WitchWar 05

by Emma Mills

  Several of Sebastian’s other vampires had joined the battle and I could hear them snarling and fighting alongside us. I heard Isabel calling out for Troy but didn’t hear an answer. Sebastian’s heavy curtains were suddenly ripped open and the smoke began to clear, sucked out of the grenade-blasted windows. I blinked, wasting precious seconds, squinting as the sunshine poured in replacing the murk. Refocusing my eyes in the glare I only just managed to leap out of the way as a long wooden stake came flying at my chest.

  I grabbed the stake as it whistled toward my body, missing my heart by millimetres, and flung it back at the assailant with lightning speed. Nausea and shock threatened to dampen the adrenalin feeding my fight as the stake hit its target and the man slumped against the wall. I watched, sickened as he tugged his helmet off, blood gurgling from his mouth as he took his last breath. Isabelle was fighting alongside another vampire, making quick work of two masked attackers so I turned my attention across the room, leaping towards a burning vampire, screaming as a flame thrower was turned upon him. I flung my hands out as I ran.

  ‘Ice,’ I commanded, feeling the freezing energy shoot across the space and cover the vampire, who was slowly turning to ash. It was too late to save him but I consoled myself that at least his last seconds were pain-free. I turned on his attacker, rage once more bubbling under my skin as he dared to turn the flame thrower towards me, but his finger froze on the trigger as he stared at me.

  ‘Jess?’ he mumbled.

  But his words were too late and he crashed to the ground, my rage slamming his head into the wall with enough force to kill him outright. I looked down and dread slid across my soul as recognition flickered in my mind. I knew him. He might even have been a friend once upon a time.

  ‘Jess!’ Isabel shouted across the room. ‘I’ve found him.’

  I dragged myself away from the man’s body and darted through the lingering smoke, freezing another charred vampire and breaking the necks of another two masked men. I saw bodies, blood and ash, all becoming one haze of unstoppable rage, as I waded through the bodies towards Isabel. She was cradling Troy in her arms, a stake buried deep in his chest as he already began to crumble. A pile of four camo-clad men surrounded her, in various stages of death. I finished the last one. Her voice stuttered.

  ‘Sebastian w-went that w-way; he’s not in good shape,’ she said, nodding to a door behind his mahogany desk. ‘I think the grenade took out his shield.’

  I nodded, thinking back to my first weeks as a vampire. I had been put in a cell for attacking the girl gang responsible for my ultimate death and rebirth. Sebastian didn’t care if I killed them, but I had refused to; I had just wanted to scare them into being decent citizens. It backfired and Sebastian threw me in one of his cells to mull things over, where one of his more despicable vampires had tried to rape me. Sebastian had come running and the vampire had tried to attack him, not a wise decision when your boss has a secret magical ward that was bestowed by a friendly witch hundreds of years earlier. The vampire died and I was sworn to secrecy. Only a handful of Sebastian’s most trusted comrades knew about his ward. If the grenade had taken it out, he would be just as vulnerable as the rest of them.

  ‘Be careful, there might be more of them,’ I urged Isabel, nodding at the dead humans before leaving her alone with Troy, to race after Sebastian.

  The door led into a narrow corridor that twisted around an old staircase to the first floor. I heard raised voices shouting orders and the snarls of an injured vampire as I reached the far end and yet another door. I burst through just as a black-clad man released a deadly looking arrow from his crossbow. I bowled into the back of him, knocking the weapon from his hands and sending it skidding across the floor. I grabbed his hair and pulled his head back, before slamming it back into the floor. He slumped on the ground, unconscious. I jumped up just as a flame thrower was turned in my direction.

  ‘Jess,’ I heard Sebastian shout. ‘Get out of here!’

  I leapt high and somersaulted over the jet of fire, feeling its heat on my thigh as I flew through the air. I landed and kicked the weapon from the now horrified man’s hands, my hands flying out as I whispered the worst kind of spell, the one I had sworn I would never use.

  ‘Mort!’ I twisted my hand into a fist and pulled, metaphorically pulling the man’s heart out and watching with a sick pleasure as he fell to the floor. Power surged through my body like a magical aftershock. I turned on his companion, who had dropped his crossbow and was staring, transfixed with horror, at the fallen soldier.

