by Danica Rayne
I nodded.
“Now that that’s settled,” Carole said, “who volunteers for the Edgewood mission and who stays behind?”
“Maybe the slayers who live closest to Oregon should go,” Elisa suggested. “Are planes even flying right now?”
“For now, yes, but I did hear that they might stop flights. Did you hear about the plane that was attacked by harpies?”
“We can use Liam,” I said. “He’s faster than any plane.”
“Who’s Liam?” Marny asked.
“He’s a dragon,” Callie gushed, her face bright. “One of Alivia’s boyfriends. He might be the last one of this kind. Isn’t that amazing?”
“He can pick up the slayers on the way,” I said. “We can make it back to Edgewood quickly. He’ll have to make a few trips, though.”
“Riding on a dragon?” Marny exchanged glances with the others. “Anyone up for that?”
“Oh, hell yeah.” Callie raised her hand enthusiastically.
The rest of the slayers discussed amongst themselves who would join the cause. Fifteen in total, just in case some got injured and wouldn’t be able to perform the Power of Ten. The rest of the slayers would spread out around the country to fight off the supernaturals.
One by one, they wished each other good luck and signed off. Before Carole’s face disappeared from the screen, she whispered, “Callie, you still have it, don’t you?”
Callie looked confused for a second, then she leaned closer to her screen. “Yeah, I do. It’s locked away in a safe place. Why?”
“I think Alivia will need it. Might be the only way to destroy Mergarus.”
Callie’s face lit with understanding. “Killing an original with an original.”
“Bingo.”
“Okay. I’ll show it to her.”
“Be careful. You know how valuable it is.”
Callie nodded with a serious expression. Carole blew her a kiss before signing off.
Callie stood up. “Follow me.”
She led me to the basement, where she had a training room similar to Aunt Bea’s. I followed her to the back, where she stopped before a door with a digital combination lock. She turned around. “Like the slayer network, this is top secret. You can’t tell a single soul, okay? No family members, no boyfriends. No one.”
“I understand.”
She tapped in the code, and the door sprang open. A glass case stood inside, and in the case was the most beautiful sword I had ever seen in my life. It was longer than any of the ones Aunt Bea had in our basement, and it was jeweled. The blade was so sharp it glinted.
“Wow,” I breathed.
Callie reached into her collar and pulled out a necklace with a key pendant. She stabbed the key into the lock on the case, and it clicked open. She took a few deep breathes before reaching inside and carefully taking hold of the hilt. As she pulled it out, a chill passed through me.
“What is that?”
She stared down at it with a smile. “This is one of the last swords that belonged to an original sisterhood slayer.” She lifted her gaze to mine. “It’s one of the most powerful weapons out there. You’ll need it to destroy Mergarus.”
I felt an immediate connection to the sword, even without touching it. I couldn’t imagine what it would feel like to—
My eyes shot to hers. “Wait, what? I’m going to kill him? I thought we’re all going to kill him, using the Power of the Ten.”
Callie shook her head as she carefully adjusted her grip on the sword. “We can only weaken him. But a slayer has to stab him in the heart.”
“And why does that slayer have to be me?”
“Because he emerged from your spawn point,” she explained. “You’re tied to Edgewood. I can’t kill him because I’m tied to Atlanta, just as the other slayers are tied to their specific spawn points. We can injure him, sure, and we can kill the lesser demons that attack us. But not such a powerful demon. Only you can.”
My heart beat so fast and hard I was starting to grow dizzy. I could hardly breathe right.
Callie returned the sword to the case. “I know this is a lot to take in. I’m sorry this is all new to you. You’ve been a slayer for only two months and this must come as a big shock.”
What an understatement.
“But you’re the slayer of Edgewood,” she said. “You can do this, Alivia.”
My breathing was still labored and my heart hadn’t relaxed. When I was able to find my voice, I asked, “What if I fail? Who will kill him? Who will become the slayer of Edgewood?”
“You won’t fail.”
“But what if I do?”
“I don’t know, honestly,” she said. “I guess we’d have to find a way to drive him back into his own world. If your slayer line ends, a new one will emerge.”
