me.”

  “That’s fine. I’ll just tell HQ to destroy Hammer,” Haldor said, yanking on his whip until Thayen dropped to his knees with a pained yelp. The black tongue was so tightly wrapped around his forearm that it had drawn blood. If the squeeze were any tighter, it could easily shatter the bones.

  Brandon took a few more steps forward, completely unafraid. “I’ll get Hammer out before you make i
t back to HQ. I know you will want to destroy him yourself, just to prove a point.” He looked at me, and time nearly stopped. “You have enough light in you to set this entire island ablaze. Don’t let these bastards make you think otherwise, half-Daughter.”

  “Wha… what?” I managed, my voice barely a whisper.

  “You’re letting the darkness get to you,” Brandon said. “The light inside you is more powerful than they’d like. Summon it. Summon it all. You don’t need anyone’s help, you just need to find the core of your strength.”

  His words were oddly encouraging, and I could feel it working. A nuclear force grew inside me, vibrating through my limbs as my pink light intensified. I exhaled sharply, allowing the heat to expand up to my chest and into my throat. It was strange. I had never felt anything like this before…

  “Damn you, Brandon. You’ve picked the wrong side,” Haldor spat, but Brandon didn’t care.

  My light was growing, and for a moment I could almost see his face beneath the darkness. His square jaw and flaming blue, almond-shaped eyes. His crow black hair and arched eyebrows. His aquiline nose. His full lips. He was smiling at me, and that just made the light react and grow even stronger.

  In an instant, the shadow monsters squealed, forced to retreat once more, while Haldor tried to pull Thayen toward him. Brandon bolted and cut right through the whip, snapping it loose. He grabbed Thayen by the back of his neck and ran toward us. Jericho and Dafne managed to snap out of their frozen horror at the same moment, and all hell broke loose.

  Haldor and his beasts were unexpectedly overwhelmed. Jericho released all the fire he had, torching everything in his path, cabin and fountain included. The orange flames swelled, consuming and obliterating it all. The enemy vanished into the night with the silent promise of an even bloodier rematch, while the rest of us started running.