by Raven Steele
I growled and channeled the ancient power inside me, a strength I had previously wanted to bury. Elizabeth's blood had dangerous side effects, but if I was to survive, I needed all the help I could get, consequences be damned. The dark energy responded quickly as if it had been waiting for me like a long-lost friend. The sensation seared my muscles, burning them with new and raw force. They pulsed with power, which bled into the rest of my body, giving me an instant shot of adrenaline laced with pure rage.
Bucking the two mutants from me, I rolled away only to be accosted by several more. The pointed nails of many stabbed into my legs, reopening the wound that had recently healed. My blood boiled as I embraced the primal power, but with it came a fierce hunger, not only for blood but death and carnage. I unleashed it all. It was the only way I was going to get out of here alive.
I roared and jumped to my feet, slamming the mutants away from me with my fists, crushing the chest of one. I snatched the heads of two of them and mashed them together, blood and brain matter exploding outward. I stabbed into the eye socket of a creature as he came at me, more by accident really. Had there been an eyeball, it would be gone now. I gripped the bone and slammed him to the ground, while my other hand shoved more mutants away.
As soon as I had an opening, I dropped to the ground to pick up my sword. Faster than I had ever moved before, I cut through the monsters, removing one head after another from their bodies, a smile spreading on my face. Blood was everywhere, smearing the space with its stench and pretty reds, and yet I continued the slaughter with a passion that frightened me. It didn’t even feel like me anymore, but someone else. Someone far stronger and older.
With this new power came other knowledge. I could see things, memories from a past life. I suddenly was aware of new fighting techniques and vampire tricks. This was the strength Samira had spoken of—unlocking Elizabeth Bathory’s vampire DNA. I thought I had done it before, but I realized now, I had only glimpsed it.
A new sound reached my ears through the chaos. The others had arrived and were fighting at the rear. I glanced over the heads of the crowded tunnel. Up ahead, the narrow space widened at a crossroad. If I could get some of them back there, it would make it much easier for everyone to fight.
Just then, Rebecca, still in wolf form, wiggled between the legs of the mutants in front of me, biting and tearing at anything that moved. She was kicked a few times, but as a wolf, she was much stronger and barely flinched. I decapitated another mutant, as she began to drive back several of them toward the T in the path. She must have the same plan as me.
After a minute and a lot of effort, our strategy worked, and we had many of them corralled. Rebecca and I blocked the exit toward the ocean, while Roman and Victor each protected a tunnel, prevented them from escaping either direction
I expected us to make quick work of what was left, but this last batch of them was far stronger and faster. Rebecca barked at me and motioned her head toward the center of the mutants. I looked over everyone’s heads again.
That's when I noticed it. There was a small group, even taller than the others, at the core of the fighting mutants who weren’t snarling and clawing and biting. They had a calm, intelligent look about them, as they stared over the crowd intensely, almost as if they were mind controlling the others.
It reminded me of the time I had witnessed a wolf pack fight. The strongest of them would stay in the center and telepathically give commands to their loyal soldiers. Maybe Hacksaw had been messing with them beyond Richard’s work, and they were far more mutated than we thought.
Rebecca tore into the head of a creature who had fallen to the ground, while I continued my assault. We worked well together. I slaughtered those I could, but those I only injured, she finished for me.
The closer we came to the center of the beasts, the mutants became increasingly stronger. I feared for Roman. We couldn't be in a better environment for him to fight in, but these things were powerful.
"Go to Roman," I said to Rebecca.
She obeyed and disappeared into the chaos.
I reached the edges of the large space. I glanced to my right into the hallway where Victor fought. He, too, had moved closer to where I could finally see him. Blood covered his face. I couldn't tell if it was from him or from those he had killed.
I inched my way toward him, taking out any creatures in my way. If we were going to face the strongest of the pack, it would be better to do it side-by-side than alone. We locked eyes for a brief second. He sensed my intentions and moved closer to me. He wasn't as effective at decapitating the mutants, but he didn’t understand the purpose of it, either. As a result, he left many on the ground squirming in pain from serious injuries. I would have to remember to finish them off before we leave.
Only one more layer of mutants to destroy before we reached the center where the strongest stood tall. There were twelve of them that I could count. By the fire in their eyes, they were more than ready to join the fight, fresh and untired. I still had plenty of strength, thanks to the boost of energy I had received, but the others looked exhausted. Something huge had to happen, or one of us was going to die.
“Watch my back,” I said to Victor, while I scanned the space for something to help our situation.
That's when I remembered where we were. Months ago, I had found Roman sitting in this very space, deep in thought. He had explained to me how unstable the foundation was in this part of the tunnels, and how one false move could collapse the whole area. He had used the space as a metaphor to show how fragile my life was at the time. I remember he had specifically pointed to a joint in the wood above him. I focused in on that exact spot—almost directly above the alpha pack.
"Roman, run when I say. I'm bringing the place down. Take Rebecca with you." I whispered the words to ensure the wild pack wouldn’t hear me, but the tallest of them snapped his head in my direction, nevertheless. Victor also glanced back at me briefly, his eyebrows raised.
