Defiance

by Adrienne Monson

  She accepted the glass and took a tentative sip. The vampire swirled the thick, icy liquid over her tongue before she swallowed. “Not bad. Better than I thought it would be.”

  Tafari opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted when their daughter came in. “I just got off the phone with the council,” she stated. “They’re getting restless. We need to go back and report to them in person very soon. We can only give them so many excuses before they figure out something is up.”

  “I know,” Tafari answered. “I spoke with them today as well.” He turned to Leisha. “But you will be safe here. I will try to return before the baby comes.”

  Raising her eyebrows, Leisha forced a light tone. “Oh, you know when that is, do you? Well, please enlighten me, because I’d love to have a timeline.”

  Her husband sat next to her and cuddled her into his chest. He addressed Rinwa. “Tell them we’ll fly out tomorrow.”

  “I’ll make all the arrangements.” Turning on her heel, Rinwa walked into the kitchen.

  Leisha laid her head on his shoulder, absorbing the heat of his body. “How long do you think you’ll be?”

  Lightly caressing her arm, Tafari shook his head. “I do not know. We must convince them that Rinwa and I are scouring the planet to find the prophecy child. Otherwise, they may send a team to keep their eyes on us. I do not need to tell you how disastrous that would be.”

  Swallowing past the ache in her throat, Leisha used a teasing tone. “Disastrous isn’t exactly what it would be,” Leisha protested. “More like, utterly devastating if I can’t see you again.”

  His hand moved up to her hair. “It is lightening faster these days. You are almost completely blonde again.”

  Leisha picked up a strand of her hair for inspection. Tafari was right; it was a very pale strawberry blonde and would probably be back to her natural hair color by morning. “I think I should just get some wigs.”

  “But your hair is so long, and you have so much of it. I am not sure you could contain it all under a wig.”

  “I’ll figure it out. It’s not nearly as big of a problem as what you’re dealing with right now.”

  Tracing his fingers over her distended belly, her husband asked, “How is the baby today?”

  Leisha smiled. “He’s good. He actually gave me a bit of a break this evening. I’ve only felt him moving a few times.”

  “That is unusual.” Tafari had felt some of the baby’s kicks over the past weeks. If he’d been human, some of those kicks would have seriously bruised his hand. It helped him have more empathy for the injuries Leisha sustained from their baby on a daily basis.

  “It may be different, but I’ll take what I can get.”

  Samantha came out of the bathroom wearing fresh clothes, her hair hanging damp around her shoulders. “I’m starving,” she announced. “Is there anything handy in the kitchen?”

  Offering her cup, Leisha said, “You can finish this off. It should help revive you after the beating Rinwa gave you.”

  The girl took it and drank it without question. “That’s pretty good,” she murmured.

  Just then, Nikita entered the room, slinging a large duffel bag over his shoulder.

  “Do you want a ride to the airport or something?” Leisha asked.

  Samantha dropped her glass. Nikita caught it easily before it could shatter over the hardwood. “Airport? Why would you need a ride to the airport?” she asked.

  Glancing at Leisha, Nikita stated, “Actually, I don’t think I’ll need a ride. But thanks.” He stood up and addressed the teenager. “The reason Leisha offered is because I told her I’m leaving tonight.”

  Leisha could hear Samantha’s heartbeat increase a few notches. “But you said you wouldn’t leave.”

  “I said I would stay until I was certain you were safe.” He gestured around them. “You are. My services are no longer required.”

  “Your services,” Samantha echoed. A mélange of hurt and churlishness crossed over her features. “Well, if you are here only to serve, then shouldn’t it be up to me to decide when you should be dismissed?”

  Nikita remained composed. “Don’t do this, Samantha. It’s best for everyone that I go. You know that.”

  Shaking her head, she protested. “I don’t know that at all. And neither do you! You’re just running like a coward.”

  Nikita’s lips tightened, but didn’t say anything.

  Tafari shifted and stood, helping Leisha to her feet as well.

  “Samantha,” Tafari said. “Try taking a deep breath. We can sit down and discuss this at the table. I will cook something for you.”

