“Lily, calm down.” He coaxed. He then looked down at me “Uh, Jace? Are you ok?” He asked.
The expression on my friend’s face was more worry than confusion. I needed to focus, but I had to tell them something to get them to back off while I did what I needed to do. At least, maybe Lily would shut up before I turned her into a toad.
“I’m forcing my magic to peak. It’s dangerous, but I need to help, and this is the only way I’ll have enough power to do that.” I explained. I hoped Simon would see the desperation in my eyes and back off. Lily looked ready to argue, but Simon, thankfully, put a hand over her mouth.
“Be careful. We will use the rest of the bombs to hold off any vampires coming this way.” My friend responded, pulling an angry Lily away with him.
I tuned out the sounds around me, focusing again.
What I didn’t tell my friends was what I was about to attempt had been forbidden long ago; a method that only the most desperate of witches would do.
Slowly, I pulled a sharp blade from my pocket. Gritting my teeth, I stuck the sharp point into the throbbing vein in my wrist and slid it vertically down up my forearm. I bit into my lip when I repeated the painful process on my other wrist. The dark red blood poured onto the grass.
I turned my head to check on my friends.
Simon was throwing bombs, and Lily had begun shooting approaching vampires. I was surprised she actually hit a few.
My main concern was if they stopped the process that I had already begun. They wouldn’t understand why I had to do this.
They wouldn’t understand.
In order to get the strength I needed, I had to go in between. It was an old legend that witches who made that journey came back more powerful.
If they came back.
It was said that one had to make an ultimate sacrifice to prove themselves worthy of a second life. I couldn’t think of any greater sacrifice than my own very essence. Once I made it over, I would beg the mother of light to bring me back with the power I needed to save my love.
Being one with the earth was the ultimate peace for light witches. Giving my life to the mother was something I didn’t fear unlike being trapped in The Hallow.
What I feared was how I’d come back.
I feared it because, in those same stories, the ones who came back were different. My grandmother told me the burst of powers made them too unstable and drove them to madness.
It was why the practice was forbidden.
There was no life from death.
It was a rule my grandmother made me vow to never break.
I gazed into the sky as my limbs grew numb. I dipped my fingers in my blood and drew symbols in the grass. I began a chant to call the mother of light. It was one of the first chants witches were taught; one that was to be saved for the moment when death was coming.
It begged the mother to take you to her realm; the in-between.
The words that spilt from my mouth were barely above a whisper.
The sky dimmed or my vison blurred, I couldn’t be sure.
A pain seized my heart.
I wanted to scream out, but as quickly as it occurred, it ended.
My last breath came out softly into the wind.
Everything else faded away.
***
Ferox
I was quite pleased with how the combat had begun, with the exception of that little Celeste chopping off the head of my favorite pet. That I didn’t expect. I did enjoy the burning rage in Analise’s eyes. It reminded me of her mother. I saw power; a power I’d soon claim.
I surveyed the area. Not to my surprise, the measly fighters my traitor son brought were being killed effortlessly. It bored me to watch.
I turned my attention to Cassius and observed as my son fought. Cassius was a skilled fighter, but it seemed to me my son wasn’t putting to use a lot of those skills. Sure, he was killing some of the elite guards but not nearly with the amount of talent I knew he possessed.
What are you up to boy?
I desired a son that would be like me. Instead, I ended up with one who was like his mother; disobedient. Deciding not to spare him another thought, I shook my mind of the son who’d betrayed me and watched the other fighters. I became mildly interested in the human male fighting for Analise. The man was showing fighting skills far better than any human I’d ever seen especially against my kind.
“That one could be a problem,” Lord Henry said, following my line of sight.
“He’s fascinating, but far from a problem.” I corrected. There will never be a day a human would be an issue for me.
A flash of fiery red hair sweeping across the field caught my notice. Cassandra raced across the field in our direction. It would seem she hadn’t learned her lesson during her last visit to the castle. She would learn soon enough.
A dark-skinned male accompanied her, and they butchered a path towards us. I remained unfazed. My daughter, however, was not. I could sense the hot fury wafting off of Catalina as she glared at her foe.
“CATALINA! I’M GOING TO RIP YOUR FUCKING HEAD OFF!” Cassandra roared, slashing through another member of my guards. The two females locked eyes, revealing nothing but sheer hatred.
I grew a little excited.
“End this Catalina. Now.” I demanded.
Not taking her eyes off her enemy, Catalina kicked her horse into motion and stormed into the battle.
“Kellan, throw me!” Cassandra yelled. The white faded from her eyes.
The vampire grabbed her by the back of her black dress, spun once, and launched her. She catapulted through the air like a bullet. Catalina watched Cassandra fly towards her. She waited until her enemy was closer before standing on the horse’s back and leaping off from it. The two women crashed into each other in the sky. I was content to watch my daughter kill another traitor when I suddenly felt a surge of power. A large amount began to swell.
My eyes instantly scanned the field, and it didn’t take long to find the source: Analise.
