“Not true.”
Ignoring the stunned expressions of everyone else in the room, I turned to face my sister who had just come down the stairs. “I don’t think what you and I do is really called fighting,” I teased. “It’s more like aerobics.”
Chandler grinned, crossing the room to stand in front of me. “I was actually talking about the vampire you took on and turned to ash last week, little sister. However, if you think what you and I do is aerobics, then maybe you should think again.”
Her leg shot out, kicking at mine, and without thinking I sprang into the air away from her. Unable to contain the laughter this time, I pushed aside my guilt and crouched several feet away, waiting for her next move. “It’s just a game we play,” I told the others. “It’s not really fighting. I would never hurt my sister. It is just something we do for fun.”
Chandler shook her head, a small grin on her lips as she stalked towards me. “You have absolutely no idea, do you Blayke?”
“What do you mean?” I asked in confusion, almost missing the gleam of satisfaction in her eyes that she always got right before she attacked. With one powerful leap, I grasped a metal pipe that was hanging from the ceiling and swung over the top of her, dropping down just a few feet away. Turning quickly, I dropped low, my arms held loosely out to the side and grinned. “Bring it.”
It didn’t take long. Quickly closing the distance between us, Chandler struck out with a quick jab that I easily dodged. Following it up with one of my own, I just barely grazed her shoulder as she ducked to the side. While she was still off guard, I kicked out with one foot, connecting with an ankle, then fell to the floor, rolling past her, tangling my legs with hers at the last moment. Chandler hit the ground hard, but did not stop. Rearing up, she slammed her elbow into my ribcage, and then into my throat as she tried to twist out of my hold. I grunted in pain, my eyes watering as I stared at her in shock. Messing around like this was something we did almost on a daily basis. It was fun, and we liked to push our limits sometimes, but never to the point of hurting one another.
“What the heck, Chandler?” I gasped, when her elbow connected with my chest. “What’s your problem?”
“You said bring it,” she retorted, as she fought to squirm out of the tight grip I had on her legs. “I’m bringing it.”
I let her get one more jab in before I saw red. I didn’t know what her problem was, but I refused to be her personal punching bag. Just because she was my sister, did not mean I was going to just sit there and take it. Moving quickly, I blocked the next jab she threw my way, and then shoved her off me. Springing to my feet, I faced her, fury radiating through me. “I don’t know what you think you are doing, but if you hit me like that one more time, I’m going to…”
“You’re going to what?” Chandler taunted, moving in quickly and striking out with her right fist.
“Screw this,” I grumbled, catching her fist in my hand. “I warned you, Chandler,” I snapped before I struck out, burying my own fist into her stomach. She groaned when I connected, but I didn’t stop. I was livid. Why was she acting like this? Why was she doing everything she could to inflict pain on me? Letting go of her hand, I grasped her wrist, and lowering my shoulder, I shoved it into her abdomen and flipped her up and over me.
She was on her feet as soon as I turned around, lightly dancing in circles around me, and then she really attacked. I dodged her fists as they struck out at me, returning some hits of my own. I winced when they connected, but no matter what I did, Chandler just would not stop. Finally, I’d had enough. She was not playing. She wasn’t just messing around. She was actually trying to hurt me. “Stop!” I ordered loudly, stepping back away from her.
“Or what?” Chandler ribbed, taking a step closer.
Moving fast, I swept a leg out from under her, slamming her into the mat. Placing my knee into her stomach, I grasped her wrists tightly in my hands and held her there. Baring my teeth, I growled, “Don’t push me, Chandler.” I could feel the power vibrating through me, and there was a loud clang as something attached to the wall fell to the floor in the back of the room.
Chandler’s gaze widened in awe as she whispered, “Your eyes, Blayke. They’re glowing, and changing colors.”
“Wow!” I heard Dahlia whisper loudly. “She looks like Asher does sometimes.”
“It’s because they are true hunters, chosen from the Goddess above,” my grandfather said. “They are more powerful than any other slayers on earth.”
