Protector (Daray Hall #2)

by Hoffman, Samantha

  “You shouldn’t be,” I point out, remembering past arguments on this subject. “Chloe, if you like Austin, and he likes you, there’s no reason the two of you shouldn’t try being more than friends. And with the danger we’re facing, you don’t wanna wait too long, do you? What if you finally realize that you have feelings for him, and he’s gone?”

  “What if we do try being more than just friends, and I lose him anyways? How would I have the strength to keep going? I mean, you saw Kaven, right? After you died, he was a wreck. I mean, not everyone could tell just by looking at him, but I could. He was emotionally gone, and I don’t want that to happen to me if something happens to Austin during this war.”

  I look at her. “You don’t think we’ll be able to stop the war from happening?”

  “No,” she admits. “I don’t. It just seems like there’s so much stacked against us. It’s Selene and Pandia against four other goddesses. Selene only has the six of us to help. Only a fool would bet on our side, Kylie.”

  “Hecate might be on our side,” I remind her. “Selene’s very persuasive.”

  We lapse into a comfortable silence, until I notice her staring at my chest. My thin sweater was torn by the minotaur, and is tied uselessly around my waist right now, leaving me in only my jeans and a white tank top. The red crescent moon on my chest is clearly visible, and it’s obvious that that’s what she’s staring at.

  “How bad was it?”

  I try swallowing past the hard lump in my throat. “Bad,” I say quietly. It’s the first time I’ve admitted it out loud to myself, or anyone for that matter, and that one word makes me sound so old, so worn down, and so broken. “I felt like my head was splitting in two, and the rest of my body was burning alive from the inside out.” My voice breaks, and I duck my head so she won’t see the tears gathering in my eyes.

  Great, I think angrily. The last thing this group needs is for them all to think I’m weak and useless!

  She puts her hand on my shoulder. “I’m sorry you had to suffer so much to come back to us, but I’m still really glad that you’re here. If you had to make the choice again, knowing how much pain you’d endure, would you do it?”

  I nod. “Yes. I’m needed here, Chloe. Until that fact changes, I’ll have to do what’s best for others, not just myself. That’s what a Protector does. We put others before ourselves.”

  She looks at me. “You know, you might be the bravest, most selfless person I’ve ever met. I knew that, even when the two of us were sitting in that chapel waiting for Andrea to make her move. You’re good, Kylie. There really isn’t another way to put it. You’re better than the rest of us.”

  “Don’t say that.”

  “It’s the truth, and you know it. Not one of us would have done what you did. You stayed in that graveyard, knowing that it would very likely mean your death, and you did what any Protector would do. You defended the person you loved with your very last breath.”

  “Well, when you put it that way it sounds–”

  “Poetic,” Chloe interrupts. “It sounds poetic, Kylie, and vampires are going to tell stories about you for a very long time. They’ll tell about how you did battle with a vengeful goddess in the dead of night, how you gave your life for someone you cared about, how you came back from the dead, and how you helped stop a war from destroying Earth. You’ll be a legend, Kylie Redding.”

  I can feel myself blushing, and I look away so she won’t notice. “I don’t know about legend…”

  She laughs. “You’re so modest too,” she says with a smile. “You’re badass, and you know it. Now, admit it.”

  “Chloe–”

  “Admit it!”

  “Alright,” I say, laughing. “I’m badass and I know it. I’m a legend in the making, and people will tell stories about me for the rest of eternity. Now will you leave me alone and go get some rest?”

  She hugs me before standing. “Yes, I will.”

  “Do some thinking about Austin, too,” I say, looking at her. “He’s a good guy, and you’re a good girl. And for what it’s worth, I think the two of you should go for it. You never know what might happen. It could be true love.”

  “Or a mistake.”

  “Well, I guess you’ll just have to try and find out, won’t you?”

  She waves me off, and drops silently beside Austin’s sleeping form. She pulls a section of the blanket over her, and I watch her until her breathing evens out and she falls asleep. Well, there’ll be plenty of time for thinking tomorrow when we climb this ridiculous bluff. I bet it takes us half the day.