“I was hoping you’d say the spawn point would permanently close.”
She shook her head. “Slayers will be around as long as spawn points are still open. I don’t even know if it’s possible to shut a spawn point for good. You know what happened when your mother tried.”
“Maybe she would have succeeded if she hadn’t tried to run away.”
“Maybe. But there’s no use wondering.” She walked back to the case and lifted the sword. “I want you to take it. Familiarize yourself with it. It feels different from other swords.”
I carefully took it from her. She was right—it did feel different. Heavy and valuable, but there was something embedded in it. Something that wasn’t tangible. An energy, one that belonged to the original sister who wielded it.
“You feel her, don’t you?” Callie asked. “Her energy will help you. You won’t be alone.” She unlocked a small drawer underneath the glass case and extracted a sheath. She slung it over my shoulder and slid the sword in. “Don’t let this out of your sight.”
I nodded, trying to keep my body from trembling.
“We’ll be by your side, Alivia. Don’t worry.”
It was my job to slay one of the most powerful demons in the whole universe. How could I not worry?
She placed her hands on my shoulders, looking into my eyes. “Ready to save the world?”
Chapter Twenty
Liam and Kayden got off the ground when Callie and I opened the door.
“Is everything okay?” Kayden asked.
The sword on my back felt like a million pounds. I swallowed a few times, urging myself to be strong. To be brave. Be the slayer Edgewood—and the world—needed.
Callie stiffened when he moved closer, her hand moving to the spear in her shirtsleeve. I didn’t blame her for being wary, I just wished she and the other slayers would come to accept them one day.
“Everything’s fine,” I said. “Liam, how many people can you carry on your back?”
“Not sure. Why?”
“We have a few pit stops to make on the way home.”
“Are we picking up other slayers?” Kayden asked.
I nodded. “Do you think the weight will be too much, Liam?”
He straightened his back. “I’ll make two trips. Dragon Airlines is here to serve.”
Callie’s lips lifted. “I like this one.”
We followed him to the bushes, where he spread out his arms and shifted into a dragon. Callie’s jaw dropped and she squealed. I climbed on behind Kayden and Callie settled down behind me.
Once we were invisible, Callie directed us to the first slayer to pick up. We gathered half of them and deposited them on a roof in Edgewood, where they would search and meet up with Aunt Bea and the others. I’d never seen Liam fly so fast before. He didn’t even seem tired. Maybe that was due to his dragon side growing stronger.
Some of the slayers had looked wary and untrusting as they climbed onto Liam while others couldn’t help but marvel. They were all suited up with a plethora of weapons.
With the second half of slayers on Liam’s back, we made it to Edgewood even faster, and descended to search for our party. I caught sight of Aunt Bea, Dr. Caldwell i
n his bear form and Ryker as a wolf, in the middle of battling a large group of supernaturals. Even with the slayers, they were outnumbered.
“There!” I called to Liam.
He lowered us to the ground, and we immediately started to help. Aunt Bea, who had a nasty, bleeding gash on her forehead, looked at me with relief. I grabbed her arm and pulled her away from the scene. “Are you okay? Where’s Finn? Did you see Mergarus?”
“Finn is still working on that knockout device. He’s not sure he can reconfigure it, but he’s trying.” She looked past me. “You got the slayers to join.”
“Only fourteen of them are here. The others stayed behind to protect the country.”
Callie sliced an ogre’s head with her katana before sprinting over to us. “Hi. You must be Beth’s sister. Alivia told us you’ve been taking care of things here. I’m Callie, slayer of Atlanta. I wish we could have met under different circumstances….” A animated skeleton appeared behind her, and just as I was about to yell at her to look out, she slashed her katana behind, slicing the skeleton right down the middle, all the while keeping her gaze on us. “Do you know where Mergarus is?”
“I haven’t seen him,” Aunt Bea said.
“He’s definitely taken a different form and is concealing himself from plain view. But now that Alivia’s back, I’m sure he’ll try to come after her.” She glanced down at her arm. “You shouldn’t be fighting with only one arm.”
