I could hear the smile in her voice, and as surprising as it was, it didn’t bring a smile to my own face.
“But, what will it do to me?” I replied, feeling defeated. This request that Raven had placed on me would force me to become something worse than what I already was. Sure, I’d done some messed up shit, but this was just-just…
Raven placed a gloved hand on the side of my face.
“Oh dear, it'll be the final act to make you fully embrace that darkness inside you. It’s why I chose you to link with, but I need you void of light and willing to serve. Don’t worry. You will be rewarded for eternity if you stick with me.”
Raven moved from rubbing my cheek to patting my head. The act didn’t make me feel warm and fuzzy. It made me feel like a dog, and that was exactly what Raven wanted; for me to be a good little pet and do as was told. Guess Talon was right about the witch wanting me void of love.
Could I really spend the rest of my forever linked to this monster? I knew I wasn’t a saint, but Raven was something far more deadly than I could ever imagine myself being. And to think a hot guy and my ugly sister got me into this. Well, she wasn’t going to give into Raven so easily this time.
Before I could change my mind, I swung my fist out, catching the witch off guard. The punch landed perfectly on Raven’s jaw, sending her crashing to the ground. I didn’t waste a second to see the wicked witch’s reaction. I used my vampire speed to take off, disappearing into the darkness of the night.
***
Ana
I could hear the hearts of my friends hammering behind me. Their nervousness was making me edgy. It was just before dawn, and we were standing at the far end of the cornfield across from Cora's. Helia did some spell that replaced the rows of corn with grass, and Cora was in the house, maintaining a shield she placed over the field. We wouldn’t want any humans driving past to see super fast vampires by the thousands battling it out.
So here we were.
I stood in the center with Seb and Marie to my right and Cassius, Cassandra, and Kellan to my left. The vampires Cassius brought were directly behind us. Lily, Simon and Jace were at the rear in a protected circle. According to Jace, as long as they didn’t step out, nothing would harm them. That added a massive amount of relief to me. Less to worry about.
Jace also surprised me by making some magical bombs. Apparently, the three of them would be slingshotting the bombs across the field to Ferox’s army. Upon impact, the bombs would explode, releasing sharp shards of platinum. We tested the slingshots several times to make certain they would shoot the baseball-sized bombs across the field far enough. I didn’t want anyone on our side accidently getting hit with one.
Our plan was simple. Stay together, drawing as many of Ferox's guards to us and killing them quickly. After we clear half of them, Seb and I would charge towards Ferox. Cassius assured us that they would be fighting with swords because it was tradition and vampires didn’t typically use guns. That made things easier in my opinion. The guns we have we gave to Lily because she demanded it and to Marie because she was an excellent shot. Cassius also provided us with armor and platinum swords of our own. So far, he hadn’t shown any signs that he'd betray us, but it was still early.
My stomach was in knots. I had a feeling something was going to go wrong, but I shook it off. Now was the time to focus and stay ready. I had a secret plan B if this didn’t go well: surrender myself. I woudn’t allow my friends to die for me, and if I thought it was getting to a point that we'd lose, I was going wave the white flag.
“He's close.” Cassius said, breaking the silence. Every one tensed, preparing for the arrival of Ferox. I couldn’t see them yet, but boy could I smell them.
“The Princess is mine.” Cassandra sneered, fangs erupting. The hostility in her voice left no doubt that her motivation was personal.
The time to back out was over.
They were here.
Ferox's guards approached first. They were in perfect unison as they marched on the field in their shiny gold chainmail. They made the dull gray chainmail we were wearing look old and weak in comparison. Seb gave my hand a quick squeeze for reassurance but never took his eyes off the vampires coming toward us.
They suddenly halted about twenty feet away and then parted as Ferox made his way through. Like the old arrogant King he was, he was riding on a white horse, and I had to stop myself from rolling my eyes. Not solely because of the horse, but he was wearing a velvet robe straight from the medieval times. It was ridiculous.
