Follow the Bloodshed (The Executioner Trilogy Book 3)

by Sowder, Kindra

  “Then we should go, right?” Gordon’s head whipped from Chase to me, as if he wasn’t sure who the answer would come from.

  Chase’s eyes met mine and I knew it was going to be up to me. Fate dumps saving the world on your shoulders and all of the decisions are yours to make whether you want to or not, but this wasn’t just about me. We were a group and we needed to make choices as one. I wasn’t going to let it happen any other way. We were all in this together as far as I was concerned. I didn’t care what anyone else thought.

  “Considering the danger we are putting ourselves in by going there I think we should vote on it,” I stated as I looked at each and every one of them.

  I let my eyes swivel towards Vlad’s still form for all of a second, taking in his burns and the small trickles of blood that had escaped past his cauterized flesh. There was only so much the beast could do and I wasn’t expecting it to be able to do everything. Or was ‘me’ the correct term now?

  “Which pawn shop does your uncle own?” Beth had a lot more questions than she had previously. I was surprised she wasn’t shocked by this news. Had she known he had at least owned one? Was it possible she did without knowing the name of it?

  “Golden State Pawn.”

  Beth whistled a low and knowing whistle. Obviously she knew something the rest of us didn’t. Except maybe Chase.

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” Sam with another query. “That whistle. What does it mean?” She was pointing an accusing finger at Beth now, like she knew something we wouldn’t like to hear was about to be uttered.

  “That area may be crowded with crawlers and vamps, and by now I’m sure Lilith has sharpened her talents with a brand new kind of creature we have yet to hear of. Or unleashed a few things from Hell since you escaped. We all know she could have a few things up her sleeve.”

  “So she’s been experimenting on things and letting things loose? How is she doing that?” I asked.

  Chase shrugged, “No idea and we have no idea if we can get any of them back there either. We haven’t exactly been able to go take a look around at anything of hers since all of this started. There may be a lot of things or nothing. We don’t know. She may just be sticking with her usual brand.”

  Well, didn’t that just kick you square in the gut? I sighed and let my head droop in defeat.

  “All we can really do is go by the pawn shop, see what we can dredge up, kill Lilith, and deal with the rest later. Don’t want to use up any more precious time.” The words came from my lips unbidden but I knew they were necessary.

  “At least we’re not burning daylight,” Gordon breathed. Why, oh why couldn’t this be a lie?

  “So, let’s put it to a vote. Do we go with or without? Raise your hand for with.” Since I wanted this vote to happen I raised my hand first.

  Sam and Gordon’s hands popped up next, letting me know they had my back no matter what the other two chose. I was secretly hoping they would raise their hands too and my prayer was answered after an agonizing moment. Chase, of course, was all for it since he was the one who needed the weaponry. Beth was romantically involved with him so she would obviously want him to have more than the meager weapons we had lying around the warehouse.

  All hands were raised except Vlad of course, but the hoarse male laughter began to move through the stillness. Every head turned towards the sound, a couple of mouths open in shock that someone would find any of this hilarious, especially the vampire who was shackled in silver. He had lifted his head, letting it fall back against the brick behind him. His Adam’s apple bobbed. I took a few steps toward him as he chortled, not daring to take my eyes away from his shaking and exhausted form.

  “What’s so funny?” I asked as I continued to move towards him, one foot in front of the other as carefully as possible. You never knew what would happen around him. So I was a little uneasy.

  He stopped his maniacal laughter long enough to say, “I find it funny how you all think man-made weapons can harm her in any way.”

  “No, Vlad, you misunderstood us. It’s only to barge our way in and only Chase needs them. I don’t think you understand how powerful I am on my own.”

  “Oh, Executioner, you have no idea how powerful you are.”

  “What do you mean?” Gordon asked as he stepped closer towards me instead of his undead brother. I wanted to warn him away from Vlad, but I knew there was no way I could keep them away from each other if Gordon really wanted him dead.

