“In your opinion, does that make her like me?” I felt pity for Miranda for only a moment. She wasn’t as bad as I had thought. Then again, she didn’t know it was me she was talking to. I’m sure I would have seen a whole other side of her if she did.
“No. You and the others’ parents are products of angel and demon, not hybrid and demon,” he replied. “She was also never blessed as you were. She has no core, whereas you protect the Earth’s fire.”
He reached out and placed his hand over my heart.
“So tell me, Mr. Anomoly, what do the experts think is all mixed in with your blood and bone.” I let him have his moment, but I was not going to give in to what my body screamed for. Instead, I opted to return to our previous conversation.
“So far they have it narrowed down to several different vampire covens, werewolf, banshee, reaper, harbinger, and one very lonely demon. I have a feeling they know more, but they haven’t told me yet.” He looked at me and grinned from ear to ear. I knew he hated talking about what Miranda did to him, but I needed to understand what I was getting into. Certain beings were not ideal for tangling with.
“Vampires bite near arteries, in your case along the neck.” I placed my fingers over the four sets of pinpricks. I had always thought vampires could close a wound to conceal their identity. Then again, it would be to remain unseen by the human eye. Who really cared if a Demon Princess saw it.
“All women mind you,” he let out a loud snort. Honestly, it wouldn’t have mattered if they were male or female, the damage had already been done.
I chose to ignore his remark as I continued to let my eyes scan over his skin.
“This is where the werewolf bite is.” I traced the outline on his shoulder blade. The bite was far more animalistic than the vampire; I could almost see the indention in the skin where the muscle had been torn from the bone.
“This is Banshee.” Wesley lifted his shirt and showed me the long scar running up his side.
“Aren’t Banshee’s usually female?” I asked, raising an eyebrow. I had always been confused by this particular creature. Mona said it had to do with Wesley feeling death, but the only time he had felt anything was when we found the murdered Blessed One.
“Yeah, I’m not so sure about that one. However, they said the mark on my side was equivalent to their bite.” Wesley shrugged.
I sat there, pondering for a moment as I looked at the scar running along his rib cage. What was the banshee trying to prove by doing so, and why would Sheridan want the wailing women on her side?
“This is the reaper.” Wesley held out his arms, where two slits ran up his wrists.
“Reaper? I thought they were our allies,” I grumbled.
“Peter did it by accident. He didn’t mean to, but I had enough, and I had slit my wrists. He had no choice but to touch me.” Wesley shook his head.
“Peter,” I smiled. “Well, in that case, I know you were in good hands.”
“He told me I couldn’t end it; that I had a purpose. Because of this, he was able to take the drawings back to you.” He closed his eyes again as I reached up and touched his cheek.
“I know you are already a Harbinger, so there would be no mark. What mark does a demon leave?” I breathed slowly. This one I was most interested in. Being born half-demon had no mark. I wasn’t sure how one would transfer some of its power into a humanoid host.
His face darkened in response.
I watched as he turned around and I saw what looked like two claw marks down his back, from the nape of his neck to his tailbone.
“How could I have missed it?” I ran my fingers down his skin. It was faint, but the mark was present.
“I know there are more things that have no names. Evil creatures.” He shivered.
“How could your blood make sense of all of this?” I ran my hand down his arm and squeezed his wrist.
“I don’t know, actually. Gran tried her best to stop a lot of it from taking over. I think she succeeded in some,” he shrugged.
“I know they were malicious.” I stopped. “I mean, most of them.”
He opened his eyes and looked at me. They were a pale yellow, and the pupils were split like that of a cat’s eye. I did not fear them, I loved them, and as I took my finger to trace the outline of his face, he leaned in and placed his lips to mine.
The kiss was charged with energy. It was intense and passionate, as he put everything he had into it. I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him close to me, crushing his body into mine. As the kisses deepened, I felt he wanted to pull away. When he did, I was confused. We had not been together since before my attack the previous December. I had done my best to avoid this type of situation, but the darkness in me was screaming.
“I can’t,” he breathed. “I want to, but I can’t.”
“Why not?” I tried to calm my core.
“Because I will not make the same mistake we made the first time.” He stood up and paced the room.
“I can’t take your soul, Wesley. My father bound you to Krista with a stronger contract than what I could possibly offer you.” I sat up and pushed my hair from my face. How had we gone from such a soul-shattering moment to fighting?
“I’m not scared of a Claim,” he laughed. “We have to be careful.”
“Ok,” I said slowly.
“The last thing we need right now is you winding up with a child.” He looked at me intensely.
My heart quickened again. We were back to this. He saw more to me than just a companion; he saw me as the mother to his future offspring. Whatever they would be, to be honest. How could I tell him the impossibility? I had been sitting on this large secret for some time. How could he know so much about the other species in the world but not know anything about the celestial blood in my veins?
So instead of telling him, I just nodded. Sooner or later I was going to have to break it to him. Not sure if he would ever want to be with me afterward.