“If I let you go, are you going to back off?” I asked Chandler, glaring at her in anger.
Chandler nodded, swallowing hard. “Yeah. I think I’ve made my point.”
Letting go of her wrists slowly, I stood and took a couple of steps away from her. “What point was that exactly?”
Sitting up, Chandler leaned back on her hands and cocked her head to the side. “That you do know how to spar, Blayke. That’s what we were just doing. Mom and Dad may not have taught you anything over the past few years, but I have.” As my eyes widened in surprise, she went on, “Every time you thought we were just having fun, I was actually helping you in the only way I knew how without telling you the truth. I was training you the best that I could, Blayke. You have moves, girl. Own them!”
“She’s right!” Brielle squealed. “I’ve never seen anything like it. Well, except for Asher. He’s really fast. Freaky fast.”
I let my gaze wander around the room, seeing the pride in my grandfather’s eyes, and wonder in all of the others except for Asher’s. His held more acceptance than anything, with maybe a small amount of worry. Turning back to my grandfather, I asked, “Isn’t everyone here a slayer?”
“A slayer, yes,” he agreed, “a true hunter, no. The only chosen ones are you, Asher, and Alyiah.”
“But we fight with you,” Eben stated, standing tall and proud. “I pledge my allegiance to the Jackson family, Blayke. To you.”
“As do I,” Brielle said, moving to stand beside Eben. “I pledge my allegiance to the Jackson family. I will follow you wherever you may lead, Blayke.”
What was going on? I thought as I watched Asher, Dahlia, and then Chandler move in beside them and pledge the same. “I don’t understand.”
“We have waited a long time for someone to lead us,” Grandfather said quietly, and I swore there were tears in his voice.
“But, what about Alyiah?”
“My daughter does not fight vampires anymore,” he whispered. “The only way she would is if they actually came on our land and threatened us. She does not hunt. She refuses to. Something happened when you left. It broke her.”
“And Asher? He has more experience than I do. He has to.”
“I will not lead a Jackson,” Asher replied.
“But you are a true hunter too. Grandfather said so.” I was desperate. I didn’t want to lead anyone anywhere. I did not want to be responsible for their lives. I was just a teenager. I was still in high school. What were they all thinking?
“Yes,” Asher agreed, “but I have already pledged my allegiance to the Jackson’s.”
“I’m sure your family…”
“I have no family,” he cut in.
“He has no one,” Dahlia whispered, “except for us. None of us do.”
“There are more out there just like them, Blayke,” Grandfather said quietly. “Many more who fight for the cause, but who need someone to lead them. Alyiah refuses to be that someone. They need you.”
My eyes narrowed as I responded, “You said she wouldn’t fight after I left. Now that I am back, that will change.”
He shook his head, sadness in his eyes. “I spoke to her last night. She still refuses. I don’t know why.”
I thought maybe I did, but for now I kept my mouth shut. I was pretty sure one of those vampires I would be hunting was my father, but I didn’t want anyone else to know that. “What if I can’t do it?” I asked softly. “What if I’m not strong enough? What if I fall?”
Asher stepped f
orward, standing tall, head held high. “That’s not going to happen. I won’t let it.”
“But what if it does?”
“Then I will catch you,” he said simply.
My eyes widened at his admission. I knew he didn’t mean what I suddenly wanted him to mean, but I couldn’t stop the way my heart began to pound wildly. Nor could I stop the small smile from slipping across my face. With fear coursing through me, I looked at each of them, one-by-one. I was stunned by the looks of acceptance, devotion, and determination on their faces. They were ready to fight for what they believed in. To follow me wherever I might lead. They were putting their trust in me. A girl from small town Iowa. A teenager who didn’t really know the first thing about the demons that we were going to hunt. It humbled me like nothing else in my life ever had. Nodding at them, I looked over to my grandfather. “I am going to need a lot more training.”
“I’m here for that,” he promised.
“We all are,” Asher said.