  I sit in thoughtful silence for the rest of my watch, before waking Kaven up around four o’clock in the morning. He and I change positions, and he takes my sword and watches the trees for any sign of harmful activity. While he guards the camp, I settle in under the blankets, and try to fall asleep without thinking about Chloe and Austin, or about me and Kaven, or about Pandia, or about the war. I keep my mind blank, and start to drift off.

  “Kylie, wake up.”

  The first thing I notice when I open my eyes is the sunlight. It’s stopped raining since last night, but the ground is a wet, soggy marsh, and it’s going to make getting to the top of the bluff more difficult than before. One wrong grip could send someone crashing down to the ground. Falling two thousand feet would leave nothing but a crater and an imploded skeleton beyond saving.

  Morgan and Chloe are busy packing the supplies, and Tara is dividing up food for breakfast. We’re down to a handful of granola bars, some trail mix, and beef jerky. We’ll be going hungry by tonight, which means it’s important we rescue Pandia as soon as possible, or we’ll end up too weak to mount a proper rescue attempt.

  Tara hands me a strip of jerky and a bottle of water, and I sit down beside her. “Hey.”

  She sighs. “I’m sorry about yesterday. I should have just kept my mouth shut. I understand that you feel obligated to help Selene in any way possible, and I shouldn’t have been so…pessimistic or angry. I was wrong to doubt Selene, and you.”

  “Tara, you’re upset. I get that. You watched me die once, and I know you don’t want that to happen again. You’re trying to keep me safe, and I’m not gonna be angry about that. But if you truly think this mission is stupid, then wait here and we’ll go on without you. I’m sure Pandia can take you back with us; you don’t have to get involved in this fight if you don’t want to.”

  I know that Tara will never stay behind while we go on, so I don’t feel bad about suggesting it. She knows that even if she wanted to stay behind, I wouldn’t let her. I’m her Protector, and I’m sworn to keep her safe, which I can’t do if she’s down here and I’m all the way up there. She’ll come with us; I’m sure of it.

  She sighs “I’m not staying behind, but you already knew that.”

  “I did,” I admit. “Now, let’s finish packing this stuff up, and let’s get a move on. We’ve got a ways to climb, and I wanna have a safe camp for when it gets dark out.”

  Everyone finishes packing in a hurry, and Kaven and I look at each other. “We need to find a safer place to start climbing. It’s too steep here; the others will never make it. At least, not in one piece.”

  I nod. “You’re right.” We turn to the rest of the group, who are eyeing the steep bluffs apprehensively. “Alright guys, listen up. We won’t be starting here, because Kaven and I think it’s too dangerous. So, we’re going to walk a little farther, and hope that an easy starting point presents itself. This way,” I say, turning and walking along the side of the bluffs.

  Tara and Morgan are directly behind me, followed by Chloe and Austin, with Kaven bringing up the rear. We all walk in silence, keeping our eyes and ears open to any sign of danger, but the forest and bluffs are as quiet today as we are. There is no screaming, no howling wind, and no animals. The silence is just starting to get to me when I spot a lake, and the way up the bluffs.

  “Guys, this is it.”

  The bluff before now has been too steep to even co
nsider climbing, but this section juts out much more. There are flatter rocks to climb, with plenty of smaller handholds. It’ll be dangerous and slow going, but we should make it before nightfall, which is the important thing. Then we’ll have time to rest and think up a rescue plan, and we’ll be home before we know it.

  “Do you guys hear that?” Austin asks, looking around. “It’s so beautiful.”

  I pause and listen, like everyone else is doing, but I don’t hear anything. “Austin, are you sure you hear something? Because I don’t hear it. And if I don’t hear it, I seriously doubt you do either.”

  “Of course I’m sure; it’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever heard,” he says, sighing happily.

  Chloe frowns. “Austin, if Kylie doesn’t hear it, I don’t think you do either,” Chloe says, agree with me. “Now, come on, we have to keep going.”

