“Well, that’s not entirely true, now is it?” My eyes widened at the realization of what she was about to do.
“What does she mean?” Jasik asked.
I bit my lip and faced him. I swallowed the knot in my throat.
“What is she talking about, Avah?” Jasik asked again.
I shook my head. “I’m sorry,” I whispered. I glanced at Sebastian, who was nervously kicking the twigs at his feet, keeping his eyes lowered.
“For goddess sake, just tell him!” Sibyl said.
I opened my mouth to speak, but words were just out of reach. For so long, I was sure waiting to tell him was the right thing to do, but now, I felt ashamed. How could I have kept this from him? How could I lie to him after he repeatedly asked me if I was keeping something from him? He knew then, but I still did nothing. I felt sick, pathetic.
“Sunlight doesn’t kill us, Jasik. You see, we’re nothing like you. She’s nothing like you.” My breath caught as Sibyl spat her words at him.
Pain flashed across his face and lingered in his eyes.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered. “I wanted to tell you. I just—”
“You kept this from me?” he asked, his voice low. “I asked you. I asked if you were keeping something from me. I gave you more than one chance to tell me. Why?”
“Because it doesn’t matter! It doesn’t change anything.”
“This changes everything, Avah.”
I shook my head, tears threatening to spill. “No. It doesn’t. I still want to be with you.” I stepped forward and reached for his hand, but he pulled away.
“Don’t you see, Avah? You betrayed him with lies just as your witch coven had done to you,” Sibyl said.
“Stay out of my head!” Jasik spat.
I inhaled sharply. “I didn’t—I didn’t mean…”
“Apple doesn’t fall far from the forbidden tree, I see,” Sibyl joked.
I spun on my heel to face her. “Shut up! Just stop! I know what you’re doing, and it won’t work. You won’t break us apart.”
She smiled. “Avah, you don’t belong with someone like him. You belong with us.”
“You seriously must be an idiot if you think I’d ever leave them to join you—especially after this!”
“Don’t forget that you’re not the only one who can see the future.”
“I would never leave him for you,” I said, my words coming in a whisper.
“You don’t have to be the one doing the leaving.”
I glanced back to Jasik. With arms crossed and head down, he kept his eyes from me. Pain etched his features, and darkness clouded his usually bright blue eyes.
“I was going to tell you. You have to believe that. I just didn’t want this to happen. I know you. You think I deserve the world, but you don’t understand that I don’t want it. I don’t want the sun or normal food or a regular life. I just want you. I want darkness and blood and a house full of vampires. Don’t let this break us. Please.”
He cleared his throat and looked up. In a flash, the pain was gone, replaced by a hard gaze.
“We should discuss a daytime attack. We’re but four Hunters. You’d have a greater advantage during the day, without us, than at night, with us.”
“Jasik, please.” I stepped forward, reaching for him again. He backed away, putting several feet between us.
“This isn’t the time, Avah. The sun will rise soon, and we need to plan our attack. We’ll discuss this later, when we’re alone.”
I exhaled quickly and nodded. As much as I didn’t want to wait, I also didn’t like the fact that we were surrounded my eavesdropping vampires. I had gotten myself into this mess. I just hoped I could get myself out of it just as easily.
“There is an issue with this plan, though,” Malik said, and Jasik nodded.
I met Malik’s indifferent gaze. I wondered what he now saw when he looked at our future.
“Because even though you can go into sunlight, Amicia can’t, and we’re still outnumbered. This plan is placing quite a bit of faith on your hybrids,” Jasik added.
“What happens when they realize the attack and do the only thing they can do: kill Amicia?” Malik asked.
I gasped. “You’re right. I mean, that’s what I’d do… if I were a crazy maniac. They’re not complete idiots. They know we’re here for her, and if they are put in a situation where they’re going to face certain death, then they’re going to take her—and us—with them.”
“So our only option is a night attack: to sneak in or go with guns blazing,” Sebastian said.
“We can only sneak for so long,” I countered.
“True, but we’d get some for sure that way,” Sebastian added.