  Leisha didn’t hear what the girl’s response was. She was suddenly aware of many different heartbeats coming into range. Focusing her hearing, she made out groups of heartbeats approaching both the front and back doors. The worst part was that they weren’t human. The heightened rhythm was definitely the heartbeats of vampires.

  She grabbed Tafari’s hand and pulled him into the kitchen.

  “What is it?” He sounded impatient, but went with her.

  “Vampires. They’re surrounding the house right now.”

  At Leisha’s declaration, Rinwa’s head popped up from the counter, where she had been writing on a pad of paper. “How did they find us?” She asked as she darted for the family room. She returned with several swords and machetes.

  Taking a machete for herself, Leisha answered. “No idea. But there are too many for us to stay and fight.”

  Rinwa spoke as if Leisha were slow. “If they have this place surrounded, then we’ll have to fight.” She smiled in anticipation. “I’ve been dying for some real action lately anyway.”

  Heading to the front entrance, Leisha tossed a sword to Nikita, who caught it effortlessly. By his bearing, he obviously knew the situation and had clued Samantha in on what was happening. Holding Nikita’s duffel bag, Samantha looked pale under the coat of tan lotion.

  “Stay with Samantha,” Tafari ordered Nikita. “I will cover Leisha. Rinwa will take the lead. Our goal is to reach the car and get away as fast as possible.” Everyone nodded. Looking at Leisha, the immortal asked, “How close are they?”

  “It sounds like about fifty feet.”

  He fished the car keys out of his pocket and handed them to Nikita. “Get Samantha to the car as fast as possible. I will help Leisha there behind you.”

  Leisha huffed. “I’m a perfectly good warrior, Tafari. Don’t treat me like an invalid.”

  “There’s no time for hurt feelings, Leisha,” Rinwa said as she opened the door. “You’re a blimp, and they want you more than any of us. End of discussion.” With that she was out the door, Nikita and Samantha following. She heard Rinwa’s battle cry and the clash of weapons.

  Tafari gestured for her to go before him. She complied, knowing now the best thing to do was follow his commands.

  As the humid air snaked along her skin, Leisha studied her surroundings. Rinwa was already fighting the closest vampires with her usual speed and accuracy. She was turning into a bloody mess, but Leisha had to remind herself that her daughter knew what she was doing.

  Nikita and Samantha were five feet away from the car when a group of six vampires came at them. Without hesitating, Leisha headed in that direction.

  Hearing attackers coming from behind, she whirled with her machete held ready. Tafari was already taking care of them. He had already beheaded one, and the others were trying to close in on him, but he was keeping them back with aggressive thrusts and lunges while parrying their attacks.

  Leisha continued towards Samantha and the car. Nikita was battling with his usual precision, keeping Samantha behind him. They were slowly working their way closer to the vehicle.

  Leisha reached them just as a third wave of vampires poured onto the front lawn. It looked like there were more than a hundred of them. Pointing her weapon in the direction of the closest vampire, she murmured to her companions, “We can’t fight all of them.”

&nb
sp; Nodding, Nikita answered. “You two must get away. I promise we’ll find you later.”

  “If you survive this.” Leisha blocked a blow from her opponent and lunged, hacking through his rib cage and heart. Her bulbous stomach was throwing her off balance, but she was able to defeat the next vampire who came after her.

  Two more were charging her way, and Leisha jumped back to dodge their swords. She did her best to avoid ducking; she’d learned from the last fight that she wouldn’t be able to bounce up easily with the weight of the baby. She parried and gained ground between the two of them, taking cuts up and down her arms. She could handle the wounds. Besides, she was also landing in her fair share of attacks.

  As she was blocking the sword from the vampire on her right, the one to the left punched her in the temple. Ignoring the blunt pain, Leisha swirled her machete around the other man’s sword while pushing toward his body. Finally, the man dropped his blade, just as an angry slash burned into Leisha’s back. She kicked behind her and landed a solid strike to a vampire’s crotch as she decapitated the one in front of her.

  She spun, beheading the man who’d punched her, before he could make another advance.

