My legs were like wet noodles and my feet didn’t want to carry me. My feet wanted to run the other way towards the garmr but my brain wasn’t willing. I couldn’t keep myself from looking over my shoulder and I could see the large dog trying to paw the arrow out of its face to no avail. Inside there was a sense of satisfaction and the beast was moving in pleasure at the sight. Within seconds, we were inside the store and pulling down the metal door. There was a loud bang and the door buckled, a large dent left behind where the creature’s body made contact with the door. Just a few more hits and the door would be down for the count.
“We have to get out of here! Now!” Beth had come out of her stupor and was helping to gather the rest of our bags and supplies we had collected. We all had a bag on our back as we ran to the back entrance where we had first come through to find sanctuary, even if it was only for one night. Day. I wasn’t even sure what it would be considered anymore.
The air was cool when we broke through the threshold and it felt great against my clammy and fevered skin. The growls and howls coming from the inside were as loud as if we were still inside of the store, but now we were in relative safety as long as the garmr didn’t figure out how to get back outside of the building.
“What now?” Chase asked with arms out to his side like he was asking the question to the entire universe and not just us. I wasn’t sure what do say. The only thing we could do now was find another place to take refuge and get Vlad in our clutches.
There was only one place Lilith wouldn’t be that she wouldn’t expect us to be either. There was only one place no one would expect. I hadn’t even anticipated the location to pop into my mind so quickly. While they were arguing about the best place to hide I opened my mouth more than once and closed it when I realized I wouldn’t be able to get a word in edge wise. It was always like that when they got going, but that was just a guess seeing as I hadn’t been around all three of them long enough to really tell if this was what it was always like. I took a step away from the group, not daring to tear my eyes away from them and put a well-placed finger and thumb into my mouth and let the air pass over my tongue and through my fingers in a high pitched whistle. Three pairs of eyes turned towards me, wide with shock.
“I know where we can go and Lilith won’t expect it. No one will.” I was beaming. The smile stretched over my face was filled with pride and joy and I wasn’t sure how I hadn’t figured it out before we had ended up in a Bed, Bath and Beyond. Granted, it was a great thing because now we had the supplies we needed, but at the same time it wasn’t safe. What would be safer than Lilith’s former lair? I couldn’t think of any place.
“And where is that?” Gordon asked. His eyes brows rose, almost touching his hairline. To be honest, I was surprised he hadn’t thought of it himself. How was I the only one who thought of this?
“You remember when Lilith wanted to meet me?” I didn’t think it was possible, but his eyebrows rose almost another inch. He remembered. “Well, I met her at an old warehouse. I think that’s where we should go.” I was serious, but Beth and Gordon broke out in uproarious laughter. Beth was even bent over and slapping her knee. “What’s so funny about that?”
“You don’t think she’ll still be there?” Deep black pools bored into me.
“I really don’t think she would be. Why would she stay there if she knew I was back and out for blood?” I shrugged at the choice in phrasing. They knew what I meant. Exchanged looks made their rounds followed by short nods in my direction. They knew I was right and they didn’t mind letting me know it.
“Can you still lead us there?” Beth asked me, taking a few small steps in my direction. I nodded. “Then let’s go. We might as well see if it’s an option, right?”
I stated I remembered how to get there. In reality, if I thought about it, I had no clue. There were a lot of twists and turns, but before I knew it we were standing at the same red door that had intimidated me before. The stench of her evil was still all over the place, but I knew she had vacated long ago. At least when I had resurfaced.
I took the few steps to close the space between myself and the door, hand reached out and ready to grab the knob that would lead us into the bowels of where wickedness had once lived. Right at the moment my hand touched the cool metal a warm hand came to rest on my shoulder.
“Are you sure about this?” Gordon’s deep voice came from behind me. He was trying to be supportive, but I didn’t think he realized that it was more doubtful then sympathetic.