My heart sank as his words hit home. He didn’t expect to survive this. Glancing from one vampire to the next, I realized they all had doubts.
“We should sneak. Attack in groups. Stay secretive as long as we can, and then…” I wanted to say so many things then—pray we survive, hope we can kill them all, beg for Amicia’s release—but Jasik finished my sentence.
“Go in with guns blazing?”
I nodded, meeting his eyes. There was softness there, but it didn’t hide the pain that lingered.
“Do you see anything?” Sibyl asked Malik. Seers could only see their own futures—and the futures of those who affected their own. I doubted Sibyl could see our futures, because we weren’t her people. If we didn’t survive, she’d go on as if nothing happened.
He nodded but wouldn’t meet her eyes. “I see death—both sides.” The fact that he saw something meant he would survive this. That gave me hope. If he could survive, then all the Hunters could, too.
“We must sometimes make the ultimate sacrifice for the cause,” she said without hesitation.
I blinked, staring at her coolness. “I suppose you’ve heard that before.” The witches had said something painfully similar to me when I’d discovered I was the next chosen one.
She ignored my comment and walked away. “I’ll find the others,” she said over her shoulder before disappearing with Lillie and Jeremiah quietly in tow.
OUR MOVEMENTS WERE slow, precise. We strived to alert no one to our presence as we stalked closer to our prize. We crept behind two Rogues, and in unison, Malik and I snapped their necks, twisting until their heads fell clean off.
Two down, I mouthed.
We stayed low, willing our movements to be steady, silent, though all the prayers in the world couldn’t stop what was destined to occur. A twig snapped under my weight, and I froze, my heart beating so quickly I was surprised they hadn’t heard it. A dozen sets of red irises were upon us; fangs lengthened and drool fell in steady streams.
I braced myself for the impact as Malik took a warrior’s stance beside me. I glanced at him and was taken aback. The fear in his eyes was crippling.
“There’s no one else I’d rather fight beside,” I whispered. And it was completely true. I wouldn’t want to fight—and likely die—beside Jasik, but I also didn’t want to fight beside a stranger. I wanted to fight beside a worthy warrior, someone who loved me.
“Family,” he said softly, his fist slamming against his chest in a show of love I’d only seen him bestow upon Jasik or Amicia. I was thankful to know my confession hadn’t ruined the progress we’d been making, and I was hopeful that was because the seer in him knew Jasik and I would make it through this betrayal.
I put my game face on. When I faced them again, they were hurdling toward us. The ground vibrated with each foot’s forceful impact. There were too many. We were outnumbered six to one, and I knew we’d never survive. Before he could move toward them, I reached over, grasping Malik’s hand, ignoring his stiffness at my touch. Pulling at the power nestled deep within me, I threw my other arm out with a cry. My shield shook through my spine, expanding from within me until it blasted from my core. I focused all my energy on the shield and our attackers, watching it hurl into them. They were forced backward, flung effortlessly aw
ay, floating as if they were but a feather. I released Malik’s arm and faltered.
With his steadying hand on my back, I said, “I’m fine.” I gave him a reassuring smile even though I fought to slow my pulse and control my breath.
He smiled at me, giving me a thankful gaze, and then he was gone. By the time I found him, he was already upon the Rogues and had killed one. He took several hits before another fell. I was inexperienced without a blade, and my hesitation would get me killed. Calling upon my shield took too much time and energy, so I backtracked to something I knew well.
As a Rogue dashed before my eyes, I threw out my arms and called up fire. “Incendia!” I controlled the fire, expanding it to embrace two other Rogues before all three fell to ash.
Between Malik and I, we killed six Rogues. I was beginning to think we just might make it out of this battle alive. Malik and I stepped closer together, slipping back to back as more Rogues circled us like prey. This time, there were more than I had time to count.
I swallowed hard and said, “You take the ones on the right? I’ll take the ones on the left?”
“Stay strong. We can do this.” His voice didn’t quiver like mine, as if he knew we’d survive this battle.
