by M. Cheykota
They must have found the other stake and assumed that was the only one I had. I exhale in relief as soon as I swipe the stake off the ground by the small wooden handle.
Leaving my hair loose, I tiptoe to the only door and put my ear to it, listening for any movements outside the door before trying the door handle. Hearing no movements, I try the door to find the doorknob locked. Using my vampire or angel strength, the spring in the lock gives with a twang. Pausing only for a moment to listen for footsteps, I open the door and slip out into a deserted hallway in what looks like a second floor of a large house.
Quietly, I slink down the dark hallway towards what looks like the stairs when one of the doors opens on my right. Before I can see who it is, I plunge the slender stake into the heart of the man exiting the room. I watch as the man registers surprise on his face. His eyes flash silver as I twist the stake in his heart, destroying it.
In a flash, the vampire turns to a pile of ash on the ground. Alarmed, I look in the room where the vampire just left to see three more vampires staring at me with startled expressions.
Hoping like hell that they are not Christien’s vampires, even though I don’t recognize any of their faces, I enter the room in preparation for a fight. One of the vampires stands slowly as silver streaks through his eyes. Pissed that all I have is a small silver stake to defend myself, I attack before they can formulate a plan of attack against me.
Kicking the vampire closest to me on the side of his head, I use my momentum to push off him, launching myself at the vampire sitting next to him that hasn’t left his seat. The vampire I kick propels from his chair, crashing into the wall causing the drywall to little the floor around him. The second vampire blocks my attempt to stake him in the heart, but loses his balance from the force of my blow. He falls backwards in his seat, allowing the third vampire a clear path at me.
I only have a split second to register the hunting knife in his hand before he crashes into me. Familiar with grappling, I allow my body to fall back naturally, using my momentum and foot to throw the vampire over my head against another wall. The first and second vampires recover from my original attack and come at me at the same time.
Using anything I can get my hands on as a weapon, I keep the two vampires at bay, but the noise our fighting is making will surely bring reinforcements.
My vision turns hazy the angrier I get. The speed of my attack becomes faster, preventing the vampires from being able to keep up. When I see an opening, I jab my stake home in one of the vampire’s heart, twisting as I remove it. Contorting my upper body, I slam my stake into the second vampire before the first vampire turns to ash. I turn to the third vampire as he backs himself towards the door. My vision clouds with a silvery haze. My heart is racing, and I’m furious. Not wanting the vampire to get away or call for help, I manage to do what I’ve only done once before when I was angry with Kayle.
The world around me seems to pause as I focus all my attention on the vampire in front of me. He seems to be stuck in mid step when I rush towards him, plunging my stake deep in his heart. I remove the stake and stab him several times in the heart to dispel my anger until his body disintegrates in front of me. Still fuming, I pick up a sword I find leaning against the wall and toss its scabbard on the ground on my way out the door.
In the hallway, several vampires line up against the walls, ready and waiting for my approach. Some blink in confusion when they see me come out of the room.
“Who in the hell is your sire?” I bark at them, raising the sword in front of me.
That is when I notice my hands are crackling with some kind of blue, electric fire.
What the fuck? I stare at my hands gripping the sword in confusion.
Several of the vampires hesitate in their attacks, looking just as bewildered as I am at my glowing hands.
A confident vampire comes at me from the left. I swing the sword in his direction to block his attack and the blue, electric fire races down the sword towards the vampire. My eyes bug out of my head in disbelief when the fire leaps from the sword onto the vampire, engulfing him in less than a second.
All of us in the hallway watch as the vampire screams in agony as the flames spread and consume him. The entire process doesn’t take long, but the moment seems like an eternity as we watch the vampire decay and turn to a pile of ash on the ground.
The blue, electrical flame has gone out on the sword, but now I notice the blue flames climbing up my arms. Panicking, I drop the sword and shake my hand in attempt to shake it off. To everyone’s amazement and mine, a blue, electrical fireball shoots from my hand every time I shake it. Blue fire engulfs the door nearest me as vampires dive to the middle of the hallway to avoid the flames. My panic rises when I notice the blue flames climbing further up my arms. I scream as I fling my arms around wildly, shooting fireballs in every direction. Vampires not caught on fire dive for cover behind anything they can find or rush towards the stairs.
Surprisingly, I feel no heat or pain from the blue flames, but that doesn’t stop my anxiety from rising, thinking I might combust like the vampires or house around me. Blue flames are licking the ceiling when I hear cries and shouts around me for everyone to get out of the house.
Leaving the vampires cowering where they are hiding, I leap from the second floor and drop into a crouch when I reach the first floor. When my hand touches the ground, the wood floor instantly catches fire and spreads quickly to the walls. I look around wildly for an exit when I feel something drawing me towards another room. Already wary of my surroundings, I ignore the pull and try again to find a way out of the house that is burning in blue flames.
