by Brandon Witt
How she hated her weakness. The power she allowed him to have over her. If anything, her terror of him continued to grow. She couldn’t shake the belief that her destiny was tied to him, that there would be a day when she would be held powerless beneath him once again.
It was this, even more than her anger at not being allowed out in the sun, which prompted her newfound defiance of the king. Though birthed in the whim of the moment, Sonia had discovered the key to her freedom.
She thought back to the heap of male flesh she’d left behind. Maybe they’d be discovered in the morning. Maybe they already had—some other tourist returning from an all-night rager at the beach.
The bodies would be endless. And undeniably vampiric in their mutilation. She’d make each one worse than the last.
Sonia unpinned the diamond clasp that held her hair at the nape of her neck. The wind caught the dark strands and whipped them about her face as she stared out at the sea. Holding the cluster of gems in front of her face for a second, she twisted her hand, causing the moonlight to refract across the clasp. As the finality of the plan solidified in her mind, she reared back and whipped the jeweled gift out into space, watching in pleasure as it arched from the cliff and disappeared into the ocean below.
Every chance she got to slip away, she’d tear this small country apart, killing every human man she met, until Gwala had no choice but to slaughter her. He’d have to do it himself. Make an example.
Give her freedom.
Thirty-Seven
SONIA LIU
The scream lasted less than a second before it was cut off. Her body recognized it before her brain. Her spine rigid, eyes wide, she stiffened as if expecting an attack. When none came, she glanced around cautiously, peering between the trees. Though still before dawn, her predator vision made out every minute detail. Each trembling leaf, every glistening droplet of dew.
She didn’t waste time reprimanding herself for her fear; instead she simply shifted through the barrage of possibilities as efficiently as if she’d been equipped with a premium processor.
Though she’d never heard him scream, not in terror or pain at least, she had no doubt of the source. And that he was near.
The abrupt silencing of the scream meant one of two things—the sound had been stifled by magic or the vampire had bested whatever had accosted him. Seeing as she’d heard no sound to indicate a struggle, the first option was the only one that made sense.
Sonia allowed herself one moment, her hand steadying herself on a nearby tree. Again the possibilities flooded, and once more she eliminated all but one. She would not return to Gwala, and she would not flee. She would find out the cause of the vampire’s distress and take advantage, if she could.
Though she couldn’t comprehend how such a thing would be possible, there were only two things in the jungle that were a threat to the vampires. Not that either of them could be truly considered a threat, but they were the only ones who sought to oppose the Vampire Cathedral. Sonia had disagreed with Gwala when he’d chosen to let Finn’s sister and the fairies live. Not because they posed any real threat, but for the sheer logic that all opposition should be eliminated, no matter how small or inconsequential. She’d not said as much to Gwala. Nor had he inquired.
Despite her intelligence, Sonia couldn’t conceive of any way a fairy or witch could cause any adverse effect on a vampire, but judging from the muting of the scream, they had.
Forcing herself to move slowly, even slower than a human, she stepped over the tangles of roots and fallen branches, hiking the long blood-soaked yellow gown nearly to her waist. She held no concern for the fabric, but she was not taking a chance that any rip or tear would announce her arrival. If witch and fairy had found a way to harm the redhead, she would not be impervious either.
Sonia hadn’t been to the cave the two lesser supernaturals had occupied, but she’d smelled their presence in the forest often enough before she’d been confined inside the Cathedral’s walls, so she knew exactly where to go despite no sound escaping. There was a chance they would stay wherever they had accosted the vampire, but it was miniscule. They wouldn’t risk being found. They would seek shelter. She supposed they might choose to go elsewhere, if they thought others had been keeping track of their whereabouts, but she doubted it. As it was, luck was on their side. The redhead had been the only sentry Gwala had assigned such a mundane task.
Less than ten minutes later, Sonia stood within a hundred feet of the cave’s entrance and had no doubt she’d made the right assumption. The smell of blood and charred flesh hung thick in the air.
She inhaled deeply several times. Somehow they had burnt the vampire, a thought that both thrilled and enraged her. She wanted him dead, but not at their hands. Not a death from a lowly witch and fairy.
But something… more. Smells she couldn’t identify. One that smelled faintly of human, and another… She breathed in again, squeezing her eyes shut, trying to place the smell. Almost like a dog. But not quite.
She hesitated, fear licking at her. She’d seen him from afar since following Gwala to Costa Rica, but this was the closest she’d actually been since waking to find him with her in her mother’s bed. She’d felt him following her while still in California but had never seen him. This was it. This was the moment. Come what may, she was going to face him. If he’d been killed by the fire, she’d gladly join him just to make certain he was truly gone.
What if she was reading the situation wrong? What if she stepped into that cave only to have him fall upon her again?
She’d fight. Like she had as a human, but now with vampire strength. She was not that weak, pathetic creature anymore. She may not be as strong as a vampire that was her elder, but she’d fight.
Closing the distance, Sonia continued to strain both her sense of smell and of hearing. No new information through scent, and still supernaturally muted.
