Blood Promise

by Danielle Rose

“Somewhere else you need to be, Avah?” Amicia asked. Her tone was thick with sarcasm.

  Again, I ignored her and kept walking. I wasn’t in the mood. I was hurt, angry, and annoyed. That was a lethal combination for a hybrid to have.

  “Stop!” she yelled, and the house seemed to shake at its foundation. Her voice exuded power, strength.

  A hand grasped my arm and squeezed. I turned, facing Jasik’s concerned eyes. Silently, he pleaded with me, and I relented.

  “Sorry, Milady, but sometimes there are more important tasks we need to tend to,” I said.

  “There is nothing more important than checking in with me first. Do you understand?”

  I said nothing. What was I to say? Any agreement would be a lie.

  “Honestly, Avah,” Amicia said, “you act as though you’re unfamiliar with our rules. Your newborn status will not grant you leniency. I suggest you tread lightly. You’re in dangerous territory.”

  I scoffed, but before I could defend my actions, Jasik cut in.

  “Milady, Avah’s former coven has been assassinated.” His tone was cool, but his gaze was hard.

  “Assassinated? By whom?”

  “Rogues.”

  She waved her hand dismissively. “You can hardly call that assassination.”

  “I think Avah’s status is more than enough proof of assassination. They’ve come for her twice before.”

  “Only to keep her as a pet, as I understand. That particular Rogue was interested in much more than simply killing her.”

  I shuddered at the thought. The Rogues who attacked my coven the night of my birth rite had returned for me. I thought it was simply to finish the job, but the leader had made it known that he had developed a twisted fascination with me.

  He’d asked for my hand by his side, and I’d drained him until he was nothing but bone.

  Problem solved.

  Amicia exhaled slowly, her eyes flickering to her other Hunters. They each stood strong as her gaze bored into them. They were unyielding in their beliefs. Leaving as we did was the right thing. We all knew it. And if given the opportunity, we’d do it again.

  “What have you got?” she asked, eying the bags.

  “Supplies. We’ll stock the supply room downstairs.”

  Amicia nodded. “Because this is a sensitive situation, no one will be reprimanded, but this will not happen again. Is that understood?”

  Her eyes met mine again, but I walked away. I pushed my way into the dining hall, the doors slamming against the wall, and I made my way into the kitchen. I devoured five blood bags before I turned around, finding the Hunters and Sebastian watching me.

  When I finally found my voice again, all I could say was, “She doesn’t even care.”

  “Can you blame her?” Malik asked.

  “Yes, I can. You owe nothing to them. Yet you care. All I’m asking for is basic human courtesy—”

  “Therein lies your problem, sweets. She hasn’t been human for a long time,” Sebastian said.

  “Neither have you. Neither has Jasik or Malik. Hell, no one here has been human for quite some time. That’s no excuse!”

  The Hunters stood awkwardly, averting their gazes, shuffling their feet. No one wanted to address the elephant in the room.

  I exhaled sharply. “Look, I’m sorry. I didn’t handle it well—”

  “No one expects you to,” Jasik said.

  “Apparently Amicia does,” I argued.

  “It’s been a long time since she’s lost someone she cares for as much as you cared for your former coven. Her behavior, while unacceptable, is understandable,” Jasik said.

  I nodded. Sure, I didn’t agree, but I didn’t want to argue, either. I just wanted this day to end. I wanted to curl up in a ball and never wake again. I wanted to close myself off from the world and never feel pain or expectations.

  I was only just beginning my eternity as an immortal, and it already sucked.

  I CLOSED MY eyes and focused on my breathing. Inhaling slowly, I concentrated on the sensations around me. The house was silent, the vampires already in a deep sleep. The sun had set nearly an hour ago. I left Jasik to sleep alone so I could enter The Beyond, so I could contact my mother. I hoped her soul still lingered. It was selfish. She should move on, into Summerland, into peace. But I needed to see her. There were things to say.

  I exhaled slowly, focusing on the slow, steady beat of my heart. It was strong, loud, drowning out all other noises. A heartbeat was the perfect white noise. I swallowed hard and willed myself into The Beyond. A haze slowly formed in the darkness as my astral self left its immortal coil.

