by Kailin Gow
“Do you deny you want me?” He raised his voice louder, and the plane seemed to shake at the force of his fury.
“I could never deny that,” Kalina said softly. “But that doesn’t change anything. You love Jaegar – you two care for each other!”
“He ruined my life!” Jaegar cried. “He condemned us – me and Stuart both – to this eternity of torment! And now he has the audacity to act like we should be grateful?”
“What a laugh!” Octavius chuckled. “You loved being a vampire from the very first day you began to suck blood…”
“Vampires…?” Alice-Suzanne looked up dozily at Kalina. “What are they talking about?”
Kalina couldn’t hold back her sarcasm. “I suppose you think having some guys suck your blood was just part of foreplay, then?”
“What are you talking about?” Alice looked blank.
Kalina gulped. “So you don’t remember…”
“Remember what?”
Of course. They had glamored her to submit – glamored her to forget. Kalina felt a shiver of revulsion in her soul. She knew that Jaegar and Octavius were seductive – that they used sex to get what they wanted. But she had allowed herself to forget what else they used to get blood from girls willing to give their bodies, but not open their veins. Glamour. Magic. They’d never had to do it with Kalina, but for those who didn’t know their secret…
Kalina felt ill and, catching Stuart’s eye, she knew that he felt the same way. Every time she thought that she’d have vampires and their ways under control, that she understood them and was able to deal with the morally unsavory aspects of their lifestyle, something new would always sneak up and surprise her.
Alice-Suzanne’s blood had made both Jaegar and Octavius crazy, she knew.
But they hadn’t been crazy when they’d glamored her.
“Both of you, stop it!” Kalina cried! “I can’t look at either of you right now – you’re both acting…disgusting!”
“Careful, Kalina,” Max said in a low voice. “They’re dangerous right now. The last thing you want to do is upset them.”
Both Jaegar and Octavius looked at Kalina, their eyes filled not with love but with hunger – a gaze that made her shiver with disgust. She wasn’t a woman for them anymore; she wasn’t Kalina – the girl they loved. She was meat, pure and simple. Something for them to consume. Something for them to devour.
Justin took a step forward. “Hey,” he said in a halting voice. “You leave my sister alone, okay?”
“Your sister?” Octavius scoffed. “She’s mine, you fool – and I can do what I want with her.”
“You most certainly cannot!” Kalina stood up angrily.
“Both of you, fools!” Max spat. “If you’d controlled your bloodlust none of this would have happened. That girl has Life’s Blood in her – it’s clouding both your minds. You need to sit down and let it wear off…it’s not strong in her, it won’t last too long. If you need more blood, then at least for goodness’ sake take mine. I’m better equipped to handle you than some innocent girl!”
Alice-Suzanne let out a confused wail.
“Do you want me to glamour her to shut her up?” Justin looked over at Kalina.
“No!” she snapped, color rushing to her cheeks. “Leave her alone.”
Max bared her neck. “Down, boys,” she said softly.
“No, mother.” Kalina stepped forward. “The last thing they need is someone else’s blood coursing through them. I know them. I…love them, both. My blood won’t drive them crazy: that, at least, we know. Who knows what effect yours can have?” She pulled back her shirt-sleeves, revealing two slender milk-white wrists: the porcelain pallor of death. “I’m not happy with either of you, mind you – but if it’s what keeps you both satisfied until we can make it back to Rutherford to sort all this out, I’ll have to give you both a piece of my mind later…”
She was cut off by a sudden crashing sound.
“What’s that?”
The plane seemed to have lurched in midair. It began to rock from side to side, wildly flailing about.
“What’s going on?”
“We’ve veered off course!” Stuart rushed to the window. “It’s a storm.”
“What?” Alice seemed to have recovered some consciousness. “The weather was predicted smooth sailing all the way from Beijing…”
“This isn’t smooth sailing, that’s for sure,” said Stuart. A bolt of thunder seemed to answer his words, followed by the sight of lighting: a thick, forked yellow bolt that split the sky in two. “Something’s wrong – the plane’s been sabotaged…”
“Sabotaged?” Kalina rushed to the window. “How do you know?”
“I can sense it, too,” said Jaegar. “Something’s happened…”
“Vampires?”
“I don’t know,” said Jaegar. But as he stared out the window, with blazing eyes, his expression grew paler than before. “But this isn’t normal turbulence. And the wings of the plane…”
Kalina followed his gaze in horror. The plane’s wings had burst into flame – red and orange licks of fire bursting into the night sky.
“Whether it’s human or vampire,” Jaegar said, “I’m pretty sure we’re going to crash.”
Chapter 2
Kalina’s eyes widened with terror as she looked out the window. The fire – like powerful streaks of sunrise across the dark star-dappled night – blazed brightly through the sky. The wing looked like a phoenix’s wing – scarlet and tangerine. It would have been beautiful, Kalina thought as her stomach began to sink with a sickening thud, if it weren’t so dangerous.