With hands by my sides and palms facing the sky, I formed a small fireball by calling upon the fire element. I bounced it up and down, slowly, tauntingly. Before I could reach within me and spray a stream of fire, the Rogues before me sparked in flames—one by one. A group of hybrids emerged from the trees as they fought to protect Malik and me from certain extinction. We didn’t hesitate to make our next moves.
I showered a group of Rogues in flames and left them to burn as I aided Malik, who was cornered by three Rogues. I slammed my fist into one’s back and yanked out his heart. I backhanded another, and as he fell, I jabbed my hand forward, snapping his neck. The head broke off on contact. Malik killed the final one and gave me a brief glance.
“Thought you could use some backup,” I said with a wink. “Let’s find our girl. We seem to be a good team.”
He nodded once. In a motion too quick for my eyes, he grasped my arm and yanked me down. I toppled onto the ground beside him as a Rogue emerged from the shadows. She pounced on Malik, chomping her jaw like a hungry wolf as she leaned into his neck. I grabbed the back of her head, digging my fingers into her ratty hair, and yanked. She cried out as my fist made contact with her face, breaking her nose. Malik’s hand dove into her chest and removed her still-beating heart.
“Holy fuck,” I said, my heart pounding. “That was close.”
“No more cockiness,” he agreed.
I stood and somersaulted to the side as another Rogue attacked. He spun quickly and ran toward me. I threw my hand before me as I called upon air. The Rogue fought to reach me in the hurricane-like winds, but he was no match for my strength. His feet skidded backward until he slammed into a tree, where a conveniently broken branch pierced his heart. Malik stood before me, pulling me up by my arm.
“Let’s go!” he called as he ran toward the huts. We searched each house, one by one, until, finally, we found her. Her body was broken and bruised. She was too weak to heal, to speak, to move. Dark circles coated her skin and under her eyes. She was sunken in the corner, her face bloody. Her condition made her too weak to even heal. Her skin was covered in both fresh and crusted bite marks. The fiends had just left her to die.
Malik scooped her up into his arms and returned to the door. My fangs lowered, and I offered her my dripping wrist.
“No!” Malik said, pulling away. My skin healed. “You need your strength to escape this. There are too many. We need to run. She can feed once we’ve found safety.”
I nodded, and we emerged from the hut. The Rogues hadn’t seen us get to her, and we could have run. No one would have noticed. Everyone was too busy fighting, surviving. There were body parts everywhere. Dead Rogues, dead hybrids; they coated the ground like missing puzzle pieces. Their blood splatter sprayed across the frozen ground like modern paintings. I searched the crowd for the Hunters. Jeremiah and Lillie fought effortlessly beside Sibyl. As I scanned for Jasik, my heart began to sink. The hybrids were running. I watched as countless retreated, finding safety in the woods. Facing hundreds, thousands of Rogues had been a death wish; we knew that, but we refused to face the facts aloud. I swallowed the knot in my throat and watched their retreating backs until they were no longer there.
“They’re leaving,” I whispered.
“I know. We need to go, too. I see the others. We need to get to them.”
I nodded and raised my shield. We pushed past a group of Rogues, who each struck my shield with a force that shook me to my core. I fell three times, unable to stand the beating my shield was taking. I screamed in agony, not sure how many hits I could take.
“Avah! Focus on my voice. Ignore everything else,” Malik ordered, and I obeyed. I stood on shaky legs, knowing that lowering my shield now, while we stood in the threshold of a few dozen Rogues, meant our deaths.
Slowly, we found our way to the other Hunters, and I enveloped them in my shield. Blood spurted from my mouth as I took more hits—these more forcefully executed. On my knees, I begged for the strength to survive. Strength I was sure wouldn’t come. As my shield began to lighten and shake, Sibyl fell to her knees and grasped my hand in hers. Our power connected, and I felt her strength flow through me. The internal beating I was facing weakened, and my body began to heal. I stared at her, silently thanking her for saving me. Her eyes glowed a beautiful shade of neon violet, and I was sure my gaze, though awestruck, matched hers.