After one last look at all of the expectant faces, my eyes connected with Asher’s. Knowing mine were glowing just like his were, feeling the power radiating around the room, I growled, “Let’s do this.”
“Take a break, Blayke,” my grandfather ordered, grunting when I slammed my fist into the punching bag he was holding. My hands were wrapped tightly in tape to help protect them from the vicious workout I was putting them through, but that tape was now soaked with blood. Small, red droplets fell onto the black mat that I stood on, and pain radiated from my fingers up into my arms, but I refused to stop.
“Not yet,” I rasped, swinging around and bringing up my left leg to kick the bag sluggishly. I was so tired. Exhaustion had set in over an hour ago, but I had forced myself to keep going. To keep training. To become the huntress, the slayer, that everyone needed.
“Now,” grandfather insisted, stepping back so that the bag swung freely between us. “You aren’t going to be any good to anyone if you don’t take care of yourself, sweetheart. You have worked so hard over the past couple of weeks. Pushing yourself beyond limits even I thought you were capable of. It’s almost morning. Everyone else went to bed hours ago. Go upstairs. Get some sleep.”
He was right. Ever since the night the others pledged themselves to the Jackson house and to me, I had worked day and night to learn everything I could about the enemy. I studied books my grandfather gave me regarding vampires. I sparred with my peers, and trained with my Grandfather and Asher. There were several times that I caught Alyiah watching me, but she never tried to talk to me again. She didn’t have to. I could hear her thoughts. I was getting much better at that too. She was worried that I would discover who my real father was, which I was pretty sure I already knew. She was worried that I was going to get myself killed, and she didn’t want to lose me after having just been reunited with me again. And there was something else that she was afraid I was going to find out about, but somehow, she managed to keep that secret carefully hidden. For now.
Grabbing the bag, I wrapped my arms around it and held it close, breathing heavily. A tear escaped, trickling slowly down my cheek. Leaning forward, I rested my forehead against the smooth surface of the bag, ignoring the sweat that ran down my face. “I can’t stop, Papa,” I whispered, feeling another slip free. “If I do, I might not be ready in time.”
“In time for what, child?” he asked in confusion.
Raising my head, I allowed the tears to fall freely as I replied, “In time to save everyone from the vampires when they come.” It slipped out softly. My biggest fear. I had lost my mother to the monsters already. I didn’t want to lose the rest of my family, too. I had taken on a roll bigger than anything I could ever have imagined, and I was terrified I would not be able to fulfill it.
My grandfather took a deep breath, reaching out to run a hand gently down my arm. “You are afraid someone else is going to be taken from you by evil again?” I nodded, my eyes dropping to the floor. “Blayke, you cannot protect everyone, and no one expects you to.”
“Yes, they do,” I interrupted. “They all expect it. Didn’t you see the look on their faces the other night?”
“Not true.” Asher’s voice rang out from across the room, and I swung around to look at him, my face flaming in embarrassment. “You misunderstood, Blayke,” he said, walking over to stand in front of me. “We pledged ourselves to you, and we follow your lead, but we fight beside you, not behind you. We train together, and we fight together. You may lead us into battle, but it is a battle that we all choose to be a part of.”
I swallowed hard, clenching my hands tightly into fists at my side. “What if I lead you into battle and you die?”
“Then we die,” Asher said, his gaze never wavering from mine. “It is an honor and a privilege to fight for the Jacksons, Blayke, and to fight with you. If I die, then I pray the Goddess thinks me worthy, and accepts my soul to be reborn so that I can fight another day.”
There was no fear in his eyes. He meant exactly what he said. He believed in what we were all fighting for, and would give his life for it.
“I’ll be right back,” Grandfather said gruffly, walking past me and disappearing up the stairs. I saw him go out of the corner of my eye, but my gaze never left Asher’s.
“I want to be the person everyone thinks I am,” I admitted softly. “I want to be strong enough, good enough, powerful enough. I just want to be…enough.”