“I am. She’s not here. I can sense that, but I have to get over my own fears, right?” Fear wasn’t the right word. Terror was. My heart was hammering against my chest, causing it to beat in my throat. Not only was my heart beating at an ecstatic rhythm, but so was the beast. The beast knew she wasn’t here, but it was still reacting to my own response to the energy surrounding the brick building. It was pulsating against my skin, leaving goose bumps behind. I resisted the urge to rub my arms to make them disappear.
With a twist of the knob and one final push, I opened the door, letting it bang against the wall. I envisioned the blood soaked walls I had been greeted with the first time I came to meet Lilith here. The second time I had killed her with the same killer virus she had fed me. The thought of both events sent a chill down my spine. I had only seen Lilith once since I had come back, but that one encounter was enough to have each hair on my body standing on end. The fresh blood that had once coated the walls had dried to a deep, rusty brown. I was willing to bet that if I touched one of the walls that it would flake off underneath my nails. I wasn’t that brave.
The hall was dark with not even a bonfire to light our path. We would have to start our own fire if we wanted to see. I didn’t think that would be a problem at all. The thought sent a smirk across my lips, but I had a feeling that would be the only time I smiled inside the structure. Okay, maybe not the only time. I was sure when I had Vlad in my clutches being held down by silver I would be smiling. I took a few tentative steps inside and stopped so my eyes could adjust. I could see well in the dark, but complete dark is a whole other story. With no source of light I’m lucky to see my hand in front of my face. Granted, I can see it, but it’s only an outline. That was most then normal people. This I knew, but it still wasn’t enough when it came down to it and with the permanent dark of the eclipse I needed some night vision. And not some goofy looking goggles either.
My breathing was ragged and my heart was beating frantically while the beast was doing the same. Even though we had merged on some level we still weren’t totally one. I was sure merging would come with time.
One could only hope because I had a strong suspicion the completion of the beast and I would help me to kill Lilith once and for all with no hope of resurrection. That was the plan at least. Only then could the human race rebuild. From what I could tell there weren’t many left, but there were enough.
I had stopped moving once the light from the streetlamps outside ended and heard a throat clear behind me. I turned to find Chase holding a flashlight out to me. Apparently he had picked up the bag full of those and batteries. I took it from him graciously and muttered a thank you while turning back to the pitch blackness of the hallway.
The light shone on the dark walls, causing a shiver to run up my spine. It wasn’t as bad as seeing liquid blood running down the walls like before, but it was still bad enough. It seemed, now that Lilith had vacated, the life in the blood that had once soaked these walls dried up and left with her. Even though that was the case I still felt like I needed to swallow multiple times to keep my meager meal of Twix bars and Dr. Peppers down. Why, when it came to the sight of blood, did my body feel the need to reject anything I had put into my stomach? I could only think of one answer. I took my free hand and placed it lovingly on my belly. My little bean was all to blame.
Once the space was adequately lit I began to move again, fighting the urge to run my hands along the walls to help guide me. It was hard to fight when I didn’t think
of the dried gore on them. I was happy it was only blood and not a mixture of blood and other things. I felt the room sway as the thought made its way through my mind and my hand reached out to use the wall to steady myself, but I jerked my hand away just mere inches away. I took a deep breath in, which caused the world to steady and then was able to move forward again. I could feel dirt crunch under my sneakers as I made my way towards the room where I had initially met Lilith and learned what she was all about. Destruction, chaos, blood. That was who she was.
Once I made it to the end of the hall where it led into the large room with the gargantuan hole over the fire pit, I stopped and stood, flicking the light over anything I could find. Maybe something new was there that hadn’t been before. Maybe something more useful than what we already had. Then again, if there was something more useful here it would take more than this flashlight to see it. It was a very good, high dollar flashlight, but they only did so much.
“Do you see anything useful?” Gordon asked. I nearly jumped out of my skin. I didn’t even realize he had come to stand right behind me until that moment. I put my hand to my chest, trying to slow down my heartbeat and having no luck. “Sorry,” he whispered.
