Do you think I want to be cursed to want the same woman century after century, always to be turned down? Now, I see you in my dreams, my control is shattered. The animal in me becomes restless. Because of you, Valkyrie. Because of what your blood does within me! I am going to hunt. When I come back, you had better be gone, and do not come back here again. Regardless of this godforsaken blood link, I will erase you from my life!”
I stared after Aeron as he exploded through his front door, splintering the beautiful cherry wood. My breathing was erratic, my body yearning for what it had lost. I couldn’t seem to move, couldn’t seem to think clearly. Within me, the darkness swirled around what was left of my heart. He had called me poison. Had said I brought out the evil in him. Gulping air into my lungs, I felt despair washing over me. I had no one to blame but myself. I had brought this on. I had pushed him too far.
I realized the words of the Fiddler were already coming to pass. I had not known Aeron the way I thought I had. He was not the same on the inside as he was on the outside. I wondered if anyone was what they really seemed in this dark world. Why should I care what happened to this place? The world was cold and cruel. Therefore, so should I be. Shoving away from the wall, I took one final look around the devastated room. With the wind howling through the front door, I walked over its shattered remains and into the dark day before me.
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19
Weakness
The day was dark, the wind was wild. Like phantoms during a wild hunt, the shadows shifted around me. Trees stretched their naked branches toward me, as though grasping at the unattainable. Darkness filled my heart as it filled the sky. I moved, always moving. It was not safe to stay in one spot for too long. There were too many who sought me. Some called themselves allies and others, enemies. To me, they were all the same.
Gargoyles circled the overcast sky above me. Their numbers had grown in the month since I had walked through the fragments that remained of Aeron’s door. They didn’t understand why I had changed course, or why I maintained distance from everyone, but they remained loyal to me, even if it meant following me aimlessly. Their leader, Chandler, had begun to accept his role as their advisor and sent them on regular assignments. He reported back to me, whether I wanted to hear it or not.
Inside, I felt the darkness becoming absolute. It ruled my thoughts, my cravings, and my movements. When I took the life of humans, I didn’t bat an eye. When I turned my back on those in need, I listened to their pleas with coldness. A numbness had seeped inside of me and dulled me to the outside world.
Listening to the rain around me, I sat beneath the overhang of the ancient Spanish style mission. From high up on the hill where this abandoned church sat, crumbled and cracked, I surveyed the city below us. I was edgy today. I sensed too many others in this city, and I itched to move on. Those I sensed were not simple Vampires. They were powerful. Familiarity floated on the scents of their blood, and I was weary. Glancing up at the moon, I saw the darkness that shadowed it. I had become obsessed with the stages of that luminescent orb.
I knew we were close to another eclipse. It seemed the Witch Tamyra had been correct about the changes of the moon’s cycles. Already we’d had too many eclipses in too short a time. I speculated the meanings of so many powerful beings gathered in this one city. Sending Chandler a brief nod, I moved into the mission building, up the shaky, unsteady staircase that led to the crumbling bell tower.
When he landed, he moved quickly to me. “Valkyrie, what is it? You sense a lot power in the city as we do?”
I nodded. “Any idea who it is down there?”
“No. I can feel the presence of other Casts, and I can sense their power, but otherwise, I cannot identify them. Well, except you. I seem to be able to pick you out of thousands.”
I ignored his comment. I needed to focus on the matter at hand. There had to be some rhyme or reason for so many to be in this city together. I tried to recall the map Tamyra had spoken to me about. Envisioning a map of the states in my mind, I mentally placed the Pentagon figure on it, tracing its lines to see where the points landed. I was in Texas. Using the fingers of my mind to trace the lines to their points, I paused. Of course. San Antonio was a Lost City.
“Chandler, what is that city down there? Is it San Antonio by any chance?”
Lifting a brow, he nodded at me. “It is.”
I sighed. San Antonio, a Lost City. It was under control of a Cast, but I had little knowledge of which one.
“Well, that explains a lot. Still, I feel like the activity down there is unusual. Send in some scouts and see if we can at least figure out which Cast rules this territory.”
With a nod, Chandler dropped off the side of the tower. His huge wings opened up as he neared the ground, before ascending upwards once again. Several Gargoyles followed him. I watched their group until they were out of sight in the glimmering lights of the city. That’s when I noticed the glint of yellow in the copse of trees a few hundred feet from us. I knew what that glint of yellow was. It was the tapetum lucidum, the light reflecting surface located between the optic nerve and the retina in animals, as well as Vampires.
I knew my own eyes reflected a similar light to what I saw watching me from the forest. Inhaling, I tried to catch their scent, but the crafty animal was downwind. Dropping from the tower I landed silently. Calling upon my power, I became ash, my eyes darkened, and I stalked stealthily forward. There was a chance it might be just a wild animal, but with all those out there stalking me, looking for me, I would take no chances.
Nearing the area where I had seen the reflective light, I became still, scanning the area. Behind me, I heard a male voice which was unfamiliar to me.
“Now that’s a nifty little trick. If I recall correctly, you could not do that last time I saw you.”
