Alliance

by Lacy Williams as Lacy Yager

  Maggie steps to the side of the truck, holding one of those safety flares like you see policemen using to block off lanes of traffic if there’s a wreck at night. Her eyes are black and I wonder if I my previous feeling that Maggie was safe is going to –literally—come back and bite me.

  “Where’s Chloe?” My feeling that all isn’t right keeps intensifying and all I want to do is get out of here. I fumble the lock open, wanting to be armed with more than a blade.

  Maggie motions behind her, and I see she has fresh blood on her neck. “In the SUV. She’s awake now. You can start explaining why they’re coming after her on the plane. Let’s go.”

  “Whoa, wait—”

  “We’re not going anywhere with you, bloodsucker.” Rachel’s hiss interrupts me. She’s taken a fighting stance but luckily she and Maggie are on opposite sides of the truck.

  “Yes, you are, unless you want them to kill all three of you. I think we’ve got about two minutes lead time right now.”

  “Want who to what?” I ask. She’s not making any sense.

  “Maggie!” A male voice calls out—the guy from under the plane. How is he getting around in the near-pitch black?

  “Cataratoares,” she says. I imagine Maggie’s Romanian is perfect; I’ve never heard the word before, only seen it in some of the older books my parents showed me before they died and all our belongings disappeared. A chill runs down my spine and even Rachel is silent.

  “What the—” The man says a foul word and steps out from behind the stairs connecting the plane to the ground. That’s when I see he’s not a man at all. He looks about eighteen, and he’s a vamp. He’s got his head turned toward the SUV and even with only the flickering light from Maggie’s flare, I see his nostrils flare. “Maggie, what do you have in there?”

  Maggie stalks over to the SUV, taking her light with her and leaving me in shadows. I prop open the lid of the toolbox and reach for my own personal version of a room broom.

  “Just stay back, Daniel.” Maggie says. “Lock yourself in the cockpit and I’ll get everyone on board. Don’t come out until we get to London.”

  London? What?

  “Heck, no. I didn’t sign up to ferry a bunch of–”

  “Daniel…”

  “It’s not possible,” Rachel says to me, eyes on the byplay of the two vamps in front of us. “She’s bluffing. Cataratoares are extinct.”

  So we think. There haven’t been any reports of the winged, mutant vampires in about a century, but has there been actual proof that they don’t exist any longer?

  “You can believe me or not, but they’re going to be here in about…”

  Something large bangs into the metal door that Maggie closed only moments ago.

  “Now!” Maggie yanks open the SUV’s back door, yelling, “Lily, help me get Hannah!”

  A window near the roof busts, sending shattered glass down on our heads. A nasty-looking half man, half bird swoops down and I get a flash of two-inch fangs, plus green, leathery skin and evil yellow eyes before I flop flat on my stomach in the truck bed. The air above my head whistles, but I don’t feel any pain. Maybe it missed.

  “Rach!” I yell.

  “I’m under the truck!” she cries out.

  “We gotta get Chloe out of here!”

  Just then, the giant garage door gives with a metal groan, and flies inside, barely missing the vehicles.

  16 - Maggie

  Daniel isn’t arguing with me anymore, so that’s one positive.

  It’s about the only one I can find in this situation.

  I hear his footsteps clang up the plane’s stairs and a moment later the engines start humming.

  I’ve known Daniel long enough to understand I’ve got about thirty seconds to get everyone on that plane before Daniel takes off to save his own hide.

  More cats have flown inside the hangar after the first two. Ducking to avoid being decapitated by one of them, I catch a whiff of death and decay. Gross.

  Get the girl. Leave me.

  I ignore Hannah’s impassioned plea; she’s stupid if she thinks I’m going to let her be the sacrificial lamb here. I block most of the open doorway with my body and reach in to slide my arms under Hannah’s arms and knees.

  “We’re all going.” And I make my tone so there’s no question about it.

  Something slams against the roof of the SUV, denting it inward. There’s a sound like metal tearing and I realize the thing must be trying to claw its way inside the SUV.

  Lily shrieks. She’s huddling almost completely in the floor and I’ve got to say I’m impressed—I didn’t think one person could fold into quite that small of a pretzel.