More shouts and screams fill the air around me as I follow the flames that seem to be moving with an air current. Strangely enough, the flames are moving in the same direction the pull in my gut wants me to go. Seeing no other option for escape, I follow the flames hurriedly while trying to put out the flames covering my hands along the way. With every flick of my wrist, another fireball leaves my hands, only fueling the fire. Since the fire doesn’t seem to be harming me, I decide to stop trying to put out the flames and focus on finding a way out of the house before it collapses around me.
Following the pull in my gut and the flames consuming the house, I end up in what looks like a library or study. On a center display, I watch as the blue, electrical fire surrounds an old book on display as if highlighting it. Curious, I move closer, as my gut seems to want me to. I get a better look at the book. The book seems to radiate energy and doesn’t look to be burning, despite the blue flames surrounding it.
I hear a familiar voice shout my name right before I hear a wolf howling. More screaming snaps me out of my daze, but not before my blue, fire-covered hands touch the book.
In an instant, the fire surrounding the book and covering my hands snuff out. The book is cool to touch when I lift it from its display to cradle it against my chest possessively. Pleased that my hands are no longer on fire, I turn towards the door I came through to see Roman standing there.
“Rome!” I cry out, happy to see his familiar face.
He waves me towards him and nudges me playfully when I reach him. “The house is on fire with some wicked blue flames I’ve never seen before, and you stop to browse for a book?”
“This book is special. I don’t know why.” I clutch the book closer to me defensively.
Roman nods and releases a brief howl.
Two large wolves bound towards him, careful to avoid catching their fur on fire.
“I found her. Let’s get out of here before the house falls down on us.”
“What about the vampire that abducted me?” Anger builds inside me and I see my hands begin to glow a pale blue.
Not wanting my hands to catch on fire again, I take a deep breath to release my anger as Roman pulls me along behind him while following the wolves towards the exit, oblivious to my internal struggles.
“Don’t worry. If the fire doesn’t take care of him, I doubt he’ll
escape Christien’s wrath for long. Before I left, he looked ready to rip out someone’s throat with his fangs.” Roman chuckles from his memory of Christien’s anger. “I pity the next vampire that manages to piss him off.”
Roman and I watch as the wolves leap over a burning couch and crash through the large window behind it. Roman reaches for me to help me over the couch and I take a step back away from him frowning at his gesture.
He gives me a quizzical look for a moment before bursting out laughing. “Forgive me, Jess. I don’t know what I was thinking. I guess I’m getting used to being around Alex and the kids. They usually ask for and want my help.”
Before I can reply or apologize for snubbing his generosity, he dives through the window over the flames without hesitation.
Curiosity getting the best of me, I reach out to the flames and stare in fascination when the flames only lick my fingers.
“Jess, come on!” Roman shouts from outside.
Feeling daring, I take a small step forward, allowing the flames to dance up my pajama bottoms without catching fire. Showing off a little, I step on the burning couch fearlessly and step unhurriedly out of the burning house as I hear wood creaking and groaning, likely on the verge of collapsing.
Roman’s eyes bulge and his jaw drops as he watches me step calmly through the raging blue inferno, that was once someone’s house, out onto the front lawn.
“Jess, are you crazy? Did you get burned?” Roman scans my body quickly and frowns in confusion when he notices that my clothes show no scorch marks. “How…?”
“Not now. We can talk later. I just want to get out of here.” I keep the book close to my chest as I walk away from the house.
Roman, the wolves, and I avoid the gathering crowd that has come to gawk and take pictures of the blue-flamed inferno consuming the house. Sirens move closer from a distance.
“Alright. Let’s get out of here. I’ll call Christien along the way.” Roman pulls his cell phone out of his pocket as he speeds up his pace to a fast jog following the path the wolves went.
I listen to Roman inform Christien that he found me and I’m unharmed before Roman shoves the phone in my hands.
Rolling my eyes several times throughout the ride back to Christien’s estate, I reassure him repeatedly that I am safe and well. He informs me that Lenair is at his house and he’s holding her and her vampires captive, due to her involvement in my abduction.
Seeing the estate coming into view, I inform Christien that I will be there shortly before handing up the phone.
Epilogue
Following Roman, I can feel the tension in the room when we walk inside Christien’s family room. There are four wolves pacing between unfamiliar vampires, growling, while snapping their jaws in a threatening dare for them to move.
“What’s going on?” I ask while looking closer at a frozen vampire to see his eyes flick nervously between Kayle, Christien, the pacing wolves, and me.
“We wanted everyone to remain where they are. This way seemed simplest.” Kayle explains with a small shrug of his shoulder.
“Christien?” I call out to him hesitantly.
“Were you harmed, ma chatte petite?” Christien asks, never moving an inch or taking his eyes off Lenair.
“No, I’m fine. Not even a scratch.” I inform him, moving my arm for emphasis. “I can’t say the same for the house they held me in.”
Christien’s eyes flick to me in curiosity.
Lenair takes advantage of Christien’s brief inattention to push him away from her hard, sending Christien several feet backwards from the force.
Christien moves across the room swiftly, ignoring Lenair on her feet, to reach my side. He pulls me against him for a brief hug and pulls back, frowning when he notices the large book between us. He recognizes the symbols on the exposed front as the same book in Phedora’s memories that was on display in Lenair’s house.
