Saul drew Polyxia close to him. “What can you do to help?” he asked.
“I don’t know,” she said. “I’m hurt. But let me try…”
Aimon came running for them and Polyxia waved a hand at him in a flash. A white wave of energy came bursting forth but it was not one of attack. Instead, it trapped him. Aimon swatted at it as it surrounded him in a white shimmering bubble of sorts. She did the same to the remainder of the Guard and within two seconds, Magdeline, Moorcheh, and Benali were snarling at them from within similar bubbles of light.
“They won’t last long,” Polyxia said. “Thirty seconds at most. If we’re going to flee, we need to do it right now.”
Jill came over to them and motioned for Getsalt to join them. “Now, dammit,” she screamed. “Stay here and die or come with us and think of a way to avenge Paula’s death.”
Gestalt gave Benali, still fighting to get out of the peculiar trap, a death-filled scowl. He ran to his companions, his eyes never leaving Benali. Saul could feel the hate in that stare, cold and menacing.
“Come on,” Saul urged. “To Filth Camp. It’s in the open and we can’t get trapped by these damned trees. And I feel it might be the one place the Guard didn’t think to safeguard.”
There were no arguments. Saul gathered Polyxia up into his arms and started running to the east, as a way to throw the Guard off, as Filth Camp was located to the west. He figured they could circle back around once they were out of sight of the barn.
Behind him, the Guard wailed in frustration. Saul was glad to hear Magdeline was still shrieking as a result of her crushed arm.
“Saul,” Jill said, catching up to him as they made their retreat. “Is there any way we can beat them?”
“Dominiscus is dead. Magdeline is hurt. I think we stand at least a slim chance. If we can somehow manage to get Kara in fighting shape soon, our chances will be much better.”
Jill didn’t respond. Saul looked back at Gestalt, making sure he was indeed following them and not turning back to foolishly face the Guard by himself. Saul saw that the poor Rogue was devastated, openly weeping as he ran. If he had needed proof of Gestalt’s change of heart, he got it then.
They tore through the forest, headed for Filth Camp. Saul was determined that the next time they squared off with the Guard, there would be no retreat.
There would either be victory or death—and nothing else.
CHAPTER THREE
1
Paul sat on the edge of his bed, watching Kara closely. Her breathing had increased dramatically since they had left the forest; she was taking deep and labored breaths that sounded like someone that was on the verge of an asthma attack. But now, having been resting in Paul’s bed for nearly twenty minutes, her breaths seemed to come easier. And through it all, she had a peaceful look on her face. He thought she looked a bit like Sleeping Beauty waiting for her prince to come kiss her.
Paul had closed the bedroom door, trying to be subtle about giving Penny and Ray their alone time. Like Kara, he had gotten the impression that there was something going on between them. Penny looked at Ray with a new sort of trust now—one that had unmistakable lust in it. Paul had also seen Ray reach out and touch Penny several times within the day in a way that was more than simple comfort.
Good for them, Paul thought. He was becoming more and more convinced that they would not make it out of this ordeal alive. He figured that if Penny and Ray had been able to find love and comfort in these final hours, they should be able to have it.
He looked carefully at the bite mark on Kara’s neck and was astounded to see that it was healing remarkably well. The blood seemed to have stemmed its own flow and the discoloration around the area was already fading.
Paul then looked out of his bedroom window, to the sight that he had come to know so well over the last forty years or so. A small field ran along the back of his property, and it dipped into the forest. He tried to imagine what might be going on out there and a small part of him wished that he could have stayed behind to help the Benton clan. Paul had never really done much good in his life; he’d spent more than twenty years drinking himself silly and caused his wife to leave him. Now that he had been tasked with a purpose, it felt good – however dangerous that purpose was.
He looked back to Kara and saw that she was wincing in her sleep. Her body went rigid for a moment and then she relaxed, the grimace gone and the peaceful look there once again.