  “I hear it,” Kaven says, startling me. He walks up from the back of the group with a blissful smile on his face. “They’re singing.” He closes his eyes and sighs. “They sound so beautiful.” His eyes snap open and he frowns. “I have to find her!”

  He and Austin drop their things and run by, so fast I’m still not sure what’s happening. When I turn around, I see them wading into the lake. The water’s up to their calves, and they’re not stopping. “What the hell are you two doing?” I shout, watching as they keep walking.

  “It’s so beautiful!” Austin shouts over his shoulder. “Can’t you hear it?”

  I have a really bad feeling in the pit of my stomach. I’m not sure what’s going on, but it’s definitely not good. Austin gets knee-deep in the lake, when I finally see it. There’s a rocky ledge that juts out from the bluffs, and on it sits a beautiful, naked woman.

  Her hair is dark and long, covering her naked torso, but her bare legs swing free over the rocks. Her mouth is open, almost like she’s singing, but I can’t hear anything. Chloe, Tara, and Morgan see her too, but one look at them tells me they don’t hear it either. So why do Kaven and Austin? What possible reason would they be able to hear it but not us?

  Then I remember something I learned a long time ago. Minotaur, griffins, gods and goddesses…all of them are parts of Greek mythology. I remember another part of Greek mythology–the siren. They were beautiful women that lured men to their deaths at sea with their beautiful voices. This isn’t a sea, but it’s a deep lake, and if a man jumped off the bluffs to reach them, that would succeed in killing them.

  “Austin! Kaven, stop!” I shout, running forward.

  The others are right behind me, but I’m much faster, and I reach the water first. Austin’s waist-deep now, and is struggling to keep walking toward the siren woman. She brushes back her long dark hair with slender fingers, and arches her back, pushing forward her expansive chest.

  The boys quicken their pace, struggling to reach the woman even if it means their deaths.

  When I’m knee-deep in the water, I dive under head first, swimming toward the boys with long, powerful strokes. I haven’t gone swimming in months, but I remember the movements. It takes me almost a full minute to reach the boys and, by the time I do, they’ve already reached the rock where the siren perches. Austin reaches her first, and she cups his face in her hands, pulling him up.

  Even this close, I still can’t hear the siren sing, and I wonder if it’s a strictly male thing.

  Kaven reaches the bottom of the rocky ledge, and I latch onto his wrist. He turns around, and I duck just as he swings at my head. “Let go of me!” he snaps, yanking away.

  I refuse to let go though, because I know what will happen if I do. He and Austin will both drown, and this bitch will be the one to do it. So I wrap my forearm around his throat, climbing onto his back like a monkey. He bucks and fights against me, and my mind rapidly thinks of a way to break whatever spell this siren has over him. With no other options in sight, I lean forward, and sink my fangs directly into the side of his neck.

  They’re razor-sharp and pierce his skin easily. The second they do, his blood quickly fills my mouth, sliding down my throat. I drink it up greedily, too caught up in the moment and taste of his blood to remember what I’m trying to save him from. I fasten my arms tighter around his body, digging my nails into his flesh as I suck as if my life depends on it.

  “Kylie!”

  Kaven’s voice snaps me out of my blood-fueled stupor, and I force myself to let go of his neck. He drops me into the water, and I come back up, wiping blood and water from my face. I can’t see or hear anything else right now but the pounding of my heart as it roars in my ears, begging me to keep drinking, even if I have to open someone’s throat to do it.

  Kaven grabs me by the arms and shakes me. “Kylie, what the hell is going on? Why did you bite me?”

  I push him off and look around. Chloe, Morgan, and Tara are all still on the edge of the lake, and they’re all screaming. I know it’s not about me, even they surely saw what I just did. I look around again, and notice that Austin’s nowhere in sight, but there’s a faint ripple in the water off to the side of the rocks.

  I push Kaven away, and dive down below the surface, searching the nearly black water for any sign of Austin. It takes my eyes a few seconds to adjust but when it does, I see him struggling to get to the surface. He’s a couple dozen yards away, and the creature hooked to his leg is no longer a beautiful dark-haired woman.

