The Last Keeper

by Michelle Birbeck

  Please find it in your heart to forgive me.

  Your Brother,

  William

  “We’re about to land.” Ray’s voice pulled me from my thoughts.

  How long had I sat staring at William’s words? With every part of me, I longed to hate him for hiding this. How could he? How could he have sat there across from me and not said anything?

  “Serenity?” I folded the letter and handed it to him.

  “Don’t read it until I tell you to.”

  “What . . . ?”

  “I have a plan, but please, do not read it until I tell you to.”

  We touched down in London, about twenty miles away from the catacombs. Dawn was fast approaching.

  The drive was relatively quick, yet long. Each second dragged on, longer than the last. Yet the miles flew by as though they were moving and we weren’t. As hard as I pushed the car, it wasn’t hard enough. I couldn’t take the bends quick enough or accelerate along the straights fast enough.

  “Does everyone know the plan?” We were parked on a secluded stretch of road, half a mile from the catacombs’ entrance. “Above all else, get Lizzy and Martin home.”

  Ray pulled me to a stop as the others set off on foot. “Serenity, what’s in the letter?”

  “Please, when the time comes, I need you to do exactly what I ask.”

  I almost told him how that single letter unlocked so many secrets I hadn’t known. How it was the key to everything. But if he knew, he wouldn’t do it.

  “Promise me, Ray, that you’ll do exactly as I ask.”

  “I promise.”

  “Thank you.”

  We were met at the entrance by a lone pair of guards. Neither of them recognised me as I stuck to Ray’s side.

  “What do you want?”

  “I’m Poppy Baruti.”

  They must have been new not to recognise her.

  “Are you expected?”

  “I am always expected,” she snapped.

  The second guard whispered something to the first one, glancing at Poppy every few seconds. He was probably informing the sap who she was. He paled for a moment before pulling out a small radio. Speaking rapidly into it, he nodded, looked at me and then back at her.

  “Is that the one you were asked to bring?”

  “She is.”

  He spoke into the radio once more before shoving it in a pocket and nodding to us. “Come with me.”

  We followed them into the dark entrance, and I was thankful that I was something more than human. The tunnels weren’t designed to accommodate mortals. Those who managed to survive an audience with The Seats then had to get out. One of The Seats’ favourite sports was pardoning a vampire and then hunting them in the tunnels. There was a trick to it. Know the trick, and getting out was easy. Every second left followed by every first right. It was the same with all of the catacombs.

  Everything was as it had been when I saw it in the dream. The high ceiling was covered in skulls, dark and unsettling. I couldn’t see Lizzy, but she was here. Somewhere. The ground underfoot squelched, our footsteps echoing off damp rock and sodden floors.

  I almost balked when we entered the main chamber. Half the members of the world’s Seats were there. Black clothes, shadowed faces, and hungry, eager eyes. Kiros and Elena were in the middle, with the entire Russian Seat and half of Finland’s. I was sure I spotted a couple of the Americans in the room. There was a representative from every Seat in the world.

  Something was wrong.

  They didn’t assemble like this for a simple audience.

  Unless it was because it was Poppy Baruti they’d summoned.

  “Poppy, my dear, how good it is to see you,” Kiros called.

  “Cut the bullshit, Kiros. You dare to call me in for an audience?” Poppy stalked across the room, putting herself right in front of him. “I invented the damned things, and you have the audacity to use them against me?”

  “Bring them in,” Elena called, glaring at Poppy.

  Wishing I could move a fraction and see what was happening, but not wanting to give myself away, I listened harder. I heard Lizzy, sounding strong as ever as she was herded into the chamber. It was so similar, yet so different from the dream. Martin was the difference. She was stronger for having him at her side.

  “Get your stinking hands off me,” Lizzy snarled.

  “Silence, child,” Elena bellowed.

  “Go to hell! I’m not scared of you.”

  “You’ll fear me when I’m killing you.”