Asher took one of my hands in his and gently began to remove the blood-soaked tape. “You already are.”
My heart seemed to stop beating for a moment at his quietly spoken words, and then it took off running. “I am?”
He began to unwrap my other hand, and then ran a finger lightly around the raw, bruised knuckles when the tape was gone. “Look at you, Blayke. You have been through so much these past few weeks. Learning about vampires, losing your mother, finding out who you really are and what your destiny is. You could have easily given up. You could have told us all to get lost, that you wanted no part of this life, but you didn’t. When you were at your darkest moment, angry and depressed, you didn’t run scared. You came back fighting. You didn’t leave us.”
“I will never leave you,” I vowed, my heart catching when he raised his eyes to meet mine.
“You are more than enough, Blayke Wynters,” he whispered, taking a small step closer to me. “You are strong, loyal, beautiful.” And distracted.
The last words slipped into my mind, right before Asher made his move, sweeping out with his right leg to try and take me down when he thought I was off guard. He was right, I was distracted, but not enough that I wasn’t still paying attention to my surroundings like he had taught me ever since we started working out and sparring together. With a loud whoop, I leaped into the air, just barely clearing his leg, and landed in a crouch. A huge grin crossed my face at his look of surprise. Diving forward, I grabbed his legs, pulling them out from under him as I slammed my head into his stomach. He landed flat on his back, staring at the ceiling, the air knocked out of him.
Giggling, I straddled his stomach, grabbing his wrists and pinning them to the mat beside his head. “Give up?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.
Asher gulped, shaking his head from side to side. “How the heck did you do that?”
Leaning down to look him in the eye, I grinned, “Is that a yes?”
A slow smile crossed his face, and that was my only warning this time before he tangled his legs with mine and flipped me over onto my back. A small squeak left my lips when I found myself pinned beneath him, unable to move. Lowering his head, he muttered, “I meant every word I said, Blayke. You are more than enough.”
“Thank you,” I murmured, my heart filling with happiness at the honesty in his voice. I felt his breath tickle my ear, and I fought another giggle at the sensation.
“What’s so funny?” he growled playfully, tightening his grip on my wrists.
My eyes widened as I stared into his. They were swirling, that beautiful golden-
brown color that I had come to love. “Asher,” I breathed, trying to tug my wrists free of his hold. As much as I wanted whatever was happening between us to continue, I cleared my throat and murmured, “We better get up. Papa is coming down the stairs.”
“How do you do that?” Asher asked in awe, pushing himself up off the mat and pulling me to my feet right before my grandfather entered the room. “You always seem to anticipate things before they happen.”
I shrugged, “It’s a gift.”
“Not one I’ve ever heard of before, except maybe with vampires.”
I froze, watching Papa walk towards us. “What do you mean?”
“I don’t really know, to be honest,” Asher replied. “I’ve never come across anything like it myself, but they say the older ones, the most powerful ones, have the ability to read minds.”
“Blayke,” my grandfather interrupted, stopping in front of me, “I have something for you.” My eyes widened when he handed me a dagger. The hilt was in the shape of a dragon, and the sheath that covered the blade was the curved body of a dragon with sapphires throughout it. “Keep this with you at all times,” he went on. “A dagger to the heart is one way to kill a vampire, and this knife has been spelled with magic by your grandmother, so one of those demons doesn’t stand a chance of surviving.”
“My father and Chandler told me that there are only four ways to kill a vampire,” I said, lightly tracing a finger over the sapphire gems. “They didn’t get a chance to tell me what they were, but I’ve been studying up on the subject, and I think I know.”
“Tell me,” Grandfather demanded.
Pulling my gaze from the detailed work of the dragon on the sheath, I looked up at him. “A dagger to the heart, or whatever else you might have that will get the job done.”
Grandfather nodded, “Go on.”
“Cut off its head, fire, and magic.”
“Very good, Blayke.”
“I think there are more than just four, though,” I continued. “There is always direct sunlight. That would work on the younger ones.”
Blayke Page 8
