by F. E. Heaton
She told herself that it was best this way.
"Still,” she whispered and the magic appeared, seeping into his skin. He swayed for a moment and then collapsed back onto the bed, his hand slipping away from hers.
She swallowed her apprehension about her plan and looked at his face. It really was better this way. She couldn't take him with her on this mission and he wouldn't let her leave again without him.
She couldn't risk him.
Leaning down on one elbow, she smoothed the tangled threads of his hair. An overwhelming sense of doom filled her and she found herself putting his face to memory in case she never saw it again. She shifted closer to him and frowned before pressing a long kiss to his lips.
"I'm sorry,” she said quietly against his mouth, as though speaking any louder would wake him. “This is just something I have to do alone. I know you can't hear me ... but deep inside me, there is a part of me that loves you."
Standing, she closed the curtains so he would be safe from the sun should anything happen, and then walked to the door. She went down the stairs, keeping close to the edges of the steps so she made no sound. Creeping through the kitchen, she avoided meeting Piotr.
She hated having to leave like this, but it had to be this way.
Sneaking out the back of the inn, she went down the alley that led to the front and peered around the corner of the building. There was no sign of the army arriving. It had been hours since her group had arrived so it was only a matter of time now. She had to go now, or someone was likely to see her.
She dashed across the muddy track and down into the fields. Instinct told her to keep close to the woods, so she headed towards them. She paused when she reached the fringe of the trees and glanced back at the village. Her heart ached but she pressed on.
She had to do this alone.
Only she could save Valentine.
Chapter 26
Prophecy stared at the mass of zombies in front of her. She was standing on a small hillock in front of the castle. The zombies had all stopped to stare at her once they'd realised she was there. It had taken them ten minutes.
Clearly, zombies weren't very astute.
Since they'd noticed her, all they'd done was groan a few times. Not one of them had made a move to attack her.
What were they waiting for?
A shadow moved across the open door of the castle and she watched the man limp towards her. He had the same pallid complexion as the rest of the zombies, but there was something altogether more aware about him. He raised his hands a few times and then spoke.
"Feed,” he drawled in a garbled voice that made him sound as though he was speaking with a mouthful of water.
When saliva spilled down his chin, she wrinkled her nose in disgust and brought her hand up.
The moment he stepped within the invisible line she'd drawn around herself, she unleashed the magic. It tore straight through his head and his body fell to the ground. The advancing zombies trampled it in their effort to reach her.
She grinned and released another spell on them. It ripped through the frontline of the zombies, burning them until nothing but their bones remained. She noticed that none of them screamed.
Her lip curled when she saw that some of the zombies had stopped to feed on the flesh of the first one she'd killed.
She cast a few fireballs through the throng and waited for the air to clear so she could see what damage she'd done. It was minimal. Between her and the castle was still a wall of zombies.
To kill them all would take too long.
Focusing on her destination, she called the magic to her hand and drew her sword with the other. She roared and ran at the zombies, hacking their limbs off with the sword while she unleashed all the power she could spare with her other. She elbowed and kicked the zombies that lunged at her, grabbing her arms with their rotting fingers and trying to hold her. One fallen zombie caught her leg and she blasted its head open with her magic before turning and cutting another in two with her sword.
She kept pressing forwards, determined to reach the door.
As she broke through the last of the zombies, she reached out with her senses and realised that they were following her. They were fast too, much quicker than she'd expected. Clearly, they were hungry.
She turned and swept her hand around, cutting through them with the magic. Threads of purple blazed, slicing them like knives and cleaving their flesh open.
She wasn't about to become their next meal.
When the remaining zombies seemed more interested in eating their fallen companions than following her, she ran into the castle. She knew where Valentine and Elena would be, but she hadn't entered the castle this way before. Locking her senses on Valentine's scent, she followed it through the castle, dispatching any zombies she stumbled across.
The interior of the castle was barely lit. With her senses fixed on Valentine, she was open to attack from the shadows. She tried to focus on both her surroundings and Valentine, but it became too muddled. Switching her focus to rest on just her surroundings, she decided to head towards the centre of the castle and see if she felt any vampire signatures amongst the zombies and demons.
She thrust her sword through the throat of a zombie as it lunged at her out of the shadows and barely had time to react when another lurched towards her. She punched it in the chest and grimaced when she released the magic inside of it, blasting a hole through it.
Shaking her hand to rid it of the pieces of zombie flesh, she drew her sword out of the other zombie's throat and continued running.
She dodged a zombie and bolted down a corridor that seemed familiar. Her senses weren't picking up any signs of a vampire, but there was a strong signature up ahead. It was probably Elena. She cursed when she realised they were alone. She needed Valentine to be there too.
Turning down another corridor, she skidded to a halt and spun on the spot, trying to locate where the signature she'd felt had disappeared to. She growled when she found it was gone and then headed back in the direction she'd come.
