Wards of Night

by E. M. Knight

As soon as he’s there, he urges us forward. “Come on, what are you doing? Hurry!”

  “The ward is up!” Phillip yells. “Eleira can’t get through!”

  I feel so helpless, so utterly useless, so frighteningly dependent.

  “No!” Raul runs to us. My stupid heart skips a beat when he gets close.

  He passes through the wall as if it doesn’t exist. Which, for him, it doesn’t. He clasps his brother by the arms, then he turns to me. There’s a split-second hesitation, and then he embraces me tightly.

  “I’m so glad you’re alive,” he whispers in my ear.

  He is?

  “Why do you smell like smoke?” I ask.

  “Long story.” He lets go and looks at the three Convicted. “Are there more?”

  “Not yet,” Phillip says.

  Raul nods. “You help Eleira. I’ll take care of them.”

  And then, without waiting for our consent, he launches himself right at the pack.

  Phillip looks from me to his brother. “He wants me to help, but I can’t sense the ward…” he begins.

  “I know.” A sinking feeling rises in my gut. It’s all on me.

  “But maybe I can help.” He hooks an arm under my shoulder and lifts me off my feet. “Put your hand out,” he tells me. “I’ll run back and forth and you can look for an opening that way. If any of The Convicted get through Raul, I can outrun them.”

  “What about —”

  Raul. I want to say, but then his roar rocks the cave. I look and see him standing in the middle of three mangled bodies.

  All The Convicted are dead.

  He races to us. “More are coming,” he says. “I can hear them.”

  Phillip nods. “So can I.”

  “How did you do that?” I blurt out. “How did you kill them so fast?”

  Raul grunts. “They’re weak.” His eyes look haunted. I want him to extrapolate on that, but I know he won’t.

  Then he realizes something. “You can see them?” he asks, a note of alarm in his voice.

  “Her transformation has begun,” Phillip explains.

  “Then the ward shouldn’t be stopping her!” Raul says. “Right?”

  “It will while she’s partially human,” Phillip says.

  Raul slams a fist into his open hand in frustration.

  A chorus of low, distant moans sounds from the far, distant reaches behind us.

  We all whip around.

  “They’re almost here,” Phillip says.

  “How many are there?” I gasp.

  Raul looks at his brother. “Dozens,” he says. He looks at me. “And I won’t be able to fight all of them off.”

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  RAUL

  I stand with my feet spread wide, facing the opening from which The Convicted will attack.

  I’m under no illusions that I can win this fight. The first three I fought were stupid and distracted by their inner battle over the heart.

  Eleira’s blood scent is strong in the air. It’s tantalizingly human. It calls to me, and the call is only magnified to the poor monsters sentenced to waste their lives underground.

  It occurs to me that I am bound to become one of them, after the murder of four of my kind.

  Time for those worries later. Right now, the priority is Eleira.

  She’s rushing back and forth along the invisible wall with Phillip. I curse myself for my stupidity. I should have brought someone else here first, some other human, who could have served as a test-run for this.

  But I acted on impulse. All I knew was that I had to get Eleira out. I couldn’t let her die in The Hunt.

  Except now, because of my own stupidity, she might die at the hands of these vampire ghouls.

  Well, not if I can stop it. I don’t care what happens to me. My life in The Haven is already forfeit. But if I can give Eleira the tiniest scrap of extra time…

  I glance back at her. She doesn’t know I’m looking. For a split-second I get a vision of Liana. My heart beats three times faster. It’s ludicrous, the extent of control she exhibits over me.

  And she doesn’t even know a tenth of it.

  A scraping sounds from the front. I turn my attention forward.

  The first of The Convicted is there.

  Instinct takes me. I fly over the ground and attack the monster. His flesh is weak. It doesn’t take long for me to find the opening I need to rip his heart out.