  Leisha saw that Samantha was inside the car. Nikita was in front of her door, killing two or three attackers at a time.

  “Get your butt over here and help me, Nikita,” yelled Rinwa.

  Leisha turned to see if her daughter was alright, but she couldn’t tell because four more vampires surrounded Leisha. Grabbing a dropped sword, Leisha wielded both weapons as she twirled between her attackers. She decapitated two of the vampires while the other two moved in. The one from behind pulled on her shoulders, trying to kick her feet out from under her. The one in front grabbed her wrists, crushing them together in an effort to get her to drop her weapons.

  Leisha clung to her sword and machete. Her balance, however, wasn’t as easy to hang on to. She started falling onto the body of the vampire who’d tripped her. He began to move out of her way, but Leisha swung the sword in an arc, cutting off his head as she went down. The head landed on her face. The vampire blood choked her as it slipped into her mouth and down her cheek onto the grass.

  Three vampires rushed towards her. Leisha decided trying to get up would only hinder her defense, so she lay back and brought the blades to her chest, ready to strike.

  Rinwa’s voice called urgently. “Get down, it’s coming!”

  Leisha wanted to see what was happening, but couldn’t take her eyes off the vampires approaching. Suddenly, flames appeared as if from nowhere, consuming everything in their path. Screams of agony rang out from all around. Boiling heat singed Leisha’s skin as she rolled to the side and got up as quickly as her awkward body would allow.

  Leisha rushed back to the car. She noted that more than half of their attackers were writhing all over. The fire engulfed them, melting their hair and skin until muscles and bone protruded.

  Rinwa and Nikita were manning the giant flame thrower. Leisha wondered where it had come from, considering it was attached to a fuel tank half the size of the house. Nikita threw out a clear liquid over the vampires and Rinwa speedily pointed the flame thrower at them. Once again, agonizing cries broke into the air and the victims fell, trying to roll and pull off their blazing clothes.

  Leisha tapped on the window and waited for Samantha to unlock the door. Samantha did, and Leisha climbed in. It wasn’t until she was inside that she noticed passenger-side door was gone.

  Studying her friend, she found that Samantha bore bite marks on her shoulder and deep gouges in her cheek.

  “Are you alright?”

  Samantha said in a shaking voice, “Let’s just get out of here.” She pointed to the ignition, where the keys were waiting.

  Leisha reached out and turned the keys, but the engine didn’t start. She tried again; nothing happened. “They sabotaged the car.” She muttered. “Come on.” Grabbing the teenager’s hand, Leisha led the way out of the car. Heat immediately met her face as she hurried to the sidewalk and down the street.

  It was a miracle that no one tried to stop them as they fled. Leisha was grateful because she just realized that she’d left both of her weapons in the car. Silently calling herself a few nasty names, she urged Samantha to keep up.

  They’d gone about two blocks before she let Samantha rest. Leisha could see the flames easily from the corner where they stood. From the sound of it, most of the vampires had been wiped out by Rinwa’s surprise attack. Leisha assumed there was some kind of special chemical in the mix that made the vampires burn up so quickly.

  “We need to hotwire a car.” Leisha studied the street. The vehicles in this area were fairly modern, but she was certain she could start one of them.

  Samantha pressed a hand to her still-bleeding cheek as she muttered, “This will be my second auto theft.”

  A mixture of amusement and guilt flooded Leisha, but she knew this was no time to reflect on Samantha’s morals becoming desensitized.

  Just a little farther down the street, Leisha spotted a car that she could start. Not bothering with stealth, Leisha punched the window in. The loud, whining sound of the car alarm pierced her ears. Knuckles stinging, she opened the door and found the proper wires to cut. Once she snipped them, the alarm silenced and she was able to focus on getting the vehicle started.

  Samantha climbed in on the other side just as the engine roared to life. Putting the car into gear, Leisha pulled out onto the road. She headed in the direction of the house so she could get the others.

  The sound of two vampire heartbeats was Leisha’s only warning. They were heading in her direction at jet-like speed. Before Leisha could veer out of the way, Annette crashed into the front fender, smashing it into a jumbled mess and forcing them into a tailspin.