There wasn’t time to explain. I crouched low and jumped to the ceiling. I dug my claws into the partially dirt-impacted, wooden slat ceiling and brought my feet up, pressing them against warped railroad ties that held everything together. I hoped I didn’t hit any other pressure point or the tunnels could collapse prematurely.
I scurried upside down, a few feet above the others, traveling quickly. One of the alphas spotted me and leaped upwards. I just barely managed to move my leg before his clawed hand brought me down. My target was just up ahead.
Another jumped into the air and swiped at my back. I hung on with one hand and swatted him away with another, sucking in a sharp breath.
I reached the pressure point. I would only have a fraction of a second to get out of here.
"Run now," I ordered.
Victor turned and sprinted down the tunnel that led to the ocean. Roman and Rebecca also scrambled away. It was time.
I tightened my hand into a fist and cocked it back. As hard as I could, I slammed it into the fragile joint of the railroad tie. A deep rumbling followed, and the whole area began to shake. I dropped from the ground into the midst of the alpha pack, but I didn't stick around to fight. I shoved them aside, having to use all my strength to do so. Claws tore into my flesh at my sides and back, and at one point I even felt teeth. My back arched, and I sucked in air past my lips at the searing pain.
Rubble fell from the ceiling, small at first then larger chunks crumbled down. I broke free from the pack and super sped away, the walls and ceiling caving in at my heels. Silver moonlight illuminated the end of the tunnel. I was close.
A section of the roof splintered away in front of me. I lengthened my strides to get beneath it, but a jagged mass still caught my back, scraping the flesh from my bones. I stumbled from the biting pain. I wasn't going to make it.
Victor appeared in the opening. "Run!"
I gave it everything I had. He jumped to the side just as I launched myself from the exit. The tunnel collapsed behind me, expelling a cloud of dust and d
ebris that entirely engulfed me. I fell and tumbled down a small ravine until I hit the ground flat on my face. I attempted to push up onto all fours, but the bone-deep pain in my back wouldn't allow it. I dropped again to my stomach and lay there, sucking in shallow breaths.
Victor scrambled over to me and bent down. It was several seconds before he spoke. "You're messed up. I don't know how to fix this."
I attempted to suck in a breath to speak, but my lungs wouldn’t fill enough to say a full sentence. All I could muster was a single word: “Time.”
That's when a new sensation reached my senses and tingled my skin. I cast my gaze toward the sky, as much as I could, considering I was face down in mud. Darkness was retreating. I needed to get out of here.
"Sunrise," I breathed and winced.
He looked up, then returned his gaze to me. "Shit. You have to get out of here.” He paused. “This is going to hurt like a mother fucker."
He slipped his arms under my pits and heaved me upward. I hollered in agony. Reds and blacks crowded my vision, as a searing heat raced through my body feeling as if my bones were on fire.
I sucked in several pitiful breaths, the weight of unconsciousness pulling me under. I fought against it, not wanting to be in any weakened position with Victor. He would probably kill me. How long had he been waiting for this opportunity?
He shifted me onto his shoulder, and the painful movement of my spine curving was so severe, I willingly succumbed to the darkness.
Chapter 28
My eyes jerked open, and I sat up, sucking in a great breath. Cool, but musty air, filled my lungs.
"Relax," a familiar voice said. “You’re not dying.”
I was in a small space, completely pitch black. I rubbed my eyes and waited for my night vision to kick in. When it did, I glanced around. I was in a narrow closet with metal shelving on each side of me. On one of them rested a single roll of toilet paper. Behind me was a bucket and mop along with a wide broom meant for sweeping gym floors.
Victor leaned against the room’s only door, his face and body still bloody and dirty from the fight.
“How long have I been out?”
“Twenty-two hours.”
That meant it was nearly four in the morning. I needed to get back. The others would be worried.
"Where am I?" I arched my back expecting to feel pain, but there was none.
"Remember the school you nearly burnt down?"
"The one you were making rhino dust in?" I pulled myself to my feet.
"You’re in the janitor closet of that same school," he said and opened the door. "It's the only place I knew to take you with only minutes before sunrise. It's also the darkest and safest place I could find. No one’s been here for months.”
I followed him into a long hallway and past rows of rusty and broken lockers. The smell of fire damage stung my nostrils. I couldn’t believe the building hadn't been demolished yet, especially after the fire that had raged through the gym.
"For the record,” he said, “if I didn't make those drugs, then what's happening now would have happened years ago. I was stalling until someone showed up who gave a damn."
"Why didn't you reach out to the Ames de la Terra?” I headed toward the front doors, anxious to return to Ironwood to see how everyone was doing.
"Because I didn't know they existed. I never had a mentor like you. I was on my own, fighting off the Principes Noctis the best way I knew how. Did I screw up? Sure. I know there’s a hot spot in Hell with my name on it, but before I pay for my crimes, I want to take Bastian out."
"Is that why you saved me? So I will kill him for you?"
He stared me in the eyes with a look I couldn't explain. "I wish you didn't have to be involved at all. I cared for Daisy. And I know she loved you. This is the last life she would want for you."