  “Yeah, yeah. If I’ve told you once, I’ve told you a thousand times, you’re dead when my aunt comes for me.”

  “What is this about?” Poppy demanded, barely glancing at Lizzy.

  “You broke the rules,” Kiros hissed at her, circling.

  “We never broke your rules.”

  “How so? Both of these children know of us. They have shown not an ounce of fear since we captured them. If they did not come by the knowledge through you, then how did they acquire it?” Kiros asked, the picture of calm once more.

  “They already knew of us when we met.”

  “That may be the case, but as a vampire, and a former member of The Seats, it is your duty to eliminate them.” Elena was pushing her luck with Poppy, even I could tell that.

  “Back off, Ellie. Did you think to read their minds to see why they know?”

  I was glad I wasn’t the only one who called her that.

  Kiros stepped in. “If it were possible, then we would have.”

  The self-proclaimed king did little talking, but the rest of the members of The Seats knew not to interrupt him.

  “And what, pray tell, is the race we cannot read the minds of?” Poppy asked, a look of determination on her face.

  “That is hardly relevant.”

  “And you are missing the obvious,” Poppy muttered.

  “Regardless of why we cannot read their thoughts, did you bring the other human?” Elena questioned, growing impatient. Not that she had a lot of patience to begin with.

  “You hear a heart beating, do you not?”

  “Read it,” I whispered to Ray.

  My lips were close to his ear, his hair tickling my face. I didn’t dare look into his eyes as he silently unfolded the piece of paper.

  “Well, come forward, child,” Kiros called.

  Why was it vampires thought they could use that term on everyone just because they’d been alive for a couple of thousand years?

  “You did not call her that!” Lizzy said, laughing. “You really shouldn’t have said that.”

  “Silence!”

  “Your funeral,” she murmured.

  “Come out,” he called again.

  Looking into Ray’s eyes, I knew he’d read the letter. He was willing, but reluctant.

  “You are trying my patience, child. Come out now, before I take out my frustrations on this one,” he said, moving towards Martin and Lizzy.

  In a flash of movement, I was leaning casually against the back wall as if I owned the place.

  “You know better than to call me child, Kiros,” I said from behind him.

  “Azrael! This is a surprise.” He smiled as if he was my oldest friend.

  “Is it? Really? Then you’ll know if you have harmed a hair on my niece’s head I will destroy you,” I promised, smiling coldly at him. “I’ll forget you broke into my home and kidnapped them. I’ll forget you forced me into this godforsaken place to retrieve her. I will also let it slide that you threatened her life, but we will be leaving now.”

  “What makes you think you can leave?” Elena asked.

  I caught a movement from the corner of my eye; all the exits had been blocked. It didn’t matter.

  “Because I can do anything I want. I can get inside your minds, and you are powerless against me.” I tapped the side of my head, smiling brightly at them.

  “That may be so, but you will not walk out of here,” Kiros was almost excited as he spoke. Any other time I wo
uld’ve been amazed the man actually knew what emotions were. He spent so much of his life devoid of them.

  “Why would you think that?”

  “Do not play coy with us, Serenity.” Elena had enough emotion for the both of them. “We are well aware you brought your partner with you.”

  “And? Do you have a point?”

  “You are vulnerable,” an impish voice purred from across the room.

  “You brought yourself to the slaughter,” Elena finished.

  “Oh please! Pull the other one, Ellie. We both know I should already be dead, yet here I am. Do you really think you stand a chance at killing me?” I asked, pretending to yawn. “I honestly gave you more credit.”

  “I’ll drain you myself,” she hissed. “That will prove my point.”

  “Wait!” I held up my hand, and she stopped in her tracks. So well . . . trained. “If we are going to go through with this pathetic charade, can I at least get a last request?”

  “Why should we give you anything?”

  “Because you would be nowhere without me.”

  “I am interested to know what she would want,” one of them stated.

  “Have your say,” Kiros said.

