by J. N. Baker
“To think that I could have—”
“But you didn’t,” he cut in, his hand falling to mine. “And I’m completely fine. Just a little bump on the head. I might be human, Zo, but I’m not that fragile.” His eyes trailed down my body, lingering on my breasts, and I suddenly felt hot. “Are you okay?”
I followed his eyes to where the white sunburst-shaped marking peeked out of my black tank top and my hand instinctively moved to cover it. “Yeah,” I breathed.
“Your other markings are gone,” he said, stating the obvious, his eyes slowly coming back to my face. He leaned forward and I forgot to breathe. “And your eyes,” he said. “It’s almost like there’s stars in them now…What the hell happened to you, Zo?”
“Not you too,” I grumbled. “I don’t know.”
“Are you still one of the, you know,” he jerked his head toward Alec and William.
I sighed and nodded. “Appears so.”
Footsteps traveled down the corridor and I stood as a cloaked figure stepped into the doorway. It bowed to William and Alec.
“Litharo,” William said, turning in the direction of the shadow creature. “What news do you bring us?”
“I have spoken with my people, sire. They say there are whispers in the wind. Something large travels this way and fast.”
Those yellow eyes zeroed in on me from across the room as the creature continued to speak. They glowed beneath the protection of the dark hood. I couldn’t look away. It had me in its clutches. Uneasiness overtook me and I gasped, feeling something tugging on my insides. And then it happened.
I released a bloodcurdling scream and dropped to my knees.
“Zoe!”
The physical pain was unlike anything I’d ever experienced before. I writhed on the floor beside Josh’s bed, grabbing my stomach. Blood oozed between shaky fingers as I tried desperately to shove my intestines back into my body. They continued to fall out, splattering onto the stone floor beneath me. I thought I felt my spine snap and I screamed again.
“Release her!” someone roared.
I crawled on hands and knees across the medical chamber, slamming my bloody fists into the ground, gasping for air that no longer came. It was tearing me apart from the inside. I flipped onto my back and thrashed back and forth wildly, clawing at my skull as the pressure grew within it. My head was going to explode. “Make it stop!” I cried out.
“I said, release her!”
A blade sliced through the air. It was so fast I barely saw it. As quickly as the pain came upon me, it was gone. As were the blood and guts that had been torn from my body and smeared all over the stone floor.
The disembodied head rolled across the floor before coming to a stop a few feet away from me. Long needle-like teeth protruded from the shadow of the black hood and I shielded my eyes, remembering Ryuu’s words about seeing what they really were.
“What were you thinking?” Alec raged. “I told you, never make eye contact with them! Dammit, Zoe, I warned you!”
I muttered my apologies into the floor, trying to shove myself farther away from the head. As if he could read my mind, Alec stormed over and kicked it into the fire. It squealed in the flames and I covered my ears.
“Zoe, are you okay?” Josh peered over the side of the bed at me. At least someone in the room was concerned for my wellbeing. Ironic that of the three other people in the room, it was the one I’d nearly killed.
“She’s fine,” Alec said, still fuming. “That’s what those filthy creatures do.”
“I thought we could trust them,” I growled into the floor. “Ryuu said they were on our side.”
“They’re still the embodiment of evil. The shadow people are masters of the mind. They hypnotize their victims, making them see and feel things that aren’t really happening until they weaken you enough and eat you. They can’t help themselves, it’s what they are. You gave him power over you the second you made eye contact.”
“So, this is my fault?”
“Well, it wasn’t his!” he snapped, jabbing a finger at the decapitated body.
“Hey,” Josh interjected. “Why don’t you back off her a little?”
“Stay the fuck out of this, human,” Alec spat.
“Don’t you talk to him like that,” I said, using the edge of the bed to climb to my feet. Josh’s fingertips grazed mine and I felt dizzy all over again for completely unrelated reasons. “And if it wasn’t his fault, then why did you have to kill him?”
