A high-pitched scream had me dropping to my knees and covering my ears. The link on my hand started to burn. It was an unbearable pain. I gripped my hand, and suddenly, the mark burst into green flames. At the same time, all the windows and mirrors in Josie’s room exploded. Tiny shards flew throughout the room, slicing my skin with unnatural precision. My body grew cold and numb, freezing me to the spot.
Not able to move, I knew Raven was coming for me now―to kill me―but when I looked back to the vanity mirror, which was the only one that didn’t shatter, a shadowy figure began slithering its way out. Its body twisted like it didn’t know what order to move its limbs in. It moved in ways human bodies didn’t even bend. With its right leg over its right shoulder, it leisurely crawled its way towards her. I squirmed to free myself from the invisible trap I was stuck in, but it was of no use. My body felt as unmovable as a mountain. Tears rolled down my cheeks even more the closer the black shadowy figure got to me.
I wished I didn’t stop here. I wished that I’d kept running until I couldn’t anymore. For the first time, I wished I never went into that castle to save Talon, and for the first time, I wished for Ana.
I could only stare in horror as the creature made of darkness crawled on top of me. Now that it was closer, I realized it was only shaped like a skeleton. The thing seemed to be a solid shadow. Smoke tendrils waved off of it as if it had just risen from the depths of hell. The realization only made me more terrified. I wanted to scream. I was already crying, but I knew no one could save me now.
The being opened its mouth the way a snake would before devouring a dinner triple its size. The shadowy jaw unhinged its deep hollow mouth which was filled with rows upon rows of sharp tiny black teeth. I feared it was actually going to eat me.
Instead, two long smoky lizard-like tongues crept out. It disgustingly caressed my face, leaving trails of thick foul-smelling mucus on my skin. Slowly, the eyeless face moved closer until only inches separated us. It paused as if it was studying me. I wondered briefly what it was thinking, or if it could, but didn’t dare speak.
I stared fearfully at the creature, hoping it would disappear, but the dark figure hovered above me, watching me with unseen eyes. It opened its mouth again, but instead of licking me, it started heaving dark blood on my face.
The gore smelled of rotting flesh and decay. It was not the normal sweet smell of blood I was used to. It was the scent of death. I tried to squirm away, but I barely had enough strength to turn my head.
After a moment, the bloody maggot-filled vomit stopped, but the dark being was far from done with me.
Suddenly, it pressed its cold inky hands against the sides of my head.
The contact instantly had me feeling as though my head was about to explode. My eyes were open, but I was blinded by a bright light that seemed to beam from my very own eyes. The light burned so hotly, I slammed them shut. I desperately wanted to get away, but I still couldn’t move. What cruel torture it was to feel pain and not be able to stop it.
Blood ran from my nose and ears. The skin all over my body felt like it was ripping apart inch by inch.
A peaceful death was beyond reach. I would die painfully and alone.
“AHH! STOP! PLEASEEEE!” I finally begged out of desperation. “PLEASE! IM SORRY! I’LL DO ANYTHING! AHH!” I cried out in agony. I knew my cries wouldn’t help, but I couldn’t keep myself from pleading.
The pain became unbearable. I felt like I died any second, and a part of me wanted that death; anything to make the torment stop.
And, to my surprise, it did.
Unexpectedly, the monster ceased its attack. The pain slowly disappeared.
I cautiously opened my eyes, hoping it was over, but I couldn’t have been more wrong.
Gradually, something else made its way out of the hollow inside of the creature’s mouth.
A bright red millipede-like insect emerged. Its elongated body moved gracefully in the air while its segmented center glowed green to silver and back again. It was the size of an eel, but it had thousands of long yellow legs air-walking directly towards my face.
My eyes widened in fear when my mouth began to open without my wanting to do so. I fought as hard as I could to press my lips together, but my attempts were useless.
The millipede forced its way into my mouth and then down my throat. My body convulsed violently as I choked on the giant insect. I could feel every leg crawling down inside. I could even see it move and radiate as it made its way through my chest.
The ripping feeling came back with a vengeance and intensified, until suddenly, I felt my whole body explode in a beam of green light.
And then there was nothing.
The next time I opened my eyes, I realized immediately something was horribly wrong.
I was still in Josie’s room and Josie still remained unconscious in her bed.
But I was no longer in my body. I was now standing next to it. My mind ran with all the possibilities of what was happening.
I watched my double hover midair. The shadow that was assaulting me erupted into a cloud of grey smoke before funneling itself in the mouth and nose of my double.
“What the...” I whispered, inching closer to the frozen version of me.
“Am I dead?” I asked to no one. The double’s face still had traces of blood on it, and a few maggots had gotten into her hair. However, that was the least of my concerns. What I really wanted to figure out was what the hell just happened, but there was no one around to ask from. I continued to stare at myself, not understanding what just occurred. If I wasn’t dead, then maybe the creature doubled me for some reason.
I moved in a little more, trying to sense if the other version of myself was alive.
It was at that moment, when the eyes on my other form, sprang open, giving me a good scare. I jumped back, startled. Slowly, the double rose in a stiff possessed way until it was standing on two feet.