  Something inside me had snapped. All I saw was blood and death, and I couldn’t feel my heart beat at all. I was Death, and I would kill them all. I had taken so much care over the last ten years, done everything I possibly could to both survive and yet not harm the humans, and why? They were weak. They were like rats, moving in packs, unable to think for themselves, unable to accept anything… or anyone… new. All they knew was destruction. Destroy the planet. Destroy anyone who wasn’t like them. Destroy, destroy, destroy! Well, now I would stop them! As another two men ran at me I didn’t even pause to think as I attacked, unstoppable, the vision of Sebastian slowly dying in the corner of the room firing me on. I leapt, I kicked and if they got too close I breathed that despicable word… Mort!

  Five dead, two remained. I went for the nearest, pure fury and adrenalin powering my moves as I darted and leapt across the room, avoiding arrows flying towards me and reaching the man just as he aimed his shotgun. I grabbed the gun and slammed it into his face, hearing the crunch of bone as it impacted, yet not flinching.

  I turned to face my last enemy, who was desperately trying to retreat. No matter, I got to him first. He would pay.

  When he fell, I darted over to Sebastian. His protection ward was flickering like static electricity around his body, but as I touched it, it stilled. One side of his body was burned, his clothing ripped away with the shock of the blast, the skin underneath charred. A slim wooden stake, fired from the crossbow was jutting out of his chest, one inch to the left and it would have been game over. I kneeled down and smiled.

  ‘Jess, what have you done?’ he whispered.

  I shook my head, not understanding.

  ‘Black magic! You don’t use black magic. Don’t ever let them…’ he paused, coughing up blood.

  I frowned.

  ‘I did what I had to do. How else do you suppose I’d fight against all those? It doesn’t matter now…’

  ‘It does. Tomorrow the sun will rise again and you will feel the darkness…’

  ‘Oh, stop being so melodramatic. We have to get this out so you can heal,’ I said, looking at the stake.

  He sighed, blood bubbling at his lips.

  ‘I’ll need to feed,’ he said. ‘Stay away from me, when you have pulled it out. Throw one of those… bodies at me. I don’t want to…’

  ‘Shh, it’s okay. You’re not going to hurt me. I’m not Alba,’ I said, remembering the story he had once told me about the daughter of the Italian witch he accidently drained.

  He shook his head.

  ‘Step back, please, Jessica,’ he said, some of his old authority leaking back into his words.

  I obeyed, watching as he quickly tugged the stake out of his chest with a groan. Blood bubbled to the surface, staining what was left of his shirt dark red. He moved slowly, pulling his back away from the wall, pushing himself to his feet. I watched him, forgetting his need for blood and had to jerk my body backwards as he leapt towards me, fangs glistening. He landed on the man by my feet and sunk his teeth into the jugular.

  I grimaced, knowing the taste of the blood would have turned already from fresh blood to that of stored blood. I looked at the bodies strewn around the room. So much dead blood… A shadow appeared from the corner of the room, and I crouched, ready to pounce, my eyesight slicing through the shadows as I sucked in a ragged breath. An immaculate vampire, with dark blonde hair pulled back in a pony-tail tied with black ribbon, stepped out followed by Sad
ie.

  ‘Sadie!’ I exclaimed, realising who she’d meant when she said that he was here. She meant her maker, Pierre.

  ‘Jessica James, I presume?’ the infamous vampire inquired, as Sebastian reeled back from the now drained body, his chest wound already clotted, blackened skin beginning to heal.

  I nodded, looking at Sebastian for a cue.

  ‘Sadie here tells me you have been teaching her the ways of our kind? Of course rumours precede her, but I have to say I am very encouraged by your recent display. I had been told you were a little drone bee, doing your work for the Council and helping slap the wrists of anyone that displayed even the slightest iota of rebellion, but I see I was wrong.’

  I stayed silent, unsure of what to say. I didn’t like either option. I wasn’t a goody-goody rule follower, Daniel would attest to that, but had I taken a fatal step in the wrong direction?

  ‘It will be a pleasure to have you by my side,’ Pierre added. ‘I think I shall make you my number two after that little display… my personal bodyguard.’