  Vlad opened his eyes and looked at me, those crimson orbs burning into me as they met mine. “You are a ticking time bomb, just waiting for Lilith’s presence to go off.” He chuckled. “You have no idea what kind of destruction you will cause. You may take down the rest of the human race as we know it.”

  I wasn’t sure what to think except that we needed to go to the pawn shop, grab whatever weapons were left, and go to the US Bank Tower to end Lilith once and for all. Not that this ticking time bomb news wasn’t terrifying, but I knew, deep within me, it wouldn’t be as destructive as Vlad predicted.

  “I don’t think so,” Beth replied. I could feel her energies as she came to stand next to me, Sam and Chase hanging back in case something was to happen.

  Vlad took a deep lungful in and breathed, “You’ve felt it. The merge? That’s how it starts. At least, that was how it started for Illona.”

  “No, Illona was killed by the Order of the Dragon,” Gordon exclaimed, his eyes burning into his brother like he could catch him on fire by staring at him.

  “Yes. They got to her before the full transition. The Executioner is so close and it’ll only take Lilith’s presence to trigger the beast.” His gaze moved to Gordon. “There is only one ending if you choose to bring her to her knees, and it won’t be the one you want.”

  “You’re wrong,” I retorted. “I will kill Lilith, but I won’t cause humanity’s extinction.” I paused; looking from one face to another, landing finally on Vlad’s pained expression. “Humanity doesn’t have a chance if I don’t go up there. I am their only chance and the merge will be the reason for Lilith’s death. I am sure.”

  Chapter 35:

  Gun Show

  We had made it through the large maze of warehouses in the dark without drawing attention, which was hard considering everything had hearing at least a million times better than ours. Even my hearing, which was a lot better than most, couldn’t pick up everything the vampire or crawler ear could detect. It was the only downside to being what I was. My senses were better, but not nearly as good as I would want them to be. Or need them to be.

  Chase had told us his uncle’s pawn shop wasn’t too far away, but when you’re faced with death around every corner a couple feet can feel like miles. Right now I felt like we had made our way through miles and miles of desolation and darkness, our feet slipping and sliding through what blood and gore was scattered on the ground. I couldn’t have been more thankful for the darkness. It stole all color, making blood and guts look less disgusting. It also helped I was refusing to look at the ground. It had stopped raining since we took Vlad so not only were we splashing through blood but we were trudging through puddles.

  The shop was five blocks away so we needed to be on the lookout and quiet. No talking and silent steps. Well, as silent as they could be. When we had made the decision to go for it, we had also decided to leave Vlad shackled in silver in the warehouse. There was no need to bring him along. He would only do what he could to make sure we would get caught.

  After what felt like an eternity of feeling along walls and drifting through alleyways, we made it within half a block of the shop. I could see the glass door and the sign in the light of a street lamp or two. We had gotten here without making a single peep, but now we needed more of a plan to get into the store without drawing attention. More than likely the door was unlocked. A lot of shop owners had to leave in a hurry and knew they would never come back. But there was no telling what we would come across once we were inside. I turned to the rest of t
hem and made sure we were huddled close enough to speak in soft whispers.

  “Alright, how are we going to get through the door without drawing attention?” I asked. I felt like I had made so many of our toughest decisions that I would leave this one to the rest of them to figure out. In the end I was going to be the one killing Lilith and we all knew how much of a struggle that could turn out to be.

  I was greeted by complete and utter silence.

  “Come on, guys. We need a plan,” I hissed, looking around the corner of the building we were standing next to. There were a few vampires sauntering down the street in our direction. Maybe we needed to wait until they passed. I pulled my head back around and let out a curse. “Great.” This was just what we needed.

  “What is it?” Beth attempted to take a peak around the corner but I grabbed her arm and pulled her back, holding her against me so my lips were right next to her ear.

  “Vampires,” I whispered.

  I felt her pulse beating away as I gripped her arm. I could only imagine what she was thinking. Was this anxiety, terror, or excitement?