  I crush it to make sure he won’t revive and throw the body down the tunnel. The Convicted rarely turn upon each other. But if the kill is certain…

  Well, I’ve already guaranteed that. Hopefully this new quarry can distract the rest of them from Eleira’s blood.

  I hear a cheer of excitement behind me. “Raul!”

  I whip back and discover Eleira calling me closer. I rush to her. Phillip is at her side.

  “We found it!” she exclaims.

  “What? An opening?”

  “Yes, but we need your help.”

  “Anything.”

  Phillip’s lips tighten to form a thin line. “What is it?” I ask him. “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing,” he says, too quickly.

  “Phillip. I know you. Tell me what’s wrong.”

  “It’s not precisely an opening,” he admits. “Eleira thinks she senses a weakness in the ward.”

  “Yes, yes, right here!” she exclaims. She sticks her arms out. She looks like a mime pretending to be trapped in a glass box. “It is weaker. Look!”

  She pushes, and with a grunt, one of her arms falls through.

  She pulls it back out. “But I don’t have enough strength to break through myself.”

  “You want me to do… what exactly?”

  “Get me through!”

  “It’ll crush her,” Phillip says.

  “Not if we move with great speed.” She backs away. “We need as much propulsion as we can get.”

  She looks at me. “Carry me. Get a running start. Take me through the ward with you. But we have to go right here.”

  She outlines the spot again.

  “Eleira… if you’re wrong, you’ll be crushed.” My ears pick up the fast-approaching mass of Convicted. I shake my head. “I won’t do it.”

  “It’s the only way!” she says. “Don’t think, just do it!”

  “If something happens to you —“

  “It’s going to happen anyway with those half-dead vampires coming at us.” She leans into my arms. “Now do it!”

  I can’t lie. Her spunk is undeniable, as is her courage. I don’t know how she’s changed so much in her short time in The Haven, but she’s grown, gotten bolder.

  Other girls might wilt in her position. Not Eleira.

  She reminds me of Liana more and more.

  I nod. “Phillip?”

  “Be careful with her,” he says. “She is special.”

  Her cheeks color slightly at the compliment.

  “Okay.” I pick her up and back away. It’s all I can do not to focus on the young, infinitely alluring woman in my arms. Every instinct makes me want to devour her, to taste her blood, to have her whole. To make her mine.

  It’s a struggle to push all those things aside.

  “Ready?” I whisper.

  She steadies herself against me. “Yes.”

  I take off at a run. I move as fast as my legs will carry me. The invisible ward is coming up in front of us. At the very last moment I spin back, crashing through it with my shoulders and clutching Eleira to me so she doesn’t get crushed.

  There’s a tug, a resistance, and for an awful moment I think I’m going to lose her. Her body jerks as it hits the barrier. She cries out in pain from the force of impact. Momentum keeps us going forward, and my hands wrap more tightly around her so as not to let her go.

  Time seems to slow as we traverse the barrier. I feel the force against her body, going the other way… and then there’s a harsh snap, and both of us break through.

  She rebounds into me
. I stagger back, but I manage to stay on my feet.

  “Are you okay?” I ask, concern filling every part of my soul.

  She bobs her head up and down. She offers a weak smile. “We did it,” she says.

  “You did it,” I correct. “This was my screw up, and you fixed it.”

  “Well, don’t you worry your handsome face,” she says. She sounds a little woozy. She brings a hand up and holds it to my cheek. “It’s been fixed.”

  Her words tug at my heart. In particular, the part of my heart I didn’t know existed.

  Phillip appears next to us. “I hate to interrupt this tender moment,” he says, “but we’ve got bigger issues to worry about.”

  He points. From out of the cavern opening stream dozens of Convicted. They’re running straight at us.

  They’ve sighted their prey.

  I hand Eleira off to Phillip. “Go!” I tell them. “Get her up to the opening! I’ll hold them off while you climb.”

  “There are too many, Raul!” Phillip cries. “You won’t be able to stop them. Come with us!”