“Nothing yet, but once we get a fire lit on her old pit we may see something.” That was the only answer I had and it didn’t seem satisfactory at all when I thought about it. My eyes were good, but not that good.
I let the light illuminate the fire pit as I made my way to it, letting the power of the beast fill me. The beast wasn’t coming out for a little while. At least, not unless I needed it and I would soon. My blinking heartbeat lit up the dark and the plasma swirled in my open palm, pointed at the fire pit. I focused on the pit and let the fire flow just enough to catch the old timber she had left behind. Luckily it was enough to burn for a while with more to spare. It was almost like she knew we were coming. I let that sink in a bit before I shook my head.
Once the space was sparkling with fluctuating fire light I let the fire bleed back into my body, the glow from within my chest fading like it had never been there. The warmth of the fire before me was like a warm blanket as it moved over my skin and past me to the cool air beyond. If it was possible I wanted to stay right in front of the roiling flames forever, but I knew it wouldn’t be. I felt the presence of companions behind me and turned to see them, letting the fire warm my back. Each one of them had shock and bewilderment in their eyes that was nearly palpable. I felt like if I reached out I could run my fingers through the ripples of emotions in the air. It crawled over my skin like tiny pin pricks as I stood there and watched them move through the space, their eyes wide. I had nearly forgotten Beth and Gordon had never seen this place. Only Chase had. And Sam was so new to the group she didn’t know about the place at all. I guessed an explanation was warranted when her eyes flicked to mine questioningly.
“Before I died, I had a run in with Lilith. I met her here to discuss the terms of an arrangement she wanted to make. She wanted me to join her, get out of her way, or die trying to stop her.” I lowered my eyes to the ground when her eyes grew even wider, showing way too much white. We all knew how that ended.
“This is also where I had killed her, or thought I had at least. We had no way of knowing it wouldn’t stick.” I wasn’t ashamed but couldn’t force my eyes upward to look at her, even though she wouldn’t judge me for my weakness before now. I definitely wasn’t the same person anymore. I was tougher, stronger, and more unshakeable than I had been. It had been a welcome change and now I was the type of person I needed to be, to play Lilith’s game and beat her at it. I was going to do just that.
Out of the corner of my eye I saw a small glint of metal on the far wall to my left, the firelight bouncing off of it ever so slightly like a firefly twinkling in the dark. I turned my head and wasn’t only stunned but ecstatic to see what I had found. A pair of shackles was attached to the brick wall. There was only one thing they could be made out of that would be useful to Lilith. Silver. I let the smile spread over my lips and resisted the urge to give a weak hearted laugh. Now wasn’t that interesting?
Chapter 29:
Luring the Darkness
The plan had begun to take shape when I saw the shackles hanging from the wall like sad, abandoned children. All except that sparkle gave away their sorrow. We decided Sam, Gordon, and I would go back out in to the darkness and do whatever it took to draw vampires our way. Not the best plan, but it was what we had to work with and we would use what we had. We didn’t have the cover of sunlight anymore to shield us yet we had managed to get to the warehouse without incident. I knew it wouldn’t happen again so I figured we could use that fact to our advantage. Granted, the vampires could see very well in the dark but thanks to streetlamps we could still see enough to make it happen, and Vlad wouldn’t follow far behind Lilith’s children. He would never let them confront us without having a front row seat. Call it a feeling, but it begged the question as to why he wasn’t there when the barrier came down and they overtook our home? Maybe he was. He was a silent watcher only there to observe and learn.
“How can we even guarantee he will show?” Sam probed, a note of tension in her voice. I could see her body stiffen and feel her anxiety rolling off of her like smoke. I wanted to reassure her, but the truth of it was that we had no idea.
“Do you want the honest answer?” Sam nodded. “We can’t guarantee anything. Not anymore, but I think it’s worth a shot. He’s the only one who will know where Lilith is so we can finally end this.” I meant each word I said and it seemed to be the only confirmation she needed. I wasn’t going to sugar coat anything. It wasn’t in me to lie considering the circumstances. I had no reason to.