These hallways seemed too quiet to be the right direction. Elena would have her zombies crowding the ones around her.
The necromancer would know she was coming.
Sprinting around another corner, she saw the hall ahead was crammed with zombies. She roared and unleashed the magic on them before they had a chance to notice her. Cutting and slicing her way through them, she tried to use her sword more and her magic less. She had to preserve her energy or she was going to find she didn't have enough power left to do what she had planned.
There was a door up ahead. Her stomach turned on seeing it. She knew where it led.
Pushing on, she leaped up and landed on the zombies’ shoulders and heads, trampling them as she used her superior balance to run over them towards the door.
She dropped down and caught the last zombie with a blast of magic, sending it toppling backwards into the others. They immediately dragged it into the group and crowded around it. She was disgusted when she heard the soft chewing and sucking noises, and the groans.
At least they were occupied.
She shoved the door open and closed it behind her, dropping the long wooden brace into the cradles and sealing herself in.
She sheathed her sword and took a deep breath. The room was cold and as large as she remembered it, maybe larger without the Tenebrae crowding it. Her footsteps rung around it, echoing off the heavy stone walls. There were torches lit all along the walls either side of her, but they did nothing to warm the expansive room.
Holding her nerve, she kept telling herself to be calm. She strode towards the platform where she'd killed the lord of Tenebrae, waiting for Elena to appear.
She could feel the witch was here.
She stopped just short of the platform and rested her left hand on her sword. The magic spiralled around the fingers of her right, tickling her.
All she could hear was her own ragged breathing.
"You might as well c
ome out. I know you're here,” she said to the room, loud enough that her voice echoed around it.
The hairs on the back of her neck rose and two signatures pricked her senses.
She kept her expression blank as Elena shimmered into existence on the platform. Valentine was by her side.
Her gaze flickered to him and she frowned when she saw he was wearing only his trousers and boots. She could smell blood on him but it wasn't hers. Her eyes dropped to his neck and then to his shoulder. There was a bite mark on it. Did Elena have another vampire here? She shook her head. Now wasn't the time to be thinking about things that didn't matter. All that mattered was this moment and what she did in it. Her eyes moved to his chest and she remembered the mark she'd seen the night he'd claimed her, and the excruciating pain it had caused her.
Her fingers flexed when he stepped forwards and raised his chin.
His eyes were fixed intently on her. She held his gaze, seeing in his that he was ready for whatever might happen to him.
She didn't know whether she was.
Her heart ached so much that she felt weak when she recalled his speech about killing him. She struggled against it, telling herself that she had to be strong. The door behind her creaked and groaned. She could hear the zombies on the other side of it. Time was running out.
It was now or never.
"Kill her,” Elena said emotionlessly.
Prophecy braced herself, her whole body tensing and her feelings lodging themselves in her throat, making her feel sick.
She couldn't do this. She couldn't do as he'd asked and he knew it. There had to be another reason, and she hoped it was the one she thought it was. If this went wrong, if she had misread his signals or misjudged anything, the world was doomed.
After battling the zombies, she didn't have enough strength to kill Valentine and Elena.
"I have been so looking forwards to this moment, child of light. It is such delicious irony to be killed by the one person you believed couldn't hurt you.” Elena smirked at her.
Prophecy growled and kept her focus on Valentine. He was advancing painfully slowly. She felt the power coming off him in tangible waves that made the air around them thick and heavy. She couldn't do this.
All sound drowned out and her ears rang. She frowned and looked down at her hand as it burned, searing her with white-hot pain that crept up her arm. The marks on her body began to pulse and itch, turning to fire against her flesh.
"You can do this,” said a voice in her head and she looked at Valentine.
"Kill her now!” Elena's command rang around the room.
Prophecy flinched as Valentine raised a hand and brought it down towards her, his claws extending. She closed her eyes and gritted her teeth, waiting for the impact.
Nothing happened.
Opening her eyes, she stared into Valentine's. She could see his struggle in their green depths and feel it in his body. His hand had stopped only millimetres from her. It was shaking and making his whole arm tremble.
"Kill her now!” Elena commanded again.
He drew his hand back and tried to hit her, and again he failed, his hand stopping so close to her face that she could feel it.
"What is wrong with you?” Elena started towards them.
Prophecy searched Valentine's eyes.
"Kill her now!” Elena shouted.
"Kill me now,” he said into her head.
Her eyes widened in realisation.
He'd given her permission to kill him. He hadn't been trying to tell her that he was fine with it, he had been telling the bond between them. If he wanted to die, then she could raise a hand to do it.
"I said kill her!” Elena was within twenty feet of them now.
Prophecy panicked and stepped forwards so she was beside Valentine. He turned to look at her with eyes that betrayed his disbelief. She looked away from him, staring straight at Elena.
"He can't kill me,” she said calmly and Elena stopped.
Prophecy saw the magic curling around Elena's hands, black and deadly ribbons that grew darker and thicker as she watched.