I stood, my legs still wobbly, and kept her hand firmly in mine. The Rogues slammed their fists against my shield, and I cringed at each contact. But I could push through. I would survive.
“We need to leave,” Sibyl said, pulling me toward her.
I nodded and looked at the others, my heart stopping. “Where’s Jasik? Sebastian?” I yelped, my voice shrieking unintentionally.
I spun around, searching the faces of our fallen but never finding his. Where was Jasik? Where was Sebastian?
“I saw them retreat,” Sibyl explained, and I faced her. Her face was hard, unreadable. Could I trust her? I glanced at Malik; his questioning gaze meant he wondered the same.
“We know he’s not here, so he’s got to be out there,” Lillie explained.
Jeremiah nodded. Both Hunters were growing weaker by the second. I gasped.
“The sun!” I looked up, searching the sky for any trace of lightness. In the far stretches of the earth, I could see the beginning stages of a glow. We didn’t have a lot of time. “We have to find them before the sun!” I pointed to the sky for extra measure—just in case they forgot where the sun resided.
“Jasik is a strong fighter. He and Sebastian will be fine.” Malik’s voice came out harsh, strong. He gave me no reason to pause.
I nodded. “Let’s go. Let’s find them.”
We ran at full speed. While some Rogues chased us, others stayed behind. We entered the woods, the safety of the trees providing minimal shade from the impending sun. When I could no longer hear the Rogues’ footsteps, I dropped Sibyl’s hand and lowered my shield in an attempt to conserve my energy. I was growing weaker by the second and knew we’d have to soon find both food and shelter. I canvassed the area as we sped to safety, but I found no signs of Sebastian or Jasik.
We came across a small clearing, and I spotted them. Sebastian, Jasik, and several hybrids fought off packs of Rogues. Without second thought, I ran toward them, determined to save my lover. But the look in his eyes stopped me dead in my tracks. He shook his head, glancing from me to Amicia. In a silent order, he told me to see her home. I ignored his command as I killed an approaching Rogue.
“Jasik wants us to go,” Lillie said, stepping beside me.
“We can’t leave him!”
“We must! He’ll be fine. He has Sebastian and hybrids. They don’t need us, but she does.” She grabbed my arm, but I yanked
it free.
“I will not leave him!”
Malik came to my side, Amicia now snuggly in Jeremiah’s arms. “Go. Take her home. We’ll find you,” he said, looking at Lillie before grabbing my arm and pulling me toward his brother.
They were completely surrounded, but even so, every chance he got, Jasik looked at me, pleading with me to run. His eyes betrayed his secret: He feared my death—and the death of his brother—more than his own. He needed us tucked safely away in the manor, where Rogues, hopefully, wouldn’t find us… again. With my eyes, I begged him to drop this. Worrying for me or Malik would only endanger him.
Malik had sprinted ahead of me, and I quickly joined him, once again fighting by his side as we killed two more Rogues.
From behind, I felt something grab my neck. I spun, but the hand on my back was strong, stopping me short of a full circle. I now faced Malik, whose eyes widened as he fell limp, his neck broken. As I glanced back to see his attacker, the world went black.
I WOKE TO the silence of my room. I was back in the manor, back safely in… I reached over, my arm brushing past the thin sheets. Jasik wasn’t beside me. My mind was cloudy, the events hazing together. I sat up, my head lashing out in pain. My neck was stiff, too stiff. I could barely move. Slowly, I massaged the kinks that didn’t seem to be there. I replayed yesterday’s events in my mind, searching for answers.
And then I found them.
I remembered everything.
I jolted to my feet and stormed downstairs. The vampires of the house fell silent as I entered the room. I scanned the familiar faces until I found the Hunters. I stalked over and slammed my fist down against the table.
“What the fuck!” I ignored the shuffling feet behind me as the other vampires quickly left the room. I was furious.
Lillie glanced up at me, her eyes swollen and pink. “I didn’t know,” she whispered. “I thought—I thought,” she hiccupped, “I was doing the right thing.”
Blood Magic (Blood Books Book 2) Page 15