I looked at Beth and Chase. Beth was sitting, resting against one of the brick walls and injured arm down at her side. Chase was examining the shackles to make sure they would hold, pulling with everything he had to make sure they were secure in the wall.
“Will they hold?”
He was panting as he answered, “Yes, they’ll hold. And you were right. They’re silver.” A grin was plastered on his face.
If Gordon was right the silver in the shackles should weaken Vlad enough so we could get Lilith’s location out of him. I was willing to do whatever it took so we could have a world to finally live in and one where my child could grow up. I was so ready I could barely wait to leave.
We had put all of our weapons down next to our bags when we sat in front of the fire and formulated what little plan we had. A plan I was still unsure of.
Before I changed my mind about going out, I put my machete in its sheath and slung it over my shoulder. That was closely followed by the quiver of arrows going in the other direction, a knife at one hip and a gun on the other. Chase and Gordon had found a lot of ammunition at the sporting goods store inside of the mall. Practically an entire back pack full and I was grateful. At least we wouldn’t be limited to only hand to hand combat for a while. When I looked up from my task Gordon’s eyes met mine. He had been digging around in the bag full of stuff from the jewelry store and had finally stopped and was staring at me with something gripped in his hand.
“What do you have there?” I enquired with a sly grin on my face. Yes, I was curious. He had been acting strange; like he wouldn’t make it through any of this. Was it because of the threat of his brother, or was there more to it?
He stalked towards me, all grace and predatory like a wild animal, his gaze not once leaving mine. He was up to something and it was no good. At least, that was how it felt. The smile melted away when he was standing in front of me, our faces mere inches apart.
“I found something for you at the jewelry store. I figured since it’s the end of the world and we don’t know if we’ll make it out of this I wanted to give you one last gift.” His voice was somber and I could feel the seriousness of his words. They jabbed my heart and twisted like a knife.
His words sank in and I knew for certain that he thought it would be the end for him. Well,
I had news for him. He wasn’t going anywhere as long as I had something to do with it. He raised his closed fist and let a chain with a pendant fall from his hand, holding onto the very end of the silver chain so I could see it. It was beautiful. A sparkling orange stone was surrounded by silver filigree and housed on a sterling silver chain. I reached up, mouth open in awe, and lightly grazed the stone with my fingers. The firelight reflected off of it, making it look like the flames were moving inside of the stone.
“That’s beautiful,” I whispered. I didn’t know what else to say. I let out a sigh and looked into his eyes. All I saw there was sadness and adoration behind sparkling onyx, the fire reflected in his eyes an echo of the passion burning within him.
“You’re beautiful,” he said as he raised the chain in both hands to clasp the necklace around my neck. I held up my hair, letting it fall when the necklace was safely clinched in place. I looked down at the gem and ran my fingers over it again. It was absolutely gorgeous and reminded me of the fire.
I wasn’t sure if it could survive the fire of the beast at all, but I was sincerely hoping. The fires I burned were straight from Hell and nothing could withstand them. Nothing but me, it seemed. Tears burned behind my eyes and I tried so hard to keep them from falling, keeping my eyes wide enough to keep them from spilling over in rivers down my cheeks. This moment was too beautiful and I wanted it etched in my memory forever. I closed my eyes, taking a mental snapshot, and opened them to find Gordon hovering over me, his hand suspended like he was about to push hair out of my face.
“Don’t cry, my love. It’ll all be over soon.” He moved a few strands of hair out of my face and tucked them behind my ear, leaning down and stopping a few centimeters from my lips. “And our child will have a world to live in. That I can promise you.”
“How can you be so sure?” My ears strained against the crackling fire, trying to hear the words. The ones I wanted him to whisper. That everything would be alright because it had to be, but the words that came out were even better.
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