I turned slowly, using my ability to see well in the dark to contemplate the man standing there. A large man, probably standing over six feet in height, and with a sleek muscular build, the kind typically seen in athletes, he was certainly no lightweight. His dark hair was short, only a few inches long, and his yellow eyes looked oddly familiar to me. There was a wildness to him, something untamed. Narrowing my eyes, I circled him.
He watched me, a corner of his lips lifting in a cocky grin. He wore only a pair of dark pants, and it struck me that he had probably just shifted from another form. I smiled. Allowing my body to come back to its natural coloring, I tilted my head.
“The last time I saw you, I was fleeing up some stairs from some odd blind guy, and you were chasing him.” Smiling ruefully, I added, “But you were much smaller then.
His grin grew. “Smart girl. I’m glad I made enough of an impression on you to be remembered. You vanished, you know. One minute you were on those stairs, then poof. You were gone.”
So that was what happened. I had wondered about that. When I had fallen into the stairs and then into Viren’s lair, I had felt as though the staircase had given out.
“Yes, that was certainly an interesting day.”
“Yes, it was. Tamyra wanted to kill me for losing you.” He laughed.
I nodded. “Well, now you have found me. Where is the Witch? What do you want?”
He regarded me coolly for a few seconds. His brows crinkled into a deep frown. “Yes, I guess I have. You ask what I want with you. I sense you are not the same girl you were. Tamyra said that may be the case. She said that you were becoming Vampire. Tell me, why do you walk away from the humans now?”
I wasn’t doing this. I started to turn away. He grabbed my arm. I turned back to him, shoving him away from me. “Get your hands off of me.”
He smiled apologetically. “You have grown strong, but your mind is not in the right place, Valkyrie. We need your help. If you do not step up against this destruction, the others will not either. The world will change, and evil will take over.”
I glared at him, yanking my arm from his grip. “Do you not get it? We are all evil. I am a Vampire who
walks in fire. I kill people, I drink blood. You are a Human-Panther Shifter. You cannot tell me there is not evil within you. And what about all the others out there? How are we any different?”
He sighed. “We are different Valkyrie. We are different because we choose to be different. I watched you save that town from burning. You made a choice to be good. Why do you hide away now?”
I turned my back on him. Gritting my teeth, I thought again of Aeron’s last words to me. “I turn my back now because I am poison. There is nothing good within me. I bring the darkness out in those I touch. Inside of me, there is evil.”
“I don’t believe that. I can see you, I have been following you. What you are is lost. What will be unleashed if these cities begin to fall will be far greater than any evil you could ever reap upon this world, Valkyrie.”
Looking over my shoulder at him, I felt nothing but cold emptiness. I shrugged my shoulders as I stepped away. I didn’t agree with him. Over my shoulder, I whispered, “It is not my problem.”
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Chandler landed on the tower where I sat with a thud. He glanced around in agitation. “Who’s the cat?”
“An old acquaintance. So, what did you find out?”
Chandler eyed me. I sensed jealousy. Turning my vision away from him, I released a long breath. “Chandler, move on. You and I are too different. There are four beautiful Gargoyle girls down there that would jump at the opportunity to catch your eye. It is right that you choose one of your own kind. I do not even have a kind. I am your friend, and if that is not good enough for you, then perhaps this alliance we have formed will not work.”
Turning his back on me, he paced the edge of the stone tower. I heard him growl. Finally, seeming to compose himself, he spoke.
“The Cast that seems to take up precedence in this city is not Vampires. It is a Cast of very powerful Witches that rule San Antonio. From what I can tell, they live alongside the humans with no qualms.”
Pausing, he turned to look at me. “There are, however, a growing number of Vampires lurking in the streets as we speak. My spies tell me it does not appear that these Witches welcome them.”
I nodded. “Byron is going to try and wipe out the city of Witches. He has always hated Witches, believing Vampires to be the only true race.”
I paced the edge of the tower, teetering between falling and staying upright. I chewed my lip. I needed to make a decision. Looking into the trees, catching sight of the yellow eyes reflecting the light, I groaned. I didn’t want to care, I didn’t want to help, but what if he was right. What if the evil that came after the darkness was worse? Turning toward Chandler, I stared at him for a long time.
“Call the others here. We will stand with the Witches and protect this city.”
Chandler released a long-held breath. Inclining his head, he nodded before leaping off the tower. I had seen approval in his eyes. It was funny to think back to the young man I had first met in the streets of New Orleans who seemed intent on his destructive path. Now, he had approved of doing what was right.
Looking out into the night, I spoke in a normal tone. There was no doubt in my mind the Panther lurking in the darkness would hear me.
“We will fight for this city. Gather all you can for the fight that is sure to come.”
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I walked silently down the darkened streets of the old city. My ash colored form made me nearly invisible. The street lights above me flickered, giving me pause. Darkness was just descending upon this city, and I knew without a doubt that this night would be another eclipse. The third in the series so far. I did not know what this night would hold for us, or what the darkness would unleash.
Around me, Vampires swarmed. Often, they would pause in passing me, as though they were aware of my presence, but they were unable to see me. I watched them, they acted nonchalant, socializing before moving on. I knew the truth. They waited for a command from the one who ruled them, and I intended to find out who it was that would give this signal.