She waved her hand. “I’ve been through worse.”
Elisa slammed her trident spear into a minotaur, shook it free of the blood, then raced over to us. “That takes care of the trash here. Where to next? I think we should stick together until we find Mergarus.”
“We should sense him.” Marny joined us, wiping blood off her nunchucks with a cloth. “Not as much as when he’s in his natural form, but his foul smell should definitely stand out to us.”
“Maybe we’re not close enough. Mergarus wouldn’t fight alone. He’d be surrounded by an army. We need to look for a large group of supernaturals, and I bet the human army would be there as well.”
“I’ll check it out,” Kayden said. “I’ll super-speed around and see if I can find them.” He disappeared.
“Spread out, but don’t go too far,” Marny instructed the slayers.
Kayden reappeared. “I found them at the beach. Supernaturals and humans fighting the military. I don’t know which one is Mergarus. It could be he took over one of the humans, but they’re all covered in blood and I can’t sense him.”
“Everyone, to the beach!” Elisa called out.
“Keep an eye out for Alivia,” Callie said. “Mergarus will definitely target her as soon as he sees her.”
We didn’t make it far before a blur appeared. He opened his mouth with a hiss, baring his fangs.
“Vampire,” Marny snarled, aiming her nunchucks at him.
Another blur appeared, and then another. Soon, they stood before us in a vampire blockade. And then the final blur joined them, their leader. Kayden’s mother.
She sneered at the slayers. “Lookie here. A slayer army.” Waving at the others behind her, she announced, “Snack time!”
With wild hunger in their eyes, the vampires pounced. The slayers charged at them.
Kayden’s mother was at my side in a flash, grabbing my arm so tightly it was getting numb. “My master’s been waiting for you.” She super-sped away with me.
“Let me go!” I tried hitting her with my free arm and my legs, but she was running so fast that I was disoriented and couldn’t see anything clearly.
A force slammed into us, sending us rolling to the ground. A second later, Kayden was on his mother, baring his own fangs. “Don’t touch her!”
In a blink of an eye, she spun them around, pinning Kayden down. “Come on, Salir,” she jeered. “You don’t mean to tell me you actually care for this despicable low breed.”
Kayden kicked her away, tossing her into a tree. Then he ran over to me and grabbed my hand. “Let’s get back to the others.”
Just before he could speed away, his mother knocked into him and once again pinned him to the ground. “Don’t you realize you’ve chosen the wrong side?”
He slipped out from underneath her and stood with his hands clenched. “No, you’re the one on the wrong side. It’s not too late to change your mind. You can help us defeat the demon lord.”
She laughed out loud. “Help you defeat him? How brainwashed are you? I didn’t realize you were so weak minded.” She bolted to him and slammed him into the ground, pressing her foot on his back.
“I’m not,” he grunted into the ground. “You’re the weak one.”
“Why? Because my heart doesn’t have any…oh, what’s that word I loathe to say? Ah yes. Love.” She spat it out. “Come now, Salir. Do you honestly think these humans have any love for you? What makes you so sure they won’t turn on you?”
“Alivia never will.”
She chuckled. “Alivia never will,” she mocked in a high-pitched voice. “I left you as a little fledgling, and it seems you are still that same little fledgling. It’s time to grow up. Come join me. The two of us will make a great team. We’ll rid this world of every damn slayer, starting by handing that one over to the Master.”
“Never!” Kayden banged his head into hers, but it seemed like it hurt Kayden more than it hurt her.
“How dare you!” she yelled, her sapphire eyes blazing with fury. “You want to stick with the vile humans? Fine. You’ll die first.” She grabbed hold of his head and yanked hard, like she was about to rip it off his torso.
“No!” I raced over and tackled her to the ground.
She flipped us around and wrapped her fingers around my throat. “Wretched, slayer! Can’t you mind your own business? This is between me and my offspring.”
“He’s your son,” I choked out. “How could you ever care for him the way a mother should if you don’t see him as your child but a minion to do your bidding?”