  I brought my arm forward, but it fell to my side in a thump. The Beyond was a world of opposites and contradictions—something few understood. Here, life and death met. Here, I felt weightless yet heavy. In this in-between, nothing was simple, yet nothing was complex. Souls lingering in The Beyond had unfinished business and stayed behind with the hope that someone like me would stop by and listen.

  But today, I didn’t have time for their problems. I had my own to deal with.

  Spirits vanished as I passed, as I ignored them.

  I was stronger now. When I was a mortal, I couldn’t stay in The Beyond long without the possibility of losing myself there. But now, my immortal body provided the strength to search for my mother. I walked through the darkness, guided solely by faith. I considered calling out to her, but I brushed the thought away. My presence here alone would draw her to me. I just had to be patient. I just had to hold on long enough for her to find me.

  “Avah, my darling,” a voice said, and I turned to face her.

  She was beautiful. Her broken and bloodied body was restored. Her skin had a youthful glow, and her smile was electrifying. She looked at peace. She looked like the woman who raised me. Not the woman who cast me out. Not the woman who betrayed my trust. Not the sad, wounded woman I had burned in an attempt to ensure her soul would move on instead of becoming encaged in an immortal shell. She looked like the woman who tiptoed into my room on Yule morning. The one who woke me in silence so I could be the first to the tree, the first to open presents. We sat for hours playing together, before my cousins and other members of my coven woke to join us. It was in these secret moments that I truly gave myself to the cause, because I wanted nothing more than to make my mother proud, happy.

  “I hoped you’d be here,” I said, my voice echoing into the darkness that surrounded us.

  “I knew you would show. I waited for you.”

  Tears spilled onto my cheeks. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there. I’m sorry I didn’t stop it.”

  She moved closer, eliminating the space between us. She gently glided her fingers across my cheek, wiping away evidence of weakness. My skin tingled where she touched me.

  “This isn’t your fault, Avah. Do not waste your time thinking it is. You couldn’t have done anything.”

  I shook my head.

  “This isn’t your fault. You must believe that.”

  I knew we didn’t have much time, and I didn’t want to waste precious minutes arguing. “I need you to know that I forgive you. I forgive what you did, and I’m not upset.”

  She met my gaze and smiled. “You’re so strong, Avah, and you’re so beautiful. You look even healthier now, as an undead vampire, than you did as a witch.” She chuckled.

  I smiled and closed my eyes, letting her laugh resonate deep within me. I cherished that sound and prayed I’d never forget it.

  She pulled me into a tight hug and pressed a soft kiss to my temple.

  “I love you so much, Avah, and I’m so sorry. I’m so, so sorry. I wish I could take it all back. I wish I could give you the future you deserve.”

  I smiled and leaned into her, inhaling her scent. She always smelled like sandalwood and jasmine. “I love you, too, Mom, but I’m okay. I’m… happy, safe.”

  It was an odd admission, but no less true. Sure, Rogues had hunted me from the moment I turned, but I still felt safe. I felt safe w
ith the vampires, with Jasik, and I felt safe within my own skin. I was learning to control the power within me, and I knew, eventually, I’d be okay.

  “Yes, I assumed you would be. If anyone could survive this, it would be you.”

  Thump. Thump. Thump.

  My heartbeat echoed loudly around us. I was losing my connection to her, to The Beyond. I wasn’t ready to leave her. Not yet.

  I pulled away, gripping her shoulders in my hands. “Who did this to you? What happened?”

  She shook her head, grasping my hands beneath her own. “I don’t want you putting yourself in danger because of this, but I do need your help.”

  I furrowed my eyebrows. “Help?” My voice came out in a whisper. I was losing my strength, my hold on this astral plane.

  She nodded. “We were wrong, Avah. We never should have used The Power. This has to stop. You have to make this stop.”

  “H—How?”

  “Do you remember the stories I told you about the witch council?” she asked.

  I nodded. The flash of a memory crept forward.