“Where did you get that book?” Christien asks even though he already knows the answer.
“It was…”
“That book is mine!” Lenair growls and reaches for the book in my arms.
Fiercely protective of the book, I spin my body around and lunge to the side to avoid her grasp.
Christien blocks her view of me and squares off with Lenair. “You will stay away from my mate!”
“Your mate?” Lenair spits out in disgust. “What is so special about this filthy human that has you and Hassan fighting over her?”
“I told you, she is my mate.” Christien replies while keeping his body between Lenair and me. “If she holds no significance for you, why did you take her?”
Lenair rolls her eyes at Christien in irritation, as if he should already know the answer. “Insurance, of course. If Hassan defeated you and Devan, I could also use her to bargain with Hassan. Since you defeated Devan…”
“I have slain Hassan, becoming tête de ligne of his ligne de sang, and you no longer have Jessica in order to bargain with me.” Christien states in a clipped tone, due to the strain he is under holding all the strong vampires in place for so long.
Lenair blinks in surprise at Christien’s statement before she snarls in frustration. “Your territory in France means little to you Christien. Why not allow me to rule in your stead?”
“You should be more concerned about you leaving my house alive than to concern yourself with who will manage my territory, Lenair.” Christien’s eyes streak with silver as he telepathically tells Kayle that he’s about to release control of Lenair’s vampires.
I see Kayle tense in readiness at the same time Lenair’s vampires begin moving around the room to face off with Christien’s vampires.
Lenair’s arrogance returns when her vampires begin facing off with Christien’s vampires. “You know what I want Christien. Why not avoid all this unnecessary bloodshed and just allow me to rule France alone?”
“As Devan and my sire have learned, I am more than capable of defending me and my get successfully. You should take the opportunity now to leave my estate before the choice is taken away from you.” Christien growls threateningly while pushing me behind him protectively.
Verifying no one is behind me, I place the book I am clutching on a nearby table and scan the room for a weapon, expecting Lenair to be undeterred.
“I don’t need Hassan or Devan’s assistance to defeat you, Christien. I am stronger, faster, and more powerful than you are.” Lenair boasts while brushing down her dress and exposing her fangs as they begin to lengthen. “Your get is small compared to mine. You might have been able to hold my vampires at bay for a short time, but you now know that my vampires are stronger than yours.”
“We shall see, hmm?”
Christien and Lenair crash into each other and chaos erupts around the room. Everyone’s movement is nothing but a blur. Lenair’s vampires ignore me as I scramble around the room, desperately looking for something better than my puny silver stake I’ve put back in my hair.
Roman shifts into his werewolf form and paces in front of me as wolves come from around the house to assist Christien’s vampires that are barely holding their own against Lenair’s older and stronger vampires.
Christien grunts when Lenair sinks her fangs into his shoulder, narrowly missing his neck. The familiar scent of his blood hits me, just when I am considering wading into the fight without a weapon. I grimace when I see Christien pull his body out of Lenair’s mouth, uncaring that she hasn’t retracted her fangs before performing a grappling move that lifts her over his shoulder to land on the ground in front of him. He has her by the throat an instant later. Without hesitation, he rips out her throat with his hand.
I’m about to warn Christien about a vampire coming up on him from behind, when Roman lets out a quick yelp that gains two werewolves attention immediately. Before I can call out Christien’s name to warn him, the werewolves converge on the vampire about to attack Christien, tearing the vampire apart. The wolves jump back in time, after removing the vampire’s head, so the
y will not get ash on their fur.
Looking back at Christien, I see that he has Lenair by the throat, and is fully vamping out with molten silver eyes.
Lenair croaks for him to spare her with pleading eyes, since her throat is still trying rapidly to repair itself.
“Call off your vampires now!” Christien demands in a guttural tone.
All of Lenair’s vampires release Christien’s and move to one side of the room without hesitation.
Kayle, who was fending off three of Lenair’s vampires, straightens his slightly bloodied clothes and approaches Christien’s side.
“We should kill her.” Kayle suggests angrily. “She came here to attack you.”
Christien’s eyes bleed back to somewhat normal, but still hold silver streaks, showing he hasn’t regained full control of his blood thirst.
“Wait!” I speak up, gaining Christien’s and Kayle’s attention.
I try to move towards them, but Roman puts his werewolf body between us, not allowing me more than a few steps closer to them.
Seeing that Roman will not allow me any closer, I continue to convey my thoughts to Christien telepathically. “The Vampire Council may forgive you for killing Hassan, but they are going to be pissed about Devan. You told me this yourself. Although I agree with Kayle and believe that Lenair should die, I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to kill her tonight. If you kill another tête de ligne de sang tonight, they will surely want your head on a platter.”
Christien’s eyes return to normal as he considers what I have said. “What do you suggest I do? I cannot allow her attack to go unanswered. It would be an invitation for all master vampires to try their hand at seizing my territory.”