  Chloe stares at me, wide-eyed. I try to smile reassuringly at her, but I’m feeling a little shaky myself.

  “Lily. We’re going to get out of here but you have to get on the airplane, okay?”

  “I c-can’t.”

  “Yes, you can. Just run for it.” I don’t say that these monsters aren’t that interested in her since she’s human but I don’t want to frighten Chloe.

  Something slams into the body of the SUV next to me and talons rip through my upper chest all the way through to my collarbone, causing me to drop Hannah into the seat. She grunts, but makes no other sound to show her pain.

  “Get away!” a female voice screams. Rachel. The cat releases me. A gunshot sounds, so loud and close that it rocks my chest. The bird-thing doesn’t fall, just flies away, screeching loudly.

  The front door of the SUV is yanked open. “Chloe, get up here!”

  The little girl responds instantly to her sister’s command, crawling over the center console. She wraps arms and legs around Rachel in a piggyback hold, so Rachel’s got her hands free for the two large guns she’s holding.

  I heft Hannah, having to use a little more effort this time thanks to additional injuries, and maneuver her out of the vehicle. The fresh blood flowing from her wounds threatens to make me lose my tenuous hold on my control.

  “C’mon, Lily!” Rachel’s terse command snaps me out of the moment.

  I turn to the plane, concerned at how we’re going to cross the twenty feet or so to get there. Daniel’s already started taxiing, albeit slowly, so we’ve got to get on now.

  Except Shane’s standing a few feet away, covering us with a… blowtorch and a soda dispenser?

  “What—” I don’t get the question out before the cats are swooping towards us. I try to turn and spare Hannah as much of their attack as possible, and that’s when I see Shane start spraying liquid from the soda dispenser. He holds the blowtorch’s flame to the mouth of the soda canister and a huge flame engulfs the nearest monsters.

  Almost as one, they shriek and it’s an awful sound—worse than nails on a chalkboard. They bank sharply upward to avoid the flames, although it doesn’t seem to have done them permanent damage. It buys us enough time to get to the plane.

  Rachel and Chloe are the first ones up the steps, Rachel’s earlier protests apparently forgotten. Lily’s right behind them and I’m behind her, with Shane bringing up the rear.

  I stumble on the last step and for a moment I’m afraid I’ll fall backward, but Shane gives me a shove into the sleek interior of my brother’s jet. I fall to my knees and Hannah gets dumped on the floor.

  Lily helps pull Hannah out of the way; I stay where I am, almost too weak to move, even in my vampire state. The jet accelerates and I feel the change in the air. We’re out in the open air now, but we haven’t escaped yet.

  Sure enough, a couple loud thuds shake the jet’s cabin. Several of the cats have landed on the wing just behind the still-open cabin door.

  “Maggie!” Daniel yells my name, and I look up to see the door to the cockpit is open a crack. I hope he can control himself enough not to succumb to Chloe’s delectable smell, but at this point he’s Shane’s problem because I’m done in.

  “I can’t take off with those things on the wing!”

  Shane leans halfway out the open door
and I’m afraid he’s going to fall onto the tarmac as we pick up speed, but I can’t make myself move. Another huge fireball erupts, and the monsters take off with a screech.

  “Door!” Daniel shouts.

  The plane turns abruptly and Shane falls into me, away from the open air rushing past. He grunts and pushes off of me, weapons clattering to the plush carpet.

  We’re still gaining speed, the runway lights flashing past rapidly now, and the door has to be closed for takeoff.

  “Door!” Daniel repeats his shout and Shane goes flat on his chest and starts pulling the straps to fold in the stairs.

  “I’ve got to take off! They’re right behind us!”

  I can’t breathe anymore, the wind is rushing through the cabin so hard now. I think we’re all going to die—who knew it was going to be a plane crash? And then the door seals, and Shane clicks the handle into the locked position.

  Shane slumps against the nearest seat, exhaling sharply.

  “Hold on!” Daniel calls out.

  I’m not seatbelted in since there aren’t any straps on the floor, and I start to slide as we arc upward. This feels too steep for a normal takeoff.