Chapter Twenty
The Second Coming
The next morning, I woke up to the sound of alarms. I instantly sprang from my bed and threw on a pair of jeans. Grabbing my sword, I jumped from the top of the banister, landing flat-footed on the ground below. It took me no time to exit the house.
I found I wasn’t the only one who had been woken by the deafening sirens. Standing in front of the house were Helen and Krista. They both had their weapons drawn and were looking around frantically. I didn’t think we were ready for another attack. Helen and I had barely healed from the last battle.
However, standing at the end of the long driveway was a single entity.
“Who is it?” I asked as they both turned their heads to look at me.
“I have no idea,” Helen answered, her eyes trying to adjust on the creature.
“Well, hell, I’ll find out,” I stated, taking off at a sprint toward the being.
The girls were behind me; only they had gone airborne in order to have an aerial advantage. I had a feeling we were in for a surprise.
I came to a stop in front of the creature and stepped outside of the barrier. I was face-to-face with a man dressed similarly to the one who had been in Adam’s home. My last moments in Midvale had been spent combating someone who looked just like him.
“Fire bitch, we meet again,” he crooned, his eyes covered by gaudy sunglasses.
I hated it when my intuition was accurate.
“How’re the eyes doing?” I asked, placing my sword along my pant line. I wasn’t going to give him an advantage, but at the same time, I needed to look as if I was letting my guard down a little.
I knew exactly who he was the moment he spoke. This was, indeed, the Equalizer I had blinded that last day in Midvale.
“They healed quite well, actually. How kind of you to ask.” He looked up at the sky, and a smile spread across his face.
Krista and Helen may have still been hidden behind the wards, but his senses were picking up on their presence.
“You are
n’t going to get a chance to touch her.” My voice was hollow. My eyes were burning, so I knew they were changing.
“Who said I was here for her. I could be here for you,” he replied snidely.
“I doubt that. If you were, you would have struck the moment I crossed the barrier,” I responded with venom in my voice.
“I could be baiting you,” he laughed.
“And I could have a whole Army of beings just on the other side of that line, ready to take you out.” If he was going to bluff, I could do it too.
“How are you going to stop me?” he asked with a cruel smirk on his face.
His stance reminded me of my father, but the way his face lit up was like my mother. Could the Equalizers be the Wardens, only men? I knew the question was preposterous, but I had never once heard of a mal Warden during any of the history lessons I had been given over the last year. Maybe it was in my best interest to do a little research on them to understand their strengths and weaknesses.
“You see, you don’t want to see me when I’m angry.” I grinned at him as evilly as I could.
“On the contrary, I want to watch you burn,” he growled.
I looked up, knowing the other two were on the other side of the line. There was a comfort to this, of course. Yet I still did not know if he was alone. He obviously harbored some hostility toward me for taking his sight. I knew the glasses were a ruse, but I also knew just because a being is blinded doesn’t mean it isn’t deadly.
“I breathe fire, mister. What makes you think I’m going to burn?” I cocked my head to the right and raised an eyebrow.
“Not everything that breathes fire can sustain its power when it’s roasting them from the inside,” He growled at me.
“I guess we will see about that,” I replied with a shrug. “Why are you here?”
“We have some unfinished business,” he retorted as he pulled two daggers from behind his back and swung at me.
“Good,” I stated as my sword swiftly blocked his attack.
I’m sure you could hear the clang of our weapons in downtown Harrisville. He was determined to disarm me if at all possible. I, on the other hand, had a different idea. One that ended with his blood spilling out on the edge of my driveway.
“You fight well, Fire Witch,” he breathed, charging at me once more.
“You are most definitely a compatible opponent,” I laughed, defending myself yet again from his blows.
Suddenly, the air shifted, progressing from the summer heat to a chilling freeze. I felt my bones tighten, and my sword faltered for a moment, allowing him to graze my arm with one of his blades. I hissed and quickly assessed the damage. It was nothing more than a deep slash on my unarmed limb. It would heal quickly, and my defensive maneuvers would not be hindered.
The air continued to chill, and I felt my body becoming stiffer. My eyes shot around, looking for who was causing the shift in the air. I found nothing. I knew Krista could not be doing it as she would not want to impede my performance. Our weapons clashed together again, and sparks flew. I forced the blade to glow with blue fire as I wielded the sword back in an attempt to either cut off an appendage or another body part.
He blocked my attempt, and I cursed under my breath. Not one of the attackers in town had been worthy enough in battle. Each one fell as if they had no clue what hand-to-hand combat was — even the blonde girl who had made her way into the field.
With a flash, the wind picked up on my end. Hot air flew from the barrier between me and the house as Krista came walking down the path, her whip held firmly in her hand. Her face was determined as her eyes changed to a pale gray.
My opponent smiled deviously as he continued to attack me with brute force. Krista’s whip slashed out into the air, wrapping around the man’s wrist. His body flew to the right with incredible force as she pulled tight, causing the man’s hand to slice off.
I shot her a smile and wielded my sword back again, ready to take the other hand off, when he blocked me; he was just as deadly with one hand as he was with two. Suddenly, a second man appeared next to my nemesis and instantly began attacking Krista. He was quick with only a staff, but she bobbed and weaved like a professional fighter. I immediately determined he had been the cause for the weather shift, and Krista was going to make sure he was unable to use that power again.
