Defiance

by Adrienne Monson

  “The only other choices are to stay and fight or simply give up our baby.” Leisha shook her head. “The only one that makes sense is to run for it. As you’ve said, I’m still weak and wouldn’t fight well. And you and Rinwa won’t attack your comrades.”

  Her husband’s hand drifted from her arm, his silvery blue eyes unfocused as he thought. Leisha stepped over the soiled sheets that Tafari had pulled off the bed earlier and went to the doorless closet. Rummaging through old clothes, she pulled out pants and a button-up shirt. They belonged to a man, but Leisha would make do with them. “You know I’m right Tafari. Come on, we need to get moving.”

  “We can’t,” Samantha spoke up, her face ashen. “Nik will burn in the woods.”

  That stopped Leisha mid motion. She’d forgotten about him. Turning to Tafari, she asked, “How long until sundown?”

  “Too long. Probably three hours or so.”

  Leisha swore. She continued to the bed to lay the clothes down. Liam was finished, and she handed her baby to Samantha. “Could you burp him, please?” she asked.

  Nodding as she took him, Samantha said, “I’m going to take him in the front room and see if Nik can think of anything.”

  Dressing was slow as her muscles and wounds screamed at her, but Leisha ignored the pain and put the clothes on. At least she wasn’t bleeding anymore. Now she needed to find her shoes. Where did they get thrown in her frenzy to birth?

  “Leisha,” Tafari interrupted her scattering thoughts. “We need to discuss this. I have an idea.”

  Easing herself onto the bed, she looked up at him. “What is it?”

  The immortal blew out a breath and came over to sit next to her, their shoulders touching. “Rinwa and I will need to stay behind. With the immortals.”

  Stomach dropping, Leisha stared at him. “I’m not sure I understand. I thought you decided to put Liam’s needs, my needs, above the immortals.”

  His eyes widened in earnest as he squeezed her thigh. “I have. This will help you.”

  Brows drawing together, she waited for him to continue.

  “You, Samantha, and Nik can take the baby and make a run for it. Meanwhile, I will stay behind and tell them that you escaped in a different direction. I can easily lead an attack that way, giving you time to find a safe place to hide.”

  Leisha mulled over the plan and realized it was as good a diversion as they were going to get. But there was one problem she wasn’t sure she wanted to deal with. “If we do this, then that means I won’t be able to contact you at all.” She pulled her wet braid from her collar. “The immortals will be be watching everything you do.” She gazed at him. “It means that we’ll have to separate permanently.”

  He shook his head and he leaned closer. “Not permanently.” His breath whispered across her cheek. “But it will be for a while.”

  His lips met hers and Leisha couldn’t hold back the emotion as she kissed him. Two bloody tears trekked down her cheeks.

  “It’s like fate is doing everything to keep us apart,” she said when he leaned back. It was meant as a joke, but came out all too seriously.

  Tafari nodded solemnly. “I wish things were different.”

  Forcing a smile, she feigned a lighter attitude. “You and me both.” She stood as a thought occurred to her. “We should have a chat room where we can meet online.”

  Tafari looked as if he’d disagree, but Leisha plunged on. “Just in case we really need to contact each other. Only for emergencies, okay?”

  “Alright.” Tafari conceded. “What chat room?”

  “What do you frequent online? Is there something you could look up that wouldn’t be suspicious?”

  Eyes moving to the side as he thought, he finally came up with an answer. “The few times I do get online for fun, I like to research classical authors. So maybe a chat room for Alexandre Dumas or Victor Hugo.”

  “There’s bound to be plenty of chat rooms about them.” As she thought, Leisha looked around the room to see if there was anything to take with her. Grabbing the blanket from the bed, along with the pillow, she said, “Okay, here’s what we’re going to do. Three weeks from now, we’ll both use Google and do a search for Alexandre Dumas. The first chat room that comes up in the results is the site that we’ll use.”

  “I do not think it is wise to send a message so soon.”

  Bunching the blanket and pillow in her arms, Leisha shook her head. “No, I’m not saying we contact each other. I want us to look it up on the same day so we’re sure that we are using the same site.”