I listened, I watched, and I shadowed their activities. It all lead up to the moment of truth. Just before the sky completed its descent to darkness, I followed a trio of Vampires toward an old villa. The place looked Victorian, and the sign outside the lawns said it was the Villa Finale Museum. It held the appearance of desertion, and no lights shone from within. The oaks that stood watch over the old building were twisted and malformed, their crooked branches showing the harshness of time.
Crouching in the darkness, I waited. Flickers of movement caught my attention within the old house. Creeping closer, I used my superb hearing to listen. Voices echoed to me from within, but it was the Creole accent of someone familiar to me that I tried to focus and zone in on. His voice was quiet, and he sounded agitated.
“What do you mean you have seen Shifters heading into the city? Are you fucking kidding me? What would bring Shifters here? What kind of Shifters exactly, are we speaking of?”
The feminine voice that answered was low enough that I could not make out her muffled words with clarity.
The voice that I was sure belonged to Dominique replied, “Cats? The bloody fuck you say? Cats? No one has seen any sign of Panthers in a very long time. Damnit! It’s her. It has to be. I want every last scout you have out there looking for that mutt. Do you hear me?”
His voice was seething with rage. It brought a smile of consolation to my lips. The knowledge that I was able to get under his skin so much made me incredibly happy. I watched from my hiding place as the thin sexy Vampire woman slunk from the house. Behind her, seven others followed. My smile only grew. Dominique had just made my goal even easier.
I had only one goal. To kill the son of a bitch who burned my town to ash. He was my father’s puppet, and the more limbs I severed from Byron, the weaker he would become. My objective was to get inside of this house and destroy Dominque. It seemed like a very simple objective at the time.
I crept along the shadows, taking on the ash color of my powers. Once inside the house, I was slower, more careful. I could hear muffled voices coming from upstairs. Making my way upwards, I found myself watching as six very large and very powerful Vampires huddled together. One was Dominique. The others I did not recognize.
Finally, my time to face the one who had desecrated my town had come. Standing, I walked into the room. Allowing the soot to clear from my skin, I smiled sweetly as the men leaped back. I had materialized before their very eyes. The ones who did not know who I was, muttered Witch. Dominque knew differently. He stood watching me. His body seemed frozen as his eyes took me in.
I remembered another time I had seen this face, long ago. Four hundred years ago. He had stood in the crowd around the cross to which I had been tied. He had cheered and chanted for my death as my father raged at me. I felt my fangs descend. I felt my eyes become fire, but I held the flame in check. Surprise was an element I was not yet ready to give up. Dominique’s eyes widened.
“So, the rumors are true. You have risen again. Too bad things are not what you think they are. Have you come to kill me, Valkyrie?”
The moment he said my name, the others around him viewed me with both awe and fear. So apparently, they had heard tales of the resurrected Vampire. Tilting my head to the side, I grinned malevolently.
“Of course.”
He shook his head. “That’s too bad. I had hoped you would realize the real potential in joining the correct side this time. I suppose you will find it’s funny, because others have. You think that killing me will be cutting the head off the snake, but you are wrong.”
Laughing like a madman, he lifted his arms. “I am only the tail end of the snake, Valkyrie.”
Stepping forward, I shrugged. “I honestly do not give a damn who the head of the snake is. I have one goal tonight. I will sever the head from your body, and then I will bathe in your filthy blood.”
He eyed me. I could see he had not expected me to be so cold, so vicious.
“You have changed, V
alkyrie. You are not the naïve little Vampire you were four hundred years ago. If things were different between us, I would be tempted to let you live, if only to feast on your lovely body.”
Inside, I cringed in disgust. Outside, I was cool and collected. He had made it seem as though I would die today, and not him. I smiled at the hilarity in that. I could feel the darkness inside of me awaken. The thought of death was like a caress against my blackened soul. I took another step toward him. He backed up.
“Valkyrie, don’t be so hasty. Don’t you want to know who the head of the snake is? I’m sure it will be a great surprise for you.”
He was stalling. The others around him seemed unsure. I was done talking. Advancing in a lightning blur, I allowed the malevolent side of my soul to take over. With speed and precision, I leaped onto Dominique. Opening my mouth, I sunk my fangs into the flesh of his throat, ripping it open. Then, with a simple twist of my hands, his head hit the floor with a wet thud.
Standing over his writhing body, I felt like an animal. The bloodlust in me crept to an unbearable level, and I lost control. Grabbing the Vampires around me, I attacked. Fueled by a wicked need to kill, I ripped them apart, limb from limb until a mess of slaughtered bodies littered the floor and blood decorated the walls. I stood, heaving, trying to reel in my control. My body was soaked in their sticky sweet blood.
That was the moment I heard a chilling voice from my past. A voice that had once caressed me with love. My eyes widened, and the darkness within me refused to leave. It warned me. I didn’t listen. Desmond was not my enemy, he was my friend. Turning, I surveyed the man who had once held me in his arms, the man who had been the only one to ever lay any claim to my body or my heart.
Becoming Valkyrie Page 22