  “What do we do?” she whispered back, turning her face towards mine. We had two options. We could hang back and wait for them to leave or take it into our own hands. I wasn’t sure which was riskier. If we let them go they could always circle back and if we killed them we could sidestep all of that.

  “If we let them go they can always come back and let Lilith know we’re here. I say we take them out now so we don’t risk it.” I let my eyes glide over each of them, gauging their reactions. “What do you guys think?”

  “I agree,” Gordon said. His words were quickly followed with repetitions of the same words, and we nodded our consent to the plan. If we were going to do this, we would need to do it quickly and get into the shop unseen. If that was even possible. There was no telling how many vampire cronies Lilith had perusing the streets. We all knew they were looking for us. We were the only thing standing in her way of true world domination. Yes, these two would need to go.

  “Alright, Gordon and I will take care of them. You guys hang back. I don’t want to risk this going wrong and you guys getting hurt.”

  “Robin, we can help,” Chase intervened.

  “Please, Chase. I need you guys to keep an eye out. If anything else comes along we need to know it and you’ll be able to warn us as long as you stay here.” Beth and Sam had the juice, but Chase needed the extra help to get there and if anything bore down on Chase, they would be able to save him from whatever smelled him on the air.

  He didn’t have to say a word and I knew Beth and Sam agreed with me. Their eyes said it all as I watched them, Beth taking Chase’s hand in hers and giving it a squeeze of reassurance. I let my eyes do the talking as we stood there, a silent air of understanding passing between each of us. I let go of Beth’s arm and turned back to glimpse the vampire’s backs. They had moved past us without noticing us, their laughter and chilling words echoing through the night. Gordon and I moved as quietly as we could, not daring to make a sound, even going as far as to sidestep a lot of trash and broken glass just to avoid being heard. My Converse All-Stars made it all too easy, but Gordon’s hiking boots were a whole other story. He managed, though, and the vampires didn’t hear a sound.

  I let the beast flare to life as I moved and I spied the roll of cool air moving over Gordon’s flesh out of the corner of my eye. Polar opposites meant to live and work together.

  The vampires weren’t moving very fast. More at a leisurely pace through the abandoned streets of the big city at night, talking and joking with each other. We were upon them in seconds. I grabbed one vampire’s arm, twisting it behind his back and placing my free hand over his mouth as he fell to his knees. Gordon took his down with a similar move. While I pushed fire into the vampire’s open mouth, he pushed ice. Both were equally effective.

  My vampire’s flesh turned from red hot to crumbling ash and embers as I watched the heat move through him, spreading like a forest fire. Nothing would put it out besides the absence of flesh to burn.

  The vampire Gordon was turning to a solid chunk of ice would probably die quickly and melt into a pile of water logged ashes. I still wasn’t sure how a vampire death would work with his ability, but I had no doubt it worked. He had said while we were in Hell he didn’t like to use it because it reminded him of what he was and brought the darkness in him back. Well, he seemed to be handling it fine as I let my vampire fall to the ground and turned to watch him work.

  I couldn’t see anything from the outside, but I guessed what was happening on the inside. Gordon was sending the frozen air into his throat and chest, freezing his airways and making his way down to his heart. He nodded so I took the few steps with my hand out, ready. I placed my palm on the center of the vampire’s chest and let the fire flow through me again, spreading throughout my veins, visible beneath my skin as it moved into him.

  The feeling of euphoria was like nothing I had ever felt before. It was warmth and passion. It was a chill that shivered through my spine. The vampire’s heart would be obliterated and he would fall to ash at our feet. I could see it in my mind, his heart turning to a solid block of ice beneath his ribs, melting once the fire made contact. I felt his heart melt and crumble, the rest of his body following suit beneath my open hand. Gordon was bent over like he didn’t dare to move or anger the beast or he would be its next target. I wasn’t sure if I would have to reassure him he wasn’t in any danger from me or the beast. I also wasn’t sure if he would believe it.