  She’s a hideous monster with razor-sharp teeth, webbed hands and feet, and glowing red eyes. Her face is twisted in a hideous snarl and, when she sinks her teeth into Austin’s calf, he opens his mouth and screams. Quickly he starts to choke, and I know I have to get to him or he’s going to die.

  I push myself to go faster, but this siren’s webbed hands and feet make her a fast swimmer. I’m never going to reach her, at least, not while Austin still has a chance of survival. I’m just about to give up in frustration when the air around me shimmers, and my silver bow appears in my left hand. With it is one arrow, already fitted to the string.

  I’m not sure how the arrow will fly under the water, but I pull the string back to my ear, fighting to keep still in the water, and release. The arrow glows a blindingly silver color and speeds off, illuminating the entire dark lake. It just barely grazes the siren’s outer thigh, but she released her hold on Austin, shrieks, and swims off into the depths of the lake.

  Austin’s inhaling more and more water by the second, and I wrap my arms around his waist, and pull him up toward the surface. Every hard kick is a struggle, but we make it to the surface, and Austin sucks in a gasping lungful of air. He struggles to stay above the surface in his weakened and pained state, and I tighten my hold on him.

  “It’s alright; I’ve got you.”

  He stops thrashing and allows me to drag him to shore. The second we reach dry ground, Chloe and Morgan drag him farther away from the lake, and Chloe sets to work healing his leg. Austin lies there on the ground, shivering from the cold or fright–I’m not sure which–and he coughs up a lungful of water.

  He looks at me with wide, scared, bloodshot eyes. “Thank you,” he says. His eyes close, and his entire body goes limp. The only thing that moves is his chest as it rises and falls with each breath.

  Chapter Ten

  Kaven carries Austin away from the lake, and Chloe and Morgan make a bed of blankets for him. We all settle in and wait for him to get warm and wake up. By the time he wakes up, it’ll probably be dark, and we’ll have to climb the rocks in the dark. I’m sure the others won’t be able to make it. Kaven and I will have to take turns helping Morgan get to the top.

  When everyone is situated, Kaven looks at me. His neck isn’t bleeding anymore, but I can still see drops of blood rolling down his muscular chest, and I have an intense urge to throw myself at him and feed from him again. I force myself to look away from his shirtless, bloody chest. “Kylie, what happened out there?”

  “You and Austin went crazy,” Tara says, sitting next to Chloe and Morgan. “You were talking about hearing something bea
utiful. Something none of us could hear.”

  “It was the sirens,” I say, looking at Kaven. “Naked beautiful women perched on the rocks that sing to lure men to their deaths. They were going to drown you for pleasure, and you would have gone willingly until it was too late. When I got to you, you actually tried to hit me.”

  He flinches and looks incredibly ashamed of himself. “I’m sorry; I didn’t know what I was doing.”

  “Well, I’m sorry I bit you.” I look down to avoid seeing the emotion in his eyes. I know more about bloodlust and feeding now than I did before I died, which just makes this situation worse. Most vampires won’t share their blood with just anyone. Feeding from a human isn’t the same as feeding from another vampire.

  It’s a very sexual, pleasurable thing, and it’s something that you don’t just go around doing for the hell of it. Two vampires only exchange blood when they’re together, usually in the process of having sex, and this whole thing has brought up bad thoughts that just won’t go away.

  Kaven’s older and definitely more experienced than I am. Has he ever fed on another girl? Did he feed on Tricia when they were together? Does he hate me for doing something so pleasurable and heartfelt without his permission?

  It was the only way I could think of to snap him out of whatever stupor he was in, but he might not see it that way. What if he hates me?

  Finally, he speaks. “It’s alright, Kylie. You probably saved my life by doing it. I’m not mad that you did it, I’m just upset that your first real experience with another vampire was like this.”

  I shrug it off like it’s nothing, even though inside I’m a little disappointed. I would have liked my first experience with another vampire and bloodlust to have been more private, and definitely more romantic, but I’m just glad that I managed to save Kaven’s life. Who knows, maybe he can make it up to me later…