Pausing at the cave’s opening, she took one last steadying introspection. She was ready. She was going to kill the fucker.
Before she could lift her foot to take the step that would bring her face-to-face, the dark night was scorched with a brilliant flash of flames. She managed to silence her cry as she threw herself from the entrance.
Too late she realized fire hadn’t actually shot out of the cave, only the illumination from the surge inside. Still, she hesitated once more, waiting for another round.
“I told you not to burn his fucking head. We need him to be able to speak.”
“Dammit, Caitlin. I’m aware. Forgive me for not having practiced only burning partial bodies before.”
The realization that she could now hear was overshadowed as the voice filled her mind. She knew it as well as she knew her own and recognized it as easily as she had the scream of her sire.
Brett.
Emotions threatened her core. Images flashed like sucker punches to her gut.
The bungalow in Hillcrest. Opening the door to welcome Brett home only to find the vampire on her doorstep. Seeing Brett in the room of the drained child right after she’d been turned.
It was too much. Memories of her humanity, of her weakness. The confusion of it all. Why was he here? No sense in it. No logic.
Stupidly, she looked down at her dress, then around at the jungle and the sky overhead. All real. Not a dream.
More than anything her eyes communicated, the surge of rage that coursed through her confirmed the truth of her reality. She was her. The monster. The strong one. Not the one to be used ever again.
Within five strides, she’d crossed the distance and stepped through the entrance.
For a fraction of a second no one noticed her, and she took in the scene. An electric lantern on the ground dimly lit the cave. A huge, naked, and bloody man curled into a ball several feet away. A charred mass of bones lay impaled on a stone. The fairy and witch stood on either side of the carcass, their backs to her. Standing at the head of the cadaver, a blond mountain of a man glared in anger at the witch.
His blue eyes flicked toward her, then peeled wide in shock and terror.
Those brief moments, when their gazes met before the others turned to face her, lasted lifetimes. Long enough for each second of the past many months to replay through her memory. The night of her assault and transformation. Her parents, the man she’d dated. Each and every face of every victim she’d drained. Every man she’d slaughtered.
She was Sonia. The flirtatious waitress at Rascals. From the Chinese family who’d found their wealth in jewelry. Her little white dog, Sapphire. Daughter. Sister. Best friend. Lover. Human.
She flew across the room and flung the witch and fairy aside, not hearing them as they slammed against the opposite walls, nor aware of the crunching of the skeleton when her foot smashed over the ribs. Her hands rose, fingers clawlike, and clamped around Brett’s neck. Her momentum took them several feet back, until at last they slammed into the wall that curved to form a path deeper into the cave.
His blue eyes bulged further as she squeezed his neck, every ounce of fury she’d saved for the vampire now unleashed on the man she never thought she’d see again.
Blood traveled in thick streams over his chest from the punctures of her nails at his throat.
Sonia’s nostrils flared at the scent. She glanced down at the blood spilling over his torso, already soaking into his tank top. She looked back up at his eyes, returned her gaze to his blood, then up a final time.
Abruptly, she let go and stepped away.
Brett crashed to the ground, taking deep, ragged breaths.
Sonia took another step back, fear she couldn’t understand forcing her away. The scent of his blood screamed at her to run.
Beneath the scent of danger, she sensed another aroma. One vaguely familiar and as tantalizing as the fear.
No matter how terrified she felt she should be, she was never going to run again. She planted her feet wide and stretched a hand out toward the cave wall to help steady her resolve—it found only air.
“What are you?”
Brett’s gaze traveled from her to a spot behind her. Sonia wheeled in time to see the witch and fairy were coming toward her. The fairy’s hands were moving, and the witch was muttering something under her breath.
Before she could launch herself in their direction, Brett’s so-familiar voice cut through the space between them. “Leave her alone.”
The fairy kept his unwavering gaze on her. It was the witch who looked away from her and spoke, her tone soft. “It’s not her, Brett. I know she looks like your friend, but it’s not her any longer. She’s the vampire queen now.”
“I know, Caitlin.” At the sound of Brett trying to stand, Sonia looked back at him, ready to attack. He met her eyes. She found no hostility or aggression. Impossibly, he looked like the same man she’d loved so much all those lifetimes ago.
How she hated him.
Never looking away, he addressed the other two once more. “Leave us.”
“Brett, you can’t save—”
“Caitlin, I know. Still. Leave us. Please.”
A growl issued from the naked body on the ground. Sonia narrowed her eyes at the form, trying to make sense of the image and smell. Then it hit her. Werewolf. Of course. It was a testament to how disconcerted she was that she hadn’t recognized the scent for what it was. She’d smelled plenty of wolves at the Square. This one was the first she’d sensed since coming to the Vampire Cathedral.
“Take Shane with you. Please.”
The fairy continued to keep Sonia in his sight, never glancing away for a moment. “Brett, take your own life in your hands if you must, but you are not the only one to consider. There are the mers. You owe them.”
Brett’s voice was cold as he replied. “You don’t need to remind me of my commitments, Newton. I’m looking at one of them right now.”