  I grab him by the shoulder and shove him away. “Don’t argue. Just go!”

  The moans of The Convicted turn into vicious snarls. They’ll attack as a pack.

  Phillip looks at me, hesitating for a flicker of a moment. Then a crisp determination shows in his eyes. “Hang on tight,” he tells Eleira, and, swinging her onto his back, he begins the scampering ascent to freedom.

  I don’t get to see how far they get, because at that moment, the horde falls on me.

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  ELEIRA

  Breaking through the ward was the single most impulsive, riskiest thing I have ever done.

  I lied to the two vampire brothers. The spot I’d chosen was no weaker than any other. But in the face of what was coming, I didn’t have any choice.

  The truth of how I got through undoubtedly has to do with the transformation’s progression. After my night vision came to me, I felt a new strength creep into my body. It wasn’t overwhelming. In fact, it was very, very subtle.

  The only reason I noticed it was that the injury I’d sustained when I was thrown off Phillip’s back seemed to heal… faster. Or, at least, the after-effect of that was not as severe as I would have expected.

  And now I’m back on Phillip’s back, and he’s scaling the cliff-face to our escape.

  Sounds of a battle rage from below. I dare a glance down and see Raul throwing off one Convicted after the other. They all but ignore him, instead racing to get to me. The ones who engage with him are quickly destroyed.

  “Faster, Phillip, faster!” I urge. He’s not as adept at climbing as his brother. We’re only a third of the way up. The Convicted start scaling the wall below. They’ll be on us quickly.

  Philip grabs a handhold and leaps up. We fly through the air. For a dizzying moment I feel weightless, and then he latches onto the next ledge.

  “That fast enough for you?” he murmurs. “How’s Raul doing?”

  “They’re not attacking him,” I say. “They’re focused on us!”

  “Lucky they don’t know the meaning of cooperation,” he says. He jumps again, and catches a jagged piece of rock. The Convicted are swarming like beetles below us. They scurry up with a single-minded determination. A female in a red jacket loses her grip when one of her companions grabs her leg and tugs it to help himself. She falls, screaming.

  I turn my head away before I can see the impact she makes on the ground.

  Phillip finds a series of sure grips and quickly moves along them. We’re closing in on the opening. Hope blossoms inside me—

  I hear a wretched scream below. I look down. Raul is surrounded by four or five Convicted. They’ve finally turned their attention to him. He has deep gashes on his back and arms and legs and is bleeding badly.

  “No!” I cry out.

  One of The Convicted takes a swipe at him. Claws flash. Raul does not react in time to parry the attack. He screams again as the claws sink into his shoulder.

  “We have to help him!” I cry out.

  “No. You’re more important. We need to get you to safety first.” Phillip leaps up again. My heart flies to my throat. “There’s the prophecy to consider and all that,” he adds under his breath.

  “But they’re going to kill him!”

  “Not if I know my brother.” The sounds of the climbing hoard make urgency pulse through my body.

  “You can’t see what’s going on!” I protest.

  “We’re almost there, Eleira.” Phillip grunts and scampers up another dozen feet. “I’ll help him once you’re safe.”

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  RAUL

  One of The Convicted wraps his arms around my neck in a stranglehold. I scream in rage and fling him off. His body crashes into the midst of those surrounding me, knocking them off their feet.

  I spin around, tense and ready for the next attack. I’m surrounded by the mass. Anything I do, anything I try, is a losing prospect.

  My eyes flicker up. I see Phillip scampering up the wall. Eleira is clinging to his back.

  There’s already a wave of Convicted climbing after them.

  Another one tries to attack. I dodge the blow and land a fist in his middle. He doubles over from the strike, but he’s already forgotten.

  I need to give Phillip and Eleira more time.

  My mind races for a solution as I zone out and fight on instinct alone.

  Most of The Convicted rush past me, following the scent of blood.