  The jet engines whine terribly and I close my eyes against the pain of my ears popping unnaturally fast, but then in a few minutes we level off and the pressure in my head recedes.

  It takes a minute for the realization to sink in: we’ve just escaped from an inescapable foe.

  I drag myself into a the supple leather seat furthest from Hannah, which puts me elbow to elbow with Rachel. Shane and Chloe are in the two seats facing us.

  “Get away from me, bloodsucker,” Rachel snarls.

  “In a minute. I need to catch my breath.” Right now I don’t think I can sit next to Hannah and maintain control, not with the blood she’s still got on her. Thankfully Lily has put aside her prejudice against me and is keeping pressure on Hannah’s neck.

  Shane looks concerned. Probably worried that I’m going to go after Chloe.

  I can’t look at him for more than a few seconds. I feel myself tearing up, my emotions swinging wildly as I struggle to control the monster.

  “It’s been a minute,” Rachel informs me snidely. “Now move.”

  “Rachel, leave her alone. She’s hurt.”

  I’m surprised by Shane’s defense but try not to show it. The cat tore through my shirt when it attacked me, but thankfully my bra is an industrial-strength one and I don’t have much to cover up. I cross my arms anyway.

  “I don’t care if she’s hurt. I don’t want her sitting by me.”

  “I can’t sit over there.” I motion to the empty seat next to Hannah, gritting my teeth to keep the monster in check. Just a glance at Hannah and I’m almost on my feet to go after her. “Because I refuse to have my best friend for breakfast. Okay?”

  I am so over Rachel right now. She’s ungrateful, and that rubs me the wrong way.

  Chloe’s eyes are wide and I don’t think she’s taken them off of me. I’m sure the vampire repulses her.

  “Can you change back?” Shane asks softly.

  And there is the crux of the whole matter. I shake my head.

  “And you’re not healing properly either?”

  This time I nod.

  “What do you need?”

  “Blood.”

  The word seems to echo around the cabin. All my supply was back in the SUV, and we didn’t have time to bring it with us.

  17 - Shane

  Blood. Well, that’s the whole issue between us, isn’t it?

  Not sure I really want to know, I ask, “What would you normally do?”

  Maggie narrows her eyes on my face. A glance at the girl I don’t know yet—Lily?—reveals she’s hanging on every word, even though she’s pretending to be focused on Hannah.

  Finally Maggie sighs. “I get blood from the internet.”

  What?

  Chloe leans forward in her seat. “You mean like on Ebay?”

  The corner of Maggie’s mouth quirks up. “Not exactly. There are a couple of message boards where these kids hang out… they’re obsessed with vampires. I don’t know if they really think we’re real or what, but they send me blood. Their own blood,” she clarifies.

  “That’s what’s in your secret closet at Eww!” the Lily girl exclaims, unable to hide her interest in our conversation any longer.

  “Yup. I have a whole fridge full. Had.” Maggie frowns.

  “How do you get it? I mean, you can’t just have it delivered to your dorm room, can you?” Leave it to Chloe. This is so morbid, but I want to know Maggie’s answer too, so I let Chloe ask.

  “You’d be surprised,” Maggie mumbles. She leans her head back against the headrest. “I pay a guy who manages a restaurant to ‘rent’ some space in the back corner of the place’s giant-sized fridge. They accept my deliveries and just stuff the boxes back there until I come get them.”

  “They don’t open the boxes?”

  Maggie smiles. “Not if you pay them enough.” A look of pain crosses her face. I’m amazed at her self-control; she hasn’t attempted to attack any of us and it’s obvious she’s fighting against herself to keep it that way.

  I feel like I should do something, help her in some way. “Can’t your friend—”

  “My brother.”

  “Brother? Umm, well doesn’t he have any blood you could, you know, borrow?”

  Maggie’s lips curl up, but the semblance of a smile is twisted and ugly. “Daniel eats the old fashioned way. If I ask him, he’ll say I should pick one of you. Probably Chloe because she smells the best.”

  I stiffen, my hand automatically going to my blade.

  Maggie scowls. “If I wanted to kill you, I wouldn’t talk about it first.”