  Together, they strode into the hallway. “What will your username be?” Tafari asked.

  “Rosepetals.” She answered. “If it’s already taken, I’ll add a number at the end. What about you?”

  Smirking, Tafari said, “Something like vintagewines.”

  Leisha gave a small chuckle. “You really do love your wine, don’t you?”

  “Yes.” He was completely unabashed about it. “I must say I am not surprised your favorite flower is a rose.” He frowned. “It is sad I did not know that until now, though.”

  Samantha and Nikita looked up as she entered the front room. Leisha told them the plan and both agreed it was the only course of action.

  “We still haven’t figured out what to do about Nik,” Samantha complained, worry etching her features as she looked over at him.

  Nikita waved a hand. “I already told you, I’ll be fine. I still have my hoodie packed.”

  “You’ll still burn,” The girl protested.

  “Maybe, but even if I do, it won’t be anything I can’t recover from. It will be fine.”

  When Samantha looked unconvinced, Leisha put her fears to rest. “You forget how fast we can run, Samantha, even in a forest.” She took Liam from her friend and smiled at his alert eyes. “We’ll be able to cover quite a distance in no time. Then we can lie low until the sun sets. That’s when we’ll really be able to travel.”

  Samantha’s features relaxed as she contemplated it. She gave a strained smile and stood. “I’d better check out the kitchen and see if I can find some snacks. ”

  Nodding, Leisha called after her retreating form. “Hurry, we don’t have much time.”

  Rinwa entered at that moment. The immortal studied each figure before commenting. “Looks like you heard my little conversation out there.”

  “Only tidbits, but we got the gist of it,” answered Leisha.

  Tafari then informed their daughter of the plan.

  “Works for me. Better hurry, though. Willem is talking to the assault team right now. They’ll be here soon.” The blonde brushed her hair off her shoulder. “It will be nice to go back to my regular lifestyle.”

  Hearing her comment upon reentering the room, Samantha jibed, “Oh, come on, Rinwa. I know you’re going to miss us. Haven’t you loved all the adventure we toss your way?”

  Rinwa rolled her eyes as she placed her sunglasses over her nose, but the immortal had warmth in her expression. “I get plenty of adventure on my own, but you go on thinking that the sun rises and sets just for you, Samantha.” Looking at her watch, she turned her attention on Leisha. “Better get moving.”

  Leisha nodded and found Nikita’s bag on the floor next to the couch and dug around until she found his hoodie. She tossed it to him before she handed the baby to Tafari so she could work on making a sling out of the blanket she’d grabbed. Once she’d finished, she looked over to see father and son gazing into each other’s eyes.

  “Who’s winning the staring contest?” Leisha asked as she reached for Liam.

  Smiling softly, Tafari tore his gaze away from the babe. “Definitely him.” He stroked Liam’s cheek with the back of a finger. “Take care of our child, Leisha.”

  Leisha nestled the boy in the makeshift sling and tightened it to be sure he was secure and comfortable in it. Then she glanced at her husband. “I will.” Placing her hand over the side of his face, she leaned in. “Take care of yourself, too.”

&nbs
p; He nodded as he reached over to squeeze her hand. “Until Alexandre, then.”

  Forcing a soft smile, she nodded.

  Samantha was saying goodbye to Rinwa and turned to Tafari to bid farewell to him, too. Leisha met her daughter’s gaze. The immortal didn’t step closer, but her expression softened and she nodded in her mother’s direction. It wasn’t a touching parting, but it was definitely an improvement compared to the last time Rinwa had said goodbye to her. Smiling, Leisha returned the nod.

  Tafari turned to Rinwa. “We should begin to spar now. The rest of the team will be here soon and we need to look like we have been fighting.”

  “Yeah, and we should get some good punches before Willem tries to come to the rescue.” Rinwa pulled her hair back, using a strand to hold it in a ponytail. She crouched in a fighter’s stance, Tafari matching it before he swung at his daughter.

  The group didn’t stay to watch. With Nikita in the lead, they headed to the back bedroom to climb out the window.