On a black horse to his right was Princess Catalina. Per usual, she was in a skin-tight catsuit with her hair pulled up into a ponytail. It was so tight I wondered how she could think straight. On Ferox's left, on a brown horse, was a wildly dressed vampire. I didn’t know him, but I was sure I’d seen him during my time at the castle. He was wearing a red and white striped suit with a white top hat. He looked like a giant candy cane; a creepy candy cane with his long thin black beard and curled-up eyebrows. Just looking at them like this made it easy to mistake how dangerous they really were.
“Cassius.” Ferox demanded. His red eyes blazed as he stared at his son.
To Cassius’ credit, he looked unbothered by his father’s controlled rage.
“I’ll give you one chance to wise up and come back to us where you belong.”
Cassius chuckled but it lacked humor. “I don’t belong with you. What’s the matter, father? I don’t see Raven. Afraid you won’t win without your black witch feeding you more power?”
The fury in Ferox grew judging by the tick in his jaw. Now that Cassius pointed it out, I realized that he was right. Raven wasn’t here unless he had some secret plan, and she was hiding somewhere. But judging by the anger on his face, I doubted it.
“Don’t betray your family!” The King spat harshly.
Cassius’ eyes brightened like lasers, and his fangs exploded as he hissed his response. “You betrayed our family by killing my mother! I am no longer a son of yours.”
His words seemed to echo in the quiet field. Everyone silently waited for Ferox’s response. I felt the vampires behind me tense as if the fight was about to begin.
However, the rage slowly melted from the King’s face and a menacing smile replaced it. “Very well. You’ll die today.”
Ferox turned to me “Analise, I’ll make you one offer as well. Spare your friends from all the bloodshed by coming with me right now. I can make life very comfortable for you.”
He gestured behind him and a woman that I hadn’t seen before appeared. From the hiss of Cassius, I knew he hated this woman.
She was dressed in a long flowy sheer cream gown. It was totally inappropriate for the situation we were in. Her curly blonde hair was piled onto her head, held back by a diamond tiara. Her lack of underwear made me want to hit her. She walked too gracefully for a human, and the way she was smiling at Ferox made me want to vomit. The female vampire stopped in front of me, and I realized she was holding a big wooden chest. It reminded me of those chests pirates were always searched for but never found.
“Go on and open it.” Ferox coaxed.
Was he crazy? We were about to fight, and he wanted me to open a gift that could be some magical trap. No thanks. I stared back defiantly and made no move to open the box. The vampire huffed and used her long fingers to pull the latch and open it for me. Out of instinct, I stepped back, but when I saw what was in it, I became confused. Hundreds of diamond, rubies and gold glittered in the box. So, it was a pirate chest after all.
“There’s more where that came from. You’ll have everything you want if you join me.” Ferox added.
The vampire girl, and I called her girl because she looked younger than me, stares at me impatiently as if I was bothering her by not hurrying and throwing myself on the jewels. I couldn’t help but laugh.
“All I have to do is come with you and I just get to live this lavish wonderful life.” My sarcasm couldn’t be contained.
“There is a smal
l thing that I may need from you, but, yes, you’ll live in luxury.” Ferox smiled.
Oh, he was really putting it on thick. As if I cared about jewels and luxury. Sure, it sounded good but at what cost. All I wanted was to be out of this mess with my loved ones and my sanity. I wanted nothing to do with him or his world.
But I hada feeling he already knew this.
This must be some sort of test to see how easily he can manipulate me. If I accepted, he'd probably kill me the moment I stepped into the castle where his victory would be more easily attained. I knew the only thing he wanted was the crystal heart lying in my chest.
And he simply could not have it.
I stared straight into his eyes, pushing all my hatred towards him through my own. I knew they blazed as red as hot coals.
“Not today, Ferox. If you want my heart, you’ll have to kill me for it.”
Before he could utter a word, I lifted the long katana sword resting in my hand, swiftly swiping it across the throat of the female vampire. Utter shock crossed her pretty face before her head fell off her shoulders. The same expression was on Ferox’s face too. Guess she was his favorite toy.