She was changing. There was no doubt about that. Even less than an hour after Saul had bitten her, signs of the change were already apparent. Paul just wondered if her change would be all for nothing. Would they even still be alive when Kara Turned? Or would she be killed before that could happen as the Guard wiped them all out?
Paul hated the waiting. So he looked back out onto that sloping field and waited for further instruction on what he and the Marked were supposed to do next.
2
Ray had never been much of an expert when it came to women. All he knew was that when you saw one crying and you knew her at least moderately well, you were supposed to comfort her. That’s why he had ended up cradling Penny in his arms on Paul’s couch. Penny had seemed fine at first; then she had broken down, suddenly and completely – bawling uncontrollably, heaving for breath. Ray and Paul had shared a glance, a nod, and then Paul had gone into Kara’s room to watch over her while Ray moved to put his arms around Penny. Ray didn’t mind holding Penny while she cried. He simply wished there was something more that he could do.
Penny had cried for fifteen minutes and then slowly started to get control of herself. When her weeping was over, she sat up on the couch and blew her nose on tissues Ray had retrieved from the bathroom.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I’m a wreck. This is all just too much and I don’t know how to handle it all.”
“No… I understand,” Ray said. “Trust me. I don’t think the reality of what is happening has even hit me yet.”
Penny smiled at him, her eyes heavy with exhaustion. She took a deep breath and got to her feet. “I’m a mess. I’ll be right back.”
She got up and Ray watched as she left the living room, entered the hall, and walked into the bathroom. She shut the door behind her. Ray stared at the closed door for a while, wondering just what in hell was taking place between the two of them.
It was funny and, he supposed, incredibly convenient to be distracted by the beginnings of a weird relationship while in the midst of what he assumed was a supernatural war that he would never fully understand. Yes, Ray understood the dangers he and the rest of the Marked were facing, but he found his mind more concerned with what he and Penny had been developing over the last two days. It was like one of those blossoming high school romances where there was a definite chemistry between them, but not one that they dared discuss out of fear of ruining it all.
In the bathroom, Penny was crying. Ray could hear her gentle sobbing; the sound made him feel like a coward. Ray got up from the couch and walked to the bathroom door. He knocked softly.
“Everything okay?” he asked.
“Yeah. You can come in.”
Penny was standing by the sink, blotting her eyes with a tissue. She looked embarrassed and wouldn’t meet Ray’s eyes.
“What can I do?” he asked.
Penny gave a sigh and sniffed back a sob. “That’s the messed up thing about it all. I badly want you to just hold me. But these last few days—I don’t know—I’m not sure that’s all I want. Last night… it wasn’t like any sex I’d ever had. It was…I don’t know. It sounds cheesy, but it was sort of like a bonding. Does that make sense?”
“It does. So tell me…what can I do for you right now to make you feel better?”
Penny gave a shaky laugh, the exact opposite of the confidence she had shown in her bedroom the last time they had been together.
“I won’t ask for it,” she said, finally meeting his eyes.
Ray approached her slowly, not sure just how appropria
te what they were about to do might be. Their lives could end before the end of the day for all they knew and it seemed slightly irresponsible. At the same time, the knowledge that this could be their last opportunity to be together made Ray even more eager to take full advantage of it. To hold Penny as she wished him to – as he desired himself.
Mind made, Ray drew Penny into his arms and kissed her deeply. He felt her relax against him and then press her body into him. She wrapped her arms around his waist and pulled him close. When she found him growing hard, she pushed herself harder against him and let out a sigh. Ray found the bottom of her shirt and ran his hand underneath it. He found her breasts, concealed by her bra, and caressed them. She sighed again and trailed her hand to the button of his pants. She unfastened it and slid her hand in, taking him gently into her grasp.