  “Do you remember how to get there?” she asked.

  “Yes. In England.” I knew there were several locations throughout Europe, where the most powerful witches resided. There, they passed laws and handed down judgments. They ensured the magical community remained hidden and under control.

  She smiled. “I knew you’d remember. You never forgot a lesson. You treated everything as if your life depended on it.”

  “And now it does,” I said.

  Her face grew somber. “There isn’t much time now. You need to go to them.”

  “What exactly am I supposed to say? They already know of the dangers.”

  “They won’t listen when you speak. You must show them there is a better future. Show them we can coexist. Show them who you really are.”

  My eyelids fluttered shut, and it took all of my strength to reopen them. My breathing slowed, my chest heavy.

  “You need to beat her there, Avah.”

  “Who?” I asked, but she was already pulling away. The darkness engulfed us, and she was gone. “Mom? Mom!”

  “Avah.” Her voice came in a distant echo. “Remember that this was never your fault. You cannot stop fate.”

  I opened my mouth to speak, but words were just out of reach.

  “I love you.”

  I inhaled sharply as my eyes fluttered open. I sat forward, running a hand through my tangled hair. I was back in my room at the manor. Sitting on the edge of my bed, I rested my elbows on my knees and fiddled with my hands as I replayed our meeting over and over again. I hadn’t learned much. I still didn’t know who attacked my former coven. All I knew was that I would honor my mother’s dying request. I would warn the council, and I would do it before her.

  THE HUNTERS YAWNED as they entered the dining hall. I had already set out mugs of freshly steamed blood. It was a peace treaty move, but I knew it’d work. Vampires thought with their fangs more than anything.

  “While I do enjoy these mid-day meetings, sugar, I don’t think they do,” Sebastian said, nodding his head toward the Hunters. They did look rather sluggish.

  I smiled weakly. “Sorry, guys. Drink up?” Calling upon the element air, listening as it swirled around me, I pushed the blood toward them.

  “Oh, stop showing off,” Lillie said as she took a seat and downed the blood.

  “Yeah, we get it. You’re all powerful, you’re so awesome, you’re all chosen, yada-yada-yada,” Jeremiah added with a wink.

  Jasik, Malik, and Sebastian joined us at the table, taking a seat and chugging a mug of blood.

  “So let’s start this meeting, huh? This is seriously cutting into my sunbathing time,” Sebastian said as he dramatically stared at the invisible watch strapped to his wrist.

  I rolled my eyes. “I spoke with my mother.”

  The vampires stared back at me as if I’d grown three heads. Jaws slack, eyes wide, they were considering shipping me off to a nut house, I was sure of it.

  “In The Beyond. I contacted her in The Beyond.”

  “Right, and what’s that again?” Lillie asked.

  “A place where restless spirits, um, hang?”

  “I see,” Malik said, finally speaking.

  “I’m a spirit user, remember? This is part of that nifty package.” I glanced at Sebastian, hoping he’d chime in, make me look less of a lunatic, but the cheeky grin plastered on his face clued me in to that fact that he would not be saving me from this situation. “Anyway, she apologized and asked me to go to the witch council. So I’m going, and I’d like you to join me.” I gave my biggest, most sincere smile. I was hopeful, but in truth, they didn’t need to risk their lives for me. Witches weren’t too keen on vampires, so willingly visiting the council was probably not the best idea. But I had to go.

  “Witch council? Where is this?” Jasik asked.

  “Better question: why?” Lillie interjected.

  “Well, my mother admitted that what the witches are doing is wrong and that I need to try to stop it by showing them who we really are. We’re not the monsters they think we are, and maybe a peace treaty will be a good start. But… I also have to beat her there.”

  “Beat who there? Your mother?” Lillie asked.

  “What? No.”

  “Then who?” Jeremiah asked.

  “Honestly, I don’t know, but if I had to guess, she’s probably one of the Rogues who…” I swallowed hard, the pain not any less than it had been when I discovered their deaths. I exhaled slowly, blowing the pain away. I glanced up, meeting Jasik’s gaze. He offered a soft smile.