  “You okay,” I asked, moving towards with my hand still outstretched. I had stopped the flow from my hand once the vampire was gone. He stood and took my hand in his, icy cold fingers closing around mine. Obviously he was alright.

  “Yes, I’m fine,” he answered. His tone was neutral and his face was blank, not giving anything away.

  “Let’s get this over with. I’m ready to be done with Lilith and all of this.” I sighed. “I’m done.” A look of understanding wiped away the blank expression, and he gave me a weak smile that didn’t reach his eyes. The small sparkle of life was still in those dark orbs, but not much of it. He had been worn down by everything like the rest of us.

  He pushed a stray strand of hair out of my eyes, tucking it behind my ear and letting his fingers trail along my jaw. I sighed and nearly sagged against him, but I saw the rest of our group come from around the corner and out of the pitch blackness towards us.

  I straightened and said, “Let’s get going.”

  I started walking, moving past Gordon. My Converses crunched on the ground over small pieces of rubble crumbling way from the buildings around us. What was it about the apocalypse? Everything started falling apart as soon as someone said the word.

  It didn’t take long before we reached the shop. I was hoping it was unlocked so we didn’t have to break the glass and make a scene.

  “Everything happened so fast my uncle wouldn’t have really had time to lock the door. It should be unlocked,” Chase ventured as he reached forward and took the metal bar that opened the door in his hand and pulled. It opened with ease and a whoosh of air came to greet us. I was extremely happy to see that the air condition was still on and fully functional. I stood there and let the air wash over me as the others headed inside, but I knew I couldn’t stay out there. Without another thought, I was through the door. As the door swung closed behind me I swayed a little, the room spinning. I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and let it out through my nose and opened my eyes. Much better.

  “You okay?” I heard a voice come from in front of me. I opened my eyes to find Sam standing there, eyes questioning and brooding.

  I remembered when I was a lot like that. Now I was bitter and angry all the time. I was hoping we could get back to a place where we could all smile again. I took a step back; my back almost pressed against the door, and tried really hard not to let the beast flash through me.

  “I’m good. The air feels nice,” I replied. I had on
e moment of perfection caused by air conditioning. I even had to chuckle a little.

  “Alright,” she said, turning away from me with one more nervous glance. I wasn’t sure why she was nervous, but it was unsettling.

  I took a moment to steady myself and followed her deeper into the shop. All manner of things littered the place, ranging from musical instruments to what looked like old Civil War junk. There was no telling how much of it was the real deal and how much wasn’t. We strode towards the back of the store where Chase was rummaging around inside of some drawers behind the long expanse of counters.

  “What are you looking for?” Beth questioned as she moved behind him. She was watching the flurry of activity as he searched any drawer he could find. He was intent on finding something important.

  “A key,” he countered. “My uncle has all of the good weapons locked away behind the wall at the very back of the store. They key is two of a kind and we need at least one to open the door to get in. It’s kind of like a walk-in vault.” He continued to look and I could swear when he yelled I heard him say “Eureka!” I wasn’t sure but it didn’t really matter.

  He rushed towards the very back of the store and inspected the wall for the place to insert the key. I didn’t see what the key looked like, but I had a feeling it probably looked like a regular old house key. It would look like something unimportant; insignificant even. All so those who found it wouldn’t go looking for things they didn’t need to have in their possession.

  All it took was the expression of utter confusion on his face for me to decide to join in the search. I marched up to where he stood and started feeling the wall around where his own hands were searching.

  “What exactly are we looking for?” I let my hands move over every nook and cranny of the wall. It was nearly perfectly smooth. I was beginning to wonder if there really was anything there to feel for. Before he could answer, I felt the soft edge of something underneath my fingers. What was that? I couldn’t see anything there, but I sure as Hell felt it. There was an edge around three sides and I chose to do something I wasn’t sure would work. I found the center and gave it a small push. There was a click and a small door guarding a lock popped right open.