Ray kissed her harder and began unbuttoning her pants as well. Penny helped him, shimmying out of the fabric. She then pushed his pants down, leaned against the sink, and tightened her grip on him. Before Ray was aware of what he was doing, he had grabbed Penny by the waist and spun her around. He caught a glimpse of her surprised face in the mirror and grinned back at her. He reached down and grabbed her panties, not removing them but pulling them hard to the right. He guided himself to where she was now exposed and found her wet and ready for him.
He gently thrust himself into her and watched her reaction in the mirror. Penny bit her lip to suppress a gasp of pleasure and instantly pushed back against him, taking him all the way in. Ray grabbed her by her shoulders and pulled her back into him until every bit of his manhood was buried in her. She writhed against it and they remained that way, him holding her to him and her pushed back as far as their bodies would allow, for several moments. They held eye contact in the mirror and after a while, Penny nodded to him, ready.
Ray grabbed Penny's rear end and pushed her away only to pull her back to meet his thrust. She let out a moan that she wasn’t able to fully suppress as he did the same thing a second and then a third time. She leaned hard over the sink, offering her backside to him. Ray grabbed her shirt and pushed it up to her shoulders, then quickly unclasped her bra. He grabbed one of her breasts and squeezed gently as Penny rocked back against him.
Even before it was over, Ray was convinced that it was the best sex he’d ever had. A large part of it had to do with the fact that they were able to look at each other in the mirror, watching every movement and holding eye contact. It was the most intense physical encounter of Ray's life and when he felt it coming to an end, it made him profoundly sad.
Penny sensed that Ray was nearing climax and put more force into her own thrusts against him. She was gripping the edge of the sink with one hand and arching her back in a way that allowed him to hit her in just the right spot. With her free hand, she pleasured herself while he worked at her, going closer and closer to the point of no return. She felt herself reaching her peak just as he cried out and lost all control. His reaction set her off and they came together, their bodies locked tightly against one another.
Both spent, they sank slowly to the bathroom floor and held one another. Penny started crying again and Ray had no idea if this was a bad thing or not. But he held her anyway, simply liking the feel of her against him after such an intense, shared moment.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
“No. But if we can get through these next few days, I think I could be.”
Ray was about to comment on this when he heard a knock at Kara’s front door. He and Penny looked at one another, fright and alarm on their faces. Ray got up quickly, pulling up his pants. “Stay here,” he said. “With the way things have been going, there’s no telling who that could be. Or what.”
Penny nodded, slowly standing and straightening her own clothes. Ray stepped out of the bathroom, closing the door behind him. At the same moment, there was another knock at Kara’s front door, more urgent this time.
Ray walked to the door just as Paul came out of Kara’s bedroom. Ray did his best to keep his poise, slightly embarrassed at what he had just finished doing in the wake of everything they had been through.
They walked to the front door together and stood there for a moment, sharing a look of caution. Paul shrugged and gave Ray a you first gesture.
“Who is it?” Ray asked.
“It’s Jill. Can you please just open the door?”
Ray unlocked and opened the door. Jill came in right away, clearly disheveled. There were scratched on her face and her hair had bits of woodland debris in it.
“What is it?” Ray asked.
“Is everyone okay?” Paul added.
“Paula is dead. Polyxia is hurt pretty badly,” Jill said. “We had to retreat. It was getting out of hand. I need the Marked to meet us at Filth Camp.”
“But Kara is in no condition to be moved,” Paul said.
“I know,” Jill said. “But we have to do it. I know enough about the turning process to make sure she gets there safely. I have Saul's car out in the driveway. I need you two and Penny to go out and wait for me. I’ll handle Kara.”
“Do we need to take anything?” Paul asked.
“The guns in Kara’s car and any extra ammo you might have. Stakes, too. At this point, we’re not willing to rule out anything.”
“One second,” Ray said, stepping away and walking back to the bathroom.
Penny stood at the sink, nervously fixing her hair. She smiled thinly at him when he looked in at her.
“Who was it?” she asked.
“Jill. We need to get going.”
“Where?”