  “But you don’t know who did this? Who attacked them?” Sebastian asked.

  “No. I asked, but all she really said was that it wasn’t my fault and that I needed to warn them that she was coming for…”

  Slowly, the pieces of the puzzle started coming together, and the picture was more than I could bear. The tears that threatened to spill stung, and I blinked them away.

  “Avah?” Jasik asked. “What is it?”

  “It—It was… me. I did this.” My breath caught, threatening to choke me, and briefly, I considered letting it.

  The memory of my last encounter with the witches replayed in my mind, over and over again. It’s repetitive cycle sent my mind spinning. We’d created this. I’d let this happen.

  “Avah, you have to stop this. It isn’t your fault,” Jasik said, extending his arm to grasp my hand with his own. I withdrew it quickly, stumbled to my feet, ignoring the chair that tipped over.

  I shook my head, swallowing the lump in my throat. My breath came in quick, abrupt bursts as I replayed my decisions on that day over and over again.

  “This is why she kept saying it wasn’t my fault, kept telling me not to blame myself.” I ran my hands through my matted hair, tugging the strands at my scalp. “Oh, goddess…”

  We’d fought. She’d died. She’d transitioned. She’d succumbed to the bloodlust, taking the lives of innocent mortals. In one reckless move, she’d ignited the change that condemned her soul.

  She became a Rogue vampire.

  And it was all my fault.

  “What is it, Avah?” Jasik asked without moving, but I ignored him.

  “I have to… I have to beat her there. I have to stop her,” I said in hushed tones as I paced.

  “Who? Stop who?” Jasik asked, his voice concerned.

  I turned and faced them.

  “My grandmother.”

  I ZIPPED THE duffel closed and hung the strap over my shoulder as I left my bedroom behind. We had only a couple hours before the sun rose, and we’d need that time to get to the airport. The other Hunters packed weapons while Sebastian packed witchcraft supplies we might need for spells, and Jasik made travel arrangements. Apparently, they had friends of friends with a private jet, which was fueled and waiting for our arrival. After Jasik was able to hack into my college’s system and steal my student identification badge’s picture, I sto
pped asking for details. I just assumed he’d be able to take care of whatever we needed. We’d be at the terminal soon and then fly the ten hours to London. Luckily, it timed well for us. Our flight would be leaving at six in the morning, and we’d land at ten in the evening, UK time. Even though everything was working out, we still had one problem.

  We needed to tell Amicia.

  And I knew she wouldn’t be accepting.

  Amicia’s office sat at the top of the grand stairs, and as I approached, I could sense the dread hovering in the air. It was thick and unyielding. The other Hunters were nervous, though it didn’t take a being with heightened senses to know this. Anyone with working eyeballs could tell, as they paced before her door, unable to pass the threshold.

  “Ready?” I asked, hopeful. Maybe we could leave without her knowing. In all my time as a warrior for the witches, I had learned one valuable lesson: it was better to ask forgiveness than permission. But I doubted the other Hunters had learned that lesson—mainly since their broken rules resulted in death. Witches only killed you if you were chosen…

  “No. We haven’t spoken with Amicia yet,” Jasik said.

  “Right.” I nodded. “Of course.”

  “Haven’t spoken with me about what?” Amicia asked as she ascended the stairs toward her office.

  “We need to speak with you, Milady.”

  She arched an eyebrow, waiting for Jasik to continue.

  “In private,” he added, eying lingering house vampires.

  She nodded toward her office, and we filed in, closing the door behind us. She walked toward her desk and leaned against the frame, facing us. Sebastian had joined us in her office, and even though we outnumbered her, our vote really didn’t matter. What she said was final. I could only hope she’d see the urgency.

  She waited patiently, her finger lightly tapping against the wood desk she leaned upon. I eyed the other Hunters and Sebastian, but no one spoke. I rolled my eyes. What we were asking for couldn’t be that bad, right?

  “We’re going to England. There is a witch council there, and I need to warn them about a Rogue attack. I need to show them we can coexist,” I blurted.