“If I didn’t kill him, Litharo would have always had power over you,” he shouted as if I should already know. I was getting really sick of Alec’s condescending tone. I already had to deal with William treating me like a child, I didn’t need it from Alec as well. I was his equal and I expected to be treated as such.
As he opened his mouth to continue his tongue-lashing, I made my move. I jumped in his face, jabbing a stiff finger into his chest so hard that he stumbled back a step. “Next time you try to warn me, how about you actually warn me? If you hadn’t done such a piss-poor job in the first place with all your ‘they just are’ bullshit, then this wouldn’t have even happened.
“How about something like, ‘Hey, don’t make eye contact or the crazy shadow monster will make you think your insides are being ripped out before they try to eat you’? That’s probably something someone should know, don’t you think?”
I turned my back to him, cursing under my breath. I’d apologize later. Maybe. Possibly.
Probably not.
William put a hand on my shoulder and pulled me away from Alec. “Litharo was an excellent messenger, but there will be others. His people will understand the reason for his death. They know the law and he clearly broke it.” William nodded. “Do not worry, Zoe. With time, you will learn.”
I bit the inside of my mouth to keep from telling him that if he’d taught me more about our world, then I wouldn’t need to learn all this new shit as it came at me. Hell, I hadn’t even learned about shifts until Cody stood naked in my living room, and shifts were apparently a major part of our world. I was starting to get the distinct feeling that William was keeping things from me on purpose. Maybe he liked seeing me squirm, or maybe he just wanted to hold something over me.
Alec tried to pull me into his arms, whispering sweet nothings. I shoved him away, ignoring his protests. He wasn’t getting off that easy.
Ice-blue eyes found mine and I held Josh’s gaze. In that moment, I missed my old life. Hell, my old-new life, where the vamps and I were the only monsters that went bump in the night. It was far less complicated than this new and strange world filled with creatures fit only for nightmares.
I pulled my eyes away from Josh. Someone was coming. I heard the light footsteps making their way down the corridor, feet inaudible to the untrained ear. Ryuu was standing in the door only seconds later.
He opened his mouth to speak but stopped short, his hazel eyes locking onto the headless shadow creature.
“Looks like someone made eye contact,” he said with a hoarse laugh, stepping over the limp body. “Make sure you get rid of that thing properly so it can’t reform. You know they can do that, Alec.”
Alec nodded with a straight face, eyes still locked on me.
“So, who was it?” Ryuu asked, scanning the room. “Zoe’s human?”
Josh scowled at him. “I’m not her human,” he grumbled.
“No,” Alec said, “it was Zoe.”
“We warned you,” Ryuu said, giving me a half-hearted shrugged. He nudged the body with his foot and shuddered.
“Enough.” William’s voice echoed against stone walls. Ryuu straightened, moving away from the cloaked figure. “What is it that you wanted, Ryuu?”
“Oh, yes, of course. My apologies, William. The castle is under attack.”
The sky was alive with movement, ghastly shrieks piercing the air around us. The Sythen. It was hard to tell how many there were. Their bodies seemed to blend together against the blackened sky. There were at
least a dozen that I could make out above us but I was sure there were more hiding in the darkness. Adrenaline pumped through me as I thought about the Sythen whose blood coursed through my veins. Maybe it was out there waiting for me. I drew my sword upon exiting the castle gates. Our people were already on the defense.
“Loose!” Markus bellowed. I couldn’t see him, but I’d recognize that voice anywhere.
A row of archers perched high on the castle walls raised their bows and fired, and then reloaded and fired again. Vampires. Their aim was too accurate and their speed too quick to be human or even shift. Hundreds of arrows sailed through the air, heading straight toward their targets.
A scream erupted from high above us and one of the Sythen came tumbling down to Earth. The ground shook beneath its massive body. The beast moaned and howled, trying to pull the many arrows free with its jagged teeth. Black liquid seeped over its scales. Jade’s body split in two, one Jade staying defensively at our side, the other running forward and slicing the beast’s head off with one clean swipe of her blade. Color me impressed. It had taken me a good four or five hacks with my sword to remove the head of the beast that attacked Josh and me on the arcade roof back in Santa Cruz.