“Filth Camp. We'll have to fight again.”
Ray saw Penny's face go through several emotions in less than five seconds. Finally, a blank calmness came over her features. Penny nodded and started throwing her hair back into a ponytail. She walked to him, kissed him on the lips as if they had been doing it for years, and took him by the hand.
“Let’s go,” she said.
3
Nikki arrived at Filth Camp a few short seconds ahead of everyone else. Gestalt was too enraged about Paula to keep up with her and Saul was burdened with Polyxia in his arms.
Stepping onto the field was like visiting some sort of demolished haunted house. Returning to a place in which she had experienced so much horror and violence felt almost foolish. Still, she was not the one worst off. Nikki couldn’t even begin to imagine how the place must be affecting Gestalt. She turned to see him coming out of the forest just a few strides in front of Saul and Polyxia. Getsalt eyed the desolate space with something like longing in his expression—anger, too. Nikki looked away, leaving the Rogue to his demons.
Nikki watched as Saul made a few steps into the overgrown field and then dropped to his knees. He lay Polyxia down in the weeds, doing his best to brush as much of the vegetation aside, making her as comfortable as he could. Nikki walked over to them and was alarmed to see just how sickly and pale Polyxia looked. She was bleeding badly from a wound in her side. Saul's shirt was soaked with her blood. As she watched, he took it off and folded it over Polyxia, using it as gauze.
“What happened to her?” Nikki asked.
“Moorcheh,” Saul said. “He tore out a huge chunk of her flesh. She’s lost a lot of blood.
“Cheap shot,” Polyxia said weakly. “Bastard. I never liked him. Lazy. Ugly.”
“I know the feeling,” Saul said.
“Listen to me,” Polyxia said. “I’m going to die. I can feel it coming. So don’t waste your time bothering with any attempts to save me.”
Saul nodded, but it was obvious that he didn’t like giving up before he had even begun. It simply wasn’t in his makeup.
“How much time do we have before they’ll come looking for us?” Saul asked.
Polyxia shrugged and although the motion was slight, it was clear that it caused her quite a bit of pain. “Dominiscus is dead, and they weren’t able to wipe you out as easily as they thought. They’re probably confused. They won’t retreat by
any means, but I don’t expect them to come running immediately after you.”
“Will they go so far as to return to their immortal form?”
“They can do that whenever they like,” Polyxia said. “But since they won't be able to hurt you in those forms, I doubt it. Transforming won't do them any good.”
“So we stand a chance, at least,” Gestalt said, coming to join them.
Saul considered the old witch's words. Polyxia reached out and grabbed him weakly by the wrist.
“Saul,” she said, “I need you to listen to me closely. I need you to lie down next to me and let some of my blood soak into you. You will need to cut yourself - make a path. I am dying, but magic does not die. The magic needs to go somewhere other than my dead body, or it will go to waste. I want to pass it on to you.”
“Polyxia, I don’t know…,”
“It's my choice. The power will help you defeat the Guard. And once they are gone, you can do with it what you will. From time to time, your vampire traits may interfere, but I can’t think of anyone better suited than you.”
“I can,” Saul said softly. He took Nikki’s hand and led her forward. “Nikki, you take it. You do it.”
Nikki found herself wanting to cry—not only at the gesture but by the great amount of responsibility she suddenly felt being passed onto her. She didn’t dare turn down the opportunity because the moment Saul started to pull her toward Polyxia, she felt like it was something that she was supposed to do.
“Are you sure?” Polyxia asked Saul.
“Yes. For whatever reason, all of Liebald Greely’s powers didn’t completely transfer to her. Therefore there will be more capacity within her body to handle your magic and maintain it.”
Polyxia shifted her gaze to Nikki and seemed satisfied. She let go of Saul's wrist and offered her hand to Nikki. Nikki had a cut along her forearm form her fight with Magdeline, so the path was already there. She showed it to Polyxia and asked, “Will this do?”
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