I watch the waves in the distance as the water moves effortlessly around my feet. I feel safe here, even if I do not remember how I got here. I do not know where I am or how I found this place, but I feel safe. I want to stay, even if the heat is becoming unbearable.
I am sinking into the sand now, so I begin to move again. I can’t stay in one place for too long, because I begin to take root. I want to escape, not feel trapped in yet another prison.
I take another step forward. The water swishes around my heels, and I laugh. I think I hear Jasik say something, but I do not look behind me. Maybe he is laughing too. Maybe he is behind me now, joining me to cool off. The water is at my knees now, but he is taller. He will need to venture deeper, so I do too.
I am wearing a loose dress that flows in the breeze. The bottom hem is damp and clings to my skin as I walk farther away from Jasik. I think I yell for him to join me. The water is cool. I tell him it will help stave off the heat. I hear my voice, but not out loud. I only speak in my mind, and I never hear Jasik’s response.
The air becomes heavy with mist, and I let my palms rest against the top of the water. I am so deep now—so deep the water is even colder than before. I close my eyes, listening to the waves, but the world is silent and still. Even the water settles. Everything feels peaceful and pristine. When I open my eyes again, the sunlight shining off the water forces me to squint.
I think I see something in the distance. A dark shadow cruising through the depths. It moves closer, swimming so fast, I can barely keep my gaze on it. My heart is pounding in my chest as I watch its approach, realizing I am too far out. I can never swim back to shore fast enough to escape the creature. I want to call for help, but I know Jasik cannot save me.
When the darkness turns out to be just another wave, it splashes against me, spraying my chest with cool, crisp water. Another wave rolls forward, lifting me so I glide with it. I laugh, and when I settle again, digging my feet into the loose sand, I spin around to show Jasik how much fun it is in the water. He should come out too.
But he is not there.
I am alone.
I stare at the spot where he stood only moments ago, but all I see are embers burning in the ash. Jasik is gone, and the air begins to sizzle.
Next, after I feel the heat, I hear them.
Something crashes in the distance, alerting me to a foreign, unwanted presence. The manor awakens, floors creaking as the intruders enter our domain. The walls whisper as the vampires awaken. The air shifts as bodies sit upright, rising from beds to investigate the commotion.
Jasik shifts; the bed moves. I open my eyes.
No longer am I on the beach, playing in the water. No longer am I free from the burden of life.
I am in the manor, lying beside Jasik. The room is dark, but my vision adjusts quickly. No longer am I plagued with inferior senses. I sit up abruptly, and Jasik rushes to the bedroom door. He turns, facing me, his eyes are alight with fear.
“Someone is here,” he warns.
“Maybe it is Holland or Will,” I suggest. Both are day-walkers now.
But deep down, I know I am wrong. The sound comes from neither friend. Our enemies are near, attacking during our weakest moment.
Sunlight.
I glance at my bedroom window. The drapes are thick and unyielding. Beyond the shades, the sun is warming Darkhaven, welcoming the living to another blessed day of life.
I am shaking, but I stand and dress quickly. As I pull on my jacket and secure my stake—just in case I am wrong and our attackers really do have fangs—I am buzzing with energy. My skin, my bones, my very core, feels alive with excitement. And I hate myself for it. It has been far too long since I have participated in a hunt, and I am eager to return to normal.
I brush my hair back with my hands, my fingers tangling in my long tresses. I tie a holder, looping it around three times to keep my thick locks in place. I nod to Jasik, letting him know I am ready.
In the seconds it took me to get dressed, Jasik got ready too. He matches me in my attire, wearing dark jeans and a T-shirt. But he has no weapon. After all, this is my room, not his.
I unzip my jacket’s inner pocket and toss Jasik my stake.
“Here,” I whisper.
He catches it midair but frowns when he looks at me. His gaze flutters from me to the stake and back again. I realize he has made the same assumption I have: rogue vampires can’t possibly be behind this.
“I can rely on magic. You cannot,” I explain.
It is better than nothing.