  ‘I don’t think so,’ Sebastian growled, from my side.

  ‘Oh Sebastian, what a long time it has been and still you have the jealousy issues of a newborn. How delightful! Of course you still have a role next to me, so you needn’t fret. After all you have done such a good job raising this one,’ he smirked, nodding in my direction.

  I stared at Sebastian. Pierre was his maker? He seemed to know what I was thinking and he gave the briefest nod, closing his eyes fleetingly.

  ‘I want nothing of the sort. This is my territory and you are trespassing,’ Sebastian said coldly.

  Pierre dismissed him with a flick of his hand.

  ‘This little firebrand is something though,’ Pierre mused, staring at me with dangerous eyes. ‘I bet even the Council didn’t see that coming, although it was always a possibility… with the mixed blood…’

  ‘You watched the whole time?’ I asked.

  He nodded.

  ‘Oh yes, it was quite a treat,’ he said. ‘It made me quite hungry. Poor Sadie, I fear I took a little too much.’

  I glanced at Sadie who was standing listlessly by his side.

  ‘Never mind, newborns are always disposable, and she may yet recover, but you…’ he said looking at me with wanton hunger. ‘You would be a trophy to be treasured.’

  ‘I will never join you,’ I said, my chin jutting forward. ‘I would rather die.’

  ‘Your choice,’ he said simply.

  Against human men my reaction speed was unbeatable. Against an ancient vampire I was just a clumsy girl. He brought a crossbow out from its hiding place under his long coat and fired the last long wooden stake right at my heart. I blinked and it was already halfway across the room. I gasped in shock and the tip was a mere foot away. I closed my eyes and felt what felt like an iron hammer ram into my side, slamming me sideways and across the room. I looked up in time to see the stake strike deep into Sebastian’s heart and send him staggering backwards. I propelled myself across the room and lifted his head.

  ‘Sebastian,’ I crooned.

  ‘I owed my life to a witch. It is how it should be,’ he said, as blood gurgled through his lips and his skin began to flake.

  ‘No, you can’t! You’ll be fine,’ I said. ‘Here, bite me, please,’ I said, beginning to sob, offering him my arm.

  Sebastian smiled and his eyes closed.

  ‘Jess…’

  I leaned in to hear his words.

  ‘Don’t trust anyo…’ he coughed, blood spluttering across my face. ‘Trust Daniel… no-one else,’ and he was gone.

  I looked up at Pierre, rage once again dancing in my belly. I didn’t care how old or how powerful Pierre was; I was going to kill him. I raised my hands and felt the black magic pour hungrily into my veins.

  ‘Jessie!’ Daniel exclaimed, running into the room with Eva one step behind.

  ‘Watch out!’ I yelled, as Pierre launched himself at them.

  I looked down at the remains of Sebastian gently disintegrating on the floor by my feet and remembered what he had said about black magic. I swallowed and willed away the evil words, instead picking up a fallen cross bow and aiming it at Pierre. An eye for an eye, a heart for a heart! I fired.

  Pierre was fast. He saw everything and time slowed as he swivelled, holding Sadie tight, using her as a shield, letting her body take the full impact of the wooden dart, before dropping her, vaulting over Daniel and leaping out of the broken window. He was gone. Eva followed, sprinting across the room, diving gracefully out of the window and giving chase, as I darted across to Sadie, the girl who had been a vampire for less than a month. She had died instantly. I let out a noise that was halfway between a howl and a sob and collapsed into Daniel’s arms.

  Chapter Eighteen

  ‘We need to get out of here,’ Daniel said gently, a few minutes later. ‘Something is happening outside.’

  ‘We’re trapped!’ Isabel said, running into the room and darting across to the window. ‘All the lower floor corridor is on fire. I couldn’t get past it. We’ll need to go out of the window… Oh!’

  ‘What is it?’ Daniel asked, pulling me to my feet so we could join her at the window.

  ‘We can try a back window,’ I said, looking out onto the road where a circus of news vans, military vehicles and floodlights had been set up, their beams slicing through the murky smoke, seeking any movement, one of them already directed towards our window.

  ‘They must have seen Eva and Pierre leave,’ I said. ‘What if they’ve caught them?’

  Daniel shook his head.