  “If you want my body drained of blood, then I agree. On one condition. I get to choose who drinks from me,” I offered. “May I advise that you take me up on this? You are well aware that I could kill you all.”

  “Who would you choose?” Kiros asked, a curious light in his eyes.

  “Ray.”

  There was a shocked gasp that ran through the room, and it occurred to me that they knew who he was.

  “Well then, that is something I would like to see. I never took you for the dramatic type, Azrael,” Elena said, laughing.

  Trust her to be excited that I’d requested that my partner drain me. She didn’t pause to consider why I’d asked for him.

  “Serenity,” there was pain in Ray’s voice as he spoke, “Serenity, I . . .”

  He was playing his part well—the reluctant participant. “Please, Ray.”

  “Why me?” he asked, moving slowly to stand in front of me.

  “It was always you, Ray,” I whispered. “It was always meant to be you.”

  “I love you.”

  “Whilst you live, so shall I. When you sleep, so shall I,” I replied. “I finally worked it out.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yes.” I was sure. I was absolutely sure William was right.

  Every member of The Seats present looked on with expressions full of eagerness. Turning to face them, Ray at my back, I smiled. I tilted my head to the side, giving Ray the access he needed. The others didn’t know this was all part of the plan.

  They showed no signs of worry as Ray hesitated. They thought there was only one way to kill me, and they were right. For the most part, at least. If Ray were gone, I doubt I would want to come back.

  That day was a very long way off.

  I closed my eyes and let my head rest on Ray’s shoulder as his fangs pierced my skin. It was a sensation I was used to, and one I was growing to enjoy. Giving him the sustenance he needed was its own reward.

  This would be an unforgettable experience for him. The rush of power that came with the loss of life was a memorable event. No vampire ever forgot the first life they took.

  As my legs collapsed underneath me, we sank to the floor. Ray’s teeth never left my neck; his tongue greedily lapping up every drop of blood my body had to offer.

  My vision started to blur, dimming at the edges. My hearing was weak.

  I knew, with absolute certainty, my life was almost over. Everything seemed to have slowed to the point of stopping. The feeling was a strange one.

  With my last few breaths, I recited the last words of William’s letter. I wanted them to know they’d been mistaken.

  “I was never meant to be the last of us.” I gasped, struggling to breathe. “I was the one meant to change us.”

  My vision was almost black. “Thank you.”

  My last words, with my last breath, were thanks to The Seats of Power. If William was right, then it wasn’t over.

  I was dreaming, I must have been. Floating in the blackness, I felt at ease. There were bright lights surrounding me, illuminating nothing. Peace. Calm. Weightless. But . . .

  Who was I?

  Why was I here?

  Where was here?

  Why did it feel as if everything was as it should have been, but something was missing? Something I needed to know.

  In the darkness I heard the faint echo of people speaking. There were worried cries and a frantic pleading. I felt the soft touch of someone holding me close, then the brush of fingertips against my hand. The sounds grew stronger.

  Faint recognition stirred within me as I struggled to understand what was going on. I knew the voices that were crying and begging. With each new exclamation, my focus sharpened.

  The arms around me tightened as a stir of air brushed against me.

  “Don’t touch her!” the voice belonging to the arms growled. What a beautiful voice it was.

  “Ray, she’s dead,” a gentle voice whispered, causing the first to growl again. “You have to let her go.”

  “No!”

  I wasn’t dead! I could hear them! Every inch of me was aware of that fact. Nothing else made sense, but I knew I was alive. All that existed were the arms around me and the floating blackness. I couldn’t move; I had no recollection of a body to move with. I couldn’t make a sound; there were no words I could form and no mouth to make them.

  If I couldn’t speak, how was I supposed to tell them I was alive?

  The arguing continued as I contemplated what to do.

  Why was there a burning desire in me that said these people had to know I was alive?

  Who were they anyway, and why did they seem to care so much about whoever I was?