He nods sharply, as if he understands my silent meaning, and with his hand grasping the doorknob, I take one, final breath.
We emerge into the hallway, the smoky air thick. I breathe in a lungful and hack, leaning against the wall for support. I smelled the fire, felt its heat, but I was not prepared for just how overpowering it would be.
How did we sleep through this?
How did the fire get this bad without anyone noticing?
Jasik grabs hold of my hand, guiding me through the haze. I see nothing but endless streams of thick, smoky air before me, so I rely on my sire, knowing Jasik can walk these halls with his eyes closed and never trip or fall down the stairs—two things I am an expert at accomplishing.
We stop abruptly at a doorway, and I collide with Jasik. My softer frame squishes against his solid body, and I stumble backward, grunting under my breath, offering a vague apology. He does not respond. I am not even sure he noticed I ran into him. Focused on the room before us, Jasik pushes open the door, not bothering to knock. I peer inside with him, watching as Malik dresses. The two brothers say nothing when they look at each other. Jasik turns away and leaves his brother behind.
I catch Malik’s eye before Jasik pulls me down the hallway. For once, he seems scared. If a fire is destroying the manor, the vampires will need to seek shelter elsewhere. But where? Where can they go when the sun is high in the sky? Where can they hide? These questions—and more—are likely looping through Malik’s mind too.
We reach Jeremiah’s room, again finding him dressing, preparing for battle. Holland is also dressing, his hands shaking as he pulls on a T-shirt. His gaze meets mine, and he tries to smile, but it falls flat, never reaching his eyes. Does he worry for his safety? Or is he also wondering how a house full of vampires are going to survive a daylight fire?
I pull my hand free from Jasik’s grasp, and he shouts at me. He fears separation will only lead to our demise, but I can’t turn back now. I am already running down the hall, back toward my bedroom. I need to find Will. He is human now, and without a vampire bodyguard, he is doomed.
I reach the door to the guest bedroom—the only room in the manor without a permanent resident—and find it still closed. I knock, hard, hoping I will wake Will before I realize how stupid that is. The manor is on fire. There is no time for pleasantries.
“Will!” I shout, hacking as I take in another lungful of smoke. Vampires do not require oxygen as desperately as humans do, and we can hold our breath much longer. If the smoke is affecting me this badly, how are Will and Holland holding up?
I hear someone fumbling behind the door, and when I grab on to the handle, I jerk my arm back, screeching. Grinding my teeth, I seethe, gnawing on my lip until the pain subsides. I glance at my palm. It is bright red, my skin raw, inflamed. As much as I want to run outside and sink my arm into a mound of snow, I do not.
“Will!” I scream again, realizing my friend is in grave danger.
If he is still alive, I think, before I chastise myself for allowing such dark, depraved thoughts to enter my mind. I need to think clearly, stay positive, or we will not survive to see the night.
I stand back, trying to remember the fire safety courses I was taught in school before my mother pulled me out to homeschool me. In this dire situation, I remember nothing—literally nothing—from those classes. What am I supposed to do when the doorknob is hot? I remember specific instructions, but I do not remember what they are
.
Way to pay attention, Ava.
I make the sudden, and probably rash, decision to kick in the door, praying I can summon magic strong enough to smother the flames before I am engulfed. I know this is Will’s only chance at survival.
“Ava, wait! Don’t—” Jasik shouts. My sire is rushing toward me, but I have already made my decision. I have to help Will—at any cost.
I snap my leg outward, firmly planting the sole of my boot against the wood door. I thrust forward, kicking it in. The door flies into the room, disappearing into the darkness. The room is silent, still.
There is no fire.
“Will!” I shout again.
“Ava!” he calls from inside the room.
Will responds, his voice muffled. I enter the room, cradling my arm so I do not irritate my wound, but when I glance down, it is gone. The raw, blistered skin is healed. Did I recover? Or did I imagine it all? Was the doorknob even hot? Regardless, I do not have time to consider our circumstances. Not when the manor is soon to be ash.