Oh well.
First blood had been drawn.
Let the battle begin.
Chapter 54
Creation of Kim
Kim
Putting as much distance between me and Raven was my only thought after I punched her. Every time I slowed down, my palm would itch, and the unbearable coldness would creep in. I grinded my teeth to help ignore the pain. The further I ran, the duller the ache became. So I kept running.
I knew that, eventually, Raven would catch me, but there was something I wanted to try first; the only thing I could think of really.
Unfortunately, I didn’t have anywhere I could go or anyone I could turn to so it was a huge surprise when I ended up on Josie's front porch. The last time I saw my former best friend, things didn’t end well.
Maybe she was over it by now. There was only one way to find out.
I prepared to knock on the door when it opened before my hand made contact. Standing inside, wearing a scowl and mini mouse pajamas, was Josie.
“I thought I smelled a whore outside.” Josie insulted me immediately.
So, she was not over it yet. Great!
“With that nose, I’m surprised you can smell your own shit.” I countered, remembering how bad human sense of smell was and not being able to resist taking a jab.
Josie reddened and went to slam the door. I hurriedly stuck my foot in the way.
“Wait! Look, Jojo, can we talk?” I asked as nicely as I could, even adding a small smile.
Josie only continued to scowl.
My palm began to itch again.
“Please.” I begged when it seemed Josie wouldn’t make a move to let me in. I didn’t want to resort to hurting my former friend, but I would if it came to that. A few tense seconds passed. I started to think Josie wasn’t going to respond.
“Fine. Five minutes.” Josie huffed, stepping aside to allow me in.
Even if she'd said no, I would have barged in anyway, but for now, I'd try to play nice. After all, I was lacking allies at the moment.
I walked in the enormous living room that was so clean, it was like no one ever entered it. The large curved white sectional couch looked brand new even though I knew they already had it for years. The rest of the room was decorated with expensive vases and paintings on the walls. Only one family portrait hung over the fireplace. Judging from the pigtails Josie was sporting in it, the picture was taken years ago.
I listened for others in the house, but there weren’t any other heartbeats; meaning, Josie’s parents weren’t home tonight. Josie’s parents were always gone on business and used money to buy their daughter’s affection. It was why the two of them became so close. They both shared serious parental issues.
I turned my attention to my short blonde friend who, even as a human, was very pretty. She was probably prettier than me, but pride wouldn’t let me say such things out loud.
“Well, slut, you wanna start by telling me why you fucked my boyfriend?” Josie demanded, crossing her arms and tapping her small foot on the hardwood floor. This was so not the conversation I was in the mood to have. I had bigger problems than high school drama.
“Look, I did it and its over, so can we drop it? I need you to…”
“NO! We cannot drop it!” Josie shouted, interrupting me. “I don’t care what you need! It’s always about you, Kim! ALWAYS! YOU ARE A SELFISH, INSECURE BITCH! AND YOU BETRAYED THE ONLY FRIEND YOU EVER HAD!” Josie was the shade of a beet and was breathing heavily by the time she'd finished. Her big brown eyes welled with tears, but she tried to hide it and showed anger instead. Josie must have needed to say that for a while, but it wasn’t like she was saying anything I didn’t already know about myself. Hearing Josie say it though had me feeling almost bad, and I had never felt bad for the things I’d done. Never.
“OKAY! I SCREWED UP…”
“SCREWED UP! UGH! WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU? ARE YOU THAT DENSE THAT YOU STILL DONT GET IT?!” Josie questioned as her hands started to shake.
She was really pissed. More than that, she was hurt. I didn’t know what to say as Josie stared me down. A part of me just wanted to sink my fangs into my ex friend and drain all of her blood. Another smaller part of me wanted Josie’s forgiveness. At the end of the day, there was a time when our friendship meant something to me. I just couldn’t remember when I stopped caring about Josie’s feelings. Was it before or after I started screwing around with Bobby?
Josie threw her hands up, exasperated. “Of course, you have nothing to say.”