When the ground began to shake, I knew Helen had had enough. The road split, trees toppled over, and rock pushed its way to the top of the dirt. Helen appeared at the end of the drive with her pitchfork in hand. Her eyes were mahogany brown, and her face was contorted in anger. From her body shot a force strong enough to push even the most active enemy back a hundred feet. Amazingly, the shockwave only caught the attention of the two assailants as they were flung backward and struggling to get back on their feet. In a matter of seconds, both men were charging toward us again.
“Help Krista,” I demanded, shooting my gaze toward the blonde as she stumbled to get out of the way of the other man’s staff.
Helen gave me a nod and jumped in to help her. My sights were set on mine again.
Can I give you some advice? Prudence’s voice said at the worst moment. I dodged the man’s advance, but not before he was able to get another gash on my arm.
Now is not the time! I screamed at her.
I felt her fighting me for control, but instead of my whole body, she pushed my hand out, shooting a white fireball into his chest with enough force to send him flailing backward.
NOW! She screamed.
I threw the sword to the ground and pushed my arms out, igniting the fire that was raging through me. My hands shot up in front of me, and a wall of flames erupted from my palms, setting my opponent aflame. He screamed painfully as the flesh melted from his face.
I watched with a wicked smile as he turned into cinders at my feet. My focus then turned on the second man, as my hand shot toward him with an invisible force grabbing him around the throat and lifting him from the ground, his feet dangling.
“Do it!” Helen screamed, her eyes flashing at me.
Helen lifted her pitchfork into the air as I plunged his body directly onto the pointed tips of the weapon. His face fell, and his eyes dulled. Helen dropped her weapon and looked at me in awe.
I sighed and fell to my knees as the fire dissipated. I sat there catching my breath as Krista and Helen stared at the spots where the two men had been.
“Holy shit!” Helen said, looking back at me. “That was amazing!”
“The three of us seem to work well together,” Krista stated, catching her breath.
“Hell yeah, we do.” Helen was ecstatic. I was never going to meet another woman who loved a good fight as much as Helen.
I looked at the wounds on my arm, realizing I was going to need to find Shawn. At least one of them needed to be stitched. I figured my body would have healed itself by the end of the fight. I found it odd to see both gashes still bleeding.
“How did you do that, sonic wave?” I asked, looking up at Helen from my seated position on the concrete. I needed to get my mind off my wounds; otherwise, I was going to go into shock.
“I don’t know. I felt all this power growing in my chest, so I forced it out in a rush. That was the result.” She touched her shirt, where the power had torn through and laughed.
“Let’s get back; we need to let everyone know the Equalizers have found us. I have a few questions concerning them anyway. Might be something we all need to know,” I said, putting my palms on the ground. There were streams of blood rolling down my exposed arms and pooling on the concrete.
“Yeah.” Helen sounded sad about having to share our victory with the others.
“Helen, can you help me?” I asked. My arm was on fire, I had to get to Shawn quickly.
Helen’s face twisted from ecstasy to worry in a nanosecond.
“Dawn, are you ok?” Helen asked, grabbing me by my good arm and hauling me to my feet.
“Everything feels off. Am I on fire?” I asked,
wobbling.
“No, honey,” Krista said, grabbing my other arm. I winced in pain but allowed them to walk me back up to the house.
My eyes began to blur, and the feeling of vertigo was creeping up on me.
“Why is the house swaying?” I asked as they stepped inside the entryway.
“It’s not, Dawn.” Helen sounded extremely concerned at this point. “Krista, can you see if Shawn is in his room? If he isn’t, can you call him? I think she’s going to blackout.”
“Yeah.” Krista took off at a sprint, I watched her fade into a blurry white ball of dust. I glanced at Helen.
“Where are your eyes?” I asked. I couldn’t make out her face. “Where’s Wesley?”
“He’s outside with your father working on some maneuvers.” Helen sat me down on the floor.
I saw a blob in the distance running toward me, the single form broke into two, and I felt their hands on me again, hauling me back to my feet.
“Can you hear me, sis?” Shawn’s voice was so far away.
“Sure can, big brother,” I guffawed.
“Do you have the Equalizer’s weapons?” He wasn’t talking to me, but there was an urgency to his voice that told me this was something I should be worried about.
“Yeah, both daggers are right here,” Krista replied.
I heard the clang of metal beating together and then silence. The haze around me turned to darkness, fear surged through me as my sight disappeared. Had the Equalizer found some way to do to me what I had done to him?
“I’m blind,” I screamed, my feet falling out from under me. I hit the marble with a powerful force, breaking one of the tiles below me. “I’m blind!” I felt the fire surge through me. I couldn’t gain my ground. I was sinking.
I flailed my arms and tried to find something to pull myself up to my feet with, but there was nothing in reach. I was freaking out; my world was spinning inside my head, but all I could see was darkness: nothing but gloom, no matter where I looked.
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