  Leisha maneuvered the steering wheel with the brakes, gaining control of the car after a second or two. But not fast enough to prevent Annette from ripping open the driver’s door.

  Annette grabbed Leisha by the hair and dragged her out of the vehicle. Leisha heard Samantha screech and angled her eyes awkwardly to see Ellery pulling the teenager out by her ear, as if she were a naughty little girl.

  Leisha’s pants scraped around her bottom as she was dragged to the sidewalk. Annette released her before Leisha could put up much of a fight. Straddling her chest, the vampire plopped down and grabbed Leisha’s chin.

  “Now,” Annette said coldly. “You are going to tell me everything about this baby and who the father is.” With no further warning, Annette’s twisted darkness invaded Leisha’s mind. The filth forcefully consumed every crevice of her consciousness until all Leisha knew was the smut that Annette represented.

  The breach receded and the blonde’s vision came back into focus. Leisha panted from the exertion of having her mind raped.

  “How are you pregnant?” Annette demanded.

  Still reeling from the brutal attack, it was easy for Leisha to keep herself from answering.

  “Think you’re tough, do you?” Annette narrowed her arctic blue eyes. “I may not have been able to torture you psychically before, but things have changed and I’m more than ready to tear your mind to shreds.” Seizing Leisha By the throat, the vampire squeezed. “Would you like another round of mind play or are you ready to give me what I want?”

  “I don’t see Victor,” Leisha craokedcroaked out. “Did I actually kill him when I threw that knife in his heart, or is he licking his wounds while you’re doing the dirty work?” Speaking that much made her gasp for air.

  “He’s simply being the ruler he was always meant to be. Unlike Ptah, Victor rules from a throne and doesn’t trouble himself with pathetic peons like you!”

  Wetting her dry mouth, Leisha gathered what saliva she could and spit in Annette’s face. The brunette’s pale features became mottled in the darkness as she crushed Leisha’s windpipe. Through the haze of pulsing agony, Leisha could hear Ellery berating Annette.

  “How can she talk if you crush her n
eck? We don’t have much time, and Victor will not be happy with either of us if you ruin this!”

  “She’ll heal.” Annette stood and hoisted Leisha in her arms. “Come on, we’ll get out of here and question her on the plane. She’ll be able to give me answers in an hour or so.”

  Glancing over, Leisha saw that Ellery was keeping a tight hold on Samantha. The girl had a new bruise around her neck and was sobbing quietly.

  It was difficult to suck air through her ragged windpipe. Leisha pushed as much energy as she could into her arms as she reached up. With her right hand, she punched Annette in the jaw, snapping the woman’s head back. With her left hand, she clawed down as deeply as she could into the vampire’s cheek.

  Annette screamed and slammed Leisha back onto the pavement. Bending over, the vampire once again grabbed Leisha by her hair, and smashed her skull into the concrete.

  Searing light blinded Leisha. She was certain she’d heard her skull crack.

  “Leisha!” Samantha cried.

  Ellery spoke calmly. “Annette, why don’t we switch? You can have all the fun with dearest Leisha once we are on our way. But for now, I think it’s best that we leave as soon as possible.”

  Annette let go of Leisha and walked away. Blinking through fuzzy vision, Leisha rolled onto her side and pushed herself up. She knew that now would be the perfect time to fight and try to escape, but she simply couldn’t make the connection between her brain and her limbs.

  Blood tickled the back of her neck as she rose. Ellery’s soft hand wrapped around her upper arm. “Sorry, friend,” she said. “But we need information only you can give.” As an afterthought, she muttered, “And your child. He has to die before he can be born.”

  Leisha felt Ellery’s other hand snake over her distended belly. “His emotions are already strong,” the empath whispered. “So complex. I’m glad he’ll die soon. I wouldn’t want to feel those strange sensations for much longer.”

  Chapter 30

  Samantha didn’t think they could survive this. Leisha’s skin was pale and clammy, and it appeared that her friend’s eyes kept losing focus.