“Get the pilot!” Alice-Suzanne began to scream hysterically. “What’s going on? What’s happening?” The plane began to jolt and shake violently; Kalina could hear the rattling of metal. She felt helpless all of a sudden, her feet frozen to the floor as her mouth opened in horror. Moments before they had been in a plane – now they were only in a metal box, gyrating and twisting in the stormy winds. A metal box that was plummeting towards the Pacific Ocean. Kalina wondered, her mouth twisting with fear, whether vampires could survive a fall such as this. Would they die – as if they had been staked? Or would they live forever, spending eternity in agonizingly small pieces pinned to the bottom of the ocean’s floor? The thought made vomit rise in her throat.
“Come on!” Max yanked Kalina out of her reverie, grabbing her arm and pulling her down the aisle. “We have to get to the pilot.”
They ran towards the cockpit.
“Open up!” Stuart began banging furiously on the door. “Come on – open up!”
But there was no answer.
Alice-Suzanne looked paler than any vampire – a green, sick expression had come over her face. “I…uh…” she whispered. “I’ve got the emergency key.”
“The pilot…” Stuart’s voice trailed off. “He’s not answering.”
Wordlessly, Alice-Suzanne slipped a hand into her navy blue uniform and withdrew an electronic device. She handed it to Stuart, her fingers trembling, her knuckles the color of salt.
Stuart took the key from her and forced the door open.
“Bloody hell,” Stuart looked up and down at the scene. The pilot was slumped forward on the controls, his hands and shoulders at disturbingly asymmetrical angles. Blood was trickling from the corner of his mouth onto the controls.
“What happened?”
Kalina pushed through to look at the pilot. “Is he dead?”
“Dead!” Justin said grimly. “Doesn’t take a doctor to diagnose that much.”
“Tommy!” Alice-Suzanne wailed. “What happened? He was fine this morning…”
“No time to figure it out,” Justin said. “Could have been a heart attack – could have been poison. I’m not going to waste time guessing which. Does anyone else here know how to land a plane?”
Alice shook her head miserably. “I’m only a flight attendant,” she said. “We don’t know how to do any of that…”
Kalina bit her lips, which had gone white with terror. She frowned at Alice. “Well, someone’s going to have to,” she said, darkly.
“I can try,” Max stepped forth, pushing the pilot’s body aside. Alice gave a small, horrified scream; Max blithely ignored it as she took over the controls. “I’ve never flown a plane this size before.”
“That’s one up on the rest of us,” Stuart said. “And with Jaegar and Octavius…distracted…”
Kalina looked up. Jaegar and Octavius were still glowering at one another, their eyes dark, their chiseled jaws cast in shadow. They hardly seemed aware of the danger that surrounded them; they were insensible to the constant rattling and shaking of the plane. They were lost in their world of anger, of chaos, of darkness – the Life’s Blood was coursing through both their veins. Kalina could feel their hunger; she could feel their eyes upon her, devouring her figure, her shape, her form. She had never felt like this before. Normally, Jaegar and Octavius’ desire for her exhilarated her; it thrilled her. It awakened her to her own body, her own beauty, her own strength. But Life’s Blood had transformed that gaze into a predatory stare, a hawk-like fixation on a body that would not obey her.
“Guys, focus,” she said, but she knew with a trembling voice that the attempt was fruitless. “You can worry about who gets to eat me later – right now, we have to figure out how to land this bloody plane or we’ll all get blown to smithereens. And I don’t think either of you wants to spend the rest of eternity in pieces in the middle of some Pacific coral reef.”
Octavius stared blankly at Kalina. “You think I’m afraid?” he snarled. “You think I fear death? Whatever happens – it won’t affect me.” He laughed. “I have Life’s Blood coursing through my veins – I’m invincible.”
“Yeah, well, I’m not,” Kalina snapped. “And neither are plenty of the people I care about, so if you want a shot at my blood…”
The plane shook violently, sending Alice-Suzanne tumbling across the cockpit. “Hurry!” she cried.
“Don’t panic,” Max said through clenched teeth. “Listen, I’m going to try to stabilize the plane. Hold on, everyone, as tightly as possible.”
Octavius and Jaegar both took hold of Kalina’s wrists, seizing her so tightly that they left red marks on her skin. She winced with pain; the two of them were insensible – rapt with pleasure, listening in unison to the sound of her rapidly palpitating heartbeat.
She had to get through to them – had to make them listen… Or else they’d all be underwater. She turned to Octavius – deciding in a split second that he was the better bet. He was an older vampire, after all, she reasoned. Stronger. More able to control himself, to resist the Life’s Blood in his veins. Jaegar…she couldn’t even look at Jaegar. His irises had gone ebony-black and he stared straight out into space, vaguely licking his lips. She wanted to use telepathy to reach out to him – but she didn’t need her powers to know what was going through his head. Visions of her, of him – of the two of them, their bodies tangled and splayed out together on a soft bed…
Visions she couldn’t allow into her head right now – if ever again. Visions that, even now, left her reeling like a drunkard.