  Shame heats my face. At this point, there’s no hiding that Maggie isn’t a normal vampire; I don’t think she intends to hurt anyone. It’s the monster inside her I don’t trust. And being inside this flying tin can with a wounded vampire is just a little too worrisome, especially with Chloe apparently smelling pretty good.

  Maggie closes her eyes and I use the opportunity to really look at her. She’s ashen. The burns on the back of her shoulder from the holy water should be long gone by now but they’re still there, faded. The nasty-looking claw marks across her upper chest—I am solicitous and keep my eyes from straying too much—haven’t closed up yet. I’m worried for her.

  “Why couldn’t we do a blood donation?” Lily asks.

  Everyone stares at her blankly.

  “Like a transfusion…”

  Still nothing from the rest of us. I’m seeing potential here, but who’s going to donate?

  “I’m serious. I think we can make this work. There has to be a first aid kit…” She starts rummaging through one of the cabinets built into the plane.

  Maggie rouses enough to watch Lily’s actions, but she doesn’t say anything.

  “Come on, come on…” And finally, “Ah ha!” Triumphant, she waves a red and white box in the air. “So who’s donating?”

  There is a tense silence throughout the plane’s cabin.

  “And there you have it…” Maggie says softly.

  “Who’s going to draw the blood?” I ask, stalling for time.

  “I will.” I must look skeptical because she lifts her chin. “I’m an expert with needles.”

  What’s that supposed to mean?

  “Hannah can’t do it,” Maggie says. “So that leaves one of the Camptons.” She raises her eyebrows and runs her tongue across the front of her upper teeth. Was that gesture to provoke us, or was it subconscious?

  I get defensive fast, jumping to my feet to protect my sisters. “No way.”

  Lily shrugs. “It’s not like I’m going to drain you dry. I’m talking one maybe two pints.”

  Rachel pretends she’s ignoring the conversation, but her hands are clenched tightly on the armrests of her seat.

  “Come on,” Lily says. “Maggie just saved all our butts by gettin
g us on this plane. And didn’t you save the little girl, too, Maggie? Oh yeah. I sort of think you owe her.”

  She’s looking right at me. And I’m inclined to agree with her. But I can’t be the one to do it—what if I’m woozy from blood loss and something happens?

  Rachel meets my eyes and I can see she and I are on the page. Her lips are pressed tight with distaste.

  “I think we should do it, Shane. Don’t you, Rach?” Chloe asks, standing up so she can look both of us in the face. “I’ll do it.”

  “Uh uh.” I veto. “Rach’s going to do it.”

  My middle sister pulls a face. “Do I have to?”

  “I think it’s that or risk all our lives over the middle of the ocean.”

  “Fine,” Rach huffs. “Where? I’m not sitting next to her while we do it.”

  Lily draws her away, to the seat next to Hannah. Lily wasn’t joking about being skilled with a needle—she hits Rach’s vein on the first try. Rach’s crimson blood flows through a small clear tube into an open cup; two more cups are lined up nearby.

  “I can’t believe this,” Maggie says, putting her head in her hands. Is she worried about the scent carrying to her, even from the other side of the cabin? Should I be worrying about my sister’s well-being?

  “Don’t,” Maggie says, but she doesn’t look up. “Vampire or not, I would never hurt your sister.”

  What? I look down and see my hand is hovering over my knife.

  “Reflexes,” I admit.

  She doesn’t respond, keeps her head down.

  The thought of Maggie drinking blood sickens me. I am amazed at her self control when it comes to blood; but I just can’t condone her bloodsucking ways. It goes against everything I’ve been taught my whole life. I can’t be her friend, can I?

  Maggie has proved me wrong time and time again. Maybe she’ll do it again.

  18 - Maggie

  “Done,” Lily announces, wrapping Rachel’s arm with gauze. She holds one of the three plastic cups in each hand and carefully balances the third in front of the other two with her fingertips, making a little triangle.

  I’m too tired to move, but I don’t want to sit here while Shane watches. The plane only seats six, and Rachel stays where she is with arms crossed, as if daring me to ask her to move. So that means my only other choice is a seat next to Hannah, and I’m still worried I’ll lose control. Maybe even while I’m eating.