I run to Will’s side just as Jasik reaches the doorway. Will is huddled in the corner, a wet towel wrapped around his face, covering his mouth. His eyes are teary, and he blinks several times as I approach him.
“Come on,” I yell, pulling him upright. He leans against me, weaker and lighter than I remember him to be, and we make our way through the smoke. The thick streams of haze seem to be stronger in his bedroom, yet there is no fire. How is that possible?
“What is going on?” Will shouts. He keeps one hand wrapped around my waist and the other covering his mouth, muffling his speech.
Even though I still hear and understand him, I do not respond, because I have no idea what is going on. And I am fairly certain that is not the answer he wants.
“We need to keep moving,” I order. We cross the threshold and step into the hallway, where the smoke seems less intrusive. It is still hard to breathe and becoming even harder to see, but there is something about greater numbers that makes me feel safer. Alone in Will’s dark bedroom, it felt like all eyes were on me, like we were not alone in the darkness.
The other hunters are cluttered in the hallway, guiding the vampires toward the end, where the stairs will lead us downstairs to the manor’s main level.
Then what?
Where can we go?
We can’t go outside, and waiting out the fire by hunkering down in the basement seems like an even worse idea.
We are trapped. I see it in the hunters’ eyes. No one wants to admit it, but everyone is thinking the same thought. In unison, we are all aware of our doom, yet everyone fights. We refuse to give up.
“Let’s go downstairs,” Malik orders, and I nod, breathing heavily.
Will is leaning against me, and a foul odor seeps from him. I try not to breathe it in, but I can’t help it. He is too close, the smell too strong. Still, I pretend I do not notice. I think the smell is because of the fire, and I do not want my friend to be even more uncomfortable.
“Where is Amicia?” Jasik shouts.
The others must not notice how badly Will smells, because they pay no attention to him. They do not even ask if he is okay.
“She is safe,” Malik responds. “She is leading the others downstairs.”
He points down the hall, where the smoke is far too thick to see the beginning of the stairwell. Somewhere in that direction, there are more vampires, there is Amicia, and there are stairs that lead to safety—sort of.
I know we need to get off the second story because the hardwood floors are weakening. I can feel it when I walk. The fire is ravishing the wood, destroying everything this house once was. There was a time it was beautiful, a spectacular sight, but soon it will become ash. The charred remains will be an empty reminder of how vulnerable we are as vampires.
As we approach the stairs, I look into the fearful gazes of a dozen or so vampires. In pairs, they shuffle down the stairs, but I can see the doubt in their eyes. They too are wondering how the hunters can possibly keep them safe. Who will put out the fire? Will and Holland are the only mortals left. Can they do it alone?
All at once, I am reminded of something far more important than how.
Why? This is what I must consider, because a better question might be who started the fire? And are they still here? What if we are not alone in the manor?
Will’s grip is slick in my own, and he grabs on to me more tightly. I pay him no attention as we draw nearer to the vampires.
As we approach the stairs, I see Amicia. She is guiding the vampires to the main level, ushering them into the sitting room below. Beams of light illuminate the first floor as the sun cascades through the many stained-glass windows etched along the manor walls. As long as the fire is extinguished soon, we will be okay. I try to remain hopeful, even when all seems lost.
Will and I take the stairs slowly. I tell him to go ahead of me, but he refuses to release my hand. I agree to stay with him, understanding how terrified he must be. The very night he loses immortality, death comes knocking. Together, we descend, and I watch as he struggles to walk, never releasing my hand, his grip becoming tighter and tighter the closer we get to the manor’s main level.
The smoke is just as heavy downstairs as it is upstairs, and while my mind is swirling with questions—like how is it even possible to encounter this much smoke without seeing any flames—my body is screaming for me to run. Every sense within me is alarmed, rapid firing. The hunter within is aroused. She is on edge, prowling in the shadows, certain we are not alone. Something devious, something sinister is among us—and I know I must find it first.