“Octavius…” she said, speaking in the soft, conciliary tone she used to adopt with the neighborhood stray cats of Rutherford. “Octavius, are you listening to me?”
His expression burned her; the force of his desire seemed to flood over her like a tidal wave. “Yes,” he said softly, “I’m listening. What is it?”
“I need you, Octavius,” Kalina began carefully. “I need you to help me. To help the people I care about. You’re all-powerful now, aren’t you? You’ve had the Life’s Blood?”
“All-powerful, yes,” Octavius’ expression widened into a smile. “I have the strength…”
“You need to fight this Life’s Blood – the influence it has over you. Just for now – you need to help us get out of here…”
The plane lurched and then, with a sickening crack, began to tailspin. Alice’s screams almost drowned out the blaring buzz of the shattered engine.
“You love me, don’t you Octavius?” Kalina began to plead, tears coming to her eyes. She had to get through to him – somehow, just for a while… “If you care about me a little, if I mean anything at all to you, you have to fight this. You have to get us out – please! When we’re safe, when we’re all safe, then you can do whatever you want, I swear. You can drink my blood if you want – I’ll be yours…only…”
“I should have known…” Jaegar growled. “Stupid girl! I should have guessed you would care more for his power than for what I could give you. Well, let me tell you, I’m through asking nicely. I’m through waiting for you to decide – I’ll take what’s mine, and if I have to slay every other vampire on this plane to do it, then so be it.”
Kalina felt sick. She tried to close her eyes, to tell herself that it was the Life’s Blood in Jaegar talking, that it wasn’t the real him, but his words stung. She could feel the pain welling up in her, pinching at her nerves, scalding her heart. “Mom – any luck with the plane?” she asked, trying to drown out the sound of Jaegar’s hateful voice.
“None…” Max was staring straight ahead. “We’re going to have to deploy the emergency life rafts, see if we can’t make a water landing…if we slow down enough the vamps can fly…”
Jaegar stood up, brushing his long raven-black bangs out of his face. “Quiet, woman!” he said. “Now you…” he turned to Kalina. “You’re coming with me.”
“Not a chance!” Octavius stood, placing himself squarely between Kalina and Jaegar. His eyes were softer now, Kalina noted with a spark of hope, brighter – filled with something like humanity. “Kalina…” he whispered. “I’m fighting it as best I can – it won’t last long…” He closed his eyes and swallowed hard. “Everyone – we need to try to shift the weight of this plane. If we push against the other end, we might regain a semblance of balance. We’ll need a smooth water landing…” he tossed a life vest to Alice-Suzanne. “You – take this. You’ll need all the support you can get; the water’ll be cold. Jaegar, you fly – make sure Stuart doesn’t drown. I’ll make sure Kalina gets the same. Justin – you’re responsible for Max, do you understand me?”
“How can we be sure this isn’t a ploy?” Jaegar glowered. “You’ll fly off with Kalina and leave us all to drown…”
“Because,” Kalina snapped, “Octavius knows that if he let anyone in my family get hurt, I’d stake all of you through the heart and nobody would get a drop of this Life’s Blood. Got it?”
Jaegar looked very slightly cowed. “I’ll trust you for now,” he said. “But believe me – when we’re on land, we will settle this on my terms.” He grabbed her wrist and pressed it to his lips, inhaling the scent of her blood, his lips bruising her skin with the violence of his desire. She yanked her hand away in horror.
“Until then, Kal,” he said.
“Kalina and Stuart – get to the tail end of the plane…” Octavius said, clenching his fists. “And for God’s sake – make sure that girl…” he motioned to Alice-Suzanne, “doesn’t get hysterical. Do you understand?”
Kalina nodded, grabbing Alice and running with Stuart to the back of the plane.
“We need to redistribute our weight” said Stuart. “With one wing gone, we’re out of balance.” He motioned out the window, where some char and ash was all that remained of the plane’s wing.
“We’re going to die…” Alice-Suzanne was muttering, rocking back and forth on her knees. “We’re all going to die.”
Kalina and Stuart exchanged glances.
“If Max can land the plane,” said Stuart, “we’ll all have to jump – humans with vampires, to even things out. I won’t be able to protect you out there, not like the others can…and Jaegar and Octavius are your best bet at survival. Justin’s not strong enough – not yet…but you need to promise me, Kal, you’ll do whatever it takes. To survive.”
“What are you talking about, St
uart?”
“I know you love them. I know I love them. But the Life’s Blood in them – it’s dangerous, Kal. It’s making them crazy – and I know from experience it’ll only get worse from here. If either one of them gets you in their clutches, there’s no guarantee your blood will have a positive effect. Even if your blood could turn them human – they might drain you before that’s even possible.”
“What are you saying, Stuart?”