  Leisha could feel the fatigue seeping through her body and hoped that she would be able to keep a fast pace as they ran.

  Nikita kicked out the window and shards of glass sprayed everywhere. Using his foot to clear the frame of sharp ends, Nikita jumped out and turned to help Samantha down.

  Knowing she wouldn’t be able to jump down the five feet with her injuries, Leisha kept her hold on Liam as she started to straddle the pane. She had been too distracted by her wounds and their desperate situation to realize that immortals were creeping around both sides of the house.

  Glancing over, Leisha saw Nikita watching Samantha intently as the girl stepped away from him, looking miles away. Before she could open her mouth to warn Nikita, a shot cracked from the far corner of the house. Nikita’s shoulder jerked back, the momentum forcing the hood from his head.

  Samantha screamed as his flesh instantly began charring with a sickening sizzling sound. Leisha pulled the girl back through the window and to the side. The injured vampire immediately jumped back into the room, bringing the strong smell of burnt flesh with him. Once out of the sun, his neck and face stopped searing until just a little puff of smoke rose from his head.

  Samantha tried to run to him, but Leisha grabbed her hand and propelled her toward the bedroom door. “He’ll be fine. We have to get out now.”

  But immortals were already standing in the hallway, machine guns raised and swords sheathed at their sides. Cursing, Leisha jumped forward and slammed the door closed. A bullet went through the door and struck her shoulder, only inches from Liam’s head. The baby appeared unaffected by the clamor and slumbered on.

  Gasping, Leisha ran to a corner between the window and the door, trying to keep her baby out of the crossfire.

  Meanwhile, Nikita pushed the bed against the door and dragged a heavy dresser behind it. “Looks like we’ll be fighting after all,” he quipped through scorched lips.

  Two immortals climbed through the window then. One grabbed Samantha from behind and brought a large blade to her throat. “Give us the baby,” he demanded. Leisha and Nikita held still. The only sound was the loud banging of the other immortals trying to break through the door.

  The other, a woman, took a step toward Leisha and held her arms out. “We’ll let the girl live if you hand over the child right now.”

  Springing forward, Nikita grabbed the woman from behind and held her arms down with one hand while grabbing her hair with the other. He glared at the man holding Samantha. “You kill mine, I’ll kill yours.” His voice was savage, and his expression matched.

  The immortal holding Samantha hesitated. Leisha watched with a mixture of surprise and hope as Samantha used that moment to yank the man’s hand away from her neck while simultaneously kicking back into his knee. The man loosened enough that Samantha was able to pull out of his grip, but was sliced in her forearm as she disentangled herself from him and fled to Leisha.

  “Get out,” Nikita said. “Or I’ll snap her neck.”

  The immortal glanced between his comrade and Leisha, slowly walking backward until he was at the window. “Let her go now.”

  “Not until you’re outside.”

  The man jumped. Nikita used his hold on the woman’s hair to push her out the window as well.

  The top of the door snapped, chunks of wood scattering through the air. Three immortals pointed their guns, more behind them.

  Pulling his hood back on, Nikita gestured for Leisha and Samantha to climb through the window.

  Leisha barely stayed on her feet when she landed, the jarring impact exacerbating the bullet wound and her delivery injuries. But there was no time to think about pain. Liam was still in his sling, though her blood had soaked a good portion of his legs.

  Leisha crouched over him as an immortal swung at her. The blow resonated through her shoulder, but the baby was unharmed.

  Spinning as she stood up, Leisha kicked at the immortal, snapping his head to the side. Again, she kicked out, hitting him squarely in the stomach. Breath gushed out of his lungs as the man doubled over. As his head came down, Leisha smashed her knee up into his face. Bones cracked and she could hear the soft cartilage grind. Blood spurted onto her shoes.

  Just as her opponent dropped to the dirt, the pommel of a sword hit Leisha in her left temple. Her body reacted before her mind, kicking out at the new attacker to hit her in the arm. The immortal didn’t drop her weapon, and lunged to stab Leisha in her neck.