After we shuffle into the sitting room, standing so close that our shoulders touch, everything halts. Time slows as we all begin to realize we have nowhere left to run. We can walk to the kitchen, which leads directly to the basement. We can hide down there, praying the fire does not reach us while also hoping the upper levels of the manor do not fall down, crushing us as we cower in the corners.
We can risk the outside world, running as fast as we can in search of a cave or maybe a vacant house in Darkhaven. We only need sanctuary for the day. Tonight, we can move again. If there was time, Will and Holland could guide us—one by one—through the forest, keeping our skin covered by blankets, praying our sizzling skin does not catch fire.
I know both of these ideas will never work. We are out of options and struggling to maintain hope.
“What are we going to do?” someone shrieks.
Again, we remain silent. Not because we do not want to answer but because we have no answer. There is nothing we can do. I am the only witch with an affinity for water, and I cannot put out flames until the sun sets.
“Ava, can you put out the fire?” Jasik asks, mirroring my inner thoughts. We were separated, and he stands a few feet away from me now. Will is still beside me, hanging on to my arm, gripping me so tightly, I feel nothing else but his hand against mine.
I shake my head, gaze scanning the rooms. I can’t put out a fire I cannot find. I fear it might have been started outside, which means I definitely can’t get to it. Not until sunset.
“Where?” I ask. Jasik frowns, understanding my concern.
The air is heavy with smoke. We can barely breathe, barely see, barely hear over the crackling sound of fire igniting wood. The heat is excruciating. My skin is slick with sweat, but my mouth is dry from breathing. My tongue is hardening; my lips are cracked. My eyes burn, my lids heavy. My vision blurs, and I try to blink away the tears that fill my eyes. My entire body is reacting to the intense heat wave smothering our home. My skin itches, my hair smells fried, and my feet tingle as the heat worms its way up my legs and settles deep within my cool bones. I fear any moment I might actually combust.
“We can’t stay here!” I shout the obvious, knowing there is nothing the others can do.
I blink and squint, noticing a shadow figure looming close behind Jasik. I furrow my brow and stare, desperately and unsuccessfully trying to clear my vision
so I can see better.
And then he coughs, and I know that sound. I wipe at my eyes with my one free hand, pulling them back to see my tears have stained my skin, which is coated in ash from the fire and haze.
Directly beside Jasik, I see Will. He holds the damp towel to his mouth, his gaze darting all around him. I can tell he is trying to process what is happening. He no longer has the power of a vampire, but he has the strength of a human. Unlike us, he can walk in sunlight. He can rush out the front door and leave us behind. He can survive. But he does not run away. He never leaves our side. His gaze catches my own, and I know he refuses to leave us.
Someone squeezes my hand, and I remember.
I helped Will, I guided him from his bedroom, where the fire seemed to originate. I walked with him down the hall and into this very room. Only seconds ago, he was right beside me, holding on to me as if his life depended on my strength.
But I see him now, across the room, looking as frantic as he did minutes ago.
Someone giggles. Her voice echoes through the room, radiating off my bones. A chill washes over me, and while I welcome its cool caress as reprieve from the heat, I fear the way it lingers.
I am shaking—everywhere. In the corner of my eye, I see her. She holds on to my hand, gripping it tightly. Her fingers slide through my own, linking our bodies together. When I try to speak, I am silenced. My voice mute. My cries are muffled by the smoke.
Jasik stares at me. And then Will. One by one, the vampires turn to face me. Each steps away, clearing a path, encircling me. All at once, they smile. Their eyes narrow, and their Cheshire cat grins tear through skin, exposing teeth sharpened into bloodthirsty points.
I scream, realizing the vampires surrounding me are not my friends. I am alone—again—and terrified I am trapped within a nightmare that has become all too real.
“Did you really think you would get away with it?” she whispers. Her voice is soft but mischievous. Her malevolent presence surrounds me, turning the bright, light-soaked room into a dark, gritty wasteland of death and despair.
As she speaks, the shadows come to life, smothering the light, condemning this time and this place to spend eternity with her—in the depths of hell.
Dark Curse Page 12