Something sailed past my ear with a whistle. It shimmered as it soared through the air and high into the sky. Impact. Another serpent beast toppled down from the protection of the dark clouds above. I looked over my shoulder to find Godfrey holding firm to a large wooden bow that was easily the length of his body, another oversized arrow already nocked in place. I blinked and the arrow was gone. I made a mental note to never get on the old vampire’s bad side.
Ear-piercing screeches continued to fill the sky. For every one we took down, three more took its place. “There are too many of them!” Annie shouted, as if reading my mind.
“Watch out!” someone yelled.
But the warning came too late. A large black mass swooped down toward the earth, wings expanded and mouth open. The beast snapped its massive jaws around an older man as he sprinted across the clearing. The man’s legs toppled into the grass and the Sythen took off with the rest of its meal.
Josh came running out of the castle, his head still wrapped with gauze. He scanned the crowd, searching for someone. Maybe me. Probably Tiffany.
I sheathed my blade and ran for him. I was grateful when he didn’t flinch away from me. I grabbed his forearm a bit harder than I intended and he winced as I shoved him back toward the protection of the castle walls. “What the hell do you think you’re doing out here, Josh? Get back inside!”
Josh’s large hand coiled around my own forearm, his fingers digging into the muscle. “I’m fine,” he almost growled.
I shook my head and put my other hand on his chest, listening to the steady, uncorrupt beat of his heart. I took a deep breath. “You’re in no condition to be fighting,” I said more calmly. “Go find Cindy and Tiffany and find somewhere in the castle to hunker down until this is over. I can’t lose you, Josh.” The last part came out as no more than a whisper.
But he didn’t release me. Instead he tugged on my arm, pulling me closer until we were damn near nose to nose, his ice-blue eyes boring into me. “Do you think you’re the only one afraid to lose someone?”
My eyes fell to his chest, unable to hold his piercing gaze. “That’s why you need to find Tiffany and keep her safe.”
Josh gave me a shake. “You, Zoe. I can’t lose you.” He sighed, releasing me. “Tiffany and Cindy are fine, they’re safely inside the castle. I’m here to fight. Deal with it.”
And with that he jogged off into the darkness.
As I looked back to the black sky overhead, a tingling sensation began to build in the pit of my stomach. I gasped as it spread throughout my body, like electricity coursing through my veins until my entire body felt like it was humming with power. It washed over me, setting fire to my skin though there wasn’t a single flame in sight. And then the voices came. Hundreds of voices, calling out to me, rising in volume until I could hear nothing else. Suddenly, I was making my way back into the castle.
“Zoe! What are you doing?”
My legs moved without my permission, leading me into the unknown. I coasted through the courtyard toward one of the large sets of spiral stairs and started my ascent. Bodies scrambled behind me, their presence hovering somewhere in the back of my mind. The voices urged me forward and I obeyed without a second thought. I rounded the staircase until I reached the very top, a breeze combing through my hair as I took the last step onto the watchtower. A row of vampire eyes locked on to me, their bows aimed at the dark sky.
“Leave,” I snarled, walking past them. There was a slight pause before they scrambled to the stairwell.
“Zoe, what the hell are you doing? Get down from there!”
I glanced over my shoulder at the bodies behind me. I could not make out who they were. “Silence,” I commanded, turning my attention back to the sky.
The darkness consumed me. I felt the beating of wings all around me, wind pushing and pulling from all directions as the beasts circled overhead. I could sense where each of them was. I could feel their evil, taste their desire for my blood. I closed my eyes and lifted my arms out at my sides, feeling the power within me surge. Burning electricity began weaving in and out of my extended fingers, crackling in my ears as it built. I shot my arms straight into the air with a cry.