  The vampire bent back, barely missing the strike. Her injured shoulder and the added weight of Liam caused Leisha to fall onto her bottom instead of springing back up. On the ground, she leaned back and hastily swipe-kicked the woman’s feet. The immortal fell. Leisha instantly wrested the sword from her grasp, then impaled the woman through the chest.

  Looking up, she saw that Nikita and Samantha were close by. Nikita kept the girl behind him as he fought off his opponents, careful to keep his hood over his face.

  Six more immortals were running toward Leisha. She knew she couldn’t fight them while protecting Liam.

  Ignoring her protesting body, she rushed over to Samantha. “Take him,” she said as she pulled off the sling and handed the baby to her. “Nikita and I will fight to protect you two. As soon as you can get away, run. We’ll find you.”

  Leisha turned to the oncoming assailants and twirled the sword in her hand.

  Chapter 34

  Samantha clutched Liam to her chest as she watched the two people she loved most fight a crowd that only seemed to get larger and larger. She felt like there would never be an opportunity to run and find a safe place.Leisha was pulling on their bond, making Samantha weaker by the moment. Samantha couldn’t begrudge her though—Leisha had already killed four more immortals.

  Glancing on her other side, Samantha saw Nik fighting brutally. One of his attackers knocked off Nik’s hood, but the vampire was quick to replace it while counterattacking.

  Even with the vampires flanking her and fighting so valiantly, one black immortal got through and approached Samantha. His brown arms were reaching for the bundle she held. Samantha stepped back, uncertain of what she should do.

  The man lunged suddenly, pushing Samantha to the ground. She cried out as her back hit the ground. The immortal stood over her and reached down for Liam.

  “No!” Samantha screamed as she jerked to the side, the baby still clutched to her chest.

  The man stretched out his hands and grabbed Liam’s right foot. He started to tug. Samantha didn’t want the immortal to pull the baby’s leg out of joint, but couldn’t bear the thought of relinquishing him either.

  Suddenly, the immortal was pulled upright. Leisha appeared behind him and twisted his head. There were two sharp snaps, and then his body fell right next to Samantha.

  Leisha held out her hand to Samantha, but before the girl could take it, four immortals grabbed her friend. Each had their swords ready at Leisha’s neck, stomach, and two at her chest. The vampire froze.

  Helplessness thre
atened to overwhelm Samantha. She forced herself to stand while keeping Liam secure in her arms.

  Strong hands grabbed her around the waist and pressed her against a large body. An ice cold blade was at her neck before she could blink.

  “Samantha!”

  Moving only her eyes, Samantha saw Nik charging toward them. Immortals tackled him from every direction. Among the crash of bodies, Samantha couldn’t see what was happening. It lasted only moments before three immortals were holding Nik. It looked like they were getting ready to remove his hood.

  “Don’t!” the girl shouted. No one paid any attention to her.

  Samantha couldn’t see Nik come to his end now. Not in this way.

  “Stop!” a deep voice, boomed. All heads turned in its direction.

  Tafari and Rinwa were at the edge of the house, standing with Willem.

  Liam’s father was impassive, standing proudly, radiating a sense of regality. “We must have the baby before we continue with the executions.”

  Gasping at the implication of those few words, Samantha tried to search the immortal’s face, but he wasn’t close enough. One immortal standing by Leisha came forward and took the baby from Samantha. Tears flooded her eyes, and she was drowning hatred and despair. Leisha screamed, and Liam suddenly let out an earsplitting wail. The immortal didn’t try to coddle the baby as he walked over to Tafari. The man was only twenty yards away.

  Just when Samantha accepted their defeat, Nik bolted from the hands holding him down. The immortals tried to contain him, but they only succeeded in pulling off his hoodie. The vampire’s raw skin began to char once again, smoky tendrils rising from every ounce of exposed flesh, but it didn’t stop him.

  Samantha couldn’t tell what happened. All she saw was a blur toward the immortal holding Liam. The immortal was suddenly prone on the ground, the baby gone. The blur changed directions and disappeared into the woods.

  Another blur caught her eye, Samantha saw Leisha taking her opponents down. The vampire was cut in the neck and stomach, but was moving quickly.