The fairy motioned to the bones behind him. “Don’t take too long. He heals quickly.”
Sonia followed the gesture and remembered the vampire for the first time. She was shocked she’d managed to forget him. Sure enough, the bones were hidden beneath blackened flesh.
“I won’t let him get too far. I’ll burn him again as soon as he reaches the place he was last time.”
“I wouldn’t let him get that—”
“Just go, Caitlin.”
Sonia watched as the witch uttered some words and the bleeding man lifted off the ground and floated toward the opening and then from view. “Five minutes, demon. That’s it.”
Before Sonia was certain the witch had left, she turned back to Brett. Her gaze traveled over his body, searching intently. Other than new scars here and there, his body was no different than what she was able to recall from her human life. Suddenly not wanting to look at him, she forced herself to meet his eyes. “She called you ‘demon.’ You’re a demon?”
He nodded.
She’d heard of them at the Square. Always mentioned in greatest reverence and fear. Almost to the point they’d seemed like some ancient deity. Too all-powerful to actually be real. She stared at the man who’d been her best friend. It made no sense.
“You can’t be a demon. Unless you became one, somehow. Like with my transition.”
Brett shook his head. “No. I always was one. I just didn’t know it.”
The tales she’d heard of demons had made it sound like vampires’ tortures were nothing more than child’s play compared to the horrors demons brought upon their victims.
She motioned toward the mending bones. “Did you send the vampire?”
“What do you mean? Did I send the vampire to you?” He looked at her in confusion, then horror.
Her voice rose, anger spiking once more. She took a step toward him, despite the scent that screamed for her to flee. “Did you send him to change me?”
Brett’s hands rose in front of his chest, not in a motion of self-defense, but in a pleading gesture. “No. Sonia, God no! I didn’t know what I was then. I searched for you. For him. I was willing to do anything to avenge you.”
The tears that began to flow over his cheeks did nothing more than fuel her rage. “What part did you play? You are not innocent.”
“Sonia, I didn’t know.” Brett too motioned toward the trapped monster. “He was following me. He wanted my blood. I didn’t know why. I didn’t know he wanted me.”
She sneered at him. “Liar.” She swept her hand across her bloodstained gown, then flicked her fingers toward her fangs as she snarled at him. “I am a vampire, fool. There is nothing a vampire would want with a demon’s blood.”
“It’s the other part of me. The mer part that he wanted.”
“The—” And it all clicked. Her viselike mind slammed the impossible puzzle pieces together to form a picture that shouldn’t have existed but left no other explanation. The scent of him confirmed his claim.
He took a step toward her. “Sonia, I’m so sorry. I’m so very sorry.”
She lurched toward him but stopped at the warning scent of the demon blood. She curved her lips over her fangs and hissed. “If you say that again, I will kill you.”
Brett opened his mouth, and for a second she was certain he was going to insult her with his platitudes again, but then, seemingly, he thought better of it.
They inspected each other. Gazes traveling over so-familiar, yet alien bodies.
When he stepped toward her again, she only stiffened. Despite his scent, she detected no threat.
He raised his hand, nearly touching her cheek, but stopped short at her warning growl.
“Are you in there?”
She laughed. A genuine laugh. Her first since becoming a vampire.
The sound answered his inquiry more than any words she could speak.
His blue eyes grew even sadder. “I loved you.”
This time her nostrils flared in anger.
Before she could respond, a noise pulled their attention toward the front of the cave.
The bones covered in the thin, blackened flesh writhed and str
ained against the stone clamps that secured them in place.
Brett raced around her, knelt by the body, and placed both hands on the withered chest that arched upward.
She understood instantly. Sonia darted forward, swiping Brett away, sending him crashing into the wall.
He looked up and rose partway from the floor. “Sonia. I know he’s your sire, and I love you, but I will not let you protect him.”
For the second time in her new life, she laughed.
Brett flinched back from the sound.
“Protect him? Were you always such a fool, or was I simply too foolish myself to notice?”
He didn’t answer her, only stared. Part in confusion. Part in sadness.
“I will be the one to destroy him. Not you.”
Dawning understanding lit his eyes. “Oh.” He glanced at the skeletal body in a possessive manner but only nodded. “That makes sense. That would be right.”
Sonia turned to focus on the trapped vampire. He was nothing more than bones and thin layers of skin. Even the tissue covering the holes of the nose and eyes was sunken in, having yet no form.
She searched for the monster of her nightmares. She smelled him. Sensed him. But it wasn’t enough. She needed to see him. To be sure. When she killed him, she needed to be sure. For it to be final.
Sonia reached out, her strong finger trembling as she ran a nail down the ashen cheek.
Fangs flashed at her finger, and she whipped her hand back. Inspecting closer, it seemed the action had been reflex more than any cognitive functioning on his part. Despite her fear and fury at being so near the creature, Sonia was unable to separate the image of her own immortality from the monstrosity before her. Mingled in the horror of the sight, she swelled in pride in the evidence of strength that her own body had to offer, with all that it could withstand.