Unsure of what to do, I watched myself in horror, waiting to see what it would do next. I was so confused by what was taking place, I couldn’t move.
“Wow!” The double began speaking. “It’s been a long time since I had to do that. Bit tougher than I remember.”
It stretched its neck and arms.
I was briefly at a loss for words, but I quickly recovered.
“What the fuck is going on here?!” I screeched.
The double whipped around to face me. I watched its eyes faded to black as it gradually approached. Something about the double’s movements, so steady and calculating, had me rooted to my spot in fear.
“Well, Kim, since you couldn’t follow orders. You forced me to take care of things myself.” It explained.
I gasped. It was beyond freaky to look at myself talking to me. It was also very surreal. It was then that my brain caught up to the words I just heard, and the pieces began to fall together quickly after that.
“Ra-Raven? Are you me?! How? Why?!” I panicked. This wasn’t something I thought would or could happen. Some of the things Talon said about the link floated through my mind, but I was sure he didn’t mention the possibility of this happening.
“Shut up!” Raven screamed.
The action caused my fangs to explode. Watching her, I realized for the first time how scary I looked as a vampire.
“Now that I already told you why, pay attention. As for the rest…well, dearie, we are linked so I can take your body whenever I want.” Her tone left no room for questions.
Raven turned and walked over to Josie’s vanity table. She began studying herself in my body. The satisfied expression informed me that Raven was pleased with what she saw.
But I felt sick.
The whole thing felt like a bad dream or a crazy acid trip. I knew it was neither. Raven hijacked my body, and there wasn’t a thing I could do about it. I felt hopeless. Raven had all the power. The second mission was going to get accomplished, and it was going to look like I did it after all.
This was worse than death.<
br />
“What does that make me?” I timidly asked. I didn’t want to know the answer, but I couldn’t stop myself from asking.
A slow menacing smile crept across the witch’s face. I thought if I ever got out of this mess, I’d remind myself to never smile like that.
“You are part of the astray now.” Raven replied, picking maggots from her hair.
“What’s the astray?” I questioned. It didn’t sound good.
Raven sighed as if she was annoyed to have to explain it to me. “The astray are the supernatural caught between life and death. No one can see or hear you but me because I occupy your body. But, don’t worry too much. I still need you alive for the moment so I’ll leave before your ugly soul gets dragged into The Hallow.”
Raven went back to primping in the mirror like a teenage schoolgirl.
A small bit of hope blossomed in my chest. If Raven gave me back my body, I’d run again. To the other side of world. This time, I would not stop until I found a real way to sever the link.
“You’ll never escape me unless I free you.” Raven spoke, addressing my thoughts. “I am you now, Kim. I have all your memories, and I can hear your soul speaking. I own you.” She paused, wiping blood from her face and licking it off her finger. “Hm-mmm, I see why you vampires like blood, so tasty. Now, come along. It’s time to go home.” Raven smiled knowingly.
I wept.
My life was over.
If Raven didn’t kill me after this, it didn’t matter…
Because if the witch completed this mission, Ana would.
Chapter 55
Second Blood
Ana
Everything stilled after the vampire girl’s decapitated head hit the ground. A moment later, chaos erupted. Ferox began screaming orders, and within seconds, his vampires swarmed us. Left, right, front and back, his guards attacked with brute force. It took every bit of training I had to take them down. We were severely outnumbered.
Armed with two swords, I slashed my way through dozens by the minute. I could feel my ability building inside, but I couldn’t latch on to it just yet.
Two vampires came charging, one from my left and one from the right. I waited until they came within inches of me before I used my strength to push myself off the ground. I launched onto the air. Just as expected, the vampires followed. I spun in a full circle like a ballerina with blades, smoothly slicing both their heads off. Their headless bodies plummeted towards the ground.
As soon as I landed, another guard rushed towards me. The vampire thought he was stealthy by approaching me from behind. I surprised him by back flipping over him just as his sword reached out for me. My blade sliced swiftly across his throat.
I gazed around, quickly coming to the realization that my friends were completely out of eyeshot. Shiny armor, swords, and helmeted faces were all that surrounded me. More of Ferox’s guards than I cared to count were ready to take my head next.
Can’t let that happen.
An idea came to my mind as I twirled the handles of my weapons around. Without warning, I leapt onto the air. There were two advantages to jumping. First, I’d get a glimpse of everything that was happening on the field and my friends.
Once high enough, I scanned the grassland. Marie and Seb were fighting together, and the others were introducing the bombs to the King’s vampires. I almost let out a sigh of relief, but that was quickly replaced with a sharp hiss due to the sting from a platinum blade going through my ankle. I knew some vamps would follow me. I wrapped my ankles around his neck and repeatedly smashed the knife sticking out of my joint into his head. I maneuvered us both as another guard flew towards me. He swung his sword at my face. I dove left, but the keen edge of his weapon swiped across my cheek. The burn of the platinum sizzled. My anger blazed. I plunged towards him so swiftly, he didn’t have a chance to swing again before I drove my weapon through his sternum. He gulped and choked on blood as I pulled our bodies closer together, pushing my blade further inside.