That wasn’t entirely true. I did have something to say. I just couldn’t find the words I needed.
I opened my mouth to say something, but the itching intensified, reminding me I wasn’t here for this conversation. All previous thoughts gone, I used my vampire speed and took off into the kitchen. Once there, I began rummaging through drawers until I found the sharpest knife they had. I held the blade in my hand, preparing myself for what would be added to the list of the crazy shit I’d done since becoming a vampire.
“How’d you run in here so fast? And what are you doing with that knife?” Josie questioned after catching up.
I ignored her and stood over the sink, palm open. This wasn’t the best idea, but it was the only thing I could think of to throw Raven off my trail. Assuming that the link was somehow tied to the mark in my hand, I figured cutting it out would sever the link. It was a long shot, but I was willing to take it; anything to keep me from completing the second mission.
I bit down hard on my lip as I stuck the pointed end of the nine-inch cooking knife into my palm. The sting of the tip piercing my skin caused a sharp hiss to leave my mouth. Being a vampire came with a lot of perks, but still being able to feel pain wasn’t one of them.
“OH MY GOD! ARE YOU INSANE?!” Josie screeched.
I didn’t break focus as I traced the skin of my palm around the symbol. My hands began to shake and a few whimpers escaped me, but I forced myself to continue. The cold ice veins began crawling through my hand and up my arm. Blood ran from my palm dripping into the empty chrome sink. The wound I caused was trying to heal itself already. I had to pick up the pace.
Acting fast, I sucked in a breath and slashed off the skin of my palm, letting the bloody flesh flop in the sink. I hurriedly turned on the garbage disposal to completely destroy it. Josie reacted by leaning over a nearby trash can and vomiting.
The coldness and itching instantly vanished.
“It worked.” I whispered, astonished. I flipped the faucet on, letting the water wash away the blood on my hand. New skin had already begun to form. I couldn’t believe it had worked. The idea was a guess at best, but it was more than worth it now that the mark was gone.
“You’re fucking nuts.” Josie said, rinsing her mouth with a bottled water from the fridge.
I didn’t respond
. I only stared at my hand, waiting to see if the mark would reappear. Something about it felt too easy, but I dismissed it. Maybe some things were that easy.
“I need some clothes and money.” I demanded, turning to Josie who looked a lot paler than she had been earlier. I'd forgotten what the sight of blood did to the tiny blonde.
“You show up at my house unannounced, cut off your skin and then ask for money and clothes? I’m actually starting to think you are crazy.” Josie cringed. “Look, I don’t know what’s going on with you, Kim, but we aren’t friends anymore so I don’t care. Just get the hell out of my house.” She snapped, trying to summon her earlier courage but not quite reaching it.
I was stunned silent. This was the first time in all the years we’d been friends that I couldn’t count on Josie to do as was told. Josie just always did what I said. It was one of the reasons our friendship worked so well, but things had changed. Josie had changed, but so had she. After everything she'd been through, being told no by a weak human only pissed me off.
“Jojo, don’t test my patience. I get you’re all mad about Bobby, but it takes two to tangle or tango or whatever. So get me some clothes and money like I said, and I’ll be on my way.”
There was a hidden threat in my words, and I felt satisfied when Josie’s heartrate spiked. Making someone else feel fear instead of feeling it herself felt good. I felt more in control now, but Josie didn’t back down like I expected. The shorter girl stuck out her chin and narrowed her eyes.
“I’m not afraid of you anymore, Kim. I rule the school now. It wasn’t hard after I told everyone what you did to me and started a rumor that you left school to have an abortion and get meds for the herpes you contracted after screwing all those guys.” She laughed. “Oh, as for that whole two-to-tangle crap, you can shove it up your ass because you were my friend. That should have mattered more, but I blame myself mostly for thinking you would treat me any better than you did anyone else. Hell, you made your own sister run away for two years. How is Ana by the way? Last time I saw her, she was looking good considering how hard you tried to keep her down. Guess I chose the wrong sister to be friends with…”
Pure: A Paranormal Romance Page 61