  There was so much pain in the voices, and I wanted to know why. I wondered why they were crying over me, I wanted to tell them not to and wipe away their tears.

  My wishes were soon granted, but not in the way I expected. I wanted to talk, but I ended up screaming. I wanted to move, and I found myself thrown forward, a bubble of agony crashing through me.

  It was as if I was being electrocuted, or struck by lightning. Perhaps both. I hurt everywhere, and nowhere, and for one brief moment everything was clear. I felt the arms cradling me to a hard chest. Their grip broke as my body flung itself forward. The floating blackness had disappeared and everything was in perfect clarity. The echoes of my tortured cries were fading, sounding like a million screams.

  All I remembered was the sensation of the sharp heat, even though it had faded.

  My chest heaved. Then the pain came back, crashing through me again, just as piercing and all-consuming as before. Another scream tore its way up my throat, and echoed off the walls.

  I could pinpoint the origin now. It wasn’t flowing through me at all. It was centred in my chest. The feeling was so intense in that single moment that it felt as if my whole body was consumed by it.

  I watched with fascination as my fingers curled in reaction to the pain, slicing through the stone beneath them as if it was water.

  There was silence again as I crumpled to the floor, curling in on myself, closing my eyes. I had no idea how long had passed before the final bout hit me, worse than ever. The white-hot strike pierced every piece of consciousness I was clinging to. I screamed again, unable to hold it in.

  Then, as I felt my heart pounding in my chest, I knew what I was missing . . .

  And I remembered everything.

  “Damn, that hurt,” I muttered, getting my bearings.

  There was no way to tell how much time had passed in the catacombs. It could have been hours, days, or mere seconds. Almost every figure in the room was still, shocked, and staring. Lizzy appeared unharmed, but it had been her I’d heard crying. The tears stained her face.

  Ray’s hand was extended towards me. I nee
ded the help; I still felt off after . . . what exactly had happened?

  Slowly the pieces started clicking into place. William’s letter. Ray drinking from me. My gift. It had all been about my gift, the inability to have my life taken from me. Or that was what I’d gathered from the words William had written. Life, what a gift. A true immortal being only able to be killed by their own decision.

  “You scared me,” he whispered, cradling me in his arms.

  “Don’t worry, Ray. I think I know what happened,” I told him, turning in his arms, smiling at him.

  The rest of the vampires in the cavern were silent, shocked at what had occurred, waiting for some kind of order. No one wanted to be the first to make a move.

  For all intents and purposes, I’d been dead. I understood what William meant about the pain that was still to come. My heart trying to restart itself was something I would never forget. Elena’s face was the one that made me laugh. She was torn between utter disbelief and absolute rage.

  “You really thought we were that stupid, didn’t you?” I asked, taking in the room. “You really thought, with the gifts we had, we didn’t see this coming.”

  I was taunting Elena, all of them, flaunting their blatant failure. Being the only female in a male-dominated world was hard enough. When they all wanted you out, it was even harder. Things may have seemed settled within The Seats, but it was far from it. They all wanted to be the self-proclaimed king, and they would all do anything to get there.

  They’d thought that they’d won. They truly believed they had me beaten. The all-knowing Seats never failed. In anything. “We knew who betrayed us, and we took steps to make sure we would always survive. The time will never come when you are free to take over the world,” I told them with utter confidence.

  “I want to leave you with a message and a warning, all of you! I will stand between you and the rest of the world for as long as I live. I will never let you take over. As much as I want to destroy you now for what you’ve done to my family, I won’t. You do a good job of sticking to our rules, and I would like to keep it that way. But if you ever cross my family or me again, I won’t hesitate. I will destroy your world and everything in it.”

  They never moved, never flinched or blinked, not even when I stood in front of Kiros. He was their king, and he was the one who needed to know more than anyone. There was fear in his eyes as I spoke, fear that I would do exactly as I said. That I would take everything he valued, and everything he loved, just as he’d done to me.