The Warrior

by Rebecca Royce

  Silence met my shout, followed by the sounds of footsteps heading my way. I smiled. I hadn’t realized it until right then but the click-clack the stilettos my mother always wore brought me comfort. Unless she’d been running at the gym, my mother never went anywhere in sneakers. Her heeled shoes were the sounds of home.

  “Honey?” My father came through the door first. I grinned. He’d always been such a mush. “You okay?”

  He rushed forward, embracing me in a bear hug. I winced and hoped he didn’t notice. Nothing ever felt as good as knowing my father could take care of whatever happened in the world.

  “I have to tell you, Rachel.” He kissed the top of my head. “At first I thought it had to be a joke. I mean, who gets attacked by wild wolves on estates in Greenwich?”

  I moved back to look at him. “Me, apparently.”

  My mother whirled through the door, her face aflame with anger. Her skin tone had turned a disturbing shade of red I’d not seen before.

  “Mom? Do you need to sit down?”

  “No.” She put her hands on her hips. “What I need is to speak to your doctor. Where is he?” She turned and clicked her way back out the door.

  Dad smiled at me. “I’m going to go see if I can calm her.”

  I slumped back on the bed. As far as I was concerned, the whole day needed to go into a box marked Do Not Repeat. The next time Jason suggested I come with him on a family outing, I would politely decline.

  My father had no sooner left the room than someone else entered. It took me a moment to place him, even though I’d only just had him pointed out to me earlier in the afternoon. Chad Lyons. The older brother of the guy who had flirted with me before we’d been so rudely interrupted by a raving Wolf.

  He stopped in the doorway. “Rachel?”

  I cleared my throat. If I’d felt uncomfortable with Jason seeing me in my horrible gown, I wanted to melt into a puddle of humiliation now. “Yes. You’re Chad, right?”

  Tall, dark, and handsome, although not as striking as his younger brother, his gaze bore into mine from across the room. “Is it okay if I come in?”

  “Sure.” I tried to sit up taller in the bed. If I didn’t worry I might fall over, I’d have tried to stand. Although the whole hospital-gown issue would be even worse if I stood.

  “I wanted to come by and see if you were okay.”

  Micah, his brother, had been brought in when I’d been transported. I guess when I’d shoved him down, he’d been cut up a bit. They were worried one of the gashes needed a stitch.

  “I’m not concussed, just banged up. I’m really lucky. Deranged Wolf creature could have hurt me.” Or killed me, which I couldn’t deal with at all.

  “I have to say, seeing the Wolf come at you and Micah.” He walked slowly forward. “It had to be one of the most surreal moments in my life. By the time I got to you, it had run off.”

  “Weird.” I realized I didn’t sound particularly intelligent with my one-word answers. I still didn’t know what Chad wanted. Had he come simply to be polite?

  “My family is really worried about you.” Chad sat down on the side of my bed. The mattress sagged a bit under his weight. His fingers drummed on the bedrail next to him. I watched, almost transfixed, like I’d never seen someone’s hand before.

  He stared at me, waiting for a response. I could feel my cheeks heating up. “Thanks. I think I’m going to be fine.”

  “Good.”

  He smiled and the world felt lighter. My head hurt less. My heartbeat picked up, or at least the monitor next to me showed it had. I swallowed. What should I say now?

  “So you’re going to college soon?”

  He nodded. “Yes, and thanks to Dr. Icahn, I won’t have too much debt to function when I get out.”

  “I’d say it’s also thanks to you. Didn’t you earn the scholarship by being the best at everything or something?”

  He grinned, his near-black eyes lighting up. “Or something. The best at everything?” He shook his head. “I suppose I aspire to be. But we’re all human, right? I just try to work really hard.”

  Chad patted my knee and I might have stopped breathing for a second. What was the matter with me? I had a perfectly wonderful boyfriend who practically worshiped the ground I walked on, and I couldn’t seem to stop fantasizing over the guys in the Lyons family.

  “I think you sound amazing. I don’t know too many people our age who do much more than think about dating and begrudgingly get their homework done.”