I tried to throw her off me, but her legs held mine tight, her weight flattening me into the ground. Her hands were squeezing my throat so tight I was starting to see stars.
“I killed your mother,” she sneered. “She had such sweet blood. I’ve been salivating for such a delicious meal since that day. Forget handing you over to the Master. I believe my dreams are about to come true.” She opened her mouth wide, exposing her fangs, ready to sink them into my neck.
“Get off her!”
Kayden rammed into his mother, both of them rolling onto the ground. They fought in a blur, and every time I tried to help Kayden, I was always just a few seconds behind.
They finally slowed down to human speed, their chests heaving like they ran a marathon. “You’re corrupted,” she spat. “You’re ruined. And now you’ll die.”
“Over my dead body.” Throwing myself toward them, I somersaulted in the air, reaching for my daggers. Just as I flew over them, I sliced the top of her head, creating a deep gash.
She cried out and clutched her head, the blood pouring down her eyes. “You filthy human!” She grabbed me by the neck, sweeping me off the ground. “Maybe Salir will come to his senses once you’re dead. He won’t be able to withstand the temptation of your blood. I’ll watch in satisfaction as he licks it off the ground.” She opened her mouth over my neck.
When her fangs were just centimeters away from my skin, Kayden flung himself over his mother, grabbing her head and pulling it back. He hesitated for a moment, his eyes flicking to me. Then he wrapped his hands tighter around her neck and yanked hard until it started to detach from her torso. He ripped it off and tossed it away.
We both fell to the ground, our chests heaving. I pulled him into my arms. “Kayden.”
Breathing heavily, he pressed his mouth to my shoulder. “I didn’t want to. I hoped I could get her to stop, but she was too far gone. I had no choice.”
“I know. You did the right thing.”
“She was never a mom to me…bu
t is it silly that I feel a little sad?”
I rubbed his back. “Of course. You should feel the way you want to feel. You don’t owe anyone an explanation.” I pulled back a little to look into his eyes. “I’m sure the others are handling the rest of the vampires. If you need a few minutes to process…”
“No, I’m fine.” He leaned forward to press a sweet kiss on my forehead. “Thanks. Let’s get back to the others.”
He took my hand and sped us away. When we met up with the rest of our army, they were slaying the few remaining vampires. I gasped when I found two slayers on the ground, one of them Marny. She was bleeding heavily from her arm.
Levi was on his knees next to her, ripping open her shirtsleeve to get to the wound.
“If it’s a bite,” she said, “please kill me.”
“Thankfully, it’s not a bite,” Levi said. “Just a gash. I’ll patch you up.”
Aunt Bea hurried over to us. “You two okay? You just disappeared.”
“We’re okay,” I said. “Kayden’s mom tried to take me to Mergarus. But we took care of her.”
Aunt Bea’s eyebrows rose. “Kayden’s mom?”
“The leader of the vampires,” he said, a look of disgust, loss, and confusion on his face.
She blinked a few times. “Your mother…? Damn, things just seem to get more and more complicated.”
“He didn’t have a relationship with her,” I said, maybe a little too roughly. “She abandoned him when he was a kid.”
She held up her hands. “I wasn’t accusing anyone of anything.” She placed a hesitant hand on Kayden’s arm. “Thanks for helping my niece.”
He inclined his head.
“Are you all standing there waiting for me?” Marny demanded, then winced when Levi wrapped her wound. “Go on and find Mergarus.”
“As soon as we know you’re okay,” Callie said.
Once her wound was taken care of, some of the slayers suggested she stay behind. Her good arm had the wound. But she insisted she continue with the mission. I smiled. She was tough. All the slayers were. The most badass women I’d ever met.
We continued on toward the beach, and I could hear the sound of battle when we drew near. The military was in combat with the supernaturals, and my jaw practically swept the floor when I saw the amount of monsters. Hundreds of them, all different kinds. From our world and beyond. The soldiers were no match for them, not even with their heavy artillery. Their modern weapons either went right through them or remained lodged in their gut with no effect. My heart hurt every time a soldier went down. I supposed my team felt the same, because we quickened our pace.