A flash of white overtook the black sky, engulfing everything in its path. White-hot lightning sparked and burned as it shot out from my hands and coiled around the flying beasts, dragging them down to the earth to die. As the last Sythen fell, its massive body crashed into the edge of the tower. Before it could continue its downward spiral, surrounded by bits and pieces of stone, a man leapt from the beast’s back, landing on the watchtower just feet away from me. His laughter cut through my trance and I fell to my knees, cradling my burned hands to my chest.
“Well, now. That was certainly…unexpected,” he said, his voice deep and full of amusement. He straightened and brushed the dust from his left shoulder before taking a step toward me, coming too close for comfort.
Baldric.
He stood as tall as William, long black hair scattered over his shoulders, blowing wildly in the wind. His face was long and thin and his skin was unusually pale, as if he spent most of his time in darkness. And his eyes, the blackest eyes I’d ever seen, they were so hollow—void of all life.
He wore a long black trench coat over a tight black shirt that hugged his muscular chest. His pants were also black, tucked into a pair of leather boots that stretched up past his calf muscles. Matching leather gloves completed the look. He contained every clichéd characteristic of a storybook villain. And he needed to die.
“Baldric,” I hissed. I drew my blade and lunged for him.
He was on me in a fraction of a second. Next thing I knew, my sword was clanking to the ground at my feet and he had both of my arms pinned behind my back in one gloved hand. “That is King to you,” he growled. So, he’d already changed his title. From general to king? Someone was rather eager to claim the world as his own.
“Let her go,” Alec shouted, moving toward me.
There were suddenly four more Baldrics on the tower, blocking the path between the others and us. “Do not interfere,” they snarled in unison. I liked that trick a lot more when Jade was the one doing it.
The real Baldric’s eyes never left mine. Using his free hand, he grabbed my face, pulling it closer to his. “Roland was right,” he purred. “You look so much like her.”
I struggled under his grip, spitting in his face.
He laughed, wiping the moisture away. “And just as feisty. But you are not her, are you? I am not so stupid as to think such a thing.” Baldric’s hand found my face once more, tightening his grip until I thought my jaw might break. He twisted my head around, setting my eyes on William who stood defensively in front of Annie. “Unlike that one. Look at him, hovering in front of her protectively.
/> “He truly believes she is his Gwendolyn. He probably thinks you are Sera. Worry not, I know you are your own person. And it is clear to see that you are still a prize to be won. All that power, surely you do not know what to do with it all. And neither does your little master over there. But I could show you. If you come with me, I can help you harness that power in ways William never could.”
William growled. “Do not listen to him, Zoe. He is a master manipulator.”
“Come now, William, my old friend, what would you ever do with so much power in a body so,” his eyes shifted down, lingering on the tops of my breasts, “lush?”
And then Baldric froze, his eyes still glued to my chest. In an instant, his hand dropped from my face and yanked down my tank top until I thought it would rip.
“That marking…” he breathed.
His eyes found mine once more. He squinted and pulled me in closer. I was sure he was seeing the flecks of white that had sprouted within the teal pools of my irises. And then his eyes flashed with something I couldn’t read. “Could it be? This creature…she has ascended.”
“I am sure that I do not know what you are talking about, old friend,” William said through clenched teeth, his voice laced with hatred.
“Then you truly are a fool,” Baldric snapped, his eyes not leaving mine. There was an emptiness in those dark eyes, like I was staring into two bottomless pits. It was as if the person who used to be there had long since gone. “A blind man could see it—feel it,” he continued, speaking more to himself than William. “Once she taps into her true potential, she will be unstoppable.”
He leaned in close, the buttons of his open trench coat scraping against my bare skin. “Join me,” he whispered into my ear. “We will rule together. With our combined powers, we will be invincible.”
“Over my dead body.”
Baldric growled. “That could be arranged,” he snarled. “But it would be such a waste of power. No, you will be mine. One way or another, I will have you.”
I thought I heard someone shouting for Josh to stop. A shot exploded behind me and something hot grazed my earlobe. Blood leached from the bullet hole in the side of Baldric’s head. His clones melted away and Josh barreled toward me.