  He leaned over to whisper in my ear. “I pretty much do it begrudgingly, too, but don’t tell anyone. I wouldn’t want the word to get out.”

  I giggled. Something about his earnestness felt so refreshing. A shout sounded down the hall. I’d know his snarl anywhere. Jason had arrived back on the floor and somehow he knew Chad visited me. I closed my eyes. I really didn’t want to put up with any more of his drama.

  “You okay? Is your boyfriend bellowing in the hall?”

  I opened my lids to regard Chad. I could hear the sounds of Jason’s anger being tempered by his father’s stern words. I chose not to listen to what they said.

  “He’s my boyfriend.” I nodded, playing with the blanket around my knees. The material felt scratchy on the pads of my fingers. “But not for much longer.”

  ***

  Now

  My fist collided into the guard’s chin with enough force he staggered backward. He hadn’t expected an attack from me or I’d never have been able to even cause him any pain. His size alone would protect him from an easy assault.

  He groaned, grabbing onto his chin while he righted himself. “I’m going to kill you.”

  “You wouldn’t be the first to try.” I backed up a step, putting my hands out in front of me. He could hurt me now, which meant I needed to be smarter. All he had to do was shout for help and I was done. His friend could sound the alarm, too. Sweat formed on the back of my neck. I really needed luck to be on my side.

  I saw movement out of the corner of my eye one second before a large board collided with my opponent’s head. I gasped and leaped back.

  “Lyons. Grab him.”

  I stared, sudden muteness giving me a lack of words as Deacon’s words registered with me. I had one second to stare at him before I whirled around, expecting to see Micah taking down the second guard. Instead, Chad tackled the goon to the ground, holding a cloth over the man’s mouth.

  “Um.” I looked from Chad to Deacon. “Was there chloroform on the cloth?”

  Deacon raised a brown eyebrow. I’d do anything to see his one dimple appear as he grinned at me, anything to make him the friend I’d left behind.

  “Good guess.” He set down his board. “Not as poetic as a good hit on the head but Chad always gets the job done.”

  Chad stood up, adjusting his shirt, which had come untucked from his brown pants. I caught a glimpse of his belly button and his hard abs before I forced myself to look away. He seemed so beautiful, so healthy. Whatever else I believed about my deal with the devil, bringing Chad back would never be a mistake in my eyes.

  “What are you two doing here, and why did you help me?”

  Deacon dropped his board. “We’ve been watching you for a while now. I was all in favor of leaving you alone to see how you fought the guards but Chad here pointed out if they killed you, we’d never know why you wanted to go down there in the first place.”

  “You spied on me?” I shoved my hands in my pockets before they could start to shake. I hated—no—I despised being caught unawares. “And I didn’t know?”

  Deacon’s dimples finally appeared as he grinned, but it wasn’t a friendly smile. Instead of happiness, the toothless raising of his mouth told me he thought me dirt beneath his feet.

  “Upwards, you caught me by surprise. I’m not as stupid as you must have thought me, and I’m perfectly capable of spying on anyone I want to.”

  Chad laughed. I whirled around to look at him. He shook his head as he spoke. “I’m th
e one who planned this little foray.”

  Deacon pounded his foot on the ground. “We did it together.”

  I turned from the warmth of Chad’s amusement to the fury in Deacon’s eyes. Without a second thought, I grasped his arm in my hand. His muscles felt firm and hard, like he’d been lifting weights. If I had to guess, he’d gained thirty pounds of pure muscle since I’d left.

  “I would never think you anything but strong and capable. I’m sorry I embarrassed you. I suspect you would best me nine times out ten and the one time I won would be because of some kind of maneuvering where I got lucky.”

  He narrowed his brown eyes. “Why are you so damn familiar to me?”

  “I can’t explain all of it right now. I have to go down while I still can. I probably shouldn’t tell you a thing. For some reason, I’m sharing when I should be shutting up. Wait for me. I’ll do my best to, somehow, make things clear.”

  Deacon walked toward the red door, stepping over Chad’s unconscious guard. “No way.”