At the sound of my mother's name, I headed outside to breathe in fresh air. I couldn't let what he said affect me. Just like Bastian, he had an angle. I couldn't let my emotions get twisted up at the mere mention of my mother.
"Are you having someone make new vampires?" I blurted. Better get the truth out now while we had a minute alone. Maybe I had been wrong about what the Physician was doing the night I saw him walking to the airport. Victor had saved my life when he could’ve easily left for me dead. He deserved the benefit of doubt.
"Why in the hell would I do that?"
"To challenge Bastian. He wants humans and vampires to live in peace together."
He laughed out loud. "Is that what he told you? Bastian wants to rule over humans and nothing more. Don't believe a word from that lying shit-face."
"He said the same about you."
"He will say whatever he wants to get you on his side."
"Why would he want that? Why not just kill me?"
He narrowed his eyes. "You really don't know, do you?"
"Tell me."
"Because you were a full vampire when you weren't before. You saw what they were doing at the hospital. When Bastian learned of your mother’s work and her success with Jonas, he hoped it would lead to a way to genetically engineer vampires, but every single trial resulted in humans turning mad or becoming physically deformed. Sometimes both. Elizabeth Bathory’s blood just doesn’t mix well with most humans. Bastian thinks the Ames de la Terra did something to the blood inside you that completed the transformation. He wants to find out what."
I glanced behind him toward Pigtown. The sounds of a busy nightlife lay trapped beneath more storm clouds. "No one will ever learn the truth."
“Make sure it stays that way." His voice teetered on anger. Maybe he expected me to tell him my secret, but that would never happen either.
He glanced at me sideways. “Speaking of new vampires, if you’re going to check out the airport, you need to do it soon. My contact said a batch of them are scheduled to rise in two days. Several of them may not survive the transformation, but I have no idea how many they started with. A lot of people have gone missing.”
He paused and shifted his weight to his other foot. “I also learned the Physician is meeting with Bastian, something that was kept private from me. Those two are meeting too much, in my opinion. Take advantage of his absence. You should have little resistance.”
“Who is your contact? You mentioned it was a woman once.” Having been to Bastian’s home and meeting his friends, there was a chance I knew her.
“I prefer to keep that private.”
“You want me to trust you? You could be making all of this up. Besides, what if something happens to you? It would be helpful to know who you’re working with.”
He considered my words. “Fine, but she must be protected should Bastian ever find out. The woman is being forced to work with him. I don’t know what he has over her, but it must be something big because she’s the most powerful,” he paused, “woman I’ve met.”
“Powerful how?”
He sighed in defeat. “She’s the witch, the one who hardly leaves his side. Her name is Jade.”
“You’re trusting a witch?”
“She has more reasons than us to want Bastian dead.”
I huffed air past my puckered lips and shook my head. Things were getting more and more complicated. “Whatever. I’ll take care of it.”
I stepped off the sidewalk to return home, but he stopped me.
“I assume you have Richard with you?"
I didn't answer one way or the other. Richard was safer that way.
Victor rubbed the back of his neck and avoided eye contact. "I know I was hard on him, but I was under a deadline. I wanted him to create more like me, like you. Someone else to help combat the Principes Noctis. When I realized that couldn’t happen, I asked him to do one last thing just before he was taken from me."
"What's that?"
His eyes found mine. "I asked him to find a cure."
Chapter 29
I entered the tunnel beneath the train station that led back to Ironwood. A cure? Was that even possible?
After Victor’s confession, I didn’t know what to say, so I said nothing. He admitted he wasn't sure if it was possible, but hoped it was for my sake. His words and demeanor had been the opposite of the man I grew up hating. It had to be a trick. But if he was telling the truth, then Bastian was lying. Either way, one of them was conning me, and I needed to figure out who.
I slipped into Ironwood as quietly as possible and headed straight to the bathroom to shower. I was covered in dirt, sweat and blood so thick the grime felt like a second skin. I couldn’t wait to shed it.
I didn’t take long in the shower. I wanted to make sure everyone was okay, but in my haste, I had forgotten my clothing. I wrapped a towel around my waist and exited the bathroom. I turned around to head to my room but was startled by everyone standing just outside the door waiting for me. The smell of their blood punched me in the gut, and I paled. I should’ve eaten before showering.
"Pay up," Amy said to her brother, and she held out her hand toward him.
"Dangit," he complained and placed a dollar bill into her palm.
She laughed. "He thought for sure Victor was going to kill you, but I told him that wouldn't happen. Victor's good now."
I drew my brows together. "What makes you say that?"
"Because he's nice to Emma."
I glanced over at Emma. Our eyes met briefly before she lowered her gaze to the floor. She stood rigid as if she was hurting or uncomfortable.
"Are you okay?" I asked her. "Did something happen?"
That's when I smelled it. A whiff of her blood, fresh and exposed. I stepped toward her. "You're hurt. Tell me what happened."
My eyes flashed at Rebecca, as I waited for one of them to answer me.
"She was attacked on her way to work today," Rebecca said. "She called me while being chased, but by the time I reached her, they were already fighting. She fought well against them."