  ‘If they had caught either of them, it wouldn’t be so calm down there. It would be a mess of dead bodies, but they must have seen the window they came out of…’

  ‘You can’t get through to the back from this room’, Isabel said. It’s Sebastian’s private room. It’s shut off from the rest. We can go this way to his bedroom and I think there is a door to the corridor…’

  We ran after her into his bedroom, which was immaculate. It felt as if I was trespassing, seeing things I shouldn’t, but we didn’t have time to stop and Isabel quickly found a small door with a clunky key jammed in the lock. She turned it and gave the door a push. It led out into a narrow passageway.

  ‘These old factory buildings are like mazes,’ she said. ‘Come, I think if we go this way it leads to the back staircase.’

  We nodded and followed her down the corridor to the stairway.

  ‘Arghh!’ she screamed, pulling her hands off the door. Her blistered skin was already darkening.

  ‘Cool,’ I whispered, taking her hands in mine and murmuring a healing spell over them.

  ‘Thanks. We can’t go through there,’ she said. ‘The fire must have moved further up the stairwells.’

  A sudden cracking sound snapped our heads round to look behind us, the way we had come. Smoke was now pouring out of Sebastian’s bedroom door.

  ‘I think we have to,’ I said. ‘Let me try a spell.’

  I breathed in slowly and closed my eyes, thinking back to Saffy perfecting her elemental spells in my aunt’s garden. She was a natural with the elements, whereas I had always had to fight the lure of dark magic.

  ‘I’m not wanting to rush you or anything but I can see flames!’ Isabel urged.

  I flung out my hands and conjured the elements.

  ‘I am the air that blows in the trees, I am the water that swirls in the sea. I am the fire that gives us light, I am the earth too strong to fight. Come now, I call you. Come now, in haste. Water I call you, come our way. Fill the sky, soothe the land. I give you water from my hand!’

  Stepping in front of Isabel I thrust my palms out, touching the door, feeling the heat radiating through the wood, hearing it sizzle furiously as icy water enveloped my hands and spread its frosty fingers across the surface. I pushed on the door and sent a waterfall gushing and sizzling down the stairwell. We ran to the stairs.

  ‘Hey lads, there’s water comi
ng down this stairwell. Ready your fire!’

  I looked at Daniel.

  ‘We could take them,’ I said.

  He shook his head.

  ‘There have been enough deaths here today. We don’t know what’s waiting for us down there but we do know there are TV cameras waiting to watch us kill. Let’s wait it out,’ he said, turning his back on the voices.

  ‘Isabel, are you with us?’ he asked.

  Isabel looked torn. Anger and pain flashed across her features before she set her mouth in a grim line and nodded. We ran up to the top floor and found an old storage room to wait it out in. Of course it wasn’t long before the fire engines had put out the worst of the fires and the armed police and Special Forces began to search the building. Occasionally we heard the popping of machine guns but generally everything was eerily quiet until we heard the boots coming up the back stairs.

  ‘We have to go,’ Daniel said.

  ‘There’s a fire escape here,’ I said, looking out of the window. ‘There are search lights trawling the lower flights but what if we don’t go down, but go up to the roof instead?’

  ‘They won’t be expecting that and we can wait until dark,’ Daniel said, pushing up the sash window. ‘Move quickly and watch out for the lights.’

  And that was how we ended up spending the rest of the day and most of the night sitting on the roof of Exodus, our backs leaning against the old chimney pots, our bodies hidden in the shadows.

  ‘Why didn’t the Council show up and help?’ I asked Daniel as the sun had finally disappeared and the police seemed to have given up searching the building.

  ‘I don’t know,’ he said. ‘But you don’t need to wait here with us. You could go home.’ He looked up into the clouds above us.

  ‘Nah, I’m staying here with you two. Today I feel more like a vampire than a witch and you’re my family,’ I said.

  ‘If it wasn’t for your spells we’d be toast… literally,’ Isabel said with a short laugh. ‘Whatever you are you’re very useful to have around.’

  I smiled at her, grateful for the acceptance that had taken ten years coming. Isabel had always seemed aloof and distant, always by Troy and Sebastian’s side and never unfriendly but never quite accepting of me and my dual blood.