  “Sorry, Rachel.” Chad smiled. “We’re going with you.”

  “You two act like you rescued me to find out what was going on. I’ll bet half the reason had to do with wanting to see for yourselves what Icahn hides down there.”

  Chad shrugged. “I won’t pretend it didn’t factor.” He handed me a stake. The wood felt strange in my hands. It had been a while since I’d had to handle a weapon other than a machete, and I’d only used it because I’d been practicing to end Jason.

  “Why are you giving her a weapon?” Deacon snarled his words.

  “Are you worried she’s going to stake you?” Chad rolled his eyes. “I’d rather have her armed than have to protect her.”

  “Always the pragmatist, Lyons.” Deacon pulled open the door. “But you won’t be laughing when she puts a stake through your heart.”

  He didn’t know what he said or, at least, he couldn’t know what his words would do to me, since he held no memory of any of it. Deacon’s words were like a dagger striking at the weak hold I had on my strength. I’d never have believed it possible, but my legs actually gave out from under me.

  My knees buckled, and I hit the ground hard.

  “Rachel.” Chad rushed to my side. “Are you hurt?”

  I looked up at him. I’d pushed a stake like the one I held right through his chest. It had made a crunchy noise when it had slid unstopped through his Vampire body into his heart, which no longer beat. I’d done what he’d asked of me, what I would have expected him to do if our situations had been reversed. I’d done it. And I’d never been the same.

  “I’m not.” I grabbed his arm and let him pull me to my feet. I’d had physical reactions to emotional stimuli in the past. Mostly my hands shook. I now had to worry my legs would give out beneath me.

  This was why I’d left and made them forget me. I couldn’t do this and put things the way they had to go.

  They didn’t ask me to explain what had happened. Most likely they didn’t want to know, which was fine by me. I didn’t think I could explain it even if I’d wanted to. What should I have said? Sorry, Chad, his flippant words reminded me of the time I ended your existence as a Vampire?

  I walked forward, following Deacon through the red door. We’d left two unconscious men outside. If I’d wanted subtlety, I would have stopped and dragged them away to where they couldn’t be seen. The time for hiding had passed and I had a feeling I wasn’t going to be coming back up from Icahn’s new lair without causing havoc. I might as well start as I intended to continue: with two beat-up men in my wake.

  “Do this a lot?” Chad asked from close behind me.

  “Break into places I shouldn’t go?”

  He snickered and I could feel the warmth of his breath on the back of my neck. I hadn’t realized just how tight behind me he had stayed. I shivered as the sensation of home traveled up my spine. Why couldn’t I close my eyes and bask in the nearness for a while?

  “Exactly.”

  I sighed. “I seem to do a lot of this, unfortunately. Believe it or not, I’d really rather this not be my destiny. I’d rather be someone else. A homebody. With fewer cares and concerns.” Or the girl I’d hoped to be before Armageddon. She would have had a great life. School, parties, boyfriends who didn’t die….

  “You could save us a lot of trouble and tell us why you wanted to go down here.”

  I could hear Deacon spoke through clenched teeth. Something about the clicking of his jaw gave away his level of aggravation. I rolled my eyes. Everything he did seemed very dramatic. Was this how everyone else saw him?

  I knew he had a hard time getting along. With me, however, he’d always been flirtatious and attentive. Maybe I’d finally gotten a dose of the uncensored Deacon everyone else endured.

  “Are you going to answer me?”

  I could ignore the question. We walked together, the three of us, through a dark hallway with only one dull yellow lightbulb illuminating our way. I could hear our footsteps creaking the wooden floor beneath our feet. Chad and Deacon wouldn’t know this but the designs of the halls were standard for Icahn’s facilities. Particularly the ones leading to labs or testing rooms for the Vampires.

  Chad had been bitten in a hallway like this one. I’d no sooner thought about it—the unchanged one—and my Vampire radar blared to life. My scarred cheek burned and goose bumps appeared all over my body. The pain doubled me over and I grabbed on to my knees for support.

  “Are you okay?” Chad moved to my side and Deacon cursed.