Gravity pulled us down. I twisted my ankles and broke the neck of the vampire I was still holding on to for added measure even though I was certain he was already dead. I let him go and used his buddy as a landing pad.
The second advantage to jumping was the landing except in this case, I landed in a worse situation. My goal was to land closer to the protective circle. Instead, I was enclosed in herd of gold chainmail.
At least a hundred of the King’s guards surrounded me. Some didn’t even bother to wear helmets. They watched me with smug looks, thinking they’d win now considering how I appeared to be trapped.
I bent down slowly and pulled the blade out of my ankle. I then yanked my Katana from the chest of the vampire I just killed. Being armed added some comfort, but it was not enough.
I rotated slowly, looking at each one of them, waiting to see who would make the first move.
I took this moment to let my power fill me.
No more playing fair.
I silently reveled in the feeling of it growing. Just a few more seconds for it be as strong as I needed it to be to end them all at once.
“So, you guys heard the one about the vampire girl versus the vampire army?” I joked, buying myself more time.
Their expressions changed from smug to hunger. They assumed my joking was a sign of defeat. You know what they say about people who make assumptions. I could hardly wait to wipe that look from their ugly mugs. Soon, they will show fear.
Very soon.
“Ay.” One bold vampire stepped up and replied. He smiled, broadcasting his fangs as he playfully twirled his weapon around his hand. This one was very arrogant.
“The great vampires ripped the lassie into a hundred pieces so they could each have a taste.” He licked his blade, slicing into his tongue. He began to laugh as his blood dripped. His buddies around him laughed too. Some even used their hands to mimic ripping apart their flesh and eating it. What did they think? That this scared me? Boy, were they in for a surprise.
The one who got off on cutting himself watched me with a lazy grin. By his accent, I guessed him to be Scottish. He had a pale narrow face and bushy rust-coated eyebrows with a matching bushy beard. For all the hair on his face it was disturbing there wasn’t a single strand on his head. Just looking at him angered me more.
It was time to have a little fun.
The surge of energy from my core started to bubble beneath the surface.
They began running through my limbs as if they were alive.
Ready to attack.
A slow smile spread across my face at the familiar sound of popping.
My fangs descended.
The Scotty vampire quickly lost his cocky expression.
“I don’t think that’s how the story went lad.” I replied back with a smirk of my own.
I bent down on one knee, brought my arms up, and crossed them in front of my face.
Blots were now running all over my body, moving faster and faster.
I drew up all the energy that had built up within.
Then I gave them hell.
***
Jace
The fight wasn’t going the way I expected. From inside the protective circle, I couldn’t see Ana or the others anymore. They were lost in the swarm of Ferox's guards.
“Jace! Stop staring into space and do something! We are almost out of bombs!” Lily shouted, slinging another of the handmade platinum bombs as more vampires closed in. But, I couldn’t move. Anxiety from the impending loss of the battle had me rooted to the spot.
I tried throwing out several spells on Ferox’s army, but nothing worked. My only conclusion was the dark witch used an exceptionally strong spell to repel other magic. That kind of power was beyond my capabilities.
The circle was strong enough to keep vampires from getting in, but there was still a chance of vampires forcing them out.
Hope was dwindling.
Fast.
I looked up again, in time to catch Ana soaring through the a
ir and killing two vampires in the process.
“She's remarkable.” I whispered to myself or so I thought until a hard slap across my face told me otherwise.
“REMARKABLE?! ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME! SHE IS GOING TO DIE AND SO ARE THE REST OF US IF YOU DONT DO SOMETHING, WITCH BOY!” Lily screamed; her face so red it was as if she held her breath the entire time. She was really starting to piss me off. It wasn’t like I hadn’t tried.
“And what do you want me to do! My powers haven’t pe…”
“CUT THE SHIT, JACE! WE ARE GOING… TO… DIE!” Lily had tears rolling down her cheeks, but instead of looking sad, she was shaking with rage.
Simon stepped in and gently pulled me back. His face was sunken and dull. He, too, looked defeated.
I surveyed the battle happening around us again. Grunts, shouting, and the sound of blades clashing filled my ears. Lily was right. We were outnumbered, and the guards Cassius brought were not as strong as Ferox's men. They were being killed off quickly.
I had to do something.
But the only thing that came to mind could result in a death I may not be able to come back from.
Was Ana worth dying for?
Absolutely.
I knew he wouldn’t be able to live without her. That was if he survived this battle and she didn’t. That could not happen. Even if my newly formed plan didn’t work, it was worth trying. I just hoped my grandmother would forgive me.
Steadily, I laid myself down on the ground and stared into the clear blue sky. Only wisps of clouds drifted by. I tried to concentrate, but thoughts of Helia prevented it. If my grandmother knew what I was about to do now, she'd kill me herself.
“What the fuck!” Lily screeched, shattering my thoughts. She opened her mouth in what I assumed would be a string of cursing, but Simon stopped her.
Pure: A Paranormal Romance Page 63