  A spark of an idea comes to mind. It’s risky, and uncertain, but…

  I grab The Convicted closest to me — it’s a woman vampire. Or at the least, it used to be. Now she’s little more than a walking corpse.

  I bare my fangs and sink my teeth into her neck. Her horrid, tainted blood flows into me. It’s no better than poison, but I need to have it, for what I’m about to do next.

  I discard her body once she’s drained dry. That happens in a matter of seconds. My own system recoils from the tainted blood. But I must have more, as much of it as I can stand without fainting.

  I grab my next victim. This one was a man. My fangs go into the artery by his throat. His blood is even more corrupt, even more sickening. He’s been trapped here in the depths for much longer. Tasting his blood is like tasting death. Instead of the life-giving, energizing nectar that human blood is, this is a vile mix of liquefied maggot and ash.

  I release the man. His body falls. One more. I need one more.

  I grab the nearest Convicted. But shock paralyzes me for a moment when I see his face. I know this vampire—or at least, I used to. Ten years ago he’d been my Mother’s lover. Then he disappeared without a trace. The story was he went rogue and left the safety of our coven to strike out on his own.

  My surprise leaves me vulnerable. The split-second is enough for my opponent to strike at me.

  He’s stronger than the other Convicted. He’s only been here a decade. The deprivation has not yet affected him as it has the rest.

  His claws rip into my torso. I scream at the sudden influx of pain. The blood of the other Convicted that is in my body shatters all the defenses I have against such pain.

  My blood-curdling yell attracts the attention of those nearby. Before I know it I’m surrounded by four of the Convicted who all have their focus on me. One attacks me from behind. I sense it, and I can move out of the way to dodge the strike, but I don’t.

  Claws sharp as a rake rip over my back. The tainted blood inside me bursts out.

  Another one swipes at my legs. I jump back and shift my body—but not to avoid him.

  I do it to make sure the attack connects.

  This is my maniacal, borderline suicidal plan.

  In seconds, I’m covered in my own blood. The pain is horrible, but the scent… the scent, the smell, is overwhelming. It’s made all the more potent by the dirtied blood flowing through me.

  It reaches The Convicted climbing
after Eleira and Phillip. It stops them in their tracks. For a moment, it confuses them.

  And then, all their attention shifts to me.

  I feel a momentary sense of triumph as the ones closest to my brother and the girl turn away and start climbing down. Human blood is sweet to them, yes, but the raw strength of mine, after it’s been amplified by my two feedings, is the stronger bait.

  And then the entire horde closes in on me, and my world goes black.

  Chapter Forty

  ELEIRA

  My breath catches as the gap to The Convicted below us lessens. Phillip is climbing as fast as he can, but he’s carrying an extra weight. And the monsters are driven by the scent of blood.

  Suddenly, the opening appears before us. Light from the starry night sky outside filters in.

  Phillip shoves me through. “Go!” he says. “Go now. I’ll —”

  He doesn’t get to finish. One of The Convicted grabs his ankle and jerks him off his feet.

  “No, Phillip!” I cry out. I grab for him, but he disappears over the edge. The snarling beasts are so close that I know I only have seconds. Even if they can’t see the opening, common sense tells me they’ll be able to find it by following the scent of my blood.

  And I don’t know if the ward is a physical barrier or merely an illusion for them.

  I feel like such a coward, and I hate myself for it, but there’s nothing I can do to help the brothers who rescued me.

  So I turn, and, biting down a cry, lurch into an awkward run to get away.

  Chapter Forty-One

  PHILLIP

  As soon as I get Eleira through the opening I stop and look down.

  I know what my brother has done. He’s sacrificed himself to give her a chance. I couldn’t let her know that’s the only reason she got out unscathed.

  There’s a dogpile of The Convicted right below me. More are streaming in from the sides. My gut clenches. Raul is underneath.

  Please don’t let me be too late, I pray.

  A hand tugs on my foot. That’s all the incitation I need. I turn, push off the ledge, and plunge straight down.