Her current situation had her in the center of a mass of my troops which would’ve been great except they hadn’t attacked yet. The imbeciles didn’t realize she was stalling them to gather her strength. Stupid young vampires couldn’t smell her energy tantalizing the air. The scent of it had my mouth watering. I craved her crystal heart for reasons other than finding my father.
Analise didn’t have a clue about her true capabilities. If she did, they would have been dead by now. I planned to ensure she’d never know.
She will die today.
I had taken extra measures to guarantee it.
Standing quietly next to my horse was my secret weapon. I peered down at my surprise who was suited up in black armor.
“It’s time.” I stated. “Kill her, and bring me the body.”
My gift gave a stiff nod before disappearing into the swarm of fighters.
I smiled to myself. Soon, the last of the pure ones would be dead, and the heart will be mine.
It was only an instant later when Analise unleashed the force she’d been building with a resonating boom and a blinding light.
***
Ana
My powers exploded so violently, I couldn’t maintain control of them. It was like a bomb went off inside of me. I uncrossed my arms, and waves of massive blue electrical rings released in every direction. They disintegrated every vampire within at least three hundred feet of me.
The force sent me flying high. I managed to flip midair so that I came to rest on my feet. To my surprise and solace, I landed just a few yards from the protective circle.
Currently, a vampire was slashing his sword inside it, trying to get Lily or possibly force her out. She fired rounds at him but ran out of bullets. True to her personality, she then threw the gun at his head but missed.
Not wasting another second, I used my speed to run up behind him. He didn’t have a chance as I impaled my blades through the back of his head and out his eyes. Lily screamed. Slowly, I drew my
weapon out. His dead body dropped to my feet.
“ANA! THANK GOD!” Lily belted. I opened my mouth to respond but stopped when a strong smell caught my attention. It was the scent of blood, and it hit me like a brick to the face. Smelling the blood wasn’t the problem. It was knowing exactly who it belonged to.
“Where's Jace?” I asked immediately.
Simon paused his bomb launching and threw a thumb over his shoulder.
“He's lying down, trying to peak his magic or something.” He replied while sending out another explosion. I peered around them, and my worst fear was instantaneously confirmed.
Jace.
Lying on the ground in a pool of his own blood.
I couldn’t hear his heartbeat.
I couldn’t hear his heart beat.
I couldn’t hear his heart…
“JACE!” I shouted. I ran to him inside the circle, but an invisible whip struck me in the chest. The force knocked me off my feet. It sent me back a good five yards. Fuck! The spell kept all vampires out, including me.
The moment after I hit the ground, a hard boot slammed into the side of my head. The world as I knew it crashed together in haze of colors and unrecognizable shapes as I rolled along the grass. The pain was excruciating as it radiated through my skull.
My tumble came to an end with me on my back. I had no time to recover as a heavy body flopped on top of me, straddling my hips, locking me in place.
My vision was blurry, but I could recognize the sword coming towards my throat. Being disoriented made my reflexes slow. Luckily, I was able to stop the blade when it was within an inch of my windpipe. I held on tightly to the sharp weapon. My palms began to bleed and smolder as the platinum pierced into my skin. Gritting my teeth, I held on.
This vampire was unusually strong.
Using an old self-defense trick, I brought my knee up and smashed it into his groin. He barely flinched.
“No male equipment down there, little girl.” A shrill voice responded.
A woman, that wasinteresting.
A black spiky mask covered most of her face but did not hide her eyes. Her cloudy eyes were hardened with rage.
Vampires didn’t have eyes like that.
I couldn’t let my confusion get in the way.
Drawing more strength, I kneed her again. This time, it did the job. Her grip loosened, giving me the opportunity to free a hand and punch her hard. The force of my fist shattered her helmet into pieces. They tumbled to the ground and she followed.
I leapt to my feet. I wanted to kill her. She deserved to die, but I didn’t have time to finish her off.
I had to get to Jace.
He couldn’t be dead. He just couldn’t.
I shook off those thoughts. He’s not dead.
As bad luck would have it, she recovered from the blow and blocked my path to the circle. Without her mask, I got a better look at her face. She had chestnut-colored skin and short dark hair. Her ears were large and pointy at the tops and bottoms. Her eyes were wide and far apart. The glowing irises pulsated like a beating heart, making them more unusual. She was something I haven’t seen before.
But I didn’t care about that.
The bitch was still in my way.
Taking a step forward, I readied myself to finish her, but a familiar sound stopped me in my tracks. I quickly recognized it waas the thump of a beating heart, but that wasn’t what stunned me. It was the fact that there were two beating hearts, it both came from her. One was beating on the left side of her chest; the other on the right.
The corners of her lips curled as she read my puzzled expression.
“What the fuck are you?” I asked, eyeing my fallen swords. I couldn’t take my eyes off her long enough for me to retrieve them.
“Something special.” She winked.
That bad feeling in my pit came back tenfold. It told me the swords wouldn’t help me right now. So I latched on to my powers. They responded instantaneously. Sparks began to fly down my arms and through my hands.
At the sight of them, she began to laugh; a high shriek that gave me a glimpse of three sharp teeth.