  “You’re like a walking disaster. Are you sick or something?”

  I shook my head. “Vamps are close.”

  Chad looked left and right. “I don’t feel them. Do you, Deacon?”

  “Not at all.”

  “I can feel them before you because I survived a vamp scratch.” I managed to pull myself upright again. Pointing to my cheek, I let them look at the evidence of the words I spoke. “Those of us who lived—who didn’t get turned—we can feel it even faster than you can.”

  “Wow.” Chad ran his finger over my cheek like it was the most natural thing in the world for him to do. He didn’t even seem to have noticed he’d done it because he kept talking. “I’ve never seen it in person before.”

  “Well, now you have. Walking freak show at your service.”

  “Should we be running?” Deacon’s tone held slightly less hostility than it had the moment earlier. He stared at me intently.

  “No. These Vampires are contained. They won’t be hurting us.”

  “What?” Deacon took a step toward me. “Are you crazy? Who contains a Vampire?”

  I sighed. “Dr. Icahn does on a regular basis. Follow me, boys. This should be illuminating for you.”

  Chapter Eight

  Now

  I walked ahead of the guys now. They’d felt the Vampires a few seconds earlier and it had, at least, made them stop questioning whether or not I really had sensed the undead presence.

  “Why would Dr. Icahn have Vampires in Genesis?” Chad sounded so earnest I could have gagged.

  “I’m sure he has his reasons.” We rounded the corner. I had a feeling our window of good luck would change when we actually encountered Icahn or some more of his men.

  “Like what?” Deacon grabbed my arm, his fingers squeezing into my flesh seconds before he pushed me against the wall.

  “Hey.” I struggled but he pinned himself against me, not giving me any room to move. “You’re hurting me.”

  “I’m getting a little tired of you having all the answers and not sharing any of them.”

  I pushed against him but he didn’t budge.

  “Deacon.” Chad hissed next to us. “Be careful with her. She’s a girl.”

  “She’s not just some chick, Lyons. She could kick both our butts if she wanted to.”

  His statement proved decidedly untrue. I’m not sure I could budge Deacon an inch.

  “I didn’t ask either one of you to come with me on this. I d
idn’t ask for help with the guards. I don’t have to tell you anything I don’t want to and right now you’re making me glad I haven’t uttered a word.”

  “Damn it.” Deacon slammed his fist into the wall next to my head. I shuddered. Who was this person and what had happened to my best friend?

  “Deacon!” Chad shouted, not even trying to keep his voice down. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

  “Getting some answers.”

  “You want answers?” Fear moved into the pit of my stomach. I’d gotten good at knowing when I’d fallen into a situation where I could count myself genuinely screwed. This happened to be one of those times. “Fine. I’ll give them to you. But not like this. I don’t respond well to threats. You might be able to hurt me now but if you do, I’ll warn you to never close your eyes to sleep again. Some time I’ll be there with a baseball bat.”

  Deacon’s face remained blank before he broke out in a grin. “I think you would.”

  “In a heartbeat.”

  He let up on me, stepping back. I took a deep breath, my shoulders sagging for a second. When it looked like he’d calmed as well, I kicked him hard in the shin. He cursed, grabbing his leg.

  “What the hell? I let you go.”

  Fury I’d tried to suppress rose to the surface. I knew emotion could make me stupid and I didn’t care.

  “You don’t threaten me, Deacon Evans. Not ever. You want some answers? Fine. Over a year ago, I saved your worthless life. You don’t remember it. You may never regain the ability to do so. It’s also my fault you can’t. But once upon a time, I knew you very well. Whatever this behavior is—this crazy that you’re putting on or that you’ve developed—you can take it and shove it where the sun don’t shine. Got it?”

  I pushed him. His eyes had gotten huge during my speech. I whirled on Chad. “Were you going to just let him manhandle me?”

  “No—”

  “And you. I’ve done unthinkable things for you. In a million years, the Chad Lyons I knew would never have let Deacon get so close to harming me. I sold my soul for you. Don’t make me regret it.”