She turned to Valentine.
"I can't kill you,” she whispered and raised her hand, cupping his cheek. Holding his gaze, she added telepathically, “Hold onto me and don't let go."
He looked confused but did as she'd asked.
Prophecy pressed her amulet against the mark over her chest and dug her claws in, calling her magic and remembering how the spell had felt. She brought her bloodied hand across to Valentine's chest and pressed it against the invisible mark there. Pain rocked her body when she punctured his chest with her claws and Elena's spell fought against her. She growled and focused, calling as much power as she could and keeping her focus on the spell the amulet had absorbed.
Screaming and flinging her head back when the magic swept through her veins, racking her body, she clung to Valentine and held him as he collapsed against her.
She fought for breath and turned to face Elena.
"This ends tonight,” she hissed at the witch.
Elena raised her hands.
Before the witch had a chance to release the spell, Prophecy snapped her fingers and closed her eyes.
Her head spun, her body shook and ached, and icy wind blasted against her. She kept a tight hold on Valentine and didn't open her eyes until she felt solid ground beneath her feet again.
Falling to the ground, she breathed hard and fast as her body struggled to shut down the pain and heal itself. Blades of grass tickled her nose and she could smell the wet earth beneath her. She fluttered her eyes open and looked at Valentine where he lay beside her, his eyes still closed.
He opened them and looked at her, his lids heavy, making him look sleepy.
She tried to push herself up, but her arms trembled and she collapsed again, too tired to move.
Valentine got to his feet and gave his head a moment to clear. His chest burned and he rubbed at it. There was a mark there and it looked strangely familiar.
He looked at Prophecy's chest and saw that his mark was identical to hers.
Bending down, he carefully picked her up and cradled her in his arms. She felt weak. He could feel the amount of pain she was in and how tired she was. Holding her gently, he carried her towards the inn.
What had she done to him back at the castle? Whatever it was, he was now free of Elena's spell. He'd been expecting her to kill him, not to rescue him at the eleventh hour.
Tears of relief slid down his cheeks and he cursed himself for crying, and the fact he couldn't wipe them away. He started a little when something brushed against his cheek and he found Prophecy watching him with a small smile as she wiped away the tears. He knew she could feel every emotion he was experiencing and he didn't hold them back. He'd given up hope of her saving him. To be free and be with her again was too much to deal with.
He lowered his head and kissed her, silently thanking her a million times over for not giving up hope.
Taking her up the stairs that she weakly pointed out, he carried her to the room they'd occupied when last at the inn. When he opened the door, he saw Venturi lying motionless on the bed. Was this her doing?
He had been surprised when she'd come to Elena's castle alone. He'd thought that she'd bring everyone with her and end the prophecy there and then. Then again, he'd also been convinced she was going to kill him.
"Put me down,” Prophecy mumbled.
He did as she'd asked, making sure that she was steady on her feet before releasing her. She looked pale and tired. He'd felt the pain caused by the spell she'd cast, and even after that, she'd still managed to find the strength to teleport them back here.
She needed rest but something told him that as soon as she was feeling better, she was going back out to finish Elena. He hazily remembered her telling Elena that it would end tonight. If that was the case, Prophecy needed to regain her strength, and fast.
He watched her sit down on the edge of the bed and lightly touch Venturi'
s shoulder.
"Motion,” she whispered and the Tenebrae shot up into a sitting position.
Venturi turned with wide eyes that skipped over Prophecy and settled immediately on himself.
"Get back,” Venturi said to Prophecy as he went to round the bed.
She stood up and blocked his path, holding her arms out by her sides.
"It's okay. He's okay now.” Her voice shook and Valentine wished he could see her face to know what her expression was.
She felt relieved, happy.
Venturi looked angry.
"You...” He started, glaring at Prophecy.
"I did what I had to do, Venturi. I had to go alone.” She stepped backwards towards himself.
Valentine stepped forwards, feeling a little better now that his head was clearing. He looked into her eyes when she turned to face him. She wobbled slightly and he held her hips, steadying her.
"What did you do to me?” he said.
She brushed her fingers over the mark on his chest. “You didn't honestly think I could kill you."
He smiled, feeling a little foolish. “I thought you were going to."
"It's a bonding spell, similar to what Elena had cast on you. This is my mark. Only you and I can see it.” She hesitated for a moment and looked nervous. “I think Elena's spell is gone now, but you're not free ... I don't know how to do that yet ... you're under my command instead now, but I won't command you. I'll never invoke that side of the spell."
He believed her. The way she was looking at him with honest eyes and an open heart said she was telling the truth. She'd never turn him into a mindless slave like Elena had. She loved him too much.
She wobbled again and he held her tighter.
"You are weak. You must feed before we head out."
"The army is here,” she said distantly, staring at his chest.
He reached out with his senses and detected more signatures than he could count, all of them vampire or werewolf.