“You’re a one-trick pony, girl. Those sparkles don’t scare me.”
Her laugh faded, but the smile on her face remained. Piece by piece, she began removing her armor.
Her actions further confused me. Instead of wasting more time watching her, I used the delay and grabbed my swords. My kinetic energy hadn’t built up enough from that last surge, and I needed it for my plan with Seb. I’d have to try and kill her without it first.
She shed the last piece of her protection, standing freely in the nude. Her long slender body were unnaturally muscular.
Suddenly, her skin began to ripple. It gave the impression of small waves you see after throwing a rock in still waters.
I held back, thinking she might explode. That’d make this a hell of a lot easier.
No such luck.
Things only got weirder.
White fur began to coat her limbs.
Her hands and feet elongated, and her nails turned into claws. The sharp points dug into the earth with ease.
She began laughing again, adding twirling to her show; spinning faster and faster until she was engulfed in a funnel of wind and dirt. She shot out of the cloud barreling at me on all fours. She was massive in size; the body of a tiger with the head of a woman. Just when I thought I’d seen it all, a double set of wings burst from her back. Her wings were built strong, and their span was endless. The tips were as sharp as a stinger, and their white-ash color looked like something from a nightmare. I’d never seen something as spectacular as was terrifying.
My mind went blank. My shock locked me into place.
Or was it something else.
Either way, freezing was a big mistake at the moment.
Make that huge.
She swooped me into her wings and launched us into the sky.
The creature let out another shriek.
“Time to die little vampire.” She snarled.
Her wings tightened around me, squeezing me like a boa constrictor.
I couldn’t move. I felt, at any moment, my bones would begin snapping.
Without warning, the tips of her wings dug into my skin.
“AHH!” I screamed. The pain was like being stabbed in multiple places at the same time. It was excruciating.
She laughed and tightened her hold. A loud snap sounded as the first of my bones began to break.
***
Seb
I was having a hard time fighting the urge to change. The more I fought, the harder it was to control the wolf. I was almost desperate to free the beast. Yet I couldn’t because Ana and I had a plan; a plan that we needed to stick to.
I’d long lost sight of my love and the others but made sure to stick close to Marie. My little sister handled herself well, and I was proud of how skillful she fought. I remembered a time when I didn’t even want to learn.
I had just slit the throat of one vamp when another grabbed me in a chokehold from behind. A third charged me with a sword. I jumped to catch the blade between my feet. I twisted my legs fast and hard, breaking the vamps wrist. The bloodsucker still tried to reach for his fallen weapon but a powerful kick to his face stopped that. I threw my head back to the vampire holding me. I was delighted at the distinct crunching of the vampire’s nose breaking. Before the vamp had a chance to regain his composure, I turned and swiped my long claws across his throat. The dying guard fell to his knees, clutching the gaping hole.
I gazed at my hand. I didn’t realize it had already changed. The connection to my inner wolf was getting stronger. I enjoyed the feeling of killing with my claws more than a blade. They were much sharper. Killing was much easier.
The vampire I kicked came rushing. I rushed back, driving my bloody nails through the vampire’s chest. I stared into his eyes as I yanked the heart from his body.
The dead vamp collapsed to the ground.
I caugh
t sight of another going for Marie. She was already in a fight with one and wasn’t aware of the other coming from behind. I quickly grabbed a fallen blade and hurled it at the vamp. It pierced through the back of the guard’s neck. He died at Marie’s feet just as she snapped the neck of the vampire she was fighting. She yanked the blade out of him before turning to me.
“Nice throw!” She called out. My lips turned up in a half smile, but it didn’t last long. A deafening shrill sent my hands clasping to my ears. The source of it wasn’t hard to find. Looking up, I spotted something I thought I’d never see in real life.
“What is that?!” Marie yelled. She shot a vamp in the face as she ran over to me. I couldn’t stop gawking at the creature soaring in the sky long enough to answer her. For such a long time, I believed that kind no longer existed. I only read about them in Marcos’ old books. This was not good.
The creature shrilled again. It was then that I saw a glimpse of long black hair immersed in her wings.
“ANA. NO!” I roared.
But it was too late.
My heart seized when I heard mys mate screaming.
“Seb, it’s killing her!” Marie cried. The smell of fear washed over me as my senses grew stronger.
I knew what I had to do.
It was time to unleash.
This wasn’t the plan but screw the plan. Ana was in serious danger.
“It’s a sphinx.”
Marie’s eyes bulged.
Sphinxes were extremely dangerous tricksters, nothing like the stories humans told about them. Their venom softened the bones of their victims while they used their wings to crush. Then they devour their prey. All Sphinxes came from one mother who was supposedly hunted down centuries ago when they began to target vampires for unknown reasons. Ferox ordered them all to be killed. Guess not all of them. The one I was seeing now looked very much alive and slightly different than the ones in the books.
That didn’t matter now.
Marie was yelling something, but I ignored her. My eyes were focused on the sky. My legs acted before my mind completely finished the thought. I was already running. I used my transformed hands to slice into every vampire I passed along the way.
Pure: A Paranormal Romance Page 64
